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We have made it through the “madness” of March and reached the halfway point of the semester. Between all of the midterms and college basketball brackets, UNLV still found (Daylight Saving) time to share insight into some of the biggest headlining news around the country.

Why did a rare "yellow-billed loon" make the Bellagio fountains its temporary home? Do people really take home big money from betting on the Oscars? And just how much value can you get out of a budget Las Vegas vacation nowadays? The answers all await in this month’s Newsmakers.

State of the University

President Keith E. Whitfield joined an audience of faculty and staff to celebrate the academic accomplishments of the past year and set the path for years to come. The annual address touched on topics including security enhancements since the Dec. 6 shooting tragedy, a research grant from the National Science Foundation to make life in the Valley sustainable, and plans for future campus expansion.

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Health and Climate

• Medical geologist Brenda Buck joined for a conversation about asbestos exposure and its effects on the body.
• Environmental and occupational health professor Louisa Messenger was a featured guest on the podcast.
• Biology professor Donald Price explained to  and the  how a rare bird ended up shutting down the Bellagio fountains.
• talked about the best bathroom scales with nutritionist Samantha Coogan.
• pinged architecture professor Steffen Lehmann for comment on the future of radically natural, green building designs popping up around the globe.
• Psychology professor Stephen Benning gave  his thoughts on the value of personality tests.
• Hospitality professor Kweisi Ausar proposed solutions for addressing the mental health of service workers in Las Vegas to  listeners.
• Infectious disease expert Brian Labus shared recommendations for reducing the risks of disease during nasal rinsing with .
• Clinical psychologist Nicole Short detailed why your racing thoughts might be keeping you awake at night with .
• Historian Michael Green helped  examine the similarities between Las Vegas and Canada's Saskatchewan — two cities that don’t have a natural water supply.

Politics

• The called upon political scientist Rebecca Gill to describe how Nevada politicians are handling the topic of abortion heading into election season. The story was picked up by outlets such as and .
• Economist Stephen Miller discussed the current state of the economy and how it ties into the upcoming presidential election with the .
• The talked about the importance of pushing the topic of Hispanic voters for this presidential cycle with political science expert John Tuman.
• Media studies expert Benjamin Burroughs discussed potential upcoming privacy concerns for minors using Meta’s (Facebook) messenger app with .

Experts Roundup

• The asked hospitality professor Mehmet Erdem for his thoughts on automation in the hotel service industry.
• Brett Abarbanel, executive director of the International Gaming Institute, helped the with a story about betting on the Oscars and other awards shows. She also spoke to about the history and future of sports betting.
• went over the lack of accessibility for disabled drivers at electric vehicle charging stations with architecture expert Dak Kopec.
• Marketing professor Marla Royne Stafford weighed in on booking Las Vegas vacations on a tight budget for the .
• The discussed officer-involved shootings with law professor Frank Rudy Cooper.
• The featured gaming historian David G. Schwartz in a story about slot machines inside Harry Reid International Airport.
• asked law professor Nancy B. Rapoport how to avoid being overbilled by your lawyer. She also discussed how to be smart about contracts with .
• Public health and life sciences professors Chad Cross and Allen Gibbs discussed which states will be hit hardest by cicadas in the upcoming warm season with .
• asked aviation historian Dan Bubb where airplanes go when they can’t fly anymore. He again joined to talk about the best aviation museums in the country. Bubb also explained the history behind the airline industry's custom of boarding and deplaning passengers from the left side to the . And his comments on Boeing’s leadership shakeup were featured in .
• The interviewed sports management and marketing professor Nancy Lough and gaming historian David Schwartz about March Madness in Las Vegas.
• David Vinturella, a sports betting expert with the UNLV College of Education's Intercollegiate and Professional Sport Management program, chatted with about March Madness;  about sportsbooks voiding bets and not paying out winnings; about betting industry growth; and about questions surrounding high-priced wire transfers by MLB's Shohei Ohtani.
• The asked economist Nicholas Irwin for his thoughts on the changing commission structure for home sales in the Valley.
• Historian Michael Green chatted with multiple outlets, including , about the closure of the famed Tropicana Hotel.
•   and () highlighted a new UNLV Lied Library Special Collections and Archives initiative to help preserve records from the Tropicana.
• Music professor Stephen Blanco and director Isrea Butler detailed the launch of UNLV's new mariachi classes with the and .
• Mechanical engineering professor Brendan O'Toole explained to and how UNLV student mentors are assisting high school robotics teams prepare to compete in the Las Vegas Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.