Birmingham’s Violence Reduction Initiative
Homicides are up in Birmingham for 2015, ending a three-year decline. The reasons for the increase aren’t clear. Some point to a rise in violent crime more generally in cities across the country. Others say Birmingham’s homicide rate had dropped so low it had nowhere to go but up. In any case, city leaders are trying to respond. WBHM’s Andrew Yeager spoke with Nick Patterson, editor of the weekly newspaper WELD, about that response.
DHS memo details how National Guard troops will be used for immigration enforcement
The memo obtained by NPR says troops would be used in activities, including in "night operations and rural interdiction," as well as "guard duty and riot control" inside detention facilities.
Court fees can pile up. An effort to make a more effective system stalls after Trump administration cuts
Court fines and fees are meant to hold people accountable. But for many, they lead to debt, arrest, and a cycle that’s hard to break. A project that started in Birmingham explored aimed to make the system better. But recently, the Trump Administration cancelled an effort to expand the research.
On Japanese Breakfast’s melancholic record, Michelle Zauner might be ‘the happiest’ she’s ever been
Zauner joins us to talk about some of the themes behind For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women).
South Korean maestro Chung will be the first Asian to head Italy’s famed La Scala
Myung-Whun Chung will be one of the first non-Italians to take the post of music director at Milan's famous opera house.
‘The Life of Chuck’ might leave you brushing away tears — or scratching your head
Mike Flanagan's new film, a maudlin mystery about a man dying of cancer, feels hobbled by its extreme faithfulness to the Stephen King novella on which its based.
RFK Jr. is shrinking the agency that works on mental illness and addiction
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration has seen its staff cut by more than a third, and it's facing deep budget cuts. Progress on overdose deaths could be lost, experts warn.
