Posted by James Zhang The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi challenges the Trump administration’s foreign policy toward U.S. Middle Eastern ally Saudi Arabia. Since the killing itself is very much contradictory to the value that the U.S. has been holding and living up to: freedom of the press. The murder case also raises the…

Post written by Cassandra Huang The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts thousands of tourists every season. Compared with others who need to drive for many hours or even take a flight to visit the Great Smoky Mountains, how lucky we are that the breathtaking fall colors are…

Post written by Cassandra Huang Although the Vols lost to Alabama on Saturday, we are still very proud of our players! Social Studio shows us what people were saying about the game. As you can see in the sentiment trend on gameday and the day after, there were two peaks of the social volume on…

Posted by Brandon Boatwright Early polls in the Senate race in Tennessee show just how close both candidates are leading up to Election Day. As Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Phil Bredesen vie for a highly contested and equally significant congressional seat, the New York Times recently reported on how social media factors in to…

Post written by Brandon Boatwright In case you missed it, Knoxville’s own Yassin’s Falafel House was named the Nicest Place in America by Reader’s Digest and appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America today. What an honor to have Yassin Terou, owner of Yassin’s Falafel House, at the studio! His restaurant in Knoxville, TN is @readersdigest…

Last week we examined the SCOTUS confirmation hearings through a lens of the #MeToo movement with the accusations of sexual assault levied against nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Over the weekend, Senate Judicial Committee members came to terms with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to testify regarding the allegations. For nearly 10 hours, members of the committee questioned…

Post written by Cassandra Huang We heard many natural disasters recently all over the world. In the middle of this month, Hurricane Florence, a long-lived powerful storm, caused huge damage in the Carolinas. Last week, Typhoon Mangkhut, the strongest storm in the past two decades in southeast Asia, claimed more than thirty lives in China…

Post written by Brandy Mmbaga.  If there is one thing we could all use a little more of, IT’S PEACE! (you can say that again!) Well, lucky for us, it’s #INTERNATIONALDAYOFPEACE. Established in 1981, the United Nations created a day to observe National Peace, or, Peace Day, in efforts to promote humanity. Every year, International…

Post written by Brandon Boatwright In light of recent accusations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the use of #MeToo on Twitter has risen more than 425-percent over a seven day span. Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, alleges that he sexually assaulted her during a party in 1982. As the Senate Judiciary Committee weighs its…

Posted by James Zhang.  According to news reports, in response to the President Trump’s announcement of new import taxes on $200 billion in Chinese goods, the Chinese government will plan to retaliate by imposing new tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. exports. What does the American public say about this escalated trade war between the…