UA EcoCAR 3 Team gets new Chevrolet Camaro
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 5
The University of Alabama’s EcoCAR 3 Team is about to turn a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro into a more energy-efficient car without changing its performance. UA was selected as one of 16 institutions to participate in an engineering competition where they will create a car that is more eco-friendly. 150 students have been preparing for the past year to receive the car that was given by General Motors to them tonight.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 5
Mechanical engineering labs to be offered at UA Gadsden Center
Gadsden Times – Jan. 5
The University of Alabama started offering degrees in mechanical engineering through distance learning at least 20 years ago, according to Clark Midkiff, the department head. Midkiff said the challenge has been providing the hands-on lab experience distance learning students need, in addition to video-streamed lessons and online homework. Starting this spring, some of those distance learners can get hands-on experience at UA’s Gadsden Center with the establishment of a permanent lab facility there. Center Director Skip Campbell invited the media Tuesday to learn more about the new offering in Gadsden and to see a demonstration of the MTS Criterion Series 40 Material Test System, one of the pieces of equipment the lab contains. Mark Barkey, a professor in the UA College of Engineering, demonstrated the test system and explained how it is used to test the strength of steel and other substances to determine how they can be safely used in engineering projects.
Gadsden Times (gallery) – Jan. 5
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
ABC 9 (Columbus, Ga.) – Jan. 5
Voices: More guns are simply not the answer
USA Today – Jan. 5
“After months of soul-searching, I’ve decided to buy a handgun.” Those were the jaw-dropping words in a Voices column two weeks ago by a respected colleague, USA TODAY reporter Trevor Hughes. Hughes is quite familiar with mass shootings and the agony that ensues. He has covered sprees in Aurora, Roseburg and Killeen. After the Dec. 2 San Bernardino rampage, Hughes’ frustration about a country unable to curtail the mayhem spilled over in another column in which he concluded that Americans must be OK with gun violence. Now Hughes thinks he has no alternative but to join the pack. It was a wrenching decision he says, but one he felt necessary after the bloodshed of the past year left him with the feeling he needed “to do something different.” … “People overestimate their rationality and self-control,” says Adam Lankford, author of a groundbreaking study that makes clear the link between gun ownership rates and mass shootings. People might buy a gun for protection, but it more often causes harm in other situations, says Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama who analyzed mass shootings in 171 countries from 1966 to 2012. His study was presented at an American Sociological Association meeting in August, just days before two journalists were gunned down on live TV in Virginia.
CBS 2 (Spokane, Wash.) – Jan. 5
News Herald (Fremont, Ohio) – Jan. 5
KSDK.com (St. Louis, Mo.) – Jan. 5
Opponents and supporters weigh in on Obama’s executive actions on gun control
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
The President made children a part of the focus of his address Tuesday on gun control. The President defended new action on guns and denied accusations he wants to take away rights. President Obama is taking executive action in an effort to curb gun violence. Some local supporters believe it is a small step in the right direction while those who oppose it question its effectiveness. “It’s a tool that’s all it is, anybody who wants to do evil is going to find a way to do evil. The only thing you can do is be prepared for it when it happens,” said Paul Arnold, a member of BamaCarry, Inc.
Parenting Assistance Line
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
This was a live interview about the Parenting Assistance Line.
Students at Christian conference raise $785,000 to build Syrian hospital
USA Today – Jan. 5
The Christian conference Passion announced on Monday that it raised more than $785,000 to fund a hospital for displaced women and children in northwest Syria. The organization says it will house the country’s first intensive care unit for newborns. “I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to have a tangible, lasting impact in Syria,” said Wake Forest University sophomore Larisa Hanger, who attended Passion. “Most people will seek a political angle any time Syria or the Middle East is mentioned, but the reality is that the love of God transcends nations and politics,” said Zach Walden, a law student at the University of Alabama.
Al Sham Info – Jan. 5
UA flag to fly over East Lansing City Hall
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 5
A University of Alabama flag is on the way to Michigan. It will fly over the East Lansing City Hall. The East lansing Mayor will have to wear Crimson and White to his next city council meeting and donated $50 to the Tuscaloosa Pre-K initiative.