UW In The News

Scientists Fight a New Source of Vaccine Misinformation: Aaron Rodgers

“Aaron Rodgers is a smart guy,” said David O’Connor, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Packers fan. But, he added, “He’s still vulnerable to the blind side blitz of misinformation.”

U.S. renewable energy use nearly quadrupled in past decade, report finds

“It’s really been a surprise even for people working on it,” said Greg Nemet, an environmental policy researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kyle Rittenhouse Defenders Are Saying This Is the Moment the Prosecution Collapsed

Speaking to Spectrum News, John Gross, a clinical associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and director of the Public Defender Project, described the testimony from Grosskreutz as “remarkable.”

Wages are up, especially in low-paying sectors

And prices have increased, said University of Wisconsin economist and Manhattan Institute adjunct fellow Noah Williams. “Inflation is up somewhere between 4.5% to 5%, probably, year-over-year,” Williams said. “So, yeah, that 5.5% average wage gain is really only maybe .5% to 1%.”

Accounting Experts Ask Congress to Change Proposal on Minimum Corporate Tax

Among those listed as signing the latest letter: Thomas Linsmeier, a University of Wisconsin accounting professor who served from 2006 to 2016 on the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the nonprofit organization that sets U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and retired Cornell University professor Thomas Dyckman, who held positions with groups affiliated with FASB in the 1980s and early 1990s.

WaPost, WSJ take different approaches to Trump claims

“When something is factually incorrect, you need to take greater care with what you are going to do with it,” said Kathleen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I applaud the Post for being transparent in what they decided to do … I don’t know that we necessarily do enough of that in journalism, explaining to readers and viewers and listeners, explaining why we made the choices that we made.”

Failed by the healthcare system, transgender people find help elsewhere

Dr. Ellen Selkie, an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of Wisconsin, noticed that many of her patients came to terms with their gender identity through social media.

The battle over Biden’s child tax credit and its impact on poverty and workers

“Almost all of our thoughts were about families who had very low or zero earnings who would not work or reduce work effort,” said Timothy Smeeding of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “We did not have any credible estimate of the substitution effect for families earning $25,000 to 40,000, and so we ignored it.”

Let Us See It – Why companies with long histories should open up their archives

Op-ed by Gregg Mitman: Firms build worlds. On this, historians and businesspeople agree. Corporations have always been among the greatest forces shaping American life. And the many corporations that hold private archives documenting their past activities have unique powers to disclose—or hide—their contributions to racial injustice in America. That’s why, if they truly want to advance the cause of social justice, companies should throw open their archives for researchers to use.

Northern hemisphere lakes, Great Lakes warming fast

“The earliest observers that wrote these down were not scientists. Ice was important for the way of life and living and killing whales and fishing in the wintertime,” said John J. Magnuson, a limnologist the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “The longer records all began before there was a science, and the science is capitalizing on what’s occurred.”

Ancient child’s bones deepen mystery of enigmatic human relative

“No one involved in this had any expectations that we were going to find naledi bones in these situations,” says John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We’re pushing into places that are meters and meters down impossible passages.”

Vax skeptics score big in Green Bay

“I think that’s a fair question to ask, not only of Aaron Rodgers: Why did you potentially put these folks at risk?” said Jeff Pothof, University of Wisconsin Health’s chief quality officer and an emergency medicine physician. “Also, the Packers organization. If you knew Aaron Rodgers was a more high-risk individual being unvaccinated, why did you tolerate that? And lastly, the NFL in general. It sounds like the NFL in general knows who’s vaccinated, who’s not vaccinated. I’m sure they saw Aaron Rodgers speaking at press conferences too.”

How the $3 campaign contribution check box on your tax form works

Kenneth R. Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said the program aimed to “allow candidates to be less reliant on private contributions from individuals, political action committees and parties.”

First Homo naledi child fossil found in the Cradle of Humankind

“This makes this the richest site for fossil hominins on the continent of Africa and makes naledi one of the best-known ancient hominin species ever discovered,” said John Hawks, Vilas-Borghesi Distinguished Achievement Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lead author of a previous study on the Neo fossil skeleton, in a statement.

America’s native grasslands are disappearing

“Grasslands are mostly used for grazing of livestock and when that balance gets out of line, and crop agriculture becomes more profitable, that’s when we see the resurgence of the tillup,” says Tyler Lark, an researcher at the University of Wisconsin who has studied grasslands for the past decade.

