{"claim_id": "34656", "claim": "\u00a0A baby died at an unnamed medical facility because its parents refused to allow a black nurse to care for the child.", "explanation": "Fellow Twitter users suggested @FierceFemtivist indicated she was from Louisville, Kentucky, prior to deleting her account. We were unable to locate any news reports of unusual infant deaths on 8 November 2015 in that area, nor were we able to confirm that the purported incident took place in Louisville (or at all):", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics, fiercefemtivist, racism", "main_text": "On 8 November 2015, former Twitter user @FierceFemtivist published an alarming series of tweets about purportedly racist parents who allowed their child to die rather than be treated by \u201cn***** nurses.\u201d The tweets in question, besides appearing on Twitter (cached partially here), were circulated via Facebook and Tumblr and are embedded in full below. According to @FierceFemtivist, she \u201cjust had an infant die\u201d that she personally \u201ccould\u2019ve saved\u201d because the child\u2019s epithet-slinging, Confederate flag-bedecked father purportedly physically blocked the nurse from entering the baby\u2019s room despite the fact that the infant\u00a0was \u201ccrashing fast.\u201d @FierceFemtivist claimed to be the most qualified caregiver in the facility but did not provide a date, facility name, medical condition, nor even a gender for the baby who purportedly died solely because\u00a0it had racist parents. The child appeared merely as a footnote to\u00a0the narrative\u00a0of neatly-packaged racism, replete with a Confederate-flag wearing, stock redneck character. Even after the baby\u2019s preventable death, @FierceFemtivist described its parents as unmoved by grief and simply concerned with whether a black staff member might handle the infant\u2019s corpse. No response on the part of the hospital or other medical staffers during the critical event was described in the story; as presented, the narrative reads like the facility passively\u00a0allowed a baby to die during an unspecified cardiac event for the sole reason that the parents objected to a nurse\u2019s race (despite the fact that hospitals and Child Protective Services maintain broad protocols for such emergency interventions). The form of sure life-saving care which could only have been be rendered by that one nurse (and apparently no other on-duty caregivers) wasn\u2019t specified\u00a0in the account. Readers were left with a number of questions when @FierceFemtivist deleted her account (and along with it, the controversial tweets). Did the incident occur on 8 November 2015, the date the tweets were posted, or earlier? Where was the facility located? Why did no other nurses or doctors intervene and attempt to administer life-saving care, even if they weren\u2019t as capable of doing so? Were police summoned to investigate the baby\u2019s death? What was the condition\u00a0and ultimate\u00a0cause of death? Was the baby male or female? Were any adults (parents or medical staff) considered potentially liable for the purported death?"}
{"claim_id": "3632", "claim": "Bat from Shawnee County tests positive for rabies.", "explanation": "A bat found in northeastern Kansas has tested positive for rabies.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Rabies, Health, General News, Kansas, Bats, Topeka", "main_text": "Topeka television station KSNT reports that the bat was found in Shawnee County. The Shawnee County Health Department is urging residents to be aware of the signs and symptoms of rabies and the steps to take if exposed. Rabies is a fatal but preventable viral disease that is typically transmitted by raccoons, bats, skunks and foxes. Health officials those who suspect they\u2019ve been exposed to the disease should seek immediate medical treatment. Once a person begins to exhibit signs of disease, survival is rare. Symptoms include general weakness or discomfort, fever or headache and progress to confusion, agitation and delirium. ___ Information from: KSNT-TV."}
{"claim_id": "29558", "claim": "Germany has banned pork from school canteens because it offends Muslim 'migrants.'", "explanation": "What's true: Some politicians complained that less pork was being served in Germany, diluting the country's culinary cultural heritage. What's false: Germany has banned pork in any way, shape, or form.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "On 7 March 2016, British tabloid\u00a0Express\u00a0reported that some German cafes and schools were phasing out pork products. The headline (\u201cGERMANY BANS SAUSAGES\u201d)\u00a0naturally made some readers infer that\u00a0the country had banned pork entirely. The article itself described a less alarming scenario, in which a single\u00a0politician said that pork was slowly disappearing from schools and cafeterias, and extrapolating that it was because\u00a0Muslims were possibly objecting to its presence: SCHOOLS and canteens in Germany have BANNED pork from their menus over fears of offending Muslim migrants, a top politician has revealed. An increasing number of public canteens, child daycare centres and schools have stopped serving sausages, bacon and ham over religious considerations. Now members of Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s CDU party are fighting to keep pork on the menu, insisting the consumption of pork is part of German culture. Daniel G\u00fcnther, party representative, claimed that pork products were being taken off the menu in schools, nurseries and canteens across the country. He said: \u201cThe protection of minorities \u2013 including for religious reasons \u2013 must not mean that the majority is overruled in their free decision by ill-conceived consideration. The paper\u00a0surmised such a \u201cmove\u201d would deepen resentment over immigration in Germany, without specifying precisely what, exactly, was moving: The move is likely to cause tensions among residents who support the introduction of restrictions on the inflow of refugees to the country. At around the same time, readers also asked about a Daily Mail piece\u00a0making a similar claim about pork, reporting that schools in a locality in England (not Germany) were replacing pork with \u201chalal meat\u201d: Parents have condemned a school\u2019s decision to ban all pork products from the menu and replace other meats with halal versions. Pupils aged between three and 11 at Brinsworth Manor Infant and Junior Schools in Rotherham \u2013 which Ofsted identifies as having only a small number of pupils from minority ethnic groups \u2013 will no longer be able to enjoy sausages, bacon or ham. Parents at both schools, which share a site, were told of the decision in a letter from Rotherham Council\u2019s principal catering officer Ron Parry, who wrote that there had been \u2018minor adjustments\u2019 to the lunch menu. While many thought this article came out around the same time as the Germany one, it was actually already\u00a0two years old (from 7 March 2014), and concerned one particular area in England, not Germany. That story also contained the following reportage, which appeared to partially\u00a0contradict its\u00a0initial claims: The school governors at both schools are understood to have agreed to the menu change to ensure the meals are more inclusive. A spokesman for Rotherham Borough Council confirmed that school meals at both Brinsworth Manor schools have changed and now include halal and non-halal meat on the menu. She added that the Schools Catering Service supplies about 17,000 school meals every day to children at infant, junior, primary and secondary schools in Rotherham. She said: \u2018The provision of both halal and non-halal is not unusual in Rotherham\u2019s school. Currently, nine schools out of 115, select one of our menus that provide a mix of both halal and non-halal meals. \u2018All meat on our menus, including halal, is sourced from reputable companies, which fully comply with the quality standards of the relevant individual meat boards.\u2019 At any rate, the \u201cpork ban\u201d didn\u2019t last even last until the end of March 2014; it was soon\u00a0reversed, mostly due to pressure by far-right and\u00a0nationalist\u00a0political groups. On 1 March 2016,\u00a0news outlet Deutsche Welle covered the matter of Germany\u2019s vanishing pork. According to that report, politician Daniel G\u00fcnther had complained about what he\u00a0perceived as a decreased number of pork-based items on cafeteria menus: CDU parliamentary group leader, Daniel G\u00fcnther, bemoaned on Tuesday that an increasing number of canteens, nurseries and schools are removing pork from their menu due to religious considerations. \u201cThe protection of minorities \u2013 including for religious reasons \u2013 must not mean that the majority is overruled in their free decision by ill-conceived consideration,\u201d G\u00fcnther said, arguing that tolerance also means \u201cthe appreciation and sufferance of other food cultures and lifestyles.\u201d G\u00fcnther told local German newspaper \u201cL\u00fcbecker Nachrichten\u201d that at least one nursery in every voting district had stopped serving pork after taking Muslim children into consideration. \u201cThe consumption of pork belongs to our culture,\u201d he argued, adding that those who didn\u2019t want to eat pork didn\u2019t have to. \u201cNo one should be obliged to do so,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we also don\u2019t want the majority having to refrain from pork.\u201d Deutsche Welle\u00a0also provided\u00a0more contextual\u00a0information. According to its article, many Germans mocked the initiative and felt it was completely without merit: The CDU\u2019s proposal was met with a wave of mockery on Tuesday, particularly on Twitter where the hashtag #schweinefleischpflicht \u2013 meaning \u201cpork duty\u201d \u2013 became Germany\u2019s top trending hashtag by late Tuesday afternoon. Accompanied with an image with the words \u201cWurst case scenario\u201d \u2013 wurst being the German word for sausage \u2013 Germany\u2019s Green party tweeted: \u201cNow we finally know what the CDU meant with dominant culture.\u201d The WWF in Berlin also criticized the CDU proposal. \u201cAt present there is little evidence that the pork cutlet and chop must be placed on the menus of German canteens as a protected species,\u201d the wildlife protection organization quipped. The exaggerated claims about pork bans in Germany weren\u2019t the first of their kind to appear in British media sources. An October 2015 press frenzy centered around purported\u00a0bans on pork in UK offices (nothing was banned), and in June 2015 the Daily Mail claimed Muslims demanded someone\u2019s grandfather be exhumed (again, false). In 2014 claims circulated that\u00a0KFC banned\u00a0hand wipes because they were prohibited by Islam (they weren\u2019t), and around the same time a questionable story made the rounds about a couple booted from a bus for offending Muslims by singing the theme song to Peppa Pig. While it was true one or (at most) a few German politicians \u201cbemoaned\u201d what they believed was a disappearing presence of pork in school cafeterias, misleading headlines indicated\u00a0that there was a \u201cban on pork\u201d. Finally, a number of Germans mocked the\u00a0assertions as ludicrous and baseless."}
{"claim_id": "8416", "claim": "Coronavirus prompts Canada to roll out safe drugs for street users.", "explanation": "Canada\u2019s Pacific province of British Columbia was already battling an opioid epidemic when the new coronavirus hit, compounding the threat to drug users, many of whom are homeless and particularly vulnerable during the pandemic.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "In March, the Canadian government urged provinces to lower barriers to prescription medications - allowing doctors to provide prescriptions for controlled substances by phone and  pharmacists to deliver them - to better help citizens to practice physical distancing and self-isolation. B.C. is the first province to apply those guidelines to support people who use street drugs. Healthcare providers are  ramping up the supply of prescription drug replacements for those who live with addictions to drugs like heroin, and even dispensing some of them via unique vending machines. \u201cWe\u2019ve taken these exemptions and we\u2019re running with them at break-neck speed,\u201d said Judy Darcy, provincial Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. The goal is to \u201cbring down the number of people who are dying of overdose,\u201d she said. The Downtown Eastside is where the majority of Vancouver\u2019s homeless population resides. In 2019, the city had 2,223 homeless residents, about a third of whom live with opioid or methamphetamine addictions. By providing a safe supply of legal drug alternatives, the province hopes to lower a sudden spike in drug overdose deaths that coincided with the coronavirus outbreak in Vancouver. Overdose deaths in the city had been declining over the  past year with implementation of safe consumption sites and availability of naloxone overdose reversal kits. But between March 23 and 29, police in Vancouver responded to eight suspected overdose deaths, the most in a single week since August 2019. The following week, they attended eight more. Cheyenne Johnson, co-interim executive director at the B.C. Centre on Substance Use, said the region\u2019s illicit drug supply was already tainted. The coronavirus closure of the border with the United States has exacerbated the problem by stymying illegal drug supply routes, prompting dealers to increasingly make or cut their wares with dangerous ingredients. \u201cAs the effects of the pandemic continue to unfold, the illicit drug supply is likely to become significantly more adulterated and toxic,\u201d Johnson said. Before the new guidelines came into place, some people were able to access prescription drug replacements through special programs. In most instances, they had to get the medication from a pharmacy every day. For people using the highly potent opioid fentanyl or heroin on the street, doctors can provide the prescription opioid hydromorphone along with methadone. Dexedrine or Ritalin are  available to people who would otherwise be using cocaine or crystal meth. Days after the new guidelines were rolled out, Rupinder Brar, a physician at Vancouver\u2019s Portland Hotel Society, said she has provided prescriptions for free drug replacements, which can be dispensed by the week. This gives her patients \u201ca fighting chance\u201d as supplies of illicit street drugs dwindle, along with sharply reduced opportunities to make income at a time of coronavirus shutdowns and social distancing measures. \u201cI don\u2019t want them to have to go to the pharmacy every day,\u201d Brar said. Another option are specialized vending machines called MySafe. Conceived in response to the opioid crisis, they dispense drug replacements with a prescription, bypassing the need for a face-to-face interaction with a pharmacist. At the corner of Vancouver\u2019s Main and Hastings streets, a typically busy intersection in a neighborhood where hawking pills is common, some sections of the sidewalk were virtually empty in early April. Chrissy McMullin, a Downtown Eastside resident who uses drugs, already takes opioid replacements and said she had no trouble getting a hydromorphone prescription under the new guidelines. McMullin, who lost her brother in October to an overdose, is upset it took a global pandemic to prompt access to safe drugs. \u201cIt\u2019s a real kick in the gut, to see how quickly and easily (it got put in place),\u201d McMullin said. \u201cNow all of a sudden what we\u2019ve been trying to get for years is made available.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "7169", "claim": "Wayne National Forest plans fires for tree, wildlife health.", "explanation": "Nearly 2,000 acres of Wayne National Forest in Ohio will be intentionally burned over the next three months as part of the area\u2019s fire management efforts.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Plants, Wildlife, Health, Wildlife health, Forests, Trees, Fires, Ohio, Controlled burns", "main_text": "Forest officials say scientists who study native plants, birds and other wildlife believe prescribed fire helps maintain healthy oak forests. They say controlled blazes help increase nutrient availability in the forest and remove some leaf litter and smaller trees and brush. That, in turn, allows more sunlight to reach the forest floor to regenerate oak and hickory trees and sun-loving plants. Officials say 1,710 acres are scheduled for controlled burns during March, April and May on the southern Ohio forest\u2019s Ironton Ranger District. The forest supervisor says prescribed burns follow strict guidelines and take place only under specific weather conditions."}
{"claim_id": "8602", "claim": "School closures will have little impact on COVID-19 control, review finds.", "explanation": "School closures do not tend to help contain the spread of infections during outbreaks of disease such as COVID-19, but will have a big impact on how societies restart after lockdown, scientists said on Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Data on the effects of school closures on COVID-19 are limited as the pandemic is still under way, but researchers at University College London said evidence from flu epidemics and outbreaks caused by other coronaviruses suggests their impact on the spread of the disease will be small. \u201cWe know from previous studies that school closures are likely to have the greatest effect if the virus has low transmissibility and attack rates are higher in children. This is the opposite of COVID-19,\u201d said Russell Viner, an expert at UCL\u2019s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health who co-led the research. \u201cPolicymakers need to be aware of the equivocal evidence when considering school closures for COVID-19 given the profound and long lasting effect they will have on children - particularly the most disadvantaged,\u201d he said. Millions of children around the world have been affected by school closures as governments introduced social distancing and lockdown measures to try to slow the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the new SARS-COV2 coronavirus. Viner\u2019s research, published late on Monday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal, said that as of March 18, some 107 countries had implemented national schools closures. To analyze the potential impact, Viner\u2019s team reviewed 16 previous studies, including nine which looked at school closures during the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - a respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus similar to the one that causes COVID-19. Data from the SARS outbreak in China, Hong Kong and Singapore suggested school closures \u201cdid not contribute to control of the epidemic\u201d, they said in a summary of the review. Experts not directly involved in the research said its findings were important and confirmed what many suspected: That the public health benefits of school closures were not proportionate to the social and economic costs for affected children and families. \u201cThis work suggests that ... schools could, and should, begin to reopen as soon as practicable after the initial wave of cases has passed through,\u201d said Robert Dingwall, a professor of sociology at Britain\u2019s Nottingham Trent University. Viner said the findings suggest countries should now \u201cask hard questions about when and how to open schools\u201d. He said other measures, such as staggering school start and break times, closing school playgrounds and minimising the movement of children between classes could be considered to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading."}
{"claim_id": "27556", "claim": "The state of Michigan threatened local beavers with a $10,000 per day fine for failing to remove their dams.", "explanation": "After some wrangling the agency ultimately dropped the issue, but not before Stephen Tvedten found an inventive way of quickly pointing out both how ludicrous and humorous the situation was. In a way dusty legal language never could, such a letter serves to drive home the silliness of Michigan DEQ\u2019s intractable posturing. The beavers are likely still ignorant of how close they came to being fined $10,000 a day for dam living expenses.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Humor, Loony Letters", "main_text": "In July 1997, one of Stephen Tvedten\u2019s neighbors noticed flooding on his property and traced it back to a dam on Tvedten\u2019s stream. The neighbor complained to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on 28 July 1997, and five months later the agency responded with a letter to the offending land owner. The letter, from David Price, a local Michigan DEQ official, was blunt: The \u201cconstruction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond\u201d was \u201cunauthorized\u201d because \u201ca permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity.\u201d The letter ordered Stephen Tvedten, the land owner, to \u201ccease and desist\u201d under penalty of \u201celevated enforcement action\u201d:  STATE OF MICHIGAN Reply to: GRAND RAPIDS DISTRICT OFFICE STATE OFFICE BUILDING 6TH FLOOR 350 OTTAWA NW GRAND RAPIDS MI 49503-2341 JOHN ENGLER, Governor DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY HOLLISTER BUILDING, PO BOX 30473, LANSING MI 48909-7973 INTERNET: http://www.deq.state.mi RUSSELL J. HARDING, Director  December 17, 1997  CERTIFIED  Mr. Ryan DeVries 2088 Dagget Pierson, MI 49339  Dear Mr. DeVries:  SUBJECT: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023-1 T11N, R10W, Sec. 20, Montcalm County  It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:  Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department\u2019s files show that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws annotated. The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris dams and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all unauthorized activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the strewn channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 1998. Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request, or any further unauthorized activity on the site, may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action. We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions. Sincerely,  David L. Price District Representative Land and Water Management Division  Mr. Tvedten responded to the Michigan DEQ\u2019s demand with the now widely-circulated \u201cdam letter,\u201d in which he pointed out that the \u201cdebris dams\u201d he had been ordered to remove because they were constructed without permission from the state of Michigan were actually built by beavers:  Dear Mr. Price: Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N, R10W, Sec 20; Montcalm County  Your certified letter dated 12/17/97 has been handed to me to respond to. You sent out a great deal of carbon copies to a lot of people, but you neglected to include their addresses. You will, therefore, have to send them a copy of my response. First of all, Mr. Ryan DeVries is not the legal landowner and/or contractor at 2088 Dagget, Pierson, Michigan \u2014 I am the legal owner and a couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood \u201cdebris\u201d dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, nor authorize, their dam project, I think they would be highly offended you call their skillful use of natural building materials \u201cdebris.\u201d I would like to challenge you to attempt to emulate their dam project any dam time and/or any dam place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no dam way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic. As to your dam request the beavers first must fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity, my first dam question to you is: are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers or do you require all dam beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request? If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, please send me completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits. Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws annotated. My first concern is \u2014 aren\u2019t the dam beavers entitled to dam legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said dam representation \u2014 so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department\u2019s dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event causing dam flooding is proof we should leave the dam Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names. If you want the dam stream \u201crestored\u201d to a dam free-flow condition \u2014 contact the dam beavers \u2014 but if you are going to arrest them (they obviously did not pay any dam attention to your dam letter-being unable to read English) \u2014 be sure you read them their dam Miranda rights first. As for me, I am not going to cause more dam flooding or dam debris jams by interfering with these dam builders. If you want to hurt these dam beavers \u2014 be aware I am sending a copy of your dam letter and this response to PETA. If your dam Department seriously finds all dams of this nature inherently hazardous and truly will not permit their existence in this dam State \u2014 I seriously hope you are not selectively enforcing this dam policy, or once again both I and the Spring Pond Beavers will scream prejudice! In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their dam unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green, and water flows downstream. They have more dam right than I to live and enjoy Spring Pond. So, as far as I and the beavers are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more dam elevated enforcement action now. Why wait until 1/31/98? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then, and there will be no dam way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them then. In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention a real environmental quality (health) problem: bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the dam beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! (The bears are not careful where they dump!) Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office. Sincerely, Stephen L. Tvedten  The DEQ later claimed they were fully aware the \u201cdebris dams\u201d were beaver dams; the issue, they said, was that the beavers who built them had long since abandoned the dams, but Mr. Tvedten had been continuing to maintain and even build up the dams himself:  The letter concerned an enforcement action directed to a tenant on property surrounding Spring Pond, which is located in Pierson Township, Montcalm County, Michigan. The tenant was observed by the downstream complainant, and has since admitted to the complainant, that he artificially built up, and maintained two abandoned beaver dams on the discharge end of the natural pond. Such an activity falls under the jurisdiction of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1194 PA 451, as amended. It is the Department\u2019s position that in the absence of any threat to public welfare, beaver dams should be left in their natural state, that being either actively maintained or abandoned by beaver. The Department conducted an on-site inspection of the dams in August of 1997, accompanied by a Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist, the Pierson Township Supervisor and the complainant. The tenant\u2019s actions, and a threat to the welfare of the downstream complainant prompted our correspondence of December 1997, instructing the tenant to cease and desist all illegal activity and to restore the stream to its prior condition. The owner of the property took issue with our action, and responded with his own version of the situation. It was this correspondence that has been circulating in the internet. Luis Saldivia Grand Rapids District Supervisor Land and Water Management Division 616-356-0208  For his part, Mr. Tvedten claimed that the dams had been \u201cabandoned\u201d because a neighbor had killed the beavers (then filed a complaint with the state because he was concerned that the untended dams would break apart and enter his property) and that no one but the beavers had ever maintained them. And contemporaneous accounts of the brouhaha quoted a Michigan DEQ spokesman as saying the agency hadn\u2019t performed an inspection before firing off their December 1997 letter to Mr. Tvedten:  Ken Silfven, public information officer at the state Department of Environmental Quality, said that \u2026 the account was correct. He hastened to note, however, that the case was prompted by a complaint from a neighbor who was concerned about flooding caused by the dams. The department dropped its investigation after an inspection by a DEQ employee. \u201cIt probably would have been a good idea to do the inspection before we sent the notice,\u201d Silfven said."}
{"claim_id": "2830", "claim": "More infected in fresh wave of China bird flu - WHO.", "explanation": "Another 23 people in China have been infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu in recent days, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday, adding to at least 24 new cases last week and confirming a fresh surge in the virus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "With many people travelling within the country for upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations on January 31, the United Nations health agency also said people should be aware of the risk that flu viruses might spread more widely. Among the new H7N9 cases, reported from several different provinces of China, was a 38-year-old man who died on January 9 and a five year-old girl from Guangdong province who became ill on January 14 and is now stable in hospital. Many of the other new patients were either in a serious or critical condition in hospitals. Several had reported recent exposure to poultry or poultry markets, but the WHO said the source of infections was still under investigation. \u201cGiven the population movement prior to Chinese New Year and potentially unpredictable behavior of influenza viruses, continued vigilance and close monitoring are needed,\u201d the WHO\u2019s China office said in a statement on its website. It advised people \u201cto continue to practice good hygiene and handle food properly\u201d but did not recommend any travel or trade restrictions. The H7N9 bird flu virus emerged in March last year and has so far infected at least 199 people in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, killing 52 of them, according to an update on Monday from the WHO\u2019s spokesman Gregory Hartl. Several clusters of cases in people who had close contact with an infected person have been reported in China, but WHO reiterated on Monday that \u201cso far, there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission\u201d. Hartl told Reuters last week that the United Nations health agency had noted the recent rapid increase in human H7N9 infections and was keeping a watchful eye. \u201cSo far we haven\u2019t seen anything that causes us to change our risk assessment,\u201d he said. The WHO\u2019s assessment is that \u201cthe current likelihood of community-level spread ... is considered to be low.\u201d  Experts say the Northern Hemisphere\u2019s winter flu season is probably largely to blame for a significant increase in the number of cases of human H7N9 infection in recent weeks after they dwindled to almost nothing in July and August of 2013. \u201cThis trend is expected to continue through the winter months,\u201d said the WHO\u2019s China office. Experts have warned public health authorities and doctors to be on alert for any signals that the more widely circulating virus might be adapting or mutating to become easily transmissible between people."}
{"claim_id": "10250", "claim": "Raw Milk Straight from the Cow", "explanation": "This story was about a concerning trend in consumer use of unpasteurized milk. As with other potentially functional foods, there are health claims made about the product which have no supporting evidence. The real issue which should have been reported on is the potential for harm associated with consumption of raw milk. The story does not do this justice, and would have been substantially strengthened by a deeper discussion (with experts) about the health risks of unpasteurized milk.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Although the story did not contain specific price details, it did mention that the farmers can sell raw-milk and raw-milk products at a \u2018thick premium\u2019 from which the reader could gather that the costs would be more than milk which has been pasteurized. The story mentioned a number of health claims so-called \u2018fans\u2019 of raw milk postulate can be derived through the use of raw milk. (The story also included comments from the FDA in which these claims were refuted.) It should have included some critical examination of the health claims made. The story mentioned safety concerns associated with consumption of raw milk, especially by individuals who may have heightened vulnerability. (The story also included comments from people who are fans of raw milk who claim these concerns are overblown.) However, this is one area where this story could have been improved. Raw milk has the potential to make people quite ill, especially children (which was mentioned in the story) but also pregnant women, those whose immunity is compromised as well as the general public. It should have included more information about infection rates among people consuming raw milk. The story contained the arguments raised by those opposed to and in favor of increasing availability of raw milk. It included a link to a site that refutes the information put forth by the FDA and mentions some of the epidemiology evidence linking raw milk with increased disease risk. The story really only provided \u00a0anecdotal evidence from one woman who stated that she had more health problems the previous year when she did not drink raw milk. It should have included some framework for understanding the fallacy of using this type of information as the basis for health decision making. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. The story has quotes from \u2018fans\u2019 of raw milk, a scientist with expertise in food safety, and material from the FDA. Beyond mention of raw milk and pasteurized milk, the story mentioned that two states (Washington and Maine) which permit raw milk to be sold but hold it to the same standard for bacteria counts as pasteurized milk. While the story did not list the states by name, it did mention that six states allow the sale of raw milk in stores and that 28 states allow the sale of raw milk on the farms where it is produced. The story mentioned that the FDA requirements about the sale and distribution of raw milk date back to 1987. Given multiple sources, there is no evidence the story relied solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "11514", "claim": "Results mixed on Merck\u2019s new painkiller", "explanation": "Ethical investors, including the Church of England, plan to extend their campaign for miners and other big businesses to stop funding industry associations that block progress on U.N. goals to curb climate change, they said on Tuesday.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Shareholders of BHP, the world\u2019s biggest listed miner, voted at meetings in October and November against a resolution to suspend the global miner\u2019s membership in some industry groups, saying it was effectively paying the pro-coal lobby. Adam Matthews, director of ethics and engagement at the Church of England, told the Mines and Money conference in London on Tuesday he and other investors, representing large pension funds, would extend their campaign. \u201cWe\u2019re really concerned incumbency is preventing the speed up towards a supportive regulatory environment,\u201d Matthews said. He said investors planned to draw up more resolutions and would focus on the chemical and transport industries, as well as the natural resources sector, in cases where companies that accept U.N. goals on climate change are \u201cmisaligned\u201d with industry bodies to which they subscribe. Fiona Reynolds, CEO of the Principles for Responsible Investment, which is campaigning alongside the Church of England, said in an emailed statement that negative corporate lobbying was a major reason for the slow progress towards action to limit temperature rises. \u201cIt\u2019s completely unreasonable that companies use shareholder money to fund groups that do not act in investors\u2019 long term interests,\u201d she said. The ethical investors approve of some industry groups and are working with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which includes the world\u2019s biggest miners, to deliver a global standard on dams that store mining waste, known as tailings. The ICMM has admitted mining has work to do to earn the trust of investors and says its members will begin implementing revised sustainability principles, which include measures to protect the climate and environment, next year."}
{"claim_id": "42198", "claim": "\u201cMaine House Democrats Vote to Allow Female Genital Mutilation.\u201d", "explanation": "Q: Did Democrats in Maine legalize female genital mutilation? A: No. That practice is illegal across the U.S.", "label": "false", "subjects": " false stories, Islamophobia, ", "main_text": "Q: Did Democrats in Maine legalize female genital mutilation? A: No. That practice is illegal across the U.S. Female genital mutilation has been outlawed across the country since 1996. It is not legal in any U.S. state.But, an incendiary headline has been circulating on Facebook claiming: \u201cMaine House Democrats Vote to Allow Female Genital Mutilation.\u201dFacebook users flagged it as potentially false. It is.The underlying story is based on a recent vote in the Maine legislature, which was considering a bill that would have criminalized the practice under state law in addition to the existing federal law.The Senate and the House of Representatives in Maine failed to agree on the text of the bill, and the measure died at the end of the session on April 18. The failure of the bill, however, doesn\u2019t mean that Maine will now \u201callow female genital mutilation,\u201d as the headline claimed.Debate over the bill had been highly charged for months. The Southern Poverty Law Center published emails in February between one Republican representative and a group called ACT for America, which the SPLC has designated as hate group.ACT for America has \u201chelped pass\u201d female genital mutilation legislation in nine states, according to the group\u2019s website. It has also \u201chelped pass\u201d legislation that bans Sharia Law and legislation that \u201cprotect those who \u2018see something\u2019 and \u2018say something,'\u201d according to its website.The American Civil Liberties Union also had weighed in on an early version of the bill in Maine, saying in a statement, \u201cThis bill is nothing more than an attempt to single out behavior that is commonly attributed to certain religious and ethnic communities as different from other forms of abuse.\u201d The ACLU called the bill \u201credundant,\u201d because \u201cthere are already severe penalties under both Maine and federal law that cover FGM.\u201dAccording to a women\u2019s advocacy group called Equality Now, there were 26 states as of September 2017 that had enacted legislation criminalizing female genital mutilation in addition to the federal ban. Those laws differ in a number of ways, including the age-range they cover and the allowance for culture as defense.Editor\u2019s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations\u00a0working with Facebook\u00a0to debunk false stories flagged by readers on the social media network.18 U.S. Code Section 116 \u2014 Female genital mutilation. Pub. L. 104-208. 3 Jan 2012.\u201cMaine House Democrats Vote to Allow Female Genital Mutilation.\u201d Minuteman-Militia.com. 25 Apr 2018.128th Maine Legislature. An Act To Prohibit the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation of a Minor. Final disposition 18 Apr 2018.Southern Poverty Law Center. \u201cMaine State Rep. Sirocki seeks support from anti-Muslim hate group for FGM bill.\u201d SPLCenter.org. 5 Feb 2018.ACT for America. State Legislation. ACTforAmerica.org. Accessed 27 Apr 2018.American Civil Liberties Union. \u201cStatement on FGM Bill.\u201d ACLUMaine.org. 23 Jun 2017.Equality Now. \u201cFemale Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the United States.\u201d March 2016."}
{"claim_id": "8120", "claim": "Trump: Asian-Americans not responsible for virus, need protection.", "explanation": "U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been accused of racism in labeling the coronavirus pandemic the \u201cChinese virus,\u201d said on Monday that Asian-Americans were not responsible for spreading the disease and needed to be protected.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Earlier on Monday, the New York Times cited advocacy groups and researchers as saying there had been a surge of verbal and physical assaults on Asian-Americans reported in newspapers and to tip lines as the virus has taken hold in the United States. Trump last week ratcheted up his rhetoric against China over the coronavirus, saying Beijing should have acted faster to warn the world after the disease outbreak there. He also dismissed criticism that his labeling it the \u201cChinese virus\u201d was racist. He brushed aside a reporter\u2019s question on Wednesday as to whether it was potentially harmful to Asian-Americans to give the disease that name, as well for an unnamed White House official to have privately termed it the \u201ckung flu.\u201d    On Monday, Trump tweeted: \u201cIt is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world. \u201cThey are amazing people, and the spreading of the Virus.... is NOT their fault in any way, shape, or form. They are working closely with us to get rid of it. WE WILL PREVAIL TOGETHER!\u201d  Trump repeated his remarks at a news conference with his coronavirus task force. Asked what prompted them, he replied:   \u201cIt seems that there could be a little bit of nasty language toward the Asian-Americans in our country and I don\u2019t like that at all ... so I just wanted to make that point, because they\u2019re blaming China, and they are making statements to great American citizens that happened to be of Asian heritage, and I\u2019m not gonna let that happen.\u201d  Trump has repeatedly criticized China and its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, but he has been careful to avoid criticisms of its president, Xi Jinping. On Friday, Trump said he greatly respected China and Xi, but added it was unfortunate the coronavirus began in China and got out of control. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Beijing\u2019s delay in sharing information about the virus had created risks for people worldwide. At the same time, Trump and his administration have angrily rejected attempts by some Chinese officials to blame the virus on the U.S. military. The dispute is just the latest irritant in relations between the world two largest economies already strained by issues ranging from trade to press freedom. Speaking to AXIOS and HBO over the weekend, China\u2019s ambassador to Washington appeared to distance himself from a foreign ministry spokesman who blamed the U.S. military for the virus, saying its origin was for scientists to determine, not diplomats. Cui Tiankai said the United States and China needed to work together to combat the virus and he hoped people would follow World Health Organization rules and avoid creating a stigma by linking the virus to a particular location."}
{"claim_id": "9309", "claim": "Nerve Zap Might Ease Pain of Herniated Disk", "explanation": "This story describes research results presented at a radiology meeting that compared treating patients with lower back pain from disk herniation with either a pulsed radiofrequency\u00a0(pRF) probe or multiple steroid injections. We also reviewed a news release about this research. Among the story\u2019s strengths: It alerts readers that the study \u2014 presented as an abstract \u2014 has yet to be peer-reviewed and published, and it provides cautious comments from an independent source, although they appear at the very end. However, the story leaves readers in the dark about how the treatment was evaluated and what it costs, and misses some important limitations with the evidence. It largely ignored potential harms, including the possibility that some patients might be treated unnecessarily because the cause of back pain can be difficult to diagnose. Back pain is a common problem. Often it goes away with time and exercise. But chronic pain that does not respond to conservative treatment and includes shooting pain into the buttocks and leg (sciatica) is a leading cause of disability and an economic burden. More treatment options are needed, but identifying the true source of pain is part of the battle.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "back pain,pulsed radiofrequency,Radiological Society of North America", "main_text": "The story says pRF is \u201cfar cheaper\u201d than steroid injections, but there\u2019s no data on its cost. We found one web site, MD Save, offering procedures for $2,500, but it\u2019s unclear whether that\u2019s representative. The story could have helped readers by comparing the cost of CT-guided pRF, CT-guided steroid injections, and lumbar disk surgery. The story calls this treatment a potential \u201cboon to back pain patients for whom standard therapies have failed,\u201d and includes a glowing personal endorsement by the study\u2019s lead author. Only near the end do we get a small amount of data: \u201cBy the one-year mark following either treatment, a full \u2018perceived\u2019 recovery was reported by 95% of the pRF patients, compared with just 61% of the steroid injection patients.\u201d The story doesn\u2019t tell readers what \u201cperceived\u201d recovery means and how it was measured. The story doesn\u2019t discuss the harms of this treatment. It\u2019s full of language \u2014 \u201ca simple zap to the spine,\u201d \u201cscalpel-free,\u201d \u201cnoninvasive,\u201d \u201cless risky\u201d \u2014 that might mislead readers into being falsely assured. A procedure that introduces instruments close to the spine and makes contact with major nerve roots carries risks of infection and nerve damage. Those should have been mentioned. The story does say that \u201cdiagnostic uncertainty can undermine the ability of surgery to get at the true source of a patient\u2019s pain.\u201d However, we think the story should have underscored the point that low back pain is often treated unnecessarily. Even if a herniated disk shows up in imaging \u2014 which is common \u2014 it might not be the cause of a patient\u2019s pain. That opens the possibility that some patients will undergo a procedure that won\u2019t help them, but could do harm. This is a close call. The story deserves credit for pointing out that the research presented at a medical meeting \u201cis considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.\u201d We also like that it quoted a doctor who cautioned that it \u201cremains an open question as to whether the pRF procedure really cured the condition,\u201d since back pain often resolves on it own. Still, there are other points we wish the story had addressed: Back pain is common, and this story does not disease monger. It gives a concise description of what disk herniation of the lower back is. Laudably, the story contains cautionary comments from a physician who was not involved with the study. He points out that most people with back pain \u201cimprove with time and exercise alone,\u201d and \u201cit remains an open question as to whether the pRF procedure really cured the condition.\u201d We wish some of the cautions had been placed higher in the story. The story did not mention conflicts of interest, and we could not find any that the authors have disclosed. The story mentions interventions that are commonly recommended for low back pain, including waiting it out. Generally speaking, there\u2019s no standard treatment for most back pain, and often no treatment is recommended. This story mentions this treatment has been FDA-approved, but doesn\u2019t explain whether it\u2019s widely available, particularly for treating spinal disk herniation with spinal nerve compression. The story explains early on that pRT is \u201cnot new\u201d although it\u2019s claimed that recent technology advances enable doctors to deploy it with better accuracy. The story doesn\u2019t rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "4185", "claim": "Kansas officials suggest alternatives to deal with pond scum.", "explanation": "Kansas health and environment officials are recommending alternative ways for municipal water operators to treat toxic blue-green algal blooms that have troubled state lakes for nearly 10 years.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Plants, Algal blooms, Kansas, Lakes, Algae, Environment, General News, Water treatment", "main_text": "People and animals that come into contact with cyanobacteria algae might suffer diarrhea, headaches and other symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blooms have even killed small animals that drink the contaminated water. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has detected traces of toxins related to the blooms in at least five water treatment plants. The department has suggested adding activated carbon to the water treatment process, the Kansas News Service reported. The carbon causes algae to fall to the bottom of ponds, allowing clean water to pass through. But smaller water plant officials noted that adding carbon can also be more costly. \u201cAny time there\u2019s an algae bloom out at the lake there\u2019s potential for that to get into the plant and through town,\u201d said Jamie Amlong, the water plant supervisor of Norton County. \u201cWe\u2019re on pins and needles from the beginning of the bloom until two or three weeks after the bloom.\u201d Amlong noted the algae have bloomed on the county\u2019s Keith Sebelius Lake since 2014, but didn\u2019t really affect the city of Norton\u2019s water until drifting into the plant\u2019s intake pipes last year. Amlong added the entire plant was then forced to close as they drained and cleaned most of the tanks in an effort to safeguard the drinking water supply. The department offers a program to subsidize water quality tests searching for toxins caused by cyanobacteria, officials said. Twenty-three of the 72 water systems that get their water from the state\u2019s rivers and lakes signed up for the program. Robert Gavin, professional geologist of the department\u2019s Public Water Supply section, said the program allows local water systems to avert polluted water instead of trying to reverse a problem. Previously, state park officials would detect a bloom on a lake before alerting Kansas\u2019 public water division, which would hasten to get tests out to those sites. But bottles for raw water samples are now sent out weekly via the mail. If there\u2019s ever a positive test result, additional bottles are sent to inspect the treated water. \u201cAfter a couple of years, this will probably be old hat. They\u2019ll kind of just know what to do,\u201d Gavin said. \u201cBut they\u2019re all kind of learning right now.\u201d ___ Information from: KMUW-FM."}
{"claim_id": "23475", "claim": "McDonald's in England only sells organic milk and free-range eggs, which provides more nutritious offerings than in the U.S.", "explanation": "Chef Jamie Oliver praises McDonald's in England", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Education, Food Safety, This Week - ABC News, Jamie Oliver, ", "main_text": "Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is a well-known crusader for healthier eating. So it may have come as a surprise to hear him give a shout-out on ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour on Aug. 29, 2010, to the fast-food giant McDonald's -- or at least the restaurants in his homeland, England. Oliver, AKA the Naked Chef, is perhaps best known to American audiences for his Emmy-winning reality program Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC, in which he tried to transform the eating habits of the residents of Huntington, W.Va., statistically one of the unhealthiest cities in the country. On ABC's This Week, Oliver said the food revolution is about giving people the tools to make good, nutritious choices. But host Christiane Amanpour asked Oliver to respond to a comment David Letterman made to him when he appeared on the Late Show: \"Try as hard as you might, you're never going to succeed, because we are living in a culture dominated by the commerce of selling food which is inherently unhealthy,\" Letterman said. Said Oliver: \"In the one way, he's right. You know, the structure of commerce and food in America is so intertwined in broadcast, print media, advertising, TV. I think that the problem we have to have -- and it's an interesting one. I'll throw it back at you. Like fast food I've hated for many years. And the last two years, I like stopped. And I actually now start to see (fast food chains) ironically as part of the solution. \"Now, I'll give you -- I'll give you one brand, like McDonald's. McDonald's, in England, has had its best three years ever, profitability. It only sells organic milk, free range eggs. You know, it's got an incredible standard of beef. And their ethics is really ... moving. But that's nothing like the one in the States. And the only distinguishing part is the public and what they expect.\" Part of the allure of McDonald's is its uniformity, that a Big Mac in New York will be the same as one in London. And so we wondered if Oliver was right that McDonald's restaurants in England really \"only sell organic milk\" and \"free range eggs,\" and that, by implication, they are dramatically different and more healthy than McDonald's restaurants in the United States. We made queries with McDonald's officials in the U.S. and Britain, and neither responded, but we were able to piece together the pertinent facts from company web pages and documents. Let's break this into two parts. First, do McDonald's restaurants in England \"only sell\" organic milk? According to the McDonald's UK website, all of the bottled milk offered for sale in UK McDonald's (most of it sold along with kids' meals) is \"semi-skimmed organic.\" In 2007, McDonald's UK made an even bigger commitment to organic milk, announcing that all the milk served with the teas and coffees it sells in 1,200 outlets in the UK will come from organic British cows. The company said organic farmers who supply McDonald's \"don't use (genetically modified) feed or artificial pesticides in fields where their cows graze.\" Media reports suggested McDonald's alone could account for 5 percent of the UK\u2019s organic milk supplies. Organic milk is not, however, used in milkshakes in the British stores. According to the website, \"Organic milk is still a relatively small industry in the UK and McDonald's simply can't find a supplier that can meet the high volume demands. The company is in talks with the dairy industry about how it can facilitate more farmers switching to organic but, until the organic food supply chain can guarantee that it can supply the required amount, McFlurries, Sundaes and Milkshakes will continue to be made from non-organic milk from the British Isles.\" (In the U.S., McDonald's does not use organic milk.) Second, do McDonald's restaurants in England only use free-range eggs (meaning, eggs that come from hens that are not in cages and are free to roam outside)? McDonald's does, and the move generated quite a bit of positive press for McDonald's, including a \"Good Egg\" award from Compassion in World Farming in recognition of McDonald's Europe committing to using 100 percent free-range, cage-free eggs in all locations in the European Union by the end of this year. \"We\u2019re thrilled to be awarding such a well-known company for moving to cage-free eggs across the whole of Europe,\" said Dr. Lesley Lambert, Director of Research & Food Policy at Compassion in World Farming, in a press release for the award. \"McDonald\u2019s decision will benefit huge numbers of farm birds. By choosing to do the right thing on eggs across Europe, McDonald\u2019s has shown great leadership on an issue which many consumers feel strongly about.\" McDonald's in the United States, however, has not embraced a similar switch. In April, the Humane Society of the United States (which owns stock in McDonald's USA) proposed to shareholders that the company switch 5 percent of the eggs it purchases for its U.S. locations to \"cage-free\" eggs by January 2011. The Board of Directors recommended against the switch, saying it would not be in the best interest of shareholders. \"As we have examined this issue over the years, we have determined that there is no agreement in the global scientific community about how to balance the advantages and disadvantages of laying hen housing systems,\" the board wrote in a proxy statement. \"Cage-free systems, for instance, allow birds to exhibit more natural behaviors, but may pose more risk with regard to the spread of infectious diseases. Furthermore, there seems to be a significant gap in scientific knowledge related to a wide range of sustainability impacts of laying hen housing\u2014environmental impact, food safety, worker safety, animal health and well-being, and food affordability.\" According to a New York Times story\u00a0about the proposal in May 2009, \"McDonald\u2019s USA announced its participation in a coalition with leading animal welfare scientists, academics, non-governmental organizations, such as the American Humane Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association, food manufacturers, egg suppliers and other retail companies to study housing alternatives for egg-laying hens in the U.S. The study will look at the sustainability impacts of different laying hen housing options, including cage-free aviary housing, enriched housing (which includes nests and perches) and conventional caged housing systems (currently used by the vast majority of the contemporary U.S. food supply system).\" Paul Shapiro, senior director of the Humane Society\u2019s factory farming campaign, said McDonald's has been \"looking into\" the issue for years. \"There is a dramatic difference between the two companies (McDonald's in the U.S. versus the U.K.) with regard to animal welfare,\" Shapiro said. In April, a spokeswoman for McDonald\u2019s, Lisa McComb, told the New York Times\u00a0the disparity was due to the high consumer demand for cage-free eggs in Europe and a more robust cage-free egg production infrastructure there. Oliver doesn't explicitly argue the U.K. McDonald's restaurants offer more nutritious food, but given Amanpour's question -- and the topic of the segment -- we think many people would be left with that impression. So is it true that the organic milk and free-range eggs mean healthier food than in the U.S.? \"No, that would not reliably mean better nutrition,\" said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at the Yale University School of Medicine. \"It appeals to the popular sentiment, without changing much about the food.\" One can make a case that using \"cage-free\" hens is more humane to the animals, Katz said, but that doesn't directly correlate to better nutrition for consumers (though it may reduce the risk of bacterial infection). As for using organic skim milk, Katz said there is definitely value, health-wise, to using fat-free milk. But the nutritional value of organic milk versus non-organic is unproven, he said. \"I am a proponent of organic dairy,\" Katz said. \"But there is no definitive evidence that organic means better health value in people. I think there's probably a potentially small movement in nutritional value. But there is a much larger movement in public perception.\" Katz said McDonald's could take much more meaningful steps to improve the nutritional value of its food, for example, by changing to whole wheat bread in buns or making the burgers lower in saturated fat. But just switching to organic milk and using free-range eggs doesn't much alter the nutritional value of McDonald's meals, he said. As for Oliver's comment, he's correct that McDonald's in England uses organic milk. Organic milk is served with coffee and tea, and for bottled milk. But Oliver was off a bit when he said it \"only uses\" organic milk. The British McDonald's stores still use non-organic milk in milkshakes. Oliver was on the mark when he noted that in the U.K., McDonald's uses only free-range eggs, while they are not used in the U.S. But when Oliver said McDonald's in England is \"nothing like\" the U.S. one, he implies the policies in England translate to substantially more nutritional food offerings. While the U.K. policies have drawn praise from animal rights groups, experts say it's a stretch to say they translate to better nutrition. And so we rule Oliver's claim ."}
{"claim_id": "\tDr. Sam Vaknin told   TruthorFiction.com that he is not the author of the article in the   eRumor but has written about the psychological make-up of Barack Obama. The forwarded email   appears to be a commentary written by someone else taken from   an article written by Dr. Sam Vaknin called \u201cBarack Obama \u2013 Narcissist   or Merely Narcissistic?\u201d Vaknin told us that he   is not a mental health professional but has dedicated the last 12 years   to the study of personality disorders in general and the Narcissistic   Personality Disorder (NPD) in particular. Vaknin has authored nine books   about these topics, one of which, \u201cMalignant Self-love: Narcissism   Revisited\u201d, is a Barnes and Noble best-seller. According to the bio   on his website, Dr Sam Vaknin was born in Israel in 1961, served in the   Israeli Defense Force as a trainer and education and earned a PHD in   Philosophy at Pacific Western University in California. Vaknin wrote several   articles about Barack Obama including an   article by the title of \u201cBarack Obama \u2013 Narcissist or Merely   Narcissistic?\u201d expressing his observations of the President saying that   \u201cBarack Obama appears to be a narcissist.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Vaknin also said that only after a series of tests by trained professionals can   one get an accurate diagnosis of the condition\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, in the   absence of access to Barack Obama, one has to rely on his overt   performance and on testimonies by his closest, nearest and dearest.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0  Click for Vaknin   website Vaknin\u2019s article   points out the problems with narcissistic leaders such as over   exaggerated feelings of self importance and entitlement. Narcissists lack empathy, behave arrogantly and can display symptoms of   paranoia. The article also pointed out that psychologist,   Eric Fromm, had diagnosed both Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as   malignant narcissists. updated 03/10/09    Comments\thttps://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Noted+Narcissism+Expert+Wrote+that+Barack+Obama+Appears+to+be+a%0ANarcissist+-+Truth%21+%26%23038%3B+Fiction%21&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fobama-vaknin%2F&via=erumors, https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fobama-vaknin%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/lefthandedobama/, https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fobama-vaknin%2F, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fobama-vaknin%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/warnings/, http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/obama.html, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fobama-vaknin%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/okra-cure-diabetes/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/truthorfiction/\tmixture\tWarnings\n3795\tGovernor signs Montana\u2019s Medicaid expansion bill.\t\tGov. Steve Bullock signed a bill Thursday to continue Montana\u2019s Medicaid expansion program for another six years, as long as federal funding continues.\t Amy Beth Hanson\tHe was joined at the signing ceremony by bill sponsor Republican Rep. Ed Buttrey and Democratic Rep. Mary Caferro, who sponsored a separate bill that did not pass. The bill continues the program, which began in 2016, and provides health insurance to about 95,000 low-income adults. It would have ended on June 30 if lawmakers had not reached an agreement. He also held ceremonial signings for other bills to lower health insurance and prescription drug costs. \u201cThese bills continue the progress our state has made in recent years to provide quality and affordable health care to Montanans, and they will further our efforts to increase access, reduce costs, and improve the quality of care,\u201d Bullock said. \u201cBy finding common ground and taking much-needed action now, we continue to be an example for other states to follow.\u201d Bullock, however, vetoed a bill that sought to help insurance companies negotiate better contracts with pharmacy benefit managers \u2014 the middle man between drug manufacturers and pharmacies. The vetoed bill would have required any rebates offered by drug manufacturers go directly to the health insurers to be used to reduce premiums for policies sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. The office of state Auditor and Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale wrote the bill, saying it would have saved about 70,000 Montanans up to $8 million in the first year. The bill would increase administrative costs and result in higher drug costs, Bullock wrote in his veto letter. \u201cBullock\u2019s veto is a gift to the pharmaceutical and insurance industries and a slap in the face to consumers,\u201d Rosendale said in a statement. Bullock has signed several bills dealing with pharmacy benefit managers, including bills that would not allow PBM\u2019s to charge pharmacies unexpected fees or prevent pharmacies from operating mail order businesses. Another bill mirrors a federal law that says PBM\u2019s can\u2019t prevent pharmacies from telling patients the cash price of their drug is less than their insurance co-payment. The governor earlier signed a bill, similar to one initially proposed by Rosendale\u2019s office in 2017, to set up a high-cost reinsurance program for policies sold on the exchange. It will use premium taxes and federal money that would have been used for premium tax credits to pay medical claims that cost more than $40,000 and less than $1 million. It\u2019s estimated the reinsurance pool will offset any insurance premium increases by 10% to 20%. Buttrey\u2019s Medicaid expansion bill requires able-bodied recipients to participate in 80 hours of work or community engagement per month, strengthens an asset test, allows the health department to verify an applicant\u2019s income with the Department of Revenue and increases premiums for people who stay on the program for more than two years. It also adds a tax on hospitals to leverage more federal money and increase reimbursement rates for Medicaid claims. It also includes $2.5 million to help recipients with job training. It\u2019s estimated the Medicaid expansion program could bring about $720 million in federal funding into the state in each of the next two fiscal years. Supporters said the program created jobs, saved lives, helped keep rural hospitals open and reduced uncompensated care for hospitals, which reduces cost-shifting to insured residents. Bullock also signed bills Thursday to: \u2014 Allow Montana reservations to adopt the Community Health Aide Program, which allows dental health aides, behavioral health aides, and community health aides to work with licensed providers to increase access to health care on reservations; \u2014 Create a grant program to support local mobile crisis mental health teams that could help ease the use of law enforcement and hospital staff in the case of a mental health crisis; \u2014 Appropriate $500,000 for suicide prevention for veterans and Native American youth.\t \ttrue\tHealth, Prescription drug costs, Montana, Medicaid, Bills, Steve Bullock\n38791\t A study found that some hotdog brands contained human DNA. \tOctober 27, 2015\tHuman DNA Found in Hotdogs\t  Rich Buhler & Staff  \tHuman DNA was found in about 2% of hot dogs that were analyzed in one study, but that doesn\u2019t mean people who eat them are cannibals. Clear Labs, a nonprofit group that analyzes food at the molecular level, undertook a\u00a0\u201cHot Dog Study\u201d that looked at 345 hotdog and sausage samples marketed under 75 different brands and sold at 10 different retailers: Each sample we analyze is assigned a Clear Score. The Clear Score is\u00a0a representation of how closely a product\u2019s label claims match its actual\u00a0molecular contents. The higher the score, the more closely a product\u00a0abides by its claims. To create the score, each item is molecularly analyzed through our\u00a0proprietary DNA sequencing workflow. We screen for major, medium,\u00a0and minor substitution, and we deduct points accordingly. We then\u00a0examine products for nutrition-content accuracy, such as carbs, fat,\u00a0calories, and protein. The Hot Dog study found human DNA samples in 2% of the 345 hotdogs and sausages that it looked at. Two-thirds of that human DNA was found in vegetarian hot dogs, according to the study. Overall, 14.4% of the hotdogs and sausages that were tested were listed as \u201cproblematic\u201d because of substituted or unexpected ingredients or hygienic issues. Human DNA found in hotdogs was classified as a hygienic issue because human hair or skin dander likely got into the product during the manufacturing process. So, it\u2019s true that human DNA was found in hotdog samples \u2014 but that doesn\u2019t mean that people who eat hot dogs are cannibals. The FDA allows many \u201cdefects\u201d in processed foods that most people would find even more disgusting than human DNA. Things like maggots, rodent hair, feces, cigarette butts and mold are allowed in processed foods at allowable levels because, the FDA reports: The FDA set these action levels because it is economically impractical to\u00a0grow, harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects. Products harmful to\u00a0consumers are subject to regulatory action whether or not they exceed the\u00a0action levels. Because hot dogs don\u2019t appear on the FDA\u2019s list of product defects, the agency would likely decide what action needs to be taken on a \u201ccase-by-case basis\u201d if it confirmed the report\u2019s findings. Comments\thttps://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fhuman-dna-found-in-hotdogs%2F, http://www.clearfood.com/food_reports/2015/the_hotdog_report, https://www.truthorfiction.com/category/food/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/author/truthorfiction/, https://www.truthorfiction.com/alabama-coach-paul-bear-bryant-carried-a-prayer-in-his-wallet/, https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fhuman-dna-found-in-hotdogs%2F, https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Human+DNA+Found+in+Hotdogs-Truth%21+%26amp%3B+Misleading%21&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fhuman-dna-found-in-hotdogs%2F&via=erumors, https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fhuman-dna-found-in-hotdogs%2F, https://www.truthorfiction.com/barefoot-cellars-giving-away-wine-on-facebook/, http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/SanitationTransportation/ucm056174.htm, https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.truthorfiction.com%2Fhuman-dna-found-in-hotdogs%2F\tmixture\tFood / Drink\n11844\tDonald Trump Says Joe Scarborough is party to an \"\"unsolved mystery\"\" from his time as a congressman in Florida.\"", "claim": "November 29, 2017", "explanation": "Aaron Sharockman", "label": "National, Candidate Biography, Donald Trump, ", "subjects": null, "main_text": "https://twitter.com/JoeNBC/status/935879100262240256, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/935874566701842434, http://gawker.com/remember-when-a-dead-intern-was-found-in-joe-scarboroug-1711985081, http://www.sptimes.com/News/052601/Worldandnation/Rep_Scarborough_choos.shtml"}
{"claim_id": "15716", "claim": "Wholly domestic communication between you and your wife can go to New York to London and back and get caught up in the (NSA) database.", "explanation": "Snowden said, \"Even if you sent it to someone within the United States, your wholly domestic communication between you and your wife can go to New York to London and back and get caught up in the database.\" In Oliver\u2019s context of a naked picture, the comment may be surprising. But to experts familiar with the laws governing surveillance practices and the NSA programs brought to light through his leaks, Snowden is correct that this could happen. But this isn\u2019t the most likely scenario for most Americans emailing other Americans day-in, day-out. Moreover, the NSA is supposed to \"minimize\" domestic emails that get caught up in a broader sweep, either by deleting them or not searching or using the information. Snowden\u2019s claim is accurate but misses that context.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Homeland Security, Technology, Terrorism, PunditFact, Edward Snowden, ", "main_text": "Most Americans have a fuzzy understanding of exactly what the National Security Agency can and cannot see with its surveillance programs, much less what a former NSA contractor named Edward Snowden tried to do about it. That\u2019s the finding, anyway, of informal street interviews by John Oliver\u2019s crew at Last Week Tonight on HBO. Oliver devoted his April 5 show to the NSA spying story. It included an exclusive interview with Snowden, who is living in Russia after the State Department canceled his passport. And it included the topic of this fact-check: Can emails sent between two people living in the United States unwittingly end up on the computer screen of some NSA analyst? Oliver, who blends comedy with journalism, framed the discussion around the NSA peeping on nude pictures. Oliver asked Snowden to describe the capability of various NSA surveillance programs in relation to nude pictures sent by Americans, starting with \"702 surveillance.\" This refers to section 702\u00a0of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. This section was added in 2008 and was\u00a0renewed under\u00a0President Barack Obama in 2012. Could the NSA see a picture of, say, Oliver\u2019s privates under this provision, he asked? \"Yes,\" Snowden said, \"the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which section 702 falls under, allows the bulk collection of internet communications that are one-end foreign.\" After an Oliver joke about \"bulk collection,\" Snowden continued, \"So if you have your email somewhere like Gmail, hosted on a server overseas or transferred overseas or anytime crosses outside the borders of the United States, your junk ends up in the database.\" Oliver jumped in and asked Snowden to clarify that the racy picture \u2014 if you\u2019ve seen the interview, you know we\u2019re paraphrasing \u2014 wouldn\u2019t necessarily have to be sent to Germany in order to end up in NSA storage. \"No,\" Snowden said. \"Even if you sent it to someone within the United States, your wholly domestic communication between you and your wife can go to New York to London and back and get caught up in the database.\" Is it really true that this situation (regardless of the content of the email) could happen, and if so, is it likely? You\u2019ve got mail \u2026 being collected by the NSA Several experts in national security law agreed Snowden\u2019s scenario is plausible, thanks to holes in international surveillance laws that affect data shared between Americans living in America. The law that Oliver mentioned, Section 702 of FISA Amendments Act of 2008, is labeled \"Procedures For Targeting Certain Persons Outside The United States Other Than United States Persons.\" Going on name alone, that sounds like the opposite of a license for the NSA to collect private messages between Americans. Not necessarily. The section addresses spying on communications on U.S. soil in which one end of the conversation is foreign. Critics, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Technology and Democracy, and American Civil Liberties Union, deem it a \"backdoor search loophole\" that allows the NSA to get access to information on U.S. citizens. The section says the government cannot \"intentionally target\" citizens of the United States with its surveillance, nor can it target a person outside the country to learn more about the communications of a person who is in the United States. \"Intentionally,\" obviously, is a pretty big gap. NSA communications spying under Section 702 does not need an individual warrant. There are a few government spying programs that we know about, through Snowden\u2019s leaks to journalists, that operate using Section 702, including Prism and Upstream. Prism, as outlined in a leaked slide, allows the NSA to collect via court order email, chats, videos, photos, stored data and files of foreign targets from technology companies such as Google, Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook. Analysts reportedly use Prism in concert with Upstream, by which the NSA collects foreigners\u2019 communications directly from the fiber-optic backbone of the Internet. A leaked NSA slide reported by the Washington Post describes Upstream as amassing \"communications on fiber cables and infrastructure as data flows past.\" Through those spying programs, it is possible that American-to-American email could hit an overseas server and be pulled into NSA databases even though those emails are not the target of NSA searches. The law does not prohibit this kind of \"incidental\" collection of Americans\u2019 communications, as long as it was part of an otherwise valid collection of non-Americans\u2019 information, said Stephen Vladeck, American University national security law professor. Government reports, leaks and a scathing 2011 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinion offer more proof that the NSA cannot separate out communications between Americans from the emails involving a foreigner. \"NSA\u2019s knowing acquisition of tens of thousands of wholly domestic communications through its Upstream collection is a cause of concern for the court,\" wrote FISC Judge John D. Bates in the declassified opinion. It\u2019s unknown exactly how often this happens, but it does not appear unusual. \"It doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s a d--- pic or a bland email,\" said Andrew Crocker, a senior analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which sued the NSA to release the Bates opinion. \"These are all things that can be swept up.\" By law, the NSA is supposed to \"minimize\" wholly domestic communications it obtains, said Molly Bishop Shadel, a University of Virginia law professor who represented the United States on terrorism-related matters before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court while working for the Justice Department. This could mean deleting the email or not searching or using the information, something Snowden doesn\u2019t say. \"I can\u2019t promise the email wouldn\u2019t end up in an NSA database,\" she said, \"but it\u2019s not going to be accessible to the government if it does.\" Other experts pointed out that we don\u2019t know for sure what happens to these exchanges when they are collected. Jonathan Mayer, a cybersecurity fellow at Stanford University\u2019s Center for Internet and Society, said many important features of Upstream collection \"haven\u2019t leaked and remain classified,\" such as whether it involves bulk collection, massive-but-targeted collection or only individually targeted collection, he said. Email routes that cross international boundaries So, yes, it\u2019s possible that an email between you and your wife or husband about the grocery list could wind up in the hands of the NSA. But to do so, the electronic footprint of that email needs to leave the confines of the United States. How likely is that to happen? Understanding how or why an email may hit an overseas server even if it\u2019s sent to someone in the same area requires a basic knowledge of how the Internet works. But even then, it\u2019s complicated. So we turned to technologists, who had different opinions. Predicting how an email travels to its destination\u00a0once you hit \"send\" is not an exact science \u2014 and it can change from hour to hour. When a person sends an email, it goes through the Internet service provider to an email provider, is exchanged with another provider, and goes back to someone else\u2019s Internet service provider. If the Internet provider is big, like Verizon, the most efficient, least congested path to route the bits of information might just be a cable that crosses a foreign country\u2019s boundary. Chats, pictures and messages travel from senders to recipients through the Internet along fiber-optic cables, some underground and some undersea. These cables can send messages in milliseconds. \"The way the network thinks about distance is very different from the way you think about distance in the real physical world,\" said Joseph Hall, Center for Democracy and Technology chief technologist. Hall mentioned an example using the concept of \"trombone routing:\" Two people could be on opposite sides of Denver, and the most efficient way to get bits of information to them may be through a cable that runs through Canada. Mayer, of Stanford University, suggested the odds are good that your message is stored domestically if you\u2019re an American who is working within the continental United States and who is using Gmail. Mayer called Snowden\u2019s example of an intimate picture shared between a couple in New York hitting a London server en route to its destination \"hypothetically possible, but it\u2019s unlikely.\" The route between providers would have to be unusual, and the connection would have to be unencrypted, he said. \"There are enormous privacy implications from the one-end foreign rule, to be clear,\" Mayer said. \"I just don\u2019t think this is a very generalizable example.\" On the other hand, Hall said, \"It\u2019s not hard to see this happening at all,\" even though more providers are encrypting their networks in response to NSA practices. Even though Hall and Mayer have different estimations for how likely it is for a U.S. user\u2019s communications to be transmitted over a national border at a given time, Hall agrees it\u2019s more likely for an email to cross a border in places that don\u2019t have a huge infrastructure. Because Snowden mentioned Google\u2019s Gmail service as an example, we checked in with the company to figure out under which conditions this example could happen. The company has strengthened the encryption of its infrastructure as a way to dissuade the government from using \"backdoor\" methods of tapping its network data without its knowledge. Emails between Gmail accounts are encrypted as they go to Gmail servers, which essentially means they look like gibberish to outsiders, and as they move from Google\u2019s data centers around the country and the world. Copies of emails could be stored in several places, including in data centers abroad, as a way to provide backups in case one center fails. If the NSA tried to collect emails between Google data centers, they may be able to pull the metadata of messages (the to and from) but not the content. If one side of the exchange is not a Gmail user, the message may not be encrypted and therefore may be more vulnerable. As for how often an email may end up in a foreign server, even if it\u2019s between two American Gmail users, spokesman Aaron\u00a0Stein said, \"We aren't always able to predict how often that happens.\" The NSA press office did not return requests for comment. Our ruling Snowden said, \"Even if you sent it to someone within the United States, your wholly domestic communication between you and your wife can go to New York to London and back and get caught up in the database.\" In Oliver\u2019s context of a naked picture, the comment may be surprising. But to experts familiar with the laws governing surveillance practices and the NSA programs brought to light through his leaks, Snowden is correct that this could happen. But this isn\u2019t the most likely scenario for most Americans emailing other Americans day-in, day-out. Moreover, the NSA is supposed to \"minimize\" domestic emails that get caught up in a broader sweep, either by deleting them or not searching or using the information. Snowden\u2019s claim is accurate but misses that context. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "11585", "claim": "New Findings Show Xience Stents Are as Safe and Effective as Others", "explanation": "This story is an example of what\u2019s often missing in medical research stories in a business section. The story is about a new cardiovascular stent that may be available if it receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration. But the story does not provide much insight about the actual utility of implanting stents. The story quoted an investigator on the project as saying that there was a lower heart-attack rate in those patients receiving this new stent. However \u2013 the published study indicated that while there were fewer heart attacks, this difference was not statistically significant. Beyond this, it is a comparison of heart attack rates in individuals who received stents and does include any indication of how this rate compares to that seen in people receiving optimal medical therapy but who don\u2019t get a stent. The story fails to deliver any independent perspective \u2013 only letting us hear from a company spokesman and one study investigator. Not everyone who reads medical research stories in a business section is interested primarily as a shareholder. Some people want more context, more on the quality of the evidence, more on the size of the potential benefits and harms, and more on what this thing is likely to cost them. This story \u2013 which reported more on the competition among or revenues for device manufacturers \u2013 didn\u2019t help those readers. And when you think of it, why wouldn\u2019t shareholders want that missing information as well?", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story did not project any cost of this new stent; it did provide estimates for the amount of sales revenue generated by those drug-eluting stents that are currently available to consumers. (The story also did not provide information about how much these stents cost consumers either.) There was no discussion of associated costs for the medications that need to accompany the use of these drug eluting stents. The story did not adequately explain the intended appropriate use for this new stent. The story indicated that the new stent decreased the need for repeat treatment in the target vessel and that the new stent decreased the occurrence rate for heart attacks. There was no comparison of this stent with no stent at all. In addition \u2013 as the information provided either came from the oral presentation at a conference or from the company news release \u2013 and has not been peer reviewed \u2013 the story should have been explicit about the source of the limited information it did present. The story provided quantitative data indicating that the rate at which blood clot formation occurred after implanting the new stent was comparable to the rate with one of the currently available drug-eluting stents. However there was no information about how the harms with this new stent compared with bare metal stents or no stent at all. The story included some quantitative data from the research paper published in April 2008; it mentioned some of the research findings that were presented at a recent meeting. It did not include the specific data from this meeting which is appropriate given their preliminary nature. That said, the story is really about claims that this new drug-eluting stent is better than the currently available drug-eluting stents and since the data backing that claim has not yet been reviewed by objective experts in the field, the story should have stated this explicitly. The story engaged in subtle disease mongering because in its discussion of the use for this new product to treat \u2018blocked blood vessels\u2019 it failed to acknowlege that in fact, national guidelines don\u2019t recommend the use of stents to treat all\u00a0blocked coronary arteries, only those through which flow is occluded 70% or more. The story would have benefited greatly by including comment(s) from someone other than a company spokesperson or someone involved in the study. This could have provided readers with some insight about what this new product might add to the field. The story did not even provide a clear picture of what would be involved in treatment using the medical device highlighted, let alone outline the other options available for those with cardiovascular disease. It\u2019s clear from the story that the stent in question is not yet approved by the FDA. The story was about one more drug-eluting stent that may come on the market but it was unclear about how this stent differs from those currently on the market. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release, but the quantitative information about the benefit of this product appears to rely on the company news release. If not, the story should have explained where it came from. We do know the story only included comments from the company and from someone involved in the study \u2013 no independent perspectives."}
{"claim_id": "8645", "claim": "Italy looks to safeguard biomedical valley leading fight against COVID-19.", "explanation": "Italy plans to tighten health checks to ensure that work is not disrupted in a small northern town specialising in the production of medical supplies to tackle its coronavirus crisis.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The area snuggled around the medieval town of Mirandola has become a focus for desperate health authorities seeking to source equipment in the European country where COVID-19 has taken the most deadly toll. Already home to a cluster of companies making high-end products for dialysis, heart surgery and transfusions, it has found itself on the front line of efforts to treat patients during the pandemic. \u201cThis is a key strategic sector that we need to nurture and we\u2019re going to make sure it stays open for business,\u201d said Sergio Venturi, coronavirus czar for the northern region of Emilia Romagna where Mirandola is located. The idea is to ask companies to carry out swab tests on their employees to help monitor the health of workers in an area deemed of national strategic interest. Faster tests being developed in a nearby laboratory could also come into play once validated. \u201cWhat we\u2019re looking to do is ask for daily screening for all staff in the area so there\u2019s no risk of the virus leading to a shutdown. We can\u2019t afford that,\u201d Venturi told Reuters. The measures underline the importance of the hub, created around 50 years ago by the pharmacist and entrepreneur Mario Veronesi. Mirandola, which has a population of only around 24,000,   plays host to about 100 high-tech medical companies including Germany\u2019s Fresenius SE (FREG.DE), ventilator multinational Medtronic (MDT.N), and UK respiratory support group Intersurgical. Companies have been working flat out on coronavirus-related production such as filters and circuits to help supply oxygen, and disposable medical items to hook patients up to ventilators. Production in the area, badly damaged in a deadly earthquake eight years ago, has shot up by more than 20%. Dimar, one of a handful of companies producing respiratory helmets, had police and staff from Italy\u2019s Civil Protection unit knocking on its doors to take stock back to neighbouring Lombardy, one of Italy\u2019s worst affected regions. The company, which supplies emergency departments in around 125 hospitals, has ratcheted up output of its face-covering helmets that allow patients to be treated away from overwhelmed intensive care units. \u201cWe wanted to double production but it\u2019s just not possible since that would require building plant and that takes more than six months,\u201d Dimar founder Maurizio Borsari said, adding that problems faced by suppliers, transport bottlenecks and a shortage of raw materials was also holding up work. Borsari said police patrols in the district had risen sharply since the crisis started to protect businesses. A dearth of equipment such as surgical masks and ventilators has left hospitals and medical staff across the north struggling to cope, and concern is growing the spread of the virus to the poorer south could cause some health systems there to collapse. It was another Mirandola company, UK-based Intersurgical, that in 72 hours last month built a prototype circuit developed by an Italian medical team allowing two patients to use the same ventilator \u2013 effectively doubling capacity at a stroke. Giuliana Gavioli, regulatory director at German dialysis and blood product group B. Braun, points to the role of local expertise in underpinning broader efforts to fight COVID-19. \u201cThey\u2019re giving special status to this district because of its biomed pedigree and they want to get a task force in place to move on a series of fronts such as identifying product lines that can be converted to produce vital equipment and medical devices,\u201d she said. She points to the example of recent start-up Tecnopolo, which has around 20 researchers. Set up in 2015 to provide biotech research services, it now concentrates on certifying the masks made by a legion of companies around the country that have switched from other product lines such as fashion. \u201cWork has ballooned. We\u2019re in contact with around 250 companies across the country that want their production lines authorised,\u201d says Tecnopolo coordinator Laura Aldrovandi."}
{"claim_id": "35273", "claim": "Microsoft owns patent \"666,\" which involves inserting microchips into people to mine their activity for cryptocurrency purposes. ", "explanation": "What's true: Microsoft published a patent for a \"cryptocurrency system using body activity data.\" This patent is filed under the number WO2020060606A1. What's false: The number WO2020060606A1 contains three \"6's\" but is obviously not the same as \"666.\" This patent focuses on tracking body activity via wearable technology, such as a smart watch, and makes no mention of implanted microchips.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Technology, COVID-19", "main_text": "The spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease in 2020 sparked a flurry of conspiracy theories concerning where it originated, how it spread, and who was responsible for it. One such theory blamed the disease on Bill Gates and claimed that the former Microsoft CEO had started a pandemic so that he could insert microchips into people around the globe under the guise of providing vaccinations or for other purposes. This conspiracy theory is propped up by little more than coincidences and misinterpretations. For instance, in April 2020 social media users started to share a link to a patent supposedly owned by Microsoft that pertained to the micro-chipping of individuals for financial gain. This patent was especially insidious, users claimed, because it carried the numbers \u201c666,\u201d the biblical mark of the devil, and the letters WO, which they claimed stood for the \u201cWorld Order.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0  The above-displayed screenshots pertain to a genuine patent filed by Microsoft. However, this patent does not involve a plan to microchip individuals, \u201cWO\u201d does not stand for World Order, and one has to ignore the existence of 11 other characters in order to arrive at the conclusion that this patent carries the devil\u2019s number. This patent is for a \u201ccryptocurrency system\u201d that \u201cuses body activity data.\u201d Microsoft Technology Licensing applied for this patent in June 2019, and the patent was published a few months later in March 2020 under the number \u201cWO2020060606A1.\u201d\u00a0 The patent, which has not been granted as of this writing, makes no mention of microchips. The diagrams included in this patent (and shown in the screenshots above) show how the \u201cperson,\u201d \u201cuser device,\u201d and \u201csensor\u201d are all distinct items. The text of the patent further explains that the \u201cuser device\u201d in the diagram may include wearables, such as a smart watch, or cell phones, laptops, or tablets: User device 130 may include any device capable of processing and storing data/information and communicating over communication network 120. For example, user device 130 may include personal computers, servers, cell phones, tablets, laptops, smart devices (e.g. smart watches or smart televisions). An exemplary embodiment of user device 130 is illustrated in FIG. 6. The patent provides two options for the sensor. First, the sensor could be incorporated into one of the aforementioned devices, such as a smartphone. The \u201csensor\u201d may also be its own standalone component: Sensor 140 may be configured to sense the body activity of user 145. As illustrated in FIG. 1, sensor 140 may be a separate component from user device 130 and be operably and/or communicatively connected to user device 130. Alternatively, sensor 140 may be included and integrated in user device 130. For example, user device 130 may be a wearable device having sensor 140 therein. The sensor 140 may transmit information/data to user device 130. At no point in this patent does Microsoft suggest that the sensor would be a microchip implanted into a person\u2019s skin."}
{"claim_id": "3083", "claim": "House passes $1.4T government spending bill amid impeachment.", "explanation": "The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday to pass a $1.4 trillion government spending package, handing President Donald Trump a victory on his U.S.-Mexico border fence while giving Democrats spending increases across a swath of domestic programs.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Global trade, AP Top News, Government spending, Mexico, Health, General News, Legislation, Politics, Immigration, Impeachments, Business, Bills, Tobacco industry regulation, Donald Trump", "main_text": "The hard-fought legislation also funds a record Pentagon budget and is serving as a must-pass legislative locomotive to tow an unusually large haul of unrelated provisions into law, including an expensive repeal of Obama-era taxes on high-cost health plans, help for retired coal miners, and an increase from 18 to 21 in the nationwide legal age to buy tobacco products. The two-bill package, some 2,371 pages long after additional tax provisions were folded in on Tuesday morning, was unveiled Monday afternoon and adopted less than 24 hours later as lawmakers prepared to wrap up reams of unfinished work against a backdrop of Wednesday\u2019s vote on impeaching Trump. The House first passed a measure funding domestic programs on a 297-120 vote. But one-third of the Democrats defected on a 280-138 vote on the second bill, which funds the military and the Department of Homeland Security, mostly because it funds Trump\u2019s border wall project. The spending legislation would forestall a government shutdown this weekend and give Trump steady funding for his U.S.-Mexico border fence, a move that frustrated Hispanic Democrats and party liberals. The year-end package is anchored by a $1.4 trillion spending measure that caps a difficult, monthslong battle over spending priorities. The mammoth measure made public Monday takes a split-the-differences approach that\u2019s a product of divided power in Washington, offering lawmakers of all stripes plenty to vote for \u2014 and against. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was a driving force, along with administration pragmatists such as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who negotiated the summertime budget deal that it implements. The White House said Tuesday that Trump will sign the measure. \u201dThe president is poised to sign it and to keep the government open,\u201d said top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. The bill also offers business friendly provisions on export financing, flood insurance and immigrant workers. The roster of add-ons grew over the weekend to include the permanent repeal of a tax on high-cost \u201cCadillac\u201d health insurance benefits and a hard-won provision to finance health care and pension benefits for about 100,000 retired union coal miners threatened by the insolvency of their pension fund. A tax on medical devices and health insurance plans would also be repealed permanently. The cost of the package grew as lawmakers added the repeal of three so-called \u201cObamacare\u201d taxes and extended expiring tax breaks. Those policy changes will add $428 billion to the deficit over 10 years. The legislation is laced with provisions reflecting divided power in Washington. Republicans maintained the status quo on several abortion-related battles and on funding for Trump\u2019s border wall. Democrats controlling the House succeeded in winning a 3.1% raise for federal civilian employees and the first installment of funding on gun violence research after more than two decades of gun lobby opposition. Late Monday, negotiators unveiled a scaled-back $39 billion package of additional business tax breaks, renewing tax breaks for craft brewers and distillers, among others. The so-called tax extenders are a creature of Washington, a heavily lobbied menu of arcane tax breaks that are typically tailored to narrow, often parochial interests like renewable energy, capital depreciation rules and racehorse ownership. But a bigger effort to trade refundable tax credits for the working poor for fixes to the 2017 GOP tax bill didn\u2019t pan out. The sweeping legislation, introduced as two packages for political and tactical purposes, is part of a major final burst of legislation that\u2019s passing Congress this week despite bitter partisan divisions and Wednesday\u2019s likely impeachment of Trump. Thursday promises a vote on a major rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement, while the Senate is about to send the president the annual defense policy bill for the 59th year in a row. The core of the spending bill is formed by the 12 annual agency appropriations bills passed by Congress each year. It fills in the details of a bipartisan framework from July that delivered about $100 billion in agency spending increases over the coming two years instead of automatic spending cuts that would have sharply slashed the Pentagon and domestic agencies. The increase in the tobacco purchasing age to 21 also applies to e-cigarettes and vaping devices and gained momentum after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signed on. But anti-smoking activists said the provision didn\u2019t go far enough because it failed to ban flavored vaping products popular with teenagers. \u201cThe evidence is clear that flavored e-cigarettes are driving the youth epidemic,\u201d said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. \u201cAs long as flavored e-cigarettes remain available, kids will find ways to get them and this epidemic will continue.\u201d Other add-ons include a variety of provisions sought by business and labor interests and their lobbyists in Washington. For business, there\u2019s a seven-year extension of the charter of the Export-Import Bank, which helps finance transactions benefiting U.S. exporters, as well as a renewal of the government\u2019s terrorism risk insurance program. The financially troubled government flood insurance program would be extended through September, as would several visa programs for both skilled and seasonal workers. Labor won repeal of the so-called Cadillac tax, a 40% tax on high-cost employer health plans, which was originally intended to curb rapidly growing health care spending. But it disproportionately affected high-end plans won under union contracts, and Democratic labor allies had previously succeeded in temporary repeals. Democrats controlling the House won increased funding for early childhood education and a variety of other domestic programs. They also won higher Medicaid funding for the cash-poor government of Puerto Rico, which is struggling to recover from hurricane devastation and a resulting economic downturn. While Republicans touted defense hikes and Democrats reeled off numerous increases for domestic programs, most of the provisions of the spending bill enjoy bipartisan support, including increases for medical research, combating the opioid epidemic, Head Start, and child care grants to states. Democrats also secured $425 million for states to upgrade their election systems, and they boosted the U.S. Census budget $1.4 billion above Trump\u2019s request. They won smaller increases for the Environmental Protection Agency, renewable energy programs and affordable housing. \u201cI am so proud that we are able to do so much good for children and families across the country and around the world,\u201d said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. The outcome in the latest chapter in the long-standing battle over Trump\u2019s border wall awards Trump with $1.4 billion for new barriers \u2014 equal to last year\u2019s appropriation \u2014 while preserving Trump\u2019s ability to use his budget powers to tap other accounts for several times that amount. That\u2019s a blow for liberal opponents of the wall but an acceptable trade-off for pragmatic-minded Democrats who wanted to gain $27 billion in increases for domestic programs and avert the threat of simply funding the government on autopilot. \u201cMany members of the CHC will vote against it,\u201d said Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro, D-Texas. \u201cIt\u2019s true that there are a lot of good things and Democratic victories in the spending agreement. I think everybody appreciates those. What members of the Hispanic Caucus are concerned with is the wall money, the high level of detention beds, and most of all with the ability of the president to transfer money both to wall and to detention beds in the future.\u201d The bill also extends a long-standing freeze on lawmakers\u2019 pay despite behind-the-scenes efforts this spring to revive a cost-of-living hike approved years ago but shelved during the Obama administration. Because dozens of Democrats oppose the border wall, Pelosi paired money for the Department of Homeland Security with the almost $700 billion Pentagon budget, which won more than enough GOP votes to offset Democratic defections."}
{"claim_id": "31207", "claim": "Chumlee from 'Pawn Stars' has passed away.", "explanation": "Reports that the 'Pawn Stars' personality has passed away are a hoax.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Inboxer Rebellion, celebrity death hoaxes, pawn stars", "main_text": "Austin \u201cChumlee\u201d Russell (so nicknamed by a friend\u2019s father due to his resemblance to the character of Chumley the walrus in the Tennessee Tuxedo cartoons) is one of the stars of the popular reality show Pawn Stars, the \u201cresident clown\u201d of the staff at the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, where he is frequently derided by the shop\u2019s owners, Rick Harrison and Richard \u201cOld Man\u201d Harrison, for being bumbling and lazy. Beginning in May 2013, a rumor was circulated on the Internet claiming that Chumlee had recently passed away from a \u201cmarijuana overdose\u201d: In what may come to be a medical landmark, \u201cChumlee\u201d Russell of Pawn Stars fame died from a marijuana overdose Monday night and was found by friend \u201cBig Hoss\u201d Harrison on Tuesday morning. Earlier this year, \u201cChumlee\u201d was arrested with seven pounds of marijuana which he asserted were all for personal use. According to Dr. Angstrom H. Troubador, \u201cThe only possible way he could have died from a marijuana overdose without first clogging his lungs with soot is through the use of vaporizers. Reportedly, Chumlee had rigged up to 90 vaporizers into one tube and had a team of groupies constantly loading them up with the stickiest and most potent of marijuana available on the market.\u201d Fans and family mourn the loss of \u201cChumlee\u201d and have taken the opportunity to speak out against drug abuse. \u201cTo die like that, it\u2019s just a shame,\u201d said Rick Harrison, manager of the world famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, as he teared up. \u201cIt\u2019s just a shame to lose such a fun guy as Chum. Rest in peace, buddy.\u201d  The rumor was nothing more than a hoax, a bit of fiction promulgated in a 14 May 2013 article published on the Internet Chronicle web site, one which followed up that site\u2019s equally fictitious report from two months earlier which claimed Chumlee had been arrested for possession of seven pounds of marijuana. (The putative cause of death given in Chumlee\u2019s phony Internet Chronicle obituary, a \u201cmarijuana overdose,\u201d is virtually a medical impossibility.) In March 2014, a similar spoof article published by eBuzzd (along with images of fake reaction tweets from other celebrities) spawned more false Chumlee death rumors, this time positing that the Pawn Stars personality had passed away of a heart attack: Austin Russell, also known as Chumlee, star of History\u2019s reality series \u201cPawn Stars,\u201d has died from an apparent heart attack, sources confirm to eBuzzd. He was only 31 years old. The news comes as a shock considering Chumlee\u2019s [sic] had just recently altered his lifestyle habits, and lost 75 pounds in a year by exercising at a gym six days a week and improving his diet, including drinking more juice, eating more vegetables and abstaining from red meat, a change that was inspired by his father\u2019s death at age 54 from pancreatic cancer, two weeks before Pawn Stars debuted. In July 2017, business2community.com revived the \u201cmarijuana overdose\u201d death hoax:  Austin \u201cChumlee\u201d Russell from \u201cPawn Stars\u201d being found dead from a marijuana overdose or heart attack is a celebrity death hoax. There is no truths that the TV personality has passed away. Russell is one of the stars of the popular reality show and is just like a son to Rick Harrison. He has been around the shop since he was a kid. Everybody loves Chum, but he is often the \u201cresident clown.\u201d Part of the reason he is not taken seriously is that he constantly begs Corey Harrison to buy items that entertain him like video games and circus paraphernalia that usually do not make good business sense. The real Chumlee remains alive and well, as indicated by his ongoing tweets and his appearances at his  candy store in Las Vegas: Buy some candies for @somahe80 at Chumlee's candies shop. Thanks @chumlee_ for the photo pic.twitter.com/i6E8sXKBGm \u2014 G\u00e9r\u00f4me (@G72T1) July 3, 2017"}
{"claim_id": "35572", "claim": "The seasonal flu kills more people every year in the U.S. than COVID-19 has to date. ", "explanation": "COVID-19 is also deadlier in terms of how many people are estimated to die from it per year. Preliminary estimates from the CDC found that the 2018-19 influenza season resulted in an estimated 34,200 deaths in the U.S. As of July 27, 2020, more than 4.2 million COVID-19 cases had been reported across 50 states, seven territories and Washington, D.C., and more than 146,500 deaths were associated with the respiratory disease \u2014 nearly four times the death toll associated with the 2018-19 flu season.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "Throughout the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, countless social media posts, high profile pundits, and even the president\u00a0attempted to downplay the threat of the virus in the U.S. in various ways, including comparing its death toll to that of the seasonal flu:  This claim is false and dangerously downplays the severity of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In terms of the case fatality rate, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes as the number of people who die from a given condition, medical experts argue that COVID-19 is, in fact, deadlier than the seasonal flu. Though COVID-19 fatality rates vary largely depending on available medical infrastructure within a country, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine reports that the U.S. is among the 20 countries most affected by the virus and has a mortality rate of 3.4%. By comparison, flu infections over the last decade have resulted in a mortality rate hovering around .1%."}
{"claim_id": "13768", "claim": "Just on the issue of immigration alone, it is next to impossible to find a policy difference between (Donald) Trump and Congressman (Joe) Heck.", "explanation": "Cortez Masto claims that \"on the issue of immigration alone, it is next to impossible to find a policy difference between (Donald) Trump and Congressman (Joe) Heck.\" There are areas where Heck and Trump overlap on immigration policy: mandatory E-verify for employers, upping border security and questioning birthright citizenship. However, Cortez Masto made it sound like Heck and Trump are lockstep on the issue, and that's clearly not the case. There are major stated policy differences between the two Republicans \u2014 Heck opposes mass deportation, which Trump campaigned on during the primary season. And Heck\u00a0has supported a pathway to citizenship for people not legally in the country, as well as supported a version of the DREAM Act. It wasn't \"next to impossible\" to find those differences.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Immigration, Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto, ", "main_text": "National and state Democrats are trying to tie Nevada Republican Senate candidate Joe Heck to the controversial immigration policies of Donald Trump,including Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto. In a recent news release, Cortez Masto\u2019s campaign called the two Republicans \"ideological soul mates.\" \"Just on the issue of immigration alone, it is next to impossible to find a policy difference between Trump and Congressman Heck,\" stated Cortez Masto\u2019s release. With immigration being a top concern for Nevada\u2019s sizable Hispanic population, we thought it was worth comparing the two candidates to see if it really is \"next to impossible\" to find a policy difference. Priorities On the surface level, there are many policy differences on immigration between Heck and Trump. Trump\u2019s immigration platform is detailed on his campaign website, and centers around three topics previously distilled by PolitiFact: Build a border wall across the U.S.-Mexico border, and require Mexico to make a one-time $5 to $10 billion payment to pay for it. Increase enforcement of immigration laws, including ending birthright citizenship and ending funding for so-called sanctuary cities. Focus on American workers, including halting green cards for foreign workers until more domestic workers are hired and increasing the minimum prevailing wage for H-1B visa program recipients. Heck\u2019s campaign and House websites acknowledge a \"broken\" immigration system but focus on different policy solutions. While echoing Trump in calling for implementing a mandatory E-verify system for employers and calling for increased border security, Heck says he\u2019s open to granting citizenship or legal status to people not legally in the country if his other proposals are addressed in a \"meaningful\" way. Both campaigns sent lengthy responses to PolitiFact. One thing is clear: There is daylight between Heck and Trump on a number of immigration policies. Birthright citizenship Democrats claim Heck and Trump share identical positions on wanting to \"end birthright citizenship and repeal the 14th Amendment.\" It\u2019s true both Republicans have mentioned re-examining the concept of jus soli \u2014 extending citizenship based on place of birth, not parental nationality \u2014 but Heck and Trump differ on rhetoric. Trump explicitly calls for an end to the policy, calling it the \"biggest magnet for illegal immigration.\" (He also cites Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid\u2019s 1993 bill \"clarifying\" the concept, though Reid later called it the \"low point\" of his legislative career.) Heck has also called for a similar re-examination of the policy, but in a less direct tone. His most pointed comments came in 2012, where a tracker captured Heck saying he supported changing the concept. \"My personal opinion is that if you\u2019re gonna be a citizen \u2013 be considered a citizen \u2013 you should be born to at least one parent that\u2019s a U.S. citizen,\" he said at the time. Heck generally hasn\u2019t gone as far since then, most recently telling a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter that \"it needs to be part of the discussion\" but stopping short of a full endorsement. Legal scholars generally agree that birthright citizenship is on solid constitutional ground, but several believe it would only take a congressional act to \"clarify\" citizenship for children born of people not legally in the United States, and point out that the court has never fully adjudicated the issue. 2013 immigration\u00a0bill Cortez Masto says Heck and Trump both opposed the 2013 bipartisan immigration legislation, commonly referred to as the \"Gang of Eight\" bill. That glosses over important parts of the story. In 2013, Heck described the legislation as having positives and negatives but ultimately said he\u2019d vote against the Senate bill as written, pointing to concerns over border security and wanting to toughen the education requirements for the children of people not legally in the country looking to apply for citizenship. The bill never received a House vote, but Heck still took independent action on the immigration bill. The Republican worked on draft legislation providing a pathway to citizenship for people illegally brought into the country as children, and publicly criticized House leadership in 2013 for failing to vote on any immigration\u00a0legislation. Trump, on the other hand, told Bloomberg that he only really started following the immigration debate since he started running for president in 2015. \"When I made my (announcement) speech at Trump Tower, the June 16 speech, I didn\u2019t know about the Gang of Eight. \u2026 I just knew instinctively that our borders are a mess,\" he said in May. This is contradicted by several tweets and interviews Trump did in 2013, calling the legislation a \"death wish\" for the Republican Party. Trump later criticized primary rival Marco Rubio\u2019s involvement in the legislation, calling it \"nothing more than a giveaway to the corporate patrons who run both parties.\" DREAMers/DACA One of Heck\u2019s most notable forays into the immigration debate was a failed attempt to bring forward a Republican version of the long-languishing Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Heck worked for around six months to try to\u00a0find a compromise path supported by both parties, businesses and immigration activists before trying to roll out the measure in December 2013. Heck\u2019s version of the legislation, which had a pathway to citizenship for immigrants brought unlawfully into the country as children, fell flat after immigration activists and several other stakeholders declined to back the proposal over concerns that it only addressed part of the problem and wanted to hold out for a more comprehensive immigration\u00a0plan. Additionally, Heck has voted against funding for Obama\u2019s executive orders allowing undocumented children and their parents to receive work permits and exemptions from deportation. He\u2019s on the record voting for several amendments that would strip the program\u2019s funding and voted in 2015 to block funding for an expansion of the program while joining with 25 other House Republicans to support the existing program. In the past, Heck has tried to frame his mixed voting record on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in terms of his stated opposition to the president\u2019s use of executive orders establishing the programs. Trump is clearly opposed to the issue, and in 2015 called for the full rescission of executive orders protecting DREAMers from deportation, as well as the mass deportation of the roughly 11 million people not legally in the country. He\u2019s also publicly opposed the DREAM Act itself. Heck has routinely called Trump\u2019s proposals unrealistic. \"I don\u2019t think they can find, round up and afford to deport 11 million people,\" he told reporters in March. The wall/border security Heck also differs on Trump\u2019s signature piece of immigration policy \u2014 building a massive border wall with Mexico. The Heck campaign provided PolitiFact with a form letter sent to constituents who ask about the proposed border wall. The letter stresses Heck\u2019s commitment to border security while gently dismissing Trump\u2019s plan for a massive, thousand-mile concrete wall as being inefficient. \"Physical barriers are certainly effective in areas with high cross-border traffic; however, there are vast stretches of our border that have relatively few crossings, and preventing these crossings could be more easily achieved through other methods,\" he says in the letter. Part of Heck\u2019s stated reasoning for opposing the 2013 immigration bill had to do with border security \u2014 the Republican specifically called for additional border fencing and for more manpower along the border to stop illegal crossings. H1-B visas Trump and Heck also differ on what to do with temporary H1-B visas for skilled foreign workers. Trump\u2019s plan explicitly calls to increase the minimum prevailing wage (an averaged wage paid to workers in a similar field) for H1-B recipients over fears that the program depresses wages for American workers. It also makes an unspecified point of forcing companies to hire American workers before foreign workers in the visa program. Heck\u2019s campaign provided PolitiFact with a form letter sent to voters who ask about limiting the visas, which details Heck\u2019s concerns that scaling back the program could hurt economic growth. \"By restricting H-1B visas, growth in the U.S. in STEM fields could be restricted,\" Heck says in the letter. Sanctuary cities Another area of immigration policy overlap for Trump and Heck is in defunding so-called \"sanctuary cities,\" or areas where local law enforcement doesn\u2019t routinely report undocumented migrants to immigration authorities. There\u2019s no agreed-upon or legal definition of a \"sanctuary city,\" and use of the moniker is somewhat fluid. Trump seized the issue after the shooting death of Kate Steinle in San Francisco last year by an undocumented immigrant who had been deported five times, and has forcefully called for cutting off federal grants to cities that refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement. While he hasn\u2019t been as vocal as Trump, Heck did vote to block federal law enforcement funds from sanctuary cities as part of a House bill in July 2015. The White House promised to veto the measure, which has defeated in a procedural vote by Senate Democrats. Our ruling Cortez Masto claims that \"on the issue of immigration alone, it is next to impossible to find a policy difference between (Donald) Trump and Congressman (Joe) Heck.\" There are areas where Heck and Trump overlap on immigration policy: mandatory E-verify for employers, upping border security and questioning birthright citizenship. However, Cortez Masto made it sound like Heck and Trump are lockstep on the issue, and that's clearly not the case. There are major stated policy differences between the two Republicans \u2014 Heck opposes mass deportation, which Trump campaigned on during the primary season. And Heck\u00a0has supported a pathway to citizenship for people not legally in the country, as well as supported a version of the DREAM Act. It wasn't \"next to impossible\" to find those differences."}
{"claim_id": "37537", "claim": "The 1918 influenza pandemic was called the \"Spanish Flu\" because it emanated from Spain.", "explanation": "Chuck Grassley\u2019s \u2018Spanish Flu\u2019 Tweet Adds to Wave of Xenophobic COVID-19 Rhetoric From GOP", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "As United States President Donald Trump and his supporters continued to try to normalize xenophobic rhetoric surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa came under criticism online for his own effort.\u201cI don\u2019t understand why China gets upset [because] we refer to the virus that originated there [as] the \u2018Chinese virus,'\u201d he wrote on Twitter. \u201cSpain never got upset when we referred to the Spanish flu in 1918 & 1919.\u201dGrassley was hit with thousands of responses in a Twitter phenomenon commonly called \u201cthe ratio,\u201d with many of the replies correcting him on the origin of the 1918 pandemic\u2019s name.In reality, the \u201cSpanish flu\u201d \u2014 a strain of H1N1 influenza \u2014 was not first detected in Spain. As sources ranging from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to the Journal of Translational Medicine have identified the midwestern United States as the likely starting point for the disease. According to a 2004 study published in the journal:Haskell County, Kansas, is the first recorded instance anywhere in the world of an outbreak of influenza so unusual that a physician warned public health officials. It remains the first recorded instance suggesting that a new virus was adapting, violently, to man.If the virus did not originate in Haskell, there is no good explanation for how it arrived there. There were no other known outbreaks anywhere in the United States from which someone could have carried the disease to Haskell, and no suggestions of influenza outbreaks in either newspapers or reflected in vital statistics anywhere else in the region. And unlike the 1916 outbreak in France, one can trace with perfect definiteness the route of the virus from Haskell to the outside world.In February 2018, the The Wichita Eagle, the state\u2019s largest newspaper, published a report commemorating the centennial of the outbreak:No one knows for sure what farm, what family may have first fallen ill. The community was most likely Santa Fe, now a ghost town in Haskell County, says Darlene Groth, curator at Haskell County Historical Society in Sublette.What is known is that a Kansas country doctor \u2014 Dr. Loring Miner, who practiced in Haskell County \u2014 became concerned when he noticed this three-day flu wasn\u2019t typical. It was an \u201cinfluenza of the severe type,\u201d he wrote, and hit young, strong and otherwise healthy people the hardest. He was the first to report to Public Health Reports \u2014 a publication of the U.S. Public Health Service \u2014 that this flu was a killer.Furthermore, several reports have verified that the disease\u2019s enduring nickname was derived from one of the few sources of coverage it received during World War I. According to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine and Health, reports out of Spain were a function of its remarkably free press, relative to news organizations in other countries:As Spain was neutral in the First World War, newspapers there were free to report the devastating effects that the 1918 pandemic virus was having in that country. Thus, it was generally perceived that the pandemic had originated in Spain, and the infection was incorrectly dubbed \u201cSpanish flu\u201d. During the fall of 1918, the front pages of Spanish newspapers were filled with the names of those who had died of the pandemic in the country.In other European countries, however, the press refrained from reporting news of the spreading infection, in order to avoid alarming the general population, which was already suffering the privations caused by the First World War. On 22nd August 1918, the Italian Interior Minister denied the alarming reports of the spread of the flu pandemic, and in the following months, both national and international newspapers followed suit. Nor was censorship restricted to news of the spread of the fearsome infection; it also extended to information and comments that contrasted with the official versions of the nature of the disease.In order to avoid public alarm, several local hygiene authorities refused to reveal the numbers of people affected and deaths.Grassley\u2019s tweet is part of a larger wave of xenophobic and racist remarks that right-wing politicians and outlets have churned out in an apparent attempt to blame China for the virus outright and change the national narrative, defying the process the World Health Organization went through in designating the disease behind the 2020 pandemic as COVID-19.\u201cWe had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease,\u201d WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said according to the New York Times. \u201cHaving a name matters to prevent the use of other names that can be inaccurate or stigmatizing.\u201dThe Sinophobic rhetoric has made its way to the White House Twitter account:But as CNN reported, the shift was sudden; Trump only began using this particular descriptor for COVID-19 on March 16th 2020:Trump only started calling the \u201cChinese Virus\u201d within the last two days.Between January and March 15th, he referred to it as the \u201ccoronavirus\u201d, at least on Twitter anyway, 41 times.Since March 16th he hasn\u2019t called it the \u201ccoronavirus\u201d once. pic.twitter.com/luucCArdjA\u2014 Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) March 18, 2020As often happens, the political demonization dovetails with public discrimination. Reported attacks against people of Asian descent have increased both in the United States and internationally."}
{"claim_id": "6761", "claim": "Woman strangled at North Carolina assisted living center.", "explanation": "Authorities are investigating the strangulation of a woman found dead a month ago at a North Carolina assisted living center.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, North Carolina, Assisted living, Tarboro", "main_text": "No arrests have been made in the death of 75-year-old Rebecca Eudy, who was found April 5 at Open Fields Assisted Living in Tarboro. Her death certificate says Eudy asphyxiated and suffered traumatic injuries to her neck. Eudy was charged with assault in December after a fight with a 46-year-old man living at Open Fields who allegedly exposed himself to her. Open Fields is an adult care facility, which houses the elderly and also some people with severe and persistent mental illness. Eudy\u2019s daughter has filed a complaint with the state Department of Health and Human Services after learning that her mother\u2019s death was being treated as a homicide."}
{"claim_id": "17890", "claim": "One out of four corporations doesn't pay a nickel in (federal income) taxes.", "explanation": "Sanders said that one out of four corporations doesn\u2019t pay a nickel in taxes. The statement reflects a 2008 study from the Government Accountability Office. However, the GAO study did not distinguish between firms that had losses in the normal course of business and those that reported losses solely through the use of the tax code. Groups along the political spectrum give much weight to the costs of doing business that can lead to a bad year. There is wide agreement that losses in one year can be carried forward and that salaries are an unavoidable expense, to mention just two factors. Special tax breaks and abuses of the tax code exist but even an analysis from a group that shares many of Sanders\u2019 perspectives pointed to a ratio that was, at most, one out of six and possibly as small as one out of 16. The one out of four statistic fails to take into account many relevant factors.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Taxes, Bernie Sanders, ", "main_text": "The taxes paid, or not paid, by corporations is a perennial topic in Washington. There is broad agreement that the current rules should be changed but no consensus on what those changes ought to be. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pulled out a dramatic statistic during a Sept. 24, 2013, back-and-forth with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on CNN\u2019s Crossfire. \"One out of four corporations doesn't pay a nickel in taxes,\" Sanders said. The two senators were talking about federal income taxes, and we decided we should check to see if Sanders\u2019 claim is accurate. In the context of his debate with Graham, the implication is that if it weren't for special deals in the tax code, these companies would be writing checks to the Internal Revenue Service. Sanders'\u00a0office pointed us to a Government Accountability Office study from 2008. The GAO conducts analysis for Congress. In one sense, that study found that Sanders understated the situation. For all corporations, about two-thirds, or about 1.2 million, paid no federal income taxes in 2005. But many of those firms are quite small -- an owner and a couple of employees. For large U.S.-controlled corporations, those with at least $250 million in assets or $50 million in gross receipts, one out of four paid no taxes, as Sanders said. The total revenues for those large companies was about $1.08 trillion. That, however, is not the end of the story. Why they owe no taxes We will focus on the large corporations because those seemed to be the ones Sanders had in mind. The GAO study found that 80 percent of those firms reported no income at the point in their tax return when they subtracted salaries and wages and took other deductions. That is, they showed a gross profit based on selling items for more than it cost to produce them, but they had additional expenses after that, such as payroll and tax deductions, which drove their taxable income to zero. The GAO lumped together firms that paid no taxes because they failed to turn a profit and those that were profitable but used additional wrinkles in the tax code to avoid paying the government. Distinguishing between those two groups sheds light on the situation. Citizens for Tax Justice is a research group that has as one of its goals \"requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share.\" It has written in defense of Sanders\u2019 positions before, but its most recent study of corporate tax payments suggests that the one-in-four statistic might be less significant than it seems. Steve Wamhoff, the group\u2019s legislative director, said their 2011 report started with the Fortune 500 companies and culled the ones that met two criteria: they had three consecutive years of profitability from 2008 to 2010, and they provided enough information to do an accurate analysis. Of the 500, 220 did not meet those standards. With some notable exceptions, such as Google and Microsoft, the primary reason those 220 companies fell off the list was they had real losses. \"We get the fact that if you have profits one year but not the next year, you would carry your losses forward,\" Wamhoff said. \"We get that, but if you\u2019ve been profitable for three years straight, those are the ones who really should be paying taxes.\" Of the 280 consistently profitable corporations that remained, the study found that 22 paid no taxes in 2008, 49 paid none in 2009, and 37 paid none in 2010. Across all three years, there were 30 corporations that had a tax rate of zero or even a negative rate. The negative rate meant they might get a rebate check from Washington or have a tax credit they could apply to future earnings. Many familiar names show up in this list, such as Wells Fargo, Boeing, Verizon and General Electric. In the study\u2019s three-year span, those 30 companies had pre-tax profits of about $160 billion, but their direct contribution to the federal treasury was zero. Citizens for Tax Justice pointed the finger at the rules for accelerated depreciation and stock options. The report said these and various other deductions allowed the firms to avoid hefty tax bills. However, those policy matters fall outside the scope of this fact check. A lack of profits tends to reduce the tax bill For fact-checking purposes, the Citizens for Tax Justice findings are interesting for another reason. If pre-tax losses explain why a large number of firms would not owe the government money, then the meaning of Sanders\u2019\u00a0claim begins to look quite different. We would not expect a firm without profits to pay taxes. The GAO study did not probe this deeply. The Citizens for Tax Justice did, albeit for a smaller group of corporations. In rough terms, out of the original 500 corporations, 220 or about 40 percent were dealing with losses. The study found 78 consitently profitable companies, or about 15 percent of the original 500, that paid no taxes in at least one year. That is less than one out of four; it\u2019s closer to one out of six. If we look at the 30 that paid nothing in any year, the ratio drops to one out of 16. Eric Toder, co-director of the Tax Policy Center, generally seen as a centrist think tank, cautions against reading too much into the 2008 GAO study. In a blog post written shortly after it was released, he called it \"interesting and suggestive, though also not conclusive.\" Toder noted that most corporations are quite small with gross receipts of less than $250,000. They report no income because the money turns up as paychecks to the owner and employers where it is subject to the individual income tax. He agreed that some large corporations use \"aggressive techniques to shift reported profits to low-tax jurisdictions,\" but even those end up paying some U.S. taxes. Toder\u2019s bottom line on the one out of four statistic? \"Whatever the technical factual basis of the statement, it isn\u2019t terribly meaningful or revealing.\" William McBride, chief economist at the Tax Foundation, a group that promotes lower taxes,\u00a0finds Sanders\u2019 ratio\u00a0\"misleading.\" McBride, as do the other analysts we contacted, pointed to the costs of doing business. His list included salaries and wages, interest, depreciation, rent and other taxes. \"You cannot legitimately deny these businesses these write-offs,\" McBride said. Our ruling Sanders said that one out of four corporations doesn\u2019t pay a nickel in taxes. The statement reflects a 2008 study from the Government Accountability Office. However, the GAO study did not distinguish between firms that had losses in the normal course of business and those that reported losses solely through the use of the tax code. Groups along the political spectrum give much weight to the costs of doing business that can lead to a bad year. There is wide agreement that losses in one year can be carried forward and that salaries are an unavoidable expense, to mention just two factors. Special tax breaks and abuses of the tax code exist but even an analysis from a group that shares many of Sanders\u2019 perspectives pointed to a ratio that was, at most, one out of six and possibly as small as one out of 16. The one out of four statistic fails to take into account many relevant factors. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "27765", "claim": "Getting your hair washed at a beauty salon can, in rare cases, increase the chances of a stroke.", "explanation": "Just don\u2019t bend your neck back, literally, at all. It can be something as simple as saying, \u201cput five or six towels down.\u201d\u00a0Don\u2019t bend your neck back, no matter how comfortable you are, or what your stylist says.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Uncategorized, beauty parlor stroke syndrome, salon, stroke", "main_text": "In January 2014, a woman in San Diego, California, went to a local salon to get her hair done. What happened next sounds like the most nightmarish of urban legends: the angle and degree she was tilted in the chair and the way her head tipped back over the sink while the stylist was washing her hair caused Elizabeth Smith\u00a0to have a stroke two weeks later: \u201cI vomited, my head became hot and I couldn\u2019t stand. I had weakness in my arms and legs. They didn\u2019t think I was going to live,\u201d said Smith, choking back tears. Smith says she could hardly believe what nearly killed her. Her doctors pointed to her time in the shampoo chair. Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome is what they called it. It\u2019s a rare but documented condition. Multiple doctors who saw Smith say when her neck was bent backwards, it hyperextended, her vertebrae slicing an artery. A clot began forming, later causing a stroke. \u201cSeveral of Ms. Smith\u2019s neurologists confirmed with her that the stroke was caused by the vertebra dissecting her artery during her hair wash,\u201d said Smith\u2019s attorney Carree Nahama. The danger is real, although the probability\u00a0of it happening is low. A study that came out in 1993, subsequently covered by the New York Times,\u00a0found\u00a0that older people have a higher risk of a stroke during or after a visit to the beauty salon (Smith was in her late 40s at the time): The patients suffered from a variety of complaints attributable to poor blood flow in arteries leading through the neck to the back of the brain, including severe dizziness, imbalance and facial numbness. Four out of five suffered strokes leading to permanent neurologic damage. \u201cIn older people, neck motion beyond a certain degree can be extremely dangerous, particularly hyperextension and rotation,\u201d said Dr. Weintraub, chief of neurology at Phelps Memorial Hospital in North Tarrytown, N.Y., referring to backward arching and twisting. He and others have suggested that patients receiving anesthesia or undergoing prolonged dental work may also be vulnerable, since they too have their necks arched back abnormally for prolonged periods. A 2006 study\u00a0also looked into the issue, saying while it probably occurred more than previously thought, the risk of stroke\u00a0in these cases was easily alleviated: Taken together, hyperextension combined with hanging the head backwards in a hair washbasin can be seen as a risk factor for posterior circulation ischemia. It probably occurs more often than assumed and a number of patients may report about previous dizziness episodes under the same conditions when asked specifically. It can be prevented by changing the shampoo routine from the hanging head position to a flexed or neutral position. Dr. Scott Olson, a vascular neurologist\u00a0at the University of California, San Diego, told us that while he hasn\u2019t seen this specific case, he has seen this\u00a0particular injury (more commonly called a \u201cvertebral artery\u00a0dissection,\u201d which can lead to subsequent clotting and stroke) and it\u2019s not unprecedented: It\u2019s pretty much a fluke. I\u00a0have seen people who\u2019ve had this happen while surfing, they happen after dental visits. I had an auto mechanic who was working on a car for a day and had his head hanging over a creeper\u2026 I\u00a0had a patient fall asleep in a movie theater and ended up having a dissection. [But] \u2026It\u2019s like a lot of things in life where it\u2019s the same thing you\u2019ve done. I\u00a0think people should not be inordinately worried about it. I mean, tens of thousands of people across this country have their hair washed at salons every day. It\u2019s very statistically uncommon. He says there are signs to watch\u00a0for after a potential injury: Things people should pay attention to, should be concerned about? Pain on one side of the neck after extension, and obviously, any neurologic symptoms like vertigo. There\u2019s some genetic disorders, like Marfan Syndrome, hyperextensible joints, or connective tissue disease that will make you more prone. Elizabeth Smith says she racked up $250,000 in medical bills and has permanently lost part of her\u00a0vision and mobility. She is now\u00a0suing\u00a0the salon for damages. On 30 March 2016, we spoke to Smith. She told us: I had no idea that the story would go on, and I\u2019m glad that it has. The two big skepticisms really are \u2014 people think that you feel something, but you feel nothing, because your artery has no nerves, so you feel nothing when it happens. So just because you\u2019re like \u201coh, I\u2019m comfortable,\u201d doesn\u2019t mean it hasn\u2019t happened. The other thing is that the delay from injury to stroke is because you get a little bit of a bleed, and a little bleed won\u2019t clog or occlude your artery. It takes your body time to build a clot big enough to do the damage, roughly two weeks. For me, it was 8 days, but that wasn\u2019t the full stroke."}
{"claim_id": "10257", "claim": "Busting the vitamin C myth", "explanation": "This report does a good job of using a recent, credible report to debunk the myth that taking vitamin C can prevent or treat colds. The segment uses its medium fairly well to deliver the key message. The piece has two major weaknesses. First, it fails to make\u00a0clear the distinction between the benefits of vitamin C supplements and whole foods rich in the vitamin. More important is the\u00a0overstatement the physician-journalist made about the possiblilty the vitamin itself can help prevent cancer. This is\u00a0a\u00a0major error that can mislead viewers about a very serious condition. (This problem is compounded at the end of the piece when the host says, \"I\u2019m still taking vitamin C,\" without any challenge from the physician-journalist.) At the end of the piece, the host tells viewers that more information is available\u00a0from its online partner, WebMD. This is commendable, a best practice in broadcast medical news. The\u00a0WebMD article does indeed provide additional details about the Cochrane report that can help viewers understand the topic better.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Information about how much it would cost to take the\u00a0vitamin prophylactically for a year would have made a useful point\u2013taking vitamin C isn\u2019t just ineffective, it\u2019s costly. It would also have been good to report how much\u00a0money Americans spend on vitamin C products to treat colds\u2013not just the supplements but lozenges, often-expensive vitamin C products marketed for cold treatment, etc. The physician-journalist accurately describes the findings in a way people can easily understand on television\u2013essentially that there is no benefit of taking C in preventing colds, with\u00a0the exception\u00a0of one key subgoup of little relevance to most Americans. Given the nature of the findings, more precise quantification is not needed. The report fails to indicate that taking high levels of vitamin C, as some advocates\u00a0suggest, can have serious health consequences, from dental erosion to kidney toxicity. It can also interact with aspirin and other drugs. The story looked at numerous trials that passed a high quality bar. It also\u00a0identified the source of the information well. But the physician-reporter added a worrisome\u00a0note that \"it [vitamin C] may even help prevent cancer for sure.\" This is a broad, potentially misleading\u00a0overstatement for which no evidence is given. In fact, the American Cancer Society makes clear that diets rich in fruits and vegetables, which are high in vitamin C and many other nutrients, are believed to reduce risk of cancer. The ACS makes clear that there is no evidence linking the vitamin itself to reduced cancer risk. This problem is compounded at the end of the piece when the host says, \"I\u2019m still taking vitamin C,\" without any challenge from the physician-journalist. The report does not exaggerate the risks of the common cold. The\u00a0segment accurately\u00a0indicates the\u00a0high crediblity of the Cochrane\u00a0group, and there appear to be no underlying conflicts of interest that would call the conclusions into question. When the discussion shifts to the importance of adequate intake of vitamin C, the physician-journalist fails to make sufficiently clear that the known benefits of vitamin C are from eating whole foods high in the vitamin. Thus the viewer does not fully understand that eating these foods is a wise alternative to taking the supplements. The report ends nicely with the note that the only proven method of reducing colds risk is to wash hands. Vitamin C supplements are widely available. The report accurately describes vitamin C as widely used. Like most media reports of this study, this one drew heavily on the Cochrane abstract itself. It shares some language with other reports, but not in a way that demonstrates lack of rigor."}
{"claim_id": "4624", "claim": "UN demands immediate halt to attacks in Ebola areas in Congo.", "explanation": "The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday called on armed groups jeopardizing the response to an Ebola outbreak in Congo to immediately halt their attacks, expressing \u201cgreat concern\u201d at the potential regional spread of the often deadly virus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Africa, Burundi, Health, United Nations, South Sudan", "main_text": "A resolution adopted unanimously by the U.N.\u2019s most powerful body condemned the attacks \u201cin the strongest terms,\u201d especially \u201cthose posing serious security risks for responders.\u201d It singled out Allied Democratic Forces rebels. The council said the security situation in areas affected by the Ebola outbreak \u201cis severely hampering the response efforts and facilitating the spread of the virus\u201d in Congo and the region. Members cited a World Health Organization warning and expressed \u201cgreat concern about the potential for the virus to spread into Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi.\u201d The resolution adopted by the council demanded that all parties \u201censure full, safe, immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian and medical personnel\u201d to Ebola-affected areas. This is the first time an Ebola outbreak has occurred in Congo\u2019s far northeast, where multiple rebel groups are active. Last week, the ministry of health said teams responding to the Ebola outbreak are attacked three or four times a week on average, a level of violence unseen in the country\u2019s nine previous outbreaks of the virus. Ebola is spread via the body fluids of infected people, including the dead. The health ministry said Monday there were 239 confirmed cases and 35 probable cases. At least 120 people have died. In trying to contain the outbreak, which was declared on Aug. 1, health experts have faced resistance from wary communities, with infected people slipping away. Safe burials are often flashpoints where families bristle at outsiders telling them how to say goodbye to loved ones. In one example of the rumors that pose challenges to containing the virus, the health ministry said this month that 22 young people in the northeastern city of Butembo dug up an Ebola victim and opened the body bag to verify that health workers had not taken organs from the body. The resolution adopted by the council emphasized the need for Congo\u2019s government and those providing assistance \u201cto enhance efforts to communicate to the public\u201d and implement safety and health protocols and preventive measures. This will \u201cmitigate against misinformation and undue alarm about the transmission and extent of the outbreak among and between individuals and communities,\u201d the council said. The resolution also underscored the need to step up engagement with local communities and work closely with religious leaders, youth and women\u2019s groups, and affected families, including on resuming humanitarian assistance. The Security Council also emphasized that \u201cmen and women are affected differently by the Ebola outbreak\u201d and the response must address their different needs. It urged international support to bring the Ebola outbreak under control. Ethiopia\u2019s U.N. Ambassador Tekeda Alemu said it is \u201cvital\u201d that the international community provides flexible financial support \u201cto enable a more rapid response.\u201d Sweden\u2019s U.N, deputy ambassador Carl Skau said the resolution \u201csends a clear, coherent and comprehensive message of support to all those involved in the front-line response efforts, on the ground in (Congo) and in neighboring countries.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "5909", "claim": "Minnesota environmentalists aren\u2019t excited about DFL\u2019s wins.", "explanation": "Minnesota\u2019s most influential environmental organizations are often politically aligned with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. But many of those groups aren\u2019t feeling particularly victorious after the DFL\u2019s big victories earlier this month.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Lake Superior, Environment, Mark Dayton, Minnesota", "main_text": "That\u2019s because they don\u2019t expect much change when it comes to two of the state\u2019s most fiercely contested natural resources projects: PolyMet\u2019s proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota and the plan to replace an aging Enbridge oil pipeline that enters the state from Canada and North Dakota and ends near Lake Superior. Several environmental organizations opposing PolyMet and the Enbridge Line 3 project say DFLer Tim Walz, Gov. Mark Dayton\u2019s successor, is unlikely to dramatically change course for the mine or pipeline, even if he supports many of their other causes. \u201cRight now I\u2019m not seeing any indication that there\u2019s going to be a message to change what\u2019s been going on in any kind of significant way,\u201d said Scott Strand, a senior attorney for the Environmental Law and Policy Center. --- The nonprofit news outlet MinnPost provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News. --- The PolyMet project took a leap forward earlier this month when the Department of Natural Resources granted it key environmental permits. The DNR\u2019s long-awaited decision was celebrated by many who see the $1 billion project as a source of jobs, but the plan has been fought tooth-and-nail by some environmentalists worried its waste could pollute Lake Superior and the surrounding watershed. Dayton has put up some hurdles for the Enbridge project. His Department of Commerce has been vocal in its opposition. He also vetoed a bill that would have authorized the pipeline to move ahead without typical approval from the Public Utilities Commission, though the five-member PUC board \u2014 made up of three Democrats, a Republican and a nonpartisan member \u2014 approved the project in June anyway. The PUC recently unanimously rejected petitions to reconsider that decision, leading protesters to march to Walz\u2019s new office at the Capitol. As governor, Walz won\u2019t be able to unilaterally stop either project. But as Strand noted, some state agencies need to approve permits for Enbridge and said more robust opposition from Walz could influence them, even if Walz can\u2019t \u201cpreordain\u201d an outcome. (Legal battles over the PUC decision are likely to reach the state Supreme Court, too.) Aaron Klemz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), said he believes a new DNR under Walz could restart the environmental review process based on MCEA\u2019s assertion that PolyMet is planning to build a much bigger mine than it has proposed. Dayton has supported PolyMet. That project also needs additional permits before it can open. Walz maintains PolyMet should move forward if the company\u2019s plan meets state environmental standards. He has a similar stance on the Enbridge Line 3 replacement, but Walz spokeswoman Kayla Castaneda said in an email there \u201cmust be meaningful engagement with all the tribes affected by the project,\u201d especially the ones opposed to it. The proposed route for the pipeline doesn\u2019t cross any tribal land, but it would span wild rice waters tribes have rights to, and areas with cultural importance. \u201cWhen it comes to a project that could impact our environment, I believe we need to follow the science,\u201d Walz said in a written statement. \u201cIf a project meets or exceeds all environmental standards, then it should be permitted. If it does not, it should not.\u201d Environmental groups have been eagerly waiting to see whom Walz appoints to lead key agencies as a signal of how his administration may approach PolyMet, Enbridge and other projects. Castaneda said Walz\u2019s Cabinet choices are expected to be announced in mid-December. But many say they\u2019re not holding their breath for commissioners with an environmentalist slant. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing that\u2019s been promised on the campaign trail that would suggest that he\u2019s been any different than Dayton has been,\u201d Klemz said. Tara Houska, campaigns director for Honor the Earth, an organization fighting Enbridge, said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan\u2019s strong opposition to the pipeline has sparked optimism that the Walz administration will follow suit. But she criticized Walz, saying he has not been clear enough in his position on the pipeline and said she hopes Flanagan\u2019s stance and status as a member of the White Earth Nation \u201ctranslates to action\u201d and isn\u2019t simply \u201cpolitical cover.\u201d Houska noted Michigan\u2019s incoming Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has been flatly against replacing an Enbridge pipeline in her state. Supporters of the Enbridge project in Minnesota say a new pipeline would be safer than the old one and its construction would create jobs in rural Minnesota. Enbridge says the existing pipeline is not operating at full capacity because of safety worries. Opponents worry about spills and other possible environmental problems with a new pipeline, and are urging an end to projects that support fossil fuels amid escalating global temperatures. The frustration of Minnesota\u2019s environmental groups illustrates their lack of political traction on PolyMet and Enbridge, as well as the split inside the DFL between those favoring economic development through jobs in natural resource industries versus those concerned about potential damage to the environment. PolyMet has been supported by most prominent Republicans and DFLers, who say the project can be done safely. The company has promised hundreds of jobs, a claim that\u2019s been backed up by some research, and the DNR is satisfied with PolyMet\u2019s pollution-protection measures. The state has also secured financial promises from PolyMet in case of trouble, although some have questioned whether it\u2019s enough money to fix a disaster. Environmentalists still do support much of Walz\u2019s agenda. For instance, Walz been skeptical of another project, a potential Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and the Boundary Waters Action Fund ran ads to support him. Castaneda took pains to show the concerns of environmental organizations are not sidelined. She said Walz\u2019s administration is reaching out to pro-industry and environmental groups for input to build bridges and garner advice for Cabinet appointees. For now, the MCEA and other environmental groups will continue their fight to stop Enbridge Line 3 and PolyMet largely with lawsuits, protests and outside lobbying of state government. Not all environmental groups are discouraged. Margaret Levin, state director for the Sierra Club\u2019s North Star Chapter, struck a hopeful tone when interviewed by MinnPost. Though her chapter has been opposed to the PolyMet and Enbridge projects, she didn\u2019t criticize Walz or other DFLers directly. Levin said the Walz administration has \u201cpotential\u201d to help the state \u201ccome together around long-term economic growth and sustainability that will be truly sustainable and clean and equitable.\u201d She also singled out Flanagan\u2019s opposition to Enbridge as positive. \u201cI think that the governor-elect is a populist and understands and appreciates the power in the grassroots,\u201d Levin said."}
{"claim_id": "17128", "claim": "More \"25- to 34-year-olds are moving to Austin than any other city in America.", "explanation": "Wynn said more 25- to 34-year-olds are moving to Austin than any other city in America. Wynn did not offer nor did we find data specific to individual cities. But four major metro areas, led by Washington, D.C., netted more new residents in the cited age group in the latest three years checked by Brookings demographer James Frey. The Austin area ranked fifth among the nation\u2019s major metros. We see no basis for currently declaring Austin No. 1, but Wynn's claim has an element of truth; the Austin area was the biggest draw for young adults in some recent three-year periods.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Census, Population, Texas, Will Wynn, ", "main_text": "Former Austin Mayor Will Wynn, who often speaks on urban growth, suggested that Austin\u2019s attractiveness to retirees and young Americans helps explain demand for downtown housing. \"As our society ages, and as boomers start retiring by the millions, we\u2019re going to see a dramatic increase in the demand for dense urban multifamily housing, with a broad mix of uses nearby,\" Wynn told the Austin American-Statesman for a March 30, 2014, news story headlined \"Austin\u2019s rebuilding boom.\" \"Couple that with the fact that more 25- to 34-year-olds are moving to Austin than any other city in America,\" Wynn said, \"and you\u2019ve got yourself a hell of a strong demand for urban housing. I tell people that by any way you possibly measure it \u2014 quality of life, public safety, environmental sustainability, public health and fitness, economic \u2014 mixed-use density is literally the answer.\" Density preferences aside, is Wynn right that more young adults are moving to Austin than to any other U.S. city? Wynn recalls a newspaper story By phone and email, Wynn said he learned of Austin\u2019s draw from a Statesman news story citing U.S Census Bureau research. He didn\u2019t have the story handy, but we found a March 30, 2013, Statesman news story stating that analyses of U.S Census Bureau data by William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, found that from 2009 through 2011, the Austin metro area drew more Americans in the cited age span than any other U.S. city--just as the area did the previous three years, the story said. Frey, the newspaper said, measured rates for annual average net migration (including people who left Austin) of young adults ages 25 to 34 and young adults with college degrees. \"Austin hits the trifecta,\" Frey said then. \"It's got jobs, cachet, it's got people who see that it's a pathway to careers, either because they go there to get an education or to use an education.\" Frey further said jobs typically are the top reason people move. Twenty-somethings traditionally have the highest rates of mobility, and college graduates typically are more willing to move out of state for jobs because they tend to compete for them in national markets, Frey said then. Updated analysis places Austin-Round Rock fifth But there's been a change in the rankings, according to Frey\u2019s Nov. 15, 2013, analysis of more recent census data. The Austin-Round Rock metro area placed fifth among 51 major metro areas as a draw on \"millennials,\" adults in the cited age group, from 2009 through 2012, according to a chart posted online by Brookings. Over those three years, the Austin-Round Rock area had an average annual gain of 8,061 25- to 34-year-olds, Frey wrote. Washington, D.C., ranked first among major metro areas with an average annual gain of 12,583 people in the age group, he wrote. Also, the Denver, Portland, Ore., and Houston areas netted greater gains than the Austin area, according to Frey\u2019s breakdown. On the Brookings site, Frey described the D.C. results as a \"renewal of young adults in the post-recession period\u2026 compared to the loss of young adults during the recession. The existence of both government and non-government employment opportunities in a highly educated \u2018millennial friendly\u2019 environment make the nation\u2019s capital an attractive destination until migration flows to a broader group of areas emerge. \"A few other areas, including San Francisco and Minneapolis, have showed a rising post-recession young adult boom as well,\" Frey wrote. His chart shows the San Francisco area ranked sixth among major metro areas with an average annual gain of 7,688 such young adults in the three years. The Minneapolis area, 11th among major metros, had an average annual gain of 3,708 adults in the age group, according to the chart. Researcher says No. 5 isn't so bad To our inquiry, Frey said by email that while Austin\u2019s rank fell between the cited time periods, there is another way to compare--by the rate of change in such adults settling in major metro areas. By that measure, Frey added, the Austin-Round Rock area\u2019s 2.7 net gain per 100 25- to 34-year-olds placed it second among major metros only to the Denver area, which had a 3.0 rate, he said. Still, Frey said he considers numeric gains to be a more accurate measure of where migrants are going. Numeric gains, he said, are \"not affected by the size of the destination population \u00a0In other words, among all the places in the country, which places are gaining the biggest aggregate numbers of migrants? The rate, is more of an \u2018impact\u2019 measure: how are recent migrants affecting the destination population?\" Generally, Frey said, the Austin area \"has both educational and employment opportunities relevant to young people who are looking to advance -- especially during a period when many other places have taken sharp employment hits. Even if young people coming to Austin are not getting their dream jobs right away, they will be networking with others who might make that happen. This will not be the case in many other places.\" We wondered why Austin\u2019s rank slipped. Frey said that as the economy \"slowly revives elsewhere, there will \u00a0be competitors, but being number two or number five\" isn\u2019t bad, he wrote. Wynn, apprised of the Austin area\u2019s latest ranking, speculated by email that Austin by itself, rather than the metro area, draws more young adults than any other U.S. city. Our ruling Wynn said more 25- to 34-year-olds are moving to Austin than any other city in America. Wynn did not offer nor did we find data specific to individual cities. But four major metro areas, led by Washington, D.C., netted more new residents in the cited age group in the latest three years checked by Brookings demographer James Frey. The Austin area ranked fifth among the nation\u2019s major metros. We see no basis for currently declaring Austin No. 1, but Wynn's claim has an element of truth; the Austin area was the biggest draw for young adults in some recent three-year periods. We rate his statement as . \u2013 The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."}
{"claim_id": "1679", "claim": "Denver Zoo mourns death of oldest hippo, 58-year-old 'Bertie'.", "explanation": "Denver Zoo was mourning the death on Monday of Bertie, a 58-year-old male hippopotamus who was its longest resident and the oldest hippo accredited to a North American zoo, officials said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Bertie was humanely euthanized after his keepers saw \u201ca significant decline in his quality of life due to his advanced age,\u201d the zoo said in a statement. Most hippos live about 30 to 40 years in the wild, and up to 50 in zoos. \u201cThis is a very sad loss for Denver Zoo and our community. Bert was a member of our family for more than 50 years,\u201d zoo President and Chief Executive Shannon Block said. \u201cHe will be missed by all of us, including the many families and children who visited him and came to know his charismatic personality over the years,\u201d Block said in the statement. The zoo said Bertie\u2019s appetite had recently decreased noticeably, and that he had become less consistently interested in training sessions with his keepers. He also became more reluctant to leave his pool and showed some difficulty walking. The zoo said veterinarians were limited in their treatment options because he had not responded well to medications. Diagnosing problems in hippos is particularly difficult because of their size and anatomy, the zoo said, but all of Bertie\u2019s symptoms pointed to severe old age. Ultimately, the zoo said, his caretakers knew that his quality of life would not improve. \u201cThis is never an easy decision, but it was the right one,\u201d said the zoo\u2019s Vice President of Veterinary Medicine Scott Larsen. \u201cWe\u2019ll all miss him very much, but were glad he lived such a long, happy life here at the zoo.\u201d   Bertie arrived in 1958 from New York\u2019s Central Park Zoo. He is the father of every hippo calf born at Denver Zoo, which said he had sired 29 offspring with two mates. One of them, Bertie\u2019s 12-year-old son, Mahali, is the only hippo now at the zoo."}
{"claim_id": "980", "claim": "EU court orders countries take hard line on air quality.", "explanation": "The European Union\u2019s top court ruled on Wednesday that cities needed to act if pollution levels were exceeded in a single black spot rather than based on an average across a region, taking a hard line in a case brought by Brussels residents.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "European governments are facing pressure to reduce the level of pollution in cities to address growing concerns about the long-term damage to public health of exposure to pollutants, particularly those from vehicle diesel engines. A report released last year by the European Court of Auditors said that air pollution causes about 400,000 premature deaths each year in the EU and hundreds of billions of euros in health-related external costs. EU law requires countries to assess the level, notably in urban areas, of a range of pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter, and take action if certain limits are hit. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) was asked to rule in a case brought against Brussels by residents and campaign group ClientEarth over the region\u2019s air quality plan. The ECJ judgment came a day after a ground-breaking ruling where a local court said France was responsible for air pollution in the Ile-de-France region around Paris, although it did not award damages to a mother and daughter who had suffered respiratory ailments. The ECJ said that while authorities could choose where to conduct sampling, this needed to include the most polluted areas and concluded that the average measurement from different parts of the city did not show the exposure to pollutants. To determine whether a limit had been reached in a calendar year it was sufficient if the pollution level was higher than the limit at a single sampling point, the ECJ said. It also found that national courts were empowered to review the location of air quality stations and could order local authorities to make sure they are located appropriately. \u201cThe ostrich-like approach, where some authorities try to hide the real extent of pollution rather than ensure their citizens breathe clean air, must stop,\u201d Jens Muller, air quality manager at Brussels-based campaign group Transport and Environment, said in a statement."}
{"claim_id": "5583", "claim": "Alabama: Case of meningococcal disease in Jackson County.", "explanation": "The Alabama Department of Public Health\u2019s Immunization Division is investigating a case of meningococcal disease, the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children between the ages of 2 and 18 in the United States.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Immunizations, Meningitis, Health, Alabama, Public health, Scottsboro, United States", "main_text": "In a news release Tuesday, the department said the case was found at Scottsboro Junior High School in Jackson County. No other cases have been identified. Medical Officer Dr. Karen Landers says the department has already started contacting parents to make them aware of the exposure. Symptoms of meningococcal disease include a sudden onset of fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion and sometimes a rash. Landers says the disease is highly contagious and spread to others within two to 10 days by contact through respiratory and throat secretions, such as saliva."}
{"claim_id": "6408", "claim": "America\u2019s air isn\u2019t getting cleaner as fast as it used to.", "explanation": "For decades America\u2019s air was getting cleaner as levels of a key smog ingredient steadily dropped. That changed about seven years ago when pollution reductions leveled off, a new study found.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Colorado, North America, Science, Smog, U.S. News, Air quality, Pollution", "main_text": "This means when tighter federal air quality standards go into effect later this year, many more cities may find themselves on the dirty air list. There are several reasons for the flattening of nitrogen oxide levels including hard-to-reduce industrial and truck pollution, said study co-author Helen Worden, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. The study, in Monday\u2019s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used satellite and ground measurements to track nitrogen oxides, a major ingredient in smog. Levels fell 7 percent from 2005 to 2009, but only dropped 1.7 percent from 2011 to 2015. \u201cWe can\u2019t say anymore it\u2019s going down,\u201d Worden said. The results also show the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s computer models overestimate how clean the air really is, said University of North Carolina\u2019s Jason West, who wasn\u2019t part of the study. Smog is created when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds cook in sunlight. Those chemicals come from cars, trucks, power and industrial plants. In 2015, the EPA proposed new air quality standards limiting smog levels to 70 parts per billion, down from the current 75 parts per billion. Those rules are slated to go into effect this fall, but that has been delayed once already. More than 170 counties in the United States are already exceeding the older clean air standard for smog, according to the EPA. Worden and colleagues tried to figure out what was happening, ruling out the flow of the smog ingredient from China since levels in that country went down since it tightened its air quality rules. While the 2008 recession may have played a role in the slowdown, Worden said there were other bigger factors at play. The biggest and easiest pollution reductions have already been achieved, leaving smaller, more difficult cuts, Worden said. University of Maryland air scientist Ross Salawitch said exposure to elevated ozone can lead to coughing and difficulty breathing, and make respiratory diseases such as asthma worse. For Worden, who lived in Los Angeles in the early 2000s when it was smoggier than it is now, she would bicycle to work and check ozone levels daily. If smog levels were high, \u201cit would really make my lungs burn,\u201d she said. ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter: @borenbears . His work can be found here . ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "2791", "claim": "Drug critic slams FDA over antibiotic oversight in meat production.", "explanation": "The United States Food and Drug Administration allowed 18 animal drugs to stay on the market even after an agency review found the drugs posed a \u201chigh risk\u201d of exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria through food supply, according to a study released Monday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The study by the NRDC, a non-governmental group that criticizes the widespread use of drugs in the meat industry, is the latest salvo in the national debate over the long-standing practice of antibiotic use in meat production. Agribusinesses say animal drugs help increase production and keep prices low for U.S. consumers, while consumer advocates and some scientists raise concerns over antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The FDA stirred the debate late last year when it unveiled guidelines for drug makers and agricultural companies to voluntarily phase out antibiotic use as a growth enhancer in livestock. The agency said those guidelines were an effort to stem the surge in human resistance to certain antibiotics. But the NRDC\u2019s study found the FDA took no action to remove 30 antibiotic-based livestock feed products from the market even after federal investigators determined many of those antibiotics fell short of current regulatory standards for protecting human health. NRDC studied a review conducted by the FDA from 2001 to 2010 that focused on 30 penicillin and tetracycline-based antibiotic feed additives. The drugs had been approved by regulators to be used specifically for growth promotion of livestock and poultry - essentially to produce more meat to sell. The FDA, in a statement, said it began a review of older, approved penicillin and tetracycline products in 2001, and issued letters to companies who made the products asking for additional safety data. \u201cBased on its review of this and other information, the Agency chose to employ a strategy that would more broadly address the concerns about the production use of medically important antimicrobials in food-producing animals,\u201d the FDA said. Some academics specializing in antibiotic resistance criticized the NRDC\u2019s study, saying that the findings do not reflect current regulatory standards because some of the drugs have been withdrawn from the market. They also say that the study assessed FDA safety guidelines that have been replaced with more stringent standards. Dr. Randall Singer, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, told Reuters that drug makers and the U.S. livestock industry are phasing out antibiotics used principally for growth promotion. \u201cWe have been telling (both of) them for years to be prepared for the elimination of growth promotion and feed efficiency labeling because you cannot make that change overnight,\u201d said Singer, who reviewed the NRDC report for Reuters. The NRDC, which reviewed more than 3,000 pages of documents through a federal Freedom of Information Act request, said it found evidence to suggest nine of the drugs are still on the market and used by livestock producers. Reuters was not able to independently verify that detail immediately. One of the drugs still on the market is animal health company Zoetis Inc\u2019s Penicillin G Procaine 50/100, which is fed to poultry in part to aid in weight gain. The NRDC says the FDA twice laid out its concerns to that drug maker that the product failed to meet safety regulations. The unnamed original sponsor of the drug apparently disputed the regulators\u2019 findings, according to excerpts from a 1997 letter sent to the FDA and included in documents obtained by the NRDC. A spokeswoman for Zoetis, a unit of Pfizer Inc that owns the drug today, said the company already is working to phase out use of the drug for growth promotion as part of the new FDA guidelines and is planning to relabel the drug for more limited purposes. Once companies remove farm-production uses of their antibiotics from drug labels, it would become illegal for those drugs to be used for those purposes, Deputy FDA Commissioner Michael Taylor told reporters recently. Although the program is meant to be voluntary, Taylor said the FDA would be able to take regulatory action against companies that fail to comply. In its statement on Monday, the FDA said it is \u201cconfident that its current strategy to protect the effectiveness of medically important antimicrobials, including penicillins and tetracyclines, is the most efficient and effective way to change the use of these products in animal agriculture.\u201d  NRDC attorney Avinash Kar, one of the study\u2019s authors, said the group\u2019s findings raise questions about whether regulators will be effective in enforcing the new guidelines. \u201cThe FDA\u2019s failure to act on its own findings about the 30 reviewed antibiotic feed additives is part of a larger pattern of delay and inaction in tackling livestock drug use that goes back four decades,\u201d Kar told Reuters."}
{"claim_id": "32355", "claim": "Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson admonished a little girl who said she wanted to live on the planet Jupiter.", "explanation": "Larson\u2019s apparent mistaking of ClickHole\u00a0for a straightforward popular news\u00a0outlet wasn\u2019t the first instance of (sometimes widespread) confusion over the site\u2019s satirical nature. Prior ClickHole items that caused similar consternation\u00a0on social media included claims George Clooney maintained an open tab at Chipotle\u00a0through which anyone could obtain free burritos,\u00a0Beanie Babies were full of spider eggs horrifically hatching after many dormant years, comedian Adam Sandler correctly predicted five tragic events, the Supreme Court ruled cops could no longer engage with members of the public in any manner, Gwyneth Paltrow starved to death after attempting a\u00a0week-long \u201cfood stamp challenge,\u201d a Texas man underwent a frightening\u00a0eye enlargement procedure,\u00a0Johnny Depp enrolled in medical school to save a sick child battling cancer, and Pokemon Go added a feature wherein Pokemon would scream when within a mile of a registered sex offender.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, clickhole, neal larson, neil degrasse tyson", "main_text": "On 23 August 2016,\u00a0Magic Valley Times-News\u00a0columnist Neal Larson lambasted celebrity astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson for (among other things) rudely admonishing a 12-year-old girl who expressed a desire to \u201clive on Jupiter\u201d: I\u2019ve listened to Neil deGrasse Tyson before. And what I observe is a smart guy who consistently enjoys asserting his intellectual supremacy over others more than he actually likes educating. In one of his worse moments, Tyson mocked a 12-year-old girl who suggested she\u2019d like to live on Jupiter. He ridiculed her in the midst of a crowd, then later, several times, on Twitter. That told me everything I needed to know about Neil deGrasse Tyson. For that moment he was just a horse\u2019s astrophysicist. Although Larson didn\u2019t provide a link to the purported dressing down administered by Tyson, it wasn\u2019t difficult to locate the source of his claim \u2014 a 1 December 2015 item published by the satirical web site ClickHole describing a purported interaction between an 8-year-old girl and Tyson: Get ready for the most incredible science win ever, delivered by none other than Neil deGrasse Tyson. He\u2019s pretty much the king when it comes to shutting down people who peddle bad science, but this most recent case completely takes the cake: When an 8-year-old told the badass astrophysicist that she wanted to live on Jupiter, he completely shut her down using science. Amazing! How many times can Neil deGrasse Tyson win the internet? The epic science burn happened toward the end of one of Neil\u2019s lectures at the Hayden Planetarium in New York last weekend. Third-grader Liza Collins was attending the lecture with her parents, and during the Q&A session, she raised her hand and told Neil that she wanted to live on Jupiter. But Neil wasn\u2019t about to let her\u2014and her bunk science\u2014off the hook. \u201cHold on, you want to live where?\u201d Tyson said. \u201cOn a planet made entirely of unbreathable gases? One that doesn\u2019t even have a rocky surface you could stand on? A planet that would take you six years to even get to? That\u2019s where you want to live? Because that\u2019s Jupiter. Enjoy your great new home!\u201d And of course, Neil didn\u2019t let it end there. After the event, the Cosmos host took to Twitter to really show Liza what\u2019s what. The ClickHole piece also included screenshots of what looked to be tweets sent by Tyson: Larson didn\u2019t appear to be aware that ClickHole is a satirical site (an offshoot of The Onion) and that none of its content was meant to be taken seriously. Each page bears a disclaimer subtly indicating as much: ClickHole uses invented names in all of its stories, except in cases where public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental. ClickHole is not intended for readers under 18 years of age. A lengthy comment appended to the ClickHole article has been attributed to Tyson, but it isn\u2019t clear if the remarks were genuinely his. (Tyson did not link to the column on Twitter nor reference it on any platform we were able to locate.) The comment (which, if inauthentic, replicated the astrophysicist\u2019s tone quite well) countered: Hello Neal First, I\u2019ll forgive you for not spelling your name correctly. Second, and more importantly, I don\u2019t mind being labeled a horse\u2019s astrophysicist (I see what you did there), provided it\u2019s based on factual information. So what we must do is subtract the false information from your article, and then re-assess what name you choose to call me. If it still justifies \u201chorse\u2019s astrophysicist\u201d, then so be it. 1) FYI: The cosmic perspective is all about having a second look at what, on the surface appears to be important, special, ego-boosting, etc. The Olympic medal count is not immune from this analysis. In fact an even better measure is medals per GDP per capita. This will tell you how efficiently and effectively a country is spending its wealth on athletic excellence. The Tweet, though based only on population, was a playful plea that we could be winning even more medals than we are. 2) I am agnostic, and actively disavow the atheist label: [Audio: 6m30s]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnHY1cC9a4A [Video: 3m 48s] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzSMC5rWvos 3) People who deny human-induced climate change are badly misinformed. This position is neither politically Liberal nor Conservative. It\u2019s factual. Although one could argue that all those who want to preserve the environment are the real conservatives in this discussion. 4) You use \u201cLiberal\u201d as a tag to characterize my politics. Since I have no active public political position, that\u2019s a hard task to accomplish. Climate change deniers are misinformed. But so are people who think vaccines gives you autism. And so are people who think genetically modified foods are bad for you. These science-denying postures cross political boundaries, as I clumsily attempted to convey recently on Bill Maher. ma>http://www.mediaite.com/tv/neil-degrasse-tyson-criticizes-liberals-for-anti-science-beliefs-on-maher/ 5) The \u201cincident\u201d with a 9yr old girl never happened. It looks to be a hoax. No such tweets ever existed on November 29th, 2015, or on any other day. My only tweet on November 29, 2015 (as my followers can attest, and as anyone can see from scrolling my Twitter page was: Starship Enterprise versus Millennium Falcon. Oh yeah, I went there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMH1vDDd1xc So you abrogated your journalistic integrity by not verifying what you read in somebody else\u2019s article, before using it as a foundational pillar in yours. 6) I am 3x appointed by President George W. Bush, serving on commissions to advise him on the future of the American aerospace Industry, on NASA, and on the annual Presidential Medial of science winners. So your disapproval of my views is not shared by others on the conservative spectrum. 7) Lastly: my research output as a scientist is not hidden. You can find it here, if you are interested: http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/curriculum-vitae So when you factor in (or simply subtract) all these elements from your writeup, If what remains still justifies labeling me a horses astrophysicist, then, as I said, I\u2019m okay with that. Respectfully Submitted, Neil deGrasse Tyson, New York City p.s. FYI: I have relatives who live in Idaho. And I\u2019ve loved every visit. Last they visited me, prompted this Tweet: Nephew from Idaho, puzzled by locks on my NYC apt door. I asked, Don\u2019t you have locks at home? He replied, No, just Shotguns."}
{"claim_id": "8726", "claim": "Indonesian barber gears up to groom during coronavirus.", "explanation": "Indonesian hair stylist Herman Maulanasyah knows that he may look comical in his makeshift protective gear but he sees that as a small price if it helps protect him and his customers from the novel coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Clad in a plastic sheet held together with tape, a ski mask, a gas mask and latex gloves, Maulanasyah, 40, welcomes customers at his salon in the city of Bogor, south of Jakarta, even as the virus spreads across the country. \u201cPlease don\u2019t judge, I\u2019m not making it for fun or to look ridiculous, this is how I show my appreciation to the health workers,\u201d Maulanasyah told Reuters at the salon he has run for 15 years. Before he starts cutting hair, Maulanasyah sprays his  protective gear and his customers\u2019 hands with sanitizer. He has worn the gear for the past two weeks as part of efforts to cut the risks from the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus that has killed at least 240 people and infected nearly 3,000 in the world\u2019s fourth most populous country. Health workers in Indonesia have paid a high price, with at least 24 doctors dying from the disease, according to the Indonesian Doctors Association. In Jakarta, 130 medical workers have been infected, according to the city government said. Jakarta has ordered businesses and schools to close in a bid to contain the virus and it plans large-scale social restrictions enforced by security personnel. Though Maulanasyah\u2019s salon is outside Jakarta, where many of the cases in the country have been clustered, his income has dwindled from about 500,000 rupiah ($31) a day to 100,000 rupiah ($6.20). Customer Abdul Rahman Fattah said he felt safer having his hair cut this way but conceded that the cumbersome outfit worn by Maulanasyah meant the result may not always be perfect. As another precautionary measure, Maulanasyah allows only four people in the salon and urges everyone to keep their distance. \u201cThis is to protect myself because I have a family, my child and wife, therefore I need to ensure my safety at work because I don\u2019t know whether the people who come here are infected or not,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "2384", "claim": "China detains man for spreading 'panic' with bird flu rumors.", "explanation": "Police in central China have detained a man who spread \u201cpanic\u201d with a graphic rumor about the arrival of bird flu in his home province, state media reported on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Wild rumours abound on Chinese social media sites, driven in part by a broad belief that the government always seeks to cover up bad news and that state media are untrustworthy. The man detained by authorities, who was identified only by his surname, Zhou, and hails from the central province of Hubei, posted the rumor over the weekend via the popular mobile messaging platform Wechat, the official Xinhua news agency said. \u201cThe post was spread widely among netizens and aroused panic among the public,\u201d it said, adding that Hubei\u2019s health officials  had dismissed the rumor as untrue, since the province had yet to report human cases of the H7N9 bird flu virus. In the post, Xinhua cited Zhou as saying, \u201cA doctor from Yichang People\u2019s Hospital died of H7N9 at 4:21 a.m. yesterday.\u201d  The doctor was a pregnant woman aged 31, he added, and included a dramatic touch. \u201cA baby is still in the mother\u2019s belly and doctors who participated in the emergency treatment have been quarantined,\u201d he said. \u201cMultiple cases of human H7N9 infection were also found in other regions in the province.\u201d  China has reported more than 120 human H7N9 cases this year, including at least 31 deaths. The government initially tried to conceal an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in China in 2002 and killed about one in 10 of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide. China kicked off a tough campaign to control online discussion last year, threatening legal action against people whose perceived rumours were widely reposted. Authorities said the move was needed to preserve social stability and halt the spread of untrue stories that could cause panic. Rights groups and dissidents criticized the crackdown as another tool for the ruling Communist Party to limit criticism of itself and further rein in freedom of expression."}
{"claim_id": "34583", "claim": "Coffee serves as an effective mosquito repellant and protection against infection by the Zika virus.", "explanation": "What's true: A small bit of research has indicated that coffee can be lethal to mosquito larvae if applied to them in a specific manner. What's false: Research has not shown than coffee is effective at repelling mosquitoes and preventing people from getting bitten by them.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical, coffee, Home Cures, home remedies", "main_text": "In August 2016 concerns about the spread of the Zika virus escalated as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning about active Zika transmission in northern Miami. Zika exposure has been cited in the death of one Texas baby and the birth of several others afflicted with microcephaly in the United States\u00a0in 2016. Meanwhile, the\u00a0Miami New Times published an article suggesting that residents could use \u201cgood old\u00a0caf\u00e9 cubano\u201d to repel mosquitoes responsible for spreading the disease: So how do we protect ourselves from the Zika threat? The Department of Health recommends wearing insect repellent and covering your limbs. Also make sure there\u2019s no standing water anywhere on your property. The smallest amount of water can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and hold thousands of larvae. There\u2019s one other way to ward off the pests: Use good ol\u2019 caf\u00e9 cubano. In the video above, Abuela Mami, a local company that ships care packages of Cuban treats to your door, shows you how to combat mosquitoes by using coffee grounds. In case you\u2019re wondering if there\u2019s any science to back up this claim, turns out there is. According to a study conducted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, female mosquitoes laid fewer eggs on areas covered with coffee grounds. Also, \u201cegg hatching success was extremely low among eggs that matured on substrates soaked with coffee extracts.\u201d Abuela Mami, the Cuban goods importer named in the article, shared a video that instructed viewers to sprinkle coffee grounds around their yards. However, the framing of the video led many to infer that coffee grounds or other coffee extracts were meant to be applied directly to their skin in order to repel mosquitoes:  Given that coffee is present in some skin care products, it isn\u2019t likely there\u2019s much danger in applying coffee grounds to skin (save for staining clothing or smelling like a Starbucks). But neither does there seem to be much evidence suggesting coffee has much effect (if any) on mosquito-human interaction, particularly when applied topically. A May 2015 article by The Germ Code author Jason Tetro described some of the science behind the notion that coffee can be used against mosquitoes, but primarily in the sense of its being a larvae control measure and not a topical repellant: [C]offee has shown promise in the past. Back in 2003, it was shown to kill off the babies \u2014 larvae \u2014 of a cousin of albopictus, Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. Although the mechanism wasn\u2019t entirely figured out, the authors at the time believed some of the chemicals in the black stuff blocked some of the important stages of development. They could not develop into adults. A closer inspection revealed some of the molecules mimicked those of insecticides. But the effect was far more dramatic and the insects could not develop resistance. In 2012, the effects on Ae. aegypti were shown to be the same in Ae. Albopictus. In this case, the larvae were exposed to coffee extracts. Once again, the larvae were unable to develop and the population was killed off. It meant coffee could be used to keep both mosquito populations from getting out of hand. Those findings pertained not to the matter of larger concern (i.e., keeping mature mosquitoes from biting people and infecting them with Zika), but to preventing larval mosquitoes from maturing in the first place. The information stemmed from research published by Parasites & Vectors in 2015 that examined addressing issues of coffee disposal alongside mosquito control measures. Researchers observed effects of coffee on the breeding (not the biting) of mosquitoes: The [study\u2019s] results indicated that the presence of coffee extracts in artificial containers as breeding sites prevent females from laying substantial numbers of eggs. In addition, the presence of only oviposition sites with [coffee extracts] induced many females to retain most of their mature eggs within ovaries. In particular, this study indicated that there is a deleterious impact on the embryonic development of Ae. albopictus; eggs that matured in either [coffee extracts] or [diluted coffee extracts] environments were less viable than their counterparts that were maintained in a water-moistened environment. Finally, this study showed that females that developed successfully as larvae in a coffee environment tended to heavily oviposit in container habitats holding coffee. These results illustrate the potential of coffee extracts to assist in dengue vector control, acting both as an uninviting signal to gravid Ae. albopictus females and as a barrier to embryogenesis. These attributes suggest that coffee and its waste may be useful in developing potent, low-cost, and bio-rational mosquito control strategies. More importantly, turning coffee waste into an alternate control tool against mosquito vectors may represent a viable solution to the coffee-related pollution problem. Unrelated research in 2005 [PDF] similarly observed coffee (and perhaps caffeine) as having an adverse effect on mosquito larvae but did not delve into application of coffee to the skin to ward off mosquito bites. Moreover, those findings reported that coffee could also serve as a possible source of nutrition for mosquito larvae: However, the survivorship of larvae for UCG 0.01 and UCG 0.05 in comparison to the controls suggested that in nutrient-poor systems, UCG in low concentrations could benefit the larvae and boost their survivorship and hence, increase the number of larvae that successfully hatch into adults. Small amounts of UCG could enhance bacterial and algal growth, thus providing food for mosquito larvae. In short, some evidence suggests that coffee might inhibit mosquito breeding (but also suggests that in some cases could facilitate mosquito larvae survival). The science behind coffee grounds\u2019 inhibiting mosquito life cycles is thin, and no solid scientific evidence indicates that topical application of coffee will repel Zika-carrying mosquitos."}
{"claim_id": "21813", "claim": "Voted the \u2018best specialty plate in America\u2019", "explanation": "Rhode Island lighthouse group says its fundraising license plate was voted best specialty plate in U.S.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Pop Culture, States, Transportation, Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse, ", "main_text": "Specialty license plates are all the rage. In some states, you can choose from as many as 200 kinds. Rhode Island is no exception. You can pick from five specialty plates, with more on the way, not counting traditional ones for firefighters and the military. They\u2019ve become so prominent that one -- promoting Plum Beach Lighthouse -- appears on a billboard on a stretch of Route 95 traveled by 100,000 motorists a day. \"Voted the \u2018best specialty plate in American,\u2019 \" the billboard reads. Now that\u2019s license to brag! But is it true? We looked to our own navigational beacon, the Truth-O-Meter, to guide us. Our voyage first took us to the billboard near the Providence-Pawtucket line, best visible to southbound motorists. It shows the license plate, with its idyllic image of the Plum Beach Lighthouse surrounded by placid blue waters and two sport fishermen in a boat. \"Get yours now!\" reads the billboard, directing people to a Web site. \"Thousands sold!\" The license plate is a fundraising tool for Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse, which acquired the 1897 lighthouse 22 years ago with the goal of preserving it. The spark-plug style lighthouse, off North Kingstown in Narragansett Bay\u2019s West Passage, was abandoned following construction of the Jamestown Bridge in 1941. Seeking to raise funds to paint the lighthouse, the organization got General Assembly approval in late 2009 for a license plate commemorating the landmark. Since then, the group has sold nearly 4,300 plates, the most of any specialty plate in Rhode Island, president David Zapatka told us. Specialty plates cost $41.50, with $20 going toward the sponsoring group. So far, $86,000 has been raised for the lighthouse, some of which was used to paint the landmark and install solar-powered lighting, Zapatka said. Following the debut of the lighthouse tag, a local license plate lover nominated it for a competition held by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA). Every year, its 3,000 members nominate license plates -- only new ones, by the way -- and then vote on the best. ALPCA announced that its members selected from 12 finalists from 2010. Half were so-called \"general issue\" plates, the kind that states redesign every few years and which most motorists get when they register their vehicles. The other half were specialty plates. New Mexico\u2019s bright turquoise and gold plate took first. Plum Beach Lighthouse got second. While it was honored as the runner-up, it received no accolades for \"best\" anything. So we asked Zapatka to shine some light on the billboard\u2019s claim. \"I figured we might get called on that,\" he said immediately. \"Rather than put up on the billboard, \u2018We are the second best plate in America,\u2019 we changed the wording to say we are the \u2018best specialty plate in America.\u2019 Did they officially come out and say, \u2018You are the best specialty in America\u2019? No.\" But, he insisted, Plum Beach Lighthouse beat out the other five specialty plates, not to mention all but one of the other plates. \"Is it a stretch? Yes,\" he acknowledged. But, he said, \"there is no other specialty plate that finished higher than us in the competition. \u2026 It\u2019s a marketing scheme.\" What does ALPCA think about how the Rhode Island group is tooting its horn? Contest coordinator Gus Oliver, who didn\u2019t vote since he was running the contest, called it a \"misnomer\" and said Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse \"may be stretching\" the contest results in making its claim. A few years ago, there was a separate category for specialty plates, he said, but not anymore. \"The most accurate statement is that, of the specialty plates, it scored the highest or the best,\" said Oliver, who\u2019s from Tulsa, Okla. But Oliver didn\u2019t take issue with the billboard. \"They put a positive spin on it,\" he said, adding, \"if there had been separate voting [for the two kinds of plates], I feel certain it would have represented the outcome.\" Zapatka, who works in media and is quite familiar with PolitiFact, asked, \"Are you going to light our pants on fire?\" Hmmm, we can see it now: a Plum Beach Lighthouse plate that reads PANTS-AFIRE. Nah. You just can\u2019t go around tossing matches at non profit groups that are trying to raise money for causes as cherished as lighthouses. Besides, the license plate got more votes than any other specialty tag. Still, the lighthouse group knew it was making a claim that wasn\u2019t quite accurate. That\u2019s why we\u2019re stamping their plate BRLY-TRU. (Get updates from PolitiFactRI on Twitter. To comment or offer your ruling, visit us on our PolitiFact Rhode Island Facebook page.)"}
{"claim_id": "3260", "claim": "WVa Senate forms committee dedicated to child welfare issues.", "explanation": "A committee has been formed in the West Virginia Senate to focus on upcoming legislation related to child welfare.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Opioids, Foster care, General News, Legislation, Child welfare, Health, West Virginia, Child abuse, Charleston, Epidemics", "main_text": "The Senate Select Committee on Children and Families, whose formation was announced Wednesday, will be led by Kanawha County Republican and Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo. The committee will focus on issues related to the state\u2019s ongoing foster care crisis and substance abuse epidemic, the Senate said in a news release. The state\u2019s foster ranks have swelled to about 7,000 children as the state grapples with the opioid crisis. West Virginia leads the nation by far in the rate of drug overdose deaths. The statement cited a recent legislative audit that found the Department of Health and Human Resources\u2019 Child Protective Services did not meet a required time frame for investigating child abuse and neglect allegations in 50% of cases in fiscal year 2018. In addition, Child Protective Services continues to experience high turnover, while the drug epidemic has increased CPS worker caseloads by 79% since 2015. The committee was formed because legislation on child welfare issues otherwise would have had to compete with dozens of other bills if they had been channeled through other committees. \u201cOur children are our state\u2019s most precious resource, and it\u2019s clear that despite our best efforts, we are falling way short in adequately providing for the needs of the ones who need us the most,\u201d Senate President Carmichael said. \u201cMy hope with this new Select Committee is that the members take a deep dive on these issues and work toward the kinds of solutions that will ensure no child in the state of West Virginia gets lost in a bureaucracy that does not put them on the best path to stability, comfort, and self-worth.\u201d The GOP-controlled legislature began its regular session Wednesday. Takubo and fellow committee member Ron Stollings, D-Boone, are physicians. The nine-member committee also includes Senate education chairwoman Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, and Democrat Paul Hardesty, a former board of education chairman in Logan County. \u201cIt brings everything to the forefront,\u201d Takubo said in an interview before the Senate convened Wednesday. \u201cPolitics will kind of divide Senate members or House members, but the one thing we\u2019ve always been (in the) loop on is families and children. We\u2019re trying to bring in the resources of the Senate members to look at this as a whole.\u201d The state also faces a federal class-action lawsuit alleging the foster care system has failed to protect children. The state is seeking to dismiss the suit, brought by nonprofit advocacy groups and a law firm on behalf of a dozen children. Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Bill Crouch continues to make substantive changes to its system. The lawsuit describes stories of alleged neglect and harm done to foster children in DHHR\u2019s care. Marcia Lowry, executive director of the nonprofit A Better Childhood, has said the state isn\u2019t doing enough to deal with problems in its foster system."}
{"claim_id": "5186", "claim": "Northern Colorado to get new VA clinic.", "explanation": "Planning is in the works to build a new Veterans Affairs clinic in Loveland that will give veterans in northern Colorado better access to health care.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fort Collins, Access to health care, Colorado, Health, General News, Loveland, Veterans, Veterans affairs", "main_text": "The Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Health Care System announced that the clinic is expected to open by the winter of 2022. VA spokesman Sam House tells the Loveland Reporter-Herald that more than half of the population that is served in the Cheyenne system area comes from northern Colorado. House says the facility will more than double the space of the current Loveland and Fort Collins clinics combined and serve more than 200 veterans a day. Construction should start by next summer and take two years to complete. When the new facility opens in 2022, the VA will close its Fort Collins clinic. ___ Information from: Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald, http://www.reporterherald.com/"}
{"claim_id": "31225", "claim": "Women absorb and retain DNA from every man they have had sex with.", "explanation": "We are also unsure, for the record, what motivation would exist for scientists to hide the truth about male microchimerism in the first place.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, dna, newspunch.com, sex", "main_text": "On 23 June 2017, frequent purveyor of misinformation YourNewsWire.com posted an article (\u201cWomen Absorb and Retain DNA from Every Man They Have Sex With\u201d) that made the claim that \u201ca new study\u201d demonstrates that cells transferred from a man to a woman during intercourse become integrated into that woman\u2019s body after sex. Every single time. In actuality, however, that\u00a0study (which was published in PLOS ONE in 2012, despite being billed as \u201cnew\u201d in 2017) demonstrated for the first time the presence of genetically distinct male cells in the brains of women (who had been examined in autopsy). The existence of male cells in the bodies of females, in general, is not news. As discussed in a PLOS ONE blog\u00a0post describing that 2012 study, their presence is typically ascribed to cells from a male fetus from a prior pregnancy: The idea of two genetically distinct populations of cells, or their DNA, residing in one individual isn\u2019t new. It\u2019s called microchimerism. [\u2026] Medical chimerism arises after a transfusion or transplant, and it may follow pregnancy. Our microbiomes, the bacteria within us, are more like guests than body parts. [The research groups responsible for the 2012 study] found Y chromosome DNA sequences in several brain regions in autopsy slides from 37 out of 59 women. Such DNA liberated from fetal cells can come from several sources: children, fetuses that never made it to be born, older siblings, or twins. Both son and daughter DNA partake in this \u201cfeto-maternal trafficking,\u201d but female DNA, at the chromosomal level, is harder to detect amid the maternal two X\u2019s. The significance, in the case of that specific research paper, was that it demonstrated that these male cells \u2014 wherever they came from \u2014 were able to cross what is known as the blood-brain barrier \u2014 a semi-permeable membrane that prevents most chemicals in the blood from entering the brain. The linked study, in fact, does not once mention sexual intercourse as a proposed mechanism. This is as close as you will get from the PLOS ONE paper: The most likely source of male [microchimerism, Mc] in female brain is acquisition of fetal Mc from pregnancy with a male fetus. In women without sons, male DNA can also be acquired from an abortion or a miscarriage. The pregnancy history was unknown for all but a few subjects in the current studies, thus male Mc in female brain could not be evaluated according to specific prior pregnancy history. In addition to prior pregnancies, male Mc could be acquired by a female from a recognized or vanished male twin, an older male sibling, or through non-irradiated blood transfusion. At least that\u2019s what they want you to think, according to YourNewsWire: Through the study the researchers assumed that the most likely answer was that all male DNA found living in the female brain came from a male pregnancy. That was the safe, politically correct assumption. But these researchers were living in denial. Because when they autopsied the brains of women who had never even been pregnant, let alone with a male child, they STILL found male DNA cells prevalent in the female brain. At this point the scientists didn\u2019t know what the hell was going on. Confused, they did their best to hide the evidence until they could understand and explain it. They buried it in numerous sub studies and articles, but if you sift through them all you will find the damning statement, the one line that gives the game away and explains exactly where these male DNA cells come from. In an odd chronologic twist that necessitates abandoning the notion that time progresses linearly in one direction, YourNewsWire then used text from a paper published in\u00a02005 to support the argument that scientists buried this salacious truth, discovered in 2012, in other \u201csub studies\u201d. That 2005 paper, which does indeed show the presence of male cells in women who had never given birth to males (or, in some cases, at all), makes only passing reference to the possibility that sexual intercourse alone could contribute male microchirality to women, noting that the issue has yet to be studied: Another possibility that has not been investigated is whether male DNA can be detected in a woman\u2019s circulation from sexual intercourse without pregnancy. That explanation is the authors\u2019 speculative fourth suggestion (out of four) after three more plausible, and actually researched, theories: One potential explanation for male microchimerism could be a nonrecognized (male) miscarriage. [\u2026] A second potential source is from a \u201cvanished (male) twin.\u201d A vanished twin is thought to be a relatively common phenomena resulting from spontaneous resorption of one sac or embryo in a twin pregnancy. [\u2026] A third possibility is from an older male sibling transferred by the maternal circulation to the fetus of a later pregnancy. [i.e. you are born with male DNA your older brother left behind in your mother\u2019s body]. A paper published, fittingly, in the journal Chimerism in 2015 investigated this topic further, concluding that \u2014 potentially \u2014 all of those potential mechanisms may contribute. That paper, which was fairly limited in its dataset, makes it clear that the sexual intercourse transfer of male chimerism remains entirely speculative: A total of 154 girls were studied of which 21 (13.6%) tested positive for male microchimerism. There was a tendency that girls were more likely to test positive for male microchimerism if their mothers previously had received transfusion, had given birth to a son or had had a spontaneous abortion. Furthermore, the oldest girls were more likely to test positive for male microchimerism. However, less than half of microchimerism positivity was attributable to these factors. In conclusion, data suggest that male microchimerism in young girls may originate from an older brother either full born or from a discontinued pregnancy or from transfusion during pregnancy. We speculate that sexual intercourse may be important but other sources of male cells likely exist in young girls. Far from demonstrating that 100\u00a0percent of a woman\u2019s male sexual partners have\u00a0male cells that de facto become part of their body, the studies cobbled together by YourNewsWire show that even if sexual intercourse transferred cells from a male that later became incorporated into the female partner\u2019s body (which science has only speculated about at this point), it clearly wouldn\u2019t happen in all cases."}
{"claim_id": "30819", "claim": "Canada has legalized euthanasia, enabling parents to \"kill disabled children.", "explanation": "On 22 November 2017, YourNewsWire.com reported that \u201cDoctors in Canada have been given the green-light to euthanise disabled, sick or dying children under a controversial new law.\u201d The \u201ccontroversial new law\u201d passed in June 2016, not November 2017. Further, that law specifically prohibits even \u201cmature minors\u201d (much less parents) the ability to choose medically assisted death, and it is not by even the most creative interpretation a free pass to euthanize children.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, canada, disabled, euthanasia", "main_text": "On 22 November 2017, the web sites Neon Nettle and YourNewsWire.com\u00a0(among others)\u00a0published reports about euthanasia and pediatric patients in Canada, claiming that \u201ca controversial new law\u201d now allows parents to end the lives of children with disabilities: The legislation extends existing \u2018assisted suicide\u2019 laws that have been legal in Canada over a year now, in which adults can legally volunteer to end their own life. The new legislation passes the responsibility of consensual death for minors over to the parents. Liftsitenews.com reports: American anti-euthanasia activist Wesley Smith said the results of the survey prove the morally slippery slope that a nation slides down when it agrees that \u201ckilling is an acceptable answer to human suffering.\u201d \u201cOnce euthanasia consciousness is unleashed, it never stops expanding,\u201d he wrote in the National Review. \u201cI guess Robert Latimer\u2013a Canadian farmer who murdered his daughter because she had cerebral palsy\u2013was a visionary,\u201d he added. Neither site referenced any news reports to support the claims, linking instead to a 26 October 2017\u00a0National Review Online\u00a0speculative\u00a0editorial: \u201cCanada Child Euthanasia: A Matter of Time?\u201d That opinion piece speculated that legal euthanasia in Canada could eventually be available to minors: Once euthanasia consciousness is unleashed, it never stops expanding. The law is still brand new, and yet there is already talk about allowing dementia patients to be killed and a mentally ill patient was euthanized with the permission of a court. And now, children are in the target range. From the CBC story: The Canadian Paediatric Society says its members are \u201cincreasingly\u201d being asked by parents about the option of seeking medically assisted death for children, while a survey of doctors found nearly half of the respondents supported assisted death for kids with \u201cprogressive terminal illness or intractable pain.\u201d The linked article examines the provisions of euthanasia-related legislation passed in June 2016 (Bill C-14). Among them is a years-long review of youth access to medically assisted dying: \u201cMedical assistance in dying is something that has been legislated [for adults] and stated [as] needing to be accessible \u2026 but there isn\u2019t the same \u2018oomph\u2019 for saying that all Canadians need good access to palliative care,\u201d said Dr. Dawn Davies, chair of the society\u2019s bioethics committee and a pediatric palliative care physician in Edmonton, in an interview with CBC News. \u201cWhere the issue of medical assistance in dying is ever raised by a child, you know, we would advocate that that should automatically be a referral for pediatric palliative care.\u201d When Bill C-14, the law governing medically assisted dying for adults, was passed in June 2016, it included a requirement that the ministers of justice and health initiate an independent review on whether \u201cmature minors\u201d \u2014 youth under age 18 but deemed capable of giving consent \u2014 should be eligible for medically assisted death. That review is expected to be presented to Parliament by December 2018. According to the report, ongoing research includes feedback from pediatricians about discussions with the parents of \u201ccritically ill\u201d minors: In addition to the \u201cmature minors\u201d question, the surveys also found that parents are asking pediatricians about assisted death on behalf of their critically ill children. Out of the 1,050 pediatricians who responded, 118 said they had exploratory discussions about assisted death with the parents of sick children, involving 419 kids in all. Forty-five respondents said they had received explicit requests for assisted death from parents, involving a total of 91 children. More than half of the requests involved a child under a year old. There needs to be \u201ca recognition that parents are making this request not as a self-serving thing,\u201d Davies told The Canadian Press. \u201c[Those] children have illnesses where there is really profound suffering.\u201d Canada\u2019s Department of Justice\u2019s \u201cQuestions and Answers\u201d page (archived) about the June 2016 law addresses \u201cmature minors,\u201d but not parents: At this time, not enough is known about the risks and benefits of medical assistance in dying for minors. The trial judge in [a related ruling] found that, to the degree that there was a societal consensus on eligibility for medical assistance in dying, it was limited to mentally competent or capable adults\u2026. However, the Government would also initiate an independent review of the special considerations related to requests for medical assistance in dying by mature minors within 180 days of the legislation receiving Royal Assent."}
{"claim_id": "10075", "claim": "Children in intensive care recover faster with little to no nutrition", "explanation": "This brief news release, issued by a university\u00a0hospital system in Belgium, is loosely based on published results of\u00a0a multinational, randomized clinical study designed to test the value of adding early intravenous macronutrient feedings to the nutritional care of critically ill children in intensive care units who are unable to eat or be fed normally. Such\u00a0so-called \u201ctotal\u201d parenteral nutrition, delivered via the bloodstream, is commonplace\u00a0in pediatric ICUs, researchers say, because of concerns that\u00a0\u201cmacronutrient deficits\u201d will lead to increased infections, weakness, and longer stays on ventilators and in ICUs overall. The problem, however, has been the dearth of rigorous scientific evidence for this assumption in children, and \u2014 significantly \u2014 growing evidence in studies of adults that the practice actually delays healing and increases infections. The study on which the release is based does indeed add strong clinical evidence that the same is true for children, and that delaying for a week or so the use of full parenteral feedings is clearly associated with lower rates of infections and earlier discharge from the ICUs. But this release could leave some\u00a0readers with the misconception that starving critically ill children will hasten their recovery from a critical illness. Here\u2019s why: contrary to the language in the release, the study did not \u201cprove\u201d the idea that \u201creceiving little or no nutrition\u201d in the first week of an ICU stay \u201cmakes children recover faster.\u201d Nor were these children \u201cfasting,\u201d in the conventional sense. In fact, all of the children received micronutrients (such as vitamins and minerals), blood sugar controls, and \u201centeral\u201d nutrition in which some nutrients are delivered through a tube from the nose to the stomach. The release further misleadingly implies\u00a0that \u201cnutritional deficiency\u201d somehow directly leads to faster and better recoveries for seriously ill children; in fact, the authors of the published study report that the reason for the benefit of delaying total parenteral nutrition remains \u201cspeculative,\u201d but possibly due to complex effects of digestion and metabolism that have an impact on the immune system. Although numbers are hard to come by (and the release makes no effort to find any) an estimated quarter million infants and children a year are admitted to intensive care units with critical illnesses and injuries. Scientists know that\u00a0\u00a0the nutritional needs of children\u2019s rapidly growing brains and bodies\u00a0make their care trickier in some respects than adult care, and the use of intravenous feedings of a complete package of calories and specific nutrients are\u00a0commonly started within 24 hours of an ICU stay. But few studies have been done to test the value of such feedings, usually given as supplements or sometimes in place of enteral feedings of some nutrients through a nasogastric tube. And studies in adults have strongly suggested that parenteral feedings are associated with higher rates of infection and longer ICU stays. This study matters because treatment of children in the ICU is not uncommon and the outcomes of interest (time in the ICU, complication rates, death) are important to everyone.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release,University news release", "main_text": "We rated this Not Applicable since giving parenteral (IV) nutrition seems to be done routinely and this study reviewed withholding it (which should save money). The biggest cost saver might be fewer days in the ICU. Some discussion of the cost-benefit analysis of changing the protocol might have been helpful to readers. The release quotes the lead coordinating investigator saying \u201cthe current practice of feeding children in an early stage does not contribute to their recovery,\u201d but it offers not a single data point. There is no information provided other than the number of total participants, and no mention of the makeup of the randomized groups, the specific findings, or the comparative rates of new infections and lengths of ICU stay (the two endpoints of the study overall). The release does note more correctly at one point that the study was designed to \u201cchallenge the validity\u201d of early parenteral feeding, but it never explains the details or context of those feedings. The absolute difference in the outcomes between groups is left unanswered. The study report goes into substantial background detail about potential harms of malnutrition and overfeeding, and the release \u2014 although without specific data \u2014 more or less describes the concerns. The release could have been strengthened even more if it had informed readers about the rigorous informed consent obtained from parents, and the efforts to maintain basic nutrient levels in all the children. The release did not include enough details about the design for most readers to make sense of the study. There\u2019s almost no information about the makeup of the protocol feedings, the use of insulin, micronutrients, saline and glucose solutions, or the limitations of the study duly noted by the researchers in their report. Importantly, it\u2019s not made clear that these children were being provided nutrition through a feeding tube in their stomachs. The release doesn\u2019t give us any sense of how many children may be assigned to the ICU, or how many might benefit from a change in nutrition protocol. So while it doesn\u2019t disease-monger, we\u2019re hesitant to give the release credit here. We\u2019ll call it Not Applicable. There\u2019s no information in the release about funding or potential conflicts of interest. This release is about a comparative study between early and late parenteral feeding upon admittance to an ICU. Parenteral feedings are a part of standard care and that is understood. The release states that a new nutrition protocol has disproven a theory about standard care. That\u2019s novel. But while the release points out that assumptions about parenteral feeding in children needed \u2014 and got \u2014 a good challenge, it fails to note that children most vulnerable to malnutrition sustained the most benefit from delayed parenteral feeding. That\u2019s another novel finding that could have been included. The release makes some unattributed and over-the-top statements including \u201cThe results are remarkable\u201d\u00a0 and \u201cThese findings\u2026can thus be expected to change pediatric intensive care worldwide.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "32163", "claim": "A passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing because one passenger's vagina had an offensive odor.", "explanation": "Prior\u00a0fabrications from that cluster of fake TMZ sites include claims\u00a0a cop shot a black baby after mistaking a pacifier for a gun, a penile implant\u00a0could alert women to cheating husbands and boyfriends, a college student was left in a coma after participating in a social media semen-drinking challenge, KKK members committed suicide en masse following the release of\u00a0the Harriet Tubman $20 bill, a non-existent study showed\u00a080 percent of black men in Atlanta were gay, and police found a satanic dungeon under a Chuck E. Cheese.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, airplane, emergency landing, fake news", "main_text": "In early October 2016, the web site TMZBreaking published an offensive article reporting that a United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing due to one passenger\u2019s egregiously poor vaginal hygiene: United Airlines Flight 193 to D.C. had to make a an emergency landing after people were getting sick from passenger Larissa Jones smelly [vagina]. Several passengers began to get sick from the smell and notified the captain and he decided to make an emergency landing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hazmat crews came on the plane to spray it down with disinfectant. The plane landed in Charlotte and Larissa was taken to the local hospital to make sure she was still alive because she smelled like a dead corpse. The poor grammatical style and the absence of credible reporting of the same story in legitimate news outlets didn\u2019t dissuade a number of readers who (by design on the part of the site\u2019s creators) confused TMZBreaking with the well-known TMZ gossip site. TMZBreaking, TMZWorldNews, TMZUncut and a number of similar fake news outlets dupe readers into believing the content they\u2019ve opened comes from the sometimes salacious but usually accurate TMZ site. All of these impostor sites have appropriated TMZ\u2019s name for that purpose, and none of them includes a disclaimer warning readers their content is fabricated. The image that accompanied this fictional story appears to be a stock photograph of an airplane interior from at least 2008, and the purported picture of \u201cLarissa Jones\u201d is an unrelated mugshot taken in 2013 or earlier."}
{"claim_id": "17161", "claim": "Drone technology now allows an individual to be recorded in their homes by drones as small as birds and immediately uploaded to the internet.", "explanation": "Taylor said that \"drone technology now allows an individual to be recorded in their homes by drones as small as birds and immediately uploaded to the internet.\" There are legal and operational obstacles to making this scenario a reality, we learned. But Taylor\u2019s carefully worded statement was about the state of the technology, and her scenario is technically possible right now.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Crime, Privacy Issues, Wisconsin, Chris Taylor, ", "main_text": "On April 1, 2014 state Rep. Chris Taylor warned the citizenry about eyes in the sky and attacks on privacy. \"Drone technology now allows an individual to be recorded in their homes by drones as small as birds and immediately uploaded to the internet,\" the Madison Democrat wrote in a news release. Was Taylor pulling the public\u2019s leg on April Fools\u2019 Day? No, she was dead serious. Taylor spoke the day the state Senate approved and sent to Gov. Scott Walker a bipartisan bill -- cosponsored by Taylor -- to put limits on drone use. The Wisconsin bill, similar to others around the country, attempts to prohibit both law enforcement agencies and private individuals from recording people in locations where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Example: inside their homes. Under the legislation, it would be unlawful in a criminal investigation for police -- without first getting a search warrant -- to use drones equipped with video or audio recording equipment to collect evidence in such locations. Emergency exceptions to this prohibition include locating an escaped prisoner, aiding in a search and rescue mission, executing an arrest warrant or preventing imminent harm to a person or the imminent destruction of evidence. The bill allows hobbyists, entrepreneurs or aerial photographers to use drones as long as that use does not intentionally violate an individual\u2019s privacy interests. Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law on April 8, 2014. Taylor, in her statement, focuses on the state of the technology, not on who is doing the recording. Let\u2019s see if she\u2019s correct. Some basics first. Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are small aircraft that can fly by remote control without an onboard human operator. They can be part of a system that includes a digital network and personnel on the ground, and can be equipped with high-powered cameras, with infrared devices that sense objects through walls, and with laser radar that can see through trees and foliage, the Congressional Research Service said in a 2013 report. Their use by law enforcement and the military in the U.S. \"raises far-reaching issues concerning the extent of government surveillance authority, the value of privacy in the digital age, and the role of Congress in reconciling these issues,\" the report noted. To address Taylor\u2019s specific statement, we turned to government studies, technology and privacy experts, law enforcement officials and drone manufacturers. The bottom line: A wide range of experts said Taylor\u2019s scenario reflects the capability of current technology. Size Drones can be as small as insects and as large as regular aircraft. Models used by law enforcement have included the Draganflyer X4-ES, which is just 24 inches wide, and the AeroVironment Wasp, described as \"bird-size\" in a Washington Post story about Texas police conducting discreet video surveillance before a SWAT team stormed a property that officials believed had a cache of weapons. A tiny drone developed for the U.S. military weighs less than a AA battery and resembles a live hummingbird that can hover, climb, fly through an open doorway and relay real-time video back to its operator, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. That drone, AeroVironment\u2019s Nano Hummingbird, could someday provide new reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities in urban environments, the AeroVironment website says. Someday, because it\u2019s not in production yet. Army-technology.com said in 2012 that UAVs \"are getting smaller and more agile to enable combatants to gather intelligence from hard to reach areas, such as in buildings and through tunnels.\" Internet A Draganflyer official told us it\u2019s easy to upload the live video images that a remote operator is viewing. It just takes some additional equipment. \"That\u2019s a minor thing as far as I\u2019m concerned,\" said Kevin Lauscher, a former police officer who is now sales manager and flight trainer at Draganfly Innovations. \"The realistic expectation of privacy is pretty weak in these days of technology\" and people recording conversations and posting photos with their phones, he said. Recording people in their homes Taylor aide Craig Trost told us the representative meant recording through a window, not with see-through-walls camera technology that is still under development. Taking pictures of people inside their home is possible with a drone, various law enforcement officials told us. Image quality would be a major challenge though. Daniel Schwarzbach, a pilot for the Houston Police and executive director of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, said police could film people through their windows after getting a search warrant but he doesn\u2019t recall that happening or police being interested in it. So, Taylor\u2019s description of drone capabilities is not imaginary. How likely it is to happen? That\u2019s an important question, and we got an earful on it, though we don\u2019t think the answer bears directly on the accuracy of her warning about what is possible with current technology. \"Doing what she is afraid of would be difficult at best, it would be illegal under peeping Tom laws, and it\u2019s not on the agenda of law enforcement,\" said Gregory McNeal, \u00a0a national security and criminal law expert at Pepperdine University law school. McNeal added: \"If she is worried about invasions of privacy, she should update Wisconsin\u2019s invasion of privacy laws for all forms of observation, not just drones because what she\u2019s alleging can be done by a drone can be done with an iPhone, any camera, or binoculars.\" The privacy issue is not about unmanned aircraft, it is about image capture and retention, in the view of \u00a0Alan Frazier, a University of North Dakota aviation professor and former Grand Forks County sheriff\u2019s deputy. \"Agencies need to have \u00a0a robust policy in place regarding appropriate uses of all types of image capture devices,\" he said. Taylor, a lawyer, says it\u2019s not at all clear that current law criminalizes peeping remotely using a drone. Law enforcement officials using drones told us a rogue user might try to do that, but not them. \"We cannot look into homes, our systems are twice the size of a goose and we don't operate in areas where we have internet, \u00a0nor do we have, or need, the desire to upload anything to the internet \u2026\" said Ben Miller, director of the Mesa County, Colorado, unmanned aircraft systems program. \"We mostly take aerial pictures of crime scenes and conduct aerial search and rescue flights.\" Taylor, for the record, says she wasn\u2019t suggesting that law enforcement was illegally peeking into windows, just the possible uses of the technology. Allie Bohm, advocacy and policy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union, said a hobbyist could buy a drone size of a large bird and put a camera on it and get video and put it on the Internet. But Bohm called that a \"side issue\" because there\u2019s no evidence drones are being widely employed in that fashion, in part due to Federal Aviation Administration rules, Bohm said. Public entities seeking to fly drones must get FAA approval. More than 1,800 have done so since 2007, including law enforcement, firefighting, border patrol, disaster relief, search and rescue, military training, and other government operational missions, the FAA says. (The Milwaukee Police Department does not own or use drones, spokesman Mark Stanmeyer told us.) Under current FAA rules, a drone must be flown within the line of sight of the operator, less than 400 feet above the ground, during daylight conditions, inside uncontrolled airspace and more than five miles from any airport or other location with aviation activities. \"Flying model aircraft solely for hobby or recreational reasons does not require FAA approval, but hobbyists must operate according to the agency's model aircraft guidance,\" FAA spokesman Les Dorr said in a statement. Commercial operations are only authorized on a case-by-case basis and to date, only one has met these criteria, using Insitu's ScanEagle. A commercial flight requires a certified aircraft, a licensed pilot and operating approval. That authorization was limited to the Arctic. Our rating Taylor said that \"drone technology now allows an individual to be recorded in their homes by drones as small as birds and immediately uploaded to the internet.\" There are legal and operational obstacles to making this scenario a reality, we learned. But Taylor\u2019s carefully worded statement was about the state of the technology, and her scenario is technically possible right now. We rate her statement ."}
{"claim_id": "29319", "claim": "A photograph shows people lining up outside a Houston, Texas shelter to turn in unwanted animals to be euthanized.", "explanation": "What's true: It's statistically likely that around three quarters of those photographed with animals were turning in stray or unwanted animals. What's false: The vast majority of animals turned in to this particular shelter are not put down. Statistically, only around 14% of animals in the photograph were likely to end up being euthanized.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Viral Phenomena, animal shelters, animals, cats", "main_text": "On 27 June 2017, the Facebook page of the \u201cSpecial Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation\u201d organization (also called SNARR) posted a photo of people with animals lining up outside a Houston, Texas animal shelter, purportedly to surrender the pets and have them put down:\u00a0 This is the line at the Houston, Texas city shelter today to surrender animals. These dogs and cats are about to be DUMPED to face a death sentence. SNARR\u2019s Facebook post was subsequently picked up by One Green Planet web site, whose article about the topic was headlined: \u201c[What the Hell]!? People are Literally Lining Up to Dump Their Pets Before July 4th Weekend.\u201d The Pet Rescue Report\u00a0got in on the action as well, writing: \u201cHeartbreaking Reality: Owners Line Up at Shelter to Surrender Their Pets Before July 4th Parties.\u201d The Facebook post was removed on 1 July 2017, but had been widely shared, and some commenters began to question the sourcing and veracity of the claim that the owners shown in the photo were all in line to surrender their dogs. Many suggested that the demeanor of some of those in line was not indicative of giving up their dogs, and speculated that it was more likely to be a line for wellness checkups. Beforing removing it, SNARR had edited its original post, specifying that the two men shown in the immediate foreground of the photo left the line in order to have a wellness check-up for their pet, but still suggesting that all the others (around a dozen in the photo) were there to surrender theirs. We tracked down one of those men, Juan Martinez of Houston, Texas, whose identity we were able to verify. Martinez told us that he and his brother-in-law (also pictured), had visited the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) animal shelter on Carr Street in Houston on the afternoon of 27 June 2017. We were able to find documents showing that Martinez was there to have his mother\u2019s newly-fostered kitten spayed and given deworming treatment. Contrary to what the group claimed on Facebook, Martinez said everyone waited in the same line, regardless of the purpose of their visit. Although he did not speak to anyone else in line, apart from his brother-in-law, he told us there was a positive atmosphere in the line, and that it was his impression that \u201cnobody was there to drop [their pets] off.\u201d A SNARR spokesperson told us that the organization\u2019s treasurer took the photo at around noon on 27 June 2017. The group\u2019s treasurer was there to help a friend look for a lost dog. The viral Facebook post was written by SNARR\u2019s president, Lauren Connolly. Soon after the picture in question was taken, the shelter staff came out to ask people the reasoning for their visits (in order to bring in the wellness clinic visitors). The only people who stepped out were the two gentlemen with the cardboard carrier at the back of the line and the member of Snarr\u2019s board, which [sic] were then brought to a different entrance. The rest were surrenders \u2013 whether it was owner surrenders or stray surrenders (stray being once someone\u2019s pet \u2013 either that had been lost or that has been abandoned), we do not know. We asked SNARR how its treasurer found out that all the remaining visitors to the shelter were there to surrender pets. The group\u2019s spokesperson said: Our treasurer did not affirm with each person if they were there to surrender. Conversations overheard in line and with the shelter staff that [sic] led the wellness clinic visitors out of the line and to a different entrance implied that. After publication of this article, SNARR\u2019s treasurer contacted us to make clear that they had not taken the photo with the intention of it being published or used in the way it was. As of 1 July 2017, the treasurer had left SNARR, in response to the episode. A spokesperson for the Houston shelter explained the queuing system in place at the center. Their explanation contradicts some of the claims made by SNARR. According to BARC, everyone visiting the shelter stays in one line until they come through the front door. At that point they are asked the purpose of their visit, and triaged into three or four separate lines (one for the wellness clinic, one for the foster clinic, one or two to turn in stray or unwanted dogs.) This means that, in theory at least, any given group of people waiting outside the shelter would be there for a variety of reasons. The spokesperson told us that on 27 June 2017, the center offered the following services: adoptions, intake (stray and unwanted animals), a pet wellness clinic, foster clinic, and spay/neuter clinic. On that day, the shelter saw: 23 adoptions, 33 transfer/rescues (animals given to local rescue partners, who later adopt them out to the public), three lost dogs returned to their owners, seven dogs fostered out. 102 animals were turned in as strays, 52 dogs were surrendered by their owners, and 57 people visited the foster or wellness clinic with pets. Of the 211 cases where people brought animals to the shelter that day, 27% were visiting the foster or wellness clinic, and 73% were turning in dogs \u2014\u00a0either strangers presenting lost or stray dogs, or owners surrendering their pets. So it is statistically likely that about three-quarters of any given group waiting in line with animals outside the shelter that day, were turning in stray or unwanted dogs. So does this mean that all, or even most, of these dogs will be euthanized? No. SNARR\u2019s Facebook post describes, in very emotive, even disturbing terms, the fate that supposedly awaits the animals seen in the photo: They\u2019ll be dragged from the person they love, the person that swore to love and care for them for the duration of their lives. They\u2019ll be confused, sad, but most of all terrified. The smell of death is overpowering here. After a day or two of sleeping on cold, dirty floors with the cacophony always all around, shivering and scared, they\u2019ll be walked down a long hall to a room. A needle will slide into their veins and they\u2019ll slip away, wondering where their beloved human is and why they never came back. All the while, their human is probably kicking back at the beach for the 4th of July weekend. Only 52 out of 211 animals (25 percent) brought to the shelter that day were brought by their owners, to be surrendered. Almost twice as many (102) were strays or lost dogs being brought to the shelter. And finally, more than 80 percent of dogs turned in to the BARC shelter \u2014 for whatever reason \u2014 are not put down. The shelter\u2019s spokesperson provided us statistics showing that in 2016, 80.4 percent of animals turned in (either as strays, lost dogs, or by their owners), were successfully adopted out, returned to their owners or otherwise kept alive. (There is a sliver of irony in this episode. Juan Martinez, who was in the photo that accompanied Snarr\u2019s inflammatory Facebook post, was bringing a fostered kitten to BARC for medical care. That kitten was once a stray, and could well have been turned in to the shelter by someone who once waited in line outside, just like those in the photo.) The percentage of dogs euthanized was 19.6 percent. Since the total number of dogs turned in on 27 June 2017 was 154, we can estimate that about 30 (19.6 percent) of these will end up being euthanized. And since the total number of animals brought to the center (including the medical and foster clinic) was 211 \u2014 this means only around 14 percent will end up being put down. In other words, the statistical likelihood is this: Of the animals waiting outside the BARC clinic at any given moment on 27 June 2017 \u2014 the day this viral photo was taken \u2014\u00a0the vast majority (around 86 percent) were likely not to end up\u00a0being euthanized."}
{"claim_id": "33541", "claim": "Hillary Clinton supported and helped free two Black Panthers accused of torturing and murdering Alex Rackley.", "explanation": "Did Hillary Clinton support and help free two Black Panthers accused of murder?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Uncategorized, black panthers, hillary clinton", "main_text": "It\u2019s difficult for those who weren\u2019t around to experience the 1960s first-hand to fully understand the controversy that swirled around radical parties such as the Black Panthers. Certainly many Americans viewed them as representing the very worst of that era\u2019s political movements: a group of hate-filled militant thugs who felt their disaffection with the existing social and political systems justified anything required to achieve their aim of \u201crevolution by any means necessary\u201d (such as smuggling guns into a Marin County courtroom in an attempt to free Panther George Jackson, resulting in a shoot-out that killed a judge, two inmates, and Jackson\u2019s brother). Others at the time, however, believed the Panthers were the only political group that truly represented a downtrodden and marginalized group of people who had been enslaved, discriminated against, and denied civil rights protections for hundreds of years; that sought to improve the condition of the poor by operating schools, opening medical clinics, and providing free breakfasts for ghetto children; and that had the courage to stand up to the brutality visited upon them by law enforcement acting in the service of a government and a society that sought to \u201ckeep them in their place.\u201d In May of 1969, Black Panther founder and national chairman Bobby Seale (who had already been indicted for his alleged participation in demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968) made a trip from Oakland to New Haven, Connecticut, to speak at Yale University. The Black Panthers were by then nationally known, a focus of media attention, and under the active surveillance of the FBI. (J. Edgar Hoover had publicly declared several months earlier that he considered the Panthers \u201cthe greatest threat to the internal security of the country.\u201d) Rumors of police informants and government spies having infiltrated the party were rampant, and a man named Alex Rackley, a member of the Panthers\u2019 New York chapter, fell under suspicion. Rackley was taken to the home of Warren Kimbro (described as a \u201ccommunity organizer and aspiring Panther\u201d) where he was held captive for 24 hours, beaten, and scalded with boiling water in an effort to force him to confess. Rackley was then taken to a marsh in Middlefield by Kimbro, George Sams (a Panther field marshal and, according to some, himself a police informant), and Lonnie McLucas (a Panther member from Bridgeport), where Sams ordered Kimbro and McLucas to kill the suspected informant. (Who did the actual killing has always been disputed: McLucas reportedly fired the first shot, but Kimbro admitted to delivering the bullet to the head that killed Rackley.) Rackley\u2019s body was discovered the next day by fishermen, and fourteen Black Panthers were arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy, and nine of them were indicted. The subsequent murder trials of Black Panthers that took place in New Haven beginning in 1970 was a cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre, the latest \u201ctrial of the century\u201d that pitted the \u201cestablishment\u201d against the \u201cradicals\u201d: the former supposedly valiantly defending the values of mainstream American society, while the latter were supposedly being framed and railroaded by government powers determined to destroy them at any cost. Upwards of 12,000 Black Panther supporters made their way to New Haven, and many of them were housed and fed in and around the campus of Yale University. Classes at Yale were made optional for the last few months of the term as Panther supporters swarmed the campus in protest and the president of Yale University, Kingman Brewster Jr., announced: \u201cI personally want to say that I\u2019m appalled and ashamed that things should have come to such a pass that I am skeptical of the ability of Black revolutionaries to achieve a fair trial anywhere in the U.S.\u201d From that maelstrom came the 1999 political piece reproduced above, which claims that two 1990\u2019s political figures, Hillary Clinton (then First Lady) and Bill Lann Lee (former acting head of the Justice Department\u2019s civil rights division whose appointment by President Bill Clinton was controversial because of Lee\u2019s support for affirmative action programs),  defended the Black Panthers, helped \u201cshut down\u201d Yale University, and aided the accused Panthers in going free or serving lenient sentences. But all of that is gross exaggeration: neither Clinton nor Lee did any of those things, and any involvement they had with the New Haven Black Panther trials was extremely minor and tangential. We\u2019ll begin with the last part, the claim that \u201cThese two people actually went so far as to shut down Yale University with demonstrations in defense of the accused Black Panthers during their trial.\u201d  This statement is ridiculously far-fetched: Yale University went to a \u201cvoluntarily optional\u201d class schedule (it did not \u201cshut down\u201d) for a few months at the end of the term in mid-1970 because thousands of Black Panther protesters had flooded the campus and its environs, not because of anything Hillary Clinton or Bill Lee did. And while the Panthers made have found many sympathetic supporters among the student body at Yale, neither Hillary Clinton or Bill Lee led or participated in  student demonstrations in support of the Black Panthers, or spoke up in their defense. The above-quoted article also asks \u201cHow in the world do you think that these killers got off so easy? Well, maybe it was in some part due to the efforts of two people who came to the defense of the Panthers.\u201d  But neither Bill Lee nor Hillary Clinton \u201cdefended\u201d the Panthers, either in a public or a legal sense. Bill Lee wasn\u2019t a lawyer, or even a law student; he was simply another Yale undergraduate who had no involvement in the Black Panthers\u2019 trial. Hillary Rodham (as she was known then) wasn\u2019t a lawyer then, either: She was a Yale law student, and like many of her politically-minded fellow law students who saw the latest \u201ctrial of the century\u201d taking place just outside the main gate of their school, she took advantage of an opportunity to be involved in the case in a minor, peripheral way by organizing other students to help the American Civil Liberties Union monitor the trials for civil rights violations. Her tangential participation in the trial in no way helped \u201cfree\u201d Black Panthers tried for the murder of Alex Rackley In fact, the killers of Alex Rackley didn\u2019t \u201cgo free\u201d: Lonnie McLucas was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to twelve to fifteen years in prison,  and Warren Kimbro and George Sams turned state\u2019s evidence and pleaded guilty to second degree murder, serving four years in prison. Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins (who were accused not of killing Rackley, but of being present during his captivity and boiling water to torture him with) went free not due to any efforts on the part of Hillary Clinton or Bill Lee, but because the state failed to sufficiently prove its case against them: the jury deadlocked in favor of acquittal for both defendants, and the trial judge dismissed the charges against both of them. And, of course, neither Hillary Clinton nor Bill Lee had anything to do with the post-trial lives of Seale and Huggins."}
{"claim_id": "37784", "claim": "A painting depicting J. Marion Sims' experiments on enslaved Black women is on display at the Alabama state Capitol.", "explanation": "Is There a Painting of J. Marion Sims\u2019 Experiments on Black Women at the Alabama State Capitol?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "Amid the removal and re-evaluation of statues commemorating historical figures in June 2020, a Facebook post that spread widely in June 2020 conflated a statue of a gynecologist who experimented on enslaved Black women with a painting depicting him alongside one of those women.The post by comedian Earthquake (a.k.a. Nathaniel Stroman) features a cropped photograph of the painting, which depicts Sims and two other men observing a woman identified as Lucy. Stroman\u2019s post, which has been shared more than 70,000 times on Facebook, states:This painting hanging in the state capital of #Alabama take a long look at it. #JamesMarianSims \u2013 who perfected his surgical techniques by operating Without anesthesia on enslaved #blackwoman because he believed black women Didn\u2019t Feel Pain. he described the experimental surgeries on his enslaved subjects as \u201cSo painful, that none but a woman could have borne them. After perfecting the techniques on black enslaved woman with out anesthesia in America, Sims went on to offer the procedure in Europe to wealthy white women who were sedated. This man is arguably the most famous American surgeon of the 19th century. I see him no different than Josef Megele both pure monsters.I hope everyone who goes to the gynecologist will close their eyes for a moment and honor these enslaved black women. I cannot, Cannot fathom the pain these black women endured under this man\u2019s hands. And that painting\u2026. who should be honored? The irony is also in their clothes. Some people, society look at people\u2019s status, respect even on how one is dressed. The one who should be honered and respected is the one who owns no shoes.There is no record of the painting being on display at the Alabama State Capitol building. The full version of the painting shows Sims standing in front of Lucy, while two other women identified as Anarcha Westcott and Betsy watch from behind a makeshift curtain:Robert A. Thom\u2019s painting is part of the series \u201cGreat Moments in Medicine,\u201d which he did on commission by the pharmaceutical company Parke-Davis & Co. between 1948 and 1964. In 2007 Pfizer (which had acquired the collection of 45 paintings after buying out another company, Warner-Lambert) gave it to the University of Michigan Museum of Art, where they have been archived.The accompanying text for the painting, composed by Parke-Davis pharmacist George A. Bender, reads:Little did James Marion Sims, M.D., (1813-1883) dream, that summer day in 1845, as he prepared to examine the slave girl, Lucy, that he was launching on an international career as a gynecologic surgeon; or that he was to raise gynecology from virtually an unknown to respected medical specialty. Nor did he realize that his crude back-yard hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, would be the forerunner of the nation\u2019s first Woman\u2019s Hospital, which Sims helped to establish in New York in 1855. Dr. Sims, who became a leader in gynecology in Europe as well as in the United States, served as president of The American Medical Association, 1875-1876; and was honored by many nations.However, the museum\u2019s description of the piece adds more context:By way of blinded valorization, Bender\u2019s text sterilizes Sims\u2019 years-long experimentation on the bodies of \u201cAnarcha, Betsy, Lucy and about nine other unidentified enslaved women and girls\u201d from 1844 to 1849. Eclipsed by Bender\u2019s mythical-heroic account of Sims was the agonizing pain suffered by the patients experimented on before the wide use of anesthetics. At the same time, the enslaved labor responsible for the very construction of Sim\u2019s \u201ccrude back-yard hospital\u201d is rendered invisible. As Bender drew heavily upon Sims\u2019 memoir to craft his captions, he, much like Sims, also failed to acknowledge the fact that the enslaved female patients were expected to continue their servitude even as patients. These women not only cooked, cleaned, and cared for the Sims family, but effectively kept the Alabama hospital running, serving as Sim\u2019s surgical nurses throughout the five-year period of their \u201ctreatment.\u201dLike Bender\u2019s caption, Thom\u2019s illustration also lionizes Sims, who stands with his arms folded at the head of the hospital scene. The illustration reproduces a racist, medical gaze, as it prompts the observer to join the ranks of other visiting surgeons who ogle Lucy as a medical object of curiosity. Through proper contextualization and careful visual study, we might challenge this supposed \u201cgreat moment in medicine\u201d and consider the contradictions of \u201cscientific achievement\u201d and the entanglements of violence, slavery, and medicine.While there is no record of the painting of Sims and Lucy being displayed at the Capitol, a separate painting showing Sims standing near Westcott and calling him one of the \u201cmedical giants of Alabama,\u201d was on display at the University of Alabama-Birmingham before being removed in 2006. In 2017, Dr. Vanessa Gamble \u2014 a physician and historian at George Washington University \u2014 reaffirmed in a radio interview that Sims performed thirty surgeries on Westcott alone in the course of his experimentation, which was conducted without anesthesia:There was a belief at the time that black people did not feel pain in the same way. They were not vulnerable to pain, especially black women. So that they had suffered pain in other parts of their lives and their pain was ignored.Sims is credited with discovering a surgical technique that could repair the condition known as vesicovaginal fistula, as well as the first successful gallbladder surgery, and the first artificial insemination procedure that resulted in a pregnancy, although it resulted in a miscarriage and was described by The Atlantic as \u201can ethical nightmare.\u201dWhile there is no painting of Sims at the Alabama State Capitol, a statue of him first erected there in 1939 still stands, despite calls for its removal. A separate statue honoring Sims in New York City was taken down in April 2018. A separate monument to Sims is still on display outside the State House in his native South Carolina.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "8220", "claim": "World closes borders, restricts travel to contain coronavirus spread.", "explanation": "Countries around the world on Saturday continued to close borders, impose strict entry and quarantine requirements and restrict large gatherings in efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said it will close all its retail stores worldwide, outside Greater China, until March 27. Apple reopened all 42 of its branded stores in China on Friday as the spread of the virus on mainland China slowed dramatically. Countries have shuttered museums, tourist attractions and sporting events to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission, with more than 138,000 people worldwide infected and more than 5,000 dead. Colombia said it will close its borders with Venezuela and stop visitors who have been in Europe or Asia, while a U.S. ban on entry for most people from continental Europe was due to start midnight Friday. The World Health Organization (WHO) says Europe has become the pandemic\u2019s current epicenter after reporting more cases and deaths than the rest of world combined, apart from China where the coronavirus originated last December. Saudi Arabia will suspend all international flights for two weeks, starting Sunday, state news agency SPA said, Taiwan will require travelers from mainland Europe, Britain and Ireland to self-isolate for 14 days, while New Zealand implemented a similar measure for all those entering the country. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also called on cruise ships, a major source of infections in some countries, not to come to New Zealand until June 30. \u201cAlongside Israel, and a small number of Pacific Islands who have effectively closed their border, this decision will mean New Zealand will have the widest ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world,\u201d she said. The country has just six confirmed cases and has had no deaths, but Ardern said that number inevitably would rise. \u201cThat is why ultimately, we must go hard and we must go early,\u201d she told reporters. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced a ban on public events with more than 500 people on Friday, joining countries such as Australia where the ban will come into force on Monday. Britain will introduce emergency laws next week to ban mass gatherings, said a government source, an escalation of its crisis plan which critics had said was too relaxed. The Philippines capital Manila, home to 12 million people, announced nighttime curfews on Saturday and urged shopping malls to close for one month. \u201cTo limit the spread of the virus, we need to limit the movement of people. We are slowing down the movement of people in Metro Manila,\u201d said Jose Arturo Garcia, general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. While infections continue to climb around the world, in mainland China the number of new cases is falling. The number of new coronavirus cases imported into mainland China from overseas surpassed the number of locally transmitted new infections for the first time on Friday, data released by the National Health Commission showed on Saturday. Mainland China had 11 new confirmed cases on Friday, up from eight cases a day earlier, but only four of those - all in the virus epicenter of Hubei province - were locally transmitted. Hubei has now seen new infections fall for nine straight days. All four of the new cases on Friday, down from five a day earlier, were in provincial capital Wuhan. The flu-like virus has infected 80,824 people in mainland China, the commission said. In a bid to limit the economic damage from a pandemic that has infected the U.S. House of Representatives passed an aid package that would provide free testing and paid sick leave. The U.S. military said it will halt most domestic travel, extending earlier restrictions on international travel for its more than a million active-duty troops around the world. Travel bans have hammered airlines and travel companies worldwide, while financial markets have been hit by panic selling this week. The impact of the coronavirus on everyday life is also deepening. The Czech government will shut most shops and restaurants from early Saturday, with exceptions including food stores, pharmacies and gas stations. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum and the Moulin Rouge cabaret closed their doors. The Smithsonian museums in Washington were preparing to do so on Saturday and Broadway theaters in New York went dark. The kissing of the Blarney Stone, one of Ireland\u2019s oldest tourist traditions, was suspended. The global sporting calendar has also been left in tatters with major tournaments canceled, postponed or forced to continue without spectators. But sport\u2019s biggest showpiece, the Olympics, will still proceed as planned, according to Tokyo organizers."}
{"claim_id": "26009", "claim": "\u201cThe national coin shortage was done intentionally, the Mint is no longer releasing coins into circulation aka this is the beginning of the end of paper money.\u201d", "explanation": "Reduced retail activity and a temporary reduction in coin production, both due to COVID-19, caused a shortage.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Economy, Facebook Fact-checks, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "Maybe you\u2019ve seen signs in retail stores about a coin shortage, which led to a widely shared conspiracy theory on Facebook. \"National Coin Shortage Just Beginning. The national coin shortage was done intentionally, the mint is no longer releasing coins into circulation aka this is the beginning of the end of paper money,\" the July 2 post says in part, arguing it\u2019s part of a decades-old plan toward enabling a \"soon coming one world government\" to track every private transaction. \"First it will be coins, then one dollar bills and in a not so distant future cash will not be accepted at any store.\" The post includes what appears to be a photograph of a sign inside of a grocery store that says: \"Our country is experiencing a national coin shortage\" and asking customers to use exact change or non-cash forms of payment. Some commenters posted images of what appear to be retail store signs with similar messages. The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on\u00a0its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) We found there was a coronavirus-induced shortage of coins, but no evidence of a plan to eradicate pocket change. Many news outlets reported in June that across the country, coins were hard to find. \"Coins have become scarce as virus lockdowns keep people from emptying their coin jars in exchange for paper bills,\" the New York Times reported. \"The Latest Pandemic Shortage: Coins Are The New Toilet Paper,\" said NPR, describing how banks were running low on nickels, dimes and quarters, in turn leading to shortages at retail outlets. \"With the partial closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has gotten all\u2026it\u2019s kind of stopped,\" Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a House subcommittee. The Fed announced June 11 a \"strategic allocation of coin inventories,\" saying: \"The COVID\u201019 pandemic has significantly disrupted the supply chain and normal circulation patterns for U.S. coin. In the past few months, coin deposits from depository institutions to the Federal Reserve have declined significantly and the U.S. Mint\u2019s production of coin also decreased due to measures put in place to protect its employees.\" The Fed also said it would work to \"maximize coin production capacity.\" U.S. Mint spokesman Todd Martin told PolitiFact that in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, the Mint reduced the number of employees per shift in order to enhance social distancing, leading to a reduction in production of 10% in April and 20% in May. At the same time, reduced sales activity meant retailers were ordering more coins from the Mint because they were receiving fewer of them as people stayed home, he said. Coin production began to ramp up in May with mandatory Saturday overtime, the Mint returned to full production by mid-June, and nearly 1.6 billion coins were produced in June, Martin said. In short, the coin shortage was caused by reduced retail activity and a temporary reduction in production, both due to COVID-19. It was not, as this post suggests, done \"intentionally\" as part of a plan to eliminate paper money. The statement contains only an element of truth."}
{"claim_id": "3073", "claim": "Jordan, Egypt faulted for deaths of US-trained sniffer dogs.", "explanation": "Bomb-detection dogs sent by the United States to Jordan and Egypt got sick and in some cases died because of improper care, according to a State Department report released Friday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Politics, Jordan, Terrorism, Dogs, United States", "main_text": "The State Department Office of Inspector General recommended that two U.S. agencies stop sending the specially trained dogs to the two countries until they have plans in place to make sure they are taken care of and monitored to ensure their well-being. The two agencies, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Counter-terrorism, agreed to the recommendation and said earlier this month they had taken actions to protect the dogs, according to the OIG. The agencies had resisted halting the program when an initial report on the subject was released in September. The State Department has sent more than 200 dogs to various countries overseas to help prevent terrorism over the past 20 years. The September OIG report raised concerns about Jordan and found \u201congoing health and welfare concerns among dogs deployed to Jordan,\u201d which is the largest recipient of the dogs in the explosive-detection program. The report released Friday was an update issued after investigators learned of continuing problems and additional deaths. It found several dogs died or had to be euthanized over the past 18 months, including at least two from heat stroke, one from a preventable parasite and a fourth from a pesticide sprayed in or near its kennel. The report said Jordan has agreed to stop using that pesticide around the kennels. A veterinarian consulted by the OIG said the heat stroke deaths were a result of \u201cnegligence and improper care,\u201d and not accidents. In Egypt, the report said at least three dogs died, including one from heat stroke, and that officials there refused to allow State Department personnel to visit the kennels or the airport where the dogs work. The Bureau of Counter-terrorism and Bureau of Diplomatic Security told the State Department\u2019s internal watchdog that they are providing additional equipment and training to host country handlers and veterinarians. Neither country had any immediate comment on the report. ___ This story has been corrected to say that 200 dogs have been sent to various countries over the past 20 years, not two years."}
{"claim_id": "7078", "claim": "State regulators strip ex-USC dean of medical license.", "explanation": "California\u2019s medical board has revoked the license of the former dean of the University of Southern California\u2019s medical school who was accused of using drugs and partying with prostitutes.", "label": "true", "subjects": "U.S. News, California, University of Southern California, Medical schools", "main_text": "The decision , which was handed down Friday, strips Dr. Carmen Puliafito of his medical license and takes effect Aug. 17. Medical board documents show Puliafito admitted to using methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana. Authorities alleged Puliafito had provided drugs to a prostitute and was misled authorities when she overdosed in a hotel room. Puliafito blamed his behavior on bipolar disorder. His attorney didn\u2019t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Friday. He gave up his dean post in 2016 and was fired from the USC faculty the next year after the Los Angeles Times reported on his behavior."}
{"claim_id": "3074", "claim": "UK\u2019s Johnson pushes his Brexit message as election nears.", "explanation": "With two days until Britain\u2019s election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson\u2019s final push to drive home his key message about Brexit was overshadowed Tuesday by criticism of his ham-fisted response to the image of a sick child sleeping on a hospital floor and allegations that he exploited a terrorist knife attack for political gain.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Brexit, AP Top News, Health, General News, Elections, International News, Business, London, Boris Johnson, Terrorism, Europe, London Bridge attack", "main_text": "Dave Merritt, whose son was killed in last month\u2019s London Bridge attack, said the way the tragedy had been exploited for political ends was \u201ccrass and insensitive.\u201d Merritt\u2019s 25-year-old son Jack was one of two people killed when a former convict attacked people at a prisoner rehabilitation event that Merritt was helping to run on Nov. 29. Attacker Usman Khan had served eight years in prison for terrorism offenses, and the attack sparked a political spat about security, the early release of prisoners and funding for the prison and justice systems. Dave Merritt told Sky News that \u201cinstead of seeing a tragedy, Boris Johnson saw an opportunity.\u201d \u201cAnd it was just such an ill-considered intervention and almost like a knee-jerk reaction,\u201d he said. \u201cI think he saw an opportunity to score some points in the election. They immediately said, \u2018Oh, this is Labour\u2019s fault - they allowed this to happen. They had this early release policy,\u2019 and so on.\u201d He said the way the tragedy had been exploited for political ends was \u201ccrass and insensitive.\u201d He said the family had not been contacted by Johnson or his office since the attack, although Johnson\u2019s office said \u201cthe PM has expressed his deepest condolences to Mr. Merritt for his tragic loss - an experience no family should have to go through.\u201d Johnson, meanwhile, tried to focus voters on the prospect of an uncertain result and a divided Parliament, which would endanger his plan to lead Britain out of the European Union on Jan 31. All 650 seats  in the House of Commons seats are up for grabs in the election, which is being held more than two years early in a bid to break the political impasse over Brexit. Opinion polls give the Conservatives a lead over Labour, but all parties are nervous about the verdict of a volatile electorate that is weary after years of wrangling over Brexit. \u201cPolls can be wrong,\u201d Johnson said Tuesday. \u201cWe need to be fighting for every vote.\u201d He accuses Labour of offering more \u201cdither and delay\u201d on Brexit. The opposition party says it will negotiate a new divorce deal with the EU and then give voters a choice between leaving on those terms and remaining in the bloc. \u201cForty-eight hours from now, our country can choose between going forward, punching through the current deadlock ... or we can remain stuck in neutral,\u201d Johnson said during a visit to a construction equipment factory in central England, where he drove a bulldozer through a plastic foam wall with \u201cGridlock\u201d written on it. Merritt\u2019s interview was another late hurdle in a campaign that had gone smoothly for Johnson, until a newspaper ran a photo of 4-year-old Jack Williment-Barr  sleeping on the floor of the Leeds General Infirmary as he awaited treatment because no bed was free. The opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn painted the boy\u2019s plight as a symptom of Britain\u2019s ailing health system, which has suffered under years of Conservative government austerity measures. A video of the prime minister briefly declining to look at a cellphone photo of Jack on a journalist\u2019s phone \u2014 and then placing the phone in his pocket \u2014 has been viewed more than 1 million times. The incident quickly became caught up in a storm of social media claims, counterclaims and conspiracies. Several prominent journalists, including the political editors of the BBC and ITV, tweeted a claim by anonymous Conservative officials that a party worker had been punched by a protester while Britain\u2019s health secretary visited the hospital. When footage emerged showing that no assault had taken place, they apologized \u2014 but a media storm was already raging. Some social media users circulated claims that the photo of Jack, first published by the Yorkshire Evening Post, was staged. Editor James Mitchinson tweeted his reply to one such reader, explaining how the newspaper had verified the story. \u201cI would be happy to meet you over a coffee to offer you an explanation as to how sophisticated and corrosive the proliferation of fake news is, and what to do to guard against being conned by it,\u201d he wrote. Young Jack later was diagnosed with tonsillitis and flu, and eventually sent home. The controversy about the photo comes amid a campaign marred by misleading social media images and attack ads. Britain\u2019s electoral laws, like those of most countries, were largely written before the dawn of the internet, meaning social media campaigns are mostly unregulated and open to exploitation. With no constraints, such as the strict rules that govern broadcasters, Britain\u2019s political parties have pushed the boundaries of truth, transparency and reality. Labour found itself embarrassed, meanwhile, by the leak of a phone recording to the right-wing political website Guido Fawkes in which the party\u2019s health spokesman suggested that the party would lose Thursday\u2019s election because voters \u201ccan\u2019t stand Corbyn.\u201d Jonathan Ashworth said his unguarded remarks were merely banter with a Conservative friend and claimed he had been trying to \u201cpsych him out like football managers do.\u201d \u201cObviously with the benefit of hindsight I\u2019ve been too clever by half and I look like an idiot as a result of doing it,\u2033 Ashworth told the BBC later. \u201cBut I thought I was having a private conversation with someone who I\u2019ve always had conversations with over the years. \u201d ___ Associated Press writer Mike Corder contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP\u2019s full coverage of Brexit and British politics at https://www.apnews.com/Brexit"}
{"claim_id": "12696", "claim": "Governor Rauner has called every year for eliminating funding for afterschool programs for at-risk youth, homeless prevention services and programs that help autistic children.", "explanation": "In an email newsletter, state Sen. Jacqueline Collins accused Gov. Bruce Rauner of calling for the elimination of \"funding for afterschool programs for at-risk youth, homeless prevention services and programs that help autistic children\" each year he's been in office. A Democratic staffer pointed to five instances where Rauner proposed cuts or freezes to these three programs. We verified these instances by looking at Rauner\u2019s current and former budget proposals, a vetoed bill and news stories. Rauner has proposed budgets that would eliminate funding in the areas Collins cites. But his 2015 veto of a bill that contained autism funding was in the context of rejecting 19 budget bills on the grounds that the entire package was unbalanced. His veto message did not specifically mention eliminating autism funding. Rather, he said he was vetoing several bills because he wanted structural reforms as part of a balanced budget which majority Democrats did not send him. Collins\u2019 statement is accurate, but needs clarification and additional information.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Illinois, Jacqueline Collins, ", "main_text": "Things are getting tense among members of the General Assembly as Illinois continues its historic budget impasse. Democrats and Republicans are hurling attacks at opposition party leaders, hoping to assign blame for the state\u2019s lack of a budget for 22 months. Republicans continue to target Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, while Democrats, like state Sen. Jacqueline Collins of Chicago, often slam Gov. Bruce Rauner. In a Feb. 24 newsletter from state Sen. Collins, she zeroes in on several of Rauner\u2019s claims as she attempts to debunk them. One of her counterclaims said: \"Fact: Governor Rauner has called every year for eliminating funding for afterschool programs for at-risk youth, homeless prevention services and programs that help autistic children.\" We wondered: Did Rauner actually call for the elimination of these programs each year he\u2019s been in office? Budget proposals and vetoed bills We contacted Kenneth Lowe, a media and outreach specialist for the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus, to see where the state senator found her sources. Lowe provided us with five instances from 2015 to 2017 in which the governor announced he intended to \u00a0freeze or cut homeless prevention, autism or after-school programs for at-risk youth. We looked into each instance to verify that it actually happened and to see whether it accurately depicts Collins\u2019 claim. \u2022 Collins\u2019 claim: On Feb. 18, 2015 Rauner announced his Fiscal Year 2016 budget in which he proposed freezing grant funding for autism and homeless prevention programs at DHS. He also called for the elimination of the After School Matters program at the Illinois State Board of Education. \u2022 Our finding: Rauner\u2019s FY16 budget proposal shows the governor did look to freeze funding for homeless and autism programs, as well as cut After School Matters. \u2022 Collins\u2019 claim: In April 2015, Rauner announced his plan to freeze funding for autism and homeless prevention. \u2022 Our findings: On April 3, 2015, Rauner did, in fact, call for a $26 million suspension in social services and public health grants. The Chicago Tribune reported, \"The Republican\u2019s office released a list of targeted programs\u2026that included funding to pay for\u2026smoking cessation, teen programs, autism, and HIV and AIDS programs, among other things.\" The Tribune story showed the governor called for a $1 million cut for autism programs, a $300,000 cut for Assistance for the Homeless and a $3.1 million cut to Teen REACH, an after-school program run by the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) for high-risk youth. The cuts were dubbed by Democrats as the \"Good Friday Massacre\" and funding to the programs was restored a few weeks later when the administration reported higher-than-expected tax revenue. \u2022 Collins\u2019 claim: In June 2015, Rauner vetoed a bill that would fund autism programs and homeless prevention programs. \u2022 Our finding: On June 25, 2015, Rauner vetoed HB4165. The bill would have provided $4.3 million to the Autism Diagnosis Education Program and $4.5 million to Homeless Youth Services. It is worth noting, however, that the bill was in a batch of 19 budget bills Rauner vetoed simultaneously under a single veto message that faulted Democrats for passing a budget that was $4 billion in the red. \"We must be partners in enacting a balanced budget that meets critical public needs within the resources available. The surest way to do that is by enacting structural reforms inside government and economic reforms that stimulate our economy and bring new jobs to Illinois,\" Rauner wrote in his veto message. As he has said repeatedly since then, Rauner, at the time, had said he would look to new revenue sources if the General Assembly enacted parts of his \"Turnaround Agenda.\" This became the opening salvo in a budget impasse that endures to this day. \u2022 Collins\u2019 claim: Governor Rauner\u2019s FY17 budget proposal called for the same types of freezes and cuts from his FY16 budget proposal. \u2022 Our finding: Rauner\u2019s budget did call for these freezes and cuts. The Project for Autism, DHS\u2019 Homelessness Prevention program and After School Matter wouldn\u2019t have received funding. \u2022 Collins\u2019 claim: Rauner, again, introduced a budget without funding the above-mentioned programs. \u2022 Our finding: Rauner\u2019s proposed FY18 budget shows this claim is correct. By looking at Rauner\u2019s budget proposals, vetoed bills and past news stories we found Rauner has called for the elimination and freezing of funding for autism, homelessness and after school programs each year he has been in office. However, Rauner has not been successful in his attempts to eliminate or freeze this funding, a point Collins\u2019 email does not make. 'It\u2019s not pretty\u2019 Chris Mooney, director of the Institute of Government & Public Affairs at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, said claims like the ones in Collins\u2019 email are common these days. Illinois has been without a budget for almost two years, and Mooney said it\u2019s starting to grate on people. \"People inside and outside the legislative process are having their nerves frayed,\" Mooney said. \"There\u2019s a lot of tension, especially in the statehouse because they can\u2019t get their jobs done. That\u2019s frustrating for anybody.\" Mooney said this feeling is probably amplified after the 12-bill budget package known as the \"Grand Bargain\" stalled. \"It was the one real attempt the (state) Senate had and it was shot down,\" Mooney said. \"It offered hope and those hopes were dashed. It\u2019s like we\u2019re starting back at square one.\" Our ruling In an email newsletter, state Sen. Jacqueline Collins accused Gov. Bruce Rauner of calling for the elimination of \"funding for afterschool programs for at-risk youth, homeless prevention services and programs that help autistic children\" each year he's been in office. A Democratic staffer pointed to five instances where Rauner proposed cuts or freezes to these three programs. We verified these instances by looking at Rauner\u2019s current and former budget proposals, a vetoed bill and news stories. Rauner has proposed budgets that would eliminate funding in the areas Collins cites. But his 2015 veto of a bill that contained autism funding was in the context of rejecting 19 budget bills on the grounds that the entire package was unbalanced. His veto message did not specifically mention eliminating autism funding. Rather, he said he was vetoing several bills because he wanted structural reforms as part of a balanced budget which majority Democrats did not send him. Collins\u2019 statement is accurate, but needs clarification and additional information. We rate Collins\u2019 claim ."}
{"claim_id": "38318", "claim": " The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has admitted that 98 million Americans were given cancer through polio shots contaminated with SV40, a cancer-causing virus found in monkeys. ", "explanation": "98 Million Americans Were Given Cancer Through Polio Shots", "label": "false", "subjects": "Health / Medical", "main_text": "Claims that 98 million Americans were given cancer through polio shots contaminated with SV40 from 1955 to 1963\u00a0are false. Questions about links between SV40 and cancer, and theories that millions of Americans were potentially exposed\u00a0to SV40 through contaminated polio shots, have been circulating for years. Those rumors came to a head in a 2013 video posted at a\u00a0YouTube channel operated by an Illinois-based team of paranormal investigators dubbed \u201cExtremum Spiritum Paranormal.\u201d\u00a0The claim resurfaced in March 2017 with various posts on blog sites that espouse conspiracy theories about health news, world events,\u00a0vaccines, and geology, just to name a few topics. First and foremost, the claim that 98 million Americans were given cancer through polio shots contaminated with SV40 from 1955 to 1963 are proven false by the very CDC information that these reports cite. The CDC reports that a total of 98 million people were given vaccines during that period \u2014 and that approximately 10-30 million Americans could have received a vaccine tainted with\u00a0simian virus 40\u00a0(SV40). So, the number of people potentially impacted is far fewer than the 98 million total widely reported. Second, links between cancer and SV40 don\u2019t appear to be supported by scientific research, the CDC reports: Some of the polio vaccine administered from 1955 to 1963 was\u00a0contaminated with a virus called simian virus 40 (SV40). The virus\u00a0came from the monkey kidney cells used to produce the vaccines. Once the contamination was discovered in the Salk inactivated polio\u00a0vaccine in use at that time, the U.S. government established\u00a0requirements for vaccine testing to verify that all new batches of the\u00a0polio vaccine were free of SV40. Because of research done with\u00a0SV40 in animal models, there was some concern that the virus could\u00a0cause cancer. However, evidence suggests that SV40 has not\u00a0caused cancer in humans. Despite initial fears that SV40 causes cancer in humans, a\u00a02002 study cast doubt on those fears without disproving them completely. The New York Times reported in 2002 that SV40 had been found in the tumor cells taken from people who had four types of cancers that were found to develop in rodents \u2014 but it was not clear whether the virus caused those tumors: SV40 can cause cancer in rodents and in cultured human cells. It has\u00a0been found in some tumors taken from cancer patients. But finding the virus in a tumor does not prove that it caused the tumor. Most large population studies have not found a higher cancer risk in\u00a0people exposed to the vaccine. There is no blood test that can tell\u00a0whether a person is infected with SV40, and there are no special steps\u00a0to take to prevent the rare cancers being studied, researchers said. The report released yesterday was prepared by a 14-member committee\u00a0on vaccine safety convened by the Institute of Medicine, which advises\u00a0the government on public health. The report is the fifth in a series of\u00a0eight that the government commissioned on vaccination. Fear of\u00a0vaccine side effects has led some parents to shun vaccination, and\u00a0outbreaks of diseases like whooping cough and measles have resulted,\u00a0the report said. After analyzing more than 100 studies, the committee said that most\u00a0evidence argued against a connection between the polio vaccine and\u00a0cancers, but that those weaknesses in the studies made it impossible to\u00a0dismiss the potential link. A review of links between SV40 and cancers in humans that was published in 2007 offered a more definitive analysis: \u201cIn summary, the most recent evidence\u00a0does not support the notion that SV40 contributed to the\u00a0development of human cancers.\u201d In the end, claims that 98 million Americans were given cancer through polio shots are false, and scientific evidence doesn\u2019t appear to support links between human cancer and SV40 that contaminated vaccines from 1955 to 1963. For those reasons, we\u2019re calling this rumor \u201cfiction.\u201d Comments"}
{"claim_id": "33865", "claim": "A stranger who stopped to change a tire on a disabled limo was rewarded for his efforts when the vehicle's passenger, Donald Trump, paid off his mortgage.", "explanation": "Even with a straight news story like this, a bit of manufactured memory has changed many people\u2019s recall of the event. There are those who now swear they saw Donald Trump hand over an oversized, Ed McMahon-type check on TV. Likely this \u201cPublisher\u2019s Clearing House\u201d mental image fits in better with our notion of how a celebrity would reward an ordinary fellow, hence the substituted memory.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Politicians, donald trump", "main_text": "Reputed to have come from Donald Trump\u2019s publicity people, the following tale found its way into the news media via the magazine Forbes in February 1996: This may well be the public relations gesture of the year. During the 1995 Christmas holidays, Donald Trump and Marla Maples find themselves marooned in their stretch limo with a flat tire on a busy stretch of New Jersey highway. Finally, a passing motorist spots the limo in distress and offers to help the chauffeur change the tire. Driver says, sure. Before the re-tired limo rolls off, the darkened window rolls down and an effusive Trump asks what he and his wife can do to repay the favor. Just send my wife a big bouquet of flowers, says the guy, handing Trump a card with his wife\u2019s name and their address. Two weeks later a gargantuan bouquet of orchids arrives with a card reading, \u201cWe paid off your home mortgage, Marla and Donald.\u201d The Trumps flackery won\u2019t reveal the lucky chap\u2019s name, but Informer hears Trump forked over more than $100,000 for the gesture. Eyebrows should have been raised by this tale, as even back in the mid-1990s it was already a recognized urban legend that had been told about many other celebrities. Casting doubt on the notion that it subsequently became a true legend was the lack of checkable details provided by Trump\u2019s people, as exemplified by 1996 news reports that noted \u201cThe Trumps flackery won\u2019t reveal the lucky chap\u2019s name, but Informer hears Trump forked over more than $100,000 for the gesture.\u201d Speaking plainly, we have an unsubstantiated rumor of celebrity good-deeding being spread by those who work for a man who courts the limelight at every opportunity. The tale\u2019s details are fuzzy, too: one version has the event occurring while Donald Trump was married to Ivana and driving in Michigan, yet other versions place it during his marriage to Marla and had him driving in New Jersey or in Canada near Casino Niagara. In every case what\u2019s lacking is confirmation from the lad whose mortgage was paid, the limousine driver, or anyone who worked at the tire-changer\u2019s bank (and would thus have been in on the mortgage\u2019s retirement). Is it reasonable to assume someone so rewarded would fail to tell his family, friends, and co-workers about his encounter with a famous millionaire, especially the part about the wealthy one\u2019s repaying a small kindness in so overwhelming a fashion? Is it reasonable that his wife would similarly remain silent? If you think not, you should be asking why the tire-changer\u2019s name is still unknown, why his story didn\u2019t escape into the community where he lives and from there make its way to the media, why you\u2019ve yet to see so much as one televised interview with him. In fact, back in 1997, when the Donald Trump version of the tale was still relatively new, Trump\u2019s office was actively denying its truthfulness: The implausible story making the rounds at Toronto doughnut shops is that somebody\u2019s newphew\u2019s friend\u2019s cousin, Joe, was driving down Highway 401 in his pickup truck when he spotted a white stretch limousine, with its hood up, on the shoulder. Joe, being a good samaritan, stopped to help. Within minutes, he got the limo running and a grateful driver asked for Joe\u2019s card so he could send him a little something. \u201cNah,\u201d Joe said. \u201cIt was nothing. I was just trying to be helpful.\u201d The driver insisted, so Joe gave him a card and forgot about it. A week later, he got a call from his bank informing him that his $160,000 mortgage had been paid off by Donald Trump, who was a passenger in the limo. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard the story,\u201d said an irritated-sounding assistant of Mr. Trump\u2019s at his New York office. \u201cNo, it isn\u2019t true.\u201d The story also fails the plausibility check: wouldn\u2019t the driver of the limousine be able to change a tire on his own, or at least be able to make a cell phone call to AAA for assistance with a minor mechanical problem? Trump\u2019s first wife, Ivana, could \u2014 and indeed did \u2014 change a tire when sidelined with a flat, making it all the more surprising Trump\u2019s chauffeur lacked this skill yet apparently kept his job (especially in light of his employer\u2019s notorious impatience with those who fail to perform). Gulling a number of people was The Donald\u2019s own confirmation of the tale during a January 2005 episode of his television series, The Apprentice. When asked about the veracity of this legend by one of those vying for the show\u2019s ultimate prize, Trump simply responded, \u201cThat\u2019s true.\u201d For many, his saying so was all the proof that mattered. Yet he is far from the first celebrity to claim an item of contemporary lore as an anecdote from his own life (see our page about the Hare Dryer legend for a number of such examples). Moreover, news accounts from 2016 revealed that Trump had long been posing as a publicist to brag about himself, and he has a decades-old reputation for being less than truthful about himself, as illustrated by this excerpt from a 1997 New Yorker article: Alair Townsend, a former deputy mayor in the Koch administration, once quipped, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized.\u201d In time, this bon mot became misattributed to Leona Helmsley, who was only too happy to claim authorship. Last fall [1996] after Evander Holyfield upset Mike Tyson in a heavyweight title fight, Trump snookered the News into reporting that he\u2019d collected twenty million bucks by betting a million on the underdog. This prompted the Post to make calls to some Las Vegas bookies who confirmed \u2014 shockingly! \u2014 that nobody had been handling that kind of action or laying odds close to 20-1. Trump never blinked, just moved on to the next bright idea. The legend of the good Samaritan, the disabled car, and the celebrity\u2019s generosity has been told of others over the years. It\u2019s a classic windfall legend. Each of us would like to believe an ordinary kindness on our part would result in manna from heaven falling our way, which is why this legend speaks directly to us. We can see ourselves on the receiving end of all those golden goodies, and it reaffirms our faith in the world in that we want to believe good deeds don\u2019t go unrewarded. Oscar Wilde used a similar plot for his 1891 short story \u201cA Model Millionaire.\u201d In it, Hughie is a lad who has stopped to visit an artist friend. He is momentarily left alone in the company of the wretch the painter is using as his model and is touched by the old man\u2019s tattered appearance. He slips the beggar a gold sovereign, realizing it\u2019s all the mad money he has for the month but that the elderly fellow needs it so much more than he does. The beggar smiles, pockets the coin, and thanks Hughie. We later discover the beggar is in reality Baron Hausberg, a millionaire who for no clearly stated reason enjoys posing for this particular artist. The Baron sends a wedding gift of \u00a310,000 to Hughie as his way of thanking the young man who was moved to help an unfortunate. We also found a Henry Ford version of this legend in a 1954 collection of inspirational tales: Honk-honk, honk-honk, honk-honk-honk. The old-fashioned horn was bellowing as the mechanical contraption came around the bend and rushed along the dusty road. The engine was roaring and the radiator hissing as the long-suffering warrior did twenty-five miles per hour. It was one of the earliest Ford cars; the Methuselah of engineering. Men said it would never die a natural death: it would either commit suicide or be smashed by modern unpredictables. Honk-honk, chug-chug-chug; and the wizened old farmer, with a thick growth of beard darkening his chin, steered his car homeward. Suddenly, ahead of him he saw a beautiful car drawn up by the roadside. It was an immaculate product of modern engineering. Long and low, its lines were fascinating; but it was at a standstill! As the farmer drew nearer he recognized that some kind of engine trouble had interrupted the progress of the other travellers. The shining bonnet of the beautiful car had been lifted, and the chauffeur, with cap pushed well back on his head, was perplexedly staring at the unresponsive engine. With a sound of squealing brakes the old car was brought to a halt, and as a rusty door swung open, the farmer came out to ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d The stranger responded, \u201cI don\u2019t know. The engine has stopped.\u201d The newcomer looked inside the bonnet, and then announced his readiness to tow the car to the garage seven miles away. The stranded driver casually lifted his eyebrows and answered, \u201cYou\u2019ll tow me to the garage!\u201d What with? That!\u201d And his finger indicated the noisy model T. The farmer\u2019s chest expanded, and he seemed about to explode; but the eruption died, and he answered, \u201cYes, with that. You\u2019ll see.\u201d He lifted a rope from the back of his car, placed it in position, and said, \u201cNow get in, and I\u2019ll show you.\u201d Slowly the great car was taken along the roads, and finally, as the garage came into view, the farmer smiled and prepared to stop. \u201cWell! She did it, didn\u2019t she?\u201d The two drivers were then joined by a third man, who all the while had been sitting in the back of the broken-down limousine. Quietly he asked, \u201cWhat do I owe you, sir?\u201d The farmer\u2019s eyes narrowed as he repeated, \u201cWhat do you owe? Nothing. It\u2019s a ____ of a do if we can\u2019t help each other without being paid for it. No. Nothing. Pleased to help you. Good day.\u201d He coiled his rope, climbed into the driving seat, and soon disappeared in a cloud of dust. The silent passenger calmly watched his departure, and then smiled. He nodded and quietly repeated to himself, \u201cIt\u2019s a ____ of a do if we can\u2019t help each other without being paid for it.\u201d In due course the wheezy, asthmatical model T reached the end of its career. It has not been placed on record whether the end came suddenly, or whether the closing months were marred by internal disorders. The fact is that the old car succumbed to the ravages of time, and was given a respectable funeral in the junk yard. The day after the ceremony, the bereaved farmer was somewhat astounded to find a new Ford car standing a few yards from his door. The old man paused. Had someone called? No! He rubbed his eyes; the car was so new, so glossy, so desirable. He walked around it, and then opened the door to inspect the interior. He saw a message written on a label tied to the steering wheel. \u201cIt\u2019s a ____ of a do if we can\u2019t help each other without being paid for it.\u201d The passenger who had offered in vain to pay for the towing of his car had been the great manufacturer \u2014 Henry Ford. Probably he had been fascinated by the achievement of one of his earlier models, and when its proud owner refused remuneration, he thought of another way to pay his debt. Probably he commissioned the garage owner to keep watch, and when the old model T ceased to function, to present, with Henry Ford\u2019s compliments, a new car to the kind-hearted farmer. In 1989 the variation of the moment of the unrecognized celebrity rescued by a Samaritan starred Mrs. Nat King Cole. Car troubles supposedly stranded her on the shoulder of a Los Angeles freeway, and she was said to have rewarded the kind man who stopped to render assistance with a new car (variously reported as a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Rolls-Royce.) In 1997 a version of the Mrs. Nat King Cole legend tied to the death of her husband was circulating on the Internet. It appears to have been lifted word for word from the 1997 book Chicken Soup for the Woman\u2019s Soul: One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down, and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her \u2014 generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! However, she wrote down his address, thanked him, and drove away. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man\u2019s door. To his surprise, a giant combination console color TV and stereo record player were delivered to his home. A special note was attached. The note read:  Dear Mr. James: Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband\u2019s bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others. Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.\u201d Though it\u2019s a lovely story, it too didn\u2019t happen. Nat King Cole died of lung cancer at dawn on 15 February 1965 in Santa Monica, California. He was hospitalized in December 1964, and on 25 January 1965 his left lung was removed. At least from the date of his operation until his death, Maria Cole was with him every day. There was no opportunity for her to have been stranded in the rain beside an Alabama highway in the weeks leading up to her husband\u2019s death. She was sitting with him when he passed away, and none of the newspapers that commented on her vigil made mention of a last-minute dash to the hospital, an automotive breakdown, or a helpful Samaritan who got her there in time. Another version of the car breakdown legend gives the famous person as Perry Como and has him mailing his rescuer a set of keys to a new car. This tale is told as happening all over the place, so I wonder at Perry\u2019s ability to buy all these people cars but not provide himself with reliable transportation. Yet another twist has the disabled car story happening to Como\u2019s wife, and the payoff she provides is either a color TV or tickets to her husband\u2019s upcoming concert. It\u2019s also told of Mrs. Leon Spinks, and the reward she grants are tickets to her hubby\u2019s upcoming fight in New Orleans. (Moral of the story: if you want the big ticket items, don\u2019t settle for rescuing the wife of a celebrity; hold out for the man himself.) In February 2000, a version starring Bill Gates began circulating on the Internet: Apparently a couple returning home from a skiing trip in British Columbia spots a disabled car at the side of the road and a man in distress. Being good citizens they stop to help. The car has either a flat tire and the Good Samaritan fixes it quickly. The man was very grateful, but had no cash with him to reward them, so asked for their name and address so he could send them a little something. A week later the couple receives a call from their banker stating that their mortgage had been paid and $10,000 had been deposited in their account by a very grateful Bill Gates. Getting back to Donald Trump, we find that on at least one verifiable occasion he\u2019s known to have bestowed largesse on a helpful stranger. Trump\u2019s 79-year-old mother was mugged in 1991, suffering broken bones and severe facial bruises. A passing truck driver who witnessed the assault brought down the mugger and handed him over to justice. (The robber was later sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison). The Donald had dinner with the rescuer, his sister, and his son; offered the Samaritan a better job; and gave him a check for an undisclosed amount."}
{"claim_id": "4993", "claim": "Santa Barbara Zoo\u2019s elderly elephant Little Mac euthanized.", "explanation": "Little Mac, a 48-year-old Asian elephant that was a fixture at the Santa Barbara Zoo for nearly all her life, was euthanized this week after a sharp decline in health, officials said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Animals, Elephants, Health, General News, Travel, Santa Barbara, Travel, Asia Pacific, U.S. News", "main_text": "The zoo said Little Mac was euthanized around 7 p.m. Wednesday in her exhibit yard, surrounded by keepers and staff who cared for her over the years. She had been in what the zoo called hospice care after chronic problems with her teeth and arthritis in her legs were compounded by the onset of other medical problems in June, said Julie Barnes, the zoo\u2019s vice president of animal care and health. \u201cShe continued to decline in spite of our best efforts, especially in the past two weeks,\u201d Barnes said in a statement. \u201cWe had exhausted the medical options available that would allow her to have a good quality of life. It was time to let her go.\u201d Little Mac came to the zoo from Mysore, India, in 1972 with another female Asian elephant in exchange for six California sea lions. At the time she was a 1\u00bd-year-old, 4-foot-tall (1.2-meter) apparent orphan found in a forest. She was named by Herb Peterson, the owner of several Santa Barbara-area McDonald\u2019s restaurants who paid for the airline flight. Her companion, Sujatha, had been born to an elephant that worked in a logging camp. Sujatha was 47 when she was euthanized on Oct. 16, 2018, due to problems related to old age. Barnes said that Little Mac hadn\u2019t shown any signs of depression or concerning behaviors after Sujatha\u2019s death and if she hadn\u2019t suddenly declined she likely would have been considered for transfer to a sanctuary or other facility where she could have been introduced to other elephants. Her death marks the end of the Santa Barbara Zoo\u2019s elephant program. The zoo noted that it is offering staff and visitors resources for dealing with grief."}
{"claim_id": "27177", "claim": "The Trump Administration\u2019s policies have halted a research effort seeking a cure for HIV.", "explanation": "Greene told us that after much internal debate, he and Hasenkrug plan on running that initial experiment anyway, with the hopes that the political climate will change in their favor come January 2019.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, abortion, fetal tissue, HIV", "main_text": "In September 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that they would be canceling a contract with a company called Advanced Bioscience Resources Inc. (ABR) to procure fetal tissue for federal medical research projects. The department alleged that they were not \u201csufficiently assured that the contract included the appropriate protections applicable to fetal tissue research or met all other procurement requirements.\u201d Using this development as pretext, HHS announced that they would additionally be conducting \u201ca comprehensive review of all research involving fetal tissue to ensure consistency with statutes and regulations governing such research, and to ensure the adequacy of procedures and oversight of this research in light of the serious regulatory, moral, and ethical considerations involved\u201d \u2014 in effect putting a \u201cpause\u201d on all research that relied on fetal tissue. ABR supplied fetal tissue to two National Institutes of Health [NIH] laboratories, one of which uses the material to create what are known as humanized mice. In a broad sense, these mice have been bred, with the help of fetal human tissue, to express a human immune response, making them a cost-effective way to test the efficacy of immunotherapeutic drugs:  Such mice are particularly valuable for HIV drug testing in part because tissue from a single human fetus can readily generate a group of 40 to 50 genetically identical mice, and because the animals can, unlike monkeys, be infected with the human virus, HIV. Potential drugs can then be tested in such a group, with ample mice as controls, giving the studies robust statistical power. ABR had been the supplier of fetal tissue to NIH\u2019s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Montana, which had been using humanized mice to test potential HIV therapies. In a grant report on that laboratory\u2019s efforts to study HIV using humanized-mouse models during the 2016 fiscal year, NIH scientist Kim Hasenkrug indicated strong potential for their research methods to aid in the search for new treatments for HIV:  Experiments in FY2016 revealed that our \u2026 humanized mouse model can be used in long-term studies (up to one year) with [Antiretroviral Therapy, ART] administered by injections or via an oral route (drugs incorporated into mouse chow). Such mice develop chronic and latent HIV infections. We have demonstrated that HIV viral loads in these mice can be suppressed to levels undetectable by highly sensitive PCR tests for viremia and provirus. Warner Greene, the director of the Gladstone Center for HIV Cure Research in San Francisco, had been collaborating with RML to test potential antibody therapies on humanized mice, and he first told Science that the HHS \u201cpause\u201d on fetal tissue procurement meant that the researchers could not guarantee enough mice to complete a statistically robust study. In a phone call, he explained to us that:  What happened in September was that my NIH collaborator at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories [Kim Hasenkrug] was informed that he could no longer order fetal tissue from the sole source supplier, ABR, and so we [were told that we] could complete the [initial] experiment that [had already been set up], but in science you need to do multiple experiments. You can\u2019t depend upon one experiment to see whether it\u2019s repeatable, etc. So essentially this ban on fetal tissue stopped the line of investigation. Speaking to Science, Greene said that \u201cHasenkrug had not yet launched the experiment, and [RML\u2019s] supplies of existing mice were too small to conduct the repeated experiments required to reach convincing scientific conclusions.\u201d In a 9 December 2018 statement provided to Science after the publication\u2019s original 7 December 2018 reporting, HHS acknowledged that they had (at least temporarily) blocked staff scientists from procuring fetal tissue, but that they did not think \u2014 or realize \u2014 such a move would have affected the study in question:  [In their statement, the NIH] said the agency in September \u201cput a pause in place\u201d for staff scientists procuring new human fetal tissue, \u201can action NIH thought was prudent given the examination of these procurements. Research with tissue already on hand could proceed, and NIH leaders asked to be notified by intramural investigators if new procurement would be necessary. NIH leadership was not informed that new procurement was necessary for the study you reference in your [7 December 2018 Science story]. We are looking into why this did not occur.\u201d  In his interview with us, Greene stated that this explanation made no sense. \u201cTo my knowledge \u2026 we were never made aware that we should approach the NIH to inform them of our need for more fetal tissue to complete this investigation.\u201d If such a request were required, Greene said, he and his team would have \u201cacted upon it in a millisecond.\u201d We also reached out to the director of NIH\u2019s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (which oversees the Rocky Mountain Laboratory) for an update on the current status of the project and for clarification on the fetal tissue review\u2019s impact on the study but have not received a response. However, as HHS has acknowledged both that they \u201cput a pause in place\u201d on fetal tissue procurement, and that this pause resulted in the inability of a trial seeking an HIV cure to move forward, it is factual to state that the Trump administration\u2019s policies shut down (at least temporarily) scientists\u2019 efforts to find a cure for HIV. Greene told us that NIH has been extremely supportive of their work, and that he feels that this change is \u201cclearly a policy that\u2019s \u2026 reflective of a new political situation in Washington, D.C., that\u2019s now impacting our science.\u201d Greene is one of many who viewed the 24 September announcement regarding fetal tissue research as a proxy debate over abortion. Chronologically, the announcement that the federal government would cut ties with ABR followed a campaign by several anti-abortion groups who explicitly sought to have the government cancel its contract with ABR, as reported in Science:  On 11 September, 45 anti-abortion groups wrote to HHS Secretary Alex Azar that they were \u201cshocked and dismayed\u201d by the FDA contract [with ABR]. On 17 September, 85 members of Congress wrote a similar letter to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb asking him to cancel the contract. Reacting to HHS\u2019s actions [on 24 September], Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said: \u201cMy instinct is that this is driven by politics, and is part of the overall effort to stigmatize and eventually criminalize abortion, as well as part of a larger campaign to roll back the clock on sexual and reproductive rights.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "1914", "claim": "Judge blocks graphic cigarette warnings.", "explanation": "A federal judge blocked a rule requiring tobacco companies to display graphic images on cigarette packs, such as a man exhaling cigarette smoke through a hole in his throat.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Combination picture of new graphic cigarette packages, released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration June 21, 2011, shows a varied collection of a man on a ventilator, diseased lungs and dead bodies were among the graphic images for revamped U.S. tobacco labels, unveiled by health officials who hope the warnings will help smokers quit. REUTERS/U.S. Food and Drug Administration/Handout District Judge Richard Leon sided on Monday with tobacco companies and granted a temporary injunction, saying they would likely prevail in their lawsuit challenging the requirement as unconstitutional because it compels speech in violation of the First Amendment. The Food and Drug Administration in June released nine new warnings to go into effect in September of 2012, the first change in U.S. cigarette warning labels in 25 years. Cigarette packs already carry text warnings from the U.S. Surgeon General. The new warnings must cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs and 20 percent of printed advertisements and must contain color graphics depicting the health consequences of smoking, including diseased lungs, dead bodies and rotting teeth. Congress instructed FDA to impose the new labels as part of 2009 legislation making the agency responsible for regulating tobacco products. \u201cThe sheer size and display requirements for the graphic images are anything but narrowly tailored,\u201d Leon wrote in a 29-page opinion. Just because Congress ordered the size and placement of the new warnings before charging the FDA with carrying out the mandate, \u201cdoing so does not enable this requirement to somehow automatically pass constitutional muster,\u201d he said. The content of the images would also not likely survive constitutional muster because the FDA did not attempt to narrowly tailor those either, the judge said. The tobacco lawsuit is the latest effort by corporations to assert a right to free speech, a high-profile legal battle that could end up before the Supreme Court. Reynolds American Inc\u2019s R.J. Reynolds unit, Lorillard Inc, Liggett Group LLC and Commonwealth Brands Inc, owned by Britain\u2019s Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, sued the FDA in August. They argued the new graphic warnings force them to \u201cengage in anti-smoking advocacy\u201d on the government\u2019s behalf, breaching their right to free speech. The Obama administration\u2019s options include appealing Leon\u2019s ruling or the FDA could try to rewrite the rules. FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Yao said the agency did not comment on proposed, pending or ongoing litigation. Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said the department was aware of the decision and was reviewing it. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, accounting for one in every five deaths every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 21 percent of U.S. adults smoke cigarettes, a number little changed since 2004. Worldwide, tobacco kills nearly 6 million people every year, including more than 600,000 nonsmokers, according to the World Health Organization, which has repeatedly called for graphic images to appear on tobacco packs, saying the pictorial warnings actually work. The tobacco industry had asked Leon to block the FDA\u2019s new requirements, pending a final decision on their constitutionality. They argued they needed a quick ruling because they would have to start in November or December and spend millions of dollars to comply with the requirements. Justice Department attorneys had argued that the money was a small fraction of the companies\u2019 net sales, so they would not suffer irreparable harm without the temporary injunction. Government attorneys said the labels conveyed the dangers of smoking more effectively than words alone, and were needed to stop more people from smoking, especially teenagers. Judge Leon said the images provoked an emotional response rather than just providing factual and noncontroversial information, crossing the line into using company advertising for government advocacy. Floyd Abrams, a prominent First Amendment lawyer representing Lorillard, called Leon\u2019s ruling a \u201cvindication for the well-established First Amendment principle that the government may not compel speech in the commercial area.\u201d   He said the case was in its early stages and there was a \u201cgood chance\u201d it will eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The Dow Jones tobacco index, whose components include Altria, Lorillard and Reynolds American, was just 0.05 percent higher in afternoon trading amid mixed trading for broader U.S. stock indexes as investors kept a worried eye on European debt problems. Altria Group is not part of the lawsuit. The case is R.J Reynolds Tobacco Co et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 11-cv-1482."}
{"claim_id": "34690", "claim": "Over 37 million bees were killed by a large GMO cornfield planted in Ontario, Canada.", "explanation": "Millions of bees died off in Canada, but the cause of those deaths was not linked to a GMO cornfield.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "In October 2014, a rumor started circulating online that a GMO corn field in Ontario, Canada, was the cause of more than 37 million bee deaths. While it is true millions of bees were found to have died around that time in Canada, the cause of those deaths has not been definitively linked to GMO corn. The rumor started after OrganicHealth.com published an article titled 37 Million Bees Found Dead in Ontario, Canada After Planting Large GMO Corn Field:  Millions of bees dropped dead after GMO corn was planted few weeks ago in Ontario, Canada. The local bee keeper, Dave Schuit who produces honey in Elmwood lost about 37 million bees which are about 600 hives. \u201cOnce the corn started to get planted our bees died by the millions,\u201d Schuit said. The Organic Health article was basically a repurposed version of two articles published by The Post in June 2013 and CBC News in August 2013. Neither of those articles mentioned GMO corn. In fact, the Organic Health article never truly blamed GMO corn for killing millions of bees. Other than the title and the first sentence, Organic Health steered away from the idea that a GMO corn field caused 37 million bees to die in Canada and instead aligned with the conclusions drawn by the Post and CBC News: The culprit behind the devastating bee deaths in Canada is believed to be neonicotinoid pesticides: \u201cWhat seems to be deadly to bees is that the neonicotinoid pesticides are coating corn seed and with the use of new air seeders, are blowing the pesticide dust into the air when planted.\u201d While the idea that GMO corn is causing millions of bees to perish around the world is intriguing, it is also unproven. The same could be said for neonicotinoid pesticides, of course, but the evidence is starting to tip towards the latter. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), an arm of Health Canada that regulates pesticides, investigated the bee death incident in Ontario and found that neonicotinoids were likely to blame:  In the spring and summer of 2012, Health Canada\u2019s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) received a significant number of honey bee mortality reports from the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. A portion of these mortalities were determined to be associated with spray drift, however, an unusually high number of reports of honey bee mortalities were received from beekeepers in corn growing regions of Ontario and Quebec. The majority of reports were from southern Ontario, involving over 40 beekeepers and 240 different bee yard locations. Additionally, one report was received from Quebec involving eight bee yards. Timing and location of these honey bee mortalities appeared to coincide with planting corn seed treated with insecticides. The information evaluated suggests that planting of corn seeds treated with the nitro guanidine insecticides clothianidin and/or thiamethoxam contributed to the majority of the bee mortalities that occurred in corn growing regions of Ontario and Quebec in Spring 2012. The likely route of exposure was insecticide contaminated dust generated during the planting of treated corn seed. The unusual weather conditions in the spring of 2012 were likely also a contributing factor. The Ontario Beekeeper\u2019s Association, which claims that Ontario has seen a 35% decrease in honey bees over the last two years, recently started a petition calling for a provincial ban on neonicotinoids:  Ontario\u2019s bees are dying in massive numbers due to the pervasive use of neonicotinoid pesticides on our agricultural field crops. Fully a third of our food relies on pollinators: without bees, Ontario\u2019s food supply could be in serious trouble. Further, these chemicals leach into soils, groundwater and waterways, and can persist for years, killing not only bees, but other pollinators, aquatic insects, amphibians and birds. We already have sufficient evidence to prove that neonicotinoid pesticides are killing our bees. Canada\u2019s Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency has confirmed that last year\u2019s widespread bee deaths in Ontario were caused by neonicotinoid pesticides. As well, dozens of independent, peer reviewed scientific research studies have concluded that these pesticides pose a significant threat to bees and other wildlife. Furthermore, science and experience has shown that neonicotinoids don\u2019t really increase agricultural yield in the long run."}
{"claim_id": "10392", "claim": "Selenium Supplements Might Give Modest Benefit Against Cholesterol", "explanation": "This story about selenium\u2019s effects on cholesterol points out some key limitations in a new study. It explains\u00a0that the\u00a0trial was conducted in Britain, where people generally have lower selenium intakes than in the U.S. \u2014 so the results may not\u00a0apply here. And it was careful not to suggest that selenium might be an alternate\u00a0to statin drugs or other\u00a0remedies for high cholesterol. The story did not provide as many\u00a0details as the competing Reuters report on this study, however. The effects of selenium on cholesterol levels were not\u00a0quantified, and\u00a0there was\u00a0no information on costs. Selenium is a component of multivitamins taken by millions of Americans on a daily basis. Selenium supplements are also taken\u00a0individually in the hope that they will ward off\u00a0chronic diseases such as\u00a0cancer and heart disease. While there isn\u2019t much evidence that supplementation reduces the risk of these diseases in healthy individuals (and might increase the risk of diabetes), the results of this new research at least provide some reassurance\u00a0that selenium won\u2019t raise your cholesterol, which might\u00a0increase your cardiovascular risk.", "label": "true", "subjects": "HealthDay,Supplements", "main_text": "The cost of selenium supplements probably isn\u2019t a big issue for most individual consumers, but across our society the costs are\u00a0substantial. Some discussion\u00a0of this would have been appropriate. Although the story\u00a0correctly explains that selenium supplements are not\u00a0an effective means to reduce cholesterol levels, the\u00a0coverage\u00a0is too\u00a0vague when\u00a0it says that individuals\u00a0taking selenium \u201cexperienced a slight drop in both bad cholesterol (LDL) and overall cholesterol levels\u201d and that \u201cGood cholesterol (HDL) levels rose a bit solely among those assigned to the highest selenium dosage.\u201d Instead of relying on imprecise descriptions such as \u201cslight\u201d and \u201ca bit,\u201d the story\u00a0should have provided the actual numbers, as the competing Reuters story did. The Reuters story also described\u00a0the ranges for normal and elevated\u00a0cholesterol levels, which helps puts the changes observed into context. The\u00a0story was a little confusing\u00a0on this point. It initially says that\u00a0selenium\u2019s\u00a0safety \u201chas not been studied,\u201d but later quotes a researcher who says there is an increased risk for type 2 diabetes with selenium supplements in individuals whose\u00a0blood levels are already high. The story does note that there were no serious side effects in the selenium supplement users participating in this study, but it\u00a0could have qualified this by mentioning the relatively short duration of the study (6 months) and the potential for problems with longer-term use. Too much\u00a0selenium can also, in rare cases, result in condition called selenosis, which\u00a0includes symptoms such as\u00a0gastrointestinal upsets, hair loss, white blotchy nails, garlic breath odor, fatigue, irritability, and mild nerve damage. A toss-up here, but since the story indicated that this was not a risk-free intervention and reported on the study findings as appropriate, we\u2019ll rule it satisfactory. The story discusses some limitations of the study, including the fact that participants were all from the UK, where selenium intake is lower than in the U.S; Americans won\u2019t necessarily\u00a0experience the same cholesterol\u00a0reductions seen in\u00a0the study. The story is also careful to explain that selenium\u00a0had a\u00a0\u201cminor impact\u201d on cholesterol\u00a0and is \u201cnot advisable as an effective means to combat high cholesterol.\u201d We wish\u00a0that the story had\u00a0included more information about the\u00a0design of the study, particularly the dosage of selenium taken in each of the 3 supplementation groups. The story describes the dosages as \u201clow\u201d \u201cintermediate\u201d or \u201chigh,\u201d but it should have quantified them. Overall, though, we\u2019ll call it good enough for a satisfactory. The story doesn\u2019t exaggerate the prevalence of selenium deficiency or otherwise try to scare people into taking supplements. An independent expert source was quoted and there were no obvious conflicts of interest that weren\u2019t disclosed. The story\u00a0notes that\u00a0bread in the U.S. is a good source of selenium, and that U.S. consumers generally have no need to take a supplement. So, there\u2019s really no need to talk about alternatives. We\u2019ll rule it not applicable. The story doesn\u2019t really explain what selenium is,\u00a0why someone would want to take a selenium supplement, or where one can find them. While many readers will\u00a0know the answers to these questions, selenium is obscure enough, in our view, to warrant at least some background context on these issues. The story states that many other studies have looked at the cholesterol impact of selenium supplements, with differing results. We couldn\u2019t find a news release that was issued for this particular study. But by including an independent expert source, the story assures us that it didn\u2019t rely exclusively on PR materials."}
{"claim_id": "26716", "claim": "\u201cPresident Trump has come into contact with a potential coronavirus sufferer!\u201d", "explanation": "There is no evidence President Donald Trump came into direct contact with a coronavirus sufferer. Trump shook hands at a conference with Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and Conservative Political Action Conference. Schlapp days earlier had had contact with a man who has been confirmed to have the coronavirus. Schlapp reportedly has no symptoms.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "A Facebook post on March 9, 2020, the day stock markets were rattled by news about the coronavirus, carried this headline about President Donald Trump and the Conservative Political Action Conference: \"Trump shakes hands with CPAC Chairman \u2014 President Trump has come into contact with a potential coronavirus sufferer!\" The post, shared by United Kingdom-based Daily Mail, was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The headline exaggerates what happened and raises alarm over the possibility that Trump has been exposed to coronavirus. Based on current reporting, that\u2019s not what we know. A Daily Mail spokesman told us the post would be edited to make it clearer. Indeed, before we published this check, they changed it to read, \"The chairman of the American Conservative Union has revealed that he interacted with a 55-year-old man infected with coronavirus before shaking hands with Donald Trump.\" Let\u2019s take a look. The Daily Mail post includes a looping video clip of Trump on stage at CPAC and shaking hands with a white-haired man before taking the lectern for his speech. Trump spoke on the final day of that conference, which was sponsored by the American Conservative Union and held in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 26-29, 2020. The words that appear as the Daily Mail video plays state that the man, identified as the CPAC chairman, said he had \"interacted with an infected man recovering in New Jersey\" before greeting Trump. On March 7, 2020, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that someone who\u2019d traveled to the state Feb. 27-March 1 for the conference was confirmed to have COVID-19. \"Those who attended or worked at the conference may be at some risk for acquiring COVID-19,\" Hogan\u2019s statement read. The next day, March 8, 2020, the Washington Post reported the following: The man Trump shook hands with is Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and CPAC. Schlapp said he briefly interacted personally early in the four-day conference with a man infected with the coronavirus. The man has not been identified. Schlapp said he used hand sanitizer regularly during the conference and had not had any symptoms before or after shaking hands with Trump. He said he has been in touch with his own doctor and with the infected patient, who is being quarantined in New Jersey. The White House has maintained that Trump was never in direct contact with the infected person and does not have any symptoms. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., said in a statement on March 8, 2020, that he \"briefly interacted\" with the infected person while at CPAC and would self-quarantine at his Texas home \"out of an abundance of caution.\" Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Ariz., tweeted that same day that he and three of his staff members are under self-quarantine \"after sustained contact at CPAC\" with the person who has the virus. Schlapp told the New York Times he had had incidental contact with the infected person. The Times reported March 9, 2020, that the man, a 55-year-old New Jersey resident, was in stable condition in a hospital. As for the spread of coronavirus, we\u2019ve reported that: Older people and those with preexisting health conditions are more at risk of developing complications from the coronavirus. For the American public, the immediate risk of coronavirus remains relatively low. The best ways to prevent the spread of the virus are to wash your hands, avoid touching your face, cover your sneezes and coughs, and disinfect your home. A headline on a Daily Mail video shared on Facebook claimed Trump has come into contact with a \"potential coronavirus sufferer.\" Trump shook hands with Matt Schlapp, a man who says he had been in contact days earlier with someone who is reportedly being treated for the virus. Schlapp says he has had no symptoms of the illness. Some may argue third-hand contact indicates possible exposure for Trump, but such a conclusion ignores available evidence. While the Daily Mail did qualify its assertion by using the word \"potential\" in \"potential coronavirus sufferer,\" the headline (which ended in an exclamation point) nevertheless led readers to believe that Trump\u2019s exposure is worthy of alarm. Indeed, anyone in a population could be a \"potential\" coronavirus sufferer. Based on what is verifiable."}
{"claim_id": "24601", "claim": "The Democrat-backed health care reform plan \"will require (Americans) to subsidize abortion with their hard-earned tax dollars.", "explanation": "Boehner says Democrats' health care plan would subsidize abortions", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, National, Health Care, Taxes, John Boehner, ", "main_text": "In an already contentious health care debate, the last thing the Obama administration wants is a fight over abortion. The word \"abortion\" was never mentioned in the initial health care plans released by the House and Senate. The decision of whether to offer abortion coverage in the proposed public plan, then, would be left up to the health and human services secretary. Abortion opponents said that would allow Democrats to slip abortion into the plan as part of the standard coverage. In an op-ed piece on July 23, House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio repeated the concerns of many who oppose abortion that the Democratic-backed health care reform plan \"will require (Americans) to subsidize abortion with their hard-earned tax dollars.\" Although there are several versions of the health care bill kicking around in Congress, one thing has now become clear: Most envision a government-run health plan option that could include abortion coverage, as well as a health care exchange in which participating private insurance companies would be permitted to offer such coverage. But does that mean that federal tax dollars would be used to subsidize abortions? That's a more difficult question. Let's back up a minute and explain some background: Currently, the 1976 Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions through Medicaid except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's health is in peril. So states that want to offer abortion coverage have to pay for it themselves. Similar restrictions on public funding for abortions applies to federal health care coverage extended to active and retired military and federal employees. President Barack Obama gave a nod to that precedent when asked in a July 21 CBS interview with Katie Couric whether he favored a government option that would cover abortions. Obama said, \"As you know, I'm prochoice. But I think we also have a tradition of, in this town, historically, of not financing abortions as part of government-funded health care. Rather than wade into that issue at this point, I think that it's appropriate for us to figure out how to just deliver on the cost savings, and not get distracted by the abortion debate at this station.\" Abortion opponents had hoped similar restrictions to those in the Hyde Amendment would be placed on any government-run health care option, and also be extended to any private insurance companies that participate in the government-sponsored health care exchange, which will provide health insurance for people who don't get it through their employer. To that end, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., offered an amendment to the House health care proposal that would prohibit the use of public money \"to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion.\" The amendment was narrowly defeated. Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America, called Stupak's proposal a \"radical departure from the status quo,\" because millions of women who currently have private insurance plans that cover abortions would be stripped of that coverage if their plan ultimately became part of the exchange \u2014 which seems likely. According to a 2002 Guttmacher Institute study, 87 percent of employment-based insured health plans offered coverage for abortions (though not all companies select it for their employees). A 2003 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 46 percent of covered workers had coverage for abortions. The two surveys asked different questions, but the bottom line is that a significant percentage of women currently have health insurance that covers abortions. And so began the debate over how to make the health care reform bill \"abortion neutral.\" A compromise plan offered by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., which passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, seeks to alleviate many of the concerns expressed by abortion opponents \u2014 particularly the issue of tax dollars being used to subsidize abortions \u2014 while specifically making abortion coverage available in both the public plan and in private plans participating in the exchange. Under the Capps amendment: \u2022 Abortion coverage would not be part of the required minimum benefits package. In other words, insurers would not be required to offer, or be prohibited from offering, abortion services in order to participate in the exchange. \u2022 The public plan could include abortion coverage, but the cost of the additional coverage could not be paid through public subsidies (tax dollars), only through the premiums paid by the insured. And with private plans in the exchange, again, federal subsidies could not be used for abortion coverage. \u2022 Public funding would only be permitted for abortions allowed under the Hyde Amendment \u2014 in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is in danger. \u2022 At least one plan in every region must offer full abortion coverage; and one must not. \u2022 Any insurance plan participating in the exchange cannot discriminate against hospitals or other health care facilities (such as Catholic hospitals) that are unwilling to provide abortions. \u2022 The plan will not pre-empt any state laws regarding abortion, such as parental notification laws. Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life, said the amendment is hardly a compromise, and the pledge not to prohibit the use of public funds amounts to little more than symbolic bookkeeping. The Capps amendment may claim to segregate funds used for abortions, he said, but the bottom line is you have the government paying subsidies to people who are then able to obtain abortion coverage. And, he said, \"It's still the government running the whole plan.\" \"The government would be participating in the killing of unborn children under the guise of a health care plan,\" Johnson said. But that's not the opinion of all antiabortion groups. Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United, which opposes abortion, said his group doesn't want to see an important health care plan derailed by a \"misleading campaign\" that claims the health care plan would mean taxpayer-subsidized abortions. \"The goal should be to maintain the current policies,\" Korzen said. \"That Capps amendment accomplishes just that. It specifically prohibits taxpayers' funding of abortions. It disappoints me that there are people who are still making that claim.\" And, he said, \"there's a lot to be happy about,\"\u00a0 including the fact that abortion coverage was not included as part of the required minimum benefits package. Crane said NARAL believes abortion should be treated like any other health service. But they think the Capps amendment at least maintains the status quo, and that it helped to alleviate many of the concerns expressed by abortion opponents. \"We thought they got everything they wanted,\" Crane said. \"We are confused why they continue to push.\" Obviously, there's a lot at stake in the health care bill for both sides in the abortion debate. The fact that several versions of the health care reform bill are floating around Congress makes it difficult to say with certainty what the final plan will or will not include. But while it appears likely the plan would allow for the coverage of abortions, we don't see anything in the plans that would require taxpayers to foot the bill for that. In fact, in a key version of the bill \u2014 the one passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee \u2014 members went to great pains to include an amendment to ensure that federal money is not used for abortion coverage. Again, things could change as the health reform package works its way through Congress, but for now, we don't see anything to support Boehner's claim that taxpayers would subsidize abortions. And so we rule his statement ."}
{"claim_id": "17569", "claim": "Rhode Island\u2019s teen binge drinking rate is double the national average.", "explanation": "Regardless of your opinion on the larger point, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sought to make it with an incorrect comparison. It claimed \"Rhode Island\u2019s teen binge drinking rate is double the national average,\" deriving that claim by comparing numbers from two different surveys. But the most recent report that includes both national and state-by-state figures show that Rhode Island\u2019s rate was actually less than the national average. We rule the claim False. (To check our sources and find additional information, go to the extended version of this article at PolitiFactRI.com.)", "label": "false", "subjects": "Alcohol, Rhode Island, Children, Crime, Public Health, Public Safety, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, ", "main_text": "Rhode Island was treated to an interesting do-the-ends-justify-the-means debate last week when the Washington, D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine criticized a research study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University that uses young pigs to study the effects of alcohol consumption on the heart. Besides objecting to the treatment of the animals involved, the committee argued that the money spent on such research could be better used elsewhere in the Ocean State. To drive that point home, the committee has begun an advertising campaign with posters on five Providence bus shelters, claiming \"Rhode Island\u2019s teen binge drinking rate is double the national average. But Brown researchers are not helping teens. Instead, they are wasting federal funds on experiments giving alcohol to piglets.\" We\u2019ll pass on whether getting pigs drunk is a waste of federal money. But we wondered whether Rhode Island\u2019s rate of teen binge drinking is that high. Two federal agencies that track teenage alcohol use, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, define binge drinking as having five or more drinks at the same occasion, at the same time or within a couple of hours. Physicians Committee spokeswoman Jeanne S. McVey said the group came up with its statistic by using data from two federal agencies that track, among other things, alcohol use by the nation\u2019s teenagers. She cited a 2012 survey by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that found that 7.2 percent of respondents aged 12 to 17 nationwide reported at least one instance of binge drinking over the previous 30 days. But that study didn\u2019t break down its findings by state. For a Rhode Island number, McVey said, the committee turned to a 2013 survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Study, a survey of a cross section of the nation\u2019s high school students, done every two years. According to documents posted on the state Health Department website, that survey found that in Rhode Island, 15.1 percent of responding students in grades 9 through 12 said they had at least one binge-drinking experience in the previous 30 days. Rhode Island\u2019s 15.1 percent, as reported in the CDC study, is more than twice the national average of 7.2 percent, as reported in the SAMHSA study, McVey said. But those are numbers from two different studies. Is it legitimate to compare them in that way? No, said statistician Jeffrey E. Jarrett, a professor of finance decision science at the University of Rhode Island. To be valid, Jarrett said, comparisons must be drawn from the same data -- in other words, surveys that ask the same questions to the same people. Even a slight difference in wording between questionnaires can make a difference. \"The only way to compare is to compare things within the same study,\" he said. To get an apples-to-apples comparison, we returned to the CDC study. The agency has not yet compiled national averages for its 2013 study. But in its 2011 survey, the Rhode Island teen binge-drinking rate was 18.3 percent, compared with 21.9 percent for the nation as a whole. So the Rhode Island rate was actually less than the national one, not double. When we pointed out the flaws in the committee\u2019s methodology, McVey acknowledged that the organization could have been more careful. \"We now see that we should have had an expert in statistics double check, because we were comparing one set of national statistics to one set of local statistics,\" McVey said. \" \u2026 If we were to do it over again, we would certainly word it differently.\" \"Our larger point is true,\" she added. \"Federal funds should go to helping people rather than to animal experiments that often do not result in treatment for human patients.\" Our ruling Regardless of your opinion on the larger point, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine sought to make it with an incorrect comparison. It claimed \"Rhode Island\u2019s teen binge drinking rate is double the national average,\" deriving that claim by comparing numbers from two different surveys. But the most recent report that includes both national and state-by-state figures show that Rhode Island\u2019s rate was actually less than the national average. We rule the claim . (To check our sources and find additional information, go to the extended version of this article at PolitiFactRI.com.)"}
{"claim_id": "590", "claim": "New Delhi declares public emergency as pollution at year's worst.", "explanation": "Authorities in New Delhi declared a public health emergency on Friday and closed schools and all construction activity until next week as air pollution in the city hit its worst level this year.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "A thick haze has hung over the Indian capital this week caused by plumes of toxic smoke from farm fires raging in neighbouring states. An index measuring the level of a deadly air pollutant hit 484 on a scale of 500 on Friday, the government\u2019s Central Pollution Control Board, the worst this year. The index measures the level of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that goes deep into the lungs. Anything above 400 poses a risk for people with respiratory illnesses and can also affect even those with healthy lungs. Some companies advised employees to avoid exposure to toxic air and work from home. \u201cWe have been advised to stay at home on Monday,\u201d said Anuj Rawat, an account director at Kantar, the market research arm of British advertising major WPP. Kantar employs around 400 people at its office in New Delhi, Rawat said. The Environment Pollution Control Authority, which is leading the effort to tackle Delhi\u2019s pollution, said: \u201cWe have to take this as a public health emergency as air pollution is now hazardous and will have adverse health impacts on all, but particularly our children.\u201d  It banned all construction work in the sprawling metropolis of 20 million people and its neighbouring cities until Nov. 5. Each year, farmers in the states of Punjab and Haryana burn crop residue to prepare for the sowing season, ignoring  government warnings. According to government-run monitor SAFAR, satellite pictures had captured nearly 3,200 incidents of stubble burning on Thursday in Haryana and Punjab that contributed to 44% percent of Delhi\u2019s pollution. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal offered free masks on Friday and ordered schools shut till Nov. 5 to protect children. The toxic air has left several Bangladeshi cricket players with sore throats and itchy eyes ahead of their Twenty20 match against India on Sunday. \u201cGovernment knew an emergency situation was approaching and did not take substantive steps on stubble burning or big industrial polluting sources,\u201d said Sunil Dahiya, an energy and air pollution analyst at Greenpeace. \u201cA public health emergency situation began at least 10 days ago.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "2581", "claim": "Sun, sand and root canal: Medical tourism booms in Costa Rica.", "explanation": "When Canadian house cleaner Marlene Trithardt needed a tooth replaced, she drove past her local dentist\u2019s office in Alberta and flew to the beach paradise of Costa Rica - to save money.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Trithardt is one of a growing number of North Americans who turn south for medical care lured by lower prices, contributing close to 0.8 percent of Costa Rica\u2019s gross domestic product. \u201cI chose to come here because I find in Alberta the prices are about 80 percent higher than in Costa Rica,\u201d says Trithardt, 57, who makes $30,000 a year. Her treatment will cost $4,000. But even including airfare, hotels and meals for two weeks, the total amount is lower than the $10,000 she said she was expecting to pay for the dental care alone in Canada. In the bargain, Trithardt got to take a few days to visit Costa Rica\u2019s national parks. Around 40,000 medical tourists visited Costa Rica last year, compared to 36,000 in 2010 and 30,000 in 2009. Most of them are American and Canadian, according to the country\u2019s tourism institute, ICT. Of that number, almost 15,000 of them traveled for dental care, said Massimo Manzi, director at Promed, the council for international promotion of medicine in Costa Rica. Manzi estimates that medical tourism brought in $196 million to Costa Rica\u2019s health industry in 2011, with patients spending an additional $84 million in hotels, meals, travel and shopping. That makes for a total of $280 million spent on medical tourism in 2011, compared to $252 million in 2010. Costa Rica competes for medical tourists with the likes of India, Brazil, Panama and Mexico, and its proximity to the United States gives it an advantage over Asian and South American destinations. And while some doctors in the United States discourage traveling abroad for cheaper treatment - saying the quality may not be vetted and that follow-up care is lacking - technology and care standards in the private sector are perceived by the medical community and patients alike to be high. The dental tourism niche is booming in Costa Rica, a country of 4.5 million people best known for its white sand beaches and lush rainforests. Now accounting for 36 percent of all medical tourism, that figure is seen rising to 50 percent over the next two years, said Promed\u2019s Manzi. Trithardt\u2019s doctor, 32-year-old Costa Rican Ignacio Vargas, says tourists represent 70 percent of his business. Virtually all medical tourists are uninsured and pay their own way, said Brad Cooke, head of Medical Tours Costa Rica, a travel agency that works exclusively with patients. As a result, healthcare reform passed in the United States that will require Americans to get basic insurance by 2014 could reduce demand. However that reform does not cover dental care. \u201cWe had a gentleman, for example, who was interested in coming in for a knee procedure about six months ago and then he decided not to come. He said he\u2019d rather wait and see if Obamacare would cover it\u201d, said Cooke. A few insurance companies in the U.S. like Cigna Corp, Satori and Blue Cross Blue Shield are already expanding their supplier network to include overseas clinics and facilities to help cut costs. \u201cWhat we\u2019re hoping, and it would be an important step, is that these insurance companies offer an incentive to those who choose the international option,\u201d Manzi said. Costa Rican health officials are grappling with booming demand as it is. \u201cWe are learning how to handle this demand so that we don\u2019t get to a point where we are facing waiting periods which would turn patients away from Costa Rica,\u201d said Health Minister Daisy Corrales. To help ensure that demand can be met, Promed works as a guide for investors looking to build new clinics and hospitals that can welcome tourist-patients."}
{"claim_id": "1541", "claim": "Raised for meat in South Korea, dogs head for new homes in U.S.", "explanation": "\u201cYou\u2019re OK, you\u2019re OK,\u201d Lola Webber, a campaign manager with the Humane Society International (HSI), whispers to a lab-mix puppy, cradling her in a jacket as dozens of dogs bark in nearby cages.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The puppy is moved from a rusty cage on a dog-meat farm in South Korea to a plastic crate, given the name Demi, and placed in a truck where she begins the long journey to a shelter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to be put up for adoption. \u201cAs soon as they\u2019re ready for adoption, we find that there are line-ups of people - literally people would line up at shelters - in the U.S. to adopt these dogs because people are so engaged by their sad and compelling stories,\u201d said Andrew Plumbly, another campaign manager for the HSI. Demi was one of 10 dogs rescued on Tuesday from a farm in Wonju, 90 km (55 miles) from the South Korean capital, Seoul,  where 200 dogs were being raised for human consumption, to start new lives as pets under the HSI\u2019s campaign. The farm is the sixth that the group has helped close down in South Korea since 2015, and follows six-months of negotiations, medical examinations and vaccinations. Because airline flights can only carry a limited number of dogs a day, it will take a couple of weeks for HSI to rescue all 200 of the dogs at the farm. Hygiene there is \u201cnon-existent\u201d, Plumbly said, with waste collecting beneath cages where dogs are exposed to extremes of weather and fed once a day, according to HSI. The owner of the farm, who has been in the business for 30 years and declined to be identified, cited poor health as a reason for getting out of the business. Consumption of dog meat is on the decline in South Korea, where it is mainly eaten by older people and dogs are increasingly popular as pets. Still, HSI estimates there are 17,000 dog-meat farms in the country. Humane Society International hopes the government will ban the breeding of dogs for meat ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea. Recently, the mayor of the city of Seongnam, Lee Jae-myung, who is running for president, ordered the closure of a big dog-meat section of a city market. Seafood will be sold there instead."}
{"claim_id": "9105", "claim": "New blood test may transform the way cancer is monitored and treated", "explanation": "There are 429 words in this news release. Nearly half are contained in just two exuberant quotes from Stanford researchers. If the study itself backed up the claims made in these quotes, we would applaud the release for its economy of language. As it stands, the release needed much more information to help journalists and other readers understand that this is a very limited study that may or may not turn into a true alternative to other cancer diagnostics. The news release makes a huge claim with its headline: \u201cNew blood test may transform the way cancer is monitored and treated.\u201d It then doesn\u2019t provide any evidence to support this claim. It could just as well have declared \u201cnew blood test may not transform the way cancer is monitored and treated.\u201d", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Elsevier", "main_text": "We like that the cost issue is addressed. But the terms are vague. It says that the test is \u201crelatively low cost.\u201d Relative to what? To traditional \u201cwhole body imaging,\u201d as the release notes above? Then provide some of those costs. It also says, \u201cespecially compared to next-generation DNA sequencing,\u201d which costs how much? We were expecting a thorough explanation and some numbers that illustrate how this test could more regularly track the growth and spread of cancer cells. But there was no quantification in the release. There is no mention of harms. The assumption here is that more regular monitoring of patients via blood samples will lead to better outcomes, when we actually know from repeated studies that more monitoring for disorders leads to more unnecessary treatments and surgeries. What is the false positive rate? The false negative rate? What are the possible clinical harms that can result from either of these scenarios? The release does explain, after a very effusive quote about how broadly applicable this test may be, that the test was only examined in six patients who had only two types of cancers. Then it says, \u201cthe researchers were able to identify tumor-derived circulating DNA from three out of six patients.\u201d So the study was extremely limited in scope. The release would have been better to call out this caveat explicitly instead of leaving it up to the reader to figure out. Other releases we have seen say things like, \u201cThis study was only conducted in six patients and would need to be repeated with a much larger group in order to make strong claims about its broad efficacy in cancer diagnosis and monitoring.\u201d There is no disease mongering in the release. Funders are noted in the sidebar where this release is hosted on EurekAlert! but not in the release itself. We encourage news release writers to include funders in the body of the release. There is no mention of conflicts of interest in the release, nor in the study itself. The release makes a glancing reference to \u201cother methods.\u201d It says, \u201cThe single-color digital PCR test offers several advantages over other methods of circulating tumor DNA analysis, compared to next-generation targeted sequencing and fluorescent probe-based digital PCR assays. The main advantage is that the new technique does not rely on pre-amplification, which can introduce errors and biases.\u201d This is not an adequate comparison. It would have been helpful to mention specific blood tests for the tumor types looked at even in this small sample size\u2013this would have given context and why this work is important. It is clear from the release that the test is not widely available and is only just now being developed. The release establishes novelty here: The test, which is called single color digital PCR, requires only a fraction of a tube of blood and can detect as few as three mutation-bearing molecules in a single reaction. We think that given the extremely small number of patients who even had test results that could be monitored for cancer growth \u2014 three people! \u2014 making broad claims about this being a low-cost alternative for all cancers is over the top. This is what the release says: \u201cFor monitoring patient tumors, only a handful of blood tests are available which are limited to only several types of cancers. Nearly all cancer patients require monitoring by whole body imaging, which can be costly, complex, and time-consuming. In contrast, molecular tests like the one we have developed will enable patients to be monitored at every visit, and thus have the potential for quickly tracking cancer growth and spread.\u201d Does that sound like a test that was only used on six patients, only three of whom had detectable cancer?"}
{"claim_id": "26768", "claim": "Sanitizer will do nothing for the coronavirus.", "explanation": "Health officials recommend the use of hand sanitizer to kill the coronavirus. Although it is not effective against all viruses, hand sanitizers with high alcohol content have proven effective against human coronaviruses.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "Health officials say one of the best ways Americans can prevent the spread of the 2019 coronavirus is to clean their hands. But should they use hand sanitizer? One popular image on Facebook says no. \"Hand sanitizer is anti-bacterial. The coronavirus is a virus,\" reads the post, which is a screenshot of a March 1 tweet. \"A bacteria and a virus is not (sic) the same. Wash your hands. Sanitizer will do nothing for the coronavirus.\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) (Screenshot from Facebook) The post is wrong \u2014\u00a0health officials recommend the use of hand sanitizer to kill the coronavirus, known officially as COVID-19. The original Twitter user clarified that in a follow-up tweet, but the context was lost on Facebook. On its list of ways to prevent coronavirus infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says to \"wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.\" If soap and water are not accessible, the CDC recommends using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Although hand sanitizers are not effective against all viruses, the ones with high alcohol content have proven effective against some. Several studies indicate that alcohol-based sanitizers are effective against \"enveloped viruses,\"\u00a0which include human coronaviruses. Since its outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December, the 2019 coronavirus\u00a0has infected more than 88,000 people in 64 countries. In the United States, there have been 43 confirmed cases and six deaths, as of March 2, not including those repatriated to the country. So continue washing your hands, and using hand sanitizer with a high alcohol content when you aren\u2019t near soap and water. The post telling you hand sanitizer will \"do nothing\" to stop the coronavirus is wrong. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "2633", "claim": "France's 20th century radium craze still haunts Paris.", "explanation": "The Belle Epoque, France\u2019s golden era at the turn of the last century, bequeathed Paris elegant landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, but also a more sinister legacy of radioactive floors and backyards which the capital is only now addressing.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "When the Franco-Polish Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium in 1898, she set off a craze for the luminescent metal among Parisians, who started using it for everything from alarm clock dials to lipsticks and even water fountains. The companies that manufactured these slightly radioactive objects have long gone out of business, but they left small doses of radium between the cracks of some Parisian parquet floors. These doses, after prolonged exposure, could prove toxic though, officials say, they do not pose serious health risks. \u201cThe history of radium started in Paris,\u201d said Eric Lanes, head of radioactive decontamination at France\u2019s national agency for radioactive waste, ANDRA. \u201cMarie Curie never patented her discoveries so a lot of people rode the radium wave.\u201d   After Curie showed that radium could be used to destroy cancerous cells, people assumed that the new element had miraculous healing properties and started putting it in everything from body lotions to cough syrups. \u201cCancerous cells are more sensitive to radiation than healthy ones. Curie understood that,\u201d said Lanes. \u201cBut some people embarked on businesses more akin to charlatans\u2019 tricks.\u201d   Curie herself died at 66 from her prolonged, unprotected exposure to radium. ANDRA - in some case using addresses that were written on vintage advertising posters - has identified some 130 sites in France suspected of being at risk. Some 40 of them are set for decontamination, half of those in the Paris area. Lanes said the clean-up was being undertaken as a precautionary measure under a recent French law requiring that preventative steps be taken in a case of a suspected health risk even in the absence of conclusive scientific evidence. \u201cWe have never found any worrying situations,\u201d Lanes said. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about levels that are too small to create a health impact.\u201d   In a two-storey detached house in the leafy suburb of Chaville, 12 km (7 miles) southwest of central Paris, masked men in white hazmat suits drilled holes in the wooden floors of what used to be an aircraft altimeter factory before World War Two. The factory workers used to color the dials with glow-in-the-dark paint made from radium powder and zinc sulphide. Their plight was reminiscent of the so-called Radium Girls in the United States who contracted radiation poisoning around 1917 from licking their paint-brushes to sharpen them. In Chaville, traces of paint are still present in the wooden floor, the house\u2019s garden and basement. Though too small to present a risk, they still have to be collected in drums through air-locks and sent to ANDRA\u2019s nuclear waste storage sites. The decontamination cost for a house like this is 260,000 euros ($318,200), Lanes said. The agency has a 4 million euro annual budget for decontamination on top of the government\u2019s 12 million euro budget for its \u201cradium plan\u201d. The occupants, who declined to be interviewed because they feared the publicity could lower the property\u2019s value, were temporarily rehoused at ANDRA\u2019s expenses and will get the renovated house back after three months. Some sites deemed too contaminated to make a renovation cost-effective have been bought by ANDRA and razed. The Jersyk family\u2019s former house in Gif-sur-Yvette, just south of Paris\u2019 military airport of Villacoublay, is one of them. It was part of an estate built in the 1950s near a disused factory where radium needles for hospitals had been manufactured. \u201cWhen the factory shut, the land was sold, the ground leveled, and they built houses on it, it was as simple as that. It\u2019s monstrous,\u201d said Eglet Jersyk, an 81-year-old pensioner. After spotting a news item in the local newspaper about the former factory\u2019s radioactive legacy, she and her husband Christian joined a local group to demand government action. \u201cNo one told us anything when we bought it in 1966 but a lot of mystery surrounded that house. We were only told: \u2018You shouldn\u2019t grow vegetables in the garden\u2019,\u201d she said. Experts from France\u2019s CEA atomic research agency came to visit the house in 1974 and found abnormal levels of radium and radon gas, she said, but it took some 30 years before the family could relocate to a nearby town. In the meantime, her husband, a do-it-yourself enthusiast who often worked in his basement, suffered from cough and heart problems which she said a doctor linked to radioactive fumes. Her complaint was dismissed by a court in the early 2000s, she said, and shortly after ANDRA offered to buy the house at market prices. ($1 = 0.8170 euros)"}
{"claim_id": "9215", "claim": "Researchers develop automated melanoma detector for skin cancer screening", "explanation": "This news release reports on a study of a computerized technology that combines imaging with digital analysis to help improve the screening of melanoma skin lesions. The news release explains the specificity and sensitivity of the test. It also clearly discloses who funded the research. One downside is that it\u2019s not until the final paragraph that we learn this is still experimental research that must be confirmed in larger studies. Earlier statements make it sound farther along, e.g., \u201cresearchers at The Rockefeller University have developed an automated technology that combines imaging with digital analysis and machine learning to help physicians detect melanoma at its early stages.\u201d A larger concern is how the release downplayed the high-false positive rate of 64%, saying this \u201capproaches\u201d the false-positive rate of manual detection by expert dermatologist, which studies put at about 32%. Melanoma can be very difficult to diagnose so if doctors could use a tool that helped better screen suspicious-looking moles, they might be able to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and save lives. This new approach thus far has shown promise, but further research will be needed to validate it as an enhanced diagnostic tool\u2013and that should be made upfront and clear to the journalists and consumers who read the news release.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Melanoma,The Rockefeller University", "main_text": "This technology seems to still be in the experimental stage. The news release reports a 98% sensitivity and 36% specificity for melanoma detection, which is a level that approaches that of an expert lesion diagnosis. But the release could have noted that this still isn\u2019t very accurate: A 36% specificity means that 64% of those without melanoma will test positive (i.e. false positive). That translates to a lot of unnecessary anxiety and follow-up testing to rule out suspicious growths. The release says the test\u2019s ability to diagnose normal moles was 36 percent, \u201capproaching the levels achieved by expert dermatologists performing visual examinations of suspect moles under the microscope.\u201d But as noted above, that statement downplays the fact that the test will result in a very high number of false-positives. A 36% specificity means that nearly two thirds of non-malignant moles will test positive and require additional follow-up. A test that correctly identifies nearly all melanomas, but also flags more than half of normal growths as melanomas, isn\u2019t all that useful. The investigators note that this research needs to be confirmed with larger studies\u2013but not until the end of the release. More should have been included on this point, and higher up, so as to not mislead readers into thinking this product is coming to market soon. And less needed to be said on the potential applications, which is still in \u201chearsay\u201d phase considering the state of research. For example, this quote: \u201cI think this technology could help detect the disease earlier, which could save lives, and avoid unnecessary biopsies too,\u201d is premature. No obvious disease mongering is evident here. We are told that \u201cthis work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and in part by the Paul and Irma Milstein Family Foundation and the American Skin Association.\u201d The release says \u201cthe ability of the test to correctly diagnose normal moles was 36 percent, approaching the levels achieved by expert dermatologists performing visual examinations of suspect moles under the microscope.\u201d That differs from what\u2019s in the study, which reports \u201cthe visual examination of pigmented lesions by expert dermatologists using dermoscopy and following criteria such as the Menzies (or CASH[3]) method has yielded diagnostic accuracy as high as 98% sensitivity and 68% specificity in some studies.\u201d Sixty-eight percent specificity is much more accurate than 36%, so we\u2019re not sure how that can be defined as \u201capproaching the levels\u201d of accuracy of visual exams by expert dermatologist. Some of the language used suggests the technology is mature, \u201cNow, researchers at The Rockefeller University have developed an automated technology that combines imaging with digital analysis and machine learning to help physicians detect melanoma at its early stages.\u201d It is not until the final\u00a0paragraph that the need for further research is noted. The release establishes that this is a potential new way to augment melanoma detection. The release does not use sensational language. However, we did want to highlight this quote, which was problematic: \u201cThe success of the Q-score in predicting melanoma is a marked improvement over competing technologies,\u201d says Daniel Gareau, first author of the report and instructor in clinical investigation in the Krueger laboratory.\u201d We think that it is a bit premature to be this definitive. A recent review of competing technologies suggests that confocal scanning laser microscopy has a sensitivity of 88-98% and a specificity of 83-99%."}
{"claim_id": "10213", "claim": "New DNA Tests Aimed at Reducing Colon Cancer", "explanation": "Strengths:\u00a0 Immediately, in the opening words, the story acknowledges that there is another DNA test in development that was reported on this week. It was the only one of the four stories we reviewed on this topic that made this clear. Weaknesses: It didn\u2019t provide a meaningful comparison of the new approaches with existing colon cancer screening tests. It also has problems with how the underlying question is presented. Two examples:  \u201cThe new tests could help most people avoid colonoscopies, which are routinely prescribed for people over age 50.\u201d \u2013 perhaps implying to the reader that evidence supports a recommendation of colonoscopy for everyone.That is not the case; there are several potential screening tests available, including other stool tests \u2013 something not mentioned in the story. \u201cCompliance with colonoscopy is low, since people don\u2019t want to have one, and the overall cost per detection is high because most people are healthy, and even colonoscopy misses many tumors in the upper part of the intestine.\u201d This sentence has a lot of information, but is also somewhat misleading. Use of colonoscopy is actually pretty good, and most people who don\u2019t have one have never been asked, calling into question that people \u201cdon\u2019t want to have one.\u201d The cost effectiveness of colonoscopy vs. other screening techniques is a complex question, but suffice it to say that the new technology being studied is not likely to be more cost-effective overall (previous stool DNA tests have performed much worse (higher costs, lower efficacy) than colonoscopy in modeling studies. This topic is really about when we should pay attention to evidence about a new diagnostic test and how we should evaluate diagnostic tests in comparison with one another- a topic that is often inadequately discussed in both medicine and journalism.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Cancer,New York Times", "main_text": "The story says, \u201cBoth tests would be less expensive than colonoscopy, and potentially more effective.\u201d\u00a0 No specific cost estimate is given. The Philadelphia Inquirer said \u201cThough the cost has not been set, it could be as low as $300 per test.\u201d Reuters reported that the company said earlier that it would aim for $300-400 per test. The story also states that \u201cCompliance with colonoscopy is low, since people don\u2019t want to have one, and the overall cost per detection is high\u201d \u2013 implying that the new test might be more cost-effective. But it\u2019s unclear at this point if that would be true. For example,\u00a0previous stool DNA tests have performed much worse (higher costs, lower efficacy) than colonoscopy in modeling studies. The story did a decent job comparing data presented on two new competing tests. It does not, however, compare the benefits to existing colon cancer screening tests. We will dock points for this in our final criterion on \u201ccomparing the new approach with existing alternatives\u201d but will give it the benefit of the doubt on this one. The two tests the Times reported on were done on blood and on stool, which, in theory, should not harm anyone during the screening. But there is potential for harms as a result of screening. The story states that with the Exact Sciences DNA test \u201c12 percent of the time the patient will be given a false alarm.\u201d\u00a0 And, regarding the Epigenomics blood test, the story states that \u201cmore false positives could be generated so you could end up doing more harm than good.\u201d Mixed bag. The story did provide some important context about test. For example, it says, \u201cExact Sciences reported in July that its test was highly sensitive and specific when applied directly to cells taken from tumors. But in the real world, the tumor DNA must be detected in stool samples, even though almost all the DNA comes from the bacteria of the gut. Just 0.01 percent of the DNA is human, and most of this is normal DNA, not the altered DNA of tumors.\u201d But only in passing does it mention that \u201cin the real world, the tumor DNA must be detected in stool samples.\u201d\u00a0 It could/should have driven home the point more clearly that the methodology used in the study tends to overestimate performance compared with an evaluation done in a representative sample population (hence the need to do another study). WebMD, for example, did a better job on this point, with a quote from Dr. Durado Brooks of the American Cancer Society:\u00a0\u201cThis was a very preliminary study that utilized samples from individuals who were known to have colon polyps or cancer. The performance may decrease considerably when the test is used in a large population of healthy individuals.\u201d Health Day quoted Brooks: \u201cShowing that in a small group of samples is very different from demonstrating that in a population where only a small number of individuals are going to have polyps of that size. Then we will know if this is a big step forward.\u201d There was also no discussion of the limitations of drawing conclusions from an abstract presented at a scientific conference \u2013 something that has not yet undergone the kind of peer review that a journal would use. No disease mongering. This story relies too heavily on researchers who are connected to the companies developing the cancer screens. Where was the truly independent perspective? As noted in the \u201cbenefits\u201d criterion above, this story did not even discuss other stool tests like fecal immunochemical testing or other fecal occult blood tests that are currently available and have been shown to perform well in appropriate samples. It did a decent job in comparing two new technologies, but got hung up on this comparison while forgetting existing tests. In so doing, the end of the story devolves a bit into a \u201cmy product is better than your product\u201d tit for tat. Which is what can happen when your only quoted sources all have connections to the companies involved. Although the story doesn\u2019t discuss existing stool tests like fecal immunochemical testing or other fecal occult blood testing, on the issue of relative novelty, the story scores points for being the only we reviewed that mentioned that the Exact Sciences DNA test is only one of two leading technologies being developed right now. This story did not rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "17053", "claim": "President Barack Obama\u2019s budget threatens national security by proposing \"an Army of fewer personnel than we had before Pearl Harbor.", "explanation": "Sensenbrenner said that President Obama\u2019s budget proposed \"an Army of fewer personnel than we had before Pearl Harbor.\" The congressman doesn\u2019t read as much into the numbers as did Romney. But he flubbed the historical comparison pointed out by others, and experts say it\u2019s a limited and potentially misleading comparison in any event.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Federal Budget, Military, Wisconsin, Jim Sensenbrenner, ", "main_text": "Near the end of an April 15, 2014 town hall meeting in his district, Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner listened to a constituent cite something on the Internet about the resignation of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. \"There\u2019s no truth meter on the Internet,\" remarked Sensenbrenner, a Republican elected to Congress in southeastern Wisconsin since 1978. Respectfully, we beg to differ on that. A remark earlier in the town-hall session by Sensenbrenner about Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel\u2019s plans to downsize the Army\u2019s troop strength caught our attention. \"With respect to the president\u2019s budget proposal, there the recommendation was that we have an Army of fewer personnel than we had before Pearl Harbor,\" Sensenbrenner said when asked about survivor\u2019s benefits. \"That\u2019s ridiculous and outrageous.\" Let\u2019s put that one on our Truth-O-Meter. When we asked Sensenbrenner spokesman Ben Miller for backup on the historical comparison, he referred us to the U.S. Department of Defense\u2019s budget request for fiscal year 2015. It quoted the Quadrennial Defense Review 2014. That five-year plan says the active Army will reduce its \"end strength\" to between 440,000 and 450,000 personnel. The current active-duty figure is about 520,000, Army spokesman Troy Rolan told us. Miller also pointed to stories in the New York Times, and a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story that included Associated Press reporting on Hagel\u2019s budget. The Times piece said that \"cuts proposed by the Obama administration would result in the smallest Army since just before the World War II buildup.\" The AP report said the active-duty Army would shrink to the \"smallest number since 1940, when the nation was gearing up to enter World War II.\" But Sensenbrenner didn\u2019t say Hagel\u2019s plan would result in the smallest Army since before the war buildup. He said it would be smaller than the pre-war troop complement. Before the U.S. buildup got cranked up, the Army had 188,000 troops in mid-1939 and 264,000 in mid-1940, official Army figures show. So Hagel\u2019s plan for 440,000 active troops would still be larger than that, contrary to what Sensenbrenner said. Sensenbrenner\u2019s phrasing looks better if you limit the comparison just to the 1941 period right before Pearl Harbor. But the troop numbers from 1941 include the U.S. buildup that began in 1940 in the wake of Germany\u2019s 1939 invasion of Poland. By late August 1941, active-duty Army personnel totalled about 1.6 million. If Sensenbrenner was using 1.6 million as his comparison point, he couldn\u2019t confine his outrage to the Obama/Hagel Army of 450,000, because every Army since 1952 has been smaller than 1.6 million. Troop levels ebb and flow, as you might expect, around major wars. After the World War II peak of 8.3 million, the Army\u2019s numbers fell dramatically, then blipped up to 1.6 million during the Korean War. After another drop, the number ramped up to 1.475 million during the Vietnam War before levelling off at about 775,000 from the mid-1970s through the 1980s. The Army\u2019s size fell significantly throughout the 1990s to 479,000 before slowly ticking up to 571,000 after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As America has drawn down troops in those nations, the Army\u2019s strength has dropped to the current 520,000. So, with the proposed reduction, the Army would be just below where it was before the Sept. 11 attacks. Strained comparison There\u2019s another angle to consider here: the difficulty in comparing a 1940 Army to today\u2019s model. We asked military historian Lance Janda of Cameron University in Oklahoma to assess Sensenbrenner\u2019s comments. Janda called the comments \"terribly misleading, implying as they do a sort of similarity between the technology, force structure, threat environment, and federal budget reality in 2014 and the one in 1940 that simply does not exist.\" In terms of weapons systems, communications capabilities, speed of deployment, radius of action, and overall destructive potential, Janda said, the U.S. is light years beyond where it was prior to World War II. \"In 1940 our Army and army Air Corps were relatively small and our Navy was one among several powerful navies around the world,\" Janda said. \"Today, the United States Navy and Air Force have no peers.\" Travis Sharp, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a nonprofit think tank, wrote that size of the force often does matter, but \"since the 2014 Army is not going to fight in the 1940 strategic environment, comparing them does not help us decide what to do today.\" \"While interesting,\" Sharp wrote, \"the comparison to 1940 is not particularly useful.\" \"Today's Army is vastly more capable, even at a fraction of the headcount,\" John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, told us. Hagel, in announcing the budget reductions in February 2014, called them difficult and not without added risk. Hagel said the cuts assume the United States no longer becomes involved in large, prolonged stability operations overseas on the scale of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Defense Department reported. But he said the smaller force still would be capable of decisively defeating aggression in one major war \"while also defending the homeland and supporting air and naval forces engaged in another theater against an adversary.\" Still, some analysts, including Sharp, have expressed concerns about repercussions on the battlefield and beyond if the active-duty complement falls to 440,000 without appropriate contingency planning. \"Prioritizing technology over size has a strategic logic and conforms with historical practice,\" wrote Sharp. \"Despite this logic, focusing on high-tech modernization without simultaneously implementing policies to regenerate ground forces quickly should a crisis erupt constitutes strategic negligence of the highest order.\" PolitiFact National checked a statement similar to Sensenbrenner\u2019s in January 2012. The speaker was Mitt Romney. The Republican presidential candidate said that the U.S. military is at risk of losing its \"military superiority\" because \"our Navy is smaller than it\u2019s been since 1917. Our Air Force is smaller and older than any time since 1947.\" The claim earned a  rating. The numbers were close to accurate, but experts said it was wrong to assume a decline in the number of ships or aircraft automatically means a weaker military. And the comparison of today\u2019s military to its predecessors in 1917 or 1947 was deemed ridiculous. Our rating Sensenbrenner said that President Obama\u2019s budget proposed \"an Army of fewer personnel than we had before Pearl Harbor.\" The congressman doesn\u2019t read as much into the numbers as did Romney. But he flubbed the historical comparison pointed out by others, and experts say it\u2019s a limited and potentially misleading comparison in any event. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "2839", "claim": "Increasing H7N9 bird flu toll demands constant vigilance.", "explanation": "A wave of H7N9 bird flu cases and deaths in China since the start of 2014 shows emerging flu strains need constant surveillance if the world is not to be caught off guard by a deadly pandemic.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "At least 24 H7N9 flu infections and three deaths have been confirmed in the past week by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a big increase on the two cases and one death reported for the four-month period of June to September. China\u2019s National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Friday it had seen 28 confirmed human cases of H7N9 in five provinces across the country since the start of the year. \u201cThere\u2019s now a clear second wave of this virus,\u201d said Jake Dunning, a researcher at Imperial College London who has been monitoring the outbreak. While the winter flu season means an increase in infections is not unexpected, it raises the risk of the virus mutating and perhaps getting a chance to acquire genetic changes that may allow it to spread easily from one person to another. The H7N9 bird flu virus emerged in March last year and has so far infected at least 170 people in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, killing around 50 of them. Many, but not all, of those infected had contact with poultry or other birds, so for now this virus has apparently not adapted to easy human-to-human transmission - one of the main features keeping a pandemic emergency response on hold. China\u2019s health commission said experts had concluded that H7N9 transmission \u201cis still from poultry to humans\u201d. Yet the strain does have some worrying features, including a limited capability to spread from one person to another. Several clusters of cases in people who had close contact with an infected person have been reported in China. An analysis of probable H7N9 transmission from person to person, published last August, gave the best proof yet that it can sporadically jump between people. A separate team of researchers in the United States said in December while it is not impossible that H7N9 could become easily transmissible from person to person, it would need to undergo multiple mutations. Another alarm was sounded last month when scientists said they had found that a mutation in the virus can render it resistant to a first-line treatment drug without limiting its ability to spread in mammals. WHO chief spokesman Gregory Hartl said the United Nations health agency had noted the rapid increase in infections in the past few weeks and was keeping a watchful eye. \u201cSo far we haven\u2019t seen anything that causes us to change our risk assessment,\u201d he said from WHO\u2019s Geneva headquarters  The WHO\u2019s stance, based on its December 20 assessment, is that five small family clusters have been reported but \u201cevidence does not currently support sustained human-to-human transmission of this virus. The current likelihood of community-level spread ... is considered to be low.\u201d  That was echoed by the Chinese health commission, which said: \u201cUp to now, inspections have found no mutations of the virus that are of significance to public health\u201d. Flu viruses, however, often put on their biggest show of strength in the northern hemisphere\u2019s cold winter months of January and February. And with more of the virus circulating in wild birds, poultry and in the larger numbers of people infected, the new strain has more opportunity to adapt and mix with other strains that may give it pandemic potential. Peter Openshaw, director of the Centre for Respiratory Infection at Imperial College London, said the rising toll of infections and deaths is \u201ca signal for concern\u201d because \u201chistorically what has happened in major outbreaks is there are occasional, sporadic cases and then it starts to build\u201d. \u201cBut whether it means that there is any change in the virus\u2019 behavior is another important question. If it were changing the way it is behaving, that would be more alarming,\u201d he said. Early gene analysis work on the emerging H7N9 virus in April last year found it had been circulating widely but went undetected and had acquired significant genetic diversity. Scientists warned then that its genetic diversity showed the H7N9 virus has an ability to mutate repeatedly and was likely to continue doing so. Hartl said: \u201cMutations happen all the time. While yes, the more virus there is, the more mutations could happen, it is also true that almost all of these mutations are benign.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "10053", "claim": "Good news, bad news for former estrogen users", "explanation": "In its brevity, this piece lacks that all-important context that more expert comment might have provided. In addition, it fails to answer key questions that any reader will ask:\u00a0 DOES THIS APPLY TO ME? The story does not emphasize clearly enough the fact that this study concerned estrogen ALONE, vs estrogen plus progestin in combination. So women who took estrogen with progestin may think the results apply to them. Not until the last line is this crucial difference addressed. Also, if there were risks or benefits, how big are they? There is no quantitative, and little qualitative information about the size of benefits and risks. In addition, some of the statements are misleading \u2013 see details below. Millions of women have already taken hormone replacement, and more are poised in the delicate transition where such therapy may be considered. The medical confusion is tricky for them, and this story will be widely read. Giving a true picture of this confusion is vital to helping women maneuver among unknowns.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Washington Post,women's health", "main_text": "The story didn\u2019t quantify the benefits. The competing NY\u00a0Times did a somewhat better job, although it got an unsatisfactory score as well. The Post tries but fails to do justice to the mixed picture of longer-term outcomes for women who took estrogen-only therapy. There is no quantitative statement about the risks, or the benefits. Some of the findings are misstated: \u201cRisk for heart disease during the follow-up period was similar to that seen while women were taking the hormone.\u201d The point of the study is that there was no increased risk in heart disease in estrogen-alone users (as opposed to findings with estrogen/progestin arm); and longer followup confirmed no increase. As stated, the story seems to imply there was an increased risk for heart disease that did not diminish during followup. This story didn\u2019t do as good a job as the competing NY Times did on this criterion. While the Post mentioned an accompanying editorial, it didn\u2019t emphasize some expert skepticism. The expert comments in the Times piece were more clear and concise in their questioning of the relative relevance and importance of the evidence. For example, the Times reported:   This short story avoids mongering, although our medical editor on this review thought the tone hypes the dangers of estrogen when the data show that the risks, though real, are small in absolute terms. We\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt here, as it at least cited an accompanying editorial \u2013 although, as noted in the \u201cevidence\u201d criterion above, the NY\u00a0Times did a better job in eliciting clear quotes about context from its sources. Although not as thorough as the NY Times on this point, the story at least stated:"}
{"claim_id": "7180", "claim": "Baltimore mayor says her $500K book deal was a \u2018mistake\u2019.", "explanation": "Baltimore\u2019s mayor on Thursday described a lucrative arrangement to sell her self-published children\u2019s books to a university-based health care system as a \u201cregrettable mistake\u201d and offered apologies for \u201cany lack of confidence or disappointment\u201d citizens and colleagues may be feeling.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Childrens books, University of Maryland, Catherine Pugh, Maryland, U.S. News, Baltimore", "main_text": "At a City Hall news conference, Mayor Catherine Pugh provided five pages of paperwork, asserting they detail production and various deliveries of her \u201cHealthy Holly\u201d books to Baltimore\u2019s school system. She also provided a copy of a January 2011 letter to the district\u2019s chief academic officer describing a donation of 20,000 copies of \u201cHealth Holly: Exercising is Fun!\u201d Since 2011, Pugh received $500,000 selling her illustrated paperback series to the University of Maryland Medical System, a $4 billion hospital network. Pugh sat on the medical system\u2019s board of directors for about 18 years. \u201cI am deeply sorry for any lack of confidence or disappointment which this initiative may have caused any Baltimore City residents and colleagues. In hindsight, this arrangement with the University of Maryland Medical System was a regrettable mistake,\u201d she said, speaking in a weakened voice as she recovers from what spokespeople called a bout of pneumonia. One of Maryland\u2019s largest private employers, the UMMS paid Pugh half-a-million dollars for 100,000 copies of her roughly 20-page books, arguably making her among the world\u2019s most successful self-published authors. There was no contract behind the deal and the hospital network described some of the purchases as \u201cgrants\u201d in federal filings. Pugh \u2014 who once sat on a state Senate committee that funded the major health network before becoming mayor in 2016 \u2014 served on the system\u2019s board since 2001. Pugh\u2019s slim \u201cHealthy Holly\u201d books, sharing tips on nutrition and exercise, were meant to be distributed to schools and daycares. But the school district has described her hard-to-find books as \u201cunsolicited\u201d donations after The Baltimore Sun recently exposed Pugh\u2019s arrangements with UMMS. Fewer than 9,000 copies were found collecting dust in a district warehouse. It\u2019s unclear where tens of thousands of other copies are. Pugh suggested Thursday that it was up to the city\u2019s school district to clear up the confusion. \u201cI do hope that we find out from the school system where the rest of those books are,\u201d she said. During the evening press conference, Pugh also held up cloth bibs, onesies and other baby items with words like \u201cjump\u201d and \u201cplay\u201d emblazoned on them that she says were intended to be part of her campaign to teach youngsters and families about health. She said her \u201cHealthy Holly\u201d initiative was \u201cnever about books\u201d but was \u201cabout a lifestyle.\u201d She said her lawyer advised her not to take any questions since the arrangement with UMMS is now being investigated. A retired state corruption investigator has filed a complaint against Pugh with the state prosecutor\u2019s office. Pugh choked up at the end of her presentation and departed the conference room, appearing drained as reporters yelled out questions. A Democrat, Pugh faces a 2020 Democratic primary for re-election in a city dominated by her party\u2019s political machine. Criticism of UMMS and of Pugh has lately been intense. The Washington Post\u2019s editorial board recently asserted the UMMS had a \u201cget-rich-quick program\u201d for many of its board members, with Pugh\u2019s involvement painted as an egregious case of \u201cpolitical sleaze.\u201d In recent days, Pugh resigned from the volunteer UMMS board and returned her most recent payment of $100,000. She also amended years of financial disclosure forms from her state Senate days. Pugh is not the only board member who received significant financial compensation from UMMS. About one-third of the UMMS board members received compensation through the medical system\u2019s arrangements with their businesses, a revelation that Gov. Larry Hogan has called \u201cappalling.\u201d Two other members of the board have also resigned, and four others went on voluntary leave while the system reviews governance practices. The president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System has recently been sent on a temporary leave of absence. Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot says an independent audit is urgent to understand how many \u201cself-dealing\u201d arrangements there have been over the years. ___ Follow McFadden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmcfadd"}
{"claim_id": "26611", "claim": "Chain message Says \"special military helicopters will spray pesticide against the Corona virus in the skies all over the country.", "explanation": "There is no evidence the United States military is using helicopters to spray pesticide in an effort to kill the coronavirus.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Chain message, ", "main_text": "Not even neighborhood social networking apps\u00a0are safe from misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent post on Neighbors, an app created by Ring \u2014 the company that makes video doorbells \u2014 claims that the United States military is using helicopters to \"spray pesticide against the Corona virus in the skies all over the country.\" A map on the post indicates that the user shared it\u00a0in San Diego. \"So you must stay indoors after twelve o\u2019clock at night and remove all clothes which are outside,\" the post reads. \"When you hear the sounds of airplanes at night, it is for you to know that it is related to this matter (COVID-19).\" A reader sent us a screenshot of the post, which was subsequently shared on Snapchat, on March 23. The text of the post has also been shared on Facebook. (Screenshot from Snapchat) We\u2019ve seen several other chain messages that make  claims about the military\u2019s actions against the coronavirus, so we decided to check this one out, too. There is no evidence that the U.S. military is using helicopters to spray coronavirus-killing pesticide on American communities. A similar hoax has been passed around in Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Egypt, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. On March 22, President Donald Trump said during a press briefing that the federal government is deploying additional National Guard assistance to New York, California and Washington to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. During the same briefing, Vice President Mike Pence said the government is also working with the military to charter flights for Americans abroad. Meanwhile, Navy ships have been sent to New York and California to provide additional health care support. The Army Corps of Engineers is building more medical facilities. And, according to the Military Times, more than 8,000 National Guard troops have been mobilized in all 50 states. That\u2019s a significant activation of the military within U.S. borders, but it\u2019s a far cry from using helicopters to spray pesticides on cities across the country. In September, Rhode Island officials approved aerial spraying to kill mosquitoes, which had caused an outbreak of the eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus. Other states have taken similar actions, and the U.S. Air Force Reserve has an aerial spray program. But those efforts are aimed at limiting the populations of insects that carry diseases, not the diseases themselves. And while Chinese officials have used drones to disinfect surfaces potentially tainted by the coronavirus, experts told us there is no evidence that spraying pesticide from a helicopter would kill the virus on the ground in the U.S. \"That idea is pretty far-fetched,\" said Murray Isman, dean emeritus of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia, in an email. \"There are no pesticides that specifically target viruses, and general antimicrobials that might have any effect (bleach, alcohol) would have to be applied in ridiculously high volumes.\" According to the Environmental Protection Agency, disinfectants qualify as \"antimicrobial pesticides\" since they are used to kill bacteria and viruses. The agency has listed dozens of products on its website that meet the criteria for use against the coronavirus. The chain message is inaccurate. We rate it . If you receive a chain message that you want us to fact-check, send a screenshot to [email\u00a0protected]."}
{"claim_id": "35554", "claim": "Legionnaires' disease can be contracted from a face mask used repeatedly.", "explanation": "In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance for reopening buildings after widespread and abrupt COVID-19 shutdowns of businesses, schools, and other facilities. Those closures resulted in decreased water usage, which could contribute to pooling in water systems that are prime locations for the growth of Legionella bacterium. Combined with shutdown-related declines in water chlorination and regular cleaning, the agency noted that the bacteria may accumulate in standing water over the course of weeks or months before being aerosolized through devices like showers, hot tubs, fountains, and air conditioning cooling towers used once localities reopen.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "A series of social media posts widely circulated in August 2020 claimed that Legionnaires\u2019 disease, a respiratory infection that can cause a rare and sometimes fatal form of pneumonia, could be contracted from reused face masks worn to protect against COVID-19. Snopes readers asked us to verify this rumor that essentially argues respiratory droplets containing Legionella pneumophila, the pathogen that causes Legionnaires\u2019 disease, may persist in those contaminated respiratory droplets held within a used mask. Specifically, the social media posts stated that the \u201cmoisture and bacteria\u201d found in an anonymous woman\u2019s mask, which she wore daily, resulted in a misdiagnosis of COVID-19. Mask wearers beware \u2026 A caller to a radio talk show recently shared that his wife was hospitalized and told she had COVID and only a couple of days left to live. A doctor friend suggested she be tested for legionnaires disease because she wore the same mask every day all day long. Turns out it WAS legionnaires disease from the moisture and bacteria in her mask. She was given antibiotics and within two days was better. WHAT IF these \u201cspikes\u201d in COVID are really something else due to improper mask wearing?? Copied and pasted The claim in the social media post is false. According to Legionella, a nonprofit organization that shares educational material and scientific research about the disease, Legionnaires\u2019 is not contagious and cannot be transmitted by infected persons or their masks. \u201cYou cannot contract Legionnaires\u2019 disease from wearing face masks. Legionella bacterium is transmitted by aspirating drinking water or breathing in water droplets. Legionella is not spread from person-to-person in respiratory droplets nor does the bacteria survive on dry surfaces. Your mask would not be a source of transmission for the Legionella bacteria,\u201d wrote the organization on its website. Legionnaires\u2019 disease is a severe form of lung infection caused by breathing in mist or water that is contaminated with the bacterium. The condition is characterized by a cough, fever, headache, and shortness of breath \u2014 all symptoms that are also associated with COVID-19 and could potentially result in the misdiagnosis. Though Legionnaires\u2019 is treatable with antibiotics, about 1-in-10 infected people will die. However, as noted by Legionella, if a person were diagnosed with Legionnaires\u2019 disease, it would not be a consequence of wearing a mask. Water contaminated with the bacteria must be directly inhaled or drank by an individual in order to become infected. As such, a mask would theoretically need to come into direct contact with contaminated water in order for it to be inhaled. Even so, Legionella only grows in standing water under warm temperatures and cannot survive on dry surfaces."}
{"claim_id": "31114", "claim": "Justin Bieber and Katy Perry made public statements warning that the music industry is run by pedophiles.", "explanation": "We reached out to representatives of Justin Bieber and Kate Perry for comment, but did not hear back before publication time.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Entertainment, conspiracy theories, fake news, justin bieber", "main_text": "In early August 2017, articles appeared on unreliable web sites reporting that two of the most popular entertainers in pop music, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry, had made public statements asserting that the music industry is run by pedophiles. (Note: We recognize that pedophilia, which is defined as a sexual attraction to children, is not the same as child sexual abuse, although the web sites under discussion do not observe that distinction.) A YourNewsWire\u00a0story\u00a0written by Dmitry Baxter (one of the promulgators of the thoroughly discredited \u201cPizzagate\u201d conspiracy theory claiming in 2016 that Hillary Clinton and other \u201cWashington elites\u201d ran a pedophile ring out of a pizza restaurant in the nation\u2019s capitol) intimated that the reason Bieber canceled\u00a0the last leg of his 2017 world tour in July was his realization that pedophilia is rampant in the entertainment business:\u00a0 Justin Bieber told hundreds of people at a Bible study class in Los Angeles that he has \u201cwoken up\u201d to the \u201cevils of the music industry\u201d and he needs to take a break from the industry because it is \u201ccontrolled by the absolute worst kind of people \u2014\u00a0pedophiles.\u201d Bieber has become a regular at the Bible study class held at the Montage in Beverly Hills and on Saturday 22nd July he shared what he described as a \u201chorrific story\u201d with the congregation and explained why he felt he had to quit his world tour. Describing a party on tour \u2014\u00a0attended by the upper echelon of the music business, including executive VPs of development, producers, power agents and international financiers \u2014\u00a0Bieber said he was encouraged to sexually abuse a young child who had been bought to the party for the sexual gratification of the industry elite. One day later, a similar article about Katy Perry was posted on the web site Neon Nettle (another hardcore purveyor of \u201cPizzagate\u201d rumors, not to mention articles falsely attributing statements about show business pedophilia to actor Brad Pitt and implying connections\u00a0between the deaths of alt-rockers Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington and music industry child abusers): In a shocking expos\u00e9 from one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Katy Perry has dealt a devastating blow to the entertainment world elite by revealing that the entire industry is \u201ccontrolled\u201d by \u201csick pedophiles\u201d. The \u201cI Kissed a Girl\u201d singer had left many concerned about her mental state following a series of public breakdowns earlier this year. She made headlines when she disclosed her suicidal tendencies and exhibited signs of a split personality disorder, saying \u201cI don\u2019t want to be Katy Perry anymore\u201d. The article goes on to paint a picture virtually identical to that in the YourNewsWire article of industry pedophiles making up an \u201cexclusive club\u201d:\u00a0 Clearly troubled by the details, she told a group of close friends: \u201cI can\u2019t live this life any longer. They\u2019re all pedophiles. What they do to these children is sick.\u201d She continues to elaborate, visibly traumatized by the things she\u2019s witnessed: \u201cAnd they\u2019re every where you go. It\u2019s like they\u2019re not even trying to hide it. They flaunt it like it\u2019s a badge of honor\u201d \u201cThe producers, the executives, the big names\u2026 They\u2019re all in on it\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s like an exclusive club that you can only join if you do these evil things to innocent children\u2026 And it\u2019s not just dirty old men, it\u2019s all of them. Even the women.\u201d \u201cThey say to me, \u2018Katy, you need to take the next step in your career\u2019, but there\u2019s no way I would do those things to kids.\u201d Despite the fact that both stories include elements of truth to shore up their credibility \u2014 Justin Bieber did cancel part of his 2017 tour, for example, and Katy Perry did say in a live-streamed therapy session that she doesn\u2019t want to be \u201cKaty Perry\u201d anymore (i.e., in the sense of having to live up to fans\u2019 expectations) \u2014 in neither case are the statements attributed to them about pedophilia sufficiently sourced or corroborated to earn readers\u2019 credence. No such statements by Bieber and Perry have been quoted (or even mentioned) by any mainstream news outlets. On the contrary, these statements are lurid fabrications designed either to garner social media likes and shares (and advertising dollars), or spread disinformation intended to harm the reputations of so-called \u201cHollywood elites\u201d (a favorite political target of both YourNewsWire and Neon Nettle), or both. Unfortunately, by disseminating these false stories, the web sites dilute and lend confusion to the impact of actual claims of industry pedophilia made by the likes of former child actors Corey Feldman and Elijah Wood, who have separately gone on record saying the extent to which the sexual abuse of minors occurs in Hollywood is underreported. Worse, child abuse is one of those emotion-laden topics that can lead to violence, so there\u2019s no room for false reporting. One would hope that lessons were learned from the Pizzagate debacle, which resulted in a credulous fake news reader firing an AR-15\u00a0rifle inside Washington DC\u2019s Comet Ping Pong, a family restaurant; the shooter said he expected to rescue \u201cchild sex slaves\u201d from a pedophile ring that does not exist, which was purportedly run out of the restaurant\u2019s basement, which also does not exist."}
{"claim_id": "37844", "claim": "The Michigan secretary of state's office sent absentee ballots to 7.7 million people", "explanation": "Did Michigan Send Absentee Ballots to 7.7 Million People?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "On May 20 2020, United States President Donald Trump attempted to smear the Michigan secretary of state\u2019s office in a tweet regurgitating one of his most thoroughly debunked claims.\u201cMichigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State,\u201d Trump wrote on May 20, 2020. \u201cI will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!\u201dThe allegation was quickly refuted by Michigan secretary of state Jocelyn Benson.\u201cWe sent applications, not ballots,\u201d she replied. \u201cJust like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia.\u201dHi! \ud83d\udc4b\ud83c\udffc I also have a name, it\u2019s Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia. https://t.co/kBsu4nHvOy\u2014 Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) May 20, 2020Not only was Trump lying about Benson\u2019s office sending \u201cabsentee ballots,\u201d in reality the \u201c7.7 million people\u201d he referenced represents the total number of registered voters in the state. As the Detroit Free Press reported, receiving an application for an absentee ballot does not automatically mean one will be issued; the application would still need to be filled out and returned to the recipient\u2019s local clerk\u2019s office either physically or via regular or e-mail. If the recipient\u2019s signature on the application matches the one in their existing voter records, they are then issued a ballot.According to Benson, the move to expand opportunities for casting an absentee ballot followed an uptick in voter turnout via mail on May 5 2020, when fifty local elections were held throughout the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed 4,915 residents since March 2020.\u201cBy mailing applications we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,\u201d Benson said. She also correctly stated that Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, and West Virginia \u2014 all states with Republicans holding her position \u2014 sent absentee ballot request forms available to their respective electorates.Trump\u2019s threat to \u201chold up funding\u201d against the state is his latest swipe at Democratic officials in Michigan, such as Benson and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Earlier in the month the president used his Twitter account to support\u00a0armed far-right demonstrators demanding that Whitmer ease stay-at-home health measures to limit the spread of the disease. In reality, a much greater majority of Americans has consistently expressed concern that \u201creopening businesses\u201d would only cause an increase in COVID-19 infections.The Twitter smear was also another instance of Trump attempting to push the completely false\u00a0claim of \u201cvoter fraud.\u201dComments"}
{"claim_id": "4634", "claim": "Indiana veteran who wanted final flight dies after reunion.", "explanation": "A Vietnam War veteran from western Indiana had his last wish fulfilled by his reunited Army comrades, who flew in the Terre Haute Air Show.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Lou Gehrigs disease, Terre Haute, Air shows, Indiana, Veterans", "main_text": "Ken Dierdorf died this week, just days after his debilitating illness prevented him from flying in a military helicopter with the men who fought alongside him, the Tribune-Star reported . He was 68. Dierdorf\u2019s health had been in steady decline since 2010 when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, which attacks nerve cells that control muscles throughout the body. The illness, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, led Dierdorf to eventually require a full-time respirator to aid his breathing. The Dierdorfs reached out to the Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of the Wabash Valley earlier this year to see if they could get a Bell UH-1 Iroquois \u201cHuey\u201d ride for the Dirty Half Dozen, a group of Vietnam War veterans comprised of Dierdorf and his friends. VNA Hospice Care arranged a flight with the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation\u2019s Huey at the air show. Even though Dierdorf couldn\u2019t ride in the Huey last weekend, reuniting with his fellow military friends and watching them experience the flight fulfilled his last wish, said Kim Dierdorf, Ken\u2019s wife. \u201cHe talked about it nonstop since Saturday,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd even though I know it took a lot out of him, I think because it was his last hurrah that he really, really wanted to do, I think that once that was able to happen for him he knew he didn\u2019t have to fight any longer.\u201d Ken Dierdorf getting his last wish fulfilled is fitting for someone so kind and full of life, said Gil Edgington, one of the Dirty Half Dozen friends. \u201cIt was all in God\u2019s plan,\u201d said Edgington, 69. \u201cIt meant so much to us, in his passing, that while it\u2019s a shock we know that he\u2019s not suffering anymore.\u201d ___ Information from: Tribune-Star, http://www.tribstar.com"}
{"claim_id": "3652", "claim": "Pakistan battles dengue epidemic, with 20 deaths so far.", "explanation": "Pakistani health officials were battling an outbreak of dengue fever in the South Asian nation on Tuesday, a day after health officials confirmed over 10,000 cases and 20 deaths in recent months.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Pakistan, Dengue fever, Health, Islamabad, General News, Asia, Epidemics, South Asia, Asia Pacific", "main_text": "More patients with symptoms of dengue fever were arriving at hospitals in all major cities, including the capital Islamabad, putting a strain on the country\u2019s poor health system. Health officials hope that the anti-mosquito spraying in urban areas targeting stagnant water will help contain the disease. According to Zafar Mirza, a government adviser on health, as many as 10,013 dengue cases had so far been reported. Free medical treatment will be provided to patients suffering from the illness, he said. He said the number of dengue patients was still low as compared to previous years. Health officials are keeping dengue patients in isolated wards in hospitals across the country. Pakistan\u2019s opposition criticized the government for not taking adequate measures to prevent the alarming outbreak of the disease. \u201cThe cases of dengue fever are increasing because of government\u2019s incompetence,\u201d said Maryam Aurangzeb, spokeswoman for the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party. Rafique Ahmed, a medical doctor at a government hospital in the city of Rawalpindi, said more than 150 patients suffering from dengue fever were being treated at their hospital, but \u201chopefully we will overcome this epidemic.\u201d He said people with symptoms of a simple fever also rush to hospitals in a panic, fearing they had dengue fever. The mosquito-borne viral infection kills dozens of people every year in Pakistan. Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, and can cause breathing problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure in severe cases. So far 2,363 cases were reported in the eastern Punjab province, 2,258 in the southern Sindh province, 1,814 in the country\u2019s northwest and 1,772 in southwestern Baluchistan province, Mirza said."}
{"claim_id": "8240", "claim": "UK trials new breathing aid developed by Mercedes Formula One.", "explanation": "A new version of a breathing aid that can help coronavirus patients has been developed in less a week by a team involving Mercedes Formula One, and is being trialed at London hospitals.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices have been used in China and Italy to deliver air and oxygen under pressure to patients\u2019 lungs to help them breathe without the need for them to go on a ventilator, a more invasive process. The new CPAP has already been approved by the relevant regulator and now 100 of the machines will be delivered to University College London Hospital for trials, before being rolled out to other hospitals. Reports from Italy indicate that approximately 50% of patients given CPAP have avoided the need for invasive mechanical ventilation, which involves patients being sedated, freeing up ventilators for those more in need. \u201cThese devices will help to save lives by ensuring that ventilators, a limited resource, are used only for the most severely ill,\u201d UCLH critical care consultant Professor Mervyn Singer said in a statement on Monday. \u201cWe hope they will make a real difference to hospitals across the UK by reducing demand on intensive care staff and beds, as well as helping patients recover without the need for more invasive ventilation.\u201d  The new breathing aid was developed by engineers and clinicians at UCLH teaming up with Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains who worked at UCL\u2019s MechSpace hub to reverse engineer a device that can be produced quickly. Asked about the risk to healthcare workers of using CPAPs as contaminated droplets can escape from the device, Professor Rebecca Shipley, Director of UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering, told the BBC, that the risks were very low if those workers wore appropriate personal protective equipment. She also said that the new device could be scaled up very quickly. \u201cMercedes can make 1,000 a day within a week, and if the tests go well they can be in the NHS by the end of this week,\u201d Shipley told BBC radio. Development of the new device took fewer than 100 hours from initial meeting to production of the first one. The team working on it also includes Oxford Optronix, a small company that will manufacture the oxygen monitors for the CPAP devices. Britain announced separately on Monday that it has placed an order for 10,000 ventilators to be made by a consortium of companies including Ford (F.N), Airbus (AIR.PA) and Rolls-Royce (RR.L) as part of efforts to fight the coronavirus, an industry source told Reuters."}
{"claim_id": "10562", "claim": "The trouble with mammograms", "explanation": "The idea that screening may be harmful is not often discussed in news stories. The story nicely presents this seemingly counter-intuitive point that finding more cancer may not save lives; however, the story could have discussed the role patients can play in deciding whether or not to get screened and how they could discuss this decision with physicians, who may be strong advocates for screening. The story does not mention that women could discuss an individualized screening schedule with their physician. Some women at higher-risk of breast cancer may be better candidates for annual screening between age 40-50 (or earlier, depending on family history or genetic markers), while others may not wish to screen until they are in their 50s or 60s. The story does not mention how physicians could counsel anxious patients on the true value of screening for breast cancer. The story does note that mass screening results in overtreatment and possibly unnecessary treatment for some women; however, the cost implications for such treatments are not discussed, an important omission at this time in the development of U.S. healthcare policy and physician reimbursements for screening. The story superbly cites expert epidemiologists and clinicians who discuss the problems with overselling mammograms and how this flies in the face of public health campaigns and U.S. clinical guidelines that women over 40 get annual mammograms. The story also cites a breast cancer survivor and advocate who questions the value of screening for some women. An advocate from a pro-screening group is also cited and her message is balanced by a clinician (who consults with the organization) who gives a tempered response to the latest data that screening may not benefit, and may even harm, women who are not at high-risk of developing aggressive breast cancer.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does note that mass screening results in overtreatment and possibly unnecessary treatment for some women; however, the story does not address the cost implications for such treatments\u2013around $10 billion annually\u00a0for screening and another $10 billion annually on treatment\u2013 an important point at this time in the development of U.S. healthcare policy and physician reimbursements for screening. The story does a nice job presenting the number needed to test or NNT (how many women screened regularly would save one life) and NNH (how many women screened who would receive unnecessary treatments). These are important numbers that are typically missing in health news stories. The story also notes other evidence that 22% of cancers might regress on their own. This is another important point that women may wish to consider as they plan a personal mammography screening schedule, or if they choose not to screen for breast cancer. The story describes the discomfort of mammography and the potential harms of screening, i.e. finding benign lesions and overtreatment for a less agressive cancer. The story does not mention the anxiety many women face both before and post-screening, especially if a mammogram is positive. The false positive rate of mammography is about 50% over 10 years (~with 10 mammograms likely to get one false positive). The story does an excellent job explaining the BMJ study design and evidence from a recent Cochrane review of breast cancer screening. This new information is presented in the context of similar analyses that also found screening was overvalued for saving lives. The story does not engage in disease mongering. Instead, the story discusses\u00a0lower-risk forms of cancer and pre-cancerous lesions that may not need to be treated. The story does a superb job here. There are expert epidemiologists and clinicians who discuss the problems with overselling mammograms and how this flies in the face of public health campaigns and U.S. clinical guidelines that women over 40 get annual mammograms. The story also cites a breast cancer survivor and advocate who questions the value of screening for some women. An advocate from a pro-screening group is also cited and her message is balanced by a clinician (who consults with the organization) who gives a tempered response to the latest data that screening may not benefit, and may even harm,\u00a0 women who are not at high-risk of developing aggressive breast cancer. The story raises the clear option that some women may choose not to have regular mammograms \u2013 an option not often discussed in news stories. The long-time availability of mammograms is evident in the story. With the exception of certain lower socio-economic communities and geographic areas, mammograms are increasingly available to women as a result of well-funded public health campaigns and messages that more screening will save lives. The story focuses not on availability, but on a recently published article which adds evidence to previous meta-analyses that mammograms may be oversold for saving lives. The idea that screening may be harmful is new in the popular press. The story does a nice job presenting this seemingly counter-intuitive point that finding more cancer may not save lives; however, the story could have discussed the role patients can play in deciding whether or not to get screened and the role of shared decision-making between patients and caregivers. The story does not appear to rely on a press release for information. There is a good deal of interpretation of medical studies and independent reporting from a range of clinical experts and breast cancer advocacy groups."}
{"claim_id": "2493", "claim": "Bike sharing offers big fitness benefits for the little commute.", "explanation": "With bike sharing plans rolling on asphalt from New York City to Budapest, experts say city streets are becoming as fitness-friendly as country trails.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Even short cycling jaunts can make a difference in the health of city dwellers. \u201cIf you were driving a car and switched to biking, that 10 minutes going and coming a day would be a big deal,\u201d said Dr. Robert Oppliger, an exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine. Oppliger, an avid cyclist, said even a two-to-three-mile (3.2-to-4.8-km) spin can yield significant health benefits. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of information coming out on something called active transport that compares traveling by bike or public transit to traveling by car,\u201d he said. \u201cThe benefits are significant the more mobile you are.\u201d  Government guidelines recommend adults accumulate 150 minutes of moderately intense physical activity per week. Cycling, he said, can be part of that. \u201cBicycling has positive effects on weight and cardio- vascular health,\u201d he said. \u201cEven a couple of times a week is beneficial in terms of all the problems with obesity.\u201d  Last week the American Medical Association designated obesity, which affects one third of U.S. adults, a disease. Not all cities can accommodate bike share programs, which are not designed for avid cyclists, said Oppliger. He said his hometown of Iowa City, a relatively small community with short commuting distances, is unsuited for such a program. In New York City, which kicked off a massive bike sharing program this spring, 56 percent of auto trips are under three miles, according to the New York City Department of Transportation website. \u201cFor two to three miles it\u2019s a pretty good way to get around,\u201d said Oppliger, who also praised the city for adding 200 bike lane miles in the past three years alone. \u201cNew York City has done a pretty good job of preparing the area and now it\u2019s starting to pay off,\u201d he added. Bicycling magazine\u2019s Editor-in-Chief Peter Flax predicts that 10 years from now the decision to introduce bike sharing to New York City will have seemed obvious. \u201cMaybe more than any other American city, New York is perfectly suited to bike share,\u201d said Flax. \u201cIt\u2019s relatively flat and efficient to get around.\u201d  Flax has sampled similar programs in Washington, D.C., Paris and Barcelona. He readily admits, after watching a parade of New York\u2019s big blue bikes riding against the traffic on a one-way street, that the biggest, most ambitious bike share program in North America is in for a period of adjustment. \u201cWe\u2019re 25 to 30 years behind Europe,\u201d he said. \u201cOur cycling community needs to embrace the rules of the road.\u201d  He foresees attitudes changing as the bikes blend into street life. \u201cIn five years it won\u2019t be a problem,\u201d he predicts. \u201cTaxi drivers are already changing their behavior. The last thing they want is to have an accident with someone on a city bike.\u201d  Dani Simons of NYC Bike Share, which controls day-to-day operations, said the goal was simply to make it easier for New Yorkers to get around their city. So far more 44,780 people have signed up for annual membership in the New York program, which is similar in concept to bike shares in Paris, London and Boston, the website Citibikenyc.com. \u201cWe are really, really pleased,\u201d said Simons, adding email requests are flooding in from New Yorkers who live in parts of the city not served by the program. New York-based fitness expert Liz Neporent, author of \u201cFitness for Dummies,\u201d applauds the program. \u201cThe bikes are getting used a lot. I\u2019m all for anything that gets people moving,\u201d she said, adding that cycling gets hearts and lungs into shape and exercises muscles without stressing the joints. \u201cEvery little bit adds up,\u201d she said. \u201cRiding a bike beats grabbing a cab or sitting your butt down in the subway.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "2661", "claim": "Pop culture, wealthy Chinese spur medical tourism in Asia.", "explanation": "It is one of Asia\u2019s fastest growing industries and shows no signs of losing steam even as the global economy wobbles.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A plastic surgeon (L) speaks to his patient who travelled from Australia to Seoul to get liposuction at the BK DongYang Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul October 4, 2011. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won Traveling abroad for medical treatment is now a multi-billion dollar business. From a nip-and-tuck to a heart bypass, hospitals from India to Singapore and South Korea treat more than 1 million foreign patients a year \u2014 lured by cut-price surgery, no waiting lists, cutting-edge technology, and highly trained doctors. Industry experts predict medical tourism in Asia will grow at a rate of 15 to 20 percent a year, mainly due to the emergence of nouveaux riches in the region. \u201cAsian medical tourism ... seems to be increasing as affluence and mobility increase in Asia,\u201d said David Vequist, head of the Center for Medical Tourism Research at the University of the Incarnate Word in Texas. \u201cConsumer choice is a powerful force now in healthcare and is impacted by aging and increasingly heavier, sicker, and more needy populations in Asia.\u201d   Medscape News web site has forecast medical tourism in Asia could generate $4.4 billion by 2012. The United States provides the most patients, as Americans travel abroad to avert the astronomical costs of having private treatment at home. Typically, Americans can save 40-50 percent. But there is a new patient on the operating table, and he or she is Chinese. Many of these patients are willing to spend what it takes to fix their problem. \u201cNo matter how expensive it is, I will go for it,\u201d says Liu Xiao-yang, 34, of Shanghai, after having double-eyelid surgery, a facelift and corrective jaw surgery in Seoul. The rise of an affluent class in China, and an infatuation with so-called Hallyu, or Korean Wave, culture from pop music to drama have spurred a sharp growth in South Korean medical tourism, mainly in the field of cosmetic surgery. \u201cEvery time I watch South Korean drama and TV shows, I feel that they are pretty and I want to look like them,\u201d says Liu. Kim Byung-gun, a plastic surgeon at the BK DongYang Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul, says his patients have ranged in age from 6, for double-eyelid procedure, to a 70-year-old seeking a skin lift. On average, they spend $5,000-$10,000 per procedure. \u201cMedical tourism is going to be one of the growth engines of the South Korean economy,\u201d Kim says, identifying the Korean Wave as a key contributor to the rapid growth of the sector in Asia\u2019s fourth largest economy. South Korean authorities have every reason to be optimistic about the growth of the industry, particularly in the field of elective cosmetic surgery. CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in a study released last month estimated that China would account for 60 percent of the rise in high net-worth individuals\u2019 wealth in Asia over the next five years. Chinese patients arrive in South Korea with photographs of Korean celebrities they want to look like, says Lee Soo-jung of the Lamar Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul. Han Dong-woo of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute says the number of tourists coming to South Korea ballooned last year to nearly 82,000, generating about $700 million in revenues. Three years earlier, fewer than 8,000 medical tourists travelled to South Korea. Han projects some 200,000 will come next year. By 2020, the South Korean government envisages a million medical tourists a year. \u201cI see an infinite growth potential in the plastic surgery market for foreigners,\u201d says Han, who estimates operation costs in South Korea are about half that of the United States. South Korea may be one of the fastest growing medical tourism destinations, but for now it lags far behind trailblazers Thailand, Singapore, India, Malaysia and even the Philippines. They all have their own distinctive marketing strategies in an attempt to woo clients, as well as areas of specialization. Thailand and India, Asia\u2019s leading destinations, specialize in orthopedic and cardiac surgery. India\u2019s government says its medical services are cheaper than those in southeast Asia, and identifies its English-speaking doctors as providing a \u201cmajor comfort factor.\u201d   It has even introduced a special visa category to cater for the growing number of medical tourists. Thailand sells itself as dual purpose destination where medical treatment can be combined with a cheap recuperative holiday. Bangkok was this year identified by TripIndex as the best value global city for U.S. travelers. The Singapore healthcare industry positions itself as a \u201cpremium\u201d center. Among its patrons have been many of Malaysia\u2019s sultans, as well as other high profile political figures and celebrities from Asia and the Middle East. By next year, Singapore aims to treat a million foreign patients a year, generating about $3 billion for the economy, the Singapore Straits Times has reported. Its area of expertise includes cancer treatments, cardiology and other specialized care. Like South Korea, it sees China, as well as India, as being the catalysts for growth,   Neighboring Malaysia, attracted nearly 400,000 medical tourists last year, and aims to increase that number to 1.9 million by 2020, mainly by way of undercutting Singapore. A health official said costs in Malaysia are 30 percent cheaper than the city-state to the south. The Philippines also sees itself as a cut-price destination, and is projecting the number of medical tourists to hit one million by 2015, generating at least $1 billion in revenue. It targets patients from the United States, Canada, Taiwan and Japan. \u201cWe can compete with the rest of Asia because we have an edge in providing high quality medical and dental services but at a much lower cost,\u201d said Marie Recarro, an official at the Department of Tourism in Manila. Some experts, however, lament the rise of the medical tourism industry, saying it exacerbates a brain drain of talent from the state to the private system, from rural to urban areas. A paper published in the International Journal for Equity in Health last year said specialists were being swayed by the higher wages and better technology of the private sector. If the industry achieved even a fraction of its projected growth \u201cthis could ultimately lead to locals being priced out of their own health care system, as demand from foreign patients can drive up the costs of providing care for everyone,\u201d it said. Experts cite other concerns such as medical errors, lax follow-up care, and insurance, regulatory and ethical issues. The World Health Organization said in a report late last year that rapid development of medical tourism had presented \u201cconsiderable implications for public health.\u201d   It said that with the influx of foreign patients, the demand for and price of healthcare might rise. \u201cIn addition, an increasing number of health services might cater for the needs of foreign patients and neglect local needs,\u201d it said."}
{"claim_id": "28597", "claim": "A young boy named Dakota was air lifted to the hospital after having a seizure.", "explanation": "What's true: A boy was airlifted to University of Mississippi Medical Center after suffering seizures. What's false: The child's name is Waylon, not Dakota, and the incident occurred back on 3 December 2016.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Inboxer Rebellion, Prayer Requests", "main_text": "In December 2016, a message requesting that people pray for a young boy named Dakota who was allegedly airlifted to a hospital after having a seizure was widely circulated on Facebook: Although the verbiage of the message varied from post to post, all versions contained three basic elements \u2014 The boy\u2019s name (Dakota), a short account of an emergency situation (he was airlifted to a hospital), and a call to action (please forward this message): Hey can you help get a prayer circle going for Dakota. They had to life flight him. He is having seizures. Forward this everywhere please. we need prayers for this little Boy please forward to all of your friends that prayers thank you This is a friend\u2019s grandson Many of the messages, such as the one reproduced above, also included some note regarding\u00a0a familial relation: Other messages were more specific and linked the prayer requests directly to another Facebook user. Those leads, however, also resulted in dead ends. Nearly every message about Dakota lacked credible information about where or when this incident occurred, but we did find a message posted to the prayer board of the Woodland Hills Baptist Church in Longview, Texas, which may have provided some additional details (i.e., the child\u2019s full name and location) about the situation: Please pray for Dakota Wells. He is a child from Big Sandy\u00a0 area \u2026 he is having continuous seizures and has been air lifted\u00a0 to Dallas. Please pray for his healing \u2026 pray for his family and the Medical staff taking care of him. Thanks However, this information was inaccurate. Dakota Wells was not the name of the young boy who was airlifted to the hospital, but rather the name of the Facebook user who originally posted about the sick child. According to Wells, the young boy\u2019s name is Waylon, her cousin, and he was airlifted to the\u00a0University of Mississippi Medical Center on 3 December 2016:  A GoFundMe Page set up for Waylon Wells provided a little more information about the situation: Waylon was born Dec 3, 2016 son of Evan and Brandy Wells. He was airlifted to UMMC NICU within 3 hours of being born due to heart and lung complications. Prayers are being felt and greatly appreciated but the medical bills, gas and food expenses will be costly while Waylon is in the hospital. Any donation will be greatly appreciated!Help spread the word! Dakota Wells published\u00a0pictures of Waylon being held by family members on 6 December 2016, three days after he was airlifted to the hospital. In early 2017, an update on his condition was published to the GoFundMe campaign\u2019s page along with clarifications pertaining to social media rumors. Waylon was released from the hospital at the time the update was published, and\u201ddoing [great]\u201d: I just wanted to update everyone on Waylon and clear up any misconceptions about his condition. Waylon does not nor did he ever have any seizures. He has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, which is a thickening in his right heart muscle. Which he will always have to take medicine for. He will be able to live and function just like a normal child, no one will ever know anything is wrong with him just like a person that has diabetes if they don\u2019t tell you, you wouldn\u2019t know they had it. Waylon is doing GREAT! He has been home for almost 3 weeks now and is growing and developing as he should be. He sleeps and eats and is just a very content sweet baby boy. He will have routine monthly visits to his cardiologist for at least a year just to keep a check on his heart, all precautionary, he is otherwise a healthy boy! We are more Thankful for your prayers than we could ever express! I am not sure how Evan or myself would have gotten through those two weeks without all of you praying us through everything we were going through! Please continue to remember him in your daily prayers that he continues to grow strong and healthy! Thank y\u2019all from the bottom of our hearts Although this prayer request most likely refers to Waylon Wells, the cousin of a \u201cDakota\u201d Wells, it\u2019s also possibly that this viral message refers to an incident in 2014, when a baby named Dakota when airlifted to a hospital in Bismarck. This request has also been conflated with one seeking prayers for a child shot with a nail gun."}
{"claim_id": "16012", "claim": "Over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts.", "explanation": "Paul said, \"Over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts.\" The numbers don\u2019t add up. The two broader disability categories that include back pain (\"diseases of the musculoskeletal system\")\u00a0and anxiety disorders (\"mental disorders - other\") don\u2019t even equal close to 50 percent, let alone those two ailments by themselves. Paul\u2019s quip might make for a good soundbite, but it\u2019s not rooted in reality.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Disability, Rand Paul, ", "main_text": "Turning 40? Sen. Rand Paul says you can look forward to back pain in your near future, and maybe some anxiety. But don\u2019t try to turn your ailments into a government check. At a breakfast event Wednesday, Jan. 14 in New Hampshire, the Kentucky Republican and potential presidential candidate spoke out against a public safety net that catches too many people who don\u2019t need help. \"The thing is, all of these programs, there\u2019s always somebody who\u2019s deserving. (But) everybody in this room knows somebody who is gaming the system,\" Paul said. The proof? Look no further than the diagnoses\u00a0landing people on disability, he added. \"Over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts. Join the club,\" he said to laughter. \"Who doesn\u2019t get up a little anxious for work every day and their back hurts? Everybody over 40 has a little back pain.\" Paul may be having a little fun about the aches and pains of growing older, but his comment raises serious questions about a program relied on by millions of people. Is the majority of the disability population suffering from back pain and anxiety? We decided to check the numbers. Identifying the problem The Social Security Administration has provided benefits to people with disabilities since President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation in 1956. The program is intended to provide cash assistance to people who are disabled for a year or longer and cannot work or can only work menial jobs for little pay (about $1,000 a month). The number of individuals receiving disability has been on an upward trajectory for decades. In 1970, there were less than 2 million beneficiaries; now, the program has surpassed 10 million, far outpacing U.S. population growth. Nearly two-thirds of people on disability are 50 or older. The large growth in the program has sparked claims of waste, fraud and abuse. And indeed, several reports from the Government Accountability Office have found problems with the program, as Paul\u2019s office pointed out. After an audit of disability insurance in 2013, the Government Accountability Office estimated that \u00a0in fiscal year 2011, the Social Security Administration made $1.29 billion in potential cash benefit overpayments to about 36,000 individuals who were working and making more than $1,100 a month (the limit to receive disability benefits). The 36,000 people receiving improper payments, while a lot on paper, represent about 0.4 percent of all beneficiaries, the report said. There are other ways Social Security gives out benefits to those not deserving, but paying people already working is about 72 percent of the problem, according to the Social Security Administration. Factoring that in, the GAO estimates overpayments equaled $1.62 billion, or 1.27 percent of all disability benefits, in 2011. It\u2019s a lot of money, but the disability program is a $128 billion program. The Government Accountability Office goes on to say the exact number of improper payments is unknown. It could be higher. Additionally, another GAO report warned the Social Security Administration\u2019s efforts to thwart potential physician-assisted fraud are \"hampered by a lack of planning, data, and coordination.\" Back and anxiety Let\u2019s narrow in on Paul\u2019s specific claim: \"Over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts.\" This is not rooted in the official numbers. Social Security does not group people by back pain or anxiety in any of their published reports. Instead, they track a much broader list of physical and mental ailments. What would back pain or anxiety fall under? Most back problems would fall under the category\u00a0\"diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue,\" the most common ailment. In 2013, 27.7 percent of all people received benefits for these types of ailments. If you look at just workers, it was 30.5 percent. There's also another category, \"injuries,\" that might include some back problems. Those affect another 4 percent of workers. But not all musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases are back problems. Far from it. They include ailments ranging from a broken bone and bad burns to amputated limbs and deformities. Anxiety would be included in \"mental disorders.\" That category is broken down further as follows: As you can see, it's a pretty confusing list, and it's not immediately clear which category certain mental ailments would fall into. If by \"anxious,\" Paul meant a catchall term for all mental disorders, then, sure,\u00a0about one-third\u00a0of all disabled workers have some sort of mental issue. Paul's spokesman singled out the subcategory \"mood disorders\" when explaining how Paul reached his conclusion. Other media outlets have similarly placed anxiety under this heading. However,\u00a0the Social Security Administration told us that category typically includes affective disorders like depression, not anxiety disorders. Instead, people suffering from \"anxiety disorders\" -- which include\u00a0things like post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder --\u00a0are included\u00a0in the \"other\" category. That category also includes diseases\u00a0like Tourette\u00a0syndrome\u00a0and affects far fewer people than mood disorders, about 3.9 percent. For the sake of argument, let's follow Paul's faulty logic. Even assuming generously that every single person with a musculoskeletal system problem came in with \"back pain,\" and every person with a\u00a0\"mood disorder\"\u00a0had anxiety, it still only equals 45.4 percent, less than half. Throw in \"other\" mental disorders, you're still just below 50 percent. If you categorize anxiety correctly as \"other\" and add it to all musculoskeletal system problems,\u00a0you would end up far lower, at 34 percent. And again,\u00a0not every person with a musculoskeletal problem has a back problem, and not every person with a mental disorder has anxiety. For Paul to imply as much is either stretching reality or downplaying serious ailments. There has been an increase in the number of people receiving disability for musculoskeletal system and mental problems. In 1961, the most common ailment for new beneficiaries was heart disease or stroke. Meanwhile, 8 percent of those going on disability received assistance for musculoskeletal system issues. That\u2019s an interesting and notable statistic, and one worth exploring. NPR published a very extensive report suggesting some older, unskilled workers are going on disability (many with back issues) because the only jobs available to them are physically strenuous. But that doesn\u2019t wash away Paul\u2019s mischaracterization of the ailments nor his inflation of the numbers. Our ruling Paul said, \"Over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts.\" The numbers don\u2019t add up. The two broader disability categories that include back pain (\"diseases of the musculoskeletal system\")\u00a0and anxiety disorders (\"mental disorders - other\") don\u2019t even equal close to 50 percent, let alone those two ailments by themselves. Paul\u2019s quip might make for a good soundbite, but it\u2019s not rooted in reality. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "37627", "claim": "People in Kansas have been jailed due to medical debt.", "explanation": "Are Americans Getting Jailed for Unpaid Medical Debt?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On February 10 2020, a story about people in Kansas being jailed over medical debt spread on Facebook and Reddit:\"You wouldn\u2019t think you\u2019d go to jail over medical bills\": County in rural Kansas is jailing people over unpaid medical debt from newsA news story also gained traction on Reddit\u2019s sister site Imgur\u00a0in a related post contrasting two concurrent Reddit threads:The post shown here was the same r/news Reddit post linked above, itself pointing to a February 9 2020 CBS News article headlined, \u201c\u2018You wouldn\u2019t think you\u2019d go to jail over medical bills\u2019: County in rural Kansas is jailing people over unpaid medical debt.\u201d CBS News and investigative nonprofit ProPublica reported\u00a0on one family in Coffeyville, Kansas and their experience with mounting medical debt and, subsequently, jail time:Tres Biggs went to jail for failing to appear in court for unpaid medical bills. He described it as \u201cscary.\u201d\u201cI was scared to death,\u201d Tres Biggs said. \u201cI\u2019m a country kid \u2014 I had to strip down, get hosed and put a jumpsuit on.\u201dBail was $500. He said they had \u201cmaybe $50 to $100\u201d at the time.In rural Coffeyville, Kansas, where the poverty rate is twice the national average, attorneys like Michael Hassenplug have built successful law practices representing medical providers to collect debt owed by their neighbors \u2026 That law was put in place at Hassenplug\u2019s own recommendation to the local judge. The attorney uses that law by asking the court to direct people with unpaid medical bills to appear in court every three months and state they are too poor to pay in what is called a \u201cdebtors exam.\u201dIf two hearings are missed, the judge issues an arrest warrant for contempt of court. Bail is set at $500.Hassenplug said he gets \u201cpaid on what\u2019s collected.\u201d If the bail money is applied to the judgment, then he gets a portion of that, he said.Biggs was jailed after missing an appearance related to unpaid medical debt, thanks to a law put into place on the recommendation of attorney\u00a0Michael Hassenplug. Hassenplug told CBS he is compensated in part through bail money collected in the course of hearings like the one Biggs reportedly missed.In the comments on Facebook, some users argued that the reported imprisonment was not directly due to medical debt, but for missed hearings:The headline is super mis-leading. NO ONE is going to jail for not paying their debt, medical or otherwise. They are going to jail when the Court enters an Order requiring them to show up in court and they don\u2019t show up, in contempt of court.Biggs was originally the subject of a far larger, far more detailed investigation by ProPublica published in October 2019. That reporting provided extensive detail on medical debt court cases in Coffeyville, Kansas, the role of Hassenplug\u2019s firm in it, and the unorthodox array of conditions enabling its existence in the first place. ProPublica reported that of the missed hearings, some \u201cfell on days when [Biggs\u2019 son] Lane had [leukemia] treatment, at a hospital in Tulsa, an hour south,\u201d and that Biggs\u2019 wife Heather refused to postpone their child\u2019s cancer care:[A] warrant, [Biggs] learned at the jailhouse, was for failure to appear in court for an unpaid hospital bill. Coffeyville Regional Medical Center had sued him in 2006 for $2,146, after one of Heather\u2019s emergency visits; neither of his jobs offered health insurance. In the shuffle of 70-hour workweeks and Lane\u2019s chemotherapy, he had missed two consecutive court dates. He was fingerprinted, photographed, made to strip and told to brace himself for a tub of delousing liquid. His bail was set at $500 cash; he had about $50 to his name.His friend bailed him out the next morning, but at the bond hearing, the judge granted the $500, minus court fees, to the hospital. Biggs compensated his friend with a motorboat that a client had given him in exchange for a hunting dog. But it wasn\u2019t long before the family received a new summons. In 2009, a radiologist represented by Hassenplug sued them for $380.The article included some background and ongoing information about the Biggs\u2019 entire medical and financial picture, and that after his imprisonment, \u201cBiggs was still on the hook for the bill that had landed him in jail; bail had covered only part of it, and the rest was growing with 12% annual interest.\u201d Further, the hospital had garnished Biggs\u2019 wages, and the radiologist had garnished his bank account, seizing contributions that his family had raised for Lane\u2019s cancer treatment:By 2012, the Biggs family had accrued more than $70,000 in medical debt, which it owed to Coffeyville Regional Medical Center and other hospitals, pediatricians and neurologists. Some forgave it; others set up lenient payment plans. Coffeyville\u2019s was the only hospital that sued. The doctors who took them to court were represented by Hassenplug.ProPublica\u2019s fourth paragraph began with an introduction to the presiding judge \u2014 a man without any legal background:Judge David Casement entered the courtroom, a black robe swaying over his cowboy boots and silversmithed belt buckle. He is a cattle rancher who was appointed a magistrate judge, though he\u2019d never taken a course in law. Judges don\u2019t need a law degree in Kansas, or many other states, to preside over cases like these.In 2017,\u00a0The Atlantic reported that Kansas was one of a handful of states where judges like Casement \u201cdon\u2019t need a law degree\u201d in order to put defendants behind bars:Montana and seven other states \u2014 Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New York, Texas, South Carolina, and Wyoming \u2014 allow non-lawyer judges to hand down jail sentences for misdemeanors without the right to a new trial before a lawyer-judge. Some states, like Montana, only allow the practice in rural or sparsely populated counties, while others allow it statewide.The situation may have been acceptable in the 19th century, when lawyers and law schools were scarce, critics say. But in the modern era, they say it raises serious questions about due process and the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of having a legally-trained lawyer if the judge can\u2019t understand what they\u2019re saying?\u201d said Stuart Banner, a University of California Los Angeles law professor.Biggs was not the only medical debt sufferer featured in ProPublica\u2019s story. In one excerpt, Hassenplug faced off against a young survivor of a suicide attempt, whose income of disability checks was exempt from the reach of the court and its orders:SEATED AT THE FRONT of the courtroom, Hassenplug zipped open his leather binder and uncapped his fountain pen. He is stout, with a pinkish nose and a helmet of salt and pepper hair. His opening case this Tuesday involved 28-year-old Kenneth Maggard, who owed more than $2,000, including interest and court fees, for a 40-mile ambulance ride [in 2018]. Maggard had downed most of a bottle of Purple Power Industrial Strength Cleaner, along with some 3M Super Duty Rubbing Compound, \u201cto end it all.\u201d His sister had called 911.Maggard took his seat. He had cropped red hair, pouchy cheeks and mud-caked sneakers. \u201cThe welfare patients are the most demanding, difficult patients on God\u2019s earth,\u201d Hassenplug told me, with Maggard listening, before launching into his interrogation: Are you working? No. Are you on disability? He was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, and anxiety. Do you have a car? No. Anyone owe you money you can collect? I wish.They had been here before, and they both knew Maggard\u2019s disability checks were protected from collections. Hassenplug set down his pen. \u201cBetween you and me,\u201d he asked, \u201cyou\u2019re never going to pay this bill, are you?\u201d\u201cNo, never,\u201d Maggard said. \u201cIf I had the money, I\u2019d pay it.\u201dHassenplug replied, \u201cWell, this will end when one of us dies.\u201dAnother man jailed in the course of the court\u2019s operations had no means to travel to the rural courthouse:Derek Dustman, who is 36 and works odd jobs, had been driving a four-wheeler when he was hit by a car and rushed to the hospital. Though he was sued for not paying his $818 ambulance bill, he didn\u2019t have a license to drive to the courthouse. This spring [in 2019], he spent two nights in jail. \u201cI never in a million years thought that this would end with jail time,\u201d he told me.Much of the reporting concerned confusing or conflicting information provided by parties involved \u2014 such as Casement and Hassenplug \u2014 about the legal authority of debt collectors to influence decisions such as the issuance of a bench warrant or the imprisonment of any individual for inability to appear before the court or pay a medical debt. In one excerpt about a woman named Christa Strickland and her attempts to pay a 2008 bill for $2,514 (which had risen to $5,736 thanks in part to court fees by October 2019), ProPublica requested clarification from\u00a0Account Recovery Specialists Inc. (ARSI) and from a lawyer named Amber Brehm.Lizzie Presser, who reported on the issue for the ProPublica, explained Strickland\u2019s frantic attempts to avoid a bench warrant after missing a hearing by one day:When I asked ARSI about how attorneys decide to request warrants, Joshua Shea, who is general counsel, told me that they don\u2019t. The judge can choose to issue one if court orders are not followed, he said. But Casement said the opposite, telling me that he gave the choice to the attorneys. \u201cI\u2019m not ordering a bench warrant. My decision is to give them that option,\u201d Casement told me. \u201cWhether they exercise it is up to them, but they have my blessing if that\u2019s what they want to do.\u201dShea sent me an eight-page email to make clear, in large part, that ARSI, as a collection agency, has no involvement in the courts, and that Brehm is a lawyer whom the agency contractually employs and who represents the hospital directly. Her email address, though, has an ARSI domain, and her resume lists her as ARSI\u2019s director of legal. Brehm said that court hearings aren\u2019t the only option for debtors, who can call her instead and answer questions under oath. Shea said nobody \u2014 not the hospital, ARSI, Brehm or the court \u2014 uses the threat of jail to \u201cextract payment.\u201dStrickland reached Brehm after several days, and the attorney agreed to a new hearing. On Aug. 13 [2019], when they met in court, Brehm sat at the front of the room.\u201cWe\u2019re giving you a second chance on that citation; just to try to take care of this without there having to be any sort of bench warrant,\u201d [Brehm] said. \u201cI want to make sure that we\u2019re all on the same page about the consequences of not coming into court when the order has been issued.\u201dStrickland nodded.\u201cAgain, if you set a payment plan and keep it,\u201d Brehm said, \u201cwe won\u2019t have to worry about that.\u201dSlate.com\u2019s\u00a0What\u2019s Next podcast covered the ProPublica report in October 2019, following with a transcript of the segment on February 10 2020.Other news outlets followed up on the way Coffeyville\u00a0handles\u00a0of medical debt in February 2020, independently confirming the ProPublica investigation, which (as we mentioned) was originally published in late 2019. CBS News reported that while their cameras were not permitted, only one of 60 medical debtors present on the day they visited had a lawyer with them:CBS News went to court on debt collection day. They wouldn\u2019t allow our cameras in, but we watched more than 60 people swear they didn\u2019t have enough money to pay, and only one of them had an attorney representing them.In related fact checks, the question of whether medical debt was the cause of bankruptcies emerged as a point of dispute in the same way that commenters argued people were jailed not over debt, but over missed court appearances. Semantic objections of that description seemed to be the only counterargument involved, since both instances involved otherwise accurate and verified claims.In February 2020, CBS News rehashed the findings of a late 2019 ProPublica investigation into people in Kansas jailed over medical debt, largely thanks to an unusual rural court system that was influenced by debt collection firms and lawyers. That investigation and subsequent interviews with lawyers and debt collectors involved confirmed the accuracy of the report \u2014 that people in Kansas were indeed jailed due to unpaid medical debt. A presiding judge said that lawyers had broad discretion, and that at least one victim reported missing hearings because they were taking their child to receive cancer treatments. None of the parties involved disputed that people were jailed over medical debt in various independent investigations."}
{"claim_id": "4895", "claim": "Chicago teachers\u2019 contract talks about more than money.", "explanation": "Chicago\u2019s public schools will be closed Thursday as the city\u2019s 25,000 teachers are set to go on strike . A strike in the nation\u2019s third-largest school district would mean no classes for more than 300,000 students. Like most workers threatening to walk off the job, the teachers want a raise. But money is only part of the story.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Chicago, Health, General News, Strikes, U.S. News, Chicago Schools", "main_text": "Here are some of the issues behind the school district\u2019s second strike in seven years: WHAT KIND OF MONEY ARE THE TEACHERS LOOKING FOR AND WHAT KIND OF RAISE IS THE CITY OFFERING? The city has offered 16% raises for the teachers over a five-year contract and calls for the teachers\u2019 health care costs not to increase for three years. The city says that\u2019s a pretty good deal for teachers, whose starting annual salary of just under $53,000 is higher than the salary for teachers in any other school district in the state. But the union, which is asking for a 15% raise over three years, says its analysis shows teachers at the end of the contract will make about $15,000 less than the city says they will. The union also said the contract leaves unclear just how much health care costs will increase during the final two years. WHY DON\u2019T TEACHERS JUST TAKE THE MONEY? At first blush, it seems like a pretty good deal: a 16% raise over five years. But the teachers\u2019 union sees a potential trap. Teachers say if they take the raise, they lose negotiating leverage as they demand more school nurses, social workers, librarians and smaller classrooms because those are not the kinds of things they can legally strike over. The union knows about the city\u2019s vow to add at least 200 social worker positions and at least 250 full-time nurse positions but has made it clear that the only way to make sure the city follows through on its promises is to put it in writing in the next contract. WHY NOT JUST INCLUDE STAFFING REQUIREMENTS IN THE CONTRACT? Until this week, the city wanted nothing to do with adding staffing requirements to the collective bargaining agreement, saying it would make it tougher for principals to run their individual schools because it would require them to use a chunk of their budgets to fill those positions at the expense of the \u201cneeds and desires of the local community or school.\u201d But this week the CPS and city announced a willingness to write into the contract language that would address class sizes and staffing issues. That\u2019s potentially good news to the union, which has made it clear that any deal must address staffing shortages and overcrowded classrooms. JUST HOW CROWDED ARE THE CLASSES? It depends on who you ask. The school district contends that 80% of the kindergarten to third-grade classes made the 28-student maximum and 90% of the fourth- to eighth-grade classes met the 31-student maximum. The union estimates that a quarter of the city\u2019s elementary school students are in overcrowded classrooms. That disagreement is partly why the union wants a contract provision that calls for teachers to receive an extra $5 a day per student whenever their classes exceed the mandated size limit. The union also is pushing for smaller class sizes. The district says that would require the hiring of another 1,150 teachers and 1,000 teacher assistants at a cost of at least $225 million annually. WHY ARE NURSES, LIBRARIANS, SOCIAL WORKERS, AND COUNSELORS SUCH A STICKING POINT? There is no disputing the fact that the school district needs more people on those jobs. According to the union, about one-fifth of the district-run schools have librarians. And as scarce as they are citywide, the union says they are even harder to find in schools where most students are black. As for nurses, both the union and the school district agree many more are needed, though they can\u2019t agree on how many are currently working in the district. The union wants contract language that spells out that people will only be asked to do the jobs for which they are hired. It also has expressed concern about the number of students currently assigned to counselors and about various roles counselors are expected to fill, including as substitute teachers and lunchroom help. WHAT IS THE DEBATE OVER AFFORDABLE HOUSING ABOUT? Chicago is an expensive place to live and the way the union sees it, too expensive for some teachers and way too expensive for teaching assistants, clerks and other support staff. Like other city employees, teachers are required to live in Chicago and the union said that if police officers and firefighters receive housing subsidies, they should also get them. They want language in the contract that would call for the school district to provide housing assistance for new teachers and others, and to help students\u2019 families who are at risk of losing their housing. Mayor Lori Lightfoot agrees affordable housing is an important issue but a collective bargaining agreement between the teachers and the city isn\u2019t the place to solve it."}
{"claim_id": "9634", "claim": "Oramed says oral insulin succeeds in midstage type 2 diabetes trial", "explanation": "This is a brief story on findings from a phase II trial of a new oral insulin medication conducted by Oramed, a pharmaceutical company. The story gives us the basics on the study design and findings. It\u2019s\u00a0made clear that the drug must undergo further testing before it\u2019s approved for use. The only commentary, though, was from the CEO. Given the nature of the research\u2013unpublished and coming directly from a pharmaceutical company\u2013an outside source would have made this story stronger. (We also reviewed the news release this story seems to be based on.) The worldwide occurrence of diabetes is about 400 million people, 90 percent of whom have type II diabetes. Many of these people eventually have to supplement\u00a0their oral medications with injected insulin. Previously, oral delivery of insulin was considered impossible because the drug degrades in the digestive system, but Oramed believes they have overcome this problem.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "diabetes,drug trials,oral insulin", "main_text": "A comparison of cost to currently available long-acting insulin would have been informative, but the report is on a trial for safety and efficacy, so this is preliminary. The story reports a decrease in \u201cmean night-time glucose of nearly 6.5 percent\u201d compared with a placebo. However, there is no indication of what that means for control of type II diabetes\u2013absolute numbers are needed to be useful. The difference appears to be small and similar to what already-available oral medications can do. It\u2019s also not clear if these patients continued to take metformin or not. This story states that there were \u201cno reported serious adverse side effects and no issues with hypoglycemia, or dangerously low blood sugar.\u201d The story tells us this was a randomly chosen, blinded study of 180 people over 28 days, and considered a Phase II trial. The story also mentions that stage III trials still need to be done, which is when the drug might be considered for approval. These are important details. But, because it\u2019s an unpublished study, no one outside of the company has taken a look at the evidence. This story should have had a stronger signal that this is potentially straying from the realm of science and into marketing. Type II diabetes is a known disease of the industrial world and the numbers of people are increasing while the ages at which they are diagnosed is decreasing. An oral insulin would aid people in controlling their blood sugar levels. The story includes comments from the CEO. Getting an independent voice is especially important when the data is preliminary and comes from the pharmaceutical company. The story does say that this drug is intended for those for whom metformin, a standard treatment for type II diabetes, is no longer sufficient. But because there are many alternatives for diabetes management, and none were mentioned, this is Not Satisfactory. The story makes it clear that the drug needs more research before it will be reviewed by the FDA for approval. The story makes it clear that if this drug delivers the necessary insulin by mouth, then this would be a novel advance in treatment\u2013and a \u201cmultibillion-dollar product.\u201d Because the story contains original quotes not found in the news release, this squeaks by as\u00a0Satisfactory. It is clear, however, that this story is being published because of promotional outreach by the company, and the lack of outside perspective makes this feel more like a news release than a piece of journalism. (We also reviewed the news release.)"}
{"claim_id": "11603", "claim": "FDA approves Epclusa for treatment of chronic Hepatitis C virus infection", "explanation": "This release announces the approval by the FDA of a new pill, Epclusa, for patients with chronic infections with Hepatitis C virus, also known as HCV. The tablet combines an existing drug, sofosbuvir, with a new drug, velpatasvir, and is the first single therapy for all six major forms of the virus. Patients can be infected with different forms and require different treatments. The release informs on the novelty, harms and benefits of the drug but doesn\u2019t give reporters \u2014 or lay readers \u2014 much background on the clinical trials that led to the approval. An estimated 120 million people have HCV infections worldwide, with an upper estimate of 3.9 million in the US alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This new treatment \u2014 Epclusa \u2014 has an estimated cost of about $74,800 per 12-week necessary therapy length \u2014 or about $900 per pill. But without treatment, many HCV patients may require years of treatment and suffer damage to their livers that require transplants and could ultimately be more expensive. The economics of new drugs is a vital part of any story about the drugs. We wish this release had included some context on the cost issues surrounding HCV infection for both patients and the society at large. A blogger with Bloomberg News focused a post about the drug pricing which has been controversial due to the millions of patients affected.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Government agency news release", "main_text": "The release does not discuss cost. The FDA evaluates drugs without consideration of cost, so it\u2019s understandable that they wouldn\u2019t comment on it \u2014 and that\u2019s why we\u2019re rating this Not Applicable. We look forward to the day when any news release about a new drug \u2014 even one from the FDA \u2014 includes some mention of cost in its message. After all, the value of a new drug is a function not just of how well it works, but its cost-effectiveness. The release includes results from Phase III clinical trials in about 1,600 patients showing a benefit. \u201cResults demonstrated that 95\u201399 percent of patients who received Epclusa had no virus detected in the blood 12 weeks after finishing treatment, suggesting the patients\u2019 infections had been cured.\u201d The release also notes that after 12 weeks, 94 percent of patients with more advanced disease who received Epclusa in combination with ribavirin showed no virus in their blood. The release notes that the most common side effects of Epclusa are headache and fatigue. It also explains that Epclusa carries a warning that \u201cserious slowing of the heart rate (symptomatic bradycardia) and cases requiring pacemaker intervention have been reported when amiodarone is used with sofosbuvir in combination with another HCV direct-acting antiviral.\u201d The FDA also warns that certain drugs may reduce the amount of Epclusa in the blood which would reduce its effectiveness. The release does not use the important words \u201crandomized controlled\u201d that would signal to the reader about the quality of the evidence. The release also does not give us the precise size of cohorts, or even tell us where to get further details with a journal citation, URL or a link. The FDA also missed an opportunity to inform readers about limitations of these studies and gaps in our knowledge related to these medications. For example, these were short-term studies, and so we don\u2019t yet know whether these patients will have fewer cases of liver cancer, liver failure, or need for liver transplants down the line. That\u2019s an educated inference based on the drug\u2019s ability to eradicate the virus \u2014 but not proven. There is no disease mongering. The release did not identify funding sources or state whether there were any conflicts of interest.This release describes the approval of a new drug by a regulatory agency, but we\u2019d still like to know who sponsored the study that\u2019s the basis for the approval. It\u2019s not enough to state who manufactures and markets the drug. The release explains in some detail that different HCV patients may follow different drug regimens, depending on their particular strain of virus and other characteristics of their infection. A bit more explanation about how patients and providers may choose whether to use Epclusa or other alternatives and how they will compare would have been helpful. The release is announcing the approval of the drug which usually means it will be available in the near future. The release states that this is a wholly new combination drug that has not been available until this approval by the FDA. It also states that it is the first drug that works for all six strains of the virus. There was no unjustifiable language."}
