News

Protest marches are scheduled to take place on Saturday in close to 50 countries and more than 200 locations here in the United States.  Called “ March Against Monsanto”, the events will highlight what organizers see as a threat to the world’s food chain. Monsanto is a leading producer of genetically modified plant organisms, or GMOs.   WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with a local organizer of tomorrow’s march, Michaelann Bewsee, director of Arise For Social Justice in Springfield Massachusetts.

Newschannel 13 meteorologist Paul Caiano paints the weekend weather picture in his Midday Weather Summary for Friday, May 24, 2013. 

    The Girls of Atomic City rescues a remarkable, forgotten chapter of American history from obscurity. Denise Kiernan captures the spirit of the times through these women: their pluck, their desire to contribute, and their enduring courage.

At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians--many of them young women from small towns across the South--were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. That is, until the end of the war--when Oak Ridge's secret was revealed.

Our Tune for Today is “Beyond” by Daft Punk of their album Random Access Memories, released this week on the group’s Daft Life label through Columbia Records.  

    The Ne’imah Jewish Community Chorus’ 21st annual concert will take place on June 2nd at The Linda in Albany, New York at 7:30pm.

The evening will feature guest artist Cantor Ramόn Tasat - a renowned performing artist and scholar who has devoted himself to sharing with the world the beauty of the Ladino language and Sephardic music and culture.

  Will Congress pass comprehensive immigration reform?

In today’s Congressional Corner, Connecticut Representative Elizabeth Esty tells WAMC’s Alan Chartock that it’s time for Congress to get serious about a broken system.

    Chet Walker has been the Director of Jacob's Pillow's Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance program for the past 14 seasons. The choreographer has worked on Broadway for 40 years - starting at the age of sixteen when he appeared in the first revival of On the Town. He was in the original Broadway production of Pippin and this year returns to that show as choreographer for the multi-nominated Diane Paulus directed revival - the show's first since its original run closed in 1977 (after 1,944 performances).

Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, WAMC's Ray Graf and University at Albany Journalism Professor and investigative reporter, Rosemary Armao.

Topics include:
President Obama's national security address
The IRS/tea party scandal
The Boy Scouts of America allow gay scouts, but not gay scout masters
Anthony Weiner comes back on the political scene

In the NHL playoffs, Chris Kreider steered in a pass from Rick Nash 7:03 into overtime, and the New York Rangers stayed alive with a 4-3 victory over the Bruins on Thursday night. Henrik Lundqvist turned back 37 shots for the Rangers. New York still trails the series 3-1 and will need to win again on Saturday in Boston to force a Game 6 back in Madison Square Garden. Elsewhere, Detroit shut out Chicago 2-0. The top-seeded Blackhawks trail No. 7 Detroit 3-1 in the Western Conference semifinals. Lastly, Los Angeles beat San Jose 3-0. The Kings lead that series 3-2.

A newly-formed coalition in New York’s Hudson Valley is seeking relief from unfunded mandates.