Kyle Rittenhouse trial: When can you shoot as self-defence?

But convincing the 20-person jury to convict Mr Rittenhouse will be an uphill climb, says John Gross, a criminal defence expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Once the evidence suggests that the defendant may have acted in self-defence, the burden shifts to the prosecution, and the prosecution has to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted in self-defence,” he explains.

Widespread Coronavirus Infection Found in Iowa Deer, New Study Says

“If deer can transmit the virus to humans, it’s a game changer,” said Tony Goldberg, a veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies the evolution of infectious diseases as they jump between animals and people. “To have a wildlife species become a reservoir after transmission from humans is very rare and unlucky, as if we needed more bad luck.”

How parents can help themselves, and their children, feel okay again

Parents can talk about their child’s personal growth and say, “ ‘I’ve been thinking how great it was that you found ways to stay connected to your friends,’ ” says Seth Pollak, a professor in the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “A child may not have the meta-awareness to reflect in that way, but you can help them develop a self-concept of, ‘I’m a person who handles things.’ ”

Wisconsin leads nation in imprisonment rates of Black people

Further, prosecution rates are higher and plea deals are lower for Black residents, said Ion Meyn, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The new faces of Covid deaths

“This has become a disease of the unimmunized,” said Dr. James Conway, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and associate director for health sciences at the school’s Global Health Institute.

Kyle Rittenhouse’s Homicide Trial Will Be a Debate Over Self-Defense

“It’s a battle of the narratives,” said Steven Wright, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin. “People will either see this as a young man who came across state lines with a weapon intending to do trouble, or people will come with the belief that he came here with a medical kit and attempted to defend the law and defend people.”

Most Americans Likely Qualify for COVID-19 Booster Per CDC Guidelines

“The guidelines are unnecessarily complex, but there is a fair degree of latitude,” David O’Connor, a pathology professor at the University of Wisconsin, told Insider.

Charleston Saver Coupon Book Spread Conspiracies and Sparked Furious Backlash

But Anuj Desai, an expert on the intersection of free-speech law and the usage of the U.S. postal system at the University of Wisconsin Law School, explains that the mail is considered a conduit for the free flow of ideas. In other words, the First Amendment protects people’s ability to mail out even baseless conspiracies and falsehoods freely.

Kyle Rittenhouse homicide trial in Kenosha begins this week

The case “represents that clash of our polarized politics,” said Keith A. Findley, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin.

Kyle Rittenhouse: Teen’s homicide trial for Kenosha shootings opens with jury selection

“It’s a pretty substantial burden for the prosecution to do that and I think that’s going to be where the real challenge for them lies,” said John Gross, a clinical associate professor and the director of the Public Defender Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.

Those chosen to sit on the jury will be tasked with assessing the reasonableness of Rittenhouse’s actions that night.”We want the jury to be a check on the power of the state and to enforce community norms,” said Cecelia Klingele, an associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “So when the law requires that force is used reasonably, we want our community to decide what is or isn’t reasonable.”

COVID Booster Shots: Experts Share Advice They Give Friends and Family

David O’Connor, a pathology professor at the University of Wisconsin, said there’s little downside to adults of all ages getting a booster.

Kyle Rittenhouse Shooting Trial to Focus on Reasonableness, Self-Defense

Ultimately, the case will be decided by the jury based on their assessment of the reasonableness of Mr. Rittenhouse’s actions, said Cecelia Klingele, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.

Rittenhouse judge in spotlight after disallowing word ‘victims’ in courtroom

Keith Findley, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin and a former public defender, said that while the order is more of a “defense-friendly position,” it’s not entirely unjustified, because it would “allow the prosecution to continually use language that suggests a conclusion as if it’s a given fact to jurors.”

Why people shot by Kyle Rittenhouse can be called “rioters” and “looters” but not “victims” at trial

Findley explained the judge is differentiating the facts of the case from the questions the jury must answer. Since Rittenhouse is claiming he acted in self-defense, the question is not who shot three people, killing two of them, but rather if Rittenhouse was justified in defending himself out of fear of bodily harm. If his lawyers can show he had reason to believe the men were each engaged in activities such as looting, rioting and arson at the time, that could sway the jury to accept Rittenhouse’s defense.

What kind of costs can unvaccinated workers ring up for a business?

“You know, there are a lot of downstream decisions that need to be made,” said Margie Rosenberg, professor of risk and insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She said this is where calculating costs starts to involve some prediction, planning and math.