News

WAMC political observer Dr. Alan Chartock talks about the "Day of Action" rally by New York state teachers for more funding and less testing and  what Governors in the Northeast want from the EPA.

NewsChannel 13 Meteorologist Paul Caiano gives the WAMC Morning Edition forecast.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says Metro-North signal crews have installed new safety protections at the Spuyten Duyvil curve, the site of last Sunday's derailment in the Bronx that killed four people.

The MTA said the new protections — which will start Monday — will warn engineers of approaching speed reductions and will automatically apply the train's emergency brakes if speed is not lowered to the 30 mph maximum in the curve.

After a New York commuter train derailment killed four people, two federal lawmakers want trains to be outfitted with cameras pointed at engineers and at the tracks.

Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut held a news conference Sunday at Grand Central Terminal, one week after the derailment in the Bronx. The Democratic lawmakers are urging the Federal Railroad Administration to implement the cameras.

The National Transportation Safety Board has suggested it.

In the NFL, Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes in the final 61 seconds, helping the New England Patriots rally for a 27-26 victory over the Cleveland Browns yesterday. New England lost tight end Rob Gronkowski to a leg injury in the third quarter.

Elsewhere, Geno Smith threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score as the New York Jets set a season high for points in a 37-27 win over Oakland.

In today’s Academic Minute, Dr. Erick Galbraith of McGill University explains how climate change could alter ocean currents and the marine nitrogen cycle. 

Results of a background investigation into the developers of a proposed casino in Springfield will be released Monday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

   MGM Resorts International CEO James Murren has said he’s confident the gaming commission will approve his company to file a final application for a casino license.  Murren has had to repeatedly defend MGM’s business partner in its Macau casino—Pansy Ho, whose father is a reputed Chinese mobster.

A new study projects continued slow population growth for Massachusetts for the next 20 years. Some parts of western Massachusetts could see population declines according to this forecast.  WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Susan Strate, manager of the Population Estimates Program at the UMass Donahue Institute.

In New York, Orange County officials want to know what the public thinks about a new agriculture plan.

Four congressional representatives are calling for a House committee and subcommittee to hold a hearing on rail safety. Their urging comes following the fatal Metro-North commuter train derailment in the Bronx December 1.