Alabama

Conversations with the Homeless Czar

On any given night in the United States, 750,000 people are homeless. President Bush's 2008 budget proposal includes more than $4 billion for homeless services. Governments, non-profits and churches have all been putting record money into programs, but homelessness keeps rising. It's a problem that vexes Philip Mangano, the executive director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness. The so-called "U-S Homeless Czar" was in Birmingham recently and talked with WBHM's Tanya Ott.

March Storms

March roared in like a lion across the Southeast and Midwest, bringing with it a band of bad weather. The system spawned several deadly storms that left a total of twenty people dead in Georgia, Missouri and Alabama -- including eight high school students in Coffee County.

God, Darwin and Dixie Part 3: Solution?

When it comes to the evolution debate it seems like, as with so many other cultural discussions, the most vocal extremes get the most attention. Many are left with the impression that to be able to buy into evolution you have to give up God -- that there's no middle ground. WBHM's Rosemary Pennington introduces us today to three men who say there is a solution to the God versus Darwin paradox -- that, even with all the vitriol surrounding the debate, there is a middle ground.

God, Darwin and Dixie Part 1: Semantics

Evolution -- the idea that life descended from a common ancestor. There are few terms in the English language that create the verbal firestorm that one word can. And, ever since the Scopes Monkey Trial, the American discussion of Charles Darwin's theory has raged on, growing hotter by the year. In a special series, "God, Darwin and Dixie", WBHM's Rosemary Pennington explores the debate over evolution here in Alabama. She'll examine the now infamous textbook disclaimers; also how to move the conversation forward. But first she explores the semantics of the debate.

Campaign 2006: The Results

Election Day dawned on Alabama gray and rainy but, later, the skies cleared. The mixed bag of weather seemed to fortell the evening ahead for politicos across Alabama as Governor Bob Riley's 'big coattails' didn't appear to be quite long enough for a GOP sweep in the state.

AIDS: The Epidemic in Alabama

More than 9-thousand Alabamians are living with HIV or AIDS; if you take into account those who've died from the illness, then more than 14-thousand Alabamians have been infected with the virus. And infection rates are expected to go up as the AIDS epidemic, so often thought of as a big city issue, becomes increasingly a rural issue and a southern issue. There are myriad challenges to getting the word out about HIV/AIDS -- there's the stigma, religion and a money shortage for starters. In a special report, 'AIDS: The Epidemic in Alabama', WBHM's Rosemary Pennington examines what people here in the state are doing to combat HIV.

Alabama’s AIDS Orphans

You can't really have a discussion about AIDS in Africa without talking about AIDS oprhans. But a researcher here in Alabama thinks, when it comes to AIDS orphans, we should be looking closer to home.

Bibb County resolve

Authorities have made three arrests in the spate of fires that've befallen churches in parts of rural Alabama. 19-year old Ben Moseley, 19-year old Russell Debusk and 20-year old Matthew Lee Cloyd, all college students in the Birmingham area, face conspiracy and arson charges. But while investigators were trying to find the culprits, life went on in rural Bibb County - where half of the fires occurred. Many residents told WBHM's Steve Chiotakis that the crimes brought a new resolve to churchgoers.

Super Outbreak of ’74

NPR News and Classical Music for North Central Alabama

Katrina-Alabama schools

NPR News and Classical Music for North Central Alabama

Outside Inside Part 2

NPR News and Classical Music for North Central Alabama

Outside Inside, Part 1

The American South has suffered from stereotyping for much of its existence, stereotyping that doesn't always paint southerners in the best light. But it's about a lot more than just hurt feelings ... especially in Alabama's case. WBHM's Rosemary Pennington has more.

A Southern T-Rex Cousin

When you think of dinosaurs and the United States, the Badlands probably come to mind. But the south is also a hotbed of dino bones -- and a counsin of the most fearsome of all dinosaurs, the Tyrannousaurus Rex, has been discovered in Alabama.

Education Budget Cuts

NPR News and Classical Music for North Central Alabama