WUAL - Site Search | Alabama Public Radio

Would More Technology Mean Safer Trains?

In 2008, Congress passed a law requiring most rail networks to install "positive train control" collision technology by 2015. Engineering professor Christopher Barkan discusses train safety systems, how "positive train control" might prevent accidents, and whether railroads will be able to meet the deadline.

The Simpsons' Secret? It's Written by Math Geeks

For 25 seasons, The Simpsons writers have been smuggling math onto Americans' TV screens. Author Simon Singh helps Ira decode the show's numberplay, while former Simpsons writer David X. Cohen remembers how he helped Homer solve Fermat's Last Theorem (sort of).

23andMe will still perform genetic tests, but it won't be making health-related interpretations of the results.

23andMe Bows To FDA's Demands, Drops Health Claims

While the company tries to work things out with regulators, it won't be telling people who buy its test if their genetic profiles predispose them to particular illnesses or predict their responses to prescription drugs.

The U.S. flag flies at half-staff over the White House in Washington, D.C., in honor of former South African President Nelson Mandela.

U.S. Flags Lowered For Mandela, A Rare Honor For Foreign Leaders

President Obama ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff until Monday — a symbolic gesture of a nation in mourning. It's a tradition observed by countries around the world, one that began as early as the 17th century.

A building under construction is covered with haze in Shanghai on Friday. The city's pollution index is at its highest ever, officials say.

Shanghai's Choking Smog Registers 'Beyond Index'

Officials in China's commercial capital ordered schoolchildren to stay indoors, construction to halt and even delayed flights because of the city's highest-ever pollution levels.

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on June 12.

Sen. Thad Cochran To Seek Re-Election In Mississippi

The Mississippi senator, who turns 76 Saturday, ended speculation that he would retire and instead set up the prospect of another bruising GOP primary in 2014.

Ala. Supreme Court Approves Work Release Costs

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled the state prison system can charge work release inmates for providing transportation to their jobs and other…

Week In Politics: Looming Unemployment Cuts And Income Inequality

Melissa Block speaks with regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times for the latest in political news.

U.S. To Face Ghana, Portugal And Germany In World Cup

The U.S. men's soccer team will face a tough road in next year's World Cup. They'll face Ghana, Portugal and Germany in the first round.

Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu raise their fists in 1990, one day after Mandela was released from jail.

As We Memorialize Mandela, Remember Those Who Stood With Him

By the time he died, Nelson Mandela was considered one of the few giants on the world stage. As NPR's Scott Simon remembers, Mandela was not alone in offering his life for freedom, so the acclaim justly heaped upon Mandela is also a credit to those who worked, served and led with him.

Search results for