{"claim_id": "22663", "claim": "Lorraine Fende Says that in Ohio \"right now, you could be 8\u00bd months pregnant and have an abortion for no reason.", "explanation": "Rep. Lorraine Fende on point that abortion at 8 1/2 months is legal", "label": "true", "subjects": "Abortion, Ohio, Lorraine Fende, ", "main_text": "A new bill to ban late-term abortions is gaining traction in the Ohio House of Representatives, reinvigorating debate over the state\u2019s abortion laws. If passed, the bill would ban abortions when a woman is at least 20 weeks pregnant and tests show the fetus can live outside the womb \u2013 a condition known as being viable. The proposed ban contains exceptions for certain medical situations, a legal requirement for late-term abortion bans at the state level. The proposed ban is one of three bills related to abortion the Republican majority in the House introduced this week. The set of abortion bills comes on the heels of similar legislation Democratic Rep. Lorraine Fende of Willowick introduced earlier this year. Fende\u2019s bill aimed to ban abortions when a woman is at least 22 weeks pregnant with a viable fetus. Fende\u2019s bill is likely going nowhere now that Republicans have trumped her proposal with one of their own. But a case she made for her bill \u2013 involving the availability of late-term abortions in Ohio \u2013 also is central to Republicans\u2019 plan to ban late-term abortions. \"I had a conversation with someone quite some time ago that right now, you could be 8\u00bd months\u2019 pregnant and have an abortion for no reason,\" Fende told The Columbus Dispatch for a story published Jan. 17. Similarly, proponents of Republicans\u2019 plan to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy decried the occurrence of abortions in Ohio up to the ninth month of pregnancy. While advocates and opponents of the proposed ban on late-term abortions prepare to debate this sensitive issue as it moves through the legislature, it is important to keep the facts straight. So we decided to check out Fende\u2019s claim. Fende said she relied on statistics from the Ohio Department of Health. Doctors who perform an abortion in Ohio must submit to the department a Confidential Abortion Report, which does not include the woman\u2019s name or other identifying information. According to the Ohio Department of Health, four abortions were performed in Ohio after 32 weeks (or eight months) of pregnancy in 2009, the most recent year in which statistics are available. Two abortions were performed when the mother was 32 weeks along; one abortion took place at 33 weeks; and one occurred at 35 weeks. Overall, 28,721 abortions were reported in Ohio in 2009. Of those, 613 involved pregnancies at least 20 weeks along and 116 of them were for women at least 24 weeks pregnant. The length of the pregnancy was unknown in 276 cases. The numbers confirm that at least one abortion occurred in Ohio when a mother was at least 8\u00bd months\u2019 pregnant. Fende said she was aware of this one abortion when she made her claim, and she said she did not know the reason behind it. Ohio law does not include an absolute ban on abortions when a woman is 8\u00bd, 8\u00be or even 9 months\u2019 pregnant. State lawmakers tried to pass a late-term abortion ban in 1995, but the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the ban was unconstitutional because medical exceptions to the ban were not sufficiently specific. Courts, however, have upheld Ohio\u2019s a ban on partial-birth abortions, which are performed after part of the fetus has been removed from the mother\u2019s body. Partial-birth abortion is associated with late-term pregnancy but the two are not mutually exclusive. There are other abortion procedures, permitted under Ohio law, that can terminate a late-term pregnancy. Although certain late-term abortions are legal, pro-choice advocates say they are only done for medical reasons \u2013 not for \"no reason,\" as Fende suggested. Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said abortion clinics in the state will not perform an abortion if the woman has been pregnant for at least 24 weeks. She said any abortion performed afterward would take place in a hospital for medical reasons. Jessie Hill, a professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, said abortions when a woman is 8\u00bd months pregnant don\u2019t happen in Ohio for no reason. \"It\u2019s just one of those things that\u2019s unheard of,\" said Hill, who has researched reproductive rights. Hill said she is pro-choice. Michael Gonidakis, executive director for Ohio Right to Life, said that most abortion clinics advertise for abortions at 24 weeks or earlier. But, Gonidakis pointed out, statistics from the Ohio Department of Health show abortions are happening beyond 24 weeks. The statistics do not show whether the abortions are taking place in a hospital or an abortion clinic. But, upon request from the Democrats for Life of Ohio, the Department of Health provided data on the medical condition of women receiving an abortion after they had been pregnant for at least 23 weeks. The data was taken from the abortion reports doctors submitted to the department. The report includes a question about the patient\u2019s medical condition, whether it was \"good,\" \"fair,\" or \"other.\" Of the 116 abortions in 2009 performed when the woman was reported to be 24 weeks pregnant or more, all of them were listed in good medical condition, according to the Department of Health. So where does this leave us? The law does not explicitly outlaw such an abortion, but state health records show there was just one such case in 2009, and Fende said she did not have the background of that case. And a law professor who is an expert in reproductive rights told us that abortions at 8\u00bd months aren't done for just \"no reason.\" Fende\u2019s claim was legally sound. But by itself it does not reflect what the state Department of Health is documenting. That there was just one case out of more than 28,700 abortions in 2009 that fits her statement is an additional piece of information needed to fully understand the claim. On the Truth-O-Meter that rates as ."}
{"claim_id": "11471", "claim": "To Inspect the Heart, Some Doctors Now Start at the Wrist", "explanation": "This is an engaging and important enterprise story that explained a number of important issues to be factored in when considering medical interventions. It also nicely highlights the tension that exists in the development of new and presumably less invasive approaches to cardiac catheterization and angioplasty. It\u2019s refreshing to still find 1,600-word stories that go into such detail. It is clear from the story that:  Cardiologists are not of one mind about the value or benefit of doing cardiac catheterizations thorugh the radial artery in the wrist as opposed to the femoral artery in the groin. Different physicians value patient comfort differently. Different physicians may be more comfortable with, and better with, certain procedures. However what was lacking from this story was an examination of the overall success rate of the intended procedure. While patient comfort surely has value, procedure outcome is vital. We never learned any data about whether the actual goal of opening an artery is any better one way or another. Interestingly, the cited meta analysis is only partially acknowledged. While a trend was noted toward an advantage to the radial artery approach (in terms of bleeding and procedural outcome), the authors concluded a large randomized trial is necessary to determine the true value of the approach. And that wasn\u2019t mentioned in the story. Overall, though, the story delivers a clear picture of why patients need to have conversations with their caregivers about the risks and benefits of the various options available for their treatment. Being aware that there is often not a single answer to questions about the course of action is an important step towards making decisions that will get you the care that is best for you. The online version also included helpful graphics and a video.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story mentions that using the wrist may better enable patients to avoid an \"expensive overnight hospital stay\" and that Medicare reimbursement was the same even though this route for catheterization may involve more physician time. But the story didn\u2019t include any specific cost information about this new approach. Shouldn\u2019t the physicians interviewed know whether their charge to patients depends on the vessel used? Nonetheless, we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. The benefit of the treatment was presented in terms of patient comfort and time, and presented quantitative information indicating the radial approach results in a reduction in bleeding complications as compared with the femoral artery. But it did not provide any data about the outcomes of the procedure, namely, \"How did it do in opening arteries?\" It is interesting to note that the meta-analysis cited in the story concluded that additional studies are needed to better define the role of this approach, which was not mentioned in the story. The story mentioned that arterial spasms tops the list of complications with this procedure and indicated that it was particularly problematic in \"little old ladies.\" Beyond this, the story did not give the reader any idea of how common this sort of problem was, making it difficult for readers to evaluate. The story did an incomplete job of including relevant evidence about the use of the radial artery for coronary catheterization. Since the\u00a0 cardiac cath and angioplasty is intended to relieve symptoms by unblocking a coronary artery, it would have been helpful to have commented on the literature on outcome differences between the two approaches. The story implies an equal outcome with less risk of bleeding and shorter hospitalizations; both positive from the patient\u2019s perspective. Without any comment on the outcome of the cath and angioplasty, patients cannot place a value on the radial approach. The story touched on the notion that there was a steep learning curve in order to develop proficiency using the radial insertion site. But there was both insufficient information for potential patients to use to assess whether the clinician they were consulting had adequate experience and what the ramifications of using this site without adequate experience might be. The story did not engage in disease mongering. The story included interview material from clinicians who utilize this technique only rarely as well as those who rely on it extensively. In addition, there were several patient quotes that presented the view from the other side of the table. While there was no discussion about the appropriate use of cardiac catheterization in general, the story included information about the two arterial routes that may be used for the procedure. The story indicated that radial catheterization is most likely not routinely available and that a low percentage (1%) of catheterizations are performed this way. The story did a good job placing the novelty of the approach into context. Reading the various physicians\u2019 experiences with this technique, it is clear that it is not novel and yet is also not commonly utilized. Clearly, the story did not rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "888", "claim": "Singapore seizes ivory from nearly 300 elephants in record haul.", "explanation": "Singapore said on Tuesday it had seized 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory, a record haul by authorities in the city-state, which  conservation groups say is a transit point for the illegal wildlife trade.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The elephant ivory, estimated to be worth $12.9 million, came from nearly 300 African elephants, and was heading to Vietnam through Singapore from Democratic Republic of the Congo. The haul also contained the third major seizure of pangolin scales in Singapore this year. The pangolin, a scaly anteater, is one of the most trafficked mammals in the world. Its meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam and China, and the scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine, though the benefits are disputed by medical scientists. \u201cThe seized pangolin scales and elephant ivory will be destroyed to prevent them from re-entering the market,\u201d the Singapore Customs, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the National Parks Board said, adding that the July 21 seizure came after a tip-off from China\u2019s customs department. The ivory haul falls just short of 9.1 tonnes seizure in Vietnam in March, which non-government organization Environmental Investigation Agency said was thought to be the largest ever globally. There has been a flurry of seizures, including of rhino horns, in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam in recent months. \u201cSingapore has always been inadvertently implicated in the global ivory trade for two reasons: its global connectivity, as well as the presence of a small domestic market where pre-1990s ivory can be legally sold,\u201d said Kim Stengert, chief communications officer for WWF Singapore. \u201cThe consistency of these large-scale seizures is strong evidence of organized crime behind illegal wildlife trade coming through or into Singapore.\u201d  Singapore authorities said the latest seizure also contained 11.9 tonnes of pangolin scales, worth about $35.7 million and equivalent to close to 2,000 pangolins. Singapore has seized a total of 37.5 tonnes of pangolin scales since April, including one raid which was the biggest of its kind worldwide in five years. The city-state is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and says it is committed to the global effort to curb the illegal wildlife trade."}
{"claim_id": "30381", "claim": "The \"Wall Street Journal\" (or another large news outlet) has published documents leaked from Walter Reed Medical Center which show President Donald Trump's \"true\" weight and prove a conspiracy to mislead the public.", "explanation": "Not only is there no evidence of a conspiracy to suppress the president\u2019s \u201ctrue\u201d weight and mislead the American public, but the \u201cGirther\u201d theory is based on a fundamentally flawed understanding of how the human body can vary from person to person.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, donald trump, girther, girther movement", "main_text": "In January 2018, the White House published the results of a routine medical examination performed on President Donald Trump by his then physician, Navy Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Some observers greeted the details of the \u201cperiodic physical exam\u201d with skepticism, expressing doubt about Trump\u2019s weight, in particular, which Jackson listed as being 239 pounds, and his height, which he listed as 6\u20193\u2033. This skepticism, which often comes from individuals who are otherwise critical of the president and his policies, and part of the loosely-defined anti-Trump \u201cResistance,\u201d has coalesced online into a self-described \u201cGirther\u201d movement, a reference to the \u201cBirther\u201d conspiracy theory which surrounded former president Barack Obama and which was championed by Trump himself. In late April, Jackson was embroiled in controversy after reports emerged of an alleged pattern of drinking to excess while at work, overprescribing medication, and harassing colleagues. As a result of these allegations, Jackson withdrew from consideration for Veterans Affairs Secretary, a position for which Trump had nominated him. Around the same time, the \u201cGirther\u201d movement crystalized into a full-blown conspiracy theory, claiming corrupt practices by the president in nominating Jackson for a cabinet position in return for the favor of\u00a0\u2014 according to the theory \u2014 lying about his vital statistics. In the midst of all this innuendo and outright allegation, a viral meme emerged which appeared to some to be the smoking gun. Although the exact wording has varied, the meme typically reads as follows: BREAKING NEWS from [the Wall Street Journal], leaked documents from Walter Reed Hospital shows [sic] [the President of the United States] weight is 289 lbs, [blood pressure] is 154/91, cholesterol is 237. Not quite the healthy person we were told. At 71, Trump could drop dead any time. BREAKING NEWS from WSJ, leaked documents from Walter Reed Hospital shows @POTUS weight is 289 lbs, BP is 154/91, cholesterol is 237. Not quite the healthy person we were told. At 71, #Trump could drop dead any time. pic.twitter.com/rbyAUyVsXi \u2014 Tomthunkit\u2122 (@TomthunkitsMind) May 13, 2018  In reality, the Wall Street Journal has not published any leaked documents from Walter Reed regarding Trump\u2019s physical condition. Presidents of the United States are under no legal obligation to make their private health records public, but occupants of the White House (as well as candidates) typically agree to do so as a matter of convention. For someone who has custody over a sitting president\u2019s medical records to disclose those records without the consent of the president would most likely be a serious violation of HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a 1996 law signed by then-president Bill Clinton. HIPAA states: A person who knowingly and in violation of this part \u2014 (1) uses or causes to be used a unique health identifier; (2) obtains individually identifiable health information relating to an individual; or (3) discloses individually identifiable health information to another person shall\u2026 \u2026(1) be fined not more than $50,000, imprisoned not more than one year, or both; (2) if the offense is committed under false pretenses, be fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than five years, or both; and (3) if the offense is committed with intend to sell, transfer or use\u00a0individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm, be fined not more than $250,000, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. There is absolutely no evidence that anyone has done this with Trump\u2019s private medical records, nor that the president\u2019s physical condition was not accurately described in Jackson\u2019s January 2018 examination report. The Wall Street Journal has certainly not published anything resembling a \u201cleak\u201d of Trump\u2019s\u00a0\u201ctrue\u201d physical examination. Those who attempt to attack the credibility of Trump\u2019s officially-recorded weight by comparing photographs of the president with elite athletes are basing their skepticism on false assumptions about the relationship between height, weight and body fat. Body shapes and types vary from person to person, based on several factors, and not everyone who weighs 239 pounds and is 6\u20193\u2033 has a muscular build, or is required to have one in order to meet that weight at that height. Dr. Martin Binks is an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University and an expert in obesity and metabolism. While he did not specifically address the case of President Donald Trump, Binks explained the science to us: Observations of weight status made based on a fully clothed individual\u2019s appearance are inappropriate\u2026\u201dAppearance\u201d, when it comes to body composition and health risk, is basically useless (as is weight). Two people of equal height and weight may have vastly different body composition based on relative differences in body fat, bone density, muscle and water retention. Weight by itself is not a \u201cmeaningful gauge\u201d of a person\u2019s health, Binks added, and sometimes fat deposits that are not visible to the casual observer can be more strongly associated with health risks than are visible ones: Visceral fat deposits\u00a0\u2014 those for example surrounding and within organs, typically beneath the muscle\u00a0\u2014 are associated with greater health risk. Yet someone may appear to have considerable visible body fat (subcutaneous) immediately beneath the skin, which is associated less strongly with health risk."}
{"claim_id": "17306", "claim": "Steve McQueen Says 21 million people \"still suffer slavery today.", "explanation": "In his acceptance speech, McQueen said he dedicated his Oscar to the \"21 million people who still suffer slavery today.\" That figure is based on a 2012 estimate from the International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency. Estimates vary across organizations, and a true headcount is nearly impossible to predict with any certainty. Still, McQueen cited the estimate of the international community\u2019s most reliable source.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Criminal Justice, Labor, Foreign Policy, Workers, PunditFact, Steve McQueen, ", "main_text": "The 86th Academy Awards featured the expected red-carpet pageantry, a few surprise winners, a \"selfie\" that went viral and a mid-show pizza party, courtesy of host Ellen Degeneres. But it wasn\u2019t until the end of the three-and-a-half hour affair that viewers finally learned this year\u2019s pick for best picture. The award went to 12 Years a Slave, the powerful true story of a black man kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South during the mid-1800s. In accepting the award, director Steve McQueen delivered an emotional tribute. \"Everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live. This is the most important legacy of Solomon Northup,\" McQueen said. \"I dedicate this award to all the people who have endured slavery. And the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today.\" Because we\u2019re PunditFact, we can\u2019t even watch the Oscars without our ears perking up at such a statistic, especially when millions of people potentially heard it, too. So we decided to put McQueen\u2019s claim on the Truth-O-Meter. Modern slavery is often referred to today as \"forced labor\" or sometimes \"trafficking in persons.\" It\u2019s not as easily defined as the slave trade of the antebellum American South, nor is it simple to identify victims. The United States Trafficking Victims Protection Act defines trafficking in persons two ways. There is sex trafficking \"in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.\" Then there\u2019s a more general category: \"the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.\" There are many different examples of modern slavery worldwide. The International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency, looks for 11 indicators to identify forced labor: Abuse of vulnerability Deception Restriction of movement Isolation Physical and sexual violence Intimidation and threats Retention of identity documents Withholding of wages Debt bondage Abusive working and living conditions Excessive overtime. Estimates on modern slavery vary because victims are difficult to identify and do not often come forward. The United Nation\u2019s International Labor Organization believes the best way to get statistics on slavery is through national surveys, but so far \"only a handful of countries have undertaken special surveys on this topic.\" As a result \"the practice is extremely difficult to research and quantify as it is most often hidden and out-of-sight of law enforcement.\" Because of this, only 46,570 victims were formally documented by law enforcement agencies internationally in 2012, according to the U.S. State Department\u2019s 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report. Still, overall estimates exist. The International Labor Organization estimated in June 2012 that 20.9 million individuals were in forced labor. This included 15.4 million adults and 5.5 million children. About 55 percent are women or girls. By far, the most common purveyor of forced labor is in Asia, where 11.7 million are in slave-like conditions. Africa is second at 3.7 million. Labor exploitation is most common worldwide with 14.2 million forced laborers, while 4.5 million are exploited for sex. State-enforced labor entraps 2.2 million, the group estimated. The organization has changed how it calculates the figure. As recently as 2005, the estimate for forced laborers was much smaller, at 12 million people, so identifying trends is not possible using their data. Other organizations, however, have estimated that the figure is much higher. Luis CdeBaca, the Ambassador-at-Large in the Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, testified to Congress in 2013 that there were \"up to 27 million people living in slavery.\" A State Department spokesman told us that language was agreed to after consulting with industry experts. The Walk Free Foundation, an international organization committed to ending modern slavery, estimates the figure at between 28.3 million and 31.3 million in its Global Slavery Index. We reached out to McQueen\u2019s representation to see if they could provide a source for his claim. If we hear back, we\u2019ll update the post. Our ruling In his acceptance speech, McQueen said he dedicated his Oscar to the \"21 million people who still suffer slavery today.\" That figure is based on a 2012 estimate from the International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency. Estimates vary across organizations, and a true headcount is nearly impossible to predict with any certainty. Still, McQueen cited the estimate of the international community\u2019s most reliable source. We rate his statement ."}
{"claim_id": "23237", "claim": "Tom Barrett Says \"Scott Walker says he would ban stem cell research", "explanation": "Democratic governor candidate Tom Barrett says Scott Walker would ban stem cell research", "label": "false", "subjects": "Message Machine 2010, Wisconsin, Tom Barrett, ", "main_text": "Stem cells hold the potential to treat, and even cure, some of our most deadly and debilitating illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer\u2019s and diabetes. To make the cells do their magic, research is needed \u2014 and the University of Wisconsin has been at the forefront of that work. But for many people, there is a tension between conducting such research and protecting the sanctity of human life. The dilemma confronts not only scientists, but politicians, who are able to set government funding priorities and even place limits on the work scientists do. As in 2006, stem cell research has become an issue in the race for governor. Just as outgoing Gov, Jim Doyle did four years ago, Democratic nominee Tom Barrett is running a TV ad that paints his Republican opponent \u2014 Scott Walker \u2014 as extreme on the issue. The ad features a mother talking to the camera about her son, who has juvenile diabetes. She describes how stem cell research \"gives our family hope, hope for a cure,\" and she continues with a blunt declaration:  \"Scott Walker says he would ban stem cell research in Wisconsin. That\u2019s right, ban it.\" It is the mother making the statement. But as the candidate, Barrett is responsible for the content of the ad. Indeed, as the mother speaks, the words \"Scott Walker says he would ban stem cell research\" appear on the screen. Before we can evaluate the accuracy of Barrett\u2019s claim, we need a brief explanation of stem cells and the current state of science. Here are some key points from a primer by the National Institutes of Health:  Stem cells are important for two reasons: As a generic type of cell, stem cells can renew themselves through cell division. Moreover, they can be induced to become specific tissue or organ cells that have special functions. That gives stem cells their potential to treat, and someday even cure, a number of diseases. Scientists work with two types of stem cells: embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cells are derived from an embryo, which science defines as the \"developing organism from the time of fertilization until the end of the eighth week of gestation, when it is called a fetus.\" Adult stem cells, in contrast, come not from a developing organism but from the body. Embryonic stem cells have a crucial advantage: With regard to treating diseases, embryonic stem cells can become all cell types of the body. Adult stem cells are thought to be limited to differentiating into different cell types of their tissue of origin. The embryonic-adult distinction is critical, though it is not mentioned in the TV ad. The mother in the ad is Heidi Fallone. She and her husband, Edward, are two of the six members of the board of directors of Wisconsin Stem Cell Now, a group that advocates specifically for embryonic stem cell research. Heidi Fallone\u2019s connection to the group is not mentioned in the ad. She is presented as an average mother, with her message packing an emotional wallop as strong as the words: Walker would ban stem cell research. In truth, Walker\u2019s comments on the topic have expressed support for stem cell research generally \u2014 but not if it involves embryos. It is a line that many candidates have drawn, including Mark Green, who was the subject of Doyle\u2019s attack in 2006. In his ad, Doyle used a Verona mother, pictured with her young daughter, who has diabetes. The mother said Green would \"outlaw stem cell research.\" In the 2010 campaign, Walker and his campaign staff have issued various statements, including two in August, that spell out his position. In one, a day after a U.S. district judge shut down federal funding of all research involving embryonic stem cells, a Walker aide said, \"We can realize the potential of stem cell research without destroying human embryos or resorting to human cloning. We can both protect the earliest stages of life and find cures.\" In another statement, also in the wake of the judge\u2019s ruling, Walker himself said that \"science has shown us repeatedly that you can have successful stem cell research without destroying a human embryo.\" As an alternative to embryonic stem cell research, researchers have been developing techniques to reprogram adult cells back to the embryonic state. But recent studies have revealed problems. The reprogrammed cells appear to retain a memory of their previous role \u2014 as skin, for example \u2014 and differ in subtle ways from embryonic stem cells. In response to questions, the Barrett campaign has defended its TV ad. Campaign spokesman Phil Walzak told the Associated Press: \"Embryonic stem cell research is stem cell research, Walker wants to ban it \u2014 he wants to ban stem cell research.\" The statement, though, shifts the debate. No one disputes that Walker opposes embryonic stem cell research. As additional support, Walzak provided PolitiFact Wisconsin two newspaper articles and a survey Walker completed for the group Pro-Life Wisconsin. But the material, like other items cited, \u00a0showed only that Walker opposes embryonic stem cell research, not that he wants to ban all stem cell research. In an interview, Walzak said the Barrett ad is accurate because it is widely known that only embryonic stem cell research \u2014 not adult stem cell research \u2014 is being debated in terms of a research ban. However, since the ad began running, Barrett has altered his message. An e-mail sent by Barrett\u2019s campaign to supporters, signed by Fallone, says Walker would ban \"critical\" stem cell research. It goes on to criticize Walker\u2019s opposition to embryonic stem cell research. If anything, that underlines how inaccurate the TV ad\u2019s language is. So, where does that leave us? Democrat Tom Barrett is running a TV ad claiming his opponent for governor, Republican Scott Walker, \"would ban stem cell research in Wisconsin.\" In truth, Walker has repeatedly said he supports research involving adult stem cells, but opposes research involving embryonic stem cells. That is a critical distinction in the world of science \u2014 and of politics. Barrett\u2019s ad ignores it, presenting Walker as so extreme on the matter that he is \"against hope.\" We rate Barrett\u2019s claim ."}
{"claim_id": "10019", "claim": "MRI Might Screen for Autism", "explanation": "The story presents almost no information from the research study. We just know it was about MRIs in males with autism and that the researchers found something abnormal. We don\u2019t know what the abnormal findings were, except they were related to how the hemispheres communicate. We don\u2019t know whether the findings fit with a theory about the biology of autism or whether this\u00a0was simply a fishing expedition. We don\u2019t know\u00a0how many of the 80 patients had the abnormality, if the MRI required special equipment or software, and if these were findings that any radiologist could detect. That\u2019s simply too many gaps to make the story reliable. Study authors\u2019 comments came from a news release. To its credit, the story did include cautious comments from one observer at the end. The challenge for this story is they are reporting on a basic science study, just one that happens to use MRI rather than bench techniques and one that was published in a specialized, technical journal. Autism is one of the most polarizing subjects in health, and the press can bear a big part of the blame. Reporting on autism tends to rely heavily on celebrity spokespeople, anecdotal profiles and advocacy organizations. It also has relied too much on science that has been improved upon or even discredited. That\u2019s why it is even more important for reporters covering new research in autism to bring a very critical eye to the topic and to make good use of independent experts who can separate the emotions that understandably run high around the disorder from the science behind the research.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "It takes until the very end of the story for there to be a comment on costs. An autism activist mentions,\"So if there\u2019s no targeted treatment to follow up on the results of this kind of scan, then it\u2019s just another expensive test for parents who are already barraged with so many tests at diagnosis,\" she said. \"And in that case, I see this as just a waste of money.\" We don\u2019t know enough about the benefits or the harms so it\u2019s hard to say if it\u2019s a waste of money. The cost information about MRIs would not have been hard to find. The benefits are not quantified. The implication here is that these physical defecits are only found in patients with autism and are never found in patients with \"normal\" brains or with any other disorders. This, of course, is difficult to conclude based on a study of 80 patients. The story does something worse than failing to quantify the potential harms of MRIs. It allows an autism activist to say, \"I\u2019m always glad to see there\u2019s more autism research underway, and there\u2019s certainly no risk to having an MRI.\" No risk? At the very least there is the potential for MRIs to lead to unnecessary procedures. A recent study showed, for example, that there was a direct correlation between the availability of MRIs in an area and the number of back surgeries. The study\u2019s authors concluded, \"if increased MRI availability is associated with increased early use of low back MRI as well as with subsequent use of low back surgery, both of which have questionable clinical benefit, then widespread MRI diffusion may put patients at risk of a decrease in the quality of care they receive.\" Another risk is for renal injury when MRI is performed with contrast dye. The story leaves readers very confused about the study, presenting neither the evidence nor the quality of the evidence. It says that, \"Using MRI imaging, the team searched for differences in brain activity patterns in the microstructure of white matter tissue in 80 autism patients between the ages of 10 and 35.\" This makes it sound like the study only included autism patients, but then it goes on to say, \"Communication deficits between the two hemispheres of the brain were, in fact, uncovered by MRI scans \u2014 differences that the team said were not found in the brains of people without autism.\" Does this mean that half the people had autism and half did not? Or was there another control group that is not quantified in the story? There is nothing in the story about the study design, and there is very little about the study\u2019s limitations. The story does a nice job steering clear of the typical suspect statistics about autism prevalence, and in characterizing autism disorders, it does a fairly good job. \"The current effort, focused on patients already diagnosed with autism, used MRIs to locate areas of the brain where the left and right hemispheres do not communicate properly. These so-called \"hot spots\" are central to motor function, attention, facial recognition and social behavior \u2014 types of behaviors that are abnormal in people with autism.\" The story does, technically, bring in an outside source, but the source is not someone with expertise in diagnosing autism disorders or in radiology. The source is \"Laura Bono, the Durham, N.C.-based former chair of the National Autism Association and member of the board of directors of the autism advocacy group Safe Minds.\" It is good that Bono \"expressed a certain amount of hesitancy about the prospects for MRI-driven diagnoses.\" But she may not be the best source to evaluate the results of this study. The story makes no attempt to explain how autism is currently diagnosed or what this new information might do for patients in comparison to existing methods of diagnosing and managing the autism disorders. MRI is FDA approved and has been around for a good while and is available to most of the US population. Still, there is no explicit mention in the story of MRI\u2019s availability in general, nor any specific mention some mention of how much difficulty patients might have seeking an MRI for this use. There is no claim made of novelty here. Nor is there any sense of how this study fits into the broader picture of autism research, whether this is a significant advance or what patients should do with this information. Is this the first study to look at this issue in patients with autism? If not, how does it fit with prior studies? The story relies far too much on a press release from the journal Cerebral Cortex."}
{"claim_id": "9293", "claim": "Five-Year Follow-Up Study Further Supports Effectiveness and Safety of the Essure\u00ae Procedure as a Non-Surgical, Non-Hormonal Option for Permanent Contraception", "explanation": "In this news release Bayer HealthCare summarizes a long overdue post-market report on the safety, effectiveness, and tolerability of Essure, an implant and procedure designed to bring about permanent contraception in women. It is the first permanent sterilization alternative to tubal ligation. The Essure implant is a small metal and polyester-like coil that when placed in the fallopian tubes causes an inflammatory response. The resulting scar tissue that develops over a three-month period prevents sperm from entering the fallopian tubes. Given mounting concerns about the safety of this device, it is crucial for any news release addressing safety to present a complete and balanced portrait of clinical research findings. But this news release is unacceptably one-sided. It never mentions that nearly a third of the women originally enrolled in this study dropped out for various reasons that could reflect a bad experience with the device (e.g. adverse events or pregnancy). It also understates the levels of pelvic pain reported by women who did complete the five-year study, and it never discloses that the study\u2019s lead author (and source quoted in the news release) is a paid consultant to Bayer. When Essure was approved in 2002, the FDA required the original manufacturer to monitor the outcomes of women who were enrolled in a clinical trial, upon which the agency\u2019s approval was based, for an additional four years. While this news release summary of the report portrays a successful product and process with few serious side effects, several news stories published days before the news release paint a very different picture. According to articles in the New York Times and other media, thousands of women are now asking the FDA to remove Essure from the market and inform the public about risks associated with the implant. Several others have filed legal action against Bayer, which acquired the implant from Conceptus in 2013. The Times article stated that the FDA has received more than 4,000 adverse event reports on Essure and that the original manufacturer received 16,047 complaints from women who had undergone Essure implants. In addition, ABC News in San Francisco reported that dozens of women staged a protest outside an obstetricians meeting while calling for the implant to be removed from the market. Another ABC affiliate in Arizona reported that the FDA will respond to a \u201cCitizen\u2019s Petition\u201d signed by more than 2,100 women asking that Essure be taken off the market. It\u2019s important that the safety of the device be given a fair public hearing so women considering sterilization can make informed judgments about the implants vis\u2013\u00e0\u2013vis tubal ligation. It should be noted that Conceptus, the original manufacturer, failed to report the outcome of the five-year study and that the results were submitted for publication a year after Bayer acquired the device. It\u2019s a disappointment that this summary report was delayed nine long years after the study was completed and 13 years after the FDA approved the device.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Bayer,contraception,Device safety,Essure,pregnancy", "main_text": "There was no discussion of costs associated with the Essure implant procedure. Presumably, the procedure was cost-free for the study participants in this clinical trial, or they received a nominal fee for participating in the trial. However, because the implant has been on the market for 13 years, it would have been beneficial to note the costs and whether the procedure is covered by insurance. An online search revealed the procedure is covered by some, but not all insurance plans. According to Planned Parenthood, costs range between $500 and $2,500. The news release did mention the rates of pregnancies for Essure users in this study \u2014 the main purpose of this device being pregnancy prevention. \u201cAmong the 364 women relying on Essure inserts\u2026.no pregnancies were reported.\u201d But there\u2019s no mention of the fact that women who dropped out of the study may have done so because they got pregnant (more on this below under the Quality of Evidence criterion). And as the study that\u2019s the basis for the release points out, a recent search of the\u00a0Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database found that \u201cpoststerilization pregnancy\u201d accounted for 61 out of 457 (13.3%) adverse events reported by Essure users. The news release glosses over the harms that are more clearly described in the journal article where the five-year outcomes data are published. The news release states: \u201cThe following severe events were reported as being possibly related to the Essure inserts or procedure: one woman with irregular menstrual bleeding, another woman with lower abdominal pain and very heavy periods, and a third woman with continuous bleeding. The latter two resulted in hysterectomy.\u201d However, the journal article notes far more instances of side effects, which we describe in more detail under the Quality of Evidence Section below. Notably, 15 hysterectomies were reported in the study overall, and the cause of five them is unknown. The study investigators deemed the other hysterectomies not \u201cdefinitely or probably\u201d related to the Essure inserts, according to the study. The news release also summarizes one of the side effects claimed by study participants with this sentence: \u201cThroughout the five-year study, pelvic pain was reported in no more than 7% of study participants at any visit.\u201d However, a chart accompanying the published study states that more than\u00a0one-third of the initial 518 participants experienced some type of pelvic pain (broken down into dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, ovulatory pain and other), with the highest rates of pain occurring soon after the insertion of the implant. The basic parameters of the study are misleading as presented. The news release states: \u201cAmong the 364 women relying on Essure inserts who completed the full five years of follow-up, no pregnancies were reported. In addition, the Essure inserts were generally well tolerated.\u201d That statement is accurate but doesn\u2019t give the full picture. According to the journal article, 518 were originally enrolled. In that case, nearly one-third of the original study group dropped out for one reason or another over the five-year course of the study. Sixty-five women were described as \u201clost to followup throughout the course of the study,\u201d which implies they may have simply stopped supplying data to the study coordinators. But an additional 22 women left for other reasons that were listed including nine who underwent hysterectomies, eight who \u201cvoluntarily terminated,\u201d one who had unsatisfactory device placement, and others for various unrelated reasons. Among an additional 25 women followed for \u201csafety assessments only,\u201d 11 experienced unsatisfactory device location and six underwent subsequent hysterectomy after device placement. Given the relatively small number of volunteers in the study, both the drop out rate and the number of adverse events reported deserved further discussion in this news release. The release doesn\u2019t promote fear-mongering. It is summarizing results from a mandated monitoring study. The news release was clearly authored and provided by Bayer. However, the impression given by the news release is that the study is an independent one, which is not the case. One of the authors (and a person whose quote is used in the news release), John E. Nichols, is also a paid consultant for Bayer as disclosed in the agenda for a recent scientific meeting. Nichols\u2019s relationship with Bayer is not disclosed in the news release (or even in the actual manuscript), and he is quoted as the study\u2019s author. Similarly, the third author, Mark Levie, is a paid consultant for Bayer and on the company\u2019s speaker\u2019s bureau,\u00a0according to a disclosure from a medical conference. This fact is not disclosed in the news release. It is interesting to note that at the end of the actual manuscript, there is an \u201cacknowledgement\u201d of \u201cEditorial support in the form of manuscript writing, styling and submission\u201d by a paid consultant for Bayer, who is not one of the authors of the study. The practice of employing non-bylined commercial writers in the development of academic manuscripts (a practice sometimes referred to as \u201cghostwriting\u201d) is widely viewed as a threat to the integrity of academic research. According to rules from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, the authors themselves are granted the authority to determine who meets the criteria to be listed as an author on an academic paper. This subjective standard makes it possible to downplay the role of commercial writers and exaggerate the contributions of academics. Critics of these rules have pointed to the ease with which they are circumvented by industry. This is, perhaps, more about the manuscript than about the news release. However, it would have been nice to know that in the study itself, at least two of the investigators as well as writers are on Bayer\u2019s payroll. The news release says Essure is \u201cthe only available hysteroscopic approach,\u201d which is currently true, though there were, at some point, other commercially available systems and devices. More importantly, the news release does not mention other common forms of permanent contraception such as tubal ligation (both regular and laparoscopic). The news release states that the procedure was approved by the FDA in 2002 and further that \u201cEssure is supported by more than a decade of science and real world clinical experience.\u201d In other words, it has already been on the market for 13 years. The novelty of the implant is described in the release as \u201cthe only available hysteroscopic approach, does not require incisions and represents an important contraceptive option for women who have completed their families.\u201d We observed no unjustifiable or sensationalistic language."}
{"claim_id": "7191", "claim": "California\u2019s new governor says \u2018God no\u2019 to run for president.", "explanation": "The new Democratic governor in the nation\u2019s most populous state ruled out a challenge to President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling the idea \u201ccrazy.\u201d", "label": "true", "subjects": "Gavin Newsom, California, Universal health care, Donald Trump", "main_text": "California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had frequent Twitter wars with the Republican president and recently raised speculation that he might seek the presidency by running Facebook ads in Florida, Ohio and other battleground states opposing Trump\u2019s southern border wall and supporting universal health care But he emphatically denied that he\u2019s considering a run for president. \u201cGod no,\u201d he responded to a reporter\u2019s question. \u201cNo, no \u2014 no, that\u2019s crazy.\u201d The governor\u2019s political consultant, Dan Newman, called the speculation \u201cabsolute nothingburger.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ve had same approach for years, running ads to mobilize and organize supporters,\u201d Newman said in an email. He said Newsom understood early on the importance of building a strong online following, including with digital ads that allow people to support his positions. Most of the ads run in California, he said, but some ran in other states that happen to be considered swing states. The ads ask viewers to \u201csign up\u201d and \u201cadd your name\u201d to Newsom\u2019s calls to \u201cReject Trump\u2019s Wall\u201d and \u201cJoin the fight for universal health care.\u201d Newsom, who took office earlier this month, hinted that he\u2019s likely to endorse U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, who joined a crowded field of Trump challengers on Monday. Newsom expressed \u201cenormous respect\u201d for Harris and said they have been friends since before either held elected office. He was San Francisco\u2019s mayor and she was San Francisco\u2019s district attorney for six years before she became the state\u2019s attorney general and he the lieutenant governor. He said he is not yet ready to make an endorsement, but said his praise for Harris \u201cgives you a sense of where I may be going.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "9866", "claim": "Gallbladder removed through mouth in new surgical technique", "explanation": "This is what old news hands used to call a \"Hey, Martha!\" story, meaning that when someone reads it they will say, \"Hey, Martha! Can you believe this?\" As such, it makes sense for a news outlet to write about it, but at least some care should be taken to put this experimental procedure into the proper context. Even short items written as blog posts should be well reported, especially from a news organization as large and as influential as the Los Angeles\u00a0Times. There is this assumption that minimally invasive surgeries are better simply because they require less cutting. In some cases this is true, but stories about minimally invasive techniques need to provide the evidence that they improve patient outcomes and that they are better than alternatives to surgery.This same type of thing happens among consumer electronics reporters. Smaller is always better. Except, who wants to listen to John Adams\u2019 Century Rolls on ear buds that provide the sonic range of a toaster oven? And who wants to watch Avatar on a screen the size of a credit card? Fewer holes in the body doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to better health outcomes.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There is no mention of costs. Finding out how much it would cost to remove someone\u2019s gallbladder through laparoscopy would take a call or two. Finding out how much this new equipment might cost would take a few more calls. The\u00a0researchers behind\u00a0the study probably know all the relevant costs because they had to secure funding and find the right equipment. Even a noncommital quote from one of the researchers about whether this would add significantly to the cost of gallbladder surgery would be preferable. One of the stated aims of the study is to compare costs between this new technique and laparoscopy, so there could be some preliminary information to be had. There is no quantification of benefits. Instead, we have hope. \"The hope is that natural orifice procedures will reduce the risk of infection and pain as well as abdominal scars.\" Did even this one gallbladder surgery do that? \"The center also performed the first oral appendix removal.\" And how did that go? Was it an improvement? Other questions to ask would be: Why is this information being released now? How many people are in the study? How long before they publish? How much more research would be required before this procedure was available in most hosptials nationwide? None of these questions are addressed. All of them could be in a paragraph or two. There is no mention of any harm that might be done by the procedure itself or by opting for this uNPRoven technique over proven alternatives. How effective is gallbladder surgery right now? In the case of cancerous tumors in the gallbladder, does it have a 90% cure rate? 50%? If you were to try to remove a cancerous gallbladder and some of the surrounding tissue with this new technique, could you be as effective? No new approach is without risk especially during the early stages of development. By definition, NOTES requires a new set of skills on the part of the surgeon making the most experienced practitioner less adept until a sufficient experience is reached. An open appendectomy is straightforward, whereas a laparoscopic appendectomy requires the surgeon to learn how to use a new set of instruments and view the surgery on a television screen. NOTES requires the surgeon now be proficient with an endoscope as well. The story says nothing about the quality of the evidence. It does, however, make broad statements such as, in referring to laparoscopy, \"that type of surgery is a big improvement upon the long, open incisions that patients used to require.\" Is that true in all cases? Is laparoscopy always the better option? Then the story goes on to say, \"However, NOTES spares patients even the tiny abdominal incisions.\" This presents the surgery as yet another big advance without providing any other information about, among other things, the\u00a0length of time required under anesthesia\u00a0for this type of\u00a0procedure,\u00a0what has to be done to prep someone for this type of surgery, and the degree of accuracy afforded by this technique versus others. Then the story goes on to say that they\u2019re actually still cutting into people: \"In the recent surgery, lead investigator Santiago Horgan made two tiny incisions (not requiring stitches) to pass a camera into the abdomen to increase visibility. However, the gallbladder was removed by way of the mouth.\" Huh? To monger a disease, one has to mention the disease. There is nothing in the story indicating why one would have one\u2019s gallbladder removed. So we judge this not applicable. The press release says, \"Cholecystectomy or gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries in the U.S.; approximately 750,000 are performed annually.\" There are no independent sources in this story and no conflicts of interest noted. It does make this comparison but only in the most superficial way. Here are three studies from the Cochrane Library that cast doubt on the idea that minimal is always better:"}
{"claim_id": "33932", "claim": "Jimmy Carter published an open letter entitled \"Losing My Religion for Equality.", "explanation": "Carter truly wrote this letter/op-ed. However, the letter is often shared along with the claim that Carter renounced his faith. But that isn\u2019t the case. While Carter rejected the notion that women were subservient and severed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, he never turned his back on his own religion. In fact, Carter occasionally taught Sunday school at the Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, long after his viral op-ed was published.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "An op-ed entitled \u201cLosing my Religion for Equality\u201d by former President Jimmy Carter occasionally makes its way around the internet, drawing a mix of reactions and questions from readers. Did Carter really write this? Did he really leave the church? Doesn\u2019t he teach Sunday school? Carter, a third-generation Baptist who has taught Sunday school since the age of 18, turned to his faith often during his political career. In 1995, he reflected on how his faith guided him through his presidency, saying that \u201cthere\u2019s no doubt that during my time as president I prayed more intensely and more fervently for God\u2019s guidance than at any other time in my life.\u201d In 2000, however, Carter found himself at odds with the Southern Baptist Convention as the group announced its opposition to women pastors. A few years prior, the group also added a declaration to its essential statement of beliefs stating that wives should be submissive to their husbands. Carter announced that he was severing ties with the organization and sent a letter to 75,000 Baptists across the country. According to The New York Times: Jimmy Carter, a third-generation Southern Baptist and the first United States president to call himself a born-again Christian, has reached what he calls \u201da painful decision\u201d to sever ties to the Southern Baptist Convention, saying that parts of its \u201dincreasingly rigid\u201d doctrines violate the \u201dbasic premises of my Christian faith.\u201d Mr. Carter\u2019s decision, announced on Thursday in a letter that is being mailed this week to 75,000 Baptists nationwide, comes four months after the Southern Baptist Convention, the country\u2019s largest Protestant denomination, declared its opposition to women as pastors. In the same doctrinal statement, adopted last June, the group advocated a literal interpretation of the Bible. Two years ago, the group called for wives to be submissive to their husbands. \u201dI have seen an increasing inclination on the part of Southern Baptist Convention leaders to be more rigid on what is a Southern Baptist and exclusionary of accommodating those who differ from them,\u201d Mr. Carter said today in a brief interview. \u201dIn the last couple of years, this tendency of the Southern Baptist Convention leadership to ordain their creed on others has become more onerous for me and more difficult for me to accept.\u201d The viral opinion piece \u201cLosing my Religion for Equality\u201d was published later in The Observer in July 2009. The entire op-ed can be read here. We\u2019ve reproduced the first few paragraphs below: Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God. I HAVE been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention\u2019s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be \u201csubservient\u201d to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women\u2019s equal rights across the world for centuries. At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities. The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met."}
{"claim_id": "34474", "claim": "Application of Vicks VapoRub to the soles of children's feet effectively counters nighttime cough.", "explanation": "No substantive evidence documents that the application of Vicks VapoRub to the soles of childrens' feet effectively counters nighttime coughs.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical, Home Cures, vicks vaporub", "main_text": "This advisory that applying Vicks Vaporub (a brand of mentholated topical cream) to the bottom of one\u2019s feet at bedtime, then covering those feet with socks, will stop persistent nighttime coughs hit the online world big in March 2007. At that time,  the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the agency touted in the advisory as having \u201cdiscovered\u201d this cure, sent us a statement denying it extolled the application of Vicks VapoRub to a child\u2019s feet as an effective counter to nighttime cough:   The National Research Council of Canada (also referred to as NRC) has recently learned of an email that is circulating which claims we have proven that Vicks VapoRub can be applied to the feet to cure a persistent cough. We would like to take this opportunity to dispel this suggestion. The e-mail suggests that NRC has conducted research comparing the effectiveness of prescription cough medicines in children to alternative therapies like acupressure. However, our databases indicate that no such studies involving Vicks VapoRub have been conducted at NRC. It is rare for NRC to engage in research into alternate applications of medications. Home remedies, homeopathy and alternative therapies for illnesses are popular areas of interest for Canadians, especially in recent years. Although NRC conducts some research in these areas (NRC conducts research on nutraceuticals and therapeutic attributes of plants), our focus is more frequently on medical and pharmaceutical treatments for illness and disease. Some of our best-known advancements have been in this field, including: the first practical motorized wheelchair, the first artificial pacemaker, the Meningitis-C vaccine, the cobalt bomb and research into food-borne pathogens and water safety, to name a few. However, while the NRC has neither researched the claim slathering VapoRub on a child\u2019s feet will alleviate nighttime cough nor endorses the practice, that particular home cure had been proffered by many people in the health industry prior to the March 2007 e-mail. (That e-mail, by the way, refers to that body as the \u201cCanada Research Council,\u201d but its proper name is the \u201cNational Research Council Canada.\u201d) Joe and Teresa Graedon of \u201cThe People\u2019s Pharmacy,\u201d a health advice feature run as both a syndicated newspaper column and a weekly show on National Public Radio, included mention of this potential use of the salve in their 2002 \u201cGuide to Unique Uses for Vicks.\u201d Expanding on the 2002 suggestion \u201cEasing chest congestion is standard, of course, but have you considered applying it to the soles of the feet for a persistent nighttime cough?\u201d in February 2007, they wrote: \u201cWe also suggest putting Vicks VapoRub on the soles of the feet for a nighttime cough. Put on socks to protect the sheets.\u201d Vicks\u2019 usage instructions state nothing about slathering its VapoRub product on one\u2019s feet; instead, they instruct those looking for temporary relief of cough due to common cold to rub a thick layer of the salve onto their chests and throats. And contrary to the instructions outlined in the e-mailed advisory, some health agencies have warned camphor-containing products should not be used on children and should be used only in accordance with the directions on their labels:  The [New York City] Health Department warned New York City parents and caregivers to keep products containing camphor away from children. Some camphor products can be toxic to children when accidentally ingested or excessively applied to skin. Three recent cases of seizures associated with camphor have been confirmed in the Bronx. All three children have recovered. The Health Department is investigating seven additional cases suspected to be associated with camphor. Camphor, alcanfor in Spanish, is a common ingredient in many products used for colds, pest control, to ward off illness, or as air freshener. Camphor is sold in cubes, or as a balm or ointment. Camphor cubes and tablets are not approved by the FDA for use as cough or cold medicine. Camphor products that are not labeled with ingredients and do not have manufacturer information should not be used; they are unsafe and illegal. Legal camphor products, such as some chest rubs used to relieve congestion, should only be used as directed on the label. (Vicks\u2019 VapoRub product has about a 5.26% camphor content; the unapproved camphor cubes and tablets referenced above may contain higher concentrations of camphor.) Vicks has addressed another VapoRub rumor that postulates using the product to combat toenail and fingernail fungus (an alternate use of the product that has been ballyhooed by a number of folks for years, including author Dr. Peter Gott, whose \u201cDr. Gott\u201d syndicated health column at one time appeared in more than 400 newspapers.) An automated response at the phone number for VapoRub consumers (800-873-8276) advised: \u201cWe do not recommend using VapoRub for the treatment of toenail fungus. Consult your doctor or pharmacist on the best treatment to meet your needs. Thanks for calling.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "9928", "claim": "Palliative Care Consults for Patients with Advanced Cancers Reduces Hospitalization and Improves Quality of Care", "explanation": "This news release reports results of a study that found that patients with advanced cancers who were referred early to palliative care made better use of support services, including palliative chemotherapy, after being discharged and had fewer hospital re-admissions and invasive treatments. Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital obtained their data through a prospective cohort study (one that follows a group of patients over time to observe specific outcomes). Unfortunately, the absolute numbers \u2014 readily available in the study \u2014 showing the results were not included in the news release. But the release does provide good context in other areas, particularly in explaining what palliative care is and what it entails for patients. In an era when ethical and economic issues surrounding\u00a0end-of-life care\u00a0loom increasingly large, this study\u00a0addresses a critical issue. As the release points out, palliative care has positive implications for\u00a0emotional and other quality of life issues for patients. In contrast, extensive\u00a0time spent on acute-care hospital wards and intensive care units, or receiving invasive procedures, drives up costs\u00a0and is frequently in conflict with patients\u2019 explicitly expressed wishes. That being the case, it is\u00a0all the more important that a news release about this issue provide the information readers need to judge the quality\u00a0of the research method and put the results in context. As the authors of the journal article state: \u201cOur findings are particularly important because multiple studies suggest that patients with advanced cancer often do not understand their actual prognosis or goals of chemotherapy; when they do not, these patients are more likely to receive nonbeneficial interventions, which contribute to increased suffering.\u201d Many\u00a0patients with advanced cancer are classic cases of those who receive too much care, which is of no benefit. Not only that, it adds to their pain, anxiety, and degrades their and their families quality of life. Its costs can be exorbitant, with some chemotherapy drugs costly upwards of $15,000 per month.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Cancer,Hospital news release", "main_text": "The news release makes several general statements about the costs of not referring patients early to palliative care. It\u2019s not clear whether the cost savings at a large hospital like Mount Sinai would carry over to smaller hospitals across the country that might not have the requisite staff already in place. Additionally, a\u00a0statement about the implications of costs incurred by patients for early palliative care would improve the release. Readers learn from this announcement that early referral to palliative care \u201cdecreased health care utilization and increased use of support services following discharge\u201d for cancer patients at advanced stages of the disease. But how much? Did health care utilization decrease by 1%? 5%? 40%? The specific results of the study are not reported. To be able to interpret the importance of these results, readers need numbers. Without that, the assertion by one of the researchers that hospitals across the country should adopt this practice appears tenuous. The study in the Journal of Oncology Practice provided both relative and absolute risk numbers for the claimed benefits of palliative care (PC) referrals. It would have made the release much stronger had the absolute numbers been included. Among patients that were part of the study in either the control group or the intervention group, 30-day hospital readmission rates decreased from 35% (17 of 48) of patients in the control group compared to 18% (13 of 65) of those receiving the intervention. Referrals to hospice increased from 14% (7 out of 48 patients) among controls to 26% (17 of 65 patients) of the intervention group, and receipt of chemotherapy after discharge decreased from 44% (21 of 48) of controls to 18% (12 of 65) of those in the intervention group. It\u2019s hard to imagine many harms associated with a palliative care consultation. It might be helpful to point out that\u00a0patients who are recommended for that type of consultation are still free not to choose palliative care. Although the news release includes\u00a0a description of the inclusion criteria for the study and the content of the palliative care consultation, we are given no information about how many patients were involved, what period of time the study took place, or what defined \u201cearly\u201d referral in comparison to the status quo. There\u2019s also no mention that this was an observational study. Observational studies can\u2019t prove cause and effect \u2014 something that was suggested in the headline. Without a brief recap of those issues, readers can\u2019t assess the quality of the evidence. The study listed several limitations that were not included in the release. Among them: There is no disease mongering in this news release. The severity of terminal cancer could hardly be exaggerated. The release provides useful background on what palliative care is and what it entailed at this hospital. The funding source is not identified. Alternatives to palliative care for late-stage cancer patients are described clearly. Although this piece makes it plain that palliative care has positive implications for cancer care, it doesn\u2019t tell readers what is currently happening at hospitals around the country. It assumes readers are already aware of palliative care availability but that may not always be the case. The release begins with a straightforward statement that\u00a0this is the first study to demonstrate benefits of early referral to palliative care for terminally ill cancer patients. There is no sensational language in this release. The tone is objective and factual."}
{"claim_id": "22510", "claim": "Unfortunately we have documented instances where people defecated in the (Statehouse) building.", "explanation": "State Sen. Tom Niehaus accuses protesters of defecating in Statehouse", "label": "false", "subjects": "Ohio, Labor, State Budget, Tom Niehaus, ", "main_text": "The lasting image thus far surrounding the controversy over Senate Bill 5, a proposal to restrict collective bargaining rights for organized labor, occurred on Feb. 22 when more than 5,000 union workers staged a raucous protest rally with colorful signs and bullhorns outside of the Ohio Statehouse. The protesters\u2019 target was Republican Gov. John Kasich and the GOP-controlled Senate that is pushing the bill. Even Republican Senate President Tom Niehaus the next day grudgingly expressed admiration for the groups\u2019 ability to coordinate so well and make themselves part of the lawmaking process. But right after comments praising the protesters, Niehaus veered in a totally different direction, painting a different lasting image of the protesters at the Statehouse \u2014 one not quite so becoming. \"Unfortunately, we have documented instances where people defecated in the building. We have documented instances where they have written on the walls,\" Niehaus said. \"This is the people\u2019s house. I used to say treat it like it\u2019s yours. Well, I don\u2019t want it to be like it\u2019s theirs if that\u2019s the way they treat their own home.\" Some union groups responded immediately, denying that a group featuring police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses and others unionized workers would commit such vile acts in the storied building. So, what gives? It is clear that Kasich and Statehouse Republicans are frustrated by being upstaged by protesters over SB 5 (Thousands more were expected to rally at the Statehouse on Tuesday, March 1). But PolitiFact Ohio wanted to know whether Niehaus\u2019 accusation would hold up on the Truth-O-Meter. Did protesters really defecate in the Statehouse? We asked Niehaus\u2019 staff about the \"documented instances\" and were told that several were reported to the senator and that he confirmed them with Statehouse management. That management is handled by the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. We called the CSRAB, the curators of the Statehouse, for an accounting of any incidents in the building during the protest. \"There was defecation in the stairwell to the parking garage,\" said CSRAB spokesman Gregg Dodd, but not inside the Statehouse. Furthermore, there is no proof it was left by protesters, and Dodd expressed his doubt. He noted that CSRAB has dealt with this issue before when there are no demonstrations taking place at the Statehouse. \"Unfortunately it happens from time to time even when there are no events going on, and we think it is either a homeless person or persons, or someone waiting for the bus stop,\" Dodd said, explaining that this particular stairwell leads up to the street level where there are stops for the Columbus bus system. The top of the stairwell, at the street level, is enclosed by a small, heated shelter house. There are two of these shelters around the Statehouse. They are used by homeless people to congregate and sleep at night. The area is also along a stretch that is a main transfer area for the city\u2019s transit system. Scores of people gather at various times of the day waiting for buses. \"So, there is no way to determine if that was in fact someone associated with the rally,\" Dodd said regarding the human waste left behind in the stairwell. We\u2019ll give Niehaus a small nod for being right about the writing on the walls. Dodd said there was some writing on the walls inside the Statehouse, but he also noted it was with chalk and was easily cleaned up by the Statehouse maintenance crew. There were also some union stickers stuck to Statehouse floors that needed to be scraped up. But Niehaus\u2019 key accusation dealt with defecation.. In the context of his statement, he clearly was suggesting that protesters soiled the floor, and that it happened inside the Statehouse. As Senate president, Niehaus is one of the most influential people in the state government and when he speaks people listen. Yet this claim is beyond inaccurate. It\u2019s a ridiculous assertion that is unsupported by the people who actually take care of the Statehouse. Statements that are both inaccurate and ridiculous get a special rating on the Truth-O-Meter: . Comment on this item."}
{"claim_id": "31635", "claim": "Over-the-counter painkiller paracetamol is contaminated with the Machupo virus and should be avoided.", "explanation": "We were unable to locate any credible reports of paracetamol (or acetaminophen) contaminated by Machupo virus or any other.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, acetaminophen, drug warnings, paracetamol", "main_text": "In early 2017, social media warnings about paracetamol purportedly contaminated with the Machupo virus began circulating. (Use of the term \u201cparacetamol\u201d is a sign the claim originated outside the United States, as in the U.S. the drug is more commonly known as \u201cacetaminophen.\u201d) Be careful not to take the paracetamol that comes written P / 500. It is a new, very white and shiny paracetamol, doctors prove to contain \u201cMachupo\u201d virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world with high mortality rate Stay away from this paracetamol below. Quickly pass this information to save life pic.twitter.com/jmlaF1onr4 \u2014 Olawoyin Edris,anipr (@Olawoyin4u) February 28, 2017  Machupo (also known as \u201cBolivian hemorrhagic virus\u201d or \u201cblack typhus\u201d) is endemic in north and east Bolivia, and is generally spread through air or food. According to the warnings, new \u201cvery white and shiny\u201d P/500 paracetamol has become contaminated with the pathogen, posing a severe risk of infection. These warnings typically appear alone, with no news reports or public health agency releases corroborating their claims. There is no truth to the warning, and public health officials have released statements confirming that the rumors were just that, and not credible. Indonesia\u2019s Food and Drug Administration counterpart advised that the claim is a hoax: [Prior to the spread of social media rumors, the agency] never received credible reports that support the claim that the Machupo virus has been found in Paracetamol drug product or other drug products. Machupo virus itself is known is a type of virus that spread can occur through air, food, or direct contact. Machupo virus can be sourced from the saliva, urine, or feces of infected rodents and become a carrier ( reservoir ) of the virus. Head POM, Penny K. Lukito said that POM never find things like that rumored, including Machupo virus content in the drug product. On 8 February 2017, public health officials in Malaysia debunked the rumors as well, reiterating that viruses typically cannot survive the pill-making process: The Malaysian Health Ministry today shot down rumours circulating on social media that P/500 paracetamol tablets in Malaysia contain the \u2018Machupo\u2019 virus. Malaysia\u2019s Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said, just like most viruses, the Machupo cannot live in dry environments such as in paracetamol tablets. \u201cThe Machupo virus is categorised in the Arenavirus group which could cause haemorrhagic fever. At the moment, the virus can only be found in South America. \u201cIt is spread through the urine or faeces of infected rodents,\u201d he said in a statement today. Noor Hisham said the ministry had not received any reports regarding paracetamol contamination from authorities in manufacturing countries or any other country so far."}
{"claim_id": "29129", "claim": "Jack Andraka, 15, came up with a \u201c100 percent accurate\u201d cancer-detection method that was \u201c168 times faster, 26,000 times less expensive, and 400 times more sensitive\u201d than current methods.", "explanation": "What's true: As a 15-year-old high school student, Jack Andraka researched and prototyped a tool he billed to be a 100% accurate pancreatic cancer-detection test. What's false: Though his work won him grand prize at the annual Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2012, his test\u2019s efficacy and accuracy has yet to be demonstrated, and many claims made by Andraka are now recognized by Andraka and others as overhyped.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "On Aug. 22, 2019, The Epoch Times ran a profile of a \u201c15-year-old science buff\u201d who invented a 100% effective diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer. This was a curious editorial decision, as the 15-year-old in question was 22 in 2019, and the more sensational claims he had made years ago had been significantly tempered \u2014 facts Andraka himself has acknowledged but that did not make their way into the Epoch Times story. First, here\u2019s what the story gets right. As a 15-year-old, Jack Andraka gained fame for prototyping a potential test for pancreatic cancer that was purportedly quicker and cheaper than existing methods, for which he was awarded the grand prize at the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In 2014, then-Forbes healthcare reporter (and current medical reporter at STAT) Matthew Herper described the concept this way: He created a device by dipping filter paper into a solution of carbon nanotubes coated with antibodies for a specific protein that can be elevated in patients with pancreatic cancer. He proved that the device can detect the presence of that protein, mesothelin, in cell culture solutions. He also showed that the sensor could tell the difference between the blood of mice that had human pancreatic tumors grafted onto them and those that did not. Herper, in his capacity as the author of that year\u2019s Forbes 30 under 30 list of promising young scientists, had reviewed a draft of a paper Andraka had written about his test along with six other expert reviewers. In a piece titled \u201cWhy Biotech Whiz Kid Jack Andraka Is Not On The Forbes 30 Under 30 List,\u201d he relayed the concerns of five anonymous reviewers and one non-anonymous reviewer: Harvard DNA sequencing pioneer George Church. Church concluded that many of the claims \u201cmay not hold up, or at least require more work to be proven.\u201d Others, like the pancreatic cancer researcher who discovered mesothelin in the first place, Ira Paston, had gone further. In a 2015 Sydney Morning Herald piece, Paston stated that the method Andraka proposed \u201cmakes no scientific sense,\u201d and that Paston didn\u2019t \u201cknow anybody in the scientific community who believes his findings.\u201d Andraka, for his part, has also recognized that the problem is more complex than his earlier statements might have suggested. In an email to Herper in 2014, Andraka wrote: While promising, the project really was extremely preliminary and is by no means as sophisticated as some stories say it is \u2026 I realize that in retrospect that it was just a high school science fair project and it was a proof of concept experiment and initially I thought that it could get on the market in 1-2 years however I\u2019ve learned so much over the course of this journey and realized that it will in reality take a lot longer than this. Here we get into the weeds of the claims made (most recently) by The Epoch Times, but which form the basis of other continually recurring clickbait stories. In a 2012 TEDx Talk, among other places, Andraka stated that his test was \u201c168 times faster, 26,000 times less expensive, and 400 times more sensitive.\u201d Any reporting citing these numbers is merely repeating, uncritically, claims which misrepresent the time and cost of existing technology. One of the few existing methods for pancreatic cancer detection is via ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) tests. Specifically, ELISA tests that identify the presence of a chemical known as CA 19-9 can be evidence of tumors in some cases of pancreatic cancer. According to Church, Andraka\u2019s time comparison overstates the amount of time such ELISA tests take. The comparison Andraka used was 14 hours. ELISA, however, is fairly quick these days. A modern CA 19-9 ELISA panel, for example, takes 1.5 hours to run. Suggesting it takes 14 hours inflates significantly the speed comparison in favor of Andraka\u2019s test. Church also stated that the cost comparison employed by Andraka was flawed because it compared only the manufacturing costs on his invention\u2019s side but included profit and overhead on the ELISA test side: Andraka is comparing the commercial cost for a test \u2013 including the manufacturer\u2019s profit and overhead \u2013 to his own materials cost. That\u2019s not a fair comparison. He says the only mesothelin test that he found cost $912 per kit. But other ELISA tests are for sale online for $400 per 60 tests or $600 for 96 tests \u2013 in other words, about $6.50 per test run. That still compares favorably to Andraka\u2019s $3 per 10 tests, but remember that there would also be a commercial markup if a company decided to sell his tests. As for sensitivity, Church argued that the results presented by Andraka varied too much to say anything about sensitivity (a measure that gets at potential false positives). Andraka was able to spend six months in the lab of a Johns Hopkins Medical Center researcher where he tested his test using blood from mice who had pancreatic cancer compared to those who didn\u2019t. Such tests, even if they produced promising results, would not be the same as demonstrating efficacy as a diagnostic tool for pancreatic cancer in humans. Outside of accuracy \u2014 i.e., the ability to correctly identify humans with pancreatic cancer \u2014 the early detection of the disease was also central to the project, something Andraka would not have been able to test directly for his work at Hopkins. Ira Pastan, the National Cancer Institutes researcher who discovered mesothelin, the biomarker used in Andraka\u2019s test, told The Sydney Morning Herald that the protein is not actually elevated in the blood in early pancreatic cancer patients and thus could not be indicative of the early stages of the disease. Other scientific studies support Pastan\u2019s objection. A 2013 study into the diagnostic efficacy of mesothelin on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (a form of pancreatic cancer) concluded that the biomarker was \u201ca weak diagnostic classifier on its own\u201d but may be of use as part of a larger panel test. Mesothelin is also present in cases of other cancers as well, including \u201cmalignant mesothelioma and \u2026 ovarian, and lung adenocarcinomas. In a 2015 statement provided to Sydney Morning Herald reporter Nick Bryant by John Hopkins University, the institution made clear the results were far too preliminary to declare such accuracy or to speculate on its future success: \u201c[Andraka\u2019s\u2019] idea was considered by his mentor to be of scientific interest,\u201d the hospital told me in a written statement, \u201cbut his experiments at Johns Hopkins were highly preliminary.\u201d They represented nothing more than \u201cthe very earliest stages of determining whether such a test is feasible or likely\u201d. It also noted that his results had not been confirmed, peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal. \u201cThus, it is unlikely that a test based on his idea will soon be available to people.\u201d Andraka does not hold an international patent on his device. Although he applied for one in 2012, that application was ultimately denied based on lacking an \u201cinventive step.\u201d All told, media outlets like The Epoch Times continue to run with an out-of-date and highly clickable fairytale that has not been accurate since at least 2014. Andraka himself acknowledges the shortcomings of his earlier scientific pronouncements and is thankful for the criticism he has received, telling (for example) The Sydney Morning Herald in 2015 that \u201cI really appreciate their concerns because their concerns made my project better. It was definitely a learning curve.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "30127", "claim": "\u201cPresidential alerts\u201d are capable of accessing the E911 chip in your phones, which provides the government full access to your location, microphone, camera and every function of your phone.", "explanation": "If the government were to have a way of snooping on citizens through their cellphones, it would have to depend on their co-opting some other system and not simply using the presidential alert system as it exists today.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Technology", "main_text": "On 3 October 2018, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), conducted a nationwide test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, an event referred to by many commenters as a \u201cPresidential alert.\u201d On the day of the test, John McAfee, the controversial founder of the McAfee Antivirus software empire and a current cryptocurrency advocate (as well as 2020 U.S. presidential candidate for the Libertarian party), tweeted an alarming statement about the test: The \u201cPresidential alerts\u201d: they are capable of accessing the E911 chip in your phones \u2013 giving them full access to your location, microphone, camera and every function of your phone. This not a rant, this is from me, still one of the leading cybersecurity experts. Wake up people! \u2014 John McAfee (@officialmcafee) October 3, 2018  In this post, we\u2019ll describe the myriad hurdles McAfee\u2019s argument would need to overcome to be accurate, noting that we could find no independent support for the claims he made in that tweet. What is the Presidential Alert System? The \u201cpresidential alert\u201d tested on 3 October 2018 combined a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, or EAS (which is familiar to people as cacophonous weather and/or natural disaster alerts that might interrupt television or radio broadcasts) and the Wireless Emergency Alert system, or WEA (which is familiar to cell phone users who have received Amber alerts or other local emergency alerts). Typically, the WEA system is used by state and local jurisdictions, but the October 2018 test was the first attempt at trying out a nationwide alert via this system for the purposes of conveying a message from the President. Based on a George W. Bush-era law, anyone with a cell phone can opt out of any WEA notification unless that notification is \u201cissued at the direction of the President and/or his/her designee.\u201d While the law has required the EAS to be tested nationwide for the past three years, October 2018 was the first time such a test had been combined with a test of a nationwide WEA alert. What Is John McAfee\u2019s Argument? In a brief phone interview, McAfee explained to us his view that a nationwide WEA notification could be exploited by the federal government to spy on private citizens. He suggested this could be done by exploiting what he called an \u201cE911 chip\u201d. He characterized the purpose of this chip as something 911 dispatchers can use to find location information for people who call 911 and either hang up or are incapacitated during the call: Let\u2019s say a burglar enters your house, assaults you, you call 911, you pass out during the call. They again turn on your camera, your phone, get your location, dispatch police officers. They can then listen to see if there is anyone else in the room. Is there any noise? The location of the camera, whatever it\u2019s showing, they can see that. Perfect, that\u2019s good. I don\u2019t think anybody would have a problem with that. We will discuss the accuracy of that statement later in this post. However, McAfee\u2019s argument, generally speaking, is that because (he says) the WEA utilizes this \u201cE911 chip,\u201d they too have the ability to turn on your phone and spy on you: The Federal Government has co-opted a local facility (e.g.,. a 911 call center). Let\u2019s say you want to know where you\u2019ve got a bunch of enemies or a bunch of Republicans or some Democrats, you want to know where they are, what they\u2019re doing. When you send an alert it doesn\u2019t have to make a sound. It doesn\u2019t have to display anything because it\u2019s listening, watching you, to find out where you are, where you\u2019re moving. What is an E911 Chip? According to Ted Rappaport, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NYU and the founding director of their NYU WIRELESS research center, \u201cThere is no such thing as an E911 chip in a cell phone.\u201d Nomenclature aside, McAfee appears to be referring to the technology required by the FCC of modern cellular phones and network providers that assures 911 call centers receive accurate geolocation from mobile phones. The regulations that require such capabilities are broadly referred to as E911 rules. The enhanced 911 (E911) rules were implemented by the FCC in two phases and were aimed at improving \u201cthe effectiveness and reliability of wireless 911 services by providing 911 dispatchers with additional information on wireless 911 calls.\u201d Phase I required cell phones to be capable of communicating to a 911 call center which cellphone tower was utilized in an emergency call. Phase II required wireless carriers \u201cto begin providing information that is more precise to [call centers], specifically, the latitude and longitude of the caller.\u201d The FCC mandated that the accuracy of that information had to meet certain standards depending upon the type of technology used. Most modern cell phones use a combination of two methods to generate that location information: A \u201cnetwork-based\u201d solution which triangulates a caller\u2019s location from the cell phone towers near it, and a \u201cheadset-based\u201d solution which is generally a GPS receiver built into the phone. Most modern cell phones contain a GPS receiver chip. It is this chip, McAfee argued to us, that a presidential alert system could exploit. Does The Wireless Emergency Alert System Use an \u201cE911 Chip\u201d? McAfee asserted that the action of sending out a nationwide alert necessitates access to the GPS or other location services (i.e. the \u201cE911 chip\u201d) that are part of your phone. FEMA, the federal agency that oversees the WEA, disputes this view, with a FEMA spokesperson telling us: The cell phone functions that receive and display WEA messages are not related or connected to E911 functions in any way. The majority of wireless providers in the United States use Cell Broadcast technology to deliver WEA alert messages to cell phones. Cell Broadcast is a one-way communications protocol. Phones that receive WEA messages choose to display the message if the phone is not busy in a phone call or data session. The WEA message display function in a phone does not use the GPS, microphone, or camera functions of the phone. In essence, what happens when any WEA alert (including Amber alerts and severe weather alerts) go out is that the cell towers in the targeted region will broadcast a signal to all cell phones within receiving distance. This is a passive process, and as such the tower does not require, nor does it obtain, information from the phones that receive the message. The only differences between a \u201cPresidential alert\u201d and any other WEA alert a phone might already receive are that 1) cell phones are not capable of opting out of WEA notifications from the President according to FCC policy, and 2) WEA notifications target the entire country, not a smaller geographic region. Could a WEA Alert Exploit Your Phone\u2019s Hardware and Expose Its Location? Because a WEA notification is a passively received signal, it does not add to the list of potential security vulnerabilities in a phone. For that reason, McAfee\u2019s thesis that the presidential alert is itself a security risk does not hold up. That does not mean, however, that your phone and the software it runs on do not have access to a scary amount of personal data, or that it is not constantly tracking your location and recording you. According to Rappaport, the NYU professor, users almost always (without their knowledge) \u201copt-in\u201d to a variety of services that utilize the kind of information McAfee is concerned with: It is true that various smartphone operating systems, such as Android and iOS, do collect and process the microphone data of unwitting users, and that our locations and voices are indeed being tracked and mined, processed, and known to the cellphone smartphone operating system, and this information, or processed versions of it, are exchanged between the cell phone\u2019s operating system and the end servers across the internet that communicate with the end user applications \u2026 A person\u2019s location information and audio recordings (or processed versions of the recordings) are supposed to be only used when a customer has \u201copted in\u201d to use these applications, and when the application has been downloaded on to its phone). If you read the fine print of both the Android and IOS operating systems \u2026 you will be amazed at what users are agreeing to for the use of their data. This type of data is often used by social media sites (Google, Facebook, etc.) to target their advertising to us. As an experiment, you can talk about your pet, and what you feed your pet, and after a few minutes, you will then find a Facebook ad about pet food in your Facebook feed \u2014 I have many of my friends try this, and they are amazed and then quite shaken up. Outside of the issue of a WEA alert\u2019s being a passive signal, McAfee\u2019s thesis also requires accepting the notion that 911 operators have access to those same datasets (the ones described by Rappaport) constantly being created by your phone. That portion of the argument is a bit more factual. As an example, Apple\u2019s iOS 12 system, which was released in September 2018, utilizes a service that collects and packages your location data to be sent to a 911 center should you make a call: Apple today announced it will also use emergency technology company RapidSOS\u2019s Internet Protocol-based data pipeline to quickly and securely share [GPS and networked derived] location data with 911 centers, improving response time when lives and property are at risk. RapidSOS\u2019s system will deliver the emergency location data of iOS users by integrating with many 911 centers\u2019 existing software, which rely on industry-standard protocols \u2026 In keeping with Apple\u2019s focus on privacy, user data cannot be used for any non-emergency purpose and only the responding 911 center will have access to the user\u2019s location during an emergency call. We reached out to RapidSOS for a comment on the claims made by McAfee but have not received a response. We have found no evidence, though, that this process could be flipped in reverse, whereby a 911 call center (or any other party) could access this information without your first calling 911. In fact, based on RapidSOS\u2019s literature, their data transfer process is effectively a one-way signal as well. In their process, your location data is constantly updated and sent to a NG911 (next generation 911) data clearinghouse which is then (if you make a 911 call) transmitted to a call center and displayed alongside the other location data they would normally receive. These data could theoretically include other sources of information, but a user would have to opt-in to those features explicitly. We asked McAfee how he knows that the government, via the introduction of a nationwide alert system, could gain access to this kind of data in a way that did not previously exist before the alert system, and he told us that while no documented evidence of any legislation allowing for such a process existed, \u201cevery great security person knows\u201d it: There is no evidence that any legislation gave the government the power to co-opt the 911 call. It was something that was intended to be activated only if I\u2019m in trouble and call the police. Is now being used by the government to send text messages under the pretext of [a test]. I\u2019m the world\u2019s greatest cyber security specialist, which is basically one of the greatest hackers. I know that because every great cyber security person knows this. People have taken that chip, taken it apart a thousand times. Regardless of what chip McAfee is referring to, his claim rests on the notion that receiving a WEA alert requires governmental access to the geolocation services utilized by 911 centers, a claim which we have found no evidence to support and which FEMA denies. While cell phones do collect data on users (effectively) without their knowledge and do so constantly, we could identify no mechanism by which the perils presented by that reality were in anyway expanded by a presidential alert, since those alerts merely use the same technology that cell phones have employed to receive weather and Amber alerts for years."}
{"claim_id": "6078", "claim": "Health officials warn of possible Legionnaires\u2019 exposure.", "explanation": "Health officials are warning of a potential for Legionnaires\u2019 disease exposure at an outpatient cancer center in Springfield.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Cancer, Health, General News, Legionnaires disease, Springfield", "main_text": "The Springfield-Greene County Health Department says in a news release that two cases of Legionnaires\u2019 disease have been reported since late April among individuals who visited Mercy health system\u2019s outpatient cancer center in Springfield. State and local officials are investigating, along with the health system. People are infected with the severe form of pneumonia by inhaling airborne water droplets containing the Legionella bacterium. Health officials say a species of the bacterium not usually associated with Legionnaires\u2019 has been recovered in water samples. That indicates that conditions are conducive to Legionella growth within the facility\u2019s water system. The release says there\u2019s no guarantee that this was the source of the illness."}
{"claim_id": "37974", "claim": "Former Vice President Joe Biden received five medical deferments, allowing him to avoid serving in the Vietnam War.", "explanation": "Did Joe Biden Receive Five Deferments During the Vietnam War?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "Contrary to what critics claim, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden\u2019s non-combatant status during the Vietnam War was not underreported prior to his 2020 campaign.Regardless, one Facebook user amassed more than 189,000 shares by claiming, \u201cWon\u2019t see this anywhere\u201d above a high school photograph of Biden and the caption, \u201cLifeguard/football player Joe Biden got five draft deferments for asthma during Vietnam.\u201dBiden publicly discussed his deferments in a Washington Post profile published in June 1987, amid his first presidential campaign:Biden says he received a draft notice after graduating from law school, but failed the physical because of an asthma condition. He had hoped to be a pilot.\u201cMy feeling about it at the time was like a lot of things in my life have been: That there must have been a reason for it. I was prepared to go. I was not anxious to go, because I didn\u2019t think, \u2018My God, I can hardly wait to go and join the military. '\u201dAfter Biden was tapped as U.S. President Barack Obama\u2019s running mate in September 2008, their campaign released Biden\u2019s Selective Service records following a request by the Associated Press, which subsequently\u00a0reported:According to the documents, Biden, 65, received several deferments while he was an undergraduate at the University of Delaware and later as a law student at Syracuse University. A month after undergoing a physical exam in 1968, Biden received a Selective Service classification of 1-Y, meaning he was available for service only in the event of national emergency.\u201cAs a result of a physical exam on April 5, 1968, Joe Biden was classified 1-Y and disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager,\u201d said David Wade, a campaign spokesman.In \u201cPromises to Keep,\u201d a memoir that was published last year and became an instant bestseller after he was tapped as Obama\u2019s running mate, Biden never mentions his asthma, recounting an active childhood, work as a lifeguard and football exploits in high school.Biden\u2019s opponent in the 2020 presidential election, incumbent Donald Trump, also received five deferments during the war, one of which he has claimed was due to bone spurs in his heels.But Trump\u2019s account has come under question on several occasions.In December 2018, the daughters of Dr. Larry Braunstein told the New York Times that Braunstein, a podiatrist, had told them prior to his death in 2007 that he did Trump\u2019s father \u201ca favor\u201d in providing him a diagnosis qualifying him for deferment from the war:\u201cWhat he got was access to Fred Trump,\u201d Elysa Braunstein said. \u201cIf there was anything wrong in the building, my dad would call and Trump would take care of it immediately. That was the small favor that he got.\u201dNo paper evidence has been found to help corroborate the version of events described by the Braunstein family, who also suggested there was some involvement by a second podiatrist, Dr. Manny Weinstein. Dr. Weinstein, who died in 1995, lived in two apartments in Brooklyn owned by Fred Trump; city directories show he moved into the first during the year Donald Trump received his exemption.Dr. Braunstein\u2019s daughters said their father left no medical records with the family, and a doctor who purchased his practice said he was unaware of any documents related to Mr. Trump. Most detailed government medical records related to the draft no longer exist, according to the National Archives.Two months later, the president\u2019s former attorney Michael Cohen testified to federal lawmakers that Trump admitted to faking the injury. As the Military Times reported:\u201cMr. Trump claimed [his medical deferment] was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery,\u201d Cohen told members of the House Oversight Committee. \u201cHe told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment.\u201cHe finished the conversation with the following comment: \u2018You think I\u2019m stupid, I wasn\u2019t going to Vietnam. '\u201dTrump was further criticized following a September 2020 report in The Atlantic saying that he referred to dead U.S. soldiers as \u201closers\u201d and \u201csuckers.\u201dThat same month, Trump was also criticized by Creedence Clearwater Revival singer/songwriter John Fogerty for using his song \u201cFortunate Son\u201d \u2014 which took aim at the abuse of deferments by the rich to avoid serving in Vietnam.\u201cI find it confusing, I would say, that the president has chosen to use my song for his political rallies, when in fact it seems like he is probably the fortunate son,\u201d Fogerty told Rolling Stone.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "11409", "claim": "Study finds computers hinder accuracy in mammography", "explanation": "This story reports on the first large scale analysis of whether computer aided detection (CAD) improves the interpretation of mammograms. As was reported in the story, the study found that the use of CAD actually reduced the accuracy of the breast cancer screening. The story included technical detail about how CAD is used and made important points about the real value of experienced mammographers. It covered costs \u2013 the additional cost of computer detection and of the machines. And it turned to several sources \u2013 some involved in the study and some not. The story might have helped women with a few more questions. What should a woman do with this information? Should she go to a facility that uses computer-aided detection? Should she ask that it not be used? Are there other things she should do to make sure that her screening is a high quality as possible? Overall, though, this story was well done, and in only 638 words.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "While the story did not include the overall cost for mammography, it did mention that the use of computer aided detection adds about $20 to the cost of each mammogram. It also mentioned that this charge is covered by Medicare and most insurers. And it discussed the investment many medical centers have made in the machines \u2013 $125,000 \u2013 175,000. The benefits of the technology discussed (or lack of benefit) was reported in absolute number of tumors detected. The harm of treatment \u2013 undergoing unecessary biopsy was mentioned. However \u2013 the increased number of biopsies was presented as a relative increase rather than an absolute value. The story might have mentioned that the use of CAD increased the number of cases of ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS,\u00a0for which\u00a0progression to invasive cancer is less certain \u2013 meaning that it may\u00a0not pose a health risk during the woman's lifetime. The benefit of cancer treatment for women with this diagnosis is therefore not clear. Thus\u00a0enhanced ability to detect DCIS may not affect death from breast cancer. Nonetheless, we'll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. The evidence that breast cancer detection rates did not differ was presented in terms of the absolute number of breast tumors detected. The story included the source of the study it was reporting. The story did not engage in disease mongering. Multiple sources were used, some directly involved in the study and some not. The story described one option to computer-aided detection of mammograms used at one center. It mentioned one breast center in which every mammogram is read by two radiologists, which was described as more effective at finding cancers than a computer system. It also emphasized the value of experienced radiologists reading conventional mammograms. The story mentioned that about 25% of mammography centers in the US use computer aided detection. The story did not mislead on the novelty (or lack thereof) of this technology, explaining that\u00a0computer aided decition is used in about 25% of mammography centers. Does not appear to rely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "18506", "claim": "Nelson Wolff Says uncompensated health care costs absorbed by Texas hospitals are adding $1,800 a year to Texas private insurance rates.", "explanation": "Wolff said uncompensated health care costs absorbed by Texas hospitals are adding $1,800 a year to private insurance rates. His figure strikes us as worthy of skepticism partly because research on this topic seems to be driven by up-front assumptions--some of them fiercely debated. As troubling, the figure reflects 2009 estimates reached using a previous estimate of how much of such costs were passed through in 2005, nearly a decade ago. We found no post-2009 state-by-state estimates of the cost impact, while other analyses have found that although cost-shifting occurs, private insurance rates are not greatly affected. This claim, which retains an element of truth.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Health Care, Public Health, State Budget, Texas, Nelson Wolff, ", "main_text": "Bexar County\u2019s top elected official gave a pocketbook reason for Texas to expand Medicaid as encouraged by the federal health care law known as Obamacare. Nelson Wolff, the county\u2019s judge, prefaced his April 1, 2013, remarks by saying he had just received a root canal. \"Getting Medicaid expansion in Texas is more painful,\" Wolff said during a Capitol press conference with Democratic lawmakers and other advocates. Earlier that day, Gov. Rick Perry and other Republican leaders had reiterated their opposition to expanding Medicaid, which they termed a costly, broken program. Wolff, saying he was speaking for the state\u2019s major public hospital districts, said that if Medicaid is expanded, \"it would cut down\" on emergency room visits, \"on unnecessary patients going there and help people that really, really do need it.\" Wolff then said it\u2019s estimated that some $1,800 is added to \"your private insurance rates\" due to uncompensated care given by \"hospitals throughout Texas,\" a figure we spotted in Patricia Kilday Hart\u2019s April 2, 2013, Houston Chronicle column on the press conference. Is that so? Concern about such cost shifting is even written into the federal health care law, as noted by Hoover Institution fellow and Stanford University professor John F. Cogan and others in a 2011 paper. The 2010 law says \"the cost of providing uncompensated care to the uninsured was $43 billion in 2008. To pay for this cost, health care providers pass on the cost to private insurers, which pass on the cost to families. This cost-shifting increases family premiums by on average over $1,000 a year.\" By email, Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse told us the judge drew the $1,800 figure from a March 24, 2009, report from the Washington-based Center for American Progress, which says it was founded to \"provide long-term leadership and support to the progressive movement.\" The report says that nationally in 2009, this cost-shift amounted to $1,100 per average family premium and $410 per average individual premium, with the Texas cost-shift being $1,800 per average family premium and $630 per average individual premium, according to a chart. Case closed? Not so fast, because research conflicts over the extent of cost-shifting. Also, there is uncertainty the amounts can be estimated state to state. Vicki Anderson of Austin, who helped write a January 2013 report commissioned by Texas Impact and Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. on projected local tax effects of expanding Medicaid, told us by email that pinning down the impact of uncompensated care on private insurance rates is challenging in part because such calculations inevitably start from varying amounts of spending attributed to uncompensated care, causing the estimated effect on private insurance premiums to vary as well. Nationally, PolitiFact colleagues have noted that the study cited by Wolff, which updated figures developed in a 2005 analysis commissioned by the liberal-leaning Families USA, has been contradicted by more recent analyses estimating such cost-shifting to be far less costly. Let\u2019s look at the approach that delivered the figure aired by Wolff and then at the contradictory reports. For each state, the Center for American Progress said it assumed the same percentage increases in premiums due to such cost-shifting in 2009 that the Families USA report earlier estimated for 2005. The center then applied the percentages to the latest state-by-state premium data as reported by a federal panel, according to its report, also growing each resulting figure by the change in national private health expenditures as reported and tracked by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2006 to 2009. We didn\u2019t find a copy of the 2005 report, but Families USA issued a 2009 report, \"Hidden Health Tax: Americans Pay a Premium,\" describing follow-up research it commissioned from Milliman, Inc., an actuarial consulting firm, that drew on federal data on medical spending to conclude that in 2008, uncompensated care costs drove up average private family insurance rates nationally by $1,017. The report says the methodology was similar, though not identical, to the one used for its 2005 study. The report did not present state-by-state figures. By phone, Families USA analyst Kathleen Stoll told us: \"I didn\u2019t feel we could pin it down state by state.\" A report appendix says the research assumed that the cost of all uncompensated care is shifted to the insured. But Stoll, elaborating, told us researchers reached the \"cost\" figure in its report in a couple steps. First, she said, the group estimated total charges to the uninsured not covered by the patients themselves or sources like charity care or federal aid sent to hospitals for that purpose. The resulting figure was then discounted by 49 percent to reflect the share of total charges that a hospital or other provider would need to shift to insured patients to \"operate at the same margins as they do when they set charges for services that are covered by insurance reimbursement,\" Stoll emailed. Studies that have led to considerably lower estimates of the impact of cost-sharing on private insurance rates do not assume the same level of pass-through costs. In an August 2008 Health Affairs article, noted in a February 2013 PolitiFact Ohio fact check, George Mason University professor Jack Hadley and others said that \"cost shifting as a result of uncompensated care probably has only a very small impact on private insurance premiums.\" Specifically, the authors said, the amount potentially associated with cost shifting represents at most 1.7 percent of private health insurance costs. The analysis had no state-by-state cost-shift estimates. By telephone, Hadley told us the research drew on hospital spending on uncompensated care over 20 years and looks at how much privately insured patients were charged for care. He said private insurance costs were more likely to be affected by Medicare rates or the relative concentration of hospitals in communities than ups and downs in expenditures on uncompensated care. Summing up, Hadley said, it does not follow that family private insurance policies in Texas cost $1,800 more due to cost shifting, though he sees a public-relations appeal to such statements. The actual effect of cost-shifting might be $150 to $200 per private family policy, he said. In contrast, he said, most uncompensated care is paid for by government, meaning tax revenue. Informed of Hadley\u2019s analysis, California consultant Peter Harbage, an author of the center report cited by Wolff, said by email that Hadley\u2019s analysis counted certain expenditures, such as government aid for graduate medical education, as helping to cover the costs of the uninsured. Those assumptions are wrong, Harbage said, or at least not entirely correct. We were getting the picture: Different researchers started from conflicting assumptions, which are open to dispute. Earlier, in September 2009, PolitiFact identified major disagreement on the significance of cost-shifting and rated as Half True a claim by President Barack Obama that families were paying $900, on average, \"in higher premiums because of uncompensated care.\" Obama\u2019s claim echoed the Families USA studies. But in 2008, the respected Kaiser Family Foundation released a report questioning the methodology of the initial Families USA study and hypothesizing that cost-shifting is not that significant. Let's step back and explain what the experts are counting. They use federal data on medical expenditures to calculate the total amount spent on care for the uninsured. Then they subtract whatever the uninsured themselves paid for care, then what government and charities paid. The remainder of the cost is what people with insurance are paying for through higher premiums, according to Families USA. The Kaiser study documented fluctuations in private premiums over many years, and concluded that the data don't seem to correlate with costs for the uninsured. Rather, cost-shifting is \"more strongly related to fluctuations in payments by Medicare and Medicaid,\" Kaiser said. The Kaiser study also did not set a per-policy cost-shift figure the way the Families USA study did. Kaiser said instead that cost-shifting might account for 1.7 percent of all private premiums. So, who is right? PolitiFact in Washington reviewed the Families USA and Kaiser studies and did not see obvious problems or conflicts. Barring fresh evidence, the differences seemed to reflect genuine disagreement among experts about methodological approaches to a complex issue. By phone, Harbage told us the Kaiser researchers approached the cost-shifting analysis with two major differences from how Families USA tackled the topic. Kaiser, he said, assumed more government spending on the uninsured, reducing the costs that could be shifted to private insurance rates, and also did not assume that every health care provider invariably maximizes profits, which Families USA did. \"Smart people can come to different conclusions,\" he said. Our ruling Wolff said uncompensated health care costs absorbed by Texas hospitals are adding $1,800 a year to private insurance rates. His figure strikes us as worthy of skepticism partly because research on this topic seems to be driven by up-front assumptions--some of them fiercely debated. As troubling, the figure reflects 2009 estimates reached using a previous estimate of how much of such costs were passed through in 2005, nearly a decade ago. We found no post-2009 state-by-state estimates of the cost impact, while other analyses have found that although cost-shifting occurs, private insurance rates are not greatly affected. This claim, which retains an element of truth, rates ."}
{"claim_id": "8999", "claim": "Mice regrow brain tissue after stroke with bioengineered gel", "explanation": "The news release summarizes a study on whether a gel \u2014 introduced into stroke-damaged areas of mouse brains \u2014 can stimulate the regrowth of neurons and blood vessels. The findings suggest that it can. But that\u2019s a far cry from proving that this regrowth can function as normal brain tissue and, therefore, be \u201cstroke-healing\u201d in humans. Still, the news release is one of the better releases we\u2019ve seen in terms of\u00a0 making it clear that the study was in mice. Mice is referenced in the headline and throughout. Compared to many news releases we review that have to do with rodent research, this one was also more cautious with its language than most. A more substantial discussion of the harms and benefits of this experimental treatment would have made the release even stronger. This study is part of a growing body of research called \u201cstroke neural repair,\u201d referring to the\u00a0 replacement of brain tissue damaged by a lack of blood flow, with new brain tissue. Although stroke is declining as a cause of death in the US, the fact that mortality from stroke is declining faster than the incidence, means we\u2019re likely to see an increase in the number of people who become chronically disabled from the disease. That\u2019s why there\u2019s such intense interest in repairing brain tissue damaged from stroke. As further headway is made in this important area of research, some key questions for journalists and readers will be: is the new growth really functioning brain tissue? If so, how do we know it\u2019s truly functional? And ultimately, the most difficult question of all, can it work in an integrated way with the rest of the brain?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "stroke neural repair,University of California - Los Angeles", "main_text": "The featured treatment is a gel in developmental phase. The price is likely unknown, and not including it seems reasonable. The news release mentions: \u201cAfter 16 weeks, stroke cavities in mice contained regenerated brain tissue, including new neural networks \u2014 a result that had not been seen before. The mice with new neurons showed improved motor behavior, though the exact mechanism wasn\u2019t clear.\u201d Although we appreciate the inclusion of the caveat that the gel\u2019s mechanism of action is unclear, we\u2019re not given any sense of just how much of an improvement in the motor skills of the mice was observed. And can it actually be attributed to the new growth? Harms are not mentioned and are relevant. The gel is a foreign substance being introduced into the brain. Did it trigger any kinds of reaction in the surrounding normal tissue? Did it cause any systemic symptoms? The news release provides only the briefest synopsis of the study protocol. It mentions the gel provides a scaffolding to support the regrowth of brain tissue and blood vessels. Then it\u2019s implied these tissues are functional since the mice with regrowth \u201cshowed improved motor behavior.\u201d But we\u2019re given no data or insights into the significance of either the regrowth or the observed motor changes. Likewise, were the regenerated brain tissue and blood vessels normal? Functional? There\u2019s just not enough evidence to justify the moniker \u201ca new stroke-healing gel.\u201d There\u2019s no disease mongering here. The release also adds context by stating how many Americans are living with the outcomes of stroke. Funding is listed as from the NIH. The authors stated they had no financial conflicts of interest. The release doesn\u2019t discuss any of the current treatments available to patients injured by stroke. Nor does it mention any other related techniques currently under investigation. It\u2019s made fairly clear that the gel used in this study was developed by the authors, is experimental, and most likely not available for widespread use. Although we\u2019re told this is a \u201cfirst-of-its-kind finding,\u201d and the treatment is a \u201cnew\u201d stroke-healing gel, readers may have benefited from learning how this approach compares to other, related techniques currently under investigation. A quick search of ongoing research in this area reveals several things are being tried including drugs, growth factors, monoclonal antibodies, stem cells, and even brain stimulation techniques. With one glaring exception, this is a strong point of the news release. It\u2019s made quite clear this is research in mice that is not currently applicable to humans. Unjustified cause-and-effect language is not used. The exception? Use of the term \u201cstroke-healing gel.\u201d The gel would only be truly \u201cstroke-healing\u201d if it resulted in the damaged area fully reverting to it\u2019s original, pre-stroke level of functioning."}
{"claim_id": "9210", "claim": "Zinc eaten at levels found in biofortified crops reduces 'wear and tear' on DNA", "explanation": "This news release describes a new study looking at the correlation between zinc intake and DNA damage and consequently makes a case for biofortified crops like zinc rice and zinc wheat. Although the release does an exemplary job explaining the role zinc plays in our bodies, it doesn\u2019t quite explain how this brief, small trial of 18 healthy men demonstrates the impact of zinc on cellular health. It uses vague, broad language to describe the study\u2019s findings and dedicates only one sentence to detail the study design. Part news release, part policy article and part biofortification promotion, the release argues for the need for food-based interventions, like crop biofortification, to address malnutrition and mineral deficiency around the world based on a small study of 18 healthy American men. That may be due to the fact that the research was funded by HarvestPlus, a research program advocating for biofortification to breed higher levels of micronutrients directly into staple food crops. We wish this funding source was disclosed in the news release, as well as the question of how prevalent the practice of biofortification already is around the world. Most US news releases relate studies like this one to dietary supplements, but this news release addresses hidden hunger and malnutrition. Zinc deficiency is a public health issue in many developing countries, especially those with rice-based diets. Access to seafood, red meat and poultry (foods rich in zinc) is also a challenge for many vulnerable populations. If crop biofortification is proven to be a safe, reliable and cost-effective way to deliver essential vitamins and minerals to nutrient-deficient populations, then it should be seen as a much needed food-based intervention to improve global health.", "label": "false", "subjects": "UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland,zinc", "main_text": "Although zinc can be found in everyday foods such as oysters and red meat, the mineral can also be taken as a dietary supplement. A bottle of 100 zinc tablets goes for about $4 to $6 at the local drug store. Since there is no discussion of costs in this news release, we give it a Not Satisfactory rating here. There is absolutely no discussion of any benefit data in the news release. Only vague, sweeping language is used to describe the effect of increased zinc intake. For example, the release states that the addition of 4 milligrams of extra zinc a day \u201ccan have a profound, positive impact on cellular health that helps fight infections and diseases\u201d and \u201creduce oxidative stress and damage to DNA.\u201d In addition, the news release does not describe how the benefit was measured. It only mentions that scientists \u201cused the parameter of DNA damage to examine the influence of zinc on healthy living.\u201d How did scientists exactly count DNA strand breaks? We would have liked to have seen some numbers here, which is why we give the news release a Not Satisfactory rating. We wish the news release mentioned that too much zinc is also harmful. According to the National Institutes of Health, increased zinc intake could lead to nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, diarrhea and headaches. When people take too much zinc for a long time, they sometimes have problems such as low copper levels, lower immunity and low levels of HDL cholesterol \u2014 sometimes referred to as the \u201cgood\u201d cholesterol. While this study was about food fortified with zinc, the news release was vague about how people should acquire their zinc, and this confusion could encourage people to reach for a bottle of zinc supplements. For this reason, we give the news release a Not Satisfactory rating. Only one sentence was dedicated to the study design. We only know from the news release that the six-week study was randomized and controlled, as \u201cscientists measured the impact of zinc on human metabolism.\u201d We aren\u2019t told how many people participated in the trial, how they took the zinc (through meals or supplementation), how much zinc was given and whether the study was blinded. According to the original journal article, it turns out only 18 men took part in the trial. There was no control group per se, but participants were put on a controlled diet, in which zinc was depleted for two weeks and then repleted for the next four weeks. The study was not blinded. We feel the news release should have pointed out that all of these factors introduce potential for bias into the trial. Here\u2019s one more point: Reducing DNA damage does not necessarily translate into better health outcomes, like increased life expectancy or lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Our bodies normally have mechanisms to repair DNA damage, which happens on a daily basis. And how are scientists so confident that zinc was specifically responsible for these lower numbers of DNA strand breaks? We would have liked to have seen more discussion on the study design and limitations, which is why we give the news release a Not Satisfactory rating here. There is no explicit disease mongering in this news release. However, the reference to \u201cexcessive DNA damage\u201d from insufficient zinc consumption and the statement that \u201cZinc also helps limit inflammation and oxidative stress in our body, which are associated with the onset of chronic cardiovascular diseases and cancers\u201d could plant fear in some readers\u2019 minds. None of the authors reported conflicts of interest related to the study. The research was supported by a grant from HarvestPlus, a research program advocating for biofortification to breed higher levels of micronutrients \u2014 like iron, zinc and vitamin A \u2014 directly into staple food crops. Additional funding came from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. The news release does not disclose these funding sources, which is why we give it a Not Satisfactory rating here. The alternatives here are to eat more natural foods rich in zinc or to take dietary supplements. Some sources of zinc include oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, whole grains and breakfast cereals. Supplements contain several forms of zinc, including zinc gluconate, zinc sulfate and zinc acetate. According to the National Institutes of Health, research has not established whether differences exist among forms of zinc in absorption, bioavailability or tolerability. As we mentioned in the Costs section, a bottle of 100 zinc tablets is priced around $4 to $6. Since these alternatives are not discussed, we give the news release a Not Satisfactory rating. We wish the news release could have talked more about existing zinc fortification efforts around the world, since it\u2019s not clear in the release whether zinc fortification practices are already in place. In the original journal article, researchers mention the zinc fortification programs initiated in more than 30 countries and point out how Bangladesh increased its rice zinc concentration by 50 percent through its biofortification methods. For this reason, we give the news release a Not Satisfactory rating. The news release states that this research is the first to show how modest increases in dietary zinc reduces oxidative stress and damage to DNA. The news release does not include unjustifiable, sensational language."}
{"claim_id": "40135", "claim": " Little Lauren Renee Pingel was in a car accident in Amarillo, Texas, and despite being strapped in a car seat, was severely injured.\u00a0 Her grandmother has issued an email request for prayer. ", "explanation": "Pray for 3-year-old Lauren Renee Pingel in Amarillo, Texas", "label": "true", "subjects": "Prayers", "main_text": "This story is true\u2026 and the latest news is that after serious injuries, a long season of treatment, little Lauren has been released from the hospital on 7/26/01 to return home. (The details are in the example below.) The accident happened on December 15, 2000. Lauren endured several surgeries to drain fluid from the brain and dealing with the swelling of the brain. She also had lung problems. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "4666", "claim": "Over 200 visitors enroll in New Mexico medical pot program.", "explanation": "New Mexico\u2019s medical cannabis program is attracting enrollment from outside the state after legislative reforms did away with an in-state residency requirement.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, New Mexico, Marijuana, Medical marijuana", "main_text": "November enrollment statistics from the state Health Department show that 215 cannabis patients reside outside the state. New Mexico medical marijuana provider Ultra Health said Friday that nonresident patients are coming primarily from the neighboring state of Texas and from as far away as Illinois and Michigan. Total patient enrollment climbed to 78,810. That is an 18% increase since November 2018. Per-patient enrollment in the cannabis program is highest in rural Sierra, Quay and Lincoln counties. Recently approved qualifying conditions for medical cannabis such as opioid use disorder are attracting patients to the program. In November, there were 120 patients contending with opioid use problems and 21 with Alzheimer\u2019s disease. New Mexico health officials are considering petitions to open up the cannabis program to patients with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and to prescriptions for animals by veterinarians. The state prohibits recreational marijuana use and sales."}
{"claim_id": "5161", "claim": "Boy on hospital floor dominates Britain\u2019s election campaign.", "explanation": "A 4-year-old boy in a Spider-Man top lying on a hospital floor took center stage Monday in Britain\u2019s election campaign, as the opposition painted his plight as a symptom of the country\u2019s ailing health system and branded Prime Minister Boris Johnson heartless for avoiding looking at his photo.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Brexit, England, International News, General News, Elections, Jeremy Corbyn, Campaigns, Health, Business, London, Boris Johnson, Europe", "main_text": "The story of 4-year-old Jack, splashed across the front page of the left-leaning Daily Mirror newspaper, overshadowed campaigning for Thursday\u2019s general vote as Johnson and his Conservatives hunted for crucial votes in traditional Labour Party strongholds. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, toured southwest and central England, where his left-of-center party is trying to cling on to key constituencies. All 650 seats  in the House of Commons seats are up for grabs in this election, which is also expected to break Britain\u2019s political impasse over Brexit and determine its future relationship with the European Union. Jack\u2019s mother, Sarah Williment, told the Mirror she covered him with coats to keep him warm as he awaited assessment at Leeds General Infirmary last Tuesday. Rushed to hospital amid fears he had pneumonia, Jack was eventually diagnosed with flu and tonsillitis and sent home. Williment told the newspaper she usually votes Conservative, but will be voting Labour for the first time this week. Both Labour and Johnson\u2019s Conservatives are pledging to pour funds into Britain\u2019s state-funded National Health Service after years of only modest increases under Conservative governments. Corbyn accuses Johnson of planning to put Britain\u2019s cherished health service \u201cup for sale\u201d in post-Brexit trade negotiations with the United States \u2014 a charge that Johnson strongly denies. It was Johnson\u2019s clumsy reaction to the story that turned it viral. A video of the prime minister briefly declining to look at a photo of Jack had been viewed more than a million times by mid-afternoon Monday. In the clip of the interview, ITV reporter Joe Pike said to Johnson: \u201cYou refuse to look at the photo. You\u2019ve taken my phone and put it in your pocket, prime minister.\u201d  Johnson then took the phone out of his pocket, looked at the photo on the screen, and said: \u201cIt\u2019s a terrible, terrible photo. And I apologize obviously to the families and all those who have terrible experiences in the NHS.\u201d  He subsequently returned the phone and apologized for taking it. Labour Party health spokesman Jonathan Ashworth blamed the situation on Conservative funding cuts and said the prime minister\u2019s initial refusal to look at the photo \u201cis a new low for Boris Johnson. It\u2019s clear he could not care less.\u201d The spat came as opinion polls give the Conservatives a lead, but as many as one in five voters remain undecided. This election is especially unpredictable because the question of Brexit cuts across traditional party loyalties. Britain is now scheduled to leave the EU on Jan. 31. Underscoring the significance of those shifting allegiances, Johnson\u2019s first campaign stop was in the eastern port of Grimsby targeting Labour voters who also backed leaving the EU in the U.K.\u2019s 2016 referendum. Wearing a white jacket, hat and rubber boots, Johnson lugged a crate of fish across the floor of a fish market in the town that has been ruled by the Labour Party for 74 years. Johnson said he was \u201ctaking nothing for granted\u201d in the final days of campaigning. He later swapped his white fish market garb for a bright yellow high-visibility jacket as he campaigned in northeast England. The Conservatives had a minority government before Thursday\u2019s election. Johnson pushed for the vote, which is taking place more than two years early, in hopes of winning a majority of seats in the House of Commons and breaking Britain\u2019s political impasse over Brexit. He says if the Conservatives win a majority, he will get Parliament to ratify his Brexit divorce deal and take the U.K. out of the EU by Jan. 31. Labour is promising to renegotiate the divorce deal, then give voters the choice in a referendum of leaving the EU on those terms or remaining in the bloc. Speaking in London, Labour Party official John McDonnell outlined what a Labour government would do in its first 100 days if elected \u2014 including making good on election pledges to nationalize public utilities and launch a \u201cgreen industrial revolution\u201d to tackle climate change. He also said the party would hammer out a new Brexit deal to be put to a second referendum. \u201cDespite all his promises, it is clear to all now that far from getting Brexit done, under Johnson, Brexit won\u2019t be done for years or we risk a catastrophic no deal,\u201d McDonnell said. ___ Follow AP\u2019s full coverage of Brexit and British politics at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit"}
{"claim_id": "8344", "claim": "Tom Hanks, wife Rita Wilson test positive for coronavirus in Australia.", "explanation": "Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress Rita Wilson, have both tested positive for coronavirus in Australia, the actor said on Twitter.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Hanks said that he and Wilson, both 63, were tested in Australia, where he is working on a film, after they felt tired and achy with slight fevers. \u201cTo play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus and were found to be positive,\u201d Hanks said in the tweet. The film star said that he and Wilson would be \u201ctested, observed and isolated\u201d for as long as required. The couple are the first major U.S. celebrities known to have contracted COVID-19. The coronavirus has infected more than 1,000 people in the United States. \u201cNot much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? We\u2019ll keep the world posted and updated,\u201d Hanks tweeted. Hanks had traveled to Australia to begin filming an upcoming movie about Elvis Presley. He is set to play Presley\u2019s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, in the Warner Bros. production. \u201cWe have been made aware that a company member from our Elvis feature film, which is currently in pre-production in The Gold Coast, Australia, has tested positive for COVID-19,\u201d Warner Bros said in a statement. \u201cWe are working closely with the appropriate Australian health agencies to identify and contact anyone who may have come in direct contact with the individual. \u201cThe health and safety of our company members is always our top priority, and we are taking precautions to protect everyone who works on our productions around the world,\u201d the studio said. The Warner Bros statement did not mention Hanks. The actor is staying on the Gold Coast, east coast of Australia, which has one of the country\u2019s main Hollywood studios and where filming was to take place. \u201cThe Elvis biopic filming has been closed down. I understand it will be 14 days quarantine and testing and ... our heart goes out to Tom and his wife,\u201d Tom Tate, mayor of the Gold Coast, said in a press conference. The couple\u2019s son Chet took to Instagram to say he had spoken with his parents on the phone and that both were fine and there was no cause for major concern. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s true, my parents got coronavirus. Crazy,\u201d he said in a video message. \u201cThey\u2019re not even that sick. They\u2019re not worried about it, they\u2019re not trippin but they\u2019re going through the necessary health precautions obviously.\u201d  Wilson appeared on Monday on a chat show of free-to-air broadcaster Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd. The network said employees who had been in contact with her would be tested for the coronavirus and quarantined for 14 days. Hanks won best actor Academy Awards for his role in 1994\u2019s \u201cPhiladelphia\u201d in which he plays a man stricken with AIDS, and \u201cForrest Gump\u201d the following year. Wilson has appeared in such films as \u201cSleepless in Seattle\u201d and \u201cRunaway Bride\u201d. The coronavirus has infected more than 121,000 people in 118 countries while over 4,300 people have died due to the virus, a Reuters tally shows. In the United States at least 37 people have died from the respiratory illness."}
{"claim_id": "3710", "claim": "1st federal opioid crisis trial to focus on distribution.", "explanation": "The case is about the conduct of a group of companies in two Ohio counties, but far more than that is riding on the first federal trial on the opioid crisis, expected to open Monday in Cleveland.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Opioids, Epidemics, Trials, Business, Health, Lawsuits, Cleveland, General News, Ohio, U.S. News", "main_text": "The counties are looking for money to help them fight and fix the epidemic, while families who lost loved ones to overdoses are seeking justice. The companies, meanwhile, say they followed the law and are aren\u2019t to blame for the crisis. \u201cThis is not your typical tort product liability case. It\u2019s really about an epidemic,\u201d said Carl Tobias, a professor in the law school at the University of Richmond. \u201cThere are so many different motivations among so many different players, it\u2019s virtually impossible to know what would be good.\u201d State, local and tribal governments plus hospitals and others have filed a total of more than 2,600 lawsuits against drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies seeking to hold them accountable for the nation\u2019s opioid crisis, which has been linked to more than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000. That includes fatal overdoses from both prescription opioids and illegal ones such as heroin and illicitly made fentanyl. The Cleveland case focuses on just two of those claims, from Ohio\u2019s Cuyahoga and Summit counties. But the case is a legal bellwether intended to signal how rulings might go in other cases in federal court, so it\u2019s being closely watched by the drug industry and advocates. Just six companies remain in the case after a series of settlements, including one with Johnson & Johnson and a tentative deal with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, which has since filed for bankruptcy protection. They are drugmaker Teva, which owns Cephalon and Actavis; the major distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson; the smaller distributor Henry Schein; and pharmacy chain Walgreens in its capacity as a distributor. The heart of most opioid lawsuits is a claim that drug companies improperly marketed the powerful painkillers to doctors and other prescribers, overselling the benefits and understating the risks of a class of drugs long linked to addiction. In the only opioid crisis case to go to trial so far in state court, an Oklahoma judge ruled against Johnson & Johnson and ordered the company to pay $572 million in damages. With just one drugmaker left in the federal trial, the Cleveland case is expected to focus on how the drugs were distributed: Were the companies obligated to halt shipments of suspicious orders and, if so, did they comply? In legal filings, the companies have asserted that they should not be found liable. The drugs were prescribed by doctors with orders filled by pharmacies. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration kept raising the quota for how many should be made even as overdoses rose. Distributors argue that their function was mostly as a delivery service. \u201cThe distributors\u2019 role is to help ensure that medicines prescribed by licensed doctors are delivered to licensed pharmacies, so they are available for patients who need them, when they need them, where they need them,\u201d the three large distributors said in a joint statement issued after settlement negotiations hit an impasse on Friday. \u201cWe have to balance our mission to deliver medicines to pharmacies and hospitals when and where they need them against our important efforts to prevent and detect illegal diversion of those drugs.\u201d The companies said they were prepared to mount a vigorous defense. Federal distribution data released as part of the Cleveland litigation showed they moved a massive quantity of drugs. An Associated Press analysis of federal drug distribution data found that in 2012, enough prescription opioids were shipped for every man, woman and child in the U.S. to have a 20-day supply. In court filings, the companies have questioned the fairness of the trial, saying it should be longer than seven weeks and that splitting 100 hours among them for questioning witnesses is not adequate. Witnesses expected to be called during the opening days of testimony include two experts on addiction, an official with the Summit County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Service Board, a fire chief and Travis Bornstein, whose son Tyler fatally overdosed in 2014 at age 18. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster, who is handling the Cleveland trial and overseeing all the opioid suits in federal courts, has long been pushing for settlements as a way to distribute money and make a difference in the fight against a complicated epidemic. Last week, Teva, the three major distributors and Johnson & Johnson, were working on a deal that North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said would have been worth about $48 billion in cash and free treatment drugs over time. The deal was intended to resolve all the suits against the companies, not just the claims to be heard in Cleveland. Attorneys general, lead lawyers for local governments and CEOs of the companies met for a daylong negotiating session in Cleveland on Friday. They could not get a deal completed but talks were to continue. The differences were not only between the companies and the government entities, but also between the attorneys general and local government attorneys about how the money would be distributed. On Sunday, a committee helping guide Purdue\u2019s bankruptcy sent a letter to defendants in cases across the country suggesting they might be able to contribute to a fund and have the bankruptcy judge handling Purdue\u2019s case end suits against them, too. David Humes, a Delaware man whose son Greg died of a heroin overdose in 2012, has dedicated himself to fighting the opioid epidemic. He does not want to wait for hundreds of lawsuits to work their way through courts to see major nationwide action. \u201cThe longer these several hundred municipal suits take is a delay in getting help for the people who most need it,\u201d he said. But he also was critical of the settlement proposals on the table: \u201cThe offers we\u2019ve seen so far are nothing close to the right settlement,\u201d he said. ___ Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. ___ Follow Mulvihill at http://www.twitter.com/geoffmulvihill and Smyth at http://www.twitter.com/jcarrsmyth"}
{"claim_id": "17533", "claim": "Nearly 40 percent of his McAllen-area constituents suffer from obesity.", "explanation": "Lucio said nearly 40 percent of his McAllen-area constituents suffer from obesity. McAllen\u2019s metropolitan statistical area in 2012 had 38.5 percent obesity among adults, according to the Gallup-Healthways study. A state survey that year suggested that nearly 45 percent of the region\u2019s residents were obese.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Poverty, Public Health, Texas, Eddie Lucio, Jr., ", "main_text": "Longtime state Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, highlighted two problems that come together in his district at the Southern Obesity Summit in Nashville, Tenn. Noting that Brownsville and McAllen are among the poorest cities in the U.S., Lucio said, \"Because higher rates of poverty are associated with poorer health care outcomes, it should come as no surprise that McAllen is also one of the most obese areas of the country,\" according to his prepared remarks for the opening session Nov. 17, 2013. \"Nearly 40 percent of my constituents there suffer,\" he said. Lucio cited via email an April 12, 2013, McAllen Monitor news story which said the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission region was \"the fattest metro area in the United States\" in 2012 based on a Gallup poll. He emailed us a link to the Gallup report released April 11, 2013, which drew on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, an annual effort to analyze factors including social, financial and physical conditions of U.S. adults. Gallup used Hidalgo County as the boundary for the McAllen metropolitan statistical area. Only the southeastern part of Hidalgo County is in Lucio\u2019s District 27, according to the Texas Legislative Council\u2019s map, but we did not find a more precise breakdown of obesity statistics. By phone, Gallup-Healthways research director Dan Witters told us that the index uses information gathered nationwide in English and Spanish phone interviews. The survey reached about 350,000 U.S. adults throughout 2012 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 0.2 percentage points. Witters emailed us results for the nine largest Texas metropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, where Gallup-Healthways was able to field 300 or more responses in 2012. Insufficient responses excluded Brownsville-Harlingen, which would have been ninth-largest out of the ten top MSAs. Of the nine regions, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area had the highest share of obese residents: 38.5 percent. Austin-Round Rock was the skinniest, at 22.7 percent. Percentage of obese residents in nine of the 10 largest Texas MSAs for 2012, Gallup-Healthways: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission -- 38.5% Beaumont-Port Arthur -- 32.5% San Antonio -- 31.4% Corpus Christi -- 31.2% Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington -- 26.7% El Paso -- 26.7% Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown -- 26.6% Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood -- \u00a025.3% Austin-Round Rock -- 22.7% Nationally, Boulder, Colo., was Gallup-Healthways\u2019 skinniest metropolitan statistical area with 12.5 percent obesity. The nationwide average was 26.2 percent. To calculate obesity, Witters said, Gallup-Healthways asked respondents for their height and weight, then calculated body-mass index, with a BMI of 30 or above considered obese. (To find yours, the National Institutes of Health say, \"Multiply your weight in pounds by 703. Divide that answer by your height in inches. Divide that answer by your height in inches again.\" Or use an online calculator like these.) Witters said that In phone interviews, \"men tend to say they\u2019re taller, women say they\u2019re a bit lighter\" than they are. Gallup-Healthways did not modify its results to account for this, he said, but as a general rule of thumb adding 20 percent to 25 percent to BMI corrects for such self-reporting. Seeking another indicator of obesity in the McAllen region and elsewhere in Texas, we turned to the Texas Department of State Health Services. That agency defines the state\u2019s metropolitan statistical areas differently than the federal government -- for example, splitting Dallas/Plano/Irving from Fort Worth/Arlington -- but like Gallup used Hidalgo County as the McAllen region. The McAllen area topped a 2012 list of large metro areas that spokeswoman Christine Mann gave us by phone. Percentage of obese residents in seven of the largest Texas MSAs for 2012, Department of State Health Services: McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr -- 44.7% El Paso MSA -- 34.1% Fort Worth-Arlington -- 31.8% San Antonio MSA -- 28.9% Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land -- 27% Dallas-Plano-Irving -- 26.5% Mann said the average for Texas in 2012 was 29.2 percent. Texas\u2019 health services department collects its data in the annual Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System telephone survey, and like Witters noted that people tend to underreport their health risk factors in phone interviews. The 2012 BRFSS was conducted throughout the year; the BMI portion had 8,530 respondents and a 95 percent confidence interval, Mann said. Our ruling Lucio said nearly 40 percent of his McAllen-area constituents suffer from obesity. McAllen\u2019s metropolitan statistical area in 2012 had 38.5 percent obesity among adults, according to the Gallup-Healthways study. A state survey that year suggested that nearly 45 percent of the region\u2019s residents were obese. We rate Lucio\u2019s statement as . \u2013 The statement is accurate and there\u2019s nothing significant missing."}
{"claim_id": "41314", "claim": "Latex rubber is in vaccines and causes life-threatening allergic reactions.", "explanation": "Latex is used in the packaging of some vaccines, which could potentially cause harm if someone\u2019s strongly allergic to it.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "Beta-Propiolactone is in vaccines and is known to cause cancer, suspected gastrointestinal, liver, nerve and respiratory, skin and sense organ poison. It may be present in trace amounts of some vaccines. It is potentially carcinogenic, but only in much larger amounts than would be in a vaccine. The antibiotics gentamicin sulfate and polymyxin b are in vaccines and can cause allergic reactions ranging from mild to life-threatening. Traces of these antibiotics can end up in certain vaccines, but would only cause a reaction in someone severely allergic. Genetically modified yeast, animal, bacterial and viral DNA in vaccines can be incorporated into the recipient\u2019s DNA causing unknown genetic mutations. Modified DNA can be used in the production of some vaccines, but is very unlikely to end up in the final product. Even if it did, there\u2019s no evidence it can cause mutations. Glutaraldehyde is in vaccines and is poisonous if ingested and causes birth defects in animals. There are trace amounts in some vaccines from manufacturing, and not enough to cause harm. Formaldehyde is in vaccines and causes cancer in humans among other issues and is banned from vaccines in most European countries. It\u2019s not banned in Europe. There are only trace amounts in certain vaccines and not enough to be carcinogenic. Latex rubber is in vaccines and causes life-threatening allergic reactions. Latex is used in the packaging of some vaccines, which could potentially cause harm if someone\u2019s strongly allergic to it. Human and animal cells from sources like aborted foetuses are in vaccines and are linked to childhood leukaemia and diabetes. They may be used in certain vaccines\u2019 production, but are unlikely to make it to the final product. Mercury (aka thimerosal or thiomersal) is in vaccines and can damage brain, gut, liver, bone marrow, nervous system and kidneys, is linked to autoimmune disorder, autism. Thiomersal isn\u2019t in any UK vaccines any more. This is down to concern around a slightly different mercury-based chemical. MSG is in vaccines and is linked to birth defects, developmental delays, infertility and is banned in Europe. It\u2019s not banned in Europe. It\u2019s used in some vaccines to stabilise them. There\u2019s no strong evidence it causes these problems in humans. Neomycin sulphate, an antibiotic, is in vaccines and can lead to epilepsy, brain damage and allergic reactions. Trace amounts of this antibiotic may end up in certain vaccines. If you are allergic to it could cause an allergic reaction. Phenol / phenoxyethanol is in vaccines and is used as antifreeze. It is toxic to all cells and can destroy the immune system. These chemicals have been used in vaccines as preservatives. They are not in antifreeze. Polysorbate 80 and 20 are in vaccines and cause cancer in animals and are linked to autoimmune issues and infertility. Tiny amounts of Polysorbate 80 is in a type of flu vaccine. There isn\u2019t evidence ingesting it is linked to these issues in humans. Tri(n) butylphosphate is in vaccines and is potentially damaging to the kidneys and the nervous system. We can find no evidence of this being used in vaccines in the UK. Claim 1 of 14"}
{"claim_id": "15197", "claim": "In countries where there are higher, more strict gun laws, there is more gun violence.", "explanation": "Bolling said that countries with tougher gun laws have more gun violence. The data show that among countries more like America economically, nations with stricter regulation have much lower rates of gun-related homicides. South Africa has tougher laws but is much poorer, and it is the only exception. Bolling described a pattern that does not exist.", "label": "false", "subjects": "PunditFact, Guns, Eric Bolling, ", "main_text": "The murders of two television journalists in Virginia renewed the debate about gun control in America. On Fox News\u2019 The Five, panelist Juan Williams said he feels more threatened by the number of guns on the street in New York and Washington, D.C., than he does by the militant Muslim group ISIS. Show co-host Eric Bolling shot back, \"In countries where there are higher, more strict gun laws, there is more gun violence.\" We decided to see if Bolling had his facts straight. We couldn\u2019t find proof that he did, and neither Bolling nor Fox News got back to us to show otherwise. There is no hard and fast yardstick to compare gun laws across nations, but there are some rough indicators. The United States is unusual in framing gun ownership as a right, so at the most basic legal level, most countries begin from a\u00a0more restrictive starting point. There\u2019s helpful data on gun regulation in other countries from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. According to the group\u2019s 2011 small arms survey, personal protection is not a sufficient reason to own a weapon in Australia and the United Kingdom. In fact, in the United Kingdom, the 1996 slayings of 16 school children in Scotland led to a ban on private handguns. Japan also bans handguns. Canada requires all would-be gun owners to get a license to own a gun. They must pass a background check and complete a safety course. If they then go and buy a weapon, they must register it. They can buy a gun for personal protection, but they must show that they face an imminent threat and that police protection is not good enough. In a previous fact-check, a researcher at the study center in Geneva told us that Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom have some of the strictest gun regulations. Comparing gun violence The studies we found measured gun violence in terms of the rate of firearm-related homicides. By that standard, America ranks worst among every country of comparable economic status. David Hemenway at Harvard\u2019s School of Public Health has looked at gun deaths across nations. \"If we look at high-income countries, the weakest gun control laws are in the United States, and we have by far the most gun violence,\" Hemenway said. \"At the other extreme are the U.K. and Japan, which have the strongest gun laws, and they have among the lowest levels of gun violence.\" The World Bank provides a list of high-income countries. Based on data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and reporting by the Guardian, America does top the list for the rate of murder by gun fire with a rate of 2.97 deaths per 100,000. Chile comes next, but Chile is not on the list of wealthy nations with strict gun laws. (The full list is here.) In the wealthy\u00a0group with strict laws, the data undercut Bolling\u2019s claim. Country Homicide by firearm rate per 100,000 population United States 2.97 Canada 0.51 Australia 0.14 United Kingdom 0.07 Japan 0.01 Source: UNODC, Guardian For the countries that have tougher gun laws but lower wealth than the United States, South Africa has a higher rate of gun violence, 17.03 deaths per 100,000, and Singapore has a lower rate, .02 deaths per 100,000. Our ruling Bolling said that countries with tougher gun laws have more gun violence. The data show that among countries more like America economically, nations with stricter regulation have much lower rates of gun-related homicides. South Africa has tougher laws but is much poorer, and it is the only exception. Bolling described a pattern that does not exist. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "5401", "claim": "Film academy president keeps job following investigation.", "explanation": "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has concluded its review of a misconduct allegation against film academy president John Bailey and determined that no further action is required.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Entertainment, Movies, North America, Science, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Anita Hill", "main_text": "The film academy said late Tuesday that Bailey will remain in his position, which he has held since August. Bailey, a cinematographer whose credits include \u201cGroundhog Day,\u201d \u2033The Big Chill\u201d and \u201cAs Good as It Gets,\u201d had previously denied the allegation that he attempted to touch a woman inappropriately on a movie set a decade ago. The film academy says the membership and administration committee and its sub-committee took his response, the claim and corroborating statements into account in its review. Outside counsel was also consulted, including from Ivy Kagan Bierman who is an adviser to the Anita Hill-chaired Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Promoting Equality in the Workplace. The committee\u2019s unanimous conclusion was also backed by the academy\u2019s Board of Governors. Bailey\u2019s attorney David Schindler did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. The investigation comes as the academy has sought to make the fight against sexual misconduct a central goal after the wave of revelations beginning in October that brought down movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and spread throughout the industry. Bailey was two months into his presidency in October when Weinstein\u2019s membership was revoked. Prior to Weinstein, only one other person has had their film academy membership withdrawn, and that was for loaning out awards screeners. At the time, Bailey said in a memo to members that the academy \u201ccan be a part of a larger initiative to define standards of behavior and to support the vulnerable women and men who may be at personal and career risk because of violations of ethical standards by their peers.\u201d The academy adopted its first code of conduct in December, which stipulated that the academy is no place for \u201cpeople who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency,\u201d and made it easier to suspend or expel members. The claim against Bailey investigated by the academy was received on March 13. In its statement Tuesday, the academy said it will refrain from discussing the specifics of the claim out of respect for the confidentiality of the claimant and Bailey. The organization\u2019s goal, the statement said, is \u201cto encourage workplace environments that support creativity, equality, and respect.\u201d ___ AP Entertainment Reporter Andrew Dalton contributed from Los Angeles."}
{"claim_id": "17169", "claim": "When people enter the service, there\u2019s not a mental health evaluation.", "explanation": "McCaul said \"there's not a mental health evaluation when people enter the service.\" Compared to the physical medical examination potential enlistees go through, there is no separate, specific examination of a recruit\u2019s mental health. While the armed services review past medical records for a history of mental health issues and allow for the applicant to offer any additional information, it has not prevented a sizable number of individuals with mental health problems from acceptance. Lawmakers and military officials can debate what steps should or should not be taken, but we can\u2019t find any flaw in McCaul\u2019s characterization of the current procedures.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Military, Michael McCaul, ", "main_text": "The second shooting at the Texas military base Fort Hood in less than five years has reopened wounds -- and old debates. During the Sunday morning political shows on April 6, 2014, typical questions over base security and concealed carry rules on military installations emerged in the wake of the deadly shooting last week, with politicians and pundits mostly assuming their party-line positions. But there was some bipartisan consensus that the military should take a closer look at the mental health of enlisted service members. On Fox News Sunday, Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said the effort should start at sign-up. \"When people enlist in the military, there is a physical check but there's not a mental health evaluation when people enter the service,\" McCaul. \"I think this will be a good idea to, No. 1, screen out individuals that may have mental illness problems. No. 2, have a baseline so that when they return home, we can compare that to where they are when they come back.\" We were unfamiliar with the process men and women go through to enlist and imagine McCaul\u2019s claim about mental health evaluations caught the attention of viewers as well. So we decided to check it out. No formal process Officials have not yet identified a motive that caused Army Spec. Ivan A. Lopez to open fire at the Fort Hood base, killing three and injuring more than a dozen. Lopez was being treated for depression and was screened for post traumatic stress disorder, though Army officials have said mental health was \"not the direct precipitating factor\" in the shooting. McCaul\u2019s office pointed us to legislation introduced by Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Penn. on March 27, 2014\u00a0-- coincidentally, just days before the shooting -- called the \"Medical Evaluation Parity for Service Members Act.\" The bill would require a medical evaluation before an individual enlists in the armed forces. According to the legislation, \"Although the military currently has a baseline measurement process for physical health, the military does not currently have similar standards for mental health.\" Speaking in favor of the bill, retired Army colonel and director of legislation for the National Guard Association of the United States Peter Duff said, \"Not having a baseline is a neglectful disservice to our military members and veterans who risk their lives for our nation.\" The bill has the support from various military and veteran organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars, National Guard Association of the United States, Reserve Officers Association, Reserve Enlisted Association, Association of the U.S. Navy, National Military Family Association and Military Officers Association of America, as well as the American Psychological Association. A mental health examination is not listed in a description of the application procedure on the United State Military Entrance Processing Command website or in the Military Entrance Processing Station regulations. That\u2019s all pretty strong evidence that no separate examination for identifying mental health disorders in enlistees exists, at least not in a similar form as the physical new recruits must go through. What does exist? But is there any evaluation the armed services conduct upfront? In addition to an aptitude test, as part of the initial screening, military officials review the medical records of potential service members for their mental health history. Col. Rebecca I. Porter, chief of the behavioral health division of the Office of the Army\u2019s Surgeon General, told the Washington Post that the application process \"includes a review of whatever medical records we have available, as well as asking potential soldiers to complete questionnaires where they might disclose information. We look for past diagnoses or past treatments, or other indicators of behavioral problems.\" Porter said a past suicide attempt, mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorders or drug abuse could all preclude someone from gaining admittance to one of the service branches. But much of that review requires the individual to have a documented medical history or to offer information that they may have problems. Such an admission would likely mean they would not be accepted. \"People who want to come into the Army are no fools,\" Dr. Elspeth Ritchie, a former chief psychiatrist in the Army, told the Los Angeles Times. \"They know if you say you had a past suicide attempt, you're probably not going to get in.\" A recent study from the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry conducted in consultation with the U.S. Army found 1 in 5 servicemembers had a mental health disorder before they even enlisted. Once enlisted, however, service members are prone to frequent mental health evaluations before and after deployment. \"We have a series of evaluation of any soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, Coast Guardsman who's deployed prior to their deployment,\" Retired Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker told NPR. \"They have access to mental health and physical health care providers, as well, while they're on deployment. And when they return from deployment, within 30 days of their being redeployed, they have another series of examinations with the help of their small unit leader down-range, which is then married up with further assessments that take place when they hit the ground back at home station.\" Mental health evaluations can also be recommended by the overseeing officer. \"If the chain of command becomes aware of a change in the soldier\u2019s behavior, he can ask the soldier to be seen at a behavioral health clinic,\" Porter said in her Post interview. \"Or if a commander had questions about a soldier\u2019s fitness for duty, they could do a command-directed mental health evaluation, in which case a soldier is referred for evaluation with the understanding that the behavioral health provider will provide feedback to the commander.\" Not everyone in the military community agrees that a mental health evaluation upfront would be helpful. Schoomaker, a surgeon in the Army until 2012, recently told the Los Angeles Times that such a process \"would just lead to driving the problems further underground.\" Our ruling McCaul said \"there's not a mental health evaluation when people enter the service.\" Compared to the physical medical examination potential enlistees go through, there is no separate, specific examination of a recruit\u2019s mental health. While the armed services review past medical records for a history of mental health issues and allow for the applicant to offer any additional information, it has not prevented a sizable number of individuals with mental health problems from acceptance. Lawmakers and military officials can debate what steps should or should not be taken, but we can\u2019t find any flaw in McCaul\u2019s characterization of the current procedures. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "14388", "claim": "Under Hillary Clinton, State Department \"officials were sending official thank-yous to people who gave to the Clinton Foundation.", "explanation": "Norquist said that State Department officials were sending official thank-yous to donors to the Clinton Foundation. We looked at the source documents he relied on and found nothing that supported his version of events. State Department staff did ask for lists of projects and partners in preparation for a speech Clinton was to give at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting. However, there is no hint that any staff member expressed official appreciation to any donor. There is no indication that money for those projects flowed through CGI. Finally, Clinton thanked governments for showing up, but didn\u2019t thank donors. She praised the audience in general, but that would include many who were on the receiving end of CGI\u2019s efforts. The documents do not say what Norquist suggested they said.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Corrections and Updates, Foreign Policy, PunditFact, Grover Norquist, ", "main_text": "Opinion polls consistently show that if there\u2019s one thing Hillary Clinton is up against with voters, it\u2019s that too many of them question her honesty. Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, fed into that theme during an interview on Fox Business with host Maria Bartiromo on March 24, 2016. Norquist segued from talking about her presidential campaign fundraising to the \"mixing of her official job as secretary of state and the Clinton Foundation.\" Norquist said, \"We now know (that) officials were sending official thank-yous to people who gave to the Clinton Foundation. Letting them know \u2018wink, wink, nudge, nudge\u2019 that you didn\u2019t just give to the Clinton Foundation. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, appreciates what you\u2019ve done.\" We wondered if Norquist's allegation was correct. When President-elect Barack Obama considered making Hillary Clinton his secretary of state, the immediate concern was that foreign interests might curry favor at the State Department by supporting her husband\u2019s efforts at the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, also called CGI. To clear the way for Clinton\u2019s nomination, those organizations agreed to a number of measures to avoid real and apparent conflicts. Among the changes, the foundation would publish the names of its donors and separate itself from the Clinton Global Initiative. Bill Clinton would not raise funds for CGI, and CGI itself would no longer accept donations from foreign governments or hold events outside the United States. After all that, did Clinton's State Department really cross the line by sending officials thanks to the foundation's donors? We asked Norquist\u2019s spokesman John Kartch for the source behind the statement that State Department officials were sending thank-yous to people who gave to the Clinton Foundation. Kartch sent us a link to a page on the website of Judicial Watch, which describes itself as a conservative educational group. Judicial Watch posted a number of documents it received through a Freedom of Information Act request to the State Department. The first few pages in the collection were an exchange of emails between Clinton\u2019s chief of staff Cheryl Mills and other top aides at the State Department, and Amitabh Desai, director of foreign policy at the Clinton Foundation. (Before joining the foundation, Desai was a legislative aide to then-Sen. Hillary Clinton.) Desai wanted Secretary Clinton to speak at the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative meeting on Sept. 25, 2009. The conversation begins on Aug. 22, 2009, with this letter from Desai to Mills and Huma Abedin, Clinton\u2019s deputy chief of staff, at the State Department:  To decode the lingo of CGI, \"HRC\" is Hillary Rodham Clinton, \"WJC\" is William Jefferson Clinton\u00a0and \"commitments\" are agreements among aid groups, governments and often corporations to work on a particular project. Desai\u2019s list of three commitments included: Launching a media campaign to reduce sexual violence against girls. It involved the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, several United Nations agencies, a large Brazilian ad agency and a foundation set up by a former hedge fund owner. Promoting the use of vitamin and mineral fortified food among poorer Indian households. It involved a major Indian food corporation. Expanding a micro-insurance fund. It involved an investment fund that had raised $44 million to provide small insurance policies in poor communities. Mills at the State Department answered, \"I think this if fine but here's my question - how does this work - are these announced before or after she speaks and what relationship are they supposed to bear to what she says?\" Desai said commitments are announced throughout the conference. \"We could give you a list of all announcements as they get scheduled as we get closer to the meeting, and anything else that would be helpful.\" Mills replied, \"It would be helpful to have list of commitments during whole session so she can reference more than those just around her speech.\" The final words in this email chain come from Caitlin Klevorick, a former consultant to the foundation who became a special assistant in the Secretary of State\u2019s office. \"One question is if we want to see if there is a decent mass of fs (food security) related commitments to announce together at closing as a \u2018mega\u2019 commitment,\" Klevorick wrote. That is the sum total of the interactions between State Department and Clinton Foundation staff, according to the emails obtained by Judicial Watch. We asked Kartch at Americans for Tax Reform if we had missed anything and did not hear back. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said he sees clear collaboration between the two entities. \"State Department and Clinton Foundation staff worked together on how Mrs. Clinton could thank Foundation supporters for their commitments during a speech, which Mrs. Clinton did,\" Fitton said. \"Mrs. Clinton, as the result of work by her aides and a Clinton Foundation representative, provided an official thank you during her speech.\" This is different from Norquist\u2019s claim. Norquist said State Department officials were sending official thank-yous. The emails don\u2019t describe that. Further, in her actual speech, Clinton didn\u2019t thank anyone for contributing money. Early on, she did express her appreciation, but that was aimed at governments, not donors. \"As secretary of state, I really, in terms of protocol, should be acknowledging all of the heads of state and heads of government who are here, but there are far too many,\" Clinton said. \"So let me just express my deep appreciation for your involvement and for your presence here. We look forward to working with you and your governments as we move forward on the new agenda of the Obama administration.\" A moment later, she praises the entire audience. \"This is an exceptional gathering of people, who have made exceptional commitments to bettering our world. We see it in everything you do. It seems a good opportunity, given the talent, the energy and the passion in this room, to talk about an exceptional global challenge, chronic hunger and what we all can do about it.\" Clinton spent the bulk of her speech talking about the White House policy to combat hunger. At the end, she told the audience, \"We need your ideas and your feedback, and we need your active support in any and every capacity.\" Kathleen Clark, who specializes in public sector ethics law at Washington University in St. Louis, told told us she didn\u2019t see any smoking gun in the emails Norquist offered as evidence. Our ruling Norquist said that State Department officials were sending official thank-yous to donors to the Clinton Foundation. We looked at the source documents he relied on and found nothing that supported his version of events. State Department staff did ask for lists of projects and partners in preparation for a speech Clinton was to give at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting. However, there is no hint that any staff member expressed official appreciation to any donor. There is no indication that money for those projects flowed through CGI. Finally, Clinton thanked governments for showing up, but didn\u2019t thank donors. She praised the audience in general, but that would include many who were on the receiving end of CGI\u2019s efforts. The documents do not say what Norquist suggested they said. We rate this claim . Correction:\u00a0An earlier version of this story said the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation separated in 2009. Actually, the groups separated in 2010."}
{"claim_id": "12627", "claim": "Every day, four North Carolinians die from a medication or drug overdose.", "explanation": "Rep. Greg Murphy has been promoting his STOP Act, which would limit access to prescription painkillers, by saying that drug overdoses kill four people a day in North Carolina. That\u2019s basically accurate (it\u2019s 3.5 per day) but prescription pills alone are only responsible for 2 deaths a day \u2013 half of what Murphy said. However, there\u2019s wide agreement in the scientific community that for such counts it makes sense to lump heroin and painkillers together (which cause 2.7 deaths a day) and some research has argued for including cocaine deaths, too. Even if his statistics are slightly inflated, Murphy\u2019s general point \u2013 that opioid addiction is leading to multiple deaths per day in North Carolina \u2013 is correct.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Drugs, Public Health, Public Safety, Science, States, North Carolina, Greg Murphy, ", "main_text": "The fight to limit the availability of prescription painkillers in North Carolina is being led in part by the only medical doctor in the N.C. General Assembly. Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from Greenville who is also a urology surgeon, is the primary sponsor of what\u2019s being called the STOP Act. That stands for \"Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention.\" In the past several weeks, he has promoted his bill with a sobering statistic. \"Every day, four North Carolinians die from a medication or drug overdose,\" Murphy said in early March, when he first introduced the bill. \"I prescribe these medications daily and I see the problem first hand.\" Murphy has often been quoted or paraphrased in the news repeating some version of that claim about the deadliness of drug overdoses, most recently on Monday when the bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously. It\u2019s a popular argument for a popular bill, which has support from lawmakers of both parties as well as a vocal ally in Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. In addition to other provisions, the bill would reduce the amount of pain pills a doctor could prescribe to most patients on their initial visits. The idea is that fewer pills will lead to fewer opportunities for abuse or addiction. The STOP Act passed the N.C. House 114-0 and is now in the Senate. But we wondered whether the morbid statistic that\u2019s driving much of the conversation is actually correct. How deadly are prescription pills? In 2015, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, 1,370 people died of unintentional poisonings. Of those deaths, 93 percent (1,274) were drug overdoses \u2013 everything from painkillers to cocaine to heroin. That\u2019s an average of 3.5 deaths daily, which is in line with Murphy\u2019s claim of four a day. Nearly the same number of people died in 2015 from unintentional drug overdoses as died from gunshots. If you also include intentional overdoses, then drugs were deadlier than both guns and car crashes. A 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study found the counties with the highest rates of\u00a0drug overdose deaths\u00a0are all in western or southeastern North Carolina. But even though Murphy phrased his claim broadly about all drug overdoses, his bill doesn\u2019t target street drugs like cocaine and heroin. The STOP Act is only aimed at limiting the supply of prescription painkillers. Prescription pills were involved in 738 unintentional overdose deaths in 2015. That\u2019s two a day \u2013 certainly troubling, but only about half of Murphy\u2019s claim. However, experts agree there\u2019s a strong link between painkillers and heroin, since they give the same type of high, and heroin tends to be cheaper and more widely available to addicts. \"When we talk to people who are injecting heroin, they all got there through prescription opioids,\" said Steve Marshall, an epidemiologist and director of UNC-Chapel Hill\u2019s Injury Prevention Research Center. \"It's not some of them. It's all of them.\" Marshall said it would be fair for Murphy to count heroin overdose deaths when promoting the STOP Act, if not cocaine overdose deaths. Cocaine, unlike heroin and painkillers, is not an opioid. Just under 1,000 North Carolinians died from an unintentional opioid overdose in 2015 (see here for county-level data). That\u2019s an average of 2.7 per day \u2013 again, not exactly what Murphy said, but not far off. Last year California medical company Castlight Health ranked four North Carolina cities among the top 25 nationwide for painkiller abuse. Wilmington, the company\u2019s study said, had the country\u2019s highest rate of opioid abuse. The report found more than half of the prescriptions issued for painkillers in Wilmington are being abused. Kay Sanford, another UNC-Chapel Hill epidemiologist, is credited with discovering the rising trend of prescription pill addiction and overdoses in North Carolina in the early 2000s. She said many people have been replacing painkillers with heroin in the last few years. \"The number of people dying from prescription opioids, in North Carolina and nationwide, has gone down while the number of people dying from heroin has gone up,\" Sanford said. \"So when you combine those two, it's basically the same number.\" Yet in Murphy\u2019s favor, at least one piece of brand-new research has made the argument that cocaine should be included in these counts, too. In February researchers with several federal government agencies published a paper that argued cocaine overdoses can be linked back to the increased use of opioids like painkillers. \"Opioids, primarily heroin and synthetic opioids, have been driving the recent increase in cocaine-related overdose deaths,\" the study concluded. Our ruling Rep. Greg Murphy has been promoting his STOP Act, which would limit access to prescription painkillers, by saying that drug overdoses kill four people a day in North Carolina. That\u2019s basically accurate (it\u2019s 3.5 per day) but prescription pills alone are only responsible for 2 deaths a day \u2013 half of what Murphy said. However, there\u2019s wide agreement in the scientific community that for such counts it makes sense to lump heroin and painkillers together (which cause 2.7 deaths a day) and some research has argued for including cocaine deaths, too. Even if his statistics are slightly inflated, Murphy\u2019s general point \u2013 that opioid addiction is leading to multiple deaths per day in North Carolina \u2013 is correct. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "34507", "claim": "KT McFarland, Trump's pick for his national security team, outed her gay brother as he was dying from AIDS.", "explanation": "Thus, the argument can be made that by publishing the contents of personal, inter-family communications, New York Magazine outed McFarland\u2019s brother, not McFarland. While it remains unclear whether her letters were ever actually delivered, it does remain\u00a0possible that she \u201couted\u201d her brother\u00a0to her parents. However,\u00a0we have no definitive proof of that, as McFarland\u2019s\u00a0mother denied knowledge of them.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics, donald trump, lgbt, politics", "main_text": "On 28 November 2016, the\u00a0Washington Blade posted a story reporting\u00a0that Fox News analyst Kathleen Troia \u201cKT\u201d McFarland, who has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as his deputy national security adviser, \u201couted\u201d her gay brother who was, at the time, dying of AIDS. Multiple other publications followed suit with similar headlines. However, the stories link back to a 2006 profile in New York Magazine,\u00a0where McFarland clearly did not want to speak about her brother. It was the magazine that dug up letters she had written to her parents more than a decade earlier: KT\u2019s father worked the night shift as a train dispatcher in Madison, Wisconsin. The eldest of four, KT had a brother here in New York City who had followed her to George Washington University and then worked as an analyst. \u201cUmmmm. He was sick and then he died,\u201d is all she would say when pressed. Michael Troia had aids; his obituary listed three \u201ccompanions.\u201d KT, the moderate in this race, couldn\u2019t abide his sexual orientation. Shortly after she discovered Mike had aids, she wrote her parents lengthy, angry, almost Gothic letters in which she outed her brother, blamed her father for his troubles as well as those of her and her other siblings, and cut off contact with her parents. \u201cHave you ever wondered why I have never had anything to do with Mike and have never let my daughters see him although we live only fifteen minutes away from each other?\u201d she wrote. \u201cHe has been a lifelong homosexual, most of his relationships brief, fleeting one-night stands.\u201d The father\u2019s behavior had surfaced for McFarland as recovered memory. She said a shrink put her up to writing the letter; reached for comment, her mother, Edith Troia\u2014KT has since made up with her parents\u2014denied the account. \u201cWouldn\u2019t that make a great book?\u201d she said. \u201cPlease be kind. You could be casting dark shadows on this whole race.\u201d The profile was published while McFarland was in the midst of an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to be the Republican nominee challenging an incumbent Hillary Clinton for the U.S. Senate seat in New York. Clinton would go on to win against John Spencer, who beat McFarland in the primaries. The story line accusing McFarland of cold-heartedly outing her dying brother seems to be an attempt at unfairly painting her in a negative light \u2014 and it is nothing new. The New York Post went with the same theme at the time, cribbing off the same New York Magazine article, in a 25 June 2006 story\u00a0headlined, \u201cHill Foe \u2018KT\u2019 outed her dying brother.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0But the reality around the circumstances are much more complicated, having to do with a troubled family history and a letter that was made public against her will during the throes of a political campaign. With the New York Magazine story looming, McFarland\u2019s camp scrambled to get ahead of the story, contacting the New York Times a week before it was published to give her side. She released a statement to the\u00a0Times\u00a0saying that she\u00a0grew up in a physically abusive household, and on the advice of a therapist, wrote two candid letters to her parents in 1992, which somehow surfaced and were made public more than a decade later. Her statement to the Times read: Like too many Americans, I was raised in a household where physical abuse occurred. It was something that left in me deep emotional scars, which I struggled to deal with for many years. In seeking to put a painful past behind me, I wrote two candid letters to my parents in 1992 at the advice of a counselor. Now, in the midst of a political campaign, those letters have found their way into the hands of a magazine reporter. Her mother, when contacted by the Times, refused to comment. McFarland recounted snippets of what was an apparently painful family history, while noting that whatever her relationship was with her brother, she never had any intention of making his personal affairs public: In the statement last night, Ms. McFarland said that her personal life is \u201dfair game\u201d in the Senate race, but her brother\u2019s private affairs should not be an issue. \u201dMike passed away in 1995, and his choice of lifestyle and the abuse he suffered as a child were not something he chose to make public while he was alive,\u201d Ms. McFarland said. \u201dI respectfully request that his memory remain private to all those who loved him.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "3890", "claim": "County contracts mental health provider for Montana jail.", "explanation": "County officials in Montana have voted in favor of two short-term contracts to provide mental health services in the county jail after officials did not renew a health provider\u2019s contract.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Helena, General News, Montana, Mental health", "main_text": "The Lewis and Clark County Commission has contracted the Center for Mental Health temporarily while moving to hire two jail behavioral therapists and a case manager, the Independent Record reported Tuesday. The decision comes when the jail did not have a therapist for a month and the previous provider\u2019s contract expired, officials said. One of the contracts provides therapy services to inmates for $110 each hour to the county with a cap of $22,000 until Feb. 28, or until the county hires its staff, jail officials said. Another contract secures the services of the Center for Mental Health at $500 a day with a cap of $30,000 to cover staffing for an on-call mobile crisis response team, officials said. These services are not additional services, but instead are designed to bring standards up to industry baselines, officials said."}
{"claim_id": "10994", "claim": "Breast cancer diagnosis gets a boost with gammagrams", "explanation": "This story describes a new breast imaging modality that relies on injecting a radioactive label into the bloodstream and using a gamma radiation detector to see if tissue in the breast lights up, presumably identifying cancer cells. It is described as less painful than mammograms and perhaps cheaper than MRI. The story mentions the lack of evidence for its use as a test but at the same time provides perhaps overly enthusiastic patient anecdotes. The story makes good use of possibly disinterested experts, but their cautious statements may be overmatched by happy consumers and radiologists who have invested in the technology. The important caveat, appearing but perhaps overwhelmed in the story, is that it is not yet known whether the test works as well as current technologies (mammograms, ultrasounds and MRI), nor whether it can improve health outcomes. Whether or not it is cheaper than another test is less relevant than whether the information generated has clinical value. If this story had provided some hard data about how well or poorly this new test performs in relation to standard practice, we would have thought more highly of it. But kudos for putting this caveat so high in the story (4th sentence):\u00a0 \"not enough studies have been done to show it saves lives and money\" and for trying to inject some caveats throughout.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Costs for this test were included. Does it not seem odd that there are different prices charged for a test depending on who is paying? It is instructive that this was reported in the story, though a little more information about this practice would have been useful. The story did mention that it is not yet known whether this test is of benefit to women. So we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt. That said \u2013 there was a lot of space given to anecdotes about how pleased patients were to have had the test. Patient satisfaction was enhanced because the test was less invasive than a biopsy and there was very quick turnaround to get back information on test results. While these are real benefits, the story should have explored the value of these things in the context of unknown utility for the test. The harms of the test were not explicitly reported. Injection of a label that emits gamma irradiation may or may not be risky; the article is silent on this. Most important is the issue of relying on a test for which the outcomes remain uNPRoven. Could this test miss a certain subset of cancers allowing them to progress? Might it identify lesions that aren\u2019t cancers, causing undo concern and lead to unnecessary treatment? The story failed to detail the implications of relying on an uNPRoven technology or the harms that might result. The story mentioned several times that the utility of this test has not yet determined. But the story persisted in presenting arguments favoring the use of this test. This was an important shortcoming of the piece. So while the story did include a clear statement that \u2018there\u2019s not a shred of evidence\u2019 that this technology will find more cancers, the story included a comment from a patient who stated she was \u2018happy to know her cancer had not returned\u2019. The unknowns described in the story would indicate that her trust is unfounded. The story should have pointed out the potential harm of relying on an uNPRoven technology. Did not engage in overt disease mongering. The headline for the story was not consistent with the content, but that\u2019s not the reporter\u2019s fault. The story included quotes from a clinician who has invested in the equipment needed to run this test for his practice as well as from a clinician with radiological imaging expertise. In addition, there were patient quotes attesting to consumer pleasure with the test. It would have been very helpful to include critical assessment for how the test results could be validated. The story mentioned breast biopsy and MRI imaging as other possible options available to women in need of follow-up assessment to their mammogram results. For completeness, the story should have included mention of ultrasound as a follow-up to assess a mass observed with a mammogram. The story was clear that there is limited availability for this test. The story reported appropriately about a potentially useful test for determining more quickly whether a finding on a mammogram is related to a breast cancer or not. Does not appear to rely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "565", "claim": "Vaping illness, deaths likely very rare beyond U.S., experts say.", "explanation": "E-cigarette or vaping-linked lung injuries that have killed 29 and sickened more than 1,000 people in the United States are likely to be rare in Britain and other countries where the suspect products are not widely used, specialists said on Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Experts in toxicology and addiction said they are sure that the 1,299 confirmed and probable American cases of serious lung injuries linked to vaping are \u201ca U.S.-specific phenomenon,\u201d and there is no evidence of a similar pattern of illness in Britain or elsewhere. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in the U.S. is not happening here (in Britain), nor is it happening in any other countries where vaping is common,\u201d said John Britton, a professor and respiratory medicine consultant and director of the UK Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies at Nottingham University. \u201cIt\u2019s a localised problem,\u201d he told a London briefing. U.S. investigators and health officials have said there may be more than one cause for the cases of vaping lung illness. They have also pointed to vaping oils containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, as being especially risky. In Britain, which currently has 3.6 million regular e-cigarette users, such oils are banned and advertising of vapes is much more tightly regulated than in the United States, said Ann McNeill, a professor of tobacco addiction at the Institute of Psychiatry Psychology & Neuroscience at King\u2019s College London. She and Britton also noted that rates of tobacco cigarette smoking - which can cause lung cancer and heart disease and is known to kill about half of all those who do it - are dropping more rapidly in Britain than in the United States. This is partly due to tobacco smokers switching to nicotine-containing e-cigarettes to help them quit, they said. \u201cIt would be a great shame if people were deterred from using e-cigarettes because of what\u2019s happening in the U.S.,\u201d McNeill told reporters. India, which has the world\u2019s second-largest population of adult smokers, last month announced a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes, citing concerns about the U.S. cases. And in Malaysia, which has banned the sale of vape liquids containing nicotine since 2015, the health minister says he is now considering a total e-cigarette sales ban. Asked whether he thought such bans made sense from a public health policy standpoint, Britton said he disagreed with India\u2019s decision and similar ones in the United States, because they send a message to tobacco smokers to continue smoking. \u201cIt\u2019s a no-brainer - if you stay on cigarettes you will lose a day of life for every four days that you smoke,\u201d he said. \u201cA flat-out ban (on e-cigarettes) will kill people.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "4604", "claim": "China dangles a potentially harmful new threat in trade war.", "explanation": "Facing new trade sanctions and a U.S. clampdown on its top telecommunications company, China issued a pointed reminder Wednesday that it has yet to unleash all its weapons in its trade war with the Trump administration.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Beijing, Global trade, AP Top News, International News, General News, Politics, North America, Business, China, Asia Pacific, Health, Technology", "main_text": "Chinese state media warned that Beijing could cut America off from exotic minerals that are widely used in electric cars and mobile phones. The threat to use China\u2019s rich supply of so-called rare earths as leverage in the conflict has contributed to sharp losses in U.S. stocks and sliding long-term bond yields. For months, the world\u2019s two biggest economies have been locked in a standoff over allegations that China deploys predatory tactics \u2014 including stealing trade secrets and forcing foreign companies to hand over technology \u2014 in a drive to supplant U.S. technological dominance. The Trump administration has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports and is planning to tax the $300 billion in imports that have so far been spared. And it escalated the stakes this month by putting the Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that effectively bars U.S. companies from supplying it with computer chips, software and other components without government approval. The U.S. claims Huawei is legally beholden to China\u2019s ruling Communist Party, which could order it to spy on their behalf. Washington has offered no evidence that the Huawei has done that, however. Huawei is trying to beat back one punitive U.S. measure in federal court. In a motion filed late Tuesday in eastern Texas, the company argued that a 2018 law that bars it from selling telecom gear to U.S. government agencies and contractors should be struck down as unconstitutional. The move for summary judgment in a case filed against the U.S. government in March says the law violates a constitutional prohibition against \u201ctrial by legislature\u201d of individual entities. Congress thus acted unconstitutionally when it \u201cadjudicated Huawei\u2019s guilt and blacklisted it,\u201d the motion argues. An attorney representing Huawei in the U.S. case, Glen Nager of Jones Day, asserts that Congress alone cannot constitutionally impose punishment on an individual company \u2014 which the punitive law does in singling out Huawei by name. The law \u201cis intended to drive Huawei out of the U.S. \u2014 i.e., to banish it,\u201d Nager argued. It \u201cstigmatizes Huawei as a tool of the Chinese government\u201d with no right to a fair hearing, he added. Steven Schwinn, a professor at John Marshall Law School in Chicago, suggested that Huawei\u2019s arguments fall short constitutionally, and \u201cgiven that this relates to national security, we can expect the courts to be fairly deferential to the government.\u201d The nationalistic Chinese newspaper Global Times warned that China has plenty of ways to retaliate against the United States, including the threat of cutting off supplies of rare earths. China last year produced 78% of the world\u2019s rare earths, according to researchers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. If the U.S. fails to exercise restraint, it will see that \u201cChina is far from running out of cards, and we have the will and determination to fight the U.S. to the end,\u201d the paper\u2019s editorial said. An official of China\u2019s top economic planning agency did not rule out using rare earths as a countermeasure against \u201cthe U.S.\u2019s unwarranted suppression.\u201d President Xi Jinping visited rare earth-related businesses in southeastern Jiangxi province earlier this month. He called rare earths \u201can important strategic resource\u201d while stressing the importance of owning independent core technologies, the state-run China Daily reported. China has used rare earths as a cudgel before. Five years ago, the World Trade Organization slapped down China\u2019s attempt to restrict the export of rare earths, rejecting its claim that it just wanted to protect the environment and conserve supplies. Instead, the move appeared to be aimed at hurting Japan with which Beijing was having a diplomatic tiff. Scott Kennedy, director of the project on the Chinese economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the Chinese might benefit even less if they try to weaponize rare earths again. \u201cIt\u2019s not the threat that it was ... when the Chinese threatened to cut off the Japanese,\u201d he said. First, users of rare earths have stockpiled the minerals for a \u201crainy day.\u201d Second, they also have figured out how to \u201cuse less rare earth to achieve the same results\u201d in such products as lasers and magnets. And third, different minerals and chemicals are increasingly being used as rare earth substitutes. Kennedy predicts that once investors have \u201crealized the threat wasn\u2019t as dire, markets would bounce back.\u201d Still, he isn\u2019t optimistic about the U.S.-China trade negotiations, which broke off May 10 after an 11th round of talks failed to produce an agreement. U.S. officials accused the Chinese of reneging on agreements they\u2019d made in earlier rounds. \u201cThe Chinese first are going to have to signal they will talk,\u201d he said. Then they will have to go back to where they stood before they backpedaled on earlier concessions. \u201cI don\u2019t see any body language from the Chinese that they\u2019re about to do that,\u201d Kennedy said. ___ Wang reported from Beijing, and Bajak from Boston. Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang in Shenzhen, China, and writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "34031", "claim": "In October 2019, Chick-fil-A's charitable donations were contributing to efforts to introduce the death penalty for homosexuality in Uganda.", "explanation": "What's true: A Ugandan government minister announced an intention to make homosexuality punishable by death in October 2019; the National Christian Foundation has funded projects that opposed LGBT rights in Uganda; and the WinShape Foundation, closely linked to Chick-fil-A, has funded the National Christian Foundation. What's false: However, the Ugandan minister did not signal an intent to legalize the murder of LGBT people, and his remarks were quickly contradicted by the government; also, it's not clear to what extent National Christian Foundation-funded entities were involved in the creation or promotion of a bill to make homosexuality punishable by death.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "In October 2019, we received multiple inquiries about the accuracy of a viral tweet that claimed the fast food chain Chick-fil-A had indirectly encouraged and facilitated a legislative proposal in Uganda that would make it legal to kill LGBT people. On Oct. 12, @sloppyposts wrote: \u201cToday Uganda announced a bill to legalize murdering gay people. National Christian Organization paid a preacher to go to Uganda and help their lawmakers with the bill. Chick-fil-a funds National Christian Org. If you eat at Chick-fil-a, this is what your money goes to.\u201d Today Uganda announced a bill to legalize murdering gay people. National Christian Organization paid a preacher to go to Uganda and help their lawmakers with the bill. Chick-fil-a funds National Christian Org. If you eat at Chick-fil-a, this is what your money goes to. \u2014 slop (@sloppyposts) October 12, 2019 \u00a0 The tweet was further promulgated when users on Facebook shared screenshots of it, including the popular, left-leaning page The Other 98%: \u00a0\u00a0 The tweet consists of three discreet factual claims: that in October 2019, Uganda\u2019s government announced legislation that would legalize murdering LGBT people; that the U.S.-based National Christian Organization was involved in devising, encouraging, or lobbying for that legislation; and that Chick-fil-A funds the National Christian Organization. The following is our analysis of those claims: On Oct. 10, Uganda\u2019s Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, told the Reuters news agency that the country\u2019s government intended to revive a failed 2014 bill, known at the time as the \u201cKill the Gays\u201d bill, that would make \u201cgrave acts\u201d of homosexuality punishable by death. Reuters reported that: Uganda announced plans on Thursday for a bill that would impose the death penalty on homosexuals, saying the legislation would curb a rise in unnatural sex in the east African nation. The bill \u2013 colloquially known as \u201cKill the Gays\u201d in Uganda \u2013 was nullified five years ago on a technicality and the government said it plans to resurrect it within weeks. \u201cHomosexuality is not natural to Ugandans, but there has been a massive recruitment by gay people in schools, and especially among the youth, where they are promoting the falsehood that people are born like that,\u201d Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. \u201cOur current penal law is limited. It only criminalises the act. We want it made clear that anyone who is even involved in promotion and recruitment has to be criminalised. Those that do grave acts will be given the death sentence.\u201d \u2026 Lokodo said the bill, which is supported by President Yoweri Museveni, will be re-introduced in parliament in the coming weeks and is expected to be voted on before the end of the year. Legislative moves to impose the death penalty for homosexuality in Uganda began in earnest in 2009. By 2014, however, a bill signed into law would have introduced life imprisonment for homosexuality, but the death penalty punishment had been removed from its text, in part as a result of international pressure. Later in 2014, Uganda\u2019s Constitutional Court struck down the \u201cAnti-Homosexuality Act\u201d on the basis of a technicality relating to its passage through the country\u2019s Parliament. Homosexuality remains outlawed in Uganda. Two days after Lokodo signaled the government\u2019s intention to revive the introduction of the death penalty for homosexuality in October 2019, the government press office itself intervened, directly contradicting the minister\u2019s assertions, and writing in a statement: \u201cGovernment hereby clarifies that it does not intend to introduce any new law with regards to the regulation of LGBTQ\u00a0activities in Uganda because the current provisions in the\u00a0Penal Code are sufficient.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0 Lokodo is a government minister and runs the department (Ethics and Integrity) that has in recent years overseen legislative efforts around homosexuality. As such, his initial Oct. 10 announcement was of significant import and should not be dismissed in light of the subsequent contradictory statement from the central government press office. Until or unless Lokodo issues a retraction of his remarks, or further clarification is forthcoming, it is simply not clear what the Ugandan government\u2019s resolved intentions are, as of October 2019, regarding the possible introduction of the death penalty as a punishment for homosexual acts. In his interview with Reuters, Lokodo did not signal his intention to introduce a law that would \u201clegalize murdering\u201d LGBT people, as @sloppyposts claimed. Some observers might see an ethical equivalence between imposing state execution as a punishment for homosexuality, on the one hand, and legally permitting any and every civilian to murder another civilian, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, they are not the same thing. The viral tweet published by @sloppyposts was accompanied by follow-up tweets that cited several sources \u2014 a 2010 article by the website Queerty, a 2012 article by Business Insider, and a 2014 report by the website Twocare, which describes itself as the \u201cCenter Against Religious Extremism.\u201d Twocare\u2019s article contained a detailed, in-depth examination of the financial and organizational links between the National Christian Foundation (which the tweet mistakenly called the \u201cNational Christian Organization\u201d) and a number of other conservative Christian, non-profit groups, in particular as that collaboration related to campaigns and advocacy against LGBT rights, including in Uganda. The report features disbursement amounts from the Foundation to dozens of sample Christian charities and projects, including several that have been involved in anti-LGBT advocacy or preaching in Uganda, specifically, between the years 2001 and 2013. However, a brief skim of some of the thousands of pages of records on the National Christian Foundation\u2019s (NCF\u2019s) federal tax returns for 2014, 2015, and 2016, show that it has continued to fund many of the same anti-LGBT projects in Uganda. It\u2019s not clear to what @sloppyposts was referring by writing that the \u201cNational Christian Organization\u201d (read: the NCF) had \u201cpaid a preacher to go to Uganda and help their lawmakers with the bill.\u201d However, as the Twocare report detailed, many American pastors and preachers \u2014 funded either directly or indirectly by the NCF \u2014 have in recent years met with, trained, and spoken alongside anti-LGBT Ugandan ministers. The journalist and author Jeff Sharlet has reported that, in interviews, the Ugandan M.P. David Behati \u2014 who first introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2009 and was a key player in the ensuing campaign \u2014 described to Sharlet the influence of a controversial American Christian conservative movement known colloquially as \u201cThe Fellowship\u201d and \u201cThe Family\u201d in devising and encouraging the legislation, including at the early stages when it still included a death penalty provision. Speaking to Harper\u2019s in 2010, Sharlet explained the purportedly close links: Bob Hunter, designated by the Family as a spokesman to respond to the Uganda fiasco, has referred to David Bahati, the author of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, as a member of the Family. Hunter and Bahati both told me that Hunter had paid a visit to Bahati in Kampala to assure Bahati that he remains in good standing, despite Hunter\u2019s personal opposition to the bill. I give Hunter credit for being vocal about that; but there\u2019s a profound lack of accountability at every other level. The Family built the prayer group structure from which the bill emerged. For readers not familiar with it, by the way, \u201charsh\u201d is an understatement: life imprisonment for gay sex, death for \u201cserial offenders,\u201d seven years for \u201cpromotion,\u201d and three years for failing to turn in a known homosexual. When I asked Bahati, in Kampala, whether there was a connection between the Family and the bill (he calls the group the Fellowship but also acknowledges it as the Family), he said, \u201cThere is no \u2018connection.\u2019 They are the same thing. The bill is the Fellowship. It was our idea.\u201d An idea, he added, that he\u2019d believed in alignment with the biblical principles they shared, based on his multiple visits to the National Prayer Breakfast and to the Cedars, their Arlington headquarters, and on the many visits to his Family prayer group in the Parliament by Family men such as Sen. Jim Inhofe and former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who emphasize there what Inhofe calls the \u201cpolitical philosophy of Jesus,\u201d something he says he learned from the Family. Bahati brought the bill to a private meeting of international Family leaders before he introduced it; he says he got a green light. The Family says they expressed caution. It\u2019s possible both things are true, after a fashion\u2014the Family rarely risks its access by holding its members accountable. Two non-profit organizations linked to the Fellowship (the International Foundation and the Fellowship Foundation) regularly received funding from the NCF. The link between the NCF\u00a0and Chick-fil-A is that the NCF has received funding from the WinShape Foundation \u2014 the charitable organization started by Chick-fil-A\u2019s founder Truett Cathy (who died in 2014) and his wife, Jeannette, (who died in 2015). The WinShape Foundation routinely disburses millions of dollars every year to Christian and conservative non-profit groups and projects, placing a particular emphasis on \u201cfamily values.\u201d As we detailed in a previous fact check, this commitment to \u201cBiblical values\u201d has seen Chick-fil-A\u2019s leadership speak out against same-sex marriage, and the WinShape Foundation fund groups actively opposed to certain aspects of LGBT rights. For several years, the WinShape Foundation has provided some funding to the NCF, in particular, as shown in the charity\u2019s annual tax documents, which are available here. Although it is important to note that Chick-fil-A and the WinShape Foundation are separate entities, the company and the charity are very closely linked. According to the WinShape Foundation\u2019s 2017 tax returns, its CEO was Don \u201cBubba\u201d Cathy, who is senior vice president at Chick-fil-A, and its vice president was Dan Cathy, who is CEO of Chick-fil-A. Furthermore, the vast majority of the contributions received by the Foundation each year comes from the company, including $21.3 million out of $22.1 million in 2017. A strong element of truth ran through the widely shared claims made by @sloppyposts\u00a0in October 2019, but some details were lacking in accuracy. A Ugandan government minister did declare an intention, in October 2019, to introduce the death penalty for homosexuality. However, he didn\u2019t propose legalizing the murder of LGBT people, and his remarks were quickly contradicted by his government. The National Christian Foundation (which the meme wrongly called the \u201cNational Christian Organization\u201d) has for several years funded groups, projects and individuals involved in opposing LGBT rights in the United States and Uganda. However, despite plausible reports, it is not clear to what extent NCF-funded entities or individuals were involved in the nitty gritty of drafting and promoting legislation, beginning in 2009, which would have imposed the death penalty for homosexuality. Nor is it known whether NCF-funded groups are involved in any potential renewed efforts to introduce such a punishment in 2019, as signaled by Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo Finally, it\u2019s absolutely true that the WinShape Foundation, which was founded by the Cathy family, is still run by them, and receives almost all of its funding from Chick-fil-A, has for several years provided funding to several Christian conservative groups and projects, including the NCF. That means a real and substantive connection does exist between the funding disbursed by the WinShape Foundation and the activities of NCF-backed groups and individuals in Uganda."}
{"claim_id": "28502", "claim": "A widely shared social media post accurately lists reprehensible acts committed by former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.", "explanation": "Arpaio\u2019s successor, Sheriff Paul Penzone, closed the facility in 2017.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics, joe arpaio", "main_text": "U.S. Senate hopeful Joe Arpaio, 85, who boasted of being \u201cAmerica\u2019s Toughest Sheriff\u201d while holding the office in Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, has had a few run-ins with the law himself, including a conviction for criminal contempt by a federal court in July 2017. Although President Trump pardoned him before sentencing could take place, Arpaio faced up to six months in jail, which time he spent instead preparing for a Senate run, announced in January 2018 (Arpaio lost a bid for re-election to the sheriff\u2019s post two years earlier). The case came to court as a lawsuit (one of many such actions filed against Arpaio over two decades) accusing the sheriff of racial profiling, which is illegal under federal law. The conviction stemmed from Arpaio\u2019s refusal to comply with the judge\u2019s order to stop detaining suspected undocumented immigrants with no legal basis. That episode was all too typical of Arpaio\u2019s blustery, controversial career, throughout which he was dogged by accusations of harsh, inhumane policies and practices. After he announced his Senate candidacy, several of those accusations resurfaced in a\u00a0tweet that morphed into a widely shared Internet meme:  We\u2019ll examine the accuracy of those claims one-by-one: CLAIM: Burned a dog alive and laughed when the dog\u2019s owner cried STATUS: False. There is no evidence that Joe Arpaio ever personally burned a dog alive or laughed when the dog\u2019s owner cried. However, it was\u00a0reported in 2004 that a Maricopa County SWAT team serving a weapons burglary search warrant under Arpaio\u2019s supervision did. According to an article in the 5 August 2004 edition of the alternative weekly newspaper Phoenix New Times, a two-story home in the Phoenix suburb of Ahwatukee caught fire after Arpaio\u2019s SWAT team launched tear gas canisters into it during a raid (occupants of the house said the fire was caused by the canisters, though investigators determined the likely cause was a candle knocked over in the commotion). Two of the occupants, Andrea Barker and Eric Kush, told the New Times that an officer sprayed their 10-month-old pit bull puppy with a fire extinguisher as it attempted to escape outside, driving it back into a burning bedroom, where it died. \u201cI was crying hysterically,\u201d Andrea Barker was quoted as saying. \u201cI was so upset. They [deputies] were laughing at me,\u201d she said. A 15 October 2004 article in the East Valley Tribune\u00a0confirmed that a dog burned to death during the fire, which completely destroyed the home. The Tribune cited a sheriff\u2019s office spokesperson who said the dog was \u201caggressive,\u201d and that spraying it with fire retardant was meant to subdue the animal without harming it. CLAIM: Made women give birth in shackles STATUS: Mixture. Miriam Mendiola-Martinez, an undocumented immigrant arrested on felony identity theft and forgery charges in 2009, filed a lawsuit in 2011 alleging that Maricopa County sheriff\u2019s deputies violated her rights by placing her in shackles for transport to a medical facility after she went into labor, and again when she was in the recovery room after giving birth via C-section. She was not shackled during the birth itself, but a medical expert testified at trial that restraints on female inmates at any point during pregnancy or postpartum recovery pose a health hazard. The case was settled on appeal in 2016, with Mendiola-Martinez accepting $200,000 in compensation from the county and Arpaio agreeing to prohibit deputies from restraining female inmates during labor or the first two weeks\u00a0after delivery. We found no other instances of Arpaio or the Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office being accused of restraining women during labor, birth, or postpartum recovery. CLAIM: Refused to investigate alleged child sex crimes. As the East Valley Tribune\u2018s Ryan Gabrielson reported in a Pulitzer Prize-winning article in 2008, Sheriff Arpaio\u2019s personal obsession with immigration enforcement sapped county resources and led to a sharp decline in criminal investigations and arrests. Many of the cases that fell by the wayside involved sex crimes. \u201cBy Arpaio\u2019s own admission, the number of uninvestigated sex crime cases eventually swelled to more than 400,\u201d Gabrielson wrote in 2017. \u201cMany of the victims were children.\u201d According to law enforcement officials cited in a 2011 Associated Press report, dozens of alleged child molestation cases in the county were inadequately investigated or \u201cnot worked at all\u201d: In El Mirage alone, where Arpaio\u2019s office was providing contract police services, officials discovered at least 32 reported child molestations \u2014 with victims as young as 2 years old \u2014 where the sheriff\u2019s office failed to follow through, even though suspects were known in all but six cases. Many of the victims, said a retired El Mirage police official who reviewed the files, were children of illegal immigrants. CLAIM: Operated what he called \u201ca concentration camp\u201d. One of Joe Arpaio\u2019s proudest accomplishments was the creation of a 7-acre outdoor jail he called \u201cTent City.\u201d Erected in 1993, the compound was meant to relieve inmate overcrowding but won international notoriety for the cruel conditions imposed on those imprisoned there. Francisco Chairez, who spent a year in Tent City in 2014, recalled some of those conditions for the Washington Post: The rules of the tent city were strict, arbitrary and brutally enforced. There are no newspapers allowed; Arpaio hated newspapers. The only food allowed for those of us in the work furlough program was the food in the vending machines, which was grossly overpriced. During the sweltering summer, the temperature could reach 115 or 120 degrees. I was in the tents when we hit 120. It was impossible to stay cool in the oppressive heat. Everyone would strip down to their underwear. There was no cold water, only water from vending machines; and eventually, the machines would run out. People would faint; some had heatstroke. That summer, ambulances came about three times. One man died in his bed. Arpaio saved worse abuse for others. Those who were in full detention had to wear pink socks, underwear and flip-flops. They ate peanut butter and bread, and the only other meal they received was baloney and bread. They also had the option of \u201cslob,\u201d which was an unknown, disgusting substance that looked like some kind of thick stew and tasted like cardboard. (The poor people in the work furlough program who couldn\u2019t pay for vending-machine food had no choice but to eat it.) Although Arpaio has since denied saying it, he was captured on video in 2008 responding to a question about using concentration camps to hold undocumented immigrants by boasting, \u201cI already have a concentration camp. \u2026 It\u2019s called Tent City.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "39734", "claim": "\u00a0 Up to 70% of Americans have been infected with a \u201cVampire Fungus\u201d from eating unhealthy foods that causes weight gain, skin problems and indigestion. \u00a0 ", "explanation": "Vampire Fungus is Sucking the Life Out of You", "label": "false", "subjects": "9/11 Attack on America", "main_text": "There\u2019s no scientific proof that anyone suffers from the so-called \u201cVampire Fungus.\u201d The claim surfaced in January of 2015 when a  video posted online warned that 70% of Americans suffer from Vampire Fungus. The video doesn\u2019t specify what Vampire Fungus is, or where it comes from. It begins with a narrator who identifies himself as Dr. Robert McIntire, director of health services at Leaf Origin, saying: Is the Vampire Fungus sucking the life out of you? If you suffer from weight gain, skin problems or indigestion, watch this public service report to see what to do next. Millions of men and women watching this public service report are affected, and the odds that your belly is infected are incredibly high. Put your hand on your belly right now, right below your chest. Do you feel any excess fat in this area? Is there fat peaking out from beneath your hand? Does your belly spill below your waistline? Do you have problems with indigestion? Have you taken antibiotics in the last five years? Do you regularly eat any sugary foods such as fruit or honey? If you said \u201cyes\u201d to any of the above, your belly is most likely swarming with what some doctors are calling \u201cthe Vampire Fungus.\u201d This fungus grows and grows over time and often masquerades as fat because it can swell in your stomach to the size of a basketball. The warning signs described in the video \u2014 weight gain, skin problems, indigestion, use of antibiotics in the last five years \u2014 apply to virtually every adult in America. The narrator does not specify what Vampire Fungus is, where it comes from, or how the video can help viewers overcome it. The video does, however, cite a study carried out by researchers at Rice University that allegedly concluded that the Vampire Fungus affected up to 70% of Americans. An actual Rice University  study\u00a0that\u00a0was published in 2004 found that up to 70% of Americans had colonies of a yeast-like parasitic fungus called Candida living in their intestines: Candida is common in humans. It\u2019s estimated that 70 percent of people have Candida colonies in their intestines, mouths or on\u00a0their skin. In most cases, the organism is commensal, meaning it does not harm people, even though it depends upon them for\u00a0food. However, colonies of Candida sometimes grow too large, as happens in the case of yeast infections. While not life-threatening, vaginal yeast infections are a common and painful problem for a significant percentage of American women. The oral\u00a0form of Candida infection, known as thrush, is a common problem for infants. The researchers at Rice University did not refer to Candida as a \u201cVampire Fungus,\u201d nor did they describe its effects on the human body in the same way as the eRumor does. Research dating back to the 1990s indicates that probiotic bacteria \u2014 live microorganisms and yeasts \u2014 may be an effective way to counter parasitic bacteria like Candida in the intestines. A 1997  study by the National Institutes of Health found: Four species of probiotic bacteria were assessed for their capacities to protect athymic bg/bg-nu/nu and euthymic bg/bg-nu/+ mice\u00a0from mucosal and systemic candidiasis. Each bacterial species and Candida albicans colonized the gastrointestinal tracts of both\u00a0strains of mice. The presence of probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus casei GG, or\u00a0Bifidobacterium animalis) in the gastrointestinal tracts prolonged the survival of adult and neonatal bg/bg-nu/nu mice compared to\u00a0that of isogenic mice colonized with C. albicans alone. The incidence of systemic candidiasis in bg/bg-nu/nu mice was significantly\u00a0reduced by each of the four probiotic bacterial species. Leaf Origin, the company listed as the producer of the Vampire Fungus video, happens to sell a daily  probiotic supplement that claims to promote digestive immune system health. The supplement cost $157 for a 180-day supply. It would appear that the term \u201cCandida\u201d was changed to \u201cVampire Fungus\u201d in the video \u00a0to scare up sales. TruthorFiction.com\u00a0has reached out to Leaf Origin for comment on the video. Future updates will be posted here. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "6556", "claim": "Hurricane Harvey\u2019s toxic impact deeper than public told.", "explanation": "A toxic onslaught from the nation\u2019s petrochemical hub was largely overshadowed by the record-shattering deluge of Hurricane Harvey as residents and first responders struggled to save lives and property.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Houston, AP Top News, Hurricane Harvey, Health, Storms, North America, Environment, Business, Science, Hurricanes, Texas, U.S. News", "main_text": "More than a half-year after floodwaters swamped America\u2019s fourth-largest city, the extent of this environmental assault is beginning to surface, while questions about the long-term consequences for human health remain unanswered. County, state and federal records pieced together by The Associated Press and The Houston Chronicle reveal a far more widespread toxic impact than authorities publicly reported after the storm slammed into the Texas coast in late August and then stalled over the Houston area. Some 500 chemical plants, 10 refineries and more than 6,670 miles of intertwined oil, gas and chemical pipelines line the nation\u2019s largest energy corridor. Nearly half a billion gallons of industrial wastewater mixed with storm water surged out of just one chemical plant in Baytown, east of Houston on the upper shores of Galveston Bay. Benzene, vinyl chloride, butadiene and other known human carcinogens were among the dozens of tons of industrial toxic substances released into surrounding neighborhoods and waterways following Harvey\u2019s torrential rains. In all, reporters catalogued more than 100 Harvey-related toxic releases \u2014 on land, in water and in the air. Most were never publicized, and in the case of two of the biggest ones, the extent or potential toxicity of the releases was initially understated. Only a handful of the industrial spills have been investigated by federal regulators, reporters found. Texas regulators say they have investigated 89 incidents, but have yet to announce any enforcement actions. Testing by state and federal regulators of soil and water for contaminants was largely limited to Superfund toxic waste sites. Based on widespread air monitoring, including flyovers, officials repeatedly assured the public that post-Harvey air pollution posed no health threat. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official in charge now says these general assessments did not necessarily reflect local \u201chotspots\u201d with potential risk to people. Regulators alerted the public to dangers from just two, well-publicized toxic disasters: the Arkema chemical plant northeast of Houston that exploded and burned for days, and a nearby dioxin-laden federal Superfund site whose protective cap was damaged by the raging San Jacinto River. Samuel Coleman, who was the EPA\u2019s acting regional administrator during Harvey, said the priority in the immediate aftermath was \u201caddressing any environmental harms as quickly as possible as opposed to making announcements about what the problem was.\u201d In hindsight, he said, it might not have been a bad idea to inform the public about the worst of \u201cdozens of spills.\u201d Local officials say the state\u2019s industry-friendly approach has weakened efforts by the city of Houston and surrounding Harris County to build cases against and force cleanup by the companies, many of them repeat environmental offenders. \u201cThe public will probably never know the extent of what happened to the environment after Harvey. But the individual companies of course know,\u201d said Rock Owens, supervising environmental attorney for Harris County, home to Houston and 4.7 million residents. The chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Bryan Shaw, declined when asked by lawmakers in January to identify the worst spills and their locations. He told a legislative subcommittee hearing he could not publicly discuss spills until his staff completed a review. The amount of post-Harvey government testing contrasts sharply with what happened after two other major Gulf Coast hurricanes. After Hurricane Ike hit Texas in 2008, state regulators collected 85 sediment samples to measure the contamination; more than a dozen violations were identified and cleanups were carried out, according to a state review. In Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina\u2019s floodwaters ravaged New Orleans in 2005, the EPA and Louisiana officials examined about 1,800 soil samples over 10 months, EPA records showed. \u201cNow the response is completely different,\u201d said Scott Frickel, an environmental sociologist formerly at Tulane University in New Orleans. Frickel, now at Brown University, called the Harvey response \u201cunconscionable\u201d given Houston\u2019s exponentially larger industrial footprint. Reporters covered some environmental crises as they happened, such as AP\u2019s exclusive on the flooding of toxic waste sites and the Chronicle\u2019s Arkema warnings before fires broke out. But the sheer quantity of spills was impossible to document in real time. Academic researchers are now trying to fill in the gaps in environmental monitoring, helped by grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. One project, a Harvey-related public health registry for Houston, was funded just this month but is not yet underway. \u201cPeople are left in a state of limbo of not knowing if they were exposed or not \u2014 or if they were, what the implications are for their health,\u201d said Dr. Nicole Lurie, who oversaw federal public health responses to the Superstorm Sandy and Deepwater Horizon disasters while at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Scientists say the paucity of data also could hamstring efforts to prepare for and mitigate damage from future violent weather events that climatologists predict will happen with increasing frequency. ___ \u2018NOTHING SHORT OF CATASTROPHIC\u2019 When it meets moisture, hydrogen chloride gas becomes hydrochloric acid, which can burn, suffocate and kill. Between lulls in Harvey\u2019s pounding torrents on Aug. 28, an 18-inch pipeline leak at Williams Midstream Services Inc. unleashed a plume of the chemical near the intersection of two major highways in La Porte, southeast of Houston, where the San Jacinto River meets the 50-mile ship channel. It\u2019s the petrochemical corridor\u2019s main artery that empties into Galveston Bay. A toxic cloud spread about a quarter-mile in an industrial sector as firefighters and police rushed to shut down roads, blared neighborhood sirens and robo-dispatched phone and text messages warning people to stay indoors. Two hours ticked by before a county hazardous materials response unit \u2014 lucky to find a road not under water \u2014 arrived and ended the danger with the help of a crew from a nearby plant. The spill was among dozens barely noticed at the time, records show. A county pollution control inspector, Johnathan Martin, wrote in his report that he could not safely monitor the toxic plume but believed it did not reach homes less than a mile away. There were no reports of injuries. On land, the deluge \u2014 five feet of rain in some spots \u2014 appears to have scoured the top soil, according to separate testing efforts by scientists from Texas A&M and Rice universities. The Texas A&M collection of 24 samples \u2014 taken in September from lawns mainly in a neighborhood near Valero Energy Corp.\u2019s refinery \u2014 turned up only low traces of petroleum and petrochemical-related compounds. \u201cAs expected the rains washed most things out,\u201d said Texas A&M research leader Anthony Knap. Rice researchers tested soil at a school and park in Baytown, east across Upper Galveston Bay, where residents said floodwaters rushed in from the 3,400-acre ExxonMobil refinery and chemical plant. They also sampled in Galena Park, a community of 11,000 hemmed in by heavy industry along the ship channel, just east of downtown. Only one of the nine samples collected by Rice researchers showed elevated levels of petroleum-related toxic substances, according to an independent chemical analysis funded by the AP-Chronicle collaboration. Collected in Galena Park, it showed the presence of benzo(a)pyrene, a known carcinogen, at levels just above what the EPA deems a cancer risk. Jessica Chastain lives a block away. During Harvey\u2019s three-day downpour, the nearby Panther Creek swallowed Chastain\u2019s home, forcing the 36-year-old mother and four of her children to swim across the street to the safety of her parents\u2019 two-story house, through slimy brownish-black water that smelled like a \u201crotten sewer,\u201d said Chastain. \u201cIt had a coat of film over it. I\u2019m not sure what it was. It was probably oil.\u201d Her children \u2014 15, 11, 9 and 6 \u2014 all developed skin infections and strep throat, she said. Her youngest still \u201ccries when it rains hard,\u201d she said. \u201d\u2018Is it going to flood?\u2019 he asks.\u201d The creek, which empties into the nearby ship channel, had backed up from flooded chemical plants and tank farms. A number of Harvey-related spills occurred near Chastain\u2019s home, including the 460,000-gallon gasoline spill at a Magellan Midstream Partners tank farm and nearly 52,000 pounds of crude oil from a Seaway Crude Pipeline Inc. tank. Samples taken in October at a Houston park upstream of the ship channel showed elevated levels of dioxins, PCBs and hazardous chemicals typically created in the burning of oil, coal and gas, said Jennifer Horney, an A&M epidemiology professor who conducted testing for the city. Benzo(a)pyrene was among the chemicals found in sediment on the banks of Brays Bayou at the park, a popular recreation site with baseball diamonds, soccer pitches and bicycle pathways. \u201cIt\u2019s coal tar and it\u2019s a known carcinogen and mostly you find it in industrial settings,\u201d said Horney. \u201cWe know the ship channel \u2014 or the bayou \u2014 was (up) in that park.\u201d While worrisome, the levels at the park were not high enough to trigger a cleanup under EPA standards, she said. Neither Houston nor Texas A&M officials have publicly released those test results, which the city health department\u2019s chief environmental science officer, Loren Raun, said showed \u201cnothing of concern for human health risk.\u201d The surface soil scrubbing that scientists believe occurred during Harvey means contaminants likely migrated downstream, said Hanadi Rifai. The head of the University of Houston\u2019s environmental engineering program, she has been studying pollution in the watershed for more than two decades. \u201cThat soil ended up somewhere,\u201d Rifai said. \u201cThe net result on Galveston Bay is going to be nothing short of catastrophic.\u201d _ VAPOR CLOUD Residents of the tidy, mostly Latino neighborhood off Old Industrial Road in Galena Park are accustomed to the foul odors that wind shifts can bring. But no one told them about the gasoline spill at the Magellan terminal a mile away \u2014 one of more than a dozen Harvey-related releases in a two-mile radius. The release was initially reported to the Coast Guard at 42,000 gallons \u2014 and residents would only learn of it a week later through news reports. Not until 11 days after the spill did Magellan report that it was actually more than 10 times bigger. Asked about the discrepancy, Magellan spokesman Bruce Heine said floodwaters prevented the company from accessing the ruptured tanks until Sept. 5. He said the company later removed 15 dump trucks of tainted soil. The spill was reported to the Coast Guard on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 11:35 p.m. \u2014 six days after Harvey made landfall. An explosion risk prompted workers to evacuate upwind as the nearly half-million gallons of gasoline gushed out failed storage tanks, state environmental and Coast Guard records show. The spill ranked as Texas\u2019 largest reported Harvey-related venting of air pollutants, at 1,143 tons. The local fire department put down foam to suppress the fumes, records revealed, and a police report described \u201ca vapor cloud.\u201d Claudia Mendez, a 42-year-old housewife, said she later saw foam by the side of the road and wondered about its origin. The fumes were so strong, Mendez said, \u201cI thought my husband had brought the lawnmower gas can inside.\u201d Magellan has been cited for 11 environmental violations since 2002 by Texas regulators and fined more than $190,000, more than half in August 2012 for a single violation of air quality standards. Its spill is among at least three post-Harvey releases about which Harris County officials have withheld information, saying they remain under investigation. The second involves W&P Development Corp., owner of an industrial park where about 100,000 gallons of oily wastewater were reported to have spilled into the San Jacinto from Aug. 29 to Aug. 31. The site was formerly Champion Paper Mill and a landfill there received wastes including turpentine- and lead-contaminated soil and mercury until 2008. For most of 2015 and 2016, the property was in violation of federal anti-pollution laws, EPA records show. A spokesman for W&P Development, Dennis Winkler, said the company later determined that a smaller amount \u2014 30,000 gallons \u2014 had escaped from a water treatment plant when the river overtopped a berm. The third site is Channel Biorefinery & Terminals, where some 80,000 gallons of methanol spilled from a tank rupture into Greens Bayou, which enters the ship channel just downstream of the Magellan terminal. Highly flammable and explosive, methanol can cause brain lesions and other disorders. The property, once the site of the nation\u2019s largest biofuels refinery, was in violation of federal hazardous waste-management rules the first half of 2017. Texas cited the property\u2019s owners for failing to prove they could manage licensed wastes, including oily sludge and petroleum distillates, records show. Dennis Frost, the on-site manager for Gulf Coast Energy, the tenant of Channel Biorefinery, said he and co-workers did their best to prevent the spills. \u201cThey were impossible to contain,\u201d he said. \u201cThe water here down by our facility was up over 20 feet.\u201d ___ INDUSTRY: NO DANGER Companies are required under federal law to report spills to the state and federal government but not to counties, which are the first line of defense against industrial pollution. Harris County pollution control investigators queried more than 150 plants on Harvey-related spills, but many did not provide estimates. \u201cSpill information is provided as a courtesy,\u201d said Latrice Babin, deputy director of the county\u2019s pollution control office. \u201cLikewise, there is no requirement of notification of evacuation.\u201d The largest spill, by far, was at ExxonMobil Corp.\u2019s Olefins Plant in Baytown, east of the ship channel. Two days after Harvey hit, some 457 million gallons of stormwater mixed with untreated wastewater, including oil and grease, surged into an adjacent creek. The spill was not reported to the public. In a water quality report filed with the county and obtained through an open records request, ExxonMobil said \u201cavailable information does not indicate any potential danger to human health or safety or the environment.\u201d It did not include results of third-party water testing that the company said had been done. The plant has a history of federal air pollution violations and reported emitting 228 tons of airborne pollutants during Harvey. Other large spills found in official records include: \u2014 More than 3,000 pounds of benzene from Royal Dutch Shell PLC\u2019s Deer Park complex on the ship channel\u2019s south bank. Initially, the company reported a half ton of phenol, which can burn skin and be potentially fatal, was spilled. It later revised that downward to just two pounds. \u2014About 34,000 pounds of sodium hydroxide, or lye, which can cause severe chemical burns, and unpermitted airborne emissions, including 28,000 pounds of benzene, from the Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. plant in Baytown, near where thousands of residents live along Cedar Bayou. A spokesman, Bryce Hallowell, said a containment pond kept about 38 percent of the lye from escaping the facility. \u2014 About 60,000 tons of what Dow Chemical Co. called \u201cnon-hazardous biosolids\u201d at the company\u2019s plant in Deer Park. The company now says that roughly 50 tons of that consisted of biosolids and that the rest was \u201cprimarily\u201d stormwater. Yvette Arellano of the advocacy group Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services surveyed the area by helicopter on Sept. 4. She reported seeing flooded tank farms, fluorescent liquid streaming from Exxon\u2019s outfalls, and refineries and chemical plants flaring gas intensely like giant candles. \u201cThe entire skyscape looked like a birthday cake,\u201d Arellano said. ___ \u201cHOT SPOTS\u201d As Harvey bore down on Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s administration decreed that storm-related pollution would be forgiven as \u201cacts of God.\u201d Days later, he suspended many environmental regulations. On Sept. 1, just as residents in some areas of Houston started dragging soggy belongings to the curb, the city experienced Texas\u2019 worst ozone pollution of the year. A top city health official emailed the EPA on Sept. 1 with a request marked \u201curgent,\u201d asking for help in determining whether spills and leaks at industrial and Superfund sites threatened the public. Three days later, after getting no response, she emailed again, records obtained in a public information act request show. \u201cWe are finding alarming levels of benzene in the neighborhood next to Valero . Should EPA evacuate the residents?\u201d There was no record of an EPA email response, though the agency did send a mobile air-monitoring van on Sept. 5. By then, Houston had done its own air monitoring, recording a high benzene level of 324 parts per billion \u2014 more than three times the level at which federal worker safety guidelines recommend special breathing equipment. The city was aided by the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, which dispatched a mobile van from California to track the toxic benzene plume. On Sept. 7, state investigators took air samples near Valero and reported suffering headaches and dizziness, though they said they found pollutants \u201cbelow levels of short-term health and/or welfare concern,\u201d according to a state report. The EPA said it also conducted 28 flights over 12 days beginning Aug. 31 using a plane equipped to evaluate \u201cunreported or undetected\u201d chemical releases. It flew over nearly 700 industrial sites, municipal wastewater treatment plants and other facilities, and EPA said it found no pollution exceeding state-permitted levels. In at least seven \u201cstatus reports\u201d the EPA and TCEQ posted online from Sept. 3 and Oct. 6, they said all measurements \u201cwere well below levels of health concern.\u201d Coleman, who retired in January after 29 years with EPA, said he was comfortable with the advisories, saying they were general assessments. \u201cWere there hotspots? Absolutely,\u201d he said in a recent interview. \u201cBut on any given day, within some isolated area, there could be a problem.\u201d AP and Chronicle reporters asked the EPA and state regulators for a detailed accounting of any soil and water testing they did after Harvey, along with any investigations or sanctions. The responses mostly cited online bulletins, in which the EPA said it had assessed all 43 Superfund cleanup sites in the hurricane-affected area and cleared all but one \u2014 the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, which was leaking dioxins. An examination of the 17 state Superfund sites found \u201cno major issues,\u201d regulators said. State officials said they didn\u2019t test any sediment that may have been deposited elsewhere by floodwaters. The EPA tested water at an unspecified number of industrial sites but did not disclose results. Without elaborating, the state said it had a number of open investigations. The EPA refused to discuss whom it might be investigating, beyond Valero and Arkema. With a few exceptions, companies with spills did not call local emergency responders, meaning the public was not informed in real time. Instead, the companies handled the spills in-house, the Chronicle and AP found in surveying local and county fire officials. The Harris County Sheriff\u2019s Office, which handles countywide emergency response and routinely dispatches a special investigator to major spills, said it was not alerted to 22 of 23 spills that reporters asked about, based on size and potential toxicity. The Arkema plant was the exception. Impossible to go unnoticed, its containers of liquid organic peroxides exploded after floodwaters disabled backup generators. Sickened first responders have filed suit, as have Harris and Liberty counties, which claim the company violated numerous environmental and safety regulations. Bob Royall, emergency operations chief for the county\u2019s Fire Marshal office, said his agency was alerted to Arkema and the Williams\u2019 hydrochloric acid leak but no one informed it at the time of the nearly half-million-gallon Magellan spill. Like spills on land, unpermitted releases of toxic air substances are self-reported in Texas \u2014 a state that has long been friendly to heavy industry. As attorney general, prior to being elected governor, Abbott had sued the federal government more than a dozen times to challenge environmental regulations that he deemed over-reaching. The governor\u2019s Harvey disaster declaration suspended environmental reporting and record-keeping rules as well as liability for unauthorized emissions for the duration of the disaster declaration, which was most recently renewed on March 16. A spokesman for the state environmental agency said the suspensions only apply when rules would hinder disaster response. An attorney for the nonprofit Austin-based Environmental Integrity Project said that while federal environmental laws remained in effect, the governor\u2019s action essentially put state regulators on the sidelines and made it more difficult to hold polluters accountable. \u201cThe state tied its own hands before it knew the scope or the magnitude or any of the effects of the storm,\u201d said attorney Ilan Levin. The TCEQ itself has a long track record of industry tolerance. State auditors in 2003 found it was late in ordering and collecting fines, giving polluters $25 million a year in discounts. A study by Levin\u2019s group found the agency penalized only 3 percent of air pollution incidents reported by all companies statewide from 2011 to 2016. Two Texas laws enacted since mid-2015 have weakened counties\u2019 ability to police polluters. The first caps at $2.15 million what they can collect from polluters in lawsuits. The rest must go to the state. The second law took effect Sept. 1. It obliges counties to give the state right of first refusal on any pollution enforcement cases, which local officials say could mean less punitive action. \u201cEvery time we\u2019ve been able to make something \u2014 you get a large judgment against one of these companies, get some significant process-changing injunctive relief \u2014 they come back around behind us to the legislature,\u201d said Owens. \u201cAnd they have clipped our wings.\u201d ___ Associated Press reporter Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles and Houston Chronicle reporter Alex Stuckey contributed to this story. ___ For more AP coverage of Hurricane Harvey: https://apnews.com/tag/HurricaneHarvey ___ Contact Frank Bajak at fbajak@ap.org and http://twitter.com/fbajak , and Lise Olsen at Lise.olsen@chron.com and https://twitter.com/chrondigger"}
{"claim_id": "8241", "claim": "Britons warned some coronavirus lockdown measures could last months.", "explanation": "Some lockdown measures to combat coronavirus in Britain could last months and only be gradually lifted, a senior medical official said on Sunday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned the situation will get worse before it gets better.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Britain has reported 19,522 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,228 deaths, after an increase of 209 fatalities as of 5 p.m. local time on Saturday compared with the previous day, the health ministry said. \u201cThe important thing is this is a moving target,\u201d Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries said. \u201cIf we do well it moves forward and comes down and we manage all our care through our health and care systems sensibly in a controlled way and that is what we are aiming for,\u201d she told a news conference. \u201cThis is not to say we would be in complete lockdown for six months but it means that as a nation we have to be really, really responsible and keep doing what we are all doing until we are sure that we can gradually start lifting various interventions.\u201d  Her warning came as Johnson wrote to 30 million households in Britain urging them to stick to strict rules to prevent the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS) from being overwhelmed by a surge in cases. \u201cWe know things will get worse before they get better,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cAt this moment of national emergency, I urge you, please, to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.\u201d   The number of tests being carried out has hit 10,000 a day, senior minister Michael Gove said and authorities are trying to acquire more ventilators. Britain has placed an order for thousands of the devices to be made by a consortium of companies including Ford (F.N), Airbus (AIR.PA) and Rolls-Royce (RR.L). The repurposing of industry echoes Britain\u2019s Second World War effort, with housing minister Robert Jenrick saying that all parts of the country are now on an \u201cemergency footing\u201d as strategic coordination centers are established. \u201cThis is an unprecedented step in peacetime,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "3594", "claim": "Gardens at VA Hospital provide recreation and therapy.", "explanation": "Raised garden beds at the Alexandria VA Hospital are providing recreation and therapy for the veterans who tend to them daily.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Veterans, Alexandria, Gardening", "main_text": "The gardens are located outside the hospital\u2019s nursing home and acute psychiatric units. They were planted in April, thanks in part to an outreach agreement between the Alexandria VA Health System and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a USDA agency. \u201cFor USDA and NRCS, there is a big focus on reaching out to veterans,\u201d said Amy Robertson, public affairs specialist for NRCS. \u201d ... This was a way for them (the VA) to be able to use agriculture and gardening for recreation and therapy, and it was a great way for us to reach veterans. It\u2019s really a perfect partnership.\u201d Garden beds outside the VA\u2019s Community Living Center are raised to a height that allows access for people in wheelchairs. \u201cI come out here three or four times a day,\u201d said Don Jones, a Navy veteran and resident of the Community Living Center. \u201cIt\u2019s therapeutic.\u201d Studies back up the idea that gardening is a therapeutic outlet and good for mental health. Robin Joffrion-Sawyer, the hospital\u2019s supervisory recreation therapist, said fresh air and sunshine also benefits patients, particularly in the psychiatric unit. In addition to PTSD, the psychiatric unit treats veterans for things like depression and substance abuse problems. \u201cIn this setting, they can tend to focus on the negative aspects of what brought them into the hospital,\u201d she said. \u201cBringing them outside, giving them something to focus their attention on and a reason to socialize, I think that makes their mood better, makes their self-esteem improve, and it makes them more willing to interact with others.\u201d Eric Smith worked for a landscaping business in the Lafayette area after serving in the military as an Air Force security officer. Gardening is something he\u2019s missed since moving into the Community Center. \u201cI like being outside, being in nature \u2014 even the bugs,\u201d he said. So far, veterans are growing fruit and vegetables like tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe and strawberries. The cucumbers and a few tomatoes already have been harvested as a snack for patients to enjoy. \u201cIt reminds of when I was a kid, and we got our vegetables out of the garden,\u201d said Gary Polk, another VA resident, who served in Vietnam. \u201d. We ate pretty good, and our neighbors did, too.\u201d \u201cA goal of ours is to work with our dietary department to begin using the vegetables to cook for the patients,\u201d Joffrion-Sawyer said. Everything in the gardens was planted during a workday coordinated by NRCS. From there, the agency has provided technical support as needed. \u201cAt one point many years ago we had a big horticultural program. (Until recently,) we had the facilities. We had the ground. We just didn\u2019t have really the funding,\u201d Joffrion-Sawyer said. \u201cOnce we were able to network with USDA and NCRS, they came in, provided the funding, but also gave us guidance as far education, because didn\u2019t know exactly what is was we needed to plant and what would work the best.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "28029", "claim": "A video shows a chicken being hypnotized by holding its head down and \"drawing\" a line in the sand extending from its beak. ", "explanation": "While Hemingway may be taking some artistic license with his \u201can hour or more\u201d sentence, and although this trick isn\u2019t guaranteed to work on all breeds of chicken, the above-displayed viral video showcases a technique to \u201chypnotize\u201d chickens that has been used for centuries.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fauxtography", "main_text": "In July 2019, a video supposedly showing a chicken being hypnotized went viral on social media: Hypnotizing a chicken pic.twitter.com/vfdzGfjWsc \u2014 Because I\u2019m a Guy (@CauseWereGuys) July 22, 2019  This is a genuine, unaltered video of a chicken reacting to a line being drawn in the sand directly in front of it. However, while this practice is often described as \u201chypnosis,\u201d Dimitrios Beredimas, an agronomist and blogger at Strange Animals, noted that it would be more accurate to say that this chicken is in a state of \u201ctonic immobility.\u201d This video appears to have originated on the Insane Monkey YouTube page in April 2019. That version was accompanied by the following description:  This video shows you how it really works by drawing a single line in front of a chicken or a rooster and they become hypnotized almost instantly and will not move until the line is gone. This really works and i have done it many times and so have all my neighbors and family who have chickens and roosters. While many people may be seeing this chicken hypnotism video for the first time, this behavior has been acknowledged since at least 1648, when it was mentioned in \u201cArs Magna Lucis et Umbrae\u201d (\u201cThe Great Art of Light and Shadow\u201d) by Athanasius Kircher, a German Jesuit scholar:  So what\u2019s happening here? The video shows a chicken entering a catatonic-type state after experiencing a \u201cfear-potentiated response\u201d to a line drawn in the sand. This animal behavior is called \u201c\u2018tonic immobility,\u201d but readers may be more familiar with the colloquial terms \u201cplaying dead\u201d or \u201cplaying possum.\u201d\u00a0 While this is typically a defensive mechanism, Beredimas notes that the chicken isn\u2019t particularly good at pretending to be dead: This strange animal behaviour is officially called \u2018tonic immobility\u2019, a natural state of semi-paralysis that many animals exhibit when under threat. Commonly known as apparent death, playing dead and playing possum, this state serves as a defensive mechanism\u00a0as most predators prefer live prey. In chickens, this is most probably a vestigial trait as it doesn\u2019t seem to have a useful purpose. The chicken doesn\u2019t make a good job hiding the fact it\u2019s still alive. Its obvious that is breathing and we can see some eye movement and blinking. Since this phenomenon may be new to city folk, let\u2019s take a look at a few other videos showcasing this technique:    If you have access to a chicken and want to try this, the Strange Animals blog provided the following instructions: The trick is quite simple. All you have to do is hold the chicken\u2019s head down against the ground, and draw a straight line using a stick, your finger, a piece of chalk or whatever. The line should start at the beak and extend straight outwards, in front of the chicken. If done properly, the chicken \u2014 or rooster \u2014 will be put into a state of trance and lie still for anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes! To de-hypnotize the chicken, just clap your hands or give it a gentle push. It may take a few tries to awaken the bird. This isn\u2019t the only way to hypnotize a chicken. Other methods include swirling your finger in a circle around the birds head or tucking its head underneath its wing. The latter method was briefly mentioned in Ernest Hemingway\u2019s posthumous 1985 book, \u201cThe Dangerous Summer\u201c: You can lay the chicken down with its head still under its wing and it will lie, hypnotized, for an hour or more or until you wake it. It was a parlor trick that had much success in East Africa. Sometimes I would have a dozen chickens lying asleep in a row on the porch of some native hut in a village under Kilimanjaro when we needed something badly and it was necessary to make magic to obtain it."}
{"claim_id": "24360", "claim": "The attorney general requires that rape victims pay for the rape kit.", "explanation": "Radnofsky says the attorney general requires rape victims pay for rape kits.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Crime, Women, Texas, Barbara Ann Radnofsky, ", "main_text": "In her campaign to become the next attorney general of Texas, Democratic candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky is using a crime-victim issue to attack her opponent, GOP incumbent Greg Abbott. In a video on her Web site, Radnofsky makes the provocative claim that \"the attorney general requires that rape victims pay for the rape kit\" \u2014 a reference to forensic examinations given to victims of sexual assault. We wondered whether Radnofsky's statement was true. This is what we found:  Under current state law, sexual assault victims in Texas should never have to pay for their forensic exams, which are done by medical professionals to collect physical evidence for the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault suspects. Local law enforcement agencies are responsible for paying hospitals for rape kits in cases in which the victims report the crimes. Those agencies can seek reimbursement of up to $700 through the Crime Victims\u2019 Compensation Fund, which is administered by the attorney general\u2019s office. If a victim chooses not to report the crime, the Texas Department of Public Safety is responsible for paying for the exam and getting reimbursement from the fund. When asked about Radnofsky\u2019s statement in the video, Torie Camp, deputy director of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, a victims advocacy organization, said, \"That\u2019s not true, and if any rape victims are paying for rape kits, that shouldn\u2019t happen. State law is very clear on this issue, and the attorney general can\u2019t trump state law to make rape victims pay for rape kits.\" But Texas law hasn't always read that way. In the past, rape exams were done by medical professionals and then paid for by law enforcement agencies only if sexual assault victims reported the crimes. The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, signed by President George W. Bush in 2006, gave\u00a0states three years to eliminate such reporting requirements so that all victims could obtain free forensic medical exams. In 2009, the Texas Legislature finally changed the law, directing the Department of Public Safety to cover the cost of a rape kit for any victim who chooses not to report. For Radnofsky, that change took too long. She says that Abbott could have -- and should have -- acted earlier to bring administration of the victims' compensation fund into compliance with the federal act. A spokesman for Abbott's office says the attorney general did not have the authority to change a policy that was mandated by state law. When asked if she knew of any instances when victims had paid for their own rape kits, Radnofsky said she did not. But she isn't the first person to wade into this gnarly issue. In May, a Houston television station aired a report, picked up by CNN, that caused an uproar in the advocacy community because it implied that sexual assault victims were being billed for forensic exams, Camp said. In response, both the attorney general\u2019s office and TAASA issued public statements that termed the TV story inaccurate and misleading. The attorney general's office said that as of Jan. 1, the office had paid for 57,702 rape exams since December 2002 and had not denied any requests for reimbursements for the kits from law enforcement agencies. TAASA said the TV report implied that billing victims for their rape kits \"was a common practice in Texas despite being told by several sources \u2026 that this was not the case. \u2026 The problem is there isn\u2019t really a problem.\" Officials from other organizations that deal directly with sexual assault victims, including SafePlace and the Austin Police Department\u2019s sex crimes unit, also said that they were not aware of any large-scale problems with victims receiving bills for forensic exams. That leaves this question: Before the Texas law was changed, did sexual assault victims who did not want to report a crime have to pay for their forensic exams? No, according to officials contacted for this story. In those cases, victims were not given the exams to begin with, so payment was not an issue. However, hospitals have sometimes mistakenly sent bills to victims for their forensic exams, according to the attorney general\u2019s office. But none of the officials we contacted knew of any data on how often that happens. Summing up: Regardless of whether Abbott took the initiative on this issue and regardless of whether some sexual assault victims have been mistakenly billed on occasion, Radnofsky\u2019s claim is wrong. The attorney general does not require rape victims to pay for rape kits and never has. That's why we give Radnofsky a ."}
{"claim_id": "41008", "claim": "The number of new cases in South Korea is declining.", "explanation": "This was correct when the viral post began to appear. Reported new cases declined from their peak in late February, and have been roughly level since mid-March", "label": "true", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "Doctors in India have been successful in treating coronavirus with a combination of drugs (Lopinavir, Retonovir, Oseltamivir along with Chlorphenamine) and are going to suggest the same medicine globally. India\u2019s ministry of health has advised that the anti-HIV drugs, Lopinavir and Retonovir, are used in some groups of Covid-19 patients. But it is unclear how successful this treatment has been. The other two drugs from the claim are not mentioned in their guidance. Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center claim to have found an antibody against coronavirus. Researchers in the Netherlands have released research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, on an antibody against the new coronavirus. A 103 year-old Chinese grandmother has made a full recovery from Covid-19 after being treated for 6 days in Wuhan, China This has been widely reported in the media. Apple has reopened all 42 China stores. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Apple announced that it had reopened all 42 stores in mainland China after a closure of almost six weeks. Cleveland Clinic developed a Covid-19 test that gives results in hours, not days. The number of new cases in South Korea is declining. Italy is hit hard, experts say, only because they have the oldest population in Europe. Whilst it is true that an older population has contributed to a high number of deaths in Italy, it may not be the sole reason. Scientists in Israel are likely to announce the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Scientists in Israel and elsewhere are working on developing a vaccination to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, but it won\u2019t be ready for the public for over a year. Three Maryland coronavirus patients fully recovered and are able to return to everyday life. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Montgomery County, Maryland confirmed that three residents who previously had the virus no longer tested positive. A network of Canadian scientists are making excellent progress in Covid-19 research. At least one group of Canadian scientists has recently announced some progress in understanding Covid-19. A San Diego biotech company is developing a Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with Duke University and National University of Singapore. Tulsa County's first positive Covid-19 case has recovered. This individual has had two negative tests, which is the indicator of recovery. Correct, this patient has recovered according to official Tulsa County sources. Two negative tests is one of three official indicators of recovery among people with Covid-19 (who showed symptoms). All seven patients who were getting treated for Covid-19 at Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi have recovered. There is a news story reporting that seven patients in this hospital in New Delhi had recovered. However, these were not the only Covid-19 patients in the city. Plasma from newly recovered patients from Covid -19 can treat others infected by Covid-19. This is being used as a treatment in some countries, but clinical trials have not yet proved that this is effective. Claim 1 of 15"}
{"claim_id": "8049", "claim": "Anxiety, anger and hope as women face childbirth during coronavirus pandemic.", "explanation": "To prepare for the birth of her first child, Veronika Legat, a 35-year-old Czech lawyer, has cut off contact with her family and friends to avoid getting ill from the coronavirus or even catching a mild cold.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Her hospital told her that if she had any symptoms of a cold, a fever or runny nose, her newborn baby, due in April, may be isolated from her for two weeks as a precaution against the new disease. She might not be allowed to breastfeed. \u201cI\u2019m not afraid of the virus but I feel angry,\u201d Legat said from her home in Prague. \u201cUntil the birth, we are staying home, and won\u2019t meet with anyone.\u201d  As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across Europe, prompting restrictions on public life and putting unprecedented strain on hospitals, pregnant women like Legat are preparing to give birth with a mixture of anxiety, anger and hope. Some are worried about being separated from their babies. Others regret not being able to have a partner present at the birth. Many are having to accept reduced pre-natal medical appointments. Healthcare authorities have introduced varying rules in different countries, deciding whether a woman can be accompanied during childbirth, for example, of if she must be separated from her baby if she is sick. In some cases these rules are more stringent than recommendations issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), reflecting global uncertainty about how the virus acts and how best to prevent it spreading. The WHO says there is no evidence that pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness than the general population if they contract the COVID-19 disease, caused by the new coronavirus. It recommends that women who have tested positive for the virus should be encouraged to care for and breastfeed their newborns as normal, provided they maintain stringent hygiene. Marika Antolec-Walczak, 34, a judge from Tychy in southern Poland, knew if she went into labour early she would not have been able to travel to her nearby hospital, converted into an infectious disease unit because of the pandemic. But what she was most afraid of was being alone. \u201cThe first two times I gave birth, my husband was indispensable in helping me cope with the pain,\u201d she said. Most hospitals in Poland do not allow women to be accompanied during childbirth, even though the WHO recommends \u201chaving a companion of choice present during delivery\u201d. \u201cIt\u2019s a threat not only to the patient and the child but also to medical personnel,\u201d said Michal Bulsa, an obstetrician in Szczecin, a city in northwestern Poland. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t allow it.\u201d  For women elsewhere in Europe, having a partner share the experience of childbirth is an option. In Italy, which has been the hardest hit by the disease in Europe, some hospitals allow women to be accompanied during the birth, but not afterwards. The challenges of giving birth during the coronavirus crisis do not end there. Some women have been told not to arrive at the hospital too early - a tough call to make, especially for first-time mothers - to minimise the chance of infecting others or being infected. Shopping for a newborn is also tough, with most stores closed in many parts of Europe. Borrowing a crib from a friend in another town may no longer be possible with travel restricted across much of the continent. Valentina Draghi, a 41-year-old speech therapist from Milan, started her maternity leave in February, weeks before her April 7 due date. She had hoped to go shopping for clothes with her baby girl\u2019s grandmothers and attend prenatal classes. \u201cAll of a sudden nothing of what I had planned is left,\u201d she said. She was told she would have to go through labour wearing a protective mask. \u201cMy partner may be present, but in two weeks I do not know what will happen,\u201d she said. \u201cMy biggest fear is that they won\u2019t let him in. I know it\u2019s forbidden elsewhere.\u201d  \u201cIt\u2019s my first pregnancy. I\u2019m 41 years old. I\u2019d like it to be a unique and important event,\u201d she said. For Louise Koldsgaard, trusting the healthcare system in Denmark gives her a sense of calm. \u201cMy midwife told me: maternity wards have never been cleaner,\u201d she said. \u201cI try not to let it get to me too much. I still walk my dog every day and drink coffee at the local shop.\u201d  But Brandon Allen, 48, from Detroit in the United States, fears what awaits his family beyond the birth of his fourth child due next week. \u201cIt\u2019s surreal. I\u2019ve never seen anything like this in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople around me I know are dying. \u201cI\u2019m freaking out about that. We are bringing a baby into this pandemic,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "2881", "claim": "GSK hands back failed muscular dystrophy drug to Prosensa.", "explanation": "GlaxoSmithKline has handed back rights to an experimental drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy to U.S.-listed Dutch biotech firm Prosensa after it failed last year in a critical clinical trial.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Both companies said on Monday that Prosensa would now have full and unencumbered rights to drisapersen, as well as other compounds at an earlier stage of development. The move marks the termination of a 2009 collaboration deal between the two firms. Hopes for the drug slumped last September when it did not show a statistically significant improvement in the distance that patients could walk in six minutes compared with a placebo in a final-stage Phase III test run by GSK. [ID:nL5N0HG1JP]  Currently, there is no approved drug to alter the course of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) - a rare muscle-wasting genetic disease affecting boys that puts most of them in wheelchairs by the age of 12 and leads to early death. Shares in Prosensa, which raised nearly $90 million in an initial public offering on Nasdaq in June, fell 17.5 percent to $4.63 on the news GSK had thrown in the towel. They were priced at $13 in the IPO and hit a high of $34.55 in August. Despite the latest setback, Prosensa\u2019s chief executive Hans Schikan said he had not given up on drisapersen, adding the company was analyzing results from various studies of the drug. \u201cBased on the data we\u2019ve seen so far we feel it absolutely justifies a discussion with experts, with patient advocacy groups and most importantly with regulators to define what the next steps could be, including a potential regulatory path forward,\u201d he said in a telephone interview from the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference in San Francisco. Schikan will present an update on the company\u2019s prospects at the meeting on Thursday, including a high-level update on various analyses that have been carried out so far. He declined to specify the likely next step, but industry analysts at Leerink said the fact GSK had handed back rights suggested that pooling and sub-group analyses had failed to provide strong enough evidence to justify a filing for approval. There had been speculation that younger DMD patients might benefit more from the drug or that combining results from different clinical trials might show a statistically significant drisapersen effect. Leerink estimated that Prosensa ended 2013 with around $98 million in cash, which depending on its new development plans for drisapersen would likely be enough to fund operations into mid- or late-2015. Last summer GSK and Prosensa had been seen as ahead of the pack in making a drug for DMD - a belief underscored by it having been awarded a \u201cbreakthrough therapy\u201d designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In the event, the key trial results in September dashed those hopes, dealing a major blow to Prosensa but causing relatively little damage at its much larger partner GSK. Overall GSK\u2019s research laboratories have done well in the past 12 months, with new drug approvals in HIV, cancer and respiratory disease. But Britain\u2019s biggest drugmaker has been less successful in higher risk areas. In addition to the DMD setback it has also reported disappointing results with a new kind of therapeutic cancer vaccine and a novel heart medicine."}
{"claim_id": "9194", "claim": "Encouraging clinical results for an antibody drug to prevent or treat HIV", "explanation": "While this study of a clinical trial of a new biologic agent called 10-1074 is understandably exciting for HIV researchers \u2014 it involved just 33 people (19 individuals who were infected with HIV and 14 who were not) \u2014 and lacked important detail which would have made it more meaningful for the rest of us. We give the release credit for acknowledging that the biologic drug is still preliminary and needs to be tested in a larger trial, but that caution seems overshadowed by the other premature projections made in the release. The stated purpose of the research was \u201cto determine whether the antibody was safe and whether it had antiviral activity in humans\u201d but the news release didn\u2019t tell us the actual results of the trial and what this might mean in the larger context of HIV treatment. We know that antiretrovirals \u2014 the current therapy\u00a0 \u2014 can cause severe side effects and require lifelong treatment. But highlighting a new approach without talking about its potential drawbacks seems to be premature. We hope that \u201cbroadly\u2019 neutralizing antibodies is part of an alternate treatment strategy, but without more detail, is it too soon to be getting HIV-infected patients hopes up?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "HIV,Rockefeller University", "main_text": "This new process sounds very expensive but the release doesn\u2019t give us any clues as to how costly it might be. Biologic therapies used for other indications are very expensive. It would be helpful if the release had at least mentioned cost, even to say that they are as yet unknown. The release could do a better job of explaining that this is a very limited study looking primarily at safety. There are no meaningful clinical outcomes reported. When the release states \u201camong 13 HIV-infected people who received the highest dose of 10-1074, 11 showed a rapid decline in the amount of virus\u201d \u2014 we need to know what that means. What is rapidity and how is it important? Is it relevant to patients that the trial drug was \u201csensitive to other broadly neutralizing antibodies, including 3BNC117?\u201d What does this mean? The release doesn\u2019t include a discussion of actual safety results of the study drug, although this is the primary goal of the study. Was this safe? Were there any adverse events? The discussion about \u201cresistant virus\u201d found in some patients is not well described. Was this a resistance identified at the beginning of the trial or related to use of 10-1074? We get no sense of whether the study drug was safe and whether it had antiviral activity in humans. This is a small and very limited study looking at safety and antiviral activity of broadly neutralizing antibodies in a short-term sense (very different end-point than prior studies of antiviral therapy). While these results may support a larger study, the current data cannot be extrapolated to clinical outcomes. We applaud the release for including at least one cautionary comment, that of the study\u2019s first author Marina Caskey: \u201cBased on our findings we think these types of antibodies could be a viable substitute for the drugs currently being used in PrEP. But to clearly demonstrate that these antibodies have an advantage over the pill that\u2019s currently used, we would need to test them in large numbers of people and show that they remain active for a prolonged period of time in the body.\u201d The suggestion that the antibodies under study could replace current therapies goes well beyond the study results. Several steps are going to be needed between this preliminary safety study and using broadly neutralizing antibodies clinically as treatment and/or prevention. There was no overt disease mongering but the release states\u00a0that \u201cpeople who do not have HIV are at substantial risk of getting it,\u201d especially those with multiple sexual partners\u00a0or an HIV-infected partner. The release didn\u2019t provide context on HIV prevalence. However, it did offer context on current\u00a0antiretroviral therapy and its drawbacks. \u201cToday, HIV is typically treated with antiretroviral therapy, a drug regimen that became available in the 1990s. Although it has been a lifesaver for people infected with the virus, antiretroviral medications have significant drawbacks: they can cause severe side effects, and patients have to take them for life. This is why researchers continue to look for other ways to control the virus\u2014and broadly neutralizing antibodies could prove to be part of an alternate treatment strategy.\u201d The major funding sources for the study are listed at the end of the release. The online version of the published study notes that Tibor Keler, one of the study authors, is employed by Celldex Therapeutics which manufactures 10-1074. This should have been noted in the release. The release mentions that broadly neutralizing antibodies may eventually be an alternative to currently available antiviral therapy as well as pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP, (a lower dose of antiviral therapy taken as prevention). The current study doesn\u2019t look at clinical outcomes so the comparison may be premature, although it\u2019s presented in a pretty general way. We can assume that this is preliminary data collection but it would have been useful if the release included information about how long the research process may be before eligible patients might have access to this new therapy. Next steps regarding future clinical trials are mentioned in the last paragraph. The release states this was the first human trial involving a new drug agent and that is indeed novel. The drug must still undergo considerable research on larger groups of patients before its value is proven. The release doesn\u2019t include overtly sensational language. But some of the claims, such as \u201cthe most potent of its kind so far\u201d and \u201cshowing early promise,\u201d may not be wholly justified by the research so far. The author quotes contain some statements that go beyond the results as well."}
{"claim_id": "762", "claim": "Typhoon lashes Japanese capital, one dead, power, transport disrupted.", "explanation": "One of the strongest typhoons to hit eastern Japan in recent years struck just east of the capital Tokyo on Monday, killing one woman, with record-breaking winds and stinging rain damaging buildings and disrupting transport.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "More than 160 flights were canceled and scores of train lines closed for hours, snarling the morning commute for millions in a greater Tokyo area with a population of some 36 million. Direct train service between Narita airport and the capital remained severely limited into the evening, with thousands of irritated travelers packed into a key transport hub for both the Rugby World Cup starting later this month and next year\u2019s Tokyo Olympics. \u201cThey simply had no contingency plan...,\u201d one weary traveler who lives in Tokyo said of the scene, in which people crowded the exit areas and food ran out in airport stores. \u201cThey let planes land ... and thousands of passengers were disgorged into an airport that was cut off - no buses, no JR trains. The only connection was a private train running every half hour half way to Tokyo.\u201d  The man, who said he arrived just before 4 p.m. local time and only caught a bus at 7:30 p.m. after standing in line, added: \u201cMy wife said: what if this happens during the Olympics?\u201d   Typhoon Faxai, a Lao woman\u2019s name, slammed ashore near the city of Chiba shortly before dawn, bringing with it wind gusts of 207 kmh (128 mph), the strongest ever recorded in Chiba, national broadcaster NHK said. A woman in her fifties was confirmed dead after she was found in a Tokyo street and taken to hospital. Footage from a nearby security camera showed she had been smashed against a building by strong winds, NHK reported. Another woman in her 20s was rescued from her house in Ichihara, east of Tokyo, after it was partly crushed when a metal pole from a golf driving range fell on it. She was seriously injured. \u201cThere was a huge grinding noise, I couldn\u2019t figure out what it was. Then I looked up and saw a big hole in the roof, but I was so keyed up I couldn\u2019t figure out what had happened,\u201d a neighbor said. Some minor landslides occurred and a bridge was washed away, while as many as 930,000 houses lost power at one point, NHK said, including the entire city of Kamogawa. But the number of homes without power had dropped to 840,000 by early Monday afternoon, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. Some concrete electric poles were snapped off at their bases, while electricity towers in Chiba were toppled over. Some panels of a floating solar power plant southeast of Tokyo were on fire. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said a cooling tower at its research reactor at Oarai, which has not been in operation since 2006 and is set to be decommissioned, had fallen, but there was no radiation leakage, impact on workers or the surrounding environment. A Sony Corp (6758.T) spokesman said operations at its plant in Kisarazu, southeast of Tokyo, were suspended due to power outages. The company could not say when the plant, which assembles PlayStation gaming consoles, would reopen. Two Nissan factories west of Tokyo, including its Oppama plant, suspended operations due to flooding, NHK said. About four to five typhoons make landfall in Japan every year, but it is unusual for them to do so near Tokyo. NHK said Faxai was the strongest storm in the Tokyo area in several years. Streets normally busy with commuters walking or bicycling were deserted, with winds just east of Tokyo shaking buildings. Metal signs were torn from buildings, trucks overturned, the metal roof of a petrol station torn off and glass display cases destroyed, scattering sidewalks with broken glass. Trees were uprooted throughout the metropolitan area, some falling on train tracks to further snarl transport. Some 2,000 people were ordered to leave their homes at one point because of the danger of landslides, NHK said. Parts of the high-speed Tokaido Shinkansen train line were halted but service resumed after several hours. It took hours for other lines to resume, packing stations with impatient commuters fanning themselves in the humid air. Temperatures shot up to unseasonably hot levels in the wake of the storm, prompting authorities to warn of the danger of heatstroke."}
{"claim_id": "5127", "claim": "3 win Nobel Prize for showing how cells sense low oxygen.", "explanation": "Two Americans and a British scientist won a Nobel Prize on Monday for discovering details of how the body\u2019s cells sense and react to low oxygen levels, providing a foothold for developing new treatments for anemia, cancer and other diseases.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Cancer, International News, General News, Business, Medical schools, Health, Nobel Prizes, Stockholm, Science, Europe, Anemia", "main_text": "Drs. William G. Kaelin Jr. of Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Gregg L. Semenza of Johns Hopkins University and Peter J. Ratcliffe at the Francis Crick Institute in Britain and Oxford University won the prize for advances in physiology or medicine. The scientists, who worked largely independently, will share the 9 million kronor ($918,000) cash award, said the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. They \u201crevealed the mechanism for one of life\u2019s most essential adaptive processes,\u201d the Nobel committee said. Cells can encounter lowered oxygen not only from situations like living at high altitudes, but also from things like a wound that interferes with local blood supply. Their response triggers reactions that include producing red blood cells, generating new blood vessels and fine-tuning the immune system. The Nobel committee said scientists are focused on developing drugs that can treat diseases by either activating or suppressing the oxygen-sensing machinery. Such manipulation could help in attacking cancer cells, experts said. Another payoff is pills to boost production of red blood cells in anemia, which can appear in people with chronic kidney disease. One such drug has been approved in China and Japan and a filing for approval in the U.S. is expected soon, Kaelin said. Still other potential targets include heart attack and stroke, and a condition of reduced blood flow in the limbs that can lead to amputation, the researchers said. Kaelin, 61, said he was half-asleep when the phone rang Monday morning with the news of his award. \u201cI don\u2019t usually get phone calls at 5:00 in the morning, so, naturally, my heart started racing and I could see the call was from Stockholm,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so I think at that point I almost had an out-of-body type of experience.\u201d Kaelin is paid by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which also supports AP\u2019s Health and Science department. Ratcliffe, 65, said he learned the news after he was summoned out of a meeting this morning by his secretary, who had \u201ca look of urgency.\u201d Trained as a kidney specialist, Ratcliffe said his research began when he and colleagues simply wanted to figure out how cells sense oxygen. \u201cI thought it was a definable problem and just thought we\u2019d find out how it worked,\u201d he said. It was about two years into their research program, which began in 1990, that they realized the discovery had much wider significance, Ratcliffe said. \u201cWe saw that it wasn\u2019t just cells in the kidney that know how to sense oxygen, but all cells in the body. ... There are hundreds and thousands of processes the body uses to adapt to and regulate its oxygen levels.\u201d He said while some promising drugs have been developed, it will be years before it\u2019s clear whether such discoveries are going to change the lives of tens of thousands. In Baltimore, Semenza, 63, said he slept through the Nobel committee\u2019s initial phone call. \u201cBy the time I got to the phone it was too late,\u201d he said. He went back to sleep but was able to answer the second call from Stockholm. He said kidney cancer may be the first malignancy in which a drug based on the prize-winning work might make chemotherapy more effective, and that he hopes many other cancers will follow. Speaking at a news conference at Johns Hopkins University\u2019s School of Medicine, Semenza paid tribute to his biology teacher, Rose Nelson, at Sleepy Hollow High School in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., for inspiring his pursuit of medicine. \u201cShe used to say, \u2018Now when you win your Nobel Prize, I don\u2019t want you to forget that you learned that here,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s my great sadness that she is not still alive to share the moment because I know it would have meant a lot to her. She was my inspiration.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s the importance of teachers,\u201d he added. \u201cTo make that kind of spark.\u201d Steven McKnight of the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas noted that the process discovered by the three researchers is widespread in the animal kingdom, found even in the worm. He said the honored work is \u201cof a heroic nature.\u201d Last year, James Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan won the 2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in immunotherapy, activating the body\u2019s natural defense system to fight tumors. Monday\u2019s announcement kicked off this year\u2019s Nobel Prizes. The physics prize will be handed out Tuesday, followed by the chemistry prize on Wednesday. This year there is a double-header for the Nobel Literature Prize \u2014 one each for 2018 and 2019 \u2014 which will be awarded Thursday. The Peace Prize will be announced on Friday. The 2018 Nobel Literature prize was suspended after a sex abuse scandal rocked the Swedish Academy, the body that awards the literature prizes, so two prizes are being awarded this year. The economics prize will be awarded next Monday. Officially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, it wasn\u2019t created by Nobel, but by Riksbanken, Sweden\u2019s central bank, in 1968. The laureates will receive their awards at elegant ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo on Dec. 10 \u2014 the anniversary of Nobel\u2019s death in 1896. ___ Read more stories on the 2019 Nobel Prizes by The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/NobelPrizes ___ Cheng reported from London. Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano in Baltimore, Christopher Chester in New York, Michael Warren in Atlanta, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and David Keyton in Stockholm contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "5485", "claim": "Trump administration drops Obama-era water protection rule.", "explanation": "The Trump administration on Thursday revoked an Obama-era regulation that shielded many U.S. wetlands and streams from pollution but was opposed by developers and farmers who said it hurt economic development and infringed on property rights.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Wetlands, AP Top News, Barack Obama, Army, Health, General News, Politics, Environment, Business, Traverse City, United States, Property rights, Pollution", "main_text": "Environmental groups criticized the administration\u2019s action, the latest in a series of moves to roll back environmental protections put into place under President Barack Obama. The 2015 Waters of the United States rule defined the waterways subject to federal regulation. Scrapping it \u201cputs an end to an egregious power grab, eliminates an ongoing patchwork of clean water regulations and restores a longstanding and familiar regulatory framework,\u201d Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler said at a news conference in Washington, D.C. Wheeler and R.D. James, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, signed a document overturning the rule and temporarily restoring an earlier regulatory system that emerged after a 2006 ruling from a sharply divided Supreme Court. The agencies plan to adopt a new rule by the end of the year that is expected to define protected waterways more narrowly than the Obama policy. The Clean Water Act requires landowners to obtain federal permits before developing or polluting navigable waterways such as rivers and lakes. But disputes have long persisted over what other waters are subject to regulation \u2014 particularly wetlands that don\u2019t have a direct connection to those larger waters, plus small headwater streams and channels that flow only during and after rainfall. Environmentalists contend many of those smaller, seemingly isolated waters are tributaries of the larger waterways and can have a significant effect on their quality. Denying them federal protection would leave millions of Americans with less safe drinking water and allow damage of wetlands that prevent flooding, filter pollutants and provide habitat for a multitude of fish, waterfowl and other wildlife, they said. \u201cBy repealing the Clean Water Rule, this administration is opening our iconic waterways to a flood of pollution,\u201d said Bart Johnsen-Harris of Environment America. \u201cThe EPA is abdicating its mission to protect our environment and our health.\u201d Wheeler said regulators had gone far beyond the intent of Congress under the 1972 clean water law. \u201cThe 2015 rule meant that more businesses and landowners across the U.S. would need to obtain a federal permit to exercise control over their own property, a process that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take months or even years to complete,\u201d he said. \u201cIt also put more local land-use decisions in the hands of unelected bureaucrats. Many Americans balked at this idea, and rightfully so.\u201d President Donald Trump had ordered the EPA and Army Corps to develop a replacement policy that has a more restrictive definition of protected wetlands and streams. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the administration\u2019s action would be challenged in court. \u201cThe Clean Water Rule represented solid science and smart public policy,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cWhere it has been enforced, it has protected important waterways and wetlands, providing certainty to all stakeholders.\u201d Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the 2015 rule had generated a greater sense of urgency among its membership than any other issue. \u201cWhen you take the private property rights from a man that\u2019s worked all his life ... to grow the food and fiber for all of us to sit down and enjoy three times a day, it\u2019s something he just can\u2019t stand,\u201d Duvall said. But Laura DeYoung, who runs a small sheep farm near Peninsula, Ohio, said she favored federal oversight to protect Lake Erie, where agricultural phosphorus runoff is blamed for large algae blooms. \u201cNothing in the Obama regulations that came out prevented me from farming the way I was previously farming,\u201d she said. The question of which waters are covered under the Clean Water Act has inspired decades of lawsuits and numerous bills in Congress. The Supreme Court in 2006 produced three differing opinions, leading the Obama administration to craft its rule. It provided federal oversight to upstream tributaries and headwaters, including wetlands, ponds, lakes and streams that can affect the quality of navigable waters. The regulation drew quick legal challenges from 31 states and court rulings blocking its implementation in some. It was effective in 22 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories before Thursday\u2019s action. Betsy Southerland, who was director of science and technology in EPA\u2019s Office of Water during the Obama administration, said revoking its policy would create further regulatory confusion. \u201cThis repeal is a victory for land developers, oil and gas drillers and miners who will exploit that ambiguity to dredge and fill small streams and wetlands that were protected from destruction by the 2015 rule because of their critical impact on national water quality,\u201d Southerland said. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican and chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, applauded the Trump administration move, saying the Obama rule \u201cwould have put backyard ponds, puddles and prairie potholes under Washington\u2019s control.\u201d Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, where two disputes over federal wetlands permits led to the 2006 Supreme Court case, said Trump \u201chas decided to weaken protections for our water and reward corporate polluters.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "16620", "claim": "Mitch McConnell Says he \"voted for even stronger protections (in the Violence Against Women Act)\u00a0than Obama's agenda will allow.", "explanation": "McConnell\u2019s ad claimed that he \"voted for even stronger protections than Obama\u2019s agenda will allow.\" Perhaps McConnell could argue that the mandatory minimum sentences Republicans required in their alternative made for a \"stronger\" bill, but advocates of domestic abuse awareness opposed this measure as unnecessary. And the Republican measure was absent several protections for certain groups that were included in the bill Obama signed. McConnell is within his right to oppose those provisions, but it makes it hard for him to prove that he supported \"stronger\" legislation.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Criminal Justice, Crime, Message Machine 2014, Women, Mitch McConnell, ", "main_text": "Sen. Mitch McConnell enlisted the help of his wife, former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, to push back against claims from Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes that the Kentucky Republican is anti-women. \"Have you ever noticed how some liberals feel entitled to speak on behalf of all women? As if every woman agrees with Barack Obama,\" Chao says in an ad released Aug. 5, 2014. A narrator adds: \"Mitch McConnell co-sponsored the original Violence Against Women Act \u2013 he\u2019s always supported its purpose. Mitch voted for even stronger protections than Obama\u2019s agenda will allow.\" We took a look at Grimes\u2019 ad in a separate fact-check. We said the claim that McConnell voted \"two times against the Violence against Women Act\" was Half True, given McConnell\u2019s history of voting in favor of the law at times. But what about McConnell\u2019s response that he \"voted for even stronger protections\" than the Violence Against Women Act that President Barack Obama signed? The Violence Against Women Act first passed Congress in 1994 and, according to the Congressional Research Service, was \"intended to change attitudes toward domestic violence, foster awareness of domestic violence, improve services and provisions for victims, and revise the manner in which the criminal justice system responds to domestic violence.\" The bill was reauthorized and expanded several times in the succeeding two decades, most recently in 2013. While the Violence Against Women Act sailed to reauthorization in 2000 and 2005, attempts to do so in 2012 and 2013 were marred by partisan fighting in Congress. Democrats presented a bill with three new components that many Republicans rejected: including victims of discrimination for sexual orientation and gender identity among \"underserved populations\"; increasing the cap on U-Visas, a visa that grants nonimmigrant status to immigrant victims of domestic violence who assist police in prosecuting their attackers; allowing non-American Indian residents on tribal land to be prosecuted by tribal courts for domestic violence. The 2012 Senate bill died in the House, but the 2013 version passed Congress and was signed by Obama. Both years, Republicans offered their own versions of the Violence Against Women Act. Those measures, McConnell\u2019s campaign said, included provisions that made them \"stronger\" than the bill Obama signed into law. What were those provisions? For starters, Republicans proposed mandatory minimum sentences \u2014 ranging from 5 to 15 years \u2014 on certain sexual assault crimes. However, advocates of domestic violence awareness were specifically against the inclusion of these provisions. The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women, an umbrella group for many stakeholders advocating on this issue, worried that long mandatory minimums would \"keep victims who were assaulted by someone they know from reporting\" and would create other issues in sentencing. \"These proposals are solutions in search of problems, and will only serve to exacerbate the already existing problem of prison overcrowding,\" the organization wrote. McConnell\u2019s campaign also noted that the Republican amendments required that 30 percent of the grant money given to states and localities to train and assist law enforcement in combating violence against women must be set aside for sexual assault. The Democratic bill put the figure at 20 percent. But this was more a shift in priorities than anything. It wasn\u2019t allocating extra money to combat violence against women, just mandating how much of the pot must be spent on a specific type of violence. Advocates of the Democratic bill said the Republican bill was weaker because it did not include the additional protections for LGBT, immigrants and American Indian women who are abused on tribal land by non-natives. While there were may have been considerable political differences on whether those provisions should be part of the Violence Against Women Act, it\u2019s hard to claim that bills that didn\u2019t include them \u2014 the ones McConnell supported \u2014 had \"stronger protections.\" Our ruling McConnell\u2019s ad claimed that he \"voted for even stronger protections than Obama\u2019s agenda will allow.\" Perhaps McConnell could argue that the mandatory minimum sentences Republicans required in their alternative made for a \"stronger\" bill, but advocates of domestic abuse awareness opposed this measure as unnecessary. And the Republican measure was absent several protections for certain groups that were included in the bill Obama signed. McConnell is within his right to oppose those provisions, but it makes it hard for him to prove that he supported \"stronger\" legislation. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "3711", "claim": "UN says Ebola in Congo still qualifies as global emergency.", "explanation": "The World Health Organization says the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo still warrants being classified as a global emergency, even though the number of confirmed cases has slowed in recent weeks.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Ebola virus, Africa, Epidemics, United Nations, Europe, General News, International News", "main_text": "The U.N. health agency first declared the epidemic, the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, to be an international emergency in July. On Friday, it convened its expert committee to reconsider whether the designation is still valid and decide if other measures are necessary. WHO\u2019s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the situation remains \u201ccomplex and dangerous\u201d and that officials must continue to treat every case like it\u2019s the first. \u201cEvery case has the potential to spark a new and bigger outbreak,\u201d he told reporters. To date, there have been 3,113 confirmed cases and more than 2,150 people have died since the epidemic was first declared last August. While only 15 new Ebola cases were confirmed last week, WHO noted the vast majority were not in people previously identified as contacts of others infected, suggesting health officials still have difficulty tracking where the virus is spreading. Dr. Michael Ryan, who heads WHO\u2019s Ebola response, said that some of the most recent cases have been detected in a remote area where there is both legal and illegal mining and is difficult for health officials to reach. \u201cWe still don\u2019t have a full picture of where the virus may be, but we don\u2019t believe we\u2019re dealing with a catastrophic situation,\u201d he said, adding it may be another week or two before officials have a better understanding. WHO also said nearly a third of people are dying outside of Ebola treatment centers, potentially exposing families and loved ones to the disease. \u201cWhen your new cases are not coming off your contact list, that means you don\u2019t have things under control,\u201d said Dr. Armand Sprecher, an Ebola specialist at Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF. Sprecher lamented that attempts to build trust among the wary local population are still failing. \u201cWe have not communicated very well over the last year, so can we really do this now? I don\u2019t know.\u201d Efforts to curb the outbreak have been hampered by violence against health workers \u2014 some have been killed \u2014 and some local residents suspect international responders of transmitting Ebola rather than stopping it. Misunderstandings have been high in communities that had never experienced the disease before. In June, the virus spilled into Uganda when a Congolese family, including some already infected, crossed into the country. Two later died of Ebola and the others were sent back to Congo for treatment. The outbreak currently is contained in Congo. The declaration of this outbreak as an international emergency was expected to bring increased funding and attention to combat the disease. This week, WHO reported that of the $287 million it estimates is needed until December, it has received only about $69 million, although additional funds have been pledged. This is the first Ebola outbreak to unfold in what has been called a war zone. Eastern Congo is home to numerous armed groups, and their attacks have halted response efforts many times, interrupting efforts to vaccinate people and monitor suspected cases. This outbreak is second only to the 2014-16 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that left more than 11,300 people dead. Also on Friday, the European Medicines Agency recommended that the Ebola vaccine being used in this outbreak be licensed. More than 270,000 people have received it. The use of experimental Ebola vaccines in the past year has been a welcome development in fighting one of the world\u2019s most notorious diseases. Last month, MSF called for an independent committee to oversee Ebola vaccination efforts after alleging WHO was unjustifiably restricting use of the Merck-made vaccine. MSF said the fact that so many people have been vaccinated \u2014 and yet the outbreak continues to spread \u2014 was a damning assessment of response efforts. Officials are testing a number of Ebola treatments but none is yet licensed."}
{"claim_id": "35372", "claim": "A news reporter in Florida was diagnosed with cancer after a viewer spotted a lump in her throat during a broadcast. ", "explanation": "A handful of television personalities have been diagnosed with cancer after receiving a tip from viewers.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical, Editor's Picks", "main_text": "An investigative reporter with WFLA News Channel 8 in Tampa, Florida, was diagnosed with cancer after a viewer contacted her to point out a noticeable lump in her throat. Snopes spoke with Victoria Price, who confirmed in an email that this claim is true. The broadcast journalist also shared her story in a Twitter post on July 23, 2020, that read: As a journalist, it\u2019s been full throttle since the pandemic began. Never-ending shifts in a never-ending news cycle. Adjusting to remote workflows and in my case, taking on a new investigative role. We were covering the most important health story in a century, but my own health was the farthest thing from my mind. Until a viewer emailed me last month. She saw a lump on my neck. Said it reminded her of her own. Hers was cancer. Turns out, mine is too. Price went on to say that COVID-19 responses created some \u201cdiagnostic delays,\u201d but that she will have undergone surgery by mid-July 2020 to remove the tumor, thyroid, and a couple of nearby lymph nodes. Price\u2019s doctor told her that the cancer is spreading, but \u201cnot too much,\u201d and they are both hopeful that this will be the journalist\u2019s \u201cfirst and last procedure.\u201d \u201cHad I never received that email, I never would have called my doctor. The cancer would have continued to spread. It\u2019s a scary and humbling thought,\u201d wrote Price. The situation began when Price received an email from a concerned viewer, who asked the reporter to have her thyroid checked:"}
{"claim_id": "10587", "claim": "Once-a-day AIDS pill may be OK\u2019d soon", "explanation": "This article discusses a once-a-day HIV treatment that may be available at some unknown time in the future. The treatment has been submitted to the FDA for approval. While the companies may be genuinely pleased with the studies they have done to demonstrate that the drugs in combination work as well as they do separately, those results still need to be evaluated by the FDA. This is an article on a re-packaging of a combination of medications currently used for the treatment of AIDS. The story fails to discuss issues that such re-formulation may cause that could be of concern to consumers. In several ways the story reads like it came from a drug company news release, although there is no direct evidence of that. The story would have been helped by interviews with independent experts who could address the evidence. There was really no evidence discussed in this story at all.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no cost of treatment information; how would this once-a-day pill compare to the two pill once-a-day combination? There was no quantification of benefits of treatment. While it is easy to forget to take medications that are taken several times during the day, it is also easy to forget to take a medication once-a-day. There were no data to indicate how compliance compared. No harms of treatment or side effects were mentioned. Does the frequency of side effects differ when medication is taken once or more than once a day? This article does not contain evidence. It appears to have been stimulated by \u201cforward-looking\u201d statements from one of the drug manufacturers involved in this partnership. It contains the view of one patient describing how difficult it is to remember to take daily prescription medications. This is a hurdle faced by many people with a variety of conditions other than HIV. The article did not contain evidence that compliance with taking medication once a day is actually better than dosing strategies that rely on medication taken multiple times a day. In addition, the article failed to provide information about how effective the once-a-day regiment is as compared to other dosing schemes. No evidence of disease mongering. While there were several people interviewed for the story, an independent source with expertise on the subject should have been asked to comment on the therapeutic claims. One patient provides a single patient perspective; two individuals working for AIDS advocacy groups are also quoted. However no expert was quoted on any clinical evidence demonstrating effectiveness of the proposed treatment. While not mentioning all the approaches to HIV treatment, the article does include mention of a combination of pills that could be taken once a day and gave an example of one patient who had to take only 3 pills twice a day. The story reports that the FDA is expected to approve the drug this year. But the timing of FDA approval is highly uNPRedictable and in some recent cases the FDA has rejected the advice of expert panels. This medication has only just been submitted for FDA approval. The pill described would represent the first combination therapy for the treatment of HIV that necessitates taking medication only once a day. It is, however, a re-packaging of two existing treatments. So, if the story is going to let someone call this \u201ca breakthrough,\u201d it should at least explore what is novel and what isn\u2019t. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "2584", "claim": "Ireland to clarify abortion rules after woman's death.", "explanation": "Ireland\u2019s government pledged on Thursday to clarify its abortion laws after an Indian woman who was refused a termination died from blood poisoning in an Irish hospital.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Thousands took to the streets to protest on Wednesday after news broke of the death of Savita Halappanavar of septicemia following a miscarriage 17 weeks into her pregnancy. Activists in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country, which has some of the world\u2019s most restrictive laws on abortion, say the refusal by doctors to terminate the pregnancy earlier may have contributed to her death. \u201cI was deeply disturbed yesterday by what Savita\u2019s husband said. I don\u2019t think as a country we should allow a situation where women\u2019s rights are put at risk in this way,\u201d Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore told parliament on Thursday. \u201cThere is no question of equivocation. We need to bring legal clarity to this issue and that is what we are going to do.\u201d  Irish law does not specify under what circumstances the threat to the life or health of the mother is high enough to justify a termination, leaving doctors to decide. Critics say this means doctors\u2019 personal beliefs can play a role. Halappanavar was admitted to hospital in severe pain on October 21 and asked for a termination after doctors told her the baby would not survive, according to her husband Praveen. The foetus was surgically removed when its heartbeat stopped days later, but her family believes the delay contributed to the blood poisoning that killed Halappanavar on October 28. Praveen said he would wait for the results of an investigation before deciding whether to sue, but that Ireland\u2019s Roman Catholic tradition appeared to have been a factor in the decision to deny a termination. \u201cI am still in shock. It is hard to believe that religion can mean somebody\u2019s life,\u201d Praveen Halappanavar told Reuters. He said he planned to return to Ireland from India, where he traveled with his wife\u2019s body. The Irish health authority (HSE) has launched an inquiry which the health minister said must \u201cstand up to the scrutiny of the world.\u201d Irish media said Praveen would be interviewed. The Indian couple were resident and working in Ireland, he as an engineer and she as a dentist. Despite a dramatic waning of the influence of the Catholic Church, which dominated politics in Ireland until the 1980s, successive governments have been loath to legislate on an issue they fear could alienate conservative voters. Fine Gael, the senior partner in Ireland\u2019s ruling coalition, told supporters before a recent election that it would not introduce new laws allowing abortion during its five-year term, despite pressure from its junior partner Labour to act. The government said it had received long-delayed recommendations from an expert panel on introducing new rules on abortion, and would report before the end of the month. Four out of five Irish voters support a change in the law to permit abortion in cases where a mother\u2019s life is at risk, according to a recent opinion poll. But a vocal anti-abortion minority has dominated the debate on abortion in Ireland in the past, with campaigners arguing that the adoption of legislation or guidelines for medical terminations would bring in abortion through the back door. In 1992, when challenged in the \u201cX-case\u201d involving a 14-year-old rape victim, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was permitted when the woman\u2019s life was at risk, including from suicide. A European Court of Human Rights in 2010 ruled that Ireland must clarify what this means in practice. \u201cThis is exactly what the (European) court was complaining about ... The court has not said Ireland must or must not have abortion, they said they have to clarify circumstances,\u201d said Ronan McCrea, a barrister and lecturer in law at University College London. \u201cThe vagueness ... gives excessive scope to doctors to follow their own personal views or it means even if they want to give the treatment, they\u2019ll fall foul of the law,\u201d he said. Halappanavar\u2019s death has dominated debate in Ireland\u2019s parliament since news of it broke on Wednesday. Her photograph was spread across front pages of all Ireland\u2019s major newspapers on Thursday, while editorials demanded action from politicians. The fact that she is a foreign national has heightened the government\u2019s embarrassment. The story was on the front of several large Indian newspapers and family members were featured on national television. The Indian government said on Thursday it deeply regretted Halappanavar\u2019s death. \u201cThe death of an Indian national in such circumstances is a matter of concern,\u201d a spokesman said."}
{"claim_id": "26490", "claim": "The president looks like he was ahead of the curve \u2013 as you know, he talks about this all the time \u2013 on shutting down travel from China.", "explanation": "Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum on Monday defended President Donald Trump\u2019s response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying his January decision to restrict travel from China was \u201cahead of the curve.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 Santorum\u2019s comments came one day after Anthony Fauci, the nation\u2019s top infectious disease expert, told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that earlier implementation of social-distancing and stay-at-home orders could have saved lives lost to the coronavirus. Really, Trump wasn\u2019t \u201cahead of the curve,\u201d as Santorum said. He was following the advice of experts in his own administration \u2013 and the actions of the industry directly affected by the move. And about 45 nations restricted travel from China before the United States.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Coronavirus, Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum, ", "main_text": "Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum on Monday defended President Donald Trump\u2019s response to the coronavirus outbreak in an interview with CNN anchor John King. \"The president looks like he was ahead of the curve \u2013 as you know, he talks about this all the time \u2013 on shutting down travel from China,\" said Santorum, a Republican from Pennsylvania who lost his bid for a third term in 2006. Santorum\u2019s comments came one day after Anthony Fauci, the nation\u2019s top infectious disease expert, told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that earlier implementation of social-distancing and stay-at-home orders could have saved lives lost to the coronavirus. Santorum called Fauci\u2019s remarks \"Monday morning quarterbacking\" and sought to redirect attention to other coronavirus mitigation strategies he believes the Trump administration embraced early on. Fauci, later on Monday, said his remarks were hypothetical. We wondered whether Trump\u2019s decision to restrict travel from China was as prescient as Santorum described. The administration announced the restrictions on Jan. 31 and they took effect two days later. The policy prohibited non-U.S. citizens who had traveled to China within the last two weeks from entering the country. Trump has repeatedly said he acted to restrict travel \u2013 first from China, then from Iran and finally from Europe \u2013 despite objections from experts. \"But we closed those borders very early, against the advice of a lot of professionals, and we turned out to be right. I took a lot of heat for that,\" Trump said on March 4. Later that same day, Trump spoke about the rationale behind his decision, telling Fox anchor Sean Hannity, \"Everybody said, it\u2019s too early, it\u2019s too soon, and good people, brilliant people, in many ways, doctors and lawyers and, frankly, a lot of people that work on this stuff almost exclusively. And they said, don\u2019t do it.\" Trump repeated the claim again at the Scranton town hall he held on March 5, saying he imposed the travel restrictions \"against the advice of almost everybody.\" The World Health Organization did caution against the overuse of travel restrictions around the time the one imposed by the U.S. first took effect, but public health officials in this country and many airlines themselves agreed on the policy\u2019s importance. Several airlines voluntarily halted flights between the U.S. and China a few days before the administration\u2019s travel restrictions took effect. And Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said experts in his department all agreed that restricting travel from countries with coronavirus outbreaks was the right call. \"The travel restrictions that we put in place in consultation with the president were very measured and incremental,\" Azar told reporters on Feb. 7. \"These were the uniform recommendations of the career public health officials here at HHS.\" What was the rest of the world thinking at the same time? We consulted Think Global Health, an initiative of the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations that is tracking travel restrictions on China due to COVID-19. By the group\u2019s count, about 45 nations restricted travel from China before the United States. That number covers variations of travel restrictions in effect up to and including Feb. 1. Think Global Health\u2019s tracker includes partial or total land border closures, suspension of flights to and from China, visa restrictions, such as a pause on visa-on-arrival programs, and entry restrictions (similar to what the United States implemented). \"While the United States was not one of the first countries to impose restrictions against travel from China, nor was it late to do so relative to the actions of others,\" said Samantha Kiernan, a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations. \"Rather, the United States acted around the same time that many other countries did.\" Santorum said, \"The president looks like he was ahead of the curve \u2013 as you know, he talks about this all the time \u2013 on shutting down travel from China.\" Trump wasn\u2019t \"ahead of the curve,\" as Santorum said. He was following the advice of experts in his own administration \u2013 and the actions of the industry directly affected by the move. And about 45 nations restricted travel from China before the United States. The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. PolitiFact\u2019s Miriam Valverde contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "2779", "claim": "Fourth Canadian farm hit by pig killing virus: Ontario official.", "explanation": "The piglet killing Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus has spread to a fourth farm in the Canadian province of Ontario, the provincial government said on Wednesday, despite the hog industry\u2019s efforts to stop it by disinfecting delivery trucks and clothing used on farms.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The virus has killed more than 1 million piglets in the United States but it has so far been contained within Canada to southern Ontario farms. The fourth case has been confirmed in Norfolk County along the north shore of Lake Erie, said Mark Cripps, a spokesman for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The other confirmed cases are farms further west in Middlesex County and near Chatham-Kent. \u201cGiven the virulent nature of this virus, it is disappointing, but not unexpected that PED would be found in Canada and it is likely that more cases will be identified in the coming days and weeks,\u201d Cripps said in an email. Ontario confirmed the first Canadian case last week. PEDv - which causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration in hogs - has turned up in 23 of the 50 states since its discovery in the United States last April. The virus, which is already established in Europe and Asia, poses no threat to humans and is not a food safety risk."}
{"claim_id": "7477", "claim": "Doctors and nurses suffered as Iran ignored virus concerns .", "explanation": "They are regarded as heroes, their fallen colleagues as martyrs. But for doctors and nurses still dealing with Iran\u2019s growing number of coronavirus infections, such praise rings hollow.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Iran, International News, Cairo, Middle East, Health, Virus Outbreak, General News", "main_text": "While crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S. government left the country ill-equipped to deal with the fast-moving virus, some medical professionals say government and religious leaders bear the brunt of the blame for allowing the virus to spread -- and for hiding how much it had spread. Those medical workers say they were defenseless to handle the contagion. And as a result, doctors and nurses in Iran have been hard hit by the virus. During the first 90 days of the virus outbreak alone, about one medical staffer died each day and dozens became infected. \u201cWe are heading fast toward a disaster,\u201d said a young Isfahan doctor who has been working tirelessly, checking dozens of suspected coronavirus patients before referring them to hospitals. It is no secret that Iran has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Official government figures show that around 100,000 people were infected by the virus and around 6,500 have died. But a report by the research arm of Iran\u2019s parliament said the number of cases could be eight to 10 times higher, making it among the hardest hit countries in the world. The report said the number of deaths could be 80% higher than officials numbers from the Health Ministry, about 11,700. The Iranian government is currently reporting a decline in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in many areas, even though local authorities are expanding cemeteries in places like Tehran where the municipal council said it had to add 10,000 new graves to its largest cemetery, Behesht e-Zahra. Interviews with more than 30 medical professionals and a review of communications by doctors on messaging apps and other documents by an Associated Press reporter in Cairo revealed many previously unreported details. The reporting paints a fuller picture of the roots and extent of the country\u2019s disjointed response as the deadly virus spread throughout the population. In the beginning, medical staffers faced the outbreak with very limited equipment. Some washed their own gowns and masks or sterilized them in regular ovens. Others wrapped their bodies in plastic bags they bought at the supermarket. The makeshift equipment didn\u2019t help. Further complicating the situation, the Health Ministry said millions of pieces of protective gear ordered by the agency were stolen and diverted to the black market. The result: Dozens of medical professionals without adequate protection died along with their patients. Iran\u2019s leaders, several medical professionals said, delayed telling the public about the virus for weeks, even as hospitals were filling up with people suffering from symptoms linked to the virus. And even as doctors and other experts were warning the Iranian president to take radical action, the government resisted, fearing the impact on elections, national anniversaries, and the economy. \u201cThey wanted to send people to the streets,\u201d said a Mazandaran-based nurse and activist. One doctor interviewed by The Associated Press \u2014 who, like all medical workers interviewed for this story, spoke only on the condition that they not be named for fear of persecution \u2014 said he and his colleagues were even discouraged from using protective equipment. He said government officials claimed wearing masks would cause panic. The country\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proclaimed on March 10 that the doctors, nurses, and medical staffers who died in the fight against the coronavirus in Iran were \u201cmartyrs.\u201d Pictures of deceased doctors have been placed alongside those of soldiers who were killed in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, which claimed the lives of a million Iranians and Iraqis. \u201cThey are normalizing death,\u201d a Tehran-based health consultant said. A list compiled by a group of Iranian doctors found that a total of 126 medical staffers have died since the virus was first reported, mostly in the provinces of Gilan and Tehran, while over 2,070 contracted the virus. The AP verified 100 of the deaths by piecing together scattered news reports in local media outlets, statements from health institutions and social media messages of condolences. Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour acknowledged the deadly toll of COVID-19 on the medical profession in Iran, telling the AP the total number of deaths is 107. Jahanpour said 470 had tested positive for the virus. But he placed the blame on the U.S. \u201cRemember this is a country under sanctions,\u201d he said. Iran has maintained throughout the crisis that its own industries made enough protective material to fight the virus. Iran reported its first two cases on Feb. 19 in the city of Qom \u2014 140 kilometers (88 miles) south of Tehran and home of highly revered Shiite shrines. It would become the epicenter of the outbreak. The announcement apparently was made under some duress. A doctor there named Mohammed Molei filmed himself next to his bedridden brother, insisting that his brother be tested for the virus. That coincided with a visit by a Health Ministry delegation to the city. But doctors interviewed by the AP say that before the official announcement, they started to see cases with the same symptoms as the novel coronavirus and warned the national Health Ministry that it needed to take action. Some doctors shared with the AP letters sent to the ministry. The doctors at first said they attributed the respiratory problems among patients and deaths to the H1N1 flu. Days later, they started to call for testing for H1N1 and other diseases to rule them out; the rate of infections and deaths seemed unusually high. Through channels on the Telegram messaging service, they exchanged data. They reached out to the Health Ministry and proposed a set of recommendations and actions. At the top of the list: a quarantine and restricting travel and flights with China. But it would be another two weeks before the government took action. \u201cWe gave a lot of information to the government through letters and communication channels,\u201d said a Mazandaran-based activist and doctor. He said he and other medical professionals were ignored by government officials. Two days after announcing the first cases, Iran held its parliamentary elections where thousands lined up to vote. That same day, doctors in Gilan \u2014 one of the worst hit areas in Iran \u2014 appealed to the governor for help, saying their hospitals were flooded with patients amid a shortage of masks and other protection equipment. \u201cThe health personnel of the province are exposed to a huge threat,\u201d a letter sent by the doctors read. But government officials played down the danger of the virus, calling the physicians\u2019 plea for a quarantine \u201cmedieval\u201d and floating unfounded conspiracy theories that the U.S. created the coronavirus to promote a fear-mongering campaign. The feared paramilitary Revolutionary Guard kept health facilities under tight control and medical statistics were treated as top secret, the medical staffers said. Death certificates were not recording the coronavirus as the cause of deaths \u2014 either because not all severe cases were tested or just for the sake of keeping the numbers down. Thousands of unaccounted deaths were attributed to secondary causes like \u201cheart attack\u201d or \u201crespiratory distress.\u201d  And a doctor in Tehran said the Health Ministry gave orders not to refer critical cases to hospitals to be tested for the virus \u2014 to keep the numbers low, she said. \u201cWe suppose they (want to) say they\u2019re doing good,\u201d she said. A Tehran-based radiologist said that he had access to medical files of patients at different Tehran hospitals. The reports include CT scans and blood tests that pointed to the coronavirus. But tests were not done. \u201cThese are 40% of the cases,\u201d he said, \u201cIt\u2019s just difficult to prove.\u201d  \u201cThe number of real patients with COVID-19 in Iran, from the beginning ... until today is much more than what has been reported,\u201d he said, echoing similar sentiments by most medical workers interviewed by the AP. He estimated that the numbers are three to four times higher than the figures released by the government. \u201cThe authorities believe they are doing great and they try to keep things out of spotlight,\u201d a medical scholar said. Clinics and hospitals became hubs of infection, even as parliamentary elections and national celebrations went on:  \u2014 In Khorasan, the head of the medical science school which oversees hospitals receiving corona patients, Ali Asghar, told a local news agency that a total of 600 people died between Feb. 19 and April 4. The government number through March 22 was 42. \u2014 In Golestan, AbdolReza Fazel, a top health official, told local media that 230 had died though April 2, while the government recorded just 10 cases. \u2014 In Isfahan, Tahereh Changiz, the head of the medical school, told the IMNA news agency that the total number of deaths reached 400; the official figure was just 87. \u2014 According to one health official and two doctors, the total deaths in Gilan have surpassed 1,300 so far. The last breakdown provided by the government on March 22 said the total did not exceed 200. \u201cGilan wasn\u2019t ready at all,\u201d said one physician there. \u201cIt was a catastrophe.\u201d Said another doctor: \u201cThe first weeks, the system has collapsed,\u201d with patients sleeping in the corridors and doctors forced to make painful choices. A nurse at Shafa Hospital in the provincial capital of Rasht said ventilators were removed from dying patients to let others live. \u201cDeath certificates were written before they died,\u201d the nurse said with a hoarse voice. On the death certificates, the doctor scribbled, \u201cheart attack\u201d or \u201crespiratory distress\u201d as a cause of death. \u201cIt was my worst day in my life when they cut the oxygen. After work, when I went back home, I could do nothing but crying,\u201d she said. A psychologist in Tehran told the AP that many medical staffers were traumatized. Images of the dying patients left them with a deep sense of guilt, suicide thoughts, and panic attacks, he said. He recalled one nurse who had a recurring nightmare of burying her parents alone. Another said she dreamed she was looking into a telescope, anticipating with horror a meteor strike. ICU doctor Gol Rezayee appeared in a March 29 video that went viral on social media as he tried, but failed to revive a dying patient\u2019s heart. On Telegram, he wrote the last words he exchanged with the victim. \u201cDoctor, if I die, tell my husband to take care of the kids,\u201d he recalled the woman saying. \u201cHe is careless and naughty.\u201d  Rezayee said he responded: \u201cIt\u2019s just like a cold. You will live 120 years.\u201d Hours later, the woman was dead. Medical professionals also watched as their own colleagues succumbed to the virus. As the outbreak in Rasht unfolded during the last week of February, patients packed the clinic of the city\u2019s most popular physician, Mohammad Bakhshalizadeh, who often treated the poor for free, set up the first association for physicians in the province and volunteered during the war with Iraq. As the virus spread, the 66-year-old doctor examined an average of 70 patients each day, largely without protective gear. A week after Iran officially announced the first two official cases in Qom, Bakhshalizadeh developed a fever and had trouble breathing. Initial tests for coronavirus were inconclusive. Another test showed that his lungs were turning white. He later drove himself to several hospitals until he found one with an empty bed. Days later, on March 10, he died."}
{"claim_id": "7127", "claim": "Toking up while working out: Pair plan gym allowing pot use.", "explanation": "A former pro football star and an advocate for athlete marijuana use have teamed up to open a gym in San Francisco that they say will be one of the first in the world to allow members to smoke pot while working out.", "label": "true", "subjects": "San Francisco, Ricky Williams, California, Medical marijuana, Lifestyle, Novato, Football", "main_text": "Former running back Ricky Williams, who played for the Saints, Dolphins and Ravens, and Jim McAlpine, a snowboard company executive, said Power Plant Fitness also will offer edibles and topical gels for those who don\u2019t like smoking the plant. They say using pot while exercising can help them focus or relax. Members of the gym, which plans to open this year, will need a medical marijuana prescription to join, but that could change if California voters legalize recreational pot in November. \u201cI personally use it for focus. It\u2019s not about getting high. It\u2019s about keeping my mind engaged in the activity I\u2019m in,\u201d said McAlpine, who organizes the 420 games, athletic events aiming to stop the stigma against pot use. Carla Lowe, founder of Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, a political action committee based in Sacramento, said it\u2019s not clear how the drug affects the body but \u201cthere\u2019s zero evidence that marijuana helps you focus. There is evidence that it makes you dopey.\u201d Her group is working to defeat the ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in California, saying it \u201cdoes not bode well for the future of our country.\u201d But Williams, who was suspended several times by the NFL for marijuana use, said he wants to dispel the stigma. \u201cI think a lot of people buy into the stoner stereotype where guys just sit on the couch, smoke and don\u2019t do anything, and they\u2019re not very motivated,\u201d said Williams, who retired from the NFL after the 2011 season. \u201cI found when I was playing football that using cannabis helped me relax physically, relax mentally and even spiritually.\u201d Any potential benefits of marijuana on exercise have not been studied thoroughly. But one doctor who works with marijuana-smoking patients says the drug can help manage post-workout pain. \u201cTo use cannabis in that sense for pain relief instead of the usual things you\u2019re able to use now, like opioids, is hands down why you would use it,\u201d said Dr. Perry Solomon, chief medical officer for HelloMD, a digital health care platform for the cannabis industry."}
{"claim_id": "8849", "claim": "New schizophrenia drugs no better, Dutch team find.", "explanation": "Costly new antipsychotic drugs are not significantly better than cheaper older ones at treating a first episode of schizophrenia, Dutch researchers said on Friday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The finding adds to controversy about the benefits of second-generation products like AstraZeneca Plc\u2019s Seroquel and Eli Lilly and Co\u2019s Zyprexa, which were introduced in the 1990s and are now multibillion-dollar sellers. Such so-called atypical antipsychotics today account for the lion\u2019s share of prescriptions and are purported to be more effective and less likely to cause side-effects, such as stiffness and tremors. But Rene Kahn of the University Medical Centre in Utrecht and colleagues said they were not necessarily better. To compare the medicines they did an open randomized trial involving 498 patients aged 18 to 40 years. The participants were given either the old drug haloperidol or one of four higher-dose new drugs \u2014 Seroquel, Zyprexa, Pfizer Inc\u2019s Geodon or Sanofi-Aventis SA\u2019s Solian. Over the following 12 months, 63 patients on haloperidol stopped treatment compared to 51 on Seroquel, 32 on Solian, 31 on Geodon and 30 on Zyprexa. The reductions in all symptoms, however, were about the same for all groups, at around 60 percent, and there were no significant differences between the drugs according to sex, tendencies towards suicide and substance abuse. The higher continuation rate seen with the newer drugs was encouraging but Kahn, writing in the Lancet medical journal, said \u201cit cannot be concluded that second-generation antipsychotic drugs are more efficacious\u201d. The new report follows earlier critical research, including a U.S. study in December 2006 that found another first-generation antipsychotic drug, perphenazine, was as effective as newer medications. Robert Rosenheck of the VA Connecticut Health Care System in the United States said in an accompanying Lancet commentary there was \u201cmuch less, if any, ground for enthusiasm about these costly drugs now than in 2002\u201d. The latest Dutch study received funding from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sanofi."}
{"claim_id": "5457", "claim": "Key moments in lead in water crisis in Flint, Michigan.", "explanation": "A judge in Flint, Michigan on Monday ruled that there is enough evidence for the head of Michigan\u2019s health department, Nick Lyon, to stand trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter related to the city\u2019s lead-contaminated water crisis. He\u2019s accused of not providing timely notification to the public about a Legionnaires\u2019 disease outbreak in the Flint area in 2014 and 2015.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Trials, Michigan, Legionnaires disease, Detroit, Flint, Disease outbreaks", "main_text": "A look back at key moments in the crisis. ___ April 2014: In an effort to save money, Flint begins drawing water from the Flint River for its 100,000 residents. The move is considered temporary while the city waits to connect to a new regional water system. Residents immediately complain about the smell, taste and appearance of the water, and raise health concerns, reporting rashes, hair loss and other problems. January 2015: Detroit offers to reconnect Flint to its water system, but Flint leaders insist the water is safe. Sept. 24, 2015: A group of doctors urges Flint to stop using the Flint River for water after finding high levels of lead in the blood of children. State regulators insist the water is safe. Sept. 29, 2015: Gov. Rick Snyder pledges to take action in response to the lead levels \u2014 the first acknowledgment by the state that lead is a problem. October 2015: Snyder announces that the state will spend $1 million to buy water filters and test water in Flint public schools, and days later calls for Flint to go back to using water from Detroit\u2019s system. Dec. 29, 2015: Snyder accepts the resignation of Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant and apologizes for what occurred in Flint. Jan. 5, 2016: Snyder declares a state of emergency in Flint, the same day federal officials confirm that they are investigating. A week later, the Michigan National Guard begins helping to distribute bottled water and filters, while Snyder asks the federal government for help. Jan. 14, 2016: Snyder asks the Obama administration for major disaster declaration and more federal aid. The White House provides federal aid and an emergency declaration on Jan. 16, but not the disaster declaration. Jan. 15, 2016: Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette begins an \u201cindependent review\u201d into the Flint crisis. Mid-March. 2016: State officials testify before Congress, including Snyder and the state-appointed emergency manager who oversaw Flint when the water source was switched to the river. March 23, 2016: A governor-appointed panel concludes that the state of Michigan is \u201cfundamentally accountable\u201d for the crisis because of decisions made by environmental regulators. April 20, 2016: Two state officials and a local official are charged with evidence tampering and other crimes in the Michigan attorney general\u2019s investigation \u2014 the first to be levied in the probe. Aug. 14, 2016: A federal emergency declaration over Flint\u2019s lead-tainted water crisis ends, but state officials say work continues to fix the drinking water system and provide services to city residents. Dec. 10, 2016: Congress approves a wide-ranging bill to authorize water projects across the country, including $170 million to address lead in Flint\u2019s drinking water. Dec. 16, 2016: Congressional Republicans quietly close a yearlong investigation into Flint\u2019s crisis, faulting both state officials and the Environmental Protection Agency. Dec. 20, 2016: Schuette charges former emergency managers Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose with multiple 20-year felonies for their failure to protect the residents of Flint from health hazards caused by contaminated drinking water. He also charges Earley, Ambrose and two Flint city employees with felony counts of false pretenses and conspiracy to commit false pretenses in the issuance of bonds to pay for a portion of the water project that led to the crisis. Feb. 17, 2017: The Michigan Civil Rights Commission issues a report that finds \u201csystemic racism\u201d going back decades is at the core of problems that caused the water crisis in the majority black city of Flint. March 16, 2017: Snyder announces that his administration will enact the country\u2019s toughest lead limit for water in the wake of the lead contamination in Flint. March 28, 2017: Water lines in homes at Flint will be replaced under a landmark deal approved by a judge, marking a milestone in the effort to overcome the disastrous decision in 2014 to draw water from the Flint River without treating it to prevent lead contamination. June 14, 2017: Michigan Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon is accused of failing to alert the public about an outbreak of Legionnaires\u2019 disease in the Flint area that some experts believe resulted from poorly treated water. He and four others are charged with involuntary manslaughter. The state\u2019s chief medical officer, Dr. Eden Wells, is charged with obstruction of justice and lying to an investigator. April 2018: Snyder ends Flint water distribution, saying the city\u2019s water quality had significantly improved. July 19: A federal watchdog calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its oversight of state drinking water systems nationally and respond more quickly to public health emergencies such as the lead-in-the water crisis in Flint. The EPA says it agrees with the inspector general\u2019s recommendations and is adopting them \u201cexpeditiously.\u201d Aug. 20: A judge orders Lyon to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges in the deaths of two men linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires\u2019 disease in the Flint area. Some experts have blamed Legionnaires\u2019 on Flint\u2019s water."}
{"claim_id": "89", "claim": "J&J recalls 33,000 bottles of baby powder as FDA finds asbestos in sample.", "explanation": "Johnson & Johnson said on Friday it is recalling around 33,000 bottles of baby powder in the United States after U.S. health regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle purchased online.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "J&J shares fell more than 6% to close at $127.70. The move marks the first time the company has recalled its iconic baby powder for possible asbestos contamination, and the first time U.S. regulators have announced a finding of asbestos in the product. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that has been linked to deadly mesothelioma. The recall is the latest blow to the more than 130-year-old U.S. healthcare conglomerate that is facing thousands of lawsuits over a variety of products, including baby powder, opioids, medical devices and the antipsychotic Risperdal. A jury last week ordered the company to pay $8 billion to a plaintiff in a case claiming J&J downplayed the risks of Risperdal. That award is not expected to stand, the company and legal experts have said. J&J faces more than 15,000 lawsuits from consumers claiming its talc products, including Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder, caused their cancer. On a conference call with reporters on Friday, Dr. Susan Nicholson, head of Women\u2019s Health in the company\u2019s medical safety organization, called the asbestos finding \u201cextremely unusual,\u201d adding that it was \u201cinconsistent with our testing to date.\u201d  The voluntary recall announced on Friday is limited to one lot of Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder produced and shipped in the United States in 2018, the company said. J&J in a news release said that testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as recently as a month ago found no asbestos in their talc. The FDA said in a statement that the latest sampling took place during its testing for asbestos in talc-containing cosmetics that it began reporting this year. A second Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder sample from a different lot tested negative for asbestos, the agency said. The FDA said it stands by the quality of its testing and results and recommended consumers stop using the product if it comes from the affected lot. J&J said on the conference call that it received a report from the FDA on Oct. 17 alerting the company about the asbestos finding. It said it has started an investigation and is reviewing manufacturing records and collecting data on the distribution of the lot to determine where the product was shipped. J&J added that it is working with the FDA to determine the integrity of the tested sample as well as the validity of test results. The type of asbestos discovered by FDA testing has not been found in the mine where the company sources its talc, J&J\u2019s Nicholson said. She described it as an environmental contaminant most commonly found in building materials and industrial applications. J&J said it was too early to confirm whether cross-contamination of the sample had caused a false positive, whether the sample was taken from a bottle with an intact seal or whether the it was prepared in a controlled environment. It added that it could not confirm whether the tested product was authentic or counterfeit. \u201cIt is so critical that we perform a thorough investigation of the sample to determine the source of contamination,\u201d Nicholson said. Since 2003, talc in Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder sold in the United States has come from China through supplier Imerys Talc America, a unit of Paris-based Imerys SA and a co-defendant in much of the talc litigation. Imerys and J&J said the Chinese talc is safe. J&J has known for decades that asbestos lurked in its talc, Reuters reported last year. Internal company records, trial testimony and other evidence show that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company\u2019s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos. Company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it, while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public, Reuters found. J&J has repeatedly said that its talc products are safe, and that decades of studies have shown them to be asbestos-free and that they do not cause cancer. The FDA test indicated the presence of no greater than 0.00002% of chrysotile asbestos in the tested sample, J&J said. The World Health Organization and other authorities recognize no safe level of exposure to asbestos. While most people exposed never develop cancer, for some, even small amounts of asbestos are enough to trigger the disease years later. Thousands of the lawsuits against J&J have been consolidated before a New Jersey federal judge, who is currently weighing company motions to disqualify plaintiffs\u2019 expert witnesses, including the head of an asbestos testing lab who has testified in earlier trials that he found the contaminant in J&J powders. Leigh O\u2019Dell, one of the lead plaintiff attorneys, on Friday said the recall \u201cvindicates the position we\u2019ve been taking for months.\u201d  Wells Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen said in a research note that the recall could encourage additional lawsuits and prompt the company to pursue a broader settlement. Jefferies healthcare strategist Jared Holz said J&J has already lost close to $10 billion in market value due to the talc issue over the past year. He said further downside to J&J stock is likely to be limited because legal concerns over talc are well known and have already taken a toll on the share price. \u201cThis is one single bottle within one lot with barely a trace here,\u201d he said. J&J said in February that it had received subpoenas from the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission for documents related to the asbestos contamination allegations. A Bloomberg report, which Reuters has confirmed, said those inquiries include a criminal grand jury investigation into how forthright J&J has been in its statements about the safety of its powders. While talc products make up less than 1% of J&J sales expected by analysts to reach $82 billion in 2019, the New Jersey-based healthcare-products maker considers its Baby Powder to be an essential facet of a carefully tended image as a caring company."}
{"claim_id": "11269", "claim": "New Surgery to Treat Asthma", "explanation": "This story is chock full of testimonials praising an asthma treatment that uses radio waves to zap troublesome lung tissue. Readers would never guess that the editorial author who commented on the key trial of the device wrote that \u201cThe overall net effect of bronchial thermoplasty in the AIR2 trial is somewhat disappointing.\u201d Indeed, based on the only double-blinded, randomized controlled trial of the device, almost all of the improvement reported by patients could be explained by a placebo effect, something the story doesn\u2019t mention. The story does a commendable job on many of our criteria, but then it stumbles on the fundamental question of how much of an advance the new treatment really is. It also fails to alert readers to financial ties between researchers and the company now marketing a bronchial thermoplasty device. When someone says a new treatment is better, it is imperative to ask, \u201cBetter than what?\u201d By failing to tell readers that most of the people in the control group also improved during the key test of this asthma treatment device, this story paints an overly rosy view. By our calculation, the number needed to treat with this approach is 7 \u2013 you\u2019d need to treat 7 people in order for one to benefit. Wouldn\u2019t that have been helpful information?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Wall Street Journal", "main_text": "The story is concise but thorough. In three sentences it reports that few insurers cover the procedure because it is new, that the cost ranges from $12-18,000 and also that some patients with severe asthma may spend a similar amount on standard care (including hospitalizations.) As noted in the comments on the quality of the evidence, this story left out essential information about the key published trial data of bronchial thermoplasty. While the story includes several patients telling how much better they feel after treatment, it fails to tell readers that most of the patients in the control group also reported feeling much better after undergoing sham treatment. As the editorial accompanying the journal article on the trial noted, it is crucial to include a comparison with a control group when assessing the overall benefit of this sort of intervention. The story fails to give readers that important context. The story reports that the treated patients were less likely than control group participants to have an asthma attack, go to an ER, or lose work or school days. But not only does the story leave out the absolute improvements, it fails to inform readers that when adverse events related to the treatment itself are included, there was no net benefit seen over the first year. Oddly, the story leaves out any mention of the primary outcome measure of the key trial: what the patients reported on a standard questionnaire about their asthma-related quality of life. The story should have pointed out that while about four out of five people treated with bronchial thermoplasty reported clinically significant improvement, almost two out of three people given the sham treatment reported similar improvement. Based on the results reported by researchers, about seven asthma patients would have to be treated in order to get one additional person who says he or she has a significantly better quality of life. The story includes only glowing reports from treated patients and thus gives readers a flawed view of the potential benefits. The story does warn of risks. However, it doesn\u2019t tell readers how common they are. In fact, the researchers reported that 85 percent of patients reported at least one adverse event and that problems (including hospitalizations) occurred often enough in the first few weeks after treatment that it was only when researchers disregarded those treatment-related problems that they saw a net benefit during the first year. The researchers say their longer-term follow-up indicates patients report ongoing benefits according to some of the research measurements, but the story should have pointed out that the potential gains come only after enduring several weeks of recovery and elevated risk. This is where the story gets tripped up. When the trial results were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, an accompanying editorial not only called the results \u201csomewhat disappointing,\u201d it questioned the lack of information about biological basis for the treatment effect. The editorial also highlighted an important trial result that was left out of this story: most of the participants in the control group reported feeling better after receiving sham treatment. The story should have alerted readers to the powerful placebo effect, which makes the anecdotal reports in the story highly suspect. Indeed, if the reporter had interviewed people who got the sham treatment, most of them would have also reported that they were faring much better a year after their \u201ctreatment.\u201d References: Effectiveness and Safety of Bronchial Thermoplasty in the Treatment of Severe Asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2010 Jan 15;181(2):116-24. Epub 2009 Oct 8. Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19815809 Full text: http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/181/2/116 (subscription may be required) Editorial: Bronchial Thermoplasty: Has the Promise Been Met? American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 181. pp. 101-102, (2010) Elisabeth H. Bel, M.D., Ph.D. http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/citation/181/2/101  (subscription may be required)  The story includes an estimate from the device manufacturer that about 10 percent of people with asthma might be candidates for this procedure \u2013 those who have problems controlling their asthma despite trying all standard treatments. It also specifically says that bronchial thermoplasty is not for people with mild, occasional asthma. However, the story closes with a quote saying that doctors will start using the treatment on more patients once they have more experience with it. Will that expanded use be based on evidence or anecdote? Journalists should keep an eye out for practitioners and marketing that encourage people with milder cases of asthma to have this treatment and check to see if there are new clinical trial results to justify the broader use. It\u2019s hard to tell whether an independent source is included. There is no doubt that the story fails to inform readers about the financial ties between most of the quoted experts and the company that funded their research and is now marketing the bronchial thermoplasty device. The conflict of interest statement included with the journal article on the key trial is more than a thousand words long, detailing payments from companies, including Asthmatix, the maker of this device (now part of Boston Scientific), to the lead researchers. The story does disclose that the company provided the contact information for all of the patients quoted in the story. It does not say whether any of the control group participants who got the sham treatment were contacted. The story does refer to standard treatments; however, it portrays standard treatment as often inadequate for the type of patient featured in the story. The editorial accompanying the key research article on this treatment says that the fact that most of the control group participants in the trial reported doing better while they were in the trial may indicate that they had not been getting optimal standard treatment beforehand. The editorial author says bronchial thermoplasty should not be considered unless a patient has first been \u201csubmitted to a rigorous treatment protocol.\u201d In other words, when people with asthma say that standard treatment isn\u2019t working, the real problem may be that they haven\u2019t actually been treated properly. The story notes that the FDA approved this asthma treatment earlier this year and that it is available at about 30 medical centers in the U.S. Bronchial thermoplasty is indeed a relatively new approach to treating asthma. However, almost all of the trial results reported in this story were announced more than a year ago. The news is that the researchers recently presented results from the second year of follow-up at a medical meeting. However, the new information was barely mentioned in the story. The story does not appear to be based on a news release. However, all of the patients quoted in the story were provided by the device manufacturer. Technically, we must give the story a satisfactory score on this criterion since there is no evidence it relied solely or largely on a news release, even though it violates the spirit of the criterion."}
{"claim_id": "9289", "claim": "Definitive tests for irritable bowel syndrome developed at Cedars-Sinai: New blood tests will speed up diagnosis for the most common GI disorder", "explanation": "Image from ibschek.com The release states that two \u201csimple\u201d new blood tests can be used to diagnose irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by detecting antibodies that signal the presence of toxins that can cause IBS. This diagnosis, in turn, would allow patients to receive treatment more quickly. But the release has many problems that start with the headline, which claims there is now a \u201cdefinitive\u201d test for IBS. That\u2019s an exaggeration, as the findings need further validation and they apply only to a subset of patients with diarrhea as their main symptom \u2014 something the release never explains. The release also glosses over some significant points \u2014 such as the fact that there were only 43 control patients (too small a group to draw \u201cdefinitive\u201d conclusions), and that there\u2019s no evidence that treating patients based on these test results will actually improve their outcomes. The cost of the test and its potential harms \u2014 e.g. false-positive results that lead to unnecessary or misguided treatment \u2014 also aren\u2019t explored in any way. [Editor\u2019s note: We\u2019ve also published a review of a CBS News story about the test that shares many of the same shortcomings as this release.] While it\u2019s not clear how many people suffer from IBS, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) reports that IBS affects at least 3 percent of the adult population \u2014 and probably closer to 10 or 15 percent of the adult population. The term \u201cIBS\u201d\u00a0refers to a range of bowel symptoms including pain, constipation, and/or diarrhea. IBS is not meant to represent a single underlying cause, but in fact may represent a number of different conditions that result in functional bowel symptoms. This news release refers to an attempt to develop a test to better categorize certain patients with IBS. Though the news release implies the test is for all patients with IBS, in fact it evaluated two tests for individuals with IBS who had diarrhea as the predominant symptom. The implication that these tests\u00a0may provide a diagnosis for IBS more\u00a0broadly is not correct. Whether these tests hold up as being accurate when applied more broadly to patients with IBS and other related bowel conditions remains to be proven. It would also be important to see how common the test is positive in individuals without chronic bowel symptoms. Finally, even if these tests are specific for individuals with diarrhea-predominant IBS, it\u2019s unclear if it would make any difference in their treatment or lead to a reduction in the severity of symptoms. That\u2019s a premise that still needs to be tested.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Cedars-Sinai,irritable bowel syndrome,news release spin", "main_text": "The story does not address the cost of the IBS diagnostic tests at all. A consumer website for the tests, which are sold by Commonwealth Laboratories Inc., also did not include information about the cost of the tests. The benefits of these tests would be a clear and early diagnosis, allowing patients to receive relevant treatment earlier. But the release\u2019s statement that the blood tests identify these antibodies with 90% certainty is at best misleading. The story never points out that only 33% to 44% of patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS tested positive \u2014 suggesting that most people with IBS will test negative (even though they do, in fact, have IBS). Any release about a new test should explain both the sensitivity and specificity of the test. Moreover, the release doesn\u2019t tell readers that there is no cure for IBS. Instead, as the NIDDKD notes on its site, doctors \u201ccan manage the [IBS] symptoms with a combination of diet, medicines, probiotics, and therapies for mental health problems. You may have to try a few treatments to see what works best for you.\u201d Or, as the Mayo Clinic summarizes, \u201ctreatment focuses on the relief of symptoms so that you can live as normally as possible.\u201d Even without a confirmed diagnosis of IBS, patients would be able to share symptoms with their doctors. As a result, the physical health benefit here may be negligible. No test is 100% accurate. A wrong test result may lead doctors to causes that may not actually be the problem. As such it may lead to inappropriate treatments. That\u2019s a harm that should have been mentioned. While the release does note the overall size (\u201cnearly 3,000 people\u201d) and general outlines of the study, it\u2019s characterization of the evidence is misleading. First, this isn\u2019t a test for IBS in general. It is a test for patients with chronic diarrhea \u2013 or IBS with diarrhea as the primary component. The release is simply wrong to use the general term \u201cIBS\u201d to describe this subgroup of IBS patients. Second, the release doesn\u2019t describe that while the IBS population is large, there were only 43 control patients. It is hard to know how specific the test is without testing in more controls. In addition, the study reported (but the release didn\u2019t mention) that the test wasn\u2019t as good for differentiating IBS from celiac disease, and that\u00a010-15% of inflammatory bowel disease patients (especially Crohn\u2019s disease) also have IBS, so there\u2019s no perfect test for these patients. Finally, such a study needs to be repeated in a new population. Tests and their thresholds are never quite as good when applied to new populations \u2014 something that wasn\u2019t done here. The release says IBS affects \u201cnearly 40 million people\u201d in the U.S., and \u201can estimated 10 percent of the world\u2019s population.\u201d But this isn\u2019t a test for IBS \u2014 it\u2019s a test for those with the diarrhea predominant version. It\u2019s not clear how many people we\u2019re talking about, but according to this study, less than half of the people with IBS meet the criteria for the diarrhea-predominant version. The release exaggerates the potential impact of the test in a way that promotes a commercial interest, so we\u2019ll flag it for disease mongering. We give the release credit here. It clearly notes that the lead author receives consulting fees from Commonwealth Laboratories \u2014 which is the company marketing these tests. And that\u00a0Cedars-Sinai has a license agreement with the company for patent applications covering the blood tests, The release says that IBS has been \u201cnearly impossible to diagnose until now.\u201d But the release also says IBS \u201cis the most common gastroenterological disorder in the United States.\u201d There\u2019s a clear disconnect between these two statements. IBS may not be easy to diagnose, but it is diagnosed. Often, an IBS diagnosis is reached after other conditions have been ruled out. A diagnosis may also come after extensive additional testing. In other words, the new blood tests would be a significantly quicker and easier way to reach diagnosis. But the release should have simply said that. The release clearly states that the tests are already on the market. These are the first blood tests for diagnosing IBS caused by food poisoning, and the release says so. This is a big one. The headline of the release states that \u201cDefinitive tests for irritable bowel syndrome developed\u2026\u201d. However, it would be far more accurate to say that \u201cReasonably accurate tests for diagnosing diarrhea-predominant IBS caused by food poisoning developed\u2026\u201d. The tests are a significant advance, but are still far from foolproof \u2014 after all, \u201cmore than 90 percent accurate\u201d is also \u201calmost 10 percent inaccurate.\u201d Further, it\u2019s not clear how many cases of IBS are caused by food poisoning, or whether identifying such patients with this test will improve their outcomes. All in all, not nearly as \u201csimple\u201d as the release suggests."}
{"claim_id": "30777", "claim": "Donald Trump was not accused of sexual assault until he ran for President in 2016.", "explanation": "President Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by nearly 20 women. Although the majority of those accusations were made public after the start of his 2016 presidential campaign, at least two of those accusations were made long before Trump had a career in politics.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, donald trump, sexual assault, sexual harassment", "main_text": "On 7 October 2016,\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0released audio of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump having a lewd conversation with\u00a0Access Hollywood\u2019s\u00a0Billy Bush in 2005. In it, Trump can be heard making several comments, such as \u201cI don\u2019t even wait. And when you\u2019re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything\u201d and \u201cGrab them by the pussy. You can do anything.\u201d Many interpreted these comments to be admissions of sexual assault. More than a dozen women came forward in the aftermath of the tape\u2019s release with stories of the presidential candidate sexually assaulting them. Among his accusers were\u00a0 a contestant in a pageant he runs and a former contestant on his reality show. One prominent accusation during that time came from a woman who sued saying when she was 13 Trump allegedly solicited her for sex acts\u00a0at a sex party in 1994. In an apparent attempt to discredit these women and their stories, the Facebook page \u201cCapitalists\u201d posted a meme\u00a0in November 2016 claiming that Trump had never been accused of sexual assault until he started campaigning against Hillary Clinton:  This meme was recirculated in December 2017 after three of Trump\u2019s accusers\u00a0joined together to call on congress to launch a bipartisan investigation into the matter. Although an official investigation has not been launched as of this writing, lawmakers such as Kristin Gillibrand have also started pushing for an investigation into Trump\u2019s alleged sexual misconduct. Although Trump had toyed with running for president prior to the most recent election, the meme specifies \u201cran against Hillary.\u201d Trump formally announced that he was running for president against her in June 2015. (Clinton announced in April of that year.) Although the majority of the 19 women accusing Trump of sexual assault did so publicly for the first time after this date, at least two women accused Trump of sexual assault before the start of his 2016 presidential campaign. Ivana Trump\u2019s Court Deposition in 1989:\u00a0 Ivana Trump, Donald\u2019s first wife, used the word \u201crape\u201d under oath during a court deposition to describe an alleged violent sexual encounter with her soon-to-be ex-husband. Ivana\u2019s testimony was described\u00a0in the 1993 book\u00a0Lost Tycoon\u00a0by\u00a0Newsweek\u00a0reporter Harry Hurt III: After a painful scalp reduction surgery to remove a bald spot, Donald Trump confronted his then-wife, who had previously used the same plastic surgeon. \u201cYour fucking doctor has ruined me!\u201d Trump cried. What followed was a \u201cviolent assault,\u201d according to\u00a0Lost Tycoon. Donald held back Ivana\u2019s arms and began to pull out fistfuls of hair from her scalp, as if to mirror the pain he felt from his own operation. He tore off her clothes and unzipped his pants. \u201cThen he jams his penis inside her for the first time in more than sixteen months. Ivana is terrified\u2026 It is a violent assault,\u201d Hurt writes. \u201cAccording to versions she repeats to some of her closest confidantes, \u2018he raped me. '\u201d Ivana Trump released a statement shortly before this book was published to clarify that although she did truly use the word \u201crape\u201d during her deposition, she did not mean it in a \u201cliteral\u201d or \u201ccriminal sense\u201d: When\u00a0Lost Tycoon\u00a0was about to be printed, Donald Trump and his lawyers provided a statement from Ivana, which was posted on the first page of the book. In it, Ivana confirms that she had \u201cfelt violated\u201d and that she had stated that her husband had raped her during a divorce deposition. But Ivana sought to soften her earlier statement. \u201cDuring a deposition given by me in connection with my matrimonial case, I stated that my husband had raped me,\u201d the Ivana Trump statement said. \u201c[O]n one occasion during 1989, Mr. Trump and I had marital relations in which he behaved very differently toward me than he had during our marriage. As a woman, I felt violated, as the love and tenderness, which he normally exhibited towards me, was absent. I referred to this as a \u2018rape,\u2019 but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense.\u201d The statement, according to a \u201cNotice to the Reader\u201d in the book, \u201cdoes not contradict or invalidate any information contained in this book.\u201d According to a 1990 article from\u00a0The New York Times, Ivana ultimately cited\u00a0\u201ccruel and inhuman treatment by Mr. Trump\u201d as grounds for the divorce. Jill Harth\u2019s Lawsuit in 1997: Jill Harth, who at the time went by Jill Harth Houraney,\u00a0filed a lawsuit in 1997 in which she accused Trump, among other things, of attempted rape. Harth\u2019s 12-page complaint\u00a0listed several incidents in which Trump allegedly sexually assaulted her. Harth claimed that Trump treated her like a sexual object, expressed his interest to exploit her as a sex slave, demanded that she sleep with him, groped her during a business dinner party, and attempted to rape her: After Trump business associates left, the defendant (Trump) over the plaintiff\u2019s (Harth\u2019s) objections forcibly prevented plaintiff from leaving and forcibly removed plaintiff to a bedroom, whereupon defendant subjected plaintiff to defendant\u2019s unwanted sexual advances, which included touching of plaintiff\u2019s private parts in an act constituting attempted \u201crape.\u201d Harth also provided several accounts of Trump mistreating other women. Trump denied the allegations. According to Law and Crime,\u00a0the lawsuit was \u201cvoluntarily dismissed\u201d but \u201cwithout prejudice,\u201d meaning that Harth could have decided to refile the lawsuit at a later date. Relying on anonymous sources, the New York Daily News\u00a0reported at the time that the matter ended with a six-figure payout: The case was due to go to trial on July 17 in Manhattan Federal Court, but yesterday sources familiar with the deal said Trump had agreed to a six-figure payout. One source described the settlement as \u201cpeanuts. Just their legal fees. Donald is very happy. Widespread Accusations of Sexism: In addition to these two alleged incidents of forced sexual contact, the President was also repeatedly accused of sexism before he ran against Hillary Clinton. Although the following incidents focus on sexism and not necessarily sexual assault, they are worth mentioning as the meme suggests that Trump\u2019s alleged poor treatment of women didn\u2019t begin until the 2016 election. Former beauty queen Carrie Prejean described how contestants were subjected to the \u201cTrump Rule,\u201d a pre-contest ritual in which Trump and his staff would evaluate the contestants based on appearance, in her 2009 book: \u201cMany of the girls found this exercise humiliating,\u201d Prejean wrote. \u201cSome of the girls were sobbing backstage after [Trump] left, devastated to have failed even before the competition really began\u00a0. . . even those of us who were among the chosen couldn\u2019t feel very good about it \u2014 it was as though we had been stripped bare.\u201d In 2011, the\u00a0Washington Post used the \u201cTrump Rule\u201d as a jumping off point to list several other instances that allegedly displayed Trump\u2019s sexism: The world was reminded of the Trump Rule earlier this month, when New York Times columnist Gail Collins\u00a0published a piece\u00a0detailing how \u201cThe Donald,\u201d in a fit of pique worthy of gossip blogger Perez Hilton, once sent her a copy of her column with the words \u201cFace of a Dog!\u201d scrawled on top of her picture. Collins, it should be noted, is just one of many targets of Trump\u2019s gender-specific hostility: Last year, the master media manipulator\u00a0was accused\u00a0of asking the men on \u201cThe Apprentice\u201d to rate their female peers, based on appearance, just one of\u00a0a number of sexist decisions he\u2019s made over the show\u2019s 11 seasons. (\u201cI bet you make a great wife,\u201d one contestant says he\u00a0told her\u00a0in 2005.) No one is above his reproach. In 2007, commenting on a spat Angelina Jolie was having with her father, Jon Voight, Trump\u00a0disparaged\u00a0the actress\u2019s\u00a0sexual history\u00a0(\u201cshe\u2019s been with so many guys\u201d) and told Larry King, \u201cI just don\u2019t even find her attractive.\u201d [\u2026] Not that Trump cares. \u201cYou know, it doesn\u2019t really matter what [the media] write as long as you\u2019ve got a young and beautiful piece of [expletive],\u201d he told a writer for Esquire in 1991. Trump was also accused of of sexist practices when employees of the Trump National Golf Club filed a a class action lawsuit in 2008. Although the bulk of the lawsuit dealt with the club\u2019s break policies, unpaid reimbursements, and supervisors receiving tips, Lucy Messerschmidt, who was employed as a host at one of the club\u2019s restaurants, said that she would be taken off shifts when Trump was on the premises because he liked to see \u201cfresh faces\u201d and \u201cyoung girls.\u201d The Los Angeles Times\u00a0reported: \u201cDonald Trump always wanted good\u00a0looking women working at the club,\u201d said Sue Kwiatkowski, a restaurant manager at the club until 2009, in a declaration. \u201cI know this because one time he took me aside and said, \u2018I want you to get some good looking hostesses here. People like to see good looking people when they come in.\u2019\u00a0\u201d As a result,\u00a0Kwiatkowski said,\u00a0\u201cI and the other managers always tried to have our most attractive hostesses working when Mr. Trump was in town and going to be on the premises.\u201d The lawsuit was settled in 2013 when the club agreed, without admitting wrongdoing, to pay $475,000 to the employees. Strength in numbers: This meme makes the demonstrably false claim that President Trump was never accused of sexual assault prior to the 2016 election. He was accused of sexual assault during a 1989 court deposition, and again in 1997 lawsuit. It\u2019s worth noting that although it\u2019s true that the majority of sexual assault claims levied against the president weren\u2019t made public until the 2016 election, this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that Trump\u2019s accusers were politically motivated, as suggested by the meme. Victims of sexual assault may decide to keep their stories private for many reasons. In light of the allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, for instance, many women have said that they didn\u2019t initially come forward because they were afraid of how it would affect their careers and personal lives. A 2003 study has shown that \u201c75% of employees who spoke out against workplace mistreatment faced some form of retaliation.\u201d In addition to fearing the repercussions of accusing a powerful person of sexual assault, many victims wrestle with the simple fact that the public may not believe their story. But as more and more women came forward in 2017 to accuse politicians, producers, and businessman of sexually assault, and more importantly, story after story about those men getting fired, resigning, or simply being shunned, the prospect of coming forward became more plausible for some. Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), an anti-sexual-violence group, noted that when one woman comes forward to speak about sexual abuse, other victims may find the courage to do the same: \u201cThe more cases like Weinstein, where victims are able to see that the community is on their side and is willing to believe them when they come forward, I think that has a long-term positive impact and encourages many more people to come forward,\u201d\u00a0 said Scott Berkowitz, president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), an anti-sexual-violence group. Sonia Ossorio, president of the\u00a0National Organization for Women\u2013New York, reiterated this sentiment in an interview with\u00a0Self: \u201cWhen one woman breaks the silence, others are empowered to tell their [stories] [\u2026] Together those stories paint the full picture and create an environment where victims are more likely to be believed.\u201d In Trump\u2019s case, the majority of women accusing him of sexual assault came forward in\u00a0October 2016 after the\u00a0Access Hollywood\u00a0tape was released. At the time, the language of the tape was being condemned by political parties on both sides of the aisle, and public opinion of the candidate appeared to take a hit. It\u2019s in this climate that most of Trump\u2019s sexual accusers came forward with their stories. This meme is strikingly similar to another claim we debunked which argued that President Trump was never accused of being racist until he ran for president. As with that declaration of innocence, however, we found that these accusations of racism were not the political manifestations of a contentious election. In fact, Trump has faced legal action in regard to discrimination laws and was accused of making racist remarks by former employees, committee members, and protesters long before his successful presidential bid in 2016."}
{"claim_id": "28266", "claim": "If you did the \"age challenge\" and used FaceApp to upload your picture, Russians now own all of your photographs.", "explanation": "What's true: FaceApp, the company that developed and runs the aging software used to do the popular online \"age challenge,\" is based in St. Petersburg, Russia. The company uploads user-submitted photographs to the cloud. What's false: FaceApp doesn't take all of the images off users' phones when they use the app. It only accesses the images that are uploaded. What's undetermined: It's unclear what FaceApp stores on its servers and what it does with that data.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Viral Phenomena, faceapp, technology", "main_text": "The so-called \u201c#AgeChallenge\u201d went viral in mid-July 2019, starting with celebrities using technology from the St. Petersburg, Russia-based firm FaceApp to apply wrinkles, bags and gray hair to their faces. But almost as soon as people uploaded pictures of their \u201caged\u201d selves on social media profiles came a backlash. Days after the challenge went viral, software developer Joshua Nozzi took to Twitter and mistakenly raised the alarm that the app was uploading all of the images on users\u2019 devices, whether they selected them or not for the challenge (the app transforms people\u2019s uploaded photographs to show them smiling, sad, etc.). Then came sensationalist headlines reporting (falsely) that \u201cRussians now own all your old photos.\u201d Before long, the panic reached fever pitch, with Democratic lawmakers calling for investigations and warning the technology could be used for election meddling similar to what occurred in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Although FaceApp is based in Russia, that detail alone is not a cause for concern, said Will Strafach, a security researcher and CEO of Guardian Firewall, because \u201canyone from anywhere in the world can access a server and data on it.\u201d So far, no evidence exists supporting fears that using FaceApp creates a national security risk. Instead, concerns relate to personal data privacy. Strafach said many users believed that the images they filtered through the app were processed locally on their phones, but FaceApp actually uploaded the images to the cloud. \u201cNobody knew this data was being uploaded, and no one was able to say whether they were comfortable with that,\u201d Strafach told us. \u201cThey should have had informed consent, and the reason people are so upset is that they didn\u2019t have that choice.\u201d Strafach also said he wasn\u2019t impressed with the company\u2019s public statements in response to fears about the product, stating it did little to assuage concerns about what FaceApp would do with the images once they were uploaded. In a statement sent to TechCrunch (FaceApp has yet to respond to our inquiries), FaceApp said the company only uploaded photographs selected by users, not entire camera rolls, and FaceApp accepts requests from users to delete data from the servers. The company also doesn\u2019t share or sell data to any third party, and said that, \u201cEven though the core R&D team is located in Russia, the user data is not transferred to Russia.\u201d But\u00a0Strafach said he was bothered by the company\u2019s vague statement that \u201cmost\u201d of the images were deleted after 48 hours, but that officials offered no proof of that. He also expressed concerns about whether the company had adequate security measures to protect the collected data from hackers. \u201cNothing in the app made me suspicious until I started seeing their answers. I don\u2019t know what to think because only they know what\u2019s on their servers, that\u2019s the bottomline,\u201d Strafach added. FaceApp\u2019s terms of use have been criticized as being so broad that they give the company wide leverage to do what it pleases with data from users. But that\u2019s not unusual for a company of its type, said Christine Bannan, a consumer privacy and data security attorney for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). The user agreement that gives the company wide leverage is a symptom of a bigger issue, Bannan said. \u201cIt\u2019s a problem that we really do not have privacy protection [legislation] in the U.S.\u201d FaceApp also isn\u2019t new, and when the app itself first went viral in 2017, technology experts raised privacy concerns then. In light of the 2016 election-hacking scandal in the U.S. presidential fight between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, said David Carroll, associate professor of media design at New York\u2019s New School, \u201cThe trust in tech has collapsed, and people are more suspicious of Russia.\u201d\u00a0 Ben Lamm, CEO of the AI technology and service company Hypergiant, told us in an email that, \u201cAny mass aggregation of highly personal information including a likeness to unknown parties should be considered very carefully.\u201d He added: FaceApp is based in Russia, and with that comes concerns about data transfer, data privacy, and government access to data. However, regardless of whether or not the Russian government has malicious intent relevant to this data, anyone could have malicious intent and we have no idea how secure or insecure the data is that the FaceApp team is handling. The general insecurity of all of our data should be the broader national security level concern we must grapple with as a nation. These types of scandals are exacerbated by the fact that the U.S. lags behind other countries, particularly those in Europe, in enacting data-privacy legislation, Bannan said. But on a positive note, Congress is drafting bills on the issue, she added. \u201cThere is hope something could come out of this Congress. There seems to be genuine bipartisan commitment to agreeing to a bill, but it\u2019s ongoing now,\u201d Bannan told us. \u201cThere\u2019s always the hope that stories like this get members of Congress to pay attention and give more urgency to passing something.\u201d Lamm added that the fact the viral challenge spread so quickly \u201cDoes show the ease with which potentially malicious products or news can spread that seem \u2018fun.\u2019 What else can spread while also stealing our information or potentially attacking our systems? We must become a culture that learns to ask questions and protects ourselves.\u201d In summary, no evidence exists that FaceApp gave any information from its servers to any third party, including the Russian government, and using the app doesn\u2019t result in a person\u2019s entire camera roll from a phone being uploaded, either. But as experts have pointed out, the current concern lies with the company\u2019s lack of disclosure about uploading images to its servers, and a lack of transparency about what it does with the data."}
{"claim_id": "5367", "claim": "TravelLab: Adults take over science museums when night falls.", "explanation": "Sometimes, in the middle of the night, nocturnal creatures are allowed to roam the halls of New York\u2019s American Museum of Natural History, free from shouting and swarming children. They are adult humans, known to sometimes quietly contemplate science with a cocktail.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Natural history museums, Ben Stiller, New York, North America, Museums, Science, Travel, American Museum of Natural History, U.S. News", "main_text": "\u201cIf you go to a natural history museum during the day, it\u2019s definitely a space for people who are under 4 feet tall. And that\u2019s clear in every way \u2014 from the soup they serve at the cafeteria to the height of the label,\u201d said Victoria Cain, a museum historian at Northeastern University in Boston. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of fun to reclaim that space for adults.\u201d On a recent June evening, 175 grown-ups signed up for a slumber party at the New York museum, which has capitalized on the hype created by Ben Stiller\u2019s \u201cNight at the Museum\u201d franchise. The museum\u2019s first sleepovers were aimed at kids. Then in 2014, people 21 and up were invited to explore its darkened exhibit halls. The experiment was so popular that other science centers followed suit. Aquariums and museums in Atlanta, Milwaukee, Portland, Oregon, and elsewhere have hosted pajama parties for grown-ups. And they\u2019ve become a hot ticket, according to Cain. \u201cWhen I saw that we could do it and that there was also alcohol, we were like, \u2018Oh my gosh. Someone read our diary,\u2019\u201d said Janine Agarwal, 29, who attended the sleepover at the American Museum of Natural History to celebrate her husband\u2019s birthday. THE EXPERIENCE During the night, guests have dinner in a room full of moon rocks and a 15-ton meteorite, and can wander around the 45 permanent exhibition halls. They can also join guided tours, visit the planetarium, meet with curators and chat with museum scientists about their research \u2014 all while the city rests. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any way you\u2019d be able to experience this place in such a special way as doing this kind of overnight,\u201d said Giancarlo Bruni, of Toronto, as he played with the control panel of a full-size submarine. \u201cIt\u2019s phenomenal.\u201d While only adults are allowed, there is still childish fun to be had. Monica Seebohm and her friend Renee Brown came in hooded T. rex onesies. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for some adventure, and we thought bringing a dinosaur costume was appropriate,\u201d Seebohm said. \u201cWe like to dress for the occasion.\u201d Lights go out at 2 a.m. People can sleep in their own sleeping bags or the museum\u2019s cots, aligned right below the belly of a 94-foot-long blue whale that hangs from the ceiling of the Hall of Ocean Life. Those who feel restless can get cookies and coffee at the Hall of Planet Earth. Michael Nedell, 53, recalled being afraid of the whale as a child. \u201cWhen I was younger, that blue whale freaked me out. I\u2019d been scared of (it) until I grew into a teenager,\u201d he said. \u201cNow I get to sleep under her.\u201d THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT Silence greets those who venture into remote exhibits. That stillness makes a difference for visitors hoping to learn something, said biologist John Karavias. \u201cDuring the day, you\u2019re fighting crowds. You feel like you\u2019re being rushed and all you\u2019re doing is getting an \u2018Ooh!\u2019 and an \u2018Ah!\u2019 but you\u2019re not learning,\u201d said Karavias, who studies the effects of climate change on marine life. \u201cWhen you go to these at night, all the background noise is quieted down and you\u2019re able to digest the science behind everything that you\u2019re looking at.\u201d He was recently invited to show off acrylic bowls filled with weird-looking sea stars and sea urchins. Bright red spikes covered the body of one big star. Another one had arms so thin that they looked like noodles. Some visitors were awed; others recoiled when they touched the marine creatures. Starfish like these depend on a healthy ocean to survive, Karavias explained. But carbon dioxide from the burning of coal and natural gas is making the ocean more acidic. That means sea urchins, mussels, corals and other organisms have a hard time creating their shells or skeletons, which affects their development. A few floors above, tour guide Arlene Katz taught visitors about animals that glow. She approached a tank with an eel snuggled in the rocks. Its camouflaged body was hard to pick out from the sandy bottom. But an ultraviolet film made it glow greenish-blue. It\u2019s not making its own light, like a firefly does. Instead, it absorbs light and releases it as a different color that\u2019s invisible to predators but obvious to other eels. \u201cIt\u2019s a hidden language,\u201d she explained. \u201cSometimes you gotta hide and sometimes you gotta show off. They\u2019re doing it simultaneously. It\u2019s a brilliant solution.\u201d Katz said the sleepover is an opportunity for guests to be surprised by nature. \u201cWe want people to have so much fun that they almost forget they\u2019re learning,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this is not an amusement park. We are sneaking in a lot of information.\u201d If You Go... AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY: Central Park West and 79th Street, New York. Adult sleepovers are offered several times a year. The next one is Sept. 21, $350 per person. ELSEWHERE: Other science centers and institutions also organize adult slumber parties. New York\u2019s Bronx Zoo provides tents for camping on its grounds. The Science Museum of Minnesota will hold a Zombie Adult Camp-in Oct. 26. The Chabot Space Science Center in Oakland, California, will host adults in August to view the Perseids meteor shower. ___ Follow Emiliano Rodriguez Mega on Twitter: @mapache_rm ___ This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "10458", "claim": "Testing Athletes\u2019 Hearts May Cut Deaths", "explanation": "The article describes a study from Italy that reports that rates of sudden cardiac death fell after a screening program with EKG prior to sports participation was instituted. The article does a nice job of including cost and harms information. Letting readers know that screening can lead to unnecessary procedures (which have risks) is particularly valuable, given that many people perceive screening programs to be harmless. The story also provides statements to caution readers about the strength of the evidence, although the fact that this was a population-based cohort study which could not account for all confounders could have been clearer. The article reports benefits in relative terms; providing absolute reductions would have been best particularly because the relative reduction of 89% looks quite large, but the absolute risk is small in the first place and the risk reduction is even smaller. The article also does not describe any alternatives to screening with EKG. Often athletes do have a history and physical before participation and an accompanying editorial published with the study points out that this type of screening may be just as effective as screening with EKG, but we just don\u2019t know. Overall, a balanced presentation, in only 600 words.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The article provides a cost of $20,000 a year for an EKG screening program at one U.S. university. The article also states that if the U.S. adopted such a screening program, approximately 10 million people per year would need to be screened. Yet, it is hard to extrapolate these costs to those of a national screening policy. A key point raised by Dr. Thompson is that the costs need to include not just those associated with the EKG and its interpretation, but also the costs of \u201cfalse positives\u201d \u2013 meaning the workup and potential unnecessary interventions associated with an abnormal screening test. The story tells readers an 89% reduction in deaths occured, but this is a relative reduction \u2013 not an absolute figure. Absolute data is best. One could be aware that the absolute risk is extremely small to begin with and even smaller with screening, but the nature of how small the absolute risk is could be spelled out more clearly. For example, x deaths per million vs. y deaths per million. An independent source points out that screening can be harmful if abnormalities that would never have caused problems are identified, potentially exposing people to unnecessary procedures, which have risks. Another harm is that two percent were excluded from athletics. Clearly fewer than that are at risk for death. So many individuals are labeled with a problem that may not have any dire consequences and may be led to believe that they can\u2019t exercise when in fact they could. This is a population-based observational study, which is not explicit from the story. However, the story tells readers that researchers analyzed trends in sudden deaths from heart problems before and after a screening program in the Veneto region of Italy. An astute reader could probably pick this up from the article. The article points out some limitations of the study (but not all), which serves to caution readers about the strength of the study (it\u2019s not a randomized controlled trial and one cannot be certain that the decrease in death was due to the program). The article briefly describes the problem of sudden death in athletes, describing an estimated number of deaths per year and providing some causes. The article appropriately states this occurs in ~25 individuals each year out of many million. The article does obtain independent input from a doctor at the Minneapolis Heart Institute (who praises the research but also points out such screening is unlikely in the U.S.) and the article also incorporates information from a published editorial accompanying the journal article. The editorial points included in the article provide balance and serve to caution readers about the findings. One alternative to screening with EKG prior to sports participation is not screening at all, but a more common alternative is screening with a pre-participation history and physical (vs. an EKG). These options are not mentioned at all. The article presents the options as EKG vs. nothing. This is not the case. A physical examination with attention to the heart and lungs would be an alternative. EKG (electrocardiogram) testing/screening prior to participation in sports is not widely available in the U.S. and the story tells readers that only a handful of universities participate in pre-participation screening using EKG. In the absence of a standard screening policy, different screening standards would be applied. In general, universities are likely to have a health facility that could perform the test. Smaller schools or high schools may not. The article states that EKG screening prior to sports participation does not routinely occur in the U.S., although Italy has instituted a program since 1982. So, this screening would not be \u201cnew\u201d in and of itself, but applying it as a standard recommendation across the U.S. would be new, and the story does a good job of explaining that. Because the story relied on several independent sources, it seems safe to assume that it did not rely solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "11337", "claim": "Is it Brain Infection or Cancer? A New Rapid Test Could Hold the Answer", "explanation": "This news release promotes a study in the journal PLoS ONE by researchers at Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. The crux: Even basic problems with the brain and other parts of the central nervous system, or CNS, are not only serious but also tough to diagnose \u2014 and especially so in rapid fashion. According to the release, a test that uses a little cerebrospinal fluid, or CNF, gathered from a patient\u2019s spine might help doctors quickly narrow down whether they are dealing with an infection (by a virus, bacteria, or fungus) or some other issue, such as a demyelinating disease or cancer. The key to making this possible are cytokines \u2014 tiny proteins that cells release to sound the alarm to one another \u2014 and a device that can quickly test a small sample of CNF for dozens of different cytokines and their abundances. The release\u2019s title does a decent job of not selling the moon, since it does not promise the \u201choly grail\u201d of identifying a specific problem with one test \u2014 just the presence of an infection or something else. However, the teasing of a rapid doctor\u2019s office-style test when one does not yet exist, and when the sample size is so small (43 people with a wide variety of issues participated) seems dubious \u2014 especially when one of its own authors says additional research is needed to confirm the core findings. It\u2019s also important to highlight that this early data is a \u201cretrospective analysis,\u201d which means that even if the sample size of patients were bigger, it would only suggest that further prospective work needed to be done to validate the testing in patients. Problems with brains and spinal cords are often tough to diagnose. This is because infections by bacteria, fungi, and viruses can manifest similarly to other issues, like cancer or autoimmune diseases. The blood-brain barrier makes sampling the fluid that can hint at what\u2019s going on tricky and painful \u2014 so making the most use of a sample is best. It\u2019s especially key with the youngest patients, whose still-developing bodies and immature immune systems may not be prepared to handle major problems like encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)and also can\u2019t describe their symptoms. If a one-stop test existed that could help doctors rapidly narrow down a long list of suspects for a CNS problem, it could save valuable time and financial resources, and potentially patients\u2019 lives. If this test can be validated it could conceivably improve speed of diagnosis in order to get the most appropriate treatment.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "University news release", "main_text": "No costs for the test are mentioned, but a lumbar puncture can cost anywhere from about $600 to more than $2,000, with a \u201cfair price\u201d being about $1,000, according to Healthcare Bluebook. And this may or may not include the necessary laboratory work on the sample. (The cost of using a device called a Luminex FlexMap 3D assay, which is critical to the study, also isn\u2019t disclosed.) For those with robust insurance plans, only a copay may be necessary. However, those with high-deductible or significant cost-sharing (or co-insurance) plans may be in for some sticker shock. If offices and hospitals will be required to send test samples to specialized labs for analysis that could also impact the cost. The benefits described are put in some numerical context. The results might show the presence of an infection, or something else (like tumors or autoimmune disease). It\u2019s seemingly innocuous, but for young children and babies, who can\u2019t describe their symptoms, such a tissue test could be beneficial, as the release explains. However, it would have strengthened this release to explain why some cytokine signals (and which ones) might be better indicators than others, and to what extent based on the small sample size. Another thing that would have been helpful to explain is the fact that cytokines can also be inappropriately released (without infection, etc). This is a rare occurrence but we\u2019d still want to know that this distinction could be made as well. Getting a \u201cspinal tap\u201d to extract a sample of CNF is nothing to sneeze at. Also called a lumbar puncture, the roughly 45-minute procedure involves inserting a needle into a patient\u2019s lower back, navigating it between two spinal vertebrae, and barely slipping the tip into a sac near the spinal cord. This location allows a doctor to suck out the nervous system\u2019s fluid, which is shared from the brain case down through the spinal cord. But during or after the procedure, there\u2019s up to a 25% chance that fluid will leak into nearby tissues and trigger headaches, according to the Mayo Clinic. Dizziness, nausea, and vomiting up to two days after the procedure can also occur, and the headaches can last as long as a week. Back pain can be an issue, too, as can bleeding at the site of the puncture. The release rightly includes the small sample size of 43 subjects. There\u2019s also a balancing quote from a study author that contains a vital caveat that such a test needs to be confirmed with additional research\u201d before entering use. The closing line of the release also specifies how a larger sample population is needed both in adults and kids. We didn\u2019t note any sensational language. Funding sources and potential conflicts of interest \u2014 or a lack thereof \u2014 weren\u2019t noted in the release. The published study lists \u201cnone\u201d under its author\u2019s declarations of interest. In a cursory check, we also found no evidence that the authors gained to benefit from widespread use of the Luminex FlexMAP 3D assay system, which is key to the rapid analysis of spinal tap samples. This was perhaps the weakest points of the release, since many alternatives do exist and which also use CNF. For example, the color and clarity of CNF can indicate an infection, and the presence of free-floating cancer cells typically indicate some kind of tumor. The release would have been stronger had it brought up these and other standard-of-care procedures, noted how they work, and explained how this particular test may be better or cover a blind spot. Although a doctor\u2019s office test is teased, the release makes clear that it needs to be \u201cconfirmed with additional research.\u201d There are a number of steps ahead before we know if this will indeed be available. If the test is validated it would add a new way to\u00a0identify bacterial infection and identify it faster. The speed component is novel. It\u2019s clear that CNF, and perhaps the patterns of cytokines floating in it, could be a powerful diagnostic tool for doctors trying to diagnose elusive diseases of the central nervous system. The release also notes such signals could be detected early and avoid unnecessary treatments. There was some dramatizing of the conditions and stakes of CNS problems, but nothing that struck us as unjustifiable."}
{"claim_id": "30996", "claim": "A dog named Daisy rescued hundreds of people from the damaged World Trade Center towers on 9/11.", "explanation": "The horror that was September 11 was hard for many of us to accept at the time, thus the need for \u201cmiraculous rescue\u201d tales such as this one \u2026 even if they had to be invented.", "label": "false", "subjects": "September 11th, 9/11, animals, dogs", "main_text": "A blind man named James Crane, a golden retriever called Daisy, the selfless rescue of almost a thousand people from one of the collapsing World Trade Center towers \u2014 if it all sounds too good to be true, that\u2019s because it is, despite the opening line of the following example: This is a true story which happened on 9-11-01. James Crane worked on the 101st of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. He is blind so he has a golden retriever named Daisy. After the plane hit 20 stories below, James knew that he was doomed, so he let Daisy go out as an act of love. With tears in her eyes she darted away into the darkened hallway. Choking on the fumes of the jet fuel and the smoke he was just waiting to die \u2026 About 30 minutes later, Daisy comes back along with James\u2019 boss, who Daisy just happened to pick up on floor 112. On her first run of the building, she leads James, James\u2019 boss and about 300 more people out of the doomed building. But she wasn\u2019t through yet, she knew there were others who were trapped. So, highly against James\u2019 wishes she ran back in the building. On her second run, she saved 392 lives. Again she went back in. During this run, the building collapses. James hears about this and falls on his knees into tears. Against all known odds, Daisy makes it out alive, but this time she is carried by a firefighter. \u201cShe lead us right to the people, before she got injured\u201d the fireman explained. Her final run saved other 273 lives. She suffered acute smoke inhalation, severe burns on all four paws, and a broken leg, but she saved 967 lives. The next week, Mayor Guilaini rewards Daisy with the Canine medal of Honor of New York. Daisy is the first civilian Canine to win such an honor. This is a case of the heroic rescue that wasn\u2019t: This widely circulated Internet tale of canine courage is pure fiction. No dog, of any type or name, rescued several hundred people from the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. One of this fictional item\u2019s more obvious tipoffs was the claim that the imaginary dog went to the 112th floor of the damaged tower to retrieve more victims in need of rescuing \u2014 an impossibility, as both World Trade Center towers topped out at 110 floors. One version of the Internet forward concluded with \u201ccopied from NEW YORK TIMES 9-19-01.\u201d That claim is as fake as the rest of the piece: no such article ran in the New York Times or in any other publication, on that date or any other. At least two men were guided to safety from the World Trade Center buildings by their guide dogs: Michael Hingson from the 78th floor by Roselle, and Omar Rivera from the 71st floor by Salty. Neither dog returned to those buildings to rescue others, though. Roselle and Salty received a joint Dickin Medal for their actions on 9/11, as did a NYPD Search and Rescue dog named Appollo, but no dog was given the \u201cCanine Medal of Honor of New York\u201d (an award that does not exist) by New York mayor Rudy Guilaini in connect with the 9/11 attacks."}
{"claim_id": "9009", "claim": "Brain scans may help diagnose neurological, psychiatric disorders", "explanation": "This news release reports findings from a study of functional MRI (fcMRI) scans in which researchers\u00a0analyzed data from more than 10 hours of fcMRI scans on each of nine people. During the scans, each person performed a variety of tasks to determine the extent to which their behaviors altered the picture of their brain activity. The researchers found that each person\u2019s brain imaging changed little from day-to-day or task-to-task. That is, the brain scans appeared to reflect fundamental, stable features of the brain. The release suggests that, based on these findings, its possible to use this type of brain scan to diagnose individual traits or diseases. That is very premature. Diagnostic tests have yet to be developed. The release headline promises more than the news release delivers, and there\u2019s a real question as to whether this information is useful to the public, or just misleading. The heading of this news release proclaims hopefully that \u201cBrain scans may help diagnose neurological, psychiatric disorders.\u201d\u00a0 Whereas at present depression, bipolar disorder, and many other mental illnesses can only be diagnosed based on self-reported symptoms or observations of behavior, this release suggests we are on the verge of being able to diagnose these conditions via a particular type of MRI. However, the study referred to simply laid the groundwork for research testing whether functional networks in individuals\u2019 brains are relatively stable over time. Diagnostic applications remain to be developed.", "label": "false", "subjects": "functional connectivity MRI,Washington University School of Medicine", "main_text": "No mention is made of the cost of functional MRIs, or how likely it is that insurance companies might cover that cost. Some numbers would have been helpful here to put the findings in context. Consistency of the brain scans for the various mental tasks is not quantified in the news release. Furthermore, contrary to the implications of the headline, this study didn\u2019t actually develop any diagnostic tools for depression, migraines, or other brain ailments. It simply laid the groundwork for research about these issues by testing whether functional networks in individuals\u2019 brains are relatively stable over time. That\u2019s a preliminary step that is needed, but it\u2019s still preliminary. No mention is made of discomforts or potential dangers associated with MRIs. The news release goes into some detail about the number of people and hours of brain activity that were measured, with 333 different areas of participants\u2019 brains identified and compared. A sample of nine people is small, but 10 hours of data per volunteer provided researchers with 90 hours of fcMRI data to analyze. Although it over promises on the applicability of the study results, no disease mongering is evident. Funders of the study are listed on a sidebar of the news release hosting site, EurekAlert! Brief mention is made of self-reporting and behavior as current options for diagnosing illnesses like migraines, depression, and bipolar disorder but there\u2019s no mention of their limitations or how a new diagnostic test might compare. We are not told how available fcMRIs are to the general public. The news release explains why findings in the study are news and why they could, in the words of the lead authors, \u201copen\u00a0the door to an entire new field of clinical testing.\u201d The headline and opening paragraph are misleading since they suggest there\u2019s already a medical application for this research. It\u2019s important to remember, though, that this is basic science research that may or may not eventually lead to clinical applications after much more research years into the future."}
{"claim_id": "9848", "claim": "Prostate cancer treatment may spark heart problems", "explanation": "Although this story tries to put things in perspective, the headline and lead sentences push readers onto shaky ground that is not supported by the evidence presented. It jumps back and forth between evidence and speculation. This story improperly presents hormone therapy as a single type of treatment and the choice for patients being to either get \u201cit\u201d or not. In fact, there are several varieties of hormonal approaches used in prostate cancer treatment and this study found that different therapies were associated with different levels of heart disease risk, thus raising the possibility that refining treatment choices could minimize the concerns. The study was an observational review of heart disease among men being given hormonal therapies for prostate cancer. The story should have made clear that this type of study cannot establish cause-and-effect. What\u2019s more, the study design appears to have serious limitations that are not addressed in the story. This last point highlights one hazard of reporting on presentations at medical meetings; unlike articles published in leading journals, meeting presentations do not undergo formal peer review. As a result, weaknesses in the design, gaps in the data and alternative explanations may be undeclared\u2026 and then unreported by journalists.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Costs are not mentioned in the story. Other than one general quote at the very end of the story, there is no explanation of why some men with prostate cancer are given hormonal therapies or how the expected benefits of the therapies compared with potential side effects. This story focuses on one potential harm of hormonal therapies given to men with prostate cancer. And while some specifics are included in the body of the story, the headline and lead of the story paint a much harsher picture of the potential risk than do the actual statistics reported by the researchers. Although this study used data on a very large number of patients with prostate cancer, its results don\u2019t justify the headline claim that \u201cprostate cancer treatment may spark heart problems.\u201d By its very nature, this sort of observational study can only point out associations, not causation. While this analysis meshes with hints from earlier reports that raised questions about whether eliminating or blocking testosterone might have some effect on the hearts of patients, it leaves huge questions unanswered. For example, the reporter failed to address an important concern about the design of the study: that it compared prostate cancer patients who received hormonal therapies to people in the general population. By not comparing prostate cancer patients who received hormonal therapies to other prostate cancer patients who did not receive hormonal therapies, the researchers left open the possibility that men with prostate cancer have a higher risk of developing heart disease in general\u2026 and that at least some of the hormonal therapies may not actually be associated with additional heart disease risk. In addition, while this story reported that \u201c[p]revious studies have found hormone therapy given to prostate cancer patients with a history of heart disease increases their chances of dying,\u201d it failed to tell readers that this latest study found that men with a previous history of heart disease had a less pronounced increase in risk of an event. Plenty of caveats. There was no overt disease-mongering of prostate cancer nor of heart disease. The story included quotes from two independent experts but not much balance therein. One seems to inappropriately exaggerate the potential benefit of hormone therapy and the other seems to minimize the potential for harm from its use. The story should have also noted the sources of funding for the study. According to a news release, the study was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Stockholm Cancer Society and Cancer Research UK. Nonetheless, the story barely meets the expectation for this criterion. The story does not tell readers what other options men with prostate cancer have. The story points out that hormone therapy is commonly given to men with prostate cancer. However, the lead sentences mislead readers by describing hormone therapy as a single treatment, rather than a collection of different treatments. The distinction is particularly important because this study and others indicate that different hormonal therapy techniques may be associated with different risks of heart disease. The story does not explain how this study is different than previous studies on this topic. Indeed, the story ignored the key finding that different hormonal therapies were associated with different heart disease risks, thus raising the possibility that treatment choices could be refined. The story does not appear to rely largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "2107", "claim": "Ban trans fats and cut salt, demands UK health body.", "explanation": "Britain\u2019s influential health cost watchdog called on Tuesday for major changes in food production and marketing and said drastic cuts in fat and salt levels were needed to halt the scourge of heart disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said trans fats, which do little more than prolong shelf life, should be banned from all food, saturated fat levels cut drastically and average salt intake more than halved by 2025. If these changes were implemented, around 40,000 early deaths could be prevented each year in Britain alone and millions of people could spared the suffering of living with the effects of heart disease and stroke, NICE said. Mike Kelly, NICE\u2019s director for public health, said the financial costs of heart disease added up to around 30 billion pounds ($44.5 billion) a year in Britain, taking in treatment costs, lost productivity, care and other social costs. \u201cThis is a big ticket item. And it is something that is eminently within our power to do something about,\u201d he told a briefing. \u201cThis isn\u2019t some mystery virus which we don\u2019t understand ... this is something where we know precisely what the causes are and we know precisely what we can do about it.\u201d   NICE does not produce legislation but it is asked by the government to draw up health policy guidelines. NICE said policymakers should aim to reduce average adult salt intake in Britain to 3 grams a day by 2025 from around 8.5 grams now and introduce laws on cuts if necessary. Politicians were also urged to negotiate at European Union and national level to ensure agricultural policy took account of public health issues. Kelly said this meant encouraging farmers to concentrate on producing high quality food such as fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products, lean meats and whole grains. It also urged the government to tighten planning laws to stop fast-food outlets setting up too close to schools, and said legislation should be considered to force the food industry to cut saturated fat levels if they would not do so voluntarily. The European Society of Cardiology praised NICE for setting out \u201ca range of evidence-based recommendations for effective action\u201d to help reduce levels of heart disease and said its guidelines also had \u201cimportant messages for the rest of Europe.\u201d   \u201cThis is an extremely strong document that clearly underlines how much can be gained ... by introducing legislative changes protecting the content of diets,\u201d said ESC spokesman Lars Ryden from the Sweden\u2019s Karolinska Institute. NICE, which produced its guidelines on preventing heart disease after two years of work, cited scientific research showing that in countries such as Japan, the United States, Denmark and Finland \u2014 where some laws are in place banning certain fats and forcing lower in salt levels \u2014 dramatic health benefits swiftly follow. \u201cThe benefits of doing this will be seen remarkably quickly, within 2-3 years,\u201d said Simon Capewell, a member of NICE\u2019s panel and a professor of epidemiology at Liverpool University. He said that if salt levels in food were gradually reduced by between 5 and 10 percent a year, most consumers would not notice any difference in taste. This suggests the food industry, which has sometimes argued that consumers complain if it cuts food salt levels too far, has little to back such claims. Cutting salt intake substantially reduces blood pressure, helping to lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure is ranked as the world\u2019s number one killer, accounting for 7.5 million deaths a year."}
{"claim_id": "10370", "claim": "Women Taking Calcium Supplements May Risk Heart Health, Researchers Say", "explanation": "It\u2019s a difficult task given the sheer volume of research and the differences between the studies in question. The story mostly succeeds and deserves praise for taking a cautious tone. We would have liked to have seen more of the evidence presented in absolute terms, though, to help readers understand the significance of the findings. As with many of the findings coming out of the landmark Women\u2019s Health Initiative study, research related to calcium and heart health can leave consumers confused and even scared. Does calcium in a regular, balanced diet raise a person\u2019s risk of having a heart attack or stroke or does this only apply to calcium supplements? And might the effect of those supplements be mitigated by other components of a person\u2019s diet? All of these are questions that arise out of the series of studies that have begun to pile up in recent years. This story goes a long way toward answering some of them, but it also may leave readers confused on several points.", "label": "true", "subjects": "HealthDay,Supplements", "main_text": "The story makes no mention of costs. Given that calcium supplementation can last for decades, we think costs would have been important information and easy to access. Although calcium supplements are inexpensive for the individual, the amount of money in aggregate that is spent on supplements would be an important piece of context. Because this study was focused on avoiding the risk of heart attack and stroke, we think that the benefits category is not applicable here. The story attempted to quantify the potential harms from calcium, but, because the numbers were presented only in relative terms, we feel readers will not be able to adequately assess for themselves whether they need to change their behavior. For example, the story says, \u201cwomen who were randomized to take calcium and vitamin D as part of the study protocol had a modest 13 to 22 percent increased risk of cardiovascular problems, particularly heart attacks.\u201d Then it says, \u201cThe case against calcium became stronger when researchers added in data from 13 other, unpublished trials involving almost 30,000 women. Now the increased risk for heart attack was 25 to 30 percent and, for a stroke, 15 to 20 percent.\u201d We\u2019re not sure why a 22 percent increased risk is considered \u201cmodest,\u201d while a 25 percent increased risk is cause for alarm. Some absolute numbers and even an explanation showing the number of women who would have to take calcium regularly in order to see one heart attack would have been good context. The story presents good information about the design of the latest study, although we would have liked to have seen more details. The story also addresses the study\u2019s limitations, saying, \u201cAnd in an accompanying journal editorial, medical professors Dr. Bo Abrahamsen and Dr. Opinder Sahota wrote that due to study limitations, \u2018it is not possible to provide reassurance that calcium supplements given with vitamin D do not cause adverse cardiovascular events or to link them with certainty to increased cardiovascular risk. Clearly further studies are needed and the debate remains ongoing.\u2019\u201d  The story does not engage in disease-mongering and, in fact, takes a very cautious approach to the topic. This could have been a story that attempted to grab readers\u2019 attentions by striking a fear-inducing note. Instead, it says repeatedly that the scientific consensus is still forming and that there may not be any dramatic clinical practice changes as a result of this latest study. The story quotes some good independent sources, including Dr. Philip Houck, assistant professor of internal medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and Dr. Susan V. Bukata, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The story does not provide readers with any information about possible alternatives, saying only that women should be making sure that they get a maximum of 1,500 milligrams of calcium from both their diets and supplements combined. This isn\u2019t a very good guidepost for readers. We would have liked to have seen at least a sentence or two indicating what patients might be able to do for bone strength, if anything, were they to avoid calcium supplementation. The story stated:\u00a0\u201cMany older women take calcium supplements with or without vitamin D to keep their bones strong, especially since that has long been standard medical advice.\u201d So availability and widespread use is clear. The story does a great job explaining why these study findings are an important step in sorting out the role of calcium in heart health while showing that this study alone will not answer all the questions patients might have. This story goes well beyond any news release."}
{"claim_id": "2753", "claim": "Study finds deregulation fuelling obesity epidemic.", "explanation": "Governments could slow or even reverse the growing obesity epidemic if they introduced more regulation into the global market for fast foods such as burgers, chips and fizzy drinks, researchers said on Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggested that if governments took firmer action, they could start to prevent people becoming overweight and obese - conditions with serious long-term consequences such as diabetes, heart diseases and cancer. \u201cUnless governments take steps to regulate their economies, the invisible hand of the market will continue to promote obesity worldwide with disastrous consequences for future public health and economic productivity,\u201d said Roberto De Vogli of the University of California, Davis, in the United States, who led the study. The WHO is urging governments to do more to try to prevent obesity happening in the first place, rather than risking the high human and economic costs when it does. Suggested policies include economic incentives for growers to sell healthy, fresh foods; disincentives for industries to sell ultra-processed foods and soft drinks; cutting subsidies to growers and companies who use large amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, chemicals and antibiotics; and tighter regulation of fast-food advertising, especially to children. The research analyzed the effect on obesity of deregulation in the economy over time, including in the agriculture and food sectors, and the resulting increase in so-called \u201cfast food transactions\u201d - in other words, the number of times people bought fast food. The researchers compared the number of fast food transactions with body mass index (BMI) in 25 high-income countries between 1999 and 2008. They found that, as the average number of annual fast food transactions increased from 26.61 to 32.76 per person, average BMI increased from 25.8 to 26.4. Someone with a BMI of 25 or more is overweight, while a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. Vogli said that, while the research was based on data from wealthy countries, its findings were also relevant to developing countries. \u201cVirtually all nations have undergone a process of market deregulation and globalization - especially in the last three decades,\u201d he said. The average number of fast food transactions per person increased in all 25 countries. The sharpest gains were in Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, while the lowest were in countries with more stringent market regulation - such as Italy, the Netherlands, Greece and Belgium. Francesco Branca, director of the WHO\u2019s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, said the findings showed how important public policies were in addressing obesity. \u201cPolicies targeting food and nutrition are needed across several sectors including agriculture, industry, health, social welfare and education,\u201d he said. \u201cCountries where the diet is transitioning from one that is high in cereals to one that is high in fat, sugar and processed foods need to take action to align the food supply with the health needs of the population.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "33407", "claim": "The opening line of the Christmas carol \"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\" means \"God make you mighty, gentlemen.", "explanation": "The opening line of the Christmas carol 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' is not a reference to the Lord's bestowing might upon Christians.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Holidays, christmas", "main_text": "In recent years every Christmas season has been accompanied a number of stories about the so-called \u201cWar on Christmas,\u201d a term which refers to supposed efforts by government, businesses, and non-religious groups and organizations to disassociate the celebration of Christmas from Christianity and instead focus on its secular aspects (or to replace the celebration of Christmas with a generic winter \u201choliday\u201d). Although it is much less common and it doesn\u2019t have a catchy name, the reverse phenomenon also occurs: attempts are made by Christians to infuse secular elements of Christmas with religious symbolism and meaning they did not originally possess. Thus every Christmas season also brings the circulation of apocryphal tales about how candy canes were created to symbolize Jesus, and how persecuted Catholics secretly encoded tenets of their faith into the song \u201cThe Twelve Days of Christmas.\u201d  Another example in the latter vein is the claim that the Christmas carol \u201cGod Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\u201d originated in the 15th century as a reaction to  the \u201cdark, somber [Christmas] songs usually written in Latin\u201d of the time, and that its title phrase would more meaningfully be rendered in modern English as \u201cGod make you mighty, gentlemen\u201d:  One of the best loved Christmas music is the song \u201cGod rest ye merry, gentlemen.\u201d The lyrics are quite odd as we study it. God rest ye merry, gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember, Christ, our Saviour Was born on Christmas day To save us all from Satan\u2019s power When we were gone astray O tidings of comfort and joy,  It is a song that depicts the gospel \u2014 Christ came, destroy the works of the devil and now we can rest and have comfort and joy \u2014 thus we say MERRY CHRISTMAS, right? Wrong if you trace the real meaning of the word merry in old english. In Old English the word merry could mean happy but it is also used in place of the word mighty. Examples would be Robin Hood\u2019s merry (mighty) men. The merry men were not some happy go lucky bunch but were men that King Richards fear. The nation of Great Britain was called \u201cMerry Old England\u201d \u2014 which was a powerful nation back then. The sentence EAT, DRINK and BE MERRY was used during war times when soldiers would have to eat and drink because tomorrow they conquer. Thus knowing the origin of the words would make our Christmas different. Knowing the true meaning of Christmas is pretty much huge. Merry is not Santa Clause and all things cute about Christmas Merry is MIGHTY. It is when Jesus came down on earth, born in a manger, grew up as a carpenter and was laser focused on his mission \u2014 to destroy the works of the devil and to save mankind from sin. Now that is Merry Mighty Christmas!!!! You have heard it said, \u201cThings aren\u2019t always what they appear to be.\u201d Well, when we sing the Christmas carol, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, this saying is certainly true. With the changing of word meanings and difference in cultures, it is hard for Americans today to understand what the English peasants were singing about 500 years ago \u2014 unless you know the story behind the song. The 15th century church sang only dark, somber songs usually written in Latin. When Christmas rolled around each year, songs of joy and happiness were not allowed in the church. To overcome this problem, the people took the singing of Christmas songs to the streets of jolly old London town. Soon, the waites, the night watchmen of that time, would be singing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen as they walked the streets of London. Even Charles Dickens would include the song in his classic A Christmas Carol. This song was popular with the people because of a very strong message \u2014 one we desperately need today. Each Christmas, we greet each other with the word merry, meaning happy. Back in the Middle Ages, the word \u201cmerry\u201d meant great and mighty. For example, Robin Hood\u2019s merry men might be better understood as mighty men. Then, there\u2019s the word \u201crest.\u201d The meaning back then was keep or make. These original meanings would be clearer today with the addition of a modern comma. Thus, the true meaning of the song is \u201cGod make you mighty, gentlemen,\u201d which is a message for back then and a message for today. So many, at Christmas time, will never hear or see the true reason for this holiday which is Christ\u2019s birth. The activities, the distractions, the lack of time and money, will rob most of this important message. They will be deceived into thinking it\u2019s just another Merry Christmas, and the New Year will bring more heartache and pain. We, as mighty men and women, can make a difference this Christmas by living our faith before them. Amid the holly and the tinsel, we can tell them that Christ was born to die and that, in Him, we might live forever. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is more than just a Christmas carol. It\u2019s our rallying song to show the world that, at Christmas time, things aren\u2019t always what they appear to be. Although \u201cGod Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\u201d has always been an undeniably religious (rather than secular) Christmas carol, the additional elements that are now claimed of it are not supported by textual and linguistic analysis:     o England was not known as \u201cMerry England\u201d (or \u201cMerrie Old England\u201d) because England was mighty or powerful; that term refers to an idealized conception of pastoral English life in which the word \u201cmerry\u201d meant \u201cbountiful\u201d or \u201cprosperous.\u201d o Robin Hood\u2019s \u201cMerry Men\u201d did not come by that title because they were a band of mighty adventurers (nor because they were a happy and upbeat group), but rather because \u201cmerry man\u201d was a late 14th century term used to refer to a companion in arms, such as someone who followed a knight or an outlaw. o The phrase \u201ceat, drink, and be merry\u201d derives from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes (8:15) and the New Testament book of Luke (12:19), not from an exhortation to soldiers heading off to war, and it is clear from the contexts in which the phrase appears (regardless of which English translation of the Bible one chooses) that the word \u201cmerry\u201d is intended to convey a sense of joyfulness, not might:  Ecclesiastes 8:15: \u201cThen I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.\u201d Luke 12:19: \u201cAnd I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.\u201d  The notion that this phrase applied to soldiers stems from the form \u201cLet us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die,\u201d which derives from Isaiah 22:13. However, that Biblical verse refers only to eating and drinking; it includes no mention of being merry (or any other synonym of merriment):   Isaiah 22:13: \u201cAnd behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.\u201d      There is at least one small element of truth to these otherwise inaccurate claims, though: The song\u2019s titular phrase is often mispunctuated as \u201cGod Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen\u201d rather than \u201cGod Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen\u201d thereby mistakenly implying that the gentlemen of note have made so much merry that God need ease them to sleep:  First of all, \u201cGod rest you merry, gentlemen\u201d is correct, not \u201cGod rest you, merry gentlemen.\u201d  The verb \u201crest\u201d is used here in the way now most familiar from the phrase \u201crest assured\u201d. In earlier English it was used with a variety of other complements:  the OED has \u201crest thee merry\u201d from 1400; \u201crest you well\u201d from 1420; \u201cGod rest you merry\u201d, \u201crest you fair\u201d, and \u201crest you happy\u201d, and \u201crest myself content\u201d from Shakespeare; \u201crest thee tranquil\u201d from Shelley, and \u201crest thee sure\u201d from Tennyson. The song is now widely misunderstood as being addressed to \u201cmerry gentlemen\u201d, first because this use of \u201crest\u201d is now obsolete except in the phrases \u201crest assured\u201d and \u201crest easy\u201d, and secondly because the [melody now commonly used with these lyrics] supports that stress pattern."}
{"claim_id": "8967", "claim": "Scans cut heart attack rates and save lives, major study finds", "explanation": "This brief news release describes a single positive finding from the 4,000-patient SCOT-HEART study:\u00a0 roughly half of patients with stable chest pain who were randomized to receive computed tomography angiogram (CTA) and standard care had fewer heart attacks over 5 years than those who received standard care alone. But there\u2019s a flaw in the headline and first sentence of the release. This study shows zero difference in deaths, and as the authors acknowledge in the published study, the entire difference between the groups was driven by non-fatal heart attacks. Another problem with the news release is that these benefits are expressed in dramatic relative terms, instead of the much more modest (and helpful) absolute terms. Readers are left with little guidance regarding what may account for the slight drop, and if this really represents a \u201cmajor\u201d reduction as claimed by the lead author. Finally, readers would have been better served if a discussion of alternative screening methods, conflicts of interest, and potential downstream costs and risks had been included. As a positive, the release mentions the potential to avoid\u00a0invasive testing via angiogram, which has a very real death rate. What may really be at issue here is whether roughly $1 million scanners are truly better than the non-invasive tests we already have. It remains unclear which patients benefit most from these tests, whether the scans provide actionable information (or simply lead to further confirmatory tests), and what will be their true costs.", "label": "false", "subjects": "heart disease,heart scans,University of Edinburgh'", "main_text": "The news release mentions that a computed tomographic angiogram (CTA) is cheaper than traditional angiograms but neither a cost or a rough cost comparison of the procedures is given. There are also other costs to consider since a positive CTA will often lead to further testing. The study (but not the release) explained that further testing was examined as part of the analysis but no difference was observed \u2014 that\u2019s one of the strengths of this study. We\u2019re told the diagnostic procedure: Supporting data from the study are not provided. It appears the release misinterpreted the results. As noted above, it would have been preferable to include absolute and not just relative numbers. The release notes that CTA scans are \u201csafer\u201d than angiograms because CTAs don\u2019t require the insertion of tubes into the body. But no other harms are mentioned and many readers may want to know about radiation exposure and allergic responses to the contrast dye used. According to the study,\u00a0 those who did have a CTA scan ended up having more invasive coronary angiograms and coronary opening procedures in the months following the scan. These procedures carry considerable risks. The lead author is quoted as saying the study shows a \u201cmajor\u201d reduction in the future risk of heart attacks, and this has \u201cmajor\u201d implications for the diagnosis and management of patients with suspected heart disease. But the 40% drop in heart attacks noted in the 5-year follow-up period is a relative reduction. The absolute decrease measured was from 3.9% to 2.3%, or an absolute drop of 1.6%. That is quite modest. Also, as mentioned in an editorial accompanying the study, \u201cthe benefit seen in the CTA group might be attributable mostly to changes in medical management that were made on the basis of the testing results.\u201d There is no disease mongering. Some information on the prevalence of heart attacks among the patient population would put the problem in context. National funding sources of the study are mentioned. What\u2019s not mentioned is that the lead author quoted in the release receives grant funding from Siemens, a major manufacturer of CTA scanners. No mention is made of other non-invasive tests used to screen for coronary artery disease, such as calcium scans, exercise ECG\u2019s, echocardiography, and nuclear heart scans to name a few. These alternatives are named in the published study. It\u2019s not clear from the release just how available CTA scanners are. The lead author is quoted as saying: This is the first time the CT-guided management has been shown to improve patient outcomes with a major reduction in the future risk of heart attacks. There are other studies \u2014 most notably the PROMISE trial \u2014 which followed patients for just 2 years and found no changes in patient outcomes when comparing CTA with other noninvasive screening tests. This study followed patients for 5 years to see if the differences persisted and they didn\u2019t. The title is misleading because it implies it\u2019s the scan itself that cuts heart attack risk and save lives. But the study cannot account for whether this risk reduction \u2014 which was quite modest \u2014 may be attributable to lifestyle changes subsequent to the scan, or that the findings from the scan lead to more aggressive pharmaceutical management of risk factors. The published study notes that this is likely the case \u2014 and that\u2019s the whole point \u2014 having more accurate diagnoses may have the downstream effect of better management."}
{"claim_id": "1744", "claim": "Methamphetamine use soars in Iran as lifestyles speed up.", "explanation": "Women in headscarves and men in tatty clothes puff on a glass pipe as smoke swirls around their faces. The pictures published by Iranian media and blogs in recent months are a sign of a new drug epidemic: shishe, or methamphetamine.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Shishe means \u201cglass\u201d in Farsi, a reference to the appearance of the drug in some of its purest forms. In less than a decade, methamphetamine use has skyrocketed in Iran to the point where now about 345,000 Iranians are considered addicts, according to official statistics. Seizures of methamphetamine soared 128 percent between 2008 and 2012, topping all other countries in the region, according to figures compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Last year alone, the government of Iran confiscated 3.6 tonnes of shishe. A top official from the Iran Drug Control Headquarters said last year that shishe could be found in Tehran in \u201cless than five minutes,\u201d according to the Iranian Students\u2019 News Agency. Shishe addicts in Iran are mostly urban, middle class and young, experts say. Notably, there are a large number of women who abuse shishe, too. One of the main reasons why shishe use has spread quickly in Iran is a lack of information about the drug, which has led casual users to believe, erroneously, that it is not addictive, experts say. Struggling university students have begun abusing it to stay up longer and try to boost their performance in school. Women have been sold the drug in beauty salons with the promise that it will help them lose weight, according to local media reports. \u201cWe really had a hard time convincing people that this is addiction,\u201d said Azaraksh Mokri, a psychiatrist who teaches at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences and has dealt extensively with the issue of shishe addiction. Opium addiction has long been a problem in Iran partly because of a tolerance for its use even in conservative rural areas, and also because of the country\u2019s long border with Afghanistan, for decades one of the top opium producers. Opium is still the most abused drug in Iran, according to official statistics. Shishe began to make inroads in the country about a decade ago, luring users who preferred its effects as a stimulant to  the more soporific opium, which was seen as a drug of the poor and elderly. That shift has been characterized as a change between drugs which are known as sonati, or traditional, and those that are sanaati, or manufactured, according to local media. The use of shishe was partly driven by increased development in the country and more complicated and faster-paced lifestyles, experts say. Initially, the drug was imported but it later began to be produced locally. UNODC figures show that the domestic use of pseudoephedrine, one of the key ingredients for making shishe, jumped from five tonnes in 2006 to 55 tonnes in 2012. Drug use and addiction is so prevalent in Iran that it is the second highest cause of death in the country after traffic accidents, a senior official from the Iran Drug Control Headquarters said in early November, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Iran has some of the harshest drug laws in the region, regularly executing smugglers and drug peddlers. At the same time, the country has had a degree of success in the treatment of addiction, experts say. \u201cShishe is something that in a short time, in comparison to other things, has very severe effects on behavior,\u201d said Said Kafrashi, an advisory physician and therapist at the Aayandeh addiction rehabilitation clinic in Tehran. The clinic often tries to bring families of shishe addicts into the rehabilitation process in order to examine all the social factors that may have led to the drug use. \u201cThe family plays a role here,\u201d said Kafrashi. \u201cIn light of the individual\u2019s behavior, the family needs to change their behavior too.\u201d  Still, despite some success in the treatment of shishe addiction, Iran\u2019s battle with the drug is far from over. \u201cWe need to do something so that they don\u2019t die, don\u2019t kill themselves, don\u2019t kill others, and don\u2019t get psychosis so they can mature out and get out,\u201d said Mokri."}
{"claim_id": "31622", "claim": "Bill Gates has openly admitted that vaccinations are designed so that governments can depopulate the world.", "explanation": "This is obviously a far cry from, as YourNewsWire.com\u00a0puts it, having Bill Gates tell us \u201chow we must all consent to a \u2018kill the humans\u2019 strategy, to \u2018save the planet\u2019 from the carbon dioxide we make.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, bill gates, childhood mortality, gates foundation", "main_text": "On 21 January 2016, dubious news and conspiracy theory site YourNewsWire.com published a story with the headline \u201cBill Gates Admits \u2018Vaccines Are Best Way To Depopulate\u2019\u201d. The article opens with a\u00a0damning claim: Bill Gates has openly admitted that vaccinations are designed so that governments can depopulate the world. To support this claim, the site\u00a0presented a February 2011 clip of Bill Gates being interviewed by CNN\u2019s Sanjay Gupta about his foundation\u2019s vaccination efforts: Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Ten billion dollars over the next 10 years to make it \u201cthe year of the vaccines.\u201d What does that mean exactly? Bill Gates: Over this decade, we believe unbelievable progress can be made, in both inventing new vaccines and making sure they get out to all the children who need them. [\u2026] we only need about six or seven more \u2014 and then you would have all the tools to reduce childhood death, reduce population growth, and everything \u2014 the stability, the environment \u2014 benefits from that. To make sure the point was not lost on the reader, YNW repeated the \u201creduce population growth\u201d, emphasized above, numerous times at a variety of different playback speeds, as if to suggest this was a slip of the tongue revealing some nefarious secret. This narrative is reinforced with another video that opens with this text: Next are two short excerpts from a recently filmed TED presentation (Feb 2010) by none other than Bill \u201cMicrosoft\u201d Gates. [\u2026] As Gates casually addresses the issue [of reducing carbon emissions], he goes on to state that one way to accomplish this goal is to reduce the global human population. In the first clip you will hear him state in plain language that he considers VACCINES to be desirable to that end. You will also casually hear him promoting HEALTH CARE and REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES, to accomplish that same goal. In the second excerpt you will hear Gates again confirming his profound affection for vaccines. The damming moment, according to YourNewsWire.com, was the following\u00a0statement from Gates: First, we\u2019ve got population. The world today has 6.8 billion people. That\u2019s headed up to about nine billion. Now, if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by, perhaps, 10 or 15 percent [\u2026]. The suggestion, hinted at by both of these clips and argued later in the article, is that Gates knows vaccines are dangerous \u2014 and he is using this information to kill children in the developing world to stem population growth. In reality, however, Gates\u2019 statements regarding vaccines and population growth were neither an accidental slip nor a nefarious admission of plans for a new world order. As discussed in a 21 November 2011 Forbes cover story profiling the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, reducing population growth has always been integral to their stated mission of \u201cimproving people\u2019s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty\u201d: In 1997, when he and Melinda first ventured into public health [\u2026] they focused on birth control, funding a Johns Hopkins effort to use computers to help women in the developing world learn about contraception. The logic was crisp and Bill Gates-friendly. Health = resources \u00f7 people. And since resources, as Gates noted, are relatively fixed, the answer lay in population control. As further discussed in this piece, Gates later came to the conclusion that birth control was not the best approach to achieve the goal of slower population growth, instead realizing that \u2014 counterintuitively \u2014 a reduction in childhood mortality was the best way to limit population growth: In society after society, he saw, when the mortality rate falls\u2014specifically, below 10 deaths per 1,000 people\u2014the birth rate follows, and population growth stabilizes. \u201cIt goes against common sense,\u201d Gates says. Most parents don\u2019t choose to have eight children because they want to have big families, it turns out, but because they know many of their children will die. \u201cIf a mother and father know their child is going to live to adulthood, they start to naturally reduce their population size,\u201d\u2008says Melinda. This is a point Gates has made repeatedly, and his views were clearly articulated in the 2009 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Annual Letter: A surprising but critical fact we learned was that reducing the number of deaths actually reduces population growth. [\u2026] Contrary to the Malthusian view that population will grow to the limit of however many kids can be fed, in fact parents choose to have enough kids to give them a high chance that several will survive to support them as they grow old. As the number of kids who survive to adulthood goes up, parents can achieve this goal without having as many children. In other words, Gates is not interested in using vaccines to reduce the population by using them as an agent of death or a tool to sterilize unsuspecting masses. Rather, Gates is interested in keeping more children alive in order to reduce the need for parents to have more children, thus limiting the overall population growth rate. As evidenced in a 2014 paper in Science that attempted to calculate future population growth, not everyone is convinced childhood mortality is the smoking gun to quell population growth: Among the most robust empirical findings in the literature on fertility transitions are that higher contraceptive use and higher female education are associated with faster fertility decline. These suggest that the projected rapid population growth could be moderated by greater investments in family planning programs to satisfy the unmet need for contraception and in girls\u2019 education. But Gates\u2019 view on childhood mortality contribution to population growth is increasingly discussed in the scientific literature and is still subject to debate. What is not up to debate are the intentions of the Bill and Melinda Gate\u2019s Foundation with regard to vaccines and population growth, as articulated by Bill and Melinda Gates in their Foundation\u2019s 2017 Annual Letter: Melinda: Saving children\u2019s lives is the goal that launched our global work. It\u2019s an end in itself. But then we learned it has all these other benefits as well. If parents believe their children will survive\u2014and if they have the power to time and space their pregnancies\u2014they choose to have fewer children. Bill: When a mother can choose how many children to have, her children are healthier, they\u2019re better nourished, their mental capacities are higher\u2014and parents have more time and money to spend on each child\u2019s health and schooling. That\u2019s how families and countries get out of poverty. This link between saving lives, a lower birthrate, and ending poverty was the most important early lesson Melinda and I learned about global health."}
{"claim_id": "37502", "claim": "United States President Donald Trump's website is selling breathing masks bearing his slogan, \"Make America Great Again.", "explanation": "\u2018Make America Great Again\u2019 Breathing Masks", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On April 5 2020, social media was alight with speculation \u2014 some fond, some alarmed \u2014 at the prospect of what appeared to be a new addition to United States President Donald Trump\u2019s merchandise line.The rumor began on Twitter, when\u00a0an image\u00a0popped up that appeared to be a screen capture of Trump\u2019s campaign website promoting a \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d breathing mask.\u201cPlease tell me this isn\u2019t real,\u201d tweeted Travis Akers, a spokesperson for a Florida congressional candidate. (Akers also also drew attention when he posted an accurate photograph of Floridians congregating on a beach amid the COVID-19 pandemic. )Please tell me this isn\u2019t real. pic.twitter.com/PxIr9dYLN0\u2014 Travis Akers (@travisakers) April 5, 2020Other Twitter users supporting the president also posted the photo, wishing that it really were available:This mask does not, in fact, appear anywhere on the site. However, we did track down a \u201cvinyl bumper fashion black edge mask\u201d for sale on Amazon bearing another Trump slogan, \u201cKeep America Great.\u201d It is currently listed as unavailable.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged the public to wear cloth face coverings in social spaces like grocery stores, as well as practicing social distancing, in order to help curtail the spread of novel coronavirus strain COVID-19. Officials in Laredo, Texas went further still, voting to enact $1,000 fines against residents spotted outside without a face covering."}
{"claim_id": "8672", "claim": "Syria, insisting it is coronavirus-free, takes broad steps to prevent spread.", "explanation": "Syria has delayed parliamentary elections, shut schools and canceled most public events to prevent any spread of the coronavirus, as officials said the war-ravaged country was still free of the virus despite reports it was hiding cases.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Education Minister Imad al-Azab told a news conference on Saturday schools would be closed until April 2 as authorities monitor for the virus, saying it was \u201cnot possible\u201d for the government to conceal infections. Damascus said on Friday that all scientific, cultural, social and sporting events would be halted, and many public institutions would be closed or staffed at 40% of normal levels and operate during reduced hours, state news agency SANA said. The Health Ministry said the steps were \u201cprecautionary\u201d and intended to raise the health sector\u2019s readiness to control the virus should it be detected. The government went further on Saturday, postponing to May 20 parliamentary elections previously slated for April 13. A top religious council, meanwhile, said Friday prayers at mosques would be suspended until April 4. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian doctors had detected cases of the virus in Damascus and at least three other provinces but were under orders to keep quiet. Azab denied this. \u201cThere are some saying that there are infections being hidden, but no government nor the ministry of health can cover up a disease,\u201d he said. \u201cIf a disease is somewhere it wants to spread, so it\u2019s very hard to hide it.\u201d  Pakistani health officials said on Tuesday that at least five of their country\u2019s cases originated from patients traveling to Pakistan from Syria via Qatar. It was not immediately clear whether the infections could have originated in Qatar, where cases have risen to 337, the highest among the Gulf Arab states. Syria is one of just three countries in the Middle East that have yet to announce a confirmed coronavirus case along with Libya and Yemen. The three nations could face a daunting challenge to contain an outbreak after years of war that have ravaged their health care systems. Syria had already suspended flights to and from several countries hit by the virus including Iran, with which it has extensive ties. Iranian militias back Damascus in its nine-year war and Syrians flock to Iranian holy sites such as Qom, where Iran first detected the virus."}
{"claim_id": "5421", "claim": "Chicago woman finds 15 half siblings through DNA test.", "explanation": "A Chicago woman whose biological father was an anonymous sperm donor has discovered via a DNA testing service that she has 15 half siblings.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Chicago, Health, Lifestyle, Siblings", "main_text": "Morgan Richardson, 31, discovered her half siblings over the last four years after submitting a DNA sample to 23andMe, The Chicago Tribune reported . The website analyzes DNA to provide information about a person\u2019s ancestry, health and other traits. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting, but it is a little bit jarring,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cI always wonder: \u2018What do they do?\u2019 \u2018Where do they live?\u2019 \u2018What are they like?\u2019 \u2018What\u2019s their experience as a donor-offspring child?\u2019\u201d Morgan Richardson and her twin sister Lauren Richardson, who lives in Michigan, have known for years that they were conceived through in vitro fertilization. Their mother was divorced and single when she decided to have children. The twins were 16 when their mother died of breast cancer. So Morgan Richardson turned to 23andMe when she wanted to learn more about the donor\u2019s background. Morgan Richardson discovered that she was British, Irish, German, French and Eastern European. Then she discovered that she had a half sibling. The sisters soon found more matches through the website, as well as Ancestry.com and the nonprofit Donor Sibling Registry. The Richardson-related half siblings have created a Facebook group to keep in touch. Marie McCulloch, 35, of New York, is one of the half siblings. McCulloch was also excited to learn about her heritage and has tracked down an 80-year-old man who she believes could be their father. They have yet to meet. She said she\u2019s sometimes sad about having gone for so many years without knowing about her relatives, but that the experience has been largely positive. \u201cFinding these people I didn\u2019t know I was related to, I feel a lot more grounded and more sure of myself,\u201d McCulloch said. \u201cIt\u2019s like I discovered a limb I didn\u2019t know I had.\u201d ___ Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com"}
{"claim_id": "40975", "claim": "Antivirals should be used to fight Covid-19.", "explanation": "Antiviral drugs can be used to treat viral infections, but no specific antiviral drug has been conclusively shown to be effective against Covid-19 so far.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "Antibiotics should be used to fight Covid-19. Antibiotics are not recommended in patients with Covid-19. Covid-19 is caused by a virus and antibiotics are used to prevent or treat bacterial infections. Antivirals should be used to fight Covid-19. Antiviral drugs can be used to treat viral infections, but no specific antiviral drug has been conclusively shown to be effective against Covid-19 so far. Anti-inflammatories should be used to fight Covid-19. Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen may be useful in treating Covid-19 symptoms at home. Anticoagulants should be used to fight Covid-19. There is evidence supporting the use of anticoagulants in some Covid-19 patients. Claim 1 of 5"}
{"claim_id": "11396", "claim": "Early Cesareans put babies at risk, study finds", "explanation": "31% of all births in the U.S. in 2006 were performed via Cesarean Section, well above the WHO\u2019s recommendation that this percentage should not exceed 15%. The number of C-sections is rising, mostly because many women who had a C-section for their last baby are choosing to have another C-section rather than trying to give birth vaginally. Because this type of C-section is scheduled, there may be some pressure to schedule it earlier than recommended for the convenience of the mother, family, or physician. This study examines the risks of scheduling the procedure at 37 weeks\u2013when babies generally reach gestational maturity\u2013or later, but before the recommended 39 weeks. This story does a good job of describing the current study and quantifying the results. The story quotes multiple experts who provide different perspectives. In all, this was a very well done story that provides valuable information to the readers \u2013 and in only about 500 words.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "No data comparing costs of c-section vs. vaginal birth is provided. This is surprising, given the fact that one reason experts discourage elective c-sections is high cost. The story quantifiies the risks of C-section. The story could have provided context for these numbers by comparing them to natural birth. The story adequately describes the harms of C-section. The story does a good job of describing the current study. The story does not engage in disease mongering. The story quotes multiple experts. Clearly vaginal labor after C-section is the alternative to elective repeat C-section. The story could have done more to discuss the pros and cons of vaginal delivery after C-section. The \"growing number of planned C-sections\" is clear from the story. Some of the history and much of the context of the use of planned C-sections is clear from the piece. Because the story quotes multiple experts, it is clear that the story does not rely on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "15183", "claim": "Twenty-three million Americans suffer from addiction, but only 1 in 10 get treatment.", "explanation": "Clinton said that \"23 million Americans suffer from addiction, but only 1 in 10 get treatment.\" To be fully accurate, the claim needs some modest tweaks. The actual ratio is about one of nine, not one in 10, and it\u2019s worth noting that the treatment statistics include only the most intensive methods, leaving out such widely used approaches as Alcoholics Anonymous. Still, experts said Clinton\u2019s claim is close to accurate.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Drugs, Health Care, Public Health, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently announced a $10 billion proposal for treating drug and alcohol addiction. While addiction and treatment has not traditionally been a top-tier issue in presidential races, it has attracted concern in key caucus and primary states this year, including New Hampshire, where Clinton announced her proposal in an op-ed in the New Hampshire Union-Leader. In explaining why an assertive policy response was necessary, Clinton wrote in the op-ed, among other claims, that \"23 million Americans suffer from addiction, but only 1 in 10 get treatment.\" We wondered if her figures are accurate. On the ratio, Clinton is close. The most recent data from the federally sponsored National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that 22.7 million Americans needed treatment for a drug alcohol problem but only about 2.5 million received treatment \"at a specialty facility.\" That means 11 percent of people who conceivably could have needed treatment at a specialty facility received it, or one out of every nine. This ratio has held steady over the years, said Arthur Robinson Williams, a fellow in the division on substance abuse in Columbia University\u2019s Department of Psychiatry. \"The 2013 survey was consistent with prior findings and estimates,\" Williams said. Still, we wondered about the survey\u2019s use of the term \"specialty facility.\" What does that mean? We found the definition: It refers to \"treatment received at drug or alcohol rehabilitation facilities (inpatient or outpatient), hospitals (inpatient services only), and mental health centers; it excludes treatment received in an emergency room, private doctor's office, self-help group, prison or jail, or hospital as an outpatient.\" Among the forms of treatment not counted are groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Not everyone agrees that AA is effective (or effective for everyone), and it is perhaps most helpful as reinforcement to other types of treatment led by clinicians. Still, the number of participants is hardly trivial: AA counted 1,283,704 members in the United States as of Jan. 1, 2015, plus an additional 35,349 in correctional facilities. Thousands more attended Narcotics Anonymous and other 12-step groups. As for excluding private doctor visits, the distinctions \u00a0\"are likely true, but largely irrelevant,\" said David Rosenbloom, a professor of health policy and management at the Boston University School of Public Health. \"Treatment in doctor\u2019s offices is a relatively recent development, as medication-assisted addiction treatment through the medical care system has achieved regulatory approval.\" While \"many people with addiction could be treated in the regular medical care system,\" Rosenbloom said, \"the delivery mechanism to get from here to there isn\u2019t in place yet.\" Allowing for some definitional concerns about the numbers, Clinton \"is mainly right,\" said Arthur L. Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at the New York University Langone Medical Center. Our ruling Clinton said that \"23 million Americans suffer from addiction, but only 1 in 10 get treatment.\" To be fully accurate, the claim needs some modest tweaks. The actual ratio is about one of nine, not one in 10, and it\u2019s worth noting that the treatment statistics include only the most intensive methods, leaving out such widely used approaches as Alcoholics Anonymous. Still, experts said Clinton\u2019s claim is close to accurate. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "37876", "claim": "Singer Dolly Parton donated USD$1 million toward research into treatments against COVID-19.", "explanation": "Did Dolly Parton Help Fund Research for a COVID-19 Treatment?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "Country music icon Dolly Parton\u2019s reputation for philanthropy grew in April 2020 after reports appeared of her involvement in research for an antibody treatment against COVID-19.The singer announced on her Instagram account on April 1 2020 that she would donate $1 million toward researchers at Vanderbilt University, citing Dr. Naji Abumrad, a professor of surgery at the school\u2019s medical center, who she described as a longtime friend.\u201cHe was telling me they had come up with a bridge treatment to save lives while they find the vaccine,\u201d Parton told NBC\u2019s Today Show. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly all the details about it, but they\u2019re very excited about it, it\u2019s something very helpful. I just felt like this was the time for me to open my heart and my hand and try to help with that.\u201dThe center posted its own report on the donation the following day:VUMC\u2019s researchers are testing an array of already existing drugs in urgent clinical trials aimed at reducing life-threatening symptoms associated with COVID-19. In addition, investigators are focusing on entirely new therapies that could effectively treat and prevent the infection. Both strategies are aimed at providing a bridge for those infected, given a safe and effective vaccine is projected to be 12-18 months away.\u201cDolly\u2019s amazing generosity is a source of inspiration and will have a lasting impact on the battle against COVID-19. She cares so much about helping others and we are very grateful for her ongoing support. These funds will help us complete promising research that can benefit millions in their battle with the virus,\u201d said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.The story gained new life on Twitter twice over. First, journalist Yashar Ali posted a link on April 28 2020, mentioning Parton in a story posted by the health news and information site StatNews about research into vaccines and treatments against COVID-19:To see Dolly\u2019s name in this vaccine tracker makes me so happy. https://t.co/ho94m1bYfv pic.twitter.com/83FXYPGWnl\u2014 Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 (@yashar) April 27, 2020\u201cTo see Dolly\u2019s name in this vaccine tracker makes me so happy,\u201d Ali wrote. His tweet was then picked up by Ian Hartshorn, a professor at the University of Nevada-Reno. \u201cAll those celebrities: \u2018We sang a song on our phone!,'\u201d Hartshorn wrote. \u201cDolly Parton: \u2018I teamed up with the NIH and DoD to make a vaccine. '\u201dThe news of Parton\u2019s involvement with COVID-19 treatment research coincided with a spate of reports bringing back to light her involvement with the Buffy The Vampire Slayer franchise; Parton and former manager Sandy Gallin founded Sandollar Productions, the company that produced both the original Buffy movie in 1992 and its television adaptation, which aired from 1997 to 2003. As Entertainment Weekly reported, both Gallin and Sandollar executive Gail Berman were listed as producers in the end credits on every episode of the show, while Parton was not mentioned. But titular heroine Buffy Summers was given Parton\u2019s birthday, January 19.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "7264", "claim": "Zambia to vaccinate 1 million against cholera amid outbreak.", "explanation": "Zambia is set to vaccinate one million people in its capital against cholera as a deadly outbreak grows.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Cholera, Zambia, Africa, Southern Africa, Lusaka", "main_text": "The World Health Organization says doses of the cholera vaccine have been delivered to the impoverished southern African nation as fears spread in Lusaka. Zambia\u2019s health ministry says 58 of the 63 countrywide deaths in the cholera outbreak that began in early October have occurred in the capital. Of the 2,672 cases across the country, 2,558 have been in Lusaka. Cholera is an acute diarrheal and bacterial infection caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water. Just hours after being infected, vomiting and diarrhea cause severe dehydration that can kill without rapid intervention."}
