News - The Independent Florida Alligator

Rhoel Dinglasan, UF associate professor of infectious diseases and leader of the project which developed the Saliva-based Malaria Asymptomatic Asexual Rapid Test device, sits next to one of his agilent mass spectrometers which was used to gather data. Courtesy to The Alligator.

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UF professor develops tool to test for malaria using saliva

By Samuel Schaffer | Jan. 6, 2019

The tool may be on the market in 2020.

Kevin Kimbrough. Courtesy to The Alligator.

NEWS | FEATURES

UF student, Dance Marathon leader remembered after his death

By Angela DiMichele | Dec. 29, 2018

He was 24 years old.

Daniel Weldon, a 20-year-old UF political science sophomore and the president of Young Americans for Freedom, stands in front of a commemorative wall for the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on the Plaza of the Americas on Wednesday afternoon. Weldon said the event celebrated the triumph of freedom from socialism.

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Young Americans for Freedom chapter sues UF over claims of free speech violations

By Taylor Roth | Dec. 29, 2018

The lawsuit claims the university is discriminating against conservative students

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The Avenue is looking for writers for Spring 2019. Here's how to apply.

Dec. 24, 2018

Interested in culture and entertainment? The Avenue is looking for a team of ambitious staff writers to cover music, art, fashion, food and drink, theatre, TV, film, nightlife and lifestyle.

Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to a fire on the Curia on the Drag property at 2029 NW Sixth St. around noon. The official cause of the fire is unknown. Courtesy to The Alligator.

NEWS

The Curia on the Drag property caught on fire. Here’s how much the damage might be.

By Katherine Wallace-Fernandez | Dec. 22, 2018

A fire Saturday afternoon caused about $20,000 in damages at the Curia on the Drag property.

[FILE PHOTO] The Spot, 16 NW 18th Ave., is one of several Midtown businesses neighboring a construction zone. Renovations are expected to last through October.

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Gainesville lands a spot as one of the best college cities in the country

By Lakshmi Gomez | Dec. 22, 2018

Gainesville is one of the best cities for college students when it comes to cost of living, academia and economic growth.

A map of population changes in Alachua County. Courtesy to The Alligator.

NEWS

Florida ranked second in numeric state population growth

By Kelly Hayes | Dec. 22, 2018

The population grew to over 21 million in 2018.

Russ Dye, 54, sits near his tent outside Grace Marketplace on Monday in four layers of clothes to shelter him from the cold. Dye said about 25 people at the shelter still need blankets and coats to bear the drop in temperatures.

NEWS

‘It literally goes right back out the door’: Homeless shelter experiences jacket shortage

By Samuel Schaffer | Dec. 22, 2018

December in Gainesville poses a struggle to civilians who aren’t able to find shelter from the cold.

NEWS

About one-third of graduates show up to university-wide commencement

By Devoun Cetoute | Dec. 17, 2018

The new graduation procedure will also take place in the Spring.

Members of UF’s Machine Intelligence Laboratory work on the NaviGator-Autonomous Maritime System, which is an 18-foot long boat with a robot mounted on top that can drive the machine by itself. The team took fourth in the 2018 Maritime RobotX Challenge in Hawaii. Courtesy to The Alligator.

NEWS

UF robotics team gets fourth in world competition in Hawaii

By Hannah Beatty | Dec. 16, 2018

Teams from South Korea, Japan and Australia competed

A rendering of the UF Health The Oaks, which is scheduled to open in January 2020 in the former Sears in the Oaks Mall. The UF Board of Trustees approved $73 million for the project. Courtesy to The Alligator.

NEWS

UF Health is moving into the Oaks Mall

By Christina Morales | Dec. 13, 2018

The UF Board of Trustees approved $73 million for the project

This Tuesday, April 10, 2018 file photo shows vaping devices, including a Juul, center, that were confiscated from students at a high school in Marshfield, Mass. On Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, San Francisco-based Juul Labs Inc. announced it had stopped filling orders for its mango, fruit, creme and cucumber pods but not menthol and mint. It will sell all flavors through its website and limit sales to those 21 and older. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

NEWS | NATIONAL

FDA to crack down on Juuls, flavored vapes

By Mike Stobbe | Nov. 15, 2018

In a major new effort to curb smoking, a top U.S. health official pledged Thursday to try to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars and tighten rules governing the sale of most flavored versions of electronic cigarettes.

Hurricane Florence is brewing in the Atlantic Ocean, followed by tropical storms Isaac and Helene.

NEWS | NATIONAL

Florence becomes a hurricane, threatens U.S. Southeast coast

By Jessica Giles | Sep. 9, 2018

After Tropical Storm Florence strengthened to a hurricane Sunday morning, the National Weather Service is urging Floridians not to let their guard down yet.

Mac Miller died Friday in his Los Angeles home. He was 26.

NEWS | NATIONAL

Students react to Mac Miller's death at 26

By Meryl Kornfield | Sep. 7, 2018

Hannah Fox’s music taste changed after seeing Mac Miller perform when she was in ninth grade.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a 2008 rally in Tampa, Fla. Aide says senator, war hero and GOP presidential candidate McCain died Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. He was 81.

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War hero and former presidential candidate John McCain has died

By NANCY BENAC | Aug. 25, 2018

Sen. John McCain, who faced down his captors in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp and later had a 35-year political career, including Congress and the Republican presidential nomination, died Saturday after battling brain cancer for more than a year. He was 81.

NEWS

Subtropical Storm Ernesto making waves in the Atlantic

By Dana Cassidy | Aug. 15, 2018

Ernesto, the fifth named storm of the season, is 1,000 miles from from the east coast of Florida.

NEWS | FEATURES

Q&A: Gainesville Police Officer Dontonya Smith has a history with the Police Explorers in town

By Jessica Curbelo | July 23, 2018

When she was about 13, Gainesville Police Officer Dontonya Smith joined the Police Explorers as a part of Post 917, the local section in Gainesville. About 32 years later, the Florida Association of Police Explorers named her the 2018 “Explorer Advisor of the Year.”

Emily Griffith (left) performing on stage next to host Alyson Hannigan.

NEWS | NATIONAL

Q & A: UF graduate attempts to succeed on 'Penn & Teller: Fool Us'

By Dana Cassidy | July 18, 2018

Recent UF graduate Emily Griffith had no clue her psychology final would turn into a featured magic act on the television series “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.”

NEWS | FEATURES

Potholes plague Gainesville

By Ashley Mirtyl | July 2, 2018

With June 21 marking the beginning of summer, residents are running into a lot more than traffic as Gainesville’s streets crumble in the heat.

Mount Kīlauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park erupted early Thursday morning.

NEWS | NATIONAL

UF students change trip plans as volcano erupts

By Jacob Kovach | May 20, 2018

Two UF students’ plans to go camping in Hawaii as part of the Partners in the Parks program from Monday to Sunday are at risk as the volcano Kīlauea continues to erupt.