During his four-year tenure, President Donald Trump has presided over – and to a large degree strategically stoked for political advantage – a bitterness and increasing division among the American electorate. "I fear we are stuck in this polarized time and I don't see the end of that," Barbara Perry, director of Presidential Studies at UVA's Miller Center, says.
Suggesting other news sources only reinforces users' political beliefs. Another study finds that quitting the social media giant leaves people less informed. While there’s little evidence to support that Facebook is biased against conservative users, UVA professors Brent Kitchens and Steven Johnson found that, by maximizing for engagement and attention, Facebook’s algorithms actively push conservatives toward more radical content than liberal users.
The question has forced observers to look back at what the 74-year-old Trump has said in recent months -- and whether to take him at his word or assume some of those comments were for shock value. For veteran political analyst Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia, that "depends heavily on the margin of Biden's victory (assuming he wins)."
As the U.S. continues grappling with significant spikes in coronavirus cases, the country is now also facing flu season (from roughly November through February). “We’re definitely concerned about our testing capacity,” Dr. Taison Bell, a UVA assistant professor of medicine in the infectious disease and pulmonary divisions, said.
Don’t be fooled, voting experts and academics say. Early vote counts in the most competitive, battleground states can be particularly misleading this election because of the surge in mail-in or absentee ballots, and the different ways that they are processed. “Something I’m prepared for on election night is for Pennsylvania to look more Republican than it may actually be, whoever ends up winning the state,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
President Donald Trump's hopes of winning a second term are, well, slim. Which, for Republicans, puts even more pressure on the ongoing fight to keep control of the Senate and, thereby, avoid total Democratic control come 2021. "Overall, Democrats are favored to win the Senate, but their odds of winning the White House are better," wrote Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia's Crystal Ball.
(Commentary by Aynne Kokas, media studies professor) Whoever wins Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, one of the biggest issues facing lawmakers around the world will be how to deal with Chinese-owned social media sensation, TikTok.
Technology both new and old drove the success of this year’s pandemic-disrupted Virginia Film Festival as organizers embraced the new virtual reality of movies and went back to the future with a return to drive-in shows.
If Virginia continues on its current trajectory, the University of Virginia COVID-19 Model expects 203,473 confirmed cases by Thanksgiving, according to a weekly update posted at the Virginia Department of Health’s website.
Donors at UVA Children’s have pitched in to make sure patients of all ages staying there have a happy Halloween by making them goodie bags.
Things went pink at White’s Travel Center. Most of the trucks there are tractor trailers, but Friday saw the University of Virginia Mobile Mammography Coach parked there for visitors. It was the fifth year for the White’s Goes Pink program that encourages checks as well as raising money for research.
In a statement shared with his class session, Communications Professor Jeffrey Leopold apologized and said he was wrong for saying “Africans didn’t know what food meant.”
If the pandemic stays on the current course, it could mean the state’s cases will continue to trend up into January before dropping down again, according to an analysis by the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Min Park used the device, called the Comaneci, to prevent an aneurysm from rupturing.
John Waller has lived a notable life in Virginia Beach. The architect designed City Hall, several school buildings and dozens of homes. He grew up on a farm outside of Lynchburg, studied architecture at UVA and moved to Virginia Beach in 1953.
UVA law students are gearing up to act as “poll observers” at polling places in Charlottesville and Albemarle County on Election Day. Their main objective: To prevent voter intimidation and harassment.
Sarah Kearney found her mission right out of high school. That summer, a wealthy family asked her to help launch a philanthropy focused on fighting climate change. She’d so impressed Arunas Chesonis, who made his fortune in telecommunications, during her internship at his company that he promised her the job once she graduated from UVA. Seventeen years later, Kearney has not only mastered the skills needed to run a charitable organization and a venture capital fund worth around $50 million, she’s pioneered a new way of financing clean technology startups and emerging technologies.
The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reported on Thursday that the team plans to trim staff in scouting, baseball operations, and research and development. That doesn’t include Mike Cubbage, a long-time assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo. Cubbage, a former UVA standout, confirmed Thursday that he was retiring at the end of this month.
A big member of the Charlottesville and UVA community is battling a brain tumor. Mark Mincer, owner of Mincer’s University of Virginia Imprinted Sportswear, is set to undergo surgery at the UVA Medical Center Friday. According to his family, Mincer went to the hospital Tuesday evening after exhibiting symptoms of a stroke.
Selena Johnson, a 20-year-old student studying computer science at the University of Virginia, is concerned with police violence, reproductive rights and climate change. “I want to see some sort of regulation on the big companies that are contributing to like 70% of the world’s pollution,” she said.