• WEAR 3 NEWS TOP STORIES VIDEO

ALABAMA - The board overseeing Alabama's prepaid college tuition plan is taking a new route to solve the program's 346-million dollar deficit.

The board will now use three of it's non-political members to try and negotiate a financial solution.

One of which is Mobile Attorney Russell Buffkin.

The three board members will work with the state legislature and colleges to find a solution to the funding shortfall.

Last year's approach of using three politicians proved unsuccessful.Alabama Prepaid Uses New Resources To Negotiate Deficit

• IN FLORIDA NEWS

Fla. smoker's widow gets $17.5M in lawsuit
March 12, 2010 17:43 EST

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The widow of a Florida smoker has been awarded $17.5 million in damages by a Gainesville jury in a lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

The jury on Friday awarded Amanda Hall $12.5 million in punitive damages, adding to $5 million in compensatory damages awarded Thursday. Hall's husband Arthur died in 1995.

The case is among about 8,000 filed in Florida by smokers or their families against tobacco companies. The individual cases were brought after the state Supreme Court in 2006 threw out a $145 billion class-action award for all Florida smokers.

R.J. Reynolds said it will appeal the verdict.

Hall's attorney is Rod Smith, a former state senator who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006.

Thursday, November 5 2009, 07:54 PM EST

• VIDEO LIST

• BUSINESS NEWS

Retail sales better-than-expected

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Commerce Department says retail sales last month posted a surprising 0.3 percent increase.

• CONSUMER INFO

La. senator: Are deaths linked to Chinese drywall?

 NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. David Vitter is calling on federal officials to do a thorough probe into the deaths of several people who lived in homes built with suspect Chinese drywall. ...

• SCIENCE/TECH NEWS

IN THE NEWS: PINK FLOYD PREVAILS IN DOWNLOAD CASE

LONDON (AP) -- Score one for Pink Floyd.

• GET THIS

MEDICAL MARIJUANA-CENSUS

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- Census workers in Colorado could be getting a contact high.

IE6 Float Fix