{"claim_id": "5834", "claim": "State to labs: report all results of tests for 3 diseases.", "explanation": "Louisiana\u2019s Department of Health says laboratories must now report all test results for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis C \u2014 even tests indicating someone doesn\u2019t have the ailment.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Hepatitis, Syphilis, Louisiana, Public health", "main_text": "Louisiana has very high rates of all three diseases, which can be fatal. Office of Public Health Assistant Secretary Alex Billioux (Bee-yoo) says getting all test results will give a clearer picture of epidemics and efforts to stop them. The department says a negative test might not rule out an infection or might provide important information about treatment success. It said in a news release Friday that the new rule follows recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ___ This story has been corrected to show reporting requirement is for laboratories, not doctors."}
{"claim_id": "2738", "claim": "Boston Scientific sees opportunity in rival's setback.", "explanation": "Medtronic Inc\u2019s stumble in its U.S. medical device study to treat high blood pressure could create an opportunity for other device makers to pick up where their rival has left off, Boston Scientific Corp Chief Executive Mike Mahoney said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Called the silent killer, high blood pressure affects as many as one in three American adults, and medical device makers were racing to develop a procedure to treat it before the failure of Medtronic\u2019s major clinical trial. Boston Scientific is still forging ahead with plans to develop its own blood-pressure-lowering device, called a renal denervation system, for sale in the United States, Mahoney said in an interview. Renal denervation devices create tiny scars along nerves in the kidneys, which play a pivotal role in regulating blood pressure by sending signals to the brain that can cause blood vessels to constrict. The procedure currently is intended as an alternative to drug therapy for patients whose blood pressure is not well controlled by traditional medications. Boston Scientific will examine data from Medtronic\u2019s halted study, in which the company\u2019s device failed to prove effective, as it designs the U.S. clinical trial for its own product, Mahoney said. \u201cRight now it\u2019s going to be a slower market until BSC or another company delivers on a trial. When that happens, the market will open up, and it has the potential to be a multi-billion-dollar market,\u201d he said. Medtronic had a jump start on the U.S. market in the development of a treatment, but the failure of its Symplicity device in the study, announced in January, caught many observers by surprise. Less than two weeks later, Covidien Plc said it would stop making its hypertension device, which was approved for sale in Europe in February 2012, due to weak demand. Mahoney said repercussions from Medtronic\u2019s failed U.S. study will be felt in Europe, where cardiologists will be less inclined to recommend the treatment until more evidence of its effectiveness can be demonstrated in more clinical trials. Medtronic continues to sell its device there, and Boston Scientific in December launched its own offering. St. Jude Medical Inc is also rolling out a hypertension device in Europe. But Boston Scientific remains optimistic about the technology\u2019s potential to help the millions of people struggling to control their blood pressure, Mahoney said. High blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and stroke but often has no symptoms. \u201cThere\u2019s clearly a huge patient unmet need,\u201d he said. Mahoney said Boston Scientific\u2019s device has features that differentiate it from Medtronic\u2019s product, making it more consistent, faster to use and less painful for the patient. \u201cWe do feel the platform we have is a superior platform,\u201d he said. Medtronic has said it will form an independent panel of medical experts to make recommendations on the future of its renal denervation product. Boston Scientific acquired its renal denervation system through the purchase of Vessix Vascular Inc in November 2012."}
{"claim_id": "17011", "claim": "Under David Dewhurst\u2019s leadership, the Texas \"Senate passed an expansion of in-state tuition and free health care to illegal immigrants.", "explanation": "Patrick said the Dewhurst-led Senate \"passed an expansion of in-state tuition and free health care to illegal immigrants.\" Block that kick. First of all, lawmakers signed off on in-state tuition for undocumented students in 2001--before Dewhurst became lieutenant governor--while the 2005 legislation cited by Patrick largely left the 2001 law intact while focusing on all students getting in-state tuition even if parents move out of state. The proposal regarding free health care for illegal immigrants didn\u2019t launch a program for immigrants, which is what Patrick\u2019s statement seems to suggest. Rather, local governing bodies were permitted to provide (or, it appears, resume providing) non-emergency services to residents regardless of immigration status, an action projected to improve outcomes and head off costly emergency care to which all residents were already entitled per federal law. The Senate proposal also envisioned patients sharing costs.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Immigration, Education, Health Care, Voting Record, Texas, Dan Patrick, ", "main_text": "Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has presided over Texas Senate approval of numerous changes in law including, his Republican challenger says, proposals benefiting illegal immigrants. State Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, who faces Dewhurst in a primary runoff for the party\u2019s lieutenant governor nomination, said in a TV ad posted online April 28, 2014, that under Dewhurst\u2019s leadership, the \"Senate passed an expansion of in-state tuition and free health care to illegal immigrants.\" A follow-up ad, posted online May 13, 2014, is more dramatic, saying Dewhurst \"gave illegal immigrants free Obama-style health care.\" This claim by Patrick, who has hammered his intent to secure the Texas-Mexico border, misreads Senate actions. Let's plow the parts--on tuition, then health care--back to back. An \u2018expansion of in-state tuition \u2026 to illegal immigrants\u2019 Dewhurst assumed his gavel-wielding post in 2003. That was two years after lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry agreed to make it possible for undocumented residents to attend public colleges at in-state tuition rates. Patrick, in a backup document for his tuition claim, said he was referring to a 2005 Senate-approved measure; his campaign manager, Logan Spence, sent us emails pointing out news stories and a University of Texas at Austin web page stating \u00a0the proposal \"expanded\" the benefits of the 2001 law permitting undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition. Best we could tell, though, Senate Bill 1528, which was signed into law by Perry in 2005, simply preserved the 2001 law while otherwise making it possible for all students to qualify for in-state tuition even if their parents have moved out of state. Wondering if we missed something, we turned to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the University of Texas. Dominic Chavez, a board staff spokesman, responded by emailing us a May 31, 2005, staff analysis of the final version of the 2005 proposal. The analysis states that international students (doubling as legal U.S. nonresidents) who had previously been accustomed to paying in-state tuition would be required to pay nonresident rates, at least temporarily, narrowing access for those students, Chavez told us. Those changes were then projected to save the state more than $2.8 million a year. More broadly, according to the analysis, the proposal defined terms such as tuition, mandatory fees and residency toward ensuring consistency in what institutions charged students. Finally, the analysis said, the measure would allow citizens and legal permanent residents to establish residency in the state on the same basis afforded students coming to Texas universities from abroad. This was described as simplifying the \"residency determination of students whose parents have recently moved out of state, while the student stayed behind and completed secondary education. At present, a student who has never lived anywhere but Texas becomes a nonresident if his or her parent moves out of state prior to the student\u2019s enrollment in a public institution of higher education,\" the analysis said. Chavez, asked if the proposal expanded benefits for illegal immigrants, said that possibility wasn\u2019t explored as lawmakers finished drafting the law. He said the agency has no data to gauge if the law delivered new benefits to undocumented students. Dewhurst campaign spokeswoman Eliza Vielma responded to our inquiry by pointing out an October 2013 \"overview\" document of the 2005 law issued by the coordinating board stating the law focused on tuition for U.S. citizens. The 2013 summary said: \"Prior to these amendments, many U.S. citizens were inadvertently prevented from attaining Texas residency status because of unanticipated circumstances. For example, students born and raised in Texas but whose parents moved out of state before they had enrolled in college were previously classified as nonresidents unless they had enrolled in college prior to their parents\u2019 departure. Additionally,\" the agency wrote, \"students raised by grandparents or other family members who had never gone to court to acquire legal custody were considered residents of the state in which their parents lived. Current statutes allow students in both of these cases, and other similar circumstances, to qualify for Texas resident status.\" The UT-Austin web page cited by Patrick as supporting his declaration about the 2005 law is vague, first describing the effect of the 2001 law enabling undocumented students to attain in-state tuition and then turning to the 2005 changes: \"In 2005, the Texas Legislature approved Senate Bill 1528, which expanded the benefits of House Bill 1403,\" the 2001 measure, the web page says. But UT's page doesn\u2019t say how the changes widened benefits of the 2001 law. And when we followed up with UT, admissions official Deana Williams said by phone that any interpretation of the law as expanding any tuition benefit for undocumented residents would be incorrect. She said the legislation simply made it so any student--a U.S. citizen, legal resident or unauthorized resident--could pay in-state tuition even if their parents moved out of state. An \u2018expansion of\u2026 free health care to illegal immigrants\u2019 Patrick tied his claim that Dewhurst presided over Senate approval of an expansion of free health care to illegal immigrants to the Senate\u2019s 2003 voice-vote passage of Senate Bill 309, which a May 5, 2003, Senate Journal entry summarized as \"providing health care services without regard to a person's immigration status.\" The proposal said a city, county or public hospital \"may use money from \u00a0local sources to provide health care services to a person without regard to the person's immigration status and shall establish a cost-share system for persons receiving health care services.\" At an April 2003 committee hearing on the proposal, authoring Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said it permitted hospitals to draw on local revenue to provide preventive services to residents regardless of a patient\u2019s immigration standing. Sylvia Garcia, then a Harris County commissioner, testified the proposal would hasten outpatient services, heading off health problems early and saving money thanks to fewer emergency-room visits. Proponents described the legislation as vital after the then-Texas attorney general, John Cornyn, issued an advisory opinion in July 2001 stating that unless lawmakers allowed the Harris County Hospital District (and others, presumably) to deliver preventive services to patients regardless of immigration status, the district couldn\u2019t give such care without violating the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which required state legislatures to intervene if states wanted hospitals to go ahead and do so. Notably, Cornyn\u2019s letter made it clear some health services already were provided patients regardless of immigration status--as mandated by federal law. Cornyn\u2019s letter said the district was required by law to provide emergency care to residents regardless of their legal status. By email, spokesman Lance Lunsford of the Texas Hospital Association, which describes itself as the political and educational advocate for more than 430 hospitals and health systems statewide, told us a federal law from the 1980s, the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act, made free emergency care available to illegal immigrants. According to a federal website, that act required Medicare-participating hospitals that offer emergency services to provide a medical exam when a request is made for an emergency condition, including active labor, regardless of an individual's ability to pay. Cornyn\u2019s letter also said federal law permitted public health services including immunizations and testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases. Still, he wrote, the 1996 law specified that any other state or local health benefit could be provided only if a state law \"affirmatively provides for such eligibility.\" Mike Stafford, the Harris County attorney, reacted to Cornyn\u2019s letter by advising the local hospital district to stop giving discounted preventive care because it violates federal law, according to a July 12, 2001, Associated Press news story. \"It's up to the Texas Legislature to step in now and, if they want to create an exception for this, it's allowable,\" Stafford said.. In 2003, SB 309 died in the House, though advocates including Lunsford said the permission to provide such services ended up in House Bill 2292, a major 2003 overhaul of health care agencies. Section 285.201 of the Texas Health and Safety code \"affirmatively establishes\" the eligibility of undocumented residents to receive non-emergency public health benefits funded locally by public hospital districts. And in the end, did the legislation expand free health care for illegal immigrants? When we inquired, King Hillier, a vice president of the Harris County Hospital District, said by phone that \"basically\" the district had already been providing non-emergency services when the issue reached lawmakers. Hillier stressed the permissive quality of the proposal; funding and delivery of services was left up to local governments. Finally, Hillier noted the Senate version of the law envisioned a system of patients sharing costs, which has resulted, he said. Our ruling Patrick said the Dewhurst-led Senate \"passed an expansion of in-state tuition and free health care to illegal immigrants.\" Block that kick. First of all, lawmakers signed off on in-state tuition for undocumented students in 2001--before Dewhurst became lieutenant governor--while the 2005 legislation cited by Patrick largely left the 2001 law intact while focusing on all students getting in-state tuition even if parents move out of state. The proposal regarding free health care for illegal immigrants didn\u2019t launch a program for immigrants, which is what Patrick\u2019s statement seems to suggest. Rather, local governing bodies were permitted to provide (or, it appears, resume providing) non-emergency services to residents regardless of immigration status, an action projected to improve outcomes and head off costly emergency care to which all residents were already entitled per federal law. The Senate proposal also envisioned patients sharing costs. We rate this two-pronged claim as . \u2013 The statement is not accurate."}
{"claim_id": "10611", "claim": "Treatment for Peanut Allergies Shows Promise", "explanation": "This story on an experimental desensitization treatment for peanut allergies oversells the promise of the research and the importance of the studies. As the ratings below show, the story is poorly sourced and buries a key warning about the treatment. But its main problem is that the reporter lets the \"good news\" [that studies suggest a new regimen may be effective against a serious condition] linger far too long before getting to the \"bad news\" [the studies are unpublished, preliminary, small, brief and inconclusive]. The lede gets in trouble early when it says the treatment \"raises the possibility of a cure for this potentially life-threatening condition.\" In the next paragraph it conveys a lead researcher\u2019s assertion that a treatment \"may be developed in two or three years.\" Only later come the reminders that these are small pilot studies. This is a common pattern in news reporting: Run with the promise, and let the caveats catch up by the end of the story. The result is that interested readers\u2013in this case, parents of kids with peanut allergies\u2013have their hopes raised and dashed within 350 words.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Discussing costs isn\u2019t particulary relevant with this approach and at this early stage of research. The report includes sufficient detail about the studies\u2019 methodology and outcomes to help readers [eventually] understand the small numbers of children involved and the basic findings. The story states that \"most\" of the 33 patients in the first test appeared to have improved resistance to peanut allergens, that 5 could tolerate peanuts without reaction, and that 4 had to withdraw because they could not tolerate the treatment. The story reports that the second test split the 18 subjects into treatment and placebo groups, and described approximate outcomes for each group. In the last line, the story warns that the children in the studies, who were allergic to peanuts, were under close medical supervision and that \"parents should not try the approach at home.\" This is a satisfactory warning about potential harms. But it should have appeared earlier. The author should also have mentioned whether those in the study who \"did not tolerate\" the exposure treatment needed epinephrine or some other intervention to quell the allergic reaction. The news story is based on two presentations of very early studies with small numbers of patients at a medical conference. This is a very low quality of evidence. The report should have made plain from the top that the studies have not been published or peer-reviewed, and that the study groups were very small. It is not until paragraph 6 of a 10-paragraph story that we learn the study is a \"pilot\" and that the number of subjects in the two studies is just 33 and 18. It is not until paragraph 8 that we learn \"[f]ar more study is needed. . . .\" Given the story\u2019s early discussion of a \"cure\" and a treatment within 2-3 years, the discussion of the quality of the evidence wasn\u2019t strong enough nor early enough in the story. No disease-mongering about the seriousness or incidence of these food allergies. The only source quoted is Dr. Wesley Burks of Duke University Medical Center, one of the researchers who presented work at the meeting. The reporter fails to disclose that Burks has financial relationships with a number of drug, food and device companies with an interest in allergies. The reporter should have interviewed at least one additional source with deep knowledge of peanut allergies and no connection to the research. The article states, correctly, that there are no approved treatments for food allergies. The story makes clear that this experimental treatment for peanut allergy is in the early stages of human research, and not available. Ideally it would have made this plain earlier in the story. The report explains that previous British studies of similar treatments have shown similar results. It also states that a U.S. based consortium is conducting studies as well. The reader would not come away believing the treatment being tested is unique. The New York Times article states, \"'[N]early half of the 150 deaths attributed to food allergies in the United States each year are caused by peanut allergies,\u2019 according to Duke University.\" A Duke University press release includes this same sentence, with the exception of the words \"in the United States.\" This is a minor matter, hardly evidence that the NYT reporter is rewriting a handout. But it\u2019s unsettling nonetheless."}
{"claim_id": "9410", "claim": "Early Prostate Cancer Kept at Bay in Two Studies for High-Risk Men", "explanation": "This story summarizes the results of two studies involving drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer. The main takeaway from the story is that in certain men with high-risk cancers who\u2019ve already had their prostates removed, the drugs extended the amount of time before these men\u2019s cancer spread beyond the prostate. The story helpfully quantifies the amount of time the drugs bought these men in absolute terms. But the story missed some important context. For example, the story is totally silent on the issue of adverse effects and how many patients suffered them. And it doesn\u2019t caution that the outcome reported in the study \u2014 \u201cmetastasis-free survival\u201d \u2014 may not translate to a corresponding increase in patients\u2019 overall length of life. Disease-mongering was also a concern. The story features statistics about the huge numbers of prostate cancers diagnosed each year, but it doesn\u2019t acknowledge that most of these cancers will never progress to cause problems for the patient. Moreover, it erroneously suggests that prostate removal is the \u201ctypical\u201d approach to the treatment of early prostate cancer, when no treatment at all is the approach favored by about half of all men who receive such a diagnosis. An independent source would probably have helped bring some balance to the coverage, but the only experts quoted had a vested interest in the research. Despite having their prostates removed, men with aggressive forms of prostate cancer face a higher risk of having that cancer spread beyond the prostate. There is currently little that such men can do following initial treatment except watch and wait, but these preliminary results suggest that certain drugs may delay the spread of these cancers. Until the results are published and scrutinized by other researchers, however, it\u2019s best to reserve judgment and view the claims of vested interests skeptically.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "prostate cancer", "main_text": "The story pegs the cost of Xtandi, one of the two drugs studied, at more than $10,000 for a 30-day supply, That\u2019s useful information. However, it doesn\u2019t address the likely cost of the second drug, apalutamide which hasn\u2019t yet been approved. A ballpark estimate of that figure probably could have been provided, but since the story at least gave an effort to address cost, we\u2019ll give the benefit of the doubt and rate this satisfactory. The story describes the benefit high up in the story as follows: apalutamide and Pfizer\u2019s prostate cancer drug Xtandi delayed the worsening of the most common tumor by more than 70 percent compared with a placebo in two separate studies. It does a good job clarifying what this relative reduction means further down in the story with this description using absolute terms: Men treated with J&J\u2019s apalutamide went for 40 months, or 3.3 years, before the cancer metastasized, compared with 16 months in the placebo group. That\u2019s good enough for a satisfactory grade, but we wish the story had also clarified that improvement on this outcome \u2014 called \u201cmetastasis-free survival\u201d \u2014 does not necessarily mean that these men will live longer overall. We\u2019ll address that issue below under the evidence criterion. The story doesn\u2019t address harms. The adverse effects of Xtandi should be easy to describe since the drug is already on the market. Another write-up of these studies reported that adverse events with apalutamide led to discontinuation of the drug in 10.7% of patients compared with 6.3% in the control arm. The fact that one in 10 patients had to stop treatment because of side effects is noteworthy. The story makes it reasonably clear that these were high-quality studies pitting the two drugs against a placebo in large groups of patients. But it should have warned that the results come from a conference presentation that likely received only limited peer review. Key details won\u2019t be reported until the studies are published in a journal. More importantly, the story doesn\u2019t caution that improvement on the outcome reported \u2014 metastasis-free survival, or survival without the cancer spreading beyond the prostate \u2014 does not necessarily guarantee that men treated with these drugs will live any longer. And that\u2019s important information to provide. Although it may give peace of mind and improved quality of life for men to know that their cancer is not progressing, it\u2019s also possible that adverse effects and the financial toxicity of additional drug treatment will cancel out such benefits. An improvement in overall survival is a much more definitive sign that the drug is truly helping patients. Lastly, since the story is reporting on a study that tested a hypothesis about earlier treatment for more aggressive cancers, it would be helpful to know how the study picked the patients whose cancers would be most likely to grow. Was prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing used to determine this, and how high does PSA have to rise before starting the medication? Patient selection always key with any therapy. The story falls short on this criterion in several areas, first when it erroneously claims, \u201cRight now patients with early disease typically undergo surgery, radiation and, if needed, treatment to deprive the tumor of testosterone that fuels its growth.\u201d In fact, as this New York Times story from 2016 points out, about half of men are choosing no treatment at all for early prostate cancer \u2014 reflecting increased recognition that most prostate cancers are very slow-growing and do not require immediate treatment. The story seems to be talking about the specific group of men in this study with higher-risk cancers, but the broad use of the term \u201cearly disease\u201d will be confusing at best for readers. Another problem is the story\u2019s misleading use of statistics: \u201cMore than 164,000 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018 and almost 30,000 will die from it.\u201d While the numbers may be accurate, the story doesn\u2019t acknowledge that the vast majority of prostate cancers are slow-growing and will never progress to cause problems, which is why 97% of men with prostate cancer will not die from the disease. Lastly, the story is likely to confuse readers when it refers to \u201cwatchful waiting,\u201d which is the term often applied to men with slow-growing cancers who opt for no immediate treatment. In this case, the story is applying the term to a much smaller group of men with high-risk cancers who\u2019ve already had their prostates removed and are hoping to delay recurrence and spread of the cancer. While that may also be a form of \u201cwatchful waiting,\u201d it\u2019s not the usage readers are accustomed to and this should have been clarified. The story quotes an oncologist who reviewed the study abstract for the conference, but neglects to disclose that this source is on the payroll of many drug companies including Pfizer, which makes one of the drugs covered in the story. (See here for his disclosures.) Other sources include the primary investigator on one of the studies and a Pfizer executive, who predictably calls the results \u201ca catalyst for change.\u201d An independent analysis would have greatly strengthened the piece. The story notes that watchful waiting is the only other option for men with high-risk cancers who\u2019ve already had their prostates removed. The story notes that one of the drugs \u2014 Xtandi \u2014 is already approved for metastatic cancer and that the second drug \u2014\u00a0\u00a0apalutamide \u2014 is experimental. The story establishes novelty with this statement: \u201cthere is no approved follow-on therapy for those with worrisome blood test results who don\u2019t yet have visible evidence that the prostate cancer has metastasized.\u201d The story goes beyond any news release and features original reporting."}
{"claim_id": "2683", "claim": "Depressed? You must like chocolate.", "explanation": "People who are depressed eat more chocolate than people who are not, U.S. researchers said on Monday, in a study that puts numbers behind the link between mood and chocolate.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Chocolates are pictured in Broc near Fribourg September 7, 2009. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse They said people who were depressed ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month, compared with 5.4 servings among those who were not. And people who had major depression based on results of a screening test ate even more \u2014 11.8 servings per month. A serving was considered to be one small bar, or 1 ounce (28 grams), of chocolate. \u201cDepressed mood was significantly related to higher chocolate consumption,\u201d Dr. Natalie Rose of the University of California, Davis, and University of California, San Diego, and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Many people consider chocolate a mood-booster but few studies have actually confirmed the connection between the confection and mood. And most studies have looked only at women. Rose and colleagues studied the relationship between chocolate and mood among 931 women and men who were not using antidepressants. People in the study reported how much chocolate they consumed and most also completed a food frequency questionnaire about their overall diet. Their moods were assessed using a commonly used depression scale. What they found was a marked association between chocolate consumption and depression. And unlike other studies that looked only at women, the link was true of both men and women. What the study could not say was why people who are depressed eat more chocolate. It could be that depression stimulates chocolate cravings, and people eat chocolate as a sort of self treatment, confirming some studies on rats that suggest chocolate can improve mood, the authors said. Or, it could be that depression may stimulate chocolate cravings for some other reason without providing any mood benefit. People in the study did not have any such \u201ctreatment benefit\u201d from chocolate, the team said. And they said it may be that eating a lot of chocolate actually causes people to feel depressed, another possible explanation for the association they saw in the study. It may be something physiological about chocolate, such as providing additional antioxidants. Or the mood-boosting effect of chocolate could be fleeting, like the temporary euphoria from drinking alcohol, leaving people feeling even lower after the brief euphoria has passed. \u201cDistinguishing among these possibilities will require different study designs,\u201d the team said. They said future studies will be needed to determine whether chocolate is a cause of depression, or a temporary salve."}
{"claim_id": "11167", "claim": "New drug \u2018big deal\u2019 in cystic fibrosis fight", "explanation": "More than 20 years after researchers identified the genetic mutation responsible for cystic fibrosis (CF), a treatment aimed at the cause of the disease, rather than its effects, has shown it can improve lung function and some other measures in patients with a rare form of the disease. While this story accurately reports key drug trial results and provides some context, it falls short in important ways by failing to note that there is not yet evidence the drug is safe for life-long use or can extend lives; and that it is unlikely to cure CF by itself. The story doesn\u2019t tell readers that drug is likely to come with an extremely high price tag. It fails to note that the CF Foundation, whose CEO is prominently quoted touting the drug, has funded the drug\u2019s development and may stand to profit from its sales. Cystic fibrosis affects only about 70,000 people worldwide, but it is the most common lethal genetic disease in whites, slowly destroying their lungs and other organs. Since the primary CF mutation was identified in 1989, researchers have sought a treatment that would correct the underlying defect. As the story reports, this trial is an important proof of concept; it is a \u2018big deal\u2019 in the decades-long effort to find a treatment for the genetic defect underlying CF. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight the long, hard road traveled to reach this point and the years of work ahead that will be needed to determine if this sort of treatment can lengthen the lives of typical CF patients.", "label": "false", "subjects": "CNN", "main_text": "Although the company that wants to sell this drug has yet to announce a price, blogs that follow pharmaceutical companies quote a Wall Street analyst who predicts the drug will cost about $150,000 a year. That massive price tag for a drug that patients likely would have to continue to take for their entire lives is certainly something that readers should be told about. Although this story accurately reports the specific results of this drug trial, including lung function, disease symptoms, weight and sweat chloride (a measure of disease); it misses important aspects of the big picture. As the journal editorial accompanying this research report noted, the trial does not prove that this drug halts the progression of disease or that patients who take the drug will live longer. The story could also have been clearer about the distinction between the small percentage of patients who have the specific gene mutation that is the target of this drug and the 90 percent of cystic fibrosis patients who have a different mutation that may not respond to this treatment. The editorial notes that the complexities of CF \u201csuggest that no single drug will be entirely suitable as a therapeutic agent.\u201d Readers should have been given this important context. When the story reported that patients doubled their ability to walk, it should have noted that this apparent benefit was not something that was measured as part of the formal trial. The story does not make any reference to harms. Although the journal article reporting the trial findings says that the patients receiving the active drug generally had fewer problems than those in the placebo group and that the adverse effects were not serious enough to cause people to stop taking the drug for more than a short period, the editorial points out that this trial does not prove that long term use of this drug is safe. The story should have told readers that patients will probably need to take the drug their entire lives and that further tests are needed before long term safety questions can be answered. The story reports that only 84 patients were randomized to receive the experimental drug. It also reported the length of the trial and the specific endpoints that researchers evaluated. However, there were also speculative comments about which patients the drug could help as well as references to benefits that were not measured as part of this trial. Readers might well be confused about what was actually demonstrated by this trial and what is mere speculation or personal observation. We could have gone either way with this grade, but will give the story the benefit of the doubt. The story reports that this drug works on a gene mutation seen in only 4 percent of patients with cystic fibrosis. This story fails to include an independent source and fails to report financial disclosures. What\u2019s worse is that most readers probably believe there is an independent source quoted. While the average reader is likely to assume that the CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is speaking independently, the actual fact is that the foundation is a major funder of the drug\u2019s development and may stand to profit from sales of the drug. Readers should have been told of the tight financial relationship between the CF Foundation and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The story should have also noted that the researcher quoted in the story works as a consultant to Vertex, and that employees of the company were involved in designing and conducting the trial as well as writing the final report. These disclosures were openly declared in the journal article and accompanying documents and should have been included in the story. The story should have noted that advances in managing cystic fibrosis have dramatically increased the life span of people with the disease. Indeed, the editorial accompanying the journal article notes that the health of CF patients declines so gradually now that it will require following many patients for many years to find out if this new drug actually helps them live longer than the treatments already available. Although the story is clear that this drug is not yet available, it includes a claim that it could be on the market next year. The manufacturer recently applied for FDA approval, but the drug has not been reviewed, so any claim about availability is mere speculation. The story does highlight the fact that this is the first treatment for cystic fibrosis that works on a genetic mutation that is the underlying cause of the disease, rather than just managing the effects of the disease. The story does not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "295", "claim": "WHO recommends one-hour maximum screen time per day for under-5s.", "explanation": "Young children should not spend more than an hour a day watching television and videos or playing computer games and infants less than one year old should not be exposed to electronic screens at all, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The United Nations agency, issuing its first such guidelines, said under-fives should also be physically active and get adequate sleep to help develop good lifelong habits and prevent obesity and other diseases in later life. \u201cWhat we are cautioning on is over-use of those electronic screen times with young children,\u201d WHO expert Dr. Fiona Bull told a news briefing. In its guidelines to member states, the WHO said children between one and four years old should spend at least three hours in a variety of physical activities spread throughout the day. Infants under one should interact in floor-based play and avoid all screens, it said. Being inactive is fueling a rise in the numbers of obese or overweight people worldwide, the WHO said. Excessive weight can lead to premature death from heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and some forms of cancer. \u201cPreventing these deaths needs to start in very early life,\u201d Bull said. One in three adults today are overweight or obese, and one in four adults does not do enough physical activity, she said. \u201cIn this age group of under 5s, it is currently 40 million children around the world (who) are overweight. Of that (figure) 50 percent are in Africa and the southeast Asia region,\u201d Bull said. That translates into 5.9 percent of children globally. Early childhood is a period of rapid physical and cognitive development during which habits are formed and family lifestyle routines are adaptable, said the WHO guidelines, drawn from evidence in hundreds of studies, many from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United States. \u201cSedentary behaviors, whether riding motorized transport rather than walking or cycling, sitting at a desk in school, watching TV or playing inactive screen-based games are increasingly prevalent and associated with poor health outcomes,\u201d the WHO said. Chronic insufficient sleep in children has been associated with increased excessive fat accumulation as measured by body mass index (BMI), it said. Shorter sleep duration has been associated with more TV viewing and time spent playing computer games, it added."}
{"claim_id": "8489", "claim": "European politicians, CEOs, lawmakers urge green coronavirus recovery.", "explanation": "European politicians, companies, lawmakers and activists called on Tuesday for green investment to restart growth after the coronavirus pandemic, saying fighting climate change and promoting biodiversity would rebuild stronger economies.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The European Union is headed for a steep recession triggered by the outbreak, but divided on how to finance economic recovery, with the ailing south advocating issuing joint debt against the opposition of the fiscally conservative north. With EU leaders due to meet next week to discuss the recovery plan, a group of 180 political decision-makers, business leaders, trade unions, campaign groups and think tanks urged the bloc to adopt green stimulus measures. \u201cAfter the crisis, the time will come to rebuild,\u201d they said in a letter. \u201cThe transition to a climate-neutral economy, the protection of biodiversity and the transformation of agri-food systems have the potential to rapidly deliver jobs, growth ... and to contribute to building more resilient societies.\u201d  Signatories included ministers from 10 countries from Italy to Luxembourg, 79 EU lawmakers, and chief executives from L\u2019Oreal\u2019s (OREP.PA) Jean-Paul Agon to IKEA\u2019s Jesper Brodin and Danone\u2019s (DANO.PA) Emmanuel Faber. Calling fallout from the coronavirus pandemic a shock worse than the 2008 financial crisis, the signatories said rescue measures should advance the EU\u2019s landmark Green Deal policy package, which aims to bring the 27-nation bloc to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Calls for a green EU recovery have grown louder in recent days, after European finance ministers on Thursday agreed support for their coronavirus-battered economies but left open the question of how to finance the bloc\u2019s recovery. Ten EU countries, joined by Germany, France and Greece over the weekend, have signed a separate open letter urging the EU to ensure its rescue package supports the Green Deal. Poland and Czech Republic are among countries asking the EU to ease climate policies amid the pandemic. Some asset managers are also urging governments to design economic rescue packages to accelerate a low-carbon transition. \u201cInvestors are definitely becoming bolder at wanting to now pivot the debate on post-COVID rebuilding towards broader sustainability and resilience,\u201d said Michael Hugman, portfolio manager at asset manager NinetyOne in London. Pascal Canfin, a French liberal EU lawmaker who initiated the Tuesday letter, said: \u201cThe Covid-19 crisis did not make the climate crisis disappear ... If we relaunch the economy in the wrong direction, we will hit the climate crisis wall.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "5425", "claim": "Africa\u2019s booming cities face a severe toilet crisis.", "explanation": "The darkening clouds are ominous for many in this urban neighborhood, promising rushing rainwaters stinking of human waste from overflowing septic tanks.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Kampala, International News, General News, Africa, Health, Uganda", "main_text": "As Africa faces a population boom unmatched anywhere in the world, millions of people are moving to fast-growing cities while decades-old public facilities crumble under the pressure. Sewage is a scourge for residents of this community on the outskirts of Uganda\u2019s capital, Kampala. There are no public toilets for some 1,200 people. Mud tinged with feces washes into homes during heavy rains. The sanitation crisis echoes that of cities across the developing world. Some 2.5 billion people, most of them in Africa or Asia, lack access to an adequate toilet, United Nations figures show. Governments are increasingly depending on private businesses and philanthropic groups to help manage human waste in cities that were never planned to handle so many people. One of the fastest-growing cities in the world, Kampala is home to at least 1.5 million people but authorities say over 3 million pass through daily, usually for work. Yet there are fewer than 800 pay toilets and only 14 free ones, many of them dilapidated with walls often smeared with feces. Many people rush to malls to relieve themselves. Even in the buildings of government agencies the toilets are often kept under lock and key, apparently to discourage intruders. Kampala\u2019s urban sewer system covers less than 10 percent of the population, authorities say. When pit latrines and septic tanks are not safely built, they pose a serious health risk. They leak fecal waste that contaminates swamps and Lake Victoria, the city\u2019s main water source, especially during the rainy season. \u201cLess than 50 percent of the fecal sludge generated in Kampala safely reaches a waste treatment plant,\u201d said Angelo Kwitonda, a sewage engineer with the government. \u201cThe rest of the volume is kept in our homes.\u201d Outbreaks of cholera and other water-borne diseases are common. Poor sanitation costs Uganda $177 million annually in economic losses linked to disease treatment and lost productivity as people search for places to relieve themselves, according to a World Bank report in 2012. Some 650,000 toilets need to be built to avoid open defecation, it said. It could get worse. Africa\u2019s urban areas contain 472 million people, a number that is expected to double over the next 25 years, according to a 2017 World Bank report . \u201cThe problem of sanitation is very big, so we have had to prioritize,\u201d said Najib Bateganya, a Kampala sanitation official who said authorities have been focusing first on improving sanitation in public schools. \u201cThe next model is going to focus on entrepreneurship, toilets as business,\u201d he said. Authorities in Kampala have not constructed a single public toilet for years, though a plan exists to set up 200 toilets by 2025 with the support of donors such as the German development agency GIZ. Private companies have been trying out solutions in poor, crowded neighborhoods such as Makindye-Lukuli, where trash piles up around tin-roofed homes. A sanitation program backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focuses on emptying septic tanks in households not easily reached by vacuum trucks, which are privately operated. Using a tool resembling a giant syringe, men in safety suits pump fecal waste into drums that are emptied into a movable tank, for a tiny fraction of the roughly $50 that would be paid to a vacuum truck operator. \u201cWhenever it rains always the unclean places suffer from cholera, so we must be vigilant,\u201d said village chairman Stephen Semanda, who encourages residents to report on each other under the new system. Residents receive a meter-long stick that they dip into their toilets. If \u201cit comes out with anything on it, it means the toilet is now harmful to you,\u201d he said. That\u2019s when a so-called \u201cgulper\u201d should be called in to pump. Nearly two dozen groups operating in Kampala now provide the gulping services, said Winnie Kemirembe of the Gulpers Association of Uganda. \u201cIt is a good business,\u201d she said after supervising the pumping of raw sewage from one stinking latrine. Similar innovations are being tried out elsewhere in Africa. In the West African nation of Burkina Faso, where open defecation is said to be the norm in many villages, the group WaterAid promotes a fundraising initiative under which prominent residents commit their own money toward building public toilets. In Senegal, whose capital Dakar is vulnerable to flooding, aid groups have helped to construct toilets that break down waste onsite, turning it into compost and a source of renewable energy, said Yacine Djibo of SpeakUpAfrica, a Senegal-based group whose work includes advocacy for improved sanitation across the continent. Other sanitation entrepreneurs in Africa are developing toilet models that might charge as little as 5 cents for an entire day\u2019s use, an improvement on the traditional practice of charging users every time they walk in. Joel Ssimbwa, a Ugandan businessman who operates private toilets in Kampala, said he is working with community leaders in heavily populated areas to launch a franchise that would allow an entire family to \u201cpay once for a day, and for multiple uses.\u201d Yet even that arrangement still may be unaffordable for the city\u2019s poorest residents, said Semanda, the village chief. On a recent afternoon, he pointed to a neighboring hill where he said a cheap public toilet remained too expensive for some who linger outside, hoping for free entry. \u201cThe cheaper, the better,\u201d he said. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa"}
{"claim_id": "30827", "claim": "Authorities in Mexico have seized a massive shipment of cocaine headed towards a U.S. government facility.", "explanation": "Moreover, the photograph that accompanied the YourNewsWire story was taken from a completely unrelated, ten-year-old news report about Mexican authorities seizing and burning 134 tons of marijuana.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, yournewswire, yournewswire.com", "main_text": "On 19 November 2017, the YourNewsWire web site published an article positing that authorities in Mexico had seized a massive shipment of cocaine headed towards a U.S. government facility: Authorities in Mexico have seized a massive shipment of cocaine that was headed towards a U.S. government facility in America. Mexican Soldiers have now detained three men who were inside of the vehicle, claiming that they were employees of the Social Security Institute which has yet to be confirmed by the agency. The truck originated in the Tamaulipas state capital of Ciudad Victoria bound for Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas; and it remains unseen if it belongs to a Cartel or how they acquired the vehicle if that were the case. There will be an ongoing investigation involving both United States Federal Agencies and Mexican authorities to determine whether anyone from inside either nation\u2019s disaster programs was involved in the trafficking or even the theft of the vehicle. The reference to a Mexican seizure of \u201cU.S. government cocaine\u201d had no basis in reality, which is not surprising given that YourNewsWire is a fake news site that peddles in clickbait fabrications and has been banned from Google\u2019s AdSense advertising program as a result: [W]hile churning out demonstrably false narratives day in and day out has reportedly cost [YourNewsWire] 60 percent of its revenue after Google AdSense dropped it, the ad network Revcontent still allows YourNewsWire to monetize clicks, giving its publishers financial incentives to continue pushing bullshit to gullible right-wing audiences. This story was produced from a distorted version of a recent Associated Press report about Mexican authorities seizing cocaine that was concealed in a vehicle bearing markings of the Social Security Institute: Mexican authorities have seized more than 800 pounds (371 kilograms) of cocaine being transported toward the U.S. border inside a truck bearing the markings of the country\u2019s Social Security Institute. The institute, which runs hospitals and other social services, denied that any of its employees or vehicles were involved in the incident. A Defense Department statement said soldiers discovered the packets of drugs hidden inside the vehicle\u2019s mobile medical scanner at a highway checkpoint. The white truck had logo that sought to imitate those of one of the social security institute\u2019s anti-poverty programs. The truck had departed the Tamaulipas state capital of Ciudad Victoria bound for Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Soldiers detained three people on board who said they were employees of the Social Security Institute. The institute later said in a statement that none of the three were its employees. The Social Security Institute referred to in this report is a Mexican agency that has nothing to do with the U.S. Social Security Administration. The Associated Press report contained no indication that the confiscated cocaine was intended for a U.S. destination (other than that it was being shipped to a Mexican city that was \u201ctoward the U.S. border\u201d) or had any connection to any facility or persons involved with the U.S. government."}
{"claim_id": "5126", "claim": "Dutch doctor dies of lassa fever contracted in Sierra Leone.", "explanation": "The Dutch government says that a doctor who contracted lassa fever while working in Sierra Leone has died.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Hemorrhagic fever, Netherlands", "main_text": "Health Minister Bruno Bruins said in a letter to Parliament Sunday that the doctor died Saturday. He was being treated for the hemorrhagic fever in an isolation ward at a university hospital in Leiden. Bruins said a second Dutch doctor who was working in Sierra Leone also has contracted lassa fever and been flown home and taken to a special hospital in the central city of Utrecht. The lassa cases are the first in the Netherlands since 2000. There is no vaccine for the disease, which is transmitted through the bodily fluids of sick people. Humans also can contract the disease by coming into contact with food contaminated by rat excrement."}
{"claim_id": "9379", "claim": "Overcoming Fear of Back Pain May Spur Recovery", "explanation": "This article, based on findings of a small study of people with chronic back pain in Belgium reported in the journal JAMA Neurology,\u00a0tells readers that if they can only \u201cthink differently\u201d and stop \u201cfearing\u201d their pain, such attitude changes combined with \u201ccognition-targeted motor control training\u201d does significantly more than standard physical therapy and back pain \u201ceducation\u201d to reduce the pain and increase ability to function. The problem is that the story doesn\u2019t really explain the differences between the standard and experimental therapies, the latter of which is composed of a sort of physical \u201cdesensitization\u201d to feared physical movements; and fails to offer any details about the base level of the subjects\u2019 pain, how pain was measured, or why the researchers looked for (and didn\u2019t find) brain changes in the study group. We were glad the article included an outside expert, who makes clear that the experimental intervention is time intensive, costly, not covered by insurance and \u00a0\u2014 although \u201cpromising\u201d \u2014 still unproven with respect to long-term benefit compared to standard therapies. That provided some much needed information for the reader. (Note: Due to an editing error, this story originally was marked with a 2-star score. It has been updated to reflect the correct rating of 3 stars.) This study focuses on behavioral and educational approaches designed to reframe how patients think about their pain. By emphasizing that \u201churt doesn\u2019t mean harm,\u201d the hope is that patients will become more active and that activity may actually reduce pain. This \u201cpain catastrophizing\u201d theory is not really new. As such the description of this study doesn\u2019t make clear what is different from prior studies evaluating this approach. Nonetheless, such efforts are important and need to be replicated in larger studies, so were glad the story ended on that note.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "back pain", "main_text": "The only mention of cost is at the very end. \u201cThe program, however, is quite time-intensive and is not covered by insurance,\u201d Patel said. \u201cAlthough it\u2019s promising, we really have to see the benefit long-term to justify the cost,\u201d she added. This isn\u2019t really enough information for a patient to know if it\u2019s within their reach. The article quotes/attributes a \u201csignificant\u201d and \u201cclinically important\u201d reduction of pain, and elsewhere \u201c50 percent less pain,\u201d but offers no baseline of pain against which to compare the outcomes, or what range and level of increased functionality or diminished \u201cfearfulness\u201d was measured. Although physical therapy and a 12-week program of education about the origins of pain designed to reshape people\u2019s understanding of the pain pathway are not likely to cause harm, it would have been useful to know if any experimental treatment subjects dropped out, failed to finish the program, or felt worse than those in the control group. There is also the potential in such studies for \u201cvictim blaming,\u201d or imposing the onus of attitude change on pain patients. Some of the comments of the principal investigator in the article (i.e. patients \u201cshould learn to put pain into the right perspective and\u2026avoid fear of moving\u201d) may impose additional burdens on some pain patients. There aren\u2019t many details about the people in the study, including the substantial age range (18 to mid-60s); the sources of the back pain; the way the pain was measured before and after the interventions, and so on. The reader also won\u2019t learn about the surveys and tests (including brain MRIs) used to measure primary and secondary outcomes. And most of all, the reader will have a hard time understanding just what the two arms of the study involved and what the differences are, given that both involved forms of education and physical therapy. While the background for the intervention is discussed in detail, the nature of the study is barely mentioned. No mongering here. It is clear that current treatments for chronic low back pain offer patients limited benefits. An outside expert was quoted and we detected no conflicts of interest that should have been disclosed. We\u2019ll give this a just-passing rating. There are several brief statements about alternatives. Relevant statements include, \u201cPeople with chronic back pain often try painkillers and other treatments without success\u201d and \u201cThey assigned another 25 men and 35 women to standard care \u2014 exercise, and back and neck education.\u201d The article makes clear that this is an experimental therapy. Even the careful reader may have a hard time figuring out what is novel about the therapy or the study protocol. This is especially the case with respect to the use of MRI to scan the brains of participants for \u201cmorphological\u201d changes \u2014 a part of the research that was especially meaningful to the investigators because, in their view, the absence of such changes in the experimental group suggests that such changes are not necessarily a good indicator of pain control or pain abatement. The story did not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "2051", "claim": "U.S. unveils graphic tobacco warnings.", "explanation": "Diseased lungs, dead bodies, a man on a ventilator and mothers blowing smoke in their children\u2019s faces are among the images U.S. health officials are considering in their effort to revamp tobacco warning labels.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "FDA Proposed Graphic Health Warnings for Cigarettes. REUTERS/FDA/Handout The \u201cgraphic health warnings,\u201d unveiled on Wednesday, aim to depict the negative effects of smoking, and they will be required on all cigarette packages and advertisements as of October 2012. The FDA will accept comments on its proposed warnings until January 9. In June, the agency will choose nine graphic images from the 36 it has proposed. More prominent warnings on cigarette packages, including larger text labels, were mandated in a June 2009 law putting the multibillion-dollar tobacco industry under the control of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The proposal offers the most significant and important change in public health warnings since the release of the surgeon general\u2019s landmark report on smoking in the 1960s, said Matt Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. \u201cThese warnings are based on the best evidence about how to raise awareness and concern about the health effects of smoking with at-risk youth and smokers thinking about quitting,\u201d Myers said. A 1964 surgeon general\u2019s report concluded that smoking was linked to lung cancer and other diseases, spurring a broad anti-smoking campaign and new health warnings on cigarette packages. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act called for cigarette packages to include new warning statements in large type covering half of the front and back of each package and graphic images showing adverse health effects from smoking. The warnings will also occupy the top 20 percent of every tobacco advertisement. \u201cFor the first time ever, they will say that tobacco products are addictive, and they will say in the bluntest of terms that tobacco can kill,\u201d FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said. \u201cWe need to make sure that anyone who is considering smoking fully appreciates the consequences of cigarette use.\u201d   But investors are skeptical that the warnings will have much impact on sales of cigarettes. Charles Norton, a portfolio manager with GNI Capital Inc, said similar efforts in other markets around the world have had little effect. \u201cI think it will ultimately have very limited impact on consumption,\u201d Norton said. Altria Group Inc\u2019s Philip Morris unit, the largest U.S. cigarette maker, supported the overall bill, while some smaller rivals, such Reynolds American Inc\u2019s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and Lorillard Inc\u2019s Lorillard Tobacco Co, opposed it. A spokesman for R.J. Reynolds declined to comment before reviewing the 140-page proposal, but noted that the company had challenged the legality of larger and graphic warnings in a pending federal lawsuit in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. A Lorillard spokesman declined to comment. The Dow Jones tobacco index, whose components include Altria, Lorillard and Reynolds American, was down 0.8 percent in midday trading."}
{"claim_id": "9225", "claim": "Saturated fat could be good for you", "explanation": "A single, brief study from Norway claims to demonstrate that saturated fats are generally beneficial for most people, in contrast to much research that suggests potential heart risks are associated with higher saturated fat intake. The study of 38 men with abdominal obesity took place over a 12-week period and compared the effects of either a high carbohydrate or a high fat diet. This study, though randomized, only measured markers of risk such as blood pressure and triglycerides (not actual heart disease) for a short period of time. Current recommendations regarding fat intake are based on actual rates of heart disease found in large groups of people followed for years. It\u2019s not unreasonable to raise questions about the role of saturated fat in heart disease. Researchers readily acknowledge that existing studies on the issue have important limitations. However, this release goes too far in describing the significance of this single small study, and gives no acknowledgment to evidence that cuts the other way. The release also lacks information expected of a solid account of a new nutrition study \u2014 such as a measurable benefit, harms, and details of the diet\u2019s contents. Substantial claims require substantial evidence. This release claims to present data that upends the conventional wisdom on dietary fat, but it doesn\u2019t acknowledge that the study has important limitations. Nor does it acknowledge the many other studies that have addressed the same questions examined by this research. People are already confused enough about what they should be eating. The last thing they need are sweeping claims, like \u201cSaturated fat could be good for you,\u201d that aren\u2019t backed up by definitive evidence.", "label": "false", "subjects": "saturated fats,University of Bergen", "main_text": "The release does not mention costs but we won\u2019t fault it for this. We rate this Not Applicable since it would be very difficult to estimate the cost of shifting eating patterns that incorporate more foods laden with saturated fats. The release did not use many numbers to quantify the benefits of consuming one diet over another. For example, it states: \u201cIn the randomized controlled trial, 38 men with abdominal obesity followed a dietary pattern high in either carbohydrates or fat, of which about half was saturated. Fat mass in the abdominal region, liver and heart was measured with accurate analyses, along with a number of key risk factors for cardiovascular disease. \u201cThe very high intake of total and saturated fat did not increase the calculated risk of cardiovascular diseases,\u201d says professor and cardiologist Ottar Nyg\u00e5rd who contributed to the study.\u201d The italicized words reflect where some quantification would have helped the release. What does \u201chigh\u201d refer to? Which measuring tools were used to assess fat mass in the abdomen, liver and heart? The release did not go into any detail on the potential downsides of a very-high-saturated fat diet. For example: Would most people enjoy and be able to adhere to a diet that includes lots of butter, cream, and cold-pressed oils? Some would no doubt savor such a diet, but others might be turned off. This release doesn\u2019t caution that this small study only lasted for 12 weeks and looked only at markers of risk. The results are presented as being much more definitive than they are. The release does not engage in disease mongering. The release does not list funding sources or provide any statement regarding potential conflicts for the principal investigators. The release is about comparing two diets \u2014 one high in \u201clowly\u201d processed fats (butter, cream and cold-pressed oils) and another high in carbohydrates. The release does not give us details of the diets (what to consume and how much) so it\u2019s almost impossible to compare them. Both high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods are widely available. The release does not establish any novelty for this research. There are a number of studies looking at cardiometabolic markers in response to higher fat diets. Unjustifiable language is present in the release, beginning with the headline \u2014\u00a0 \u201cSaturated fat could be good for you.\u201d This tiny study provides little if any evidence for that claim, and the statement contradicts substantial amounts of conflicting research. Moreover, the release later says that a high saturated fat diet \u201cdid not increase the calculated risk of cardiovascular diseases\u201d \u2014 it doesn\u2019t say that it \u201clowered\u201d risk. So it seems that the best one could conclude, even in a generous interpretation, is that \u201csaturated fat might not be bad for you.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "38704", "claim": " Those who purchase hunting and fishing gear at Cabela\u2019s (and other retailers) now have to pay a medical excise tax established under Obamacare, according to social media posts. ", "explanation": "Cabela's Takes a Stand on Medical Excise Tax on Sporting Goods", "label": "false", "subjects": "Government, Health / Medical", "main_text": "Obamacare\u2019s medical excise tax doesn\u2019t apply to sporting goods, and Cabela\u2019s isn\u2019t applying it to transactions there. The rumor started with a social media post that showed a Cabela\u2019s receipt with a $5.82 charge for what\u2019s identified as a \u201cmedical excise tax\u201d back in 2013. According to the post, the 2.3% medical excise tax was supposed to be \u201chidden\u201d from customers, but Cabela\u2019s had taken a stand by including the charge as a separate line item on receipts. But Obamacare\u2019s medical excise tax does not apply to sporting goods. Cabela\u2019s mistakenly included the surcharge on customer receipts for one day \u2014 January 1, 2013 \u2014\u00a0and issued refunds to customers within a week. Joe Arterburn, a Cabela\u2019s spokesperson, said that the 2.3% medical excise tax was applied to customer transactions because of a \u201cglitch in the system.\u201d Aterburn said the mistake came to light when customers notified the company that the medical excise tax surcharge had appeared on their sales receipts. The medical excise tax was established under Obamacare to help supplement the cost of providing insurance to the uninsured. Medical professionals pay the excise tax when they purchase medical devices defined under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA): Medical devices range from simple tongue depressors and bedpans to complex programmable\u00a0pacemakers with micro-chip technology and laser surgical devices. In addition, medical devices\u00a0include in vitro diagnostic products, such as general purpose lab equipment, reagents, and test kits,\u00a0which may include monoclonal antibody technology. Certain electronic\u00a0radiation emitting products\u00a0with medical application and claims meet the definition of medical device. Examples include\u00a0diagnostic ultrasound products, x-ray machines and medical lasers. If a product is labeled,\u00a0promoted or used in a manner that meets the following definition in section 201(h) of the Federal\u00a0Food Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) Act it will be regulated by the\u00a0Food and Drug Administration (FDA)as\u00a0a medical device and is subject to premarketing and postmarketing regulatory controls. So, the medical excise tax does not apply to sporting goods, and consumers do not directly pay it. There are excise taxes on sporting goods, but they aren\u2019t new and they weren\u2019t established under the Affordable Care Act. These pre-existing taxes on manufacturers for things like fishing poles, tackle boxes, outboard motors and bows are defined under IRS Publication 510, which is not the same as the medical excise tax. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "34669", "claim": "A teenaged girl was drugged and nearly abducted in a Dillard's department store by fellow teens working on behalf of sex traffickers.", "explanation": "Moreover, the referenced article linked described a police crackdown on a Denton County human trafficking operation that did not involve abductions of victims from department store restrooms, the use of heroin to drug unwitting teen shoppers, the intervention of a potential victim\u2019s mother, the use of fellow teen girls as recruiting agents, or a situation that was halted before anyone was harmed. A separate article about the 2014 operation reported several arrests but made no mention of young girls being employed as operatives of a sex trafficking-related abduction ring.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Crime, denton texas, dillard's, human trafficking", "main_text": "On 20 June 2015, a Facebook user published a screenshot of the text message transcribed below, which described a harrowing near miss abduction effort that supposedly occurred in the bathroom of a Dillard\u2019s department store in Denton, Texas: Example: \u00a0 [Collected via e-mail, June 2015] So.. A friend of mine knows a mom and a daughter that was shopping at Dillard\u2019s in DENTON\u2026 In the mall. The girl is close to my age. She told her mom she had to go to the bathroom so her mom said awesome, you go to the bathroom, I\u2019ll go checkout and then we can meet at the car. So they did.. The mom was waiting in the car for awhile and she thought man, it\u2019s been awhile so she walked back into Dillard\u2019s and crossed paths with 2 girls CARRYING her daughter out of Dillard\u2019s. The mom asked the girls what they were doing and they said \u201coh.. Haha this is our friend.. She\u2019s drunk, she passed out in the bathroom, we\u2019re just taking her home\u201d \u2026 The mom said \u201cTHATS MY DAUGHTER! !\u201d .. Come to find out these two girls were hiding in the bathroom, when the daughter walked in, one pinned her down and the the other shot her up with black laced heroine. It basically paralyzed her. Come to find out, these 2 girls worked for sex trafficking that\u2019s going on IN Denton. The post\u2019s claim of kidnappers working on behalf of sex traffickers echoed a rash of similar messages recently spread by social media users: In late May 2015, a Facebook user made a similar claim about a brush with abductors in an Oklahoma Hobby Lobby store; in early June, Twitter was carried away by warnings of human traffickers targeting college kids on summer break through job interviews; and late June saw yet another outbreak of the venerable theme park abduction urban legend. Like the breathless tales of sex trafficking tricks that immediately preceded it, the warning about the incident in a Denton Dillard\u2019s bore elements of a classic urban legend: it happened to a friend of a friend, at an indeterminate time, and included no details tying the claim to verifiable documentation (such as a news article or police report). And as in the Hobby Lobby case, local police were quick to respond and report that social media users might have gotten a little overexcited about the claim: We have recently had many people asking us if a post going around on social media sites about an incident at a store in our local mall is true. Currently we cannot find a report on file to substantiate that claim and therefore we feel that there is no cause for alarm. We will continue to look into this to determine if it is true or just a rumor/hoax. Facebook users commenting upon the 20 June 2015 post by the City of Denton Police Department linked to an article about human trafficking raids in Denton. Police in turn pointed out that that news was nearly a year old: This was from July of 2014."}
{"claim_id": "18554", "claim": "Preventive care coverage under the Affordable Care Act has already \"helped Granite Staters save money and live healthier lives.", "explanation": "The New Hampshire Democratic Party claimed that health care reform helped people save money and lead healthier lives. Its list began with better access and use of preventive care. The statement brushes over the mixed outcomes of preventive services. They can lead to better health for some, but can also result in batteries of tests that have little health effect for many. Likewise, the Affordable Care Act requires many preventive procedures be offered at no cost to patients, which can save individuals some money, but on a system-wide basis many of those practices are wasteful and they always come at some cost.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "New Hampshire, Health Care, New Hampshire Democratic Party, ", "main_text": "Federal health care reform won\u2019t start in earnest until this autumn, but on the third anniversary of the law that gave us Obamacare, the New Hampshire Democratic Party wanted to make sure that the public knew about all the benefits the law already has produced. In an interestingly worded press release, NHDP Communications Director Harrell Kirstein tallied the gains since 2010. Kirstein\u00a0began his release by stating \"Health care reform has helped Granite Staters save money and live healthier lives.\" His list of evidence began with a bullet point declaring the Affordable Care Act \"Expanded preventative care coverage with no cost-sharing for 365,000 Granite Staters with private health insurance in 2012, including 253,000 women. While more than 160,000 New Hampshire citizen[s] on traditional Medicare also accessed free preventative care services.\" The numbers Kirstein cites are based on an administration analysis that takes the national level findings of an independent group, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and applies them to various groups of insured people in New Hampshire. As\u00a0PolitiFact has noted before, there is a complicated relationship among preventive care, costs and health. The quick assumption that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure can be wrong. When President Obama said \"preventive care saves money,\" PolitiFact ruled that statement False. Obama was speaking about the health care system as a whole, and there\u2019s a lot of evidence that when millions of healthy people use preventive services, their health status remains the same, but all those doctor visits add up to higher costs. A 2008 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine\u00a0found that, in some cases, preventive care can save money and improve health. Counseling people to quit smoking, eat a better diet, and giving the most common vaccinations provide a win-win outcome of low cost and avoiding diseases that are expensive to treat. But the authors cautioned \"Sweeping statements about the cost-saving potential of prevention, however, are overreaching. Studies have concluded that preventing illness can in some cases save money but in other cases can add to health care costs.\" \"Although some preventive measures do save money, the vast majority reviewed in the health economics literature do not.\" And whether preventive services lead to better health is also debatable. Preventive services absolutely can make a person healthier when a potential problem is diagnosed early and treated. However, preventive care on a system-wide level leads to batteries of tests and procedures that lead to positive outcomes for a few, but make little difference for many. A study by Danish researchers on the value of annual physicals found that they did little or nothing to reduce the risk of dying from cancer or heart disease. In addition, Ateev Mehrotra\u00a0at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine estimated the yearly cost of routine physical exams at $8 billion. He said the limited benefits \"underline the need to maintain other means of delivering preventive care beyond annual [physicals].\" The key finding from all the studies is prevention makes sense when it is targeted. The right strategy picks out the people at risk and offers them the screening or prevention treatment they need. In general, that is the approach in Obamacare. The online journal\u00a0Health Affairs\u00a0notes that Section 2713 of the Affordable Care Act is \"one of the most straightforward provisions\" in the legislation. The law requires services that are backed up by evidence and have been rated by certain bodies, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. \"Items and services are rated by the Preventive Services Task Force only with respect to individuals who fit into certain categories determined by age, gender, or medical conditions or risks,\" the author writes, \"and the rule only requires that services be provided to individuals in those categories.\" Take something as common as cholesterol levels. Under the Task Force guidelines, not everyone would get tested for free; the federal recommendations\u00a0specify men 35 and older, and women and men of any age with heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. Even the most targeted regime of preventive services comes with two caveats. By one estimate published in Health Affairs, if 90 percent of Americans took advantage of the most proven services, overall spending would decline by just 0.2 percent. The health benefits would be \"huge\", but the added doctor visits and tests would cause insurance premiums to rise, by as much at 1.5 percent. At the end of the day, the author writes,\" increased benefits will be accompanied by increased costs, but neither will be dramatic and an accurate understanding of which will be greater is simply not possible.\" Our ruling The New Hampshire Democratic Party claimed that health care reform helped people save money and lead healthier lives. Its list began with better access and use of preventive care. The statement brushes over the mixed outcomes of preventive services. They can lead to better health for some, but can also result in batteries of tests that have little health effect for many. Likewise, the Affordable Care Act requires many preventive procedures be offered at no cost to patients, which can save individuals some money, but on a system-wide basis many of those practices are wasteful and they always come at some cost. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "34480", "claim": "Doctors are now saying menstrual cramps are as painful as heart attacks.", "explanation": "Whether any research into analogous pain pertaining to dysmenorrhea has been undertaken is unclear, nor has it been proved that the pain from a heart attack can be measured against period cramps in a rigorous scientific comparison. Although the quote is real, assertions that \u201cdoctors are now saying [the claim is true]\u201d (which suggests the existence of substantiated research) is something an exaggeration. The claim is not dissimilar to other long-circulating claims that enduring a blow to the testicles is at least as painful as childbirth.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical, dysmenorrhea, heart attack, menstrual periods", "main_text": "On 18 December 2016, a page operated by the outlet\u00a0Mic published a screenshot (with no attendant article or content) bearing text that asserted \u201cdoctors are now saying\u201d that menstrual period pain can approach that of a heart attack:  The headline and image closely matched an item published on 18 February 2016 by HelloFlo, which is not the web site of a news organization but rather than of a business selling menstrual care products. That item began: Does that sentence sound dramatic \u2014 say, as serious as a heart attack? It should, because that\u2019s exactly what experts are comparing the pain to. According to Quartz, that pain is rightfully described as agony, citing the American Academy of Family Physicians\u2018 definition of dysmenorrhea. The condition, described as \u201csevere enough to interfere with daily activities in up to 20% of women\u201d is characterized by aches and pressure in the abdomen, hips, thighs, and lower back. According to John Guillebaud, a professor of reproductive health in London, it\u2019s totally possible for the cramping to be as bad as a heart attack. The store\u2019s blog cited not a medical journal, but the new media outlet Quartz. Moreover, a single professor of reproductive health was quoted as saying the claim was \u201ctotally possible\u201d; multiple doctors were not quoted as saying it was accurate or common. The quote from a single doctor appeared to originate with the Quartz item, minus the \u201ctotally\u201d qualfiier: Dysmenorrhea, the clinical term for painful menstruation, interferes with the daily life of around one in five women, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. And yet there\u2019s remarkably little research into the condition, say experts, and too many doctors are dismissive when presented with the symptoms. Frank Tu, director of gynecological pain at NorthShore University HealthSystem, tells Quartz some physicians are taught that ibuprofen \u201cshould be good enough.\u201d Clearly, this is not an adequate response to such severe pain. How severe? John Guillebaud, professor of reproductive health at University College London, tells Quartz that patients have described the cramping pain as \u201calmost as bad as having a heart attack.\u201d In its original context, Guillebaud\u2019s quote was presented as one derived not from research, but from anecdotes. Articles on the same topic and  the same oft-repeated quote often delved into related (but not topical) information, such as a Telegraph piece that described difficulties associated with obtaining treatment for endometriosis (a separate condition with some comorbidity) and a tragic story about a very young woman who died after her cancer was misdiagnosed. Although both represented serious issues relating to\u00a0women\u2019s reproductive healthcare, neither supported the claim that agonizing menstrual cramps were analogous on a scale alongside\u00a0heart attack pain. Another British outlet built upon Guillebaud\u2019s \u201cheart attack\u201d quote and added that \u201cresearch\u201d substantiated it, but we were unable to locate the purported research and could find no links to similar material. However, if research exists, it has possibly been drowned out by references to one quote from one doctor that sounds like an opinion-based analogy: It was true that Guillebaud told Quartz in February 2016 \u201cthat patients have described the cramping pain as \u2018almost as bad as having a heart attack. '\u201d However, the reproductive expert relayed anecdotal information from patients presumably enduring significant pain and perhaps not the most objective arbiters of degrees of agony. Such a patient-centric observation would be of limited use if the patients in question had not themselves experienced heart attacks to\u00a0which they might\u00a0compare the level of relative pain. The pain associated with dysmenorrhea is known to be severe, but its comparison to heart attack pain by a single doctor (not \u201cdoctors\u201d) stems not from research but the anecdotes of patients."}
{"claim_id": "17546", "claim": "Earlier this year, [John DePetro] was accused of sexually assaulting a female co-worker.", "explanation": "For Our Daughters RI, in its petition calling for the removal of talk-radio host John DePetro, said, \"Earlier this year, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female co-worker.\" DePetro was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed in 2012, not 2013. The suit, which has laid dormant according to court records, never alleges sexual assault. Both sexual harassment and sexual assault are serious allegations. But the former is a civil matter and the latter can send you to prison, and relegate an ex-convict to a life of a registered sex offender. We would expect a group devoted to protecting women to know the difference. Yet For Our Daughters RI is standing by its allegation, selectively quoting from a federal definition of sexual assault and neglecting the fact that the definition does not include sexual harassment.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Legal Issues, Crime, Pundits, Unions, Women, For Our Daughters RI, ", "main_text": "WPRO-AM talk-radio host John DePetro has been shown to be factually challenged when he makes statements about others. His record with PolitiFact Rhode Island is two False rulings and two  rulings. So the irony didn't escape us when DePetro wrote to us on Jan. 2 to complain that a group was telling a lie about him. At issue is a petition on Change.org that seeks his removal. It had 6,659 \"signatures\" as of 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 2. (Supporters are asked to give their names and addresses and click on a \"Sign\" button, but only the names of commenters are shown on the site.) The petition comes from For Our Daughters RI, a union-backed group created after DePetro, a harsh critic of unions, called union protesters \"parasites,\" \"cockroaches,\" \"hags\" and \"whores.\" The protesters had been picketing a fundraiser for Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, then an unannounced candidate for governor, accusing her of being a \"crook\" who \"cooked the books\" to build support for the overhaul of the state pension system. The petition says DePetro has made other hateful statements against women and \"earlier this year, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female co-worker.\" The petition started circulating in November 2013. DePetro has taken issue with most of the allegations. We were interested in the sexual-assault claim because it was news to us. \"I have never been accused of 'sexual assault,' that is a complete lie,\" he said in his email. \"In July of 2012, I was accused of sexual harassment, but that is far different than 'sexual assault.'\" A sexual harassment civil suit was indeed filed against him in 2012, not 2013, as the petition says. We read the complaint. It does not mention sexual assault, a criminal charge that can put someone in prison. In the filing, a former coworker accused DePetro of allegedly making sexual advances to her, showing her images of women that he said he was attracted to, and ultimately asking her if she would engage in group sex with him. DePetro has denied the allegations. (WPRO officials were also named in the suit. DePetro's supervisor was accused of not properly acting against the alleged infractions. However, there is no record in Superior Court that, in the 15 months since the suit was filed, any of the defendants have been officially notified that they're being sued.) We called Maureen Martin, chairwoman of For Our Daughters RI, to ask about the sexual-assault allegation. Martin is also political activities director of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, a labor union. Martin confirmed that the allegation in the petition referred to the 2012 sexual harassment suit. She asked to get back to us. By that night, the petition had been altered. The year had been changed to 2012. As of 2 p.m. Friday, the total was 6,671. However, the allegation of sexual assault was not modified. In a statement emailed that evening, Martin said that in the harassment complaint, DePetro's accuser \"alleges that Mr. DePetro made multiple 'sexual advances' toward her. These advances were unwelcome and 'inappropriate,' the complaint contends.\" \"The United States Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women defines sexual assault, in part, as: 'any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient,'\" Martin said. \"We believe the alleged, unwelcome 'sexual advances' referenced in the aforementioned court filing fall under the classification of 'behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.'\" We checked the Justice Department's definition. The other half of the definition, which Martin did not quote, says: \"Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.\" Sexual harassment is not mentioned. Our ruling For Our Daughters RI, in its petition calling for the removal of talk-radio host John DePetro, said, \"Earlier this year, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female co-worker.\" DePetro was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed in 2012, not 2013. The suit, which has laid dormant according to court records, never alleges sexual assault. Both sexual harassment and sexual assault are serious allegations. But the former is a civil matter and the latter can send you to prison, and relegate an ex-convict to a life of a registered sex offender. We would expect a group devoted to protecting women to know the difference. Yet For Our Daughters RI is standing by its allegation, selectively quoting from a federal definition of sexual assault and neglecting the fact that the definition does not include sexual harassment. We rate its statement ! (With research by Providence Journal reporter Katie Mulvaney. If you have a claim you\u2019d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email\u00a0protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"}
{"claim_id": "3385", "claim": "Massachusetts retailers can again sell pot vaping products.", "explanation": "Massachusetts marijuana retailers can again begin selling vaping products, provided they are newly manufactured and screened for contaminants.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Vaping, Massachusetts, Public health, Marijuana", "main_text": "The Cannabis Control Commission made the announcement Thursday. It\u2019s not immediately clear when the products will be available for purchase. The order allows the sale of vaporizer products that are manufactured starting Thursday and that pass screens for contaminants including vitamin E acetate that are required under the commission\u2019s testing protocols. The commission\u2019s initial quarantine remains in place for all other marijuana vaporizer products manufactured before Dec. 12. The order comes a day after state officials ended an emergency ban on the sale of unflavored vaping products and approved new restrictions on flavored vaping products. The Public Health Council vote rescinded a temporary ban on the sale of all vaping products that was imposed by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker\u2019s administration in September. State officials say they have identified 90 probable and confirmed cases of vaping-related lung illnesses in Massachusetts. Three of those people have died."}
{"claim_id": "623", "claim": "WHO hails 'triumph' as Merck's Ebola vaccine gets European green light.", "explanation": "The world\u2019s first Ebola vaccine was recommended for approval by European drugs regulators on Friday in a move hailed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a \u201ctriumph for public health\u201d that would save many lives.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The vaccine, developed by U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co, is already being used under emergency guidelines to try to protect people against the spread of a deadly Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo. It protects against the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus - the one that most commonly causes outbreaks. The shot is also being reviewed under a fast-track system by regulators in the United States, with a decision expected in the first quarter of next year. \u201cThis vaccine has already saved many lives in the current Ebola outbreak, and the decision by European regulators will help it to eventually save many more,\u201d the WHO\u2019s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. The Congo Ebola outbreak has killed more than 2,100 people since the middle of last year. It is the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history, after a 2013-16 epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,300. The Merck vaccine, which the company has now brand-named Ervebo, is likely to get a full marketing license from the European Commission in a few weeks. Roger Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said the company\u2019s priority now was to get regulatory approval of its Ervebo manufacturing site in Germany so that licensed supply of the vaccine \u201ccan be used to support global public health preparedness\u201d. Merck\u2019s vaccine is being used in Congo in a so-called \u201cring vaccination\u201d approach, in which people who may have been in contact with someone newly infected with Ebola are traced and offered the shot to protect them. Charlie Weller, head of vaccines at the Wellcome Trust global heath charity said the Merck shot had already saved \u201ccountless lives\u201d in the country. \u201cHaving this vaccine available under research conditions has been key in preventing the ongoing outbreak in the DRC spiraling into a repeat of the 2014-16 epidemic, where 11,000 people died,\u201d she told Reuters. Health authorities in Kinshasa said last week they planned to introduce an experimental second Ebola vaccine, developed by  drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, in the country\u2019s eastern provinces in November. The Ebola virus causes hemorrhagic fever and spreads from person to person through direct contact with body fluids. It kills around half of those it infects. There are currently no licensed treatments for the deadly infection, but scientists said in August they were a step closer to being able to cure it after two experimental drugs showed survival rates of as much as 90% in a clinical trial in Congo."}
{"claim_id": "9256", "claim": "FDA Clears P-Cure Upright Imaging Solution  for Proton Therapy Enhancement", "explanation": "P-Cure Ltd. device We\u2019re fully prepared to believe that there are ways to more accurately administer proton beam therapy with fewer side effects and lower costs. This release makes just those claims and yet provides nothing to back the claims up. There is no quantification of benefits. No true exploration of risks. No explanation of the quality of the evidence. And no true comparison of alternatives. The release muddies the water on what kind of nod it got from the US\u2019s regulatory agency. The company received FDA \u201cclearance\u201d to market the device but not an \u201capproval.\u201d (See the discussion under the Quality of Evidence criteria.) Proton beam therapy represents an alternative form of radiotherapy compared to conventional x-rays. Interest in this form of therapy has grown based upon its ability to deliver higher doses of radiation to a smaller field. This may improve the benefit and reduce the harm for patients with cancer who need radiotherapy. Although not a focus in this release, the proven outcomes of proton vs. conventional radiotherapy in terms of benefits (increased survival) and harms (less damage to surrounding normal tissue) are less clear than the proponents of proton therapy would like to admit. For many cancers, conventional therapy may be adequate. Here the question is whether the delivery of proton beam therapy to patients who are getting it can be enhanced by delivering the treatment to the patient in a seated compared to a flat position. One can imagine for some patients that may lead to a more comfortable treatment, but it isn\u2019t clear how many would derive a measurable benefit. The release focuses on decreases in the discomfort of treatment and implies that some who may not otherwise tolerate this therapy could now have it. All interesting, but no information is provided to support the release\u2019s claims. Finally, the release focuses on the potential benefits to the proton beam center in terms of its costs \u2014 but patients will have other questions about cost such as whether the device is more expensive than what the center is currently using. If so, those costs may be passed on to insurers and thus patients based upon the specifics of their policy. As such, it isn\u2019t clear whether the \u201cclinical breakthrough\u201d or \u201cparadigm shift\u201d will be apparent to the average patient undergoing this form of cancer treatment.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "P-Cure,proton therapy", "main_text": "We were pleased to see the potential economic impacts of this therapy raised in the release. The release says, \u201cIn addition to the clinical benefits of P-Cure\u2019s solution, there are also significant economic advantages to treating patients in a seated position.\u201d However, the cost savings refer to the reduced capital investment for the proton beam center, not the cost for patients. The release is basically arguing that the device will decrease the cost for the center per patient treated, and will accomplish this by making it easier to get treatment done and make it more accessible, affording extra time to bring in more patients. This is not exactly the cost that the patient is thinking about. We give the release credit for raising the financial issue but at least one cost-related number is needed here. There are many claims of benefits in this release, none of them quantified: For the patient, the real question is whether this device makes the treatment any better. If not, then does it make it any easier, more comfortable or shorter? There is no data provided. The release makes no mention of any harms associated with this therapy. As noted above, it makes passing and not numerically defined, reference to the potential harms of standard proton therapy, meaning radiation hitting parts of the body that don\u2019t need radiation treatment. The release states indirectly who this wouldn\u2019t work for by giving the cancers that may be treated. The question of harm/benefit also depends on what the goal of the device. Is it to help patients already selected for proton beam therapy or to bring in patients who otherwise would be treated using conventional radiotherapy? Consideration of benefits and harms would differ, but neither is addressed. The release is less precise than it should be when using the term \u201capproval\u201d when it says the company \u201chas received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its patented upright imaging solution.\u201d The company received \u201cclearance\u201d to market the device but not an \u201capproval.\u201d The implication of a premarket \u201capproval\u201d is that the company had to provide proof of safety and effectiveness, whereas a \u201cclearance\u201d such as we have here indicates only that the devices was deemed similar to other approved devices. See the FDA\u2019s discussion on \u201cWhat does it mean when FDA \u201cclears\u201d or \u201capproves\u201d a medical device?\u201d According to an August 8, 2016 letter to P-Cure granting marketing approval, the FDA wrote that the agency has \u201cdetermined the device is substantially equivalent (for the indications for use stated in the enclosure) to legally marketed predicate devices\u2026that do not require approval of a premarket approval application (PMA). You may, therefore, market the device, subject to the general controls provisions of the Act.\u201d This is an extremely low bar. The clearance doesn\u2019t require any proof that it benefits patients or doesn\u2019t harm them. The device was deemed substantially similar to existing devices that are already FDA approved. The FDA market clearance letter further stated the device\u2019s \u201cIndications for Use:\u201d \u201cThe P-ARTIS CT scanner is a Computed Tomography X-Ray System intended to produce images of the body by computer reconstruction of X-ray transmission data taken at different angles and planes. The system may include signal analysis and display equipment, patient and equipment supports, components and accessories. The system is intended for scanning patients while seated.\u201d There is no disease mongering in the release. It just plainly states that \u201cAdult and pediatric patients who will initially benefit from this clinical breakthrough will be those treated for cancers of the lung, breast, chest, the head and neck, and lower torso.\u201d We\u2019d like to point out, though, that the release implies that there is an abundance of demand for this type of therapy (whether evidence-based or not) and the only limit is the supply. It is clear that the release comes from P-Cure, the company that is producing the proton therapy being touted in the release. The device is being compared to existing devices used to deliver proton beam therapy. As such, there is a comparison. although it\u2019s a bit opaque. It points out that standard proton therapy may radiate healthy body parts inadvertently. It causes more discomfort. It costs too much. These statements could have been elucidated, preferably through quantification, to create a meaningful comparison for reporters and patients. The release makes it clear that this therapy has just been cleared and that proton therapy is currently not widely available. The release refers to this as a \u201cclinical breakthrough.\u201d While that may be a heavy-handed statement, the device is a modification of prone delivery of proton therapy and is clearly a device that is not currently in wide use. The release uses the terms \u201cclinical breakthrough\u201d and \u201cparadigm shifting\u201d\u00a0 to describe the device but without the evidence (as noted above), this falls short. It\u2019s unclear that the benefits will be apparent to the average patient undergoing this form of cancer treatment. It could be that the statement that the device is a \u201cparadigm shifting change from the current method of treatment with the patient in the horizontal position\u201d is justifiable \u2014 if a bit too ebullient \u2014 since the paradigm for proton therapy now has people lying down. If this treatment is successful it will have more people sitting up. We would prefer, though, that if a release is going to make as many claims as this one does that it provide some evidence."}
{"claim_id": "1943", "claim": "After Fukushima, mother fights to get her life back.", "explanation": "Even before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami struck knocking out the Fukushima nuclear plant, Aya\u2019s life was a struggle.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "She had divorced her abusive husband and was left on her own to care and provide for her two daughters. Now, six months after she fled her home just 9 km (6 miles) away from the radiation-spewing plant, the 26-year old single mother is barely surviving. She has no job, languishes in hiding from her violent ex-husband in temporary housing and will probably never see her home again. \u201cIt feels like a hole has opened inside me. My home was so important to me and I felt safe there,\u201d said Aya who would not give her family name or disclose her exact location out of fear her ex-husband could find her. \u201cIt\u2019s like time has just stopped. Ever since March 11, the time has stopped for me.\u201d   The tsunami left 20,000 dead or missing, set off the world\u2019s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl a quarter of a century ago and forced 80,000 to evacuate. It hit particularly hard those who were already down on their luck. There were reports of lone deaths in temporary housing and suicide rates jumped in the quake-battered regions. After the disaster Aya was evacuated to a nearby gymnasium, but could not stay there as Noa - her younger four-year-old daughter - cannot walk because of a split spine and needs special care. The older, six-year-old Kurea has no disabilities and goes to school. \u201cNoa\u2019s father then called and we went to Saitama (north of Tokyo). He said the hospitals were up and running there, so I decided to do it for Noa\u2019s sake,\u201d says Aya as she puts braces around her younger daughter\u2019s legs as they prepare for a trip to the kindergarten. \u201cHe soon started beating us up. It was so insane, I just had to flee again. Ignoring the risk of radiation I came back up to Fukushima prefecture,\u201d says Aya, zipping her daughter\u2019s backpack. She now lives in a modest apartment in one of the prefecture\u2019s bigger cities sharing the fate of the tens of thousands that six months after the disaster still do not have a permanent home. About 10,000 still live in evacuation shelters, 34,000 stay in hotels or with relatives or friends and 40,000 live in temporary housing. \u201cI also lost my job as an insurance agent as my company moved to a different town,\u201d says Aya. With her daughter in kindergarten, she goes job hunting and says any job that would let her check on Noa from time to time will do. Landing a job is tough, though, as the influx of evacuees from the tsunami-hit areas doubled the number of job-seekers in the Fukushima prefecture. Like other evacuees, she blames the government for dragging its feet on mapping out the area\u2019s future. Only last week, Tokyo said it would aim to halve radiation over two years in places contaminated by the nuclear disaster, removing soil, plants and trees in an area spanning thousands of square km. But it is not clear when, if ever, the evacuees will be able to return home. \u201cI want them to come out into the open and to say it clearly: you will or will not be able to go back to your place. If not, I want them to tell me what am I, and thousands of other people, supposed to do,\u201d says Aya in a trembling voice. \u201cI have to wonder if I\u2019ll be able to build my life here. I just can\u2019t even begin to think about what to do in the future.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "5670", "claim": "Congo Ebola survivor passes college exam taken in isolation.", "explanation": "The young Ebola patient who took his college entrance exam while being treated in isolation has passed the demanding test, to the joy of many in Congo where his story is now well-known.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, Ebola virus, Africa, International News, Education, General News", "main_text": "Claude Mabowa is among the nearly 3,000 people who have been confirmed to have Ebola in what has become the second-deadliest outbreak of the virus in history. Now the celebrated Ebola survivor looks forward to realizing his dreams and showing other Ebola patients there is hope. \u201cI was very happy and joyful when I saw the Ministry of Education text message on my phone reassuring me that I have just passed ... despite the precarious conditions,\u201d he told The Associated Press. \u201cBeing sick in an Ebola center, most people do not come back but also many people lose hope of living.\u201d Mabowa\u2019s mother had died of Ebola, and he told the AP in July that her greatest hope was that he would attend college. That requires passing the secondary school baccalaureate, or \u201cbac.\u201d \u201cI was afraid that I was sick and that I was going to miss the exams, but fortunately the Ebola treatment center officials had appealed for me to take the exams,\u201d he said. \u201cI had already lost six members of our family, including my mother, who asked me to continue with studies because that is the key to life.\u201d The 21-year-old was able to take the exam after staffers at the treatment center run by the Alliance for International Medical Action, or ALIMA, in the eastern city of Beni came up with a solution. They found a school official willing to proctor the exam as Mabowa took it safely behind a window. The papers were passed to him without touching him. After finishing, he held the pages up one by one to the window so they could be photographed with a smartphone and then emailed to officials for scoring. Then his work and his pencil were incinerated. This week Mabowa, who was released from the center in July, celebrated with friends by throwing powder on each other\u2019s heads, a local tradition when passing the exam. His Latin teacher, Muhindo Bukangali Loboto, said he prayed for him every day. \u201cClaude was among the best-educated who loved his studies and he has shown us what he is capable of,\u201d he said. With nearly 2,000 confirmed deaths in eastern Congo, the Ebola outbreak is far from over. Health workers have been challenged by community mistrust and insecurity caused by years of rebel attacks. Mabowa is a glimmer of hope. He says now that he has survived Ebola and passed his exam, the next hurtle is going to a university. He said he hopes to study political science at the University of Kisangani, and he appealed for support. \u201cAfter Ebola there is life,\u201d he said. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa"}
{"claim_id": "29085", "claim": "Static electricity is the cause of an increase in gas station refueling fires.  ", "explanation": "What's true: Static electricity can touch off refueling fires at gas stations. What's false: Static electricity has not definitively been identified as the cause of a number of gas station refueling fires.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Automobiles, Highway Hazards", "main_text": "[Collected on the Internet, 2002] Bob Renkes of Petroleum Equipment Institute is working on a campaign to try and make people aware of fires as a result of \u201cstatic\u201d at gas pumps. His company has researched 150 cases of these fires. His results were very surprising: 1) Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were women. 2) Almost all cases involved the person getting back in their vehicle while the nozzle was still pumping gas, when finished and they went back to pull the nozzle out the fire started, as a result of static. 3) Most had on rubber-soled shoes. 4) Most men never get back in their vehicle until completely finished. This is why they are seldom involved in these types of fires. 5) Don\u2019t ever use cell phones when pumping gas 6) It is the vapors that come out of the gas that cause the fire, when connected with static charges. 7) There were 29 fires where the vehicle was reentered and the nozzle was touched during refueling from a variety of makes and models. Some resulting in extensive damage to the vehicle, to the station, and to the customer. 8) Seventeen fires that occurred before, during or immediately after the gas cap was removed and before fueling began. Mr. Renkes stresses to NEVER get back into your vehicle while filling it with gas. If you absolutely HAVE to get in your vehicle while the gas is pumping, make sure you get out, close the door TOUCHING THE METAL, before you ever pull the nozzle out. This way the static from your body will be discharged before you ever remove the nozzle. As I mentioned earlier, The Petroleum Equipment Institute, along with several other companies now, are really trying to make the public aware of this danger. You can find out more information by going to http://www.pei.org . Once here, click in the center of the screen where it says \u201cStop Static\u201d. I ask you to please send this information to ALL your family and friends, especially those who have kids in the car with them while pumping gas. If this were to happen to them, they may not be able to get the children out in time. Unlike many Internet-circulated warnings, this one had a fair bit of substance to it: fires at gas pumps were on the rise, and static electricity was considered one of the likely culprits in that increase. However, there\u2019s a great deal wrong with the summary quoted in the example above, a situation that illustrates the danger of accepting as gospel whatever turns up in your inbox. We\u2019ll take you through it, sorting information from misinformation. For starters, although Robert N. Renkes, Executive Vice President & General Counsel of the Petroleum Equipment Institute, did prepare a summary of refueling fires which appears on the PEI web site, most of the statements in the text of the circulating message quoted above grossly misrepresent that summary:  The summary appearing on the PEI site states that \u201cTo date over 150 refueling fires have been documented that appear to be caused by a discharge of static electricity\u201d; it does not say data from those 150 fires were used in preparing the summary (and it includes information about only 81 gas station fire incident reports). More specifically, neither the summary nor any of the incident reports makes any statement about or identifies the gender of persons involved in gas station fires. The PEI summary states:  Twenty (20) reports described fires before the refueling process began, when the fueler touched the gas cap or the area close to it after leaving the vehicle. Twenty-nine (29) fires occurred when the fueler returned to the vehicle during the refueling process and then touched the nozzle after leaving the vehicle. Fifteen (15) fires do not involve either of these two fact situations. We received insufficient information on seventeen (17) fires reported by NHTSA to confidently categorize them. In other words, 29 out of 81 cited cases of gas station fires involved fires reported to have occurred when drivers returned to their cars during the refueling process. A 36% figure is rarely equated with the term \u201calmost all.\u201d  The summary states that \u201cRubber-soled shoes were worn by the refuelers in 94% of the accidents where footwear was identified (emphasis ours). Whether this figure is representative of all persons involved in gas station fires and whether footwear is a contributory factor to gas station fires is not stated. As noted above, neither the PEI summary nor the cited incident reports makes any statement about or identifies the gender of persons involved in gas station fires. At this point we have to wonder whether the author of this piece was reading the same summary we are. The PEI\u2019s summary states quite plainly that No cell phones were involved in any reports of gas station fires. Mr. Renkes states in his summary that \u201cIn many of the reports we received, the refueler became charged prior to or during the refueling process through friction between clothing and the car seat to such an extent that electrostatic discharges to the vehicle body, fuel cap or dispensing nozzle occurred,\u201d  but he makes no statement about whether or not drivers should return to their vehicles during the refueling process. (\u201cNever re-enter your vehicle\u201d is one of the \u201cThree Rules for Safe Refueling\u201d listed on the PEI\u2019s Stop Static page; it is not a part of Mr. Renkes\u2019 summary.) Are gas station fires caused by static discharge a real danger to motorists? As the PEI notes, \u201cthe dispensing of gasoline into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle is a safe operation,\u201d and  \u201cAmericans pump gasoline into their cars between 16 and 18 billion times a year generally without incident,\u201d but fires related to refueling at gas stations seem to be on the rise, and many of these fires are apparently not the result of the usual causes: open flames (mostly from cigarette smokers), sparks from the engine compartments of automobiles (primarily from drivers refueling cars with their motors running), or a lack of electrical continuity between nozzles and grounded dispensers. The PEI states that they \u201cdon\u2019t have any definitive answers\u201d about the reasons for this increase, but they\u2019re trying \u201cto collect information on similar incidents so the industry can get a better handle on the cause(s) of the problem.\u201d Since virtually all the reported fires not attributable to the usual causes cited above have occurred during exceptionally dry weather, the working theory is that static electricity was the source of ignition. Why fires touched off by static electricity may have increased significantly of late remains undetermined, however, and groups such as the PEI are investigating several possible explanations:        News reports of gas station fires caused by static electricity are a mixed bag of claims, warnings, and skepticism. In 2001, for example, automaker BMW announced a recall to refit cars they said had been responsible for two static-related fires:  BMW AG said it is recalling all of its new Mini cars sold in Britain to fix a design fault that already has caused two fires \u2014 days before the relaunched classic car goes on sale across Europe. The improved grounding is to prevent static electricity from producing a spark when the fuel nozzle is inserted into the gas tank, BMW spokesman Rudolf Probst said. The company blamed static electricity for igniting fuel vapor and causing two small fires, one in a car at a dealership and the other during testing.1  Two gas station fires in Missouri that same year were attributed to static as well, prompting a warning from the officials at the state\u2019s agriculture department:  In Macon, about 60 miles north of Columbia, a minivan burned up at a Casey\u2019s Store on Nov. 17. Five children inside the van escaped safely. The Macon Fire Department said the fire probably began when the motorist touched the nozzle at the end of fueling, making a static spark that ignited fumes. She was wearing a wool sweater and told firefighters she had been bothered by static all day. In Hannibal, 100 miles north of St. Louis, a pickup was damaged Dec. 26 in a similar fire. The motorist dropped the flaming nozzle onto the ground, spreading the flames. \u201cThe guy went to grab the nozzle, and the next thing he knew there was fire everywhere,\u201d said Hannibal Assistant Fire Chief David Hymers. \u201cHe had been sitting in his truck because of the cold. The spark could have come from him sliding across his seat.\u201d2   Cold, dry air causes more static electricity, and gasoline vapors naturally are released during fueling, said Ron Hooker, administrator of the [state agriculture] department\u2019s fuel program. \u201cCombine that with the fabric friction caused by people getting in and out of their cars when filling their tanks, and you have the potential for static sparks,\u201d Hooker said. Last year, state inspectors investigated 14 gas station fires. In each case, customers got out from their vehicles, placed gasoline nozzles in the fuel tanks, began fueling and then got back into their vehicles. When the pumps shut off, the customers got out of their vehicles and reached for the gas nozzles, causing a spark that ignited the vapors, Hooker said. To reduce the risk of static electricity fires, Hooker said motorists should touch the metal part of their vehicle doors while getting out to put gas in their vehicles. That should discharge any built-up static electricity before the fueling begins, he said. After fueling, motorists should again touch their vehicles far away from the gas nozzles before returning the nozzles to the pumps, Hooker said. 3  Portable fuel containers have also been claimed as one of the leading causes of static-caused fires:  Do you know how to use a portable fuel container safely? It\u2019s a task that must always be done with safety in mind, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the American Petroleum Institute and other safety and fuel experts. \u201cGasoline fumes are volatile. Static electricity can create a spark that could cause a fire if it\u2019s near gasoline fumes,\u201d said Commissioner Harold Hairston of the Philadelphia Fire Department. He is a past chairman of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. \u201cEven many safety conscious people may not be aware of the proper way to fill a portable fuel container,\u201d Hairston said. \u201cGrounding is essential to avoid any build-up of static electricity that could pose a risk,\u201d Hairston said. Grounding, simply put, provides a path for an electric current to discharge safely \u2014 the electricity is dissipated in the ground, when a portable fuel container is grounded. \u201cEvery time you pump gasoline, a charge of electricity builds up on gasoline as it flows through a pipe or hose and this charge takes several seconds to several minutes to dissipate after the gasoline has reached the tank or container,\u201d explains Bob Renkes, executive director of the Petroleum Equipment Institute. \u201cThat risk is avoided when you pump gasoline into your car, because both the gasoline dispenser and the vehicle are grounded. \u201cBut a portable fuel container may not be grounded. For safety, you need to place the container on the ground and fill it on the ground,\u201d he said. \u201cPlacing the container on the ground makes it easier for the electrical charge to escape.\u201d  \u201cTo help avoid risks, follow safety procedures every time you use a portable fuel container. Don\u2019t take any chances,\u201d Hairston said.4  Some claims of static-triggered fires have been disputed by investigating officials:  A man filling his motor home with gasoline narrowly escaped serious injury yesterday after an explosion in the gas tank set his vehicle on fire, sent nearby pumps up in flames and charred the exterior of the gas station. [Manor Township Fire Chief Dan Dunmire] said static electricity on the car might have sparked in the gas tank and caused it to catch on fire. He admitted his explanation might cause concern to people who pump gas. \u201cIt could happen at any gas pump, at any time,\u201d he said, \u201cto cars, pick-up trucks, anything.\u201d  But Randy Brozenick, director of Armstrong County\u2019s Emergency Management Agency, called the static electricity explanation \u201cspeculation.\u201d  \u201cThis one\u2019s got me baffled,\u201d said Brozenick, who has investigated explosions at gas stations before. \u201cThere really wasn\u2019t anything near that gas tank.\u201d  Damages to the gas station, which is owned and operated by Lockard Co. of Indiana, Pa., could reach the \u201csix figures,\u201d said Ron McLean, retail sales manager of Lockard. Like Brozenick, McLean said he was also unconvinced by the static electricity argument. He said heating units inside the motor home might have contributed to the fire.5  Even reports that maintain that \u201cstatic-induced fires are well documented\u201d point out that no case of a fire triggered by a cell phone \u2014 a commonly-cited cause of gas station fires \u2014 has ever been confirmed:  During recent months, reports of flash fires during refueling have increased so much that industry executives and engineers find it necessary to alert the public. BP Amoco has posted an advisory on its Web site, and other gasoline retailers are considering pump-side warnings similar to QT\u2019s. The incidents most often involve flames shooting from a vehicle\u2019s gas tank opening. The primary culprit appears to be static electricity. In many cases, the victims got in and out of their vehicles during fueling. Rubbing against fabric creates an electric charge just like the one that causes a shock when you touch something metal after shuffling across carpet. Injuries have included burns and singed hair. At least one woman was killed when she removed a flaming nozzle from a gas tank and accidentally doused herself with gasoline, according to Bob Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute. Considering that Americans pump gasoline into their cars more than 16 billion times per year, flash fires at the tank are rare. Metro Atlantans have even less to worry about. Since the region doesn\u2019t meet federal air quality standards, gas pumps here are required to have vapor recovery systems that suck the gasoline fumes back into the nozzle. Travel season is near, however, so Atlantans should still beware. Unlike recent warnings about cell phones igniting fires at gas pumps \u2014 a case of which has never been confirmed \u2014 the static-induced fires are well documented.6  For those who feel the possibility of static-caused fires warrants caution at the gas pumps, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission offers the following tips:  Tips for safe refueling:  Avoid spills:"}
{"claim_id": "2800", "claim": "Britain unveils ban on e-cigarettes for under-18s.", "explanation": "Britain said on Sunday it would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to children aged under 18, citing possible adverse health effects and outlining a need for further medical research.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "E-cigarettes, which are puffed like a regular cigarette but deliver nicotine by vaporizing liquid rather than burning tobacco, have grown in popularity and some analysts predict the market could outpace conventional cigarettes within a decade. \u201cWe do not yet know the harm that e-cigarettes can cause to adults let alone to children, but we do know they are not risk- free,\u201d England\u2019s Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies said in a statement. She added that e-cigarettes can produce toxic chemicals and that variations in the strength of the nicotine solutions between different products meant they could end up being \u201cextremely damaging\u201d to young people\u2019s health. The global market for e-cigarettes was estimated at more than $2 billion last year by market consultant Euromonitor. Under-18s are already banned from buying conventional cigarettes in Britain. Sunday\u2019s announcement included plans to make it illegal for adults to buy regular cigarettes for consumption by under 18s. The changes will be written into a bill already on its way through parliament and are expected to have cross-party support, although the opposition Labour party criticized the government for not acting more quickly. The battery-powered metal tubes of e-cigarettes are seen as less harmful than regular cigarettes and a useful way to wean smokers off their habits. Critics, however say they can act as a gateway to nicotine addiction and that more research is needed on the health implications. Regulators in Europe and the United States have been debating policy towards the industry. The European Union reached an agreement in December to allow e-cigarettes to be sold as consumer products rather than more tightly regulated medical devices."}
{"claim_id": "41317", "claim": "MSG is in vaccines and is linked to birth defects, developmental delays, infertility and is banned in Europe.", "explanation": "It\u2019s not banned in Europe. It\u2019s used in some vaccines to stabilise them. There\u2019s no strong evidence it causes these problems in humans.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "Beta-Propiolactone is in vaccines and is known to cause cancer, suspected gastrointestinal, liver, nerve and respiratory, skin and sense organ poison. It may be present in trace amounts of some vaccines. It is potentially carcinogenic, but only in much larger amounts than would be in a vaccine. The antibiotics gentamicin sulfate and polymyxin b are in vaccines and can cause allergic reactions ranging from mild to life-threatening. Traces of these antibiotics can end up in certain vaccines, but would only cause a reaction in someone severely allergic. Genetically modified yeast, animal, bacterial and viral DNA in vaccines can be incorporated into the recipient\u2019s DNA causing unknown genetic mutations. Modified DNA can be used in the production of some vaccines, but is very unlikely to end up in the final product. Even if it did, there\u2019s no evidence it can cause mutations. Glutaraldehyde is in vaccines and is poisonous if ingested and causes birth defects in animals. There are trace amounts in some vaccines from manufacturing, and not enough to cause harm. Formaldehyde is in vaccines and causes cancer in humans among other issues and is banned from vaccines in most European countries. It\u2019s not banned in Europe. There are only trace amounts in certain vaccines and not enough to be carcinogenic. Latex rubber is in vaccines and causes life-threatening allergic reactions. Latex is used in the packaging of some vaccines, which could potentially cause harm if someone\u2019s strongly allergic to it. Human and animal cells from sources like aborted foetuses are in vaccines and are linked to childhood leukaemia and diabetes. They may be used in certain vaccines\u2019 production, but are unlikely to make it to the final product. Mercury (aka thimerosal or thiomersal) is in vaccines and can damage brain, gut, liver, bone marrow, nervous system and kidneys, is linked to autoimmune disorder, autism. Thiomersal isn\u2019t in any UK vaccines any more. This is down to concern around a slightly different mercury-based chemical. MSG is in vaccines and is linked to birth defects, developmental delays, infertility and is banned in Europe. It\u2019s not banned in Europe. It\u2019s used in some vaccines to stabilise them. There\u2019s no strong evidence it causes these problems in humans. Neomycin sulphate, an antibiotic, is in vaccines and can lead to epilepsy, brain damage and allergic reactions. Trace amounts of this antibiotic may end up in certain vaccines. If you are allergic to it could cause an allergic reaction. Phenol / phenoxyethanol is in vaccines and is used as antifreeze. It is toxic to all cells and can destroy the immune system. These chemicals have been used in vaccines as preservatives. They are not in antifreeze. Polysorbate 80 and 20 are in vaccines and cause cancer in animals and are linked to autoimmune issues and infertility. Tiny amounts of Polysorbate 80 is in a type of flu vaccine. There isn\u2019t evidence ingesting it is linked to these issues in humans. Tri(n) butylphosphate is in vaccines and is potentially damaging to the kidneys and the nervous system. We can find no evidence of this being used in vaccines in the UK. Claim 1 of 14"}
{"claim_id": "6351", "claim": "Hepatitis A on rise in Colorado with nearly 300 known cases.", "explanation": "Almost 300 people have contracted hepatitis A in Colorado since an increase in the contagious liver disease began in 2018.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Colorado, Health, General News, Denver, Hepatitis, Liver disease", "main_text": "At least two of those people have died, according to the state health department. The rise in hepatitis A is part of a nationwide increase that has sickened at least 28,600 people and killed over 280, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One Colorado death was in Denver and the other in nearby Arapahoe County. Health officials in Denver are working to curb the disease through a vaccination campaign. Over 18,200 people in Colorado have received hepatitis A vaccinations since October 2018, according to state health officials. Contaminated food, beverages and objects spread the virus, the Denver Post reports. Homeless people, people with substance abuse problems and people who are incarcerated are at higher risk by having poor nutrition, living in crowded conditions or lacking preventive health care."}
{"claim_id": "4184", "claim": "State officials warn of algae bloom along Boston river.", "explanation": "Massachusetts officials are advising people not to wade into parts of the Charles River because of a dangerous algae bloom.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Water quality, Boston, General News, Environment, Science, Algae, Massachusetts", "main_text": "The state Department of Conservation and Recreation said Thursday a cyanobacteria bloom has been detected in the river. It\u2019s advising people and pets to avoid all contact with the water from the Boston University bridge to the Museum of Science until further notice. Officials will retest the river until cyanobacteria levels return to acceptable limits. The 80-mile (129-kilometer) river scored a \u201cB\u2033 grade for water quality from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month. The once-industrial river earned an \u201cA-minus\u201d last year. An \u201cA\u2033 grade means the river almost always met standards for boating and swimming. A \u201cB\u2033 means it met standards for almost all boating and some swimming."}
{"claim_id": "3991", "claim": "Australian animal health firm apparently leaves Lawrence.", "explanation": "An Australian animal health company that received incentives from the city of Lawrence and Douglas County apparently has closed its Lawrence headquarters.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Animal health, Lawrence", "main_text": "In 2015, Integrated Animal Health moved its global headquarters to Lawrence, prompting the city and county to approve incentives such as subsidized rent and a $100,000 forgivable loan, subject to a three-year performance agreement. Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard says the city hasn\u2019t received formal word from the company but officials believe Integrated Animal Health is no longer operating. A former company CEO, Blake Hawley, told the Lawrence Journal-World that he and members of the company\u2019s local board resigned last year amid financial questions concerning the company\u2019s founder. The company had promised to eventually expand to 50 employees and a $4 million annual payroll in Lawrence. ___ Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com"}
{"claim_id": "10642", "claim": "UAB Recruiting for Clinical Trial to Determine Therapies for Eradication of Multiple Myeloma \u2013University of Alabama at Birmingham", "explanation": "This news release about a test of combination drug therapy in people newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma blood cancer slathers on hopes and promises, while neglecting caveats, potential harms and essential context. The release neglects to point out that even after this phase 2 trial has been completed, researchers won\u2019t know if the experimental drug cocktail is better or worse than standard treatments, because it does not include any direct comparison. The release puffs up the threat of multiple myeloma, which accounts for less than 2 percent of cancer cases in the US. It does not explain that patients would be responsible for many of the costs of this treatment, in part because of overlaps with standard care. The release does report support from pharmaceutical companies that make two of the drugs to be used. The lead investigator of this trial, Luciano Costa, MD, gave an interview in which he clearly pointed out much of the important information that is missing from the news release. The interview shows that the researchers are aware of the limitations of the evidence and of their trial. Costa pointed out that patients considering enrolling would be responsible for a share of the costs of treatment. Researchers have a responsibility to ensure that news releases issued about their work give readers a fair summary, not the kind of rosy depiction in this release. It\u2019s also important to point out that this is a phase 2 trial, which identifies safety and effectiveness of a treatment. The primary endpoint is a surrogate that is not clearly associated with overall survival for this disease.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Cancer,University news release", "main_text": "In some experiments, it may be too early to discuss treatment costs, but this trial involves drugs that are all already approved for other uses, which means their prices are known. Also, while trial participants typically are not charged for experimental drugs, in this case it appears they will be billed for many treatment costs\u2026 and there would likely be costs for some (including travel and\u00a0 lodging) that insurance would not cover. In fact, the lead investigator acknowledged the costs when asked in an interview about what patients should know about the trial: \u201c[T]he study, like any other clinical trials, that our components are considered standard of care and they are charged to the patient or to the insurance. For example, the costs of seeing the doctor, the cost of doing the main test for a traditional disease assessment, the cost of stem cell transplant, but there are components that are considered experimental and are covered by the study, in this case, the daratumumab, the carfilzomib and the MRD testing by itself.\u201d The release should have also noted these costs. By definition, the benefits of an experimental treatment are unknown. The release should not dangle the potential of unproven benefits, including eradicating multiple myeloma, without acknowledging that this experimental treatment may turn out to be no better, or even less beneficial, than standard treatments. In the interview mentioned above, the lead investigator noted, \u201cThere is no proof that a new therapy is better, otherwise would be no need for the clinical trial.\u201d The release should have included that fundamental caveat. We think it\u2019s important to stress that a trial to determine the best therapy would ideally compare  National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommended treatments such as revlimid, dexamethasone and velcade with a proposed therapy. There is no mention of risks or harms of the experimental approach, but part of the function of a phase 2 trial is to evaluate harms. Not only does each drug in the experimental cocktail include its own risks (including increased risk of heart attack and stroke, nerve damage, blood clots, low white blood cell and platelet counts, fatal spikes in blood pressure), but the effect of the combination of drugs could exacerbate the harms or even create new ones. While multiple myeloma patients may be aware of and acknowledge the risks of individual drugs as part of standard treatment, the unknowns of the experimental drug combination should have been pointed out in the release. Although the news release notes that this is a phase 2 clinical trial, it should have pointed out that because the trial does not directly compare the experimental treatment to standard care, another (phase 3) trial will be needed to test whether the experimental approach is better (or worse) than standard care. The release cites an accurate number of new multiple myeloma cases (more than 25,000/year), but the lead phrase \u201cMultiple myeloma is the second most common type of blood cancer in the United States\u201d creates an exaggerated impression. The American Cancer Society calls multiple myeloma \u201ca relatively uncommon cancer.\u201d The ACS estimates it accounts for about 2 percent of all cancer cases and deaths. The release reports that this trial is supported by Amgen and Janssen, makers of two of the drugs it uses. (Executives at Janssen may not be happy that the release misspelled the company\u2019s name as \u201cJanseen\u201d.) The disclosure would have been more complete if it had noted that the lead investigator, Luciano Costa, MD, PhD, has also received speaking fees and other personal payments from Amgen and Celgene (which sells another one of the drugs being tested). The release repeatedly touts the promise that this experimental therapy will prove to be superior to standard treatments, without clearly stating that even after this trial is done the answer to that fundamental question won\u2019t be known, because there is no direct comparison. What\u2019s more, the release highlights problems with and risks of standard care, even as it neglects the potential risks of the experimental treatment. The release notes that the trial uses drugs that are already available, though some are approved for only patients who have relapsed after initial treatment. It makes clear that the \u201cminimal residual disease\u201d testing regime to be used is not routinely available. Most readers of this release will get the impression that this trial is unique, when actually several groups are testing the same drug combination. The release highlights the researchers\u2019 plan to use \u201cnext generation sequencing technology to detect minimal residual disease\u201d (MRD) and to use those MRD results to guide treatment. There is much discussion of using MRD to monitor response to therapy but it is certainly not ready for widespread use. Some of the other similar trials also track minimal residual disease, though a quick review of trial descriptions on www.ClinicalTrials.gov does not make clear whether this trial is unique in using the MRD test results to guide treatment decisions or whether this feature is important. Similar trials include: A Study of Daratumumab in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Daratumumab, Carfilzomib, Lenalidomide and Low Dose Dexamethasone (DKRd) in Newly Diagnosed, Multiple Myeloma Selinexor and Backbone Treatments of Multiple Myeloma Patients Aggressive Smoldering Curative Approach Evaluating Novel Therapies and Transplant 2015-12: A Study Exploring the Use of Early and Late Consolidation/Maintenance Therapy A quote from the lead investigator captures how this release dangles promises that go well beyond the evidence: \u201cI believe for the first time that we have treatments that are effective enough to make it possible to eradicate multiple myeloma definitively in a substantial proportion of patients, along with having the technology to detect that the disease has been targeted and that treatment can be stopped,\u201d said Luciano Costa, M.D., Ph.D. In the interview noted above, Costa was careful to note that there is no proof this approach is better than existing treatments. The release should have highlighted similar basic caveats."}
{"claim_id": "36392", "claim": "Images depict the effects of lax immigration laws on California.", "explanation": "Do Four Photographs Show the \u2018Sunny Sanctuary State\u2019 of \u2018Once Beautiful California\u2019?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "On April 24 2019, a Facebook user shared the following images and status update (archived here), purportedly showing images from California that included piles of trash on a beach and by roads and trails:In the status update (\u201cWelcome to the Sunny Sanctuary State of Once Beautiful California\u201d), the user heavily implies the images here show standard sights and situations which directly resulted from California\u2019s supposedly lax immigration laws.At the top of the four-image set is a photograph of a man riding a bicycle on a road surrounded by debris. The same image accompanies a March 2018 opinion item published by the Los Angeles Times, and its caption reads:A bicyclist rides past trash piles from the Santa Ana River homeless camp after it was cleared and more than 700 people relocated in Anaheim in February [2018]. (Los Angeles Times)From the little information provided in the caption, it appeared that the photograph depicted a specific event (the relocation of 700 homeless people in February 2018) versus business as usual for the area. A March 2018 Orange County Register article featured slider images of before and after the residents were moved, and a previous\u00a0piece by the same organization chronicled the effort to move the approximate camp\u2019s residents. Newsweek reported that the eviction of a three-mile long encampment \u201cled to the removal of over a thousand pounds of human waste, 5,000 needles and about 250 tons of trash.\u201dThe photograph on the bottom right of the Facebook post shows a California beach, and that is where the accuracy of its description ends. This photo originally appeared in a February 2019\u00a0Orange County Register story about the aftermath of a storm at Seal Beach. Once again, the article (\u201cAfter storms, Seal Beach looks like a landfill blanketed with trash\u201d) had absolutely nothing to do with immigration, and that outlet explained why debris littered the shore:During dry summer months, pristine Southern California beaches draw millions of visitors. But during the wet season after heavy storms, the beaches can look more like landfills as trash travels down waterways, onto the sand and into the ocean. The trash was a familiar sight along the coast, especially where inland rivers met with the ocean.The area along the San Gabriel River, which borders Seal Beach and Long Beach, can be especially littered after it rains. The mouth of the river funnels runoff from 52 inland cities straight into the ocean, with trash and debris flowing down storm drains.A photograph on the bottom middle of the post did not even show California\u00a0\u2014 or anywhere in the United States, for that matter. It was taken in Jakarta, Indonesia in either February 2016 or 2017. Captions for the image read:Tourists walk among trash washed ashore by strong currents at Kuta Beach in Bali on Feb. 15, 2017. (Antara Photo/Wira Suryantala)Trash washed up on Bali\u2019s Kuta beach on February 2016. Reuters/Antara News AgencyFinally, the image at the bottom left was a stock photograph taken on January 26, 2018 in Los Angeles. Its caption read:Trash lies beside the Skid Row City Limit mural as the city begins its annual homeless count in Los Angeles, California on January 26, 2018. [Thousands] of volunteers will fan out across Los Angeles County during the three-night count of homeless people whose population is estimated to be nearly 60,000 strong. / AFP PHOTO / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)That image accompanied an October 2018 LAist piece about ongoing tensions between Skid Row\u2019s homeless population and quality of life enforcement efforts undertaken in the area, titled \u201cIs LA Really Going To Federal Court To Argue It Can Seize And Destroy Homeless People\u2019s Property?\u201d A then-recent lawsuit filed on behalf of the area\u2019s homeless population was described in the article:One of the plaintiffs, Carl Mitchell, claims the city confiscated and destroyed his possessions, following his arrest for allegedly stealing a shopping cart. He says he was released from police custody 18 hours later on a 40 degree winter night without his blankets, medication, and identifying documents. According to court documents, Mitchell slept that night on the sidewalk beneath a single blanket he found on the street, with no way to keep warm.Another, Judy Coleman, alleges that she developed pneumonia after the city impounded her blankets, medication, and walker.A month after the case was filed [in March 2016], a federal judge issued a restraining order against Los Angeles that effectively barred the city from conducting homeless encampment cleanups on Skid Row.As further detailed in the piece, tensions between homeless residents in the area and police persisted for years. Frequent \u201ccleanups\u201d of their encampments led to images such as the one seen in this post, but once again that image depicted a specific event \u2014 a \u201chomeless count\u201d done once a year in the greater Los Angeles area. An \u201cAbout\u201d page for the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count explained:Every year, we conduct a census of the homeless population through the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count. There are four components to the Count. Each of these components plays a vital role in understanding the state of homelessness in Los Angeles[. ][\u2026]The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) is a joint powers authority of the city and county of Los Angeles, created in 1993 to address the problems of homelessness in Los Angeles. LAHSA is the lead agency in the HUD-funded Los Angeles Continuum of Care, and coordinates and manages over $300 million annually in federal, state, county, and city funds for programs providing shelter, housing, and services to people experiencing homelessness. Since 2005, LAHSA has coordinated the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count.According to both the image\u2019s caption and LAHSA, the photograph was taken on the night of the yearly census of homeless people in the Greater Los Angeles area.Of the four photographs seen in the viral Facebook post, two (the top and bottom left) showed specific instances of cleanup, relocation, or census-taking of homeless Californians, not immigrants. Neither image was associated with immigration or California\u2019s immigration laws in any news reporting. The center bottom photograph was taken in Indonesia and had nothing to do with California. The remaining image depicted Seal Beach after a storm and showed the effects of plastic pollution, not homelessness or immigration. All four were taken out of context in an attempt to make a point, which fell apart completely when we traced the actual origin of the images."}
{"claim_id": "5459", "claim": "Lawyers making final pitches in Flint water criminal case.", "explanation": "A judge is hearing key arguments in the most significant criminal case related to Flint\u2019s lead-contaminated water.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Trials, Michigan, Legionnaires disease, Crime, Flint, Disease outbreaks", "main_text": "The head of Michigan\u2019s health department, Nick Lyon, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and other crimes. He\u2019s accused of not timely alerting the public about a Legionnaires\u2019 disease outbreak in the Flint area in 2014 and 2015. Some experts have tied the outbreak to Flint\u2019s poorly treated water. Legionella bacteria can emerge through misting and cooling systems. Judge David Goggins must decide whether there\u2019s enough evidence to send Lyon to trial. He\u2019s hearing arguments Wednesday and July 25. Special prosecutor Todd Flood says Lyon showed \u201cwillful disregard\u201d for Flint-area residents. But Lyon\u2019s attorneys have questioned the causes of death of two people cited by Flood. John Bursch says there\u2019s \u201cnot even close to enough evidence\u201d to put Lyon on trial."}
{"claim_id": "78", "claim": "China's tobacco monopoly means big risks for e-cigarette startups.", "explanation": "In a glass-walled laboratory, chemists puff on vaping devices as they test liquid nicotine flavors. Nearby, staffers with cartons of instant noodles on their desks tap away at laptops, messaging suppliers and customers.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Here at the Shenzhen offices of e-cigarette start-up RELX Technology, workers scramble to keep pace with the rush of firms vying for sales in the world\u2019s biggest tobacco market. Their potential-customer base starts with 300 million Chinese smokers of traditional cigarettes \u2013 about nine times the number in the United States. Founded by former employees of Didi Chuxing, China\u2019s answer to Uber, RELX aims to become China\u2019s answer to Juul Labs Inc, the San Francisco startup that captured a huge share of the U.S. vaping market with a sleek and addictive e-cigarette. RELX makes an almost identical product: a stick-shaped device that burns high-nicotine liquids packaged in plug-in \u201cpods.\u201d But it won\u2019t have to compete with the U.S. e-cigarette giant. Juul has yet to crack China\u2019s market even as it aggressively expands elsewhere in Asia and faces a regulatory crisis in the United States here over a surge in youth vaping. Juul\u2019s delayed entry into China \u2013 potentially its most lucrative market \u2013 underscores the complexity and risk of operating here. E-cigarette sales have grown slowly in China compared to other industrialized nations. Its market is about one-ninth the size of the United States, according to market research firm Euromonitor. One main reason: China Tobacco, which is both the government-owned cigarette company and the national tobacco regulator. The state monopoly has not clearly signaled how it will regulate e-cigarettes \u2013 or whether it will sell them. If it does, it has the power to regulate its competitors out of the business. One investor in a Chinese e-cigarette startup likened the combined regulatory and competitive threat to \u201ca knife on the neck.\u201d  China Tobacco did not respond to written questions from Reuters. The cigarette giant\u2019s power stems in part from its contribution to the national purse - accounting for 5.45% of China\u2019s tax revenue in 2018. That amounts to 10.8 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion), according to calculations by Professor Rose Zheng of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Still, China Tobacco sells cigarettes for a fraction of what they cost in most nations \u2013 as little as 3 yuan per pack, or less than half a U.S. dollar. RELX sells a device and one pod for between 299 yuan to 399 yuan. Foreign firms, particularly U.S. firms, face the additional obstacles of the U.S.-China trade war, cultural challenges in marketing and distributing, and competition from a host of new Chinese e-cigarette startups including RELX, which was valued at $2.4 billion based on recent investments. In September, Juul briefly started selling devices on two popular online commerce sites, Tmall and JD.com Inc. But the products were pulled from the websites days later for unknown reasons. Juul, Tmall parent company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and JD.com declined to comment on the Juul product removals or China\u2019s regulatory environment. China Tobacco issued a notice Nov. 1 urging e-commerce platforms and e-cigarette companies to shut online stores offering vaping products, a move aimed at stopping youth sales. Juul declined to comment on its China strategy. RELX CEO Kate Wang said she\u2019s \u201cnot worried\u201d about the government\u2019s impact on the sector. The products will continue to remain available, she said, \u201cas long as there\u2019s proof that this is a good solution for smokers.\u201d  Many e-cigarette startups still see boundless opportunity in China. Nearly half of Chinese men smoke cigarettes, according to the World Health Organization. Chinese factories make 95% of the world\u2019s e-cigarettes, according to Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee, a Chinese trade association. But almost all of that production is exported. Juul\u2019s explosive U.S. growth only recently convinced Chinese e-cigarette firms of the viability of small, high-nicotine vaping devices in China. They had focused on larger, box-shaped devices that spew vast clouds of vapor and spawned a subculture in the Chinese hip-hop community. The box vapes were less effective in delivering nicotine but offered better profit margins, said Michael Gao, founder of Chinese e-cigarette company Moti. \u201cThe old box-style models, you could sell for $100,\u201d compared to about $30 for a Juul-like device, Gao said. \u201cSo everyone had doubts about the pod model.\u201d  Juul\u2019s success quelled those doubts. Dozens of Chinese startups released pod-style vapes starting in 2018. Many had roots in China\u2019s technology industry. Shenzhen-based Laan, for instance, was founded by former employees at WeChat, the messaging app owned by Tencent. YOOZ, based in Beijing, was launched by Cai Yuedong, an online media entrepreneur. Samuel Liu, who launched the Evove brand of e-cigarettes, envisions a mass market. \u201cIt\u2019s a legal drug; it\u2019s a fast-moving consumer good; and it\u2019s an electronic product,\u201d he said. \u201cElectronic cigarettes will be the second item you carry in your pocket, after your phone.\u201d   And yet Liu and others acknowledge the risk posed by China Tobacco. \u201cWhen VC\u2019s come to me, I always tell them they shouldn\u2019t get too excited,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know when the government will come in and just claim this market for itself.\u201d  Some VCs are embracing the risk. In April, RELX closed on $75 million in venture capital funding from high-profile investors including Sequoia China and Yuri Milner. In addition to e-commerce sites, RELX sells its products through bars, cafes and smartphone repair shops, and says it has more than 900 branded storefronts as franchise partners. The company also plans to soon open flagship stores in Southeast Asia and London. The company\u2019s most popular flavors are mung bean, a common ingredient in Chinese desserts, and laobinggun, a type of popsicle popular in the nineties in China. \u201cWe search for flavors that are pretty familiar to people over 30, things that are old-fashioned and inspire emotion,\u201d says Wang. China Tobacco dominates the nation\u2019s tobacco supply from manufacturing to retailing. The same entity controls regulation under a different name \u2013 the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. The administration has at times worked against efforts to limit smoking. In Hangzhou, for example, the local government in 2018 attempted to ban indoor public smoking. The movement lost momentum after the tobacco administration pushed for lighter measures including more designated smoking areas, which it said allowed for \u201ccivilized smoking\u201d in a statement to Reuters at the time. In May 2017, the regulator claimed jurisdiction over heat-not-burn smoking devices - an alternative type of e-cigarette that creates a vapor from raw tobacco leaves. The decision effectively barred Phillip Morris International Inc from Chinese sales of its IQOS device, a heat-not-burn e-cigarette popular in Japan. China Tobacco subsidiaries have since begun testing their own heat-not-burn devices and selling them in limited quantities. Phillip Morris said in a statement it had no current plans to sell IQOS in China but did not comment on the nation\u2019s regulation of the heat-not-burn sector. The government has sent conflicting messages on whether it intends to regulate e-cigarettes that vaporize liquid nicotine blends - or sell them itself. In March, state broadcaster CCTV aired a segment highlighting the potential health risks from inhaling nicotine and other chemicals in e-cigarette liquids. The spot was part of a program - broadcast annually on China\u2019s national \u201cConsumer Day\u201d - that targets industries the government alleges have wronged the public. Industry players say they struggled to interpret the government\u2019s message in the segment. They hoped it signaled that the tobacco monopoly would continue allowing e-cigarette sales but start regulating their quality and safety. They had the same hopes in May, when a government regulator submitted draft regulations for exported Chinese e-cigarettes to the World Trade Organization. Many industry observers, however, continue to believe China Tobacco will eventually enter the e-cigarette market itself. State-owned enterprises such as China Tobacco are \u201cbloated and slow to take action,\u201d said Maggie Chen of ESun, a Shenzhen-based consulting firm that helps companies comply with import and export regulations. \u201cBut they are definitely paying attention to this sector.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "3351", "claim": "Wyoming residents concerned about proposed horse facility.", "explanation": "A wild horse facility is looking to make its home in eastern Laramie County, but residents near the proposed site have some major concerns.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Horses, Water quality, Animals, General News, Wyoming, Land management, Environment, Cheyenne", "main_text": "The facility would hold wild horses captured by the Bureau of Land Management, and the BLM would pay South Dakota-based Equine Elite an amount for each horse it houses. But the project hit a snag when it came to gaining approval from neighbors within a 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) radius. Due to concerns ranging from water quality to increased traffic, the neighbors didn\u2019t give their approval for the project. Right now in Laramie County, any Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation needs the consent of property owners within 3 miles of the proposed site of the CAFO. At the request of Equine Elite, the Laramie County Commission is considering lowering the distance to 1 mile (1.6 kilometer). While the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality only requires approval from property owners within one mile, the county commissioners changed its rules to 3 miles years ago when a swine CAFO attempted to situate in Laramie County. Ron Butler owns one of the properties closest to the proposed wild horse facility. If the commissioners ultimately decide to lower the distance to 1 mile, Butler\u2019s approval might not be required, depending on where Equine Elite builds the stables. \u201cThis takes away pre-existing protections from landowners by changing the rules,\u201d Butler told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. The public notice and review process for the statute change will begin Tuesday. \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of things that have to happen before it comes before the commissioners,\u201d County Commission Chairwoman Linda Heath said. Heath said the public hearings will give residents a chance to voice their opinions and share their viewpoints with the commissioners before they make a final decision. Though the plan is in its beginning phases, residents within the original three-mile radius are not fond of the proposed facility or changes to the Laramie County statute. Resident Bob Tierney said he has concerns about water supply and contaminated runoff. \u201cThey adopted the three-mile radius for a reason,\u201d Tierney said. CAFOs are often utilized in the farming industry because they allow for specialization and large production operations. Perhaps the biggest issue with CAFOs, however, is the amount of waste they produce. According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a facility can produce between 2,800 tons and 1.6 million tons a year, depending on the number of animals. \u201cIf it was going to be stinking in their backyards, they wouldn\u2019t like it, either,\u201d Tierney said. Waste from CAFOs is often used as fertilizer or kept in storage or containment units. The CDC\u2019s report said these practices can affect groundwater and surface water by runoff or leaks from the containment units. Dale Sandberg now owns the property he grew up on, which is within the three-mile radius. He has another concern about the facility: Where will the water for the horses come from? \u201cIt is going to increase the water supply need,\u201d Sandberg said. Tierney raised the same issue, saying it would leave less water for people down the line. Another problem the project might cause is increased traffic in the area. Sandberg said there\u2019s already a decent amount of road activity from the oil production, and this could bring even more. He is against the change, but also noted that the commissioners shouldn\u2019t alter any rule for an existing proposal. With all that\u2019s up in the air, Butler said it\u2019s important for the residents to have their voices heard. He started an online petition to bring before the county commissioners. \u201cI think it compromises their quality of life,\u201d Butler said. \u201cIt compromises the value of their properties. It compromises their water quality. It\u2019s a myriad of problems.\u201d ___ Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle, http://www.wyomingnews.com"}
{"claim_id": "7702", "claim": "In Chilean desert, global thirst for lithium is fueling a 'water war'.", "explanation": "On Chilean water regulator Oscar Cristi\u2019s desk, a small white espresso cup teeters atop piles of documents and loose folders that appear on the point of collapse, perhaps an apt metaphor for the growing water crisis in parts of the Andean country.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Sitting in his eighth-floor office adjacent to the presidential palace, Cristi, a PhD economist, lays out a map of Chile showing key watersheds for mining. Swaths of the mineral-rich north are colored blue, denoting areas where aquifers are over-exploited. Soon, if Cristi gets his way, they will be red, meaning new water rights will be banned. Reams of water rights were granted by Chilean governments over decades with little consideration for their cumulative impact as miners scrambled to stake claims on the small pockets of water available in the salt flats of the Salar de Atacama. The Salar sits in the world\u2019s driest desert. The water trapped beneath the salt pan feeds the world\u2019s biggest copper mine and holds in suspension more than one-third of the world\u2019s current supply of lithium, the ultra-light metal used in electric car batteries, mobile phones and lap-tops. With demand for water growing in a region economically vital to the country, Cristi is now taking steps to rein in usage. But there is a problem. No one really knows how much water is there. Cristi said Chilean development agency Corfo, which helps oversee lithium extraction in the Salar, hopes to provide a better picture in a study due in December. \u201cThe state has been very reluctant to draw up bans on water extraction,\u201d said Cristi, who was only recently appointed head of the water authority. \u201cWe want to take much more diligent approach in decreeing prohibited areas.\u201d  Cristi did not say why past governments had been hesitant to declare bans. In Chile, threats of a government crackdown on over-usage of water often ring hollow. Mines need water, and the country\u00b4s copper-driven economy needs mines. A sweeping overhaul of Chile\u2019s dictatorship-era water code proposed in 2014 has languished in Congress, slowed by intense lobbying by industry. Now though, the mining industry is paying close attention to  Cristi. Earlier this month his agency imposed a rare ban on new permits to extract water from an aquifer that is a critical water supply for BHP\u00b4s Escondida, the world\u00b4s largest copper mine. The agency is also preparing to create a drinking water reserve nearer the operations of top lithium producers SQM and Albemarle that would allow the government to further restrict water use there. SQM and Albemarle say they have all the water rights they need and do not expect new restrictions to impact their current or future production of lithium. A global boom in demand for lithium has set off a scramble in Chile, which is home to nearly 50 percent of the world\u2019s reserves of the metal. Local indigenous groups, SQM and Albemarle, regional copper miners and newcomers to the region are all competing for water. \u201cWhat we have is a water war in the salt pan. There\u2019s a huge crush on water and nowhere to get it from,\u201d said Alonso Barros, an attorney with the Atacama Desert Foundation, an NGO that works with indigenous groups in the region. SQM and Albemarle both recently signed deals with the government to sharply increase their quotas for extracting lithium from the Salar, although they say they will not use any more water than they have already been granted. Newcomers like Wealth Minerals, New Energy Metals, and Lithium Chile have also announced projects in the salt flats. Wealth Minerals, New Energy Metals and Lithium Chile did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On a computer screen, Cristi scrolls through a spreadsheet showing row upon row of water rights granted decades ago in the southernmost sector of the Salar - totaling six times more than the government now believes available - with little more than each company\u2019s own data to support their sustainability. Past governments did not adequately map how much water is available, says Cristi. Now monitoring wells are being installed in some areas, but base line data is still lacking. \u201cOur (understanding) continues to be limited now, but back then, it was very limited,\u201d he said. The cumulative impact of water rights granted over the years to copper and lithium miners in the world\u2019s most arid desert has never been considered, according to Ingrid Garces, a professor who studies salt flats at Chile\u2019s University of Antofagasta. \u201cWe\u2019re managing lithium as though it were a type of hard-rock mining,\u201d said Garces. \u201cBut we\u2019re mining water, not rock. This is a watershed.\u201d   Take too much water from one place, she says, and it may impact another, comparing it to sucking water from a glass with a syringe. \u201cEven if you\u2019re drawing from just one area, the whole is still reduced,\u201d she said. Sorting out the water crisis at Atacama is complicated by a lack of data, but also a jurisdiction issue. The brine from which miners extract lithium is water, but in Chile, it is regulated as a mineral like copper or iron. Environmental regulators handle permits for brine, while the water authority permits freshwater pumping. A lack of communication between the two, combined with a lack of understanding about how freshwater and brine interact beneath the Salar, has left authorities hamstrung, says Cristi. \u201cThere may be an imbalance that we\u2019re not accounting for,\u201d he said. (Refiles to add dropped word \u201cto\u201d in paragraph two)"}
{"claim_id": "8211", "claim": "In Nagoya, scramble for hospital beds shows coronavirus challenge for aging Japan.", "explanation": "Hospitals in Nagoya city in Japan\u2019s industrial heartland have more coronavirus patients than they can treat, forcing transfers to nearby areas and offering a glimpse of the challenges the outbreak poses for a country with a huge elderly population.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Japan has closed schools and canceled public events, which experts say has helped prevent an explosive spread of the virus. But because testing hasn\u2019t been widespread, some medical experts say the extent of infection is understated, and a surge could yet happen. That would put more of the country under the strain now being felt in Nagoya, and force a nationwide scramble to shift patients, many of them elderly, to hospitals in areas with capacity. \u201cIf the numbers rise further, we won\u2019t be able to cope, so we will either have to ask nearby prefectures to help, or tell those with lighter symptoms to stay at home,\u201d a prefecture  official in Nagoya told Reuters. Confirmed coronavirus cases in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture, totaled 98 as of Sunday, the official said, far exceeding the city\u2019s 27 beds at hospitals that meet conditions for patients with the highly contagious disease. Aichi, home to Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), is Japan\u2019s second-hardest hit prefecture, with 121 confirmed coronavirus cases so far. It has a total of 161 beds capable of handling patients with such a disease. Of those, 105 were in use as of Sunday, the official said. Elderly people are especially vulnerable to serious effects the virus. Japan has the world\u2019s oldest population, with more than 28% aged 65 or over. Italy, which has Europe\u2019s oldest population, is facing growing concerns about the ability of its strained health system to cope with a relentless increase in new cases. \u201cIf we allow the epidemic to continue, it\u2019s a matter of time,\u201d said Hokkaido University professor Hiroshi Nishiura when asked if Japan could face a situation similar to Italy\u2019s. He added that the trajectory of the epidemic was hard to predict. Japan has been hospitalizing all patients who test positive for the virus, even if symptoms are slight, in line with its law on infectious diseases. But now, in some areas, patients with lighter symptoms are being asked to isolate at home. To free up more hospital beds, patients with non-urgent surgery will likely be asked to wait, and others may be discharged earlier than is usual in Japan, experts said. Hospitals are being asked to prepare plans for transferring patients to places that can treat them, given how the speed of the spread has varied by region, said Takuma Kato, a health ministry official. Japan\u2019s health ministry has issued guidelines on handling an influx of coronavirus patients based on estimates of what peak numbers might look like. \u201cPotentially, there will be a surge of new cases if Japan is not successful in containment, which I think will happen,\u201d said  Kenji Shibuya, director of the Institute of Population Health, King\u2019s College, London. \u201cJapan is not yet at the level of what Italy is experiencing in terms of outbreak phase, but that gives us a very important lesson - we have to be prepared,\u201d he said. The death toll in Italy rose to 1,809 by Sunday after a 25% jump in just 24 hours. The number of cases hit 24,747. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said there were 12,000 beds nationwide that could take serious virus cases and 3,000 respirators, but Shibuya said that didn\u2019t mean there were trained medical staff to handle all of those cases. A national action plan based on a 2012 law calls for hospitalizing severe cases and treating mild cases at home. Parliament on Friday revised that law to allow the government to declare a state of emergency to cover the coronavirus. Abe has said conditions didn\u2019t warrant such a declaration yet. A shortage of cutting-edge equipment to treat the most severe cases also poses a risk, and could force tough decisions about whom to treat if cases rise fast, as in Italy. For example, a ventilator might be in use for a 90-year-old patient while a seriously ill 30-year-old nurse went without,  said Koji Wada, a member of the government advisory panel. \u201cSo we need to discuss the ethical issues too,\u201d Wada said."}
{"claim_id": "10058", "claim": "Study Questions Chiropractic\u2019s Impact on Back Pain", "explanation": "The article focused on a recent systematic review of the effectiveness of spinal manipulation for chronic low back pain. The Cochrane Collaboration review found that this popular treatment leads to rapid short-term pain relief and improvement in function. But the magnitude of the treatment effect was modest at best. And manipulation did not provide a \u201cclinically significant\u201d advantage over other common treatments for chronic low back pain, according to this review. The HealthDay article made a key observation about chronic back pain: that there is no \u201csilver bullet\u201d for it. And it provided a brief but fair description of the systematic review and the evidence it considered. Our reviewers could have gone either way on several of the graded criteria, so the 4-star final score may be a bit deceiving. What were some of the shortcomings of this article? The article had a misleading title: \u201cStudy Questions Chiropractic\u2019s Impact on Back Pain\u201d. This systematic review looked at the effects of manipulation as practiced by multiple professions rather than the impact of chiropractic per se. Since the review concluded that manipulation is a viable treatment for chronic back pain, one can argue that it supports rather than questions this manual therapy. It might have been useful to ask an impartial expert how the new review on manipulation compares with other recent reviews of the evidence in this area. And how manipulation compares with other effective treatments for chronic back pain. Readers of this article might well have come away with the impression that all treatments for chronic back pain offer similar results. This is not the case. Of the 200 or so therapies for chronic back pain in the medical marketplace, no treatment consistently offers a major benefit. Only a few have been proven to provide a moderate benefit for chronic back pain. The most influential U.S. guideline found only six treatments, including manipulation, where there was \u201cgood\u201d evidence of a \u201cmoderate benefit\u201d for chronic back pain (See Chou et al., 2007; Chou et al., 2009). An influential British review concluded that three general approaches (exercise, manual therapy including manipulation, and acupuncture) provide roughly equal benefit in the early management of persistent back pain. (See NICE, 2009). So the new review on manipulation is\u00a0reasonably consistent with the larger evidence picture. It would have been useful if the article could have highlighted this point\u2014since it offers an important message for people with chronic back pain. Based on this body of evidence, they shouldn\u2019t be expecting heroic cures. Rather, they should look for validated treatments that can help them stay comfortable and active\u2014and that align with their values, expectations and tolerance for risk. References: Chou R et al., Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: A Joint Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society, \u00a0Annals of Internal Medicine, 2007; 147:478-491. Chou R et al., Interventional therapies, surgery, and interdisciplinary rehabilitation for low back pain, Spine, 2009; 34(10): 1066-67. NICE, Early management of persistent non-specific low back pain; 2009; see\u00a0http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG88NICEGuideline.pdf  \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0  \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0       \u00a0Spinal manipulation is one of the most popular treatments for low back pain in the United States and many other nations. The 2007 National Health Interview Survey concluded that roughly 8.6% of U.S. adults\u2014close to 20 million individuals\u2014utilized chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation. Despite its popularity, spinal manipulation is still commonly referred to as a \u201ccomplementary/alternative\u201d therapy rather than a mainstream treatment. Though it enjoys considerable support in systematic reviews and guidelines, spinal manipulation remains somewhat controversial and is not widely available in primary care medical settings. It does not enjoy completely consistent support from insurance companies. So determining the optimal role of manipulation in the management of chronic low back pain\u2014in both chiropractic and conventional medical settings\u2014 is an important priority.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Back pain,HealthDay", "main_text": "The article did attempt to offer information on the costs of manipulation by consulting a spokesman for the American Chiropractic Association. However, the article only offered the unsatisfactory observation that costs vary. The journalist could have dug deeper and documented the range of costs per manipulation treatment\u2014and the typical number of visits per back pain episode. The costs and cost-effectiveness of manipulation are important issues. If multiple treatments for chronic back pain provide similar benefit, then the value of the treatment modality is really dependent on the cost. The article offered only broad characterizations about the treatment effects of spinal manipulation for chronic low back pain. It did not attempt to quantify the treatment effects in terms of pain relief or functional improvement. However, the systematic review that served as the focus of the article is complex and somewhat difficult to decipher, with outcomes including pain and function at different time points. And the story did provide the reader with a reasonable summary. Manipulation appears as good or bad as other treatment options\u2014and it may lead to more rapid pain relief. Any review of a treatment should discuss both the benefits and risks of the treatment. The story focused entirely on the comparative effectiveness of manipulation, and ignored discussion of potential harms and adverse effects. Many people are scared away from spinal manipulation for low back pain over the potential risk of serious complications such as cauda equina syndrome, paralysis, and death\u2014or the exacerbation of a disc herniation. However, as the new systematic review pointed out, serious complications related to manipulation for low back pain are extremely rare. The article provided the reader with an adequate amount of information about the study design and the inherent difficulties in interpretation of existing studies. There was no evidence of disease mongering in this article. This article was refreshingly free of the overheated rhetoric about the \u201cagonies\u201d of chronic low back pain\u2014and the need for novel treatment breakthroughs\u2014 that often permeate media features. Instead it took a sober, matter-of-fact approach. The article did include expert commentary by a spokesman for the American Chiropractic Association. He offered reasonable and interesting comments. However, one could argue that a spokesman for a professional organization that is heavily involved in the provision of spinal manipulation is not a truly independent and impartial source. That spokesman might be viewed as having a conflict-of-interest in offering commentary on this topic. So it would have been useful for the article to include the views of another expert commentator as well. The article did provide information on how spinal manipulation stacked up against other treatments for back pain, as reported in the systematic review. However, it did not discuss the larger body of evidence on treatments for chronic low back pain\u2014or what other reviews and guidelines have concluded about the role of spinal manipulation in its management. We\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. The article gets a \u201csatisfactory\u201d because it pointed out that manipulation is commonly performed by multiple healthcare professions. It would have been useful to mention that manipulation is not routinely available in conventional primary care medical settings. And despite its evidence record, it does not generally enjoy completely consistent insurance coverage. The same points apply to massage. Manipulation is an age-old treatment. There was no reason for the article to discuss its novelty. The article did not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "11021", "claim": "Fertility supplements may help some women conceive", "explanation": "Getting pregnant is harder than most women realize, but that doesn\u2019t mean that if it takes time, there is something wrong that must be treated or dealt with. Furthermore, conception is a serendipitous process that isn\u2019t fully under our control, although you wouldn\u2019t know that from the myriad of products available. In the US, fertility treatment is a big business. This story describes one type of supplement for fertility support that includes a wide variety of ingredients. The story quotes many of the claims made on the company\u2019s website but injects some amount of healthy skepticism. This relatively short story includes valuable information, such as the availability and cost of the supplements. It provides details on one study evaluating the supplement but could have commented on whether these results have been validated by other studies. It quantifies the results of that one study but is careful not to make claims that the supplements improve fertility by X or Y%, which is appropriate given how small the study was. The story quotes more than one expert, one who works for the company and one who does not. This independent source is crucial in this story and provides much-needed perspective. The story could have been improved by describing alternative options, other than to \"see a doctor\". For example, monitoring ovulation, quitting smoking and drinking, maintaining a healthy weight and managing stress and depression may help. Furthermore, the story does not mention any harms of the supplement, known or unknown. Even if the harms are not known, the story should have highlighted that. Side effects of chasteberry, an active ingredient in the supplements, can include nausea, headaches, GI disturbances, and menstrual cycle irregularities.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story clearly states the cost of the supplements. The story quantifies the results of the one small study but is careful not to make claims that the supplements improve fertility by X or Y% The story does not mention any harms of the supplement, known or unknown. Even if the harms are not known, the story should have highlighted that. Side effects of chasteberry can include nausea, headaches, GI disturbances, and menstrual cycle irregularities. The story provides details on one study using the supplement. The story could have commented on whether these results have been validated by other studies. The story rightly points out that conception is a \"mysterious business\" in that it is not fully understood nor do we have control over it. Most women take a while to get pregnant, even up to a year is not considered abnormal. However, the story could do women who are worried about this more of a service by reminding them that variation in time to conceive is normal and they should not run out and get supplements right away. The story quotes more than one expert, one who was involved with the study and one who was not. The independent source is crucial in this story. The story does not describe alternative options, other than to \"see a doctor\". For example, monitoring ovulation, quitting smoking and drinking, maintaining a healthy weight and managing stress and depression may help. The story clearly states that the supplements are available on the company website, though it isn\u2019t clear whether they are available elsewhere. Clearly supplements for fertility are not a new idea. The fact that an independent source has a key voice in the story shows that it did not rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "11459", "claim": "Study finds early potential in GSK leukaemia drug", "explanation": "There are no independent experts quoted. This is not sound journalistic practice, turning the platform over to conflicted sources with no evidence of any critical analysis or independent vetting of claims. The treatment of childhood leukemias has improved considerably in the past several decades. Despite the improvements however, some childhood forms remain difficult. A story about a potential new treatment option is important but it must be presented in a way that does not provide inflated claims and false hope to parents.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Cancer,Reuters Health", "main_text": "Given the extremely early stage of research, we can understand why cost was not discussed. Inadequate explanation. See \u201cevidence\u201d criterion above. While the story does provide several qualifications, it fails to place this very early research into perspective. Given the tortuous road to a drug\u2019s demonstration of effectiveness and eventual approval any suggestion of patient benefit (such as \u201cearly potential\u2026could treat\u2026could halt the disease\u201d) is excessive. If a news story can speculate about \u201cearly potential\u201d benefits in a headline from such early laboratory results, it can also speculate about potential harms from the pathway this proposed intervention takes. What could go wrong with this approach? What will scientists be concerned about as they move into clinical trials? The story talks only about potential benefits. There are always potential harms on the horizon. There was no critical journalistic analysis of the evidence. In fact, we\u2019re never told exactly how well the experimntal approach worked in the mice and cancer cells tested in the lab \u2013 only that \u201cthe chemical could halt the disease.\u201d\u00a0 That simply doesn\u2019t tell readers \u2013 investors or patients \u2013 anything useful about how it performed. Did it work in each experiment attempted? Half the time? Ten percent of the time? Equally well in the mice and in the human cancer cells? What differences in response? The story suggests (as did the news release upon which it was based) that up to 80% of leukemia cases in patients under the age of 2 years involve the MLL fusion protein. Important as this is, it is a bit misleading to the average reader. According to the National Cancer Institute"}
{"claim_id": "3582", "claim": "Former Winona candy factory to become pet vitamin plant.", "explanation": "A former candy factory in Winona soon will be producing gummi and gel supplements for pets.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Winona, Pet health, Business, Pets", "main_text": "Midwest Co-Pack purchased the former Ferrara Candy Company building to use as the primary supplier of The Pet Health People. The company is hoping to use the space to make gummi vitamins for dogs, among other products. Amy Paris, CEO of Midwest Co-Pack and The Pet Health People, said in a statement that the companies will work to grow upon previous success. \u201cMy desire to vertically align (Pet Health People\u2019s) supply chain, from production to fulfillment, has been our goal since inception, but it was important to find the right fit for our business,\u201d Paris said. \u201cThe expertise of the staff at Midwest Co-Pack is unparalleled; I have no doubt that their input will not only support my already established business, but ensure that it continues to thrive.\u201d The company is aiming to hire more than 10 people to start. Officials said they hope to rehire former candy factory employees. The Ferrara facility closed in spring 2016. Winona Mayor Mark Peterson said the city is lucky to have someone take over the building in a relatively short time. \u201cAll expectations are that this will be a growing company,\u201d Peterson said. Company officials said they hope to produce tens of thousands of pounds of finished goods daily by adding new machinery, growing the company and using former plant employees, who have an average tenure of 25 years in food manufacturing. The plant was built in 1940 and operated as a candy factory for several companies before closing."}
{"claim_id": "8718", "claim": "Cabin crew swap aircraft aisles for hospitals in UK's coronavirus fight.", "explanation": "Britain\u2019s temporary hospitals are seeking volunteers from airlines, calling on cabin crew members who are currently grounded to use their first-aid skills and calm manner to help get the new Nightingale hospitals up and running.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Ashley Brown, 23, will soon swap easyJet\u2019s orange-trimmed gray suit and waistcoat for the blue plastic overalls of personal protective equipment after he signed up to help the National Health Service (NHS) fight coronavirus. His first aid training and security clearance mean he is a desirable recruit for the new hospitals, as does his experience working in what can be a high-stress environment. \u201cWhen you\u2019re at 38,000 feet in the air and something does go wrong, which isn\u2019t often, but obviously, medically, things do go wrong, you have to think on your feet,\u201d said Brown. Britain is building three new hospitals in London, Birmingham and Manchester, which it is naming after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, to cope with an expected surge in coronavirus patients, but it needs back-up staff. EasyJet has written to 9,000 staff, and Virgin Atlantic to around 4,000, to ask them to consider volunteering at a time when they cannot do their day jobs because air travel has come to a standstill. EasyJet said on Monday it had parked up all its 344 planes and laid off UK-based cabin crew for two months, meaning they will not work from April 1, but will get 80% of their average pay under a state job-retention scheme. The NHS said volunteers would receive training and help doctors and nurses with changing beds and other non-clinical tasks. Brown, who formerly worked for an NHS Trust in its stop-smoking services, says he loves the cabin crew job he\u2019s been doing for the past three years and is realistic about the pay cut he faces over the coming months. \u201cIt is what it is, at the end of the day. I want to keep flying, I want to keep my job, the same as everybody else, so we\u2019re all more than happy to support our airline to get to where we need to be to return to flying,\u201d he said. Asked about the risk of potentially being exposed to the virus by going into the new hospitals, he says the worry will be there in the back of his mind, but that\u2019s no different from his day job. \u201cThe job I do, I have to think about safety every single day,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "4917", "claim": "Utah banning \u2018conversion therapy\u2019 with Mormon church backing.", "explanation": "Utah is on its way to becoming the 19th state to ban the discredited practice of conversion therapy in January after state officials formed a proposal that has the support of the influential Church of a Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Religion, Health, General News, Utah, Science, U.S. News, Gary Herbert", "main_text": "Republican Gov. Gary Herbert announced Tuesday night that church leaders back a regulatory rule his office helped craft after legislative efforts for a ban on the therapy failed earlier this year. The faith known widely as the Mormon church opposed a previous version of the rule because it wanted assurances that church leaders and members who are therapists would be allowed to provide spiritual counseling for parishioners or families \u2014 which were included in the latest conversion therapy ban plan. The faith opposes gay marriage and teaches that intimidate same-sex relationships are a sin. The religion has stuck to that belief while urging members to be kind and compassionate to LGBTQ people. Conversion therapy is a practice used to try to change peoples\u2019 sexual orientation or gender identity. The rule would ban Utah therapists from subjecting LGBTQ minors to the practice that the American Psychological Association has said is not based in science and is harmful to mental health. The Utah rule proposal is set to go to a 30-day public comment period beginning Dec. 15 and take effect as soon as Jan. 22, Herbert said. The success in getting the church\u2019s crucial support for the regulatory rule generated praise from LGBTQ advocates and conversion therapy survivors who had expressed frustration with the yearslong battle in Utah to ban conversion therapy. The rule uses language from a state legislative proposal that failed this year despite church leaders saying they would not oppose it. \u201cIt means youth will be getting adequate services that will help them rather than harm them,\u201d said Nathan Dalley, 20, who had conversion therapy when he was 16. \u201cThis is a change that\u2019s been needed for so long. It\u2019s too late, but I\u2019m happy it is here.\u201d Dalley grew up as a member of the Latter-day Saint faith and said he was told during his therapy to snap a rubber band on his wrist every time he felt attracted to men. His therapist also scrutinized his posture, his walk, his gestures and interests. Dalley said the experience deepened his feelings of depression and culminated in a suicide attempt several months after the therapy. Church government affairs director Marty Stephens reiterated in the governor\u2019s news release that the faith denounces conversion therapy and wants a ban. He said in an interview with The Associated Press last month that the faith doesn\u2019t ascribe to \u201cpray the gay away\u201d thinking but that prayer and religious teachings can be helpful to people trying to navigate life\u2019s challenges. The religion holds tremendous influence in Utah, where the majority of state lawmakers and nearly two-thirds of the state\u2019s 3.1 million residents are members of the faith. Herbert is a member and so are all six members of the state\u2019s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney. The church had said in an Oct. 15 letter to state regulators that it would support a \u201ccarefully tailored\u201d rule to ban \u201cabusive\u201d practices like conversion therapy but contended an earlier regulatory proposal banning the practice defined sexual orientation and efforts to change sexual orientation so broadly that it \u201cwould imperil legitimate and helpful therapies to the detriment of minor clients.\u201d For example, the church had claimed the bill would have prohibited therapists from discussing strategies for avoiding same-sex intimacy when young people seek help to adhere to the faith\u2019s teachings. The revised rule stipulates that the ban doesn\u2019t apply to clergy members or religious counselors acting in a religious capacity, or to a parents or grandparents who happen to be a mental health therapist if they are talking to children or grandchildren. Justin Utley, 42, who attempted suicide more than a decade ago after going through conversion therapy, said he\u2019s concerned about the exceptions granted to the church even but said the new rule is a positive step. \u201cProgress is progress in this state. You kind of have to make some compromises,\u201d Utley said. \u201cMy concern, though, is clergy who are licensed professionals having this ability to justify conversion therapy by claiming that they\u2019ve turned off the switch and now are acting as a clergy member instead of a licensed professional. That\u2019s a very dangerous precedent.\u201d During a public hearing about the rule in September, Utley and other supporters of a conversion therapy ban said enduring the therapy led to shame, depression and suicide attempts. Opponents argued that the rule would prevent parents from getting help for children with \u201cunwanted\u201d gay feelings or even from talking about sexuality with their kids. Herbert said \u201cthe stories of youth who have endured these so-called therapies are heart rending.\u201d He added: \u201cI\u2019m grateful that we have found a way forward that will ban conversion therapy forever in our state.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "4952", "claim": "Health care worker in Grant County has mumps.", "explanation": "The Grant County Health District has issued an alert about a confirmed case of mumps in a Grant County resident.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Moses Lake, Mumps", "main_text": "The health district says a vaccinated health care worker has been confirmed with the mumps. KXLY-TV of Spokane reports the worker developed symptoms on December 2, which means their contagious period was from November 30 through December 7. During that period, the worker was at two Moses Lake health care facilities, Samaritan Healthcare, and Confluence Health. The health district is working with each facility to identify all staff and patrons who could have been in contact with the individual. ___ Information from: KXLY-TV, http://www.kxly.com/"}
{"claim_id": "281", "claim": "India cyclone kills at least 33, hundreds of thousands homeless.", "explanation": "Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless after a cyclone packing winds of about 200 km per hour slammed into eastern India, ripping out tin roofs and destroying power and telecom lines, officials said on Sunday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "At least 33 people were killed after cyclone Fani struck the state of Odisha on Friday but a million people emerged unscathed after they moved into storm shelter ahead of landfall. The death toll could have been much greater if not for the massive evacuation in the days before the storm made landfall, officials said. The seaside temple town of Puri, which lay directly in the path of Fani, suffered extensive damage as winds gusting up to 200 kph (124 mph) tore off tin roofs, snapped power lines, and uprooted trees on Friday. \u201cThe cyclone has killed 21 people in Puri and about 300 people are injured,\u201d Brajabandhu Dash, medical officer at Puri, told Reuters. Earlier, 12 deaths were reported from other parts of the state. The depression over the Western Meghalaya and adjoining Bangladesh has weakened, and will become insignificant in the next 24 hours, India\u2019s met department said on Twitter early on Sunday. According to preliminary reports, Fani damaged power infrastructure worth more than 12 billion rupees ($173.7 million) and the authorities are trying to restore electricity supply for emergency services, another official said. More than 60,000 people including officials and volunteers were involved in relief operations, said special relief commissioner Bishnupada Sethi, who monitored the evacuation. The relief effort used sirens, loudspeakers and sent more than 20 million mobile messages to the targeted people, he said. The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal can last from April to December, and storms can be deadly. In 1999, a super-cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours, killing 10,000 people. Fani was the strongest summer cyclone in 43 years to hit Odisha, disrupting water supplies and transport links, the state\u2019s chief minister Naveen Patnaik said in a statement. \u201cWe are in the process of restoring physical infrastructure,\u201d he told reporters. Relief agencies were trying to provide food and medicine to victims in other parts of the state, while hundreds of thousands were still not accessible due to roadblocks and disruption in the communication network, officials said. The town of Puri was littered with tree branches, the debris of damaged houses and broken glass. Relief teams were trying to clear the roads. \u201cThere was no wind at night (before landfall). We thought nothing will happen,\u201d P. Chittmma, 45, told Reuters while laying on a bed at a government hospital, showing her fractured leg."}
{"claim_id": "34307", "claim": "Blue Buffalo pet food contains unsafe and higher-than-average levels of lead.", "explanation": "Aside from a single claimant\u2019s lawsuit against Blue Buffalo and an unrelated recall on one variety of Blue Buffalo product in March 2017, we found no credible information suggesting that Blue Buffalo dog food was tested and found to have abnormally high levels of lead.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Critter Country, contaminated pet food", "main_text": "In June 2017, a rumor appeared that Blue Buffalo brand pet food had been recalled because it contained toxic levels of lead: I have seen claims that Blue Buffalo brand dog food contains unhealthy amounts of lead. It is a highly regarded brand of dog food, Can you confirm if this rumor is true? As is often the case with pet safety claims, the rumor spread via word-of-mouth, periodically reappearing on social media. According to various versions of the rumor, all Blue Buffalo dog and cat food had been recalled because of the presence of lead, and a class action lawsuit had been filed after the brand was caught tainting its food: Blue got caught putting lead in their food and killing thousands of dogs. Do your research please before buying a product. \u2014 Logan (@LoLoR_2412) January 4, 2018  However, we found only one legitimate recall involving Blue Buffalo brand, which had nothing to do with lead content and affected just one particular variety. It\u2019s possible that the date of the issued recall (17 March 2017) led to the story resurfacing after a year, creating some confusion: Blue Buffalo Company is voluntarily recalling one production lot of BLUE Wilderness\u00ae Rocky Mountain RecipeTM Red Meat Dinner Wet Food for Adult Dogs, as the product has the potential to contain elevated levels of naturally-occurring beef thyroid hormones. Dogs ingesting high levels of beef thyroid hormones may exhibit symptoms such as increased thirst and urination, weight loss, increased heart rate and restlessness. These symptoms may resolve when the use of the impacted food is discontinued. However, with prolonged consumption these symptoms may increase in severity and may include vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid or difficulty breathing. Should these symptoms occur, contact your veterinarian immediately. Although the Blue Buffalo Customer Care Resource Team has not received any reports of dogs exhibiting these symptoms from consuming this product, the FDA advised Blue Buffalo of a single consumer who reported symptoms in one dog, who has now fully recovered. Blue Buffalo immediately began an investigation, however, and after working with the FDA, Blue Buffalo decided it would be prudent to recall the one production lot in question. The claims upon which the lead rumors were based came from a lawsuit [PDF] filed by one individual in California, who claimed to have \u201cindependently tested\u201d varieties of Blue Buffalo dog food after the death of a pet: Plaintiff\u2019s independent lab testing of the Contaminated Dog Foods found that Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs contains 200 ppb of lead; Blue Freedom Grain-Free Chicken Recipe for Small Breed Adult Dogs contains 140 ppb of lead; and Blue Basics Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Recipe for Adult Dogs contains a staggering 840 ppb of lead. In response to the March 2018 viral warning, Blue Buffalo issued a statement via Facebook \u201cto set the record straight about these baseless allegations,\u201d asserting that their pet food products were safe:"}
{"claim_id": "7029", "claim": "2020 hopeful Moulton shares mental health woes as war vet.", "explanation": "Democratic presidential candidate Seth Moulton is highlighting his plan to improve mental health care in the United States, particularly for veterans, by revealing his own struggles with post-traumatic stress.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Lynn, Mental health, Health, Politics, Seth Moulton, Election 2020, Massachusetts, North America, Veterans, United States", "main_text": "Moulton, a Massachusetts congressman and Iraq War veteran, said Tuesday at a town hall in Lynn that he started seeing a therapist after returning home from the war. He said one memory that has stayed with him is driving past an injured Iraqi boy lying in the middle of the road without stopping to help him. He said stopping to take care of the child would have endangered the lives of his entire platoon. The image of that boy, he said, is \u201csomething that haunted me every single day when I came home. Frankly, every single day that I was there.\u201d Moulton said he can\u2019t put into words how much therapy has helped him. \u201cI\u2019ll be haunted by the image of that boy until the day that I die. But now I control what I think of,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think about it every single day. I can choose moments like this to bring it up.\u201d Moulton\u2019s mental health plan would require annual mental health checkups for active-duty military and veterans, fund yearly mental health screenings for every high school student and establish a national mental health crisis hotline. Moulton said he would also double the number of Defense Department mental health professionals and boost the mental health budget by $500 million. \u201cEven as we recognize and celebrate the talents and achievements of military veterans, we must also acknowledge that we have asked them to shoulder an enormous burden on our behalf,\u201d he said in a written statement."}
{"claim_id": "26316", "claim": "\u201cGuess what, [children are] not at risk unless they have an underlying medical issue.\u201d", "explanation": "Pa. House Speaker Mike Turzai argued that children are largely protected from the ravages of the coronavirus because of their youth and would be safe if they return to school in the fall. A new study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics found that roughly one in five children with serious cases of coronavirus had no underlying medical conditions. In New York City, 52 children sickened with the coronavirus have developed a serious condition called pediatric multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Coronavirus, Pennsylvania, Mike Turzai, ", "main_text": "Arguing that Pennsylvania should move quickly to reopen its economy even as coronavirus cases surge in some areas, the state House\u2019s Republican leader said this weekend that reopening schools in the fall should be a top priority. Not only do students deserve a chance to perform experiments in science labs and play instruments in recitals, House Speaker Mike Turzai said children are largely protected from the ravages of the virus because of their youth and would be safe if they go back to school. \"Guess what, they\u2019re not at risk unless they have an underlying medical issue,\" said Turzai, whose comments came in a video he recorded from his Allegheny County home and later shared on social media. We wondered whether school-age children are as safe as the house speaker says. Turzai was on the right track when he said that children in poor health who contract the coronavirus are at risk of becoming seriously ill. And it\u2019s true that children are far less susceptible than adults. But his claim that other children are totally safe is incorrect, according to a study published recently in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics. Turzai declined to provide any evidence he relied on when he made this claim. Testifying before the Senate this week, Anthony Fauci, the government\u2019s top infectious disease doctor, warned Americans not to be \"cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune to the deleterious effects.\" The study followed 48 children and young adults with COVID-19 who were admitted to pediatric intensive care units in the U.S. and Canada in March and April. Roughly one out of every five children studied had no underlying conditions. The others suffered from immune suppression, obesity, diabetes, seizures, or chronic lung disease. In some cases, the impact of the virus was devastating. The Rutgers University researchers who authored the study found that more than 20% of children experienced failure of two or more organ systems and almost 40% required a breathing tube and ventilator. At the end of the study period, a third of the children the researchers tracked were still hospitalized. Two of the children had died. \"Children without chronic illness are also at risk,\" the study authors wrote. \"Parents need to continue to take the virus seriously.\" Publication of the study came the same day New York City officials announced that a growing cluster of children sickened with the coronavirus have developed a serious condition called pediatric multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome. So far, at least 52 children have been diagnosed with the syndrome, which causes high fever and swelling and may cause heart and kidney failure. Most are between the ages of 5 and 9. New York City officials said symptoms of the syndrome vary from patient to patient but include fever, rash, bright red lips, swollen hands and feet and abdominal pain. One five-year-old has died. \"This was not something that the health care community saw on their radar,\" New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday at his daily coronavirus briefing. \"Then in the last week or two, suddenly, we\u2019re seeing something that\u2019s very troubling.\" In other parts of New York state, 21 additional children with coronavirus symptoms have become seriously ill. It\u2019s unclear whether any of the children sickened by pediatric multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome had underlying medical conditions. Half of the children in New York City who were diagnosed with the syndrome tested positive for COVID-19, meaning their bodies are battling an active infection and the syndrome simultaneously. Almost\u00a0 two dozen other children with the syndrome tested positive for antibodies against the disease, meaning they had previously contracted the virus and recovered before they developed symptoms of the syndrome. It\u2019s not known how many Pennsylvania children may have developed pediatric multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome. According to data from the state Department of Health, fewer than 3% of the almost 60,000 known coronavirus cases across the state are among children and teenagers. Speaking about the coronavirus, Turzai said children are \"not at risk unless they have an underlying medical issue.\" A new study and a growing number of gravely ill children in New York City prove otherwise. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "8778", "claim": "H9N2 bird flu threat understated in humans says expert.", "explanation": "The H9N2 bird flu strain, identified as a possible pandemic threat, could be infecting more humans than commonly thought but its mild symptoms mean it often goes undetected, a leading Hong Kong bird flu expert said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Chickens are seen in cages at a poultry store in Hong Kong, June 11, 2008. REUTERS/Bobby Yip \u201cIt\u2019s quite possible ... H9N2 is infecting humans quite a lot, much (more) than we appreciate merely because it is beyond the radar,\u201d Malik Peiris, a Hong Kong-based microbiologist, told Reuters. \u201cIn humans, it is very mild, so most of the time it\u2019s probably not even recognised or biologically tested,\u201d said Peiris, who has co-authored several papers on the strain in recent years. So far, only a handful of human H9N2 cases have been documented worldwide, including four children in Hong Kong in 2003 who suffered from mild fevers and coughs \u2014 as well as a batch in China\u2019s Guangdong province, where people often live in close proximity to poultry, Peiris said. The Hong Kong cases were only picked up by chance given the city\u2019s rigorous influenza testing regime, Peiris said. \u201cIt\u2019s quite a silent virus, it\u2019s not highly pathogenic ... and sometimes it causes some morbidity in poultry but by and large it is just there and it\u2019s unnoticed,\u201d Peiris said of the H9N2 strain. The strain occurs mostly in birds, although it has also affected pigs and other animals in Europe and Asia. Most influenza experts agree that a pandemic \u2014 a deadly global epidemic \u2014 of some kind of flu is inevitable. No one can predict what kind but the chief suspect is the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has infected 385 people and killed 243 of them since 2003. However, flu experts at the University of Maryland, St. Jude\u2019s Children\u2019s Research hospital in Memphis and elsewhere recently wrote in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE that the H9N2 strain posed a \u201csignificant threat for humans\u201d. They found that just a few mutations could turn it into a virus that people catch and transmit easily. Peiris said that while the H9N2 strain might be more transmissible, its effects would be far less devastating than a possible H5N1 pandemic. \u201cThere are other viruses out there besides H5N1 that could be the next pandemic,\u201d Peiris said. \u201cBut I suspect (H9N2) will not be so severe in its outcome.\u201d   Peiris pointed out that the last three major pandemics vastly differed in their severity, with the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic killing an estimated 50 million people worldwide, whereas the \u201cHong Kong\u201d flu in 1968 killed around one million. There are hundreds of strains of avian influenza virus but only four \u2014 H5N1, H7N3, H7N7, and H9N2 - are known to have caused human infections, according to the World Health Organization."}
{"claim_id": "12671", "claim": "Autopsy results from Vince Foster\u2019s exhumed body \u2014 Cause of death to be changed!", "explanation": "Vince Foster\u2019s death has not been ruled a homicide after autopsy, despite fake news reports", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fake news, PunditFact, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "A fake news story saying former White House counsel Vince Foster\u2019s body shows evidence that he didn\u2019t die of a suicide is only part of a wide range of false Internet posts that won\u2019t let rest the idea he was killed by Bill and Hillary Clinton. A March 24, 2017, story posted on Liberty-Courier.com carried the headline, \"Breaking: Autopsy results from Vince Foster\u2019s exhumed body \u2014 Cause of death to be changed!\" The site, which is registered to an address in Utah, uses a name that evokes a newspaper, but is filled with fake news stories and has no immediately apparent contact information. The Foster story was flagged by Facebook users, who reported it as potentially being fake as part of the website\u2019s efforts to push fabricated stories out of its news feeds. Foster, who was deputy counsel to President Bill Clinton and a former Arkansas law colleague of Hillary Clinton, committed suicide in 1993 at age 48, after suffering from depression. He was buried in his hometown of Hope, Ark. Conspiracy theories have raged for years that the Clintons actually had Foster killed for his knowledge of the Whitewater real estate deal or some other insight. President Donald Trump is among those who have questioned whether Foster actually committed suicide, despite five different investigations concluding he suffered a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound. The post, meanwhile, is fake, and has ended up on other fake news websites. It says that U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., had ordered Foster\u2019s body exhumed. It cited a U.S. Navy officer as saying the forensics lab at the Naval Hospital in Norfolk, Va., determined Foster suffered two gunshot wounds, and his death should be reclassified as a homicide. Foster\u2019s body has not been exhumed, and there is no Naval Hospital in Norfolk \u2014 although there is a Naval Medical Center across the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, which used to be known as Naval Hospital Portsmouth. The post is accompanied by a photo that purports to be of naval forensics specialists, but actually is a handout photo from the Sacramento County (Calif.) Coroner\u2019s Office. The story first appeared on March 22 on TheLastLineOfDefense.org, a site that has been the source of several fake news stories that we\u2019ve previously checked. Their posts often end up being repurposed by many other websites that don\u2019t credit its origin, as is the case here. TheLastLineOfDefense.org doesn\u2019t indicate this story or any other post is fake, but its About Us link notes that \"all articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney.\" TheLastLineOfDefense.org has developed a regular cottage industry of writing about Foster\u2019s death. The site has previously written posts that said Gowdy had Foster\u2019s body exhumed, then that it went missing from the morgue in Norfolk, or that WikiLeaks has proof of a conspiracy surrounding Foster\u2019s death. The assertion that Foster\u2019s body has been dug up, autopsied again and his death ruled a homicide is completely made up. We rate this statement"}
{"claim_id": "11296", "claim": "Single Dose of Hallucinogenic Drug Psilocybin Relieves Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Advanced Cancer", "explanation": "This release focuses on a recent study that found a single application of the hallucinogen psilocybin is effective at providing meaningful relief to cancer patients suffering from severe depression or anxiety. The release notes that 80 percent of participants showed improvement based on clinical evaluation scores for anxiety and depression for several months following the treatment. The study is one of two on the subject that were published recently in the Journal of Psychopharmacology (our review of the release for the other study can be found here and a review of a related news article can be read here.) The release does better than its counterpart in terms of addressing conflicts of interest and placing the work in context with previous work in the field. However, the release uses only vague language when addressing the key issues of health benefits and adverse side effects. More specifics on the degree of reduced anxiety and depression scores would have been useful. Because this study and its counterpart offer an intriguing finding \u2014 that a single dose of something could be so helpful in alleviating depression \u2014 we\u2019ve completed three reviews related to these studies: one on a news story from the LA Times, one on a news release from Johns Hopkins, and this review on the release from NYU. And the core issues involved are similar across all three items. Cancer is a widespread health problem that affects many millions of Americans. According to the National Cancer Institute, just under 1.7 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in 2016 alone. If you consider that each of those people has a family and loved ones who are also affected by the diagnosis, you can begin to appreciate the scope of the problem. According to a report from the National Institutes of Health\u2019s 2002 State-of-the-Science Conference on Symptom Management in Cancer: Pain, Depression, and Fatigue, \u201cThe clinical \u2018rule of thumb\u2019 is that 25 percent of cancer patients are likely depressed enough at some point in the course of disease to warrant evaluation and treatment.\u201d This makes it especially important for research institutions and news outlets to write responsibly about studies like those discussed in this release. You want to give readers enough information to help them make informed decisions. You don\u2019t want to raise false hopes, or sensationalize the work. We think all three summaries on this growing body of research reported responsibly on the findings.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release,Cancer", "main_text": "The release refers to psilocybin as being \u201cinexpensive,\u201d if and when it were to become a clinical treatment option. However, there is no basis provided for why the drug would be inexpensive or what that means relative to other treatments. Given that it is currently a banned substance, it\u2019s difficult to assess how expensive the drug would be \u2014 or in what clinical circumstances it may be used (which could affect the cost for patients). You may be wondering, \u201cHow can the release further address cost, given that the relevant drug is a banned substance?\u201d One way would be to specifically note that it is difficult to estimate what the cost of psilocybin treatment would be, given that it is currently a banned substance. The release does tell readers what percentage of patients benefited from psilocybin treatment, but does not explicitly quantify the extent of those benefits \u2014 which is what this category is designed to address. Instead, readers are given qualitative assessments of the treatment \u2014 that it \u201csignificantly lessens mental anguish\u201d and brought \u201crelief from distress.\u201d But those terms are vague. What does \u201csignificantly lessens\u201d mean? For example, did patients return to clinically normal levels of anxiety? The release is vague here, noting that patients \u201cexperienced no serious negative effects, such as hospitalization or more serious mental health conditions.\u201d But that doesn\u2019t mean they had no side effects. A look at the paper shows that 28 percent of patients, for example, suffered headaches or migraines and 14 percent had nausea. Did the benefits outweigh these effects? Many people might say yes. However, it\u2019s important for research institutions to describe the research \u2014 warts and all \u2014 and let people make informed decisions. If we think that\u2019s true for clinically available treatments, it should also apply to treatments in the earlier stages of testing. The release does an adequate job of describing the study: the number of patients, their clinical background, the study design. That earns it a satisfactory rating here. No disease mongering here. This is a strength of the release. It not only tells readers who funded the work, but that one of the funding organizations is focused specifically on research involving psychedelic drugs \u2014 and that one of the researchers previously served on that organization\u2019s board. The release notes that study participants received counseling in addition to the psilocybin treatment \u2014 which is an important point to make. However, the release doesn\u2019t discuss the use of counseling as a stand-alone treatment option for anxiety or depression, nor does the release address other pharmaceutical treatment options that can be used to treat mental health problems. The release would have been much stronger if it had compared the pros and cons of this treatment method with other treatment methods. The release does not specifically address drug availability. However, the release does note that psilocybin is a banned substance, and makes clear that larger clinical trials would have to be successful before psilocybin could be used as a \u201csafe, effective and inexpensive medication \u2014 dispensed under strict control.\u201d That\u2019s sufficient to merit a satisfactory rating. The release does a good job here, in two ways. First, it notes that this study (presumably in conjunction with the one from Johns Hopkins) provides \u201cthe strongest evidence to date of a clinical benefit from psilocybin therapy.\u201d That\u2019s important context. Second, the release states that psilocybin \u201chas been studied for decades and has an established safety profile.\u201d Again, that\u2019s important context. These points earn it a satisfactory rating. That said, we would like to have seen how this work compares to previous research done specifically on the use of psilocybin to treat anxiety in cancer patients \u2014 such as this 2007 study, this one from 2011, or this one from 2013. We don\u2019t necessarily expect an exhaustive comparison, but the release would have been stronger if there had been some acknowledgment that other work has been done in this field over the past 10 years. More specifically, it would have been nice to see a sentence or two highlighting how the new findings are similar to, or different from, the existing body of work in the field. This one was actually a close call, particularly because of one line in the release. In the third paragraph, the release states that \u201cStudy results were also endorsed in 11 accompanying editorials from leading experts in psychiatry, addiction, and palliative care.\u201d Cautious optimism may be a more accurate description of some of those editorials. However, much depends on how one chooses to interpret the word \u201cendorse.\u201d Given that all of the editorials acknowledge the work, and that is a reasonable interpretation of the word \u201cendorse,\u201d we\u2019ll give it a pass. However, given that \u201cendorse\u201d can also be read as actively supporting or promoting something, we wish they had chosen different language."}
{"claim_id": "10097", "claim": "Hepatitis C Drug Raises Cure Rate in Late Trial", "explanation": "This is basically a stock market performance story dressed up as a clinical trial story, one of many such stories where someone on the business desk is asked to write about a \"breakthrough\" for the purposes of giving investors/readers some insight on where to make their next investment move. Because the reporter is well above average, the story is packed with information about the trial, about the drug, about hepatitis and about the company. But there is quite a bit of information missing that would be helpful for patients who, most likely, aren\u2019t going to see perhaps unfounded hope in phrases such as, \"a new era in treating a sometimes fatal disease.\" Even in a stock market story, it is important to get the clinical part right. And, especially in a stock market story, it is important to get the cost part right.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "If you can estimate that a drug is going to\u00a0have sales of\u00a0\"$3 billion a year by 2015,\" then you can estimate how much it is going to cost patients and how much more it is going to cost over existing treatments. This story does neither. The story talks\u00a0a lot about the benefits but doesn\u2019t really quantify them. Given that 1,095 patients were in the trial, let\u2019s assume that half were in the drug group and half in the placebo group. Of the drug group, let\u2019s assume half were in the 24 week group and half were in the eight week group. By our math, that means that about 154 people had better outcomes than those in the control group. Also, the story\u00a0does a pretty good job of walking people through the results, but the story is framed as a \"new era\" versus an old, torturous treatment. Only when you get to the end of the story do you realize that the new drug only works in combination with the old, torturous treatment. So the torture is not going away, it\u2019s just taking on a new layer of medication, and new costs. Relapses after completing therapy are common with standard therapy of IFN and ribavirin. In a recently published study in the NEJM\u00a0involving patients who had previously failed IFN and ribavirin, there was a 76% \"cure\" at the end of the treatment period, but only a 51% \"cure\" 24 weeks after the end of treatment. So in the data reported in this article, is the 75% \"cure\" 24 weeks after the end of treatment or is it at the end of the treatment period? Finally, the information presented doesn\u2019t translate into how many patients need to be treated to have one meaningful cure. The story makes the standard treatment sound terrible. But it glosses over the side effects of the new treatment, saying only that it causes a \"nasty rash.\" Where is the rash? That can make a world of difference. Does it cause the skin to break and bleed? Does it interfere with basic functions like sight, breathing, eating? It says that 7% of the people in the drug group dropped out, while about half that percentage dropped out of the placebo group. Again, some absolute numbers would be good here, as would some context about what percentage of patients experience side effects with the standard treatment or with the competing drug in the same family\u00a0of drugs\u00a0mentioned earlier in the story. And the story could have been more clear that all patients get the standard therapy, IFN and ribavirin. So they will face the side effects of the current regimen, PLUS the side effects of this new agent. There are a lot of numbers in this story, but there are two crucial numbers missing: the absolute risk reduction and the number needed to treat. It says at the top that \"about 75 percent of patients in the trial who got the standard dose of Vertex\u2019s drug in combination with the existing treatment were essentially cured, compared with 44 percent of those who got only the existing therapy.\" Later it says that \"in Vertex\u2019s trial, about 70 percent of those who achieved an effective cure were able to do so in 24 weeks, or about six months.\" Then it says \"Patients got either 12 weeks or eight weeks of telaprevir or a placebo. The standard therapy of interferon and ribavirin was given for either 24 weeks or 48 weeks, depending on how the patients were faring after four weeks and 12 weeks. Of those who got 12 weeks of telaprevir, 75 percent had a sustained viral response, meaning the virus was not detectable in their blood 24 weeks after completing treatment. That is seen as essentially a cure. The rate was 69 percent for those who got eight weeks of telaprevir.\" More on this later. Finally, it is not clear where any of this data came from. In searching for the primary source information, it appears to come from the company itself rather than from publication in a medical journal. The description of the scope of the disease is fairly standard and well sourced. \"Some 2.7 million to 3.9 million Americans are estimated to have hepatitis C, and 12,000 die from it each year, according to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine. The disease can cause cirrhosis, which is a scarring of the liver, as well as liver cancer. The virus is transmitted by blood, so most people who have hepatitis C either have injected illegal drugs or received blood transfusions or blood products before the early 1990s.\" We wish we\u2019d seen a source on the idea that most recent Hep C patients have injected illegal drugs. We would have liked to have seen independent voices inject more context into the story, but the reporter did at a minimum take these results to another legitimate researcher. The reporter also went to a patient advocacy group that, unfortunately, just spat out the standard \"we welcome any cure\" spiel. The comparison could have been more detailed, but, you do get the picture that this new drug will simply be an add on to existing therapies, albeit with the potential for cutting down the treatment time considerably. The second word in the story is \"experimental.\" It talks about the drug being in three different Phase 3 clinical trials and about the company looking forward to applying for approval from the FDA. What it does not do is make it clear how quickly the drug could be brought to market (or slowly) especially given the problems of side effects also noted in the story. The storyt makes clear that this is a new treatment that is not yet FDA approved \u2013 a novel agent and class. Not applicable because we can\u2019t be sure of the extent to which a news release impacted this story. But we also can\u2019t figure out what the source is of the information provided unless it\u2019s the company."}
{"claim_id": "23041", "claim": "Tom Barrett Says \"Scott Walker wants to ban common forms of birth control, including the pill.", "explanation": "Tom Barrett says Scott Walker wants to ban the pill and other forms of birth control", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Abortion, Message Machine 2010, Wisconsin, Tom Barrett, ", "main_text": "Democrat Tom Barrett is using the last days of the Wisconsin governor\u2019s race to paint Republican rival Scott Walker as a radical conservative, with abortion and women\u2019s reproductive rights the centerpiece of his argument. Barrett first criticized Walker\u2019s no-exceptions stance against legal abortions. In a new TV ad, Barrett repeats that claim and then adds this one: \"It turns out there's a lot we didn't know about Scott Walker,\" a narrator says as an image of a birth-control pill case dominates the screen. \"Scott Walker wants to ban common forms of birth control, including the pill.\" We rated as Barely True a claim by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin that Walker \"tried to pass a law to allow pharmacists to block women's access to birth control.\" That claim centered on a bill that would let pharmacists refuse to dispense contraceptives on moral grounds. Barrett\u2019s new claim goes much further. An outright ban on birth control? As evidence, the Barrett campaign points to an endorsement Walker received by the group Pro-Life Wisconsin (running mate Rebecca Kleefisch was endorsed, too) and a questionnaire he filled out before receiving it. There was little surprise when Walker won the endorsement of Wisconsin Right to Life, the state\u2019s largest anti-abortion group. But the smaller, more staunchly conservative Pro-Life Wisconsin says it has not endorsed a gubernatorial candidate for years. It insists that candidates, to get the endorsement, perfectly line up with its views as expressed on a survey. Walker campaign spokeswoman Jill Bader said the survey, which Walker scored 100 percent on, does not include any birth control questions. That\u2019s not quite true. It includes one that asks the pharmacist question and one that asks if candidates would block minors from receiving taxpayer-funded contraceptives. Walker answered yes to both. Barrett\u2019s campaign, though, points to the first question on the survey:  \"Would you sign legislation that declares that a preborn child has an inalienable right to life from the moment of fertilization forward?\" Some background:  The question refers to \"personhood\" rights, a growing national movement in some pro-life circles to use state laws or state constitutions to bestow full citizenship rights and protections to the unborn. Pro-Life Wisconsin and related groups in other states oppose all forms of artificial birth control, They hope that \"personhood\" rights will bring a ban on all abortions -- and a ban on the pill, the group\u2019s legislative director Matt Sande told PolitiFact Wisconsin. Other anti-abortion groups have focused on a more direct route: The U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1973 held that a woman's decision to have an abortion is a private choice that is protected by the U.S. Constitution. That Roe vs. Wade decision still defines the issue. Pro-Life Wisconsin\u2019s definition of pregnancy as starting at fertilization differs from the worldwide mainstream view that it begins when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus, said Raj Narayan, Medical College of Wisconsin physician and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology. Birth control pills work, when used properly, by preventing ovulation, not by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg, he said. In theory, birth control pills could prevent implantation, but it is unprovable scientifically, Narayan said. In the view of Pro-Life Wisconsin, there are cases -- even if a very small percentage -- where a fertilized egg (already a full citizen, under the theoretical legislation) is prevented by the pill from attaching to the womb. That, they say, constitutes an abortion. In contrast, Wisconsin Right to Life views the idea that the pill causes abortions as \"speculation,\" according to executive director Barbara Lyons. The view is disputed, too, by the mainstream medical community, as Narayan noted. What\u2019s important for our evaluation, though, is the political realm. Did Walker know about -- and agree with -- the group\u2019s views on birth control as causing abortion? For the 2010 election, candidates were given survey instructions and a memo entitled \"Hormonal Birth Control and its Abortion Causing Effect,\" according to Sande. That memo clearly lays out the group\u2019s view that \"any artificial action that works to destroy a human embryo is abortifacient in nature.\" It lumps \"most if not all birth control drugs and devices\" into that category. Sande downplays the chances Pro-Life Wisconsin will succeed in its anti birth-control agenda because it believes society is not ready for it. But a birth control ban is the group\u2019s aim. Its mechanism to get there is \"personhood\" legislation -- Question 1 on the candidate survey. Since 2006, the group has been laying the groundwork for its proposed constitutional amendment. Elsewhere, such efforts are further along. Colorado voters will consider a \"personhood\" amendment in the Nov. 2, 2010 election. We wanted to ask Walker to clarify his view on the topic. The campaign did not make him available. In an e-mail, Bader said: \"Scott is pro-life. He believes that government has no role in whether adults choose to use birth control or not. This was Scott\u2019s view of that question on the survey.\" She noted -- as do we -- no direct question on a birth control ban was asked. Barrett\u2019s side countered that the implications of the question were made clear. Said spokesman Phil Walzak: \"They want to currry favor and get that 100% rating, but when they are called on it they hedge.\" Where does the group asking the survey question come down? Sande, of Pro-Life Wisconsin, agreed Walker signed onto the concept based on his answer, but said he thought it would be unfair to draw the conclusion Walker supports a particular \"personhood\" initiative. After all, no proposed language was given. And the birth-control ban is not part of the group\u2019s immediate legislative agenda. Now it\u2019s our turn. The Barrett campaign makes a strong claim against Walker, saying he supports a ban on commonly used contraceptives. It bases its statement on a survey by Pro-Life Wisconsin that did not ask that question directly. Rather, Barrett -- and the group -- say it is embedded in a question about a potential legislation on \"personhood,\" that is giving full human rights at the moment of fertilization. In viewing the pill as abortion, not just birth control, there is no question the group is out of step with medicine -- and the larger group, Wisconsin Right to Life. Barrett argues by supporting the question in the survey, a candidate signs on to this view as well. Walker\u2019s campaign disputes this. Walker did, however, did get the group\u2019s memo which clearly outlined its views and goals. Did he read it? He should have if he is answering the group\u2019s questions. Ultimately, we don\u2019t know -- and neither does the Barrett campaign, which leaves out important details in its hard-line statement. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "3724", "claim": "Players\u2019 mental health becoming major issue in cricket.", "explanation": "A serious health concern is emerging in Australian cricket. The first test of the home summer starts in Brisbane next week and Australia has three players out of the selection frame because of mental health reasons.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Virat Kohli, Cricket, Australia, Mental health, Brisbane, General News, Sports - Asia, India", "main_text": "Veteran allrounder Glenn Maxwell and ex-test batman Nic Maddinson made themselves unavailable for the series against Pakistan before 21-year-old Will Pucovksi informed selectors that he didn\u2019t want to be considered for national duties. Pucovski was playing in an Australia A tour game against Pakistan in Perth when he made the call, and the decision was announced Thursday, hours before Australia\u2019s chairman of selectors, Trevor Hohns, was due to announce the test squad. The mental health issue isn\u2019t isolated or, seemingly, new in cricket. Senior England batsmen have left tours going back more than a decade because of mental health issues. And India captain Virat Kohli spoke openly this week about his own struggles. Kohli is one of the world\u2019s premier batsmen and respected leaders, and is involved in a home series against Bangladesh. \u201cI\u2019ve gone through a phase in my career where I felt like it was the end of the world,\u201d he told a news conference in India. \u201cIn England 2014, I didn\u2019t know what to do, what to say to anyone, and how to speak and how to communicate. And to be honest, I couldn\u2019t have said \u2018I\u2019m not feeling great mentally and I need to get away from the game.\u2019 Because you never know how that\u2019s taken.\u201d That kind of statement is being taken seriously by the sport\u2019s administrators now. Cricket Australia national teams manager Ben Oliver commended Pucovski \u201cfor having the courage to discuss his situation.\u201d \u201cWill\u2019s decision not to nominate for test selection was the right one in the circumstances,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cBy Will bravely taking this position, he will undoubtedly inspire others facing similar challenges to speak up and take positive steps toward improving their mental well-being. \u201cThe most important thing now is for Will to be given the time, space and expert support that he needs to return to full health as soon as possible.\u201d The 31-year-old Maxwell, who has played seven tests, 110 one-day internationals and 61 Twenty20 internationals, has been in and out of the Australian team throughout his career. He withdrew from selection during a series against Sri Lanka last month. Maddinson, who was rushed into the Australian team against South Africa in 2016, has played three tests but didn\u2019t appear comfortable at the highest level of the game. He ruled himself out of national selection not long after Maxwell\u2019s announcement last month. Pucovski played the first of his 18 first-class games in 2017. He has a high-score of 243 and a first-class average of almost 41. He was set for a test debut in January but withdrew, citing mental health issues. He was back in calculations for this southern summer before making the same call. Cricket Australia\u2019s sports medicine manager, Alex Kountouris, said player welfare was paramount. \u201cThere is much society still needs to learn in relation to mental health, but we know enough to say with great certainty that silence is not the answer,\u201d Kountouris said. \u201cWill has demonstrated great strength in being open about his situation. While no one wants to see a fine young man like Will confronting mental well-being issues, we are heartened by the fact he is surrounded by excellent people who will support him.\u201d Kohli described the example set by Maxwell as \u201cremarkable.\u201d \u201cHe set the right example for cricketers all over the world \u2014 that if you\u2019re not in the best frame of mind, you try and try and try, but as human beings you reach a tipping point and you need time away from the game,\u201d Kolhi said. \u201cThese things should be respected and not taken in a negative way. \u201cThis is happening on a human level, it\u2019s got nothing to do with what you do on the field. It\u2019s not having the capacity anymore to deal with (everything), which I think can happen to any person in any walk of life.\u201d Ex-England captain Marcus Trescothick quit a tour of India in 2006, initially cited a viral problem, but later said it was related to mental health. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a clue what was happening. I wasn\u2019t aware of depression but whatever was going on, I didn\u2019t want to have to say anything about it on TV,\u201d Trescothick told Men\u2019s Health magazine in 2016. \u201cI was terrified. \u201cThere was a lot of naivety and ignorance. People would say \u2018What do you have to be depressed about? You play cricket for England. You travel the world. You get paid well.\u2019 To try and experience the dark place when you\u2019ve never experienced it is very tough.\u201d England opener Jonathan Trott left an Ashes series in Australia after one test in 2013, saying later he\u2019d struggled in the previous series and didn\u2019t know how to cope. So-called mental toughness has long been a part of cricket, where sledging \u2014 often nasty banter between players \u2014 was a fundamental part of the game. That has been changing over the last decade. Cricket Australia has had a full-time sports psychologist working with national teams and player development squads. Robert Craddock, a long-time cricket analysist and television host in Australia, said cricket was facing a mental health crisis. He said while it may not be a contact sport \u201cits mental challenges, with so much waiting time, are much tougher than they look.\u201d \u201cEven though cricket is only starting to go public with its mental issues, it has always been a supremely demanding mental game,\u201d Craddock wrote in a column for News Corp. \u201cThe victory of the current crisis is that at least players are talking. \u201cIf the current issues have taught us anything it is that success and failure can sometimes have little to do with it, and that the causes of the anguish are many and varied.\u201d ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports"}
{"claim_id": "38892", "claim": " President Obama has changed the Oath of Allegiance so that new naturalized citizens don\u2019t have to pledge to take up arms to defend the U.S. ", "explanation": "The death toll from a strong earthquake in the southern Philippines has risen to seven, disaster and police officials said on Tuesday, as aftershocks continued to jolt many parts of Mindanao.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Obama", "main_text": "The 6.6 magnitude quake hit early on Tuesday, damaging buildings, toppling power lines and triggering landslides in the central area of the Philippines\u2019 southern island. A seven-year-old child and his 44-year old father were among those who were killed in the North Cotabato province after they were struck by a boulder, disaster officials said. Authorities said the death toll could rise further because many injured were not immediately brought to hospitals. \u201cIt was depressing to see the damage left by the earthquake,\u201d Abril Espadera, a disaster official in North Cotabato, told Reuters, as he recalled seeing collapsed homes and demolished buildings in the province, including schools. Smaller tremors rattled nervous residents throughout the day and those who were afraid to return to their homes set up tents to shelter near school yards, Espadera said. In Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur province, rescuers were trying to recover three bodies after landslides in two separate towns swallowed parts of agricultural areas, police said. The quake, whose magnitude was initially put at 6.7 by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, was the second powerful quake to strike Mindanao in two weeks. Authorities had flagged the risk of landslides after the 6.3 quake on Oct. 16 in central Mindanao that killed seven and injured more than 200. Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which is on the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire. Power cables swayed in Davao city, the home town of President Rodrigo Duterte, where people rushed to open spaces, and some fainted out of fear. The quake also triggered power cuts in nearby General Santos city, media said. Some schools in the area have suspended classes. Duterte\u2019s office has called for calm as it mobilized all government agencies to undertake damage assessment and to coordinate rescue and relief operations."}
{"claim_id": "7766", "claim": "Profit-hungry tiger breeders behind push to lift China\u2019s trading ban.", "explanation": "At the Siberia Tiger Park in the frigid Chinese city of Harbin, visitors can learn about the facility\u2019s successful breeding programme and buy chicken carcasses to toss to around 20 tigers pacing the snow flecked ground of their enclosure.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "At the park gates, a shop sells liquor soaked with tiger bones for up to $1,000 a bottle. China has made significant strides in wildlife protection in recent years, including a total ban on ivory and plans to open one of the world\u2019s largest reserves for wild tigers in northeast China in 2020. But it also has formidable, profit-driven wildlife business interests that risk undermining progress on protecting the endangered big cats, conservationists say. \u201cThe industry occupies a strategic position which concentrates in the country\u2019s less developed regions where poverty reduction remains a top priority of the local authorities,\u201d said Houston-based Peter Li, a China Policy Specialist at Humane Society International. Operators of tiger breeding farms have told state media that without the ability to sell bones, skins and meat they are not be able to cover the high costs of running their parks and carry out key conservation plans endorsed by the national government. After pressure from some breeders, China\u2019s State Council said in October it would replace a 1993 ban on the trade of tiger bones and rhino horn, opening up exceptions under \u201cspecial circumstances\u201d, including medical research. But in November, Beijing postponed the move following widespread protests from conservation groups who worry any resumption in the legal trade of tiger parts will be a death knell for the species by enabling the laundering of wild animal parts into farmed supplies. Conservationists also argue that no captive Chinese bred tigers have been released into the wild and there is no scientific or medical need to use rhino horn and tiger bone in traditional Chinese medicine. Still, lifting the ban is backed by China\u2019s powerful State Forestry and Grassland Administration. \u201cIf rhino horns and tiger bones can be used for medicinal purposes, and their use causes zero harm to the two endangered species in the wild, why should we oppose it?\u201d Tang Xiaoping, an executive at the administration was quoted in the state-run China Daily newspaper. The Forestry and Grasslands administration did not respond to multiple requests for comment. PROFIT-DRIVEN BUSINESS  At the Siberia Tiger Park, tiger bone wine is sold openly and is recognized by the Forestry Bureau and Commerce Ministry, according to a sales representative in the store. However, the park is not allowed to publicly promote it due to the sensitivity of the situation, the sales rep said. Officials at the park declined to comment on the record. The wine, which ranges in price from 280 yuan-6,888 yuan,  ($40-$1,003) is displayed in large glass cabinets and also sold on China\u2019s Twitter-like WeChat. Park executives, officials and conservation experts say tiger parks have been accumulating stocks of animal skin and bone in freezers, with the aim of selling it for medicinal use in the future. Conservation groups estimate there are now over 6,500 farmed tigers at some 200 facilities in China and around 40 farmed rhinos. Chinese media say tiger bone can fetch 5,000-9,000 yuan ($727-$1,308) per kg - tens of thousands of dollars per animal. The World Wildlife Fund believes there are only around 40-50 wild tigers left in China out of around 3,900 globally. Debate over lifting the ban on tiger trade comes as China seeks to develop its traditional medicine industry, worth some $50 billion annually, and position it as a key pillar of its \u2018One Belt One Road\u2019 strategy. The World Health Organization is set to recognize traditional Chinese medicine for the first time next year in its global medical compendium according to Nature International Journal of Science, citing the governing body. The Siberian Tiger Park has more than 1,300 tigers spread across three locations. Selling tiger bone wine is a way to subsidize the daily expenses of the park, said one of the park\u2019s tour guides. Currently, visitor fees are the parks\u2019 main source of income, along with government subsidies. Ticket prices are 100 yuan and visitors can pay extra to feed the tigers. A menu of meat displays prices for a live chicken at 120 yuan while a raw cutlet is 10 yuan. In a CCTV documentary shown in November, Liu Dan, the chief engineer of the Northeast Tiger Forest park, near China\u2019s border with Russia, says his 1,000-plus tigers each eat around 3,000 yuan ($435) worth of chicken per month. Liu, who has raised tigers for over 30 years and has repeatedly called for the ban on trading tiger parts to be lifted, told state media that government tax breaks are not enough for the park to be financially viable. Currently, parks make most of their money from visitors. Liu and the park declined to comment for this article. Chinese medicine experts say there is no need to use tiger bone and rhino horn in treatments as substitutes are readily available. Tiger bone, for example, is often used to treat arthritis and joint pain, but there are dozens of other herbs with similar properties, said Eric Karchmer, chief medicine officer at Dao Labs. Lixin Huang, the president of the American College of Traditional medicine, said a reversal of the ban would create a huge challenge for the Chinese medicine community. \u201cWe stopped using it 25 years ago. We don\u2019t understand. I don\u2019t think the Chinese medicine community and medical professionals would understand.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "9720", "claim": "Talk Therapy Found to Ease Schizophrenia", "explanation": "Update: The Times has issued a correction to this story. The correction states that the story erroneously claimed that the experimental approach in the study used lower drug dosages. \u201cThough it studied a program intended to reduce medication dosages, the researchers do not yet know for sure if dosages were lowered or by how much,\u201d the correction notes.\u201dTherefore, the study did not conclude \u2018that schizophrenia patients who received smaller doses of antipsychotic medication and a bigger emphasis on one-on-one talk therapy and family support made greater strides in recovery.\u2019 (The study did conclude that the alternative treatment program as a whole led to better outcomes. )\u201d We changed the headline of our review from \u201cTimes captures impact of new, less drug-intensive schizophrenia treatment\u201d to \u201cTimes explores impact of integrated care model for schizophrenia treatment.\u201d The correction does not affect our ratings for the story, but the references we made in the review to the lowered drug dosages are no longer appropriate and have been stricken. In addition, the tone of the review would have been more circumspect had we known that the intended reduction in drug dosages had not been confirmed by the researchers. In a large randomized controlled trial in\u00a034 community clinics\u00a0across the U.S., researchers compared usual care for first episode psychosis with a program of integrated care that included not only drugs, but also help with school and work, family education about the problems and how best to help, as well as one-on-one talk therapy. The government (National Institute of Mental Health)-funded study found that those receiving the integrated program of care experienced more symptom relief and functioned better than those in the treatment-as-usual group. Their doses of medication were also 20-50% lower. Those receiving treatment earlier on in their psychotic episodes also did better. The story overall does a solid job of covering the study and its implications. But we wish it had pushed a bit harder to quantify the benefits shown in the 2-year trial with some hard numbers. We applaud the discussion of federal policy and financing, but also wish there had been some discussion of the costs of therapy itself. The inclusion of a variety of perspectives on the research brings depth and nuance to the coverage. Psychiatric treatment in the U.S. has become very drug focused. Other countries are ahead of us on using more integrated care models like the one described in this story, so it\u2019s great to see its success \u201cproven\u201d with a randomized trial. With solid evidence to back it, this model will hopefully become a more accepted approach to practice in the U.S.", "label": "true", "subjects": "anti-psychotic drugs,mental illness,schizophrenia,talk therapy", "main_text": "The story does not touch on costs for the more comprehensive treatment \u2014 including educating families and providing more counseling for patients. True costs and potential savings would be very hard to quantify, and would accrue over time as people hopefully stay in school and jobs, and have fewer admissions to the hospital etc. Even if the story couldn\u2019t address these issues precisely, some mention of them would have been helpful. We do applaud the story for exploring the political and reimbursement context. This was especially good: Its [study] findings have already trickled out to government agencies: On Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published in its influential guidelines a strong endorsement of the combined-therapy approach.Mental health reform bills now being circulated in Congress \u201cmention the study by name,\u201d said Dr. Robert K. Heinssen, the director of services and intervention research at the centers, who oversaw the research. The story says drug doses were 20-50% lower, which is a very big deal considering the side effects of these drugs. But overall it leaves us hungry for numbers. It says patients in the therapy group, who received more one-on-one talk therapy and family counseling \u201cmade greater strides in recovery over the first two years of treatment than patients who got the usual drug-focused care.\u201d But nowhere in the story does it tell us how \u201cstrides\u201d were measured or give us a percentage by which they exceeded those for the control group. It would have taken some additional legwork to find these numbers, which were not reported in plain English in the study itself. But the paper did report some numbers that were very easy to understand and were not mentioned in the story: \u201cOver the 2 years, 34% of the NAVIGATE group and 37% of the community care group (adjusted for length of exposure) had been hospitalized for psychiatric indications (not significant).\u201d We wished the story had pressed the study authors more about this. It\u2019s conceivable that changing the standard of care for patients by reducing drug doses may carry some risk. Could some patients\u2019 symptoms be less-well controlled? Then again, drugs are very much overused in this area. And on average the study showed better symptom relief with the lower doses. No harms were documented in the study\u2013no increase in hospitalizations at least. So while we can\u2019t give credit here, we won\u2019t ding the story either. We\u2019ll rate it Not Applicable. While we would have liked a few more numbers, the story does explain that the comprehensive study included many clinics nationwide and two years of follow up on 404 patients. Since schizophrenia is a chronic condition, studies going beyond two years would help solidify these results \u2014 and the study itself mentioned that the researchers plan to follow patients out to five years. Overall, however, we think the description of the evidence is sufficient to warrant a Satisfactory rating. There was no disease mongering. The story quotes experts who were not authors on the study. There were good explanations of the two alternatives being compared by the research itself \u2014 the drug-focused standard and the more comprehensive integrated care. The story touches on availability when it says, \u201cIn 2014, Congress awarded $25 million in block grants to the states to be set aside for early-intervention mental health programs. So far, 32 states have begun using those grants to fund combined-treatment services, Dr. Heinssen said.\u201d That doesn\u2019t provide as much detail as readers might like as to when and where they might find these services, but it gives a general idea of where things stand. The story makes it clear that this was the most rigorous trial of this particular version of treatment in the United States. It notes that such treatment has been more widely used in Europe. The story shows original reporting and does not rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "11124", "claim": "Prostate Cancer Studies Find Benefit in Daily Acetaminophen and Brisk Walks", "explanation": "Here\u2019s some of what was missing in the story:  Not all prostate cancers are equal. So the acetaminophen/aggressive cancer study \u2013 especially \u2013 required some perspective; Observational studies can\u2019t prove cause and effect. So a headline that says \u201cstudies find benefit\u201d is wrong. You can\u2019t prove benefit when you can\u2019t establish a causal link. There was no evaluation of the quality of the evidence. Without knowing the screening history and risk factor profile of the aceteminophen users, it is very difficult to interpret the observed association. Cancer progression is a very heterogeneous endpoint and the article did not address this issue or report meaningful results (absolute risk). There\u2019s been a lot of prostate cancer news in the past two weeks, largely because the American Urological Association annual conference was just held. But are we really telling men something they need to know with a story like this? Or are we just turning up the force on the firehose of information that we flood readers with?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Cancer,TIME", "main_text": "Not applicable. Cost is not much of an issue here. We think a story like this should present raw numbers. So, instead of: Why not explain 38% of what baseline? And 51% of what baseline? Projected benefits may be exaggerated by presenting them in the manner of this story. No drug \u2013 not even acetaminophen \u2013 is without risk. So, when the story starts in cavalier fashion \u2013 \u201cPop a Tylenol\u2026\u201d it should also find time and space somewhere to mention that popping pills comes with some risk \u2013 especially given that the safe daily maximal dose of acetaminophen has been lowered in recent years. There was NO evaluation of the quality of the evidence. There is not one word about the limitations of such observational studies \u2013 on walking or on acetaminophen use. Aside from general problems with adjusting for confounders in observational studies, both exposure measures\u2013exercise and acetaminophen use\u2013were self-reported and thus of uncertain validity. Also, interpreting \u201cdaily use\u201d is difficult\u2013is this one pill a day, the maximal dose, somewhere in between? Do you have to use acetaminophen for 5 consecutive years or just a total of 5 years? Another issue related to acetaminophen is that for a variety of medical conditions (kidney disease, heart failure, gastrointestinal bleeding), the non-steroidals are contraindicated and so patients are preferentially placed on acetaminophen. Sicker patients may also be less likely to be screened for cancer, so the observed \u201cprotective\u201d effect could be quite spurious. Further, the column lifted material from another news source (MedPageToday): The casual reader may assume that the study actually analyzed such physiological reactions, which it did not. The researchers projected interesting hypotheses, but they should have been labeled as such. We do think there was a subtle element of disease mongering in this story. The facts at the end are all correct \u2013 \u201cProstate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 32,050 men died from prostate cancer in 2010 and 217,000 new cases were diagnosed. More than 2.2 million men in the U.S. are living with prostate cancer.\u201d But there is no context given about prostate cancers not being the same as other cancers \u2013 that many are not killers \u2013 that many men die WITH prostate cancer, not FROM it. And crediting acetaminophen for a \u201c51% reduced risk of developing an aggressive form of the disease\u201d without every quantifying how relatively few men develop an aggressive form of the disease among the 217,000 new cases diagnosed each year is not helpful. 51% of what? No independent expert source was cited to comment on either finding. Neither finding was put into the context of other treatment/prevention approaches for prostate cancer. For example, the 5-alpha reductase inhibitor drugs (finasteride and dutasteride) have been rigorously evaluated for chemoprevention. Not applicable. There\u2019s no question about the availability of the two \u201cinterventions\u201d \u2013 walking and acetaminophen. The story explained that there\u2019s been prior research in both fields \u2013 studying effects of anti-inflammatory drugs and walking on prostate cancer. So it didn\u2019t inappropriately paint either pursuit as totally new. Not applicable because no one was directly interviewed and quoted. The story did draw from another news source \u2013 MedPage Today \u2013 but we don\u2019t know if any original reporting was done."}
{"claim_id": "26524", "claim": "John Bel Edwards Says of the coronavirus threat, \u201cthere was not a single suggestion by anyone, a doctor, a scientist, a political figure, that we needed to cancel Mardi Gras.\u201d", "explanation": "The Carnival season in New Orleans kicked off early January and ended Feb. 25. There were few coronavirus cases in the United States at the time, and health officials then said there was no community spread. The earliest indication we found from a federal agency saying that large events may need to be canceled came Feb. 26, after Mardi Gras celebrations.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Public Health, Public Safety, Coronavirus, John Bel Edwards, ", "main_text": "Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on CNN was asked whether Mardi Gras celebrations in his state should have been called off earlier this year, in light of Louisiana now being considered a hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic. In New Orleans, the Carnival parades and celebrations started early January and ended Feb. 25 on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). It\u2019s estimated that more than 1 million people go to New Orleans annually for the Carnival season and experts now believe the festivities fueled the outbreak. \"The biggest Mardi Gras parades in Louisiana took place on Feb. 25, just as the national outbreak was starting. In retrospect, if you knew then what you know now, would you have canceled Mardi Gras?\" CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper asked Edwards on April 5. \"Well, you know you don't get a do-over like that, Jake,\" Edwards said. \"There was not a single suggestion by anyone, a doctor, a scientist, a political figure, that we needed to cancel Mardi Gras. And, you know, in February, we had a Super Bowl, and it wasn't canceled and so forth.\" Edwards\u2019 comments echoed a similar statement from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell 10 days earlier on CNN that there were \"no red flags\" from federal officials to suggest the festivities should be aborted. PolitiFact wondered if it\u2019s  that there were no suggestions back in January or February that mass gatherings like Mardi Gras be canceled. We reviewed statements from President Donald Trump, and guidance from federal and state public health agencies and found that Edwards was right. Public health professors in Louisiana also told PolitiFact that there was no suggestion, prior to Mardi Gras, of community spread in the United States, much less New Orleans. The earliest suggestion we found from a federal agency saying that large events may need to be canceled came Feb. 26, after Mardi Gras celebrations. On Twitter and in public remarks, Trump did not suggest that large public events be canceled. In India on Feb. 25 and before leaving for India on Feb. 23, Trump said the coronavirus was very \"under control\" in the United States. Trump tweeted about the virus at least eight times from January to Feb. 25. His tweets generally said that his administration was in contact with China and others about the coronavirus, offered praise for Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s handling of the outbreak, and said that his administration was monitoring developments and had it under control. On Lundi Gras, the day before Mardi Gras, he tweeted: The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me! When the U.S. declared the coronavirus a public health emergency on Jan. 31, the government did not say that mass gatherings be canceled. Throughout January and most of February, U.S. officials said that the coronavirus risk to the American public was low and that they were not seeing community spread of the virus. By Feb. 25, there were 53 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States and no deaths, according to data compiled by the World Health Organization. On Feb. 26, the day after Mardi Gras, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doctor told reporters that the coronavirus situation was rapidly evolving and that the virus was spreading worldwide. There were still only a few cases in the United States and no reports of community spread, but that would eventually change, said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC\u2019s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. She said there were mitigation guidelines that people and communities could take during a pandemic when there wasn\u2019t a vaccine or proven medical treatment for the disease. \"On a larger scale, communities and cities may need to modify, postpone, or cancel mass gatherings,\" Messonnier said. Local communities would need to figure out which guidelines to implement and when, she said, based on the severity and the transmission of the disease and what could be done locally. On Feb. 28, Messonnier said it was possible that a reported case in California \"could be the first instance of community spread \u2014 meaning the illness was acquired through an unknown exposure in the community.\" But it could also be that the patient was exposed through contact to a traveler who was infected, Messonnier said. The immediate risk to the general American public remained low, she said. On Feb. 29, a health official from Washington state, where there were four presumptive cases of COVID-19, joined a CDC press briefing and said the state was \"starting to see some spread in the community\" and the public risk was increasing. \"Should we start to see more spread in Washington, we might consider recommending measures like cancelling large public events,\" said Kathy Lofy, the state health officer at the Washington state department of health. There were no reported cases of coronavirus in Louisiana during the weeks-long Carnival celebrations. The state\u2019s department of health in blog posts as late as Feb. 21 said that the coronavirus threat to Louisiana was very low and that people should be more worried about the flu. It recommended that people wash their hands and get a flu shot, since it was still flu season. Louisiana\u2019s first presumptive case of coronavirus was reported March 9, two days before the World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus a pandemic. On March 13, when Louisiana had 33 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, Edwards signed a proclamation to stop gatherings of more than 250 people and close all K-12 public schools statewide to slow the spread of the disease. Based on models created mid-March, it\u2019s assumed that infections silently spread in crowded parades during Mardi Gras, said Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, an associate professor of epidemiology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans. Soon after Mardi Gras, epidemiologists from nearby states began reporting confirmed cases of coronavirus in people who had traveled to New Orleans for the festivities. But at the time that parade-goers gathered in streets with family and friends, it was not known that the virus was in the state, Straif-Bourgeois said. In his CNN interview with Edwards, Tapper said the Washington Post reported that governors had a gala in Washington, D.C. in early February, and that a group of governors met with federal experts who gave \"the same dire warning that they\u2019re giving now.\" Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told the Washington Post, \"The doctors and the scientists, they were telling us then exactly what they are saying now.\" Edwards told Tapper that in that Feb. 9 briefing, \"we spoke generally about the novel coronavirus\" and that it was \"not accurate to say that they gave the same sort of information that they are providing right now,\" since a lot more is now known about the virus. Edwards\u2019 deputy chief of staff, Christina Stephens, told PolitiFact that at that briefing, the virus was described as low risk and there was no suggestion that large gatherings be canceled. In a Feb. 9 press release about the briefing, the U.S. Health and Human Services department said the task force \"reiterated that while this is a serious public health matter, the risk to the American public remains low at this time, and that the federal government will continue working in close coordination with state and local governments to keep it that way.\" Edwards said of the coronavirus threat, \"there was not a single suggestion by anyone, a doctor, a scientist, a political figure, that we needed to cancel Mardi Gras.\" New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations began early January and ended Feb. 25. PolitiFact reviewed public comments from Trump, federal and state health officials on and before Feb. 25 and did not find suggestions that large public events be cancelled. At that time, there was no report of community spread of the virus. Edwards\u2019 statement is accurate. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "9919", "claim": "Cancer-fighting spices offer flavorful way to eat healthy", "explanation": "This story relies on the musings of chef Floyd Cardoz, backed by references to petri dish studies, to support its claims about the \u201ccancer-fighting\u201d properties of various spices. If this half-baked story were a dish at one of Cardoz\u2019s restaurants, it\u2019d be sent back to the kitchen for a refire. We offer a variety of suggestions below in this review for how the story could have been more accurate and informative. Stories like this one \u2014 which don\u2019t make even the most cursory effort to get their facts straight \u2014 are dangerous. They reinforce the idea that there are \u201cquick fixes\u201d to preventing a disease as implacable as cancer. They contribute to the confusing mix of health messages that cause consumers to tune out in frustration. They make it harder to reach readers with potentially useful, evidence-based information that could improve health.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Cancer,Diet studies,Fox News", "main_text": "The spice aisle can get pricey, but we won\u2019t ding the story for not discussing the cost of cardamom. The story is peppered with references to the cancer-fighting properties of spices. Tumeric is \u201ca great antioxidant, it\u2019s got great anti-cancer properties.\u201d And \u201cgarlic, onions, shallots and leeks can also act as cancer preventers. Freshly ground pepper can \u201ceven help prevent breast cancer tumors from growing.\u201d \u00a0But nothing in the story is quantified. Whatever studies these claims are based on are not described in any way. We won\u2019t penalize the story for not delving into the potential downsides of too much spicy food. The story does contain a warning \u201cnot to overdo it.\u201d The claim about pepper \u201cprevent[ing] breast cancer tumors from growing\u201d seems to be based on this petri dish study\u00a0from 2009. But the news release for that study warned, \u201cNote: This work has not been tested in patients, and patients are not encouraged to add curcumin or piperine supplements to their diet at this time.\u201d The story contained no such caveat. We\u2019re not sure where the story gets the idea that a fennel-ginger broth \u00a0\u201ccan help to fight off harmful cancer cells.\u201d Neither this nor any of the other claims are adequately sourced and no description of the underlying evidence is provided. The story refers vaguely to \u201cstudies.\u201d What studies? By whom? Providing links to the underlying studies would at least have allowed readers to see where this evidence came from and what kind of research we\u2019re talking about. The story doesn\u2019t exaggerate the impact of cancer. Nor does it provide any context about the disease. We\u2019ll rate this Not Applicable. The only source quoted is the celebrity chef, who also happens to be hawking a book with spicy recipes. Consulting a physician or someone else with nutrition or cancer expertise would have boosted the credibility of this information. The story missed an opportunity to discuss which diet and lifestyle factors are actually associated with reduced cancer risk and might be worth adopting. For instance, maintaining a healthy bodyweight, regular physical activity, avoiding excessive alcohol, etc. Merely adding spice to unhealthy foods will not reduce the risk of cancer \u2014 something the story could have been clearer about. The availability of spicy food is not in question. Is there anything new here besides the chef\u2019s forthcoming cookbook, which will be publishing this year according to his website? If so, the story doesn\u2019t establish what that is. This promotional-themed story seems like it could have been prompted by a news release. But the video accompanying the story seems to provide evidence of an actual interview that forms the basis for the quotes in the story. We\u2019ll give the benefit of the doubt here."}
{"claim_id": "7519", "claim": "Ohio\u2019s stockpile got its start after the attacks of Sept. 11.", "explanation": "An Associated Press review of more than 20 states has found that before the coronavirus outbreak most had only a modest supply of N95 masks, gowns, gloves and other medical equipment. In many cases, those supplies were well past their expiration dates \u2014 left over from the H1N1 influenza outbreak a decade ago.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Flu, Ohio, Virus Outbreak, Public health", "main_text": "Here\u2019s a look at the history of Ohio\u2019s stockpile: A TERRORIST ACT  Ohio first began stockpiling after 9/11, storing the very few items it accumulated at National Guard hangars around the state, said Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Melanie Amato. Amid heightened awareness, Ohio created its own Bureau of Public Health Emergency Preparedness within the Health Department in 2005. State preparedness was initially funded through a $34.9 million federal bioterrorism grant, budget documents show. STOCKPILE GROWS The H1N1 pandemic of 2008-2009 left Ohio with a surplus of personal protective equipment and the antiviral Tamiflu, Amato said. The Health Department began at that point to lease and manage its own warehouse, where assets could be stored and later deployed in the event of public health emergencies. During a public water crisis in Toledo in 2014, the state Environmental Protection Agency purchased water for the stockpile, she said. In 2016, during the Zika outbreak, the Health Department added a large supply of bug spray that could be dispatched to hard-hit communities. Many of those supplies were exhausted or expired. ___ STOCKPILE FLOWS  Beth Bickford, executive director of the Association of Ohio Health Commissioners, said, with the exception of the annual flu vaccine, county health departments get their emergency supplies through the state. It\u2019s a process generally set in motion by a governor\u2019s emergency order, she said. \u201cAt the local level, there isn\u2019t a cache maintained on a regular basis,\u201d she said. \u201cWe aren\u2019t in the usual business of buying and putting things away that we aren\u2019t going to use right away.\u201d John Palmer, a spokesman for the Ohio Hospital Association, said hospitals typically keep only about a two-week supply of personal protective equipment and other supplies on hand. Vendors who typically could address high demand are now swamped. ___ RESOURCES SPREAD THIN  Pots of money Ohio created to fund emergency preparedness tend to wane when the latest crisis is over. The Health Department is authorized under a governor\u2019s directive to purchase supplies for the stockpile, Amato said, but the state also has been in talks with the federal government for years to ensure Ohio was prepared for any outbreak, Amato said. \u201cThis is not new,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, the scale of this incident across the United States is. We are having ongoing conversations with the federal government, FEMA, HHS and other outside vendors to add to our stockpile to help fight this pandemic.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "9810", "claim": "FDA Approves Cystic Fibrosis Drug", "explanation": "Firefighters battling wildfires in Australia made the most of cooler weather on Sunday to access badly burned towns and contain blazes before the expected return of hotter conditions at the end of the week.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "cystic fibrosis,FDA", "main_text": "The reprieve came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended both his government\u2019s climate change policies and his decision to go on holiday to Hawaii last week. The leader of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, said \u201ccatastrophic\u201d fire conditions on Saturday in parts of the prime minister\u2019s home state had destroyed communities. \u201cWe\u2019ve got the devastating news there\u2019s not much left in the town of Balmoral,\u201d Berejiklian told journalists. Balmoral is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south west of Sydney with a population of some 400. No fatalities were reported. Morrison visited the Rural Fire Service (RFS) headquarters in Sydney after returning on Saturday night from a holiday that drew sharp criticism as the wildfires crisis deepened. GRAPHIC: Forests in flames - Images from space show Australia's bushfires in different light: here  After the deaths of two firefighters on Thursday night, Morrison announced he would return home early, and on Sunday he acknowledged his holiday had caused anxiety. \u201cI get it that people would have been upset to know that I was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress,\u201d Morrison said. Nearly 100 fires were still burning across New South Wales late on Sunday afternoon, though none were rated as emergencies. Conditions are expected to remain favorable over coming days allowing firefighters to work to contain fires encroaching on communities, particularly in the Blue Mountains region to the west of Sydney. But authorities stated that large fires would continue to burn across New South Wales without significant rainfall, which is not forecast for many weeks. \u201cThat\u2019s still a way to go,\u201d state Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said on Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019re still talking four to six weeks at best before we start to see a meaningful reprieve in the weather.\u201d  Fitzsimmons said Saturday\u2019s fire conditions may have added another hundred buildings to the tally of those already destroyed during this year\u2019s fire season. Not all of those would be homes lost, he said. Near the town of Lithgow, about 140 km (85 miles) west of Sydney, one man who had been unaccounted for early on Sunday was later found safe. Lithgow is also home to a prison facility, which the state\u2019s Department of Justice said had significant capability to fight fires and was not evacuated. Staff and inmates were given masks on Saturday to protect against heavy smoke in the area. Australia has been fighting wildfires for months as hot, dry conditions brought about an early start to the fire season, with blazes destroying more than 800 homes and close to 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of bushland. The states of South Australia and Victoria have also faced extreme fire conditions in recent days, with authorities in the former saying on Sunday that 72 homes had been destroyed by one fire. Morrison addressed his conservative Liberal-National coalition\u2019s climate policies on Sunday, which his government has been forced to defend following the severity of this year\u2019s bushfires. Morrison said there was no argument that there is a link between climate change and weather events around the world but said it was not credible make a direct connection to any single fire event and climate change. Earlier this month, Australia drew criticism at a United Nations summit in Madrid for its climate-change policy of using old carbon credits to count toward future emissions targets. Australia is one of the world\u2019s largest carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants. It has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 26% by 2030 from 2005 levels, but critics accuse Morrison of a lack of action toward. Morrison on Sunday re-committed to those policies, which he took to a general election in May."}
{"claim_id": "28230", "claim": "Cocoa mulch contains a chemical (theobromine) that can be harmful to pets.", "explanation": "Veterinarians have warned that cacao shells contain the same ingredient that makes chocolate toxic to dogs.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Critter Country, Crusader Habit, dogs, gardening", "main_text": "This warning about the potential danger to pets posed by cocoa mulch began appearing in our inbox in May 2003. Example:  Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman\u2019s Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called \u201cTheobromine\u201d. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution \u2014 check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens. Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate \u2014 especially dark or baker\u2019s chocolate \u2014 which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine. Although there is at least some truth to this one, the dangers it warns about are by now somewhat outdated and exaggerated: most dogs aren\u2019t really interested in eating cocoa mulch, some brands of that product have been reformulated to reduce or eliminate the potentially dog-dangerous substance it contains (theobromine), and we know of only one substantiated case of a pet death caused by ingestion of the substance. (In July 2007, \u201cMoose,\u201d a 3-year-old Labrador belonging to a Minneapolis couple, died after eating cocoa mulch purchased at a local store. His owners had a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota perform a necropsy to determine the likely cause of death of their young and previously healthy pet. The vet found cocoa shells in Moose\u2019s stomach and evidence of theobromine in the shells.) Cocoa mulch, made of cacao shells, is popular with gardeners and landscapers for a number of reasons: it has an aromatic scent, it repels garden pests, it retains moisture well, and it has a rich brown color that darkens (rather than fades) over time. However, veterinarians have warned pet owners that cacao shells also naturally contain theobromine, the same ingredient that makes chocolate toxic to dogs:  \u201cCocoa mulch is a risk, especially to dogs,\u201d said Dr. Larry Family of Aqueduct Animal Hospital. Found in most home garden centers, cocoa mulch is known for its fine texture and the sweet smell the fresh mulch gives off. But getting past the scent, Family says cocoa mulch can be dangerous if a dog starts eating it. It contains two key ingredients found in chocolate: theobromine and caffeine. Similar to eating chocolate, he says a dog that eats just a few ounces of cocoa mulch could starting having stomach problems and it could get worse if it eats more. \u201cAs time goes on they might act restless, excited, it can produce tremors and seriously seizures,\u201d Family explained. \u201cPuppies are very curious animals. So they\u2019re going to be attracted to various things around the yard and [the effect of eating cocoa mulch] seems to be more severe in the small breeds, and it depends on the amount they actually ingest,\u201d Family said. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) confirms the potential effects of theobromine and caffeine on dogs:  Cocoa beans contain the stimulants caffeine and theobromine. Dogs are highly sensitive to these chemicals, called methylxanthines. In dogs, low doses of methylxanthine can cause mild gastrointestinal upset (vomiting, diarrhea, and/or abdominal pain); higher doses can cause rapid heart rate, muscle tremors, seizures, and death. Eaten by a 50-pound dog, about 2 ounces of cocoa bean mulch may cause gastrointestinal upset; about 4.5 ounces, increased heart rate; about 5.3 ounces, seizures; and over 9 ounces, death. (In contrast, a 50-pound dog can eat up to about 7.5 ounces of milk chocolate without gastrointestinal upset and up to about a pound of milk chocolate without increased heart rate.) According to tables we\u2019ve examined, cocoa mulch contains  300-1200 mg. of theobromine per ounce, making cocoa mulch one of the strongest concentrations of theobromine a pet is likely to encounter in any chocolate product. However, the question of the gravity of the risk presented by this type of gardening mulch remains a matter of debate. According to Hershey\u2018s, for example:  It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won\u2019t eat it. And some of those who vend cocoa mulch note that although they\u2019re aware of the pet warnings, they\u2019ve never encountered a case of a dog\u2019s being sickened by the product:  \u201cThe weird thing is, it smells like a chocolate Pop Tart. That\u2019s the best way I can describe it. It really does have a chocolate scent to it,\u201d explained Shane Compton of Hewitt\u2019s Garden Center. Compton says cocoa mulch is not that popular at his store, but says it has its regular customers who every now and then wonder about the rumors they hear and the effect it has on man\u2019s best friend. \u201cThere\u2019s always stories on the Internet, but in the 30 years we\u2019ve been here we\u2019ve actually never heard of any body\u2019s dog getting sick,\u201d Compton said. Some manufacturers of cocoa mulch (such as the Cocoa Mulch brand) now proclaim that their products are theobromine-free and pet safe. Responsible pet owners should take care in their selection of cocoa mulch brands; some might prefer  to choose another form of soil enhancement for their gardens, such as cedar-based products, rather than gamble their dogs won\u2019t be attracted to or harmed by cocoa mulch. (Although Home Depot is named as a vendor of cocoa mulch in the example cited at the head of this page, the company told us in May 2006 that: \u201cThe Home Depot does not and will not sell mulch harmful to pets. The mulch sold by The Home Depot containing cocoa shells goes through several cleaning processes, including a high heat system in order to strip the cocoa fat from the shells without the use of any chemicals.\u201d) The danger of canine theobromine poisoning does not begin and end with cocoa mulch, however: chocolate in any form poses substantial risks to some pets. This most beloved of foodstuffs contains theobromine and small amounts of caffeine, both of which can sicken and even kill cats and dogs. Chocolate\u2019s toxicity to animals is directly related to three factors: the type of chocolate, the size of the animal, and the amount of chocolate ingested. Unsweetened baking chocolate presents the greatest danger to pets because it contains the highest amount of theobromine, approximately 390-450 mg. per ounce. White chocolate contains the least. As a general rule of thumb, one ounce of milk chocolate per pound of body weight can be lethal for dogs and cats. (Milk chocolate contains approximately 44-66 mg of theobromine per ounce.) Theobromine affects the heart, central nervous system, and kidneys, causing nausea and vomiting, restlessness, diarrhea, muscle tremors, and increased urination. Cardiac arrhythmia and seizures are symptoms of more advanced poisoning. Other than induced vomiting, vets have no treatment or antidote for theobromine poisoning. Death can occur in 12 to 24 hours. This type of poisoning is uncommon because it is rare that a dog, even a small dog, will eat enough chocolate to cause anything more than an upset stomach. Yet it can happen, especially if the animal gets into baking chocolate or powdered cocoa, two forms of the sweet particularly loaded with theobromine. Do not feed chocolate to dogs or cats. If you keep a pet, do not leave chocolate lying about lest your critter help himself to it and in so doing poison himself. If your animal begins exhibiting signs of distress and you believe he might have gotten into some chocolate, call your veterinarian immediately. (It will help if you can supply information about the approximate weight of your critter, what sort of chocolate was ingested \u2014 white, milk, dark, cocoa powder, baking \u2014 and roughly how much.) But time is of the essence if such a poisoning has indeed taken place, so make the call right away."}
{"claim_id": "10296", "claim": "Robotic surgery grows, but so do questions", "explanation": "It\u2019s a rare story that counters all of the claims made for robotic surgery. This story scores so well because, one by one, it addresses our criteria in a way we expect stories about new technologies to analyze claims. This was a story that had consumers in mind \u2013 and the take-home should be clear to any reader as a result. Robotic surgery has increasingly gained acceptance recently despite the fact that the true benefits of the device may be minimal. Given the expense of the device and the per case costs of the disposables, a story that looks hard at the existing evidence is more than welcome.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Los Angeles Times", "main_text": "Good analysis of cost impact of use of robotics \u2013 for patients and health care institutions. The story raises many questions about claims of benefits from robotic surgery. Examples: The story didn\u2019t quantify harms \u2013 something it could have attempted to do \u2013 but we\u2019ll give it a satisfactory score nonetheless because it raised an issue many stories don\u2019t \u2013 the loss of sensory feedback upon which surgeons rely. It also cited one study showing that people who had an adrenal gland removed by robot were more likely to have complications. The story allowed the manufacturer to have its say and then countered each claim with a Johns Hopkins surgeon\u2019s evaluation of the evidence. No disease mongering here. Several independent sources were quoted. The story included comparisons between robotic surgery and other laparascopic and traditional surgery throughout. The growing use of robotic surgery \u2013 despite questions about the evidence \u2013 is the focus of the story. The story stated \u201cDespite the DaVinci\u2019s popularity, its surgical talents may not surpass those of flesh-and-blood physicians.\u201d It\u2019s clear the story didn\u2019t rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "10756", "claim": "Hormone therapy raises risk quickly, study finds", "explanation": "The focus of this story is a report of new data showing a statistically significant association between lobular breast cancer and short-term HRT (3 years or less). The story creates an exaggerated sense of risk\u00a0because\u00a0there is no mention of absolute risk. For breast cancer, estimated excess risk is 8 women/10,000 women per year developing breast cancer after 4 years of combined HRT use as compared with no hormone use. A current treatment approach for bothersome menopausal symptoms is a course of low-dose HRT for 3-5 years with frequent monitoring. This course of treatment is considered safe for most women not already at high risk of developing breast cancer. The clinician interviewed stresses frequent monitoring and an individualized approach to managing symptoms. The story notes various combinations of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)\u00a0 available for reducing menopaual symptoms, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. However, there is no discussion that menopause is a natural part of aging and unless symptoms are very bothersome, many women do not need to take HRT to ease symptoms common in menopause such as hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness and discomfort. The story does strike a balance by interviewing the lead author of the study and a gynecologist who put the new information in clinical perspective. It would be\u00a0helpful to hear from researchers of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative\u00a0for comment on how their data on breast cancer risk compared to the present study.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not specifically address cost of treatment. However, since the focus is on causation of disease, the cost issue does not seem important here. The interview with a clinician puts the benefit of taking HRT in perspective; however, we are given no quantitative data to compare the risk of devleoping lobular cancer against the benefit of reduced menopausal symtoms via HRT. The clinician interviewed stresses frequent monitoring and an individualized approach to managing symptoms. The focus of this story is a report of new data showing a statistically significant association between lobular breast cancer and short-term HRT. Yet there is no mention of absolute risk. For breast cancer estimated excess risk is 8 women/10,000 women per year developing breast cancer after 4 years of combined HRT use as compared with no hormone use. The story describes the\u00a0 design of this case-control study and discusses the connection between increased risk of developing lobular cancer and shorter-duration HRT . However, the story could have mentioned that the case-control design of the study carries some inherent limitations in establishing causality vs association (e.g. recall bias). The story leaves the reader with an impression of an exaggerated sense of risk with short-term HRT, because it gives relative, not absolute risk data. Also, lobular carcinoma is detected in the same way as ductal carcinoma \u2013 either because of a palpable lump detected on exam by woman or physician, or on a screening mammogram. The story interviews the lead author of the study, as well as a gynecologist who puts the study in clinical perspective. The latter interview gives balance to the report. It would be nice to hear from researchers of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative, or other clinicians who could discuss treatment options for women considering HRT. The story does not discuss other treatment options for managing menopausal symptoms. There is no discussion here that menopause is a natural part of aging and not a condition which necessitates medical intervention. Unless symptoms are very bothersome, many women do not need to take HRT to ease symptoms common in menopause such as hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness and discomfort. The story notes various combinations of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) available for\u00a0 reducing menopaual symptoms, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. The story notes that data from the Women\u2019s Health Initiative on the risks of HRT have been available since 2002. (These risks include a slight increase risk of breast cancer for some women who take a longer course of HRT (> 4 years) and an increased risk of heart disease in older women. Satisfactory because the story indicates that the treatment itself is not novel. The story does not appear to rely solely or largely on a news release"}
{"claim_id": "7978", "claim": "Shortage of drugs and equipment: Brussels hospitals sound the alarm.", "explanation": "Hospitals in the Belgian capital called on the federal government on Wednesday to address a shortage of medicines and equipment, as COVID-19 patients continue to arrive at intensive care units that are starting to fill up.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "\u201cFederal authorities do not seem to see or hear that the reality is that hospitals are in a massive shortage of all protective gear and drugs needed to treat COVID-19 patients and other categories of equipment like syringes,\u201d around 10 public and private hospitals said in a statement issued via the federation of hospitals and care homes for Belgium\u2019s regions of Brussels and Wallonia known as Santhea. Belgium, with some 11.5 million people, is one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus in Europe. Some 4,995 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms in the country, meaning around half of the health services\u2019 capacity has been taken up treating the disease. The health ministry says it expects the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 to peak in the coming days and weeks. Except for real emergencies, hospitals are focused on COVID-19 patients only. \u201cThe situation is really dramatic,\u201d the statement said, adding that the hospitals are currently working with a three-day stock of medicines and fear they would soon no longer be able to offer adequate care. Belgium\u2019s health ministry announced earlier on Wednesday that its stock of drugs such as curare, a drug to relax muscles of intubated patients, would last until mid-April. The reality on the ground seems different as \u201cthere is a real shortage of curare-type drugs and for other drugs, it becomes really very difficult,\u201d said Valerie Victoor, general adviser at Santhea. Belgium reported its death toll rose by 123 to a total of 828 people on Wednesday, and its number of cases was up 1,189 to 13,964. Officials said the nation\u2019s testing capacity would reach 10,000 daily by the end of the week."}
{"claim_id": "7358", "claim": "Illinois nurse express regret for bar visit without mask.", "explanation": "A northern Illinois nurse expressed regret Friday for not taking better precautions while visiting her sister\u2019s Wisconsin bar after the Supreme Court overturned the state\u2019s \u201cSafer at Home\u201d order.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Wisconsin, Health, Aurora, Illinois, Milwaukee, Virus Outbreak", "main_text": "Katie Koutsky, a nurse with the Downers Grove-based Advocate Aurora Health system, says she was helping her sister reopen her suburban Milwaukee bar Wednesday when she was interviewed by a local television station. She told WTMJ-TV being in the bar was no greater risk than being in a grocery. Koutsky said her latest comments are a result of the \u201cintense media scrutiny\u201d she has received because of her decision to help her sister. \u201cFirst, while my priority was to support my sister and her attempt to restart her business which has been devastated by this pandemic, I\u2019d like to express my regret for not wearing a mask or practicing social distancing while there,\u201d Koutsky said in a statement released by Advocate Aurora Health. Koutsky said she doesn\u2019t have COVID-19 symptoms and has no indication she was exposed to the virus. However, \u201cout of an abundance of caution\u201d she will self-quarantine and undergo screening before she returns to work. Advocate Aurora Health said in a statement it was \u201cdisappointed\u201d in Koutsky\u2019s decision not to wear a mask in a bar that wasn\u2019t practicing social distancing. \u201cWe\u2019ve also been doing a lot of education actually with our team members for what they can do to be safe once they leave our hospital walls,\u201d said Advocate Aurora Health chief nurse Mary Beth Kingston, adding the health system will follow up with individual nurses as needed."}
{"claim_id": "13262", "claim": "Just like Donald Trump, David Jolly wants to outlaw a woman's right to choose.", "explanation": "An ad from the DCCC said, \"Just like Donald Trump, David Jolly wants to outlaw a woman's right to choose.\" Trump and Jolly both favor restrictions on abortion, but their views cannot be directly equated to outlawing all instances of abortion. Moreover, the claim, and the overall theme of the ad \u2014 that Jolly would be an ally to Trump \u2014 is highly misleading. Jolly does not support Trump.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, Florida, DCCC, ", "main_text": "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a bizarre ad in October warning that a vote for Congressman David Jolly in the 13th Congressional District is a vote for Donald Trump's right-hand man. The ad ties Jolly and Trump together through photoshopped images and shared views on opposing abortion rights and defunding Planned Parenthood. \"Just like Donald Trump, David Jolly wants to outlaw a woman's right to choose,\" says the narrator in the ad. This remark stood out to us, so we wanted to take a look at each man\u2019s view on abortions. Moreover, the goal of the ad and its methods have been widely criticized, so we\u2019ll examine the relationship between Trump and Jolly. The evidence linking Trump and Jolly\u2019s stances on abortion is hard to pinpoint, given the fact both have talked about abortion in different ways. What\u2019s not hard to pinpoint is the relationship between Trump and Jolly, which just doesn\u2019t exist. Jolly has never met Trump, nor is he supporting him for president. Trump and Jolly on abortion Trump and Jolly are are on the same side of the abortion spectrum, but their views are hard to lump together as one and the same. Jolly\u2019s campaign told PolitiFact Florida he calls himself pro-life, but has never supported or voted to outlaw abortion entirely. At the congressional debate on Sept. 19, Jolly was asked if it's right for a woman to abort her baby if she finds out she has Zika in the early stages of pregnancy. Jolly responded: \"I think that is her choice, but for the health of the mother or the health of the baby, or the life of the mother, I think there should be exceptions permitted to terminate the pregnancy. Yes, I do.\" There are other exceptions Jolly embraces, too, including instances of rape or incest. Jolly may say he doesn\u2019t support outlawing abortion, but what does his voting record say? The DCCC points to the \"Life at Conception Act\" (H.R. 1091) that Jolly co-sponsored in 2014. This act would give a fetus the same rights as a human beings from the moment of fertilization. This is clearly an anti-abortion\u00a0rights bill, but as PolitiFact concluded in 2014, there\u2019s a lot of murkiness that courts would have to sort through before it would be clear if abortion would be outlawed. Whether or not Trump wants to outlaw abortion is hard to determine. In March, Trump stated women should be punished for having an abortion. (You can read the whole remark in context here.) But he backed off saying women should specifically be punished to stating general opposition to abortion. \"If Congress were to pass legislation making abortion illegal and the federal courts upheld this legislation, or any state were permitted to ban abortion under state and federal law, the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman,\" the Trump statement says. \"The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed \u2014\u00a0like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions.\" Recently at the third presidential debate, Trump was asked if he wants the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, which would essentially dissolve a woman\u2019s right to abortions. Trump said: \"Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states.\" Jolly does not support Trump This ad has been highly criticized for its bogus images showing Trump and Jolly photoshopped together. Like the claim, the ad attempts to paint Trump and Jolly as one in the same \u2014 and allies if both Jolly and Trump win. This association is not accurate. At the congressional debate, Jolly said he doesn\u2019t support Trump and told the Tampa Bay Times he\u00a0never met him. Jolly\u2019s spokesperson reiterated that point to PolitiFact Florida on Oct. 20 and said Jolly will not be supporting Trump in this election. Jolly called on Trump to drop out of the presidential race in December after Trump called for a temporary ban on Muslims. At the time of the press release, Jolly was running for Marco Rubio\u2019s seat in the U.S. Senate. \"While ISIS is beheading innocent people for their religious practices, Trump is betraying our freedoms,\" Jolly said in a statement. \"His brutal, bullying bigotry runs contrary to the very principles our forefathers fought so hard to defend. We are either a party of protecting the constitution and religious liberties or we're not. America should insist on a security test but never a religious test.\" Our ruling An ad from the DCCC said, \"Just like Donald Trump, David Jolly wants to outlaw a woman's right to choose.\" Trump and Jolly both favor restrictions on abortion, but their views cannot be directly equated to outlawing all instances of abortion. Moreover, the claim, and the overall theme of the ad \u2014 that Jolly would be an ally to Trump \u2014 is highly misleading. Jolly does not support Trump. We rate the DCCC\u2019s claim ."}
{"claim_id": "8037", "claim": "Coronavirus cases top half a million, protective gear lacking: WHO.", "explanation": "Coronavirus has infected more than half a million people and killed more than 20,000 globally, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, as he appealed again for protective gear for medical staff working to save lives.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, urged countries to refrain from using medicines that have not been demonstrated to be effective against COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. \u201cThe chronic global shortage of personal protective gear is now one of most urgent threats to our collective ability to save lives,\u201d Tedros told a Geneva news conference. \u201cHealth workers in low- and middle-income countries deserve the same protection as those in the wealthiest countries,\u201d he said, adding that the U.N. agency was shipping more supplies. Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO\u2019s top emergencies expert, said the world was \u201cmoving to an uncertain future\u201d. \u201cYou see many countries around the world are just beginning the cycle of this epidemic. Some have been through the cycle of the epidemic like Singapore and China and are now desperately trying not to have the disease re-emerge and cause another wave of infections because of disease importations,\u201d he said. Elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions have been the hardest hit, but 10 to 15% of people under the age of 50 have moderate to severe infection, Ryan said. Asked about reports of infections in young adults, Ryan said: \u201cFor most people it is a very mild infection, most young people. But for a significant minority of people between the age of 20 and 60 this is a significant infection.\u201d  \u201cWhat is really emerging is a perception that this disease, while not fatal and not causing critical disease in a younger age group, is causing severe illness in many people,\u201d Ryan said. Every infection of COVID-19 presents an opportunity for onward spread, said Dr. Maria van Kerkhove. \u201cSo even in younger populations, if you do have a mild disease and you think it\u2019s no big deal, what the big deal is is that you may transmit to somebody else who may be part of that vulnerable population who may advance to severe disease and who may die,\u201d she said. The data showed that \u201cthe majority of children that are infected are experiencing mild disease,\u201d ver Kerkhove said. \u201cBut we do have reports, and there are some publications now that describe severe disease in children. We have reports of deaths in children. There is one in China, and I believe one in the United States as well,\u201d she said."}
{"claim_id": "9205", "claim": "Progesterone may be key to preventing recurrent miscarriage", "explanation": "This is a somewhat confusing news release that contained very few of the most important details from the study \u2014 effectiveness, safety and cost, for example \u2014 that anyone would want to know if they were interested in\u00a0preventing miscarriage. The confusion arises around what is being tested: is it the progesterone, the nCyclinE molecular marker or the Endometrial Function Test (EFT) used in this experiment to identify a subset of women who would benefit from progesterone? Our reviewers were baffled and readers likely will be, too. Progesterone has been clinically used to prevent unexplained early miscarriage. Some early meta-analyses had suggested a reduction in miscarriages, but later trials showed no difference. If you are going to make a claim that progesterone prevents miscarriage, you should have more than a 116-person study to back up that claim. Preventing miscarriages could be a major public health advance and have a very profound effect on the lives of parents and families. If a cheap, safe and effective treatment could be prescribed to prevent untimely deaths of fetuses that would be welcome news. Potential mothers who have experienced the pain of miscarriage, however, should not be inadvertently led astray from headlines that promise miscarriage prevention without adequate study of the safety and effectiveness of that treatment. We\u2019ve noted concerns with Yale\u2019s PR communications previously, for example here and here.", "label": "false", "subjects": "miscarriage,progesterone,Yale University", "main_text": "The release does not discuss costs. Cost for generic progesterone range from about $20 to $30 for 30 \u2013 100mg capsules, according to GoodRx\u2019s drug prices tracker. The release claims that progesterone prevents miscarriages. How many miscarriages did it help prevent and how was this assessed? There aren\u2019t any numbers. With any drug treatment related to pregnancy it is absolutely essential to discuss the effects of the drug on both mother and child. This news release doesn\u2019t address safety risks to either. The Mayo Clinic\u2019s website for patients offers a long list of possible side effects from progesterone in adults. Much less information is available about progesterone\u2019s risk to a developing fetus. There was no basic information provided about what kind of study this was, and few explanatory statements that would help readers to assess the quality of the evidence. At the end we receive this helpful quote \u2014 \u201cThe positive results show us that next we need to study progesterone as a treatment for recurrent pregnancy loss with a prospective randomized trial to validate the findings. \u2014 but it\u2019s too late and insufficient to help readers evaluate the study. There is no obvious disease mongering here. The release does provide some context about miscarriages, stating that it \u201caffects 30,000 women each year in the United States. About 25% of all women who become pregnant have a first-trimester loss.\u201d The release doesn\u2019t mention who funded the study, which is necessary to meet our standard. It does note that the \u201cresearch team used the endometrial function test (EFT\u00ae), which was created by study co-author Harvey J. Kliman, M.D., director of the Reproductive and Placental Research Unit in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine.\u201d However, the release doesn\u2019t acknowledge an important conflict of interest that is addressed in the study manuscript itself: \u201cH.J.K. is the inventor of a patent related to the monitoring of endometrial glandular development.\u201d Are there alternative methods to determine the health of a fetus and other potential treatments to prevent miscarriage? The release doesn\u2019t say. Progesterone is widely available, but what about the EFT? We don\u2019t have any idea after reading this news release. We found no evidence relating to EFT in a review of clinical reproductive medicine guidelines. This release doesn\u2019t establish the novelty of this approach. Other research studies have looked at the use of progesterone in preventing miscarriages. According to the reference site \u201cUpToDate\u201d by medical publishers Wolter Kluwer, more than 50 research studies have examined the use of progesterone in preventing miscarriage or pre-term birth, with mixed results. There is no obvious use of unjustified language, but the last paragraph contains some somewhat intemperate language from one of the co-investigators who said:\u00a0\u201cWe are very pleased to find that these results reinforce the evidence that progesterone could be a very beneficial, inexpensive, and safe treatment for many women with a history of recurrent pregnancy loss.\u201d Beneficial? Inexpensive? Safe? None of these attributes were described adequately in this news release."}
{"claim_id": "29256", "claim": "Pepsi admitted that their soda contains cancer-causing ingredients.", "explanation": "The CEH was able to pressure PepsiCo into imposing strict guidelines on the manufacturing of the caramel color they use and to make a legal commitment to have 4-MEI levels in their soda regularly tested. They did not however, compel PepsiCo to admit, as claimed, that their sodas \u201ccontain cancer-causing ingredients.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, carcinogens, coca-cola, pepsi", "main_text": "In 2016, the one-stop paranoia and supplement shop \u201cNatural News\u201d web site published an article, headlined \u201cPepsi Admits Its Soda Contains Cancer-Causing Ingredients,\u201d that discussed a legal battle between the environmental health watchdog Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and PepsiCo which took place between 2011 and 2015. Clickbait websites have aggregated that story and ensured its continued virality by sharing it on highly followed Facebook accounts such as \u201cMarch Against Monsanto.\u201d The 2016 Natural News article documented the Center for Environmental Health\u2019s effort to uncover levels of a chemical called 4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI) in cola products that were higher than the legal limits imposed by the state of California\u2019s Proposition 65. 4-MEI is not directly added to colas, but it is a byproduct of processes that produce the caramel coloring that is typically added to such soft drinks: \u201c4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) is a chemical compound that is not directly added to food; rather it is formed as a byproduct in some foods and beverages during the normal cooking process. [4-MEI] forms as a trace impurity during the manufacturing of certain types of caramel coloring \u2026 that are used to color cola-type beverages and other foods.\u201d To understand the legal challenge from the Center for Environmental Health and the claims made about this case by Natural News, though, one need first understand the regulatory history that culminated in efforts to reduce the chemical\u2019s occurrence in soda. Is 4-Methylimidazole a Carcinogen? A number of international, national, and state or local governmental agencies evaluate the safety and possible carcinogenicity of various food or cosmetic products, and they don\u2019t always reach the same conclusions. The first group that raised specific alarm about the carcinogenic potential of 4-MEI was the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP), which released a study in 2007 suggesting that massively high doses of 4-MEI may have given male and female mice lung cancer and may have given female rats Leukemia. The state of California has some of the strictest laws in the world regarding required warnings about chemicals that may produce carcinogenic or reproductive harm. This situation is due to Proposition 65, also called the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which since 1986 has mandated the publication of a list of chemicals that are \u201cknown to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity\u201d and imposed labeling requirements on any product sold in California that includes relevant concentrations of these chemicals. When the 2007 National Toxicology Program study was published, the state of California was given their first legal rationale to include 4-MEI in the Proposition 65 list, because the National Toxicology Program is one of the organizations the act defines as a valid arbiter of carcinogenicity. In January 2011, after a period of review, 4-MEI was indeed added to California\u2019s Proposition 65 list. While the National Toxicology Program and the State of California consider 4-MEI a potential carcinogen, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are far less concerned with it as a potential cancer risk in food products. In 2011, the EFSA re-evaluated 4-MEI and other byproducts of caramel color processing, finding that the levels Europeans were exposed to through food consumption were far lower than those that would raise any plausible carcinogenicity concerns. Currently, the FDA\u2019s position on 4-MEI is that the National Toxicology Program study showing harm in rodents had limited relevance to humans, because it was performed on laboratory animals exposed to levels of 4-MEI higher than any human would reasonably be exposed to: \u201cBased on the available information, FDA has no reason to believe that there is any immediate or short-term danger presented by 4-MEI at the levels expected in food from the use of caramel coloring.\u201d However, the State of California, basing their decision on numbers derived from those animal studies, ruled that any product containing levels of 4-MEI exceeding a certain concentration would have to be labeled as a potential carcinogen. Did Pepsi \u201cAdmit\u201d That Their Products Contain \u201cCancer-Causing Ingredients\u201d? After 4-MEI was added to the Proposition 65 list, the Center for Environmental Health sampled cola products from California for compliance with that regulation and found that a number of Pepsi and Coca-Cola products contained levels of 4-MEI exceeding the allowable limits established by California\u2019s Proposition 65. The CEH filed a legal complaint on 23 February 2012, whereupon both Coca-Cola and Pepsi announced their intent to bring 4-MEI levels in the sodas into compliance with California law, as reported in a 9 March 2012 Reuters article: Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo Inc are making changes to the production of an ingredient in their namesake colas to avoid the need to label the packages with a cancer warning. The change is meant to reduce the amount of a chemical called 4-methylimidazole, or [4-MEI], which in January was added to the list of chemicals covered by California\u2019s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, also known as Proposition 65 \u2026 Both companies said they started in California, and would expand the use of the reduced [4-MEI] caramel coloring over time. Subsequent to this announcement, the CEH once again tested a variety of colas from California and elsewhere around the country, finding that both Pepsi and Coca-Cola were now compliant in California, but that Pepsi had not changed their soft drink formulations outside of that state. As a result, the CEH continued their legal efforts against PepsiCo. On 17 September 2015, lawyers for PepsiCo and the CEH settled their dispute when they signed a consent judgement described thusly by the CEH: Under the settlement, finalized in Superior Court in Alameda County, Pepsi will require its ingredient suppliers to meet strict limits on the 4-MEI levels, which CEH found at high levels in 2012 in some colas made by Pepsi and other major companies. The settlement also requires Pepsi to test its cola products to ensure that the 4-MEI levels remain below the required level, and allows CEH to request further testing of Pepsi\u2019s products. Although this agreement represented a major legal victory for the CEH (which was also awarded financial damages for their legal and scientific fees), it actually represented (legally, at least) the exact opposite of Pepsi\u2019s \u201cadmitting its soda contains cancer-causing ingredients\u201d as stated in viral headlines. This is clear in the section of the judgement labeled \u201cNO ADMISSIONS\u201d, which stipulates that PepsiCo never violated any law and that they were not required to admit or accept 4-MEI\u2019s classification as a carcinogen: By executing this Consent Judgment and agreeing to provide the relief and remedies specified herein, [PepsiCo] does not admit (a) that it has violated, or threatened to violate Proposition 65 \u2026 or any other law or legal duty; or (b) that the chemical 4-MEI in [their colas] or in other foods or beverages poses any risk to human health or requires any disclosure or warning to consumers."}
{"claim_id": "24542", "claim": "The Democratic health care bill in the House would \"create 53 new government bureaucracies.", "explanation": "Boustany and other Republicans say health care plan would create 53 new government bureaucracies", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Charles Boustany, ", "main_text": "In the Republican response to President Barack Obama's address on health care before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2009, U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., a heart surgeon by profession, repeated a popular Republican talking point, saying the health care reform bill introduced in the House would\u00a0 \"create 53 new government bureaucracies.\" This claim originates with a detailed list complied by the House Republican Conference, which you can view  here  . Fifty-three new bureaucracies sounds like a lot, and the list is so specific, we decided to dig into it to see if it's legitimate. \"Bureaucracy\" can mean different things to different people, so we began with a trip to the Merriam-Webster dictionary to set some parameters. It defines it like this: \"a body of nonelective government officials; an administrative policy-making group; government characterized by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules, and a hierarchy of authority; a system of administration marked by officialism, red tape, and proliferation.\" So, to the list... The first two are no-doubt-abouters. No. 1 is a Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 123, p. 30). This is a new panel of experts that will make recommendations to the secretary of Health and Human Services on covered health benefits. It's an advisory board, but a new entity nonetheless. New bureaucracy, check. No. 2 on the list is the creation of a Health Choices Administration (Section 141, p. 41). This is a biggie. The Health Choices Administration would be an independent executive branch agency charged with establishing qualified plan standards, creating the health insurance exchange and administering affordability credits for low-income people. New bureaucracy, check. After this, however, the list gets murkier. Consider No. 3, Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman. This person, or office, would be charged with helping people navigate the new health reform system and report to Congress on recommendations for improvements in administration of the program. It's part of the Health Choices Administration (No. 2 on the list). That sounds like double-counting to us. And that's true of a number of other items on the list as well. We're not going to detail all 53 items on the list. But here are a few general observations from our examination of them. Four of the items on the list include the creation of various trust funds. These are new funds, but they are to be created by existing agencies. These are essentially bank accounts. Those aren't new government bureaucracies in our book. The list also includes six pilot programs and three demonstration programs. These are small-scale demo programs. If the programs turn out to improve care and save money, the government will roll them out nationally. There's already an office in place in Medicare that runs demonstration programs. In fact, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2003 included 14 new demonstration projects. It wouldn't be fair to call that 14 new bureaucracies then, and it's not fair to call these demonstration programs new bureaucracies now. \"The programs and demonstration projects they list aren't new agencies but rather new projects, and they're sensible ways to test new policies before more broadly implementing them,\" said Brian Cook, press secretary for Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., chair of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. And, he said, \"many of the programs and demonstration projects are things that Republicans themselves have called for and supported.\" The list also includes three new ombudsmen and a special inspector general for the Health Insurance Exchange. And again, these are individual offices in existing agencies \u2014 not bureaucracies. Three items on the list deal with comparative effectiveness research. Although the government already does such research, we think it's fair to count the creation of a new Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research on the list. But the next two items, a comparative effectiveness research commission and a patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research seems like triple-dipping. Ironically, said Stan Dorn, senior research associate at the left-leaning Urban Institute, those safeguards were put in to assure Republicans that the program would not be used to force insurers to comply with the council's research findings. \"Some of these things are new government bureaucracies,\" Dorn said. \"But a lot of these items are not new government agencies, they are new activities that existing agencies would be asked to perform.\" By Dorn's count, 36 of the 53 items on the Republican list fall in that latter category. An example is an item on the list for a program of administrative simplification (Section 163, p. 57). It would be up to the department of Health and Human Services to implement the updated standards. \"That is not a new bureaucracy,\" Dorn said. \"That's an activity required of an existing government agency.\" \"Just eyeballing this list,\" Dorn said, \"it is clearly way over the top.\" We agree that there are lots of suspect items on the list and the Republicans' methodology in choosing them is inconsistent. But we also think it's fair for them to claim that the Democratic health plan would create new government bureaucracy. The plan would create new ways to subsidize health insurance for millions of low-income people. It would establish a health insurance exchange in which people not on plans provided by large companies could shop for competitive rates. That requires the creation of some new institutions. But they are wrong to cite 53 as the number. In fact, the number is clearly much smaller."}
{"claim_id": "35449", "claim": "In 2020, two school boys in China died suddenly after wearing face masks during physical exercise.", "explanation": "What's true: In April and May 2020, multiple Chinese news outlets reported that two boys, aged 15 and 14, had died in late April after collapsing during gym class at schools in Henan and Hunah provinces. What's undetermined: It's unknown whether the boys' wearing face masks played any role in their deaths, or was coincidental.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "During the spring and summer of 2020, multiple readers asked Snopes to examine the accuracy of news articles that claimed two school boys in China had died suddenly during physical exercise while each wearing a face mask, as part of broader efforts to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. On May 6, the New York Post published an article with the headline \u201cTwo Boys Drop Dead in China While Wearing Masks During Gym Class,\u201d while the Australian television network 7News reported that: \u201cTwo schoolboys have died within a week of one another while taking part in compulsory physical education examinations while wearing face masks in China. Major Chinese cities and provinces are moving to cancel this term\u2019s running tests amid concerns over student fitness following three months of lockdown and school closures. \u201cPossible breathing difficulties during the exam while mask-wearing remains mandatory in the absence of a vaccine have also led to the decision, reports said. It comes after two 14-year-old boys \u2018suddenly\u2019 collapsed on their school running track and were subsequently declared dead in the county of Dancheng in Henan Province and the city of Changsha in Hunan Province \u2014 both in Central China.\u201d The Daily Mail published a similar report on May 4. Those reports contained a high degree of accuracy, although some misrepresented the respective ages of the boys. The deaths were widely reported in China in May 2020, providing corroboration of the following core facts."}
{"claim_id": "40539", "claim": "\u00a0 This             email says that in the event of a heart attack when you are by             yourself, coughing repeatedly and vigorously can keep the heart             beating until help arrives.   ", "explanation": "A self-administered CPR procedure involving coughing can save you during a heart attack", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "TruthOrFiction.com             has checked with several sources, including the American Heart             Association, and none of them recommends relying on this procedure. The version of the eRumor that has gotten the most circulation on the             Internet originated from an article in a newsletter published by a             chapter of the Mended Hearts organization, whose members are heart             attack survivors. Mended Hearts has retracted the article. Doctors say the coughing procedure has been used on limited and             experimental occasions with patients experiencing cardiac             arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. Even then, the patients             were in the hospital, connected to monitors, and the coughing was             used to try to buy a few extra seconds before other, life saving             equipment was used. There aren\u2019t any known cases where a             person who was alone suffered a heart attack and sustained himself             or herself while waiting for paramedics to arrive. In a             true heart attack where the blood supply to the heart is blocked,             the \u201ccoughing CPR\u201d would not do any good. All the sources we checked with agreed:\u00a0 If a heart episode is             happening, call 9-1-1. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "8431", "claim": "Austria plans to test all retirement home residents for coronavirus.", "explanation": "Austria, one of the more successful countries in Europe at flattening the curve of coronavirus infections, plans to test every retirement home resident as it expands efforts to measure the pandemic\u2019s spread, its health minister said on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Alpine republic acted early in its outbreak to shut schools, bars, restaurants, non-essential shops and other gathering places roughly four weeks ago. It has told the public to stay at home and work from there if possible. So far it has reported just 410 deaths in total, fewer than some larger countries are suffering each day. Health Minister Rudolf Anschober told a news conference the daily increase in cases was now 0.9%, which he said was the lowest rate in Europe. \u201cThe very strong focus in the coming weeks will be the testing of all staff and all residents of retirement and care homes. We are talking, ladies and gentlemen, about 130,000 people,\u201d Anschober said. That will take some time. Anschober has said the daily testing capacity in the country of 8.8 million people is more than 10,000 but less than the 15,000 that conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has set as a target. The health ministry said there is no date by which the country\u2019s 918 retirement and care homes must be tested. \u201cThe international experience has been that this area is the area where the risk is greatest,\u201d Anschober, who is from the left-wing Greens party, said. The elderly and those with underlying health problems are most at risk of dying of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Austria started loosening its lockdown on Tuesday, letting DIY stores, garden centres and smaller shops reopen. Larger shops and hairdressers are due to follow from May 1. It has said it will be on the lookout for any acceleration in infections and will delay its step-by-step loosening of its lockdown if necessary. It also has some lingering hotspots of infection under quarantine, including the ski resorts of Ischgl, St Anton am Arlberg and Soelden. Retirement homes have been a major source of coronavirus-related deaths in hard-hit countries like Italy, Spain and France, but there is no mention of the facilities in Austria\u2019s data. It reports deaths where the patient previously tested positive for the virus, regardless of whether it caused death. Austria does, however, give a breakdown of COVID-19 deaths by age. Almost all of them were over 65."}
{"claim_id": "4545", "claim": "2020 Dems\u2019 health care battle is decades in the making.", "explanation": "Seventy years ago, before Medicare existed to inspire \u201cMedicare for All,\u201d a Democratic president wrestled with a challenge strikingly similar to what the party\u2019s White House hopefuls face today.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Election 2020, Health care reform, General News, Politics, Health, Medicare, Donald Trump", "main_text": "Harry Truman, then in his fourth year of pressing for a national health insurance system, parried criticism of his approach in terms that a single-payer health care advocate might use in 2019. The plainspoken Missourian wrote in a 1949 message to Congress that his proposal \u201cwill not require doctors to become employees of the government\u201d and that \u201cpatients will remain free to choose their own doctors.\u201d Truman\u2019s pitch fell short, and Democrats vying to take on President Donald Trump next year are still debating how to give Americans better health care without shattering a system that\u2019s both flawed and familiar. And despite voters\u2019 keen focus on health care, it\u2019s not clear that the Democratic primary \u2014 where presidential contenders traded rhetorical blows on the issue last week \u2014 will leave its winner with a mandate to enact his or her vision. That\u2019s in part because, although polling shows most Democrats think the federal government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage, the party remains divided along age and ideological lines about the best approach. And even as the party\u2019s leading White House hopefuls are bitterly at odds over solutions, congressional Democratic leaders are pursuing more consensus proposals to shore up the Affordable Care Act. Democrats\u2019 existential battle over health care, in other words, isn\u2019t likely to end soon. A single-payer insurance proposal gains appeal \u201cthe more dysfunctional and underperforming our current system gets,\u201d said Ezekiel Emanuel, a veteran physician who helped shape the 2010 law known as Obamacare as an adviser in former President Barack Obama\u2019s White House. But, Emanuel advised against limiting Democrats to the most ambitious proposal on the table: the single-payer, government-run insurance plan backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. There are alternate solutions more politically palatable to swing voters, he says. During last week\u2019s debates, Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren defended their version of \u201cMedicare for All\u201d from centrist critics who argued Americans would be pushed out of private plans offering reliable health care, particularly for union members. Given the likelihood of the GOP tarring any Democratic health care push as socialized medicine \u2014 the same label the American Medical Association used to successfully quash Truman\u2019s plan in the 1940s \u2014 liberals say the party is better served by going big. \u201cDemocrats win when we figure out what is right and we get out there and fight for it,\u201d Warren said at last week\u2019s debate. Yet the singular pursuit of single-payer health insurance risks alienating Democrats who have helped the party claw back power in Congress by winning in swing districts with a more pragmatic message. One of those lawmakers, Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, warned her entire party against \u201ctalking past each other\u201d with litmus tests that deepen health care polarization. \u201cWhen you hear the conversation is just \u2018single payer, yes-no,\u2019 it\u2019s an oversimplification of where we should actually be,\u201d the first-term Spanberger said in a recent interview. Like former Vice President Joe Biden and Buttigieg, Spanberger supports the creation of a Medicare-like insurance plan sometimes dubbed the \u201cpublic option.\u201d That idea\u2019s more centrist champions in the 2020 primary have resisted the notion that single-payer insurance is the party\u2019s only transformative choice. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing moderate about what Barack did in Obamacare. Nothing,\u201d Biden told reporters in Detroit after the debate. Democrats must rely on moderates like Spanberger, however, in order to hold the House and win the Senate next year to make any major health care overhaul possible. That would leave even a single-payer stalwart like Sanders or Warren, if one of them wins the presidency, battling for consensus within their own party as they push for the shift. And any potential Democratic president in 2021 is very unlikely to have a Senate majority as sizable as the one Obama had nearly a decade ago, when his White House had to abandon a public option. For some key architects of Obamacare, the calls for Medicare for All ignore the political gantlet they had to run to enact the current system, which remains under legal threat from the Trump administration. When Obama abandoned his own public option effort in 2010, for example, his party had a sizable Senate majority that any potential Democratic president would be lucky to have in 2021. \u201cI don\u2019t think anything\u2019s changed\u201d about the difficulty of winning congressional support for a public option plan since 2010, said Nancy-Ann DeParle, a top health care adviser in Obama\u2019s White House who is now a partner in a health care-focused investment firm. Former Rep. Henry Waxman, who helped shape Obamacare during his four decades in Congress, said that adding a public option would be \u201ca wise step and a doable step, but it\u2019s not going to be easy, even if we had President Biden and a Democratic Congress.\u201d The California Democrat dismissed single-payer insurance as \u201clike a gold ring to be held out in the distance as a desired outcome, just like the coming of the Messiah would be a wonderful opportunity.\u201d Sanders has acknowledged that his single-payer proposal currently lacks support from most Democratic senators but vowed that the party can ultimately find the votes if lawmakers listen to voters. Public polling, however, suggests that Medicare for All\u2019s support dips when Americans are told that it would involve eliminating private insurance plans \u2014 and in the highly possible 2021 scenario of a Democratic president with a Republican Senate, single-payer health care would run aground. About half of Democrats under the age of 50 and 57% of those who identify as liberal favored the creation of single-payer health insurance in a Pew Research Center poll last month, while greater shares of older and moderate-to-conservative Democrats favored a government system that preserves the private insurance industry. Given the difficulties of winning congressional approval for even the more modest, yet still significant, \u201cpublic option,\u201d one health care expert advised voters to interpret the Democratic hopefuls\u2019 health care ideas as ideological markers rather than detailed previews of a White House agenda. \u201cFrankly, no plan proposed today by a candidate is going to be the plan adopted by any Congress, ever,\u201d Kaiser Family Foundation President Drew Altman said. \u201cSo what these plans really are is a signal by candidates to voters of who they are, what they stand for, their approach to governing and how they\u2019re different from other candidates.\u201d ___ Associated Press writers Hunter Woodall in Detroit and Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "10139", "claim": "New easy-to-use TB test achieves accuracy comparable to IGRAs in Phase III trials", "explanation": "This news release summarizes the results of two clinical trials gauging the efficacy of a new test for tuberculosis \u2014 C-Tb. The study compared the new test with a more complex, and expensive, alternative and measures whether the new test works better in patients who are HIV-positive and/or who are vaccinated with the Bacillus Calmette\u2013Gu\u00e9rin (BCG) vaccine. The release provides adequate data for readers to trust its claims but doesn\u2019t mention funding sources or address whether there was any potential for conflicts of interest. To its credit, however, the release includes a basic research abstract providing more detailed information on the results from the trials. Tuberculosis is a serious problem worldwide and the World Health Organization (WHO) has a stated goal of controlling, if not eradicating, the disease by 2035. As is noted, the most often used test (TST) is associated with a high false positive rate making inappropriate treatment more likely. Given the increasing resistance of the tuberculosis bacteria, a reduction in unnecessary antibiotic treatment is welcomed. Any new test that is more accurate, less expensive and convenient to use will certainly be an asset to that effort.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Association/Society news release,Diagnostic tests", "main_text": "This release provides a very good discussion of costs, stating, \u201cThere is also a dramatic price difference between the two diagnostic tests. According to Dr. Ruhwald, a TST costs about $2; an IGRA is 20 to 40 times more expensive depending on setting.\u201d This gives readers a clear idea of the fiscal advantage of using the new test. The release provides information that the new test \u2014 the C-Tb \u2014 is almost as effective as the IGRA, or interferon gamma release assays, which are more expensive, require blood samples and complicated lab work. It also explains that C-Tb is less prone to produce false positives than the TST in BCG-vaccinated individuals. News releases on diagnostic tests should also address the balance between sensitivity \u2014 which is how good the test is at positively identifying people who actually have the problem \u2013 and specificity \u2013 how good the test is at ruling out people who don\u2019t have the problem. This release addresses the specificity issue, stating \u201cThe specificity of C-Tb, unlike the TST, was not impacted by the BCG vaccine, the partially effective vaccine that many residents in the developing world receive. TST specificity in this group was only 62 percent. The sensitivity of C-Tb was comparable to the IGRA in confirmed TB cases (77 percent vs. 81 percent), indicating similar abilities to detect infection.\u201d There\u00a0is no mention of potential harms with this new test, leaving readers to assume its safety. Although relatively minor, side effects have been noted in previous clinical trials including: \u201cLocal adverse reactions following C-Tb injection included transient itching and discomfort as expected components of the immune response.\u201d In addition, as with most diagnostic tests, there is a risk of false-positive (over-diagnosis) or false-negative (under-diagnosis) results. This should have been mentioned along with data on the test\u2019s reliability. The release discusses the results of two phase-3 clinical trials comparing the new C-Tb test against existing tests for tuberculosis. It provides specific numerical data comparing the new and existing tests in several categories, and identifies both the number of sites where the trials were held and the number of participants in each trial \u2014 information that might give readers more confidence in the reported findings. The release does not commit disease mongering. Unfortunately, the release offers no information on either funding sources for these trials or on any possible conflicts of interest that might affect the researchers. Since the release is showing results of comparisons between existing tests for tuberculosis and the new C-Tb test, there clearly are alternatives, so we\u2019ll give it a satisfactory grade in this category. The release informs readers that the test still faces a regulatory and commercial path, which strongly implies it is not yet available: \u201cRegulatory approval for C-Tb is currently being sought and Statens Serum Institute is actively seeking a commercial partner for marketing of C-Tb. The cost of a C-Tb test is to be determined; however, it is expected to be significantly less than an IGRA.\u201d The release basically says that this is a new test that\u2019s cheaper and at least as effective, if not more effective, than existing diagnostic tools \u2014 and is less complicated to perform. That certainly qualifies as novel enough for a release. The release does not appear to use any unjustifiable language."}
{"claim_id": "29364", "claim": "The U.S.'s leading group of pediatricians issued a strong statement condemning tolerance of gender dysphoria in children.", "explanation": "What's true: The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), a small and politically-motivated group, issued a statement about their beliefs on children and gender identity. What's false: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) did not issue such a statement, nor do the United States' \"leading pediatricians\" (or even a majority of pediatricians) concur with the ACPeds' position.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, american college of pediatricians, gender dysphoria, not actually a study", "main_text": "On 16 May 2016, talk show host Glenn Beck published a tweet reporting\u00a0that a pediatricians\u2019 group had said that promoting or tolerating gender dysphoria (i.e., the condition of feeling one\u2019s emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite of one\u2019s biological sex) in children constitutes \u201cchild abuse\u201d: American College of Pediatricians: Promoting Gender Dysphoria Ideology Is \u2018Child Abuse\u2019 https://t.co/5yoPFk2H2u \u2014 Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) May 16, 2016  Beck\u2019s tweet led many viewers to believe that the American Academy\u00a0of Pediatrics (AAP) had taken that stance on childhood gender dysphoria, but the tweet linked to an\u00a0article\u00a0containing quotes from the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) not the AAP: The American College of Pediatricians recently issued a temporary position statement on so-called gender identity disorder, or gender dysphoria. A full statement will be issued this summer. The temporary statement is prefaced with the following: The American College of Pediatricians urges educators and legislators to reject all policies that condition children to accept as normal a life of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex. Facts \u2014  not ideology \u2014 determine reality. \u201cThey say human sexuality is an objective, biological, binary trait, XY and XX are genetic marks of health, not genetic markers of disorders,\u201d Co-host Pat Gray said on The Glenn Beck Program. \u201cNow that seems to fit in with what, kind of, the politically correct crowd is saying right now, that gender is just a state of mind.\u201d ACPeds is\u00a0a very small group formed relatively recently in response to political disagreements over same-sex parenting, not out of any specific focus on pediatrics or the wellness of children (and the organization is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center). By\u00a0ACPeds\u2019 own admission, their original\u00a0aim\u00a0was to promote\u00a0parenting by heterosexual married couples: The Mission of the American College of Pediatricians is to enable all children to reach their optimal physical and emotional health and well-being. To this end, we recognize the basic father-mother family unit, within the context of marriage, to be the optimal setting for childhood development, but pledge our support to all children, regardless of their circumstances. The American College of Pediatricians promotes a society where all children, from the moment of their conception, are valued unselfishly. We encourage mothers, fathers and families to advance the needs of their children above their own. We expect societal forces to support the two-parent, father-mother family unit and provide for children role models of ethical character and responsible behavior. Beck\u2019s material linked to a previous\u00a0statement issued by ACPeds (\u201cGender Ideology Harms Children\u201d) that some social media users confused with a study. The statement opened with the portion Beck excerpted\u00a0before issuing an eight-point initial platform on gender identity in children, which stated (among other things) that human sexuality is an objective biological binary trait, puberty-blocking hormones can be dangerous, and that rates of suicide are twenty times greater among adults who use cross-sex hormones and undergo sex reassignment surgery. The statement provided\u00a0citations for its claims, including references to seemingly conflicting information from the respected American Psychiatric Association\u2019s \u201cGender Dysphoria Fact Sheet\u201d: In the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), people whose gender at birth is contrary to the one they identify with will be diagnosed with gender dysphoria. This diagnosis is a revision of DSM-IV\u2019s criteria for gender identity disorder and is intended to better characterize the experiences of affected children, adolescents, and adults \u2026 DSM-5 aims to avoid stigma and ensure clinical care for individuals who see and feel themselves to be a different gender than their assigned gender. It replaces the diagnostic name \u201cgender identity disorder\u201d with \u201cgender dysphoria,\u201d as well as makes other important clarifications in the criteria. It is important to note that gender nonconformity is not in itself a mental disorder. The critical element of gender dysphoria is the presence of clinically significant distress associated with the condition.\u201d The\u00a0APA\u2019s position is that gender dysphoria is\u00a0\u201cnot in itself a mental disorder,\u201d \u00a0and that children are a demographic group at risk for\u00a0compromised clinical care. A part of\u00a0ACPeds\u2019 citation that bordered\u00a0on deceptive was the fact that the American Psychiatric Association\u2019s fact sheet discussed\u00a0changes to diagnostic criteria implemented around 2013, but\u00a0ACPeds went on to cite studies that were typically more than a decade old and in direct conflict with medical science directives issued several years (and several studies) later. A September 2015 presentation from the American Academy\u00a0of Pediatrics notes\u00a0that treatment recommendations are based on the best available evidence. Their\u00a0guidance defined three approaches to gender dysphoria in children: \u201ccorrective,\u201d \u201csupporting,\u201d and \u201caffirming,\u201d with the AAP advising the \u201caffirming\u201d approach to gender dysphoria in children:    In February 2016, the AAP (not ACPeds) published a number of studies and articles about\u00a0gender identity and pediatrics, including findings that acceptance of gender identity is\u00a0associated with low risk of depression and anxiety in dysphoric pediatric patients. One\u00a0AAP article referenced research indicating that\u00a0familial support and acceptance correlates strongly with positive mental health outcomes: The study, \u201cMental Health of Transgender Children Who are Supported in Their Identities,\u201d in the March 2016 issue of Pediatrics (published online on Feb. 26) presents new research on the positive mental health outcomes of prepubescent transgender children who socially transition, or begin to live expressing their gender identities. Researchers found that children allowed to exhibit their gender, by changing their names, clothing, pronoun use, and hairstyles, had normal levels of depression, and anxiety levels only slightly above their peers. The study compares a national sample of 73 transgender prepubescent children, ages 3 to 12, with 49 of their siblings and a control group of 73 \u201ctypically developing\u201d children of the same ages. While previous research has shown that gender nonconforming youth often have elevated rates of depression and anxiety, this study suggests that familial support can be associated with good mental health outcomes among transgender children. The study authors suggest that further research will be important to evaluate the mental health of transgender children as they move into adolescence. The cited study\u2019s conclusion [PDF]\u00a0again demonstrated evidence in direct conflict with ACPeds\u2019 assertions: Socially transitioned transgender children who are supported in their gender identity have developmentally normative levels of depression and only minimal elevations in anxiety, suggesting that psychopathology is not inevitable within this group. Especially striking is the comparison with reports of children with GID; socially transitioned transgender children have notably lower rates of internalizing psychopathology than previously reported among children with GID living as their natal sex. On\u00a020 April 2016, the AAP formally called for the repeal of recent bathroom bills aimed at preventing transgender individuals (including children) from using the facilities which matched their gender identity. A larger March 2016 study published by the AAP assessed best practices in treating dysphoric patients. ACPeds and the AAP are vastly different groups. The former has an estimated membership of between 60 and 200 pediatricians, while about 64,000 such physicians are aligned with\u00a0the AAP. ACPeds also explicitly states a mission that is\u00a0overtly\u00a0political rather than medical in nature. The \u201cgender ideology\u201d statement wasn\u2019t ACPeds\u2019 first effort to mislead parents. In January 2016, the group issued a statement riddled with false and dangerous information about the HPV vaccine\u00a0Gardasil."}
{"claim_id": "36380", "claim": "Under a new law, people can be arrested for conspiracy to commit murder if anyone travels out of Georgia for an abortion.", "explanation": "New Georgia Abortion Law Conspiracy to Commit Murder Clause", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "On May 7 2019, a Facebook user shared the following screenshot of an apparent article (archived here), along with a lengthy comment about extremely restrictive new abortion laws in the state of Georgia:A lengthy comment from the original poster (paragraph breaks ours) extrapolated from the highlighted text in the screenshot, proposing scenarios in particular in which treatment of miscarriages might be affected by the legal restrictions described:For everyone who keeps thinking this bill wont affect them because you can just go out of state good luck. It\u2019s only a small 10 year prison sentence your gambling with. We now live in a state that is not protecting its female citizens and is actively going to be prosecuting them.You can now be charged with murder should you be found to have helped cause your miscarriage. Let\u2019s say smoking, or a drink, or getting in a car with a reckless driver etc. The possibilities are limitless for the ways we can now charge women with murder. Thank you governer for adding yet another reason to why the south is the absolute worst place for me and my family.I have lived and loved here but have never felt truly safe or protected and will ultimately take my skills else where. This state has some of the strictest NP regulations, a majority female profession btw, strictest abortion laws also affecting mostly women. I understand my place and value as a women in this state and it deeply hurts me everyday to realize that my rights are getting smaller everyday. I am in an interacial marriage, a childless career driven woman in ga, and trust me this state is the last place I will call safe or progressive, inclusive or \u201cnot racist\u201d.Even if I wanted children why would I bring them into this place, so they can have your corrupted christian biblical scriptures shoved down their throat, fear that should i have a son and his skin be too dark that he might not come home or be protected by our police, have a daughter who as a mixed girl in ga who will have to fight for everyone\u2019s respect and to be treated as an equal in her career, so I can have kids and have a job not hire me because I am a risk compared to my male counterpart with kids. I\u2019m done, im done with this unequal shit.The screenshot appeared to have been taken from a May 7 2019 Slate.com article: \u201cGeorgia Just Criminalized Abortion. Women Who Terminate Their Pregnancies Would Receive Life in Prison.\u201d It began:On [May 7 2019], Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed a \u201cfetal heartbeat\u201d bill that seeks to outlaw abortion after about six weeks. The measure, HB 481, is the most extreme abortion ban in the country\u2014not just because it would impose severe limitations on women\u2019s reproductive rights, but also because it would subject women who get illegal abortions to life imprisonment and the death penalty.The primary purpose of HB 481 is to prohibit doctors from terminating any pregnancy after they can detect \u201cembryonic or fetal cardiac activity,\u201d which typically occurs at six weeks\u2019 gestation. But the bill does far more than that. In one sweeping provision, it declares that \u201cunborn children are a class of living, distinct person\u201d that deserves \u201cfull legal recognition.\u201d Thus, Georgia law must \u201crecognize unborn children as natural persons\u201d\u2014not just for the purposes of abortion, but as a legal rule.A paragraphed circled in the image is italicized below. The excerpt was cut off, but the captured section of the article read:drugs while pregnant\u2014would be liable for second-degree murder, punishable by 10 to 30 years\u2019 imprisonment. Prosecutors may interrogate women who miscarry to determine whether they can be held responsible; if they find evidence of culpability, they may charge, detain, and try these women for the death of their fetuses.Even women who seek lawful abortions out of state may not escape punishment. If a Georgia resident plans to travel elsewhere to obtain an abortion, she may be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, punishable by 10 years\u2019 imprisonment. An individual who helps a woman plan her trip to get an out-of-state abortion, or transports her to the clinic, may also be charged with conspiracy. These individuals, after all, are \u201cconspiring\u201d to end of the life of a \u201cperson\u201d with \u201cfull legal recognition\u201d under Georgia law.It is entirely possible that Georgia prosecutors armed with this new statute will bring charges against women who terminate their pregnancies illegally. In 2015, a Georgia prosecutor charged Kenlissia Jones with murder after she self-terminated; he only dropped the charges afterSlate linked to the\u00a0text of the bill, \u201cHB 481 Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act,\u201d and its full text was available as a PDF. Other linked items included Georgia\u2019s existing laws regarding \u201cconspiracy,\u201d as well as a Georgia criminal defense lawyer\u2019s page on the charge of conspiracy.None of the cited resources had to do specifically with the abortion law in Georgia, and both references predated the legislation entirely. Their presence in the article was part of the author\u2019s speculation that such a charge would be applied to people attempting to circumvent the restrictive abortion law, but we found no direct line between the legislation and Georgia\u2019s laws about conspiracy to commit a crime.In another portion of Slate\u2019s piece, the author again linked to existing laws and applied their existence to the abortion law signed in 2019:But the most startling effect of HB 481 may be its criminalization of women who seek out unlawful abortions or terminate their own pregnancies. An earlier Georgia law imposing criminal penalties for illegal abortions does not apply to women who self-terminate; the new measure, by contrast, conspicuously lacks such a limitation. It can, and would, be used to prosecute women. Misoprostol, a drug that treats stomach ulcers but also induces abortions, is extremely easy to obtain on the internet, and American women routinely use it to self-terminate. It is highly effective in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Anti-abortion advocates generally insist that they do not want to punish women who undergo abortions. But HB 481 does exactly that. Once it takes effect, a woman who self-terminates will have, as a matter of law, killed a human\u2014thereby committing murder. The penalty for that crime in Georgia is life imprisonment or capital punishment.Additional coverage such as an\u00a0editorial in the\u00a0Guardian extrapolated similarly from news of the law\u2019s passage, but linked to Slate as its source for the speculative aspects. In that piece, the author noted that it was tempting to consider the law would not be enforced in the manner in which Slate imagined, but that the possibility was nevertheless alarming.Other coverage like a Newsweek\u00a0article focused on the cadre of similarly restrictive laws being passed or considered in other states, and opposition to the law in general. As the\u00a0Atlanta Journal-Constitution pointed out, Georgia\u2019s \u201cheartbeat\u201d bill would not go into effect until January 1 2020. A representative for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia expressed reservations about the bill\u2019s additional \u201cfetal personification\u201d aspects in that article:If this were just a straight, six-week abortion ban the law on that would be clear on its face. This has so many elements to it that have been cobbled together.The Slate piece and numerous aggregations of it speculated that the provisions of the Georgia law could potentially extend to charges of murder and conspiracy for: women seeking abortions despite the ban, women who miscarry and are blamed for the pregnancy loss, women who travel out of state to obtain abortions where abortions are legal, and parties who either contribute to the occurrence of miscarriage or assist a Georgia resident in obtaining an abortion out of state.No such language appears in the bill itself \u2014 but as many outlets noted, that alone was not evidence that the claims are unfounded. The Slate article\u2019s premise appeared to hinge largely on Section Two of HB 481, granting unprecedented legal personhood status to embryos:The General Assembly of Georgia makes the following findings: (1) In the founding of the United States of America, the State of Georgia and the several states affirmed that: \u201cWe hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness \u2013 that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among men;\u201d (2) To protect the fundamental rights of all persons, and specifically to protect the fundamental rights of particular classes of persons who had not previously been recognized under law, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, providing that, \u201cnor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws\u201d; (3) Modern medical science, not available decades ago, demonstrates that unborn children are a class of living, distinct persons and more expansive state recognition of unborn children as persons did not exist when Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and Roe v. Wade (1973) established abortion related precedents; (4) The State of Georgia, applying reasoned judgment to the full body of modern medical science, recognizes the benefits of providing full legal recognition to an unborn child above the minimum requirements of federal law; (5) Article I, Section I, Paragraphs I and II of the Constitution of the State of Georgia affirm that \u201c[n]o person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law\u201d; and that \u201c[p]rotection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws\u201d; and (6) It shall be the policy of the State of Georgia to recognize unborn children as natural persons.Section Three of HB 481 provided that a \u201cdetectable human heartbeat\u201d determined the process by which an embryo was bestowed the rights of a person under the 14th Amendment:Unless otherwise provided by law, any natural person, including an unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat, shall be included in population based determinations.Slate\u2019s article, references to it, and social media screenshots of it redirected debate over Georgia\u2019s restrictive new anti-abortion laws to suggest that the law involved the investigation of miscarriages, criminalized out-of-state abortions, and included penalties for anyone who assists a resident of the state in obtaining an abortion.What the bill legislates is extreme, and HB 481 grants unprecedented rights of personhood to embryos. As Slate pointed out, under that law women\u00a0could be prosecuted for miscarriages or traveling out of state \u2014 but the law wouldn\u2019t go into effect until at least January 2020, and no information suggested that prosecutors\u00a0would seek to charge women who electively abort or miscarry in such a fashion.Although the viral article presented a possibility under the law as written, those provisions themselves were not written into the law. The most critical part had little to do with miscarriage or traveling to obtain abortions, but rather the granting of rights to embryos prior to fetal stages. While the possibility remained that all of the claims about applications of the law\u00a0could occur under it, they were not coded into the law or implied by it."}
{"claim_id": "3010", "claim": "Iowa Legislature back to talk taxes, workers, child care.", "explanation": "The Iowa Legislature convenes Monday with Republicans firmly in control and in a position to set the agenda for another session on topics ranging from tax policy and education funding to rural child care and mental health for children.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Legislature, Iowa, Mental health, Health, General News, Business, Kim Reynolds, Child care", "main_text": "Amid the state\u2019s nearly $300 million budget surplus, Gov. Kim Reynolds will lay our her priorities Tuesday in her Condition of the State address. Here are some issues expected to come up this year: WORKFORCE Iowa has one of the nation\u2019s lowest unemployment rates and highest labor force participation rates, meaning there aren\u2019t many workers seeking jobs. Reynolds and legislative leaders said those trends are hampering business growth. \u201cWe need to find ways to get more people in the state to work in our workforce, and we need to find more ways to bring people to our state, too,\u201d said Senate President Charles Schneider. CHILD CARE Child care plays a role in workforce discussions because parents are more likely to take full-time jobs if they don\u2019t have to spend much of their income on day care. Legislative leaders note government programs offsetting child care expenses typically are limited by income. House Democratic leader Todd Prichard said the situation is especially hard for families who have more than one child. Incoming House Speaker Pat Grassley said besides money issues, there are big concerns about ensuring the quality of child care and making it accessible. TAXES Legislators likely will discuss raising the state sales tax by 1% and dedicating some of the money to a water quality program overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2010 but never funded. The measure created the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund and authorized a sales tax increase of 3/8 cents to fund it. Lawmakers didn\u2019t approve the funding aspect. Discussion is focused on boosting the sales tax by 1 percent to allocate the 3/8 cents for water quality and recreation and discussing how to use the other 5/8 cents. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver said Republicans will only consider tax changes that would lower taxes. MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING Lawmakers last year created the first statewide program for children seeking help for depression and other mental health issues, but they didn\u2019t fund most of the effort. Reynolds has pushed to approve dedicated funds during this session. Whitver said Iowa has historically paid for mental health care with property taxes and questioned whether that should change. \u201cIt\u2019s different from the rest of the country,\u201d Whitver said. \u201cI think we should take a hard look at whether we should continue to use property taxes for that purpose.\u201d  He said there may be an opportunity to lower property taxes and find long-term sustainable funding for mental health. Senate Democratic leader Janet Petersen cautioned against taking money from the adult program to fund the new children\u2019s initiative. \u201cWe\u2019re going to need to find a different and sustainable revenue source,\u201d she said. FELON VOTING Reynolds has said she will again push lawmakers to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow felons to vote once they\u2019ve completed their sentences. Iowa is now the only state to require felons to seek voting right restoration from the governor. Senate Republicans declined to act on her proposal last year and Reynolds\u2019 proposal could again face opposition. \u201cThere are still several hurdles to get over to get that through the Iowa Senate,\u201d Whitver said. ANIMAL ABUSE Last year the House unanimously approved a measure seeking increased penalties for the mistreatment of pets and more regulation of the pet breeding industry, but the effort stalled in the Senate. Backers of such a measure are expected to try again in this session. \u201cIt is closer than it\u2019s ever been,\u201d Whitver said. \u201cI do think there\u2019s a lot of passion from Iowans on that issue and we certainly want to be responsive to the wishes of Iowans and act when needed.\u201d RURAL IOWA Legislators will likely discuss proposals for boosting job prospects and quality of life in rural areas. One of Petersen\u2019s priorities is to address the closure of rural hospitals and specifically labor and delivery services. Iowa has had 35 labor and delivery departments close in recent years and Petersen said 10 more could close soon. Petersen said Iowa\u2019s rate of women dying during pregnancy has more than doubled in the past three years, which she called shameful. Funding for improved broadband coverage in rural areas and tax credits to encourage improvement of housing are other issues expected to get some attention. SOCIAL ISSUES With Republicans facing the potential that the November election could return House control to the Democrats, some conservatives may see that as their last opportunity to change laws regulating abortion and other matters. Legislators approved laws restricting abortion in the past few years but the changes were struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court, which ruled the Iowa Constitution protects the right of women to control their own bodies and obtain an abortion. Senate Republicans are expected to propose a constitutional amendment reversing that ruling to say there is no right to an abortion in Iowa. \u201cI expect there will be legislation filed,\u201d Schneider said. Republicans also are expected to introduce a bill requiring Iowans on welfare to work, and GOP lawmakers will likely back a bill allowing capital punishment for someone convicted of the kidnap, rape and murder of a child. Iowa outlawed the death penalty in 1965."}
{"claim_id": "6002", "claim": "\u2018Super coral\u2019 scientist dies in Hawaii at age 56.", "explanation": "Pioneering coral reef scientist Ruth Gates, who dedicated much of her career to saving the world\u2019s fragile and deteriorating underwater reef ecosystems, has died. She was 56.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Hawaii, North America, Science, Honolulu, Corals, Coral reefs, University of Hawaii", "main_text": "Gates died in Honolulu on Thursday, the University of Hawaii said Tuesday. The researcher, also the president of the International Society for Reef Studies, was diagnosed with brain cancer in May and had been on medical leave since. Gates became known globally for her idea to speed up coral evolution and create more resilient reefs. The Associated Press first wrote about her project to breed \u201dsuper coral \u201d in 2015. Her goal was to develop coral that could withstand the devastating effects of climate change. Her work was featured in the 2017 Netflix documentary \u201cChasing Coral.\u201d Warmer ocean temperatures can cause corals to go through a process known as bleaching, where the animals become weak and sick. Repeated bleaching events can lead to coral death and the loss of entire reef ecosystems. Gates\u2019 colleague and partner in the assisted evolution project, professor Madeleine van Oppen of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said Gates was \u201ca great inspiration\u201d to many. \u201cShe was intelligent, professional and had a wonderful sense of humour,\u201d Van Oppen told the AP in an email. \u201cShe was a great ambassador for the reef and a role model for women in coral reef science.\u201d Van Oppen said it\u2019s a shame she will not be able to see the long-term impacts of their research. \u201cBut I will work extra hard to try and make it a success in her honour,\u201d she said. Gates was known for her innovative science, but she was also widely admired for her welcoming, energetic and cheerful personality. \u201cRuth was not only a shining star in coral research, but an indomitable spirit in every aspect of life,\u201d said Judy Lemus, interim director the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and friend of Gates. \u201cHer enthusiasm was contagious, and she absolutely loved what she did. Her loss will be felt deeply within our own community and throughout the broader research community.\u201d Mark Eakin, coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Coral Reef Watch program, said Gates\u2019 death is a loss for the entire scientific community. \u201cRuth was really a force of nature, I mean she was just an amazingly productive scientist, one of the brightest, most inquisitive minds that we had in the whole field of coral reef science. Her energy was boundless,\u201d Eakin said in a phone interview. Gates faced a \u201cwhole suite of criticisms\u201d over her plan to breed stronger corals, but \u201crather than dismissing those criticisms, she would embrace them\u201d Eakin said. \u201cShe is the kind of great leader who has trained so many and left a legacy of students who will be able to pick up and continue this work.\u201d Mariana Rocha de Souza, a doctoral student in Gates\u2019 lab, said in an email to the AP that her mentor was an advocate for women in science. \u201cWe are a very gender balanced lab and she encouraged us as PhD students to do the same when selecting the professors in our committee. She motivated us, women in science by telling her experience and encouraging us to fight,\u201d Rocha de Souza said. Gates\u2019 research won the support of philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, allowing her to expand, develop and test her theories in a lab on Oahu\u2019s Coconut Island. \u201cRuth Gates realized before most others that for corals to survive climate change, their adaptation to warming waters will have to be assisted,\u201d said Lauren Kickham, director of product management at Paul G. Allen Philanthropies. \u201cShe believed in their resilience and ultimately offered hope for the future.\u201d Allen, 65, died Oct. 15 from complications of non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma. Gates was born in Akrotiri, Cyprus, in 1962 and is survived by her wife, Robin Burton-Gates, and her brother, Tim Gates. ___ Follow AP Hawaii Correspondent on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalebAP ___ This story has been corrected to show the release date of the documentary \u201cChasing Coral\u201d was 2017, not 2018."}
{"claim_id": "8984", "claim": "Older patients with knee pain may benefit from allograft transplant technique", "explanation": "The news release focuses on a small-scale study comparing the outcomes of osteochondral allograft transplantation \u2014 a technique that replaces damaged knee cartilage with healthy cartilage from a donor. The researchers used the technique to treat knee pain in two groups of patients: those over the age of forty and those under the age of forty. Specifically, the release reports that osteochondral allograft transplantation \u2014 sometimes in conjunction with additional surgery \u2014 can be an effective treatment for older adults. However, the release offers little detailed information. For example, it fails to address costs, potential harms, or quantified benefits related to the procedure. It also didn\u2019t explain that the control group used in the study wasn\u2019t really adequate to demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure. Knee pain is a common complaint that increases with age. In older individuals, symptoms are often related to arthritis due to \u201cwear and tear\u201d over time. Problems with the cartilage that covers the bone are thought to be a common factor that contributes to these arthritic changes. If the cartilage is lost in certain places, the result is bone on bone irritation without the protective surface that the cartilage provides. There are many causes for developing cartilage defects, but one is prior knee surgery, commonly arthroscopic (\u201cscope\u201d) procedures done to repair tears in the pad (meniscus) that cushion the knee bones. That is why most patients in this study had a history of prior surgery. Treatment for cartilage damage has focused on ways to regrow it so that the defects can be repaired. This study reports on one such procedure. The key issue evaluated here is the age of the patient. This is important because with increasing age the cartilage problems get worse and don\u2019t respond to repair attempts. So studies demonstrating similar benefit in older compared to younger patients may be important. But it is also important to know that even in younger patients, such techniques haven\u2019t been shown in high quality studies to really work, especially in longer-term follow-up studies. Thus saying that outcomes were similar in younger and older patients may mislead readers by overlooking the generally limited evidence of success, especially over time, in younger patients.", "label": "false", "subjects": "knee arthritis", "main_text": "Costs are not addressed at all. A 2007 article from Orthopedics Today\u00a0estimated the cost of an allograft at approximately $10,000. The relevant cost may have gone up or down in the intervening years, but is likely still considerable \u2014 and well worth mentioning. Benefits are not quantified at all. The release refers only to \u201cstatistically significant improvement\u201d for IKDC and \u201call five KOOS sub-scores.\u201d The release does not tell readers what \u201cstatistically significant improvement\u201d means, nor do they explain what IKDC or KOOS stand for \u2014 much less what the various sub-scores are. We assume from the language in the release that it is intended largely for an expert audience. However, news releases are ultimately aimed at reporters \u2014 that\u2019s what makes them news releases. While some reporters may be familiar with IKDC or KOOS, many reporters (even very good ones) are not. It would be more than worthwhile to include a few additional sentences articulating what the scores are, what the relevant numerical benefits were, and why the researchers deemed the changes in these scores to be important. Potential harms are not discussed at all. No surgery is completely without risks, so this is not an acceptable oversight. For example, as of 2007, Orthopedics Today was still highlighting the fact that \u201cDisease transmission also remains a worry for surgeons using allografts.\u201d The release is so concise, we aren\u2019t really sure what is being done. It appears that the genesis of the study is that this procedure works in younger patients and now the question is whether it works in older ones. But as noted above, the effectiveness of this procedure in younger patients hasn\u2019t been conclusively demonstrated. So the control group of younger\u00a0patients is problematic for making comparisons. Also left out is the real question of whether this treatment in older patients results in better outcomes compared to a sham or placebo treatment or another active treatment. That would be the control group that could allow for a meaningful assessment of benefit. For all intents and purposes, there is no real control group of similar patients (based upon age here) who were randomly assigned to receive a different treatment. Another problem is that the release misstates the number of patients involved. The release refers to 80 patients \u2014 38 in the study group and 42 in the control group. The abstract for the relevant study says that there were 33 patients in the study group and 35 in the control group, for a total of 68 patients. A difference of 12 patients may not be hugely significant in a large study, but a cohort of 68 patients is 15 percent smaller than a cohort of 80. It\u2019s problematic to make a mistake on a point as basic as this one. There was no disease mongering. However, the story also doesn\u2019t provide any context on what this procedure is supposed to treat or the impact of that condition. We\u2019ll rate this Not Applicable. The release does not say how the research was funded, nor does it address conflicts of interest. To be clear, the research may have been internally funded, and there may well be no conflicts of interest \u2014 but it\u2019s important for a release to state that explicitly. Other techniques for addressing knee pain, including oral medications, injectable medications, physical therapy, and other surgical treatment options, are not mentioned. It is not clear from the release how or why osteochondral allograft transplantation may be more advantageous than other options. The release notes that \u201costeochondral allograft transplantation has traditionally been used in younger active patients with cartilage disorders.\u201d Readers can infer from this that the technique is already available, although it may not be available everywhere and not all insurers will cover these procedures. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of journal articles out there regarding the use of osteochondral allograft transplantation to address knee problems. What sets this one apart? Presumably it is the first to directly compare outcomes between older and younger adults, but the release doesn\u2019t explicitly tell readers that. The release is very careful to use cautious language, such as noting in the headline that \u201colder patients with knee pain may benefit\u201d [emphasis added] from the relevant treatment technique."}
{"claim_id": "9565", "claim": "Babies Should Eat Eggs and Peanuts Early to Avoid Food Allergies", "explanation": "This is a brief\u00a0story looking at\u00a0a systematic review of 146 other studies, concluding that there is likely some reduction in risk of allergy to eggs and peanuts if infants get those foods for the first time between 4-6 months, instead of later. The\u00a0review lends more evidence to the theory that some allergies can be avoided, paradoxically, by exposing children earlier to the allergen, such as peanuts or eggs. But this is not the final word, and the researchers make that clear in their review, stating, \u201cthese systematic review findings should not automatically lead to new recommendations to feed egg and peanut to all infants.\u201d This viewpoint is missing from the TIME story, which headlined this story with a very conclusive statement: \u201cBabies Should Eat Eggs and Peanuts Early to Avoid Food Allergies.\u201d \u00a0 Food allergies are common and on the rise in the U.S. Parents deserve more context and some of the caveats behind why the researchers caution against a blanket recommendation.", "label": "false", "subjects": "allergies,diet", "main_text": "Cost does not apply to in this example of eating habits. However, the story would have been stronger with some context about how much money is spent on treating child food allergies. Even in this short story, we need some metric for measuring the benefit. The story says there was evidence that introducing peanuts earlier to infant diets provided a \u201crisk reduction\u201d of later allergy. How much of a risk reduction? Was the reduction similar between eggs and peanuts? The journal article itself gives some absolute risk numbers. For egg allergy, the study shows a reduction of 24 cases per 1,000 children. For peanut allergy, the risk is reduced by 18 cases per 1,000 children. But the authors warn that the \u201ccertainty of the evidence\u201d was downgraded due to some gray areas in how the studies were done. According to the news release, the study authors say that we need \u201ca careful assessment of the safety and acceptability of early egg and peanut introduction in different populations\u201d before rolling this out widely. What are these safety concerns? The story doesn\u2019t say. The story tells us this was a review of past studies including 146 total. It would have been better to describe the systematic review in more detail, including key limitations. For example, while the reviewers looked at 146 studies, they only had five studies that yielded the evidence for eggs and only two studies that yielded the evidence for peanuts. And, we think this viewpoint stressed in the study\u2019s discussion section didn\u2019t quite make it into the news story, which it should have: \u201cThese systematic review findings should not automatically lead to new recommendations to feed egg and peanut to all infants.\u201d As we point out in our summary, this seems in direct conflict with the headline on the story (\u201cBabies Should Eat Eggs and Peanuts Early to Avoid Food Allergies\u201d). There was no disease mongering. The story quotes only one scientist, and that is his written comment from an editorial accompanying the study, not an interview. This source, Dr. Matthew Greenhawt, has a potential conflict of interest that wasn\u2019t disclosed: He\u2019s a member of the scientific advisory council for the National Peanut Board, among other affiliations clearly stated in the study\u2019s editorial. This story does not seem to require comparison of alternatives, since it isn\u2019t about treatments. The food items are widely available. The story establishes the novelty of the research here: \u201cThis is relatively new thinking. Not so long ago, in 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that allergenic foods be kept away from infants until they were at least a year old, and often older. ..That advice has been amended, and newer evidence has shown that introducing foods earlier is actually better for preventing food allergies.\u201d The story doesn\u2019t offer much beyond the\u00a0news release, but it doesn\u2019t appear to use verbatim phrases or quotes."}
{"claim_id": "2418", "claim": "Kettlebells swing to a full body workout.", "explanation": "Few workout tools are more versatile than kettlebells, the ancient market counterweights that were hoisted by Russian strongmen and now can be found in weight rooms at gyms across the country, fitness experts say.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "But kettlebells, which come in varying weights, are often thought mistakenly to be the preserve of strongmen and extreme athletes. Steve Cotter, a former Kung Fu competitor and the founder and director of the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation, said part of the problem was that the kettlebell was marketed as a hard-core tool that implied intensity. \u201cIt prevents beginners from giving it a shot,\u201d said Cotter in an interview. But the San Diego-based author of \u201cKettlebell Training: 95 exercises for strength, toning, stamina and weight loss,\u201d said novices should not be deterred. \u201cIf you only have 30 minutes a day to commit to exercise, the kettlebell is an all-in-one, hand-held gym,\u201d he said. The key to kettlebell training, Cotter added, is incremental progression. He recommends starting off with light weights, using one or two basic moves like the swing, during which the exerciser moves the kettlebell between the legs like a pendulum, forward and up and then back and down. Normal, healthy women might begin with an eight-kilogram (17.6-pound) kettlebell, he said, while men can start with 16-kilograms (35.2 pounds). \u201cIt sounds pretty heavy, but it\u2019s not the same approach as a dumbbell because you\u2019re swinging it, relying on inertia,\u201d Cotter explained. \u201cIt\u2019s more on the endurance side.\u201d  Because the center of mass extends beyond the hand, the kettlebell allows for ballistic, or fast, swinging motions that combine cardio-respiratory, strength, and flexibility training. The result is an all-around, functional fitness workout that mimics everyday activities such as shoveling snow or working in the garden, he said. Amy Dixon, who teaches Kettlebell Power, a group class at an Equinox Fitness center in Los Angeles, said the workout is beneficial because it puts the body through so many ranges of motion. \u201cYour body is completely integrated, so you\u2019re moving everything,\u201d said Dixon, the creator of \u201cRaise Some Bell - The Ultimate Kettlebell Core Workout\u201d DVD. She calls it \u201cone of the best pieces of equipment that\u2019s been around for centuries.\u201d  For Richard Cotton, spokesman for the American College of Sports Medicine, the appeal of the kettlebell is its practicality. \u201cKettlebells are inexpensive. They don\u2019t take up a lot of space, and they enable a variety of exercises,\u201d Cotton said. Unlike free weights, which tend to be linear, kettlebells work across all planes, he explained. \u201cI think they\u2019re here to stay among a wide population ... I could even see senior kettlebell workouts, so long as they take it easy,\u201d said Cotton, who advises people to progress slowly, starting with light weights. Cotter stresses that there\u2019s nothing mystical about working with kettlebells. But lifting with the back is incorrect, he said. The back should be flat, with creasing at the hips. \u201cThere\u2019s no boredom to it,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery workout can be different, and it feels almost like dancing.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "4822", "claim": "Meet Eugene\u2019s young climate \u2018warriors\u2019.", "explanation": "There\u2019s the punk rocker, the animal lover and the shy performer. A future educator, a taekwondo black belt and an outdoorsman also are part of the group.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Taekwondo, Climate, Animals, Lawsuits, Environment, Punk rock, Financial markets, Climate change, Eugene", "main_text": "All six young people from Eugene are among 21 youth plaintiffs suing the federal government in an unprecedented, constitutional climate change lawsuit that seeks to overhaul the nation\u2019s energy system. The landmark environmental case is scheduled to go to trial at the U.S. Courthouse in Eugene on Oct. 29. The youths\u2019 lawsuit, filed in 2015, asserts the government has for decades promoted fossil fuel production while disregarding dangers associated with greenhouse gas emissions that affect the climate. It seeks a court order requiring the government to make a plan that works to drastically reduce those emissions. The plaintiffs \u2014 between the ages of 11 and 22 years old \u2014 all say their lives are affected by a changing environment. And they say it makes sense for them to sue because it\u2019s their generation and those in the future who will disproportionately face the impact of climate change. Some of the youths assert a warming planet already has hampered their ability to learn and recreate in nature, while others say it threatens their customs and livelihoods. Others have experienced stress and loss brought on by natural disasters such as flooding, drought and wildfires. And some have expressed concern about the state of the world when it comes time for them to have children. \u201cWe\u2019re not talking about our parents\u2019 harms,\u201d lead plaintiff Kelsey Juliana of Eugene said. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about our harms.\u201d The group is supported by Our Children\u2019s Trust, a Eugene-based nonprofit organization founded by attorney Julia Olson that has taken similar legal actions against governments in all 50 states. Olson credits Juliana with recruiting many of the youths to join her in suing the federal government. Some of her fellow Eugene plaintiffs signed up after they repeatedly testified in favor of a carbon-reduction climate ordinance passed by the Eugene City Council in 2014. And other young people named in the case who live elsewhere had been involved with environmental groups and Our Children\u2019s Trust-sponsored lawsuits in their home states and communities. One takeaway from interviews with the six plaintiffs from Eugene is this: There\u2019s plenty that\u2019s normal about these young people. But what may separate them from many of their peers is a commitment \u2014 to borrow a term \u2014 to thinking globally and acting locally in regard to a societal issue that\u2019s far bigger than themselves. \u201cThis case is for young people (and) future generations who can\u2019t represent themselves in other branches of government,\u201d Juliana said. ---- Kelsey Juliana Kelsey Juliana says \u201ceverybody\u201d figures she\u2019ll someday become a lawyer or politician. But the 22-year-old Eugene resident \u2014 who first sued the government over climate change eight years ago \u2014 has a different career plan. She wants to teach fifth grade at a public school in her hometown. \u201cI\u2019ve always looked up to teachers,\u201d Juliana said during an interview in the backyard of her family\u2019s longtime home in south Eugene. She recalls fifth grade being somewhat difficult for her, and said she would like to guide children through their last year before entering middle school, which she referred to as \u201cbig kid world.\u201d Juliana, who is the oldest and perhaps best-known of the 21 youth plaintiffs in the federal case, said one of her younger cohorts has characterized her as \u201cthe cool aunt\u201d of the group. It\u2019s a role she enjoys, and one that comes somewhat naturally to Juliana, who has a younger brother and also baby-sits. \u201cI have so much faith and hope in young people, and I truly see them as leaders,\u201d she said. \u201cNot \u2018future leaders.\u2019 I don\u2019t like that term. Youth aren\u2019t the future. We are the now.\u201d The child of environmental activists, Juliana attended the Village School in Eugene from kindergarten through eighth grade. Before starting her freshman year at South Eugene High School, she and another Eugene girl were named as plaintiffs in a climate lawsuit against the state of Oregon. That case is now before the Oregon Court of Appeals. She postponed higher education for a few months in 2014, opting instead to walk across the country as part of the Great March for Climate Action. She then began taking classes at Warren Wilson College, a liberal-arts college in Asheville, North Carolina, which boasts a working farm and a managed forest. But she\u2019s now back home and studying environmental studies at the University of Oregon. After obtaining her bachelor\u2019s degree, Juliana plans to work toward a teaching credential. The move back to Oregon made sense in relation to her career plan as well as her climate work. And of course, she is the lead plaintiff in a major federal case scheduled to go to trial in Eugene later this year. \u201cI realized this is where everything is happening,\u201d Juliana said. ---- Sahara Valentine For a self-described shy person, Sahara Valentine certainly puts herself out in front of people quite a bit. Involvement in the lawsuit, the 14-year-old says, has helped raise her confidence. \u201cI\u2019m finding my voice,\u201d Sahara said last month, one day before she performed with a marimba group at the Zimbabwe Music Festival in Monmouth. She\u2019s also been a member of her school\u2019s track team, a leader at a youth summer camp and spoke about the case \u2014 alongside co-plaintiff Avery McRae \u2014 to fifth-graders during a trip last year to San Francisco. And, on request, she\u2019s quick to bust out a ukulele and play a song. During a recent Friday morning at her home, the tune she chose was \u201cEight Days a Week\u201d by The Beatles. The music lover also plays guitar and has begun learning the cello \u2014 which she says produces a \u201cdignified\u201d sound. Sahara also attended the Village School, and this month became a South Eugene High School freshman. \u201cI\u2019m nervous because I don\u2019t know what to expect,\u201d she said this summer, echoing the thoughts of countless teens throughout history. She joined the lawsuit after attending a camp led by Olson and Our Children\u2019s Trust, and she testified along with several of her future co-plaintiffs in favor of the city of Eugene\u2019s so-called climate recovery ordinance, which sets a goal for city operations to be carbon-neutral by 2020. As for the federal case, Sahara said it\u2019s bugged her to hear people assume that lawyers and parents are pushing the youth plaintiffs to participate. \u201cObviously, they\u2019re not,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is what we believe in, and we\u2019re choosing to be part of this case.\u201d Sahara said she\u2019s learned much about the issue of human-caused climate change \u2014 including its potential effects on the forests and waters she\u2019s always enjoyed \u2014 since agreeing to be a plaintiff. It\u2019s also afforded her an opportunity to meet many people while serving as \u201can icebreaker\u201d for conversations. \u201cSometimes it feels like a lot to carry, because we have so many people cheering us on,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it feels really good to know that so many are with us in this.\u201d ---- Zealand Bell A symbol of Eugene environmentalism spreads out just beyond Zealand Bell\u2019s backyard gate. Zealand, 14, says he\u2019s spent significant time over the years in Madison Meadow, a 2-acre natural area set between homes in the Friendly area neighborhood. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of cool to have a giant field in your back yard where you can just go hang out and play,\u201d he said of the meadow, which neighbors a decade ago raised more than $500,000 to keep from being developed into housing. Zealand is all about the outdoors, and said that\u2019s what has driven his interest in climate action. \u201cClimate change just makes it harder to do things outside,\u201d he said. He also sees it as a factor in devastating fires that have become more common across the West in recent years. Zealand\u2019s family spent last winter break in the Santa Rosa, Calif., area, helping his grandmother move into an apartment after her home was destroyed by a wind-driven blaze. \u201cIt\u2019s scary,\u201d he said. Zealand \u2014 whose parents are public school teachers in Eugene \u2014 attended Camas Ridge Community Elementary and Roosevelt Middle schools. This month, he started classes at South Eugene High School. Now nearing a height of 6 feet, Zealand will be part of South\u2019s rowing club and is considering whether to try out for basketball. Entering high school \u201cis not a crazy, big deal,\u201d he said. But his summer vacation was exactly that. Zealand and his family returned to Eugene in early August after a monthlong trip to Australia and New Zealand. The latter nation is where his parents honeymooned and came up with the name for their future son. He said New Zealand residents \u201cthought it was pretty funny\u201d whenever they heard his first name. Upon returning to Oregon, Zealand repacked his bags and attended a weekend retreat at Waldo Lake with other plaintiffs in the federal case. He says it was a rare chance to simply relax with the group \u2014 an experience he found to be \u201cway better\u201d than the occasions when they gather for court hearings and other case-related matters. ---- Avery McRae Environmental activism already was old hat to Avery McRae when, at age 10, she agreed to be a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the government. As a first-grader, Avery threw a fundraising party for the then-endangered snow leopard. She raised about $200, which she donated to the nonprofit Snow Leopard Trust. She hosted similar events for other species the next two years, raising a little more money each time. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a soft spot for animals,\u201d Avery, now 13, said while being interviewed in the backyard of her south Eugene home where her family raises chickens and rabbits. She still thinks often about threatened and endangered species, and said those concerns \u2014 along with a worry about the impact of climate change on hers and future generations \u2014 are what fueled her desire to join the lawsuit. \u201cBecause I can\u2019t vote, the court is a way to get my voice heard,\u201d she said. It\u2019s horses \u2014 particularly a \u201csuper old\u201d equine named Serendipity that resides in a stable where Avery has spent parts of the summer working and learning to ride \u2014 that represent her current obsession. She describes horse riding the way that others might talk about activities such as surfing or rock climbing. \u201cWhen you\u2019re on a horse, your focus is entirely on what you\u2019re doing,\u201d Avery said. The teenager also has spent time this summer at a Mount St. Helens science camp and taking piano lessons. And, while Avery enjoyed a break from homework over the summer, she was excited to see friends as she entered her eighth-grade year at the Village School. Her classmates and teachers have been supportive of her involvement in the federal case, but she\u2019s not sure school officials will sign off on her hope to attend the trial weekly once it begins. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of a big ask for my school. But it\u2019s really going to be important for the judge to see young people there,\u201d said Avery, the second-youngest plaintiff in the suit. The amount of support she and the other plaintiffs have received as the case winds through the courts has been a bit overwhelming, she said. \u201cSometimes, I\u2019m like, \u2018I don\u2019t really deserve this (attention), do I?\u2019\u201d Avery said. \u201cI mean, I really am just a normal 13-year-old.\u201d ---- Hazel Van Ummersen One probably shouldn\u2019t mess with Hazel Van Ummersen. In May, the South Eugene High School freshman earned her black belt in taekwondo, a Korean martial art that emphasizes kicks and power. \u201cBreaking boards is really fun,\u201d Hazel, 14, said. It took nearly seven years for her to achieve the rank of black belt, and Hazel said the training taught her the values of \u201cperseverance and endurance.\u201d That\u2019s been particularly helpful as she patiently awaits the outcome of a big-time court case filed on her behalf when she was 11. \u201cI didn\u2019t know it would take this long,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought at first it could be over in a year.\u201d Hazel has attended Edgewood Elementary and Spencer Butte Middle schools. Her interests include the outdoors, travel and reading, and she may have caught the acting bug after being cast in a production of \u201cTo Kill A Mockingbird\u201d put on by the Very Little Theatre in Eugene. Apparently, she\u2019s already somewhat locally known. She recalled a time when a woman who has been following the federal case asked her to autograph a shirt while shopping at a Market of Choice. \u201cI think it\u2019s good that people recognize us,\u201d Hazel said. The experience of being a plaintiff in a lawsuit has her thinking about a career plan. \u201cIt would be pretty cool to be a lawyer,\u201d she said, mentioning her ever-increasing interest in environmental and social justice work. But for now, she\u2019s experiencing the normal anxiety and excitement that are so common among teens heading into high school. Hazel remains one of the younger plaintiffs. But the title of \u201cclimate kid\u201d doesn\u2019t exactly suit her. Hazel said she and her co-plaintiffs can more accurately be described as \u201cclimate justice warriors\u201d who may have at first understood the threat of climate change but now more thoroughly comprehend its potential effects on their generation. She\u2019s already associated it with an inability to ski or sled in the mountains because of declining snowpack and warmer winters, and the bouts of heat exhaustion she experienced in 2015 during a trip to Washington, D.C. \u201cAs an 11-year-old I didn\u2019t fully understand what it meant to be involved\u201d in the litigation, she said. \u201cI\u2019m definitely a lot more politically aware of what\u2019s going on in our country now.\u201d ---- Kiran Oommen Kiran Oommen says his family supports his music. It\u2019s just that they don\u2019t all want to listen to it. \u201cMy grandma apparently watched the video (of his hardcore punk band) with the sound off,\u201d Oommen, 21, said. The son of a United Christian Church minister and a school teacher, Oommen \u2014 one of the oldest plaintiffs in the federal case \u2014 is a punk rocker who organizes community events and concerts, and is heading into his senior year at Seattle University. He worked full-time this summer for the university\u2019s garden department while living in a co-op house for musicians in the \u201cfolk-punk community\u201d that includes one of his bands, Geophagia. He\u2019s also played in hardcore bands. \u201cIt just has an energy and anger that resonated with me\u201d as a teenager, Oommen said of his interest in fast-paced, politically minded punk music. A longtime guitar player, he sings and plays mandolin in Geophasia. Oommen is a Village School product who graduated in 2015 from Churchill High School. It was during his senior year that he was asked to join the lawsuit after he attended a youth climate-justice camp put on by the Civil Liberties Defense Center in Eugene. Oommen now serves as a CLDC board member and says he may consider pursuing a law degree while also being \u201cas active as possible in the environmental movement.\u201d As a teenager, he joined Eugene-based activist group Cascadia Forest Defenders and picked environmentalism as the social movement he wanted to focus on the most. \u201cI think climate change is the biggest issue in the world right now because it really affects everyone,\u201d Oommen said. He said his college experience in Seattle has been great, particularly because of the city\u2019s active music scene. But he hasn\u2019t been able to spend much time recently in his hometown, which has its own charms. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot harder to access the outdoors up here,\u201d Oommen said in a phone interview. \u201cOne thing I love about Eugene is that I can just get on my bike, ride out and look at the stars.\u201d While it might interfere with school, Oommen plans to be home often once the trial begins. \u201cPersonally, I think it\u2019s a little higher priority than the stuff up here,\u201d he said. ___ Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com"}
{"claim_id": "3376", "claim": "Georgia health agency warns of widespread flu, urges shots.", "explanation": "Georgia\u2019s public health agency is urging residents to get flu shots without delay, saying illnesses as widespread across the state.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Georgia, Flu, Public health", "main_text": "The Georgia Department of Public Health has confirmed that more than 200 people statewide have been hospitalized because of flu this season, and two people have died from flu-related sickness. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been more than 2.6 million flu-related illnesses nationwide. Everyone older than 6 months should get a flu shot, Georgia\u2019s public health commissioner, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, said in a news release. Toomey said it usually takes two weeks after the shot for a person\u2019s body to develop the antibodies needed to fight the flu. Health officials say people can also reduce flu risks by frequently washing their hands, avoiding touching their faces and by staying home from work or school if they have flu-like symptoms."}
{"claim_id": "26362", "claim": "Congressional candidate Chris Jacobs \u201cvoted against paid leave for COVID-19.\u201d", "explanation": "McMurray\u2019s Republican rival, state Sen. Chris Jacobs, did vote against a bill that provides paid sick leave to employees of non-essential businesses. Jacobs argued that while he supports the concept of sick leave for workers with COVID-19, he thought the particular bill offered placed too much of a burden on small businesses.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Workers, New York, Coronavirus, Nate McMurray, ", "main_text": "Democratic congressional candidate Nate McMurray recently took to Twitter to attack state Sen. Chris Jacobs, his Republican opponent, over a vote he cast on paid sick leave. McMurray and Jacobs are the two major-party candidates running for the vacant 27th District congressional seat. The vacancy emerged when Republican Rep. Chris Collins resigned following pleading guilty to federal charges in an insider trading case. Collins was sentenced to 26 months in prison. On April 8, McMurray tweeted, \"Forbes called my opponents billionaire uncle, \u2018The face of corporate greed during the corona.\u2019 My opponent has only about $70M. But true to form, he voted against paid leave for Covid19. Support @Nate_McMurray for Congress. Leadership Matters!\" Forbes called my opponents billionaire uncle, \u201cThe face of corporate greed during the corona.\u201dMy opponent has only about $70M. But true to form, he voted against paid leave for Covid19.Support @Nate_McMurray for Congress. Leadership Matters! https://t.co/u6pS9uEq36 pic.twitter.com/gFgRIu7b0x  McMurray\u2019s campaign confirmed that the tweet referred to a state Senate bill, S8091, which passed the Senate on March 18 and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It provides for certain employee benefits if the employee is subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19. Among these benefits is paid sick leave during the government-mandated shutdown of non-essential businesses. Jacobs voted against the bill. He was one of six senators who voted against it. All of the senators voting against the bill were Republicans serving in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Jacobs issued a press release the day before the vote critical of the measure. In the release, Jacobs called the bill a \"new burden on New York businesses that will significantly raise costs starting in 2021. These new requirements would mandate small businesses grant paid leave for employees for an extremely broad swath of activities not at all related to being sick, such as \u2018immigration\u2019 and to \u2018prepare for or participate in any criminal or civil proceeding.\u2019 The COVID-19 crisis will bring many small businesses to their knees.\" In a May 1 statement to PolitiFact, Jacobs said that he supports paid sick leave for workers coping with COVID-19 but voted against the bill because he thought it should have been presented differently. \"S8091 was a poorly written bill because it imposed 100% of the cost onto small businesses, which are already fighting for their very survival during this coronavirus crisis,\" Jacobs said. \" I could not, in good conscience, vote for a bill which would put more financial stress on our already struggling small businesses.\" Jacobs said that if the bill worsens the environment for small businesses, more of them would close, and in the long run, employees of those businesses would suffer. McMurray said Jacobs \"voted against paid leave for COVID-19.\" Jacobs did vote against the New York Senate bill that provides paid sick leave to employees of \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 non-essential businesses. Jacobs argued that while he supports the concept of sick leave for workers with COVID-19, he thought the particular bill offered placed too much of a burden on small businesses. The statement is accurate but needs additional information."}
{"claim_id": "1856", "claim": "Eagle center struggles to supply American Indians rituals.", "explanation": "A wildlife specialist splays the wings of a dead golden eagle shipped in from New Mexico and is pleased by what he sees.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Dennis Wiist, Wildlife Repository Specialist, inspects the feathers around an eagle's foot at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado March 26, 2012. REUTERS/Rick Wilking \u201cThis one is an awfully good bird,\u201d Dennis Wiist of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says. \u201cThere\u2019s not too much damage, which is extremely rare.\u201d   Wiist will bag the eagle, freeze it and then have it delivered to a waiting Native American Indian tribe. Eagles are sacrosanct for many tribes, and Wiist and his colleagues at the National Eagle Repository provide them with feathers, wings and talons - and in some cases whole carcasses - for religious rituals. But the Indians\u2019 demand outstrips the repository\u2019s supply. Each year the repository receives about 2,300 dead bald and golden eagles, gathered by wildlife agents and others. But it gets more than 3,000 requests a year for whole birds or parts. There are some 6,000 entries on the waiting list. \u201cWe just don\u2019t have the supply. Our inventory is stretched,\u201d said Bernadette Atencio, supervisor of the program for the Fish and Wildlife Service. The repository, located about 10 miles from downtown Denver, was established in the 1970s to meet the needs of American Indians but some don\u2019t want to rely on it because it can take so long to get a bird, even as the population of bald eagles has largely recovered from the threat of imminent extinction. Quality is another issue. The eagles sent to the repository can arrive in poor shape, sometimes little more than carrion and not suitable for rituals. On this particular day, Wiist removes a decayed golden eagle from a bag with a note attached saying the bird had been found in a water tank, which Wiist says rendered it useless. An adult bald eagle he examines next is in relatively good condition, with just a fractured ankle and some head trauma. It qualifies as a complete bird. The Northern Arapaho tribe of Wyoming requires a \u201creligiously pure eagle\u201d for its summer sun dance but spiritual leader Nelson White has said the repository has sent unsuitable decomposed eagles. In November, the tribe filed a federal lawsuit saying its religious rights were being violated by the eagle regulations. Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a so-called \u201ctake\u201d permit allowing the tribe to kill two bald eagles for spiritual purposes. The tribe has since said it wants to negotiate with the government to kill more. The repository tries to meet the need for eagles, and Wiist evaluates 25 to 30 dead bald and golden eagles a day, holding their plumes to the light and meticulously inspecting them from head to talon, jotting down notes on each raptor\u2019s overall condition. Eagle carcasses waiting to be shipped hang on racks in a walk-in freezer adjacent to Wiist\u2019s work station. Bags of usable feathers line the walls. \u201cI always check the wing bones to see if they\u2019re broken or damaged,\u201d Wiist said. \u201cSome (Indians) use the wing bones for whistles.\u201d   Micah Loma\u2019omvaya, a Hopi anthropologist who works for the tribal government in Arizona, said his people see the eagle as a benevolent being that allows them to communicate with other deities. It also represents their ancestors\u2019 spirits, he said. \u201cEagles are integral to everything we do,\u201d Loma\u2019omvaya said. \u201cNot just for ceremonies, but offerings with eagle feathers are made for fertility, rain, hunting - everything good in life.\u201d   Loma\u2019omvaya, who says his people have used feathers ceremoniously since \u201ctime immemorial,\u201d said repository birds sometimes did arrive in rough condition but that his overall experience had been positive. He said that, while Hopis are allowed permits to \u201ctake\u201d live golden eagles, not having items from the repository would limit his ability to participate in certain cultural events. U.S. eagle populations once numbered in the hundreds of thousands but were decimated by encroaching human development, unfettered hunting and the pesticide DDT. The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, dwindled to a mere 400 breeding pairs by the early 1960s. The Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940, amended in 1962 to include golden eagles, was enacted by Congress to save them from extinction. Since federal protections were imposed to protect bald eagles, their population has soared to some 9,000 pairs, prompting their removal from endangered and threatened lists in 2007. Other federal laws still make it mostly illegal to kill eagles, and it is also illegal for anyone to possess eagle parts without a permit, Native American or otherwise. Meanwhile, some animal-rights groups are unhappy that the Northern Arapaho were granted the kill permit. Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said allowing the killing of bald eagles was \u201cunsettling\u201d and could lead to a flurry of kill permit applications. Peter Reshetniak, director of the Colorado-based Raptor Education Foundation, denounced last month\u2019s eagle killings as a \u201cbarbaric act\u201d and said tribes could use molted feathers from live eagles in captivity."}
{"claim_id": "2987", "claim": "Oklahoma attorney general sues distributors of opioids.", "explanation": "Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter on Monday brought a lawsuit against three distributors of opioids after winning a lawsuit against one drug manufacturer and reaching pretrial settlements in other cases.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Opioids, Health, Lawsuits, Oklahoma, Business, U.S. News, General News", "main_text": "Hunter filed the lawsuit in Cleveland County District Court against Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corp. and AmerisourceBergen Corp. \u201cOklahoma is in crisis. ... The source of this crisis is the flood of prescription opioids that has inundated Oklahoma for the past two decades,\u201d the lawsuit says. \u201cIt is a man-made crisis. It was brought into being by the pharmaceutical industry.\u201d The lawsuit said the defendants \u201cdistributed what can only be called a major oversupply of opioids into Oklahoma.\u201d Hunter\u2019s spokesman, Alex Gerszewski, said the companies distributed opioids primarily to hospitals and pharmacies and were obligated to have a systems of checks and balances to alert them if there was a sharp, unexplained increase in opioid orders. \u201cWe will show that these companies repeatedly ignored red flags and in doing so played a major role in breaking the dam of narcotic conservatism when they flooded the country with opioids,\u201d Hunter said during a news conference announcing the suit. McKesson said in a statement Monday that \u201cany suggestion that (the company) drove demand for opioids in this country reflects a fundamental misunderstanding and mischaracterization of our role as a distributor.\u201d  AmerisourceBergen said in a statement that \u201cbeyond our reporting and immediate halting of potentially suspicious orders, we refuse service to customers we deem as a diversion risk.\u201d Cardinal Health said in a statement that it is prepared to \u201cvigorously\u201d defend itself at trial, adding it\u2019s \u201cconfident that the facts presented will show we take our role and the responsibility that comes with it seriously, work hard every day to get it right, and make changes when we find ways to improve.\u201d The suit comes after Hunter won a lawsuit in August against opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, which was ordered to pay $465 million. Both Hunter and Johnson & Johnson have appealed the ruling. Hunter\u2019s office says the award is only enough to pay for one year of the state\u2019s opioid abatement plan. Johnson & Johnson maintains the award should be reduced by $355 million to offset pretrial settlements reached with other drugmakers. The state reached settlements last year of $270 million with drugmaker Purdue Pharma and $85 million with Israeli-owned Teva Pharmaceuticals. An $8.75 million settlement was reached last week with Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Par Pharmaceutical, Inc., both subsidiaries of Dublin-based Endo International. The Oklahoma lawsuit comes after Michigan in December sued opioid distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson Health, AmerisourceBergen, and Walgreen Co. Opioids, including heroin and prescription drugs, were a factor in a record 48,000 deaths across the U.S. in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oklahoma recorded about 400 opioid deaths that year."}
{"claim_id": "11223", "claim": "New studies say antibiotics are good for infants with confirmed ear infections", "explanation": "Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine show slight decrease in recurrence of ear infections in children under 2 if antibiotics are given. The story quotes one expert saying the studies are \u201csubstantial\u201d but also quotes a second expert who says the results are a \u201cdubious way to say that everybody needs treatment.\u201d The story could have explored the shared decision-making encounter that parents could have with pediatricians based on this new evidence. By comparison, CNN\u2019s story did a much better job helping parents with this angle. Otitis media is the most common illness in children under 3 in the US. (75 percent of all children experience once by age 3.) Parents suffer, children suffer, and money is spent. If the treatment is only marginally effective, it would save parents and society money and time to avoid treatment. At the same time, the problem of antibotic resistance is a huge financial and medical problem in the US. In 2004, the American Academy of Pediatrics directly spoke to antibiotic resistance as a threat, and blamed frequent use in otitis media for some of that resistance.www.aap.org/sections/media/earinfection.htm As stated above, we wish the story could have helped readers think more deeply about how/whether these data impact the decision-making process.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Los Angeles Times", "main_text": "The writer did not give a typical cost for a couple of office visits and buying the antibiotic for otitis media treatment. The antibiotic used costs about $75 per treatment. Because the criteria used in both studies may be substantially more stringent than those used clinically for the diagnosis, the costs of office visits also must be considered. In addition, the \u201ccost\u201d in the more abstract sense of how much antibiotic resistance \u201ccosts\u201d society would have been a great addition to the story. The writer does a good job of describing what one expert called the \u201cdubious\u201d\u00a0 benefit of avoiding treatment failure and continued infection for some untreated children. Side effects of antibiotic use are mentioned in the very last sentence, but we think more detail was called for. For example, in the Pittsburgh study, 51% of the children treated with antibiotic developed diaper area rash (as compared to 18% in the placebo group) and 5% developed a fungal infection in the mouth (as compared to none in the placebo group). We welcomed the comment on resistant bacteria but the phrase should have been put into context. What are the implications? The story quotes both experts who applaud the studies and an expert who questions their importance, an attempt by the reporter to analyze the evidence. But the balanced difference of opinion still leaves the reader without any method of evaluating\u00a0 the quality of this evidence, in comparison to other studies. The story does explain that the definition of the infection is narrower in these studies, and expert Anthony Fauci is quoted saying that makes them \u201csubstantial.\u201d Maybe more from Fauci would have helped explain this. Overall, a credible job in describing the state of the art. Credit to this writer for avoiding any mention of dire consequences for middle-ear infections. There can be some, but they are rare. The reporter does contact sources who did not participate in the two research studies under discussion. He does not identify any larger potential conflicts for these experts, such as participation in pharmaceutical research on antibiotics. If children are not treated with antibiotics immediately, they can receive what is called a \u201cwait and see\u201d approach from their pediatrician. The story does mention this. Not applicable. Antibiotics are widely available. The story does not need to say this. We\u2019ll give the story credit for using Dr. Fauci\u2019s summary of what made these studies different from past research:\u00a0\u201d \u201cIn many cases, [the children] had something that looked like otitis media but really wasn\u2019t,\u201d he said. The new studies \u201chad really precise criteria to be eligible for enrollment,\u201d which makes them \u201csubstantial studies.\u201d  There is good original reporting and use of sources in the story."}
{"claim_id": "37586", "claim": "If you have a credit card and a kid, add your kid on as an authorized user and pay the bill on time. By the time that kid hits 18, boom 800+ credit score for them to succeed in this world.", "explanation": "If Your Child is an Authorized User on Your Credit Card, Do They Automatically Start Out with an 800 Credit Score?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On February 18 2020, the Facebook page \u201cReal Badass Moms\u201d shared a screenshot of the following tweet, which advised people \u201cwith a credit card and a kid\u201d to add their child as an authorized user on that card \u2014 an act that would purportedly grant the child a credit score of 800 when they turned 18 (provided that payments were timely):If you have a credit card and a kid. Add your kid on as an authorized user and pay the bill on time. By the time that kid hits 18. Boom 800+ credit score for them to succeed in this world. Schools ain't teaching this. It's up to us.\u2014 \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc95MaMa Odie\ud83e\udd70\ud83d\ude0d (@mama_thickmadam) February 15, 2020It read in full:If you have a credit card and a kid. Add your kid on as an authorized user and pay the bill on time. By the time that kid hits 18. Boom 800+ credit score for them to succeed in this world. Schools ain\u2019t teaching this. It\u2019s up to us.The post on \u201cReal Badass Moms\u201d was shared more than 75,000 times in just over a week; @mama_thickmadam\u2019s tweet was liked nearly 200,000 times and shared nearly 50,000 times.Clearly, readers liked what sounded like a good idea on paper, particularly parents of children entering into a difficult financial climate in 2020. But some of the top response tweets disputed the tweet\u2019s advice. Some users posited that should the parent themselves encounter financial difficulties (many of which, such as car accidents or medical expenses) are unexpected, the child might be worse off in general or turn 18 with a \u201ctanked\u201d credit score:\u201cImagine something terrible happens and your child is 18 with a pre-tanked credit score because their parents thought they\u2019d help. Be rich or dont do this. Schools do teach stuff like this, your school just didn\u2019t. Mandatory personal finance class in my high school in nowhere[. ]\u201d\u201cAnd also don\u2019t have any expensive emergencies, don\u2019t become disabled and unable to work, etc etc. People get bad credit lots of ways, unforeseeable ways. I can see maybe putting your kid on your credit card for a few months before they turn 18 but that\u2019s enough.\u201dOthers Twitter users\u00a0claimed they were either beneficiaries of the advice or familiar with it, but that with no credit history otherwise, a 750 score alone was unhelpful:\u201cIt doesn\u2019t help as well as you think. I had 780 coming out of college and was denied for credit cards because of \u201cno credit history\u201d. It\u2019s a high score but it\u2019s basically a fake score according to credit agencies.\u201d\u201cIt\u2019s a good place to start but the score alone isn\u2019t enough to have good credit. I\u2019ve worked in a financial institution for some time and have seen plenty of people with authorized user trades on the credit file with a good score get declined. It doesn\u2019t show experience at all.\u201d\u201cIt can help. But as an underwriter I wouldn\u2019t lend an 18 year old any funds even if the credit score was 800. Bc there is no true payment history. Got to have more than a good score. But yes. Parents need to teach these things early \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f\u201dIf that claim was accurate, the ratio of risk (that a parent\u2019s score could drop through no fault of their own, affecting the child) seemed possibly higher than the reward (a child starting adult life with a 780 or 800 credit score). Others said\u00a0that they did add a child as an authorized user (or were added by parents), and\u00a0consequently obtained or transferred a high credit score:\u201cthis is how my credit was built and i didn\u2019t know it until i checked it one day for no reason and i had a 750 lol i don\u2019t even use my credit, but it\u2019s nice knowing it\u2019s there\u201d\u201cmy mommy did this for me and i\u2019m not finna brag but i have an amex, venture card, perf credit score (u still gotta pull ur own weight tho bc even if u have an 800 u might not get approved for stuff bc of ur age), and hella flyer miles to go anywhere\u201dFinally, at least one commenter claimed that being added as an authorized user on another person\u2019s card was a factor in boosting their score from 550 to 796 in under a year:I fucked up my own credit long ago. Jus fixed all my negative remarks about a year ago. Had my OG add me on to her card. Went from a 550 fico to a 796 fico in about 8 months.If comments on the tweet were to be believed, the advice was of mixed veracity. Some reported obtaining high scores after parents added them as authorized users, but others said those scores were not as effective as scores obtained by building credit personally \u2014 the latter echoed by people claiming to work with lending institutions. And though the tweet indicated the advice worked if the card was paid off \u201con time,\u201d others cautioned that many people with high credit scores could encounter financial trouble, which would adversely affect authorized users.In discourse about the advice, \u201cFICO scores\u201d came up quite a bit. FICO (formerly Fair and Issac Co.) is a data analysis firm known for providing credit scores. FICO scores are used by three major credit bureaus (also known as credit reporting agencies, or CRAs) \u2014 Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. According to FICO, their scoring is used by \u201ctop lending institutions\u201d in the United States, and it \u201crank-orders consumers by how likely they are to pay their credit obligations as agreed.\u201dFICO scores were not always a major factor in loans and extensions of credit. What we currently call a FICO score came into play about three decades ago:[Bill Fair and Earl Isaac, two statisticians] made a number of correlations between which behaviors made a person a good credit risk and which made them a bad credit risk. And for the most part, their predictions were accurate. But it wasn\u2019t really until the 1970s that credit scores became as important in lending as they are now. The modern iteration of the FICO score, based on credit files from the three credit bureaus \u2014 Equifax, Experian and TransUnion \u2014 was introduced in 1989.Before credit scores, people still had credit reports. But these reports weren\u2019t distilled down into three-digit numbers. \u201cCredit scores took a lot of randomness out of lending,\u201d says Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma. \u201cScores were developed in the \u201950s, but became much more prevalent in the \u201970s, \u201980s and \u201990s.\u201dIn the thread, users claimed having high scores and no credit history was not very helpful; Lin estimates that a person\u2019s credit score is \u201conly 20% to 40% of the final decision, with the rest being hidden deeper inside the overall credit report and its extenuating circumstances.\u201dA lot of credit card and finance blogs offered advice posts on adding children as authorized users. Unfortunately, it nearly always mentioned the risks to parents, neglecting to mention the risk this practice might pose to their children as well. Parents turning to those resources received a partial picture, neglecting some of the major pitfalls of that decision.Many people replying expressed general, profound frustration about the effects of FICO scores and credit reporting agencies \u2014 particularly when something like illness or job loss lay outside their control while heavily driving down their supposed creditworthiness. After one of those three agencies \u2014 Equifax \u2014 had a massive data breach in 2017, The Verge published an editorial about these generalized grievances and a \u201cbroken\u201d system:Even worse, all this information [on your credit reports] is generally being shared without your consent. The three big credit bureaus \u2014 Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian \u2014 see their customers as the businesses checking people out, not the people themselves. They\u2019re worried about keeping banks and car dealers happy, but the targets themselves are an afterthought. As a result, even basic inaccuracies can persist for years, bouncing between the three major bureaus. (Convincing credit bureaus that you\u2019re not dead, for instance, is much harder than you think.) There have been a few regulations aimed at fixing that \u2014 most notably the Fair Credit Reporting Act \u2014 but it\u2019s still an extremely clunky system, and the average consumer has little awareness or control over their own profile.Yet another element likely driving interest in the Twitter thread about kids as authorized users and credit scores of 800 was that by their nature, FICO and the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) remain highly secretive about their calculations of creditworthiness. Credit card blogger The Points Guy explained:Credit scores consist of a three-digit number, usually between 300 and 850, designed to represent the likelihood that you\u2019ll repay a loan on time. They\u2019re also a little mysterious and that\u2019s not an accident. The major credit-scoring companies, FICO and VantageScore, keep their formulas secret, so only a handful of people know the exact recipe that\u2019s used to turn your credit history into a credit score.In fact, it was only in fairly recent years that people had any access whatsoever to their own FICO scores. A 2001 article about FICO scores becoming accessible to borrowers reported that people were finally getting to see their scores \u2014 because FICO was selling their own information back to them:When it comes to getting a mortgage, credit card or insurance policy, most consumers have no clue about the most important number affecting their application: their FICO scores, behind-the-scenes calculations drawn from credit reports.Designed to predict future consumer behavior, FICO scores regularly make the difference between approval and rejection. And even after a loan or insurance policy is issued, FICO scores sway prices and credit lines, with the lowest rates going to consumers with the highest scores \u2026\u00a0After 35 years, Fair Isaac is finally emerging from the shadows, trying to leverage its influence on household finances to become more of a household name through an online service that sells people their FICO scores at $12.95 per peek.On Twitter and in the excerpted articles, it was demonstrated that FICO and the three credit reporting agencies typically did little to enable people to manage their own credit scores \u2014 except in cases where they hoped to extract money from them for access to their own personal information.That also ought to make \u201cadvice\u201d from said companies slightly suspect. Lenders are FICO, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion\u2019s primary customer base. Borrowers are a middling secondary market, and consumer financial woes remained an area of massive profit for those agencies. Encouraging risky behavior or unfettered borrowing did, after all, serve to boost the bottom line of all involved.Bearing that in mind, credit rating agencies did offer tips on adding children as authorized users to build their credit scores. TransUnion\u2019s blog had an Q&A\u00a0entry about that very topic:Q: One tip I\u2019ve heard is that a parent can put a child on their credit card as an authorized user and that can sometimes (with some cards) contribute to a child\u2019s credit history. Is that true? What kind of cards should we be looking for?A: Adding your child as an authorized user is one way to help them begin building a credit score if you yourself have a good credit. With some credit cards, the entire account history can show up on the authorized user\u2019s credit report, so you\u2019ll want to select a card where you have a good credit history. While there are many different credit scoring models available, the most commonly used scores \u2014 FICO 8 and VantageScore 3.0 \u2014 factor in authorized user accounts when calculating a score. Determining if an authorized user account is right for you is a personal decision \u2014 as the card holder you are responsible for any charges on the card, so be sure that you set some guidelines in advance.TransUnion cautiously advised the practice \u201cif you yourself have good credit,\u201d stopping short of explaining what they meant by \u201cgood credit.\u201d (Is that a 650 credit score? 600? 750?) Their answer also vaguely noted that \u201csome\u201d credit cards allow for \u201cthe entire account history\u201d to appear on an authorized user\u2019s own individual credit report, suggesting that activity that took place even before the user was added could be factored into their credit profile. That alone made the advice seem risky for anyone who had ever at any point made a late payment on any card.Equifax also had a blog, a Q&A about children as authorized users, and advice on its effects on a child\u2019s future credit score:Even though an authorized user isn\u2019t responsible for the financial obligations on the account, they can be impacted by whether or not the account is paid on time. Since they are considered account holders, any activity on the account that is reported by the creditor to any of the major credit bureaus will appear on the authorized user\u2019s credit reports. If the primary account holder pays as agreed, it can help an authorized user establish or build a positive credit history. If they don\u2019t, however, it can have a negative impact. Depending on the credit scoring model, credit scores may also be impacted. [\u2026]Being an authorized user can be one way to establish responsible credit habits. Some parents will add their children as authorized users to help them establish and build a credit history. Some couples will also add each other as authorized users on an account.But \u201cyou are going to inherit the credit of that cardholder\u201d \u2013 for better or worse, said Jennifer Cox, Equifax chief client officer, who has worked in the credit card industry for decades. If you are considering becoming an authorized user on someone else\u2019s account, it\u2019s a good idea to discuss their credit situation with them.As Equifax described here, a level of risk accompanied any reward, and CRAs seemed to consistently frame those risk as related to \u201cresponsibility\u201d or \u201creliability.\u201d But as we pointed out, damage to credit isn\u2019t always related to responsibility (as we also noted on our page about medical bankruptcy rates). By linking chosen traits or behaviors (like responsibility) to the advice, parents were tacitly advised that their best intentions were good enough to protect their child \u2014 but unforeseen circumstances never appeared to be mentioned by credit bureaus encouraging the behavior.Experian too had a Q&A blog post about adding children as authorized users to help the child eventually build credit. It also used words like \u201cresponsible\u201d and \u201creliable,\u201d advising putative authorized users to \u201cask the primary account holder\u201d about factors like late payments and even suggesting that those same authorized users ask to see a credit report:Just as joining a responsible credit user\u2019s account can help you, linking yourself with a less reliable cardholder can hurt you. If the cardholder misses a payment or maxes out their card, your credit could be negatively affected. Some credit reporting agencies, including Experian, do not include negative payment history in an authorized user\u2019s credit report. But others may.Before becoming an authorized user, ask the primary account holder about past late payments, how long they\u2019ve had the account, and how often they use more than 30% of their credit limit. Experts say those with good credit scores use less than that on a regular basis (and those with the best scores stay around 10% or less). To be extra sure you\u2019re making the right call, consider asking if the account holder will let you see their credit report.Discover\u2019s Credit Resource Center reiterated the same advice in a Q&A format; Discover does, of course, profit more from borrowers using their subprime products, thanks to higher interest rates:By Becoming an Authorized User, am I Inheriting the Primary Account Holder\u2019s Credit Habits? Before you consider becoming an authorized user, the first, and most important, thing to look for is whether the primary account holder pays their bills on time. If they do not make timely payments, that gets documented on the credit reports of authorized users. And credit card issuers report late payments to credit bureaus.So it doesn\u2019t take much to begin to negatively impact your credit score. What\u2019s more, late payments, as bad as they are, are not the only thing that can hurt you. If the account in question has a high utilization rate, that too can weigh heavily on your credit score.So before signing on to be an authorized user, it\u2019s best to do your own due diligence by evaluating the credit habits of the primary account holder. Otherwise, instead of working to build a positive credit history, you may find yourself achieving the opposite.Caveats about debt-to-income ratio accompanied tips about not paying bills late when lenders and CRAs gave advice. But as of 2018, the average American household held $38,000 in personal debt, against a median household income of $63,000 the same year. On top of that, only\u00a041 percent of Americans had the ability to pull together $1,000 in case of an emergency as of January 2020, leaving 59 percent lacking sufficient savings to cover that proposed unexpected expense.In the larger scheme of things, credit reporting agencies and lenders offered a few broad caveats about transference of\u00a0negative credit history as well as positive, sometimes advising prospective authorized users to credit check their parents. Overwhelmingly, that advice was couched in such a way users would identify themselves as a responsible borrower, and see less risk than they perhaps should in adding a child as an authorized user.Now let\u2019s go back to the crux of the advice \u2013in which the child wasn\u2019t consulted, and likely couldn\u2019t assess the risk anyway:Add your kid on as an authorized user and pay the bill on time. By the time that kid hits 18. Boom 800+ credit score for them to succeed in this world.Although Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion made it look like a safe bet if you considered yourself responsible (as most people do), no one ever mentioned negative credit history acquired due to a car accident, an illness, job loss, or other catastrophe. One of the advice posts mentioned the authorized user in question doing \u201cdue diligence\u201d before piggybacking on a card, but the post referenced children under the age of 18 added unwittingly to parents\u2019 credit cards.As the first commenter observed above, the advice, like nearly all financial advice, works best for those who are already rich. Credit pitfalls were typically related as much to circumstance as responsibility, and only the wealthy maintained the resources to apply the advice to optimal effect. The rest of the population is typically just one unexpected development away from a score drop.The massively viral piece of well-intentioned advice posits that adding a child to piggyback on a credit card would grant that same child a FICO score of 800 once they were old enough to apply for a credit line of their own (provided the parent paid their bills on time.) Of the little information given out by FICO and CRAs, an absence of credit history would make that score less useful than it might be for a borrower with their own credit score. But more importantly, many timely bill payers could follow the advice before falling on hard times \u2014 even a few months of delayed payments could impart a negative rather than positive history to the child, which would help them not at all."}
{"claim_id": "33343", "claim": "Wedding guests should refrain from throwing rice at newly-wedded couples because the rice kills birds who eat it.", "explanation": "An old rumor warns that discarded rice eaten by birds can expand in their tiny birdy stomachs and kill them.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Critter Country, birds, Crusader Habit, Wild Inaccuracies", "main_text": "We\u2019re cautioned not to throw rice at the bride and groom, because the grain will prove harmful to the birds who swoop down to eat it. The rice expands in those little birdy stomachs, causing our avian companions to explode, we\u2019re warned. This rumor was so pervasive, that in 1985 a Connecticut state legislator introduced a bill (amusingly titled \u201cAn Act Prohibiting the Use of Uncooked Rice at Nuptial Affairs\u201d) to outlaw the practice:  Saying it isn\u2019t healthy for birds, a state legislator has proposed a bill that would ban the traditional showering of newlyweds with uncooked rice at weddings in Connecticut. \u201cAn Act Prohibiting The Use Of Uncooked Rice At Nuptial Affairs\u201d would provide that \u201cno person shall throw, fling, cast or hurl any uncooked rice at any time during the celebration of any marriage,\u201d according to Rep. Mae S. Schmidle\u2019s proposal. The \u201cstatement of purpose\u201d of the Newtown Republican\u2019s bill says it would \u201cprevent injury and death of birds as a result of ingesting raw rice thrown at weddings.\u201d \u201cThe rice that\u2019s left, that\u2019s not in your hair or on your suit or in your bouquet, you leave for the birds,\u201d she explained. \u201cUnfortunately, when the birds eat the raw rice, they cannot digest it. When it gets in their stomachs, it expands and causes them to have violent deaths. I\u2019ve heard from several ministers who say that the next morning after a wedding, they see all these birds toppled over because they got poisoned by the rice,\u201d Mrs. Schmidle said. Her bill would impose a $50 fine for anyone caught throwing rice at a wedding. However, local ornithologists said that they had never heard of or seen birds dying after consuming rice thrown at weddings:  Although she said the Audubon Society thinks the idea \u201cis wonderful,\u201d a check with three Connecticut Audubon members produced no such assessment of the idea. \u201cIt sounds crazy,\u201d said Roland C. Clement of Norwalk, a past president of the Connecticut Audubon Society and currently president of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. \u201cI have 50 years of professional experience as a practicing ornithologist and I\u2019ve never heard of such a thing before. Of course, there can always be a first time, but I would have to see some evidence before I would promote the idea.\u201d Asked if he thought it was possible that birds would be killed by raw rice, Clement said: \u201cI personally doubt it.\u201d Karl Wagener, a former top official with the Connecticut Audubon Society who now heads the state Council on Environmental Quality, also questioned the need for Mrs. Schmidle\u2019s bill. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of anything like that ever, and I read an awful lot of bird-oriented literature,\u201d he said. David Emerson, assistant director of the Connecticut Audubon Society, said the topic had never come up in any discussions he knew of within the society. \u201cThis silly myth pops up periodically, and it is absolutely unfounded,\u201d responded rice expert Mary Jo Cheesman at the USA Rice Federation. Many migrating ducks and geese depend on winter-flooded rice fields each year to fatten up and build strength for their return trek to northern nesting grounds. Uncooked, milled rice is no more harmful to birds than rice in the field, Cheesman said. The Curator of Ornithology at the University of California at Berkeley agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s a myth. There is no reason why birds, including small songbirds, can\u2019t eat rice,\u201d said Ned Johnson, a professor of biology at Berkeley who lectures frequently on the food and feeding of birds. Ann printed a response from one New York ornithologist who took her to task for spreading misinformation:  I am writing in response to a letter and your answer that appeared in the Ithaca Journal recently. There is absolutely no truth to the belief that rice (even instant) can kill birds. This rumor received publicity because of a bill introduced into the Connecticut legislature in 1985 by Mae Schmidle. This wild story resulted in frightening thousands of brides into putting birdseed in little tulle and chiffon bags so the guests wouldn\u2019t throw rice and \u201ckill the birds.\u201d Rice is no threat to birds. It must be boiled before it will expand. Furthermore, all the food that birds swallow is ground up by powerful muscles and grit in their gizzards. Many birds love rice, as any frustrated rice farmer will tell you. I hope you will print this information in your column and put an end to this myth. In the meantime, keep throwing rice, folks. Tradition will be served and the birds will eat well and be healthy. Steven C. Sibley, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. Dear Steven Sibley: Your letter proves once again that if a story is repeated often enough, people will believe it, even though it is false and defies logic. We checked with an authority in the Bird House at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, and she verified your statement. Shame on me for going along with that crock. I feel like a birdbrain. As noted in those responses to Ann Landers\u2019 spreading of this rumor, plenty of wild birds eat naturally growing, uncooked rice without suffering death or any other harmful effects. The notion that rice absorbs moisture, and would therefore swell up to many times its original size in the crop of a bird and thereby rupture avians from within, is a mistaken one based upon our  culinary experiences with rice. We typically boil rice prior to eating it, and rice grains do absorb a fair amount of moisture during that process. But otherwise rice absorbs moisture only very slowly, and the interior of birds is not nearly as hot nor as moisture-suffused as a pot of boiling water \u2014 any uncooked rice eaten by birds is digested or excreted long before it can pick up enough water to expand in size to the point of causing injury to them. Still, nothing satisfies curious minds like empirical evidence, so in 2002 University of Kentucky biology professor James Krupa put the matter to test with his students, conducting experiments that he eventually published in the April 2005 edition of the journal American Biology Teacher under the title \u201cA CLASSROOM EXERCISE FOR TESTING URBAN MYTH: Does Wedding Rice Cause Birds to Explode or Were Ann Landers, Martha Stewart & Bart Simpson Wrong?\u201d One factor Krupa and his students measured just how much rice actually expands when soaked in water. They found that soaked white rice expanded in volume by 33%, which might sound like a lot, but not so much when compared to ordinary bird seed, which they found increased in size by an even greater percentage (40%). If a 33% increase in volume of ingested rice could cause birds to explode, then bird seed should be turning even more of them into avian bombs. Krupa\u2019s group found that instant rice, both the brown and white varieties, expanded considerably more (2.4 to 2.7 times its original volume) than plain white rice when soaked. Instant rice isn\u2019t typically the sort that people throw at weddings (because it\u2019s costlier and more difficult to buy in bulk), but nonetheless the experimenters tested the possibilities by constructing models of bird crops from thin plastic and wet paper and filling them with instant rice. Although a paper bag filled with soaked instant white rice ruptured in about 15 minutes, none of the avian crop models burst. Krupa\u2019s students prevailed upon him to also test the exploding rice theory on real birds, an entreaty he finally acquiesced to because he felt their previous experiments had sufficiently demonstrated that no birds would come to harm through the process. He agreed to try some rice-feeding tests with flocks of doves and pigeons he kept at home, feeding 60 of his birds a diet of nothing other than instant rice and water for one day and monitoring them for any ill effects. He found that none of the birds showed any obvious signs of pain, discomfort, or distress; none of them exhibited ruptures or other injuries (including explosion), and none of them took ill or died. Many churches and reception halls still have rules prohibiting the throwing of rice, or require that thrown rice be enclosed in those \u201clittle tulle and chiffon bags.\u201d This practice isn\u2019t about protecting birds, however: these rules work to keep the properties clean so that subsequent happy couples don\u2019t get their send-offs amid the leavings of a previous pair. Rice and confetti can be notoriously hard to clean up, and sometimes not even vacuuming a lawn will return the grass to its pristine condition. Rice also poses a unique danger, albeit it to people rather than birds: rice scattered on a hard surface (such as the steps of a church or a dance floor) puts anyone who walks across that surface at risk of taking a nasty spill. Far better to prohibit rice throwing at a wedding than to end up with an injured guest. Don\u2019t do it for the birds, do it for the inlaws. Sightings: \u00a0 In The Simpsons episode of 14 May 2000, Bart is warned not to throw rice at Otto\u2019s wedding, lest he cause birds to explode. Also, in the 16 July 2001 episode of the TV soap opera Passions Charity told Tabitha that they don\u2019t throw rice at weddings anymore, stating this legend\u2019s premise as the reason. And in an episode of the TV sitcom Cybill (\u201cBachelor Party,\u201d original air date 6 January 1997), Holly (Ira\u2019s fianc\u00e9e) dictates that rice won\u2019t be thrown at her wedding because it \u201cmakes pigeons explode.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "3062", "claim": "Democratic 2020 candidates vie for unions, Latinos in Nevada.", "explanation": "Democratic presidential candidates descended on Nevada on Saturday in an attempt to build relationships with Latino voters and win the coveted endorsement of the powerful casino workers\u2019 Culinary Union.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Race and ethnicity, Health care reform, General News, Politics, Election 2020, Elizabeth Warren, Medicare, Bernie Sanders, Las Vegas, Nevada, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar", "main_text": "Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, both running as Midwestern moderates who\u2019ve warned against liberal plans to move the U.S. to a government-run health insurance system, pitched themselves Saturday morning to Culinary Union workers, who prize their robust health plans. Klobuchar, a Minnesota senator, said the \u201cMedicare for All\u201d proposals like those put out by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren \u201cmight sound really good on a bumper sticker\u201d but would cause millions of Americans to lose their current health insurance, including the plans the casino workers bargained hard for. \u201cAll of that work, I don\u2019t want it to go down the drain,\u201d Klobuchar said during her appearance at the workers\u2019 union hall just off the Las Vegas Strip. Buttigieg, who took the stage after Klobuchar left, made a similar point as he pushed his plan to offer government-run Medicare insurance to those who want it. \u201cI believe that if it\u2019s the best answer for everybody, well, then everybody will choose it anyway,\u201d said the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Visits from Klobuchar, Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden came a little more than a month before early caucus voting starts in Nevada, the third state to weigh in on the primary race. Biden has maintained a top spot in Nevada polls. In the most recent poll of the state, released Thursday by Fox News, he has a slight lead over Bernie Sanders, followed by Elizabeth Warren and Tom Steyer, with Buttigieg trailing slightly. Klobuchar, who has only recently established her campaign in Nevada, has been polling in low single digits. Biden held a town hall-style meeting at a high school in north Las Vegas with Latino and immigrant advocacy group Mi Familia Vota. Nevada, considered the first state to test a candidate\u2019s appeal before a diverse population, is a minority-majority state that\u2019s about 29% Latino. Hispanic voters are a key constituency for Democrats in the state, along with labor unions. Biden spoke to an audience of about 200, mostly people of color, packed into chairs and on stairways to listen. The former vice president said he has no Hispanic heritage but that he understands what it\u2019s like to be a second-class citizen, growing up Irish Catholic in his Scranton, Pennsylvania, neighborhood. \u201cWe were considered sort of the bottom of the rung,\u201d he said. Mi Familia Vota leader H\u00e9ctor S\u00e1nchez Barba asked Biden if he\u2019d commit to having four Latinos in his Cabinet. Biden wouldn\u2019t commit to any specific number but said he would have a \u201csignificant number of Latinos\u201d in his Cabinet, along with Latinos serving as core members of his senior White House team. \u201cLatinos make up 25% of every single solitary person in school in America today. The idea that we are not going to have overwhelming representation of Latinos in my Cabinet says we\u2019re not going to move forward as a country,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are the future.\u201d  The biggest immigrant organization in Nevada is the Culinary Union, 60,000 strong, mostly women and mostly Latinos, and one of the most important endorsements in Nevada Democratic politics. The Culinary Union\u2019s leaders have not yet said if they will endorse in the primary. The union\u2019s parent organization, Unite Here, will decide at the end of the month whether to endorse. If it doesn\u2019t, Culinary may endorse on its own, according to Culinary spokeswoman Bethany Khan. Biden, Warren and Sanders all made their pitch to the union in December. While Warren sidestepped discussion of her \u201cMedicare for All\u201d plan to move the country away from private insurance, Sanders took on the issue directly and was heckled by some in the audience. But all three of those candidates, who are much better known, received more enthusiastic receptions at their earlier visits than Klobuchar and Buttigeg did Saturday. Klobuchar told jokes and touted her family\u2019s long union membership as she warmed up the crowd. Buttigieg drew whoops and claps as he broke into Spanish several times during his speech. Biden, while answering a question about Latino representation at his event, apologized that he couldn\u2019t speak Spanish. He said he took five years of French in high school and college and was still made fun of when he tried to speak that language. Later Saturday afternoon, Buttigieg held a town hall at a high school across town, where he drew an enthusiastic audience that appeared to be at least 700 people. Sharon Sampsel, 61, said she would like to see a woman in the White House but that she\u2019s going to caucus for Buttigieg, saying he has \u201cthe most winnable, stable, middle-of-the-road, commonsense platform that\u2019s out there.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "2917", "claim": "FDA approves AstraZeneca type 2 diabetes drug.", "explanation": "U.S. health regulators on Wednesday approved an AstraZeneca drug from a new class of medicines to treat type 2 diabetes after previously rejecting it over safety concerns.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Food and Drug Administration\u2019s approval had been expected after an outside advisory panel of medical experts voted by a wide margin in December to recommend its approval, saying the benefits of the drug, dapagliflozin, outweighed its safety risks. It will be sold in the United States under the brand name Farxiga. The medicine was co-developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca late last year bought out Bristol\u2019s stake in their diabetes joint venture for more than $4 billion, including upfront and sales-related milestone payments. Farxiga, which has already been available in Europe, belongs to a class of diabetes drugs called SGLT-2 inhibitors that work by blocking reabsorption of glucose by the kidney and increasing its excretion through urine to lower levels of blood sugar. It will compete with a similar drug from Johnson & Johnson called Invokana, as well as diabetes medicines from other classes. Other drugmakers, including Boehringer Ingelheim, are also developing SGLT2 inhibitors. \u201cWe\u2019re big believers in SGLT-2 class. It\u2019s going to be a pretty big product,\u201d said Morningstar analyst Damien Conover, who forecast Farxiga annual sales reaching about $1.5 billion by 2018. Conover said the new class was underappreciated by investors and sees those drugs taking market share from some older diabetes treatments that cause weight gain. SGLT-2 inhibitors led to weight loss in clinical trials, which can be an attractive advantage because type 2 diabetes is closely associated with obesity. The potential market for type 2 diabetes treatments is enormous despite a crowded field with many medicines from several different classes from which to choose. An estimated 90 percent to 95 percent of the more than 370 million people living with diabetes worldwide have type 2, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Many type 2 diabetes patients require two or more medications to get their blood sugar down to target levels. Farxiga was tested in combination with several other widely used medicines. \u201cFarxiga provides an additional treatment option for millions of Americans with type 2 diabetes,\u201d Curtis Rosebraugh, of the FDA\u2019s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. The FDA had initially rejected the Astra and Bristol-Myers drug in early 2012 over concerns about possible cancer and heart risks. The companies provided additional data that addressed those concerns to the satisfaction of the advisory panel and the agency. Still, as a condition of approval, the FDA is requiring six post-marketing studies, including a cardiovascular outcomes trial to make sure the medicine does not increase the risk of heart attacks in patients deemed at high risk of heart disease, and a study to assess bladder cancer risk. The FDA-approved label for Farxiga says the drug should not be used in patients who also have kidney disease or who are being treated for bladder cancer."}
{"claim_id": "10418", "claim": "Viagra may help heart effects of muscular dystrophy", "explanation": "Readers should care that this report just briefly summarizes one experiment using the active ingredient in Viagra to treat heart problems in mice that were genetically modified to have a condition similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy\u2026 without interviewing either the researchers or independent experts\u2026 and also failing to note that the drug is already being tested in people that have the actual disease. We also note a relatively minor point, but still worth noting for anyone who wants to look up the source of the story\u2019s claims.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Even though this line of research is preliminary, the story should have noted that typical treatment for pulmonary hypertension patients who use the Revatio brand of sildenafil costs more than $15,000 a year and that since the drug does not cure the disease, this sort of treatment might well continue indefinitely. The story has just a vague reference to treating heart symptoms. It does not offer any specific data, not even about the mice in this trial. The story fails to mention any of harms of sildenafil, which include:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * sudden severe loss of vision (see below for more information)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * blurred vision\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * sudden decrease or loss of hearing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * ringing in ears\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * erection that is painful or lasts longer than 4 hours\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * dizziness or lightheadedness\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * fainting\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * chest pain\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * worsening shortness of breath\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * itching or burning during urination\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 * rashSildenafil may also interact with other prescription drugs. What\u2019s more, the story failed to note that the continual administration of sildenafil over many months used in this study (and the sort of life-long daily treatment that would be envisioned in human patients) is more like the way the drug is used in patients with pulmonary hypertension and completely different from the occasional doses of the Viagra brand form of the drug used by men to treat erectile dysfunction. This story included some caveats, such as the fact that researchers don\u2019t understand how the drug works in the lab animals and that the mice used in the experiment have \u201ca condition similar to Duchenne muscular dystrophy,\u201d not the actual disease. However, any story reporting the results of animal experiments should alert readers to the fact that very few treatments that emerge out of animal testing ultimately pass human testing. The story points out that Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects about one in 3,500 males. The story gets credit for reporting that the study was funded by the NIH and non-profit groups. But it does not appear that anyone was interviewed for this story, neither researchers nor independent experts. The quotes are excerpts from the journal article. The story does not tell readers about how the heart problems of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are currently managed, nor does it offer any explanation of how sildenafil treatment might compare to standard therapy. The story reports that sildenafil is the drug in Viagra, used to treat erectile dysfunction, and also Revatio, which is used to treat pulmonary hypertension. The story would have been better if it referred to the active ingredient in Viagra, rather than Viagra itself, and had pointed out that to treat heart problems, the drug would be given continually (as it is for pulmonary hypertension) and not just occasionally as it is when used to treat erectile dysfunction. The story reports the new finding of this study in its next-to-last sentence, while leading with old news. The researchers wrote that to their knowledge \u201cthis is the first report of rapid reversal by a drug treatment of the functional symptoms seen in the established cardiac dysfunction that occurs in mdx mice.\u201d But the story lead is that the drug \u201cmight help treat heart symptoms of muscular dystrophy\u201d\u2026 something that has been reported previously not only in mice, but is already being tested in people. This story does not appear to put this latest study in the proper context of other experiments. Reference:Revatio for Heart Disease in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (REVERSE-DMD)http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01168908 The story quotes the journal article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It does not appear to rely only on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "21075", "claim": "On using embryonic stem cells for medical research.", "explanation": "U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson no longer champion of controversial research", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Health Care, Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson, ", "main_text": "When U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson gave remarks at a Vatican conference on adult stem cell research, he portrayed himself as a strong proponent of that work while seeming to brush aside embryonic stem cell work -- despite the fact that he previously championed both types of research. The former Wisconsin governor, one of three Republicans seeking the 2012 GOP nomination, has fought criticism that he is not conservative enough. Has Thompson changed his position on embryonic stem cell research, a practice a recent poll shows is opposed by far more Republicans than Democrats? This is a question for our Flip-O-Meter, which determines not whether any move is good politics or good policy, but whether a political figure has changed stances on an issue. The apparent shift in Thompson\u2019s views was raised in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on Thompson\u2019s Nov. 9, 2011 speech at the Vatican, which opposes embryonic research. Before we examine Thompson\u2019s stance on embryonic stem cells, we\u2019ll note three points we\u2019ve made in previous PolitiFact Wisconsin items about stem cells: Let\u2019s start with Thompson\u2019s early involvement with embryonic stem cell research. August 2001: Kevin Keane, a longtime Thompson aide, tells the Journal Sentinel that Thompson had decided in 1998 to back embryonic stem cell research and was criticized by anti-abortion groups in 1999 for praising University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist James Thomson in his \"state of the state\" message as governor. The UW biologist was the first person to isolate and grow human embryonic stem cells. Keane also said Thompson, who left the governor\u2019s office in early 2001 to become U.S. health and human services secretary under President George W. Bush, offered to develop and announce the Bush administration\u2019s policy allowing federal money to be used for research on existing lines of embryonic stem cells. September 2001: Thompson tells the Journal Sentinel \"I was very active,\" in Bush's decision to allow that limited federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. \"I've been active in stem cells ever since Jamie Thomson discovered them,\" Thompson said. \"I've been very, very supportive of the science. I think it has great potential.\" September 2008: Thompson recounts how, at an August 2001 lunch, he lobbied Bush to approve federal funding -- which was already supporting adult stem cell research -- for embryonic stem cell research. \"If it were not for that lunch I feel that research on those first lines of stem cells would not have taken place,\" he said at the World Stem Cell Summit in Madison. Bush in August 2001 announced he would allow federal funds to be used for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines, \"where the life-and-death decision has already been made,\" but not on new lines that would require the destruction of an embryo. So, it\u2019s clear that Thompson backed embryonic stem cell research as early as the late 1990s, and advocated for it as a Bush cabinet member starting in 2001. So, how does that compare with Thompson\u2019s remarks at the Vatican? Speaking to reporters a day before the conference, Thompson was quoted as saying science had moved beyond destroying embryos. \"Why destroy an embryo?\" he asked. \"We are in a new science of adult stem cells that are pluripotent,\" or able to differentiate into other tissues. (An important note here: Thompson is suggesting that a scientific advance with adult stem cells eliminates the need to use embryonic cells. It\u2019s true that scientists can change body cells into an embryonic state. But as the Los Angeles Times reported a month before Thompson\u2019s remarks, these pluripotent cells can raise a cancer risk and make it more difficult to safely treat diseases. Scientists also are not certain that these changed or reprogrammed cells will behave exactly the same as embryonic stem cells.) Back to Thompson\u2019s comments. At the Vatican conference, he went further with his statements about embryonic stem cells, according to prepared remarks furnished by his campaign. Thompson said: \"I just don't believe that man can engineer something superior to what the good Lord has already given us. That's what I love about adult stem cells -- we're using the divine wisdom inside each of us to supercharge our bodies and wipe away disease. And as we do this, not a single human embryo is destroyed.\" He also said \"we can surely unite to return health to the hundreds of millions of people suffering needlessly throughout the world. And we can do so without destroying one human life.\" So, Thompson is emphasizing how treatment of disease can be done with adult stem cells and without destroying an embryo. We asked Thompson campaign spokesman Darrin Schmitz whether Thompson has changed his position. Schmitz referred us to comments he made to the Journal Sentinel about Thompson\u2019s speech at the Vatican. He said then that Thompson\u2019s position is consistent with the policy he helped develop with Bush. \"As a pro-life Catholic, Tommy Thompson has always sought to protect new and existing life,\" Schmitz said. \"Thompson fully supports adult stem cell research, which does not require the destruction of embryos and has yielded new advancements in regenerative therapies.\" That\u2019s a far cry from the strong support Thompson expressed for embryonic stem cell search while serving under Bush. Our conclusion  Thompson has gone from being a leading advocate of embryonic stem cell research at the highest levels of government to arguing it is no longer necessary to destroy embryos in order to make scientific advancements with stem cells. While he hasn\u2019t come out against the embryonic work, he has suggested it is no longer necessary given advancements in adult stem cell research -- even though that is far from settled science. PolitiFact defines \"a partial change of position or inconsistent statements.\" That\u2019s how we rate Thompson."}
{"claim_id": "5811", "claim": "Officials: 21 measles cases in Detroit area since March 13.", "explanation": "Michigan health officials say more cases of measles have been confirmed in the Detroit area, raising the number in Oakland County to 21 since March 13.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Measles, Michigan, Detroit, Royal Oak", "main_text": "The highly contagious disease has been linked to a person who was visiting from Israel and had stayed in New York, where there\u2019s a measles outbreak. Officials say people may have been exposed this month in Detroit and in the suburbs of Oak Park, Berkley, Farmington Hills, Royal Oak and Southfield, including at synagogues, Jewish educational institutions, a hospital and grocery stores. A full list of possible exposure dates and locations is posted online . Michigan health officials last year urged people to get vaccinated after confirming several measles cases in the state . They\u2019re urging vaccinations following this month\u2019s cases."}
