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Mar 20 2026EDUCATION

New Tech Helps Keep Morgan County Schools Safe

Morgan County now uses a new gadget that checks for weapons at school doors. The system, called Xtract One Gateway, was put in five high schools first: Brewer, Falkville, Priceville, West Morgan and Danville. It works by letting people walk through without stopping; the machine looks for any dangero

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Mar 20 2026TECHNOLOGY

Signal Founder Teams Up With Meta to Secure AI Chats

Moxie Marlinspike, the mind behind Signal, has announced a partnership with Meta to weave his AI privacy tech into the company’s new chatbot. The move aims to make sure that conversations stay private even when powered by artificial intelligence. The new AI, called Confer, is already built on a fou

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Mar 20 2026EDUCATION

April’s Rubber Learning Events: More Than Just a Bunch of Online Classes

April brings a mix of online classes and workshops for anyone working with rubber. These aren’t just basic lessons—they focus on real-world problems and new technologies. For example, a course on April 2 explains how rubber’s stretchy and squishy behaviors affect product design. Another session on A

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Mar 20 2026TECHNOLOGY

Better Wind Power Predictions: A Fresh Look at Ocean Clues

Getting wind energy right is tricky because wind doesn’t blow steadily. Power grids need to balance supply and demand, but wind farms can’t always match that. A new study shows how ocean patterns might help predict wind power better. Instead of just looking at current wind speed, researchers tested

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Mar 20 2026SCIENCE

How tiny water bacteria help shape modern glue and anti-fouling tech

Every time you see a slippery rock in a stream or a slimy hull on a boat, you’re looking at biofilms—thin layers of microbes stuck to surfaces. These microscopic communities don’t just stick around by accident. They produce special proteins called adhesins, especially at one end of the cell, to glue

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Mar 20 2026HEALTH

CDC Leadership Search Shows Hope Amid Health Department Turmoil

The hunt for a new CDC director is sparking cautious optimism, even as the agency grapples with years of shakeups and policy disputes. Recent candidates for the top role suggest better days ahead, but the CDC’s past struggles under political pressure raise questions about stability. The agency has s

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Mar 19 2026POLITICS

TSA Workers Face Pay Cuts While Politicians Argue

The TSA has seen its employees work without pay for more than a month, a result of repeated funding gaps that have turned these workers into bargaining chips in Washington. In the last six months, three separate budget stalls have left TSA staff unpaid, with many of them struggling to cover re

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Mar 19 2026SPORTS

“Upsets Ahead: When the Big Seeds Might Drop”

Florida, the top seed in the South bracket, looks strong on paper because of its big frontcourt. Yet its guard play is weak, with a low shooting percentage from beyond the arc and many turnovers. A game against Houston could be tough, because the Cougars are a top‑five team and will play close to ho

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Mar 19 2026SPORTS

Carson Wentz Signs New Deal With Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings have announced a one‑year contract for quarterback Carson Wentz, keeping him on the roster for another season. The move follows his stint with the team last year when he filled in for the injured J. J. McCarthy and played through a shoulder injury that ended his campaign early.

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Mar 19 2026CRIME

Jimmy Gracey’s Wallet Turns Up in Spanish Sea

James “Jimmy” Gracey, a 20‑year‑old college student from Chicago, vanished while on spring break in Barcelona. The last sighting was outside a club called Shoko near Barceloneta Beach. On Thursday, Spanish police reported finding his wallet drifting in the water close to Somorrostro beach. They had

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