University of Alabama ROTC cadets head to regional competition
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 18
With a synchronization honed by months of practice, a team of Army reserve officer training cadets at the University of Alabama stretched a rope between trees before sending cadets across the span suspended on carabiners and harnesses woven from lengths of rope. “We do this to challenge ourselves,” Brandon Sinnott said Wednesday. Sinnott and his fellow cadets are practicing for the next stage of the Ranger Challenge, a competition among collegiate programs with state, regional and national events where teams compete in marksmanship, navigation and other skills.
NBC 5 (Memphis, Tenn.) – Jan. 18
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 18
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 18
CBS 42 (Birmingham) – Jan. 18
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Jan. 18
Fatal wrecks increase nearly 25% in Alabama
Tuscaloosa News – Jan. 19
The number of fatal traffic crashes in Alabama increased by nearly 25 percent in 2016. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama found that 1,058 people died in crashes statewide last year, up 24.6 percent from the 849 people who died in 2015. Researchers found that the total number of crashes increased only slightly — up 2.1 percent from 149,339 in 2015 to 152,532 in 2016. These numbers aren’t yet official, but the researchers believe they’re accurate.
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Jan. 18
Crimson White – Jan. 19
CBS 5 (Mobile) – Jan. 18
Seat belts aren’t optional
Anniston Star – Jan. 18
On the assumption that it’s not too late to adopt a New Year’s resolution, we offer an awesome one: Wear your seat belts. Every time you get in your car or truck. No exception. It’s simple, quick and hardly a new concept — they’ve been standard on cars for decades. And they save lives, which is the point. Last year, 406 people in Alabama died in wrecks and were not wearing seat belts even though they were available. That comes from a study released this week by the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety. Overall, Alabama drivers overwhelmingly use seat belts — more than 90 percent, research associate David Brown told The Star — but 45 percent of those who died in crashes last year weren’t wearing them.
UA Culverhouse College of Business LIFT program offers free classes
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 18
A University of Alabama community outreach program seeks to give people a LIFT in improving their employment capabilities. Provided through the Culverhouse College of Commerce, Culverhouse LIFT offers free classes to those in Tuscaloosa and surrounding communities who want to improve their job skills.
UA holds annual Get on Board Day
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 18
This afternoon, The University of Alabama and the SOURCE held their annual Get On Board Day at the Ferguson Center on campus. There were over 200 student and community organizations to choose from.
Cybercrimes after the holidays
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Jan. 18
Cybercrime poses a serious threat to our bank accounts with the increase in credit card usage, especially after the holidays. Thieves are mostly interested in credit card numbers or information that can be used against you. University of Alabama professor Adam Ghazi-Tehrani encourages folks to use different passwords for each website.
Women and Gender Resource Center starts Pack A Purse Project
WVUA 23 – Jan. 18
The University of Alabama is packing purses for women newly released from prison. The Women and Gender Resource Center is now accepting donations for full-size toiletry items, and large size purses or tote bags. These items will be put in a purse to be given to women newly released from incarceration.
Coal still an important part of Alabama’s energy portfolio
Al.com – Jan. 19
I cut my teeth in the mining industry early in my career as a research engineer with the United States Bureau of Mines, and I have seen the strength and determination of the people who labor to bring us the raw materials that make so much of our life possible. (By Charles L. Karr, Dean of The University of Alabama College of Engineering and a Senior Policy Advisor for the nonprofit Energy Institute of Alabama)
Think your dog talks like people? Scientists say you might just be right
Washington Post – Jan. 19
“Oh Long Johnson,” a cat once said, back in the primordial history of Internet memes. “Oh Don Piano. Why I eyes ya.” Or so said the captions — appended to the gibberish of a perturbed house cat on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” in 1999 and rediscovered in the YouTube era, when millions of people heard something vaguely human echo in a distant species … At least, that was the common thinking when Dion was little. It dates back to a study on a dead rhesus monkey in 1969, said Tom Sawallis, a linguist at the University of Alabama.
Standard Examiner (Ogden, Utah) – Jan. 19
South Coast Today – Jan. 19
Herkimer Times-Telegram (New York) – Jan. 19
Scientists find animals’ farting attracts the kids
The Columbian – Jan. 19
Do baboons pass gas? What about salamanders? Millipedes? These questions sound like the sort Bart Simpson might have asked to derail science class. But real-life scientists are now taking to Twitter to provide answers. So far, they’ve created a hashtag — #DoesItFart — and a Google spreadsheet that details the flatulence habits of more than 60 animals … “We spend a lot of time with our study organism and see some interesting or weird behaviors,” said Nick Caruso, a researcher of salamanders (which do not pass gas) at the University of Alabama and creator of the open-access #DoesItFart spreadsheet. “This type of info, unless directly relevant to the study, may not make it into our publications and we don’t always get a chance to talk about it.”