{"claim_id": "16032", "claim": "The name Frank has risen in popularity by 20 percent\" since the debut of 'House of Cards'\u00a0on Netflix.", "explanation": "Lauer asked Spacey if he knew that \"the name Frank has risen in popularity by 20 percent\" since the debut of House of Cards in 2013. Lauer seems to be referencing a 2014 press release from the website BabyCenter.com that played up the influence of Netflix shows on new children\u2019s names. It should be obvious that the company\u2019s priority is generating publicity and not sound scientific methods. Experts say the best data comes from the Social Security Administration, which will not release its baby name rankings until May 2015. And we do know that, according to\u00a0Social Security data, Frank was never more unpopular than in 2013, when\u00a0House of Cards\u00a0debuted. Now you know more than you probably need to about baby name trends, and how a fact-checker\u2019s mind works while trying to watch mindless television. Help fund PolitiFact\u2019s Kickstarter to live fact-check the 2015 State of the Union and GOP response.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Pop Culture, PunditFact, Matt Lauer, ", "main_text": "Hollywood red carpet interviews are reliably substance-free safe zones for fact-checkers, a rare opportunity to turn on the TV and turn off our ears for misleading claims. That\u2019s what we thought, anyway, going into Sunday\u2019s Golden Globes. We tuned in for the pre-show, with a beverage in one hand and our phone in the other. Our only care was coming up with snarky tweets about the rich and famous. Then Today host Matt Lauer had to go and kill our vibe with an apparently researched question for Kevin Spacey, who plays the conniving House Majority Whip Frank Underwood on Netflix\u2019s House of Cards. \"You know, we were sitting together at breakfast, and we saw a fact,\" Lauer said, ticking us off because now we had to put our beverage down and give him our full attention. \"Do you know that the name Frank has risen in popularity by 20 percent since this show debuted? What does that say about parents across America?\" \"Well,\" Spacey said, \"if the parents also have last names that start with a \u2018u,\u2019 then, F.U. as initials has risen dramatically as well.\" \"We are live, Kevin,\" Lauer said, fearing an expletive. \"Where\u2019s that seven-second delay when you need it?\" joked co-host Savannah Guthrie. Spacey went on to have a pretty great night, winning his first Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series (Drama) for his role as Underwood. We still had work to do. We wanted to know if Lauer was for real about the name Frank taking a leap into popularity since the world was introduced to House of Cards (the third season premieres Feb. 27, 2015). What the numbers say We turned first to a super glamorous source: the Social Security Administration. The agency, which maintains a list of baby names going back to 1880, receives information on names from parents when they apply for a child\u2019s Social Security number at his or her birth. Frank, a form of Francis as you would know from watching the show, used to be a really big name near the turn of the 20th century. From 1880 to 1892, it was the sixth-most popular name of U.S. males. It remained in the top 10 of baby names for boys until 1923, the year it started its long, slow slide to the 327th spot in 2013. The chart shows Frank was never more unpopular than in 2013, the same year subscription-based Netflix released the first season of House of Cards (Feb. 1, 2013, to be exact). The greater the ranking number, the lower the popularity of the name. Ranking of the male name Frank 2013 327 2012 319 2011 308 2010 302 2009 291 2008 278 2007 262 2006 246 2005 231 2004 230 2003 230 2002 216 2001 213 2000 208 1999 187 Source: Social Security Administration So Frank had become pretty unpopular before House of Cards started running. And now? This is where we have to introduce a major plot twist to this fact-check: The Social Security Administration has not yet released its 2014 data. The agency releases that information on the Friday before Mother\u2019s Day in May. Without the last year\u2019s data, we can\u2019t discern if there was a possible increase -- much less what really drove it. We do, however, have an idea of what Lauer is talking about. BabyCenter.com, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is a popular pregnancy and parenting website that releases an annual Baby Names Survey and Top 100 Names list. The names list is based on 406,000 babies born in 2014 to mothers who are registered BabyCenter users. BabyCenter global editor in chief Linda Murray hailed 2014 as the \"year of the binge-watching baby name\" because of the influence of TV shows that about 20 percent of surveyed moms said had on their baby name choice. The press release doesn\u2019t just single out Frank, which saw a 19-percent increase from the 352nd ranking to No. 297 among BabyCenter users, but also House of Cards characters Claire (Frank\u2019s wife, up 14 percent), journalist Zoe (up 13 percent), and lobbyist Remy (up 11 percent). Another Netflix show, Orange is the New Black, inspired a rash of baby-naming after characters from its female-centric cast, including Galina (up 67 percent), Nicky (up 35 percent), Piper (up 28 percent) and\u00a0Dayanara (up 19 percent), BabyCenter says. To be clear, these increases are just the percentage that the names moved up the list from the year before. The BabyCenter survey doesn\u2019t include information on how many people named their children Frank (or any other name) year by year. The naming effect is similar for characters in the Shonda Rhimes-produced shows Scandal (Olivia), Grey\u2019s Anatomy (Meredith)\u00a0and How To Get Away with Murder (Annalise), BabyCenter said, as well as the movie Frozen and its star Elsa. Murray called the correlation between trending baby names and binge-worthy shows \"undeniable.\" Other experts weigh in That doesn\u2019t mean we should take the word of BabyCenter as gold. Some of its user-generated \u00a0information mirrors federal name data, but there are discrepancies. BabyCenter\u2019s most popular male name in 2013 was Jackson, and the federal winner was Noah. Sophia remained the most popular girl name according to both sources. For instance, the popularity of the name Frank varied pretty significantly when you compared BabyCenter and Social Security information from years past. (We looked so you didn\u2019t have to.) Basically, experts say we need to wait for the Social Security Administration list to know for sure. It isn\u2019t inconceivable that Frank or Francis is turning a corner after the popularity of House of Cards, said Laura Wattenberg, author of Baby Name Wizard and the website of the name. But it may also have to do with parents who want to honor Pope Francis (but don\u2019t want to call their children Francis). \"It\u2019s hard for one use to really move the needle,\" Wattenberg said. \"Frank has been so unpopular for so long that you could get what looks like a really big jump just from a couple dozen names.\" Echoing Social Security\u2019s 2013 press release about hot baby names, Wattenberg said the reality is that \"obscure\" Spanish TV shows are more likely to have the hottest name of the year than a Netflix hit. In 2013, the girl\u2019s name Daleyza, the name of a young woman\u2019s character on the Spanish-language show Larrymania, increased in popularity by more than 3,000 places. Who would do this Then we got curious about the name Frank itself. As Lauer prodded, what does naming a child after the murderous, conniving character say about American parents? Parents are \"desperate for fresh name ideas\" these days, and are not choosy about the source, Wattenberg said. Gone are the days when all-American parents name their offspring in tribute to the new president. \"They just want something that sounds fresh and creative,\" she said. \"That includes villains, video game characters.\" Albert Mehrabian, professor emeritus of psychology at UCLA, wrote the books The Name Game and Baby Name Report Card based on his studies of the attractiveness of names. His studies aimed to capture the impressions left by names isolated from any other factor, such as appearance or personality. Participants in his studies were asked to imagine themselves meeting someone for the first time knowing just their first name, its spelling and the person\u2019s gender. The participants gave numerical scores on a range of adjectives describing the name, and their responses were averaged and categorized into four areas that defined the name\u2019s attractiveness -- ethical/caring, popular/fun, success and femininity/masculinity. The name Frank scored a 65 of 100 overall, doing really well in terms of giving a successful, ambitious impression but lacking substantially in ethics, Mehrabian said. (Sounds a lot like Spacey\u2019s character, don\u2019t you think?) The given name Francis, meanwhile, scores higher at 78 overall. The increase comes from the stronger impression of ethics and compassion for people named Francis, a score of 99 versus 22 for Frank. \"So Frank, I would say, it\u2019s a so-so name,\" Mehrabian said. \"But it does have high implications of success.\" A spokeswoman for Lauer\u2019s Today show did not get back to us. Our ruling Lauer asked Spacey if he knew that \"the name Frank has risen in popularity by 20 percent\" since the debut of House of Cards in 2013. Lauer seems to be referencing a 2014 press release from the website BabyCenter.com that played up the influence of Netflix shows on new children\u2019s names. It should be obvious that the company\u2019s priority is generating publicity and not sound scientific methods. Experts say the best data comes from the Social Security Administration, which will not release its baby name rankings until May 2015. And we do know that, according to\u00a0Social Security data, Frank was never more unpopular than in 2013, when\u00a0House of Cards\u00a0debuted. Now you know more than you probably need to about baby name trends, and how a fact-checker\u2019s mind works while trying to watch mindless television. The claim is . Help fund PolitiFact\u2019s Kickstarter to live fact-check the 2015 State of the Union and GOP response."}
{"claim_id": "18240", "claim": "The state GOP ticket \"says their top priority is a career-long mission to outlaw abortion in all cases and ban some common forms of birth control.", "explanation": "McAuliffe claimed the GOP ticket \"says their top priority is a career-long mission to outlaw abortion in all cases and ban some common forms of birth control.\" A compelling argument can be made that members of the GOP ticket will do everything possible to restrict abortions and those actions could ban certain types of birth control. But McAuliffe went an extra step and put words in the mouths of his opponents.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, ", "main_text": "Members of the Democratic state ticket gathered recently in Richmond for their first campaign rally an immediately labeled their Republican opponents as extremists. \"The Tea Party ticket says their top priority is a career-long mission to outlaw abortion in all cases and ban some common forms of birth control,\" Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, told a crowd of about 150 at the Hippodrome Theater in Jackson Ward. The claim caught our attention. There\u2019s no doubt that the members of the GOP slate -- gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, lieutenant governor candidate E.W. Jackson and attorney general candidate Mark Obenshain -- are strongly opposed to abortion. But have they really said their No. 1 goal is to ban abortion and some forms of contraception? We asked McAuliffe\u2019s campaign for proof and spokesman Josh Schwerin pointed to a comment Cuccinelli made at a February 2012 rally to support personhood legislation. The bill, which defined life as beginning at conception, had passed the House when Cuccinelli spoke but would subsequently die in the Senate. \"It\u2019s hard to believe we actually have to come and advocate for something as basic as life, but we\u2019ve had to do it for decades and we\u2019re going to have to do it for the rest of our lives,\" The Washington Times quoted Cuccinelli as saying. \"The fight for life is going to last for all of our lives.\" Schwerin cited various press reports and other materials saying the personhood measure would lead to a ban on all abortions and forms of birth control that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a uterus. But this Truth-O-Meter is not about the consequences of personhood legislation. We are examining whether the GOP ticket has proclaimed that ending abortion and certain types of contraception is its top priority. So Cuccinelli\u2019s comments at the rally are immaterial. There are plenty of instances when members of the GOP ticket opposed abortion. Cuccinelli helped muscle through controversial new regulations that require clinics performing abortions to comply with building code standards for hospitals -- an action that was criticized as a ruse to force clinics to close. In a May 18 speech at the Republican state convention accepting the gubernatorial nomination, Cuccinelli called for \"defending those at both ends of life -- protecting the elderly from abuse as well as the unborn.\" Jackson, the lieutenant governor nominee, has called abortion \"genocide.\" And Obenshain, running for attorney general, has consistently voted to restrict abortion rights during his nine years in the state Senate. But when it comes to identifying the most important issue facing voters this fall, Cuccinelli has said it\u2019s the economy. He was asked in a Jan. 3 radio interview on The John Fredericks Show how a Cuccinelli administration would differ from current GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell. \"In some ways it would be very similar,\" Cuccinelli replied. \"Certainly the same top priority of focusing on economic opportunity would be the same in a Cuccinelli administration.\" And in a May 7 news conference announcing his tax plan, Cuccinelli said \"as governor, job creation will be my top priority.\" We asked McAuliffe\u2019s spokesman if he had any other evidence that Cuccinelli and his running mates have stated that ending abortions and restricting birth control are their main reasons for running this year. Schwerin pointed to comments Cuccinelli made last September during a visit to Prison Fellowship, a Lansdowne-based ministry. \"Start with the priorities. Work your way down: life, family, community, world -- a lot of ways to affect the ones at the bottom,\" Cuccinelli said. \"It gets narrower and narrower as you get to the top. None of those other rights matter a whole lot if you don\u2019t get born.\" Schwerin provided another snippet of a clip, this one from Cuccinelli\u2019s appearance at a June 2011 conference of homeschoolers in Herndon. \"And that\u2019s where the candidate\u2019s responsibility arises. You give a campaign purpose. My purpose was to fight abortion, to shrink government, to protect life and families,\" Cuccinelli said. That establishes once again that one of Cuccinelli\u2019s key reasons for entering politics is to oppose abortion. But it falls short of a declaration by the GOP ticket of its No. 1 goal. Our ruling McAuliffe claimed the GOP ticket \"says their top priority is a career-long mission to outlaw abortion in all cases and ban some common forms of birth control.\" A compelling argument can be made that members of the GOP ticket will do everything possible to restrict abortions and those actions could ban certain types of birth control. But McAuliffe went an extra step and put words in the mouths of his opponents. We rate McAuliffe\u2019s statement ."}
{"claim_id": "13691", "claim": "Bill Clinton Says Hillary Clinton tripled the number of people with AIDS whose \"lives are being saved .. and it did not cost you any more money.", "explanation": "Bill Clinton said when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she tripled the number of people with AIDS whose \"lives are being saved,\" and it didn\u2019t cost taxpayers any more money. Clinton took some liberties with the numbers. Treatment rose rapidly by about 250 percent. That\u2019s not quite triple. But Clinton was right that those gains came without additional spending in inflation-adjusted dollars. And while Hillary Clinton can\u2019t take full credit, outsiders said she did set the overall direction for how the program should move forward and intervened in specific ways to help it do more at a lower cost.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Global News Service, Foreign Policy, Public Health, Bill Clinton, ", "main_text": "When Bill Clinton wasn\u2019t retelling how he courted his wife, he filled his Democratic convention speech, later published on Medium, with a long list of Hillary Clinton\u2019s achievements in public life. When he got to her time as secretary of state, he applauded her work on HIV/AIDS. \"She tripled the number of people with AIDS in four countries whose lives are being saved with your tax dollars,\" Clinton said. \"Most of them in Africa, going from 1.7 million lives to 5.1 million lives, and it did not cost you any more money. She just bought available FDA-approved generic drugs.\" We decided to take a closer look at those treatment gains and the price tag that came with them. Clinton\u2019s statement is a bit unclear, first referencing a tripling in four countries, then giving the top-line treatment numbers that span many nations. We reached out to Clinton\u2019s office for clarification. His staff told us that Clinton was talking about the overall HIV/AIDS treatment activities of the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. We took his essential claim to be that thanks to his wife,\u00a0treatment tripled and costs held steady. That\u2019s not perfectly accurate, but it's close. PEPFAR started under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama kept it going. Hillary Clinton can take some credit for PEPFAR\u2019s achievements because it is a State Department program. One of PEPFAR\u2019s major goals is to get as many people as possible into treatment, primarily in Africa but on other continents, too. There is no cure for AIDS, still,\u00a0antiretroviral drugs can slow down the HIV virus in the body, sometimes for many years. In 2013, the Government Accountability Office, the auditing arm of Congress, looked at how efficiently PEPFAR was getting those antiretrovirals to people in need. That report backed up Clinton\u2019s statement, but it only covered the years between 2005 and 2011. Here\u2019s why that\u2019s important. Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state from 2009 through January 2013. For a full view of what PEPFAR did on her watch, we got the numbers through 2012. Drawing on the GAO report, PEPFAR\u2019s own reports, and numbers we got from PEPFAR staff, we found these trends: The charts tell us that the number of people in treatment rose from 2.1 million at the end of 2008 to 5.1 million by the end of 2012 (fiscal years). That number more than doubled, but it didn\u2019t quite triple as Clinton said. However, that increase did come without additional tax dollars. Using constant 2009 dollars, treatment spending fell dramatically for two years, and then returned to the 2009 level. When you put the two trends together, the big picture is that the United States used the same amount of money to deliver about 250 percent more treatment. Eric Goosby, the head of PEPFAR during those years and now professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, said the George W. Bush administration laid the groundwork for those gains. \"It takes a lot time to find the places to set up treatment, and get all the pieces in place to deliver it,\" Goosby told us. \"We benefited from all of that.\" But Goosby also points to the rapid shift to generic drugs after 2009. \"We went from buying 90 percent brand name antiretroviral drugs to less than 3 percent,\" Goosby said. The generic drugs were much cheaper. The program also cut costs by cutting out air delivery and moving goods by land and sea. \"This saved millions of dollars and allowed for an uninterrupted expansion of the number of patients on treatment,\" he said. The chart above shows that on Hillary Clinton\u2019s watch, the costs per patient were driven down by more than half \u2014 from $673 when she took control to $338 when she left. The question is, does she deserve the credit? Mead Over, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, a Washington policy center, urges a bit of caution. Over told us that while a lot of the work is done by State Department agencies, not all of it is. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health and other agencies also play a role. But at the end of the day, Over told us the secretary of state sets the priorities and in this case, the priority was to expand treatment at a lower cost per person. There's evidence that Clinton wasn't just phoning it in. AIDS activists counted her as an ally. Mark Harrington, executive director of the Treatment Action Group, a New York-based advocacy organization, said he would give Clinton a lot of credit for what happened. Harrington said she built stronger reporting ties with PEPFAR than her predecesor\u00a0and had\u00a0a clear\u00a0picture of what was needed. Harrington gave one example of how that led to her direct involvement. \"She helped clear the way for the switch from using expensive international NGOs to deliver services, to working with in-country partners and ministries of health,\" Harrington said. \"There was a concern about corruption,\u00a0and she made it very clear to foreign leaders that that could not happen. And it\u2019s really surprising for a program this big that it hasn\u2019t.\" Harrington also noted that Clinton was engaged with HIV/AIDS before she became secretary. When she was in the Senate, she met with activists and advocated for the programs and funds they sought. Our ruling Bill Clinton said when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she tripled the number of people with AIDS whose \"lives are being saved,\" and it didn\u2019t cost taxpayers any more money. Clinton took some liberties with the numbers. Treatment rose rapidly by about 250 percent. That\u2019s not quite triple. But Clinton was right that those gains came without additional spending in inflation-adjusted dollars. And while Hillary Clinton can\u2019t take full credit, outsiders said she did set the overall direction for how the program should move forward and intervened in specific ways to help it do more at a lower cost."}
{"claim_id": "10703", "claim": "Potential Parkinson\u2019s Treatment Explored", "explanation": "Reporters of some business stories we\u2019ve evaluated say that our criteria aren\u2019t fair to or shouldn\u2019t be applied to business stories \u2013 that some health care industry business announcements may be incomplete but are still newsworthy. We have no disagreement with that latter statement. However, it is the framing of the news coverage at such times that is worth scrutinizing. This story demonstrated exemplary caution and analysis. And we hold it up to those who cover the business of health as an example of how you can satisfy most of our criteria \u2013 even with a very preliminary business announcement. Nice job. Parkinson\u2019s disease is a progressive degenerative disease. While there are newer treatment options including newer drugs and deep brain stimulation, a definitive treatment remains elusize. Newer approaches, such as the delivery of a treatment directly to the sites in the brain affected by the disease are exciting possibilities. Stories about the development of new treatment approaches should focus on the difficulties and uncertainties as well as the possibilities. This story did a good job of that.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Wall Street Journal", "main_text": "Not applicable. There was no discussion of costs but that is understandable at this early stage. What we especially appreciated was the tone and the framing of the story. It didn\u2019t call this idea a treatment. It called it a \u201cpotential treatment.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s not a treatment until it\u2019s been shown to actually treat someone for something. It used the word \u201cpotential\u201d three times in the story. Not applicable. No track record to discuss. The story highlighted some of the uncertainties. For example, it stated: and There was no disease-mongering in the story. No one truly independent of the Medtronic-Lilly partnership was quoted. We would have liked to have seen independent expert perspective on the approach. The story at least made brief references to other approaches in the treatment of Parkinson\u2019s disease. We would have liked more substance, but this was adequate given the context of the new announcement. The story makes it clear that the effort \u201cis still many years from yielding a marketable treatment or even starting human testing\u2026The drug may not enter human clinical trials for up to five years.\u201d The story did an adequate and appropriate job of wrapping this approach into the context of other related research. It\u2019s clear that the story didn\u2019t rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "10372", "claim": "Drug May Delay Pancreatic Cancer Return", "explanation": "The story describes using an existing chemotherapy drug after surgery to try to delay pancreatic cancer from returning. The story does a nice job of meeting the criteria, including desribing the type of evidence for the latest findings, reporting absolute benefits (including a discussion of the modest cancer-free survival gains), availability and novelty of the drug, cost information, and use of an independent source (and disclosure of study funding sources). And all of this was done in just 688 words.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story provides monthly costs of the drug (at least when used to treat inoperable cancer, which may or may not be used the same as for treating cancer after surgery). The story provides absolute data, including proportion of participants in the treatment group and control group who had their cancer come back and the timing of when that occured. Some harms of treatment are described, such as fatigue and hair thinning. These are also described as relatively mild, which may be true in comparison to other chemotherapy agents. The story describes that some participants were randomized after surgery to receive the\u00a0study drug, which\u00a0is a description of a randomized clinical trial. The story also provides some indicators of the strength of the latest study, such as the number of participants followed, and also mentions this study in connection with a larger study published last year that supports the latest findings. No obvious disease mongering. The story describes disease burden and natural history of the cancer. An independent source of information was quoted, but the story could have been improved had the expert actually commented on the study findings vs. the disease burden of pancreatic cancer. The story describes other treatment options, including surgery, with or without chemotherapy. Radiation is also mentioned as an option, combined with chemotherapy. The story reports that the study drug is currently used to treat inoperable pancreatic cancer and is also a common chemotherapy drug, often used to treat other cancers. The story describes that the drug studied has been used to treat inoperable pancreatic cancer as well as some other types of cancer, letting readers know this is not a new drug, but rather, a new application of an existing drug. The story provides a quote from a researcher not involved in the study, so it's clear that resources other than a press release were used."}
{"claim_id": "5591", "claim": "Hearing concludes in Missouri abortion clinic licensing case.", "explanation": "An administrative hearing to decide whether Missouri can revoke the license for the state\u2019s only abortion clinic concluded Thursday with emotional testimony from a clinic official.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Michael Brown, Health, General News, Abortion, St. Louis, U.S. News", "main_text": "The hearing in St. Louis before a commissioner with the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission was expected to last five days but wrapped up a day early. A ruling isn\u2019t expected until February at the earliest. The state health department wants to revoke the license for Planned Parenthood\u2019s St. Louis clinic, citing concerns about four instances of what the state called \u201cfailed abortions.\u201d Planned Parenthood officials say conservatives are trying to use the licensing process to end abortions in Missouri. Revocation would make Missouri the first state since 1974, the year after the Supreme Court\u2019s Roe v. Wade decision, without a functioning abortion clinic. The St. Louis clinic remains open pending the commission\u2019s ruling. Kawanna Shannon, director of surgical services at the clinic, testified that the state\u2019s March inspection was tense from the start. It was the first inspection under the administration of Republican Gov. Mike Parson, a staunch abortion opponent who ascended to governor in June 2018 after Republican Gov. Eric Greitens resigned. Investigators were adamant that the clinic should be performing two pelvic exams before an abortion, at a patient\u2019s first visit and again immediately before the procedure. The clinic initially agreed to the second exam, but soon decided it was so \u201cunbearable\u201d for patients that it stopped in defiance of the state law, Shannon said, her voice breaking. \u201cPatients were made to get unnecessarily violated,\u201d Shannon said. The health department relented in June, issuing an emergency rule relieving Planned Parenthood of the requirement. Shannon said that a month after the March inspection, a top health department official showed up to scrutinize records. That investigator was William Koebel, chief of the division that oversees licensing of abortion clinics and other surgical centers. Koebel told Shannon he was there in response to an unspecified complaint, Shannon said. She later learned it was Koebel himself who filed the complaint, she said. The investigation eventually turned up four instances where women required multiple procedures before abortions were successfully completed."}
{"claim_id": "11375", "claim": "Getting the focus back: There\u2019s new hope for people with age-related macular degeneration", "explanation": "Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a significant cause of blindness in the elderly and is becoming more common as the population ages. There are two major kinds of AMD, \"wet\" or neovascular and \"dry.\" Although the \"wet\" form is much less common than \"dry\", it is much more likely to lead to blindness, which can occur very suddenly. Until recently, wet AMD was treated with lasers or phototherapy, however in June, 2006 the FDA approved the drug Lucentis for the condition. This story reports on advancements in treatment of AMD but then goes on to talk about developments in treating cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. This review will focus on the discussion of treating wet AMD with Lucentis, which comprises the first five paragraphs of this story. By not\u00a0exaggerating the seriousness of wet AMD, the story avoids disease mongering. The story should have provided some sense of the prevalence of wet AMD, which is relatively rare compared to the more common dry AMD. The story mentions Avastin, laser treatment, and phototherapy as alternatives. The story could have provided more information on the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches. The story does mention the increased risk of strokes with Lucentis, however the story should have also mentioned risk of inflammation and infection from injection into the eye. The story does not mention the cost of Lucentis, which is substantial, up to $2000 per injection. Since the injections need to be\u00a0given monthly for an indefinite amount of time, cost is a\u00a0major issue and has the potential to be a signficant barrier to obtaining the drug. The story does mention that Avastin is a much cheaper alternative, but this is not enough information on the cost of treatment. The story does not adequately describe the strength of the available evidence, nor does it quantify the benefits of Lucentis. Finally, the story only quotes one expert and one satisfied patient who happens to be a physician. The story should have quoted other clinicians/researchers who could have provided some additional perspective.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not mention the cost of Lucentis, which is substantial, up to $2000 per injection. Since the injections need to be\u00a0given monthly for an indefinite amount of time, cost is a huge issue and has the potential to be a signficant barrier to obtaining the drug. The story does mention that Avastin is a much cheaper alternative, but this is not enough information on the cost of treatment. The story does not quantify the benefits of treatment. The story does mention the increased risk of strokes with Lucentis. The story should have also mentioned risk of inflammation and infection from injection into the eye. The story does not adequately describe the strength of the available evidence. By not\u00a0exaggerating the seriousness of wet AMD, the story avoids disease mongering. The story should have provided some sense of the prevalence of wet AMD, which is relatively rare compared to the more common dry AMD. The story only quotes one expert and one satisfied patient who happens to be a physician. The story should have quoted other clinicians/researchers who could have provided some additional perspective. The story mentions Avastin, laser treatment, and phototherapy as alternatives. The story could have provided more information on the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches. The story should have also\u00a0mentioned that Avastin isn't approved for this indication. The article mentions that Lucentis was approved last June for wet AMD, but doesn't tell the reader how available it is \u2013 that is, is it in widespread use? The story clearly states that Lucentis is a novel approach to treating wet AMD. There is no way to know if the story relies on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "7548", "claim": "US plans reimagine fighting wildfires amid crews\u2019 virus risk.", "explanation": "In new plans that offer a national reimagining of how to fight wildfires amid the risk of the coronavirus spreading through crews, it\u2019s not clear how officials will get the testing and equipment needed to keep firefighters safe in what\u2019s expected to be a difficult fire season.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Wildfires, General News, Lifestyle, Health, Fires, Science, U.S. News, Idaho", "main_text": "A U.S. group instead put together broad guidelines to consider when sending crews to blazes, with agencies and firefighting groups in different parts of the country able to tailor them to fit their needs. The wildfire season has largely begun, and states in the American West that have suffered catastrophic blazes in recent years could see higher-than-normal levels of wildfire because of drought. \u201cThis plan is intended to provide a higher-level framework of considerations and not specific operational procedures,\u201d the National Multi-Agency Coordination Group, made up of representatives from federal agencies who worked with state and local officials, wrote in each of the regional plans. \u201cIt is not written in terms of \u2018how to\u2019 but instead provides considerations of \u2018what,\u2019 \u2018why,\u2019 and \u2018where.\u2019\u201d  Federal and state agencies have been scrambling to plan for wildland firefighting since the coronavirus took hold in the U.S. The standard approach to fighting fires means bringing in large numbers of firefighters from different places, housing them together in often unsanitary conditions, then redeploying them to new locations. That\u2019s the opposite of social distancing and other restrictions that health experts say can slow the spread of COVID-19. A Forest Service risk assessment predicted that large fire camps could have a disproportionately high mortality rate in worst-case scenarios, according to an April 30 letter from a group of lawmakers. They are raising questions about how that risk is being communicated to people on the front lines and regional leaders. \u201cGiven the various state-level stay-at-home orders, will national crews and assets be able to move between regions to respond to wildfires?\u201d U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and 10 other Democratic senators from California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado wrote to Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen. \u201cWhat are you doing to communicate the scale of risk?\u201d The Forest Service said Monday that the risk assessment was just a draft, declining to offer more details or a copy. \u201cThe previous version of the report was a draft and is now outdated,\u201d the agency said in an email. \u201cThe report is being reviewed and updated with the most current data and is not ready to share.\u201d The regional plans, released last week, urge fire managers to use an approach called \u201cModule of One\u201d for crews, which recognizes that the work often requires close physical contact between firefighters who travel and camp together. The guidelines suggest that crew members only have close contact with each other and stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) away from everyone who isn\u2019t a member of the module, wearing masks when interacting with others. Camping should be done mostly in small groups, instead of the traditional approach where sometimes hundreds of firefighters stay in the same area. That means relying on military-issue ready-to-eat or bagged meals instead of catered buffet-style meals at campsites. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to mitigate the potential for spread as much as possible while still providing for safe fire suppression efforts,\u201d National Interagency Fire Center spokeswoman Jessica Gardetto said Monday. \u201cThis involves insulating our fire crews as much as possible \u2014 so they\u2019re operating more as family units than individuals \u2014 and avoiding the establishment of large fire camps and other situations that involve large groups of people gathering in one location.\u201d  The biggest question for many states has been whether they can count on help from the federal government when wildfires threaten communities. The plan for the U.S. Southwest warned, \u201cin the event of a high disease spread scenario with a high rate of infection, the associated loss of individuals from service will, in even a moderately active fire season, severely tax the ability to maintain an adequate wildfire response.\u201d  States requesting help should be able to show they have enough resources to keep firefighters safe, the guidelines say. That could mean access to testing, a variety of firefighter housing options and plenty of personal protection equipment. But it\u2019s not clear how fire managers will meet those requirements. Some of the regional plans call for testing fire crews if or when tests become available, and taking temperatures with touchless thermometers if they are available. The plans advise fire managers and medical workers to buy and bring their own thermometers. Not all firefighting agencies are sold on the value of COVID-19 testing, however. The Department of Interior\u2019s Fire Management Board chairman Leon Ben Jr. warned in a May 1 memo that the tests\u2019 false negative rate could lure fire managers into a false sense of safety. As a result, the department\u2019s advisers on health issues in wildland firefighting don\u2019t recommend using the tests for routine screening. \u201cGiven the limited accuracy of available testing, current COVID-19 tests provide limited-to-no screening value for the wildland fire community,\u201d Ben wrote."}
{"claim_id": "35908", "claim": "U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden supports \"defunding\" police agencies.", "explanation": "No, I don\u2019t. [\u2026] I don\u2019t want to defund police departments. I think they need more help, they need more assistance.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, Election 2020", "main_text": "Following a series of high-profile deaths of Black Americans while in police custody, a civil rights movement to call attention to systemic racism in U.S. law enforcement emerged as a key issue in the presidential race between Republican U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. In their public responses, both campaigns stripped the nuance from what was a deep-rooted reckoning over American racism and police brutality. Biden tried to align himself with protesters\u2019 calls for reforming the country\u2019s criminal justice system without going into specifics as to how. Meanwhile, Trump attempted to convince voters his opponent would turn America into a place of lawlessness and destruction by removing or completely eliminating police officers from streets. \u201cBiden has vowed to defund the police,\u201d Trump said in conference call with supporters on Aug. 12, 2020. We should note here: local governments, not the president\u2019s office, decide specific budgets for city, county, and state law-enforcement agencies, though the federal government can levy funding for agencies that meet its chosen requirements. Weeks after the unsubstantiated claim alleging a promise by Biden, the president again suggested without specific evidence that his opponent was essentially a Trojan horse for progressive activists who want to downsize or completely abolish police agencies. \u201cIf you give power to Joe Biden, the radical left will defund police departments all across America,\u201d Trump claimed, while accepting the Republican Party\u2019s nomination in the race. (See a transcript of the whole speech here.) Below, we focused on those allegations by the president, considering their frequent appearance in Trump campaign advertisements before the November 2020 election. Snopes relied on evidence to confirm or deny whether Trump was correct \u2014 that Biden at one point said he supports \u201cdefunding\u201d U.S. law enforcement agencies nationwide. First, let us define what \u201cdefund the police\u201d means. Per The Associated Press: Supporters say it isn\u2019t about eliminating police departments or stripping agencies of all of their money. They say it is time for the country to address systemic problems in policing in America and spend more on what communities across the U.S. need, like housing and education. Additionally, a writer for the Washington Post explained: [Advocates] want to redirect some funds now spent on police forces to items such as education, public health, housing and youth services. The idea is that low-income communities would become stronger \u2014 and less in need of police \u2014 if root problems were addressed. Under this concept, some police officers would be replaced with trained social workers or specialized response teams in an effort to let police focus on violent crime, not drug overdoses or homelessness. The theory is that police would be better positioned to deal with rapes and murders if they were not required to deal with other social ills that sometimes lead to community confrontations with police. Next, we analyzed media interviews, social media posts, and other statements by Biden\u2019s campaign for any reference to the above-described concept \u2014 that he said he agrees with \u201cdefunding\u201d police departments, or protesters\u2019 calls to redirect funding from U.S. law-enforcement agencies to social services. In June, Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden\u2019s campaign, told news reporters in a statement: As his criminal justice proposal made clear months ago, Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded. [\u2026] Biden supports the urgent need for reform, including funding for public schools, summer programs, and mental health and substance abuse treatment separate from funding for policing, so that officers can focus on the job of policing. Around the same time, Biden said in an interview with CBS News:\u00a0 No, I don\u2019t support defunding the police. [\u2026] I support conditioning federal aid to police, based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness. And, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community and everybody in the community. Then, in a July interview with activist Ady Barkan, the question surfaced again. Barkan asked Biden if he was open to reducing responsibility on law-enforcement agencies to maintain public safety, and, as a result, redirect existing police funding into social services, mental health counseling, and programs to help people access affordable housing. An edited version of the exchange circulated widely on social media, showing Biden agreeing with Barkan and supposedly providing the proof Trump supporters were seeking. But according to the Washington Post, which obtained a full video of the interview, that shortened version of the interview was misleading. The news outlet reported: [The edited] video does not include Biden adding that his response was not the same as \u201cdefunding all the police.\u201d He also speaks about increasing funding for mental health, which is different from saying he would fund mental health aid out of redirected funds from the police. In effect, Biden appears to say he would condition aid on police reforms as an incentive on the one hand, while simultaneously providing additional resources for mental health, homelessness and other kinds of community support. (A Biden campaign aide confirms this is Biden\u2019s position.) Later, in an August interview with ABC\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d Biden reiterated that stance. Co-anchor Robin Roberts asked, \u201cPresident Trump says that you want to defund the police. Do you?\u201d Biden responded:"}
{"claim_id": "1540", "claim": "Scientists find clues to why binge-drinking causes binge-eating.", "explanation": "Scientists have found that the brain cells in mice that stimulate the urge to eat can be activated by alcohol as well as by hunger - a discovery that could help explain why binge drinking often leads to binge eating.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "In an experiment, mice subjected to a three-day \u201calcoholic weekend\u201d were found to eat significantly more food than mice that stayed sober. The results, published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday, show that major components of the brain\u2019s feeding circuits are activated by alcohol, the researchers said. \u201cOur data suggest that alcohol sustains fundamental appetite signals, (and does) not just disinhibit their behavioral manifestation,\u201d wrote Denis Burdakov, who led the study at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Consumption of alcohol has previously been linked to overeating in humans, but the underlying causes were unclear - particularly since alcohol is high in calories, and calorie intake usually suppresses brain appetite signals. Burdakov said his study found that specific hunger-promoting brain cells known as Agrp neurons, which form part of the feeding circuit in mouse brains, are activated by alcohol. To test the validity of their findings, Burdakov\u2019s team were able to block activity of these neurons in some mice, and they found that this eliminated alcohol-induced overeating. This shows, they said, \u201cthat the alcohol-associated activity of Agrp neurons...is the critical step in alcohol-induced overeating\u201d. Obesity and heavy drinking are major causes of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic health problems affecting millions of people worldwide. Public Health England said last month that eight out of 10 middle-aged adults in Britain either weigh too much, drink too much or exercise too little."}
{"claim_id": "10666", "claim": "Breakthrough in Creating Artificial Pancreas", "explanation": "Things didn\u2019t improve much as we read past the sensational headline and first sentence, with an inaccurate study description,\u00a0lack of truly independent perspective, and no mention of possible harms\u00a0contributing to a generally sub-par effort by WebMD. Type 1 diabetes is a serious condition affecting millions of people who could benefit from automated glucose monitoring/insulin dispensing device. However, these people won\u2019t be helped by superficial accounts of where this technology is in its development and what it will eventually be capable of.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "If this technology\u00a0is as close to reality as this story suggests, then it\u2019s\u00a0appropriate to discuss costs. This\u00a0story didn\u2019t. The story could have at least nodded in the direction of financial impact of new technologies. Many patients with type 1 diabetes are not using currently available pumps and sensors because of the high cost of these devices. It seems likely that this new treatment, if it ever becomes widely available, will be as expensive or more so than the current pump and sensor technology. Compounding the effects of the sensational headline and use of the term \"artificial pancreas\" (which, as we explain in our review of the competing New York Times piece, is an overly promotional and misleading term), this story wasn\u2019t\u00a0careful enough in its description of the benefits reported in the study. It had most of the same problems as the Reuters story (see that review for detailed analysis), including\u00a0reporting relative and not absolute benefits, and not mentioning the fact that the primary outcomes of the study were negative. On the positive side, the story did mention that experimental group in this study had no instances of severe hypoglycemia compared with 9 episodes in the control group. This is a potentially important finding that was not mentioned by Reuters. The story emphasizes the upside but makes no mention of what could go wrong with an automated system. The potential adverse effects of a malfunction, such as hypoglemic shock and death,\u00a0are\u00a0serious. The story gives a somewhat better description of the study than the competing\u00a0Reuters piece,\u00a0but suffers from the same\u00a0key shortcomings. It mischaracterizes what happened in the experiment and\u00a0doesn\u2019t caution readers about the very small size of the study. This story veers toward the sensational in its anecdotal reporting on what nighttime hypoglycemia is like. Overall, though,\u00a0it didn\u2019t\u00a0exaggerate the impact of type 1 diabetes and appropriately focused on hypoglycemia as an important risk that a new glucose management system could help address. The story mentions that one source, Aaron J. Kowalski, PhD, is affiliated with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and says that he \"did not take part in the study.\" However, it does not disclose\u00a0that JDRF was a sponsor of the study, which\u00a0means that\u00a0Dr. Kowalski could be more likely than a truly independent observer to look favorably on the results. The story also did not identify\u00a0the financial\u00a0ties between one of the investigators quoted in the study and a study sponsor. The story does a slightly better job than the Reuters piece of explaining how type 1 diabetes is currently managed and why nighttime hypoglycemia can be a problem. Barely enough for a satisfactory rating This story did a better job than the competing Reuters piece in explaining that the system tested in this study actually consisted of a commercially available glucose monitor and insulin pump\u2013not a \"new device\"\u00a0per se. However, it still left the reader with the impression that system was automatically managing patients\u2019 glucose without any outside human intervention, which was not the case. We also wish the story had resisted the temptation to\u00a0predict that a new \"artificial pancreas\" system might be\u00a0be available clinicially in 3 to 5 years. The FDA approval process is notoriously uNPRedictable, and this technology has a lot of hurdles to clear before it will be available for patients. The story mentions that this technology has been in the works for decades and mentions the current availability of continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps. We can\u2019t be sure of the extent to which this story ws influenced by a news release."}
{"claim_id": "35978", "claim": "A drunk crop duster pilot dumped four tons of manure over parts of Kansas.", "explanation": "Did a \u2018Drunk Crop Duster\u2019 Pilot Dump 4 Tons of Manure over Kansas?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "In December 2019, myriad Facebook posts shared an article claiming that a \u201cdrunk crop duster\u201d pilot spread four tons of manure across Kansas:El Dorado, Kansas | An agricultural airplane pilot made a serious mistake this morning while operating his aircraft under the influence of alcohol, accidentally dumping his cargo of manure over cars, houses, and residents.According to the police report, 51-year old Barry Wood had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.48% when he was arrested, six times the legal limit allowed to drive a motor vehicle and 12 times the legal limit allowed to operate a plane \u2026 Residents of the city were taken off guard as tons of liquid manure started raining over the city, causing several car accidents and totally ruining an outdoor wedding ceremony.However, the article\u2019s headline wasn\u2019t very journalistic:SHIT FALLS FROM THE SKY IN KANSAS: DRUNK \u201cCROP DUSTER\u201d PLANE PILOT SPREADS 4 TONS OF MANURE OVER CITYIn one Facebook group where the link was shared, some commenters reacted to the \u201cnews\u201d as if it were legitimate:\u201cMake him clean it up. That ought to cure him of drinking\u201d\u201cHe\u2019s been a danger flying drunk for years! And the officials knew it! Let it go til it came to this! Thank God he didn\u2019t kill anybody\u201dIt seems that those commenters did not scroll down to the bottom of the article from\u00a0World News Daily Report, a satire site that has the following text in the footer of each page:World News Daily Report assumes all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website \u2013 even those based on real people \u2013 are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any person, living, dead or undead, is purely a miracle.The claim that a drunk crop duster pilot showered parts of Kansas with manure was fabricated for humor and social media shares\u00a0\u2014 as were previous claims from the same site that a man was arrested for dressing up as an alien and abducting people, that another man got extensive plastic surgery to circumvent a restraining order, that yet another man got extensive cosmetic procedures to look more like Jesus, that a woman was jailed for leaving her kids in a car outside a buffet, and that a feminist was lauded for her twenty-seventh abortion."}
{"claim_id": "28699", "claim": "Inspirational Internet postings recount the high and low points in the life of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders.", "explanation": "False. Not to cast doubt on Sanders\u2019 achievements\u00a0\u2014 which were real \u2014 but the Colonel himself did not live to be a billionaire. He sold off the U.S. portion of the business in 1964 for $2 million, and, according to the Washington Post, held a personal fortune valued at $3.5 million when he died at the age of 90 in 1980. The business he singlehandedly built, however, is now worth billions.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Glurge Gallery, colonel sanders, glurge, kentucky fried chicken", "main_text": "It\u2019s no mere figure of speech\u00a0to say that\u00a0Colonel Harland Sanders (1890-1980), founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food empire, was a legend in his own time. Images of the bespectacled, impeccably tailored, elderly southern gentleman grinning behind\u00a0a white mustache and chin whiskers rival those of Marilyn Monroe and Che Guevara as icons\u00a0of 20th-century pop culture. Famously, Sanders\u2019\u00a0life had more ups and downs than the hero of\u00a0a Dickens novel, making his success story all the more improbable. Born into poverty, he went to work at a very young age, picking up meager paychecks\u00a0as\u00a0a farmhand, a blacksmith, a soldier, railroad fireman, buggy painter, streetcar conductor, janitor, lawyer, insurance salesman, ferry operator, and countless\u00a0other jobs before it ever even occurred to him to go\u00a0into the restaurant business. Sanders played an active role\u00a0in the creation\u00a0of his own myth, churning out\u00a0two separate autobiographies,\u00a0Life As I Have Known It Has Been Finger-Lickin\u2019 Good (1974) and\u00a0The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef (written in 1966, published in 2012). As the Colonel told it, his life story was more one of\u00a0self discovery than a rags-to-riches tale: He was at an advanced age when\u00a0he realized\u00a0that making food was his thing, and at\u00a0an even later age, he finally figured out how to\u00a0get rich doing it. Predictably, the Internet invented\u00a0its own abbreviated version of Colonel Sanders\u2019 life\u00a0story \u2014 actually, several versions, each with its own omissions and inaccuracies\u00a0\u2014\u00a0distilling it into a timeline of losses and failures paving the way for\u00a0eventual world domination (plus a moral statement, e.g., \u201cYou\u2019re never too old, don\u2019t give up trying!\u201d \u2014 as if the point\u00a0could have somehow escaped us):  At age 5 his Father died. At age 16 he quit school. At age 17 he had already lost four jobs. At age 18 he got married. Between ages 18 and 22, he was a railroad conductor and failed. He joined the army and washed out there. He applied for law school he was rejected. He became an insurance sales man and failed again. At age 19 he became a father. At age 20 his wife left him and took their baby daughter. He became a cook and dishwasher in a small cafe. He failed in an attempt to kidnap his own daughter, and eventually he convinced his wife to return home. At age 65 he retired. On the 1st day of retirement he received a cheque from the Government for $105. He felt that the Government was saying that he couldn\u2019t provide for himself. He decided to commit suicide, it wasn\u2019t worth living anymore; he had failed so much. He sat under a tree writing his will, but instead, he wrote what he would have accomplished with his life. He realised there was much more that he hadn\u2019t done. There was one thing he could do better than anyone he knew. And that was how to cook. So he borrowed $87 against his cheque and bought and fried up some chicken using his recipe, and went door to door to sell them to his neighbours in Kentucky. Remember at age 65 he was ready to commit suicide. But at age 88 Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Empire was a billionaire. Moral of the story: Attitude. It\u2019s never too late to start all over. MOST IMPORTANLY, IT\u2019S ALL ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE. NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER HOW HARD IT GETS. You have what it takes to be successful. Go for it and make a difference. With the caveat that even now some of the details of the Colonel\u2019s life are in dispute (and it appears he wasn\u2019t\u00a0always the most reliable\u00a0witness to the events of his own life ), we\u2019ll take our best shot at verifying the accuracy of one of the Internet\u2019s favorite memes: The Life of Colonel Harland Sanders. At age 5 his Father died. True. Harland Sanders was born in 1890. His father, Wilbert D. Sanders, died in 1895 when Harland was only five years old. (Some published sources say he was six, but the year of Wilbert\u2019s\u00a0death is listed on his tombstone, presumably accurately,\u00a0as 1895.) At age 16 he quit school. False. He quit before that. According to Sanders himself, he dropped out of school just\u00a0two weeks into the seventh grade, at the age of 13. At age 17 he had already lost four jobs. Roughly\u00a0true. By his own account, Sanders had already held at least half a dozen jobs by the time he was 17. He didn\u2019t \u201close\u201d them all, however. He was fired from his first job working as a farmhand at the age of 10, and received such a harsh upbraiding\u00a0from his mother that he resolved never to let it happen again. Between then and the age of 18, he worked at several\u00a0more farms, as a carriage painter in Indianapolis, as a streetcar conductor in New Albany, Indiana, as a U.S. Army soldier in Cuba, and in various capacities\u00a0for the Southern Railroad. At age 18 he got married. True. Sanders married the first woman he fell in love with, Josephine King of Jasper, Alabama, in 1908. He was\u00a018 years old. Between ages 18 and 22, he was a railroad conductor and failed. Partly true. Sanders worked for various railroads during the early years of his marriage, all the while studying law by mail (\u201cI had an idea that someday I\u2019d be another Clarence Darrow,\u201d he later wrote) and jumping from one job to the next to stay employed. We\u2019ve read\u00a0two different versions of how he came to leave that industry. As Sanders told it, he decided he\u2019d worked his last day on the railroad\u00a0when he realized he could make more\u00a0money settling the cases of workers injured in a rail accident than he could stoking steam engines, and embarked on a law career. Another source holds that he was fired from the Rock Island line after getting in a fistfight with a co-worker. In any case, it\u2019s not precisely accurate to say he was altogether a \u201cfailure\u201d in the railroad business. He joined the army and washed out there. Partly true. As noted above, Sanders did join the Army, served in Cuba, and was honorably discharged after six months (albeit, according to some accounts, because it was discovered he was\u00a0underage). He applied for law school and was rejected. False. As noted above, Sanders studied law, but it was via correspondence courses, not in a physical law school. Apart from that, it doesn\u2019t appear that he applied to or was rejected from any law schools. Some sources claim he acquired a law degree, though by his own account he did not. However, while taking courses he did practice law (of a sort) in a Justice of the Peace court in Little Rock, Arkansas: That move to Little Rock was a milestone in my life. I was there for three years studying law, reading the material La Salle sent me, and reading in the office of Judge Iscreed. When any of my cases had to go to a higher court, a court above the Justice of the Peace Court, if I didn\u2019t win in the J.P. Court, I turned them over to the judge. He\u2019d take them from there on in and we\u2019d split the fee. It was a slim living, but I was getting by. Then, I decided I didn\u2019t want to be a lawyer anymore. He became an insurance salesman and failed again. Partly true. When he tired of being what amounted to a paralegal, he\u00a0took a job as a salesman with Prudential Life Insurance Company, and was so successful during his first year that\u00a0he was promoted to an executive position. He later wrote that he stayed\u00a0in the insurance business \u201cfor quite awhile,\u201d although, according to Josh Ozersky in\u00a0Colonel Sanders and the American Dream, Sanders was fired from Prudential and moved on to another\u00a0insurance company in Louisville. At age 19 he became a father. True. Sanders\u2019 first child, Margaret, was born on 29 March 1910, when he was 19 years old. His second child, Harland Jr., was born in 1912, and his third, Mildred, in 1919. At age 20 his wife left him and took their baby daughter. Unclear. In his\u00a01974\u00a0autobiography,\u00a0Life As I Have Known It Has Been Finger Lickin\u2019 Good, Sanders relates an incident that occurred\u00a0while he was still working on the railroad, around the age of 20, involving the departure of his wife with \u201cthe kids\u201d (although he had only had one child by that age). It was summarized on the Great Indoorsman blog\u00a0as follows: Sanders married Josephine King and started a family, but after his boss fired him for insubordination while he was on a trip, Josie stopped writing him letters. He then learned that Josie had left him, given away all their furniture and household goods, and taken the kids back to her parents\u2019s home. Josie\u2019s brother wrote Sanders a letter saying, \u201cShe had no business marryin\u2019 a no-good fellow like you who can\u2019t hold a job.\u201d He became a cook and dishwasher in a small cafe. Undetermined. Given all the various jobs Harland Sanders held, it\u2019s certainly possible, even probable, that he accepted work as a cook and a dishwasher, though we didn\u2019t find a specific reference to it. He failed in an attempt to kidnap his own daughter, and eventually he convinced his wife to return home. Apparently roughly true. This is Sanders\u2019 account of the denouement of the episode in which his wife, Josephine, left him with one (or more) of the kids, as summarized\u00a0in the Great Indoorsman blog: Sanders went to Jasper, Alabama, where the Kings lived, and hid in the woods near his in-law\u2019s house, planning to kidnap his children when they came out to play. When the kids failed to come outside, Sanders came out of the woods and talked with his father-in-law on the porch, then went inside and made peace with his wife. At age 65 he retired. False. By age 65, Sanders was the successful owner of a combo service station, motel, and cafe in Corbin, Kentucky, but the business started tanking when\u00a0the nearby interstate highway was rerouted, so Sanders was forced to sell it off at a loss. He did not regard himself as retired, however. On the 1st day of retirement he received a check from the Government for $105. Partly true. Retired or not, Sanders himself said he began receiving Social Security checks at age 65 in the amount of $105 a month. He felt that the Government was saying that he couldn\u2019t provide for himself. He decided to commit suicide, it wasn\u2019t worth living anymore; he had failed so much. False. This is the most egregious falsehood in the Internet version of Sanders\u2019 life story. For all his ups and downs, there is no evidence that he ever considered suicide or even experienced suicidal feelings. True, he was in a tough spot after being forced to sell the business he had built over the previous decades for pennies on the dollar, but he was not despondent. \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t been 66 years old and had a $105 Social Security check coming in every month, I don\u2019t know what I would have done,\u201d he later wrote. \u201cBut for me it wasn\u2019t a matter of giving up. It was just a problem of what to do next.\u201d He sat under a tree writing his will, but instead, he wrote what he would have accomplished with his life. He realized there was much more that he hadn\u2019t done. There was one thing he could do better than anyone he knew. And that was how to cook. So he borrowed $87 against his check and bought and fried up some chicken using his recipe, and went door to door to sell them to his neighbors in Kentucky. Vaguely true. He had not only perfected his signature fried chicken recipe (with its \u201cblend of 11 herbs and spices\u201d) before age 65, but had started licensing it, on a very small scale, to other restaurateurs. The epiphany that turned his life around was the realization that the recipe itself might be a gold mine. And it very quickly turned out to be just that, according to the Washington Post: It was not until 1956 that Col. Sanders began selling franchises for the fried chicken that brought him fame and fortune. By 1960, he had 400 outlets. Four years later, there were 900 Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the United States, Canada, England and Japan. Remember at age 65 he was ready to commit suicide. False,\u00a0as noted above. He was down and out, but feisty and resourceful as ever. But at age 88 Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Empire was a billionaire."}
{"claim_id": "14349", "claim": "Evidence shows Zika virus turns fetus brains to liquid.", "explanation": "The Weekly Observer and other websites said that researchers had found that the Zika virus turned a fetal brain into liquid. The Observer referred to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. The three lead researchers for that study declared the Observer's version was wholly inaccurate. They found signs of dead brain cells and cerebrospinal fluid where it shouldn\u2019t be. They never said that the virus liquefied brain cells.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Global News Service, Public Health, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "A claim moving on the Web paints a horrific image of how the Zika virus can damage a fetus. \"Evidence Shows Zika Virus Turns Fetus Brains to Liquid\" blared the headline on the website Weekly Observer, which is based in England. At least two other websites ran similar stories April 3 and 4, 2016. The claim is completely wrong, and has the barest connection to any actual research. Seeing as it showed up in quick succession in Australia and the United Kingdom, we thought we should move quickly to squash it. The Weekly Observer piece has the gloss of authentic reporting. A recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the Zika virus kills developing fetal brain cells. According to the doctors, the study was performed on a woman who got infected by the virus while she was 3 months pregnant. Her fetus was monitored through blood tests and MRIs, and the doctors watched as the baby\u2019s brain was basically liquefied within 9 weeks. The woman underwent an abortion at 21 weeks. The Australia Network website was equally somber. In a (sic) recent research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers tracked the development of a foetus whose mother contracted the virus on a trip to Central America, when she was 3 months pregnant. The blood tests and the magnetic resonance images showed that the virus was slowly turning the baby\u2019s brain into liquid over a course of nine weeks. At 21 weeks the woman aborted the foetus. The New England Journal of Medicine did publish an article on March 30, 2016, about a 33-year-old Finnish woman who was with her husband in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize in November 2015 when she was 11 weeks pregnant. Ultrasound examinations up until the 17th week of the pregnancy showed no abnormalities. That changed by the 19th week. Basic structures in the cranium were not as they should be. That combined with proof that the mother was infected with the Zika virus and a more detailed view using MRI led the parents to terminate the pregnancy at 21 weeks. An autopsy found Zika virus in the fetal brain tissue. Areas of the brain had dead cells and some that had begun to break down. But did the researchers say that the brain had been liquefied? \"This is absolutely NOT what we said,\" wrote Adre du Plessis, one of the lead authors and director of the Fetal Medicine Institute at the Children\u2019s National Health System in Washington, D.C. A second author, Rita Drigger, a professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the\u00a0Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, called the description a \"false interpretation\" of \u00a0the case. A third author, Olli Vapalahti at the Department of Virology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, told us some reporter might have misunderstood him during an interview. \"I may have tried to explain -- perhaps in too simple terms -- that there was thinning of the cortex and enlargement of the ventricles in the brain, meaning that some of the brain tissue had been replaced by cerebrospinal fluid,\" Vapalahti said. \"I can now see that this has emerged to some hype message which certainly I have not intended to deliver.\" In other words, it wasn\u2019t that brain tissue was turned to liquid. Rather, space where brain cells would normally be found contained fluid instead. In a conference call with reporters on March 30, du Plessis said the main point of the article was to caution doctors and parents that an extremely small head might not be the sole indicator of brain damage associated with the Zika virus. In this case, the brain was small but the head was still within the normal range. \"What this says is that the current criteria may be falsely reassuring,\" du Plessis said. Further, while the presence of the Zika virus in fetal brain tissue strongly indicated that the virus caused the harm, the researchers stopped short of saying this case proved a causal connection. Several news organizations, including the Washington Post, NBC News and Reuters, reported the story accurately. We reached out to the Weekly Observer and so far have not heard back. Our ruling The Weekly Observer and other websites said that researchers had found that the Zika virus turned a fetal brain into liquid. The Observer referred to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. The three lead researchers for that study declared the Observer's version was wholly inaccurate. They found signs of dead brain cells and cerebrospinal fluid where it shouldn\u2019t be. They never said that the virus liquefied brain cells. We rate this claim . Update (April 5, 2016):\u00a0After we published, we heard from the staff of the Weekly Observer. Elise Bou Malham, chief content officer, emailed us, apologized for the mistake and explained that she had first seen the article on another website. \"In no way was it meant to 'stir fears' or promote any false claims,\" Malham said. \"We assure you the article was deleted as soon as we received your email. I offer my sincere apologies on behalf of the entire editorial team.\" While the article was not deleted, it was eventually updated. The new version reads. \"Claims about Zika Virus Turning Fetus Brains to \u2018Liquid\u2019\u00a0Completely FALSE\" It then explains its original error. \"Earlier this week, The Weekly Observer aggregated an article from various sources online, saying that Zika Virus is responsible for turning Fetus brain into liquid. \"The original article on Uproxx.com \u00a0\u2018New Data Shows That The Zika Virus Can Turn Fetal Brain Into Liquid\u2019, as well as several others, turned out to contain false claims as the study was misinterpreted by various sources.\""}
{"claim_id": "14317", "claim": "States with \"the highest gun ownership rates also have the highest suicide rates.", "explanation": "Signer said states that have \"the highest gun ownership rates also have the highest suicide rates.\" Exhaustive data collected by the CDC at the start of the century supports her statement. The three states with the highest percentage of household gun ownership - Alaska, Wyoming and Montana - also had the three highest suicide rates. The correlation between the availability of guns and suicide rates, while not as exact across the nation, certainly existed in most other states. The nine states with the lowest household gun rates also had the lowest suicide rates. The ranking of states by their suicide rates barely has changed over the years. But the CDC has stopped surveying gun ownership in states, and nothing nearly as reliable has filled the void. A much smaller poll conducted in 2013 suggests the ranking of states by the percentage of \u00a0homes with guns hasn\u2019t changed much either. And there\u2019s no shortage of researchers, past and present, who have concluded there is a strong link between the presence of guns and suicides. Editor's Note:\u00a0An earlier headline on this story misspelled Signer's first name.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Guns, Virginia, Mira Signer, ", "main_text": "Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who was gravely wounded in a 2011 mass shooting near Tucson, recently visited Virginia\u2019s Capitol to push for tougher gun laws. She and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, launched a coalition that will seek \"common-sense solutions\" to gun violence in the state. High on its list is convincing a resistant General Assembly to close loopholes in Virginia\u2019s background check law for prospective gun buyers. About a dozen community leaders and law-enforcement experts met with Giffords and Kelly to help set strategies. Among them was Mira Signer, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. She said the availability of guns poses special risks to those with mental disorders. States \"that have the highest gun ownership also have the highest suicide rates,\" she said. \"The evidence is there. We know that.\" We wondered whether Signer\u2019s statement is correct. Signer told us her claim is based in part on a report called \"The Truth About Guns and Suicide,\" published in September 2015 by the Brady Center & Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit advocating gun control. The report says, \"Studies examining firearm ownership and suicide rates at the national, state and regional levels provide further evidence of the firearm-suicide connection. They show that suicide rates, both overall and by firearm, are higher in areas where gun ownership is more widespread.\" Footnotes in the report say the Brady Center\u2019s statement is based on a series of studies by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center in Massachusetts - the last published in 2008. Researchers compared data that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention kept from 2000 to 2002 on the number of suicides in each state and the percentage of households in each state where at least one firearm was held. \"Among men, among women, and in every age group (including children), states with the higher rates of household gun ownership had higher rates of firearm suicides and overall suicides,\" the researchers wrote in an article published by The New England Journal of Medicine. Back then Why rely today on statistics that are more than decade old? Researchers say they\u2019re still the best numbers available. Every year, the CDC conducts an extensive health-risk poll with more than 250,000 U.S. adults that \u2018s called the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. It used to ask participants whether they had guns in their homes. With its huge sample, the results could be broken down to statistically reliable percentages of households with a gun in each state. The CDC, under congressional demands to stop researching gun issues, removed the question from the survey after 2004. Since then, no other poll has offered a reliable, detailed look at gun ownership rates in each state. The CDC surveys showed that the top three states for percentage of household gun ownership - Wyoming, Montana and Alaska - often ranked as the three states with the highest suicide rates. Roughly 60 percent of households held firearms in those states, much higher than the national median of 40 percent. Their suicide rates, according to other CDC data, hovered around 20 people per 100,000 - nearly double the national average of about 11 per 100,000. Conversely, the nine states with the lowest per-household gun ownership from 2001 to 2004 also had the nine lowest suicide rates. They were Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, California, Illinois and Maryland. Overall, the statistics show a distinct correlation between gun ownership and suicide rates in states. There are, of course, anomalies. Nevada, for example, ranked 36th in the percentage of households with guns from 2001 to 2004 but had fourth-highest suicide rate. Virginia, if you\u2019re wondering, ranked 32nd in the percentage of household with guns and 34th in suicide rate during that period. Today Signer\u2019s statement was made in present tense, so there\u2019s an issue of whether these old findings remain relevant. The ranking of states based on suicide rates barely has changed over the years, according CDC data for 2013 - the latest final statistics available. Wyoming, Alaska and Montana still had the highest rates. So that leaves the problem on quantifying household gun ownership in each state without updated, exhaustive surveys from the CDC. YouGov, an international market research firm, conducted an Internet poll in 2013 that asked 4,622 U.S. adults to participate in an online survey that asked whether they owned guns. YouGov broke the numbers down by state and got results that broadly resembled the CDC figures. Columbia University researchers used those figures in a 2013 paper on the gun culture in states and regions around the U.S. Bindu Kalesan, the lead researcher, told us in an email that the numbers for many states have a high margin of error. Many analysts, in exploring a variety of gun issues, still cite the CDC state figures. David Hemenway, director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, told us the numbers still are relevant. \"Gun ownership levels across states hardly change over time,\" he said. \"For example, the best predictors of whether you will own a gun is whether you grew up with guns and whether your neighbors are gun owners or not.\" These indicators, Hemenway said, \"don\u2019t switch back and forth.\" Hemenway sent us four studies from other researchers that also connected the presence of guns to high suicide rates. \"It all makes sense psychologically,\" he said, \"since so many suicides are pretty spontaneous with little planning and people use whatever is handy. The urge passes and people who have survived even serious suicide attempts rarely go on to kill themselves. The case fatality rate for guns is 90 percent, while the case fatality rate for the two most common forms of suicide attempts - pills and cutting - is under 3 percent.\" Our ruling Signer said states that have \"the highest gun ownership rates also have the highest suicide rates.\" Exhaustive data collected by the CDC at the start of the century supports her statement. The three states with the highest percentage of household gun ownership - Alaska, Wyoming and Montana - also had the three highest suicide rates. The correlation between the availability of guns and suicide rates, while not as exact across the nation, certainly existed in most other states. The nine states with the lowest household gun rates also had the lowest suicide rates. The ranking of states by their suicide rates barely has changed over the years. But the CDC has stopped surveying gun ownership in states, and nothing nearly as reliable has filled the void. A much smaller poll conducted in 2013 suggests the ranking of states by the percentage of \u00a0homes with guns hasn\u2019t changed much either. And there\u2019s no shortage of researchers, past and present, who have concluded there is a strong link between the presence of guns and suicides. Editor's Note:\u00a0An earlier headline on this story misspelled Signer's first name."}
{"claim_id": "41046", "claim": "On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.", "explanation": "There\u2019s no evidence yet that the virus can survive in clothing and be transmitted this way. Any soiled clothing should be thoroughly washed.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "If the new coronavirus gets into your mouth, drinking water or other liquids will wash them down through the oesophagus. Once they\u2019re in the stomach, the acid will kill the virus. If you don't drink enough water more regularly, the virus can enter your windpipes and into the lungs. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold, not Covid-19. These are the symptoms for the common cold, but they don\u2019t rule out Covid-19. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose. Some Covid-19 patients do get pneumonia, and one of the symptoms is a dry cough. A runny nose doesn\u2019t rule out Covid-19. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun. There\u2019s no evidence for this. There\u2019s evidence that similar viruses transmit less well in the heat, but many countries with reported Covid-19 cases are experiencing temperatures higher than this. If someone with the new coronavirus sneezes, it travels about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne. How far the droplets spread from a sneeze depends on environmental factors, but it is likely to be several metres. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours - so if you come into contact with any metal surface - wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap. We don\u2019t know how long the virus survives on surfaces yet\u2014it may be between hours and days. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it. There\u2019s no evidence yet that the virus can survive in clothing and be transmitted this way. Any soiled clothing should be thoroughly washed. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice. There\u2019s no evidence that the temperature of liquids consumed can either protect you from or cure diseases caused by viruses. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes. We don\u2019t know how long the virus can last on the skin, especially not down to the minute. But you should regularly wash your hands. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice. There\u2019s no evidence that this works as a preventative or a cure for the virus. The symptoms of Covid-19 are a sore throat lasting 3 or 4 days. The virus then blends into nasal fluid, enters the trachea and then the lungs causing pneumonia. With pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty breathing. The nasal congestion feels like you're drowning This is a roughly accurate description of the most common symptoms, although not everyone with Covid-19 gets pneumonia, and the symptoms may not come in this exact order or at these times. The NHS does not mention nasal congestion that \u2018feels like drowning\u2019 as a specific symptom for Covid-19. Claim 1 of 12"}
{"claim_id": "26005", "claim": "\u201cPeople are starting to enter ERs with fungal lung infections from wearing masks!!", "explanation": "A Facebook post claims people are checking into ERs due to fungal lung infections caused by wearing masks meant to prevent COVID-19. Regional, statewide and national emergency physician groups say they haven't seen any reports to support this. Health experts say there\u2019s no evidence that wearing standard masks, such as surgical masks or ones made of fabric, is harmful to the general public. Experts recommend wearing face coverings to slow the coronavirus. They also say it\u2019s important to wash your hands and to wash reusable masks regularly.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, California, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "A widely-circulated Facebook post claims people are checking into emergency rooms with fungal lung infections due to wearing masks to prevent COVID-19. \"People are starting to enter ERs with fungal lung infections from wearing masks!! Take breaks from your masks.\" The claim, posted on July 2, had been shared 16,000 times and viewed nearly 700,000 times over the past 24 hours. It was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about PolitiFact California\u2019s partnership with Facebook). With more states requiring face coverings in public settings, and lots of  claims spreading about masks, we wanted to know whether there\u2019s any truth to this provocative statement. We set out on a fact check. Misinformation About Masks This is far from the first social media post to claim that wearing masks is harmful to your health. In June, PolitiFact National debunked the multi-part allegation that claimed wearing masks for the coronavirus \"decreases oxygen intake, increases toxin inhalation, shuts down immune system\" and \"increases virus risk.\" It rated the claim . In May, PolitiFact rated  a similar claim that wearing a mask causes health problems, particularly from breathing in too much exhaled carbon dioxide. It found there\u2019s no credible data to back that up. \"Experts say prolonged use of N95 respirator masks can increase blood CO2 levels for people with breathing problems, but those masks are not recommended for the general public, and using ordinary cloth or surgical masks poses little or no risk from CO2,\" PolitiFact reported. Fungal Infections? With those fact checks in mind, we examined whether people are truly showing up at ERs with fungal lung infections due to wearing masks. We reached out to regional, statewide and national experts and found no supporting evidence. \"Neither the chair of our emergency department nor the head of our infectious diseases division have seen that type of condition in a patient after an individual has been using a face mask,\" a spokesperson for UC Davis Health in Sacramento wrote in an email. After looking into the claim, Elena Lopez-Gusman, executive director of the California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, called it \"as suspected, .\" Finally, the national American College of Emergency Physicians told us they\u2019ve seen no evidence supporting the claim. \"While we\u2019ve heard some folks complain about irritation, we have not heard of reports of fungal infections stemming from masks,\" Maggie McGillick, a spokesperson for ACEP wrote in an email. \"There are several professions where people wear masks for hours on end without issue.\" The College released a statement last week encouraging people to cover their face when in public. \u2018Recycled breathing\u2019 not a real danger Taking a closer look at the Facebook post in question, some commenters wondered whether wearing a mask for hours on end might be harmful, while wearing it for just a short while might not be. In an email, McGillick of ACEP addressed that concern: \"There is not a real danger to breathing in your own air or \u2018recycled breathing,\u2019 nor is the idea of low oxygen or carbon dioxide buildup a concern. However, there could be risk from someone\u2019s mask getting contaminated from others and then transferring that to your mouth/eyes/etc. when you touch your own mask.\" The spokesperson stressed that it\u2019s important to avoid touching your face and to wash your hands before and after touching your mask. Some commenters on the Facebook post in question said they worried about the health effects of wearing masks. Yet others said they were skeptical of the claim given that doctors, nurses, mechanics and others wear masks for a prolonged period and don\u2019t come down with fungal lung infections. One medical professional jumped into the comments with her own fact check: \"It isn\u2019t happening. I\u2019m an ER nurse. This is not true at all.\" Sanitary Tips For Mask Wearing Earlier this month, the health information website MedicalNewsToday fact-checked a similar claim and found there \"is no evidence indicating that masks increase the wearer\u2019s risk of developing pneumonia or other bacterial, viral, or fungal lung infections.\" It also included guidance from leading health organizations for how to safely handle your mask. It found the World Health Organization acknowledges \"that if a person wears the same mask for a long time, microorganisms may grow on the fabric.\" \"All masks should be changed if wet or visibly soiled; a wet mask should not be worn for an extended period of time. ... Either discard the mask or place it in a sealable bag where it is kept until it can be washed and cleaned,\" the WHO advises. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends \"that a person removes the face covering once they return home and washes it before using it again,\" the MedicalNewsToday article also noted. Our ruling A popular Facebook post alleges people are checking into ERs with fungal lung infections due to wearing masks to prevent the coronavirus. Regional, statewide and national emergency physicians groups said there\u2019s no evidence to back up this claim. Medical experts recommend wearing face coverings to slow the transmission of COVID-19 and say the effects of wearing the coverings are not harmful. They also encourage people to wash their hands and their masks on a regular basis to avoid contamination. This claim about mask-wearing leading to fungal lung infections is bogus. We rated it . \u2013 The statement is not accurate."}
{"claim_id": "27906", "claim": "Actress Martha Raye entertained troops and tended to wounded soldiers in the field in Vietnam.", "explanation": "Actress Martha Raye entertained troops and tended to wounded soldiers in the field in Vietnam?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Entertainment, martha raye, uso, vietnam", "main_text": "Born Margaret Teresa Yvonne Reed in 1916, singer/actress/comedienne Martha Raye embarked on a show business career in early childhood, according to All Movie Guide: Born to a peripatetic vaudeville couple, Maggie Reed joined her parents\u2019 act as soon as she learned to walk, stopping the show with an energetic rendition of \u201cI Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate.\u201d After touring in a double act with her brother Bud, she made her Broadway debut in the 1934 revue Calling All Stars, where she was billed for the first time as Martha Raye. While appearing as a singer/comedienne at Hollywood\u2019s Trocadero, she was selected to appear in Paramount\u2019s Rhythm on the Range (1936), in which she introduced her trademark song, \u201cMr. Paganini.\u201d For the next four years she was Paramount\u2019s favorite soubrette, overemphasizing her big mouth and gorgeous legs in a series of zany comedy roles. She also proved to be a convincing romantic lead for Bob Hope (a lifelong friend). During World War II, Martha Raye joined with actresses Carole Landis, Kay Francis, and Mitzi Mayfair to form a United Service Organizations (USO) troupe, performing shows \u2014 often under difficult and dangerous conditions \u2014 for U.S. soldiers across Europe, the South Pacific, and North Africa. (All four women later starred in Four Jills in a Jeep, a cinematic account of their wartime USO experience. ): Example: \u00a0 [Collected via e-mail, December 2010] Did you know that Martha Raye was a full bird Col in Army Reserve? Many may be too young to have known the comedian, Martha Raye. She was a loud mouth actress/comedian from several years ago, much unlike the foul mouthed four letter word spewing comics of today. This is a little known fact about what she did, but truly a patriotic, good American by any standards. For going to Vietnam, Col. Raye was considered a \u201chawk\u201d. Hollywood blacklisted her for more then ten years. Most of the old time entertainers were made out of a lot sterner stuff than today\u2019s crop of activists and whiners. The following is from an Army Aviator friend who takes another trip down memory lane: It was just before Thanksgiving \u201967 and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF west of Pleiku, Vietnam. We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough in the back. All of a sudden, we heard a \u2018take-charge\u2019 woman\u2019s voice in the rear. There was the singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a SF (Special Forces) beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook, and carrying the dead aboard. \u2018Maggie\u2019 had been visiting her SF \u2018heroes\u2019 out \u2018west\u2019. We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku. As we all started unloading our sad pax\u2019s, a \u2018Smart-Ass\u2019 USAF Captain said to Martha\u2026. Ms Ray, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show! To all of our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said\u2026 Captain, see this eagle? I am a full \u2018Bird\u2019 Colonel in the US Army Reserve, and on this is a \u2018Caduceus\u2019 which means I am a Nurse, with a surgical specialty\u2026. now, take me to your wounded. He said, yes ma\u2019am\u2026. Follow me. Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would \u2018cover\u2019 a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break. Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft. Bragg. Raye performed a similar service for G.I.s in two more wars, entertaining thousands and thousands of troops at U.S. military bases in Korea in the early 1950s and in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973. She is fondly remembered by generations of service members not just for her tireless efforts in staging shows for U.S. soldiers all over the world, but for uncomplainingly enduring the same conditions they did and for going far beyond the role of an entertainer by tending to troops in the field, including working with medivac units in Vietnam to pick up wounded Americans and assist in field hospitals. For example, an October 1966 Associated Press article reported the following account: Comedienne Martha Raye, a front-line trouper for 24 years, changed her routine last week. She donned fatigues and worked for two days in an Army field dispensary, cleansing wounds, changing bandages and comforting GIs wounded in a Mekong Delta battle. The twangy-voiced brunette, who has gone from outpost to tiny outpost throughout Viet Nam to entertain American servicemen, sang, danced and ribbed the men of two Army aviation helicopter companies stationed in the Mekong Delta town of Soc Trang. The next morning, the chopper pilots and their crews delivered Vietnamese soldiers to the paddy fields and marshlands of the delta to charge the entrenched Viet Cong. As the first helicopters settled into the landing zones, they were met by intense fire. The landing zones were in the stronghold of a Viet Cong battalion. Additional troops were brought in, and in the battle that followed four American helicopters were shot down and 20 were damaged. American casualties began arriving by 8 a.m., at the small Soc Trang dispensary. Miss Raye, a former nurse, arrived about the same time, dressed in Army fatigues and volunteering for duty. \u201cShe worked all day \u2014 until 9 that night \u2014 doing everything she could,\u201d one corpsman said. One of the first things she did was donate a pint of blood to a badly wounded sergeant. Then it was hour after hour of scrubbing and preparing the wounded for surgery, helping the surgeons, changing bandages, and cheering up men awaiting evacuation to field hospitals in Vung Tau or Saigon. Miss Raye\u2019s show did not go on that night. The next morning she was back at the hospital in her stained fatigues, helping one doctor and eight corpsmen care for the patients. Shortly before noon, when the work eased, Miss Raye flew 80 miles north to Vinh Long and performed that night for another unit of Army chopper crews who fly Vietnamese troops into battle. \u201cShe did a lot for the morale of the men who\u2019d been shot up, and she did a lot for ours, too,\u201d said a corpsman at the dispensary. As recognition of her efforts on behalf of U.S. service members, Martha Raye was given several honorary military designations, including the honorary ranks of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps (leading to her being dubbed \u201cColonel Maggie\u201d by troops in Vietnam). In 1993 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton for her service to her country, with a citation reading as follows: A talented performer whose career spans the better part of a century, Martha Raye has delighted audiences and uplifted spirits around the globe. She brought her tremendous comedic and musical skills to her work in film, stage, and television, helping to shape American entertainment. the great courage, kindness, and patriotism she showed in her many tours during World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict earned her the nickname \u2018Colonel Maggie.\u2019 The American people honor Martha Raye, a woman who has tirelessly used her gifts to benefit the lives of her fellow Americans. Her service to U.S. troops was also commemorated after her death in 1994 via her burial with military honors in the Post Cemetery at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a singular honor for a civilian: Martha Raye\u2019s exemplary service to the Army \u2014 including trips to Vietnam to entertain the Green Berets \u2014 earned her a funeral with military honors. Raye, who died in Los Angeles at age 78, requested several years [earlier] to be buried at Fort Bragg, home of the Green Berets. [S]he was to get her wish after a ceremony with a flag-draped casket and military pallbearers. Raye entertained troops in Vietnam for nine straight years, four months a year, spending much of the time with isolated Special Forces detachments in camps all over the country. Normally, only active duty and retired Army personnel are buried on post, but the Defense Department granted an exception for Raye, who was made an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Special Forces in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Martha Raye maintained in the late 1970s that she had been \u201cblacklisted\u201d from film and television work for her role in supporting American military efforts in Vietnam, but others have questioned whether that was really the case, pointing out that her film career had largely ended long before (she appeared in only two theatrical movies between the end of World War II and the 1970s: 1947\u2019s Monsieur Verdoux and 1962\u2019s Jumbo), that she made dozens of television appearances (both as herself and in character roles) during and immediately after the Vietnam War, and that many other entertainers performed for U.S. military personnel in Vietnam but experienced no decline in their employment prospects, and citing an overall paucity of film and television roles for actresses in their mid-50s and beyond as the likely cause for her difficulty in finding work in Hollywood in her later years. Additional information:"}
{"claim_id": "10830", "claim": "Gene Therapy Cures Adult Leukemia", "explanation": "Despite an\u00a0incorrect headline and some\u00a0overly\u00a0effusive quotes, this story outperformed the competition from Reuters in presenting the findings from a very small but promising study into a new treatment for the most prevalent form of leukemia. The story broke down the science behind the study in clear terms, explored the side effects of the treatment and painted a realistic picture of the difficulties in translating these initial findings into a clinical therapy. We wish the story had avoided phrases such as \u201camazing success\u201d and \u201cabsolutely dramatic,\u201d even in quotes. Some of these descriptors were over-the-top compared to most of the content of the story. It declares \u201cGene Therapy Cures Adult Leukemia,\u201d while in the story itself it says, \u201cDoctors hate to declare a cure until patients have been cancer-free for at least five years.\u201d\u00a0As noted by both of the stories we reviewed, researchers have been trying to find a way to use genetically engineered cells to fight cancer for 20 years, making even a small study like this interesting news. Both stories sounded some cautionary notes, but WebMD did a better job overall of helping readers see that the study\u2019s findings were promising but not proof that a cure for leukemia is around the corner. This makes the WebMD headline all the more unfortunate because the body of the story is full of much more specific and relevant information.", "label": "true", "subjects": "\"cure\",Cancer,WebMD", "main_text": "Unlike the Reuters story, this story did not discuss costs. The story described very well the specific experiences of the patients who were involved in the study. It showed how two were in full remission and one was in partial remission. But someone at WebMD has to take responsibility for that headline and the repeated reference to \u201ccure\u201d\u00a0 that is bothersome. Even when the story finally comes around to asking \u201cIs he cured?\u201d it still fails to directly address the unknowns and uncertainties. \u201cCure\u201d is such a loaded term \u2013 it is almost unhelpful in discussing such research. Even if investigators choose to use that term, journalists have an obligation to tackle the age-old baggage and consumer confusion that comes with it. This story started to try to do this, but fell short in our eyes. In a three-person study, it\u2019s difficult to quantify harms or benefits beyond just describing what happened to each patient. The WebMD story, though, did a better job of presenting the very real side effects of the study, even showing that the treatments for the side effects may have hampered the effectiveness of the cancer therapy. \u201cThe treatment was not a walk in the park for patients. One of the three patients became so ill from the treatment that steroids were needed to relieve his symptoms. The steroid rescue may be why this patient had only a partial remission.\u201d This story was superior to the Reuters story in evaluating the quality of the evidence. For example, it said right in lead that the study was only on three patients. It also provided more qualifiers for the findings than the Reuters story. It said, for example, \u201cAlthough the CAR T cells in the study were designed to fight CLL, there\u2019s good reason to hope they can be effective in other forms of cancer. The catch is that it can work only on tumor cells that carry markers flagging them for destruction. Normal cells that carry the same markers will also be destroyed.\u201d Both stories could have used more outside sources. In each case, only one outside source was quoted. In the WebMD case, the outside source was overly effusive. In the Reuters case, the outside source did a better job tempering some of the enthusiasm of the authors with a realistic assessment of the treatment\u2019s prospects. The story talked about bone marrow transplants, while the Reuters story made no mention of them. This was an important comparison for readers. \u201cCure is possible, but it requires a risky bone marrow transplant. About 20% of patients don\u2019t survive this treatment \u2014 and even when they do, there\u2019s only a 50-50 chance of a cure.\u201d This story did a great job placing the findings into context and showing exactly why they have been found so promising by the study\u2019s authors and other researchers. \u201cAll this has been done before. These genetically engineered cells are called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. They kill cancer in the test tube. But in humans, they die away before they do much damage to tumors. What\u2019s new about the current treatment is the addition of a special signaling molecule called 4-1BB. This signal does several things: it gives CAR T cells more potent anti-tumor activity, and it somehow allows the cells to persist and multiply in patients\u2019 bodies. Moreover, the signal does not call down the deadly all-out immune attack \u2014 the feared \u201ccytokine storm\u201d \u2014 that can do more harm than good.\u201d The story went well beyond any news release, but one could argue that the extensive use of patient quotes taken from a university news release is not the best journalistic practice."}
{"claim_id": "4829", "claim": "Chicago officials urge flu vaccine before peak season.", "explanation": "Health officials in Chicago say it\u2019s not too late to get a flu shot.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Flu, Public health, Chicago", "main_text": "The Chicago Department of Public Health is hosting four flu clinics this week, offering free vaccines. The events are on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday. Details about the clinic locations and hours are available on the department\u2019s web site. The department has a separate web page to find other flu clinics throughout the city. Acting commissioner Alison Arwady says the flu season typically peaks in January and February. She says getting a vaccine is the best protection against the flu. Officials recommend that everyone older than six months get a flu shot. The most vulnerable are pregnant women, young children, elderly adults and anyone with an existing health condition including asthma, diabetes and heart disease."}
{"claim_id": "10781", "claim": "Study: New blood thinner works as well as Coumadin", "explanation": "The story is based on a preliminary report presented at a scientific meeting. The results of the study in question have not been analyzed completely and have not been subjected to peer review. Although the study results appear to be good news, we really won\u2019t know until the entire study is published. Sometimes journalists on deadline at a scientific conference with hundreds and hundreds of papers being presented may forget to remind readers that there are limitations to the conclusions that can be drawn from talks presented at meetings because they have not been published, the full data have not been released, and the work has not undergone the kind of full review that a journal would employ before publishing. These are all important caveats", "label": "true", "subjects": "Associated Press", "main_text": "The story provides some information on the cost of Coumadin and the recently approved Pradaxa. Although the price for Xarelto has not been set in the US, a quick check of the price in Canadian pharmacies could have been done easily. The cost to the consumer in Canada is about $9 a day as compared to about $0.50 a day for brand name Coumadin. (It took us seconds to find this online.) The story notes that rivaroxaban appeared to reduce the risk of stroke as well as did warfarin. While mentioning several harms that were not observed in this study of rivaroxaban reported on, the story neglected to inform us about any specific harms that were observed during the study of this drug. Although providing readers with the actual data comparing the risk of stroke or blood clot for coumadin and rivaroxaban, the story did not point out that the results of the study were presented at a meeting and have not yet been peer-reviewed. The important take-home message is that there are limitations about the conclusions that can be drawn from such meeting presentations. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. The story quotes unaffiliated experts without apparent links to the company who provided useful information for readers. The story compared the new medication, rivaroxaban, with coumadin. It mentioned another blood thinner, Praddax, which has already won approval by the FDA. The story accurately indicated that rivaroxaban is currently not available in the US but is already in use in other countries. The story was clear about this being a second new drug that may be a suitable substitute for coumadin for certain people in certain situations. The story did not rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "11578", "claim": "Blood-Pressure Drugs Linked to Birth Defects", "explanation": "This article reports recent research results that indicate that the use of popular high blood pressure drugs called ACE inhibitors may, during the first trimester of pregnancy, increase the rate of birth defects from 2.6 per 100 to 7.1 per 100. Although ACE inhibitors have been used for 25 years, the potential risk to human fetuses during the first third of pregnancy had not been explicitly studied. The article would have been improved if it had included the fact that there may also be risks associated with not using ACE inhibitors for some women, such as those with congestive heart failure or diabetes. Overall, this story was very well written and reported.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no cost comparison for ACE inhibitors and the other medications that might be used in the management of hypertension. However, since the point of the story was to point out risks, not to promote further use, costs are less of an issue in this story. There was no quanitification of possible benefits to the mother for using this drug during the first trimester of pregnancy. In some women the risks of taking the drug may be less than the risk of undertreatment. The harms to the fetus of treating a mother with an ACE inhibitor during the first trimester of pregnancy are plainly mentioned. However the risks of NOT using ACE inhibitors in some women (congestive heart failure, diabetes) are not mentioned. This study was not done in a high risk group and the risks of undertreatment may be greater in some populations. So, for example, women with diabetes and renal dysfunction or those with congestive heart failure would have gotten an incomplete picture from the article. The article referred to the original retrospective study and where it could be found (New England Journal of Medicine). This article does not appear to disease monger. Although it does mention that these drugs \u2018nearly tripled\u2019 the rate of birth defects, it also attempted to lay out the numbers for what this really meant. But it botched the percentages. The story presents the rate of birth defects for women not taking blood pressure medication as 2.6%, though the data in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that there were 4 out of 202 infants born with birth defects in this group \u2013 which is 1.98%. The story mentioned that the rate of birth defects for those who had taken ACE inhibitors during the first trimester of pregnancy was 7.1%, though the journal article reported that there were 18 out of 209 in this group or a birth defect rate of 8.6%. The article did not note that the data reported on the rate of birth defects after ACE inhibitor use during the first trimester only. The sources of information appear to be the journal article, an author of the study and spokespersons from the FDA and its Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The article included a list of other medications that may be used to to lower blood pressure. However these suffer from the same lack of clinical testing of their safety for use in pregnant women. The story discussed the impact of pregnancy on blood pressure \u2013 lowering it for some women and raising it in others. It is clear from the story that ACE inhibitors are a class of drugs available since the early 1980s; they are commonly prescribed. It is clear from the story that ACE inhibitors have been used by pregnant women, and that \u201cThe number of women taking them early in pregnancy is unknown but probably is small, the study suggests.\u201d There is no evidence that this story relied on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "10993", "claim": "Pushing Limits of New Knees", "explanation": "This article looked at this issue through the positive short-term experiences of six individuals who opted for joint replacement in mid-life. They all seemed to be exuberantly active and have splendid outcomes after emerging from post-operative rehabilitation. The six recipients of artificial knees and hips were collectively able to engage in long-distance cycling, kite-boarding, motorcycling, yoga, pilates, strength training and basketball. One woman reported that her pain and limitations were completely gone. \u201cI never imagined my life could be so wonderful,\u201d she commented. Although several of the subjects were pushing the envelope in terms of stressing their implanted joints with high-impact activities, not a single one reported a problem, a complication, or a functional limitation when they returned to normal activity. In a country where more than half of adults are overweight, and almost half are completely sedentary, the joint replacement patients in the Wall St. Journal article are far from the norm. It is hard to imagine that these six individuals are representative of patients who opt for joint replacement in middle age across the United States. The story did attempt to balance the idealized view of joint replacement in the patient vignettes with cautionary notes from several surgeons. These invited experts pointed out that artificial joint recipients should avoid high-impact sports and that the durability of joints implanted in mid-life remains uncertain. Given the views of these experts, some tough questioning of the patients could have shown the reader that these individuals may be experiencing short-term benefits at the expense of long-term misery\u2014if their implants ultimately fail. More references to scientific studies would have been welcome. The article never reported the overall success rate of knee and hip replacement in younger patients. Or the degree to which these procedures lead to an increased level of activity. It gave short shrift to one of the key questions about joint replacement in middle-age. In terms of pain, function, and adverse advents, what are the projected outcomes of the revision procedures that appear to be inevitable for surgeries performed at this age? And the article never got into the thorny question as to whether the surge in knee and hip replacement in younger patients might represent over-utilization of these surgical procedures\u2014or at least premature use. A recent commentary in Arthritis Care & Research suggested that patients and their doctors in the United States rely excessively on analgesics and joint replacement to treat osteoarthritis of the knee and hip\u2014and are under-utilizing evidence-based treatments, such as weight loss and exercise programs, that might delay these operations. (See Hunter et al., 2011). Reference: Hunter DJ et al., Quality of osteoarthritis management and the need for reform in the U.S., Arthritis Care & Research, 2011; 63(1): 31-38. Although knee and hip replacement have traditionally been employed in patients 65 and older, there has been a recent expansion in their utilization in younger patients, particularly those in their 40s and 50s. Since patients this age will likely require one or more revision procedures over the course of their lifetimes, this creates uncertainty about the long-term outcomes of knee and hip replacement in this population. There is also evidence that healthcare practitioners in the United States are not following evidence-based guidelines in the treatment of painful osteoarthritis of the knee and hip, particularly in its early stages. As a result, some patients may be undergoing joint replacement unnecessarily. (See Hunter et al., 2011). Given the \u201cgraying\u201d of the general population, and the rising prevalence of painful OA, these are huge public health issues. The aging of the population means that society will have trouble paying for these procedures in older individuals. Paying for expanded use in large numbers of younger patients who will then face more expensive reoperations later in life is a daunting prospect.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Wall Street Journal", "main_text": "The story specified the costs of both primary and revision knee replacement operations. The article did not adequately quantify the benefits of knee and hip replacement in terms of pain relief, function, or quality of life. It would have been useful, for instance, for readers to learn that in older patients roughly 90% of primary knee and hip replacement procedures result in significant pain relief and functional improvement\u2014with low levels of complications. Younger patients might expect similar short-term outcomes but their long-term outcomes would be less predictable. (The story cited studies showing 85-90% of implants \u201cstill functioning well after 20 years\u201d but that\u2019s not a comment on pain relief and peoples\u2019 functional improvement.) The article included only general references to the harms associated with knee and hip replacement. It did not specify rates of mortality, blood clotting, infection, and other potential adverse events associated with primary and revision knee and hip replacement operations. These are important issues in this age group since early joint replacement will likely involve more problematic revision procedures down the road. Detailing the complications and adverse events that can be expected in revision procedures would have helped balance the article. The article did not present specific outcome data on knee and hip replacement in younger patients\u2014or discuss the quality of the studies in those age groups. The closest the article gets is the following: \u201cStill, there are no long-term data on how any of the latest implants will fare in actual patients.\u201d\u00a0The key point that is missing is a detailed explanation that the data quoted on long-term outcomes come from studies of much older individuals. There is the distinct possibility that when implanted in the younger and more active individuals featured in the article, these devices won\u2019t last nearly as long as the patients may have expected. This point needed more teeth to overcome the overly optimistic patient vignettes. The article discussed the expanding indications for knee and hip replacement. But there is no indication that this represents disease-mongering. The article included comments from several independent sources. It was not clear, however, whether any of the expert sources had conflicts of interest with implant manufacturers. Information on financial conflicts would have aided in the interpretation of their comments. Though several of the experts made comments that were intended to curb the enthusiasm expressed by the patients, it would have been helpful to know whether any of the physicians receive payments from device manufacturers\u2014given the widespread conflicts-of-interest that have affected this field in recent years. The article did not discuss potential alternative treatments. This is a key question, since joint replacement has not traditionally been employed in this age group. Alternative therapies might include weight loss and other lifestyle interventions, exercise programs, activity modification, various medications, and other forms of surgery. This is where the article could have been much tougher. Are these younger individuals exchanging short-term benefits for long-term problems with failed joint replacements? Some tough questioning of the patients would have been interesting. Were they even aware that they had other treatment options? Many individuals employ lifestyle changes and exercise to cope with knee problems for many years\u2014and preserve a reasonable quality of life. They might not experience the level of athletic performance demanded by the patients in this article. But in delaying joint replacement they may have better long-term treatment results. It\u2019s clear from the story that knee and hip replacement are widely available across the United States. The article explained that the indications for joint replacement have been gradually expanding to include younger patients, among whom knee and hip replacement might previously have been a \u201cnovel\u201d procedure. This story did not appear to rely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "1883", "claim": "Bread a culprit in Americans eating too much salt.", "explanation": "Nine out of 10 American adults consume too much salt and the leading culprit is not potato chips or popcorn but slices of bread and dinner rolls, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Bread basket is photographed in a shop in Warsaw February 7, 2012. REUTERS/Peter Andrews Forty-four percent of salt consumed can be linked to 10 types of foods, CDC said. Bread and rolls lead the list followed by cold cuts and cured meat, pizza, poultry, soups, sandwiches, cheese, pasta dishes, meat dishes and snacks such as pretzels and potato chips. Bread may not have much salt in a single serving, but when eaten several times a day can raise daily salt intake. A single slice of white bread could contain as many as 230 milligrams of salt, according to the CDC. High salt intake can raise blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke, the CDC said. The average American consumes 3,266 milligrams of salt daily, not counting salt added at the table, which is far above the recommended 2,300 milligrams, the CDC said. For six out of 10 Americans, including those who are over age 51 or have high blood pressure or diabetes, 1,500 milligrams is the recommended daily salt limit. Even foods that seem healthy such as cottage cheese may be high in salt, the agency reported. Even raw chicken and pork is often injected with salt. The CDC recommended eating more fruits and vegetables and carefully reading the labels on food products to find those with the lowest salt content. \u201cHeart disease and stroke are leading causes of death in the United States and are largely dependent on the high rate of high blood pressure,\u201d CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden told reporters in a telephone news conference Tuesday. One in three American adults has high blood pressure, he added. \u201cOne of the things that is driving blood pressure up is that most adults in this country eat or drink about twice the amount of sodium as is recommended,\u201d Frieden said. \u201cMost of that extra sodium comes from common grocery store and restaurant items and a very small proportion from the salt shaker at the table.\u201d   Nearly two-thirds of the salt consumed by Americans is found in store products, 24.8 percent from restaurants and the remainder from other sources such as vending machines and the home salt shaker, the study found. Salt per calorie of food consumed was much higher at restaurants than from store-bought food, the CDC said. Frieden recommended that food producers and restaurants voluntarily reduce the amount of salt in their food. A 25-percent drop in the salt content of the top 10 sodium sources would save 28,000 lives a year, he added. It would also give consumers more choice, he said. \u201cPeople can choose how much food to add at the table,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can\u2019t take it out once it\u2019s there.\u201d   The Grocery Manufacturer\u2019s Association said that the food industry has been trying to reduce the salt content of thousands of products while keeping it tasty for consumers. \u201cWhile progress is being made, reducing sodium in products without affecting the taste or consumer acceptance of products is no easy task,\u201d the industry group said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The group said that challenges of reducing salt include finding substitutes for it that maintain the taste, and making sure that food safety standards are met because salt is a major preservative in many foods."}
{"claim_id": "11465", "claim": "Jury Still Out on Radiation for Early Prostate Cancer", "explanation": "This 750 word story provided readers with a good synopsis of the study results and did so in plain and straightforward terms providing definitions for the average reader. We liked the fact that the story linked the study results to a reasonable set of recommendations for men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. News stories in recent years have so often breathlesslly promoted new radiation therapy approaches such as proton beam therapy and intensity modulated radiation therapy. It is important to bring the public reviews of the evidence that show \u201ccurrently available evidence is insufficient to draw definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of radiation treatments for localized prostate cancer compared with no treatment or no initial treatment.\u201d", "label": "true", "subjects": "Cancer,HealthDay", "main_text": "The only discussion of cost was one phrase deep in the story \u2013 \u201d proton beam therapy in particular is expensive\u201d \u2013 but that was it. Proton beam therapy and a related approach \u2013 intensity modulated radiation therapy \u2013 are being used more commonly and both are very expensive. Within a story that discusses the lack of evidence, cost certainly deserved more attention. The lack of evidence of benefit was clear in the story. The story did state:\u00a0\u201cRetrospective studies, however, found that radiation treatments were associated with increased urinary or bowel problems, compared with no treatment or no initial treatment.\u201d\u00a0 We wish it had provided more detail, but we\u2019ll give it the benefit of the doubt. The story made it clear that it was based on a systematic review of the literature. No disease mongering of prostate cancer. The story turned to Dr. Durado Brooks of the American Cancer Society for an independent perspective. The entire story was about a systematic review of studies comparing different doses of radiation and different types of radiation therapy \u2013 and whether any has been shown to be a better option than \u201cwatchful waiting.\u201d Not applicable. The story didn\u2019t explicitly address the availability of radiation facilities, but that wasn\u2019t necessary. The story made clear that this is one in a series of federally funded studies on prostate cancer treatment options. The story did not rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "28401", "claim": "Claims made in a widely-shared 2018 meme about the personal and family history of Congressman Beto O'Rourke are accurate.", "explanation": "However, his part ownership of the Peppertree Square property (which does not appear to entail any management function in any of the businesses located there) did not accrue until 31 December 2012, more than six years after the conclusion of the I.R.S. reporting violations at Charlotte\u2019s.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics, beto o'rourke", "main_text": "Democratic congressman Beto O\u2019Rourke of Texas came to national prominence in 2018 through his high-profile campaign to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. senator Ted Cruz. During the course of his campaign, the Democratic candidate has been confronted with various claims and allegations about himself and his family. One such meme, entitled \u201c\u2018Beto\u2019 Reality Check,\u201d was shared widely on Facebook in August 2018:  A spokesperson for O\u2019Rourke\u2019s campaign described the meme as \u201cfactually incorrect in countless ways\u201d and largely referred us to several existing news reports about the allegations. The following is our breakdown of the five sections contained in the meme. The meme claimed: NOT HISPANIC \u201cRobert O\u2019Rourke\u201d became \u201cBeto\u201d for his political campaigns and on the ballot, a tactic that gives the false impression he\u2019s Latino, misleading voters in a state with many Hispanics. In fact, O\u2019Rourke was known as \u201cBeto\u201d long before he entered political life, although his birth name is Robert and he appears to use both first names interchangeably. (For example, his July 2018 Federal Election Commission \u201cStatement of Candidacy\u201d lists his name as \u201cRobert Beto O\u2019Rourke.\u201d) O\u2019Rourke told CNN that his parents referred to him as Beto \u201cfrom day one,\u201d and that it \u201cjust stuck.\u201d Others have noted that the name is likely derived from a pronunciation of the Spanish \u201cRoberto,\u201d and O\u2019Rourke himself described it as \u201ca nickname for Robert in El Paso.\u201d (According to the U.S. Census Bureau, around 78 percent of El Paso county residents listed themselves as being of Mexican heritage in 2016.) O\u2019Rourke\u2019s family is of Irish heritage. According to the New York Times, his family \u201ccame over from Ireland four generations ago to work on the railroad.\u201d His father Pat O\u2019Rourke was a prominent El Paso County official during the 1980s. A 1986 article about Pat O\u2019Rourke in the El Paso Times referred to his then 14-year-old son as \u201cBeto O\u2019Rourke.\u201d In 1999, six years before O\u2019Rourke ran for El Paso city council, the same newspaper referred to \u201cweb site designer Beto O\u2019Rourke\u201d in a short article about his I.T. business Stanton Street Design. After checking the archives of the El Paso Times, we found multiple references to \u201cBeto O\u2019Rourke\u201d between 1986 and 2004, when O\u2019Rourk was either a child or a businessman and had never run for political office. In March, the campaign of O\u2019Rourke\u2019s Republican opponent, Ted Cruz, launched a radio jingle that poked fun at the name \u201cBeto\u201d and included the following lyrics: \u201cI remember reading stories/Liberal Robert wanted to fit in/So he changed his name to \u2018Beto\u2019/And hid it with a grin \u2026\u201d: FIRST LISTEN: our new 60-second statewide radio ad introducing our liberal opponent, Congressman Robert O\u2019Rourke, to Texas voters. Help #KeepTexasRed: https://t.co/PVsiCtbbyL #CruzCrew #TXSen pic.twitter.com/OxK61gZ0ek \u2014 Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 7, 2018  The next day, O\u2019Rourke posted a photograph of himself as a young boy, wearing a sweater with the nickname \u201cBeto\u201d stitched into it, establishing that, contrary to false accusation, he did not \u201cchange his name\u201d for political reasons: pic.twitter.com/1IO1dgmCkv \u2014 Beto O\u2019Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 7, 2018  The meme claimed: FELONY ARREST RECORD As an adult in his mid-20s, O\u2019Rourke was caught breaking into the University of Texas El Paso. Charged with breaking and entering and burglary, he mysteriously avoided trial. A few years later, arrested for drunk driving, he again walked with a \u201cdeal.\u201d Being the song of a powerful, politically connected County Judge apparently has benefits. O\u2019Rourke dismisses his felony convictions as \u201cyouthful pranks\u201d and \u201cmistakes\u201d; it\u2019s old news, move along, nothing to see here. O\u2019Rourke has indeed been arrested for burglary and drunk driving, a history which he has discussed several times over the course of his political career, as his spokesperson told us: \u201cWhile charges were dismissed, this is something that Beto has always publicly addressed \u2014 during his initial run for the city council, his run for Congress, in profiles written about him, during dozens of interviews, and at town halls across the state during this campaign.\u201d In a 27 August 2018 op-ed for the Houston Chronicle and  San Antonio Express-News, O\u2019Rourke himself wrote: Twenty-three years ago I was arrested for attempted forcible entry after jumping a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso. I spent a night in the El Paso County Jail, was able to make bail the next day, and was released. Three years later, I was arrested for drunk driving \u2014 a far more serious mistake for which there is no excuse. According to El Paso county jail records, O\u2019Rourke was arrested for attempted burglary on 19 May 1995, when he was 22 years old. He was released from custody the same day. Court records show that the prosecutor dropped the charge in February 1996. O\u2019Rourke was also arrested for driving while intoxicated on 27 September 1998, the day after his 26th birthday. He completed a \u201cmisdemeanor diversion program\u201d (namely \u201cDWI school\u201d) in October 1999, and the charge was dropped. In August 2018, the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News cited police reports, including a witness account, which suggested that the incident leading to O\u2019Rourke\u2019s DWI arrest was relatively serious and involved a collision with another vehicle and a possible attempt by O\u2019Rourke to leave the scene: State and local police reports obtained by the Chronicle and Express-News show that O\u2019Rourke was driving drunk at what a witness called \u201ca high rate of speed\u201d in a 75 mph zone on Interstate 10 about a mile from the New Mexico border. He lost control and hit a truck, sending his car careening across the center median into oncoming lanes. The witness, who stopped at the scene, later told police that O\u2019Rourke had tried to drive away from the scene. O\u2019Rourke recorded a 0.136 and 0.134 on police breathalyzers, above a blood-alcohol level of 0.10, the state legal limit at the time. In the case of his DWI arrest, O\u2019Rourke did not face prison time because he completed an alternative adjudication program. It\u2019s not clear why the attempted burglary charge was dropped in 1996 (we asked the O\u2019Rourke campaign about this but didn\u2019t receive a response to that particular question in time for publication). However, we could find no evidence that O\u2019Rourke\u2019s father had any role in either case, nor did the meme offer any evidence. Congressman O\u2019Rourke\u2019s father Pat was the El Paso County judge until 1986 \u2014 a kind of chief executive of the county\u2019s\u00a0governing body, the Commissioners Court \u2014 so he had not held office for nine years by the time of his son\u2019s attempted burglary arrest. The meme claimed: INSIDER TRADING VIOLATIONS After being sent a memo specifically prohibiting investment in Twitter\u2019s IPO [initial public offering], O\u2019Rourke made a tidy one-day profit on it. When uncovered by a government watchdog, he quickly turned himself in. This violation of the STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) is apparently a habit, as there are several other instances of this behavior; he characterizes them as mistakes. Despite the meme\u2019s claim, O\u2019Rourke has never been charged with, or convicted of, violating any laws related to insider trading, including the STOCK Act, which bars members of the U.S. Congress from benefiting from financial transactions made on the basis of information they received in their capacity as members of Congress. But this section of the meme does contain elements of truth in that \u2014 after the matter was brought to light by a third party \u2014 O\u2019Rourke reported his potential violation of rules to the House Ethics Committee (for stock transactions he maintained were executed by his broker without his knowledge), and the matter was resolved without any charges being brought against him: U.S. Rep. Beto O\u2019Rourke alerted the House Ethics Committee that he might have violated a new law restricting members of Congress from engaging in certain stock transactions. It is the first case to come before the committee involving a 2012 law that prohibits members of Congress from participating in initial public offerings, or IPOs, \u201cother than what is available to members of the public generally,\u201d said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Committee for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, a watchdog group. O\u2019Rourke, a Democrat whose district covers a portion of western Texas, reported the possible violation after Legistorm, an online news site that tracks congressional issues, informed him that his Nov. 15 disclosure saying he participated in the Twitter IPO earlier in the month might indicate a violation of a 2012 law called the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act. The freshman congressman also reported that, through his stockbroker, he participated in six other initial public offerings this year. In an interview, O\u2019Rourke said he didn\u2019t see a Nov. 5 memo from the House Ethics Committee warning members of Congress about participating in IPOs. On 27 November 2013, O\u2019Rourke wrote on Facebook that the ethics committee had informed him they would consider the issue resolved once he sold off any remaining shares that he bought during any IPOs, and sent the U.S. Treasury a check equal to the amount he earned in profits from those IPO-related shares: Upon receiving the letter from the Committee today I instructed my broker to sell all remaining shares, which he did. I then sent a check for the full amount of the profit from all IPO trades this year to the U.S. Treasury by overnight mail. Copies of the trades and the check have been sent to the Ethics Committee. I apologize to the House of Representatives and to the people I represent for not exercising due diligence. I will be much more thorough in the future concerning financial transactions and do my best to ensure that I am in full compliance with all rules covering members of Congress. Records filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives show that O\u2019Rourke bought between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of shares in Twitter on 7 November 2013 (the first day the company was traded on the stock market), before selling off between $1,000 and $15,000 in shares later that day. Records also indicate that on 27 November 2013, O\u2019Rourke again sold off between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of Twitter shares \u201cpursuant to the recommendations made by House Ethics Committee in a letter from 11/27/13.\u201d The meme claimed: FATHER\u2019S DRUG SCANDAL O\u2019Rourke\u2019s father, while county judge, had a 2-way radio installed in his Jeep. Installers discovered a condom packed with a \u201cwhite powder\u201d concealed in his vehicle and called police. Much to the dismay of investigating officers, the Captain on duty, a friend and political ally of O\u2019Rourke, flushed the evidence down the toilet and dropped the charges. The Captain was subsequently suspended and tried for tampering with evidence. This section of the meme relates to incidents which took place in 1983, when Beto O\u2019Rourke was 10 years old, and which had absolutely nothing to do with him. Nevertheless, it\u2019s true that in February 1983, El Paso County Sheriff\u2019s Captain Willie Hill told two police officers to get rid of a condom full of white powder which they had found in Pat O\u2019Rourke\u2019s car while they were installing a radio in it. The officers suspected the powder to be heroin or cocaine, but the substance was never tested to determine its true nature. Hill was temporarily suspended but was reinstated after being acquitted on a misdemeanor charge of evidence tampering. (The prosecutor had earlier dropped a charge of misconduct against him.) Hill testified that he made a snap decision about the discovery of the powder, which he strongly suspected had been planted there to embarrass or undermine either O\u2019Rourke or one of the officers installing the radio. O\u2019Rourke and Hill were friends, as O\u2019Rourke (then county judge) told the El Paso Times: \u201cBecause he\u2019s a good man, it would be an injustice if Willie were to suffer grievous consequences from this whole episode. You have an honest and honorable man implicated by pure fluke. And that\u2019s just damn right not fair.\u201d The meme claimed: FAMILY BUSINESS FEDERALLY PROSECUTED O\u2019Rourke\u2019s family business \u201cCharlotte\u2019s Furniture,\u201d a store \u201cBeto,\u201d his mother and sister are involved with, was charged in 2010 with altering records to avoid IRS reporting. Investigators found they accepted cash payments, in one instance over $630,000 from an unnamed individual (that\u2019s a LOT of furniture)! Found guilty on 15 counts, the sentence was a $250,000 fine and 5 years\u2019 probation. Around the time O\u2019Rourke announced as a senate candidate, the business was shuttered and its records became unavailable. O\u2019Rourke passes the prosecution off as a \u201cmistake\u201d; it\u2019s been covered, move along, nothing to see here. The meme got the basic facts right about the federal tax case against Charlotte\u2019s, but it falsely claimed that Congressman O\u2019Rourke was personally \u201cinvolved\u201d in the company. He was not. In 2010, Charlotte\u2019s Inc., an El Paso furniture store company started by O\u2019Rourke\u2019s grandmother in 1951, was convicted of \u201cstructuring transactions to evade reporting requirements, a tax-related felony. The company was charged as a corporate entity, but the Congressman\u2019s mother, Melissa O\u2019Rourke, acted as its authorized representative. The company pled guilty to accusations that it had restructured transactions in order to present relatively large cash payments as having been made in installments of less than $10,000. Anti-money laundering provisions of U.S. law require that a business reveal the identity of any individual who makes a cash payment above that threshold. In total, Charlotte\u2019s and its employees illegally restructured $630,000 in payments, all from one customer, in this way between May 2005 and October 2006. The identity of that customer is not known. U.S. District Court judge Kathleen Cardone gave a sentence of five years\u2019 probation and a $500,000 fine, with $250,000 of that suspended. In 2017, Melissa O\u2019Rourke announced that she intended to close down the business but denied the decision was connected to her son\u2019s U.S. Senate campaign or the 2010 conviction. According to Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts records for 2017, Congressman O\u2019Rourke had no formal role with Charlotte\u2019s Inc., whose directors were Melissa O\u2019Rourke and the Congressman\u2019s sister Charlotte O\u2019Rourke. Records for 2005 and 2006 (when the I.R.S. reporting violations took place) as well as 2010 (when the conviction happened) show that Congressman O\u2019Rourke had no formal role with the company at those times, either. The Congressman is part owner of the property where Charlotte\u2019s was located. According to O\u2019Rourke\u2019s 2013 congressional financial disclosure, his mother gifted him an ownership stake worth between $1 million and $5 million in Peppertree Square, a shopping center on North Mesa St. in El Paso."}
{"claim_id": "23877", "claim": "A major part\" of the climate change bill sponsored by Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman \"was essentially written by BP.", "explanation": "McConnell says that Kerry-Lieberman climate bill 'essentially written by BP'", "label": "false", "subjects": "Environment, National, Climate Change, Corporations, Energy, Oil Spill, Mitch McConnell, ", "main_text": "The ongoing oil spill caused by a damaged BP well in the Gulf of Mexico is bringing attention to the relationship between the oil conglomerate and politicians. On June 9, 2010, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., used a floor speech to link BP and a climate-change bill sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.  \"The problem for Democrats is that debating the Democrat cap-and-trade bill might not fit neatly into the White House messaging plan, since it\u2019s been widely reported that a major part of the Kerry-Lieberman bill was essentially written by BP. This is clearly an inconvenient fact: an administration that seems to spend most of its time coming up with new ways to show how angry it is with BP is pushing a proposal that BP helped write.\" McConnell touched on a lot of points in this excerpt, but the one that most interested us was whether \"a major part of the Kerry-Lieberman bill was essentially written by BP.\" When we asked McConnell's office for evidence to support this charge, a spokesman provided us with links to several news reports. These stories -- published over the past few months in the Washington Post, in the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill, and in the energy-and-environment trade publication Greenwire -- offer ample evidence that BP was involved in the long-running negotiations over the bill, and that the company spoke favorably about the measure as it was being drafted. The articles indicated that BP, along with Shell, ConocoPhillips and the Edison Electric Institute, would ultimately endorse the measure. In fact, one article specifically noted that BP CEO Tony Hayward -- not yet the internationally known face of the disaster -- gave a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in March in which he \"indicated he was encouraged\" by the Kerry-Lieberman effort. Aides to Kerry and Lieberman do not dispute that BP was involved in the negotiations, along with many other parties. \"The senators met with more than 60 of their colleagues and all involved stakeholders, including environmentalists, religious leaders and the business community,\" said Whitney Smith, a spokeswoman for Kerry. \"The senators worked with a diverse set of colleagues and stakeholders to develop their discussion draft,\" added Lieberman spokesman Marshall Wittmann. \"They met with the CEOs of Shell, BP and Conoco because their industry will be regulated under the bill and it was important to ensure that the bill's approach to transportation emissions would reduce oil dependence. They also met with members of the business and environmental community in an effort to ensure that the bill met all of their goals: to grow the economy, create jobs and clean our air.\" But it's one thing for a company's representatives to meet with Congressional aides, make the company's case and suggest that they may endorse a bill. It's another to actually write legislation. On this point, Kerry and Lieberman's offices are clear: \"Senators, not any industry, wrote this proposal, and any suggestion to the contrary is  and politically motivated,\" said Smith, the spokeswoman for Kerry. Let's delve into the evidence. On March 24, Houston Chronicle energy blogger Tom Fowler reprinted a \"discussion draft\" by BP that advocated several policy positions related to hydraulic fracking. That's a technique that allows energy companies to unlock natural gas by injecting chemicals into underground reservoirs. Critics have suggested that the procedure risks tainting adjoining water supplies, and they have urged lawmakers to establish tight controls on the process. As reprinted in Fowler's blog, the \"discussion draft\" argued that \"governments and industry have critical roles toward continuing to assure the public that hydraulic fracturing operations are effectively managed and regulated and that human health and the environment are protected.\" Among other things, the draft sought to maintain \"the confidentiality of trade secret information.\" However, this language was not included in the draft bill that Kerry and Lieberman released a month later. Quite the opposite: The bill draft said that \"a hydraulic fracturing service company shall disclose all chemical constituents used in a hydraulic fracturing operation to the public on the Internet in order to provide adequate information for the public and state and local authorities\" -- a much more stringent standard than that sought by BP. It's also worth noting that the BP \"discussion draft\" was not even intended to be actual language in the bill. Rather, it was intended as language for a \"Sense of the Senate\" resolution, which, unlike the law itself, is not binding. BP also sought a federal pre-emption for automobile tailpipe emissions, said Jeremy Symons, senior vice president at the National Wildlife Federation. That means that BP wanted the federal government to set a universal standard for emissions, rather than having states set their own levels, which could allow some states -- especially California -- to set stricter limits. Such a policy has been a longstanding item on the industry's agenda for climate change regulation. In this case, too, the Kerry-Lieberman draft bill specifically maintained the right of states to set emissions limits, leaving BP's idea on the cutting-room floor. And BP and other players in the industry proposed increasing gasoline taxes at the pump rather than curbing vehicular emissions through a direct cap, said John Coqueyt, a legislative specialist with the Sierra Club, an environmental group. After making progress initially, this idea was abandoned in the Kerry-Lieberman draft, Coqueyt said. \"On the one hand, BP did have substantial input into the Kerry bill,\" said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign at the Center for Auto Safety. BP, other oil companies, the Edison Electric Institute and other industry groups \"submitted much language and many ideas. Some are probably recognizable in the current bill. ... But I don't think it is accurate to say that BP essentially wrote a major part of the bill.\" We agree. There's no question that BP, by taking a cooperative stance with Kerry and Lieberman rather than an adversarial one, had the opportunity to float its ideas during the legislative drafting process. And by dangling the possibility that the company might back the bill -- which would provide the senators with politically valuable support on a complicated and contentious bill -- BP and other energy companies wielded some leverage in the drafting process. In fact, many on the left -- not just conservatives like McConnell-- are disappointed that Kerry and other Democratic supporters of climate change legislation worked with oil companies, including BP, while crafting the bill. But saying that the senators listened to BP's case is not the same as saying that \"a major part\" of the bill \"was essentially written by BP.\" In fact, looking at three BP-pushed initiatives that have come to light shows that none were included in the current draft of the bill, which suggests that the senators and their aides were hardly captive to BP. It may be revealing that one day after the statement we're checking, McConnell had toned down his description of BP's role. In a floor speech on June 10, 2010, McConnell said, \"Some favor the Kerry-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill, a significant portion of which, by the way, has been pushed by the oil company BP.\" If he'd simply said \"pushed\" the day before, he would have been pretty close to being accurate. But McConnell went much further when he said that BP had \"essentially written\" a \"major part\" of the bill. We rule that claim by McConnell ."}
{"claim_id": "6367", "claim": "Hepatitis A confirmed at Redfield, Arkansas, diner.", "explanation": "Health officials are again warning of a possible hepatitis A exposure after an employee at a central Arkansas diner tested positive for the disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Arkansas, Liver disease, Hepatitis", "main_text": "Arkansas Department of Health spokeswoman Meg Mirivel said Thursday that anyone who ate at the J Mart Diner in Redfield, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Little Rock, between July 17 and August 2 should seek vaccination for the virus. The health department will have free vaccinations available Friday at the Grant and Jefferson County local health units until 6 p.m. Northeast Arkansas has been battling an unusually severe hepatitis A outbreak with 393 cases reported in that part of the state since February 2018. Hepatitis A is a contagious and potentially fatal, but treatable, liver disease. Symptoms include fever, nausea, fatigue, and jaundice."}
{"claim_id": "22127", "claim": "Tom Petri Says President Barack Obama\u2019s debt commission recommended converting Medicare \"to a system where Medicare participants are given a voucher to purchase insurance in the private market.", "explanation": "Wisconsin GOP Rep. Petri says Obama commission recommended vouchers for Medicare", "label": "false", "subjects": "Deficit, Federal Budget, Medicare, Wisconsin, Tom Petri, ", "main_text": "When House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan submitted his 2012 federal budget plan in April 2011, he touted how much more it cut spending, debt and deficits than President Barack Obama\u2019s plan. Some of the loudest objections to the Wisconsin Republican\u2019s proposal, however, decried its transformation of Medicare. MoveOn.org, a left-leaning political advocacy group, went so far as to say Ryan would abolish the 46-year-old program in 10 years. We ruled that claim , partly because current Medicare recipients would continue to receive traditional Medicare even after 10 years. But, as we noted, Ryan\u2019s plan would change Medicare dramatically. Starting in 2022, Medicare would no longer directly help pay for doctor visits, hospital care, other services and prescription drugs. Rather, future Medicare participants would choose a private insurance plan and Medicare -- through what are called premium-support payments or vouchers -- would help pay for the insurance. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan group that studies health care policy, noted that in the days after Ryan\u2019s budget plan was released, three national polls found Americans divided on such a change. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wisconsin, was conducting his annual survey of constituents. In his April 2011 newsletter, the 32-year Fond du Lac congressman posed this question to residents in the 6th District, which is north and west of Milwaukee:  \"One of the recommendations put forth by the president\u2019s debt commission was to convert the Medicare system from a government-run insurance program to a system where Medicare participants are given a voucher to purchase insurance in the private market. Would you support such a change?\" That left us with this question: Did a commission created by a Democratic president recommend the same sweeping change to Medicare that was part of the House GOP budget? The debt commission mentioned in Petri\u2019s question -- the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform-- was formed by an Obama executive order in February 2010. The 18-member panel included Ryan, who was appointed by Republican leaders of the House of Representatives. The commission was charged with making recommendations to balance the federal budget, excluding interest payments on the debt, by 2015. The recommendations came in a report issued in December 2010. This is what Petri\u2019s survey question cited in saying the commission recommended a voucher program for Medicare. The word voucher appears only once in the commission\u2019s 66-page report, as part of Recommendation \"3.3.13.\" The recommendation addressed Federal Employees Health Benefits, the health insurance program for federal employees and retirees. The commission said the insurance should be made into a premium-support or voucher program. Federal retirees could use their voucher to pay part of their Medicare premium. But that is for a limited group, federal employees and retirees. That is not transforming all of Medicare into a voucher program. Had that recommendation been made, it undoubtedly would have stirred the same criticism that the Republican plan has. The commission\u2019s report noted that two commission members -- Ryan and Alice Rivlin, director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton -- had proposed converting Medicare into a voucher system. The commission\u2019s view was that such a system \"holds significant promise of controlling costs, but also carries serious potential risks.\" The commission suggested that, if its recommendation were put in place to make health insurance for federal employees and retirees a premium-support or voucher program, \"that experience would be useful in considering a premium-support program for Medicare.\" So, the president\u2019s commission recommended trying a voucher program with federal employees and retirees and then, based on the results, deciding whether to try it with Medicare. After we contacted Petri\u2019s office on May 6, 2011, spokesman Niel Wright said the wording in the constituent survey question about Medicare was incorrect. He said the question should have stated that the president\u2019s commission \"discussed,\" rather than recommended, making Medicare a voucher program. Also after our call, this note was added to the electronic version of the survey question on Petri\u2019s website:  \"CORRECTION: The question above is somewhat misleading. Instead of saying that the recommendation was \u2018put forth\u2019 by the president's debt commission, the question should read that this recommendation was \u2018discussed\u2019 by the president's debt commission.\" Wright told us that when Petri\u2019s office distributes results of the survey, a note will be included \"indicating that a problem with this question was brought to our attention,\" as would \"additional information clarifying how the question should have been phrased.\" Wright also said the survey was reviewed by the Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, also known as the Franking Commission, and that \"neither the Republican nor the Democratic staffers at the commission noticed anything objectionable\" or partisan. Turning to the Truth-O-Meter, in surveying constituents, GOP Congressman Tom Petri said a commission created by the Democratic president had recommended making Medicare a voucher program. The commission did not make that recommendation and Petri admitted the wording in his survey was wrong. We rate his statement ."}
{"claim_id": "30696", "claim": "Gabapentin is now considered the most dangerous drug in America and will surpass opioids as the largest prescription drug killer.", "explanation": "While the increasing prevalence of gabapentin abuse is an important finding and a vital step in understanding the complexities of the opioid epidemic, it is not a finding that should cause legitimate users alarm. To suggest that a drug which millions of people depend on is deadly and should be avoided at all costs, as the viral Facebook post suggested, is wholly irresponsible. Its potential for abuse was underestimated, but nobody is arguing that it is now more likely to cause death through an overdose on its own. As such, we rank this claim as false.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, drug abuse, drug overdose, gabapentin", "main_text": "On 28 June 2017, Kaiser Health News reported on an apparent increase in abuse of gabapentin (brand name Neurontin) in Ohio and across the nation in a story that saw wide syndication in USA Today, STAT News, and many other outlets: Last December, Ohio\u2019s Board of Pharmacy began reporting sales of gabapentin prescriptions in its regular monitoring of controlled substances. The drug, which is not an opioid nor designated a controlled substance by federal authorities, is used to treat nerve pain. But the board found that it was the most prescribed medication on its list that month, surpassing oxycodone by more than 9 million doses. In February, the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network issued an alert regarding increasing misuse across the state. The claims that gabapentin is \u201cthe most dangerous drug in America\u201d gained widespread exposure thanks to a viral 1 January 2018 Facebook post that alleged, without sources, that gabapentin is the \u201cnewest\u201d killer prescription. Claims that it is \u201ckilling thousands\u201d appear to be based off this earlier reporting. While abuse of the drug \u201con the street\u201d may be a newer phenomenon, gabapentin has been around since 1993 as a treatment of epilepsy in the United States. In the European Union, the drug is approved to treat neuropathic pain as well. Controversially, the drug has been \u2014 and continues to be \u2014 used to treat a wide variety of unapproved conditions off-label. The drug is not a narcotic like an opioid, and it has only an indirect effect on the central nervous system, making a direct overdose from the drug alone unlikely. A 62-year-old woman\u2019s suicide, reported in a 2011 case study, claimed to be the first published report of a gabapentin overdose in combination with no other drugs \u2014 an outcome that confounded researchers. (There has since been at least one other gabapentin overdose reported in the absence of other drugs). The pharmacological and medical community have long considered the drug safe with few adverse effects. This lack of concern about its adverse effects, more recent research alleges, may have masked the legitimate risk for the drug\u2019s potential for abuse. While a high from abusing the drug alone is reported to be mild, numerous case studies have indicated that opioid addicts find that gabapentin is able to increase the euphoric effects of an opioid high. Larger scale studies of opioid addicted individuals have confirmed this. Increasing awareness of the link between gabapentin and opiod addicts lead the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network to issue a February 2017 warning, which partially inspired the original June 2017 reporting by Kaiser Health News, and included this first-person account of its use: It\u2019s not a narcotic, but what it does, is, it intensifies your methadone [an opioid]\u2026 so if you take your methadone and you go buy 10 [gabapentin pills] and you take all 10, it\u2019s sort of like you tripled your dose. Further confusion over the lethality of gabapentin, based on the comments in the aforementioned viral post, appear to stem from an in-depth analysis of drug overdose deaths in Kentucky in 2016 performed by FiveThirtyEight and published on 17 January 2018. That story (\u201cThere Is More Than One Opioid Crisis\u201d) indicated that 32.6 percent of all people who overdosed in Kentucky in 2016 had the presence of gabapentin in their system under autopsy, and that it was the most common drug found in some specific demographics: According to the findings, gabapentin [\u2026] was the drug most frequently detected in women who had died from drug overdoses and among victims over the age of 44. Crucially, these data do not indicate that gabapentin caused these deaths, just that its presence was found during autopsy toxicology reports. These data, as well, do not indicate that gabapentin was the only drug found in the system of drug overdose victims. To further illustrate that point, THC, the active component of marijuana which is incapable of causing an overdose on its own, was detected in a quarter of cases, according to the same dataset; it is impossible to credibly\u00a0argue that marijuana caused a quarter of overdose deaths in Kentucky in 2016. The fact that gabapentin was frequently found in combination with opiates in that report, however, lends further credence to the idea that the drug is being used as a way to enhance the effects of other more deadly drugs."}
{"claim_id": "1872", "claim": "Disney closes controversial fat-fighting exhibit.", "explanation": "Obesity experts on Friday applauded Walt Disney World for shuttering a new attraction that drew fierce criticism for its potential to shame overweight children and misrepresent the causes of the global obesity crisis.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "\u201cI think they (Disney) likely subscribed to that common misconception that this is something we should just be able to push away from the table and cure,\u201d said Ottawa bariatric surgeon Yoni Freedhoff, whose blog post sparked a public outcry over the attraction at Walt Disney Co\u2019s world-famous Florida theme park. \u201cThe truth is, if it was that simple to manage weight, I\u2019m pretty confident we wouldn\u2019t have a problem,\u201d said Freedhoff. Disney last month unofficially opened the interactive exhibit called \u201cHabit Heroes\u201d at Epcot, one of the sites at the park, and introduced a companion online game. In both, svelte heroes, \u201cCallie Stenics\u201d and \u201cWill Power,\u201d combat fat and misshapen villains with names like \u201cLead Bottom\u201d and \u201cThe Snacker.\u201d   \u201cHere, they (children) are in Disney, the happiest place on earth, and basically Disney is being the schoolyard bully that\u2019s been making fun of them for years at home,\u201d Freedhoff said. Freedhoff blogged on February 23 about what he called the \u201chorrifying\u201d exhibit. Disney closed the exhibit two days later following complaints and petition drives by other advocates for the overweight and people with eating disorders. Disney spokeswoman Kathleen Prihoda told Reuters no date has been set for Habit Heroes to reopen. \u201cWe\u2019ve closed it for the time being to further improve and refine the experience,\u201d Prihoda said. \u201cWe\u2019ve received feedback from a variety of sources and we\u2019re taking it all into consideration at this time.\u201d   The exhibit was sponsored by two independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations. Spokesman John Herbkersman of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida told Reuters that initial reaction from Disney guests was positive. He said the Disney Imagineers created the exhibit, and that he did not know how much input his organization had in crafting its message. The World Health Organization, which calls childhood obesity one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century, cites many causes, including a global shift in food processing, food marketing, the fat and sugar content of food, increased urbanization and changes in the way people get around. \u201cKids have not suddenly suffered an epidemic loss of will power. I think the world in which children are growing up has changed very dramatically,\u201d Freedhoff said. In January researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2009 and 2010, about one in three American adults and one in six children and teenagers were obese. Laura Discipio said her organization, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, was one of several that urged its supporters to put public pressure on Disney to rethink Habit Heroes. \u201cThey (Disney officials) said the goal is really to teach people how to be healthy. I said I get that, but you can\u2019t be villainizing children of size,\u201d Discipio said. A petition started by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance logged more than 300 signatures before the exhibit was closed, according to spokeswoman Peggy Howell. \u201cThe attraction and game feature negative stereotypical characters, traditionally used to torment overweight kids, will potentially reinforce and strengthen a cycle of bullying, depression, disease, eating disorders and even suicidal thoughts,\u201d the petition stated. Howell said members of her board of directors have received personal letters and phone calls from Disney asking for their input. \u201cThe problem is quite complicated despite the fact that there is this truism that involves eating fewer calories and/or burning more of them,\u201d Freedhoff said. \u201cThat truism is about as useful as buy low/sell high would be to making you a millionaire in the stock market. It\u2019s true. It\u2019s just not helpful.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "11446", "claim": "Abaloparatide may help prevent fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis", "explanation": "This release from The Endocrine Society describes the results of one of a series of randomized, double-blind comparative clinical trials of abaloparatide-SC, an investigational drug designed to increase bone mineral density and prevent bone fractures in postmenopausal women who have osteoporosis and who already had suffered one fracture. The study was presented as a poster presentation at the Society\u2019s recent conference. The release helpfully \u2014 and carefully \u2014 notes early that the research is \u201cindustry sponsored.\u201d The release did a good job discussing the study design and results but didn\u2019t address potential cost and harms. Some health organizations estimate more than 200 million women (and men) worldwide have osteoporosis and that in the United States, 43 million adults are at risk for osteoporosis and that the disease is responsible for about 2 million broken bones each year. Various prescription treatments are on the market designed to increase bone mineral density and either prevent fractures in the first place or reduce the risk of a subsequent one. Exercise, diet and lifestyle also are involved in risk factor prevention and modification, and all of the prescription drugs carry risks for some women of serious side effects, including higher than usual risks for a rare form of bone cancer, kidney stones, weakness, respiratory infections, and dizziness. The costs of some treatments also are high. Thus, any news of additional drug treatments will be of significant interest to millions of women and men.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Association/Society news release,Women's health", "main_text": "The release doesn\u2019t include any discussion of the financial burden of the disease or estimated costs of treating it. This is a big market for drug makers and there are plenty of data available. Forteo, a similar drug to abaloparatide-SC, a human parathyroid hormone, is already on the market. It is reasonable to assume that the cost structure will be similar. GoodRx.com notes that a 28 day supply costs about $2,400. The release would have been much more helpful to the reader if it had included some absolute numbers along with the relative risk reductions. The release notes that of 2,463 osteoporosis patients, ages 49 to 86, the drug increased bone mineral density in the lumbar spine by 9.2%, in the hip 3.4% and in the femoral neck by 2.9% compared to placebo. The release also describes the reduction in vertebral fractures by 86%, and other risk reductions, also in terms of percentages. But what were the actual rates of fractures in each group? That would give readers the best sense of the size of the benefit. A serious omission, the release is essentially silent about potential harms, which, according to other sources, may include \u201cback pain, arthralgia, upper-respiratory-tract infection, hypercalciuria, and dizziness.\u201d A mid-term post-marketing surveillance study of Forteo (teriparatide), a related drug on the market, observed an association but not causation with osteosarcoma (a rare malignant bone cancer) in people taking the drug. Osteosarcoma had been observed in animal trials of the drug that were dependent on dose and treatment duration. The release provides a good overview of the randomized, double-blind trial which lasted 18 months and provides demographics of those enrolled in the study. The release also lets readers know that there is at least one other drug similar to the one being studied that is already FDA approved. It does a quick but effective job of distinguishing what might be better about the new drug. (Increased density in the hip region that is greater than the existing compound.) It would have been helpful to note that the trial was conducted in the US, Brazil and Denmark which carry different levels of risk for fracture in post menopausal women, as pointed out in an International Osteoporosis Foundation report. Statements about the potential value of the drug are reasonable and cautious and there\u2019s no disease mongering here. The release prominently and early notes that the research is \u201cindustry sponsored,\u201d and names the company (Radius Health, Inc.). It also notes that the investigator quoted in the release is a consultant to the company. Kudos! Because the study was comparative, the release gives some detail about its head-to-head comparison with a current drug on the market. There is another class of drug treatments, namely bisphosphonates, that could have been mentioned. The release notes that the drug is investigational which signifies it is not yet FDA approved and that the study was a phase 3 study. The release doesn\u2019t make a explicit claim to novelty but it does note the greater hip bone density benefit and reduced fractures with the new drug compared to the existing drug and placebo. We\u2019ll give them the benefit of the doubt as this is a strong indication of new findings. There\u2019s no unjustifiable language in use here."}
{"claim_id": "35678", "claim": "People vaccinated for seasonal influenza face higher chances of catching SARS-COV-2, which causes COVID-19, or testing positive for the virus when they do not actually have it. ", "explanation": "A panel for the North Carolina Medical Board in 2008 ruled Buttar should stop treating children or patients with cancer because \u201chis alternative medicine practice is below accepted medical standards in North Carolina.\u201d But the doctor challenged that recommendation, and in 2010 the board and Buttar made a compromise: He could continue offering his treatments so long as his participants signed consent forms \u201cacknowledging this practice is outside the mainstream,\u201d according to the newspaper.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "Since the early weeks of the U.S. COVID-19 coronavirus disease outbreak in March 2020, social media users began spreading claims that people who had gotten vaccinated to increase their immunity against seasonal influenza were at a higher risk of catching or testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The assertions took a variety of forms and resurged with new viral postings over weeks. In March and early April, many cited misinterpretations of a 2020 study by an epidemiologist with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) that examined how the 2017-2018 flu season affected personnel. \u201cYou can get coronavirus from the flu shot,\u201d one person wrote to Snopes, referencing the DOD study (which we unpack below). Then, in late April and May, the claims shifted to focus on remarks by anti-vaccine advocate and conspiracy theorist, Dr. Rashid Buttar, who said in a video interview\u00a0posted on Facebook on April 19: All the way back to 1984 all the way up to now, 2018, there are multiple studies that show that if you\u2019ve had the flu shot\u2026 false positives on COVID-19 testing. After that posting, numerous Facebook accounts circulated the below-displayed meme:  For the purpose of this investigation, we will first dissect what appear to be the main sources of the claim regarding flu shots \u2014 the DOD study that examined the health of military personnel (which is available via a five-page PDF) and Buttar, and then provide scientific and medical research that prove their invalidity. Greg Wolff, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, conducted the study, examining whether the flu vaccine between October 2017 and September 2018 increased his colleagues\u2019 risk for non-flu respiratory viruses, such as coronavirus, adenovirus or human bocavirus, via a phenomenon known as virus interference. Of the roughly 9,500 DOD employees he considered for the research \u2014 most of whom were male active duty service members between 18 and 35 years old \u2014 more than two-thirds had gotten flu shots that season; however, that group did not show significant odds of catching other respiratory illnesses compared to those who were not vaccinated, according to Wolff\u2019s findings. The study states: The overall results of the study showed little to no evidence supporting the association of virus interference and influenza vaccination. Individual respiratory virus results were mixed, and some rebutted virus interference. Additionally those receiving the influenza vaccine were more likely to have no pathogen detected and reduced risk of influenza when compared to unvaccinated individuals. In other words, the flu shot did not change the likelihood of test subjects overall catching other respiratory illnesses; however, each non-flu respiratory virus, such as coronavirus, showed varied results for how they impacted vaccinated DOD employees. At the same time, the vaccine protected personnel against influenza, the study found. The idea of non-flu respiratory viruses showing individually different results on the test population is where anti-vaxxers focused their messaging. On April 16, 2020, more than three months after Wolff published the study, an anti-vaccine nonprofit called the Children\u2019s Health Defense highlighted the DOD research on its website, with the headline, \u201cPentagon Study: Flu Shot Raises Risk of Coronavirus by 36% (and Other Supporting Studies).\u201d Authored by the organization\u2019s founder, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a high-profile leader of the U.S. modern anti-vaxx movement, the web page focused on one aspect of Wolff\u2019s multi-pronged study of DOD personnel: 507 test subjects who did not have the flu and were vaccinated to increase their immunity against it tested positive for \u201ccoronavirus,\u201d while only 170 test subjects who did not have an influenza vaccine tested positive for \u201ccoronavirus.\u201d The study included the following table:  Wolff summarized that finding like this: Examining non-influenza viruses specifically, the odds of both coronavirus and human metapneumovirus (which causes upper and lower respiratory disease with cold-like symptoms) in vaccinated individuals were significantly higher when compared to unvaccinated individuals. But nowhere did the epidemiologist describe the type of coronavirus(es) for which his subjects tested positive, and the Children\u2019s Health Defense and other anti-vaxxers failed to make that distinction in their postings. In science, the word \u201ccoronavirus\u201d refers to a family of hundreds of viruses, not just one type of sickness. (Politicians and journalists frequently \u2014 and misleadingly \u2014 used the term in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the novel coronavirus was first reported in humans in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.) Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), seven types of coronaviruses cause illness in humans, some of which are fairly common and cause seasonal cold-like symptoms while others cause more severe and sometimes fatal infections, including the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The type of coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease is called SARS-CoV-2, and it was yet to be discovered at the time of Wolff\u2019s study in 2017 and 2018. That means no one in the experiment was confirmed to have the virus that causes COVID-19, and Wolff did not once refer to the novel coronavirus in his research. Additionally, considering the size and makeup of Wolff\u2019s testing sample \u2014 as well as the overall findings of the study (mentioned above) and the fact that coronaviruses and influenza viruses vary by season and impact age groups differently\u00a0\u2014 any assertion that the research definitely proves a connection between influenza vaccines and coronaviruses, including COVID-19, is misleading. According to the CDC, everyone 6 months and older should get an influenza vaccine each year to increase their chances of fighting the flu \u2014 even in the era of COVID-19 \u2014 though the effectiveness of the shot may vary person-to-person, year-to-year. The CDC states: Any flu infection can carry a risk of serious complications, hospitalization or death, even among otherwise healthy children and adults. Therefore, getting vaccinated is a safer choice than risking illness to obtain immune protection. In terms of whether the shot makes people more susceptible to other respiratory viruses, which in 2020 could include COVID-19, no strong scientific or medical evidence shows that flu shots increase people\u2019s risk of catching other viruses as of this writing. One 2012 study in the peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, which considered a test sample of 115 children and teens, suggested the flu vaccine might increase people\u2019s odds of catching non-flu viruses. But a study one year later in the same peer-reviewed journal came to the opposite conclusion. The CDC said: Many experts looked into this issue further and conducted additional studies to see if the findings (in the 2012 study of children and teens) could be replicated. No other studies have found this effect. \u2026 It\u2019s not clear why this finding was detected in the one study, but the preponderance of evidence suggests that this is not a common or regular occurrence and that influenza vaccination does not, in fact, make people more susceptible to other respiratory infections. Buttar, a licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine in North Carolina, is another leading source of the viral COVID-19-era claim that flu shots worsen your chances of catching the novel virus. In at least one spring 2020 video appearance (mentioned above), he claimed: \u201cStudies clearly show that if you\u2019ve had a flu shot, you\u2019re going to test positive for COVID-19,\u201d suggesting that the influenza vaccination contains antibodies that would make a person show a false positive on a COVID-19 test. Buttar first gained public recognition via his hometown newspaper, the Charlotte Observer, in the late 1990s, advertising \u201cadvanced concepts in alternative and preventative medicine.\u201d A few years later, he and another doctor gained news coverage for enrolling patients with heart disease in a controversial study that tested chelation therapy, a treatment to remove metals from patients\u2019 bloodstream and commonly used to treat people with heavy metal poisoning. But in the late 2000s, Buttar\u2019s unconventional practices drew criticism. In 2007, the North Carolina Medical Board accused Buttar of \u201cunprofessional conduct for departing from prevailing medical practice by treating patients with experimental, ineffective therapies and charging \u2018exorbitant\u2019 fees\u2019 for unproven therapies that didn\u2019t work,\u201d the Charlotte Observer reported. A local TV station reported: Buttar has spent years selling skin drops at $150 a bottle as a treatment for diseases ranging from autism to cancer."}
{"claim_id": "16895", "claim": "Gun homicide is down 49 percent in the past 12 years.", "explanation": "The social media meme said that \"gun homicide is down 49 percent in the past 12 years.\" The gun homicide rate is actually down by 49 percent over the past 17 years, but this seemingly minor mistake betrays a significant misunderstanding of how rates have fluctuated over the past two decades. During the past dozen years, gun homicide rates have been largely static; their big decline mostly came in the years before the meme even started counting. The meme is not just incorrect; it\u2019s a distraction from what actually happened.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Guns, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "In the social media wars over gun control, a new social-media meme makes the case that gun violence is wildly exaggerated by the media. \"Gun homicide is down 49 percent in the past 12 years. Only 12 percent of Americans know that. Tell us again how unbiased our media is,\" the Facebook post said. A reader sent us the posting and asked us to fact-check it. We\u2019ll focus our attention on the claim about gun homicides, but we\u2019ll also touch on the media question later on. Trends in gun homicide We began by looking at year-by-year\u00a0statistics on\u00a0gun homicides compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the meme\u2019s language was clear about focusing on \"homicides,\" we didn\u2019t include statistics for suicides, gun shootings with undetermined causes, or \"legal interventions,\" such as justified shootings by police. The most recent data is for 2010, so we went as far back as 1998 to define the 12-year period. This table summarizes what we found:  Year Gun homicides Gun homicides per 100,000 people 1998 11,798 4.28 1999 10,828 3.88 2000 10,801 3.84 2001 11,348 3.98 2002 11,829 4.11 2003 11,920 4.11 2004 11,624 3.97 2005 12,352 4.18 2006 12,791 4.29 2007 12,632 4.19 2008 12,179 4.01 2009 11,493 3.75 2010 11,078 3.59  This disproves the clear wording of the meme. Over the past 12 years, the number of gun homicides is down 6 percent, and the rate of gun homicides is down 16 percent. Both are well below the 49 percent claimed in the post. However, we also found that the statistic did come from somewhere. The 49 percent decline emerged from 2013 report by the\u00a0Pew Research Center. It found that gun homicides (or more specifically, the rate of gun homicides per 100,000 residents) had declined by 49 percent between their peak in 1993 and 2010, a period of 17 years. We double-checked Pew\u2019s calculations of the CDC figures and found that they were correct. Between 1993 and 2010, the gun homicide rate fell from 7.02 per 100,000 to 3.59 per 100,000, or a decline of precisely 49 percent. Here\u2019s the rundown of those earlier years:  Year Gun homicides Gun homicides per 100,000 people 1992 17,488 6.82 1993 18,253 7.02 1994 17,527 6.66 1995 15,551 5.84 1996 14,037 5.21 1997 13,252 4.86  It\u2019s possible to chalk this mistake up to a simple typo -- after all, if the claim had said 17 years rather than 12, it would have been correct. However, the time frame raises important issues. For one thing, the CDC data show that the big decline in gun homicides came between 1993 and 2000, which happens to coincide with the years Bill Clinton was president. While Clinton and his policies are hardly the only reason for this decline, his signing of tighter gun-control legislation makes him unpopular among the kinds of gun supporters who might have created this meme. By contrast, by framing the decline as happening over the past 12 years, the meme implies that George W. Bush -- a president much more friendly to gun-rights supporters -- can take some credit for the decline. More importantly, by making this mistake, the meme misunderstands the overall trend lines of gun homicides. Gun homicides didn\u2019t decline 49 percent over the last 12 years -- rather, they declined precipitously over six years in the 1990s, then have remained basically stagnant for the past decade or so. Why is this important? Because the decline, to a large degree, has to do with a specific reason -- the end of the crack epidemic. The decline in gun homicides in the 1990s \"was largely a reversal of an upward trend that occurred in the mid-to-late 1980s,\" said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University. \"There would not have been much of a downturn were it not for the surge. This up-and-down change was primarily in cities and among offenders under age 25, and indeed have much to do with crack markets and gang activity.\" In fact, the Pew study made the same point, noting that \"by the early 1990s, crack markets withered in part because of lessened demand, and the vibrant national economy made it easier for even low-skilled young people to find jobs rather than get involved in crime. At the same time, a rising number of people ages 30 and older were incarcerated, due in part to stricter laws, which helped restrain violence among this age group.\" Fox said another reason for the decline in gun homicides overall was a specific decline in cases that involved intimate partners. After 1993, when the pro-gun-control Brady Law was passed, \"there was a decline in gun homicides by women against their partners, but no decline in non-gun killings,\" he said. Media bias? The meme also takes a shot at the media for burying this large decline. But that\u2019s not deserved. Just the first two pages of Google search results show articles about the Pew study appearing in the following outlets: \u2022\u00a0Associated Press \u2022 Washington Post \u2022 CNN \u2022 NPR \u2022\u00a0NBC News \u2022 Yahoo News Oh, and\u00a0PolitiFact. As for the claim that \"only 12 percent of Americans know that,\" the meme got the percentage right, though of course it got the substance of what that 12 percent knew wrong. \"Despite national attention to the issue of firearm violence, most Americans are unaware that gun crime is lower today than it was two decades ago,\" the report said. \"According to a new Pew Research Center survey, today 56 percent of Americans believe gun crime is higher than 20 years ago and only 12 percent think it is lower.\" Our ruling The social media meme said that \"gun homicide is down 49 percent in the past 12 years.\" The gun homicide rate is actually down by 49 percent over the past 17 years, but this seemingly minor mistake betrays a significant misunderstanding of how rates have fluctuated over the past two decades. During the past dozen years, gun homicide rates have been largely static; their big decline mostly came in the years before the meme even started counting. The meme is not just incorrect; it\u2019s a distraction from what actually happened. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "26760", "claim": "Viral image Says two patients at Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, Texas, \u201care being looked at\u201d for possible coronavirus infections.", "explanation": "Health officials say there are no coronavirus patients in the Rio Grande Valley. Texas is not among the states where the CDC is reporting coronavirus cases.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Texas, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Viral image, ", "main_text": "Has there been an outbreak of misinformation about the coronavirus in your town? We\u2019ve already debunked claims of cases in Gainesville, Fla., and Mississippi, among others. Now, a March 2 Facebook post claims that \"Coronavirus may be in Brownsville, Texas.\" \"Two patients in Valley Regional Medical Center are being looked at for the possible virus that has been spreading throughout the globe,\" it continues. This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The post appears to be a screenshot of another post published by the account Brownsville Online, which describes itself as a digital community featuring news about Brownsville. But we didn\u2019t see any posts there claiming two possible coronavirus cases at Valley Regional Medical Center. A spokesperson for the hospital did not immediately return PolitiFact\u2019s call about the Facebook post. But health officials in the area have said and continue to say that there are no cases of coronavirus in the Rio Grande Valley. Hidalgo County, which is adjacent to Brownsville\u2019s Cameron County, has specifically called out social media posts for spreading bad intel. \"Misinformation on social media,\" the county\u2019s health and human services department tweeted on March 2. \"THERE IS NO #CoV19 in the RGV.\" As of March 3, Texas was not one of 12 states reporting cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. KRGV, a local news station in the Rio Grande Valley, reported on March 2 that Cameron County health officials also confirmed that there were no cases of the virus there. The station quotes a statement from the Valley Regional Medical Center saying it doesn\u2019t \"have any patients that have tested positive for COVID-19.\" We rate this Facebook post ."}
{"claim_id": "5604", "claim": "EPA to issue permits for Los Alamos storm water runoff.", "explanation": "New Mexico officials are planning another public meeting focused on the state\u2019s oversight and scientific monitoring of environmental impacts at Los Alamos National Laboratory.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment, Los Alamos, New Mexico", "main_text": "The Environment Department has scheduled the next meeting for Jan. 9 at the University of New Mexico campus in Los Alamos. The focus will be a 2016 agreement the state signed with the U.S. Energy Department regarding the cleanup of contamination and other responsibilities of the lab. \u201cThe Los Alamos community asked for this discussion on the Los Alamos National Laboratory Consent Order and we listened,\u201d Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cCollaborating with stakeholders is essential to protecting public health and the environment.\u201d   The order spells out milestones the lab needs to meet with its cleanup campaigns and establishes corrective actions for the release of hazardous wastes or groundwater contamination. Watchdogs have been critical of the pace of cleanup projects at the northern New Mexico lab. Earlier this year, environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit over water pollution downstream from the lab. The groups asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue a permit that would specifically regulate urban stormwater runoff from developed areas at the lab, the town of Los Alamos and the nearby community of White Rock. According to the lawsuit and data from the state Environment Department, excess levels of mercury, silver, copper, zinc, nickel, polychlorinated biphenyls and gross alpha radiation are entering local waterways through runoff. The EPA just weeks ago issued a final determination that stormwater discharges from the lab and Los Alamos County are contributing to violations of water quality standards and that discharges must be controlled and regulated under an EPA-issued permit. Rachel Conn, projects director with Amigos Bravos, said regulating and controlling discharges will protect drinking water sources for both Santa Fe and Albuquerque because some of the canyons that feed into the Rio Grande run through lab property. Andrew Hawley, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, said her group hopes the EPA moves quickly to issue permits that include all of the legally required limits to protect people and wildlife in Los Alamos and downstream."}
{"claim_id": "10503", "claim": "Scientists find nutty risk reducer: Eat more nuts", "explanation": "Although the story did a good job explaining the diet, the story did not differentiate between an impact on risk factors and an impact on cardiovascular disease itself. The story also never even mentioned significant questions and uncertainties that exist about the \u201cmetabolic syndrome.\u201d\u00a0 Reporting \u2013 rather than just reflecting what appeared in a journal article \u2013 would have uncovered questions about the definition of, existence of, and utility of a metabolic syndrome.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no discussion of how the various diets compare in cost. Diets can vary substantially in costs, and healthier diets tend to cost more than less healthy diets. The potiential impact of dietary changes on diet costs should have been mentioned. The story fell into a trap that was partially set by the parameters of the study on which it reported. While it is clear that risk factors are improved, it is not clear what the magnitude of the benefit is. The story should have mentioned this issue outright: that the nuts diet may help lower risk factors, but it is unclear from this study how much a person\u2019s risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced by adopting this approach. The story mentioned that the dietary intervention did not have any impact in terms of weight loss or improving blood sugar levels. The story did not provide the evidence from the results section of the study clearly. The study clearly shows that the Med nuts diet was successful in reducing the metabolic syndrome; however, the\u00a0Med olive oil diet was NOT. This is not clearly presented in the story, indeed the story suggests (2nd paragraph) that the Med olive oil study was successful. The story began with an accurate summary of the benefits that might be obtained, i.e. reducing risk factors rather than reducing disease related outcomes. Later, there was some warning about the number of people estimated to have \u2018Metabolic Syndrome\u2019 which does sound a bit like disease mongering, though the story did not describe much about what, if any, the ramifications were to having \u2018metabolic syndrome\u2019. A scientist who was not involved in this particular study and the study lead author were interviewed for this story. The story would have been improved by obtaining insight from someone outside the field of nutritional epidemiology to comment about what utility the results of the study might have for people. The story did a good job describing the details of the diet involved in the study reported on. It failed to mention that there are other interventions (dietary, exercise, medication) that have been demonstrated to be effective for making changing in those parameters which are said to define the metabolic syndrome. The story could have mentioned other ways to reduce cardiovascular risk. The story described the essence of the\u00a0Mediterranean\u00a0diet as well as the amount of added nuts used in the study reported on. The story didn\u2019t say anything about whether it was a novel research question to look at the mixture of nuts and the Mediterranean diet. It does not appear that the story relied solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "10330", "claim": "Cancer drug 49 times more potent than Cisplatin", "explanation": "This University of Warwick release promises much more than it should, considering the research was conducted not on humans or even mice but on cell lines in labs. The release headline claims that a new compound called FY26 is \u201c49 times more potent\u201d than an existing chemotherapy, and a subhead says, \u201cEffectiveness shown in tests on ovarian and bowel cancer.\u201d But it\u2019s a bit misleading to claim increased potency for a drug that\u2019s never even been tested in humans, because the compound may not work the same way in humans as it does in a petri dish. The drug certainly faces a very long and uncertain road before it might be approved for use in actual cancer patients \u2014 something the release never warned readers about. This is interesting research that\u2019s worth writing about, but the release desperately needed a statement cluing readers in to the very preliminary nature of the study. Millions of people with cancer are hoping for new therapies, and this release could set them up for false hope. The release promises that FY26 could be \u201ccheaper to produce, less harmful to healthy cells than existing treatments and has been shown to be active against cancer cells which have become resistant to platinum-based drugs.\u201d The release does not say that results from lab work will need to be tested for years before the therapy is proven safe and effective.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Cancer,University news release", "main_text": "The release speculates that FY26 could be cheaper to produce than platinum-based chemotherapy drugs. That may well be true, but the release didn\u2019t provide any evidence or reasoning as to why this would be the case. Nor does it explain that cheaper \u201cproduction\u201d might not mean cheaper pricing for patients. We know that platinum is expensive, but then again new drugs are typically far more expensive than existing generic treatments. We\u2019d need more than a general claim that the drug \u201ccould be cheaper\u201d to award a Satisfactory rating here. The release claims that FY26 is \u201c49 times more potent than Cisplatin\u201d \u2014 a statement that strikes us as hyperbolic. There\u2019s no explanation at all of how the researchers measured the \u201cpotency\u201d of the drug, and we\u2019re left wondering how they concluded that it was exactly \u201c49 times\u201d more potent. Rather than focus on this promotional-sounding claim, we\u2019d have preferred some description of what the researchers actually did in the experiment and what their results showed. The story promises so much of this compound, including that it could be\u00a0less harmful to healthy cells than existing treatments. But it\u2019s hard to know what side effects might exist because the drug has apparently never been tested in animals or humans. The release does mention the many side effects associated with existing chemotherapies, but we wish there had been a caution: \u201cThere may be side effects with FY26 that remain to be discovered.\u201d The release speculates that this research \u201ccould also lead to substantial improvements in cancer survival rates.\u201d But the compound has only been administered to cell lines, not to any human subjects. The release does eventually get around to mentioning the fact that these were cell lines, but we would have welcomed a disclaimer \u2013 high up in the release \u2013 cautioning that any excitement surrounding this drug should be tempered by experience with past failures. Years of clinical research and many obstacles must be cleared before this is a practical alternative for patients. There was no disease mongering. The funding sources were carefully noted in the release. One researcher does talk about a comparison with existing treatments and why new therapies are needed. \u201cExisting platinum-based cancer treatments often become less effective after the first course, as cancer cells learn how they are being attacked, but our new osmium compound with its different mechanism of action, remains active against cancer cells that have become resistant to drugs such as Cisplatin\u201d. It is clear that the compounds are not available to human patients yet. The novelty of this compound and potential advantages over existing treatments are clear from the story. The release also notes that NIH is conducting similar studies. The claim of increased potency, based on cell line research and with no qualifications, is not justifiable. The release also states,\u00a0\u201cEffectiveness shown in tests on ovarian and bowel cancer.\u201d We think people reading will think the research showed the compound killed ovarian and bowel cancer IN PATIENTS not just in a petri dish."}
{"claim_id": "11020", "claim": "Experts Issue New Guidelines on Breast Cancer Drugs", "explanation": "The American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) has released updated guidelines on adjuvant endocrine therapy\u00a0in breast cancer. The story met many of our criteria, but missed the mark by insinuating that all postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-postiive breast cancer should use aromatase inhibitors:\u00a0\"The committee preparing the guidelines recommended, therefore, that all postmenopausal women with this type of breast cancer use aromatase inhibitors either before or after tamoxifen.\"", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story specifically points out that generic tamoxifen costs $21.90 a month and the aromatase inhibitor, Arimidex\u00ae, costs $379.80 a month. The story was also quick to note that a generic form of Arimidex\u00ae is now available and costs much less. Going one step further, the story included a discussion of\u00a0how the cost of treatment can factor into the decision-making process. It\u2019s clear from the story that tamoxifen is not new and that aromatase inhibitors \u201care a more recent entry into the field.\u201d The story also states that aromatase inhibitors have been a standard part of care before the guidelines\u00a0were released."}
{"claim_id": "8415", "claim": "Ireland has mostly contained coronavirus outbreak: health chief.", "explanation": "Ireland has contained and effectively suppressed the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the population at large but not in nursing homes where its spread remains a concern, the country\u2019s chief medical officer said on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The assessment raised hopes that stay-at-home restrictions can be gradually eased from May 5. Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said earlier on Thursday that he hoped to set out a roadmap on how they could be eased before the May 5 expiry. Ireland reported 724 new cases to bring its total to 13,271 with 486 deaths, but officials said the growth rate in new cases has been close to zero since April 3 and the closely watched reproductive rate, or the number of people who become infected from each positive case, fell to between 0.7 and 1. \u201cThe data clearly shows that there are two very different experiences of COVID-19,\u201d Tony Holohan said in a statement, referring the continued spread of the disease in care settings versus the containment elsewhere. \u201cIn order to protect the vulnerable the first task was to suppress the virus in the population at large. We are increasingly confident that we are achieving this. All of our efforts now need to be on extinguishing COVID-19 in our community residential settings, including nursing homes.\u201d   Nursing homes account for 253 of the 486 coronavirus-related deaths, with 49 more fatalities associated with other care homes or community facilities. There are clusters of two or more cases in 163 of the country\u2019s 550 retirement homes. Eight people or almost a third of residents at one old age psychiatric home who had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, died over the Easter holiday weekend, Ireland\u2019s Health Service Executive said on Wednesday. Varadkar told parliament that new measures to help protect nursing home residents were not being implemented fast enough, as his acting government faced criticism by opposition politicians for the speed of its response. The government promised nursing homes additional funds, more staff, priority testing and the redeployment of senior medics to improve infectious disease control on April 4 after the number of clusters began to rise rapidly. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, who is in negotiations to form a new government with Varadkar, said nursing homes had been \u201cleft behind significantly.\u201d  Health officials across the world have warned that the elderly are especially vulnerable in the pandemic. The median age of deaths in Ireland is 82, compared to a median age of 48 of all those infected, according to health department data. Varadkar also said any roll back of restrictions would be done over a number of months, a message emphasised later by his health officials. \u201cWhatever happens after May 5 has to be approached exceptionally carefully. We can manage a modest rise in cases, if it\u2019s done slightly wrong, but we can\u2019t manage a huge rise in cases,\u201d Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group chair, Professor Philip Nolan, told a news conference."}
{"claim_id": "9821", "claim": "Nicotine patches, gum don\u2019t prevent relapse, study finds", "explanation": "It fell short by failing to tap any independent sources for commentary and perspective on the findings, by failing to compare the nicotine products to any alternatives for smoking cessation and by relying too heavily on a drugmaker\u2019s press release. Smoking continues to be a hugely destructive force in public health, even after decades of anti-smoking campaigns and mountains of studies documenting the damage. With dwindling resources for public health efforts, any study that can help policymakers better focus their resources could be a boon in the short and long term.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "nicotine addiction", "main_text": "The story addresses the broad scope of costs: \u201cAmerican smokers spend more than $1.5 billion on nicotine gum, patches and related products each year, according to the study. Much of that comes from public health programs, which are facing further rounds of budget cuts.\u201d We would have liked to see actual costs for some of these products and a comparison to cigarettes. People might be more likely to continue buying nicotine products if they are cheaper than the cigarettes themselves. This story and the New York Times story both failed to mention the actual number of people in the study who used nicotine products. Instead, it talked about the overall number of study participants and then provided percentages for the people who relapsed, perhaps leaving readers confused about whether and to what extent nicotine products made a difference in smoking cessation. It says, \u201cThe new study examined former smokers three times over a five-year period. At the midpoint of the study, 30.6% of recent quitters had gone back to smoking. By the end, 31.3% had relapsed.\u201d It isn\u2019t clear whether we are talking about the same 30% in each period or a total of roughly 60%. No mention of the potential harms from taking nicotine, as opposed to quitting without drug therapy. There\u2019s also the question of whether people are doing themselves more harm by continuing to smoke because they failed to quit with the help of a nicotine replacement product. If they had been able to more effectively quit earlier, would they live longer? The story, like the others we reviewed, provides the basic outlines of the study design. It does not do a very good job pointing out any potential limitations with the research. It relies on one of the biggest makers of nicotine products \u2014 GlaxoSmithKline \u2014 as the sole voice criticizing the study. Unlike the New York Times story, this one did not place the study into context. The story notes:\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe findings run counter to the results of several randomized clinical trials conducted before the Food and Drug Administration gave the thumbs-up to these nicotine replacement products in the 1990s. In those trials, volunteers using such products were up to three times more likely to kick the smoking habit.\u201d The NYT did a better job by adding a proviso:\u00a0 \u201cIn medical studies the products have proved effective, making it easier for people to quit, at least in the short term.\u201d But it\u2019s also important to note:\u00a0 the FDA approved nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation and only looked at short term outcomes (6 months to a year). Recidivism is a critical issue for any addiction including smoking. So it isn\u2019t entirely accurate to report that \u201cthe findings run counter to the results of trials conducted before the FDA gave the thumbs up.\u201d No disease mongering. This story quoted no independent experts. The only comments it used that were not from the lead researcher were from GlaxoSmithKline. \u201cBut GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, which makes Nicorette, Nicoderm, Commit lozenges and other smoking cessation products, said that would be premature. The company noted that most of the adults in the study who used nicotine replacement products didn\u2019t use them for the recommended eight weeks. Had those people followed directions, they might have had more success.\u201d This idea appears to have been refuted in the study itself, which showed that the duration that people took the products did not seem to make a difference. A better criticism might have been that it is difficult to tell how these people truly complied with the product because they were not being actively monitored in a clinical trial but were only responding to survey questions. There is no comparison to alternatives in this story. The story basically used sales information to indicate availability. We did appreciate that this story mentioned a wide variety of nicotine products, including nasal sprays. There were no claims of novelty in the story. The story did not rely on this press release from Harvard, but it did rely on this press release from GlaxoSmithKline, one of the big makers of nicotine replacement products. The dependence on the company\u2019s release for the sole outside perspective on the study casts a cloud over a story that already leaves too many questions unanswered. Fully 25% of the words in the story were turned over to the Glaxo response."}
{"claim_id": "10417", "claim": "New heart attack test could identify two-thirds of patients at very low risk of heart attack in the emergency department", "explanation": "This news release describes the results of a study designed to significantly advance the search for a rapid blood test that can rule out evidence of heart muscle damage in people who come to emergency rooms with chest pain and other symptoms of heart attack. The study, reported in the journal The Lancet, specifically offers\u00a0compelling evidence that a version of a commonly used blood test may indeed further that quest. For the study, investigators used a highly sensitive version of an existing blood test that detects the protein troponin on more than 6,300\u00a0consecutive people presenting to hospital emergency rooms (mostly in Scotland) with suspected acute coronary syndrome. The researchers were able to determine the probability that patients were NOT at risk of heart attack or death from heart attack after 30 days for a range of troponin levels. The release does a generally adequate job of describing\u00a0how the high-sensitivity test appears to identify very low levels of troponin, in contrast to current troponin tests, thus making it theoretically possible to accurately, relatively quickly, and safely rule out a heart attack in more than 60 percent of such people, at least over the short term. It covers the fact that conventional troponin testing detects only higher levels of the protein, and must be done on serial blood samples over a longer period of time. And the news release puts appropriate emphasis on the potential the new test has for decreasing unnecessary hospitalizations and reducing health care costs. All that said, the release could have done a much better job of making clear earlier in the text that substantially more research will be needed to determine the clinical effectiveness and safety of relying heavily on high-sensitivity troponin testing. Although the release uses qualifiers such as \u201cmay have been eligible for early safe discharge,\u201d we think more needed to be said about potential risks, about the potential\u00a0costs of the more sensitive test; and most of all about the limitations of the study and over-reliance on any single test when people experience heart attack symptoms. Patients arriving at emergency facilities with chest pain is a common and costly situation that is associated with potentially devastating consequences when the evaluation isn\u2019t done in a thorough fashion. The current evaluation of chest pain involves a history focused on the patient\u2019s reported symptoms and past history of heart disease and risk factors as well as tests performed. These include an electrical test of the heart (EKG or electrocardiogram) and blood tests looking for damage to heart muscle. This evaluation has been standard for decades, but better blood tests over time have allowed emergency providers to more accurately and quickly identify patients who may be having a heart attack. At the same time, the use of these newer tests has permitted providers to more quickly identify those who are not having a heart attack, allowing for earlier discharge from the emergency facility or hospital. The study reported in this news release seeks to define the threshold below which\u00a0a new, more sensitive test identifies people who are at low risk for heart attack or heart related death over the next 30 days. If confirmed, this will be a positive step forward in effectively and efficiently evaluating patients with chest pain in emergency facilities. However, the main limitation of this study is that it is using information previously collected to predict what would have happened if this new test and threshold was used. Only with prospective use and evaluation can we actually determine if this new test and threshold, when applied as part of routine care, leads to improved care and more efficient use of emergency and hospital resources.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "cardiovascular disease,Journal news release", "main_text": "The release makes repeated reference to claims by the study\u2019s authors of substantial savings to the health care system, but no quantitative data are included. More significantly, there is no information presented about the cost of the high-sensitivity test or comparison to current per-patient cost for evaluating acute coronary syndrome in the British health care system. At a minimum, one would want to know the cost of this new test compared to standard troponin tests. Further work would be needed to assess the relative downstream costs associated with this new test. This is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the news release refers to the high negative predictive value of the test (99.6%), which suggests that the test is very good at finding those who aren\u2019t at risk of a heart attack or death over the next 30 days. But it also relies on relative risk comparisons, and does not offer data in absolute terms about risks of heart attack or cardiac death in those with various ranges of troponin levels. It refers to patients \u201cat very low risk\u201d of a heart attack in the next 30 days, but never tells readers what that means (1%? 5%? 15% chance of a heart attack?). Despite these shortcomings, we think the reader will come away with a decent understanding of the potential benefits of the more sensitive test, and so we\u2019ll award a Satisfactory rating here. The potential harms of this test \u2014 discharging a patient who may be having a heart attack and be at risk of dying \u2014 can only be adequately assessed in prospective evaluations using this new test as part of routine care. The release doesn\u2019t adequately address this or describe what might happen if the test is wrong. We also think that the release could have done a better job of explaining that this new test is only one part of the assessment of patients presenting with chest pain. Other factors that are likely to be important that could have been mentioned from the paper include changes in the EKG (electrical test of the heart) that is also part of standard care. In addition, the duration of symptoms is also important. For patients who have had pain for less than 2 hours, the test may not be as effective. The release would have been stronger had it offered more information about the design of the study and its\u00a0limitations. We\u2019d emphasize, as noted above, that\u00a0the main limitation of this study is that it is using information previously collected to predict what would have happened if this new test and threshold were used. Only with prospective use and evaluation can we actually determine if this new test and threshold, when applied as part of routine care, leads to improved care and more efficient use of emergency and hospital resources. We acknowledge that the release hints at this limitation when it quotes from an accompanying editorial \u2014\u00a0\u201cThe ultimate validation for the safety and efficacy of discharging patients with cardiac troponin concentrations less than 5 ng/L will be the report of clinical outcomes after this threshold is implemented in routine clinical practice\u2026\u201d \u2014 but we think the release should have been more explicit about this aspect of the study, as the researchers were in the study itself. In the paper they caution much more directly, \u201cAlthough we determined the number of patients\u00a0who could be safely discharged, whether clinicians can\u00a0effectively implement this threshold in clinical practice\u00a0and whether this will substantially improve rates of\u00a0discharge, is unknown.\u201d Anyone who has dialed 911 (or its British equivalent, 999) or worried at home about the meaning of chest pain will understand the need for a rapid, reliable way to rule out an emergent heart attack. No disease mongering here; the accurate diagnosis of heart attack is a serious issue. The release duly notes funders. The release does a pretty good job of comparing current troponin tests with more sensitive one used for the current study. The release never explicitly states whether this is now being used, either at the study sites involved or elsewhere. The news hook for this release is pretty well established. Readers might interpret one of the quotes in this release as suggesting that the study is absolutely conclusive in terms of safety and efficacy. \u201cThese patients are therefore potentially suitable for immediate and safe discharge from the emergency department. These findings could dramatically reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and provide substantial cost savings for healthcare providers.\u201d But since the language used elsewhere is more measured, we\u2019ll let this one go with a warning."}
{"claim_id": "9888", "claim": "Novartis Drug Curbs Repeat Hip Fractures", "explanation": "This was an interesting story about treatment for an undertreated population of individuals. It\u00a0defined\u00a0the population (mostly women with an average age of 74\u00a0who had had a hip fracture \u2013 but it could have mentioned that 90% were white) and defined that the endpoint was a reduction in the number who died during the study period and that those in the treated group had a lower risk of dying as well as a smaller overall risk of subsequent bone fracture. In only 482 words, the story addressed most of our criteria, failing only to discuss costs and to quantify harms.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no information about the cost to the consumer for this product. The story did, however, provide an estimate about projected annual sales. The story reported on the composite endpoint of any fracture where those treated were seen to have a statistically significant fewer number that those in the placebo group. The story did not, however, point out that while the number of hip fractures in the treated group was less than in the placebo group, this difference was not statistically significant. The story did a good job of providing real numbers for the difference in the number of deaths observed in the two groups. The story failed to\u00a0point out\u00a0that in terms of serious side effects (renal, cardiovascular, or cerebrovascular events), or of people discontinuing treatment because of side effects \u2013 there was no difference between those being treated or those who received the placebo. The story neglected to discuss the side effects commonly seen in the study participants given the treatment; there was a higher incidence of fever and musculoskeletal pain in those infused with the drug. The evidence provided in the story derives from the research study and accompanying editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The story provided this reference for readers who might be interested in tracking down more information about the study reported on. The story provided a clear explanation about the nature of the people in the study it reported on \u2013 elderly patients who had already fractured their hip. Although not including an age range for defining the term \u2018elderly\u2019 it did mention the average age of the study participants. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Although the story contained information and quotes from the editorial accompanying the published research study, it did not appear to tap into the knowledge base of others in the field to assess the importance of the study results. The story did note that those working on the study had ties to the manufactorer of the drug reported on. The story mentioned that the study demonstrated that there could be benefit from the treatment of elderly hip-fracture patients with this drug or another bisphosphonate. The story stated that the company that produces the drug is planning on seeking FDA approval for a new indication. It also reported that the drug is currently available and used for the treatment of Paget\u2019s disease and for treating osteoporosis in wpmen after menopause. It is noteworthy that this story accurately reported on both of these aspects about availability. The story was clear that this was a new use (treatment of osteoporosis in elderly individuals who have already sustained a hip fracture) for a treatment that has FDA approval for a slightly different application. Does not appear to rely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "18121", "claim": "In Providence, R.I., it's illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday.", "explanation": "BuzzFeed \u2018awesome fact\u2019 about toothbrush and toothpaste sales in R.I. turns out to be awesomely wrong", "label": "false", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Legal Issues, Pop Culture, BuzzFeed, ", "main_text": "Hey fans of Rhode Island trivia! Did you know that in the capital city of Providence \"it's illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday\"? Neither did we. But that's what we were told in a July 14 feature titled \"11 Awesome Facts You Never Knew About Rhode Island,\" listed on the popular news and entertainment website BuzzFeed. Here at PolitiFact, we had two questions. First: Is that really true? Second: Who thinks the inability to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste together on a Sunday is awesome? For the uninitiated, BuzzFeed, \u00a0which regards itself as a legitimate news website, is always trying to take a hot topic and make it hotter. BuzzFeed loves lists. Its July 19, 2013 home page featured \"The 33 Fluffiest Animals On The Planet,\" \"38 Things Catholic Girls Love\" (#7 is \"Pancakes.\" No explanation is offered), and \"14 Not-At-All Gratuitous Breast Ads (Note to BuzzFeed: They ARE gratuitous).\" We had our doubts about some of the other items on the Rhode Island list. (For example, we couldn't find any reference in state law to BuzzFeed's contention that \"It is illegal to throw pickle juice on a trolley in Rhode Island.\") We decided to focus on the toothbrush claim because we don't want Providence residents to be at a disadvantage when it comes to dental hygiene. We emailed BuzzFeed and asked for its source. We also checked Rhode Island law to see if there was a toothpaste-toothbrush statute that applied to Providence (or any community). We came up with nothing. We also checked the online version of Providence's city ordinances. We found nada. Then we called Providence City Hall and spoke to Deputy City Clerk Lori Hagen, who indulged us and did her own check. She found zip. The ordinances don't contain any derivative of the word \"tooth.\" If it existed, \"it would be in the code of ordinances,\" Hagen said, adding that she's never heard of any such restriction. She's worked for the city for 24 years. We thought it might be an old ordinance, repealed long ago. City Archivist Paul Campbell came up with bupkis. When we heard back from BuzzFeed, spokeswoman Augusta Mellon said in an email that a Google search for \"sell toothbrush toothpaste sunday rhode island\" produced over 8 million hits. (We checked that claim as well. Actual number of hits: about 650, and some of those didn't even refer to the \"law.\") Mellon said, \"There's multiple accredited sources that have written about it, including the Brown Daily Herald and the Telegraph\" in Australia. The unnamed blogger for the Herald, Brown University's student newspaper, reported buying both items at a local CVS, insisted that the prohibition was real, and treated the purchase like an act of civil disobedience. The blogger's source turned out to be a list at DumbLaws.com, which cites no actual law, past or present. At least the Telegraph story begins: \"Here is a list of the world's most ridiculous laws or urban myths - we\u2019re not quite sure.\" BuzzFeed's Mellon ended her email by saying, \"It seems like it's a commonly referenced piece of information.\" She should have added, \"Which nobody ever checks.\" So oral hygiene fans can breathe a minty-fresh sigh of relief. A toothbrush and toothpaste can legally be purchased together any Sunday in Providence. Maybe someday this PolitiFact item will be part of a BuzzFeed list titled \"217 Examples of How BuzzFeed Didn't Check Its Facts.\" It'll be a hot one because we give the website a ! (If you have a claim you\u2019d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, e-mail us at [email\u00a0protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"}
{"claim_id": "14776", "claim": "Here in Wisconsin, we've put in previous budgets more money into mental health services than any governor has in the last 25 years.", "explanation": "Walker said: \"Here in Wisconsin, we've put in previous budgets more money into mental health services than any governor has in the last 25 years.\" It\u2019s worth noting that Walker refused a federal expansion of Medicaid that would have provided more mental health services to Wisconsinites. But on putting state money into the state budget for mental health, he is correct.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health Care, Public Health, State Budget, Terrorism, Wisconsin, Scott Walker, ", "main_text": "On Dec. 3, 2015, Gov. Scott Walker was asked by a Wisconsin reporter for his reaction to the gunslaying of 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. the previous day. That was before authorities had determined that the husband-and-wife shooters had discussed jihad and martyrdom. Walker responded by talking about mental illness. \"We don\u2019t know enough about this instance. But for others like that, what we\u2019ve found is one of the common denominators in many of these cases are people who\u2019ve slipped through the cracks when it comes to chronic mental illness,\" the governor said. \"That\u2019s why I\u2019m proud that here in Wisconsin, we\u2019ve put in previous budgets more money into mental health services than any governor has in the last 25 years.\" Two longtime mental health advocates told us that Walker\u2019s funding boost was exceptional. \"We were hard pressed to think of anything quite as significant,\" said Shel Gross, senior policy associate at Mental Health America of Wisconsin. So let\u2019s see whether Walker put into the state budget more money for mental health than any governor in the last quarter-century. Walker\u2019s evidence Walker announced in February 2013, in the wake of mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., and at a Sikh temple and a spa in suburban Milwaukee, that he would raise spending on mental health services by $29 million in his 2013-\u201915 state budget. The six initiatives included $12.6 million to open two units at the Mendota Mental Health Institute, a state-run psychiatric hospital in Madison for patients who have been committed, and $10.2 million for expanding community-based care programs for people with severe mental illness. When Walker made his formal budget presentation later that month, he said only half of all Wisconsin adults with \"serious psychological distress received mental health treatment or medication\". We noted that the Wisconsin chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness had praised the spending boost, but criticized Walker for rejecting a proposal under President Barack Obama\u2019s Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid, saying his decision \"reflects a shallow understanding\" of \"crucial means to affordable mental health care for Wisconsin residents.\" Mental health benefits in private-sector insurance plans are generally less comprehensive than those provided by Medicaid. But that is separate from the amount of state funds Walker put into the state budget. To back the governor\u2019s claim, a spokeswoman provided us a February 2013 email from Walker\u2019s Department of Administration that said there had not been a mental health funding boost in \"general purpose revenue\" since the creation of what was known as the \"community aids\" program in the mid-1970s. Walker\u2019s office also had his Department of Health Services provide us more detail in restating that his investment was the largest since the \u201870s. Separately, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau confirmed to us that the $29 \u00a0million increase in state funding budgeted for mental health services in the 2013-15 state budget was the largest increase in at least 25 years, and that no other increases during that time were nearly as much. A final note: Charlie Morgan, a program supervisor for the fiscal bureau, told us that the total amount the state budgets for mental health services \"is not easily answered.\" That\u2019s because funding for those services is provided through many programs, including: inpatient services provided by the state's mental health hospitals, community-based mental health services that are budgeted as distinct programs; and funding the state provides to counties, including for programs that provide mental health as well as substance abuse services. But it\u2019s clear the additional $29 million added by Walker is the largest such increase in at least 25 years, he said. Our rating Walker said: \"Here in Wisconsin, we've put in previous budgets more money into mental health services than any governor has in the last 25 years.\" It\u2019s worth noting that Walker refused a federal expansion of Medicaid that would have provided more mental health services to Wisconsinites. But on putting state money into the state budget for mental health, he is correct. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "41830", "claim": "Sen. Elizabeth Warren \"doesn\u2019t have any Indian blood.", "explanation": "An in-depth look at the science behind the test and what the results do \u2014 and don\u2019t \u2014 show.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ancestry, DNA, Native American, ", "main_text": "Two weeks ago, Sen. Elizabeth Warren released the results of a genetic test showing she has a small but detectable amount of Native American DNA. The report concluded there is \u201cstrong evidence\u201d she had a Native American ancestor approximately six to 10 generations ago. But many have misconstrued the results \u2014\u00a0including President Donald Trump, who wrongly claimed Warren \u201cdoesn\u2019t have any Indian blood.\u201dWarren\u2019s release, which was widely interpreted as a sign that she intends to run for president in 2020, comes after years of controversy over her heritage. Warren has previously said she was part Cherokee and Delaware Indian, based on stories she heard growing up. Her ancestry first became a political issue in 2012, when she ran for Senate in Massachusetts. Critics questioned whether she received any advantages from claiming Native American ancestry \u2014 an idea we\u2019ve addressed before (there\u2019s no evidence she benefited). Subsequently, Trump took to calling her \u201cPocahontas,\u201d and during a rally this past July, challenged her to take a DNA test, saying he would donate $1 million to charity \u201cif you take the test and it shows you\u2019re an Indian.\u201dThe new findings support Warren\u2019s claim that she has at least one Native American ancestor, although they cannot reveal whether that individual was a member of any specific tribe. The results were not peer-reviewed, as they would be in a formal scientific publication, but four anthropological geneticists told us the methodologies were valid and the conclusions reasonable.Trump, however, interpreted the findings differently. Over a series of tweets, he called the test \u201cbogus\u201d and said the results showed Warren might have less Native American DNA than the \u201caverage American.\u201d\u00a0Now that her claims of being of Indian heritage have turned out to be a scam and a lie, Elizabeth Warren should apologize for perpetrating this fraud against the American Public. Harvard called her \u201ca person of color\u201d (amazing con), and would not have taken her otherwise!\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2018Pocahontas (the bad version), sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Warren, is getting slammed. She took a bogus DNA test and it showed that she may be 1/1024, far less than the average American. Now Cherokee Nation denies her, \u201cDNA test is useless.\u201d Even they don\u2019t want her. Phony!\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2018In campaign rallies in Montana, Arizona, Texas and, most recently, Illinois, the president has claimed to be more Native American than Warren.Trump in Murphysboro, Illinois, on Oct. 27:\u00a0But how do you lose a debate where you say as an example \u2014 no, we can\u2019t use Pocahontas anymore. She\u2019s got no Indian blood. We can\u2019t use the name. He says call her Pocahontas. I can\u2019t do it. She doesn\u2019t have any Indian blood. I have more than she does, and I have none. Right? I have none, but it\u2019s more than her. On each of these points, Trump is wrong or comes to an unsubstantiated conclusion:Before explaining more of the science, it\u2019s important to say, as others have done elsewhere, that DNA tests like the one Warren took have no bearing on Native American identity or tribal membership. As a result, even if Warren\u2019s test showed she had a substantial amount of Native American DNA, that would not make her \u201cNative American.\u201d Native identity is socially and culturally determined, and cannot be reduced to a DNA ancestry test. While lineage often matters to tribal membership, it is not established by modern genetic tests that assess overall ancestry. Some, but not all tribes, for example, use a system called \u201cblood quantum,\u201d which requires members to meet certain cutoffs, such as one-quarter or one-half, to officially join as citizens. (This system, it should be noted, began as a forced policy under the federal government, and is therefore viewed as problematic by many.) Other tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, don\u2019t have specific blood quantum requirements, but require proof of descent from an enrolled member in the historical record.For tribes using blood quantum, these fractions do not correspond to an exact percentage of Native American DNA a person might have \u2014 thanks to a quirk of biology that we\u2019ll explain later, it\u2019s more variable than that. Instead, they use an approximate value, such as whether an individual has one fully Native parent or grandparent. Tribes might use basic DNA tests, such as paternity tests, in an effort to establish links to certain individuals, but none accepts results from the type of test Warren took.Warren has stated that she understands the difference \u201cbetween citizenship and ancestry,\u201d and that she is not claiming anything other than ancestry. But many people in indigenous communities, including the Cherokee Nation, found Warren\u2019s decision to release her DNA results offensive. We won\u2019t be wading into that debate any further. Instead, we\u2019ll stick to addressing the scientific claims surrounding Warren\u2019s test.We don\u2019t know all the details about how the test was done because the Stanford geneticist, Carlos Bustamante, did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. But based on the released report, the general methods are similar to what would happen if you sent your DNA to a company like 23andMe or Ancestry.com.The technique is a form of genotyping that uses something called a DNA microarray, or what is more popularly known as a DNA chip. The chips are essentially glass microscope slides covered with tiny dots of DNA, and they can reveal a person\u2019s DNA sequence at hundreds of thousands of spots across their genome. These spots, many of which are single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, are useful to check because scientists already know something about them. For one, they\u2019re known to be variable across different populations and between individuals. This is important, since humans share the vast majority of their DNA with each other. Second, the SNPs are usually selected because they tend to associate with certain health conditions, physical features or ancestries. In this way, someone can get a lot of information about their genome without having to sequence it. Sequencing is a different method that reads out the entire string of DNA letters, or bases \u2014 all of the A, T, C and Gs \u2014 in a given piece of DNA. It is much more expensive than chip-based genotyping, especially when applied to the 3 billion bases of a person\u2019s genome (or 6 billion, if covering both sets of chromosomes).Ancestry information ultimately comes from comparisons of a person\u2019s tested genetic variants to those of other individuals. In Warren\u2019s case, scientists compared 660,173 spots of genetic variation to those of 148 people who had had their entire genomes sequenced as part of the 1000 Genomes Project. The 1000 Genomes Project was\u00a0a collaborative effort by scientists across the globe to better understand human genetic variation, and involved sequencing more than 2,500 genomes from 26 different populations. These genomes are handy as references genomes, which is how they were used here. Warren\u2019s comparison group was equally split between Europeans, Africans, East Asians and those with Native American ancestry. The analyst made the comparisons using a computer program called RFMix, which Bustamante\u2019s group developed and previously established as a reliable tool.To confirm evidence of Warren\u2019s Native American ancestry, researchers also compared Warren\u2019s DNA data to two other sets of reference populations from the 1000 Genomes Project: 99 people from Utah with European ancestry, and 86 people from Great Britain, also with European ancestry.According to the report, Warren\u2019s test results show that she is of \u201cprimarily European descent,\u201d but also that she has at least five genetic segments that are \u201cNative American in origin at high confidence.\u201d One of these segments is larger than the others, spanning about 4.7 million bases, and further analysis indicates this DNA chunk has a genetic signature one would expect from a person having European and Native American heritage. The total length of all of Warren\u2019s Native American-assigned segments is about 12.3 million bases, which the report states is about 12.4 times greater than the average in the Great Britain reference population, and 10.5 times greater than the average in the Utah population. Bustamante concludes there is \u201cstrong evidence\u201d for a Native American ancestor roughly six to 10 generations ago.All of the anthropological geneticists we consulted felt the test was performed as well as it could have been, given the available data.\u201cCarlos Bustamante is a very respected researcher,\u201d said Jeffrey Long of the University of New Mexico in a phone interview. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve seen makes sense to me.\u201d (Bustamante is also an adviser to both 23andMe and Ancestry.com. )Long added that while Warren doesn\u2019t appear to have a lot of DNA from a Native American ancestor, it\u2019s \u201cprobably proof\u201d there was one, and that the six to 10 generations figure was \u201cappropriately cautious.\u201d\u201cThe methods that they used are among the best that are out there today,\u201d said Deborah Bolnick of the University of Connecticut in a phone interview.She said the test still had limitations, largely because of the lack of available Native American data sets, but that the limitations \u201cdon\u2019t influence the idea that she had an indigenous ancestor.\u201dFor example, in the analysis, the Native American samples came from people from Mexico, Peru and Colombia. Ideally, Warren\u2019s DNA would be compared to that from Native Americans living in the United States \u2014 but that data isn\u2019t publicly available. These other samples can still be used, however, because there is enough shared ancestry. Many people living in North and South America today, Bolnick explained, still retain genetic variants that emerged in more ancestral populations, and therefore these people can serve as legitimate comparisons to determine whether an individual descended from the first people of the Americas.While the results are clear on the basic findings, things get murkier when people attempt to extrapolate beyond them.\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say more than, \u2018Yes, it\u2019s clear she has Native American ancestry,\u2019\u201d said Long.Shortly after Warren\u2019s release, critics began to question whether she has more Native ancestry than other white Americans. Using the six to 10 generations figure, a Republican spokesman and an\u00a0op-ed writer converted this to fractional ancestry (1/64 to 1/1024), which they then compared to a number appearing in a 2014 study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The paper, which was written by 23andMe researchers and colleagues, analyzed the genetic ancestry of more than 160,000 23andMe customers who self-identified as either African American, Latino or European American. For European Americans, the genome-wide \u201cmean estimate\u201d of Native American ancestry was 0.18 percent (given in table 1). Because this percentage is higher than the equivalent percentage for the 10 generations fraction (0.098 percent), these critics concluded Warren might have less Native American ancestry than the \u201caverage\u201d white American.Trump appears to have picked up this line of thinking, saying in an Oct. 16 tweet that the test showed that Warren \u201cmay be 1/1024, far less than the average American,\u201d and in his Oct. 18 speech in Montana that \u201cthe one good thing about her test is that there was so little she had less than the average American.\u201dThis is problematic for several reasons, the first being that the Bustamante report never specifies a fraction or percentage, so these estimates are derived from a back calculation from the six to 10 generation estimate. As others have written, this incorrectly assumes equal inheritance through time from all of your ancestors \u2014 something that simply doesn\u2019t happen. Biology is more random, and because of the way DNA is passed down, these fractions may not represent the true amount of DNA a person retains from each ancestor.In fact, there is a surprisingly high chance that a person will receive no DNA from a relatively recent ancestor. Graham Coop, an evolutionary and populations geneticist at the University of California, Davis, for example, has estimated there\u2019s about a 13 percent chance a person will not get any genetic material from an ancestor from eight generations ago. At 10 generations, this jumps to about a 50 percent chance. This reveals a fundamental discrepancy between ancestry and genetics, since a person\u2019s ancestry can still be true, and yet they might not have any trace of it in their bodies. Even if we had a more precise estimate of the amount of Native American DNA Warren carries, it still would be inappropriate to use the 23andMe study to come to definitive conclusions about how Warren stacks up.That\u2019s because,\u00a0Bolnick explained, the 23andMe percentages were calculated using different genetic data and different statistical tools. \u201cThey\u2019re not comparable,\u201d she said.Furthermore, because the 23andMe data come from customers, the information is not necessarily representative of all of white America, as this population had the interest in and the means to pay for a genetic test. While this may be the best estimate we have, it\u2019s still not a random sample.\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s way off, but we\u2019re talking about really small numbers here,\u201d cautioned Long.Others have pointed to the Utah reference population \u2014 which had on average just a tenth of Native American DNA as Warren\u2019s sample \u2014 as a more relevant comparison. But Bolnick and Long don\u2019t think this population is representative of the entire U.S., either.Several of the anthropological geneticists we spoke to also found the entire concept of an \u201caverage\u201d Native American ancestry in white Americans questionable, as this ancestry fluctuates a great deal based on geography and past events.In the end, with respect to the \u201caverage\u201d claim, Bolnick said, \u201cI don\u2019t think we have enough data to answer whether she does or does not have more.\u201dThe most that can be concluded, then, is that Warren\u2019s test results are consistent with someone who has a small amount of Native American ancestry."}
{"claim_id": "11967", "claim": "Insurance companies \"have made a fortune with Obamacare.", "explanation": "Trump said insurance companies have made a fortune with Obamacare. The White House cited the companies\u2019 surging profits as proof. But just because insurers made billions since the time when the Affordable Care Act took effect, doesn\u2019t mean that the ACA delivered those profits. Most of the companies had steep losses on the Obamacare exchanges and got out. Every report we saw and every expert we reached said insurers made their huge profits elsewhere, largely through their work in the large group or employer-based market or through the Medicare Advantage program. The expansion of Medicaid, another part of Obamacare also helped, but to a smaller degree. The fortune that Trump cited didn\u2019t come from Obamacare.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "As two dozen senators attempt to carve out a short-term compromise on the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump is sending mixed signals. At the heart of the deal are payments to insurance companies that sell certain policies on the Obamacare exchanges. In tweets and remarks, Trump both praised the compromise effort championed by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and flagged his displeasure. \"I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care,\" Trump tweeted Oct. 18. I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care. The bailout, as Trump calls it, is no bailout; the money actually ends up with doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. But here we zero in on Trump\u2019s statement that insurers \"have made a fortune with Obamacare.\" There\u2019s no question that the companies\u2019 profits have been enormous. The question is, was Obamacare the cash cow? Based on the filings of the companies, and the analysis of people on Wall Street, at universities and a respected neutral health policy group, the answer is, no. The White House press office pointed to a news article that reported booming profits for the top five for-profit insurance companies, Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group. Collectively, they had $4.5 billion in net earnings in the first three months of 2017. That cash was\"the biggest first-quarter haul for the group since the Affordable Care Act exchanges went live in 2014,\" the article said. But the article doesn\u2019t actually tie those profits to Obamacare. The fact is, Obamacare does not just include\u00a0the exchanges where people buy private insurance. The\u00a0exchanges themselves are a small slice of the overall insurance business. Despite the enormous attention paid to the exchanges, they make up less than 4 percent of the insurance market for people under 65. And contrary to Trump\u2019s assertion, they have dragged profits down, not boosted them up, experts say. Returns from the exchanges have been so bad, three out of five of the companies listed in the article have fled. Aetna reported that it lost $650 million in 2016 and 2017 from the policies it sold in the individual market. For 2018, Aetna pulled out of every state exchange. UnitedHealth Group has also left the exchanges. It put its combined losses at over $1 billion in 2015 and 2016. Humana, which had sold in 11 states, got out too. Cigna trimmed its participation from seven states to six. Cigna CEO David Cordani told CNBC in August that the market is \"challenging,\" and that \"we are losing money, but we are losing a little less than we expected.\" For 2018, Anthem also remains, but withdrew from Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, and trimmed back the number of counties it serves in Kentucky, Georgia\u00a0and California. It was going to leave Virginia completely, but then struck a deal with the state to sell in counties that would otherwise have no carrier. Moody\u2019s Investor Service ranked it as a positive development for companies that exited the exchanges, saying it \"lowered exposure to this challenging business.\" The overall individual market, which includes plans sold on and off the exchanges, brought an estimated $4.7 billion in underwriting losses in 2016, according to the consulting group Oliver Wyman. The news has not been all bad for the companies. Premium hikes in 2016 and 2017 began to balance things out. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a neutral source of health sector statistics, found that insurers who stayed in the exchanges had figured out how to come out ahead, but it took a couple of years for them to get there. So Trump missed the target completely when he linked the exchanges and the multi-billion dollar profits of five big insurance companies. But Obamacare is much more than the exchanges and parts of the program have both helped and hindered company profits. On the negative side of the ledger, the Affordable Care Act imposed limits on the spread between premiums collected and medical services paid out. For individual and small group plans, companies must spend at least 80 percent of premiums on providing care. For the large-group plans, the percent is 85 percent. \"This provision has likely had a modest downward effect on profits,\" said Larry Levitt with the Kaiser Family Foundation. In 2015, companies that fell below those minimums rebated about $400 million to customers, government numbers show. A tax on insurance companies helps finance Obamacare. Congress lifted it for 2017, but it is slated to return in 2018 with an estimated value of nearly $13 billion. Sheryl R. Skolnick, director of U.S. equity research at Mizuho Securities, tracks UnitedHealth Group specifically. \"That health insurance industry fee in 2018 is projected to cost the company $.75 a share on just about 1 billion shares,\" Skolnik said. On the positive side of the ledger, the one clear bright spot for insurers in Obamacare was the expansion of Medicaid. In the 32 states that extended the program to adults making as much as 138 percent of federal poverty, coverage is mainly handled through private insurers. \"Mostly as a result of expansion programs under the ACA, health plans and service providers experienced strong Medicaid growth over the early years of ACA,\" according to a report from Mark Farrah and Associates. Health care analysts at Milliman, an actuarial consulting firm, estimated that insurers had underwriting gains of $1.5 billion in 2016. That was a year when exchange losses topped $4 billion. A study in Michigan found that operating margins for the companies that managed Medicaid in that state improved four-fold between 2013 and 2015. How does this all add up for each of the five big insurance companies? Precision is difficult, but between the losses tied to the exchanges, regulations and taxes on one hand, and profits on Medicaid on the other, Skolnik said it\u2019s a wash. \"I think it's fair to say that the health insurance industry has probably lost close to as much as they've gotten under the ACA,\" Skolnik said. Which raises the question, where did those hefty profits come from? The bulk of the business lies in employer-based coverage, which makes sense since that accounts for nearly 60 percent of the under-65 insurance market. Over the years, companies have benefited by shifting more of the costs onto customers through higher deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses. And mergers in the industry have also helped. \"Consolidation among insurers has led to higher margins,\" said economist Amanda Starc at Northwestern University\u2019s Kellogg School of Management. Medicare Advantage, a quasi-private version of traditional Medicare, has also been a key profit center for insurers. Under the program, the government contracts with insurance companies to deliver health care to seniors. The rising number of retirements among baby boomers has fueled that market. Enrollments are up, and the insurance companies have worked hard to keep their costs down. \"They are very aggressive there which gives them the clout to get better provider contracts,\" said J.B. Silvers, a professor of health finance at Case Western Reserve University. Trump said insurance companies have made a fortune with Obamacare. The White House cited the companies\u2019 surging profits as proof. But just because insurers made billions since the time when the Affordable Care Act took effect, doesn\u2019t mean that the ACA delivered those profits. Most of the companies had steep losses on the Obamacare exchanges and got out. Every report we saw and every expert we reached said insurers made their huge profits elsewhere, largely through their work in the large group or employer-based market or through the Medicare Advantage program. The expansion of Medicaid, another part of Obamacare also helped, but to a smaller degree. The fortune that Trump cited didn\u2019t come from Obamacare. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "36391", "claim": "In 1969, Chicago police urinated on food and supplies intended for use in a free breakfast program spearheaded by the Black Panthers.", "explanation": "Did Chicago Police Urinate on Food for a Black Panthers Free Breakfast Program in 1969?", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On April 29 2019, a researcher shared the following tweet\u00a0showing a screenshot of text reporting that in 1969, police in Chicago had urinated on food and supplies gathered by the Black Panthers for a free breakfast program:Holy shit \u2013 I\u2019m researching the Black Panthers\u2019 free breakfast program for a piece. Apparently, the night before the project kicked off in Chicago, cops broke into the church and peed on all the food that was supposed to be served to local kids. What absolute fucking assholes pic.twitter.com/8P9P6GNsFL\u2014 Natalie Shure (@nataliesurely) April 30, 2019In addition to spreading widely on Twitter, a Facebook screenshot of the tweet (archived here) shared by Revolution News one day later accrued thousands of shares of its own:Perhaps the largest spike of interest resulting from the tweet occurred on Reddit, where a user submitted a link to a different iteration of the claim to r/todayilearned on April 30 2019:TIL that Blackpanthers planned a free breakfast program for children but the Chicago cops broke into the church they were holding it in the night before and Urinated on all the food. Regardless of the delay the program continued and fed tens of thousands of hungry kids over the span of many years. from todayilearnedFrom there, the claim got tremendous amounts of Reddit engagement \u2014 until a moderator (who subsequently deleted their account) removed the popular thread. In a comment explanation, u/manbra claimed:Removed. This sub will not become a battle ground for your culture war. It\u2019s for fun facts and Steve busciemi firefighter reposts. I will happily reapprove if someone posts corroborative evidence. IDisLikeYourMeta said it best:Edit: This thread is being brigaded by chapotraphouse. Since removing this post due to lack of evidence I\u2019ve received many PMs and pings of harassment, one saying he wants to track me down and find me, and another straight up death threat.In shorter that title should be: Today I Learned Nothing and Assumed Facts Based on My Political Beliefs Rather Than Evidence.Looking this up online finds no evidence to support this claim. Not surprising, since it\u2019s coming from the \u201cBlack Panthers\u201d. Could it have happened? Sure. Not all cops are good, just like not all are bad. But come on. No cops are randomly going to be breaking into a CHURCH to PISS IN CHILDREN\u2019S FOOD for NO REASON. Context and evidence are crucial and there\u2019s none provided here, like anything to do with race or religion or sexuality or politics nowadays. Someone says something, the people that support it blindly agree because work is hard and nobody wants to be proven wrong.For one, the post calling this out is from a white woman on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nataliesurely/status/1123020732538212353 \u200b It\u2019s supposedly from a book written ten fucking years ago about something that happened long before that, that I\u2019m not going to waste my time looking into further than I already have: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00045600802683767Apparently everyone wants to be outraged about it right now, despite you know, not having ANY evidence to support it aside from the word of a hate group affiliate and it being A DECADE FUCKING OLD. Come the fuck on people.As u/manbra indicated, a popular thread on r/ChapoTrapHouse\u00a0objected to the deletion of the original post:r/TIL Mod Removes Top Post About Black Panthers, Removes All Comments Exposing His Racist Post History from ChapoTrapHouseThe Black Panthers had a free breakfast program for struggling families. The night before the project kicked off in Chicago, cops broke into the church and peed on all the food. from ChapoTrapHouseBeneath the deletion comment on the original thread was a series of missing comments. An archived version of the comment thread showed that a moderator had manually removed whichever comments were missing. As of May 1 2019, archived posts linked to previous posts from u/manbra showed comments expressing a wish for \u201ca white ethno-state,\u201d while others included racial slurs.Multiple sources were cited in support of the claim about Chicago police and the Black Panthers\u2019 free breakfast program in 1969. One was an August 2018\u00a0History.com article, \u201cHow the Black Panthers\u2019 Breakfast Program Both Inspired and Threatened the Government.\u201d That article contained a link to a 2016 Eater.com piece, \u201cThe Radical Origins of Free Breakfast for Children.\u201dThe claims about Chicago police urinating on food intended for disadvantaged children was not present in that article, but it did include details about the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s interest in purportedly disrupting the program for political reasons:Mary Bridges, an Oakland resident, grew up in St. Augustine\u2019s church, where her father was at one point the congregation\u2019s minister. She remembers St. Augustine\u2019s becoming a highly surveilled, contentious space when Black Panthers started meeting there in the late 1960s. Church elders, particularly, \u201ctook a long time to come around to the fact that the Panthers were going to meet there and that they had a viable program,\u201d she says.Meanwhile, visits from the police became more and more frequent as Party members started organizing out of the space and providing free breakfast to children, Bridges says. Her account is consistent with documentation from that era. A memo from J. Edgar Hoover to a San Francisco surveillance officer in 1969, republished in Bloom\u2019s Black Against Empire, demonstrates that Hoover wanted to disrupt the Breakfast Program exactly because it was effective and popular with moderate community members.\u201cOne of our primary aims in counterintelligence as it concerns the [Black Panther Party] is to keep this group isolated from the moderate black and white community which may support it,\u201d Hoover wrote on May 27, 1969. \u201cThis is most emphatically pointed out in their Breakfast for Children Program, where they are actively soliciting and receiving support from uninformed whites and moderate blacks.\u201d By November, the Panthers reported that the program had spread to 23 cities. Between 1969 and 1970, the party claimed to have distributed free breakfast to 20,000 kids.In the post quoted by u/manbra, another commenter said that the claim was \u201csupposedly from a book written ten fucking years ago about something that happened long before that.\u201dIn fact, the claim appeared in a May 2009 scholarly article published in Annals of the Association of American Geographers. That article, \u201cBending the Bars of Empire from Every Ghetto for Survival: The Black Panther Party\u2019s Radical Antihunger Politics of Social Reproduction and Scale,\u201d contained a passage collected by urban geography professor and author Nik Heynen. Heynan\u2019s well-cited research tracked with the above-excerpted reporting involving J. Edgar Hoover\u2019s desire to sabotage the Panthers\u2019 outreach:The sweeping influence of the Breakfast Program, as a central achievement of the evolution of \u201cpussy power\u201d within the party, had led to increased strategic interference and infiltration by the FBI in an attempt to \u201cdisrupt, discredit, and destroy\u201d the BPP through its COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) operation (see Churchill and Vander Wall 1990). It was a result of the growing popularity of the program that in 1968 J. Edgar Hoover vilified the BPP as \u201cthe greatest threat to the internal security of the country\u201d (Churchill and Vander Wall 1990, 123). On 27 April 1969, Fred Hampton, who cofounded the Chicago chapter of the BPP, gave a fiery polemic that embodied \u201cwhat the Black Panther Party is about.\u201d [Chicago Black Panther Party leader Fred] Hampton\u2019s speech began with a discussion of the BPP\u2019s Breakfast Program and linked the starvation of children across American inner cities to the destructive contradictions inherent in capitalism and the uneven development it produces. He discussed the revolutionary steps the BPP was taking to ensure that poor children had enough food to meet their basic material requirements for survival. In so doing, Hampton articulated the ideological conflict that had materialized between the BPP and the U.S. government \u2026\u2026 Shortly after Hampton\u2019s speech, on 27 May 1969, a memo signed by J. Edgar Hoover, although actually written by Domestic Intelligence Chief William C. Sullivan, was sent to Charles Bates, the Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco office of the FBI. The memo, emblematic of the degree to which the United States saw the BPP as a threat to its notion of empire, declared: You state that the bureau should not attack programs of community interest such as the BPP \u201cBreakfast for Children Program.\u201d\u2026 You have obviously missed the point. The BPP is not engaged in the program for humanitarian reasons. This program was formed by the BPP \u2026 to create an image of civility, assume community control of Negroes, and fill adolescent children with their insidious poison. (Churchill and Vander Wall 1990, 145)Heynen continued, drawing on interviews he did with individuals involved in the program:One female former Panther who worked in Chicago told me about how efforts to disrupt the Breakfast Program backfired, and only served to rally support and increase grassroots mobilization around the program. She told me:It was a lot of organizing because of course we had to go out and find people to give us food for the program and all that. \u2026 Anyways, the night before it [the first breakfast program in Chicago] was supposed to open, the Chicago police broke into the church where we had the food and mashed up all the food and urinated on it. So we had to delay the opening. But what that caused was just all kinds of attention, and people were just lining up to give us donations.Urinating on food designated for children is callous and speaks to how the ideological struggles around social reproduction were intensifying, but efforts to impede the success of the Breakfast Program, as well as their other self-help programs, took a dramatic turn on 4 December 1969 when Fred Hampton was assassinated by the Chicago Police in coordination with the FBI.In the removal post on Reddit, u/manbra quoted another user\u2019s claim that \u201cno cops are randomly going to be breaking into a CHURCH to PISS IN CHILDREN\u2019S FOOD for NO REASON.\u201d But other records indicate that Hoover sent a memo to dozens of FBI field offices in May 1969 with specific directives to harm the Black Panthers\u2019 breakfast program:Hoover perpetuated that image when he declared all out war on the Black Panthers. In May of 1969 Hoover sent a memo to all FBI offices that read:\u201cThe BCP (Breakfast for Children Program) promotes at least tacit support for the Black Panther Party among naive individuals and, what is more distressing, it provides the BPP with a ready audience composed of highly impressionable youths. Consequently, the BCP represents the best and most influential activity going for the BPP and, as such, is potentially the greatest threat to efforts by authorities to neutralize the BPP and destroy what it stands for.\u201dAlthough u/manbra quoted another Redditor\u2019s claim that the story about sabotage of the Black Panthers\u2019 free breakfast program came from \u201ca book written ten fucking years ago,\u201d the claim actually originated in a very well-supported journal article written by respected researcher Nik Heynen. Not only was Heynen\u2019s research from which the claim was drawn credible, but the events in question (FBI and police opposition to and sabotage of the Black Panthers\u2019 free breakfast outreach program) were substantiated by the historical record.Nevertheless, we contacted Heynen to request additional information on the claim and will update if we receive a response."}
{"claim_id": "35521", "claim": "As of July 17, 2020, Nueces County in Texas had seen 85 positive COVID-19 tests among children aged under 1 year.", "explanation": "What's true: Nueces County saw 52 positive COVID-19 tests among children aged under 1 year, and 33 positive tests among children aged between 1 and 2 years, making a total of 85 positive tests among children under 2 years old. What's false: The figure of 85 referred to the number of positive tests among all children aged under 2 years, not just those aged under 1 year. A misunderstanding led the Nueces County Public Health Director to inadvertently misrepresent the true figure, and the Nueces County Judge, and later CNN, repeated that error.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "In July 2020, readers asked us to verify reports that a single county in Texas had seen 85 babies test positive for COVID-19 coronavirus disease. On July 18, CNN published an article with the headline \u201c85 Infants Under Age 1 Have Tested Positive for Coronavirus in One Texas County Since March.\u201d The article reported that: \u201cEighty-five babies under age 1 have tested positive for coronavirus in one Texas county since mid-March. And local officials are imploring residents to help stop its spread as the state becomes one of the newest hotspots [\u2026]. In Texas\u2019 Nueces County, where Corpus Christi is located, the number of new coronavirus cases skyrocketed in July after a flattening trend. The virus has infected dozens of babies and local officials are urging people to wear masks and practice social distancing. \u201c\u2018We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for Covid-19,\u201d said Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County on Friday. \u2018These babies have not even had their first birthday yet. Please help us stop the spread of this disease. '\u201d Rodriguez made the remarks during a remote briefing as part of the county\u2019s July 17 COVID-19 update and in the context of urging residents to resume and continue taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus. In the interest of thoroughness, the relevant remarks are quoted in full, and can be watched, below: \u201cI\u2019ve been reviewing our statistics. We currently have 85 babies, under the age of one, here in Nueces County, that have all tested positive for COVID-19. These babies have not even had their first birthday yet. Please help us to stop the spread of this disease. Stay social [sic] distanced from others. Stay protected \u2014 wear a mask when in public, and for everyone else, please do your best to stay home.\u201d On July 18, Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales issued a statement in which she clarified that the figure presented by Rodriguez referred to all positive tests among children aged under 1 year since March, rather than the number of currently active cases among children of that age: \u201cOn Friday, July 17, during a press conference, a spokesperson mentioned that 85 infants under the age of one had tested positive for coronavirus. This number reflects the cumulative total of positive tests for infants under the age of 1 since the beginning of testing in mid-March, which has resulted in 8,171 positive test results. \u201cFor context, the spokesperson was using that statistic to illustrate that no one is naturally immune to this virus. While the elderly and those with existing medical conditions are at greater risk of illness and death, anyone can get the virus, from the elderly to infants, and without regard to race, gender, or economic status. The number was used to illustrate this point. However, without this context, stating this number during our press conference led many to believe that we had a sudden surge in infants under the age of one testing positive. We have NOT had a sudden surge of 85 infants testing positive.\u201d That clarification provided the basis for CNN\u2019s claim, in its headline, that \u201c85 infants under age 1\u201d had tested positive for COVID-19 in Nueces County. However, the clarifying statement itself contained an inaccurate presentation of the true figures. On July 18, Yahoo! News published an article with the headline \u201c85 Children Under Age 2 Tested Positive for Coronavirus in 1 Texas County, as U.S. Sets New Record.\u201d The article reported that: \u201cRodriguez initially said at a meeting Friday that a review of coronavirus statistics showed that 85 infants have tested positive. She clarified this on Saturday to say that total also includes children between the ages of 1 and 2 years old. The numbers are taken from testing that started on March 21, 2020.\u201d According to Yahoo! News, that figure included 52 positive tests among children aged under 1 year."}
{"claim_id": "26649", "claim": "COVID-19 started because we eat animals.", "explanation": "The CDC and WHO say that emerging infectious diseases in humans frequently come from animals. Scientists think COVID-19 originated in bats and then jumped to another animal host, possibly pangolins, before spreading to humans. As of now, there is no evidence that eating meat is the source of the coronavirus outbreak.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Food, Food Safety, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Instagram posts, ", "main_text": "Vegan Instagram users are pinning the 2019 coronavirus outbreak on carnivores. In a post published March 15, the account for \"Cowspiracy,\" a film about the environmental impact of meat production, claimed that COVID-19 started \"because we eat animals.\" \"COVID-19 would not exist if the world was vegan,\" reads the image. The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook, which owns Instagram.) It had more than 27,000 likes as of March 18. (Screenshot from Instagram) Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, which had infected more than 179,000 people worldwide as of March 17, we saw a lot of baseless claims pinning the disease on the consumption of bats in China. Cowspiracy\u2019s Instagram post piggybacks on that misinformation. As evidence, it refers to the Instagram account for Ed Winters, a vegan activist based in the United Kingdom. His March 14 post cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to back up his claim about meat consumption causing the COVID-19 outbreak. On its website, the CDC says that \"3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals.\" And the WHO has said that eating \"raw or undercooked animal products, including milk and meat\" carries a potential risk for infection from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), another human coronavirus. But neither statement supports the link that the activist draws between COVID-19 and meat-eating. Scientists are still trying to figure out the source of COVID-19, but there is no evidence that the outbreak began because of meat consumption. According to the CDC, COVID-19 is a betacoronavirus similar to MERS and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). All three originate in bats, and the recent COVID-19 outbreak suggests a \"likely single, recent emergence of this virus from an animal reservoir.\" Early in the outbreak, many patients in the virus epicenter of Wuhan, China, had connections to a large seafood and live-animal market, which suggested animal-to-person spread. But later cases had no connection to the market, suggesting person-to-person spread. Scientists recently traced the first known case of COVID-19 to November 2019, in a patient with no connection to the market. However, those studies stipulate that \"intermediate hosts\" are needed between bats and humans for the disease to spread \u2014 and meat isn\u2019t necessarily part of the equation. For example, scientists first thought the Ebola outbreak started with the consumption of bat meat in Guinea. But Time reported that patient zero was likely infected by bat droppings that contaminated something she put in her mouth. MERS was also primarily spread through contact with live camels as opposed to camel meat. One of the first studies published about COVID-19 by Chinese researchers found that the virus could come from the same bats that were the source of the 2003 SARS outbreak. But the researchers cautioned that it\u2019s \"likely there was intermediate host(s) in the transmission cascade from bats to humans.\" More recent studies of COVID-19 suggest that pangolins, scaly anteaters, could be that intermediate host. The animals are sought-after in China for their meat and scales, despite a worldwide ban. However, scientists have yet to find conclusive proof that pangolins are to blame for the coronavirus. And as of now, there is no evidence that eating meat is the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Instagram post contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."}
{"claim_id": "8351", "claim": "Coronavirus death toll jumps to 107 in Italy, all schools shut.", "explanation": "Italy closed all schools and universities and took other emergency measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Europe\u2019s worst-hit country as the death toll and number of cases jumped.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The total number of dead in Italy rose to 107 after 28 people died of the highly contagious virus over the past 24 hours, the Civil Protection Agency said. Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said schools and universities all over the country would be closed from Thursday until at least March 15. Only those in the northern regions most heavily affected by the epidemic have been closed so far. The number of cases since the outbreak surfaced 13 days ago rose to 3,089 from 2,502 on Tuesday. Of those who contracted the disease, about 3.5% had died, the head of the agency, Angelo Borrelli, said. The government adopted a decree to try to slow infections which have been rising by about 500 per day. \u201cOur hospitals, despite their efficiency, risk being overwhelmed, we have a problem with intensive-care units,\u201d Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. The decree orders \u201cthe suspension of events of any nature ... that entail the concentration of people and do not allow for a safety distance of at least one metre (yard) to be respected.\u201d  It calls for the closure of cinemas and theatres and tells Italians not to shake hands or hug each other, and to avoid \u201cdirect physical contact with all people.\u201d  It also orders all major sporting events, including top flight Serie A soccer matches, to be played in empty stadiums. The school closures caused jubilation among some children and mixed reactions from parents. \u201cI hoped for this decree because I feared an outbreak at school,\u201d said Massimiliano Del Ninno, father of a Rome primary school student. \u201cEven if we are dealing with an age group that doesn\u2019t seem to be at risk, they could have been carriers.\u201d   Clarissa Mazzei, a 30-year-old mother of three, called it \u201ctragic ... for the students, and also for the parents.\u201d  Deputy Economy Minister Laura Castelli said the government was aware of the problems it would cause families and was preparing a directive to allow a parent to stay home from work to look after children. The virus outbreak remains centred on the wealthy and populous region of Lombardy, around Milan, and the neighbouring regions of Veneto and Emilia Romagna, but cases are spreading around the whole of the Italian peninsula and Sicily. Rome\u2019s Spallanzani infectious diseases hospital said it had 20 coronavirus patients, while others were being treated at home in and around Italy\u2019s capital and largest city. Emilia Romagna\u2019s regional government said on Wednesday two of its members had tested positive and Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli is in self-imposed isolation after coming into contact with a patient, though he himself had tested negative. The outbreak has already heavily disrupted life in the north, with cinemas and museums closed in some regions and many events cancelled including fashion shows and trade fairs. On Wednesday, the government instructed public sector managers to reorganise offices to help staff work from home. Italy\u2019s chronically weak economic growth looks sure to suffer, with the tourist sector taking a huge hit from a wave of cancellations. Industry lobby Confindustria said the country was in recession, forecasting a fall in gross domestic product in both the first and second quarters of this year. Confturismo, the tourist industry\u2019s confederation, said the sector was \u201con its knees.\u201d  It forecast a drop of some 32 million in the number of Italian and foreign tourists in March-to-May, with a loss to the industry of about 7.4 billion euros ($8.23 billion). Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri has promised tax breaks and other measures for the affected sectors worth 3.6 billion euros. A government source told Reuters on Wednesday this may be raised to 4.5 billion, or 0.25% of GDP."}
{"claim_id": "2052", "claim": "Fast-food restaurants target U.S. kids, study shows.", "explanation": "Fast-food restaurants are stepping up efforts to market themselves and unhealthy food products to children and toddlers with television ads, websites and even their own menus, researchers said on Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "McDonald's product is pictured in a restaurant in Washington, July 23, 2010. REUTERS/Molly Riley They said efforts by the industry to regulate itself have failed and urged government officials at all levels to declare children a protected group and stop marketing efforts that are fueling child obesity, a serious U.S. health problem. \u201cWhat we found in the marketing data is a staggering amount of fast-food advertising that starts when children are as young as 2 years old,\u201d Jennifer Harris, of the Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity in Connecticut, told a telephone briefing. Harris and colleagues spent a year studying 12 big fast-food chains, analyzed the calories, fat, sugar and sodium in menu items and kids\u2019 meal combinations, and studied what children and teens ordered. The report, available at http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org, finds the industry spent more than $4.2 billion in 2009 on marketing and advertising on television, the Internet, social media sites and mobile applications. \u201cDespite pledges to improve their marketing practices, fast food companies seem to be stepping up their efforts to target kids,\u201d Harris said. \u201cToday, preschoolers see 21 percent more fast food ads on TV than they saw in 2003, and somewhat older children see 34 percent more.\u201d   McDonald\u2019s Corp has 13 websites, attracting 365,000 unique child visitors under 12 every month. One, ronald.com, specifically targets preschoolers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two-thirds of American adults and 15 percent of children are overweight or obese. In some states, the childhood obesity rate is above 30 percent. U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, spearheading an administration initiative on child obesity, has urged food manufacturers to re-package food so that it is healthier for kids. In 2007, McDonald\u2019s and other large U.S. food and drink companies pledged to adopt stricter controls on advertising to children under 12. \u201cMost restaurants will say that they have added healthier choices to their menus in recent years,\u201d Yale\u2019s Marlene Schwartz, who worked on the study, told the briefing. \u201cIn most cases you have to work very hard to get a healthy side or drink in a fast-food restaurant,\u201d Schwartz said. \u201cYou have to know it exists and you have to ask for it.\u201d   Burger King in a statement said it \u201chas strengthened its commitment in this area since 2007 by enhancing its nutrition criteria for advertised Kids Meals,\u201d including lowered sodium. McDonald\u2019s said it had kept its promises. \u201cWe primarily advertise our popular 375 calorie four-piece Chicken McNugget Happy Meal which includes Apple Dippers, low-fat caramel dip, and a jug of 1 percent low-fat milk,\u201d spokesman Neil Golden said in a statement. The researchers found that teenagers purchased 800 to 1,100 calories, or half a day\u2019s worth, in an average visit. Yale\u2019s Kelly Brownell said state and local governments can rein in the marketing behavior of the restaurants, pointing to San Francisco\u2019s law passed last week that cracks down on giving away toys in children\u2019s meals. Brownell hopes Monday\u2019s report will do more. \u201cThere will be a level of anger, even rage perhaps, that will set the stage for legislation and even regulatory action,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "29982", "claim": "Melania Trump was the first First Lady to visit troops in a war zone. ", "explanation": "Several different First Ladies have visited \"war zones,\" \"potential combat zones,\" and other dangerous areas.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, hillary clinton, melania trump", "main_text": "On 26 December 2018, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq for a Christmastime meeting with military members who were stationed in the war zone there. Shortly thereafter, a claim began circulating on social media that Melania Trump was the first First Lady to undertake such a trip:  The definition of what constitutes a \u2018war zone\u2019 or a \u2018combat zone\u2019 is somewhat subjective and therefore variable. Although these terms may invoke images of areas under immediate threat of military attack, we found no record of any first lady\u2019s traveling to or remaining in an area where armed hostilities were actively taking place. These terms are often used to refer to the general areas in which a war is being fought and do not necessarily have strict or well-defined boundaries, as encapsulated in the IRS\u2019 definition of such: The term \u201ccombat zone(s)\u201d is a general term \u2026 and includes all of the following hostile areas where military may serve: actual combat areas, direct combat support areas, and qualified hazardous duty areas. With respect to deadline extensions, the term \u201ccombat zone(s)\u201d includes contingency operations areas. That said, by the standards of contemporaneous reporting, Melania Trump was not the first First Lady to make such a trip. Although our list may not be comprehensive, we found that first ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Pat Nixon, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush were all reported during their tenures as having ventured into \u201cwar zones\u201d and other potentially dangerous territories as they visited troops stationed overseas. Eleanor Roosevelt, for example, made several trips to war zones during World War II in the 1940s:  The First Lady was allowed to go to Guadalcanal where she visited many hospitals and again made offers to write to the families of wounded soldiers. During the course of her trip she had visited 17 islands and it was estimated that she saw over 400,000 soldiers. In the end Admiral Halsey said, \u201cshe had accomplished more good than any other person or any group of civilians that had passed through my area.\u201d For Eleanor Roosevelt, the extensive travels to war zones made her even more determined to try to find a road to lasting world peace after this horrific war was over. She wrote in My Day \u201cif the generation that fights today is to lay the foundations of which a peaceful world can be built, all of us who have seen the war close range must remember what we see and carry a crusading spirit into all of our work.\u201d  First Lady Pat Nixon was also described as having taken part in a \u201cdangerous visit\u201d to \u201can active combat zone\u201d in Vietnam in 1969:  While neither of Pat Nixon\u2019s sons-in-law saw active duty in South Vietnam, the First Lady herself came close to witnessing it herself. Joining the President on a dangerous visit to the embattled nation, she was the first First Lady to enter an active combat zone since Eleanor Roosevelt. During her time there, Mrs. Nixon spent nearly all of it focused on the troops \u2014 both those on break from the field and those being cared for in medic hospital units. Since 1969, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush have all traveled to military bases overseas to meet with U.S. troops. First Lady Barbara Bush visited Saudi Arabia over Thanksgiving in 1990, in the midst of Operation Desert Shield (the build-up of troops and the defenses of Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the Gulf War): President Bush didn\u2019t come to Saudi Arabia with any guns or missiles, but he had a much more effective secret weapon \u2014 Barbara Bush. For homesick American troops celebrating Thanksgiving just 80 miles from the Kuwaiti border, she was everybody\u2019s missing Mom whose smile sent spirits soaring \u2026 In a day that took the Bushes and their entourage from Jiddah on the Red Sea to Dhahran on the Persian Gulf, the First Couple ate two holiday turkey dinners and talked to hundreds of men and women in two encampments at secret locations in the desert and on a U.S. ship in the gulf. Mrs. Bush isn\u2019t the only First Lady to visit American troops abroad. Eleanor Roosevelt went to the South Pacific in 1943, and Pat Nixon went with President Nixon to Vietnam in 1969. While Hillary Clinton was First Lady, she traveled to Bosnia in 1996. Although active hostilities in Bosnia had ended a few months prior to her visit, officials still considered the area a \u201cpotential\u201d combat zone:  Protected by sharpshooters, Hillary Rodham Clinton swooped into a military zone by Black Hawk helicopter to deliver a personal \u201cthank you, thank you, thank you\u201d to U.S. troops. \u201cThey\u2019re making a difference,\u201d the first lady said of the 18,500 Americans working as peacekeepers in Bosnia. Mrs. Clinton became the first presidential spouse since Eleanor Roosevelt to make such an extensive trip into what can be considered a hostile area, although others have visited hot spots. [T]he highlight of her trip was the visits she made to two fortified posts outside the U.S. base in Tuzla. Even President Bill Clinton, restricted to the base by bad weather in January, did not see as much of this war-ravaged region as Mrs. Clinton did. Although Clinton\u2019s trip to Bosnia may have scored her political points during her time as First Lady, that visit would later become a subject of controversy and criticism. During the 2008 presidential campaign Clinton was accused of exaggerating the dangers of her Bosnia visit for saying she had been \u201cunder sniper fire\u201d when she landed at the Tuzla Air Base. (It should be noted that when Hillary Clinton\u2019s trip to Bosnia in 1996 was touted as \u201cthe first time since Roosevelt that a first lady has voyaged to a potential combat zone,\u201d that claim was similarly debunked.) Laura Bush also visited troops overseas during her time as first lady, paying a brief visit to Afghanistan in 2005:  Under heavy protection in this dusty, dangerous capital, Laura Bush talked with Afghan women freed from Taliban repression and urged greater rights. She expressed high hopes, envisioning a day when tourists would flock here for vacations. There were reminders of war at every turn of Bush\u2019s visit. U.S. soldiers in camouflage fatigues manned M-60 machine guns at both ends of four transport helicopters that flew the first lady and her entourage to events around Kabul. Apache attack helicopters that shadowed the aircraft provided further security."}
{"claim_id": "8595", "claim": "Iran says coronavirus death toll nearing 4,000.", "explanation": "The total number of coronavirus cases in Iran has risen to more than 62,000 and the death toll is nearing 4,000, according to health ministry data announced on Tuesday, but a senior official suggested the true number of infections might be far higher.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state television that a further 133 people had died from the virus overnight, bringing Iran\u2019s death toll to 3,872. Nearly 4,000 infected people are in a critical condition, he added. The total number of coronavirus cases has reached 62,589, with 2,089 new infections, Jahanpur said. However, a member of Iran\u2019s National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce, Hamid Souri has put the number of cases in the nation of 83 million at \u201caround 500,000\u201d, the state news agency IRNA reported. \u201cMany people with milder symptoms have not been detected,\u201d it quoted Souri as saying on Monday. The government in Iran, which is the Middle Eastern country worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic, has denied accusations of covering up the scale of the outbreak. Doctors and several lawmakers have previously said the number of coronavirus cases and fatalities are much higher than official figures suggest. Iran\u2019s Health Minister Saeed Namaki told state TV on Tuesday that some 70 million Iranians had now been screened for the virus. This figure could not be independently confirmed. \u201cWe urge people to stay at home and follow the guidelines,\u201d Namaki said. Iran\u2019s President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday \u201clow-risk\u201d economic activities would resume from April 11, while calling on Iranians to respect social distancing advised by health authorities to contain the spread of the virus. Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that the United States should stop preventing Iran from selling oil. \u201cWhat we want is for (U.S. President Donald Trump) to STOP preventing Iran from selling oil & other products, buying its needs & making & receiving payments,\u201d he wrote on Twitter. Iran wants to export a minimum of 700,000 barrels per day of its oil and ideally up to 1.5 million bpd if the West wants to negotiate with Tehran to save a 2015 nuclear deal, two Iranian officials and one diplomat told Reuters last year."}
{"claim_id": "9553", "claim": "The race to create a new class of ovarian cancer drugs heats up", "explanation": "Boeing Co\u2019s Starliner astronaut spacecraft landed in the New Mexico desert on Sunday, the company said, after faulty software forced officials to cut short an unmanned mission aimed at taking it to the International Space Station.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "ovarian cancer,parp inhibitors", "main_text": "The 7:58 a.m. ET (1258 GMT) landing in New Mexico\u2019s White Sands desert capped a turbulent 48 hours for Boeing\u2019s botched milestone test of an astronaut capsule that is designed to help NASA regain its human spaceflight capabilities. The landing will yield\u00a0the mission\u2019s most\u00a0valuable test data after failing to meet its core objective of docking to the space station. Starliner\u2019s three main parachutes deployed just over one mile (1,600 meters) from the Earth\u2019s surface after enduring intense heat from the violent reentry through the atmosphere, plummeting at 25 times the speed of sound."}
{"claim_id": "8892", "claim": "Merck Says Thousands File for Vioxx Payments.", "explanation": "Merck & Co (MRK.N) on Monday said it has moved closer to resolving thousands of claims arising from its 2004 withdrawal of arthritis pill Vioxx, with 93 percent of people alleging the drug caused a heart attack or stroke submitting documents in a $4.85 billion settlement.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Of some 47,000 people who registered eligible injuries, about 44,000 submitted some or all of the documents that could qualify them for an interim payment in the program to resolve state and federal heart attack and stroke claims filed in the United States, Merck said. Merck withdrew arthritis pill Vioxx from the market in September 2004 after research found it doubled heart attack and stroke risk in patients who took it for at least 18 months. More than 20 million people in the United States had used the drug, and the company was hit with tens of thousands of personal-injury lawsuits. A November settlement agreement with people alleging injury from the drug calls for the company to meet an 85 percent threshold for receiving enrollment documents in various claims categories. Meeting the threshold obligates Merck to pay $4.85 billion in installments into a resolution fund. About 5,500 eligible heart attack and stroke claimants alleging death have initiated enrollment, and more than 26,500 eligible heart attack and stroke claimants alleging more than 12 months of use have initiated enrollment, Merck said. In addition, the eligibility of another 5,000 claimants who have sought to enroll has to be determined. The company said it expects to meet all enrollment thresholds. Merck recorded a fourth-quarter 2007 pretax charge of $4.85 billion to cover the cost of the agreement. Shares of Merck were off 7 cents at $44.23 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange."}
{"claim_id": "6559", "claim": "Residents: Tests find toxic chemicals after Texas plant fire.", "explanation": "Tests detected toxic substances in soil, water and ash samples taken miles from a chemical plant that flooded during Hurricane Harvey, caught fire and partially exploded, nearly 20 Houston-area residents said Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Houston, Hurricane Harvey, Floods, Regulatory agencies, North America, Environment, Fires, Hurricanes, U.S. News, Texas", "main_text": "The findings were disclosed in a letter the residents\u2019 lawyers mailed to the chief executive of the plant\u2019s owner, France-based Arkema Inc., and several regulatory agencies, giving notice that they planned to sue. The letter accused Arkema of violating multiple environmental protection laws because of unauthorized chemical spills and releases that happened when the company failed to properly store and contain its organic peroxides before and after six feet of water overwhelmed the facility. Arkema representatives could not immediately be reached Monday evening. The company has refused to say which chemicals were released during the fire and has repeatedly declined to discuss how large its inventory quantities were prior to the incident. It provided only the names of its chemicals on its website last month after days of public pressure. Arkema\u2019s legal troubles have widened in the last week \u2014 as the civil attorney and criminal district attorney for Harris County, home to Houston, announced a pending lawsuit and investigation, respectively. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and U.S. Chemical Safety Board announced last month they were investigating. And, a group of about two dozen homeowners and first responders are part of a state lawsuit that seeks more than $1 million. They also blame Arkema for sickening them and failing to fully warn them about the hazards of breathing the contaminated air. Arkema executives have insisted they planned for flooding conditions, bringing in backup generators and moving containers with the chemicals to higher ground. Accident plans the company had filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in recent years noted hurricanes, flooding and power loss were potential hazards. But despite a National Hurricane Center warning on Aug. 27 that areas around Houston could get 50 inches of rain, company officials said they couldn\u2019t have predicted such an unprecedented amount. As Harvey dumped the rain, Arkema\u2019s power and generators at its Crosby facility failed, leading refrigeration systems to eventually shut down. That caused its organic peroxides, used in a range of products from plastics and paints, to destabilize. Arkema abandoned the site in Crosby, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Houston, on Aug. 29. A mandatory 1.5-mile evacuation zone was created in anticipation of a fire and explosion, displacing hundreds of residents for about a week. After one container storing hazardous materials caught fire Aug. 31 and exploded, an Arkema executive initially claimed that smoke from that was a \u201cnon-toxic irritant.\u201d Fifteen responders were treated for exposure at local hospitals. On Sept. 4, after a second container caught fire and then the remaining others were burned under supervision, an executive said Arkema\u2019s air-quality testing within the evacuation zone had shown \u201cno evidence of any issues.\u201d But the lawyers\u2019 letter Monday said the residents had found \u201ca strange ash material and a mysterious black residue on the ground\u201d after each Arkema explosion sent black plumes of smoke in the air. Scientific testing of samples \u2014 some collected several miles outside the 1.5-mile evacuation zone \u2014 found materials from multiple families of toxic chemicals, according to the letter signed by lawyer Mark F. Underwood. The toxins identified include volatile organic compounds, which can be possible causes of cancer, and harmful polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed during the incomplete burning of organic substances. The letters said tests also detected some amount of dioxins and furans, which the EPA has said may change hormone levels in those exposed. \u201cGiven the toxicity of the substances released,\u201d according to the letter, \u201cthe 1.5 mile perimeter was not far enough to adequately protect either first responders or those living beyond the perimeter who were not evacuated.\u201d The letter by the residents\u2019 lawyer said some of them have had negative health effects persisting after the exposure ended, though no specifics were provided. The exposure came through air and surface water, which, unbeknownst to them, had been contaminated by spills. \u201cExposure to this toxic mixture in the environment through human pathways caused bodily injury,\u201d the letter said, \u201cand has created a need for a community-wide remediation effort, changes in Arkema\u2019s operation and a medical monitoring program to protect the public from risk.\u201d In 2016, an analysis led by Texas A&M University researchers identified Arkema\u2019s facility as one of biggest risks in a corridor with the country\u2019s greatest concentration of petrochemical plants."}
{"claim_id": "6296", "claim": "Rural Wisconsin schools getting mental health help by video.", "explanation": "Students at a rural Wisconsin school district are getting access to mental health services with a new video-conferencing system to address a shortage of options nearby.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Wisconsin, Mental health, Health, General News, Eau Claire", "main_text": "The closest mental health clinic available to students at the Lake Holcombe School District is about a 20-minute drive away, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. The district is about 40 miles northeast of Eau Claire. \u201cWe found that it was a barrier to care for patients who were seeking services but didn\u2019t have a means of transportation to receive the service, and also wasted patient time to try to have the counselor commute to the more rural schools,\u201d said Nicole Califf, a behavioral care clinic manager for Prevea Health counselors, the organization that will be connecting with students through video conferencing. Officials hope to have the program available in October. Students who seek treatment will enter a private room where they will connect with a therapist on a television screen. The services will be covered by the students\u2019 parents\u2019 insurance or Medicaid. The school district has about 300 students. School guidance counselor Barb VanDoorn estimates that the percentage of students who struggle with mental health issues is either the same or greater than the Wisconsin state average of 20% of students. \u201cWe are excited about our opportunities with telehealth counseling services as we can reach more students who are in need,\u201d Califf said. Jeni Gronemus, a Prevea licensed professional counselor, said earlier intervention often means students who need help are better at building skills to manage their symptoms. VanDoorn said some of the more prevalent mental health issues students suffer from are anxiety and depression, which is more common among teenagers. Lake Holcombe\u2019s program will be funded over two years with $60,000. The money comes from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, which awarded $6.5 million in grants to 120 school districts to address mental health. ___ Information from: Wisconsin Public Radio, http://www.wpr.org"}
{"claim_id": "27326", "claim": "President Trump intends to nominate Dr. Oz to the Presidential Council on Sport, Fitness and Nutrition.", "explanation": "Many claims made by Dr. Oz and his guests have failed to hold up to any scrutiny, but one claim he made on 4 May 2018 does \u2014 he has indeed been tapped for nomination to the Presidential Council on Health, Nutrition, and Fitness.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, Council on Sport Fitness and Nutrition, Dr. Oz, health", "main_text": "In a 4 May 2018 White House press release titled \u201cPresident Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Personnel to Key Administration Posts,\u201d the President announced, among other things, that he is planning on nominating Dr. Mehmet Oz to a two-year term on the President\u2019s Council on Sport, Fitness, and Nutrition, or PCSFN: President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the President\u2019s Council on Sport, Fitness, and Nutrition for a term of two years: [\u2026] Mehmet Oz of New Jersey First established in 1956, the Council \u201cengages, educates, and empowers all Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity and good nutrition\u201d through the promotion of various programs and initiatives that \u201cmotivate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to be active and eat healthy.\u201d Mehmet Oz \u2014 known popularly as Dr. Oz \u2014 is, like so many other nominees offered by Trump, a television personality. Launched into stardom after appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show as a health expert in the early 2000s, his medical background is as a cardiothoracic surgeon. He is perhaps known to most, however, for his work promoting alternative cures and dubious pseudoscience through his eponymous Dr. Oz Show. He is best known to Trump, most likely, through his September 2016 appearance on that show where Oz declared that notes allegedly produced by Harold Bornstein (the personal doctor who now claims a clean bill of health issued in his name in 2016 was dictated by Trump himself) were \u201ccomprehensive\u201d: If a patient of mine had these records,\u201d Oz said, \u201cI\u2019d be very happy, and I\u2019d send them on their way.\u201d Oz has been criticized by the FTC for promoting dubious products or supplements on his show and was\u00a0called by Senator Claire McCaskill to testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection in 2014 over his promotion of weight loss cures: \u201cI don\u2019t get why you say this stuff because you know it\u2019s not true,\u201d McCaskill said [to Oz] during Tuesday\u2019s hearing before the Senate subcommittee on consumer protection, which she chairs. \u201cSo why, when you have this amazing megaphone and this amazing ability to communicate, why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?\u201d [\u2026] \u201cThe scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you call miracles,\u201d McCaskill told Oz. \u201cYou may think magic is make-believe, but this little bean has scientists saying they\u2019ve found the magic weight-loss cure for every body type,\u201d he said on his show in 2012 of green coffee extract. The only research supporting that claim at the time was a study, since retracted, that had been funded by the product\u2019s manufacturer. A 2018 analysis of the Dr. Oz Show performed by Health News Reviews concluded that \u201cabout 78% of statements made on the Dr. Oz show did not align with evidence-based medical guidelines, society recommendations, or authority statements.\u201d They also documented that much of the show\u2019s content is directly related to the products being advertised during the show\u2019s broadcast: More than half of all recorded shows had content linked directly to advertisements: In the Dr. Oz show: 13 out of 19 (68.4%) shows had ads related to general show content, 11 /19 (57.9%) had specific products mentioned by the host using their commercial name, and 4/11 (36.3%) shows mentioning products by name named more than one product. Dr. Oz has also used his show to give a platform to people widely seen as being part of a pseudoscientific fringe, including people like Dr. Joseph Mercola, the proprietor of a large alternative health web store who has been fined by the FTC for claiming that his tanning beds prevent cancer."}
{"claim_id": "3078", "claim": "4th Massachusetts resident dies of vaping-related illness.", "explanation": "A fourth Massachusetts resident has died from a vaping-related lung illness, state public health officials announced Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "General News, Marijuana, Massachusetts, Vaping, Public health, Tobacco industry regulation", "main_text": "The patient, a man in his 70s from Middlesex County, reported vaping products containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, according to a statement from the state Public Health Department. \u201cToday\u2019s news is a tragic reminder that we must remain vigilant about the dangers of vaping,\u201d said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel. Massachusetts has now reported 36 confirmed cases and 73 probable cases of vaping-associated lung illnesses to the federal Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. Of those 109 cases, 55 are men and 54 are women. A little more than half are under age 30. The agency said 35% vaped only nicotine, 40% vaped only THC, and 27% reported vaping both. Massachusetts in November became the first state in the country to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, e-cigarettes and e-liquids. Marijuana dealers are allowed to sell unflavored marijuana products only after they have passed tests for the presence of impermissible levels of toxins or contaminants, including vitamin E acetate and heavy metals. The CDC has identified vitamin E as a culprit in vaping-associated lung injuries. The announcement came a day after a Massachusetts judge granted a motion from the state attorney general\u2019s office to bar five online e-cigarette retailers from selling their products to state residents while a lawsuit against the companies is pending. Attorney General Maura Healey last month sued eight online retailers of e-cigarettes she alleges violated the state\u2019s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products and failed to protect against delivery of the products to minors. Healey\u2019s office is still in the process of serving the other three companies."}
{"claim_id": "3914", "claim": "Iowa public health officials tackle vaping health concerns.", "explanation": "Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will not sign an executive order that would ban the sale of flavored vaping products but that several state agencies are developing plans to deal with the health risks tied to using electronic cigarettes.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Iowa, Health, General News, Kim Reynolds, Vaping, Public health, Tobacco industry regulation", "main_text": "Reynolds says she met Friday with state public health officials to discuss the illnesses reported in Iowa from vaping and how to address the problem. Reynolds said Monday that efforts by governors in other states to block sales have been halted by the courts after lawsuits so she\u2019s holding off on that approach. Reynolds says the officials in public health, education and human services agencies are working on a plan to educate the public, especially students, about vaping risks. More than 40 teenagers and young adults in Iowa have experienced severe respiratory illness from vaping. Most have used the electronic devices with THC, the active compound in marijuana that creates a high. Nationally, more than 1,600 people have been sickened since March. At least 34 have died."}
{"claim_id": "24871", "claim": "John McCain accused Barack Obama \"of letting infants die.", "explanation": "Obama ad wrong about McCain abortion charge", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, National, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "Barack Obama recently released an attack ad on John McCain after Obama's abortion votes in the Illinois state legislature came under attack. The ad says that McCain accused Obama of \"letting infants die.\" But we do not find that to be the case. Our story begins with an ad from an independent advocacy group, BornAliveTruth.org, that exists to criticize Obama's votes on abortion when he was a state senator in Illinois. The group's ad shows a young woman, Gianna Jessen, looking directly at the camera and saying the following: \"Can you imagine not giving babies their basic human rights, no matter how they entered our world? My name's Gianna Jessen, born 31 years ago after a failed abortion. But if Barack Obama had his way, I wouldn't be here. Four times Barack Obama voted to oppose a law to protect babies left to die after failed abortions. Senator Obama, please support born alive infant protections. I'm living proof these babies have a right to live.\" View the ad here  . The ad refers to Illinois legislation put forward in 2001, 2002 and 2003 by opponents of abortion. The intent was to require doctors to provide immediate life-saving care to any infant that survived an intended abortion. The legislation, which included multiple bills, specified that an infant surviving a planned abortion is \"born alive\" and \"shall be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate protection under the law.\" The bills' supporters said it gave added emphasis to laws already on the books, deterring the death of abortion survivors from neglect. One of the bills' strongest supporters was a nurse, Jill Stanek, who said she had witnessed infants left to die in dirty utility rooms. Abortion-rights proponents, on the other hand, said the legislation was a back-door attempt to stop legal abortions. Obama voted against the legislation several times. For more on the complicated history of this legislation  read our story here. The Obama campaign has been trying to make inroads with voters who oppose abortion. Though Obama supports the right to abortion, he said he believes the number of abortions performed can and should be reduced. So the campaign released a vigorous response ad to the BornAliveTruth.org ad. But instead of targeting BornAliveTruth.org or Gianna Jessen,  the ad attacks McCain  . \"John McCain's attacks, the sleaziest ads ever. Truly vile. Now, votes taken out of context accusing Obama of letting infants die. It's a despicable lie. Even the bill's Republican sponsor said that it's untrue. Obama's always supported medical care to protect infants. McCain. He's running on a platform to ban abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. Sleazy ads. Anti-choice. That's John McCain.\" There are a few problems here. Obama's ad shows footage of the BornAliveTruth.org ad, which the McCain campaign did not produce. So the Obama ad is blaming McCain for an attack he didn't make. The first ad clearly states that BornAliveTruth.org created it, as is required by law. Also, though the Republican Party platform does call for a ban on abortion, McCain himself favors exceptions for rape and incest. (His running mate Sarah Palin has said she opposes those exceptions, but the ad doesn't mention her.) We looked for examples, but could find no cases of McCain accusing Obama of \"letting infants die.\" Certainly some antiabortion activists who support McCain have made the charge, but that's quite different from the McCain campaign saying it. McCain's abortion-related attacks usually center on Obama's refusal to confirm conservative judges. We find the claim that McCain made the accusation to be ."}
{"claim_id": "21803", "claim": "From 1947 to 1979, family incomes for rich, middle-income and poor Americans grew about the same rate. But since 1979, incomes for rich families have grown much faster.", "explanation": "GlaxoSmithKline Plc\u2019s two-drug HIV regimen Dovato was successful in suppressing the AIDS-causing virus in patients over 48 weeks at the same level of a previous three-drug treatment in a late-stage trial, the drugmaker said on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Families, Income, Labor, Workers, United for a Fair Economy, ", "main_text": "Dovato, a combination of dolutegravir and lamivudine, was approved in the United States in April for newly-diagnosed patients, boosting the British drugmaker\u2019s prospects against Gilead Sciences Inc, which currently leads the HIV treatment market. Liberium analyst Graham Doyle said the study results will add to the data package supporting Dovato as GSK aims to convince doctors that two drug therapies are just as effective as triple therapies. GSK is betting that a shift to using two drugs rather than three will boost its sales by offering patients a therapy with fewer potentially toxic side effects. The study evaluated the effectiveness of Dovato, a combination of dolutegravir and lamivudine, in adults with the HIV-1 virus who switched to the regimen from at least a triple combination containing Gilead Sciences\u2019 Descovy, the British company\u2019s HIV drugs division ViiV said. ViiV also said adults who used Dovato did not develop any resistance to the treatment. GSK already has a two-drug regimen Juluca on the market, but only for HIV patients that have received prior treatment. Pfizer Inc and Shionogi & Co Ltd also have small stakes in ViiV, which accounted for about 39% of GSK\u2019s group operating profit last year, according to UBS analysts. The HIV-1 category has the most widespread strains of the virus, which severely affects the body\u2019s immune system."}
{"claim_id": "9168", "claim": "Common antibiotic may help to prevent or treat PTSD", "explanation": "This University College London news release describes a complex piece of research that combines cell cultures, human volunteers, a theory that enzymatic proteins called matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors are involved in forming threat memories inherent in PTSD, and that a common antibiotic may prevent their formation by blocking the\u00a0enzymes. The fact that the research was a theoretical proof-of concept is buried deep in the release so readers might think, based on the headline and earlier paragraphs alone, that the evidence is stronger than it is. The published research article describes some of the uncertainties involved in biopsychological investigations in animal models and people, but the release doesn\u2019t mention any of them, nor does it include any meaningful numbers to describe the benefits. It does raise the issue of the practicality of using drugs to prevent PTSD since no one can predict when a traumatic event will occur. The search for the neurochemical and biological roots of PTSD and other kinds of crippling anxieties is a scientific challenge\u00a0for good reason. The human \u201cmind\u201d is difficult to access; animal models are notoriously unreliable; and experiments on people designed to induce, evoke, or otherwise probe such trauma may be unethical. The work described here may indeed be\u00a0an important early step in understanding the role of signaling pathways outside of nerve cells in creating PTSD, and of novel\u00a0strategies using an already widely available set of drugs to sabotage\u00a0that role. But a lot more research will be needed to affirm the idea and a release on the research should make that point very clear and very high up in the text. When and if the blocking of a conditioned fear response by a drug is proven, who would want to take a long term drug in case a terrible event befalls them in the future? That would be taking \u201cpreventive medicine\u201d to a whole new level.", "label": "false", "subjects": "antibiotic,PTSD,University College London", "main_text": "The release makes no mention of costs. It could have addressed cost through information about the relatively inexpensive antibiotic used in the study or by mentioning the social and economic costs of those afflicted with PTSD. Even though the research is called a \u201cproof of concept,\u201d we think if it\u2019s not too soon to issue a news release it shouldn\u2019t be too early to include cost implications. It\u2019s not clear from the release how statistically strong the results are. The release notes that volunteers taking the antibiotic had a 60% lower fear response in the first session compared to those who took the placebo, \u201csuggesting that the fear memory was significantly suppressed by the drug.\u201d But that number is an average response rate in the treated group and we\u2019d like to see some actual numbers \u2014 the number of responses and the range of responses \u2014 to assess how many people were helped and to what degree. The article published in Molecular Psychiatry also reports only the approximate percentage of study volunteers who experienced a reduced reaction to the fear marker, so there are no absolute numbers that could be taken from the study and used in the news release. However, communications staff and journalists are the eyes and ears for readers and it behooves them to seek clarity from the authors of research. One of the investigators is quoted acknowledging the challenges inherent in using drugs like doxycycline to prevent PTSD, but there is no mention in the release about the many serious adverse side effects and drug interactions that come with the use of tetracycline antibiotics. Doxycycline has been tried\u00a0long-term for aortic aneurysms (as a matrix metalloproteinase or MMP inhibitor, the same reason it was tried here)\u00a0and as an antibiotic for acne, recurrent urinary infections and other conditions. Although generally considered safe to use, over a long term it can cause allergic rashes, antibiotic resistance, changes in friendly gut bacteria,\u00a0possible weight gain and other problems. While the release explains that the subjects were all healthy volunteers and that the study was a randomized,\u00a0 placebo-controlled, double-blind trial involving computer simulation, it doesn\u2019t give us much information about the strengths and weaknesses of the research. The primary outcome the researchers sought to measure \u2014 startle response \u2014 was never really described. The release doesn\u2019t engage in disease mongering. It provides some context about what PTSD is and what causes it. Some context about the rate of PTSD in certain populations (e.g. combat veterans, terrorist attack survivors, children of war) and methods currently used to prevent or treat the condition might also have been helpful to include. The release notes the funding sources and the study stated that there were no conflicts of interest. The release doesn\u2019t mention any of the other treatment strategies for PTSD or show how this drug might compare with them. One other drug that\u2019s been studied for its use in the blocking of learning conditioned fear is the beta blocking blood pressure drug propanolol. The release notes that \u201cmore realistic models\u201d of clinical PTSD are needed and any testing of doxycycline in those models is years away. The release claims novelty through this statement by the study author: \u201cWe have demonstrated a proof-of-principle for an entirely new treatment strategy for PTSD,\u201d explains Professor Bach. \u201cThe theory is based on the recent discovery that our brains need proteins outside nerve cells, called matrix enzymes, to form memories.\u201d However, the current study is not the first to identify a drug that may block\u00a0fear learning, as noted above under the \u201calternatives\u201d criteria. The release doesn\u2019t include any sensational, unjustifiable language."}
{"claim_id": "11335", "claim": "Proton therapy controls common pediatric brain tumor with fewer long-term side effects", "explanation": "This news release summarizes findings from an observational study that looks at the long-term side effects of treating childhood brain tumors with proton radiotherapy compared with the more standard photon therapy. The premise of the study and its follow-up release is that proton beam therapy, by damaging less normal brain tissue, leaves a young patent with fewer long-term future complications from side effects. The study, published in Lancet Oncology, reports on the follow-up of 59 children treated at one institution with proton beam therapy between 2003 and 2009. The release imparts a lot of information about the complicated study in a brief, readable way, but we have several concerns with missing information and implied results. All of the patients in the study had additional treatments including surgery and chemotherapy, so the benefits and harms cannot be fully attributed to the proton beam therapy. The release also does not address costs (which are significantly higher than standard therapy) or a very important limitation explained in the study which is that, for ethical reasons, there is no randomized control group treated in a similar way except for receiving conventional radiation therapy. Treating cancer\u00a0at any age is a challenging task for doctors, but when it involves children the stakes can\u2019t be higher. This is particularly the case when the cancer is in a sensitive location, in this case the child\u2019s brain, and when it can be life threatening, such as medulloblastoma. The treatments need to be strong enough to provide long-term management and at the same time spare normal surrounding tissue. When that surrounding tissue is the brain of a young child, damage can lead to life-long, serious complications. Studies that purport to offer improved outcomes need attention and scrutiny.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release,Cancer", "main_text": "The release does not address the costs of the therapy. This is especially important to include in any discussion of proton therapy because its costs are astronomically high \u2014 often twice as much as standard therapy. We\u2019ve previously described some of the issues with costs in other reviews and blog posts\u00a0focusing on proton therapy. You can search the HealthNewsReview.org site for many others. The news release quantifies some outcomes, as in this statement: \u201cOf 59 patients who enrolled, 12 died from their tumor during the study period and one from a traumatic brain injury. Significant hearing loss was seen in 12 percent of patients three years after treatment and in 16 percent at five years, which compares with around 25 percent reported in studies using photon radiotherapy.\u201d The release later indicates that key outcomes are comparable to photon therapy: \u201cSurvival rates and the incidence and type of tumor recurrence all were similar to what has been reported for photon radiotherapy.\u201d We\u2019ll call this good enough for a Satisfactory rating, although the release certainly could have provided more detail on what previous studies have found with respect to photon therapy. The release addresses some of the harms associated with the therapy and provides specific numbers\u00a0that are easy for readers to understand. It says, for example, \u201cOf 59 patients who enrolled, 12 died from their tumor during the study period and one from a traumatic brain injury. Significant hearing loss was seen in 12 percent of patients three years after treatment and in 16 percent at five years, which compares with around 25 percent reported in studies using photon radiotherapy.\u201d The release didn\u2019t point out that all of the patients had additional treatments \u2014 including surgery and chemotherapy \u2014 so it\u2019s not possible to pinpoint years later where to place the blame for any hearing loss or cognitive deficits. We think some of the harms from the therapy were given short shrift, but we address this in the \u201cQuality of Evidence\u201d measure. We have two main complaints about this release. 1. It does not make clear that the study did not directly compare therapies side-by-side in a randomized, controlled trial. It studied one therapy and then made comparisons to other published studies. There\u2019s one allusion to that in the release, but the nuance would be missed by most readers. And the release should have explicitly acknowledged that this was a limitation of the study design. 2. It does not delve deeply enough into the evidence actually presented in the study to make the case that risks associated with the therapy are low. The actual study clearly states, \u201cFull Scale Intelligence Quotient decreased by 1\u00b75 points (95% CI 0\u00b79\u20132\u00b71) per year after median follow-up up of 5\u00b72 years (IQR 2\u00b76\u20136\u00b74), driven by decrements in processing speed and verbal comprehension index.\u201d Losing intelligence over the course of five years, especially in young children, is a critical side effect to be measured and managed. We don\u2019t think it\u2019s adequate to say, \u201cThe cognitive effects of proton therapy \u2013 primarily affecting verbal comprehension and processing speed \u2013 were also less serious than what has been reported with photon radiotherapy, and those effects were primarily seen in children who were under the age of 8 when treated.\u201d There is no disease mongering in the release. The funding sources and conflicts are clearly explained. The release does make multiple comparisons to studies of other therapies. We do not feel that this was framed properly in the release, but we address this in the quality of evidence section. The release makes it clear that the therapy is not widely available and not often used. The first quote says, \u201cProton radiotherapy is still not widely available in the U.S. or around the world, but it is increasingly recognized for its potential to reduce the side effects of treatment, particularly in the pediatric population.\u201d Both the release and the study make a claim of novelty, meaning that this type of analysis had not been done before. The study establishes that this type of research is new based on its literature review and extensive citations of previous studies. It says, \u201cTo the best of our knowledge, no other data for the late effects or disease control of proton therapy for patients with medulloblastoma are as complete and mature as ours.\u201d The release adequately summarizes the state of current evidence by saying, \u201cWhile proton therapy may appear to be ideal for reducing these adverse effects, no previous study had prospectively examined the long-term results of children treated for medulloblastoma with proton therapy.\u201d This is a tough call, but we believe the release uses unjustifiable language with this quote from one of the researchers: \u201cWhile we are currently investigating quality of life differences between proton and photon treatment, I truly believe that \u2013 particularly for the youngest children \u2013 the ability to offer them proton therapy can make a big difference in their lives.\u201d This statement plays to emotions, and the researcher essentially acknowledges that the statement isn\u2019t justified since the appropriate comparative research hasn\u2019t been done. The families of pediatric cancer patients want to believe, but scientists need to base their statements, not on beliefs, but on data from the highest quality comparative studies we can ethically perform."}
{"claim_id": "8515", "claim": "Russian border becomes China's frontline in fight against second virus wave.", "explanation": "China\u2019s northeastern border with Russia has become a frontline in the fight against a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic as  new daily cases rose to the highest in nearly six weeks - with more than 90% involving people coming from abroad.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Having largely stamped out domestic transmission of the disease, China has been slowly easing curbs on movement as it tries to get its economy back on track, but there are fears that a rise in imported cases could spark a second wave of COVID-19. A total of 108 new coronavirus cases were reported in mainland China on Sunday, up from 99 a day earlier, marking the highest daily tally since March 5. Imported cases accounted for a record 98. Half involved Chinese nationals returning from Russia\u2019s Far Eastern Federal District, home to the city of Vladivostok, who re-entered China through border crossings in Heilongjiang province. \u201cOur little town here, we thought it was the safest place,\u201d said a resident of the border city of Suifenhe, who only gave his surname as Zhu. \u201cSome Chinese citizens - they want to come back, but it\u2019s not very sensible, what are you doing coming here for?\u201d  The border is closed, except to Chinese nationals, and the land route through the city had become one of few options available for people trying to return home after Russia stopped flights to China except for those evacuating people. Streets in Suifenhe were virtually empty on Sunday evening due to restrictions on movement and gatherings announced last week, when authorities took preventative measures similar to those imposed in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the pandemic ripping round the world first emerged late last year. The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China stood at 82,160 as of Sunday. At the peak of the first wave of the epidemic on Feb 12 there were over 15,000 new cases, though that was a one-off spike following the deployment of new testing methods. Though the number of daily infections across China has dropped sharply from that peak, China has seen the daily toll creep higher after hitting a trough on March 12 because of the rise in imported cases. Chinese cities near the Russian frontier are tightening border controls and imposing stricter quarantines in response. Suifenhe and Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, are now mandating 28 days of quarantine as well as nucleic acid and antibody tests for all arrivals from abroad. In Shanghai, authorities found that 60 people who arrived on Aeroflot flight SU208 from Moscow on April 10 have the coronavirus, Zheng Jin, a spokeswoman for the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, told a press conference on Monday. Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the  Center for Diseases Prevention and Control in Beijing, said the trend for local transmission of the disease in the capital was low. \u201cImported cases are still the highest risk in Beijing in the second half of April,\u201d Pang said, adding that nearly 8% of the 40,000 nucleic acid tests carried out in the city since April 1 had been conducted on people who had come from abroad. China has cut the number of people crossing its borders by 90% and has tried to stop all non-essential journeys, said Liu Haitao, an immigration official, at a separate briefing. \u201cOur border is long, and apart from the border crossings and passages, there are a large number of mountain passes, paths, ferry crossings and small roads, and the situation is very complicated,\u201d he said. Residents in Suifenhe said a lot of people had left the city  fearing contagion, but others put their trust in authorities\u2019 containment measures. \u201cI don\u2019t need to worry,\u201d Zhao Wei, another Suifenhe resident, told Reuters. \u201cIf there\u2019s a local transmission, I would, but there\u2019s not a single one. They\u2019re all from the border, but they\u2019ve all been sent to quarantine.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "8068", "claim": "With U.S. hit by virus, China courts Latin America with medical diplomacy.", "explanation": "As Argentina was scrambling to introduce emergency measures to insulate its ailing economy from the coronavirus last week, the Chinese ambassador paid a visit to the home of President Alberto Fernandez to discuss an offer.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "At the meeting in the wealthy Olivos suburb of Buenos Aires, ambassador Zou Xiaoli laid out how the Asian giant was ready to help Argentina face the pandemic: donating masks, gloves, thermometers and protective suits. The donations, welcomed by Fernandez\u2019s government, show how China is leveraging its production of medical equipment and expertise in halting the coronavirus as a soft-power tool in regions like South America, where it is jostling for influence against the United States. From Argentina to Mexico, Brazil to Peru, Latin American nations have accepted offers of support from China as the number of coronavirus cases across the region has climbed, amid growing fears about the preparedness of their healthcare systems. There have been nearly 500,000 confirmed cases worldwide of the virus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, and over 20,000 deaths. Although South America has so far not been as hard hit as other parts of the world, experts fear that may change as winter arrives in the southern hemisphere. \u201cSome countries in the region have reached out to China asking for help,\u201d a Chinese official in Buenos Aires, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. \u201cWe will share with them our experience in combating COVID-19 and offer sanitary materials within our capacity.\u201d  As trade tensions between Washington and Beijing have simmered in recent years, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Latin American nations that they should be wary of becoming too economically reliant on China - to little avail. In Argentina, the region\u2019s third-largest economy, China has made steady in-roads, from solar power investments to the construction of a new space monitoring station. It has supplied over $17 billion of financing since 2007, Inter-American Dialogue data shows. China has also become the top consumer of Argentine soybeans and beef. As the coronavirus spread in China, Argentina\u2019s new left-leaning leader Fernandez - who took office in December - exchanged correspondence with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In letters seen by Reuters, Fernandez offered solidarity to China in February as the virus raged from the outbreak center of Wuhan. In March, Xi replied that the situation in China was improving and he called for a deepening of ties between the two nations. Days later, the Chinese embassy announced its donations, posting pictures on Twitter of large trucks carrying a mobile hospital that was set up within a military base near the Argentine capital. \u201cChina will continue to help in all possible channels. Long live friendship!\u201d the embassy said on Twitter. The help came at a difficult time for Argentina, which is grappling with a severe economic crisis and re-negotiating $110 billion in foreign debt with creditors, including the International Monetary Fund. \u201cThis is part of the link we have with China, which is a solid relationship of mutual respect and ties that go beyond strong trade,\u201d a spokesman for Argentina\u2019s foreign ministry told Reuters, when asked about the donations. China\u2019s aid to Latin America reflects a broader global trend, as Beijing looks to steer the narrative away from it being the country where the coronavirus started and was initially downplayed. Instead, China wants to be seen as spearheading the global fight against the pandemic, experts say. Luo Zhaohui, a vice minister at China\u2019s foreign ministry, said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday that the country would \u201cride out the storm with people from other countries, strengthen cooperation and strive to win the last victory in the fight against the virus.\u201d  While Trump has been criticized by opponents for branding the pandemic \u2018the Chinese virus,\u2019 China has won praise among Latin American governments that have accepted its help. The Chinese government said it has supplied test kits, protective suits and other forms of medical aid to more than 80 countries and international organizations. \u201cIt\u2019s remarkable and a credit, in a way, to China\u2019s own commanding control of information that it\u2019s been able to re-envision itself as a leader in the fight against coronavirus globally,\u201d said Margaret Myers, director of the China and Latin American program at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. Myers said the recent re-start of Chinese industry, as cases have subsided, has enabled the country to be a provider of key products as the rest of the world\u2019s production slows. \u201cThis will create opportunities for China in the coming years,\u201d she said. The United States, meanwhile, is struggling with its own battle to contain the virus, with the World Health Organization warning on Tuesday that the country could become a new epicenter of the crisis. Before the epidemic hit hardest, Washington in February pledged $100 million towards international efforts in combating COVID-19, including for developing nations. A regional breakdown of that funding was not immediately available. In Latin America, China\u2019s hands-on approach has been well received. Chile, which has among the highest numbers of coronavirus cases in the region, has sought advice from Chinese health officials to guide its response and is sending an air force plane to China to pick up donated supplies, including tests and respiratory equipment, Chile\u2019s health minister said. In Mexico, officials have said they are awaiting 300 ventilators from China, crucial yet scarce equipment in treating patients, while in Panama, government health officials heralded a video conference with Chinese experts to work on strategy, something China has done with more than 100 countries. In Venezuela, the government of President Nicolas Maduro said China would send protective gear for health professionals and coronavirus test kits. The country has also opened talks with China over possible financial support. \u201cThank you China for cooperation and solidarity with Ecuador!\u201d the country\u2019s Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner wrote on Twitter, itemizing help from China that he said included 40,000 surgical masks, infrared thermometers, and protective suits. In Brazil, right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has moved quickly to heal a diplomatic rift with China and Chinese officials have said Beijing would assist with medical supplies and technical assistance. Chinese firms, including Alibaba (BABA.N), Huawei, COFCO, China Communications Construction and the Bank of China have pledged donations around the region. Back in Argentina, Washington is keen to show that it also wants to help. \u201cWe plan this week to make funds available to Argentine authorities to combat coronavirus,\u201d an official at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires told Reuters, adding the country was \u201clooking at the possibility of additional donations.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "38800", "claim": " A female physician from Munich described in an email the challenge of providing medical care to refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries who have come to Germany. ", "explanation": "Female Physician in Munich Pens Email About Refugee Crisis ", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Immigration", "main_text": "We can\u2019t confirm the authenticity of an email that was supposedly written by a female physician in Munich because the name of the author hasn\u2019t been disclosed. The email supposedly written by a female physician from Munich went viral after a Czech newscaster read it on the air during a broadcast that has gone viral. In the email, the female doctor from Munich describes unsafe conditions for physicians and nurses in German hospitals because of demanding, angry and volatile refugees from Syria and other countries seeking care there: In a hospital near the Rhine, migrants attacked the staff with knives after\u00a0they had handed over an 8-month-old on the brink of death, which they\u00a0had dragged across half of Europe for three months. The child died in two\u00a0days, despite having received top care at one of the best pediatric clinics\u00a0in Germany. The physician had to undergo surgery and two nurses are\u00a0laid up in the ICU. Nobody has been punished. The local press is forbidden to write about it, so we know about it through\u00a0email. What would have happened to a German if he had stabbed a doctor\u00a0and nurses with a knife? Or if he had flung his own syphilis-infected urine\u00a0into a nurse\u2019s face and so threatened her with infection? At a minimum\u00a0he\u2019d go straight to jail and later to court. With these people \u2013 so far,\u00a0nothing has happened. There haven\u2019t been any local press reports about attacks on doctors or hospital staffs by refugees \u2014 but, then again, the email claims that local media has been \u201cforbidden\u201d to write about it. But that claim doesn\u2019t check out. Some German media outlets have openly criticized Chancellor Merkel for supposedly contributing to the large inflow of refugees, so reports of a media blackout don\u2019t check out, according to a Deutsche Wells press review. Also, the idea that refugees are flooding hospitals and demanding medical care don\u2019t mesh with German laws on providing healthcare for refugees. Asylum seekers in the country are granted limited access to medical care, EurActive Germany reports: In most of the German L\u00e4nder, asylum seekers are not allowed to\u00a0go directly to doctors when they are in pain or call an ambulance\u00a0after an accident. Instead, they are required to get a permit first\u00a0from the appropriate authorities or the refugee centre. This procedure is regulated by the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act of\u00a01993. The goal of the law is to keep health-related spending low\u00a0and limit incentives for asylum seekers in Germany. Those who seek asylum in Germany are only given full coverage under statutory health insurance after spending 15 months in the county. Before that they can only receive acute care and have to receive special permission to visit hospitals. UPDATE: A reader brought a newer version of this email to our attention. In that version,\u00a0Dr. Barbara Sziraki is named as the German physician who wrote the viral email. After investigating, we\u2019ve determined that Dr. Barbara Sziraki a psychiatrist who practices in\u00a0Los Angeles. Her name and email appears to have been mistakenly attached to the email after she sent or received it. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "10579", "claim": "Evidence a high-fat diet works to treat epilepsy", "explanation": "This story reports on a randomized trial examining whether a ketogenic diet can effectively aid in the management of epilepsy in children who have not had an adequate response to antiseizure medications. Because of its length, the story left out important details about the study. The story did not provide adequate detail about the source of the information it reported on. The researchers themselves defined a significant number of caveats that are important to an understanding of the study results\u00a0 but these caveats are not included in the news story. It may not have given a complete picture of the costs of this approach. It gave an incomplete picture of what can go wrong. The story did not mention any harms associated with the diet. In the particular study reported on, the side effects in the children studied included constipation, vomiting, lack of energy, and hunger. In addition, there have been reports of more serious side effects occurring after longer term use of the diet. The story was about 500 words in length; affording it another 100-150 words could have resulted in a very good piece rather than one which was just okay.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story was not explicit about the costs of the diet. The ketogenic diet may involve inpatient initiation of treatment, lots of lab work and a good deal of involvement from the neurologist and dietician. The price of all of this may be offset by reduced drug costs. The listing of the components of the diet gives the impression of a low cost of care which may not be valid. The story accurately reported on the level of benefit observed in the study it reported on. However, the story should have mentioned that the timeframe of the study reported on was 90 days. This is of concern to readers who might be evaluating the benefits to be obtained through adherence to the diet. The story did not mention any harms associated with the diet. In the particular study reported on, the side effects in the children studied included constipation, vomiting, lack of energy, and hunger. In addition, there have been reports of more serious side effects occurring after longer term use of the diet. The story referred to results in a scientific paper that will be published in June. The details reported on may have come from the abstract of the paper which can be found online or from a press release from the hospital at which the study was conducted\u00a0http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/pressoffice/pressrelease_00622 The story should have acknowledged the source of its information. This story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Apparently a not-yet-published journal article was one source. Another was an interview with the principal investigator of the study reported on. In addition, there was an interview with a clinician with expertise in the area but who was not directly associated with the story reported on. Although the story reported that the children in the particular study reported on had failed to respond to at least two antiseizure medications, the story did not provide information about treatment options for children with epilepsy or whether the diet would typically be used instead of or in addition to other treatments for epilepsy. The story stated that this dietary approach to managing epilepsy is a standard treatment at hospitals and epilepsy centers in the United States and abroad. So we get somewhat of a sense of its availability. But the story doesn\u2019t make clear just how many hospitals and epilepsy centers use this approach, or how many have the necessary cross-discipline resources to manage the approach. The story mentioned the long history of using a ketogenic diet to aid in the management of epilepsy. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release. As noted before,\u00a0 a news story that covers a not-yet published journal article should be more explicit about its sources of information."}
{"claim_id": "3402", "claim": "Georgia could be first state to test Trump health proposals.", "explanation": "Georgia could be the first state to test multiple proposals from President Donald Trump that would dramatically change the market for insurance under the health care overhaul passed by his predecessor.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Georgia, Health care reform, General News, Medicaid, Donald Trump, Barack Obama", "main_text": "Supporters say the proposed changes to former President Barack Obama\u2019s Affordable Care Act would give individuals and families less expensive coverage options, a particular benefit for those who don\u2019t qualify for federal subsidies to cover premiums. Critics say it would drive up insurance costs for older and sicker people. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued his plan, dubbed \u201cGeorgia Access,\u201d in October. It includes three approaches promoted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, in November 2018. State officials planned to submit a formal proposal to the Trump administration on Friday and expected to hear by August 2020 whether the state has permission to implement it. Passed in 2010, the Affordable Care Act \u2014 Obama\u2019s signature health care law \u2014 extended insurance coverage to millions of Americans by expanding Medicaid and subsidizing premiums for individuals and families who make up to four times the federal poverty level. The law \u2014 also known as \u201cObamacare\u201d \u2014 allows states to seek waivers from the federal government to change certain provisions, but only if they adhere to strict rules. The Trump administration has loosened those rules at the same time that they\u2019re part of a legal battle to entirely overturn the ACA. The Trump administration has sided with mostly GOP-led states, including Georgia, that are arguing the whole health care law is unconstitutional, but it has also left the door open for judges to keep parts of it. Under \u201cGeorgia Access,\u201d the state would take charge of federal subsidies for \u201cObamacare\u201d and make them available to people who buy health plans that don\u2019t provide the full array of benefits that the ACA requires. Health policy experts say that change would drive up ACA premiums by drawing healthier people to less expensive, skimpier insurance plans. That would leave the ACA with a sicker patient pool. \u201cEssentially, Georgia is saying if you\u2019re a healthier person who doesn\u2019t need maternity care or mental health care, you get to win with these cheaper products, but if you\u2019re a sicker person who needs comprehensive benefits you could face much higher premiums,\u201d said Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University\u2019s McCourt School of Public Policy. Corlette said Georgia is the first state to attempt to implement many of the Trump administration\u2019s 2018 proposals. At a recent public hearing, Carey Mackesey worried about what effect \u201cGeorgia Access\u201d would have on her daughter, who has cystic fibrosis. The University of Georgia junior needs constant medical treatment that requires the family to have a robust health insurance plan with a premium that has already climbed to $2,000 a month, Mackesey said. She spoke on behalf of the Georgia chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She said subsidizing plans that don\u2019t comply with the ACA\u2019s requirement to provide full benefits could raise insurance costs for people with cystic fibrosis even higher. \u201cEach year, it has become more and more difficult to secure the services that my daughter needs to live,\u201d Mackesey said. The governor\u2019s office estimates that the availability of subsidies for pared-down health plans would only increase \u201cObamacare\u201d premiums by a little more than 1 percent. State officials say that amount would be more than offset by its intention to pay a portion of insurance companies\u2019 costs to treat their sickest patients, a relatively small group that incurs the biggest bills. The so-called reinsurance program would allow the companies to lower monthly premiums for all customers. Twelve other states have received approval for reinsurance programs, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Under \u201cGeorgia Access,\u201d residents would also be required to bypass the federal HealthCare.gov website to sign up for insurance. Instead, they would buy insurance directly from brokers or insurers on sites where they would be able to compare ACA plans side-by-side with plans that don\u2019t meet ACA requirements. All plans would have to continue covering preexisting conditions. \u201cGeorgia Access\u201d would \u201cdraw people into the market\u201d by freeing them \u201cfrom being forced to buy the kind of insurance that someone else a thousand miles away decided they needed,\u201d said Kyle Wingfield, CEO of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank. State officials would also set an overall cap on subsidies. There is no cap under the ACA. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t seem fair,\u201d Georgia resident Susan Marling told state officials at the public hearing. Marling, 55, suggested that Kemp look for ways to improve the ACA without \u201cblowing up the system.\u201d The governor\u2019s office says it has put enough money in its subsidy account to cover both the residents currently receiving federal aid and the additional 30,000 people expected to sign up for insurance. Georgia officials say their proposals are responding to a bleak health care environment. Average premiums for some ACA health plans in the state have increased by more than 40 percent over the past two years, to nearly $7,500 a year, according to the governor\u2019s office. Enrollment in ACA plans in Georgia has declined by 22 percent since 2016 and now stands at nearly 460,000 people. Kemp said in a recent op-ed that \u201cGeorgia Access\u201d would give families \u201cmore choices to ensure optimal coverage at the right price.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "32385", "claim": "Police opened fire on a store mannequin after it failed to follow their orders.", "explanation": "Previous articles\u00a0from\u00a0Real News Right Now\u00a0include\u00a0reports that\u00a0President Obama was\u00a0stripping Texas of statehood (and\u00a0banning\u00a0possession of Confederate flags),\u00a0Pope Francis was planning\u00a0to change the Ten Commandments,\u00a0the wreckage of\u00a0Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was found in a warehouse owned by CNN, and that the Obama administration allocated Navajo land for hundreds of thousands of refugees.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, police shootings, real news right now", "main_text": "On 15\u00a0August 2016, the web site Real News Right Now\u00a0published an article\u00a0reporting that\u00a0police in Scranton, Pennsylvania\u00a0opened fire on\u00a0a department store mannequin because the object\u00a0failed to \u201ccomply\u201d with orders:\u00a0 Officers arrived on the scene to find what they believed was a muscular African-American man standing idly behind a dumpster. \u201cThe individual in question was dressed in a tan hoodie-style sweatshirt and appeared to be naked from the waist down,\u201d Major Howard Colvin told the Scranton Times. A Macy\u2019s employee who agreed to speak to FOX 25 News on condition of anonymity confirmed that the dark grey semi-flexible mannequin had been thrown out Saturday night due to a faulty display stand. \u201cOur officers attempted to communicate with the suspect in an effort to resolve the matter peacefully\u00a0\u2026\u00a0When the suspect failed to comply with the officers demands, they responded with appropriate force given the perceived nature of the threat,\u201d Colvin told reporters. It wasn\u2019t until after Scranton police had fired over sixty-five rounds into the mannequin\u2019s back, legs, and upper torso, that they discovered their suspect was made of wire and fiberglass rather than flesh and bone. The article\u2019s closing line hinted at its satirical take on the issue of police\u00a0shootings: In an effort to prevent future mishaps, Scranton authorities are asking local businesses to take extra care to properly disassemble mannequins and other human-like statues prior to disposal. The article (like all other content hosted on the site) is\u00a0not representative of real events, but\u00a0Real News Right Now does not include\u00a0a disclaimer identifying it as a fake news web site. Its\u00a0\u201cAbout\u201d page claims\u00a0author R. Hobbus J.D. has received\u00a0awards such as the \u201cOscar Mayer Award for Journalistic Excellence\u201d and the \u201cStephen Glass Distinction in Journalistic Integrity.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "21064", "claim": "House Republicans are ramming through legislation ... to classify pizza as a 'vegetable' for the purpose of school lunches.", "explanation": "Republican lawmakers classified pizza as a vegetable for school lunches, Democrats say", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Education, Public Health, Democratic National Committee, ", "main_text": "You may have heard the uproar by now: \"Pizza is not a vegetable!\" Democrats used the rallying cry in a mass e-mail Nov. 17, 2011, alerting partisans that, \"House Republicans are ramming through legislation this week to classify pizza as a 'vegetable' for the purpose of school lunches.\" We wondered: Pizza as a vegetable? We had heard rumblings on social networks about magical pizza seeds and pizza gardens \u2014 all in response to Congress' action \u2014 and we had to know. Was it true? Here's more from Democrats' message: Then it linked to a message for folks to send from\u00a0MyDemocrats.org/Pizza. (The message: \"Dear House Republicans, Pizza is not a vegetable. Sincerely, America.\") We could have a lot of fun with this. We asked the source of the e-mail, Brad Woodhouse at the Democratic National Committee, to back up his statement. He sent us a CBS News/Associated Press article from Nov. 15, 2011, \"Congress pushes back on healthier school lunches.\" The topic? A spending bill that forces the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ignore a proposed change from the Obama administration about how to credit tomato paste. (Congress simply won't fund implementation of the new rule.) The House and Senate both approved the bill Nov. 17, and\u00a0the president signed it\u00a0the next day. The new law\u00a0doesn't mention pizza. What it does is allow just two tablespoons of tomato paste to continue to count as a serving of vegetables. The\u00a0USDA had proposed\u00a0requiring a full half-cup of the concentrated tomato spread before it would count as a fruit or veggie \u2014 a standard \"serving\" by volume \u2014 far more than you'd find slathered on a slice o' school cafeteria pizza. (And, yes, we're aware the tomato is technically a fruit. The federal regulations cover both fruits and vegetables, but most folks in this debate are referring to tomatoes as vegetables. Just roll with it.) How crazy is considering tomato paste on a pizza as a vegetable? One Washington Post\u00a0Wonkblog reporter\u00a0said that it's not as nuts as you might think. Sarah Kliff pointed out that two tablespoons of tomato paste offer up a nutritional profile comparable to a half-cup of apples or other fresh fruit. It offers more than a gram each of fiber and protein and more calcium and potassium than the apples. It also packs beta carotene and the antioxidant lycopene,\u00a0according the the USDA. We should also note that the slices kids get at school aren't exactly the greasy, meat-laden marvels they might pick up at a pizza parlor. Federal nutrition standards require that school meals get no more than 30 percent of their calories from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Schwan Food Co., which makes 70 percent of school-lunch pizza, started adding protein and whole grains to crusts and pushing down fat and salt to meet school standards. Not to mention, if that slice doesn't have at least two tablespoons of tomato paste on it, it's not going to fly. No creamy white or pesto pizza gets automatic credit. (Well, unless that pesto's made from enough basil or spinach ... but we digress.) Still, Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for Center for Science in the Public Interest said in a Nov. 15\u00a0press release\u00a0that, \"if finalized, this legislation may go down in nutritional history as a bigger blunder than when the Reagan Administration tried (but failed) to credit ketchup as a vegetable in the school lunch program. Pizza should be served with a vegetable, not count as one.\" She's right that if the tomato paste didn't count as a serving of vegetables, kids would benefit from tomato-paste-covered pizza plus an additional serving of a vegetable. But is this the great Reagan ketchup debacle? The same amount of ketchup,\u00a0according to the USDA, sneaks in about 10 times the sodium, contains just a third of the protein, less than a tenth of the fiber and more carbs and sugar. It offers smaller traces of vitamins, and half the beta carotene and lycopene. Tomato paste is not ketchup. Still,\u00a0frozen pizza manufacturers\u00a0and the\u00a0frozen food industry\u00a0did push hard to keep the vegetable designation for the tomato paste on the pizza. When it does, that's one less vegetable the school has to buy and a cheaper deal for school districts. Fewer vegetables for kids may not be exactly a win for America. But did House Republicans try \"to classify pizza as a 'vegetable' for the purpose of school lunches\"? They did fight for the classification for the sauce on the pizza and blocked a move by the Obama administration to boost the amount of tomato paste needed to count as a serving of vegetables. But they didn't try to classify \"pizza\" as a vegetable. And even the amount of tomato paste required, just two tablespoons, packs nearly the nutritional punch of a half-cup of other foods we consider healthy. That's a pretty important detail to omit. We call the Democrats' claim ."}
{"claim_id": "24820", "claim": "Senator McCain would pay for part of his (health care) plan by making drastic cuts in Medicare\u00a0\u2014 $882-billion worth.", "explanation": "Obama knows McCain's intentions better than McCain?", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "(Published Oct. 20, 2008) Though both presidential candidates have spoken at length about how they would change the American health system, they\u2019ve carefully avoided offering many specifics about Medicare, the government\u2019s huge health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. For good reason: Medicare is financially unprepared for the surge of retiring baby boomers, meaning future administrations and Congresses will have to consider making tough tradoffs, like cutting benefits or raising taxes. That\u2019s hardly the kind of stuff a politician would willingly highlight in stump speeches or on a campaign Web site. It is the sort of thing you just might accuse your opponent of favoring. And Barack Obama in recent days has tried to do just that, portraying John McCain\u2019s health plan as filled with looming spending cuts for Medicare\u2019s nearly 45-million beneficiaries. \"It turns out, Senator McCain would pay for part of his plan by making drastic cuts in Medicare\u00a0\u2014 $882-billion worth. $882-billion in Medicare cuts to pay for an ill-conceived health care plan, even as Medicare already faces a looming shortfall,\" Obama said in an Oct. 17,\u00a02008,\u00a0speech in Roanoke, Va. He repeated the charge the next day, in St. Louis, declaring that under McCain\u2019s plan, \u201cyou would have fewer places to get care, and less freedom to choose your doctors. You\u2019ll pay more for your drugs, receive fewer services, and get lower quality care.\u201d  \u00a0  The Obama campaign also has turned the charge into a TV ad. Obama might be hitting hard on a sensitive topic, but in the process, he\u2019s offering more specifics about McCain\u2019s plan than McCain has. The $882-billion in cuts Obama cites comes from an analysis of McCain\u2019s plan by the Center for American Progress Fund, a left-leaning think tank headed by John D. Podesta, the former chief of staff to President Clinton. The analysis, in turn, is based on an estimate by the independent Tax Policy Center that finds McCain\u2019s overall health plan would cost the government $1.3-trillion over 10 years\u00a0\u2014 a figure the McCain campaign doesn\u2019t dispute. Because McCain\u2019s campaign says the health plan would be \u201cbudget neutral\u201d\u00a0\u2014 meaning it would be paid for by savings from Medicare and Medicaid\u00a0\u2014 the Center for American Progress automatically assumes the savings would come from cuts to the big health programs. The center performed a series of calculations to determine how much McCain would have to reduce both programs\u2019 projected spending growth, and concluded McCain would have to pare the program by roughly 13 percent over a decade, or $882-billion. All fine, except that McCain has never talked about Medicare benefit and service cuts to pay for his health care plan. Instead, his campaign says it would achieve the necessary cost savings by overhauling Medicare reimbursement policies, streamlining treatments for certain chronic diseases, cracking down on fraud and waste, expanding the use of lower-cost generic drugs and assorted other steps. McCain\u2019s senior policy adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin has talked about further policy changes, including extending tax credits so some low-income Americans wouldn\u2019t have to enroll in Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor. But he has stressed that the cost of these changes could be covered without cutting benefits or services. McCain\u2019s campaign responded to Obama's Roanoke remarks, saying the Democratic front-runner was committing \u201cMedicare malpractice\u201d and spreading lies by perpetuating the Center for American Progress Fund analysis. It\u2019s unclear whether McCain could extract sufficient savings using the methods he\u2019s outlined to achieve his \"budget neutral\" goal. Still, the Center for American Progress Fund analysis flatly assumes McCain will cut Medicare benefits and services when McCain has not even broached the idea in speeches or statements. Obama is overstepping by repeating the analysis\u2019 conclusion and portraying the dollar amount of the cuts as part and parcel of McCain\u2019s plan. We rule his claim ."}
{"claim_id": "33739", "claim": "Disney arranged to have himself frozen in cryonic chamber full of liquid nitrogen upon his death,", "explanation": "Half a century onwards, the rumor that Walt Disney's body was put in cryonic storage remains one of the most enduring legends about the entertainment giant.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disney, Walt Disney", "main_text": "Walt Disney\u2019s health had been deteriorating for many months before he finally agreed to enter St. Joseph hospital in California on 2 November 1966, for tests concerning the pain in his leg and neck. Doctors discovered a walnut-sized spot on the x-ray of his left lung and advised immediate surgery. Disney left the hospital to attend to studio business for a few days, then re-entered St. Joseph on Sunday, November 6, for surgery the next day. During Monday morning\u2019s operation, doctors found his left lung to be cancerous and removed it. His oversized lymph nodes were an indication that Disney hadn\u2019t much longer to live. After two weeks of post-operative care, Disney was released from the hospital. He crossed the street to his studios and spent another ten days tending to studio business and visiting relatives before he grew too weak and had to return to St. Joseph on November 30. His health started to fail even more rapidly than expected, and drugs and cobalt treatments sapped what little strength he had left. Walt Disney died two weeks later when his circulatory system collapsed on the morning of December 15, 1966. In the decades since Walt Disney\u2019s death, the claim that he arranged for his body to be frozen has become ubiquitous. Nearly everyone familiar with the name \u2018Walt Disney\u2019 has heard the story that Disney\u2019s corpse is stored in a deep-freeze chamber somewhere \u2014 directly under Disneyland\u2019s \u201cPirates of the Caribbean\u201d attraction is the most frequently mentioned site \u2014 awaiting the day when science could repair the damage to his body and bring \u2018Uncle Walt\u2019 back to life. Was Walt Disney aware of the possibilities of life extension through cryogenics? He certainly could have been aware of the progress being made in cryogenics research. Numerous articles and books on hypothermia and the preservation of animal tissue through freezing appeared in both the scientific/medical and general press in the late 1950\u2019s and early 1960\u2019s. Anyone with an interest in the subject could easily have located this reading material, and even someone without a particular interest in the subject may have run across one or more articles on the topic in the general press. The subject of cryonics was further brought to the public\u2019s attention with the publication in 1964 of Robert C.W. Ettinger\u2019s book, The Prospect of Immortality. Ettinger\u2019s book, drawing on much of the available literature about cryonics, covered the practical, legal, ethical, and moral impact of freezing and reviving human beings. Ettinger, while admitting that science had as yet no way of reviving frozen human beings, was unflaggingly optimistic that a viable means of reanimation would eventually be found, telling his readers: The fact: At very low temperatures it is possible, right now, to preserve dead people with essentially no deterioration, indefinitely. The assumption: If civilization endures, medical science should eventually be able to repair almost any damage to the human body, including freezing damage and senile debility or other cause of death. Hence we need only arrange to have our bodies, after we die, stored in suitable freezers against the time when science may be able to help us. No matter what kills us, whether old age or disease, and even if freezing techniques are still crude when we die, sooner or later our friends of the future should be equal to the task of reviving and curing us. Given the prevalence of articles published about cryonics in the mid-1960\u2019s, and the relative popularity of Ettinger\u2019s book among science buffs (even if few of them had actually read it), it is certainly possible that Walt Disney was aware of the potentiality of cryonic storage of humans. Whatever the possibilities, however, there is no documentary evidence to suggest that Walt Disney was interested in, or had even heard of, cryonics. Documentation of Disney\u2019s alleged fascination with preserving or extending his life through cryonics did not appear until decades after his death, and what little information is available has predominantly been provided by some extremely questionable sources. Claims about Disney\u2019s interest come primarily from two of the more recent Disney biographies: Robert Mosley\u2019s 1986 effort,Disney\u2019s World, and Marc Eliot\u2019s 1993 entry, Walt Disney \u2014 Hollywood\u2019s Dark Prince. Both books have been largely discredited for containing numerous factual errors and undocumented assertions, rendering them rather untrustworthy as sources of reliable background material. Eliot\u2019s biography, which dwells unrelentingly on every salacious incident and rumor connected with Walt Disney\u2019s name, is fairly easy to dismiss. Charitably described as \u201cspeculative,\u201d it contains a single passage concerning Walt Disney\u2019s alleged interest in cryonics: Disney\u2019s growing preoccupation with his own mortality also led him to explore the science of cryogenics, the freezing of an aging or ill person until such time as the human body can be revived and restored to health. Disney often mused to Roy about the notion of perhaps having himself frozen, an idea which received \u2026 indulgent nods from his brother \u2026 Not surprisingly, the source behind this piece of information is nowhere to be found in Eliot\u2019s notes. And as there is no record of Roy ever having spoken of his brother\u2019s alleged interest in cryonics, Eliot\u2019s \u201csource\u201d was likely nothing more than repetition of rumor. Mosley\u2019s Disney\u2019s World is also rather long on rumor and short on facts. The book has been described as \u201cpoorly researched and filled with inaccuracies\u201d, a biography that seemed \u201cto promote certain preset points of view, regardless of evidence\u201d. The same critique goes on to say, \u201cOne of its central themes, for example, is Disney\u2019s fascination with cryogenesis and the strong suggestion that his body was frozen following his death. It makes for titillating reading; however, few facts support Mosley\u2019s claims\u201d. Disney\u2019s World paints a picture of an anxious Walt Disney desperately searching for a way to spring back to life in order to prevent or correct the horrible mistakes his followers were bound to make in turning his EPCOT dream into reality: [T]he chief problem that troubled Walt was the length of time it might take the doctors to perfect the process. How long would it be before the surgical experts could bring a treated cadaver back to working life? To be brutally practical, could it be guaranteed, in fact, that he could be brought back in time to rectify the mistakes his successors would almost certainly start making at EPCOT the moment he was dead? Mosley\u2019s book is filled with repetitions of the claim that Walt Disney grew increasingly interested in cryonics as his health waned in late 1966, such as this paragraph: It was about this time that Walt Disney became acquainted with the experiments into the process known as cryogenesis, or what one newspaper termed \u201cthe freeze-drying of the human cadaver after death, for eventual resuscitation.\u201d Mosley\u2019s statements regarding Disney\u2019s belief in the feasibility of cryonics are somewhat difficult to take seriously, given that his book includes such ludicrously erroneous (or fabricated) statements as: The surgeons had taken away his diseased lung to examine it, and then were going to preserve it. Walt was pleased when he heard that. He knew enough about cryogenesis by now to be aware that it was important to hold onto all the organs \u2014 just in case the surgeons needed to treat them before putting them back where they belonged. (Samples of tissue removed during cancer surgery are preserved in formaldehyde, a method of \u201cpreservation\u201d which, while useful for microscopy studies, damages the tissue biologically. Organs removed from Disney by his surgeons could never be \u201cput back where they belonged\u201d, no matter what the treatment.) Mosley provides no source for his statements, other than to assert that Disney\u2019s \u201cclosest colleagues and advisers\u201d were \u201cconfident\u201d that Walt Disney \u201ceventually became convinced of cryogenesis as a viable medical process and was persuaded that, even in 1966, it was possible for a human being to have himself brought back to life after death\u201d. In fact, these \u201cclose colleagues\u201d of Disney\u2019s turned out to be a few employees on the periphery of the Disney organization who had never spoken to Walt about cryonics, and were merely repeating the same decades-old rumor for Mosley\u2019s benefit. On the other hand, someone much closer to Walt Disney, his daughter, Diane wrote in 1972: \u201cThere is absolutely no truth to the rumor that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics.\u201d Despite the persistent rumors, available documentation indicates that Walt Disney was in fact cremated. Although Disney\u2019s preferences regarding the disposal of his body are not public record (instructions or provisions for his funeral and burial were not included in his will), other publicly-available material is entirely consistent with the claim that he was cremated: o Walt Disney publicly stated \u2014 ten years before his death \u2014 that he wished not to have a funeral. o Disney family members have confirmed that cremation was Walt\u2019s wish. o Disney\u2019s death certificate shows that he was cremated two days after his death. The name, license number, and signature of the enbalmer appearing on the death certificate are those of a real enbalmer who was employed at the Forest Lawn mortuary at the time. o A marked burial plot for Walt Disney (and other family members) can be found at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale (the logical resting grounds for someone whose cremation was handled by Forest Lawn\u2019s mortuary), and court papers indicate that the Disney estate paid $40,000 to Forest Lawn for interment property. Since Disney\u2019s demise, several unmremarkable events and circumstances surrounding his life and death have been combined to try to establish a pattern of mystery and secrecy concerning the disposal of his body. All of these events, however, have straightforward, non-mysterious explanations: o \u201cDisney had a long preoccupation with death\u201d o \u201cDisney had a neurotic fear of death\u201d Statements concerning Disney\u2019s alleged preoccupation with death are generally attempts to sensationalize the topic by distorting the facts. Although he did worry about dying prematurely, Disney was not \u201cobsessed with death\u201d. Supposedly having been told by a fortune-teller that he would die when he was thirty-five, Disney reportedly brooded about his inevitable demise during occasional bouts of depression, even after he had long passed the allegedly fatal age. Contemplating one\u2019s mortality is not an unusual behavior, and there is no evidence that Walt Disney did so to an excessive degree. William Poundstone quotes some ridiculous passages from Anthony Haden-Guest\u2019s The Paradise Program to try to establish Disney\u2019s preoccupation with death, detailing a \u201cgruesome seven minute Mickey Mouse cartoon\u201d made in 1933 in which \u201ca mad scientist tries to cut off Pluto\u2019s head and put in on a chicken. The cartoon in question is The Mad Doctor, which was nothing more than humorous spoof of 1930\u2019s horror films. Even in the cartoon itself the \u201chorrific\u201d events are not portrayed as real: the whole episode turns out to be nothing more than a nightmare of Mickey\u2019s. Although Poundstone wrote that the film was pulled from the Rank film library in 1970, it has been readily available on home video releases since then. o \u201cThe news of Disney\u2019s death was deliberately delayed.\u201d This claim that the announcement of Walt Disney\u2019s death was deliberately withheld from the press for several hours has been made most persistently, presumably because Disney\u2019s aides would have needed time to furtively whisk his body away from the hospital to the secret cryogenic chamber before the presence of reporters made the task impossible to accomplish in privacy. Leonard Mosley\u2019s description of the event features some of more absurd stretches of truth made in this regard: And this is where the mystery begins. It was Walt himself who had asked Roy Disney to keep his illness secret, but the manner in which the world was apprised of his death remains surprising. In fact, it was not until hours after he was declared dead that an announcement was made. First came radio announcements, then a curt official notice informed the press and public that Walt Disney was no more. It added that there would be no funeral. He had already been cremated, the announcement said, and his ashes interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Only immediate family members had been present. It is true that Disney\u2019s death was not officially announced to the press until several hours after it occurred at 9:30 AM on Thursday, December 15, 1966, but the reasons behind the delay were perfectly ordinary ones. First of all, Disney\u2019s death would not have been announced immediately under any circumstances: Several family members had to be notified before a public announcement could be made, and Disney studio executives had to be located and informed that the head of their organization had passed away before the information would be released to the press. Additionally, the gravity of Disney\u2019s illness had largely been kept a secret from the press, so there were no hordes of reporters crowding the hallways of St. Joseph Hospital, waiting for the inevitable announcement of his death. The reason for Disney\u2019s original hospitalization had been announced to the press as \u201ctreatment of an old neck injury received while playing polo,\u201d and when Disney re-entered the hospital for the final time two weeks before his death, the statement made to the press was that Disney was undergoing \u201ca routine post-operative\u201d checkup. Although it was certainly no secret that Disney was quite ill, the seriousness of his condition was not generally known. The extent to which the details of Walt Disney\u2019s illness were kept from the press are evidenced by the newspapers reports of his death, which stated that his left lung had been removed during an operation on November 21 (an error which Poundstone repeats in Big Secrets). That operation had actually taken place two weeks earlier; November 21 was the date of his original post-surgery release from the hospital. So, given that relatives and studio heads had to be notified before any statements about Disney\u2019s death were made to the press; that the media were not on a \u201cDisney death watch,\u201d busily preparing obituaries and tributes; and that communications in 1966 were certainly slower than they are today, it is not at all surprising that official news of Disney\u2019s death did not reach the public until a few hours later. Mosley\u2019s other statements, about Disney\u2019s funeral and cremation, are just further examples of sloppy research on his part. Disney was not cremated until two days after his death; no press announcement made \u201chours after he was declared dead\u201d claimed that he had already been cremated. o \u201cThe cause of Disney\u2019s demise was never formally announced.\u201d This statement is both inaccurate and irrelevant. The cause of Disney\u2019s death was initially announced as being \u201cacute circulatory collapse,\u201d which meant simply that his heart had stopped beating. As facile as the official announcement may seem to those who know he \u201creally\u201d died of lung cancer, it does reflect the proximate cause of his death. This notion is borne out by the official death certificate, which lists \u201ccardiac arrest\u201d as the primary cause of death. The fact that cancer was what caused Disney\u2019s heart to give out was, medically, of secondary importance. Official statements released to the press after Disney\u2019s surgery (and before his death) had already revealed that a tumor had been found, necessitating the removal of a lung. Whether stated \u201cofficially\u201d or not, it was quite clear to the public that Disney had died of lung cancer. In any case, what possible difference could it have made what Walt Disney died of? How could dissembling about the \u201creal\u201d cause of his death possibly have facilitated the goal of secretly storing his body in a cryonic chamber? o \u201cDisney\u2019s funeral services were held in secret.\u201d Disney\u2019s funeral was not \u201csecret\u201d; rather, it was private, conducted quickly and quietly at the Little Church of the Flowers in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale at 5:00 PM on Friday, December 16 (the day after his death). No announcement of the funeral was made until after it had taken place, no associates or executives from Disney Studios were invited, and only immediate family members were in attendance. Forest Lawn officials refused to disclose any details of the funeral or disposition of the body, stating only that \u201cMr. Disney\u2019s wishes were very specific and had been spelled out in great detail.\u201d. None of this secrecy surrounding Disney\u2019s funeral should be the least bit surprising to anyone, however. The biography The Story of Walt Disney (essentially an autobiography in which Disney\u2019s own words and thoughts were attributed to his daughter Diane), written a decade before Disney\u2019s death, noted that: [Walt] never goes to a funeral if he can help it. If he had to go to one it plunges him into a reverie which lasts for hours after he\u2019s home. At such times he says, \u2018When I\u2019m dead I don\u2019t want a funeral. I want people to remember me alive. '\u201d Is it so remarkable that a man who had an aversion to funerals \u2014 and who had stated a ten years earlier that he didn\u2019t want a public funeral \u2014 was sent off with a very quick and very private ceremony? If the clandestineness of the funeral had been intended to cover up the fact that Disney\u2019s body had already been deposited in liquid nitrogen at a secret facility, there were certainly better, less obvious ways of accomplishing the deception: Disney could have been given a simple closed-casket ceremony, with nobody the wiser. o \u201cDisney specified the public was never to be told the location of his grave.\u201d Again, this claim is unsupported by any factual information and is not the least bit extraordinary. It is true that officials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park will not divulge the location of the Disney family plot. Many celebrities do request that the locations of their burial plots not be given out to visitors as a simple matter of privacy. The burial sites are not intended to be \u201csecret,\u201d however; if they were, they wouldn\u2019t be marked and located on publicly-accessible grounds. Disney\u2019s plot was not, as Mosley claimed, \u201calready filled with family ashes from which the public would always be barred.\u201d Disney\u2019s plot is far from obtrusive, but it is located in an unrestricted part of the park and marked with a plaque identifying its occupants; anyone who so desires is perfectly free to visit, leave flowers, take photographs, etc. The plot was certainly not \u201calready filled with family ashes\u201d at the time of Disney\u2019s interment, as for many it held the remains of only one other person: Ron Brown, a son-in-law who died the year after Disney did. In fact, according to the book Wills of the Rich and Famous, the interment property was not even chosen until September 19, 1967, making it rather difficult to believe that it could have been \u201calready filled with family ashes.\u201d  If Disney was not really frozen, then how and when did this rumor originate? The exact origins of the rumor are unknown, but at least one Disney publicist has suggested that the story was started by a group of Disney Studio animators who \u201chad a bizarre sense of humor.\u201d The earliest known printed version of the rumor appeared in the magazine Ici Paris in 1969. Even if the origins of the story are unknown, it is certainly easy to see why the rumor is so believable. In the years immediately preceding his death, Disney was involved in a number of projects which cemented his image as a technical innovator in the public\u2019s mind. Disneyland attractions such as the monorail, the House of the Future, the Voyage to the Moon; the introduction of audio-animatronic figures at the 1964 World\u2019s Fair, and Disney\u2019s plans for his \u201ccommunity of tomorrow\u201d (EPCOT) in Florida made it easy to believe Walt Disney was ahead of everyone else in his planning, even when it came to his death. When you consider that the first cryonic suspension took place just a month after Disney\u2019s death (Dr. James Bedford, a 73-year-old psychologist from Glendale, was suspended on January 12, 1967), it\u2019s not so far-fetched to imagine that Disney might have made similar arrangements."}
{"claim_id": "6877", "claim": "Ultrasound jiggles open brain barrier, a step to better care.", "explanation": "A handful of Alzheimer\u2019s patients signed up for a bold experiment: They let scientists beam sound waves into the brain to temporarily jiggle an opening in its protective shield.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Tumors, North America, Ultrasound, Science, U.S. News", "main_text": "The so-called blood-brain barrier prevents germs and other damaging substances from leaching in through the bloodstream \u2014 but it can block drugs for Alzheimer\u2019s, brain tumors and other neurologic diseases, too. Canadian researchers on Wednesday reported early hints that technology called focused ultrasound can safely poke holes in that barrier \u2014 holes that quickly sealed back up \u2014 a step toward one day using the non-invasive device to push brain treatments through. \u201cIt\u2019s been a major goal of neuroscience for decades, this idea of a safe and reversible and precise way of breaching the blood-brain barrier,\u201d said Dr. Nir Lipsman, a neurosurgeon at Toronto\u2019s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre who led the study. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting.\u201d The findings were presented at the Alzheimer\u2019s Association International Conference in Chicago and published in Nature Communications. This first-step research, conducted in just six people with mild to moderate Alzheimer\u2019s, checked if patients\u2019 fragile blood vessels could withstand the breach without bleeding or other side effects \u2014 it didn\u2019t test potential therapies. More safety testing is needed but \u201cit\u2019s definitely promising,\u201d said Dr. Eliezer Masliah of the National Institute on Aging, who wasn\u2019t involved with the study. \u201cWhat is remarkable is that they could do it in a very focused way, they can target a very specific brain region.\u201d Alzheimer\u2019s isn\u2019t the only target. A similar safety study is underway in Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease. And researchers are testing if the tool helps more chemotherapy reach the right spot in people with a deadly brain tumor called glioblastoma. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to broadly open the blood-brain barrier everywhere. We want to open the blood-brain barrier where we want the treatment to be delivered,\u201d explained Dr. Graeme Woodworth of the University of Maryland Medical Center, who will lead a soon-to-begin brain tumor study. Scientists have long tried different strategies to overcome the blood-brain barrier with little success. The brain\u2019s blood vessels are lined with cells that form tight junctions, almost like a zipper. The barrier lets in select small molecules. Often, treatments for brain diseases are too big to easily pass. The new approach: Scientists inject microscopic bubbles into the bloodstream. Through an MRI scanner, they aim at a precise brain area. Then they beam ultrasound waves through a helmet-like device to that spot. The pulses of energy make the microbubbles vibrate, loosening those zipper-like junctions in hopes that medications could slip inside. Within minutes, Lipsman\u2019s team saw a medical dye appear on the Alzheimer\u2019s patients\u2019 brain scans \u2014 proof the barrier opened. A repeat scan the next day showed it was closed again. Patients repeated the procedure a month later. Researchers reported no serious side effects, and no worsening of cognitive function. The study was funded by the non-profit Focused Ultrasound Foundation. \u201cIt\u2019s not painful or anything,\u201d said Rick Karr of Everett, Ontario, the study\u2019s first participant. A retired truck driver and amateur musician, Karr was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s in 2011. Doctors made clear the study wouldn\u2019t treat his memory problems, but \u201cI feel privileged,\u201d Karr said in an interview. \u201cI could help somebody else down the road.\u201d A French company, CarThera, is testing a different ultrasound technique for brain tumors, using an implant attached to the skull during surgery. For the non-invasive ultrasound, device maker InSightec has Food and Drug Administration permission to begin the Maryland tumor trial and a small U.S. Alzheimer\u2019s study. This time, scientists will aim deeper into Alzheimer\u2019s-affected brains to a key memory region, said lead researcher Dr. Ali Rezai of West Virginia University\u2019s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. And they\u2019ll measure if simply opening the barrier could help the body clear away sticky plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer\u2019s, after mouse studies suggested that\u2019s a possibility. But by far the bigger interest is in using ultrasound to deliver drugs \u2014 if the next-step studies conclude it\u2019s safe to try. \u201cThe blood-brain barrier\u2019s no longer off-limits,\u201d Rezai said. ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "4423", "claim": "Lake worshipped by Incans now littered with trash.", "explanation": "Tucked between snow-capped mountains, Lake Titicaca was once worshipped by the Incas, who proclaimed its deep blue waters the birthplace of the sun.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, International News, South America, Lake Titicaca, Latin America, Lakes, Environment, Health, Science, Peru, Bolivia, Frogs", "main_text": "These days the shores of South America\u2019s largest lake are littered with dead frogs, discarded paint buckets and bags of soggy trash. Less visible threats lurk in the water itself: toxic levels of lead and mercury. The steady deterioration of the prized tourist destination has caused a rash of health problems among the 1.3 million people in Peru and Bolivia living near Lake Titicaca\u2019s polluted banks. Untreated sewage water drains from two dozen nearby cities and illegal gold mines high in the Andes dump up to 15 tons of mercury a year into a river leading to the lake. \u201cIf the frogs could talk they would say, \u2018This is killing me,\u2019\u201d said Maruja Inquilla, a local environmental activist who recently showed up at the Puno governor\u2019s house carrying plastic bags filled with hundreds of dead frogs in protest. Increasing concern about pollution has prompted a series of scientific studies and promises of official action. The governments of Peru and Bolivia signed a pact in January 2016 to spend more than $500 million to attack the problem, though the details were vague. A year later, Peru\u2019s new president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, pledged to construct 10 treatment plants around the lake, putting the cost at $437 million, \u201cso that the most beautiful lake in the world is the cleanest lake in the world.\u201d But details of how the plants would be funded remain unclear and promises by politicians dating back two decades have so far gone unfulfilled. Many of the more than 400,000 tourists who visit Lake Titicaca from Peru each year stop first in Juliaca, a town that produces 200 tons of trash daily, much of it winding up in a river that has turned into a conveyor belt of waste heading into the lake. Hypodermic needles, tires, old shoes and used diapers are scattered among the potato fields that line the giant lake\u2019s shores. An additional 350,000 tourists visit the lake from Bolivia. A Peruvian government-sponsored study in 2014 found mercury, cadmium, zinc and copper in four types of fish that form part of the local population\u2019s diet at levels higher than those advised for human consumption. Cellular malformations were detected in the fishes\u2019 blood, said Mario Monroy, lead author of the study and professor at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogota, Colombia. Monroy likened the state of the fishes\u2019 blood to a thermometer for measuring the health of Lake Titicaca\u2019s waters. The blue waves that lure travelers also contain lead at levels above international standards, the study found. Dr. Jane M. Hightower, who specializes in internal medicine at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and is author of the book \u201cDiagnosis: Mercury: Money, Politics & Poison,\u201d reviewed the study and told The Associated Press that the numbers indicate the amount of mercury consumed by Titicaca residents would be \u201cunacceptable.\u201d The study suggested officials limit some fish consumption, but inhabitants of the lake area said they weren\u2019t informed about the study or told they could be consuming fish harmful to their health. Environment Minister Elsa Galarza said her agency plans to make recommendations to residents based on the findings, though Peru\u2019s Production Ministry, which co-financed the study, told The Associated Press in an email that more investigation is required. Inquilla, the local activist, hasn\u2019t been waiting for more. Donning a wide-brimmed, rainbow-hued hat typical of the indigenous communities that surround the lake, she has been visiting villagers to alert them of the dangers lurking in their food and water. The green totora reeds and camouflage-colored Titicaca water frogs she once spotted in abundance have thinned in numbers. The frogs have been placed on a \u201ccritically endangered\u201d list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and just 10,000 remain. In the coastal hamlet of Coata, 23-year-old Maria Avila grew angry as she talked about the lake\u2019s contamination. The mother of a 4-year-old living in an adobe house says she cannot bathe or drink the water without getting severe diarrhea or red spots on her skin. If she washes a blouse with the lake\u2019s water it turns a green color and if she heats the water to make mate, a tea-like drink with a normally grassy taste, it becomes salty and bitter. Avila collects rainwater for household use, but when there isn\u2019t rain, she rows a boat 10 kilometers (6 miles) out from the shore and gathers water in barrels. The water deeper in Lake Titicaca is cleaner than that collected from the banks and can be used to cook, bathe and drink after being boiled. \u201cMy ancestors have lived here more than 500 years. They have never gone through these things,\u201d Avila said. Like many living on the 4,000-meter (13,100-feet) high plain surrounding the lake, Avila feels government leaders have neglected them. In 2011, then-presidential candidate Ollanta Humala promised to solve the contamination and construct water sewage processing plants. He won 79 percent of votes in the Lake Titicaca region but didn\u2019t follow through. Kuczynski, a former Wall Street banker who lived just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the lake as a youth, has made access to clean water one of the priorities of his presidency. In a visit to the lake earlier his year, he characterized the polluted waters \u201ca pigsty.\u201d Avila said Lake Titicaca\u2019s people refuse to live \u201clike pigs and streets dogs.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s not who we are,\u201d she said."}
{"claim_id": "2314", "claim": "U.S. says science should settle farm debates in trade deal with EU.", "explanation": "A planned EU/U.S. trade deal needs to sweep away \u201cnon-scientific barriers\u201d that prevent U.S. farmers from selling many  genetically modified crops and some chemically treated meats in Europe, the U.S. agriculture secretary said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The two sides aim to create the world\u2019s largest free-trade pact, whose advocates say it could boost their economies by $100 billion a year each. But after a year of talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), agriculture is emerging as one of the most difficult areas. The European Union has ruled out importing meat from animals injected with hormones and said that it will not simply open the door to GM crops. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said difficult issues needed to be addressed, with the common goal of opening markets and eliminating \u201cnon-scientific barriers\u201d. \u201cScience is a common language ... We will be working towards making sure that whatever agreements are reached, they are consistent with sound science,\u201d he told a media briefing during a visit to Brussels. In the case of GM crops, the EU has cleared for import some 50 of about 450 commercial strains. The bloc takes in about 30 million tonnes a year for its cattle, pigs and poultry, but EU retailers hardly stock any GM food because of widespread consumer resistance. Vilsack said it was not acceptable that it took four years or more for GM strains to gain access to European markets after winning clearance from the European Food Safety Authority. That compared with a U.S. norm of about 18 months. The United States is demanding the regulatory process be harmonized. Ecological group Greenpeace says GM crops are part of large-scale intensive farming which degrades soils and pollutes water. It says they create herbicide-resistant superweeds that require more pesticides and are not proven to be safe to eat, with much of the research funding coming from industry. Vilsack said the U.S. government was very concerned about suggestions that GM products posed a safety risk, which he said was not borne out by science. Labelling, suggested by some in Europe, would not be a solution, he said. U.S. labels, he said, typically concerned nutritional information or carried a specific warning, for example to alert those with a peanut allergy. Insisting on a label indicating a foodstuff contained a GM product risked sending a wrong impression that this was a safety issue, he said. Vilsack said smartphones might offer an eventual solution by allowing consumers who wanted extensive information, such as on GM content, to gain access to it by scanning a barcode in a supermarket. Vilsack said the European Union should also rethink its current bans on chlorine-washed chicken and beef from cattle raised with growth hormones. Only last month German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out imports of the former. But Vilsack said the chlorine treatment was a safe way of reducing pathogens. He added that a deal struck with the EU to allow in a quota of hormone-free U.S. beef to settle a dispute at the World Trade Organization was not a permanent solution. \u201cWe are still going to have to have some conversation about the beef question,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "7530", "claim": "US surgeon general urges caution, not panic, on new virus.", "explanation": "Surgeon General Jerome Adams called for caution but \u201cnot panic\u201d over the spread of the new coronavirus during a stop Monday in Connecticut, where state officials urged the federal government to increase spending on health agencies and preparedness.", "label": "true", "subjects": "General News, Flu, Connecticut, Virus Outbreak, Michael Pence, Public health", "main_text": "Adams and state Public Health Commissioner Renee Coleman-Mitchell called on the public to take precautions such as washing hands, elbow \u201cbumping\u201d instead of hand shaking, and getting flu shots. Flu shots, they said, would decrease the number of people hospitalized because of flu and free up space, if needed, to treat patients sickened by the new virus. \u201cCaution, preparedness, but not panic,\u201d Adams said. \u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019re going to successfully navigate this coronavirus situation.\u201d Adams, who was in Connecticut for events unrelated to the virus, spoke while touring the state public health laboratory in Rocky Hill, which recently received federal approval to run diagnostic testing for coronavirus. \u201cThe risk to individuals from the novel coronavirus right now is low. Due to the administration\u2019s aggressive containment strategies, we have done a good job of limiting coronavirus entry into the United States,\u201d Adams said. Coleman-Mitchell said the state lab did its first two tests for coronavirus over the weekend and both were negative. Adams and Coleman-Mitchell also cautioned the public against buying surgical masks, saying it could lead to a shortage that could affect medical staff and patients who need them. There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, in Connecticut. The number of cases in the U.S. has climbed to at least 91, including six deaths, all in Washington state. Worldwide, more than 89,000 people have been infected and more than 3,000 have died. Adams noted the current flu season in the U.S. is severe and has killed an estimated 18,000 people. \u201cI would be shocked, I would be absolutely shocked, if we get anywhere near the hospitalizations or deaths from coronavirus that we\u2019ve had for the flu in this country,\u201d he said. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, toured the lab with Adams on Monday. He said there is bipartisan support for increasing federal government spending to fight and treat the virus. Blumenthal said he and other members of Congress want to spend much more than the Trump administration\u2019s proposed $2.5 billion in extra appropriations to combat the virus. He said that there is bipartisan support for at least $8.5 billion in additional spending that he hopes Congress will pass within the next 10 days. \u201cWe are going to fight for the money that is necessary to be effective and stop this disease from becoming a pandemic,\u201d Blumenthal said. The measure would finance both federal and state response efforts, fund the federal government\u2019s drive to develop and produce a vaccine, and offer Small Business Administration disaster loans to help businesses directly affected by the growing outbreak. Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, took part in a conference call later Monday with other governors and Vice President Mike Pence, whom President Donald Trump has tapped to lead U.S. efforts to fight the virus. The governors expressed their state\u2019s needs for federal reimbursements for state public health expenses related to the virus, Lamont said. Pence, he said, appeared to support the congressional spending plan and talked about how the virus is beginning to diminish in China while spreading in other areas. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to figure out what the half-life of this virus is going to be,\u201d Lamont said. \u201cBut right now I feel like Connecticut is in good shape. We\u2019re prepared, prepared for the worst, hoping for the best.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "17857", "claim": "Virginia is \"the number one state per capita in screening out people with mental illness from gun purchases.", "explanation": "Cuccinelli said Virginia is \"the number one state per capita in screening out people with mental illness from gun purchases.\" His claim is based on outdated numbers. Virginia used to be No.1, but was surpassed by Pennsylvania last year. Now, we\u2019re a distant No. 2. That\u2019s still impressive. So Cuccinelli\u2019s statement is largely accurate but needs the clarification.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Guns, Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, ", "main_text": "GOP gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli says the state has made strides in keeping guns away from the mentally ill since the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech. \"What we\u2019ve done in Virginia is we have become the number one state per capita in screening out people with mental illness from gun purchases,\" Cuccinelli said during a Sept. 25 debate with Democrat Terry McAuliffe. We wondered if Virginia really is No. 1. To support his statement, Cuccinelli campaign spokeswoman Anna Nix pointed to a chart in the Seattle Times that ranked states on that measure.The chart was based on figures compiled by Mayors Against Illegal Guns -- a gun control group started by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Those figures show Virginia had submitted 2,254 mental health records to the national background check system for every 100,000 residents in the state. That was the highest ratio among all states in late 2011. The gun control group said in a November 2011 version of its Fatal Gaps report that Virginia had been sharing records with the national background check database for a decade, but the volume of records shared increased after the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy. In that case, Seung-Hui Cho, was able to purchase two handguns he used to kill 32 people despite going through federal and state background checks at licensed gun dealers, according to a 2009 panel report on the shooting to then Gov. Tim Kaine. Cho had been deemed a danger to himself by a Virginia court, and that normally would have made him ineligible to buy the weapons. But his information was not shared with the federal National Instant Background Check System, the panel said, because of ambiguities in Virginia\u2019s guns laws. The Virginia Tech shootings sparked a nationwide examination of the national background check system. Congress passed a 2008 law providing incentives for states to submit mental health records to the national background check system, but they are under no requirement comply. Virginia also passed legislation expanding the mental health records that have to be sent to the federal and state background check databases. Mayors Against Illegal Guns notes on its interactive chart that in the wake of the massacre, Virginia became the national leader in submitting mental health records to the national background check system. It remained at the top of the group\u2019s list until October 2012, Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said in an e-mail. Since, then, however, Pennsylvania has vaulted from the bottom of the pack to the top. That month, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Pennsylvania State Police resolved lengthy legal and technical problems and transmitted 643,167 mental health records to the NICS. The submission means that Pennsylvania has submitted about 5,003 mental health records to the national background check system per 100,000 residents. Virginia was a distant No. 2 in the latest report by the mayors\u2019 group, which counts all submissions through Oct. 31, 2012. Virginia had sent 180,338 mental health records to NICS. That breaks down to about 2,220 records per 100,000 residents. Rounding out the Top 5 were Delaware, California and Washington. The Bottom 5, in descending order, were Oklahoma, Louisiana, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The gun control group plans to issue an updated report in the coming weeks. Our ruling Cuccinelli said Virginia is \"the number one state per capita in screening out people with mental illness from gun purchases.\" His claim is based on outdated numbers. Virginia used to be No.1, but was surpassed by Pennsylvania last year. Now, we\u2019re a distant No. 2. That\u2019s still impressive. So Cuccinelli\u2019s statement is largely accurate but needs the clarification. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "2970", "claim": "Climate is changing. Investing needs to, too, says BlackRock.", "explanation": "A changing climate means dramatic risks for the world \u2014 and for investments too, the chief of the world\u2019s largest investment manager said Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Climate, AP Top News, Climate change, General News, Environment, Business", "main_text": "To prepare for and protect against those risks, BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink said in his influential annual letter to CEOs that his firm, which manages roughly $7 trillion for investors, will make a series of moves putting climate change and sustainability at the center of its investing approach. Among them, BlackRock will cut out investments in some coal producers from some of its portfolios, sharply increase the number of sustainability-focused funds that it offers, and vote against companies at shareholder meetings when they\u2019re too slow in disclosing and mitigating their impact on the environment. \u201cClimate change has become a defining factor in companies\u2019 long-term prospects,\u201d Fink wrote in his letter, adding that he believes \u201cwe are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance\u201d because of it. Fink predicted  that the changes in how capital is deployed will come \u201cmore quickly than we see changes to the climate itself,\u201d and \u201csooner than most anticipate.\u201d In fact, the shift is already underway. Investors poured a net $20.6 billion into sustainable funds across the industry last year, nearly quadruple the record set a year earlier, according to Morningstar. Investors, particularly younger ones, increasingly say they want their money invested with an eye toward sustainability. The total dollars are still small relative to the entire industry \u2014 investors plugged a total of $413.9 billion into all taxable bond funds last year, while yanking $41.3 billion out of all U.S. stock funds \u2014 but the trend is clear and accelerating. Fearful of losing out on those dollars \u2014 and the fees that they produce \u2014 investment companies are rushing to meet the surging demand. BlackRock and other huge asset managers are generally behind smaller competitors when it comes to sustainability, said Danielle Fugere, president of shareholder-advocacy group As You Sow. BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard and others have been criticized for not doing more about the environment. Besides protests outside its Manhattan headquarters, BlackRock has also heard criticism from members of Congress who believe it could better address climate change. Because of its size and reach, any shift in focus by BlackRock could alter the industry. It is a major shareholder in thousands of companies through its popular exchange-traded funds that track various indexes, as well as its funds run by stock-picking managers. But Fugere said Tuesday\u2019s announcement is only a first step. \u201cThe words are significant, and the words show leadership,\u201d Fugere said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not enough. We have to see on the ground action, and we need to see it quickly. There is no time. Australia is burning up. California is burning up.\u201d  The wildfires in parts of Australia and California and other recent disasters have shown big institutional investors that climate change is just as much a threat to their returns in the near term as over the coming decades. \u201cThe physical risks have become so immediately clear and stark,\u201d said Amy Borrus, deputy director of the Council for Institutional Investors, whose members include pension funds, endowments and other U.S.-based asset owners investing more than $4 trillion. \u201cMany institutional investors will welcome these steps by BlackRock,\u201d she said. \u201cMore and more public funds are coming around to the view that sound environmental, social and governance practices are not just about making the world better but about fundamentally creating and preserving shareholder value.\u201d  This approach to investing comes after a yearslong evolution for the industry, which began with simple funds that bluntly excluded stocks deemed as harmful, such as gun makers or tobacco stocks. Now, fund managers say they they look at environmental, social and governance issues broadly as part of their analysis of any investment. It\u2019s known as \u201cESG\u201d investing, and proponents say it aids investors\u2019 returns, not just their consciences, because it helps them avoid risky stocks and big potential losses. Companies with poor records on environmental issues are more likely to face big fines, for example. For all the noise made by Fink\u2019s announcement, the reaction in the stock market was muted on Tuesday. Energy stocks in the S&P 500 were down, but not as much as some other corners of the market. Coal stocks were mixed. In his letter, Fink said companies and investors have a role to play in the transition to a low-carbon world, but governments will ultimately need to lead the way. Some movement has begun. The European Union on Tuesday unveiled a plan to dedicate a quarter of its budget to tackling climate change and to help shift 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) in investment towards making the economy more environmentally friendly over the next 10 years. The Europe Investment Plan will be funded by the EU budget and the private sector. It aims to deliver on European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen\u2019s Green Deal to make the bloc the world\u2019s first carbon-neutral continent by 2050. \u201cIt will be interesting to see whether BlackRock\u2019s high profile move will have any impact on policy,\u201d Borrus said. \u201cGovernment can do much more in the long run on climate change than investment flows.\u201d  ____ AP Reporter Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report from Brussels."}
{"claim_id": "10557", "claim": "Blood test for Alzheimer\u2019s", "explanation": "This report fairly describes a promising but not imminent blood test that may be able to identify people with Alzheimer\u2019s disease. It does a good job, particularly in a broadcast piece, of describing how the study was conducted and its potential implications. The story could have been significantly stronger, however. The report should have indicated how small the groups were, so people could appreciate the potential fragility of these findings. The report failed to disclose vital information about conflicts of interest that was easily available. The person-on-the-street interviews contribute nothing of value, but they consume valuable seconds which could have been devoted to the two areas mentioned above\u2013or to providing insight from a clinician. The ABC News website has a much more complete report on the study. The broadcast segment should have referred viewers to it.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Because the test is not available and will not be for sometime, estimating a cost of testing is not possible at the present time. But a story like this also could have touched on the issue of the downstream costs associated with testing everyone with signs of memory loss \u2013 which could be enormous \u2013 and the costs of providing what are now relatively ineffective current drug treaments. The report says that the test is 90 percent accurate in identifying or predicting Alzheimer\u2019s. But it fails to put\u00a0 what sounds like an extraordinarily powerful result in context. The groups studied were very small: In one result (according to other press reports), 38 out of 42 patients were correctly identified via the 18 proteins. Another result showed accuracy in 20 out of 22 patients. The segment opens and closes with the hosts discussing whether there are harms (or even value) of knowing one will develop, or already has, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, because there is no treatment available. The four people interviewed on the street emphasize the question of the test\u2019s ultimate value. (See note below under \"Sources of Information\" for more on this tactic, however.) Mixed review. The segment does a good job, particularly in a broadcast setting, of describing how the research was conducted (studying blood samples of the diagnosed and the impaired to find the related cluster of 18 \"communication\" proteins). However, the story didn\u2019t discuss a key limitation: the size of the study group. (See note under \"Quantification of Benefits,\" below). And it didn\u2019t discuss another specific limitation of this study: this case-control type of patient selection almost always overestimates test accuracy. So it\u2019s likely to perform worse in real world populations. The story also didn\u2019t comment on the fact that the publication in the journal Nature Medicine was actually a letter \u2013 which is curious and almost demands comment. Although methods are published, why was it not published as an original article about original research? As a letter, was it peer-reviewed? The same as original articles? What\u2019s missing is just as important as what was included, and for that reason. The segment does nothing to exaggerate the effects or risk of Alzheimer\u2019s, and does not raise false hopes about the ultimate value of the test. The report also does an excellent job of refusing to oversell the potential benefits of existing Alzheimer\u2019s drugs and other current treatments for the condition. The segment falls short in this category in three ways: It fails to report where the study was published (the British journal Nature Medicine). The report fails to disclose some obvious conflicts of interest. Four of the authors have commercial ties to the company that developed the test. The main investigator did early work on the test when he was with the company, Satoris Inc., of which he is co-founder with another author of the paper. The lead author is a paid consultant to the company; so was another author of the paper. This information is available in the press release. The person-on-the-street interviews do not provide valuable sources. Whether one wants to know about an Alzheimer\u2019s diagnosis is a complicated question that requires a lot of information: the impact on estate planning and long-term care, the benefits (if any) of drugs in early stage treatment, how progress might be slowed or stalled by lifestyle changes, and more. It\u2019s clear none of these people was well informed enough to have a meaningful opinion. An interview with an Alzheimer\u2019s clinician, or a caretaker, would have been more valuable. This would have helped viewers understand what role this screen could someday play in the context of typical treatment and care. The segment states that no other blood tests are currently available. While this is true, spinal taps and imaging devices are being studied and used for diagnosis currently. It would have been helpful to have some detail on what the host calls the \"long and difficult process\" of clinical diagnosis currently in use. Many viewers are likely to have a relative they are concerned about and would benefit from a clinician\u2019s perspective. The segment makes clear that the test is not currently available, is uncertain to be approved for use, and that such use would be several years away. The intro briefly implies something more imminent, however. The broadcast implies novelty early on in the set-up. But in his first statement the reporter indicates that this is \"another in a series of blood tests proposed to diagnose Alzheimer\u2019s.\" He then explains how this one is different, by studying 18 \"communication\" proteins. Generally the piece does a good job of indicating that if this test is validated and comes to market first, it would be novel. There is no evidence the report draws excessively on the press release. In fact (see next item) this is a case where the press release included vital information the story left out."}
{"claim_id": "1382", "claim": "Regulator grants license for Britain's first three-parent IVF babies.", "explanation": "- Britain\u2019s fertility regulator on Thursday granted doctors the first UK license to create babies using a three-parent IVF technique designed to prevent inherited genetic diseases.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The license, granted to a team of doctors in Newcastle, northern England, means the first child created in Britain using the mitochondrial pronuclear transfer technique could be born before the end of this year. Critics of the treatment say it is a dangerous step that will lead to the creation of genetically modified \u201cdesigner babies\u201d. But the medical team at the Newcastle Fertility Centre said they were delighted with the decision \u201cto help families affected by these devastating diseases\u201d. \u201cMany years of research have led to the development of pronuclear transfer as a treatment to reduce the risk of mothers transmitting disease to their children,\u201d said Mary Herbert, a professor of Reproductive Biology at the Centre. \u201cIt\u2019s a great testament to the regulatory system here in the UK that research innovation can be applied in treatment.\u201d  The technique involves intervening in the fertilization process to remove mitochondria, which act as tiny energy-generating batteries inside cells, and which - if faulty - can cause fatal heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness and muscular dystrophy. The treatment is known as \u201cthree-parent\u201d IVF because the babies, born from genetically modified embryos, would have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor. It is designed to help families with mitochondrial diseases - incurable conditions passed down the maternal line that affect around one in 6,500 children worldwide. Britain\u2019s parliament voted last year to change the law to allow the treatments if and when they were ready for licensing. But the regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), still had to approve each clinic and each patient on an individual basis before the treatment can be carried out. Fertility specialists welcomed Thursday\u2019s decision. Simon Fishel, managing director of CARE Fertility, said it was \u201cexcellent news\u201d and \u201ca milestone that all who care about medical health will welcome\u201d. Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at Sheffield University, said it was \u201ca great day for science\u201d. While Britain has been at the forefront of scientific advances and ethical debate about pro-nuclear transfer techniques, it will not be the first country in the world to have children born using 3-parent IVF treatment. The world\u2019s first and so-far only known mitochondrial transfer baby was born in 2016 after U.S. doctors working at a clinic in Mexico helped a Jordanian couple conceive using the treatment. (The story was refiled to say Allan Pacey is a professor at Sheffield University in paragraph 12)"}
{"claim_id": "11625", "claim": "Portable Device May Relieve Migraine Pain", "explanation": "This story describes a study, which found that a portable single-pulse trancranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) device decreases progression of a migraine attack in some people. It provides some appropriate caveats about interpreting study results. But it could have been even stronger had it discussed adverse effects and costs. This matters because this is a non-drug treatment for certain headaches that can be very disabling. It is important for the reader to understand whether this is a beneficial, safe, and cost-effective option because as a device, its regulation by the FDA is looser than that for medications. In the case of \"new\" devices therefore, reader beware!", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "No mention of cost was made in the report about this device. As medications exist for treatment of migraine during aura, the comparative cost is important. Speculation as to whether this device would be covered by insurance would have also been helpful. The article does not give the reader a sense of how significant the pain relief or avoidance was. There was a significant improvement in rate of freedom from pain at two hours for the first treated episode (39% in the treatment arm versus 22% in the sham treatment arm), but about half the subjects in both arms thought their pain relief was fair to poor. According to the study, 9 out of 99 (9%) of patients in the sham group reported at least one adverse event compared to 14 out of 102 (14%) in the sTMS group. Even though the authors suggest the adverse events were similar between the groups, the story should have reported this. Furthermore, we have no long-term information about problems associated with magnetic pulses in the brain, nor do we know about long-term effects on the primary endpoint, namely headache. Could they worsen over time? The story did an adequate job describing the study and highlighting the rigorous design methods, namely that it was a randomized, sham-controlled, multicenter trial. But the story didn\u2019t reveal whether the benefit was sustained for multiple headaches and repeated use of the device. A discussion of why about 2/3 of the originals subjects were not randomized or why another third dropped out after randomization seems like an important omission. The story does point out that since this is an industry-sponsored trial, replicating the results with an independent trial is prudent. Overall,"}
{"claim_id": "6155", "claim": "EPA chemical safety nominee drops out amid strong opposition.", "explanation": "President Donald Trump\u2019s pick to oversee chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency withdrew his nomination Wednesday after bipartisan opposition made his Senate confirmation unlikely.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Richard Burr, Politics, North America, Environment, Business, Thom Tillis, Donald Trump, Pollution", "main_text": "Officials at the White House and the Senate told The Associated Press that Michael Dourson had sent a letter asking his name to be removed from consideration to serve as head of the EPA\u2019s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. The two officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. North Carolina\u2019s two Republican senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, said last month they would vote against Dourson\u2019s nomination after The Associated Press and other media outlets detailed his past work as a toxicologist hired to defend major chemical companies. The Senate\u2019s 48 Democrats were united in opposition, meaning only one more GOP defection would be needed to defeat Dourson\u2019s nomination. In his letter asking the president to withdraw his name from consideration, which was obtained by the AP, Dourson said his stepping aside \u201cavoids unnecessarily politicizing the important environmental protection goals of Administrator Pruitt.\u201d \u201cI sincerely and deeply appreciate all the love and support by my family, friends and colleagues during this \u2018surprising\u2019 confirmation process,\u201d he went on to say. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said his staunch objections to Dourson\u2019s nomination were never a matter of partisanship. \u201cI sincerely believe he is the wrong person to hold this important position, and it\u2019s become clear that, even with a Republican majority in the Senate, he could not be confirmed,\u201d Carper said. \u201cDourson, an individual who has spent most of his career promoting less protective chemical safety standards, had no business overseeing our nation\u2019s chemical safety laws.\u201d The EPA\u2019s press office did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday evening. Dourson has already been serving at the agency as a senior adviser to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. It was not immediately clear whether he will continue in that role, which does not require Senate confirmation. The AP reported in September that Dourson has for years accepted payments for criticizing studies that raised concerns about the safety of his clients\u2019 products, according to a review of financial records and his published work. Past corporate clients of Dourson and of a research group he ran include Dow Chemical Co., Koch Industries Inc. and Chevron Corp. His research has also been underwritten by industry trade and lobbying groups representing the makers of plastics, pesticides, processed foods and cigarettes. Burr and Tillis, both of whom are considered reliably pro-business conservatives, cited Dourson\u2019s past work and worries among their home-state constituents about tainted drinking water in opposing his nomination. Marine veterans and their families have blamed decades-old contamination of wells at a North Carolina base with solvents and dry-cleaning chemicals for infant deaths and serious health problems, including cancer. More recently, concerns have been raised about undisclosed discharges of chemicals used to manufacture Teflon and GoreTex into the Cape Fear River, a source of municipal drinking water for Wilmington and other southeastern North Carolina communities. Dourson worked at the EPA for more than a decade, leaving in 1994 as the manager at a lab that assessed the health risks of exposure to chemicals. The following year, he founded Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, a private, nonprofit organization that tests chemicals and produces reports on which chemicals are hazardous in what quantities. Dourson\u2019s views toward industry are consistent with others Trump has selected as top federal regulators. Among them is Pruitt, who in March overruled the findings of his agency\u2019s own scientists to reverse an effort to ban chlorpyrifos, one of the nation\u2019s most widely used pesticides. Court records show Dourson and his work have also often been called on when his corporate clients are seeking to fend off lawsuits. Dourson\u2019s withdrawal was first reported Wednesday by Bloomberg News. ___ Follow Associated Press environmental reporter Michael Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck"}
{"claim_id": "11582", "claim": "Hormone patch shows benefit over pill", "explanation": "In 2002, the publication of the results of\u00a0Women's Health Initiative (WHI) fundamentally changed how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was used in the U.S. The study was halted early because of the finding of increased risk of heart attack, stroke, breast cancer and clots from HRT use. The\u00a0reaction was a dramatic decrease in the number of women using HRT. This story reports on a study\u00a0published in this week's Circulation showing that using\u00a0estrogen in the form of a skin patch may\u00a0not\u00a0cause the increased risk of\u00a0blood clots that is associated with the use of\u00a0hormones in the pill form. This story does an excellent job of explaining the current study, describing other studies that have shown similar results, and outlining some of the problems with drawing firm conclusions from an observational trial. Furthermore, the story does an adequate job of describing the availability, novelty and harms of hormone therapy. Because the story quotes multiple, independent experts, the reader can assume the story does not rely on a press release as the sole source of information. The story did an especially good job of noting possible conflicts of interest in researchers. However, the story should have quantified the risk of blood clots\u00a0in absolute terms, not relative terms. The story states that \"women who took hormone pills were 4 times as likely to suffer a serious blood clot.\" Four times higher than what? The story could have provided more context for the reader on these numbers by giving the actual risk of clotting from the pills compared to the patch.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not mention costs of any of the types of hormone therapy, an important piece of information since they are often not covered well by insurance. Because this story reports on the risks of clots from hormone therapy, this criteria will be\u00a0judged against how well the story quantified the risks, not\u00a0the benefits, of\u00a0the treatment. The story should have quantified the risk in absolute terms, not relative terms. The story states that \"women who took hormone pills were 4 times as likely to suffer a serious blood clot.\" 4 times higher than what? The story could have provided more context for the reader on these numbers by giving the actual risk of clotting from the pills compared to the patch. The story mentions blood clots, stroke and breast cancer as potential harms of hormone therapy. The story does an excellent job of explaining the current study, describing other studies that have shown similar results, and outlining some of the problems with drawing firm conclusions from an observational trial. The story does not exaggerate the seriousness of blood clots. However, the story may mislead women into thinking they are more common than they are by describing them as \"one of the most common health risks associated with hormones.\" No sense of absolute risk is given in the general population of women or among women taking hormone therapy. Blood clots are still very rare with hormones, occuring in fewer than 25 women per 10,000. Nonetheless, we'll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. The story quotes several independent experts who have differing views on the value of the new information. It did an especially good job of noting conflicts of interest where they existed. The story mentions\u00a0estrogen in the form of pills, patches, rings and gels. The story explains that the patches are popular in Europe but not used as widely in the U.S. The story mentions that millions of women use hormones to treat menopausal symptoms, so clearly they are not new. Because the story quotes multiple, independent experts, the reader can assume the story does not rely on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "36725", "claim": " Claims that President Trump is exhibiting signs of dementia in his speech and actions began circulating on social media in May 2017. ", "explanation": "President Trump is Showing Signs of Dementia  ", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Government, Health / Medical, Politics", "main_text": "There\u2019s no hard evidence that President Trump has exhibited signs of dementia or cognitive decline, and experts have warned that making such a diagnosis based on observations from afar is impossible to do. Those rumors gained legs after STAT, and online publication by Boston Globe Media, published an analysis on May 23, 2017, President Trump\u2019s changing speech patterns over the last 20 or so years: Research has shown that changes in speaking style can result from cognitive decline. STAT\u00a0therefore asked experts in neurolinguistics and cognitive assessment, as well as psychologists\u00a0and psychiatrists, to compare Trump\u2019s speech from decades ago to that in 2017; they all\u00a0agreed there had been a deterioration, and some said it could reflect changes in the health of\u00a0Trump\u2019s brain. The article cited range of experts on how President Trump\u2019s speech patterns changed in interview that he gave in the 1980s compared to those that he gave in the 2010s. While all experts agreed that there were noticeable changes in Trump\u2019s speech and use of vocabulary, there wasn\u2019t any agreement about why, or exactly what that could mean. One expert noted that the Trump could have changed his speech and vocabulary intentionally to appeal to a certain type of voter (although the author provides examples\u00a0of Trump\u2019s linguistic ticks showing up before he entered politics). Another expert noted that everyone\u2019s brain experiences some form of deterioration by age 70, and Trump\u2019s could be a normal result of aging rather than dementia or memory loss. One expert cited in the analysis sums up the findings: John Montgomery, a psychologist in New York City and adjunct professor at New York University, said \u201cit\u2019s hard to say definitively without rigorous testing\u201d of\u00a0Trump\u2019s speaking patterns, \u201cbut I think it\u2019s pretty safe to say that Trump has had significant cognitive decline over the years.\u201d No one observing Trump from afar, though, can tell whether that\u2019s \u201can indication of dementia, of normal cognitive decline that many people experience as they age, or whether it\u2019s due to other factors\u201d such as stress and emotional upheaval, said Montgomery, who is not a Trump supporter. Because of the challenge (or impossibility) of diagnosing someone\u2019s mental health or cognitive ability from afar that Montgomery describes, the American Psychiatric Association handed down the \u201cGoldwater Rule\u201d in 1973, which bars its members from making public statements\u00a0on the mental health or mental fitness of politicians or other public figures without first sitting for an in-person diagnosis. The rule was named for GOP presidential candidate and Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who successfully sued Fact magazine for publishing a survey of mental health professionals that showed more than 1,100 found Goldwater unfit for the presidency. The American Psychiatry Association published a defense of the Goldwater Rule in August 2016 as the presidential race was ramping up, and new questions about the mental fitness of Trump and other candidates surfaced: We live in an age where information on a given individual is easier to access and more abundant than ever before, particularly if that person happens to be a public figure. With that in mind, I can understand the desire to get inside the mind of a Presidential candidate. I can also understand how a patient might feel if they saw their doctor offering an uninformed medical opinion on someone they have never examined. A patient who sees that might lose confidence in their doctor, and would likely feel stigmatized by language painting a candidate with a mental disorder (real or perceived) as \u201cunfit\u201d or \u201cunworthy\u201d to assume the Presidency. Simply put, breaking the Goldwater Rule is irresponsible, potentially stigmatizing, and definitely unethical. The Goldwater Rule, however, won\u2019t stop speculation about President Trump\u2019s mental fitness, or future presidents for that matter. In fact, in May 2017,\u00a0an awkward encounter between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which Trump appeared disoriented and wandered away without shaking the prime minister\u2019s hand:  WHAT IS GOING ON? pic.twitter.com/4RD5l09u6M \u2014 Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 (@yashar) May 26, 2017  Some have noted, however, that the above video cuts off the end of President Trump\u2019s exchange with Netanyahu. After initially walking away, Trump returned, shook Netanyahu\u2019s hand, and told the crowd that he never mentioned \u201cIsrael\u201d while\u00a0disclosing classified information to Russian officials in a White House meeting: Or Copy Code:  In the end, mental health professionals agree that there\u2019s\u00a0no way to gauge President Trump\u2019s (or anyone else\u2019s) mental health from afar. That\u2019s why we\u2019re calling this one \u201cfiction.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "31928", "claim": "A California Senate bill gives the state the right to seize children from their families", "explanation": "Pan reported getting threats via email and by phone after the bill was signed, enough so that he required additional security. A recall petition against him needing 35,926 signatures later failed after not getting a single\u00a0signature.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, california, Richard Pan, SB-18", "main_text": "An \u201calternative health\u201d website published a story on 9 December 2016, accusing a California lawmaker of facilitating government seizure of children through a new state Senate bill. The piece claims that state Sen. Richard Pan (D) placed families in danger when he introduced state\u00a0Senate Bill 18\u00a0on 5 December 2016: This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to expand and codify the Bill of Rights for Children and Youth of California to establish a comprehensive framework that governs the rights of all children and youth in California, outlines the research-based essential needs of California\u2019s children, and establishes standards relating to the health, safety, well-being, early childhood and educational opportunities, and familial supports necessary for all children to succeed. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature, by January 1, 2022, to enact legislation for the purpose of ensuring that the Bill of Rights for Children and Youth of California, in its totality, is applied evenly, equitably, and appropriately to all children and youth across the state. While the story ran the proposal verbatim, it did not identify any specific language in the bill authorizing officials to remove children from their households. Instead it claimed \u2014\u00a0without sources \u2014 that \u201cmany across the state\u201d are already ripping the bill. (It also heavily suggested that Pan was a \u201cwhipping boy\u201d for the pharmaceutical industry.) The lawmaker, a pediatrician and faculty member at the University of California-Davis, has been targeted by opponents of mandatory school vaccination programs since co-authoring a different measure, Senate Bill 277, in February 2015. As his spokesperson, Shannan Martinez, said in a statement: This is a personal vendetta they have against Dr. Pan. They don\u2019t want to understand the bill and instead choose to make up lies about the legislation and the Senator. The irony is that they oppose an effort to empower parents and ensure children and families get the support they need to succeed. The vaccination bill, which was filed in response to a measles outbreak at Disneyland in 2014, eliminated  \u201cpersonal belief\u201d exemptions for public and private school students across the state. It was enacted on 30 June 2015, meaning that students would be required to be vaccinated unless they were granted a medical exemption."}
{"claim_id": "7390", "claim": "Jackson Laboratory gets funding boost for genetics research.", "explanation": "The federal government has awarded about $2.8 million to a Maine science lab for projects that will focus on genetics.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Genomics, Genetics, Health, General News, Susan Collins, Genetics research, Science, Angus King, Education, Maine", "main_text": "The National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health has awarded the money to The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. The biggest piece of the money is a more than $1.2 million award for a project designed to develop clinical tests for identifying patients with genetic mechanisms of infertility. That piece of the grant will also support educational activities that will create new evolutionary genomics education and research opportunities in Maine, said Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King. More than $1.1 million of the grant will support the lab\u2019s Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center. About $400,000 will be applied to a project involving stem cells and breast cancer."}
{"claim_id": "3061", "claim": "Steyer visiting North Carolina, including Barber\u2019s church.", "explanation": "Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer is spending the weekend campaigning in North Carolina in advance of participating in his party\u2019s last televised debate before the Iowa caucuses.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment, Iowa, Goldsboro, General News, North Carolina, Tom Steyer, Campaigns, Election 2020, Durham, Pete Buttigieg", "main_text": "The campaign for the wealthy environmental activist says he\u2019ll make stops in Durham and Raleigh on Saturday before going Sunday to the Goldsboro church of civil rights leader the Rev. William Barber. Steyer will speak at an anti-poverty forum at Barber\u2019s Greenleaf Christian Church, similar to what candidate Pete Buttigieg did at the church last month. Steyer\u2019s Saturday stops include the North Carolina Central University law school and a Durham public housing complex where concerns about carbon monoxide poisoning have been raised recently. Steyer also wants to talk about his proposals on immigration and fighting climate change at an evening meet-and-greet at a Raleigh hotel. Steyer qualified for Tuesday\u2019s debate in Des Moines, Iowa, by hitting polling and donor thresholds set by the Democratic National Committee."}
{"claim_id": "34349", "claim": "All of the patients in the intensive care unit of a Puerto Rican hospital were killed by Hurricane Maria.", "explanation": "However, we have been so far unable to verify the specific story that Rosario first told.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics, hurricane maria, puerto rico, trump administration", "main_text": "In late September 2017, as accounts spread online about the scale of the devastation in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, a Chicago attorney shared a story his father told him about the deaths of every person in one hospital\u2019s intensive care wing there, which dovetails with reports that the official death toll on the island territory is likely to increase dramatically. On 30 September 2017, Nelson M. Rosario posted remarks on Twitter that he attributed to his father, who lives in the territory. According to Rosario, his father \u201cis helping with rebuilding right now\u201d and has friends who were both \u201celected and appointed\u201d to the Puerto Rican government. Rosario said that he shared with his father U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s online rant against San Juan Mayor Carmen Yul\u00edn Cruz that day: The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump. Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. In response, Rosario wrote in a series of tweets: After I told him what the President said he went quiet and said \u201cWow.\u201d A second later he says \u201cI\u2019m gonna share one detail with you. One. \u201cThere\u2019s a medical center down here, and everyone that was in the Intensive Care Unit, died. Everyone. That\u2019s just one detail.\u201d He said that\u2019s what should be tweeted at the President @realDonaldTrump, so that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing. The post containing his father\u2019s allegation has been retweeted more than 26,000 times:  We contacted Rosario seeking more details about his father\u2019s anecdote. As of 30 October 2017, 51 deaths have been attributed to the hurricane. However, the local government reportedly allowed 911 bodies to be cremated and listed as deaths by \u201cnatural causes\u201d without further investigation, prompting criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts): These reports are extremely troubling \u2014 they provide even more reason to be concerned about the accuracy of the information we\u2019re receiving. The Trump Administration needs to cooperate with Puerto Rican authorities and provide all the necessary resources to ensure the death toll is accurately counted. On 3 November 2017, Cruz called the amount of cremations in the Buzzfeed report \u201can outstanding number\u201d during an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper. She also agreed with Tapper\u2019s estimate that the death toll was \u201cprobably\u201d closer to 500 people. Puerto Rico Public Safety Secretary H\u00e9ctor Pesquera said in an interview published by the nonprofit Center for Investigative Journalism on 2 October 2017 (when the death toll was at 16) that the number of dead is likely higher: I believe there are more dead, but I don\u2019t have reports telling me [for example] eight died in Mayag\u00fcez because they lacked oxygen, that four died in San Pablo because they did not receive dialysis. According to reporter Omaya Sosa Pascual: When Pesquera was asked why the government insists on keeping the death toll at 16 nearly two weeks after the hurricane, and following multiple reports of additional victims, he said they have not added additional victims to the list because death certificates from deaths that occurred during those days in Puerto Rico have yet to be released, nor has it been possible to analyze the information to determine which were natural deaths and which were deaths related to emergency-related circumstances. \u201cI\u2019m not saying it has not happened, I\u2019m saying we can only certify what we know. When that information arrives, we will validate it. I\u2019m not going to hide any numbers. I\u2019m not going to hide any data,\u201d he said. Pascual Sosa has also reported, citing local sources, that \u201cbodies are piling up\u201d inside area hospital morgues. Reporter David Begnaud, who is covering Maria\u2019s aftermath from Puerto Rico, says that at least some of the deaths were \u201coxygen related\u201d \u2014 in other words, people were unable to use breathing machines or oxygen tanks because they had no power after the storm: Confirmed: Oxygen related deaths following Hurricane Maria, as well as, suicide and heart attack Source: Gov @ricardorossello pic.twitter.com/A1W9oEalpY \u2014 David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) October 4, 2017  On 3 October 2017, Rosario again criticized Trump after the president told Puerto Rican officials they \u201ccan be very proud\u201d that 16 people had died compared to the 1,833 deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in August 2005. Rosario wrote: The death toll is not 16 @realDonaldTrump, the death toll is much higher. This is so dishonest. #TruthForPuertoRico"}
{"claim_id": "10320", "claim": "Shot Might One Day Help Lower Cholesterol", "explanation": "We liked that this story was cautious about\u00a0predicting whether or how an experimental new cholesterol-lowering drug called AMG 145 might be useful for preventing heart disease. But there were a few missed opportunities to provide additional context, particularly regarding the\u00a0cost of the new drug (which will likely be very high) should it ever make\u00a0it to market\u00a0and the fact that the outcome measured in this study (LDL cholesterol) is only a marker of heart disease risk that may not reflect\u00a0a reduction in actual heart attacks. As this story points out, there are many factors which can make it difficult for patients to take\u00a0cholesterol-lowering statin medication. Some patients are troubled by statin-related muscle pain, while others simply aren\u2019t disciplined enough to take their daily dose of medicine as directed. Other patients may never achieve their target for LDL cholesterol reduction\u00a0despite taking the highest available statin dose. An alternative\u00a0drug that lowers cholesterol with less frequent dosing and with the potential for less\u00a0risk of muscle pain might be useful for these patients.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "HealthDay,heart disease", "main_text": "The story did not mention\u00a0costs. This is an important deficiency,\u00a0since\u00a0drugs like AMG 145, which are called\u00a0monoclonal antibodies, are typically among the most expensive drugs in the world and are an important source of rising health care expenditures. The\u00a0says that AMG 145 decreased LDL cholesterol by up to 64%. Although this description isn\u2019t quite as useful as simply telling us what the cholesterol numbers were before and after treatment, the number does convey the point that this was an impressive amount of cholesterol lowering \u2014\u00a0which is accurate. The story also explains other features\u00a0of the drug that might be attractive \u2014\u00a0e.g. the potential for less\u00a0frequent dosing and fewer muscle-related adverse effects compared with statins. As already noted, the potential limitation of impacting a surrogate marker was worth mentioning. There\u00a0was room for improvement here, but we\u2019ll call it satisfactory. The story says that researchers reported\u00a0no \u201cserious\u201d side effects with the drug. OK, but\u00a0\u00a0we wish the story had mentioned that this study was really much too small\u00a0to even estimate adverse effects. In the past, other monoclonal antibodies\u00a0have produced rare but serious adverse effects- something that could have provided meaningful context for readers. The story earns high marks\u00a0for emphasizing the preliminary nature of the findings and the need for longer studies in people with high cholesterol. Unfortunately,\u00a0it failed to caution\u00a0that the study\u2019s main outcome \u2014 LDL cholesterol \u2014 is a surrogate measure of heart disease risk. Although the benefits of statin drugs are believed to be tied to their cholesterol lowering effects, it is not clear that all drugs which\u00a0lower LDL cholesterol are effective for preventing heart attacks and strokes. Accordingly, we cannot assume that this drug will be beneficial\u00a0just because it makes LDL cholesterol numbers move in the right direction. The story should have pointed this out. There was no overt disease-mongering in this story. However, several points deserve consideration: The story alerted readers to the fact that the study was funded and conducted by Amgen. However, at least one of the researchers who comments on the findings \u2014 Daniel Rader \u2014 consults for numerous pharmaceutical companies that produce or are developing new cholesterol-based therapies, including drugs that target the PCSK9 pathway discussed in the article. To avoid any appearance of a conflict, the story should have disclosed these relationships. The story mentions healthy lifestyle changes and statin drugs as\u00a0established\u00a0ways to lower cholesterol. It could have mentioned other approaches \u2014 such as nonstatin\u00a0cholesterol-lowering\u00a0drugs as well as\u00a0special margarines fortified with plant sterols \u2014 that are sometimes\u00a0used to lower cholesterol. It\u2019s clear that this potential treatment is in an early phase of development and not yet available to the public. The story notes that this drug focuses\u00a0on one of the \u201chottest targets\u201d\u00a0for new treatments to lower LDL cholesterol. So readers get the sense that there are other similar drugs in development. The story includes comments from experts not involved with the study, so we can be sure it wasn\u2019t based on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "7445", "claim": "Louisiana to name nursing homes where outbreaks happen.", "explanation": "Gov. John Bel Edwards\u2019 administration Monday will start releasing the names of nursing homes where residents have tested positive for the coronavirus and where there have been deaths from COVID-19.", "label": "true", "subjects": "John Bel Edwards, General News, Nursing homes, Virus Outbreak, Louisiana, Public health, Baton Rouge", "main_text": "The administration initially released that information early in the outbreak, but later stopped providing details, offering only numbers of nursing home residents statewide who have tested positive and who have died. That raised questions about whether family members of nursing home residents who aren\u2019t infected were told what was happening in the facility. Dr. Alex Billioux, leader of Louisiana\u2019s public health office, said the state will resume offering the details, including which nursing homes have seen residents or staff test positive for the coronavirus, how many have recovered and how many residents have died at a facility. The information will be released weekly, Billioux said Wednesday. Nursing home residents account for 37% of all virus deaths, according to the health department. The policy change was announced as officials released plans to this weekend reopen 18 Louisiana state parks, 18 state historic sites and all nine state museum buildings. Republican Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser discussed the plans during the Democratic governor\u2019s regular news conference on the state coronavirus response. Nungesser\u2019s decision dovetails with Edwards\u2019 plans to ease some state restrictions on businesses and gatherings starting Friday, including a return to limited in-restaurant dining and the reopening of salons and gyms. New Orleans is adopting similar rules Saturday. Nungesser said three parks \u2014 Chicot State Park, Lake Bistineau State Park and Bayou Segnette State Park \u2014 will remain closed to house people with COVID-19 who have no place to self-isolate. The number of people in Louisiana hospitalized with the disease caused by the new coronavirus dropped below 1,200 on Wednesday, one of the positive trends that has prompted state officials to allow partial re-opening of businesses, even as the number of cases and related deaths climbs. Another sign the state is growing confident that the virus remains manageable: Edwards said plans are in the works to begin removing hospital beds from the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The center became a makeshift hospital, converted at a cost of $169 million, for patients who were no longer critical and could be moved from regional hospitals needing space for other COVID-19 patients. More than 200 have been treated at the convention center, Edwards said Wednesday, adding that the current number is around 17. He said some beds would remain in case a flare-up of the disease occurs, but the number had not been finalized. The latest figures from the state health department in Baton Rouge showed 32,662 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, up from 32,050 on Tuesday. The number of known cases is expected to rise as more tests are completed and the department said Wednesday\u2019s one-day jump of 612 cases involved a backlog of reporting. \u201cWe have three labs that are reporting for the first time,\u201d Edwards said. Deaths rose to over 2,300. More than 22,600 people are \u201cpresumed recovered\u201d by the state. The figures show close to 238,000 tests have been performed to date. Edwards said Wednesday the state is working toward a goal of full testing \u2014 and repeat testing \u2014 of all residents and staff at nursing homes and other adult residential care providers and at prisons. More than 3,800 COVID-19 cases have been reported among residents of 197 nursing homes, and 501 cases have been reported among residents of 77 adult residential facilities, the health department said Wednesday. At nursing homes, there have been 863 COVID-19 deaths; at residential facilities, 58 such deaths. \u201cWe\u2019ve known from the beginning that nursing homes are one of the places that are most conducive to the spread of the virus and, unfortunately, it is inhabited by residents that are most vulnerable to the virus,\u201d Edwards said. Overall downward trends in the number of people showing symptoms, hospitalizations and the percentage of new cases among those tested are among the factors leading to an easing of some restrictions statewide Friday, and in New Orleans on Saturday. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover. ___ McGill reported from New Orleans. ___ Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak"}
{"claim_id": "7355", "claim": "US begins \u2018warp speed\u2019 vaccine push as studies ramp up.", "explanation": "President Donald Trump vowed to use \u201cevery plane, truck and soldier\u201d to distribute COVID-19 vaccines he hopes will be ready by year\u2019s end \u2014 even as the country\u2019s top scientists gear up for a master experiment to rapidly tell if any really work.", "label": "true", "subjects": "U.S. News, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, Politics, International News, Science, Racing for a Remedy, Virus Outbreak, Donald Trump", "main_text": "Trump on Friday declared the vaccine program he calls \u201cOperation Warp Speed\u201d will be \u201cunlike anything our country has seen since the Manhattan Project.\u201d  The goal is to have 300 million doses in stock by January, a huge gamble since a vaccine never has been created from scratch so fast \u2014 and one that could waste millions if shots chosen for the production line don\u2019t pan out. As the manufacturing side gets into place, the National Institutes of Health is working in parallel to speed the science. At least four or five possible vaccines \u201clook pretty promising\u201d and one or two will be ready to begin large-scale testing by July with others to follow soon, NIH Director Francis Collins told The Associated Press. \u201cThe big challenge now is to go big and everybody is about ready for that. And we want to be sure that happens in a coordinated way,\u201d Collins said. That year-end goal is a \u201cvery bold plan ... a stretch goal if there ever was one,\u201d he said in an interview late Thursday. Worldwide, about a dozen vaccine candidates are in the first stages of testing or poised to begin, small safety studies in people to look for obvious problems and whether the shots rev up the immune system. Among those getting the most attention are one created by the NIH and Moderna Inc., and a different type created by Britain\u2019s Oxford University. Current tests \u201care looking pretty good,\u201d Collins said. \u201cBut until you put it into the real world and check it out you don\u2019t really know. You can\u2019t skip over that really, really hard part of testing this in thousands and thousands of people.\u201d For those next-step studies, NIH is working with some of the world\u2019s largest pharmaceutical firms to create a master plan so each potential vaccine is tested the same way, using the same database, instead of each company devising its own methods. That partnership \u2014 called ACTIV or Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines \u2014 is like an umbrella where vaccine makers can sign on when they\u2019re ready to start enrolling. Some key questions are how those at highest risk from COVID-19, such as older adults and people with chronic health problems, will respond to the shots. \u201cIf you had a vaccine that only worked for 20-year-olds and didn\u2019t work for 70-year-olds, that would not be a success,\u201d Collins said. While Collins\u2019 team musters the needed science, Trump on Friday appointed Moncef Slaoui, a former GlaxoSmithKline executive, to lead the broader warp-speed project, along with Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the commander of United States Army Materiel Command. The project also will work on new treatment and testing options, but vaccines are a priority. \u201cWhen a vaccine is ready, the U.S. government will deploy every plane, truck and soldier required to help distribute it to the American people as quickly as possible,\u201d Trump said in a Rose Garden event. The World Health Organization and global health leaders have made clear that any vaccine must be shared equally between rich and poor countries. Trump said the U.S. would work with other countries, no matter who found a vaccine first. \u201cWe have no ego when it comes to this,\u201d he said. He later added, \u201cthe last thing anybody\u2019s looking for is profit.\u201d Slaoui, a veteran vaccine developer, said the goals are \u201cvery credible,\u201d but added, \u201cI also believe they are extremely challenging.\u201d  Some groups are questioning Slaoui\u2019s financial conflicts of interest; he has resigned from Moderna\u2019s board. In recent weeks, senior White House officials and allies have thrown their support behind \u201cOperation Warp Speed\u201d amid concerns that the economic rebound the president is betting his reelection on will require a reliable vaccine. Still, Trump was insistent that the U.S. would reopen regardless of the success of the effort. \u201cVaccine or no vaccine, we\u2019re back,\u201d Trump said, as states begin to reopen despite fears of a second wave of the virus. Despite all the emphasis on speed, Collins stressed that \u201cno corners are going to be cut\u201d on safety and scientists will be carefully looking for side effects. But he added: \u201cIf we can get this vaccine out there even a day sooner than otherwise we might have, that\u2019s going to matter to somebody.\u201d ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "29260", "claim": "The seeds of certain common household plants can be used as an alternative to LSD.", "explanation": "What's true: Many seeds belonging to a family of plants that includes Hawaiian baby woodrose and blue morning glory contain a chemical called LSA which can produce some psychoactive effects. What's false: LSA\u2019s mechanism of action is biologically different than LSD and it comes with myriad other dangerous or unpleasant side effects that make it far from a viable alternative.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, drugs, Hawaiian Baby Woodrose, legal highs", "main_text": "On 5 May 2016, a British tabloid ran a headline with an alarming concern: \u201cAre FLOWER SEEDS the new party drug?\u201d The question was the result of a local news story from Seekonk, Massachuchets, whose police department issued a warning about youths purchasing morning glory seeds from Home Depot as a substitute for LSD, and subsequently having a bad time: Over the past several weeks, students from a nearby school district were hospitalized as the result of ingesting the following plant seeds: Sleepy Grass, Hawaiian Baby Woodrose and Blue Morning Glory. Apparently, these seeds contain d-lysergic acid amide (LSA) which closely resembles LSD. Similarly, when ingested they can cause auditory and visual hallucinations, spatial and temporal distortion, introspection, and side effects such as nausea and vomiting. Recently, plant seeds were discovered in the Seekonk School District. [\u2026] We are fortunate indeed that there were no serious outcomes. Home Depot in Somerset has agreed to remove the seeds form [sic] the store shelves as they await a directive from the Corporate Headquarters. The headline misleadingly makes the practice sound like an epidemic, but Home Depot did confirm to us that they temporarily moved the seeds from their Seekonk store in response to a warning from the local police department, but that it was not a permanent move nor a move that affected any other stores. The Seekonk incident, however, highlights a common claim made of these seeds: that they contain a plausible chemical substitute to the hallucinogenic drug LSD called lysergic acid amide (LSA, also known as ergine). For example, The Anarchist\u2019s Cookbook, a controversial counterculture publication from the 1970s, includes a recipe for \u201cMaking LSD in the Kitchen\u201d which claims to extract \u201cthe lysergic acid amides either from morning glory seeds or Hawaiian woodrose seeds.\u201d Indeed, the seeds of these and some other plants in the family\u00a0Convolvulaceae (a broad classification of plants) do contain LSA. These plants, especially Hawaiian woodrose, have been used by numerous cultures as a traditional medicine and as an intoxicant for ceremonial practices. A 2014 paper investigating the psychoactive effects of the seeds of Hawaiian baby woodrose described the effects, which the authors attributed primarily to LSA: Sedation, an altered visual perception (e.g. of colors and textures), some kind of mood elevation, states of anxiety and changes in thought processes or sense of time. Vegetative side effects range from nausea, vertigo, hypertension, tachycardia [rapid heart rate], and tachypnea [rapid breathing] to mydriasis [pupil dilation]. While preliminary, that study attempted to uncover the neurologic mechanism behind LSA\u2019s effects using chemical tests to predict which receptors in the brain the chemical targets, revealing that they likely occur through mechanisms that are biologically different the ones that cause LSD\u2019s more famous psychedelic effects. Instead, LSA primarily promotes the less spiritually fulfilling and potentially more dangerous \u201cvegetative side effects\u201d: Although LSA from Argyreia nervosa [Hawaiian Baby Woodrose] is often considered as a natural kind of LSD, in our studies the pharmacological effects as well as the receptor binding profiles are quite different. Thus, LSA cannot be regarded as LSD-like psychedelic drug. Nevertheless the affinities at numerous biogenic amine receptor subtypes may be responsible for psychotic effects [\u2026], but the vegetative side effects are more dominant. In fact, a small-scale 2012 study which attempted to investigate the effects of LSA on human subjects had to be cancelled due to adverse side effects: A study was designed to assess how driving ability is affected by Argyreia nervosa [Hawaiian Baby Woodrose]. However, the study could not be continued due to severe adverse effects in 3 of 4 subjects, such as cardiovascular dysregulation in two and a psychosis like state in one subject. [\u2026] Furthermore, fluctuating alkaloid contents in seeds and multi-drug intoxications make the use of this legal high far more dangerous than commonly believed. While it is accurate to state that the LSA contained in some convolvulaceae seeds could potentially create (unpleasant) psychoactive effects, both the way the chemical produces those effects as well as the prevalence of separate dangerous physical side effects mean that it is far from an \u201calternative\u201d for LSD."}
{"claim_id": "672", "claim": "U.S. travel warning adds to pressure on Tanzania over suspected Ebola cases.", "explanation": "The United States has warned its citizens to take extra care when visiting Tanzania\u00a0amid concerns over Ebola, adding to calls for the East African country to share information about suspected cases of the deadly disease there.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "U.S. travelers should \u201cexercise increased caution\u201d, the State Department said on Friday in an updated travel advisory that cited reports of \u201ca probable Ebola-related death in Dar es Salaam\u201d. Tanzania denies the reports, saying no cases of Ebola have been confirmed, but with transparency key to combating the deadly and fast-spreading hemorrhagic fever, the government is under mounting pressure to provide clarification. The foreign affairs ministry was not immediately available on Saturday for comment on the U.S. advisory. Authorities in east and central Africa have been on high alert for possible spillovers of Ebola from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a year-long outbreak has killed more than 2,100 people. Tanzania and DRC share a border that is separated by a lake. In a rare public rebuke, the World Health Organisation (WHO) last week said that, contrary to international health regulations, Tanzania was refusing to provide details of suspected cases. Days earlier, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traveled to Tanzania at the direction of U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar, who had also criticized the country for not sharing information. The WHO said that, while it was concerned by the lack of transparency, it has no evidence on the presence of Ebola in Tanzania, but ruled out punitive action and reiterated it had advised against travel or trade restrictions. Tanzania on Tuesday summoned the WHO\u2019s local representative over its assertion. In mid-September, the health minister said the government had investigated two recent cases of unknown illnesses, but they tested negative for Ebola."}
