Want to stay up to date on the latest news from USA TODAY while driving, but realize that opening up a newspaper while driving isn’t the safest idea? Do you have a favorite radio station across the country that you just can’t live without?

But Ford SYNC^® with AppLink^™ integration is opening up a whole new world of in-vehicle connectivity, accessible through simple voice commands. There are a ton of new apps coming to the market that are solving those problems and helping drivers stay connected in new ways.

The USA TODAY app lets users access, navigate, search and listen to the morning and evening headlines in a rich audio format, all without using your hands or eyes.

All you have to do is tell your car what you want hear, like “Play news story” or “Listen to sports stories.” Drivers can hear the latest top headlines across their favorite categories such as News, Money, Sports, Life, Tech and Travel. You can even play, pause, skip, or go back within and between stories to customize the listening experience even further.

But what if you are looking for news, sports, or music from a specific market or station? Then you should check out the apps released by Greater Media. They’re bringing sixteen of their top terrestrial radio stations to Ford vehicles with the help of AppLink.

By downloading one of these apps and hooking up your smartphone to SYNC, you can listen to your favorite radio stations from places like Boston, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Detroit and New Jersey wherever you are driving – all without touching your smartphone.

These apps can be controlled by pressing the voice button on the steering wheel and giving simple voice commands like “Play stream” or “Stop stream.” Drivers can also access on-demand podcasts by just saying the name of the program.

These AppLink apps join a plethora of others that Ford announced at the International CES, including BeCouply. You can expect even more in the near future, because Ford has opened up AppLink to all developers.

Are you a developer, or someone who just needs to be on top of the latest technology trends? Maybe you should grab the Tech Geek badge from Ford Social!