WFU in the news: Aug. 19-25, 2024

FEATURED NEWS

In election race, prediction markets are challenging traditional polling
By Seamus Webster | Fortune
Before scientific polling was well established in the late 1930s and early 1940s, economics professor Koleman Strumpf told Fortune that betting markets were where newspapers got their election predictions. “Newspapers would report on this on the front page, pretty much for at least the last month before the election, but usually much longer than that,” Strumpf said. “Almost every major city in the U.S. had their own market, but the biggest one was in New York, and it literally existed right outside Wall Street.” – 8/22/2024

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Feds to revisit key environmental permit for wells to supply Hyundai’s GA site
Savannah Morning News
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can’t dictate where a project will get its water and how much it can use, but the Corps is expected to weigh those factors, explained Stan Meiburg. “Given that such impacts should be considered, they should be considered using as good of information as you can,” said Meiburg, executive director of the Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability. – 8/24/2024

‘Demand like never before.’ Why millions are flowing to NC charter schools from investors
By Luke Fountain, Gavin Off | Yahoo Finance
Millions of dollars are flowing from private equity firms into charter schools across North Carolina to help buy new classroom materials, renovate and expand. “One of the benefits of issuing a tax-exempt bond is to reduce the cost of borrowing money,” said finance professor Ajay Patel, an expert in corporate and financial management. “If you’re borrowing the money to invest in facilities, then it reduces the cost of creating new infrastructure for the institution. Bonds are more affordable to pay back.” – 8/19/2024

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine joins new NSF-funded pandemic prediction initiative
Health Reporter
The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is proud to be part of a new initiative, supported by an $18 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, aimed at enhancing global pandemic prediction and prevention capabilities. This grant brings together five leading universities and more than 20 researchers, academics, and public health experts to establish the Community Empowering Pandemic Prediction and Prevention from Atoms to Societies. – 8/24/2024

12 helpful things to say to a depressed friend, from mental health experts
By Georgina Berbari | MindBodyGreen
“Depression is a common mood disorder that can present in varying forms,” said counseling professor Allison Forti. “It can lead someone to lose sight of how much people care about them. A reminder that ‘I care about you, and you matter to me’ may be helpful. – 8/19/2024

Coming to a cash-strapped company near you: creditor-on-creditor violence
Mint
“These acts of financial war have been presented as attempts to rejuvenate a distressed company but appear to have done little more than afford private-equity sponsors additional fees and an improved position,” law professor Samir Parikh said in a recent paper. – 8/19/2024

REGIONAL & TRADE

Trump rallies in Asheboro as presidential race becomes more competitive in NC
By Kevin Griffin | Greensboro News & Record
Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance are set to take the stage at the North Carolina Aviation Museum this afternoon. The pair will be addressing supporters outside the museum, museum board Chairman Wayne Broome said Tuesday. Politics professor John Dinan offers commentary. – 8/21/2024

LOCAL

Students can use their student IDs to vote in November
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
There are now more than 130 student and employee IDs approved for voting purposes in North Carolina, including Wake Forest University’s student Deacon OneCard and student voter ID card. – 8/21/2024

Local political science expert weighs in on Trump rally in Asheboro
By Kenny Beck, Carolyn Conte | WXII-TV (Winston Salem, NC)
The Republican ticket sees North Carolina as pivotal for the election, according to local political analysts. The state as a whole is already important: The UVA Center recently moved the state from Republican to a toss-up, this week. It now joins a list of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada: states that will “almost certainly” decide who wins the race. Watch this interview with politics professor John Dinan to learn more. – 8/21/2024