{"claim_id": "32291", "claim": "Photos and video clips narrated by a medical doctor demonstrate that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton likely has Parkinson's disease.", "explanation": "In closing, we wish\u00a0to make it clear what our aim has been in this analysis. We have not tried to make the case that Hillary Clinton does not have Parkinson\u2019s disease (in point of fact, we don\u2019t think that case even needs making). Rather, we have shown that what Ted Noel did in this video\u00a0is systematically misrepresent perfectly ordinary and explicable phenomena as \u201cParkinson\u2019s disease symptoms,\u201d and his motivation for doing so was purely political.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Conspiracy Theories, 2016 presidential campaign, hillary clinton, infowars", "main_text": "Hillary Clinton\u2019s health has been the subject of\u00a0intense speculation during the 2016 presidential campaign, in part because the candidates\u2019 fitness to serve is of valid concern to voters, and in part because it was seized upon by her opponents\u00a0as a way to undermine her candidacy. While\u00a0presidential candidates aren\u2019t required by law to release information about their medical histories,\u00a0it has become routine for them to do so, and both Democratic candidate Clinton and Republican candidate Trump have provided physician\u2019s statements attesting to their good health. Despite this, rumors\u00a0to the effect that Clinton is suffering from\u00a0some kind of serious, undisclosed\u00a0medical condition continue to run rampant. The statement released by Clinton\u2019s\u00a0personal doctor, Lisa Bardack, MD of Mount Kisco, New York, lists past bouts of deep vein thrombosis (blood clots), an elbow fracture, and a concussion, plus\u00a0ongoing conditions of hypothyroidism and seasonal pollen allergies. Though her family medical history includes heart disease and stroke, a cardiac screening was conducted in 2015 and came back negative. So did a cancer screening. \u201c[Clinton] is in excellent physical condition,\u201d Bardack concluded, \u201cand fit to serve as President of the United States.\u201d We note that Dr. Bardack\u2019s assessment (which she reaffirmed in writing in August 2016) was based on an actual physical examination of the candidate\u00a0\u2014 not a minor consideration, given that much of the speculation about Clinton\u2019s health has been fueled by \u201cdiagnoses\u201d from afar by physicians who have never shaken her\u00a0hand, much less conducted a thorough examination of her. Media personality \u201cDr. Drew\u201d Pinsky, for\u00a0one, delivered a rambling assessment of Clinton\u2019s health\u00a0on a radio talk show in which he repeatedly claimed\u00a0he had \u201cgrave concerns\u201d about her medical fitness \u2014\u00a0based on nothing more than having read\u00a0Dr. Bardack\u2019s two-page statement. He was roundly criticized by other medical professionals for doing so. While Pinsky\u2019s speculation was that Clinton suffers from\u00a0brain damage, a\u00a0later\u00a0entrant in the armchair\u00a0diagnosis field, Dr. Ted Noel of Orlando, Florida, claimed\u00a0he could\u00a0prove\u00a0via cherry-picked news articles, photos, and video clips of the candidate that she likely suffers from Parkinson\u2019s disease. Noel\u2019s 16-minute video, titled \u201cHillary Clinton\u2019s Illness Revealed,\u201d starts with this disclaimer: I am a medical doctor with 36 years of experience, but I am not Hillary Clinton\u2019s treating physician, so I can\u2019t claim that what I\u2019m about to tell you is a conclusive diagnosis. Nevertheless, at the end of\u00a0a litany\u00a0of hearsay, conjecture, and conspiracy theories Noel\u00a0states, flat out: \u201cHillary Clinton has advanced Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u201d We\u2019ll examine\u00a0some of his evidence and arguments momentarily, but first, here\u2019s what we know about Dr. Ted Noel himself: \u00a0 That doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s incapable of recognizing symptoms of Parkinson\u2019s disease, but consider this:\u00a0If your primary care doctor suspected you had Parkinson\u2019s and wished to refer you to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis, it would be to a neurologist, not an anesthesiologist. How accurate and reliable can such a medical diagnosis be? As we noted in the case of Dr. Drew Pinsky above, most medical professionals consider this inappropriate behavior on the part of a physician, if not downright unethical. Would you accept a diagnosis of Parkinson\u2019s disease on the basis of a few minutes of video watched by a doctor you\u2019ve never met? In fact, Noel\u2019s assessment is nakedly partisan in intent, despite this feigned\u00a0disavowal that he makes toward the end of the video: Let us not confuse medical and political issues here. I\u2019m firmly opposed to Hillary Clinton on political and moral grounds, but this discussion has been about her medical condition. That\u2019s\u00a0after\u00a0Noel has described Clinton as \u201ca politician who lies about everything,\u201d and after he has made this statement about her\u00a0\u201cmedical\u201d condition: Our president must always be strong and clear-headed. If she is not doing the job, then who will? Will it be Huma Abedin, who has been associated with Muslim causes and directly involved in the Clinton Foundation corruption? Will it be Bill Clinton, who is at the center of the Clinton Foundation corruption? \u2026 Or will Vice President Tim Kaine take over? Of course, then the Clintons would lose their juice. What is the above, if not precisely \u201cconfusing medical and political issues\u201d? We\u2019re not just throwing that out\u00a0as a dismissive epithet; we mean\u00a0he is a conspiracy theorist. The\u00a0fundamental premise of this video is that Hillary Clinton and everyone around her\u00a0\u2014 her doctor, her family and friends, the\u00a0inner circle of her campaign, and the Democratic National Committee\u00a0\u2014 know full well that she (supposedly) has an incapacitating disease and are willfully concealing that fact from the public to gain power. Let\u2019s move on to consider the \u201cevidence\u201d Dr. Ted Noel uses to support his claim that Hillary Clinton has Parkinson\u2019s disease. According to a conspiracy web site, an unnamed Secret Service whistleblower revealed that\u00a0Clinton has\u00a0Parkinson\u2019s. Note well, however, Noel is here citing a secondhand report from a single, unnamed source published on the Alex Jones web site Infowars.com, which at one time or another has pushed every conspiracy theory known to humankind, from\u00a0allegations that President George W. Bush authorized the 9/11 attacks (which, by the way, weren\u2019t really\u00a0\u201cattacks\u201d according to this site, but rather \u201ccontrolled demolitions\u201c) to the claim that\u00a0President Barack Obama forged his own\u00a0birth certificate. Noel says\u00a0WikiLeaks released U.S. State Department e-mails which show that Clinton asked aides to research new Parkinson\u2019s disease drugs. Not true. Among the messages WikiLeaks released was\u00a0one e-mail received by Clinton that contained information about Provigil, a prescription drug described in that message\u00a0as follows: Provigil is used to treat excessive sleepiness caused by narcolepsy or shift work sleep disorder (sleepiness during scheduled waking hours among people who work at night or on rotating shifts). It is also often prescribed to treat excessive sleepiness in patients with Parkinson\u2019s, Alzheimer\u2019s, and multiple sclerosis. Additionally, it has also gained a following among students, truckers, and others who want to stay awake for extended periods of time. In simpler terms, Provigil is used to treat\u00a0excessive sleepiness. Sometimes\u00a0that excessive sleepiness is in Parkinson\u2019s and Alzheimer\u2019s patients. Other times it\u2019s\u00a0in people suffering from sleep apnea, narcolepsy, or shift work sleep disorder. Is\u00a0it accurate to describe Provigil as \u201ca new Parkinson\u2019s disease drug\u201d? No. Are there\u00a0Wikileaks e-mails indicating that Clinton specifically asked staffers to research Parkinson\u2019s drugs? No (check\u00a0for yourself). Noel attempts to link three separate incidents over a period of years in which Clinton fainted and/or fell, implying that the stated explanations for each\u00a0hid the \u201creal\u201d cause, Parkinson\u2019s disease. 31 January 2005: Clinton said she was feeling \u201cqueasy\u201d as she began a speech in upstate New York and later fainted at the podium. Secret Service agents broke her fall, so she was unhurt. \u201cOddly, she did not seek medical attention,\u201d Noel claims, but,\u00a0even more oddly,\u00a0an image of a\u00a0CNN article reporting that she did\u00a0receive medical attention at scene from a doctor in the audience\u00a0flashes on screen at the exact moment he says it. The physician,\u00a0Dr. Stephanie Pincus, said Clinton had been suffering from a GI virus for at least a day, and needed fluids and a rest. Nothing mysterious. 17 June 2009: Clinton fell and broke her elbow on her way from the elevator to her car in\u00a0the basement of\u00a0the State Department. Noel again uses the word \u201codd\u201d to describe the incident, wondering why Secret Service agents weren\u2019t able to break her fall, as they had done in the previous incident. \u201cShe would have to fall at a distance from them with no warning,\u201d he opines. And, indeed, according to news reports, she slipped and fell\u00a0\u2014 obviously without warning. Nothing mysterious. 17 December 2012: Clinton fainted in her home due to dehydration and struck her head, causing a concussion. \u201cBut again, this is very odd,\u201d Noel says. \u201cTo strike your head requires a complete loss of protective reflexes.\u201d Which, not very oddly at all, is precisely what occurs when you faint and lose consciousness. \u201cBeing wobbly from dehydration won\u2019t do this,\u201d he argues. But no one is talking about \u201cbeing wobbly.\u201d Clinton fainted; she lost consciousness, fell, and hit her head. And dehydration is frequently cited as a cause of fainting. Nothing mysterious. Why does Noel try so hard to make it seem there was something inexplicable about each of these incidents? Here\u2019s why: \u201cIf Hillary has Parkinson\u2019s disease,\u201d Noel says, \u201call three falls make sense\u201d\u00a0\u2014 as if they\u2019re impossible to make sense of without the Parkinson\u2019s explanation. But, as we\u2019ve just shown, that is not the case. \u201cEarly in 2016,\u201d Noel continues, \u201cHillary\u2019s problems started to be really obvious. Videos of odd physical movements and brain freezes became common. This is consistent with the progression of Parkinson\u2019s disease into its later and more troublesome stages. \u201cThe first picture to surface is Hillary being helped up a set of porch steps in February. Once again, if she froze while climbing the steps, the people right next to her could catch her and keep her from injury.\u201d  But there\u2019s no reason to suppose that she\u00a0\u201cfroze.\u201d The original caption on this Getty Images photo, dated\u00a024 February 2016,\u00a0says she slipped while going up the stairs. Noel then directs our attention to\u00a0a video clip in which Clinton is seen nodding repetitively as other people speak:  \u201cTo most people, that was just odd,\u201d says Noel, once again employing his favorite adjective. \u201cBut if we think about Parkinson\u2019s disease, it\u2019s obvious. This is a head nodding tremor.\u201d No, it isn\u2019t. It\u2019s a tic Hillary Clinton has had for a long time, since at least the early \u201990s, usually in evidence when she\u2019s listening to another public speaker. Here\u2019s an example from 1993:  \u00a0 Noel next shows a video of a Clinton campaign rally on 2 April 2016, in which he claims she uses certain \u201ctechniques to hide tremors in her hands.\u201d The first is placing her hand flat on her chest, and the second is a gesture in which her fingers come together to form a sort of point \u2014 both of which he claims she does to prevent the audience from noticing tremors. But, in fact, if you watch more of the video than the few seconds Noel shows us, and with the audio turned on, you see that she\u2019s clearly using these gestures to emphasize verbal statements, and to suggest to the audience\u00a0that they\u2019re heartfelt. Plus, she transitions easily in and out of these hand gestures, never once displaying anything like a \u201ctremor\u201d when she\u2019s not using them. Noel next presents a series of images and clips, including\u00a0every conspiracy theorist\u2019s favorite Hillary Clinton video\u00a0\u2014 the same one that they have previously tried to pass off\u00a0as an \u201cepileptic seizure\u201d\u00a0\u2014 and claims, again, that the real explanation is Parkinson\u2019s. Here\u2019s the famous video:  This is\u00a0\u201canother Parkinson\u2019s disease problem,\u201d Noel claims, \u201cbut this time it\u2019s from the treatment, not the disease. It\u2019s an example of Parkinson\u2019s disease levadopa-induced dyskinesia, or PD LID.\u201d But no, it\u2019s not. As we reported previously, the journalists surrounding her at that moment saw nothing amiss or disturbing in her actions. Associated Press reporter Lisa Lerer described it as follows: As an Associated Press reporter who\u2019s spent more than a year covering her candidacy, I was there for her appearance. After she ordered herself a \u201ccold chai,\u201d my colleagues and I shouted some questions, mostly about Clinton\u2019s recent meeting with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Perhaps eager to avoid answering or maybe just taken aback by our volume, Clinton responded with an exaggerated motion, shaking her head vigorously for a few seconds. Video of the moment shows me holding out my recorder in front of her, laughing and stepping back in surprise. After the exchange, she took a few more photos, exited the shop and greeted supporters waiting outside."}
{"claim_id": "11238", "claim": "ADHD Stimulants Might Help a Smoker With the Disorder Cut Back on Cigarettes", "explanation": "This US News & World Report story discusses the possibility that some drugs used mainly to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be useful in helping people quit smoking. The story focuses on a very small pilot study where researchers claim\u00a0an\u00a0ADHD drug, lisdexamfetamine dimesylate,\u00a0reduced the number of cigarettes a person smoked, although it had no effect on stopping their smoking habit. The story doesn\u2019t mention either the cost of the drug nor any harms that might come from its use. It also doesn\u2019t\u00a0 provide enough information about the study itself for readers to adequately evaluate its results. Nor does it disclose that the study was funded by a pharmaceutical company and that some members of the research team receive support from pharmaceutical firms. Smoking is a serious addiction that causes serious health consequences in those with and without ADHD, so efforts to promote abstinence and decreased use are appropriate. But when it comes to the ADHD drug Vyvanse helping smokers quit, this article is much ado about nothing.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "U.S. News & World Report", "main_text": "There\u00a0is no mention of the cost of the drug mentioned in the study, lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, in this story. A quick web search provided costs for\u00a0a 30-day supply ranging from $285 to $337. Nor was there any mention of whether health insurance would cover the cost of this drug for helping curb smoking, especially since this is an \u201coff-label\u201d usage. The story states that, \u201cour findings suggest that among adult regular smokers with ADHD who are interested in quitting, LDX does not increase the probability of smoking cessation more than does placebo, but is associated with a significant overall reduction in the amount of cigarettes smoked and is effective for reducing ADHD symptoms.\u201d However, there are no numbers offered to lend context to that statement. We don\u2019t know how many cigarettes participants smoked on average, nor do we know how many fewer they smoked while on the drug. Basically, there no numerical data provided in this story. The story doesn\u2019t mention anything about harms, potential or reported, to those taking lisdexamfetamine dimesylate. While some known side effects may be considered minor, this is an amphetamine-based compound and appropriate cautions should be mentioned. While the story does explain that participants were given either the drug or a placebo, nothing else was offered to help evaluate the study design, and thus put its findings into perspective. The study itself was very small, involving less than two dozen participants in either the placebo or experimental group. The study offered several limitations which went unmentioned by the news story: \u201cFirst, our sample size was quite small and this study can thus only be considered a pilot trial. Most of our findings did not even approach significance, however, suggesting that statistical power (i.e., sample size) was not a major factor in our findings.\u201d \u201cSecond, we did not collect systematic follow-up data on our sample after the end of treatment.\u201d \u2026 \u201cIt would have been useful to assess the impact of LDX on smoking-related outcomes over a longer duration of time.\u201d While the story doesn\u2019t really commit disease mongering, it does play off the understanding that a large portion of the smoking population wants to quit and are therefore easily susceptible to any information suggesting an easier remedy to stopping smoking, which this story does. The headline makes it sounds like it was about using ADHD drugs as smoking cessation treatment, for example. While the story includes a comment from a physician not affiliated with the study mentioned, it fails to point out that some members of the research team receive support from pharmaceutical firms, or that the study itself was underwritten by a drug company. We\u2019ll give the story a just barely satisfactory here since it includes the information that study participants also were using a transdermal patch aimed at helping them quit smoking. It also mentions two other available drugs which may be useful in helping curb smoking. The drugs mentioned in this story are all currently available. The story appears to be a feature story vs pegged to a new study being published. So we\u2019ll give this an N/A. The story does not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "27070", "claim": "Hair-grooming syncope\" is a real fainting disorder that can occur during acts of hair care. ", "explanation": "While an instance of hair-grooming syncope may certainly be scary for those involved (especially if it involves a seizure), the biggest difference between this condition and other bouts of fainting is that hair-grooming syncope is specifically triggered by the brushing, combing, curling, or cutting of hair, as pediatrician Dr. Kurt Brandt observed: \u201cSyncope is basically passing out, and hair grooming is known to be a precipitant of that \u2026 It may be the pulling of the hair, possibly pain, possibly stimulation of the scalp \u2026 Your blood pressure goes down and you pass out.\u201d", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "On July 7, 2019, Facebook user Alicia Brown Phillips brought attention to a fainting disorder known as \u201chair-grooming syncope\u201d when she shared a message concerning a scary ordeal that reportedly occurred while she was attempting to curl her little sister\u2019s hair: I experienced one of the scariest moments of my life this morning with my little sister and I am going to put this out there because I had never heard of this in my life! Hair-grooming Syncope \u2026 Look it up. This morning I was curling my little sister Gracie\u2019s hair for church. I was maybe about five minutes in and she starts to gag a little and looks kind of pale. I asked her if she was going to get sick and she shook her head yes. I get my little daughters out of the bathroom and start to hold her hair up for her as she leans over the toilet. 30 seconds later\u2026 she looks at me. She is extremely pale with blue lips and starts to pass out. Her pupils got really big and I caught her. I start screaming for Dale to come help. Gracie has a blank stare and look on her face and is completely unresponsive and limp for about a minute. Her hands were also shaking. Very seizure like. She then comes back to and says she feels much better. She says she remembers hearing us talk but couldn\u2019t see us. I was crying. She was very confused. My mom and dad rush to my house and a few hours in Children\u2019s hospital, an EKG, and a head scan later\u2026 she is fine. Turns out there is something called hair-grooming syncope affects kids from ages 5-13. They said they see about 1-5 cases a year. Turns out brushing, curling, braiding, or drying can cause nerve stimulation on the scalp and cause some children to have seizure like symptoms. I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE! We were told if she ever starts to feel nauseous or light headed while getting her hair brushed to sit down and take a break. I am putting this out there for others to see. If a kid ever complains of their belly hurting or feeling light headed while they are getting their hair done, make sure they take a seat and keep a close eye on them! Apparently very rare but so scary to see it happen! This Facebook post garnered ten of thousands of shares and comments within a few days of its initial posting. In addition to expressing concern for the child\u2019s health, many commentators, like Phillips herself, were surprised to learn about this condition. \u201cSyncope\u201d is the medical term for fainting. \u201cHair-grooming syncope\u201d refers to fainting that is brought on during hair grooming activities. A 1996 study defined the condition as follows: \u201cHair-grooming syncope is a rare and benign variety of neurocardiogenic syncope that should be considered in girls that complain of loss of consciousness during different hair care acts, even if seizures are present.\u201d A 2009 study found that while this condition occurs most frequently in females, male children can also experience hair-grooming syncope: \u201cOf the 111 patients, 78% were girls. We found characteristic difference between boys and girls with boys experiencing syncope more during hair cutting whereas girls experienced syncope more during hair combing and brushing.\u201d We weren\u2019t able to find any concrete numbers regarding how often hair-grooming syncope occurs. Knoxville\u2019s WBIR reported that doctors see a \u201chandful\u201d of cases a year, but it\u2019s possible this condition often goes undiagnosed because most parents aren\u2019t aware that the condition exists, or it may be misdiagnosed as epilepsy:"}
{"claim_id": "26376", "claim": "Donald Trump Says Joe Biden has \u201cwritten a letter of apology\u201d for calling Trump\u2019s travel restrictions from China \u201cxenophobic.\u201d", "explanation": "The Biden campaign said an apology letter to Trump \u201cnever happened.\u201d We found no public record of any letter of apology from Biden. Biden\u2019s deputy campaign manager declared Biden\u2019s support for the China restrictions in a statement to CNN on April 3, a Friday. The statement was not an apology. Biden has used the word \u201cxenophobic\u201d several times in reference to Trump and his actions, but never directly in reference to the ban Trump placed on travel from China.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, China, Elections, Coronavirus, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "President Donald Trump repeated the misleading claim that former Vice President Joe Biden called him xenophobic for banning travel from China in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Trump added a new wrinkle on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, claiming that Biden not only called the travel restrictions xenophobic, but also apologized for the remark \"with a letter on a Friday night.\" \"Biden has now written a letter of apology because I did the right thing,\" Trump said during a May 3 virtual town hall with Fox News. \"He actually apologized with a letter on a Friday night saying \u2018he made the right move,'\" Trump said later. \"It wasn\u2019t well played by the press, but he said I made the right move.\" There may be a simple reason why the letter Trump described didn\u2019t get media coverage: There is no evidence such a letter exists. \"Never happened,\" said Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates. Neither the Trump campaign nor the White House responded to our requests for comment in time for publication, and Trump wasn\u2019t asked to substantiate his claim during the town hall. We found no public record of any Friday-night letter of apology \u2014 or any letter of apology \u2014 from Biden on Twitter, Google or the Nexis news archive database. Other political reporters and fact-checkers have reached the same conclusion. On Jan. 31, the Trump administration announced temporary restrictions on travel into the U.S. for immigrants and non-immigrants who had recently been \"physically present\" in China, with exceptions made for U.S. citizens and permanent residents and their family members. The move followed similar decisions from roughly 45 other countries and announcements from a number of airlines that they would be suspending flights between China and the U.S. while the outbreak ran its course. Trump has repeatedly touted the policy, crediting it with saving \"hundreds of thousands of lives\" during the Fox News town hall. Kate Bedingfield, Biden\u2019s deputy campaign manager, declared Biden\u2019s support for the China restrictions months later in a statement to CNN on April 3, a Friday. CNN posted its story in the afternoon. \"Joe Biden supports travel bans that are guided by medical experts, advocated by public health officials, and backed by a full strategy,\" Bedingfeld told CNN. \"Science supported this ban, therefore he did too.\" But Biden never explicitly called the travel restrictions xenophobic, as Trump has claimed. At a campaign event on Jan. 31, the same day Trump announced the China travel restrictions, Biden cited Trump\u2019s \"xenophobia\" but did not specifically mention the administration\u2019s policy. He said that in a time of \"crisis with the coronavirus,\" the \"credibility of a president is most needed.\" \"This is no time for Donald Trump's record of hysteria xenophobia, hysterical xenophobia, and fear-mongering to lead the way instead of science,\" he said. The following day, Biden tweeted, \"We need to lead the way with science \u2014 not Donald Trump\u2019s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering.\" We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science \u2014 not Donald Trump\u2019s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency. Biden used the word twice more in March. But one comment was in reference to Trump calling the coronavirus a \"foreign\" virus, and the second was not clearly in reference to the travel policy. Bates, Biden\u2019s spokesman, told us in March that Biden \"has decried Trump's xenophobia for years, and was saying that it shouldn't influence the U.S. approach to this outbreak.\" \"This was not in reference to coronavirus travel restrictions,\" he said. An April ad from the Trump campaign selectively edited a clip of Biden to make it seem like the former vice president admitted to complimenting Trump for the China travel restrictions. But in its full context, the clip shows Biden was criticizing Trump for not acting with enough \"urgency.\" Trump said Biden called the ban on travel coming in from China \"xenophobic,\" and that \"he actually apologized with a letter on a Friday night saying \u2018he made the right move.\u2019\" We found no record of any letter or apology from Biden. Trump appears to be citing a campaign official\u2019s statement to the media in support of Trump\u2019s decision. Biden has used the word \"xenophobic\" several times in reference to Trump, but not directly in reference to the China travel policy. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "10644", "claim": "Study Shows Chest Pain From Heart Disease Can Be Treated With Stem Cell Therapy", "explanation": "Our main constructive criticism is that the story should have emphasized what a Phase 2 study shows and doesn\u2019t show. It says that a Phase 3 study is being planned \u2013 but never defines what a Phase 3 study is. These are important concepts for readers to understand but journalists shouldn\u2019t assume that people know what you\u2019re talking about. Fascinating research, worthy of news coverage.", "label": "true", "subjects": "heart disease,WebMD", "main_text": "No discussion of cost. A ballpark could have been given. Again, the bulleted breakdown of impact on number of angina attacks, exercise tolerance test scores, and nitroglycerin use was appreciated. We\u2019ll give the story credit for the following \u2013 although we think it was incomplete: \u201cAbout one in three patients had elevations of a cardiac enzyme that is associated with heart attacks. While the elevations did not appear to be clinically significant, Losordo says the researchers will continue to closely monitor cardiac enzymes in patients who receive the treatment.\u201d What does that mean? \u201cAssociated with heart attacks\u201d? How? Why? How often? In what past research? And what does \u201cdid not appear to be clinically significant\u201d mean? Did it cause any problems or didn\u2019t it? We appreciated the bulleted breakdown of major findings. But the story never emphasized that this was a Phase 2 study \u2013 which is not primarily designed to test efficacy but safety. Yet the subheadline was \u201cStudy shows chest pain from heart disease can be treated with stem cell therapy.\u201d The story finally gets close to where it should be at the very end, quoting Dr. Tomaselli saying \u201che study shows that the approach is both safe and feasible in patients with significant coronary disease\u2026. The next step is to prove the treatment is clinically useful.\u201d But it\u2019s better to be overt and clear about what the study didn\u2019t show and to emphasize the uncertainties \u2013 perhaps to a greater degree than what may be assumed to be certainties. It wouldn\u2019t require much time or space or effort to define the phases of trials. No disease mongering here. The president of the American Heart Association was quoted liberally throughout the story. It could be argued that since the work was published in an AHA\u00a0journal, he is not the most independent observer, but we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this. Independent researchers working in the field of stem cell experimentation might have been better choices. The story puts this approach into the context of attempts to help people who have angina despite available treatments. The story calls the approach \u201cexperimental\u201d\u2026says Phase III studies are planned\u2026and ends with \u201cthe next step is to prove the treatment is clinicallly useful.\u201d We are given some sense that this isn\u2019t brand new research: \u201cThe new treatment came from the discovery about a decade ago that CD34 stem cells stimulate the formation of new blood vessels\u2026The approach also showed promise in a 2007 pilot study involving fewer than 30 patients.\u201d Although a news release from the American Heart Association is cited as one source for the story, we do not see evidence that the story relied solely or largely on that or any news release."}
{"claim_id": "3316", "claim": "Principal who went into coma after bone marrow donation dies.", "explanation": "A New Jersey high school principal who had agreed to donate bone marrow to a 14-year-old stranger in France has died, weeks after he lapsed into a coma during the procedure, his family said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Willie Nelson, Hackensack, New Jersey, Health, France, North America, U.S. News", "main_text": "Westfield High School Principal Derrick Nelson, 44, told the school\u2019s newspaper that he found out in October that he was a match for the unidentified French teen. Nelson underwent the typically low-risk donation procedure at Hackensack University Medical Center in February. His father, Willie Nelson, said Wednesday that his son went into cardiac arrest at some point during the procedure, but he didn\u2019t know any other details. He died Monday, according to the hospital. \u201cHe excelled at everything he did,\u201d his father said. \u201cEverything he did in life was for a purpose.\u201d Nancy Radwin, a spokeswoman for Hackensack Meridian Health, said she couldn\u2019t comment on the cause of death or whether any bone marrow was successfully extracted. \u201cThis was a tragic outcome and we extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Dr. Nelson, to all of his students and their families, the community, his friends and colleagues whose lives he touched,\u201d Radwin said. Nelson, who had a 6-year-old daughter and was engaged to be married, didn\u2019t know the French teen but wanted to help nonetheless, he told the high school newspaper in February, before the procedure. \u201cIf it\u2019s just a little bit of pain for a little bit of time that can give someone years of joy, it\u2019s all worth it,\u201d he told the student newspaper. He also told the newspaper that he had several health issues that complicated his planned donation. His sleep apnea prevented doctors from using general anesthesia, and they instead were to harvest stem cells intravenously. However, at his final physical exam on Jan. 21, Nelson was asked if he had sickle cell anemia, a blood disorder. \u201cI said well I don\u2019t have sickle cell, but I have the sickle cell trait,\u201d Nelson told the newspaper. \u201d(The doctors) said, \u2018Well if you have the trait, you can\u2019t do stem cell.\u2019\u201d They ultimately decided to do the bone marrow surgery under a local anesthetic, he said. Nelson and the teen were connected through Be the Match, a worldwide bone marrow registry network. About 70% of patients needing a bone marrow transplant don\u2019t have a fully matched donor in their family, according to Be the Match\u2019s website, Bone marrow donation is considered a low risk procedure. About 2.4% of donors experience a serious complication due to anesthesia or damage to bone, nerve, or muscle in their hip region, according to the National Marrow Donor Program\u2019s website. No details could be given about the teen\u2019s identity, diagnosis or whether he received any marrow from Nelson due to privacy and confidentiality obligations, according to Be the Match. \u201cWe deeply appreciate Derrick\u2019s willingness to step forward to donate, and we share our sympathies and condolences with his family,\u201d said Dr. C. Randal Mills, CEO of Be the Match. \u201cMarrow donation is a selfless decision that helps save the lives of thousands of patients each year. ... we thank anyone who steps forward to donate and help save a life.\u201d Nelson also served as an officer in the Army Reserve for more than 20 years and had recently re-enlisted. His military service included an assignment in the Middle East."}
{"claim_id": "3387", "claim": "Massachusetts officials rescind ban on vaping product sales\n.", "explanation": "Retailers in Massachusetts will once again be allowed to sell unflavored vaping products after state officials on Wednesday ended an emergency ban on their sale and approved new restrictions on flavored vaping products.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Legislation, Charlie Baker, Massachusetts, Vaping, Public health, Tobacco industry regulation, Laws", "main_text": "The state\u2019s Public Health Council on Wednesday voted to rescind a temporary ban on the sale of all vaping products that was imposed by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker\u2019s administration in September. The ban had been set to expire Dec. 24, but Baker had said his administration would move to end the ban early in light of new legislation he signed into law last month restricting the sale and use of flavored tobacco and vaping products. The council on Wednesday also approved emergency regulations related to the new law, which took effect immediately for flavored vaping products but take effect for flavored tobacco products in June. A handful of states have imposed temporary bans on vaping products, but Massachusetts is now the first with permanent restrictions in place. The new law specifically restricts the sale and consumption of flavored tobacco and vaping products to licensed smoking bars such as cigar bars and hookah lounges. The restriction extends to popular menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco. It also places a 75% excise tax on nicotine vaping products and requires health insurers to cover tobacco cessation counseling. Wednesday\u2019s actions effectively mean convenience stores, gas stations, liquor stores and other licensed tobacco retailers will be able to resume selling unflavored tobacco and vaping products. State Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said the new provisions limit youth access to vaping products and create new public warnings while their health effects are still being studied. \u201cFrom a public health point of view, we cannot recommend anybody use e-cigarette or vaping products at this time,\u201d she said after the votes. Bharel said retailers will be able to resume sales once they put up new signs detailing the new state restrictions, the health risks of vaping and information about tobacco cessation services. Retailers will also have to place vaping products behind the store\u2019s counter, just like tobacco products. And they\u2019ll need to make sure any vaping products on their shelves have a nicotine concentration of less than 35 milligrams per milliliter of vaping solution. Anything containing higher nicotine concentrations, such as certain products by popular electronic cigarette maker Juul, will be restricted to tobacco stores that restrict entry for people under the age of 21. Violators face fines starting at $1,000 for the first offense. Tony Abboud, the executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, said in a statement that the bans \u201cwill do nothing to protect youth.\u201d  He added that the Vapor Technology Association is ready to work the state \u201con the many real solutions,\u201d including their \u201821 & DONE!\u2019 plan that they presented at the White House to preserve \u201cflavored vapor as an alternative for adults desperately trying to quit smoking.\u201d The governor imposed the temporary emergency ban on vaping products amid a rash of suspected vaping-related lung illnesses and deaths nationwide. State officials say they\u2019ve identified 90 probable and confirmed cases of vaping-related lung illnesses in Massachusetts. Three of those people have died. Officials recently disclosed that at least six of the residents had used products purchased from state-licensed marijuana retailers. The state\u2019s Cannabis Control Commission has imposed a separate moratorium on the sale of marijuana vaping products."}
{"claim_id": "8493", "claim": "Taiwan reports no new coronavirus cases for first time in a month.", "explanation": "Taiwan on Tuesday reported no new cases of the coronavirus for the first time in more than a month, in the latest sign that the island\u2019s early and effective prevention methods have paid off.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Taiwan has won plaudits from health experts for how it has fought the virus, including starting as early as Dec. 31 checks on passengers arriving from China\u2019s Wuhan city, where the first cases were reported late last year. Taiwan has reported 393 cases to date, and six deaths. A total of 338 were so-called imported cases, where people were suspected of getting infected overseas before entering Taiwan, with the rest cases of local transmissions. \u201cOf course, we hope it has passed,\u201d Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told a news conference, referring to the virus on the island. \u201cBut we still need to be on our guard. Of course we feel happy at no new cases today.\u201d  Chen said the last time Taiwan reported no new cases was March 9, after which numbers spiked for a time with people coming back to the island from places now reeling from the virus in Europe and the United States. The number of people discharged after they were diagnosed with the coronavirus has reached 124, Taiwan\u2019s government added. However, restrictions remain in place, such as compulsory 14-day quarantines for all arrivals onto the island, and the number of international flights has fallen dramatically. Taiwan has not gone into total lockdown because of the virus and life has continued relatively normally, though the government has promoted social distancing and mandated the wearing of face masks on public transport."}
{"claim_id": "35539", "claim": "By spring 2020, the sun had entered a \"lockdown\" period where its solar activity decreased to the point that famine, earthquakes, and freezing weather threatened life on Earth.", "explanation": "What's true: Solar activity, which is often defined by the amount of sunspots on the star's surface, pendulates on a roughly 11-year cycle. The most recent cycle, which began in late 2008, peaked with sunspots in April 2014 and then steadily decreased until reaching a \"solar minimum\" \u2014 or a period with zero sunspots \u2014 in late 2019 and 2020. That means, yes, by spring 2020, solar activity had reached a so-called \"lockdown,\" or solar minimum. What's false: While the sun had entered a so-called \"lockdown\" period \u2014 when the number of sunspots on the star's surface decreased to few or none, technically called a \"solar minimum\" \u2014 by spring 2020, it was a normal occurrence for the star and was not projected by scientists to threaten life on Earth with famine, earthquakes, or freezing weather.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Science", "main_text": "In mid-May 2020, as people worldwide remained quarantined to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, social media posts claimed not only were humans on Earth sheltering-in-place during the pandemic, but our life source \u2014 the sun \u2014 had gone on \u201clockdown,\u201d too. Recirculating sensational headlines on the concept \u2014 including the New York Post\u2019s May 14 article \u201cThe sun has entered a \u2018lockdown\u2019 period, which could cause freezing weather, famine\u201c \u2014 numerous people reached out to Snopes to investigate the validity of the claim: that the power of our solar system\u2019s star had decreased to the point that life on Earth would be threatened by famine, earthquakes, and freezing temperatures. First, we considered the definitions of key terms in helioseismology (the study of the sun) to make sense of the claim. Per astronomers\u2019 research over centuries, the sun generates powerful magnetic forces that are constantly changing, affecting the intensity of ultraviolet radiation and X-rays from the ball of gas that illuminates Earth. In areas of the star where the magnetic fields are particularly strong \u2014 thus restricting some heat from the sun\u2019s core from reaching its surface \u2014 dark spots appear, or what astronomers call sunspots. In other words, sunspots are places on the sun that are cooler than other areas. Sarah Scoles, a writer for the peer-reviewed Science Magazine, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, wrote in 2019: Sunspots can be seen with the naked eye, but it wasn\u2019t until the mid-1800s that astronomers realized they come and go on a rough schedule. They first appear at midlatitudes and then proliferate, migrating toward the equator over about 11 years. In contrast, flashes of light on the star\u2019s surface occur when magnetic fields tangle or cross each other, causing a sudden explosion of energy \u2014 a phenomenon astronomers call solar flares. All of these factors \u2014 the number of sunspots, their locations, and the intensity of solar flares, etc. \u2014 are known as solar activity, which, like Scoles pointed out, fluctuates on a relatively predictable cycle every 11 years or so. Astronomers measure this 11-year timeframe, the sun cycle, in two major phases: when sunspots gradually increase over roughly five or six years, peaking for a solar maximum, and when sunspots diminish over the next approximately five or six years until there are few or zero sunspots, called a solar minimum. NASA writes: While intense activity such as sunspots and solar flares subside during solar minimum, that doesn\u2019t mean the sun becomes dull. Solar activity simply changes form. In late 2008, the sun began its 24th solar cycle since scientists began taking accurate measurements of solar activity. The cycle\u2019s solar maximum, or when the sun was at its most active state with its highest level of sunspots, occurred in April 2014, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). And from that point on, the number of sunspots decreased until late 2019, when the sun had zero sunspots, or reached a solar minimum. As of May 2020, the sun remained at a solar minimum, which meant one facet of the claim \u2014 that the sun had entered a so-called \u201clockdown\u201d period, or solar minimum, by spring 2020 \u2014 was true. Dr. Tony Phillips, a former NASA researcher who now runs a daily website with astronomy updates for scientists, said in a May 19, 2020, email to Snopes that scientists expected the latest phase to last through much, if not all, of 2020. For solar scientists like him, the phases in the sun cycle are important because they can change how satellites or natural debris orbit the Earth; different periods can also intensify cosmic rays and slightly dim the brightness of the sun\u2019s rays. With little or zero sunspots on the star\u2019s surface, there\u2019s greater likelihood of long-lived coronal holes, which are low-energy regions in the outermost part of the sun\u2019s atmosphere where magnetic forces open up and allow streams of solar particles to escape the star \u2014 and those flows of solar wind can cause space weather effects if, or when, they hit Earth\u2019s magnetic field, according to NASA. In a 2017 article about the upcoming solar minimum in 2019 and 2020, NASA said: These effects (from long-lived coronal holes) can include temporary disturbances of the Earth\u2019s magnetosphere, called geomagnetic storms, auroras, and disruptions to communications and navigation systems. During solar minimum, the effects of Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere on satellites in low Earth orbit changes too. Furthermore, in other periods of the solar cycle, the star\u2019s ultraviolet radiation heats up the Earth\u2019s atmosphere in a way that causes friction for anything hovering and orbiting the globe. That friction causes what scientists call \u201cdrag,\u201d a phenomenon that prevents natural and manmade space debris from reaching low-orbiting rings closest to the Earth\u2019s surface. But during a solar minimum, the NASA article stated, \u201cthis natural heating mechanism subsides,\u201d adding: Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere cools and, to some degree, can collapse. Without a normal amount of drag, space junk tends to hang around. That means it is accurate to say solar minimums can affect space weather, though the impacts remain at the atmospheric level. Next, to fully investigate the claim, we looked for any indication from scientists that the latest solar minimum \u2014 or the 25th sun cycle \u2014 was forecasted to affect humans in ways that most cycles in modern history had not: by causing low-crop production, earthquakes, and freezing weather. According to a panel of scientists sponsored by NOAA and NASA that makes such projections, as of April 2019, the upcoming roughly 11-year sun cycle (the 25th) was expected to \u201clikely be weak\u201d compared to others in modern history, yet similar to the previous cycle (the 24th) in terms of its number of sunspots and how they pendulate over time. NASA released the following graphic to help people visualize the prediction:  That means, as of this writing, astronomers were not predicting any catastrophic damages as a result of the 2019-2020 solar minimum. Phillips said: This is a normal part of the solar cycle. \u2026 Although this Solar Minimum is unusually deep compared to other Minima of the Space Age (1957 to present), it is hardly unprecedented. The Solar Minimum of 2008-2009 was similarly deep and, by the way, caused *no* famines, earthquakes or other catastrophes. If Solar Minimum went on forever \u2014 that is, if the sun got \u201cstuck\u201d and never produced any more sunspots \u2014 then, yes, new types of effects might emerge. Since the start of astronomers\u2019 research into the sun\u2019s patterns, it has always produced sunspots after a solar minimum, even after the 17th Century\u2019s Maunder Minimum, or \u201cprolonged sunspot minimum,\u201d from 1645 to 1715, when sunspots were exceedingly rare for about 70 years. \u201cHowever, there is no evidence that the sun is currently \u2018stuck\u2019,\u201d Phillips said of the 2020 claim. \u201cOn the contrary, we are already starting to see the first sunspots of the next solar cycle. By the end of this year, we will probably be on the up-swing again.\u201d Lastly, to complete our examination, we looked at where the concerns about the sun had originated; the New York Post\u2019s article was a recycled report by the British tabloid newspaper, The Sun, which appeared to have been the first publication to dub what is a normal occurrence in the sun\u2019s 11-year cycle a \u201clockdown\u201d without any specific attribution. The tabloid stated declaratively in the report\u2019s first paragraph:"}
{"claim_id": "29421", "claim": "Julian Assange asked President-Elect Donald Trump for a pardon in exchange for his help in defeating Hillary Clinton.", "explanation": "What's true: Julian Assange has called upon the United States to \"renounce its witch-hunt against WikiLeaks\" and \"dissolve its FBI investigation.\" What's false: Assange's pleas long antedate the 2016 election and are unrelated to its outcome.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Uncategorized, joe. my. god, julian assange, president obama", "main_text": "On 16 November 2016 the web site Winning Democrats published an article implying that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was seeking a personal presidential pardon from Donald Trump as recompense for \u201c[s]abotaging Clinton]\u201d: Julian Assange Finally Asks Trump for Payment for Sabotaging Clinton \u2014 A Full Pardon With the 2016 elections over and Trump as the President-elect, Julian Assange is finally asking for payment for his part in assisting the Trump campaign. Since 2011, Assange has been avoiding prosecution in the United States for leaking documents through his organization, Wikileaks, relating to foreign affairs with information that had been given \u201csecret\u201d classification by the U.S. government \u2026 In light of his anti-Clinton sentiment and despite the fact that he once likened Trump to cholera, Assange is now appealing to Trump to pardon him \u2014 the fact that he is currently under investigation and hasn\u2019t actually been convicted of anything notwithstanding. With a history of anti-semitism and misogyny behind him, Julian Assange would fit in well with the company Trump currently surrounds himself, including alt-right advocate Steve Bannon and of course, Trump himself. As Breitbart correctly noted, WikiLeaks has already been negotiating with American authorities for several years with respect to the organization\u2019s operations. On 19 August 2012, Assange issued a formal statement from the Ecuadorean Embassy in which he implored President Obama that: As WikiLeaks stands under threat, so does the freedom of expression and the health of our societies. We must use this moment to articulate the choice that is before the government of the United States of America. Will it return to and reaffirm the values it was founded on? Or will it lurch off the precipice dragging us all into a dangerous and oppressive world in which journalists fall silent under the fear of prosecution and citizens must whisper in the dark? I say that it must turn back. I ask President Obama to do the right thing. The United States must renounce its witch-hunt against WikiLeaks. The United States must dissolve its FBI investigation. The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters. The United States must pledge before the world that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful. There must be no more foolish talk about prosecuting any media organization, be it WikiLeaks or the New York Times. The US administration\u2019s war on whistle-blowers must end. Thomas Drake, William Binney, John Kirakou and the other heroic US whistle-blowers must \u2013 they must \u2013 be pardoned and compensated for the hardships they have endured as servants of the public record. And the Army Private who remains in a military prison in Fort Leavenworth Kansas, who was found by the UN to have endured months of torturous detention in Quantico Virginia and who has yet \u2014 after two years in prison \u2014 to see a trial, must be released. (Assange currently resides at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London after seeking asylum from that country and is wanted by Swedish authorities over allegations of sexual assault, so he would not necessarily escape legal troubles personally if he were pardoned by the U.S. president.) In November 2010, the Program in Law and Journalism at New York Law School blog Legal As She Is Spoke argued WikiLeaks (and by extension, Assange) had \u201ccommitted no crime\u201d for publishing leaked documents pertaining to the U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The piece stood in stark relief to items published in 2016 decrying WikiLeaks for its activity: Since August, when Wikileaks first published 91,000 classified documents relating to the Afghanistan War, and in October, when they published approximately 400,000 more relating to the War in Iraq, many conservative commentators have been clamoring for the Justice Department to prosecute Wikileaks for publishing classified information. But in the United States, generally publishing classified information is not a crime. The sort of information that a news organization can be prosecuted for publishing is limited to: nuclear secrets (Atomic Energy Act), the identities of covert agents (Intelligence Identities Protection Act), and certain forms of communications intelligence (Section 798 of the Espionage Act). Perhaps lamenting that the U.S. does not have an Official Secrets Act like the United Kingdom, right wing columnists have consistently misinterpreted these Acts, or have cited other provisions of our espionage laws which almost surely do not apply to Wikileaks. The most commonly cited statute by those who advocate prosecuting Wikileaks is Section 793(e) of the Espionage Act. In August, former Bush speechwriter Marc Theissen linked to this section in an article for the Washington Post when he wrote that Wikileaks is \u201ca criminal enterprise\u201d whose founder, Julian Assange, should be arrested by U.S. forces on foreign soil, international law be damned. But this provision does not apply to those who publish information. Section 793(e)reads \u201cWhoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document\u2026relating to the national defense\u2026willfully communicates\u2026 the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it\u2026[s]hall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.\u201d As made clear in the Pentagon Papers case, the word \u201ccommunicates\u201d was never meant \u201cto encompass publication\u201d or to affect the press. Congress included the word \u201cpublish\u201d in three other sections of the Act but intentionally left it out of 793. As the legislative history of this provision states, \u201cNothing in this Act shall \u2026 in any way to limit or infringe upon freedom of the press or of speech as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.\u201d Slate published an editorial titled \u201cWhy I Love WikiLeaks\u201d on 30 November 2010 that lauded the site for \u201cshock[ing] us out of [] complacency,\u201d again with a tenor absent from coverage of the platform during the 2016 election: As Assange navigates from military and diplomatic expos\u00e9s to financial ones this year, his Wall Street targets won\u2019t be able to shield their incompetence and misconduct with lip music about how he has damaged national security and violated the Espionage Act of 1917 and deserves capital punishment. But I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll invoke trade secrets, copyright, privacy, or whatever other legal window dressing they find convenient. Rather than defending their behavior, they\u2019ll imitate Clinton and assail Assange\u2019s methods and practices. As the Economist put it, \u201csecrecy is necessary for national security and effective diplomacy.\u201d But it \u201cis also inevitable that the prerogative of secrecy will be used to hide the misdeeds of the permanent state and its privileged agents.\u201d Assange and WikiLeaks, while not perfect, have punctured the prerogative of secrecy with their recent revelations. The untold story is that while doing the United States\u2019 allies, adversaries, and enemies a favor with his leaks, he\u2019s doing the United States the biggest favor by holding it accountable. As I.F. Stone put it, \u201cAll governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out.\u201d We contacted WikiLeaks\u2019 Task Force, a subset of the organization dedicated to ensuring accuracy in reporting about the platform\u2019s activities. A volunteer with whom we spoke confirmed that WikiLeaks had beseeched the Obama administration for many years to cease investigating their activities and to pardon whistleblowers, adding that the organization \u201cpublishes without [favor]\u201d and would never release or withhold information based upon the possibility of favorable treatment from any state or entity."}
{"claim_id": "14910", "claim": "The United States is \"the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people as a right, not a privilege.", "explanation": "Sanders said that the United States is the only major country that doesn\u2019t guarantee health care to everyone as a right. Among the wealthy OECD nations, America -- with the possible exception of Mexico -- stands out as the only one that lacks universal coverage. The question of a guaranteed right to health care is murkier. Sanders spoke as though every advanced economy has it. In reality, some do and some don\u2019t.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Bernie Sanders, ", "main_text": "During the Democratic presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, Bernie Sanders returned to a health-care talking point that he has used often. In fact, he made it more than once in the debate. \"I want to end the international embarrassment of the United States of America being the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people as a right, not a privilege,\" Sanders said. This is virtually identical to a statement by Sanders that we checked in June 2015. We\u2019ll recap our research here. When we looked at the claim before, Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Sanders, said the senator was referring to nations that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. We\u2019re not sure Sanders made that entirely clear (for instance the OECD doesn\u2019t include China or Russia, which many people would consider a major country), but we\u2019ll put that aside for the moment. Briggs directed us to a 2014 OECD report that found only two member countries, the United States and Mexico, lacking universal health care coverage. \"However, Mexico passed a law in 2004 with the goal of establishing universal coverage, and they're currently at 90 percent,\" Briggs said. \"The ACA was never intended to establish universal coverage, and according to the January CBO estimate, 90 percent is about as good as it's going to get.\" We checked and Briggs is close on his numbers. In Mexico, as of 2013, public insurance reached about 86.7 percent of the people. That\u2019s actually not much different from where America stood, if you combine public and private coverage. The figure in the United States was 84.9 percent. However, in 2015, the CBO estimated that 89 percent of American residents -- excluding undocumented immigrants -- have coverage. The number drops to 87 percent if you include undocumented residents. The median income in Mexico is so low -- about a third of that in the United States -- that some would not group it with the stronger OECD countries. But since Sanders\u2019 spokesman included it, we thought it only fair to include it, too. Beyond the raw numbers, Sanders\u2019 statement highlights the tricky questions that come up when you start talking about a right to health care. Is it defined as universal coverage, or a legal right to care? The two are not identical. The gold standard Europe covers both bases. Nearly every European nation has signed and ratified the European Social Charter. That treaty\u2019s section on health care casts coverage as a right. \"The system of health care must be accessible to the entire population. To that end, states should take as their main criterion for judging the success of health system reforms effective access to health care for all, without discrimination, as a basic human right.\" Countries follow different paths to make good on that promise. Great Britain has its national health service where the government runs the hospitals and pays the doctors and nurses. Germany and France have a more complicated mix of highly regulated public and private insurance companies, and, as in America, a law that makes insurance mandatory for everyone. Those European nations score 100 when it comes to universal coverage. But so does Australia, and Australia operates under no legal claim that health care is a right. The government\u2019s Attorney General\u2019s Department posted on its website \"there is no Commonwealth legislation explicitly enshrining the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.\" That doesn\u2019t stop the Aussies from running an extensive system of public hospitals and a robust public health insurance program. Japan uses a different mix of tools to achieve the same results, and it too lacks a formal legal right to health care. There is a substantial body of Japanese health care law, but it has to do with creating various government programs and setting the rules of the game. A weak guarantee There are several international treaties and conventions that speak of the obligation of countries to provide for the health of their residents. The list includes the World Health Organization constitution and the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The United States signed and ratified the former, but it is literally one of a handful of countries that has not ratified the latter. For some, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a landmark document that comes very close to asserting health care as a right. The treaty\u2019s language is ambitious. It speaks of \"the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.\" Countries that get behind it promise that they will aim to create the \"conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness.\" But the convention\u2019s legal heft is considerably less than its stated goals. It pushes no country to spend beyond its \"available resources,\" a quantity that could be whatever the leaders say it is. Lawrence Gostin is the director of Georgetown University\u2019s O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Gostin said the convention lacks teeth. \"These international obligations are vague and unenforceable so really don\u2019t translate into a \u2018right\u2019 in all states,\" Gostin said. For Gostin, the test of a nation\u2019s commitment should be measured by the facts on the ground. \"Does it provide even reasonably fair access to the entire population, and is there a way to enforce or implement the right?\" Gostin said. \"By those measures, the U.S. has many entitlements to health care, including Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Affairs, and ACA subsidies. Yes there are many left out, but that is true in lots of countries, including China that provides a minuscule amount of health dollars to rural residents.\" Whether China is an industrialized country of the sort Sanders mentioned is a matter of debate, but China helps illustrate the difference between a right in law and a right in practice. China has ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. On top of that, its Constitution commits the state to provide health services and facilities \"all for the protection of the people's health.\" But the record of the world\u2019s most populous nation is checkered to say the least. David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a Boston-based health policy group, has written about the evolution of health care in China. In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Blumenthal wrote that about 95 percent of the population has access to modest coverage. \"The government has decided to provide all Chinese some protection against the cost of illness, not necessarily as a matter of right, but as a matter of fact,\" Blumenthal told PolitiFact. Ake Blomqvist, a health care economist at Carleton University in Canada, has a dimmer view of the connection between China\u2019s legal promises and what it delivers. China might have signed that UN convention but that has had limited effect. \"In reality the majority of people in China are at risk of not being able to receive even urgently needed health care if they are unlucky enough to require something that is expensive,\" Blomqvist said. A spokesman for Sanders, Warren Gunnels, told PolitiFact after the debate that Japan and Australia have created the right in practice even if it doesn't exist in law. He added that the Commonwealth Fund ranks the United States last in health care access among seven major nations. Our ruling Sanders said that the United States is the only major country that doesn\u2019t guarantee health care to everyone as a right. Among the wealthy OECD nations, America -- with the possible exception of Mexico -- stands out as the only one that lacks universal coverage. The question of a guaranteed right to health care is murkier. Sanders spoke as though every advanced economy has it. In reality, some do and some don\u2019t. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "3958", "claim": "Officals say the flu is \u2018prevalent\u2019 in New York.", "explanation": "New York officials have declared that the flu is \u201cprevalent\u201d in the state.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, New York, General News, Flu", "main_text": "This declaration initiates a state regulation that will require healthcare professionals who are not vaccinated for influenza to wear masks in areas where patients are present. \u201cGetting vaccinated remains the best way for all New Yorkers to protect against the flu, and it is vital for caregivers who come in contact with patients to get vaccinated to help prevent the spread of flu,\u201d State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said. As of Nov. 30 there have been 3,158 laboratory-confirmed cases, 691 hospitalizations and one child death, according to the state Department of Health. Heath officials recommend that anyone older than six-months should be vaccinated, particularly the elderly and children younger than 2 years old. Vaccines change each year based on predictions on what strains of the virus will be prevalent, according  to Times Union. Health officials recommend getting vaccinated regardless of efficacy as it will still make the illness milder."}
{"claim_id": "15539", "claim": "Jeb Bush Says that during his eight years as Florida governor, \"we created 1.3 million net new jobs -- more jobs created than Texas.", "explanation": "Bush said that during his eight years in office, \"we created 1.3 million net new jobs, more jobs created than Texas.\" He got his numbers right, but it\u2019s worth noting that no governor is solely, or even mostly, responsible for economic growth in their state -- and if he wants to take credit for the expansion on his watch, then he also needs to shoulder some of the blame for the bust that followed his departure from office. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Economy, Jobs, Florida, Jeb Bush, ", "main_text": "At an event in Orlando attended by several GOP presidential contenders, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a likely Republican candidate, touted his state\u2019s record on job creation during his tenure. \"In Florida, during my eight years, we grew at 4.4 percent per year, and we created, together, many of the people in this room, by creating a better environment, we created 1.3 million net new jobs -- more jobs created than Texas, more jobs created than any state in country other than California, a state 2 1/2 times our size,\" Bush said. That\u2019s a direct knock at one of his likely rivals in the presidential race -- former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who also spoke at the summit and is expected to announce his candidacy for president later this week. We decided to look at the number of jobs created in Florida and Texas, respectively, and how much credit Bush deserves for that. Bush was governor from January 1999 through January 2007; Perry was governor from late 2000 to early 2015. Net jobs in Florida vs. Texas Bush\u2019s term in office was bookended by two periods of robust job growth -- 1998-2000 and 2004-06. The 2007 recession hit after he left office. Bush\u2019s spokesman pointed to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for total, nonfarm, seasonally adjusted jobs. In Florida, there were about 6.7 million such jobs in December 1998 and 8 million in December 2006. That works out to about 1.3 million net new jobs. By comparison, in Texas, there were about 9.1 million jobs in December 1998 and 10.2 million jobs in December 2006. That works out to 1.1 million net new jobs. So during Bush\u2019s two terms in office -- which, we\u2019ll note, includes a period before Perry was governor -- the number of net new jobs in Florida was 186,800 higher than in Texas. Does Bush get credit for the job growth? Bush took a measure of credit during his speech. And on his PAC\u2019s website, Bush also took credit for growth saying that \"his limited-government approach helped unleash one of the most robust and dynamic economies in the nation, creating 1.3 million net new jobs ... .\" Is that justified? We started by asking his spokesman if he could point to anything that Bush did to fuel that job growth. \"Creating 1.3 million new jobs and leading the nation in job creation over your final five years in office doesn\u2019t just happen by riding an economic wave,\" Matt Gorman said. \"That takes strong, pro-growth economic policies like those put in place by Gov. Bush. He consistently improved Florida's business climate, including cutting taxes every year he was in office.\" PolitiFact has frequently noted that when it comes to the economy and jobs, assigning credit (or blame) for a given statistical accomplishment isn\u2019t as clear cut as politicians would like voters to believe. Much has to do with timing: Bush was fortunate to have governed during some economically robust years. \"It is very hard to measure how much credit Gov. Bush should get for the job creation in Florida during his eight years, since so many different factors affect a state's job creation,\" George Washington University economist Tara Sinclair said. Sean Snaith, the director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Economic Competitiveness, compared the state\u2019s economy to an omelet with many ingredients going into the final product. Snaith said it\u2019s \"difficult to point to one specific ingredient as being responsible for the omelet itself. Florida\u2019s economy performed very well during this time period, the economic omelet was quite tasty. Not all of the ingredients, however, originated in Tallahassee\u2019s kitchen. Low interest rates and a global thirst for oil impacted these state\u2019s economies but neither had any control of these important ingredients.\" Moody\u2019s economist Kwame Donaldson added that in the early 2000s, Nevada and Arizona \u00a0experienced a similar growth trajectory as Florida, suggesting that Bush\u2019s policies were not singularly responsible for his state\u2019s growth. (Arizona, for instance, had a Democratic governor for the second half of the period in question.) Construction fueled Florida\u2019s job growth -- and then bust The experts added that it\u2019s worth looking at what happened after Bush left office. Texas\u2019 job growth during that time frame was also relatively strong \u2013 a 19.6 percent increase in Florida vs. a 12.5 percent increase in Texas. Both states were higher than the 7.6 percent for the country as a whole over that period, said David Cooper, an expert on state labor markets at the Economic Policy Institute. Construction employment in Florida grew by 46.6 percent over that time frame -- more than double the growth in Texas and the nation. Then, when the recession hit, the construction job market in Florida nosedived. As a result, \"Florida\u2019s job losses were much more severe than in Texas,\" Cooper said. \"I am not sure that the job growth during Jeb Bush administration should be celebrated, because it was primarily fueled by a housing bubble that burst as Bush\u2019s term was ending,\" said Donaldson of Moody\u2019s. \"Florida is still struggling to recover from this housing bust.\" Sinclair concurred. \"Although it makes more sense for a governor to compare across states in order to somewhat control for national level events, it would also be fair for him to take some of the blame for the worse performance of Florida so soon after he left office if he wants to take credit for the good times,\" she said. Texas, by contrast, was not as hard hit because it had stronger bank regulation, meaning it didn\u2019t have as many bad loans as Florida, said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. As The Economist explained in 2010, \"Texas has strict rules on home-equity lending, relative to other states, and this has helped to prevent ratios of loan size\u00a0to home value from rising as high as they have elsewhere.\" Residential construction fell by about two thirds in Texas, but it collapsed by even more -- 85 percent -- in Florida, said Moody\u2019s senior economist Chris Lafakis. \"I certainly wouldn\u2019t blame only Gov. Bush for Florida\u2019s recession \u2014 there were many culpable parties that overlooked and underestimated the effect of horrific lending standards and bad mortgages \u2014 but Gov. Bush certainly didn\u2019t prevent or mitigate the recession either,\" he said. \"Vermont is an example where state policy restricted the housing boom but prevented the housing bust.\" It\u2019s also worth noting that the sheer number of new jobs doesn\u2019t say much about how well they paid, said Harry Holzer, a Georgetown University economist who is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. \"Texas and Florida are both places that get a big influx of migrants either from other states or immigrants from other countries and I think they drive a lot of job creation in both places, often low-wage job creation,\" Holzer said. Our ruling Bush said that during his eight years in office, \"we created 1.3 million net new jobs, more jobs created than Texas.\" He got his numbers right, but it\u2019s worth noting that no governor is solely, or even mostly, responsible for economic growth in their state -- and if he wants to take credit for the expansion on his watch, then he also needs to shoulder some of the blame for the bust that followed his departure from office. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information."}
{"claim_id": "14234", "claim": "Today in America, between 40 and 50 percent of all African-American babies, virtually 1-in-2, are killed before they are born.", "explanation": "Franks said, \"Today in America, between 40 and 50 percent of all African-American babies, virtually 1-in-2\u00a0are killed before they are born.\" Data suggests a disparity in the number of abortions performed on African-American women than other races. But saying that \"between 40 and 50 percent of all African-American babies\" are aborted goes beyond the limits of the data. Federal data doesn\u2019t account for all 50 states, and fails to factor in pregnancies that end in a miscarriage. Private data is based on surveys and is years out of date.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Arizona, Abortion, Trent Franks, ", "main_text": "U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., has been active in the nation\u2019s capital recently, lobbying for legislation he introduced that would ban abortions based on race or gender. Critics say the proposed ban is \"stereotyping,\" as women seek abortions for a multitude of reasons, such as financial constraints. Franks presented a series of abortion statistics at an April 14 House subcommittee hearing on the legislation, called the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act, or PRENDA. \"Today in America, between 40 and 50 percent of all African-American babies, virtually 1-in-2\u00a0are killed before they are born, which is a greater cause of death for African-Americans than heart disease, cancer, diabetes, AIDS and violence combined,\" Franks said. The congressman\u2019s matter-of-fact claim intrigued us, so we decided to check it out. Limited data Franks\u2019 spokeswoman, Destiny Edwards, referenced multiple reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, for his claim. Because Franks is talking specifically about abortion, we did not account for babies who may die as a result of domestic violence, for example, before birth. Guttmacher notes that African-American women accounted for an estimated 37 percent of the 1.21 million total abortions performed in 2008. That would in theory translate to 447,700 abortions. That same year, according to the CDC, 670,809 African-American babies were born. But Guttmacher\u2019s abortion data is based on surveys with women and abortion providers. It is not a complete picture. Plus, total abortions dropped to about 1.06 million in 2011, but Guttmacher doesn\u2019t have updated demographic breakdowns, Guttmacher Institute spokeswoman Rebecca Wind said. The CDC\u2019s data is similarly imperfect. As we\u2019ve noted in a previous abortion claim from PolitiFact Florida, the CDC does not have a complete record of abortions. Most states require hospitals, facilities and physicians to report all abortions to a central health agency. But not every state reports this abortion data to the feds -- and they\u2019re not required to either. The data also leaves out more than 20 states, including Arizona, California and Florida. According to the CDC\u2019s 2012 data, the most recent available, the abortion ratio for non-Hispanic African-American women was 435 abortions per 1,000 African-American live births. But Nikki Mayes, a CDC spokeswoman, said\u00a0that interpreting the ratio as a percent wouldn't be fair. Live births exclude stillbirths and miscarriages. According to the Mayo Clinic, 10 to 20 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. The second half of Franks\u2019 claim, comparing other causes of death, is even more complicated. CDC data is split among leading causes of death between African-American men and women. For African-American men, the leading causes of death are heart disease (24.1 percent), cancer (23.3 percent) and accidents (5.5 percent). Diabetes accounts for 3.9 percent of deaths and HIV, not AIDS, makes up 2.1 percent. For African-American women, it's heart disease (24.1 percent), cancer (22.6 percent) and stroke (6.4 percent). Diabetes among African-American women account for 4.6 percent of deaths, while accidents make up 2.8 percent of deaths. Our ruling Franks said, \"Today in America, between 40 and 50 percent of all African-American babies, virtually 1-in-2\u00a0are killed before they are born.\" Data suggests a disparity in the number of abortions performed on African-American women than other races. But saying that \"between 40 and 50 percent of all African-American babies\" are aborted goes beyond the limits of the data. Federal data doesn\u2019t account for all 50 states, and fails to factor in pregnancies that end in a miscarriage. Private data is based on surveys and is years out of date."}
{"claim_id": "2021", "claim": "Raw milk debate simmers as states and FDA mull rules.", "explanation": "Clifford Hatch cares for about 20 cows at his family-run farm, producing fresh raw milk that is at the center of controversy over its sale and safety.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "A bottle of milk in a refrigerator bears a label showing that it is from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones, in Washington in this November 9, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Jim Bourg Hatch sells raw, or unpasteurized, milk products from a retail shop at his dairy farm, which state regulations allow him to do because the business is located on the same property where his Ayrshire cattle are milked. He said he might sell 40 to 50 gallons a day at his Upinngill Farm, which started producing raw milk and cheese years ago when local residents began seeking an alternative to dairy from big, industrialized producers whose use of artificial bovine growth hormones was widespread then. \u201cThe system is pretty sensible and reasonably well-enforced,\u201d Hatch said. But debate is swirling over raw milk in many U.S. states, and the thought of tighter federal rules on its production and sale makes independent producers such as Hatch uneasy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both strongly warn the public against drinking raw milk. They see potential health risks from pathogens like E. coli bacteria, which in some instances can get into milk from an animal\u2019s manure. But raw dairy advocates say unpasteurized milk is at least as safe as the \u201csuperheated\u201d varieties because of the dedication small-batch farmers have to maintaining hygienic facilities. Some people prefer raw milk, saying it is sweeter and has more vitamins and minerals, \u201chealthy\u201d bacteria and digestive enzymes. They say pasteurizing milk, or heating it to above 160 degrees Fahrenheit, destroys most of those features. Part of the debate centers on cheese, which is legal under federal law if it is aged at least 60 days to kill bacteria such as E. coli. But the FDA is mulling extending the aging requirement past 60 days which could, in effect, outlaw some popular raw milk cheeses as well as pasteurized ripened cheeses. An FDA spokeswoman said on Wednesday the agency is looking at whether the aging requirements for cheese \u201care sufficient to minimize pathogens,\u201d including salmonella and E. coli. The FDA\u2019s review could take until late in the year, when it would release results of its risk study, she said. Some raw dairy proponents fear the FDA could outlaw raw milk production altogether. \u201cTheir policy certainly is very anti-raw milk. It\u2019s always a concern,\u201d said Winton Pitcoff, raw milk network coordinator for the Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFAMass). Some U.S. states are restricting raw milk use already. Vermont has both deep agricultural roots and a newer local-food renaissance boosting the economy. But the state this month suspended workshops led by an advocacy group teaching people how to turn unpasteurized milk into butter and cheese. Vermont\u2019s agriculture agency says the state\u2019s 2009 raw milk law limits farmers to selling it to customers for fluid consumption only. But the agency says it will not interfere with how people use or consume raw milk in their own homes. In ten states, including California, Maine, Connecticut and New Hampshire, people can buy raw milk in grocery stores. But sales are banned in many other states, including dairy giant Wisconsin. Federal law also bans interstate sales of raw milk. A few states are considering legalization or loosening regulations, among them Texas, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Massachusetts does not allow raw milk sales in grocery stores, but it is considering a bill to let farmers deliver to customers and sell at stands away from their farms. Raw milk producers can sell a gallon of fresh milk for $6 to $12 \u2014 about four times what processors pay dairy farmers for milk they truck to processing plants. Farmers say the heftier price can make the difference between a farm being profitable or needing to shut down. The number of dairy farms nationwide has dwindled. In Massachusetts, about 5,000 farms existed in 1950 but today fewer than 180 remain, NOFAMass says."}
{"claim_id": "10580", "claim": "Fewer mammograms means more breast cancer deaths", "explanation": "This broadcast describes data from two recent government reports showing that fewer women are undergoing mammograms and fewer mammography centers are in business today than a few years ago. It quotes one expert who says this means that more women will therefore die of breast cancer. Few would argue that all women should have access to mammography. However, the broadcast provides no evidence to support the dire conclusion of the expert that more deaths will ensue. It also fails to balance this view with information about the potential harms of mammography. And it neglects to note that the GAO report says that current capacity is \u201clikely adequate.\u201d \u00a0What is the quality of evidence on this complex topic? There is no way to tell from the broadcast whether the scientific evidence supports the view that fewer mammograms will categorically result in more cancer deaths, nor any attempt to weigh this against the evidence that mammography may produce harms as well as benefits. Most experts believe that mammography in women aged 50 to 69 saves lives; its benefit in those younger and older is controversial. But like other cancer screens, improved survival among women who undergo mammography may be deceiving. It is possible, for example, that screened patients do not actually live longer than unscreened patients do, but simply appear to live longer because they\u00a0receive a diagnosis earlier. It is also possible that mammography will actually cause harm. Exposure to radiation during mammography could itself cause breast cancer 10 or 20 years down the road. (Br J Cancer 2005;93:590-6. Lancet 2000;355:1757-70) In addition, mammograms increase the diagnosis of lesions. Left untreated, some of these will become cancers, but many will not. The discovery of a lesion leads not only to fear and anxiety, but also to invasive diagnostic tests and invasive treatments (including mastectomy or lumpectomy) that inflict additional emotional and physical harm. \u201cFor every woman who has her life extended by screening,\u201d writes the Cochrane Center\u2019s Peter Gotzsche in Denmark, \u201cthere are at least five women who will be diagnosed with, and treated for, cancer unnecessarily.\u201d (Lancet 2005;366;1519-20) One learns nothing about these potential harms in the ABC News broadcast. Because medicine does not yet have perfect estimates of the harms of mammography, some would say there is no simple \u201cright\u201d recommendation for every patient. The only possible blanket recommendation might be for clinicians\u2013and the news media\u2013to explain the potential benefits and harms, and thus help women to evaluate their own individual tolerance for risk and preferences so that they can choose the course of action that best suits them. News organizations that choose to cover medicine should explain the quality of the evidence and the pros and cons surrounding any medical procedure well enough for patients to understand what is known and what remains unknown. Unfortunately, instead of an even-handed analysis, this broadcast promotes fear.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The news story makes no mention of cost. Although the cost of mammography to individuals is generally not great, the financial burden on the health care system is substantial. The story describes the reduction in mammograms and mammography centers in both relative and absolute numbers. But there is no quantification of the estimated benefit of mammography itself. That benefit is just assumed, leading to a concurrent assumption about the impact of fewer mammography centers. There is no mention of harms. This is a major flaw. Although mammograms can identify disease early and reduce deaths, they are also associated with several harms. Mammograms increase the diagnosis of lesions. Left untreated, some of these will become cancers, but many will not. The discovery of lesions leads not only to fear and anxiety, but also to invasive diagnostic tests and invasive treatments (including mastectomy or lumpectomy). Finally, mammography exposes women to radiation that could itself cause breast cancer 10 or 20 years down the road. (Br J Cancer 2005;93:590-6. Lancet 2000;355:1757-70). Because medicine does not yet have perfect estimates of these harms, the decision to have mammography is not always simple. The news broadcast demonstrates no grasp of the evidence around this controversial area of preventive medicine. There is no mention of the quality of evidence to support the fear that fewer mammograms will categorically result in more cancer deaths, nor any attempt to weigh this evidence against the evidence that mammography may produce harms as well as benefits. (See \u201cHarms of Treatment\u201d below) The news story quotes one expert who asserts that less screening will mean more cancer deaths. But when? Today or next year? The GAO report says that current capacity is \u201clikely adequate,\u201d adding that the entry of fewer health care professionals into the field \u201ccould result in access problems in the future.\u201d (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06724.pdf) The CDC report says \u201cBecause mammography screening every 1\u20132 years can significantly reduce mortality from breast cancer, continued declines in mammography use might result in increased breast cancer mortality rates.\u201d (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5603a1.htm.) The broadcast also ignores evidence that questions the value of mammography in women aged 40-49 and over age 70 who have other medical conditions that might shorten their lives. Finally, the news story overlooks the flip side of screening. Although most agree it saves lives among women aged 50 to 69, mammography also has the potential to cause these women harm. (See \u201cHarms of treatment\u201d below.) Viewers would be better -served by an even-handed explanation of the potential benefits and risks of having a mammogram, so that women could make an informed decision. Instead, the broadcast spreads fear. Two independent sources were quoted. The broadcast cites data from the CDC and the GAO, independent government agencies. The broadcast provides no information about other\u00a0alternatives to mammography, which for some might include doing nothing. The broadcast explains that the number of mammography centers and mammograms in the U.S has decreased in recent years, and cites reliable sources for this. But it does not report the GAO\u2019s finding that, despite facility closings, \u201ccurrent capacity is adequate.\u201d The news broadcast explains that screening goes back at least to 1987; a viewer who might be unfamiliar with the procedure can accurately glean that it is not new. No obvious use of text from the press release."}
{"claim_id": "8014", "claim": "Cuban doctors head to Italy to battle coronavirus.", "explanation": "Communist-run Cuba said it dispatched a brigade of doctors and nurses to Italy for the first time this weekend to help in the fight against the novel coronavirus at the request of the worst-affected region Lombardy.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Caribbean island has sent its \u201carmies of white robes\u201d to disaster sites around the world largely in poor countries since its 1959 revolution. Its doctors were in the front lines in the fight against cholera in Haiti and against ebola in West Africa in the 2010s. Yet with the 52-strong brigade, this is the first time Cuba has sent an emergency contingent to Italy, one of the world\u2019s richest countries, demonstrating the reach of its medical diplomacy. This is the sixth medical brigade Cuba has sent in recent days to combat the spread of the new disease abroad. It has sent contingents to socialist allies Venezuela and Nicaragua as well as Jamaica, Suriname and Grenada. \u201cWe are all afraid but we have a revolutionary duty to fulfill, so we take out fear and put it to one side,\u201d Leonardo Fernandez, 68, an intensive care specialist, told Reuters late on Saturday shortly before his brigade\u2019s departure. \u201cHe who says he is not afraid is a superhero, but we are not superheros, we are revolutionary doctors.\u201d  Fernandez said this would be his eighth international mission, including one in Liberia during the fight against ebola. Italy is the country that has been worst affected by the highly contagious virus that originated in China, with the northern region of Lombardy bearing the brunt of the contagion. Its death toll rose on Saturday by 546 to 3,095, according to its head of welfare, Giulio Gallera, who requested the Cuban doctors. We are going to fulfill an honorable task, based on the principle of solidarity,\u201d said Graciliano D\u00edaz, 64. Cuba built a healthcare system that was the envy of the developing world with economic aid from former ally Soviet Union, though some of those advances have been lost since the communist bloc collapsed. Many Cuban hospitals have fallen into disrepair and Cubans say they have difficulty finding medicine, a situation the government says is largely due to decades-old U.S. sanctions although analysts blame also the inefficient state-run economy. Still, Cuba has one of the highest ratios worldwide of physicians per capita even when excluding those doctors abroad, and its medical brigades for disaster relief continue to earn Havana goodwill worldwide. \u201cIn a time of crisis, the Cuban government, the Cuban people ... have risen to the occasion, they have heard our appeal and they have responded,\u201d Jamaican Health Minister Christopher Tufton said on Saturday upon greeting 140 Cuban medical professionals at Kingston international airport. Britain also thanked Cuba last week for allowing a British cruise ship that had been turned away by several Caribbean ports to dock on the island and for enabling the evacuation of the more than 600 passengers onboard. [nL1N2BB1ZQ]  Meanwhile Cuba, which is known for its disaster preparedness, is stepping up measures at home too to stem the coronavirus contagion. Twenty-five cases have been confirmed so far. [nL1N2BD2JM]  President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced late on Friday the country would be closing its borders to foreign non-residents from Tuesday in a major blow to one of the motors of its cash-strapped economy, tourism. Thousands of doctors and medicine students are also going door-to-door monitoring their local communities."}
{"claim_id": "13006", "claim": "Activities by foreign governments had \"absolutely no effect on the outcome of this election.", "explanation": "After meeting with senior intelligence officials about the details of a soon-to-be-released report on alleged Russian hacking, Trump said that activities by foreign governments had \"absolutely no effect on the outcome of this election.\" Trump can use the intelligence report to bolster this assertion only in one limited way -- that Russia did not succeed in tampering with vote counts (though it appears to have tried). On the broader issue of whether Russia had any impact on the outcome of the election, the report specifically noted that it didn\u2019t address this issue, and Clapper in his Senate testimony didn\u2019t either. Saying there was no Russian ballot-tampering is not the same thing as saying there was no Russian influence on the election. Political scientists say it\u2019s impossible to move beyond informed speculation about whether there was a Russian impact on the election\u2019s outcome -- or, importantly, whether there wasn\u2019t an impact. Trump\u2019s formulation, echoed by later statements by those in his camp, offers a definitive, broad-brush conclusion that isn\u2019t proven by the evidence, and really can\u2019t be.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Elections, Homeland Security, Foreign Policy, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "On Jan. 6, President-elect Donald Trump was briefed on the U.S. intelligence community\u2019s probe into allegations of Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election, including possible connections to electronic hacks and public releases of private communications by senior Democrats. A declassified version of the report found that \"Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election. Russia\u2019s goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate (Trump\u2019s opponent, Hillary) Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.\" Following the intelligence briefing, Trump\u2019s office released a statement. After noting the \"constructive meeting\" and the \"tremendous respect\" he had for their work, Trump stated: While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organizations including the Democrat (sic) National Committee, there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election including the fact that there was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines. There were attempts to hack the Republican National Committee, but the RNC had strong hacking defenses and the hackers were unsuccessful. The phrase that caught our eye was, \"there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election.\" That's a pretty definitive statement. And Trump echoed this argument in a Jan. 7 tweet: \"Intelligence stated very strongly there was absolutely no evidence that hacking affected the election results. Voting machines not touched!\" However, the argument that there was no impact of any kind on the election outcome is\u00a0not backed up by the intelligence community\u2019s report. The report specifically stated it didn\u2019t look at that question. Here\u2019s what the report actually said: We did not make an assessment of the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election. The U.S. Intelligence Community is charged with monitoring and assessing the intentions, capabilities, and actions of foreign actors; it does not analyze U.S. political processes or U.S. public opinion. So if the Trump campaign is using the intelligence community report to back up its assertion that there was no Russian influence on the outcome, it's doing so without justification. When we contacted the Trump transition media office, we did not receive a response. Here\u2019s our review of the publicly available evidence. Ballot counts The Trump camp has a point on one issue: Despite some concern among security experts going into the election that Russia might hack into state and local vote-counting systems and tamper with the tallies, the intelligence community report found that any such efforts by Russia were not successful in changing any votes. The report says that while \"Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards,\" the Department of Homeland Security \"assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying.\" Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, conceded this in an interview with the PBS NewsHour on Jan. 6. \"It is true there is no evidence that the tampering with voter machines or tampering with voter registrations or any of like that affected the counting of the votes. That's true,\" Schiff told PBS\u2019 Judy Woodruff. Some observers might be concerned that Russia did manage to breach at least some election authorities\u2019 computer networks, and they might also be concerned that Russia and Putin, according to the report, tried to influence the election, even if it\u2019s less clear whether they succeeded. Still, Trump has a point that Russia didn\u2019t literally change actual votes electronically. Ballot tampering vs. other types of Russian influence Members of the Trump camp have portrayed the report\u2019s clean bill of health on the question of Russian ballot-tampering as proof that Russia had no impact at all on the election. For instance, on the Jan. 8 edition of CNN\u2019s State of the Union, incoming White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told Jake Tapper that \"if you read the full report, they make very clear, (Director of National Intelligence James) Clapper in his testimony (to the Senate Armed Services Committee) made very clear on Thursday under oath that that any attempt, any aspiration to influence our elections failed. They were not successful in doing that.\" On Fox News Sunday, incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus echoed Conway\u2019s invocation of Clapper\u2019s testimony, saying Clapper had testified to the Senate panel \"that there is no evidence in the report that any of this changed the outcome of the election.\" Neither assertion is accurate. First, to equate a lack of ballot tampering with a lack of any Russian influence on the election conflates two things that are not the same. Conway and Priebus essentially defined ballot-rigging as the only way an election can be influenced, when in reality the intelligence report primarily addresses other ways Russia tried to influence the election. The Russian effort blended, in the report\u2019s words, \"covert intelligence operations \u2014 such as cyber activity \u2014 with overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or \u2018trolls.\u2019 \" And second, Clapper in his testimony never said that \"any attempt, any aspiration to influence our elections failed\" (as Conway put it) or that \"there is no evidence in the report that any of this changed the outcome of the election\" (as Priebus put it). Clapper\u2019s most direct remark at the Senate hearing on this issue came in this exchange with the panel\u2019s chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.: McCain: \"So really, what we're talking about, is if they succeeded in changing the results of an election, of which none of us believe they were, that would have to constitute an attack on the United States of America because of the effects, if they had succeeded, would you agree with that?\" Clapper: \"First, we cannot say -- they did not change any vote tallies or -- or anything of that sort.\" McCain: \"Yeah, I'm just talking about\u2026\" Clapper: \"And we have no -- we have no way of gauging the impact that -- certainly the intelligence community can't gauge the impact it had on the choices the electorate made. There's no way for us to gauge that.\" Subsequently in the hearing, Clapper arguably went even further in a response to questioning by Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. King, referring to his work with Baltic states that have been grappling with Russian influence in elections for several years, said, \"The best defense is for our public to know what's going on, so they can take it with a grain of salt. \u2026 That's why I think public hearings like this and the public discussion of this issue is so important, because we're not going to be able to prevent this all together. But we need to have our people understand that when they're being manipulated. Would you agree with that conclusion?\" Clapper responded, \"Absolutely. That's why I feel so strongly about the statement in October,\" referencing his own statement during the campaign that the Russian government had been engaged in efforts \"intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.\" How credible is the argument that Russia influenced the election in some fashion? Schiff is one of many Democratic officials who personally believe that other types of Russian efforts may have had an impact on an election that ultimately hinged on fewer than 100,000 votes cumulatively in three states -- Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In his PBS interview, Schiff specifically referred to the hacking and release to websites such as WikiLeaks of personal emails written and received by Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and other top Democrats -- releases that Trump prominently featured during the campaign. \"The daily dumping of information that was damaging to Secretary Clinton and helpful to Donald Trump was hugely consequential,\" Schiff said. But is it possible to move beyond a gut feeling and prove that Russia influenced enough voters to change the election\u2019s outcome? Not really, say political scientists. A campaign as large-scale as a presidential race is buffeted by so many factors that it\u2019s essentially impossible to know for sure that any given factor played a role in determining who won. \"The presidential election, with its national constituency, is decided by multiple, interrelated causes, all of which were necessary but not sufficient,\" said Kyle Saunders, a Colorado State University political scientist. Referring to such factors as the candidates\u2019 personalities and messages as well as the general political environment, Saunders said that \"no one determinate cause can be offered as \u2018the\u2019 explanation, and doing so is a fool's errand.\" Saunders agreed that one doesn\u2019t have to believe that hacking did affect the election to say comfortably that Trump is wrong to say it absolutely didn\u2019t affect the election -- there's simply no way of knowing either way with any certainty that something affected the outcome. He added that while a reasonable case can be made that the hacking did help Trump, that's informed speculation -- not certainty -- and said there\u2019s no way to know how big a factor it may have been compared to other factors. \"It is difficult to argue that the barrage of damaging information released almost exclusively about Clinton and Democrats did no harm or did not create an atmosphere in which voters questioned her judgment or credibility or dampen support for her candidacy,\" said Costas Panagopoulos, a Fordham University political scientist. That said, Panagopoulos added, \"in truth, there is no way to know with certainty what the causal impact of Russian involvement was on the outcome of the 2016 election.\" Our ruling After meeting with senior intelligence officials about the details of a soon-to-be-released report on alleged Russian hacking, Trump said that activities by foreign governments had \"absolutely no effect on the outcome of this election.\" Trump can use the intelligence report to bolster this assertion only in one limited way -- that Russia did not succeed in tampering with vote counts (though it appears to have tried). On the broader issue of whether Russia had any impact on the outcome of the election, the report specifically noted that it didn\u2019t address this issue, and Clapper in his Senate testimony didn\u2019t either. Saying there was no Russian ballot-tampering is not the same thing as saying there was no Russian influence on the election. Political scientists say it\u2019s impossible to move beyond informed speculation about whether there was a Russian impact on the election\u2019s outcome -- or, importantly, whether there wasn\u2019t an impact. Trump\u2019s formulation, echoed by later statements by those in his camp, offers a definitive, broad-brush conclusion that isn\u2019t proven by the evidence, and really can\u2019t be. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "34735", "claim": "Fourteen-year-old, terminally ill cancer patient Maddox Hyde asked that people send him Christmas cards for the holiday.", "explanation": "Sadly, the same family member informed us that Maddox died in 2019 and that receiving cards is \u201cheartwarming but painful for the family.\u201d For this reason, we updated the rating to Outdated.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Inboxer Rebellion, christmas", "main_text": "In November 2018, Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, middle-schooler Maddox Hyde, who had been coping with cancer for eight years, learned from doctors he had only weeks or months to live. A report in the Centre Daily Times said Maddox was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of tumor that starts in the central nervous system and spreads. The tumor doctors found on the back of his head was only the latest development in a saga that began in 2010, when he was in first grade. According to his mother, Kristi Potter, the first mass they found was on Maddox\u2019s right adrenal gland. Eighteen months after that went into remission, another was found on his right hip. Unfortunately, it was not to be the last: Potter said her son went into remission again on March 29, 2016, but that good news only lasted three days. He was paralyzed and diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome and was in a pediatric intensive care unit on a ventilator for two weeks. He spent two months in the hospital\u2019s rehab center, where he re-learned to walk, eat and write. With the exception of lingering weakness in his left foot, all of his abilities and feeling returned. That milieu lasted for 10 months before doctors found a small tumor on his spine. His treatments were working and the tumor was shrinking, but then it \u201cexploded\u201d after six weeks and grew drastically. Instead of subjecting him to further treatment, Maddox\u2019s family decided to bring him home to live out the time he has left in more comfort. Local television station WJAC reported on 25 November that the community had rallied behind Maddox and his family, holding fundraisers to help pay their medical bills, throwing a surprise Christmas party in Maddox\u2019s honor, and showering him with Christmas cards: \u201cIt\u2019s just amazing. I could not ask for a better community to live in,\u201d Potter said. Most recently, his mother says it\u2019s been a trend of Christmas cards: hundreds and hundreds of cards from people everywhere. \u201cIt is really cool to see how many people are sending them,\u201d Maddox said. He says the cards feature pictures, stories and long messages. One retired officer gave him his prized possession, his patch he wore for over 20 years. Another card came with a bottle of sand from the beach. Each one of the hundreds of cards had something special. So many people sent cards that he got the same ones more than once. Maddox\u2019s friends and family launched a social-media campaign soliciting cards from everywhere:  A young boy from my hometown has recently been told he has only weeks to live after battling cancer for about 8 years. His only wish is to receive Christmas cards from all over the world so please help show Maddox some love and let\u2019s overwhelm him with wishes. #maddoxstrong \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffc\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffc pic.twitter.com/i66soZ5L9X \u2014 Paul Butler (@_Paul_Butler_) November 27, 2018  Maddox hoped to receive cards from people everywhere in the world. According to a family member, the response was \u201coverwhelming.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "5577", "claim": "Officials say 2 meningitis deaths in Ohio county unrelated.", "explanation": "Health officials in a rural northeast Ohio county say they have no explanation for a second bacterial meningitis death less than two weeks after a 14-year-old boy was fatally infected.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Ohio, New Philadelphia, Meningitis", "main_text": "The New Philadelphia Times Reporter reports Tuscarawas County Health Commissioner Katie Steward says the deaths are unrelated and calls the situation \u201cunusual, bizarre and unexplainable.\u201d The health department hasn\u2019t released the name or age of the second victim, who died Monday. High school freshman Ryan Freeland, of Port Washington, died at a hospital Dec. 15 after getting sick the previous day. Indian Valley High School in Gnadenhutten closed Dec. 18 so it could be cleaned. There were 134 cases of bacterial meningitis in Ohio last year, seven of which were fatal. ___ Information from: The Times Reporter, http://www.timesreporter.com"}
{"claim_id": "8952", "claim": "Getting relief from sexual dysfunction and incontinence caused by menopause", "explanation": "This news release summarizes an observational study on the benefits of CO2 ablative laser treatments for reducing menopausal symptoms like vaginal dryness/itching/burning, painful intercourse, frequent urinating, or incontinence in 94 post-menopausal women. While the release makes the claim that the study \u201cdemonstrated that this type of laser surgery was particularly effective in reducing the intensity of dyspareunia (painful sex) and dryness,\u201d it was an observational study which cannot show cause-and-effect. The release notes that this intervention is a subject of debate among experts, and that more studies are needed to confirm the long term efficacy and safety of this approach. It falls short in several areas: it neglects to mention that the FDA warns against using lasers for menopause symptoms, excludes any data from the study, and omits disclosure of significant financial conflicts of interest among study authors and the organization that distributed the release, the North American Menopause Society. It\u2019s estimated that around half of post-menopausal women have at least one of the aforementioned constellation of symptoms that some doctors label \u201cgenitourinary symptoms of menopause,\u201d or GSM, and others see as normal (but problematic) symptoms of a low estrogen state. Some women respond well to symptomatic treatment, others may choose hormone replacement, and some struggle to find relief. It\u2019s important to point out that many women seek no treatment at all. For women interested in treatment, finding reliable information can be problematic. Thorough and thoughtful news releases and news coverage should, at the very least, provide:\u00a0 good data balancing the benefits and potential harms, give a sense of safety and efficacy in comparison to other existing treatments, seek out independent experts not involved in the highlighted study, as well as fully disclose if that study could be biased by conflicts of interest.", "label": "false", "subjects": "menopausal symptoms,North American Menopause Society,vaginal laser surgery", "main_text": "The cost of CO2 laser therapy is not mentioned. Much of the CO2 laser treatment in the US is applied to skin \u2014 often for wrinkles, scars, discolorations, or people who want to look younger. According to WebMD such \u201claser skin resurfacing\u201d cost an average of $2,330 in 2016. However, it\u2019s unclear if vaginal laser therapy would be comparable in terms of duration, equipment involved, or cost. The release does not offer data to support this statement: This type of laser surgery was particularly effective in reducing the intensity of dyspareunia (painful sex) and dryness. It further demonstrated that four or five laser therapies may be superior in lowering GSM symptoms compared with three in both short- and long-term follow-up. Readers might correctly guess the improvements reported come from patient questionnaires, but would have no sense of the scale or significance of these benefits. Without supporting evidence they\u2019d also be left wondering which GSM symptoms improved, by how much, and for how long. It also appears that the\u00a0results after three treatments is very similar to four or five treatments\u00a0without any evaluation of the side effects. Most importantly, since the study was not controlled and subjects were not randomized, there are multiple confounding factors that could have\u00a0been responsible for the beneficial results. Not mentioned and extremely relevant based on this June, 2018 publication by the FDA: FDA warns against use of Energy-based devices to perform vaginal \u2018rejuvenation or vaginal cosmetic procedures This includes \u201cprocedures intended to treat vaginal conditions and symptoms related to menopause, urinary incontinence, or sexual function\u201d Side effects listed include: \u201cvaginal burns, scarring, pain during sexual intercourse, and recurring/chronic pain.\u201d The release does well to point out this is a \u201csmall, retrospective, non-sham-controlled study\u201d and that \u201cthere is ongoing debate regarding the safety and effectiveness of vaginal laser surgery.\u201d Several key limitations of the study were excluded. The release claims that the study \u201cdemonstrated that this type of laser surgery was particularly effective in reducing the intensity of dyspareunia (painful sex) and dryness.\u201d\u00a0 It should have more directly stated that as an observational study, it cannot show cause-and-effect. In addition, the study could not exclude the possibility that some of the positive outcomes reported by the subjects were due to a placebo effect. The release tells us that \u201cpainful sex, dryness, itching/burning, urinary frequency, and incontinence\u201d are symptoms and signs associated with menopause. We\u2019re also told that \u201ccollectively\u201d these represent genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) which the gynecologic literature\u00a0variably describes as either a \u201ccondition\u201d or a \u201cconstellation of symptoms\u201d associated with low estrogen levels in women. (See this helpful essay from Harvard Women\u2019s Health Watch.) Some readers might be left wondering: \u201cSo is GSM a disease? Do I need to have all the symptoms to qualify? Aren\u2019t many of these symptoms part of \u2018normal\u2019 menopause? Or, is having such symptoms abnormal and should therefore be treated?\u201d We wish the news release had made it clear that these symptoms can represent normal aspects of aging that many women choose to manage with non-pharmacologic and non-surgical approaches. We\u2019ll give this the benefit of the doubt and rate this satisfactory since it\u2019s debatable whether or not this news release disease mongers. Funding for the study is not included. Also relevant for readers, but not mentioned, is that two of the authors have financial ties to the company that produces the laser tested in this study. Both authors have been expert witnesses for the laser company, suggesting a higher degree of approval of the therapy and potential for bias in the way the study is done. Equally relevant is that the National Menopause Society (NAMS)\u00a0 \u2014 which authored the news release \u2014 receives corporate support from about a dozen biotechnology companies, many that sell treatments targeted at GSM. Also, about three-fourths of the NAMS board have disclosed relationships with industry. The news release names some of the many treatments available for managing menopause symptoms through this quote from the executive director of NAMS: Until more data are available, all treatment options, including lubricants, vaginal moisturizers, and FDA-approved vaginal and systemic hormone therapies, should be discussed with women who suffer from GSM to determine the best treatment option for them. It\u2019s mentioned that vaginal laser surgery represents \u201cone of the newer and more hotly contested approaches\u201d to menopause symptoms. So we\u2019ll give this a satisfactory mark, but it would have helped readers to give them a ballpark sense of how widely the surgery is being used in North America. The news release doesn\u2019t say what\u2019s new about the study. Lasers have been used for vaginal atrophy for at least 5 years. It\u2019s not clear from the release how long CO2 lasers have been used for genitourinary symptoms. The release is unjustified in claiming that this observational study demonstrates effectiveness. It made the claim in the following paragraph: The results of this small, retrospective, non-sham-controlled study demonstrated that this type of laser surgery was particularly effective in reducing the intensity of dyspareunia (painful sex) and dryness. It further demonstrated that four or five laser therapies may be superior in lowering the intensity of GSM symptoms compared with three laser therapies in both short- and long-term follow-up. The last paragraph of the release somewhat moderates the hearty endorsement of the therapy."}
{"claim_id": "14930", "claim": "Obamacare isn't helping anyone.", "explanation": "Fiorina said that \"Obamacare isn't helping anyone.\" Even taking the low end of estimates, tens of millions of Americans have benefited from the ACA, in big ways (such as securing insurance for the first time) or smaller ways (paying less for drugs under Medicare Part D). One does not have to buy into every aspect of the law or feel comfortable with its overall price tag to acknowledge that lots of people have benefited from it.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Carly Fiorina, ", "main_text": "The Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare to some -- is a perennial target of Republicans. But at the GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, Carly Fiorina made a particularly strong statement about the law\u2019s ineffectiveness. \"Look, I'm a cancer survivor, okay?\" Fiorina told moderator Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business Network. \"I understand that you cannot have someone who's battled cancer just become known as a pre-existing condition. I understand that you cannot allow families to go bankrupt if they truly need help. But, I also understand that Obamacare isn't helping anyone.\" Fiorina\u2019s staff did not respond to an inquiry, but during the debate, she listed a number of problems she has with the law. \"It is crony capitalism at its worst,\" she said. \"Who helped write this bill? Drug companies, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies. \u2026 Health insurance has always been a cozy, little game between regulators and health insurance companies.\" Fiorina also said that \"Obamacare is crushing small businesses, it is not helping the families it was intended to help. So, let us allow states to manage high risk pools. Let us try the one thing in health insurance we've never tried, the free market. Let us ensure that as patients, and customers, that we have information to shop wisely for our health care.\" Reasonable arguments can be made against the law and its many provisions. But is no one at all getting any actual help from the law? We decided to take a closer look. Here are some of the provisions of the law and estimates of how many people have benefited from each. The estimates are from Charles Gaba, who has spent several years crunching the numbers for usage of the law at the blog ACAsignups.net. Gaba\u2019s estimates are current through November 2015 unless noted: \u2022 Americans currently enrolled in policies bought on the ACA\u2019s online exchange: 9.5 million, of which roughly 8 million are receiving subsidies under the law. Another 2.5 million were enrolled in such policies during 2015 but have since dropped their coverage. \u2022 Net number of Americans added to Medicaid due to the law: 15 million. This includes 10 million added through direct expansion of Medicaid under the law, 4 million new but previously eligible beneficiaries who signed up for Medicaid after the ACA passed, and about 1 million transferred to Medicaid from existing, state-based programs. \u2022 Number of young adults age 19 to 26 who have been able to stay on their parents\u2019 insurance due to the law: Possibly 1 million to 3 million, but the numbers change so often it\u2019s hard to get a solid number. Of the 25 million-plus total from these three categories, Gaba estimates, roughly 17 million are newly insured specifically because of the law -- approximately 5 million through the exchanges, 11 million through Medicaid, and 1 million assorted others. Here are a couple of more ways people are benefitting: \u2022 Americans no longer at risk for coverage denial due to pre-existing conditions: As PolitiFact has previously reported, between 19 percent and 50 percent of Americans fall into this category, or between 60 million and 160 million people. \u2022 Americans no longer at risk of being kicked off policies for developing expensive medical conditions: Smaller than the previous categories, but unknown. There is some overlap between these categories. But whatever the number is, it\u2019s in the tens of millions -- and most of those people, Gaba said, \"would disagree that it's \u2018not helping anyone.\u2019 \" Jonathan Oberlander, a professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, added two additional categories of Americans who have benefited from the ACA: \u2022 Medicare Part D beneficiaries, who are getting better prescription drug coverage: 39 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in the program. These and other Medicare beneficiaries are also getting such new benefits as free preventive screenings and an annual wellness checkup. \u2022 Americans with private insurance who now have access to preventive services at no charge: Unknown, but likely in the millions. Another way to look at it holistically is to gauge the net impact on national uninsurance rates. They have fallen sharply since the law has been put into practice, as this chart from the Kaiser Family Foundation illustrates:  \"The statement is utter nonsense. Put simply, it is a wild exaggeration that amounts to a lie,\" Oberlander said. \"You can certainly debate the overall impact and desirability of Obamacare. But to say it isn\u2019t helping anyone is to ignore both reality and overwhelming evidence to the contrary.\" Policy experts who have mixed feelings about the law or oppose it outright say that some of these benefits have come at too high a cost, or have left more people significantly hurt than significantly helped. For instance, Gail Wilensky, who ran Medicare and Medicaid under President George H.W. Bush and who has provided unofficial advice to Jeb Bush\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign, said the law has squeezed out many of the more limited-benefit and catastrophic-coverage plans that beneficiaries may have liked, forcing them to pay for more expensive policies. \"This has been a problem for people above 300 percent of the poverty line who get small subsidies, and it\u2019s been a real problem for people above 400 percent of the poverty line who get no subsidy,\" Wilensky said. Michael Tanner, a scholar at the Cato Institute, said there have been both winners and losers, and that he expects that \"the losers far outnumber the winners.\" That said, both Wilensky and Tanner agreed that Fiorina went too far in saying that \"Obamacare isn't helping anyone.\" \"People on expanded Medicaid or who were previously uninsured and substantially subsidized in the exchange are better off than they were,\" Wilensky said, even if \"they may or may not be as well off as they could be.\" Tanner added that, despite his qualms with the law, \"you can\u2019t truthfully say that no one has benefited. Even if you believe that the previously uninsured are paying too much for crummy policies under the ACA, as I do, I don\u2019t think you can say that none of them have benefited at all. That\u2019s a pretty low bar, of course. If you flew across the country dumping money from an airplane, some people would benefit.\" Our ruling Fiorina said that \"Obamacare isn't helping anyone.\" Even taking the low end of estimates, tens of millions of Americans have benefited from the ACA, in big ways (such as securing insurance for the first time) or smaller ways (paying less for drugs under Medicare Part D). One does not have to buy into every aspect of the law or feel comfortable with its overall price tag to acknowledge that lots of people have benefited from it. We rate Fiorina\u2019s statement ."}
{"claim_id": "33812", "claim": "A secret tape recorded aboard the doomed space shuttle Challenger captured the final panic-stricken moments of the crew. ", "explanation": "Reports of a secret tape recorded aboard the doomed space shuttle Challenger that captured the final panic-stricken moments of the crew raised suspicions of a cover-up.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Horrors, Gruesome Discoveries", "main_text": "Seventy-three seconds into the 28 January 1986 flight of the space shuttle Challenger the craft broke apart, killing the seven astronauts aboard. Videotapes released by NASA afterwards showed that a few seconds before the disaster, an unusual plume of fire and smoke could be seen spewing from the lower section of the shuttle\u2019s right solid-fuel rocket. It was generally assumed (and NASA did little to disturb this opinion) that all aboard died the moment the external tank blew up. NASA later conceded it was likely that at least three of the crew members aboard remained conscious after the explosion, and perhaps even throughout the few minutes it took forthe crew compartment of the shuttle to fall back to Earth and slam into the Atlantic Ocean. The agency was highly secretive about matters relating to the Challenger tragedy, actively fighting in the courts media requests to be allowed access to photographs of the wreckage, the details of the settlements made with the crews\u2019 families, or the autopsy reports, and this reticence to share information likely convinced some that there was more to the story than was being told. Such an environment breeds its own rumors, and Miami Herald reporter Dennis E. Powell wrote that the crew were likely all alive and conscious until the shuttle\u2019s crew compartment plunged into the Atlantic Ocean: When the shuttle broke apart, the crew compartment did not lose pressure, at least not at once. There was an uncomfortable jolt \u2014 \u201cA pretty good kick in the pants\u201d is the way one investigator describes it \u2014 but it was not so severe as to cause injury. This probably accounted for the \u201cuh oh\u201d that was the last word heard on the flight deck tape recorder that would be recovered from the ocean floor two months later. As they were feeling the jolt, the four astronauts on the flight deck saw a bright flash and a cloud of steam. The lights went out. The intercom went dead. After a few breaths, the seven astronauts stopped getting oxygen into their helmets. Someone, apparently astronaut Ronald McNair, leaned forward and turned on the personal emergency air pack of shuttle pilot Michael Smith. The PEAP of Commander Francis Scobee was in a place where it was difficult to reach. It was not activated. Even so, if the crew compartment did not rapidly lose air pressure, Scobee would only have had to lift his mask to be able to breathe. Two other PEAPs were turned on. The three others were never found. Though the shuttle had broken to pieces, the crew compartment was intact. It stabilized in a nose-down attitude within 10 to 20 seconds, say the investigators. Even if the compartment was gradually losing pressure, those on the flight deck would certainly have remained conscious long enough to catch a glimpse of the green-brown Atlantic rushing toward them. If it lost its pressurization very slowly or remained intact until it hit the water, they were conscious and cognizant all the way down. In fact, no clear evidence was ever found that the crew cabin depressurized at all. There was certainly no sudden, catastrophic loss of air of the type that would have knocked the astronauts out within seconds. Such an event would have caused the mid-deck floor to buckle upward; that simply didn\u2019t happen. A purported transcript of the Challenger crew\u2019s final horrifying moments  has circulated online for many years, supposedly taken from a \u201csecret tape\u201d leaked from NASA:  A secret NASA tape reveals that the crew of the shuttle Challenger not only survived the explosion that ripped the vessel apart; they screamed, cried, cursed and prayed for three hellish minutes before they slammed into the Atlantic and perished on January 28, 1986. The tape is said to begin with a startled crewman screaming,\u201dWhat happened? What happened? Oh God \u2013 No!\u201d Screams and curses are heard \u2013 several crewmen begin to weep \u2013 and then others bid their families farewell. Two minutes forty-five seconds later the tape ends. That\u2019s when the shuttles crew compartment, which remained intact after the vessel exploded over the Atlantic, hit the ocean at over 2,000 miles per hour, instantly killing the crew. \u201cCover up? Of course there was a coverup,\u201d declared Robert Hotz, a member of the Presidential commission that investigated the disaster. \u201cNASA can\u2019t face the fact that they put these astronauts in a situation where they didn\u2019t have adequate equipment to survive. NASA doesn\u2019t give a damn about anything but covering it\u2019s ass,\u201d he said. The official account released by NASA ends with shuttle pilot Michael Smith saying, \u201cUh-oh!\u201d Some NASA employees have evidently heard more \u2013 much more. And they provided the rest of the account based on what they\u2019ve discussed within NASA in the last five years. The astronauts had time and realized something was happening after the shuttle broke up. \u201cAll shuttle astronauts carry personal recorders and the tape in question apparently came from Christa\u2019s (McAuliffe), which was recovered after the shuttle disaster,\u201d said Hotz. Jarvis was sitting beside her, and when he figured out what was happening he said, \u201cGive me your hand.\u201d \u201cNASA insists there\u2019s nothing like that on tape but they\u2019re talking about the mission tape, not Christa\u2019s. So they\u2019re not lying, but they\u2019re not telling the truth, either.\u201d A journalist with close ties to NASA was even more emphatic, \u201cThere are persistent rumors, dating back to the disaster, that this tape is absolutely bone-chilling.\u201d The following transcript begins two seconds after NASA\u2019s official version ends, with pilot Michael Smith saying, \u201cUh-oh!\u201d Times from the moment of takeoff are shown in minutes and seconds and are approximate. The sex of the speaker is indicated by M or F. T+1:15 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 What happened? What happened? Oh God, no \u2013 no! T+1:17 \u00a0 (F) \u00a0 Oh dear God. T+1:18 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Turn on your air pack! Turn on your air\u2026 T+1:20 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Can\u2019t breathe\u2026 choking\u2026 T+1:21 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Lift up your visor! T+1:22 \u00a0 (M/F) \u00a0 (Screams.) It\u2019s hot. (Sobs.) I can\u2019t. Don\u2019t tell me\u2026 God! Do it\u2026now\u2026 T+1:24 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 I told them\u2026 I told them\u2026 Dammit! Resnik don\u2019t\u2026 T+1:27 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Take it easy! Move (unintelligible)\u2026 T+1:28 \u00a0 (F) \u00a0 Don\u2019t let me die like this. Not now. Not here\u2026 T+1:31 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Your arm\u2026 no\u2026 I (extended garble, static) T+1:36 \u00a0 (F) \u00a0 I\u2019m\u2026 passing\u2026 out\u2026 T+1:37 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 We\u2019re not dead yet. T+1:40 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 If you ever wanted (unintelligible) me a miracle\u2026 (unintelligible)\u2026 (screams) T+1:41 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 She\u2019s\u2026 she\u2019s\u2026 (garble) \u2026 damn! T+1:50 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Can\u2019t breathe\u2026 T+1:51 \u00a0 (M/F) \u00a0 (screams) Jesus Christ! No! T+1:54 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 She\u2019s out. T+1:55 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Lucky\u2026 (unintelligible). T+1:56 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 God. The water\u2026 we\u2019re dead! (screams) T+2:00 \u00a0 (F) \u00a0 Goodbye (sobs)\u2026 I love you, I love you\u2026 T+2:03 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Loosen up\u2026 loosen up\u2026 T+2:07 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 It\u2019ll just be like a ditch landing\u2026 T+2:09 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 That\u2019s right, think positive. T+2:11 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Ditch procedure\u2026 T+2:14 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 No way! T+2:17 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Give me your hand\u2026 T+2:19 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 You awake in there? I\u2026 I\u2026 T+2:29 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 Our Father\u2026 (unintelligible)\u2026 T+2:42 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 \u2026hallowed be Thy name\u2026 (unintelligible). T+2:57 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 You\u2026over there? T+2:58 \u00a0 (M) \u00a0 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall\u2026 not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures\u2026 though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil\u2026 I will dwell in the house\u2026 T+3:15 to end. None. Static, silence. Rest in Peace  However, this \u201ctranscript\u201d originated with an article published in a February 1991 issue of Weekly World News, a tabloid famous for creating news stories out of whole cloth. There never was such a transcript, nor was the crew of the Challenger known to have been wearing personal recorders. Moreover, personal recorders would not have picked up the comments of crew members on different decks as the faked transcript would have us believe. Not everyone aboard died the exact second the external tank exploded; that much is known. A complete understanding of exactly what happened in that cabin after the explosion remains elusive because the impact of the crash, plus the six weeks the wreckage and bodies spent in the sea, made it impossible to determine precisely when and how everybody aboard died. (Six weeks in sea water would also have ruined any unshielded audio tapes that miraculously survived the explosion and the crash.)"}
{"claim_id": "1500", "claim": "Israel targets fashion industry over underweight models.", "explanation": "Israeli lawmakers want to tighten a ban on the employment of underweight models and on the undeclared digital slimming-down of fashion images, amid concern that the measures are being routinely flouted even as they are adopted abroad.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The fashion industry\u2019s use of wafer-thin models has long been the subject of heated debate worldwide. Critics say the practice promotes an unhealthy body image among women, which can contribute to triggering anorexia and other eating disorders and a preoccupation with unrealistic measures of perfection. Israel in 2012 became the first country to pass a law requiring advertisers explicitly to identify pictures with photoshopped people and prohibiting the use of models below a certain body mass index (BMI), a measure which expresses a ratio of weight to height. Other countries including France, a hub of the fashion industry, have since followed Israel\u2019s lead. But unlike Israel\u2019s so-called \u2018anti-photoshop\u2019 law, French legislation that takes effect this month imposes fines and jail sentences on those who fail to comply. \u201cThe problem with the Israeli law is that there\u2019s no punishment,\u201d said Israeli photographer Adi Barkan, who was consulted on both the Israeli and French legislation. \u201cSo you continue using skinny girls and no one cares,\u201d he said, in comments reinforced by a recent Israeli parliamentary report that revealed the ineffectiveness of the existing law. Israeli lawmaker Nurit Koran,  with the backing of 42 other members of the Knesset, the country\u2019s parliament, has now prepared a draft bill she hopes will rectify the shortcomings. \u201cThe fashion industry needs to know (it can no longer ignore the law),\u201d said Koran, who said she took up the cause after watching the daughter of a close friend struggle with anorexia. The 2012 law, which prohibits the hiring of women and men for modeling jobs with a BMI of less than 18.5, says models must obtain a medical certificate confirming a normal BMI. Adverts shown in Israel must also clearly state whether they have used computer-editing techniques to airbrush or slim down models. Under Koran\u2019s proposed changes, state authorities would for the first time be able to fine agencies and others who flout the law and would require a doctor to see an applicant in person, not just \u201capprove\u201d their application over the telephone. Her move coincides with an announcement by major global fashion firms, including Christian Dior and Gucci, that they will stop hiring underweight models for catwalks. Getty Images, a major international photo agency, also recently issued new guidelines barring photos with slimmed-down models, even if labeled. Yael Latzer, an eating disorder expert at Haifa University in northern Israel, said images of skinny and photoshopped models alone do not cause eating disorders. \u201c(But) young (people) always feel that something is wrong with them,\u201d she said, adding that the media was \u201cpulling the trigger\u201d for those already genetically predisposed to eating disorder diseases such as anorexia. Former Israeli supermodel Maayan Keret said she had developed an eating disorder after she \u201cfelt a lot of pressure from everyone\u201d to continually lose weight. Now, having overcome the disease, she works to promote positive body images. \u201cThe standards (women and girls) see everywhere of beauty are not natural,\u201d Keret told Reuters. \u201cThey see those images. And they think that\u2019s the way it should be.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "24624", "claim": "Doctors, nurses, hospitals, even the pharmaceutical industry, (and) AARP\" say that health reform \"makes sense to do.", "explanation": "Obama says there is widespread support for health care reform", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "In his recent speech, President Barack Obama said the time is ripe for health care reform because most health care professionals support a new plan. \"The default position is inertia,\" he said during his July 22, 2009, speech on health care when asked why he was so eager to pass health care reform before the end of the summer. \"Because doing something always creates some people who are unhappy... And the fact that we have made so much progress where we've got doctors, nurses, hospitals, even the pharmaceutical industry, AARP, saying that this makes sense to do, I think means that the stars are aligned and we need to take advantage of that.\" Obama was talking about some key industry endorsements he picked up for a health care overhaul. In early May, the hospitals, insurers and the drug industry pledged to save $2 trillion in health care spending over 10 years. That victory was followed by a July 8 announcement that hospitals would contribute $155 billion in Medicare and Medicaid savings to cover health care cost reform. So, at first blush it seems that Obama is right that the stars are aligned for health care reform. However, we found that some storm clouds are overshadowing Obama\u2019s starry sky. First, it's important to note that there\u2019s a big difference between supporting a health care overhaul generally and supporting the legislation being considered by the House and the Senate. Nearly all industry sectors believe our health care system needs an overhaul. But they disagree on what to change. Those divisions are best illustrated by industry support or opposition to the House and Senate health care bills. Among many other things, both bills would create a government-run insurance option and would require that most employers extend some sort of health insurance to their employees. People would be required to have some form of coverage, and insurers would not be able to deny coverage because of a person\u2019s medical history. The House bill would tax the wealthiest people to help pay for the legislation, while the Senate hasn't unveiled how it will pay for the overhaul. The American Medical Association \u2014 a coalition of doctors and medical societies \u2014 endorsed the House bill, because the \"legislation includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform.\" However, several of AMA's members, including the Texas Medical Association, have not endorsed the bill because it includes a government-run health insurance option. Another sticking point is an administration proposal that would create an independent group of medical experts to look for inefficiencies in the Medicare system to save money. The American Hospital Association says the plan will hit rural and teaching hospitals hardest because they get extra Medicare payments to help cover their relatively high cost of doing business. AARP supports the House bill, but believes the Senate bill still needs some work. Specifically, the organization, which represents people over 50, is concerned the bill would prevent some less costly generic drugs from entering the market fast enough. The leading pharmaceutical industry trade group, PhRMA, does not support the House bill, but says the Senate bill \"marks an important step toward achieving comprehensive health care reform.\" And the American Nurses Asssociation supports the House bill, but has no clear position on the Senate bill. Those are a lot of details to keep track of, so we've provided you with a handy guide  here  . But back to Obama's claim. He's correct that most in the health care industry support some sort of reform, but when we're talking about the overhauls that have been put to paper \u2014 specifically, the House and Senate bills \u2014 there is quite a bit of disagreement among hospitals, nurses, Medicare patients, doctors and the drug industry over which plan is best; industry support isn't as rock-solid as Obama would make it seem. As a result, we give him a ."}
{"claim_id": "27929", "claim": "Account by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin describes his taking Communion on the moon.", "explanation": "Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin said he wanted to perform \"some appropriate symbolic act regarding the universality of seeking\" during the moon landing.", "label": "true", "subjects": "History, apollo 11, buzz aldrin, moon landings", "main_text": "One of the smaller details lost amidst the tremendous historic and scientific achievements of the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first two human beings on the moon in July 1969 was that it also marked the first occasion on which a Christian took the sacrament of Communion on an astronomical body other than Earth. This event took place in the interval between the lunar module\u2019s landing on the moon on 20 July 1969 and Neil Armstrong\u2019s taking his first steps on the lunar surface several hours later; during that period, astronaut Buzz Aldrin privately observed Communion using elements he had brought with him to the moon: Example: Communion on the Moon: July 20th, 1969 Forty years ago today two human beings changed history by walking on the surface of the moon. But what happened before Buzz Aldrin (pictured in the LM, left) and Neil Armstrong exited the Lunar Module is perhaps even more amazing, if only because so few people know about it. I\u2019m talking about the fact that Buzz Aldrin took communion on the surface of the moon. Some months after his return, he wrote about it in Guideposts magazine. And a few years ago I had the privilege of meeting him myself. I asked him about it and he confirmed the story to me, and I wrote about in my book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask). The background to the story is that Aldrin was an elder at his Presbyterian Church in Texas during this period in his life, and knowing that he would soon be doing something unprecedented in human history, he felt he should mark the occasion somehow, and he asked his pastor to help him. And so the pastor consecrated a communion wafer and a small vial of communion wine. And Buzz Aldrin took them with him out of the Earth\u2019s orbit and on to the surface of the moon. He and Armstrong had only been on the lunar surface for a few minutes when Aldrin made the following public statement: \u201cThis is the LM pilot. I\u2019d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.\u201d He then ended radio communication and there, on the silent surface of the moon, 250,000 miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel of John, and he took communion. Here is his own account of what happened: In the radio blackout, I opened the little plastic packages which contained the bread and the wine. I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon, the wine slowly curled and gracefully came up the side of the cup. Then I read the Scripture, \u201cI am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever abides in me will bring forth much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.\u201d I had intended to read my communion passage back to earth, but at the last minute [they] had requested that I not do this. NASA was already embroiled in a legal battle with Madelyn Murray O\u2019Hare [sic], the celebrated opponent of religion, over the Apollo 8 crew reading from Genesis while orbiting the moon at Christmas. I agreed reluctantly. I ate the tiny Host and swallowed the wine. I gave thanks for the intelligence and spirit that had brought two young pilots to the Sea of Tranquility. It was interesting for me to think: the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the very first food eaten there, were the communion elements. And of course, it\u2019s interesting to think that some of the first words spoken on the moon were the words of Jesus Christ, who made the Earth and the moon \u2014 and Who, in the immortal words of Dante, is Himself the \u201cLove that moves the Sun and other stars.\u201d Aldrin openly described his Communion experience on the moon in print several times, including an August 1969 interview with LIFE magazine, an October 1970 Guideposts article, and his 1973 book Return to Earth. The following account of his motivations and preparation is taken from Aldrin\u2019s 2009 book, Magnificent Desolation: Landing on the moon is not quite the same thing as arriving at Grandmother\u2019s for Thanksgiving. You don\u2019t hop out of the lunar module the moment the engine stops and yell, \u201cWe\u2019re here! We\u2019re here!\u201d Getting out of the LM takes a lot of preparation, so we had built in several extra hours to our flight plan. We also figured it was wise to allow more time rather than less for our initial activities after landing, just in case anything had gone wrong during the flight. According to our schedule, we were supposed to eat a meal, rest awhile, and then sleep for seven hours after arriving on the moon. After all, we had already worked a long, full day and we wanted to be fresh for our extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Mission Control had notified the media that they could take a break and catch their breath since there wouldn\u2019t be much happening for several hours as we rested. But it was hard to rest with all that adrenaline pumping through our systems. Nevertheless, in an effort to remain calm and collected, I decided that this would be an excellent time for a ceremony I had planned as an expression of gratitude and hope. Weeks before, as the Apollo mission drew near, I had originally asked Dean Woodruff, pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church, where my family and I attended services when I was home in Houston, to help me come up with something I could do on the moon, some appropriate symbolic act regarding the universality of seeking. I had thought in terms of doing something overtly patriotic, but everything we came up with sounded trite and jingoistic. I settled on a well-known expression of spirituality: celebrating the first Christian Communion on the moon, much as Christopher Columbus and other explorers had done when they first landed in their \u201cnew world.\u201d I wanted to do something positive for the world, so the spiritual aspect appealed greatly to me, but NASA was still smarting from a lawsuit filed by atheist Madalyn Murray O\u2019Hair after the Apollo 8 astronauts read from the biblical creation account in Genesis. O\u2019Hair contended this was a violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. Although O\u2019Hair\u2019s views did not represent mainstream America at that time, her lawsuit was a nuisance and a distraction that NASA preferred to live without. I met with Deke Slayton, one of the original \u201cMercury Seven\u201d astronauts who ran our flight-crew operations, to inform him of my plans and that I intended to tell the world what I was doing. Deke said, \u201cNo, that\u2019s not a good idea, Buzz. Go ahead and have communion, but keep your comments more general.\u201d I understood that Deke didn\u2019t want any more trouble. So, during those first hours on the moon, before the planned eating and rest periods, I reached into my personal preference kit and pulled out the communion elements along with a three-by-five card on which I had written the words of Jesus: \u201cI am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.\u201d I poured a thimbleful of wine from a sealed plastic container into a small chalice, and waited for the wine to settle down as it swirled in the one-sixth Earth gravity of the moon. My comments to the world were inclusive: \u201cI would like to request a few moments of silence \u2026 and to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way.\u201d I silently read the Bible passage as I partook of the wafer and the wine, and offered a private prayer for the task at hand and the opportunity I had been given. Neil watched respectfully, but made no comment to me at the time. Perhaps, if I had it to do over again, I would not choose to celebrate communion. Although it was a deeply meaningful experience for me, it was a Christian sacrament, and we had come to the moon in the name of all mankind \u2014 be they Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, agnostics, or atheists. But at the time I could think of no better way to acknowledge the enormity of the Apollo 11 experience that by giving thanks to God. It was my hope that people would keep the whole event in their minds and see, beyond minor details and technical achievements, a deeper meaning \u2014 a challenge, and the human need to explore whatever is above us, below us, or out there. Some sources asserted that Aldrin\u2019s taking of Communion was kept \u201csecret\u201d from the public by NASA due to an ongoing lawsuit filed by atheist Madalyn Murray O\u2019Hair: The story of the secret communion service only emerged after the mission. Aldrin had originally planned to share the event with the world over the radio. However, at the time Nasa was still reeling from a lawsuit filed by the firebrand atheist Madalyn Murray O\u2019Hair, resulting in the ceremony never being broadcast. After the Apollo 8 crew had read out the Genesis creation account in orbit, O\u2019Hair wanted a ban on Nasa astronauts practising religion on earth, in space or \u201caround and about the moon\u201d while on duty. She believed it violated the constitutional separation between church and state However, it\u2019s not completely true that the public was kept in the dark about the event until many years later. Although Aldrin maintained that NASA asked him not to broadcast his observance of Communion, news accounts released while the Apollo 11 mission was in progress reported that Aldrin was bringing Communion bread with him to the moon and would be joining Earth-bound parishioners in observing Communion from the lunar surface, as noted in this 20 July 1969 Associated Press dispatch: Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. went to the moon today with a piece of Communion bread he will use there to symbolize fellowship with his home church on earth. When the Rev. M. Dean Woodruff [minister of the Webster Presbyterian church where Aldrin was an elder] brought out the bread for Communion, a portion of the loaf had been broken away. The minister explained that Aldrin took a portion of the loaf with him on the moon trip and at some time during the afternoon, after the moon landing is made, Aldrin would symbolically join the other parishioners in Communion during one of his rest periods. Buzz Aldrin\u2019s observance of Communion was dramatized in an episode of the 1998 HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon:"}
{"claim_id": "377", "claim": "Quebec appeals court upholds C$15 billion tobacco class action ruling.", "explanation": "The Court of Appeal of Quebec upheld on Friday the bulk of a 2015 decision that awarded around C$15 billion ($11.29 billion)to smokers in the Canadian province, dealing a blow to Big Tobacco.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The judgment involves class action suits that were consolidated against the Canadian subsidiaries of British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International, known respectively as Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc (RBH) and JTI-Macdonald Corp. The companies were appealing a 2015 Quebec Superior Court ruling to award damages to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and ex-smokers who alleged the companies knew since the 1950s that their product was causing cancer and other illnesses and failed to warn consumers adequately. The province\u2019s Council on Tobacco and Health, a non-profit smoking-prevention group that was also a plaintiff in the suits, said the \u201chistoric judgment\u201d would cost the companies almost C$17 billion ($12.79 billion), reflecting additional interest since 2015. RBH said in a statement that it will try to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. JTI-Macdonald said it would consider that option. While big tobacco companies in the United States have faced lawsuits for decades, the Quebec class action marked the first time tobacco companies went to trial in a civil suit in Canada. \u201cThis is a huge defeat for the tobacco industry,\u201d said Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst from the Canadian Cancer Society. \u201cThe Court of Appeal did reverse the Superior Court on some relatively minor points, but that does not materially change the overall result.\u201d  The judgment comes as Big Tobacco firms are pouring billions into vaping devices that deliver nicotine through vapor they say is less harmful than smoke, and as smoking rates fall in many countries. The two Quebec suits, called the Letourneau and Blais cases, were filed in 1998 and certified as class actions in 2005. They were consolidated into one before the 2012 start of trial proceedings, which ended in 2014. JTI-Macdonald said in a statement it \u201cfundamentally disagrees\u201d with the court\u2019s judgment and that Canadians \u201chave had a very high awareness of the health risks of smoking.\u201d   A spokesman for Imperial Tobacco Canada told reporters at the Montreal courthouse the company was \u201cdisappointed\u201d with the decision. British American Tobacco Finance Director Ben Stevens told analysts on Thursday that the Canadian cases would likely take years to play out in the courts. British American Tobacco said in a statement late on Friday: \u201cImperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. needs to review the court\u2019s decision in more detail and will decide on next steps over the coming days and weeks.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "8723", "claim": "Hunt on for 'patient zero' who spread coronavirus globally from Singapore.", "explanation": "As lion dancers snaked between conference room tables laden with plastic bottles, pens, notebooks and laptops, some staff from British gas analytics firm Servomex snapped photos of the performance meant to bring good luck and fortune.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "But the January sales meeting in a luxury Singapore hotel was far from auspicious. Someone seated in the room, or in the vicinity of the hotel that is renowned for its central location and a racy nightclub in the basement, was about to take coronavirus global. Three weeks later, global health authorities are still scrambling to work out who carried the disease into the mundane meeting of a firm selling gas meters, which then spread to five countries from South Korea to Spain, infecting over a dozen people. Experts say finding this so-called \u201cpatient zero\u201d is critical for tracing all those potentially exposed to infection and containing the outbreak, but as time passes, the harder it becomes. \u201cWe do feel uncomfortable obviously when we diagnose a patient with the illness and we can\u2019t work out where it came from...the containment activities are less effective,\u201d said Dale Fisher, chair of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network coordinated by the World Health Organisation. Authorities initially hinted at Chinese delegates, which included someone from Wuhan - the Chinese city at the epicentre of the virus that has killed over 1,350 people. But a Servomex spokesperson told Reuters its Chinese delegates had not tested positive. Fisher and other experts have compared the Singapore meeting to another so-called \u201csuper-spreading\u201d incident at a Hong Kong hotel in 2003 where a sick Chinese doctor spread Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome around the world. The WHO has opened an investigation into the Singapore incident, but said its \u201cway too early\u201d to tell if it is a super-spreading event. It was more than a week after the meeting - which according to a company e-mail included Servomex\u2019s leadership team and global sales staff - that the first case surfaced in Malaysia. The incubation period for the disease is up to 14 days and people may be able to infect others before symptoms appear. The firm said it immediately adopted \u201cextensive measures\u201d to contain the virus and protect employees and the wider community. Those included self-isolation for all 109 attendees, of whom 94 were from overseas and had left Singapore. But the virus kept spreading. Two South Korean delegates fell sick after sharing a buffet meal with the Malaysian, who also passed the infection to his sister and mother-in-law. Three of the firm\u2019s Singapore attendees also tested positive. Then cases started appearing in Europe. An infected British delegate had headed from the conference to a French ski resort, where another five people fell ill. Another linked case then emerged in Spain, and when the Briton returned to his home town in the south of England the virus spread further. \u201cIt feels really scary that one minute it\u2019s a story in China... and then the next minute it is literally on our doorstep,\u201d said Natalie Brown, whose children went to the same school as the British carrier. The school said in a letter that two people at the school had been isolated. \u201cIt\u2019s scary and sobering how quickly it seems to have spread,\u201d said Brown. Back in Singapore, authorities were battling to keep track of new cases of local transmissions, many unlinked to previous cases. Management at the hotel - the Grand Hyatt Singapore - said they had cleaned extensively and were monitoring staff and guests for infection but did not know \u201chow, where or when\u201d conference attendees were infected. The lion dancers, who posted photos of the event on Facebook, said they were virus free. \u201cEveryone assumes it was a delegate but it could have been a cleaner, it could have been a waiter,\u201d said Paul Tambyah, an infectious diseases expert at National University Singapore. He added it was \u201cvery important\u201d to find \u201cpatient zero\u201d to establish other possible \u201cchains of transmission\u201d. But time may be running out. Singapore health ministry\u2019s Kenneth Mak said the government will continue to try and identify the initial carrier until the  outbreak ends, but as days pass it will get harder. \u201cWe might never be able to tell who that first patient is,\u201d Mak said. Meanwhile, the fallout from the conference continues to sow trepidation weeks after the event and thousands of miles away. Reuters visited Servomex\u2019s offices in the suburbs of South Korea\u2019s capital, Seoul. It was closed and dark inside, and a building guard told Reuters employees were working from home. A notice posted by building management stated a coronavirus patient had entered the complex, while several young women could be overheard in a nearby elevator discussing whether it had been used by the infected person. \u201cDo you think the patient would have gotten on this elevator or the other one?\u201d one said."}
{"claim_id": "8495", "claim": "Getting a coronavirus test in Wuhan: fast, cheap and easy.", "explanation": "Coronavirus tests can be difficult to come by in many countries including in hard-hit parts of the United States and Britain, but in Wuhan, the Chinese epicentre of the pandemic, they are fast, cheap and easy to get.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "My colleagues and I had just arrived in the central city where the novel coronavirus emerged in humans late last year, and as a foreigner I was told that I was required to take a nucleic test to prove that I was free of the potentially deadly flu-like virus. A government official escorted me to the test site, a table outside the entrance of a shuttered hotel. A single medical worker sat there, dressed in a zipped-up hazmat suit and goggles. She asked for my personal details and told me to sit. She then stuck a swab down my throat, nearly triggering a gag, and then it was over. \u201cYou\u2019ll get your results in about one and a half days,\u201d the official said. The test, while not pleasant, took less than three seconds. Wuhan is testing liberally as it tries to get back up and running after lifting a 76-day lockdown last week. The term \u201cnucleic acid test\u201d has become a familiar one in the city of 11 million people, where many companies are asking workers to present test results before they can return to work, although it is not mandatory. At one Wuhan hospital, people only need to spit into a test tube. That test costs 260 yuan ($37) and results are available by mobile app. Since Feb. 21, 930,315 tests have been carried out in Wuhan, according to government data. \u201cTesting is a good thing,\u201d said Zhao Yan, a emergency medicine doctor and vice president of Wuhan\u2019s Zhongnan Hospital told reporters on a government-organised trip last week. \u201cIf you\u2019re an enterprise with 500 employees and you want to start working again, you test everybody.\u201d  Across China, officials are simplifying and speeding up the process to obtain a nucleic acid test, even though questions persist about its accuracy. Some Chinese doctors have pushed to raise requirements for discharging hospitalised patients from two negative nucleic acid tests to three. Cities including Beijing have required some arriving travelers to present test results when entering. China has not yet indicated it will require testing for large swathes of the population. The official sent my test result to me by text message. It was negative."}
{"claim_id": "11526", "claim": "Breast Cancer Drug Breakthrough", "explanation": "This story reports on a potentially important development in the prevention of breast cancer among high risk, postmenopausal women. The story is clear that this is an existing drug for osteoporosis that has not been approved by the FDA for use in breast cancer prevention. The story also does not make claims about when it may be approved for that purpose. There is no obvious disease mongering; the story accurately represents the prevalence and seriousness of breast cancer  Although there is mention of a clinical trial, the story does not describe the study design. Also not mentioned was the fact that the results have not yet been published or peer reviewed, so interpretation of the clinical significance of these results are difficult at this time. Benefits of treatment are quantified in relative terms only. The viewer is told that raloxifene and tamoxifen both reduce the incidence of breast cancer by about 50%, however there is no context provided for these numbers. Most viewers would want to know \u201c50% of what?\u201d They want the absolute risk reduction. Viewers should have been told that even though the women in the study were high risk, the incidence of breast cancer over 5 years was still very low. The story also does not mention that raloxifene does not reduce the incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS, which tamoxifen does), so it is not clear that when the story says the benefits are equivalent between the two drugs, if it will hold true if they include all breast cancer events (including DCIS, which is found quite commonly these days). The story also omits an important fact: the decrease in incidence of uterine cancer and clots in the raloxifene group was not statistically different from the tamoxifen group. Although uterine cancer and blood clots are mentioned as harms of treatment, there is no mention of how often they occur. Other harms such as cataracts and stroke are not mentioned. No costs are mentioned. According to the website for the STAR trial, the cost of Raloxifene is about $75 per month, while Tamoxifen costs about $100 per month. Because these drugs have to be taken for long periods of time, cost is an important issue.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "No costs are mentioned. According to the website for the STAR trial, the cost of raloxifene is about $75 per month, while tamoxifen costs about $100 per month. Because these drugs have to be taken for long periods of time, cost is an issue. Benefits are quantified in relative terms only. The reader is told that raloxifene and tamoxifen both reduce the incidence of breast cancer by 50%, however there is no context provided for these numbers. Viewers would want to know 50% of what? They would want to know the absolute risk reduction. Viewers should have been told that even though the women in the study were high risk, the incidence of breast cancer over 5 years was still very low. The story also does not mention that raloxifene does not reduce the incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS, which tamoxifen does), so it is not clear that when the story says the benefits are equivalent between the two drugs, if it will hold true if they include all breast cancer events (including DCIS, which is being found much more commonly now).The story also omits an important fact: the decrease in incidence of uterine cancer and clots associated with raloxifene was not statistically significant. Although uterine cancer and blood clots are mentioned as harms of treatment, there is no mention of how often they occur. Other harms such as cataracts and stroke are not mentioned. Although there is mention of a clinical trial, the story does not describe the study design. Also not mentioned was the fact that this study has not yet been published or peer reviewed. No obvious disease mongering. The story accurately represents the prevalence and seriousness of breast cancer. Only one source, a physician at the National Cancer Institute, is quoted. In a story of this potential magnitude, other sources and perspectives are needed. It doesn\u2019t add that much time to a story, even in broadcast. Tamoxifen is mentioned as the alternative to raloxifene. The story is clear that this is an existing drug for osteoporosis that has not been approved by the FDA for use in breast cancer prevention. The story does not make claims about when it may be approved for that purpose. The story is clear that raloxifene is an existing drug that is currently used to treat osteoporosis. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "8210", "claim": "Samoa faces coronavirus threat after recovering from deadly measles outbreak.", "explanation": "Just a few months ago, the Pacific island nation of Samoa was in the grip of a deadly measles epidemic.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Now, medical staff are being redeployed, and facilities refitted, to combat the threat of coronavirus on an already stressed population. While the isolated nation, located more than 1000 kilometers (621 miles) north-east of Fiji, has not recorded any COVID-19 cases, some of its residents are worried it is ill-equipped to combat the epidemic. \u201cWhen it comes, we don\u2019t have the resources to prevent and cure, that\u2019s why it\u2019s a big concern to me,\u201d musician Sio Silva told Reuters in the Samoan capital of Apia on Monday. \u201cWe don\u2019t know if it\u2019s inside our island already but don\u2019t have the resources to test it.\u201d    The Pacific region has recorded six cases of COVID-19 - three in French Polynesia and three in Guam - although most island nations cannot screen for the virus onshore which is potentially masking its spread. The Samoan government said in its most recent health update on March 14 that there were no suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus. Pacific countries have been tightening their border controls to prevent the coronavirus from gaining a foothold in isolated islands with limited health resources. All incoming air travel to the United States-backed Marshall Islands have been banned. Travelers going to Samoa, a twin-island nation of approximately 200,000 people, must obtain a medical clearance report before boarding their flight, and passengers are screened on arrival. White medical tents located near the main airport that were recently used to isolate measles patients will now be used to quarantine suspected coronavirus sufferers, the government said. Last year\u2019s measles outbreak killed 83 Samoans, mainly young children, in a health emergency that was only brought under control less than three months ago after a mass vaccination drive. \u201cWe have to be prepared, anytime that the coronavirus might come and infect us, we have to get ready for that,\u201d Naomi Iona, a radio announcer, told Reuters in Apia."}
{"claim_id": "22644", "claim": "I lowered taxes over the last two years.", "explanation": "Barack Obama said he lowered taxes over the past two years", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Taxes, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "In an interview on Super Bowl Sunday, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly asked President Barack Obama to react to a Wall Street Journal editorial that accused Obama of being \"a determined man of the left whose goal is to redistribute much larger levels of income across society.\" \"Do you deny that you are a man who wants to redistribute wealth?\" O'Reilly asked. Obama first noted the robust conservatism of the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, then denied the charge \"absolutely.\" \"I didn't raise taxes once. I lowered taxes over the last two years,\" Obama said. We wanted to fact-check that statement, and we'll begin by saying Obama boils down an awful lot of complexity about federal tax policy into a short sound bite. Looking at the whole statement, he's both right and wrong. For clarity's sake, we're going to take Obama's statement in two parts. Here, we'll look at his statement, \"I lowered taxes over the last two years.\" In a separate report, we checked the statement, \"I didn't raise taxes once\" and rated it False. Obama has raised taxes on cigarettes and indoor tanning, and the health care law includes a tax penalty on the uninsured. The health care law also includes new taxes on the wealthy, increasing the rates they pay on Medicare hospital taxes starting in 2013. For this one, we'll begin by noting that Obama has not raised income tax rates. Obama and Senate Republicans compromised on tax legislation at the end of 2010, leaving in place the same income tax rates for all tax brackets. (The extensions were necessary because the tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush would otherwise have increased last month.) It's also true that Obama has successfully supported tax reductions for workers who make less than $200,000 a year or couples who make less than $250,000. Obama kicked off his tax cuts for workers with the economic stimulus, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He asked for tax cuts of $500 per worker per year; Congress agreed to $400. The tax cuts -- called Making Work Pay -- were implemented in early 2009 and people saw small increases in their paychecks. The Obama administration liked giving people the money in their paychecks every week or two -- as opposed to mailing one big check -- because administration economists thought people would be more likely to spend the money and stimulate the economy. But the increases were small enough that a lot of people didn't notice them. A New York Times/CBS News Poll in September showed that fewer than one in 10 people knew that the Obama administration had lowered taxes for American workers. Those tax cuts expired at the end of 2010. But as part of last fall's tax compromise with Republicans, Obama won a different type of tax cut for workers: a 2 percent reduction in payroll taxes that go to Social Security. Keep in mind that normally workers pay 6.2 percent in payroll taxes on up to $106,800 of their earnings. (Employers pay another 6.2 percent, while the self-employed are generally on the hook for the full 12.4 percent.) The new tax cut means workers will pay only 4.2 percent of their earnings. So that lowered taxes for workers. Generally speaking, people who make more than $20,000 will get an even bigger tax cut than they did under Making Work Pay. (Workers who makes less than $20,000 will likely be worse off, but they'll still be paying lower taxes than in 2008.) The tax compromise was a complicated piece of legislation, and not everybody ended up better off. Nevertheless, about 80 percent of tax payers end up with a tax cut under the deal, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. And the broad-based tax cuts on income are significantly larger than the new excise taxes, said Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center. So yes, a majority of Americans have seen reduced taxes under President Obama. But he's also taken steps to increase a few taxes like cigarettes and tanning over the past two years. Overall, we find his statement ."}
{"claim_id": "35712", "claim": "U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a political ally to U.S. President Donald Trump, ordered Postal Service carriers to \"slow the mail down\" to help Trump win the 2020 presidential election.", "explanation": "Anything that undermines the Postal Service\u2019 [service to customers] \u2026 has us concerned that it could be linked back to those who have an agenda to eliminate [the Postal Service]. But I can\u2019t sit here and tell you that that\u2019s a fact.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics, 2020 election, Editor's Picks", "main_text": "As U.S. President Donald Trump accelerated unsubstantiated attacks on the legitimacy of mail-in voting during the summer of 2020, numerous Snopes readers asked us to investigate whether the leader of the U.S. Postal Service was carrying out a nefarious scheme to help Trump win another presidential term. In late July and early August, various rumors surfaced regarding Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman whom the Postal Service\u2019s governing board selected to run the agency in May 2020. For example, a viral tweet thread alleged: My mailman just confirmed they have all officially been told to \u201cSLOW THE MAIL DOWN,\u201d per trump\u2019s Postmaster General. \u2026He says that there is backed up mail ALL OVER THE FLOOR. He\u2019s never seen anything like it. It has ALREADY begun. But as long as we keep each other informed, we can beat their dirty tricks with INFORMATION. The claim\u2019s underlying notions were these: DeJoy was a political ally to the Republican president, and the new postmaster general had used his new authority to order Postal Service carriers and clerks to slow deliveries to help Trump win the 2020 November election. A backlog of ballots in the weeks or days before Election Day, critics of the president worried, could lead to votes going uncounted or deemed invalid due to state laws governing mail-in election deadlines. What follows is an examination of federal documents obtained by Snopes \u2014 including letters by members of Congress, campaign finance reports, and internal memos to Postal Service employees \u2014 as well as interviews with postal union representatives and a Postal Service spokesperson, to determine the legitimacy of those questions. DeJoy could not be reached for an interview for this report. Note: Snopes not only investigated DeJoy\u2019s relationship to Trump, but his financial stake in companies that compete with the Postal Service to evaluate if, or to what extent, his past investments provided any evidence of a plan to undermine the Postal Service\u2019s longstanding mission: to provide mail service to every American, no matter their address or income. Yes. DeJoy, who lives in Greensboro, donated more than $1.2 million to the Trump campaign between August 2016 and February 2020, according to campaign finance reports compiled by the Federal Elections Commission\u00a0(FEC). It\u2019s unclear when or how DeJoy developed a relationship with Trump, and why he decided to support the billionaire\u2019s political pursuits. In a 2005 interview with Greensboro\u2019s local newspaper, DeJoy \u2014 then-CEO of New Breed Logistics, a distribution and warehousing company \u2014 appeared less supportive of Trump, saying his self-important attitude on the reality-TV show \u201cThe Apprentice\u201d was destructive. \u201cI\u2019d be fired,\u201d DeJoy said, if he was a contestant. Nonetheless, by early 2017, DeJoy was among his state\u2019s top donors to Trump (see below for The Charlotte Observer\u2019s list that ranks DeJoy at No. 3 with a total contribution of $111,000). And by October of that year, DeJoy had become close enough to the president to host him and other donors for fundraiser at his Greensboro house. Also, by that time, DeJoy\u2019s wife, Aldona Wos, had been appointed by the president to serve as vice chair of a White House commission that oversees paid fellowships in federal offices, according to the couple\u2019s foundation website. In addition to his contributions to Trump\u2019s political campaigns specifically, DeJoy has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican causes or campaigns over decades, the FEC records show. The Postal Service\u2019s governing board, a group appointed by the president with confirmation from the Senate, selected DeJoy as Postmaster General on May 6, 2020, after what it described as an extensive nationwide search for qualified candidates. At the time of that decision, Trump had appointed all six board members \u2014 Chairman Robert Duncan, John Barger, Ron Bloom, Roman Martinez IV, Donald Moak, and William Zollars \u2014\u00a0since the early days of his presidency. DeJoy, who was in charge of fundraising for the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Charlotte when the board made its announcement, made the following donations since the start of 2020, according to filings from the FEC: In sum, considering DeJoy\u2019s record of donations, as well as evidence of him hosting a Trump fundraiser at his Greensboro home in fall 2017, it is accurate to claim that the new postmaster general is a political ally to the Republican president. The answer to this question is less clear. In summer 2020, the viral claim about DeJoy \u2014 that he had directed carriers to delay mail to benefit Trump\u2019s reelection campaign (which we unpack below) \u2014 took on another layer: that DeJoy had also allegedly invested $70 million of his own money in delivery companies that compete with the Postal Service. That allegation, which we deemed mostly true (see the explanation below), was particularly worrisome for critics of Trump and DeJoy, who believed the alleged holdings were more proof of the two leaders conspiring together \u2014 this time in an attempt to privatize the Postal Service. Here\u2019s some context before we dive into DeJoy\u2019s personal assets: Conservative Republicans have long pushed to remove government from mail services that they believe should be left to the private commercial market. Since Trump took office, he has called the Postal Service \u201ca joke\u201d or Amazon\u2019s \u201cdelivery boy,\u201d considering its package rates, and has floated the idea of eventually privatizing the agency. Meanwhile, others fear dismantling the federally-mandated mail service would disproportionately affect people who live in rural areas, where private companies such as FedEx and UPS either charge higher rates or do no shipments at all. At the same time, the Postal Service \u2014 which does not receive tax dollars for its operating expenses \u2014 faces a worsening financial situation due to a 2006 congressional mandate that required the agency to prepay health care benefits of retirees, as well as a decline in first-class mail customers. The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated those long-standing problems, forcing several post offices nationwide to completely close or scale back hours. For instance, on April 9, 2020, roughly one month before DeJoy was selected to lead the Postal Service, then-Postmaster General Megan Brennan said the agency was preparing for a $13 billion revenue shortfall due \u201cdirectly to COVID-19\u201d and an additional $54.3 billion in losses over 10 years. Considering those projections, she said the agency could \u201crun out of cash this fiscal year\u201d \u2014 or the end of September \u2014 without federal intervention. (Brennan announced her retirement in October 2019, after more than 30 years with the agency.) The former Postal Service leader made those comments shortly after federal leaders negotiated a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which, initially, included a $13 billion one-time boost for the mail service. But, purportedly at the urging of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and aides to Trump, congressional leaders removed that provision from the stimulus package, and instead included a $10 billion loan that the Trump administration could leverage in its favor. Then, on July 29, 2020, The Washington Post reported that under DeJoy\u2019s leadership, the postal agency gave Mnuchin\u2019s office\u2019s proprietary information about the Postal Service\u2019s most lucrative private-sector contracts, such as Amazon, FedEx and UPS, in exchange for the loan money. Which brings us to DeJoy\u2019s assets, and the above-mentioned claim that he had \u201c$70 million invested in companies that compete with USPS.\u201d For the basis of this analysis, we considered private companies that provide shipping or distribution services, such as DHL, the FedEx Corporation, and United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS), business competitors with the post office. For more than 30 years, DeJoy was the CEO of New Breed Logistics, a supply chain business that contracted with a variety of public and private companies, including the Postal Service. In 2014, XPO Logistics acquired DeJoy\u2019s company, and he served on the company\u2019s executive team or board of directors until May 2018. According to internal documents, which we obtained using the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission\u2019s (SEC) database of company filings, XPO Logistics considered its competitors to include DHL, FedEx, UPS,\u00a0and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. Aside from that evidence, which proved DeJoy\u2019s former company competed for business with organizations that also competed with the Postal Service, Snopes uncovered a letter from his wife, Wos, to a White House legal advisor on January 3, 2020, that listed her family\u2019s financial assets, known as \u201cAttachment A.\u201d According to that list, the family had stock in companies including UPS, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., and XPO Logistics, Inc. She wrote the letter in response to a nomination by the Trump administration to serve as U.S. ambassador to Canada, and she said she would divest from all holdings in the document within 90 days of her confirmation. However, as of this writing, Wos had not been sworn into the position. The letter, which was available via the Office of Government Ethics, read:  As of June 15, 2020, the day DeJoy assumed his role as postmaster general, The Washington Post reported the couple had between $30.1 million and $75.3 million in assets in Postal Service competitors or contractors. XPO Logistics represented the vast majority of those investments, and the couple\u2019s combined stake in UPS and trucking company J.B. Hunt, for examples, was roughly $265,000. On DeJoy\u2019s first day, the Senate\u2019s top Democrat, Charles Schumer of New York, said in letter to the Postal Service\u2019s board of governors\u2019 chairman: \u201c[DeJoy\u2019s] financial interests in companies that have business ties with the Postal Services, as well as his extensive campaign fundraising efforts, raise questions\u201d over his ethical conflicts of interest and partisan interests. By that point, a spokeswoman for DeJoy told journalists he had resigned as finance chair for the Republican National Convention, and would \u201ccomply with any financial divestitures that are required\u201d for the new leadership position. In sum, reports proved the DeJoy family at one point had millions of dollars in assets in companies that compete or contract with the Postal Service, which lend credibility to the viral assertion. But the exact amount of such investments was unclear, and as of this writing, it was unknown if or to what extent the couple had divested any of the financial holdings. Not exactly \u2014 but there is some truth to the claim. Upon our analysis, the rumor seems to have stemmed from a series of directives DeJoy gave Postal Service employees since he took over the agency. On his first day, for example, he addressed the agency in a video that alluded to impending changes under his leadership that aimed to create a \u201cviable operating model,\u201d though he did not go into specifics. Then, in mid-July, he issued several memos to employees, including a \u201cNew [Postmaster General\u2019s] expectations and plan.\u201d Those messages to all managers, clerks, and carriers nationwide appeared to be the source of the claim, and detailed changes to how and when the Postal Agency would deliver mail. A July 10, 2020, internal document to managers, which Snopes received from the American Postal Workers Union\u00a0and refers to an \u201coperational pivot\u201d for the agency, said the following, for example: The initial step in our pivot is targeted on transportation and the soaring costs we incur due to late trips and extra trips, which costs the organization somewhere around $200 million in added expenses. The shifts are simple, but they will be challenging, as we seek to change our culture and move away from past practices previously used. But perhaps most relevant to the claim, the DeJoy-sponsored directives included instructions for employees to leave letters or packages at distribution centers if they delayed carriers from their routes \u2014 contradicting previous rules for deliveries \u2014 and said the Postal Service would no longer pay employees overtime to complete all mail deliveries. The July 10, 2020 memo said: One aspect of these changes that may be difficult for employees is that \u2014 temporarily \u2014 we may see mail left behind or mail on the workroom floor or docks [in Processing and Distribution Centers], which is not typical. We will address root causes of these delays and adjust the very next day. Any mail left behind must be properly reported, and employees should ensure this action is taken with integrity and accuracy. As we adjust to the ongoing pivot, which will have a number of phases, we know that operations will begin to run more efficiently and that delayed mail volumes will soon shrink significantly. We also considered a separate message to employees in July 2020 that said, under a new initiative, carriers in certain regions would not sort any mail during the morning and instead clock in, retrieve sorted mail from the previous day and limit time in the office as much as possible. Then, when they returned from the streets, they would sort all available mail for the next day. The agency said the extra spending on employees\u2019 overtime or delivery trips had not improved \u201cour performance scores,\u201d without going into detail on what that meant, and framed the changes as necessary steps to improve its financial position. A July 27, 2020, public statement from DeJoy said: Given our current situation, it is critical that the Postal Service take a fresh look at our operations and make necessary adjustments. We are highly focused on our public service mission to provide prompt, reliable, and efficient service to every person and business in this country, and to remain a part of the nation\u2019s critical infrastructure. David Partenheimer, manager of media relations for the Postal Service, told Snopes that the postmaster general was not doing any media interviews regarding the initiatives, nor about the underlying claims of this report. In a roughly 760-word email to us, however, Partenheimer reemphasized what the agency viewed as the need for the adjustments, and said: \u201cWe acknowledge that temporary service impacts can occur as we redouble our efforts to conform to the current operating plans, but any such impacts will be monitored and temporary \u2026 and corrected as appropriate.\u201d Soon after the directives, American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein told us in a phone interview that employees and customers across the country were noticing mail delays. In the Philadelphia region, for instance, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported situations where residents were going upwards of three weeks without receiving packages and letters, and postal union leaders and carriers said mail was piling up at offices, unscanned and unsorted. \u201cWhen you \u2026 say this is what you have to do as workers, then that\u2019s what we have to do \u2014 [the change] runs counter to everything that the Postal Service is about, which is we treat the mail as our own; we get it to the customer as quickly as we can,\u201d Dimondstein said. \u201cThey\u2019ve never seen mail backed up like this \u2014 it\u2019s not being moved.\u201d That meant, while DeJoy had not told carriers to \u201cslow the mail down\u201d verbatim, he initiated changes to how and when carriers go about doing their job that the Postal Agency said would cause temporary mail delays. However, it would be inaccurate to assume all slow deliveries under DeJoy\u2019s leadership were a result of the July 2020 directives specifically, when they could also be linked to reduced hours for some post offices or other circumstances. Roughly three months before the 2020 presidential election, voting rights groups and outspoken critics to the president believed the new directives by DeJoy occurred at a convenient time for Trump: when a record number of Americans were preparing to vote by mail and avoid potential exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus by casting ballots at in-person polling places. Specifically, they worried the new requirements for post office carriers and clerks would lead to backlogs of mail-in ballots and thus create challenges for elections officials who, in the majority of states, must invalidate ballots that reach them after Election Day \u2014 even if they were postmarked before that date. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, for example, led colleagues in writing a letter to DeJoy on July 20, 2020, that said: \u201cWhile these changes [to mail service] in a normal year would be drastic, in a presidential election year when many states are relying heavily on absentee mail-in ballots, increases in mail delivery timing would impair the ability of ballots to be received and counted in a timely manner \u2014 an unacceptable outcome for a free and fair election.\u201d We asked Dimondstein, APWU president, whether he believed the July directives by Postal Service leadership were somehow linked to a plan to cause mail service chaos before the November election and help Trump win reelection. He said: What we do know for truth is this administration is, in written record, proposing and planning to sell the post office to private corporations, i.e. privatizing. \u2026That was June 2018. We also know as a fact that \u2026that [there are] calls for reduced service, increased prices, and less workers\u2019 rights and benefits. So if you take those two things together, certainly if they\u2019re implemented, then they\u2019re going to cause delays in mail; they\u2019re going to cause service being undermined. \u2026 This is a fact: [DeJoy is] what\u2019s considered a mega-donor of the Trump administration and the Republican party. \u2026"}
{"claim_id": "35284", "claim": "An Ohio man died from complications related to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease weeks after he downplayed the virus on social media. ", "explanation": "Words do not describe all of the emotions we, John W. McDaniel\u2019s family, are experiencing right now. We are overwhelmed with grief for the loss of our believed husband, father, soon to be father-in-law, son, brother, uncle, and dear friend to many. Similar to thousands of people, we are suffering from an unexpected and untimely loss due to the effects of COVID-19, the likes of which we never could have imagined. During this time of mourning, John\u2019s story, along with early assumptions that he stated on Twitter and Facebook have turned into national news. The news has opened the flood gates for people to share their own misguided anger and unfounded assumptions about a man they don\u2019t know. Wanting to protect my family and John\u2019s legacy, we have decided not to live stream his funeral services via Facebook today. We will be privately recording his services today and we will be sharing it directly with his family and friends. We have not come to this decision lightly and we hope everyone will honor and respect this decision.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "In April 2020, a set of screenshots supposedly showing comments from a \u201cJohn McDaniels,\u201d in which he called COVID-19 a \u201cpolitical ploy\u201d and social-distancing measures \u201cbullshit,\u201d started to circulate on social media. Along with the posts were articles claiming he died from complications of the coronavirus disease. Here\u2019s a screenshot supposedly showing a post from McDaniel on March 15 and a snippet from his obituary a month later:  McDaniel truly died from complications related to COVID-19 in April 2020 after he downplayed the seriousness of the disease on social media. The New York Daily News wrote:\u00a0 An Ohio man has tragically died from COVID-19 after criticizing his state\u2019s coronavirus lockdown. John W. McDaniel, 60, died Wednesday in Columbus, exactly one month after reportedly calling Gov. Mike DeWine\u2019s stay-at-home order \u201cmadness.\u201d \u201cIf what I\u2019m hearing is true, that DeWine has ordered all bars and restaurants to be closed, I say bullshit! He doesn\u2019t have the authority,\u201d McDaniel reportedly wrote in a since-deleted social media post circulated widely on social media. As screenshots of McDaniel\u2019s posts went viral, many social media users took the opportunity to criticize McDaniel, saying he had received his comeuppance for calling the virus a political ploy. McDaniel\u2019s wife, Lisa, acknowledged that her husband had made some \u201cearly assumptions\u201d about the virus on social media, but added that social media users were also making unfair assumptions about him. In a statement posted to the Snyder Funeral Homes Facebook page that announced services for McDaniel would not be live-streamed due to concerns about unwanted, negative social media reactions, she explained that McDaniel, like many others, was initially not fully aware of the severity of the pandemic. However, she wrote that he ordered the employees at his company O&M to work from home on March 16 (the day after the above-displayed Facebook post). Furthermore, according to her Facebook message, he self-isolated as soon as he was made aware that he had been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Lastly, she wrote that if he were still alive, he would have abided by the state\u2019s stay-at-home order and would have encouraged others to do the same. Here\u2019s her statement from April 22, 2020 (emphasis ours):"}
{"claim_id": "9516", "claim": "CAR-T therapy makes early inroads in treating brain cancer", "explanation": "This story\u00a0in STAT, like the one in TIME.com that we also reviewed, describes the successful, and apparently first positive response of a glioblastoma brain tumor to CAR-T therapy. This is an experimental immunotherapy that depends on on injections of modified immune cell proteins and that has had a few successes in blood cancers but essentially none in solid tumors, including those in the brain. Described in a report in the\u00a0The New England Journal of Medicine, the study was conducted and promoted by officials and physicians at the City of Hope Beckman Research Institute and Medical Center, an organization that has a somewhat unfortunate history of touting treatments as bringing about\u00a0\u201cmiracles\u201d and encouraging coverage of compelling individual cancer patient stories to support sometimes exaggerated claims of major advances in cancer treatment. This STAT story does a better job than TIME of putting what is essentially a single, unexpected experimental result into perspective. Its strongest points are that it avoids touting this one patient\u2019s experience as any kind of broad \u201csuccess,\u201d calling it an \u201cearly inroad;\u2019 emphasizing its \u201cnotorious\u201d potential side effects; and most of all quoting sources outside City of Hope who made clear that, as one put it, the success was possibly a \u201cflash in the pan.\u201d Bravo. One thing that would have made the story stronger? Early on emphasizing how a single case study makes for weak evidence. See our six tips for writing accurately about cancer immunotherapy drugs. Unlike the TIME story (see our review), this story included important voices of caution to help keep expectations in check. Starting with the headline, readers of this story are likely to come away with a more realistic perspective on this treatment. (Meanwhile, TIME\u2019s headline was misleading: \u201cExperimental Brain Cancer Treatment Is a Success.\u201d)", "label": "true", "subjects": "brain cancer,immunotherapy", "main_text": "As we noted in our review of TIME Magazine\u2019s story as well: Although there may not yet be any accurate prediction of the cost of the particular therapy described for this single patient, it is generally well established and well documented that immunotherapies\u2013particularly those that involve modifying a patient\u2019s own immune cells\u2013are many times more expensive than standard treatments, sometimes running to annualized costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This story\u00a0says nothing about this. The article notes that the patient was in remission for seven months, but like the TIME article, says nothing specifically about what the patients tumor status was during those seven months. If the tumors shrunk, it would be at least useful to know the baseline measurements and degree of shrinkage and disappearance, as well as any improvements or (setbacks) in quality of life. This was a tough call, but we\u2019re leaning toward satisfactory. On one hand, the STAT story\u00a0does acknowledge the downsides, so far, of CAR-T therapy, by referring to the adverse events as \u201cnotorious\u201d and providing a link for more information. On the other hand, the story only mentions that severe side effects have occurred\u00a0without telling us any of\u00a0those side effects and what the side effects (if any) were for the one patient treated. Instead it says the patient\u2019s side effects were \u201cfairly innocuous\u201d and quotes a researcher early in the story saying \u201cit\u2019s amazing how safe it was.\u201d Yet, this hardly proves it\u2019s safe. See our tips for\u00a0reporting accurately about the harms, side effects and risks of immunotherapy. The story does make it clear that this was an intervention tested in a single patient, and includes cautious statements from experts. This is a barely passing satisfactory\u2013we think the story could have more emphatically said\u00a0that any single case study cannot and should not be used to generalize the efficacy of any therapy until more reliable studies are done. No mongering here regarding the brain cancer glioblastoma. Job well done in quoting sources outside of the City of Hope investigators and putting the findings into cautious perspective throughout the article. If the story was to be done at all (a debatable decision), this article makes the best of the context problem. Very few details of conventional alternative treatments are included, but the story points out that glioblastoma is resistant to most treatment options. Still, the story should have noted that alternatives include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The STAT story\u00a0notes the availability of CAR-T commercially (by naming the companies) for blood cancers, and it quotes an outside source as essentially saying \u201cdon\u2019t hold your breath\u201d awaiting the viability of this treatment for glioblastoma. The article does a brief but adequate job of describing what is newsworthy here\u2013how this experimental CAR-T is being used for solid tumors for the first time. The story\u00a0possibly may have started with the\u00a0news release, but it reflects useful additional outside reporting."}
{"claim_id": "7310", "claim": "West Virginia physician retires after 41 years.", "explanation": "Few people can say after a long career that they have never missed a single day of work because of illness, surgery or foul weather.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Bluefield, General News, West Virginia", "main_text": "But that is exactly what happened to Dr. Mike Malamisura, who recently retired after 41 years of providing care to patients. With the strong work ethic also came an appreciation, he said, that God blessed him with the \u201cgood health and perseverance\u201d that allowed such a rare accomplishment. A gastroenterologist with Bluefield Regional Medical Center, Malamisura said retirement did not come easily, but he knew when he had reached the point he was ready. \u201cI have found that, with the advancing years, the attendant physical and emotional stress has taken its toll upon me,\u201d he said. \u201cThis, along with the ever-increasing intrusion of the various outside regulatory agencies, has led me to the realization that I can no longer provide the compassionate and most effective medical care that I was able to.\u201d Malamisura said when he first started practicing medicine he had the \u201caltruistic desire to deliver good, safe medical care to my patients. Recent changes in the practice of medicine, however, made that ever more difficult.\u201d That being said, he described his career as rewarding. \u201cIt has been my distinct honor and privilege to have helped serve the medical needs of the fine citizens of this community and the surrounding two-state area.\u201d he said. \u201cAs I look back on my time at West Virginia University (medical school, residency and fellowship) and Bluefield Regional Medical Center, I see a time well spent, a time with few regrets, an overall happy time.\u201d Malamisura said his career has been both challenging and rewarding. \u201cOver the years I have been blessed to have forged close and lasting relationships with many wonderful people,\u201d he said. \u201cI have talked with them, laughed with them, and yes, even cried with them. I can honestly say that for every person that I have mentored, treated, or simply given advice to I have been rewarded by also learning from them.\u201d Patients are not just numbers, he added. \u201cProbably the one thing that I will miss the most in retirement is getting to know who was sitting across from me in the office as a person, not just as patient or a number,\u201d he said. \u201cI thank them all for the many memories that I will take with me, and I thank them for allowing me to share in their lives.\u201d Family has been a focus as well. \u201cI can honestly say that, despite my rigorous work schedule, there were very few school programs, dance recitals or ball games that I missed as my kids were growing up,\u201d he said. Malamisura said having an understanding family that know they are \u201calways first in my heart\u201d was never taken for granted. His wife, Mary, is \u201cwonderful,\u201d he said, and was always there for him and his children and is his \u201cstrength and support.\u201d \u201cIn a way, it is ironic and fitting that my professional career comes to an end (May 31) on our 44th wedding anniversary,\u201d he said. Malamisura recognized the late Dr. Brookins Taylor, \u201cwho believed in me and gave me the opportunity to come back home to establish my practice,\u201d and other colleagues who supported him, as well as Tammy O\u2019Donnell, his office manager, and Lindsey Harless, his receptionist. Dr. Steve Bourne, professor of business at Bluefield State College, has known Malamisura most of his life. \u201cWe have known each other since we were kids and graduated from Bluefield High School together in 1970,\u201d he said. Bourne, who is also one of Malamisura\u2019s patients, said he was happy to see him come back to his roots for a career. \u201cWhen Mike made the decision to return home to Bluefield to practice, our community was greatly blessed,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we continue to be.\u201d Bourne said Malamisura has treated thousands of patients and he will be hard to replace because he values patients and treats them like his family. \u201cHe is someone I greatly admire,\u201d he said. One of Malamisura\u2019s colleagues who also recently retired, Dr. Tony Rasi, said the community was fortunate he did return home. \u201cDr. Mike Malamisura is truly a dedicated, reliable and very knowledgable gastroenterologist,\u201d he said. \u201cHe will be sorely missed by the community at large.\u201d As Malamisura leaves his practice, he sees it as a transition and a continuation of a very full life. \u201cWhile it is true that I am retiring from work as I have known it, I am starting a new chapter in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will be different, but there will be many of my career experiences that I will carry forward with me. I am anxiously anticipating whatever opportunities and challenges that await me. It is time for me to just . enjoy being.\u201d ___ Information from: Bluefield Daily Telegraph, http://www.bdtonline.com"}
{"claim_id": "8058", "claim": "Coronavirus could kill 81,000 in U.S., subside in June - Washington University analysis.", "explanation": "The coronavirus pandemic could kill more than 81,000 people in the United States in the next four months and may not subside until June, according to a data analysis done by University of Washington School of Medicine.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The number of hospitalized patients is expected to peak nationally by the second week of April, though the peak may come later in some states. Some people could continue to die of the virus as late as July, although deaths should be below epidemic levels of 10 per day by June at the latest, according to the analysis. The analysis, using data from governments, hospitals and other sources, predicts that the number of U.S. deaths could vary widely, ranging from as low as around 38,000 to as high as around 162,000. The variance is due in part to disparate rates of the spread of the virus in different regions, which experts are still struggling to explain, said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, who led the study. The duration of the virus means there may be a need for social distancing measures for longer than initially expected, although the country may eventually be able relax restrictions if it can more effectively test and quarantine the sick, Murray said. The analysis also highlights the strain that will be placed on hospitals. At the epidemic\u2019s peak, sick patients could exceed the number of available hospital beds by 64,000 and could require the use of around 20,000 ventilators. Ventilators are already running short in hard-hit places like New York City. The virus is spreading more slowly in California, which could mean that peak cases there will come later in April and social distancing measures will need to be extended in the state for longer, Murray said. Louisiana and Georgia are predicted to see high rates of contagion and could see a particularly high burden on their local healthcare systems, he added. The analysis assumes close adherence to infection prevention measures imposed by federal, state and local governments. \u201cThe trajectory of the pandemic will change \u2013 and dramatically for the worse \u2013 if people ease up on social distancing or relax with other precautions,\u201d Murray said in a statement. The analysis comes as confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States continue to mount, with the World Health Organization saying the country has the potential to become the world\u2019s new epicenter of the virus. The coronavirus causes a respiratory illness that in a minority of severe cases ravages the lungs and can lead to death. The United States has reported around 70,000 cases of the virus and more than 900 deaths since January. Globally, it has infected more than half a million people, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The University of Washington has been at the center of the outbreak in United States, which first was detected in the state of Washington and has so far killed 100 people in that state, according to date from Johns Hopkins University."}
{"claim_id": "38144", "claim": " Charles Krauthammer has penned a column under the headline, \u201cThe Enemy Among Us,\u201d about President Obama\u2019s use of a group called Organizing for\u00a0 Action (OFA) to advance his political agenda after leaving the White House. ", "explanation": "Bushfires have wiped out about half the koalas living on a coastal reserve in New South Wales, experts estimated on Friday, as a record number of intense fires rage around the Australian state.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Obama, Trump", "main_text": "A fierce early start to the bushfire season brought a blaze at the Lake Innes Nature Reserve that destroyed two-thirds of the koalas\u2019 habitat last month, leaving the rest under threat from one of 15 major blazes in the southeastern state. About 350 koalas living on the reserve in the north coast town of Port Macquarie have died in the bushfires, the group Koala Conservation Australia estimates. That compares with a total population of 500 to 600 in the reserve, said the group\u2019s president, Sue Ashton. Animal carers at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital nearby have been nursing rescued koalas, bandaging their wounds and feeding them eucalyptus leaves and formula. \u201cWe look for signals of pain - teeth grinding, distress - and we just take it on a day-by-day basis,\u201d said Amanda Gordon, who leads the team of carers, adding that some of the marsupials\u2019 health problems can be hard to spot. \u201cSometimes koalas seem to be doing really, really well. Their paws might be healing up but if something\u2019s going on that we can\u2019t see there\u2019s not really much we can do,\u201d added Gordon, who has worked at the hospital for 15 years. The carers estimate at least 10 days will be needed to assess the full damage to the koala population. Population estimates for koalas, native to Australia, vary widely, from as few as 50,000 to little more than 100,000. They dwell mostly in eucalyptus forests in eastern states and on the coastal fringes, usually living up to 20 years, carrying their young in a pouch and sleeping for up to 18 hours a day. Warmer weather brought by climate change threatens to worsen conditions for koalas, as deforestation has narrowed habitable areas, said James Tremain of the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales. \u201cDevastating bushfires are going to knock out some of these key population centers, but so also will increasing temperatures,\u201d he said, by affecting the nutrition value of the leaves that are the animals\u2019 sole food source. \u201cKoalas are definitely in trouble in New South Wales, but if the declines continue at the same rate as the last 20 to 30 years, koalas could be extinct in the wild by mid-century,\u201d Tremain added. (The story adds dropped word to name of town in paragraph 3.)"}
{"claim_id": "17718", "claim": "Wendy Davis is \"fighting to bring ... Bloomberg-style gun control to Texas.", "explanation": "Abbott said Davis is \"fighting to bring\" \"Bloomberg-style gun control to Texas.\" Like Bloomberg, Davis supports background checks for all buyers at gun shows. She has opposed campus-carry measures, but voted to allow concealed weapons locked in vehicles while warning the author not to take it any farther. She has opposed letting the state tell cities or colleges they can\u2019t regulate guns on their property, but voted to let the state pursue injunctions against cities that overstep limitations currently in state law. She joined most of the Senate in voting for three laws simplifying concealed-handgun permit applications. Davis has taken some actions Bloomberg might approve, and others he might not. However, she doesn\u2019t appear, so far, to be \"fighting\" for tighter gun control if elected governor.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Elections, States, Texas, Guns, Greg Abbott, ", "main_text": "Austin political consultant Steven Rivas drew our attention to a claim on a donation web page for Greg Abbott\u2019s gubernatorial campaign saying state Sen. Wendy Davis is \"fighting to bring California values to Texas\" including \"Bloomberg-style gun control.\" Setting aside how much California agrees with New York\u2019s gun-control advocate mayor Michael Bloomberg, we thought Texans would want to know Davis\u2019 views, as her bid to become governor is the first statewide campaign for the Fort Worth Democrat. Davis hasn\u2019t, so far, focused on gun control in her campaign. Abbott, a Republican who\u2019s served as Texas\u2019 attorney general since 2002, says on his campaign site that he\u2019ll fight federal limits on gun rights. Abbott campaign spokesmen Matt Hirsch and Avdiel Huerta told us by email that Davis, a former Fort Worth City Council member elected to the Senate in 2008, had \"voted twice against campus carry,\" \"voted to prohibit gun shows in Fort Worth,\" supported background checks for gun buyers and had opposed a measure to remove cities\u2019 abilities to restrict guns in municipal buildings; they also provided citations and backup materials. Asked for specifics on \"Bloomberg-style,\" Huerta sent a March 26, 2013, PolitiFact fact-check that said, \"Bloomberg is pushing for universal background checks on all firearm purchases.\" In addition, Bloomberg, a powerful advocate for gun control both locally and nationally, has long urged and in some cases helped enact measures including strengthening punishments for those who illegally possess guns, registering gun offenders and banning military-style weapons. He also focuses on \"straw\" purchases -- those made by people who intend to re-sell the weapons to illegal buyers -- and has been criticized for his city administration\u2019s sting operations in other states to uncover such transactions. Bloomberg co-founded and co-chairs Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group that launched a $12 million, 13-state ad campaign March 23, 2013, promoting expanded background checks. Group spokeswoman Erika Soto Lamb told us by email that \"Bloomberg-style\" could fairly be defined as \"common-sense gun reforms that will save American lives by keeping guns out of dangerous hands.\" Universal background checks -- requiring private sellers everywhere (not just at gun shows) to run background checks -- are a prime example and the group\u2019s priority, she said. Davis on gun shows  Hirsch of Abbott\u2019s campaign emailed us citations from news stories saying that as a member of the Fort Worth City Council in 2000, Davis supported making sure all buyers faced background checks at gun shows in city-owned facilities and that she recently told the Texas Tribune she still held that view. A Sept. 11, 2013, Tribune news story Hirsch emailed to us said Davis was a gun owner and quoted her as saying of the gun show restrictions, \"I haven\u2019t pursued it as a senator because I know it\u2019s like spitting in the wind\" and \"But I still believe it\u2019s the right thing. And if I were governor and a bill came to my desk that provided for background checks at gun shows, I would sign that.\" Hirsch also cited a Sept. 18, 2013, commentary by Georgia writer Brandon Howell, posted on the conservative Daily Caller website, that went further, saying Davis also \"sought banning gun shows on city-owned property.\" A Fort Worth ordinance Davis proposed in 2000 could have barred some gun shows from city property, but was tabled along with a related proposal, according to news stories starting in 2000 about a months-long city government debate on gun control that year. An Aug. 9, 2000, news story in the Dallas Morning News said her ordinance would have placed restrictions on shows \"including provisions that would allow only licensed dealers to sell firearms on city premises.\" According to the story, Davis said that another option was requiring background checks on gun buyers at the shows. A July 19, 2000, News story said Davis also supported the other tabled proposal, a resolution by which the council would have asked the federal government to require background checks of gun show buyers. Bloomberg supports background checks on gun show buyers, evidenced notably when he sent New York investigators to gun shows in states as far away as Nevada in 2006, 2009 and 2011 to find evidence that private dealers would sell to buyers who wouldn\u2019t pass background checks. In a July 25, 2012, fact-check, PolitiFact gave a  rating to his claim that \"you can sell guns without a background check at a gun show, forty percent of guns are sold that way, same thing on the Internet.\" Davis on campus carry  Legal gun owners\u2019 ability to take their weapons onto college campuses doesn\u2019t appear to be an issue Bloomberg emphasizes, based on our check of the Nexis news archive. Mayors Against Illegal Guns has supported college leaders calling for tighter gun restrictions on campuses nationwide, but doesn\u2019t name the issue among its principles or in the primary categories on its scorecard for lawmakers. New York state bans weapons on campuses. Hirsch, turning to Davis\u2019 tenure as a state senator, cited her 2009 vote against a proposal to allow Texas concealed-handgun license holders to carry handguns on college campuses. That proposal passed the Senate by 20-11 and cleared a House committee, but it died toward the end of the legislative session short of reaching the full House. Hirsch also specified Davis\u2019 2011 vote on legislation intended to let such license holders carry guns inside campus buildings. Senators including Davis voted 19-11 not to bring the proposal up for floor consideration, and it then died (a similar measure failed to pass in the 2013 session). To our inquiry, Davis campaign spokeswoman Rebecca Acu\u00f1a told us by email that Davis voted for three pro-gun measures, supported two others and was quoted in a Jan. 13, 2013, Fort Worth Star-Telegram news story as saying, \"Americans have the right under the Second Amendment to own firearms, and that is not going to change.\" Acu\u00f1a said Davis wants to protect Second Amendment rights on firearms \"for honest citizens by assuring that they are kept out of the hands of criminals.\" One of the Senate votes Acu\u00f1a cited was related to campus carry issues. In the 2013 session, Davis was among the \"yea\" votes when the Senate approved, 27-4, a proposal to allow college students with concealed-handgun licenses to store handguns in locked vehicles on campus. The measure became law and took effect Sept. 1, 2013. The Daily Caller item Hirsch provided to us described that as \"an easy vote\" for Davis because the proposal passed by such a wide margin. Davis told the bill\u2019s author, according to an April 30, 2013, Star-Telegram news story, that \"she planned to support his bill but said she wanted his assurance that \u2018you will not allow that opening, that broad opening to become a part of what you\u2019re passing out of here today.\u2019 \u2026 \u2018You understand that there are many of us in the Senate chamber who are concerned about the broader impacts of carrying on campus.\u2019 \" The story said Davis later issued a statement saying that \"it is important that the local control of colleges and universities over their campuses be preserved with regard to carrying guns on campus.\" Davis on concealed-carry measures and cities\u2019 abilities to restrict guns  Bloomberg and his group have long opposed letting states recognize out-of-state concealed-carry permits. New York City, where Bloomberg is nearing the end of his 12-year stretch as mayor, issues concealed-carry permits in limited circumstances. And Bloomberg favors expanding at least some concealed-carry restrictions; after the Feb. 26, 2012, death of Trayvon Martin in Florida, Bloomberg said in an April 11, 2012, speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that George Zimmerman, who shot Martin, should never have been allowed to carry a concealed weapon because of his legal history. Huerta sent us part of a May 24, 2001, Star-Telegram news story in which council members including Davis \"criticized a bill passed by the state Senate that would ... give the Legislature the sole right to regulate whether\" concealed-handgun license holders \"can take their weapons to such locations as city halls, libraries or parks.\" The story quoted Davis as saying, \"I think it's a terrible idea\" and \"Once again, it's an example of the state getting involved in an issue that should be within the city's jurisdiction.\" Acu\u00f1a cited Davis\u2019 2013 votes on three measures simplifying the process to get a concealed-carry license. Davis voted for a proposal to prohibit state officials from requiring applicants\u2019 Social Security numbers that became law and takes effect Jan. 1, 2014, and for two measures that became law effective Sept. 1, 2013, cutting the number of instruction hours needed and eliminating the need to take a proficiency test. The Senate approved the measures by votes of, respectively, 25-6, 29-1 and 27-4. Acu\u00f1a also noted that Davis voted for a measure allowing the state\u2019s attorney general to get an injunction against a city or county that breaks state law by restricting ownership, transport, licensing or other actions regarding firearms, ammunition and supplies. The Senate approved it 24-6; it became law and took effect June 14, 2013. It\u2019s not a new restriction on cities, but rather a specific way to enable the enforcement of existing state law that bars such local restrictions. So is Wendy like Mike? The mayoral group\u2019s spokeswoman named universal background checks as \"Bloomberg-like.\" So does the NRA, it turns out. Spokesman Andrew Arulanandam of the NRA\u2019s lobbying arm told us by phone, \"AG Abbott is correct in his assessment,\" based on Bloomberg\u2019s federal-level push for expanding background checks and Davis\u2019 remarks to the Texas Tribune favoring \"background checks at gun shows.\" At the Texas State Rifle Association, which is affiliated with the NRA, spokeswoman Alice Tripp told us by phone that she agreed with Abbott based on Davis\u2019 2000 push for background checks at gun shows. \"Bloomberg seems to attack firearm ownership in that kind of parental way,\" she said. Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told us by email her group hopes Davis \"will come out in support of common-sense gun reform, including background checks,\" and said that to her group, \"Bloomberg-style gun control\" is not a pejorative term. The groups did not have scorecards or endorsements for specific candidates this far ahead of Texas\u2019 Nov. 4, 2014, general election. Our ruling Abbott said Davis is \"fighting to bring\" \"Bloomberg-style gun control to Texas.\" Like Bloomberg, Davis supports background checks for all buyers at gun shows. She has opposed campus-carry measures, but voted to allow concealed weapons locked in vehicles while warning the author not to take it any farther. She has opposed letting the state tell cities or colleges they can\u2019t regulate guns on their property, but voted to let the state pursue injunctions against cities that overstep limitations currently in state law. She joined most of the Senate in voting for three laws simplifying concealed-handgun permit applications. Davis has taken some actions Bloomberg might approve, and others he might not. However, she doesn\u2019t appear, so far, to be \"fighting\" for tighter gun control if elected governor. We rate Abbott\u2019s partly accurate statement as . \u2013 The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context."}
{"claim_id": "7936", "claim": "EU should scrap emissions trading scheme, Polish official says.", "explanation": "The European Union should scrap its Emissions Trading System or exempt Poland from the scheme, which helps combat global warming, to free up funds for Warsaw to fight the effects of the coronavirus, a senior Polish official said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Under the ETS, the EU charges for the right to emit carbon dioxide. European power generators, industrial emitters and airlines running flights within the EU must buy permits to cover their emissions. \u201cThe results of fighting coronavirus will be painful. It is obvious that countries will be looking for extra money to help their business and citizens,\u201d Janusz Kowalski, Deputy Minister of State Assets, told Reuters on Tuesday. \u201cPoland and other countries should take care of the climate on their own, and the ETS should be removed from 1 January, 2021, or at least Poland should be excluded from the system.\u201d  The coronavirus has killed five people and infected 205 in Poland, which has barred foreigners from entering, shut schools and capped public gatherings at 50 people. Kowalski suggested the government could discuss the proposal after the coronavirus has peaked. \u201cThis will be the time for taking various unconventional, political decisions on all levels,\u201d Kowalski said. Poland generates most of its electricity from coal. Kowalski said he would expect other states in central and eastern Europe to support the proposal. Poland is the only EU state that refused at a December summit to commit to climate neutrality by 2050. But the Czech prime minister said on Monday the EU should focus for now on fighting the coronavirus rather than its \u201cGreen Deal\u201d policy package to tackle climate change, and Kowalski said he agreed. Asked about Kowalski\u2019s remarks, the EU executive, the  European Commission, said it could not speculate on the potential implications of COVID-19, the respiratory illness the virus causes, in individual policy areas. \u201cWhile our immediate focus is on combating COVID-19, our work on delivering the European Green Deal continues. The climate crisis is still a reality and necessitates our continued attention and efforts,\u201d a Commission spokesman said."}
{"claim_id": "3624", "claim": "Public urged to avoid wild animals after rabid skunk cases.", "explanation": "Suburban Detroit officials are urging the public to stay away from wild animals after nearly a dozen cases of rabies have been confirmed in skunks.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Animals, Rabies, Health, Detroit, Bats", "main_text": "Oakland County health officials said Thursday a dead skunk found in West Bloomfield tested positive for rabies, bringing the number of skunks confirmed to have the virus in the county to 11. Four bats have also tested positive. Officials urged residents to stay away from skunks, bats and other wild animals, as well as stray cats and dogs. Rabid skunks can pose a greater threat to the public than rabid bats because they\u2019re ground-based animals more likely to interact with people and pets. Rabies can be fatal to humans after symptoms begin to occur. Deaths can be prevented with a vaccine administered immediately after exposure."}
{"claim_id": "423", "claim": "These Houston residents dream of moving to where the air is clear.", "explanation": "On the east side of Houston, the white plumes of the Texas oil and chemical refineries are a constant backdrop for residents of the Manchester neighborhood.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Late at night or early in the morning when plants burn off excess gases, the flames light up the whole sky in the neighborhood. Some residents say the air has a chemical-based smell that they find hard to describe but disappears once they drive a few miles away from the homes that stretch along the Houston Ship Channel, a waterway connecting the plants to the ocean. They claim that the pollution is taking a toll on their health, although the scientific evidence does not prove that. \u201cI want to get out of here and go to the country and find some cleaner air,\u201d said Eugene Barragan, a 56-year-old electrician who has lived most of his life by the refineries. \u201cIt would be better for me and the kids.\u201d  Doctors have found four lumps in his lungs and now more growths, according to the chest X-rays and medical records he showed Reuters. The first ones were not cancerous. Barragan says he has not been able to afford imaging of the new growths. He hopes they are benign so he can watch his children grow up. \u201cWhen I work hard, I start coughing and coughing and can\u2019t stop,\u201d he said. \u201cI know a lot of people who have problems like that.\u201d  Lillian Riojas, Valero Energy Corp\u2019s chief spokeswoman, said the company has worked to reduce pollution at its refinery since purchasing it in 1997. In the 22 years since Valero took over the refinery, ambient benzene levels have dropped 63% to 0.34 parts per billion, according to data from 1997 to 2019 from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. \u201cThere\u2019s a narrative that air quality is getting worse, but that\u2019s not what the emission data is showing,\u201d Riojas said. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which enforces federal and state environmental laws, gives Valero\u2019s refinery the top compliance level possible, said Andrew Keese, a spokesman for the agency. The other nearby refineries and chemical plants earned a compliance rating of satisfactory. Of the other plants bordering Manchester, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co has the second highest-rating for compliance with environmental regulations, Keese said. Goodyear \u201cimplemented several changes that resulted in lower emissions from our facility,\u201d said Connie Deibel, a company spokeswoman. LyondellBasell Industries, TPC Group [TPCL.UL] and Flint Hills Resources, which operate facilities near Manchester, did not reply to requests for comment about pollution in the area. A 2007 study, the most recent available, of nearly 1,000 childhood cancer cases by the University of Texas found children living within 2 miles (3 km) of the Houston Ship Channel had a 56% higher risk of contracting acute lymphocytic leukemia than children living within 10 miles (16 km) of the Ship Channel. Researchers\u2019 analysis suggests an association between childhood leukemia and air pollution. However the study, funded by Houston\u2019s health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, could not prove the pollutants caused the illnesses. For years, Dennys Nieto wanted to leave the neighborhood but was only recently able to afford to move her and her family to a different part of Texas. \u201cI suffer from asthma and pain in my lungs. It feels like I\u2019m being hit in the lungs,\u201d Nieto said of her old neighborhood. \u201cHeadaches, inflammation and pain in my throat. And also I have erratic blood pressure and heartbeat.\u201d   She checks her blood pressure and listens to her heart beat regularly. \u201cIn the air I feel it\u2019s this we\u2019re all breathing. This is why I want to leave from here,\u201d Nieto said of the Manchester area. \u201cI want to go somewhere that is far from the refineries so that I can repair my life, repair my health and live better.\u201d  (See related photo essay here here)"}
{"claim_id": "3181", "claim": "First lady calls for end of e-cigarette marketing to youth.", "explanation": "Melania Trump said Monday that companies \u201cmust stop\u201d marketing e-cigarettes to children, saying they are addictive and dangerous.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Politics, Business, Vaping, Melania Trump, United States", "main_text": "Marketing tobacco products to kids is already prohibited in the United States, and Juul Labs Inc., the nation\u2019s largest maker of electronic cigarettes, has said it will cease advertising them in the U.S. Still, some believe Juul\u2019s early online marketing of e-cigarettes contributed to an explosion in vaping among youth. Mrs. Trump said \u201cit is important to me that we all work to educate children and families about the dangers associated with this habit.\u201d \u201cMarketing this addictive product to children must stop.\u201d The first lady promotes an anti-drug message through the \u201cBe Best\u201d youth initiative she launched in May 2018. She and the president have a 13-year-old son, Barron. Last month, Mrs. Trump tweeted her concerns over the \u201cgrowing epidemic of e-cigarette use in our children.\u201d She later joined President Donald Trump when he announced from the Oval Office that U.S. health authorities will act to ban thousands of fruity and other flavorings used in e-cigarettes. Federal statistics show vaping among teens had increased significantly between 2017 and 2018. More than 1 in 4 high school students reported vaping in the past month, up from 1 in 5 students in 2018 , according to the latest statistics. E-cigarette use among middle students also increased. Federal health officials have called the trend an \u201cepidemic,\u201d and fear teenagers who vape will eventually start smoking. Mrs. Trump said her visits to hospitals and rehabilitation centers have allowed her to see \u201cthe horrible results of drug abuse.\u201d She pledged to \u201ccontinue to address addiction as long as it affects our children, our youth and our schools.\u201d The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said it was grateful for the first lady\u2019s message and called on the administration to implement its plan and quickly remove all flavored e-cigarettes from the market. \u201cFlavors have been a key part of the industry\u2019s strategy for marketing to kids and have fueled this epidemic,\u201d said Vince Willmore, a spokesman for the advocacy group. Juul has pledged not to lobby against the Trump administration\u2019s planned flavor ban. Other industry representatives, such as the American Vaping Association, which represents makers and retailers of e-cigarettes and vaping solutions, oppose the planned policy. Opponents argue the policy could create a \u201cblack market\u201d for vaping products and push adults who vape to resume smoking. Mrs. Trump addressed a rally at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters to mark the start of the annual \u201cRed Ribbon Week\u201d on Oct. 23, an observance that came to be after the 1985 torture and slaying of DEA Special Agent Enrique \u201cKiki\u201d Camarena in Mexico. Americans began wearing red ribbons to honor Camarena\u2019s sacrifice, and schools in the region of California where he lived formed clubs in his name and pledged to live drug-free lives. \u201cRed Ribbon Week\u201d was formalized in 1988. Camarena\u2019s widow, Mika, attended the rally. Students seated in the auditorium rose and recited a pledge to stay away from drugs. Most of those in the audience wore the event\u2019s \u201cred ribbon\u201d pin but the first lady did not wear one on her sleeveless black dress. Her office said she was not given a pin by DEA staff before entering the auditorium with acting administrator Uttam Dhillon. ___ AP Health Writer Matthew Perrone contributed to this report. ___ Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap"}
{"claim_id": "22953", "claim": "Joe Barton Says you can buy four light bulbs for $1.99 at Walmart, while a single compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) costs \"$10 a pop.", "explanation": "Rep. Joe Barton says a four-pack of incandescent bulbs cost $1.99 while one CFL bulb costs $9.99", "label": "false", "subjects": "Energy, Regulation, Texas, Joe Barton, ", "main_text": "No secret: Many a GOP congressman wants to repeal the new health care law. Also on U.S. Rep. Joe Barton's legislative bucket list? Retooling energy policy, he said during a Nov. 11 speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation, where the Ennis lawmaker specified something else he'd like to repeal. \"In a bill that passed in 2007 or 2008, we prohibited in a few years the sale of incandescent light bulbs, like the one that's shining on me right now from the back of the room,\" he said. \"And I was at Walmart this weekend buying some light bulbs and the traditional incandescent light bulb I believe you can get four for $1.99. The little squiggly pig-tail ones were one for $9.99.\" Then the dig: \"Now, if you're Al Gore, you can afford $10 a pop for squiggly-pig-tailed fluorescent light bulbs. But if you're mainstream America, two or three kids, mom and dad working outside the home, that's not a very good deal. So I think repeal that law right off the bat to show that we're going to put market forces back into play. We'll show the American people that we're serious about an energy policy that actually produces energy for America.\" Since we're not Al Gore, we wondered if we're getting a bad deal: $9.99 for a compact fluorescent lamp \u2014 the squiggly pig-tailed bulb Barton mentions, also known as a CFL \u2014 versus $1.99 for a four-pack of traditional bulbs. First, some background: In 2007, Congress voted to improve the efficiency of light bulbs. Then-President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act, which set energy efficiency standards for kinds of incandescent lamps (conventional light bulbs) and fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Barton voted against it \u2014 the law Barton now wants to repeal \"right off the bat.\" While running for president, Barack Obama promised to sign a measure into law that \"begins to phase out all incandescent light bulbs.\" He said the change would save Americans $6 billion a year on their electric bills. Last year, PolitiFact reported that no such proposal has made it into law, though in June 2009, Obama announced changes in lighting standards. Starting in August 2012, fluorescent tube lamps (most commonly found in offices and stores) and conventional incandescent reflector lamps must become more efficient. The government said those types of lamps represented approximately 45 percent of total lighting energy use. This isn't the first time Barton has spoken out against CFLs. On Sept. 16, Barton and two other representatives introduced a proposal to repeal the section of the act requiring that bulbs use 30 percent less energy than standard incandescents. In a press release from Republicans on the committee, Barton said that \"Washington is making too many decisions that are better left to people who work for their own paychecks and earn their own living.\" Nick Prelosky, an intern in Barton's office, told us that Barton's point was \"that the CFLs are more expensive... a lot more expensive than the incandescent bulbs.\" Barton's press office didn't return our calls on this topic, and after initial communications with Walmart's corporate headquarters, no one answered our queries. So we don't know which Walmart Barton shopped \u2014 there's one in his hometown of Ennis \u2014 or what the light bulb options were at the store. But at a Walmart Supercenter in Austin, we found a wide selection of bulbs and prices. We found a 15-watt dimming CFL bulb for $11.77 and a four-pack of 100-watt soft-white incandescent bulbs for 84 cents, an even greater price spread than Barton said. But a dimming CFL bulb that costs more than $10 vs. a four-pack of incandescents that costs about $2 isn't exactly apples to apples. We turned to a comparison of CFL and incandescent wattage by Energy Star, a joint federal program of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. According to Energy Star, a 60 watt incandescent bulb produces a minimum light output of 800 lumens, about what a 13 to 15 watt CFL bulb produces. At the store, we found a six-pack of 13-watt CFL bulbs for $7.97. A three-pack was $4.28. Next, we went shopping online. Our \"light bulb\" search query on Walmart's website returned 136 hits. Again, bulb prices varied. A three-pack of soft-white 13-watt CFL bulbs costs $4.92, according to Walmart's website. A two-pack of soft-white 60-watt incandescents costs $2.54. That's $1.64 per CFL bulb and $1.27 per incandescent. On the pricier end was a two-pack of three-way CFLs for $19.84, which are only sold online, according to Walmart's website. That's $9.92 per bulb \u2014 the price Barton bemoans. A two-pack of three-way incandescent bulbs costs $4.26, or $2.13 per bulb. But bulb life is also a factor in cost comparisons. In August 2009, Consumer Reports reported that \"swapping regular bulbs for compact fluorescents can save you at least $30 per bulb over the life of a compact fluorescent lightbulb... Some CFLs now cost less than $2 compared with $9 to $25 in 1999. Several lasted five to 10 times as long as regular bulbs in our tests, and Energy Star-qualified models use up to 75 percent less power.\" In its October issue, Consumer Reports found that the CFL bulbs in its lab \"have been cycling on and off since early 2009, or 6,000 hours. For comparison, a typical incandescent bulb lasts only around 1,000 hours.\" Lastly, we checked in with the Light Bulb Shop on Austin's Burnet Road. When we explained the statement we were fact-checking, Martin Day, a salesman at the store, told us: \"You can get cheaper CFLs than $10.\" The cheapest CFL the store sells costs about $3 each, he said \u2014 a four-pack for $12. The cheapest incandescent: 75 cents. Let's review the math. One 13-watt CFL bulb costs as little as $1.30 (the price for a six-pack divided by the number of bulbs), compared to 20 cents for an equivalent 60-watt incandescent bulb. But it would take at least five incandescents to replace it over the average life of a CFL. However, if you want a dimmable CFL, it will definitely cost you. On their face, the prices cited in Barton's statement hold up. Yes, you can go to Walmart and buy a four-pack of incandescent bulbs for $1.88 (online) or 84 cents (at the Austin Supercenter) \u2014 prices even lower than Barton aired \u2014 and a single CFL bulb for $11.77 (even more than he said). However, Walmart also sells some CFLs for less and other incandescent bulbs for more. More importantly, Barton ignores other relevant factors \u2014 wattage and longevity \u2014 that undercut a simple price comparison and his suggestion that a \"mainstream,\" two-income family can't afford such energy-saving bulbs. We rate his statement as Barely True. This story has been updated to correct the cost of a 13-watt CFL bulb to $1.64 Editor's note: This statement was rated Barely True when it was published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to ."}
{"claim_id": "1437", "claim": "Drug resistant superbugs are killing 33,000 in Europe each year.", "explanation": "Superbug infections resistant to multiple antibiotics kill around 33,000 people a year in Europe, health experts said on Monday, and the burden of these diseases is comparable to that of flu, tuberculosis and HIV combined.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "An analysis by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) found the impact of drug-resistant infections had increased since 2007, with concerning rises in cases of bugs resistant to even the most powerful, last-resort antibiotics - including a class of drugs known as carbapenems. \u201cThis ... is worrying because these antibiotics are the last treatment options available,\u201d the ECDC said in a statement. \u201cWhen these are no longer effective, it is extremely difficult or, in many cases, impossible to treat infections.\u201d  Specialists estimate that around 70 percent of bacteria that can cause infection are already resistant to at least one antibiotic that is commonly used to treat them. This has made the evolution of \u201csuperbugs\u201d that can evade one or multiple drugs one of the biggest threats facing medicine today. The ECDC study, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, focused on five types of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the European Union and in the European Economic Area (EU/EEA). It found that around 75 percent of the burden of superbug disease is due to infections contracted in hospitals and health clinics - known as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). \u201cStrategies to prevent and control antibiotic-resistant bacteria require coordination at EU/EEA and global level,\u201d it said. It added that due to variations in the numbers of cases and the types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing infection in different countries, prevention and control measures need to be tailored to national situations."}
{"claim_id": "7943", "claim": "Healthcare group Novacyt wins British orders for coronavirus testing product.", "explanation": "Novacyt, a healthcare company specializing in clinical diagnostics, said on Monday the British government had started on orders for its product that is aimed at carrying out tests on the coronavirus that has killed thousands across the world.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The company said that the Public Health England body had made orders initially for eight hospitals to provide stocks for four weeks of planned testing. The total value of the initial purchase is approximately 1.0 million pounds ($1.24 million), which Novacyt said was its single largest order to date for its coronavirus test. \u201cWe welcome Public Health England\u2019s decision to use our COVID-19 test in the UK and I am delighted to see that Novacyt will now be supporting one of its home markets during these challenging times,\u201d said Novacyt CEO Graham Mullis."}
{"claim_id": "2326", "claim": "Poorer countries lack midwives to cut birth deaths: report.", "explanation": "The majority of the world\u2019s poorer countries, which account for nearly all childbirth-related deaths among newborns and mothers, are facing a critical shortage of professional midwives who could ease the problem, global health experts said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Among 73 lower and middle income nations, just four - Armenia, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Jordan - have adequate resources in place, according to a review led by the United Nations Populations Fund and the World Health Organization. \u201cMore than three-quarters face serious shortages that will result in unnecessary deaths of women and babies,\u201d Frances Day-Stirk, president of the International Confederation of Midwives, told reporters on a conference call. Midwives, who are trained to deliver babies and provide medical care before and after pregnancy, can provide most of the services needed for women and newborns, experts said. That is critical to relieve pressure on doctors, especially in areas where medical resources are scarce or difficult to access. In 2013, there were an estimated 2.6 million stillbirths, 3 million newborn deaths and 289,000 maternal deaths. More than 92 percent of those deaths occurred in the countries reviewed, the groups said in their \u201cState of the World\u2019s Midwifery\u201d report. The countries included in the review range from China, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to Central African Republic, Chad, Guatemala and Mexico, among others. Many lack the infrastructure necessary to allow for quality care from midwives, and often don\u2019t have regulatory systems in place to adequately train them, according to the report. Collecting necessary data is also a problem. \u201cWomen and girls\u2019 right to maternal and reproductive health are essential,\u201d Babatunde Osotimehin, a physician and executive director of the UN\u2019s Populations Fund, told reporters. They \u201cneed and deserve respectful, compassionate care before, during and after pregnancy and birth ... This is not the case in many countries. This needs to change.\u201d  The crisis is also an economic one, experts said. For example, boosting midwifery services can reduce costly cesarean births, saving up to $128.5 million over three decades, Day-Stirk said. One country that has shown some gains is Bangladesh, where the government in 2010 launched an effort to train 3,000 midwives, helping reach key health goals even though birth-related mortality remains high, experts highlighted. The report, funded by the UN along with the U.S. and Canadian governments, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other groups, and Johnson & Johnson, is part of the UN and WHO\u2019s larger effort to boost access to midwives by 2030."}
{"claim_id": "27818", "claim": "Video clip shows a middle-aged woman punching another woman in the mouth.", "explanation": "A video clip seemingly captures a middle-aged woman sucker-punching another woman in the mouth. But why?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fauxtography, Oddities", "main_text": "A popular video has puzzled countless viewers who have stumbled across it on the Internet, leaving them wondering about both its genuineness and its context. What could prompt a middle-aged woman to haul off and deliver a solid punch to the face of another woman, all without causing any apparent consternation to the bystanders who witnessed the attack? The scene took place in 1999 outside a courtroom where a reckless driver had just been sentenced for causing an accident that left two people dead and a third severely injured. This clip was taken from (originally unaired) videotape shot by a news crew from station KY3-TV in Springfield, Missouri, and was used in a \u201cNewsroom Ethics\u201d lesson prepared by the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation, who described it thusly:  On April 15, 1998, Dana Defeo, Terry Batson and Ed Watson completed their shift at a local factory. The three coworkers piled into Batson\u2019s car and socialized late into the night at a local pub. At 1:15 a.m., they started home. Moments later their car was hit by Tim Massey. He had 11 driving violations, including one ticket for going 104 miles per hour. This night police said he was driving more than 100 miles per hour when he sped through an intersection and crashed into Batson\u2019s car. Two of the three coworkers died. Only Dana Defeo survived, but with severe brain damage. Massey survived and was charged with manslaughter. More than a year later, Massey stood before a judge, who sentenced him to five years in prison. After the sentencing, outside the courtroom, a drama unfolded. Friction was apparent between the families of Dana Defeo and Terry Batson. Accusations that the dead victims had been smoking marijuana and unfaithful to their spouses were flying between the families. A member of Terry Batson\u2019s family heard the allegations and punched the accuser in the mouth. The graphic and startling smack in the mouth was captured on camera. No charges were filed. Nobody was arrested. The station had sensational videotape on its hands, but the assault had nothing to do with the story that had unfolded in the courtroom. KY3-TV, after a lengthy newsroom discussion, decided not to air the video but did mention the argument and the punch in a tag to the main story about the sentencing for the two traffic deaths."}
{"claim_id": "8296", "claim": "UK was too slow on coronavirus and 40,000 could die, professor says.", "explanation": "The British government was too slow to react on several fronts to the novel coronavirus outbreak that could cause the deaths of 40,000 people in the United Kingdom, a leading public health professor told lawmakers on Friday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially refrained from approving the stringent controls that other European leaders imposed but then closed down the country when projections showed a quarter of a million people could die in Britain. So far, more than 14,576 people with COVID-19 have died in British hospitals, though new official data indicates the true death toll could be much larger. \u201cWhere were the system errors that led us to have probably the highest death rates in Europe?\u201d Anthony Costello, professor of International Child Health and Director of the UCL Institute for Global Health, asked at the Health and Social Care Committee. \u201cWe have to face the reality of that: We were too slow with a number of things,\u201d Costello told the committee. \u201cWe could see 40,000 deaths by the time it\u2019s over.\u201d  Costello, a paediatrician who is an expert in epidemiology, said the government should make sure its response to the second and additional waves of infection was not too slow. The government also faced separate criticism over its supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers. The Guardian newspaper said shortages meant guidelines were being relaxed, and that doctors might need to treat patients without wearing full-length protective gowns. Ministers on Friday acknowledged a shortage of gowns - departing from their position that there were adequate supplies of PPE but some logistical problems getting it to where it was needed. The health department did not immediately comment on the Guardian report. Britain has the fifth-highest official death toll from COVID-19 in the world, after the United States, Italy, Spain and France, though the UK figure only covers hospital fatalities and the real number is probably much higher. British ministers have defended their response to the outbreak, saying they followed scientific advice and have responded with urgency in what amounts to a war-like situation. Costello said the United Kingdom needed wide-scale testing and the right systems in place to deal with further flare-ups of the outbreak. \u201cThe recent estimates, even from the chief scientific officer, is that after this wave - we could see 40,000 deaths by the time it\u2019s over - we could only have maybe 10%, 15% of the population infected or covered,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the idea of herd immunity would mean another five, six waves maybe in order to get to 60%,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have got to pray the vaccinologists come up.\u201d  The government launched a new initiative on Friday to coordinate British efforts to find a vaccine, although business minister Alok Sharma said any such solution would take many months and refused to set out a timetable. COVID-19 TESTING  Health minister Matt Hancock said mass community testing was part of the British strategy, though the government has yet to find an antibody test that is accurate enough to be used. \u201cIt is part of the strategy - we will be introducing it when we can,\u201d he told the parliamentary committee. He said testing was being expanded to include the police, the fire service, prison staff, critical local authority staff, the judiciary, and the work and pensions ministry. Hancock was also questioned by lawmakers about the daily death toll data - which gives hospital deaths but ignores deaths at home or in care homes. Hancock said the rate of deaths due to COVID-19 in care homes was higher than the 2% of the total indicated by official data, adding he was concerned about how the novel coronavirus was spreading in places housing vulnerable people. \u201cWe do know the number of people who die outside hospital and they very largely die at home,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "12821", "claim": "Inner-city students \"fall back and don\u2019t succeed, whereas if there was a less intensive track, they would.", "explanation": "Eichelberger said, Inner-city students \"fall back and don\u2019t succeed, whereas if there was a less intensive track, they would.\" While there are experts who support offering vocational education to low-income students, we were not able to find any research that backs Eichelberger\u2019s comment. To the contrary, studies show that low-income students with experience in accelerated courses fare better in college.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Education, Race and Ethnicity, Urban, Pennsylvania, John Eichelberger, ", "main_text": "Would students from distressed urban neighborhoods be better off if their instruction was \"less intensive\"? A Republican Pennsylvania senator out of Blair County sparked controversy for suggesting as much at a town hall in West Pennsboro last week. As reported in the Carlisle Sentinel, Sen. John Eichelberger criticized state education programming that directs students of color toward college rather than vocational courses as a matter of ill-used funding. \"They\u2019re pushing them toward college and they\u2019re dropping out,\" Eichelberger, chair of Senate Education Committee, said. \"They fall back and don\u2019t succeed, whereas if there was a less intensive track, they would.\" Pa. Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, called Eichelberger\u2019s remarks \"racist.\" Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, told Philly.com the commentary was \"offensive\" and that he had contacted Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, to discuss it because the Democratic caucus members found it alarming. Eichelberger, amid blowback, has insisted that his words were taken out of context. He\u2019s even accused the Sentinel of publishing fake news. But Zack Hoopes, the Sentinel business editor who captured the quotes, told PolitiFact Pennsylvania\u00a0he stands by the article\u2019s accuracy. Despite of the severity of Eichelberger\u2019s accusation, the senator doesn\u2019t challenge that he actually said this. Eichelberger\u2019s office gave PolitiFact Pennsylvania the following statement yesterday: \"He\u2019s never denied saying that, but the comment was taken out of a larger conversation on education and how we prepare our students for the future. The larger context is lost in the story. What has been reported was a brief snippet of an elaborate conversation with local residents. The observations were made about options in our education system during an hour-and-a-half of discussion. It wasn\u2019t perfectly worded, but it is something that needs to be discussed, so instead of misplaced outrage, the Senator would prefer to see an open and honest conversation.\" So, on with the fact-check! Eichelberger\u2019s office shared no evidence to substantiate his claim. PolitiFact Pennsylvania wasn\u2019t able to find studies that make similar arguments in our research, that a \"less intensive\" track would be lead to more success for \"inner city\" students, and the academics we spoke with weren\u2019t familiar with papers that could back that up either. Julia C. Duncheon, an expert on college readiness for urban students based at the University of Texas at El Paso said that is was \"not true\" that lower-income students needed \"less intensive\" instruction. In fact, studies show the opposite: \"Those who have taken the more rigorous classes are more likely to persist in college,\" she said. The Institute for Higher Education Policy emphasizes the importance of \"a rigorous, college-ready curriculum, starting in middle school,\" calling this \"crucial.\" Education researchers regularly identify that low-income students in cities often lack access to bona fide college preparatory coursework. In an email, pointing to a 2009 Center for American Progress report that espouses high standards in college prep curricula, Duncheon noted that certain demographics see particular gains. \"While rigorous academic preparation is important for all students, it is especially important for African American and Latina/o students,\" wrote Duncheon. \"Again, we see equity gaps decrease among college students who have completed a rigorous academic course load in high school.\" Duncheon found Eichelberger\u2019s recommending vocational tracks problematic. \"We tend to see low-income students funneled into those,\" said Duncheon. As inadequate access to high-level classes persists in underserved neighborhoods, poor students of color are underrepresented in these courses. \"The notion that they pursue vocational education is troubling because we\u2019re already dealing with problems of racial segregation with vocational education.\" Duncheon was careful not to discourage vocational training, saying that students need \"a variety of pathways.\" \"There are too many students getting less intensive education anyway,\" said Ivory Toldson, editor of the Journal of Negro Education and a professor at Howard University. In 2012, Toldson co-authored the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation report \"Challenge the Status Quo: Academic Success among School-age African American Males.\" They had several recommendations for better preparing black boys: many pushed fostering supportive, bias-free environments in school and at home, but they also recommended \"offer[ing] a curriculum that, at a minimum, meets the admissions requirements for the most competitive public university of your state.\" \"What I found in my analysis was that black and Latino students in urban districts like Philadelphia were the least likely to take high-level math and science courses which limited their opportunities,\" said Toldson. \"The short of it is: I think what the senator is proposing is actually the opposite of what they need.\" Toldson argued that modern technical instruction not only could bear benefits for some students, but relies on a comprehension of math and science that corresponds to the digital age. \"We don\u2019t want to give kids the outdated notion that to be an auto mechanic you don\u2019t need math,\" he said. \"That may have been true in the \u201950s and \u201960s, but that\u2019s not true today.\" Duncheon didn\u2019t want to dismiss that dropouts are a persistent problem for low-income students. But, she said, \"there\u2019s a lot of complexity around why students drop out. There\u2019s no clear cut reason why they do, there\u2019s a lot of factors.\" Certain trends that researchers like Duncheon have observed pertain to financial restraints and first-generation college students. A 2012 American Institutes for Research report noted that only 10 percent of college dropouts left due to academic struggles. Half of their respondents cited something more hazy, \"personal reasons.\" \"Academics are definitely a piece of it, but it\u2019s not the full story,\" she said. Eichelberger declined repeated requests for interview, but his office did share this statement as well: \"Each child has different skills that may be best suited for college or vocational training. This has been recognized by educational experts in our state and around the nation. The best option for kids should be available for all students, whether in Carlisle or Philadelphia or anywhere else in the Commonwealth. \"Vocational training is not an offensive term and should not be treated as such. Vocational education is a path for training and education that leads to higher incomes and family-supporting jobs. For many, it is their stepping stone for success. \"We cannot continue to protect a system that is failing children. If our students are not being provided with that guidance and options in a significant way, then we need to take a closer look at that to ensure that every student deserves the chance to succeed no matter their skin color or economic situation.\" Our Ruling Eichelberger said, Inner-city students \"fall back and don\u2019t succeed, whereas if there was a less intensive track, they would.\" While there are experts who support offering vocational education to low-income students, we were not able to find any research that backs Eichelberger\u2019s comment. To the contrary, studies show that low-income students with experience in accelerated courses fare better in college. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "1079", "claim": "As measles returns, U.S. states look to cut vaccine exemptions.", "explanation": "Maine could soon prohibit parents from citing religious or personal beliefs to avoid vaccinating their children, making the U.S. state one of a half dozen cracking down during the nation\u2019s largest measles outbreak in 25 years.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "State legislatures in New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Minnesota and Iowa are looking at similar bills that would only allow exemptions from vaccinations for medical reasons as determined by the child\u2019s doctor. The United States has recorded at least 704 measles cases so far this year in outbreaks that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has called \"completely avoidable.\" here  Azar and other officials have largely blamed the outbreaks on the spread of misinformation, including a belief debunked by scientific studies that vaccine ingredients can cause autism. This has led to pockets of lower-than-normal vaccination rates in some communities. U.S. public health officials declared measles eliminated in 2000, meaning the disease was no longer a constant presence in the country. The current outbreak traces its roots to travelers to countries including Ukraine and Israel facing outbreaks. Maine\u2019s Democratic-controlled Senate could vote on the vaccine measure as early as Thursday. The state\u2019s Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed it last month in a nearly party-line vote, with some Republicans arguing it represented inappropriate government intrusion into personal belief. Ryan Tipping, a Democratic member of Maine\u2019s House of Representatives who sponsored the bill, noted in an interview that no major U.S. religion forbids vaccination. \u201cI worked with a lot of people of very strong faiths on this bill, and, when people look, it\u2019s hard to find a religious objection to the incredible amount of good that making these diseases far more rare has brought to the world,\u201d Tipping said. Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, did not respond to questions about whether she would sign the bill into law if it passes the Senate. It was unclear whether the similar bills in other states will pass. Some have been reintroduced after failing in earlier sessions. Other states are considering less restrictive steps to increase vaccination rates. Washington is poised to pass a bill that would remove exemptions on personal grounds for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, while leaving in place a religious exemption. Maine has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, with 5 percent of kindergartners holding a non-medical exemption from vaccination, compared to a national average of 2 percent, according to CDC data. The World Health Organization has said at least 95 percent of a community must be immunized against measles to achieve the \u201cherd immunity\u201d needed to protect those unable to get the vaccine such as infants and people with compromised immune systems. No measles cases have been recorded in largely rural Maine since 2017, but state officials have been worried by outbreaks of whooping cough, another childhood disease that can be prevented by vaccination. The largest U.S. measles outbreak this year has been in New York City, clustered in the Orthodox Jewish communities in the borough of Brooklyn, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and city public health officials. All 50 states require children to be vaccinated for various diseases in order to attend public schools, unless they have medical reasons for exemption. Only three states already bar all non-medical exemptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures: Mississippi, West Virginia and California. While most states allow religious exemptions, Maine is one of 17 states that let parents also opt out based on personal or moral beliefs. California outlawed non-medical exemptions in 2015 after a measles outbreak was traced to the Disneyland theme park. The state saw the proportion of kindergarten students who received all mandated vaccines rise to 95.1 percent last year, from 92.8 percent in 2015. It also saw the number of claimed medical exemptions rise to 0.7 percent from 0.2 percent. Officials have blamed this in part on unscrupulous doctors issuing spurious exemptions, prompting lawmakers to consider new legislation that would give the state the final say over whether a medical exemption is valid. (This story was refiled to fix misplaced apostrophe in \u2018nation\u2019s\u2019 in paragraph 1)"}
{"claim_id": "30389", "claim": "Rep. Debbie Dingell is introducing a bill that would lead to widespread gun confiscations.", "explanation": "\u201cThis is commonsense legislation that would give law enforcement a tool to ensure individuals deemed a threat to themselves or their community get help, protecting their due process while keeping them safe and their families and communities safe,\u201d she said.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, fox news, gun control, guns", "main_text": "An April 2018, a Fox News appearance by Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan led to another round of stories from right-wing blogs promoting the fear of widespread gun confiscations. Dingell, a Democrat, was interviewed by the right-wing network about her work co-chairing a working group alongside Republican Fred Upton concerning mass shooting attacks at schools. The network preceded her interview by reporting that police in Seattle were \u201cseizing guns.\u201d In fact, there has been one reported instance of an involuntary gun seizure in Washington state through the use of an extreme risk protection order (ERPO for short) since the law was approved by voters in November 2016. During her appearance, Dingell said that she intended to introduce a federal version of the \u201cred flag\u201d laws that allow for use of ERPOs by law enforcement which are currently in effect in Washington and four other states, which contain guidelines through which individuals or police officers can petition courts to issue ERPOs if they believe that a gun owner may be a danger to themselves or others. Many of the blogs accusing Dingell of preparing to act out against gun owners cite the same Washington Post story\u00a0\u2014 mislabeled as an original report by the Salt Lake City Tribune, rather than a republication \u2014 saying, \u201cIn Indiana, law enforcement can confiscate weapons without a judge\u2019s order. The gun owner must ask the court to get the weapons returned.\u201d This, too, is inaccurate; the law states that in the case of a firearm seizure without a warrant, police must submit \u201ca written statement under oath or affirmation\u201d to the circuit or superior court with jurisdiction over the gun owner explaining their reasoning for doing so: If the court finds that probable cause exists to believe that the individual is dangerous, the court shall order the law enforcement agency having custody of the firearm to retain the firearm. If the court finds that there is no probable cause to believe that the individual is dangerous, the court shall order the law enforcement agency having custody of the firearm to return the firearm to the individual. On 9 May 2018, Dingell and Upton joined two other lawmakers, Republican Rep. Susan Brooks of Indiana and Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida, in introducing H.R. 5717, which would provide grants to states that adopt their own version of \u201cred flag\u201d laws. \u201cIn the weeks since the horrific shooting in Parkland, Florida, I have met with law enforcement, prosecutors, mental health experts, the ACLU, students, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders to find common ground,\u201d Dingell said in a statement: One of the biggest takeaways from these conversations is that we need to provide family members and law enforcement the tools needed when they know someone is a threat to themselves or others. According to a statement sent to us by her office, the bill requires officers who seize a firearm without a warrant to file documentation regarding the seizure to the appropriate court within 48 hours. The court would also hold a hearing on the issue within 21 days of the seizure to determine whether the firearm owner is dangerous. Dingell is listed as a co-sponsor on the bill. In July 2017 she introduced a separate gun-related bill, H.R. 3207, which would make it illegal to \u201cknowingly sell or dispose of a firearm to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking.\u201d It would also expand misdemeanor domestic violence crimes \u201cto include the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a current or former intimate partner.\u201d Dingell sent us a statement saying that the new bill is based on Indiana\u2019s \u201cred flag\u201d law, which won support from both Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and the GOP-controlled state legislature."}
{"claim_id": "3473", "claim": "Nobel prize honors breakthroughs on lithium-ion batteries.", "explanation": "If you\u2019re reading this on a cellphone or laptop computer, you might thank the three winners of this year\u2019s Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work on lithium-ion batteries.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Laptop computers, AP Top News, Science, General News, Business, International News, Nobel Prizes, Binghamton, New York, Asia Pacific, Japan, Technology, Chemistry, Europe, Stockholm", "main_text": "The batteries power cellphones, laptops, electric cars and countless other devices of modern life, and could become the foundation for a greener future. Batteries that economically store energy from renewable sources like the wind and sun open up new possibilities to curb global warming. \u201cThis is a highly charged story of tremendous potential,\u201d quipped Olof Ramstrom of the Nobel committee for chemistry. The prize announced Wednesday went to John B. Goodenough, 97, an engineering professor at the University of Texas; M. Stanley Whittingham, 77, a chemistry professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton; and Akira Yoshino, 71, of chemical company Asahi Kasei Corp. and Meijo University in Japan. \u201cThe heart of the phone is the rechargeable battery. The heart of the electric vehicle is the rechargeable battery. The success and failure of so many new technologies depends on the batteries,\u201d said Alexej Jerschow, a chemist at New York University, whose research focuses on the lithium-ion battery. Goodenough, who is considered an intellectual giant of solid state chemistry and physics, is the oldest person to ever win a Nobel Prize \u2014 edging out Arthur Ashkin, who was 96 when he was awarded the Nobel for physics last year. Goodenough said he is grateful he was not forced to retire at age 65. \u201cSo I\u2019ve had an extra 33 years to keep working,\u201d he told reporters in London, where he was to accept another prize. In an interview with The Associated Press, Whittingham said he had no inkling that his work decades ago would have such a profound impact. \u201cWe thought it would be nice and help in a few things, but never dreamed it would revolutionize electronics and everything else,\u201d he said. And in Japan, Yoshino said he hoped the technology could enable greater adoption of renewable energy sources. \u201cWe must create a society where electricity is generated by renewables in order to resolve the climate change problem,\u201d he said. The three scientists each had unique breakthroughs that laid the foundation for the development of a commercial rechargeable battery, an alternative to older alkaline batteries containing lead, nickel or zinc that had their origins in the 19th century. All batteries store chemical energy that can be converted into electricity. But earlier batteries were unsafe, too heavy or not rechargeable \u2014 limiting their practical use In the 1970s, Whittingham, who had researched superconductors at Stanford University, was hired by Exxon at a time when the petroleum giant was investing in research on energy storage. Whittingham harnessed the tendency of lithium \u2014 the lightest metal \u2014 to give away its electrons to make a lightweight battery capable of generating just over two volts. By 1980, building on Whittingham\u2019s work, Goodenough had doubled the capacity of the battery to four volts by using cobalt oxide in the cathode \u2014 one of two electrodes, along with the anode, that make up the ends of a battery. But that battery remained too unstable for general commercial use. That\u2019s where Yoshino\u2019s work in the 1980s came in. He eliminated the volatile pure lithium from the battery, and instead opted for lithium ions that are safer. He added another material in one electrode that reduced the potential for fires. This step paved the way for the first lightweight, safe, durable and rechargeable commercial batteries to be built and enter the market in 1991. Whittingham called the prize a \u201crecognition for the whole field,\u201d adding that \u201chundreds of people have worked on lithium-ion batteries.\u201d Building on this foundation could enable broader use of renewable energy sources that generate power at variable times. \u201cBatteries are the bridge between when the sun is shining and when people need to use the energy,\u201d said Amanda Morris, a chemist at Virginia Tech University. The three winners will share a 9-million kronor ($918,000) cash award. Their gold medals and diplomas will be conferred in Stockholm on Dec. 10 \u2014 the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel\u2019s death in 1896. The announcement came on the third day of Nobel week. On Tuesday, Canadian American James Peebles won the Nobel physics prize for his theoretical discoveries in cosmology together with Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, who were honored for finding an exoplanet \u2014  a planet outside our solar system \u2014 that orbits a solar-type star. Americans William G. Kaelin Jr. and Gregg L. Semenza and Britain\u2019s Peter J. Ratcliffe won the Nobel for advances in physiology or medicine on Monday. They were cited for their discoveries of \u201chow cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.\u201d Two Nobel literature laureates are to be announced Thursday \u2014 one for 2018 and one for 2019 \u2014 because last year\u2019s award was suspended after a sex-abuse scandal rocked the Swedish Academy. The coveted Nobel Peace Prize is Friday and the economics award will be announced on Monday. The chemistry laureates said the field and its applications are still a work in progress. \u201cLithium-ion itself is still full of unknowns,\u201d said Yoshino. He said he visits Goodenough nearly every year in Texas. \u201cFor him, I\u2019m like his son,\u201d he said. \u201cHe takes very good care of me.\u201d Goodenough, in his own way, seemed to return the favor, telling reporters that in all of his 97 years: \u201cWhat am I most proud of? I don\u2019t know, I would say all my friends.\u201d ___ Keaten reported from Geneva and Larson from Washington. Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo; Jill Lawless in London and Michael Hill in Albany, New York, contributed to this report. ___ Read more stories on the 2019 Nobel Prizes by The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/NobelPrizes"}
{"claim_id": "4867", "claim": "Amid tighter race, Clinton and Trump trade barbs over health.", "explanation": "Hillary Clinton returned to campaigning without offering apologies for keeping her pneumonia a secret, focusing on criticizing opponent Donald Trump instead of how she handled her health problem and the three-day rest ordered by her doctor.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Hillary Clinton, Campaign 2016, James Brown, North Carolina, AP Politics, Pneumonia, Health, Events, Greensboro, Donald Trump", "main_text": "To the strains of James Brown\u2019s \u201cI Feel Good,\u201d the Democratic presidential candidate returned to the campaign trail Thursday at a rally in North Carolina. It was her first public outing since she stumbled and needed support from aides while leaving a 9/11 memorial in New York last Sunday. The episode, caught on video, was attributed to dizziness and dehydration. And it led to an acknowledgment by the Clinton campaign that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier. Clinton told supporters Thursday that while sitting at home this week was \u201cpretty much the last place I wanted to be,\u201d the time away from campaign events helped clarify how she wants to close her race against the billionaire real estate mogul Trump. \u201cWe\u2019re offering ideas, not insults,\u201d she said in a jab at her Republican rival. \u201cA plan that will make a real difference in people\u2019s lives, not prejudice and paranoia.\u201d In New York, Trump laid out plans to lower taxes by $4.4 trillion over a decade and cut regulations, including some of those currently intended to protect the food Americans eat and the air they breathe. The Republican said his plans would bolster economic growth by at least a 3.5 percent annual rate, well above its current rate of about 2 percent. He also said his plan would create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years \u2014 a pace already being achieved. The heart of Trump\u2019s plan is a revised tax code, which includes a pledge that no business should pay more than 15 percent of its income in taxes, down from the current 35 percent top corporate tax rate. Few businesses now pay the full 35 percent rate, however, taking advantage instead of many deductions allowed under the existing tax code Amid questions about both candidates\u2019 openness regarding their health, Trump released a new letter from his doctor detailing his blood pressure, cholesterol and medications. That came a day after Clinton made public a letter from her physician with similar information. Both candidates\u2019 doctors declared them fit to serve as president. Trump\u2019s letter said the Republican is 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds \u2014 giving him a body mass index falling into the \u201coverweight\u201d range. The 70-year-old has blood pressure of 116 over 70, and his total cholesterol is 169, his doctor says. Clinton, 68, has blood pressure of 100 over 70, and her total cholesterol is 189, according to her doctor. Her letter made no mention of her weight, a key part of a medical exam; nor did a similar letter released last year. Until Thursday, the only information on Trump\u2019s health had come in a widely ridiculed letter from his doctor declaring he would be the healthiest person to ever serve as president. Before releasing the new details to the public, Trump turned over a copy to Dr. Mehmet Oz while taping an episode of Oz\u2019s TV show. The campaigns traded barbs on the health question, with Clinton\u2019s organization mocking her opponent\u2019s \u201cshowmanship\u201d and Trump\u2019s campaign pointing to his stamina to endure \u201cuninterrupted\u201d the rigors of campaigning. With two months until Election Day, the race between Clinton and Trump is far tighter than many in both parties expected. Clinton continues to be dragged down by voters\u2019 mistrust, but she still maintains more pathways than Trump to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Clinton\u2019s confidence in the electoral map was underscored in her decision to make her first stop this week in North Carolina, the only battleground state President Barack Obama lost in 2012. Trump almost certainly needs to carry the state in order to win the White House, while Clinton\u2019s team is eager to block his path. Clinton slammed North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory for signing a law to prevent transgender people from using restrooms in schools and state government buildings that do not correspond to the gender on their birth certificates. The decision has angered businesses in the state, and this week the NCAA announced it was pulling seven sports championships from North Carolina. \u201cThis is where bigotry leads, and we can\u2019t afford it, not here or anywhere else,\u201d Clinton said. Later Thursday, Clinton and Obama separately addressed the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala in Washington. Clinton ripped Trump for his refusal, in an interview with The Washington Post, to say Obama was born in the United States. \u201cWhen will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry?\u201d Clinton asked. The Trump campaign issued a statement Thursday night saying Trump now believes Obama was born in the United States. ___ Chart the path Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton must take on the Road to 270 to reach the White House with AP\u2019s Electoral College interactive map: http://elections.ap.org/content/road-270-0 ___ Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report. ___ AP writers Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Lisa Lerer at http://twitter.com/llerer"}
{"claim_id": "4009", "claim": "2 measles cases from exposure at Portland, Oregon airport.", "explanation": "Two people have been diagnosed with measles after coming into contact with a passenger on an international flight at Portland International Airport who was contagious with the viral illness.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Immunizations, Health, Measles, Oregon, Portland", "main_text": "The Oregon Health Authority said Monday that one resident of Lane County and one visitor to Washington County were on the same flight on Oct. 12. Neither person had been fully vaccinated against the highly contagious disease. Health authorities in April declared a measles outbreak in the Pacific Northwest finished after there had not been any new cases in six weeks. That outbreak sickened more than 70 people in Oregon and southwest Washington. Since then, there have been scattered cases in both states and in the Idaho Panhandle. Routine childhood immunizations include a series of two shots to provide measles immunity."}
{"claim_id": "2620", "claim": "Balkan drought highlights years of farm neglect.", "explanation": "As crops wilt and die in the Balkans, farmers struck down by a particularly harsh drought this year are ruing the region\u2019s failure to upgrade irrigation networks and invest in a long-term agricultural strategy.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Hot, dry weather in eastern and southern Europe has piled pressure on world grain markets already reeling from huge drought damage in the United States. The toll in Bosnia, where surface soil temperatures in the south have hit 47 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit), is estimated at almost $1 billion - a huge blow to a country where the farming sector accounts for 20 percent of employment and about 10 percent of economic output. The cost to neighboring Serbia, where agriculture last year accounted for about 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), is around $2 billion, and up to $250 million in Croatia, where yields have also been halved. \u201cIt\u2019s a disaster,\u201d said Zoltan Pinkert, a farmer in the fertile flatlands of Baranja in north-east Croatia. \u201cEverything was top-notch, and then the drought came. We\u2019ve had less than 10 percent of the rain compared to normal years, and the damage to corn crops is 100 percent.\u201d  The region is no stranger to drought and farmers usually get by until the next growing season. But producers in Bosnia say things have not been so bad since the end of the country\u2019s 1992-95 war and are threatening to block major roads and border crossings from early September unless the government pays outstanding subsidies and acts to protect domestic production. The future looks bleak. Cash-strapped governments in the region, all facing recession, say the money is not there to invest in modern farming methods. The former Yugoslavia is still plagued by weak governance and a tradition of wholesale change in policy and personnel with each change of government, impeding the creation of a long-term strategy to develop farming. Bosnia does not have an agriculture ministry at the state level but only at the level of its two autonomous regions - the Muslim-Croat federation and the Serb Republic. Policy-making is hostage to a complex system of power-sharing since the war, based on ethnic quotas, slowing the adoption of myriad laws and regulations needed for the country to catch up with the European mainstream. This institutional inertia already threatens to deprive Bosnia of its main export market for milk and meat in Croatia when Zagreb joins the EU next year. Critics argue the problem has been years in the making. \u201cWe are paying for the lack of systematic agricultural policy over the past 20 or even 50 years,\u201d said Damir Kovacic, agricultural marketing lecturer at Zagreb University. \u201cWe\u2019re always surprised when the drought hits in the summer,\u201d he said. The World Bank, which in May approved a $40 million loan to improve the irrigation system in Bosnia, said the countries of the Balkans had huge agricultural potential, but lacked the infrastructure and strategy. \u201cFormer Yugoslavia used to have one of the most advanced irrigation and drainage systems,\u201d said Holger Kray, the World Bank\u2019s lead officer for agriculture and rural development in Europe and Central Asia. \u201cUnfortunately, these systems have degraded, eroded,\u201d Kray told Reuters by telephone from Washington. \u201cThis is not only about functional budgetary shortages but also frequent turnover in the management of these systems.\u201d  Mate Brlosic, head of the Croatian Agriculture Chamber, said corn would be \u201cas rare as gold\u201d in Croatia this year. \u201cThe recovery will last several years for vineyards and orchards, and livestock farming will also feel the impact for years, due to lack of cattle food,\u201d he told Reuters on Monday. \u201cWe\u2019ve not had a clear agricultural strategy for 20 years. Regulations change with every change of power.\u201d  The difference upgraded farming methods can make is illustrated by a few green fields in Bosnia\u2019s breadbasket Kalesija region. \u201cWe have used modern technology to improve the water regime in some fields and switched to a new animal feeding mix,\u201d Dzenadin Veispahic, general manager of the privately owned Spreca dairy farm, told Reuters. Even then, the drought will cost the farm more than $300,000 this year. \u201cWe are on yellow alert regime when it comes to cattle watering,\u201d he said, meaning the farm was negotiating with local authorities to tap river water and enlist the help of the fire brigade. Vladimir Usorac, head of the farmers\u2019 association in Bosnia\u2019s Serb Republic, said the effects of bad harvests were cumulative. \u201cThis is the fourth consecutive year that agriculture has suffered enormous losses because of bad weather, and many producers will not have the means to start the production cycle next year,\u201d he said. Experts estimate it would cost about $2.5 billion to overhaul irrigation networks in Serbia, the biggest agricultural producer in the former Yugoslavia. But there is little sign of such a long-term strategy emerging. The focus, instead, is on emergency remedies. In Serbia, where the corn yield is expected to be half the projected 7 million metric tons, trade officials last week called on the government to ban the export of grain, in particular corn, soybean, sunflower seed and wheat. Such a move would spell additional uncertainty for regional markets, particularly Bosnia, which have traditionally relied on Serbia in the event of shortages. Croatian unions want tax on food cut so producers are not priced out of the market, but the government is resisting. Agriculture Minister Tihomir Jakovina said the Croatian government was considering a partial lifting of fees on the lease of agricultural land and increasing customs fees on exports of grain and corn to avoid shortages. The only glimmer of hope for Croatia is the EU funds that will become available when it becomes the bloc\u2019s 28th member in July next year, money that could be invested in a long-term strategy to revive farming. Deputy Prime Minister Radimir Cacic has compared the country\u2019s approach to agriculture to that of \u201cprimitive tribes\u201d. \u201cIf there is rain, there will be crops, there will be electricity,\u201d he said in the run-up to last year\u2019s election. \u201cIf there is drought, there\u2019ll be nothing. This has to change.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "2972", "claim": "US drinking more now than just before Prohibition.", "explanation": "Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition was enacted. What\u2019s more, it\u2019s been rising for two decades, and it\u2019s not clear when it will fall again.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, General News, Health statistics, U.S. News, Public health", "main_text": "That\u2019s the picture painted by federal health statistics, which show a rise in per-person consumption and increases in emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths tied to drinking. The stats aren\u2019t all bad. Drinking among teenagers is down. And there are signs that some people are taking alcohol seriously \u2014 such as the \u201cDry January\u201d movement making the rounds on social media. But overall, public health experts say America still has a drinking problem. \u201cConsumption has been going up. Harms (from alcohol) have been going up,\u201d said Dr. Tim Naimi, an alcohol researcher at Boston University. \u201cAnd there\u2019s not been a policy response to match it.\u201d HOW MUCH DO AMERICANS DRINK? In the late 1910s, just before Congress banned the sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages, each American teen and adult was downing just under 2 gallons of alcohol a year on average. These days it\u2019s about 2.3 gallons, according to federal calculations. That works out to nearly 500 drinks, or about nine per week. Historians say drinking was heaviest in the early 1800s, with estimates that in 1830 the average U.S. adult downed the equivalent of 7 gallons a year. That waned as the temperance movement pushed for moderation, abstinence and, later, a national ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol. In 1919, Congress passed the 18th Amendment, instituting the ban. It went into effect on January 17, 1920 \u2014 100 years ago, this Friday \u2014 and lasted 13 years. In 1934, a year after Prohibition was repealed, per-capita consumption was under 1 gallon. It\u2019s been up and down since then. The apex was a heavy-drinking spell in the 1970s and 1980s, when U.S. per-person alcohol consumption was 2.75 gallons. It went down in the mid-1980s, amid growing attention to deaths from drunken driving and after Congress passed a law raising the drinking age to 21. But it began climbing again in the mid-1990s. \u201cI think people sort of forgot all the problems (with alcohol),\u201d said William Kerr, senior scientist at the California-based Public Health Institute\u2019s Alcohol Research Group. WHY IS ALCOHOL CONSIDERED A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM? Excessive drinking is associated with chronic dangers such as liver cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. Drinking by pregnant women can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects. And health officials say alcohol is a factor in as many as one-third of serious falls among the elderly. It\u2019s also a risk to others \u2014 through drunken driving or alcohol-fueled violence. And research based on surveys suggests that more than half of the alcohol sold in the U.S. is consumed during episodes of binge drinking. More than 88,000 Americans die each year as a result of excessive drinking, a figure higher than the opioid-related deaths seen in a current drug overdose epidemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This month, researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released a different calculation of alcohol-related deaths. They scanned death certificates from over two decades to search for mention of alcohol. The numbers were lower, at a little under 73,000 in 2017. The researchers said death certificates can be incomplete, and their number is likely an undercount. The more important finding, other researchers said, was that the number of alcohol-related deaths had doubled since 1999, and the death rate had risen 50%. Some or much of that may be related to the increasingly deadly drugs used in the overdose epidemic, since many people drink while taking drugs, said Aaron White, the study\u2019s lead researcher. WHAT\u2019S DRIVING THE INCREASES? About three-quarters of alcohol-related deaths are in men. But drinking among women \u2014 particularly binge drinking \u2014 has been a major driver of the increases in alcohol statistics. White\u2019s study found that the female death rate jumped 85%, while the male rate rose 39%. The highest alcohol-related death rates for women were among those ages 55 to 74, that research found. But increases were seen in younger women, too. Binge drinking is swinging up most dramatically among women, other research has found. Researchers say there\u2019s been a change in cultural attitudes toward drinking, including among many women. Internet memes popular with stressed-out moms call wine \u201cmommy juice\u201d and joke about it being \u201cwine o\u2019clock.\u201d  ISN\u2019T A LITTLE BIT OF WINE GOOD FOR YOU? Wine acquired a bit of a halo after some researchers observed that French people had lower rates of heart disease despite generally consuming high levels of saturated fat. This \u201cFrench Paradox\u201d triggered studies that suggested drinking a glass or two of red wine may have some benefits for heart health. But increasingly, other researchers have poked holes in the hypothesis, arguing that lifestyle, diet and other factors probably deserve far more credit. After climbing for 24 years, U.S. wine consumption dipped last year, according to the research firm IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. \u201cI think the halo has tilted or fallen off,\u201d Naimi said. \u201cBut,\u201d he added, \u201cfor most people who drink alcohol, health is not their primary consideration.\u201d This week marks the 100th anniverary of the start of prohibition. While prohibition was meant to stop the sale and production of alcohol, McSorley's Old Ale House in New York's East Village kept the pints coming in prohibition and it still does so today. (Jan. 14) ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support  from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "15316", "claim": "Obama Makes Huge Move to BAN Social Security Recipients From Owning Guns", "explanation": "Bloggers such as the Conservative Tribune wrote headlines like this one: \"SPREAD THIS: Obama Makes Huge Move to BAN Social Security Recipients From Owning Guns.\" This is a vast exaggeration of the actual policy under consideration. It would not affect all Social Security recipients, but rather those who have already been declared mentally incompetent, and thus ineligible under current law from purchasing a gun. And it is targeted at blocking gun purchases, not taking away guns from people who already have them. Only in California could the policy lead to increased gun seizures, and only -- potentially -- for mentally incompetent residents of the state who would be newly added to the background\u00a0check database. Obama has not made a sweeping move to disarm gun-owning senior citizens, as these websites claim.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Disability, Retirement, Social Security, Guns, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "After the shooting in Charleston, S.C., that left nine African-American worshippers dead, President Barack Obama made it clear where he directs the blame. \"Every country has violent, hateful, or mentally unstable people,\" Obama said. \"What\u2019s different is not every country is awash with easily accessible guns.\" Though efforts to enact comprehensive gun\u00a0control legislation through Congress withered amid intense opposition from gun\u00a0rights supporters, Obama has done what he can to use executive orders to curb access to guns. One potential policy for his administration would have the Social Security Administration share information with the national background\u00a0check system that is used to conduct background checks of gun purchasers. Adding names from the Social Security list would potentially increase the number of people barred from purchasing a gun. After this possibility emerged, gun-rights advocates reacted quickly and aggressively. \"SPREAD THIS: Obama Makes Huge Move to BAN Social Security Recipients From Owning Guns,\" read the headline in the Conservative Tribune. Breitbart, another conservative website, declared: \"Obama\u2019s Secret Plan to Block Seniors on Social Security from Owning Guns.\" Other websites qualified their message by referring to \"some Social Security recipients,\" and some cited a specific figure -- 4.2 million -- as the number of people that would be unable to own guns. We were curious to see how all these claims stacked up, so we dug into the evidence. The background check system Under existing federal law, several factors can prevent someone from buying a gun. Most of these have to do with law\u00a0enforcement issues, such as a prior felony conviction or a record of domestic abuse. Mental-health issues can be another factor, such as involuntary commitment to a mental institution. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, is supposed to streamline the process of gun purchasing by quickly weeding out those who cannot legally buy a gun. In 36 states or territories, the FBI performs all background checks, whereas the remaining 25 states set up their own state agencies to either conduct full or partial background checks. But such a system is only as good as the databases it\u2019s linked to -- and several analyses have shown that these databases are far from complete. If someone is ineligible to purchase a gun but their information didn\u2019t get into the right database, then the background check won\u2019t stop the purchase. For instance, suspected Charleston shooter Dylann Roof should have been ineligible to buy a gun because of a prior felony on a drug charge, but errors in paperwork, and a mistake by the FBI examiner in charge of the background check, meant that Roof passed the check. The Los Angeles Times article The source that every site we found linked back to was a July 18 Los Angeles Times article, headlined, \"Obama pushes to extend gun background checks to Social Security.\" The article reports that the Social Security Administration is crafting a new policy that would prevent gun purchases by certain types of beneficiaries. The ineligible beneficiaries would be those who were deemed mentally incompetent. In this instance, a mentally incompetent person would be categorized as someone who has their finances handled by another party, known as a \"representative payee.\" The Social Security change did not emerge suddenly. It stems from an executive order by Obama in January 2013 that required \"require federal agencies to make data available to the federal background check system.\" The idea behind the executive order was to make the background\u00a0check database more complete and prevent gun purchases by people who, under the law, are ineligible. We found several problems with the websites\u2019 claims. \u2022 The new policy would not ban all Social Security recipients from owning guns. Rather, it would only affect the small fraction who are deemed mentally incompetent, and who are thus are barred from purchasing guns under the law. \u2022 The policy is not yet in force. When we reached out to the Social Security Administration, a spokesman responded, \"We are still developing our policy.\" In developing the plan, the Social Security Administration is following the lead of another federal agency, the Veterans Administration, which is already sharing names with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The Social Security Administration\u2019s policy is expected to be similar. \u2022 The policy would not take away guns from people who already own them. There is no indication that this policy would take guns away from people who already own guns. Rather, the policy would affect the ability of some mentally incompetent people from buying new guns. \"There is nothing in the policy that would change the definition of who may possess a gun, nor anything that extends the federal government\u2019s authority to take guns away from those who already have them,\" said Gary Kleck, a professor of criminology at Florida State University. There is one exception to this: California currently tracks and disarms ineligible gun owners. In addition to seizing the guns of those people determined to be mentally unstable, California law enforcement also disarms people with felonies or a domestic violence restraining order. The new policy, once it\u2019s instituted, could marginally increase the number of mentally incompetent individuals living in California who are disarmed under that 2013 law. What about the charge that 4.2 million people would be affected by the policy? There\u2019s some truth to it, but there\u2019s an important caveat: 2.7 million of the beneficiaries who have their finances managed by others receive Social Security because of a mental disability, not just because of their age, according to LaVenia LaVelle, a spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration. So it\u2019s not really accurate to say, as Breitbart did, that the plan is \"to block seniors\" from buying guns, since a large number of those affected would not be seniors. Data from December 2013 shows that about 1.2 million disabled workers with mental disorders who were receiving Social Security disability were under 50. Finally, some of these people may already be in the database for another reason. Our ruling Bloggers such as the Conservative Tribune wrote headlines like this one: \"SPREAD THIS: Obama Makes Huge Move to BAN Social Security Recipients From Owning Guns.\" This is a vast exaggeration of the actual policy under consideration. It would not affect all Social Security recipients, but rather those who have already been declared mentally incompetent, and thus ineligible under current law from purchasing a gun. And it is targeted at blocking gun purchases, not taking away guns from people who already have them. Only in California could the policy lead to increased gun seizures, and only -- potentially -- for mentally incompetent residents of the state who would be newly added to the background\u00a0check database. Obama has not made a sweeping move to disarm gun-owning senior citizens, as these websites claim. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "3355", "claim": "Pakistan study blames HIV outbreak in kids on bad healthcare.", "explanation": "A group of Pakistani doctors blames a recent outbreak of HIV among children in a southern city on poor healthcare practices such as using dirty needles and contaminated blood, according to a statement released Friday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Asia Pacific, General News, Medication, Pakistan", "main_text": "The doctors are also urging Pakistan\u2019s government to do more to understand how the virus went from high-risk groups such as drug users and sex workers to the general population. They also warned that there isn\u2019t enough medication in the city of Ratodero, in southern Sindh province, where 591 children need medical treatment. The outbreak is extremely worrying, said the doctors, calling it \u201cone of the worst\u201d in Pakistan. They studied medical data of 31,239 people in Ratodero, where the HIV outbreak took place and who agreed to the study. Out of that group, 930 were positive for HIV, with 604 of them being younger than 5 years of age and 763 younger than 16 years, according to the study published the international Lancet Infectious Disease Journal. By the end of July when the study was being completed, only one in three children had started antiretroviral treatment \u201cdue to an inadequate supply of drugs and a lack of trained staff,\u201d the statement said. The study said 50 of the children examined are showing signs of \u201csevere immunodeficiency\u201d but did not specify if they have full-blown AIDS. \u201cThe results, which are the first scientific report on the outbreak, appear to confirm observations ... that HIV was mostly transmitted to children as a result of health care providers using contaminated needles and blood products,\u201d said the statement. \u201cPakistan has experienced a series of HIV outbreaks over the past two decades, but we\u2019ve never before seen this many young children infected or so many health facilities involved,\u201d said Dr Fatima Mir from The Aga Khan University in Karachi, the Sindh provincial capital, one of the authors of the study quoted in the statement. About 70% of Pakistan\u2019s 220 million people use private health care sector, which is mostly unregulated and rarely monitored for cleanliness and safety. Among many Pakistanis, popular belief holds that intravenous or intramuscular injections are more effective that medicine taken by mouth, which has increased the use of syringes across the country \u2014 and the likelihood of dirty needles being used. In the immediate aftermath of the HIV outbreak in Ratodero, the government did act quickly, closing three blood banks as well as 300 clinics run by untrained medical staff, the statement said."}
{"claim_id": "4012", "claim": "Person with measles passed through Portland airport.", "explanation": "The Multnomah County Health Department says a person who passed through the Portland International Airport on Saturday has become sick with measles.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Measles, Oregon, Portland", "main_text": "The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the health department said people who were in the airport during that time may have been exposed to the virus. Communicable diseases manager for the health department Lisa Ferguson says the person passed through international arrivals, and went through customs and immigration between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 12. Officials said this is the 15th person affected with measles in Multnomah County this year, the most since 1991. Health department officials said anyone who was in those areas of the airport at the same time as the patient, especially those with a compromised immune system, or people not vaccinated against measles, can get a \u201cjust-in-time\u201d shot of medicine called immunoglobulin. Officials said people needing \u201cjust in time\u201d shots should call their health care providers to schedule treatment by the end of Friday, Oct. 18. The patient, an adult, had been traveling out of the country, in areas where measles is common, and had not been vaccinated. ___ Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com"}
{"claim_id": "8518", "claim": "Gaza resumes coronavirus testing amid shortages.", "explanation": "Coronavirus testing has resumed in the Gaza Strip after Israel allowed five testing kits purchased by the World Health Organization (WHO) into the enclave, a Gaza health ministry spokesman said on Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "But the spokesman, Ashraf al-Qidra, said the kits would be of \u201climited immediate help\u201d because they could be used to test only about 500 people in a densely populated territory of two million. \u201cWe began testing immediately after receiving the kits late (Sunday) night,\u201d Qidra said. \u201cWe need to carry out these tests all the time and therefore, we are in need of thousands of testing kits.\u201d   On April 8, health officials in Gaza said they had run out of testing kits and voiced concern that a shortage of medical supplies could lead to the rapid spread of infection in the territory. Gaza has 13 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, all in quarantine. Israel has maintained a blockade of the enclave for more than a decade, saying the measure is necessary to stop weapons and funds from reaching its enemy Hamas, an Islamist group that runs Gaza. But Colonel Sharon Biton of COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry office that liaises with the Palestinians, said it was cooperating with \u201crepresentatives of the international community\u201d to maintain public health in Gaza. Israeli and Palestinian officials said that in addition to the testing kits, Israel has allowed a PCR machine into the territory. The equipment analyses testing samples to determine whether they contain the genetic fingerprint of the coronavirus. The machine was donated by a U.S.-based charity, Qidra said. \u201cDuring the next week we aspire to be able to buy a good quantity of testing kits to bring into Gaza,\u201d said Abdelnaser Soboh, director of the World Health Organization\u2019s sub-office in the territory. Qidra said that on Monday, hundreds of Palestinians stranded outside Gaza will begin arriving home and would require tests. Upon arrival, they will be sent to quarantine facilities in the southern Gaza Strip for three weeks. Hamas has closed schools, mosques and wedding halls and banned large street gatherings in Gaza to try to stem contagion. It has not moved to impose a lockdown, saying the measure was not yet necessary."}
{"claim_id": "9389", "claim": "Modified Pap tests can show early warning signs of other gynecological cancers", "explanation": "This story by the LA Times covers a study of PapSeek, which is a new three-prong genetic test for Pap smear, inner-uterus smear, and blood samples. The test aims to detect endometrial and ovarian cancers, which typically aren\u2019t found until they\u2019re advanced, limiting effective treatments options and contributing to the lethality. The story takes care to note the shortfalls of the alternatives, and how an effective early-detection screening could help thousands of women per year in the US alone. However, the story falters in very important ways. There\u2019s no mention that 27% of the study\u2019s authors could benefit financially from the administration and sale of PapSeek tests, doesn\u2019t appear to incorporate independent experts\u2019 perspectives on the study and its significance, and skips over any discussion of costs or potential harms. Pap smears have slashed cervical cancer death rates by more than 60% since their inception in 1955, bringing the death rate to about 4,000 American women per year. But endometrial cancers kill roughly 10,000 women and ovarian cancer nearly 14,000 women per year \u2014 and there\u2019s no widely accepted or effective screening method for early detection. This is especially important for ovarian cancer, as the lack of screening options have meant the numbers haven\u2019t nudged much. Even if a screening test is not as sensitive as direct biopsies of cancerous tissues, any test at all for endometrial or ovarian cancers may catch more cases earlier, help patients begin treatment sooner, and see longer remissions and lifespan.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "ovarian cancer,screening tests", "main_text": "No costs are discussed, though the US National Library of Medicine says individual genetic tests \u201ccan range from under $100 to more than $2,000\u201d \u2014 and PapSeek appears to use three genetic tests (on Pap smear, Tao brush, and blood tissues). The story explains how adding a genetic test to a routine (though uncomfortable) gynecological procedure for women \u2014 i.e. Pap smears \u2014 could help doctors catch endometrial and ovarian cancers at an early stage, for which there is not yet a standard test. The article also does a nice job showing how layer-caking genetic tests on other tissues (inner uterus and blood) can nearly double the detection rate of ovarian cancer, from 33% (Pap-smear genetic test) to 63% (a full PapSeek test), and improve endometrial cancer detection from 81% to 93%. This was a close call. On one hand,\u00a0the story does address harms from false-positive tests: \u201cJust as important, the tests were remarkably good at avoiding false-positive signals, which would needlessly alarm women and lead to riskier and more-invasive tests to confirm a diagnosis. For both types of cancer, the PapSeek test\u2019s \u201cspecificity\u201d \u2014 its ability to accurately recognize the absence of disease \u2014 approached 100%.\u201d Yet\u00a0the story glossed over the high false-negative rates and how a patient might (incorrectly) interpret a result \u2014 i.e. by testing negative, they may wrongly believe they do not have a uterine or ovarian cancer. The story describes the difference between test sensitivity (i.e. ability to detect a cancer) and specificity (i.e. ability to avoid false-positives), and explaining the significance of the data in those terms. It also lists the study\u2019s sample size and describes how it was done in broad strokes, including how 656 of the 1,658 women who participated had ovarian or endometrial cancer. One shortfall is that it doesn\u2019t dig into how small some of the sample sizes were for endometrial cancer (382) and ovarian cancer (245) \u2014 in a larger study population, the conclusions of this study may not hold up. It also doesn\u2019t state how the tissues were blindly analyzed by the researchers. But the biggest limitation here is that this study uses already-confirmed cancer cases to test against. The story needed some caveats about how the accuracy may change when tested on a population of people where their cancer status is unknown. Cancers noted in this story are described as \u201ckillers\u201d and \u201cdeadly.\u201d Though most cancers are eventually lethal if untreated, the mortality rate of uterine cancer (and primarily endometrial cancer) is\u00a0about 18.7% of women within five years of diagnosis; for ovarian cancer, the death rate within five years of diagnosis is far higher,\u00a0around 53.5%. The story didn\u2019t disease-monger, but it would have been stronger had it actually described burden of disease of the two cancers, though. For example, while ovarian cancer is more lethal, it\u2019s also more rare. This is the story\u2019s biggest shortcoming, as there are no independent sources, and it fails to note a number of significant financial conflicts of interest. The research funding appears to be spread among a number of foundations that wouldn\u2019t necessarily profit from PapSeek tests. However, the \u201ccompeting interests\u201d section details how 10 of the 37 authors stand to profit from the genes and tests used, including through patents, royalties, and equity \u2014 including five of the six corresponding authors. Scientists having a financial stake in study is not uncommon, and doesn\u2019t necessarily weaken a study\u2019s results, but it should serve as a red flag to journalists to seek more outside expert opinions than normal. But the LA Times does not appear to have interviewed even one researcher not involved in the work, let alone without financial stakes in it. (Dr. Nickolas Papadopoulos, the only person quoted in the piece, is listed under several areas of stated competing interests in the study\u2019s notes.) This information was easily found in the\u00a0news release. The story describes standard Pap smear tests, adding that they do a \u201cpoor job\u201d of detecting endometrial and ovarian cancer. Blood testing for cancer-related biomarkers, such as CA-125, is also noted as well as ultrasound tests of the uterus. The story also notes these are most commonly late-stage tests. The story doesn\u2019t discuss if women can get this test \u2014 a vital piece of information for those with a high risk of endometrial or ovarian cancers. While individual parts of the PapSeek test are FDA-approved, e.g. Pap smears and Tao brushes, the PapSeek genetic analysis does not yet appear to be approved (though approval criteria for medical devices are not as strict as they are for medications). Also, there\u2019s been a reduction in frequency of Pap testing in recent years. It\u2019d be good to have a discussion of how implementing a new screening test in this environment muddies a message that\u2019s already been disseminating about how frequently women should be getting pelvic exams and Pap smears (i.e., less often, with some stopping altogether after a certain age). How would a test like this have to work upstream to be reincorporated into gynecological screening? The story notes that Pap smears rely on using a microscope to hunt for cancer cells, whereas the newer methods described use genetic testing. The story also notes how ultrasound and genetic blood tests for uterine cancers typically are used only when symptoms arise \u2014 an advanced stage of the cancers \u2014 since the those tests \u201cfail to detect many cancers, and also send up a lot of false alarms.\u201d The article places extra emphasis on so-called \u201cliquid biopsies,\u201d saying thy \u201chold the promise of revolutionizing cancer screening\u201d due to a lack of early screenings for these cancers. (That remains to be seen.) We didn\u2019t detect any copy-pasted quotations from a Johns Hopkins Medicine news release, nor other obvious signs of reliance on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "41701", "claim": "The number of Britons drinking to harmful levels has fallen sharply.", "explanation": "21% of adults aged 16+ in England reported to an NHS Digital survey that they usually drank more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week in 2017. This level has been falling since at least 2012.", "label": "true", "subjects": "health", "main_text": "One in five people are drinking too much alcohol. 21% of adults aged 16+ in England reported to an NHS Digital survey that they usually drank more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week in 2017. Alcohol deaths in England at record high after 6% rise in a year. Correct, in terms of deaths that are a direct result of alcohol misuse. However, the number of alcohol-specific deaths per 100,000 people has remained virtually the same over the last ten years. Claim 1 of 3"}
{"claim_id": "30854", "claim": "Law enforcement agencies recommend that people wash the handle on shopping carts before using them to avoid potential exposure to fentanyl.", "explanation": "Because everything used to create this claim has later been walked back, we rank it as false.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, drugs, fentanyl, opioids", "main_text": "As public health officials and politicians raise alarms over a growing opioid epidemic in the United States, concern over the potential for accidental contact with the extremely potent drug fentanyl have become a prominent fixture on the Internet. Illustrative of this point is a chain e-mail that has hit our inbox multiple times: You know when you go to Wal-Mart and they have the wipes to clean your cart handle? Well, I use them and always thought of the germs only. I read today that the police chief also suggests you do it also because of the dangerous side effects of drugs nowadays. If someone has Fentanyl still on their hands and they touch the cart you are touching, it can get into your system. Scary but worth taking the time to clean the handle. All you\u2019d have to do to get it into your system is rub your nose or a mother touch her child\u2019s mouth. I never even considered this happening but here in the tri-state area there have been officers exposed and even children exposed to the residue from the powder. There are two aspects of this story to note. The first is that the original claim has its origins in a Facebook post by the\u00a0Leachville Police Department\u00a0in Arkansas which they have now removed and apologized for. The second is that the ability for an overdose to occur through incidental skin contact is extremely unlikely. While it\u2019s true that fentanyl can legally be prescribed in the United States in the form of a transdermal patch, which regulates a controlled release of the drug into the system via the skin, such a system is specifically engineered to penetrate the top layer of the skin. Much of the concern over accidental fentanyl contact, however, comes not from legally prescribed fentanyl, but black-market fentanyl in the form of a white powder. While the risk of overdose from this powder (which is potentially 80 times as potent as morphine and which can cause death in doses as low as 2 to 3 milligrams) via oral consumption is both acute and increasingly prevalent, experts have cast doubt on the reality of the risk of overdose from skin contact with this power or its residue. A high-profile incident in May 2017, in which a police officer potentially came into contact with fentanyl residue while searching a suspected drug dealers car in Ohio brought those fears to the forefront, was reported by NBC News at the time in the following way: Patrolman Chris Green of the East Liverpool Police Department had just finished searching the car of two suspected drug dealers and was back at the police station when another officer spotted some white powder on his shirt. [\u2026] Without thinking, he brushed it off with his bare hand \u2014 and passed out about an hour later [\u2026]. It took four doses of Narcan to revive him. However, experts later questioned this account. Jeremy Samuel Faust, an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital in Boston and a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, wrote in a piece for Slate that while it is possible that Green inhaled or accidentally ingested the powder, he found the account of its effects to be dubious, at best: Neither fentanyl nor even its uber-potent cousin carfentanil (two of the most powerful opioids known to humanity) can cause clinically significant effects, let alone near-death experiences, from mere skin exposure. If Green\u2019s story is true, it would be the first reported case of an overdose caused solely by unintentional skin contact with an opioid. In that same piece, Faust cites Ed Boyer, a medical toxicologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, who explains how crucial the differences between the powder and the patch form of the drug are: Fentanyl, applied dry to the skin, will not be absorbed. There is a reason that the fentanyl patches took years [for pharmaceutical companies] to develop. Further confusion on this issue can be attributed to a June 2017 document\u00a0from the Drug Enforcement Administration briefing first responders on the risk of fentanyl. That document makes numerous references to the risk of overdose from skin contact with powdered fentanyl, and at the time of that document\u2019s release, this was also the position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. However, these organizations have since revised that stance due to lack of research on the topic, a position in agreement with a recent position statement by the American College of Medical Toxicology. As\u00a0reported by Vice News: Stephanie Stevens, a spokesperson for the CDC and NIOSH, said the change was made after the agency\u2019s staff determined \u201cthere was not enough evidence to validate the statement that dermal exposure to fentanyl is deadly.\u201d Stevens noted that there is \u201climited research\u201d on the subject, and said the CDC is \u201cactively looking to study and better understand\u201d the health risks of skin exposure to fentanyl. On [12 July 2017], the American College of Medical Toxicology issued a new position statement on the drug, stating that \u201cincidental dermal absorption is unlikely to cause opioid toxicity.\u201d It called the risk of first responders overdosing from touch alone \u201cextremely low.\u201d It should also be noted that the DEA briefing document from which the Leachville Police Department\u2019s claim appears to have its origins also explicitly warns against using alcohol based sanitizers (which applies to shopping cart wipes) to remove fentanyl, for fear that this could make skin more susceptible to absorbing the drug: Do NOT use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizers may contain alcohol, a skin penetrant, which may increase the absorption of fentanyl through the skin. Therefore, even if this document were based on the most recent science, the police departments interpretation of it would still be flawed. While accidental ingestion would in theory be a possibility, the scientific plausibility of overdose through skin contact alone has been called into question."}
{"claim_id": "41670", "claim": "There were 3,700 drug-related deaths in England and Wales last year.", "explanation": "Roughly correct, there were 3,756 registered in 2017. Around half of these will have happened in 2016 because of the time it takes to hold an inquest and then register the death.", "label": "true", "subjects": "health", "main_text": "There were nearly 1,000 drug-related deaths in Scotland last year. Correct, there were 934 registered in 2017. The UK has the highest death rate in the EU from drugs. Estonia had the highest rate of drug-related deaths per million people aged 15 to 64 in the EU, based on research using data from 2015 and 2016. The UK placed joint-third alongside Ireland. Scotland\u2019s drug-related death rate is the highest in the EU. Correct if you compare Scotland to a league table of EU sovereign countries. This is based on a comparison of the drug-related death rate per million people aged 15 to 64 in 2015 and 2016. Claim 1 of 4"}
{"claim_id": "26128", "claim": "\u201cWhy did the state do that with COVID patients in nursing homes? It\u2019s because the state followed President Trump\u2019s CDC guidance.\u201d", "explanation": "The Cuomo administration issued an advisory March 25 that stated that nursing homes\u00a0\"must comply with the expedited receipt of residents\u201d coming from hospitals, regardless of whether they are infected with the new coronavirus. The CDC warned nursing homes to keep COVID-19 out of their facilities and said\u00a0nursing homes can admit coronavirus patients, but only if they are able to properly care for them. The Cuomo administration says that regulations that predate the pandemic require nursing homes to admit only those patients for which they can care. However, in the month following the March 25 advisory, nursing home operators felt that they had no choice but to accept these patients.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, New York, Coronavirus, Andrew Cuomo, ", "main_text": "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, facing criticism for how the state handled COVID-19 in nursing homes, has said his administration followed guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately 6,000 nursing home residents in New York have died from the virus,\u00a0and Cuomo was asked on May 20 about calls for a federal probe into how the state handled nursing homes, and in particular,\u00a0a March\u00a0advisory\u00a0that sent\u00a0COVID-19 patients from hospitals to nursing homes. \"I\u2019m not going to get into the political back and forth, but anyone who wants to ask, why did the state do that with COVID patients in nursing homes? It\u2019s because the state followed President Trump\u2019s CDC guidance,\" Cuomo said. Is Cuomo correct? We looked at federal guidance at the time of the state's March 25 order, as well as other state Health Department actions at that time. Before the state Health Department sent its controversial March 25 advisory, which has since been withdrawn, the CDC released guidance for nursing homes. The CDC cited\u00a0two \"key factors\" to consider when\u00a0deciding whether to discharge a patient with COVID-19 to a long-term care facility, said Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokesperson. First, is the patient medically ready for discharge to a long-term care facility? And second, is the selected long-term care facility able to safely care for a patient recovering from the virus by implementing all recommended infection control procedures? These directives were in place on or before\u00a0March 23, two days before the state issued its advisory. One week before the state's\u00a0advisory was released, the CDC\u2019s Morbidity and Mortality Report looked at a facility in Washington State. The report\u2019s authors recommended that \"in the context of rapidly escalating COVID-19 outbreaks in much of the United States, it is critical that long-term care facilities implement active measures to prevent introduction of COVID-19.\" The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,\u00a0the federal regulator of nursing homes known as CMS, also issued COVID-19 guidance. The top administrator at CMS, Seema Verma, pushed back on Cuomo\u2019s claim that the state followed federal guidance. She\u00a0 cited a\u00a0March 13 CMS document, which says\u00a0that nursing homes should only accept those patients for which they can care. The CMS memo also states: \"Per CDC, prompt detection, triage and isolation of potentially infectious residents are essential to prevent unnecessary exposures among residents, healthcare personnel, and visitors at the facility. Therefore, facilities should continue to be vigilant in identifying any possible infected individuals.\" It was a week after the Cuomo order, on April 2, that the CMS said new long-term care patients and residents \"should be screened for COVID-19 through testing, if available.\" CMS guidance also states that if possible, nursing homes should dedicate a unit or wing exclusively to residents returning from the hospital, where they can remain for 14 days without symptoms. The state was clear about why it issued its March 25\u00a0advisory to nursing home administrators, directors of nursing and hospital discharge planners: There was\u00a0an \"urgent need\" to free up space in hospitals for seriously ill coronavirus patients. The advisory said all nursing homes \"must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to\" nursing homes, and that hospitals must declare residents medically stable before they are sent back to the nursing homes. The next directive, where \"NH\" is \"nursing home\" (emphasis by the Department of Health): \"No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.\" It also stated: \"As always, standard precautions must be maintained, and environmental cleaning made a priority, during this public health emergency.\" In other communications in March, the state told nursing homes to isolate infected residents in their rooms or to consider grouping them in a dedicated unit, as well as to stay current with CDC guidelines in preventing the spread of the disease. To support Cuomo\u2019s claim, the administration pointed us to longstanding state and federal regulations that predate the pandemic, which require nursing homes to only accept patients for which they can care. \"This is business in a nursing home: Take them if you can care for them,\" said state Department of Health spokesperson Gary Holmes. Holmes also pointed us to the\u00a0March 13 CMS memo, which states that when a resident who was diagnosed with COVID-19 is coming from a hospital, nursing homes \"can accept\" them, as long as the facility can follow CDC infection control measures. The CMS memo also states: \"Nursing homes should admit any individuals that they would normally admit to their facility, including individuals from hospitals where a case of COVID-19 was/is present.\" Nursing homes felt pressure to accept coronavirus patients\u00a0following the March 25 order. The AMDA-Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine\u00a0issued a statement on March 26 opposing the order: \"We find the New York State Advisory to be over-reaching, not consistent with science, unenforceable, and beyond all, not in the least consistent with patient safety principles.\" A joint\u00a0statement by that organization and others in long-term care\u00a0three days later reinforced their objections: \"a blanket order for every nursing home in the state to accept all admissions from hospitals is not sound policy.\" On April 9, the head of a Brooklyn\u00a0nursing home asked state health officials if COVID-19 patients could be transfered to the Javits Center or the Navy hospital ship, and was denied permission, the Associated Press reported. In late April, when reporters questioned Cuomo about the directive that nursing homes accept coronavirus patients, Cuomo repeatedly said that nursing homes should find other beds for these patients if they cannot care for them, or turn to the state to do so. He also said that the facilities \"don\u2019t have the right to object\" to the state\u2019s policy. On April 23, State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker\u00a0said no nursing home had asked the state to take any patients it couldn\u2019t handle. On April 29, after the state's policy had been\u00a0under intense scrutiny, Zucker wrote a letter to nursing homes, telling them to alert the state if they have patients for which they cannot care. In recent weeks, three facilities have asked the state for help, Holmes said. The March 25 advisory has been removed from the state website, and the state\u2019s directive to nursing homes is now much different. Cuomo issued an executive order on May 10, which states that hospitals \"shall not discharge a patient to a nursing home, unless the nursing home operator or administrator has first certified that it is able to properly care for such a patient.\" The order also requires that a patient must be tested for COVID-19, and the test must be negative. Though the state's actions have been criticized, it\u2019s unclear what was\u00a0the biggest source of infection in nursing homes, whether it was incoming residents, or health care workers and visitors unaware they had the virus. The CDC's guidance at the time of the March 25 state order was that COVID-19 patients who are medically stable can be discharged from a hospital to a nursing home, but only if the nursing home can implement all recommended infection control procedures. CMS, a\u00a0federal agency that regulates nursing homes, issued similar guidance, and also said that preferably, coronoavirus\u00a0patients should be cared for in a dedicated unit. Like CDC and CMS, the state Health Department said only those patients who are medically stable can be discharged, and\u00a0also recommended that nursing homes consider dedicated units, if possible. The Health Department prohibited nursing homes from requiring a COVID-19 test before admitting a resident, while\u00a0CMS said new residents should be tested, but did not require it. The Cuomo administration points to state and federal regulations that predate the pandemic, which require facilities to accept only those patients they can care for. In addition,\u00a0earlier state communications encouraged nursing homes to stay current with CDC guidance. But once the state issued its March 25 advisory, nursing home operators said that they felt they had no choice but to accept residents who were either known to be infected or suspected to be. That\u2019s because the March 25 memo did not say anything about making sure that a nursing home can care for a patient before making an admission decision, and said they \"must comply with the expedited receipt of residents.\" In the month following the memo, nursing homes\u00a0pleaded for relief from the order."}
{"claim_id": "28314", "claim": "The state of New York has passed a bill legalizing abortion up to birth.", "explanation": "What's true: The New York state legislature passed a law allowing abortions after 24 weeks if the mother's health is at risk or there is an absence of fetal viability. What's false: The law does not allow for unrestricted abortion up through the normal term of pregnancy.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics, abortion", "main_text": "One of the fears of pro-choice advocates is that a conservative-majority Supreme Court might someday accept a case challenging the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, overturning it in part or in whole. Should that happen, the legality of abortion would once again be governed on a state-by-state basis, with states potentially choosing to maintain the status quo under Roe v. Wade, ban abortion entirely, or impose various restrictions on it. In anticipation of that possibility, in January 2019 the state of New York enacted the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) to bring state laws in line with current federal law guaranteeing abortion rights, and to preserve access to abortion services should Roe v. Wade be overturned. In a nutshell, the RHA does three things: 1)  It allows for late-term abortion (i.e., after 24 weeks) if the health of the mother is threatened or the fetus is not viable. Previously, late-term abortions had only been legal in New York if the life of the mother was at risk. 2)  It expands the list of health care professionals who can perform abortions beyond physicians to also encompass highly trained nurse practitioners, licensed midwives, and physician assistants. 3)  It removes abortion from the criminal code and places it entirely within the realm of public health law. Performing a late-term abortion had previously been a felony in New York, which as the Syracuse Post-Standard observed, \u201chad a chilling effect on doctors in New York who were reluctant to provide abortions after 24 weeks when the mother\u2019s life was in danger or the fetus was no longer viable. In a widely reported case, one New York woman had to travel to Colorado to terminate her pregnancy when she found out after 31 weeks that the baby she was carrying would not survive outside the womb.\u201d The enactment of the RHA was characterized by some pro-life outlets, such as the website LifeNews as \u201ca radical pro-abortion bill that would allow unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth.\u201d   How did such outlets arrive at that characterization? The RHA states that \u201cA health care practitioner, acting within his or her lawful scope of practice, may perform an abortion when, according to the practitioner\u2019s reasonable and good faith professional judgment based on the facts of the patient\u2019s case: the patient is within twenty-four weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of fetal viability, or the abortion is necessary to protect the patient\u2019s life or health.\u201d Pro-life critics contended that provision would essentially \u201cauthorize abortion up until the moment of birth\u201d because its health exception might be broadly interpreted beyond just issues of physical health:  Currently, late term unborn children are protected in New York State law after 24 weeks except to save a mother\u2019s life. RHA would repeal that standard and exchange it for a \u201chealth\u201d exception, broadly interpreted by courts to include age, economic, social and emotional factors, rather than the biological definition of \u201chealth\u201d that normally comes to mind. Pro-choice advocates, on the other hand, contended that such assertions were based on unrealistic, extreme interpretations of the law:  This is only true if you do not trust medical professionals to make informed, professional decisions for which they have been extensively trained and licensed, in consultation with the women in their care. Do we honestly believe that doctors and other medical care providers will risk their licensure and professional lives to perform medically unnecessary procedures because pregnant women wake up one day at six months or seven months pregnant and decide that they don\u2019t want to be pregnant anymore? Do we show the same mistrust of any other medical professionals who perform other medical procedures? A Democratic-led New York state legislature passed the Reproductive Health Care Act by a margin of 38 to 24, and Governor Andrew Cuomo  signed it into law on 22 January 2019. Although LifeNews reported that the Reproductive Healthcare Act \u201credefines a \u2018person\u2019 as \u2018a human being who has been born and is alive,'\u201d and describes abortion as a \u201cfundamental right,\u201d that change applies to language in the penal code, as the new legislation now regulates abortion as part of public health law instead of criminal law in New York."}
{"claim_id": "37402", "claim": "Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in 2018 that a woman could not win a presidential election.", "explanation": "Did Bernie Sanders Tell Elizabeth Warren a Woman Couldn\u2019t Win a Presidential Election?", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "On January 13 2020, CNN published an article with the headline, \u201cBernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in private 2018 meeting that a woman can\u2019t win, sources say.\u201d It began:The stakes were high when Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren met at Warren\u2019s apartment in Washington, DC, one evening in December 2018. The longtime friends knew that they could soon be running against each other for president.The two agreed that if they ultimately faced each other as presidential candidates, they should remain civil and avoid attacking one another, so as not to hurt the progressive movement. They also discussed how to best take on President Donald Trump, and Warren laid out two main reasons she believed she would be a strong candidate: She could make a robust argument about the economy and earn broad support from female voters.Sanders responded that he did not believe a woman could win.Immediately thereafter, the article noted the claim was secondhand and attributed to several sources. CNN indicated \u201cfour people\u201d provided accounts to the network for their reporting, none of whom could attest to witnessing the encounter.Two of the people interviewed by CNN claimed to have spoken to Warren \u201csoon\u201d after the encounter. The second two were nebulously \u201cfamiliar with the meeting,\u201d possibly having obtained their information from the first two. It was not clear how the second two bolstered the credibility of the first two, as none of the four were present for or heard the supposed conversation:The description of that meeting is based on the accounts of four people: two people Warren spoke with directly soon after the encounter, and two people familiar with the meeting.In an apparent update to the story (not clearly marked), both Warren and Sanders are quoted responding to the allegation. Warren paraphrased Sanders, and Sanders denied saying that a woman couldn\u2019t be elected. Sanders also pointed out that Hillary Clinton received over three million more votes than President Trump in 2016:After publication of this story, Warren herself backed up this account of the meeting, saying in part in a statement [on January 13 2020], \u201cI thought a woman could win; he disagreed.\u201dThat evening in 2018, Sanders expressed frustration at what he saw as a growing focus among Democrats on identity politics, according to one of the people familiar with the conversation. Warren told Sanders she disagreed with his assessment that a woman could not win, three of the four sources said.Sanders denied the characterization of the meeting in a statement to CNN.\u201cIt is ludicrous to believe that at the same meeting where Elizabeth Warren told me she was going to run for president, I would tell her that a woman couldn\u2019t win,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIt\u2019s sad that, three weeks before the Iowa caucus and a year after that private conversation, staff who weren\u2019t in the room are lying about what happened. What I did say that night was that Donald Trump is a sexist, a racist and a liar who would weaponize whatever he could. Do I believe a woman can win in 2020? Of course! After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016.\u201dCNN\u2019s publication of the claim just ahead of the January 14 2020 debate was predictably divisive, leading to heated discourse on and off social media. Among ancillary claims around the discussion was one that Sanders\u2019 campaign held a \u201cBern the Witch\u201d event in 2016 and circulated an image of Hillary Clinton burning at the stake. We examined that claim here, finding that it was partly false and partly misleading.Social media users emphasized that the number of sources (four) was secondary to the relevance of their claims; none were present for the purported conversation:None of the sources were in the meeting.How can CNN publish this? https://t.co/mS2cDQcFgB\u2014 Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) January 13, 2020direct denial from the accused source and a \"no comment\" from the camp it comes from\u2026 four anonymous sources, none of whom were in the room\u2026 haven't been an editor in a while but that's gonna be a \"yikes, let's hold this\" from me https://t.co/bILlzcCLrn\u2014 Jack Crosbie (@jscros) January 13, 2020The claim was aggregated by outlets like the\u00a0New York Times, citing CNN as a source:Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in a private meeting that a woman could not be elected president, according to people familiar with the conversation. He has denied making the remark. https://t.co/UxYvQbSCoJ\u2014 NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) January 13, 2020Others maintained\u00a0that Sanders had suggested\u00a0U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s campaign would employ \u201csexist tactics,\u201d not that a woman was unable to win:Two interesting details from Washington Post's version of the Sanders/Warren story.1) They have a source w/knowledge of the convo saying Sanders did not deny woman could win2) Two people say Warren is one who broached question https://t.co/ovPoneZgdR pic.twitter.com/2kGvdG81sS\u2014 Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) January 14, 2020I hate to break hearts but how about neither Bernie or Warren are lying. His comment likely had a particular context, and she heard it in a particular way. This is literally how human interaction often works when people end up with misunderstandings.\u2014 rabia O'chaudry (@rabiasquared) January 15, 2020Another common commentary involved the plausibility of any politician making such a remark:If Bernie Sanders said anything remotely close to \u201ca woman can\u2019t beat Donald Trump in 2020\u201d in a conversation with Elizabeth Warren, he\u2019s the dumbest person on the face of the earth.I just struggle to believe that\u2019s the case.\u2014 Christopher J. Hale (@chrisjollyhale) January 14, 2020People also pointed out that Sanders attempted to \u201cdraft Warren\u201d in 2016, running only when she declined to accept:Bernie Sanders tried to get Elizabeth Warren to run in 2016. He clearly, obviously thinks a woman can win the presidency. He TRIED TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.\u2014 John Iadarola (@johniadarola) January 13, 2020Before the debate, two clips of Sanders speaking in 1987 and 1988 circulated. In the earlier video, Sanders tells a classroom of schoolchildren that women can and should be involved in electoral politics. In the second, Sanders said \u201ca woman could be elected president\u201d:\u201cIn my view a woman could be elected president of the United States.\u201d \u2014 Bernie Sanders, 1988 pic.twitter.com/WJd847DdmA\u2014 Meagan Day (@meaganmday) January 13, 2020A January 14 2020 BuzzFeed report about the pre-debate controversy published before the debate aired obtained direct messages from Warren staffers on Twitter. BuzzFeed said the staffer\u2019s characterization of the conversation \u201chewed closer\u201d to Sanders\u2019 version than Warren\u2019s, but the organization did not share the entire conversation:\u201cI would be careful with the \u2018sexism\u2019 angle when it comes to the Bernie/Warren exchange individually \u2014 that\u2019s not what this is about and I think it\u2019ll be really bad news for us if that becomes what this is about (i.e. press asking her if she thinks Bernie is sexist),\u201d the staffer told the group. \u201cIs that what this is about broadly? Absolutely. But no one here is actually claiming Bernie himself is sexist (regardless of your own personal beliefs on that topic).\u201d[\u2026]At one point in a lengthy DM to the Twitter group on Tuesday morning, the Warren staffer\u2019s description of the controversy hewed closer to Sanders\u2019s description than Warren\u2019s. \u201cClaiming you\u2019re worried a woman can\u2019t win/flagging that she\u2019ll receive sexist attacks is something many, many people feel,\u201d the campaign official wrote.As noted in our earlier fact check, CNN moderators raised the question to first Sanders and then Warren during the January 14 2020 debate:Sen. Sanders denies telling Sen. Warren in 2018 that a woman couldn\u2019t be elected President.\u201cWell as a matter of fact I didn\u2019t say it, and I don\u2019t want to waste a whole lot of time on this because this is what Donald Trump\u2026 would want.\u201d https://t.co/4dWmzu2vWF #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/Lt9Y8n2SaP\u2014 CNN (@CNN) January 15, 2020Moderators did not address the secondhand sourcing of the question. Sanders responded:MODERATOR: Let\u2019s now turn to \u2014 let\u2019s now turn to an issue that\u2019s come up in the last 48 hours. Sen. Sanders, CNN reported yesterday that \u2014 and Sen. Sanders, Sen. Warren confirmed in a statement, that in 2018 you told her that you did not believe that a woman could win the election. Why did you say that?SANDERS: Well, as a matter of fact, I didn\u2019t say it. And I don\u2019t want to waste a whole lot of time on this, because this is what Donald Trump and maybe some of the media want. Anybody knows me knows that it\u2019s incomprehensible that I would think that a woman cannot be president of the United States.Go to YouTube today. There\u2019s a video of me 30 years ago talking about how a woman could become president of the United States. In 2015, I deferred, in fact, to Sen. Warren. There was a movement to draft Sen. Warren to run for president. And you know what, I said \u2014 stayed back. Sen. Warren decided not to run, and I then \u2014 I did run afterwards.Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million votes. How could anybody in a million years not believe that a woman could become president of the United States? And let me be very clear. If any of the women on this stage or any of the men on this stage win the nomination, I hope that\u2019s not the case, I hope it\u2019s me. (LAUGHTER)But if they do, I will do everything in my power to make sure that they are elected in order to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of our country. (APPLAUSE)MODERATOR: So Sen. Sanders \u2014 Sen. Sanders, I do want to be clear here, you\u2019re saying that you never told Sen. Warren that a woman could not win the election?SANDERS: That is correct.After Sanders said \u201cthat is correct,\u201d the same moderator asked Warren what she thought \u201cwhen Sen. Sanders told you a woman could not win the election\u201d:[MODERATOR]: Sen. Warren, what did you think when Sen. Sanders told you a woman could not win the election? (LAUGHTER)WARREN: I disagreed. Bernie is my friend, and I am not here to try to fight with Bernie. But, look, this question about whether or not a woman can be president has been raised, and it\u2019s time for us to attack it head-on.Although the juxtaposition of Sanders\u2019 answer and the moderator\u2019s next question caused laughter in the Des Moines crowd, the moment caused further irritation on social media. On January 15 2020, three of the top posts on Reddit\u2019s r/all (in r/politics) were about that moment, and two referenced the trending hashtag #CNNisTrash:\u2018CNN Is Truly a Terrible Influence on This Country\u2019: Democratic Debate Moderators Pilloried for Centrist Talking Points and Anti-Sanders Bias from politics#CNNisTrash trending after Dem. debate for biased questions against Bernie Sanders from politicsThe third involved the 1988 video seemingly conflicting with Sanders\u2019 supposed statement:Video emerges of Sanders saying in 1988 a woman could be elected president from politicsThat thread\u2019s top comment referenced Sanders\u2019 attempts to draft Warren to run in 2015:Not long after the debate, commentator Jess McIntosh claimed that Warren\u2019s assertion was not a \u201che said/she said\u201d debate, as it was reported out:\u201cI think what Bernie forgot is that this *isn\u2019t* a he said she said story, this is a reported out story that CNN was part of breaking\u2026\u201d(WTF!?!) pic.twitter.com/e1DNhQXFMf\u2014 wideofthepost (@wideofthepost) January 15, 2020Anderson Cooper interjected to point out that none of CNN\u2019s sources were present for the purported conversation between Sanders and Warren. As such, Cooper said, the claim was, in fact, a \u201che said/she said\u201d scenario. Twitter users noted that McIntosh was a Clinton campaign staffer not long after the segment aired; McIntosh was apparently identified before the debate, but not during the post-debate panel discussion:Naturally, the @CNN paid political analyst who insisted the Warren claim about Sanders was \"reported out\" and not she said/he said was @jess_mc. CNN will never tell viewers her background. But I will. Jess McIntosh was a communications director in '16 for Hillary Clinton. https://t.co/Mj6aXzMhx7\u2014 David Shuster (@DavidShuster) January 15, 2020That portion of the post-debate panel led to discussion of\u00a0whether the phrase \u201creported out\u201d had a firm meaning; McIntosh used that particular wording on Twitter during the debate:What does \u201creported out\u201d mean https://t.co/AO9mk7QjG0\u2014 jack allison (@jackallisonLOL) January 15, 2020\u201cReported out\u201d is not a thing. A story based on anonymous indirect sources is gossip, period.\u2014 Medium Dark Gently (@DarkGently) January 15, 2020It\u2019s not a \u201che said/she said\u201d story. It was reported out by politico. And Elizabeth Warren confirmed it. And do we know they were the only two in the room? They could easily have had assistants with them.\u2014 Lisa Glass (@LMplusG) January 15, 2020This is exactly like the \u201cdebate\u201d about whether Warren was really fired for being pregnant. There are people who believe the woman *and the reported out story* and WAY FEWER people who just don\u2019t want to.\u2014 jess mcintosh (@jess_mc) January 15, 2020To recap, a day before CNN aired the January 14 2020 debate, the network\u2019s website carried a piece titled \u201cBernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in private 2018 meeting that a woman can\u2019t win, sources say\u201d; social media users engaged in intense debate over the claim\u2019s veracity. During the debate, a moderator asked Sanders if the claim was true and he denied it, and the same moderator immediately reiterated the claim as if it were independently verified. CNN cited four sources, two of whom heard the story secondhand, and the other two being further from it. Sanders maintained he told Warren the Trump campaign would engage in sexist attacks, and Warren paraphrased his comments as a \u201cwoman can\u2019t win.\u201d The only verified element of the 2018 conversation is that Warren and Sanders met to discuss their respective runs. Sanders maintained he did not say a woman could not be elected president, and Warren said he did. Ultimately, the claim was hearsay based on statements made by people not party to the conversation.However, the way these claims are already being used to create new divides and exacerbate existing issues leads us to believe that the issue is being used as corrosive disinformation\u00a0regardless of its veracity."}
{"claim_id": "13622", "claim": "The Obama administration gave Iran \"$400 million in ransom payment cash.", "explanation": "Trump said the Obama administration gave Iran \"$400 million in ransom payment cash.\" On the same day in January, the United States paid Iran $400 million dollars, and Iran released several American prisoners. While\u00a0there appears to be a quid pro quo \u2014 the United States would not give Iran the cash until the prisoners were on their way home \u2014 this does not equate to ransom, experts told us. Iran had a legitimate claim to the money, as the United States owed it to Iran as part of a resolution to a decades-long financial dispute. It\u2019s unclear whether the prisoner and financial disputes were connected in just the final hours of the prisoner transfer or if there was more advance coordination. Trump\u2019s statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Foreign Policy, Nuclear, Terrorism, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "Back in January, Iran released five American prisoners back to the United States. On the same day, the United States transferred $400 million in cash to Iran, holding onto the money until three of the freed Americans were in the air, on their way home. Some critics of President Barack Obama\u2019s foreign policy -- including Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump -- are putting the two happenings together and\u00a0calling it\u00a0a \"ransom\" payment. The administration denies that characterization. \"Iran, the world's top state sponsor of terrorism, has been put on the path to nuclear weapons, was given $400 million in ransom payment cash, where they just yesterday caught Obama in yet another lie,\" Trump said in an Aug. 21 speech in Michigan. While some in the national security community might consider the transaction unsavory, ineffectual, or legally questionable, calling it \"ransom\" isn\u2019t quite accurate. The word \"ransom\" implies that Iran refused to release the prisoners unless the United States turned over $400 million of its own money to Iran, and American officials capitulated. In reality, the United States owed Iran $400 million as part of a longstanding dispute, and negotiators used that pending settlement as leverage to release the detained Americans. Experts said this kind of exchange is standard issue in U.S.-Iran relations over the past few decades. The important but subtle nuance is this: While settling the $400 million helped ensure that the prisoners got home, it wasn\u2019t an illicit payment. Iran, according to the claim adjudicators, had a legitimate right to the money. \u2018Business as usual\u2019 In 1979, Iran\u2019s then-monarch Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi paid $400 million to the United States government to purchase military parts. But that year\u2019s revolution toppled the shah, and the military parts were never delivered. To regain its funds, Iran filed a claim against the United States in 1981 in the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, which adjudicates disputes between the two nations. The body, located at the Hague, was established amid negotiations to end the 1979-81 Iran hostage crisis, in which pro-revolution students took over the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The tribunal's first priority was to address claims from private individuals, including\u00a04,700 now-resolved U.S. claims filed against the Government of Iran. Over the past several years, the tribunal has focused more of its attention on claims the two governments have made against each other, including this dispute over the $400 million weapons deal. The State Department announced its settlement in the dispute \u2014 the United States would pay Iran $400 million plus $1.3 billion in interest \u2014 on Jan. 17, the same day Obama announced the return of the Americans detained in Iran, as well as the formal implementation of the nuclear deal. The first installment of the settlement was also transferred that day, via an unmarked cargo plane, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal in early August. The administration paid the funds using various European currencies because U.S. law bars financial transactions with Iran in U.S. dollars, and Iran\u2019s access to banking is limited because of international sanctions. The administration has explained that the $400 million settlement and the prisoner release were negotiated in separate channels and coincidentally reached their resolutions near the same time. Negotiators took advantage of the convergence in order to ensure that Iran returned the prisoners by withholding the payment until the American detainees were in the air and headed out of Iran. \"While there is no connection between the $400 million and the return of our American citizens, we did, however, in those endgame hours, hold back that payment until we knew that our Americans were safe and sound and on their way out of Iran, because, in the very last few hours, Iran was playing a few games here on us,\" said State Department spokesman John Kirby in an Aug. 19 PBS interview. We may never truly know how intertwined these two negotiation channels were, but two experts personally familiar with the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal told us that the administration\u2019s explanation is plausible. \"As for the timing of this particular settlement, the Obama administration\u2019s account is entirely consistent with my experience,\" said Nancy Combs, who was a legal adviser to the tribunal until becoming a professor at William and Mary Law School in 2004. Combs said this particular claim was massive in size, complexity and value, so it is likely that lawyers had been working on this case prior to and separate from the prisoner issue, as well as the nuclear deal talks. Given that these cases are hashed out by career lawyers over many years, it\u2019s likely that the lawyers approached the administration with the news that they were in a position to settle, as opposed to the administration directing them to settle, said John Bellinger, who served as the State Department\u2019s chief legal adviser under President George W. Bush. (Bellinger has publicly opposed Trump.) \"I suspect that these two negotiations, the claims settlement and detained persons, were completely separate and happened to come together at the same time,\" Bellinger added. \"I don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate to call this ransom, and the intent of the money was not to gain the return of these detainees.\" We should note that some have pointed out an article Bellinger wrote for the Washington Post in 2009, in which he seemed to say the tribunal had already dismissed this claim. Bellinger told us that it is his understanding that the January 2016 settlement involved a different dispute. We talked to five\u00a0people who study national security and Iran. The only one willing to call the payment \"ransom\" was Clare Lopez,\u00a0 vice president for research and analysis at the Center for Security Policy, a right-leaning think tank. Lopez has called the broader Iran deal unconstitutional\u00a0and has written for conservative websites. \"There's simply no other way to call an unmarked cargo plane delivery of pallets of shrink-wrapped European currency in the middle of the night to the foremost state sponsor of terror in the world that remains under U.S. financial sanctions for terrorism,\" Lopez said. The majority of experts said the ransom label was inaccurate. \"In no sense can this payment be considered ransom,\" Combs said. \"A ransom is a payment made to secure the release of a detained person. This sum, by contrast, was made to satisfy a legitimate debt that the U.S. owed to Iran.\" Gary Samore, executive director for research at Harvard University\u2019s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction under Obama, said it's not \"technically\u00a0ransom in that the money that was returned was Iran\u2019s money.\" Samore said he was not surprised by the exchange because there\u2019s a history of using financial tools to settle deals with Iran. He specifically noted that in 2011, the nation of Oman paid Iran $1 million on the United States\u2019 behalf for the release of two American hikers who had been jailed in Iran for two years. \"It\u2019s business as usual,\" he said. \"I don\u2019t think the Iranians are going to release prisoners if they don\u2019t get something.\" Our ruling Trump said the Obama administration gave Iran \"$400 million in ransom payment cash.\" On the same day in January, the United States paid Iran $400 million dollars, and Iran released several American prisoners. While\u00a0there appears to be a quid pro quo \u2014 the United States would not give Iran the cash until the prisoners were on their way home \u2014 this does not equate to ransom, experts told us. Iran had a legitimate claim to the money, as the United States owed it to Iran as part of a resolution to a decades-long financial dispute. It\u2019s unclear whether the prisoner and financial disputes were connected in just the final hours of the prisoner transfer or if there was more advance coordination. Trump\u2019s statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "19371", "claim": "Obamacare will provide coverage for abortions, despite the president\u2019s commitment that it would not.", "explanation": "Karen Handel lays out case against Obama, others in new book", "label": "true", "subjects": "Abortion, Georgia, Karen Handel, ", "main_text": "In her new book, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel said she was the target of a left-wing conspiracy that cost Handel her job last year at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, one of the nation\u2019s leading breast cancer prevention organizations. The main conspirators, Handel wrote, were top officials at Planned Parenthood, who blamed her for Komen\u2019s plans to end funding to their organization. She also claimed the White House was a co-conspirator for a few reasons, such as Handel\u2019s claim that Planned Parenthood\u2019s political arm is a major fundraising source for the Democratic Party. The book, \"Planned Bullyhood,\" lays out Handel\u2019s case, including a claim PolitiFact Georgia found interesting. Handel wrote that Planned Parenthood will receive millions of dollars in grants under the federal government\u2019s health care law, which conservatives derisively call \"Obamacare.\" \"[M]ost disturbing, is the fact that Obamacare will provide coverage for abortions, despite the president\u2019s commitment that it would not,\" Handel, a Republican, wrote on page 161 of the book. \"Under a rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, insurance plans within the state health exchanges are required to cover abortions,\" wrote Handel, the former chairwoman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, who narrowly lost the GOP gubernatorial runoff in 2010. Handel resigned her position as vice president of policy at Komen earlier this year. Handel\u2019s statement contained two claims we wanted to fact-check: Does the health care law provide a means for coverage for abortions, and does the law provide such coverage despite President Barack Obama\u2019s commitment that it would not? Handel surrogates sent us several documents to support her claim. A National Right to Life official also sent us materials on her behalf to argue her statement is accurate. \"I think the gist of what she\u2019s saying is correct,\" said Douglas Johnson, the Washington-based organization\u2019s legislative director. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services weblink, though, contradicts Handel\u2019s claim that the law provides coverage for abortions. It says the health care law does not pay for abortions, citing a decades-old federal policy called the Hyde Amendment. Obama signed an executive order in the health care law including language from the amendment stating \"federal funds are not used for abortion services [except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered].\" If a state chooses to, it can use its own funds to cover abortions in certain other circumstances, and states will continue to have this option under the health care law. The health care law creates exchanges: new organizations designed to create a more organized and competitive market for buying health insurance. Starting in 2014, exchanges will serve primarily individuals buying insurance on their own and small businesses with up to 100 employees, though states can choose to include larger employers in the future. So, can women get abortions through the exchanges? It depends. State governments can restrict insurance coverage for abortion in the health care exchanges. Some states have already made plans to do so. \"That\u2019s about the only positive thing that came out of [the health care law],\" Johnson said. If the state does not bar coverage of abortions, private insurers can offer a plan that covers abortions beyond the federal limitations within an exchange. No private insurer will be forced to cover abortion, our partners at PolitiFact have noted. The health care law outlines a methodology for states to follow to ensure that no federal funds are used toward coverage for abortions beyond the Hyde Amendment. Any plan that covers abortions beyond Hyde limitations must estimate the actuarial value of such coverage by taking into account the cost of the abortion benefit (valued at $1 or more per enrollee per month). \"Before choosing a health plan, consumers will know whether the plan covers these services,\" Erin Shields, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, was quoted as saying in The Huffington Post. \"And if it does, payments will be made into a separate account to ensure no federal dollars fund these services.\" Handel has a different description of how this works. \"The new rule requires that an individual enrolled in one of these plans pay a separate fee of at least one dollar \u2014 an abortion surcharge. The abortion surcharge is paid directly to the abortion fund, going to an account that is separate from the monthly insurance premium. Why two separate accounts? It\u2019s the Obama administration\u2019s cunning and deceptive way to circumvent the prohibition of federal funds going to abortion \u2014 and no doubt, Planned Parenthood,\" she wrote. Johnson said he and other organizations agree with Handel\u2019s interpretation of this funding provision. As for whether the president had committed to prohibiting abortion coverage in the health care law, that part is clearer. PolitiFact reported that Obama told some conservative Democrats in Congress uneasy about voting for the health care law \"there will be no public funding of abortion in this legislation.\" He also signed an executive order on March 24, 2010, that \"federal funds are not used for abortion services [except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered].\" Several leading abortion rights organizations were disappointed with the plan to include the Hyde Amendment into the health care law. Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, put out a statement opposing the deal. \"Planned Parenthood strongly opposes the new abortion language offered by Senator Ben Nelson in the manager's amendment,\" she said. \"[I]t is a sad day when women\u2019s health is traded away for one vote.\" Obama did say and signed an executive order that committed to no federal funding for abortion in the health care law. Handel\u2019s claim that the law will provide coverage for abortions could have been made more precisely. States can bar all plans participating in the state exchanges from covering abortions. That\u2019s not mentioned in Handel\u2019s book. Basically, abortions can be performed under the health care law, depending on which state you reside in. Because that bit of detail was not mentioned."}
{"claim_id": "40938", "claim": "Masks decrease oxygen intake, increase carbon dioxide intake, increase toxin intake, increase stress levels which directly impacts the immune system in a negative way making us more susceptible to illness.", "explanation": "Fabric and medical face masks should not affect breathing and the NHS says they are safe for anyone over the age of three who can manage them correctly. Certain types of masks called respirators can affect gas exchange, but can still be safely worn for several hours in a row in healthcare environments. There\u2019s no evidence masks harm the immune system.", "label": "false", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "You cannot catch Covid-19 from touching surfaces. Viruses are dead material expelled from healing cells. Everyone has thousands of viruses inside their body. There is debate about whether viruses are technically alive. The human body does contain a number of viruses that don\u2019t do harm. Covid-19 is caused by a virus that is potentially very harmful though. Masks decrease oxygen intake, increase carbon dioxide intake, increase toxin intake, increase stress levels which directly impacts the immune system in a negative way making us more susceptible to illness. Claim 1 of 4"}
{"claim_id": "10903", "claim": "Costly New Prostate Cancer Drug Works In Mysterious Ways", "explanation": "The story had a primary focus of evaluating the evidence, raising some of the \"mysterious ways\" this drug works even in the headline. And saying \"It does work, sort of\" \u2013 in the third paragraph. But its strength is in how it educates readers about what confuses researchers about what they\u2019ve seen, what it means, and how to explain it. Pithy quotes:\u00a0 \"It\u2019s not a home run\u2026this is not going to cure prostate cancer.\" Cutting to the core of the editorial writer\u2019s issue: \"The way the study was done, he says, \u2018does not allow one to conclude\u2019 that Provenge is working because it mobilizes the immune system specifically against prostate cancer.\" Writing that doesn\u2019t beat around the bush:\u00a0 \"Deep in the data is further mystery\u2026Nobody yet knows just how to explain these results.\" Put this one on a shelf and pull it down anytime you need proof that journalists can scrutinize evidence (and get a 5-star score from us) in less than 500 words. Show this to journalism students.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story itself only says \"it\u2019s pretty pricey.\" But those words provide a hyperlink to another NPR\u00a0story that discloses the drug cost as $93,000. It would have taken the same amount of space to just state the cost in the current story. Why make people click away to get the cost in another story? Is the need to improve click rates driving this? Regardless, we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this. In a broad overview comment, it\u2019s sufficient for the story to have stated \"men with prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormone therapy (basically, chemical castration) lived about four months longer if they took Provenge than if they got placebo treatment.\" No discussion of any potential harms found in the studies. Excellent, understandable evaluation of the evidence. Thorough. Raises many important questions we haven\u2019t seen in other stories. There are many angles one could take with the Provenge story. For example, ABC News chose a cost angle (but in so doing, still injected a glowing personal anecdote, something the NPR story thankfully didn\u2019t.) Both of these angles are important. But the cost angle is low-hanging fruit \u2013 an easy target. Evaluating the evidence, as NPR\u00a0did in this tight little story, can be difficult but is really important. Big props! No disease-mongering. The story makes it clear the drug was tested in men with prostate cancer who no longer respond to hormone therapy. Solid quotes from the written editorial accompanying the study in the New England Journal of Medicine and even an appropriately cautious quote from the lead author of the study. The story says the drug performed \"better than the only other approved treatment for such advanced cancers\" and that \"Other immunotherapy approaches are in the pipeline, along with fancier versions of drugs to block the hormones that feed prostate cancer.\" The story is clear the drug was just approved by the FDA and that \"Dendreon, the Seattle-based company that makes Provenge, says there\u2019s a waiting list for the drug. The company estimates 100,000 American men have the kind of hormone-resistant, metastatic cancer the drug is approved to treat. But the company can only make enough at this point for 2,000 patients in the first year.\" The story leads with:\u00a0\"After decades of dreaming about getting patients\u2019 immune systems to fight cancer, immunotherapy is finally here.\" And later: \"\u2026after all, Provenge is just the first cancer immunotherapy on the market.\" It\u2019s clear this story didn\u2019t rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "28049", "claim": "A couple sued Planned Parenthood for child support over a failed abortion.", "explanation": "What's true: A couple sued Planned Parenthood over a failed abortion that resulted in the birth of a third child. What's false: The lawsuit was not a child support claim, but rather one seeking compensatory damages.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, planned parenthood", "main_text": "On 11 February 2019, Bianca Coons and Christopher Ruiz of Idaho filed a lawsuit in Albuquerque, New Mexico, against Planned Parenthood over a failed abortion that resulted in the birth of a baby boy. According to court documents, the couple, who were already parents to two small children, cited \u201cextreme poverty\u201d as a reason for their seeking a \u201cmedically assisted\u201d (or non-surgical) abortion in an effort to limit the size of their family. The story was soon picked up by a number of partisan websites such as LifeSiteNews, who reported the story in emotional terms: Imagine the following scenario. You are a happy boy, growing up in a middle-class home with your two siblings. You enjoy playing outdoors with them, school is going well, and you think the world of your parents. Your dad is your hero, and you love your mom more than anyone in the world. But one day, you Google your family\u2019s name for a school assignment. Your teacher has assigned the class a project that has each student researching their family tree. And that is when you discover a series of news articles that appear to discuss your family. It seems a man and a woman with the same names as your father and your mother sued an abortion clinic after giving birth to a baby they had tried, unsuccessfully, to abort. The articles mention that there were already two children in the family, and it was the third baby they had tried to get rid of. With horror, you try to fight off an inescapable realization: You are the third and youngest child. These hypothetical details may have inspired some readers to question whether the underlying event itself was true, and a review of court documents shows that Coons and Ruiz did indeed file suit against Planned Parenthood for damages over a failed abortion that resulted in the birth of their third child. According to the lawsuit filed in New Mexico, the couple felt they could not afford to add another child to their family, so on 12 February 2016, when Coons was about five or six weeks pregnant, they traveled from their home in Idaho to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Albuquerque in hopes that an abortion procedure could be performed quickly before the fetus developed any further. The couple made the journey, court records said,\u00a0in order to avoid a state-mandated waiting period. (In Idaho, a woman must wait 24 hours after receiving \u201cstate-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage her from having an abortion\u201d before undergoing the procedure.) Coons wanted the procedure done expeditiously before the fetus developed any further. Coons and her family used \u201call economic resources available to them at the time to pay the $400 fee for the abortion and make the trip,\u201d according to court documents. She took the first pill in the two-pill regimen at Planned Parenthood, was given instruction for \u201cfurther oral administration,\u201d and then returned home to Boise. The next day Coons visited a hospital emergency room complaining of nausea and dizziness. She was treated for dehydration, and medical staff there told her that her fetus had a strong heartbeat. The doctor caring for her called the Albuquerque clinic asking whether she should continue with the second abortion pill and received an affirmative answer. According to court documents, even after taking both doses of the abortion-inducing drugs,\u00a0Coons was still pregnant with a viable fetus, but she didn\u2019t have the financial means to pay for another procedure in Idaho or return to New Mexico to follow up with the clinic that gave her the medication. Coons contacted the Planned Parenthood facility in Albuquerque in early March 2016 to inform them she was still pregnant, but by that time she felt morally opposed to continuing the effort to undergo an abortion due to the more advanced stage of development of the fetus. The couple was notified that the abortion medication could result in birth defects, causing them to live with the fear their son could develop resulting health issues later in life. Coons gave birth to a premature baby boy who had jaundice and blood-sugar problems, according to court documents. Coons and Ruiz are suing for $765,000 in compensatory damages for alleged negligence and breach of contract, according to court documents. We reached out to Planned Parenthood for comment and have not received a response, but a spokesperson for the organization told the Albuquerque Journal they could not comment on pending litigation or discuss specific patients due to privacy concerns."}
{"claim_id": "27221", "claim": "If voters are turned away from polls on election day, they can ask for a provisional ballot.", "explanation": "According to the North Dakota Secretary of State\u2019s office, voters whose identifications don\u2019t include their residential address can bring the following supplemental documents to the polls if they show a residential address: A current utility bill; a current bank statement; a check issued by a federal, state, local, or tribal government (including those issued by BIA for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member\u2019s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address); a paycheck; or a document issued by a federal, state, local, or tribal government (including those issued by BIA for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member\u2019s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address).", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, 2018 election, voter purge", "main_text": "Thousands of American citizens have been purged from voting registries or will face new obstacles to voting in several states, a situation which has drawn attention to a fail safe mechanism put in place by federal law to help ensure all eligible voters are counted: provisional ballots. In response to reports that states (including Indiana, Georgia, and North Dakota) had thrown up roadblocks to potential voters in the lead-up to the 6 November 2018 midterm elections, social media users sought to spread awareness to their fellow Americans about the back-up plan for those who believed themselves to be registered and eligible to vote but were turned away at the polls nevertheless: \u201cGive me a provisional ballot with a receipt as required by law when requested\u201d: Memorize, take a screen shot, write in sharpie on your arm these magic words to use IF YOU ARE TURNED AWAY AT THE POLLS: https://t.co/FsQq5Icfol \u2014 Carrie L. Kruck (@KruckCarrie) October 12, 2018  In most states, provisional ballots are for voters who believe they are registered but their registration can\u2019t be found. States that have same-day voter registration (SDR) have little need for them while states that have voter identification laws such as Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Virginia use them for those who go to the polls but don\u2019t have the proper ID on hand. In those cases the voter has a certain amount of time to present a local election official with the required identification in order for the provisional ballot to be counted. Most states don\u2019t have same-day registration, and federal law requires election officials provide voters who do not appear on registries or whose eligibility has been challenged by officials at the polls to be given provisional ballots, according to Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). \u201cThe deal with the provisional ballots is that so long as you believe yourself to be registered, you have the right to a provisional ballot. Polling workers are supposed to offer this to you,\u201d said Allegra Chapman, senior counsel and director of voting and elections for the government accountability organization Common Cause. If voters must use provisional ballots, Chapman added that they absolutely should request receipts if they aren\u2019t automatically offered. The provisional ballot receipts provide voters the necessary information to follow up and find out if their votes were counted. Common Cause officials urge voters who encounter any problems on election day to call 866-OUR-VOTE to speak to trained volunteers or text the words \u201celection protection\u201d to 97779 for voting assistance. In SDR states like Wisconsin, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Iowa and Idaho, voters can register on the spot. Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. also have same-day voter registration. North Dakota doesn\u2019t have voter registration but it does have voter identification laws. \u201cWisconsin voters who are not on the poll list can register on election day. In Wisconsin, provisional ballots are used primarily for voters who do not have an acceptable photo identification,\u201d said Reid Magney, public information officer for the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Voters in Wisconsin have until 4 p.m. the Friday after the election to present their local election official with required identification in order for their vote to be counted. North Dakota voters without required identification who cast provisional ballots must present an acceptable form of identification to local election officials within six days in order for their votes to be counted. Sen. Heidi Hietkamp also introduced a bill that would, among other things, enable voting precincts to treat the state\u2019s large minority Native American residents\u2019 tribal ID cards like state and local-issued forms of identification for purposes of voting. Provisional ballot voting has gotten wide attention because of highly-publicized cases in which state officials have either purged voter roles and/or enacted legislation that critics fear will disenfranchise minority communities. In Georgia, a 2017 \u201cexact match\u201d law allowed the registration of voters to be suspended and then cancelled if the information on their government-issued identification varied even slightly from the information on their voter registration forms. According to court documents, \u201cUnder this \u2018exact match\u2019 protocol, the transposition of a single letter or number, deletion or addition of a hyphen or apostrophe, the accidental entry of an extra character or space, and the use of a familiar name like \u201cTom\u201d instead of \u2018Thomas\u2019 will cause a no match result.\u201d And the burden of rectifying the issue falls on voters. Georgia secretary of state and gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp is currently being sued by a coalition of civil rights groups who claim the \u201cexact match\u201d law has hampered the registration of 51,111 voters, 80.15% of whom are black, Latino, or Asian, and some critics have called on Kemp to resign. Also in 2017, Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson dropped roughly half a million entries from voter registries in what she called an effort to clean up an outdated list. In June 2018, a federal court blocked the state from implementing a 2017 law that would have allowed election officials to cancel registrations without notice if voters\u2019 names appeared on an interstate database meant to flag potential double voting. The database, Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck, has been criticized as being unreliable, while the court ruled the Indiana law violated federal law. Indiana officials have been accused of violating that court order and did not respond to our questions about it. In North Dakota, the U.S. Supreme Court on 9 October 2018 let stand a state law requiring voters to present identification listing their residential addresses. Because many among the state\u2019s large Native American minority use post office (P.O.) boxes and not street addresses on reservations, the Supreme Court decision that allowing the voter ID requirements to remain in place through the November 2018 election has caused many to fear that tribal members will be collectively disenfranchised on election day."}
{"claim_id": "10550", "claim": "Study Points to New Prostate Drug", "explanation": "The results were announced at a medical meeting, which usually means the data has not been through the level of peer review used by leading medical journals and that key information may have been withheld pending journal publication. Also the trial was halted early, which may increase the odds that the results were a fluke and that if the trial had continued as intended the final results might be different than the interim numbers presented.The early trial stoppage was mentioned, but not the possible significance of that. Medical meeting presentations often fail to include enough detail to allow solid judgments about the real significance of highlighted results.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not include any estimate of the cost of the drug, but the treatment is still experimental, so it is not surprising that there is no firm estimate of the drug\u2019s price. The story does note the high costs of other recently approved drugs to treat advanced prostate cancer\u2026 and that cost may be an issue for this product as well. This story reports the absolute survival numbers of 15 months for advanced prostate cancer patients who received the new drug and a steroid vs. 11 months for those given a placebo and a steroid. However, it reports only the average survival figures. With many new cancer drugs, it appears that certain patients get most of the benefit, while most patients get little or no benefit, perhaps because of genetic or metabolic differences. The story should have addressed this issue. Also, while the story notes that the drug has been tested only in patients with advanced disease who have run out of treatment options, it goes on to dangle the hope that the drug \u201cwill lead to much longer survival when studied in patients with early-stage disease.\u201d Will it? The statement is premature. No one knows if other types of patients will benefit from this treatment because it has not been tested in them. Some harms were mentioned, but oddly the story then referred to this hormone therapy not causing harms associated with chemotherapy. The story does not mention other harms linked to hormone therapy, such as osteoporosis, fractures, diabetes, and heart disease. We aren\u2019t provided any information on these outcomes or cause of death. Since these results were presented at a medical meeting (which means it is likely the full data have not been reviewed by independent experts) and because the trial was halted early, there is much that remains unknown. Although the story tells readers that the trial results were presented at a medical meeting, it does not make clear that such presentations are not peer-reviewed in the same way that articles in leading journals are, nor does the story tell readers how much information was provided about the trial methods and results. Presentations at meetings tend to include only fragmentary information, which often makes it difficult to know whether there were limitations, harms or other important details that were not revealed. The story only briefly mentioned a red flag about the trial: it was halted earlier than originally planned after an interim check of the results showed a statistically significant survival advantage for patients receiving the experimental drug. The story would have been better if it had pointed out that such early termination can increase the risk of a statistical fluke. In a way, it can be like ending a race early when you see that the horse you bet on is in the lead, without knowing whether that lead would be sustained. Similarly, drugs sometimes appear to show a benefit at one point in time, but then do not show the same benefit when studied longer. A notorious case is Vioxx. It was approved in part based on data from a trial that was ended early. Longer follow up (along with the release of some withheld data) revealed a higher number of serious harms that altered the risk-benefit balance. Readers are not told about the duration of follow-up or whether any patients were dropped from the study or could not be found for follow-up. The omissions could also affect the validity of the conclusions."}
{"claim_id": "9426", "claim": "Antibiotics could dramatically reduce STIs, study says, raising tough new questions", "explanation": "Getty Images This\u00a0is a\u00a0story about a test of using antibiotics right after sex to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in men who have sex with men and use\u00a0no condoms. On the plus side, readers who stick with the story to the end are given many warnings from the researchers and independent sources about the risks of deploying such a strategy. In that respect this\u00a0is a very thoroughly reported story. However, the story implies the results may be relevant to the general population even though the people included in the study have a risk of syphilis, for example, that is more then 1,000 times higher than the general population. All men in the study were also taking antiviral prophylaxis against HIV infection. Much of our concern about the story stems from the overly broad headline, and we\u2019re the first to acknowledge that reporters often have little control over that key aspect of their work. Nevertheless, we think it\u2019s something that needs to be addressed if readers are to receive an accurate picture of the research and its relevance. This is an important topic because rates of sexually transmitted infections remain high, especially among high-risk populations, and a safe and effective means of preventing them would be big news. News stories such as this, however, should be very clear about the potential relevance of studies to general readers. A more complete description of the study population (and of the long history of other studies that have looked at using antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted diseases) would have helped readers understand just how specific and limited the results of this study are.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "sexually transmitted", "main_text": "The story does not address the cost of preventative use of doxycycline. Based on the average use in this study of about seven pills per month, the cost of the drug might be about $30/month. But that cost does not include regular lab testing, which the study authors said should be mandatory in this sort of high-risk group. The cost of clinic visits also was not addressed in the story. Even though doxycycline is not an expensive drug by itself, any plan for widespread, routine use would entail much more than just paying for pills. We also think it would be interesting to consider the cost-effectiveness\u2013does the reduced disease burden reduce costs, too? The story gives some relative reductions, but doesn\u2019t provide enough comparative data to give readers the scope of the benefits. For example, overall, without the antibiotic, the rate of new infection, given that condoms were not used, was 42% (45 men), and with the antibiotic, 22% (28 men). Also, the story implies that there might be a benefit for anyone who is sexually active. Although it notes that the study participants were \u201cmen who had frequent unprotected sex with a number of male sex partners,\u201d the story does not make clear just how unusual the men in the study were. For example, while the story reports that syphilis rates for the general US population have risen to almost 9 per 100,000 during a year, the syphilis infection rate in the control group was 11 percent (that is, 11 per 100, not 100,000) over 9 months; a rate that is more than 1,000 times the rate in the general population. The story should have made the point that the men in the study do not resemble the general population. The body of the story spells out many of the potential harms, but the story would have been stronger if warnings had been included in the headline and lead paragraphs. The headline refers to \u201craising tough new questions\u201d and the second sentence in the story says the strategy \u201ccould spark a controversy.\u201d The potential harms would have been clearer to readers if the headline and lead had bluntly stated that routine use of doxycycline could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics for a range of infections, not just the sexually transmitted diseases these researchers looked at. The story reports that it was a short-term, open-label randomized trial (participants knew whether or not they were taking antibiotics) that included 232 men who had frequent unprotected sex with a number of male sex partners. The story includes several comments from the researchers and others warning that this sort of strategy should be considered only for short-term use in special circumstances. However, that message follows a headline and lead that imply a more general relevance. A strength of the story is that it includes multiple independent sources. It reports funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. However, the story does not report funding from a French government agency, nor does it refer to the lengthy list of industry financial ties that many of the researchers disclosed. But we will give the story a satisfactory rating because doxycycline is available as a generic drug produced by a number of companies, not just those the researchers have ties to. The story should have noted that this study did not compare the approach of routinely taking a pill after sex to a more conventional approach of regular testing followed by treatment when an infection is found. The story makes clear that doxycycline is widely available and that it is used to treat other diseases, including acne. A summary box in the\u00a0journal article\u00a0states that what is new about this study is that it tested an antibiotic in a group of very high-risk men who have sex with men and who were already enrolled in a trial of a drug that may reduce the risk of HIV infection. This very narrow scope is largely lost in the story. The story includes quotes with researchers and independent sources that appear to be from original reporting."}
{"claim_id": "35060", "claim": "Patients should avoid taking ibuprofen to relieve pain and fever associated with COVID-19 infections.", "explanation": "But other experts suggested that V\u00e9ran\u2019s advice is in line with some countries\u2019 general guidance on anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, even if their specific connection to the coronavirus is not clear.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "Adding to the extant confusion swirling about the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic in March 2020, the French government, including Health Minister Olivier V\u00e9ran, issued warnings advising that infected persons should avoid taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen:  Serious adverse events related to the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been reported in patients with COVID19, possible or confirmed cases. We remind you that the treatment of a poorly tolerated fever or pain in the context of COVID19 or any other respiratory virosis is based on paracetamol, without exceeding the dose of 60 mg/kg/day and 3g/day. NSAIDs should be banned. COVID-19 \u2014 Taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone, \u2026) could be a factor in worsening the infection. If you have a fever, take paracetamol [also known as acetaminophen]. If you are already on anti-inflammatory drugs or in doubt, ask your doctor for advice. Dr. Amir Khan, a National Health Service (NHS) doctor and a senior university lecturer in the U.K., offered the following explanation about why taking anti-inflammatory drugs might have a deleterious effect on persons dealing with a COVID-19 infection: Despite all of their beneficial effects, it has long been known that anti-inflammatories can have a depressive effect on parts of our immune systems. When it comes to taking them to help ease the symptoms of the common cold, we do not really have to worry about this slight but important reduction in the strength of our immune systems: We are very unlikely to develop complications from the common cold, let alone die from it. But we need our immune system in top working order in order to battle the coronavirus and win. When the virus enters the human body, it induces mild to severe respiratory problems, a high fever, cough and, potentially, multi-organ dysfunction, which can lead to death. An early part of our body\u2019s immune response to a virus of this sort is to release cells called mast cells, which form our first line of defense against the virus. These [mast cells] are released very quickly from our respiratory tract \u2014 the nasal passageway and linings of the lungs. When the mast cells come into contact with the virus, they then trigger a much bigger immune response, which involves inflammatory chemicals being released. We need these inflammatory chemicals to help tackle the virus in the medium to long term. It is the effectiveness of these chemicals that decides whether a person develops complications from the coronavirus or makes a full recovery. If we take medicines that dampen this immune response, such as ibuprofen, this can lead to us not fighting off the infection as effectively, potentially leading to a longer illness with a higher risk of complications. These warnings to avoid ibuprofen (commonly known by the brand name Advil) generated mixed reactions among the medical community, with some asserting that scientific evidence to support it was lacking, and others maintaining that it was generally good advice: \u201cDeeply concerned about this bold statement,\u201d Muge Cevik, a researcher at the University of St Andrews Infection and Global Health Division, said on Twitter. \u201cThere\u2019s no scientific evidence I am aware of that ibuprofen [causes worse] outcomes in #COVID19.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "10103", "claim": "Antibiotics speed up recovery from ear infections in young children, studies show", "explanation": "Of four stories we reviewed on this study (Washington Post blog, NPR, Los Angeles Times as well), two were blog pieces \u2013 this one and the Washington Post entry. This CNN effort was better in most ways than the\u00a0opinionated blog from the Washington Post. It earned points for sticking to the evidence and providing independent perspectives about the value of antibiotics for treating childhood ear infections. We also applaud the story\u2019s focus on shared decision-making between doctors and parents when managing ear infections. A bit more detail on costs and harms would have added value to this excellent story. Wanting the best for a child with an ear infection doesn\u2019t necessarily mean opting for the most aggressive treatment. As\u00a0Dr Richard Rosenfeld\u00a0 puts it in this story:\u00a0\u201cMedicine is about gray zones and balancing the risks and benefits. Parents and doctors need to understand what the benefits and what the downside of treatments are.\u201d While the\u00a0research discussed here\u00a0confirms that antibiotics are likely to be beneficial for certain children with ear infections, no\u00a0study can take the place of a careful consideration of individual circumstances. According\u00a0to Rosenfeld:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity for a conversation with your pediatrician.\u201d", "label": "true", "subjects": "CNN", "main_text": "This story did not discuss the costs of antibiotic prescriptions to the individual or costs of policies on our health care system and society. We think it should have. Although a bit more detail would have been useful on the findings from both studies, the story does provide an account of the absolute rate of symptom relief after 7 days for antibiotic (80%) and placebo-treated (74%) patients, which is the expectation for this criterion. It also provides valuable expert commentary on how parents can put these benefits into context vs. the risk of harm and the likelihood of spontaneous recovery in children who don\u2019t receive antibiotics. Although we\u2019re tempted to give this story a pass for providing a detailed list of potential harms and a better explanation of why limiting antibiotic use can be beneficial (it can \u201cincrease the chance the future use of antibiotics will be effective\u201d), the expectation here is that the story will provide a quantitative estimate if available. These figures were easily obtainable from the original studies, and should have been provided. This story takes a much more careful approach to examining the evidence than the competing Washington Post blog. Examples: No disease-mongering in this story. The\u00a0prominence of the independent voices in this story is a real strength of the coverage. It was nice to see lengthy comments from Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, who literally wrote the book (or at least edited it) on evidence-based treatment of ear infections. There\u2019s also input from a doctor who is a stronger proponent of early antibiotic use. The story adequately describes the rationale supporting watchful waiting, which is the primary alternative to antibiotics for an acute ear infection. The availability of antibiotics to treat ear infections is not in question. The story correctly characterized the novelty of the research:\u00a0it establishes\u00a0that antibiotics are more effective for infants and toddlers with a conclusive ear infection diagnosis, and supports current U.S. guidelines for providing immediate antibiotics to such children. The story features comments from two independent experts, so we can be sure it\u2019s not based on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "29115", "claim": "A man caught in the explosion of one of the World Trade Center towers rode bits of the falling building down to safety.", "explanation": "What's true: Pasquale Buzzelli, a survivor who claims to have been on the 22nd floor of one of the collapsing towers, lived through the fall with only minor injuries. Genelle Guzman-McMillan, another survivor who was with Buzzelli when the tower collapsed, claimed to have been on the 13th floor. What's false: Possibly by using a piece of debris as a makeshift boogie board to surf the air currents, a man who fell some 80 stories or more in the collapsing WTC survived relatively unharmed.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "September 11th", "main_text": "Not all rumors hurriedly spread in the wake of a tragedy are exaggerations of the horror that was or vocalizations of fears of things potentially to come \u2014 some are expressions of hope. The \u201cbuilding surfer\u201d is one such rumor in that it celebrates the miraculous survival of an otherwise doomed man and thus by implication imparts hope that others too will have been found to have lived through the destruction. In a larger sense, such rumors reaffirm belief that man will always pull through no matter what disaster is visited upon him. According to widely dispersed bit of gossip, a man trapped high in one of the falling World Trade Towers managed to ride parts of the collapsing building down to safety. In some accounts, he is said to have \u201ccurled himself into a ball,\u201d in others, to have ridden the swirling air currents and cascade of debris like a surfer, a piece of wood his boogie board to survival. Shaken but proud, he emerges from his wild ride with only minor injuries amounting to no more than scratches and a broken ankle. Often the rumor specifies the floor the man fell from, placing it as the 71st, 82nd, 92nd, or some other so high that no one could reasonably have lived through a fall from it. Many accounts assert the mystery man was a firefighter, one of the countless brave souls who deliberately risked their lives to help others. Because this is a rumor of man triumphing over mayhem, lore remakes one of the cherished but doomed heroes of the day into a survivor, changing his real fate into one that not only spares his life, but leaves him triumphant in the face of utter devastation. Our sense of justice is thus appeased. Sadly, there isn\u2019t any credible evidence of the existence of such a man, firefighter or otherwise. He\u2019s a figment of our wishful imaginations, a fictional icon of indomitability we are quick to turn to in times of disaster. We picture his incredible ride down the side of collapsing building and delight in this confirmation that man will always find a way. In our minds, we see his ride as a giant thumbing-off to the destruction raining down about him. Needed icon or not, could he be real? Is there at least some small shred of truth to this story? There is \u2014 and there is even a true tale of actual miraculous survival \u2014 but there are also confusion, misinformation, and exaggeration. Some news outlets have reported tales from the scene involving interviews with those who\u2019ve rescued victims from the fallen building. One such report came from two members of the Passaic County Sheriff\u2019s Department who pulled a trapped Port Authority police officer from a crater a day after the disaster. \u201cHe must have just rode the building as it came down,\u201d one of them said. The rescued officer goes unnamed even at this late date, leading us to believe he\u2019s a conflation of rumor with hope or just a garden variety misremembering of things read and heard with things experienced. Or he could have been Sgt. John McLoughlin, and in the manner of all gossip, his story widened to make him two men instead of just one. McLoughlin is a 21-year veteran of the Port Authority police force who was pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center on 12 September 2001. He sustained kidney damage and was in critical condition, but his prognosis was good. Confusion over his story has fueled the rumor. According to a New York Times article written the day he was found:  No one knows how Sergeant McLoughlin survived Tuesday\u2019s collapse, or even where he was when the buildings fell. His colleagues said he was probably outside the south tower when it came down, but a battalion chief at the rescue said that Sergeant McLoughlin was on the 82nd floor of the building when it came down. McLoughlin\u2019s whereabouts at the time of the building\u2019s collapse were in dispute \u2014 his boss (who would have been interviewed by the press and whose comments would have been taken as definitive) thought he was one place, and his colleagues knew him to be another. The injured man and his family have been refusing to talk to the press, but after close to two weeks of being battered with inquiries, a senior press officer for the Port Authority spoke up about what he knew. Sgt. McLoughlin\u2019s brother said the officers were on the ground floor when the tower fell. This version was confirmed by another hospital visitor to the injured officer. Further complicating the matter, some recall seeing an interview with David Lim, another Port Authority worker who was pulled from the rubble. Lim\u2019s story could lead those who listened less than carefully to believe he\u2019d fallen from a great height, because he was on the 44th floor of the first damaged tower where he was aiding in the rescue efforts when he saw United Airlines Flight 175 hit the second tower. But he did not come down with the collapsing building \u2014 he and others with him turned back at that point. Lim had made it back to the fourth floor when the building gave way. He was pulled from the wreckage on 11 September about five hours after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, making him one of the last people to be rescued alive. Adding to the belief in this tale was a lengthy article titled \u201cGround Zero\u201d which ran in the 24 September 2001 issue of Newsweek. In it, the story of rescue workers hearing from an unnamed detective about a Port Authority police officer fell with the building from above the 80th floor and survived with just a broken leg was aired. Also, Dr. Kenneth Tesla, a surgeon who had treated two Port Authority workers, was quoted as saying both of these men had survived falls from the 86th floor. Newsweek has retracted this part of the story. A correction that ran on 1 October 2001, reads:  In \u201cGround Zero,\u201d we reported that two Port Authority police officers fell more than 80 floors and survived in the World Trade Center collapse. The Port Authority now believes that the officers reached the ground floor by foot before the towers fell. Yet with all the misinformation and confusion surrounding rumors about miraculous survival, some stories do appear to hold up, such as that of Pasquale Buzzelli. This 34-year-old Port Authority worker had begun the descent from his office on the 64th floor of the North Tower via Stairwell B and had reached what he believed was the 22nd floor when the building collapsed. (Genelle Guzman-McMillan, a clerk who was with him when the building went down, recalled they were on the 13th floor when everything came apart, so there still remains controversy as to where they were in the building at that critical moment, and thus how far they fell.) Buzzelli was knocked unconscious but came to a few hours later, was discovered atop a high pile of rubble by firemen, and rescued. His right foot was fractured and he had suffered a few scrapes and bruises, but was otherwise unharmed. Guzman-McMillan suffered a crushed right leg and was not pulled from the wreckage until a day after the disaster. Sixteen people in all survived the collapse of the North Tower. Even among this handful who lived, folks standing immediately to the right or left of them at that critical moment died, leaving many of the survivors haunted with unanswerable questions of \u201cWhy me?\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "11466", "claim": "Study: Safe hormone therapy after hysterectomy", "explanation": "This story provides a brief overview of the results of the Estrogen-Alone study, which was a large, randomized, blinded trial and part of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative study of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The story accurately notes that estrogen-alone therapy is only for postmenopausal women who have had a hysterectomy. The story provides some balance on the risks and benefits of taking estrogen alone to relieve symptoms of menopause, and there is caution that it is not right for certain women. There is discussion of some of the established benefits of HRT, such as relieving hot flashes and helping to prevent osteoporosis. However, there is no quantitative data from the study on how great a benefit HRT would provide. For example, in the estrogen alone study, there were only 6 fewer hip fractures (11 cases in estrogen alone and 17 cases in placebo group) out of tens of thousands of women enrolled. There is no discussion of other medications which are effectively used to prevent osteoporosis and have fewer health risks. The most erroneous portion of the story is the claim that \u201cwomen can take this form of HRT with worrying about breast cancer.\u201d It is true that there were fewer cases of breast cancer in the estrogen alone group: 28 per 10,000 in the estrogen group vs. 34 per 10,000 in the placebo group, and the difference was not statistically significant. However, there were more abnormal mammograms that required follow-up and 33% more breast biopsies in the estrogen alone group (747 vs. 549), which does not necessarily mean more breast cancer, but can signal changes in breast cells and tissue. Also, women at a higher risk of developing breast cancer in the estrogen-alone group had larger tumors that spread to the lymph nodes, which can mean a poorer prognosis and more breast cancer treatment. Lastly, there is no discussion that menopause is a natural part of aging and not a condition which necessitates medical intervention. Unless symptoms are very bothersome, many women do not need to take hormone therapy medications to ease symptoms common in menopause such as hot flashes, cold sweats and vaginal dryness and discomfort. The report does not talk about less invasive alternative treatments for relieving symptoms of menopause such as exercise, vaginal creams, and wearing loose, cool clothing to prevent discomfort from hot flashes and cold sweats.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story doesn\u2019t mention the cost of taking estrogen alone. There is also no discussion of the additional cost of screening for breast cancer via mammograms and breast biopsies, or follow-up visits that might be required for women at higher risk of developing breast cancer from taking estrogen-alone HRT. The story mentions some of the established benefits of HRT, such as relieving hot flashes and helping to prevent osteoporosis. However, there is no quantitative data from the study on how great a benefit. There is also no comparison between the two groups regarding the relative or absolute risk reduction of experiencing hot flashes or developing osteoporosis due to taking estrogen alone. In the estrogen alone study there were only 6 fewer hip fractures (11 cases in those on estrogen alone and 17 cases in those on placebo). For a woman considering this therapy, these are important distinctions. Mentions some harms of treatment such as an increased risk of blood clots and strokes, but the interpretation of increased breast cancer risk for a subgroup of the study in omitted and misinterpreted. Also, there is no mention that the study found a slight increased risk of dementia in the estrogen-alone group. There were about 12 extra cases of dementia in every 10,000 women using estrogen alone each year. This increased risk was not statistically significant. Estrogen therapy is also associated with an increased risk of symptomatic gallstones. No quantitative evidence presented from estrogen-alone study of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative. The claim that \u201cwomen can take this form of HRT with worrying about breast cancer is not correct. Breast cancer was diagnosed in 28 per 10,000 in the estrogen group and 34 per 10,000 in the placebo group; however, this was not statistically significant. Additionally, there were more abnormal mammograms and breast biopsies in the estrogen group than in the placebo group. Women at a higher risk of developing breast cancer in the estrogen therapy group had larger tumors that spread to the lymph nodes. This is critically important information for women and their physicians as they consider estrogen therapy. There is no discussion here that menopause is a natural part of aging and not a condition which necessitates medical intervention. Unless symptoms are very bothersome, many women do not need to take hormone therapy medications to ease symptoms common in menopause such as hot flashes, cold sweats and vaginal dryness and discomfort. No attempt to interview other sources, but we realize this is a TV story providing a brief overview of the results of the estrogen-alone portion of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative HRT trial. There is discussion of the risks and benefits of taking estrogen alone and that it should be tailored to an individual woman\u2019s health and familial risks. There is some caution about taking estrogen-alone hormone therapy. The story does not talk about alternative treatments for relieving symptoms of menopause such as exercise, vaginal creams, and wearing loose, cool clothing to prevent discomfort from hot flashes and cold sweats. Also, there is no talk of other (less risky) medications which are used to prevent osteoporosis. It is fairly clear from this story that this is not a new therapy \u2013 this treatment is available to women from a primary care provider or gynecologist. Mentions hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as part Women\u2019s Health Initiative estrogen-alone study for women who have had hysterectomies. The story does not present HRT as a new treatment for bothersome menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal discomfort. It is clear that HRT is not proven to prevent heart disease or cancer. There is no attempt to discuss the finding of the WHI with researchers in women\u2019s health not affiliated with the study. However, this is a time-limited science report on the evening news. There is an explanation of the results of the WHI and caution about taking estrogen-alone hormone therapy. This appears to be a somewhat balanced report and not taken from press release."}
{"claim_id": "4461", "claim": "Jackson Laboratory grant to help understand addiction, genes.", "explanation": "Maine\u2019s two U.S. senators say a laboratory in Maine is receiving a federal grant to advance its research of drug addiction and the role genetics play in it.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Genetics, Susan Collins, Maine, Angus King, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services", "main_text": "Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King say Jackson Laboratory is getting $255,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Jackson Laboratory vice president LuAnn Ballesteros says the grant is \u201can important step in propelling our work forward to help Mainers, and people around the world impacted by addiction.\u201d The senators say researchers at the lab are working on projects to improve understanding of genetic factors that play a role in vulnerability to substance use disorders. The federal money was awarded via the DHHS National Institute on Drug Abuse."}
{"claim_id": "12753", "claim": "Currently, half a million Floridians have Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and in less than 10 years, a 40 percent growth rate means that another 200,000 Floridians will develop this devastating illness.", "explanation": "Laird said, \"Currently, half a million Floridians have Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and in less than 10 years, a 40 percent growth rate means that another 200,000 Floridians will develop this devastating illness.\" These numbers are sourced to a credible scientific paper, though it\u2019s worth noting that the paper deals in estimates and projections, rather than hard, verifiable numbers.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Disability, Health Care, Retirement, Florida, Rosemary Laird, ", "main_text": "A Florida physician who specializes in geriatrics and memory care warned a Florida Senate committee that Alzheimer\u2019s disease is both a present and a looming problem for the state. \"Please make no mistake -- we are in the midst of an epidemic of Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\" Rosemary Laird, a geriatrician at the Centre for Senior Health in Winter Park, told the Senate Health Policy Committee on March 14. \"Currently, half a million Floridians have Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and in less than 10 years, a 40 percent growth rate means that another 200,000 Floridians will develop this devastating illness.\" Laird was testifying in favor of SB 1050, a bill sponsored by Sen. David Simmons, R-Longwood, to establish a memory disorder clinic at Florida Hospital in Orange County. Laird\u2019s office did not return a call, but we were able to find statistics that closely matched what she told the committee. They were cited in \"2017 Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Facts and Figures,\" a report by the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, the leading advocacy group for patients with the severe memory-loss condition and their families and caregivers. The report, in Table 4, offers projections for state-by-state numbers of residents with Alzheimer\u2019s in 2017 and 2025. For Florida, it lists 520,000 people with the disease in 2017 and 720,000 for 2025, a growth rate of 38.5 percent. Rounded off, those are essentially identical to the figures Laird cited. However, it\u2019s worth noting that the table cites these figures as \"estimates\" (for 2017) and \"projected\" (for 2025). The numbers in the report are footnoted to a study published in the academic journal Neurology in May 2013. The authors used Alzheimer\u2019s diagnosis statistics from 2010 to create estimates of how many cases would be expected in future years as far out as 2050. Given the margins of error in estimates and projections, and given the difficulty of diagnosing Alzheimer\u2019s disease in patients, it\u2019s a slight overreach for Laird to frame these as hard numbers of Floridians who have the disease today. They are a useful yardstick and were published in a respected scientific journal, but her phrasing suggests too high a degree of certainty about the numbers who have the disease today. \"It is accurate to say that the numbers are estimates, or as we put it in the report, \u2018projections,\u2019 \" said Laura Cilmi, a spokeswoman for the Alzheimer\u2019s Association. Our ruling Laird said, \"Currently, half a million Floridians have Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and in less than 10 years, a 40 percent growth rate means that another 200,000 Floridians will develop this devastating illness.\" These numbers are sourced to a credible scientific paper, though it\u2019s worth noting that the paper deals in estimates and projections, rather than hard, verifiable numbers. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "11367", "claim": "Drug effective in smoking cessation studies", "explanation": "This news story was based on a report of two double-blind randomized studies comparing the newer drug, varenicline, with bupropion and placebo as aids to smoking cessation. This newer drug may help quell nicotine cravings by binding to receptors in the brain that control the release of dopamine, which is often stimulated by nicotine. More sustained levels of dopamine may help with cravings and withdrawal from nicotine. The studies discussed were both funded by Pfizer and reports of side effects were limited, as only nausea was listed and qualified as \u201cmild\u201d by the primary researcher. Despite the headline (\u201cDrug effective in smoking cessation studies\u201d), which we know is usually not written by the reporter, the journalists are appropriately cautious about the findings and provide information about the funding source and potential conflicts of interest. Abstinence rates at one year for each smoking cessation drug and placebo are presented; however, the news story lacks a comparison with abstinence rates for alternative (non-drug) methods of smoking cessation and does not provide enough information about the long-term risks of the newer drug or side effects. Longer-term data, larger controlled studies and more information on the safety of varenicline (vs. the more studied bupropion) are necessary before this drug is presented as a viable option for smoking cessation. Given that the drug has not yet been approved for smoking cessation in the U.S., the story\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s generally positive tone fails to remind readers of hurdles still to be passed on the road to approval. For example, the drug\u2019s performance is not much better than published rates for bupropion (Zyban) in other randomized clinical trials designed to test the latter versus placebo.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "No mention of the cost of varenicline. Numbers are framed appropriately. Only mention of harm was nausea. The issue is that 1) rate of nausea was not mentioned, rather rate of quitting due to nausea was; 2) this might be significantly more common in the active drug group than the placebo group, but we can\u2019t know. Brief mention of clinical evidence, but this is incomplete. The numbers were from 2 fairly well-designed randomized, double-blind trials (N=2000 total). Abstinence was evaluated between varenicline, bupropion and placebo groups at 12 weeks, then continuous abstinence for another 40 weeks. During weeks 9-52 carbon monoxide (CM) levels were taken to confirm quit rates. The numbers presented are the continuous abstinence rates from weeks 9-52, based on these CM measurements. The only person interviewed was the lead investigator of the Pfizer-sponsored trial. She downplayed side effects. Mentions other drug treatment, which was used as a comparison in this double-blind study; however, no quantitative comparison of non-drug methods of smoking cessation (e.g. behavioral interventions, support groups, nicotine replacement) with regards to abstinence rates. No discussion of side effects of bupropion. No comparison of tolerability of side effects between valenicline and bupropion. Importantly, the study may not have provided, or the story omitted, the important counseling component that is recommended as a complement to drug therapy. Mentions that the drug is not yet approved. Nicotine receptor agonist: new drug with old mechanism (nicotine replacement)."}
{"claim_id": "10862", "claim": "New Therapy Delivers Long-Term Relief for Chronic Back, Leg Pain, Study Finds", "explanation": "The release reports on a study that tested a new type of implanted device for the treatment of chronic back and leg pain. It uses high-frequency electrical pulses, delivered directly to the spinal cord via implanted leads. The study compared this high-frequency form of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) to a more traditional approach that uses lower-frequency pulses. The main advantage of the new approach, according to the release, is that patients don\u2019t feel an annoying tingling or buzzing sensation that\u2019s associated with the traditional approach. The release faithfully reports the outlines of the study in broad strokes and provides some of the outcomes in user-friendly terms. But there a lot of missing context that any reporter relying on the release should have been given. Notably, this was a company funded study run by investigators with close ties to the manufacturer of the device. The surgery required to implant the device can cause harms that weren\u2019t mentioned. Finally, it\u2019s not clear if this device is approved for use and if so, how much would it cost to have it implanted and would insurance cover that cost? Many people have chronic pain that isn\u2019t satisfactorily addressed with existing approaches. If a new device can improve on those existing therapies as is claimed in this release, many people would be interested to know about it. But along with offering the good news about potential benefits, release writers have an obligation to provide context that cuts the other way \u2014 whether that\u2019s possible harms from the device, conflicts of interest among the researchers, or limitations to the study design. They also owe it to readers to present a full array of potential alternatives. This release sets up what seems to be a false choice between SCS and either surgery or narcotics. Patient can also try yoga, exercise, NSAIDS, and behavioral modifications \u2014 treatments that can work and have little cost and risk.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Association/Society news release,Conflict of interest,medical devices", "main_text": "The news release doesn\u2019t address the costs of newer, high-frequency SCS vs. traditional SCS. Since traditional SCS seems to be commonly used, it should be possible to provide some estimate of what the device and the implantation procedure cost. It would be nice if the release had also addressed potential insurance coverage for either device. The release does a good job of putting some numbers on the potential benefits. For example, the release gives us the absolute number of pain patients in each group who experienced a 50% or greater reduction in symptoms. \u201cAt three months, 85 percent of back pain and 83 percent of leg pain patients in the HF10 therapy group experienced a 50 percent reduction in pain or greater. Conversely, only 44 percent of back pain and 56 percent of leg pain patients in the traditional SCS group experienced a 50 percent reduction in pain.\u201d Of course, it\u2019s worth noting that these are the findings after 3 months, and the study lasted for 12 months. However, it doesn\u2019t look like the benefits were diminished too greatly with longer-term use of the device, so we\u2019ll award a Satisfactory grade \u2014 even though it would have been preferable to also see the findings after a full year of use. The story doesn\u2019t address harms except to note that the high-frequency group had no paresthesia. The study that\u2019s the basis for the release noted that \u201cnon-serious\u201d study-related adverse events occurred in about 30% of patients in both groups. These included implant site pain and lead migration resulting in \u201csurgical\u00a0revision\u201d (i.e. a second operation). But that begs the question: How can a second surgery be considered \u201cnon-serious\u201d? The release provides some details, noting that the researchers examined 171 patients with chronic back or leg pain who were implanted at 10 comprehensive pain treatment centers. We\u2019re also told the study was the first long-term comparison of the two approaches. But the release skimps on some important information. On the one hand, the release never tells us that this was a randomized study \u2014 one of the strongest study designs for comparing the effectiveness of two treatments. But on the other, the release doesn\u2019t acknowledge the fact that the study wasn\u2019t blinded, which is a very serious limitation in a study to assess pain. The patients knew which treatment they were getting and the study researchers also knew which patients were getting high-frequency vs. traditional SCS. This knowledge has the potential to bias the results of the study. Moreover,\u00a0the non-blinded researchers were free to change patient pain medicines as they saw fit, and neither the release nor the study gives data on these changes: this sort of thing is very likely to lead to spurious results. We\u2019re not saying the release needed to go into detail on every possible limitation of this study, but readers need some sense that there are limitations and drawbacks to a study such as this. The release didn\u2019t provide that context. The release succumbs to exaggeration, noting that \u201cMore than 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic pain, with lower back pain being the most frequent condition affecting 23 to 26 percent of the population.\u201d The release should\u2019ve kept the discussion limited to back and leg pain and the specific kind of patients who would be candidates for this device \u2014 not every person in the world who suffers from chronic pain. By throwing out such numbers, the release takes on a promotional tone \u2014 as if its purpose is to increase\u00a0interest in the procedure from anyone with chronic back pain. The release does not tell readers that the study was funded by the Nevro Corporation, which makes the device that was studied, nor that the study authors had ties to the company and other medical device makers. The release mentions traditional SCS, opioids, and back surgery as other approaches to back pain, and notes that they have \u201climited effectiveness and\u00a0commonly known side effects.\u201d But we don\u2019t think this is enough for a Satisfactory grade here. The options for treatment of back pain are much more diverse than just surgery, narcotics, and an implanted spinal cord stimulator, and so in a sense the release is offering a false choice. Other less invasive components of multimodal pain management strategy include exercise, physical therapy, yoga, NSAIDS (e.g. ibuprofen), and behavioral counseling. It\u2019s not clear from the release if this device is approved and available. It appears that it is. The release says, \u201cThis is the first long-term study to compare the safety and effectiveness of high frequency and traditional SCS therapy for back and leg pain.\u201d Nothing over-the-top here. We\u2019ve already commented on exaggeration in the Disease Mongering criterion above."}
{"claim_id": "5932", "claim": "Bolsonaro to send army to fight huge fires in the Amazon.", "explanation": "Under international pressure to contain fires sweeping parts of Brazil\u2019s Amazon, President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday authorized use of the military to battle the huge blazes while thousands took to the streets to protest his environmental policies.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Brazil, Deforestation, Global trade, AP Top News, International News, General News, Forests, Latin America, Environment, Jair Bolsonaro", "main_text": "Brazilian forces will deploy starting Saturday to border areas, indigenous territories and other affected regions in the Amazon to assist in putting out fires for a month, according to a presidential decree authorizing use of the army. The military will \u201cact strongly\u201d to control the wildfires, Bolsonaro promised as he signed the decree. The armed forces will collaborate with public security and environmental protection agencies, the decree says. \u201cThe protection of the forest is our duty,\u201d the president said. \u201cWe are aware of that and will act to combat deforestation and criminal activities that put people at risk in the Amazon. We are a government of zero tolerance for crime, and in the environmental field it will not be different.\u201d Bolsonaro has previously described rainforest protections as an obstacle to Brazil\u2019s economic development, sparring with critics who note that the Amazon produces vast amounts of oxygen and is considered crucial for efforts to contain climate change. As the president spoke, thousands of Brazilians demonstrated in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and the capital of Brasilia demanding the government announce concrete actions to curb the fires. People also banged pots from their homes, a traditional mode of protest in South America. An Associated Press journalist who traveled to the Amazon region Friday saw many already deforested areas that had been burned. Charred trees and fallen branches were seen around Porto Velho, the capital of Rondonia state, which borders Bolivia. In some instances, the burned fields were adjacent to intact livestock ranches and other farms, suggesting the fires had been managed as part of a land-clearing policy. A large column of smoke billowed from one fire, and smoke rose from a couple of nearby wooded areas. Life appeared normal in Porto Velho. However, visibility from the windows of an arriving airplane was poor because of smog enveloping the region. Small numbers of demonstrators gathered outside Brazilian diplomatic missions in Paris, London, Geneva and Bogota, Colombia, to urge Brazil to do more to fight the fires. Larger protests were held in Uruguay and Argentina. Hundreds also protested in Chile, Ecuador and Peru. Neighboring Bolivia and Paraguay have also struggled to contain fires that swept through woods and fields, in many cases set to clear land for farming. About 7,500 square kilometers (2,900 square miles) of land has been affected in Bolivia, Defense Minister Javier Zavaleta said. A B747-400 SuperTanker arrived in Bolivia and began flying over devastated areas to help put out the fires and protect forests. The U.S.-based aircraft can carry nearly 76,000 liters (20,000 gallons) of retardant, a substance used to stop fires. Some 370 square kilometers (140 square miles) have burned in northern Paraguay, near the borders with Brazil and Bolivia, said Joaqu\u00edn Roa, a Paraguayan state emergency official. He said the situation had stabilized. Close to 20% of the Amazon has already been deforested, said Thomas Lovejoy, a George Mason University environmental scientist. \u201cI worry that the current deforestation will push past the tipping point leading to massive loss of forest and biodiversity,\u201d Lovejoy wrote in an email to The Associated Press. He said Brazil is \u201cturning its back\u201d on past environmental achievements, including the 1992 Earth Summit, and has proposed infrastructure projects that will accelerate the challenge of climate change. \u201cFires are directly burning into the Amazon rainforest and that releases the carbon stored in those trees,\u201d said Doug Morton, a NASA scientist. \u201cThe carbon then enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide or methane, where it contributes to the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change, bringing us a warmer and a drier planet.\u201d Morton said there is now \u201can uptick in the pressure against the remaining Amazon forest, to expand agriculture production in areas that are the leading edge in the deforestation frontier.\u201d Fires are common in Brazil in the annual dry season, but they are much more widespread this year. Brazilian state experts reported nearly 77,000 wildfires across the country so far this year, up 85% over the same period in 2018. Just over half of those fires have occurred in the Amazon region. Brazil contains about 60% of the Amazon rainforest. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he spoke with Bolsonaro. \u201cOur future Trade prospects are very exciting and our relationship is strong, perhaps stronger than ever before,\u201d Trump tweeted. \u201cI told him if the United States can help with the Amazon Rainforest fires, we stand ready to assist!\u201d In escalating tension over the fires, France accused Bolsonaro of having lied to French leader Emmanuel Macron and threatened to block a European Union trade deal with several South American states, including Brazil. Ireland joined in the threat. The specter of possible economic repercussions for Brazil and its South American neighbors show how the Amazon is becoming a battleground between Bolsonaro and Western governments alarmed that vast swaths of the region are going up in smoke on his watch. Ahead of a Group of Seven summit in France this weekend, Macron\u2019s office questioned Bolsonaro\u2019s trustworthiness. Brazilian statements and decisions indicate Bolsonaro \u201chas decided to not respect his commitments on the climate, nor to involve himself on the issue of biodiversity,\u201d Macron\u2019s office said. It added that France now opposes the EU\u2019s trade deal \u201cin its current state\u201d with the Mercosur bloc of South American nations that includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel views the fires as \u201cshocking and threatening,\u201d government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. Argentina, which is struggling with rising poverty and austerity measures, has offered to send emergency workers to Brazil and Bolivia to help battle the fires. Chile also offered aid. The Brazilian government has said European countries are exaggerating Brazil\u2019s environmental problems in order to disrupt its commercial interests. Bolsonaro, who has said he wants to convert land for cattle pastures and soybean farms, said it was difficult to curb increasing deforestation with limited resources. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to fight deforestation, our Amazon area is bigger than all of Europe,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll do what we can to fight this crime.\u201d ___ Associated Press journalists John Leicester in Paris; Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington; Marcelo Silva de Sousa in Rio de Janeiro; Juan Karita in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Pedro Servin in Asunci\u00f3n, Paraguay; and Christopher Torchia in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "10199", "claim": "Study suggests sildenafil may relieve severe form of edema in swimmers", "explanation": "This news release describes a small study of individuals prone to swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE, fluid in the lung) that found that giving them a dose of sildenafil (sold under the brand name Viagra) dilated blood vessels and prevented the cold water-induced constriction that may cause the problem. The study involved 10 individuals with a history of SIPE and 20 control subjects. The news release, based on the study published in the journal Circulation, describes the condition and the study parameters nicely but then overwhelms the cautionary comments appropriate for such a modest design with an enthusiastic testimonial from a participant who felt the medicine was a life-changer. The release would be stronger if it had added some quantification of the benefits and relied less on a patient testimonial to make its case. A treatment for swimming-induced pulmonary edema likely won\u2019t matter to most of us recreational swimmers since the incidence of the condition seems low and confined to serious, competitive swimmers and divers. However, the subset of individuals diagnosed with the problem may find the availability of a medication attractive \u2014 if it stands up to the rigor of larger studies.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release", "main_text": "Cost is not mentioned in the release. Although the press release indicates that measures of pulmonary arterial pressure \u201cwere no longer as elevated\u201d in individuals who received sildenafil, the document got no more specific than that. The author described the benefit very vaguely in this statement: \u201cIt appears that the drug, which dilates the blood vessels, could be creating more capacity in the blood vessels in the arms and legs, reducing the tendency for blood to redistribute to the thorax, and therefore reducing the high pressure in the pulmonary vessels.\u201d We\u2019re also concerned with the glowing anecdote that the release uses to illustrate the drug\u2019s benefits. The study itself looked at pulmonary arterial pressure and had nothing to say about sildenafil\u2019s ability to prevent bouts of SIPE during competition. Nevertheless, this study participant gushes, \u201cI have successfully raced in 20 triathlons since I started taking sildenafil, including five ultra events that require 10-kilometer swims,\u201d Calder-Becker said. \u201cI have not had an incident since then. I didn\u2019t want to give up racing \u2014 this is something my husband and I do together, and we travel together to competitions \u2014 so it has meant everything to me to continue.\u201d The anecdote goes well beyond the limited parameters of the study and overwhelms any cautions regarding the limitations of current evidence. Although the study itself is silent on the potential harms seen in the subjects treated with sildenafil, we think that the story should have noted that explicitly. Are four-hour erections an issue that swimmers need to be concerned about? Harmful side effects of ingesting sildenafil certainly\u00a0exist but are not broached\u00a0here. The news release describes the published study in some detail, and the first author goes on record calling for larger studies \u201cto replicate the results and learn more about possible adverse side effects of the drug.\u201d The release offers no information about the incidence of this condition among swimmers and divers and, because this condition is rare, it could unnecessarily raise some alarms. And while it makes clear that the symptoms of swimming-induced pulmonary edema \u201coften\u201d disappear over the course of 24 hours in the subset of swimmers and divers who have\u00a0the condition, it also notes that the problem\u00a0can be fatal, again without providing any incidence data. The reader will likely be more concerned than she or he should be. The funders are mentioned, although the release makes no effort to clarify possible conflicts of interest. The study on which this news release\u00a0is based states\u00a0that the principle investigators have no conflicts of interest. Information about possible treatment alternatives (for example, diuretics or oxygen) is not provided. The very first sentence of the release characterizes sildenafil as \u201creadily available.\u201d Indeed it is. It is Viagra \u2122. The release notes that the drug is already used as a treatment for another lung condition \u2014 pulmonary arterial hypertension \u2014 so this application would be an extension of sildenafil to another lung condition. Health professionals have speculated in the past on the ability of drugs such as sildenafil to help individuals cope with swimming-induced pulmonary edema. The published research notes that this study tested that hypothesis. We found no language in the release that was clearly out of bounds. As noted above, however, we\u2019re concerned that cautionary language is overwhelmed by an enthusiastic testimonial from a swimmer who believes she has benefited from using the drug."}
{"claim_id": "35329", "claim": "Hallmark greeting cards are made in China. ", "explanation": "What's true: Certain Hallmark greeting cards and keepsake ornaments that require handwork such as beads or tassels are made in China. What's false: However, the majority of Hallmark greeting cards are made in Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.A.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Business, COVID-19", "main_text": "In 2020 an old rumor started to recirculate on social media claiming that Hallmark greeting cards were made in China and that citizens of the United States should spend their money on products made in America. It frequently spread via text-only posts on Facebook that lacked any supporting information. The claim that Hallmark makes its cards in China has been circulated for years by those urging people to buy American, but it saw a resurgence in 2020 as some Americans became critical of China for its handling of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic and as anti-Chinese sentiment grew. Regardless of how long this rumor has been around, there is little truth to this claim. The majority of Hallmark cards sold in the United States are made in Lawrence, Kansas. Hallmark explains on its website: Most Hallmark greeting cards sold in the United States are produced here by Hallmark employees in our greeting card production center in Lawrence, Kansas. Hallmark cards with specialized processes, such as die cut, glitter, flock and foil stamp are produced in Lawrence. Most of Hallmark wrapping paper, ribbons and bows are made at our manufacturing plant in Leavenworth, Kansas. Some Hallmark products, however, are produced overseas:"}
{"claim_id": "11150", "claim": "Genetic tests detect new way to fight war on breast cancer", "explanation": "The story discusses new genetic tests that may help some women with early-stage breast cancer determine their risk of recurrence, and thus help with decisions about chemotherapy. More tailored (often less) chemotherapy is a newer idea for women who may not benefit as much from more aggressive treatment. A favorable score on a genetic test does not mean a woman at lower risk will not benefit at all from chemotherapy; she may, in fact, benefit some over the long term, but not as much as a woman with a higher chance of cancer recurring. Also, a woman's values and ability to live with a certain amount of risk, though small, is still part of the decision to have chemotherapy or forgo this treatment. The story presented no quantitative evidence for the Oncotype Dx test, which was the main focus of the story. It only said the test had been independently validated via a peer-reviewed process, and that it had been used on over 17,000 women. This test is validated only for women with node-negative breast cancer whose tumors are estrogen receptor-positive. The story does not mention that the test is time-sensitive and must be used within six months of diagnosis. The story emphasizes the cost of Oncotype Dx and notes that this may make it prohibitive for some women whose health insurance does not cover the test. The story is balanced and does not appear to be taken from a press release. A breast cancer specialist, a public health researcher, breast cancer patients and the CEO of Genomic Health, makers of Oncotype Dx, provide perspective on genetic testing as an aid in decision-making for breast cancer treatment .", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story mentions the cost of this genetic test, as well as the issue of insurance coverage. The story didn't quantify any benefit from the use of the test. The story does not mention potential harms of genetic testing. A favorable score does not mean an individual woman at lower risk will not benefit at all from chemotherapy; she may benefit some over the long term, but not as much as a woman with a higher chance of cancer recurring. Also, a woman's values and ability to live with a certain amount of risk, though small, is still part of the decision to have chemotherapy or no chemotherapy. Decisions for chemotherapy are not based solely on the results of Oncotype Dx. Most of the story is devoted to the Oncotype DX test. The story only mentions that the test has been independently validated via a peer-reviewed process and it has been used on over 17,000 women. But it doesn't quantify any of the evidence for the test or from the use of the test. The story does not engage in disease mongering. The story provides accurate American Cancer Society statistics on breast cancer incidence and mortality. The story is balanced. A breast cancer specialist, a public health researcher, breast cancer patients and the CEO of Genomic Health, makers of Oncotype Dx, provide perspective on genetic testing as an aid in decision making for breast cancer treatment. The story explains that the Oncotype DX test \"is among the tools making their way into doctors' hands and patients' lives as new technology emerges from genetics research. The tools, which include screening tests and targeted drugs, help doctors tailor treatments for breast and other cancers.\" It also mentions the BRCA blood test and another test under development, OncoVue. The story explains that \"The test's manufacturer says Oncotype DX has been performed on about 17,000 women. It is among the tools making their way into doctors' hands and patients' lives.\" The story mentions that the cost of\u00a0Oncotype Dx\u00a0may make it prohibitive for women whose health insurance does not cover the test. This test is validated for women with node-negative breast cancers that are estrogen receptor-positive, and when Oncotype DX is used within six months of diagnosis. The story does not mention that it is time-limited. The story mentions a new genetic test that can help some women with early-stage breast cancer determine their risk of recurrence and thus help with decisions about chemotherapy. More tailored (often less or forgoing) chemotherapy is a newer idea for women who may not benefit as much from more aggressive treatment. There are several sources cited who provide prospective on genetic tests such as Oncotype Dx. Information does not appear to be\u00a0taken directly from a press release."}
{"claim_id": "9622", "claim": "Stem Cells May Safely Restore Motor Function In Patients Suffering From Disabilities After Stroke", "explanation": "Drawn substantially from a feature-style news release issued by Stanford University\u2019s School of Medicine, this story\u00a0describes results of a trial in which modified human stem cells were injected into the brains of so-called \u201cchronic\u201d stroke patients. The results, which study authors called promising, showed the injections were safe. The stem cells\u2013as expected\u2013survived only briefly, but the researchers report that there were \u201cclinically meaningful results\u201d in which some patients (it\u2019s unclear how many) recovered \u201csignificant\u201d motor function. The story states the total number of patients (18), their age range (average age was 61), but it\u2019s missing hard information about the range of specific improvements, along with any interviews from researchers independent of this study or medical center. An estimated 800,000 people in the U.S. experience\u00a0an ischemic stroke each year, and most of them have permanent motor deficits unless treated with drugs within a few hours of the stroke. Given that this pilot safety study showed improvements in patients whose first-ever strokes occurred from six months to three years before treatment with mesenchymal stem cell injections, millions of people with stroke disability could potentially realize some restored function if the current research is borne out in further studies.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "stem cell therapies,stroke", "main_text": "Because this story involved an experimental therapy in an early phase trial, formulating a probable cost of the treatment is premature. The story would have been strengthened, perhaps, by some indication of what stroke care and disability costs in lost productivity and health care expenses in the U.S. The\u00a0story\u00a0is clearly upbeat about the promise of the therapy and uses a great deal of positive\u00a0language from the news release. But the story\u00a0did not really quantify the results in a way that would give readers a sensible picture of just how many of the 18 could \u201cwalk again\u201d and what exactly the metrics used to assess results consist of. The article duly noted side effects. It\u2019s worth pointing out that the study only followed patients for about a year, and long-term effects are unknown and could be more severe. The article does not adequately describe the quality of evidence. We\u2019re told there was a trial, but not that it was done on a small number of patients chiefly to establish safety. The story would have been stronger on this criteria if it had, for example, used this researcher\u2019s quote from the news release: \u201cThis was just a single trial, and a small one. It was designed primarily to test the procedure\u2019s safety.\u201d No mongering here. As noted above, this article appears to have been drawn substantially if not exclusively from the news release, although the writer appears to have interviewed the principal investigator; but it\u00a0offers not a single source outside of the investigators who presumably approved the news release issued by Stanford. There is disclosure about industry funding in the news release, but none at all in the article. The article would have gone a long way to put credibility and context into a genuinely promising experimental therapy if it had sought comment from an independent stem cell therapy researcher. Although the article mentions there are \u201ctherapies\u201d that help\u00a0after a stroke, it does not mention what these are, how often they succeed, how often they fail, or their costs. The article notes that the investigators are planning a larger trial of the procedure. We\u2019ll\u00a0give this a Satisfactory rating here because the article does make the point that the stem cell therapy trial in question does demonstrate safety and some efficacy; and it also notes\u00a0that the benefits were detected regardless of the severity, duration, or location of the stroke in the test population. And it does well by mentioning that previous research showed the stem cells used can \u201ctreat\u201d brain cell damage caused by loss of oxygen, essentially what happens in an ischemic stroke. The article could have done better by saying whether that past research was done in lab-grown cells or in animals. Because the story includes an interview with the lead researcher\u2013with quotes not found in the news release\u2013this is Satisfactory. However, that\u2019s about the only information in the story not found in the news release, so this is a barely passing scenario."}
{"claim_id": "16001", "claim": "We\u2019ve doubled the production of clean energy.", "explanation": "Obama said, \"we\u2019ve doubled the production of clean energy.\" The White House said he was referring to wind, solar and geothermal, which are three types of renewable resources promoted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Energy Information Administration confirmed that capacity had basically doubled between 2009 and 2012, accomplishing Obama\u2019s goals. Renewable resource advocates also agreed that the Recovery Act contributed to that growth. Obama didn\u2019t mention, however, that so-called \"clean energy\" still accounts for a sliver of U.S. energy production, which overwhelmingly relies on fossil fuels. Nor does it include other kinds of renewable energy, such as biomass and hydroelectric, which have remained relatively flat.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Energy, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "America\u2019s recovery from the Great Recession is slow but steady, President Barack Obama said in a recent speech, and the country is headed in the right direction, thanks in part to his energy initiatives. He told students at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 9, 2015, the United States is now the world\u2019s No. 1 producer in oil and gas -- a statement we\u2019ve researched in the past and rated True -- and touted a move to more renewable resources. \"We\u2019ve doubled the production of clean energy,\" Obama told the crowd. There was no time frame given or any indication of what he considered clean energy, but PolitiFact wondered whether that was true. And if it was, could he take credit for it? Generating interest The White House specified Obama was referring to solar, wind and geothermal (harnessing power from heat generated under the Earth\u2019s crust), but omitted any specific time frame. We can go ahead and assume they mean since the beginning of Obama\u2019s first term, but the definition of renewables needs some explaining. The U.S. Energy Information Administration considers renewable energy as coming from any source that is \"naturally replenishing but flow-limited,\" meaning\u00a0there are limits on how much energy can be derived from the source at once. This also includes biomass fuels, like burning wood and solid waste, and hydroelectric power. States often don\u2019t classify hydroelectric as renewable for several reasons, including substantial infrastructure requirements and the disruption of water ecosystems. Many states also don\u2019t count hydroelectric in order to pressure utilities to increase renewable energy resources beyond existing hydroelectric facilities. It\u2019s important to note that promoting renewable energy was a major focus of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by the Democrat-controlled Congress in February 2009 to help spur the economy in the wake of the recession. Obama signed the bill, which contained some $90 billion for energy-related investment, reimbursements for installations, a reauthorized loan guarantee program and tax credits. One of the goals was to double renewable energy generation by 2012. Since the administration mentioned those three energy sources as their definition of \"clean energy,\" they are the ones we asked the Energy Information Administration about. Spokesperson John Cogan provided this information for the existing net summer capacity of energy production types in megawatts: Year Wind Solar, Thermal and Photovoltaic Geothermal Total 2007 16,515 502 2,214 19,231 2008 24,651 536 2,229 27,416 2009 34,296 619 2,382 37,297 2010 39,135 866 2,405 42,406 2011 45,676 1,524 2,409 49,609 2012 59,075 3,170 2,592 65,377 Now, don\u2019t go thinking we\u2019re all suddenly living emission-free and the specter of global warming due to greenhouse gases is a thing of the past. The country still uses fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas for most of its electricity needs, about 68 percent as of June 2014 (the EIA says wind, solar and geothermal generated less than 5 percent in that time frame, up from about 1.5 percent in 2008). Still, that\u2019s a marked decrease in fossil fuel use, which was around 85 percent in 2008. Also, we can\u2019t completely ignore hydroelectric and biomass sources. Those sources are considered renewable even if they weren\u2019t named by the White House, but their use has not doubled since 2008. Both have remained basically flat in that time period. So can Obama take credit for this spike in renewable energy resource use? Joseph Aldy, former special assistant to the president for energy and environment in 2009-10 and currently an assistant public policy professor at Harvard, says yes, arguing the combination of tax credits, grants and guaranteed loans for renewable energy projects helped boost providers through tight credit and labor markets. Current production far exceeds Energy Information Administration projections from 2009, he told PolitiFact. Susan Glickman, the Florida director of the pro-renewables Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said some expansion would have happened anyway, since costs have gone down, particularly for wind and solar. But not only did the Recovery Act spur growth for renewable energy, the residual effects have continued. The 2013 National Renewable Energy Laboratory report bears out these growth trends, which have been fueled by federal incentives, she said. Our ruling Obama said, \"we\u2019ve doubled the production of clean energy.\" The White House said he was referring to wind, solar and geothermal, which are three types of renewable resources promoted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Energy Information Administration confirmed that capacity had basically doubled between 2009 and 2012, accomplishing Obama\u2019s goals. Renewable resource advocates also agreed that the Recovery Act contributed to that growth. Obama didn\u2019t mention, however, that so-called \"clean energy\" still accounts for a sliver of U.S. energy production, which overwhelmingly relies on fossil fuels. Nor does it include other kinds of renewable energy, such as biomass and hydroelectric, which have remained relatively flat. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "41205", "claim": "In 1983, US children got 10 vaccines and the autism rate was 1 in 10,000.", "explanation": "We don\u2019t know exactly how prevalent autism was in 1983. There were around five vaccines involving 11 doses recommended for children in the US back then.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "In 2008, US children got 36 vaccines and the autism rate was 1 in 150. US children were recommended to get around 13 vaccines, which involved about 39 doses, in 2008. It was estimated that about 1 in 88 children has autism disorders. In 2013, US children got 46 vaccines and the autism rate was 1 in 88. US children were recommended to get around 13 vaccines, which involved about 53 doses, in 2013. In 2012, 1 in 69 were estimated to have autism disorders and in 2014, it was 1 in 59 (we found no figures for 2013). Increasing numbers of vaccines are associated with increasing rates of autism. Dozens of scientific studies have shown there is no link between autism or autism spectrum disorders and vaccines. Claim 1 of 4"}
{"claim_id": "1353", "claim": "Bayer, Novartis clash with UK doctors over use of cheap eye drug.", "explanation": "Bayer is weighing legal action and Novartis has expressed concern at plans by doctors in the north of England to defy official guidance by using a cancer medicine as a cheap eye drug.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Doctors from 12 clinical commissioning groups (CCG) plan to make Roche\u2019s cancer therapy Avastin the preferred option for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), even though it is not licensed for this use. AMD, which occurs when the macula is unable to function properly, is a common cause of sight loss. David Hambleton, head of the South Tyneside CCG, said the policy of using Avastin rather than Bayer\u2019s Eylea or Novartis\u2019s Lucentis could save the regional National Health Service (NHS) 13.5 million pounds ($18 million) a year. \u201cClinical safety and effectiveness are paramount but, as the legal guardians of finite NHS resources, we commissioners also have a duty to act efficiently, effectively, and economically,\u201d he wrote in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday. \u201cThis is one choice that is morally, ethically palatable.\u201d  Across England, savings from using Avastin could total more than 500 million pounds, the journal reported. The new policy from the North East and North Cumbria CCG Forum means doctors will tell patients that Avastin is the preferred choice, although they are still free to choose Eylea or Lucentis if they want. However, doctors prescribing Avastin for AMD will be using the medicine \u201coff label\u201d, which goes against guidance from the General Medical Council that a licensed product should be used when available. While Avastin works in a similar way to Eylea and Lucentis, for a fraction of the price, Bayer and Novartis said it had not undergone the same rigorous regulatory scrutiny for use in AMD as their products. \u201cBayer feels it has to act to challenge the decision taken by these CCGs. Bayer is currently considering its position including the possibility of legal proceedings,\u201d the German company said in an emailed statement. Novartis said the move was \u201cnot in line with the current UK and EU legal and regulatory framework\u201d. The issue of whether Avastin should be used as a cheap alternative in AMD has long been controversial in Europe. In 2014 in Italy, Roche and Novartis were accused of collusion in trying to impose the use of Lucentis in AMD - a charge the two companies denied."}
{"claim_id": "16469", "claim": "Of the 98 top oxycodone-dispensing doctors who used to live in Florida, \"today, there are none.", "explanation": "Bondi said that of the top 100 oxycodone-dispensing doctors, 98 were\u00a0in Florida, and\u00a0\"today, there are none.\" She cited DEA numbers that since 2010, the number of physicians who dispensed the most oxycodone in the nation and also lived in Florida had dropped from 98 of the top 100 to zero. The DEA told us there are a few problems with that stat. First, it was for the biggest purchasers of oxycodone, not dispensers -- the DEA said the list\u00a0didn't\u00a0track dispensation. Second, the number in 2010 was 90 and not 98, although the 98 figure was widely reported by the state and the media in the past few years. Third, in 2014 there was one top 100 oxycodone purchaser in Florida, a buyer for a cruise ship fleet. The DEA data only tracks top purchasers, not whether actual drug use decreased, but other sources confirmed oxycodone abuse is on a downward trend in the state, although there\u2019s debate over whether a 2011 law Bondi supported is the sole factor. While the specifics are a bit off, the gist and context of what Bondi is saying is accurate: There are no more Florida pill mill doctors in the DEA\u2019s top 100.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Criminal Justice, Drugs, Public Safety, Florida, Pam Bondi, ", "main_text": "Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched her re-election advertising campaign with a major milestone in Florida law enforcement: The death of the state\u2019s infamous \"pill mills.\" In a Sept. 8 TV commercial, the incumbent touts her record of overseeing the demise of rampant prescription drug abuse enabled by Florida doctors. \"With our amazing law enforcement, we closed down the pill mills,\" Bondi said. \"Of the top 100 oxycodone-\u00addispensing doctors in this country, 98 of them lived in Florida. Today, there are none.\" That statistic implies Bondi was tough on crime, but PolitiFact Florida wanted to know if it was accurate. Closing the clinics The pill mill epidemic was a nationwide problem in 2010, driven by doctors who would write prescriptions and sell drugs out of clinics they owned themselves. Florida\u2019s lax laws gave the Sunshine State a reputation for easy access to the drug, so much so that billboards advertised to \"narco tourists\" -- buyers from out of state who would come to Florida to buy the drug. With more than 1,000 pain clinics in operation across the state, Florida became known as the \"Oxy Express.\" Bondi, who was elected in 2010, was a staunch supporter of HB\u00a07095, a 2011 law that increased penalties for doctors who abused prescription privileges, banned them from prescribing drugs like oxycodone and strengthened state regulatory power over prescription pill trafficking. The bill passed both houses of the Legislature unanimously on May 6, 2011, and was signed by Gov. Rick Scott on June 3, 2011. Bondi\u2019s camp told PolitiFact Florida the stat in the commercial came from the Statewide Task Force on Prescription Drug Abuse & Newborns 2014 Progress Report, which specifically dealt with the effects of opiate abuse by pregnant women on their children. The report credited changes in Florida law that shut down many clinics. \"In 2010, 98 of the top 100 oxycodone pill dispensing physicians nationally resided in Florida,\" the report read. \"In 2011, after the passage of HB 7095, only 13 of the top 100 resided in Florida, and by the end of 2012, not one Florida doctor appeared on the top 100 list.\" The report, which used figures that also were widely reported by the media, cited U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration data accessed January 2013. Bondi\u2019s office also gave us a DEA press release from April 5, 2013, to back up that claim -- although that release said \"90 of the top 100 oxycodone purchasing physicians in the nation were located in Florida.\" When we asked the attorney general\u2019s office why there was a discrepancy in the numbers, they insisted the number was 98. The DEA stood firm, however: In 2010, the number was 90 of the top 100 oxycodone-purchasing doctors. The federal agency also told us the number of doctors in Florida in 2011, after HB\u00a07095 passed, was down to 10 and not 13. But wait, Bondi\u2019s commercial says \"oxycodone-dispensing doctors,\" not \"purchasing,\" as the DEA measured in 2010. That\u2019s because the 2011 law no longer allowed physicians to simply buy the drug to resell, DEA public information officer Mia Ro told PolitiFact Florida. \"When the Florida law changed, it prevented physicians from dispensing pills out of their clinics,\" Ro said. The agency doesn\u2019t track \"what\u2019s filled or prescribed,\" she said. That means the DEA numbers weren\u2019t tracking whether or not actual abuse had happened, just that Florida doctors were buying lots of oxycodone. Some physicians are still allowed to buy hydrocodone in large quantities, Ro said -- emergency room personnel, for example -- but private doctors could no longer buy the drug and sell it on their own. There was one unnamed DEA registrant from Florida who was in the top 100 oxycodone buyers in 2014, Ro said: A purchaser for a fleet of cruise ships, to use the drug in the fleet\u2019s sick bays. That\u2019s not to say pill mills weren\u2019t a problem, or that the 2011 law didn\u2019t make a difference. By the time HB\u00a07095 was enacted, it was estimated as many as 11 people per day were dying from prescription drug abuse. From 2010 to 2012, overdose deaths from prescription drugs, illicit drugs and alcohol dropped nearly 17 percent, and overall prescription drug fatalities fell 23 percent, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. About 52 percent of that decrease was in deaths from oxycodone. Our ruling Bondi said that of the top 100 oxycodone-dispensing doctors, 98 were\u00a0in Florida, and\u00a0\"today, there are none.\" She cited DEA numbers that since 2010, the number of physicians who dispensed the most oxycodone in the nation and also lived in Florida had dropped from 98 of the top 100 to zero. The DEA told us there are a few problems with that stat. First, it was for the biggest purchasers of oxycodone, not dispensers -- the DEA said the list\u00a0didn't\u00a0track dispensation. Second, the number in 2010 was 90 and not 98, although the 98 figure was widely reported by the state and the media in the past few years. Third, in 2014 there was one top 100 oxycodone purchaser in Florida, a buyer for a cruise ship fleet. The DEA data only tracks top purchasers, not whether actual drug use decreased, but other sources confirmed oxycodone abuse is on a downward trend in the state, although there\u2019s debate over whether a 2011 law Bondi supported is the sole factor. While the specifics are a bit off, the gist and context of what Bondi is saying is accurate: There are no more Florida pill mill doctors in the DEA\u2019s top 100. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "644", "claim": "Climate change endangers Scotland's archaeological treasures.", "explanation": "Ancient British structures older than the pyramids are being threatened by climate change, experts have warned, as rising sea levels, heavier rainfall and severe weather events endanger Scotland\u2019s archaeological treasures.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The Orkney Islands, situated off the north coast of the Scottish mainland, are home to more than 3,000 historical sites. Evidence has been found of human habitation there going back 8,500 years. Some buildings on the islands date to the Iron Age, Viking rule and medieval times. But around 1,000 sites are situated on the coastline and are under threat. One such site is the Iron Age building South Howe Broch on the island of Rousay. Dating from between 600-400AD, the sea has taken much of the site\u2019s western area. Now the broch wall itself is falling into the sea. Julie Gibson, a lecturer at the University of the Highlands and Islands, says it will eventually disappear. \u201cWhat you can see just over here is the front door of the broch, exposed by the sea, taking away parts of the ruins and leaving a built wall still intact. And each year a little more falls as the sea batters it,\u201d she said as she stood on the cliff\u2019s edge. \u201cWhat we have discovered in recent years, through the use of geophysics and other things, is that... on this stretch of the coastline, all the settlement archaeology is within 100 meters of the coast edge. And so as the sea takes this heritage of ours away it\u2019s taking all that we have,\u201d she said. A couple of hundred meters north of South Howe Broch is Midhowe Broch. This Iron Age building is well-preserved, courtesy of a sea wall built in the 1930s and well-maintained since. A spring-fed water tank, fireplace and room partitions are clearly visible. But even Midhowe Broch is at risk from climate change. A climate risk assessment of Orkney\u2019s Neolithic sites, published by conservation public body Historic Environment Scotland (HES) in July this year, described the potential impact of climate change on the sites as \u201cextreme\u201d and their vulnerability as \u201chigh\u201d. According to HES, average precipitation (rain, sleet and snow) has increased by 27% in Scotland since the early 1960s. In the same period, winter precipitation has gone up by more than 70% in parts of northern Scotland. Wetter weather means buildings are wetter for longer, meaning water is more likely to penetrate masonry and decay it. It also leads to metal parts of buildings corroding and the ground becoming unstable. This can lead to structural collapse. Sea levels are also rising and beach erosion is a growing problem. Since 1970 some Orkney beaches have narrowed by an average of 16 inches (40 centimeters) per year since 1970. That is compared to an annual average loss of eight inches between 1890 and 1970, according to data from cross-governmental coastal change assessment partnership Dynamic Coast. Increased storminess also threatens damaging Orkney\u2019s historical sites, HES says. Arguably the most famous site of Orkney is Skara Brae. This Neolithic settlement, occupied from roughly 3100-2500BC, features a network of stone buildings. When inhabited it was approximately one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the sea with a freshwater loch and sand dunes in between. Now it sits only a few meters from the North Atlantic. Visitors can see the settlement\u2019s 5,000-year-old hearths, bed recesses, cupboards and dressers. Some 112,000 people visited it in 2018. \u201cClimate change is a really real present risk. The climate has already changed because of the influence of humans. And it\u2019s going to continue to change and that pace of change is going to speed up,\u201d said HES climate change scientist, David Harkin. \u201cSo the risk to sites like Skara Brae and other sites around Orkney, it\u2019s real, it\u2019s here, it\u2019s happening. But it shouldn\u2019t all be doom and gloom and despair. There is an opportunity to still do something about it and to avoid the worst possible consequences of climate change,\u201d he added."}
