Scientists follow clues in Alaska to illnesses moving from animals to humans
By Samantha Yadron Medill Reports Medill News Service journalist Samantha Yadron is an embedded journalist with scientists from the University of Anchorage, Alaska, reporting on the dangers of micro-plastics to wildlife consuming it. In this blog, she follows scientists with the One Health initiative on a multinational research tour gathering clues about the transfer of […]
A glimpse into the atmosphere – Balloons still at the forefront of forecasting
By Morgan Levey Medill Reports Norman, Oklahoma. Just around the corner from the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma, a small cylinder-block building with antennas and a sphere on the roof marks the site of crucial weather data collection. Reinforced to withstand a gas explosion, it’s the base for Norman’s daily weather balloon launch. Yes, […]
Motorola Solutions CEO brings in $15 million pay package
By Sarah Foster Medill Reports The head of Motorola Solutions Inc. is reaping the financial benefits of leading a well-performing company, analysts and compensation experts said. The company’s directors raised CEO Gregory Brown’s salary by 27 percent in 2017, a year when Motorola Solutions grew profits and adjusted income, completed multiple acquisitions and launched 85 […]
Berkshire Hathaway’s Governance Unique Among Public Companies
By Brian Baker Medill Reports Todd Combs, an investment officer at Berkshire Hathaway Inc., received $376,750 in total compensation last year for serving on the board of directors at JPMorgan Chase & Co. That’s nearly 140 times what Bill Gates earned as a director on the board of Berkshire. “No Berkshire director is in it […]
Space-like chambers deliver the wetlands of a warmer world
By Mollie McNeel Medill Reports Wetlands are typically filled with the sounds of crickets chirping, bees buzzing and frogs croaking. But at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Maryland, those are all accompanied by the whirring of motor-powered pumps. The pumps drive air from hexagonal carbon dioxide chambers to a greenhouse gas analyzer, helping […]
Is Your Plant Dead or Just Dormant?
Mollie McNeel Medill Reports If a gardener tells you that their plants had died and now have come back to life years later, you might think they’ve gone crazy. But actually, they may be on to something. Some fully-grown plants can “hibernate” in the soil for up to 20 years, researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental […]
Reopening ‘War Against All Puerto Ricans’ in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria
By Gwen Aviles Medill Reports Authored by high-profile former New York State Representative Nelson A. Denis, “War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America’s Colony” is one of the most well-known books about Puerto Rico’s colonial status. And ever since Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico—leaving thousands of people without basic necessities like […]
Is entrepreneurship the next Cuban revolution?
The story of a small one-year-old magazine encapsulates the still-tough media and business atmosphere in Cuba By Vangmayi Parakala Medill Reports HAVANA – Halfway through our nine days in Cuba, when a colleague and I find a bilingual magazine on Cuban entrepreneurship, we are intrigued at its very existence. Itself a fledgling media start-up, Negolution’s […]
Ricordo McKenzie, Chicago State’s art-loving sprinter, keeps setting school records
By Patrick Engel Medill Reports Ricordo McKenzie can outrun opponents on the track and out-design them in Adobe. His six Chicago State records support the former. A skim of his LinkedIn page not only substantiates the latter, but hints graphic design is a passion. Track and field is listed as an activity a third of […]
Former Athlete Helping Others Find Their Identity
By Nick Mantas Medill Reports High school athletes who don’t play sports in college all go through a transitional period of what life is like without a practice schedule. Chloe Barnes went through that same transition and her experience, like that of thousands other athletes, wasn’t a smooth one. So she created Elle Grace Consulting […]