Pat Duggins
News DirectorPat Duggins is APR’s news director. As a kid, he watched the Apollo manned moon launches along Florida’s space coast. Pat later spent 14 years covering NASA for NPR. After re-organizing the APR newsroom, he and the team were honored with over 150 awards for excellence in journalism. That includes APR being the first radio newsroom to receive RFK Human Rights’ “Seigenthaler Prize for Courage in Journalism.” Pat holds a master’s degree from the University of Alabama and has published two books on NASA. When he’s not at APR, he enjoys cooking with Lucia, and tending his beloved fig tree.
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Ty Simpson passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as No. 17 Alabama held on late to beat No. 5 Georgia 24-21 on Saturday night and hand the Bulldogs their first home loss in six years. Alabama has won three straight since opening the season with a 31-17 loss at Florida State. -
Alabama's first game away from home didn't go well. That puts much on the line for No. 17 Alabama when it visits No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night. The Crimson Tide's 31-17 season-opening loss at Florida State on August 30 left coach Kalen DeBoer's team with little margin for error. Alabama needs a win over Georgia (3-0, 1-0) to protect its College Football Playoff hopes. -
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said that she will not call a special session to draw new Alabama Senate districts after a federal judge ruled the current map violates the Voting Rights Act. -
An Alabama man convicted of killing a woman during a 1997 gas station robbery was put to death Thursday after apologizing to his victim's family and pleas from the woman's son to spare his life. -
Alabama is preparing to execute a man convicted of killing a woman during a 1997 gas station robbery in what will be the nation's latest execution carried out with nitrogen gas. It is one of two executions scheduled Thursday in the United States. Texas plans to carry out a lethal injection on the same evening. -
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl announced his retirement Monday less than six months after finishing the Tigers' best season in program history with another trip to the Final Four. Pearl's 38-year-old son Steven Pearl, who has been on his father's coaching staff for all 11 seasons at Auburn, will take over as coach. And, about a run for the U.S. Senate? -
The Trump White House will order an end to federal measurement of food insecurity. That’s a situation where Americans either fail to have the resources to eat regularly, or live in so called “food deserts,” where access to groceries including fresh fruit and vegetables is limited.This is an on-going problem in Alabama. -
Mayors of cities across the Deep South gathered at the Jackson Convention Center for the inaugural DELTA FEST conference, a gathering of financial leaders and partners for economic change. The three-day event intends to usher in a 10-year effort to build prosperous communities in Southern states. Two Alabama Mayors came with ideas. -
Journalists from Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Spain, Slovenia, and Serbia visited the Alabama Public Radio newsroom on Friday. The delegation was part of a U.S. State Department initiative known as the International Visitor Leadership Program. -
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Alabama’s largest county to redraw county commission lines after ruling that the districts were unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. Alabama Public Radio's international news coverage has focused on similar coverage around the state.