{"claim_id": "8886", "claim": "Estrogen predicts breast cancer recurrence: study.", "explanation": "Blood taken from women whose breast cancer returned showed high levels of estrogen even though many had been treated with estrogen-blocking drugs, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "A doctor examines a breast x-ray in an undated file photo. Blood taken from women whose breast cancer returned showed high levels of estrogen even though many had been treated with estrogen-blocking drugs, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. REUTERS/National Cancer Institute/Handout They said the finding suggests women who have had breast cancer should take extra steps \u2014 such as regular exercise and weight management \u2014 to reduce their estrogen levels and minimize the risk that their cancer will return. Estrogen is strongly linked with the initial development of many breast cancers, but few studies have looked at the link between high estrogen levels and cancer recurrence, especially in women who are taking anti-estrogen drugs like tamoxifen. \u201cThis is the largest study to date and the only one to have included women taking agents such as tamoxifen to reduce estrogen\u2019s effect on cancer growth,\u201d said Cheryl Rock, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego, whose study appears in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. Rock said taking anti-estrogen drugs like tamoxifen may not completely wipe out the hormone\u2019s effect in women who have high levels of estrogen. Tamoxifen transformed breast cancer therapy when it was shown to reduce the risk of cancer coming back by close to 50 percent. But Rock said women on that pill or a newer class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors should also consider some basic preventive measures. \u201cYou can\u2019t just assume because you\u2019ve got one drug that has good effect that you should forget about all of the other useful things that you might be able to do,\u201d she said in a telephone interview. Rock and colleagues drew their conclusions from a dietary intervention trial that followed 3,088 women who had been treated for early stage breast cancer but who were cancer-free at the time they enrolled. They identified 153 women from the study whose cancer had returned and matched them with 153 who were cancer-free after seven years. The women were matched up by type, body size, age, ethnicity and use of chemotherapy and other items. About two-thirds of the women had been taking tamoxifen, and 78 percent of them had so-called estrogen-receptor positive cancers \u2014 tumors that need estrogen to grow. When they looked at blood samples taken at the start of the trial, the researchers found women whose cancer came back had more than the double the concentration of estrogen compared with women who remained cancer-free. \u201cFor us it just connects the dots from what we would expect and now we will go forward and find lifestyle modification factors that would be a benefit for this target group,\u201d Rock said. She said moderate to vigorous exercise has been shown to help lower estrogen in the general population. \u201cThere is no reason it wouldn\u2019t in a breast cancer survivor,\u201d she said. And she said weight management would be especially useful to these women. Studies have found that women who put on a lot of weight at any stage of adulthood increase their risk of breast cancer, likely because estrogen accumulates in the fat and promotes tumors. \u201cWe are doing studies now that explore whether women who are heavier are at greater risk for recurrence,\u201d she said."}
{"claim_id": "9688", "claim": "School water coolers may help kids lose weight", "explanation": "Despite it being a fairly short report, CBS covers a lot of ground: it quantifies the benefits in absolute terms, outlines the study design and weighs the advantages of modern water dispensers against \u201cold-fashioned\u201d water fountains. But in other areas, the story falls short. There is no mention of costs and of study limitations. Although it quotes from the accompanying JAMA Pediatrics editorial, the CBS story doesn\u2019t feature any critical perspectives on the study. We would have liked a closer look at some of the study\u2019s shortcomings, which could have been achieved by comments from an independent source, or someone who was not involved in the study. More context on where this study fits in \u201cthe growing body of evidence\u201d would have also been welcome. Finally, word choice could have been better. CBS refers to the JAMA editorial and writes that \u201cthe study\u2019s findings are significant.\u201d However, \u201cstatistically significant\u201d has a different meaning than what the public believes is \u201csignificant.\u201d The distinction should be clear, or another word should be used. Childhood obesity is a health concern that is on the minds of many parents and policymakers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese, the CDC said. And compared to other countries around the world, the US comes out on top when it comes to obesity among adults, according to a 2014 OECD report. There are even speculations that high obesity rates may cause life expectancy in the US to decline. Therefore, any efforts to curb the \u201cobesity epidemic\u201d in America is newsworthy, especially if the intervention is low cost, low risk and for children.", "label": "true", "subjects": "weight loss", "main_text": "The CBS article does not mention any costs associated with the installation of a water dispenser. The JAMA Pediatrics article states that water jets are \u201crelatively low-cost\u201d interventions, with a one-time cost of about $1,000 per machine. There are also ongoing maintenance expenses, as well as additional costs for disposable cups. In addition,\u00a0if the jets affect sales of milk and other beverages on school grounds, the costs would actually be higher still. We believe the water jet cost should have been covered in the story, since researchers in the original journal article emphasized the association between a \u201crelatively low-cost water availability intervention and decreased student weight.\u201d That\u2019s why we give the CBS article an Not Satisfactory rating here. The CBS story does a good job quantifying the benefits in absolute terms, when the lead researcher points out that water dispensers were associated with \u201ca one percentage point reduction in the likelihood of being overweight for boys and a little over half a percentage point reduction for girls.\u201d The article translated this for readers as \u201ca modest weight drop among students.\u201d The piece also notes that water jets were linked with \u201ca decrease\u201d in the amount of half-pints of milk students bought, but it does not give any specific numbers. Specifically, researchers found a 12.3 decrease in the number of all types of milk purchased per student per year. We think the quantification of benefits in absolute terms is enough to merit a Satisfactory rating here. Students in New York City schools had access to water through drinking fountains before this intervention study. This study looked at a new way to deliver New York city tap water to kids, which may have encouraged them to opt for water instead of sugary beverages, like soda. We rate this one Not Applicable. The CBS story doesn\u2019t mention any study limitations or take any sort of critical angle on the research. But in the original journal article, researchers point out some of the shortcomings of their data. For one, they only looked at administrative data on water jet delivery and did not directly observe water consumption in the cafeteria. They also used the same technique for milk purchases, and they acknowledged that they had no data on which beverages students usually consume in school. Since the CBS story doesn\u2019t point out any limitations to the evidence, we give it an Not Satisfactory rating here. There is no disease mongering in the story. No conflicts of interests were reported in the original journal article. The study was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The CBS report only quoted comments from the study\u2019s lead researcher and then excerpts from the accompanying JAMA Pediatrics editorial. Technically, these editorial comments are sufficient to clear our bar, but we\u2019d note that the thrust of the quote is mainly to confirm what the researchers are reporting. We would have liked to have seen a quote from someone willing to provide a more critical perspective on the study, such as the significance of its limitations and their impact on the research. While we give the benefit of the doubt here as we always do, the story didn\u2019t really fulfill the spirit of this criterion. The story explains how water jets may be more effective than old-fashioned water fountains, due to concerns over water quality and fountain cleanliness. Drinking fountains also are less efficient at serving large numbers of children, the article adds. The availability of water dispensers is not in question. We would have liked to have seen a bit more context in the CBS story. Research looking at water availability is nothing new and has been conducted in the US and abroad \u2013 for example in Germany, researchers said. One US study found that water consumption nearly tripled after the installation of water jets, while the German study saw a decreased risk for students being overweight if more water was available in the classroom. However, the CBS article does quote the JAMA editorial, which pointed out this study \u201cadds to the growing body of evidence supporting the importance of providing drinking water access in schools.\u201d We think that\u2019s good enough for a Satisfactory rating. The article does not rely on any news releases we found online. There is also evidence of original reporting in the lead researcher\u2019s second comment, as he \u201ctold CBS News.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "5531", "claim": "Coral die-off predicted as marine heat wave engulfs Hawaii.", "explanation": "At the edge of an ancient lava flow where jagged black rocks meet the Pacific, small off-the-grid homes overlook the calm blue waters of Papa Bay on Hawaii\u2019s Big Island \u2014 no tourists or hotels in sight. Here, one of the islands\u2019 most abundant and vibrant coral reefs thrives just below the surface.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, General News, Oceans, Hawaii, Science, Travel, Corals, Heat waves, Coral reefs, U.S. News", "main_text": "Yet even this remote shoreline far from the impacts of chemical sunscreen, trampling feet and industrial wastewater is showing early signs of what\u2019s expected to be a catastrophic season for coral in Hawaii. Just four years after a major marine heat wave killed nearly half of this coastline\u2019s coral, federal researchers are predicting another round of hot water will cause some of the worst coral bleaching the region has ever experienced. \u201cIn 2015, we hit temperatures that we\u2019ve never recorded ever in Hawaii,\u201d said Jamison Gove, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. \u201cWhat is really important \u2014 or alarming, probably more appropriately \u2014 about this event is that we\u2019ve been tracking above where we were at this time in 2015.\u201d Researchers using high-tech equipment to monitor Hawaii\u2019s reefs are seeing early signs of bleaching in Papa Bay and elsewhere caused by a marine heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring to record highs for months. June, July and parts of August all experienced the hottest ocean temperatures ever recorded around the Hawaiian Islands. So far in September, oceanic temperatures are below only those seen in 2015. Forecasters expect high temperatures in the north Pacific will continue to pump heat into Hawaii\u2019s waters well into October. \u201cTemperatures have been warm for quite a long time,\u201d Gove said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just how hot it is. It\u2019s how long those ocean temperatures stay warm.\u201d Coral reefs are vital around the world as they not only provide a habitat for fish \u2014 the base of the marine food chain \u2014 but food and medicine for humans. They also create an essential shoreline barrier that breaks apart large ocean swells and protects densely populated shorelines from storm surges during hurricanes. In Hawaii, reefs are also a major part of the economy: Tourism thrives largely because of coral reefs that help create and protect iconic white sand beaches, offer snorkeling and diving spots, and help form waves that draw surfers from around the world. Ocean temperatures are not uniformly warm across the state, Gove noted. Local wind patterns, currents and even features on land can create hot spots in the water. \u201cYou have things like two giant volcanoes on the Big Island blocking the predominant trade winds,\u201d making the island\u2019s west coast, where Papa Bay sits, one of the hottest parts of the state, Gove said. He said he expects \u201csevere\u201d coral bleaching in those places. \u201cThis is widespread, 100% bleaching of most corals,\u201d Gove said. And many of those corals are still recovering from the 2015 bleaching event, meaning they are more susceptible to thermal stress. According to NOAA, the heat wave\u2019s causes include a persistent low-pressure weather pattern between Hawaii and Alaska that has weakened winds that otherwise might mix and cool surface waters across much of the North Pacific. What\u2019s causing that is unclear: It might reflect the atmosphere\u2019s usual chaotic motion, or it could be related to the warming of the oceans and other effects of human-made climate change. Beyond this event, oceanic temperatures will continue to rise in the coming years, Gove said. \u201cThere\u2019s no question that global climate change is contributing to what we\u2019re experiencing,\u201d he said. For coral, hot water means stress, and prolonged stress kills these creatures and can leave reefs in shambles. Bleaching occurs when stressed corals release algae that provide them with vital nutrients. That algae also gives the coral its color, so when it\u2019s expelled, the coral turns white. Gove said researchers have a technological advantage for monitoring and gleaning insights into this year\u2019s bleaching, data that could help save reefs in the future. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to track this event in real time via satellite, which is the first time that\u2019s ever been done,\u201d Gove said. In remote Papa Bay, most of the corals have recovered from the 2015 bleaching event, but scientists worry they won\u2019t fare as well this time. \u201cNearly every species that we monitor has at least some bleaching,\u201d said ecologist Greg Asner, director of Arizona State University\u2019s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, after a dive in the bay earlier this month. Asner told The Associated Press that sensors showed the bay was about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit above what is normal for this time of year. He uses advanced imaging technology mounted to aircrafts, satellite data, underwater sensors and information from the public to give state and federal researchers like Gove the information they need. \u201cWhat\u2019s really important here is that we\u2019re taking these (underwater) measurements, connecting them to our aircraft data and then connecting them again to the satellite data,\u201d Asner said. \u201cThat lets us scale up to see the big picture to get the truth about what\u2019s going on here.\u201d Scientists will use the information to research, among other things, why some coral species are more resilient to thermal stress. Some of the latest research suggests slowly exposing coral to heat in labs can condition them to withstand hotter water in the future. \u201cAfter the heat wave ends, we will have a good map with which to plan restoration efforts,\u201d Asner said. Meanwhile, Hawaii residents like Cindi Punihaole Kennedy are pitching in by volunteering to educate tourists. Punihaole Kennedy is director of the Kahalu\u2019u Bay Education Center, a nonprofit created to help protect Kahalu\u2019u Bay, a popular snorkeling spot near the Big Island\u2019s tourist center of Kailua-Kona. The bay and surrounding beach park welcome more than 400,000 visitors a year, she said. \u201cWe share with them what to do and what not to do as they enter the bay,\u201d she said. \u201cFor instance, avoid stepping on the corals or feeding the fish.\u201d The bay suffered widespread bleaching and coral death in 2015. \u201cIt was devastating for us to not be able to do anything,\u201d Punihaole Kennedy said. \u201cWe just watched the corals die.\u201d ___ Follow Associated Press Hawaii correspondent Caleb Jones on Instagram and Twitter ."}
{"claim_id": "8095", "claim": "Thailand bans entry to foreigners, prepares emergency measures against coronavirus.", "explanation": "The Thai government banned entry for all non-resident foreigners on Wednesday but held off on restricting people\u2019s movement inside the country as the government prepared to roll out emergency measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A state of emergency will take effect from midnight local time (1700 GMT) until April 30, giving Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha sweeping powers to combat the surge of coronavirus infection. The Southeast Asian country recorded 107 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the known total to 934. Four people have died since the outbreak began, 860 are hospitalised while 70 patients have recovered and gone home. New restrictions taking effect at midnight include the closing of all border crossings except for Thai nationals, diplomats and their families, and foreigners with work permits or other official documents allowing them to work in Thailand. \u201cWe are not closing the country, we are still allowing Thai people to return but for foreigners the country is closed,\u201d Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam told a news conference. He added that airports will remain open to flights from abroad. Wissanu said the government had no immediate plans to impose curfews or travel restrictions within the country. But he said checkpoints would be set up to screen inter-provincial travellers and an \u201call day curfew\u201d could still be introduced in certain areas if coronavirus contagion worsened. The government on Sunday closed down department stores, malls, dine-in restaurants, entertainment venues and other public places for several weeks in major cities across the country. It is still allowing banks, government offices, pharmacies and grocery stores to operate as normal but urged people over the age of 70, children under five and people with respiratory and other health complications to stay home."}
{"claim_id": "16759", "claim": "North Korea is telling its people that their men\u2019s national team is in the World Cup final.", "explanation": "Bloggers said that North Korea was telling its people that the national team was in the World Cup final. The video was satire and bore unmistakable markings, for any Korean speaker, of having not come from the communist country. Plus, North Korea had been broadcasting the World Cup and any soccer fan there would know that their team failed to qualify.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Foreign Policy, Sports, PunditFact, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "Germany may have won the 2014 World Cup, but the tournament featuring soccer\u2019s best has left the anonymous producer of the YouTube channel Korea News Backup with good reason to pop the champagne. Its mock video of a North Korean news broadcast previewing the final match has garnered over 8 million views. The video\u2019s charm? It appears to tell North Koreans that their team made it to the final and will face the powerhouse team from Portugal. We at PunditFact took an interest because bloggers, and maybe even some journalists, thought North Korea was actually trying to put one over on its citizens. We want to be clear: The video is a fake. But a writer for the blog Outside the Beltway posted, \"North Korea is telling its people that their men\u2019s national team is in the World Cup final.\" The bulk of the post is a copy and paste from an article on the British website, Metro: \"We\u2019ve known for a long time now that supreme leader Kim Jong-un controls the flow of information to his people, with the television channels only reporting positive stuff about the country. \"But in a report posted on YouTube, the media have been caught broadcasting that North Korea are on course to win the biggest prize in football, despite not actually qualifying for the World Cup. \"The report says North Korea\u2019s brave side crushed Japan 7-0, USA 4-0 and China 2-0 in the group stages, before going on to reach the final\u2026 against Portugal. \"Of course, the real final, which takes place this Sunday, is between Germany and Argentina.\" The Outside the Beltway blogger observes at the end, \"This is yet another example of just how pervasive the Kim dictatorship is, and just how hard it will likely be to integrate this nation into the real world when that regime finally falls.\" We emailed the blogger and didn\u2019t hear back. Curiously, by the time other readers saw the Metro article he linked to, it said something quite different from the words he quoted. The second sentence was key. \"But in a brilliant spoof report posted on YouTube, the media appears to be caught broadcasting that North Korea are on course to win the biggest prize in football, despite not actually qualifying for the World Cup,\" the Metro article said. We emailed the Metro sports writer to see if the article had been changed from the original but again, no word back. So it\u2019s possible that that sports writer had also been pulled in, but we can\u2019t say. From the comments on the Outside the Beltway blog, it is clear that while most readers doubted the newscast\u2019s authenticity, others were ready to believe that the North Korean propaganda machine was aiming for a personal best in the disinformation category. A dose of reality There are several reasons the North Korean government would be unlikely to try such a stunt. For one, state-controlled media had been broadcasting the games,\u00a0although not live. Also, most North Koreans would likely know that about two years ago, their team failed to qualify for the World Cup. It ranks 137 in the FIFA world rankings; only 32 countries get to compete. Soccer stat maven and professor of government at Cornell University Chris Anderson said \"making it to the final is basically impossible for North Korea on sporting grounds.\" Stephen Epstein, a specialist in Korean\u00a0culture and society at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, noted several elements in the video would instantly tell a trained viewer that it was a joke. \"As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was,\" Epstein said. \"The way the women was speaking, her accent, sounded like a South Korean broadcaster. Also she used the word \u2018fighting\u2019 (an English word brought over to South Korea). It clearly was not from the north.\" In fact, Epstein said he thinks only people outside South Korea \"were suckered.\" But he said that\u2019s understandable. \"If you don\u2019t have a real familiarity with North Korea and just know what Western media generally provides, this would fit with a preconceived stereotype,\" Epstein said. A mountain birth and a golf score It\u2019s not as though North Korea doesn\u2019t exercise creative license. According to the official biography of its previous leader Kim Jong Il, he was born on \u00a0Mount\u00a0Baekdu, a sacred place in Korean culture. In reality, historians place his birth on Russian soil near Vladivostok where his father lived in a camp for Korean exiles. There\u2019s also another sports myth, and this one is interesting because it has morphed over time. In 1994, the Agence France Presse news service said the golf pro at the Pyongyang golf course told a reporter with the Australian Financial Review that Kim Jong Il had scored 5 holes-in-one on his very first time on the links. \"He is an excellent golfer,\" the pro told the reporter. What\u2019s notable about this factoid is that it was first ascribed to the golf pro alone, with no witnesses, as told to a named Australian reporter. By 2003, the New York Post had it at 11 holes-in-one. In 2011, the golf website Cybergolf.com had the 11, plus that the feat was witnessed by 17 security guards and \"dutifully reported to the North Korean masses by the state news agency.\" With golf as with soccer, stories about North Korea seem to have the ability to take on a life of their own. Our ruling Bloggers said that North Korea was telling its people that the national team was in the World Cup final. The video was satire and bore unmistakable markings, for any Korean speaker, of having not come from the communist country. Plus, North Korea had been broadcasting the World Cup and any soccer fan there would know that their team failed to qualify. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "14917", "claim": "The Chinese are there\" in Syria.", "explanation": "Carson said the Chinese have a presence in Syria. In context, Carson\u2019s comments suggested a military presence. That claim appears to be lifted from unconfirmed blog posts and a news report by a Lebanese news site. China and the White House have denied that Chinese troops are in Syria, and experts told us there\u2019s no evidence to the contrary. Even if Carson meant something less than a military presence, China seems to be taking a hands-off approach to the conflict in Syria.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Foreign Policy, Military, Ben Carson, ", "main_text": "Ben Carson suggested during the Fox Business News debate in Milwaukee that China is involved in the Syrian conflict. When asked if he supports President Barack Obama\u2019s decision to put 50 special operations troops in Syria, Carson said any presence is better than no presence, especially given the forces at play. Here\u2019s what he said in context: Moderator Maria Bartiromo: \"Dr. Carson, you were against putting troops on the ground in Iraq and against a large military force in Afghanistan. Do you support the president\u2019s decision to now put 50 special ops forces in Syria and leave 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan?\" Carson: \"Well, putting the special ops people in there is better than not having them there, because they \u2014 that\u2019s why they\u2019re called special ops, they\u2019re actually able to guide some of the other things that we\u2019re doing there. \"And what we have to recognize is that Putin is trying to really spread his influence throughout the Middle East. This is going to be his base. And we have to oppose him there in an effective way. \"We also must recognize that it\u2019s a very complex place. You know, the Chinese are there, as well as the Russians, and you have all kinds of factions there.\" We were curious about Carson\u2019s assertion that the \"Chinese are there\" in Syria. According to the White House, China and experts, they are not. But before we dive into that issue, let\u2019s sort out some semantics. What Carson meant Multiple media outlets, including our friends at the Washington Post\u2019s Fact Checker, took Carson\u2019s remarks to mean that Chinese troops are in Syria. But the Carson camp forwarded us a statement refuting that interpretation. Rather, his actual point was that China is providing \"various military weapons and equipment that Syria is using in the current conflict,\" according to the statement which also included several links to articles on that point. \"Dr. Carson does not believe that China is currently fighting in or deploying troops to Syria, and contrary to press reports, he has never made that assertion,\" the statement reads. \"Regardless, Dr. Carson's claim that China is exerting its influence and has in the ongoing Syrian conflict is well-supported by evidence, even if it is not evidence commonly available to or easily accessible by journalists without the requisite language skills or knowledge about Chinese.\" However, Carson seems to be backtracking. On Nov. 11, the day after the debate, a top Carson adviser spoke specifically about \"Chinese military advisers\" in Syria when defending Carson\u2019s remarks. \"During Dr. Carson\u2019s conversations with military operatives and people in Iraq, in that part of the world, (they) discussed with him multiple reports that Chinese military advisers are on the ground in Syria operating with Russia (sic) special-operations personnel,\" the adviser told Business Insider. A Carson spokesperson also referred the Washington Post\u2019s Fact Checker to a few blog posts speculating explicitly about Chinese military personnel in Syra. We also ran Carson\u2019s statement by an expert on political campaign rhetoric. \"Saying \u2018the Chinese are there\u2019 means the Chinese are there, not just that their weapons are there,\" said Kathleen Kendall, a communications professor at the University of Maryland. \"He is making a clear, firm assertion. Had he made a more nuanced statement, such as \u2018there is a Chinese influence there,\u2019 there would be some room for debate on his meaning.\" No Chinese in Syria What\u2019s the source of the idea that China is in Syria? The posts Carson\u2019s spokesperson sent to the Washington Post all link back to a Sept. 27 report from the Lebanon-based news site Al-Masdar Al-\u2019Arabi. According to the news site, a senior officer in the Syrian Arab Army said Chinese military personnel would join Russian marines in the Syria in the next six weeks. The story then got picked up by Russian state media, and the overseas media attention led China's Foreign Ministry to officially deny China\u2019s presence in Syria in mid October, while its state-run media characterized the reports as \"speculative nonsense,\" according to Reuters. Carson\u2019s statement also prompted responses from the White House. Press secretary Josh Earnest said he was \"speechless\" over Carson\u2019s claim that he has better intelligence than the administration. \"I really can\u2019t speak to what he was referring to, but unless you\u2019re talking about having a diplomatic presence, I\u2019m not sure what he was referencing,\" National Security Adviser Susan Rice said at a press conference. \"I have not seen evidence of Chinese military involvement in Syria.\" Experts told us it would be very uncharacteristic for China \u2014 a country with a longstanding, though gradually changing policy of nonintervention \u2014 to send troops abroad, especially to the Middle East. \"The Chinese have been very, very clear from day one that Syria is not something they want to take responsibility for,\" said Ian Bremmer, the president of the Eurasia Group, a global consulting firm. \"It would go against absolutely everything we know about China. And Syria is the world's worst morass. ... The Chinese want no part of this.\" \"There is no possibility that China is planning on sending troops into Syria,\" said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. \"China doesn't send troops abroad except for peacekeeping purposes. China isn't interested in taking on the role of global policeman.\" Both Bremmer and Glaser noted that official Chinese statements on Syria are vague comments promoting peace and self-rule. \"China opposes easy interference in other countries' domestic affairs. China supports Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, as well as its approach to find its own path of development that is consistent with its national circumstances,\" China\u2019s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a visiting Syrian official in mid October. The same sentiment is expressed in a five-point proposal for the Syrian conflict put forward by China during the United Nations\u2019 Geneva II peace conference in 2014, as well as the four-step initiative it offered at the Syria peace talks in Vienna at the end of October 2015. That came as news to Bremmer, who noted he\u2019s not surprised that the neurosurgeon flubbed a statement about foreign policy. Is it possible that some Chinese officials are in Syria discreetly? \"There are 1.3 billion Chinese, they're in a lot of places. China\u2019s got an economic interest in Syria obviously, so would I be stunned that there were a couple of Chinese intelligence guys on the ground? No, but they're not playing a military role,\" Bremmer said. Our ruling Carson said the Chinese have a presence in Syria. In context, Carson\u2019s comments suggested a military presence. That claim appears to be lifted from unconfirmed blog posts and a news report by a Lebanese news site. China and the White House have denied that Chinese troops are in Syria, and experts told us there\u2019s no evidence to the contrary. Even if Carson meant something less than a military presence, China seems to be taking a hands-off approach to the conflict in Syria. We rate Carson\u2019s claim ."}
{"claim_id": "32143", "claim": "A Maryland doctor who participated in a secret surgery to remove a blood clot from Hillary Clinton's brain died suddenly under mysterious circumstances.", "explanation": "It\u2019s highly unlikely a 68-year-old patient who had just been through major brain surgery would have been up to sitting through a grueling 3.5-hour questioning just two days later, or that the FBI would have conducted such an interview under those circumstances.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, hillary clinton, sorcha faal, whatdoesitmean.com", "main_text": "On 30 September 2016, Dr. Sandeep Sherlekar was found dead in his office at the American Spine Center in Frederick, Maryland. According to local police, evidence gathered at the scene indicated  Dr. Sherlekar had taken his own life with an intentional overdose:  Frederick police said their review of evidence from Dr. Sandeep Sherlekar\u2019s office in the American Spine Center indicated the 51-year-old took his own life, said Sgt. Andrew Alcorn, a Frederick police Criminal Investigations Division supervisor. \u201cWe are ready to officially call it a suicide and we\u2019re confident that the medical examiner\u2019s office will determine the manner of death was a suicide,\u201d Alcorn said. \u201cThere was video inside the business that we reviewed that [shows] the doctor was alone at the time of his death and leading up to it, and he also left several notes.\u201d Detectives believe Sherlekar died of an intentional overdose, based on evidence gathered and the lack of any sign of significant trauma to his body, Alcorn said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know what\u2019s involved in terms of the chemicals used, but it appears to be an overdose,\u201d Alcorn said. \u201cWhen the [medical examiner] gives us the toxicology reports back, we should know more.\u201d  Although law enforcement authorities haven\u2019t openly stated a motive for the doctor\u2019s suicide, it was quite possibly linked to the fact that he and four other medical professionals had recently been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of agreeing to refer urine specimens to a testing lab for evaluation in return for $1.37 million in kickbacks, conspiring to defraud the IRS, health care fraud, and making false statements on patient medical records. Dr. Sherlekar\u2019s death would likely have received little notice outside of Frederick had the conspiracy-mongering whatdoesitmean.com web site not used it as fodder for yet another \u201cSorcha Faal\u201d report that weaves actual events into fabricated narratives of ominous political happenings:  Sorcha Faal is the alleged author of an ongoing series of \u201creports\u201d published at WhatDoesItMean.com, whose work is of such quality that even other conspiracy nutters don\u2019t think much of it. Each report resembles a news story in its style, but usually includes a sensational headline barely related to reality (e.g. \u201cAmerican Rebel Forces Attack Gas Pipelines, Explode Trains As US Civil War Nears\u201d) and quotes authoritative high-level Russian sources (such as the Russian Federal Security Service in the same article) to support its most outrageous claims. Except for the stuff attributed to unverifiable sources, the reports don\u2019t contain much original material. They are usually based on various news items from the mainstream media and/or whatever the clogosphere is currently hyperventilating about, with each item shoehorned into the conspiracy narrative the report is trying to establish. In this case, WhatDoesItMean spun the doctor\u2019s death into a fantasy story playing on rumors about Hillary Clinton\u2019s supposedly concealed serious health issues, holding that Sherlekar had been part of a \u201cspecialized medical team\u201d who secretly removed a blood clot from Hillary Clinton\u2019s brain on 30 June 2016 \u2014 and then was killed (as part of the \u201cClinton body bags\u201d scheme) to keep him from revealing what he knew about the presidential candidate\u2019s medical condition:  A shocking new report circulating in the Kremlin today prepared by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) says that the infamously named \u201cClinton Body Count\u201d has now increased after a Maryland (US) based doctor was discovered dead under mysterious circumstances \u2014 and who had, this past June, been part of a specialized medical team that removed a blood clot from the brain of Hillary Clinton. According to this report, Hillary Clinton has long been known to have grave health issues since she collapsed in December, 2012, and that led to her first operation to remove a blood clot from her brain \u2014 and that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, recently stated took her 6 months to recover from. This past summer, however, this report continues, on 30 June, SVR analysts state that Hillary Clinton collapsed on her private plane while in route to her Washington D.C. home and was unconscious when it landed at Joint Base Andrews \u2014 which is the home base of the 89th Airlift Wing that manages the flights of all top American officials, including the President. Performing the emergency brain surgery on Hillary Clinton at the MedStar Montgomery Medical Center on 30 June, this report continues, was the Islamic neurosurgeon Amjad Anaizi who is her private brain doctor whom she frequently visits at the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital near her home in Washington D.C. \u2014 and who, also, is the cousin of Hillary Clinton\u2019s top aid Huma Abedin who is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood terror organization. Attending Doctor Anaizi in his operating on Hillary Clinton\u2019s brain to remove the blood clot that had rendered her unconscious, this report says, was Doctor Sandeep Sherlekar who was the on call anesthesiologist at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center \u2014 but who, exactly 3 months later, on 30 September, was discovered dead. Doctor Sandeep Sherlekar\u2019s death fits exactly the profile of all of the other deaths associated with the Clinton Crime Family \u2014 with the victim fist \u201cknowing to much\u201d, then having \u201ctheir personal and professional reputations destroyed\u201d, with the final act being \u201ctheir mysterious death\u201d as a message for others to not dare cross these most dangerous of criminals. All of this was just another yarn that was, as usual, aggregated as a factual news report by a number of bottom-feeding web sites. Hillary Clinton underwent no emergency brain surgery on 30 June 2016: She attended a fundraising luncheon in San Francisco the day before, then returned to Washington, D.C. for a  2 July interview with the FBI regarding allegations that classified information was improperly stored or transmitted on a personal e-mail server she used while serving as Secretary of State."}
{"claim_id": "9066", "claim": "Landmark study may impact standard stroke treatment guidelines", "explanation": "This news release from Emory University describes  findings of a randomized clinical trial that showed  positive outcomes among almost half of stroke patients whose brain blood clots were removed well outside the time frame of six hours currently recommended by stroke experts. The release properly discloses that the study was funded by a company that makes the clot removing device and quotes investigators from one of the participant investigators not at Emory. The release could have been stronger had it disclosed details about the patients (such as age, and their co-occurring conditions, race, gender); the size of the population of stroke victims in the U.S. likely to benefit from \u201clate\u201d clot removal; and limitations of the study (e.g. follow up was for 90 days, not long term). Some details on which stroke victims are considered eligible for clot removal within six to 24 hours and the costs of the clot removal procedure itself would have been helpful. Disability from stroke is a major cause of suffering and high health care costs in the United States and elsewhere, and despite advances in technology (clot removal devices) and clot-busting drugs, its prevention has long depended on how fast a stroke patient can make it to a hospital for treatment. The six-hour window long thought to be the maximum time in which clot removal technologies could save brains and lives has meant that individuals unlucky enough to have a stroke in remote locations, or in bad weather, for example, stood little chance of enough recovery to lead independent lives. Thus, the results of rigorous studies like the one described in the release \u2014 it was stopped early because of the positive outcomes \u2014 are exceptionally newsworthy, and important for the public to know about.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Emory Health Sciences,stroke treatment", "main_text": "Although preventing disability in stroke patients will clearly save health care dollars, it\u2019s also possible that the additional costs of imaging to identify patients eligible for clot removal after six hours will add to health care costs. But this issue is not addressed. The release also contains no information about the potential number (and overall percentage) of stroke patients who might benefit from late clot removal, further obscuring the potential savings in dollars as well as disability. The release does an adequate job of comparing the randomized groups (late clot retrieval versus medication), although it could have offered much more information about how the study defined patients whose damaged brain area was considered \u201csmall\u201d enough to qualify for late clot removal. The release doesn\u2019t mention any specific harms from either approach, nor what the rate of adverse effects was in either group. It\u2019s not enough to state only that there was no difference. The release noted that there was \u201cno difference in mortality or other safety end points between the two groups of patients\u201d in the study (those undergoing clot removal and those getting medical only). But the release could have been much clear about specific \u201csafety end-points,\u201d complications of both the clot-removal procedure and drug therapy; and certainly more information about residual disability in both patient groups. This is the category where a \u201cding\u201d seems needed. The reader will not learn enough about the patient selection criteria, the patients themselves, the specifics about imaging requirements and so on to understand or appreciate why this study is considered a potential \u201clandmark\u201d in stroke treatment. While this was a randomized trial, it was a non-blinded non-placebo-controlled one. The fact that the patients in the clot removal group knew they were getting extra treatment may have introduced bias. Limitations such as this should have been mentioned in the release, but weren\u2019t. No mongering here. The funding source \u2014 a device manufacturer \u2014 was disclosed. Readers of the release will get a general and adequate idea of the relative lack of options open to stroke victims who arrive at a hospital after the six-hour window considered optimal for mechanical clot removal. The alternative is not doing the procedure for late arrivals which is fairly clear from the release. In this case, availability has to do with whether hospitals offer this procedure. Since the procedure is already part of standard practice we\u2019ll rate this Satisfactory, even though it\u2019s not explicitly stated. The release might have noted that previous research had suggested that some extension of the six-hour timetable for optimal clot removal was possible, even for medical therapy. But overall, the release makes clear why and how this trial was novel. Terms like \u201cbreakthrough\u201d and \u201cparadigm shift\u201d are over-the-top for these findings. While the release provides good supporting data, readers should remember that the study was a non-blinded, non-placebo controlled trial and given what we have learned from the ORBITA trial on cardiovascular stenting which has gained so much attention recently, even intervention therapies need a placebo control."}
{"claim_id": "5044", "claim": "California sues US over home health worker union dues.", "explanation": "Five states have joined forces to try and block a new rule from the Trump administration they say weakens labor unions and their ability to collectively bargain for wages and benefits.", "label": "true", "subjects": "California, Health, Lawsuits, Labor unions, Medicaid, Xavier Becerra", "main_text": "California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, announced the lawsuit on Monday with attorneys general in Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon. The lawsuit seeks to block a rule finalized last week by the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services. Becerra and union leaders say it would ban home health care workers paid for by Medicaid from automatically deducting their union dues and health insurance premiums from their paychecks. CMS spokesman Jack Cheevers declined to comment on Monday, saying the agency has not seen the lawsuit yet. But in announcing the final rule last week, CMS said \u201cnothing in this rule would interfere with an employer\u2019s ability to make payroll deductions that are required by law or voluntary deductions for things like health and life insurance ...  and union dues.\u201d In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled union dues for home health care workers had to be voluntary, meaning unions could not deduct dues from employees who were not members yet were still covered under the collective bargaining agreement. That same year, former President Barack Obama\u2019s administration issued a ruling clarifying states could deduct dues from paychecks of home health care workers who volunteered to join the union. The Trump administration reversed that rule, arguing it violated federal law that bans states from diverting Medicaid money to third parties, with some exceptions. But Becerra and union leaders said it is designed to weaken the finances of unions by making it harder for people to pay their dues. \u201cIt is a shameful political attack on home care providers who are largely women and people of color,\u201d said April Verette, president of SEIU Local 2015, which represents more than 385,000 long term care workers in California. Home health care workers are part of Medicaid\u2019s In-Home Supportive Services program. California has the largest IHSS program in the country, with more than 500,000 patients and more than 470,000 workers. Becerra noted California and other states could get around this new rule by declining to accept Medicaid dollars for the In-Home Supportive Services program. But Becerra noted for California that would mean forfeiting $6.5 billion in federal tax dollars. California has the largest IHSS program in the country, with more than 500,000 patients and more than 470,000 workers. \u201cThat is not an option in California,\u201d Becerra said. \u201cWe have a responsibility to these workers and to the people they care for to fight back when their rights and their health care are at stake.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "33265", "claim": "Caitlyn Jenner regrets transitioning to female and wishes to de-transition.", "explanation": "Sanofi SA and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday that they will slash the U.S. list price of their potent but expensive cholesterol fighter Praluent by 60 percent, as the drugmakers follow a similar move by rival Amgen Inc in hopes of increasing use of the drug.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Media Matters, ASP Article, caitlin jenner, de-transition", "main_text": "The new list price for Praluent will be $5,850 a year, matching the price Amgen set when it lowered the list of its competing drug, Repatha, in October. Sanofi and Regeneron said they expect the lower-priced Praluent to be available for pharmacies to order in early March. They said the new price should improve patient access and result in lower out-of-pocket costs for U.S. consumers. Praluent and Repatha belong a class of injectable biotech drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors that dramatically lower bad LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attacks and death. Sales of both have been severely constrained by onerous roadblocks to patient access put up by insurers looking to limit spending on the expensive drugs. They were approved in 2015 with initial list prices of more than $14,000 a year. In March of last year, Regeneron and Sanofi said that they would be willing to charge less for their drug if insurers agreed to reduce barriers for high-risk heart patients. A few months later they struck a deal with Express Scripts, now part of Cigna Corp, to make the drug available to that company\u2019s customers at a price in the range of $4,500 to $6,600 a year. The United States, which leaves drug pricing to market competition, has higher prices than in other developed countries, where governments directly or indirectly control costs. That makes it by far the world\u2019s most lucrative market for manufacturers. Congress has been targeting the pharmaceutical industry over the rising cost of prescription drugs for U.S. consumers, particularly since Democrats took over the House of Representatives in January. Executives from at least six drugmakers plan to testify at a Senate hearing on rising prescription drug prices later this month. Drug pricing is also a top priority of the administration of President Donald Trump, who had made it a central issue of the 2016 presidential campaign."}
{"claim_id": "10900", "claim": "Botox may prevent irregular heartbeat after bypass surgery", "explanation": "This concise (393 word) news release from the American Heart Association on a trial that used botulinum toxin to prevent irregular heart rhythms after bypass surgery packs a lot of good information into a small frame. The novel use of botulinum toxin represented in the story is an interesting and potentially important step toward a possible solution. As noted, the research was conducted in a small sample of 60 patients and although the results are impressive, they should be viewed with an understanding that many other potential therapies have failed on subsequent examination. The news release is written in a clear and measured way, although a clarification on the type of botulinum toxin used and the potential costs would have been helpful for reporters and the public. Atrial fibrillation after coronary bypass surgery is a vexing problem. Most patients who develop atrial fibrillation post-procedure do so within a few days of the procedure so an intraoperative or preoperative solution seems reasonable.Atrial fibrillation can cause serious complications for the patient undergoing heart bypass, extend their stay in the hospital, and substantially drive up the costs of the heart treatment.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Association/Society news release,cardiovascular disease", "main_text": "The story rightly points out that the development of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery has significant financial implications: \u201cAtrial fibrillation is also always associated with lengthened hospitalization and that means increased healthcare costs.\u201d But we would have liked to have seen some attention paid to the cost of the intervention, namely multiple injections of botulinum toxin. We calculate the cost of one 4mls vial of Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA) to be approximately $1000. This cost is likely to be rather small in comparison to the cost of extended hospitalizations, antiarrhythmic therapies and lost productivity from atrial fibrillation. The story does a good job in detailing the results of the study and the apparent benefit of botulinum toxin injections in this small sample randomized study. Researchers found that: The story appropriately points out that there were no additional harms seen in the group injected with the botulinum toxin compared to those who received saline other than those associated with the surgery. \u201cNo complications from the Botox injections were reported,\u201d according to the release. \u201cBut complications from the bypass surgery were similar in both groups, including time in intensive care and on a breathing machine, and infection rate.\u201d The release satisfies this criterion but a few more details would have made the release even better. We are told that 60 subjects were enrolled and were randomly assigned to receive either botulinum toxin of saline. We are also told the study was blinded. Other important details about the study are omitted including baseline differences between the two groups, number of vessels engrafted, duration of bypass or number of off bypass procedures. All are important variables in the development of atrial fibrillation post operatively. Atrial fibrillation post coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) can dramatically impact the patient\u2019s quality of life as well as potentially increase morbidity. The story does not over state the impact and provides statistics concerning its prevalence. The funding sources (The Russian State Research Institute of Circulation Pathology and the Siberian Division of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences) are noted in the release. Given the impact of post-operative atrial fibrillation, it is reasonable to assume that other attempts have been made to reduce its incidence in this population. A variety of antiarrhythmic drugs and beta adrenergic blockers have been studied with variable results. It would have been very helpful to add a few words about the alternative pharmalogical agents. Since the release makes no claim that this therapy is ready to be used outside of clinical trials we\u2019ll give this a satisfactory. The story makes it clear that botulinum toxin is available and is routinely used in cosmetic dermatology. For that use it\u2019s sold under the trade name Botox Cosmetic. However, there are four different FDA approved strains of the toxin. Various formulations of the toxin have received\u00a0 FDA approval for use in treating excessive sweating, migraines, dystonia, bladder control issues, and several other non-cosmetic conditions. Those formulations have been available for many years as well. Since this is the first time botulinum toxin has been tested in human hearts, it\u2019s safe to say that it could be several years before it receives approval as a preventative for heart complications. The release is clear that larger studies are needed. Dr. Steinberg\u2019s comments on the study being the \u201cfirst in man\u201d establishes the novelty of the approach. The release does not use unjustifiable language. Instead, the language is very measured and appropriate."}
{"claim_id": "1714", "claim": "Georgia takes step toward legalizing medical marijuana.", "explanation": "A bill that would legalize medical marijuana in Georgia for patients with seizure disorders and other medical conditions cleared a big hurdle on Wednesday when the state House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the legislation.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The bill, which faltered last year on the last day of the legislative session, passed the House by a vote of 158-2 and now goes to the Senate for consideration. It would allow patients with diseases including cancer and multiple sclerosis to use a non-intoxicating oil derived from the marijuana plant. To qualify, patients or their caregivers would have to register with the state Department of Public Health after getting a physician\u2019s certification that they are being treated for one of the medical conditions covered by the bill. Georgia would become the 12th U.S. state to allow non-intoxicating oil for medical use, said Erik Altieri, spokesman for the pro-marijuana organization NORML. Another 23 states allow regular marijuana to be smoked for medicinal purposes, said Altieri. The bill\u00a0covers a \u201cdecent range of conditions\u201d for medical marijuana use, said Altieri. A recent trend has been for legislatures to approve bills that only allow marijuana use in cases of seizure disorders, he added. \u201cWe hope the Senate will support it as is and not amend it to be further restrictive,\u201d said Altieri."}
{"claim_id": "33560", "claim": "A man using the screen name 'DreamWeaverGrey' is luring women to their deaths over the Internet.", "explanation": "Online alert warns that someone using the screen name 'DreamWeaverGrey' is luring women to their deaths over the Internet.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Crime, crime warnings, Murdering Madmen", "main_text": "Information goes a long way in the Internet era, and this one\u2019s got the legs to outlast even the oldest netizen. There once was some truth to the following warnings about an online stalker of women called \u2018DreamWeaverGrey\u2019 (originally \u2018Slavemaster\u2019), but it\u2019s long outdated:  If a person with the screen-name of DreamWeaverGrey contacts you, do not reply. DO not talk to this person; do not answer any of whispers or requests for private in Pogo. Whoever this person may be, he/she is a suspect for murder in the deaths of 56 women (so far) contacted through the Internet. This screen-name has also been seen on Yahoo, AOL, AIM, and Excite so far. This is not a joke! Please send this to men too\u2026 just in case! Send to everyone you know! Ladies, this is serious. If a guy by the name of SlaveMaster contacts you do not answer. He has killed 56 women that he has talked to on the internet. PLEAZE SEND OUT TO ALL THE WOMEN ON YOUR BUDDY LIST. ALSO ASK THEM TO PASS THIS ON. He has been on {{   Yahoo- Aol\u2013 Excite }} so far. This is no JOKE.!!!!!! AND PLEASE SEND THIS TO MEN TO\u2026\u2026.JUST IN CASE! Send to EVERY ONE YOU KNOW!! John Edward Robinson Sr., 56, was arrested on 2 June 2000 and charged with sexual assault on two women in the Kansas City area. Robinson lured the women (as he had others) into participating in sadomasochistic sex by contacting them over the Internet under the name \u201cslavemaster.\u201d  The two women filed charges after Robinson \u201cbrutalized them in a way that went beyond what they intended.\u201d After Robinson\u2019s arrest, law enforcement authorities discovered two 55-gallon industrial barrels, each containing a woman\u2019s body, on land Robinson owned in Kansas. A few days later, they discovered three more bodies in barrels kept in a storage space Robinson rented in Missouri. All five women appeared to have been bludgeoned to death. Robinson was also suspected in the mid-1980s disappearances of three women and an infant whose bodies had not yet been located. One of the bodies Robinson had stored in barrels was later identified as being one of these women, and the missing infant was discovered to have been adopted by Robinson\u2019s brother. In October 2002, John Robinson was convicted of the murder of three women, the two found in the barrels on his land, and the third the disappeared mother of the child he placed with his brother. In January 2003 he was sentenced to death for these murders. He has also been charged in the deaths of the three women found in Missouri. The \u201cslavemaster\u201d is monstrously real, but so far he\u2019s well short of the 56 victims claimed for him, and he remains behind bars, not out trolling the Internet for additional victims. This internet warning took on a life of its own, one quite independent of the facts. The small grain of truth (someone using the screen name \u201cSlavemaster\u201d was arrested for the murders of women he contacted on the Internet) was lost amidst the sandstorm of claims that he was still out there looking for more victims, and that he had killed 56 women so far. As well, pranksters have been pulling off jokes by substituting their acquaintances\u2019 screen names in place of \u201cSlavemaster,\u201d so now versions are circulating that warn netizens to be on the lookout for someone using the handle \u201cDodgecity53_,\u201d \u201cSweetCaliGuy4evr,\u201d \u201cooosparklesooo88,\u201d \u201cDreamWeaverGrey,\u201d \u201cMonkeyman935,\u201d \u201cFree_mumia911,\u201d\u201dineedatipdrill,\u201d \u201cRatBonesBlakStar,\u201d \u201cSilly Black Goose,\u201d \u201cBuc Vet,\u201d \u201cRooster,\u201d \u201cspikey_mikey913,\u201d or \u201cDarksideishere1,\u201d all screen names that have nothing to do with the real John Edward Robinson."}
{"claim_id": "30340", "claim": "The National Cancer Institute has \"admitted\" that \"cannabis kills cancer.", "explanation": "Because the article making the claim that the NCI \u201cadmitted\u201d that \u201ccannabis kills cancer\u201d uses information from a document that has no legal bearing on federal drug policy, and because that information does not in any way \u201cprove\u201d that cannabis could be a viable treatment for cancer,\u00a0we rank this claim as false.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, cancer, cannabis, marijuana", "main_text": "An August 2015 article published on the website PoliticusUSA contains the\u00a0claim\u00a0that an update to an National Institutes of Health document included a \u201cquiet\u201d admission that marijuana \u201ckills cancer\u201d: In just the past two weeks, the federal government and NIH have quietly confirmed that cannabis (marijuana) is very effective at killing cancer cells without harming healthy cells like radiation and chemotherapy. In fact, on the NIH website devoted to the hideous disease, Cancer.gov, they published the truth about marijuana and its effectiveness at combatting [sic] cancer in a stunning reversal of over four decades of deliberate fear-mongering and propaganda portraying the common weed as dangerous; all to satisfy the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, prison system, and law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal level. That PoliticusUSA story has been, and continues to be, used as source material for variations on a \u201cCancer Institute Finally Admits Marijuana Kills Cancer\u201d clickbait article that is cloned on a variety of low-rent websites. The \u201creport\u201d in question is the NCI\u2019s Physician Data Query (PDQ) on \u201cCannabis and Cannabinoids.\u201d The National Cancer Institute maintains a database of peer-reviewed cancer research and publishes regular updates and summaries of this research in a product called known as a PDQ: The PDQ cancer information summaries are comprehensive, evidence-based summaries on topics that cover adult and pediatric cancer treatment, supportive and palliative care, screening, prevention, genetics, and integrative, alternative, and complementary therapies. Perplexingly, viral stories citing a 2015 update to this PDQ report as some sort of smoking gun do so for no clear reason. Both the pre-update and post-update versions of the PDQ mentioned laboratory and animal studies that suggest potential anti-tumor effects from cannabis, and both versions include phrases that could be loosely (and falsely) interpreted as \u201cmarijuana kills cancer.\u201d The earliest NIH cannabis PDQ archived on the Internet Archive is a 6 November 2014 version, and the sections related to the potential anti-tumor capabilities of cannabis is identical to the\u00a0 allegedly nefarious July 2015 update. Both include this statement in the \u201coverview section\u201d: Cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory (see Question 6) The mysterious Question 6 (the other item cited by these viral studies as proof of some sort of admission by the government) provides information regarding a number of preclinical trials that have shown some promise at killing cancerous cells. That list includes studies on mice, rats, and cell lines suggesting that some cannabinoids (the group of medically relevant chemicals in cannabis) may be able to selectively kill cancerous cells\u00a0\u2014 including those found in colon, liver, and breast cancers. That list was also not modified in any way between 2014 and mid-2018, save for the addition of one new clinical review added to the PDQ in 2017. Since the addition of that study occurred after PoliticusUSA published their article, their assertion that the PDQ was changed in a way that could be interpreted as a quiet \u201cadmission\u201d of anything regarding anti-tumor potential in July 2015 is false. The PDQ does reference studies that suggest a possible medical role for cannabis in cancer treatment, but to claim that these changes were added \u201cquietly\u201d in 2015 is complete fiction. Equally made up is the claim that the studies referenced in the PDQ \u201cprove\u201d that cannabis \u201ckills\u201d cancer. The studies referenced in the PDQ are small scale preclinical trials (or reviews of such trials), and therefore they do not \u201cprove\u201d anything with regards to efficacy as a treatment for cancer in humans, which is a broad and diverse groups of diseases unlikely to be \u201ccured\u201d by a single chemical or group of chemicals. The number of drugs or treatments that have demonstrated preclinical potential only to be rejected after further study is prodigious: The organization Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America estimates that only 5 in 5,000 compounds that enter preclinical testing make it to human testing, and only 1 of those 5 may be safe and effective enough to reach pharmacy shelves. A major hurdle preventing human research on cannabis is that the United States government controversially considers it a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substance Act, meaning that the official position is that it has \u201cno currently accepted medical use,\u201d which limits research into its possible medical value. While the anti-tumor studies cited in the NCI PDQ could be part of a broader argument to remove marijuana from that Schedule 1 classification, they do not provide clear evidence that cannabis can be a viable cancer treatment. Further, a PDQ report, which are merely reviews of scientific studies regularly updated by scientists at the NIH, does not have any bearing on the United States Government\u2019s official view toward cannabis, and is wholly independent of any regulatory bodies or legal or political decision making groups: PDQ is a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is the federal government\u2019s center of biomedical research. The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. They are not policy statements of the NCI or the NIH."}
{"claim_id": "13808", "claim": "Tim Canova Says Debbie Wasserman Schultz \"has voted for huge subsidies for the sugar industry ... as well as for delays in cleanups.", "explanation": "Canova said Wasserman Schultz \"has voted for huge subsidies for the sugar industry ... as well as for delays in cleanups.\" In 2003, while in the state Senate, Wasserman Schultz was part of a unanimous vote for a seven-year delay to clean up the Everglades. Canova omits that two days later she changed her vote, but the vote had no practical effect and the measure passed anyway. Canova also said Wasserman Schultz voted to subsidize the sugar industry when she voted for the farm bill in 2008 and 2014. The farm bills didn\u2019t contain actual cash subsidies, but they clearly contained lucrative benefits for the industry. The farm bill is a sweeping bill that benefits a long list of programs -- not just sugar. Wasserman Schultz has taken other steps to support Everglades cleanup. But Canova\u2019s point about her specific actions is largely accurate.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment, Florida, Tim Canova, ", "main_text": "A nasty-looking toxic algae bloom on Florida\u2019s coasts has oozed into political races, including U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz\u2019s Democratic primary. Her opponent, Tim Canova, toured the mucky scene in Stuart wearing a surgical mask. He says that Wasserman Schultz shares in the blame for the algae that extends from Lake Okeechobee to Florida coastlines on the Treasure Coast and west coast. Canova said Wasserman Schultz, who represents South Florida, has sided with the main polluters of the water that flows into the Everglades: the sugar industry. Wasserman Schultz doesn\u2019t \"want us to know that she has voted for huge subsidies for the sugar industry and other agribusinesses, as well as for delays in cleanups, while failing to deliver federal funds for any real solution,\" he said on Medium July 9. Wasserman Schultz defended her environmental record to the Sun Sentinel, concluding, \"I will continue to walk the walk on fighting to restore our precious River of Grass while my opponent just continues to talk.\" Time for PolitiFact Florida to weigh in. Algae and Big Sugar Everybody agrees that the algae is bad for the environment and business. But they disagree on who is to blame. Pollution from fertilizer, manure and septic waste from suburbs and farms poured into Lake Okeechobee. That pollution stimulated the growth of algae, so when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released water from the lake to avoid a breach of the surrounding dike, the algae-ridden water traveled to other waters in Florida. Some politicians blame the federal government for the water release as well as its failure to raise the dike. Others blame the state of Florida for siding with the sugar industry and resisting calls to redirect water through sugar land. In Florida, Big Sugar has given generously to state and local politicians and to federal candidates, including Wasserman Schultz. \"The sugar industry is completely ambidextrous as far as its ability to penetrate the Republican and Democratic camps,\" said Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon Florida. Everglades delay vote Canova\u2019s campaign points to Wasserman Schultz\u2019s vote in the state Senate to delay Everglades cleanup and to votes on two farm bills while in Congress. In 2003, then state Sen. Wasserman Schultz voted to delay for seven years the requirement for sugar companies to clean up polluted discharges that had hurt the Everglades. It passed the state Senate 38-0 and the House 96-18, and Gov. Jeb Bush signed it into law. The well-financed sugar industry fought for the delay, while environmental groups opposed it. Two days later, Wasserman Schultz changed her vote to \"no\" because she said she was \"betrayed and misled\" about the facts. The Senate passed amendments that they believed were offered by the U.S. Justice Department but had actually been written by state environmental officials. Changing a vote is ceremonial only and carries zero practical effect -- except public relations. Ryan Banfill, Wasserman Schultz\u2019s spokesman, said that she initially supported the bill because it included a provision to buy sugar lands for filtration and was better than a 20-year-delay alternative. Sugar votes in Congress Canova\u2019s campaign also says Wasserman Schultz supported the sugar industry because of her votes to renew the 1981 Farm Bill in 2008 and 2014. The legislation is a sweeping bill that funds an array of nutrition and agriculture programs for multiple years. So if Wasserman Schultz voted against the farm bill, she would have also voted against food stamps, assistance to food banks and economic development programs in rural areas such as providing broadband internet service. But if Wasserman Schultz had opposed the sugar portion of the bills she could have said so and she didn\u2019t, Canova\u2019s campaign said. The farm bill gives lucrative benefits to the sugar industry. Specifically, it gives loans to processors and limits sugar imports to the United States. The government can also buy the surplus sugar and sell it for ethanol production. These benefits amount to market controls that reduce the supply of sugar, thus making it more expensive, said Josh Sewell, a policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that is critical of the sugar policy. The industry disagrees with the term \"subsidy.\" \"A direct subsidy -- a check -- we do not get that,\" said Ryan Weston, executive vice president of the Florida Sugarcane League. But Sewell said the price controls, marketing allotments and limits on imports are all government manipulations designed to provide an economic benefit to a set group and function as subsidies. \"Any governmental action that reduces the cost of doing business or increases prices beyond the normal functioning of a free market is a subsidy,\" he said. \"In this case consumers, food manufacturers, and sugar producers outside of the United States are on the losing end.\" The industry argues it needs the aid to compete globally with other countries that subsidize sugar and that the aid helps save jobs. Critics, including candy companies and consumer watchdogs, argue that it drives up prices for consumers and amounts to corporate welfare. In recent years, there have been several national proposals by Democrats and Republicans to change the sugar program, but votes are rare. In June 2013, however, the House and Senate voted on sugar amendments that would have scaled back the industry\u2019s benefits. The amendments failed in both chambers with Wasserman Schultz voting \"no.\" Most of the Florida delegation voted against the amendment, including both of Florida\u2019s senators Marco Rubio, a Republican, and Bill Nelson, a Democrat. Banfill said Wasserman Schultz voted against the amendment because she said it would keep the market stable, protect American jobs and maintain the program allowing the government to buy and then sell surplus sugar to ethanol producers. Lee, of Audubon Florida, says Wasserman Schultz isn\u2019t alone in her support of the federal government\u2019s sugar policy: \"The same attack could be applied to virtually every member of Congress from Florida and it could be applied to virtually every member of the Legislature.\" Banfill pointed to other efforts by Wasserman Schultz to clean up the Everglades and her 92 percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters. She has supported a clean water rule proposed by the EPA and helped get the authorization included in the budget for multiple segments of the Tamiami Trail to restore natural water flow to part of the Everglades. She is one of many cosponsors of the Central Everglades Planning Project that includes restoration projects but hasn\u2019t received a vote yet. Those are all steps that could help the Everglades and the environment, but the sugar industry\u2019s benefits from the government remain in place. \"Yes, these positions were important and significant,\" Lee said. \"However, these positions did not really challenge the sugar industry. On core issues for \u2018big sugar\u2019 they have her support.\" This is no different from every other major political leader in Florida, he added. Our ruling Canova said Wasserman Schultz \"has voted for huge subsidies for the sugar industry ... as well as for delays in cleanups.\" In 2003, while in the state Senate, Wasserman Schultz was part of a unanimous vote for a seven-year delay to clean up the Everglades. Canova omits that two days later she changed her vote, but the vote had no practical effect and the measure passed anyway. Canova also said Wasserman Schultz voted to subsidize the sugar industry when she voted for the farm bill in 2008 and 2014. The farm bills didn\u2019t contain actual cash subsidies, but they clearly contained lucrative benefits for the industry. The farm bill is a sweeping bill that benefits a long list of programs -- not just sugar. Wasserman Schultz has taken other steps to support Everglades cleanup. But Canova\u2019s point about her specific actions is largely accurate."}
{"claim_id": "12388", "claim": "Cannibals arrested in Florida claim eating human flesh cures diabetes and depression", "explanation": "Report of cannibals arrested in Florida is fake news", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fake news, PunditFact, TheMiamiGazette.com, ", "main_text": "An article that tells a story about cannibals arrested in Florida is fake. TheMiamiGazette.com website posted a story on May 30 with the headline, \"Cannibals Arrested in Florida Claim Eating Human Flesh Cures Diabetes and Depression.\" \"Police in Vernal Heights, Florida, arrested 3-practicing cannibals who claim eating human flesh cures both type-1 and type-2 diabetes and depression,\" the article begins. This article cumulatively has 254,000 likes on Facebook and was republished by other websites and blogs. Facebook users flagged the article as being potentially fake, as part of the social media platform\u2019s efforts to curb fake news. The story is pure fiction. TheMiamiGazette.com calls itself \"an entertainment and satire web publication\" in its Disclaimer section. The disclaimer also stated, \"All news articles contained within The Miami Gazette are fictional and presumably satirical news.\" This disclaimer is buried, appearing only in a special page in the footer part of the website. Someone surfing the Miami Gazette will hardly notice the caution about the website being fictional, and the article adopts the style of news websites to give the impression of real news. In its Contact Us page TheMiamiGazette.com provides only an email address with a Gmail account. The website\u2019s domain was registered as private and does not contain additional contact information about the owners. This article was supposedly written by Anthony Brooks, who has a profile on TheMiamiGazette.com. But there is neither a photo nor contact information for Anthony Brooks. In addition to providing real-sounding names of the suspects, the article was illustrated with images of a cluttered basement captioned with \"courtesy of Vernal Heights Police Department\" and cited \"Vernal Heights Chief of Police Gregory Moore.\" The supposed picture of Vernal Heights Police Chief Gregory Moore traces back to the free photo download website, Pixabay.com. Pixabay also was used for the photo of the \"\u2018tool wall\u2019 that contained a myriad of tools that police believe were used to dismember several victims\" \u00a0as it states in the fake article. A photo used in the article that purportedly showed \"a kitchen style refrigerator located in a small room in the corner of the basement that contained the limbs, organs, and miscellaneous remains of what police believe to be upwards of 7-8 different individuals\"\u00a0traced back to 41 different results. As for the suspects, we had difficulty tracking down who the men truly were, although one of them was a Georgia man named Markey Caldwell, who was arrested in 2014 for criminal trespassing. There is no place in Florida with the name Vernal Heights at all, and no reports of cannibals caught eating flesh to cure diabetes and depression. That would be big news, if true. In 2012 there was a real story of \"Miami Zombie\" with elements of cannibalism. As for this post, it\u2019s !"}
{"claim_id": "34081", "claim": "Rapper T.I. said in an interview that he takes his daughter to the gynecologist yearly to ensure she's still a virgin.", "explanation": "Performing this medically unnecessary and harmful test violates several human rights and ethical standards including the fundamental principle in medicine to \u2018do no harm\u2019. WHO recommends that this test should not be performed under any circumstances.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "Rap artist T.I., also known by his full name as Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr., received widespread backlash for an interview in which he claimed to take his daughter to be examined by a gynecologist annually to check whether she remains a virgin. T.I. made the comments during a podcast interview on Nov. 5, 2019, which has since been taken down. The comments drew harsh criticism prompting podcast hosts Nazanin Mandi and Nadia Moham, of the show \u201cLadies Like Us,\u201d to apologize. Mandi and Moham posted on the social platform Instagram that they regretted their reaction to T.I.\u2019s statements but said that they were caught off guard by them. A post shared by Ladies Like Us Podcast (@theladieslikeuspodcast) on Nov 7, 2019 at 7:37am PST  T.I. has remained silent. Our email to his record label with questions about his comments went unanswered, and he has made no statements to the news media or on social media. His daughter, 18-year-old model Deyjah Harris, has also avoided commenting directly on the matter. During the podcast episode in question, T.I. stated, \u201cThis is what we do: Right after the birthday, we celebrate. And usually like the day after the party, she\u2019s enjoying her gifts, I put a sticky note on the door: \u2018Gyno. Tomorrow. 9:30,'\u201d according to the Los Angeles Times: The Atlanta rapper, who also goes by the nickname Tip, went on to explain that the physician \u2014 \u201cmaintaining a high level of professionalism\u201d \u2014 always tells him that his daughter has to sign away her privacy before results can be shared, and always tells him that a hymen can be broken in many ways that do not involve sex. \u201cI say, \u2018Look, doc, she don\u2019t ride no horses, she don\u2019t ride no bike, she don\u2019t play no sports. Man, just check the hymen please and give me back my results expeditiously,\u2019\u201d he said, referring to \u201cresults\u201d that legally belong to his daughter. The comments were quickly and broadly condemned, while gynecologist Jennifer Gunter took the opportunity to write a 12-tweet, mini-lecture that points out the hymen isn\u2019t an indicator of virginity: The hymen means nothing physically and hymen exams are medically not a thing and are unnecessary. And support a disgusting patriarchal trope. 11/12 pic.twitter.com/D1EjoqZeiB \u2014 Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) November 6, 2019  In 2018, three United Nations agencies, the World Health Organization, UN Human Rights, and UN Women called for a ban on such so-called virginity tests, calling them harmful and medically meaningless: These examinations are not only a violation of women\u2019s and girls\u2019 human rights, but in cases of rape can cause additional pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, leading to re-experience, re-traumatization and re-victimization. Many women suffer from adverse short- and long-term physical, psychological and social consequences of this practice. This includes anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. In extreme cases, women or girls may attempt suicide or be killed in the name of \u201chonour\u201d."}
{"claim_id": "9227", "claim": "Electro-acupuncture for disrupted sleep in women with breast cancer", "explanation": "This short release reports on a small study looking at whether electro-acupuncture is effective in diminishing night-time hot flashes among breast cancer survivors, and therefore, improving the quality of their sleep. While it states that this therapeutic approach is as good as, or perhaps better, than a drug (gabapentin) often prescribed for hot flashes, the release offers no data showing the extent of improvement, nor are there mentions of the cost of such treatments, or of potential harms from using it which, while not enormous, are not negligible either. The release also neglects to identify any of the researchers involved in the trial. More and more people are surviving breast cancer and there is increasing interest among survivors and clinicians about quality of life for survivors. As the release states, perhaps 6 million patients may have survived by the year 2020, meaning even serious discomforts like hot flashes among such patients will become a growing problem. The release hints that this approach may be effective for such people, but it fails\u00a0to provide aspects critical to really evaluating this \u201cnews.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "electro-acupuncture,North American Menopause Society (NAMS)", "main_text": "There was no mention in the release as to the cost of electro-acupuncture, although a quick search on the web revealed that the costs per session could range anywhere from $60 to $150. Nor did the release give any information about the number of sessions required to acheive improved sleep \u2014 a single one or multiple. Lastly, the release gives no indication whether Medicare or health insurance plan will cover electro-acupuncture, a factor that can affect whether many patients would choose this treatment. The release stated that the use of electro-acupuncture was \u201ccomparable to, if not better than\u201d the drug (gabapentin) that was used in this comparative study in reducing \u201chot flash severity and frequency and improving overall sleep quality.\u201d\u00a0 This kind of vague statement doesn\u2019t help readers looking for some quantification, or degree of change, provided by this alternative therapy. The release also states that \u201calthough electro-acupuncture produced significant sleep improvements, researchers noted that sleep quality for the participants was still not as good as it should be.\u201d\u00a0 But again, there is no scale of benchmark provided which would\u00a0help a reader gauge the effectiveness, and therefore the worth, of trying electro-acupuncture. The release makes no mention of potential harms or side effects from the use of electro-acupuncture, which like traditional acupuncture, is considered to be of relatively low risk. But neither is without risk entirely, given that infection is possible along with bleeding or other injury. Electro-acupuncture is not suggested for people with heart problems, strokes, seizures or epilepsy, nor should it be used by patients with cardiac pacemakers since the small current used can disrupt the function of these devices. These risks should have been included in the release. The release provides no details about how the study was conducted or about the participants in the study, especially regarding their overall health, the length and type of treatment they had for their breast cancer, or the length of time since their breast cancer diagnosis and\u00a0 treatment. Nor does the release include any specifics\u00a0 about how the participants\u2019 sleep and specific aspects of their sleep were measured. The release does say that the research involved a \u201crandomized, controlled trial,\u201d which offers some detail, as does the fact that \u201c58 breast cancer survivors\u201d who experienced bothersome hot flashes participated. But 58 is considered a small study size. The release correctly points out that \u201cblinded controlled trials are needed.\u201d This release steps over the line in suggesting that hot flashes \u2014 a normal part of menopause for some women and especially for breast cancer survivors \u2014 is like a disease unto itself that always requires medical treatment. According to Johns Hopkins University, about 75 percent of all women going through menopause experience hot flashes, the most common symptom of menopause. Many are able to manage their symptoms through simple, inexpensive lifestyle changes. The release notes that the research was funded in part by the National Cancer Institute but it makes no mention of potential conflicts of interest on the part of the researchers involved. We\u2019ll give them the benefit of the doubt here since we don\u2019t have access to the full published study to verify who the funders are or assess whether there are financial conflicts of interest. We encourage news releases to always disclose whether or not there are conflicts. The release points out that electro-acupuncture was compared with the drug gabapentin. But there are numerous other alternatives to both a fairly powerful drug with its own side effects and electro-acupuncture. There are many other ways to help one sleep while experiencing hot flashes such as non-hormonal medications and lifestyle changes \u2014 dressing in layers, lowering the thermostat, staying away from caffeine \u2014 to name a few. The release doesn\u2019t mention where or if electro-acupuncture is available to patients who desire such treatments. The release claims in the subhead that the \u201cStudy confirms benefits versus gabapentin for helping breast cancer survivors suffering from hot flashes achieve better sleep\u201d but given that no additional information is provided in the release, it is hard to find such a vague conclusion is novel enough to warrant issuing a news release. Moreover, it appears that acupuncture has been used extensively in previous studies for hot flashes in breast cancer patients, so some comment on that approach, and how \u201celectro-acupunture\u201d might differ, is warranted. No unjustifiable language was used here."}
{"claim_id": "34577", "claim": "A step-dad refused to pay for his daughter's wedding at the last minute because she allowed her biological father back into her life.", "explanation": "As to whether a 3 November 2015 wedding was canceled as related in the narrative, that claim was provably false. The story was lifted in its entirety from a 3 June 2013 post to Reddit\u2019s r/offmychest titled \u201cMy step-daughter wants her \u201cReal Dad\u201d to give her away,\u201d but it was subsequently reposted in subreddits devoted to misogyny and revenge tales. In the original version the wedding was scheduled for 3 August 2013 (not 3 November 2015), and it appeared the dates were revised to make the tale sound new. The user who claimed credit for originating it racked up a grand total of only four posts and was not an established Reddit user. That user returned to update the original post twice, but the story and its subsequent repetitions were still based on a single, unverified Reddit thread from 2013 (which perhaps would have more aptly been posted to this subreddit). While the narrative certainly resonated with readers, there\u2019s no evidence it occurred outside the imagination of the individual who wrote it.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Viral Phenomena, conservative post, qpolitical, reddit", "main_text": "In October 2015, multiple content-scraping, clickbait web sites published a tale of wedding revenge involving a purportedly devoted step-dad, his ungrateful common-law wife and step-daughter, and a lauded but deadbeat biological father:  My step-daughter will be getting married on August 3rd. The wedding planning has consumed most of her and her mother\u2019s life (I say her mother because we aren\u2019t married, though we\u2019ve lived together for 10 years) for the past six months. My step-daughter graduated last December from University. I paid for her to go to college, though it was a state school, it still ran $40K. She does not have a job and has been living with us for the duration of her college career and since her graduation. I also bought her a car to get back and forth from school when she finished high school. From time to time her deadbeat father would pop into her life and she would fawn all over him. Although he has not contributed a cent to her education or paid any child support, though that is my girlfriend\u2019s fault as c.s. was not part of the settlement, she still loves him and wants him in her life. He stays long enough to break her heart by skipping town and breaking some promise that he made her. The wedding venue holds 250 people max. I gave them a list of 20 people that I wanted invited, you know, since I was paying for everything. They told me that was no problem and they\u2019d take care of it. So I let these people know they\u2019d be getting an invite and they should save the date. Saturday, I saw one of my friends on this list at the golf course and asked if he was coming. He told me that he wasn\u2019t invited. He told me that he got an announcement, but not an invitation. He had it in his back seat (along with probably six months of mail) and showed it to me. Sure enough, it was just an announcement, and my name was nowhere on it. It had her dad\u2019s name and her mom\u2019s name and not mine. This led to a pretty big fight with my GF, as I found out that NONE of my list of twenty \u201cmade the cut\u201d for the final guest list because \u201c250 people is very tight.\u201d I was pissed, but not a hell of a lot I could do because the important people in my life had already been offended. My GF said \u201cif some people didn\u2019t rsvp yes, I might be able to get a couple people in.\u201d But that is an ultimate slap in the face in my opinion. So, I was boiling on Saturday. Yesterday, we had a Sunday dinner with the future in-law\u2019s family and us and a surprise guest, the \u201cReal Dad.\u201d At this little dinner my step-daughter announced that her \u201cReal Dad\u201d was going to be able to make it to her wedding and that now he\u2019d be able to give her away. This was greeted with a chorus of \u201cOh how great\u201d and \u201cHow wonderful\u201ds. I don\u2019t think I have ever felt so angry and so disrespected. I was shaking. I took a few seconds to gather my composure, because I honestly wasn\u2019t sure if I would cry or start throwing punches or both. Once I was sure I\u2019d be able to speak I got up from my chair and said I\u2019d like to make a toast. I can\u2019t remember exactly what I said but the gist of it was this: \u201cI\u2019d like to make a toast.\u201d The sound of spoons against glasses ring in my years. \u201cIt has been my great pleasure to be a part of this family for the past ten years.\u201d Awe, how sweet. \u201cAt this point in my life I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to bride and groom, because they have opened my eyes to something very important.\u201d Confident smiles exchanged. \u201cThey have showed me that my position in this family is not what I once thought it was.\u201d And now a glimmer of confusion and shock begins to spread on the faces in the room. \u201cThough I once thought of myself as the patriarch or godfather of the family, commanding great respect and sought out for help in times of need, it seems instead that I hold the position of an ATM, good for a stream of money, but not much else. As I have been replaced as host, both on the invitations and in the ceremony, I am resigning my financial duties as host to my successor, Real Dad. So cheers to the happy couple and the path they have chosen.\u201d I finished my drink. \u201cYou all can let yourselves out.\u201d Is this selfish? I\u2019m supposed to shell out 40 \u2013 50 grand for a wedding that I can\u2019t invite anyone to? That I am not a part of? I\u2019m so done with this crap. I\u2019m done with my step-daughter, I\u2019m done with my GF. I transferred the money out of our joint account last night. (she has not had a job since she moved in with me) This morning I called all the vendors I had written checks to for deposits to refund my money. At present it looks like I\u2019ll lose around 1500, for the venue, but the other vendors have been great about refunding. Would you have done the same? The tale appeared on sites such as\u00a0Tickld\u00a0and Hrtwarming (\u201cStep-Dad Pulls Out Of Funding Daughter\u2019s Wedding at Last Minute. But His Reasoning Is Heartbreaking\u201d), the\u00a0Conservative Post (\u201cStep Dad REFUSES to Pay For His Daughter\u2019s Wedding Because This INCREDIBLE THING HAPPENED\u201d), and\u00a0Top Right News (\u201cStep Dad Stops Paying for His Daughter\u2019s Wedding at The Last Minute, His Reason Broke My Heart\u201d) at roughly the same time. Nearly all the sites opted to present the story in an image-based format, forcing readers who wished to share it to drive traffic to those sites rather than simply copying the text. All versions were\u00a0near-verbatim recitations the same\u00a0(too-good-to-be-true) anecdote. In it, a long-suffering step-dad was fed up with his freeloading live-in girlfriend (and the step-child for whom he\u2019s footed the bill for years) and was subjected to implausibly exploitative treatment for years at the hands of the mother and daughter \u2014 who, in his words, treated him \u201clike an ATM.\u201d After funding college for his girlfriend\u2019s daughter, he was then conscripted into financing a $40,000 wedding for her; and (in keeping with their comically boorish demeanor) she and her mother sent announcements to his friends and family instead of invitations, cutting them from the guest list. Incensed, he waited until a family gathering weeks prior to the wedding to \u201cmake a toast,\u201d theatrically denouncing his mooching partner and her progeny in front of gathered guests. Afterwards, the man claimed he left his jobless girlfriend penniless (by draining their joint account) and canceled payments to all wedding vendors, essentially calling off his daughter\u2019s wedding. The story was certainly very pat, leaning heavily on deeply entrenched stereotypes of shiftless women and the meal-ticket men they routinely drain dry. Every character in it occupied a single dimension, either a long-suffering man-wallet or a callous woman with dollar signs in her eyes. Further implicit was the insinuation that the gold-digging step-daughter maintained no interest in her once-upcoming wedding other than the lavish event, as step-dad\u2019s last-minute funding withdrawal\u00a0left no outcome in which the young bride availed herself of alternatives such as opting to say her vows in a county courthouse. Another unpleasant subtext involved the stepfather\u2019s \u201cheartbreaking\u201d motivation for breaking up with his family in front of an assembled crowd. Whether or not the narrative represented events that once occurred (or was simply the product of an active, misogynist imagination), the girl\u2019s major sin involved mending fences with her unreliable biological father in the weeks before her big day. While the writer took pains to paint the bride and her mother as greedy and selfish, he similarly admitted that his step-daughter\u2019s reconciliation with her biological dad was unacceptable to him. Through that lens, it seemed clear the writer (and not his erstwhile family) viewed their established relationship as purely transactional; after he implicitly bought and paid for them, they betrayed that unstated contract by failing to abide his every wish."}
{"claim_id": "26596", "claim": "\u201cBill Gates told us about the coronavirus in 2015.\u201d", "explanation": "Bill Gates gave a TED talk in 2015 about how we weren\u2019t ready for the next outbreak of a virus. He didn\u2019t mention coronavirus or COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "You can\u2019t say Bill Gates didn\u2019t tell you so, according to a recent Facebook post. \"Bill Gates told us about the coronavirus in 2015,\" claims the March 15 video published on the social media platform. The video begins with the Microsoft co-founder standing on stage underneath a giant projector screen. \"The greatest risk of global catastrophe doesn\u2019t look like this,\" Gates says as behind him appears a giant image of a bomb exploding. \"Instead,\" Gates continues, \"it looks like this.\" The picture overhead changes to what appears to be a giant microbe, an image similar to the graphics that news organizations and others use to illustrate their stories about the new coronavirus . \"If anything kills a million people over the next few decades, it\u2019s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war,\" Gates says. \"Not missiles, but microbes.\" This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Gates did say these words on a stage. And the images that appear in the video on Facebook did show on a screen behind him as he spoke. But this post goes too far by suggesting Gates specifically predicted COVID-19. No mention of coronavirus in Gates\u2019 original 2015 speech On March 19, Gates published a blog post addressing questions about COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus that was first reported in Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31, 2019. The post is an edited transcript of an Ask Me Anything session he did on Reddit on March 18. In it, he refers to a TED talk he did in 2015. Footage from this talk is what appears in the Facebook video. The Facebook video is only a clip of Gates\u2019 comments. The actual talk begins with him discussing how when he was a kid, the disaster Americans feared most was a nuclear war. But his line that opens the Facebook video comes soon after. He goes on to say that \"we\u2019ve actually invested very little in a system to stop an epidemic. We\u2019re not ready for the next epidemic.\" He doesn\u2019t use the word \"coronavirus\" in his speech. He does discuss Ebola and the failures in combating the disease\u2019s outbreak in West Africa in 2014 \u2014\u00a0the largest Ebola outbreak since the virus was discovered in 1976, according to the World Health Organization. In aftermath of Ebola, Gates did warn of another epidemic About 10,000 people died during the Ebola outbreak and nearly all deaths were in West Africa, Gates said in his TED talk. The disease didn\u2019t spread more, in part, because it didn\u2019t spread through the air, and by the time patients are contagious, they\u2019re generally so sick they\u2019re bedridden. \"The failure to prepare could allow the next epidemic to be dramatically more devastating than Ebola,\" Gates said. \"Next time we might not be so lucky. You can have a virus where people feel well enough while they\u2019re infectious that they get on a plane or they go to a market. The source of the virus could be a natural epidemic like Ebola, or it could be bioterrorism. So there are things that would literally make things a thousand times worse.\" Gates cited the 1918 Spanish flu as an example of a virus that spreads through the air. \"So here\u2019s what would happen,\" he says. \"It would spread throughout the world very, very quickly. And you can see over 30 million people died from that epidemic. So this is a serious problem. We should be concerned.\" He then discusses how we could build a good response system \u2014 how we could be prepared for the next epidemic. \"There\u2019s no need to panic,\" he says. \"We don\u2019t have to hoard cans of spaghetti or go down to the basement. But we need to get going, because time is not on our side. In fact, if there\u2019s one positive thing that can come out of the Ebola epidemic, it\u2019s that it can serve as an early warning, a wake-up call, to get ready. If we start now, we can be ready for the next epidemic.\" Our ruling The Facebook post says that Gates told Americans about the coronavirus in 2015. But in the 2015 TED talk featured in the video, he never actually uses the word coronavirus, nor does he mention COVID-19. His comments do sound prescient, though. He talks about an epidemic and we\u2019re now in the midst of a pandemic. People could be infected with COVID-19 and not show symptoms for days, if at all. And it\u2019s mainly spread between people in close contact through respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes. We rate this Facebook post ."}
{"claim_id": "8402", "claim": "Thai PM asks rich for help with coronavirus fall-out.", "explanation": "Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha called on the country\u2019s 20 richest people on Friday to help in addressing the damaging economic fall-out from the coronavirus epidemic.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "In a televised address that swiftly drew social media scorn, Prayuth did not say exactly what assistance he sought. He said he would send an open letter to the 20 magnates next week. \u201cThese rich Thais are very influential in the country\u2019s economy and are categorized as some of the richest people in the world. I am asking them to play important role in working together to help the country,\u201d he said. Wealthy families control some of the biggest businesses in Thailand, one of the world\u2019s most unequal societies. The Southeast Asian country has reported 2,700 COVID-19 infections and 47 deaths, and the economic blow from losses of trade and tourism and restrictions on movement has been heavy. The Thai Chamber of Commerce said this week that job losses could reach 10 million if the coronavirus outbreak continues for a few more months. After Prayuth\u2019s speech, the hashtag #BeggarGovernment was swiftly trending on Twitter, with more than 65,000 tweets in just over an hour. Prayuth did not identify the country\u2019s 20 wealthiest people to whom he was referring. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, whose fortune makes him one of the world\u2019s richest men, has donated medical equipment to Thai hospitals and provisions to poor communities. Topping the Forbes list of Thai rich people are the Chearavanont family who own Charoen Pokphand Group, one of the world\u2019s largest producers of animal feed and livestock; Chalerm Yoovidhya, who co-owns the energy drink Red Bull; and Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who controls Thai Beverage, Thailand\u2019s largest brewer. Also among the wealthiest Thais is ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and fled into exile abroad to avoid a corruption trial he said was politically motivated. Prayuth, a former junta leader, overthrew Thaksin\u2019s sister Yingluck in a 2014 coup and won a disputed election last year."}
{"claim_id": "14889", "claim": "The New York Police Department used to have \"surveillance going on in and around mosques in New York City. ... Our mayor totally cut that out.", "explanation": "Trump said the New York Police Department used to conduct \"surveillance in and around mosques in New York City. Our mayor totally cut that out.\" While Trump doesn\u2019t paint the full picture, there is evidence that supports his point: the New York Police Department used to spy on Muslims. The program actually went further than just surveilling mosques -- detectives mapped out entire Muslim communities, tracked Muslims\u2019 daily activities, investigated Muslim college students and more. The project was shut down, but it was the police commissioner, not the mayor, who officially closed the program. The commissioner is the mayor\u2019s appointee and in all likelihood acted with the mayor\u2019s approval. We can\u2019t say with certainty what kind of surveillance the police department conducts now. But Trump is right that a high-profile program was shuttered.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Civil Rights, Islam, Terrorism, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "Following the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed more than 120 this weekend, 2016 presidential candidates are debating how to prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Republican front-runner Donald Trump, in an interview for MSNBC\u2019s Morning Joe\u00a0on Nov. 16, 2015, said he would consider surveillance of mosques as a protective measure against radical Islam -- an idea similar to that recently proposed by French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve. \"You\u2019re going to have to watch and study the mosques, because a lot of talk is going on at the mosques,\" Trump said. \"In the old days, meaning a while ago, we had great surveillance going on in and around mosques in New York City. And I understand our mayor totally cut that out... I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s a fact.\" Well, the Donald\u2019s sources have part of the story\u00a0-- the New York Police Department used to have a squad dedicated to spying on Muslim communities, and the team was disbanded in 2014. Other aspects of the story, however, aren't so clear. Mapping out Muslims In 2003, the CIA helped the New York Police Department create a squad dedicated to surveilling Muslim communities, called the Demographics Unit, as part of broad policy changes following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Demographics Unit\u00a0typically consisted of a dozen members, and it focused on identifying places where potential terrorists might be able to blend in with the rest of society. The police essentially mapped out Muslim communities inside and outside the city, detailing where people in traditional Islamic clothes ate, worshipped, shopped and more. According to the New York Times, \"plainclothes detectives looked for \u2018hot spots\u2019 of radicalization that might give the police an early warning about terrorist plots.\" The result of the surveillance operations: a rift between the Muslim community and law enforcement, two ongoing federal lawsuits and a failure to generate any terror cases. The Demographics Unit wasn\u2019t the only Muslim-focused surveillance effort in New York. Informants for the NYPD also collected the personal information of members of Muslim student groups on college campuses. Analysts also kept tabs on influential Muslim figures and scholars through college websites and email groups. Police also investigated mosques in the city and labeled certain locations as \"terrorism enterprises,\" which supposedly allowed the police to collect license plate numbers in parking lots, video\u00a0worshippers and secretly record sermons. None of this surveillance ever led to charges that those mosques or Islamic organizations were related to terrorism. Shutting it down The program was kept under wraps until the Associated Press published an investigation into the police department\u2019s intelligence operations in 2011. Following the AP\u2019s report, John Brennan, President Barack Obama\u2019s counterterrorism adviser, said he was \"aware of things that NYPD has been doing, in an exceptionally good way, to protect the citizens of New York City on a daily basis.\" The NYPD received enormous backlash from civil rights groups over the new details on the Demographics Unit, but the surveillance program remained active until January 2014, when newly elected Mayor Bill de Blasio took office and appointed William J. Bratton as police commissioner. In April 2014, members of the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition (MACLC), a New York-based coalition, met with Bratton and other police officials to discuss shutting down the Demographics Unit. The surveillance squad was officially disbanded the next week. \"The meeting resulted from a request by police reform and civil rights advocates, and the participants used the opportunity to articulate how the NYPD\u2019s dragnet has harmed American Muslim communities and why it must come to an end,\" according to a MACLC press release. The move to shut down the Demographics Unit could have been political. But whether or not de Blasio himself \"totally cut out\" the surveillance program is debatable. According to the New York Times, the move was viewed as a sign that the new police commissioner was distancing himself from the sometimes controversial post-Sept. 11 intelligence practices under former mayor Michael Bloomberg. That\u2019s not to suggest de Blasio wasn\u2019t involved in the discussions surrounding the spying program. While running for mayor in 2012, de Blasio said he believed the surveillance program was legal and was created in good faith to protect New Yorkers. When the program was shuttered in 2014, de Blasio seemed to flip on the issue. \"Our administration has promised the people of New York a police force that keeps our city safe, but that is also respectful and fair,\" de Blasio said in a press release. \"This reform is a critical step forward in easing tensions between the police and the communities they serve, so that our cops and our citizens can help one another go after the real bad guys.\" Shutting down the Demographics Unit didn\u2019t necessarily mean the NYPD stopped keeping tabs on the Islamic community. The New York Times reported that after the surveillance program was disbanded, the police continued to recruit Muslims to be informants for the department. While police officials said the interviews to recruit informants were voluntary, some of the Muslims who were probed said they were \"shaken.\" One person\u00a0whom police tried to recruit told the New York Times that an officer told him, \"You just go to the mosque and the cafe and just say to us if somebody is talking about anything, anything suspicious.\" We should note that it is unclear if or how the New York Police Department is still surveilling Muslims, especially after new terrorist threats against New York City. Faiza Patel, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said the police have not shuttered its entire surveillance program related to Muslims. \"The NYPD has not, to my knowledge, stopped spying on mosques,\" Patel said. De Blasio has continued to defend the Demographics Unit amidst renewed public attention and federal lawsuits. While a federal judge in New Jersey dismissed a lawsuit over the surveillance last year, a U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia revived the case in October. Finally, Trump said the surveillance program was \"great,\" but not everyone feels that way. Critics of the program have argued that the Demographics Unit only further alienated the Muslim community following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. \"The Demographics Unit created psychological warfare in our community,\" Linda Sarsour, a member of the Arab American Association of New York, told the New York Times. \"Those documents, they showed where we live. That\u2019s the cafe where I eat. That\u2019s where I pray. That\u2019s where I buy my groceries. They were able to see their entire lives on those maps. And it completely messed with the psyche of the community.\" When we reached out to the mayor\u2019s office, de Blasio praised the NYPD\u2019s anti-terrorism efforts but didn\u2019t directly address the now-shuttered Demographics Unit. \"First and foremost, we always will abide by the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits discrimination against religions,\" de Blasio wrote in a statement. \"Mosques don't commit acts of terrorism. People do.\" Our ruling Trump said the New York Police Department used to conduct \"surveillance in and around mosques in New York City. Our mayor totally cut that out.\" While Trump doesn\u2019t paint the full picture, there is evidence that supports his point: the New York Police Department used to spy on Muslims. The program actually went further than just surveilling mosques -- detectives mapped out entire Muslim communities, tracked Muslims\u2019 daily activities, investigated Muslim college students and more. The project was shut down, but it was the police commissioner, not the mayor, who officially closed the program. The commissioner is the mayor\u2019s appointee and in all likelihood acted with the mayor\u2019s approval. We can\u2019t say with certainty what kind of surveillance the police department conducts now. But Trump is right that a high-profile program was shuttered. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "29142", "claim": "A new Facebook feature enabling users to report problems by shaking their phones has caused some users to be inadvertently reported for abuse and suspended.", "explanation": "What's true: Facebook has begun rolling out a 'shake-to-report' feature in their mobile app. What's false: The feature does not collect reports about abusive posts or other terms-of-service violations and cannot accidentally trigger account suspensions.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Technology, facebook", "main_text": "Did you know Facebook\u2019s mobile app has a new feature that allows users to report problems by shaking their phones? No? Neither did we, until readers alerted us to a viral Facebook post claiming that a new \u201cshake-to-report\u201d feature was inadvertently landing some people in \u201cFacebook jail\u201d (meaning their accounts had been suspended). Warnings such as this one started to appear online in mid-June 2019:  Here\u2019s the text of the post, minus emojis: PSA FACEBOOK NEEDS TO STOP AVOID FB JAIL I shook my phone and it\u2019s a REAL thing! It took me a little bit, but it really is a thing! I turned mine off! Your public service announcement for today: The recent FB update added this new feature for mobile fb users. Since this update \u2013 some people have landed in FB jail multiple times (yes, it\u2019s a real place and there\u2019s no fair trial or bail out options!) One has been in & out for over a week now It seems many of us are accidentally \u2018reporting a problem\u2019 and getting our friends thrown in jail. How can you fix it? When you\u2019re in FB, shake your phone around until this shows up. Then slide that \u2018shake phone to report a problem\u2019 button to OFF! It\u2019s CRAZY that none of us knew this had been added and that it was automatically ON with the update. Fix your phones \u2013 Let\u2019s keep our friends (and me lol) out of FB jail! This is no joke shake your phone! Not fast or hard. I just removed mine. With little-to-no fanfare, Facebook began rolling out a new \u201cshake-to-report\u201d feature in their mobile app in late May 2019. The tech news website Engadget described the rollout on 28 May: Facebook wants to make reporting bugs as easy as shaking your phone. In fact, that\u2019s all you\u2019ll have to do. Thanks to a new feature, when you encounter a bug, you can simply shake your phone and file a report through a pop-up menu that will appear on the screen. The \u201cshake to report\u201d method was previously available as an opt-in feature on iOS, and it will soon be a default setting on both iOS and Android. You\u2019ll still be able to report bugs through Facebook\u2019s Help & Support menu, but the company says it\u2019s hoping this new method will be easier to use. In addition to reporting when News Feed doesn\u2019t load or a video won\u2019t play, Facebook also wants users to report when they can\u2019t figure out how to complete an action, like how to delete a story. Facebook is rolling this out to a small percentage of users globally, but within the next two weeks, it should be available to everyone. Facebook confirmed all this in an email to Snopes.com, including that \u201cshake to report\u201d is enabled by default. The easiest way to find out if you have it is to run the Facebook app, then give your phone a gentle shake. A pop-up screen should appear giving you the option of reporting a problem or disabling the shake-to-report feature altogether:  (You can access the same screen via the main Facebook app menu, under Help & Support > Report a Problem.) There are two more things to notice about the screen \u201cShake phone to report a problem\u201d: First, it doesn\u2019t automatically send a report to Facebook. It provides a link to a report form requiring the user to explain the problem. That means a report can\u2019t be sent accidentally. Second, it clearly says that the shake-to-report feature is to report \u201csomething isn\u2019t working,\u201d not to report abusive posts or other terms-of-service violations. Note that a link is offered at the bottom to call up instructions for reporting abuse (see Facebook\u2019s help page for those instructions). That means you can\u2019t use the shake-to-report feature for issues other than technical ones. In summary, is the \u201cshake-to-report\u201d feature real? Yes, and if it has been rolled out to your app, it\u2019s automatically enabled. You can disable it (if you wish to) by shaking your phone to call up the screen and turning it off, or by doing the same via the app\u2019s Help & Support menu. Is it possible to inadvertently send reports or suspend someone\u2019s account by using the feature? No, that\u2019s not how it works. You might want to share this information with friends who are spreading the rumor."}
{"claim_id": "841", "claim": "Crop invaders: China's small farmers struggle to defeat armyworm.", "explanation": "Yan Wenliu leans on the side of his cart as he prepares to leave his sugarcane field in Southwest China, bewildered by the formidable new pest that has ambushed his crops this year.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "\u201cI don\u2019t know what it is,\u201d says Yan, a 36-year-old farmer from Menghai county in Yunnan province. \u201cBut it is bigger than other ones. I have never seen this worm before.\u201d  The creature Yan is unable to name is the fall armyworm, the larva of the fall armyworm moth. Known locally as the \u201cheart-devouring worm,\u201d the destructive pest has spread more than 3,000 km (1,865 miles) north since migrating from neighboring Myanmar seven months ago, reaching 21 provinces and regions in China and posing a grave threat to grain output. In Yunnan alone, where the pest struck first in China, some 1.29 million mu (86,000 hectares) had been affected by mid-June, including corn, sugarcane, sorghum and ginger crops. First found in the Americas, fall armyworm has spread through Africa and Asia since 2016, with the moths flying up to 100 km (60 miles) a night. It can\u2019t be eradicated and its management is both costly and difficult. This poses a formidable challenge in China where about 90% of crop production comes from small farms of less than a hectare (2.5 acres) and owners lack basic knowledge and resources to tackle the pest. Beijing warned earlier this year that armyworm was a severe threat to the country\u2019s food security and in May launched a campaign to \u201csnatch grain from the insect\u2019s mouth.\u201d   Millions of yuan have been allocated to affected regions and experts sent to educate farmers. In Yunnan, the government has set up 3,500 monitoring sites at local agriculture bureaus and conducted frequent field inspections, the provincial agriculture bureau said in an email to Reuters. Local authorities have also provided training to farmers and pesticide dealers on identification and prevention of armyworm, the bureau added. (Graphic: Fall Armyworm invasion of Asia IMG, tmsnrt.rs/2XYNbIX)  PESTICIDE OR PENNILESSTo those in Yunnan, the solution to the worm problem seemed obvious - pesticide. \u201cYou have to keep spraying chemicals. If you don\u2019t kill the worm, you will end up penniless,\u201d says sugarcane farmer Yan in Mengkang village. But paying for the pesticide in the quantities required has left many farmers out of pocket, while a failure to follow the complex regime needed - using different pesticides at different crop growth stages and rotating them to prevent resistance - means the money is often wasted. \u201cYou just can\u2019t kill them,\u201d says Yan Hannen, a 44-year-old farmer, from nearby Nuodong. \u201cI have been farming for 20 years but have never seen this many worms.\u201d  A frustrated Yan applied pesticides fives times to his last crop of sweet corn, but output nearly halved. He has already sprayed his new crop twice, to little effect. \u201cThey told me to use one bucket but I used three. It still did not work. What can you do?\u201d he asked. Local government has held many meetings to brief farmers on the pest and villagers have improved their approach to using pesticides, said Yan Xiangwa, a village official in Nuodong. But for farmers who have already battled severe drought this year, the latest threat has put their entire livelihoods at risk. Villagers tend to give up treatment due to the high cost, the Yunnan provincial government said in a report last month, adding that sufficient human resources for plant protection were also lacking at the local level. Yu Xianger, another Nuodong farmer, sprayed pesticide on her 2 mu (0.13 hectare) corn field without results and is thinking about finding work in the city. \u201cThe worms have devastated my corn crops this year. And there\u2019s nothing much else I can do,\u201d she said. (Graphic: Areas suitable for Fall Armyworm , tmsnrt.rs/2XYgvPY)  Experts say the fight against armyworms is difficult and the enemy is a tough one. Adept at hiding, the pest is hard to detect and prefers to venture out at night, to feast on plants and fly to new pastures. \u201cLocal farmers here didn\u2019t use much pesticide before and wouldn\u2019t buy chemicals until they saw the worms, meaning they might have missed the best time to kill them,\u201d said Yao, a sales manager for pesticide supplier Jingbo Agrochemicals Technology Co Ltd in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province. The villagers\u2019 slow response to the arrival of armyworm was not helped by the absence of a trapping system involving lights and pheromones that Beijing says is currently being deployed nationwide. The Yunnan agriculture bureau says it has set up more than 30,000 such trapping systems in the province and is continuously carrying out preventive measures and treatment against the pest, involving chemicals and natural enemies. While some villages have been badly affected, the government says the province as a whole has been managing the problem. The damage has been \u201ceffectively controlled\u201d in Yunnan, with total corn crop losses limited to within 5%, it said in the email. This year\u2019s summer grain output in Yunnan increased by 16,200 tonnes from the previous year, the bureau said, citing official statistics. Despite the problems in the country\u2019s south, the outlook for China\u2019s main corn production area in the north is \u201cmuch better,\u201d says Hu Gao, professor of insect ecology at Nanjing Agricultural University. Control and prevention measures have given the region, which accounts for more than 70% of China\u2019s corn production, more time to prepare for an invasion. The worm has yet to reach the northeastern provinces including Heilongjiang, the top grower of the grain, and some experts believe the lower temperatures in the region will protect it from a full attack. Back in Yunnan, however, farmer Yan Hannei is thinking about switching to other plants like vegetables. \u201cI am going to lose so much money this year,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat can you do? I can only stop growing corn and grow something else.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "3803", "claim": "Walker taking gas tax argument to voters at the pumps.", "explanation": "Gov. Scott Walker is taking his argument against raising the gas tax straight to voters at the pump.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Wisconsin, Scott Walker, Kavanaugh nomination, Elections, Prescription drug costs, Prescription drugs", "main_text": "Walker\u2019s campaign on Tuesday unveiled an ad that will play on screens at gas stations as people are refueling their cars. In the spot, Walker hits Democratic opponent Tony Evers for being willing to raise the gas tax to pay for roads. Not to be outdone, Evers has a new pair of more traditional ads that will run on television screens across the state. They feature people talking about the high price of prescription drugs and health care in Wisconsin. He unveiled the new spots Tuesday as part of the rollout of a plan he released Monday designed to lower prescription drug costs. The new ads come exactly one month before the Nov. 6 election. Recent polls have shown Evers with a slight lead over Walker, who is seeking a third term. The latest Marquette University Law School poll, the first since the drama over Brett Kavanaugh\u2019s confirmation battle for the U.S. Supreme Court, was to be released on Wednesday. In his new ad, Walker wears a Milwaukee Brewers jacket and knocks on the screen saying, \u201cHi, it\u2019s Scott Walker. Good thing you\u2019re filling up because if Tony Evers wins, he\u2019ll raise the gas tax by as much as a dollar a gallon.\u201d While Evers is willing to raise the 32.9-cent per-gallon gas tax, he\u2019s said it\u2019s a \u201clie\u201d to claim he\u2019d want to increase it by as much as a dollar. Evers hasn\u2019t said how much he\u2019d be willing to raise it. Walker has also been open to raising the gas tax in the past, but only if there is a corresponding cut in another tax. Assembly Republicans in 2017 proposed raising the gas tax as part of a plan to shore up state road funding. The Legislature and Walker ultimately rejected that in favor of a plan that relied on increased borrowing. Evers highlights his health care cost-reduction plans with a pair of ads featuring people talking about their struggles to pay for medicine they need. In one , a woman from Oconomowoc says she can\u2019t afford a pill that costs $200 a day that can help her fight kidney disease. In another , an Onalaska woman with breast cancer says the cost of health care in Wisconsin is \u201cabsolutely outrageous.\u201d Under Evers\u2019 plan to reduce prescription drug costs, a new state board would be created that would review price hikes and fine drugmakers for excessive increases. Walker\u2019s campaign referenced a federal appeals court decision this year ruling that a similar Maryland law allowing its attorney general to sue drugmakers over price increases was unconstitutional. Also under Evers\u2019 plan, flu shots would be covered under the popular SeniorCare program that holds down costs on prescription drugs for about 92,000 senior citizens. Walker tried twice to scale back SeniorCare, but after being rebuffed by lawmakers, he sought federal approval to continue it indefinitely instead of having to seek waivers. Evers\u2019 plan also calls for reducing state expenses on prescription drug purchases and allowing imports of prescription drugs from Canada. Walker\u2019s biggest attempt to lower health care costs this year came with a $200 million reinsurance program that is designed to lower premium rates for most people in the individual market starting next year. ___ Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbauerAP ___ Sign up for \u201cPolitics in Focus,\u201d a weekly newsletter showcasing the AP\u2019s best political reporting from around the country leading up to the midterm elections: https://bit.ly/2ICEr3D"}
{"claim_id": "16025", "claim": "The Obama administration \"supported Muslim allies trying to establish a new international blasphemy standard.", "explanation": "Turley said that the Obama administration \"supported Muslim allies trying to establish a new international blasphemy standard.\" The accuracy of this statement hinges on how you understand that word \"supported.\" American diplomats did endorse a UN resolution that avoided words about restricting speech that defamed a religion, but left open the door to criminalizing speech that was \"incitement to immediate violence based on religion.\" The administration, as well as some free-speech advocacy groups, saw this as progress. But blasphemy laws remain on the books in Muslim nations, and the largest international body that speaks for those nations has said plainly that such laws are appropriate and ought to be adopted in the west. Not even Turley argues that this is the result the administration wanted, and another critic of the administration's strategy said American diplomats do not support efforts to establish an international blasphemy standard. One could argue that by participating in the ongoing negotiations, the administration has de facto endorsed a vehicle for the Muslim nations, but that is not the same as supporting their efforts. The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Civil Rights, Foreign Policy, Religion, Terrorism, PunditFact, Jonathan Turley, ", "main_text": "France has braced itself for yet another round of Islamic extremist attacks as the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo hits the newsstands. Following the murders of most of the Paris-based satirical paper\u2019s staff last week, the cover features a cartoon Mohammed with a tear rolling down his cheek, under a headline that reads in French, \"All is forgiven.\" He holds the symbol of solidarity with the slain journalists, a sign that says \"Je suis Charlie,\" or \"I am Charlie.\" While that message might be somber, a powerful vein of Muslim thought sees any depiction of Mohammed as blasphemous. Cartoons like this were what drew death threats in the past. In this violent clash between the pen and the sword, politicians and pundits in the western democracies largely put the onus on the Islamic world to uphold the principle of freedom of expression. But a prominent American law professor wrote in a Sunday Washington Post op-ed that the Obama administration itself has abetted the forces of intolerance. In that op-ed, Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School primarily criticized the French for passing laws that criminalize speech that insults, defames or incites violence on the basis of religion, race, or other social marker. At the end of his piece, however, Turley brings his critique closer to home. \"In 2009, the Obama administration shockingly supported Muslim allies trying to establish a new international blasphemy standard,\" Turley wrote, \"And as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton invited delegations to Washington to work on implementing that standard.\" Has the administration really supported Muslim countries as they seek to spread an international standard forbidding blasphemy? We took a closer look. (For the record, Turley is representing House Republicans in their health care lawsuit against the president, but his stance on this issue came long before.) At the heart of Turley\u2019s argument is American support for United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18. The U.S. goal was to establish common ground for religious tolerance. Or, as the opening lines of the resolution put it, \"to promote and encourage universal respect for and observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction as to, inter alia, religion or belief.\" Approved in March 2011, the document has many clauses. These three are the most relevant to our fact-check: It affirms \"the positive role that the exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the full respect for the freedom to seek, receive and impart information can play in strengthening democracy and combating religious intolerance.\" It \"condemns any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, whether it involves the use of print, audio-visual or electronic media or any other means.\" In a list of \"actions to foster a domestic environment of religious tolerance, peace and respect,\" it calls on states to adopt \"measures to criminalize incitement to imminent violence based on religion or belief.\" For Turley and other free speech advocates, the kicker is that last point and the green light it gives to criminalizing expressions that incite others to violence. \"The president has said that he does not support criminalizing blasphemy, but the reality is that the language of the resolution criminalizes the same speech,\" Turley told PunditFact. A quick history of blasphemy at the UN The effort to give blasphemy laws international legal standing at the United Nations\u00a0goes back 15 years. It was largely a project of Muslim nations working through the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an umbrella group with 57 member countries. In committees like the Human Rights Council, they were able to win majority support for policies to rein in freedom of expression in the name of preventing religious defamation. The United States and Western European representatives opposed these moves on free speech grounds, but found themselves out-voted. The Islamic nations pressed the defamation issue until a few years ago. Then in 2011, compromise language emerged that dropped any reference to blasphemy or defamation. The measure passed by unanimous consent. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it a landmark achievement. \"The United States strongly supports today\u2019s resolution, which rejects the broad prohibitions on speech called for in the former \u2018defamation of religions\u2019 resolution, and supports approaches that do not limit freedom of expression or infringe on the freedom of religion,\" Clinton said in a prepared statement. Human rights advocacy groups, such as Human Rights First and British-based Article 19, also endorsed the measure. Human Rights First wrote, \"Resolution 16/18 ceases to provide cover for national blasphemy laws and charts a new course. The resolution omits any reference to \u2018defamation of religions\u2019 and \u2014 in accordance with international standards \u2014 focuses on the protection of individuals, rather than the protection of abstract ideas and religions.\" We reached out to the White House to learn how the \"incitement to immediate violence\" phrase is different from the religious defamation language sought by the Muslim governments. We did not hear back, but in a published letter, two high-level State Department officials, Michael Posner and Suzan Johnson Cook, explained how these words are in synch with American law. They cited the 1969 Brandenburg v. Ohio decision involving a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In its ruling, \u00a0the U.S. Supreme Court held that all speech is protected \"except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.\" Posner and Cook wrote, \"drawing a caricature of the prophet Muhammad that resulted in violence by Muslim extremists would not constitute 'incitement to imminent violence'\u00a0under the Brandenburg test.\" Accordingly, the resolution, they said, would protect freedom of expression. Reading the UN rules differently Blasphemy laws are not rare. According to the Pew Research Center, in 2012 nearly a quarter of all countries had them. The list includes some European countries, such as Germany and Ireland, but the greatest concentration is in the Middle East where every Muslim nation from Egypt to Pakistan has them. In Pakistan, for example, a person could, in theory, be executed for insulting the prophet Mohammed or the Koran. No executions have happened, but in 2012, Pakistan prosecuted a dozen blasphemy cases. Muslim governments consistently argue that it is okay to restrict speech when that speech incites others to violence. Ekmeleddin \u0130hsano\u011flu, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation until 2014, made that clear in a 2012 interview with the French news service France24. \u0130hsano\u011flu spoke more than a year after the UN resolution passed and about a month after the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. \"The OIC \u2014 I as secretary \u2014 I am a staunch supporter of freedom of expression,\" \u0130hsano\u011flu said. \"But freedom of expression, according to international law, does not entail freedom of insulting others, denigrating others, mocking others.\" For \u0130hsano\u011flu, just as no one has the right to randomly scream \"Fire!\" in a crowded theater, no one has the right to insult Mohammed if others might respond violently. When the interviewer pressed and said \"making fun of a religion doesn\u2019t necessarily equate with incitement to violence,\" \u0130hsano\u011flu was adamant and specifically said that cartoons that mock Mohammed should be banned, in France and elsewhere. \"If you don\u2019t respect the feelings of 1.5 billion people, and if you don\u2019t feel yourself responsible not to insult them, then we have a problem here. And if we have a problem here, we will have a problem there, with the demonstrations and taking to street and using violence,\" \u0130hsano\u011flu said. The secretary-general went on to say that the anti-Islam video that contributed to the attack in Benghazi and the attack itself were two sides of the same coin. \"We are equating these acts together as incitement to hatred, incitement to violence. And we say we should not be hostages to extremists on either side,\" \u0130hsano\u011flu said. A year later, in a speech in Moscow, \u0130hsano\u011flu praised Resolution 16/18 for advancing the principle that freedom of expression did not include the right to defame any religion. He called the western concept, \"a \"twisted negative logic that is incomprehensible; that one exercises his freedom by insulting others, and not insulting just a few people, but insulting 1.6 billion people all over the world for no reason.\" The record is clear. The governments of Islamic majority nations see no conflict between 16/18 and laws that ban cartoons of Mohammed or any other public act that might offend believers in Islam. A failed strategy? Adoption of the 16/18 resolution led to a series of meetings to put its lofty goals into practice. Turley\u2019s op-ed referred to one such meeting held in Washington. On the issue of freedom of speech, those talks have yet to deliver the goods. Robert Blitt is an associate professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law and has studied this slice of international law very closely. Blitt told PunditFact that the process is faltering. \"The west is confronting the realization that the compromise effort that halted resolutions on defamation of religion and replaced them with an incitement-based approach did nothing to resolve the underlying, and still overriding, desire for the OIC to secure a prohibition on expression deemed defamatory of Islam,\" Blitt said. The American support for 16/18, Blitt said, probably bolstered the voices of moderate Muslim states that wanted to dial down the bad publicity they were getting with the defamation of religion resolutions. But Blitt said that tactic hasn\u2019t shifted the Muslim position. \"I don\u2019t think the administration is intentionally supporting efforts to establish a new blasphemy standard,\" Blitt said. \"However, its current stance represents an inadequate and miscalculated effort to create common ground.\" This isn\u2019t terribly far from Turley\u2019s view. Turley told PunditFact that he has talked with administration officials about this. \"They always insisted that they were taking a different approach to try to moderate the Muslim countries,\" Turley said. The claim in his op-ed, Turley said, was not based on intentions, but results. And so far, the results, in his view, have been nill. Our ruling Turley said that the Obama administration \"supported Muslim allies trying to establish a new international blasphemy standard.\" The accuracy of this statement hinges on how you understand that word \"supported.\" American diplomats did endorse a UN resolution that avoided words about restricting speech that defamed a religion, but left open the door to criminalizing speech that was \"incitement to immediate violence based on religion.\" The administration, as well as some free-speech advocacy groups, saw this as progress. But blasphemy laws remain on the books in Muslim nations, and the largest international body that speaks for those nations has said plainly that such laws are appropriate and ought to be adopted in the west. Not even Turley argues that this is the result the administration wanted, and another critic of the administration's strategy said American diplomats do not support efforts to establish an international blasphemy standard. One could argue that by participating in the ongoing negotiations, the administration has de facto endorsed a vehicle for the Muslim nations, but that is not the same as supporting their efforts. The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "21580", "claim": "Statistically, law-enforcement officers die 10 years earlier than the general population.", "explanation": "Retired police captain says law enforcement officers die 10 years earlier than most people", "label": "false", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Labor, Public Service, Retirement, Robert Barber, ", "main_text": "Government pensions and other retirement benefits have provoked bitter debate between public employees, who have planned their retirements on the promise of a pension, and taxpayers who say the increasing costs of the benefits are more than they can afford. Retirement packages for police officers and firefighters often come under scrutiny because, in recognition of the extra stress and physical requirements of the job, they often permit workers to retire earlier. The threat of a pension cut in Cranston prompted Robert Barber, a 58-year-old retired captain in the city's Police Department, to argue that any reduction in benefits would be unfair. \"The City of Cranston entered into a contract with me. The agreement was that I would serve my community and risk my life so that, at the end of my career, if I reached it, I would be able to live the rest of my life with some dignity,\" he wrote in a commentary in The Journal. And, he wrote, that life is not likely to be as long as most retirees\u2019. \"Statistically,\" he said, \"law-enforcement officers die 10 years earlier than the general population.\" We were intrigued by that statistic. Police officers certainly experience a lot of stress in their jobs, but in some cases their level of physical fitness is higher. When we emailed Barber, who retired at age 50, he said he first heard the statistic in a Bryant University psychology class. He directed us to two documents. The first didn\u2019t deal directly with longevity. It was a Reuters Health account of a 2009 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, which compared 312 Buffalo, N.Y., police officers with 318 residents. Ultrasound showed that the officers tended to have thicker walls in their neck arteries, which might be an early sign of heart disease. The second was a 24-page report from 2002 on \"Fitness in Law Enforcement\" written by a member of the Pittsfield Township Police Department in Michigan. It promotes more fitness among officers and states, \"Solid research has shown the life expectancy, after retirement, of a police officer is much shorter than that of the general population.\" But no research is cited. We were hoping for some harder evidence. So we went looking for some actuarial data on our own. When we called MetLife, the spokeswoman referred us to the Society of Actuaries. But the society didn't have any data either. \"Unfortunately, we do not keep this type of data regarding life expectancy for various careers,\" spokeswoman Kim McKeown told us in an email. We examined two websites that calculate life expectancy, but they were more interested in income, education, smoking, drinking, exercise and seatbelt habits, and whether a person was in a manual or non-manual occupation. Being a law-enforcement officer wasn't a factor in the calculation. The creator of one of the sites, statistician Dean P. Foster of The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania pointed us to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that fishermen, loggers, pilots, farmers, roofers and even garbage men face a higher risk of death on the job than police officers. A Google search helped us locate Steven Greenhut, director of the journalism center at the right-leaning Pacific Research Institute in California and author of \"Plunder! How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives And Bankrupting The Nation.\" He sent us a copy of an April 2010 study by the California Public Employees' Retirement System, which covers 1.6 million public employees. It compared life expectancies for male police officers with male workers and retirees who were not in the public safety field. Whether a person was age 50, 55, 60 or 65, the life expectancies of the police officers were slightly higher than for other workers. For example, men age 60 who had taken regular retirement were projected to live to age 82.7, versus age 81.9 for workers who were not in the public safety field. (Firefighter rates were close to those for police officers.) Even when CalPERS added in all the men who had retired as a result of work-related injuries, the life expectancies of the police officers were essentially identical to other public employees. The life expectancy for someone age 60, regardless of why they stopped working, was 81.8 years, just a tenth of a year lower than for regular workers. In 2006, Oregon's Public Employees Retirement System did an analysis comparing the life expectancies of members who were age 60. Police officers and firefighters were expected to live to age 82.6. The ages were 84.3 for school workers and 83.4 for other public employees. Women in the police and fire departments, and workers outside the school districts were expected to live to age 85.7. Among women working in the schools, the life expectancy was 87.0 years. Where does that leave us? Barber said police officers die 10 years earlier than the general population. But the actuarial studies we found showed little difference in life expectancy. In the latest California study, police officers were actually expected to live a bit longer than other state employees. In Oregon, the combined life expectancy for police and fire was only slightly less than average."}
{"claim_id": "36301", "claim": "The USWNT lost a game to a young teenage boys' team.", "explanation": "Was the U.S. Women\u2019s National Team Defeated by Teenaged Boys in a 2017 Soccer Match?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "After the United States Women\u2019s National Team beat the Netherlands 2 to 0 to win\u00a0the World Cup in July 2019, the fans of the nation\u2019s soccer team were delighted. It also lent serious heft to the players\u2019 demand for pay and treatment equal to that of the U.S. Soccer mens\u2019 teams in a lawsuit that\u00a0USWNT players filed on International Women\u2019s Day\u00a0\u2014 March 8, 2019 \u2014 to which the organization\u2019s president responded publicly:U.S. Soccer believes that all female professional athletes deserve fair and equitable pay. We will continue to work with and listen to the USWNT players to achieve our shared goals as partners. pic.twitter.com/p81qhlYVdR\u2014 Carlos Cordeiro (@CACSoccer) March 15, 2019And then, the backlash began when a chorus of people on social media began\u00a0claiming\u00a0that the USWNT victory was mitigated by the fact they had at one point been beaten by a team of boys under 15:Remember\u2026..#MeganRapinoe led the #USWNT squad that lost to a local boy\u2019s under 15 soccer club https://t.co/nqWb7MKMdV\u2014 Andrew Wilkow (@WilkowMajority) July 10, 2019Why would the #USWNT deserve equal pay with men when they can be beaten by an under 15s boys team?Pay on ability, reward on performance, promote on merit.15 year old boys are more able than this teamFacts don\u2019t care about your feelings. pic.twitter.com/iY4jziil1Z\u2014 Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) July 8, 2019Needs to humble herself pic.twitter.com/nLBlXf9E9Y\u2014 Swanny\ud83d\udd34\ud83c\uddfe\ud83c\uddea (@ftbIswanny) July 10, 2019In the context in which it typically appeared, people on social media (apparently piqued that they themselves are terminally unable to win any football tournament anywhere at any point) began to opine that football captain and player Megan Rapinoe ought to \u201chumble herself\u201d due to the purported defeat at the hands of boys. Another common take was that female athletes do not warrant salaries near those commanded by their male counterparts, pointing to the same purported defeat as proof.People appeared to infer that just before their 2019 World Cup win, the USWNT had been handily beaten by a team of young boys. Some tweets linked to an article from April 2017, originally published by CBS Sports. That article\u2019s headline, \u201cFC Dallas under-15 boys squad beat the U.S. Women\u2019s National Team in a scrimmage,\u201d indicated that the event in question was not a match:In preparation for two upcoming friendlies against Russia, the U.S. women\u2019s national team played the FC Dallas U-15 boys academy team on Sunday and fell 5-2, according to FC Dallas\u2019 official website.It seemed that many newly self-anointed soccer pundits on social media relied on nothing more than the article\u2019s headline and subheading to inform their views about the scrimmage between the Dallas boys\u2019 team and the USWNT. But this article went on to describe the event as part of\u00a0a structured practice undertaken primarily for the benefit and development of the boys\u2019 team:Of course, this match against the academy team was very informal and should not be a major cause for alarm. The U.S. surely wasn\u2019t going all out, with the main goal being to get some minutes on the pitch, build chemistry when it comes to moving the ball around, improve defensive shape and get ready for Russia.The game will, however, serve as a great anecdote for the kids on the FC Dallas squad to tell their grandchildren about one day. It also speaks highly of the level of academy development MLS teams are doing these days.In context, the 2017 scrimmage between the Dallas boys\u2019 team and the USWNT was described as a chance for the boys to learn from the women\u2019s team. But even at that point, much of that contextual information was left out.The U.S. Soccer Federation has a \u201cDevelopment Academy\u201d program specifically for the training and conditioning of young athletes, in which FC Dallas readily participates:U.S. Soccer\u2019s Development Academy program is driven by the game and its players, coaches and referees. This game-centric approach allows for long-term development to occur through a deep understanding of what makes players successful around the world. As the sport of soccer grows in the United States, young players in our country need the proper environment to compete against the world\u2019s elite. The U.S. Soccer Development Academy program provides the optimum developmental environment for the nation\u2019s top youth soccer players, coaches and referees by emphasizing development through quality training and limited, meaningful competition. Currently, FC Dallas has\u00a0seven\u00a0boys Academy teams: U-12, U-12 South, U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16/17 and U-18/19. U.S. Soccer has also added a\u00a0Girls\u2019 Academy in 2017 with FC Dallas teams in the U-14, U-15, U-17\u00a0and U-19 divisions.An April 2017 analysis published to football news site 90min.com (\u201cSome People Think it\u2019s Funny That the USA Women\u2019s National Team Were Apparently Beaten by U15 Boys\u201d) explained to American sports fans often unfamiliar with soccer that a scrimmage is not the same as a formal game. It began noting that information originally provided by the Dallas team had been re-reported elsewhere without context:The original [2017] post is now blocked by Dallas, most likely because a nice thing about youngsters having the chance to have an informal kick-about with World Cup winners and national heroes was later twisted into an attack by banter-obsessed pages and tweeters, suggesting that even a group of U15 boys could comfortably beat what is the best women\u2019s team in the world.Observing that both teams were \u201call smiles afterwards as both sets of players happily posed for a group picture, not the utter humiliation and embarrassment some seem keen on making it,\u201d the piece explained the manner in which such scrimmages are handled by professional athletes and teen hopefuls:It\u2019s imperative to state that this \u2018game\u2019 between the USWNT and Dallas boys was not really a game at all. Before the official post was blocked it was described as a \u2018scrimmage\u2019 between the two squads, an informal practice. [\u2026]With many of the Dallas boys unlikely to make it all the way to professional level, when would the chance to share a pitch, even a training pitch, with a genuine global superstar come around again? The answer for nearly all of them is undoubtedly \u2018never\u2019.The fact that the women lost the \u2018game\u2019 means literally nothing.The only thing that needs reporting here is that some young hopeful footballers were able to meet and \u2018jam\u2019 with some very famous other footballers. If you find the alleged score-line funny, try learning the facts, step into the 21st century and just plain grow up.American fans unfamiliar with soccer or football mistook original reporting of the April 2017 scrimmage between the USWNT and the Dallas boys\u2019 team as a sincere and serious game, rather than what it actually was:\u00a0an informal match conducted as part of a larger program to train promising young athletes, which is what it was. When the FC Dallas under-15 team originally posted about the event they noted it was a scrimmage, but later reporting neglected to add in important contextual information about the event and the program."}
{"claim_id": "4228", "claim": "Apollo 11 moon landing had thousands working behind scenes.", "explanation": "It took 400,000 people to put Apollo 11\u2032s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon a half-century ago.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, AP Top News, Apollo 11 moon landing, General News, Moon, Science, U.S. News", "main_text": "That massive workforce stretched across the U.S. and included engineers, scientists, mechanics, technicians, pilots, divers, seamstresses, secretaries and more who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to achieve those first lunar footsteps . Some of them will be taking part in festivities this week to mark the 50th anniversary . A brief look at four: ___ Amid the sea of white shirts, black ties and pocket protectors inside NASA\u2019s firing room for the liftoff of Apollo 11 sat JoAnn Morgan. July 16, 1969 was her prime-time debut as the first female launch controller. It wasn\u2019t easy getting there. Morgan, 78, who began working for NASA in 1958 while in college, typically got the overnight shift before launches. She\u2019d be replaced by a male colleague a few hours before showtime. \u201cThe rub came on being there at liftoff,\u201d she recalled. And there was the taunting. She\u2019d get obscene phone calls at her desk at Kennedy Space Center and lewd remarks in the elevator. The situation was even more strained next door at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The old launch-pad blockhouses there had a single restroom \u2014 for men. So Morgan found herself dashing to a nearby building for a women\u2019s restroom, just as portrayed in \u201cHidden Figures,\u201d the 2016 hit movie. \u201cI was there. I wasn\u2019t going anywhere. I had a real passion for it,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cFinally, 99 percent of them accepted that \u2018JoAnn\u2019s here and we\u2019re stuck with her.\u2019 \u201d As Apollo 11 loomed, Morgan\u2019s boss went to the top to get her on liftoff duty. By then, the harassment had pretty much stopped. While NASA\u2019s countdown clocks ticked toward a 9:32 a.m. launch, Morgan monitored ground instrumentation, everything from fire and lightning detectors to guidance computer data. When the official firing room photo was later taken \u2014 showing Morgan with her left hand raised to her chin \u2014 she was listening to Vice President Spiro Agnew address the team after the launch. With Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins on their way, her job was done, at least for Apollo 11. Morgan and her husband Larry, a high school band director, slipped away on vacation and watched the July 20 moon landing on a hotel TV. As they toasted the first lunar footsteps, he told her, \u201cHoney, you\u2019re going to be in the history books.\u201d Morgan went on to become Kennedy\u2019s first female senior executive. Retired since 2003, she splits her time between Florida and Montana, and encourages young women to study engineering. ___ Tedd Olkowski was on emergency standby for the launch countdown of Apollo 11. His job was to help Collins \u2014 should the unlikely need arise before liftoff \u2014 escape from the Saturn V rocket, descend 32 stories in a high-speed elevator and then slide down a 200-foot (61-meter) tube into a bunker deep beneath the pad. Armstrong and Aldrin had their own guardian angels, according to Olkowski, space center workers who, like himself, had volunteered for the potentially dangerous assignment. NASA figured the astronauts, impeded by their cumbersome white spacesuits, could use extra help getting from a burning, leaking or even exploding rocket, all the way down to the so-called rubber room. The rubber-padded, shock-absorbing room led to a domed, blast-proof chamber 40 feet (12 meters) under Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Launch Complex 39A. The dungeon had strap-in chairs, two-way radio and enough food to ride out a cataclysmic event. There was a similar setup under Pad 39B. Neither bunker was ever needed and later abandoned. Olkowski\u2019s regular job was working with the pad\u2019s closed-circuit TV system. He was a skinny 24-year-old from Cocoa Beach, but stood 6-foot-3 (1.9 meters) and jumped at the chance to be on an emergency team since he was already out there keeping tabs on the cameras. With an hour remaining in the countdown, the pad was evacuated by everyone except the Apollo 11 crew. Olkowski joined other workers a safe three miles (5 kilometers) away and watched the world\u2019s biggest rocket thunder away on humanity\u2019s first moon landing. \u201cEven though we weren\u2019t considered major players in it, we were just there to help the astronauts if they needed help, yeah, I mean it was exciting, especially now when I look back,\u201d he said. Soon afterward, Olkowski quit his job to go to college, then spent a career with General Telephone and Electronics Corp. Now 74 and retired, he lives in League City, Texas, next door to NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center. Olkowski got a chance to meet up with Collins a decade or so ago. \u201cI said, \u2018Mike, I know you don\u2019t remember me. It was a long, long time ago ...\u2019 \u201d ___ You might say Spencer Gardner was NASA flight director Gene Kranz\u2019s right-hand man for Apollo 11. As Mission Control\u2019s flight activities officer in Houston, Gardner occupied the console to the right of Kranz, just across the aisle. Barely 26, Gardner was one of the youngest flight controllers on duty when the Eagle lunar lander settled onto the Sea of Tranquility with Armstrong and Aldrin on July 20, 1969. His job was to stay on top of the astronauts\u2019 timeline. What if, for instance, the moon landing had to be aborted? Everything downstream would need to change. So Gardner constantly was thinking ahead, considering how best to rejuggle the flight plan if necessary. Looking back, Gardner wishes he\u2019d savored the moment of touchdown more. But he had a job to do and there was no time for reflection. After the Eagle landed and his shift ended, Gardner went to a friend\u2019s home, where everyone gathered around a black-and-white TV that night to watch Armstrong\u2019s \u201csmall step\u201d and mankind\u2019s giant leap. Gardner wasn\u2019t on duty for the July 24 splashdown. But he went to Mission Control anyway, joining the flag-waving, cigar-smoking crowd as Apollo 11\u2032s astounding voyage came to an end in the Pacific. Gardner ended up working five more Apollo missions and also attended night law school. He left NASA in 1974 and became an assistant district attorney, then joined a law firm. He still practices law in Houston at age 76. \u201cThis is, to use the \u2018Hamilton\u2019 expression, the room where it happened,\u201d he said inside the newly restored Apollo-era Mission Control last month. \u201cOther than the lunar module and the command module, you couldn\u2019t get any closer to it than this. We were in the room when it happened, and the sense of completion, I guess, struck me later. We had done what President Kennedy had asked us to do.\u201d ___ Navy frogman Clancy Hatleberg was the first to welcome Apollo 11\u2032s moonmen back to Earth. His mission on July 24, 1969, was to decontaminate Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins and their command module, Columbia, immediately after splashdown in the Pacific. The astronauts needed to be quarantined. Otherwise, who knows what moon germs might escape. It may seem silly now, but the possibility of lunar bugs was \u201ca really serious concern\u201d back then, according to Hatleberg, who was 25 at the time and fresh from an underwater demolition team rotation in Vietnam. Hatleberg was one of four frogmen on the recovery team who jumped into the ocean from a helicopter. The others secured the capsule, then moved upwind in a raft. That\u2019s when Hatleberg moved in, carrying disinfectant. Covered in a protective garment, Hatleberg momentarily opened Columbia\u2019s hatch to toss in a bag with three of the outfits. Once the astronauts had the gray garments on, they emerged from the capsule one by one onto a waiting raft. The first spaceman out offered his hand to shake. Hatleberg paused \u2014 shaking hands was not part of the NASA protocol that he\u2019d practiced. He recalled thinking, \u201cI was the last person who could screw the whole thing up.\u201d Hatleberg shook hands anyway. Once the astronauts were wiped down by Hatleberg with a potent bleach solution, they were lifted into a helicopter and flown to the USS Hornet, where their quarantine mobile home awaited them along with President Richard Nixon. Hatleberg scoured Columbia before it, too, was transported to the aircraft carrier. He cleaned the raft and the flotation collar that had been around the spacecraft, then punctured them and watched them sink with his own decontaminated garment, any moon bugs swallowed by the sea. \u201cThere were so many other people whose jobs were more important than mine,\u201d Hatleberg said. Looking back, he\u2019s still in awe at what the Apollo astronauts accomplished. \u201cThey were the ones who risked their lives to take that giant leap for all mankind. They\u2019re the heroes and they always will be \u2014 in my heart.\u201d Hatleberg \u2014 who at 75 is working again as an engineer in Laurel, Maryland \u2014 said he always thought Aldrin was the first one he helped from the capsule. That is until a year or so ago, he said, when a Hornet curator pulled out old footage and zoomed in on the name tag. It read Armstrong. ___ Follow AP\u2019s full coverage of the Apollo 11 anniversary at:\u00a0https://apnews.com/Apollo11moonlanding ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content"}
{"claim_id": "34671", "claim": "Jimmies, the sprinkles used on confections, are so named as a reference to Jim Crow.", "explanation": "It may be the case that among those who refer to dark brown or chocolate sprinkles as \u201cjimmies\u201d and other colors simply as \u201csprinkles,\u201d  someone simply assumed a potentially racist connection was at work and retroactively invented an explanation for it.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Language, Offensive Origins", "main_text": "While many of us like our ice cream unadorned, some could not properly enjoy a cone of their favorite flavor without its first being dipped into or sprinkled with jimmies, a colored candy decoration commonly used on ice cream, cupcakes, and donuts. However, as the example above illustrates, for some it\u2019s a guilty pleasure because they\u2019ve been told their preferred name for the multi-hued sweet sprinklings packs a racist wallop:  \u201cJimmies\u201d is the Boston/New England word for \u201cchocolate sprinkles.\u201d  Ask any ice cream vendor for jimmies on your sundae, and so long as you\u2019re within a 200-mile radius of Boston, chances are he\u2019ll understand you. When I was 16 or 17, I heard for the first time this doozy of an urban legend, causing me to feel guilt for taking pride in this linguistic quirk \u2014 although I never stopped using the word. My friend told me, after I had ordered jimmies on my ice cream, that it was racist to say jimmies. She explained that because chocolate sprinkles are black, early Bostonian racists referred to them as jimmies \u2014 because of the Jim Crow laws. As little sense as this makes to me now, I was taken aback as a teenager, and was vaguely ashamed every time I got a chocolate-sprinkled sundae. I\u2019ve heard it about 20 times since then, from all different sources, inside and outside of Boston, each accompanied by a dire warning not to perpetuate this racist expression! The Dictionary of American Regional English defines jimmies as \u201ctiny balls or rod-shaped bits of candy used as a topping for ice-cream, cakes and other sweets.\u201d This confection goes by many names, including \u2018sprinkles\u2019, \u2018nonpareils,\u2019 and \u2018hundreds and thousands,\u2019 but even among those who refer to them as \u2018jimmies\u2019 there is contention \u2014 some say all colors of this topping are properly styled \u2018jimmies,\u2019 while others assert only the brown ones are called that, with other shades of the sweet stuff being termed \u2018sprinkles.\u2019  There are two theories as to why anyone might think there\u2019s a racist connotation to the name: One focuses on the brown color of what some say are the only true jimmies; the other posits that the name is a reference to Jim Crow, the title character in a well-known minstrel song of the 1830s. (Jim Crow quickly became a slang term for anything having to do with African-Americans, particularly items of a racist bent, such as the Jim Crow laws that segregated blacks from whites in the South.) No valid reason exists to suppose that \u2018jimmies\u2019 carries a racist meaning or had a racially-charged origin. However, it\u2019s difficult to definitively disprove the claim because the term\u2019s entry into the English language is downright murky. The theory cited most often attributes the naming of the confection to the Just Born company, a candymaking operation founded in Brooklyn in 1923 who now produce such popular treats as \u2018Peeps\u2019 and \u2018Mike and Ike.\u2019  Just Born have long maintained that not only did they come up with the name \u201cjimmies,\u201d but they invented the product (i.e., chocolate sprinkles) as well:  Yes, jimmies were invented at Just Born and we have in our archives some of the advertisements from that time period and containers with the word \u201cjimmies\u201d and the Just Born logo on them. Although there is nothing in writing to confirm it, it is commonly known here that the chocolate sprinkles were named after the Just Born employee who made them. The notion that Just Born \u201cinvented\u201d chocolate sprinkles is specious, however, as newspaper references to chocolate sprinkles antedate the founding of the company:  Company histories often include a fudge factor, and this claim of invention seems dubious: Chocolate sprinkles, so called, were already popular in the 1920s, the newspaper archives show. The Nashua, N.H., Telegraph is advertising a treat made with chocolate sprinkles in 1921, before Just Born was born. Later that decade, the sprinkles show up in Ottawa and Spokane newspapers, and by 1927, Sunshine is producing a Chocolate Sprinkle cookie topped with marshmallow and sprinkles. (There\u2019s even a laxative consisting of \u201ctasty Swiss-like milk chocolate sprinkles\u201d; a 1928 ad in the Pittsburgh Press says it has given \u201cThousands of Pennsylvanians \u2026 the Glorious Complexion of a Regulated Body.\u201d)  But even if Just Born didn\u2019t invent chocolate sprinkles, could they at least have been the source that first called them \u201cjimmies\u201d? Beth Kimmerle, author of Candy: The Sweet History, ventured the opinion that Just Born created the term \u201cjimmies\u201d as a way of branding an extant product as their own:  [Kimmerle] believes the name was a way for Just Born to put its mark on an already-existing product, just like Hershey\u2019s branded its conical chocolate drop the \u201cKiss.\u201d \u201cI think jimmies were a way to brand sprinkles,\u201d said Kimmerle. She thought the reason why some people call only the chocolate version of sprinkles jimmies is because Just Born initially made only chocolate sprinkles. Some sources identify the Just Born employee for whom jimmies were supposedly named as Jimmy Bartholomew, a fellow who began working for Just Born in 1930 and manned the machine that made the confection. However, that too may be myth, as Just Born co-CEO Ross Born couldn\u2019t positively confirm \u201cJimmy\u201d\u2018s surname. Also, certain respected slang dictionaries (such as Cassell\u2019s Dictionary of Slang and Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang) trace \u201cjimmies\u201d to the 1920s, which would place the naming of the item prior to the purported machine operator\u2019s stint with Just Born in 1930. As to how else the term could have entered the language, another theory suggests it as a short form of the venerable English slang word jim-jam. While jim-jam has a number of meanings, one that\u2019s been around since the 16th century is \u201ca trivial article or knick-knack.\u201d By the lights of the jim-jam theory, the \u201ctrivial\u201d aspect of that one particular meaning translated to the confection now called jimmies. However, that theory has a number of holes in it. First, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (which is the bible of word histories for the English language), the only meanings common to both jim-jam and jimmies have to do with delirium tremens and the heebie-jeebies \u2014 the \u201ctrivial\u201d meaning of jim-jam does not seem to have moved over to jimmies. Second, at no point have the candy sprinkles been called jim-jams, a link in the etymological chain one would expect if the one were a shortening of the other. Throwing yet another log on the fire, a 1993 Boston Globe item stated that \u201cThe origin of the name is apparently unknown, but we found this hard-to-take-too-seriously reference in an old file: An (unnamed) ice cream maker claims that in 1901 Constance Bartlett of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, after grating chocolate over ice cream for her son\u2019s birthday, reportedly told other children they couldn\u2019t eat them because \u2018they\u2019re Jimmy\u2019s. '\u201d Sometimes words just sneak into a language without anyone\u2019s knowing, years after the fact, how that process came about. Yet no matter how jimmies became part of common parlance (as with many other terms, its origin may ultimately prove untraceable), no substantive evidence demonstrates anything denigrative of African-Americans was tied to the origin of the name:  Whatever the source of the name, though, nothing in the record suggests that jimmies was ever racially tinged. If it had been, it\u2019s not likely anyone would have been coy about it, as racist brand names and artwork were unremarkable in the 1930s and \u201940s. So where did the \u201cracist\u201d rumor come from? It\u2019s possible that people old enough to remember the candies of the \u201940s wrongly assumed that \u201cjimmies\u201d was also a slur. But there\u2019s no evidence that this notion was ever widespread. If the idea hasn\u2019t died out, that\u2019s surely because it\u2019s so hard to prove a negative."}
{"claim_id": "17902", "claim": "Some \"20,000 Delphi salaried retirees lost up to 70 percent of their pensions\" as a result of \"political favoritism and backroom deals.", "explanation": "Mike Turner says Delphi retirees lost pensions to political favoritism and backroom deals", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Ohio, Corporations, Economy, Financial Regulation, Pensions, Unions, Michael Turner, ", "main_text": "In April 2012, PolitiFact Ohio issued a \"Mostly False\" rating to a claim by a congressman from Dayton, Michael Turner, over the loss of pension benefits of salaried retirees from Delphi, the auto parts maker. Turner had said that some \"20,000 Delphi salaried retirees lost up to 70 percent of their pensions\" as a result of \"political favoritism and backroom deals.\" This rating means that the statement contains some element of truth, but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. In this case, the loss of pensions was not in question. The pensions were cut after Delphi, which once was part of General Motors, hit deep financial problems. But the rest of the claim, ascribing blame to political favoritism and Obama administration backroom deals, was not supported by facts. We based the ruling on the available evidence, which included Government Accountability Office reports and congressional testimony. We also noted that eventually, a fuller accounting of the Delphi matter would come out from a special inspector general. When it did, we said, we\u2019d consider taking another look. That report is out. And based on it, we are upgrading the rating a notch to . Some background: In 2009, GM was in financial trouble and the federal government bailed it out with a financial package worth more than $50 billion, including a loan and an equity stake in a post-bankruptcy, restructured company. There were others in the auto industry also in trouble, including Delphi. And GM and Delphi were the corporate equivalent of step brothers, if not blood relatives. Delphi was a division of GM until the parts maker was spun off as an independent company in 1999. Before the spinoff, Delphi maintained separate pension funds for its unionized and non-unionized workforces. The non-unionized workers were salaried, many in white-collar or support jobs, and their pension fund was flush. The union pension fund, however, was not. In other cases, this might have meant that the unionized workers would eventually get smaller pensions than planned. But in this case, GM made a deal that kept the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, or UAW, happy, which helped facilitate the Delphi spinoff. The deal was this: GM would make up, or \"top-up,\" the difference between the underfunded pension payments and the amounts the workers would have gotten if their pension fund were in fine health. This was not just benevolence. By agreeing to the top-up, GM was able to hand off Delphi operations without union opposition and keep its outside supply chain running. And so the parties codified the top-up provision and kept it in force. But a decade later, the twin bankruptcies of GM and Delphi created a wrinkle. GM had the right in bankruptcy to void its contracts. That could have meant the end to the top-up agreement. It so happened that by now, the fortunes of Delphi\u2019s nonunion workforce and retirees had turned. The once-full pension fund for non-union, or salaried, retirees was underfunded as well. But unlike their unionized colleagues, the salaried or non-unionized retirees had no top-up deal. So what would happen? Two things: First, the Obama administration would agree to bail out General Motors and give it money to keep operating. But before the final sign-off, \u00a0the administration through its Treasury Department-appointed auto task force would need to review GM\u2019s obligations and make decisions about what and whether it owed Delphi retirees. Bankruptcies typically involve many parties being told to accept the fact that they are never going to get every penny they are owed. Yet that\u2019s not what happened in the case of the Delphi unionized-worker pensions. GM, with considerable help from the Treasury auto team, agreed that even as it exited bankruptcy as a new organization, it would continue to top-up the UAW pensions from its parts supplier. It also agreed to continue top-ups for the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers, and the United Steelworkers of America. But GM and Treasury\u2019s auto team left the salaried retiree pensions alone. The non-union retirees would get no top-up. As a result, those retirees would only collect 30 percent to 70 percent of their expected pensions, which would be paid by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., or PBGC, the federal agency that takes over failing pension plans. Was this fair? Turner and other lawmakers from auto states said no, as did Delphi retirees. They said that despite the pre-existing top-up agreements, GM\u2019s bankruptcy gave the automaker the right to rewrite the top-up contracts, just as it rewrote a number of unrelated terms with the union\u2019s consent. Even better, they said, GM and Treasury could have worked out a way to make all Delphi retirees whole. But that didn\u2019t happen. There were winners (the union) and losers (the non-union retirees), and that looked like political favoritism and backroom dealing to Turner and other critics. But in 2012, congressional testimony and GAO reports led PolitiFact Ohio to conclude that Treasury and GM made the decision because: (a) the union had long-standing top-up agreements and salaried retirees did not, and (b) any attempt to end those agreements would have caused the UAW to balk or even strike. Treasury maintained that it was vital to get GM stabilized quickly, and an interruption to its ability to get parts for its cars -- due to labor unrest -- could be fatal. There was nothing to back up Turner\u2019s claim that the top-up decision was made because of political favoritism and backroom dealing. The GAO said that \"court filings and statements from GM and Treasury officials support that Treasury deferred to GM\u2019s business judgment.\".\" That\u2019s where matters stood until Aug. 15, when additional information was released though the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or SIGTARP. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, provided federal funds for bank bailouts as well as the auto rescue, and was overseen by Treasury. The report by the special inspector general, an independent watchdog, provided a long-awaited assessment of Treasury\u2019s role in the pension controversy. The SIGTARP report confirmed much of what the GAO already said. It reported that GM and Treasury were concerned about getting the automaker back on its feet quickly -- and that, in the words of Steven Rattner, head of the auto team, trying to get more on pensions \"was a game of chicken we didn\u2019t want to play. We were under incredible time pressure.\" Why, then, upgrade PolitiFact Ohio\u2019s rating? The SIGTARP report contained new information about the dominant role that Treasury\u2019s auto team played. The team\u2019s role in the decision to top-up the pensions of UAW workers was not just advisory, the SIGTARP report said. Treasury\u2019s financial role gave it a dominant position. GM could not make decisions without Treasury. GM\u2019s chief financial officer at the time, Ray Young, told SIGTARP that Treasury\u2019s influence, a result of its financial stake, was such that GM \"put forward recommendations, but at the end of the day (Treasury) makes the final decision.\" This was all done privately. Those with leverage, particularly Treasury and the UAW, were able to make their demands. Delphi\u2019s salaried retirees, who believed the government could make them whole, had no leverage and were largely kept on the outside. That is a clear impression from the SIGTARP report. This is the way most negotiations occur, including many involving individual Congress members, as a Treasury spokesman noted as we discussed this with him. But Turner\u2019s claim did not involve other deals. He was speaking specifically of the Delphi pension matter. So we return to Turner\u2019s claim about \"political favoritism and backroom deals.\" A rating of  means the statement is partially accurate, but leaves out important details or takes things out of context. Turner\u2019s claim is partially accurate. Treasury\u2019s heavy role, well-reasoned or not, was largely played out in closed meetings. It was not subject to transparency -- a key reason why the White House and members of the House of Representatives government oversight committee, on which Turner serves, continue to spar over the committee\u2019s demands for more information and testimony. Was there political favoritism? We can\u2019t know for sure because of the lack of transparency, nor can Turner, but there isn\u2019t evidence to prove it. And the claim still requires a considerable amount of context to understand fully. But until the SIGTARP report\u2019s release, the extent of Treasury\u2019s role -- the backroom considerations -- were more a matter of speculation than fact. We believe this warrants an upgrade. On the Truth-O-Meter, the claim rates ."}
{"claim_id": "8625", "claim": "Virus-hit Carnival cruise ship docks in Australia as country's death toll hits 40.", "explanation": "Carnival Corp\u2019s (CCL.N) troubled Ruby Princess cruise liner, the biggest single source of coronavirus infections in Australia, docked south of Sydney on Monday to get help for sick crew members requiring urgent medical treatment.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Ruby Princess, now the target of a criminal investigation led by the homicide squad in the state of New South Wales (NSW), has more than 1,000 crew still on board, after passengers disembarked in mid-March without health checks. There have been at least 360 COVID-19 cases, including passengers and staff, associated with the vessel, which includes at least six deaths. As a popular Pacific port destination, Australia is among numerous countries around the world negotiating arrangements with cruise ships unable to find somewhere to dock. NSW Police said in a statement on Monday that the vessel may remain in place for up to 10 days, but the crew will not disembark unless approved by state authorities. Sick crew members were being treated on board or transferred to hospital, police said, and the vessel will be refuelled in preparation for departure. Australia has more than 5,700 confirmed COVID-19 cases and its death toll rose to 40 on Monday after five additional deaths were recorded overnight. An investigation into Ruby Princess protocols will focus on communications and actions that led to the docking and disembarking of the ship\u2019s 2,700 passengers on March 19 at Sydney Harbour to see whether biosecurity laws or state laws were broken, authorities said. State health authorities had classed the ship as low risk, and the Australian Border Force issued a notice allowing the passengers to travel home freely. They were required to self-isolate for 14 days. A Carnival Australia spokesman said on Monday the company would cooperate with the probe. The ship has remained in Australian waters and on Monday docked at Port Kembla, with the remaining crew from 50 different countries on board to stay in isolation. The government banned cruise ships from docking except for emergencies as of mid-March and has sent off most of the cruise ships that remained in Australian waters over the past week. Australia has seen a sharp drop in the rate of new cases after closing national and state borders, quarantining people on all incoming flights in hotels for 14 days, restricting public gatherings to two, and shutting pubs, restaurants, and gyms. While the growth in new cases slows, the number of people contracting the virus from an unknown local source is steadily growing, particularly in NSW. Australia\u2019s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said 8% of coronavirus cases are now locally acquired. Authorities remain concerned that some Australians are flouting social distancing rules, particularly around the country\u2019s renowned beaches. After weekend crowds gathered on Sydney\u2019s northern beaches and beaches along Queensland\u2019s famed tourist strip the Gold Coast, local governments announced several beach closures. Australia\u2019s most famous beach Bondi has been closed for the past two weeks, with police fining people who trespass. In efforts to better monitor local infections testing criteria will be widened beyond people who have been in contact with COVID-19 cases. The state of Victoria will now test anyone over 65, teachers and child care workers if they display any of symptom of coronavirus, while Western Australia will do the same. \u201cIf we can focus on those with compatible symptoms, coughs, sore throat, runny nose with or without a fever, and get them tested, then we will be able to see how much community transmission there might be,\u201d said Victoria state\u2019s Chief Medical Officer, Andrew Wilson. Pacific nations have so far avoided some of the more devastating effects of COVID-19 suffered in China, parts of Europe and the United States. New Zealand, which has been in lock-down since March 25, has recorded just over 1,100 confirmed cases. It has suffered one death linked to the virus. New Zealand\u2019s Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said on Monday that the rate of increase in COVID-19 cases was \u201clevelling off\u201d."}
{"claim_id": "10125", "claim": "Studies: New type of osteoporosis drug cuts fracture risk in women, men in cancer treatment", "explanation": "This was an excellent report on two recent randomized trials which found that a new osteoporosis drug, denosumab, reduced the rate of fractures and increased bone density in at-risk men and women. While the results appear promising, the story tempered excitement by providing potential annual cost estimates of the drug at $10,000 and pointing out that Amgen, the manufacturer of denosumab, funded both of the studies, handled data collection and analysis and took part in writing the journal articles. Additionally, many of the researchers involved were in receiving fees from Amgen. The story also discusses the drug\u2019s potential harms and compares it to existing osteoporosis treatments. Providing outcome data in terms of absolute risk in addition to relative risk would have further strengthened this story.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Pricing for this drug is not yet available; however, the story suggests that it could be expensive, with similarly engineered drugs costing more than $10,000 a year. In addition, the costs of currently prescribed osteoporosis medications are provided. The relative risk reduction for each of the trials is provided, but the story fails to provide the absolute risk reduction (62% of what?). The writer also mentions that spine bone density loss in the men receiving denosumab was \u201cfar smaller\u201d compared to the placebo group; however, the reader is not given any quantitative data to determine the clinical significance of this. In addition to\u00a0comparing the absolute risk reduction observed in the denosumab group to the placebo group, it would have been helpful to the reader to know what the risk reduction was for approved and potentially more affordable medications. Citing the FDA\u2019s review of denosumab, as well as the adverse risks reported in the trials, the story mentions that this drug is associated with an increased risk of skin infections and some tumors. The story also points out that its long-term effects on cancer risk and the immune system are unknown. This story adequately describes the methodology of each trial, as well as the patient population. The story also does a service by alerting the reader that the drug manufacturer, Amgen, funded both of the studies and nearly all of the researchers were receiving fees from said manufacturer. Additionally, it was pointed out that Amgen designed the trials, handled data collection and analysis, and assisted in writing the journal articles. This story did not exaggerate the prevalence or seriousness of osteoporosis. Several independent sources were interviewed for this story. The writer also points out that both trials were paid for by Amgen, the manufacturer of denosumab, and nearly all the researchers were employed by the company or received consulting or advisory fees from them. This story discusses several alternative drug options for treating osteoporosis, including vitamins, pills, patches, nasal sprays, and intravenously and subcutaneously injected drugs. Comparisons in efficacy between denosumab and some of these alternatives are provided. More information comparing the absolute risk reduction for spine fractures would have been a nice addition, as well. The story makes it clear that the study drug, denosumab, is not yet approved by the FDA, but indicates that it could be available this fall. Up front the story states that this is a \u201cfirst-of-its-kind\u201d drug treatment for osteoporosis. This piece included several independent sources and therefore, does not rely on the news release."}
{"claim_id": "1925", "claim": "U.N. wants better life for world of 7 billion.", "explanation": "Instead of worrying about sheer numbers when the world\u2019s population hits 7 billion next week, we should think about how to make the planet a better place for people to live in, the United Nations said in a report.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Indian children ride in a cart on the way home from school in the outskirts of New Delhi in this file picture taken, February 26, 2001. REUTERS/Pawel Kopcznski/Files \u201cIt is both about consumption and population,\u201d the U.N.\u2019s Population Fund Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin said at a media conference to launch the report, referring to people\u2019s impact on the environment and economic growth. While growing populations could be a drain on the world\u2019s resources, the U.N.\u2019s Population Fund\u2019s \u201cThe State of World Population 2011\u201d released Wednesday said a contributing factor was overconsumption by the existing population. \u201cWith planning and the right investments in people now, to empower them to make choices that are not only good for themselves ... our world of 7 billion can have thriving sustainable cities, productive labor forces that fuel economies, and youth populations that contribute to the well-being of their societies,\u201d Osotimehin said in the report. It was vital to engage with the world\u2019s youth and to harness their entrepreneurial skills to boost economies and prevent potential alienation, the report said. Those under the age of 25 make up 43 percent of the population, and as much as 60 percent in some countries, and this group must be educated and trained if countries are to have a dynamic work force, it said. Failure to do so would see a loss of ideas, innovation as well as tax income. A major contributor to the recent Arab uprisings was a youth unemployment rate of nearly 25 percent, the report quoted the International Labor Organization as saying. The U.N. also said migration will become more significant in the coming century, with people moving across borders as well as within their own countries. The report looked at nine countries to see how they were responding to different rates of fertility and migration. In some of the poorest countries, high fertility rates have stunted development and perpetuated poverty, the report said. Getting girls to school and providing women with jobs and equal opportunities as well as sexual and reproductive healthcare including family planning was essential, it said. In some of the richest countries, low fertility rates and too few people entering the job market have raised fears about the prospects for sustained economic growth and the viability of social security systems. Every country has a population that is aging to some degree. The global proportion of people over the age of 60 is expected to grow from 11 percent in 2009 to 22 percent in 2050. In Finland, which enjoys a high standard of living but where low fertility rates have led to a quarter of the population being over 60 years old, the emphasis is on excellent social services to make parenthood easier. Academics have said that in countries such as China, which is getting older before it gets richer, there is need for old-age security, medical care and social services. More funding, including from governments and foundations, was needed, Osotimehin told reporters at the media conference. \u201cFamily planning, for instance, has not been funded as much as it should have been,\u201d he said. A U.N. Secretary General report showed that $68 billion would be needed in 2011 if its program on sexual and reproductive health initiatives set out in Cairo in 1994 was to be met, Wednesday\u2019s report said. Countries were expected to contribute $34 billion, with a further $10.8 billion coming from international and bilateral donors, leaving a shortfall of around $25 billion. Growing global interdependence meant governments had to work out how to deal with record populations if they were to avoid future competition for limited resources such as food and water. Reports already suggest a 40 percent global shortfall in water supply by 2030, while developing countries are buying up land in Africa to offset any future shortages at home."}
{"claim_id": "1308", "claim": "Clamor for GSK shingles shot points to bigger profits.", "explanation": "GlaxoSmithKline is facing \u201cunprecedented\u201d demand for its new shingles vaccine Shingrix, suggesting the product could be a bigger money-spinner than the company and analysts initially thought.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "In the short term, though, GSK faces a problem. While more than 1.5 million Americans have received Shingrix since the end of last year, others are having to wait, prompting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to warn of shortages. GSK said it had increased deliveries significantly and was vaccinating people against shingles far faster than in the past, when Merck & Co\u2019s Zostavax was the only product available. But it acknowledged it was struggling to keep up. \u201cThe arrival of Shingrix has been met with an unprecedented level of demand from patients and healthcare professionals,\u201d a spokesman said. \u201cHealthcare professionals are vaccinating with Shingrix at a rate many times that of prior years, so ordering limits and intermittent shipping delays should be expected for Shingrix during 2018.\u201d  The CDC has recommended Shingrix over Merck\u2019s older and less effective vaccine in adults 50 years and older, spurring the current strong demand. Consensus forecasts currently point to peak annual sales for Shingrix of around 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion), according to Thomson Reuters data, with the U.S. market the main driver. But this number may prove to be too low, according Exane BNP analysts. The brokerage reckons sales could rise to 3 billion pounds if Shingrix can achieve market penetration rates of around 60 percent - double the level seen with Zostavax but similar to levels achieved by Pfizer\u2019s pneumonia vaccine Prevnar. GSK said in April that Shingrix had got off to a flying start, with sales of 110 million pounds in its first full quarter on the market and 2018 sales expected to top 400 million. A company spokesman declined to give any update on that forecast ahead of second-quarter results next month. Shingrix is a key new product for GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley as she strives to improve the company\u2019s commercial performance. It is also crucial for showing the profit potential of GSK\u2019s large vaccines business, where GSK is looking to expand margins. GSK has already achieved its mid-term goal of getting vaccine margins to 30 percent and Exane BNP believes it could hit 35 percent by 2020, helped by the roll-out of Shingrix and other premium vaccines like Bexsero and Menveo against meningitis. Shingrix is given in two doses, separated by two to six months, while Zostavax is a single shot. Ensuring patients adhere to the two-shot regimen will be important in achieving the vaccine\u2019s full sales potential. Shingles is caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus that is also responsible for chickenpox. Nearly all adults over 50 have the virus dormant in their nervous system and are at risk of it being reactivated with advancing age."}
{"claim_id": "22968", "claim": "Texas leads \"the country in drunk driving fatalities.", "explanation": "Austin police chief says Texas leads nation in drunk driving deaths", "label": "true", "subjects": "Drugs, Public Safety, Texas, Art Acevedo, ", "main_text": "Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo cut to the chase during an interview about a law that lets drivers convicted of driving while intoxicated return to the road. \"We're in the worst state in the union when it comes to drunk driving and drunk driving fatalities,\" Acevedo said in an interview with the Austin American-Statesman and Austin's KVUE-TV, Channel 24. \"We lead the country in drunk driving fatalities.\" The interview aired Sunday Nov. 14. Texas, No. 1 in alcohol-fueled driving deaths? We asked Acevedo how he reached his conclusion, then started checking national comparisons. An August 2010 report posted online appears to support the claim. In 2009, Texas tallied 1,235 alcohol-impaired fatalities, according to the report by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, which says the statistic reflects fatalities in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter or greater. The 2009 Texas total exceeded by more than 250 the 950 alcohol-related driving fatalities in California, which was the No. 2 state in the dubious category. States rounding out this top 10 were Florida (770), Pennsylvania (406), South Carolina (377), North Carolina (363), Georgia (331), Ohio (324), New York (321) and Illinois (319). Texas also topped other states in alcohol-impaired fatalities in 2008, the report says. The report also lays out the percentage of total traffic deaths due to alcohol impairment. Texas ranked No. 5 by this gauge, with alcohol impairment accounting for 40 percent of the 3,071 driving deaths in 2009. Four states had higher percentages: Hawaii, 48 percent of 109 deaths; Connecticut, 44 percent of 223 deaths; South Carolina, 42 percent of 894 deaths; and Washington, 42 percent of 492 deaths. Texas's 40 percent matched the percentages of deaths linked to alcohol impairment in South Dakota, Kansas and Rhode Island. Though Texas last year experienced one of the country's largest reductions in total traffic fatalities -- from 3,476 deaths in 2008 to 3,071 in 2009 -- more people still died on Texas roads than in any other state. As with drunk-driving deaths, that toll is influenced by factors such as Texas's size, population and number of miles traveled on its roads. In search of expert perspective on the meaning of such numbers, we reached Bernie Fette, a senior researcher at the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station. He showed us two other ways to compare alcohol-related driving deaths by state, based on the percentage of such deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled or on the number of licensed drivers in each state. Online, NHTSA has posted state-by-state rates of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled for 2005 through 2008. We checked the rates over those years for the 10 states that had the most alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2009--and found that Texas's rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, ranging from .55 in 2007 to a high of .59 in 2006, exceeded that of all but one of the states. South Carolina's rate, ranging from .81 in 2008 to .91 in 2007, was higher every year. The federal agency also provides information on the number of licensed drivers by state as of 2008. We divided the number of alcohol-impaired driving deaths in each state for that year by its licensed driver total. According to the resulting ratios, Texas ranked 9th nationally in alcohol-impaired driving deaths that year. States with higher ratios were topped by Wyoming, followed by Mississippi, South Carolina, Montana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota and West Virginia. We also wondered how Texas compares in alcohol-related driving deaths when population is taken into account. We divided the 2009 alcohol-impaired driving deaths for each state by U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for each state. Result: Texas trailed 15 states in deaths per resident. States with higher ratios, led by Wyoming, included North Dakota, Montana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Kansas, Delaware and Missouri. So, it looks like Texas is not No. 1 for drunk driving deaths by every measure. Still, Fette suggested, no matter how you look at the stats on alcohol-impaired driving deaths in Texas, the news isn't good. \"If all of the measures rank at the top or nearly at the top, no matter what the (state's) rank is, it's a serious problem that deserves attention,\" he said. Our take: Several statistical approaches show Texas behind other states in the rate of alcohol-related driving deaths. But it's also reasonable to focus on the sheer number of deaths linked to drunk driving. We rate Acevedo's statement ."}
{"claim_id": "10482", "claim": "Egg Freezing Puts The Biological Clock On Hold", "explanation": "This is an interesting story. But our three reviewers thought it fell short in evaluating the quality of the evidence, in not providing a full description of potential harms, and in framing the issue in a way that smacks of disease-mongering. Many women face worries about infertility. They need accurate and objective descriptions of the possible treatments. The lack of crucial long-term evidence of safety in this case seems crucial to any discussion about these emotional issues.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "NPR", "main_text": "The story includes the high price tag for freezing eggs and the possibility that a family may need more than a single \u201cfreezing.\u201d\u00a0The story quotes about $40,000 for a safe number of eggs in storage and seems to imply that price includes the in- vitro fertilization required. But we wish they had done a better itemizing more ofl the costs of a high-tech pregnancy, including the possible higher risk of twins and pre-term delivery. Yes. The story is generous with describing the potential benefits. There are risks of pre-term pregnancy because of in-vitro fertilization. There are risks to babies from being one of multiples \u2013 such as twins or triplets. These risks are just as important to discuss and weigh as the risks that the story puts forward as reason for this high-tech solution \u2013 having \u201cold\u201d eggs as a woman of 40 years. Yet the story does not discuss these. The story fails to give us the context for judging the egg-freezing technique. It correctly calls the procedure \u201cexperimental\u201d but only quotes an expert chosen from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. He points out how few procedures have been done, but he calls the technology \u201cclose\u201d to proven effective. Such a long feature had plenty of reporting time \u2013 and could have included a much more skeptical voice and better discussion of evidence. Our medical editor who reviewed this story felt there were elements of disease-mongering in the framing of the story. She wrote:\u00a0\u201cI am not sure that waiting until you are out of the window for a specific biologic function is a disease. The story framing almost makes a disease out of a life choice in this particular example of women who want to risk waiting until they might not be expected to have normal fecundability/fertility and higher risk.\u201d Is \u201cNudging Young Women To Think About Fertility\u201d akin to creating a new disease that\u2019s not really a disease? The story did a good job with asking a variety of potential patients for their opinions. It did not do quite so well in providing a diversity of medical experts. No head to head data are provided. The story doesn\u2019t say how different outcomes are for embryo vs. oocyte freezing, and could have included more information (less dramatically) about natural changes in fecundability and pregnancy outcomes with age. ASRM has identified the \u201cbest practice\u201d as encouraging women to consider pregnancy whenever possible within the optimal timeframe rather for hoping for a technology fix. The story barely meets this requirement. It describes the procedure as something gaining acceptance, but still \u201cexperimental.\u201d What isn\u2019t emphasized is that this is not offered by many centers that can freeze ooccytes and far from all infertility programs have successful protocols in place. The story does a decent job of explaining that the technique is experimental. The story obviously required in-person reporting of a group meeting of women worried about fertility. However, it could have been improved with phone calls to a wider diversity of medical researchers."}
{"claim_id": "29091", "claim": "Al Gore's residence uses considerably more energy than the average American home.", "explanation": "If one were to compare electricity consumption in Al Gore\u2019s home in April (the month of lowest usage) to the national average, the multiplier drops from 34 to 10. Of course, comparing any single month to an annual average is problematic, as monthly electric use fluctuates throughout the year (and also in response to local conditions, such as weather and climate patterns).", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Business, al gore, al gore energy use, ASP Article", "main_text": "A 2007 report from the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR), claiming that Al Gore\u2019s Tennessee home uses over 20 times more energy than the average U.S. home, was released the day after the former vice-president\u2019s film about global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, won an Academy Award for Best Documentary:  Al Gore\u2019s Personal Energy Use Is His Own \u201cInconvenient Truth\u201d Gore\u2019s home uses more than 20 times the national average Last night, Al Gore\u2019s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy. Gore\u2019s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES). In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home. The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh \u2013 more than 20 times the national average. Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh-guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore\u2019s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359. Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore\u2019s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006. Gore\u2019s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore\u2019s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year. \u201cAs the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,\u201d said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson. In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006. The specific numbers involved were disputable (the TCPR claimed Gore\u2019s home used electricity at a rate more than \u201c20 times the national average,\u201d while the Associated Press reported that their own review of bills indicated that the Gores\u2019 Nashville household used more than 12 times the average for a typical household in that area), but the basic gist of the claim \u2014 that the Gores\u2019 Nashville residence consumed a larger proportion of energy than the average American home \u2014 was true. Some important points not covered in the report, however, included whether equating the Gores\u2019 home to the average American home was really a relevant comparison. A spokesperson for the Gore family responded by noting some mitigating factors, such as the fact that the Gores\u2019 Nashville residence isn\u2019t an \u201caverage\u201d house: it\u2019s about four times larger than the average new American home built in 2006, and it essentially functions as both a residence and a business office since both Al and Tipper work out of their home. The Tennessean also noted that the Gores had been paying a $432 per month premium on their monthly electricity bills in order to obtain some of their electricity from \u201cgreen\u201d sources (i.e., solar or other renewable energy sources). Other factors (such as the climate in the area where the home is located and its size) made the Gore home\u2019s energy usage comparable to that of other homes in the same area. The former vice-president maintained that comparing raw energy-usage figures was misleading and that he leads what he advocates, a \u201ccarbon-neutral lifestyle,\u201d by purchasing energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas to balance out the carbon emissions produced in generating the electricity his home used: Kalee Kreider, a spokesperson for the Gores, pointed out that both Al and Tipper Gore work out of their home and she argued that \u201cthe bottom line is that every family has a different carbon footprint. And what Vice President Gore has asked is for families to calculate that footprint and take steps to reduce and offset it.\u201d A carbon footprint is a calculation of the CO2 fossil fuel emissions each person is responsible for, either directly because of his or her transportation and energy consumption or indirectly because of the manufacture and eventual breakdown of products he or she uses. The vice president has done that, Kreider argues, and the family tries to offset that carbon footprint by purchasing their power through the local Green Power Switch program \u2014 electricity generated through renewable resources such as solar, wind, and methane gas, which create less waste and pollution. \u201cIn addition, they are in the midst of installing solar panels on their home, which will enable them to use less power,\u201d Kreider added. \u201cThey also use compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy efficiency measures and then they purchase offsets for their carbon emissions to bring their carbon footprint down to zero.\u201d Also, by the end of 2007 the Gores had completed renovations that made their home much more energy-efficient: Al Gore, who was criticized for high electric bills at his Tennessee mansion, has completed a host of improvements to make the home more energy efficient, and a building-industry group has praised the house as one of the nation\u2019s most environmentally friendly. The former vice president has installed solar panels, a rainwater-collection system and geothermal heating. He also replaced all incandescent lights with compact fluorescent or light-emitting diode bulbs. \u201cShort of tearing it down and staring anew, I don\u2019t know how it could have been rated any higher,\u201d said Kim Shinn of the U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design. Gore\u2019s improvements cut the home\u2019s summer electrical consumption by 11 percent compared with a year ago, according to utility records reviewed by The Associated Press. Most Nashville homes used 20 percent to 30 percent more electricity during the same period because of a record heat wave. Nearly identical claims were published in August 2017 \u2014 after the release of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Gore\u2019s follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2006 documentary \u2014 this time under the misleading headline \u201cAl Gore\u2019s Home Devours 34 Times More Electricity Than Average U.S. Household.\u201d Drew Johnson, a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, wrote the August 2017 piece. (Johnson appears to have been behind the 2007 claims about Gore\u2019s energy use as well.) In that article, he cited his own report for National Center for Public Policy Research (without making it clear that he authored the report), in which he found that Gore\u2019s electricity bill for September 2016 was 34 times more than the national average. However, Johnson, as well as  other sources that replicated his claims \u2014 including the National Center for Public Policy Research\u2019s own press release \u2014 implied in the headlines or bodies of their articles that Gore\u2019s home \u201cconsistently devoured\u201d 34 times more energy than the average home, which was not the case: that figure was based on estimates for a single month during the previous year, and that single month was August, a time of the year when energy usage typically spikes due high mid-summer temperatures. When we asked about the discrepancy in the headline of his article (\u201c\u201cAl Gore\u2019s Home Devours 34 Times More Electricity Than Average U.S. Household\u201d), Johnson told us (emphasis ours):  The title I turned in to the Daily Caller for the column/op-ed was \u201cAl Gore\u2019s Home Devours Up to 34 Times More Electricity than an Average U.S. Household, Hypocritically Issues Call to Reduce Energy Consumption in New Film.\u201d My goal was to indicate that, at its highest, Gore\u2019s home energy usage spikes to 34X that of the typical American household (as the NCPPR paper suggests). It is not accurate that Gore\u2019s home consistently uses 34X the national average \u2014 in the past year, Gore\u2019s home consumed 21.35X the national average. I even rounded down to 21.3X in everything I wrote to be as fair and as bulletproof as possible \u2014 that\u2019s why I went about so thoroughly discussing the makeup of the power he receives at his home and his donations to the Green Power Switch program, so there would be no confusion on those issues when it came to his power bill costs and his \u201c100% renewable\u201d claim.\u201d I don\u2019t believe the DC title intentionally misrepresented the report. I just gave an unwieldy title that needed to be trimmed down. And although I wish there was a qualifier (\u201cup to\u201d, \u201cas much as\u201d, \u201cin one month\u201d), it was based off of a legitimate number. (We have reached out to Nashville Electric Service and Al Gore\u2019s media team to confirm the numbers but have yet to receive a response.)"}
{"claim_id": "9674", "claim": "Ibuprofen patch heralds side effect free drug future", "explanation": "To begin with, the headline of this story is a little much: a \u201cside-effect free future\u201d with this patch? Surely, we can\u2019t dispense entirely with oral ibuprofen even if this patch were to deliver everything it promises. And while it makes sense that transdermal delivery would reduce stomach-related side effects, do we really know if this approach will eliminate other possible side effects that aren\u2019t related to the GI tract \u2014 for example related to cardiovascular risk? The advantages of the TEPI patch (this apparent acronym is never spelled out in the story) over existing products on the market sound impressive and believable \u2014 although very little evidence is given to help us assess the quality of these claims. The promise of transdermal drug delivery has been on the horizon for decades and the TEPI patch is the latest iteration. Ibuprofen and the other NSAID\u2019s are safe and effective for the vast majority of people taking them. People with chronic conditions like osteoarthritis are at risk for side effects because of the relatively large doses taken orally. In theory, a patch could reduce the likelihood of these side effects but the proof is simply not there yet.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "drug costs,ibuprofen", "main_text": "We\u2019ll rate this\u00a0N/A since the patches are still in development for the consumer market. Having said that, we should point out that generic ibuprofen is very inexpensive. It is very likely that the TEPI system will cost the consumer much more. The story is full of superlatives but provides absolutely no information on how the TEPI patches were tested. All of the information provided appears to be related to results in the lab and not on people. We are told, \u201c\u2026capable of releasing between five and ten times the amount of drugs used in gels and patches currently on the market, for periods of six hours, 12 hours, and even 24 hours.\u201d How long do current gels and patches last? How much medication do they release? Is is important to be able to achieve the higher dosages discussed in this story? While it all sounds very impressive,\u00a0the reader isn\u2019t provided enough information to tell if any of these results are meaningful. The story provides no information on the potential side effects of this method of drug delivery. Ibuprofen is a drug and all drugs have side effects. It sounds like the TEPI patches will have the same possible side effects as topical gels or other patches, which are mostly limited to irritation on the skin and other minor issues. It is claimed that the TEPI patches cause little discomfort, but how was this assessed? It is not at all clear how the advantages of TEPI patches over current products on the market were established. No disease-mongering here. No independent sources were interviewed. The\u00a0two sources that were interviewed\u00a0for this article were\u00a0both disclosed to be affiliated with the company Medherant, producer of the TEPI patches. Since the use of transdermal patches has been around for decades, it should have been relatively easy to identify experts in the field. There was a decent amount of discussion about alternatives like ibuprofen administered orally or topically as a gel. The story tells us the the patches are expected to hit the market in three years, but the information comes direct from the company and isn\u2019t independently verified. Given the stage of development for this technology, three years sounds like a very aggressive timeline given the need for clinical validation of the assumptions made and the need for regulatory approval. The story establishes what\u2019s new about the patch compared with existing transdermal technologies, including that it might be applied to drugs that previously haven\u2019t been suitable for this approach. It\u2019s clear that some original reporting was done in an interview, so the story does enough to clear our bar. That being said, the end result doesn\u2019t seem to be much different than this December 2015 news release."}
{"claim_id": "27076", "claim": "A video shows small, white worms inside some cherries.", "explanation": "Both home and commercial farmers take precautions to prevent cherry fruit flies from contaminating their crops. As we have yet to see any information about a recall or public statements regarding a cherry fly infestation, the viral video of maggots in cherries likely captured a relatively isolated incident.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fauxtography", "main_text": "On June 26, 2019, a video supposedly showing small, white worms inside of a batch of cherries went viral on social media:  This video, which was viewed millions of times within a week of its initial posting, drew plenty of reactions from viewers who were shocked and disgusted at the apparently sight of maggots in the fruit. While we won\u2019t argue about the gross-out factor of this clip, finding worms in cherries (or other pieces of fruit) isn\u2019t all that unusual. The video likely documents a subject familiar to cherry farmers, the larvae of the cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cerasi). Washington State University\u2019s Tree Fruit Website labels the western cherry fruit fly as a \u201ckey pest in all cherry growing regions of the western United States.\u201d A photograph from the website showing the fruit flies\u2019 larvae in the flesh of a cherry resembles the images seen in the viral video:  When someone asked the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University for the best way to get rid of the \u201cwhite worms in my cherries,\u201d the university responded as follows: The small, white \u201cworms\u201d are probably the larvae of the cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis spp.). Cherry fruit flies lay eggs on developing cherry fruit in May. Damaged fruit appear shrunken and shriveled when ripe, and usually contain one off-white larva (maggot) that is slightly longer than one-quarter of an inch. Cherry fruit fly damage varies greatly from year to year. It may be more practical to tolerate some damage and loss of usable fruit than to attempt effective preventive control. To prevent maggots from appearing inside the fruit, the tree must be thoroughly sprayed with a labeled insecticide when the adults emerge and before the females lay their eggs inside the young fruit. Because the flies emerge over an extended period of time, several sprays will be needed. You can monitor fruit flies with yellow sticky traps hung in the tree in early May. Check traps daily after the first fruit fly is caught and repeat the spray application until flies no longer appear. Effective home orchard type sprays can be purchased at your local garden center. Carefully read and follow label directions. The cherry fruit fly isn\u2019t the only insect to deposit its larvae in cherries, and this viral video might also show the larvae of the spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii): The spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) is a relatively new pest of cherries and other soft fleshy fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc). Unlike other vinegar flies that attack rotting or fermenting fruit, the spotted wing attacks maturing fruit. The name spotted wing drosophila comes from the single black spot at the tip of each wing of the male adult. Don\u2019t think though that you will be able to identify this fly by those markings without magnification because these adults are small, really small. The female is able to penetrate the skin of the fruit to lay her eggs and this act creates a small depression (\u201csting\u201d) on the fruit surface. The eggs hatch and the maggots develop and feed inside the fruit, causing the flesh of the fruit to turn brown and soft. A video published in the peer-reviewed BMC Journal shows the larvae of the fruit fly D. suzukii in a ripe cherry:   Larvae of the fruit fly Drosophila suzukii in a ripe cherry \u2014 this species has become a substantial pest species in Europe and the USA. For more on how this species has evolved to be able to feed on ripe fruit, while its sister species can only feed on rotting fruit. While we certainly wouldn\u2019t recommend eating these white worms with your cherries, Garden Guru Pat Welsh noted that accidentally consuming one shouldn\u2019t consitute a health emergency: \u201cThe larvae of Western cherry fruit fly don\u2019t harm human beings who have accidentally ingested them since they are not adapted to living in human intestines, and they are mainly, after all, made up of cherry meat, but it is certainly a disgusting thought to know you have been eating worms.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "35560", "claim": "Dr. Anthony Fauci wrote in a 2005 paper published in Virology Journal that hydroxychloroquine was effective in treating SARS. ", "explanation": "As mentioned earlier, the above-displayed screenshot shows an excerpt from an opinion piece written by Fischer, which was published on websites such as One News Now and the conspiratorial True Pundit, a site that traffics in misinformation.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19, Editor's Picks", "main_text": "In July 2020, social media users posted a meme that included a screenshot of an article excerpt that allegedly demonstrated hydroxychloroquine would be an effective \u201ccure and vaccine\u201d against COVID-19. The claim stems from an opinion piece by Bryan Fischer, former director of the American Family Association, that interpreted a 2005 study on the utility of chloroquine to treat SARS as being relevant to COVID-19 \u2014 a disease that did not exist at the time of that paper\u2019s publication. SARS (aka SARS-CoV, which caused epidemics in the early 2000s) and COVID-19 (aka SARS-CoV-2) are both caused by coronaviruses, but that does not mean that both could be treated with the same medication. Similarly, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are related drugs, but that does not mean they are interchangeable. Finally, the excerpted study was limited in scope and based on laboratory results. Fischer attempted to tie Dr. Anthony Fauci to the 2005 study by falsely alleging that it was published in a journal run by the U.S. agency Fauci heads. Are SARS and COVID-19 the same? No. While SARS and COVID-19 are both coronaviruses, that does not mean these two diseases are interchangeable, nor that they can be treated with identical medicines. Hundreds of coronaviruses exist, most of which circulate among animals. These viruses occasionally jump to humans and cause diseases that range in severity. The common cold, for instance, which isn\u2019t particularly known for being lethal, can be caused by a coronavirus. On the other hand, COVID-19, which has caused more than 150,000 deaths in the United States (and close to 700,000 total deaths worldwide) as of this writing, is also caused by a coronavirus. Nobody would argue that a treatment for the common cold would be equally effective against COVID-19. Fischer attempts to dismiss the fact that SARS and COVID-19 are two distinct diseases by arguing that they share a similar scientific name (SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2) and 79% of the same genome. Saying that these two diseases share 79% of their genome sequence may make it sound like these diseases are nearly identical, but consider this: Humans share 98% of our genome with chimpanzees. Are hydroxycloroquine and chloroquine the same thing? No. Although these drugs are similar (they are both derivatives of a 4-aminoquinoline [4AQ] nucleus), they aren\u2019t interchangeable. Chloroquine is primarily used to treat malaria, while hydroxychloroquine, which is considered less toxic than chloroquine, is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and certain blood disorders. CNN writes: Chloroquine is used to treat malaria, as well as in chemoprophylaxis, which is the administering of drugs to prevent the development of disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 2006, it has not been recommended for use in severe malaria because of problems with resistance, particularly in the Oceania region, according to the World Health Organization. [\u2026] Hydroxychloroquine is what\u2019s known as an analog of chloroquine, meaning the two have similar structures but different chemical and biological properties. The former is considered the less toxic derivative, according to studies. It\u2019s given to patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and the blood disorder porphyria cutanea tarda, the CDC said. Did this study prove that chloroquine was an effective treatment against SARS? No. The 2005 article published in Virology Journal was based on a laboratory cell-culture experiment that used primate cells, not human cells. The authors noted at the time that more testing was needed before antivirals could be developed to treat the disease in humans: Chloroquine has been widely used to treat human diseases, such as malaria, amoebiosis, HIV, and autoimmune diseases, without significant detrimental side effects [15]. Together with data presented here, showing virus inhibition in cell culture by chloroquine doses compatible with patient treatment, these features suggest that further evaluation of chloroquine in animal models of SARS-CoV infection would be warranted as we progress toward finding effective antivirals for prevention or treatment of the disease. It should also be noted that this was an in vitro study, meaning that it was conducted in a controlled environment, like a test tube, not inside a living organism. The Universal Health Network, a medical research organization in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, noted that in vitro models have a reputation of being \u201cless translatable\u201d to humans than other research methods: A major drawback is their failure to capture the inherent complexity of organ systems. For example, in vitro models may not account for interactions between cells and biochemical processes that occur during turnover and metabolism. As a result, in vitro studies have developed a reputation for being \u201cless translatable\u201d to humans. More importantly, in the years since the SARS outbreak in 2002, chloroquine has not been widely used to treat the disease. Did this study say that hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment against SARS? No. The 2005 paper in the Virology Journal never mentions hydroxychloroquine. Was Fauci or the NIH involved in this 2005 paper? No."}
{"claim_id": "13424", "claim": "Amendment 2 will bring kid-friendly pot candy to Florida.", "explanation": "Vote No On 2 said, \"Amendment 2 will bring kid-friendly pot candy to Florida.\" The proposal would allow edible forms of marijuana, but the amendment does not\u00a0specifically identify candy. Calling it \"kid-friendly\" plays on parents\u2019 fears without any proof that\u2019s what will happen. The statement is partially accurate but requires additional context.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Florida, Marijuana, Vote No On 2, ", "main_text": "Opponents of Florida\u2019s medical marijuana amendment are warning that cannabis-enhanced edibles will endanger children, hoping that voters will eat up their dire predictions and reject the measure. \"Amendment 2 will bring kid-friendly pot candy to Florida,\" the anti-drug campaign Vote No On 2 said in a flier we received in the mail Sept. 22, 2016. The campaign is run by the Drug Free Florida Committee, an anti-drug group started in 2014 by longtime GOP fundraiser Mel Sembler and his wife, Betty, with financial backing from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. We wanted to find out whether the medical marijuana amendment allows \"pot candy,\" and whether it really would be \"kid-friendly.\" Candy plan As a quick refresher, Amendment 2 would let doctors recommend medical marijuana for patients with a host of certain conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson\u2019s disease and more. It\u2019s only a recommendation, because marijuana still is illegal under federal law, so doctors can\u2019t prescribe it and pharmacists can\u2019t distribute it. The patients would take their recommendations to what is referred to as a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center, which would be regulated by the state to provide the drug. Here\u2019s where we get into Vote No On 2\u2019s assertion about pot candy. The amendment language says the following (emphasis ours): \" \u2018Medical Marijuana Treatment Center\u2019 (MMTC) means an entity that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils, or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses, or administers marijuana, products containing marijuana, related supplies, or educational materials to qualifying patients or their caregivers and is registered by the Department.\" So while the amendment doesn\u2019t specifically mention candy, it does allow edibles. Proponents argue that edible forms of marijuana are better for some patients, in part because the effects can be longer-lasting than other methods of ingestion. That\u2019s also part of the problem, because it can be difficult to gauge how the drug may affect people when eaten instead of smoked. Vote No On 2 cites an uptick of children being hospitalized in many of those states for eating marijuana-laced candy, which they say is tempting to kids if left out. They pointed to several news stories about children in medical marijuana states consuming cookies, chocolate bars, brownies and other sweets and candies. In some of their cases it wasn\u2019t apparent if the candy was medical marijuana or from some other source. (It\u2019s also possible that people could always just buy cannabis in bud form and make their own edibles.) Ben Pollara, director of United for Care, the group behind the amendment, said Vote No On 2 was creating a \"total dystopian fantasy about the way the amendment could be implemented.\" He said a child getting into an adult\u2019s medical marijuana presents the same issues as any medication, and it was up to the adult to prevent accidents from happening. \"Put it away,\" he said. \"That\u2019s Parenting 101.\" Kate Bell, legislative counsel at the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports the amendment, said 19 of the 25 medical marijuana states allow edibles, although they all handle them a bit differently. Amendment 2 offers the state plenty of leeway on how it could regulate the marijuana industry. The Legislature would have to pass a law on the issue and the Department of Health would have to write the regulations. What those rules would specifically say is anyone\u2019s guess, and the health department told us that they couldn\u2019t speculate. A health department spokeswoman pointed out that under current Florida law allowing medical marijuana for some epileptics and terminal patients, the only prohibited form is smoking, which Amendment 2 would allow. That leaves us to look to see how other states handle guidelines about things like packaging and sales practices. Washington, for example, bans products designed to appeal to kids. Connecticut requires tamper-resistant packages just like prescription drugs. California, which is phasing in new regulations, requires labels warning patients to keep products away from children. New Jersey only allows edibles in lozenge form, which were previously only available to child patients to take at school. (There\u2019s an overview of guidelines for each state here.) In Colorado, which started selling medical marijuana in 2001 and recreational marijuana in 2012, there has been an increase in the number of children hospitalized for ingesting marijuana. A spokeswoman for the state\u2019s marijuana enforcement division acknowledged in 2014 that edible forms carry \"a significant public safety risk.\" Colorado this year banned some products shaped like people, fruit or animals. The state also requires opaque, tamper-resistant packaging and a label announcing the content of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The state also is starting to use a universal symbol designating a marijuana product. That doesn\u2019t mean kids don\u2019t end up getting exposed to the drug. Mike Van Dyke, the chief of environmental epidemiology, occupational health and toxicology at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said the state continues to adapt its packaging policies to make edible marijuana less accessible to children. A Colorado report on the amount of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for marijuana exposure shows the number of affected children under 9 \u00a0\u2014 when use is more likely to be accidental \u2014 has increased over the last 15 years. But Van Dyke says they still are small numbers. In 2000, prior to medical marijuana being legalized, only 1 child was hospitalized statewide. In 2014-15, there were 37 ER visits and 15 hospitalizations. There\u2019s also been an increase among people older than 9, too, but there are caveats to the data. Hospitals record these as exposures, but they don\u2019t necessarily specify how patients were exposed, or if they were at the hospital because of the exposure or for a related issue. \"We\u2019ve definitely seen an increase, but a lot of people are inflating the impact of these cases,\" Van Dyke said. \"Prior to 2010, we didn\u2019t have commercially available, edible marijuana products, so of course there\u2019s going to be more instances with an increase in availability.\" The Journal of the American Medical Association this year published a study of marijuana exposures in Colorado for kids younger than 10. It found between 2009 and 2015, children\u2019s hospital visits increased from 1.2 to 2.3 per 100,000. The Washington Post noted that means hospitals and poison control centers are much more likely to get calls about diaper cream, toothpaste, laundry detergent and crayons than they are about marijuana. Our ruling Vote No On 2 said, \"Amendment 2 will bring kid-friendly pot candy to Florida.\" The proposal would allow edible forms of marijuana, but the amendment does not\u00a0specifically identify candy. Calling it \"kid-friendly\" plays on parents\u2019 fears without any proof that\u2019s what will happen. The statement is partially accurate but requires additional context. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "41702", "claim": "One in five people are drinking too much alcohol.", "explanation": "21% of adults aged 16+ in England reported to an NHS Digital survey that they usually drank more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week in 2017.", "label": "true", "subjects": "health", "main_text": "One in five people are drinking too much alcohol. 21% of adults aged 16+ in England reported to an NHS Digital survey that they usually drank more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week in 2017. Alcohol deaths in England at record high after 6% rise in a year. Correct, in terms of deaths that are a direct result of alcohol misuse. However, the number of alcohol-specific deaths per 100,000 people has remained virtually the same over the last ten years. Claim 1 of 3"}
{"claim_id": "17177", "claim": "If you want out of the individual mandate... all you have to do now is tick off the box that says 'hardship'\u00a0and you're out.", "explanation": "Krauthammer said people who don\u2019t want to comply with the individual mandate should just \"tick off the box that says \u2018hardship\u2019 and you're out.\" He is over-simplifying the process. Included in the hardship exemption application -- because there\u2019s an application, you don\u2019t just check a box on your tax form -- is a 14th category that reads kind of like \"other.\" It\u2019s meant to catch examples of hardship not delineated in the form. Documentation is requested if possible. Again, claiming it doesn\u2019t mean you get it. You apply. And just because you ask does not mean you will receive.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Health Care, PunditFact, Charles Krauthammer, ", "main_text": "Individual mandate, schmindividual schmandate. There\u2019s a quick, penalty-free fix for anyone who wants out of Obamacare\u2019s health insurance requirement, says conservative pundit Charles Krauthammer. Just check a box. The one that says \"hardship.\" That\u2019s it, you\u2019re done! There will be no questions, and no consequences. At least, that\u2019s how easy Krauthammer made it sound during his April 1 appearance on The O\u2019Reilly Factor. He and host Bill O\u2019Reilly discussed the Democrats\u2019 changes to the law since it passed in 2010. Krauthammer: \"They decide what the law is every Wednesday morning. They've changed it 38 times. The employer mandate is out. Remember the great debate in the country for two years over the individual mandate? \"The individual mandate no longer exists. They haven't said so officially, but if you want out of the individual mandate, do you know what you've got to do? \"You have to say that this is a hardship. There are hardship exceptions. It means, it was meant to mean, if there's a hurricane or a tornado and you're living out of the back of a pickup truck, you can opt out. All you have to do now is tick off the box that says 'hardship'\u00a0and you're out.\" O'Reilly: \"Yes, you don't even have to explain it.\" Krauthammer: \"You don't have to explain --\" O'Reilly: \"And it can be as simple as 'I don't know how to work the computer, so I can't get it.' \" Krauthammer: \"Right. When you have an anonymous bureaucratic computerized system and then you use the word 'honor system'\u00a0as the way of describing, you are deliberately misusing the language.\" O\u2019Reilly: \"I think the evidence is overwhelming that you are correct.\" With an assurance like that from O\u2019Reilly, we thought Krauthammer\u2019s point merited a second look. Is it really so easy to get out of the insurance mandate by claiming a hardship? We know from a previous fact-check that the Internal Revenue Service cannot use the threat of jail time or property seizures to go after people who do not pony up the \"shared responsibility payment,\" or what\u2019s sometimes referred to as the \"tax\" for not having health insurance even though you can afford it. That fee, which will be collected in 2015 for the filing of 2014 taxes, is 1 percent of annual income or $95 per person for the year, whichever is more expensive. The fee goes up every year. Already, some people are exempt for reasons including religious beliefs, prisoners, Indian tribes, income being below the federal filing level, and undocumented immigrants. The hardship exemption comes in when you don\u2019t fall into those categories but have a reason for not having health insurance and paying the fine. In most cases, it\u2019s because you can\u2019t afford it. Getting one is not as easy as checking a box. Here\u2019s the application from the Health Insurance Marketplace, which spells out 14 categories for the hardship exemption. It also says what form of documentation (hello, proof) you need to attach in order to qualify. Categories that require some form of documentation include being evicted or declaring bankruptcy in the last six months; receiving a shut-off notice from a utility; the death of a loved one; a human or natural disaster caused substantial property damage; racking up unexpected costs taking care of a family member; applying for but not receiving Medicaid because the state of residence did not expand Medicaid access envisioned in the law;\u00a0and having medical expenses you couldn\u2019t pay in the last two years. There\u2019s also a hardship category for people whose health plans were canceled and they find other options unaffordable. Being homeless or suffering domestic abuse are the only categories that do not require some form of documentation. But then there\u2019s the 14th category: \"You experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance.\" Documentation should be submitted \"if possible.\" Is that the magical \"other\" category promising safe haven for people who don\u2019t want to pay the insurance penalty? \"Exemption 14 is broad, but not open ended,\" said Timothy Jost, a Washington and Lee University professor who has studied the law. \"My understanding is that it is meant to give (Health and Human Services) the discretion to take into account hardships not specifically listed.\" An unlisted hardship would have to be in the spirit of the other categories, he said, and it would not be permanent, if it\u2019s granted at all. The Department of Health and Human Services will respond within one to two weeks to let someone know if more information is needed, the application says. If the exemption is okayed, the recipient gets a special number to include on his or her tax return. \"HHS could certainly deny a hardship exemption if there was insufficient documentation or explanation,\" Jost said. Gail Wilensky, an expert on the law who headed Medicare and Medicaid under President George H.W. Bush, said Krauthammer\u2019s point isn\u2019t that far from the mark, especially since \"the administration has shown itself to be extremely 'flexible'\u00a0when it comes to any type of enforcement or timing thus far.\" Still, there is some explaining required. There\u2019s a box for applicants to describe how their hardship prevented them from getting health insurance, with exceptions for people turned down for Medicaid and health policy cancellations (which are proven by copies of a denial for Medicaid or notice of cancellation). People who submit hardship exemptions without really needing one should pay special attention to step three of the application. That\u2019s the part where you sign, under penalty of perjury, that your exemption claim is honest. Lying is a crime. \"Only people who have a true, factual basis for their claims should be advised to file,\" said Sara Rosenbaum, George Washington University health and policy professor. Our ruling Krauthammer said people who don\u2019t want to comply with the individual mandate should just \"tick off the box that says \u2018hardship\u2019 and you're out.\" He is over-simplifying the process. Included in the hardship exemption application -- because there\u2019s an application, you don\u2019t just check a box on your tax form -- is a 14th category that reads kind of like \"other.\" It\u2019s meant to catch examples of hardship not delineated in the form. Documentation is requested if possible. Again, claiming it doesn\u2019t mean you get it. You apply. And just because you ask does not mean you will receive."}
{"claim_id": "16552", "claim": "Mark Pryor Says\u00a0Tom Cotton \"voted against preparing America for pandemics like Ebola.", "explanation": "A Pryor for Senate ad said, \"Tom Cotton voted against preparing America for pandemics like Ebola.\" Cotton voted against one version of a 2013 pandemic and emergency preparedness bill. However, Cotton voted for the final version, which Pryor also supported. The bill easily became law. The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Ebola, Message Machine 2014, Public Health, Voting Record, Mark Pryor, ", "main_text": "While it\u2019s highly unlikely that Ebola will make it to the United States, the pandemic has wormed its way into one of the most contentious U.S. Senate races -- in Arkansas. Despite the fears of many Americans, experts on infectious diseases -- including the Centers for Disease Control -- say there is a very, very low likelihood that the United States would experience an Ebola outbreak. Compared to west Africa, America has well-resourced health care services, as well as federal programs and agencies dedicated to preventing public health crises in the United States. But that\u2019s no thanks to Rep. Tom Cotton, says incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor in his most recent ad. Pryor\u2019s running against Cotton, a Republican, to keep his seat. \"Tom Cotton voted against preparing America for pandemics like Ebola,\" the ad\u2019s narrator says. \"Congressman Cotton voted to cut billions from our nation\u2019s medical disaster and emergency programs. He was the only Arkansas congressman to vote this way. Just like he was the only one to vote against Children\u2019s Hospital. Instead, Cotton voted massive tax cuts for billionaires. Not protect our families\u2019 health and safety.\" As a tea party Republican, Cotton has a history of voting against federal government spending, including spending on disaster relief. But tying Cotton to a potential Ebola outbreak caught our attention. The vote This year, Ebola has killed more than 1,400 people in west Africa as of Aug. 20 and is the largest ever recorded outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. No cases have been recorded in the United States, though two American health care workers contracted the virus while in Liberia and were treated in an Atlanta hospital. We asked Pryor\u2019s campaign for evidence backing up their claim, and they said the ad refers to the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013. The law -- passed in March 2013 -- continues funding various medical and public health emergency preparedness programs through 2018. (The first iteration of the law was passed in 2006.) As you might guess from the name, the law pertains to preventing pandemics, like Ebola, from breaking out in the United States. Several programs funded under the act are already working on Ebola response, such as the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, said Gretchen Michaels, a spokeswoman for the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Additionally, the law\u2019s 2013 reauthorization gave the Food and Drug Administration the ability to authorize use of unapproved products in the case of an emergency. So earlier this month, the FDA authorized use of a new tool for diagnosing Ebola, as well as an experimental treatment. Did Cotton try to stop this legislation? At first, it seems that way. The House passed the legislation Jan. 22, 2013, with strong bipartisan support and very little opposition -- 395 to 29. Cotton voted against it, along with 28 other Republicans. The bill moved on to the Senate, where lawmakers made a few changes, passed it by a voice vote, and sent it back to the House to approve the changes. The House once again passed the Senate\u2019s version of the bill with an overwhelming majority from both parties. This time around, Cotton changed his position and voted for the bill. (Seven other Republicans who previously voted \"nay\" also changed their vote.) It\u2019s not clear why Cotton didn\u2019t vote for it the first time. The law passed with such little debate that it went over without much media attention. We reached out to Cotton\u2019s campaign but haven\u2019t heard back -- though they posted an article on their website refuting the claim. According to CQ Weekly, the major difference between the House and Senate version of the act is that the House version approves funding and programs through 2017, while the Senate version goes through 2018. We also used a tool to compare differences between the two texts and found that the final version includes a clause clarifying that state and local workers asked to temporarily take on a different assignment in case of an emergency would not be required to accept that reassignment. Regardless, the country\u2019s ability to address a pandemic does not hinge on either of those changes. There is no readily available evidence showing that Cotton actively campaigned against the bill. And the final version, which got Cotton\u2019s vote, also got positive votes from nearly every Senate and House Democrat -- including Pryor. Our ruling A Pryor for Senate ad said, \"Tom Cotton voted against preparing America for pandemics like Ebola.\" Cotton voted against one version of a 2013 pandemic and emergency preparedness bill. However, Cotton voted for the final version, which Pryor also supported. The bill easily became law. The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."}
{"claim_id": "29167", "claim": "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam \"stated he would execute a baby after birth.", "explanation": "What's false: Northam did not \"state he would execute a baby after birth.\" What's undetermined: The ambiguity of Northam's remarks about late-term abortions, which he has not since clarified, raised questions about what exactly he was proposing or advocating.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, abortion, donald trump", "main_text": "In early 2019, Virginia\u2019s Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam battled against widespread criticism and calls for him to resign his office. A scandal emerged on 1 February when the Virginian-Pilot newspaper published a photograph obtained from Northam\u2019s\u00a01984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook page, which showed one man in \u201cblackface\u201d and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood. Northam apologized but resisted calls for him to leave office. By the time the yearbook scandal erupted, Northam had already become embroiled in controversy after comments he made about abortion during a live radio interview on Washington, D.C.\u2019s, WTOP radio just two days earlier. On 5 February, President Donald Trump himself attacked Northam\u2019s abortion remarks during the State of the Union address, claiming the Virginia governor had \u201cstated he would execute a baby after birth\u201d:  In reality, Northam did not say he would \u201cexecute a baby after birth,\u201d but the exact meaning of everything he did say was not entirely clear. The full video of the governor\u2019s WTOP interview is available here, and a transcript of the most relevant section follows. Understanding the full context of his remarks is important to this issue. In early January, Delegate Kathy Tran, a Democratic member of the Virginia Assembly, introduced House Bill 2491, which would have lessened legal restrictions on second- and third-trimester abortions. Of particular note, the measure would have reduced from three to one the number of doctors required to certify that a third-trimester abortion was necessary to prevent a pregnant woman from dying or experiencing physical or mental harm, and it would have eliminated an existing requirement that such harm be certified as \u201csubstantial and irremediable.\u201d During a 28 January Courts and Justice subcommittee hearing, Tran faced a series of questions from Republican subcommittee Chairman Todd Gilbert about the provisions of her bill and their potential implications. In one instance, Gilbert asked Tran whether her bill would, in theory, allow a doctor to certify that a woman\u2019s mental health was at risk from continuing a pregnancy, even at the point where she was about to give birth, and whether House Bill 2491 would make it legally permissible to perform an abortion at that stage. Tran agreed that her bill would permit that. The legislation was voted down in the committee and therefore was not passed by Virginia legislators, but video footage of the exchange between Tran and Gilbert prompted outrage among pro-life commentators and in national news news coverage:  That was the background for a question put to Northam two days later on WTOP radio, when WRC-TV\u2019s Julie Carey asked him whether he supported Tran\u2019s proposals. The following is a transcript of the relevant exchange, which can be watched in the video embedded below: Julie Carey: \u2026 There was a very contentious committee hearing yesterday when Fairfax County Delegate Kathy Tran made her case for lifting restrictions on third-trimester abortions, as well as other restrictions now in place. And she was pressed by a Republican delegate about whether her bill would permit an abortion even as a woman is, essentially, dilating, ready to give birth. And she answered that it would permit an abortion at that stage of labor. Do you support her measure? And explain her answer. Ralph Northam: You know, I wasn\u2019t there, Julie, and I certainly can\u2019t speak for Delegate Tran, but I would tell you \u2014 one, the first thing I would say is this is why decisions such as this should be made by [healthcare] providers, physicians, and the mothers and fathers that are involved. There are \u2014 you know when we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of, obviously, the mother, with the consent of the physicians, more than one physician by the way. And it\u2019s done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that\u2019s non-viable. So in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if that\u2019s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother. So I think this was really blown out of proportion \u2026  Northam\u2019s remarks prompted an immediate backlash, with some right-leaning and pro-life observers claiming that he had expressed support for infanticide (i.e., the intentional killing of a child). President Trump, in his State of the Union address, went even further in stripping away the nuance and context from what Northam said and described the comments even more provocatively by claiming: \u201cHe [Northam] stated he would execute a baby after birth.\u201d Northam certainly did not say that, but the exact meaning of his remarks was unclear. The governor invoked a \u201cparticular example,\u201d but did not make it clear what the parameters of that example were. Was Northam describing a hypothetical scenario under current Virginia law, or under what would be the legal milieu if Tran\u2019s bill were passed? Did the example he used involve a fetus given a late diagnosis of disability or of a fatal condition, which meant the fetus was \u201cnon-viable\u201d and could not survive even after being delivered alive? When Northam said the fetus would be \u201cresuscitated if that\u2019s what the mother and family desired,\u201d was he saying he would, hypothetically, support a decision to allow the fetus to die by not providing life-extending medical intervention? What would be an acceptable outcome, in his view, to the \u201cdiscussion\u201d that would then take place between the woman and her physicians, and was Northam giving tacit support to a decision whereby a physician would withdraw life-extending care or take actions to intentionally end the life of the fetus? We put this list of detailed questions to Northam\u2019s office in order to clarify the exact meaning of his remarks to WTOP on 30 January but did not receive a response in time for publication. Vox quoted a spokesperson for Northam as saying that the governor\u2019s comments were \u201cabsolutely not\u201d a reference to infanticide but rather \u201cfocused on the tragic and extremely rare case in which a woman with a nonviable pregnancy or severe abnormalities went into labor.\u201d Also, according to NBC News, a spokesperson for Northam \u201cdisputed [President Trump\u2019s] characterization\u201d of his comments but did not provide any further clarifying details. It\u2019s clear that Northam did not \u201cstate he would execute a baby after birth,\u201d as Trump claimed he did. However, his remarks did lack precision and clarity of meaning to the extent that they raised reasonable questions about what exactly he was proposing or advocating.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "26810", "claim": "\u201cThe coronavirus is the common cold, folks.\u201d", "explanation": "The 2019 coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that produce illnesses ranging from the common cold to more critical diseases such as SARS or MERS. The 2019 coronavirus is a new virus that had not been previously identified. Most cases of the 2019 coronavirus have been mild, but it\u2019s been lethal for some people.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Pundits, PunditFact, Coronavirus, Rush Limbaugh, ", "main_text": "Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh accused the media of overhyping the 2019 coronavirus that\u2019s infected nearly 80,000 people worldwide, calling it \"the common cold\" and claiming, without evidence, that it\u2019s \"being weaponized\" as an attack on President Donald Trump. \"It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump,\" Limbaugh said Feb. 24 on his radio show. \"Now, I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus \u2026 I\u2019m dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks.\" \"The drive-by media hype up this thing as a pandemic,\" Limbaugh continued. \"Ninety-eight percent of people who get the coronavirus survive. It\u2019s a respiratory system virus.\" The recent Presidential Medal of Freedom winner went on to push the debunked conspiracy theory that the new coronavirus strain was created in a lab as a bioweapon. But we were also struck by his claim that the 2019 coronavirus is nothing more than \"the common cold.\" We didn\u2019t have to look far to see where Limbaugh went wrong. In a FAQ about the 2019 coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0addressed his confusion head-on. \"A novel coronavirus is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified,\" the CDC wrote. \"The virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not that same as the coronaviruses that commonly circulate among humans and cause mild illness, like the common cold.\" The current strain of coronavirus was first detected in December in Wuhan, China. It\u2019s one of seven types of coronaviruses that can infect humans, according to the CDC. Named for the crown-like spikes on their surface, coronaviruses are typically found in animals such as camels, cattle and bats. Strains infecting humans were discovered in the mid 1960s. But more serious strains have emerged over the last two decades, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which spread across the globe in 2003. According to the CDC, the 2019 coronavirus is a \"beta coronavirus\" similar to SARS and the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, which was first identified in 2012. All three viruses have their origins in bats, and all three can induce symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath \u2014 similar to some common colds. More severe cases can cause pneumonia, kidney failure and death, according to the World Health Organization. A CDC fact-sheet describing common human coronaviruses said most people contract some type of coronavirus during their lives and that the more common strains \"usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, like the common cold.\" But the same fact-sheet also knocked down the idea that the 2019 coronavirus was the exact same as the more common strains. \"This information applies to common human coronaviruses and should not be confused with Coronavirus Disease-2019,\" it said. Limbaugh seems to have been \"mixing up clinical symptoms as defining the disease,\" said Richard Watanabe, professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California. \"Many diseases start off with \u2018flu-like symptoms\u2019 and progress on to something else,\" Watanabe said, noting that the 2019 coronavirus is part of a different family of viruses than the flu. \"This is a brand new virus,\" he said. \"I think what Rush Limbaugh is referring to is the idea that it is from a family of coronaviruses. That is the family name of these viruses, and some of them in the past have caused systems that were more consistent with the common cold. But it\u2019s also been the same family of viruses that caused SARS, that caused MERS.\" Experts from the National Institutes of Health and Penn State University\u2019s College of Medicine drew a line from the spread of the 2019 virus to outbreaks of SARS and MERS in a report titled \"Coronavirus Infections \u2014 More Than Just the Common Cold.\" According to the WHO, about 80% of 2019 coronavirus patients have recovered from mild symptoms without needing special treatment, while roughly 1 in every 6 people have become \"seriously ill.\" About 2% of people have died. (For comparison, the flu \u2014 which is more severe than the common cold \u2014 has an estimated death rate in the United States of about 0.1%). People who are older or have certain pre-existing health conditions have been more likely to experience serious symptoms, the WHO\u2019s website says. \"There are alpha coronaviruses that cause common cold,\" said David Fisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto. \"This is a beta coronavirus like SARS and MERS and is approximately 20 to 30 times more deadly than (the) flu.\" We follow the facts and share what we learn so you can make your own decisions. Support our mission today. Membership.politifact.com As of Feb. 24, the new coronavirus has spread to 29 countries beyond China, according to the WHO's official\u00a0count. In China, the virus has infected at least 77,262 people and resulted in at least 2,595 deaths. Outside of China, there have been at least 2,069 infections and 23 deaths. That\u2019s a fatality rate closer to 3%. The WHO declared the virus an international public health emergency in late January, and the group\u2019s director-general has since called it a \"potential pandemic.\" Daily media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedros https://t.co/ChotCy0r1k Limbaugh said the 2019 coronavirus is \"the common cold.\" Generally speaking, coronaviruses are a family of viruses that produce illnesses ranging from the common cold to more critical diseases such as SARS or MERS. But the 2019 coronavirus is a novel strain that was unknown before December. It is different and can be much more dangerous than the common cold. We rate Limbaugh\u2019s statement ."}
{"claim_id": "5151", "claim": "Tanzania rejects suspicions that it covered up Ebola cases.", "explanation": "Tanzania on Thursday rejected suspicions that it might have covered up cases of the deadly Ebola virus, calling it a plot to show the country \u201cin a bad light.\u201d", "label": "true", "subjects": "United Nations, Health, General News, East Africa, Africa, International News, Tanzania, Travel, Kenya, Ebola virus", "main_text": "The health minister\u2019s comments came after the World Health Organization issued an unusual statement saying Tanzania refused to share information and the United States and Britain issued travel warnings. The current Ebola outbreak based in neighboring eastern Congo is now the second-deadliest in history with more than 2,000 people killed. Tanzanian Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said there were two suspected Ebola cases last month but the East African country determined they did not have the virus. \u201cEbola is not a disease one can hide,\u201d the minister said. \u201cTanzania is well aware of the dangers of hiding such an epidemic.\u201d Global health officials had repeatedly asked Tanzania to share the results of its investigations, but Mwalimu asserted there is no need to submit a \u201cnegative sample\u201d for further testing. Countries with little or no experience testing for Ebola, especially ones such as Tanzania which have never had a confirmed Ebola case, are asked to send samples to a WHO-accredited lab to confirm the initial results, no matter whether they are positive or negative. Tanzania\u2019s health minister said the country will follow international protocols, including reporting to WHO, \u201cif there is an Ebola case.\u201d WHO has said it was made aware on Sept. 10 of the death in Tanzania\u2019s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, of a patient suspected to have Ebola. A day later, it received unofficial reports that an Ebola test had come back positive. On Thursday, it received unofficial reports that a contact of the patient, who had traveled widely in the country, was sick and hospitalized. The lack of information from Tanzania made it difficult to assess potential risks, WHO said. A rapid response is crucial in containing Ebola, which can be fatal in up to 90% of cases and is most often spread by close contact with bodily fluids of people exhibiting symptoms or with contaminated objects. The initial symptoms for Ebola, including fever and pain, are similar to those of other diseases such as malaria and measles, and mistakes in diagnosis and mismanagement of patients could inadvertently allow an outbreak to spread. Critics have shown increasing alarm as Tanzanian President John Magufuli\u2019s government has restricted access to key information and cracked down on perceived dissent. Lawmakers recently approved an amendment to a statistics law to make it a crime to distribute information not sanctioned by the government or which contradicts the government. ___ Associated Press writer Maria Cheng in London contributed. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa"}
{"claim_id": "15939", "claim": "If someone is in a room that has measles and leaves and you walk in two hours later, you could get measles from that person.", "explanation": "Cohen said, \"If someone is in a room that has measles and leaves and you walk in two hours later, you could get measles from that person.\" She is right. Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease, and the CDC gives this exact timeframe on its website.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health Care, Public Health, PunditFact, Elizabeth Cohen, ", "main_text": "The paid medical experts of TV channels are seeing a lot of time on the airwaves lately as they diagnose the country\u2019s measles flare-up. It wasn\u2019t too long ago that they were explaining risks of the Ebola virus killing thousands of Western Africans and the chances it could spread throughout the United States. This time around, the health pundits have spent considerable time spelling out the differences between the two scary diseases. Ebola, which has a low risk of spreading through the United States, is passed through direct contact with bodily fluids and not through the air. Measles, which was eliminated from the United States in 2000 due to wide vaccination, is a very different virus, explained CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Unlike Ebola, \"you don\u2019t need to be that close to someone or kiss someone or anything like that\" to pass it around. \"It\u2019s airborne,\" she told Anderson Cooper on Feb. 2. \"If someone is in a room that has measles and leaves and you walk in two hours later, you could get measles from that person.\" We thought her example sounded alarming. So, after checking our personal immunization histories, we decided to fact-check her statement. We didn\u2019t hear back from Cohen when we reached out to CNN, but we found information from a reliable source that backs up her scenario. Her example is nearly exactly the transmission description for measles from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The measles virus stays in the nose and throat mucus of someone who has the infection, so it makes sense that it is passed around through coughing and sneezing. \"Also, measles virus can live for up to two hours on a surface or in an airspace where the infected person coughed or sneezed,\" the CDC says. \"If other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surface, then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected.\" Physicians encourage the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine because it is very effective in preventing the virus from entering the body (and as we found, the\u00a0science is certain\u00a0that it is safe). The disease is so easy to catch, the CDC says, that if one person catches it, a whopping 90 percent of people who are not immune (i.e. did not have the vaccine due to a weak immune system, age or personal choice) close to the infected person will also become infected. We can compare the contagion of each disease by examining the basic reproductive number, known as the R0. This refers to the average number of secondary infection cases stemming from one infected person in a \"completely susceptible\" uninfected population (if the population is vaccinated for, say, measles, the R0 basically disappears). As the R0 increases above 1, the disease spreads more widely. The R0 of Ebola is around 2, meaning an average of two people catch the disease from one infected person during an outbreak. The measles has a much higher R0 of 18, higher than AIDS (R0 of 4), SARS (R0 of 4), or mumps (R0 of 10). NPR\u2019s Shots blog has a great chart breaking down this concept. Put another way, \"Ebola's got nothing\" on the measles epidemic, wrote Dr. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center, in a recent Houston Chronicle opinion-editorial. \"Just being in the room where someone with measles has been 30 minutes earlier can expose you,\" Troisi wrote. Troisi confirmed the accuracy of Cohen\u2019s statement. When we asked about the discrepancy between her 30-minute window and Cohen\u2019s two-hour window, she directed us to the CDC\u2019s website and called her estimate \"conservative.\" Our ruling Cohen said, \"If someone is in a room that has measles and leaves and you walk in two hours later, you could get measles from that person.\" She is right. Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease, and the CDC gives this exact timeframe on its website. We rate her claim ."}
{"claim_id": "30589", "claim": "The rapper DMX (Earl Simmons) died in February 2018.", "explanation": "In March 2017, federal prosecutors indicted Simmons on 14 felony counts of tax evasion and failure to file tax returns for multiple years. Simmons initially pleaded not guilty to all 14 charges, but has changed his plea to guilty for the second count \u2014 \u201cevasion of payment of income taxes.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Entertainment, celebrity death hoax, dmx, hip hop", "main_text": "In February 2018, rumors spread online that the 47-year-old rapper DMX had died. The speculation was partly fuelled by a widely-shared prank Facebook post, and partly by confusion over older reports about an alleged drug overdose. As of 16 February 2018, DMX is alive. At the time of publication, the rapper and producer (whose real name is Earl Simmons) is\u00a0incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, after being remanded into custody on 30 January, in connection with felony tax evasion charges. Speaking to us by phone, Simmons\u2019s attorney Murray Richman confirmed that his client is alive and well, and that he had met and spoken with him more than once during the week of 12 February 2018. Asked whether DMX had fallen ill or been hospitalized recently, Richman said \u201che certainly has not.\u201d The celebrity gossip web site TMZ reported that Simmons had violated the conditions of his probation by consuming alcohol and narcotics while visiting St. Louis, Missouri, where he had performed on 20 January. Court records show that on 30 January 2018, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff ordered DMX to be remanded into custody, and prison records show that he was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, as of 16 February 2018. Simmons\u2019s probation conditions mean he must undergo drug rehabilitation treatment, and ask the judge for special permission any time he wants to leave the state of New York. While travelling, he must be accompanied by a drug counsellor. On 13 February 2018, Facebook user Tyrone Williams posted a distasteful prank death notice for the rapper, writing: Earl Simmons AKA \u201cDMX\u201d peacefully passed by a home in Los Angeles, California. Feb 13, 2018. The post was shared more than 50,000 times within a few days. Williams later confirmed the post was a fake, pointing out that he had not (technically speaking) claimed Simmons was dead. Reading is very fundamental\u00a0\ud83d\udcaf\u00a0A few thousand people think DMX is dead right now smh. I never even mentioned death or him dying in the post. The post claims DMX \u201cpassed by,\u201d not passed away. Adding to the confusion, concerned DMX fans began sharing news articles which reported that he had been hospitalized after a drug overdose. However, those reports are two years old. In February 2016, Simmons was\u00a0resuscitated by police officers after being found unconscious outside a hotel in Yonkers, New York. Witnesses claimed he had had a drug\u00a0overdose, but Simmons and his family denied this, claiming he had suffered an asthma attack."}
{"claim_id": "48", "claim": "AstraZeneca's Imfinzi gets speedy FDA review for small cell lung cancer.", "explanation": "British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc said on Friday its immunotherapy cancer treatment Imfinzi has been granted a speedy review by the U.S. medicines watchdog for the treatment of a particularly aggressive type of lung cancer.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted its supplemental application and granted priority review to Imfinzi for the treatment of previously untreated late-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The FDA decision is a boost for the treatment as it competes against similar medicines from rivals Merck and Roche, and follows data in September which showed Imfinzi prolonged survival in SCLC patients when used with chemotherapy. AstraZeneca has already carved out a niche for Imfinzi, which boosts the body\u2019s immune system to fight cancer cells, in the more common cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with an existing approval for use in situations where tumors have only spread in the chest. The FDA in March approved Roche\u2019s immunotherapy Tecentriq for the treatment of SCLC. Bristol-Myers Squibb\u2019s Opdivo is also approved in cases where patients fail at least two other treatments. A final decision to approve Imfinzi for SCLC is expected in the first quarter of 2020, AstraZeneca said."}
{"claim_id": "9353", "claim": "Which antidepressant is right for you? This genetic test could help", "explanation": "This Philadelphia Inquirer article looks at two companies\u2019 direct-to-consumer genetic tests designed to help doctors rely less on trial-and-error, and more on genetic markers, in guiding their medication choices for patients who\u2019ve proven difficult to treat for depression. The article offers balance through two patient anecdotes. One patient says the genetic testing helped guide her to an effective antidepressant, while the other isn\u2019t convinced. An outside expert is also tapped who points to specific treatments rather than genetic testing for higher chances of success. Although this article was cautious about the touted benefits, it would have served readers better by exploring some of the limitations of the research studies. The evidence doesn\u2019t appear to come from gold-standard, randomized controlled trials. The only study we found through an online search was an abstract presented at a May 2018 medical conference. The majority of patients with major depression who choose antidepressant therapy do not achieve remission with the first medication they try. Even among those who do, many relapse. That\u2019s why many patients end up frustrated \u2014 and still suffering with symptoms \u2014 as they endure a subsequent trial-and-error approach until an effective medication or combination of medications is found. One promise of precision medicine \u2014 that has yet to be proven \u2014 is that genetic testing may help guide this process and make it more \u201cpersonalized\u201d and efficient. It\u2019s important to make it clear (as this article does) that these genetic tests cannot predict which medicines will work, and it\u2019s arguable if they can even identify those that will not. Furthermore, because the financial stakes are high, it\u2019s important for journalists to scrutinize (and be transparent) about the funding of studies on these genetic tests, potential conflicts of interest, and whether the results are expressed in more meaningful absolute terms, rather than more eye-catching (and potentially misleading) relative terms. For more on this, see our primer on evaluating relative vs. absolute numbers.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "GeneSight,genetic testing,Myriad Genetics", "main_text": "The article notes that the GeneSight test is covered by Medicare if a patient is being treated by a psychiatrist and that some insurance plans also cover the test. It also tells us that the\u00a0Genomind Genecept Assay is covered by Medicare and Medicaid. We aren\u2019t provided out-of-pocket costs for the GeneSight test, though. Nor could we find the full price of Genomind\u2019s \u2018Genecept Assay\u2019 on its website or elsewhere. On the one hand the article is appropriately cautious in stating: But while genetic testing offers tools to better guide patients\u2019 treatment, it cannot tell doctors which medicines will work \u2014 or necessarily provide the key to enduring remission from depression. On the other hand, the results of Myriad\u2019s recently published \u201clarge-scale test\u201d on outcomes are given as \u201cpatients were 30 percent more likely to respond to treatment\u201d when guided by their GeneSight test. But, as\u00a0we wrote back in May in a review of a Wall Street Journal article on the test, there\u2019s problems with that percentage: \u201cNo absolute numbers are given \u2026 just a relative improvement in \u2018response\u2019 to medication (ie. 30% greater response to the medicine when the test was applied).\u201d The Philadelphia Inquirer story quotes an independent source saying he\u2019s impressed by the response rate (50%) and remission rate (40%) at six months, but again, these are relative numbers. Myriad did not provide the absolute numbers at 6 months \u2026 only at 8 weeks \u2026. at which time the absolute difference in achieving remission between those who did and did not receive genetic testing was only 5%. Although harms from a cheek swab are unlikely there is a potential harm in framing the genetic testing results as guiding the choice of one antidepressant over another. Patients may focus solely on pharmaceutical options, to the exclusion of non-pharmaceutical ones. Antidepressants have well-documented side effects and drug interactions. The only data cited in the article comes from unpublished data presented at a medical conference. The research has not been peer-reviewed. No disease mongering. We were glad to see the article include this relevant context: As many as two-thirds of people with depression aren\u2019t helped by the first antidepressants they try, leaving many to spend months after they are diagnosed without real help \u2026. [genetic testing] is meant to help avoid the painful trial-and-error process many depression patients endure in the search for the right medicine. As noted above, it should have been made clear that the May 2018 \u201clarge-scale test\u201d is unpublished and funded by the test sponsor. The same goes for the Genecept paper that is cited by the company\u2019s VP: it\u2019s an industry-sponsored review paper \u2014 not original research \u2014 and cannot\u00a0 make claims about improved clinical outcomes or reduced overall medical costs from genetic testing. We were pleased to see two independent sources cited, one of which provided a critical perspective. An independent source is included who mentions transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroconvulsivetherapy (ECT)\u00a0as alternatives to antidepressants in the treatment of resistant depression. One alternative that is not mentioned is cognitive behavioral therapy. It\u2019s clear that both GeneSight from Myriad Genetics, and Genecept from Genomind, are commercially available. By featuring both the work of Myriad Genetics and Genomind, the reporter makes it clear that this is already a competitive arena within so-called \u201cprecision medicine.\u201d This article does not rely solely on a news release and quotes outside sources."}
{"claim_id": "4032", "claim": "Grants awarded to address lead-based paint in Rhode Island.", "explanation": "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $12.4 million in Rhode Island to protect low-income families from lead-based paint and home health hazards.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Lead poisoning, Health, Jack Reed, General News, Woonsocket, Poisoning", "main_text": "The agency and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, announced Monday that RIHousing is getting $8.4 million and the city of Woonsocket is getting $4 million. Reed says lead poisoning remains a real problem that affects too many kids. RIHousing, which was created by the General Assembly, provides mortgage loans and other assistance to homebuyers. It will address lead hazards in 340 homes for low-income families with children, and perform assessments in another 118 units. The work will be targeted in Pawtucket and Central Falls. Woonsocket will use its funding to address lead hazards in 200 homes for low-income families with children."}
{"claim_id": "2094", "claim": "Test can predict success of IVF: U.S. report.", "explanation": "U.S. researchers have developed a formula that can predict whether fertility treatment will succeed more accurately than using age alone, and used it to develop a commercial test.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "They said their test, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, could save couples the agony and expense of multiple attempts to have babies using in vitro fertilization, also known as IVF. Surprisingly, they said, the test showed that couples who would have been discouraged from trying again using traditional assessments were actually likely to succeed. In IVF, egg and sperm are united in a lab dish and resulting embryos are implanted into the mother\u2019s uterus to grow. Predicting whether it will work is tricky and doctors rely heavily on a woman\u2019s age. A team lead by Dr. Mylene Yao of Stanford University in California, decided to look at dozens of factors, including age but also looking at how well and how fast the embryos grow, a woman\u2019s hormonal response to the treatment and the condition of her uterus when the embryo is implanted. They used data from more than 5,000 IVF cycles performed at Stanford Hospital from 2003 to 2008 and matched it to success rates. \u201cSince this model uses clinical data from a previously failed IVF attempt, a first IVF treatment can be viewed both as an infertility treatment and as a potential prognostic tool for future cycles,\u201d Yao said in a statement. As many as 80 million couples worldwide and 7.2 million in the United States are infertile. The infertility market is large and growing with an estimated 140,000 IVF cycles in the United States in 2008. That accounts for about 2 percent of infertile couples, Yao\u2019s team said. About 1 percent of U.S. newborns were conceived using IVF, the researchers said, and a million babies have been born using IVF globally since Louise Brown, the first \u201ctest tube\u201d baby, was born in Britain in 1978. Yao and colleagues have founded a new company called Univfy to develop and commercialize the test. The company has licensed the technology from Stanford and has applied for a patent. It is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market the test by this fall."}
{"claim_id": "5738", "claim": "Health department will get $11.3M for kids\u2019 vaccine programs.", "explanation": "U.S. Sen. Jack Reed says Rhode Island\u2019s health department will receive $11.3 million in federal funding over five years for immunization and vaccine programs for children.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Immunizations, Health, Jack Reed", "main_text": "The Rhode Island Democrat says the state should expect to get nearly $2.3 million of that funding this year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reed says the federal money will be used to improve immunization levels and help eliminate vaccine-preventable diseases among children in Rhode Island. The funding can be used so that health care providers can vaccinate uninsured children, underinsured children and children on Medicaid at no cost to their family. Reed says Rhode Island isn\u2019t immune from the threat of a measles outbreak, but its high vaccination rate of young people is the best line of defense."}
{"claim_id": "35156", "claim": "U.S. President Barack Obama waited until millions were infected and thousands were dead before declaring a public health emergency concerning swine flu, the H1N1 virus. ", "explanation": "The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the government\u2019s initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "On Feb. 28, 2020, the website PJ Media published an article claiming that U.S. President Barack Obama had waited until millions were infected and thousands were dead from swine flu, the H1N1 virus, before declaring a public health emergency in 2009. The article, which was presented as a \u201cfact check,\u201d got several simple details wrong. In response to criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s handling of a recent outbreak of a new coronavirus, the PJ Media article opined that Obama had been lackadaisical about his response to a health emergency back in 2009, and that Trump by comparison had done his job admirably. PJ Media writes: Surely, St. Barack of Obama would have dealt with this horrible pandemic better than Orange Man Bad, right? No-Drama-Obama had this whole thing under control, of course! Well, let\u2019s compare and contrast\u2026 Now, let\u2019s go to the Wayback Machine. In April of 2009, the H1N1 became a pandemic. But it wasn\u2019t until six months later, October, that then-President Obama declared a public health emergency on what was already a pandemic. By that time, the disease had infected millions of Americans and more than 1,000 people had died in the U.S. There are several factual inaccuracies in this excerpt alone. For instance, PJ media writes that H1N1 became a pandemic in April 2009. But that\u2019s not the case. The disease emerged in April but wasn\u2019t declared a pandemic until June. The excerpt also claims that Obama \u201cdeclared a public health emergency on what was already a pandemic\u201d in October 2009. But this is also wrong. Obama declared a national emergency, not a public health emergency, in October 2009. The Obama administration declared a public health emergency in April, months before swine flu was declared a pandemic. At the time that the Obama administration declared a public health emergency, only 20 confirmed cases (not over a million) of H1N1 existed in the United States. The New York Times reported on April 26, 2009: Responding to what some health officials feared could be the leading edge of a global pandemic emerging from Mexico, American health officials declared a public health emergency on Sunday as 20 cases of swine flu were confirmed in this country, including eight in New York City. [\u2026] The emergency declaration in the United States lets the government free more money for antiviral drugs and give some previously unapproved tests and drugs to children. One-quarter of the national stockpile of 50 million courses of antiflu drugs will be released. PJ Media also inaccurately presented a video in the article as if it showed Obama addressing the swine flu after it had \u201calready become a pandemic.\u201d Again, that simply isn\u2019t the case. When Obama addressed the nation about swine flu, or H1N1, in April 2009, the disease was just starting to spread. It wouldn\u2019t be until June 2009 that the swine flu would be declared a pandemic. Here\u2019s Obama\u2019s April 2009 address: The swine flu pandemic spread quickly across the United States starting in April 2009. There were approximately 60 million cases over the course of the following year, which resulted in nearly 275,000 hospitalizations and more than 12,000 deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a detailed timeline of this pandemic on its website. It shows that the CDC first activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on April 22, 2009. At the time, there were only two confirmed cases in the United States. On April 25, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern, and the following day the Obama administration did the same. At that time, there were about 20 confirmed cases. Despite the CDC\u2019s efforts, the swine flu continued to spread. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, renewed the emergency declaration on July 24, 2009, and then again on Oct. 1, 2009. On Oct. 24, 2009, Obama declared a national emergency that gave officials more resources to fight the pandemic. The Associated Press reported: President Barack Obama has declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients."}
{"claim_id": "26764", "claim": "\u201cThe coronavirus has made it to Mississippi and the lady that caught it wasn\u2019t around nobody with it which means it is airborne. That means if the wind blows it your direction you\u2019ll have it also.\u201d", "explanation": "According to the CDC and Mississippi, there are no confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state. Researchers believe the disease is mainly spread person to person. It has been hypothesized that the disease is airborne, but not documented.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "As the novel coronavirus spreads in the United States, so does misinformation. More than 5,000 people have shared a Feb. 28 Facebook post, for example, that warns \"the coronavirus has made it to Mississippi.\" \"And the lady that caught it wasn\u2019t around nobody with it which means it is airborne,\" the post continues. \"That means if the wind blows it your direction you\u2019ll have it also.\" This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) First of all, as of March 3, it doesn\u2019t appear that there are any confirmed cases in Mississippi of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The Mississippi State Department of Health website says \"there are currently no cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi.\" The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there are 60 confirmed cases in the U.S. in 12 states as of March 3, but Mississippi is not one of them. Because COVID-19 is a new disease, researchers are still learning about how it spreads. But according to the CDC, the virus is thought to spread mainly from person to person, either between people within sixfeet of each other or through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It\u2019s also possible that someone could get COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes, but the CDC says this isn\u2019t the main way the virus spreads. Noreen Hynes, director of the John Hopkins Geographic Medicine Center, told PolitiFact in an email that talking \u2014 especially when saying words with the letters \"t\" or \"d\" \u2014\u00a0could also spread the droplets that can cause infection when they come into contact with the mucous membranes of someone\u2019s eyes, nose or mouth. The spread of coronavirus via such droplets has been documented. Airborne transmission has not been documented but, Hynes said, it \"has been hypothesized to occur.\" Hynes explained that \"airborne transmission\" refers to when residue from evaporated respiratory droplets contains a microorganism and can linger suspended in the air for a long time. \"The organism on such droplet nuclei, as they are called, must be capable of surviving for a long time outside the body and must be resistant to drying,\" Hynes said. \"Such droplet nuclei act like a gas, allowing organisms to enter both the upper and lower respiratory tract. Diseases associated with airborne transmission include measles, chickenpox and tuberculosis.\" But the University of California San Francisco says in a Feb. 13 post on its website that the new coronavirus \"isn\u2019t believed to be an airborne virus, like measles or smallpox, that can circulate through the air.\" Charles Chiu, a doctor who studies infectious diseases at the university, is quoted in the post as saying: \"If you have an infected person in the front of the plane, for instance, and you\u2019re in the back of the plane, your risk is close to zero simply because the area of exposure is thought to be roughly six feet from the infected person.\" There\u2019s a difference between viruses that are transmitted by droplets and things that are aerosolized and float around in the air, according to University of Chicago Medicine. The school puts it like this: \"Think of droplets as small bits of fluid that you can see and feel when someone sneezes. You sneeze or cough and these droplets get on surfaces and then you touch them and get them on your hands, or they can fly right into your mouth or nose or eyes. That\u2019s how most coronaviruses are transmitted and that\u2019s how we think this one is too.\" Now consider an aerosol \u2014\u00a0like hairspray. You may still be able to smell it a while after someone has used it because it\u2019s lingering in the air, according to the school: \"Obviously we\u2019re learning a lot about this virus, but most coronaviruses aren\u2019t airborne this way. Generally speaking, there may be times when some of these droplets or particles are airborne, but it\u2019s limited.\" Our ruling The Facebook post says a woman in Mississippi was infected by the coronavirus and that it was airborne. We\u2019re still learning about the coronavirus and how it spreads, but this isn\u2019t accurate. Currently, there are no confirmed cases in Mississippi, and while it has been suggested that coronavirus could be airborne, it hasn\u2019t been documented to spread that way. Rather, the virus\u2019s spread has been documented via respiratory droplets mainly when an infected person coughs or sneezes. We rate this Facebook post ."}
{"claim_id": "34361", "claim": "Russia used \"GPS spoofing\" to cause the USS John McCain to collide with a merchant vessel.", "explanation": "In the wake of the USS McCain collision, the chief of Naval Operations \u201cordered a worldwide operational pause as fleet commanders assess practices.\u201d", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "On 21 August 2017, the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a large merchant vessel near the heavily trafficked Strait of Malacca, leaving five U.S. sailors injured and ten missing. The incident was the fourth collision of a U.S. vessel in a year, with the most recent \u2014 that of the USS Fitzgerald \u2014 occurring just two months before, on 17 June. These recurring incidents have led some to speculate about a connection, as suggested in a 21 August piece on the military news web site RealClearDefense: While accidents and mistakes do happen, the number of collisions in the past year is extremely rare, and it is now within the realm of possibility that these accidents were not accidents. Both China and Russia have tested their cyber-warfare capabilities at sea with success. The fear, according to these arguments, is that a person or government has used a hacking technique known as \u201cGPS spoofing\u201d to encourage maritime collisions. Unlike GPS jamming, which merely blocks access to the satellites a receiver uses to locate itself, GPS spoofing can covertly alter a GPS receiver to report that it is somewhere other than its actual location. University of Texas professor Todd Humphreys, an expert\u00a0in GPS hacking, demonstrated this in 2013 when he successfully overtook a yacht in the Mediterranean by injecting its navigation systems with false GPS signals via an overhead drone: By feeding counterfeit radio signals to the yacht, the UT team was able to drive the ship far off course, steer it left and right, potentially take it into treacherous waters, even put it on a collision course with another ship. All the time, the ship\u2019s GPS system reported the vessel was calmly moving in a straight line, along its intended course. No alarms, no indication that anything was amiss. The idea this technology would be used to disrupt maritime operations is not an absurd contention. In fact, there is sketchy evidence suggesting a GPS spoofing test in June 2017 in the Black Sea, which some have attributed to Russian interference. On 22 June, the United States Maritime Administration issued an unconfirmed warning that ships in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia were misreporting their GPS-derived locations: A maritime incident has been reported in the Black Sea in the vicinity of position 44-15.7N, 037-32.9E on June 22, 2017 at 0710 GMT. This incident has not been confirmed. The nature of the incident is reported as GPS interference. Exercise caution when transiting this area. Further updates may follow. This alert will automatically expire on July 4, 2017. Dana Goward, President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, an NGO \u201cthat helps protect critical infrastructure by promoting resilient navigation and timing worldwide\u201d wrote an editorial\u00a0that detailed the backstory to this alert. First a ship reported to the Coast Guard that its GPS signal was intermittently not working or giving an inaccurate location. Later, the same ship told the Coast Guard: I confirm all ships in the area (more than 20 ships) have the same problem. I personally contacted three of them via VHF, they confirmed the same. Sometimes, position is correct, sometimes is not. That Russia, specifically, would be interested in testing such technology is, also not an unreasonable assertion. Russia has, at the very least, invested heavily in electronic warfare technology that \u201cjams\u201d GPS signals in such a way as to render them useless. A 2016 intelligence summary\u00a0by the U.S. Army\u2019s Foreign Military Studies Office noted that Russia had integrated a massive network of GPS jammers into their civilian cell phone network, which could be switched on to impede smart missiles or other threats that rely on GPS navigation. A 2014 report by the same office said that Russian media has been trying \u2014 at the very least \u2014 to convince the world it is capable of disabling American maritime navigation systems. After a much publicized 2014\u00a0confrontation in the Black Sea between the US Navy destroyer the Donald Cook and a Russian SU-24 fighter plane that made a number of provocative and close approaches, Kremlin-backed media claimed that it had successfully achieved this goal (and terrified the Americans to boot): In place of bombs or missiles, the SU-24s approaching Donald Cook carried a container with a Khibina radio-electronic warfare system. After approaching the ship, the Khibina systems turned off [the destroyer\u2019s] smart radar, combat control links, and data transfer systems \u2013 in a word, the entire Aegis, like we turn off a television with the push of a button on a remote. Afterwards, the fighter-bombers conducted a simulated missile attack on the blind and deaf destroyer [\u2026]. Donald Cook never approached Russian waters again. Nor did NATO ships that relieved it in the Black Sea. The United States military denies this account of the event, but does allow that Russia has been at the forefront of developing electronic warfare: Russia does indeed possess a growing [electronic warfare] capability, and the political and military leadership understand the importance of technical advances in this type of warfare. Their growing ability to blind or disrupt digital communications might help level the playing field when fighting against a superior conventional foe, but to continue to publicize a story which is patently false illustrates an equally robust ability within the realm of information operations. Outside of reports that the USS McCain\u2019s steering system failed prior to the collision, however, there is no evidence that an external actor caused these recent Naval collisions through electronic manipulation of GPS systems. Academics and analysts familiar with GPS hacking techniques argue that electronic warfare is not the most likely explanation for their occurrence. Goward told us that \u201cit\u2019s a good question to ask\u201d but that it would be much more challenging to do this kind of thing to a military vessel rather than a commercial or private one: US adversaries have the ability to easily jam and spoof GPS. At a minimum this would cause some initial confusion on the bridge of a ship before the crew figured out what was going on. During that time they would be more vulnerable to collisions and other mishaps. At its worst, GPS spoofing can misdirect a vessel and cause it to sail into danger. Spoofing a US Navy vessel should be quite difficult because of the expensive and sophisticated equipment they carry, and the large number of people on watch at all times. Commercial vessels often have fairly unsophisticated electronics and only one person on watch. It would be much easier to spoof a commercial vessel and direct it into a Navy ship. Humphreys echoed this point, telling us via email that while hacking military navigation systems is possible, it is much more challenging because they use an encrypted radio frequency for their geolocation, which is separate from the civilian system: It\u2019s possible that spoofing was involved in the USS McCain collision. But I still think that crew negligence is the most likely explanation. Military vessels use the encrypted GPS signals, which are harder to spoof (though not impossible). Humphreys suggested that, rather than hacking, the collision might be attributable to the US Navy\u2019s policy to operate in the South China Sea without an automatic identification system (AIS) beacon, which\u00a0automatically transmits information between ships and to other monitoring organizations. The Navy doesn\u2019t use such a system in the South China sea for security reasons, Humphreys told us. \u201cThey train as they fight, and broadcasting one\u2019s position during wartime is unwise,\u201d he said. Unfortunately, almost any conclusion drawn at this point about the cause of the USS McCain incident or any of the other recent Naval accidents is speculative. The Daily Beast reported on concerns from military experts that these accidents were evidence that the Navy was overstretched: The accidents are symptoms of an overworked fleet with tired and under-trained sailors and poorly maintained equipment, experts said. Automatic \u201csequestration\u201d budget cuts have sliced billions of dollars from Navy accounts in recent years, while at the same time the fleet has gotten busier bombing Islamic State and the Taliban and deterring North Korea and China. \u201cThe force is fraying,\u201d Bryan McGrath, a naval consultant with the Maryland-based Ferry Bridge Group, told The Daily Beast."}
{"claim_id": "37965", "claim": "In September 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden was unable to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, as demonstrated in a video.", "explanation": "\u2018Joe Biden Completely Botches the Pledge of Allegiance\u2019 Video", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "On September 21 2020, GOP \u201crapid response director\u201d Steve Guest tweeted a video which he claimed showed that former U.S. Vice President (and Democratic Party presidential candidate) Joe Biden had \u201ccompletely\u201d botched the Pledge of Allegiance during a campaign appearance:Joe Biden completely botches the Pledge of Allegiance:\"I pledge allegiance to the United States of America, one nation, indivisible, under God, for real.\" pic.twitter.com/Gct4AEVWog\u2014 Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 21, 2020The eight-second-long video clip was completely stripped of any context, and Guest transcribed Biden\u2019s words in the short video:I pledge allegiance to the United States of America, one nation, indivisible, under God, for real.Guest did not provide information about the date, location, or setting in which Biden made the remarks. In an extremely short September 21 2020 blog post by PJ Media (\u201cWATCH: Joe Biden Just Completely Botched the Pledge of Allegiance\u201d) the site embedded Guest\u2019s tweet and claimed:During a campaign speech on Monday [September 21 2020], Joe Biden attempted to quote the Pledge of Allegiance, and instead delivered a jumbled version of it, saying, \u201cI pledge allegiance to the United States of America, one nation, indivisible, under God, for real.\u201dI suppose he\u2019ll want credit for including \u201cunder God,\u201d but I suspect he only included it because Trump has been calling out the Democrats for excluding it during their convention.Although the post was very short, PJ Media managed to shoehorn in reference to a previous viral falsehood, holding that Democrats struck out the phrase \u201cUnder God\u201d from the Pledge of Allegiance at the 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC):Did Dems Strike \u2018Under God\u2019 from the Pledge of Allegiance at the 2020 DNC?In the course of that fact check, we obtained video of the opening portion from all three nights of the August 2020 DNC. \u201cUnder God\u201d was recited as part of the pledge in all three official ceremony openings, and on one of the nights, it was also followed directly by a lengthy prayer:Almighty God, we confess that our nation needs you and has always needed you. We pray for your blessing upon all of us, Republican, Independent, and Democrat. As we strive to form perfect union, we pray for your strength, guidance, and wisdom. Lord, we recognize that we are living in challenging times that call us to live up to the highest angel of our national character. As we confront the turbulent winds of a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, and civil discourse, may your gracious hand lead us to the peaceful shores of love, justice and civility.Regarding Guest\u2019s tweet in which Biden purportedly \u201cbotched\u201d the Pledge of Allegiance, a separate commenter shared more complete footage of his remarks during a visit to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Biden spoke in Manitowoc on September 21 2020:Joe Biden Delivers Remarks In Wisconsin | NBC News https://t.co/rW5EV2wyqg via @YouTube\u2014 Independent Commentary from a Patriot (@commentary_a) September 22, 2020Toward the end of the clip at around 22:30, Biden began the portion of the remarks leading to him \u201cbotching\u201d the Pledge of Allegiance. In actuality, he was not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, but rather referencing its content in the course of making a larger set of remarks.Biden said, in part:\u201cJust a few days ago when I was asked about the death count approaching 200,000, the president said, and I quote, he said \u2014 I won\u2019t quote him. The president said if you take out the blue states run by Democratic governors and just look at the red states, Republican governors are doing quite well.\u201cNow, of course, it\u2019s a simple factual matter, it\u2019s just not true. If you just count all the deaths in the red states, we are number two in the world in deaths just behind Brazil. But more fundamentally it reflects on the part of Donald Trump that he has a deeply flawed and divisive view of the United States, this nation and the job he holds.\u201cThink about what he\u2019s saying.\u201cHe\u2019s saying if you live in a state like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, states with Democratic governors, you\u2019re not his problem. He has no obligation to you. He\u2019s not responsible for you as president, your family or your well-being.\u201cI don\u2019t see the presidency that way. I don\u2019t pledge allegiance to red states of America or blue states of America. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America, one nation, indivisible, under God, for real.\u201cBiden concluded, reiterating his broader point:\u201cI\u2019m running as a proud Democrat. But I\u2019m not going to govern as a Democratic president, I\u2019m going to governor as president. I get criticized for saying that sometimes to some in my party, but that\u2019s not what I\u2019m going to do. I\u2019m going to fight as hard for those who supported me as those who did not support me.\u201cThis is not a partisan moment, for God\u2019s sake, this has to be an American moment. In the next few weeks, we have a chance to put anger and division and the darkness that\u2019s overtaken this country behind us. We have to put it behind us. I know I\u2019ve been criticized since I entered the primaries about what I said about uniting the country.\u201cWe have to unite the country. This is not who we are. And we can. We\u2019ve done it so many times in our history. We\u2019ve begun anew. If we get control of this virus, we can. We can reward work. We can fix the health care system. We can be a safe and just nation. We can deal with the existential threat of climate change, which aluminum is going to be a gigantic part of. We can be what we are at our best, one nation. One nation. One people. One America. You just have to remember who in God\u2019s name we are. This is the United States of America.\u201cIn our long history, there\u2019s been nothing we\u2019ve been unable to do, nothing we\u2019ve been able to overcome when we\u2019ve done it together. And I\u2019m confident going all over this nation, we can do it together. The American people are hungry. We have to bring the nation together. That\u2019s going to be my primary job. And I want to thank you all. God bless you for what you\u2019re doing. May you all stay safe and may God protect our troops. Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. And thank you ma\u2019am. Appreciate it.\u201dA Trump \u201crapid response director\u201d shared a misleading clip to claim that in the video, Biden \u201ccompletely botches\u201d the Pledge of Allegiance; other sites devoted entire posts to the out-of-context clip to advance the claim that Biden had failed to recite it properly. In actuality, the portion of video was snipped from a far longer segment during which Biden referenced \u2014 but did not recite \u2014 the Pledge of Allegiance to illustrate a larger point.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "5248", "claim": "Senate panel: NY needs addiction treatment professionals.", "explanation": "A New York state Senate panel is recommending the state do more to recruit and train health care professionals who work with recovering addicts.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medication, Addiction treatment, New York, Medical marijuana, Marijuana, Health", "main_text": "That\u2019s one of 11 recommendations included in a report issued Wednesday by the Senate\u2019s Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction. Other suggestions include more monitoring of opioid prescriptions and changes intended to expand access to overdose antidotes and alternative pain medication such as medical marijuana. Another recommendation would limit initial opioid prescriptions for pain to three days, down from the current seven day maximum. The task force was created to examine the state\u2019s ongoing addiction epidemic and find ways to improve the state\u2019s response. The group held hearings throughout the state and heard from former addicts, treatment experts and community advocates."}
{"claim_id": "30132", "claim": "Left-wing protesters vandalized the home of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.", "explanation": "Abcnews.live is a spoof website attempting to earn clicks and ad revenue off the name and reputation of ABC News. Its content appears to consist mostly, if not entirely, of material republished from America\u2019s Last Line of Defense.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, abcnews.live, america's last line of defense, brett kavanaugh", "main_text": "On 30 September 2018, the same day a real act of vandalism connected to sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was reported at the Republican Party headquarters in Rockford, Illinois, false reports emerged saying Kavanaugh\u2019s family home had also been vandalized. The reports, published on the websites America\u2019s Last Line of Defense (Trumpbetrayed.us) and abcnews.live, and shared widely on social media, said \u201cleft-wing protesters\u201d caused at least $11,000 in damage to the residence: The family home of Judge Brett Kavanaugh was a scene right out of a frat party gone wrong yesterday, as over 200 left-wing protesters, many wearing masks, shouted profane slogans, waved signs, and threw calendars, bricks, and bottles at the property. Kavanaugh himself was not in the residence, as he is currently in Washington for a symposium on anger management. His wife and children vacated the premisis [sic] and are currently housed in an unknown location for their own safety. The Judge\u2019s home, located at 1512 Whiteman [sic] Street in Mayo Lake, PA, was deluged early in the morning, at the 9:00 hour, as the protesters arrived by van and poured out onto the sidewalk and lawn areas. Neighbors and witnesses reported screaming and loud \u201cjungle drum-like\u201d noises and local police were notified. Officers were shown protest permits, most signed by Diane Fienstien [sic] and Kamala Harris, and chose to remain at the scene in a public-safety capacity. No charges were filed, and the authorities left the area by noon. It was then that the crowd became riotous, and caused upwards of $11,000 worth of damage. The articles included a photograph allegedly taken by Kavanaugh\u2019s neighbors:  All the image shows is two individuals erasing graffiti from the garage door of a house, however. It pictures no mob of 200 mask-wearing protesters, nor any sign of thrown bricks or bottles, or any other visible evidence of vandalism. As well, no such incident was reported by reliable news sources, including ABC News, despite their logo\u2019s appearance above the article published on abcnews.live. The reason the supposed incident wasn\u2019t mentioned anywhere else is that it was completely fabricated. The Kavanaugh family doesn\u2019t live on \u201cWhiteman Street\u201d in Mayo Lake, Pennsylvania \u2014 in fact, there\u2019s no such place as Mayo Lake, Pennsylvania. The image dates from 2016 and originally accompanied an article in the Hamilton Spectator (of Ontario, Canada) concerning an act of vandalism prompted by a neighborhood dispute over the cutting down of a tree. America\u2019s Last Line of Defense (LLOD) is a network of junk news websites and social media accounts that peddles fabricated, politically divisive content under the guise of \u201csatire.\u201d A disclaimer on the site reads: Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site\u2019s pure fantasy and actual people, places and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical."}
{"claim_id": "36660", "claim": "Barack and Michelle Obama were forced to surrender their licenses to practice law because of their unethical behavior.", "explanation": "Were the Obamas Forced to Surrender Their Law Licenses?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "In early October 2018, many people in the United States and abroad were closely watching the twists and turns around a Supreme Court nomination as multiple women accused the nominee of committing or abetting sexual assault. Almost immediately, bots, trolls, and useful idiots picked up on the controversy, muddying the waters with rumors, gossip, and outright fabrications about his accusers.As the investigation into the accusations against Brett Kavanaugh continued and the discussion about him spiraled into new territory, the usual suspects resurrected a years-old chain email, spreading it across social media.The original looked something like this, although there were some variations as time went on:Barack Obama \u2014 Editor of the Harvard Law Review \u2014 Has No Law License?I saw a note slide across the #TCOT feed on Twitter last night that mentioned Michelle Obama had no law license. This struck me as odd, since (a) she went to school to be a lawyer, and (b) she just recently held a position with the University of Chicago Hospitals as legal counsel \u2014 and that\u2019s a pretty hard job to qualify for without a law license.But being a licensed professional myself, I knew that every state not only requires licensure, they make it possible to check online the status of any licensed professional. So I did, and here\u2019s the results from the ARDC Website:She \u201cvoluntarily surrendered\u201d her license in 1993. Let me explain what that means. A \u201cVoluntary Surrender\u201d is not something where you decide \u201cGee, a license is not really something I need anymore, is it?\u201d and forget to renew your license. No, a \u201cVoluntary Surrender\u201d is something you do when you\u2019ve been accused of something, and you \u201cvoluntarily surrender\u201d you license five seconds before the state suspends you.Here\u2019s an illustration: I\u2019m a nurse. At various times in my 28 years of nursing I\u2019ve done other things when I got burned out; most notably a few years as a limousine driver; even an Amway salesman at one point. I always, always renewed my nursing license \u2014 simply because it\u2019s easier to send the state $49.00 a month than to pay the $200, take a test, wait six weeks, etc., etc. I\u2019ve worked (recently) in a Nursing Home where there was an 88 year old lawyer and a 95 year old physician. Both of them still had current licensures as well. They would never DREAM of letting their licenses lapse.I happen to know there is currently in the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City Indiana an inmate who is a licensed physician, convicted of murder when he chased the two burglars who entered his home and terrorized his family into the street and killed them. (And I can\u2019t say I blame him for that, either.) This physician still has an active medical license and still sees patients, writes prescriptions, etc all from inside the prison. And he renews his medical license every two years, too. I tried looking up why she would \u201cVoluntarily surrender\u201d her license, but Illinois does not have it\u2019s 1993 records online.But when I searched for \u201cObama\u201d, I found this:\u201cVoluntarily retired\u201d \u2014 what does that mean? Bill Clinton hung onto his law license until he was convicted of making a false statement in the Lewinsky case and had to \u201cVoluntarily Surrender\u201d his license too. President Barack Obama, former editor of the Harvard Law Review, is no longer a \u201clawyer\u201d. He surrendered his license back in 2008 possibly to escape charges that he \u201cfibbed\u201d on his bar application.This is the former editor of the Harvard Law Review who doesn\u2019t seem to give a crap about his law license.Something else odd; while the Search feature brings up the names, any searches for the Disciplinary actions ends quickly.As in, Too Quickly. Less than a half-second quickly on a Search Engine that can take five seconds to Search for anything. As in, \u201cthere\u2019s a block on that information\u201d kind of thing.So we have the first Lawyer President and First Lady \u2014 who don\u2019t actually have licenses to practice law. There\u2019s more to this story, I\u2019m sure. I\u2019ll let you know when I find it.Needless to say, in the years since, \u201cmore to the story\u201d never appeared.A quick search of the state of Illinois\u2019 Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission website shows that Barack Obama\u2019s law license was changed to \u201cretired\u201d in 2008, when he was elected president (the year before, he had switched it to \u201cvoluntarily inactive\u201d in order to focus on his presidential run, and Michelle Obama has been listed as \u201cvoluntarily inactive\u201d since 1993, when she left law and entered the public sector. Since then, neither has been embroiled in any sort of scandal that would require them to turn in their (inactive) law licenses.As University of California, Los Angeles law professor Eugene Volokh wrote in 2010 about this very rumor:4. The article continues, \u201cPresident Barack Obama, former editor of the Harvard Law Review, is no longer a \u2018lawyer\u2019. He surrendered his license back in 2008 possibly to escape charges that he \u2018fibbed\u2019 on his bar application.\u201d And \u201cpossibly\u201d because the Illuminati ordered the Bar to do it, but that\u2019s just empty hypothesizing, with no actual evidence. The fact that someone who doesn\u2019t actually practice law, and is unlikely to practice law, voluntarily retires is hardly a sinister signal: It costs money to be a member of the bar, and if you\u2019re not going to practice, it may make sense to retire. Nor does this somehow undermine claims that he\u2019s a lawyer; a retired lawyer is still commonly called a lawyer \u2014 as an indication of what he has studied, and his general professional field \u2014 even if he is no longer a member of the bar.5. It then says, \u201cMichelle Obama \u2018voluntarily surrendered\u2019 her law license in 1993.\u201d Again, I\u2019m not sure what the quotes mean, but the\u00a0bar record\u00a0says that she is \u201cVoluntarily inactive.\u201d This is even more common for lawyers who don\u2019t need a bar card, such as many lawyers who don\u2019t appear in court or counsel clients other than employer. Being an active status lawyer costs more money (see\u00a0Rule 756) than being inactive, and it requires one to do Continuing Legal Education classes (Rule 790), unless one is in certain jobs for which the CLE requirements are waived). The difference in bar fees, for instance, is why\u00a0I myself\u00a0was inactive in 2001. Moreover, it\u2019s pretty easy to switch back to active status should one need to do that (as I did in early 2002); again, in Illinois, see Rule 756.Michelle and Barack Obama are also listed on the Illinois State Bar Association\u2019s official website as honorary members (as are Hillary Clinton and Harper Lee for her portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird) which would be extremely strange if they had both lost their licenses in disgrace.While we cannot explain the search engine lag time, we did not experience anything like it during our own tests, suggesting that might be less to do with the engine and more to do with the person conducting the search to begin with."}
{"claim_id": "7496", "claim": "Can blood from coronavirus survivors treat the newly ill?.", "explanation": "Hospitals are gearing up to test if a century-old treatment used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in the days before vaccines, and tried more recently against SARS and Ebola, just might work for COVID-19, too: using blood donated from patients who\u2019ve recovered.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, International News, Measles, General News, Flu, Health, Science, Racing for a Remedy, Asia Pacific, Virus Outbreak, Europe, Ebola virus, Weekend Reads, U.S. News", "main_text": "Doctors in China attempted the first COVID-19 treatments using what the history books call \u201cconvalescent serum\u201d -- today, known as donated plasma -- from survivors of the new virus. Now a network of U.S. hospitals is waiting on permission from the Food and Drug Administration to begin large studies of the infusions both as a possible treatment for the sick and as vaccine-like temporary protection for people at high risk of infection. There\u2019s no guarantee it will work. \u201cWe won\u2019t know until we do it, but the historical evidence is encouraging,\u201d Dr. Arturo Casadevall of Johns Hopkins University\u2019s school of public health told The Associated Press. Casadevall drew on that history in filing the FDA application. The FDA is \u201cworking expeditiously to facilitate the development and availability of convalescent plasma\u201d a spokesman said. Here are some questions and answers about this latest quest for a treatment. WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS POSSIBLE THERAPY? It may sound like \u201cback to the Stone Age,\u201d but there\u2019s good scientific reason to try using survivors\u2019 blood, said Dr. Jeffrey Henderson of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who coauthored the FDA application with Casadevall and another colleague at the Mayo Clinic. When a person gets infected by a particular germ, the body starts making specially designed proteins called antibodies to fight the infection. After the person recovers, those antibodies float in survivors\u2019 blood -- specifically plasma, the liquid part of blood \u2014 for months, even years. One of the planned studies would test if giving infusions of survivors\u2019 antibody-rich plasma to newly ill COVID-19 patients would boost their own body\u2019s attempts to fight off the virus. To see if it works, researchers would measure if the treatment gave patients a better chance of living or reduced the need for breathing machines. One caution: While regular plasma transfusions are a mainstay of medicine, very rarely they can cause a lung-damaging side effect. COULD IT ALSO ACT LIKE A VACCINE? Sort of, but unlike a vaccine, any protection would only be temporary. A vaccine trains people\u2019s immune systems to make their own antibodies against a target germ. The plasma infusion approach would give people a temporary shot of someone else\u2019s antibodies that are short-lived and require repeated doses. Still, if FDA agrees, a second study would give antibody-rich plasma infusions to certain people at high risk from repeated exposures to COVID-19, such as hospital workers or first responders, said Dr. Liise-anne Pirofski of New York\u2019s Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. That also might include nursing homes when a resident becomes ill, in hopes of giving the other people in the home some protection, she said. \u201cWe need both things desperately,\u201d Pirofski said. \u201cWe need to be able to break the cycle of transmission and we also need to be able to help people who are ill.\u201d WHAT\u2019S THE HISTORY? These plasma infusions were used most famously during the 1918 flu pandemic, and against numerous other infections, such as measles and bacterial pneumonia, before vaccines and modern medicines came along. Long-ago research is sketchy. But in the Journal of Clinical Investigation earlier this month, Casadevall and Pirofski cited evidence that 1918 flu patients given the infusions were less likely to die. And a 1935 medical report detailed how doctors stopped a measles outbreak from sweeping through a boarding school using \u201cserum\u201d from prior patients. The old-fashioned approach still is dusted off every so often to tackle surprise outbreaks such as SARS in 2002, and in 2014 when Ebola survivors\u2019 plasma was used to treat other patients during the West Africa epidemic. Even during those recent outbreaks, strict studies of the technique were not done, but Casadevall said there were clues that the plasma helped. Casadevall thinks that when it didn\u2019t work, it may have been used too late. \u201cSomebody at the end of their lives, it\u2019s very hard to affect\u201d any disease at that point, he cautioned. A more modern approach is to brew this type of antibody in the lab, something Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and other companies are working on. Using blood from COVID-19 survivors is a decidedly more labor-intensive approach \u2014 but researchers could start banking the plasma as soon as regulators give the OK. HOW WOULD DOCTORS GET THE PLASMA? Blood banks take plasma donations much like they take donations of whole blood; regular plasma is used in hospitals and emergency rooms every day. If someone\u2019s donating only plasma, their blood is drawn through a tube, the plasma is separated and the rest infused back into the donor\u2019s body. Then that plasma is tested and purified to be sure it doesn\u2019t harbor any blood-borne viruses and is safe to use. For COVID-19 research, the difference would be who does the donating -- people who have recovered from the coronavirus. Scientists would measure how many antibodies are in a unit of donated plasma \u2014 tests just now being developed that aren\u2019t available to the general public \u2014 as they figure out what\u2019s a good dose, and how often a survivor could donate. Researchers aren\u2019t worried about finding volunteer donors but caution it will take some time to build up a stock. \u201cI get multiple emails a day from people saying, \u2018Can I help, can I give my plasma?\u2019\u201d Pirofski said. \u2014\u2014 The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "4526", "claim": "Warren says getting to \u2018Medicare for All\u2019 will take 3 years.", "explanation": "Elizabeth Warren announced Friday that she would expand public health insurance during her first 100 days in office, but wouldn\u2019t push for passage of a \u201cMedicare for All\u201d program until the third year of her presidency, a timeline that acknowledges how tough it will be to shift to a system of government-run health care.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Election 2020, Health, General News, Politics, Health care reform, Elizabeth Warren, Medicare, Business", "main_text": "The Massachusetts Democratic senator released a health care transition plan that first vows to build on existing programs, including the Obama administration\u2019s Affordable Care Act. Warren says she\u2019ll then work with Congress to pass pieces of a universal coverage proposal more gradually, with the whole thing being ready \u201cno later than\u201d her third year in office. Allowing more time underscores Warren\u2019s \u2014 or any candidate\u2019s \u2014 difficulty in delivering on government-run universal health coverage. Winning congressional approval would be a heavy lift, no matter which party holds majorities in the House and Senate. \u201cEvery serious proposal for Medicare for All contemplates a significant transition period,\u201d Warren wrote in an online post. \u201cMy plan will be completed in my first term. It includes dramatic actions to lower drug prices, a Medicare for All option available to everyone that is more generous than any plan proposed by any other presidential candidate, critical health system reforms to save money and save lives, and a full transition to Medicare for All.\u201d Even as she continued to praise Medicare for All, though, Friday\u2019s announcement represented a move toward the political middle on an issue that has been one of the most important to voters in the Democratic primary \u2014 which begins Feb. 3 in Iowa. \u201cWarren is trying to thread a very tricky political needle here,\u201d said Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. \u201cWarren clearly still supports Medicare for All, but she is not putting all of her eggs in that basket.\u201d Warren had previously said she would offer more details on how to implement her health care policy, but she laid out for the first time exactly how it will take up to three years. The senator also said that, rather than starting by shepherding Medicare for All through a divided Congress as a first priority, she\u2019d first work to pass \u201canti-corruption\u201d measures meant to curb the influence of lobbyists, insurance and pharmaceutical companies. This comes two weeks after Warren unveiled a much-scrutinized plan to pay for Medicare for All, which proposed raising most of the additional $20.5 trillion her campaign believes would be needed from taxes on businesses, wealthy people and investors \u2014 not the middle class. But some experts criticized that proposal for underestimating how much universal health care would really cost. Warren\u2019s more centrist opponents, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, both oppose fully government-run health care. They say Warren\u2019s plan may scare general election moderates and swing voters who aren\u2019t ready to fully scrap private insurance, and instead have called for expanding existing programs to cover more people who currently don\u2019t have health insurance \u2014 something Warren\u2019s proposal shows her embracing more of as she moves toward Medicare for All. Kate Bedingfield, a Biden deputy campaign manager, accused Warren of offering \u201ca full program of flips and twists.\u201d \u201cSen. Warren is now trying to muddy the waters even further,\u201d Bedingfield said in a statement, adding that the latest proposal would \u201cdelay the introduction of her full Medicare for All proposals as far as three years into her term, after the midterms \u2014 a move that doesn\u2019t exactly address the urgency of now.\u201d Buttigieg spokeswoman Lis Smith called it \u201ca transparently political attempt to paper over a very serious policy problem, which is that she wants to force 150 million people off their private insurance \u2014 whether they like it or not.\u201d Taking years to get to Medicare for All would give Warren time to convince people happy with their current, private insurance to accept a fully government-funded system. But Friday\u2019s announcement seems sure to raise more tough questions about health care for a candidate who has been struggling with it lately \u2014 following her riding improved polling throughout the summer to become one of the front runners in the crowded Democratic primary field. Warren previously offered details on financing Medicare for All after ducking questions about whether middle class tax increases would be needed during the last two debates. Now, word that fully implementing that plan will move slowly could unsettle progressive Democrats. The stakes are high since Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote the original Medicare for All bill and has made it his signature issue. Still, Warren is essentially acknowledging the high degree of political difficulty that would be involved to pass Medicare for All \u2014 and the relatively low chances of success given that interest groups including employers, hospitals, drug companies and insurers will be arrayed against it. She is also recognizing that incremental measures that progressives often dismiss as not going far enough could have a real impact on people\u2019s lives. That view was reinforced by a recent study by the Urban Institute and Commonwealth Fund policy centers, which concluded that Democrats have more than one way to get to coverage for all. \u201cWarren\u2019s proposals to shore up the Affordable Care Act, lower drug prices, and create a public option would still provide substantial health care cost relief for people,\u201d said the Kaiser Foundation\u2019s Levitt. __ Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "2946", "claim": "Brain-dead California girl ordered kept on ventilator for week longer.", "explanation": "The family of a California girl who was declared brain dead after complications from a tonsillectomy won an 11th-hour court order on Monday requiring doctors to keep her connected to a breathing machine for at least another week.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Under the latest court order in the case, doctors at Children\u2019s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland are barred from taking 13-year-old Jahi McMath off a ventilator without her family\u2019s consent before 5 p.m. local time on January 7, relatives and hospital officials said. The eight-day extension gives the girl\u2019s relatives, who refuse to accept that she is beyond recovery, more time to complete arrangements to have her transferred to an extended-care facility. But Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evilio Grillo\u2019s decision to extend the previous deadline set in his own restraining order of last week was intended to allow time for appellate review of the case, hospital officials said. \u201cThis is a tragedy that has been postponed for another week,\u201d hospital spokesman Sam Singer told reporters outside the hospital after family members announced Monday\u2019s ruling about an hour before Grillo\u2019s original deadline was due to lapse. A person declared brain dead is considered legally and physiologically dead under California law, as is the case in many states, and the hospital\u2019s own statements about Jahi have referred to her as deceased. Grillo acted as the family filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Monday asking a federal judge to intervene to keep Jahi connected to the machine that has kept her heart and lungs going for more than two weeks. The lawsuit claimed the hospital\u2019s planned \u201cremoval of cardiopulmonary support over the objections\u201d of the girl\u2019s mother, and against her religious principles, amounts to an infringement of religious freedom and privacy rights under the U.S. Constitution. Grillo initially refused last week to extend his restraining order after two pediatric neurologists testified that Jahi had suffered an irreversible loss of all brain activity and was thus medically dead. Family members said they were seeking to have her moved to a licensed long-term treatment center in New York and had raised $20,000 in donations needed to pay for a cross-country airlift. Jahi\u2019s grandmother Sandra Chatman, herself a registered nurse, told reporters outside the hospital Monday afternoon that the girl had started to move her legs and appeared to be responding to voices of loved ones around her. The girl\u2019s uncle Omar Sealey also said Jahi was responding to her mother\u2019s voice and touch and that he had video to prove it. \u201cWe have a pediatrician who has seen Jahi who has sworn that she is not dead,\u201d Sealey told reporters. Hospital spokeswoman Melinda Krigel said it was not uncommon for spontaneous twitching or other body movements caused by spinal reflexes to occur in recently deceased individuals. The hospital has said it would not stand in the way of Jahi\u2019s being moved to another facility. But officials there also refused last week to perform additional procedures that might be required, such as placing a tracheotomy and gastric tubes in her body before a transfer. As part of its request for federal court action on Monday, the family asked that the hospital be required to carry out those preparations. The hospital also has said it needs written assurances from a coroner that the transfer would be permitted. Jahi was admitted to Children\u2019s Hospital on December 9 for surgery to remove her tonsils as a means of treating her sleep apnea. Shortly after the procedure, she began to bleed severely, suffered a heart attack and then brain swelling, according to the family\u2019s lawyer, Christopher Dolan. Hospital officials declared her brain dead on December 12. According to medical experts, Jahi\u2019s lungs and heart are only continuing to function because of air being forced in and out of her body by the ventilator, without which her breathing and heartbeat would cease. Unlike an individual in a coma or a vegetative state, Jahi lacks any brain activity whatsoever, rendering her unable to breathe on her own, doctors said. Hospital officials have said the facility and state health officials are investigating how a routine operation led to Jahi\u2019s death and that they understand the family\u2019s anguish. \u201cWe have the deepest sympathy for Jahi\u2019s mother who wishes her daughter was alive; but the ventilator cannot reverse the brain death that has occurred, and it would be wrong to give false hope that Jahi will ever come back to life,\u201d Dr. David Durand, the chief of pediatrics, said in a statement."}
{"claim_id": "18096", "claim": "Louie Gohmert Says a Justice Department memo \"directs that you must openly embrace gay marriage and homosexuality.", "explanation": "Gohmert said a Justice Department memo \"directs that you must openly embrace gay marriage and homosexuality.\" The department promotes diversity. But there doesn't appear to be a department memo or mandate that employees openly support gay marriage or homosexuality. That said, a subset of workers received a brochure from an agency-sanctioned employee group encouraging managers to respect and support gay workers.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Families, Gays and Lesbians, Texas, Louie Gohmert, ", "main_text": "President Barack Obama\u2019s administration \"has gone out of its way to thump Christians,\" a Texas U.S. House member said in a July 15, 2013, interview with Fox News. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, went on to say the nation\u2019s top lawyers have been directed to embrace gay marriage, saying: \"It's also been true in the Department of Justice right now, directly under this president, his buddy, Eric Holder. There's a memo that directs that you must openly embrace gay marriage and homosexuality. And silence is considered to be disapproval,\" Gohmert said, according to CQ Transcriptions. The Justice Department required workers to embrace gay marriage and more? Employee group brochure To our email inquiry, Gohmert spokeswoman Kimberly Willingham pointed out a May 28, 2013, blog post by Todd Starnes, a Fox News commentator, headlined: \"DOJ Tells Employees to Verbally Affirm Homosexuality.\" Starnes, citing Liberty Counsel, a law firm that says it\u2019s dedicated to \"advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family,\" wrote that department employees were emailed a brochure, \u00a0\"LGBT Inclusion at Work: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers.\" He wrote too that the brochure was created by DOJ Pride, an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender agency employees. The brochure lists about 20 \"do\u2019s\" and \"don\u2019ts\" running from appropriate language to dealing with offensive jokes to declaring one\u2019s own sexual orientation and respecting someone who does so. Given Gohmert\u2019s statement, we narrowed our focus to brochure references to gay marriage and to embracing homosexuality. Under the heading \"Use Inclusive Language,\" the brochure encourages recipients to \"use inclusive words like \u2018partner,\u2019 \u2018significant other\u2019 or \u2018spouse\u2019 rather than gender-specific terms like \u2018husband\u2019 and \u2018wife.\u2019\" Another section says: \"Do acknowledge important events in an LGBT employee\u2019s life--e.g., same-sex marriage, birth of a child, illness of a spouse, or death of a partner\u2019s parent--in the same way you would for a heterosexual employee.\" A theme of the brochure is respect for an employee\u2019s sexual orientation. A section titled \"Come Out\" says: \"Do let your employees know they\u2019ll be treated with fairness and respect, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, by \u2018coming out\u2019 as a straight ally.\" Recipients are encouraged to display the brochure or a DOJ Pride sticker in clear view or request that their office receive follow-up training on gender identity in the workplace. Also: \"Do consider coming out of the closet if you are LGBT and not out at work. The presence of visible LGBT managers communicates that your office is open and accepting.\" In another section, the brochure says that if an employee \"comes out to you,\" don\u2019t \"judge or remain silent. Silence will be interpreted as disapproval. Do respond with interest and curiosity. Asking respectful questions will set a positive, supportive tone.\" By telephone, Matt Barber, a Liberty Counsel attorney, told us the brochure was sent to agency employees on May 14, 2013. At our request, Barber emailed us what he described as a copy of that email with the name of the whistleblower worker who brought it to the firm\u2019s attention redacted. One agency's distribution The \"To\" line of the email says, \"Global Distribution.\" The email message, under the subject \"LGBT Pride Month,\" describes the attached brochure as complementing a planned LGBT Pride Month observance. The email expresses hope that the brochure, \"drafted with input from key department stakeholders,\" will be a useful tool \"as you work to create an office environment that is welcoming to, and supportive of, all employees, including LGBT employees.\" The email closes with: \"This message has been authorized by Nelson A. Santos, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Forensic Sciences.\" By phone, Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona told us Santos works for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Talamona initially told us that the publication was distributed to \"some employees\" by email with the department\u2019s awareness. However, she said, it is not an agency policy or directive. Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson later emailed a statement that seemed to indicate the DEA official sent the brochure to many of that agency's workers. All told, its employees account for some 9,000 of the Justice Department\u2019s 115,000 workers, Iverson said. Iverson's statement said \"DOJ Pride, an employee association, sent informational material, on its own behalf, to some DOJ employees. The material was clearly identified as a DOJ Pride product. We have also recently learned one component\u2019s diversity official distributed the information via email to its employees on behalf of DOJ Pride. The single-page document was produced on a DOJ computer and involved limited use of a DOJ printer to make a few dozen copies, in line with the department\u2019s de minimis use policy allowing employees to make minimal personal use of their DOJ computers when the cost to the government is negligible.\" Barber said that while the brochure was authored by an employee group, not the department proper, \"it came under the auspices of the larger Department of Justice.\" He added that the agency \"knows it would be unconstitutional to expressly compel department employees to openly embrace homosexuality and gay marriage.\" The brochure, he said, delivers a compliance threat that is implied rather than explicit. Diversity policy More broadly, the department says online it has a diversity management policy: \"We work diligently to attract and retain a workforce that represents the range of personal and professional backgrounds, and experiences and perspectives that arise from differences of culture and circumstances. This includes persons of varying age, ethnicity, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, political affiliation, socioeconomic and family status, and geographic region.\" As noted in a May 24, 2013, blog post by WND, a conservative Internet news organization, Holder aired support for diversity in a June 6, 2012, speech marking the agency\u2019s LGBT Pride Month celebration. After mentioning efforts to combat school bullying and to help students who feel unsafe or victimized, Holder said: \"It is this same determination that guides the Justice Department\u2019s internal efforts to create a more inclusive work environment, and to strengthen our mission to serve all Americans by attracting a diverse range of qualified individuals; and by providing the opportunities--and the support necessary--for every department employee to develop, to grow, and to thrive both personally and professionally.\" Our ruling Gohmert said a Justice Department memo \"directs that you must openly embrace gay marriage and homosexuality.\" The department promotes diversity. But there doesn't appear to be a department memo or mandate that employees openly support gay marriage or homosexuality. That said, a subset of workers received a brochure from an agency-sanctioned employee group encouraging managers to respect and support gay workers. We rate this claim, which has an element of truth, as ."}
{"claim_id": "26675", "claim": "Video shows President Donald Trump saying COVID-19 is Democrats\u2019 \u201cnew hoax.\u201d", "explanation": "The video makes it look like Trump called coronavirus \u201ctheir new hoax.\u201d   \u00a0   In fact, there was nearly a full minute between when the president said \u201ccoronavirus\u201d and \u201choax\u201d during a Feb. 28 rally in North Charleston, S.C.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Ad Watch, Coronavirus, Joe Biden, ", "main_text": "In a video tweeted March 3, Joe Biden\u2019s campaign made it look like President Donald Trump called the 2019 coronavirus outbreak a \"hoax.\" \"I\u2019ll be damned if I\u2019m going to lose my country to this man at all,\" Biden says at the start of the ad, which has been viewed more than 336,000 times. The video cycles through a slew of soundbites from Trump. One clip shows the president\u2019s Feb. 28 rally in North Charleston, S.C. \"Coronavirus \u2014\u00a0this is their new hoax,\" Trump is pictured saying. The video makes it seem like Trump is calling the disease itself a hoax, which he hasn\u2019t done. The words are Trump\u2019s, but the editing is Biden\u2019s. During the North Charleston rally, there was nearly a minute between when Trump said \"coronavirus\" and \"hoax.\" Here is the full context of his remarks: \"Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus, you know that right? Coronavirus, they\u2019re politicizing it. We did one of the great jobs. You say, \u2018How\u2019s President Trump doing?\u2019 They go, \u2018Oh, not good, not good.\u2019 They have no clue. They don\u2019t have any clue. They can\u2019t even count their votes in Iowa. They can\u2019t even count. No, they can\u2019t. They can\u2019t count their votes. \"One of my people came up to me and said, \u2018Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.\u2019 That didn\u2019t work out too well. They couldn\u2019t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was not a perfect conversation. They tried anything. They tried it over and over. They\u2019d been doing it since you got in. It\u2019s all turning. They lost. It\u2019s all turning. Think of it. Think of it. And this is their new hoax.\" During a press conference Feb. 29, Trump was asked about his remarks. \"I'm not talking about what's happening here; I'm talking what they're doing,\" he said, referring to Democrats. \"That's the hoax.\" Trump\u2019s comments feed into a conspiracy theory that claims Democrats and the media are fabricating the threat of COVID-19 to hurt the economy and, by extension, the president\u2019s re-election chances. And the president appeared to downplay the threat of the virus at several points in recent weeks. But the Biden campaign\u2019s ad is misleading. It\u2019s an example of what the Washington Post calls \"splicing,\" or \"editing together disparate videos\" that \"fundamentally alters the story that is being told.\" On March 7, Dan Scavino, the White House social media director, tweeted a video that appears to show Biden saying \"we can only re-elect Donald Trump.\" But the video only showed a snippet of Biden\u2019s larger speech, in which he called for Democratic unity. A similar video tweeted by Michael Bloomberg on Feb. 20 made it look like he left other Democratic presidential candidates speechless during a debate when he didn\u2019t. When we reached out to the Biden campaign for comment, it told us that Trump is \"the most dishonest president in American history.\" \"We don't trust his next-day clean-up attempt, and he has made many comments in that same vein,\" said Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, in an email. Biden\u2019s video is inaccurate. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "9936", "claim": "Musical Exercise Program Cuts Falls in Elderly", "explanation": "<br />  This story parrots the fundamental error of a journal news release about a trial of an exercise program intended to improve the walking ability and reduce falls among older people. The release and this story claim that \u201cexercising to piano music\u201d appears to reduce falls, but the trial did not actually test that hypothesis. The trial randomized participants to either a series of exercise classes or to continuing their usual activities, so all it can say is that class participation appeared to offer benefits. As the researchers wrote in their journal article, they could \u201conly speculate on the factors responsible.\u201d \u00a0 On a side note, the New York Times may want to claim credit for a huge scoop on reporting about the potential benefits of this type of exercising to music. It published a story on these classes almost 97 years ago. <br />  Regurgitating a news release violates the fundamental principles of journalism. It also leads to the second major flaw seen in this report: repeating the misinterpretation of research committed by news release writers.", "label": "false", "subjects": "WebMD", "main_text": "The story does not mention costs. A web search of programs offered in the U.S. show prices ranging from a $200-1000 for a series of sessions which may last several months and include music instruction. This story fails this criterion because it reports that the trial showed benefits of exercising to piano music, when in fact the trial was not capable of showing that music or any other specific feature of the classes could claim credit for the lower rate of falls and improved walking technique that was observed. The story does include some of the specific information expected to meet this criterion, including the number of falls in each group of participants, although it gives readers only vague descriptions of \u201csignificant improvements in balance and overall function\u201d and \u201cincreased their usual walking speed and stride length and improved their overall manner of walking\u201d without providing any specific numbers. The story does not mention harms. While the researchers reported that there were no adverse events during the trial, it is possible that exercise classes could lead to falls or sports injuries, so the story should have addressed this point. The story commits a fundamental error on this criterion. The trial did not actually test the effects of piano music. It merely showed that elderly people who took a series of classes fared better than those who did nothing. This test could not shed any light on whether any specific components of the program, such as music, had any specific effect, since there was no comparison to exercise or other classes that did not have these features. The body of the story does give a brief description of the trial, telling readers that 134 older adults living in a senior citizen community were randomized to attend a series of exercise classes or simply go about their normal activities for six months and then taking the classes. Readers are left to figure out for themselves that this study design does not include any direct comparison of any of the components of the classes, so no claims can be made about whether music made any difference. Indeed, the researchers clearly pointed out that \u201cWe can only speculate on the factors responsible for the detected improvements in dual-task gait variability.\u201d Readers should have been alerted to this and other limitations of this trial. There was no disease mongering in the story. Falls are indeed a serious hazard for older people. There is neither an independent source nor any discussion of potential conflicts of interest. The story does not put this trial in any context with the existing evidence on other types of physical activity or other methods of reducing the risk of falls by older people. The story does not report that this trial tested a specific type of exercise program known as Jaques-Dalcroze eurhythmics, so readers have no way of finding out whether it is available to them. The story does not include any claims of novelty of this approach. Another New York Times article did call attention to this form of exercise with the headline: \u201cDalcroze Eurhythmics Have Come to New York.\u201d The article was published on January 25, 1914. There is indeed nothing new about the method of exercise. Reference: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F20E12FF355D13738DDDAC0A94D9405B848DF1D3    This story appears to be based on a news release issued by the Archives of Internal Medicine. The only direct quote in the story is identical to one featured in the news release. The news release introduces the fundamental misunderstanding of the trial design that is repeated in the news report. Archives of Internal Medicine News Release: Exercising to Piano Music Appears to Help Reduce Falls Among Older Adults http://pubs.ama-assn.org/media/2010a/1122.dtl#5"}
{"claim_id": "12749", "claim": "On whether or not the Philadelphia DA's office will recommend the possibility of parole for all juvenile lifers.", "explanation": "District Attorney Seth Williams told\u00a0The Philadelphia Inquirer\u00a0last year that it was his goal \"to give all of these individuals some light at the end of the tunnel\" when it comes to re-sentencing juvenile lifers still in the Pennsylvania prison system. His office says he made clear there could be exceptions in the most heinous cases. That\u2019s why Williams\u2019 team contends his stance didn\u2019t shift when it didn\u2019t offer the chance of parole to three individuals so far as it continues the process of reviewing 300 cases of juvenile lifers in Pennsylvania. But we keep going back to when he tweeted that \"we will have hearings for all 300 chronologically\" and that \"they will get new sentences that will allow for the possibility of parole.\" He then doubled down on that stance when asked directly about it on Twitter. The district attorney also indicated he agreed with the\u00a0Miller\u00a0decision, and wouldn\u2019t seek life without parole for juveniles convicted of homicide moving forward. That\u2019s since changed for at least three people who could remain in prison for life without the possibility of parole.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Criminal Justice, Pennsylvania, Seth Williams, ", "main_text": "Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams\u00a0took to the opinion pages of\u00a0The Philadelphia Inquirer\u00a0last week to defend himself from criticism that he reversed his stance on the individuals who have been deemed \"juvenile lifers\" in the criminal justice system. Williams, a Democrat who is finishing out his second term as district attorney and will not seek re-election, apparently took issue with\u00a0an early March\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0piece\u00a0that indicated the DA had changed his previous stance on offering the chance of parole to those convicted of homicide when they were juveniles. In the piece, the\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0reported Williams and his staff intend to seek sentences of life without parole for at least three of the 300 Philadelphia juvenile lifers whose sentences are under review. The district attorney wrote in that letter to the editor published last week that \"the article is contradicted by the paper's prior reporting\" and that his \"approach to these cases is fair, reasonable, and consistent with the judgments of the Pennsylvania legislature and the U.S. Supreme Court.\" So did Williams reverse his stance or not? We decided to put it to the test on our Flip-O-Meter, which specifically tracks whether politicians have gone back on their promises. Let\u2019s look first at what Williams\u2019 stance on juvenile lifers was, and why it\u2019s been of interest over the last several years. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in\u00a0Miller v. Alabama\u00a0that it\u2019s a violation of the Eighth Amendment for states to require a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for individuals convicted of committing homicide before they turned 18. The court ruled those sentences should be \"uncommon\" and reserved for \"the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption.\" By the end of 2012, the Pennsylvania legislature passed new sentencing requirements for juveniles convicted of first- or second-degree murder, ranging from a 20-years-to-life sentence to a 35-years-to-life sentence, depending on degree and how old the person was when the crime was committed. That new legislation applied only to new sentences handed down after the\u00a0Miller\u00a0decision. But things got complicated last year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the\u00a0Miller v. Alabama\u00a0decision to prohibit mandatory sentences of life without the possibility of parole for juveniles would apply retroactively. That set off a chaotic process in the criminal justice system that\u2019s being resolved by district attorneys, judges and criminal defense attorneys across the state resentencing individuals according to new requirements, but largely leaving it up to judge\u2019s discretion to make a final determination on each individual. There were about 480 juvenile lifers across the state system; 300 of those are from Philadelphia. Last summer,\u00a0Williams said in an\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0interview\u00a0that it was his goal \"to give all of these individuals some light at the end of the tunnel.\" \"As long as I'm the D.A.,\" he said, \"we will not be asking for cases going forward for life without the possibility of parole for people under the age of 18 because of the same exact reasons articulated by the Supreme Court in Miller.\" The promise earned Williams praise from progressive groups, and he was even\u00a0lauded in a\u00a0New York Times\u00a0editorial\u00a0that ended with: \"Now that Mr. Williams has put that principle into practice, district attorneys in other counties with large numbers of juvenile lifers have a clearer path to follow.\" In the same\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0interview from last year, Williams said \"I've got a lot of people who are tweeting every day about juvenile lifers without parole.\" Some of them he even responded to. On June 3, 2016, the district attorney tweeted to someone asking questions about his policy: \"we will have hearings for all 300 chronologically they will get new sentences that will allow for the possibility of parole.\" He even doubled down when the person responded, asking: \"does that mean the Philly DAs office will not seek LWOP (life without parole) in any of those 300 cases?\" Williams tweeted back: \"just keep reading my last tweet.\" So at the beginning of this month, the\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0wrote that it appeared Williams\u2019 stance had shifted. Journalist Samantha Melamed reported Williams\u2019 office, in a letter to a federal court, indicated it intends to seek life without parole in at least three of the cases it had reviewed so far. Officials from Williams\u2019 office confirmed that this week, saying it\u2019s so far made 96 offers, three of which were for life without parole. They refused to provide any information about those three cases, saying the offers are still under consideration by defense attorneys and the final determination will be made by a judge. The Inquirer reported one of the individuals who the DA\u2019s office is recommending life without parole for is Andre Martin, who was 15 when he shot and killed police officer John Trettin in 1976. From the story: \"According to\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0coverage from 1976, Martin had an IQ of 80 and was high on Valium and marijuana when he shot a police officer through the window of an apartment in a public-housing project.\" Following that March\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0story about Williams\u2019 apparent shifting stance, Williams wrote in a letter to the editor that there was no change in his stance and quoted the\u00a0Inquirer\u2019s original June 2016 piece that read: \"[Williams] said he won't rule out life without parole in the most heinous cases, but he has taken heed of the Supreme Court's opinion, in Miller, that neuroscience shows teens' brains are not fully formed, reducing their culpability.\" Melamed said the\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0stands by its reporting, which is \"why the district attorney\u2019s claim appeared in the form of a letter to the editor rather than a correction.\" Williams\u2019 chief of staff Kathleen Martin said in an interview this week that \"he hopes or expects not to have a lot of murderers who were juveniles remain, but in certain circumstances, including heinous crimes, that might in fact happen.\" She described the office\u2019s process for reviewing each of the juvenile lifer cases, saying it\u2019s assigned a team of assistant district attorneys and other stakeholders to review every case, starting with the oldest ones. They\u2019re seeking out surviving family members of victims, combing through old case files and reviewing information from the Department of Corrections about how the inmates have operated in prison. After that process, the team determined that they\u2019ll request life in prison without the chance of parole for at least three juvenile lifers from Philadelphia. When\u00a0PolitiFact\u00a0asked Martin, Williams\u2019 chief of staff, about whether or not this move conflicts with Williams\u2019 past statements saying \"all\" 300 individuals would have a chance at parole, she said the three inmates in question still do have that chance because \"the judge is always going to have a final determination.\" But that would go against what the DA\u2019s office is requesting. Martin also said Williams\u2019 original quote to the\u00a0Inquirer\u00a0that he wanted \"to give all of these individuals some light at the end of the tunnel\" was referring to his goals \"moving forward\" in sentencing new juveniles. \"It\u2019s clear that the DA had a goal, but in the most heinous occasions, that goal cannot always be met,\" Martin said. \"There are just unfortunately some cases in which the best interest of the community at large is that certain people remain in custody.\" Our ruling District Attorney Seth Williams told\u00a0The Philadelphia Inquirer\u00a0last year that it was his goal \"to give all of these individuals some light at the end of the tunnel\" when it comes to re-sentencing juvenile lifers still in the Pennsylvania prison system. His office says he made clear there could be exceptions in the most heinous cases. That\u2019s why Williams\u2019 team contends his stance didn\u2019t shift when it didn\u2019t offer the chance of parole to three individuals so far as it continues the process of reviewing 300 cases of juvenile lifers in Pennsylvania. But we keep going back to when he tweeted that \"we will have hearings for all 300 chronologically\" and that \"they will get new sentences that will allow for the possibility of parole.\" He then doubled down on that stance when asked directly about it on Twitter. The district attorney also indicated he agreed with the\u00a0Miller\u00a0decision, and wouldn\u2019t seek life without parole for juveniles convicted of homicide moving forward. That\u2019s since changed for at least three people who could remain in prison for life without the possibility of parole. We rate this a ."}
{"claim_id": "2805", "claim": "Roche says EU panel backs lymphatic cancer drug for approval.", "explanation": "Swiss drug company Roche said on Friday a European Union committee recommended its MabThera subcutaneous treatment for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Roche said the opinion of the EU Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) was based primarily on data from a phase III study, with a final decision from the European Commission expected in coming months. The Commission generally follows committee recommendations, though it is not obliged to. MabThera is a treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, and is currently delivered by an intravenous infusion which takes 2-1/2 hours to complete. In contrast, the new MabThera subcutaneous formulation can be delivered over approximately five minutes, Roche said."}
{"claim_id": "34403", "claim": "The Tim Allen show 'Last Man Standing' was cancelled due to the star's political beliefs.", "explanation": "In May 2018, Fox announced they would be bringing back Last Man Standing for the 2018-19 television season.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics, abc, donald trump, tim allen", "main_text": "When television network ABC announced that they were canceling\u00a0comedian Tim Allen\u2019s popular sitcom\u00a0Last Man Standing,\u00a0many people \u2014 including the show\u2019s star \u2014 were shocked. After all, it was the third most-watched scripted show on the network, behind\u00a0Grey\u2019s Anatomy\u00a0and\u00a0Modern Family,\u00a0and received solid ratings: Stunned and blindsided by the network I called home for the last six years. #lastmanstanding \u2014 Tim Allen (@ofctimallen) May 16, 2017  Some commentators accused ABC of canceling the show due to its conservative bent: Allen played an outspoken conservative on who often riffed on political issues such as Obamacare on the sitcom. Tim Allen\u2019s personal politics somewhat\u00a0mirrored the character\u2019s,\u00a0as\u00a0the former\u00a0Home Improvement\u00a0star is a Republican who attended\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration. A petition that garnered more than 300,000 signatures on Change.org claimed the show\u00a0was canceled because\u00a0it was the only entertainment program that was not constantly shoving \u201cliberal ideals down the throats of the viewers\u201d: Despite consistently high rankings, especially considering the time slot in which it is aired, Tim Allen\u2019s show \u201cLast Man Standing\u201d has been cancelled by the network on which it is aired, ABC. Last Man Standing stands out in the sea of network television sitcoms. It is a show that appeals to a broad swath of Americans who find very few shows that extol the virtues with which they can identify; namely conservative values. Last Man Standing was not just selling conservative ideals though, as some of the characters in the show are clearly of the liberal persuasion, yet the characters on the show all manage to get along and take care of one another, despite their politically opposed views. The show is about more than politics though, it is about family. In fact, politics is only a secondary part of the show, but one in which many Americans can readily identify. Last Man Standing is one of the only shows on broadcast television, and the only sitcom, that is not constantly shoving liberal ideals down the throats of the viewers. And sadly, that is likely the real reason the show has been cancelled. Inevitably, this accusation was boiled down into a meme eventually shared by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (a Republican):  Allen described his experience at Trump\u2019s inauguration during an appearance on the late-night talk show\u00a0Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying that he was \u201calmost afraid\u201d to say he had been at the event. However, his support for Trump was already well known, making it unlikely that the show\u2019s cancellation was directly related to his attendance at the inauguration. Although it\u2019s true that Last Man Standing\u00a0drew solid ratings, Vox took a closer look at the circumstances surrounding the show\u2019s cancellation and found that a variety of\u00a0reasons why the series might have gotten the axe. For one,\u00a0Last Man Standing\u00a0just finished its 6th season, and the show\u2019s cast and staff were likely in line for a pay bump which would have made the show much more expensive to produce:  After season five, if a show isn\u2019t a blockbuster (like The Big Bang Theory or The Walking Dead), every additional season becomes harder and harder to procure, even if the ratings are pretty good on the whole. The reason is simple \u2014 actors, writers, technicians, and other people who\u2019ve stayed with the show for its full run begin to earn pay bumps, usually seeing solid raises in seasons six and seven especially. (You\u2019ll often hear about studios agreeing to new \u201ctwo- or three-year deals\u201d with certain cast members post-season five, and that\u2019s often to lock those cast members in at a rate the studio can live with for future seasons.) This makes a lot of sense. Traditionally, seasons four and five are when a studio starts to make back the money it\u2019s invested into a series, from syndication and other means. And Last Man Standing has both lucrative syndication and cable rerun deals with various networks, which have paid off in solid ratings that fed back into the main program (which actually saw viewership increases in season six \u2014 almost unheard of). But it also probably caught the show in a weird Catch-22. Last Man Standing was successful \u2014 but not successful enough. It was doing well enough to justify better pay for the cast, especially, but it wasn\u2019t doing well enough for the studio to demand more money from the network (more on this below). In addition to renegotiating\u00a0contracts with the cast of Last Man Standing, ABC may have also had to look at its licensing deal for the show. ABC doesn\u2019t actually own Last Man Standing; rather, they license the show from\u00a020th Century Fox:  There\u2019s one big reason this might be the case: Since ABC doesn\u2019t own the show, it doesn\u2019t get any of the show\u2019s ancillary revenues \u2014 from streaming services and syndication and cable reruns and international broadcasts. Those all go to the studio, Fox. ABC pretty much just collects ad revenue at this point. Thus, ABC has no incentive to keep making more episodes of the show from a financial perspective, where Fox has huge incentive to do so. It\u2019s easy to see how that situation could have grown unsustainable. ABC\u00a0also recently announced that the tremendously popular American Idol program would be returning to their network lineup, which may have forced them to move or cancel other shows to make room for it. ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey\u00a0said\u00a0on a press call with reporters that she canceled Last Man Standing for the same \u201cbusiness and scheduling reasons\u201d that led to the cancellation of other shows: On a call, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey called the decision to not renew Last Man Standing\u00a0the type of \u201ctough calls\u201d she needs to make in her job. Asked\u00a0whether the show\u2019s content and the fact that Allen is a\u00a0prominent Republican played a role in the decision, she said, \u201cI canceled Last Man Standing for the same business and scheduling reasons I canceled The Real O\u2019Neals, Dr. Ken, The Catch, American Crime.\u201d \u201cIt was a challenging (call) because it was steady performer but when we made the decision not to continue with comedies on Friday that\u2019s where it landed,\u201d she added. ABC\u2019s Friday comedy block will be\u00a0gone next fall, replaced by Once Upon a Time and Marvel\u2019s Inhumans/Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a fantasy/sci-fi block. Did the fact that Last Man Standing is not owned by ABC \u2014 it comes from 20th TV \u2014 play a role in its demise? \u201cThe truth of the matter is that there are many factors that go into the decision-making process: ratings, critical acclaim. Of course we look at ownership structure, I don\u2019t think we are alone,\u201d Dungey said, quickly noting that the network has shows from multiple independent studios, including Warner Bros. TV and Sony TV. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that was the deciding factor.\u201d It\u2019s unlikely that Tim Allen\u2019s politics were the sole or primary reason behind the cancellation of Last Man Standing. However, when asked whether politics played a role in deciding the network\u2019s lineup, Dungey said: There\u2019s a lot of news, and I think that people are definitely looking to television as a place they want to feel, they want to laugh, they want to cry \u2026 the mood of the country has told us that television\u00a0is a little bit of an escape \u2026 What people want to do now is connect and experience and to feel \u2026 that did frame a lot of our development thinking this season. Despite these claims, the network will soon have another Trump supporter on the air. The network is reviving\u00a0Roseanne,\u00a0which will star\u00a0Roseanne Barr,\u00a0who once said she became a Republican because of Donald Trump: Y I became a Republican: Because Trump was th ONLY candidate who talked about the working classes, not just the middle classes. When was 1/2 \u2014 Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) November 18, 2016"}
{"claim_id": "6252", "claim": "State agency says Ohio suicide deaths rose 45% since 2007.", "explanation": "The number of suicides in Ohio increased 45% from 2007 to 2018 amid a growing national public health crisis, according to a report released Wednesday by the Ohio Department of Health.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Ohio, General News, Mike DeWine", "main_text": "Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton said suicide has also increased by more than 50% in young people between the ages of 10 and 24 over the same time period. It\u2019s the leading cause of death for Ohio residents ages 10 to 14 and the second leading cause of death for residents 15 to 34, she said. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine responded to the report by saying his RecoveryOhio initiative seeks to address mental illness and issues leading to suicide. \u201cIf you know someone is struggling, you may be able to help save someone\u2019s life by recognizing the warning signs and steps to take,\u201d DeWine said. There are five suicide deaths each day in Ohio and over 1,800 such deaths last year, the report said. Other findings in the report include: \u2014 The number of suicides for those age 10 to 24 increased 56% while the rate increased 64% from 2007 to 2018. \u2014 The rate for people 65 and older increased nearly 48% between 2007 and 2018. \u2014 White, non-Hispanic males had the highest suicide rate. \u2014 The suicide rate among black non-Hispanic males increased 54% from 2014 to 2018. The Department of Health says some of the warning signs for people at risk of committing suicide include: \u2014Major mood changes with someone appearing unhappy, depressed and withdrawn from family and friends. \u2014 Poor grades in school. \u2014 High-risk behaviors, including the use of alcohol and other substances. \u2014 Expressions of hopelessness. \u2014 Self-harm, including cutting or burning. \u2014 A personal or family history of depression. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services offers suicide prevention information and resources at https://mha.ohio.gov/."}
{"claim_id": "5700", "claim": "Hogan announces environmental agreement with dam operator.", "explanation": "Exelon Corp., the energy company that runs the Conowingo Dam, will invest more than $200 million in environmental projects, according to an agreement announced Tuesday by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Water quality, Chesapeake Bay, General News, Environment, Larry Hogan, Maryland", "main_text": "Maryland officials have been focusing on how to address the environmental impact of trash and debris that has been swept downstream from Pennsylvania to Maryland through the dam after heavy rains. State officials also are concerned that sediment buildup behind the dam\u2019s walls could be released and wreak havoc on the fragile Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The money in the proposed settlement will be used to improve water quality in the Lower Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, the nation\u2019s largest estuary, Hogan said. \u201cThis settlement is a significant and positive step in the right direction, and with the cooperation of Exelon and upstream states, we can continue making progress in our efforts to preserve and protect this great national treasure,\u201d Hogan said in a statement. Parts of the agreement will be submitted for approval to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as part of the licensing renewal for the dam. The proposal includes $52 million to implement new requirements for flow control to create more natural conditions in the Lower Susquehanna. It also includes $41 million to increase efforts to remove trash and debris that flows down the Susquehanna from upstream states. Other parts of the agreement include: $47 million for climate resiliency projects like submerged aquatic vegetation, clams, oysters and the restoration of living shorelines and $25 million for an initiative to restore mussels in the Susquehanna. \u201cExelon Generation and the State of Maryland share a commitment to restoring and sustaining the health of the Chesapeake Bay, which has been strengthened by this agreement,\u201d said Chris Crane, president and CEO of Exelon. But a group that advocates for the bay said it\u2019s concerned the settlement falls short of mitigating the negative water quality impact associated with operating the dam, as Exelon seeks a 50-year licensing agreement to operate it. While the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the projects outlined for funding in the agreement are laudable, the group says a majority of any money should be spent on upstream practices to reduce the sediments and pollution that reaches the dam. \u201cWe still need more details on the settlement agreement,\u201d said Alison Prost, CBF\u2019s Maryland executive director. \u201cHowever, we believe Exelon\u2019s identified projects and the roughly $4 million per year commitment over the dam\u2019s nearly 50-year licensing agreement are insufficient investments to offset the negative water quality impacts caused by the dam\u2019s operations.\u201d The agreement settles Exelon\u2019s legal challenges to the water quality certification issued last year under the Clean Water Act and ends the prospect of years of litigation, Hogan said. Exelon has contended it\u2019s not fair to force the company to pay for pollution the dam doesn\u2019t produce. The proposed settlement includes $500,000 for a study of management options for dredged material. Scientific reports confirm that the dam has reached full capacity and can no longer stop pollution from entering the bay, threatening the state\u2019s ability to meet cleanup goals for the nation\u2019s largest estuary. The Hogan administration says it\u2019s working to address the problem with conditions relating to the relicensing of the dam, a pilot project on beneficial reuse of dredged material and a multistate plan to address upstream discharges and the lost sediment-trapping capacity of the dam."}
{"claim_id": "8101", "claim": "India bans export of drug being tested for coronavirus treatment.", "explanation": "India said on Wednesday it had banned the export of hydroxychloroquine and formulations of the malaria drug while experts test its efficacy in helping treat patients infected with coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "There are currently no approved treatments, or preventive vaccines for COVID-19, the highly contagious, sometimes deadly respiratory illness caused by coronavirus. Researchers are studying existing treatments and working on experimental ones, but most current patients receive only supportive care such as breathing assistance. Hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, is among the medications undergoing testing as a potential treatment for patients with the disease. Earlier this week, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), which maintains a list of drug shortages, said there was a shortage of hydroxychloroquine. \u201cChloroquine has demonstrated toxicity in certain patients,\u201d Dinesh Dua, chairman of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, told Reuters. \u201cYou have to tread with caution because there is no comprehensive data to prove it works.\u201d    The group said India, the world\u2019s largest supplier of generic drugs, was not short of the drug but that companies were acutely short of staff to run operations. Cadila Healthcare Ltd, part of the Zydus group and one of India\u2019s top makers of the drug, said it was ramping up production to about 200 million pills a month. \u201cThe priority is to work with the government in these challenging times and do all that we can in combating the coronavirus,\u201d a spokesman said. Earlier on Wednesday, Cadila Healthcare\u2019s stock fell more than 5% after the export ban was announced. Late on Tuesday, India ordered a 21-day lockdown of its 1.3 billion people to try to protect the world\u2019s second most populous country from the fast-spreading coronavirus. \u201cIt is impossible to maintain operations due to lockdown, because employees don\u2019t want to come (to work),\u201d Dua said. India has already banned the export of ventilators, sanitizers and personal protection equipment such as masks and clothing used in the fight against the virus, which has so far infected more than 500 people and killed nine in the country. The ban came after India this month curbed the export of 26 pharmaceutical ingredients and the medicines made from them, including Paracetamol - a common pain reliever also sold as acetaminophen - as the coronavirus outbreak plays havoc with supply chains. Some of those restrictions have since been relaxed. For an interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser."}
{"claim_id": "33870", "claim": "Walt Disney was an illegitimate child, born out of wedlock to a woman from a town near Almeria in southern Spain and adopted by Flora and Elias Disney.", "explanation": "That Walt Disney was born in 1901, not 1890, is beyond dispute. Even though a birth certificate might not exist, photographs and school records clearly demonstrate that Walt was not more than ten years older than commonly believed. He could not possibly be the result of a liaison between Se\u00f1ora Zamora and Elias Disney that occurred in 1890. Even if Eliot were wrong about the date and the two hooked up in 1900 or 1901 (although, once again, this contradicts Eliot\u2019s earlier explanations of how and why Zamora came to be in America in the first place), a baby resulting from that union could simply not have been passed off as Flora and Elias\u2019s own child, unless we are to believe that nobody \u2014 not friends, not relatives, not fellow church members, not even the Disneys\u2019 own children \u2014 ever noticed that Flora \u201cgave birth\u201d to a child without having been pregnant in the first place.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disney, disney rumors, Walt Disney", "main_text": "No real evidence exists to defend the claim that Walt Disney\u2019s natural parents were anyone other than Flora and Elias Disney (shown above). Support for Walt Disney\u2019s having Spanish parentage is based solely on fragmentary and contradictory bits of hearsay and rumor, without the backing of a single piece of substantive documentation. One version of the legend, as recounted by Mosley, identifies a young woman named Consuela Suarez from the Spanish town of Mojacar (or Mojacca) as Disney\u2019s \u201creal\u201d mother. Se\u00f1orita Suarez, the story goes, was engaged to a young man from her village who was killed in Morocco before the marriage could take place, leaving her unwed and pregnant. After giving birth, Consuela allegedly enlisted the aid of a local priest to arrange for an American couple to take the child back to the USA, where she (having arrived later) \u201csigned the papers which enabled her son to be formally adopted and made a US citizen.\u201d Only shortly before her death, when she finally returned to her native Spain, did Conseula learn that the son she had given up many years before was now the world-famous Walt Disney. The tale is charming as a modern-day fairy tale, but it hardly stands up to critical examination. Why did Conseula Suarez give up her child for adoption? Presumably it was to avoid the scandal of being an unwed mother in a primarily Catholic country, yet both Se\u00f1orita Suarez and her son immediately relocated to America, where no one would have known about the circumstances of the child\u2019s birth, thus allowing her to keep her son without fear of censure. And who was this mystery couple who brought Consuela\u2019s son to America? Certainly not Flora and Elias Disney, who never visited Spain and had no ties of any kind to that country. How and why did this couple come in contact with the Disneys? The question also remains (regardless of how the child came to the USA) as to why the Disneys, who could barely make ends meet and already had three sons of their own, would adopt a stranger\u2019s child. (The notion that Flora and Elias might have adopted a child because of their own inability to produce further offspring is belied by the fact that Flora gave birth to a daughter a few years later.) Lastly, where are the adoption and naturalization records for this mystery child? Local adoption papers might disappear (or be made to disappear), but not so federal citizenship records. Marc Eliot revived this legend in a more expansive (and a much more contrived and convoluted) form in Walt Disney: Hollywood\u2019s Dark Prince. In Eliot\u2019s version, Walt Disney\u2019s \u201creal\u201d mother was a washerwoman named Isabelle Zamora (Ascensio) from Mojacar, who became pregnant by a man from the same village, the already married Dr. Jos\u00e9 Guirao. Dr. Guirao, who passed away shortly after the child\u2019s birth, named his son after himself; Se\u00f1ora Zamora left Spain with the child and headed for the east coast of the United States soon afterwards, claims Eliot, \u201cbecause she and Dr. Guirao were devout Catholics and wished to protect both their families.\u201d (Why a couple desirous of protecting their families from the scandal of an out of wedlock birth would draw attention to their adulterous affair by naming their child after its father remains unexplained.) Isabelle eventually made her way to the west coast, where she was \u201ctaken in by Franciscan missionaries.\u201d Even if we proceed from the assumption that Se\u00f1ora Zamora and her child actually existed, the legend breaks down when any attempt is made to link them to Flora and Elias Disney. Eliot claims that Elias Disney met up with Se\u00f1ora Zamora in 1890, after he \u201ctook leave of his wife and children . . . to take part in the second wave of the California Gold Rush,\u201d not returning home until early in 1891. Elias\u2019 departure for California is apparently a fact known only to Eliot, for no other source of biographical information about the Disney family mentions it. (Indeed, there is no evidence that Elias Disney ventured anywhere close the west coast after moving his family to Chicago in 1889, and Eliot offers no source for his assertion that Elias made such a trip. Mosley does write that Elias once set out for the California goldfields with his father and brother, but that was in 1878, and Elias reportedly made it no further west than Kansas.) How Elias managed to father a different child (Raymond Arnold Disney, born late in 1890) with his wife Flora \u2014 despite spending the year away from her \u2014 is another inconsistency for which Eliot offers no explanation. Let\u2019s say Se\u00f1ora Zamora and her child were real, and Elias Disney somehow managed to end up in California and meet up with them in 1890. Why would Elias Disney, already married and the father of three sons, offer to adopt this Spanish washerwoman\u2019s child? The answer is simple, says Eliot: Elias Disney had an affair with Se\u00f1ora Zamora in California, brought her back with him to Chicago as a \u201ckept woman,\u201d then forced Flora to raise the child as their own to avoid the shame and humiliation that would befall them if his scandalous affair were revealed. (Hedging his bets at this point, Eliot suggest that perhaps Se\u00f1ora Zamora\u2019s child wasn\u2019t born until after her arrival in America, maybe even as the result of an affair with Elias Disney. These hypotheses, of course, completely contradict Eliot\u2019s earlier explanations of why and how Se\u00f1ora Zamora came to be in America in the first place.) But one simple fact demolishes this theory: Walt Disney was born in 1901, not 1890. Eliot is left with a gap of over ten years between Elias\u2019 alleged affair with Se\u00f1ora Zamora and Walt\u2019s birth. Eliot disingenuously tries to skirt around the eleven-year discrepancy by pointing out that there is no official record of Walt Disney\u2019s birth in Cook Country, Illinois, on the birthdate that has always been claimed for him (December 5, 1901), yet there is a record of a \u201cWalter Disney\u201d having been born to Flora and Elias Disney more than ten years earlier, on January 8, 1891. This, Eliot deceptively argues, demonstrates that Walt Disney\u2019s official date of birth has been manipulated in an attempt to cover up his true origins. The official record of birth from Cook County on which Eliot bases his claim does not report the birth of someone named \u201cWalter Disney\u201d on January 8, 1891, however; it merely shows that the birth of someone by that name was recorded on that date. The actual date of birth for the person named is clearly printed on the same document: December 30, 1890. Not coincidentally, this is the exact birth date of one of Walt\u2019s older brothers, Raymond Arnold Disney. The birth record refers to Raymond\u2019s birth, not Walt\u2019s. For whatever reason, Disney\u2019s parents, after initially deciding to name their second son Walter Elias, changed their minds and christened him Raymond Arnold instead. The discrepancy in birth records is not difficult to explain. Birth certificates were not required by law in Illinois at the turn of the century, and official paperwork for a child born at home without a doctor in attendance (as Walt was) often went unfiled. The lack of a birth certificate for Walt Disney is therefore not unusual. (Despite Mosley\u2019s statement that Disney \u201cwas indubitably a native-born American as his birth certificate, a copy of which can still be obtained in Chicago, will testify,\u201d no birth certificate for Walt Disney is known to exist.) The confusion of names on the record of Raymond\u2019s birth cannot be definitively explained, but most likely either Flora and Elias Disney had not firmly agreed on a name for their son at the time the birth was recorded, or else they later changed their minds. (Mosley reports a similar disagreement between Flora and Elias Disney over the choice of name for their third son, Roy Oliver Disney.) Quite possibly the Disneys had intended to honor a promise they made to their preacher, Walter Parr, to name their next son after him, but then decided against it. Several years later \u2014 perhaps as a belated fulfillment of that promise \u2014 they named their fourth son Walter."}
{"claim_id": "4978", "claim": "Study challenges health benefits of moderate drinking.", "explanation": "It might just be enough to kill your buzz: A new study challenges the idea that a drink or two a day could actually be good for you.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, China, Stroke, Heart attack, AP Top News", "main_text": "In a study conducted in China, the researchers found that moderate drinking slightly raised the risk of stroke and high blood pressure. They weren\u2019t able to figure out, though, whether small amounts of alcohol might also increase the chances of a heart attack. People who have a drink or two a day have long been thought to have a lower risk of stroke and heart problems than nondrinkers. But scientists were unsure if that was because the alcohol was beneficial or if the people who didn\u2019t drink had other health issues. \u201cThe claims that alcohol has some magical, protective fix ... has no particularly serious scientific basis,\u201d said Richard Peto, of the University of Oxford, one of the study\u2019s senior authors. Peto said their findings should apply to other populations beyond China and to any alcoholic drinks like beer or wine, even though the study participants mostly drank spirits. The research was published online Thursday in the journal, Lancet . For their research, the Chinese and British scientists took genetics into account. They focused on two variants common among East Asians that can make drinking unpleasant. For those with the variants, drinking alcohol can result in quickly turning red, a fast heart rate, nausea or headaches. Because such gene variations occur randomly, the researchers were able to design the equivalent of a randomized study. Much of the previous research on alcohol and health effects has relied on studies that can\u2019t prove cause and effect. The scientists tracked more than 500,000 people across China, following them for a decade. They recorded their medical history, including whether they smoked or exercised, and how much they drank. A third of the men reported drinking most weeks, compared with few of the women. About 160,000 of the participants had the two gene variants. Among the men in that group, drinking ranged from none to up to four drinks a day. The researchers looked at how many had strokes or heart attacks, and compared them to participants without the variants and to the women with the variants. Overall, the study found alcohol increases the stroke risk by about one-third for every four additional drinks per day. The researchers found no protective effects for moderate drinking. For people who drink up to two drinks a day \u2014 which would qualify as moderate drinking \u2014 scientists said they would have an increased stroke risk of about 10% to 15% when compared to nondrinkers. There weren\u2019t enough heart attacks among the participants to be able to draw a conclusion about heart risks, the researchers said. In a journal commentary, the authors called for stricter controls on alcohol, saying its risks have been underestimated. \u201cThe alcohol industry is thriving and should be regulated in a similar way to the tobacco industry,\u201d wrote Shiu Lun Au Yeung and Dr. Tai Hing Lam of the University of Hong Kong. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "22298", "claim": "We\u2019re paying out-of-state residential facilities hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more,\" to house children in state custody", "explanation": "Rep. DaSilva says R.I. pays hundreds of thousands of dollars for out-of-state care for children in state custody", "label": "true", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Children, Families, State Budget, Roberto DaSilva, ", "main_text": "State Rep. Roberto DaSilva recently introduced legislation intended to make it much more difficult for the state Department of Children, Youth and Families to send children in its care to out-of-state residential treatment facilities. He said he was moved by the story of Nicholas Alahverdian, who was the subject of a column by The Providence Journal\u2019s Bob Kerr. Alahverdian says he endured years of abuse and neglect in two out-of-state residential facilities where he was sent by DCYF. He has formed his own nonprofit organization to advocate for children in DCYF care. He has also filed state and federal lawsuits stemming from his alleged mistreatment. DaSilva said in a General Assembly news release that Rhode Island has the resources to provide children with the treatment they need within the state. DaSilva said he is concerned about the well-being of children in state care and also about keeping taxpayer dollars in the state. \"We\u2019re paying out-of-state residential facilities hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, to house our own state residents,\" DaSilva said. \"It just doesn\u2019t make sense, especially in these dire economic times.\" Among the children the DCYF takes into its custody are those who are victims of abuse or neglect caused by their primary caretakers, those who are in the juvenile justice system and ordered by courts to have access to rehabilitative care, and those with emotional, behavioral or developmental challenges who need out-of-home care and treatment and whose parents give DCYF temporary custody, according to DCYF interim Director Kevin J. Aucoin. The DCYF has said it is working to reduce its dependence on residential treatment programs, both in Rhode Island and in other states. So we wondered whether the agency is still spending as much as DaSilva says on such placements. We asked DaSilva where he got his information and he referred us to a website called the Rhode Island DCYF Transparency Portal. It shows the agency\u2019s expenditures in various categories such as personnel and foster care. The top expenditure is residential services. For fiscal year 2010, for instance, the portal shows the state spent $117 million for residential care for youth in DCYF custody, which also includes costs for foster home placements and varous community services \u00a0 Much of that money was spent on local services such as Child and Family Services of Newport County or Ocean Tides, a residential treatment program in Narragansett for male juvenile offenders. The DCYF also budgets an additional $22.4 million this year for youths sent to the Rhode Island Training School. But the website shows that millions of dollars go to out-of-state programs. For example, Mass Mentor Inc., which provides services at several Massachusetts locations to children with developmental disabilities was paid $376,829 in the first quarter. During the same quarter, the Bennington School in Vermont was paid $77,769 and the Glen Mills School in Pennsylvania got $59,246. We asked Kevin J. Aucoin, interim director of DCYF, for more data. He said that this fiscal year, the DCYF expects to spend $65.5 million on residential services for 718 children, with $9.5 million going to out-of-state facilities, most of them in nearby states. Aucoin says the spending on residential programs has been declining. In fiscal year 2007, for example, the state spent $85.4 million for 1,102 children. In that year, it spent $18.4 million to send 154 children out of state. All residential placements are expected to be reduced as the agency adopts a new model of care that focuses on keeping families together. Aucoin said the DCYF sends children out of state for specialized treatments not offered by in-state providers. Those include multiple psychiatric diagnoses and severe and profound developmental disabilities. The majority, he said, have severe aggressive behaviors. Some may be youth with significant \"sexual offending behaviors.\" Aucoin said children are placed out of state only with approval of the Family Court and only after the agency demonstrates there is no adequate program in-state. So it appears the only fault with DaSilva\u2019s claim is it is too conservative. Instead of spending the \"hundreds of thousands,\" DaSilva claims, the state actually expects to spend nearly $10 million on out-of-state programs. We find his claim to be ."}
{"claim_id": "13647", "claim": "Joaquin Castro Says the director of an anti-abortion group receiving a Texas grant to provide women\u2019s health services \"believes HIV can be spread through the sewer system.", "explanation": "Castro said Everett \"believes HIV can be spread through the sewer system.\" Everett didn\u2019t explicitly say as much and told us she doesn\u2019t believe it. However, on two occasions, she raised the \"what-if\" spectre of a woman somehow passing along the virus or an STD through fetal material flushed down a drain.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health Care, Public Health, Texas, Joaquin Castro, ", "main_text": "After word surfaced that a conservative nonprofit won a $1.6 million state grant to deliver women\u2019s health services, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro questioned the decision while making a \"sewer\" claim about the group\u2019s director. Castro, D-San Antonio, said in an August 2016 tweet: \"The group's director believes HIV can be spread through the sewer system. Is it really most qualified for the grant?\" Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes AIDS, is mainly spread through sexual contact or from sharing needles, syringes, rinse water or other equipment with someone who has the virus, according to a federal website focused on AIDS. Less commonly, per the site, the virus may be spread from mother to child during pregnancy, by being stuck with an HIV-contaminated needle and, in rare cases, via blood transfusions and eating food pre-chewed by an HIV-infected person. We spotted no mention of the virus getting conveyed from anything in a sewer pipe. \"HIV does not survive long outside the human body (such as on surfaces) and it cannot reproduce outside a human host,\" the site says. The virus also isn\u2019t spread by air or water, the site says. Seeking Castro\u2019s factual backup, we heard from his House spokeswoman, Erin Hatch, who emailed us web links to summer 2016 news stories--including an Austin American-Statesman story posted earlier the day of Castro\u2019s tweet about Carol Everett, chief executive of the Round Rock-based Heidi Group, which once ran no-charge crisis pregnancy centers in Dallas advising women with unplanned pregnancies about giving birth. Everett, the story said, \"recently came under scrutiny for suggesting during a fetal tissue disposal hearing that sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, could be transmitted through the sewer system.\" Everett told the paper, though, that her highlighted comments had been misunderstood. Everett also told reporter Julie Chang that her remarks about HIV\u00a0amounted to \"a stupid mistake.\" Chang shared with us her notes from her interview with\u00a0Everett, who said: \"I very much regret what I said. I shouldn\u2019t have even tried\u2026 because they misunderstood it. I didn\u2019t talk about transmitting STDs that way. I was trying to talk about the fact that babies are ground up and put into these garbage disposals which goes into our sewers. I didn\u2019t make that point very clearly.\" Existing regulations allow fetal remains, as with other medical tissue, to be ground and discharged into a sewer system, incinerated or disinfected followed by disposal in a landfill, or \"an approved alternate treatment process, provided that the process renders the item as unrecognizable, followed by deposition in a sanitary landfill.\" Two instances For our part, we confirmed from a TV news report noted by Hatch and Chang\u2019s recording of Everett\u2019s comments before a state agency that she indeed made mention of HIV and sewers while advocating for state officials to adopt a rule requiring fetal remains to be buried or cremated rather than disposed other ways. The rule was proposed in June 2016 by the executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on behalf of the Department of State Health Services; it wasn\u2019t finalized as of Aug. 17, 2016. Chang\u2019s recording of Everett\u2019s comments at an Aug. 4, 2016 state hearing on the proposed rule show Everett\u00a0expressed criticism of current disposal methods, further saying: \"What does this really do to the public? There are other people to consider. \"What if one of those sewer treatment programs breaks down one day? You know, the abortion industry doesn\u2019t have time; they only see a woman one time; they do not do an AIDS test, they don\u2019t do, they don\u2019t know if she\u2019s HIV-positive. They don\u2019t know if she has a sexually transmitted disease. And what if one day, just one day, something horrible escaped into the sewer system?\" (Laughter.) \"It may sound funny but it\u2019s something we could think about because I can tell you today, the public is thinking about it. \"So I appreciate very much addressing this. I encourage you to uphold it. Let\u2019s take care of those who cannot take care of themselves -- and I am talking about the women.\" Earlier, as pointed out by Hatch, Everett said in an interview with Austin\u2019s Fox 7 aired July 7, 2016, that existing protocols for disposing fetal remains pose \"several health concerns. What if the woman had HIV? What if she had a sexually transmitted disease? What if those germs went through and got into our water supply?\" Everett said. When we reached Everett about Castro's claim, she\u00a0said by phone she hadn\u2019t explicitly said\u00a0HIV is spread through sewer pipes--and doesn\u2019t believe as much. \"People with HIV and AIDS go to the bathroom every day,\" Everett said. At the state hearing, she said, she was trying to stress that fetal material gets into the sewer system. Everett called her comment to Austin\u2019s Fox 7 about HIV/STD \"germs\" getting into \"our\" water supply \"really far out. I shouldn\u2019t have said that.\" Our ruling Castro said Everett \"believes HIV can be spread through the sewer system.\" Everett didn\u2019t explicitly say as much and told us she doesn\u2019t believe it. However, on two occasions, she raised the \"what-if\" spectre of a woman somehow passing along the virus or an STD through fetal material flushed down a drain."}
{"claim_id": "7272", "claim": "Midwest women join climate change group in Antarctica.", "explanation": "\u201cChicago is the coldest place I\u2019ve ever been,\u201d said Jing Hu, who came from southern China to do her postdoctoral work in materials science at Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Climate, Climate change, Chicago, Technology, Antarctica, Engineering, China, Science, Education", "main_text": "So she is \u201cexcited and terrified\u201d about spending three weeks in Antarctica, among almost 100 women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math and medicine) fields who were recently announced as fellows in the Homeward Bound program to raise awareness of climate change and promote the role of female scientists, engineers and other experts in addressing it. The program was started in 2015 by an Australian activist and an Antarctic marine scientist. The participants raise much of the funding for the trip themselves. Over the next 11 months they will collaborate and strategize on leadership development and science education before going to Antarctica in November 2019. --- The nonprofit news outlet Energy News Network provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News. --- They come from a wide range of disciplines, including agricultural science, molecular biology, epidemiology and geochemistry. The only other representative of the Midwest is Krissa Skogen, a conservation scientist and botanist at the Chicago Botanic Garden whose specialty is studying the effects of climate change on evening primroses in the Southwest. The idea is that in Antarctica, the women will not only do their own research but, perhaps more importantly, network and strategize with each other around how to make people care about climate change and how to bring more women and girls into STEMM fields where they can work to mitigate and curb climate change and develop clean energy. In Antarctica, Hu hopes to test out solar technology that she was involved with developing at Oxford University: a \u201cthird-generation quantum dot solar cell\u201d that can absorb types of light other than UV and \u2014 hopefully \u2014 tolerate a harsh environment like Antarctica. \u201cA lot of the (research) stations in Antarctica are actually powered by diesel generators and things like that \u2014 it\u2019s not very clean at the moment,\u201d but solar could ideally power zero-emissions stations, said Hu, whose work at Argonne involves using a highly specialized microscope to study materials in extremely hot environments, like inside nuclear reactors or in outer space. \u201cAnd on expeditions people get lost; they have no walls to plug in. By using these solar panels you could charge things (like satellite phones or GPS devices) that could save your life.\u201d Hu was inspired to go into materials science by her parents, who worked in banks in China and encouraged her not to take that route. She was aware of energy issues from a young age, given the air pollution problems in China, and her family had a solar thermal installation on their roof. During her doctoral work at Oxford, where she was studying materials involved in nuclear reactors, Hu became especially concerned about climate change. She organized the Oxford Climate Forum in 2015 and campaigned during the Paris Climate Conference that year, while also working on the solar technology that she and her colleagues hope could efficiently provide power in Antarctica. Hu said she hopes the trip helps her \u201cstep outside my comfort zone\u201d and \u201cfind out where my future lies. How does my personal science fit into the bigger picture?\u201d Skogen will not have much chance to do her primary research on the trip. \u201cI\u2019m a pollination biologist, and there aren\u2019t any insects in Antarctica,\u201d she said. But she sees it as a way to view the impacts of climate change firsthand in one of the earth\u2019s most delicate ecosystems, just as she observes how evening primroses are suffering from reduced soil moisture in the Southwest. Skogen had a minor in women\u2019s studies in college, and she was active on women\u2019s rights and \u201cedited a zine, as you do in the \u201990s.\u201d Some friends were surprised when she chose a career in science, since it seemed out of step with her advocacy work. But with science education and pushing for more diversity in science, she melds her various interests. \u201cI\u2019m very committed to increasing diversity and opportunities for folks left out of the scientific process historically,\u201d Skogen said. She finds herself mentoring younger women in science \u2014 just as she sought mentors in her career \u2014 to help them deal with issues that her male colleagues \u201cnever even have to think about.\u201d Things like avoiding \u201cup-speak\u201d that means women are perceived as less competent, and figuring out how to pursue career opportunities while also living in the same place as a husband or partner. She noted that exploring such issues with women scientists can be done in settings other than Antarctica. \u201cBut having Antarctica as a backdrop provides the opportunity for connecting with folks in a fundamentally different way. Antarctica is a fantastic place to go to highlight the importance of climate change in people\u2019s daily lives, and it\u2019s a good metaphor for how important it is for women to have a voice and feel represented and confident.\u201d Inspiring women and especially women of color to go into science is a major goal for Melissa Marquez, a marine biologist of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage joining Hu and Skogen on the trip. Marquez is based in Australia and studies (among other things) the impacts of climate change on sharks, skates and their relatives. This summer she appeared on the Discovery Channel during its popular Shark Week event. During filming in Cuba she was bitten and dragged \u2014 \u201cironically,\u201d as she has said \u2014 by a crocodile. After the show, she said, \u201cI got a lot of messages saying (things like), \u2019Thank you so much for being on the show. I had my little girl watch, and she said, \u2019Oh my gosh Papi there\u2019s a brown girl with a shark.\u201d Representation really matters in the media. Growing up, I never saw women marine biologists, no less Latina marine biologists.\u201d Marquez was born in Puerto Rico and visited the island after Hurricane Maria, seeing how it affected her family and an ecosystem expected to be buffeted with increasing storms because of climate change. She sees Antarctica as a key place to study a climate change impact that affects ecosystems around the globe: the migration of species into new habitats because of changing climate. \u201cCurrently there are no rays or sharks in Antarctica, though there are several endemic species of skates that can live in cold waters,\u201d Marquez said. \u201cSome researchers have found increases in water temperature of even a few degrees Celsius could make those very frigid waters habitable for sharks. Antarctic waters are dominated by soft-bodied invertebrates \u2014 so animals with jaws would find easy pickings and decimate the Antarctic benthic community as we currently know it.\u201d The Homeward Bound program is sponsored in part by several companies; a lead sponsor is the Spanish company Acciona, which develops renewable energy installations and infrastructure around the world. Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and member of Acciona\u2019s board, will join the scientists in Antarctica. In order to complete the trip, the women who were chosen still need to raise more than $17,000 each. Hu recently launched a crowdfunding site, the first time she has ever used the medium. Skogen said that while the fundraising is a major challenge, it adds to the mission of the program. \u201cI\u2019m thinking about the fundraising angle really as a different way to tackle science outreach \u2014 it\u2019s requiring me to be creative, to make connections with people I know in different industries that maybe I wouldn\u2019t have talked about these particular topics with,\u201d she said. \u201cI see it as an opportunity for me to spread the word about the work I do, the importance of battling climate change and the importance of ensuring women are at the table at all levels \u2014 to collect the data and write about it as a scientist or to be at the table when policy decisions are being made.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "5603", "claim": "5 Minnesotans sickened by E. coli linked to salad kits.", "explanation": "Five Minnesotans have gotten sick from eating salad kits linked to an outbreak of E. coli, state health officials said Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, St. Paul, General News, Minnesota", "main_text": "The state Department of Health says the Minnesotans became ill between Nov. 8 and Nov. 16. Two people were hospitalized. The ill Minnesotans ranged in age from 21 to 91. Four were from the Minneapolis-St. Paul are and one from Greater Minneota. Officials say nine people from three states have gotten sick. The infections are linked to Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp Chopped Salad Kits. Health officials are warning consumers not to eat the salad mix, or to throw it out if they have it in their refrigerators. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a safety alert about the salad kits."}
{"claim_id": "8065", "claim": "Italy suffers setback to hopes its coronavirus epidemic might be in retreat.", "explanation": "Hopes that Italy\u2019s coronavirus epidemic might be in retreat suffered a setback on Thursday when data showed that both the number of new cases and deaths had ticked higher, underscoring how hard it is to halt the disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Officials said 712 people died of the illness in the last 24 hours, pushing the total tally to 8,215, well over double that seen in anywhere else in the world, while new infections rose by 6,153 to 80,539. The number of cases is nudging close to the more than 81,000 infections recorded in China where the pandemic began. The relentless rise in Italy is despite stringent lockdown measures introduced progressively since Feb. 23 to try to stop the spread, which authorities had hoped would be having more of an effect by now. There had been slight declines in both new cases and deaths earlier this week, but the northern region of Lombardy, the epicentre of the outbreak, saw its numbers climb on Thursday. \u201cI do not know if we have hit the peak or if we have missed something ... all I can say is that I am worried,\u201d Lombardy governor Attilio Fontana told reporters, adding that the situation would soon become clearer. \u201cI think that in two or three days we will understand if the measures we have taken are working,\u201d he said. However, he warned that when new cases finally receded, the government would not necessarily be able to relax the lockdown, which is due to be lifted on April 3. \u201cEven if the number of cases declines, I think we will have to carry on with (the restrictions) until we are quite certain that this contagion has been stopped.\u201d  The situation appeared particularly worrying in Lombardy\u2019s capital Milan, which is also Italy\u2019s financial hub, where new infections jumped by more than 800 to almost 7,000. Only the neighbouring provinces of Bergamo and Brescia have a higher number of cases. Highlighting the scale of the drama, Bergamo said that over the last 10 years it had recorded on average 45 deaths a week. This ticked up to 64 at the end of February and then soared, hitting a peak of 313 deaths between March 15-21. The disease has also taken a heavy toll amongst medical workers, with the national federation of doctors and surgeons saying on Thursday that 40 doctors had so far died, many of them general practitioners in northern towns and cities. Italy\u2019s less developed south is growing increasingly anxious as it sees its own numbers push up, with several regions reporting growth rates in new cases that are above the national average. In an open letter to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the head of the Campania region, which is centred on Naples, warned of impending disaster. \u201cAt this point there is the real prospect that Lombardy\u2019s tragedy is about to become the south\u2019s tragedy,\u201d Vincenzo De Luca wrote. \u201cWe are on the cusp of a major expansion of infections that we might not be able to manage.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "23948", "claim": "Rick Scott \"was forced to resign as the head of a company that pled guilty to massive amounts of systematic fraud, including 14 felonies, leading to a historic $1.7 billion fine.", "explanation": "Rick Scott, former healthcare CEO, faces questions about past", "label": "true", "subjects": "Candidate Biography, Health Care, Florida, Alex Sink, ", "main_text": "With Republican Rick Scott pouring millions of dollars into his unconventional bid for governor, the front-runners from both major parties are beginning to take his candidacy seriously.Translation: They're attacking him.Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum and Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink are launching new criticisms against Scott and his former hospital company, Columbia/HCA. \"If Scott proposes the same accountability measures for Florida government that he used at Columbia/HCA, we'll have to back up the paddy wagon to the front door of the Capitol,\" Sink spokeswoman Kyra Jennings said in a May 18, 2010, press release. \"Florida simply can't trust someone who was forced to resign as the head of a company that pled guilty to massive amounts of systematic fraud, including 14 felonies, leading to a historic $1.7 billion fine. \"Hours later McCollum campaign manager Matt Williams offered a second stinging critique. \"The fact that Rick Scott is running for governor as a 'reformer' would be funny if it wasn't so outrageous,\" Williams said. \"This is a man who barely escaped imprisonment, whose failure in business has been portrayed on national news and around the world. He is an embarrassment. \"We're going to be checking statements from both campaigns. We'll start with Sink's claim that Scott \"was forced to resign as the head of a company that pled guilty to massive amounts of systematic fraud, including 14 felonies, leading to a historic $1.7 billion fine. \"On his campaign website, Scott admits HCA has paid $1.7 billion in fines as part of a federal settlement concerning fraudulent health care billing, so there's not much point in checking that.But we hadn't heard the claim that HCA pleaded guilty to 14 felonies.Scott started what was first Columbia in the spring of 1987, purchasing two El Paso, Texas, hospitals. In 1994, Scott's Columbia purchased HCA and its 100 hospitals, and merged the companies to form Columbia/HCA. When Scott resigned as CEO in 1997, Columbia/HCA had grown to more than 340 hospitals, 135 surgery centers and 550 home health locations in 37 states and two foreign countries, Scott's campaign says. The company employed more than 285,000 people.Now, about why Scott left Columbia/HCA in 1997.That year, federal agents went public with an investigation into the company, first seizing records from four El Paso-area hospitals and then expanding across the country. The scope of the investigation at first was unclear; even Scott said he didn't know what the U.S. Justice Department was looking for.But it later became apparent that the investigation focused on whether Columbia bilked Medicare and Medicaid.Scott resigned as CEO in July 1997, less than four months after the inquiry became public and before the level of fraud became known. Company executives said had Scott remained CEO, the entire chain could have been in jeopardy.Was he forced out as Sink claims? It's hard to tell. We don't know what happened in Columbia's board of directors meeting back in July 1997. So we have to go on news accounts from that time.USA Today put it this way: \"Under pressure from his board of directors, Columbia CEO Richard Scott quit Friday. \"The St. Petersburg Times: \"The top two executives at Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. resigned Friday under pressure from an increasingly hostile board.\" Other articles used the words \"amid pressure,\" or \"ousted\" to describe Scott's departure. Scott campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said Scott left Columbia/HCA over a disagreement on how to handle the fraud investigation. \"There was a disagreement on how to move forward in light of the investigation and he and the company parted ways,\" Baker said. \"The board wanted to settle the fines and Rick took the position that the courts ultimately did, which was that there could be honest disagreement over how the regulations were interpreted.\" In December 2000, the U.S. Justice Department announced what it called the largest government fraud settlement in U.S. history when Columbia/HCA agreed to pay $840 million in criminal fines and civil damages and penalties.Among the revelations from the 2000 settlement: The government settled a second series of claims with Columbia/HCA in 2002 for an additional $881 million. The claims were largely related to additional allegations of fraud. The combination of the two settlements is how Sink, Scott and others reach the $1.7 billion figure.But none of that speaks directly to the fact cited in the Sink statement, that HCA pleaded guilty to 14 felonies in connection with the fraud case.The Sink campaign referred us to a December 2002 New York Times article. Indeed, the article said that in 2000 the hospital chain agreed to plead guilty to 14 separate felonies. But that's an article talking about a 2000 event. There were no stories from 2000 that referenced Columbia/HCA and 14 felonies.So we went to the Department of Justice looking for help.There we unearthed the original press release. Dated Dec. 14, 2000, the release highlights the record $840 million settlement agreed to between HCA and the Department of Justice. \"Health care fraud impacts every American citizen. When a company defrauds our nation's health care programs, it takes money out of the pockets of the American taxpayers. It is wrong,\" then-Attorney General Janet Reno said in the release. \"This investigation has been the largest multi-agency investigation of a health care provider ever undertaken by the U.S. and reflects our commitment to vigorously pursuing all types of health care fraud schemes. \"The release spells out the settlement, including specific payouts. It also details deals in the settlement of pending criminal cases. From the release:Southern District of Florida (Miami) -- Columbia Homecare Group Inc., a subsidiary of Columbia, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to violate the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute involving its fraudulent business in the purchase and operation of home health agencies and fraudulent billing of Medicare for management and personnel costs. The criminal fine is $3.36 million;Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) -- Columbia Homecare Inc. will plead guilty to one count of violating the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute related to purchase of home health agencies. The criminal fine is $3.36 million;Department of Justice Criminal Fraud Section -- Another subsidiary, Columbia Management Companies Inc., will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to make and use false writings and documents in connection with its fraudulent \"upcoding\" of bills to Medicare for patients diagnosed with certain types of pneumonia. The criminal fine is $27.5 million. This investigation was based in Nashville, Tennessee;Middle District of Florida (Tampa) -- Columbia Homecare Group will plead guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and one count of conspiracy to violate the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute in connection with the purchase and operation of home health agencies. The criminal fine is $8.4 million. Also, Columbia Management Companies will plead guilty to eight counts of making false statements to the U.S. in connection with the submission of false cost reports to Medicare. The fine amount is $22.6 million; and,Western District of Texas (El Paso) -- Columbia Homecare Group will plead to a conspiracy to pay kickbacks and other monetary benefits to doctors in violation of the Medicare Anti-kickback Statute. The criminal fine is $30.1 million.A couple of important notes. The actual plea deals were arranged with HCA subsidiaries and not the hospital chain itself. That was done so HCA could continue to participate in the Medicare program. Also, all of the charges deal with corporate criminal liability. Scott wasn't charged individually, and the plea deal was struck after Scott already had left the company.Secondly, we noticed how the discussion regarding the El Paso charge was different than in the other four jurisdictions. But based on the size of the fine, $30.1 million, we feel safe assuming there was at least one count agreed to as part of the settlement.Adding that in with the others indeed adds up to 14. In interviews, Scott accepts responsibility for the problems at Columbia/HCA, but denies direct knowledge of the fraud. \"There's no question that mistakes were made and as CEO, I have to accept responsibility for those mistakes. I was focused on lowering costs and making the hospitals more efficient,'' Scott told the St. Petersburg Times this month. \"I could have had more internal and external controls. I learned hard lessons, and I've taken that lesson and it's helped me become a better business person and a better leader.\" In its claim, the Sink campaign says Scott \"was forced to resign as the head of a company that pled guilty to massive amounts of systematic fraud, including 14 felonies, leading to a historic $1.7 billion fine.\" Scott's former company, Columbia/HCA, did plead guilty to 14 felony charges stemming from a massive federal fraud investigation, and Scott himself admits the company wound up paying $1.7 billion in fines. Whether Scott was forced to resign or not is something of an HR employment trick, but\u00a0 media accounts certainly suggest the company's board of directors was under pressure from shareholders to shake things up. That's enough to rate Sink's claim ."}
{"claim_id": "28052", "claim": "Insulin can be purchased at Walmart for $25 a vial.", "explanation": "What's true: Novo Nordisk-manufactured human insulin can be purchased at Walmart stores without a prescription for $24.88 a vial (except in Indiana). What's false: The most commonly prescribed form of insulin is insulin analogs, which require a prescription and are currently the subject of a controversy over soaring prices.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, pharmaceuticals", "main_text": "In early February 2019, amid continued public outcry over the soaring cost of life-saving pharmaceuticals, readers shared a screen-captured image on social media of a local news station\u2019s reporting on the story of a woman who said she bought inexpensive insulin without a prescription at Walmart:  Readers asked us whether this was true. It is true, although\u00a0you should note\u00a0Walmart sells human insulin, an older version of the glucose-moderating hormone, whereas most insulin-dependent diabetics are currently prescribed insulin analogs that have evolved to help prevent dangerous swings in blood-glucose levels. The screenshot above was taken from a 4 February 2019 news broadcast from Dallas\u2013Fort Worth television station KDFW:  We confirmed with Walmart that the retail chain does indeed sell human insulin without a prescription (except in Indiana). That product is Novo Nordisk-manufactured Novolin, which Walmart has branded as ReliOn and sells for $24.88 per vial. Walmart spokeswoman Marilee McInnis confirmed to us that the company has \u201cmaintained, through negotiation, the same retail to patients since 2011.\u201d To say that the insulin is sold \u201cover-the-counter\u201d isn\u2019t quite accurate, however, as customers must ask a pharmacist for it. Although this revelation might be important, life-saving information for diabetics, an important caveat is that human insulin behaves differently than the newer analog insulin currently retailing for more than $300 a vial. Dr. Todd Hobbs, chief medical officer for Novo Nordisk, wrote that the different types of insulin have the same effect of lowering blood-glucose levels, but, \u201cTraining is required whenever someone is prescribed insulin, whether that be human insulin or the newer analog insulin products. Differences in the timing of all types of insulin must be considered for patients to effectively use them \u2026 The difference in the types of insulin is related to how slowly or rapidly they are absorbed once injected. Scientific advances over the years have made improvements on the speed and length of time this absorption occurs.\u201d Diabetes Forecast, a health-oriented magazine associated with the American Diabetics Association, explained the history of the two types of insulin and the difference in health benefits this way: In the 1970s, researchers discovered how to program bacteria in the lab to manufacture human insulin, and in 1982, regular human insulin became the first \u201crecombinant DNA\u201d drug product. \u201cIt\u2019s a very pure, clean product, and it\u2019s exactly what we as humans make,\u201d [Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy associate professor and a spokesman for the American Association of Diabetes Educators Evan] Sisson says. Human insulin is now available as short-acting \u201cregular\u201d (or \u201cR\u201d) insulin, which is used at mealtimes, and intermediate-acting NPH (or \u201cN\u201d) insulin, which is used as a basal insulin \u2026 While the development of human insulin was a major advancement, it wasn\u2019t perfect. Regular insulin didn\u2019t hit the bloodstream quick enough to cover the rapid absorption of carbohydrates after meals, and it stuck around too long after meals, causing hypoglycemia [low blood glucose, which can lead to unconsciousness and death if untreated]. In 1996, Eli Lilly introduced the first rapid-acting insulin analog to the market: insulin lispro (Humalog). Insulin aspart (Novo Nordisk\u2019s Novolog) and insulin glulisine (Sanofi\u2019s Apidra) quickly followed. With rapid-acting insulin analogs, onset occurs 10 to 20 minutes after injection, instead of the 30 to 60 minutes it takes for regular human insulin to take effect. This allows people to inject their insulin right before a meal, rather than having to dose 30 minutes or more before eating \u2026 Deliver a dose of NPH [human] insulin, and it\u2019ll reach its peak about six to eight hours later. This means your insulin may peak while you\u2019re sleeping, posing a serious danger if you don\u2019t wake up to treat. Long-acting analogs, on the other hand, don\u2019t peak, resulting in more-stable blood glucose levels and fewer unexpected highs or lows. In fact, one study showed that long-acting analog insulin glargine reduced overnight bouts of hypoglycemia by up to 48 percent compared with NPH. In another study, detemir reduced nighttime hypoglycemia by 34 percent. This is especially beneficial for people with type 1, who need to be much more precise about matching insulin dosages with their insulin needs to avoid nighttime lows, says Sisson. Note, there are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetics\u2019 bodies cannot manufacture insulin, the hormone responsible for glucose absorption. Type 2 diabetics\u2019 bodies, on the other hand, become resistant to insulin. In most cases, Type 1 diabetes starts in childhood, whereas Type 2 is sometimes referred to as \u201cadult-onset\u201d diabetes. Writing for Insulin Nation, Nicki Nichols explained why the older form of human insulin is difficult to control in children: When my child was first diagnosed, she was on NPH. It was incredibly difficult to limit a growing child\u2019s diet to such a strict schedule. Here\u2019s what it looked like: 8 a.m.- 45-carb meal 10:30 a.m. \u2013 15-carb snack 12 p.m. \u2013 45-carb meal 2 p.m. \u2013 15-carb snack 5 p.m. \u2013 45-carb meal 7:30 p.m. \u2013 15-20 carb snack before bed to keep blood sugar up overnight. I cannot tell you how many times my child refused to eat the 45 carbs in her dinner. There is something wrong when you are fussing at your 5-year-old to stop eating her green beans and to eat her bread, or mashed potatoes, or pasta. The screen shot from the KDFW report no doubt went viral as a result of an ongoing controversy over the cost of analog insulin, which as of 7 February 2019\u00a0soared to a retail price of more than $300 per vial. Americans have been awash in medical horror stories such the death of Jesse Lutgen, a 32-year-old Type 1 diabetic who lost his job at a distribution center in Dubuque, Iowa, and with it, his health insurance. He was found dead in his home in February 2018, having run out of insulin. His last vials of the medication were given to him by a friend."}
{"claim_id": "12211", "claim": "Barron Trump Rushed To The Hospital, Hospital Releases Statement On His Condition", "explanation": "It's fake news that Barron Trump was hospitalized for pneumonia", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fake news, PunditFact, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "A post on the website AmericanToday.us falsely claimed Barron Trump was hospitalized for pneumonia. \"Horrible news are coming from the President\u2019s house while President (Donald) Trump on Friday began a 17-day stint at his prized golf club in Bedminster, NJ. Barron Trump has been rushed to hospital with severe pneumonia while on holiday in Bedminster, NJ,\" the Aug. 6 post said. Trump\u2019s youngest son is indeed on vacation with his family at their Bedminster resort, but we found no proof of his purported illness. The post claimed Trump had sent a Snapchat photo to his friends captioned, \"Not the sort of bangles I usually choose on holiday.\" We traced the image attached to the article to an 841-day old photo on an Instagram search engine called Mulpix. It\u2019s not Barron Trump\u2019s hand. \"He also tweeted his friends, saying that he was currently \u2018in a wheelchair, connected up to tubes, in a hospital,\u2019 \" the post said. But we didn\u2019t find any tweets mentioning a wheelchair or a hospital in the various unofficial Barron Trump Twitter pages. The post also cited a nonexistent Fox News report that he was receiving treatment at an unnamed hospital. In reality, the post is stealing some real-life events from surrounding a British television show host. The host of the show Grand Tour, Jeremy Clarkson, was admitted to a Spanish hospital for pneumonia on Aug. 6, the same day as this fake news story was posted. A spokesperson for the show said in a statement that Clarkson \"was admitted to hospital on Friday morning during a family holiday in Spain.\" Clarkson posted a photo on Instagram of his arm which he captioned, \"Not the sort of bangles I usually choose on holiday.\" He also said he was in \"in a wheelchair, connected up to tubes, in a hospital\" in a tweet. I could send you one but it's of me in a wheelchair, connected up to tubes, in a hospital. Better? That\u2019s more than enough to seal the fate of the claim that Barron Trump was rushed to hospital with severe pneumonia. We rate this claim !"}
{"claim_id": "30259", "claim": "The Cancer Act of 1939 makes it illegal to cure cancer.", "explanation": "If, in a bizarre turn of events, an individual did actually discover smoothie-based or telepathic cures for cancer, they would be free under the Cancer Act of 1939 to publish about their discoveries in scientific journals, discuss them privately or in academic contexts, or to continue researching the concept. They would not, however, be allowed to present that information to the general public in advertisements in the United Kingdom.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, big pharma, cancer", "main_text": "Myriad unfounded claims have been made of the UK\u2019s Cancer Act of 1939, a law which some critics of the modern medical industry have suggested is part of a conspiracy to prevent a cure for cancer from being discovered so that \u201cbig pharma\u201d can continue to profit from the disease unabated. In fact, the law prohibits any person from taking \u201cany part in the publication of any advertisement \u2026 containing an offer to treat any person for cancer, or to prescribe any remedy therefor, or to give any advice in connection with the treatment thereof.\u201d The act had other provisions when first passed, but the advertising portion is the only aspect of the act that remains on the books: Because it arrived nearly a decade before the founding of the NHS [National Health Service], the [Cancer] Act also contained details about how local councils should provide treatment and other services for cancer patients. And there was a whole section explaining how money should be allocated around the country to buy supplies of a radioactive element called radium \u2014 a forerunner of the far more sophisticated radiotherapy treatments we have today. All but one of these sections have now been repealed or subsumed into other pieces of legislation, and only one \u2014 section four \u2014 still stands. [Put simply, that section] is a blanket ban on advertising cancer treatments to the general public. One meme on the subject appearing online attempts to state as fact that the actually prevents anyone from curing cancer by criminalizing that activity:  First, since this law was passed by the British Parliament, no \u201cmedical practitioners\u201d are being prosecuted \u201cin America\u201d under the law. More important, the act in no way prevents people from developing or researching cures for cancer. In fact, UK-based entities frequently fund research into cancer cures. The Act merely bars anyone (including UK drug manufacturers) from advertising they have a product that will \u201ccure\u201d cancer. The Act also does not, as claimed by Cannabis-culture website Herb, make it \u201cillegal to promote, write about, or even speak about cancer therapies other than radiation.\u201d That claim apparently stems from the way the act defines an advertisement: \u201cIn this section the expression \u2018advertisement\u2019 includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper or other document, and any announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting sounds.\u201d While the definition of what constitutes an advertisement is broad, the Act applies to the \u201cpublication\u201d of an advertisement. The law was intended to protect patients from quacks and snake oil peddlers, a threat as real to cancer patients then as it is today. The few prosecutions that have taken place under the Act are in keeping with that spirit of the law. For example, a man named Jerry Sargeant, who calls himself \u201cThe Facilitator\u201d and purports to have the ability to edit \u201cpeople\u2019s karmic blueprints through distance healing\u201d (for the low price of \u00a390 per quarter hour), claimed in several YouTube videos that his skills allowed him to rid people of cancer. He was found guilty of four violations under the Act and fined \u00a34,700. In another example, a \u201clife coach and naturopathic doctor\u201d who calls himself Dr. Stephen Ferguson (who is not a medical doctor, but has a PhD in nutrition and hypnosis), claimed that multiple patients of his had been \u201ccured\u201d of cancer thanks to vitamin supplements and protein shakes sold on his website. He was fined \u00a31,750 for violating the Act."}
{"claim_id": "28441", "claim": "The Trump administration is building \"tent cities\" to house minor immigrants.", "explanation": "What's true: Multiple news outlets have confirmed HHS's plans to build tent cities. What's false: They have not yet been constructed; the practice is not new.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics Immigration, border issues, family separation, jeff sessions", "main_text": "On 13 June 2018, the Facebook page \u201cThe Other 98%\u201d\u00a0shared the following\u00a0meme:  The Twitter handle @krassenstein appeared at the lower left corner of the meme, and Twitter user Brian Krassenstein\u00a0shared the text as a tweet a day earlier. Neither \u201cThe Other 98%\u201d (whose caption simply stated \u201cUnbelievable\u201d) nor Krassenstein provided a citation for the meme\u2019s text, which read: BREAKING: President Trump is planning to construct tent cities in Texas to house unaccompanied immigrant children. That\u2019s right. We\u2019re now going to build \u201ccamps\u201d in order to \u201cconcentrate\u201d the kids into a small area, as Trump attacks & marginalizes them. Sound Familiar? Both the tweet and meme appeared to reference a 12 June 2018\u00a0article from McClatchy entitled, \u201cTrump looking to erect tent cities to house unaccompanied children.\u201d That piece quoted an unnamed source from the Department of Health and Human Services as saying officials were considering building a tent city on military land: The Trump administration is looking to build tent cities at military posts around Texas to shelter the increasing number of unaccompanied migrant children being held in detention. The Department of Health and Human Services will visit Fort Bliss, a sprawling Army base near El Paso in the coming weeks to look at a parcel of land where the administration is considering building a tent city to hold between 1,000 and 5,000 children, according to U.S. officials and other sources familiar with the plans. HHS officials confirmed that they\u2019re looking at the Fort Bliss site along with Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene and Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo for potential use as temporary shelters. At the time of publication, the HHS official said the agency had yet to determine whether \u201cany of the three sites assessed are suitable.\u201d The Texas Observer reported that notions of \u201clocking up families in penal-like facilities, or even \u2018tent cities\u2019 for immigrants, including kids\u201d is\u00a0\u201cboth new and not new,\u201d resulting from the enforcement of far harsher detention policies: On one level, these tent cities, as they\u2019ve been branded on social media, have a practical purpose. They are provisional solutions to an artificial overcrowding problem. Jeff Beauregard Sessions \u2026 has decided to criminally prosecute anyone who crosses the border without authorization, including parents traveling with children. Since kids can\u2019t (yet) go to prison with mom and dad, the federal government must \u2014 by its cruel logic \u2014 seize the children and turn them over to the temporary custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But HHS facilities are at 95 percent capacity. There\u2019s no more room at the inn for Sessions\u2019 growing collection of traumatized youngsters. The attorney general, however, is not a man easily deterred by human rights, laws protecting asylum-seekers, or the \u201coptics\u201d of stacking kids like cordwood near the 1st Armored Division. Thus, the brain trust has landed on tents. Like many Trump border/immigration proposals, this is both new and not new. What\u2019s new is the extreme cruelty of prosecuting parents, many of them asylum-seekers fleeing unbearable violence in their home countries, for the misdemeanor offense of illegal entry. The law has been on the books for a long time, but previous administrations have exercised discretion in a way that excluded families. What\u2019s new is the zealousness with which the administration has treated children, some reportedly as young as 18 months, as collateral damage from its increasingly draconian immigration policies. Let\u2019s be clear: Sessions et. al have chosen to split apart families in the name of tamping down lawlessness. On 14 June 2018, The New York Times profiled a shelter for immigrant children in Brownsville, Texas. Sen. Jeff Merkley\u00a0(D-Oregon) visited that center on 3 June 2018, putting up a video that later went viral on social media. That article reported that HHS had announced that temporary tent cities would be constructed near Tornillo, Texas: The teeming, 250,000-square-foot facility is a model of border life in Trump-era America, part of a growing industry of detention centers and shelters as federal authorities scramble to comply with the president\u2019s order to end \u201ccatch and release\u201d of migrants illegally entering the country. Now that children are often being separated from their parents, this facility has had to obtain a waiver from the state to expand its capacity. Cots are being added to sleeping areas. The staff is expanding. But even that is not enough. Federal authorities are considering establishing tent cities on Army and Air Force bases, and have already transferred hundreds of immigrant detainees to temporary housing at federal prisons. On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that temporary tent housing would be set up near the border station in Tornillo, Tex., to house up to 360 youths. NBC reiterated that the policy was not new: It will not be the first time the U.S. government has erected tent cities to house immigrants. U.S. Customs and Border Protection used tents to house an influx of immigrants in 2014 and at the end of the Obama administration. Multiple news organizations obtained HHS confirmation that tent cities were being constructed to accommodate a massive influx of child detainees, largely due to changes made to border policy in May and June 2018. Many noted that the primary difference in circumstance was that a change in how families were processed in detention led to an abrupt need for increased shelter capacity."}
{"claim_id": "8775", "claim": "Stem cell test to help treat bowel cancer.", "explanation": "Stem cell scientists have developed a  new and more accurate way of spotting aggressive forms of bowel  cancer, allowing for tailored treatment that should improve  patients\u2019 chances of survival.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "British researchers said on Wednesday those with the most  aggressive kind of cancer could be identified early by testing  for a stem cell marker protein called Lamin A. The team concluded that patients testing positive for Lamin  A should be given chemotherapy, in addition to surgery, to  increase their chances of survival. The discovery is the latest example of new tests being  developed that can help doctors decide how and when to treat  different manifestations of cancer. In the two earliest of the four key stages of bowel cancer,  patients normally have an operation to remove their tumor but  are rarely given chemotherapy, since the toxic treatment can  cause more harm than good. The new research, however, suggests that around one third  of these early-stage patients will have the Lamin A stem cell  marker, indicating a more serious form of disease, and they are  likely to benefit from chemotherapy. \u201cChemotherapy can be very useful but can have a number of  side effects, so we only want to use it where we think there\u2019s  a good chance it will help. This test will help us determine  that,\u201d said Robert Wilson, a bowel cancer specialist at The  James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough. The team from Durham University and the North East England  Stem Cell Institute now aims to develop a robust prognostic  tool that eventually can be used widely in hospitals. Their research was published in the Public Library of  Science journal PLOS One and is available online here"}
{"claim_id": "11574", "claim": "Blocking \u201crogue gene\u201d may stop cancer spread: study", "explanation": "It would set drug development speed records and defy all odds for a drug to enter clinical use within a decade after this sort of tentative laboratory experiment. Yet the story presents this single study that involved not even a single human subject as one that promises to \u201cstop many types of the disease in their tracks\u201d and to allow doctors to use chemotherapy and radiotherapy \u201cwith no risk of the disease taking hold elsewhere.\u201d This is exactly the kind of story that leaves readers feeling whipsawed when clinical trials in actual patients may prove disappointing down the road. Scientists have every right to get excited when they find a new gene or make some advance that they believe holds promise for combating a particular disease. It is up to journalists to rein them in with careful analysis of the evidence and hard questions. This story offers neither. To the families who lose half a billion people every year to cancer in the United States alone, this is the kind of false hope that may cause more harm than good.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Cancer,Reuters Health", "main_text": "This is such an early stage finding it would be premature to throw out cost figures, and there are no comparable treatments that come to mind to serve as cost comparators. The story does not attempt to quantify the benefits. It says that \u201clevels of the natural inhibitor protein were boosted and the cancer cells remained dormant.\u201d Did this happen every time the scientists blocked the gene? How many times did they repeat this exercise? Did their actions ever make the cancer worse? There are no mentions of possible harms that might come from blocking a gene. The story calls the gene a \u201crogue\u201d and a \u201cculprit\u201d but does little to explain what it does. It says it is both inside cancer cells and outside them, destroying \u201ca naturally-occurring protein in the body which normally prevents cancer cells from spreading.\u201d As anyone who has been through cancer treatment knows, knocking out cancer cells through radiation and chemotherapy can take a heavy toll on a person. People can die from infections and other complications. One question might have helped answer the harms question: \u201cWhen you blocked this rogue gene, what happened to all of the normal cells around the cancer cells?\u201d\u00a0Anything that alters cell function in tumors could have powerful effects on normal tissue, too. The researchers noted in their article that they have yet to \u201cestablish normal and disease expression patterns of all three WWP2 isoforms\u201d. If they don\u2019t yet fully understand the normal form and function of WWP2, the potential for unanticipated effects is a serious concern that the story should have addressed. The story makes no attempt to evaluate the quality of the evidence. This story badly misrepresents the tentative and uncertain nature of the findings. Only in exceptional cases has a laboratory finding such as this progressed in a straight line to a clinically useful treatment. Indeed, while this report may well spur excitement among researchers, there is nothing that suggests this finding is any more likely to be useful to actual cancer patients than the many other laboratory findings about cancer metastases that have been announced over the past few decades. The story does not engage in disease-mongering. The story uses no independent sources. It quotes just two people: Surinder Soond and Andrew Chantry, the two authors of the paper published in Oncogene. (You need a subscription to view it.) The claims made in this story needed independent analysis. The story makes no comparisons with alternatives. It mentions chemotherapy and radiotherapy in passing. Reading the story carefully, one might believe that any treatment developed from this finding would work only in conjunction with these other treatments. But we can\u2019t be sure. The story should have mentioned other proposed interventions intended to disrupt the spread of cancer cells, including some drugs that are already in clinical trials. The story says that \u201cthe findings mean drugs could be developed in the next 10 years that could be used to halt the aggressive spread of many forms of cancer, including breast cancer, brain, colon and skin cancer.\u201d The story says nothing about all the hoops that remain for a finding to go from the lab to the drug store. Nor does it mention anything about the many cancer \u201cbreakthroughs\u201d that have failed to fundamentally alter the rates of cancer incidence or mortality over many decades. The story says, \u201cSurinder Soond, who worked on the study, said it was a \u201cnovel and exciting approach to treating cancer and the spread of tumors which holds great potential.\u201d\u201d Quoting the author, though, does not prove that the approach is novel. The study itself also says that the findings are novel: \u201cSignificantly, this is the first report of an interdependent biological role for distinct HECT E3 ubiquitin ligase isoforms, and highlights an entirely novel regulatory paradigm that selectively limits the level of inhibitory and activating Smads.\u201d Of course, that would not make much sense to most readers. So the story should have found a way to explain to readers why the approach to cancer treatment identified was a true advance that opened a new world of possibilities or whether it was a small improvement. And having an independent source evaluate the novelty would have helped as well. The story does not appear to rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "41862", "claim": "Said Democrats manufactured a death toll of 3,000 for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to make him \"look as bad as possible.", "explanation": "In a pair of early morning tweets, President Donald Trump rejected Puerto Rico\u2019s official estimate of 2,975 hurricane-related deaths after Hurricane Maria and, in the process, made some false and misleading claims.", "label": "false", "subjects": " Hurricane Maria, ", "main_text": "In a pair of early morning tweets, President Donald Trump rejected Puerto Rico\u2019s official estimate of 2,975 hurricane-related deaths after Hurricane Maria and, in the process, made some false and misleading claims:With parts of the East Coast bracing for Hurricane Florence, the president in recent days has praised his administration\u2019s handling of past hurricanes.At the White House on Sept. 11, Trump\u00a0said his administration deserves \u201cA-plusses\u201d for its response last year in Texas during Hurricane Harvey and in Florida for Hurricane Irma.He also said the administration\u2019s handling of Puerto Rico during and after Hurricane Maria was \u201cincredibly successful,\u201d although the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a July report acknowledged that it was caught short-handed when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. Emergency supplies \u2014 including water, cots and tarps \u2014 were in short supply because weeks earlier they had been diverted from Puerto Rico to help victims of Hurricane Irma.\u201cIn response to Hurricane Irma impacts, FEMA distributed more than 80 percent of its inventory for selected commodities from the Caribbean Distribution Center warehouse [in San Juan, Puerto Rico],\u201d FEMA\u2019s report said. \u201cHurricane Maria struck before supplies were replenished.\u201dBut Trump\u2019s praise for his administration\u2019s response to Hurricane Maria largely drew criticism from some because of the high number of estimated deaths attributed to the storm.On Aug. 28, the Milken Institute School of Public Health released a report estimating that there were 2,975 \u201cexcess deaths in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria\u201d over about a six-month period, from September 2017 through the end of February 2018.\u201cThe President keeps adding insult to injury and I think his words are despicable,\u201d\u00a0San Juan Mayor Carmen Yul\u00edn Cruz told CNN. \u201cHe says he has done a good job when 3,000 people have died.\u201dOn Sept. 13, Trump rejected Puerto Rico\u2019s official estimate in two early morning tweets.3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000\u2026\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018\u2026..This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!\u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 13, 2018Let\u2019s get some of the easy stuff out of the way, beginning with the president\u2019s criticism of the Democrats and the report\u2019s methodology.It\u2019s not true that the higher death estimate \u201cwas done by the Democrats in order to make [Trump] look as bad as possible.\u201d It was an independent study commissioned by Puerto Rico and undertaken by researchers at George Washington University\u2019s\u00a0Milken Institute School of Public Health.In February, Puerto Rico announced that the Milken Institute School of Public Health would lead a study of \u201cdeaths associated with Hurricane Maria after its passage through the Island.\u201dAt the time, Puerto Rico had estimated that there were 64 deaths caused by Hurricane Maria, but the estimate was considered low because of the lingering effects that the hurricane had on the island. For example,\u00a0nearly half of Puerto Rico\u2019s residents were still without power at the end of the year \u2014 more than three months after the devastating storm had passed.\u201cThe methodology will seek to analyze all data available related to mortality, including death certificates, to determine how many more deaths than usual could be related to the hurricane,\u201d Puerto Rico said in announcing the study.Trump also misrepresented the study\u2019s methodology, claiming it counted deaths \u201cfor any reason, like old age.\u201dThe researchers did an \u201cexcess mortality study,\u201d which takes into account the usual number of deaths that could be expected from September 2017 through February 2018. The 2,975 figure is the estimated number of \u201cexcess\u201d deaths that researchers say occurred during that time.Table 1 of the report shows the number of \u201cobserved,\u201d \u201cpredicted\u201d and \u201cexcess\u201d number of deaths during the post-hurricane period. There were 16,608 \u201cobserved\u201d deaths and 13,633 \u201cpredicted\u201d deaths \u2014 meaning that 2,975 \u201cexcess deaths\u201d were \u201crelated to Hurricane Maria.\u201dThe \u201cpredicted\u201d number of deaths was based on \u201cpast mortality patterns,\u201d including deaths and population, from 2010 to 2017. People dying of \u201cold age,\u201d as Trump put it, would be part of the \u201cpredicted\u201d number, not the \u201cexcess\u201d number.The 2,975 figure is not an exact count of hurricane-related deaths. But the researchers said they are 95 percent confident that the number of direct and indirect deaths falls between\u00a02,658 and 3,290.In his tweet, the president ignored the number of indirect hurricane-related deaths that occurred after the storm, as opposed to those directly caused by the storm.Trump recalled that when he visited Puerto Rico after the hurricane there were \u201canywhere from 6 to 18 deaths\u201d caused by the storm. That\u2019s not wrong. Hurricane Maria made landfall on the island on Sept. 19, 2017, and\u00a0Trump visited Puerto Rico on Oct. 3, 2017. At the time, he was told that the death toll stood at 16. He said to those in attendance that they should be \u201cvery proud\u201d of the number of deaths compared with those caused by Hurricane Katrina.\u201cIf you look at the \u2014 every death is a horror,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina, and you look at the tremendous hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died, and you look at what happened here with, really, a storm that was just totally overpowering \u2014 nobody has ever seen anything like this.\u201dAfter all this time, however, we now know that the death toll was much higher than 18. As we said, the official death toll as of February was 64 deaths \u2014 but even then the number was considered too low.In an April report, the National Hurricane Center said the death toll in Puerto Rico was \u201chighly uncertain\u201d and there could be hundreds of direct and indirect hurricane-related deaths.\u201cIn Puerto Rico, the death toll is highly uncertain and the official number stands at 65, which includes an unknown number of indirect deaths,\u201d the report said. \u201cIt should be noted that hundreds of additional indirect deaths in Puerto Rico may eventually be attributed to Maria\u2019s aftermath pending the results of an official government review.\u201dKatrina is a good example of the uncertainty associated with documenting deaths from hurricanes.For example, the National Hurricane Center in December 2005 \u2014 several months after the storm \u2014 issued a report on Katrina that put the death toll at 1,833 (about 1,500 directly related to Katrina and several hundred indirectly) in five states. That estimate was based on \u201creports to date from state and local officials in five states.\u201d (That figure has since been revised down to 1,100. )Other research has produced different numbers.Louisiana State Epidemiologist Raoult Ratard co-authored a study with researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and concluded, in a paper published in August 2008, that there were 971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana and 15 deaths among Katrina evacuees in other states. (A follow-up study also co-authored by Ratard revised the number to 1,170.) Both studies analyzed death certificates and autopsy reports as well as the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team\u2019s confirmed victims database for the two months immediately after the storm. Drowning was the most common cause of death (40 percent), followed by injury and trauma (25 percent) and heart conditions (11 percent).But in a phone interview, Ratard told us that methodology might not be the best to use to gauge storm-related deaths in Puerto Rico.The storms in Louisiana and Puerto Rico are \u201ctwo different situations,\u201d Ratard told us, and so comparing the methods used to track deaths doesn\u2019t make sense. In Louisiana, many people evacuated shortly after the storm, making it difficult for researchers to track long-term effects of the storm. And so, he said, they stuck to documenting what happened during the flood and the immediate aftermath.In Puerto Rico, the situation was different, Ratard said. No one could evacuate. So it\u2019s entirely appropriate, he said, to look at the mortality rates in the months after the storm and compare them to similar periods in past years.\u201cI can see why they used the methods they used,\u201d he said. \u201cIn Puerto Rico, it was easier to document the long-term impact.\u201d\u201cMy impression is that they have a valid point in estimating the long-term effects\u201d in Puerto Rico, he said. From what he knows about the research, he said, \u201cit sounds reasonable to me.\u201dAlthough Trump ignores the indirect deaths attributed to Hurricane Maria, the National Hurricane Center is interested in indirect deaths and makes an attempt to count them.In August 2016,\u00a0Edward N. Rappaport, the deputy director of the NHC, and B. Wayne Blanchard, then with FEMA, wrote about indirect deaths in the journal of the American Meteorological Society. They wrote that \u201cdirect deaths do not tell the whole story. They do not include the important class of\u00a0indirect fatalities\u2013casualties that, while not directly attributable to one of the physical forces of a tropical cyclone, would not be expected in the absence of the storm. These losses can occur in significant numbers.\u201dJohn Mutter, professor of earth and environmental sciences and of international and public affairs at Columbia University, has studied the impact of natural disasters and the death toll of Hurricane Katrina. Mutter told us that it\u2019s difficult to measure the death toll from hurricanes for several reasons, including deciding when to start counting and when to stop, and whether various deaths should be considered hurricane-related. \u201cA lot of people die from the exacerbation of preexisting conditions,\u201d particularly the elderly, he said.People also go missing, and a lot of people can die in the aftermath. But how long should the \u201caftermath\u201d be?\u201cThere are no rules about this,\u201d Mutter said, \u201cno uniform standard on when you start or when you stop.\u201dBut both of the experts we interviewed said the methodology used by the researchers at the Milken Institute School of Public Health was reasonable \u2014 contrary to the president\u2019s tweet questioning the high death toll estimate, the methodology used by the researchers and the motivation of the Puerto Rico government in seeking the best estimate.Mutter\u00a0said the study was using \u201ctried and true methodologies\u201d to get an estimate, which will have some admitted uncertainty. Such statistical models are often used in estimates of civilian casualties in conflicts, he said.In a statement, the Milken Institute School of Public Health stood by its \u201cstate-of-the-art mathematical model\u201d and the findings that it produced. Hurricane Maria was \u201ca very deadly storm\u201d and \u201cthe number \u2013 2,975 \u2013 is the most accurate and unbiased estimate of excess mortality to date,\u201d it said.It\u2019s not clear what Trump meant when he wrote, \u201cI was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico.\u201d We didn\u2019t receive a response to emails we sent to the White House for clarification.The federal government certainly has appropriated billions of dollars in disaster relief for Puerto Rico. In June, the Puerto Rico newspaper\u00a0El Nuevo D\u00eda\u00a0reported\u00a0that \u201cpromised federal allocations\u201d for the U.S. territory \u201ctotal about $31.6 billion,\u201d according to its analysis. The majority of that \u2014\u00a0about $20 billion\u2014 was awarded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through its Community Development Block Grant \u2014 Disaster Recovery Program.At the time, El Nuevo D\u00eda noted that the amount appropriated by the government was about one-third of the\u00a0$94.4 billion\u00a0that Puerto Rico estimated in November it would need to rebuild. Then, in August, the island increased its request to Congress to\u00a0$139 billion.In addition to those federal funds, Trump\u2019s inauguration committee\u00a0announced\u00a0late last September that it was donating $3 million to three different charities involved in the hurricane relief efforts. That was not long after the Associated Press\u00a0reported that the committee, which had raised $107 million for Trump\u2019s inauguration ceremonies, had not donated any of its leftover money to charity, as it had pledged to do."}
{"claim_id": "26640", "claim": "George Soros owns the WuXi PHARMA LAB located in Wuhan, China where COVID-19 was developed and conveniently Broke Out.", "explanation": "WuXi AppTec Group is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with a location in Wuhan, China. The company primarily manufactures medical devices. George Soros has invested in WuXi in the past, but he does not own it. Research shows the genetic makeup of COVID-19 precludes it from being man-made.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "George Soros has been accused of many outrageous things. Now, misinformation on Facebook is blaming the billionaire philanthropist for the 2019 coronavirus pandemic. \"George Soros owns the WuXi PHARMA LAB located in Wuhan, China where COVID-19 was developed and conveniently Broke Out,\" reads a March 15 text post. The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It had more than 3,700 shares as of March 18. (Screenshot from Facebook) More than 191,000 people worldwide had been infected with COVID-19 as of March 18. Like other conspiracy theories about Soros, this Facebook post is bogus. In January, the conspiracy theory was shared in a Reddit thread that cited a now-defunct fake news website. The WuXi AppTec Group is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in China. It works primarily on manufacturing and developing medical devices. The seed of the Facebook conspiracy is the fact that the company has a location in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. And documents from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission show that Soros was a WuXi shareholder in May 2011. (Subsequent SEC filings do not list the company among Soros\u2019 investments, perhaps because he changed the legal status of his hedge fund that summer to avoid more government regulation.) But none of that amounts to what the Facebook posts claims: that Soros \"owns\" the company and its Wuhan location. WuXi\u2019s CEO and chairman is Ge Li, according to its website. And scientists have found that COVID-19\u2019s origin is likely natural \u2014 not man-made, as the Facebook post and several other conspiracy theories allege. \"If genetic manipulation had been performed, one of the several reverse-genetic systems available for betacoronaviruses would probably have been used,\" the analysis reads. \"However, the genetic data irrefutably show that SARS-CoV-2 is not derived from any previously used virus backbone.\" The Facebook post is inaccurate. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "16997", "claim": "20 percent of the time (smart guns) won't work.", "explanation": "Pratt said \"20 percent of the time (smart guns) won't work,\" which he got from a 2003 magazine story referencing unpublished research from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The scientists who conducted that research say Pratt\u2019s citation is misapplied. Researchers only looked at smart guns that rely on fingerprint sensors, yet Pratt applied the statistic to all smart guns, including the Armatix pistol that works with a black stopwatch, PIN code and small electronic chips. Even more, their research is more than a decade old, and they say fingerprint matching technology has changed since then. Pratt\u2019s statement is not based on solid evidence.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Technology, PunditFact, Guns, Larry Pratt, ", "main_text": "The debate over \"smart guns\" doesn\u2019t always turn up accurate talking points. Exhibit A: Sarah Palin telling the National Rifle Association crowd about a (nonexistent) federal plan to make gun owners wear \"special bracelets that would identify you as a gun owner.\" Exhibit B: MSNBC host Chris Hayes\u2019 recent on-air shouting match with Larry Pratt, executive director of the lobbying group Gun Owners of America. Smart guns -- also known as \"child-proof guns\" and \"personalized guns\" -- are designed to work solely for authorized users through features like fingerprint recognition or electronic sensors. The hope is they will reduce deaths by suicide, accidental shootings or someone stealing a law enforcement officer\u2019s weapon. They are not sold in the United States, though two dealers tried before backing down amid intense pressure from activists. Hayes supports the technology, but Pratt and other gun-rights advocates are skeptical. Pratt questions the guns\u2019 reliability, saying smart guns are \"only 80 percent effective.\" When Hayes pressed Pratt for the source of his statistic, Pratt cited the New Jersey Institute of Technology. \"Twenty percent of the time it won\u2019t work,\" Pratt said. \"And you\u2019re asking people to put their lives in the hands of a product like that?\" Later, Pratt used the figure again. \"Is it okay to put on the market a car that 20 percent of the time explodes on you and causes you harm or death?\" Since Pratt tripled down on his statistic, PunditFact wanted to check it out. Tracing the source of the claim Pratt pointed to a 2003 column in Popular Mechanics magazine headlined \"\u2018Smart\u2019 Guns: Dumb Idea!\" The column was inspired by a 2002 New Jersey law that requires all guns sold in the state to have \"smart\" technology within three years of the attorney general verifying the first smart gun was sold in the United States. Fear among gun rights activists that more government mandates may come when this happens drive their opposition to smart guns. In his column 11 years ago, writer Cliff Gromer said law enforcement officers are exempt from the law, which proves the technology isn\u2019t solid enough for the mainstream gun market. \"According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which used government grants to study personalized handgun technology, fingerprint recognition systems work only 80 percent of the time,\" Gromer wrote. \"But the New Jersey law goes into effect regardless of whether the guns are 100 percent -- or 80 percent -- reliable.\" Article is not the smoking gun You may have read over it, but the 80 percent figure Gromer cited talks about fingerprint recognition systems. Not whether a smart gun will work. That\u2019s important because while some smart guns use fingerprint recognition systems (which work like the new unlocking method for iPhones), not all do. The German-made Armatix iP1 .22 caliber pistol was expected to be the first smart gun sold in the United States this year until a California gun store owner scrapped plans to sell it after facing aggressive backlash. It happened again with a Maryland dealer. The Armatix does not have a fingerprint recognition system. Instead, the gun works with a black stopwatch and PIN code that emits radio signals to the gun to make it active. The signal is akin to what\u2019s emitted from those bulky tags on mall merchandise that aren\u2019t triggered until taken out of the store. Other models work with similar chips implanted in everyday accessories, such as bracelets, pins and rings, and some are implanted in the body. If the badge is too far away from the microchip in the gun, it will stop working. But that means the technology works, not that it failed. And, more critically, the Armatix radio signal has nothing to do with the study Pratt cited, which focused on fingerprint recognition systems, New Jersey Institute of Technology researchers told us. Other smart guns also avoid fingerprint technology. Michael Recce, an associate professor in the information systems department at the\u00a0New Jersey Institute of Technology, invented \"dynamic grip recognition\" and applied it to a gun, so that it fires\u00a0only after it recognizes the user\u2019s grip thanks to sensors on the side of the gun that detect pressure and the contours of the user's hand. The gun starts to detect if the user is authorized as someone starts pulling the gun, he said. Recce said the owner detection rate for his dynamic grip \"is within the mechanical failure rate,\"\u00a0i.e. the rate at which a standard gun fails. However, two or three people out of 100 adults could also fire the gun in trials because their hand is similar to the owner\u2019s -- a tradeoff with the technology so it is sure to fire for the rightful owner, he said. Other types of smart guns in varying stages of development are outlined in a year-old National Institute of Justice report commissioned as part of President Barack Obama\u2019s gun reforms after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. This research is dated In this case, the New Jersey Institute of Technology research is being misapplied, and it\u2019s old. Researchers told us their work on fingerprint scanners should not be applied to newer guns. Their research, which was not published, was done in the early 2000s on four types of guns using fingerprint readers. None of those guns were as reliable as mechanical firearms, they found, though the guns were a \"fragile technology\" then, said Donald Sebastian, New Jersey Institute of Technology senior vice president for research and development. \"Fingerprint readers may have progressed in the past 10 years,\" Recce said. \"At that time even the readers on laptops would often require you to swipe your finger more than once before they worked. Our opinion was that swiping your finger over the reader multiple times would be a challenge when using a gun.\" Skeptics of these guns point to many concerns about the reliability of the weapons in a high-pressure situation, like who has time to enter a PIN code, and what if the sensors in the gun die? Michael Bazinet, a National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman, said the \"strongest statement on their reliability\" will be when law enforcement officers use them en masse. But other potential weaknesses don\u2019t change the fact that what Pratt cited is old news. \"To make a universal blanket statement based on a 15-year-old analysis of fingerprint detectors just doesn\u2019t pass muster,\" Sebastian said. \"It\u2019s like talking about the reliability of a Model T and comparing it to a race car. Apples and oranges.\" If not 80 percent reliable, then what? Finding a reliability rate for smart guns is an \"almost unanswerable question,\" said Stephen Teret, a pro-smart gun Johns Hopkins professor and director of the university\u2019s Center for Law and the Public\u2019s Health. \"Because there\u2019s a wide range of quality in existing guns, some are better, some are worse. So when you are trying to compute a rate of reliability, are you using one gun or various categories?\" Robert Spitzer, a SUNY Cortland political science professor and author of The Politics of Gun Control (whom Hayes brought in after Pratt to talk about the issue), said in order for the Armatix iP1 gun to be sold in California, it had to pass a reliability test. \"The standard was a 99 percent successful fire rate, which it met (fire 600 times with 6 or fewer failed discharges),\" Spitzer said. Others stressed that all guns are prone to failure at some point. The mechanical\u00a0failure rate is often given as 1 in 1,000, and a military weapon\u2019s failure rate is closer to 1 in 10,000, Sebastian said. \"Misfire is embedded in our language,\" he said. Our ruling Pratt said \"20 percent of the time (smart guns) won't work,\" which he got from a 2003 magazine story referencing unpublished research from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The scientists who conducted that research say Pratt\u2019s citation is misapplied. Researchers only looked at smart guns that rely on fingerprint sensors, yet Pratt applied the statistic to all smart guns, including the Armatix pistol that works with a black stopwatch, PIN code and small electronic chips. Even more, their research is more than a decade old, and they say fingerprint matching technology has changed since then. Pratt\u2019s statement is not based on solid evidence. We rate his statement ."}
