Alabama Public Radio

Meet The New Governor: Sharply Partisan And Upwardly Mobile

Alan Greenblatt — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:35:00 +0000

Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is already executing prisoners faster than any Florida governor in modern times, signed a bill Monday designed to speed up the death penalty process.

Six weeks ago, Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley moved in the opposite direction: He signed a bill abolishing the death penalty, making Maryland the sixth state to end capital punishment in as many years.

This kind of difference is not unusual.

Microsoft Responds To Fan Outcry, Changes Xbox One Policies

Steve Mullis — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:30:00 +0000

Fans spoke, and apparently Microsoft listened.

In a reversal of the company's previous position, Microsoft announced Wednesday that its forthcoming Xbox One gaming console would no longer require a regular Internet connection and would not restrict used or shared games.

Since the system was revealed in May and at its big presentation at E3 7-foot-tall statue of famed, lion-maned abolitionist Frederick Douglass that was dedicated Wednesday on Capitol Hill is perhaps best understood as a bronze symbol of the partisan divide in Washington and of racial politics.

The ex-slave, who later became a friend of President Abraham Lincoln, was a federal official and an important journalist of his day.

Federal Agents Accuse Two Of Plotting Deadly X-Ray Weapon

Bill Chappell — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:14:00 +0000

Two men in upstate New York have been arrested for planning to build a "radiation particle weapon" that could be mounted on a vehicle and used to target people, according to a report by the Albany Times-Union Wednesday.

A Day After Making List, One Of FBI's Most Wanted Caught

Steve Mullis — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:11:00 +0000

Just a day after being added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, a former University of Southern California professor was arrested in the Mexican beach resort of Playa del Carmen.

Reporting for our Newscast unit, NPR's Carrie Kahn says 64-year-old Walter Lee Williams had been pursued by the FBI since 2011.

She says the indictment against Williams alleges he used his position as a professor of gender and sexuality studies to travel internationally and prey on underage boys.

The U.S.

A Dry Reservation Clashes With Its Liquor Store Neighbors

Charles Michael Ray — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:48:00 +0000

At the Pine Ridge Reservation just outside the town of Whiteclay, Neb., an upside-down American flag flies on a wooden pole next to a teepee. About 60 people gathered here Monday to protest as beer truck drivers unloaded cases into a Whiteclay liquor store a few hundred yards away.

Whiteclay has one paved street and four liquor stores. Alcohol is banned on Pine Ridge, but alcoholism is rampant here and the unemployment rate hovers around 80 percent. The town sells the equivalent of about 5 million cans of beer annually — mostly to impoverished tribal residents.

G-8 Nations Pledge To Crack Down On Corporate Tax Evaders

Jim Zarroli — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:48:00 +0000

The world's wealthiest nations are promising to fight what they call the scourge of tax evasion. This week's meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized countries concluded with a pledge to end the use of tax shelters by multinational corporations.

But there are still big questions about how they will make a dent in the problem.

In the aftermath of the global recession, countries all over the world have struggled with budget shortfalls.

Snowden Reportedly In 'Informal' Asylum Talks With Iceland

Bill Chappell — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:51:00 +0000

Edward Snowden, the man commonly called "the NSA leaker" for his role in publishing documents that exposed a secret U.S. surveillance program, would reportedly not receive special treatment from the United Nations if he applies for asylum. The AP says Snowden is in "informal talks" with Iceland about applying for asylum there.

Snowden's last known location was Hong Kong, where he was when revelations about the secret PRISM program first came out.

U.S. Wants Global Trafficking Report To Hit Home

Krishnadev Calamur — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:38:00 +0000

The U.S. State Department releases its report on human trafficking every year, naming the countries it believes aren't doing enough to combat modern-day slavery.

The department released a new report Wednesday, and NPR's Michele Kelemen is reporting on the story for All Things Considered.

Infections From Contaminated Injections Can Lurk Undetected

Nancy Shute — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:36:00 +0000

People who think they didn't get sick from a nationwide meningitis outbreak caused by contaminated steroid injections used to treat back pain may want to think again.

Doctors at hospitals in Michigan did MRI scans of people who had been given tainted injections but didn't report symptoms of meningitis afterwards.

About 20 percent of the 172 people tested had suspicious-looking MRIs, and 17 ended up needing surgery to treat fungal infections in or around the spine.

The patients had gotten steroid injections about three months before the MRI, in mid to late 2012.

Even though some of the

To Rebuild NYC's Beaches, A Native Plant Savings And Loan

NPR Staff — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:33:00 +0000

Across the New York region, people are still working to rebuild homes and businesses after the havoc wrought by Hurricane Sandy. But the storm also devastated the dunes and native flora of New York's beaches.

When the city replants grasses on those dunes, it will be able to draw on seeds from precisely the grasses that used to thrive there.

Pitchman Who 'Guaranteed' Our Look Fired By Men's Warehouse

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:29:00 +0000

He might like the way you look, but may no longer be able to guarantee you will.

Men's Wearhouse Inc. announced Wednesday that George Zimmer, founder and executive chairman of the company, has been fired.

Zimmer is likely familiar to most TV viewers who've been greeted by his comforting demeanor, baritone voice and the pleasing delivery of the brand's slogan, "You're going to like the way you look.

Obama Evokes Cold War In Speech At Berlin's Brandenburg Gate

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:19:00 +0000

Against a backdrop that evoked the Cold War, President Obama renewed his push to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles on Wednesday. Obama delivered an address outside the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. He also meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

After A Marine's Suicide, A Family Recalls Missed Red Flags

NPR Staff — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:05:00 +0000

Last year, more U.S. service members took their own lives than died in combat. And despite the drawdown of troops from Afghanistan, the pullout in Iraq, and hundreds of new programs designed to help troubled servicemen and women, the number of suicides continues to rise.

Nicholas Rodriguez is one such young man. Military service was practically a foregone conclusion for Nick. His family's history in the armed forces stretches back to the Revolutionary War.

Nina Totenberg Answers Your Supreme Court Questions

NPR Staff — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:50:00 +0000

With the Supreme Court expected to hand down big decisions this month — including rulings on voting rights, affirmative action and