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Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:

National Coverage

Does the Senate really need to confirm 1,200 executive branch jobs?
The Washington Post

…And, since the New Deal-era, as the federal government has grown in size and scope, Congress has created more and more jobs that require Senate approval. There’s good reason for that. “The motivation for that is that Congress wants to keep a hand in trying to influence who occupies those positions,” explains Michael Gerhardt, a professor of constitutional law at University of North Carolina. “If they turn over complete authority to president and let him appoint whoever he wants, that makes the president stronger.”
Related Link:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/the-senate-deal-doesn-t-help-
obama-on-judges-and-that-s-what-matters-most-20130717

Air pollution killing over two million annually, study says
CNN

…Jason West, co-author of the study published in the journal of Environmental Research Letters said: "Outdoor air pollution is an important problem and among the most important environmental risk factors for health." …"Very few studies have attempted to estimate the effects of past climate change on air quality and health. We found that the effects of past climate change are likely to be a very small component of the overall effect of air pollution," said West, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

No-Bid MOOCs
Inside Higher Ed

The providers of massive open online courses have rapidly expanded in the past year, aided in part by a series of potentially lucrative no-bid deals with public colleges and universities, including for services that may extend beyond the MOOC model. …Pennsylvania State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia have all signed agreements with Coursera but have no immediate plans to make money from the deal, according to university officials from each institution.

Real or fake sugar: Does it matter?
CNN

Full disclosure: A lot of journalists at CNN drink diet soda. So when we saw a new study suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages are just as bad for you as sugar-sweetened drinks, we, and our readers, bubbled over with questions. …"It's a taste issue," says Barry Popkin, professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Public Health. "They each have separate taste effects and different people react differently to each of them."

Colleges try to verify online attendance
USA Today

…Using a webcam mounted on the test-taker's workstation, monitors watch for suspicious behavior such as drifting eye movements, which could signal that a cheat sheet is outside the camera's view, or whispering from another person. The average cost to students is $18 for a one-hour test and $25 for a two-hour test, says Maggie O'Hara, director of E-Learning at the University of North Carolina system's flagship campus in Chapel Hill.

Beer Brewers Blast Wall Street Banks Over Aluminum Business Amid Congressional Scrutiny
The Huffington Post

…Rent-fueled profits, which could wane once the LME finalizes proposals meant to end the long waits, can be compounded by banks' bets on derivatives tied to commodities such as aluminum, according to experts including Saule Omarova, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State and Local Coverage

Duke, UNC crack top 100 universities in the world list
The Triangle Business Journal

Duke University ranks 25th and UNC-Chapel Hill ranks 34th in the 2013 World University Rankings released by the Center for World University Rankings. The group touts this ranking as based on purely verifiable and objective data, like Nobel Prizes won, or research papers written. Other rankings, like the popular U.S. News & World Report, rely at least partially on subjective data from surveys. UNC-CH ranks as the 10th best public university. In 2012, Duke ranked 27th and UNC-CH ranked 36th.

Summer conservatory students take on the demon barber
The Chapel Hill News

The summer is usually a sleepy time in the world of theater. For the past month, however, UNC’s Center for Dramatic Art has been awash in activity. A group of talented young students has been feverishly assembling a production of “Sweeney Todd” as part of PlayMakers Repertory Company’s Summer Youth Conservatory.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/6063/66/

Duke, UNC Hospitals, and Duke Regional ranked among top five N.C. hospitals
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

Three of North Carolina’s top five hospitals are in the Triangle, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2013-14 “Best Hospitals” rankings. …UNC Hospitals was ranked nationally as 43rd in cancer, 22nd in ear, nose and throat care and 44th in gynecology.
Related Link:
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2013/07/duke-hospital-grabs-top-spot-in-nc.html

Federal prosecution not a good bet, law prof says (Blog)
The News & Record (Greensboro)

UNC's Jeff Welty on possible federal prosecution in the Trayvon Martin case: "I suspect we’ve reached the end of the road as far as criminal charges against Zimmerman." "First, I’m not aware of a charge that fits the facts," Welty says, discussing "deprivation of civil rights" and "hate crime," and explaining why neither is likely.

CenterPoint leaders willing to let commissioner remain on board
The Winston-Salem Journal

…Mark Botts, an expert on mental-health records and confidentiality at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government, said the general statutes covering managed-care organizations don't require boards to act if a board member fails to fulfill the attendance requirements. “'It’s a local political question more than anything,” Botts said. “Still, the integrity of the by-laws should be upheld if they require a certain level of attendance that's not being met.”

For summer soup, try gazpacho (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

I’d like to nominate gazpacho for all-around best light, nutritious summertime meal. And if you have a backyard garden, you probably have most, if not all, of the fresh ingredients you need to make it. Gazpacho is a tomato-based vegetable soup that originated in southern Spain and Portugal. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Issues and Trends

'Affordable college' a phrase being consigned to the past (Editorial)
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)

…“Carolina is still a great bargain for the quality of the education students receive,” says UNC Chapel Hill. That is especially true at UNC Asheville, which is cited repeatedly as one of the best bargains in liberal-arts education. Both UNC Asheville and UNC Chapel Hill are listed as “best buys” in the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges.

Fats Thomas’ attorney worries client’s link to UNC player could impact felony case
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Haydn “Fats” Thomas, a felon with ties to North Carolina basketball player P.J. Hairston, has drawn significant public attention since that connection became public. Now Thomas has the attention of the U.S. Attorney.

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