{"claim_id": "7046", "claim": "Congo\u2019s conflict makes fighting Ebola, sexual violence risky.", "explanation": "The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Congolese surgeon brings rare global attention to a region surging for decades with rebel conflict that now threatens efforts to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Denis Mukwege, International News, Africa, Health, Nobel Prizes, United Nations", "main_text": "As Dr. Denis Mukwege describes to the world how he stays in his hospital, protected by United Nations peacekeepers, to avoid further attempts on his life, teams of health workers not far away in eastern Congo feel an uncomfortable kinship as they combat Ebola amid the daily ring of gunfire. War in the vast region once had the aim of trying to unseat a president, or hunt down those suspected of genocide in neighboring Rwanda, or simply claim a piece of Congo\u2019s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. Now the conflict has splintered, with dozens of rebel groups traumatizing a population that sometimes has little idea who is behind a deadly attack. That chaos has brought a steady, horrific flow of women, girls and even babies into Mukwege\u2019s hospital as he operates day by day on survivors of the harshest kinds of sexual violence. Women and girls are raped with the barrels of guns. Their genitals are shot or burned. The new documentary \u201cCity of Joy\u201d focuses on the survivors and on Mukwege\u2019s work. Trauma can beget trauma, and the emergence in August of the Ebola virus in the jittery region for the first time has posed the kind of challenge many health workers have never seen before. So far 140 Ebola cases have been confirmed including 76 deaths. Fears and rumors about the virus have spread as quickly as outreach teams can refute them. Some health workers, confronted by angry families or communities, have been attacked as they try to carry out vaccinations or promote safe burials. The virus is spread via the bodily fluids of those infected, including the dead. Some suspected of having contact with Ebola victims have fled. The World Health Organization worries openly about the virus spreading into \u201cred zones\u201d where the rebel threat is so high that carrying out health work is almost impossible. \u201cIt\u2019s a totally unprecedented situation ... potentially explosive,\u201d said Anne Rimoin, an associate professor of epidemiology at UCLA who directs teams of researchers in the Ebola outbreak zone. One team member was lightly injured by people throwing stones, she said. The threat of attack means Ebola efforts are limited to daylight hours as teams and their armed escorts, usually U.N. peacekeepers but also Congolese security forces, hurry to get off the roads before dark. \u201cThat is very unlike other outbreaks,\u201d Rimoin told The Associated Press. With communities \u201calready traumatized by decades of conflict,\u201d the presence of armed escorts can bring further anxiety. Meanwhile, local authorities who have had contact with rebel groups in previous efforts such as routine vaccination campaigns are negotiating with the fighters for urgent access, as any Ebola victim left untracked could cause a new round of cases. Alarm about the insecurity has grown. Last week after Red Cross workers were attacked and badly hurt, the U.N. Security Council called for an end to hostilities as it prepared to visit Congo and discuss, among other things, the fighting that has displaced about 1 million people in the Ebola-affected North Kivu province alone. \u201cAn extremely challenging and dangerous environment,\u201d WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the council, describing the attacks since the outbreak began: a \u201cfull-scale\u201d assault on a Congolese military base, ambushes of U.N. peacekeepers, a rocket explosion and an attack on the town at the center of Ebola efforts that killed at least 18 people and shut down health work for days. Friday\u2019s announcement of the Nobel prize, the first in Congo\u2019s history, brought a burst of jubilation and tears in Panzi hospital as Mukwege was finishing his second operation of the day. \u201cHallelujah,\u201d people said, as medical workers in scrubs danced and women wiped their eyes. The award brought a new round of global calls to end the sprawling conflict and let health workers across the region care for others without fear of violence. \u201cA durable peace,\u201d the U.N. secretary-general\u2019s special envoy to Congo called it while congratulating Mukwege on his win. But it won\u2019t be easy. Even as Congo\u2019s government claimed partial credit for the efforts of the Nobel winner, who has been an outspoken critic, the outgoing President Joseph Kabila wants the U.N. peacekeepers, one of the region\u2019s few stabilizing forces, to prepare for withdrawal. Both Congolese and health workers also are bracing for December\u2019s long-delayed presidential election, which could bring fresh unrest. All hope the Ebola outbreak can be ended before then. The vote, Mercy Corps\u2019 deputy country director Whitney Elmer said on Friday, \u201cmay lead to more violence and make an already unstable situation worse.\u201d ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa"}
{"claim_id": "41841", "claim": "Claimed his administration recently provided \u201chistoric levels of funding to improve school safety\u201d through the STOP School Violence Act. ", "explanation": "President Donald Trump boasted that his administration recently provided \u201chistoric levels of funding to improve school safety\u201d and \u201chire more officers\u201d through the newly created STOP School Violence Act. But the new law does not fund school safety at \u201chistoric levels.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": " government spending, school shooting, school violence, ", "main_text": "At an event for law enforcement officials, President Donald Trump boasted that his administration recently provided \u201chistoric levels of funding to improve school safety\u201d and \u201chire more officers\u201d through the newly created STOP School Violence Act. But the new law does not fund school safety at \u201chistoric levels.\u201dAn omnibus spending bill the president signed in March included the STOP School Violence Act, and shifted $75 million from an existing school safety program to STOP School Violence programs. But a single program created in the late 1990s and since disbanded, called COPS in Schools, provided as much as $180 million in fiscal year 2000, according to a 2017 government report. That\u2019s\u00a0$260 million in 2018 dollars.The president spoke about the STOP School Violence grants in his remarks to the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Orlando, Florida.Trump, Oct. 8:\u00a0Last week, my administration also provided historic levels of funding to improve school safety. Through STOP School Violence grants, we are giving local schools and police departments the resources they need to hire more officers, and train more teachers, and better detect and address early warning signs of mental illness before it\u2019s too late.The White House said the president was referring to the STOP School Violence Act and the programs it funds.On Oct. 2, the Department of Justice announced that it had awarded more than $70 million for school safety through the STOP School Violence Act. A week earlier, Attorney General Jeff Sessions had announced\u00a0$200,000 in funding to the National Association of School Resource Officers \u201cto expand and update their curriculum to better support training programs,\u201d the announcement said.The STOP School Violence Act was created by the\u00a0Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, an omnibus bill that the president signed in March. The omnibus spending bill provided $75 million to the STOP School Violence Act to address school violence. The Bureau of Justice Assistance, or BJA, received $50 million, and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS Office, received $25 million in grant money.\u201cBJA received $50 million to provide grants to states, units of local government, and Indian tribes. These grants are used for the training of teachers and the education of students to prevent student violence, and to support threat assessments, crisis intervention teams, and the use of technology for anonymous reporting,\u201d Alan R. Hanson, a principal deputy assistant attorney general,\u00a0explained to\u00a0Congress in written testimony to a House subcommittee in July. \u201cThe balance ($25 million) was provided to the COPS Office to provide grants for law enforcement training and coordination to prevent school violence and for a variety of school safety equipment (e.g., metal detectors, locks, lighting) and alerting technologies.\u201dWhen the president signed the spending bill, Education Week noted that it \u201cshifts funds from an existing, wide-ranging school safety grant program toward the new STOP School Violence Act.\u201dEducation Week, March 23:\u00a0The final budget takes $75 million appropriated for the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative \u2014 an existing program in the Department of Justice that funds research and implementation of a wide range of evidence-based safety programs that range from bullying prevention to innovative approaches to school policing \u2014 and redirects that funding toward programs authorized under the STOP School Violence Act.On its website, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service notified potential grantees that the \u201cNIJ has canceled\u00a0the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative.\u201d\u201cWith the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, the funding planned for these solicitations is no longer available for research and evaluation,\u201d the cancellation notice said. \u201cInstead, it will be used for other purposes under the Stop School Violence Act of 2018.\u201dThe National Institute of Justice website says the program, before it was cancelled, provided $246 million from fiscal years 2014 through 2017. That\u2019s an annual average of $61.5 million, with a high in funding of $69 million in fiscal 2015. With inflation, the $69 million in fiscal 2015 is a few million less than\u00a0the $75 million provided this year for STOP School Violence grants.So, it\u2019s true that the $75 million for the STOP School Violence Act is more than what Congress had appropriated for\u00a0the program it replaced, the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. That program received a low of $42 million in fiscal 2017, the last year of funding.However, the COPS in Schools program in the late 1990s and early 2000s provided much more funding for school safety than the grants awarded under the STOP School Violence Act.A\u00a02017 government report detailed the history of\u00a0federal funding for school safety programs from 1990 to 2016. The report said that then-President Bill Clinton in 1998 held \u201cthe first\u00a0White House Conference on School Safety,\u201d which resulted in the formation of two major school safety grant programs.\u201cDuring his keynote address, Clinton announced two new large-scale school safety discretionary grant programs: the COPS in Schools program to fund the hiring and training of school resource officers, and the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative to fund interagency, community-based violence prevention and behavioral health programs for school-age children and youth,\u201d the report said.The COPS in Schools program was administered by the DOJ\u2019s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS Office \u2014 the same office that received $25 million under the STOP School Violence Act. The federal report on school safety programs called COPS in Schools \u201cthe largest sustained federal effort to support SROs.\u201dBetween 1999 and 2005, the COPS in Schools, or CIS, program awarded $823.7 million in grants to law enforcement agencies to support the hiring of more than 7,000 school resource officers. At its peak, the COPS in Schools program issued grants totaling $180 million in fiscal year 2000 \u2014 which is the equivalent of about $260 million in 2018 dollars. (See Table 11 in the report for COPS in Schools funds.) That\u2019s nearly four times the STOP School Violence grants.\u201cAnnual appropriations for the CIS program total $167.5 million in FY1999, $180.0 million in FY2000, $179.6 million in FY2001, $180.0 million in FY2002, $39.7 million in FY2003, $59.4 million in FY2004, and $4.9 million in FY2005,\u201d the report said.The\u00a0Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative \u2014 a more broadly designed program that dealt with issues that included drug use, bullying and dropout prevention \u2014 provided \u201cmore than $2 billion in funding and other resources to 365 communities in 49 states\u201d from fiscal years 1999 through 2012, the report said.The report noted that the peak in federal funding for school safety occurred in the \u201cearly to mid-2000s.\u201d\u201cAfter peaking in the early to mid-2000s \u2014 a period during which several national-level school safety initiatives were active and receiving substantial appropriations \u2014 federal funding for school safety declined in the following decade,\u201d the report said.A February report on school safety by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said that Congress might want to consider restarting the dormant COPS in Schools program.CRS, Feb. 23, 2018:\u00a0In late 1990s and 2000s, Congress appropriated funding for two programs that provided funding for physical school security measures, the Matching Grant Program for School Security and the COPS in Schools program. However, neither program has been funded for several years. Policymakers might consider whether to revive these programs to help support school security efforts, especially if Congress is looking for an avenue to provide funding to schools for installation of physical security measures.Instead, Congress passed the STOP School Violence Act, which provided grants at a level well below the COPS in Schools grants \u2014 despite Trump\u2019s claim that the new law provided \u201chistoric levels of funding.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "29603", "claim": "Several major brands of lipstick contain dangerous levels of cancer-causing lead which can be detected with a gold ring.", "explanation": "Lipstick and Lead: Questions and Answers (U.S. Food and Drug Administration", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, beauty products, Contaminated Products, cosmetics", "main_text": "This terrifying warning about danger lurking in lipstick began frightening the makeup-wearing public in May 2003, even as it apparently offered them a way to protect themselves from dangerous products via a simple test which could supposedly identify a threat to their wellbeing: Example: [Collected via e-mail, July 2003] This is how to test Lipstick for \u201cLead\u201d, lead is a chemical which causes cancer. Recently a brand called, \u201cRed Earth\u201d decreased their prices from HK$67 to HK$9.90. It contains lead.Brands which contain Lead 1. Christian Dior 4 2. LANCOME 2 3. CLINIQUE 2 4. Y.S.L 5 5. ESTEE LAUDER 3 6. SHISEIDO 2 7. RED EARTH (Lip Gloss) 2 8. CHANEL (Lip Conditioner) 2 9. Market America-Motives lipstick 0 The higher the number of lead the higher the content which means a greater chance of causing Cancer. After doing this test, we found Y.S.L. lipstick to contain the most lead. It is not easy to \u201cREMOVE\u201d because of the lead. Watch out for those lipsticks which are suppose to stay longer Here is the test you can do yourself: 1. Put some lipstick on your hand, 2. Use a 24k-14k Gold ring to scratch on the lipstick. 3. If the lipstick color changes to black then you know the lipstick contains lead. Please send this information to all your girl friends. Lead may not necessarily cause cancer, but it most assuredly is an element dangerous to humans; one they should make every effort to distance themselves from. Exposure to lead can cause a range of deleterious health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities to seizures and death. Children 6 years old and under are most at risk because their bodies are growing quickly, thus additional care has to be taken to protect them from exposure to this common element. In the past, many house paints were lead-based and the solder commonly used on plumbing joints contained lead, bringing this killer into numerous unsuspecting households. But lead awareness has improved in recent years, as have regulations restricting the use of lead in goods or products average consumers might have contact with. In this respect, our houses today are far safer than those of our parents and grandparents. But what about the presence of lead in cosmetics? Although many dangerous substances (including lead) have been utilized as ingredients at various times in the history of makeup, and some women of earlier days caused themselves life-long health problems (or even managed to kill themselves) with beautifiers that amounted to death in a jar, what goes into cosmetics these days is much more regulated, controlled, and fully understood. While in the past anything and everything got tossed into the paintbox without anyone\u2019s knowing what could cause harm and what was safe to use, our modern world at least has safer cosmetics going for it. We spoke with a compliance officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the possibility of lead being present in lipsticks. All dyes used in foodstuffs or cosmetics have to be vetted by the FDA for safety, and although some of the colorants the FDA grants approval to do contain lead, it is present in such miniscule amounts that it has no adverse effects on consumers. Manufacturers who wish to do business in the USA are restricted to the use of FDA-certifiable colors only; otherwise their products will not be allowed in the country or onto the shelves of American stores. Each of these approved dyes has its own rigid set of specifications which must be adhered to. For instance, F&C Red #6 cannot contain more than 20 parts per million of lead (also not more than 3 parts per million of arsenic or 1 part per million of mercury). As for how stringent these requirements are, every time a manufacturer prepares a batch of dye for use in its products, it has to submit a sample from that batch to the FDA for certification. The FDA\u2019s certification process is exhaustive and exhausting. And only the FDA can certify colors as safe \u2014 no one else has that authority. The FDA further regulates the selection of dyes manufacturers can incorporate into their products according to the proposed end uses of the items in question. Thus, products intended for use on mucous membranes can contain only certain FDA-approved dyes rather than drawing from the full spectrum of approved dyes. Because the lips are considered mucous membranes, lipstick manufacturers may make their colorant selections only from this reduced pool. Occasionally, small-scale studies (such as one in 2006 and another in 2007) report detecting amounts of lead that exceed the FDA limits for candy (0.1 PPM) in some brands of lipstick, resulting in news reports with alarming headlines such as \u201cLipstick Found to Contain Hazardous Levels of Lead!\u201d The comparison with candy is made because the FDA has not yet issued specific standards for lead content in lipstick (and so news or consumer watchdog associations choose sweets as a comparison product), but this match up is not an apt one: people eat whole pieces of candy; they don\u2019t merely smear their lips with thin coatings of it. Also, unlike candy, lipstick is rarely eaten by the bagful. It therefore goes without saying that regulatory standards governing the lead content of items we eat (sometimes in great quantity) must be far more restrictive than those governing items that take us years to go through. (And no, there\u2019s no truth to the old saw about the average woman\u2019s swallowing six pounds of lipstick during her lifetime.) A December 2011 study conducted by the FDA found the average lead concentration in the 400 lipsticks it tested for that substance was 1.11 ppm, with results ranging from the detection limit of 0.026 ppm to the highest value of 7.19 ppm. The FDA said regarding safety concerns about the lead levels it found in lipsticks: \u201cWe have assessed the potential for harm to consumers from use of lipstick containing lead at the levels found in both rounds of testing. Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities. We do not consider the lead levels we found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern. The lead levels we found are within the limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick.\u201d Likewise, a research study conducted in 2013 by UC Berkeley\u2019s School of Public Health found that lead was present in 24 of the 32 lipstick samples they tested, but at levels that were within safety guidelines (estimated lead intake for the product with the highest lead concentration was between 3% and 12% of the acceptable daily intake). The cited FDA limit of 0.1 ppm is for lead in \u201ccandy likely to be consumed frequently by small children,\u201d but lipstick is rarely used by small children (who are much more susceptible to contaminants such as lead) at all, let alone frequently. Finally, until very recently the FDA limits for lead in candy were five times higher than they are now. This puts the amounts of lead found in that 2007 examination of lipsticks into a bit better perspective: In 2006 the FDA limit on lead in candy meant for children was 0.5 ppm, and the highest amounts of lead in lipstick uncovered by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in 2007 were 0.65 ppm, followed by 0.58 ppm and 0.56 ppm, with all other lipsticks it examined falling well below the 0.5 ppm mark (4th in line was 0.28 ppm). The FDA said about the reasonableness of comparing lead levels found in lipstick to the limit established for candy that: \u201d The FDA-recommended upper limit for lead in candy is 0.1 ppm. It is not scientifically valid to equate the risk to consumers presented by lead levels in candy, a product intended for ingestion, with that associated with lead levels in lipstick, a product intended for topical use and ingested in much smaller quantities than candy.\u201d As to what the limit on lead in lipstick should be, a 25 July 1990 Cosmetics, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association memo about the use of \u201ccarbon black\u201d in cosmetics noted: \u201cCTFA has proposed that residues of lead and arsenic be limited to a maximum of 20 ppm and 2 ppm, respectively,\u201d which is 100 to 50 times the level discovered in reports about lead found in lipstick. (Now, granted, that CTFA proposal had to do with a particular component of the cosmetic rather than the whole of the product itself. But even so, it\u2019s reasonable to conclude the amount of lead in those lead-bearing lipsticks fell well within the broad range of what the FDA considers innocuous.) Despite initial inability to see the resultant streaks, further tests conducted under strong light by rubbing various metals across lipstick smears made on sheets of white paper produced dark brown marks. Rubs of pewter, copper, silver, and gold across samples drawn from three Revlon Colorstay Lipcolors left dark streaks in their wakes; rubs of stainless steel did not. Even coins produced reactions, with dimes and nickels leaving discernable streaks, although pennies did not. (Which is not all that surprising, given the reaction to copper noted above. Pennies are 2.5% copper and 97.5% zinc; nickels are 75% copper and 25% nickel, and dimes are 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel.) All reactions were more noticeable against streaks of lighter-colored lipstick. Yet the interests of science carried me further, especially after a call to Revlon failed to yield anything that would help explain what component of the cosmetic was reacting to those metals. Remembering that lipstick is (at its most basic) oil, wax, and color, I rubbed the four metals across swipes of wax made on white paper, and again saw dark streaks, albeit gray ones. Curiosity then inspired me to make yet another test with the four metals, this time against plain white paper. And once again, the gray streaks were there. The streaks that supposedly herald the presence of lead in one\u2019s lipstick are in reality dark marks produced by the testing agents themselves. Gold, silver, copper, and pewter leave these trails no matter what they\u2019re rubbed against, in the same way that pencils make marks on whatever surfaces they are trailed along. That these marks appear more prominent against a lipstick backdrop is attributable to contrast \u2014 streaks that look gray against a white background seem brown against a reddish background, and brown is a color more readily discerned by the eye. The bottom line is that U.S. medical literature has yet to record a single case of anyone\u2019s coming down with lead poisoning through lipstick use. (And, in any case, contrary to what is claimed in the alarming e-mail quoted above, contracting cancer is not one of the recorded adverse health effects one is likely to suffer through excessive exposure to lead.) Of course, all of this information applies to lipstick legally produced and sold in the U.S. When it comes to unauthorized imports and counterfeit cosmetics that evade the scrutiny of government regulatory agencies, all bets are off. Additional information: Tips to Prevent Lead Exposure (Center for Disease Control)"}
{"claim_id": "8671", "claim": "Beijing quarantines returning residents as China struggles to pick up economy.", "explanation": "People returning to the Chinese capital Beijing from extended holidays on Friday were ordered to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine to help prevent spread of the new coronavirus, as hard-hit Hubei province reported more than 2,400 new cases.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The official Beijing Daily newspaper said people failing to obey would be punished but it was not immediately clear how that would be enforced, or whether the restrictions would apply to non-residents of Beijing or foreigners arriving from abroad. \u201cFrom now on, all those who have returned to Beijing should stay at home or submit to group observation for 14 days after arriving,\u201d read the notice from Beijing\u2019s virus prevention working group cited by the Beijing Daily. \u201cThose who refuse to accept home or centralized observation and other prevention and control measures will be held accountable under law,\u201d it said. Stricter containment measures were planned elsewhere as well. Honghu city in Hubei province imposed a \u201cwartime\u201d lock-down beginning on Friday, with strict management of entry into housing compounds and villages, according to an official social media account of the local police, China\u2019s CCTV reported. Hubei officials said there were 2,420 new cases on Friday and 139 more deaths. A top Chinese official, in an interview with Reuters, acknowledged that coronavirus was a huge challenge, but defended Beijing\u2019s management of the epidemic and lashed out at the \u201coverreaction\u201d of some countries. State Councillor Wang Yi, who also serves as China\u2019s foreign minister, said China has taken decisive measures to fight the epidemic, many going beyond international health regulations and World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. \u201cThrough our efforts the epidemic is overall under control,\u201d he said. China is struggling to get the world\u2019s second largest economy going after the annual Lunar New Year holiday, which was extended by 10 days to help contain the highly contagious virus. Including the latest numbers from Hubei at the epicenter of the outbreak, the total number of cases in mainland China now exceeds 66,000, with more than 1,500 deaths. The figures show no sign that the outbreak is nearing a peak, said Adam Kamradt-Scott, an infectious diseases expert at the Center for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney. With 500 million people already affected by movement and travel restrictions, President Xi Jinping warned top officials last week that efforts to contain the virus had gone too far and were threatening the economy, sources said. In Beijing and the business hub Shanghai, streets and subways remain largely deserted with many shops and restaurants empty or shut. Government employee Jin Yang, 28, made it to his Beijing office and found it \u201canything but normal.\u201d  Canteen lunches are banned in favor of boxed meals eaten at desks. Meetings are held online, not in person. Employees must wear masks all day and report their temperature twice a day as fever is one of the virus\u2019 main symptoms. Outside mainland China, there have been nearly 450 cases in some 24 countries and territories, and three deaths. Japan confirmed its first coronavirus death on Thursday. One person has died in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines. WUHAN\u2019S SELF-HELP  Wuhan, the central Chinese city of 11 million people where the outbreak began, has been hardest hit by the virus. With all public transport, taxis and ride-hailing services shut down in the city, volunteer drivers are responding to requests on ad hoc messaging groups to ferry medical staff and others in vital jobs to and from work, risking their own health. Others work round the clock to find accommodation for medical workers in hotels that have volunteered rooms. Graphic: Comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS - here  \u201cEveryone in our group has such a strong sense of mission,\u201d said 53-year-old Chen Hui, who runs one of the ad hoc ride services. The virus is killing around 2% of those infected, but has spread faster than other respiratory viruses that emerged this century. A WHO-led joint mission with China will start its outbreak investigation work this weekend, focusing on how the new coronavirus is spreading and its severity, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The mission will also seek more details on how, where and when the more than 1,700 healthworkers infected contracted the new virus, WHO officials said. The mission will also look into what \u201cinformation is needed so that the world can use this window of opportunity to prepare health systems and workers for possible outbreaks,\u201d Tedros said. Economists polled by Reuters said China\u2019s economic downturn would be short-lived if the outbreak was contained, but expected this quarter would show China\u2019s slowest growth rate since the global financial crisis. The Chinese carmakers\u2019 association said auto sales in China were likely to slide more than 10% in the first half of the year because of the epidemic. Vietnam has imposed a 20-day quarantine on Son Loi, a rural community outside Hanoi where 11 of the country\u2019s 16 coronavirus cases are located, two local officials said. The virus is taking its toll on the $46 billion global ocean cruise industry. The biggest cluster of infections outside China has been on a cruise liner quarantined in a Japanese port, with 218 people on board infected and taken to hospital. On Friday, some passengers were allowed to disembark to complete their quarantine on shore."}
{"claim_id": "37886", "claim": "In 2009's H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, 1.4 billion people were sickened globally, and nearly 600,000 died.", "explanation": "Did H1N1 Infect 1.4 Billion People and Kill Nearly 600,000 Worldwide?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "Under \u201ctweets that didn\u2019t age well,\u201d on April 2 2020 pundit Bill Mitchell criticized\u00a0measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 \u2014 claiming that the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic infected 1.4 billion people worldwide and killed almost 600,000:BREAKING NEWS:COVID-19 just surpassed 1 million cases worldwide. Only 1,399,000,000 cases to go until it matches the 1.4 billion cases of H1N1 in 2009. 51,560 deaths and only 525,000 to go to match H1N1.I am sure am glad we wrecked the economy over this, aren't you?\u2014 Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) April 2, 2020Mitchell tacked on a claim that \u201cwe wrecked the economy\u201d over COVID-19, implying that economic downturns were avoidable without social distancing \u2014 which is an opinion that is not necessarily grounded in any facts.The TweetHe said:BREAKING NEWS:COVID-19 just surpassed 1 million cases worldwide. Only 1,399,000,000 cases to go until it matches the 1.4 billion cases of H1N1 in 2009. 51,560 deaths and only 525,000 to go to match H1N1.I am sure am glad we wrecked the economy over this, aren\u2019t you?According to Mitchell, a total 1.4 billion people were infected during the H1N1 pandemic, and 576,560 (525,000 + 51,560) people died globally during the swine flu pandemic.Actual NumbersMitchell didn\u2019t provide a citation for his sources in the April 2 2020 tweet above, but the 1.4 billion statistic (and a similar mortality figure)\u00a0appeared in a March 18 2020 LiveScience article:It\u2019s been a little over a decade since the world experienced its last pandemic, the 2009 H1N1 swine flu. Between the spring of 2009 and the spring of 2010, the virus infected as many as 1.4 billion people across the globe and killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, according to the Centers for Disease Protection and Control. Now, the world is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.The context of that reporting was relevant. Although Mitchell claimed that there were \u201c1.4 billion cases of H1N1 in 2009\u201d and just under 600,000 deaths, LiveScience included\u00a0ranges for both:Reference to \u201cas many as\u201d and \u201cbetween\u201d alluded to a range of estimates, and Mitchell sifted out the absolute highest numbers to attempt to make his point.But even that short excerpt contained additional context \u2014 namely, that those figures were compiled well after the H1N1 pandemic had ended. Comparing rates of infections and deaths at the beginning of a pandemic versus years after one ends is obviously going to yield misleading and unsteady comparisons, since as of April 2 2020, a large number of people had yet to fall ill with or die from COVID-19.LiveScience.com cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its statistic, and linked to this page (\u201c2009 H1N1 Pandemic.\u201d) The number 1.4 billion does not appear anywhere on that page, and the statistic appears to have been extrapolated from either this portion:Though the 2009 flu pandemic primarily affected children and young and middle-aged adults, the impact of the (H1N1)pdm09 virus on the global population during the first year was less severe than that of previous pandemics. Estimates of pandemic influenza mortality ranged from 0.03 percent of the world\u2019s population during the 1968 H3N2 pandemic to 1 percent to 3 percent of the world\u2019s population during the 1918 H1N1 pandemic. It is estimated that 0.001 percent to 0.007 percent of the world\u2019s population died of respiratory complications associated with (H1N1)pdm09 virus infection during the first 12 months the virus circulated.Or from 2013 estimates that one in five people globally had contracted H1N1 in 2009 and 2010:The study, which used data from 19 countries, collated results from more than 24 studies involving some 90,000 blood samples collected before, during and after the pandemic. The results, published in the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, showed 20 to 27 percent of people studied were infected during the first year of the pandemic.Once again, those figures were the high end of a range, and estimated.Interim COVID-19 Infections and DeathsIncidentally, 22 days after Mitchell\u2019s tweet, on April 24 2020, nearly 200,000 people worldwide had died of COVID-19 (and more than 50 thousand of those deaths were in the United States):Does the United States Have 4 Percent of the World\u2019s Population and 25 Percent of the Deaths from COVID-19?Cherry picking in the same fashion Mitchell did could, for instance, support the argument that as of April 24 2020, more people died of COVID-19 early in the pandemic than had died in the lower range of estimates for the totality of the H1N1/swine flu pandemic (151,700).Pandemics and Wide Estimated RangesOn April 23 2020, we examined a different pandemic comparison on Twitter, and noted that even the modern attempts to piece together exact figures were inexact:Did the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Kill 20 to 30 Million, While the First Wave Killed 3 to 5 Million?Figures on the high ended tended to included guesses or estimates about those mildly sickened or otherwise not counted officially, and researchers created such tallies in a variety of ways in order to better quantify the long-term effects of pandemics. Although research and medical study have advanced by leaps and bounds since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, limitations in counting unreported cases continued to clearly hinder researchers\u2019 ability to hammer down extremely precise numbers \u2014 leaving ranges as wide as between \u201c151,700 and 575,400\u201d deaths during a 2009-2010 pandemic.In SummationMitchell claimed that 1.4 billion people were infected during the 2009-2010 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, and over 575,000 people died. Mitchell seemed to deliberately select the absolute highest end of very wide ranges, figures assessed years after that pandemic had come and gone. Mitchell\u2019s tweet also appeared at the beginning of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, and within a few weeks, there had been more deaths globally (194,000) than the lowest range for the totality of the H1N1 pandemic (157,000). In short, not only was the premise flawed and dishonestly presented, but the claims were\u00a0Not True.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "7306", "claim": "Troubled Texas anti-abortion group seeks federal grant money.", "explanation": "An anti-abortion group hired by Texas to bolster women\u2019s health services is seeking federal family planning funding after the state cancelled $6 million in troubled contracts with the evangelical nonprofit last year.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Planned Parenthood, Health, Abortion, Womens health, Texas", "main_text": "The Round Rock-based Heidi Group has applied with two other Texas health providers for tens of millions of dollars in grant funding under the federal Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 Title X program, the Houston Chronicle reported. The program makes family-planning services available to low-income individuals for free or at low cost. The groups\u2019 collaborative funding application calls for the grant money to be managed by the Obria Group, a Catholic organization that\u2019s vying to become a national alternative to Planned Parenthood. The group requested nearly $8 million annually for three years, and medical duties would be split among the three health providers to serve about 15,000 patients each year. Obria has been denied Title X funding in the past because it doesn\u2019t support the use of condoms or other kinds of birth control. If approved, the Obria Group could see a major expansion in the state with the country\u2019s highest rate of uninsured residents. There are roughly 1.8 million women in need of publicly-funded family planning services in Texas. It would also help the Heidi Group re-surface after Texas health officials cut ties with the nonprofit last year. The Heidi Group was hired in 2016 to help strengthen small clinics that specialize in women\u2019s health like Planned Parenthood but don\u2019t offer abortions. The intention was that the Heidi Group would help the clinics boost their patient rolls to show there wouldn\u2019t be a gap in services after Republican lawmakers cut off Planned Parenthood. A 2017 investigation by The Associated Press found the anti-abortion nonprofit didn\u2019t even get close to serving 50,000 women, as promised. Texas cancelled $6 million in contracts in October, and health officials said more than $1 million in billings are under investigation. \u201cWe believe our involvement will significantly improve the availability and access to these important services,\u201d said the Heidi Group\u2019s founder Carol Everett in a letter submitted with the grant application. Everett, who\u2019s an influential conservative activist in the Texas Legislature, declined to comment further. Texas currently receives about $13 million a year from the Title X program, which is at the center of a lawsuit from two groups seeking to block a new rule from President Donald Trump\u2019s administration. The rule announced last month would prohibit family planning clinics funded by Title X from making abortion referrals. Obria is competing for funding with the Women\u2019s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, which served 195,000 patients last year. The state Health and Human Services Commission has also requested $16 million in federal family planning funding to serve 53,000 patients. Grant decisions are expected soon. The program\u2019s next fiscal year begins April 1. ___ Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com"}
{"claim_id": "28372", "claim": "Visitors to prisons in Virginia are prohibited from wearing tampons or menstrual cups.", "explanation": "What's true: A ban prohibiting prison visitors in Virginia from wearing tampons was announced in September 2018 and would have taken effect on 6 October 2018. What's false: After public criticism by activist groups, the ban was \"suspended\" and has gone unenforced.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "In September 2018, corrections officials in Virginia briefly implemented new limits on female visitors to prisons, citing concerns over incoming contraband. But after activist groups highlighted the policy, it was dropped before it actually went into effect. David Robinson, chief of operations for the state Department of Corrections (DOC), announced the controversial policy on 17 September 2018, telling staffers in a memo that \u201cAs a result of recent inquiries about feminine hygiene products being an ideal way to conceal contraband \u2026 offender visitors shall be notified that the use of tampons or menstrual cup products are no longer permitted to be worn during visitation.\u201d On 22 September 2018, the activist group the Prison Reform Movement brought the change to light, posting a similar memo to employees of the Nottoway Correctional Center issued by warden David Call: VA is now NOT allowing visitors to wear a tampon or menstrual cup during visits\u2026.this is way over the line\u2026.. pic.twitter.com/9JxzWrT6cS \u2014 PrisonReformMovement (@PrisonReformMvt) September 23, 2018  DOC spokesperson Lisa Kinney said at the time that employees would be exempt from the ban, which was to have taken effect on 6 October 2018. According to Kinney, prison visitors accounted for 58 of 62 instances of contraband smuggling between 1 February 2018 and 31 August 2018, and the policy change would cut down on prisoner overdoses. \u201cThere have been many instances in which visitors have attempted to smuggle drugs into our prisons by concealing those drugs in a body cavity, including the vagina,\u201d Kinney said. Besides the Prison Reform Movement, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia also condemned the policy. The latter group\u2019s executive director, Claire Gasta\u00f1ega, said in a statement that: Helping people who are housed in jail or prison stay connected to friends, families, and communities is critical to rehabilitation and eventual, successful re-entry to society. Any policy that discourages visitors is, therefore, one that should be subject to the most exacting and careful review. In addition, a policy like this one that requires those who wish to visit people who are incarcerated to set aside their dignity and health is simply unacceptable. On 25 September 2018, Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran announced that he would suspend the ban \u201cuntil a more thorough review of its implementation and potential consequences are considered.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "9798", "claim": "The Healthy Skeptic: Probiotics could help in cold and flu season", "explanation": "The marketing message of \u201cimproving overall immune health\u201d deserves to be scrutinized whenever and wherever it appears. We\u2019ve reviewed more than a half dozen stories on probiotics in recent years. Hype lives on. So there\u2019s room for healthy skepticism, as in this LA Times column.", "label": "true", "subjects": "common cold,Probiotics", "main_text": "The story includes the cost of several of the products mentioned. The story reported: \u201cA September 2011 Cochrane Review of 14 studies found \u201cweak\u201d evidence that probiotics could help prevent the common cold and other upper respiratory infections in infants, children and younger adults. And an April 2011 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a Lactobacillus probiotic seemed to improve the immune system\u2019s response following a flu vaccination.\u201d We would have preferred to read some of the actual data about \u201chow weak\u201d (in the Cochrane Review) and how much improvement in the other study. But we liked that the story quantified, via an independent expert, how many people might expect to avoid a cold by taking probiotics, if these \u201cweak\u201d studies are correct: \u201cperhaps as few as 1 in 30.\u201d  The \u201cgenerally safe\u201d line is too vague for us. There are side effects and risks associated with probiotic use. The article quotes Paul Forsythe, a respiratory specialist and assistant professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. \u201c\u2026 as Forsythe noted in an April 2011 issue of the journal Chest, most of the research on probiotics has been conducted in mice, and the real-world immunity benefits for humans are uncertain. Companies \u201care taking evidence from animal studies and stretching their claims,\u201d he says\u201d No disease mongering. Independent sources contributed perspectives to this story. The story\u2019s second paragraph briefly mentions some options: \u201cAvoiding germs entirely would require something like solitary confinement or a head-to-toe application of Purell. As an alternative, many people try to do what they can to strengthen their immune systems. Vitamin C is old news, and echinacea and other herbs haven\u2019t really panned out. \u201c The availability of these products is clear from the story. Not applicable; no overt claims of novelty were made. It\u2019s clear that the story did not rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "14083", "claim": "Today, it is more difficult to enlist in the U.S. military than it is to enroll in college.", "explanation": "Kooyenga said: \"Today, it is more difficult to enlist in the U.S. military than it is to enroll in college.\" There isn\u2019t definitive evidence to prove the claim, given that it mixes apples and oranges: The military and college are entirely different pursuits with different sets of minimum standards for getting in, and among colleges, the entrance requirements vary widely. At the same time, there are credible estimates saying that roughly 75 percent of young adults in America wouldn\u2019t be eligible to enlist if they tried, while roughly two out of three high school graduates go on to a two- or four-year college. For a statement that is partially accurate.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Education, Military, Public Health, Wisconsin, Dale Kooyenga, ", "main_text": "So, if three out of every four young adults are not eligible for the military, but two out of every three high school graduates go onto college, what does that say? To Wisconsin state Rep. Dale Kooyenga, a military intelligence officer in the Army Reserves and a veteran of the Iraq War, it says this: \"Today, it is more difficult to enlist in the United States military than it is to enroll in college.\" That\u2019s a broad claim from Kooyenga, a suburban Milwaukee Republican who made the statement in his April 1, 2016 constituent newsletter. He was asserting that \"if we are going to continue to be the world\u2019s military leader, we must also become a leader in education.\" Kooyenga seems to have a compelling talking point. But, as defense manpower specialist Beth Asch told us, it\u2019s also \"a mashup of a lot of ideas in one sentence.\" Post-high school Both the military and college are post-high school pursuits that require a high school diploma. But the similarities more or less end there. The military is looking for soldiers; colleges are looking for students. The minimum requirements to get into the military are pretty standard, even if they vary somewhat by branch. But the entrance requirements to get into Harvard are much different than those for getting into a community college. The military will pay you; but most students need to pay for college. So, in terms of Kooyenga\u2019s claim: More difficult for whom? It\u2019s more difficult for an overweight person with good grades to get into the military; but it\u2019s more difficult for a fit person with bad grades to get into college. All that being said, Kooyenga does have some numbers on his side. The statistics Asch, an economist with the RAND Corp. think tank, said statistics Kooyenga cited to us to back his claim are generally on target. Military: Defense Department estimates dating back to at least 2009 say roughly 75 percent of Americans ages 17 to 24 would not qualify to enlist in the military. One reason is being overweight. Indeed, when first lady Michelle Obama said in 2011 that more than one-quarter of America\u2019s young adults are too fat to serve in the U.S. military, PolitiFact Georgia rated her claim True. Other common reasons for being barred from the military, besides lacking a high school diploma: Conviction of a felony or serious misdemeanor; prior drug or alcohol abuse; and current prescription-drug use for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). College: Federal statistics, including one Kooyenga cited, show that roughly 66 percent of people who graduate from high school go onto college. (For 2015 high school graduates, 69 percent had enrolled in colleges or universities by October 2015, according to a federal report.) But, the two sets of figures reinforce the point that, while Kooyenga\u2019s claim was broad, it really comes down to individual characteristics as to whether it\u2019s more difficult for a person to get into the military versus college. Our rating Kooyenga said: \"Today, it is more difficult to enlist in the U.S. military than it is to enroll in college.\" There isn\u2019t definitive evidence to prove the claim, given that it mixes apples and oranges: The military and college are entirely different pursuits with different sets of minimum standards for getting in, and among colleges, the entrance requirements vary widely. At the same time, there are credible estimates saying that roughly 75 percent of young adults in America wouldn\u2019t be eligible to enlist if they tried, while roughly two out of three high school graduates go on to a two- or four-year college. For a statement that is partially accurate, our rating is ."}
{"claim_id": "4179", "claim": "Indiana: Harmful algae blooms detected on Ohio River.", "explanation": "Indiana officials are warning people about harmful algae blooms on the Ohio River near Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Cincinnati, General News, Kentucky, Environment, Ohio, Indiana, Algae", "main_text": "The Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Indiana State Department of Health issued the warning on Friday, cautioning swimmers and boaters to be careful in all recreational waters this time of the year. The agencies advised boaters and swimmers to avoid contact with visible algae and swallowing water and to bathe with warm, soapy water after coming in contact with water, especially before preparing or consuming food. Pets and livestock should also not be allowed to swim in or drink untreated water. Exposure to the algae blooms can lead to rashes, eye irritation, nausea, and other symptoms. More information is available online."}
{"claim_id": "34635", "claim": "A cryptic blog called \"Two Droplets\" told the story of the catastrophic effect of two droplets of drain cleaner on a family's life.", "explanation": "On 18 February 2016, the author of the above-embedded Facebook post contacted us about the claim. We\u00a0responded to that individual and received a reply from the blog\u2019s purported author, including a photo of the injury. However,\u00a0that reply included no verified or verifiable information helpful to documenting this report as true.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Fauxtography, drain cleaner, triplets, two droplets", "main_text": "On 16 February 2016, a blog called Two Droplets appeared and became a social media sensation. Its author claimed to be the wife of a man who had unwittingly fallen victim to a bizarre and unexpected medical anomaly stemming from two droplets of drain cleaner. The blog\u2019s writer was anonymous (as was her spouse), and her story began: In June of 2010 my husband was a perfectly healthy 26 year old man. We were living life with our almost 3 year old daughter and our one year old triplets (two boys and girl). Life was as normal as it could be for a family with that sort of dynamic. On another one of our ordinary days, the bathroom sink became clogged. My husband used a widely sold drain cleaner in an attempt to fix the issue. He poured the chemical into a funnel placed in the pipe under the sink and that\u2019s when it happened. Two droplets. The funnel burped and two droplets of the chemical hit the back of his hand. We had no clue at that moment our lives would never be the same. The chemical began to eat away at the skin. We lived 5 minutes from a local hospital, so I snapped a photo of the ingredients on the bottle and we headed off to the emergency room. The hospital called poison control and proceeded to follow protocol in treating the chemical burn. He ended up having a skin graft performed to cover the wound area which was not much larger than a quarter. Done, right? End of story? Not even close. It was only the beginning. The narrative advanced to describe an escalation of unexpected damage due to the \u201ctwo droplets\u201d incident: To keep a story so long I could create a page count to rival War & Peace short, he ended up having 27 surgeries in total to try and remedy the issue. He had grafts and flaps and even had his hand sewn into his stomach for three weeks. None of it worked. His body has served as harvesting ground for his hand. Both of his upper legs, an upper arm, his groin area, and his abdomen are covered with scars from donor sites. Oddly, those sites have all healed and never experienced the dreaded necrosis. His hand, however, kept relentlessly dying. It got to the point that he was spending as much time in the hospital as he was at home. The flares were getting closer together and more aggressive. According to the author, the condition progressed so severely that amputation was the only available choice. Even then, she said, her husband failed to improve: On December 15, 2015 my husband made the difficult decision to have an amputation performed. It had been suggested by a few doctors in the last couple of years and was considered the heavy end game to the awful journey of trying to save the limb. He decided that he had done everything and couldn\u2019t take it anymore. He decided he was through suffering, and he was through watching his wife and children suffer. It became clear that quality of life with one hand would be superior to the quality of life that came with a dead, diseased, and painful hand. It was time \u2026 On February 12, 2016, just shy of 2 months post-amputation, the familiar, awful, life shattering ache returned. Shortly thereafter, so had the mysterious necrosis, spreading across the end of his newly healed stump. That stump represented the fact that he literally gave his right hand in exchange for a better life, and now the end of it wears a taunting badge of the dead flesh we thought had been removed from our lives for good. What a tremendous slap in the face. This \u201cthing\u201d with no face and no name has returned to destroy our lives and our dreams of a normal future without constant pain and suffering. The single post on the blog concluded with three objectives: First, to remind readers to be grateful for what they had in life, lest a chance encounter with drain cleaner slowly rob them of their health and sanity. The second was a plea for anyone with medical expertise to contact the anonymous family in the hopes of resolving the persistent health issue. The third was an apparent attempt at humor,\u00a0urging people with plumbing problems to call a plumber rather than use\u00a0chemical drain cleaners. The ambiguity and lack of clear purpose presented by the post was puzzling. The author stated outright that she sought no \u201chandouts\u201d for her family\u2019s troubles. The only visible comment on the post was attributed to the original author, and she stated her resolve not to name the chemical by which her spouse was purportedly injured (despite the value such a disclosure would present to anyone interested in helping\u00a0with the medical mystery): I want to go ahead and leave a comment here to address the most common questions/suggestions I am receiving: No, I do not want to put out the name of the drain cleaner due to the fact that the statute of limitations for product liability has passed. We have not sued and that ship has sailed. I am no legal expert, but I fear blasting the company on the internet would land me in some legal trouble so I will keep the brand name to myself. Next, it is not necrotizing faciitis. That was ruled out. We have also explored the possibility of pyoderma gangrenosum at length with no success. My husband has been to wound care centers and has undergone a ton of hyberbaric chamber treatments, so our answer does not lie there. I have received an enormous response, far beyond what I ever dreamed, and I appreciate the kindness of every single person that has taken the time to pray for us and offer suggestions. I will spend the coming days sorting through e-mails and comments and get back to everyone I feel will be of help to us. If you are sharing this and/or taking the time to offer resources and suggestions I thank you from the depths of my heart. I am humbled beyond words. Please keep sharing. \u2665 The blog post had\u00a0seven images, none of which led to a hit on a reverse image search engine. If the photographs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)\u00a0appeared on the internet prior to the \u201cTwo Droplets\u201d blog, they were neither\u00a0widely distributed nor\u00a0associated with any other injury or accident. A Facebook and Twitter user shared a link to the post multiple times alongside a claim that the poster was a personal friend, but that user also provided no identifying information: // <! [CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = \"//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v2.3\"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]> Shamelessly sharing this again. The WordPress page has already received over 160,000+ views in just one day. My friend\u2026 Posted by Marlana Weber on\u00a0Tuesday, February 16, 2016 It wasn\u2019t long before the post was shared Reddit\u2019s r/medicine (a subreddit for medical professionals). One poster pointed out that the story felt incomplete: None of the story adds up. He had far more than a few drops of a chemical agent on his skin, either has underlying vascular issues to that hand, had an infected skin graft that wasn\u2019t treated properly, delayed treatment far beyond what she described, etc. Another observed that help would be unlikely to\u00a0materialize, given the vagueness of the claim: I\u2019m highly skeptical of this story, but I\u2019ll take it at face value. It seems fairly apparent to me that the best chance at finding some answers would of been to send the bottle of drain-cleaner to a laboratory for analysis; either A) those chemicals were not your standard drain-cleaners, or B) the bottle had been contaminated with something. After that, a biopsy of the diseased tissue to look for any hints as to the underlying mechanisms actually inducing the necrosis. Honestly, if she wants real help, she\u2019ll have to post as much relevant information for the public to see as possible. Prior to the appearance of Two Droplets, we were unable to find any previous reports of this incident. If either the affected husband or worried wife sought help, their odd tale didn\u2019t receive much attention prior to the blog\u2019s creation."}
{"claim_id": "10329", "claim": "Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis symptoms curbed by bariatric surgery", "explanation": "This is a chart review study which shows that losing excess weight\u00a0by undergoing\u00a0bariatric surgery could lessen the pain and inflammation experienced by\u00a0psoriasis sufferers. While the treatment sounds hopeful, important information about the other (overall) benefits of bariatric surgery, its risks, alternatives and costs, including costs of treating complications, were\u00a0all missing from this news release. This news release comes from a poster presented at a national meeting, which has not yet undergone peer review. Many key elements were not well described or sufficiently highlighted. The fact that this research comes from observational data (chart review) is important since we cannot infer causation from this type of research, and it is possible that some other factor stemming from the surgery besides the weight loss (for example, changes in diet or absorption of key nutrients) was responsible for the remission in psoriasis symptoms, rather than the weight loss itself. Psoriasis affects millions of\u00a0Americans, and many people\u00a0with moderate to severe psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis in their lifetimes. If obesity contributes to the development of this painful condition, then weight loss methods such as bariatric surgery may reduce those symptoms. Psoriasis sufferers may have few options to treat what is a lifetime of inflammation and pain, so if safe and effective methods to reduce those symptoms are available, many people could benefit. However, it needs to be pointed out that bariatric surgery is indicated only for morbid obesity, and it is not clear whether other weight loss therapies would result in the same benefit.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release,psoriasis,Weight loss", "main_text": "The release contained no cost information related to bariatric surgery and its potential complications. Bariatric surgery has become commonplace but it is costly and carries risk. The release should have also mentioned the theoretical costs related to better symptom control for psoriasis sufferers who have undergone bariatric surgery. These could include a possible reduction in costs of anti-inflammatory drugs or other therapies. Although it is hard for a reader to picture what a severity score of 5.6 for psoriasis would actually look like, the news release at least gives us the range of possible scores (0-10) and the absolute reduction in scores for disease severity. It would have been helpful to know if such a reduction would allow a psoriasis patient to stop using one of their medications or need fewer interventions. We assume that these are the averages of the scores of the 86 patients who underwent surgery (the \u201csignificant reductions in their \u201cdisease severity scores dropping from 5.6 to 4.4, and scores falling from 6.4 to 4.5 for those with psoriatic arthritis.\u201d) The study monitored patients on average for\u00a0more than six years, \u201cwith an average excess weight loss of 46.2 percent body weight.\u201d \u00a0It would have been helpful to also include the average pre-surgery starting weight of the volunteers. Sadly, no harms related to bariatric surgery were mentioned, nor were the likelihood of complications due to the surgery and the rate of reversals that are often necessary. Psoriasis is an important problem but clearly bariatric surgery would not be a first-line treatment for the condition. The trade-offs in terms of risks of complications and required lifestyle changes after bariatric surgery are critical considerations for a patient hoping to reduce their psoriasis symptoms. The release relates that this is an analysis of existing data and how many subjects were included in the analysis, as well as the rating scale. However, the release never cautions readers that this was an observational study subject to a variety of limitations, and the language used in the release strongly suggests a cause-and-effect relationship between bariatric surgery and symptom reductions. Examples: It would have been more appropriate to state that surgery and weight loss were associated with symptom improvement, rather than that they \u201cimprove\u201d or \u201creduce\u201d symptoms. We\u2019d also liked to have been provided with information on how the patients (outside the 55 percent of patients with psoriasis and 62 percent of patients with psoriatic arthritis who reported improvements in their disease) fared in relation to the bariatric surgery. No evidence of disease mongering here. The story cites accurate numbers for psoriasis in the United States. As a caution, we\u2019d like to add that anytime bariatric surgery is mentioned as a treatment option, it should be stressed that it is a procedure of last resort, only offered to those who are severely obese, have additional health problems such as cardiovascular disease, and for whom other, safer weight-loss options have not worked. The news release discloses that the patient histories that were reviewed came from bariatric surgery patients of NYU Langone, the institution that issued the news release. It states, \u201cFor the study, Reddy and colleagues reviewed the medical charts of 9,073 weight-loss surgery patients who were treated between 2002 and 2013 at NYU Langone\u2019s Weight Management Program.\u201d It would have been nice to know how other patients losing weight in the conventional sense compared to these patients. Alternatives to bariatric surgery exist and should have been mentioned. Two alternatives to bariatric surgery for reduction of psoriasis symptoms \u2014\u00a0 conventional weight loss and other treatments for psoriasis (topical agents, medications, and UV treatment) \u2014 that would reduce symptoms at least as much as surgery should have been discussed here. Presumably patients who lost weight through non-surgical means would have also benefited from having their psoriasis symptoms reduced. Bariatric surgery is widely available and most people with internet access (or any access to medical care) can figure that out fairly quickly in their area. One could easily come away from this release thinking that these researchers are the first to report psoriasis symptom reduction in those undergoing bariatric surgery (with resultant weight loss). However, such findings have been reported before, and the release does not acknowledge this. The language is generally appropriate, and hasn\u2019t exaggerated\u00a0the effects of the bariatric surgery."}
{"claim_id": "37796", "claim": "A viral image shows Tamla Horsford, the only black woman at an all-white adult sleepover, hours before she was found dead in a yard under contested circumstances.", "explanation": "On the morning of November 4 2018, Tamla Horsford was found dead in a backyard after attending an \u201cadult sleepover\u201d with seven white women. From the outset, Horsford\u2019s family were concerned her death was improperly investigated. Around February 20 2019, the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office officially closed the investigation into her death, but calls to reopen it crested during widespread protests in June 2020. Those calls were amplified by celebrities, and in early June 2020, the Forsyth Country Sheriff\u2019s Office asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to reopen the case and reexamine Horsford\u2019s death.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On June 14 2020, a Facebook user\u00a0shared the following post about the death of Tamla Horsford:Viral Posts about Tamla Horsford in June 2020An appended image of eight women \u2014 seven white and one black \u2014 was captioned \u201cThis picture literally gives me the chills.\u201d In a text post, Steele wrote:Never forget how they all helped kill the only black woman at this sleep over!!! #TamlaHorsford\u201cOn November 4th 2018, 40 year old Tamla Horsford attended an adult sleepover with 7 white women who were supposedly her friends. The \u201call women\u201d sleepover was eventually crashed by 3 white men. At 7:30 am the next morning, Tamla\u2019s badly bruised and beaten body was found in the yard by the homeowner\u2019s aunt. Police were eventually called at 9:30am. Out of the 10 people who attended the party, no one could offer the police any answers as to how Tamla passed away. A murder investigation was never conducted, the news refused to cover the story AND her family never received Tamla\u2019s autopsy report. The families involved have tight political ties and lots of money. Tamla\u2019s family believe they are covering up the murder. The case was eventually closed in 2019. SAY HER NAME- Tamla Horsford. May we never forget.In that context, the image of Horsford in what the post claimed were her final hours was indeed chilling. But many commenters responded that they\u2019d never heard Horsford\u2019s name, nor were they aware of the circumstances of her death.Another post about the image was shared to Twitter on June 5 2020, to subsequent massive engagement:REOPEN THIS CASE TOO pic.twitter.com/a9V6RQOG2t\u2014 amanda delgadillo (@a_delgs) June 5, 2020A day later, Kim Kardashian retweeted the tweet. All of the posts included a screenshot of a June 1 2020 Instagram post by @brujeriagirl:#NeverForget \u2014> #TamlaHorsford, 40, a mother of five children, went to an all-adult sleepover to watch the game and party. She was joined by other \u201cfootball moms\u201d at the sleepover, which included seven White women and three men at a home in Forsyth County, Georgia. The next morning, Horsford was found dead in the backyard and now her case is receiving new scrutiny after Black Twitter spawned #TamlaHorsford and is asking federal law enforcement officials to get involved. Horsford was found face down in the backyard by the homeowner\u2019s aunt at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2018, but police were not called to the scene until 9:30 a.m. It was initially reported that Horsford suffered injuries to her head and face. The case becomes even stranger when another person at the party, Jose Barrera, a former probation officer for Forsyth County Court, lost his job because of improper use of the county database. Barrera is the boyfriend of the woman who owned the house where Horsford\u2019s body was found and is also considered a witness in the investigation into Horsford\u2019s death.A post shared by  Brujeria Girl \ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfb (@brujeriagirl) on Jun 1, 2020 at 1:39pm PDTIn a caption similar to the one on Facebook, @brujeriagirl wrote:#NeverForget \u2014> #TamlaHorsford, 40, a mother of five children, went to an all-adult sleepover to watch the game and party. She was joined by other \u201cfootball moms\u201d at the sleepover, which included seven White women and three men at a home in Forsyth County, Georgia. The next morning, Horsford was found dead in the backyard and now her case is receiving new scrutiny after Black Twitter spawned #TamlaHorsford and is asking federal law enforcement officials to get involved. Horsford was found face down in the backyard by the homeowner\u2019s aunt at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2018, but police were not called to the scene until 9:30 a.m. It was initially reported that Horsford suffered injuries to her head and face. The case becomes even stranger when another person at the party, Jose Barrera, a former probation officer for Forsyth County Court, lost his job because of improper use of the county database.Barrera is the boyfriend of the woman who owned the house where Horsford\u2019s body was found and is also considered a witness in the investigation into Horsford\u2019s death.The Death of Tamla HorsfordOn November 4 2018, Tamla Horsford was found dead in the yard at the house where the party she attended was hosted. As interest in the case increased in February 2020, Horsford\u2019s friends and loved ones pleaded with the public for further investigation into the circumstances of her death:The coroner\u2019s death certificate listed Horsford\u2019s death as an accident. The report said that a fall from a deck caused multiple blunt force injuries and \u201cacute ethanol intoxication\u201d was a contributing factor.But Michelle Graves says she believes something else happened to her best friend and the family hired another medical examiner who found extensive injuries all over her body.\u201cIt\u2019s impossible to get the injuries that she had from one fall,\u201d she said.Thousands on social media have called for further investigation into Horsford\u2019s death with hashtags #TamlaHorsford and #JusticeForTamlaHorsford.\u201cWe\u2019re glad we\u2019re not the only ones who feel there\u2019s something awry with the story and with how she lost her life,\u201d Graves told Petchenik.The Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office said they just got back the toxicology reports this week [of February 20 2020] and plan to have answers soon.That article mentioned in passing that Forsyth County employee Jose Barrera had at that point recently been fired for allegedly improperly accessing documents related to the investigation into Horsford\u2019s death. WSB-TV also reported that the party was held \u201cat Barrera\u2019s girlfriend house,\u201d that \u201cBarrera found Horsford lying face down in the backyard unresponsive, according to police reports,\u201d and that Barrera said in a 911 call on the morning Horsford\u2019s body was found:\u201cI\u2019m noticing a small cut on her right wrist. She\u2019s not breathing whatsoever. I don\u2019t know if this cut was self-inflicted.\u201dOn February 20 2020, the\u00a0Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office in Forsyth County, Georgia issued a press release regarding the findings of the medical examiner in an investigation into Horsford\u2019s death, and indicated that the office had closed the investigation:February 20, 2019 On November 4th, 2018, at 8:59 AM, the Forsyth County 911 Center received a call of an unresponsive person in the 4000 block of Woodlet Ct in Cumming, Georgia. First responders were dispatched and the Sheriff\u2019s Deputies arrived at 9:07 AM. Deputies discovered the clothed body of a deceased female lying in the backyard of the residence. The deceased female was later identified as 40-year-old Tamala Horsford of Cumming Georgia. Mrs. Horsford had been attending an overnight party at the residence. [\u2026]While the injuries sustained by Mrs. Horsford appeared to likely be received in a fall, Detectives awaited results from both the toxicology and the Medical Examiner reports to verify their findings. On February 6th, 2019, the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office received the final Medical Examiner\u2019s report regarding Mrs. Horsford. The State of Georgia Medical Examiner has ruled the death accidental and consistent with a fall. Detectives have spent the following weeks reviewing the medical findings with those found at the scene by the Major Crimes Unit and the Crime Scene Investigation Unit. No evidence or injury patterns indicative of an assault or foul play were noted by Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Detectives or in the Forsyth County Coroner\u2019s Office or GBI Medical Examiner\u2019s reports. During the course of this investigation, Detectives have conducted approximately 30 interviews, and spent well over 300-man hours conducting this investigation. With a finding of an accidental death resulting from a fall as recorded by the GBI Medical Examiner\u2019s Office, along with the extensive findings from the investigation of the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s office has closed this death investigation.The PictureNearly all versions of the heavily shared posts about Horsford\u2019s death were accompanied by the \u201cadult sleepover party\u201d image seen above. That photograph was part of the initial reporting by Atlanta-area outlet WGCL-TV on February 20 2019:On November 3, 2018 the 40-year-old mother of five was found dead in the backyard of a friend\u2019s house. According to investigators, [Tamla] Horsford and other female friends were attending an adult slumber party.Jeanne Meyers, who resides at the residence, told police that Horsford was seen drinking from a blue bottle of tequila and smoking marijuana the previous night. She seemed in good spirits.As the party wound down around 1:30 a.m. Meyers says her friend opted to stay out on the deck to finish a cigarette. It was the last time she was seen alive. The next morning around 7:30 a.m. Horsford\u2019s body was found.Autopsy results show Horsford sustained a laceration and fracture to her right wrist. Her cause of death is listed as \u201cmultiple blunt force injuries with other contributing factors being acute ethanol intoxication.\u201dIt was unclear how the photograph came to be in public circulation, but it appeared to be accurately described \u2014 it showed Horsford, a black woman, sitting amidst seven white women hours before she died under contested circumstances. Some iterations are credited to the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office, suggesting they released the image at some point after Horsford\u2019s death.In a February 22 2019 post by Forsyth County News, Horsford\u2019s husband Leander Horsford and other relatives expressed skepticism around the investigation into her death. Her husband said that the stories from others present at the party did not seem to add up:\u201cI want the truth of what\u2019s going on, because I mean, the stories I\u2019ve heard so far, none of them make sense,\u201d said Horsford\u2019s husband, Leander Horsford. \u201cAnd if they don\u2019t make sense, usually there\u2019s a reason they don\u2019t make sense.\u201dDuring their interview, Horsford and Terry Blanco, sister-in-law to Tamla Horsford, asked Christian why Horsford\u2019s shoes and cigarette butts weren\u2019t collected and tested, asserting that evidence could have been overlooked.\u201cEven when she\u2019s had the most she could have, she\u2019s never ever fallen down,\u201d Blanco stated. \u201cWe all know Tami and none of this makes sense.\u201dHorsford and Blanco also told detectives that the family has ordered a second autopsy done privately out of state, because they, \u201cdon\u2019t trust\u201d the system in Forsyth County.\u201cIn my personal opinion I think that the investigation has been mishandled,\u201d Horsford said. \u201cThat\u2019s just my personal opinion because there\u2019s a lot of things that were left back, that should not have been left back.\u201dDevelopments in June 2020On June 12 2020, after several viral social media posts appeared, WSB-TV reporter Mike Petchenik tweeted a letter from the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) requesting that a new investigation be opened into Horsford\u2019s death:BREAKING:  \u2066@ForsythCountySO\u2069 officially asking the \u2066@GBI_GA\u2069 to open a new investigation into the death of #TamlaHorsford. pic.twitter.com/sx1SIwWF1B\u2014 Mike Petchenik (@MPetchenikWSB) June 12, 2020Six days earlier, Petchenik tweeted an earlier statement from the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s office about their initial investigation in late 2018 and early 2019:Statement from the @ForsythCountySO about the letter. pic.twitter.com/KHjdLbhOeu\u2014 Mike Petchenik (@MPetchenikWSB) June 6, 2020On June 10 2020, Petchenik reported that a petition calling for the case to be reopened had more than 50,000 signatures. A June 5 2020 letter\u00a0from lawyer Ralph Fernandez to Leander Horsford about his review of the evidence was also shared by Petchenik on Twitter:THREAD:  Letter attached. pic.twitter.com/wnjdUmjWR1\u2014 Mike Petchenik (@MPetchenikWSB) June 6, 2020That letter read in part:The review reflects that a homicide is a strong possibility. Witness statements are in conflict. A potential subject handled the body as well as the evidence prior to the law enforcement arrival. Evidence was disposed of and no inquiry followed.The scene was not preserved. Evidence was improperly handled. The investigation was compromised by unauthorized access and disclosure to potential targets and witnesses. A remarkable fact is that there were no photographs taken during the autopsy of Tamla\u2019s body. This had to have been done at someone\u2019s directive because such a practice is unheard of.Let us address one issue as a sample, in reverse order, from the above. It appears Tamla was involved in a struggle. There were abrasions consistent with that scenario. There were parallel scratches to one arm. Since they were fresh, photos would not have proven recent use of defensive force. But having no photos inures to our detriment. There was one X-Ray, yet the injury noted as the cause of death appears nowhere. Getting the records has been another monumental task to say the least. I could go on, and will, in a few days. Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office employees have been the subject of much criticism. The case agent was a close friend of the subject, who turned out to be the leak of the ongoing investigation. The town of Cumming has a history which raises eyebrows. After conducting my extensive review I have come to the conclusion that the truth never had a chance here.A June 8 2020 tweet from Petchenik featured a Georgia Bureau of Investigation statement suggesting that photographs had been taken during Horsford\u2019s autopsy. It is not clear which assertion is correct, or why Fernandez might have been unable to access the photographs:JUST IN:  Statement from @GBI_GA about Horsford\u2019s autopsy. pic.twitter.com/1KihAJU03Z\u2014 Mike Petchenik (@MPetchenikWSB) June 8, 2020A separate June 12 2020 report by WSB-TV mentioned\u00a0that \u201cPetchenik reached out to the attorney representing the party-goers in a civil defamation case against one of Horsford\u2019s best friend to see if he had any comment but has not heard back.\u201d No additional information about the civil defamation case or parties involved appeared in that report.However, a statement attributed to lawyers for the other people at the party appeared to have been issued on February 20 2019 (based on its repeated mention of the passage of \u201c109 days\u201d between the document and Horsford\u2019s death) accused\u00a0\u201ccertain very vocal individuals\u201d of trying to turn a \u201ctragic death\u201d into something else:109 days of waiting for the certain result that was to come yesterday in the press conference by the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Department. 109 days of our clients being unable to properly grieve the death of their friend, because of what certain very vocal individuals called a \u201cmurder\u201d from the start. As stated previously, each person who was present on November 4, 2018, has cooperated completely with law enforcement officers in an attempt to give family and friends answers in regard to the tragic death of Tamla Horsford. [\u2026]As reported by the Sheriff [in February 2019] in his press conference, each of these three independent bodies found absolutely and unequivocally that there was no foul play and that there was no evidence of any assault. Our clients knew this to be fact because there was NEVER any wrongdoing by them that evening. Contrary to stories being put out there by a certain very vocal individual, this was not a racially motivated murder. This was not murder. This was not anything other than a tragic accident. Mrs. Horsford fell 18 feet from the top of the rail on the back deck to the ground.SummaryOn the morning of November 4 2018, Tamla Horsford was found dead in a backyard after attending an \u201cadult sleepover\u201d with seven white women. From the outset, Horsford\u2019s family were concerned her death was improperly investigated. Around February 20 2019, the Forsyth County Sheriff\u2019s Office officially closed the investigation into her death, but calls to reopen it crested during widespread protests in June 2020. Those calls were amplified by celebrities, and in early June 2020, the Forsyth Country Sheriff\u2019s Office asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to reopen the case and reexamine Horsford\u2019s death.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "2846", "claim": "Overweight Americans who pick diet drinks eat more food: study.", "explanation": "Heavy Americans who drink diet beverages rather than those sweetened with sugar appear to eat more, according to a study released on Thursday that raised questions about the role lower-calorie drinks play in helping people lose weight.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Researchers at Johns Hopkins University analyzed data from a U.S. survey of 24,000 people over a period of 10 years. People who were overweight or obese generally consumed the same amount of calories a day no matter what they drank, but those who chose diet drinks got more of those calories from food. Outside experts were quick to caution that it is not clear what role, if any, diet drinks such as low- or no-calorie versions of sodas, sports drinks and teas played for people who ate more. In the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, overweight drinkers of diet beverages in the United States ate 1,965 in food calories a day compared to 1,874 calories among heavy people who drank regular sugar-sweetened beverages. Among obese diet beverage drinkers, those who consumed low- or no-calorie drinks ate 2,058 calories a day in food versus 1,897 food calories for those who had regular drinks, researchers said. Such differences were statistically significant, they added. Lead author Sara Bleich said the results, when paired with other research, suggest that artificial sweeteners may affect people\u2019s metabolism or cravings, although more study is needed. She acknowledged that people could be deciding to eat more since they are saving calories with their diet drinks. \u201cThe push to diet soda may not make a lot of sense if you are then also eating more solid food,\u201d Bleich said. \u201cThe switch from a sugary beverage to a diet beverage should be coupled with other changes in the diet, particularly reducing snacks.\u201d  Critics said the analysis, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey between 1999 and 2010, is flawed and that it is too early to say what, if any, role the low-calorie drinks or their artificial sweeteners play in weight loss. Several researchers noted that the study did not track a set group of people over time and only looked at a 24-hour snapshot of what any individual consumed. The beverage industry, which has long promoted diet drinks as an alternative to full-calorie beverages, defended such alternatives to help manage weight. \u201cLosing or maintaining weight comes down to balancing the total calories consumed with those burned through physical activity,\u201d the American Beverage Association said in a statement on Thursday. Low- or no-calories drinks contain artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose. Many beverage companies are also turning to other alternatives, such as the extract of Stevia. Kelly Brownell, a professor psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and dean of its Sanford School of Public Policy, said while the study was compelling and there are still many questions about such sweeteners, more data is needed. \u201cPeople need to separate the biology from the psychology,\u201d he said. Bonnie Liebman, the director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said while her group may have other questions about artificial sweeteners, \u201cit\u2019s premature to conclude that it\u2019s something going on in your brain.\u201d  In the meantime there are other ways to watch your weight, she said: \u201cYou\u2019re much better off with water - or coffee or tea, if they\u2019re unsweetened.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "28985", "claim": "A photograph shows a rhino that was given a pink horn to prevent poaching.", "explanation": "It should also be noted that rhino horns are not properly \u201civory\u201d (as they are not teeth or tusks). Rhino horns are made of keratin.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Fauxtography", "main_text": "In May 2015, a photo purportedly showing a rhinoceros with a pink horn along with the claim that the discoloration was one intended to dissuade poachers began circulating on social media sites such as Tumblr and Reddit:  First of all, the image has been digitally manipulated. The results achieved by the Rhino Rescue Project, an organization that infuses rhino horns with a \u201ccompound made up of ectoparasiticides and indelible dye that contaminates the horn and renders it useless for ornamental or medicinal use\u201d are not nearly as pronounced as the results shown in the above-displayed photo. When the image was published by Take Part back in 2012, it was accompanied by a disclaimer stating that the \u201cphoto has been digitally altered\u201d and that the rhino in the picture did not undergo any procedure to have its horn turned pink: In fact, the dye used by the Rhino Rescue Project primarily affects the interior of the rhino horn. While in may produce slight exterior discoloration, the dye\u2019s purpose is to introduce a color change from within the horn: Our newly improved infusion process utilises very high pressures and a custom designed non-return valve that prevents the liquids from exiting through the drill hole(s) after the 10-15 min infusion has been completed. In addition, the non-return valve keeps the liquid in the horn under around 30 bars pressure for up to 10 days, ensuring that the liquid penetrates large areas of the internal horn structure. On 23 July 2013, the Rhino Rescue Project posted an unretouched photograph of a rhino that had undergone the procedure with the caption, \u201cAnd the patient is up! After being given antibiotics and painkillers, she should be feeling much more comfortable. Last reports received indicated she was doing well and recovering nicely\u201d:  In addition to discoloring the inside of the horn, the dye used by the Rhino Rescue Project is also poisonous to humans. Lorina Hern, co-founder of the group, told Public Radio International in 2015 that poachers who handle these treated horns could suffer serious health issues: \u201cAt a minimum it would start with diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, severe headaches, all the way up to nervous symptoms, which could be permanent, Hern says. Some ectoparasiticides also precipitate the development of cancers later on in life.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "7189", "claim": "Among 2020 Democrats, a debate over \u2018Medicare-for-all\u2019.", "explanation": "\u201cMedicare-for-all\u201d is quickly becoming a rallying cry for many Democratic White House hopefuls, but there are growing questions about how to pull off such a dramatic switch to a government-run health care system.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Jake Tapper, Health, Universal health care, North America, Health care reform, Medicare, Kamala Harris", "main_text": "The debate over scrapping private insurers has heated up in recent days since Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a supporter of \u201cMedicare-for-all,\u201d told CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper, \u201cWho of us has not had that situation, where you\u2019ve got to wait for approval, and the doctor says, well, I don\u2019t know if your insurance company is going to cover this? Let\u2019s eliminate all of that. Let\u2019s move on.\u201d But since her nationally televised remarks, several of Harris\u2019 rivals have pointedly spoken about their plans to work toward universal health care in more pragmatic, incremental ways. Those Democrats portray the single-payer health care proposal they\u2019ve backed as only one strategy to achieve universal coverage, while emphasizing the importance of other, less sweeping paths. Among the skeptics, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said \u201cMedicare-for-all\u201d would \u201cbankrupt for us for a very long time.\u201d Uniting Democrats is a desire to guarantee coverage for all, including an estimated 29 million people who remain uninsured. Some are backing a plan that would let people buy into Medicare, with tax credits from the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. At the forefront of the debate is Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders\u2019 \u2019Medicare-for-all\u201d bill, which holds out the promise of health care as a right, the potential for national savings from reduced administrative costs and government price-setting, and no more copays, deductibles or surprise medical bills. His plan envisions a four-year transition, phasing in the change by age groups. Simultaneously, some big tax increases would be taking effect. But there would be enormous challenges to put in place a single-payer health insurance with the government fully in control of the $3.5 trillion U.S. health care system, experts say. And polls show a looming political problem because many people don\u2019t yet realize it would mean giving up their private coverage. Another issue: Sanders\u2019 office says his plan would cover abortion, a major change from current federal laws and policies. In addition to Harris, Democratic Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have signed onto the Sanders bill. Gillibrand, who crafted language in Sanders\u2019 bill that allows people to buy nonprofit insurance coverage during the transition, emphasized the importance of that bridge. \u201cIf more people buy into Medicare over whatever your transition period is, you will disrupt the insurance market . because you\u2019ve created more competition for lower prices and quality care,\u201d Gillibrand told The Associated Press. \u201cWhat I like about where the Democrats are today is, we have four or five versions of \u2018Medicare-for-all\u2019,\u201d she added. \u201cI think we all want to get to single payer. And I think the best way to do it is what I wrote in Sen. Sanders\u2019 bill.\u201d Booker, who declared his own candidacy on Friday, told a satellite radio show that day that he is \u201ca big believer in \u2018Medicare-for all\u2019- but I believe that if we give people a quality public option, we\u2019re going to be able to get more people into the system.\u201d And Warren, for her part, told Bloomberg TV last week that \u201cmultiple bills on the floor in the United States Senate\u201d would accomplish her core priority of ensuring that \u201cevery American has health care at a price they can afford.\u201d Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sherrod Brown of Ohio also describe universal health care as an ultimate goal, but neither has signed onto Sanders\u2019 legislation. Brown has called for the expansion of Medicare to those over 50 as a more workable first step, while Klobuchar said in a recent interview that \u201con health care, there\u2019s a lot more that unites us in the Democratic Party.\u201d \u201cOne, we do not want to repeal\u201d Obamacare, she added. \u201cTwo, we want to expand Medicaid . three, we want to improve on that as well as get to universal coverage.\u201d Others are less sanguine about a single-payer approach. \u201cWe can\u2019t pay for it, it eliminates choices, most versions...would make private health care coverage for almost all health care needs illegal, and it will diminish quality and access,\u201d said former Maryland Rep. John Delaney. Among non-candidates, Kathleen Sebelius, former Health and Human Services secretary under President Barack Obama, said Democrats should debate a full range of options. \u201cI think this is a great opportunity to put plans on the table and hopefully not have an early litmus test that says we only want to talk about one idea,\u201d said Sebelius. \u201cI want to talk about 15 ideas.\u201d A long-time supporter of single-payer said Democrats should tread carefully. Now retired from political office, former Democratic congressman Jim McDermott of Washington said, \u201cA single-payer system would be best if we had a magic wand, but in the real world it is going to be extraordinarily difficult to make this change.\u201d The last industrialized nation to transition to a single-payer system was Taiwan in 1995. Princeton health policy analyst Tsung-Mei Cheng, who studied the Taiwan experience, said she believes the Democratic candidates are doing poorly explaining pros and cons. \u201cI don\u2019t think that the full information that would really help voters is out there,\u201d she said. \u201cYou need to offer more specifics, and first of all about financing.\u201d ___ Associated Press writers Elana Schor and Juana Summers contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "2564", "claim": "U.S. teen smoking declines to record low in 2012: study.", "explanation": "Cigarette smoking among American teenagers dropped to a record low in 2012, a decline that may have been partly driven by a sharp hike in the federal tobacco tax, researchers said on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "An annual survey of about 45,000 students in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades found that the overall proportion of those saying they had smoked in the prior 30 days fell by just over a percentage point to 10.6 percent. \u201cA one percentage point decline may not sound like a lot, but it represents about a 9 percent reduction in a single year in the number of teens currently smoking,\u201d Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator in the study, said in a statement. He said reductions on that scale can translate into the prevention of thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of cases of cancer and other serious disease. More than 400,000 Americans are estimated to die prematurely each year as a result of cigarette smoking - the No. 1 cause of preventable U.S. deaths - and most smokers begin their habit as adolescents, experts say. Healthcare advocates hailed Wednesday\u2019s findings as evidence that higher cigarette taxes were paying off, combined with federal curbs on youth-oriented tobacco marketing and sales and a sweeping anti-smoking media campaign. The researchers also cited the increase in federal cigarette taxes, raised by 62 cents a pack in 2009, as a likely contributing factor. The findings were part of an annual survey by University of Michigan researchers released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Smoking rates fell for each of the individual age groups surveyed, most notably among eighth graders - from 6.1 percent in 2011 to 4.9 percent in 2012, the survey found. Longer-term trends showed teen smoking rates dropping by about three-fourths among eighth graders, two-thirds among 10th graders and by half among 12th graders since a peak in the mid-1990s, researchers said. One reason cited by experts is that the proportion of students who have ever tried smoking has declined sharply. Whereas nearly half of all eighth graders had tried cigarettes in 1996, just 16 percent had done so this year. Teen attitudes toward smoking also continued to become more negative. For example, 80 percent of teens said they preferred to date nonsmokers in 2012. But anti-tobacco advocates said their battle to stamp out teen smoking was far from over, noting that 17 percent of high school seniors still graduate as smokers. Researchers singled out concerns over new forms of smokeless tobacco, including dissolvable products like Camel-branded \u201cOrbs\u201d and \u201cStrips,\u201d and a fine, moist form of snuff called snus (rhymes with \u201cloose\u201d), which users place under their upper lip. They said a significant portion of older teens have experimented with small cigars and water pipes called hookahs, which are becoming popular among young adults. \u201cWe cannot let our guard down when the tobacco industry still spends $8.5 billion a year - nearly $1 million ever hour - to market its deadly and addictive products and is pushing new products ... that entice youth,\u201d said Susan Liss, executive director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids."}
{"claim_id": "2164", "claim": "Indonesia hunts for survivors as volcano tsunami toll nears 400.", "explanation": "Indonesian military and rescue teams fanned out across a stretch of coastline on Monday, hoping to find survivors of a tsunami triggered by a landslide from a volcano that killed at least 373 people.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Thick clouds of ash spewed from Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island where a crater collapse at high tide late on Saturday set off waves that smashed into coastal areas on both sides of the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java. Rescuers used heavy machinery and bare hands to dig bodies out of mud and wreckage along a 100 km (60 mile) stretch of Java\u2019s west coast. More than 1,400 people were injured, and about 12,000 residents had to move to higher ground, with a high-tide warning extended to Wednesday. The vast archipelago, which sits on the Pacific \u201cRing of Fire\u201d, has suffered its worst annual death toll from disasters in more than a decade. Earthquakes flattened parts of the island of Lombok in July and August, and a double quake-and-tsunami killed more than 2,000 people on a remote part of Sulawesi island in September. \u201cAt least 373 people have died, while 128 people are currently missing,\u201d Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said on Monday evening. (For graphic on Indonesia tsunami disaster zone, click tmsnrt.rs/2RdjsMd)  Saturday\u2019s tsunami destroyed more than 700 buildings, from small shops and houses to villas and hotels. It took just 24 minutes after the landslide for waves to hit land, and there was no early warning for those living on the coast. Vehicles were crushed by waves that lifted chunks of metal, felled trees, wooden beams and household items and deposited them on roads and rice fields. Nurjana, 20, ran uphill after the tsunami hit. Her beachside snack stall was washed away. \u201cI opened the door straight away and saved myself. I jumped over the wall,\u201d she said. \u201cEverything is destroyed.\u201d  Out in the strait, Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) was still erupting on Sunday night, belching white smoke and ash into the sky. The meteorology agency that an area of about 64 hectares, or 90 soccer pitches, of the volcanic island had collapsed into the sea. In 1883, the volcano then known as Krakatoa erupted in one of the biggest blasts in recorded history, killing more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunami, and lowering the global surface temperature by one degree Celsius with its ash. Anak Krakatau is the island that emerged from the area in 1927, and has been growing ever since. The high waves isolated hundreds of people on Sebesi island, about 12 km from the volcano. \u201cWe are completely paralyzed,\u201d Syamsiar, a village secretary on the island, told Metro TV, calling for food and medicine. President Joko Widodo, who is running for re-election in April, told disaster agencies to install early warning systems, but experts said that, unlike with tsunami caused by earthquakes, little could have been done to alert people that waves were coming. \u201cTsunamis from volcanic flank collapse are generated right at the coast and often close to populations,\u201d said Eddie Dempsey, lecturer in structural geology at Britain\u2019s University of Hull. \u201cThe interval between the volcanic collapse and the arrival of the waves is minimal.\u201d  The timing of the disaster over the Christmas season evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia. Families streamed out of the area on Monday for fear of further tsunami, jamming roads already blocked by debris. Fishermen told how a light breeze was followed by a huge wave that smashed together wooden fishing boats moored off the coast and pulled down the trees they were tied to. Excavators were being used to move debris including piles of steel roofing tangled like spaghetti. Medics were sent in with the military, while groups of police and soldiers reached remote areas. One team used sniffer dogs to search for survivors at the beach club where a tsunami washed away an outdoor stage where the Indonesian rock band Seventeen were performing at a party for about 200 guests. They had already pulled out nine bodies that day. At a village 20 km away, district chief Atmadja Suhara said he was helping to care for 4,000 refugees, many of them now homeless. \u201cEverybody is still in a state of panic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe often have disasters, but not as bad as this.\u201d  \u201cGod willing,\u201d he said, \u201cwe will rebuild.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "32705", "claim": "Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton both seek an abortion \"cutoff date\" of 36 weeks, and both claim that late-stage fetuses feel no pain and have no rights.", "explanation": "What's true: Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton support abortion access with few restrictions, and Clinton indicated she would agree with late-term abortion bans if provisions were included for the health of the mother. What's false: Clinton and Sanders didn't expressly seek to legalize all elective abortions up to 36 weeks, and neither candidate said that fetuses didn't feel pain or have rights.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Politicians, 36 week abortion, abortion, bernie sanders", "main_text": "On 6 May 2016, a Facebook user published a status\u00a0update, which was shared thousands of times, claiming that presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had specific and identical plans for\u00a0abortions in the United States:  The post included\u00a0a photograph of a newborn baby ostensibly born several weeks early and encouraged fellow social media users to \u201cshare this post\u201d and \u201cget the word out.\u201d This post employed the hashtag #Boycott36, although that tag did not\u00a0appear to be part of any existing movement or initiative beforehand. A previous Facebook status update was nearly identical in substance, but that earlier post mentioned neither Clinton nor Sanders, saying only that the poster had \u201cread\u201d that undefined \u201cpeople\u201d want to increase the limit for abortions to 36 weeks:   Both versions\u00a0were vague and misleading. We contacted a clinic that provides late-term abortions to ask about the circumstances under which such a procedure would be performed, and they told us that terminations in the\u00a036th\u00a0week of pregnancy typically occur due to a fetal incompatibility with life (that is, the fetus would not survive to term) that was somehow not diagnosed until late into the pregnancy. A May 2016\u00a0fact sheet\u00a0published by Guttmacher\u00a0did not\u00a0include specific numbers about late-term abortions,\u00a0but a chart indicated that only 1.3 percent\u00a0of all abortions occurred after the 21-week mark:  In 2010, 2011, and 2012 (the most recent years for which statistics were available), the Centers for Disease Control recorded\u00a0765,651 abortions, 730,322 abortions, and 699,202 abortions respectively. A three-year average of those numbers was 731,725. 1.3 percent of that average worked out to roughly 9,512 abortions at or after\u00a0the 21-week mark per year. According to Guttmacher, 43 states expressly prohibit abortion either after the fetus was viable or at a specific numerical point in the pregnancy [PDF]. The\u00a0\u201c#Boycott36\u201d claim did not mention the fact that abortions were already illegal at or past the 20-week point in all but seven states and the District of Columbia. Both Sanders and Clinton\u00a0list their positions on the issues on their campaign web sites. Clinton\u2019s position\u00a0can be found on the \u201cWomen\u2019s rights and opportunity\u201d section of her site, and it does\u00a0not mention raising gestational age limits for abortion: Women\u2019s personal health decisions should be made by a woman, her family, and her faith, with the counsel of her doctor. Hillary will stand up to Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, which would restrict access to critical health care services, like cancer screenings, contraception, and safe, legal abortion. Sanders\u2019 position\u00a0is\u00a0more detailed, but again does\u00a0not mention\u00a0raising gestational age limits in any way: Bernie believes in protecting a woman\u2019s right to choose and has a lifetime pro-choice record. In 1993, he co-sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act, which aimed to bar states from restricting the right to terminate a pregnancy before fetal viability or at any time when a termination is necessary to protect the health of a woman. In an op-ed for the Huffington Post published in April 2012, Bernie wrote \u201cWe are not returning to the days of back-room abortions, when countless women died or were maimed. The decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman, her family and physician to make, not the government.\u201d During his 16 years in the House of Representatives and 8 years in the Senate, Bernie has consistently supported a woman\u2019s right to choose a safe abortion. In addition to co-sponsoring the 1993 Freedom of Choice Act, Bernie voted numerous times to allow women to travel interstate for abortions, supported permitting federal funding of organizations that conduct abortions, voted to increase access and funding for family planning for women, and co-sponsored the Women\u2019s Health Protection Act of 2013, which prohibited many limitations on abortions. In March 2008, Bernie voted against defining an unborn child as eligible for State Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and in turn defining life as beginning at conception. In light of these votes, Bernie has repeatedly received ratings of 100 percent from NARAL Pro-Choice America, and ratings of 0 percent from the National Right to Life Committee, indicating a pro-choice stance. Both Sanders and Clinton spoke about\u00a0their positions on the topic of abortion during a March 2016 \u201cTown Hall\u201d appearance on Fox News. Sanders said he supports\u00a0fewer restrictions than Clinton: While both candidates \u2014 like most Democrats \u2014 are both well known as in favor of abortion rights, they gave slightly different answers on the question of late-term abortions. Asked generally whether abortion should ever be illegal, Sen. Bernie Sanders said, \u201cI happen to believe that it is wrong for the government to be telling a woman what to be doing with her own body.\u201d He chided Republicans who broadly oppose government interference in people\u2019s personal lives, \u201cbut somehow on this issue they want to tell every woman in America what she should do with her body.\u201d Asked more specifically if he would support restrictions on abortions for pregnancies farther along than five months, Sanders simply responded, \u201cI am very strongly pro-choice. That is a choice to be made between a woman, her physician and her family.\u201d Clinton, by contrast, noted that she has gone on the record as in favor of some \u201clate-pregnancy regulation that would have exceptions for the life and health of the mother.\u201d However, Clinton stressed that she objects to the recent efforts in Congress to pass a federal law banning abortions after 20 weeks with no exceptions. \u201cUnder Roe v. Wade, it is appropriate to say in these circumstances\u201d that abortion rights may be restricted, she said \u2014 \u201cso long as there\u2019s an exception for the life and health of the mother.\u201d Neither Sanders nor Clinton have expressly argued for \u201c36-week abortions,\u201d nor is that policy embraced or argued for by most pro-choice groups. Only 1.3 percent of abortions occur at or after the 21-week mark, and only seven states allow late-term abortions. We were also unable to locate any statements from either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders maintaining that late-term fetuses felt no pain or had any rights. The \u201c36 week abortion\u201d (or #Boycott36) rumor was one of several inaccurate claims about\u00a0abortion to circulate on social media during the 2016 elections. In November 2015, claims about a scientifically discredited \u201cabortion reversal\u201d procedure circulated, and two separate rumors misleadingly claimed support was growing for \u201cpost-birth abortions.\u201d In April 2016, another rumor\u00a0made rounds regarding an abortion doctor purportedly strangling a baby born alive, a claim that was actually based on an incident that was nearly four decades old."}
{"claim_id": "35094", "claim": "Italy has stopped treating elderly coronavirus patients due to \"socialized medicine.", "explanation": "What's true: Italian health care workers who are overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases could be faced with decisions about allocating limited life-saving treatment to those with the most likelihood to live longest upon survival. What's false: However, Italy hasn't abandoned elderly patients to die. Instead, Italian health care workers, when faced with more patients than available equipment and capacity to treat them, may possibly be forced to prioritize treatment of those with the highest likelihood of surviving long-term.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "As the COVID-19 new coronavirus disease spread across the United States in early 2020, so did anxiety, as people looked to how the virus had affected Italy, already deep in the throes of the pandemic. A social media meme exacerbated the anxiety with the claim that Italian doctors had \u201cdecided NOT to treat the elderly,\u201d and that that was the result of \u201csocialized medicine.\u201d As of mid-March, Italy was the hardest-hit nation outside of Asia and had become the new epicenter for the global pandemic. As in China, where the virus was initially detected in the winter of 2019, the Italian health care system was overwhelmed by the disease. Amid fears that the United States could end up in a similar situation, a viral Facebook meme pointed the finger at Italy\u2019s government-run health care system.The meme appears to represent both an exaggeration and distortion of news reports and events in Italy regarding the coronavirus. Readers also inquired about an article published by the British news publication The Telegraph, headlined, \u201cItalians over 80 \u2018will be left to die\u2019 as country overwhelmed by coronavirus.\u201d The article references a document drawn up by health officials in Turin, a city in Northern Italy hit hard by the virus, with guidelines for if and when \u201cIt becomes impossible to provide all patients with intensive care service.\u201d In such a case, the document says, \u201cIt will be necessary to apply criteria for access to intensive treatment, which depends on the limited resources available.\u201d The Telegraph reported that the document \u201cproduced by the civil protection department of the Piedmont region, one of those hardest hit, says: \u2018The criteria for access to intensive therapy in cases of emergency must include age of less than 80 or a score on the Charlson comorbidity Index [which indicates how many other medical conditions the patient has] of less than 5. '\u201d The guidelines were expected to affect the whole country and go into effect, according to the Telegraph, \u201c\u2018If the situation becomes of such an exceptional nature as to make the therapeutic choices on the individual case dependent on the availability of resources, forcing [hospitals] to focus on those cases in which the cost/benefit ratio is more favorable for clinical treatment. '\u201d In other words, it is not true that Italy as a whole had \u201cdecided not to treat their elderly\u201d for the coronavirus. What is true per news reports is that overwhelmed Italian health systems that have more patients than available equipment could face \u201ccatastrophe\u201d triage decisions not seen since World War II. That has nothing to do the fact that Italy, like other European countries, has a public health care system, or what some people call \u201csocialized medicine.\u201d It is instead the result of the sheer volume of cases flooding the hospitals. As of March 12, 2020, The New York Times reported that Italian officials had maintained that everyone who needed care was entitled to it. In a public statement on the matter, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte stated, \u201cWe live in a system in which we guarantee health and the right of everyone to be cured. It\u2019s a foundation, a pillar, and I\u2019d say a characteristic of our system of civilization. And thus we can\u2019t allow ourselves to let our guard down.\u201d The Times also reported that Flavia Petrini, president of the Italian College of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care, had issued \u201ccatastrophe medicine\u201d guidelines: \u201cIn a context of grave shortage of health resources,\u201d the guidelines say, intensive care should be given to \u201cpatients with the best chance of success\u201d and those with the \u201cbest hope of life\u201d should be prioritized."}
{"claim_id": "8106", "claim": "Top Nigerian president aide, state governor test positive for coronavirus.", "explanation": "The Nigerian president\u2019s influential chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Abba Kyari, who is in his 70s, is an important figure in President Muhammadu Buhari\u2019s government and his illness could have ramifications for the running of the country. His case was one of a growing number in Nigeria, Africa\u2019s most populous nation, with a state governor also testing positive and the Lagos state health commissioner warning that they were beginning to see the virus \u201cspread in the community\u201d. Previously, most cases were travellers who had recently returned from the United Kingdom or the United States. Kyari has a history of medical complications, including diabetes, and is the gatekeeper to the president. Many who wish to deal with Buhari must go through Kyari, including Nigeria\u2019s top politicians and business owners. Matthew Page, an associate fellow with the Africa Programme at Chatham House, described Kyari as the \u201clynchpin\u201d of the Buhari government. \u201cThis has the potential to further slow down decision-making within top tiers of Nigerian government,\u201d he said. Kyari travelled to Germany in early March with a delegation of other Nigerian officials for meetings with engineering and industrial giant Siemens AG. It is unclear if Kyari, who three diplomats also said had tested positive for coronavirus, self-isolated upon his return to Nigeria. Germany has reported some 27,000 cases of coronavirus and 114 deaths from the pandemic. A presidency spokesman did not comment on Kyari\u2019s condition and whether Buhari has been tested. The president, 77, has undisclosed medical ailments and spent five months in London for treatment in 2017. Later on Tuesday, a Bauchi state government spokesman said Governor Bala Mohammed had also been diagnosed with coronavirus and was in quarantine. As of Tuesday, Nigeria had 42 confirmed cases of coronavirus, two of whom had recovered, and one death - a 67-year-old former oil official. It was unclear if Kyari or Mohammed\u2019s diagnoses were included in that total. The number of journalists allowed access to the presidential office complex will be cut indefinitely from more than 100 to 13 starting Wednesday, the presidency said late on Tuesday with all foreign media barred. And parliament was adjourned for two weeks. The Nigeria Stock Exchange said its trading floors would close temporarily, only allowing remote trading. Lagos state Commissioner for Health Professor Akin Abayomi warned that hundreds of Africa\u2019s top film stars could have been exposed to coronavirus at the African Magic Viewers\u2019 Choice Award on March 14. Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced that all parks, gyms and public markets in the commercial capital, apart from those selling food, water, medicine or \u201cother essential life-saving products\u201d, would close on Thursday for at least seven days. He stopped short, however, of calling for a total lockdown, citing the many among Lagos\u2019s 20 million residents who could not afford to stock up on essential items. \u201cWe know what our poverty line is, and I\u2019m a very realistic leader,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to be considerate of that.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "10509", "claim": "Drug trial success a boost for Arena", "explanation": "This was a story about a possible new medication in the pipeline that may enable people to lose weight. It did not include the information needed to understand the relative strength of the study reported about and did not quantify in absolute terms (number of pounds lost)\u00a0 the benefit that might be attained with the use of this medication. It was an interesting piece in that it made an attempt to contrast this medication with one that was withdrawn from the market. However, in light of this comparison, the story should have explained something about the time frame of the current study, and how that compared with the period of time that was needed for the problems with the drug that was withdrawn from the market to be observed. It should have also mentioned that the current trials with the new medication specifically exclude people with type of heart issue that was seen to be problematic with the withdrawn drug. The bottom line is that while the company may be optimistic that this drug will not result in harms, there are not yet sufficient data available to determine whether this is the case. It would have been useful to readers had the story made this clear. Finally, this was a San Diego paper reporting on \u201cmid-stage\u201d trial results on a San Diego company\u2019s product. It is doubtful that the paper would report on such results from another company in another location. Applying that \u201cbusiness news\u201d approach to health care product news is often problematic. It gives local readers a skewed picture of the research landscape and may give undue weight to the local idea.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "If it\u2019s not too early to project that the drug may be submitted to the FDA for approval within a year, then it\u2019s not too early to get some estimate of cost or at least to give some context about the cost of other obesity drugs on the market. The story detailed that individuals taking lorcaserin lost more weight in 12 weeks than did the individuals who were taking the placebo. However the story did not provide any information about the magnitude of the difference between the groups, nor did it actually provide absolute quantitative information about the actual amount of weight lost. The phrase \"significantly more weight loss, at least 5 percent of their weight\" doesn\u2019t tell readers how much. Although mentioning the heart valve problems which were seen to occur with the use of a different weight loss medication, there was no mention in this story of the side effects (headache, nausea, and dizziness) which were seen to occur with this medication during the relatively short period of time it was used. The story also failed to mention whether weight re-gain was common after use of the medication was stopped. Harm is of particular concern with obesity drugs, particularly given the experiences with Fen-Phen which had a similar mechanism of action. Rather than reporting that \"People taking the Arena pill experienced significantly more weight loss, at least 5 percent of their weight over 12 weeks, than people taking a placebo\" \u00a0the story should have provided information about the nature of the study (randomized, placebo controlled trial), the number of people involved in the study (10, 100 or more than 400?) an estimate for the number of pounds being lost and whether or not all people taking the drug lost weight. Although most of the story did not engage in disease mongering,\u00a0 the statement by the study\u2019s lead author indicating that the results would \u2018provide reason for optimism for the millions of Americans struggling with the obesity epidemic\u2019 could be argued to fall into this category. It is both hyperbole to conclude that the results of one study provides optimism for millions as well as disease mongering to describe people who are obese as struggling with the obesity epidemic. That statement should have been challenged. There were no sources of information quoted that were independent of the study or the company developing the drug. The story did not provide any information about other treatment options (currently available medications, lifestyle changes, and surgical interventions) that provide similar or superior weight loss results. The story was clear that it was reporting on the results of a recent clinical trial and that a request for FDA approval had not yet been made, from which the reader could conclude that the drug is currently not available. The story described that lorcasein targeted the 5HT-2c serotonin receptor but was specific to the brain receptor as opposed to fenfluramin which was less selective and was found to also target a serotonin receptor in the heart. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release. This was a San Diego paper reporting on a San Diego company\u2019s product in \"mid-stage\" trials. It\u2019s doubtful the paper would report on similar results from a company located somewhere else."}
{"claim_id": "31717", "claim": "An adopted dog's former owner turned out to be a soldier who was killed in Iraq.", "explanation": "However, that the story may not be literal truth doesn\u2019t prevent it from being figurative truth. Those who serve overseas do so at the cost of great personal sacrifice. A tale such as this \u2014 literal truth or not \u2014 serves to remind us all of how much they give and how much we owe them.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Glurge Gallery", "main_text": "Those who serve with the U.S. armed forces often face difficult choices when they receive orders deploying them overseas. Not only do they have to be prepared to be parted from their loved ones and make arrangements regarding the storage of personal possessions, but they may also face the problem of finding proper caretakers for their pets \u2014 not all of those serving in the military have people they can leave their beloved animal companions with. Some locate appropriate foster families that will care for their pets until their return, some give up their critters for adoption at shelters, and some may even (as a last resort) turn them loose to fend for themselves. (There are services that will assist those departing for overseas duty with the process of finding good temporary homes for their pets, such as \u201cDogs on Deployment\u201d and \u201cGuardian Angels for Soldier\u2019s Pet.\u201d If you\u2019re looking for a way to help those who are serving their country outside the U.S. and have room in your life for an extra cat or dog for the duration of someone\u2019s tour of duty, do consider opening your home to a military pet.) One such tale about a military pet began hitting our inbox in August 2009, with our earliest online sighting of it dating to an August 2008 message board post:  They told me the big black Lab\u2019s name was Reggie as I looked at him lying in his pen. the shelter was clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly. I\u2019d only been in the area for six months, but everywhere I went in the small college town, people were welcoming and open. Everyone waves when you pass them on the street. But something was still missing as I attempted to settle in to my new life here, and I thought a dog couldn\u2019t hurt. Give me someone to talk to. And I had just seen Reggie\u2019s advertisement on the local news. The shelter said they had received numerous calls right after, but they said the people who had come down to see him just didn\u2019t look like \u201cLab people,\u201d whatever that meant. They must\u2019ve thought I did. But at first, I thought the shelter had misjudged me in giving me Reggie and his things, which consisted of a dog pad, bag of toys almost all of which were brand new tennis balls, his dishes, and a sealed letter from his previous owner. See, Reggie and I didn\u2019t really hit it off when we got home. We struggled for two weeks (which is how long the shelter told me to give him to adjust to his new home). Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to adjust, too. Maybe we were too much alike. For some reason, his stuff (except for the tennis balls \u2014 he wouldn\u2019t go anywhere without two stuffed in his mouth) got tossed in with all of my other unpacked boxes. I guess I didn\u2019t really think he\u2019d need all his old stuff, that I\u2019d get him new things once he settled in. but it became pretty clear pretty soon that he wasn\u2019t going to. I tried the normal commands the shelter told me he knew, ones like \u201csit\u201d and \u201cstay\u201d and \u201ccome\u201d and \u201cheel,\u201d and he\u2019d follow them \u2014 when he felt like it. He never really seemed to listen when I called his name \u2014 sure, he\u2019d look in my direction after the fourth or fifth time I said it, but then he\u2019d just go back to doing whatever. When I\u2019d ask again, you could almost see him sigh and then grudgingly obey. This just wasn\u2019t going to work. He chewed a couple shoes and some unpacked boxes. I was a little too stern with him and he resented it, I could tell. The friction got so bad that I couldn\u2019t wait for the two weeks to be up, and when it was, I was in full-on search mode for my cellphone amid all of my unpacked stuff. I remembered leaving it on the stack of boxes for the guest room, but I also mumbled, rather cynically, that the \u201cdarn dog probably hid it on me.\u201d Finally I found it, but before I could punch up the shelter\u2019s number, I also found his pad and other toys from the shelter. I tossed the pad in Reggie\u2019s direction and he snuffed it and wagged, some of the most enthusiasm I\u2019d seen since bringing him home. But then I called, \u201cHey, Reggie, you like that? Come here and I\u2019ll give you a treat.\u201d Instead, he sort of glanced in my direction \u2014 maybe \u201cglared\u201d is more accurate \u2014 and then gave a discontented sigh and flopped down. With his back to me. Well, that\u2019s not going to do it either, I thought. And I punched the shelter phone number. But I hung up when I saw the sealed envelope. I had completely forgotten about that, too. \u201cOkay, Reggie,\u201d I said out loud, \u201clet\u2019s see if your previous owner has any advice.\u201d To Whoever Gets My Dog: Well, I can\u2019t say that I\u2019m happy you\u2019re reading this, a letter I told the shelter could only be opened by Reggie\u2019s new owner. I\u2019m not even happy writing it. If you\u2019re reading this, it means I just got back from my last car ride with my Lab after dropping him off at the shelter. He knew something was different. I have packed up his pad and toys before and set them by the back door before a trip, but this time \u2026 it\u2019s like he knew something was wrong. And something is wrong \u2026 which is why I have to go to try to make it right. So let me tell you about my Lab in the hopes that it will help you bond with him and he with you. First, he loves tennis balls. the more the merrier. Sometimes I think he\u2019s part squirrel, the way he hoardes them. He usually always has two in his mouth, and he tries to get a third in there. Hasn\u2019t done it yet. Doesn\u2019t matter where you throw them, he\u2019ll bound after it, so be careful \u2014 really don\u2019t do it by any roads. I made that mistake once, and it almost cost him dearly. Next, commands. Maybe the shelter staff already told you, but I\u2019ll go over them again: Reggie knows the obvious ones \u2014 \u201csit,\u201d \u201cstay,\u201d \u201ccome,\u201d \u201cheel.\u201d He knows hand signals: \u201cback\u201d to turn around and go back when you put your hand straight up; and \u201cover\u201d if you put your hand out right or left. \u201cShake\u201d for shaking water off, and \u201cpaw\u201d for a high-five. He does \u201cdown\u201d when he feels like lying down \u2014 I bet you could work on that with him some more. He knows \u201cball\u201d and \u201cfood\u201d and \u201cbone\u201d and \u201ctreat\u201d like nobody\u2019s business. I trained Reggie with small food treats. Nothing opens his ears like little pieces of hot dog. Feeding schedule: twice a day, once about seven in the morning, and again at six in the evening. Regular store-bought stuff; the shelter has the brand. He\u2019s up on his shots. Call the clinic on 9th Street and update his info with yours; they\u2019ll make sure to send you reminders for when he\u2019s due. Be forewarned: Reggie hates the vet. Good luck getting him in the car \u2014 I don\u2019t know how he knows when it\u2019s time to go to the vet, but he knows. Finally, give him some time. I\u2019ve never been married, so it\u2019s only been Reggie and me for his whole life. He\u2019s gone everywhere with me, so please include him on your daily car rides if you can. He sits well in the backseat, and he doesn\u2019t bark or complain. He just loves to be around people, and me most especially. Which means that this transition is going to be hard, with him going to live with someone new. And that\u2019s why I need to share one more bit of info with you \u2026 His name\u2019s not Reggie. I don\u2019t know what made me do it, but when I dropped him off at the shelter, I told them his name was Reggie. He\u2019s a smart dog, he\u2019ll get used to it and will respond to it, of that I have no doubt. but I just couldn\u2019t bear to give them his real name. For me to do that, it seemed so final, that handing him over to the shelter was as good as me admitting that I\u2019d never see him again. And if I end up coming back, getting him, and tearing up this letter, it means everything\u2019s fine. But if someone else is reading it, well\u2026 well it means that his new owner should know his real name. It\u2019ll help you bond with him. Who knows, maybe you\u2019ll even notice a change in his demeanor if he\u2019s been giving you problems. His real name is Tank. Because that is what I drive. Again, if you\u2019re reading this and you\u2019re from the area, maybe my name has been on the news. I told the shelter that they couldn\u2019t make \u201cReggie\u201d available for adoption until they received word from my company commander. See, my parents are gone, I have no siblings, no one I could\u2019ve left Tank with \u2026 and it was my only real request of the Army upon my deployment to Iraq, that they make one phone call to the shelter \u2026 in the \u201cevent\u201d\u2026 to tell them that Tank could be put up for adoption. Luckily, my colonel is a dog guy, too, and he knew where my platoon was headed. He said he\u2019d do it personally. And if you\u2019re reading this, then he made good on his word. Well, this letter is getting to downright depressing, even though, frankly, I\u2019m just writing it for my dog. I couldn\u2019t imagine if I was writing it for a wife and kids and family. but still, Tank has been my family for the last six years, almost as long as the Army has been my family. And now I hope and pray that you make him part of your family and that he will adjust and come to love you the same way he loved me. That unconditional love from a dog is what I took with me to Iraq as an inspiration to do something selfless, to protect innocent people from those who would do terrible things \u2026 and to keep those terrible people from coming over here. If I had to give up Tank in order to do it, I am glad to have done so. He was my example of service and of love. I hope I honored him by my service to my country and comrades. All right, that\u2019s enough. I deploy this evening and have to drop this letter off at the shelter. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll say another good-bye to Tank, though. I cried too much the first time. Maybe I\u2019ll peek in on him and see if he finally got that third tennis ball in his mouth. Good luck with Tank. Give him a good home, and give him an extra kiss goodnight \u2014 every night \u2014 from me. Thank you, Paul Mallory I folded the letter and slipped it back in the envelope. Sure I had heard of Paul Mallory, everyone in town knew him, even new people like me. Local kid, killed in Iraq a few months ago and posthumously earning the Silver Star when he gave his life to save three buddies. Flags had been at half-mast all summer. I leaned forward in my chair and rested my elbows on my knees, staring at the dog. \u201cHey, Tank,\u201d I said quietly. The dog\u2019s head whipped up, his ears cocked and his eyes bright. C\u2019mere boy.\u201d He was instantly on his feet, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor. He sat in front of me, his head tilted, searching for the name he hadn\u2019t heard in months. \u201cTank,\u201d I whispered. His tail swished. I kept whispering his name, over and over, and each time, his ears lowered, his eyes softened, and his posture relaxed as a wave of contentment just seemed to flood him. I stroked his ears, rubbed his shoulders, buried my face into his scruff and hugged him. \u201cIt\u2019s me now, Tank, just you and me. Your old pal gave you to me.\u201d Tank reached up and licked my cheek. \u201cSo whatdaya say we play some ball? His ears perked again. \u201cYeah? Ball? You like that? Ball?\u201d Tank tore from my hands and disappeared in the next room. And when he came back, he had three tennis balls in his mouth. As to the core question of whether it\u2019s a true story, accepting it as literally true requires the reader to believe in a chain of improbable circumstances: that a no-kill shelter would agree to serve indefinitely as an unpaid kennel service, that a dog owner would turn over his pet to the long-term (and possibly permanent) care of others without telling anyone its real name, and that a dog\u2019s adoptive owner would accept a \u201csealed letter from his previous owner\u201d and simply toss it aside without bothering to open or read it. This string of contrivances smacks more of a fictional plot device than a literal account of a real-life occurrence. Moreover, none of the verifiable details checks out as given in the narrative. Many different web sites record and honor the names of all U.S. service personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we could find no one by the name of Paul Mallory listed among the casualties on any of them (including the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count\u2019s iCasualties.org and the Washington Post\u2019s Faces of the Fallen), nor could we turn up any confirmatory news account of the death of a U.S. serviceman named Paul Mallory. Even if we proceed on the assumption that \u201cPaul Mallory\u201d is a pseudonym, the details still don\u2019t check out. The narrative describes Reggie\u2019s original owner as having posthumously received the Silver Star after being killed in Iraq, as having never been married, and as having no living parents, siblings, or other relatives with whom he could have left his dog while he was deployed overseas. We meticulously checked the Silver Star database at the HomeofHeroes.com web site and located obituaries for every single U.S. service member (from all branches) who was listed there as having posthumously received that award in connection with his service in Iraq, and every single such recipient was described in his obituary as having left behind some combination of parents, siblings, wives, and children \u2014 not one of those fallen heroes was unmarried with no living parents or siblings."}
{"claim_id": "4252", "claim": "Judge tosses $417M award against Johnson & Johnson.", "explanation": "A judge on Friday tossed out a $417 million jury award to a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer by using Johnson & Johnson talc-based baby powder for feminine hygiene.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Johnson & Johnson, Los Angeles, Cancer, Health, Ovarian cancer, Business, AP Top News, Courts, U.S. News", "main_text": "Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson granted the company\u2019s request for a new trial, saying there were errors and jury misconduct in the previous trial that ended with the award two months ago. Nelson also ruled that there wasn\u2019t convincing evidence that Johnson & Johnson acted with malice and the award for damages was excessive. The decision will be appealed even though Eva Echeverria has died, said her attorney, Mark Robinson Jr. \u201cWe will continue to fight on behalf of all women who have been impacted by this dangerous product,\u201d he said in a statement. Echeverria alleged Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers about talcum powder\u2019s potential cancer risks. She used the company\u2019s baby powder on a daily basis beginning in the 1950s until 2016 and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, according to court papers. Echeverria developed ovarian cancer as a \u201cproximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder,\u201d she said in her lawsuit. Her attorney contended that documents showed that Johnson & Johnson knew about the risks of talc and ovarian cancer for three decades. The company said it was pleased with the ruling. \u201cOvarian cancer is a devastating disease \u2014 but it is not caused by the cosmetic-grade talc we have used in Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder for decades. The science is clear and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder as we prepare for additional trials in the U.S.,\u201d spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said in a statement. Similar allegations have led to hundreds of lawsuits against the New Jersey-based company. Jury awards have totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. However, on Tuesday a Missouri appellate court threw out a $72 million award to the family of an Alabama woman who has died, ruling that the state wasn\u2019t the proper jurisdiction for such a case. The court cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that placed limits on where injury lawsuits could be filed, saying state courts cannot hear claims against companies not based in the state where alleged injuries occurred."}
{"claim_id": "2686", "claim": "Many U.S. kids have chronic health problems: study.", "explanation": "More than a quarter of American children have a chronic health condition such as obesity or asthma, but many children overcome these problems with time, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "They said the findings make clear that chronic health conditions are rising among children, and access to healthcare is essential to diagnose and treat them. \u201cA lot of kids will have chronic conditions over the course of their childhood,\u201d said Dr. Jeanne Van Cleave of Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston, who worked on the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. \u201cIt is very important for children to have continuous access to high-quality healthcare, especially primary care, where a lot of these conditions are picked up and treated,\u201d she said in a telephone interview. Van Cleave and colleagues used data from a government survey of three groups of children \u2014 each group with about 1,000 or more children \u2014 aged 2 through 8 between 1988 and 2006. They found the rate of chronic health conditions \u2014 obesity, asthma and learning problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD \u2014 doubled to 26.6 percent in 2006 from 12.8 percent in 1994. \u201cThe good news is, for about half of these kids, their conditions will go away over time,\u201d Van Cleave said. They found that 16.6 percent of all the children surveyed had a chronic condition at the beginning of the study period, and 20.8 percent reported having a chronic condition at the end. But only 7.4 percent of the children had a chronic condition both at the beginning and at the end of the study period, and 9.3 percent of children reported having a chronic condition at the beginning of the study that was not present at the end. \u201cIt\u2019s a very hopeful finding. It offers a lot of opportunity for prevention and for finding out more about why certain chronic conditions resolve, and why others don\u2019t, and why the same chronic condition in one child will resolve and why it doesn\u2019t in another child,\u201d Van Cleave said. The trick, she said, is finding out why conditions go away so that more children may be helped. She said future studies need to look at what factors surround the kids who see improvements compared with the ones who do not. \u201cOur study didn\u2019t specifically look at for which children the chronic condition of obesity was less likely to resolve. That would be a very important piece of information we could use in actual medical care,\u201d Van Cleave said. Dr. Geetha Raghuveer of Children\u2019s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, who was not involved with the study, said that while it was heartening that chronic conditions went away in several children, it was worrying that such a large percentage of children had a chronic health problem at some point. She said these problems \u201cwill need prevention strategies geared toward larger environments such as families, schools, communities,\u201d and laws that make nutritious foods more accessible and affordable."}
{"claim_id": "34106", "claim": "The high-dose Fluzone vaccine caused the deaths of 23 senior citizens during a clinical trial.", "explanation": "Because no evidence is provided for the claim that these 23 deaths were linked in any way to the trial in either Health Impact News\u2019 reporting, the raw clinical trial data, or the published report based on that trial, we rank the assertion as \u201cFalse.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "It may not shock anyone to hear that among a group of 3,000-plus Americans no younger than 65 and with an average age of 73, 23 of them passed away during a six-month period. It wouldn\u2019t shock actuaries, who know that the average life expectancy in the United States is 78.6 years. It wouldn\u2019t shock statisticians, who know that the U.S. death rate among 75- to 84-year-olds is 4,472.6 deaths per 100,000 people a year, which would equate to over 100 deaths per 3,000 people annually. Nonetheless, it appears to have shocked the editors at the anti-vaccine website Health Impact News. In 2013, that outlet published a story with the misleading headline \u201c23 Seniors Died After Receiving Flu Shot Sold by Pharmacies.\u201d Snopes continues to get worried inquiries about the claim every flu season. Health Impact News\u2019 story came from the publicly available insert that comes with a specific flu shot marketed as \u201cFluzone High-Dose,\u201d which discussed the results of scientific testing that went into approving the vaccine for use in 2009: Within 6 months post-vaccination, 156 (6.1%) Fluzone High-Dose recipients and 93 (7.4%)\u00a0 Fluzone recipients experienced a serious adverse event. No deaths were reported within 28 days post-vaccination. A total of 23 deaths were reported during the period Day 29\u2013180 post-vaccination: (0.6%) among Fluzone High-Dose recipients and 7 (0.6%) among Fluzone 1 recipients. The majority of these participants had a medical history of cardiac, hepatic, neoplastic, renal, and/or respiratory diseases. No deaths were considered to be caused by vaccination. Fluzone High-Dose, as the name implies, contains more antigens than the regular inactivated influenza virus, thereby creating more antibodies capable of defending the body against influenza. The necessity for such a drug stems from the fact that seniors require more antibodies than younger individuals to fight the flu, and because they die from it at higher rates. The results in the drug insert discussed by Health Impact News stem from a Phase Three clinical trial that occurred between 2006 and 2007 and whose results led to approval of the drug. Health Impact News, based on the vaccine insert, makes three poorly formulated assertions under the guise of \u201cjust asking questions.\u201d Most of the answers to these questions could have been found by analyzing the publicly available raw data from the clinical trial or by reading the study that was published as a result of that trial: As a general rule, a temporal relationship between a vaccination and a death \u2014 especially when the considered period of time includes 180 days of follow-up \u2014 is not sufficient evidence that the vaccination caused that death. A death can be attributable to a vaccination if it appears to have been caused by an established and known scientific mechanism \u2014 these are summarized in a 2011 National Academies publication and are rooted in rigorous epidemiological data \u2014 or if an acute, adverse reaction, such as anaphylactic shock following administration, clearly causes the death. The fact that a senior with an average age of 73 died at some point between 29 and 150 days after receiving a flu shot is not evidence of death from a flu shot, nor does any reason exist that death from a flu shot should be the default assumption over that period of time. The Health Impact News claim that \u201cthe deaths [should] be equally spread out through all time periods\u201d is confusing and betrays an ignorance of the underlying study. Follow-up monitoring of participants occurred over 180 days split into two periods of time. The first time period monitored by the researchers lasted 28 days. The second monitoring period lasted the following 152 days. No reasonable person would argue that a person has an equal chance of death \u2014 all other issues ignored \u2014 over a 28-day period versus a 152-day period. Though no data is presented about the health of the participants who died during the trial, Health Impact News again relies on the baseless assumption that people can die during a clinical trial in only two ways: from a condition one had prior to receiving a drug and from the drug itself being tested in the trial. In fact, a condition known as \u201cold age\u201d makes one more susceptible to a wide variety of illnesses that could conceivably develop over 180 days. What we do know is that the population of people in this clinical trial who received the high-dose flu shot and the people who received the regular dose of the flu shot were statistically identical from a pre-existing health condition perspective. Further, if the implication is that the flu shot caused the death of 23 people, one might reasonably infer that more deaths would be expected in the high-dose group compared to the low-dose group. This was not the case: 16 of the deaths came from the 2,573 individuals who received the high-dose vaccine, and seven came from the 1,260 who received the other vaccine. From a percentage basis, 0.6% of participants in both the high-dose and low-dose groups died during the 180-day monitoring period. Health Impact News spends several paragraphs convincing the reader that giving seniors a higher dose of a flu shot is inherently wrong while ignoring voluminous scientific evidence supporting the notion that the elderly need a higher dose, and that such a product could save countless lives. Ironically, they then present (without context) the results of a study that unequivocally demonstrates that a higher dose did not create any increase in long-term adverse effects but did increase the immunity of seniors. It is true that 23 people (out of 3,800) died during the 180-day period following vaccination, but this death rate is on par with the U.S. rate for that age group regardless of participation in a trial."}
{"claim_id": "15146", "claim": "One of the Planned Parenthood videos shows \"a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.' ", "explanation": "Fiorina said one of the Planned Parenthood videos shows \"a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.\" One of the Center for Medical Progress\u2019 videos attacking Planned Parenthood shows an interview with a woman identified as a former tissue procurement technician, who tells about an experience in a Planned Parenthood pathology lab where she sees a fetus outside the womb with its heart still beating. According to the woman, her supervisor said they would procure the fetus\u2019 brain. The video\u2019s creators added footage of an aborted fetus on what appears to be an examination table, and its legs are moving. But Fiorina makes it sound as if the footage shows what Planned Parenthood is alleged to have done. In fact, the\u00a0stock footage was added to the video to dramatize its content.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, National, Debates, Carly Fiorina, ", "main_text": "Following the release of several videos claiming to prove Planned Parenthood illegally profits off of aborted fetal tissue, many anti-abortion politicians have called for cutting\u00a0off federal funding to the women\u2019s health organization. At the second Republican debate, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina laid out defunding Planned Parenthood as a priority. \"I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes,\" she said on the stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Sept. 16. \"Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.' \" The videos, which amount to at least a dozen hours, are produced by the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress. They primarily show people posing as tissue brokers and talking with Planned Parenthood employees about procuring fetal tissue for medical research. Fiorina\u2019s claim makes it sound like there is actual footage of Planned Parenthood examining an aborted fetus whose heart is still beating, while someone says \"we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.\" There isn't. Fiorina is likely talking about this 10-minute Aug. 19 video. (Warning: The video contains extremely gruesome footage.) The video shows an interview with a woman talking about a scene similar to the one Fiorina describes; the video\u2019s creators have matched her interview with grisly stock footage\u00a0of a fetus outside the womb. In the video, the Center for Medical Progress interviews a woman identified as Holly O\u2019Donnell, a former procurement technician for StemExpress. StemExpress is a biomedical company that previously worked with Planned Parenthood to collect tissue for medical research, but the company ended its relationship with Planned Parenthood amid the ongoing controversy. O\u2019Donnell talks about a time when she saw a fully-formed aborted fetus, with its heart still beating,\u00a0in a pathology lab at a California Planned Parenthood clinic while she was on a job. \"I\u2019m sitting here looking at this fetus, and its heart is beating, and I don\u2019t know what to think,\" O\u2019Donnell said. According to O\u2019Donnell, her supervisor then told her they would procure the brain because the fetus was well-preserved. The Center for Medical Progress video does not show actually show footage of O\u2019Donnell\u2019s experience, and there\u2019s nothing else in the video to corroborate O\u2019Donnell\u2019s story. Additionally, the supervisor in O\u2019Donnell\u2019s story does not say anything about keeping the fetus alive specifically for the purpose of harvesting the brain. To dramatize O\u2019Donnell\u2019s interview, the video cuts to a fetus outside the womb, placed on what appears to be some sort of examination surface, and the fetus\u2019 legs are moving. The Center for Medical Progress says the source of the\u00a0footage is the Grantham Collection, an organization that hopes to stem abortion by promoting graphic images of the procedure. We don\u2019t know the circumstances behind this video: where it came from, under what conditions it was obtained, or even if this fetus was actually aborted (as opposed to a premature birth or miscarriage). Our ruling Fiorina said one of the Planned Parenthood videos shows \"a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.\" One of the Center for Medical Progress\u2019 videos attacking Planned Parenthood shows an interview with a woman identified as a former tissue procurement technician, who tells about an experience in a Planned Parenthood pathology lab where she sees a fetus outside the womb with its heart still beating. According to the woman, her supervisor said they would procure the fetus\u2019 brain. The video\u2019s creators added footage of an aborted fetus on what appears to be an examination table, and its legs are moving. But Fiorina makes it sound as if the footage shows what Planned Parenthood is alleged to have done. In fact, the\u00a0stock footage was added to the video to dramatize its content. We rate her statement ."}
{"claim_id": "8117", "claim": "Taiwan says WHO ignored its coronavirus questions at start of outbreak.", "explanation": "Taiwan accused the World Heath Organization of ignoring its questions at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, part of what it has long described as a pattern that puts it at risk because of Chinese pressure to exclude it from international bodies.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Taiwan is barred from membership in the WHO under pressure from China, which views it as a province rather than a state. It responded early to the coronavirus outbreak in China, and has had notable success in limiting contagion so far, with just two deaths and 215 cases. Taiwan\u2019s government has said that keeping it out of the WHO during the outbreak amounts to playing politics with Taiwanese lives, and it has been denied access to first-hand information. Both the WHO and China say Taiwan has been provided with the help it needs. Speaking to reporters in Taipei, the island\u2019s Centres for Disease Control chief Chou Jih-haw said that it written to the WHO and China as early as Dec. 31, asking for information about the newly uncovered virus outbreak in China\u2019s Wuhan city, including whether there was human-to-human transmission. \u201cWe asked them whether there\u2019s a possibility of human-to-human transmission. We indeed asked them and reminded them of the matter,\u201d Chou said. He said the WHO confirmed it had received the letter but did not respond to it. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, sitting next to Chou, said Taiwan had fortunately decided that same day to begin screening passengers flying in from Wuhan, and activated its emergency operations center on Jan. 2 - a move experts say allowed Taiwan to effectively control the early spread of the virus. While Taiwan did send experts to China in January, they were not allowed to see any patients or to go to the market where the virus is believed to have originated, Chen said. That trip made Taiwanese officials realize they had to act quickly. China confirmed human-to-human transmission on Jan. 20. The WHO said on Jan. 12 there was no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. The WHO, in a statement to Reuters, did not directly address the issue of Taiwan being ignored, but said its office in China was informed of the \u201cpneumonia of unknown cause\u201d on Dec. 31. \u201cSince that time until now WHO has regarded the event as very serious and applied the full range of attention to it from across the organization,\u201d it said. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang denounced what he said were efforts to \u201cpolitically manipulate\u201d the outbreak, and that the WHO dealt with Taiwan under the \u201cone China\u201d principle. Taiwan has also complained about the WHO listing its cases under China\u2019s, saying this has confused countries into believing its situation is as serious as in mainland China, where more than 80,000 cases have been reported. (This story is refiled to change Wuhan description to city not province in paragraph 4)"}
{"claim_id": "28244", "claim": "Sean Tagert's decision to obtain a physician-assisted suicide was caused, in part or in whole, by a regional health authority's failure to provide what he regarded as necessary care.", "explanation": "What's true: Facebook posts written by Tagert clearly show that his decision to pursue a medically-assisted suicide was substantively linked to his frustration and desperation at what he perceived as Vancouver Coastal Health's failure or refusal to fully fund his home care or sufficiently accommodate his complex clinical and personal needs. What's undetermined: Evidence is not yet available that would allow us to verify that Tagert's perceptions of Vancouver Coastal Health's actions and decisions about his care were fully accurate.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "If you need help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. Or contact Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. In September 2019, we received multiple inquiries about the accuracy of news reports that claimed that a Canadian man with a terminal illness had opted to undergo an assisted suicide after fighting, and ultimately failing, to obtain the care he needed. On Aug. 21, the pro-life website LifeNews.com published an article with the headline \u201cDisabled 41-Year-Old Man is Euthanized After Funding for Home Health Care Runs Out,\u201d which reported that: \u201cCanadian Sean Tagert, aged 41, was killed by assisted suicide after health officials decided to cut the funding for his in-home care hours. Mr Tagert suffered from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) which is known in Canada as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). His illness reduced his ability to move his body, eat or speak, however his mental awareness remained unaffected. \u201cDoctors recommended 24-hour in-home care to support Mr Tagert. However, Vancouver Coastal Health, initially only offered Mr Tagert 15.5 hours of care a day, which was then raised to 20 hours a day, meaning that Mr Tagert was forced to pay $263.50 a day for the remaining care that he needed to survive.\u201d Earlier, Catholic News Agency\u00a0reported that: \u201cThe family of a Canadian man who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is urging the country\u2019s government to change the way it treats patients with the disease after he received a \u2018medically-assisted death\u2019 following years of struggle to find adequate care \u2026 \u201c\u2026Tagert\u2019s doctors recommended 24-hour in-home care, which is typical for a person who uses a ventilator full time. Vancouver Coastal Health, Tagert\u2019s regional health authority, only initially offered 15.5 hours of care a day. Eventually, after much effort, they increased their offer to 20 hours a day \u2014 which still meant that Tagert had to pay $263.50 each day for the remaining four hours of required care. Tagert and his family continued to fight for coverage of a full day\u2019s care, to no avail.\u201d Both articles clearly drew a causal link between Tagert\u2019s difficulty in obtaining a level of care that he regarded as adequate, and his ultimate decision to avail himself of a physician-assisted suicide, which was legalized in Canada in 2016. A significant element of truth is in those claims. In Facebook posts, Tagert clearly linked his decision to undergo an assisted suicide with his own fatigue, frustration and desperation after what he documented and presented as many months of bureaucratic wrangling and correspondence with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), the regional public health authority for the Greater Vancouver area. According to Tagert\u2019s Facebook posts, as well as multiple contemporary news reports, he had sought funding for 24-hour home care, which he viewed as essential due to his many complex health needs, but VCH had offered him funding for only 20 hours of care per day. In 2019, Tagert appears to have shifted his focus toward obtaining adequate round-the-clock care in a hospital setting, but reported that VCH officials had been unwilling or unable to agree to his requirements, in particular his need to be hospitalized at a location close to where his 11-year-old son lived, or alternatively, for his son to be allowed to sleep over at the hospital. On March 19, Tagert signaled his intent to pursue a physician-assisted suicide, in light of the difficulties he was experiencing in obtaining what he regarded as adequate care and quality of life, and the financial perils of attempting to cover the shortfall in his care himself. He wrote: \u201cMy plan all along has been to endure til a cure, but without the support that Canada promises, it seems to be an untenable position. Two therapies that could make me better are being completely ignored by the health authorities. So left with the options of either waiting for a day that I have no staff available and choking to death, or being institutionalized at George Pearson [a VCH-run long-term care facility], the \u2018Jail for quads,\u2019 and dying a slow tortuous death, I\u2019m going to pursue medically assisted death. It will wreck my son, but better then him walking in on a blue contorted corpse one day. The only thing I have left to give is a meaningful death \u2026\u201d He persisted for a time in attempting to obtain what he regarded as necessary care in another VCH-run, long-term care facility, Evergreen House, but his efforts appear to have been unsuccessful. On July 25, Tagert announced on Facebook that he had six days earlier submitted an application to undergo a physician-assisted suicide. He wrote: \u201cHey everyone. I\u2019ve been quiet lately because I\u2019m just done, worn-out. So last Friday I officially submitted my Medically assisted death paperwork, with lawyers and doctors, everything in proper order. It\u2019s been over a month since I submitted my appeal to the Vancouver Coastal Health patient care quality department. They didn\u2019t even respond \u2026\u201d On Aug. 6, Tagert died by assisted suicide at his home in Powell River, British Columbia, at the age of 40. Tagert would ultimately have died prematurely from his illness, and according to a Facebook post announcing his passing, his health was \u201crapidly deteriorating\u201d at the time he opted for an assisted suicide. However, in his Facebook posts, for weeks and months leading up to his death, Tagert displayed a determination to obtain a level of care that would afford him as much quality of life as possible during his final weeks, and allow him to spend time with his family members. Based on his March 19 and July 25 Facebook posts, Tagert\u2019s decision to choose a medically assisted suicide appears to have been hastened or caused, either wholly or in part, by \u2014 in his perception \u2014 VCH\u2019s failure to either provide him funding for 24-hour home care, or hospital care that met his complex clinical and personal needs. The fact that Tagert clearly perceived his circumstances, and the actions of VCH, in this way, is enough to lend significant credence to the claims made by LifeNews.com and Catholic News Agency. However, we have not yet been able to independently verify the accuracy of Tagert\u2019s claims about VCH\u2019s actions. Tagert regularly documented, on Facebook, his account of his interactions with VCH\u00a0and the authority\u2019s purported refusal or failure to fully cover the cost of 24-hour home care, as well its purported refusal or failure to guarantee Tagert the conditions and requirements he felt would be necessary in a long-term care facility. In one instance, he posted a document that contained what he said were excerpts of email correspondence between him and VCH administrators on the subject of Tagert\u2019s requests and requirements should he choose to take a place at Evergreen House, a VCH-run, long-term care facility in North Vancouver. According to that document, administrators acceded to some of Tagert\u2019s requests, but not others. The document is relatively strong evidence but can\u2019t be treated as definitive because it is made up of what appear to be excerpts of emails (rather than screenshots of the original emails themselves); does not include time or date stamps; is heavily annotated by Tagert himself; and does not clearly distinguish direct quotations from Tagert\u2019s paraphrasing of correspondence sent by the VCH officials. Similarly, Tagert\u2019s claim that VCH initially offered to fund only 15.5 hours of home care before increasing that coverage to 20 hours per day (still short of the 24-hour care Tagert requested) was documented in news reports dating back to September 2018. However, none of VCH\u2019s public statements, included in those news reports, explicitly confirmed the nature and extent of what the authority had offered Tagert, and what it had refused to provide him. Tagert\u2019s perception of VCH\u2019s actions and decisions, along with his own rapidly worsening health, clearly caused or contributed to, or potentially hastened, his decision to pursue a physician-assisted suicide. However, until or unless we obtain corroboration from VCH, or definitive documentary evidence, we can\u2019t say with certainty that Tagert\u2019s perceptions and public pronouncements were fully accurate. If such evidence becomes available to us, we will update this fact check accordingly. Snopes made repeated efforts to contact VCH for comment, sending several spokespersons a list of detailed questions about VCH\u2019s actions and decisions in relation to the care offered and provided to Tagert, and asking the authority to either confirm or deny multiple, specific factual allegations he made before he died, as well as offering VCH the opportunity to respond, more broadly, to news reports about this episode. Despite these efforts, we did not receive a response from VCH."}
{"claim_id": "142", "claim": "Vectura, Sandoz win ruling on inhaler packaging case against GSK.", "explanation": "Vectura Group said on Friday a British court had ruled in its favor on the packaging of a generic version of an inhaler made by bigger rival GlaxoSmithKline.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Vectura said the court dismissed all GSK claims related to the packaging of AirFluSal Forspiro, which it developed in partnership with Sandoz, owned by Swiss drugmaker Novartis , as a branded version of GSK\u2019s asthma inhaler, Seretide Accuhaler. GSK, with which Vectura has partnerships, said it was \u201cdisappointed\u201d with the court decision and will \u201cconsider its next steps\u201d. Sandoz launched AirFluSal Forspiro in late 2015, following which GSK filed a legal claim that Sandoz had used shades of purple similar to Seretide\u2019s packaging to pass off AirFluSal Forspiro as being related to GSK\u2019s product. \u201cOur issue was simply with the color of the device itself and its similarity to GSK\u2019s Advair/Seretide,\u201d a GSK spokesman said, adding that the company was not opposed to a new entrant in the market. Forspiro is a dry powder inhaler developed by Vectura and licensed to Sandoz for use with the AirFluSal product. Seretide is a combination of two active ingredients that make it easier to breathe and is sold by GSK in the UK in two forms here one of which is the Seretide Accuhaler, which delivers the drug as a dry powder. Vectura shares rose as much as 2.4% after the announcement. In May, a jury found that one of Vectura\u2019s U.S. patents was infringed by the sale of three of GSK\u2019s Ellipta products in the United States and Vectura was awarded $89.7 million in damages."}
{"claim_id": "7879", "claim": "UK to use firefighters to deliver food, collect bodies in coronavirus crisis.", "explanation": "The United Kingdom will use firefighters to help deliver food, retrieve dead bodies and drive ambulances as it braces for the looming peak of the coronavirus outbreak that has already claimed the lives of more than 22,000 people across the world.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Britain initially took a strikingly modest approach to the worst health crisis since the 1918 influenza epidemic but then changed tack to impose stringent controls after projections showed a quarter of a million British people could die. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered a virtual lockdown of the world\u2019s fifth largest economy to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus banning Britons from leaving their homes for all non-essential reasons. So far, 578 people in the United Kingdom have died after testing positive for coronavirus and the number of confirmed cases has risen to 11,658. The UK toll is the seventh worst in the world, after Italy, Spain, China, Iran, France and the United States, according to a Reuters tally. Under a deal struck between the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Fire chiefs and Fire and Rescue Employers, firefighters will continue to respond to their usual emergencies but will now also carry out new tasks. \u201cWe face a public health crisis unparalleled in our lifetimes. The coronavirus outbreak is now a humanitarian emergency and firefighters rightly want help their communities,\u201d said Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary. \u201cMany fear the loss of life in this outbreak could be overwhelming and firefighters, who often handle terrible situations and incidents, are ready to step in to assist with body retrieval.\u201d  As well as collecting those who die should there be mass casualties, firefighters can drive ambulances, and take food and medicine to the vulnerable under the agreement. To cope with the outbreak, Britain has already asked tens of thousands of retired doctors and healthcare workers to return to work, while hundreds of thousands of people have volunteered to assist the state-run National Health Service. On Friday, the capital\u2019s ambulance service appealed to  former paramedics and control room staff for help, and London\u2019s police force asked officers who have retired in the last five years to come back. \u201cIt is important that we take all reasonable steps to bolster our numbers,\u201d London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said. Britons across the country took to their balconies and front doors on Thursday evening to applaud health workers and bang pots and pans to show support for those working for the nation\u2019s much-loved NHS. There has been criticism that the government has not acted quickly enough to provide protective equipment to frontline healthcare staff and it is also scrambling to source thousands of ventilators to treat those with severe breathing problems caused by the virus. The government has admitted that it missed an opportunity to join a European Union procurement scheme to source the equipment because of an email mix up. \u201cThere was an issue in terms of communications so the tendering process on those schemes had already started,\u201d Business Secretary Alok Sharma told BBC radio on Friday."}
{"claim_id": "41713", "claim": "The government are putting \u00a334 billion into the NHS, the biggest ever cash injection.", "explanation": "Striking Zimbabwean doctors said on Wednesday they were being threatened with death and suspected state security agents were pressuring them after police blocked their second protest march over the disappearance of their union leader.", "label": "true", "subjects": "health", "main_text": "Peter Magombeyi, president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) and one organizer of an ongoing strike to demand higher wages for state doctors because of soaring living costs, disappeared on Saturday night. ZHDA represents junior and middle level doctors at public hospitals. \u201cAs health professionals we are being threatened by security elements. Both nurses and doctors are regularly being told that resisting what the government offers them will result in their death,\u201d according to a doctors petition to parliament. \u201cEvidence of the threats is available in audio and text messages,\u201d the petition said without giving more details. Police said they could not immediately comment. Edric Nhema, secretary general for the country\u2019s nurses union who was part of the salary negotiating team with Magombeyi, told doctors at Parirenyatwa Hospital before the march that he had received death threats from unknown people. State security minister Owen Ncube said in a statement that the government was treating Magombeyi\u2019s case as a disappearance and not an abduction as alleged by the doctor\u2019s colleagues. He said the timing of Magombeyi\u2019s disappearance, ahead of the United Nations annual meeting next week and at a time a U.N. special rapporteur on human rights was in Zimbabwe, pointed to work by a \u201cthird force\u201d meant to tarnish the country\u2019s image. Dozens of riot police blocked more than 200 doctors on Wednesday as they marched to parliament to present their petition chanting \u201cno Peter, no work\u201d. Two years after President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the army conspired to oust longtime ruler Robert Mugabe, people are suffering from triple-digit inflation that has eroded salaries and shortages of basic goods like fuel and electricity. Human rights groups say they have recorded more than 20 cases of abductions of activists by state security agents since January. The government denies any involvement. Churches under the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) groups said they were worried that after many reported cases of abduction, no one had been arrested. \u201cThis has put the security of citizens at the highest level of vulnerability,\u201d ZHOCD said in a statement, adding that Mnangagwa should publicly condemn abductions and torture of civilians."}
{"claim_id": "10481", "claim": "$300 to learn risk of prostate cancer", "explanation": "On the whole, this is a well crafted story about a new genetic test that may provide men with advance knowledge about their potential to develop prostate cancer in the future. The story made it very clear that gaining this information is not without cost above and beyond the test. This new screen suffers from the same problem as the currently available methods of detecting prostate cancer, namely determining whether the cancer will be deadly or not. This is a critical piece of information because as the story points out \u2013 the treatments for prostate cancer are not without side effect. It will fall upon the men taking this test who have an indication of high risk to then make a determination of the course of action they want to pursue. It is important for them to recognize that at this point in time, we do not yet know whether aggressive treatment of early detected prostate cancer is effective. The story allowed the test\u2019s promoters to have their say. But it offered good context and balance, particularly with the quote about the impact on a man\u2019s decision-making, which is key:\u00a0 \u201cTechnology today enables us to find out a huge amount of information,\u201d Dr. Gelmann said. \u201cBut how does the public deal with this information? How does it help them make decisions? And if they make a decision, does that lead to a day, a week, a month, of life saved?\u201d", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story included a cost for the test. The story did provide some discussion on the\u00a0conundrum\u00a0presented by prostate cancer detection \u2013 namely that it is really an incomplete piece of information. The real goal is to develop a means of distinguishing between indolent and deadly prostate cancer. The risk of the former would not warrant treatment likely to render the individual impotent and/or incontinent. The risk of the latter might be worth the risk, or at least participation in active surveillance to allow for detection of a cancer while it is still localized. The story did mention this conundrum though it might have spent more time on it. The benefit of this treatment is an early warning of a pathology that might develop; it is less clear what a man in his 30s would do with this information. The story did include mention of the harms that are associated with treatment of prostate cancer, namely impotence and incontinence, and that the treatment of prostate cancer may not be at all necessary because not all prostate cancers are life threatening. As this is a very counter-intuitive thought (that not all cancers are deadly) it might have been emphasized more. It is critical that people be aware that while a large clinical trial (the PIVOT study) is underway, it is not yet known whether aggressive treatment of early prostate cancer is effective or whether it may cause more harm than good. So while the effectiveness of prostate cancer screening remains controversial,it\u2019s important to note that aggressive treatment of early prostate cancer remains controversial too. The story was about variant forms of several genes each of which appear to confer some risk for the development of prostate cancer by the time a man reached the age of 65. It explained that this was a single study and that the contention that these alleles can be put to predictive use needs to be tested in several different populations in order to confirm the contention that they have merit for this use. A couple of the quotes border on disease-mongering when discussing the prospect of earlier prostate cancer screening \u2013 even in men in their 30s.. However, the story attempted to provide some context with expert comment questioning the wisdom in this approach. The story included comments from experts in the field who were not connected to the study reported on. The story never mentioned that it is an option to decline screening. The story reported that the company that would be offering the test estimated that it would be available in a matter of months. The story was clear that the genetic screen to predict risk of developing prostate cancer was not yet commercially available. The story included interview material with several respected clinicians active in this field."}
{"claim_id": "4159", "claim": "Boats left high and dry by drought back on Great Salt Lake.", "explanation": "Dozens of beached sailboats that spent two years on the shore of Utah\u2019s drought-stricken Great Salt Lake were hoisted on cranes back into the briny waters Thursday after winter storms raised lake levels.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Great Salt Lake, Utah, Lakes, Science, Travel, U.S. News", "main_text": "\u201cMother Nature has been very kind to us,\u201d said Janet Robins, the commodore of the 140-year-old Great Salt Lake Yacht Club, comprised of the self-proclaimed \u201cworld\u2019s saltiest sailors.\u201d Robins and other sailors watched and helped on the docks Thursday as sailboats, one at a time, were raised from their high and dry purgatory in the marina parking lot, carried across the sky on a crane and lowered into the water. The Great Salt Lake, about 75 miles long (120 kilometers) and 30 miles wide (50 kilometers), is America\u2019s largest outside of the Great Lakes on the Canadian border and its waters are about three to five times saltier than the ocean. It\u2019s a harsh environment for most creatures outside of salt-loving brine shrimp, but the mineral-packed lake is a sailing haven. The dense water isn\u2019t easily whipped up by wind, keeping it calm for sailboats gliding across. \u201cIt\u2019s just like sailing across glass,\u201d Robins said. The state-run marina, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Utah\u2019s capital city, sits on the lake\u2019s southern shore and offers about 300 slips for boat owners to rent and park their boats. After an unusually high snowpack six years ago raised water levels 5 feet (1.5 meters), water levels dropped, skirting historic lows in recent years. Most of the 175 boats waiting ashore on trailers and cradles were removed the two years ago, when their keels had a tough time navigating the few feet of water at the mouth of the marina. Most stayed ashore because it\u2019s difficult to transport long sailboats, with their masts and extended keels, across Utah to other lakes, where sailors would contend with less-than-ideal waters, more drought and waiting lists for a space at the dock. LeRoy Carter, who lives in the nearby city of Tooele, said the recent drought was the most serious he can remember in his 44 years of sailing the lake. \u201cWe\u2019re subject to the whims of nature,\u201d Carter said as he took a break on the docks Thursday, helping to unload boats from the crane as they hit the water. But then a wet winter raised water levels about 2 feet (60 centimeters), and 2017 is shaping up to be another high water year, according to Cory Angeroth, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Angeroth said snow in the nearby mountains will melt through July, and that runoff will keep feeding the thirsty lake and raise the water level a few feet more. State officials estimate Utah missed out on collecting roughly $450,000 in slip rental fees since 2015, Utah State Parks spokesman Eugene Swalberg said. The state this week started work on a $1.5 million dredging project to remove silt buildup in the marina. Dave Shearer, the harbor master at the marina, expected the crane crews, sailors and volunteers would be able to get 55 boats in Thursday, before wind or darkness ended the day\u2019s work. He hoped about 120 remaining boats on shore can be back on the water in the coming weeks. \u201cIt\u2019s a big deal,\u201d Shearer said. \u201cPeople are happy that we\u2019ve had one hell of a good winter.\u201d ___ Follow Michelle L. Price at https://twitter.com/michellelprice."}
{"claim_id": "11183", "claim": "Safer Method Found to Treat Heart Failure", "explanation": "This article discusses the use of a dialysis-like process for the treatment of decompensated heart failure. It is a misleading piece because it reports that the use of this medical device is safer and more effective than \u2018water pills\u2019 when it is really being assessed as a substitute for intravenous(IV) diuretic administration. The article fails to mention that the results reported on are preliminary as they have not yet undergone peer-review and have only appeared in an abstract and a presentation at a conference \u2013 and that they are the result of a single study. The article did mention that the study was company sponsored.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story explains that \u201cThe filtration device costs hospitals $10,000 and each treatment requires an $800 filter \u2013 expenses that should be more than offset by lower hospital bills because of shorter stays.\u201d The results of treatment as compared with IV diurectic are clearly laid out in terms of differences in fluid and weight loss; the difference in the number of days spent in the hospital and how less likely patients were to have a return visit to the emergency room (although no time frame for this observation was provided). No harms associated with this treatment were mentioned; only that it was \u201csafer\u2019 than \u201cwater pills\u201d (as opposed to the IV diuretic to which it was compared.) While no harms were mentioned, the article did mention that patients did not report feeling any better. The article fails to mention that the results reported on are preliminary as they have not yet undergone peer-review and have only appeared in an abstract and a presentation; and that they are the result of a single study. The article did mention that the study was company sponsored. Does not provide a natural history of heart failure; article mentions an estimate for the number of Americans that have heart failure (5 million) and the number who will be hospitalized for decompensation appear reasonable. But the tyranny of the anecdote comes into play with the patient testimonials used (\u201cI actually could breathe again\u201d and \u201cIt gave me my life back.\u201d). How were these patients selected? Were there any negative experiences? Research was discussed at an American College of Cardiology meeting. No abstract was available on-line. A quote from an American Heart Association spokesman, reported to have no role in the study, was included as part of the story. However, it does report on the use of a proprietary software and machine, and the story gave no details regarding the author\u2019s relationship to the company. The reporting in this article is problematic with regards to treatment options. Notwithstanding mention of pills ( a little vague) for which this device may substitute, the title \u201cSafer method found to treat heart failure\u201d is drawing conclusions prematurely. In addition, this treatment is not currently being suggested as a replacement to the daily \u201cwater pills\u201d that many patients with heart failure take but rather as a substitute for the diuretics administered IV for decompensated heart failure patients. This point is not made clear in the article. Use of the term \u201cpill\u201d is inappropriate as the filtration was compared with medication administered IV, not by mouth. There is no mention of whether this device is still in testing or whether it has garnered FDA device approval. (In fact, the FDA has determined that the device may be marketed as of August 18, 2005; the company was FDA approved to market it for \u201cfailed diuretic therapy\u201d not as an alternative for heart failure patients \u2013 FDA Feb 2, 2006 .) Described within this story as \u2018a new device\u2019 and that \u2018about 100 hospitals around the country already are using the treatment\u2019 which suggest that this is a relatively new approach. No obvious use of text from the company\u2019s press release in the article."}
{"claim_id": "11071", "claim": "Antidepressants relieve hot flashes", "explanation": "While the benefits are clearly explained, the story failed to mention any possible harms,\u00a0didn\u2019t discuss the cost of the drug, and didn\u2019t\u00a0explain that there is uncertainty about how long the benefits may last. The story also didn\u2019t put the results in context with hormone replacement, the main alternative for women with more bothersome symptoms. These deficits might have been addressed in comments from an independent expert, but the story didn\u2019t seek out any\u00a0external\u00a0perspective on the findings. We need more treatment options for women with\u00a0disruptive menopausal symptoms. Although hormone treatment is effective, many women are reluctant to take hormones because of the small\u00a0increase in potentially serious adverse effects associated with their use. Emerging research suggests that antidepressants\u00a0may be an alternate option, but the study discussed in this story found that\u00a0Lexapro is only slightly more effective than a placebo for reducing hot flashes. In addition, use of antidepressants also may cause a variety of adverse effects which, while less serious than the risks\u00a0of hormone therapy, can be troublesome\u00a0enough to cause\u00a0people to stop\u00a0taking the\u00a0medication. Stories should provide this full context to help\u00a0women\u00a0make the best possible choice\u00a0about how to manage their symptoms.", "label": "false", "subjects": "antidepressants,hot flashes", "main_text": "This story did not mention costs. Lexapro costs about $110/month and is not available as a generic. Because of this, insurance companies will probably relegate it to 2nd or 3rd\u00a0tier status with higher copays\u00a0for those who wish to use it. The story quantifies the benefits of treatment in appropriate\u00a0terms using measures that are meaningful to readers. It explains that women taking Lexapro had a 47 percent decrease,\u00a0or about 4.6 fewer hot flashes per day, whereas women taking a placebo had a 33 percent decrease or 3.2 fewer hot flashes per day. The\u00a0story could have made the effects even clearer with a statement along the lines of \u2026 \u201cOn average, women with moderate to severe menopausal hot flashes had 5.4 hot flashes daily when taking lexapro and 6.4 hot flashes daily when taking placebo, a difference of 1 fewer hot flash daily.\u201d\u00a0As usual, the emphasis on percent reduction tends to obscure the absolute benefit. The story\u00a0did\u00a0attempt to put the size of this\u00a0effect into some kind of context \u2014 calling it \u201cmodest\u201d \u2014\u00a0which is something the WebMD coverage failed to do. While the competing WebMD coverage at least mentioned the possibility that this drug could cause adverse effects, this blog post does not\u00a0acknowledge any potential downsides of treatment. We have a lot of good data on the adverse effects of antidepressants, and the story could easily have brought in\u00a0summary data from other studies, rather than relying simply on 8 week data from a relatively small number of women. Giving results from a single study, while ignoring data from hundreds of other relevant studies involving thousands of patients, is a frequent problem in reporting. See the WebMD review for a more thorough discussion of why this is important. The description of the study was accurate and detailed enough to satisfy this criterion. As with the competing WebMD story, there could have been more emphasis on the short length of the study and the lack of data on longer-term outcomes. Menopausal symptoms can last for years, and an 8-week study doesn\u2019t really tell us much about the durability of the treatment in this context. Also, while it\u2019s useful to know the drug\u2019s effect on frequency and severity of hot flashes, it would have been valuable to have data on the drug\u2019s impact on health-related quality of life. The\u00a0story didn\u2019t\u00a0state that the study discussed here was restricted to women with moderate to severe symptoms, as the competing WebMD coverage did. Also, the story\u00a0would have been more informative if it had reported the proportion of menopausal women who have moderate to severe symptoms. By our\u00a0read, a reader could misconstrue the study to mean that\u00a0all menopausal women with hot flashes are appropriate candidates for treatment. There were no independent sources referenced in this post. In addition, while the story notes that the study was federally funded, it should have pointed out that at least one of the study researchers receives research funding and is a consultant for Forest Laboratories, which makes Lexapro. Although the story mentions hormone replacement, it gives readers the impression that this approach is no longer used for the treatment of hot flashes because the risks outweigh the benefits. In fact,\u00a0women with more bothersome menopausal symptoms may still use\u00a0hormones for short-term relief, concluding that the benefits for them individually still outweigh the risks. This story should have spent some more time putting the benefits and risks of antidepressants in context with those of hormone replacement. Also, many women try complementary and alternative medicine treatments. The story did not comment on the availability of Lexapro to treat hot flashes. Although many readers may be aware that\u00a0this drug is approved to treat depression and may therefore be\u00a0used to treat other conditions off-label, the story\u00a0should have spelled this out as the competing WebMD coverage did. The story notes that other antidepressants have been tested in small studies for the treatment of hot flashes. It doesn\u2019t oversell the novelty of this approach. This blog post did not include any external perspective on the study, so we can\u2019t be sure to what extent it may have relied on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "2053", "claim": "Americans sicker but English die quicker says study.", "explanation": "Older Americans suffer more chronic disease than their English counterparts, but the English die earlier, according to a study on Thursday that could revive debate about whose health system is better.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "An elderly man in a electric wheelchair smokes a cigar as he rides through Hyde Park in London, May 19, 2010. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Researchers at the U.S.-based RAND Corp and Britain\u2019s Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that while Americans aged 55 and older have higher rates of chronic disease, they live longer than elderly people who get ill in England. \u201cIf you get sick at older ages, you will die sooner in England than in the United States,\u201d said James Smith, an economist with RAND in Santa Monica, California, who co-authored the study with James Banks and Alastair Muriel of the IFS. \u201cIt appears that at least in terms of survival at older ages with chronic disease, the medical system in the United States may be better than the system in England.\u201d   But that edge comes at a price. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data show the United States spends more on healthcare than any other nation, and Banks said spending on healthcare for the elderly in the U.S. is almost double that in England. In 2008, the latest year for which full OECD figures are available, the United States spent 16 percent of its national output or $7,538 per person on health \u2014 well over double the $3,000 per person average of all OECD countries. British politicians leapt to defend the state-funded National Health System when it was attacked during the 2009 U.S. presidential election campaign by Republicans who used criticism of the NHS \u2014 which they called a socialist system \u2014 to stoke opposition to Barack Obama\u2019s healthcare reforms. Supporters of Obama\u2019s reforms argue too many people fall through the net and are without medical insurance. Once people in the United States turn 65, however, they become eligible for Medicare, a government-run health insurance program for the elderly that gives nearly 40 million Americans access to high quality medical care. For the study, published in the journal Demography, researchers analyzed data from two surveys of people aged 50 and over \u2014 the U.S. Health and Retirement Survey, a nationally representative sample than includes over 20,000 people \u2014 and the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing, which contains data on around 12,000 respondents. They looked at rates of key chronic diseases \u2014 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, chronic lung diseases and cancer \u2014 and at death rates among those aged 55 to 64 and aged 70 to 80. They also looked at the onset of new illnesses in these groups from 2002 to 2006. For people in their 70s, diabetes rates were almost twice as high in the United States as in England, at 17.2 percent versus 10.4 percent, and cancer rates were more than double, at 17.9 percent in the U.S. and 7.8 percent in England. Death rates among those 55 to 64 were similar in the U.S. and Britain, showing that although the Americans had more disease they lived just as long. In the older age group the English death rates were higher, showing that even though these Americans had higher rates of disease, they lived longer. The researchers said the findings showed that among older people, the U.S. health problem is not in healthcare provision nor in insurance coverage but in excess rates of illness. \u201cThe differences (in disease rates) are striking ... and that\u2019s got to be an important priority for policy in terms of lifestyle or behavioral factors,\u201d Banks told Reuters in London. In a telephone interview, Smith said that while the U.S. health system does a poor job at preventing disease, it delivers more when people get ill and is better at keeping them alive. \u201cThe criticism has been that the American medical system must be awful, but if you get treated, you actually have a better probability of survival. We are getting something from all of these dollars we put into the medical system.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "13749", "claim": "Bike lanes and sidewalks have been proven to reduce crashes by up to 38 percent on Austin\u2019s streets.", "explanation": "Bike Austin said: \"Bike lanes and sidewalks have been proven to reduce crashes by up to 38 percent on Austin\u2019s streets.\" Research suggests big drops in pedestrian-vehicle accidents when sidewalks are introduced. But Bike Austin didn\u2019t offer nor did we find research showing the addition of bike lanes in themselves or bike lanes plus sidewalks resulted in any\u00a0percentage plummet in crashes. Instead, the city analysis\u00a0states that reconfiguring lanes on part of one road, which also gained\u00a0bike lanes, preceded 38 percent fewer\u00a0crashes--with crash\u00a0reductions averaging 29 percent among five road-diet projects.", "label": "false", "subjects": "City Government, Corrections and Updates, Transportation, Texas, Bike Austin, ", "main_text": "CLARIFICATION, 3:46 p.m., Sept. 9, 2016: Shortly after this fact check posted, we revised a sentence to say that we didn't find research tying the addition of simple bike lanes to specific percentage reductions in crashes. We'd originally said we didn't see research generally tying bike lanes to crash reductions. Our rating of the group's claim didn't change. After a 14-year-old bicyclist was hit by a car and killed in Austin in June 2016, local nonprofit Bike Austin called on the city to make streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. In a statement, the group\u2019s executive director, Mercedes Feris, said: \"Bike lanes and sidewalks have been proven to reduce crashes by up to 38 percent on Austin\u2019s streets.\" Does that hold up? Group cites city report To our inquiry, Feris cited a 2015 City of Austin report, \"Redesigning the Street: A Report on Right-Sizing Projects in Austin, TX 1999-2014,\" analyzing the effects of a certain kind of project, called a road diet, designed to make streets safer by shrinking opportunities to drive too fast. In what the Federal Highway Administration calls the classic example of a road diet, lane lines on a four-lane road that has two lanes in each direction are repainted to create a three-lane road, leaving a single lane in each direction and a center lane solely for left turns. A 2014 agency guide to road diets says the concept developed decades ago in response to the expansion-minded road construction of the 1950s and 1960s, when two-lane roads were frequently upgraded to four lanes. One of the first road diets, the guide says, was applied in 1979 to a four-lane road in Billings, Montana. On that road, where about 10,000 cars drove every day, the shrinkage to three lanes was found to reduce crashes without increasing delays. We dug into Austin\u2019s more recent report and checked with experts on road diets and bicycle transportation. From that, we found that such projects often incorporate new bike lanes -- but they don\u2019t typically add sidewalks. Generally, too, the highway administration has found that crashes in which a car hits a pedestrian walking on the side of the road consistently fall by more than 50 percent when sidewalks are installed. We failed to identify research tying the addition of simple, striped\u00a0bike lanes to specific percentage reductions in crashes. The cited city report covers 37 local road diets completed from 1999 through 2014, including the one that Feris pointed out, on a 1.6-mile stretch of Manor Road in Northeast Austin. It resulted, the report says, in a 38 percent drop in crashes. A city spokeswoman, Marissa Monroy, responded to our inquiry about the research, saying by email the 38 percent reduction in any kind of crash ties to nearly six years of data collected by the Austin Police Department before and after the road diet took place on the stretch of Manor Road between Theo Drive and East 51st Street in November 2010. A close-up aerial view from along the noted 1.6-mile segment of Manor Road after the road diet was completed. The road includes bike lanes and the hallmark of a road diet project: a center two-way left-turn lane. SOURCE: Google Earth. Monroy told us that in the three years before the project, from November 2007 through October 2010, the to-be-reconfigured section had 39 crashes involving any combination of motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians--adding up to one pedestrian death and 16 injury crashes involving motor vehicles. In the three years after the project, from December 2010 through November 2013, she said, the stretch had 24 crashes -- or 38.5 percent fewer -- with no fatalities and 14 injury crashes, one involving a pedestrian, two affecting bicyclists. It\u2019s also worth mentioning, as the city report says, that bike traffic on the segment increased 180 percent, from 54 bikes tallied in a 24-hour period before the project (and its bike lanes) was completed with 151 bikes in a similar period after. The full report presents general crash-reduction analyses for five of the 37 projects. Among the five, it sums up, \"right-sizing projects,\" or road diets, contributed to at least 22 percent fewer crashes, on Amherst Drive, up to the nearly 39 percent reduction on the Manor Road stretch. We calculated the average of the five: 28.8 percent fewer crashes. Expert: Road diets reduce accidents For outside perspective, we reached out to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, hearing back about road diets, bike lanes and sidewalks from Joan Hudson, an associate research engineer. Hudson advised that the noted 38 percent reduction in crashes falls in line with national research she\u2019s reviewed, also pointing us to the highway administration and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program -- a division of the Transportation Research Board, which is part of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Each agency highlights the same two studies finding \"the road-diet treatment had a significant effect\" in reducing crashes, as the cooperative research program said in a 2008 report. The reductions ranged from 19 to 47 percent, with an average of 29 percent. Hudson said road diets make roads safer for a few reasons: additional space improves reaction time, and a narrower roadway tends to reduce how fast drivers go, making crashes less severe. Road diets also make bicyclists more comfortable, she said, because they have dedicated space instead of sharing lanes with cars. The city\u2019s report also reflected these points. Hudson confirmed that most road diets include bike lanes, but said sidewalks -- posing greater costs than what it takes to revise lane lines -- are hardly ever included. (It looks to us like a sidewalk may have been installed on the Manor Road stretch. To our query, Monroy said she\u00a0couldn\u2019t confirm it was part of the related road-diet project.) And by phone, Hudson told us that determining how much road diets reduce crashes involving bicyclists or pedestrians is hard because there\u2019s not much data measuring bicycle and pedestrian traffic before and after roads are relined. It may be, for instance, she said, that bike accidents escalate after a project is completed largely because more bicyclists use the added bike lanes. That looks to us like what happened on the on the Manor Road stretch, where bike traffic more than doubled with bike crashes only slightly going up. Bike lanes alone? We wondered if perhaps bike lanes alone result in double-digit crash reductions. To our inquiry, a University of Wisconsin urban planning professor, Robert Schneider, said by email that \"it is difficult to make a specific statement\" about how a particular bike lane reduces crashes, because that\u2019s not what researches examine. Schneider, who teaches about pedestrian and bike safety, said research tends to be broader, looking at what experts call \"networks\" -- routes through whole cities or significant parts of cities -- to determine how easy and safe it is to get around on a bike. Research examining those networks, Schneider said, shows that bike-friendly cities help drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians stay safe. He cited a 2011 study from two engineers at the University of Colorado-Denver finding that when intersections and roads are easier for cyclists to navigate and more cyclists hit the road, drivers tend to slow down and be more aware of their surroundings. A Bike Austin leader, Miller Nuttle, informed of our findings, said its claim wasn\u2019t worded as precisely as it should have been. Our ruling Bike Austin said: \"Bike lanes and sidewalks have been proven to reduce crashes by up to 38 percent on Austin\u2019s streets.\" Research suggests big drops in pedestrian-vehicle accidents when sidewalks are introduced. But Bike Austin didn\u2019t offer nor did we find research showing the addition of bike lanes in themselves or bike lanes plus sidewalks resulted in any\u00a0percentage plummet in crashes. Instead, the city analysis\u00a0states that reconfiguring lanes on part of one road, which also gained\u00a0bike lanes, preceded 38 percent fewer\u00a0crashes--with crash\u00a0reductions averaging 29 percent among five road-diet projects."}
{"claim_id": "25935", "claim": "If you maintain social distancing indoors \u201cthere's no reason to have an additional mask on top of that.\u201d", "explanation": "Multiple scientists have encouraged people to wear masks in public in addition to other measures including hand washing and social distancing. The CDC recommends that people wear cloth masks in public especially when social distancing is hard to maintain.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Florida, Coronavirus, Anthony Sabatini, ", "main_text": "Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini brought his legal fight against local government mask mandates to cable news, saying the requirements violate \"facial autonomy\" and aren\u2019t very effective. Sabatini, a Republican from Howey-in-the-Hills in Lake County, has filed at least eight lawsuits against local governments including Leon County, where a judge upheld the mask ordinance, and Hillsborough County. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has deferred to local officials and not issued a statewide order despite record-setting cases of the disease. CNN\u2019s Brianna Keilar asked Sabatini if he wore a mask at the grocery store. \"Absolutely not,\" he replied. \"I've maintained social distance though.\" Keilar pushed Sabatini to explain why he is against masks when research supports wearing them to limit the spread of the coronavirus. \"The studies that I have seen, the studies that have been most popular over the last 100 days of this crisis, have said mask or social distancing. So if you're maintaining basic social distancing, like I do, there's no reason to have an additional mask on top of that,\" Sabatini said July 15. Is that really what the research shows? Scientists said he is wrong. \"Doing both provides best but likely not complete protection,\" said Volker Mai, a University of Florida epidemiologist. Masks alone don\u2019t guarantee protection from the virus. But they can help slow down the spread. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear cloth face coverings in public when around people who don\u2019t live in their household, \"especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.\" Studies show cloth face coverings reduce the spray of droplets carrying the virus. Sabatini did not respond to our query about the recent studies he was citing by deadline. About a week earlier, Sabatini tweeted a link to a 2006 paper by researchers at the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Baltimore about disease mitigation measures amid pandemics. The paper, which included a couple of paragraphs about masks, stated that many in the public in Asia wore surgical masks during the SARS pandemic. \"Studies have shown that the ordinary surgical mask does little to prevent inhalation of small droplets bearing influenza virus,\" it said. \"The pores in the mask become blocked by moisture from breathing, and the air stream simply diverts around the mask. There are few data available to support the efficacy of N95 or surgical masks outside a healthcare setting.\" We interviewed three of the co-authors of the 2006 paper about Sabatini\u2019s comment. Each one stressed the current medical advice that wearing masks reduces the likelihood that someone who is unaware that they are contagious will spread the virus. \"That paper was 14 years ago and accurately reflected what was known at the time,\" said Dr. Tom Inglesby, who is now the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. \"We have learned a lot in the course of this pandemic.\" Inglesby pointed to the current universal masking recommendation from the CDC leadership which cites research that found universal masking was associated with a significantly lower rate of COVID-19 among health care workers at a Massachusetts hospital system, it found. \"This and other current studies support the use of masking by the public, and I do recommend the use of masks and social distancing together,\" said Inglesby, who testified before a congressional committee in May in favor of cloth mask wearing. Dr. Tara O\u2019Toole, one of the coauthors, noted that the 2006\u00a0paper referred to masks as protection for the wearer. The point of wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic is not to protect oneself, but to protect those around you. \"I wear my mask to protect you. You wear your mask to protect me,\" O\u2019Toole said. A June study published in The Lancet medical journal found that \"face mask use could result in a large reduction in risk of infection.\" One reason experts recommend wearing masks and social distancing indoors is that a person can\u2019t always prevent others from coming within six feet. \"It is impossible \u2014 impossible \u2014 to always stay six feet away from others, indoors,\" said Andrew Noymer, a disease prevention expert at UC Irvine. \"Someone brushes past in the grocery-store aisle. Someone is leaving the bathroom just as we go in. Indoor air circulation is unpredictable due to HVAC idiosyncrasies. Best practice is to mask AND distance.\" Sabatini said on CNN that if you maintain social distancing indoors \"there's no reason to have an additional mask on top of that.\" Multiple scientists and the CDC say that it is best to wear a mask indoors in public in addition to other measures including social distancing and hand washing. We did not find research to support Sabatini\u2019s claim that if you social distance you don\u2019t need to wear a mask, too. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "27008", "claim": "Donald Trump Says Cory Booker has accepted over $400,000 from the pharmaceutical industry during his political career.", "explanation": "The Trump campaign said that in the course of his career, Booker has accepted over $400,000 from the pharmaceutical industry. The number is close. What the tweet ignores is that Booker stopped taking money from pharmaceutical industry PACs and top executives. Since 2016, Booker received zero dollars from drug makers and individual contributions have fallen by 75%. The average reader of the tweet would have no idea that Booker has shunned pharmaceutical money for the past two years. That\u2019s additional context, but Booker did accept the money in years past. That meets our definition of this rating.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Campaign Finance, Health Care, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "Both Republican and Democratic voters have little love for prescription drug makers. When asked, four out of five Americans say the cost of drugs is \"unreasonable.\" Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has signed on to a bevy of plans to bring prices down. \"There are too many people profiteering off of the pain of people in America, from pharmaceutical companies to insurers,\" Booker said at the first Democratic debate in Miami. The Trump campaign fired off a reminder that Booker has history with the drug makers. \"Cory Booker has accepted over $400,000 from the pharmaceutical industry during his political career,\" @TrumpWarRoom tweeted June 26, the night of the first Democratic debate. FACT: Cory Booker has accepted over $400,000 from the pharmaceutical industry during his political career. pic.twitter.com/1HUfFVBGVU By one measure, that number is correct. But a more granular look at drug maker political money delivers a lower number, and the tweet gives no hint that Booker stopped taking pharmaceutical money in 2017. The Trump campaign sent us to Booker\u2019s career summary page on the Open Secrets website, a reliable source of federal political money data. Booker first ran for Senate in 2013. Since then, people and groups tied to the pharmaceutical/health products industry have given Booker $411,948. The number is actually higher. Booker runs a leadership PAC, a common device on Capitol Hill to raise money for a variety of uses, from travel expenses to helping other candidates fund their campaigns. Booker\u2019s PAC got $56,000 since 2014, for a grand total of $468,000. There\u2019s an important caveat: That industry group includes much more than drug makers. Drug wholesalers, medical equipment makers and dietary supplement companies all fall under this category. The wholesalers would have a stake in bills aimed at lowering prescription drug costs, but many other companies, such as Nestl\u00e9, which owns several dietary supplement brands, and Medtronic, maker of insulin pumps and much more, would go untouched by such legislation. Boiled down to drug makers alone, according to data pulled by the Open Secrets staff, Booker\u2019s total is $327,000. That includes both donations to his campaign committee and his leadership PAC. One last wrinkle would add some money back in. The Trump campaign tweet was based solely on Booker\u2019s federal receipts. But as mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, Booker raised millions. Some of that came from people tied to drug makers. A notable example is Jonathan Sackler, a member of the family behind Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. In 2009, Sackler gave $26,000 to Booker Team for Newark, a joint campaign committee to help elect Booker and a slate of city councilors. At the end of the day, we found that drug makers gave Booker\u2019s campaigns upwards of $350,000. That\u2019s less than the tweet claimed, but still a hefty amount. And if drug wholesalers are added in, the gap largely disappears. In June 2017, Booker told NPR he had stopped taking industry donations. \"We put a pause on even receiving contributions from pharma companies because it arouses so much criticism,\" Booker said. Recently, he tweeted, \"Big pharma companies need to be held criminally liable for the opioid crisis. I\u2019ve said I would not take contributions from corporate PACs, from pharma executives \u2014 they are part of this problem.\" Big pharma companies need to be held criminally liable for the opioid crisis. I\u2019ve said I would not take contributions from corporate PACs, from pharma executives \u2014 they are part of this problem. It\u2019s time to work on a solution. Chip in to help us run a people-powered campaign As far as his PAC money, that revenue stream has died for Booker. Up through 2016, drug makers had given him $202,000. Since then, as the chart below shows, the amount from drug makers directly is zero, with some ongoing donations from individuals who work for drug makers. New Jersey is home to many large pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Individuals who work for them have continued to give to Booker, but since 2016, that has fallen from nearly $100,000 to about $26,000. Booker\u2019s campaign noted that he joined with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on a drug importation bill. Booker also put forward legislation that would allow the Medicare program to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs. These and other measures have drawn strong opposition from the drug industry. The Trump campaign said that in the course of his career, Booker has accepted over $400,000 from the pharmaceutical industry. The number is close. What the tweet ignores is that Booker stopped taking money from pharmaceutical industry PACs and top executives. Since 2016, Booker received zero dollars from drug makers and individual contributions have fallen by 75%. The average reader of the tweet would have no idea that Booker has shunned pharmaceutical money for the past two years. That\u2019s additional context, but Booker did accept the money in years past. That meets our definition of ."}
{"claim_id": "27876", "claim": "The sap of the giant hogweed plant can cause severe skin and eye irritation.", "explanation": "Giant Hogweed Identification (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical, Toxin Du Jour", "main_text": "In July 2013, many in the online world became aware of the hazard posed by the giant hogweed via forwardings of the full text of a 2010 Toronto National Post article reporting that the toxic plant had just been discovered growing wild in eastern Ontario: Is it a fact that there is a plant called a giant Hogweed that its toxic properties are on all parts of the plant and touching it causes burns that turn into blisters? It has been reported on 3 e-mails I received today. The plant overtakes fields and grows to over 10 feet. The plant is supposed to be indigenous to Europe. It was reported in the e-mail that it is in South western Ontario, Canada and finding its way everywhere and the warning is to report it and never touch it. Its flowers resemble a giant Queen Anne\u2019s Lace weed. Both the plant and the description of the effects of contact with its sap are real. Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is an invasive herb in the carrot family which was originally brought to North America from Asia and has since become established in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Northwest regions of the United States. Giant hogweed grows along streams and rivers and in fields, forests, yards and roadsides, and a giant hogweed plant can reach 14 feet or more in height with compound leaves up to 5 feet in width. Giant hogweed sap contains toxic chemicals known as furanocoumarins. When these chemicals come into contact with the skin and are exposed to sunlight, they cause a condition called phytophotodermatitis, a reddening of the skin often followed by severe blistering and burns. These injuries can last for several months, and even after they have subsided the affected areas of skin can remain sensitive to light for years. Furanocoumarins are also carcinogenic and teratogenic, meaning they can cause cancer and birth defects. The sap can also cause temporary (or even permanent) blindness if introduced into the eyes. If someone comes into physical contact with giant hogweed, the following steps should be taken: If a reaction occurs, the early application of topical steroids may lessen the severity of the reaction and ease the discomfort. The affected area of skin may remain sensitive to sunlight for a few years, so applying sun block and keeping the affected area shielded from the sun whenever possible are sensible precautions. Hogweed is far from the only dangerous plant one might expect to encounter. Others we\u2019ve written about include oleander (a flowering shrub often used in gardens and along freeways to provide decorative screening) and sago palm (a decorative shrub found in gardens and kept in pots within some homes). Additional information: Giant Hogweed (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation)"}
{"claim_id": "25929", "claim": "\u201cWe have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world\u201d from COVID-19.", "explanation": "The United States doesn\u2019t have one of the world\u2019s lowest mortality rates from the coronavirus. No fewer than 15 advanced, industrialized nations currently have a lower mortality rate, as do a host of other countries, including Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Argentina, and India. Another measurement called the case-fatality rate, which Trump incorrectly referred to as the \u201cmortality rate,\u201d also doesn\u2019t place the United States at or near the bottom internationally.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Coronavirus, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "President Donald Trump defended his performance in fighting the coronavirus during an interview with Fox News\u2019 Chris Wallace, insisting that the mortality rate from COVID-19 in the United States is among the world\u2019s lowest. In the interview that aired July 19, Wallace and Trump were in the middle of a discussion about the coronavirus\u2019 impact. Wallace said that \"we have the seventh-highest mortality rate in the world. Our mortality rate is higher than Brazil, it's higher than Russia and the European Union has us on a travel ban.\" Trump responded that \"when you talk about mortality rates, I think it's the opposite. I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world.\" When Wallace fact-checked that characterization, Trump doubled down: \"I heard we had the best mortality rate. Number one low mortality rate.\" Trump is wrong. Neither the White House nor the Trump campaign responded to an inquiry for this article. Scientists define \"mortality rate\" as a measure of how frequently death occurs within a defined population. Data on this question is imperfect because of reporting inconsistencies between and even within countries. We turned to widely cited coronavirus data compiled by Johns Hopkins University to analyze Trump\u2019s assertion. Specifically, we looked at the university\u2019s calculations of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 in population, which is a standard measurement of mortality rate. First, we compared the United States with other nations that have been hard-hit by the coronavirus. To do this, we looked at all nations that have recorded at least 100,000 confirmed cases. The United States has the sixth-highest mortality rate using this metric, behind the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Chile and France. But 16 hard-hit nations had a lower mortality rate: Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Iran, Colombia, Germany, South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Argentina, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. We also looked at how the United States compared with its peers among advanced industrialized nations. In this comparison, six countries had higher mortality rates than the United States: Belgium, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and France. But 15 countries had lower mortality rates than the United States: Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. By neither comparison is Trump close to correct. Mortality rate is strongly related to the age distribution in a country, said Brooke Nichols, a health economist and infectious disease mathematical modeler at the Boston University School of Public Health. \"The countries with the lowest mortality rates will probably end up being the ones with the younger population age structures,\" she said. When \"Fox News Sunday\" aired the interview, Wallace said the White House had been referring to the \"case-fatality rate\" rather than the mortality rate. (White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany handed Trump a paper chart citing \"case-fatality rate\" during the interview.) The case-fatality rate is not the same as the mortality rate. The case-fatality rate shows how likely you are to die from the coronavirus if you are infected with it. The mortality rate shows how common it is to die of coronavirus in a particular population, such as a country. Trump\u2019s point about the U.S. is not more accurate when looking at the case-fatality rate compared with other countries. Nine countries have a higher case-fatality rate than the United States. One country, Peru, has an equal rate and 11 have a lower rate: Colombia, Chile, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Argentina, Russia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Nichols said that the younger populations of many developing countries helps explain why their case-fatality rates are lower than that of the United States. (Infected patients who are younger and, often, healthier tend to die at lower rates from the coronavirus.) And when you compare the United States with its industrialized peers, seven countries have a lower case-fatality rate: Austria, Portugal, Norway, South Korea, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Australia. Nichols said that the U.S ranks relatively low on this measure because, despite its problems rolling out testing, it still handles more tests per capita than most other comparable countries. Trump said, \"We have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world\" from coronavirus. The United States doesn\u2019t have one of the world\u2019s lowest mortality rates from the coronavirus: No fewer than 15 advanced, industrialized nations currently have a lower mortality rate, as do a host of other countries, including Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Argentina, and India. Another measurement called the case-fatality rate, which Trump incorrectly referred to as the \"mortality rate,\" doesn\u2019t place the United States at or near the bottom internationally. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "31731", "claim": "Evolution Fresh brand cold-pressed juices and smoothies are 'poison.'", "explanation": "However, subsequent lab tests ordered by the Santa Clara County District Attorney\u2019s Office found that the orange juice bottles allegedly dropped off by Behbehanian contained vinegar (a non-harmful substance), so the district attorney\u2019s office declined to file charges against her.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Food, contaminated food, evolution fresh, starbucks", "main_text": "In late January 2017, an apparent hoax began circulating via Facebook claiming that Evolution Fresh brand cold-pressed juices and smoothies, commonly founds at Starbucks outlets, are \u201cpoison\u201d:  We found no evidence that Evolution Fresh drinks are \u201cpoison,\u201d nor that they are vended or produced \u201cin Nigeria.\u201d According to the brand\u2019s official web site, most of the produce used in their manufacture is grown in California (and some of it in Arizona). Evolution Fresh products do not appear in the FDA\u2019s database of food recalls. A representative from Evolution Fresh confirmed that the product has undergone no recent recalls, the company has received no reports of people made sick by the juice, and the product is not sold or manufactured in Nigeria: Our Evolution Fresh cold-pressed, High-Pressure Processed juices and smoothies are currently sold in Starbucks locations only in the United States and Canada and in some U.S. grocery stores. The distribution or sale of Evolution Fresh juices outside the United States and Canada is unauthorized. Any product sold outside the U.S. and Canada is either counterfeit or has been purchased, shipped and resold. In addition, we cannot vouch for the safety or quality of products labeled as Evolution Fresh juices that are sold in countries outside the United States and Canada. It\u2019s unclear if the hoax was based on a 2013 news story about a Bay Area woman named Ramineh Behbehanian, who was accused of placing rubbing alcohol into two bottles Evolution Fresh drink, then switching the tainted bottles with others in a refrigerator at a San Jose Starbucks store. Behbehanian, a chemist, was initially charged with attempted murder and poisoning after tests by the San Jose Fire Department indicated the liquid in the bottles contained a lethal dose of rubbing alcohol."}
{"claim_id": "21727", "claim": "I've created over 40,000 jobs.", "explanation": "Former Ruth's Chris CEO Craig Miller says he 'created over 40,000 jobs'", "label": "false", "subjects": "Jobs, Florida, Craig Miller, ", "main_text": "Usually when politicians claim that they created jobs, they are talking about jobs created by the private sector while they held public office. And we're skeptical. But when that politician is a former Ruth's Chris Steak House chief executive running on his business credentials, well, we're curious. If a CEO can't take credit for job creation, who can? Craig Miller, a Republican who jumped into politics with a 2010 primary run for an Orlando-area congressional seat (he finished third), announced in July 2011 that he would run for the U.S. Senate. That made him a relative newcomer facing Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner and former U.S. Army Col. Mike McCalister. (Haridopolos thinned the field by dropping out less than a week later.) Miller, 61, explained his decision to \"take on the career politicians\" in a four-paragraph essay on his website. Here's the third paragraph: \"Those that have had a chance to lead have failed us. The politicians we have trusted to represent us are the ones who have gotten us into the mess we now face. The time for new leadership is now. I'm a businessman. I've been fortunate enough to live the American Dream, starting in the dish room and working my way up to the board room. Along the way, I've created over 40,000 jobs and I've spent my career in the restaurant industry balancing budgets and meeting payroll. I know the kind of pro-growth and pro-job environment we need to get our economy moving again. My life experiences have prepared me to go to Washington and take on the career politicians and entrenched interests that only know how to spend your money.\" We saw the same number in a campaign news release a day later and wondered: Did Craig Miller, restaurant executive, create 40,000 jobs? Here's how Miller told us he did the math. He explained that he started his executive career with the company that owned Red Lobster in 1973, back when the restaurant chain was only in the Southeast. (The company was called General Mills Restaurants, before General Mills spun it off as the behemoth Darden Restaurants in 1995. Heard of Olive Garden? LongHorn Steakhouse? Yeah, them.) Red Lobster's extraordinary growth \u2014 hundreds of new restaurants while Miller was there \u2014 meant lots of new jobs. In 1984 Miller joined Uno Restaurant Corp., helping transform pizza joint Pizzeria Uno into Uno Chicago Grill, where he landed his first CEO gig in 1996. By the time he left in 2001, Uno Chicago Grill had grown by more than 180 restaurants, creating yet more jobs. After a quick stint at already troubled Furr's Restaurant Group, he took on a higher-profile role at what became Ruth's Hospitality Group, where he was chief executive from 2004 to 2008. Before he left, he said, the high-end Ruth's Chris had added about 30 steak houses. So, to him, the math is simple: More than 700 new restaurants opened during his career, multiplied by an average number of about 60 new employees per restaurant, for more than 40,000 jobs. (For his specific estimates, see box.) Miller said his job claim did not include a National Restaurant Association stat-booster that says every restaurant job supports almost a full position elsewhere in the economy, which he figured would have put his job creation total \"somewhere north of 80,000 or 90,000.\" \"I tried to be conservative, because I come from a financial analysis background,\" he said. \"I wanted to make sure we don't overstate what I've done.\" With Miller's calculus in hand, we started our own search, chatting with folks and digging through old news clips and earnings releases to piece together the numbers \u2014 and Miller's role in them. We'll accept the average-employees-per-restaurant figure of 62.5 that Miller used in making his claim \u2014 after checking with experts and industry data. And his estimates for the numbers of restaurants that popped up during his tenure at a handful of companies, while not exact, were generally close when we spot-checked them against business stories and earnings reports from the time. As for his role: Certainly, the guy has a reputation as a growth machine. Chris Muller, the dean of hospitality administration at Boston University, was an expert in chain restaurants at University of Central Florida when he met Miller. He named Miller UCF's restaurateur of the year in 2000 and featured him at a European food service conference. He also invested in Ruth's Chris when Miller took it public in 2005. He described Miller's approach as \"very aggressive\" as the head of Uno, which grew from just 10 to 15 restaurants when he joined as a vice president to nearly 200 when he left as CEO, and said he was similarly expansion-focused at Ruth's Chris, where he took the company public, creating additional pressure for growth. \"So he does have a history of creating positions for people,\" Muller said. Of course, that growth also meant Ruth's Chris was stretched thin as the economy started to flail, and its stock price dove. The board asked Miller to leave in 2008. Miller's expansionist style had its \"positives and negatives,\" Muller said, but you couldn't deny he was a \"growth-oriented CEO.\" But what about his role before he was a head honcho? Miller's campaign manager pointed us to Bill Bridges, who worked with Miller for most of the 1970s, starting at General Mills as director of personnel the year before Miller came on board. He recalls a bright, hard-working guy who analyzed sites for expansion and made presentations to the executive committee about where to build. \"From that perspective, he was integral to the growth of the company,\" he said. Miller's own two-page biography says he held positions at General Mills in finance, planning and analysis, development, real estate, corporate growth and purchasing. But he was there for over a decade. We had to know: Did he jump in with both feet, spawning Red Lobsters from his first months at General Mills in his early 20s? And that's when part of the story got off track. In 1996, when Miller was named CEO of Uno Restaurant Corp., the Boston Business Journal wrote a profile. It told of Miller's journey from high-school dishwasher to Vietnam Air Force veteran to accounting major at Florida State University. Then it described his start with General Mills in Tallahassee, after he wrote the company a letter asking about positions at Red Lobster. He didn't yet have his business degree, but \"in 1973 became a part-time auditor of the local restaurant.\" Later, the article says, he was asked to audit the books of another Red Lobster in Central Florida. He finished his degree at University of Central Florida in 1974, it says, and started working in payroll. Eventually he became vice president of finance. Which means Miller claims to have created jobs at restaurants that sprang up as he was a 20-something part-time auditor and then a payroll employee. It's not clear how long it took for him to reach management. The claim gets even murkier when you look closely at his own bio. General Mills Restaurants' success was led by the blockbuster growth of Red Lobster, which by 1983 \u2014 just 15 years after the first restaurant opened \u2014 had 350 locations in 36 states and had started to reach into Japan, according to New York Times article at the time. But while Craig Miller's General Mills career started with paper-pushing, the last part focused on a chain with a far less impressive legacy than Red Lobster. As a finance guy, Miller had helped General Mills put together the acquisition of small Mexican food chain Casa Gallardo, according to the Boston Business Journal. His biography notes that after that deal in 1979, his \"primary duties\" were as vice president of the Mexican chain. Starting with just a handful of restaurants \u2014 one, according to his bio, or five, according to the Business Journal \u2014 Miller and Ramon Gallardo took the Casa Gallardo chain to 34. The goal, said an article at the time, had been 100. Not long after Miller had moved on to Pizzeria Uno, General Mills dumped the chain, which by then numbered just 25. It had been profitable for General Mills, just not profitable enough. \"We didn't get it all put together with the speed that enabled us to capitalize,\" company spokesman Dean Belbas told Minneapolis-St. Paul City Business shortly after the sale. Why does any of this matter? Well, in Miller's back-of-the-napkin math, new Red Lobsters made up nearly half the jobs he claimed credit for. But those include new Red Lobsters while he was a part-time auditor. New Red Lobsters while he worked in payroll. New Red Lobsters while he worked in finance. New Red Lobsters as he built Casa Gallardo. His campaign's response? \"He was the top financial and economic adviser to the CEO and was directly involved in all aspects of the company's business, even while serving as vice president of Casa Gallardo,\" campaign manager Paul Ciaramitaro said. \"Craig had a vital hand in the company expansion and job creation at General Mills during the 1970s and into the 1980s.\" But was Miller ultimately responsible? More so than Red Lobster's founder, Bill Darden, or the man who followed in his footsteps, former Darden Restaurants chairman and CEO Joe Lee? Joe Lee did tell the Boston Business Journal in 1996 he considered Miller \"one of the industry's top leaders.\" (We attempted to reach him at home, unsuccessfully.) But we would dare to speculate he wouldn't credit Miller with every job at every restaurant General Mills added from 1973 to 1984. Where does this leave us? Several folks told us that Miller's a respected restaurateur. Like Herman Cain, a former president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, he served in leadership there as chairman of the board. Companies grew dramatically under his corporate leadership. But to reach 40,000 jobs created, Miller takes credit for thousands of jobs he wasn't in a position to create. Growth at Red Lobster, early in his career, accounts for 46 percent of his estimate \u2014 and it's a stretch to credit him for even half of that. He also counts job gains only and not losses \u2014 something any politician relying on net job creation numbers can't do. And we can't know how many jobs he actually added to communities \u2014 for every Casa Gallardo, a local mom-and-pop may have closed or had layoffs \u2014 though in strong economies, every job may have indeed added to the overall total. Make no mistake, our reporting shows Miller was a gung ho restaurant CEO who stressed expansion and by extension, job creation. A lower jobs number may have rated higher on the Truth-O-Meter. But 40,000 jobs? He just hasn't proved it. We rate this claim Barely True. Here's how Craig Miller breaks down his career job creation, with Red Lobster representing nearly half of the total: Miller's role: Joined as president and CEO; from Sept. 2006, also chairman of the board Restaurants added by company during tenure: 37 Estimated jobs created: 2,313 Miller's role: Joined as vice president for administration responsible for development and franchising, became executive vice president/chief operating officer, then in 1996 president and chief executive officer Restaurants added by company during tenure: About 185 Estimated jobs created: 11,563 Miller's role: Joined as part-time auditor before earning college degree; moved to payroll; held positions in finance, planning and analysis, development, real estate, corporate growth and purchasing; after acquisition of Casa Gallardo in 1979, primary duties were as vice president of Casa Gallardo Restaurants added by company during tenure: Casa Gallardo, about 30; Red Lobster, about 325; other brands, about 125 Estimated jobs created: 30,000 Sources: Craig Miller campaign, Boston Business Journal Notes: Restaurants added don't include acquisitions. General Mills Restaurants became Darden Restaurants in 1995."}
{"claim_id": "29499", "claim": "Three Syrian refugees raped and murdered a 5-year-old girl at knifepoint in Idaho.", "explanation": "What's true: Police investigated a 2 June 2016 incident in Twin Falls, Idaho, involving a five-year-old girl and three boys aged seven, ten, and fourteen. What's false: The incident was not a rape, the girl was not murdered, the boys involved were not Syrian, a knife was not used, and no \"language barrier\" prevented police from investigating or detaining two boys involved.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Uncategorized, idaho, infowars, mad world news", "main_text": "In June 2016, online outlets began reporting a rumor that three Syrian refugees had raped a 5-year-old Idaho girl at knifepoint, that police were lax in investigating the case, and that news media were refusing to cover the story: Proving a dangerous bias, the media have remained eerily silent on the horrific events that occurred on June 2. In a shameless bid to protect their leftist agenda, news outlets have given only vague details of the disturbing case, however, an outraged neighbor has come forward with the full story that is sure to put a damper on the federal refugee resettlement program. KMVT reported on June 7 that a sexual assault occurred near the Fawnbrook Apartment complex in Twin Falls, Idaho. Only stating that no charges have been filed, according to prosecutor Grant Loebs, the station concludes that allegations are swirling on social media from an eye witness. Although they\u2019ve done well not to give any hint of who the perpetrators are, why they\u2019re being investigated, or who the victim is, a neighbor has broken the silence out of pure indignance over the authorities\u2019 handling of the case. The boys are ages 13, 10, and 8, and are Syrian refugee children from 2 families resettled in the apartments. What happened next is too sickening for mere words \u2026 [A] neighbor states that the Syrian boys stripped the girl naked, raped her, and urinated on her body and in her mouth. Although the two younger boys were unable to perform sexually due to their ages, the 13 \u201ccoached\u201d the pair while he videoed the sexual assault after his own participation. The rumor made its way to a conspiracy-oriented web site, whose headline on the topic blared: \u201cREPORT: THREE SYRIAN \u2018REFUGEES; RAPE LITTLE GIRL AT KNIFEPOINT IN IDAHO; Furious residents accuse council of cover-up.\u201d The headline made no mention of the ages of the \u201crefugees\u201d involved and asserted that police had declined to act due to a \u201clanguage barrier\u201d: Three Syrian refugees reportedly raped a little girl at knifepoint in Idaho before urinating on her body, an incident that prompted furious residents to accuse Twin Falls city council members of covering up the assault. The little girl was playing outside Fawnbrook apartment buildings when the boys put a knife to her throat and forced her inside a laundry unit. She was then stripped naked, raped and urinated on. The 13-year-old reportedly told the younger boys to urinate on her because they were incapable of ejaculating. The victim\u2019s grandmother found the victim and then called the girl\u2019s mother, who called the police. The police took 2 and a half hours to arrive but were unable to take any action due to the \u201clanguage barrier\u201d. When she arrived, the mother of the alleged rapists was only able to say \u201cno police,\u201d while the father reportedly congratulated his 13-year-old son. Video of the entire assault was captured on the boy\u2019s cellphone. A follow-up KMTV report revealed that, \u201cthe case has officially been sealed by a judge with no chance of it ever being unsealed since all parties involved are minors.\u201d A video of a Twin Falls council meeting shows irate residents demanding to know why council members have done nothing to address the alleged rape, as well as numerous other issues involving Syrian refugees being housed in the area, including hit and run incidents and Muslims spitting on non-Muslims. We contacted county prosecutor Grant Loebs to obtain first-hand information about the rumors. He confirmed to us that an incident did take place at the Fawnbrook Apartment complex in Twin Falls, Idaho, on 2 June 2016 involving  a five-year-old girl, a seven-year-old boy, a ten-year-old boy, and a 14-year-old boy. Loebs said that the three boys were of Middle Eastern descent, but they were not Syrian and he had no information indicating they were refugees. Because the case is still being investigated and involves minors, Loebs was unable to disclose many of its details. However, he confirmed that police have indeed been aggressively investigating leads in the case, observing all normal procedural practices rather than declining to act due to any purported language barriers. Officers have also interviewed the girl and all of the boys involved, with the ten- and fourteen-year-old boys having been detained in juvenile custody during the ongoing investigation. Loebs told us there was no indication a knife was involved in the incident, and that no one was \u201craped\u201d or murdered (although contact of a sensitive nature allegedly occurred). Moreover, he stated that the investigation was a police matter, not one involving the local city council (which has no jurisdiction in criminal cases). Loebs subsequently provided much the same information to local news media:  \u201cThere were no Syrians involved, there was no knife involved, there was no gang-rape,\u201d Twin Falls County Prosecutor Grant Loebs said. His comments largely refute several differing accounts about the incident circulating on anti-refugee resettlement and conspiracy websites and anti-Muslim blogs. Most of those accounts claim a group of Syrian refugees sexually assaulted a mentally disabled girl at knife-point June 2 in the laundry facilities of Fawnbrook Apartments, a low-income housing complex in Twin Falls, and that the attack was celebrated by the perpetrators\u2019 families as city officials orchestrated a cover-up. An incident did occur, Loebs said, and two juveniles have been charged after authorities obtained video shot on a cellphone. But the details of the case don\u2019t match what\u2019s being reported by anti-refugee groups, the prosecutor said. There were no adults involved, Loebs said, the boys didn\u2019t have a knife, and the incident wasn\u2019t a \u201cgang-rape\u201d instigated by the oldest boy. \u201cAll those involved are juveniles, and the older one didn\u2019t touch the victim in any way,\u201d Loebs said. Only one person is alleged to have touched the victim, said the prosecutor, though he declined to elaborate. Various officials attributed the spread of much of the misinformation reported about the case to locals opposed to refugee resettlement in their area:  Loebs said he didn\u2019t want to \u201cfan the flames of anti-Syrian refugee people\u201d but suspects the false reports are the work of a local group opposed to refugee resettlement who hoped to stir up trouble by claiming the incident involved Syrian refugees who committed a violent sexual assault. \u201cThere is a small group of people in Twin Falls County whose life goal is to eliminate refugees, and thus far they have not been constrained by the truth,\u201d Loebs said. \u201cThey have not been constrained by the truth in the past, and I don\u2019t expect them to be constrained by the truth in the future.\u201d Loebs said sex cases between minors aren\u2019t uncommon and implied that this case is being exploited by the local anti-refugee movement to make a political point. No Syrians have been settled in Twin Falls through Idaho refugee programs, said Jan Reeves, director of the Idaho Office for Refugees. \u201cThere have been periodic website postings about hundreds of Syrians coming to Idaho that have all proven to be false in the past, and this is probably just one of those attempts to try and stir up hatred and bigotry,\u201d he said. Echoing statements by the prosecutor, Zeze Rwasama, director of the CSI Refugee Center, said refugee opponents are trying to promote an agenda, particularly against Syrian refugees. He asked residents to confirm facts and refrain from speculating online. \u201cIt breaks my heart when people in the community are divided around issues of resettling refugees,\u201d he said. Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury later stated at a press conference that the boys involved were of Iraqi and Sudanese (not Syrian) descent, that \u201csomething a lot less serious than a sexual assault\u201d was initially reported to police, and that none of the boys\u2019 families were congratulating them following whatever took place:  At a press conference in Twin Falls, Chief Kingsbury addressed community members and the city council about the alleged assault and explained that two of the three boys involved in the incident are at a detention center following the alleged crime. The boys are reported to have been in the Twin Falls area for less than two years. The police chief also said there is no evidence to support claims the suspects\u2019 fathers high-fived or praised the boys for committing the alleged assault, as has been reported on anti-refugee websites. Further refuting claims made in the stories online that police bungled the investigation or tried to cover it up, Loebs said the police investigated the incident thoroughly, interviewed everyone who needed to be and followed proper protocols. Kingsbury also addressed claims that it took the police department more than two hours to respond. \u201cSimply, that just is not true,\u201d the chief said. \u201cThe Twin Falls Police Department, the Magic Valley Paramedics, even the Twin Falls County Sheriff\u2019s Office, responded in due time.\u201d Earlier in his comments, Kingsbury said the call originally came in as \u201csomething a lot less serious than a sexual assault or lewd and lascivious conduct.\u201d Chief Kingsbury was unable to confirm or deny if the boys are refugees. Multiple news outlets have indeed covered the incident, and they have \u201cgiven only vague details of the disturbing case\u201d because its active status and the involvement of minors precludes officials from providing more detail:  The criminal cases against those juveniles have been sealed, as is customary when children are charged. Although prosecutors and police are barred from discussing certain details in sealed juvenile cases,  [NOTE: The photograph displayed at the head of this article is unrelated to this case and does not picture anyone actually involved in the reported incident.]"}
{"claim_id": "9000", "claim": "UTA researcher patents \u201croach motel\u201d for cancer", "explanation": "This news release announces the European patent for a medical device that is designed to attract, trap and kill cancer cells. Ostensibly, the device could be used to detect early signs of metastasis in various forms of cancer, and potentially could find use in cancer treatment. However, the device\u2019s utility at this point appears to be largely hypothetical. The release indicates that no clinical trials have been done; offers no information on benefits (or health risks) associated with such a device; and says nothing about the potential costs associated with such a device. Indeed, the release does not tell readers anything about the research that underlies the device. Based on the information in the release, the device appears to be \u2014 at this point \u2014 little more than a concept. As the National Cancer Institute notes, \u201cCancer has a major impact on society in the United States and across the world.\u201d Indeed, cancers claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of people each year in the United States alone. With that in mind, it is important to be cautious when announcing a new tool that \u201ccan be used for early diagnosis and treatment of metastasized cancer.\u201d To be more specific, one should at the very least be prepared to provide meaningful information to support the claim. Securing a patent may be valuable \u2014 both financially and for the public good \u2014 but that value can only be realized if the relevant technology can be used in a clinical setting. This release offers more questions than answers, with the foremost question being: will the device work in people?", "label": "false", "subjects": "cancer trap,University of Texas at Arlington", "main_text": "Cost is not mentioned. While it can be extremely difficult to place a precise cost on early stage medical technologies, the issue can be addressed in broader terms. Is the technology difficult to make? Can it be produced on a large scale? Are those questions that still need to be explored? This release neglects to do so, which is particularly problematic in a news release that is focused on the announcement of a patent. Patents are designed to secure intellectual property, allowing people and institutions to profit from their discoveries. As such, this release is effectively about business. Failing to address potential costs, even in the most general terms, is a significant oversight. Benefits are not put into any numerical context. In fact, benefits are discussed only in the most general of terms, referring to \u201cearly diagnosis\u201d and the idea of \u201crecruit[ing] the cancer cells into a small area where we can treat them with less overall side effects to the whole body.\u201d However, the release also raises questions about how viable these potential benefits may be in human cancer patients. We\u2019ll address this further under \u201cQuality of Evidence.\u201d Potential harms are not addressed. That may be for reasons that we\u2019ll address under \u201cQuality of Evidence.\u201d The release provides little information to support its claims regarding the \u201ccancer trap\u201d that has been patented. There are two statements in the release that are particularly worth highlighting. First, the release states that: \u201cThe trap has been tested in the lab and proved effective on many kinds of cancer cells, including melanoma, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, leukemia and esophageal cancer.\u201d What sort of testing are they referring to? In vitro testing, wherein the technology was tested outside of a living organism? In vivo testing in an animal model, such as lab mice? Was this work peer reviewed or published anywhere? Second, the release quotes the lead researcher as saying: \u201cWe are hoping to move toward clinical trials in the next few years as this technology could potentially significantly increase the lifespan of cancer patients.\u201d This statement would seem to indicate that the technology has not yet been tested in clinical trials. In other words, this statement seems to tell readers that the technology has never been tested in humans. That would mean we have no idea whether this technology could benefit human cancer patients, or what risks it may pose to patients. If this work has been done, the release needs to reference it. No disease mongering here. The release explains the rationale for the device and notes that it would be \u201ccomplementary to current cancer treatments.\u201d While the release does mention the institution\u2019s overall level of funding for cancer research, it does not say where any of that funding came from \u2014 much less who funded the \u201ccancer trap\u201d research. Federal agencies? The private sector? Nonprofit organizations? The release offers only the broadest possible language regarding diagnosis and treatment of metastasizing cancers. We appreciate that it would be impossible to provide a detailed overview of the existing diagnosis and treatment options in a news release. However, we would expect some discussion of how the \u201ccancer trap\u201d would compare to existing techniques and technologies. This is missing. The release appears to be in conflict with itself here. On the one hand, the first paragraph talks about the patenting of an implantable medical device. On the other hand, the release also tells us that the researchers are \u201choping to move toward clinical trials in the next few years.\u201d The first paragraph may make many readers think this is a prototype that may be close to the market. But the lack of a timeline for clinical trials suggests that this could be many years away from clinical use (if it reaches clinical use at all). This lack of clarity is problematic. The language in the release is so broad that it is difficult to know what to compare it to. However, a quick search has no trouble finding other research efforts aimed at \u201ctrapping\u201d cancer cells, such as this 2015 paper, this 2017 paper, or these news releases from 2014 and 2016. What sets this newly patented \u201ccancer trap\u201d apart? The release doesn\u2019t tell us, because the release provides no context related to previous work in the field. The release tells readers that \u201cThis cancer trap can be used for early diagnosis and treatment of metastasized cancer.\u201d The release also says \u201cThis method is effective for both diagnosing and treating metastasis cancer and can be used in combination with traditional chemotherapy and radiation therapy\u201d and \u201cWe have also found it very effective in late stage cancers to stop the spread of the disease and to prolong lifespan.\u201d Those are bold statements. But the release provides no information to support them and in fact raises doubt about their veracity when they state that no clinical trials have been done. Instead, the release also includes language that raises questions about the extent to which anyone knows how well the technology will perform in human patients. If the researchers have evidence that this technology is a significant advance for cancer diagnosis and treatment, the release doesn\u2019t share it. While it may be interesting and newsworthy that a patent has been issued for this idea, this type of coverage is misdirected. It would be better covered in a brief report that states that the patent have been issued based on the hypothesis and suggests next steps in research."}
{"claim_id": "29226", "claim": "A woman in South Korea was impregnated via mouth after eating a squid.", "explanation": "What's true: A woman received several painful stings after she ate a squid's sperm bag in 2011. What's false: This woman was not impregnated by a squid, nor did she spit out baby squids.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News", "main_text": "A series of misleading and exaggerated headlines over the span of several years turned a story about a woman\u2019s painful dining experience into a rumor about getting pregnant from a squid \u2014 via mouth. This turned into a battle of headlines as the facts . For example, an article published by\u00a0The Sun\u00a0in 2012 read: \u201cWoman \u2018pregnant\u2019 with 12 baby squid.\u201d Not to be outdone, the\u00a0Mirror reported that the South Korean woman had become \u201cpregnant by squid\u201d and warned readers that they should \u201cbe careful when putting seafood in your mouth\u201d because \u201cyou could end up spitting out babies.\u201d Stories about the squeam-inducing squid encounter have been published by a wide range of outlets over the years. Most recently, this story was featured on an episode of Weird Wild World from the Facebook page \u201cNameless.tv\u201d:  Some truth underlies these stories, but associated headlines (as well as some of the details) are severely misleading or wholly inaccurate and have led some readers to believe that a woman was \u201cimpregnated\u201d by a squid via her mouth. The most misleading aspect of this rumor comes down to the words \u201cpregnant\u201d or \u201cimpregnate.\u201d Although these words were frequently employed by outlets presumably hoping to generate clicks on their stories, they are inaccurate. The episode of Weird Wild World was actually referring to a case report originally published in Pathology International in September 2011: We present a case of stinging in the oral cavity caused by ingestion of the sperm bags of a squid. The patient experienced severe pain in her oral cavity immediately after eating raw squid. When she was examined at our hospital, we found that several small whitish spindle\u2010shaped stings were stuck to the mucous membrane of the hard palate. A biopsy was performed, and the whitish stings were removed as well. We also performed a histological examination of the remaining part of the raw squid brought by the patient. The biopsy showed that the sperm bags of the squid had thrust into the squamous epithelium of the patient. The remaining part of the raw squid consisted of the testis and the sperm bags. After removal of all stings, the pain reduced, and the wound healed in due course. Larva migrans and anisakiasis are infections known to be caused by consumption of raw seafood. Although the condition reported here is relatively rare, doctors should also keep this condition in mind for patients reporting pain after eating raw seafood. This woman, who was identified as a 63-year-old Korean woman in a subsequent report in the Journal of Parasitology, ate a sperm bag while ingesting a piece of raw squid. As Science 2.0 \u2014 one of the first web sites to pick up on this story when it first went viral in June 2012 \u2014 noted in their report about these rumors, there is a big difference between \u201cinseminate\u201d and \u201cimpregnate\u201d:\\ On Thursday I reported that a woman\u2019s mouth had been inseminated by a squid she was eating. To be specific, squid spermatophores (packages of sperm) implanted themselves into her mucus membranes, and had to be removed by a doctor. Several sources have now erroneously reported that a woman was impregnated by a squid she was eating, and found baby squid in her mouth. Truth is strange \u2014 but this is fiction. \u201cImpregnate\u201d (in reproduction, not manufacturing) means that successful fertilization has already taken place: sperm met with egg and an embryo is developing. That did not happen. There was no impregnation, no pregnancy, and no baby squid. Exaggerated reports went one step further, claiming that the unfortunate woman had \u201csquid babies\u201d removed from where they had become embedded in her mouth: \u201cA 63-year-old woman has become \u2018pregnant\u2019 with 12 baby squid after eating calamari.\u201d This is another severe exaggeration. Doctors removed squid spermatophores, a capsule containing the squid sperm, from this woman\u2019s mouth. For a number of scientific reasons (a human woman\u2019s mouth is not the same as a female squid egg), these sperms never developed into baby squids. Although the story is bizarre, it is not without precedent. Several similar cases have been documented in various medical journals. A 2012 report in Zoomorphology examines these cases and explains that spermatophore attachment is autonomous (meaning it can occur without the aid of male or female squid) making the consumption of raw male squid a potentially hazardous dining experience: Male squid produce intricate spermatophores that, when transferred to the female, undergo the spermatophoric reaction, a complex process of evagination that leads to the attachment of the spermatangium, that is, the everted spermatophore containing the sperm mass. While this process is still not completely understood, the medical literature includes several reports of \u201coral stinging\u201d (i.e., punctured wounds in the human oral cavity) following consumption of raw male squid, which contains undischarged spermatophores able to inflict such wounds. Moreover, spermatophore attachment is confirmed to be autonomous (i.e., performed by the spermatophore itself) in another squid species (possibly a loliginid), and the results strongly indicate that the attachment mechanism is not dependent upon a specialized epithelium, nor a mate\u2019s specific chemical stimulus. From the pathological point of view, the best prophylactic measure at present is the removal of the internal organs of the raw squid prior to its consumption. Medical journals have documented several instances of people being stung by spermatophores after ingesting raw squid, but these reports, specifically an instance from 2011, were grossly misrepresented with clickbait headlines."}
{"claim_id": "4064", "claim": "Gillibrand to discuss federal effort to combat Lyme disease.", "explanation": "U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand will be in upstate New York to discuss efforts by the federal government to battle Lyme disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Hudson, New York, Ticks, Lyme disease, Health", "main_text": "The New York Democrat will be in Hudson Falls in Washington County and later at Paul Smith\u2019s College in the Adirondacks to announce that the Trump administration has started the process to establish the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. Formation of the group was a provision in Gillibrand\u2019s Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act, which became law in December. The group will serve as a federal advisory committee to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding tick-borne diseases. In 2015, New York state reported more than 3,200 confirmed cases of Lyme disease to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."}
{"claim_id": "30797", "claim": "Queen Elizabeth removed the Obamas from the guest list for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding after she learned that Michelle Obama tried to \"sneak a spot.", "explanation": "Unlike the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011, this royal wedding is not an official state occasion and is regarded as a private ceremony, so there is no onus on the couple to invite political leaders.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, barack obama, fake news, just news usa", "main_text": "The official guest list for the royal wedding of Britain\u2019s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had not been released as of early December 2017, but that didn\u2019t stop disreputable web sites from inventing politically-charged stories about who would and wouldn\u2019t be invited. The pro-Trump fake news site Just News USA reported on 3 December 2017 that despite \u201ckissing up\u201d to the royal family and trying to \u201csneak\u201d an invitation to Harry\u2019s wedding, former United States President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama had been \u201cpersonally removed\u201d from the guest list by Queen Elizabeth: For eight years, Michelle Obama genuinely thought she was a queen and expected to be treated like one. Now that she\u2019s a regular citizen, she\u2019s having a hard time of letting go of her former status as the (failed) first lady and keeps trying to push her way into every major social scene where she doesn\u2019t belong and is apparently not invited. When she heard the news that Prince Harry was marrying a black American girl, she assumed it was her place to be on that guest list, which has to be approved by the Queen of England herself. Michelle made a desperation move to sneak a spot on that exclusive guest list and as soon as the real queen found out what the wannabe royalty did, she delivered a brutal beatdown that was definitely deserved. Several other sites, including the consistently unreliable  YourNewsWire.com, published slightly rearranged versions of the same article. For example: Invitations to Royal weddings in England have traditionally been extended to the sitting President of the United States and the current First Lady, so when Queen Elizabeth saw what Michelle Obama was up to \u2013 trying to sneak a spot at the wedding at the expense of the real POTUS and FLOTUS \u2013 she delivered Michelle a well-deserved and humiliating beatdown. While Barack Obama has been traveling around the world, operating as some kind of shadow president and attempting to undermine the real POTUS, Michelle has been trying to push her way into every major social event where she doesn\u2019t belong and is apparently not invited. When Michelle Obama heard the news that Prince Harry was marrying a black American girl, she assumed it was her rightful place to be on that guest list. Michelle made a desperate move to sneak a spot on the guest list, but unfortunately for the former First Lady, the guest list has to be approved by the Queen of England herself. There was no basis in fact for any of these claims. As of 30 November (just a few days before these reports began appearing), word from Kensington Palace was that the guest list was still \u201cin the early stages of being compiled,\u201d according to the\u00a0Telegraph, and the royal betrothed would have \u201cprimary input\u201d into who would be on that list. No mainstream news sources in England or anywhere else reported that the Obamas were on the outs with Queen Elizabeth, nor that the queen intended to disinvite them or other potential wedding guests. As a matter of fact, if anyone were likely to be disinvited, it would probably have been President Trump, judging from the Telegraph\u2018s report, for two reasons: one, because it would go against the established precedent, which is not to invite sitting U.S. presidents to British royal weddings; and two, because bride-to-be Meghan Markle, who is an American, is not a big fan of Trump, whom she has called \u201cmisogynistic\u201d and \u201cdivisive.\u201d The Obamas, on the other hand, have enjoyed a comparatively warm relationship with the royal family ever since 2009, when the then-First Lady broke with protocol and hugged the queen during their first meeting. Barack Obama was seen hanging out with groom-to-be Prince Harry as recently as May 2017: Prince Harry hosted former US President @BarackObama at Kensington Palace today. pic.twitter.com/9SWfSRY4FH \u2014 Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 27, 2017  A 27 November 2017\u00a0article in Newsweek\u00a0told a story very different from what would be reported by Just News USA and other fake news sites days later: The guest list hasn\u2019t been set for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but a number of things\u00a0could stand in the way of President Donald Trump getting an invite. But a former U.S. president might make the list, due to his friendship with the young British royal: Barack Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle, who appear to have amiable relations with Harry and his elder brother and\u00a0future king, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. In the end, neither President Trump nor President Obama was invited, for reasons explained by the Palace: Kensington Palace announced that the royal couple would not be inviting political leaders to the event, at least not on the basis of their official position. Which means neither US President Donald Trump nor his predecessor Barack Obama will be there. Not even British Prime Minister Theresa May was deemed worthy of a place on the guest list. Instead, only personal friends of the couple will be inside Windsor Castle for the royal event of the year on May 19. \u201cIt has been decided that an official list of political leaders \u2014 both UK and international \u2014 is not required for Prince Harry and Ms. Markle\u2019s wedding,\u201d a Kensington Palace spokesman said. \u201cHer Majesty\u2019s Government was consulted on this decision, which was taken by the royal household.\u201d A White House official confirmed neither Trump nor first lady Melania were invited; nor was Prime Minister May, Downing Street said. A royal source said that while Harry and Meghan hoped to see Barack and Michelle Obama soon, the former US President and his wife would not be at the wedding. The source would not say definitively whether the Obamas \u2014 who are close to the royal couple \u2014 had been invited."}
{"claim_id": "17808", "claim": "Hank Johnson Says \"by reducing chronic health care costs in the State of Georgia, we can reduce the $32.8 billion lost each year due to lack of productivity and economic costs.", "explanation": "Johnson on target about health, productivity cost link", "label": "true", "subjects": "Georgia, Economy, Health Care, Hank Johnson, ", "main_text": "A Georgia congressman\u2019s defense of the hotly debated health care law brought some skepticism from one PolitiFact reader. \"By reducing chronic health care costs in the State of Georgia, we can reduce the $32.8 billion lost each year due to lack of productivity and economic costs,\" Johnson, a Democrat from DeKalb County, wrote in a letter to Daniel Patterson. Patterson forwarded the letter to PolitiFact Georgia. We hadn\u2019t heard this claim before and decided to do some research. Johnson spokesman Andy Phelan said the numbers came from a study done by the Milken Institute, a nonpartisan, economic think tank with offices in Southern California and Washington, D.C. In October 2007, the institute released a widely reported study called \"An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease.\" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about the study. The study\u2019s first sentence highlighted the trouble. \"More than half of Americans suffer from one or more chronic diseases,\" it read. The seven diseases the 240-page study focused on were cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, mental disorder, pulmonary conditions and strokes. In 2003, there were 162.2 million Americans who suffered from one or more of those conditions, the study found. The productivity losses associated with those seven diseases were about $1.1 trillion. In Georgia, the Milken Institute researchers wrote in their study that the economic impact was $32.8 billion, as Johnson said. The researchers found about 5 million cases of those conditions were reported by Georgians in 2003. Pulmonary conditions and hypertension were easily the highest number of diseases reported. The researchers created an index and determined Georgia had the 31st healthiest population in the country. The healthiest states were largely along or west of the Rocky Mountains. The least healthiest states were along the Eastern Seaboard and the South. Utah was the healthiest state, and West Virginia was the least healthy state. The researchers calculated the number of lost workdays by using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s National Health Interview Survey and matching all individuals who had a particular illness with the number of lost workdays in the last 12 months due to illness or injury. The next step they took was to multiply those days lost times wages per employee. Georgia\u2019s total was 3 percent of the national cost. Georgia has about 3 percent of the nation\u2019s population. We wondered since the study was based on 2003 figures how much the numbers have changed since then. Ross DeVol, the lead researcher, said no subsequent work had been done to determine what the total would be, but he guessed it would be greater today. \"I can say with great certainty that the number is much higher today,\" DeVol told PolitiFact Georgia via email. Another report released in May, though, found lost productivity from various health problems was much less than the Milken Institute\u2019s estimate. The report by Gallup-Healthways calculated the total at $84 billion a year. The conditions the Gallup-Healthways study described as chronic included asthma, cancer, depression, diabetes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and various physical pains. The estimated cost for each worker per day was $341. The Gallup-Healthways report based its findings on interviews with 94,000 adults nationwide who worked more than 30 hours a week, asking them how many workdays they missed each month due to poor health. Phone interviews were conducted from January through September 2012. The majority responded they missed about one day every three months. Phelan, the congressman\u2019s spokesman, said he had not seen the Gallup-Healthways report beforehand. Phelan said he would reference the Milken report in future correspondence with constituents. \"While both studies looked at lost productivity due to illnesses and disease, the Gallup study looks at it from the perspective of 14 job types for the entire nation while the Milken study looked at it from the standpoint of the illnesses and diseases people suffer and specifically at each state, including Georgia,\" Phelan said via email. There\u2019s little additional research on this topic. The CDC looked at the economic impact of some conditions. \"In 2009, the economic costs of cardiovascular diseases and stroke were estimated at $475.3 billion, including $313.8 billion in direct medical expenses and $161.5 billion in indirect costs ($39.1 billion in lost productivity due to sickness or disability and $122.4 billion in lost productivity due to premature death),\" the CDC found. The $122.4 billion in lost productivity is more than the Gallup-Healthways conclusion, and that estimate was for just strokes and cardiovascular diseases. A 2001 report from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found 2.5 billion workdays were lost a year due to chronic diseases ranging from cancer to arthritis to substance abuse. To sum up, Rep. Johnson said in a letter that \"by reducing chronic health care costs in the State of Georgia, we can reduce the $32.8 billion lost each year due to lack of productivity and economic costs.\" The congressman\u2019s claim was based on accurate numbers from a Milken Institute study that appeared well-researched. We did find other research that differs from the Milken study. Johnson\u2019s claim is based on accurate information, but there is a little context necessary to fully examine his statement. Under our rating system, Johnson gets a ."}
{"claim_id": "26285", "claim": "Dr. Fauci says every American should be microchipped.", "explanation": "There is no evidence that Dr. Anthony Fauci has said every American should be \"microchipped.\" Fauci has suggested Americans might someday carry certificates of immunity to COVID-19. Similar claims that Democrats and others are pushing microchips to fight the coronavirus have been debunked.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Technology, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "Over the course of the coronavirus outbreak, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has become a household name \u2014 and a frequent target of misinformation. PolitiFact has debunked several online claims about Fauci from people trying to discredit him, including the idea that he has a financial stake in a coronavirus vaccine and that he served on Microsoft\u2019s board of directors. A new claim says Fauci wants to \"microchip\" Americans. \"Dr. Fauci says every American should be microchipped,\" one Facebook post says. This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our\u00a0partnership with Facebook.) There is no evidence to support this claim, or any of several other claims that prominent people are pushing to implant or inject microchips into people as a response to COVID-19. PolitiFact previously fact-checked a claim that Democrats were pushing to implant microchips in humans and found it to be . We found no evidence of proposals or legislation that promoted the use of implanted microchips to fight COVID-19. Other news outlets including FactCheck.org and Reuters have also debunked claims that philanthropist Bill Gates planned to use microchip implants to combat coronavirus. This claim about microchips may have originated from a misinterpretation of a statement Gates made about possibly using \"digital certificates\" for health records on immunity. But he never said those certificates would be contained in microchips going into people. Gates\u2019s interest in digital certificates may have also triggered  claims that he was pushing tracking bracelets and \"invisible tattoos\" to monitor Americans under lockdown. Fauci, too, has spoken about digital certificates of immunity. \"You know, that\u2019s possible,\" Fauci told CNN when asked if he could imagine a time where Americans carried certificates of immunity. \"It\u2019s one of those things that we talk about when we want to make sure that we know who the vulnerable people are and not. This is something that\u2019s being discussed. I think it might actually have some merit under certain circumstances.\" However, PolitiFact could find nothing to support the claim that Fauci said he wants every American microchipped. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "27620", "claim": "Representative Mick Mulvaney, who was recently selected as the Trump administration's nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget, one posed the question \u201cDo we really need government-funded research at all?\u201d on Facebook.", "explanation": "Mulvaney has not commented on his reason for deleting the post.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, research, science, trump administration", "main_text": "On 17 December 2016, President-elect Donald Trump nominated South Carolina representative Mick Mulvaney to lead the Office of Management and Budget. From the transition team statement: \u201cWe are going to do great things for the American people with Mick Mulvaney leading the Office of Management and Budget,\u201d said President-elect Trump. \u201cRight now we are nearly $20 trillion in debt, but Mick is a very high-energy leader with deep convictions for how to responsibly manage our nation\u2019s finances and save our country from drowning in red ink. With Mick at the head of OMB, my administration is going to make smart choices about America\u2019s budget, bring new accountability to our federal government, and renew the American taxpayer\u2019s trust in how their money is spent.\u201d He has been characterized by many as a \u201cdeficit hawk\u201d and is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-line fiscal conservatives. As director of the OMB, he would run an organization that, in its words: Assists the President in overseeing the preparation of the Federal budget and in supervising its administration in Federal agencies [and] also oversees and coordinates the Administration\u2019s procurement, financial management, information, and regulatory policies. On 19 December 2016, Mother Jones\u2019 Pema Levy reported on one of Mulvaney\u2019s since-deleted Facebook posts, unearthed by a Democratic opposition research group named American Bridge. This post from 9 September 2016 came at a time that\u00a0Congress was debating funding research into efforts to fight the spread of the Zika virus. In it, Mulvaney suggested the federal government (whose budget office he is now nominated to lead) might not be well served by funding science research at all: It has been a busy week, and with everything else going on I haven\u2019t had a chance to post on Zika, which I know has been in the news a bit. I have received all sorts of emails and FB comments this week on Zika. Some people want me to pass a \u201cclean\u201d bill (which I suppose means not paying for it with spending reductions elsewhere). Other folks want us to fund more research if we can find a way to pay for it. No one has written me yet, though, to ask what might be the best question: do we really need government-funded research at all. The post, though deleted, can still be viewed on a cached version of Mulvaney\u2019s Facebook page. His argument against science funding (and science in general) seems to follow arguments made by other prominent Trump transition team figures: because science is sometimes wrong, or not clear cut, it shouldn\u2019t be trusted. In defense of his opposition to funding Zika research, the remainder of this 9 September 2016 post cited a recent study that cast doubt on the viruses connection to infant microcephaly: And before you inundate me with pictures of children with birth defects, consider this: Brazil\u2019s microcephaly epidemic continues to pose a mystery \u2014 if Zika is the culprit, why are there no similar epidemics in other countries also hit hard by the virus? In Brazil, the microcephaly rate soared with more than 1,500 confirmed cases. But in Colombia, a recent study of nearly 12,000 pregnant women infected with Zika found zero microcephaly cases. If Zika is to blame for microcephaly, where are the missing cases? Perhaps there is another reason for the epidemic in Brazil. According to a new report by the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI), the number of missing cases in Colombia and elsewhere raises serious questions about the assumed connection between Zika and microcephaly. That isn\u2019t from some politicians website or some right-wing advocacy group. The information to which Mulvaney is referring comes from a press release provided by the New England Complex Systems Institute, and posted on the science news aggregator ScienceDaily.com on 24 June 2016. The findings that Mulvaney cites to are summarized in that release: In Brazil, the microcephaly rate soared with more than 1,500 confirmed cases. But in Colombia, a recent study of nearly 12,000 pregnant women infected with Zika found zero microcephaly cases. If Zika is to blame for microcephaly, where are the missing cases? In the final portion of Mulvaney\u2019s post, he incorrectly asserts that this scientific information came from the New England Journal of Medicine because the press release cited a study from that journal. The NEJM study cited in the release \u2014 a review of data from Brazil\u2019s Zika epidemic \u2014 concluded the exact\u00a0opposite: On the basis of this review, we conclude that a causal relationship exists between prenatal Zika virus infection and microcephaly and other serious brain anomalies. And, as it turns out, so did the New England Complex Systems Institute. A closer look at the actual reports reveals that the NECSI had been releasing semi-monthly reports on Zika in Colombia since May 2016. Early on, they found no evidence to support a connection between the virus and microcephaly. Later data, however, revealed that more time was needed to see the effects of the virus in children born to Zika infected mothers. In their August report (the final one in this series), they stated: The epidemic of Zika in Colombia was expected to result in many cases of microcephaly. However, until epidemiological week 23 (June 11) there were only 6 reported cases. The number of cases increased to 21 in weeks 24-27, which appears to confirm expectations about Zika as a cause of microcephaly [\u2026]"}
{"claim_id": "2835", "claim": "Smoking to kill 5.6 million US kids if not stubbed out: report.", "explanation": "Another 5.6 million American children may die prematurely unless smoking rates fall in the United States, according to a report by the U.S. surgeon general which links a range of new illnesses to the habit.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Fifty years after the first surgeon general\u2019s report declared smoking a hazard to human health, the new study adds conditions ranging from colon cancer to diabetes and arthritis to the tally of tobacco-related diseases. The report, the first in more than a decade, found that smoking has killed more than 20 million Americans prematurely in the last half century. Although adult smoking rates have fallen to the current 18 percent from 43 percent of Americans in 1965, each day, more than 3,200 youths under the age 18 try their first cigarette, according to the report published on Friday. \u201cEnough is enough,\u201d acting Surgeon General Dr Boris Lushniak said in a telephone interview. \u201cWe need to eliminate the use of cigarettes and create a tobacco-free generation.\u201d  Federal health officials are calling on businesses, state and local governments, and society as a whole, to end smoking within a generation through hard-hitting media campaigns, smoke-free air policies, tobacco taxes, unhindered access to cessation treatment and more spending by state and local governments on tobacco control. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the federal lead on this anymore,\u201d said Lushniak. \u201cTo get this done, we have to go to industry. We have to go to healthcare providers and remind them that this problem is not yet solved.\u201d  The report, dubbed The Health Consequences of Smoking, 50 Years of Progress, details the growing science showing the diseases and health conditions caused by smoking since Dr Luther Terry issued the landmark report on January 11, 1964, that first confirmed smoking tobacco caused lung cancer. In that first report, only lung cancer was associated with smoking. Now there are 13. \u201cWe\u2019re still a country very much addicted to tobacco,\u201d U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a White House event to mark the anniversary. The new report adds liver and colorectal cancer to that list, but it also details several other conditions caused by smoking, including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and impaired immune function, and cleft palate in infants. And in a startling statistic, the report found that exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of stroke by 20 to 30 percent. \u201cIt really is astonishing that even 50 years in, we are finding new ways that tobacco maims and kills people,\u201d Dr Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a telephone interview. He said the report found that smoking costs the nation $130 billion in direct medical expenses each year. Frieden reiterated that tobacco control efforts have saved as many as 8 million lives in the past five decades, but stressed that much more needs to be done to eliminate smoking, which remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. At the White House, officials pointed squarely at the tobacco industry continued efforts to promote their products. \u201cThis is not an accident,\u201d Assistant Health Secretary Howard Koh said. \u201cThese deaths do not occur just by chance. Each year, the tobacco industry spends $8 billion - nearly $1 million an hour - to advertise and market cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.\u201d  As a result, Lushniak urged public health officials to take tougher action to curb tobacco use: \u201cIt\u2019s all about getting more aggressive than we have been.\u201d  Officials called on states to increase their investment in smoking prevention. CDC\u2019s Frieden said states get $80 per capita from tobacco companies related to a major legal settlement in 1998, in which big tobacco makers agreed to pay $206 billion to 46 states to help pay the costs of treating ailing smokers. Although CDC recommends that states spend at least $12 per person on tobacco control, states \u201cactually only spend about $1.50, and it\u2019s been decreasing in recent years,\u201d he said. Harold Wimmer, president and chief executive of the American Lung Association, said the new report, coming on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1964 report, present an opportunity for renewed political commitment to ending the tobacco epidemic. On Wednesday, his group will release its own report grading state and federal efforts to control tobacco. \u201cOnly a recommitment to a heightened level of action will enable us to finish the job,\u201d Wimmer said. Last week, the group and other advocacy organizations called on political leaders to commit to cutting smoking rates to less than 10 percent of the population in a decade and to protect all Americans from secondhand smoke within five years. Friday\u2019s report briefly touched on the increasingly controversial topic of electronic or e-cigarettes - devices designed to deliver nicotine through vapor instead of tobacco smoke. It noted that major tobacco companies, including Altria Group Inc, best known for its Marlboro brand; Reynolds American Inc, maker of Camel cigarettes; and Lorillard Inc, maker of Newport cigarettes, have invested in the products. Previous studies have suggested that people can use the devices as smoking cessation tools, but some public health advocates worry that e-cigarettes might introduce more people to nicotine, the addicting chemical found in tobacco. Electronic devices that feature fruit and candy flavors are even more worrying, critics say, because they could introduce children to smoking. And there are still questions about the safety of the vapors released by the devices. Health groups and state attorneys general have been pressuring the FDA to impose regulations on the devices. CDC\u2019s Frieden urged caution as the industry comes up with various new products given the known dangers about tobacco. \u201cIf we\u2019re talking about tobacco products ... they are guilty until proven innocent, not the other way around,\u201d he said at the White House. \u201cAll of these products may have an positive role is appropriately regulated but not in the way that they are being sold now with widespread marketing, over the Internet, with bubble gum and cotton candy flavors, with free samples.\u201d  Altria said in a statement that it supports the FDA\u2019s authority to regulate e-cigarettes as an extension of its power to regulate tobacco. \u201cOur tobacco companies continue to focus on developing lower-risk products that appeal to adult tobacco consumers and see this as an important business opportunity under FDA regulation,\u201d the company added."}
{"claim_id": "35335", "claim": "Pandemic-related shutdown orders are unconstitutional, and persons arrested for violating them can collect damages.", "explanation": "The challengers included a golf course, laundromat, timber company, real-estate agent and political committee tied to a Republican state legislative candidate. They turned to the nation\u2019s top court after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected their arguments.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "As Americans in various U.S. cities began demonstrating in April 2020 for the relaxation of social distancing and lockdown restrictions enacted to blunt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, some protesters claimed that such restrictions were unconstitutional infringements of individual rights. One example of such claims was a social media post that asserted that citizens arrested for violating shutdown orders could \u201cwin damages in court\u201d because \u201cthe constitution supersedes any other law\u201d:  However, the basic premise of this message was wrong. Measures enacted to protect the public health, both during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and in earlier health crises, have consistently been upheld against challenges in U.S. courts. For example, on May 6, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift a shutdown order issued by the governor of Pennsylvania requiring all non-life-sustaining businesses to temporarily close: The U.S. Supreme Court refused to lift Pennsylvania\u2019s shutdown order, rejecting a request from businesses and a political campaign that said their constitutional rights were being violated. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses closed in March to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The state has since begun easing the restrictions."}
{"claim_id": "36167", "claim": "In 1926, engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla predicted that humanity would one day \"be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance\" and that \"the instruments through which we shall be able to do all of this will fit in our vest pockets.", "explanation": "Did Nikola Tesla Describe Mobile Phones in 1926?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On September 19 2019, an Imgur user shared the following quote meme, attributing commentary that seemed to predict cell phones to futurist and engineer Nikola Tesla (misspelled once as \u201cNikolai Tesla\u201d in the post):Did Nikolai Tesla invent the Cronovisor?In a comment, the image\u2019s submitter referenced an unsupported claim about Tesla \u201cshocking himself\u201d and \u201cseeing\u201d the \u201cpast, present, and future,\u201d and alluded to a conspiracy theory about an alleged time viewer rumored to be called a \u201cchronovisor\u201d:When Tesla accidentally got shocked by very high voltage he claimed to have seen the past, the present, and the future all at once. From this might he have experienced cronovision and then later invent the Cronovisor?On the meme, text read:Nikola Tesla Describing a Cell Phone in 1926\u201cWhen wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles, and the instruments through which we shall be able to do all of this, will fit in our vest pockets.\u201d Nikola Tesla, 1926September 2019 did not mark the first appearance of the quote on Imgur or Reddit; in May 2015, it was submitted in text format to r/quotes:\"When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain\u2026\" \u2013 Nikola Tesla, 1926 from quotesTesla did not, however, seem to predict that these wondrous and miraculous vest-pocket devices would also be almost instantly blamed for distracting the whole of humanity from staring at one another on train cars or looking out windows. (Tesla also didn\u2019t appear to know that vests or waistcoats would fall to the wayside in favor of hoodies. )Elements of Tesla\u2019s purported prognostication were poetic and subjective, describing the interconnected future world as a \u201cwhole earth \u2026 converted into a huge brain\u201d and \u201call things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole.\u201d That portion of the quote wouldn\u2019t immediately be recognized by most readers as a prediction of cellular phones, but the preceding comments did sound reasonably well-guessed nearly a hundred years later.By way of context, telephones had been around for nearly half a century in 1926, the year Tesla made his purported phone prediction:In 1877-78, the first telephone line was constructed, the first switchboard was created and the first telephone exchange was in operation. Three years later, almost 49,000 telephones were in use. In 1880, Bell merged this company with others to form the American Bell Telephone Company and in 1885 American Telegraph and Telephone Company (AT&T) was formed; it dominated telephone communications for the next century. At one point in time, Bell System employees purposely denigrated the U.S. telephone system to drive down stock prices of all phone companies and thus make it easier for Bell to acquire smaller competitors.By 1900 there were nearly 600,000 phones in Bell\u2019s telephone system; that number shot up to 2.2 million phones by 1905, and 5.8 million by 1910. In 1915 the transcontinental telephone line began operating. By 1907, AT&T had a near monopoly on phone and telegraph service, thanks to its purchase of Western Union. Its president, Theodore Vail, urged at the time that a monopoly could most efficiently operate the nation\u2019s far-flung communications network. At the urging of the public and AT&T competitors, the government began to investigate the company for anti-trust violations, thus forcing the 1913 Kingsbury Commitment, an agreement between AT&T vice president Nathan Kingsbury and the office of the U.S. Attorney General. Under this commitment, AT&T agreed to divest itself of Western Union and provide long-distance services to independent phone exchanges.In 1891, thirty years prior, an AT&T wrote (albeit less lyrically):A system of telephony without wires seems one of the interesting possibilities, and the distance on the earth through which it is possible to speak is theoretically limited only by the curvation of the earth.In that context, not only had telephones been around for almost fifty years by then, but speculation they one day might lack wires took place three decades before, too. And in 1901, Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic wireless telegraph. In fact, Marconi and Tesla scuffled over who did what first:In 1909 Marconi shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with the German physicist Karl F. Braun, the inventor of the cathode ray tube. Marconi\u2019s accolades were not without controversy: many other men had claims (some dubious, some not) to the \u201cFather of Radio\u201d title. As early as 1895, the Russian physicist Alexander Popov was broadcasting between buildings, while in India Jagdish Chandra Bose was using radio waves to ring bells and trigger explosions. In 1901 the Serbian-American electrical pioneer Nikola Tesla said he had developed a wireless telegraph in 1893; in 1943 the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated four Marconi radio patents, citing Tesla\u2019s prior work.Articles about the Tesla quote appeared in July\u00a0and January 2015. The latter piece mentioned that Tesla further seemed to fret over the \u201cawakening of the intellect of women,\u201d and he surmised:\u2026 Woman will ignore precedent and startle civilization with their progress.The acquisition of new fields of endeavor by women, their gradual usurpation of leadership, will dull and finally dissipate feminine sensibilities, will choke the maternal instinct, so that marriage and motherhood may become abhorrent and human civilization draw closer and closer to the perfect civilization of the bee.A citation for the original quote appeared in multiple places, including Tesla\u2019s Wikiquote page. The quote appeared in the 1964 book\u00a0Lightning in His Hand: The Life Story of Nikola Tesla, on pages 176 and 177.The publication in which it appeared was\u00a0Colliers, and the piece (\u201cWhen Woman is Boss,\u201d an interview with Nikola Tesla by John B. Kennedy) was dated January 30 1926. The relevant portion appeared relatively early on in the interview, and included additional commentary about wireless technology:AT SIXTY-EIGHT years of age Nikola Tesla sits quietly in his study, reviewing the world that he has helped to change, foreseeing other changes that must come in the onward stride of the human race. He is a tall, thin, ascetic man who wears somber clothes and looks out at life with steady, deep-set eyes. In the midst of luxury he lives meagerly, selecting his diet with a precision almost extreme. He abstains from all beverages save water and milk and has never indulged in tobacco since early manhood.He is an engineer, an inventor and, above these as well as basic to them, a philosopher. And, despite his obsession with the practical application of what a gifted mind may learn in books, he has never removed his gaze from the drama of life.This world, amazed many times during the last throbbing century, will rub its eyes and stand breathless before greater wonders than even the past few generations have seen; and fifty years from now the world will differ more from the present-day than our world now differs from the world of fifty years ago.Nikola Tesla came to America in early manhood, and his inventive genius found quick recognition. When fortune was his through his revolutionary power-transmission machines he established plants, first in New York, then Colorado, later on Long Island, where his innumerable experiments resulted in all manner of important and minor advances in electrical science. Lord Kelvin said of him (before he was forty) that he had contributed more than any other man to the study of electricity.\u201cFrom the inception of the wireless system,\u201d he says, \u201cI saw that this new art of applied electricity would be of greater benefit to the human race than any other scientific discovery, for it virtually eliminates distance. The majority of the ills from which humanity suffers are due to the immense extent of the terrestrial globe and the inability of individuals and nations to come into close contact.\u201cWireless will achieve the closer contact through transmission of intelligence, transport of our bodies and materials and conveyance of energy.\u201cWhen wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket.\u201cWe shall be able to witness and hear events\u2013the inauguration of a President, the playing of a world series game, the havoc of an earthquake or the terror of a battle\u2013just as though we were present.\u201cWhen the wireless transmission of power is made commercial, transport and transmission will be revolutionized. Already motion pictures have been transmitted by wireless over a short distance. Later the distance will be illimitable, and by later I mean only a few years hence. Pictures are transmitted over wires \u2014 they were telegraphed successfully through the point system thirty years ago. When wireless transmission of power becomes general, these methods will be as crude as is the steam locomotive compared with the electric train.\u201dA meme with a vivid description of cell phones credited to Nikola Tesla in 1926 is correctly attributed. Tesla made the remarks among several in a January 1926\u00a0Collier\u2019s interview with John B. Kennedy. Tesla is historically remembered for, among other things, detailed prognostications about the future of technology. However, some wireless advances existed in 1926, and Tesla was not the only person predicting \u201ctelephony without wires\u201d in general."}
{"claim_id": "10315", "claim": "One study calls fish a lifesaver, another is more cautious", "explanation": "Health researchers have had a long and torrid affair with the humble fish. The New York Times article ably sums up the result of their imposing efforts\u2014mass confusion. The story recaps the mixed evidence suggesting that fish eating can cheat death\u2013as well as conflicting evidence suggesting it can speed our trip to the grave. The story\u2019s sources are appropriate and their conflicts mostly transparent. The article\u2019s omissions are mostly minor. However, there is one important failure. The story expresses the most significant reported benefits of fish consumption as reductions in the relative risk of death, but does not translate this into reductions in absolute risk; unfortunately, the JAMA study making the health claim does the same. (Read more about absolute vs. relative risk.) This is particularly relevant, because readers might overestimate the absolute risk reduction attributable to fish consumption for both cardiovascular disease and death.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The article did not report information about the costs of fish (from 63 cents to $2.59 per week, according to the JAMA study), but readers can easily find these on their own if they don\u2019t know them already. The article expresses the most significant reported benefits of fish consumption\u2014decreases in coronary death and total mortality\u2014as reductions in relative risk. The article does not explain how this translates into reductions in absolute risk. (Read more about absolute vs. relative risk.) The story also doesn't explain what the risk of death is for those who do not consume fish\u2014but neither does the JAMA study that makes the health claim. The story does quote one source who quips, \u201c[The study] would indeed make eating fish the single most important decision you can make for your health.\u201d The story presents balanced information about potential harms of fish consumption, though it would have been stronger if it had included more detail about harms. For example, it might have noted the effects of mercury on fetal development. The story explains briefly and accurately the quality of evidence to support the claims of cardioprotection (a mix of controlled trials and observational studies), and in so doing illustrates why it is so difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the health effects of fish consumption. This article will disappoint fishmongers and disease mongers alike. It carefully mutes the hope and hype surrounding both the purported benefits of dietary fish consumption (reductions in coronary death and death from all causes) as well as the risks (contamination by mercury, PCBs, and dioxins). The article cites an array of scientific experts, regulatory authorities, industry sources, and representatives of various advocacy groups. It also provides sufficient information to determine their potential conflicts of interest. The article nicely summarizes the potential advantages and disadvantages of fish consumption. However, it does not compare the reported protective effect of fish either to other potentially cardioprotective foods or to established medical therapies (e.g. aspirin) for cardiovascular disease. Eating fish is only one piece of a healthy lifestyle for minimizing risk of cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. There isn't any doubt about the availability of fish. The idea that fish consumption is protective against death and disease is not new, and the article provides sufficient context for readers to accurately judge this. Because the story relied on several different sources, it is appears safe to assume it did not rely solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "15891", "claim": "ISIS lures women with kittens, nutella.", "explanation": "This fact-check is a case study of what can go wrong when a news channel sacrifices nuance for an eye-catching graphic. On CNN, that graphic said, \"ISIS LURES WOMEN WITH KITTENS, NUTELLA.\" There wasn\u2019t much more to Costello\u2019s introduction of the segment, but she did reference images of nutella, kittens and emojis that are used \"in part\" to recruit westerners. Costello\u2019s words are technically accurate, but CNN\u2019s click-baity graphic is incomplete and misleading. In reality, ISIS is using a vast array of tactics to persuade people to give up their lives for their fight. No expert would say that someone would join ISIS for the reasons isolated on CNN. To boil down ISIS\u2019 recruitment strategy of women to nutella, emojis and kittens is a vast oversimplification that borders on the absurd. There is a shred of truth to this claim but not much beyond that.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Terrorism, Women, PunditFact, CNN, ", "main_text": "Find a goofy still frame of television, and people will propel it across the Internet. CNN got a taste of this law of social media on Wednesday after airing a silly-looking graphic about a serious topic: the Islamic State\u2019s recruitment of female fighters. The anchor\u2019s set-up of the segment did little to help viewers take it seriously. \"ISIS is talking online about jars of Nutella, pictures of kittens and emojis,\" CNN Newsroom host Carol Costello said in the Feb. 18, 2015, segment. \"These three images are in part helping ISIS recruiters lure westerners into their fight because they want people to believe their life on the battlefield isn't so different than yours. They actually eat Nutella, and I guess they have pet kittens.\" As she spoke, a highly sharable graphic depicting a jar of the chocolate hazelnut spread, two orange tabby kittens\u00a0and a silly face from the emoji keyboard appeared with script (a chyron in TV talk) that said \"ISIS LURES WOMEN WITH KITTENS, NUTELLA\". Costello went on to interview Nimmi Gowrinathan, an academic who studies women in crisis and a visiting professor at the Colin Powell Center for Civic and Global Leadership at City College, New York. The words \"Nutella,\" \"kittens\" or \"emoji\" were not part of their discussion. Instead Gowrinathan talked about how the discussion of female Islamic State fighters (also called ISIS or ISIL)\u00a0should focus on the larger political suppression that pushes women to join these kind of movements rather than looking at what may have triggered one woman\u2019s turning point to extremism. But her more nuanced discussion wasn\u2019t the takeaway. Instead the blogosphere ranks of Jezebel, New York Magazine\u2019s Daily Intel, and, most angrily, Vox dinged CNN for suggesting women could be easily \"lured\" into ISIS with guilty, silly pleasures. As fact-checkers, we felt beckoned to sort out the confusion. Was CNN\u2019s segment just plain weird or onto something? CNN did not return emails and calls for comment. We went to experts who track jihadist groups, including ISIS, on social media. \"The way that the CNN story was framed was kind of funny and eyeroll-inducing,\" said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, \"but it\u2019s largely correct.\" The online prowess of the Islamic State is a well-documented strength of the movement. From videos to online forums to journals to various social media websites, supporters disseminate propaganda messages (90,000 a day) that are more slickly produced and reach wider audiences than efforts from other terrorist groups (think of al-Qaida home videos showing Osama bin Laden speaking into the camera with little other detail). ISIS even has plans for a 24-hour propaganda network, said Daniel Cohen, a research fellow and coordinator of the cyber security program at Tel Aviv University\u2019s Institute for National Security Studies. The videos or posts are often translated into multiple languages so that demographic groups can be more effectively targeted around the world. Some of the imagery depicts a fulfilling life in a dream state ruled by sharia law, where kids are cheerful and ISIS recruits offer humanitarian aid in war zones. And yes, the group\u2019s supporters also speak in emojis, tweet pictures of themselves unwinding with Nutella and run Twitter accounts like @ISILCats showing jihadists cuddling with kittens and kittens cuddling with firearms. It\u2019s all part of an effort to speak the same cultural language as potential recruits so that they don\u2019t think life with the Islamic State is all beheadings and burnings, Cohen said. \"Most of the people sharing this content on social media came from Western culture,\" Cohen said. It makes them seem relatable and charismatic, said Gartenstein-Ross, adding that it\u2019s nothing new for ISIS. Richard Brennan, a Middle East expert at the RAND Institute, said the ISIS campaign \"is much more sophisticated\" than what was portrayed on CNN. \"It\u2019s targeting the young men and women who want to be part of something greater than themselves to accept this movement for the validity that they believe the Koran is teaching,\" he said. Obviously, not all of the tweets, videos and images are cheery (the beheadings of prisoners, for instance). Other viral memes are designed to show how \"disgusting\" their enemies are by showing dead children\u2019s bodies from bombs or airstrikes. The point is, the use of familiar western imagery in social media messages is just one tool in the Islamic State\u2019s vast marketing toolbox, and the real motivations for someone joining the fight run much deeper. Those motivations are connected to the pursuit of identity and purpose. Some of the women recruited by ISIS act as internal police within their territories to make sure people are adhering to sharia law and stopping women who are not dressed appropriately, Cohen said. They also play a big role in online recruitment efforts. In an August article for Foreign Affairs, Gowrinathan criticized experts for being so perplexed by the formation of all-women brigades within ISIS. Women in war zones, she wrote, typically don\u2019t have a role in the politics of their society and are drawn to extremism when they cannot air their grievances in the open. Still, some are coerced into joining and do so for their own safety. The audience for the communications with kittens and Nutella is a slim component of the majority of Sunni Islamic women who are joining ISIS from countries around the region out of oppression in their home state, she said in an interview with PunditFact. And even for the westerners, a life promising time with cute kitties and tasty sweets \"won\u2019t ever be enough of an effective recruitment tool for any group.\" \"The kittens and emoticon thing is most damaging because it denies women any political agency,\" she said. \"It infantilizes them in a way that you would assume they would be drawn to this for the most superficial reasons.\" For the record, Gowrinathan said she wasn\u2019t brought on CNN to talk nutella and cats, nor was she pleased with the attention CNN producers brought to the popular hazelnut spread, winky faces and baby cats. \"All I tried to point out is we dismiss women\u2019s politics all the time,\" Gowrinathan said. Costello eventually deleted a tweet (which we captured below) promoting the segment with a video of the interview. And Gowrinathan tweeted that she did not, for the record, believe \"emoticons are relevant in recruitment of #women to #isis.\" Our ruling This fact-check is a case study of what can go wrong when a news channel sacrifices nuance for an eye-catching graphic. On CNN, that graphic said, \"ISIS LURES WOMEN WITH KITTENS, NUTELLA.\" There wasn\u2019t much more to Costello\u2019s introduction of the segment, but she did reference images of nutella, kittens and emojis that are used \"in part\" to recruit westerners. Costello\u2019s words are technically accurate, but CNN\u2019s click-baity graphic is incomplete and misleading. In reality, ISIS is using a vast array of tactics to persuade people to give up their lives for their fight. No expert would say that someone would join ISIS for the reasons isolated on CNN. To boil down ISIS\u2019 recruitment strategy of women to nutella, emojis and kittens is a vast oversimplification that borders on the absurd. There is a shred of truth to this claim but not much beyond that. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "9766", "claim": "More People Should Get Statins, Report Says", "explanation": "We always cheer when we see a story take the rare step of spelling out the costs of a treatment as clearly as this one did. We also love the use of hard numbers in talking about the potential benefits of wider statin use and the space devoted to risks, especially in a short story. The NBC coverage was focused on a cost-effectiveness study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. A competing story in the New York Times brought in another study, also focused on the new statin guidelines, and used the occasion to do something that this story didn\u2019t quite accomplish: provide a detailed explanation of the quality of the evidence supporting wider statin use. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the USA. The percentage of adults who might be recommended for statins is quite high, and so the costs and effectiveness of these drugs are vitally important to understand both at an individual level and across the population.", "label": "true", "subjects": "cholesterol,statins", "main_text": "While the New York Times skipped the cost question, NBC gave readers the numbers they needed to know. It said that \u201cStatins, which include Lipitor, Mevacor, Crestor and Zocor, are extremely popular. They\u2019re prescribed to about 15 percent of U.S. adults, at a cost ranging from about $4 a month for the cheapest generic version to $600 for a pricey name-brand.\u201d That\u2019s a huge cost range and, multiplied out for the millions more Americans who are being encouraged to take statins, represents a significant potential increase in health care spending. To inform readers even more fully, the story could have looked at what those global costs would add up to for the entire country. It also could have explained what researchers mean when they say that the drugs are \u201cworth it\u201d and how the value of treatment was calculated in the study. The story did quantify benefits using absolute numbers when describing the potential impact on heart attacks from wider statin use. The story said that\u00a0\u201cif even more people were given statins \u2014 if they were given to people with a 3 percent risk of developing heart disease over 10 years \u2014 another 160,000 heart attacks and strokes would be prevented, they estimated.\u201d We thought the Times, though, did a better job overall providing context for those numbers. NBC did a better job than the Times in answering the question about risks. NBC wrote that statins \u201ccan damage muscle in 5 to 15 percent of patients. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration\u00a0updated labeling on statins to\u00a0include warnings about confusion and memory loss, elevated blood sugar leading to Type 2 diabetes, and muscle weakness.\u201d This is a nice addition to the overall coverage of the new statin studies and a step we wish more reporters had taken. Other than noting that the study was published in a journal, there is no examination of the quality of the evidence. The Times did a better job in this regard,\u00a0mentioning that the study wasn\u2019t a clinical trial and that the prospective Framingham cohort is almost all white. There is no disease mongering in the story. We were surprised that there were no independent sources quoted in the story. There are a lot of people talking about these studies, and the Times did a better job seeking out independent analysis. The story did not address alternatives to statin treatment such as diet and exercise. The story made it clear that statins are widely available. They are also paid for by insurance plans. The story mentions that the new report addresses concerns about guidelines issued in 2013, so in that sense it provides enough context for a Satisfactory rating. But we\u2019d note that the story gives the impression that this study\u2019s findings are the definitive word on whether otherwise healthy people should start taking statins. But, as the competing New York Times story notes, there is still serious debate about how important these new findings are. The story does not rely excessively on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "8945", "claim": "Can't exercise? A hot bath may help improve inflammation, metabolism, study suggests", "explanation": "Take a look at the headline and subheading of this news release, because the former is very misleading, and the latter comes closer to the truth: Headline: \u2018Can\u2019t exercise? A hot bath may help improve inflammation, metabolism, study suggest\u2019 Sub-head: \u2018Hot-water immersion improved inflammatory markers and blood sugar in overweight men\u2019 The subheading is a fairly good summary of the study. But the \u201cCan\u2019t exercise? \u2026\u201d headline promises much more than this small study\u00a0can support. The research question? How does hot water immersion \u2014\u00a0 that is, ten 1-hour soaks at 102\u00baF over two weeks\u00a0 \u2014 affect metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers in the blood of 10 overweight and sedentary men. The answer? Some mild, transient changes were noted that could theoretically be beneficial. Just because exercise has been shown to transiently increase inflammatory markers and decrease blood sugar, and hot water immersion does the same thing, doesn\u2019t mean that the latter might substitute for the former. Furthermore, the research into the relationship between inflammation and sugar/insulin levels is mostly in rodents, and extrapolating these benefits to humans is unrealistic. Yes, exercise can temporarily trigger an anti-inflammatory response at the molecular level,\u00a0as well as decrease sugar/insulin levels. This study suggests repeated, lengthy hot water immersion\u00a0can do the same thing in 10 overweight men. But that hardly means the two interventions are comparable in any way, or that these blood changes have any meaningful or sustainable clinical benefits.", "label": "false", "subjects": "American Physiological Society,hot baths,obesity", "main_text": "Cost isn\u2019t really applicable here;\u00a0 but it\u2019s important to point out that probably the best way to access a hot water source that consistently stays around 102\u00baF would be a hot tub, and that would involve cost for most people. This is a major weakness of the release. We\u2019re told that hot water immersion (60 minutes, daily at 102\u00baF) elevated levels of: This is nebulous, if not unhelpful language, that suggests (unquantified) benefits that are hard to make sense of. Furthermore, it\u2019s mentioned 10 soaks over 14 days led to: \u201ca reduction of fasting blood sugar and insulin levels as well as improved low-grade inflammation at rest.\u201d Both diabetics and non-diabetics alike would appropriately ask, \u201creally? By how much? For how long?\u201d But that information is not provided. Nor is any context provided for readers wondering how changes in metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers translate into noticeable or measurable clinical effects that matter to them. Harms are not mentioned. Anyone who owns a hot tub, or uses a public bath, is likely familiar with warnings regarding who might want to consult their physician before using one. Prolonged exposure to hot water can lead to increased heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and dehydration \u2026 all of which may be ill-advised for some heart patients and pregnant women. The study was extremely small (10 volunteers), short (2 weeks), and because the subjects were only men who were obese or inactive, probably not applicable to the general public. This wasn\u2019t mentioned. Nor is it mentioned that most of the existing research on the relationship between inflammatory biomarkers and glucose/insulin levels \u2014 which is strongly touted in this release \u2014 is based on animal models. That should have been clarified since the headline of this news release suggests human benefits. That\u2019s speculative at best, and at worst misleading. No overt disease mongering but there\u2019s an inappropriate and baseless implication that those who are unable to exercise \u2014 or are obese or sedentary \u2014 have problems with blood sugar or \u2018inflammation\u2019; and that those two problems are likely related. That\u2019s just not the case and misleading enough to warrant an unsatisfactory rating here. Funding is not mentioned. A review of the published article doesn\u2019t suggest conflicts of interest among the researchers. Alternatives to what? If the gist of this release is that overweight and sedentary men can\u2019t exercise (and hot water immersion might be a good replacement), then this news release never should have been published because the premise and conclusion are both erroneous. But if the gist is that there ARE people \u2014 such as those who are frail, disabled, or paralyzed \u2014 who might benefit from an intervention that offers the benefits from exercise they can\u2019t do, then this news release is misleading. Because all this study shows is that hot water immersion changes some metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers. Yes, exercise can do that too, but the real benefits and sustainability of these blood changes remain unproven. Not applicable \u2026 see \u201cCosts\u201d above. The exact results of this small human study are new but many researchers have been working on theories and rodent studies regarding heat therapy and chronic inflammatory diseases. Much of this was summarized by Ely et al in 2017 in the journal Temperature, \u201cMeta-inflammation and cardiometabolic disease in obesity: Can heat therapy help?\u201c The headline is both unjustified and inappropriate. First of all, most people don\u2019t bathe for one-hour straight in a bath locked in at 102\u00ba F. Second, a study of 10 men over 2 weeks can\u2019t draw any conclusions regarding inflammation and metabolism. Finally,\u00a0 what\u2019s inappropriate here is that there are plenty of people physically incapable of conventional exercise; why lead with the enticement of \u201cCan\u2019t exercise?\u201d when the referenced study offers no proof that the hot water immersion offers the benefits of exercise?"}
{"claim_id": "13851", "claim": "In 2010, Clinton \"said Iran could enrich uranium. In 2014 she said she\u2019s always argued against it.", "explanation": "Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday that 15 new tests found no asbestos in a bottle of baby powder that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says tested positive for trace amounts of asbestos, a finding the agency stands by.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Foreign Policy, Mitch McConnell, ", "main_text": "The tests are the latest effort by J&J to prove the safety of its widely used consumer product after a test by the FDA prompted J&J to undertake a nationwide recall of one lot of its Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder. FDA officials, in an interview with Reuters, said the agency continues to support the company\u2019s voluntary recall. \u201cThey would say the product is free of asbestos based on their testing, and we would say the opposite for that sample,\u201d said Steve Musser, deputy director for scientific operations in the FDA\u2019s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition. Earlier this month, J&J recalled around 33,000 bottles of baby powder in the United States after the FDA found trace amounts of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle purchased online. \u201cRigorous and third-party testing confirms there is no asbestos in Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder. We stand by the safety of our product,\u201d J&J said in a statement. The company did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment on the FDA standing by its test result. The different test outcomes could have resulted from the fact that contaminants are not uniformly dispersed throughout talc and there is no standard test for asbestos in talc, FDA officials said. The voluntary recall was limited to one lot of Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder produced and shipped in the United States in 2018, the company said at the time. That move marked the first time the company recalled its iconic baby powder for possible asbestos contamination, and the first time U.S. regulators have announced a finding of asbestos in the product. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that has been linked to deadly mesothelioma. J&J will not reverse the recall of those 22-ounce containers, but its baby powder remains available to consumers in stores, a company spokesman told Reuters. The recall had been the latest blow to the more than 130-year-old U.S. healthcare conglomerate that is facing thousands of lawsuits over a variety of products, including baby powder, opioids, medical devices and the antipsychotic Risperdal. J&J faces more than 15,000 lawsuits from consumers claiming its talc products, including Johnson\u2019s Baby Powder, caused their cancer. (This version corrects spelling of powder in headline)"}
{"claim_id": "21150", "claim": "A state bill would end a longstanding requirement that local governments repair highways and sidewalks -- and block injured citizens from suing over neglected maintenance.", "explanation": "Wisconsin Association for Justice says a state bill would end a requirement that local governments repair roads and prevent injured citizens from suing", "label": "false", "subjects": "County Government, Legal Issues, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Association for Justice, ", "main_text": "As the 2011 Wisconsin Legislature neared completion of its work, a group of trial lawyers attacked a batch of Republican-sponsored legislation it contends will \"erase basic rights.\" The Wisconsin Association for Justice -- formerly the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers -- railed against limits on attorneys fees in consumer cases, and immunity for doctors and drug makers in injury cases. We previously ruled this rating for a health care advocate's claim that one of the bills \"grants drug companies and medical device manufacturers immunity from injuries and deaths caused by their products.\" This time we\u2019ll examine the trial lawyers\u2019 claim in an Oct. 31, 2011, news release regarding Senate Bill 125/Assembly Bill 180. The group said the proposal \"makes local governments' repair of roads, bridges and sidewalks no longer required by state law, and injured citizens could no longer sue them for bodily or auto damages \u2026 The state law has been in place for 162 years.\" That sounds like a major change of lanes. Let\u2019s pop the hood. First, a bit of history. Over several decades, it\u2019s become much tougher for citizens in Wisconsin to sue and win when claiming negligence by their local units of government. How much tougher? In a 2009 Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion, Justice David Prosser, a former Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, said that \"so far as government responsibility for torts is concerned, immunity has become the rule and liability has become the rare exception.\" \"Justice,\" wrote Prosser, \"has been confined to a crawl space too narrow for most tort victims to fit.\" Generally speaking, except in cases involving unheeded warnings over dangers involving actions they absolutely should have taken, public agencies are shielded from liability. That\u2019s because of state laws and court rulings. A notable and longstanding exception to that -- under a state \"highway defects\" law dating to 1849, a year after statehood -- allows up to $50,000 in civil damages when highways and sidewalks are poorly maintained and lead to vehicle damage or bodily injury. The bill up for debate would eliminate nearly all of that statute. Local governments have sought this for years, hoping to avoid what they see as the \"automatic\" liability for defects, and get more discretion over when and how to do highway repairs -- as state officials have. Former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a previous attempt. Here\u2019s what\u2019s unique about the defective highways statute (893.83): Plaintiffs don\u2019t have to clear the high legal bar they would in winning a case against the government over other mistakes. They don\u2019t have to show government had an absolute duty to do the specific thing in dispute -- that duty is presumed under that existing law. Notably, the law creates a \"right to recover\" damages from government. Many of the cases are routinely settled before getting to court -- that\u2019s how strong the law is. If the cases reach trial, jurors have to decide if damages stemmed from known road defects -- and whether the municipality kept the highway \"reasonably safe for public travel,\" according to jury instructions in place since 1974. \"With winter conditions, it\u2019s awfully difficult to make sure highways are maintained every second, every hour of every day,\" said Andrew Phillips, a lawyer representing the Wisconsin Counties Association. Counties do most of the highway work. He\u2019s talking about potholes and defective shoulders, among other things -- problems that have been litigated all the way to the state\u2019s highest courts. The money stakes are not sky high, but significant: over a decade, counties served by Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance paid out $950,000 in these cases. That doesn\u2019t include all counties, or other municipalities. Let\u2019s turn back to the statement. Asked about its claims, the Association for Justice pointed us to the text of the bill. The bill would eliminate the liability provisions except for damages resulting from the accumulation of snow or ice that has existed on a highway for at least three weeks. The chief backers of the bill, the Wisconsin Counties Association, acknowledge that. So would that mean citizens could \"no longer sue\" and locals would not have a duty to repair, as the association claimed? They couldn\u2019t sue under the highway defects statute -- but still could file a claim under a more general state law, according to Phillips, the lawyer for the counties group. Even Ann Jacobs, a personal injury lawyer speaking for the Association for Justice -- the group making the claim -- agreed. The two sides also agree localities\u2019 legal exposure would drop if the more general state law (893.80) was the only route for plaintiffs. The bottom line: People could still sue, though under less favorable circumstances from the complainant\u2019s viewpoint. The ultimate effect would be decided by judges. What about the second part of the claim? Would the bill eliminate the requirement that local governments repair roads? Jacobs, of the trial lawyers\u2019 group, says it effectively does because enforcement of that duty would all but disappear without the specific liability statute. \"What good is a right without a remedy?\" Jacobs asked. Even the counties\u2019 attorney, Phillips, acknowledges that county decisions on when and how to repair highways would be more discretionary with the strict liability gone. The Association for Justice, at a public hearing on the bill, made that point using this language: \"Local governments would not have a general duty to maintain highways and bridges\" if the bill passed. But in its public news release, the group\u2019s claim went well past that -- leaving readers to believe road repairs would no longer be required. Phillips pointed us to Chapter 83.025 of state statutes: \"The county trunk system shall be marked and maintained by the county.\" And for towns, 82.03: \"The town board shall have the care and supervision of all highways under the town's jurisdiction.\" So the locals still would have the obligation to repair. Let\u2019s patch this up and move on. A trial lawyers group contends that a bill would change a 162-year-old state law to \"make local governments' repair of roads, bridges and sidewalks no longer required by state law.\" It continued: \"Injured citizens could no longer sue them for bodily or auto damages.\" The bill could have a big impact on local government liability for highway problems, though just how dramatic remains to be seen. But the group\u2019s news release went too far in flatly claiming citizens could no longer sue, and asserting that highway repairs would no longer be required. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "7324", "claim": "Europe sees more signs of hope as Italy\u2019s virus curve falls.", "explanation": "Europe saw further signs of hope in the coronavirus outbreak Sunday as Italy\u2019s daily death toll was at its lowest in more than two weeks and its infection curve was finally on a downward slope. In Spain, new deaths dropped for the third straight day.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Italy, Understanding the Outbreak, International News, General News, Health, Business, Virus Outbreak, Europe, Spain", "main_text": "But the optimism was tempered by Britain\u2019s jump in virus deaths that outpaced the daily toll in Italy. Angelo Borrelli, the head of Italy\u2019s Civil Protection agency on Sunday, said there were 525 deaths in the 24-hour period since Saturday evening. That\u2019s the lowest such figure in the country since 427 deaths were registered on March 19. Italy now has a total of 15,887 deaths and nearly 129,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. A day shy of one month under a national lockdown that the Italian government ordered, the lower count of day-to-day deaths brought some encouragement. The number of intensive care unit beds occupied by COVID-19 patients has also showed a decrease in the last few days, including in northern Lombardy, Italy\u2019s most stricken region. Borrelli also noted with a measure of satisfaction that the number of those hospitalized but not in ICU beds also has decreased. Italy recorded 4,316 new cases Sunday. Earlier in the outbreak, daily increases in caseloads topped the 6,000 mark. \u201cThe curve, which had been plateauing for days, is starting to descend,\u2033 national health official Silvio Brusaferro told reporters, referring to graphs indicating daily numbers of confirmed cases. But Borrelli warned: \u201cThis good news shouldn\u2019t make us drop our guard.\u201d For days, anticipating a possible downward slope in the curve, government and health authorities in Italy have cautioned that restrictions on movement would likely last in some form for weeks. The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, but for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause severe pneumonia and lead to death. As warm, sunny weather beckoned across Europe, Queen Elizabeth II appealed to Britons to exercise self-discipline in \u201can increasingly challenging time.\u201d Britain recorded 708 new coronavirus deaths Saturday while Italy reported 631 deaths that day. With 621 more deaths reported on Sunday, Britain has 4,934 virus deaths overall among 47,806 cases. Those coming down with the virus in the U.K. include Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the health secretary, England\u2019s chief medical official and Prince Charles, heir to the British throne. There are wide fears that Johnson\u2019s Conservative government didn\u2019t take the virus seriously enough at first and that beautiful spring weather will tempt Britons and others to break social distancing rules. Restrictions on movement vary from country to country. In Germany and Britain, residents can exercise and walk their dogs, as well as go to the supermarket and do other essential tasks. Swedish authorities have advised the public to practice social distancing, but schools, bars and restaurants are still open. Spain announced 6,023 confirmed new infections Sunday, taking its national tally to 130,759 but down from an increase of 7,026 infections in the previous day. Spain\u2019s confirmed new virus deaths dropped for the third straight day, to 674 \u2014 the first time daily deaths have fallen below 800 in the past week. \u201cWe are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez said. ___ Danica Kirka in London, David Rising in Berlin, and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak"}
{"claim_id": "23093", "claim": "As CEO of WWE, Linda McMahon \"was caught tipping off a ringside physician\" about a federal investigation into illegally distributing steroids to wrestlers.", "explanation": "DSCC claims Linda McMahon tipped off ringside physician about steroids investigation", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Candidate Biography, Message Machine 2010, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, ", "main_text": "U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon's experience as co-founder, along with her husband Vince, of World Wrestling Entertainment has proved to be a double-edged sword on the campaign trail in Connecticut. While McMahon often touts her experience running the pro wrestling empire to boost her real-world business cred, it also has left her open to accusations that the WWE uses sexist story lines and that there is rampant steroid abuse by some wrestlers. In the final week of the race -- which pits Republican McMahon against Democrat Richard Blumenthal -- the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has begun airing an attack ad that attempts to body-slam McMahon for tipping off a ringside physician about a federal investigation into the illegal distribution of steroids to some of the WWE's wrestlers. \"Read this,\" a female narrator begins, as a legal document scrolls in the background. \"It's a memo Linda McMahon wrote. Evidence in a federal trial against her company. McMahon was caught tipping off a ringside physician who was later accused of hiding evidence. It didn't work. McMahon's ringside doctor was convicted of illegally distributing steroids to her workers. That's Linda McMahon. A bad CEO. A worse senator.\" The memo in question -- marked \"CONFIDENTIAL INTEROFFICE MEMO\" -- was sent on Dec. 1, 1989, by Linda McMahon to Pat Patterson, a fellow executive at Titan Sports, the parent company of what was then the World Wrestling Federation. It became part of the public record as an exhibit in a steroids-related case against Vince McMahon and Titan Sports in the early 1990s. But the story actually goes back a little further, to an investigation into ringside doctor George T. Zahorian for distributing steroids to some of the WWF's wrestlers. As the 1989 memo from Linda McMahon explains, a government official let slip at a fundraising event that \"the State of Pennsylvania is probably going to launch an investigation into the use of all illegal drugs including steroids.\" \"In addition,\" McMahon wrote, \"this fellow mentioned that he was aware of Dr. Zahorian and his relationship with WWF.\" Zahorian was actually assigned throughout the 1980s to attend WWF exhibitions in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission. But following deregulation in 1989, promoters like the WWF were required to hire their own licensed physicians to be present at events. Zahorian was scheduled to be the doctor on hand at an upcoming event in Hershey, Pa., but Linda McMahon's memo makes clear the WWF wanted to distance itself from him. \"Although you and I discussed before about continuing to have Zahorian at our events as the doctor on call, I think that is now not a good idea,\" McMahon wrote in the memo. \"Vince agreed, and would like for you to call Zahorian and tell him not to come to any more of our events and to also clue him in on any action that the Justice Department is thinking of taking.\" It's that last part, telling Patterson to \"clue him in\" about a possible steroids investigation, that forms the basis for the claim in the campaign ad. In 1991, Zahorian was charged with distributing steroids to a number of WWF wrestlers (none of whom were charged because, at the time, it was not a federal crime to use steroids, only to distribute them). He was convicted and sentenced to three years in federal prison. But that wasn't the end of the matter. In the wake of the Zahorian indictment, federal investigators opened a wide-reaching steroids investigation into the WWF. And in 1992, the government filed an indictment against Vince McMahon and Titan Sports, alleging they conspired to \"unlawfully provide WWF wrestling performers with steroids to enhance their size and musculature, and thereby to increase the ticket sales for WWF exhibitions and the profits to Titan and McMahon.\" In its indictment, prosecutors alleged Titan officials learned of a federal investigation into Zahorian's activities and warned him about it. Linda McMahon's memo was entered in the case as Exhibit #2. According to the indictment, shortly after the memo was sent, \"a Titan executive known to the Grand Jury had a telephone conversation with Zahorian and directed him to destroy any records of Zahorian's contact with WWF or WWF wrestling personnel.\" It was later learned from one of Zahorian's attorneys that after Zahorian got the phone call warning him about the investigation, he shipped files on wrestlers to his attorney's office (so they were not part of the evidence seized when investigators raided his office). But according to longtime WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt, the files were never destroyed and were later made available to prosecutors. \"Dr. Zahorian didn't destroy anything,\" McDevitt said. \"It was all given to the government.\" In any event, the government's case against Titan and Vince McMahon failed miserably. Several counts were tossed before the case even went to the jury -- including two counts alleging that Vince McMahon and the company distributed steroids to wrestlers such as Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan), because the judge said prosecutors failed to establish that the alleged conspiracy occurred in the jurisdiction of the New York court where the case was filed. And on the one remaining count, that they had distributed mislabeled anabolic steroids, both Vince McMahon and the company were acquitted. In other words, none of the charges ever stuck. In an extensive story about the issue in Connecticut's The Day, reporter Ted Mann asked McMahon about the memo. \"I don't pretend to remember to go back, to revisit all the aspects of that case,\" McMahon told The Day. \"It has been tried, acquitted and done with, and WWE has evolved its total health and wellness policy over the years, and I'm sure will continue to evolve.\" According to the story:  When asked if her decision to notify Zahorian had led him to destroy records that might have more thoroughly documented his sale of steroids to WWF wrestlers \u2014 as prosecutors in 1994 alleged \u2014 McMahon's reply was curt. \"I can't speak to any of that,' she said. \"I have no idea.\" WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said he believes the DSCC ad is misleading, because it suggests by innuendo that Linda McMahon sought to obstruct the government's investigation. \"There were never any charges against Linda McMahon of any kind,\" McDevitt said. \"There was never any charge of obstruction of justice against anybody.\" An indictment is nothing more than an allegation, McDevitt said, and the case ended without a conviction against anyone on anything. \"You can only gain an acquittal in this country,\" McDevitt said. \"That's all you can do.\" Everyone agrees Linda McMahon was never charged with or convicted of anything, including obstruction of justice. But the ad from the DSCC doesn't say she was. The ad accuses McMahon of tipping off a ringside physician about a federal investigation into distributing steroids to their wrestlers. How else could one interpret Linda McMahon's direction in the 1989 memo \"to also clue him (Zahorian) in on any action that the Justice Department is thinking of taking.\" It's also  that a government indictment later alleged that, after getting a call from a Titan employee tipping him off to the investigation, Zahorian tried to hide evidence at his attorney's office. But whether Zahhorian tried to \"hide\" evidence may or may not be . Zahorian sent files to his attorney, but they were not destroyed, and according to WWE's attorney, they were later made available to investigators. Nothing in Linda McMahon's memo suggests she directed the employee to tell Zahorian to hide or destroy evidence. But again, the ad doesn't say she did. The ad merely says she tipped off the ringside physician about an investigation. She did, according to her own memo. And Zahorian was later convicted of distributing steroids to some of her WWF wrestlers. We rate the ad ."}
{"claim_id": "8950", "claim": "Distinguishing fatal prostate cancer from 'manageable' cancer now possible", "explanation": "A news release from the University of York describes a new test that uses computer algorithms and genetic markers to distinguish between aggressive and more manageable types of prostate cancer. While the study is informative, the news release summarizes it in confusing terms and analogies that may be difficult for a lay reader to understand. Furthermore, it neglects to mention until the very end of the release that this test has only been done in the laboratory, and is likely still years away from being available to actual patients. Prostate cancer is relatively common. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lives. It is also the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men. Some prostate cancers are more aggressive than others, however. A test that could distinguish between aggressive and more manageable cancer types could help some patients avoid unnecessary and risky radiotherapy and surgery. An estimated 40% of prostate cancers detected by the standard PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test are considered over-diagnosed. For decades, the great majority of these men were aggressively over-treated with surgery or radiation. In recent years, more men with low-risk cancers are opting for active surveillance, a monitoring strategy that involves repeated PSA tests and biopsies. Only men with evidence of cancer progression will be offered curative treatment. However, the current methods for determining low-risk status \u2014 PSA and Gleason score \u2014 are considered relatively crude. A more accurate test would not only help limit over treatment but would potentially give men more confidence in selecting active surveillance.", "label": "false", "subjects": "diagnostic test,prostate cancer", "main_text": "This news release does not mention costs. This is likely because, as we said above, the test is still experimental, and not something available to the general public. In comparison, available genomic tests run around $4,000. The news release tries to quantify benefits in two ways. First, it says that \u201cA recent study showed that more than 25 men were being unnecessarily treated with surgery or radiotherapy, for every single life saved.\u201d But how recent was this study? And who published it? Next, the release says that the news test \u201ccan pick out life-threatening prostate cancers, with up to 92% accuracy,\u201d although this is not technically correct. In the published study, the authors say that the algorithm resulted in \u201can AUC of 0.92.\u201d AUC stands for Area Under the Curve, which is not the same measurement as accuracy. The AUC is considered the best measure of whether a test can distinguish between diseased and non-diseased people. In this case, the investigators used their test to differentiate between cancers that were confined to the prostate and those that had spread beyond the prostate among men who had undergone prostatectomy. While these advanced cancers can be life-threatening, that\u2019s a bit of hyperbolic description. Metastatic cancers are clearly the most likely to be life threatening. Additionally, estimates of AUC have 95% confidence intervals. If the AUC, as it appears, was based on results from 4 patients, then 92% is a very imprecise estimate. The news release says that unnecessary radiotherapy and surgery is harmful, but it does not explain any harms of the new tests. Although biopsies are minimally invasive, the Mayo Clinic says that prostate biopsies can cause bleeding and risk of infection. In this test, the tissue was collected only from prostatectomy specimens. Therefore, to actually be useful for preventing over treatment, the test must be assessed in biopsy specimens. The harm would be misclassification \u2014 mistakenly telling someone that treatment is unnecessary because the tumor appears to be low-risk when in fact it\u2019s aggressive and would benefit from treatment. Neglecting to provide the number of patients and failing to explain the meaning of 92% accuracy, made this an evidence-free release. (Information on some of the challenges of describing accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests is available in this HealthNewsReview.org toolkit.) After reading the study, it seems that biopsies were only taken from four patients, a very small sample size. The news release also attempted to summarize the methods of the study, but ended up doing so using confusing language and analogies that were hard to parse. The term \u201clife-threatening cancer\u201d was used very loosely. A cancer that has spread beyond the prostate \u2014 but not throughout the body\u2013is not necessarily fatal. All funding sources were listed at the bottom of the release. The alternatives to this test include other genomic tests; PSA, Gleason scores from biopsies, and MRI results, none of which are mentioned. The release does say that this test could be an alternative to radiotherapy and surgery (by distinguishing non-aggressive from aggressive cancers), but it doesn\u2019t list any of the harms or benefits of other interventions. It also does not say what treatment options there are should a patient find that they have a non-aggressive form of cancer. At the very end of the news release, the authors write that the next step is, \u201cto take this method out of the laboratory,\u201d and that the researchers hope that they will find a commercial partner to develop the test for general use. But this should have come much sooner, ideally in the first paragraph. The entire release (including the headline) made it sound like this test is already available, likely frustrating patients who felt duped at the end of the release. The news release does attempt to describe the novelty of the test, although the release struggles to describe scientific terms. No sensational or unjustifiable language."}
{"claim_id": "8838", "claim": "Avandia may help keep arteries clear after surgery.", "explanation": "GlaxoSmithKline Plc\u2019s controversial diabetes drug Avandia, that was linked to increased heart attack risk, may prove to be effective in preventing the progression of blockages after heart surgery to repair narrowing arteries, researchers said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The study, dubbed Victory and presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago, included 193 patients at eight centers in Canada and Spain. It evaluated the benefit and safety of the drug, generically known as rosiglitazone, in preventing atherosclerosis progression in patients with type-2 diabetes one to 10 years after surgery. \u201cRosiglitazone proved to be safe and was not associated with adverse effects,\u201d Dr. Oliver Bertrand, assistant professor at Laval University in Quebec City, said in a statement. Other studies involving a larger number of patients are also evaluating this drug and will further define its role in patients with type-2 diabetes and coronary disease, he added. The number of patients with type-2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, and coronary disease is expected to increase dramatically over the next 10 years. Today, more than 500,000 patients with type-2 diabetes undergo coronary artery bypass grafts each year and most will have one or more bypasses using a vein taken from the leg. However, in 50 percent of patients, these grafts become re-obstructed after 10 years. \u201cVictory is only a moderate size trial, but our results provide reassurance about the safety of rosiglitazone, which has been under fierce attack compared with pioglitazone, the other glitazone compound,\u201d he said. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd\u2019s pioglitazone, is sold as Actos in the United States and Glustin in Europe. Last May, researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that they had found Avandia raised the risk of a heart attack by 43 percent, setting off a storm of controversy, and eventually led to regulators requiring that Avandia carry strong warnings about the risks."}
{"claim_id": "26287", "claim": "If masks prevent coronavirus, governors would have given them to prison inmates instead of releasing them.", "explanation": "Experts agree that wearing facial coverings in close settings provides some measure of protection against spreading the coronavirus. Despite a claim on Facebook, New York, Michigan and California prisons all are providing masks to inmates, as well as staff, as part of their COVID-19 response. Certain groups of inmates are being freed early as a way to try to limit the spread of COVID-19. They include pregnant women with less than six months left on sentences for nonviolent offenses, and other inmates who are either over 60 with health issues or months away from being eligible for parole.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Corrections and Updates, Criminal Justice, Crime, Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, California, New York, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "Health officials and governors in states hit hard by COVID-19 are recommending masks to help contain the spread of the virus. But if masks really work, a Facebook post asks rhetorically, why aren\u2019t governors using them more in jails and prisons that have become COVID-19 hotspots? The post \u2014 accompanying images of governors Mario Cuomo of New York, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gavin Newsom of California \u2014 claims the three Democrats have \"released thousands of dangerous prisoners into the public to kill innocent people and cause stress to our citizens,\" and that the governors \"make\" citizens wear masks. \"If the masks actually work to prevent COVID-19,\" the post continues, \"then why didn\u2019t we just hand them out to all inmates \u2026 instead of releasing them to prevent the spread?\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It is inaccurate on several fronts. Medical experts now agree that face coverings help slow the spread of the coronavirus, and the states cited in the post have distributed masks to inmates. Meanwhile, states that are releasing inmates are considering the potential danger to the public in deciding which ones to release. Across the nation in response to the coronavirus, many more inmates are being released from local jails \u2014 which hold people charged with crimes or convicted of low-level crimes \u2014 than from prisons, which mostly hold people convicted of felonies. That\u2019s according to the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative, a Massachusetts think tank that advocates for reducing the American prison population, and the New York Times. (In Florida, an inmate released from the Hillsborough County jail, where he was being held on nonviolent drug charges, was charged with second-degree murder the next day.) Some are being released from prisons. In New York, Michigan and California, thousands of prison inmates have been released in response to the coronavirus. The Facebook claim goes too far in characterizing them all as posing a threat to kill. In New York, Cuomo announced in April that pregnant women with less than six months remaining on their sentences for nonviolent offenses would be released from prison. The state announced in March that up to 1,100 inmates being held in local jails for low-level parole violations and deemed not a danger to the public would be released to stem the flow of coronavirus cases in the correctional system. Michigan is releasing 200 prison inmates per week because of the coronavirus, WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Mich., reported on April 14. The state is looking to first release inmates eligible for parole who are nonviolent offenders older than 60 with health issues, though no offenses are off-limits, the report said. California announced in March that it planned to release as many as 3,500 prison inmates by expediting the transition to parole for nonviolent offenders with 60 days or less left on their sentences. Correctional and detention facilities pose \"unique challenges\" in combating COVID-19, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Inmates live, work and eat in close settings, heightening the potential for the virus to spread. The virus can be brought into the facility in many ways, including through staff, medical professionals or others who enter from the outside. And options for isolating inmates are limited, the CDC notes. Across the country, more than 25,000 prison inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 370 of them have died, according to the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that reports on criminal justice. Staff and inmates are required to wear masks amid large outbreaks: New York: More than 1,200 prison staff have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the state. The Department of Corrections requires all staff to wear face masks while on duty and supplies all inmates with surgical-type masks. Michigan: There are more than 2,100\u00a0COVID-19 infections among prisoners and Michigan ranks third\u00a0for the number of prisoner cases, according to the Marshall Project. Each prison employee and inmate has received three masks that can be laundered and worn again, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections. Staff are expected to wear a mask during their entire shift, and prisoners are expected to wear masks except while eating, sleeping or showering. California: More than 430 cases of COVID-19, including five deaths, have been confirmed at the California Institution for Men in Chino, with tents being set up to provide more space and treatment for inmates, the Sacramento Bee reported. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says it provides masks and hand sanitizer to all staff and prisoners. While masks alone cannot stop the spread of the coronavirus, health officials agree that facial coverings, including ones made of fabric, help slow the spread of the virus, as we\u2019ve reported. The CDC recommends that nearly everyone wear a facial covering while out in public and in areas where social distancing isn\u2019t possible. Higher medical-grade masks offer the most protection, but homemade masks are also effective, particularly when they fit snugly and are made of multiple layers. New research since the start of the coronavirus outbreak supports the use of masks. For correctional facilities, a May 15 CDC report recommends cloth facial coverings, along with physical distancing, movement restrictions and other measures. \"Prompt identification of COVID-19 cases and consistent application of prevention measures are critical to protecting incarcerated and detained persons, correctional and detention facility staff members, and the communities to which they return,\" the report said. A Facebook post claimed that if masks prevent coronavirus, governors in New York, Michigan and California would have given them to prison inmates instead of releasing them. Experts agree that wearing facial coverings in close settings provides some measure of protection against spreading the coronavirus. New York, Michigan and California prisons are providing masks to inmates, as well as staff, as part of their COVID-19 response. Inmates in those states are being freed early as a way to try to limit the spread of COVID-19 \u2014 mostly nonviolent offenders or those who aren\u2019t seen as a safety threat. We rate the statement . Correction, June 8, 2020: Michigan had more than 2,100 state prisoners with COVID-19, not more than 2,100 state prisoner COVID-19 deaths."}
{"claim_id": "26702", "claim": "Viral image Says Harvard scientists say the coronavirus is \u201cspreading so fast that it will infect 70% of humanity this year.\u201d", "explanation": "An epidemiologist at Harvard University projects 40%-70% of adults could catch coronavirus in the coming year.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Viral image, ", "main_text": "As more people are infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, many are wondering: Am I next? The odds may not be in our favor, according to a recent Facebook post. \"Harvard scientists just predicted that it may take many months to find cure for coronavirus,\" the March 10 post says. \"According to them, virus is spreading so fast that it will infect 70% of humanity this year.\" This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Spokespeople for Harvard University did not immediately reply to PolitiFact\u2019s emails asking about the post. But news stories lend some credence to the Facebook post\u2019s claims \u2014 and provide more information that the post fails to mention. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic that has infected nearly 120,000 people worldwide. More than 4,000 people have died and eight countries, including the United States, are currently each reporting more than 1,000 cases. Mark Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at Harvard\u2019s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics and an expert on viruses, told CBS News, among other news outlets, that 40% to 70% of the world\u2019s adult population could be infected in the coming year. There are an estimated 7.6 billion people in the world, and an estimated 329 million in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Adults make up about three-quarters of the U.S. population. \"That is a projection,\" Lipsitch said during the March 2 interview, \"so we will find out if that\u2019s accurate as things go on. It is the best estimate that I\u2019ve been able to make based on a combination of the mathematical models that we use to track and predict epidemics.\" Other estimates are similar. The Guardian reported on Feb. 11 that 60% of the global population could be infected if the virus is unchecked. On Feb. 13, Bloomberg reported that Ira Longini, an adviser to the World Health Organization, said two-thirds of the world\u2019s population could catch COVID-19. But the publication also quoted David Heymann, an infectious disease expert at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, explaining that researchers need more data to get a better idea of how far the coronavirus could spread. \"The models will be refined as more information comes to light,\" he said. Our ruling The Facebook post says Harvard scientists say the coronavirus is \"spreading so fast that it will infect 70% of humanity this year.\" An epidemiologist at the university has said that 40% to 70% of the world\u2019s adult population could be infected in the coming year. But that is a projection, and other projections vary. We rate this post ."}
{"claim_id": "35949", "claim": "An angry mother delivered a scathing response to school officials after her daughter was punished for punching a classmate who snapped her bra.", "explanation": "Me: \u201cNo. She defended herself against a sexual attack from another pupil. Look at them; he\u2019s nearly 6 feet and 11 or 12 stone. She\u2019s 5 feet and 6 stone. He\u2019s a foot taller than her and twice as heavy. How many times should she have let him touch her? If the person who was supposed to help and protect her in a classroom couldn\u2019t be bothered what should she have done? He pulled her bra so hard it came undone.\u201d", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "On 19 February 2015, a user-submitted story about a mother\u2019s angry response to her daughter\u2019s being punished for punching a male classmate who snapped her bra was published on the website Not Always Learning. The story, titled \u201cWas Bra-ced for a Different Reaction,\u201d reported that a female student (identified only as \u201cdaughter\u201d) was about to be punished for hitting a male student (identified only as \u201cboy\u201d) before her mother stepped in and explained to the teacher that the school should be punishing \u201cboy\u201d instead of \u201cdaughter\u201d since \u201cboy\u201d was the one who had sexually assaulted \u201cdaughter\u201d when he snapped her bra:  (I\u2019m an A&E nurse. We\u2019re not allowed [to keep] our phones on us; they\u2019re to be kept in our lockers. A call comes into hospital reception on a private line for me.) Phone: \u201cThis is [Teacher] from [School]. There\u2019s been an incident involving [Daughter]. We need you to come in.\u201d Me: \u201cIs she ill or injured? Can it wait until my shift is over in two hours?\u201d Phone: \u201c[Daughter] has struck another pupil. We\u2019ve been trying to call you for 45 minutes. It really is very serious.\u201d (I go to the school and am ushered into the head\u2019s office. I see my daughter, her head of year, a male teacher, the headmaster, a boy with blood around his nose and a red face, and his parents.) Head: \u201cMrs. [My Name], how kind of you to FINALLY join us!\u201d Me: \u201cYeah, things get busy in A&E. I\u2019ve spent the last hour administering over 40 stitches to a seven-year-old who was beaten by his mother with a metal ladle and then I had to deal with the police regarding the matter. Sorry for the inconvenience.\u201d (After watching him try to not act embarrassed, he tells me what has happened. The boy had twanged my daughter\u2019s bra and she had punched him in the face twice. I got the impression they were more angry with my daughter than the boy.) The details of the above-quoted story are impossible to verify since all names and locations have been redacted. Without this information we have to rely on the source, the content of the article, and basic intuition. While Not Always Learning publishes user-submitted stories that \u201care based on actual, real events,\u201d the FAQ section explains that some stories are changed from second-hand tales to first-person accounts for dramatic effect:  Sometimes we will need to edit a story slightly to make it suitable for publication. Scene-setting is great, but extraneous detail may need to be cut down a little. Your submission might explain that this didn\u2019t happen to you but to your classmate/colleague/friend, but the audience doesn\u2019t need to know that. Don\u2019t worry, we still aim to keep the spirit of the story alive and ensure it remains as hilarious as ever! The stories published on Not Always Learning are user-submitted anecdotes meant to entertain readers. While the editors supposedly endeavor to ensure stories are based on real events, an amusing story clearly takes precedence over a factual one. Which brings us back to the content of \u201cWas Bra-ced for a Different Reaction.\u201d The story is filled with unnecessary detail to make the mother character the only credible voice; for instance, the story gives plenty of detail about the mother\u2019s heroic work in the A&E (accident and emergency room), while the other characters are painted as ignorant and incompetent:  Me: \u201cOh. And you want to know if I\u2019m going to press charges against him for sexually assaulting my daughter and against the school for allowing him to do it?\u201d (They all get jittery when I mention sexual assault and start speaking at once.) Teacher: \u201cI don\u2019t think it was that serious.\u201d Head Of Year: \u201cLet\u2019s not over-react.\u201d Head: \u201cI think you\u2019re missing the point.\u201d (The boy\u2019s mother then starts crying. I turn to my daughter to find out what happened.) Daughter: \u201cHe kept pinging my bra. I asked him to stop but he didn\u2019t, so I told Mr. [Teacher]. He told me to \u2018ignore it.\u2019 [Boy] did it again and undid my bra so I hit him. Then he stopped.\u201d (I turn to the teacher.) Me: \u201cYou let him do this? Why didn\u2019t you stop him? Come over here and let me touch the front of your trousers.\u201d Teacher: \u201cWhat?! No!\u201d Me: \u201cDoes that seem inappropriate to you? Why don\u2019t you go and pull on Mrs. [Head Of Year]\u2019s bra right now. See how fun it is for her. Or on that boy\u2019s mum\u2019s bra. Or mine. You think just because they\u2019re kids it\u2019s fun?\u201d  The mother\u2019s quick retorts also seem implausible. The story depicts a very frustrating situation, yet the mother manages to find the perfect words at every turn. While this is possible, it seems more likely that the story was written after the incident as the writer recalled exactly what she should have said. There\u2019s no English word for this concept: the French use the term \u201cesprit de l\u2019escalier,\u201d the Germans know it as treppenwitz, and fans of Seinfeld call it the Jerk Store Paradox. The story concludes with a final speech about sexual assault from this enraged mother as she scolds the teacher and the headmaster, threatens \u201cboy,\u201d and takes \u201cdaughter\u201d out of the office:  Head: \u201cMrs. [My Name]. With all due respect, [Daughter] still beat another child.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "8922", "claim": "Virus spreads on cruise ship in Japan, U.S. passengers flying home.", "explanation": "Hundreds of passengers were preparing to be evacuated from a cruise ship on Sunday after spending two weeks under quarantine off Japan over the coronavirus, with Americans flying home on chartered evacuation planes early Monday morning.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Seventy more people were confirmed with the virus on board the Diamond Princess on Sunday, bringing the number of cases from the ship to 355, the most anywhere outside China. The luxury cruise voyage with more than 3,000 passengers aboard was struck by the virus earlier this month, leaving them and crew in confinement. Two charter flights operated by Kalitta Air carrying a few hundred American passengers from the ship departed from Haneda Airport on Monday morning. The airline was involved in previous U.S. evacuation operations prompted by the virus outbreak in China. Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong and Italy have followed the United States in announcing flights to bring home their citizens from the ship, which has been under quarantine since Feb. 3. Countries have said passengers should be symptom-free to board the flights, and are likely to face quarantine on arrival. Gay Courter, one of the American passengers on one of the chartered flights, told Reuters they were flying to Travis Air Force Base in California, then would be sent to Omaha or San Antonio for another two week of quarantine on U.S. soil. The other flight will land at Kelly Field Air Force Base, Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Courter was on the cruise with her husband to celebrate her 75th birthday. Photographs from inside one of the charter flights showed a portable bio-containment unit and a U.S. health official in a protective suit. \u201cQuarantine is necessary. This flight will be hell. Portapotties,\u201d Courter said, referring to the converted cargo plane she was in. Another American passenger, Matthew Smith, posted photos on Twitter showing a fleet of more than 10 buses that took U.S. nationals from Yokohama port to the airport. Smith said U.S. officials, dressed in full hazmat suits and face masks, had visited his room to check if he would disembark. He said he wanted to stay. The charter flights were the only option for eligible U.S. passengers to fly home until March 4 at the earliest, the U.S. embassy in Tokyo has said. The ship, owned by Carnival Corp., has been held in Yokohama since a man who had disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus two weeks ago. The ship, once bustling with busy restaurants, game nights and Broadway-style shows, has been reduced to silence. Those with the disease have been taken to hospital in Japan and no one from the ship has died. Around half of the guests onboard are from Japan. There were approximately 400 U.S. citizens on the ship, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo had said passengers and crew on board the ship were at high risk of exposure to the virus and it recommended its citizens get off and take one of the flights home. \u201cThis is a rapidly evolving situation and we are taking additional steps to assist U.S. citizens,\u201d it said. All passengers were to be screened before being allowed on the chartered flights and everyone would be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival back in the United States. \u201cNo symptomatic or infected passengers will be allowed to board,\u201d it said. Clyde Smith, 80, who was taken from the ship to a Tokyo hospital after testing positive for the virus, told Reuters on Sunday he had not been told if he would be allowed on a U.S. evacuation plane. Latest figures from Beijing on Sunday showed 68,500 cases of the illness and 1,665 deaths, mostly in Hubei province. Japan detected six fresh cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, apart from those on the ship, the health ministry said, taking the total number of in-land infections to 59."}
{"claim_id": "4116", "claim": "Study: Many in Ebola outbreak don\u2019t believe virus is real.", "explanation": "One out of four people interviewed in eastern Congo last year believed Ebola wasn\u2019t real, according to a new study, underscoring the enormous challenges health care workers are facing in what has become the second-deadliest outbreak in history.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Africa, Health, Senegal, Infectious diseases, International News", "main_text": "The survey released late Wednesday found that a deep mistrust of the Ebola response resulted in those people being 15 times less likely to seek medical treatment at an Ebola health center, according to the study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The study was based on interviews conducted last September, about a month after the outbreak began. It comes as the number of probable and confirmed cases has exceeded 1,000. At least 639 people have died from Ebola since August, according to the World Health Organization. This is the first time the region has experienced an Ebola outbreak. The outbreak\u2019s response has been hampered by a series of deadly attacks on Ebola health centers since the study was completed. As a result, Doctors Without Borders has stopped staffing two health centers at the outbreak\u2019s epicenter. Researchers said their study showed more precisely how individuals\u2019 misinformed views about Ebola were undermining the response and helping to spread the deadly virus. \u201cIt really helps us understand how central and fundamental community trust should be as part of the response,\u201d said Patrick Vinck of Harvard University, who led the research. Eva Erlach, the community engagement and accountability delegate for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, called the findings \u201cabsolutely interesting\u201d and said they show how the level of trust correlates with preventative behaviors. The organization has had more than 800 trained volunteers working to get out prevention messages amid the region\u2019s security challenges. \u201cThere is still a part of the community who do not believe that Ebola is real and we definitely still need to continue focusing on community engagement,\u201d said Erlach, who was not part of the study. \u201cAnd this is why this report is so helpful even if it\u2019s from September.\u201d WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this month he was encouraged \u201cto see the communities accepting the response more and more.\u201d The new study highlights just how pervasive misinformation has been in places in eastern Congo like Beni and Butembo, where in-person interviews were conducted with 961 people. Some 25.5 percent of those interviewed did not believe Ebola was real. In addition, nearly 45.9 percent of people thought the Ebola outbreak was being fabricated to destabilize the region or for financial gain. Additionally 18.2 percent believed all three of those statements, the study found. Those who didn\u2019t believe Ebola was real were far less likely to agree to agree to the Ebola vaccine or to go to a treatment center. Ebola is spread through the bodily fluids of the sick, and isolation of those infected is key to stopping transmission. This outbreak has been uniquely challenging because of the volatile security situation in the region. Eastern Congo is home to numerous armed groups and the Ebola epidemic has deepened the political and economic grievances of many in the area. The fact that people in Ebola affected areas were excluded from the December presidential election has only heightened conspiracy theories. Tariq Riebl, of the International Rescue Committee, who is currently working in eastern Congo, said the findings released Wednesday mirror what he and his colleagues are seeing on the ground. Concern remains about how Ebola prevention efforts are going because new cases are still emerging. \u201cOnce you reach a wider outbreak zone, especially urban zones, the community engagement and prevention side of things is almost more important than the treatment side,\u201d Riebl said. \u201cIf you can\u2019t have those messages out successfully, it doesn\u2019t matter if you have all the treatment options available because no one is ever arriving to take advantage of that,\u201d he said. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa"}
{"claim_id": "8828", "claim": "Baxter Alzheimer's drug promising in small study.", "explanation": "Baxter International Inc said on  Thursday its Gammagard intravenous plasma-based treatment  helped improve mental function in a small study of patients  with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer\u2019s disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The treatment met the primary goals of the six-month,  24-patient trial by proving better than placebo at improving  measures of cognitive function and global impression of change,  the company said, although the study was too small to  demonstrate statistical significance. \u201cThis was the first placebo-controlled clinical trial of  Gammagard for Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and the results are clearly  promising,\u201d Dr Norman Relkin said in a statement. Relkin  presented the data at the American Academy of Neurology meeting  in Chicago."}
{"claim_id": "36857", "claim": " Dr. Ted Noel has said that after evaluating Hillary Clinton from afar, he\u2019s concluded that she has Parkinson\u2019s disease. ", "explanation": "Hillary Clinton \u201cProbably\u201d has Parkinson\u2019s Disease ", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "Claims that Hillary Clinton has Parkinson\u2019s disease are unproven. Questions about Clinton\u2019s health, her coughing fits and her so-called on-camera seizures (we investigated that one and found it be false) have persisted for months. The most recent (unproven) health claim about Clinton came from Dr. Ted Noel, a\u00a0board-certified anesthesiologist, who said in a\u00a0video posted on the Next News\u00a0Network YouTube channel\u00a0that he had concluded that Clinton \u201dprobably\u201d has\u00a0Parkinson\u2019s disease after watching video clips of her exhibiting symptoms like falling,\u00a0imbalance, coughing, seizure and more: PD is a chronic disease with a downhill prognosis. HRC\u2019s instability and frequent cough suggest that her\u00a0PD is advanced. This is not a good outlook for someone running for the Presidency. The office of the\u00a0President is one of the highest stress jobs in the world. Stress sets off PD episodes, which render the\u00a0sufferer incapable of proper response. At this point, a bit of speculation seems appropriate. HRC talks about her yoga sessions. But no one we\u00a0know of has ever documented one. It is possible that this is cover for sessions designed to teach her\u00a0coping mechanisms for PD or for rest breaks. Exhaustion makes PD worse. HRC\u2019s coughing suggests that her swallowing disorder is advanced, placing her closer to an aspiration\u00a0pneumonia that would disable or kill her. That\u2019s bad enough, but PD has one more, even more\u00a0dangerous step in its progression. As PD continues, cognitive problems can develop. In time, they become full-blown dementia. The United\u00a0States cannot survive if its President is mentally impaired. One of the main problems about Noel\u2019s diagnosis is that he doesn\u2019t appear to have any medical training in degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson\u2019s disease at all. Online medical records state that he\u2019s worked as an anesthesiologist in Orlando for 36 years \u2014 which doesn\u2019t appear to give him any kind of expertise in diagnosing neurological conditions. And a quick glance at the progression of Parkinson\u2019s disease seems to conflict with Noel\u2019s diagnosis that Clinton has \u201cadvanced\u201d PD. The fourth and fifth stages of PD, which are considered advanced, bring about limited movements that require a walker or wheelchair, advanced stiffness in the legs that makes it impossible to stand or walk, and hallucinations and delusions, Health Line reports. Clinton\u2019s actions on the campaign trail don\u2019t support that idea that she has advanced PD. Her movements would be far more limited, and there\u2019s a good chance she would be unable to walk or stand on her own. In conclusion, there\u2019s no evidence to support claims that Clinton has Parkinson\u2019s disease \u2014 but it\u2019s impossible to definitively prove she doesn\u2019t have it from afar. That\u2019s why we\u2019re calling this one unproven."}
{"claim_id": "11138", "claim": "Study Results Published in JAMA Conclude that 3D MAMMOGRAPHY\u2122 Exams Outperform Conventional Mammography for Women with Both Dense and Nondense Breasts", "explanation": "This news release describes the results of a large population-based study comparing several screening outcomes (including recall rates and\u00a0 cancer detection rates) between digital mammography and digital mammography plus tomosynthesis (i.e., Hologic Genius 3D mammography). Although the published study did find a significant difference between the two screening modalities by breast density tissue, the rates were not significant in women with extremely dense breasts. A point the news release failed to mention. Another caveat is that the original research did not look at healthcare savings or any clinical outcomes. But the manufacturers of the 3D mammography tout the the potential savings and improved outcomes in the news release, suggesting to readers that these outcomes are to be expected when their technology is used. Better detection of breast cancer through newer technology is not the same as improving clinical outcomes. Failing to mention that women with extremely dense breasts did not benefit from the newer technology can lead to more confusion for women who may falsely assume the new technology will help them. This release also catches a coat-ride on new legislation adopted by about half of U.S. states that require that women receive notifications of their breast density (BRN) along with their screening mammogram results. These mandated notifications on breast density are not well-regarded by a number of experts since their value to patients is questionable. What are women to do with this information?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Breast cancer,industry/commercial news releases,Screening tests", "main_text": "No discussion of costs or whether the addition of the 3D mammography\u00a0is covered by insurance policies. This is a huge oversight considering the release touts the potential for significant cost savings. For example, the release states: \u201cThis has the potential to provide health systems and insurance companies with significant cost savings, reduce patient stress and expenses, and alleviate challenges for referring physicians who are tasked with relaying mammography results to their patients.\u201d A quick online scan of the cost for this newer technology finds that although the 3D test is FDA-approved, it still isn\u2019t covered by most insurance plans. At least one large clinic using the 3D technology asks patients for an an out-of-pocket payment of $60 and then the 2D portion of the imaging test is billed to insurance. The patient is liable for any outstanding balance after insurance has paid. The news release mentions a 50% increase in invasive cancer detection which on the surface sounds impressive, but they don\u2019t provide enough detail to understand what the 50% increase really means. According to the original study, the digital mammography plus tomosynthesis increased detection of invasive cancers from 3 per 1000 screens to 4.5 per 1000 screens and this high percentage increase was seen in only one of the four groups of breast tissue density. The other two groups had lower increases. (\u201cMammograms are categorized into four density groups: almost entirely fat, scattered fibroglandular densities, heterogeneously dense, and extremely dense,\u201d according to the release.) The news release failed to mention that in women with extremely dense breasts, the 3D mammography was not significantly better at detecting invasive cancer than digital mammography alone. The published study called for caution \u201cin drawing conclusions regarding the performance of tomosynthesis [3D mammography] for the small proportion of women with extremely dense breasts.\u201d We also question the release\u2019s portrayal of 3D mammography providing a \u201chigh percentage increase\u201d in detection over conventional mammography. Our calculations show a 0.15% increase in detection rates (0.3% detection rate for conventional vs. 0.45% for 3D). Finally, we need to address outcomes. There is no evidence from the study that finding these additional cancers leads to better outcomes. Finding more cancers with a more sensitive test could be\u00a0leading to over-diagnosis. Furthermore, the value of finding these cancers earlier is of uncertain value in the absence of outcomes data\u2013which ideally should come from a randomized trial to avoid bias in lead-time. The many broad claims in the release are not fully supported by the evidence. There were no explanations of potential harms of integrating 3D mammography\u00a0into current breast cancer detection or that this technology does not appear to benefit women with extremely dense breasts. It is unclear if this technology could result in false positives (over-diagnosis) or what the negative predictive value of the test is (the probability that subjects with a negative screening test don\u2019t actually have the disease). If these tests lead to over-diagnosis then women face the harms (and costs) of unnecessary treatment. Although the research letter in JAMA noted that adding tomosynthesis did\u00a0not produce a significant result in detecting breast cancer for women with extremely dense breasts (one of the four categories of breast density), the news release\u00a0does not mention this\u00a0limitation to the study. The news release also takes the evidence from the study and extrapolates to health care savings costs and increased quality of care for women, neither of which were examined in the study. In fact, the original study did not look at clinical outcomes and noted this as a limitation, but the news release does not discuss this caveat. Furthermore, we do not know whether the apparent benefits \u2014 in terms of increased cancer detection and decrease in recalls \u2014 would be mirrored\u00a0in routine practice. The results were based on mammograms being performed by high volume sites in a clinical trial. The published research also noted that the study included \u201cinsufficient follow-up to determine if increased invasive cancer detection improved clinical outcomes.\u201d The report did not appear to engage in disease mongering. The news release is distributed by the company that makes the 3D mammography so we can assume it played a role in funding the study. What\u2019s troubling is that the release gives no mention of potential conflicts of interest \u2014 or the absence of conflict \u2014 among the many investigators involved with the study. The published research notes that none of the researchers reported a potential conflict but that five of the researchers received research grant funding from Hologic. Also concerning is a note included with the disclosure section of the study: \u201cThe study contracts and data sharing agreements specified that Hologic had the right to review all publications prior to submission, but could not mandate any revision of the manuscript or prevent submission for publication.\u201d At bare minimum the release should have noted that at least some of the researchers received grant funding from the manufacturer. The purpose of study compared\u00a0digital mammography alone with digital mammography with the addition of 3D mammography. The news release does mention that 3D mammography has been available since 2011 and includes a link to a website where people can enter their zip code to find locations that offer the additional screening test. The claim to novelty is found in this statement in the release: \u201cThis new analysis confirms that Genius\u2122 3D MAMMOGRAPHY\u2122 exams reduce unnecessary follow-up exams in dense-breasted women. This has the potential to provide health systems and insurance companies with significant cost savings, reduce patient stress and expenses, and alleviate challenges for referring physicians who are tasked with relaying mammography results to their patients.\u201d For the reasons stated above, we think the release makes questionable claims and therefore fails the novelty test so we\u2019re rating this not satisfactory. In addition, the 3D screening technology has been available since 2011. While the release generally uses appropriate language, we\u2019re flagging it for the claim that \u201can estimated 10 million women in the U.S. benefited from a Genius exam.\u201d Even if 10 million women received exams, not all of them benefited. We think the release should have included some backup for a claim this bold."}
{"claim_id": "18796", "claim": "This is the first time since Roe was decided in 1973 that a court has granted personhood status to the preborn.", "explanation": "Abortion foe overreaches in describing context of court ruling", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, Georgia, Children, Dan Becker, ", "main_text": "Last month the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision. Essentially, the court ruled that a guilty plea for child endangerment entered by a Colbert County mother should stand. Amanda Kimbrough initially entered the guilty plea after her son Timmy died 19 minutes after birth at 25 weeks in April 2008. A medical examiner determined that Timmy died from \"acute methamphetamine intoxication.\" After Kimbrough pleaded guilty to charges under Alabama\u2019s chemical endangerment of a child statute, she received the minimum sentence of 10 years. Kimbrough later appealed, saying the chemical endangerment statute did not extend to unborn children. The Alabama ruling included acknowledgment of unborn children in the state\u2019s chemical endangerment statute. Anti-abortion advocates immediately praised the decision as a victory for \"personhood rights of preborn children.\" \"This is the first time since Roe (v. Wade) was decided in 1973 that a court has granted personhood status to the preborn,\" Dan Becker, the president of Georgia Right to Life, said in a news release a few days after the Jan. 11 ruling. \"I am greatly encouraged that Georgia, which has proven to be pro-life, will now grant the same protection to our innocent children.\" The personhood issue -- defining human life with full rights at the point of conception instead of birth -- has had a long history in this country\u2019s abortion debate. Abortion opponents in several states have pursued personhood efforts since the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case. So, we wondered: Could the Alabama ruling be a precedent as Becker said? Kimbrough, the Alabama mother, admitted smoking methamphetamine three days before her child was born, according to media reports. Alabama\u2019s chemical endangerment code prohibits a \"responsible person\" from \"exposing a child to an environment in which (the person) \u2026 knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally causes or permits a child to be exposed to, to ingest or inhale, or to have contact with a controlled substance, chemical substance, or drug paraphernalia.\" In the case of a child\u2019s death due to these circumstances, the result is a Class A felony with a minimum prison term of 10 years. A Georgia Right to Life spokeswoman told PolitiFact Georgia that the organization was not aware of a similar court ruling prior to the Alabama case. \"The tide is turning. More and more people are rejecting the culture of death that has existed for far too long,\" spokeswoman Suzanne Ward said in an email. Personhood USA, a Denver-based organization that opposes abortion, supported Becker\u2019s claim. \"The only personhood effort state-by-state (Virginia and Mississippi, for example) \u00a0that has been done is through Personhood USA, and we haven\u2019t gotten anything to pass yet. So right now there are no personhood laws on the books in any state,\" said Jennifer Mason, Personhood\u2019s communications director. The Alabama decision centered on a chemical endangerment statute. But the court \"said women should not take these drugs knowing that they could endanger the child. So it was both a chemical endangerment decision, but also an affirmation of personhood rights for those babies as well,\" Mason said. PolitiFact Georgia put the claim to B. Jessie Hill, a law professor at Case Western Law School. Hill disagreed with Becker\u2019s statement and cited several other cases, including some cited in the Alabama ruling, in which courts have granted personhood status to the preborn. Among them, a 1997 criminal child neglect case in South Carolina involving an expectant mother sentenced to eight years in prison after her child was born with the drug in its system. \"It\u2019s not that uncommon (among courts),\" Hill said. \"Various states have said a fetus could be a child under specific statutes, like criminal child neglect, wrongful death or, in the Alabama case, chemical endangerment.\" Steve Crampton, general counsel for Liberty Counsel, which has partnered with Personhood USA on litigation and has worked with Georgia Right to Life, said the Alabama decision \"has great potential application\" outside the chemical endangerment statute. What happens next with the Alabama ruling is unknown, said Paul Horwitz, a constitutional law professor at the University of Alabama. \"I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s a question of a court using the word \u2018personhood.\u2019 It\u2019s a question of whether or not there is a right to an abortion and when,\" he said. \"I don\u2019t see that larger constitutional issue as something that is automatically teed up in a useful way because of this court\u2019s ruling.\" So was Georgia Right to Life President Dan Becker correct in saying that an Alabama Supreme Court case last month was \"the first time since Roe was decided in 1973 that a court has granted personhood status to the preborn\"? Not really. There have been other cases in other states in the 40 years since Roe v. Wade in which courts have decided that a fetus could be a child. Those cases dealt with specific statutes, including criminal child neglect and wrongful death, which were similar to the Alabama case involving a chemical endangerment statute. But there is no general ruling saying a fetus is a person or granting personhood status to the preborn in all circumstances, according to constitutional and reproductive law experts. Becker claimed that no other court had made personhood rulings, but our research found that that is not the case. We rated Becker\u2019s claim ."}
{"claim_id": "891", "claim": "Multidrug-resistant malaria spreading in Southeast Asia: study.", "explanation": "A strain of malaria resistant to two key drugs has spread rapidly from Cambodia and has become dominant in Vietnam, Laos and northern Thailand, with a \u201cterrifying prospect\u201d that it could reach Africa, scientists warned on Monday,", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Using gnomic surveillance to track the spread of drug-resistant malaria, the scientists found that the strain, known as KEL1/PLA1, had also evolved and picked up new genetic mutations that may make it yet more resistant. \u201cWe discovered (it) had spread aggressively, replacing local malaria parasites, and had become the dominant strain in Vietnam, Laos and northeastern Thailand,\u201d said Roberto Amato, who worked with a team from Britain\u2019s Wellcome Sanger Institute and Oxford University and Thailand\u2019s Mahidol University. The risk is rising that the new strain could threaten sub-Saharan Africa, where most malaria cases and deaths occur, largely among babies and children. \u201cThis highly successful resistant parasite strain is capable of invading new territories and acquiring new genetic properties, raising the terrifying prospect that it could spread to Africa ... as resistance to chloroquine did in the 1980s, contributing to millions of deaths,\u201d said Olivo Miotto of Oxford University, who co-led the work. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are carried by mosquitoes and spread through their blood-sucking bites. Almost 220 million people were infected with malaria in 2017, according to World Health Organization estimates, and 400,000 succumbed to it. Malaria can be treated with medicines if caught early enough, but evolving drug-resistance - such as the spread of chloroquine-resistant malaria across Asia to Africa from the late 1950s to the 1980 - has hampered efforts to eliminate it. The first-line treatment in many parts of Asia in the last decade has been a combination of dihydroartemisinin and piperaquine, also known as DHA-PPQ. Researchers found in previous work that a strain of malaria resistant to this combination had evolved and spread across Cambodia between 2007 and 2013. This latest research, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, found it had crossed borders and tightened its grip. Miotto said further work was now needed to establish how far this resistance had spread and whether it had evolved further - and eventually to understand which drugs would work against resistant malaria parasites. \u201cOther drugs may be effective at the moment but the situation is extremely fragile,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "8007", "claim": "U.S. panel outlines how doctors should ration care in a pandemic.", "explanation": "A panel of advisers issued recommendations for new crisis treatment standards on Monday advising doctors and hospitals on how they should decide which patients with COVID-19 get lifesaving care and which do not.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The report from a National Academies of Sciences committee offers a framework for treating patients during the COVID-19 crisis that shifts from saving individual patients to a focus on saving the most individuals possible. It was issued at the request of Admiral Brett Giroir, U.S. assistant secretary for health and Robert Kadlec, U.S. assistant secretary of preparedness and response. The new Crisis Standards of Care guidelines come as the United States faces the prospect of rationing ventilators and other essential equipment to cope with a surge of severely ill patients infected with the new respiratory virus that is projected to kill between 100,000 and 200,000 people in the United States. In the report, the panel says that in spite of efforts to forestall the virus, it expects \u201ca growing number of hospitals will face medical needs that outpace the existing supply of ventilators, protective equipment and other essentials, as well as the rate that enhanced supply can be produced, acquired and put into place. These circumstances will require a shift to Crisis Standards of Care.\u201d  The panel says there is \u201can imminent need to prepare for difficult decisions about allocating limited resources, triaging patients to receive life-saving care and minimizing the negative impacts of delivering care under crisis conditions.\u201d  First issued in 2009, Crisis Standards of Care were used sporadically to help doctors respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and doctors were preparing to use them in the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic, but never did, experts said. They characterized the government\u2019s request for an updated report - tailored to the COVID-19 pandemic - as both sobering and responsible. \u201cIt\u2019s important that we have these ahead of time so that doctors don\u2019t have to decide these things on the fly,\u201d said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. \u201cThis is serious business,\u201d said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. \u201cIf it\u2019s not done, no one gets good care.\u201d  According to the National Academies, the standards shift the focus from what is best for the individual to what can help save the most lives, especially when equipment, staffing and materials are in short supply. They do not dictate which choices should be made, but provide a framework for making them. They also protect physicians from malpractice lawsuits, said Lawrence Gostin, an expert in global health law at Georgetown University, who helped write the original guidelines in 2009. Gostin said individual states were responsible for setting malpractice standards, but in a pandemic, the hope is that the federal government would implement the standards nationally, which would then be passed along to states and then to local hospitals. Gostin said the fact that U.S. officials requested the report signals \u201can urgency in trying to prepare hospitals for acute shortages, which will have implications for deciding who can live and who can die.\u201d  Under normal standards of care, doctors in the United States have a duty to provide the highest-quality treatment available. \u201cIf someone is in respiratory arrest and the standard of care is a ventilator and there aren\u2019t enough, doctors can be sued,\u201d Gostin said. Dr. Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin, said shifting to crisis standards allowed states or healthcare providers to relax or change certain rules, such as using medical devices in ways they were not originally approved for, if they offer a \u201cbetter-than-nothing option.\u201d  A key principle is that doctors never withhold care solely because of age, disability, race or gender. \u201cThese are critical life or death decisions. Doctors and hospitals shouldn\u2019t be making them themselves,\u201d Gostin said."}
{"claim_id": "15165", "claim": "After Texas defunded Planned Parenthood, both the unintended pregnancy and abortion rates dropped.", "explanation": "British American Tobacco Plc unit Reynolds American Inc said on Friday it had filed for a review of its Vuse e-cigarettes by the U.S. Food and Drug administration, giving it a lead over its main rival Juul Labs Inc.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, Women, Texas, Greg Abbott, ", "main_text": "The FDA has set a May 2020 deadline for e-cigarette makers to submit a formal application to keep their products on the market amid its efforts to curb the use of e-cigarette among teens. Reynolds, whose Vuse e-cigarettes deliver nicotine via a cartridge-based vapor system, said it had provided the health regulator with over 150,000 pages of documentation, including information on the composition, design and manufacturing process associated with its product, as well as safety data. The company said it had also worked with a team of more than 100 people to prepare the filing, including multiple regulatory experts and scientists. U.S. regulators are exploring ways to monitor the manufacturing and marketing of e-cigarettes following a rise in use of these products among teens, and a recent outbreak of a mysterious lung illness linked to vaping that has claimed at least 29 lives. Vaping devices such as Juul\u2019s, which vaporize liquid containing nicotine, have borne the brunt of the regulatory crackdown globally. The Trump administration also outlined plans in September to remove all flavored e-cigarettes from store shelves, pointing the finger at sweet flavors that had drawn millions of children into nicotine addiction."}
{"claim_id": "3964", "claim": "Scientists say quarter of all pigs could die of swine fever.", "explanation": "Around a quarter of the world\u2019s pigs are expected to die from African swine fever as authorities grapple with a complex disease spreading rapidly in the globalization era, the World Organization for Animal Health\u2019s president said Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Animals, Health, General News, Animal health, International News, China, Sydney, Asia Pacific", "main_text": "A sharp reduction in the world\u2019s pig population would lead to possible food shortages and high pork prices, and it might also cause shortfalls in the many products made from pigs, such as the blood-thinner heparin that\u2019s used in people, said Dr. Mark Schipp, the organization\u2019s president. The disease\u2019s spread in the past year to countries including China, which has half the world\u2019s pigs, had inflamed a worldwide crisis, Schipp told reporters at a briefing in Sydney. \u201cI don\u2019t think the species will be lost, but it\u2019s the biggest threat to the commercial raising of pigs we\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s the biggest threat to any commercial livestock of our generation.\u201d African swine fever, fatal to hogs but no threat to humans, has wiped out pig herds in many Asian countries. Chinese authorities have destroyed about 1.2 million pigs in an effort to contain the disease there since August 2018. The price of pork has nearly doubled from a year ago in China, which produces and consumes two-thirds of the world\u2019s pork. And China\u2019s efforts to buy pork abroad, as well as smaller outbreaks in other countries, are pushing up global prices. \u201cThere are some shortages in some countries, and there\u2019s been some substitutions using other sources of protein, which is driving up the prices of other proteins,\u201d said Schipp. Progress had been made toward a vaccine, but Schipp, who is also Australia\u2019s chief veterinary officer, said the work was challenging because the virus itself is large and has a complex structure. He said a big step forward was the announcement last week that scientists had unraveled the 3D structure of the virus. African swine fever is spread by contact among pigs, through contaminated fodder and by ticks. It originated in South Africa and appeared in Europe in in the 1960s. A recent reappearance in western Europe came from wild pigs transferred into Belgian forests for hunting purposes. Its capacity to spread rapidly is shown by its spread from China in the past year, Schipp said. Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia and East Timor have had outbreaks as well. He said the spread reflects the global movement of pork and of people but also the effect of tariffs and trade barriers, which sends those obtaining pork to seek out riskier sources. And Schipp said quality control was difficult for products such as skins for sausages, salamis and similar foods. \u201cThose casing products move through multiple countries,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re cleaned in one, graded in another, sorted in another, partially treated in another, and finally treated in a fourth of fifth country. They\u2019ve very hard to trace, through so many countries.\u201d An emerging issue in the crisis is a potential heparin shortage, Schipp said. \u201cMost of it is sourced from China, which has been badly hit. There are concerns that this will threaten the global supply of heparin,\u201d Schipp said. He praised China\u2019s efforts to battle the disease and said the outbreaks would change the way pigs are raised. \u201cIn China, previously they had a lot of backyard piggeries. They\u2019re seeing this as an opportunity to take a big step forward and move to large scale commercial piggeries,\u201d Schipp said. \u201cThe challenge will be to other countries without the infrastructure or capital reserves to scale up in those ways.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "36496", "claim": "Childrens' YouTube, TikTok, Roblox, and Fortnite channels feature videos with deeply disturbing and violent messages.", "explanation": "Violent, Disturbing Messages in Childrens\u2019 Videos?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On February 12 2019, Facebook user Meridy Leeper shared\u00a0an\u00a0image\u00a0purportedly of a drawing by her young child and the following message about suicidal ideation in small children apparently prompted by videos beneath parental radar on YouTube, TikTok, Roblox, and Fortnite \u2014 among other platforms:This is an exceptionally hard thing for me to post. I\u2019ve thought long and hard about this. I\u2019ve decided it\u2019s way too important not to bring awareness to other parents. This is not up for criticism. I only want to let all parents know what to watch for\u2026.Kids youtube, roblox, fortnight\u2026 no matter how much you think you are monitoring your child.. notifications to what your child is watching. It doesn\u2019t matter. My 7 year old child was taught how to attempt suicide by kids youtube and these games. She has expressed that she doesn\u2019t feel neglected or unloved. Instead, she was constantly told to \u2018go kill yourself\u2019 by other gamers, by kids youtube. Shown HOW to.Sunday night, she had a full blown anxiety attack. Which I held her and sang to her while she got through it. Monday, she drew this in school.This is a VERY real danger! I NEVER thought I would find myself helping my SEVEN YEAR OLD CHILD through an anxiety attack. PLEASE, keep your children away from these things. I\u2019m just so glad my child was able to express her feelings before she actually tried to harm herself. I never thought something as \u2018innocent\u2019 as kids youtube would have these subliminal messages. Again, I\u2019m only sharing our experience in the hopes to prevent another child going through this.This claim appeared to be more than the usual social media panics. In March 2017, TheOutline.com was among news sites\u00a0covering sinister and alarming videos embedded in content played for preschool children. In that report, the writer described coming across what she described as \u201coff brand\u201d Peppa Pig clips on YouTube:The video, titled \u201c#Peppa #Pig #Dentist #Kids #Animation #Fantasy,\u201d is completely horrifying. Though the animation sort of looks like an actual episode of Peppa Pig, it\u2019s poorly done, and the narrative quickly veers into upsetting territory. Peppa goes to the dentist, who has a giant needle and a lot of scary tools. The pigs are mysteriously forest green rather than pink. Burglars appear to try to burgle.Peppa Pig is a show for preschoolers. Knock-off Peppa Pig is the stuff of nightmares.Later that month, BBC also covered a spate of videos that appeared to be for young children, but that harbored disturbing or frightening scenes packaged as wholesome content:Hundreds of these videos exist on YouTube, and some generate millions of views. One channel \u201cToys and Funny Kids Surprise Eggs\u201d is one of the top 100 most watched YouTube accounts in the world \u2013 its videos have more than 5 billion views.Its landing page features a photo of a cute toddler alongside official-looking pictures of Peppa Pig, Thomas the Tank Engine, the Cookie Monster, Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Elsa from Frozen.But the videos on the channel have titles like \u201cFROZEN ELSA HUGE SNOT\u201d, \u201cNAKED HULK LOSES HIS PANTS\u201d and \u201cBLOODY ELSA: Frozen Elsa\u2019s Arm is Broken by Spiderman\u201d. They feature animated violence and graphic toilet humour.In June 2018, the Guardian revisited the issue and widespread discussion of its effects on forums for parents:Parents reported that their children were encountering knock-off editions of their favourite cartoon characters in situations of violence and death: Peppa Pig drinking bleach, or Mickey Mouse being run over by a car. A brief Google of some of the terms mentioned in the article brought up not only many more accounts of inappropriate content, in Facebook posts, newsgroup threads, and other newspapers, but also disturbing accounts of their effects. Previously happy and well-adjusted children became frightened of the dark, prone to fits of crying, or displayed violent behaviour and talked about self-harm \u2013 all classic symptoms of abuse. But despite these reports, YouTube and its parent company, Google, had done little to address them. Moreover, there seemed to be little understanding of where these videos were coming from, how they were produced \u2013 or even why they existed in the first place. [\u2026]For adults, it\u2019s the sheer weirdness of many of the videos that seems almost more disturbing than their violence. This is the part that\u2019s harder to explain \u2013 and harder for people to understand \u2013 if you don\u2019t immerse yourself in the videos, which I\u2019d hardly recommend. Beyond the simple knock-offs and the provocations exists an entire class of nonsensical, algorithm-generated content; millions and millions of videos that serve merely to attract views and produce income, cobbled together from nursery rhymes, toy reviews, and cultural misunderstandings. Some seem to be the product of random title generators, others \u2013 so many others \u2013 involve real humans, including young children, distributed across the globe, acting out endlessly the insane demands of YouTube\u2019s recommendation algorithms, even if it makes no sense, even if you have to debase yourself utterly to do it.The Guardian cited a 2017 New York Times investigation of the \u201cdark corners\u201d of content platforms for preschool and grade school children, which, like other accounts, began with a parent\u2019s unexpected brush with violent and suggestive content:It was a typical night in Staci Burns\u2019s house outside Fort Wayne, Ind. She was cooking dinner while her 3-year-old son, Isaac, watched videos on the YouTube Kids app on an iPad. Suddenly he cried out, \u201cMommy, the monster scares me!\u201dWhen Ms. Burns walked over, Isaac was watching a video featuring crude renderings of the characters from \u201cPAW Patrol,\u201d a Nickelodeon show that is popular among preschoolers, screaming in a car. The vehicle hurtled into a light pole and burst into flames.The 10-minute clip, \u201cPAW Patrol Babies Pretend to Die Suicide by Annabelle Hypnotized,\u201d was a nightmarish imitation of an animated series in which a boy and a pack of rescue dogs protect their community from troubles like runaway kittens and rock slides. In the video Isaac watched, some characters died and one walked off a roof after being hypnotized by a likeness of a doll possessed by a demon. [\u2026]While the offending videos are a tiny fraction of YouTube Kids\u2019 universe, they are another example of the potential for abuse on digital media platforms that rely on computer algorithms, rather than humans, to police the content that appears in front of people \u2014 in this case, very young people.As of late February 2019, that exact video is still up and appears to have been untouched by YouTube moderators. It can be viewed here.Amidst ongoing parental concern over \u201cdark\u201d and \u201cviolent\u201d preschool videos, another rumor spread: that these videos are sparking violent or suicidal behavior in young people. It is similar to a 2016 rumor about Internet interest in the purported \u201cBlue Whale\u201d suicide game; that appeared to mostly involve teenagers, but those stories have unsettling commonalities involving violent ideation and suicide contagion.While individual anecdotes about their effects (such as the Facebook post quoted above) are not verifiable beyond doubt without more data, the existence of the described content is certainly documented, and it does not seem like a stretch to assume that children are imitating the behavior they see displayed by familiar, trusted characters. Platforms such as childrens\u2019 YouTube, TikTok, Roblox, and Fortnite channels are aware that the videos appear, but they do not seem to have made any effort to stop those same videos from spreading. The claim is true\u00a0\u2014 videos with sinister and suggestive content masquerading as popular preschool videos (like Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol) remain on children\u2019s content streaming platforms."}
{"claim_id": "9697", "claim": "New class of blood pressure meds as effective as old, analysis shows", "explanation": "This Washington Post story reports the findings of a study that compared the efficacy of two classes of drugs available to treat cardiovascular disease (CVD) \u2014 angiotensin converting enzyme, or ACE, inhibitors versus newer angiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs. It involved a meta-analysis of more than 100 earlier studies monitoring more than a quarter-million patients who were at high risk for CVD. The results showed the two types of drugs to be equally effective with the major difference being a lower chance of side effects with the use of ARBs. With a bit more information on harms and a better grasp of the limitations of this study, the Post\u2019s coverage is more solid than a competing HealthDay story that was based on a news release. But the story lacks voices other than that of the study\u2019s lead author, and it doesn\u2019t disclose the relationships that several of the authors have with the pharmaceutical industry. For patients with high blood pressure, there are numerous studies that demonstrate medications to lower blood pressure are associated with decreased rates of heart attacks, strokes and to a lesser extent, kidney failure. Given the number of different choices available from a range of classes of medications, how do patients and doctors decide on which to use? Here the comparison is between angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). When considering which agent to use for a given patient, a physician generally considers the relative benefits, harms and costs of the different agents, as well as any patient factors that may lead one class of agents to have particular advantages or limitations (for example, if the patient already has a high potassium level, use of either an ACEI or ARB may be problematic since they both raise potassium levels further). The current study seeks to address mainly the relative benefits of these two classes of medicines and glosses over harms and costs while not even mentioning patient-level factors. In terms of the benefits, the authors suggest that initial studies comparing ACEIs and ARBs were biased by the times in which the original studies used to justify approval were performed. Specifically, the older ACEIs studies came at a time when lifestyle and other medication options were more limited than the following decades when ARBs were studied. It is difficult to confirm or refute this assumption, but studies of these classes in a more comparable time frame would decrease bias associated with temporal trends. The current study adds evidence that these two classes are similar, but this isn\u2019t really dramatically new information. Indeed, many guidelines suggest ACEIs or ARBs as being equivalent. The advantage of ARBs is better tolerability, as mentioned in this article, but the disadvantage remains cost. Though the article provides one line saying that with more generics available for ARBs, the cost difference has diminished, but even the cost of generics appear higher for ARBs than ACEIs. Thus, for many clinicians even an increased\u00a0recognition of similar benefits may not lead to much change in practice given differences in costs", "label": "true", "subjects": "drug costs,high blood pressure", "main_text": "While the story could have been a bit more specific, it gets points for stating that most ACE inhibitor drugs, and many ARB drugs, are now available in generic form, which means the cost for the medications would usually be considerably less than their comparative name-brand compounds. We\u2019ll rate this Satisfactory, but we\u2019d add that though more ARBs are generically available, this class of medications continues to be more expensive than ACEIs. For patients struggling to meet the cost of their medications, this is a major consideration, and important information for any news story. The story points out that the two classes of drugs prescribed for cardiovascular disease are mostly equally effective. It also points out that the main difference lies with the fact that patients report that ARBs are linked to fewer unpleasant side effects, compared to ACE inhibitors. And since patients are\u00a0usually kept on the drugs for long periods of time, if not indefinitely, that information is important to readers. But the story never says what outcomes exactly we\u2019re talking about here \u2014 deaths, heart attacks, blood pressure? Nor does it say how effective these medications were at improving these outcomes \u2014 merely that they are equivalent. We think both of these issues should have been addressed in order to earn a Satisfactory rating here. The story does point to the greater occurrence of a dry cough as a result of taking ACE inhibitors compared to taking ARBs but a quick web search for both drug types shows a much larger list of possible side effects including dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, weakness,\u00a0and skin rash, as well as increased potassium levels and possible sexual dysfunction. A similar omission is present in a HealthDay story that explained the same research. Cough is the most common side effect of ACEI that is not generally seen with ARBs. The one other one is angioedema which is more common with ACEI. Otherwise studies show that other side effects are probably similar. This isn\u2019t stated explicitly, but we\u2019ll give the benefit of the doubt. The story is accurate in characterizing this research as a \u201csecond look,\u201d or reanalysis of more than a hundred earlier studies comparing both classes of drugs with placebos and with each other since 2000. But while the story is cautious in saying that one class of drugs \u201cmay be as effective and safe\u201d as the other, the headline is much more definitive, stating that \u201cNew class of blood pressure meds as effective as old, analysis shows.\u201d \u00a0The story closes with a nod to limitations, stating that the study was limited to those\u00a0who did not have heart failure, \u201cand because it involved a retrospective analysis of trials it was unable to control for differences in the design or data gathering of the previous work.\u201d The story does not appear to commit disease-mongering. The single quoted source in this story is the main author of the study and the story fails to mention that some authors have ties to major pharmaceutical firms which manufacture these kinds of drugs. While that linkage doesn\u2019t mean the research is definitely biased, writers should disclose that information when available. Since the story involves the comparison of two classes of drugs for treating cardiovascular disease, there are obviously treatment options available. The story does point out that ACE inhibitor drugs have been available for decades and that ARBs have been available since the year 2000. The novelty here is simply that this meta-analysis is aimed at clarifying uncertainty surrounding the comparison of these two classes of drugs and their efficacy in treating cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of this condition within the population makes it a topic of broad interest, both among the public and among the professionals who treat them. It would be difficult to conclude that this story relied solely on a news release, given that it provided some facts not present in the NYU release. However, the story does not stray far from the information included in the release and could benefit from additional source information and comment. However, its similarity to the NYU news release is far less than that of a HealthDay story about the same research."}
{"claim_id": "28970", "claim": "A California teen named Connor Reid Eckhardt was determined to have died after smoking a synthetic marijuana compound known as \"spice\" or K2.", "explanation": "Eckhardt\u2019s official cause of death (if any was determined) was not disclosed to the media, but his sudden death was not attributable to other common factors (such as detectable drug use or alcohol intoxication), and the teen was still carrying an envelope of spice when he was hospitalized.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Medical, connor reid eckhardt, K2, spice", "main_text": "On 16 August 2015 the Facebook page \u201cConnor Reid Eckhardt\u201d published the status and video embedded below, which was subsequently shared hundreds of thousands of times in one week alone. Example: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Collected via e-mail and Facebook, August 2015] Just received a video from a friend. Her friend\u2019s son has died from an overdose of a drugs shipped from China. That young man is Conor Reid Eckhardt. Checking to see if this legitimate. (function(d, s, id) {  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;  js.src = \"//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3\";  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); THIS IS SO IMPORTANT TO SHARE\u2026.THIS IS NOT A MOVIE!! OUR 19 YEAR OLD SON CONNOR IS NOT WAKING UP FROM THE SINGLE HIT OF \u201cSPICE, K2,\u201d HE TOOK. It has over 600 names. The credits are not going to roll. He is not going surfing this morning. He is GETTING \u201cTHAT HAIR CUT\u201d we never wanted to give before he goes into surgery to donate 4 of his organs to SAVE FOUR OTHER LIVES. Connor died. Our son, our only son died from a legal high purchased at the corner market. No drugs or alcohol in his system. Most, not all legal highs are made in CHINA and sold to our youth. Millions are being affected by these legal highs. Please help us get the attention of presidential candidates. We must get this stopped. An entire generation of children and youth are at risk. Please get educated. The Connor Project Foundation is about Education, Awareness, and Prevention. Doit4connor. Do it for your kids and for your communities. Posted by Connor Reid Eckhardt on Sunday, August 16, 2015 The basic context of the clip is not in dispute. In July 2014, 19-year-old Connor Reid Eckhardt slipped into a coma and was declared brain dead after smoking a synthetic form of marijuana known as \u201cspice\u201d or K2. Reid\u2019s father spoke to Los Angeles television station KTLA about Connor\u2019s death in August 2014: On July 11, Connor Eckhardt inhaled one hit of dried herbs that had been sprayed with chemicals to cause a pot-like high, his parents said. \u201cIn a moment of peer pressure, he gave into that, thinking that was OK, it was somehow safe, and one hit later, he goes to sleep and never wakes up,\u201d Connor\u2019s father, Devin Eckhardt, said. On 9 August 2014, the Los Angeles Times published a lengthy profile of a grieving vigil held by the Eckhardt family in the somber hours before Connor\u2019s organs were harvested for donation. In that piece, the paper reported that neither spice (nor any other known drug compounds) had been found in Eckhardt\u2019s system: At the hospital, tests did not detect spice in Connor\u2019s system. The ever-changing components make it difficult for scientists to develop a standard way to trace it. But the hospital found no sign of other drugs. And he had the small, square packet of spice still in his pocket. As the above excerpt noted, spice\u2019s uncertain (and variable) composition makes it nearly impossible to pinpoint as a culprit in incidents like the one that led to Eckhardt\u2019s death. The wide-ranging nature of synthetic cannabinoids in circulation under the name \u201cspice\u201d was described in an 18 August 2015 article: When using Spice, \u201cpeople sometimes develop moderate to severe adverse health consequences, including vomiting, muscle spasms, seizures, hallucinations, confusion, and suicidal thoughts. In some cases, Spice has been linked to heart attacks and deaths,\u201d state epidemiologist Dr. Joe McLaughlin said. \u201cAt this point, the bulk of the medical transports have involved young adults; however, there have been many transports involving adolescents,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cParents should warn their children about the dangers of using Spice and strongly instruct them to stay away from it.\u201d Spice is typically made by spraying psychotropic compounds onto plant materials. It\u2019s a cheap high that is difficult to regulate because manufacturers often switch ingredients as soon as a chemical compound is made illegal. Although Eckhardt\u2019s adoptive father Devin suggested \u201cpeer pressure\u201d was responsible for Connor\u2019s possible experimentation with spice, the Los Angeles Times also reported that the teen had previously battled an addiction to heroin: By 18 he started looking for his birth parents, and plunged head-first into drugs. Last year, Connor went to a rehab program in Palm Springs to get off heroin. He had been sober since, his parents said. Mindy Hunt, 24, who met Connor in the program, recalled long hours they spent discussing the struggle to stay clean. She had smoked spice once; it made her heart beat so fast that she couldn\u2019t stand up. Connor Reid Eckhardt died in July 2014, and his parents strongly believed the synthetic cannabinoid spice directly caused his death. But spice (or K2) is a substance about which little is known, and inconsistencies from batch to batch further obfuscate specific dangers associated with the substance. Since spice is hard to detect on any standard toxicology panel, its use may very well go unnoticed as a contributing factor in serious adverse incidents."}
{"claim_id": "38919", "claim": " Rumors have circulated social media sites that aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in soft drinks and food, is made from the feces of genetically modified (GM) \u00a0E. coli bacteria. ", "explanation": "Aspartame Is Made from GM Bacteria Excrement", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Food / Drink", "main_text": "A patent that was filed in 1981 describes making aspartame from the excretions of genetically modified bacteria, but the claim that aspartame is made from GM E. coli poop today is misleading. Claims about aspartame being made from GM bacteria poop come from a\u00a0European patent\u00a0that was filed in 1981. The patent, which first became available online in 2013, outlines a process to make aspartame from the excretions of genetically modified bacteria, and E. coli bacteria in particular. But the idea that aspartame is made from GM E. coli poop over simplifies the complex process of making aspartame, which has changed steadily over the years. It also ignores the fact that\u00a0bacteria exists at the cellular level\u00a0and doesn\u2019t have a digestive system, which means it doesn\u2019t \u201cpoop.\u201d \u00a0Instead, it excretes unneeded nutrients and byproducts through a cell wall. Aspartame was discovered as a low-calorie sugar substitute for soft drinks and food in the 1960s, and the process used to create it has been evolving ever since. According to\u00a0Harvard University: The tumultuous history of the food additive aspartame began serendipitously thirty-five years ago. On the day that James M. Schlatter, a chemist, unintentionally discovered it, he was working on an anti-ulcer drug. As Mr. Schlatter mixed asparatic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally occurring amino acids that are the building blocks of protein, he stuck his finger in the mixture and for some reason decided to taste it. I licked my finger and it tasted good. He later recalled. And with that, a new, low-calorie sweetener was born. What has happened since that fateful day in 1965 comprises the additive\u2019s struggle from birth to maturity; not unlike a human being moving from inception to adulthood, aspartame has overcome many hurdles and incited much controversy on its path to a somewhat more stable maturity. James Schlatter quickly\u00a0filed a patent\u00a0for the process in 1966. The FDA approved aspartame for use in various products from the 1970s and 1990s. Still, aspartame remains controversial, with many questioning its side effects. The 1981 European patent states that Schlatter\u2019s peptide synthesis process was too costly and time-consuming. A \u201cnew\u201d method described in the patent detailed \u201cthe introduction of foreign genetic material into microorganisms which then produce the protein or proteins for which such foreign genetic material codes.\u201d The U.K.-based\u00a0Independent\u00a0reports\u00a0that GM was needed to make the bacteria produce more phenylalanine, one of the two amino acids used to make aspartame: As the G8 summit of rich country leaders decided last night to launch an inquiry\u00a0into the safety of genetically modified (GM) food, an investigation by the\u00a0Independent\u00a0on Sunday\u00a0revealed that Monsanto, the pioneering GM food giant\u00a0which makes aspartame, often uses genetically engineered bacteria to produce the\u00a0sweetener at its US production\u00a0plants. \u201cWe have two strains of bacteria \u2014 one is traditionally modified and one is\u00a0genetically modified,\u201d said one Monsanto source. \u201cIt\u2019s got a modified enzyme. It has\u00a0one amino acid different.\u201d The use of genetic engineering to make aspartame has stayed secret until now\u00a0because there is no modified DNA in the finished\u00a0product. Monsanto insists that it\u00a0is completely safe. A Monsanto spokeswoman confirmed that aspartame for the US market is made\u00a0using genetic engineering. But sweetener supplied to British food producers is not. However, consumer groups say it is likely that some low-calorie products\u00a0containing genetically engineered aspartame have been imported into Britain. That report was from 1999, and\u00a0Monsanto sold\u00a0its NutraSweet division (a brand name for aspartame) in 2000 and has not produced it since. Today, it\u2019s\u00a0generally accepted\u00a0that aspartame is made using GM bacteria, but it\u2019s not clear that it\u2019s E. coli bacteria. Companies are notoriously tight-lipped about how they make food products, so there\u2019s no way to know if some, all or none of the 1981 patent is still in use. We have reported this one as truth and misleading because it\u2019s true that patent was filed to produce aspartame from the excretions of GMO bacteria, but the eRumor oversimplifies a complex process and assumes that the process hasn\u2019t changed at all since 1981. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "35522", "claim": "Thirty-three Florida labs were busted for \"cooking the books\" or tampering with data after not reporting negative COVID-19 test results between March and July 2020.", "explanation": "What's true: At least 45 COVID-19 testing laboratories in Florida failed to report negative test results between March and July 2020, thus inaccurate positive testing rates were recorded for those facilities. However, more than 300 Florida labs did report negative results in that time frame. What's undetermined: Although health officials said that all laboratories are required to report both positive and negative test results, testing facilities that Snopes spoke with said that among other discrepancies in reporting requirements, the Florida Department of Health did not previously require negative test results to be reported. Snopes did not find evidence that the omission of negative results data in a minority of Florida labs' reporting was intentional or nefarious.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "In July 2020, social media posts and news reports claimed that Florida labs were intentionally tampering with data by failing to report negative COVID-19 test results, making the coronavirus pandemic appear much worse in the southern state. The claims followed an investigation conducted by Orlando affiliate station Fox 35, which analyzed COVID-19 testing and case data collected between March 16, 2020, when testing began, and July 13, 2020, by the Florida Department of Health (DOH). Of the hundreds of labs analyzed, many were shown to have reported very high positivity rates for COVID-19. The accusations of tampering came as many health officials and local leaders came under criticism for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic and testing responses. Snopes dug through the 49-page report line-by-line and found that at least 45 laboratories that tested for COVID-19 did not report negative test results between March and July 2020 and instead showed 100% positivity, while dozens of others reported 90% positivity and higher. More than 300 labs did report negative test results, clocking percentage rates much lower than 100%. The table below shows labs that tested 40 or more people and reported 100% positivity, and failed to report\u00a0negative test results:\u00a0 Public and private testing facilities are required to report their results to the DOH, which then releases a daily report covering surveillance data for every county in the state. DOH confirmed to Snopes that a number of testing labs did not report negative test results and issued the following statement in an email sent July 15, 2020: All COVID-19 cases are confirmed through diagnostic and antigen testing and then reported to the state by the labs performing the testing. Private and public laboratories are required to report positive and negative test results to the state immediately. In recent days, the Florida Department of Health noticed that some smaller, private labs weren\u2019t reporting negative test result data to the state. The Department immediately began working with those labs to ensure that all results were being reported in order to provide comprehensive and transparent data. As the state continues to receive results from various labs, the Department will continue educating these labs on proper protocol for reporting COVID-19 test results. The department did not respond to follow-up questions about whether this lack of reporting could have skewed data on total case counts. It is not yet determined why these smaller labs did not report negative cases, and the department did not answer approximately how many negative test results were unreported. We will provide an update once these questions are answered. Labs Snopes spoke to claimed there were discrepancies and changes in DOH\u2019s data reporting requirements. In an email sent to Snopes, Pancare of Florida President R. Michael Hill said that the DOH \u201cmisdirected their data collection process as an inaccuracy on PanCare\u2019s part.\u201d The testing lab said that it uses three methods for testing including one that detects viral antigens, which the DOH reportedly said it would not include \u201cinto the county or state numbers.\u201d On July 1, DOH implemented an update to its electronic reporting process to \u201creport all patient-specific results\u201d daily and began integrating previously reported data from PanCare as of July 16. Lab24 in Miami confirmed this statement when it told the Orlando Sun-Sentinel that it had tested around 10,000 people in Florida but that the state required that private labs only notify health officials of positive results. Snopes contacted Lab24 but did not receive a response at the time of publication. \u201cIn short, yes the COVID-19 data for the State of Florida is skewed, PanCare has conducted over 6,900 antibody tests, and over 16,000 antigen tests that have not been accurately reported by the Florida Department of Health because they refused to accept the results of both of these FDA-EUA approved tests at the time they were administered,\u201d wrote Hill. Lee Memorial Hospital Lab told Snopes that it had accurately reported both negative and positive test results but that a hospital can have more than one entry in the DOH database. For example, results from Lee Memorial Hospital and Lee Memorial Hospital Lab come from the same testing facility yet each reported different rates. Lee Memorial Hospital reported an 18% positivity rate of 2,925 tests conducted while Lee Memorial Hospital Lab reported 100% positivity of 405 COVID-19 tests conducted. When combined, the overall positive results from the two hospitals were between 15 and 25%."}
{"claim_id": "34591", "claim": "Two men arrested for their part in Turkey's attempted military takeover are CIA agents.", "explanation": "However, there\u2019s absolutely no evidence listed (including from the site that first published this story) to suggest that the two pilots\u00a0were agents of the United States government.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics Conspiracy Theories, CIA, recep tayyip erdogan, turkey", "main_text": "In July 2016, a failed coup attempt by Turkey\u2019s military ended when security forces detained thousands of participants after a bloody night that left at least 240 people dead. In the days after, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan closed hundreds of schools, arrested thousands, and declared a three-month state of emergency\u00a0during which he vowed to root out the \u201cviruses\u201d within the military. At the same time, a story emerged that CIA agents were\u00a0directly involved in Turkey\u2019s failed military coup: According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) for the Republic of Turkey, the two captured CIA pilots were\u00a0not only responsible for shooting down the Russian Sukhoi Su-24m bomber over Syria last year, but also attempted to kill President Erdogan during the failed \u201ccoup\u201d attempt a few days ago. Whatdoesitmean.com reports: The MoD further warned that the Obama regime was planning to kill President Erdogan in a coup and replace him the CIA\u2019s \u201cdesignated figurehead\u201d Fethullah Gulen\u2014and that Turkey\u2019s MoFA confirmed just hours ago was behind this plot by stating that \u201cthe Fethullah G\u00fclen Terrorist Organization is behind this coup attempt\u201d. The conspiracy web site WhatDoesItMean.com appears to be the driving force behind this rumor, which publishes many stories that range from mostly true to completely fabricated. In this case, the site purports to have information that two CIA agents, who were behind a foiled plot to kill President Erdogan, were arrested in Turkey. By a strange coincidence, the site says that these are also\u00a0the\u00a0exact two agents who were behind shooting down a Russian bomber over Syria in 2015. It\u2019s true that news outlets reported from the region that two pilots were arrested following the attempted coup: Three senior officials in Ankara said Akin Ozturk, head of the air force until 2015 and a member of High Military Council (YAS), the top body overseeing the armed forces, was one of the masterminds of the plot. He was among thousands of soldiers detained, pictured on Sunday in handcuffs wearing a striped polo shirt at Ankara police headquarters. Ozturk was due to be retired this August at a meeting of the YAS, which convenes twice a year. According to his biography, still on the military\u2019s website, he was born in 1952. The second mastermind was thought to be Muharrem Kose, a former legal adviser to the chief of military staff, the same three Ankara officials said. They described Kose as a follower of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric whose network Erdogan has blamed for carrying out the coup attempt. It\u2019s\u00a0further true that the same two men are accused by the Erdogan administration of downing a\u00a0Russian jet in November 2015: Two Turkish pilots who played a role in the downing of a Russian jet in November are in custody over the July 15 failed coup in Turkey, a Turkish official said. The downing of the Russian fighter jet\u00a0on the Syrian border last November sparked an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Russia, which ended last month when the two countries agreed to restore ties. \u201cTwo pilots who were part of the operation to down the Russian Su-24 in November 2015 are in custody,\u201d a Turkish official told AFP late on Monday. When asked about the issue by the Turkish media, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said there were reports of the pilots being detained but they were \u201cyet to be confirmed\u201d. There\u2019s even some speculation\u00a0that the two pilots have ties to a Muslim cleric\u00a0originally from Turkey who currently lives in the United States: What is the Gulen movement? A well-organised community of people \u2013 not a political party \u2013 named after the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. He is regarded by followers as a spiritual leader and sometimes described as Turkey\u2019s second most powerful man. The imam promotes a tolerant Islam which emphasises altruism, modesty, hard work and education. He is also a recluse with a heart condition and diabetes who lives in a country estate in the US state of Pennsylvania."}
{"claim_id": "3909", "claim": "Comments sought on Idaho Medicaid expansion waiver.", "explanation": "Idaho officials are seeking public comments on a waiver to Medicaid expansion involving mental health treatment and substance abuse.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Medicaid, Mental health, Idaho", "main_text": "The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said Friday it\u2019s taking comments through Dec. 24. The waiver would allow Medicaid recipients to receive inpatient treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders at a freestanding psychiatric hospital. Currently, those services are only available in the psychiatric unit of a full-service hospital. State officials say the waiver will expand access to outpatient behavioral health services throughout the state. The waiver is supported by Reclaim Idaho, the group behind the Medicaid expansion initiative that passed last year. Waivers are required when a state wants to deviate from standard Medicaid rules."}
{"claim_id": "16511", "claim": "Cory Gardner Says on contraception, his plan is \"cheaper and easier for you\" than Sen. Mark Udall\u2019s", "explanation": "Gardner said his plan on contraceptives is \"cheaper and easier for you\" than Sen. Mark Udall\u2019s plan. This is based on his support for a plan to allow for over-the-counter sales of the pill. Gardner\u2019s plan is lacking in concrete details that would allow a thorough evaluation. There\u2019s some evidence that health care costs generally go down when drugs are made available over-the-counter, but those studies did not look specifically look at the pill. There is a lot of uncertainty and experts \u2014 from advocates to economists \u2014 question whether Gardner\u2019s proposal would be cheaper to most consumers or the health care system compared to the Affordable Care Act. And Gardner\u2019s plan would only address one type of contraceptive, meaning the many people who choose other methods of birth control would see higher costs.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Message Machine 2014, Women, Cory Gardner, ", "main_text": "Democratic Sen. Mark Udall has consistently attacked his Republican challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner, for supporting anti-abortion measures like personhood legislation. But Gardner is on the offensive with a new ad airing in the Colorado Senate race about women\u2019s health issues. \"What\u2019s the difference between me and Mark Udall on contraception?\" Gardner says. \"I believe the pill ought to be available over the counter, around the clock, without a prescription. Cheaper and easier for you. Mark Udall\u2019s plan is different. He wants to keep government bureaucrats between you and your health care plan. That means more politics and more profits for drug companies. My plan means more rights, more freedom and more control for you.\" Udall\u2019s \"plan\" is essentially the Affordable Care Act, which requires health insurance companies to provide access to FDA-approved contraceptives without cost sharing, meaning the consumer pays nothing for their prescription at the pharmacy. Gardner, who has repeatedly voted to repeal President Barack Obama\u2019s health care law, says he believes a \"cheaper and easier\" alternative is to allow the pill to be sold over the counter, meaning without a prescription. Gardner\u2019s campaign said his plan has two parts: Allow the pill to be sold over-the-counter and \"ensure that women can be reimbursed for those through insurance.\" His campaign said both can be accomplished without the Affordable Care Act. If the Affordable Care Act is not repealed, though, Gardner wants to allow insurance providers to cover the pill over-the-counter without a prescription. Udall\u2019s campaign said he supports allowing over-the-counter sales of the pill as long as insurance companies are still mandated to cover it without any cost sharing. So we\u2019re left comparing the Affordable Care Act to Gardner\u2019s position, which is repeal the ACA and replace its contraceptive component with his proposal. Which contraceptive plan is \"cheaper and easier\"? We found that even the groups that advocate making the pill available over the counter \u2014 like Jessica Arons, president and CEO of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project and Dan Grossman, vice president for research at Ibis Reproductive Health \u2014 did not believe it was a cheaper alternative for consumers than requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives without cost sharing. Gardner\u2019s campaign pointed us to a study by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association,\u00a0an advocacy group for the consumer health care products industry. The study looked at savings from several different drugs becoming available over-the-counter, but not the pill. The group estimated that each dollar spent on over-the-counter medicines saves the health care system up to $7, which comes to $102 billion annually. About $25 billion of those savings come in the form of reduced drug costs. But the bulk of the savings is actually from avoiding trips to the doctor to get a prescription, the association found. (Imagine going to the doctor every time you had a cold to get a prescription for Sudafed or for Claritin when your allergies flared up. Those visits add up.) However, under the Affordable Care Act, women\u2019s preventive health care must be covered without cost-sharing, meaning a trip to the doctor to get a prescription for birth control would not have any out-of-pocket costs. So a big chunk of the alleged savings from moving the pill over-the-counter would not be realized; it\u2019s already not costing consumers anything. It\u2019s also speculative for Gardner to insist that his plan is cheaper. As far as we can tell, there hasn\u2019t been a study that looks specifically at the cost benefits of moving the pill over-the-counter, and a spokesperson for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association told us that they \"can't speak to any specific product or ingredient.\" That\u2019s not to say that providing birth control without cost-sharing, as the Affordable Care Act does, is free to the healthcare system. When insurance companies are required to cover birth control or doctor visits without asking for a co-payment, those costs are baked into the monthly premium. You may not have to pay anything at the pharmacy, but you may pay for it in other ways, especially if you previously chose not to purchase insurance and suddenly are forced by the law to buy a policy. Some grandfathered plans may also choose to not cover these services and it does not address the millions of individuals who would remain uninsured under the law. Zack Cooper, a health policy and economics professor at Princeton University, said it\u2019s possible that if the pill was reclassified as over-the-counter, consumers would have more options, sales volume would go up and competition would increase between drug companies. These factors can all lead to prices going down. But he said it\u2019s also possible that it has a negative effect, since suddenly consumers are paying for birth control at the point-of-purchase instead of getting it at no cost. \"When you make something even a little more expensive, use goes down,\" Cooper said. \"That means more women get pregnant, and babies cost a lot more than birth control. You can argue it would actually increase the cost of insurance and the government will be on the hook for more federal subsidies.\" So there\u2019s a lot of uncertainty as to which would actually be cheaper. We would also like to see more details from Gardner on how he would\u00a0\"ensure that women can be reimbursed for (the pill) through insurance,\" but so far he has not produced legislation or a detailed summary. And Gardner\u2019s plan only applies to one particular birth control: the pill. While the pill is the most common form of birth control, it\u2019s not the only method. About 27 percent of female contraceptive users reported that the pill was their prefered method, meaning three-quarters use another option (though this survey included male condoms and vasectomies, which aren\u2019t covered by the law and make up a big chunk of contraceptive use). Other birth control methods may be more effective or more preferable for certain patients, but they are also a lot more expensive at the point of purchase, said Alina Salganicoff, vice president and director of Women\u2019s Health Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Like intrauterine devices, which can cost $500 to $1,000 without insurance. So when Gardner asks \"what\u2019s the difference between me and Mark Udall on contraception,\" but only provides a plan for the pill, he\u2019s leaving out a lot of people who medically cannot use the pill or chose another option. Absent the Affordable Care Act, these other methods would undoubtedly be more expensive for consumers. Similarly, it would definitely be \"easier\" for a lot of individuals to obtain the pill over-the-counter instead of going to a doctor first to get a prescription, especially those who live in rural areas where a doctor\u2019s office is not nearly as close as the corner pharmacy. But this again does not address all contraceptives, just the pill. Gardner\u2019s campaign also noted that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued an opinion in 2012 expressing medical support for over-the-counter access to oral contraceptives. However, the group also maintained its support for the Affordable Care Act provision that provides women access to the pill without cost-sharing, noting that \"numerous studies have shown that even small cost-sharing requirements can limit use of needed preventative care.\" Our ruling Gardner said his plan on contraceptives is \"cheaper and easier for you\" than Sen. Mark Udall\u2019s plan. This is based on his support for a plan to allow for over-the-counter sales of the pill. Gardner\u2019s plan is lacking in concrete details that would allow a thorough evaluation. There\u2019s some evidence that health care costs generally go down when drugs are made available over-the-counter, but those studies did not look specifically look at the pill. There is a lot of uncertainty and experts \u2014 from advocates to economists \u2014 question whether Gardner\u2019s proposal would be cheaper to most consumers or the health care system compared to the Affordable Care Act. And Gardner\u2019s plan would only address one type of contraceptive, meaning the many people who choose other methods of birth control would see higher costs. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "2945", "claim": "Six new cases of MERS virus hit Saudi Arabia, UAE.", "explanation": "Another five people in Saudi Arabia and one in the United Arab Emirates have become infected with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The new infections, including one fatal case in a 73-year-old Saudi man and three in Saudi health workers who showed no adverse symptoms, bring the total confirmed cases of the respiratory disease to 176, of which 74 have died, the United Nations health agency said. MERS emerged in the Middle East in 2012 and is from the same family as the SARS virus. It can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia. Although the worldwide number of MERS infections is fairly small, the more than 40 percent death rate among confirmed cases and the spread of the virus beyond the Middle East is keeping scientists and public health officials on alert. Cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Tunisia as well as in several countries in Europe, and scientists are increasingly focused on a link between the human infections and camels as a possible \u201canimal reservoir\u201d of the virus. In a disease outbreak update, the WHO said the new confirmed case of MERS in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was in a 59-year-old woman, the wife of a man previously confirmed as being infected. Although she has no adverse symptoms, she is in hospital in isolation, it said. Dutch and Qatari scientists published research earlier this month that proved for the first time that MERS can also infect camels - strengthening suspicions that these animals, often used in the region for meat, milk, transport and racing, may be a source of the human outbreak. The WHO says people at high risk of severe disease due to MERS should \u201cavoid close contact with animals when visiting farms or barn areas where the virus is known to be potentially circulating\u201d. For the general public it advises normal hygiene steps such as hand washing before and after touching animals, avoiding contact with sick animals and good food hygiene practices."}
{"claim_id": "10154", "claim": "Study adds to evidence of vaccine safety", "explanation": "The story does a reasonable job in describing the study as published in Pediatrics. Although there are some lapses in the story, the report provides an adequate review of the study and its relative importance. Although thimerosal has been reduced or removed in pediatric vaccines, the issue of autism and vaccines remains in the public memory.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story was about thimerosal being reduced or eliminated from vaccines, so cost is not an issue in this context. The benefit of the pediatric vaccines was not the central issue of the story but rather the risks associated with their use. The study was intended to determine if a causal relationship could be attributed to the use of thimerosal in pediatric vaccines. As such the theoretical harms of the vaccine are described correctly. However, an important element missing in the story is the downside of not immunizing children. The story would have been enhanced with a brief comment about the negative impact of avoiding immunization (including the use of influenza vaccine). The story correctly describes the study design and the relative uniqueness of the methods used. The conclusions of the study are appropriately noted in the report. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Two individuals with expertise in vaccines and with no connection to this study were interviewed as part of this story. The story provided little or no information about decisions beyond simple \u2018yes\u2019 and \u2018no\u2019 concerning vaccination. This story reported on a study of two vaccines against the same disease with different levels of thimerosal. So, for example, are there ever choices to be made about levels of other preservatives in vaccines? The story did not provide information about the benefits or harms associated with vaccination in general. The story was about a study that compared outcomes in youngsters who had received vaccines with different levels of thimerosal. The story correctly points out that since 2001, thimerosal has not been used as a preservative in pediatric vaccines in the US other than flu vccine. The story was about two vaccines for whooping cough with different levels of the preservative thimerosal. The story also reported that the preservative thimerosal is no longer used in vaccines in the US. Therefore, this story is about a treatment that is not available. Does not appear to rely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "16259", "claim": "Darrell Issa Says Thomas Eric Duncan came into the United States \"with an elevated temperature.", "explanation": "Issa\u00a0said Thomas Eric Duncan came into the United States \"with an elevated temperature.\" According to the CDC, Duncan did not have a fever when he left Monrovia. At the time, American airports were not screening travelers, so there\u2019s no way for us (or Issa) to know definitively if he had a fever when he got to the United States. But he did not report falling ill until several days after arriving, when he went to the hospital with a fever. It\u2019s possible that even if current screening measures had been in place, Duncan would have passed without showing a fever or other symptoms.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Ebola, Health Care, Public Health, Transportation, Darrell Issa, ", "main_text": "How much airport Ebola screening is too much? That was the big question on the Sunday talk shows Oct. 26. Over the weekend, New York, New Jersey and Illinois upped their Ebola screening guidelines, quarantining anyone passing through John F. Kennedy,\u00a0Newark and Chicago-O'Hare\u00a0international airports who had contact with Ebola patients, even if they\u2019re not showing symptoms. The guidelines surpass federal regulations and have been subject to criticism, particularly from administration officials, arguing that they are unnecessary. JFK, Newark and O'Hare already have screening processes, along with three other American airports, (more on that later) and people who aren\u2019t showing symptoms aren\u2019t contagious, experts say. On CNN\u2019s State of the Union, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said New York and New Jersey\u2019s quarantine might be unnecessary. But that doesn\u2019t change the fact that the country\u2019s Ebola screening hasn\u2019t been adequate so far -- it missed Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed in the United States, who died Oct. 8. \"We had Mr. Duncan come in (to the United States) with an elevated temperature. We weren\u2019t checking it, and now we\u2019re playing catch-up,\" Issa said. The New York and New Jersey guidelines were put in place after a doctor in New York City tested positive for the disease Oct. 23. He arrived in New York Oct. 17 from Guinea, where he had been treating Ebola patients, and had been checking his temperature twice a day. It doesn\u2019t appear that this patient, Dr. Craig Spencer, was showing symptoms when he first arrived in the United States. But what about Duncan -- is Issa right in saying that he came to the United States with a fever (Issa's office did not respond to our request for comment.) Duncan\u2019s fever On Sept. 20, when Duncan arrived at Dulles International Airport in Washington from Liberia (via Belgium), American airports were not yet screening travelers for possible signs of Ebola. But Duncan went through screening Sept. 19 in Monrovia, Liberia, where he presented a temperature of 97.3 degrees -- so he didn\u2019t have a fever when he boarded the plane -- according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials who reviewed Duncan\u2019s airport screening record. (According to the National Institutes of Health, the normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and a fever starts at a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.) We (and Issa) can\u2019t know with certainty if Duncan had acquired a fever by the time he arrived at Dulles. But he did not report falling ill until several days later, when he went to the hospital Sept. 25 with a 100.1 degree fever. It was during this first visit to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital that Duncan wasn\u2019t examined appropriately. The nurse documented that Duncan had a temperature of 100.1 degrees. It was only after a physician examined him that she included in his record that he had recently arrived from Africa. He was discharged early the next morning. He returned to the hospital Sept. 28 and died there about 10 days later. We should note that Liberian authorities said Duncan lied on the airport Ebola screening questionnaire by answering \"no\" to questions about whether he had contact with an Ebola patient or cared for one or touched the body of someone who had died of Ebola. It was found out later that Duncan helped carry 19-year-old Marthalene Williams into a taxi to go to the hospital. She was seven months pregnant and was turned away at the hospital due to lack of space in the Ebola ward. She died several hours later. It is unclear whether Duncan knew of her diagnosis. Airport screenings Airport screenings in West African airports, like the one Duncan went through, have been going on since at least August. According to the CDC, exit screening might look different in each country but the basic elements are the same. All travelers must have their temperature taken, answer a questionnaire about their health and exposure history and are visually assessed for signs of potential illness. Travelers who show symptoms or signs of exposure are separated and assessed further which ultimately determines whether they are allowed to travel. Screenings are also taking place at airports in England, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Egypt, Canada and now the United States. The first week of October -- the week Duncan died -- the CDC and Department of Homeland Security instituted new airport screening guidelines to supplement the screening already taking place in West Africa airports. Travelers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone arriving at five major American airports now have to go through an Ebola screening process. After passport review, they will have their temperature taken and answer questions about possible exposure. If they show possible signs of Ebola or exposure, they will be passed on to a public health authority. If not, the traveler will receive information about self-monitoring for symptoms. The five international airports -- John F. Kennedy, Newark, O\u2019Hare, Dulles and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson -- already handled 94 percent of arrivals from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. On Oct. 21, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson announced that all travelers coming to America from those three countries would have to go through the five designated American airports. Our ruling Issa\u00a0said Thomas Eric Duncan came into the United States \"with an elevated temperature.\" According to the CDC, Duncan did not have a fever when he left Monrovia. At the time, American airports were not screening travelers, so there\u2019s no way for us (or Issa) to know definitively if he had a fever when he got to the United States. But he did not report falling ill until several days after arriving, when he went to the hospital with a fever. It\u2019s possible that even if current screening measures had been in place, Duncan would have passed without showing a fever or other symptoms. We rate Issa\u2019s statement ."}
{"claim_id": "38880", "claim": " Bounce fabric softener dryer sheets repel bugs like mosquitoes, gnats and flies. ", "explanation": "Bounce Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets Work as Bug Repellent ", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Household", "main_text": "The rumor that Bounce fabric softener dryer sheets work as an insect repellant is true, but it\u2019s also misleading. Bounce fabric softener is scented with oil that works as a natural insect repellant, but low concentrations of it. So dryer sheets contain a natural insect repellant, but probably not enough to effectively repel most insects. Scientists did, however, find that Bounce fabric softener dryer sheets work as an insect repellent for at least for at least specific kind of insect: fungus gnats. Fungus gnats were put inside a plastic container that had two smaller containers connected to each side of it. One of the side containers had a Bounce fabric softener dryer sheet inside of it, and the other had nothing, according to a study published by HortiScience. After several days, just 12-18% of the fungus gnats were found inside the container with Bounce fabric softener dryer sheets. Meanwhile, 33-48% of the fungus gnats were in the other container. The experiment was repeated five times and scientists concluded that \u201cBounce fabric softener dryer sheets do in fact repel\u201d fungus gnats. The scented oil in Bounce fabric softener dryer sheets that repelled fungus gnats is called linalool. Linalool, which is made from the oil of linaloe wood, is commonly used as an air freshener in household sprays and detergents. In higher concentrations, it\u2019s also used as a pesticide. In fact, the EPA approved linalool for use as pesticide in 2009: This notice announces the availability of EPA\u2019s final registration review decisions for the pesticides Trichoderma\u00a0species (case 6050) and Linalool (case 6058). Registration review is EPA\u2019s periodic review of pesticide\u00a0registrations to ensure that each pesticide continues to satisfy the statutory standard for registration, that is, that\u00a0the pesticide can perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the\u00a0environment. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that each pesticide\u2019s registration is based on current\u00a0scientific and other knowledge, including its effects on human health and the environment. But there are\u00a0trace amounts of linalool in Bounce fabric softener dryer sheets. Pesticides, meanwhile, have a 95% concentration of linalool. That means Bounce fabric softener dryer sheets do\u00a0contain a natural insect repellant, but probably\u00a0not enought to effectively repel insects\u00a0in most situations Comments"}
{"claim_id": "5803", "claim": "Suicide among veterans highest in western US, rural areas.", "explanation": "Suicide among military veterans is especially high in the western U.S. and rural areas, according to new government data that show wide state-by-state disparities and suggest social isolation, gun ownership and access to health care may be factors.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Access to health care, Health, Politics, North America, Veterans, Veterans affairs", "main_text": "The figures released Friday are the first-ever Department of Veterans Affairs data on suicide by state. It shows Montana, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico had the highest rates of veteran suicide as of 2014, the most current VA data available. Veterans in big chunks of those states must drive 70 miles or more to reach the nearest VA medical center. The suicide rates in those four states stood at 60 per 100,000 individuals or higher, far above the national veteran suicide rate of 38.4. The overall rate in the West was 45.5. All other regions of the country had rates below the national rate. Other states with high veteran suicide rates, including West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky, had greater levels of prescription drug use, including opioids. A VA study last year found veterans who received the highest doses of opioid painkillers were more than twice as likely to die by suicide compared to those receiving the lowest doses. The latest VA data also reaffirmed sharp demographic differences: Women veterans are at much greater risk, with their suicide rate 2.5 times higher than for female civilians. Among men, the risk was 19 percent higher among veterans compared to civilians. As a whole, older veterans make up most military suicides \u2014 roughly 65 percent were age 50 or older. \u201cThis report is huge,\u201d said Rajeev Ramchand, an epidemiologist who studies suicide for the RAND Corp. He noted that the suicide rate is higher for veterans than non-veterans in every single state by at least 1.5 times, suggesting unique problems faced by former service members. \u201cNo state is immune.\u201d Ramchand said it was hard to pinpoint specific causes behind veteran suicide but likely involved factors more prevalent in rural areas, such as social isolation, limited health care access, gun ownership and opioid addiction. Nationally, 70 percent of the veterans who take their lives had not previously been connected to VA care. \u201cThis requires closer investigation into why suicide rates by veteran status are higher, including the role that opiates play,\u201d Ramchand said. The dataset offers more detailed breakdowns on national figures released last year, which found that 20 veterans a day committed suicide. The numbers come from the largest study undertaken of veterans\u2019 records by the VA, part of a government effort to uncover fresh information about where to direct resources and identify veterans most at-risk. The department has been examining ways to boost suicide prevention efforts. \u201cThese findings are deeply concerning, which is why I made suicide prevention my top clinical priority,\u201d said VA Secretary David Shulkin. \u201cThis is a national public health issue.\u201d Shulkin, who has worked to provide same-day mental health care at VA medical centers, recently expanded emergency mental care to veterans with other than honorable discharges. The department is also boosting its suicide hotline and expanding telehealth options. Ret. Army Sgt. Shawn Jones, executive director of Stop Soldier Suicide, said veterans suicide is an issue that needs greater awareness to provide community support for those in need. Transitioning back to civilian life can be difficult for active-duty members who may return home with physical and mental conditions and feel unable to open up to friends or families. As a result, some veterans can feel overwhelmed by daily challenges of finding a job, buying a home and supporting a family. \u201cIt can be tough because the military is a close-knit community and you have that familial feel,\u201d Jones said. \u201cAs you transition out, you tend to lose that a little bit and feel like an island onto yourself.\u201d The attention on veteran suicide comes at a time when the VA has reported a huge upswing in veterans seeking medical care as they have returned from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Veterans\u2019 groups say the latest data may raise questions about the department\u2019s push to expand private-sector care. \u201cVeterans often have more complex injuries,\u201d said Allison Jaslow, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, citing limitations if civilian doctors don\u2019t understand the unique challenges of the veterans\u2019 population. If doctors don\u2019t ask the right questions to a veteran complaining of back pain, for instance, they may prescribe opioids not realizing the veteran was also suffering PTSD or brain injury after being blown up in a humvee, said Jaslow, a former Army captain. Expanding private-sector care and stemming veterans\u2019 suicide are priorities of President Donald Trump. In a statement this week as part of Suicide Prevention Month, Trump said the U.S. \u201cmust do more\u201d to help mentally troubled veterans. ___ Follow Hope Yen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hopeyen1"}
{"claim_id": "10277", "claim": "Drug for Immune Disorders Helps Alzheimer\u2019s", "explanation": "The biggest weakness was its failure to put the study results into any meaningful context for readers. It describes points on a symptom scale without telling us the significance of these changes. And it describes slowing the rate of brain shrinkage in what sound like impressive terms but without giving any context for readers to fully grasp whether it\u2019s truly impressive or not. We applaud the independent perspective sought from the Mayo Alzheimer\u2019s expert and its reminder \u2013 \"In the past few years alone, several Alzheimer\u2019s drugs that made it to this stage failed to pan out in further testing.\"", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The approach is described as \"expensive \u2014 about $2,000 to $3,000 per treatment. And patients in the study received infusions up to twice a month, depending on the dose, for 18 months.\" For reasons described in the Evidence criterion above, we don\u2019t think the story adequately explained what the study found. The story states: We wonder how well patients tolerate side effects of headaches, rashes and higher blood pressure. Problems here. The whole story of benefit is framed around two data points that are not explained in any meaningful context: So readers are supposed to take \u2013 on faith \u2013 that these are impressive changes, but they are never explained adequately. At least there was a somewhat-balancing comment at the end of the story from an independent expert. No overt disease-mongering of Alzheimer\u2019s Disease. The story explained that the study was funded by the drug company that makes the drug being studied. And it did seek opinions from two independent experts. There was no comparison between these results and other Alzheimer\u2019s research, except for the Mayo expert\u2019s reminder that \"In the past few years alone, several Alzheimer\u2019s drugs that made it to this stage failed to pan out in further testing.\" However, because of the importance of that reminder at the very end of the story, we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. We\u2019re told that IVIG is a decades-old drug. No extraordinary claims of novelty were made. There\u2019s no evidence that the story relied solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "25886", "claim": "\u201cThis virus has a cure. It is called hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax. I know you people want to talk about a mask. Hello? You don\u2019t need (a) mask. There is a cure.\u201d", "explanation": "A video from Breitbart shows a group of doctors airing unproven conspiracy theories about the coronavirus. Before social media platforms removed it, the video was viewed millions of times. President Donald Trump retweeted it. There is no known cure for COVID-19. And public health officials advise everyone to wear face masks in public to prevent the spread of the virus. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved hydroxychloroquine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Research on whether the drug could assuage symptoms is not conclusive.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Stella Immanuel, ", "main_text": "Millions of people, including the president of the United States, have seen or shared a video in which a doctor ly claims there is a cure for the coronavirus, and it\u2019s a medley starring hydroxychloroquine. The video shows several doctors in white coats giving a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. It persists on social media despite bans from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and it was published by Breitbart, a conservative news site. The July 27 event was organized by Tea Party Patriots, a conservative group backed by Republican donors, and attended by U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. In the video, members of a new group called America\u2019s Frontline Doctors touch on several unproven conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic. One of the most inaccurate claims comes from Dr. Stella Immanuel, a Houston-based primary care physician and minister with a track record of making bizarre medical claims, such as believing in alien DNA. \"This virus has a cure. It is called hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax,\" Immanuel said. \"I know you people want to talk about a mask. Hello? You don\u2019t need a mask. There is a cure.\" As of July 27, nearly 150,000 Americans had died because of the coronavirus. Could those deaths have been prevented by a drug that\u2019s used to treat lupus and arthritis? No. Immanuel\u2019s statement is wrong on several points. There is no known cure for COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no specific antiviral treatment for the virus. Supportive care, such as rest, fluids and fever relievers, can assuage symptoms. \"There is currently no licensed medication to cure COVID-19,\" according to the World Health Organization. In spite of Immanuel\u2019s anecdotal evidence, hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with other drugs is not a proven treatment (or cure) for COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved hydroxychloroquine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. In mid-June, the FDA revoked its emergency authorization for the use of hydroxychloroquine and the related drug chloroquine in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients. \"It is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ and CQ may be effective in treating COVID-19, nor is it reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risks,\" FDA Chief Scientist Denise M. Hinton wrote. The WHO and the National Institutes of Health have also stopped their hydroxychloroquine studies. Among the safety issues associated with treating COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine include heart rhythm problems, kidney injuries, and liver problems. While some studies have found that the drug could help alleviate symptoms associated with COVID-19, the research is not conclusive. Few studies have been accepted into peer-reviewed journals. And large, randomized trials \u2014\u00a0the gold standard for clinical trials \u2014\u00a0are still needed to confirm the findings of studies conducted since the pandemic began. In the video, Immanuel cited a 2005 study that found chloroquine \u2014 not hydroxychloroquine \u2014 was \"effective in inhibiting the infection and spread of SARS CoV,\" the official name for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. But the drug was not tested on humans, the authors wrote that more research was needed to make any conclusions, and SARS is different from COVID-19. Health officials advise everyone to wear masks in public. The reason why has to do with how the coronavirus spreads. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, they expel respiratory droplets containing the virus. Those droplets can then land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. Since some people infected with the coronavirus may exhibit no symptoms, public health officials say everyone should cover their faces in public \u2014\u00a0even if they feel well. \"The spread of COVID-19 can be reduced when cloth face coverings are used along with other preventive measures, including social distancing, frequent handwashing, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces,\" according to the CDC. In a viral video, Immanuel said there is a cure for COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine can treat it and people don\u2019t need to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus. All of those claims are inaccurate. There is no known cure for COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine is not a proven treatment, and public health officials advise everyone to wear face masks in public. Immanuel\u2019s statement is ."}
{"claim_id": "9043", "claim": "Postoperative wound monitoring app can reduce readmissions and improve patient care", "explanation": "This news release reports on a feasibility study of using a smartphone app to detect post-surgical infections that patients might not recognize on their own. The news release does an exemplary job of discussing the need for such supports as patient training and dedicated staff to monitor uploaded images and points out that the study lacks a cost analysis. However, the headline overreaches when it states that the app \u201ccan reduce readmissions and improve patient care,\u201d since this two-week study of 40 patients wasn\u2019t geared to do that. Post-surgical infections can cause pain, poor wound healing, and severe problems including death, research has showed. The release noted they\u2019re the most expensive hospital-acquired infection, costing an average of nearly $30,000 per wound-related readmission and an estimated $3-$10 billion annually. While smartphone apps might improve the ability of staff to monitor surgical wounds, news releases should point out the need to invest in a support structure \u2014 such as staff to train patients and monitor data \u2014 and should refrain from stating benefits that haven\u2019t been demonstrated.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "American College of Surgeons,post-surgical infection,wound monitoring app", "main_text": "The news release addresses the overall cost of post-surgical infections and the potential for cost savings using the monitoring app. The lead author of the study is quoted saying that preventing readmissions due to infection could lead to \u201csignificant savings to the health system,\u201d and the release notes that \u201ccapturing specific numbers related to cost-savings was not part of this study.\u201d The news release helpfully states that providers have to pay for training and in some cases smartphones for patients, and pay staff to monitor the data in a \u201cdedicated transitional care program.\u201d The the app itself is free for patients to download, which isn\u2019t explicitly mentioned. There\u2019s no mention of whether hospitals have to pay to use it. The news release reports \u201can overall data submission rate of 90.2 percent among participants, and submissions were reviewed within an average of 9.7 hours. During the study, seven wound complications were detected and one false negative was found.\u201d But with no control group and no long term outcomes studied, it\u2019s likely the benefits of the app are much more modest than these numbers suggest. Harms aren\u2019t explored. The app mentions that there was one false negative result among the 40 patients studied, but doesn\u2019t explain why this happened or what the consequence was. The release should have pointed out clearly that the study was not set up to test a hypothesis or look for any benefits or harms. It mentions that the study involved 40 vascular surgery patients over a two-week period, but does not acknowledge the weaknesses of such a small study and the fact that it did not compare those patients to a group who did not use the app. It also doesn\u2019t mention that the study authors acknowledge more research is needed with non-white patients. The news release does win some points for discussing in detail the need for hospitals to address the fact that not every patient has a smartphone or knows how to upload images to an app. There\u2019s no disease mongering. The news release states that support came from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and that lead author Rebecca L. Gunter, MD, is supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study mentions patients whose infections are detected during routine follow-up exams, but doesn\u2019t describe what steps are currently taken to catch post-operative infections. Do hospitals educate patients to recognize infections? Do staff follow up in any way, perhaps with phone calls? Those questions aren\u2019t answered. There\u2019s no discussion of how many hospitals are using this app. The release did discuss some of the practical aspects of implementation but nothing about whether such an app is available or if insurance will pay for any of the costs involved. The news release provides this quote from the study: \u201cWe have demonstrated that a population of complex and high-risk patients, many of whom are older adults and novice smartphone users, can complete this protocol with high fidelity and satisfaction.\u201d Wound management by \u201ctelemedicine\u201d is not unique but the use of cell phones is innovative enough to pass on this criteria. The study showed that patients who are given a phone and taught to use it can send pictures of their wounds. The headline overreaches when it states that the app \u201ccan reduce readmissions and improve patient care.\u201d The study\u2019s conclusion is far more nuanced: \u201cPreliminary results indicate the ability to detect and intervene on wound complications.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "9816", "claim": "Novel Stem Cell Treatment May Hold Promise for Type 1 Diabetes", "explanation": "This story highlights the novelty of an experimental diabetes treatment. Yet despite cautionary statements from an independent source, the story portrays a preliminary safety test as being much more than it is. The story also should have told readers that this approach to overcoming insulin resistance may not be relevant to the overwhelming majority of people with diabetes, who do not use insulin. It\u2019s also a bit misleading for the story to call this a \u201cclinical trial\u201d since there were only 3 controls and 15 patients. The history of medical research is littered with examples of treatments that seemed highly beneficial when tested in small numbers of patients, but then turned out to cause serious harms or failed to sustain the benefits when tested in larger numbers of people. This test was so small that the patients were outnumbered by the authors of the journal article. It is simply too soon to put much stock in these preliminary findings.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "stem cells", "main_text": "We\u2019ll rule this Not Applicable. The research into this potential treatment is so preliminary that it is difficult to estimate cost figures in the story. That said, the story gives readers the impression that the research is much farther along, at a point where we would normally expect some discussion of costs. The error here is the over-stretch on the effectiveness not the omission of cost data. This story does a good job reporting the results of this trial and it notes that patients in this trial reduced their use of insulin, but were not able to discontinue taking insulin shots. It includes cautionary statements from an independent expert who says that the trial didn\u2019t last long enough \u201cto declare victory over diabetes yet.\u201d But we can\u2019t give it a passing score here because it misleads readers about the important long-term health outcomes that people with diabetes really care about. The story claims that the reductions in blood sugar levels seen in these patients \u201cwould\u201d reduce the risk of long-term complications. These researchers did not look at rates of complications. Indeed, the trial was far too short to produce meaningful results about rates of heart disease, blood flow problems, skin ulcers or other complications of diabetes, so any claims about reductions in complication rates are mere speculation. This should have been framed as a preliminary safety study of a new approach that now needs to be tested in a randomized design with adequate numbers of subjects and duration to be able to truly say something about benefit or harm. Novel, promising, passed the first safety test. Period. To claim a treatment is safe after testing it in only a dozen patients at a single hospital in China is to ignore the long history of treatments that appeared to be beneficial after initial tests, then later revealed serious, even lethal, harms. Even though the researchers declare the treatment to be safe in their journal article, journalists should be skeptical of such broad claims that are based on such slim evidence. There is a vast gulf between stating that 12 individuals did not appear to be harmed during a 40-week trial and proclaiming that a treatment would be safe for millions of patients over the course of decades. In many aspects this story does convey the central point: that this small, preliminary trial offers supports for investigating a new way to treat one form of diabetes. However, readers are likely to believe the trial is far more conclusive than it actually is. Only near the end of the story is it mentioned that this trial was designed to look for safety issues. Even though the researchers were very enthusiastic, calling the results \u201cpowerful evidence\u201d in their journal article\u2026 and the story did include cautionary statements from an independent expert\u2026 this report would have been better if it had more specifically alerted readers to the important limitations that are inherent in this sort of small, short-term safety test. We\u2019re going to rule this one Not Applicable. Here\u2019s the issue: While not the sort of disease-mongering we usually watch out for, this story leaves readers misinformed by failing to make clear that the patients in this experiment do not have the kind of diabetes that has dramatically increased along with the rise of obesity. This test included only people with the rarer form of diabetes (Type 1) in which patients don\u2019t produce enough insulin. The story should have noted that it is unknown whether this treatment strategy might offer any benefit for the millions of patients with Type 2 (also known as insulin-resistant) diabetes. Yes, the story says the patients in the trial had Type 1 diabetes, but most readers probably don\u2019t know that most people with diabetes have Type 2. The most important outcome measure of this trial was a reduction in insulin use, but only about a quarter of people with diabetes in the United States use insulin. (www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/estimates11.htm) So readers are likely to have a greatly inflated sense of the number of people for whom this research is relevant. This is a point to consider, but we won\u2019t rule it unsatisfactory because of it. For the same reason, though, we can\u2019t give it a satisfactory score. This story includes important context from an independent source. There is no discussion of any potential conflicts of interest of the researchers, but lacking any clear evidence of conflicts, we will give the story a passing grade. However, at least one online biography of the lead authors mentions that he holds several patents. If he or any of the authors own patents or other rights to treatments ultimately developed from this research, readers should be informed. The story did not report that the trial was funded by the University of Illinois (according to the trial registration: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01350219). While academic institution funding may seem benign, many universities are actively engaged in licensing their discoveries or even creating companies to develop and market products of their labs, so even this source of funding may raise questions about financial entanglements. The story does of course mention insulin treatment. However, it tells readers that by reducing blood sugar levels this new treatment would reduce complications from diabetes. This trial did not look at complication rates. Until there is evidence developed about complication rates in patients using this new type of treatment it is impossible to claim it is superior to standard therapy. After all, even if patients use less insulin, that fact alone does not guarantee that they will have better long-term health outcomes. It is clear that this type of treatment is not yet available and no claims were made about a timetable for reaching the market. It is clear that this treatment is a new approach. The story does not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "29004", "claim": "Mountain Dew and other sodas contain a dangerous chemical known as brominated vegetable oil (BVO).", "explanation": "What's true: Following a growing number of consumer complaints, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola pledged to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from soft drinks in 2013 and 2014, but Mountain Dew soda still contains that ingredient. What's false: Studies have not proved that the levels of BVO found in sodas such as Mountain Dew have adverse health effects on humans.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Food, chemophobia, mountain dew", "main_text": "Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, has long been used as a food additive in the soft drink industry, primarily to help keep citrus-flavor oils suspended in beverages and prevent them from floating to the top of the fluid. BVO, which is vegetable oil bonded with atoms of the element bromine, was at one point commonly found in Mountain Dew and other popular citrus-flavored soft drinks such as Squirt, Fresca, Sunkist Peach, and Fanta Orange, and also in sports drinks such as Powerade. In recent years viral online pieces have described BVO as a \u201ctoxic chemical\u201d and urged consumers to avoid products such as Mountain Dew soda that contain it: Are you a Mountain Dew addict? Then know what you\u2019re drinking! BVO is a toxic chemical that is banned in many countries because it competes with iodine for receptor sites in the body, which can lead to hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, and cancer. The main ingredient, bromine, is a poisonous, corrosive chemical, linked to major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss.\u201dThere\u2019s flame retardant in your Mountain Dew. That soda with the lime-green hue (and other citrus-flavored bubbly pops) won\u2019t keep your insides fireproof, but it does contain brominated vegetable oil, a patented flame retardant for plastics that has been banned in foods throughout Europe and in Japan. Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, which acts as an emulsifier in citrus-flavored soda drinks, is found in about 10 percent of sodas sold in the U.S. \u201cAfter a few extreme soda binges \u2014 not too far from what many gamers regularly consume \u2014 a few patients have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine,\u201d according to a recent article in Environmental News. In a March 2018 Facebook post shared by more than 200,000 users, a woman reported being told by her doctor that the BVO\u00a0in Mountain Dew causes nerve damage and possibly blindness, and that her headaches and blurred vision could have been caused by drinking large amounts of the beverage:  Apart from a follow-up post saying subsequent tests showed that \u201csomething\u201d was causing \u201cpressure on her vision,\u201d the Facebook user reported nothing further about her condition or medical diagnosis. (We attempted to contact her for comment but received no reply.) The status of BVO differs in various parts of the world: It is allowed as a food additive in Latin American and North American countries (including the U.S. and Canada), but not in Japan or European Union countries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally classified BVO as a \u201cgenerally recognized as safe\u201d (GRAS) food additive in 1958, but that classification was withdrawn in the 1970s after studies linked the consumption of brominated oil with heart disease in rats. BVO was subsequently reclassified as an \u201cinterim food additive\u201d (pending the outcome of additional studies), with the use of BVO in food products limited to a concentration of 15 ppm: Based on data from early studies, the FDA yanked brominated vegetable oil from its Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list for flavor additives in 1970, said Douglas Karas, a spokesman for the FDA. BVO bounced back after studies from an industry group from 1971 to 1974 demonstrated a level of safety.The Flavor Extract Manufacturers\u2019 Association petitioned the FDA to get BVO back in fruit-flavored beverages, this time as a stabilizer, which is its role today. After evaluating the petition and other data, the FDA in 1977 approved the interim use of BVO at 15 ppm in fruit-flavored beverages, pending the outcome of additional studies. \u201cThis decision was based on the highest No Observed Effect Levels from the existing safety studies and the estimated daily intake,\u201d Karas said. \u201cAlthough there were doses that showed adverse effects in the animal studies, there also were lower doses in which there were no adverse effects observed.\u201d As a condition of interim approval, the industry group submitted additional safety studies to the FDA. \u201cThe findings from these studies supported the safety of BVO in beverages at a level of 15 ppm in fruit-flavored beverages,\u201d Karas said. \u201cIts use as a flame retardant does not preclude its use as a food ingredient so long as the food use is safe.\u201d More than 30 years later, brominated vegetable oil\u2019s approval status is still listed as interim. Changing the status would be costly and \u201cis not a public health priority for the agency at this time,\u201d Karas said. (Soft drinks that contain BVO now typically contain about half the concentration allowed by law.) Some scientists in recent years have called for a re-examination of BVO\u2019s safety as a food additive using newer technologies that were not available when the issue was last assessed by the FDA: Now some scientists have a renewed interest in this little-known ingredient, found in 10 percent of sodas in the United States.After a few extreme soda binges \u2014 not too far from what many gamers regularly consume \u2014 a few patients have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine. Other studies suggest that BVO could be building up in human tissues, just like other brominated compounds such as flame retardants. In mouse studies, big doses caused reproductive and behavioral problems. Reports from an industry group helped the U.S. Food and Drug Administration establish in 1977 what it considers a safe limit for BVO in sodas. But some scientists say that limit is based on data that is thin and several decades old, and they insist that the chemical deserves a fresh look. \u201cCompounds like these that are in widespread use probably should be reexamined periodically with newer technologies to ensure that there aren\u2019t effects that would have been missed by prior methods,\u201d said Charles Vorhees, a toxicologist at Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital Medical Center, who studied BVO\u2019s neurological effects in the early 1980s. \u201cI think BVO is the kind of compound that probably warrants some reexamination.\u201d Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, was involved with the petition to remove BVO from the \u201csafe\u201d list in 1970. He said it\u2019s time for the FDA to make a decision, one way or the other. \u201cIs it harmful at the amounts consumed? Probably not,\u201d Jacobson said. \u201cBut it would be nice if the FDA did a thorough review of the literature and finalized an approval or a ban.\u201d A few medical cases involving patients who suffered deleterious effects due to excessive bromine levels in their systems have been attributed to consumption of soft drinks containing BVO: In 1997, doctors were stumped by the case of a man who came to the emergency room with headaches, fatigue, and a loss of muscle coordination and memory. He continued to get worse over time, and eventually he lost the ability to walk. A blood test found sky-high levels of bromide. The source? The man had been drinking between 2 and 4 liters of soda containing brominated vegetable oil every day. He needed dialysis but eventually recovered.In 2003, doctors treated a man who developed swollen hands with oozing sores. They diagnosed a rare case of the skin condition bromoderma after blood tests revealed his bromine was about twice normal limits. The man admitted drinking about 8 liters of Ruby Red Squirt, which contains BVO, each day. However, those cases involved subjects who drank what would generally be considered an excessive amount of soda on a regular basis (i.e., between two to eight liters daily). So far, no studies have conclusively documented serious health concerns in human beings caused by the consumption of moderate amounts of beverages containing BVO at the concentrations typically used in such products. Whatever health risks may or may not be associated with the consumption of BVO, warnings\u00a0about its presence in popular sodas such as became largely outdated (with the exception of Mountain Dew). In January 2013 PepsiCo (while acknowledging that they \u201cdon\u2019t find a health and safety risk with BVO\u201d) announced that in response to consumer concerns they would discontinue the use of BVO in their Gatorade line of drinks. The company stated at the time they \u201chad no plans to remove [BVO] from Mountain Dew and Diet Mountain Dew,\u201d but in May 2014 they reversed course,\u00a0stating that they were working to remove BVO from all their drinks, including Mountain Dew, Fanta and Powerade. Beverage giant Coca-Cola joined ranks with that announcement: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo said they\u2019re working to remove a controversial ingredient from all their drinks, including Mountain Dew, Fanta and Powerade.Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have stood by the safety of the ingredient, which is used to distribute flavors more evenly in fruit-flavored drinks. But their decisions reflect the pressure companies are facing as people pay closer attention to ingredient labels and try to stick to diets they feel are natural. Several major food makers have recently changed their recipes to remove chemicals or dyes that people find objectionable. While food companies stress that the ingredients meet regulatory requirements, their decisions reflect how marketing a product as \u201cnatural\u201d has become priority and a competitive advantage. Coca-Cola also said that it\u2019s removing the ingredient from all its drinks to be consistent in the ingredients it uses around the world. In addition to Powerade, Coca-Cola uses BVO in some flavors of Fanta, Fresca and several citrus-flavored fountain drinks. The company said BVO should be phased out in the U.S. by the end of the year. Coca-Cola said it would instead use sucrose acetate isobutyrate, which it noted has been used in drinks for more than 14 years, and glycerol ester of rosin, which it said is commonly found in chewing gum and drinks. PepsiCo did not provide a timeline for the removal of BVO from all soft drinks in their May 2014 announcement. As of 16 January 2019, BVO was still a listed ingredient in\u00a0Mountain Dew on the beverage\u2019s PepsiCo web site nutrition page and on the product packaging itself:   We contacted PepsiCo to inquire about the status of Mountain Dew and BVO but did not receive a response."}
{"claim_id": "8744", "claim": "Both real and virtual colonoscopies work: report.", "explanation": "Doctors who perform colonoscopies should  not be worried that they may lose business to so-called virtual  colonoscopies, despite reports that both approaches work  equally well at detecting colon cancer, a gastroenterology  expert said on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Details of a study showing both techniques work equally  well were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on  Wednesday. Partial results had been presented at medical  meetings. Dr. Daniel Johnson of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale,  Arizona and colleagues did both virtual colonoscopies and  standard colonoscopies on 2,500 volunteers. They found that the  virtual technique, which uses an X-ray computed tomography or  CT scanner, detected 90 percent of precancerous polyps 10  millimeters or larger. Regular colonoscopies are done by gastroenterologists using  a flexible lit tube passed through the bowel. A device on the  end can remove polyps for testing right away. But with a virtual colonoscopy, also known as CT  colonography or CTC, there is no sedation, so patients can  quickly go back to their normal activities, the cost is  significantly lower than a colonoscopy, and there is less risk  of the bowel being punctured. Both require drinking strong laxatives, a major complaint  among patients. And if lesions are spotted during a virtual  colonoscopy, the patient will require a standard procedure to  remove them. Virtual colonoscopies can also be uncomfortable because  they require briefly inflating the bowel with carbon dioxide  while the patient lies on a scanner. \u201cBoth techniques are going to miss some lesions, both  polyps and cancers,\u201d Johnson said in a telephone interview. \u201cIn our study, there was a patient with a 35 millimeter  mass that was missed in colonoscopy but found in CT  colonography. None of these tests are perfect.\u201d    Colorectal cancer kills 52,000 people in the United States  each year, according to the American Cancer Society. Most  Americans are advised to begin getting regular colonoscopies at  age 50. Only about half of the 70 million Americans at risk for  colon cancer are getting screened now, and the choice of CTC  may encourage more people to be tested, he said. Gastroenterologists \u201care nervous that a lot of business will be  taken away from them,\u201d Johnson said. But the availability of a noninvasive method \u201chas actually  increased our colonoscopy volume,\u201d said Dr. Brooks Cash of the  American Gastroenterology Association and a gastroenterologist  at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland,  where both techniques are used. That means more people need a follow-up colonoscopy to  remove any polyps that could grow into tumors. Cash estimated that colonoscopies typically account for 50  to 60 percent of a gastroenterologist\u2019s income. \u201cIt appears to be a very reasonable, very accurate test for  colon cancer screening,\u201d he said in a telephone interview. \u201cIt  will get them (patients) into the store, if you will. Then they  can use either test.\u201d    Johnson said CTC uses half the radiation of a standard CT  scan."}
{"claim_id": "31840", "claim": "An x-ray image shows a snake that entered a woman's stomach by crawling through her vagina.", "explanation": "An x-ray image showing a slender creature inside a woman's pelvic area has been shared with a variety of backstories attached to it.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fauxtography, snakes, x-rays", "main_text": "A purported x-ray image supposedly showing a long slender creature inside of a person\u2019s stomach has been attached to a wide variety of stories over the years:   This x-ray shows the case of an unfortunate woman who happened to have a snake crawl into her vagina, slither through the fallopian tube, and out past the ovary into her body cavity. It survived unknown for three days until the snake started eating her appendix. In addition to the aforementioned tale of a snake crawling into a woman\u2019s vagina and eating her appendix, this image has also been accompanied by stories about tapeworms, eels, and anal insertions, and is frequently included in galleries exhibiting examples of the \u201cweirdest things found inside the human body.\u201d For example, the website Bold Sky used this image in March 2016 to illustrate a story about a man who inserted an eel into his anus: Lolz! This is the funniest of all. A man from China admitted himself to a hospital when he accidentally got a live eel stuck inside his anus. He said that he was inspired by the porno world so much that he wanted to try something unique. Doctors claim that the eel was alive when the man was being operated, but it died shortly after it was removed. Although some news stories have chronicled tales (accurate or not) of people eating tapeworms to lose weight and inserting eels or snakes into their anuses in pursuit of sexual thrills, the above-displayed image did not stem from any such activities. This image originally appeared on Cyberium.net, a web site dedicated to strange and manipulated digital artwork, circa 2002. The artwork on the web site was divided into punny categories, such as HumAnimals, WoManipulations, and surRealities: \u201cThe images you find here are the result of digital manipulation of photos that try to capture the reality of the world in which we live, my purpose consists in recycling their meaning to explore a different hidden reality, my mind \u2026\u201d The artist behind this picture, who identified himself only as \u201cGuido\u201d on the web site, initially posted the artwork under the title \u201cOriginal Sin\u201d:  While Guido didn\u2019t provide additional information about this particular image, he did explain in the web site\u2019s FAQ section how he created most of his work:  Q: Which graphic tools you use? Always \u2026 PaintShop Pro (by Jasc) is my preferred tool to draw and manipulate , easy and fast and powerful \u2026 i like it \u2026 sometimes\u2026 sometimes\u2026PhotoShop is the tool i use to put various effects on images. PhotoShop is the tool i use to put various effects on images , Eye-Candy filters are my preferred .Morpher2 is a simple shareware program to do Morphing . Morpher2 is a simple shareware program to do Morphing .PowerGoo is a simple and funny program for picture deformation . PowerGoo is a simple and funny program for picture deformation .Normally an image is the result of work with 2 or more different tools\u00a0 Normally an image is the result of work with 2 or more different tools. These programs run under Microsoft Windows operating systems . We also located the snake x-ray that Guido used in his digitally manipulated creation, showing that the reptile was not inhabiting anyone\u2019s innards at the time it was scanned:"}
{"claim_id": "11286", "claim": "Stem cell experiment lets diabetics forgo insulin", "explanation": "The NBC broadcast nicely contrasts the demands that glucose monitoring and insulin shots impose on Type I diabetes patients with the tremendous uncertainty associated with experimental stem cell treatments that might free patients from these daily routines. It summarizes the treatment\u2019s apparent benefits and potential harms, as well as ethical concerns about exporting research on dangerous treatments to countries such as Brazil where patients may not fully understand the risks. If the broadcast has a weakness, it is that it fails to mention the limitations inherent in any small, nonrandomized, nonblinded study with short follow-up that investigates a new treatment in patients with a chronic disease requiring lifelong care. (See \u201cEvidence\u201d above.) Even if the treatments were relatively safe and conducted in the U.S., viewers should understand that such studies are awash in potential biases and should always be approached with caution.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no discussion of the cost of this experimental procedure, and although it is an experimental procedure, some attempt could have been made to project costs. The broadcast states that 14 of 15 patients \u201cseem to be cured because they have not needed insulin shots for as long as three years.\u201d This is the main finding of the research and a reasonable summary of the therapy\u2019s benefit. The broadcast outlines the harms that this \u201cpotentially very dangerous procedure\u201d might cause (e.g. infection) as a result of knocking out a patient\u2019s immune system. The broadcast explains that 14 of the 15 patients who received the experimental treatment no longer need injections of insulin to control their diabetes. Though the broadcast cites experts urging caution about the safety of the new therapy, no one points out that even if the procedure were safe, the remarkable findings could be the result of chance or bias. As the researchers point out in their published manuscript, these findings will need to be validated in studies that randomly assign patients to both the new treatment and a comparison therapy (such as standard care or a sham), assess their health using clinicians who do not know which treatment each patient received, and conduct tests to explain how exactly the new treatment seems to work. Because there is often a period of remission after the onset of Type I diabetes in which patients appear to improve without extraordinary measures, doctors will also have to follow both groups of patients for a longer period of time. The broadcast, though cautious (and limited by TV\u2019s self-imposed time constraints), does not explain this. There is no evidence of disease-mongering. The broadcast balances statements from a cautious but hopeful coauthor of the new research with those of both a concerned academic ethicist and the mother of a young girl who has Type I diabetes. The broadcast transcript mentions insulin injections, the standard of care for Type I diabetes. In addition, the video shows a seven-year-old girl managing her disease through a daily routine of glucose monitoring and insulin shots\u2013an effective way to illustrate the discipline and hardships the current standard therapy imposes on children with the disease, as well as why new approaches would be so welcome. The story makes it clear that this is an experimental treatment and not widely available. The broadcast suggests that this form of stem cell therapy is new. This is true, though experimentation with similar treatments for Type I diabetes go back to the 1990s. No obvious use of text from the press release."}
{"claim_id": "27176", "claim": "Jon Voight once said \"I pray all Americans who have seen and felt the meltdown of America with the Obama years, to please fight for Donald Trump", "explanation": "Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay about $1 billion to resolve the bulk of lawsuits claiming the company sold defective metal-on-metal hip implants that ultimately had to be removed, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, 2016 election, donald trump", "main_text": "The agreement resolves over 95 percent of the 6,000 cases in which surgeons extracted the company\u2019s Pinnacle implants because they left patients unable to walk and in pain, according to the report. The $1 billion total includes an earlier settlement for more than $400 million and there are still about 4,500 pending suits by patients with artificial hips that were not made totally of metal or haven\u2019t been surgically removed, Bloomberg added. In February, Reuters reported J&J\u2019s DePuy Orthopedics unit, which made the products, was in settlement talks to resolve most individual lawsuits alleging the company\u2019s metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implants were defective and caused severe injuries. The implants were said to cause a build-up of metal ions in the blood, causing groin pain, allergic reactions, bone erosion and tissue death. In 2013, DePuy ceased selling the metal-on-metal Pinnacle devices after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strengthened its artificial hip regulations. The Pinnacle system continues to be sold with other material combinations. Texas-based plaintiff lawyer Mark Lanier, one of the main attorneys for the consumers, declined to comment. Johnson & Johnson did not immediately respond to Reuters\u2019 request for comment."}
{"claim_id": "15122", "claim": "Daraprim is still underpriced, relative to its peers.", "explanation": "Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, said, \"Daraprim is still underpriced, relative to its peers.\" By his own estimates, Daraprim is cheaper than cancer and rare disease drugs, which he considers Daraprim\u2019s \"peers.\" By others, Daraprim costs about the same, if not more. Yet experts told us cancer and rare disease drugs are not Daraprim\u2019s peers. Daraprim\u2019s patent expired more than six decades ago and is a niche generic drug. The same cannot be said of cancer treatments.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Corrections and Updates, Health Care, Public Health, PunditFact, Martin Shkreli, ", "main_text": "The CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company that jacked up the cost of a life-saving drug from $13.50 to $750 essentially overnight, says the new price tag is still below market value. Martin Shkreli, a 32-year-old former hedge fund manager, was singled out as the man behind Turing\u2019s controversial decision. So Shkreli took to the airwaves to defend himself, insisting that the price hike was altruistic or, at the very least, not unique. \"You only need less than 100 pills so at the end of the day, the price for treatment \u2013 to save your life \u2013 was only $1,000,\" Shkreli told Bloomberg TV on Sept. 21, 2015. \"These days, in modern pharmaceuticals, cancer drugs can cost $100,000 or more, rare disease drugs can cost half a million dollars. Daraprim is still underpriced, relative to its peers.\" Daraprim is used to treat a parasitic infection known as toxoplasmosis, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0considers\u00a0a leading cause of death attributed to food-borne illnesses. The\u00a0Toxoplasma\u00a0parasite can be transmitted through contaminated food, \u00a0water, and kitchen utensils as well as contact with infected cat feces. While 60 million Americans carry the\u00a0parasite with no symptoms, it can become deadly for\u00a0those with weakened immune systems. We were curious about Shkreli\u2019s claim that Daraprim\u2019s new price was comparable to \"its peers.\" (Shkreli has since said that he would lower the price amid the outrage, but he did not reveal the new price.) Neither Shkreli nor Turing Pharmaceuticals got back to us for this fact-check, but we found that while other treatments are certainly expensive, Shkreli is committing a  equivalence when he compares them to Daraprim. Shkreli is right that other treatments can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars: for example, the cancer drug Revlimid can cost $150,000 per year while Kalydeco, a drug for cystic fibrosis, can cost $300,000 a year, according to the New York Times. By Shkreli\u2019s calculations, the new price of treatment \u2013100 pills of Daraprim for $750 a pop \u2013 is $75,000. But that\u2019s a low estimate, according to the Infectious Disease Societies of America. It estimated a new annual cost of $336,000 to $634,000, depending on dosage. Beyond cancer and rare disease treatments, few drugs cost more than\u00a0$100,000, said David Howard, a professor of health policy and management at Emory University. So the high price Shkreli cited \"isn\u2019t a good benchmark for deciding whether a drug is underpriced,\" he said. Numbers aside, experts told us the real problem with Shkreli\u2019s claim is Daraprim and cancer drugs shouldn\u2019t be compared to each other. \"They're not peers,\" said Amir Attaran, a professor of health law and policy at the University of Ottawa. \"He could have said, \u2018A bar of gold cost $1 million, so Daraprim is underpriced.\u2019 He's comparing fish and fowl.\" Simply put, cancer and rare disease drugs are almost always under patent, while Daraprim\u2019s expired in 1953. And unlike Daraprim, those drugs are the products of expensive, recent research. \"The comparison is irrelevant. Cancer drugs were developed by companies that invested hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars in research and development,\" said John Lamattina, a former senior vice president at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., who currently writes about the industry for Forbes. Daraprim, meanwhile, \"is generic drug. There\u2019s no research and development they had to do,\" said Gerard Anderson, a professor of health economics and finance at Johns Hopkins University. The research and development for Daraprim happened long before Shkreli bought the rights. It\u2019s the trade name for pyrimethamine, a drug created by Nobel Prize-winning scientist Gertrude Elion that can be used to treat malaria as well as toxoplasmosis. Though no generic drug company has taken up manufacturing Daraprim (there are only about 2,000 U.S. patients who use the drug every year), it\u2019s been available for reproduction for more than 60 years. That means its peers should be other generic drugs like ibuprofen, penicillin, and antibiotics, experts told us. The proposed 5,000 percent price increase on Daraprim is indicative of a larger trend among more niche generic drugs. A joint House and Senate investigation, partly led by Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, found that the annual cost hikes for 10 generic drugs ranged from 390 to 8,200 percent. This \"anarchy pricing\" can be attributed to the failure of the free market and a lack of government regulation, says Alan Sager, a professor of health policy and management at Boston University. \"Essentially, this is an example of where the drug pricing system for generic drugs has totally failed,\" Anderson said. \"In the past, generic drugs have prices that are low because of competition. Anyone can make it with FDA approval. The only thing you can compete on is price. (Shkreli\u2019s) found something where there's no competitors.\" Anyone can legally make Daraprim, but for the time being, Turing\u2019s monopoly gives it\u00a0free reign to impose very high prices. As for Shkreli\u2019s claims that the profits will go to research for a better version of Daraprim, experts aren\u2019t buying it. \"Turing has not got a single clinical trial underway. Shkreli\u2019s not testing new drugs of any kind for toxoplasmosis. He's got nothing registered,\" Attaran said. \"No one needs a new drug for toxoplasmosis anyways. It works so well bloody well.\" Our ruling Shkreli, the CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, said, \"Daraprim is still underpriced, relative to its peers.\" By his own estimates, Daraprim is cheaper than cancer and rare disease drugs, which he considers Daraprim\u2019s \"peers.\" By others, Daraprim costs about the same, if not more. Yet experts told us cancer and rare disease drugs are not Daraprim\u2019s peers. Daraprim\u2019s patent expired more than six decades ago and is a niche generic drug. The same cannot be said of cancer treatments. We rate his claim . Correction: An earlier version of this fact-check misspelled\u00a0Martin Shkreli's name."}
{"claim_id": "35257", "claim": "March 2020 was the first March without a school shooting in the U.S. since 2002.", "explanation": "What's true: According to one government database, the U.S. has had at least one shooting on K-12 school properties every March from 2003 through 2009, and every March since (but not including) 2010. What's false: However, the way that various U.S. government agencies and organizations define a \"school shooting\" varies greatly, making any numerical claims problematic. Also, by the standards of one key government database, the U.S. had eight \u2014 not zero \u2014 school shootings in March 2020.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, state leaders across the U.S. ordered widespread school closures in March 2020. In the weeks that followed, millions of students spent their days at home instead of in classrooms. Some teachers and staff moved lessons online, and administrators locked the doors to school buildings so the general public could not enter. The closures were among the most dramatic steps by state leaders to combat the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 58,300 people globally as of this writing in mid-April 2020. About 56.6 million students registered for elementary or secondary school classes in the U.S. at the start of the 2019-20 academic year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. While a disruption to students\u2019 learning, the shutdowns in America may have provided an unintended benefit, beyond limiting people\u2019s exposure to the virus. On April 13, 2020, a journalist tweeted to his some 49,600 followers: \u201cLast month was the first March without a school shooting in the United States since 2002.\u201d  The reporter, Robert Klemko, quickly gained Twitter popularity among Americans who believe federal and state leaders should enact stricter gun laws, including former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t have taken a pandemic to make this possible,\u201d her Twitter account wrote in a retweet of Klemko\u2019s post. Meanwhile, Facebook users shared screenshots of Klemko\u2019s tweet, and one Instagram account for a website that brands itself as a fact-checking service on that platform posted a photograph of a law-enforcement officer monitoring students boarding a school bus with Klemko\u2019s claim as overlay text. Among media sites, CBS News published a story stating the assertion as fact. \u201cMy teens said this is the first time they have relaxed. No need to be hyper vigilant of every unusual sound, can just focus on school work,\u201d one person tweeted. \u201cBoth grew up with regular Active Shooter Drills since kindergarten.\u201d The claim about school shootings since 2002 is twofold: It asserts that no school shootings occurred in the U.S. in March 2020 and that every March between 2003 and 2019 documented at least one such incident. But because agencies across government and the news media do not share a consistent way for tracking and defining school shootings, the truth of both assertions depends on whom you ask. The U.S. Secret Service and\u00a0FBI, for example, provide an explanation of factors that contribute to school shootings but do not keep a running list of all on-campus gun crimes. Academics and school officials often rely on news media reports for their research, though journalists may not cover every shooting. The nation\u2019s biggest guns-rights group, the National Rifle Association, does not publish a running tally of shootings in schools, yet it has convened researchers to compile recommendations on how to avoid such incidents, like other organizations. Meanwhile, a leading opponent of the NRA \u2014 the lobbyist group Everytown for Gun Safety \u2014 has tracked all \u201cincidents of gunfire\u201d in K-12 schools and colleges, including suicides; shootings in which no one suffered injuries; and cases where the victims or gunmen may not have any connection to the school, since 2013. Those prominent advocacy groups aside, the least partisan and most comprehensive source of school-shooting data appears to be the \u201cK-12 School Shooting Database\u201d sponsored by the U.S. Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Updated daily by emergency-management researchers, the database records \u201ceach and every instance in which a gun is brandished, fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time of day, or day of week,\u201d according to its stated methodology. Its website summarizes the tricky situation analyzing school-shooting data as follows: Without a common methodology for data collection, individual data sources are limited in both validity and utility. Furthermore, there is no consensus for what actually defines a school shooting \u2026 Based on the differences among all available reporting platforms, there is currently no single source for objective and accessible data from which school administrators, law enforcement, and public officials can draw to inform their decisions. With that as background, administrators of the CHDS-sponsored K-12 database documented eight incidents fitting its definition of a \u201cschool shooting\u201d in March 2020. Local news media reports affirm those findings. The incidents include: Regarding the claim that March 2020 was the first March without a school shooting since 2002, the data is more murky. The CHDS-sponsored database lists at least one incident in U.S. K-12 schools in March of every year from 2003 through 2009, and every year from 2011 through 2020, but none in 2010. Supporting that finding, tallies of K-12 school shootings by the for-profit National School Safety and Security Services consulting firm and the advocacy group the National School Safety Center\u00a0do not show a March 2010 incident. However, those sources only consider shootings on U.S. elementary, middle and high school properties. If you expand the scope of research to also include shootings on college campuses, Ohio State University documented a deadly shooting on March 9, 2010. According to the New York Times\u2019 coverage of the incident, officials said a custodian of the school shot and killed a co-worker before killing himself in a maintenance building. Another person was wounded in the gunfire. We reached out to Washington Post reporter Klemko \u2014 the author of the viral claim \u2014 to understand where he got his numbers. He said he did include cases involving post-secondary institutions, rather than only focusing on K-12 schools."}
{"claim_id": "5451", "claim": "Disneyland tower suggested as Legionnaires\u2019 disease source.", "explanation": "A cooling tower that provides mist to make Disneyland visitors comfortable was the likely source for 22 cases in a Legionnaires\u2019 disease outbreak last year near the theme park, a health official testified this week.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Legionnaires disease, North America, California, Travel, Disease outbreaks", "main_text": "Most of those who got sick visited the park in the fall of 2017. Disneyland has denied it was the source, pointing to three infected people who had been in the city of Anaheim where Disneyland is located, but not at the park itself. One of them died. Dr. Matthew Zahn of the Orange County Health Care Agency gave testimony Tuesday before an appeals board judge at the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is investigating the case. Zahn said tests around the time of the outbreak showed high levels of Legionella bacteria in two Disneyland cooling towers, which are part of an air conditioning system that releases mist, the Los Angeles Times reported. He said contaminated droplets likely spread to people in the park and beyond. Disneyland is appealing state fines, saying the outbreak\u2019s source was not scientifically determined. Upon questioning, Zahn said he could not be 100 percent certain that Disneyland was the source without additional testing. The disease is caused by bacteria that can grow in man-made water systems. People can develop pneumonia after breathing in contaminated vapor. A young girl who was diagnosed with Legionnaires\u2019 after visiting Disneyland last fall has filed a lawsuit against the theme park. \u201cThe facts don\u2019t support these claims and the lawsuit has no merit,\u201d Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said Tuesday. ___ Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/"}
{"claim_id": "8177", "claim": "Italy threatens to ban outdoor exercise as coronavirus deaths surge.", "explanation": "The Italian government threatened on Wednesday to ban all outdoor exercise as the coronavirus death toll soared to 2,978 and frustration grew over the number of people defying a nationwide lockdown order.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Italy was the first Western country to impose severe restrictions on movement to contain the illness. But a week after the curbs were imposed, the disease is still spreading and hospitals in the north are at breaking point. The northern region of Lombardy, on the frontline of the battle against the respiratory pandemic, asked recently retired health workers on Wednesday to return to work and help colleagues overwhelmed by the crisis. \u201cI make a heartfelt appeal to all the doctors, nurses and medical personnel who have retired in the last two years...to help us in this emergency,\u201d regional Governor Attilio Fontana told a news conference. The national death toll surged by 475 over the past 24 hours, the largest increase in numerical terms since the outbreak first came to light on Feb. 21. The total number of confirmed cases grew by 4,207 to 35,713. \u201cI believe that in the coming hours we will have to consider the possibility of a complete ban on outdoor activities,\u201d Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora told state broadcaster RAI. The government lockdown banned all non-essential travel, but allowed people to take solitary daily exercise, if needed. Looking to enforce the restrictions, police have stopped more than one million people over the past week and booked almost 43,000 for violating the rules, the interior ministry said. \u201cIf the call to stay at home is not heeded, we will be forced to impose an absolute ban,\u201d he said. The real number of deaths could be much higher than the official figure, after it emerged that fatalities in nursing homes - where dozens of patients are dying each day - are not being registered as coronavirus-related because none of the sick are being tested. \u201cThere are significant numbers of people who have died but whose death hasn\u2019t been attributed to the coronavirus because...they weren\u2019t swabbed,\u201d said Giorgio Gori, mayor of the town of Bergamo, one of the worst hit areas. While many Italian cities have been largely empty over the past week, photographs have circulated on social media of public transport filling up in the financial capital Milan, suggesting that some people are going back to work. \u201cEvery time you leave your home, you are putting yourself and others at risk,\u201d said Fontana. Lombardy, like many regions, is rushing to build makeshift hospitals to add badly needed intensive-care units. However, the move is being complicated by the fact that doctors, nurses and hospital porters are themselves falling sick. Some have died. The Gimbe Foundation research group, using data supplied by the national health authority, said that between March 11-17, some 2,529 health workers had been diagnosed with coronavirus - 8.3% of the national total of coronavirus cases. Officials warned that if the incidence of new cases did not slow in the coming days, they might extend the lockdown already in place, both in terms of the types of restrictions and how long they will continue. In successive decrees earlier this month, the government ordered restaurants, bars and most shops to close until March 25. In addition, it shut schools and universities and told everyone to stay home unless absolutely essential until April 3. Since the restrictions were most recently ramped up on March 12, the number of deaths has more than tripled. \u201cI do not know if the measures will be extended beyond April 3. We will make a decision based on the numbers and events. I cannot rule it out. We will see in the coming days,\u201d said Infrastructure Minister Paola De Micheli."}
{"claim_id": "2703", "claim": "Consumer goods CEOs in Davos hot seat over plastic waste.", "explanation": "Consumer products companies including Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) and Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) are emerging as new targets for global activism, with green groups blaming them for fouling the ocean with plastic and activists urging governments to regulate them.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "At the annual World Economic Forum this week, the bosses of these and other firms like Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) and PepsiCo (PEP.O) have been on the defensive, in a way reminiscent of how coal and oil chiefs came under pressure over climate change in previous years. \u201cI see parallels to coal,\u201d Greenpeace executive director Jennifer Morgan told Reuters after she and Procter & Gamble boss David Taylor had a feisty exchange at a joint news conference at the forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. \u201cIt\u2019s clear they are trying to not be regulated,\u201d she added. The CEOs at Davos have vowed to cut their use of plastic packaging through a range of initiatives, including a joint recycling scheme unveiled during the forum. But Greenpeace used that announcement to call for plastic packaging bans and a goal of \u201cpeak plastic\u201d, saying recycling was not enough. About 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into oceans every year, killing marine life and entering the food chain, according to the U.N. Environment Program. Data like that, and TV shows such as documentary-maker David Attenborough\u2019s Blue Planet, have taken the issue to the top of the summit agenda. Attenborough, 92, was honoured with a special award at the start of the annual event, where environmental concerns were a running theme alongside gloom and doom over the U.S.-China trade war and a slowdown in the global economy. \u201cI sometimes wonder if we\u2019re in the branded litter business, branded trash,\u201d Unilever Chief Executive Alan Jope half-joked after he was asked during a panel debate if consumers were interested in the source of the company\u2019s products. In 2017 at Davos, Dove soap maker Unilever promised to ensure all of its plastic packaging was recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. \u201cTwo years ago at Davos, Unilever was in front on plastics. At the moment it\u2019s very high on our radar to do something about plastic waste above and beyond...the rest of the industry.\u201d  Dozens of big companies have made various pledges to reduce plastic packaging, including a plan by 40 firms to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastic packaging in Britain by 2025. \u201cWe will roll out new tech next year that will reduce the amount of packaging per kilo,\u201d PepsiCo Chief Executive Ramon Laguarta said at Davos, adding that Pepsi was trying to move more toward reusable cans and glass. PepsiCo, Unilever and European supermarket chains Carrefour (CARR.PA) and Tesco (TSCO.L) are among firms that signed up to the pilot waste-reduction programme unveiled in Davos this week. It will deliver products such as orange juice in reusable bottles to shoppers and pick up the empties for cleaning and re-use. \u201cWe can learn about the business model, and the consumer reaction to this and find solutions that last,\u201d P&G\u2019s Taylor said at the announcement. At one Davos panel debate, human rights lawyer Vivek Maru, founder of legal advocacy group Namati, asked PepsiCo\u2019s Laguarta and the head of The Dow Chemical Company, Jim Fitterling, if they could be hit with lawsuits for the damage their companies had done, similar to litigation against the tobacco industry. \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult question to answer,\u201d Fitterling said. \u201cThe plastic waste got there through consumer behavior and people putting it out into the environment.\u201d  The plastic debate has also caught the eye of the insurance industry, which has taken stands at times on environmental issues. Some major insurers refuse to provide cover for new coal-fired power stations due to climate-change concerns, for example. \u201cIt\u2019s not a big reinsurance topic at this stage,\u201d Christian Mumenthaler, who runs the world\u2019s second-largest reinsurer Swiss Re (SRENH.S), told Reuters at Davos. \u201cThe mechanism where insurance would be involved would be on the liability policies of these companies. If the risk becomes very big and they get sued \u2014 not specifically plastic but any company \u2014 for their behavior, this would flow into our risk assessment and they could start to have trouble getting insurance,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s heating up very quickly and we are already seeing some action from companies, so let\u2019s see. I would hope they would act quickly enough, radically enough to be a good case of change.\u201d  Unilever and PespiCo chief executives bristled at Greenpeace\u2019s call at Davos for more bans on plastic packaging, saying that the problem called for multiple solutions, from recycling and re-use to new packaging technologies. Last month, the European Union passed measures to ban throw-away plastic items such as straws and polystyrene cups by 2021. Greenpeace welcomed the move but called at the time for an EU-wide target to reduce consumption of food containers and cups. Greenpeace\u2019s Morgan said the issue could not be solved through industry initiatives alone. \u201cMany of the businesses behind these initiatives and others are expanding production of single-use plastic and are looking to grow in markets that can\u2019t take more plastic,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cThere\u2019s a real risk that products like this become a distracting side show to generate positive (public relations).\u201d  Brune Poirson, secretary of state for ecology, sustainable development and energy in France, also took a swipe at the companies, saying they should take the initiative. \u201cBecause you\u2019re not doing that, we have to intervene,\u201d Poirson said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a waste of time, a waste of resources and it\u2019s not being a real responsible organization.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "28134", "claim": "Liberal feminist Katie Hopkins advocated for driving euthanasia vans around to kill off the elderly.", "explanation": "What's true: Hopkins did make the comment in an interview in 2015. What's false: The comments were not made in 2017, when the story was being shared on disreputable web sites; Hopkins is considered a right-wing commentator, not a \"liberal feminist\".", "label": "true", "subjects": "Uncategorized, daily mail, fake outrage, katie hopkins", "main_text": "On 29 August 2017, click bait web site WorldPoliticus.com, which regularly posts heavily sensationalized stories, reported that British media personality Katie Hopkins (who has made a name for herself by making outrageous comments) advocated for driving a van around with the purpose of euthanizing elderly people: Many people would gladly have Katie Hopkins removed from TV shows. The liberal British TV personality was part of The Apprentice, and made a shocking statement. Hopkins doesn\u2019t really know how things work, and she better stop acting like an expert. The liberal supports the euthanasia of old people, and her excuse is the lamest thing you will ever hear. According to Hopkins, old people are nothing but a burden to society, and euthanasia is the only solution to her problem. She even suggested that communities should have \u201ceuthanasia vans\u201d that would roll across the country and collect elderly people. Yes, this is the most disgusting thing I\u2019ve ever heard. Hopkins, a tabloid columnist, did make the comments \u2014\u00a0but she did so two years ago, in an interview published on 6 August 2015 by the British program \u201cRadio Times\u201d. On the topic of elderly people and dementia, Hopkins had the following exchange with interviewer Michael Buerk: We\u2019d been getting on terribly well, I thought. She\u2019s smart, funny; attractive, too, in a beaky sort of way. She\u2019d been rattling on, saying out loud the kind of things the rest of us feel guilty even thinking. She giggled a lot. I did a fair bit of sniggering myself, looking around furtively to make sure nobody was noticing. Then I made the mistake of asking the obvious question about her latest television venture, If Katie Hopkins Ruled the World\u2026 I couldn\u2019t not ask her: well, OK, what would she do if she did? \u201cRight,\u201d she said, saucer blue eyes looking me up and down, evidently seeing a problem to be solved. \u201cWe just have far too many old people.\u201d Did I know that one in three NHS beds was being blocked by the elderly and demented? A third of our hospitals filled up by people who don\u2019t even know they\u2019re there? She\u2019d soon put a stop to that. \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous to be living in a country where we can put dogs to sleep but not people.\u201d Her solution? \u201cEasy. Euthanasia vans \u2013 just like ice-cream vans \u2013 that would come to your home.\u201d After they\u2019d finished in the hospitals, presumably. \u201cIt would all be perfectly charming. They might even have a nice little tune they\u2019d play. I mean this genuinely. I\u2019m super-keen on euthanasia vans. We need to accept that just because medical advances mean we can live longer, it\u2019s not necessarily the right thing to do.\u201d I stuttered something about not being entirely with her on this. \u201cNot with me on that? Is it because you\u2019re old?\u201d I told you she was smart. Smart enough to be making a fair old living being rude about people, quite often to their faces. It\u2019s a strange career for a conformist convent schoolgirl, whose first ambition was to join the Diplomatic Corps. Other than the perennial need for outrage-driven clicks, it\u2019s unclear why the 2015 comments have been resurrected in 2017, but as of 5 September 2017, the story had been posted on several junk sites with no citation to the original interview. Hopkins is generally considered a right-wing commentator, per RationalWiki. Although it\u2019s unclear what her true personally held views are, Hopkins has made a name for herself by \u201cpunching down\u201d: Katie Hopkins is a writer-broadcaster, former British reality TV contestant and singularity of awfulness. She is known for her right-wing views expressed on television, newspapers, and on Twitter. She has been rude about migrants, Scots, Muslims, people with dementia, the lower classes, and many other individuals and groups. In fairness, it\u2019s unclear how much of her output is designed to wind up the idiots who\u2019ll complain about anything, how much is genuine hatred for those more needy than herself and how much is both. Hopkins now writes columns for a British tabloid, where she regularly rails against immigrants; Hopkins made headlines in mid-2017 when she was dragged by the rest of the UK press for traveling to Sicily and taking selfies with \u201cDefend Europe\u201d, a group of white supremacists who chartered a boat in an unsuccessful attempt to hamper non-governmental organizations like Doctors Without Borders from rescuing stranded migrants in danger of drowning in the Mediterranean Sea."}
{"claim_id": "9833", "claim": "DHEA hormone may help women through menopause: study", "explanation": "The scientists involved in this hormone study claim to have \u201crobust evidence\u201d of benefits for women\u2019s sex lives but then also caution that the sample size is too small to be certain. We wish the story had taken a little more time to help readers decide what to believe and that it had included, in particular, information about costs and conflicts of interest. This is especially important given one of the researcher\u2019s past histories with working closely with pharmaceutical companies to help them promote their products. Also, pulling quotes from a news release without attribution is not best practice. Hormone treatments are among the most litigated and most controversial drugs on the market. Readers need to understand the full context around any new development in hormone treatment, and they also need to understand what might be driving the science behind the scenes.", "label": "false", "subjects": "menopause", "main_text": "Costs are missing from the story, and, given that these are well established products, cost information could have been explained. The story does a nice job specifically explaining the benefits or lack thereof. It says, \u201cAfter 12 months, all the women on hormone replacements had improvements in menopausal symptoms, but those taking vitamin D and calcium did not show any significant improvement. At the start of the trial, all groups had similar sexual activity, but after the year, those taking calcium and vitamin D scored an average of 34.9 on the questionnaire scale, while those taking DHEA had a score of 48.6, showing that those on DHEA had more sexual interest and activity.\u201d By presenting the actual scores, readers are able to see how close the scores were and decide for themselves whether the increased benefit was worth the risk of possible side effects. The story explains the potential harms involved in taking hormone treatments, saying, \u201csales of HRT drugs have fallen sharply since a large study in 2002 found higher rates of ovarian cancer, breast cancer and strokes in women who took the pills, and the search has since been on for alternatives.\u201d But the story does not address any potential harms of DHEA, which was the subject of the story. The story signals up high that the study was limited in scope. It explains the basic study design quickly and competently. \u201cFor this trial, a team of researchers led by Andrea Genazzani of the University of Pisa followed a group of 48 post-menopausal women with troubling symptoms,\u201d the story says. \u201cOver a year, 12 women took vitamin D and calcium, 12 took DHEA, 12 took standard HRT and 12 took a synthetic steroid called tibolone which is used to alleviate menopausal symptoms.\u201d  The story does not engage in disease mongering. The article does not quote any outside sources, which we know can be driven by deadline demands. The bigger problem with the story, and it\u2019s a problem shared by many stories about hormone treatments, is that it does not acknowledge the authors\u2019 conflicts of interest. Dr. Andrea Genazzini, for example, has worked with pharmaceutical companies on multiple articles that were ghostwritten by the companies\u2019 marketing firms. You can find this by looking in the Drug Industry Document Archive. We know that it\u2019s tough to cover all the bases when juggling multiple stories in a day, but we hope that more reporters will take the time to at least do a name check on researchers involved in studies of hormone therapy, antidepressants and other drugs that have been the subject of lawsuits and federal investigations. There is a wealth of information in the archive, and readers deserve to know more about it. The story mentions several alternative treatments to hormones. It says, \u201cAmerican researchers said in January that the antidepressant Lexapro, made by drugmaker Forest Laboratories, significantly cut the number and severity of hot flushes in menopausal women, and other antidepressants including GlaxoSmithKline\u2019s Paxil and the Pfizer drugs Prozac and Effexor also have been found to be effective.\u201d But it seems strange that the story refers only to these brand name products and does not mention any of the generic medications such as fluoxetine and citalopram that have also been proven to reduce hot flashes. This issue, and the lack of cost information, make this story less helpful to consumers than it might have been. The availability is implied, but the story could have been more explicit about how readers might purchase the specific drugs that were studied or whether they were in specific trial stages for this type of treatment. In fact, tibolone is not available in the U.S. though it is available in Europe. DHEA is sold as a supplement over the counter. There are no claims of novelty made here. The quotes in the story come from the press release issued by the journal (posted here by News Medical)."}
{"claim_id": "21520", "claim": "Joseph Cryan Says direct shipment of wine \"makes underage drinking as simple as a mouse click.", "explanation": "Assemblyman Joseph Cryan says direct shipment of wine would allow underage residents easy access to alcohol", "label": "false", "subjects": "Alcohol, New Jersey, Government Regulation, Joseph Cryan, ", "main_text": "You can do a lot of things with the click of a mouse. End a relationship. Destroy a career. Forward funny pet videos to your friends. Add get alcohol when you\u2019re underage to the list of possibilities if a bill allowing wineries to ship directly to New Jersey consumers becomes law, said Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union). Cryan wrote an op-ed criticizing legislation in the state Senate \u00a0that would allow direct shipment of wine. Cryan has sponsored a bill that would amend the state\u2019s licensing laws for wineries but does not allow direct shipping. And the debate over shipping wine is certain to raise at least one concern: underage drinking. \"Direct shipment provides a virtual store for teens to buy alcohol they would otherwise be prohibited from buying at liquor stores. It makes the face-to-face purchase transaction practically irrelevant; and makes underage drinking as simple as a mouse click,\" Cryan wrote in an op-ed posted on CourierPostOnline.com on Aug. 21. Can the under-21 crowd get drunk with the click of a mouse? PolitiFact New Jersey found it\u2019s not that easy. Cryan\u2019s deputy chief of staff, Dave Jenkins, sent PolitiFact New Jersey a 2005 report from an arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support the claim. The report said \"the Internet acts as a general store\" where teenagers can \"get hold of almost anything,\" including beer, wine and liquor, but also marijuana, prescription drugs and \"crack dealer locator services.\" Though the report raises concerns about what teenagers can access online, it does not address underage consumers ordering wine through a licensed winery. A 2003 study by the Federal Trade Commission and a 2010 report from the Comptroller of Maryland -- that noted the difficulty of proving a cause and effect relationship in this case -- found little to no evidence of an increase in underage drinking due to direct shipment of wine. The Maryland report said, \"The reasons for this may be that: (1) \"wine\" is not the drink of choice for youth; and (2) direct shipment of wine is costly and time-consuming.\" Jenkins called the Maryland report \"useless\" because its conclusion \"only recognizes the need for a better method of evaluation.\" Other studies show, and experts said, that underage consumers looking for alcohol probably aren\u2019t going to buy wine. An April report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and a 2006 report by Columbia University\u2019s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse both concluded that wine is not the first choice for underage drinkers. Marilyn Aguirre-Molina, professor of clinical population and family health at Columbia University\u2019s Mailman School of Public Health, said, \"teens are going online for everything imaginable, but something like alcohol -- which requires a credit card, an address to mail it too, as well as patience until it arrives -- online purchase of wine is a drag and hassle, especially if it\u2019s the least preferred of alcoholic beverages.\" Even if someone younger than 21 wanted to order a bottle of wine and successfully placed that order online, Cryan\u2019s claim starts to unravel when the product is packaged. FedEx and UPS require packages containing wine to be labeled, saying they contain alcoholic beverages. Also, both companies require the signature of an adult 21 or older upon delivery. The U.S. Postal Service does not ship wine. Cryan\u2019s deputy chief of staff said it\u2019s lawmakers\u2019 responsibility to ensure underage individuals do not get access to alcohol. \"We cannot depend upon the policies of FedEx, or others to properly deny those underage from delivery. We must be proactive, not reactive. What if FedEx changes their policy tomorrow?\" he wrote in an email. Joanne Tetlow, a division staff attorney with the Comptroller of Maryland's field enforcement division who compiled the agency\u2019s report on direct wine shipment, said since \"we don\u2019t license consumers like we do retailers\" states that allow direct shipment of wine are relying on the shipping companies. And there is a chance those measures will fail. \"Do we believe it represents a threat? Absolutely,\" said Michael Scippa, public affairs director for Alcohol Justice, a California-based industry watchdog. He said age verification online and by delivery companies are \"two areas where it seems easy to or possible to bypass the law.\" The ruling  Cryan claimed that allowing wineries to ship their product directly to consumers makes \"underage drinking as simple as a mouse click.\" But even if an underage individual can order a bottle of wine online, the two major shipping companies in the U.S. require an adult signature in order to deliver the package. Cryan\u2019s claim exaggerates a legitimate concern, but we can\u2019t ignore the hint of truth in the statement -- that shipping wine directly to homes provides another opportunity for underage access. We rate his statement . To comment on this ruling, go to NJ.com."}
{"claim_id": "8553", "claim": "Dutch woman aged 107 survives coronavirus.", "explanation": "A 107-year old Dutch woman has recovered from the coronavirus, probably becoming the oldest survivor of the pandemic in the world.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Cornelia Ras fell ill on March 17, the day after her 107th birthday, Dutch newspaper AD reported, after attending a church service with other residents of her nursing home on Goeree-Overflakkee, an island in the southwest of the country. She and 40 others at the service were subsequently diagnosed as carrying the virus. Twelve of that group have since died, but Ras was told by her doctors on Monday that she had beaten the infection. \u201cWe did not expect her to survive this\u201d, her niece Maaike de Groot told the newspaper. \u201cShe takes no medicines, still walks well and gets down on her knees every night to thank the Lord. From the looks of it, she will be able to continue to do so.\u201d     Prior to Ras, the oldest widely documented coronavirus survivor was Bill Lapschies, a 104-year-old American."}
{"claim_id": "32874", "claim": "Doors singer Jim Morrison has been found alive in a Paris retirement home.", "explanation": "This website is satirical in scope and intent. It provides fake news and social criticism in a satirical setting. If this offends you, you might want to consider doing something else with your time rather than looking at the Internet. Really, the quality of your life will improve dramatically. Our intention is not to fool anyone, but if you do get fooled,  don\u2019t sweat it. Please have fun and lighten up and watch out for Snopes.com, we\u2019re not sure they\u2019ve had all their vaccinations.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Uncategorized, doors, jim morrison", "main_text": "On 17 March 2016, the Nevada County Scooper web site published an article reporting that Jim Morrison, the Doors singer/songwriter who passed away in Paris (under somewhat mysterious circumstances) in 1971 at age 27 had been found alive in a Paris retirement home:  According to Reuters and the Associated Press International, James Douglas Morrison, the lead singer of the rock group, \u201cThe Doors,\u201d is alive in a Paris retirement home. Morrison, who rose to the heights of rock legend in the late 1960\u2019s, was said to have passed away in the bathtub of his Paris apartment on July 3, 1971. The fact that there was no autopsy and no one who claimed to have ever seen his corpse, the legend, mystery, and controversy surrounding the Lizard King has continued to swell. Reuters Paris beat reporter, Belda Sauv\u00e9, who has been investigating various Morrison rumors for the past 45 years, broke the story last evening and sat down for a Scooper exclusive. \u201cI was contacted by a nurse from Petites Soeurs des Pauvres, an assisted living hospital for the infirmed,\u201d Ms. Sauv\u00e9 told the Scooper. \u201cThis nurse informed me that she was caring for a patient named Jacques Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The patient, who is suffering from alcoholism and liver and kidney failure, as well as moderate dementia, told her he was the grandson of the famous French post-impressionist artist, Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec. Everyone believed his story because they knew that the senior Toulouse-Lautrec was a raging alcoholic that cavorted with prostitutes.\u201d  Neither Reuters not Associated Press (nor any other legitimate news agency) reported on this story, however, because it isn\u2019t true. This tale is purely the invention of the Nevada County Scooper, a site described by its disclaimer as being \u201csatirical in scope and intent\u201d:"}
{"claim_id": "10447", "claim": "Drug may prevent lung cancer, study finds", "explanation": "Does the pressure to meet a certain volume or quota of stories force some news organizations to feel they must report on abstracts and news briefings from medical/scientific meetings? If so, we suggest that a paradigm shift is in order. Read the full review to see why. Coverage of conference presentations needs caveats about the preliminary nature of the evidence. The story had barely any data,\u00a0not a word from an independent source,\u00a0and left out potential harms and costs.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "No price tags. A New York Times article from 2005 discussed the expense of drugs like Tarceva. According to drugstore.com, the regimen used in the study costs $4700 a month. Iloprost isn\u2019t cheap, either. No data are presented for the iloprost study. As this was the lead item in the article, we have to give an Unsatisfactory rating. Even though\u00a0preliminary\u00a0data from a conference presentation has to be taken with a skeptical eyebrow, the public learns even less from a vague, flat, non-quantified summary of the benefits. Some data are presented for the erlotinib study. No harms of iloprost or erlotinib are mentioned. In the\u00a0iloprost study, 11% of subjects receiving the drug reported serious adverse events. That\u2019s a pretty big omission. Both halves of the story were good to point out the number of subjects and placebo control groups in each study. The venues for presentation and trial phases are critical pieces of information, but terms like Phase II aren\u2019t meaningful to most people. They should have been explained. Regarding the iloprost study, the marquee topic, the story fails to point out that Phase II data reported at conferences are preliminary. Although the article acknowledges that further study is needed, it simply quotes the abstract and provides no context. It should\u2019ve been clearer that conference abstracts haven\u2019t gone through full peer review process. It also\u00a0doesn\u2019t explain, related to the key finding, what it means to have significant improvement in \"endobronchial dysplasia.\" The study looked at changes in lung tissue. From the abstract, it doesn\u2019t seem that study made any clinical assessments or diagnoses. In other words, the study didn\u2019t tell us which subjects did and did not ultimately develop lung cancer. While the drug may prove effective towards that end, this study doesn\u2019t tell us. Also missing from the details on the iloprost study was the fact that the study didn\u2019t enroll just smokers and ex-smokers: it enrolled those at increased risk of lung cancer because they had abnormal cells in their sputum. According to one study, most but not all smokers have this risk factor. The second half of the story begins by citing vague, unnamed research about myo-inositol in the prevention of lung cancer. No evaluation of the quality of this evidence was provided, nor was there a way for readers to find out more. Then we move to a published study of erlotinib maintenance therapy for patients with advanced lung cancer. We\u2019re unsure how it\u2019s connected to the previous half of the article, as the heading is simply \"Italian research.\" The reporting of this study is slightly better than the iloprost coverage, including some actual data. But without caveats for the studies discussed previously, we\u2019re led to think the three studies are of equal high quality. Most readers will not be able to decode terms like \"Phase 2,\" \"Phase 3,\" \"presented to a meeting,\" and \"reported in Lancet Oncology.\" If the author had decided to cover a smorgasborg of disparate lung cancer news, which there\u2019s nothing wrong with, it should not have implied that the first study was on equal footing to the second. It would have also been good to note whether the \"little\" differences in the erlotinib study were statistically significant. (They were.) An independent source could\u2019ve spoken to the clinical significance of these results. (For example, the\u00a0accompanying\u00a0Lancet Oncology\u00a0editorial\u00a0suggests that they were only compelling enough to change therapy for the subgroup who had EGFR mutations.) The article doesn\u2019t engage in disease-mongering. Independent sources were entirely absent. An independent voice might have added the missing caveats to the preliminary nature of the iloprost data, the fact that the results had already been presented last year, etc. For the coverage of the\u00a0erlotinib study,\u00a0independent appraisal might have added some objective context beyond taking the investigators\u2019 claim that their study shows that more clinicians should follow their strategy. The independent source could have been the Lancet Oncology\u00a0editorial\u00a0that accompanied the erlotinib study, which discussed some potential limitations in this approach in clinical practice, e.g., regarding EGFR mutations and a history of chemotherapy treatment. Finally, an unaffiliated voice may have pointed out the history and context:\u00a0in April, the FDA used the results of the erlotinib study to approve Tarceva for the use in maintenance therapy, and not without\u00a0some controversy. It was against the recommendation of the FDA\u2019s advisory panel, who voted 12-1 vote against approval. (See this article for more details.) The story makes the publication of this study in the journal sound like a bombshell in a vacuum. No conflicts of interest were identified. The erlotinib study was funded by a drug company. As the first study did not show that the drug can prevent cancer, no alternative needs to be mentioned. The story did mention a natural supplement that was recently studied for prevention; we think this nod was so fast and vague, it was more confusing than helpful. It almost felt like a non sequitur. The story mentions that\u00a0less than half of patients\u00a0with\u00a0successfully treated lung cancer currently receive maintenance therapy thereafter. Besides no treatment, none of the alternatives are mentioned. The story gets a marginal satisfactory. In the first half, we\u2019re told of inhaled iloprost\u2019s availability for certain indications, which don\u2019t include the prevention of lung cancer. It could have been a lot clearer that the oral formulation is not currently available to patients; right now, we can only tell that by inference given the indications and brands mentioned for inhaled and IV formulations are mentioned. In the second half, we\u2019re told that erlotinib is currently sold as Tarceva. It would have been good to note its indications, which were expanded in April to cover the approach used in this study because of the results of the study. A mixed bag here. The story establishes that iloprost is currently not approved for the prevention of lung cancer. It\u2019s unclear about the novelty of the oral formulation in any indication. Also,\u00a0it seems that the study was already\u00a0reported at a different conference\u00a0in August 2009, which had some\u00a0press coverage. There may have been further analysis, but the conclusion seems to have been the same. It speaks to newsworthiness of the 2010 presentation. Regarding erlotinib, the story tells us that less than half of patients with successfully treated lung cancer currently receive maintenance therapy thereafter. What\u2019s missing is that Tarcvea is already approved for this use, due to earlier access to the results of the Italian study. It\u2019s a pretty important piece of information, and it would\u2019ve put the news in much more context. We can\u2019t be sure of the extent to which the story may have relied on a news release. We do know that it didn\u2019t quote any independent sources."}
{"claim_id": "1422", "claim": "UK cost agency rejects leukaemia drug from J&J and AbbVie.", "explanation": "A new leukaemia drug viewed by industry experts as a future blockbuster has been rejected by Britain\u2019s healthcare cost-effectiveness agency NICE, which said it could not be confident the medicine represented an effective use of resources.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Imbruvica has a list price of 55,954.50 pounds ($78,000) a year, although it is being offered at an undisclosed discount to the National Health Service by European supplier Janssen, a unit of Johnson & Johnson. Janssen said on Wednesday it was \u201cextremely disappointed\u201d by the draft recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which contrasted with decisions in 48 other countries to fund the medicine. Imbruvica is the first in a new class of cancer drugs known as Burton\u2019s tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Excitement over its prospects prompted AbbVie to buy Pharmacyclics, which developed the medicine with J&J, for $21 billion last year. AbbVie expects it to sell $5 billion annually by 2020. AstraZeneca, meanwhile, acquired a rival drug in the same class by purchasing 55 percent of privately held Acerta Pharma for $4 billion in December."}
{"claim_id": "10501", "claim": "Certain foods may be the best medicine for lowering \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol", "explanation": "This story was about a study comparing a special vegetarian diet containing a\u00a0\u201cportfolio\u201d of cholesterol-lowering foods (e.g. nuts, soy, margarines fortified with plant sterols) with standard dietary advice for preventing heart disease (e.g. cut out saturated fat). There was plenty to like about this story,\u00a0including comments from two excellent independent sources which added valuable context to the piece. The story also makes the very important point that this study looked only at a surrogate marker of heart disease risk, LDL cholesterol, and not actual heart disease outcomes. But\u00a0the story didn\u2019t provide crucial information about\u00a0costs or availability of the diet components and it didn\u2019t fairly\u00a0describe\u00a0how\u00a0difficult it would be\u00a0for most\u00a0people to maintain this kind of diet. These mistakes are compounded by a glaring misinterpretation of the study which is trumpeted in the headline \u2014 i.e. that the diet\u00a0tested in the study lowered LDL cholesterol \u201cmore than statin drugs.\u201d \u00a0Many people at risk of heart disease don\u2019t want to take cholesterol-lowering drugs, can\u2019t take them because of troubling side effects, or don\u2019t achieve their targets on drug therapy alone. Others may have\u00a0cholesterol levels above target but below the range where statin therapy is indicated. Diet-based interventions such as this \u201cportfolio diet\u201d represent an important potential alternative for these patients.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "health food claims,Los Angeles Times", "main_text": "Will following this special diet cost patients more than what they spend on food today? A look at some of the pricey components \u2014 soy milk, tofu, supplemented margarine, etc \u2014 suggests that it might. That\u2019s an important consideration that the story doesn\u2019t address. The story is badly flawed by its suggestion that the portfolio diet is more effective than statin drugs for lowing LDL cholesterol. The headline claims that the diet may be the \u201cbest\u201d medicine for lowering LDL and the subhead says\u00a0the diet\u00a0lowers LDL \u201cmore than statin drugs.\u201d In the text, it is suggested that the authors of the study said the diet can lower LDL cholesterol to levels\u00a0\u201chalf that seen by many patients who take statins.\u201d The\u00a0study authors\u00a0said no\u00a0such thing. They said that the cholesterol reduction observed with the diet was about half that seen with some early statin drugs, meaning that the drugs are about twice as effective as the diet for lowering LDL. Newer statin drugs are quite a bit more effective for lowering LDL. This is a critical misreading of the study. The story did not mention potential harms of the diet. Although those on the portfolio diet did not have significantly more adverse events than those on the control diet, some allergy-type reactions did occur that were probably related to the diet components (soy, tree nuts). The story should have made some reference to safety. Mixed bag here, which we\u2019ll ultimately call\u00a0satisfactory, as there was sufficient detail for the reader to get a sense of the intervention, the participants, and the main results. Also, the story earns high marks for explaining that LDL cholesterol is a surrogate endpoint and that the study did not actually determine whether the diet resulted in fewer heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems. This is a crucial point, because we do have good evidence that statin drugs, given to the right people,\u00a0help prevent heart attacks. Ultimately, we care a lot more about heart attacks than we do the numbers on a laboratory test. But the story is quite\u00a0misleading when it suggests that understanding and implementing the portfolio\u00a0diet in everyday life is \u201cpretty easily done.\u201d Implementing the diet is one thing, but staying on it is another. As the researchers acknowledge in their paper, the diet was \u201ccomplex\u201d and the study had a \u201chigh\u201d attrition rate of 22.6% after only 6 months. That rate surely would have increased with longer duration of follow-up. Many other studies attest to the difficulty people have staying on healthy diets that are arguably less demanding than this plan, which lists \u201ctofu bake with ratatouille\u201d as a representative dinner. And if people can\u2019t stay on the diet, they won\u2019t see the benefit. The story didn\u2019t exaggerate the impact of heart disease or try to sell treatment to those who don\u2019t need it. We\u00a0applaud the inclusion of comments from two well-known independent experts on diet and heart disease, Steve Nissen and Walter Willett. However, the story did not adequately identify funding conflicts. The study was partially funded by Unilever, which\u00a0makes margarine containing plant sterols (one of the\u00a0cholesterol-lowering components of the portfolio). In addition, many of the study authors reported receiving\u00a0grant funding or had other relationships with Unilever and other organizations with a commercial interest in the study. The study being covered was a comparison of the portfolio diet with standard dietary advice for preventing heart disease. Comparisons with statins (though erroneous) are also made, but since the points for this problem were docked elsewhere, we\u2019ll award a satisfactory here. Although most of the foods consumed by study participants are probably available in most areas, those in poor urban and rural areas may have trouble finding what they need to eat a nutritionally adequate diet when following the portfolio principles. (The diet relies on a lot of soy-based meat replacements.) A bigger problem may be finding a health professional who can\u00a0instruct patients\u00a0in how to follow the diet in a\u00a0healthful way. Doctors in\u00a0the U.S. are not reimbursed for providing dietary advice, and so don\u2019t have much incentive to counsel patients on this kind of diet plan. Also, many uninsured patients do not have access to a dietitian who could do even the \u201cless intensive\u201d two-session intervention described in the story. The story should have at least\u00a0mentioned some of these issues. The story doesn\u2019t directly refer to previous studies\u00a0of the portfolio diet, which have reported similar benefits. And\u00a0thus it may give readers the impression that this\u00a0approach is more novel than is actually\u00a0the case. On the other\u00a0hand, the story does note that the various components of the diet have well known\u00a0\u201ccholesterol-busting\u201d properties. A close call here, but since the story is factually correct when it says this was the first study to test the diet in a real-world comparison (even if it doesn\u2019t mention the previous studies), we\u2019ll give the benefit of the doubt. The story was not based on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "28016", "claim": "Bricks of cocaine washed ashore in Florida after Hurricane Dorian. ", "explanation": "What's true: A brick of cocaine was found on a beach in Florida as Hurricane Dorian began to impact the area. What's false: A large amount of cocaine was found in a duffel bag on a Florida beach before the storm. What's undetermined: It's unclear if Hurricane Dorian played any part in these drugs washing up on shore.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "On Sept. 10, 2019, social media users encountered a video posted by @NowThisNews that reported bricks of cocaine had washed ashore on a beach in Florida after Hurricane Dorian: Hurricane Dorian washed up bricks of cocaine on Florida\u2019s coast pic.twitter.com/ApEtNvR7tb \u2014 NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 10, 2019  While the described incident may seem somewhat strange, the video was based on genuine news reports. Days earlier, CNN reported that Melbourne City police found a brick of cocaine on a beach after a beach-goer reported it as a \u201csuspicious package.\u201d The officer had the package\u2019s contents tested and confirmed that they were cocaine:  A beachgoer found the drugs, pointing out a \u201csuspicious package\u201d to a patrol officer monitoring the beach, Melbourne city spokeswoman Cheryl Mall told CNN. The officer took the package into custody, and the contents were tested, confirming the cocaine. This brick of cocaine was found a few days after law enforcement discovered another stash of cocaine on Cocoa Beach. Local news outlet Florida Today reported that officers found a duffel bag containing 15 kilos of cocaine worth about $300,000: Cocoa Beach police are asking beachcombers in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian to be cautious about suspicious packages after a duffel bag stuffed with 15 kilos of cocaine washed ashore over. The find \u2014 worth at least $300,000 \u2014 came before Dorian\u2019s violent stirrings in the Atlantic led to a single brick of cocaine being found along a beach in Melbourne. \u201cThere is a possibility that more will come onshore. Especially now with these conditions. It could be coming from anywhere,\u201d said Manny Hernandez, spokesman for the Cocoa Beach Police Department. \u201cWe\u2019re telling people to be cautious and not to grab or handle it because if there is an opening, it can go into your pores and you can overdose,\u201d he said. Cocoa Beach Police Sgt. Manny Hernandez told us that this duffel bag of cocaine was found \u201cpre-Hurricane Dorian\u201d on Aug. 30, 2019. It\u2019s unclear if these two packages were connected. However, as some of the cocaine washed ashore prior to the hurricane.\u00a0 Here are the facts regarding the cocaine that washed up in Cocoa Beach (Pre-hurricane Dorian): On Friday, August 30, 2019 (pre-hurricane Dorian) at approximately 17:16 (5:16pm), Cocoa Beach Police responded to the Beach End of S. 6th St, Cocoa Beach, FL., in reference to a suspicious package that washed up on shore. The red, travel style duffle bag, was noticed by a beach goer who immediately contacted the police department as the bag appeared suspicious. Responding officers believed the duffle bag contained illegal substance and properly removed it from the beach and transported the bag to the Cocoa Beach Police Department. Upon further inspection, the bag contained 15 small \u201cbricks\u201d that were tightly packaged. However, it was believed the packages may contain an unknown narcotic, possibly cocaine. Cocoa Beach Police contacted the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency and notified them of the suspicious bag and contents. A representative/Agent with the agency responded to the Cocoa Beach Police Department the same evening. U.S. Custom and Border Protection Agent inspected the packages and after removing several layers off one of the \u201cBricks\u201d, the Agent informed the substance to be cocaine. It is unknown who the duffle bags belongs to and unknown where the cocaine is from. There were no further incidents involving the duffle bag. The bag and the 15 \u201cBricks\u201d (1 Kilo per brick) was turned over to U.S Custom & Border Protection Agent. The street value in the central Florida area is approximately $20K \u2013 $30K per \u201cBrick\u201d (Kilo). While these news reports may seem unusual, these incidents were not the first time drugs had washed ashore in Florida. In 2016, law enforcement recovered 20 kilos of cocaine worth about $600,000 near Jupiter Island in Martin County. A similar discovery was made the following year near Melbourne Beach."}
{"claim_id": "18818", "claim": "Earl Blumenauer Says ending the direct payment farm subsidy program \"could save up to $28.4 billion over ten years that could be used to reduce the deficit.", "explanation": "Rep. Earl Blumenauer says cutting direct subsidies to farmers would save $28.4 billion over 10 years", "label": "true", "subjects": "Agriculture, Oregon, Federal Budget, Earl Blumenauer, ", "main_text": "With Congress\u2019 tendency to sidestep the really difficult questions on spending and deficits, even old statements remain relevant and worthy of examination. That\u2019s what happens when the country is governed in two-month increments. So once again Congress is sweating mandatory, across-the-board spending cuts called \"the sequester\" unless they are able to intervene between now and March 1. And yes, the matter was supposed to be settled. It remains because Congress enacted only a temporary fix. So for PolitiFact fact checkers everywhere, we express our bemused but sincere thanks for the budgetary gift that keeps on giving. It\u2019s also the reason a statement Rep. Earl Blumenauer made in December is still relevant as Congress looks at ways to avoid $109 billion in automatic spending cuts that begin in March. \"This is why I've worked to end the wasteful direct payment farm subsidy program that funnels payments to large corporate agribusinesses. This action could save up to $28.4 billion over ten years that could be used to reduce the deficit,\" the Oregon Democrat said in a Dec. 21, 2012, news release. That\u2019s a lot of money at a time when Congress is desperate for big numbers. But is the number real? Let\u2019s take a look. Trimming back or totally eliminating farm subsidies is one of the most popular ideas for cutting federal spending. President Barack Obama called for eliminating them in 2011, at a savings of $5 billion a year. Blumenauer has long been one of the most outspoken critics of the payments that provide \u00a0federal dollars to recipients. The payments pour forth, according to the taxpayer watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, \"regardless of current crop prices, and there\u2019s not even a requirement these crops actually be grown on the land receiving payments.\" It\u2019s time to change, Blumenauer says, especially now when farm incomes are near record highs and the blunt, inefficient nature of the subsidies qualifies even rich \"city slickers\" such as investment CEO Charles Schwab for payments. It\u2019s not isolated. Five hundred fifty-one people with Portland addresses collected farm subsidies totaling $2.8 million in 2010, the Environmental Working Group found using federal records. Those recipients are part of an agriculture \"safety net\" erected in 1996 that, in this case, provides payments to farmers (both genuine and hobby) who raise wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, cotton and peanuts. The Congressional Budget Office calculated that ending those subsidies would save $28.4 billion over 10 years. Blumenauer wants that money diverted from what he says are stable and profitable companies to paying down the nation\u2019s $1.1 trillion deficit. The politics are jumbled since legislation that would trim direct payments passed the Senate last year but never came to a vote in the House. But the number is solid. It was generated by the Congressional Budget Office at the request of then-Rep. (and now Sen.) Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who introduced legislation in 2011 to eliminate direct payments to farmers. If you need help breaking the code, direct payments are federal payments made to qualifying producers \"paid at a set rate every year regardless of conditions.\" The merits of the program can be debated and the politics will remain tangled. But just as farmers return to the field every spring and seeds sprout into crops by summer, Blumenauer\u2019s numbers are certain and correct. For that reason, we are this claim: ."}
{"claim_id": "11283", "claim": "Cervical cancer vaccine up for FDA review", "explanation": "This story clearly distinguishes between infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) \u2013 which Merck\u2019s new Gardasil vaccine aims to prevent \u2013 and the development of cervical cancer, prevention of which is the ultimate goal of the vaccine. However, it fails to explain a few things about the vaccine and its target, such as how many women are infected with the cancer-causing HPV strains, how many women develop cervical cancer, and perhaps most importantly, what researchers know about how well this new vaccine works to prevent cancer or precancerous changes in the cervix. Hearing more about this from an independent expert, rather than from two Merck representatives, would have provided some balance. While it states that cervical cancer is a leading cancer killer in developing countries, the article doesn\u2019t address the potential cost of the vaccine in those areas (or in the US).", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There is no mention of the projected cost of the new vaccine. This information may not be available at this time, but an expert could have given an educated estimate. As noted above, the article does not provide numbers of women who were protected from HPV infection in trials of the vaccine. The story notes some questions raised by the FDA about the vaccine\u2019s safety\u2013but gives the last word on the concerns to the Merck spokesman, who downplayed their significance. In addition, the number of birth abnormalities was lower in the vaccine group, but it is reported as if it were higher (\u201cless favorable showing\u201d) and due to chance. The article states that the vaccine was \u201cextremely effective\u201d against the targeted HPV strains, but doesn\u2019t note how many infections it prevented. It also does not mention what, if anything, is known about whether the vaccine does lower the risk of cervical cancer. The article appropriately focuses on the target of the vaccine, the HPV virus, rather than on cervical cancer (many cases of which are linked to infection with the virus). Individuals representing Merck are identified in the story, and an FDA briefing document is described as the source of some information. However, there is no comment from independent medical experts. There is no mention of other methods for reducing the risk of HPV infection or cervical cancer. The story makes it clear that the vaccine is not yet available and explains that FDA advisory panel recommendations are usually, but not always, followed. The article notes that the vaccine under review would be the first of its kind. Does not appear to have relied solely on a press release; however, the article quotes two Merck staffers."}
{"claim_id": "9259", "claim": "Asthma gene's effect on respiratory symptoms in infancy depends on breastfeeding status", "explanation": "The release describes research into a possible link between breastfeeding and infants having a genetic predisposition to asthma. Researchers drew data from medical records on respiratory symptoms and breastfeeding status and compared them with genotype data gathered from study participants. It claims a 27 percent relative risk reduction among predisposed infants who were breastfed compared to those who weren\u2019t, but we have no other data points, no absolute risk reduction information. The release doesn\u2019t provide enough information for readers to be assured that other factors\u00a0did not play a\u00a0role in the results. Reviewers (and presumably other interested readers) were unable to access the actual research paper, or an abstract online, at the time of the review. [Editor\u2019s note. Several days after reaching out to the issuing organization, an abstract on the study was provided, but it did not change the outcome of the review.] The relationship between genetic variance and environmental factors in the eventual development of asthma is not crystal clear. Asthma appears to have a strong genetic predisposition. A child with a parent with asthma is three-to-six times more likely to develop asthma than other children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If breastfeeding infants predisposed to asthma could actually reduce their risk of respiratory symptoms by a quarter or more, then that would be a substantial improvement, both to individual and to public health, especially given the growing proportion of children developing asthma and other respiratory problems.", "label": "false", "subjects": "asthma,breastfeeding,European Lung Foundation", "main_text": "There are two aspects to this release: a genetic mutation which predisposes to asthma and the potential value of breastfeeding in reducing that risk. The release makes no mention of costs in explaining this research. While on the surface breastfeeding carries no economic burden, genetic testing does. The release does not provide any information (as we will note later) about the availability of genetic testing or whether insurance coverage is available. It\u2019s difficult to quantify, but breastfeeding can have financial costs. There is growing awareness that breastfeeding does exact a toll in time and related earning potential, as explained in this New York Times article. The release states that \u201cduring the weeks that infants were breastfed, those carrying the asthma risk genotypes, had a 27 percent decreased relative risk of developing respiratory symptoms.\u201d To which we respond: 27 percent of what? We still have no understanding of what the change in absolute risk actually is, a data point that readers deserve and can better use. The release also says that \u201cWhen infants were not breastfed, those carriers exhibited a trend towards an increased risk of respiratory symptoms,\u201d but provides no data to define that \u201cincreased risk\u201d or their perceived \u201ctrend.\u201d Harms associated with breastfeeding are admittedly few and far between. Infrequently, a mother may transfer environmental contaminants to a breastfeeding infant. However, the risks associated with genetic testing in general and the association between the\u00a0chromosomal variant\u00a0on chromosome 17, called 17q21, and the risk of the development of asthma are not covered. How reliable is the test? Is over- or under-diagnosis a risk factor? How likely is it that the child may eventually develop asthma? How many children with the variant develop asthma? The first statement in this release says that, \u201cInfants who have a genetic profile linked with asthma risk could be protected against respiratory symptoms if they are breastfeed.\u201d But that demonstrative statement exceeds what the design of this study could show \u2014 that infants predisposed to asthma can be protected by breastfeeding. Such proof would require a study designed differently than this one. At best, this study may show a correlation between breastfeeding and reduced asthma risk. It cannot show that breastfeeding reduces that risk. There is no disease mongering here. However, we would have liked to have seen some information in the release about the prevalence of asthma in the developed and developing world. The release provides no information as to the funders of this research, nor does it provide any information on possible conflicts of interest involving the researchers, only one of which is mentioned in the release. Additionally, neither the abstract nor the full research paper was available when the news release was published, so other information describing the research was unavailable. There was no information provided pertaining to possible alternatives to breastfeeding that also might lead to a reduced risk of asthma among infants, even though there is a wealth of information linking numerous environmental factors to the exacerbation of asthma. A recent review article names more than 100 genetic variants have been associated with the development of asthma along with a host of environmental factors. Breastfeeding is indeed routinely available but the availability of genetic testing for the\u00a0chromosome 17q21 variant is not described. Is this test generally available and if so, is it covered by insurance? The release doesn\u2019t say. The release claims that \u201cOur study is the first to show that breastfeeding can modify the effect of asthma-related genetic profiles on respiratory symptoms in the first year of life.\u201d Research into the role of genetics in the development of asthma has been ongoing for years, so there is really nothing novel about this research in that regard. If this research could actually show a protective connection between breastfeeding and infants\u2019 reduced risk of asthma, then that surely would qualify as novel enough to warrant a news release. Unfortunately, this research cannot show that definitively. The release doesn\u2019t employ sensationalistic language, however, as noted above, some statements may not have been justified based on the other information provided. \u201cInfants who have a genetic profile linked with asthma risk could be protected against respiratory symptoms if they are breastfeed [sic]\u201d and\u00a0\u201cOur study is the first to show that breastfeeding can modify the effect of asthma-related genetic profiles on respiratory symptoms in the first year of life.\u201d What the study did show was a 27 percent relative risk reduction in children who were breastfed as compared to a group who were not."}
{"claim_id": "7309", "claim": "Kansas Medicaid patients can now get antiviral Hep-C drugs.", "explanation": "Medicaid beneficiaries in Kansas infected with Hepatitis C will be able to receive the treatment they need regardless of how far their disease has progressed, according to a settlement.", "label": "true", "subjects": "American Civil Liberties Union, Lawsuits, Kansas, Hepatitis, Medicaid, Antiviral drugs", "main_text": "U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree on Monday signed the agreement in a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas on behalf of enrollees in the privatized Medicaid program, also known as KanCare. The lawsuit filed last year challenged a Kansas policy that restricted the expensive treatment using direct-acting antiviral drugs to only the sickest Medicaid beneficiaries. Without this treatment, a patient\u2019s liver damage grows more severe and the risk of complications from the disease increases, depriving them of a cure, the ACLU had argued in its complaint. The federal lawsuit filed in Kansas is among several nationwide demanding state Medicaid programs cover the costly, direct-acting antiviral drugs that have a 90 percent cure rate. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can turn into a chronic disease. It\u2019s spread when the blood of an infected person enters the body of an uninfected person, such as with the sharing of needles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to the 335 people who asked for Hepatitis C virus drug therapy but were initially denied treatment since 2016, another 2,600 Medicaid enrollees in the state suffer from the disease and will now have immediate access to these drugs, said J. Stan Sexton, an attorney with Shook, Hardy & Bacon who worked with the ACLU on the case. The severity of Hepatitis C is measured by a fibrosis score, which assesses the health of the liver according to the level of liver scarring. In the settlement, the parties agree the Kansas Medicaid program will treat patients with the direct-acting antiviral drugs, regardless of that score, according to medical guidelines. \u201cWe are thrilled that our clients will get the help they need,\u201d said Lauren Bonds, interim executive of ACLU of Kansas. Despite their cost, these drugs are now the standard of care, the ACLU said in a news release. An estimated 2.7 million to 3.9 million people in the United States have chronic Hepatitis C. The U.S. Census Bureau in 2014 estimated that nearly 35,000 Kansans suffer from the disease, according to the lawsuit."}
{"claim_id": "29598", "claim": "A mandatory gun ownership law in Kennesaw, Georgia, caused the town's crime rate to plummet.", "explanation": "Another aspect to consider is whether Kennesaw\u2019s crime rates were observed elsewhere in the state. In the decade bracketing the law\u2019s passage (1976 through 1986) there was a significant drop in murders, burglaries, property crimes, the property crime rate, and the burglary rate in Georgia as whole (despite Kennesaw\u2019s outlier status with the gun law in question). Statewide, the murder rate similarly dropped in a fairly dramatic fashion after 1982 without a statewide law requiring gun ownership.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Guns", "main_text": "A mass shooting in Roseburg, Oregon, revived interest in a number of memes about gun control, among them the above-reproduced claim involving the town of Kennesaw, Georgia. According to the graphic shown here, Kennesaw mandated gun ownership for all households in 1982, and as a result, local crime rates dropped dramatically. But even the most basic element of the claim, about the imposition of mandatory gun ownership in that town, wasn\u2019t quite true. The law in question stated: Sec. 34-21. \u2013 Heads of households to maintain firearms. (a) In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore. (b) Exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who suffer a physical or mental disability which would prohibit them from using such a firearm. Further exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine, or persons convicted of a felony. In other words, Kennesaw residents were required to own guns \u2026 save for those Kennesaw residents who couldn\u2019t afford guns, couldn\u2019t use guns, couldn\u2019t legally own guns, or simply didn\u2019t want to have guns. Essentially, Kennesaw residents were never actually required to own guns, making most assertions about mandatory gun ownership and crime rates in that town highly problematic. That law was a direct response to a (since repealed) ban on the possession of handguns that was implemented in Morton Grove, Illinois, in 1981. An important point of distinction between the two examples was that Morton Grove\u2019s was enforceable while Kennesaw\u2019s was largely symbolic and was never intended to be enforced. The latter, therefore is clearly not an exceptionally good indicator of the effect of such a mandate on crime statistics. As Kennesaw Police Department\u2019s Lt. Craig Graydon explained, gun ownership wasn\u2019t truly compulsory in Kennesaw (nor was it ever intended to be):  Kennesaw\u2019s 1982 gun mandate was a direct response to a gun ban enacted a year earlier in Morton Grove, Illinois. That was later deemed unconstitutional, but Kennesaw\u2019s law is still on the books. Added Lt. Graydon, \u201cIt was not meant to be an enforceable law. The police department has never searched homes to make sure you had a gun. It was meant more or less as a political statement to support citizens\u2019 second amendment rights to own firearms.\u201d Homeowners in Kennesaw who don\u2019t buy a gun are not punished. In fact, there are several exemptions, including religious objections, if someone is a convicted felon, has a mental illness or simply can\u2019t afford a weapon. Lt. Graydon\u2019s sentiment was also expressed in an April 1987 New York Times article: Mayor Stephenson says that in the five years since the gun ordinance was adopted the city has never prosecuted anyone for refusing to keep a gun. Officials concede that the ordinance is, for all intents, unenforceable. \u201cWe\u2019re not interested in searching people\u2019s houses,\u201d said the Mayor. \u201cMostly, what we wanted to do was make a statement, to make people sit up and take notice. And they did, and we\u2019re proud of that.\u201d Much of the claim hinged on the passage of time for plausibility. Hard statistics for the crime rate in a small Georgia city before 1982 were difficult to come by in 2015 (more than three decades later), but the author of a 18 March 1982 New York Times editorial titled \u201cThe Guns of Kennesaw\u201d squeezed those numbers from the initially \u201creticent\u201d Mayor Darvin Purdy and Chief of Police Robert Ruble: The jovial officials turn more reticent when talk turns to crime statistics in their community of 7,000. Chief Ruble says overall crime in 1981 was up 16 percent from 1980. But you have to ask to find out the details. Armed robberies did soar \u2014 from one in 1980 to four in 1981. Homicides declined, from two in 1980 to none in 1981. Soon afterwards, the narrative claiming a reduction in crime had begun to develop (even as Mayor Stephenson conceded he had no idea how many residents newly became gun owners because of the law): \u201cIn 1981, the year before the ordinance was adopted, Kennesaw recorded 55 house burglaries. The next year there were 26, and in 1985 only 11.\u201d As the news excerpt referenced above indicated, a drop in homicides owing to a mandatory gun ownership law would be difficult to measure, as the number of murders that took place in Kennesaw the year prior to the law\u2019s implementation was zero and therefore could drop no lower. And the increased number of armed robberies from 1980 (one) to 1981 (four) represented a sample so low that a subsequent reduction in such crime didn\u2019t provide any meaningful data from which a conclusion about \u201cmandatory\u201d gun ownership and crime rates could be drawn."}
{"claim_id": "10237", "claim": "Statins and cancer risk: Pay attention, but don\u2019t panic", "explanation": "This story reports on research, which while not definitive, is provocative. The story reports that new research found \"that the very low levels of cholesterol achieved by high-dose statin therapy are associated with an increased risk of cancer.\" It did a good job of providing some insight on the limitations of the research reported on. The story raises a question about the absolute merit of striving for ever lower LDL levels. It may help readers to see that statin use is a choice and that consumers should understand both the benefits and potential harms that may be associated with whatever pills they decide to take. However, it should be noted that study examined the prescribed dose levels of statins but did not really measure the effect of aiming for specific LDL levels. It would have been helpful to mention that the mechanism accounting for the increasing incidence of cancer is unclear.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story did not contain any information about the costs of the various statin medications. Although not entirely germane to the main topic, since individuals might make choices about which specific statin to take based on claims of enhanced LDL lowering, it would seem that cost information should have been included. For balance, an estimate of the benefit of statin use should have been presented. While the story did mention that statin medications provide benefit from heart disease, it did not provide any estimate for the magnitude of this benefit. This story was about a possible harm (increased cancer incidence) that the statin medications may result in. The story did a good job with respect to the evidence in that it reminded readers that \u2018an association does not mean causation\u2019. It would have been helpful, perhaps, to spend a little more time explaining this reasoning for those quick to jump on the bandwagon of such findings. The risk for additional cancer cases being\u00a0seen\u00a0as the level of LDL decreased (1 per 1,000) was presented. The story described this as a \u2018small\u2019 risk, though it would have been useful to readers to provide some context (i.e. present data on the magnitude of some other, better known cancer risk factor increases cancer risk). The story did mention that the results it reported on derive from a analysis of 10 randomized trials in which 41,173 patients taking statins were studied from up to six years. The story did a bit of disease and treatment mongering. Describing these medications as \u2018lifesaving pills\u2019 which people take to protect themselves \u2018against the ravages of heart disease\u2019 sets a tone that is not conducive to helping readers think objectively about the research results being reported on. The story did mention where the research was conducted and the journal in which it was published. However, it did not contain any obvious input from experts in the field. The story did not comment on other means for lowering LDL cholesterol; this was not, however relevant to the main topic of the story, namely \u2013 the potential for increased incidence of cancer seen in individuals who lower their cholesterol. The story contained estimates of how many people are currently taking statin medication. The story included information that the observed association between LDL cholesterol level attained and cancer risk is something that has been previously reported. The story did not include any quotes or comments from anyone either associated with the research or a recognized expert in the field so we can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "31218", "claim": "The restaurant chain Whataburger announced that it was closing its doors.", "explanation": "An article is being circulated stating that Whataburger will be closing all stores. This article is a hoax, and we aren\u2019t going anywhere.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, Channel22news.com, facebook, prank", "main_text": "A prank Facebook post that appeared to link to\u00a0an article reporting that the restaurant chain Whataburger was closing its doors appeared\u00a0in June 2017:  However, clicking on the link takes you to a fake news story about the restaurant chain\u2019s faux announcement on the prank web site Channel22news.com: The Texas based food chain is shutting its doors effective April 26 due to numerous reports of food poisoning with high concentrations of salmonella found in meat served in the DFW area during the month of April Anyone who has eaten at Whataburger should be tested for salmonella poisoning. Symptoms can show up as many as three weeks out. I doctors [sic] urge all people who have eaten at these restaurants especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to immediately seek medical attention if they have eaten there more than once during past few weeks. The more time you\u2019ve eaten there the higher likelihood of an infection occurring. Lawsuits have already been filed and Whataburger has decided to shut its doors due to the litigation and payouts that it expects to have to make. Filing bankrupt in a downtown Austin courthouse Wataburger spokesman, Jeff smith said \u201cWe have taken the advice of our counsel and filed Chapter 7 and have shut our doors.\u201d It is unclear what the future holds for the Texas based chain. One thing for certain, Allyson Heffernan is sure to be disappointed! Channel22News is clearly labeled with various disclaimers and carries a \u201cyou got owned\u201d meme in its header:  We do NOT support FAKE NEWS!!! This is a Prank website that is intended for Fun. Bullying, Violent Threats or posts that Violate Public Order are NOT permitted on this Website. Channel22News, as well as other sites of its ilk, allow users to generate their own fake news stories. These stories are then packaged into social media posts that resemble genuine news items. Because\u00a0many people share links on social media without actually reading the stories, these \u201cpranks\u201d frequently reach large audiences. In response to the prank, Whataburger created a Facebook post of their own:"}
{"claim_id": "8066", "claim": "UAE orders overnight curfew for deep clean, Gulf coronavirus cases rise.", "explanation": "The United Arab Emirates directed most of the public and private sectors to have the majority of staff work from home, and imposed overnight curfews as a temporary measure this weekend for a nationwide disinfection to combat the coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The regional business hub, which has confirmed 333 cases of the virus and two deaths, has not announced an official curfew or work suspension but has increasingly clamped down on movement. Authorities announced restrictions on movement of traffic and people overnight from Thursday until Sunday for the disinfection drive. The restrictions will last from 8 p.m. (1600 GMT) to 6 a.m.  Only essential service workers would be allowed out and violators will face fines, a security forces spokesman said in a press conference on Thursday. Public transport including trams and metro services will be suspended, while private cars, cabs and delivery vehicles can operate outside those hours. The UAE has slowly followed other Gulf states in suspending passenger flights and closing public venues such as restaurants and malls. Dubai emirate on Wednesday directed the private sector to implement remote working for most staff but exempted a broad spectrum of businesses. On Thursday, the UAE government ordered all federal ministries and establishments and the private sector to limit the number of staff in offices to 30%. It exempted sectors providing essential services including health, finance, energy, telecoms, security, military, cargo and food. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have taken the most drastic steps, including imposing partial nationwide curfews and suspending work at most public and private sector establishments. Kuwait on Thursday banned all taxis, directed the state supply company to cover any basic food shortages and said it would disburse a month\u2019s salary to all Kuwaiti students abroad. The number of cases in Saudi Arabia passed 1,000 after authorities on Thursday announced 112 new infections, most of them in the capital Riyadh and the holy city of Mecca. They also reported a third death from the virus, a resident in Medina who had suffered from chronic diseases. Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar also saw more cases, taking the total in the six Gulf states to over 2,600, with nine deaths. Saudi Arabia has released 250 foreign detainees held on non-violent immigration and residency offences as part of efforts to contain the spread of the disease, the state-backed Human Rights Commission said on Thursday. Bahrain and Kuwait have also announced prisoner releases. Bahrain continued to evacuate several hundred Bahraini pilgrims stranded in Iran, which is an epicentre for the disease in the region. A second repatriation flight of around 60 Bahrainis arrived overnight from the holy Shi\u2019ite Iranian city of Mashhad, operated by Iranian airline Kish, families and a Bahraini official told Reuters. Bahrain earlier this month repatriated 165 people, but a number of subsequent scheduled flights were cancelled. At least 85 of the first batch of evacuees tested positive for the virus. The island state, which has reported 419 coronavirus cases and four deaths, most of them linked to travel to Iran, has longstanding differences with Iran and has criticised the Islamic Republic for not stamping Bahraini citizens\u2019 passports. In Qatar, the government\u2019s crisis committee ordered the closure of all non-vital shops, and cafes and entertainment outlets, and restricted the working hours of all other shops to 6am to 7pm. Pharmacies, grocery stores and delivery services are excluded from these restrictions, the committee said in a press conference broadcast on Qatari channel Al Jazeera. Qatar recorded 12 new cases of the virus on Thursday, taking its total to 549."}
{"claim_id": "38693", "claim": " A new version of an old Internet legend that expired cake mix can be fatal has been making its way into email inboxes. ", "explanation": "Warnings About Expired Cake Mix", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Food / Drink", "main_text": "Expired cake mixes can be fatal for those who have allergies to mold or penicillin, but the dangers of expired cake mix have been greatly exaggerated in these warnings. Warning about expired cake mixes have been in circulation for more than a decade. Most often, a chain email urges people to rush home and throw out every box of cake mix that has passed its expiration date because it could be toxic, and even deadly. Then the email cites an example of a young man or boy who died or nearly died after eating moldy, expired pancake mix. A version of the cake mix warning making the rounds in early 2015 told the story of a high school student whose mother made him pancakes before dropping him off at school. A short time later he allegedly had trouble breathing and nearly died as paramedics rushed him to the hospital. Due to lack of details \u2014 like the name of the high school or student \u2014 we couldn\u2019t verify the details in that story. TruthorFiction.com investigated another account of expired pancake mix nearly leading to the death of a 14-year-old boy that appeared in an April 2006 \u201cDear Abby\u201d column. We weren\u2019t able to verify the authenticity of that story, either, but the details are almost exactly the same. Still, there\u2019s at least one verifiable account of a 19-year-old man dying from an allergic reaction after eating an expired box of pancake mix. That account was published in the American Journal of Forensic Medical Pathology in 2001: One morning, he and his friends made pancakes with a packaged mix that had been opened and in the\u00a0cabinet for approximately 2 years. The friends stopped eating the pancakes because they said that they\u00a0tasted like \u201crubbing alcohol.\u201d The decedent continued to eat the pancakes and suddenly became short of\u00a0breath. He was taken to a nearby clinic, where he became unresponsive and died. At autopsy, laryngeal\u00a0edema and hyperinflated lungs with mucous plugging were identified. Microscopically, edema and numerous\u00a0degranulating mast cells were identified in the larynx. The smaller airways contained mucus, and findings of\u00a0chronic asthma were noted. Serum tryptase was elevated at 14.0 ng/ml. The pancake mix was analyzed and\u00a0found to contain a total mold count of 700/g of mix as follows: Penicillium, Fusarium, Mucor, and Aspergillus. Witness statements indicate that the decedent ate two pancakes; thus he consumed an approximate mold\u00a0count of 21,000. The decedent had a history of allergies to molds and penicillin, and thus was allergic to the\u00a0molds in the pancake mix. The authors present this unusual case of anaphylaxis and a review of the\u00a0literature. Pathologists who wrote the article called the man\u2019s death an \u201cunusual case of anaphylaxis.\u201d But still, there has been at least one death from exposure to mold in an expired cake mix. Duncan Hines, the maker of various box mixes, has responded directly to the cake mix warning: Due to consumer inquiries regarding mold developing in expired mixes, we would\u00a0like to assure you that there is no concern with products manufactured by Pinnacle\u00a0Foods Group LLC. We place a \u201cBEST BY\u201d date on the packaging to ensure product\u00a0quality in terms of appearance, texture and taste of the finished item. There is no\u00a0food safety concern in using Duncan Hines cake mixes beyond their \u201cBEST BY\u201d\u00a0dates. We do recommend that Duncan Hines\u00ae products be kept in a cool, dry\u00a0place. In general, protecting mixes from moisture will prevent mold growth. The Gourmet Sleuth suggests storing\u00a0boxed cake mix at pantry temperature for no more than six to nine months. After that point, the cake mix should be frozen or thrown out. So, it\u2019s true that mold found in expired cake mixes can be toxic and even fatal for those with extreme allergies to mold. However, the cake mix warning is also misleading because it exaggerates the risk that expired cake mix poses. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "18823", "claim": "States have cumulatively cut over $1.8 billion from their mental health services between 2009 and 2011. This is the largest reduction in state mental health services in half a century.", "explanation": "Rep. Marcy Kaptur says states have slashed funding for mental health services", "label": "true", "subjects": "Ohio, Health Care, Guns, Marcy Kaptur, ", "main_text": "As funerals proceeded for the 20 first-graders and six school employees massacred on Dec. 14, by a gunman at Connecticut\u2019s Sandy Hook Elementary School, members of Congress including Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur took to the House of Representatives floor to decry the violence. Kaptur\u2019s speech highlighted cuts in mental health funding during the recession, while urging a \"more constructive federal role in assuring proper and early diagnosis and intervention of affected youth and appropriate treatment.\" During her speech, Kaptur said that \"states have cumultatively cut over $1.8 billion from their mental health services between 2009 and 2011. This is the largest reduction in state mental health services in half a century.\" PolitiFact Ohio took a look at the numbers. Kaptur specifically cited the National Alliance on Mental Illness during her speech as a source of information. Her spokesman said she was citing data from a report the mental health advocacy group released in March 2011, after a paranoid schizophrenic gunman shot then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others in a supermarket parking lot outside Tucson, Ariz. The report observed that \"the public often focuses on mental illness only when high visibility tragedies of the magnitude of Tucson or Virginia Tech occur.\" \"Between 2009 and 2011, states cumulatively cut more than $1.8 billion from their budgets for services for children and adults living with mental illness,\" it continued. The report said that cuts during that period kept thousands of Ohioans with serious mental illness from accessing care in their communities, resulting in their living on the streets, or ending up in more expensive settings like jails and hospitals. The NAMI report stressed that people living with mental illness are, on the whole, no more violent than the rest of the population and are more frequently the victims of violence than perpetrators of violent acts. But it said the \"risks of violence among a small subset of individuals may increase when appropriate treatment and supports are not available.\" In an email, NAMI spokesman Bob Carolla noted the 2011 report that Kaptur cited was based on funding information available from states at the time the report was issued. The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors subsequently determined that total cuts were much higher than the figures cited in the NAMI report - $4.35 billion between 2009 and 2012. \"The economic downturn has forced state budgets to cut approximately $4.35 billion in public mental health spending over the 2009-2012 period \u2013 the largest combined reduction since de-institutionalization,\" says a March 2012 report from the mental health program directors group. A year-by-year breakdown in that report says that $1.22 billion in was cut in FY 2009 in the 39 states that provided statistics to the organization; that $1.02 billion was cut in FY 2010 by 38 states, that $1.27 billion was cut in FY 2011 by 36 states, and $842 million was cut in FY 2012 by 31 states. Carolla said his organization accepts the accuracy of the mental health program directors group\u2019s figures. He noted that de-institutionalization, which shifted mental health care from institutions like mental hospitals to community-based settings, \"is generally considered to have begun with the passage of legislation under President Kennedy in 1963 - 50 years ago.\" That coincides with the half-century timeline cited in Kaptur\u2019s speech. When asked for details on the comparison of current cuts with those that happened when de-institutionalization occurred, representatives of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors said their funding statistics go back only 30 years. While they believe the statement about the cuts\u2019 scope is probably correct, they can\u2019t precisely compare the deinstitutionalization era\u2019s budgetary cuts with today\u2019s numbers. \"It is by far the biggest cut in 30 years, but before that, the data doesn\u2019t exist in a format where I can look at it and say it is apples to apples,\" says Ted Lutterman, the director of research analysis for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute. He said he did not provide the information on deinstitutionalization that Kaptur cited, and said that someone else must have inserted that tidbit into the group\u2019s report. Robert Glover, who heads the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research, also could not provide details on the half-century figure that Kaptur cited, though he said the recent budget cuts are the largest he\u2019s seen during his 40 years in the profession. He calls the $4.35 billion statistic that his group uses \u00a0\"very conservative\" because it omits numbers from several states that didn\u2019t provide the group with their budget figures. He observed that mental health needs rise when financial problems fester in a sour economy and that mental health service cuts make it harder for those with difficulties to get the help they need. Glover says Ohio has provided a bright spot amid the cuts, developing programs designed to integrate mental health care with physical health care. \"There are pockets of restoration in some states,\" Glover said. Ohio Department of Mental Health Communications Director Trudy Sharp said her organization\u2019s general revenue budget went down by $67 million between the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years, then increased by $20 million in the 2011 fiscal year. She said her department trimmed its central office staff by 20 percent since 2008, and also shuttered three of the state\u2019s nine psychiatric hospitals. Facilities in Cambridge, Cleveland and Dayton were closed and their beds absorbed by other hospitals, she said. Additionally, she said Ohio is consolidating its Department of Mental Health with its Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction services, and trying to stretch its mental health dollars by encouraging regional planning approaches between counties. So where does all this leave Kaptur\u2019s statement? Kaptur accurately cited statistics about mental health budget cuts from a National Alliance on Mental Illness report. Those numbers appear to have downplayed the extent of cuts. But, her claim that \"over $1.8 billion\" was cut between 2009 and 2011 is accurate because the cuts surely exceeded $1.8 billion. Her contention that the cuts mark the \"largest reduction in state mental health services in half a century,\" is harder to prove. She based her statement on information in a report produced by an often-cited authority on state mental health funding. While representatives of the group said they believe that statement is accurate, they acknowledged they didn\u2019t have state funding numbers going back 50 years to document that assertion. That\u2019s a point of clarification. On the Truth-O-Meter, her claim rates ."}
{"claim_id": "5471", "claim": "UN expert: Zimbabwe hunger \u2018shocking\u2019 for country not at war.", "explanation": "Zimbabwe is on the brink of man-made starvation and the number of people needing help is \u201cshocking\u201d for a country not in conflict, a United Nations special expert on the right to food said Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Southern Africa, General News, Africa, Health, Zimbabwe, United Nations, International News", "main_text": "Hilal Elver said she found stunted and underweight children, mothers too hungry to breastfeed their babies and medicine shortages in hospitals during her 10-day visit to the economically shattered country. She said the southern African nation is among the four most food insecure states in the world. The others \u2014 Yemen, South Sudan and Somalia \u2014 have been ravaged by war. Zimbabwe\u2019s food crisis has the potential to spark fighting, the U.N. expert said. \u201cI urgently call on the government, all political parties and the international community to come together to put an end to this spiraling crisis before it morphs into a full-blown conflict,\u201d she said. The consequences of hunger have been dire, Elver said. School dropouts, early marriage, domestic violence, prostitution and sexual exploitation are on the rise. She blamed widespread corruption, mismanagement, natural disasters, droughts and sanctions for the crisis. Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic difficulties in more than a decade. More than 60% of the population of 16 million is now considered food insecure. \u201cIt comes from (a) dysfunctional system,\u201d the U.N. expert said. About 5.5 million people in rural areas face food insecurity. In urban areas, about 2.2 million people lack access to basic public services, including health and safe water, according to figures by U.N agencies and the government. Electricity is cut up to 19 hours a day. \u201cThese are shocking figures and the crisis continues to worsen,\u201d Elver said. Where food items are available most people have no money to buy, she said. Critics blame the administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has struggled to fulfil promises of prosperity since taking power in 2017 after the forced resignation of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa blames recurrent droughts and sanctions imposed by the United States for the crisis. The U.S. says the sanctions target entities and individuals, including Mnangagwa, over rights abuses, not the country at large. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa"}
{"claim_id": "21624", "claim": "The government's twice the size it was 10 years ago. It's 30 percent bigger than it was when (Barack) Obama became president.", "explanation": "Sen. Tom Coburn says government is twice the size it was a decade ago", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Deficit, Federal Budget, Tom Coburn, ", "main_text": "EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Upon further consideration, we have changed the rating on this item from Mostly True. The new analysis is below. Our previous posting is archived here. On the July 24, 2011, edition of NBC\u2019s Meet the Press, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sought to give some perspective on the size of federal spending -- a central factor in the current debate over raising the debt ceiling. Addressing host David Gregory, Coburn said, \"David, everybody's talking about the symptoms of our problem instead of the real disease. The government's twice the size it was 10 years ago. It's 30 percent bigger than it was when (Barack) Obama became president. The problem is that we're spending way too much money, and it's not hard to cut it without hurting entitlement benefits. But we don't have anybody that wants to do that without getting a tax increase.\" We wondered whether Coburn was right that the size of government has doubled over the past 10 years. We began by looking at the size of outlays by the federal government, even though Coburn didn\u2019t specify which level of government he was talking about. (Coburn communications director John Hart later confirmed that he had meant to refer to just the federal government.) We also decided to use outlays as our yardstick -- rather than, say, government employees or regulatory burden, as some readers later suggested -- since Coburn went on to say, \"we're spending way too much money, and it's not hard to cut it without hurting entitlement benefits.\" Here are annual figures from the Office of Management and Budget for total federal outlays: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fiscal year 2001: $1.86 trillion Fiscal year 2002: $2.01 trillion Fiscal year 2003: $2.16 trillion Fiscal year 2004: $2.29 trillion Fiscal year 2005: $2.47 trillion Fiscal year 2006: $2.66 trillion Fiscal year 2007: $2.73 trillion Fiscal year 2008: $2.98 trillion Fiscal year 2009: $3.52 trillion Fiscal year 2010: $3.46 trillion Fiscal year 2011 (estimate): $3.82 trillion \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, doubling the 2001 outlays over 10 years would have meant a 2011 figure of $3.72 trillion. Since the actual figure is higher than that, Coburn is right that the cost of government has doubled over the past decade. In our initial analysis, we stopped there and did not adjust these figures for inflation. After readers pointed this out to us, we ran the inflation-adjustment calculations and determined that the fiscal 2011 federal outlay of $3.82 trillion was equivalent to $3 trillion in 2001 dollars. That produced an increase in federal outlays of 60 percent over 10 years. That\u2019s still a significant increase, but short of double. We also calculated that government outlays as a percentage of gross domestic product, rose from 18.2 percent in 2001 to 25.3 percent in 2011 -- an increase of 39 percent, which is also not double. Despite our initial focus on non-inflation-adjusted numbers, we have since decided that our readers had a point, and that Coburn would have been better off using inflation-adjusted numbers. So we have decided to change our ruling. Meanwhile, we also looked at Coburn\u2019s second claim, that government expenditures are 30 percent bigger than they were when Obama became president. For this one, it depends when you start the clock. We\u2019ll start with non-inflation-adjusted numbers. If you use fiscal 2008 as the baseline -- which we confirmed with Coburn\u2019s staff was his intention -- then the comparison is just about right. Federal outlays increased by 28 percent between fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2011, which is just below the 30 percent Coburn cited. However, fiscal 2008 ran from Oct. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2008, ending almost four months before Obama took office. The OMB only offers figures by fiscal year, so we can\u2019t pinpoint a number that\u2019s pegged precisely to when Obama took office. If instead you use as a baseline fiscal 2009 -- which started on Oct. 1, 2008 -- then federal outlays increased by about 9 percent, or well below what Coburn said. The inflation-adjusted numbers are a 22 percent increase if you start with 2008, and 3 percent if you start with 2009. Clearly, the shift of the calculation by just one year makes a big difference in the result. We also considered whether Coburn intended to blame Obama for this spending increase. This was a tough call. Re-reading his claim, we don\u2019t feel that his use of the inauguration of a new president as the cutoff point necessarily invokes blame. The entirety of Coburn\u2019s comment encompasses government growth over a 10-year period, most of which was clearly under a Republican president, George W. Bush, and not Obama. And the inauguration of a new president is a pretty natural dividing line for making mathematical comparisons. \"No one has a more consistent record of being a nonpartisan critic of spending than Coburn,\" said Coburn\u2019s communications director Hart. \"He has been criticizing Republican and Democratic spending for many years.\" We agreed with this assessment, so we gave Coburn the benefit of the doubt on whether he intended to place the blame for government growth on Obama. And we stand by that decision. So what's the bottom line? We don\u2019t think that Coburn was entirely wrong to use non-inflation-adjusted dollars, but it would have been better if he -- and we -- had adjusted for inflation. Doing it this way still means there was a significant increase in government over the period he studied, but not as high as he had indicated. On balance, we have decided to lower our ruling from Mostly True to this rating."}
{"claim_id": "10411", "claim": "New pill might be reliable wake-up call", "explanation": "This is not a good piece of health journalism. It is not balanced. It fails to discuss any evidence. The report demonstrates little curiosity and no rigor. With the exception of the brief (and rather understated) quote from a sleep specialist, the story reads like it should say \"advertising\" at the top of the page. The Daily News editors should be embarrassed for allowing this story into print.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story states a price of $29.95 for 40 pills, but fails to indicate what the recommended dosage is. The author took two in the evening but the other user quoted took additional pills during the day. What are the true costs per person per week of this \"magical new pill\"? The reporter makes no attempt to quantify the benefits. What is the evidence? How many are helped? How many are not helped? The article fails to mention any potential harms. The evidence of benefit consists of the author\u2019s experience, one other user\u2019s experience, and the maker\u2019s claims. Have there been clinical trials? What have they shown? What is the quality of the evidence? The story exaggerates the author\u2019s waking difficulties in a way that makes this \"condition\" seem more widespread and harmful than it is. Sources used are the product\u2019s maker, the reporter\u2019s observations and quotes from a satisfied user. One physician is quoted briefly at the end questioning the ingredients\u2019 capacity to improve sleep. There is improper balance in the story with the weight of terms like \"magical\u2026ingenious\u2026unique\u2026even more dramatic results\" overwhelming the short comment from one physician. There are many options for treating sleep difficulties or morning fatigue. None is mentioned here. The story predicts the product will be available at \"all major retail outlets\" by August. There is no evidence to support this prediction. The article claims the coating used to delay release of the ingredients inside is unique. Time-release coatings have been used in pills for decades. The story echoes both the press release and the maker\u2019s web site in its description of the episode that led the pill\u2019s creator to develop the product, the contents of the pill, and the claims about the pill\u2019s \"unique\" coating. However, because our criterion demands that we find the exact same language in the story as we found in a news release, we can\u2019t be sure that the story relied solely or largely on a news release. Maybe this an example of where our criteria are too lax."}
{"claim_id": "8384", "claim": "Spain's PM to seek longer but more flexible lockdown.", "explanation": "Spain\u2019s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday he would ask parliament for a 15-day extension until May 9 of the lockdown imposed in one of the world\u2019s worst coronavirus\u2019 outbreaks, but said the restrictions would be more flexible.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "\u201cWe have left behind the most extreme moments,\u201d Sanchez said at a press briefing. But he added: \u201cThese achievements are still insufficient and above all fragile. We cannot put them at risk with hasty solutions\u201d. Spain\u2019s death toll from the coronavirus rose at a slower pace on Saturday but surpassed 20,000 fatalities, the Health Ministry said. It increased by 565 deaths, down from 585 on Friday, while the number of coronavirus cases rose to 191,726 from 188,068. Spain began this week to ease a strict lockdown imposed on March 14 by opening up some sectors of the economy, including manufacturing. But most people are still confined to their homes except for essential outings such as food shopping, and not even children are allowed out for exercise. The country with the third highest coronavirus death toll will move slowly, carefully and progressively towards the \u201cnew normality\u201d, Sanchez said. But he warned it would be a complex task and that the economic consequences of the outbreak will be \u201cvery negative\u201d. Asked if citizens would be able to have regular summer holidays, the Socialist leader said he hoped so but that he could not give an answer, signalling the uncertainty on the scope of any de-escalation phase. As he seeks a third parliamentary extension of the state of emergency, the next lockdown phase could start being \u201casymmetric\u201d on April 27, meaning it could be more relaxed for some regions or groups, Sanchez said, without specifying. For instance, children would be allowed out of their homes though it would be \u201climited and subject to conditions to avoid contagion,\u201d Sanchez said. The prime minister plans to define the criteria in coming days, including in a meeting on Sunday with Spain\u2019s 17 regional leaders. Despite stressing an improvement in the figures and defending his government\u2019s measures, Sanchez said Western countries \u201creacted late\u201d to the virus\u2019 outbreak. He also admitted Spain could not initially provide all the protective equipment needed for its health workers. The health ministry plans to announce an order on Sunday to control and fix the prices of masks for citizens, Sanchez said. Health emergency chief Fernando Simon earlier said he hoped to see soon a steeper decrease in the number of coronavirus deaths. Simon said he expected a significant rise in registered coronavirus cases as the number of quick tests conducted has doubled in the past three weeks, but stressed that the tests have shown a lower infection rate among citizens. Spain\u2019s labour minister Yolanda Diaz said on Friday her department was planning a two-phased economic resumption, the first for productive sectors up to the summer and a second for tourism and leisure which would last until the end of the year. But any final decision would depend on health authorities, her office said in a statement."}
{"claim_id": "8574", "claim": "WHO rejects 'China-centric' charge after Trump criticism.", "explanation": "World Health Organization officials on Wednesday denied that the body was \u201cChina-centric\u201d and said that the acute phase of a pandemic was not the time to cut funding, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he may put contributions on hold.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The United States is the top donor to the Geneva-based body which Trump said had issued bad advice during the new coronavirus outbreak. U.S. contributions to WHO in 2019 exceeded $400 million, almost double the 2nd largest country donor, according to figures from the U.S. State Department. China contributed $44 million, it said. \u201cWe are still in the acute phase of a pandemic so now is not the time to cut back on funding,\u201d Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, told a virtual briefing when asked about Trump\u2019s remarks. Trump told a news conference on Tuesday that the United States was \u201cgoing to put a hold on money spent to the WHO,\u201d however, he appeared to backtrack later when in response to questions he said: \u201cWe\u2019re going to look at it.\u201d  It was not immediately clear how Trump could \u201cblock\u201d funding for the organization. Under U.S. law, Congress, not the president, decides how federal funds are spent. Dr Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the WHO Director-General, also defended the U.N. agency\u2019s relationship with China, saying its work with Beijing authorities was important to understand the outbreak which began in Wuhan in December. \u201cIt was absolutely critical in the early part of this outbreak to have full access to everything possible, to get on the ground and work with the Chinese to understand this,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cThis is what we did with every other hard-hit country like Spain and had nothing to do with China specifically.\u201d  Aylward, who led a WHO expert mission to China in February, defended WHO recommendations to keep borders open, saying that China had worked \u201cvery hard\u201d to identify and detect early cases and their contacts and ensure they did not travel. \u201cChina worked very, hard very early on, once it understood what it was dealing with, to try and identify and detect all potential cases to make sure that they got tested to trace all the close contacts and make sure they were quarantined so they actually knew where the virus was, where the risk was,\u201d he said. \u201cThen they made it very clear that these people would not and could not travel within the country, let alone internationally,\u201d he added. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been lavish in his praise of China from early in the outbreak, praising President Xi Jinping\u2019s \u201crare leadership\u201d. David Heymann, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who led WHO\u2019s response to the 2003 SARS outbreak, said that any U.S. funding cut would be a huge blow. \u201cIf the WHO loses its funding it cannot continue to do its work. It works on a shoe-string budget already,\u201d Heymann said in London. \u201cOf course it would be disastrous for the WHO to lose funding.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "11814", "claim": "In the current law, if you report harassment, you're the one that has to go into 20 hours of counseling before you can decide whether you were really harassed.", "explanation": "Our ruling Blunt said, \"In the current law, if you report harassment, you\u2019re the one that has to go into 20 hours of counseling before you can decide whether you were really harassed.\" Blunt said, \"In the current law, if you report harassment, you\u2019re the one that has to go into 20 hours of counseling before you can decide whether you were really harassed.\" According to the Office of Compliance, any employee or member of Congress must go through counseling for a 30-day period before they can continue with further steps of reporting the harassment. According to the Office of Compliance, any employee or member of Congress must go through counseling for a 30-day period before they can continue with further steps of reporting the harassment. However, we were unable to find evidence detailing how many hours the 30-day period includes. However, we were unable to find evidence detailing how many hours the 30-day period includes. Blunt\u2019s statement is on the right track but needs further clarification with the \"hours\" claim. Blunt\u2019s statement is on the right track but needs further clarification with the \"hours\" claim.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Legal Issues, Women, Missouri, Roy Blunt, ", "main_text": "The U.S. Senate needs to clean up its own house when it comes to sexual harassment charges, regardless of whether Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore wins his Dec. 12 election, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt has argued. Some Senate Republicans, including Blunt have not endorsed Moore, who is accused of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl and several other teenagers, saying it\u2019s up to Alabama voters whether to choose him or Democrat Doug Jones. Others, including President Donald Trump, are backing Moore. The election comes amid fallout of sexual misconduct claims against Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who announced his resignation on Dec. 7, and Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., who stepped down on Dec. 5. Blunt said he and a few colleagues are trying to address sexual harassment procedures for charges against members of Congress because \"we need to be sure that we\u2019ve got an environment where people want to come and be a part of that.\" \"In the current law, if you report harassment, you\u2019re the one that has to go into 20 hours of counseling before you can decide whether you were really harassed or not,\" Blunt said on\u00a0Meet the Press\u00a0on Nov. 19, 2017. \"That\u2019s just totally inappropriate.\" That seemed like an uncommon rule, so we wanted to dig into Blunt\u2019s claim. Reporting harassment in Congress The standards for investigating employees and members of Congress is a lot different from ones laid out for the public in other states, and the process has come under scrutiny as allegations in Hollywood, politics and journalism have piled up. Congress\u2019 rules for handling sexual harassment allegations are under the spotlight after\u00a0reporting by The Washington Post\u00a0and others found lawmakers essentially write their own rules for handling claims. Some lawmakers are working to fix their own workplace culture. The Post reported\u00a0the story of a 19-year-old intern who said she was the victim of sexual misconduct but did not report it for fear of losing her job. The Post also shed light on\u00a0another unique rule\u00a0for reporting sexual harassment on Capitol Hill: The confidential payouts in settlements come from a special U.S. Treasury fund supported by tax dollars. Any member or employee of Congress who reports a violation of the\u00a0Congressional Accountability Act\u00a0(including sexual harassment) must go through mandatory steps to file a claim. This is known as the\u00a0Dispute Resolution Process. Blunt\u2019s statement addresses the first step: counseling. The person reporting sexual harassment must request counseling with the Office of Compliance within 180 days of the alleged harassment. According to the posted procedures, the counseling period normally lasts 30 days. But it may be reduced at the request of the employee. In Blunt\u2019s statement, he said the counseling process takes 20 hours. We were unable to confirm the number of counseling hours each person receives during the 30-day period. When we asked Blunt\u2019s office, spokesperson Katie Boyd pointed us to the Office of Compliance. Laura Cech, the outreach and publications coordinator for the Office of Compliance, did not specify whether Blunt was correct in saying 20 hours. She responded with a\u00a0Q&A the office developed\u00a0Nov. 13 outlining what they see as \"the most common misconceptions\" from the media about the process. The first question is about the required \"counseling\" \u2014 but it does not include how the 30-day process translates into hours. A counselor will \"discuss with an employee the information that gave rise to their concerns, and inform them of their rights under the law,\" the document says. It also notes the counseling can be completed over the phone or through a designated representative, such as an attorney. Remaining steps continue after counseling if the employee still believes he or she has been sexually harassed. The steps include a 30-day mediation where both parties are allowed the opportunity to resolve the dispute, administrative hearing or civil action, and the appeals process where the employee can request the final decision be reviewed by the OOC Board of Directors. Sandy Davidson, a professor at the University of Missouri who teaches law in the journalism school, said, \"The rules are bizarre and totally unfriendly to women.\" Davidson also noted the confidentiality aspect of the laws. The rules say all statements, communications and documents during the mediation process are confidential. In Missouri, you can\u00a0file a complaint\u00a0with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, which investigates complaints in public accommodations about race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, age and familial status. There is no requirement for counseling. Once the complaint is filed, the commission investigates by interviewing both sides. If the investigator finds discrimination, the commission attempts to settle the case. If the case is not settled, a hearing process gives a final decision and determines whether remedies such as back pay, reinstatement or promotion are ordered. Our ruling Blunt said, \"In the current law, if you report harassment, you\u2019re the one that has to go into 20 hours of counseling before you can decide whether you were really harassed.\" According to the Office of Compliance, any employee or member of Congress must go through counseling for a 30-day period before they can continue with further steps of reporting the harassment. However, we were unable to find evidence detailing how many hours the 30-day period includes. Blunt\u2019s statement is on the right track but needs further clarification with the \"hours\" claim. We rate it\u00a0."}
{"claim_id": "2915", "claim": "Florida researchers developing football helmets to reduce concussions.", "explanation": "Researchers in Florida believe they have come up with a low-cost way to improve football helmets and better protect players against the glancing blows that experts say contribute to most concussions.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Protective sports helmets on the market today are largely designed to absorb shock from direct linear hits, like head butts, which force the head straight back, says University of Florida (UF) engineering professor Ghatu Subhash. But Subhash\u2019s new strategy makes use of fluid-filled pouches that, his tests show, also protect the brain from the rotational or shearing force of off-center hits on helmets. \u201cThe fluid-filled cells within the helmet respond, so no matter the angle of impact, the helmet automatically protects any part of the head,\u201d said Subhash, who came up with the idea while working on improving helmets and body armor for the military. Subhash, along with his collaborators - UF neurosurgeon Ian Heger and UF radiologist Keith Peters - is set to unveil the safer helmet on Thursday. He will demonstrate its effectiveness on January 20 for venture capitalists, who could fund wider scale testing and manufacturing. Subhash said he hopes to have low-cost pouches suitable for retrofitting existing helmets available in stores within two years. The pouches also can be used in helmets for the military, firefighters and constructions workers, he said. A growing body of academic research shows the repeated hits to the head to which football players are subjected can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition linked to the loss of decision-making control, aggression and dementia. The National Football League agreed last year to pay more than $760 million to settle a lawsuit brought by more than 4,500 former players. Subhash said cushions and water- or air-filled pouches typically have been used to help protect against linear blows. But to blunt shearing or rotational forces, he adds pouches filled with non-Newtonian fluids, which he says increase resistance when stressed. Think kids\u2019 Flubber or Silly Putty, which can flow or break depending on stress, or chilled caramel ice cream topping which is easily spoonable yet stays put in an overturned jar. Non-Newtonian fluids also are used in some modern automobile shock absorbers, Subhash said. Subhash said when one of his fluid-filled cells is struck, the fluid squeezes through a tube into a second cell, thus neutralizing the force. The fluid then returns to its original cell, making the pouches reusable. Concern over the long-term impact of blows to the head has created a market for expensive helmets that claim to protect players from concussions. \u201cThere are no helmets that will protect against concussions,\u201d said Frederick Mueller, research director for the standard-setting body, National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. \u201cHelmet manufactures may say that, but none at the present time protect against concussion injuries,\u201d he said. Mueller\u2019s organization has warned about the limitations of the testing used in a popular 5-Star helmet rating system created by Virginia Tech, including the lack of consideration of rotational forces. \u201cMany people believe that the rotational forces are more important than linear when you talk about concussions,\u201d Mueller said."}
{"claim_id": "14289", "claim": "In nine Democratic debates, \"We've not had one question about a woman's right to make her own decisions about reproductive health care, not one question.", "explanation": "Clinton says in nine Democratic debates \"We've not had one question about a woman's right to make her own decisions about reproductive health care, not one question.\" We could not find any example of a moderator asking a direct question about abortion, however Clinton and Sanders both raised the topic in multiple debates.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Abortion, National, Debates, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "Hillary Clinton said abortion has been ignored during the Democratic debates. Clinton got on the topic during the April 14 debate in Brooklyn, N.Y., when she said she would only appoint a Supreme Court justice who believed that Roe vs. Wade is settled law. \"And I want to say something about this since we're talking about the Supreme Court and what's at stake. We've had eight debates before, this is our ninth,\" Clinton said. \"We've not had one question about a woman's right to make her own decisions about reproductive health care, not one question.\" The line got a big applause from the audience. But was it correct? Abortion and debates We found no questions directly about abortion in nine debate transcripts, although at times the candidates brought up the topic themselves. We searched for the words \"abortion,\" \"Planned Parenthood\" and \"pro-choice\" in debate transcripts in Washington Post transcripts: Oct. 13, Las Vegas: Clinton said the Republicans \"don't mind having big government to interfere with a woman's right to choose and to try to take down Planned Parenthood.\" Nov. 14, Des Moines: Speaking about the Democratic candidates, Clinton said \"all of us support funding Planned Parenthood.\" Dec. 19, New Hampshire: Clinton mentioned that a police officer was killed responding to \"Planned Parenthood murders\" and said that Republicans would defund Planned Parenthood. Jan. 17, South Carolina: No mentions. Feb. 4, New Hampshire: No mentions. Feb. 11, Milwaukee: No abortion questions were asked. Sanders said he had a lifetime 100 percent pro-choice voting record, and Clinton touted her endorsement by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. March 6, Flint: No mentions. March 9, Miami: \u00a0The candidates were not asked their views on abortion, but a moderator mentioned that the Supreme Court was considering \"the most significant abortion restrictions in a generation.\" But the question was about what qualifications Clinton would look for in a Supreme Court justice. April 14, New York: In the ninth debate, Clinton said governors are trying to restrict women's rights and that Donald Trump said women should be punished for abortion. \" And we are never asked about this,\" she said. \"And to be complete in my concern, Sen. Sanders says with respect to Trump it was a distraction. I don't think it's a distraction. It goes to the heart of who we are as women, our rights, our autonomy, our ability to make our own decisions, and we need to be talking about that and defending Planned Parenthood from these outrageous attacks.\" Sanders replied: \u00a0\"You're looking at a senator and former congressman who proudly has a 100 percent pro-choice voting record, who will take on those Republican governors who are trying to restrict a woman's right to choose...\" He called for expanding funding for Planned Parenthood. Several news articles including by the Washington Post, MSNBC, TIME, Vox stated that during the Democratic debates moderators haven\u2019t asked about abortion. A spokesman for NARAL Pro-Choice America, James Owens, told PolitiFact, \"It is correct that there has not been a single question about abortion in any of the Democratic debates.\" NARAL has advocated for Democratic moderators to ask about abortion, including a campaign on Twitter #AskAboutAbortion. Before the New York debate, NARAL sent a letter to CNN moderator Wolf Blitzer urging him to ask about abortion. Renee Bracey Sherman, a board member at NARAL, wrote a column for Glamour posted the day of the New York debate that argued that even though they both support abortion, there are questions that should be asked about their positions: \"Will abortion be covered in Sanders\u2019 Medicare-For-All plan? How will Clinton direct the Department of Justice to respond to the record number of attacks on providers? Will their administration step in to stop the prosecution of those who are self inducing their abortions? How will the candidates stop states from closing abortion clinics? Will their immigration policy ensure undocumented people are able to access abortion care? How will they ensure everyone is able to access safe, affordable abortion care in their community?\" There was a town hall, however, where the moderator brought up abortion, a spokesman for Clinton told us. In a Fox News town hall March 7, moderator Brett Baier asked Sanders and Clinton questions about abortion. Baier asked Sanders: \"Can you name a single circumstance at any point in a pregnancy in which you would be OK with abortion being illegal?\" Sanders replied: \"I happen to believe that it is wrong for the government to be telling a woman what to do with her own body.\" He then posed a similar question to Clinton: \"Do you think a child should have any legal rights or protections before it's born? Or do you think there should not be any restrictions on any abortions at any stage in a pregnancy?\" Clinton replied that she supports abortion rights. \"I have been on record in favor of a late pregnancy regulation that would have exceptions for the life and health of the mother,\" she said. Our ruling Clinton says in nine Democratic debates \"We've not had one question about a woman's right to make her own decisions about reproductive health care, not one question.\" We could not find any example of a moderator asking a direct question about abortion, however Clinton and Sanders both raised the topic in multiple debates. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "9193", "claim": "The best treatment for laryngeal cancer? This approach helps decide", "explanation": "The release focuses on recent research published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology \u2013 Head and Neck Surgery. The research assessed the effectiveness of a treatment technique for laryngeal cancer that exposed patients with advanced (stage 3 or 4) cancer to a one-time chemotherapy treatment that, theoretically, would allow physicians to determine whether patients were responding well to chemotherapy. The idea was that patients who responded well could be treated with chemotherapy and radiation, whereas patients who did not respond well would have surgery to remove the voice box immediately, rather than trying chemotherapy and radiation first. The goal was to improve the five-year survival rate of patients. The researchers reported that this technique \u2014 called \u201cinduction chemotherapy\u201d \u2014 was effective, leading to 79 percent survival rates for patients with advanced laryngeal cancer \u2014 which is markedly better than the 66 percent survival rate for those patients who did not receive induction chemotherapy. The release does a nice job describing the historical context of these therapies, how available the techniques are and how the study was conducted, with one exception. The release doesn\u2019t mention that this was a retrospective, observational study, not a clinical trial, which is an important limitation. Correlation does not equal causation. Nor does the release provide any costs associated with any approach. People don\u2019t want to lose the power of speech. Whether it\u2019s reading bedtime stories to one\u2019s children or talking about your day with loved ones, speech is an important part of interpersonal communication. Our voices are part of who we are and how we connect with others. What\u2019s more, being able to talk can be a key part of professional life for everyone from teachers and salespeople to reporters and, well, doctors. For that reason, many patients dealing with laryngeal cancer want to do whatever can be done to spare their larynx, or voice box, from surgery. If new techniques can help patients make more informed decisions about the trade-off between survival rate and laryngeal surgery, that\u2019s important news for patients and medical personnel. The release does a fair job of addressing the new findings responsibly. It stresses that there are many options and no one-size-fits-all treatment.", "label": "true", "subjects": "laryngeal cancer", "main_text": "This is the one area the release fails to address at all. Cost is simply not addressed. The release explains the benefits for patients with stage 3 and stage 4 laryngeal cancer: \u201cAverage disease specific survival at five years for the induction chemotherapy patients was 79 percent \u2013 equivalent to the results in patients with early stage disease, and significantly better than the 66 percent survival for patients who had chemo-radiation without the induction strategy.\u201d However, there were some shortcomings here. According to the study, surgery achieved the best survival results. It may not be possible to conclude anything about the \u201cchemo trial\u201d group because the study was observational \u2013 taking a retrospective look at 10 years of patient charts \u2013 which does not prove cause and effect. In each of the 153 cases, patients and doctors chose which treatment type they preferred; 71 were given a test dose of chemotherapy and then had further treatment decided based on the response. The release doesn\u2019t tell us how many were then treated with surgery due to lack of response and how many completed chemotherapy/radiation treatment. The release states: \u201cEven that single [initial] dose of chemotherapy can be debilitating and toxic for some patients.\u201d That\u2019s enough to earn it a marginal satisfactory mark here. The release would have been better if it had noted that radiation, surgery and chemotherapy all carry serious side effect risks. The release does a good job of explaining the study design. It would have been even better if it had placed the work in the context of what is known from the literature about five-year survival rates for specific types of laryngeal cancer, which vary widely. It would also have been better to spell out the study limitations, the main one being its observational design No disease mongering here. Funding sources are clearly noted in the release and there do not appear to be relevant conflicts of interest. Our main take-away from the release is that there are many treatment alternatives and room for patient and physician joint decision-making. It\u2019s clear that this approach to determining the best course of treatment could be implemented at any point \u2014 there are no new technologies or drugs involved. But the release does a particularly good job of addressing this, since it highlights a relevant challenge: \u201cThe induction approach can be done anywhere, but requires intense collaboration among surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. All three must be involved to assess the patient and refer to the appropriate therapy.\u201d Communication between all of the practitioners involved in the case of any given patient can be a significant challenge, and is well worth mentioning. The release makes clear what is novel about this approach and lays out the history and development of the approach over the past 10 years. That\u2019s good context. We give this a satisfactory rating, but want to make two notes \u2014 one on something we particularly like to see, one on something that we don\u2019t. First, kudos to the headline on the news release. It clearly conveys the relevance of the finding without overselling it. The headline doesn\u2019t tell us that the technique picks the best course of treatment; instead, the headline tells us that the new technique helps patients and doctors make a decision about what course of action is best. That\u2019s good to see. Lower down, the story refers to a survival rate as \u201cunheard of.\u201d What does that mean? People say and hear all kinds of things. Are they referring to clinical trial results? Longitudinal study findings? Hearsay? When possible, we discourage the use of this sort of vague language; it offers readers little insight, and does more to confuse a subject than to clarify it. The language in this instance was not sufficiently hyperbolic to warrant a \u201cnot satisfactory\u201d rating, but it\u2019s close."}
{"claim_id": "5800", "claim": "Hassan highlights access to health care for female veterans.", "explanation": "The director of a national veterans\u2019 organization is joining U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan to highlight the struggles female veterans face in accessing health care.", "label": "true", "subjects": "New Hampshire, Access to health care, Health, Maggie Hassan, Womens health, Veterans, Veterans affairs", "main_text": "Allison Jaslow, an Army veteran, is executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. She and Hassan will speak with female veterans Monday at Southern New Hampshire University. Hassan, a Democrat, will speak about a bill she sponsored to address gender disparities at Veterans Affairs facilities. She says many VA facilities lack specialists who deal with women\u2019s health, and maternity and newborn care isn\u2019t covered at the level it should be. The bill is named the Deborah Sampson Act after a woman who disguised herself as a man to serve in the Army in the Revolutionary War."}
{"claim_id": "30273", "claim": "MAPs (Minor Attracted Persons) created a pride flag", "explanation": "A 1994 study, led by Carole Jenny of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, surveyed 269 cases of children who were sexually molested by adults. In 82 percent of cases, the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child, the researchers reported in the journal Pediatrics. In only two out of 269 cases, the offender was identified as being gay or lesbian.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, homosexuality, lgbt, maps", "main_text": "A number of fear-mongering campaigns over the years have attempted to link pedophilia to the LGBTQ community, despite an utter lack of scientific proof of any such connection. In December 2017, for instance, internet trolls spread a false rumor that the letter \u201cP,\u201d representing \u201cpedosexual,\u201d was being added to the initialism LGBT (for \u201clesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender\u201d). An eerily similar rumor was spread via social media in June 2018 in the form of an image purportedly showing a \u201cMAPs (Minor-Attracted Persons) Pride Flag\u201d supposedly created for Gay Pride Month:  This picture does not represent a \u201cMAPs Pride Flag.\u201d Rather, the image was created as part of a troll experiment on Tumblr. When pictures of this \u201cMAP flag\u201d began circulating on Facebook, the posts typically included messages warning other social media users to be wary of anyone displaying this flag: This is a Minor Attracted Person (MAP) (polished term for pedophile) flag. If you happen to see this flag on any Social Media Profile or someone using the term MAP in their bio, please REPORT the Pedophile running that account. Do your bit. Websites such as the Daily Caller and \u201cAttitude\u201d picked up on this alleged \u201cMAPs Pride Flag\u201d and reported that pedophiles were \u201crebranding\u201d themselves as \u201cMinor Attracted Persons\u201d in an attempt to be accepted by the LGBT community: Paedophiles are trying to gain acceptance to the LGBT community by rebranding themselves. In a bid to gain acceptance, they have rebranded themselves as MAPs or \u201cMinor Attracted Persons\u201d and have gone so far to even create a rainbow \u201cPride\u201d flag for Gay Pride, but Twitter user, Communist Fish, posted a picture back in June to warn children to stay away. The group attempt to claim that paedophiles are misunderstood people and if they do not act upon their attraction to children, they shouldn\u2019t be marginalised. Sites like The Prevention Project have started to post testimonials from paedophiles who are seeking help with their attraction, claiming everyone \u201cneeds support\u201d. Pedophiles did not coin the term \u201cminor attracted persons\u201d (or MAPS) to rebrand themselves in 2018 in order to gain entry to the LGBT community. Organizations such as B4UAct have been using the term \u201cminor attracted persons\u201d for years to refer to \u201cadults who experience feelings of preferential sexual attraction to children or adolescents under the age of consent.\u201d The Prevention Project, an organization that helps minor-attracted persons find professional treatment, explicitly denied that the term \u201cMAPs\u201d was an attempt to \u201crebrand\u201d pedophiles. Rather, they explained that this term was preferred as a broader reference that could accurately encompass hebephiles, pedophiles, and ephebephiles: The term minor is defined as anyone under the age of 18. Therefore, someone attracted to a 14 year old is actually called an ephebephile not a pedophile. Someone attracted to a 13 year old is called a hebephile. Pedophiles are attracted to 6-12 year old children; not teens. Hence why we accurately use the term \u201cMinor Attracted Person\u201d when we discuss providing treatment to men and women with attractions to various ages of minors. We are not trying to \u201csoften the term\u201d or \u201crebrand\u201d pedophilia to fit in with certain groups. We treat individuals who are attracted to various ages of minors, thus it is accurate to use the term \u201cminor attracted person.\u201d We also found no evidence that this flag originated in earnest as a MAPs Pride Flag. We reached out to the \u201cPrevention Project, who told us they had never heard of this pride flag: \u201cWe\u2019re experts in treating MAPs who have zero desire to harm anyone but want support to deal with the stigma of being a pedophile, hebophile or ephebephile. MAPs encompass these 3 terms. None of the MAPs we know (we know a lot) have talked about this [flag].\u201d This alleged \u201cMAPs Pride Flag\u201d appears to have originated on the Tumblr page \u201cDon\u2019t Mistake Our Geography\u201d on 13 June 2018, where it was posted with a brief explanation about what the colors in the flag supposedly symbolized to NOMAPS (Non-Offending Minor Attracted Persons) and an acknowledgement that the \u201cpride flag\u201d had just been created out of whole cloth: The NOMAP community doesn\u2019t really have a pride flag, so in honor of pride month I designed a NOMAP pride flag. The top two stripes are blue to represent NOMAPs attracted to young boys. The bottom two stripes are pink to represent NOMAPs attracted to young girls. The inner stripes are yellow to represent childhood and general attraction to minors, regardless of their gender. The middle stripe is white to represent our innocence and unwillingness to offend. Please feel free to use this flag and make icons out of it etc! Hope you enjoy At the time this Pride flag image was originally posted, the Tumblr page operated under a banner in support of MAPs and included a tagline claiming that the author was \u201cpossibly a MAP\u201d and \u201cdefinitely a supporter.\u201d However, the title of this page was later changed to \u201cY\u2019all need a therapist, not a community,\u201d and the tagline was altered to read \u201cNot an anti, not an ally, just a training psychologist with some fucking sense.\u201d Here\u2019s a look at how the page was changed. The top image shows the Tumblr page as it was in mid-June, while it was claiming to be a MAP ally; the bottom image shows the page at the time of this writing, after it was revealed that the flag was bogus:  Although we don\u2019t know the motivations of this Tumblr user, it should be noted that the person claimed to be a CSA (child sexual assault) victim. Pedophiles are not rebranding themselves as MAPs to gain entry to the LGBT community, nor did they release an official \u201cMAPs Pride Flag.\u201d As we noted in our article about the homophobic and false rumor that a \u201cP\u201d for pedosexual was being added to the initialism LGBT, no link has been established between pedophilia and homosexuality: An especially pernicious myth is that most adults who sexually abuse children are gay. A number of researchers have looked at this question to determine if homosexuals are more likely to be pedophiles than heterosexuals, and the data indicate that\u2019s not the case. For example, in a 1989 study led by Kurt Freund of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Canada, scientists showed pictures of children to adult gay and straight males, and measured sexual arousal. Homosexual men reacted no more strongly to pictures of male children than heterosexual men reacted to pictures of female children."}
{"claim_id": "32600", "claim": "The Department of Homeland Security is secretly moving and releasing crowds of undocumented people into the United States.", "explanation": "It\u2019s possible, even probable, that the unnamed sources in this Judicial Watch\u00a0saw families being bused from one detention center to the next or sent to transportation hubs in order to join family members in the United States pending further immigration hearings. This has been standard policy and practice for years in the U.S. However, it\u2019s also possible \u2014 and maybe probable\u00a0\u2014 that given there are no names, dates, or facts given in the article, that none of this happened as described at all, and that the article is little more than empty conjecture.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Crime, central america, immigration, immigration controversies", "main_text": "The international border that separates the United States in Mexico seems to grow exponentially in the public\u2019s interest the closer the U.S. presidential elections loom. While it is often difficult to find actual information, misinformation about\u00a0the region abounds\u00a0 \u2014 often calculated to shock, enrage, or annoy would-be voters, such as an article\u00a0that showed up on JudicialWatch.org on 3 June 2016: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is quietly transporting illegal immigrants from the Mexican border to Phoenix and releasing them without proper processing or issuing court appearance documents, Border Patrol sources tell Judicial Watch. The government classifies them as Other Than Mexican (OTM) and this week around 35 were transferred 116 miles north from Tucson to a Phoenix bus station where they went their separate way. Judicial Watch was present when one of the white vans carrying a group of OTMs arrived at the Phoenix Greyhound station on Buckeye Road. The OTMs are from Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala and Border Patrol officials say this week\u2019s batch was in custody for a couple of days and ordered to call family members in the U.S. so they could purchase a bus ticket for their upcoming trip from Phoenix. Authorities didn\u2019t bother checking the identity of the U.S. relatives or if they\u2019re in the country legally, according to a Border Patrol official directly involved in the matter. American taxpayers pick up the fare for those who claim to have a \u201ccredible fear,\u201d Border Patrol sources told JW. None of the OTMs were issued official court appearance documents, but were told to \u201cpromise\u201d they\u2019d show up for a hearing when notified, said federal agents with firsthand knowledge of the operation. The article was quickly picked up by other sites despite its lack of vetted information or named sources. It claimed that thanks to a lack of room in detention facilities, busloads of people in the U.S.\u00a0illegally were getting put into buses and driven away to be released elsewhere in the country \u2014 and all on the taxpayer\u2019s dime: Outraged Border Patrol agents and supervisors on the front lines say illegal immigrants are being released in droves because there\u2019s no room to keep them in detention. \u201cThey\u2019re telling us to put them on a bus and let them go,\u201d said one law enforcement official in Arizona. \u201cJust move those bodies across the country.\u201d Officially, DHS denies this is occurring and in fact earlier this year U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske blasted Border Patrol union officials for denouncing this dangerous catch-and-release policy. The Department of Homeland Security is denying this because it isn\u2019t happening\u00a0 \u2014 at least, not as described. The article quoted above is conflating \u201cillegal immigrants\u201d with refugees and asylum seekers, who often show up on the southern border of the United States because that is the most accessible route from South and Central America, particularly from \u201cNorthern Triangle\u201d countries (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) that are plagued by violence and political and economic instability. Refugees and asylum seekers are subject to entirely different definitions and laws under the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and are considered a protected class: (42) The term \u201crefugee\u201d means: (A) any person who is outside any country of such person\u2019s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, or (B) in such circumstances as the President after appropriate consultation (as defined in section 207(e) of this Act) may specify, any person who is within the country of such person\u2019s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, within the country in which such person is habitually residing, and who is persecuted or who has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. The term \u201crefugee\u201d does not include any person who ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. For purposes of determinations under this Act, a person who has been forced to abort a pregnancy or to undergo involuntary sterilization, or who has been persecuted for failure or refusal to undergo such a procedure or for other resistance to a coercive population control program, shall be deemed to have been persecuted on account of political opinion, and a person who has a well founded fear that he or she will be forced to undergo such a procedure or subject to persecution for such failure, refusal, or resistance shall be deemed to have a well founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion. Many people show up asking entry into the U.S. on humanitarian visas, particularly women and children, the two most vulnerable groups in any unstable situation. In 2014, the number of families applying for asylum or refugee\u00a0status through the United States\u2019 southern border reached historic numbers, overwhelming shelters and detention centers while their applications were processed and creating uproars from one end of the country to the other. It\u2019s possible to apply for asylum in the United States two ways: through the affirmative asylum process (if the party applying is already present in the country) or through the defensive asylum process (when you request asylum as a defense against removal from the United States). Refugee status is very similar, but asylum can be requested before entering the U.S. When asylum-seekers appear at a\u00a0border of the United States, they are transported to a detention center pending their interview with an immigration judge to see whether they are fleeing what\u2019s considered a credible threat. If they are denied, they\u2019re deported or can appeal, in which case they remain in immigration detention until their case can be heard again. Increasing numbers of people requesting asylum or refugee status means immigration judges are overwhelmed\u00a0\u2014 and that detention centers equipped to hold families are full to overflowing. (The use of detention centers is controversial and strongly\u00a0discouraged in international law.) When minors\u00a0are entering the United States without\u00a0adult family members, the general policy is to release them to family members within the country pending their immigration hearings, or to keep them in the least restrictive environment possible if they must be detained. When children\u00a0and families\u00a0are moved from site to site, they are often processed together and bused from one place to the next. It\u2019s also true that minors\u00a0from countries other than Mexico and Canada have a different classification than Mexican and Canadian nationals: Children from Mexico and Canada can either choose to leave voluntarily or be sent home within 48 hours under repatriation agreements. Children from all other countries must be transferred to HHS within 72 hours for court review of their immigration claims. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in HHS reunites the child with family or a friend, or in approximately 10 percent of the cases, places them in foster care. After being placed, every child is\u00a0put into deportation proceedings. The children may then be granted permission to stay (for example, through family visas, special immigrant juvenile visas or asylum) or be removed from the United States. (Court review is required, under a 2008 trafficking law, for children from countries other than Mexico and Canada.) Sometimes, particularly when the bureaucratic controls over refugee status are overwhelmed, some people do slip through the cracks. However, they\u2019re never released en masse on unsuspecting suburban populations."}
{"claim_id": "23840", "claim": "Obama put a 10 percent tax on tanning.", "explanation": "Snooki says Obama put a 10 percent tax on tanning", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Snooki, ", "main_text": "In a video promo for the new season of MTV's Jersey Shore, Snooki gets all, like, political. \"I don't go tanning-tanning anymore because Obama put a 10 percent tax on tanning,\" Nicole \"Snooki\" Polizzi says after her boyfriend is shown spray-tanning her face. \"And I feel like he did that intentionally for us.\" \"McCain would have never put a 10 percent tax on tanning,\" she said, adding, \"because he's pale, so he'd probably want to be tan.\" McCain entered the discourse via Twitter: \"Snooki, u r right, I would never tax your tanning bed! Pres Obama's tax/spend policy is quite The Situation. but I do rec wearing sunscreen!\" We should hope so. McCain has a history of battling skin cancer. But let's get to the facts. Did President Barack Obama put a 10 percent tax on tanning? On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka the health care bill) into law. And Chapter 49, SEC. 5000B makes this all very clear: \"There is hereby imposed on any indoor tanning service a tax equal to 10 percent of the amount paid for such service.\" We were pretty sure Snooki was kidding about Obama passing that provision specifically to stymie the Jersey Shore crew. But it turns out that the president had mentioned her by name on May 2, 2010, and said she'd be exempt: \"This next provision is called the Jersey Shore-Up,\" Obama said. \"It reads: 'The following individuals shall be excluded from the indoor tanning tax within this bill: Snooki, J-WOWW, the Situation, and House Minority Leader John Boehner.'\" (\"The Situation\" and \"JWOWW\" are other members of the Jersey Shore cast.) Alas, Obama's comment was made during the White House Correspondents Association Dinner. In other words, it was a joke. (Yes, it scares us too that Obama and McCain are so familiar with Jersey Shore.) If we really wanted to pick a fight with Snooki, we could take issue with her saying it was a tax on tanning. There's no fee on sunshine, just indoor tanning. Or that it's Obama's tax. There's no indication an indoor tanning tax was Obama's idea. It was proposed by Senate Democrats in December as an alternative to a proposed tax on cosmetic surgery. The cosmetic surgery lobby (funded by plastic surgeons) apparently held more sway than the indoor tanning lobby. The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation projected the tax will raise $2.7 billion over 10 years to help offset the cost of expanding medical coverage. Legislators said they also hoped it might discourage teens from indoor tanning, as some studies suggest it is linked to higher risk of cancer. The bill was passed by Congress, but Obama signed it, so we think Snooki's assigning the tax to Obama is fair. One other small point. The indoor tanning tax goes into effect on July 1, 2010. So when Snooki made her comment, she still could've gotten her tan on sans Uncle Sam's extra reach. But we're assuming Snooki isn't so much worried about the money as the principle. We rate her comment friggin' ."}
{"claim_id": "2844", "claim": "Panel favors continuation of ArQule liver cancer drug study.", "explanation": "ArQule Inc said an independent committee recommended a late-stage study of the company\u2019s cancer drug continue with a lower dose, months after liver cancer patients who received a greater dose showed a higher incidence of a blood disorder.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "ArQule shares were up nearly 30 percent after soaring as much as 81 percent in trading after the bell. A lower dose of the company\u2019s drug, Tivantinib, reduced the incidence of a low white blood cell count, ArQule said on Thursday citing a recent review of safety data. The drugmaker and its partner Daiichi Sankyo Inc are testing the drug as a treatment for patients with previously treated hepatocellular cancer, the most common type of liver cancer. A Data Monitoring Committee recommended last September that the drug\u2019s dosage be reduced from 240 mg twice daily to 120 mg, and that patients be monitored to confirm the safety profile of the lower dose. The drug, however, failed to show statistically significant improvement in overall survival in another late-stage trial on patients suffering from a type of lung cancer, ArQule said. Woburn, Massachusetts-based ArQule shares closed at $2.36 on the Nasdaq on Thursday."}
{"claim_id": "11722", "claim": "The White House staff risks violating federal ethics rules if they participate\u00a0in Donald Trump\u2019s \"fake news awards.", "explanation": "Eisen said the White House staff risks violating federal ethics rules if they participate\u00a0in Donald Trump\u2019s \"fake news awards.\" Two experts, who practiced government ethics at the highest levels, said participation by White House staffers would violate federal ethics rules. Trump, for the record, is exempt. They added that the president and his administration\u2019s pattern of playing favorites among media outlets raises First Amendment issues that would subject this event to heightened scrutiny by ethics officials.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Ethics, Fake news, Legal Issues, Norm Eisen, ", "main_text": "On the campaign trail, Donald Trump honed his craft of slamming media organizations that covered him critically, a practice he\u2019s carried over to the White House. His efforts will culminate soon in the so-called \"fake news awards,\" an idea Trump first floated last November on Twitter. \"We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!\" he tweeted Nov. 27, 2017. We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY! Trump\u2019s idea got poor reviews from government watchdogs, who warned White House staff that the event would breach federal ethics rules designed to keep government honest and impartial. \"WARNING to White House staff: the president may be exempt from the rules at 5 CFR \u00a7 2635.701 et seq. on misuse of position BUT YOU ARE NOT. If you help @potus with the below, you risk violating \u00a7\u00a7 702, 704 & 705 forbidding use of gov time & $$$ to harm some media & aid others,\" Norm Eisen, President Barack Obama's former ethics czar, tweeted on Jan. 7. WARNING to White House staff: the president may be exempt from the rules at 5 CFR \u00a7 2635.701 et seq. on misuse of position BUT YOU ARE NOT. If you help @potus with the below, you risk violating \u00a7\u00a7 702, 704 & 705 forbidding use of gov time & $$$ to harm some media & aid others. https://t.co/gHxzJcCEAW Experts who practiced government ethics at the highest levels told us the fake news awards could land White House staffers in hot water, for violating government rules and encroaching on the First Amendment. Eisen, now chair of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics,\u00a0referred to a set of federal regulations that lay out the ethical conduct of\u00a0executive branch employees. (As Eisen noted, Trump, as president, is exempt.) These rules are overseen by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, or OGE, an executive branch agency whose 4,500 ethics officials serve as watchdogs over the executive branch to prevent (or resolve) conflicts of interest, with the aim of safeguarding governmental integrity. Eisen specifically pointed to a section of the rules that deal with executive branch employees misusing their government jobs. The section states that an executive branch employee \"shall not use his public office for the endorsement of any product or enterprise.\" Because of that rule, the ethics office also has long considered it improper for an executive branch employee to condemn a company, said Walter Shaub, who led the OGE until his resignation in July 2017. \"You can't use your government position to endorse a company, and you can't trash a company to the advantage of a different company,\" said Shaub, who is now the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center. It's unclear if Trump\u2019s event is being held by the White House or the Trump/Pence campaign, and neither organization replied to our questions. (Eisen's tweet \u2014 and this analysis \u2014 deals with official government events. A separate set of laws, including the Hatch Act, would apply if White House staffers participated in a campaign event, sources said.) Absolutely, according to Shaub, who retweeted Eisen\u2019s warning to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. \"Hey @PressSec & @RajShah45, Norm is right. If you or ANY WH staffers work on this or post it on the WH website, it will be a violation of the Standards of Conduct. Beware of laws on using federal appropriations too, if there are any visuals, certificates, handouts, or trophies,\" Shaub tweeted Jan. 7. Hey @PressSec & @RajShah45, Norm is right. If you or ANY WH staffers work on this or post it on the WH website, it will be a violation of the Standards of Conduct. Beware of laws on using federal appropriations too, if there are any visuals, certificates, handouts, or trophies. https://t.co/3tlyrkNc9H Shaub told PolitiFact that a staffers' participation in an official Trump administration event designed to publicly humiliate certain media outlets would clearly constitute a misuse of their government position. \"It\u2019s not even a close call,\" he said. \"Sending out tweets talking about how great Fox News is, which is a business, and now he\u2019s going to give awards trashing CNN and others, which are businesses, is preferential treatment.\" Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, said that while some ethics rules can be ambiguous,\u00a0a Trump staffer's participation would be out of bounds. \"The endorsement of some news outlets and the condemnation of others crosses the line under the OGE regulations,\" he said. \"It\u2019s hard to show where that line precisely is, but what I can tell you is it has been crossed in this instance.\" Absent some kind of serious government study showing systemic failures by certain media organizations, there\u2019s no compelling government interest that justifies the staging of fake news awards, he said. Painter said Trump\u2019s tweets, as well as other administration actions affecting the media industry, raise First Amendment concerns. This\u00a0makes it more likely an ethics official would find a staffer broke the rules by participating in Trump's fake news awards, he said. During his time in office, scores of Trump\u2019s tweets have followed a familiar pattern: praise for Fox News and scorn for its competitors. On Twitter, Trump mentioned Fox News, its programs or its hosts in more than 70 tweets that describe the right-wing media outlet in positive, if not glowing, terms. Trump uses Twitter to promote Fox News reporting, highlight favorable coverage of him and his administration and lavish praise on the network while condemning their competitors. \"The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred. @MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable. @foxandfriends is great!\" Trump tweeted Feb. 15, 2017. The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred. @MSNBC & @CNN are unwatchable. @foxandfriends is great! Over the same period, Trump has mentioned Fox News' rivals more than 50 times. Aside from two tweets promoting his own interview on ABC News, these tweets have ranged from negative to\u00a0scathing. \"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!\" Trump tweeted Feb. 17, 2017. In addition to Trump's tweets, Painter said there\u2019s other evidence the administration has used its power to play favorites in the media industry,\u00a0raising\u00a0First Amendment concerns that bolster the case that the fake news awards are\u00a0out of bounds. He pointed to the Justice Department's antitrust suit against Time Warner, which has raised questions about whether this was done as retribution against CNN; Trump\u2019s threat against NBC's license over reporting he disputed; and Trump\u2019s repeated \u2014 and false \u2014 attacks on Amazon and its chairman Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post. Painter also noted Trump congratulated Rupert Murdoch, who co-chairs 21st Century Fox, over a deal to sell significant Fox assets to Disney, after Trump reportedly sought reassurance that Fox News wouldn\u2019t change hands. \"There's some concrete evidence that they're playing favorites with the media organizations in official action, and penalizing those who do not give them the news coverage they like,\" Painter said. \"Couple that with the president's tweets, including several that suggest he wishes he were in a country without the First Amendment, and this is viewed as a part of a pattern of conduct.\" Both Painter and Shaub noted the ethics rules also require loyalty to the rule of law and the constitution. \"In effect the president is trying to establish official news media, establish that Fox is good and CNN is bad,\" Painter said. \"That does loop back into what's a reasonable application of the OGE rule if what you're doing is treading really close to a First Amendment problem.\" Eisen and Painter are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which unsuccessfully sued Trump for violating a constitutional bar on presidents and federal officials accepting gifts and payments from foreign governments. Eisen said the White House staff risks violating federal ethics rules if they participate\u00a0in Donald Trump\u2019s \"fake news awards.\" Two experts, who practiced government ethics at the highest levels, said participation by White House staffers would violate federal ethics rules. Trump, for the record, is exempt. They added that the president and his administration\u2019s pattern of playing favorites among media outlets raises First Amendment issues that would subject this event to heightened scrutiny by ethics officials. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "34799", "claim": "American Atheists are opposing the incorporation of a steel-beam cross found in the World Trade Center rubble into a September 11 memorial and museum.", "explanation": "The judges concluded that the \u201cstated purpose of displaying The Cross at Ground Zero to tell the story of how some people used faith to cope with the tragedy is genuine, and an objective observer would understand the purpose of the display to be secular.\u201d", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics, 9/11", "main_text": "The discovery of a 17-foot steel-beam cross in the rubble of the World Trade Center towers two days after the 2001 terrorist attacks on America provided a tangible symbol of comfort and faith to many of those horrified by the events of September 11. Some of those who had access to the WTC site at that time made pilgrimages to pray before the cross and leave behind written messages such as \u201cGod Bless Our Fallen Brothers.\u201d A few weeks later the cross (since dubbed the \u201cGround Zero Cross\u201d) was hoisted atop a 40-foot-high mound of debris on what was formerly a pedestrian walkway so that it could be viewed by a wider audience, and a religious service was held, during which the Rev. Brian Jordan sprinkled the cross with holy water and declared: \u201cBehold the glory of the cross at ground zero. This is our symbol of hope, our symbol of faith, our symbol of healing\u201d: Countless other ceremonies and prayer vigils were held at the site of WTC cross in the weeks and months that followed. Two years later, the cross remained in place along Church Street on the eastern border of the 16-acre WTC site. After the unearthing of the steel-beam cross from the WTC rubble, a number of groups supported the idea of incorporating the steel cross into the design of a future September 11 memorial display at the site. The American Atheists organization opposed such plans for reasons expressed by their president, Ellen Johnson, at least as far back as June 2002: Efforts to make the steel cross part of a permanent display at the site in Lower Manhattan come as officials mull a suitable way to re-develop the former World Trade Center location. A final blueprint for the area is to be chosen by December 1, and will include a memorial of some kind to the 2,823 people killed during the attack on the twin towers.The redevelopment group has already received more than $2 billion in public funds to construct new buildings on and around the former WTC site. \u201cNone of this money should be used to construct any religious memorial,\u201d said Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists. \u201cThis is a public area, and it\u2019s being rebuilt with public funds. Tax money must not be used to construct any sectarian memorial.\u201d Johnson added that calls to include the cross as part of a permanent memorial \u201cinsult the victims, rescue workers and other Americans who are not Christians, who do not believe in a deity and are not religious.\u201d Ms. Johnson reiterated American Atheists\u2019 position in the 8 September 2003 edition of The Trentonian: \u201cMany people who died on September 11 weren\u2019t Christian. There were Jews, Muslims, and atheists who died. This is a Christian religious advertisement, and allowing it to stay there is an insult to everyone who doesn\u2019t believe in that particular religion.\u201d This position brought opposing campaigns from those who favored incorporating the cross into a permanent 9/11 memorial: Dear Conservative Friend, This is one e-mail that you NEED to forward to ALL of your contacts, across the country and around the world. We MUST NOT let the travesty below take place. According to a recent article, with the upcoming 2-year anniversary of the deadly 9/11 attacks, \u201can atheist organization is once again warning against using a steel-beam cross at the site of the World Trade Center disaster from being used in a permanent memorial to the victims who died there.\u201d The organization American Atheists (founded by the late Madalyn Murray O\u2019Hair) is protesting a proposal to use a large steel cross found in the rubble of the World Trade Center in a memorial to victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. We all remember that cross. A construction worker came across it in the midst of the WTC wreckage just a few days after the attacks. It was standing straight, 20-feet high, surrounded by many smaller crosses. After it was discovered, construction workers, firefighters, police officers and family members began holding weekly Sunday services at the site. The names of fallen police officers and firefighters were also scribbled on the cross, along with the message \u201cGod Bless Our Fallen Brothers\u201d. And now, this group of atheists is threatening a lawsuit to prevent the cross from becoming part of any permanent memorial. You and I can help to stop their assault by signing ConservativeAlerts.com\u2019s online petition. ACTION ITEM: The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency overseeing the rebuilding of the area, has made no decisions on what a Ground Zero memorial would include. There\u2019s still time for hundreds of thousands of people to voice their opinion, that the \u201cGround Zero Cross\u201d should remain as part of any future memorial to the WTC victims. Go to our site below to sign the \u201cGround Zero Cross\u201d petition NOW: http://www.conservativealerts.com/cross.htm NOTE: In order to have an impact on the folks at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, we need HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of signers, from across America and all over the world, on this petition, which we will present to the agency. Be sure to forward this e-mail to everyone you know who wants to help STOP the atheists from blocking this powerful symbol of healing after disaster. Thank you! Plans called for the 17-foot World Trade Center crossbeam to be on display at the museum portion of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum when that facility opened. In 2011 American Atheists filed a lawsuit to prevent that display, contending that the museum would be violating the Constitution\u2019s establishment clause and New York state civil-rights law by exhibiting a religious symbol. In August 2012, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum filed court papers seeking a dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds that the museum is operated by an independent non-profit corporation and its decisions about what to display are therefore not state actions subject to constitutional protection, that the crossbeam is being exhibited as a relic of the 9/11 attacks and not as a religious symbol, and that the museum\u2019s merely displaying an object with religious significance does not amount to an endorsement or promotion of a particular religion. In July 2014, a the three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court denied the American Atheists\u2019 appeal and ruled that the Ground Zero cross could remain in the museum, holding that it served more as a \u201cgenuine historical artifact\u201d than as a symbol of Christianity: The judges noted that the cross \u2014 comprised of a 17-foot steel column and a crossbeam \u2014 became a \u201csymbol of hope and healing for all persons\u201d in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. [American Atheists has] appealed, arguing that displaying the cross at the museum violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and state constitutions of New York and New Jersey. The atheists contended the display of the cross at the museum \u201cgave the impression of a Latin cross, a symbol associated with Christianity.\u201d They asserted that displaying the cross was unconstitutional, \u201cparticularly without any accompanying plaque or similar item acknowledging that atheists were among those\u201d who died on 9/11 or participated in the rescue efforts. The appellate judges ruled the atheists\u2019 \u201cchallenge fails on the merits.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "6357", "claim": "County offers vaccinations after hepatitis scare.", "explanation": "Somerset County is offering free hepatitis A vaccinations after a deli worker at a supermarket was found to have the virus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Hepatitis", "main_text": "The vaccinations will be given at the county health department from noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. Officials say the Somerville ShopRite was contagious with the virus between Oct. 13 and Oct. 30. Officials say anyone who bought food from the deli should throw it away. Hepatitis A is usually spread when a person comes into contact with objects, food or drinks contaminated by an infected person. State health officials have confirmed 533 hepatitis A infections this year, including six deaths."}
{"claim_id": "833", "claim": "Ebola 'no longer incurable' as Congo trial finds drugs boost survival.", "explanation": "Scientists are a step closer to being able to cure the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever after two experimental drugs showed survival rates of as much as 90% in a clinical trial in Congo.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Two experimental drugs - an antibody cocktail called REGN-EB3 developed by Regeneron (REGN.O) and a monoclonal antibody called mAb114 - will now be offered to all patients infected with the viral disease in an ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The drugs showed \u201cclearly better\u201d results, according to U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in a trial of four potential treatments being conducted during the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history, now entering its second year in DRC. The drugs improved survival rates from the disease more than two other treatments being tested - ZMapp, made by Mapp Biopharmaceutical, and Remdesivir, made by Gilead Sciences (GILD.O) - and those products will be now dropped, said Anthony Fauci, one of the researchers co-leading the trial. The agency said 49% of the patients on ZMapp and 53% on Remdesivir died in the study. In comparison, 29% of the patients on REGN-EB3 and 34% on mAb114 died. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director general of Congo\u2019s Institut National de Recherche Biom\u00e9dicale in DRC, who co-led the trial, said the results meant that \u201cfrom now on, we will no longer say that Ebola is incurable.\u201d  \u201cThese advances will help save thousands of lives,\u201d he told reporters. Anthony Fauci, NIAID\u2019s director, also said the results were \u201cvery good news\u201d for the fight against Ebola. The agency said that of the patients who were brought into treatment centers with low levels of virus detected in their blood, 94% who got REGN-EB3 and 89% on mAb114 survived. In comparison, two-thirds of the patients who got Remdesivir and nearly three-quarters on ZMapp survived. Ebola has been spreading in eastern Congo since August 2018 in an outbreak that has now killed at least 1,800 people. Efforts to control it have been hampered by militia violence and some local resistance to outside help. A vast Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2013 to 2016 became the world\u2019s largest ever when it spread through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and killed more than 11,300 people. The Congo treatment trial, which began in November last year, is being carried out by an international research group coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Mike Ryan, head of the WHO\u2019s emergencies program, said the trial\u2019s positive findings were encouraging but would not be enough on their own to bring the epidemic to an end. \u201cThe news today is fantastic. It gives us a new tool in our toolbox against Ebola, but it will not in itself stop Ebola,\u201d he told reporters. Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity, also hailed the success of the trial\u2019s findings, saying they would \u201cundoubtedly save lives\u201d. \u201cThe more we learn about these two treatments ... the closer we can get to turning Ebola from a terrifying disease to one that is preventable and treatable,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe won\u2019t ever get rid of Ebola but we should be able to stop these outbreaks from turning into major national and regional epidemics.\u201d  Some 681 patients at four separate treatment centers in Congo have already been enrolled in the Congo treatment clinical trial, Fauci said. The study aims to enroll a total of 725. The decision to drop two of the trial drugs was based on data from almost 500 patients, he said, which showed that those who got REGN-EB3 or mAb114 \u201chad a greater chance of survival compared to those participants in the other two arms\u201d. The two promising drugs are made from Ebola antibodies - a protein produced by the immune system to defend against infection. Regeneron\u2019s product is a cocktail of three Ebola antibodies, while mAb114 is a single antibody developed by scientists at NIAID."}
{"claim_id": "36448", "claim": "A photograph shows a memorial for aborted babies with an angel crying over the empty cradle of the infant that it was supposed to guard.", "explanation": "Guardian Angel Crying at the Cradle of an Aborted Fetus?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "A February 28 2019 Facebook post (archived here) shared the image reproduced above with the following text:I shared this picture a few minutes ago, then about 5 minutes after I shared it, the post was removed from my page and also from the page of who I shared it. The statue represents a guardian angel who is crying over the crib of the baby it was supposed to guard but the baby was aborted.We could not help but observe that the post had actually not been deleted as of late March 2019. Other versions of the claim circulated on sites like Pinterest with a slightly different caption:That version was captioned:An Angel crying at the cradle of the aborted child he was to guard.An identical version of the text and image above was shared to Reddit\u2019s r/4chan in June 2018, and the image captioned \u201cempty crib\u201d was shared to Imgur at roughly the same time as the Facebook post linked above. The earliest appearance of a related image we were able to locate was from January 2016, when it appeared in a Tennessee newspaper:This \u201cI knew you in the womb\u201d bronze statue sits outside the entrance to Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, where a Celebration of Life and Remembrance will take place [in January 2016].In June 2016, a Canadian anti-abortion site posted about plans to install a version of the statue as a \u201cmonument to Canada\u2019s unborn children.\u201d However, abortion was not explicitly mentioned in that post:MyCanada is working with supporters to install a national monument to Canada\u2019s unborn children. The bronze sculpture, created by Canadian-born artist Timothy Schmaltz, features an angel weeping over an empty crib. Titled \u201cI Knew You in the Womb\u201d, this will be a beautiful testimony to the value of the unborn. The organization hopes it \u201cwill also be a place for Canadians to pray, mourn and pay their respects to the deceased unborn.\u201dA short description of \u201cI Knew You in the Womb\u201d on the artist\u2019s website\u00a0explains:An angel weeps over an empty cradle, offering a memorial for any unborn children making it a very powerful monument to the unborn.A separate page for miniatures of the image states that it is \u201ca powerful pro-life image and a touching memorial for any children that have been lost.\u201d In a video, Schmaltz says he was inspired to create the sculpture in 2013. He explains that it is \u201cnot necessarily\u201d about abortion, but also that it was prompted by \u201cabortions and miscarriages.\u201d In an August 2016 interview with a Catholic outlet, Schmaltz answered a question about overall anti-abortion themes in his work:Abortion in our culture is a serious concern of mine. I know it from firsthand experience because I am a victim of abortion. I had a relationship when I was in my early 20s, and the woman I was dating became pregnant. We were duped by our culture to do the supposedly \u201cresponsible\u201d thing. I experienced what it\u2019s like to sit in a clinic waiting for my girlfriend to have an abortion and what it was like to be with her after the abortion. I saw firsthand the devastation that it did to my heart and to my soul \u2014 and also to my girlfriend\u2019s. It was absolutely overwhelming.When asked about miscarriage, he referenced the sculpture shown above, explaining:The sculpture of the angel weeping over a cradle was done after my wife miscarried [in 2013]. It was a time when we thought for sure we were going to have our third child, and we were so excited that our kids were going to have another sibling. Then we had to tell them that it wasn\u2019t going to happen. I remember sitting in my studio feeling so empty. That\u2019s when I did the cradle piece, which I called I Knew You in the Womb. When our family experienced that miscarriage, it brought back similar feelings to when I had lost my first child through abortion.I envisioned an angel weeping over an empty cradle; there was something so subtle, so absent, and so touching about him. The idea was borrowed from cemeteries in France where you often see an angel weeping over a tombstone.Artist Timothy Schmaltz was inspired to create the sculpture after his wife suffered a miscarriage in 2013. Schmaltz states that it is a \u201cmonument to the unborn,\u201d not specifically about, but not excluding,\u00a0 aborted fetuses. Miniatures of the image are for sale on his site, and at least two versions of the sculpture have been installed in its larger form. Typically, they are as Schmaltz describes \u2014 monuments to any sort of pregnancy loss. However, he explicitly states that the imagery is not entirely about abortion."}
{"claim_id": "30304", "claim": "Joe Jackson \u2014 patriarch of the entertainment family that includes singers Janet Jackson and the late Michael Jackson \u2014 has died of cancer.", "explanation": "According to their \u201cAbout Us\u201d page, the Weekly Observer purports to offer \u201cresearched content that appeals to our readers,\u201d though a quick scan of their published articles reveals a backlog of shallow, poorly-vetted clickbait content aimed more at accumulating advertising revenue than providing reliable information.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, celebrity death hoaxes, fake news, joe jackson", "main_text": "Update: Joe Jackson passed away on 27 June 2018, just four days after the death hoax appeared. You can read our story here. On 23 June 2018, an article appeared on a site called The Weekly Observer (no connection to the Hemingway, South Carolina newspaper of the same name) saying that Joe Jackson, the father of Janet, Jermaine, and the late Michael Jackson, had succumbed to cancer at the age of 89: Joe Jackson, the father of the famous family Jackson, lost the fight against cancer as he suffered from incurable illness and was in the final stage, many American media reported. The TMZ.com website, citing family sources, reported that 89-year-old Jackson suffered from cancer at the final stage. The Variety magazine supports a source that knows its status confirmed this information while DailyMail.com, based on family members and other unspecified sources, wrote that Joe Jackson suffered from cancer in the pancreas. Zerman Jackson, one of Joe Jackson\u2018s sons, confirmed on Twitter that his father died. Despite inspiring a rash of erroneous death notices and remembrances on Twitter and Facebook, however, the claim that Jackson had passed away was a fabrication. As of 25 June 2018, no legitimate media sources had reported that Jackson was dead. TMZ.com did\u00a0report on 22 June that Jackson was hospitalized with untreatable \u201cterminal cancer.\u201d An article\u00a0on DailyMail.com offered more details about the illness, saying Jackson is suffering from stage four pancreatic cancer. It quoted Jermaine Jackson, 63, as saying his father was \u201cvery, very frail\u201d and didn\u2019t have long to live (Jermaine later tweeted that he had confirmed details about Joe Jackson\u2019s condition to the reporter.) False rumors of Jackson\u2019s death had circulated before in May 2016 after he was hospitalized with a high fever. In that case he responded with a notice on his web site saying \u201cI Am 100% Alive,\u201d and that the rumors were \u201cgreatly exaggerated.\u201d He has not yet posted a reaction to the more recent false reports."}
{"claim_id": "12694", "claim": "It\u2019s been proven over and over again Medicaid has the worst outcomes in the industrialized world as far as the quality of health care.", "explanation": "Yoho said \"It\u2019s been proven over and over again Medicaid has the worst outcomes in the industrialized world as far as the quality of health care.\" Yoho\u2019s spokesman said that he didn\u2019t mean to use the word \"worst.\" His evidence focused on studies about Medicaid outcomes within the United States with no comparison to other countries. Yoho intended to argue that Medicaid under the ACA hasn\u2019t improved health outcomes. Kaiser examined multiple studies and found Medicaid expansion improves access to care and self-reported health, but additional research is needed to determine effects on health outcomes. As far as Yoho\u2019s original statement. ", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medicaid, Florida, Ted Yoho, ", "main_text": "U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, a Florida Republican, is a frequent critic of the Affordable Care Act but opposed his party\u2019s health care plan. The ACA passed under President Barack Obama included the expansion of Medicaid, a program that provides health coverage for about 74 million poor Americans. (Yoho\u2019s state of Florida rejected the expansion.) Yoho, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, says the law has driven people to Medicaid, a program he described as a worldwide failure. \"With the Affordable Care Act, what\u2019s happened is, all these people have been running to Medicaid, and it\u2019s been proven over and over again Medicaid has the worst outcomes in the industrialized world as far as the quality of health care,\" he said in a March 14 interview on PBS, about a week and a half before the Republicans canceled a vote on their health care plan. Yoho\u00a0spokesman Brian Kaveney walked back the congressman\u2019s statement somewhat when we asked for evidence that Medicaid has the worst outcomes in the industrialized world. \"Hindsight being 20/20, the congressman didn\u2019t mean to use the word \u2018worst,\u2019 \" Kaveney said. \"The congressman was pointing out that since the implementation of ACA, health care trends have not improved.\" Kaveney added: \"To say that Medicaid expansion under ACA has resulted in better health outcomes would be a very debatable point.\" Experts we interviewed about Medicaid outcomes said they were unaware of any research comparing Medicaid outcomes with the rest of the industrialized world. Leighton Ku, an expert on health policy at George Washington University, said that Medicaid improves access to care for poor people, but research about outcomes comes with caveats. \"There is no question -- and there is a lot of research -- that Medicaid improves poor people's access to health care, in terms of seeing a doctor, getting medications, etc.,\" he told PolitiFact. \"The problem with comparing health outcomes is that Medicaid recipients start out sicker, both because they are poor, but also because people who are sick really need to get Medicaid to get access to care, while healthier poor people may go uninsured because they don't need much care.\" Studies about Medicaid Yoho was referring to two articles in 2017 by Oren Cass, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and a policy director for Mitt Romney\u2019s 2012 presidential campaign. Cass argued\u00a0that Medicaid studies show that the program doesn\u2019t improve public health. But there aren't studies comparing its health outcomes to other industrialized countries. \"Whether people on Medicaid have better or worse outcomes than people in other countries doesn\u2019t tell you anything about the effectiveness of Medicaid,\" Cass told PolitiFact. \"The question is whether there are public programs that have as little effect on outcomes relative to the baseline of no-insurance in that country.\" Let\u2019s look at the studies that Cass cited, some of which we have reviewed before. Oregon study: Cass wrote that a 2013 study about Medicaid expansion in Oregon showed \"recipients gained no statistically significant improvement in physical health after two years.\" The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment compared about 6,000 patients who got a slot in a 2008 Medicaid expansion and about 6,000 who didn\u2019t. Over two years, the study found that while patients in the program initially reported feeling better, there was no real change in health indicators such as diabetes control, cholesterol or blood pressure. However, patients in the study did report better access to care and improvements in mental health. Harvard study: Harvard researchers compared the effects of Medicaid expansion programs in Arizona, Maine and New York with other states that made no change in the 2000s. \"Only one of the three achieved a statistically significant reduction in mortality,\" Cass wrote. One of the study\u2019s authors, Ben Sommers, said when examining each state individually only the largest state -- New York -- was significant on its own. Sommers has since done additional research and found that deaths from causes most treatable with timely medical care \u2014 such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes \u2014 did go down in the other two states expanding Medicaid as well. (Sommers did part-time work for the Obama\u00a0administration.) Study on life expectancy and income: Cass also cited a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that examined the relationship between life expectancy and income. The study was not about Medicaid, but found differences in life expectancy for low-income individuals is not significantly correlated with measures of the quantity and quality of medical care. \"Our study shows that behavioral conditions such as smoking and obesity are very important in mortality,\" study author Raj Chetty told PolitiFact. \"The study does not imply that Medicaid is not important, let alone that it has the worst outcomes in the industrialized world.\" Cass cited one positive health impact from Medicaid: He wrote that it \"may have significant positive effects on pregnant women and young children.\" Researchers at the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation looked at the big picture for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Kaiser reviewed 108 studies about the expansion of Medicaid under the law. They found that most research shows that the expansion positively impacts access to care and improved self-reported health. More research was needed, however, to know the effects on health outcomes. Harold Pollack, a University of Chicago professor of social services administration, said that Medicaid, much like private insurance, is a weaker tool in improving health outcomes than \u00a0experts would like to see. But Medicaid critics sometimes omit context about the program for the poor. \"Many studies that compare Medicaid recipients to others find negative associations between Medicaid and health for the simple reason that Medicaid serves individuals facing the greatest social and health risks,\" he said. \"These cannot be interpreted as identifying a harmful causal role of Medicaid.\" Our ruling Yoho said \"It\u2019s been proven over and over again Medicaid has the worst outcomes in the industrialized world as far as the quality of health care.\" Yoho\u2019s spokesman said that he didn\u2019t mean to use the word \"worst.\" His evidence focused on studies about Medicaid outcomes within the United States with no comparison to other countries. Yoho intended to argue that Medicaid under the ACA hasn\u2019t improved health outcomes. Kaiser examined multiple studies and found Medicaid expansion improves access to care and self-reported health, but additional research is needed to determine effects on health outcomes. As far as Yoho\u2019s original statement."}
{"claim_id": "17468", "claim": "People on pot\u00a0\"shoot each other ...\u00a0stab each other ...\u00a0strangle each other, drive under the influence, kill families.", "explanation": "Grace said, people on pot\u00a0\"shoot each other ...\u00a0stab each other ...\u00a0strangle each other, drive under the influence, kill families.\" Yes, you can find individual cases to back up each of Grace's points, but Grace suggested\u00a0pot drives people generally\u00a0to commit violent acts, and there's no evidence of that. Behavioral science experts we consulted\u00a0stressed using marijuana has consequences. But a hard turn toward violence, including shooting each other and killing families, isn\u2019t one of the direct effects from using the drug for most people.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Drugs, Crime, PunditFact, Marijuana, Nancy Grace, ", "main_text": "An amusing Web video pits tough-talking former prosecutor and HLN host Nancy Grace against a combative adversary on the subject of pot: Nancy Grace. In one frame, Grace argues smoking marijuana makes users less prone to picking a fight or \"basically starting Mortal Kombat.\" They\u2019re more likely \"to lay on the sofa and eat,\" she said while discussing Trayvon Martin having marijuana in his system at the time of death. In the other frame, Grace is heated up about the debate du jour: legalized recreational pot in Colorado. In a recent show, Grace dismissed the arguments of a marijuana advocate who thinks the drug should be legalized and regulated like alcohol. She argued about whether the drug is \"highly addictive\" with Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mason Tvert, who suggested Grace is against legalization because \"she does not like the people that use marijuana.\" She disagreed. \"The reason I\u2019m against legalization of pot is that I\u2019ve seen too many felonies, and I don\u2019t mean pot sales or growing pot,\" she said. \"I mean people on pot that shoot each other, that stab each other, strangle each other, drive under the influence, kill families \u2014 wipe out a whole family.\" Tvert went on to chastise her \"1930s\" tone, and the argument went on. For many, Grace\u2019s comments about people using marijuana and committing violent acts raised eyebrows, so we decided to check it out. HLN publicists did not respond for comment. The consensus among drug and psychiatry experts: Marijuana alone does not propel one to commit acts of violence. Most users are not lighting up and heading over to Fight Club. They want to wind down, not amp up. And while there is evidence that people who commit crimes often smoke marijuana (in part because smoking marijuana is a crime in many places itself), there is little support to back up the idea that it drives people to\u00a0commit crimes, especially violent ones like Grace described. \"Clearly the majority of users don\u2019t become aggressive,\" said Dr. Ihsan Salloum, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief of the Division of Substance & Alcohol Abuse at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. \"Definitely in terms of clinical work, violence is not the first thing that comes to mind when people are dealing with marijuana.\" That said, marijuana is still a mind-altering drug, and it could have a different effect on people who are predisposed to aggression and anxiety, he said. It could induce fear or paranoia when people cannot process an environment, though some may withdraw instead of reacting aggressively. Other psychologists and psychiatrists essentially agreed with Salloun. \"Other than people driving under the influence, there\u2019s no scientific basis for what she\u2019s saying,\" said Matthew Johnson, associate professor in the psychiatry department at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The effect is often not as dramatic as driving under the influence of alcohol, Johnson said. Usually people who drive while high drive slower, and the impairment is usually noticed when the driver\u2019s attention is divided, he said, akin to the effect of some prescription medications. People who come to treatment facilities are typically using multiple drugs, making it tough to suss out which substance was responsible for a violent act. Violence is not typically associated with the use of marijuana, unless the victim is a \"chocolate chip cookie,\" joked Dr. Scott Teitelbaum, professor and vice chairman of the University of Florida\u2019s Department of Psychiatry and chief of the Division of Addiction Medicine. Levity aside, Teitelbaum stressed some people can still become addicted to the drug, and he worries about more young people using it with further legalization. A spokeswoman for the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Drug Free America Foundation directed us to a slew of news clips documenting shootings related to marijuana theft, grow houses and co-ops. The clips also highlighted marijuana use of gunmen from some of the country\u2019s most recent and notorious shooting sprees. \"In many cases of violence, such as with Benjamin Bishop, Jared Loughner, James Holmes and the Pentagon shooter, these gunmen actively were or previously had been marijuana users,\" said Calvina Fay, the foundation\u2019s executive director, in a statement. She pointed to a 2012 study by researchers from Duke University, the University of Oregon, King\u2019s College London and University of Otago in New Zealand that highlighted brain development in teens who smoke marijuana. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, relied on data for more than 1,000 people who were tracked from the time they were born to age 38. People who started using marijuana as teens and used it at least once a week showed the biggest loss in IQ points. People who picked up the drug as adults didn\u2019t show the same loss in mental functioning. Johnson, the Johns Hopkins professor, says this research is controversial because it\u2019s tough to eliminate marijuana use from all other factors that make people willing to engage in behavior that isn\u2019t socially acceptable. \"But even if that were true, we\u2019re talking about a small minority,\" he said. \"It\u2019s not a question for the large majority of the public.\" Gil Kerlikowske, the White House director of national drug-control policy, released an analysis in May that attempted to show a link between crime and marijuana use. It found that 80 percent of adult males arrested for crimes in Sacramento, Calif., in 2012 tested positive for at least one illegal drug. The most commonly\u00a0detected drug was marijuana, which was\u00a0found in 54 percent of those arrested. The analysis didn't say what percentage of the crimes were violent and did not conclude that marijuana was the reason people committed crimes. (A\u00a0positive urine sample only indicates use in the past month.) FBI data for violent crimes with reported\u00a0drug and alcohol involvement is not broken down by substance, so there is no telling which violent crimes as reported by\u00a0law enforcement agencies are at least linked to marijuana use. A\u00a02003 report\u00a0by the National Bureau of Economic Research found \"surprisingly few\" studies have tried to nail down a direct link between marijuana use and crime. After reviewing related academic studies and crunching arrest and crime data, the NBER researchers determined\u00a0people involved with violent crimes are also likely to use marijuana, but \"the marijuana use is not necessarily related to their decision to engage in crime.\" Their report highlighted a\u00a020-year-old study by the National Research Council that suggested longterm marijuana use may affect a person's nervous system so he or she becomes more violent. Still,\u00a0the causal link \"remains in question,\" the NBER report said. The researchers\u00a0did find a positive association between marijuana use and property-damage crimes, particularly among youth. Finally, on the subject of high-profile murderers who use the drug, Johnson said there is bound to be overlap between people accused of murder and those who use marijuana given how popular it is. But the same could be said for people who have blond hair and commit murders, he said. One is not a direct result of the other. Dr. Antoine Douaihy of the University of Pittsburgh College of Medicine said even though he thinks Grace is overreaching, there are\u00a0concerns about the unknown social risks of legalizing marijuana in more states. Often, he said, people are passionate about the topic without noting nuances or differentiating among legalization, decriminalization and authorizing cannabis for medicinal purposes. Our ruling Grace said, people on pot\u00a0\"shoot each other ...\u00a0stab each other ...\u00a0strangle each other, drive under the influence, kill families.\" Yes, you can find individual cases to back up each of Grace's points, but Grace suggested\u00a0pot drives people generally\u00a0to commit violent acts, and there's no evidence of that. Behavioral science experts we consulted\u00a0stressed using marijuana has consequences. But a hard turn toward violence, including shooting each other and killing families, isn\u2019t one of the direct effects from using the drug for most people. We rate Grace\u2019s claim\u00a0."}
{"claim_id": "7691", "claim": "China to extend winter anti-smog measures for another year.", "explanation": "China will extend winter anti-smog measures such as production cuts and traffic restrictions for a third successive winter, the environment ministry said in a pollution battle plan for 2019 published on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) also vowed to speed up the elimination of small coal-fired heating boilers in major regions. It will also step up the elimination of outdated and excessive production capacity in polluting sectors such as steel, coal and coal-fired power. China is in the sixth year of a \u201cwar on pollution\u201d aimed at reversing the damage done by more than three decades of breakneck economic growth, and it has taken action to eliminate outdated vehicles and production technology, cut industrial emissions and ease its dependence on coal. However, according to Reuters analysis, only six of 39 smog-prone northern Chinese cities have managed to cut concentrations of hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 during the latest winter anti-smog campaign beginning last October. Average PM2.5 concentrations actually rose 13 percent over the period. That will mean the cities will have to make further cuts this year. The MEE\u2019s new plan said cities that failed to meet air quality standards this winter will have to cut PM2.5 by at least 2 percent in 2019. Liu Bingjiang, a senior MEE official, said on Tuesday that while the rebound was partly caused by weather anomalies, some local governments believed they deserved \u201ca rest after years of hardship\u201d to meet the anti-smog measures. He added that those governments would face punishment. The 2019 action plan outlined further steps this year to control coal consumption. The ministry will help draw up new measures aimed at encouraging the use of cleaner-burning  replacement fuels and speed up efforts to eliminate small and inefficient coal-fired heating boilers in smog-prone regions. It will also further promote the implementation of ultra-low emission coal-fired power in western regions, and also encourage steel mills to install ultra-low emission technology. The ministry also vowed to crack down harder on the production, import and use of substandard diesel vehicles, encourage bulk commodity deliveries by trains rather than trucks and make use of satellite technology to monitor rural air pollution sources."}
{"claim_id": "11154", "claim": "Prostate Cancer Drug Gets Lukewarm Review", "explanation": "This story reports on an analysis done for the agency that oversees Medicare of the evidence of the effects of Provenge (sipuleucel-T) in certain men with advanced prostate cancer. It summarizes some of the conclusions and includes comments about how the analysis might influence a decision about whether Medicare and Medicaid will pay for the expensive new treatment. But the story leaves readers with the impression that the drug has been proven to extend the life of the average patient by about four months when actually there are many uncertainties about that estimate due to weaknesses in the clinical trials sponsored by the maker of the Provenge. The assessment done for Medicare underscores the questions that still need to be answered in order for doctors and patients to know whether and how to use Provenge, but that perspective is largely missing from this story. This story portrays debates about insurance coverage of Provenge as a matter of how much value to place on four months of life. But what the federal analysis of the Provenge trials actually focuses on is uncertainty about the amount of additional survival and questions about how other factors besides Provenge (including other treatments that were given to the trial participants) might have affected the trial results. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer occurring in men, though most tumors grow slowly and men diagnosed with the disease typically die of something other than their prostate cancer. Some tumors are aggressive and more effective treatments are needed for these cases. Provenge\u2019s novel immunotherapy approach offers an attractive alternative to existing treatments, but the initial application for FDA approval was rejected in 2007. A new clinical trial was done and the treatment was approved for sale in the U.S. earlier this year. Although historically Medicare and Medicaid have covered treatments deemed safe and effective without considering the magnitude of the expected benefit, the limited additional survival and the high cost of Provenge treatment have highlighted debates about whether and how to consider these factors in deciding whether a particular treatment should be reimbursed.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Cancer,New York Times", "main_text": "The story appropriately reports that Provenge treatment costs $93,000 per patient and is satisfactory based on the criterion. However, the costs should ideally be put into context and compared to alternative treatments. An editorial published along with the Provenge trial in the New England Journal of Medicine noted the costs of alternative treatment is $1,800 per patient. The story reports that in clinical trials Provenge extended the lives of certain men with advanced prostate cancer by about four months. However, the story does not tell readers that the expert reviewers who analyzed the available evidence for Medicare wrote that the actual quantity of the benefit is \u201cless certain\u201d because of weaknesses in the trials. As a result, readers are likely to believe that the \u201cfour months\u201d additional survival is a firm estimate of the average benefit when in fact there are important questions about that conclusion. Also, the story does not report that according to the clinical trials Provenge did not make any difference in how long it took for prostate cancer to progress in these men. The story does not mention harms. The clinical trials reported that patients treated with Provenge experienced infusion reactions and infections. The review for Medicare also noted that the FDA ordered further study of strokes in people who get Provenge. The story does not give readers an adequate understanding of why the reviewers question the quality of the evidence indicating patients treated with Provenge lived longer. The story does report that the analysis of the clinical trials of Provenge treatment raised questions about the design of the trials, including that the treatment given patients in the \u201cplacebo\u201d arm of the trials \u201cwas not really inert.\u201d However, the analysis of the evidence done for Medicare concluded that the actual amount of a survival benefit from this treatment is \u201cless certain\u201d because of issues with the designs of the key trials. Readers were not told that the reviewers rated the quality of evidence on survival as only \u201cfair\u201d and that the reviewers spelled out the sort of clinical trials that are still needed in order to provide more reliable estimates of the effects of Provenge. Because trial design is central to understanding how to judge the merits of this treatment, the story should have done more to explain the shortcomings identified by the expert reviewers. For example, although two clinical trials did report that patients receiving the treatment lived about four months longer on average, there was no significant difference in the amount of time before the disease progressed. Also, there were differences in the other treatments (including chemotherapy) given to the patients in the treatment and control arms of the trials. The reviewers also recommended that future trials look at possible interactions between Provenge and chemotherapy and other post-progression treatments, in order to find out if they might shed light on the survival differences. The story reports that Provenge treatment is approved only for patients with \u201cadvanced prostate cancer that is resistant to hormone-deprivation therapy but who are experiencing no or minimal symptoms.\u201d  Although the story uses excerpts of written statements from a financial analyst and the president of a cancer advocacy group, it does not include an independent source who addresses the scientific issues raised by the analysis of Provenge done for Medicare. The story does not tell readers that the cancer advocacy group it cites receives support from and promotes its services to health care corporations, including pharmaceutical companies. Although the available treatments for men with advanced prostate cancer are limited, there are other approaches that could have been mentioned. The omission is of particular importance because the analysis done for Medicare specifically highlighted questions about whether other treatments, including chemotherapy, that were given to patients in the Provenge trials might have influenced the outcomes. The story reports that treatment with Provenge has been approved for certain patients with advanced prostate cancer but that availability is limited by manufacturing capacity. The story reports that Provenge is the first approved treatment that is designed to try to stimulate a patient\u2019s immune system to attack tumors. The story does not rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "10804", "claim": "Baby aspirin linked to reduced cancer deaths", "explanation": "This story about the apparent cancer reducing effect of daily low-dose aspirin seen in an analysis of data from a collection of earlier heart disease trials provides a more thorough discussion of the limitations of the latest study and its methods than some of the other stories we reviewed. It also provides more specific information about harms that aspirin can cause and it includes several independent voices that add valuable perspective. As a result, readers\u00a0will be more likely than those who saw some of the other coverage to understand the call for thoughtful consideration before initiating\u00a0a daily aspirin regimen in hopes of reaping cancer reduction benefits. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States behind heart disease, and there are few proven methods for reducing one\u2019s risk of developing the disease. The study discussed in this story provides fairly convincing evidence that a daily low-dose aspirin does indeed prevent some cancers when taken over the course of many years. Because of limitations in the data, however, it is unclear if these benefits will apply to\u00a0all healthy adults or if they outweigh the risk of side effects, which can include potentially fatal bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract and brain. Individuals need to take these uncertainties into account when\u00a0deciding whether they want to commit to taking aspirin\u00a0every day for many years.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Cancer,Los Angeles Times", "main_text": "The cost of aspirin is not in question. Nevertheless, a broad recommendation to begin taking aspirin daily in middle age would likely be followed by at least hundreds of millions of people, thus the cumulative costs would be large. Also, such widespread use would increase the costs of treating bleeding ulcers and other adverse events caused by aspirin, though hoped-for savings in reduced cancer treatment would be an offestting factor to consider. Still, because the cost of aspirin on an individual basis is low and well-known we won\u2019t insist on this point. As with some of the competing stories about this study, this report relies too heavily on relative risk figures to describe the potential benefits of aspirin therapy. Quantifying the risk reductions in absolute terms would have provided a more realistic assessment of the advantages. For example, the researchers said that during the course of the original trials there were 674 cancer deaths among more than 25,500 participants, so while it is accurate to say that those taking aspirin had a greater than 20 percent lower risk of cancer death than those taking a placebo, the absolute rate of cancer death was 2.3 percent in the aspirin groups combined vs. 3 percent in the placebo groups combined. The story should have given readers more information about the total numbers of cancer deaths in order to help them put the differences into perspective. The story provides more information than several of the stories we reviewed about the risks\u00a0of aspirin therapy. Quoting one of the study researchers, the story\u00a0notes that about 1 in 1000 patients who take aspirin will experience gastrointestinal bleeding each year, compared 2 to 4 per thousand who will avoid cancer death. While this makes it sound like the benefits of aspirin clearly outweigh the potential harms,\u00a0the story probably\u00a0should have cautioned\u00a0that\u00a0these data are taken from studies of heart disease. No\u00a0study has looked specifically at the risks of aspirin when used\u00a0over the long term to prevent cancer, and it is\u00a0unclear if\u00a0different risks\u00a0might emerge in a population prospectively studied for this purpose. The story also\u00a0should\u00a0have mentioned the\u00a0increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke \u2014 which\u00a0is frequently fatal \u2014\u00a0associated with aspirin use. This story is better than some other stories at describing what happened in this study and mentioning potential limitations. It notes that the findings don\u2019t necessarily support new recommendations for everyone to take aspirin, but it goes further than some others in describing why the results might not be\u00a0broadly applicable. It notes that the\u00a0study included primarily men, so the data don\u2019t tell us if aspirin can prevent breast cancer, the most common cancer in women, or other common cancers such as ovarian cancer. The story also notes that participants in these studies may have stopped\u00a0taking\u00a0aspirin after the\u00a0initial trial period was over. (Conversely, they may also have\u00a0started taking aspirin\u00a0if they were in the placebo control group.) This loss of randomization can\u00a0make it difficult to\u00a0assess the true effects of aspirin on\u00a0deaths occurring many years later. We wish the story had given more attention to\u00a0an important drawback of the study: the fact that it was not designed and prospectively initiated as a study of cancer outcomes, and did not provide\u00a0data\u00a0on harms. However, we think the story provided enough information to give readers a reasonably balanced view of the issue. The story did not exaggerate the impact of cancer and it accurately described the possible relevance of this study to a large segment of the population. The story quotes from interviews with the study researchers and 3 independent experts. That\u2019s the most important factor in this case, so we will pass this story on this criterion. However, while the study itself did not receive outside funding, readers should have been told that some of the authors have had consulting relationships with pharmaceutical companies. Some of the other news stories about this study pointed out that avoiding smoking and obesity are known to reduce cancer risk. This story should also have pointed out these options, which also do not have potential adverse effects. The availability of aspirin is not in question. Also, the story points out that low-dose aspirin is currently used by some people to reduce their risk of cardiovascular events. The study discusses the previous research that led to the current study and does not oversell the novelty of the new findings. This story does not appear to be based on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "7389", "claim": "NY project would map genes of 1 million to fight Alzheimer\u2019s.", "explanation": "Researchers would aim to map the genes of one million people living with or at-risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease over five years through a proposed initiative at the State University of New York.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Genetics, Health, Andrew Cuomo, General News, New York, Science, Higher education, Education, Alzheimers disease", "main_text": "Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed Friday to establish the SUNY Curing Alzheimer\u2019s Health Consortium to collect and map genomic data statewide. The Democrat said the initiative will eventually provide the data to researchers working to slow the progression of Alzheimer\u2019s. The governor says SUNY and the state\u2019s economic development agency, Empire State Development, will seek proposals for private providers to work with SUNY, other hospitals and non-profit higher education research institutions on the mapping initiative. The Empire State Development\u2019s life science initiative would provide $20 million in initial funding to identify and recruit 200,000 people for genetic testing. State health officials would help acquire samples and anonymized electronic health records of volunteers. More than 5 million people in the United States and millions more worldwide have Alzheimer\u2019s, the leading cause of dementia. New York\u2019s Department of Health estimates 390,000 individuals in New York had Alzheimer\u2019s disease in 2017 \u2014 a figure expected to increase to 460,000 by 2025. Current drugs only temporarily ease symptoms and do not alter the course of the disease."}
{"claim_id": "4552", "claim": "US proposes new rules to increase organ transplants.", "explanation": "The U.S. government is overhauling parts of the nation\u2019s transplant system to make sure organs from the dead no longer go to waste \u2014 and to make it easier for the living to donate.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, General News, Politics, Medicare, Organ transplants, U.S. News, Seema Verma", "main_text": "The rules proposed Tuesday aim to ease an organ shortage so severe that more than 113,000 Americans linger on the transplant waiting list \u2014 and about 20 die each day. Part of the reason: An Associated Press analysis  recently found some of the groups that collect organs at death secure donors at half the rate of others, missed opportunities that could have saved lives. But the government currently has little way to directly compare organ collection agencies and force poor performers to improve. \u201cNo life-saving organ should go to waste,\u201d Medicare chief Seema Verma said in announcing stricter standards to hold those agencies more accountable. At the same time, the administration also aims to spur more living donors by allowing them to be reimbursed for lost wages and child care or elder care expenses incurred during their hospitalization and recovery. \u201cWhen an American wishes to become a living donor, we don\u2019t believe their financial situation should limit their generosity,\u201d said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, whose father received a kidney transplant from a living donor. The rules come after President Donald Trump  in July ordered  a revamping of care for kidney disease, including spurring transplants of kidneys and other organs. The proposals are open for public comment for 60 days. Transplant advocates praised the move. \u201cPatients are dying, and they deserve better,\u201d Jennifer Erickson, a former Obama administration staffer who worked on transplant policy, said of the crackdown on \u201corgan procurement organizations,\u201d or OPOs. And the association that represents those organ collection groups pledged to work with Medicare, which regulates the nonprofits, to implement the tougher standards. The new rules are \u201can opportunity to drive meaningful changes that will increase the availability of organs for transplant and save more lives,\u201d Kelly Ranum, CEO of Louisiana\u2019s OPO and president of the association, said in a statement. Today, the country is divided into 58 zones, each assigned an OPO to essentially be a matchmaker \u2014 rapidly collecting organs from willing donors at death and getting them to the right transplant center, even if a hospital calls with a potential donor at 3 a.m. It\u2019s hard to tell how well they do the job. They self-report to the government success rates without any way to tell how many potential donations were left behind, or why. And current rules give little incentive for retrieving less-than-perfect organs, such as those from older donors. \u201cFor countless patients, an imperfect organ is better than no organ at all,\u201d Verma said. Under the proposal, Medicare will calculate each OPO\u2019s donation and transplantation rates using federal death records that show the entire pool of potential donors each has to draw from \u2014 anyone 75 or younger who dies in a hospital of conditions that wouldn\u2019t automatically preclude donation. For the first time, that would allow Medicare to rank OPO performance. Verma promised yearly evaluations, saying any organ agency that didn\u2019t do as well as the top quarter of their competitors would be pushed to improve. \u201cThis is a great first step,\u201d said Greg Segal of the advocacy group Organize, whose father waited five years for a heart transplant. \u201cNow the government needs to implement the rule as strongly and quickly as possible.\u201d Verma estimated the change could spark another 5,000 transplants a year. A 2017 study by University of Pennsylvania researchers had estimated that a better-functioning system could yield as many as 28,000 additional organs. Deceased donors make up most transplants but people lucky enough to receive a kidney or part of a liver from a living donor not only cut their wait, but those organs tend to survive longer. Yet fewer than 7,000 of the 36,529 transplants performed last year were from living donors. Currently, the transplant recipient\u2019s insurance pays the donor\u2019s medical bills. But donors are out of work for weeks recuperating and not all employers allow some form of paid time off. The new proposal aims to ease that economic hurdle; still to be determined is exactly who will qualify. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "7304", "claim": "Massachusetts OKs funds to offset Planned Parenthood losses.", "explanation": "Massachusetts, led by a Republican governor, has become the first state to approve money to offset the potential loss of federal funding to women\u2019s reproductive health organizations since the Trump administration adopted a new rule in February meant to bar federally funded family planning clinics from making abortion referrals or sharing office space with abortion providers.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Planned Parenthood, Health, Legislation, Abortion, North America, Charlie Baker, Massachusetts, Womens health", "main_text": "The Massachusetts law sets aside $8 million in state dollars to close any gaps in federal Title X funding for health clinics that could lose funding by the proposed change \u2014 derided as a \u201cgag rule\u201d by critics. Gov. Charlie Baker, who signed the bill, said this week the measure \u201censures women\u2019s health providers across Massachusetts will continue to have access to these critical funds.\u201d The bill was passed overwhelmingly in the Democrat-controlled Massachusetts House and Senate. Baker is the first governor to sign such legislation. In 2017, in anticipation of the Trump administration rule, Maryland passed a similar law meant to protect funding for Planned Parenthood. The Maryland bill became law in 2017 after Republican Gov. Larry Hogan decided not to veto it. On Thursday, Maryland also became the first state to pass a bill that would reject federal money for family planning services if the new rule, which is being challenged in court, takes effect. Other Democratic-leaning states, such as Washington and Oregon, may take similar steps. Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said a loss of federal funding could affect about 75,000 patients who rely in part on services funded by Title X. She said the program, in place since the 1970s, provides no- or low-cost services including testing for sexually transmitted diseases, birth control and pap smears. Of the Title X funds that come into the state, Childs-Roshak said Planned Parenthood receives less than 20%, with the rest going to other clinics that offer similar health services. Childs-Roshak said there never had been any Title X funding for abortion coverage, adding there are \u201cvery specific rules about how to manage inventory and keep everything separate.\u201d The Trump administration\u2019s actions, she said, were meant to please what she described as a \u201cminority extreme view.\u201d \u201cThe Trump/Pence administration is obsessed with Planned Parenthood, and not in a good way,\u201d Childs-Roshak said. \u201cThey are obsessed with abortion.\u201d Religious conservatives and abortion opponents have welcomed the new rule. They argue that Title X funding has been used to indirectly subsidize Planned Parenthood, the leading abortion provider in the U.S. Krystal Linn, 39, lives in Southbridge and is a parent to seven children \u2014 both biological and foster \u2014 ages 6 to 17. \u201cI have been a Planned Parenthood patient since I was about 14 years old,\u201d Linn said. \u201cMy first experience was getting birth control.\u201d Over the years, Linn has had a range of health care needs met through the agency. Much of that care, Linn said, would have otherwise been too costly. \u201cI was able to have children on my own time,\u201d Linn said. \u201cI\u2019m almost 40 years now. My concern now is more for the generation coming up. Without Planned Parenthood or providers like Planned Parenthood, what would they do? I had that benefit.\u201d Massachusetts is also part of a multistate lawsuit led by state attorneys general in 20 mostly Democrat-controlled states, including Connecticut and Rhode Island, challenging the ruling. During the 2018 fiscal year, Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey\u2019s office said, Massachusetts received $4.3 million in Title X funding. That allowed 96 service sites in the state to offer services including pregnancy testing, contraceptive services, routine gynecological care, cervical and breast cancer screenings, infertility services, treatment for STDs, and health education, she said. The federal lawsuit, filed last month in Oregon, alleges the new regulations are unconstitutional, violate federal law, and threaten the health and well-being of millions of low-income women and families, Healey said."}
{"claim_id": "1531", "claim": "Puppy love: therapy pooches bring peace of mind at Spanish psychiatric center.", "explanation": "Tucked away in Spain\u2019s Pyrenees mountains, patients at psychiatric facility Benito Menni stretch out across floor mats and stroke greyhound puppies Atila and Argi.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Puppy love is part of the treatment for conditions such as schizophrenia. The facility, based in a town near the border with France, uses the dogs to help patients with intellectual disabilities and mental health conditions develop social skills and a sense of autonomy. Alongside misty views of green rolling mountains, petting sessions with the eight-month-old puppies have a calming effect serving as an emotional outlet for patients who struggle to connect with others. Playing with those who are more active and sitting still with those who find moving a daily challenge, the dogs tailor their behavior according to the needs of their patient. For a Reuters photo essay, click reut.rs/2ntcZeA  Unlike other centers, Atila and Argi live on the grounds and are cared for by patients. \u201cThey are in charge of the dogs 24 hours a day,\u201d said head nurse of Benito Menni Uxua Lazkanotegi. \u201cThe dogs are now part of the center.\u201d   In an effort to promote good habits like self-control and personal hygiene, patients groom and feed their furry companions taking them for daily walks to the nearby village where the dogs are icebreakers facilitating conversation with the locals. Center residents who struggle to express themselves because of a range of cognitive and behavioral disabilities referred to their feelings for the dogs using words like \u201ccalmness\u201d, \u201ccompanionship\u201d and \u201caffection\u201d. The dogs also work with those unable to feed or walk the animals, sitting with severe dementia patients in an effort to combat isolation and depression by stimulating their senses of touch."}
{"claim_id": "34298", "claim": "Parent's Choice diapers are causing small children to suffer chemical burns.", "explanation": "We contacted Parent\u2019s Choice to ask whether they had any information about reports of chemical burns associated with the products, or if there had been any recalls involving the brand. A spokesperson told us that although the recirculation of the Facebook post led to an increased level of concern and calls, there did not appear to be a rise in reported \u201cchemical burns\u201d associated with any Parent\u2019s Choice diaper or wipes and no recalls had been issued.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical, diapers, parent's choice, viral facebook posts", "main_text": "In April 2018 a screenshot of a post circulated\u00a0on social media, claiming that Parent\u2019s Choice brand diapers (sold at WalMart and secondary retailers) caused chemical burns:  This is what happened to Gunner\u2019s leg after trying the parents choice pull ups. His pediatrician did confirm that he had a chemical burn. Please don\u2019t buy these pull ups!!! Every one please share thus post so that parents can be warned We were unable to find any type of recall, warning, or other information from the brand or consumer groups indicating that Parent\u2019s Choice diapers or pull-ups were associated with chemical burns or a risk of skin reaction. Anecdotal reports of diaper-related chemical burns circulate for nearly every brand of diapers and wipes. The original post appears to have already been either removed or restricted, and it did not appear in a Facebook search. Neither was the date of the original post available, only the copy posted by the Facebook page \u201cSmoove Element\u201d in February 2016. As noted on an earlier page involving similar claims: Children can and do develop severe cases of diaper rash and symptoms resembling chemical burns for a variety of reasons independent of what type or brand of diaper they use. To assume that an observed rash or burn in a diaper-wearing toddler must be directly and solely related to the brand of diaper worn without reproducible confirmatory evidence is an example of the\u00a0post hoc ergo propter hoc\u00a0logical\u00a0fallacy. As well, to believe that a particular brand of disposable diaper poses a general danger of severely burning children in its ordinary use requires the additional beliefs that major companies who have been in the disposable diaper business for many years have suddenly unleashed new varieties of those products on the market without conducting the minimal testing necessary to uncover such issues, that the source of the reported hazard is obvious despite the fact that in-depth testing by government regulatory issues can\u2019t uncover it, and that this looming danger threatens all children who wear a particular brand of disposable diaper even though only a relative handful of the millions of consumers who use the brand have reported such issues. A much more logical belief is that such cases, while real, are coincidental or only indirectly related to the brand of diaper used. Children may receive rashes and burns from other external sources unknown to their parents, such as exposure to caustic substances. Children may experience severe allergic reactions to something they\u2019ve been exposed to (inside or outsider of their diapers). Children may develop cases of diaper rash so severe that they resemble chemical burns just as a matter of course and not because of the brand of diaper they\u2019re wearing. Other contributory factors may also come into play that produce rash or burn-like effects in only a small number of cases, such as unrealized interactions with other household products (e.g., bleaches or cleaning agents), the content of a child\u2019s excretions, children being left with unchanged diapers for far too long, or children experiencing some other type of medical issue that creates or exacerbates symptoms. Likewise, confirmation bias is strong in such cases. People report and pay attention to only those cases that fit the suspected pattern, while ignoring cases of parents who report the same symptoms even though their children don\u2019t wear the identified type or brand of diapers, or parents who use the identified type or brand of diaper with no problems."}
{"claim_id": "32069", "claim": "An audio tape captures VP candidate Tim Kaine yelling at his mistress.", "explanation": "This is the second time that a piece of famous audio has recirculated with Tim Kaine\u2019s name attached to it. On 13 October 2016, audio of Alec Baldwin yelling at his daughter was shared as if it featured the voice of Kaine.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Politicians, election 2016, mel gibson, Tim Kaine", "main_text": "On 29 October 2016, the Twitter account @OMFG_America published an audio recording of a man yelling at a woman along with the claim that it featured Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine and an unnamed mistress: DEVELOPING: New headaches for VP nominee Tim Kaine as alleged mistress comes forward with tape of threats, verbal abuse. h/t @JerseyJ0E pic.twitter.com/Pd8Ltsol2x \u2014 OMFG\u2019ngton SHITPOST (@OMFG_America) October 29, 2016  Tim Kaine is not the man speaking in this audio recording. The dialogue was taken from an infamous recording of actor Mel Gibson yelling at his former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, which was first made public in 2010. It should also be noted that Tom Kaine has not been accused of having a mistress or of verbally abusing a woman. This Twitter account launched a baseless accusation at Kaine and backed it up with an unrelated piece of audio."}
{"claim_id": "36364", "claim": "Proposed legislation in Kentucky (HB 148) mandates women report whether they are pregnant or not every month.", "explanation": "Will a Kentucky Bill Mandate That Women Confirm Whether They\u2019re Pregnant Every Month?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "In May 2019, links to and screenshots of Kentucky HB 148 began circulating on social media, often alongside posts baffled about the bill\u2019s purported provisions mandating that women in the state \u201cshall acquire a signed and notarized statement from a practitioner licensed pursuant to this chapter each month that states whether she is pregnant or not pregnant\u201d:Circulating alongside many of the posts was a link to a document [PDF] on the website for Kentucky\u2019s legislature, appearing to represent a piece of proposed legislation. Marked with \u201cUnofficial Document\u201d at the top, it read:HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY AMENDMENT FORM 2019 REGULAR SESSION Amend printed copy of HB 148/HCS 1On page 3, between lines 3 and 4, by inserting the following: \u201cSECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 311 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: All women who are Kentucky residents, and of child bearing age, shall acquire a signed and notarized statement from a practitioner licensed pursuant to this chapter each month that states whether she is pregnant or not pregnant. If pregnant, the signed and notarized statement shall provide the status of the pregnancy. The woman shall submit the signed and notarized statement to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services each month. Any woman who fails to provide this monthly signed and notarized statement to the cabinet shall be subject to arrest and fines. Any woman who is pregnant and fails to provide this monthly signed and notarized statement to the cabinet will be fitted with an ankle monitor for the duration of the pregnancy in addition to any arrest and fines.\u201d; and Renumber subsequent section accordingly[. ]The document as it appeared on the Kentucky legislature\u2019s site led many who clicked through to the page to believe it was sincere, authentic legislation. The manner in which it was worded suggested that the \u201cpregnant/not pregnant\u201d proposal was an amendment to separate legislation, but most sharers just shared screenshots and links to that page.Rep. Mary Lou Marzian was listed as the amendment\u2019s sponsor. In February 2019, Spectrum News 1 Louisville reported on it in an article headlined \u201cRep. Marzian files protest amendment that calls for a pregnant women registry.\u201d That story noted that the amendment was to HB 148, a bill that would ban abortion in Kentucky in the event that\u00a0Roe v. Wade was overturned.The amendment to the bill satirically proposed what was essentially a place for pregnant women to register:Fed up with men trying to control women\u2019s\u2019 bodies, Representative Mary Lou Marzian is filing a floor amendment to Representative Joe Fischer\u2019s abortion bill.Fischer\u2019s bill, HB 148, would ban all abortion in the Commonwealth should Roe v. Wade be overturned.Marzian\u2019s amendment says all women of childbearing age must get a notarized statement from the doctor monthly, stating if they are pregnant or not. Any woman who doesn\u2019t give that paper to the Cabinet of Heath and Family services can be fined or arrested. If CHFS finds a pregnant woman doesn\u2019t turn in her paper, she is to be fitted with an ankle monitor for her pregnancy.The amendment was filed in jest, but the Democrat from Louisville says the thought behind it is real.Marzian said, \u201cI\u2019m filing an amendment number one, because it\u2019s such hypocrisy, and number two, to demonstrate; if they want government in your life, which a lot of these folks say we want less government, then we\u2019ll have it in your life\u2026\u201dKentucky\u2019s HB 148 was a legitimate bill\u00a0which would trigger a statewide ban on abortion in the event that the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. In protest of that bill, Marzian filed an amendment requiring women to report each month whether they were pregnant or not pregnant. Marzian\u2019s bill was never intended to be sincere, but was rather borne of frustration with legislation to ban abortion in Kentucky. HB 148, the original bill, was signed into law by Kentucky\u2019s governor in March 2019. Marzian\u2019s amendment was not included in the final version."}
{"claim_id": "8592", "claim": "South African union takes government to court over COVID-19 gear shortage.", "explanation": "South Africa\u2019s main health workers\u2019 union planned to challenge the government in court on Tuesday over shortages of protective gear for frontline staff as the country braced for a surge in new coronavirus cases.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Under a strict 21-day lockdown imposed from March 27 in a bid to contain the outbreak, South Africa has 1,749 confirmed cases, the continent\u2019s highest number, and 13 deaths. \u201cThe risk of employees being infected with the COVID-19 virus is real,\u201d Zola Saphetha, general secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers\u2019 Union (NEHAWU), said in court papers. COVID-19 is the potentially lethal respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. A health ministry spokesman did not respond to a request for comment, but Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Tuesday that the country as a whole had not run out of protective equipment. He encouraged health workers to point out where there were shortages so the government could move stocks around and said no one would be forced to work if they didn\u2019t feel adequately protected. Many doctors are buying their own protective gear in a desperate bid to ward off infection. Officials in the worst-hit Gauteng province appealed over the weekend for public donations of ventilators and vital masks and gloves. The union wants the ministers of health and labour, among others, to establish rules on treatment in the absence of appropriate protective equipment. \u201cThe failure to provide guidelines to mitigate the risk to employees in the circumstances unjustifiably and without valid reason places employees at great risk and violates their right to work in a safe environment,\u201d the affidavit said. The union expressed outrage last week that several of its members had contracted the coronavirus at a hospital in KwaZulu-Natal province. Mkhize said on Tuesday that around 48 staff members at the hospital had now tested positive and that provincial officials were discussing closing down parts of the facility. Unions exert great power in South Africa. NEHAWU\u2019s quarter of a million members are part of a group of unions that are in a  alliance with President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. \u201cWe don\u2019t have an unlimited reserve of doctors and nurses, and we know the case numbers are going to rise,\u201d Angelique Coetzee, chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, which represents some 16,000 doctors, told Reuters. A global scarcity of personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, for nurses, doctors, porters and other health workers is a big obstacle to attempts to curb death tolls, elsewhere in Africa and on other continents. In Zimbabwe, where health workers had been striking over pay and working conditions before COVID-19 arrived, doctors have also gone to court to force the government to provide equipment, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said on Monday. The court has not yet set a date for a hearing."}
{"claim_id": "21835", "claim": "What I have done -- and this is unprecedented ... is I've said to each agency ... 'look at regulations that are already on the books and if they don't make sense, let's get rid of them.'", "explanation": "Ever since Godzilla first rampaged across cinema screens 65 years ago, film critics have seen the reptilian anti-hero as a symbol of the fears gnawing away in the deepest recesses of movie-goers\u2019 minds.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Government Regulation, Regulation, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "With the giant lizard\u2019s return in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, launched in cinemas at the weekend, reviewers are parsing the blockbuster for insights into the world\u2019s paralysis in the face of climate breakdown. \u201cIt would be a mistake to dismiss Godzilla: King of the Monsters as mindless pap or escapist fantasy,\u201d wrote anthropologist Nathaniel J. Dominy and biologist Ryan Calsbeek, both from Dartmouth, in the journal Science. \u201cWhat began as a pointed anti-nuclear fable has since evolved into a broader allegory for human folly and our reckless disregard for the natural environment.\u201d  Godzilla earned its reputation as a bellwether of collective anxiety soon after Japanese director Ishiro Honda first depicted the dinosaur-like creature in his 1954 film \u2018Gojira\u2019 \u2014 a nickname derived from the Japanese words for gorilla and whale. In Honda\u2019s film, a radioactive, 50-metre tall Godzilla lays waste to Tokyo after being  awakened from the deep by underwater nuclear tests. Released barely a decade after atom bombs obliterated Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the film was a tacit reflection of Japan\u2019s shared wartime trauma. In King of the Monsters, directed by Michael Dougherty, an embittered former British army colonel, played by Charles Dance, believes modern civilization is on track to wipe out all life on the planet. The colonel and his paramilitary team go on a mission to release gargantuan mutant \u2018Titans\u2019 from their resting places to try to tip the scales back into Earth\u2019s favor. No longer the enemy who once delighted in toppling Japanese skyscrapers, Godzilla is cast as an unlikely eco-warrior battling to defeat the Titan menace \u2014 led by the three-headed King Ghidorah \u2014 and save humanity from itself. Film critics say the devastating elemental forces unleashed by the Titans in the 35th Godzilla film hold up a mirror to real-world fears of wildfires, super-storms and floods caused by growing man-made instability in Earth\u2019s atmosphere. \u201cDougherty\u2019s film recalls America\u2019s present-day anxieties over increasingly intense weather patterns tearing across the country from coast to coast,\u201d culture writer Andy Crump observed in a review in The Week. Although post-apocalyptic climate scenarios have been a staple of the \u2018cli-fi\u2019 genre for years \u2014 notable examples include The Day After Tomorrow and Mad Max: Fury Road \u2014 Godzilla has returned against a uniquely febrile backdrop. With hundreds of thousands of teen climate activists marching in cities across the world, and Extinction Rebellion bringing parts of London to a standstill in April, a new awareness of the crisis is seeping into mainstream culture. While nobody pretends that a movie can directly deliver cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, fiction can serve as a vehicle to help communities face up to crises that might otherwise seem too overwhelming to contemplate. \u201cWe need to engage with the reality of climate change in order to deal with it,\u201d said Caroline Hickman, a psychotherapist who lectures at the University of Bath in southwest England, and is a member of the Climate Psychology Alliance. \u201cThe monster gives us a metaphor, a narrative through which we can do that.\u201d  While the new Godzilla film has been panned in some quarters, Zhiwa Woodbury, author of a book on the psychology of the climate emergency, sees King of the Monsters as Hollywood\u2019s most profound \u2018cli-fi\u2019 contribution to date. By including a sequence where Godzilla is once more roused by an undersea nuclear blast, Woodbury says the film is asking audiences to heal the rupture in mankind\u2019s relationship with the natural world that occurred at the dawn of the atomic age. \u201cGodzilla is spot-on in asking us to face our inner demons,\u201d Woodbury wrote on his EcoPsychology NOW! blog. \u201cOnly then can we hope to rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of the petrochemical age, and regenerate our world on a path of climate recovery.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "39397", "claim": " A message said to be from an Iowa Army National Guardsman named Ray Reynolds who is serving in Iraq. It lists a number of improvements in Iraq since the U.S. led incursion in 2003.  ", "explanation": "Good things in Iraq not being reported", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Crime / Police, Military, War", "main_text": "This message began circulating on the Internet in April, 2004. It\u2019s a passionate email from a soldier serving in Iraq about some of the good things that are happening as a result of the U.S.-led incursion. We checked into each one of his statements and some were accurate, some were not. Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations  But his figure is low! According to a UNICEF report at the end of 2003, more than 3 1/2 million children had been immunized. School Attendance is up 80% Again, according to an April, 2004 report from UNICEF, school attendance in Iraq increased by 60 percent shortly after the war to more than 95 percent during the recent national exam week. More than 1,500 schools renovated UNICEF says that as of April, 2004, more than 2,500 schools have been renovated with the goal of 4,000 being completed by the end of the year, but 10,000 more need repair. The Port of Uhm Qasar [sic] renovated so grain can be offloaded faster In a November, 2003 interview on National Public Radio, Andrew Natsios of the U.S. Agency for International Development said that the port at Umm Qasar, Iraq\u2019s largest, is modern and functioning for the first time in 20 years. Iraqi oil reached 2 billion barrels exported in August of 2003 Iraq sits on the second largest proven crude oil reserves in the world and the flow of oil resumed in August, 2003 amid equipment that needed repair and suffered from looting and attacks from saboteurs. The initial flow in August, 2003, was 500,000 barrels per day, according to the BBC. Iraqi oil is subject to the ups and downs of the crude oil market but in April, 2003, more than 2 million barrels a day were being produced, but that has not accumulated to 2 billion. Clean drinking water for the first time for than 4.5 million Iraqis According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, safe drinking water was not widespread in Iraq before the U.S. led coalition invaded Iraq but that was partly because of water treatment systems that were in disrepair or had been looted. In other words, clean water is not new to Iraq. We couldn\u2019t find any figures that indicated how many would be receiving clean water for the first time. In December, 2003, USAID was on track to provide clean water to more than 14 million Iraqis. Iraq has twice the electrical power than before the war USAID says power was restored in October, 2003 to slightly more than pre-war levels, or more than 4500 MW as opposed to about 4400 MW prior to the war. The goal was to reach 6000 MW by the summer of 2004. All of the hospitals operating Because of disrepair and looting, it took a lot of work to get hospitals back up to speed but according to James Haverman, the Coalition Provisional Authority Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, all 240 hospitals in Iraq as well as 2400 primary health care clinics were operating as of December, 2003. Elections taking place in all major cities This has been a source of contention in Iraq. In June of 2003 U.S. authorities called halts to local elections across Iraq and chose to put hand-chosen mayors or administrators into office. There have been various local elections since that time and debate over whether Iraq is ready for national elections. According to the Army New Service, there were three truly democratic elections by the end of 2003 in the cities of Tallafar, Zumar and Al-Eyaldia in northern Iraq. Sewer and water lines installed in every major city  We\u2019re not sure about all the major cities, but according to USAID, the water and sewage in Iraq has been suffering from years of neglect, electricity shortages, and post-war looting. Work is underway to restore healthy water and sewage treatment to more than 14-million Iraqis. More than 60,000 police in the streets, more than 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police securing the country, and 80,000 Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets with the U.S. soldiers All accounts regarding the Iraqi police say that the goal is to have 35,000 to 50,000 trained and in place by 2005 or 2006, according to the U.S. State Department. The first class of more than 400 police offers graduated in January, 2004. The Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) is composed of Iraqis who remain citizens, as opposed to serving full time in the military, and are integrated into the coalition military units. The internal defense of the country is in their hands and they are led by the coalition. According to There were about 25,000 hired and trained by February, 2004. The first Iraqi Army battalion of 700 soldiers graduated in October of 2003. By February of 2004, 3,500 had been recruited, about 2000 of those being operational. Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever  We\u2019ve not found any statistics regarding how many new customers there will be for telephones. Most of the work in Iraq has been to restore telephone communications that were lost because of damage from the war. An interim constitution has been signed On March 8, 2004, an interim constitution that defines Iraq as being \u201cfederal, democratic and pluralist\u201d was signed by members of the Iraqi Governing Council. Girls are allowed to attend school A quick read of Sgt. Reynolds\u2019 report would leave the impression that Iraqi girls are able to attend school for the first time because of the invasion. According to Human Rights Watch, Iraqi girls and women have enjoyed comparatively more rights than in some of the other countries of the Middle East. The Iraqi Constitution of 1970 included women\u2019s rights for voting, attending school, owning property, and running for office. Still, the status of women in Iraq has not always been the best because of other cultural and economic factors such as the aftermath of the 1991 war and economic sanctions. School attendance for girls has not been prohibited although more boys than girls have been enrolled, especially in rural areas. Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent the spread of germs Not only are U.S. soldiers demonstrating field sanitation and hand washing, but UNICEF is conducting an active health education program to improve personal hygiene and promote more hand washing. Textbooks that don\u2019t mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in 30 years According to published reports, a team of U.S. appointed Iraqi educators combed through more than 500 Iraqi textbooks and removed every mention of Saddam Hussein and the Baath party including pictures. The texts will probably be revised by the Iraqis at some point in the future, but the pre-war texts were dominated with Saddam Hussein. Last updated 4/24/04 Comments"}
{"claim_id": "4065", "claim": "Science Says: Too early for forecast on Lyme disease ticks.", "explanation": "Tick populations are exploding? Tick-borne diseases are on the rise?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Animals, Health, Ticks, Science Says, Lyme disease, New York, Science, U.S. News", "main_text": "Some recent headlines suggest Americans are facing a particularly bad year for tick bites and illnesses, but the evidence is patchy and the science complicated. What may be true in one part of the country \u2014 or even one part of a county \u2014 may not be true in another. And there are signs that the most common tick-borne illness \u2014 Lyme disease \u2014 may be occurring at roughly usual levels. Here\u2019s a look at the tick situation: THE HAZARD Ticks are small, bloodsucking parasites that feed on animals but will bite people, too. Some are infected with germs that can cause illness, and they spread those germs when they bite. For people, the main worry is blacklegged ticks, which can spread Lyme disease and other illnesses. Nearly 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the federal government each year, but experts think it\u2019s underreported and the actual number may be more like 300,000. Blacklegged ticks \u2014 also called deer ticks \u2014 were once found mainly in New England and pockets of the Midwest, but in recent years have been seen over a wider range . When infected ticks bite, a \u201cbulls\u2019-eye\u201d rash can appear a few days later. It can be followed by severe headaches, neck stiffness and pain in the joints or other parts of the body. People usually recover quickly and completely when treated with antibiotics in the disease\u2019s early stages. Not all blacklegged ticks are infected. Typically about half of the adult ticks that come in for testing at a University of Massachusetts lab carry the bacteria, and that\u2019s about what the lab is seeing again this year, said Stephen Rich. He runs a project that tests around 10,000 ticks each year sent in by people who were bitten. THE OUTLOOK U.S. health officials refuse to make predictions about ticks and tick diseases, and say it\u2019s hard to even know how bad things are. There are monitoring projects in some states, or some parts of states, but there\u2019s not any comprehensive data to give a clear picture of what\u2019s happening nationally, noted Rebecca Eisen, a tick expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Concern about blacklegged ticks recently amped up, largely because of a prediction made by Richard Ostfeld of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, north of New York City. Ostfeld, a respected tick researcher, says blacklegged tick populations can explode based on a boom-and-bust cycle of acorns and white-footed mice, which ticks like to feed on. He says conditions over the last two years bode for a boom this year in the Northeast. But he acknowledges \u201cit\u2019s too early to tell just how bad a year it is.\u201d Thomas Mather, a University of Rhode Island researcher who\u2019s considered a pro at surveying for ticks, hasn\u2019t seen a jump in the blacklegged variety. Even if blacklegged ticks are up this year, a change in conditions \u2014 like a dry heat wave \u2014 could knock the population way down, he added. OTHER TICKS Other kinds of ticks can cause other diseases and health problems. Perhaps the most unusual is caused by the Lone Star tick, which \u2014 despite its Texas-sounding name, is found mainly in the Southeast. Several years ago, doctors began noticing a sudden increase in meat allergies in people bitten by Lone Star ticks. Researchers concluded that the bloodsuckers are carrying a sugar humans don\u2019t have, which can trigger the bizarre immune system reaction that makes them react to red meat. Blacklegged ticks also spread other infections including the rare Powassan virus. Only 75 cases were reported across the nation in the last decade, but more doctors are looking for it and other tick illnesses and that may affect future counts, experts said. To protect against ticks, learn what kinds are common where you live. Avoid high grass. Use EPA-registered repellent. And check yourself and your children for ticks daily. \u201cIt only takes one tick to make you sick,\u201d said Rich. ___ This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "22014", "claim": "House Republicans required the use of Styrofoam cups in House cafeterias that are \"part of Koch Industries.", "explanation": "Rep. Moran says GOP requires use of cups in House cafeterias made by Koch Industries", "label": "false", "subjects": "Virginia, Jim Moran, ", "main_text": "At a recent Democrat-sponsored rally to end \"corporate dominance of our Democracy\" at George Mason University, Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, used Styrofoam to make a point. Lecturing on what he sees as the growing influence of corporations, Moran suggested a link between between the billionaire Koch brothers of Kansas -- the influential conservative owners of Koch Industries -- and a recent preference for Styrofoam in House of Representatives cafeterias. \"As soon as the Republicans took over the House of Representatives, they threw out all of the biodegradable utensils we were using in the cafeterias and they required us to buy Styrofoam cups and plates and so on that are manufactured by Dixie, and, in fact, this is part of Koch Industries,\" he said. Moran added: \"The CEO was one of the partners of Koch Industries that is now benefiting from what we have to buy because we\u2019re basically a captive audience in the House of Representatives.\" That sounds like a conspiracy theory worthy of an Oliver Stone movie. But a PolitiFact check is the best we can offer. We asked Moran\u2019s press secretary where the congressman came up with his information. She didn\u2019t get back to us. Moran\u2019s initial statement begs two questions: 1) Did GOP leaders require the government to buy Styrofoam products from Dixie; and if so, 2) does Koch Industries benefit from that decision? Now for the answers. When Republicans took control of the House in January, House Administration Committee Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., suspended the chamber\u2019s composting program, part of the \"Green the Capitol\" initiative launched by former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The program -- which required use of biodegradable corn-based cups, dishes and utensils in the cafeteria -- was costing $475,000 a year to run and a review revealed that it had increased the House\u2019s overall energy consumption, Lungren said. Democrats were quick to pounce on the decision as environmentally unfriendly, even though the move had been recommended by outgoing Administration Committee Chairman Robert A. Brady of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, in December. The decision did in fact lead to a move to Styrofoam. Beyond that piece of truth, however, Moran\u2019s claim runs into serious problems. First, Republicans didn\u2019t make the decision to go to Styrofoam, much less to a Koch-related company. Instead, Restaurant Associates, a company that manages the cafeterias, was given discretion to do what they wanted. \"We just said, `Look, you don\u2019t have to use compostable -- it\u2019s not working. It\u2019s increasing our energy, it\u2019s not reducing our carbon emissions, and it\u2019s costing a half a million dollars a year,\u2019\" said Salley Wood, spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee. \"Of course, they\u2019re going to go to the most cost-effective\" products, she said. They went with WinCup, which makes Styrofoam products. And while Dixie is a brand under Georgia-Pacific, owned by Koch Industries, WinCup has no affiliation whatsoever with Dixie apart from the fact that its owner, George Wurtz, years ago served as executive vice president at Georgia-Pacific, which was acquired by Koch Industries in 2005, a year before he left. \"Restaurant Associates is not currently using Dixie products,\" said Dan Weiser, a spokesman for the House chief administrative officer. So let\u2019s look back. Moran claims that upon taking the House, Republicans \"required\" a move to Styrofoam products made by Dixie, a brand under the Koch Industries umbrella. Problem is, he\u2019s wrong about everything. The vendor, not House Republicans, decided to move to Styrofoam as a cost consideration after the composting program was discontinued for its ineffectiveness and high costs. And even that decision was based on a recommendation by Democrats. Next, the company the vendor chose, WinCup, is not at all related to Dixie or Koch Industries, and is in fact a competitor. The fact that the man who owns WinCup once worked for a company that was bought by Koch Industries is irrelevant. Moran must have been wearing a tin foil hat on the day he came up with this one. !"}
{"claim_id": "7906", "claim": "Tesla CEO says bought ventilators in China for U.S.", "explanation": "Tesla bought hospital ventilators in China and shipped them to the United States, CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Tesla\u2019s purchase comes as governments across the globe appeal to automakers and aerospace companies help procure or make ventilators and other medical equipment. \u201cChina had an oversupply, so we bought 1255 FDA-approved ResMed, Philips & Medtronic ventilators on Friday night & airshipped them to LA,\u201d Musk said on Twitter. California Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said the state would receive 1,000 ventilators from Tesla as the United States braces to deal with an influx of patients infected by the coronavirus. Authorities are hoping large-scale manufacturers can use their low-cost supply chains and digital design expertise, including 3D printing, and repurpose some factories in order to make up the expected shortfall in vital medical hardware. Carmakers have cautioned that assembling delicate medical equipment to standards adequate for use in hospital intensive care units remains a challenge."}
{"claim_id": "26328", "claim": "\u201cThe mainstream media pretended there was a deadly surge in COVID cases thanks to Wisconsinites voting.\u201d", "explanation": "This news broadcast gave no evidence of its claim about errant mainstream media reporting. Our review of state and national articles about the election found no references to a \u201csurge\u201d or anything close to that. Reports accurately listed the number of cases potentially related to the election and the caveat that we can\u2019t know the origin of those cases for sure. The conspiracy implied by the use of \u201cpretended\u201d makes this even more ridiculous, since there isn\u2019t proof any reporting was wrong in the first place.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Elections, Fake news, Wisconsin, Coronavirus, One America News, ", "main_text": "A far-right news broadcast shared widely on Facebook says the \"mainstream media\" is misleading people about Wisconsin\u2019s mid-pandemic election. The election has remained a hot topic nationally, as it was effectively a study in what can happen when a large number of people go out in public together amid a lockdown order. It\u2019s a unique datapoint as politicians and citizens alike argue over how and when to re-open. And one TV outlet says you\u2019re being lied to about it. On the One America News Network, host Liz Wheeler described it this way in a May 8, 2020, clip labeled online as \"What the (mainstream media) was afraid to tell you\": \"There is no evidence to date that there was a surge of infections due to the April 7, 2020, election in Wisconsin. \u2026 But did the mainstream media report on this? No, no,\" she said. \"In fact, the mainstream media pretended there was a deadly surge in COVID cases thanks to Wisconsinites voting.\" This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Wheeler is right about there being no evidence of a surge. We\u2019ve repeatedly debunked claims that there was one. But her generalization about \"mainstream media\" claiming otherwise? That\u2019s ridiculous. Let\u2019s take a closer look at how this topic has been covered by prominent media outlets. For starters, let\u2019s be clear that there was no election \"surge.\" As of May 11, 2020, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services identified 71 people who tested positive for COVID-19 after voting or working the polls in the April 7 election, according to spokeswoman Elizabeth Goodsitt. The important caveat here is that it\u2019s impossible to say how many were infected at the polls since some reported other possible exposures. The 71 tally runs from April 9 to 21, when the two-week incubation period for the coronavirus would have ended. There were 1,864 positive tests in that span in Wisconsin, so the cases known to intersect with election activity accounted for less than 4% of that total. Now on to the \"mainstream media\" reports. Wheeler\u2019s report cites no sources for the claim the media said there was a surge in cases, so we cast a wide net looking at news coverage ourselves. CNN \u2014 a favorite target for far-right claims of media bias \u2014 reported on April 22 about what was then 19 cases in people who voted or worked the polls. The third and fourth paragraphs of the story detail the caveat that those people had other exposures, so it\u2019s impossible to say the election was the source. ABC News published a similar report April 21, prominently noting the same caveat in the second paragraph. The Associated Press, reporting on updated data April 29, said 50 people connected to the election had tested positive. It noted the origin caveat in the second paragraph. Like the CNN and ABC reports the week before, it contained no hyperbolic language calling this a surge or anything close to that. In-state sources were even more clear. An April 22 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story was headlined, \"Two weeks after election, COVID-19 cases have not spiked in Wisconsin but experts urge caution about conclusions.\" A Wisconsin State Journal report on April 23 worked the \"can\u2019t say for certain\" caveat into the lead sentence. It did the same for a May 8 story when the tally had grown to 67. And a fact-check published by both PolitiFact Wisconsin and USA TODAY rated False a claim from a little-known news outlet that there had been a \"surge\" in COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin after the election. Here\u2019s what that fact check said about the sloppily-reported claim from SecondNexus.com: \"The data the article cited failed to factor in a drop in the number of tests administered. It wrongly treated an unusually low number of cases on April 13 as a baseline against which to compare the following days\u2019 new cases. The increase cited was in fact connected to an increased number of tests in the following days.\" Both the article and the tweet it was based on were removed after that fact-check published. We won\u2019t bother to dive deeper into Wheeler\u2019s \"pretended\" claim. That adds another layer of absurdity since it implies some kind of intentional coverup or falsehood, when there\u2019s no proof the coverage was wrong in the first place. The One America News Network claimed in a video posted to Facebook that \"mainstream media pretended there was a deadly surge in COVID cases thanks to Wisconsinites voting.\" We didn\u2019t find a single traditional or \"mainstream\" news outlet that characterized the election-related cases as a surge or anything close to that \u2014 much less anything that would support this kind of sweeping generalization. The reports prominently noted the caveat that officials can\u2019t say for certain that the election caused the cases we are aware of, and they had made no exaggerated claims about how large those numbers were. (And, to be clear, the 71 cases certainly don\u2019t constitute a surge.) So Wheeler is flat wrong in both her claim about coverage and the related implication from the use of \"pretended\" that something was reported wrong intentionally. We rate this ."}
{"claim_id": "29390", "claim": "Television viewers can drastically lower the TV ratings for Donald Trump's inauguration by changing the channel.", "explanation": "As Nielsen\u2019s data is largely drawn from \u201cNielsen families,\u201d a non-Nielsen family member\u2019s individual viewing (or lack thereof) of Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration would have virtually no impact on the event\u2019s overall television ratings.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Entertainment, donald trump, inauguration, tv ratings", "main_text": "A \u201ccall-to-action\u201d message that urged television viewers to watch anything other than Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration on 20 January 2017 in an attempt to lower the event\u2019s TV ratings (and thus strike a blow to the President-elect\u2019s ego) was widely circulated on Facebook: However, a boycott scheme similar to the described above would likely not be very effective regardless if whether viewers had their televisions turned on, off, or changed to something other than Inauguration Day news coverage. The largest stumbling block to this plan is the assumption that each individual\u2019s personal viewership affects a given television program\u2019s ratings. This simply isn\u2019t the case \u2014 unless, of course, that individual is a member of a \u201cNielsen family.\u201d The Nielsen Company gathers data to determine the ratings of television programs, and while the company employs a variety of methods to collect their data (especially in this relatively new age of Internet streaming), the most common method is via Nielsen families: Chosen at random through proven methodology, Nielsen\u2019s U.S. TV families represent a cross-section of representative homes throughout the country. We measure viewing using our national and local people meters, which capture information about what\u2019s being viewed and when, and in the major U.S. markets, specifically who and how many people are watching. We also have TV set meters in many local markets, and we collect more than two million paper diaries from audiences across the country each year during \u201csweeps\u201d \u2014 specific periods during the months of February, May, July and November. To measure video content viewed on mobile devices, we have expanded our panels to incorporate census-style data from third parties in order to capture the breadth and depth of consumer usage. Nielsen households are randomly selected as a representative sample of the TV-viewing population of the United States: \u201cIt\u2019s a very select few,\u201d explains Jon Gibs, Nielsen\u2019s senior vice president for analytics and insights. \u201cThe reason these people are picked is because they are representative of a broader population.\u201d The company goes to great lengths to make sure that each household chosen to be among the 25,000 Nielsen households stands for a large number of other people. \u201cWe make sure that our TV households maintain what we\u2019d consider sort of normal behavior,\u201d and people are warned against changing their viewing habits just to make a particular show popular. Since Nielsen uses these selected families to determine television ratings, the viewing habits of most people (who are not members of a Nielsen family) go largely unrecorded. Vulture\u00a0reporter Margaret Lyons addressed this issue in a 2015 Q&A: (Q): Is there an effective way to support my favorite shows? I rarely watch the traditional way anymore, what with DVR, streaming, iTunes, and a public library with a good DVD collection. So when networks are looking at numbers to decide the fate of a show, what do they take into consideration? Tweets? Emails? Purchases? App views? Hulu? Amount of GIFs on Tumblr? Do we now live in a world where Firefly could have been saved? Does my vote \u201ccount\u201d? \u2014Annie (A): The short answer is no. And the long answer is nooooooooo, your TV vote doesn\u2019t count in any meaningful way unless you\u2019re a Nielsen family, in which case you affect ratings. And ratings are what count. The various fan ephemera does not have a big or clear impact on keep/cancel decisions. As of August 2016, there were about 40,000 Nielsen households, representing a total of 118.4 million TV-viewing households, in the United States. Steve Krakauer added more detail about how Nielsen ratings were determined in a 2015 post on\u00a0Autonomous: The households are evenly distributed by population throughout the United States, and are roughly meant to be representative of the population as a whole. They also rotate occasionally. But let\u2019s get back to that number. Maybe 50,000 households seems like a lot to you, but to put it in perspective, there are approximately 100 million households with a TV in the United States. That means even at the high estimate of 50,000 households, the number represents\u00a0.05% of the households. That would be less than 1/10 of 1%. The ratings that you see\u200a\u2014\u200afor cable news, for broadcast primetime shows, etc\u200a\u2014\u200aare then extrapolated out from these Nielsen households. So in this scenario, each household represents 2,000 other households in approximating what the country is watching. Although Nielsen isn\u2019t the only company that compiles TV ratings, they are the company that has the most influence over the purchase of television advertisements: \u201cFor 66 years, New York-based Nielsen has calculated viewership numbers. And since Arbitron Inc. got out of the TV ratings business in 1993, Nielsen has been pretty much the only player. Nielsen numbers have been arguably the sole basis on which local and national TV ad rates are calculated, using a ubiquitous cost-per-point formula.\u201d It should also be noted that the way consumers watch television, and the way that Nielsen collects is data, has changed in recent years. For instance, the company inked a deal with DISH Network in April 2016 to incorporate DISH\u2019s set-top boxes into its data. However, this deal was primarily focused on enhancing Nielsen\u2019s data from small, local markets: The Dish info is \u201cthe first nationwide dataset to be integrated with our panel data, reaching the perfect balance of deep viewing characteristics and the granularity of large datasets,\u201d says Nielsen\u2019s COO\u00a0Steve Hasker. \u201cAs the global leader in audience measurement, this is another step in our efforts to integrate big data into our portfolio and our Total Audience efforts.\u201d Set top box data is especially helpful in small markets where the sample sizes for Nielsen\u2019s surveys often are too small to give\u00a0advertisers a clear sense of what niches of viewers watch. So it\u2019s not surprising that Nielsen will begin by blending the Dish data into reports for all 210 markets in\u00a0its its Local TV Measurement service. The ratings company also will use the results in other products including\u00a0Nielsen Scarborough, Nielsen Data Fusion, and Nielsen Media Custom Insights."}
{"claim_id": "26459", "claim": "Joe Biden \"already has what is the most progressive platform of any major party nominee in history.", "explanation": "This is a complicated assertion to evaluate, because the nature of liberalism changes over time, making candidate-to-candidate comparisons difficult. If you compare Biden\u2019s platform to an absolute concept of liberalism, it is the most progressive. Tracking shifts within his party, Biden has moved to the left compared with where Obama and some previous Democratic nominees stood. In his own time, though, Biden is hardly in his party\u2019s ideological vanguard, at least compared with previous nominees such as George McGovern.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Candidate Biography, History, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "In his video endorsing Joe Biden for president, former President Barack Obama not only backed his former running mate but also offered an olive branch to supporters of Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who had challenged Biden from the left in this year\u2019s primaries. In the April 14 video, Obama said: \"You know, I could not be prouder of the incredible progress that we made together during my presidency, but if I were running today, I wouldn\u2019t run the same race or have the same platform as I did in 2008. The world is different; there\u2019s too much unfinished business for us to just look backwards. We have to look to the future. Bernie understands that, and Joe understands that. \"It is one of the reasons that Joe already has what is the most progressive platform of any major-party nominee in history. Because even before the pandemic turned the world upside down, it was already clear that we needed real structural change. The vast inequalities created by the new economy are easier to see now, but they existed long before this pandemic hit.\" Is it accurate to say that Biden \"already has what is the most progressive platform of any major party nominee in history\"? The topic is somewhat murky, and after interviewing presidential historians we came up with the somewhat unsatisfying answer of \"yes and no.\" There is a plausible case for Biden as the most progressive Democratic nominee in history. Political scientists note that the Democratic Party as a whole has moved to the left in recent years. This is partly because of rising polarization between the parties. As conservative Democrats have increasingly left to become Republicans or independents, the remaining Democrats are clustered closer to the liberal end of the spectrum. Biden has heeded this leftward shift, just less aggressively than such primary rivals as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. On many issues during the 2020 primaries, such as gun policy, Biden\u2019s positions were largely indistinguishable from those of his rivals. And on the issues where he did offer a more moderate vision than his Democratic primary opponents, such as health care and climate change, he still went further than Obama had during his presidency. On some issues, including health care, climate change and criminal justice reform, Biden has moved beyond Hillary Clinton in 2016. Biden backs some policies that few previous Democratic nominees would have considered backing. These include a $15 minimum wage, a study of reparations for slavery, two years free public college, ending new oil and gas leases on federal land and offshore, creation of a national firearm registry, and scrapping past marijuana convictions. (An exception is trade policy, where the Democratic mainstream has drifted in a more pro-trade direction in recent decades.) \"Biden has moved steadily in a progressive direction,\" said Max J. Skidmore, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the author of Presidential Performance: A Comprehensive Review. These include promising to name a woman as his running mate and moving towards the Sanders and Warren positions on student debt and bankruptcy reform. Skidmore also cited Biden\u2019s support for eliminating private prisons, abolishing the death penalty, and providing paid family and medical leave. Another way to look at it is how the nominees\u2019 stances compare with those of their general-election opponent. Walter Mondale faced Ronald Reagan in 1984; Michael Dukakis faced George H.W. Bush in 1988; and John Kerry faced George W. Bush in 2004. Each of these Democratic nominees positioned himself sharply to the left of his general-election opponent, but the difference between Biden and Donald Trump is at least as large, particularly on such issues as immigration. While Biden is \"less dramatically progressive\" than some of his 2020 primary rivals, Skidmore said, Biden\u2019s contrast with Trump \"is absolutely dramatic. Does a Biden presidency promise to be more progressive than those of his predecessors? Yes \u2014 a resounding yes \u2014 in an absolute sense. He accepts, and would build on, all of their achievements, and add to them.\" That said, there are a couple factors that make it hard to compare one nominee with another on ideology. The first problem is that on a historical scale, the concept of a most progressive (or most liberal, or most left-leaning) nominee is a moving target. For instance, in 1948, the Democrats called for a national health program, \"which would have been a more radical break with the status quo than what Biden is proposing, but in absolute terms would have landed to the right of where we are today,\" said H.W. Brands, a historian at the University of Texas-Austin who has written books about Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. \"That same 1948 platform called for eradicating all racial discrimination, which would have been a huge break with the Jim Crow system then in place. Nothing today could come close to that.\" Franklin D. Roosevelt (Wikimedia Commons) Another example: Two decades ago, support for same-sex marriage \"was a very progressive idea, but today, it\u2019s the law of the land, and few conservatives still challenge it,\" said John J. Pitney, Jr., a Claremont McKenna College political scientist. Any effort to determine the most liberal nominee is undercut by the reality that liberal goals that have already been accomplished can\u2019t be accomplished again. Once Franklin Roosevelt enacted Social Security and once Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, future nominees had to move on to new policy goals. But just because virtually all politicians today support these programs today doesn\u2019t mean that today\u2019s politicians are as liberal today as Roosevelt and Johnson were in their day. David Greenberg, a Rutgers University historian and author of \"Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency\" and books about Calvin Coolidge and Richard Nixon, said Obama\u2019s statement is \"without much meaning or value.\" \"It\u2019s not meaningful to try to compare whether a set of proposals from 2020 is more or less progressive than proposals from 1960 or 1900 or 1800,\" Greenberg said. \"In every era, the problems are different, the policy possibilities are different, and our understandings of what\u2019s \u2018progressive\u2019 or \u2018conservative\u2019 are different.\" The second problem with Obama\u2019s assertion is that nominees may be more liberal on some issues and more moderate on others. \"Being progressive on class issues is different from being \u2018woke\u2019 on identity issues,\" said Jennifer Delton, a Skidmore College historian and author of \"Rethinking the 1950s: How Anticommunism and the Cold War Made America Liberal.\" Indeed, candidates may choose to emphasize some parts of their agenda over others, changing how liberal or moderate they appear to be. Part of the candidate\u2019s dance on these issues has to do with managing the differing demands of constituencies within the Democratic Party coalition. \"As the Democratic Party has been moving leftward, Biden has been balancing between the pragmatic and idealistic left sides of his party,\" said Bert Rockman, an emeritus professor of political science at Purdue University who has written books assessing Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. \"It probably is true that this might well be the most progressive platform the Democrats have had, but that doesn\u2019t mean that Biden will emphasize all of it.\" Where Obama\u2019s assertion is on weaker ground is if you compare Biden\u2019s platform not with an absolute measure of historical liberalism but in relation to his own party. Past nominees of both parties have taken positions more at odds with the mainstream of their own party than he has. In 1972, for instance, George McGovern won the nomination as an insurgent candidate whose policy positions were to the left of where many in the party stood. Franklin Roosevelt\u2019s New Deal, and Lyndon Johnson\u2019s Great Society programs were on the outer edge of what some party figures would have advocated, Skidmore said. If the question is, \"Is Biden pushing the envelope of what is possible?\" then the answer is no, Delton said. \"And most Democrats are fine with that,\" she said. There\u2019s even a president who proposed such liberal initiatives as a guaranteed minimum income, controls on wages and prices, a more ambitious forerunner to the Affordable Care Act, and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. \"His name,\" Pitney said, \"was Richard M. Nixon.\" Obama said that Biden \"already has what is the most progressive platform of any major party nominee in history.\" This is a complicated assertion to evaluate, because the nature of liberalism changes over time, making candidate-to-candidate comparisons difficult. But there\u2019s evidence that both supports and undercuts Obama\u2019s position. Obama is on the strongest ground if you compare Biden\u2019s platform with an absolute concept of liberalism. Tracking ongoing shifts within his party, Biden has moved to the left compared with where Obama stood, and is further to the left than many prior Democratic nominees. Also, as more liberal policies are enacted, the next steps are necessarily more liberal. However, in his own time, Biden is hardly on his party\u2019s ideological vanguard, unlike previous nominees such as McGovern. We rate Obama\u2019s statement ."}
{"claim_id": "17241", "claim": "Florida ranks first in the nation for access to free prekindergarten.", "explanation": "GlaxoSmithKline said an experimental multiple myeloma treatment has shown a meaningful response in patients that have run out of three previous treatment options, in a boost for the British drugmaker\u2019s cancer drug business.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Children, Education, Florida, Rick Scott, ", "main_text": "Two doses of belantamab mafodotin helped subdue the disease in adults who had received three prior treatments for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the white blood cells, GSK said on Friday. The company intends to seek market approval and submit data from the trial to regulatory bodies this year. GSK sold its approved oncology drugs to Novartis in 2014, but has staged a comeback in cancer treatment with a deal to buy U.S. firm Tesaro for $5.1 billion last year and an agreement in February to pay up to 3.7 billion euros ($4.09 billion) to Germany\u2019s Merck KGaA for the rights to a next-generation immunotherapy. \u201cWe are on track to file belantamab mafodotin later this year and continue to investigate how it could help even more patients with this disease,\u201d GSK\u2019s Chief Scientific Officer Hal Barron said. The drug targets a protein linked to multiple myeloma known as BCMA. \u201cThis is yet another positive signal that GSK\u2019s R&D engine is being turned around and should be well received by the market,\u201d said Liberum analyst Graham Doyle. In another recent win in oncology, GSK\u2019s Zejula - formerly Tesaro\u2019s lead compound - was shown to slow progression of ovarian cancer. GSK shares were up 1% at 0923 GMT versus a 0.4% gain in the STOXX Europe 600 Health Care index. Details of the belantamab mafodotin trial, which tracked how patients fared over time and did not feature a comparison group without the novel treatment, would be presented at an as yet undisclosed medical conference, the company added. The interim result gives further credence to a class of molecules known as antibody drug conjugates (ADC) that belantamab mafodotin belongs to. The concept further builds on the established method of using antibodies that block or bind to foreign substances in the body. ADC, in turn, are antibodies with a cell toxin as a molecular add-on. That allows chemotherapeutic agents, which are harmful to all human cells, to be brought to cancer cells at much higher doses than in conventional chemotherapy. AstraZeneca agreed in March agreed to pay up to $6.9 billion to work with Daiichi Sankyo on an ADC against breast cancer, in a challenge to another ADC called Kadcyla, made by Roche. Multiple myeloma is the second most common form of blood cancer. While it can be treated, there is no available cure, GSK said. The condition is expected to claim the lives of 13,000 people in the U.S. in 2019, according to the American Cancer Society. The BCMA protein that is characteristic of multiple myeloma is also being used as a target in cell therapies developed by Johnson & Johnson, bluebird bio Inc, Celgene Corp."}
{"claim_id": "35578", "claim": "Searching for any three-digit number followed by \"new cases\" on Google provides evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic was manufactured. ", "explanation": "Herein lies an even bigger hole in the conspiracy theory. Out of the dozens of social media posts we encountered from people spreading this rumor, we have not seen anyone correctly claim that the search results provided by Google were inaccurate. Our own searches resulted in genuine news articles from national and local media that cited credible sources.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19, Editor's Picks", "main_text": "In July 2020, a rumor started to circulate online that typing any three-digit number followed by the words \u201cnew cases\u201d into Google would return news articles or other reports about COVID-19 in search results. This, according to proponents of this claim, showed that the coronavirus pandemic was nothing more than a conspiracy theory. In all honesty, we had trouble following the logic of this false rumor. Those spreading these \u201cmind blowing\u201d search results also appeared a little unsure of what it meant. Most of the posts we encountered did not lay out any specific claims or accusations. Rather, these messages contained vague statements about how the world was being \u201cplayed.\u201d As best we can tell, the idea is that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (or, possibly, some shadowy group of elites, George Soros, or another frequently invoked boogeyman) were gaming search results in order to inundate the population with coronavirus content and convince everyone that this \u201choax\u201d was in fact a real problem. There are, of course, a number of problems with this theory. We have not typed each of the 900 three-digit numbers (100-999) into Google followed by \u201cnew cases,\u201d but we did perform a few dozen searches in this manner and in every instance we did get results related to rising COVID-19 cases. For some numbers (typically on the higher range of the three-digit set), Google had to dig back weeks or months in order to find news articles related to the specific search term. Not really. Although some may see (or claim to see) these search results as \u201cmind blowing,\u201d this actually isn\u2019t all that unusual considering the duration (approximately 8 months, as of this writing) and widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consider this: The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was reported in January 2020. Since then, the disease has spread to all 50 states. In the approximately 200 days between the early COVID-19 cases and this writing, state, local, territorial, academic, and commercial entities have reported case numbers to the CDC. Many cities have also held daily press briefings. In addition to multiple entities recording and reporting on these numbers, there have also been national and local news outlets publishing articles on a daily basis about this data. Let\u2019s take a look at the math. If each of the 50 states issued daily reports about COVID-19 cases for 200 days, that would mean 10,000 reports could contain a three-digit number of COVID-19 cases. There are approximately 19,500 municipal governments in the United States. If every one of those governments reported a daily rise in cases over this 200 days, that\u2019s an additional 3,900,000 reports that could contain a three-digit number of COVID-19 cases. If you factor in local and national newspapers and websites (we\u2019ll use 13,000, the number of daily newspapers in circulation in 2014; the actual number is likely much higher due to an unknown number of online news websites), that\u2019s an additional 2,600,000 reports about COVID-19. Even if you reduced the number of possible days from 200 to 120 (lockdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020), that\u2019s still millions of daily reports that could possibly show a three-digit rise in case numbers. It should also be noted that Google can return search results from international organizations, cities, and news outlets. In other words, there are millions of articles and reports that Google can comb through in order to find a result for each of the 900 possible three-digit numbers."}
{"claim_id": "14192", "claim": "Cervical cancer in Africa is \"fully preventable with basic education, screening\u00a0and vaccines.", "explanation": "Biden said cervical cancer in Africa is \"fully preventable with basic education, screening, and vaccines.\" The experience of the developed countries shows that nearly all deaths from cervical cancer could be eliminated with widespread screening and vaccination programs. Neither currently exist in Africa, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Global News Service, Health Care, Foreign Policy, Public Health, Joe Biden, ", "main_text": "Vice President Joe Biden has called for a \"moonshot\" to cure cancer. The disease took his son in 2015, and now it has become his mission to eliminate some cancers and turn the rest into treatable, chronic diseases. Biden took his campaign to the Vatican where he said that \"nearly 50 percent of cancers are preventable.\" \"Take cervical cancer -- \u200a530,000 new cases are diagnosed each year,\" Biden said. \"270,000 people die each year; 87 percent in developing countries. In Africa, it\u2019s the second-most common cancer after breast cancer. It\u2019s a travesty. But it\u2019s fully preventable with basic education, screening, and vaccines.\" Biden\u2019s comment about cervical cancer in Africa caught our attention. Is cervical cancer fully preventable with the right interventions? A fact-sheet on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s website tells us that Biden is almost but not quite right. \"Every year in the U.S., more than 12,000 women get cervical cancer, and 4,000 die from it. 93 percent of cervical cancer deaths could be prevented through screening and HPV vaccination.\" Now, that is for the United States with a system of doctors, clinics and hospitals that far surpasses anything found in any African nation. If it\u2019s not fully preventable here, it\u2019s difficult to see why the results in Africa would be better. Beth Meyerson, a researcher at the School of Public Health at Indiana University\u00a0is in the middle of a study on cervical cancer strategies in Africa. Meyerson told us \"Sub-Saharan Africa would not be able to achieve 100 percent prevention.\" Meghan Dubyak, a Biden spokeswoman, said the vice president was trying to make a slightly different point. \"The vice president was referring to the travesty of cervical cancer being preventable,\" Dubyak said. To be sure, cervical cancer is highly preventable. The journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, says \"cervical cancer is a relatively rare disease in countries that have instituted and maintained national screening programs.\" In this light, Biden\u2019s statement draws attention to Africa\u2019s unfortunate distinction. As this World Health Organization map shows, it is a hotspot worldwide for cervical cancer. In every dark blue country, the rate of new cases is over 30.2 per 100,000 women per year. By comparison, the rate in the United States is about 8.1 per 100,000 women per year. Of the 20 nations with the highest incidence of cervical cancer, 16 are in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Some researchers note there are vast gaps in this cancer data and say the true prevalence \"remains largely unknown.\") A 2015 report from the Sub-Saharan African Cervical Cancer Working Group, a body of physicians, epidemiologists and cancer researchers, described the key reasons behind the reach of the disease. Screening is sorely lacking. The group found a \"lack of widespread services, delays in receiving results, lack of the high-quality laboratories needed for cytology based screening and absence of adequate centres for the evaluation and treatment of identified patients.\" Dealing with cervical cancer exposes the many cracks in the health care systems across the region. Richard Wamai, assistant professor of public health at Northeastern University, said the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa are ill equipped for this challenge. \"Detection will require expanding the health service system, which requires investments in infrastructure,\" Wamai said. \"That calls for prioritization which is difficult to do because of competing health demands. Cancer in general is, to me, the most worrying of all other diseases for the continent. There is very little preparation and in many cases policy makers are not yet awoken to this impending tsunami.\" Public health experts also say vaccination programs are essential. Some strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) can lead to cervical cancer and some of those strains can be blocked by vaccines. But just as Sub-Saharan countries lack the infrastructure for screening, they also lack a system for vaccinating young women. Speaking at a January 2016 event in Washington, Deborah Birx, U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, gave a bleak summary of the status of health care in Sub-Saharan Africa. \"There is no systematic health care for girls between the time they turn 5 and the time they get pregnant,\" Birx said. That age range would be key for any vaccination program. On top of that core challenge, Meyerson said the price tag for vaccines puts them out of reach. \"Many African countries find that the HPV vaccination cost is too high to have broad coverage,\" Meyerson said. Our ruling Biden said cervical cancer in Africa is \"fully preventable with basic education, screening, and vaccines.\" The experience of the developed countries shows that nearly all deaths from cervical cancer could be eliminated with widespread screening and vaccination programs. Neither currently exist in Africa, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "28241", "claim": "Michael Alonzo Thompson was imprisoned for decades for selling marijuana, while Joseph Robert Meili got five years' probation for kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl.", "explanation": "What's true: Thompson was jailed for decades in relation to an incident in which he sold 3 pounds of marijuana. Meili was given five years' probation for an incident in which an 11-year-old girl claimed he engaged in sexual intercourse with her (statutory rape) and in which he admitted to molesting her. Though not definitive, further evidence exists that could reasonably lead an observer to conclude that he committed statutory rape. What's false: Thompson's sentence was not based on his sale of marijuana but on the basis of a weapons charge, and his jail term was multiplied because he was already a thrice-convicted felon. Meili was not convicted of kidnapping the girl, and police statements suggest she voluntarily left her family home with him. Neither was Meili convicted of raping the girl.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Crime", "main_text": "Disparities in prison sentences are a frequent subject of online memes and social media content, especially when one or both of the cases highlighted is regarded by some as a miscarriage of justice, or when racial basis is presented as an explanation for a relatively heavy punishment being imposed on an individual from a racial or ethnic minority group. We have examined such memes on several occasions in the past. In September 2019, we received multiple inquiries about two more cases: that of Michigan resident Michael Alonzo Thompson, who is African American, and that of Missouri resident Joseph Robert Meili, who is white. On Aug. 4, the Facebook page First People\u2019s Inter-Indigenous Network of the Americas posted a meme that showed Thompson\u2019s face on the left, along with the following text: \u201cThis man sold three pounds of weed in 1994 in Michigan, a state where it is now legal. He\u2019s still in prison to this day.\u201d Under Meili\u2019s face, on the right, the text stated: \u201cThis man kidnapped and raped an 11-year-old girl in Missouri. He was sentenced to probation.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0 The meme was originally posted in June 2019 by the left-leaning Facebook page The Other 98%. On the whole, it comprised a mixture of accurate and misleading claims. The case of \u201cMeeko\u201d Thompson formed one half of a similar meme published previously by The Other 98%. An in-depth examination of his offenses and punishment can be found in our May 2019 fact check of that meme, but the following is a brief outline of the facts. In 1996,\u00a0Genesee District Court in Michigan sentenced the then-45-year-old to a combined total of between 40 and 60 years in prison. As of September 2019, Michigan Department of Corrections records show that Thompson was still incarcerated at Muskegon Correctional Facility, meaning The Other 98% meme was accurate in claiming \u201cHe is still in prison to this day.\u201d Thompson was convicted of five charges: possession\u00a0with intent to deliver marijuana;\u00a0conspiracy\u00a0to possess with intent to deliver marijuana;\u00a0delivery\u00a0of marijuana;\u00a0possession\u00a0of a weapon by a convicted felon; and\u00a0possession\u00a0of a weapon during the commission of a felony. The Other 98% meme was therefore misleading in its description of Thompson\u2019s offenses, saying only that he had \u201csold three pounds of weed,\u201d and leaving out the fact that he had also been convicted on weapons charges. In fact, the relatively heavy prison sentence he received (the reason why he is \u201cstill in prison to this day\u201d) was not related to the three drug charges. For those offenses, Thompson was given a 15-year sentence, and he would have been released in 2011 if he had not also been convicted on weapons charges. In fact, the statutory maximum penalty for those drug charges was four years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. Thompson\u2019s sentence was increased to 15 years because he had already been convicted of three drug-related felonies dating back to the 1980s and therefore was charged under Michigan\u2019s \u201chabitual offender\u201d law. Similarly, his sentence for possession of a weapon by a convicted felon was increased, under the habitual offender law, from five years in prison to between 40 and 60 years in prison, and it is that conviction and sentence alone that accounts for Thompson\u2019s continued incarceration as of 2019. The two weapons-possession charges were rather controversial. Thompson never had a firearm on his person while he sold three pounds of marijuana to a police informant in 1994, and did not use or reach for a weapon at any time. Rather, he was convicted on the principle of \u201cconstructive possession.\u201d In arresting Thompson, police found several firearms at his home, all of which Thompson\u2019s wife claimed to own. Despite this, the logic of constructive possession meant that, while the police informant was handing him $4,200 in cash for the marijuana, Thompson knew the whereabouts of the firearms and, in principle, he had them at his disposal. In the view of prosecutors and the court, this amounted to constructive possession, and Thompson could therefore be charged and convicted of possession by a felon and possession while committing a felony (the drug deal). Under Michigan law, Thompson\u2019s status as an habitual offender meant the district court had lawful discretion to impose the 40- to 60-year sentence it ultimately imposed. In March 2019, 22-year-old Meili pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree child molestation, which in Missouri, typically carries a potential penalty of up to seven years in prison. Three months later, Greene County Circuit Court judge Calvin Holden sentenced him to serve five years on probation for his crime. So The Other 98% meme was accurate in stating \u201che was sentenced to probation.\u201d Meili was originally charged with two additional offenses: first-degree statutory rape (which carries a potential penalty of between 10 years and life in prison) and child kidnapping (which also carries a potential penalty of between 10 years and life in prison). However, those charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement. Therefore, it cannot be stated unambiguously that Meili \u201ckidnapped\u201d an 11-year-old girl, as The Other 98% meme claims, because he was not convicted of that particular crime. Furthermore, according to police statements, the girl later told them she had agreed in advance to be picked up from her home by Meili. Notwithstanding her relative immaturity and limited decision-making capacity, the girl does appear to have entered the car voluntarily, in the expectation Meili would drive them away from her family home. The following facts of the case are taken from Greene County Circuit Court records. They include descriptions of child sexual abuse and alleged statutory rape and might be upsetting to some readers. Although the evidence against Meili was never tested in a trial, because he pleaded guilty in return for two other charges being dropped, the following is how police officers in Springfield, Missouri, outlined their account of the events that led to Meili\u2019s arrest, taken from a felony probable-cause statement filed in September 2017:\u00a0 On July 16, 2017, an 11-year-old girl was reported missing from her home in Republic, Missouri. She returned home at 9 p.m. that night and later told police she had been picked up from her house by then 21-year-old Meili, who took her to an apartment in nearby Springfield. During an interview, the girl told police she had begun chatting with Meili in the early hours of July 16, on an app called \u201cMeet Me,\u201d using her mother\u2019s cellphone. According to police, the girl told them that, in her \u201cMeet Me\u201d profile, she had listed her age as 18 years old, and not her true age of 11. She gave Meili her family\u2019s address and he picked her up by car several hours later. According to the probable-cause statement, the girl\u2019s description of her text conversation with Meili was consistent with messages found on her mother\u2019s cellphone. The girl told police she fell asleep at the apartment in Springfield and later awoke with \u201ca feeling something sexual had happened.\u201d Meili did not live in the apartment in question but had access to it because he had agreed to dogsit for his friend, who lived there. The girl spoke to police again in August 2017 and provided further details about her encounter with Meili at the Springfield apartment the previous month. She told them Meili had removed her clothes and inserted his fingers and penis into her vagina. According to police, semen was found on her underwear. The girl tested positive for the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia in August, having tested negative the day after her meeting with Meili in July. Given that chlamydia is estimated to take at least seven days to incubate, police came to the conclusion that \u201cit is probable [the girl] contracted chlamydia from [Meili].\u201d Before his arrest, Meili insisted to police that he believed the girl to be 18 years old, as her \u201cMeet Me\u201d profile stated, rather than her true age of 11. Under Missouri law, statutory rape is defined as \u201csexual intercourse with another person who is less than fourteen years of age.\u201d According to police, the girl told them that Meili had \u201cput a condom on his penis\u201d and then \u201cput his fingers and penis inside her vagina.\u201d Police later found a condom wrapper in the trash at Meili\u2019s friend\u2019s apartment, which the girl insisted she had no knowledge of. If true, the act of intercourse the girl alleged would undoubtedly constitute statutory rape on Meili\u2019s part, and The Other 98% meme would be justified in claiming that he had \u201craped\u201d the girl. However, Meili was never convicted of statutory rape. Rather, the offense to which he admitted (third-degree child molestation) was described by prosecutors as follows: \u201c\u2026 The defendant subjected [the girl], who was then less than 14 years of age, to sexual contact, by placing his hand on [the girl\u2019s] vagina, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person.\u201d The circumstances surrounding Meili\u2019s plea bargain and his pleading guilty to the lesser charge of child molestation must be weighed against the allegation made by the girl to police (that Meili had indeed inserted his penis and fingers into her vagina), and the fact that the 11-year-old girl tested positive for chlamydia five weeks after the alleged intercourse. Judge Calvin Holden was not obliged to sentence Meil to only five years\u2019 probation. According to the Huffington Post, prosecutors in the case had asked for Meili to be imprisoned for the maximum term of seven years, but Holden imposed probation, instead. Unless Meili breaches any of the terms and conditions of his probation, he will never go to jail as a consequence of his actions. The 40- to 60-year prison sentence imposed on Thompson is undoubtedly one that some observers would view as outrageously, even inhumanely, long. The Michigan Court of Appeals itself described it as \u201cquite severe.\u201d However, The Other 98% meme was misleading to readers because, while it\u2019s true Thompson received that sentence in relation to an incident in which he \u201csold three pounds of weed,\u201d the 40- to 60-year sentence was not based on that drug offense. Rather, he received that sentence because he was also convicted of \u201cpossession of a weapon by a convicted felon,\u201d and his prison term was multiplied because he was already a thrice-convicted felon in the state of Michigan. It is a matter of subjective opinion as to whether those facts justify the sentence imposed upon Thompson, but they are undoubtedly highly relevant facts that the meme markedly failed to mention. Similarly, Holden\u2019s decision to ignore the wishes of prosecutors and suspend Meili\u2019s five-year sentence for molesting an 11-year-old girl, when the maximum sentence available was seven years in prison, would undoubtedly strike some readers as unjustifiable and unjust. However, The Other 98% meme went further and used two specific terms to describe Meili\u2019s actions, alleging that he \u201ckidnapped and raped\u201d the girl. Although Meili was initially charged with kidnapping, that charge was dropped as part of his plea bargain, and notwithstanding her immaturity and young age, the girl does appear to have agreed to meet Meili, and voluntarily left her family home in the car he was driving, according to police statements. While it cannot be claimed definitively that Meili raped the girl, and a charge of statutory rape was dropped, the meme is on somewhat less shaky factual ground here. Firstly, the girl reportedly told police that Meili had penetrated her vagina with his penis, which would be statutory rape. Secondly, semen was found on the girl\u2019s underwear just one day after her meeting with Meili. Thirdly, the 11-year-old girl tested positive for chlamydia, five weeks after the meeting with Meili, during which she alleged he had sexually penetrated her, and during which he later admitted to having molested her. While those facts do not amount to definitive proof, and it must be emphasized again that Meili was never convicted of statutory rape, it is understandable that some observers, including those who created The Other 98% meme, might come to the conclusion that he had, in fact, raped her. On the whole, the meme was comprised of a mixture of accurate and misleading claims."}
{"claim_id": "7451", "claim": "Poll shows a partisan split over virus-era religious freedom.", "explanation": "As the nation\u2019s houses of worship weigh how and when to resume in-person gatherings while coronavirus stay-at-home orders ease in some areas, a new poll points to a partisan divide over whether restricting those services violates religious freedom.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, General News, Politics, Lifestyle, Virus Outbreak, Public health, Donald Trump", "main_text": "Questions about whether states and localities could restrict religious gatherings to protect public health during the pandemic while permitting other secular activities have swirled for weeks and resulted in more than a dozen legal challenges that touch on freedom to worship. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has sided with two churches contesting their areas\u2019 pandemic-related limits on in-person and drive-in services \u2014 a stance that appeals to his conservative base, according to the new poll by The University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll found Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say prohibiting in-person services during the coronavirus outbreak violates religious freedom, 49% to 21%. A majority of Democrats, 58%, say they think in-person religious services should not be allowed at all during the pandemic, compared with 34% of Republicans who say the same. Among Republicans, most of the remainder \u2014 48% \u2014 think they should be allowed with restrictions, while 15% think they should be allowed without restrictions. Just 5% of Democrats favor unrestricted in-person worship, and 38% think it should be permitted with restrictions. Caught between the poles of the debate are Americans like Stanley Maslowski, 83, a retired Catholic priest in St. Paul, Minn., and an independent who voted for Trump in 2016 but is undecided this year. Maslowski was of two minds about a court challenge by Kentucky churches that successfully exempted in-person religious services from the temporary gathering ban issued by that state\u2019s Democratic governor. \u201cOn the one hand, I think it restricts religious freedom,\u201d Maslowski said of the Kentucky ban. \u201cOn the other hand, I\u2019m not sure if some of that restriction is warranted because of the severity of the contagious virus. It\u2019s a whole new situation.\u201d The unprecedented circumstance of a highly contagious virus whose spread was traced back, in some regions, to religious gatherings prompted most leaders across faiths to suspend in-person worship during the early weeks of the pandemic. But it wasn\u2019t long before worship restrictions prompted legal skirmishes from Kansas to California, with several high-profile cases championed by conservative legal nonprofits that have allied with the Trump administration\u2019s past elevation of religious liberty. One of those conservative nonprofits, the First Liberty Institute, spearheaded a Tuesday letter asking federal lawmakers to extend liability protections from coronavirus-related negligence lawsuits to religious organizations in their next coronavirus relief legislation. Shielding houses of worship from potential legal liability would \u201creassure ministries that voluntarily closed that they can reopen in order to resume serving their communities,\u201d the First Liberty-led letter states. Among the hundreds of faith leaders signing the letter were several conservative evangelical Christian supporters of Trump, including Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, and Rabbi Pesach Lerner, the president of the Coalition for Jewish Values. John Inazu, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who studies the First Amendment, said the letter\u2019s warning of legal peril for religious organizations that reopen their doors amid the virus appeared inflated. But he predicted further legal back-and-forth over whether eased-up gathering limits treat religious gatherings neutrally. \u201cI would think the greater litigation risk is not from private citizens suing churches but from churches suing municipalities whose reopening policies potentially disadvantage churches relative to businesses and other social institutions,\u201d Inazu said by email. \u201cSome of those suits will have merit, and some won\u2019t.\u201d Drive-through or drive-in services have grown in popularity during the virus as ways for houses of worship to continue welcoming the faithful while attempting to keep them at a reasonable social distance. Local limits on those services prompted high-profile legal challenges, including one of the two where the Justice Department weighed in on behalf of churches. The new poll also points to a partisan split on that issue. Fifty-nine percent of Republicans say prohibitions on drive-in services while the outbreak is ongoing are a violation of religious freedom, compared with 30% of Democrats. Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to say that drive-through religious services should be allowed without restriction, 38% to 18%. Most Republicans and Democrats think drive-in services should be restricted, with few thinking they shouldn\u2019t be allowed at all. Daniel Bennett, an associate political science professor at John Brown University, pointed to high support for Trump among white evangelicals \u2014 whom the poll showed are also more likely than others to say in-person worship should be allowed during the virus \u2014 as a possible driver of Democratic sentiment in the opposite direction. Religious freedom can grow \u201cmore partisan when you have these white evangelicals who are such a key part of the Trump administration\u2019s voting bloc,\u201d said Bennett, who wrote a book on conservative Christian legal organizations. \u201cIt\u2019s a gut reaction to say, \u2018oh, you\u2019re for this -- I have to be against this\u2019.\u201d Bennett pointed to a bigger question that predated, and promises to outlast, the virus: \u201cHow do we communicate these issues in terms of religious freedom while not alienating people for partisan reasons?\u201d  ___ Swanson reported from Washington. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,002 adults was conducted April 30-May 4 using a sample drawn from NORC\u2019s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. ___ Online: AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/ ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content."}
{"claim_id": "3026", "claim": "College student in Boston diagnosed with measles.", "explanation": "Boston public health officials say a Northeastern University student diagnosed with measles may have exposed others to the disease around campus, at nearby businesses and at Logan International Airport.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Measles, General News, Business, Boston, Public health", "main_text": "The Boston Public Health Commission says the student was diagnosed Wednesday. The student, whose name was not released but who lives in the city, may have exposed others between Jan. 3 and Jan. 6 at several locations on campus, including dormitories, dining halls and classrooms. The student was at the airport\u2019s Terminal E on Jan. 3 from about 9 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. The student during that period also visited restaurants, retail stores, a pharmacy and other businesses near campus. It could take someone potentially exposed to measles up to 21 days to become ill. The commission urges anyone who thinks they may have been exposed and unsure about their immunization status to consult with a health care provider. The last time a city resident was diagnosed with measles was October, and that was the first case since 2013."}
{"claim_id": "6320", "claim": "Medical school get $3.7M to address geriatric care shortage.", "explanation": "The University of Nebraska Medical Center has received a five-year, $3.7 million grant to address the looming shortage of doctors who specialize in the care of older adults.", "label": "true", "subjects": "General News, Medical schools, Nebraska, Education", "main_text": "The U.S. Health Resources Services Administration estimates a need for 33,200 geriatricians in the U.S. by 2025 \u2014 around 27,000 more than the current projected supply of around 6,200. The medical school says a way solve the problem is to expand the access of primary care professionals to resources that aid them in treating the older adults\u2019 complex health issues. The grant will provide education to teams including physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, mental health professionals and social workers. The idea: care for patients as a team when they\u2019re sick but also keep them well."}
{"claim_id": "40834", "claim": "The number of people detained under the Mental Health Act has increased by 47% in ten years.", "explanation": "Correct in England between 2005/06 and 2015/16.", "label": "true", "subjects": "mental-health", "main_text": "Four times as many black people are being detained as white people. If you're black, you're about four times as likely to be detained than if you're white. Overall, more white people are detained, since they make up a larger portion of the population. The number of people detained under the Mental Health Act has increased by 47% in ten years. Correct in England between 2005/06 and 2015/16. Claim 1 of 3"}
{"claim_id": "37837", "claim": "A photograph shows three anti-lockdown protesters hanging on crosses alongside a McDonald's in order to protest COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.", "explanation": "\u2018McDonald\u2019s Crucifixion\u2019 Image Repurposed as Purportedly \u2018Protesting Stay at Home Orders\u2019", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "In late May 2020, a photograph of three purported protesters of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders circulated\u00a0which purported to show three men \u201ccrucified\u201d outside a McDonald\u2019s. A since-deleted Facebook post originally stated:I have no words \u2026..this is disrespectful as hell *clarification*They are protesting staying inside orders, feel like they\u2019re being martyred\u00a0\ud83d\ude12Another\u00a0iteration\u00a0of the claim (archived here) was visible on May 26 2020, and it was originally posted on May 10 2020:Legit picture of actual protestors. Where do I even begin? The lack of nails through the wrists shows no real dedication and is disheartening. Do we get to stab them with spears? Are they singing \u201cAlways look on the bright side of life\u201d while they stand on their platforms? Who brings a grill to McDonald\u2019s? When did hamberders and haircuts equal crucifixion? Why are they off their meds? What part of the South is this?Although the post did not mention COVID-19 lockdowns directly, it was evident that the poster referenced protests to lift social distancing restrictions throughout May 2020. Other variations of the image and claim were also shared to Twitter on May 10 and 11 2020 (via Know Your Meme):these corona protesters are getting nutty with it pic.twitter.com/0ToiI7ds7c\u2014 einst\u00fcrzende neubolton\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9\ud83d\udc51 (@AmbJohnBoIton) May 10, 2020I want McDonalds to open again too but crucifixion is a step too far.Even for a delicious Big Mac with strawberry milkshake.#COVID pic.twitter.com/1KvP5vy4uq\u2014 Dr. Mike Rosser (@EmergMedDr) May 11, 2020In the first image above, the poster retweeted a tweet suggesting that the image depicted \u201cthree corona protesters getting nutty with it,\u201d and a second person wrote:I want McDonalds to open again too but crucifixion is a step too far.Even for a delicious Big Mac with strawberry milkshake #COVIDHowever, as Know Your Meme explained, the image existed well before SARS-CoV-2 did, and therefore had nothing to do with stay-at-home orders or ensuing protests:On April 5th, 2018, Tumblr user x7s018y3fhigoxg posted the earliest version of the image.Iterations of the claim the McDonald\u2019s crucifixion image was a COVID-19 anti-lockdown protest continued circulating on Facebook and Twitter, but the image was mislabeled and misleadingly presented. The photograph was first shared in April 2018, nearly two years before COVID-19 was deemed a pandemic by the World Health Organization.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "39738", "claim": "\u00a0\u00a0   In   an effort preserve the mainstream chronology of human evolution, the   Smithsonian destroyed skeletal remains of giant humans found across the   U.S.     ", "explanation": "Smithsonian Admits Destroying Giant Human Skeletons ", "label": "false", "subjects": "9/11 Attack on America", "main_text": "This story is a hoax based on theories about giant skeletons that have   persisted for hundreds of years. A  fake news report by the\u00a0World News Daily Report claimed that   recently-released documents dating back to the early 1900s proved that   the Smithsonian had destroyed tens of thousands of giant human skeletons   in a \u201cmajor historical cover up.\u201d\u00a0 The article claimed that the remains   were destroyed because \u201cmainstream archeology can not admit to\u201d their   existence. Despite the website\u2019s  disclosure that its content is intended for \u201centertainment   purposes,\u201d the story was quickly shared more than 60,000 times on   Facebook. The website publishes satirical articles and accompanying   photos in a way that makes them appear real. But readers who were duped by the story shouldn\u2019t feel bad. A number of  websites and groups have formed around the theory that the   skeletal remains of giants have been found around the U.S. since the   early 1800s. The History Channel has even featured the show, \u201cSearch   for the Lost Giants,\u201d on the subject. A speech delivered by Abe Lincoln during a visit to Niagara Falls in   1848 is often used to lend credibility to the giant skeleton theory. Speaking about the unique appeal of the Niagara Falls, Lincoln\u00a0said:  \u201cBut still   \tthere is more. It calls up the indefinite past. When Columbus first   \tsought this continent \u2014 when Christ suffered on the cross \u2014 when   \tMoses led Israel through the Red-Sea \u2014 nay, even when Adam first   \tcame from the hand of his Maker \u2014 then as now, Niagara was roaring   \there. The eyes of that species of extinct giants, whose bones fill   \tthe mounds of America, have gazed on Niagara, as ours do.\u201d  Lincoln appeared to embrace the idea that ancient giants had once walked the  United States. The view wasn\u2019t all that uncommon among influential figures of  the time, either. The book \u201cThe  Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee,\u201d written by attorney and  historian John Haywood in 1823, attempted to prove that native tribes of  Tennessee were descendants of giant ancient Hebrews. In his book, Haywood writes:  \u201cIn White County, a conical mound was lately opened, and in the centre of it was  found a skeleton eight feet in length \u2026 With this skeleton was found another  nearly of the same size, with the top of his head flat, and his eyes placed  apparently in the upper part of his forehead. The descendants of these giants, both in the old and new world, agree with each  other in bulk, as their ancestors did with each other, which proves a uniform  cause operating equally both in the old and new world. The decrease in bulk  seems to have kept pace everywhere with the increase of warm temperature, and  with the abbreviation of longevity. The giants of Hebron and Gath, and those of  Laconia and Italy, whose large skeletons to this day attest that there they  formerly dwelt, compared with those now found in West Tennessee, demonstrate  that a change of climate, or of some other cause, has worked a remarkable change  in the human system.\u201d  Haywood was an influential and respected figure, which lends credibility to his  work. At the time of the book\u2019s publication, Haywood  was a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court, and a county in  Tennessee was named after him the same year it was published. However, Haywood\u2019s  work was later  criticized for inaccuracies. It\u2019s believed that Haywood interviewed  early pioneers and recounted undependable second-hand accounts of their  discoveries in his books. So, while conspiracy theories about the skeletons of giants in the U.S. have  persisted for hundreds of years, nobody has actually found one. And the eRumor\u2019s  claim that the Smithsonian has plotted to keep it that way is false. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "7449", "claim": "Nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks named in Wisconsin.", "explanation": "The names of 38 nursing homes in Wisconsin where there are active public health investigations due to an outbreak of COVID-19 were released Wednesday by the Department of Health Services.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Wisconsin, Health, Public health, Nursing homes, Virus Outbreak, Archive", "main_text": "Department Secretary Andrea Palm said in a statement that the names were released \u201cin order to provide peace of mind to families who cannot visit or check on their loved ones during these unprecedented times.\u201d Previously, the department only listed how many investigations into nursing homes were ongoing, but did not name any facilities. \u201cAs we continue to see cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes, it is important to be transparent and list the locations where they are occurring,\u201d Palm said. Outbreaks at nursing homes have been a particular concern because older people are more susceptible to the virus, which can be easily spread where many people live close to one another. As of Wednesday, there were nearly 11,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and there had been 421 deaths, the state health department reported. It only takes one case of a resident or staff member testing positive at a nursing home to spur a public health investigation. The department said the list of facilities with ongoing investigations will be updated every Wednesday."}
{"claim_id": "11550", "claim": "Reverse your diabetes -- and you can stay diabetes-free long-term", "explanation": "This release from Newcastle University describes a very small study that sought to control type 2 diabetes in patients through a reduced-calorie diet and a weight-management program. The results showed that 12 of the 30 participants saw a resumption of normal insulin production that continued for six months, supporting the release\u2019s claim of \u201creversing\u201d the disease. But what about the other 18 patients? A study this small can hardly suggest its finding are applicable to all type 2 diabetes patients which, in effect, it does. And benefits observed after only 6 months may not be maintained over the longer term. The release also omitted discussion of harms and alternatives, and didn\u2019t give us a good picture of how the study was conducted. Rates of Type 2 diabetes have increased markedly in parallel with rates of obesity, especially in developed countries. It has long been recognized that diet, weight loss and exercise can improve the control of diabetes. Large studies investigating the impact of weight loss surgery have demonstrated that blood sugar results can return to normal after significant weight loss. It has also been shown that individuals who regain weight after surgery can then have blood sugars go up again and need to resume medications for diabetes. Patients and their families may excitedly assume that the approach described in this release is right for them and alter their normal regimen in the treatment of their disease. But adhering to the diet discussed in this release will be very difficult for most people and is not without risks. And despite the release\u2019s suggestion of universal benefit, a \u201creversal\u201d of diabetes did not occur in the majority of patients. Patients should understand that context when weighing whether to embark on such a diet.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release,diabetes,University news release,Weight loss", "main_text": "The release makes no mention of cost and while the diet changes, including diet shakes and vegetables, may not exceed the cost of a regular diet, the individualized weight management program for a half-year could represent additional costs for people not in the study, something of which readers should be reminded. The headline on this release, along with the lede, states that diabetes can be reversed while the data provided only suggest that 12 of the 30 participants experienced a return of normal insulin production levels following adoption of a very low calorie diet. Given that this was such a small study, we fault the release for suggesting the results can be extrapolated to the universe of Type 2 diabetes patients. In cases like this, where the number of patients with diabetes is so large, semantics are important. At best, the release suggests that in this small study, only 40 percent of the participants experienced a remission in their disease for a period 6 months \u2014 which is not very long considering that most patients who lose weight will eventually regain it over the course of several years. Suggesting that the disease can be \u201creversed,\u201d without qualifying that the result applies to a limited number of patients, is an exaggeration and far too great a conclusion for this study. There is no mention of any harms that might arise from this approach. There are risks that come with very low calorie dieting \u2014 which was done for 8 weeks according to the release. Potential harms of extreme dieting should have been mentioned including whether there were any health issues in the 30 patients over the six months study period. The most common side effect of very low calorie dieting is gallstones, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Minor, short-lasting side effects include fatigue, constipation, nausea and diarrhea. The Institute recommends that patients following a very low calorie diet that results in rapid weight loss should be monitored by a doctor. The study the release is based on is indeed intriguing and certainly supports the idea of a better, larger research effort to test whether its findings are confirmed. But the verbiage used to describe the study\u2019s outcome far exceeds what should be garnered from this research. The release doesn\u2019t paint a full picture of what happened in the study. For example, there is no explanation about the 18 patients in the study whose insulin production did not return to normal, something a thoughtful reader of the release might quickly wonder about. Throughout the release there is mention that the weight loss worked by removing fat from the pancreas, leading to improved release of insulin. One of our reviewers on this release, a clinician and associate professor at Harvard Medical school, thought that this should have been recognized as a hypothesis that is not well supported by a large body of literature. It is not that the pancreas is not producing insulin in Type 2 diabetes, rather it is not producing enough and the insulin being produced is being blocked, especially by the fat cells throughout the body. Losing weight decreases the amount of fat and improves insulin resistance \u2014 leading to improved sugars. The hypothesis proposed in this release also is inconsistent with a growing body of genetic studies pointing to the underlying mechanisms that are associated with the development of Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is currently believed to be associated with a number of different genetic mechanisms, implying that the one mechanism implied in this release, even if true, may apply to only a fraction of patients with Type 2 diabetes. The release doesn\u2019t engage in disease mongering, but neither does it give us much context about Type 2 diabetes incidence. Because the release included a very important caveat about obesity and diabetes prevalence, we\u2019ll give them the benefit of the doubt. \u201cIndividuals vary in how much weight they can carry without it seeming to affect their metabolism \u2013 don\u2019t forget that 70% of severely obese people do not have diabetes,\u201d according to the release. The release does identify multiple funding sources and there is no suggestion of any conflict of interest. There are alternatives to this diet that have been shown to correct blood sugar results in large studies \u2014 specifically weight loss surgery. This should have been mentioned. Given that the approach of this study focuses on specific foods as key to maintaining weight, and that these foods are commonplace, one assumes that they are readily available in the marketplace. The study addresses novelty through this statement: \u201cThe research is part of a growing body of evidence showing that people with Type 2 diabetes who successfully lose weight can reverse their condition because fat is removed from their pancreas, returning insulin production to normal.\u201d We think that\u2019s not quite appropriate positioning of the results. While it\u2019s true that there is considerable evidence from studies of weight loss surgery that diabetes values can be normalized with significant weight loss, this release is also suggesting that it has proven that all diabetes patients can reverse the disease through diet alterations, and that the benefits are due to a reduction in fat in the pancreas. These claims go too far based on the small study size and a demonstrated 40 percent success rate. We\u2019re rating this category unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. First, the blatant claim that diabetes can be \u201creversed\u201d rather than pushed into remission for 6 months based on results from 12 participants who represent less than half of those tested. Second, the lead investigator is first described as \u201cworld-renowned\u201d while readers would be hard-pressed to recognize his name. The description of the funders touts its \u201cworld-class expertise,\u201d a descriptor which, while it might be correct, offers readers little to help them understand this study."}
{"claim_id": "15348", "claim": "The murder rate in Atlanta is on the rise this year.", "explanation": "A neighborhood association alerted Atlanta residents that the city\u2019s homicide rate is up for the year and has even reached a 50 percent increase. At one point, the murder rate did spike that high, though with weekly fluctuations, the year-to-date rate is up about a quarter from this time last year. That puts Atlanta in line with other cities seeing an increase in their murder rates. There is little conclusion on what might be driving the rate, or even if different cities share the same causes. But a 24 percent increase is cause for notice.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Georgia, Crime, Public Safety, Atlanta neighborhood association, ", "main_text": "Crime is always the sort of news that attracts headlines. Now it\u2019s also generating posts in online forums, where one neighborhood association alerted Atlanta residents that the city\u2019s murder rate was spiking and had even reached a 50 percent increase from a year ago. PolitiFact Georgia couldn\u2019t resist when an alert reader asked us to check it out. After all, the number of murders in several big cities is on the rise nationwide, after years of decline. That includes cities with populations close to those of Atlanta\u2019s roughly 450,000 residents. For instance, through the first half of the year, Milwaukee (population 600,000) has seen a 105 percent surge in its homicide rate and the rate is up by 33 percent or more in Baltimore (about 620,000 residents) and St. Louis (about 320,000) And in Atlanta? According to the Atlanta Police Department website, the rate was up 16 percent in the first half of the year. Through July 11, the most recent date available, there have been 52 murders in the city. During the same time last year, there were 42 murders \u2013 a 24 percent increase. So while the increase is not as dramatic as suggested in the neighborhood forum or compared to similar cities, the rate is up. But the rates fluctuate wildly per week, which is how the police department reports all crimes. So it did appear that Atlanta had a serious surge of murders for the week ending May 23, or the 21st week of the year. Then, the homicide rate was up 54 percent at the time (40 murders at that point this year versus 26 last year). Then again, the city went without any murders for three weeks this year, between March 15 and April 2. And that spike in Week 21 was followed by no homicides in Week 22, the data show. In fact, the city had no murders at again for another multi-day run, between June 10 and June 20. \"These numbers are very fluid,\" said Atlanta Police Capt. Michael O\u2019Connor, who serves as the department Homicide Commander. So while brass are concerned that the rate is up and in theory on pace to be above 100 annual murders for the first time in years, \"it\u2019s very difficult to trend to know where you are going to finish the year.\" Criminologists support that analysis \u2013 and lack of analysis that can be done. To some extent, after years of declining murder rates, an increase can be little more than a statistical blip to get closer to a median. But without minimizing the loss of 52 lives, there isn\u2019t much statistical analysis that can be done with such a relatively low number, said Dennis Jay Kenney, a professor of criminology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. For instance, only two women have been reported murder victims in Atlanta this year. While that may suggest the city has a better handle on domestic violence murders, a single such death could skew the data to suggest the exact opposite. \"You don\u2019t want to jump to a lot of conclusions,\" Kenney said. \"If homicides are up, you are not necessarily at greater risk because we don\u2019t randomly select our murder victims.\" That is, there are some people more at risk to be victims than others. Broadly speaking, that tends to be young men, especially men of color. Atlanta Police have just begun sifting through its first-half data to compare victims, perpetrators and scenarios to see just where the greatest risks lie, O\u2019Connor said. Police do that constantly, targeting for instance a specific neighborhood or specific gang that may be making trouble. Putting a larger number of victims and suspect pool up for comparison should help analysts see if anything stands out that will help insert police sooner into the equation \u2013 and hopefully prevent some deaths, O\u2019Connor said. It also will provide Atlanta Police Chief George Turner with some information to share with his counterparts at the Major Cities Chiefs Association on Gun Violence Summit, being held in Washington, D.C. next month. Such events are often heavy on anecdotes, Kenney said, but can provide the start of understanding crime trends. \"When you can see a general increase virtually everywhere, that suggests crime is up but doesn\u2019t tell you anything about why or what to do about it,\" he said. \"Still, the police have to anticipate what they can so they can refocus their energies, and they seem to be doing that.\" Our ruling A neighborhood association alerted Atlanta residents that the city\u2019s homicide rate is up for the year and has even reached a 50 percent increase. At one point, the murder rate did spike that high, though with weekly fluctuations, the year-to-date rate is up about a quarter from this time last year. That puts Atlanta in line with other cities seeing an increase in their murder rates. There is little conclusion on what might be driving the rate, or even if different cities share the same causes. But a 24 percent increase is cause for notice. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "32", "claim": "Deadly eruption hits New Zealand volcano tourist town hard.", "explanation": "Helicopter pilot Mark Law did not hesitate to fly out to New Zealand\u2019s White Island volcano immediately after it erupted to carry survivors to hospital, but after a harrowing week he knows his town\u2019s adventure tourism industry faces an uncertain future.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "As the search continues for the final two missing bodies from Monday\u2019s deadly eruption, Law knows it will be challenging for his business, Kahu Helicopters. Some of his seven staff, including three pilots, could lose their jobs. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be greatly affected, we\u2019re anticipating probably damn near shutting the doors. It\u2019s going to be devastating, we\u2019ve been operating that part of our business for years,\u201d he said. Law is not alone worrying about his future in Whakatane, a picturesque town of 35,000 of the shore of the Bay of Plenty that is the main access point to the volcanic island. Anne Tolley, the local member of parliament, said the town was shattered by the disaster and its thoughts were with the victims, but hoped that tours would one day restart. \u201cIt is iconic and it is certainly is the centerpiece of the town\u2019s tourism. We also have fantastic beaches and walks and the kiwi, but Whakaari, you will have seen all the signs, we are the gateway to Whakaari,\u201d Tolley told Reuters, using the M\u0101ori name for the volcano. Daily tours had taken more than 10,000 visitors every year to privately owned island 50km (30 miles) off the coast. Tours to the island were part of Whakatane\u2019s history, and operators had been gearing up for the peak Christmas holiday season before Monday\u2019s disaster, Tolley said. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult coming at probably the busiest time of year for them. It will be devastating.\u201d  On Monday, the 48-year-old Law had quickly organized three other pilots to fly out to the island, where they picked up 10 badly burned people and flew them back to Whakatane\u2019s hospital. Law and his team tried to fly back to the island to recover the bodies of those they knew had died, but were \u201ctremendously disappointed\u201d to be stopped by police. After initially being sidelined from police operations, by mid-week Law was sharing his knowledge of the volcano\u2019s terrain and environment with the military squad that on Friday retrieved six of the eight bodies left behind. On the weekend, the search continued for the remaining bodies. \u201cAt the end of the day people on the ground generally know and it is important\u2026 to weave into the plan the effort of the local people,\u201d Law told Reuters. Shock had ripped through Whakatane at the eruption, with the local hospital overwhelmed as dozens of seriously injured people were delivered from the island. Whakatane\u2019s tourism sector had been growing strongly with the unique marine volcano at its heart, but with the prospect that people may be reluctant to visit the island even if it is reopened, immediate prospects will be challenging. As the recovery mission on Friday played out, Boz Te Moana, 24, and Michael Mika, 28, waited to support their community gathered in the indigenous M\u0101ori marae, or meeting ground. The two, who had traveled from their homes further up the Whakatane River, hoped in time tours to the waters around the island would be allowed again but tourists should not step foot on it again, out of respect for the dead, they said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if the mamae or the hurt will ever change, but the environment, it\u2019s up to the town itself to move forward from here in the most positive way,\u201d said Te Moana, using the M\u0101ori word for pain."}
{"claim_id": "41316", "claim": "Mercury (aka thimerosal or thiomersal) is in vaccines and can damage brain, gut, liver, bone marrow, nervous system and kidneys, is linked to autoimmune disorder, autism.", "explanation": "Thiomersal isn\u2019t in any UK vaccines any more. This is down to concern around a slightly different mercury-based chemical.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "Beta-Propiolactone is in vaccines and is known to cause cancer, suspected gastrointestinal, liver, nerve and respiratory, skin and sense organ poison. It may be present in trace amounts of some vaccines. It is potentially carcinogenic, but only in much larger amounts than would be in a vaccine. The antibiotics gentamicin sulfate and polymyxin b are in vaccines and can cause allergic reactions ranging from mild to life-threatening. Traces of these antibiotics can end up in certain vaccines, but would only cause a reaction in someone severely allergic. Genetically modified yeast, animal, bacterial and viral DNA in vaccines can be incorporated into the recipient\u2019s DNA causing unknown genetic mutations. Modified DNA can be used in the production of some vaccines, but is very unlikely to end up in the final product. Even if it did, there\u2019s no evidence it can cause mutations. Glutaraldehyde is in vaccines and is poisonous if ingested and causes birth defects in animals. There are trace amounts in some vaccines from manufacturing, and not enough to cause harm. Formaldehyde is in vaccines and causes cancer in humans among other issues and is banned from vaccines in most European countries. It\u2019s not banned in Europe. There are only trace amounts in certain vaccines and not enough to be carcinogenic. Latex rubber is in vaccines and causes life-threatening allergic reactions. Latex is used in the packaging of some vaccines, which could potentially cause harm if someone\u2019s strongly allergic to it. Human and animal cells from sources like aborted foetuses are in vaccines and are linked to childhood leukaemia and diabetes. They may be used in certain vaccines\u2019 production, but are unlikely to make it to the final product. Mercury (aka thimerosal or thiomersal) is in vaccines and can damage brain, gut, liver, bone marrow, nervous system and kidneys, is linked to autoimmune disorder, autism. Thiomersal isn\u2019t in any UK vaccines any more. This is down to concern around a slightly different mercury-based chemical. MSG is in vaccines and is linked to birth defects, developmental delays, infertility and is banned in Europe. It\u2019s not banned in Europe. It\u2019s used in some vaccines to stabilise them. There\u2019s no strong evidence it causes these problems in humans. Neomycin sulphate, an antibiotic, is in vaccines and can lead to epilepsy, brain damage and allergic reactions. Trace amounts of this antibiotic may end up in certain vaccines. If you are allergic to it could cause an allergic reaction. Phenol / phenoxyethanol is in vaccines and is used as antifreeze. It is toxic to all cells and can destroy the immune system. These chemicals have been used in vaccines as preservatives. They are not in antifreeze. Polysorbate 80 and 20 are in vaccines and cause cancer in animals and are linked to autoimmune issues and infertility. Tiny amounts of Polysorbate 80 is in a type of flu vaccine. There isn\u2019t evidence ingesting it is linked to these issues in humans. Tri(n) butylphosphate is in vaccines and is potentially damaging to the kidneys and the nervous system. We can find no evidence of this being used in vaccines in the UK. Claim 1 of 14"}
{"claim_id": "10054", "claim": "Study Suggests Special MRI Might Help Diagnose Autism", "explanation": "If it had spent a little more time quantifying the potential benefits of this screening, and if it had discussed any of the potential harms, it would have earned a higher rating. MRIs are being touted as a breakthrough screening for a range of conditions, with promises that \u201cearly intervention\u201d will save lives and eliminate suffering. For this to be true, studies have to be properly designed and have to\u00a0target the right population of patients. The study in question here does neither well, and the story does a decent job capturing the uncertainty around the study\u2019s findings.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Autism,Devices,HealthDay", "main_text": "The story deserves high marks for noting the high costs of an MRI. \u201cThis test costs no more than a standard MRI, which runs around $1,500, Hirsch noted.\u201d The story starts off with a very vague description of the study\u2019s findings, saying, \u201cThe researchers found no differences in the activity in the hearing area of the brain between the two groups. However, in the language comprehension area, there was significantly more activity among typical children than among children with autism, Hirsch\u2019s group noted.\u201d What would be considered significant when comparing one group of 12 to another group of 15? The story does provide a bit more specific information later saying, \u201cTo further test this screening approach, another group of 27 autistic children, aged 5 to 17, underwent fMRI and the researchers were able to identify 26 of them as autistic.\u201d We felt this was inadequate and also misleading. As the story goes on to point out, the brain differences that were found may not be exclusive to autism. There\u2019s a chance, in fact, that were the study group much larger that there would have been many other subjects who had the same brain activity but were not otherwise diagnosed as autistic. There are no harms quantified or even mentioned, which is disappointing. The harms from an inaccurate diagnosis of autism or any other disorder can be real and devastating. The story notes the limitations of the study several times and in several ways. For example, it says, \u201cFor one, this study was done in school-aged children, many of whom were actually teenagers, so it is impossible to know if these differences in neuroimaging would also be found in younger patients, Adesman pointed out.\u201d\u00a0 We would have liked more details about the correlation between clinical symptoms and the fMRI findings. The story avoids disease-mongering and takes care to acknowledge that there are different shades of autism along a spectrum. \u201cFor one, it is not known whether this technique can identify autism across the entire spectrum of the disorder.\u201d HealthDay continues its laudable tradition of listing the story\u2019s sources at the end of the piece.. We thought the quotes from independent experts were great and provided some strong context. The story does not go into much detail about the alternatives to MRI\u00a0screening, but it does say that most chlidren are diagnosed by a clinician, not through any biological screening or brain scan. The story makes it clear that using MRIs to diagnose autism is an uNPRoven approach. The author of the study says, \u201cThis is not the diagnostic that you can package and send to all community health centers in the United States. This is an announcement that this can be done,\u201d she said. The story could have pointed out that the validity of the testing would be dependent on the expertise of the radiologist, as reading functinal MRI is different from traditional MRI. The story shows that there is still a lot of work to be done before MRIs could be used as a novel screening device for autism. The story does not rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "28995", "claim": "The Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization gives only 20% of their donations to cancer research and pays their CEO $684,000 per year.", "explanation": "Online criticism claims the Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization only gives 20% of their donations to cancer research and pays their CEO $684,000 per year.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "When Susan Goodman Komen died of breast cancer at the age of 33 in 1980, her younger sister, Nancy Goodman Brinker promised she would do whatever she could to help end that disease. Brinker fulfilled that promise by founding The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (later known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure, then just Susan G. Komen) in 1982, a group that has since become the largest and most well known breast cancer organization in the United States:  Brinker fulfilled a promise to her sister that she would do everything she could to help eradicate the disease \u2014 a disease that Brinker also was diagnosed with and successfully fought. \u201cAt that time, there was a stigma and shame around breast cancer,\u201d Brinker said. \u201cYou didn\u2019t talk about it. There were no 800-numbers, no Internet. Our government didn\u2019t spend much on breast cancer research. There were few major cancer centers with expertise about breast cancer. That\u2019s the world we faced when Suzy was diagnosed. It\u2019s a world I watched her suffer in, and it\u2019s a world she wanted us to change.\u201d  In 2012, Komen founder and CEO Nancy Brinker became the focus of controversy when she announced Komen would be pulling the grants the organization had been providing to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings, then quickly reversed that decision. Several months later Brinker announced she would be stepping down as Komen\u2019s CEO, but the following year she was again the focus of controversy when news outlets reported that not only did she still hold her CEO position, but she had received a hefty raise to boot that brought her annual compensation up to $684,000 per year:  In early 2012, Komen announced it was pulling its grants for breast-cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood, drawing an immediate backlash from Komen supporters and abortion rights advocates. Within days, Nancy Brinker, the group\u2019s founder and CEO, reversed the decision to defund the organization. Then, in August, Brinker announced that she would be stepping down. But 10 months later, Brinker still holds her position and tax documents reveal that she received a 64 percent raise and now makes $684,000 a year, according to the charity\u2019s latest available tax filing. Komen says the raise came in November 2010, prior to last year\u2019s controversy. Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, which evaluates and rates charities, called Brinker\u2019s salary \u201cextremely high.\u201d \u201cThis pay package is way outside the norm,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about a quarter of a million dollars more than what we see for charities of this size. This is more than the head of the Red Cross is making, for an organization that is one-tenth the size of the Red Cross.\u201d  The American Red Cross had revenue of about $3.4 billion, while Komen\u2019s was about $340 million last year. Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern makes $500,000, according to the most recent financial documents available for the charity. Charity Navigator\u2019s last compensation figure for Nancy Brinker was $560,896 per year, which at the time put her below Komen president Elizabeth Thompson\u2019s reported annual compensation of $606,461. In June 2013, Komen finally announced that Brinker would be stepping down as president and CEO of that organization and named Judith A. Salerno, M.D. as her successor. In June 2015, reportedly Brinker resigned from her paid position to assume an unpaid role role as a top volunteer with Komen. Dr. Salerno\u2019s most recently reported compensation (in August 2017) was $479,858, while Nancy Brinker was still listed as a \u201cfounder\u201d receiving a salary of $397,093. The reference to Komen\u2019s applying only 20% of donated money to breast cancer research likely comes from a pie chart displayed in the \u201cUse of Funds\u201d section of Wikipedia\u2019s article about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which shows Komen\u2019s 2009-2010 Expenses:  While it may be true (or have recently been true) that breast cancer research comprises only a 21% share of Komen\u2019s program expenses, citing that figure as a criticism of the organization reflects a common misbelief that groups dedicated to addressing particular diseases (e.g., the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the ALS Association) exist solely or primarily to fund and direct research into curing and/or preventing those diseases. This perception is inaccurate: Komen and other groups like it have goals that include delivering a wide array of services to the communities they support beyond the funding of research, such as funding educational awareness and outreach programs, providing screening and diagnostic procedures, and arranging medical treatment and home care for persons currently living with those diseases. A more relevant metric for assessing a charity\u2019s overall financial effectiveness is the percentage of the organization\u2019s budget that is actually spent on all the programs and services the charity delivers, and in this area the Charity Navigator charity evaluation site gives  Komen an 80.3 rating (as well as a 96.0 rating for Accountability & Transparency). Charity Navigator does rank many other breast cancer charities higher than Susan G. Komen for the Cure, however. Regarding the seemingly excessively high level of CEO salaries at some charities, Charity Navigator advises that:  While there are certainly some charities that overpay their leaders, Charity Navigator\u2019s data shows that those organizations are the minority. Among the charities we\u2019ve evaluated (those being mid to large-sized charities), the typical CEO\u2019s annual compensation is in the low to mid six figures. Before you make any judgments about salaries higher or lower than that range, we encourage you to keep in mind that these charities are complex organizations, with multi-million dollar budgets, hundreds of employees, and thousands of constituents. These leaders could inevitably make much more running similarly sized for-profit firms. Furthermore, when making your decision it is important to consider that it takes a certain level of professionalism to effectively run a charity and charities must offer a competitive salary if they want to attract and retain that level of leadership."}
{"claim_id": "15351", "claim": "Donald Trump Says John McCain \"has done nothing to help the vets.", "explanation": "Trump said that McCain \"has done nothing to help the vets.\" While many veterans\u2019 groups have had their differences with McCain over the years over specific legislation and his general approach to veterans\u2019 issues, that\u2019s not the same as saying he\u2019s done \"nothing\" for veterans. In fact, just within the past two years, McCain has sponsored and helped enact several major provisions to help veterans. He also devotes a significant portion of his office staff to offer veterans on casework.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Military, Veterans, Voting Record, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "Facing a continuing maelstrom over his remark that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is \"not a war hero,\" billionaire businessman and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to shift the focus from McCain\u2019s service record to his track record. McCain may talk a lot about supporting American troops, Trump insisted on ABC\u2019s This Week, but he doesn\u2019t walk the walk. \"I'm very disappointed in John McCain, because the vets are horribly treated in this country. I'm fighting for the vets. I've done a lot for the vets,\" Trump said on July 19. \"He's done nothing to help the vets. And I will tell you, they are living in hell.\" He echoed the point that same day in an editorial published in USA Today. Trump wrote: \"Thanks to McCain and his Senate colleague Bernie Sanders, their legislation to cover up the VA scandal, in which 1,000+ veterans died waiting for medical care, made sure no one has been punished, charged, jailed, fined or held responsible. McCain has abandoned our veterans. I will fight for them.\" Is Trump correct that that McCain -- a Vietnam prisoner of war and current chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee -- hasn\u2019t helped his fellow veterans? The Trump campaign never got back to us, but McCain\u2019s office did, and, not surprisingly, they begged to differ. They provided a wide variety of examples of things McCain has done for veterans during his nearly three-decade congressional career. Here are a few of the most recent ones: \u2022 Military families. In June 2015, McCain co-sponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 to cover the travel costs for the family of troops killed in overseas missions. The amendment was adopted by the Senate by unanimous consent. \u2022 Veterans health. McCain introduced the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act in early 2015 to increase access to mental health support for veterans. It has become law. \u2022 Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2014, McCain -- along with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a Democratic presidential candidate -- led efforts to address the scandal over secret waiting lists at VA hospitals by pushing the The Veterans\u2019 Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act all the way to enactment. In 2015, McCain co-sponsored a bill to increase accountability at the department. \u2022 Non-legislative support. McCain\u2019s office employs five caseworkers solely dedicated to helping veterans who are running into problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs. A spokeswoman told us McCain\u2019s office has handled more than 2,000 veterans-related cases in 2015 alone. We also reached out to veterans groups. Even those who have taken issue with McCain\u2019s record on veterans disagreed with Trump that McCain has \"done nothing\" for vets. Decorated veteran Brandon Friedman, a former Obama administration official and vice chairman of the progressive VoteVets PAC, detailed McCain\u2019s history of failing veterans in 2008, but rejected Trump\u2019s characterization. \" \u2018Nothing\u2019 is a strong word,\" Friedman told us. \"He hasn't been great on veterans issues. That being said \u2026 the senator doesn't deserve that.\" Groups that gave McCain failing grades during his 2008 White House bid agreed with Friedman. Though McCain voted with Disabled Veterans of America about 20 percent of the time in 2008, the group praised McCain in 2014 \"for putting partisan politics aside to quickly pass bipartisan legislation in response to the current VA health care crisis.\" Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America also gave McCain a grade of D in 2010, but pointed to a specific example of McCain\u2019s recent support. \"I have had the honor of working with Sen. McCain on key veterans legislation, including the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act,\" CEO Paul Rieckhoff wrote in the New York Daily News. Other groups also rushed to McCain\u2019s defense. \"Donald Trump also revealed that he has no idea what he is talking about with regards to reforming and fixing the VA. If he did, he would have known that Senator McCain has been a leader in fighting to give veterans more health care choices and to hold the VA accountable for its failures,\" Concerned Veterans for America wrote in statement Navy Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, president of the Military Officers Association of America, said in a press release that McCain has a been a \"champion\" for troops and veterans, arguing that no one has visited American troops more than McCain. \"We can disagree with some of Sen. McCain\u2019s positions at times, but we can never say he has abandoned the troops,\" Ryan wrote on July 20. \"We should acknowledge the facts: John McCain cares deeply about our men and women in uniform, and through his actions, he has made a real difference for our troops. Mr. Trump owes Sen. McCain and all veterans an apology.\" Our ruling Trump said that McCain \"has done nothing to help the vets.\" While many veterans\u2019 groups have had their differences with McCain over the years over specific legislation and his general approach to veterans\u2019 issues, that\u2019s not the same as saying he\u2019s done \"nothing\" for veterans. In fact, just within the past two years, McCain has sponsored and helped enact several major provisions to help veterans. He also devotes a significant portion of his office staff to offer veterans on casework. We rate Trump\u2019s claim ."}
{"claim_id": "18141", "claim": "Texas ranks: #1 in worker deaths, #1 carbon emissions, #50 in high school graduates, #50 in funding for mental health patients.", "explanation": "The Facebook post said: \"Texas ranks: #1 in worker deaths, #1 carbon emissions, #50 in high school graduates, #50 in funding for mental health patients.\" This post takes things out of context by cherry-picking figures, in each case stressing the result that makes Texas look worst. Still, two of the declared ranks seem fairly solid. Texas tied with Mississippi in 2011 for the greatest share of adults lacking high school degrees and it was second to last in per-person mental health spending in 2010. In contrast, Texas ranked 22nd nationally in its 2011 worker fatality rate and while the state had the most carbon emissions in 2010, it would have tied for 13th if each state\u2019s emissions were adjusted for its population.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Environment, Climate Change, Education, Energy, Health Care, States, Workers, Texas, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "A \"Rick Perry 2016\" image popped up on Facebook accompanied by warnings about the state he\u2019s led since late 2000: \"Texas ranks: #1 in worker deaths, #1 carbon emissions, #50 in high school graduates, #50 in funding for mental health patients.\" The June 13, 2013,\u00a0post by the Everlasting GOP Stoppers, which also has a web page highlighting political items, was accompanied by a message signed \"Veruca\": \"True. Google it.\" Referring to the Republican governor\u2019s possibly renewed presidential aspirations, the comment closed: \"Just think if he makes good on his threat to run again, he can do for the whole country what he's done for Texas.\" Mindful that we\u2019ve previously explored claims about each of these topics, we asked the Everlasting GOP Stoppers, whose posts play off of the novel and movie \"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,\" how it reached its Texas rankings. Worker deaths \"Veruca Salt\" (who did not provide her real name), a co-founder of the group, replied via Facebook message and pointed out an April 1, 2013, commentary by a state legislator, a Sept. 15, 2012, Dallas Morning News news article and a Sept. 21, 2011, news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, each of them indicating that in 2010, Texas was tops in some kind of worker fatalities. The commentary by Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, said: \"Texas still leads the country in the rate of construction worker fatalities.\" The Sept. 15, 2012, News\u2019 story said that Texas led the nation with 461 total worker deaths in 2010, a tally attributed to the bureau, whose news release said Texas had 456 \"fatal work injuries\" in 2010, according to a preliminary count, which was down 26 from 2009. Some 134 of the deaths were highway-related, according to the release, with workplace homicides and falls accounting for 48 and 45 deaths, respectively. The release does not say Texas led the nation in workplace deaths. In May 2013, we rated a claim that Texas leads the nation in fatal industrial accidents. Drawing on statistics compiled by the federal bureau, we found that according to preliminary figures for 2011, Texas ranked No. 1 in five of six types of event or exposure tabbed by Austin advocate Jim Marston as \u00a0\"industrial accident categories\" plus the transportation category. California led in deaths caused by violence and other injuries by persons or animals. Texas, the nation\u2019s second-most populous state, had 18 of the nation\u2019s 143 work fatalities attributed to fires and explosions; 67 of the total 666 from falls, slips and trips; 43 of the 401 caused by exposure to harmful substances or environments; and 66 of 708 deaths resulting from contact with objects and other equipment. California had the second-most in each of the four categories: 9, 60, 36 and 50 deaths, respectively. Third in fires/explosions was Tennessee with 10; third in falls and slips was New York with 39; third in harmful exposure was Florida with 27; and New York was third in object/equipment contact deaths at 34. We looked at preliminary data for 2003 through 2010 and found Texas led those categories about 88 percent of the time. Seeking a way to account for population differences among states, we took each state\u2019s 2011 raw numbers of deaths in the four categories Marston tabbed, added them together, then divided by the average number of workers employed in the state in 2011 per the bureau. Texas ranked 18th, with a rate of 1.7 such deaths per 100,000 workers. Observing that the five states with the \"worst\" rates all employed fewer than 1 million people in 2011, we checked to see how Texas fared among states employing more than 1 million. The answer: 10th place. \"Worst\" among the states were Montana (3.4 deaths per 100,000 workers), North Dakota (3.3), West Virginia (3), Alaska (3) and New Mexico (2.8). \"Worst\" among states with more than 1 million employed were Arkansas (2.6), Louisiana (2.3), Kansas (2.3), Missouri (2.1) and Kentucky (2). During our look into the Everlasting GOP Stoppers\u2019 claim, a bureau spokeswoman, Cheryl Abbot, responded to our inquiry about worker deaths in general by emailing us a federal document showing 2011 workplace fatality rates state by state. That year, according to the document, Texas had a rate of 4 fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. That tied the state for 22nd with Alabama. North Dakota ranked first with a fatality rate of 12.4, according to the document, with Wyoming second (11.6) followed by Montana (11.2), Alaska (11.1), Arkansas (8.0), South Dakota (6.7) and New Mexico (6.6). Among the 10 most populous states, Texas ranked second to Ohio, which had a 5.5 fatality rate, according to the document. Carbon emissions \"Salt\" pointed us toward a May 14, 2013, blog post in a trade publication, Environmental Leader, stating: \"Texas still led the U.S. states in CO2 emissions from energy with 663 million metric tons in 2010, followed by California and Pennsylvania.\" The post, like a May 29, 2013, online post by the Environmental Defense Fund, attributed the conclusion to figures posted by the federal Energy Information Administration. The post said too, however, that Wyoming had the nation\u2019s greatest per-resident emissions, 118.5 metric tons per capita. In February 2013, we found a similar contrast; by far, Texas topped other states in carbon emissions except when those emissions were adjusted for population. A Jan. 12, 2012, Houston Chronicle news article said that according to federal data released that day, Texas was releasing far more greenhouse gases into the air than any other state. The story continued: \"Texas' coal-fired power plants and oil refineries generated 294 million tons of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in 2010, more than the next two states \u2013 Pennsylvania and Florida \u2013 combined, the data show.\" The story said the Environmental Protection Agency released the data from the largest industrial sources across the country for the first time as part of a broader effort to reduce emissions linked to global warming. It said the agency \"collected data from more than 6,700 industrial facilities that release at least 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases into the air a year. The threshold is comparable to the emissions from burning 131 railcars of coal, the EPA said.\" To our inquiries at that time, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Sierra Club in Texas each guided us to even more recent EPA data on industrial emissions of greenhouse gases, the primary driver of climate change, the federal agency says. And on the agency\u2019s website, it\u2019s possible to check on each state\u2019s industrial emissions of eight gases, among them carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbons. According to the posted information, Texas industrial facilities in 2011 emitted 391 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, mainly produced from the burning of fossil fuels. The database indicates that industrial CO2 emissions in other populous states were lower: California (95 million metric tons); New York (44); Florida (123); Illinois (41); Pennsylvania (141): Ohio (142); Michigan (89); Georgia (82); North Carolina (66); and New Jersey (23). Louisiana, on the Gulf Coast like Texas, had 132 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, according to the agency. It\u2019s no surprise, perhaps, that Texas plants make the state No. 1 in industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Neil Carman, who directs the Clean Air program for the Sierra Club\u2019s Lone Star chapter, told us by email: \"Realize that Texas has more large oil refineries, major chemical and petrochemical plants, hundreds of natural gas processing plants, Portland cement kilns, carbon black plants, etc. than any other state because of the strength of the oil & gas industry and the large geographical size and population base as well.\" Carman\u2019s comment underscored a hitch in the federal information. The data does not reflect total gases emitted in each state--just those attributed to industrial facilities. Yet Al Armendariz of the Sierra Club guided us to a spreadsheet prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on its analysis of emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels, estimating that in 2010, Texas had 653 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. California placed a distant second, at 370 million metric tons, and Pennsylvania was third, at 257 million metric tons. So, Texas has been No. 1 in total CO2 emissions, though it would have tied for 13th if each state\u2019s emissions were adjusted for its population.In per-capita emissions, less populous states led the nation, topped by Wyoming (108 metric tons per capita); North Dakota (76); Alaska (56); Louisiana (50); Montana (36); Kentucky (35); Indiana (34); Iowa (30); Alabama and New Mexico (28); Nebraska and Oklahoma (27). Kansas and Texas each had 26 metric tons of CO2 emissions per resident. High school graduates On Texas ranking last in high school graduates, \"Salt\" cited the March 2013 edition of a report by a Texas House caucus, the Legislative Study Group, on how Texas ranks compared to other states. \"Texas is dead last in percentage of high school graduates,\" the report said, a conclusion attributed to the \"Texas Fact Book\" published in 2012 by the Legislative Budget Board, which said that in 2009, 79.9 percent of Texans had graduated from high school, placing the state 50th. By email, a staff spokesman for the budget board, John Barton, told us that ranking was based on the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s 2009 American Community Survey, which indicates Texas trailed Mississippi, at 80.4 percent, and California, 80.6 percent. More up-to-date information was available before the group made its post about Perry. In the bureau\u2019s 2011 survey, Texas, Mississippi and California tied for last among the states, with 81.1 percent of adults having high school degrees. Louisiana was fourth, at 82.5 percent. We suppose the group\u2019s Facebook post could be read as saying Texas is last in current high school graduation rates. That was not what we found in January 2013 when we rated a Perry claim that Texas graduation rates were at an all-time high and third-highest in the nation. Texas had tied with five states for the third-highest graduation rate in 2011, of 86 percent, we found. Then again, three states had higher rates, meaning Texas might better be described as fourth-ranked. Also, by another measure, comparing the number of graduates one year to students in ninth grade four years earlier, Texas remained among middling states for 2009-10, with a 79 percent completion rate. Mental health spending \"Salt\" offered news articles and blog posts from 2011 and 2012 indicating Texas ranked 50th in per-resident spending on mental health care. Most drew on an annual analysis by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. In February 2013, we rated a claim that Texas is \"last in mental health expenditures,\" after noting that the foundation\u2019s latest review indicated that another state spent less per resident than Texas in fiscal 2010, which in Texas ran through August 2010. Texas was last among the states in such per-capita spending in 2009, 2008 and 2007, according to Kaiser charts for those years, though the 2007 chart shows no available data for Hawaii. The latest comparison: In fiscal 2010, which in Texas ran through August 2010, Texas spent nearly $980 million total on mental health services, placing ninth nationally, according to a foundation chart. The state\u2019s per-person spending of $38.99 placed the state 49th -- not last -- among the states. Idaho, with per-capita spending of $36.64, was 50th, with Maine No. 1 at per-capita spending of $346.92. The national average was $120.56. In raw dollars, then, Texas spent more on mental health services than 41 states. But in per-resident spending -- the better metric for comparing states --Texas ranked second-to-last to Idaho after trailing all other states for several years. Our ruling The Facebook post said: \"Texas ranks: #1 in worker deaths, #1 carbon emissions, #50 in high school graduates, #50 in funding for mental health patients.\" This post takes things out of context by cherry-picking figures, in each case stressing the result that makes Texas look worst. Still, two of the declared ranks seem fairly solid. Texas tied with Mississippi in 2011 for the greatest share of adults lacking high school degrees and it was second to last in per-person mental health spending in 2010. In contrast, Texas ranked 22nd nationally in its 2011 worker fatality rate and while the state had the most carbon emissions in 2010, it would have tied for 13th if each state\u2019s emissions were adjusted for its population. We rate this claim as ."}
{"claim_id": "37739", "claim": "Deaths unrelated to COVID-19 are routinely being attributed to the virus in order to make it seem worse than it is.", "explanation": "\u2018State of Illinois Definition of a COVID-19 Death\u2019", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "In July 2020, social media users continued spinning a remark by a top health official in Illinois to claim that death tolls attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic have been inflated around the United States \u2014 and to attempt to sow doubt around the actual dangers posed by the virus.The idea that public health experts are purportedly inflating the death toll in order to frighten the populace has been a persistent claim from those denying the severity of the global pandemic:Many have latched on to Illinois as an example of how this might be playing out. For example, a YouTube channel posted a clip of remarks made by Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the state Department of Public Health, during an April 19 2020 briefing held by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.Ezike announced at the time that 30,357 cases had been confirmed across the state, with 1,290 deaths. She also fielded a question posed to Pritzker asking whether the death of a sixteen-year-old boy in Cook County attributed to the disease that month was the first instance of the virus killing someone in that age group. Ezike responded:I don\u2019t have that information at my disposal at this time. We have had people of all age groups die. I just want to be clear in terms of the definition of people dying of COVID. The definition is very simplistic. It means, at the time of death it was a COVID-positive diagnosis. That means that if you were in hospice and had already been given a few weeks to live and then you were also were found to have COVID, that would be counted as a COVID death. Technically, even if you died of clear alternate cause but you still had COVID at the time it is still listed as a COVID death. Everyone who\u2019s listed as a COVID death doesn\u2019t mean that that was the cause of the death but they had COVID at the time of their death. I hope that\u2019s helpful.As WAND-TV reported the following month, local officials used Ezike\u2019s statement to fuel their claim that the state death toll of 3,000 people attributed to COVID-19 had been inflated:On May 1, WAND News reached out to Ray Koonce, a member of the Christian County board. He recently sued the Governor over the extended stay-at-home order. When asked if he believes Dr. Ezike, he frankly responded \u201cNo I do not.\u201dRepresentative Darren Bailey also sued the Governor. He told WAND News the governor is not being factual.\u201cYou could be driving home and be in an auto accident and die from that,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cAnd if you had COVID-19 in your system, that death gets labeled as COVID.\u201dAs Scientific American reported, accusations that death statistics related to COVID-19 are being \u201cinflated\u201d fail to account for signs that they might actually be undercounted, because states and jurisdictions do not have a uniform reporting for death certificates. In Chicago \u2014 the largest city in Illinois \u2014 medical examiners are involved in making that determination for every case involving the virus.But Ezike specifically refuted the argument that unrelated deaths are attributed to the virus in an interview with nonprofit news organization Block Club Chicago published in May 2020:\u201cAs we learn more about the disease, there may have been less typical presentations of COVID-19 that were not appropriately attributed to COVID because there wasn\u2019t a test done because the suspicion was not there,\u201d Ezike said. \u201cThere [are] also some additional deaths [of people] who happened to be COVID-positive but the COVID infection had nothing to do with the death.\u201dFor example, a death might be reported to the state and the death certificate might mention coronavirus \u2014 but when officials do a further review and see the person died from a shooting or car crash, they exclude that person from the state\u2019s COVID-19 death toll, Ezike said.In a separate interview with WMAQ-TV, Ezike provided more context for her initial remarks, saying that the effects of COVID-19 on a patient made it harder to gauge how much of a factor it could be on their death.\u201cIt\u2019s very hard to separate the respiratory illness from some of these other manifestations that could also be linked to COVID, so there is a reason to put them together,\u201d Ezike told the station. \u201cEven if someone had heart disease, global data has established that [COVID-19 can cause] more serious complications, and we\u2019ve seen that for heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.\u201dJim Allmon, coroner for Sangamon County, corroborated her argument.\u201cIf that person passes away from pneumonia because they had obtained this virus, then that virus directly contributed to their death and should be placed as a contributing factor on their death certificate, and that is the only reason why it should be,\u201d Allmon told WICS-TV.At the time of publication on July 17 2020, the state health department\u2019s website listed 7,272 deaths connected to the disease and 159,334 total confirmed cases.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "27688", "claim": "A viral video shows a newborn baby delivered inside an intact amniotic sac.", "explanation": "A video boasting millions of views on Facebook shows a newborn baby delivered by C-section still inside an intact amniotic sac.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical, caul, childbirth", "main_text": "Fewer than one in 80,000\u00a0pregnancies result in what is called an \u201cen caul\u201d birth, meaning the newborn is delivered still encased in its amniotic sac\u00a0(traditionally known as a \u201ccaul\u201d) because normally the sac ruptures and releases amniotic fluid  (i.e., the mother\u2019s \u201cwater breaks\u201d) well before birth occurs. En caul deliveries are rare enough that some obstetricians may never attend\u00a0one\u00a0in their entire careers, though not so rare as to prevent multiple videos of such\u00a0births from going viral on the Internet. The example above was shot in the\u00a0Santa Casa de Miseric\u00f3rdia de Barretos hospital, Sao Paulo, Brazil by a nurse, Giselinha Correa, who posted it to YouTube on 4 August 2016 and on her Facebook page two days later. The New York Times provided this translation of her caption\u00a0(from the original Portuguese): \u201cLook what I had the honor of filming in my dear Santa House Mercy,\u201d the nurse, Gih Flor de Lis, wrote, explaining that the newborn was actually one of a set of twins, the first of whom was delivered vaginally. \u201cWe were waiting to stabilize the first baby and the second came softly, in fact, look there that beautiful!!! Historic moment! !! !\u201d she wrote in the post. Other online videos capturing en caul births include one comprising a series of photographs of an infant born prematurely at 26 weeks at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles:  And another of a baby born in Spain who was sliced out of his amniotic sac as a cell phone camera rolled:"}
{"claim_id": "9015", "claim": "Allina study shows patients with very small breast tumors may forgo lymph node biopsies", "explanation": "The news release highlights a study \u2014 that joins about a dozen similar such studies over the past decade \u2014 trying to determine if looking for cancer spread in axillary (armpit) lymph nodes is worthwhile in a specific subtype of breast cancer called \u201cmicroinvasive,\u201d or \u201cTmic\u201d (which refers to a tumor 1 millimeter or smaller). It remains a controversial surgical dilemma, in part, because some studies have found evidence of microinvasive cancer spreading to the lymph nodes 12.5% of the time, while this study, in particular, found the lowest incidence \u2014 just 1.5%. The authors conclude that, based on their findings, they believe microinvasive cancer is akin to ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in that spread to the lymph nodes is rare. The researchers conclude from the study that routine node sampling in microinvasive cancer is of questionable benefit. The news release is very succinct in describing the findings of this small (under 300 patients) single-center study. Readers need more information before they can fairly weigh the researchers\u2019 recommendation. For example, the release only notes that spread to the lymph nodes was found in patients with \u201crelatively large\u201d examples of DCIS, without clarifying what \u201cfairly large\u201d means; doesn\u2019t note the average followup period for study participants, or what the outcomes were at the end of the study such as breast cancer recurrence, distant metastatic disease, or death from breast cancer. The release also does not mention if other tumor factors, such as hormone receptor status, were associated with spread to the lymph nodes. Recent advances in mammography and an increase in screening mean more breast abnormalities are detected; however, whether they should be labeled or treated as cancer is not always clear. Removal of some of the underarm lymph nodes (sentinel node biopsy) is generally performed at the time of surgery for early stage breast cancer in order to confirm whether or not there has been spread, and to inform treatment decisions. It is often not performed at the time of breast conserving lumpectomy in cases of DCIS; however, the decision whether\u00a0to not to perform\u00a0sentinel node biopsy in cases of microinvasive breast cancer is controversial. Breast cancer is staged according to tumor size (denoted as \u201cT\u201d) and lymph node spread (denoted as \u201cN\u201d). The \u201cT\u201d category ranges from 0-4 based on\u00a0the size of the tumor in the breast. Tis represents ductal carcinoma in-situ, and T1 tumors are invasive breast cancers smaller than 2cm. Tmic is the designation used for microinvasive cancers \u2014 where the invasive\u00a0component is less than 1mm. Future research in this area will help clarify whether Tmic should be approached more like DCIS or like an invasive cancer. Less treatment would have huge implications for surgeons, health care costs, and especially the quality of life for many patients.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Allina Health,lymph node biopsy,microinvasive breast cancer", "main_text": "The cost of sentinel lymph node biopsy is not included in the release. Depending on the type of biopsy performed, costs can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. The lead author states: \u201cThese findings allow surgeons to select which patients with microinvasive\u00a0 tumors may actually benefit from lymph node sampling, while sparing other patients from this procedure.\u201d But the release was too vague to give readers a clear understanding of the benefits. It does not define \u201crelatively large\u201d in relation to the DCIS cases that were observed in the study and it and does not mention if the researchers found other factors associated with lymph node involvement. Most importantly, health outcomes such as recurrence, the presence of metastases or death from breast cancer at the conclusion of the study were not mentioned in the release. It would also have been useful to state how long patient volunteers were followed as part of the study. According to the published research, patients were followed a mean of 4.6 years. The results of this study support forgoing routine axillary (armpit)\u00a0sentinel lymph node biopsy to evaluate for cancer spread in cases where the invasive breast cancer is less than 1mm in size. A potential harm of this approach is missing metastatic cancer. This is not mentioned in the release. Apropos of this, how long the patients were followed (the mean follow-up was 4.6 years, according to the published study) is a key piece of information and was also not included in the release. The release would have been much stronger had it lifted more study details from the published report and added them to the release. Readers aren\u2019t told how patients fared during follow-up assessments and how long after initial screening these assessments occurred. Nor are we provided with any health outcomes (recurrence, presence of metastases, death) at the study conclusion. (According to the published study, no cases of recurrence, metastases or death occurred among any patients at 4.6 years. This is key information that should have been included in the release, along with some study limitations that were mentioned.) All the release tells us is\u00a0 that among study volunteers with microinvasive breast cancer, just 1.5% had positive lymph nodes. No disease mongering. The management of microinvasive breast cancer \u2014 which includes assessing how it spreads \u2014 remains a common surgical dilemma. The funding sources are listed in the release. No conflicts of interest are mentioned in the published study. There are no radiologic or other non-surgical diagnostic alternatives for evaluating the spread of microinvasive breast cancer to the axillary lymph nodes. The news release does not address availability specifically but readers can glean from the release that lymph node biopsy is a common surgical procedure. The release summarizes the study\u2019s research question: Should lymph node biopsies in tumors that are 1mm or less in size remain common practice? The release makes it clear that the treatment of Tmic remains controversial. It may have been worthwhile to include that the authors claim this study is the \u201c3rd largest published series\u201d on this topic. But that\u2019s not a major point; hence the N/A rating. If there is anything \u201cnovel\u201d about this study it\u2019s that the primary result of finding just 1.5% positive lymph nodes is the lowest rate recorded of about a dozen similar studies. That may have been something worth bringing up in the news release. No unjustifiable language employed in this release."}
{"claim_id": "26387", "claim": "\u201cPresident Trump just announced that the \u2018biological\u2019 lab in Wuhan where the COVID-19 virus was created was \u2018funded\u2019 by President Barak (sp) Hussein Obama in 2015 to the tune of $3,800,000 American dollars!\u201d", "explanation": "A virology lab in Wuhan received about $600,000 over five years from the U.S. government. Some of the money came while Trump was president. The grant was part of an effort to spot viruses in wildlife that might jump and infect humans. The best genetic analysis to date says the virus that causes COVID-19 was not created in a lab.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, China, Public Health, Science, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "A Facebook post alerted readers to this \"breaking news\": \"President Trump just announced that the \u2018biological\u2019 lab in Wuhan where the COVID-19 virus was created was \u2018funded\u2019 by President Barak (sp) Hussein Obama in 2015 to the tune of $3,800,000 American dollars! This fact directly links Obama to all 150,000 deaths around the world!\" A different post makes a similar point: \"Well well well, in 2015 Obama gave the Chinese lab in Wuhan 3.7M grant to study the corona virus what a coincidence.\" The first post builds on the conspiracy theory that the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China created the virus. It was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) There\u2019s nothing correct in this post, although President Donald Trump does play a supporting role in spreading some of the inaccurate information at the heart of the claim. Here\u2019s where the post either misleads or flat out gets things wrong. Early on in the crisis, the idea took hold that the virology lab in Wuhan engineered the virus. We looked at that claim in detail before and found that the genetic sequence of the virus shows no signs of genetic engineering. A research team at Scripps Research compared the virus to viruses that had hit humans, such as the one behind the SARS outbreak, and viruses that are found in animals. All the evidence pointed to a natural source. \"We do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible,\" the researchers wrote. There are unresolved concerns that protective lapses at the lab may have allowed a virus collected from nature to escape, and to be clear, that is an unproven allegation, and Chinese officials deny it. But that is different from the virus being intentionally manufactured by human hands. The correct amount sent to the Wuhan virology lab is $598,500, and that was spread over five years, according to the American research group running the project. Here\u2019s what we know about the lab, that work and the U.S. funding. In 2014, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease backed a project by the EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit that aims to protect the people, land and animals in areas where viruses can jump from one species to another, as coronaviruses are known to do. The alliance has projects across 30 countries, including many in Asia, such as Thailand, Vietnam and China. The 2014 project focused on bats in Yunnan province, about 800 miles southwest from Wuhan, on the border with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. In 2018, alliance researchers reported they had found a virus in bats very similar to SARS. \"If we know what viruses are out there in wildlife, and which people are getting infected, we have a chance to stop pandemics dead in their tracks,\" the group\u2019s president Peter Daszak said in a press release at the time. The group contracted the virology lab in Wuhan to conduct the genetic analyses of the viruses that were being collected in the field. The lab was selected after it was approved by the U.S. State Department and NIH. The National Institutes of Health website shows a total award of about $3.4 million over six years to EcoHealth Alliance. The group\u2019s spokesman Robert Kessler told us that, of that, the Wuhan lab received just under $600,000. That\u2019s about 85% less than the Facebook post asserted. That NIH spending included about $265,000 for the lab under the Trump administration. In 2019, NIH renewed the grant to EcoHealth Alliance for another five years. That decision came on Trump\u2019s watch and he said \"we will end that grant very quickly.\" There is a virology lab in Wuhan, and it did get money from the U.S. National Institutes of Health. But the post exaggerates what Trump said about that. In an April 17 White House coronavirus briefing, a reporter from the conservative website Newsmax asked Trump about the grant. Here\u2019s the exchange: Reporter: \"(There\u2019s a) report that the NIH, under the Obama administration, in 2015 gave that lab $3.7 million in a grant. Why would the U.S. give a grant like that to China?\" Trump: \"The Obama administration gave them a grant of $3.7 million? I\u2019ve been hearing about that. And we\u2019ve instructed that if any grants are going to that area \u2014 we\u2019re looking at it, literally, about an hour ago, and also early in the morning. We will end that grant very quickly. \"But it was granted quite a while ago. They were granted a substantial amount of money. We\u2019re going to look at it and take a look. But I understand it was a number of years ago, right? \"When did you hear \u2014 when did you hear it was \u2014 the grant was made?\" Reporter: \"2015.\" Trump: \"2015? Who was president then? I wonder.\" Trump didn\u2019t announce anything. He responded to the reporter\u2019s question about the grant and said he\u2019d heard about certain reports and was looking into it. A Facebook post said Trump announced that a lab in Wuhan where the COVID-19 virus \"was created\" received $3.8 million under the Obama administration. A reader would see this claim and assume millions of U.S. tax dollars were used to create the virus that leads to COVID-19. That isn\u2019t the case. Trump didn\u2019t make this announcement. He was responding to a reporter\u2019s question. The best evidence so far says the virus was not created in a lab. The money that went to the lab was about 85% less than what the post said. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "12073", "claim": "The GOP\u2019s health bill will protect people with pre-existing conditions \"every bit as well as Obamacare did.", "explanation": "Johnson said the GOP health bill he is co-sponsoring will protect people with pre-existing conditions \"every bit as well as Obamacare did.\"", "label": "false", "subjects": "Health Care, Government Regulation, Public Health, Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, ", "main_text": "How the latest GOP alternative to Obamacare would treat pre-existing conditions is a question repeatedly put to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican who is one of the lead co-sponsors of the bill. On Sept. 20, 2017 -- 10 days before a deadline to pass the measure with a simple majority -- there was this exchange between Johnson and Chuck Todd, host of MSNBC\u2019s \"MTP Daily\" talk show: Todd: \"So, you contend that this bill will protect those folks with pre-existing conditions -- period.\" Johnson: \"Every bit as well as Obamacare did. And it\u2019s also going to protect the individuals that can\u2019t afford Obamacare right now.\" The protections are a major point of contention. The Affordable Care Act makes it illegal for insurers to deny coverage to people who have pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes or cancer, or charge them higher rates. But under the Johnson-sponsored plan, waivers that would give states new flexibility erode protections for pre-existing conditions. \"The only way people (with pre-existing conditions) are protected is if every state in the nation looks at this and says, \u2018We\u2019re not going to do that,\u2019\" said Karen Pollitz, a health reform and private insurance expert at the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. \"This lets states take away your protections.\" The bill The bill, introduced a week before Johnson\u2019s interview, is known as the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill (or its shorter moniker, Graham-Cassidy). That\u2019s for the GOP senators co-sponsoring the measure: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Dean Heller of Nevada and Johnson. Under Senate rules, the bill could be approved with 51 votes (50 senators plus a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence) if it is adopted by Sept. 30, 2017. After that, Republicans, who hold 52 seats, would need 60 votes, which seems an impossibility. (On Sept. 22, 2017, with eight days left before the deadline, Arizona\u2019s John McCain said he would join two other Senate Republicans who have indicated they would not vote for the bill, potentially dooming its chances.) The bill and pre-existing conditions got heavy attention after late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, whose infant son was born with a congenital heart disease, attacked it on his show the night before Johnson\u2019s interview. (Johnson has also noted in defending the bill that his adult daughter was born with a pre-existing condition.) How it treats pre-existing conditions The bill keeps the Affordable Care Act prohibition on insurers denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. But states could obtain waivers that would enable them to opt out of other ACA provisions that protect those people. The upshot: States could allow insurance companies to charge people with pre-existing conditions more than they charge healthy people; and the insurers could offer policies that offer less than the \"essential benefits\" that are now mandated. PolitiFact National rated Mostly  a claim by President Donald Trump that the bill includes \"coverage of pre-existing conditions,\" finding that: If a state merely says it \"intends to maintain access to adequate and affordable health insurance coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions,\" then it can allow insurance companies to charge sick people more than healthy ones. The federal government could withhold money granted to a state under a waiver if the state doesn\u2019t do as it promised, but the words \"adequate\" and \"affordable\" are open to interpretation. Policies would not have to provide the same level of coverage now mandated under Obamacare. Estimates say about 34 states would see net funding cuts under the bill. It costs money to cover people with known health conditions, and most states would have less of it. Johnson's\u00a0claim goes further than Trump\u2019s, saying the bill\u2019s pre-existing protections are as good as Obamacare\u2019s. But in reviewing the GOP bill, the political news website Axios arrived at similar findings: The funding cuts \"could pressure states to waive protections for sick people as a way to keep premium increases in check. Older, sicker people in every state could end up paying more as states try to make up for a funding shortfall.\" States could get a waiver to let insurers charge sick people more than healthy people. A waiver would exempt insurers from the current requirement to provide \"essential health benefits,\" including prescription drugs -- so, people who need expensive drugs might have to pay out of pocket. And Pollitz told us that states could also allow insurance companies to: Charge lower premiums to people while they\u2019re healthy, but then raise the rates at renewal time if, for example, they get cancer. Charge higher premiums based on a person\u2019s location or occupation, practices that are outlawed under Obamacare. Information from the bill\u2019s sponsors say it would protect people with pre-existing conditions, but doesn\u2019t provide details. Patrick McIlheran, a Johnson spokesman, told us the bill gives states the flexibility to try \"new approaches to keeping insurance for those with pre-existing conditions affordable.\" Before we close, it\u2019s worth noting: Writing about the bill in the conservative National Review, Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, made one reference to pre-existing conditions, saying: On the positive side, supporters of the legislation correctly point out that it would give the states far more flexibility with the funds they receive, and would allow them to waive many of Obamacare\u2019s more onerous regulations, including the mandate to buy coverage, mandated benefits and pre-existing-condition coverage requirements. Those are the regulations most responsible for driving up premiums and destabilizing insurance markets. Our rating Johnson said the GOP health bill he is co-sponsoring will protect people with pre-existing conditions \"every bit as well as Obamacare did.\" The bill would keep the Affordable Care Act\u2019s prohibition on denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions. But states could obtain waivers that would allow insurers -- unlike under Obamacare -- to charge people with pre-existing conditions premiums and provide them lesser benefits. We rate Johnson\u2019s statement ."}
{"claim_id": "10876", "claim": "IVF: Newer \u2018eSET\u2019 procedure reduces risk of multiple births", "explanation": "In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is a delicate balance between guaranteeing success that at least one of the embryos will develop and minimizing the risk of multiple birth. The recent birth of octoplets in the US has very dramatically raised awareness of the risk associated with multiple births and the variability in how IVF is performed, even with the existence of guidelines. This story reports on a newer procedure, elective single-embryo transfer (eSET), in which only one embryo is implanted at a time. This procedure eliminates the risk of multiple births while appearing to have favorable pregnancy rates. The story did a good job describing the costs, and alternatives. It adequately quantifies the pregnancy rate and multiple birth rate in women who get eSET and standard IVF. It quotes multiple sources who provide valuable perspective. The story could have been improved by describing the availability of eSET. Clearly IVF is available, but it is not clear if elective single-embryo transfer (eSET) is widely available. Furthermore, the story could have provided more information on the evidence to support eSET. Although the story mentions a recent study, it does not describe whether this study provides strong evidence to support the procedure or not. Finally, the story should have clarified that eSET is not a new method but rather a name for the active choice to transfer a single embryo in a women who could have been eligible for transfer of more than one. Elective single-embryo transfer is theoretically available to all women at facilities that provide embryo transfer at the stage of development known as the blastocyst stage. Readers may have benefitted from knowing the option can be discussed with any infertility care team.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story describes the cost of treatment and conveys that insurance coverage is highly variable. The story describes the pregnancy rate and percentage of pregnancies with multiples in women who received eSET and those who transferred two embryos. Multiple gestation, prematurity, and bedrest are noted. The story does not adequately describe the strength of the available evidence to support eSET. Although the story mentions a recent study, it does not describe whether this study provides strong evidence to support the procedure or not. The current study is not a randomized trial and therefore does not provide definitive proof that outcomes are comparable. The story is clear on who would be a good candidate for eSET. The story quotes the ASRM guidelines, based on the woman\u2019s age and quality of her embryos. The story also does not overplay the emotional or \"tragic\" aspects of infertility as news coverage of this topic often does. The story quotes multiple sources. The story mentions implantation of multiple embryos as the alternative to eSET and does a good job introducing cost trade-offs associated with those options. The story is not clear on the fact that transferring a single embryo is always available. By labeling the procedure elective single-embryo transfer (eSET), the story creates the illusion that this is something special being offered by certain institutions. The story is misleading in describing eSET as novel. Single embryo transfer has always been an option (thought in the past perhaps advised against because of cost implications). Families have been asking for religious/moral reasons for some time to transfer single embryos. It has always been an option (though at times advised against because of cost and before techniques of embryo preservation because of embryo sacrifice). But in the last 5 to 10 years the option is available to anyone though perhaps not systematically introduced because of the pressures the article notes to have good pregnancy and live birth rates in the national registry for one\u2019s program. In this case their experts may have mislead them. Because the story quotes multiple experts, the reader can assume the story did not rely on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "18016", "claim": "Global surface temperatures have been flat for 16 years.", "explanation": "Steve Goreham said \"Global surface temperatures have been flat for 16 years.\" The databases we checked generally show small increases during that period, but not enough to be statistically significant, thanks to a short timeframe and a starting point that included an unusually warm year in 1998. That's why, at the same time, NOAA data clearly show that global temperatures in 15 of the last 16 years have been the hottest recorded. So Goreham is correct that the temperature trend has been flat, but it's flat at record highs. Because his statement reflects cherry-picked numbers and leaves out important details that would give a very different impression. (If you have a claim you\u2019d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, e-mail us at [email\u00a0protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Environment, Rhode Island, Climate Change, Energy, History, Government Regulation, Science, Weather, Steve Goreham, ", "main_text": "Sometimes it's the contradictions that drive PolitiFact to check a statement. In a commentary published Aug. 5, 2013, in The Providence Journal, Steve Goreham, executive director of the Climate Science Coalition of America, was critical of the science behind the warnings that Earth is getting hotter due to pollution. His first paragraph made this assertion: \"Global surface temperatures have been flat for 16 years.\" Yet three days earlier, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that 2012 was one of the 10 warmest years on record. All 10 have occurred since 1998. Who's right here? We decided to check Goreham's factoid. We contacted him to ask where he got his numbers and how his claim stacked up with NOAA's. \"The short answer is that both are correct,\" he said in an email. \"Temperatures have been flat for the last 16 years and 2012 was one of the 10 warmest years on record.\" We weren't sure how they could both be correct, so we again asked Goreham what he was using for data. We didn't hear back immediately, so we started looking on our own. Our first stop was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database. Those data show that over the past 16 years -- 1997 through 2012 -- 15 have been the warmest on record. The readings go back to 1880. But how did the temperatures change during that period? In 2012, the global temperature was 0.43 degrees Fahrenheit higher over land than it was in 1997. Over land and water, the difference was 0.11 degrees. That's not flat. But temperatures naturally fluctuate so much from year to year, It's misleading to just compare two points in time. Goreham is talking about the overall trend, which climate experts use to see long-term changes over time. To find a trend, you have to do a more sophisticated calculation, preferably over a much longer period than 16 years. But 16 years is the period Goreham chose -- and what many other global warming skeptics have focused on -- so we'll stick with that for now. The trend line shows that the annual global temperatures listed by NOAA rose by 0.141 degrees during that stretch. To put this in perspective, when you're only dealing with a 16-year period, a lot depends on when you want to start looking. If you shift the timeframe back by just one year, beginning with 1996, the increase more than doubles, to 0.351 degrees. When we heard back from Goreham after asking about the NOAA database, he said we would \"probably\" see flat temperatures beginning in 1997. He also suggested we look beginning in 2001 to 2012 and said the temperature trend in that period would be flat. In fact, it was a bit negative. But that's not the 16 years he cited in his claim. Why start 16 years ago? It includes 1998, when an El Nino made surface temperatures exceptionally warm. When you start near an unusually hot year, there's a good chance that subsequent years will be cooler. There's another problem: When you get into temperature changes that small and time frames that short, the natural variability of climate can be so large that any \"trend\" might be the result of chance. \"Generally, for these short periods, if you're within 0.05 [of a degree Celsius] per decade you're not significantly different from zero,\" said John Christy of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, one of the country's best-known skeptics of global warming. (Over a 16-year period, that means the change would have to be higher or lower than 0.144 degrees Fahrenheit to be significant.) \"None of the data sets show anything much different from zero since the last 16, 17 years,\" he said. Since the 1998 El Nino, \"it's been pretty flat. There's been a slowdown in the trend.\" So by Christy's gauge of what would be significant, the 0.141 degree increase from 1997 through 2012 seen in the NOAA database is essentially no increase, as Goreham said. In addition to the NOAA database, we looked at the two other major climate databases, one from NASA and the other from the Hadley Centre of the Met Office, which is the United Kingdom's National Weather Service. We used a tool available at SkepticalScience.com, which supports the global warming theory as do the vast majority of climate scientists. Its Temperature Trend Calculator page allows users to pick from among several sets of temperature data and pick various timeframes. Hadley showed a .170 degree increase over those 16 years and NASA's numbers showed a .251 rise. Although they would indicate a significant rise by Christy's off-the-cuff definition, a more precise calculation done by the Temperature Trend Calculator showed that none of the increases exceeded chance. Thus, the global temperatures that were rising so rapidly in the 1970s, \u201880s, and \u201890s have stalled. The Met Office has begun referring to the last 16 years as \"the recent pause in warming.\" Officials there have issued three reports to try to explain the plateau. They stressed that the last decade was still the warmest on record and asserted that temperatures will likely resume their rapid rise soon, although the agency is not offering a timetable. Said physicist Robert Brecha, of the University of Dayton: \"There is increasing evidence in the peer-reviewed literature that over the past decade or so more thermal energy is going into the deep ocean, rather than into the atmosphere. This is almost certainly just a temporary, cyclical process. \"The key point is that additional greenhouse gases trap heat in the earth system, keeping that energy from flowing back out to space,\" Brecha said. \"So if the atmosphere doesn't receive that heat [thereby increasing its temperature] that trapped energy is nevertheless building up.\" One last note. Goreham, in his commentary, was citing the 16-year trend in a broader context. He and other warming skeptics argue, with some justification, that the newest global readings are so far afield from the alarming temperature increases that were once predicted by climate computer models, it raises serious questions about whether scientists understand Earth's changing climate as well as they think they do, and whether it's worth spending trillions of dollars to try to influence it. But we'll save that controversy for another fact-check. Our ruling Steve Goreham said \"Global surface temperatures have been flat for 16 years.\" The databases we checked generally show small increases during that period, but not enough to be statistically significant, thanks to a short timeframe and a starting point that included an unusually warm year in 1998. That's why, at the same time, NOAA data clearly show that global temperatures in 15 of the last 16 years have been the hottest recorded. So Goreham is correct that the temperature trend has been flat, but it's flat at record highs. Because his statement reflects cherry-picked numbers and leaves out important details that would give a very different impression. (If you have a claim you\u2019d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, e-mail us at [email\u00a0protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"}
{"claim_id": "16261", "claim": "Scott Brown Says Jeanne Shaheen \"voted to pave the way for a new national energy tax.", "explanation": "Brown said Shaheen \"voted to pave the way for a new national energy tax.\" That\u2019s misleading. The two votes she took did mirror those of some lawmakers who favor a carbon tax, but that\u2019s not the same thing as saying she voted to \"pave the way for a new national energy tax.\" These weren\u2019t procedural votes to commence a debate on, or tee up a final vote on, an actual carbon-tax bill. We don't see how either vote would have brought a carbon tax any closer to fruition.", "label": "false", "subjects": "New Hampshire, Energy, Voting Record, Scott Brown, ", "main_text": "In an Oct. 21, 2014, debate in Concord, N.H., Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and her Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, tangled over energy policy. At one point, Brown said Shaheen \"voted to pave the way for a new national energy tax.\" We thought we\u2019d take a closer look. This claim echoed, but did not precisely match, one made in a June press release by Brown\u2019s campaign manager, Colin Reed -- that \"one year ago, Sen. Shaheen voted for a measure that would have amounted to a new national energy tax.\" This referred to the debate surrounding a \"carbon tax\" -- another term for taxes on oil, gas and coal usage. The logic behind the tax is that by making natural resources costlier for individuals and businesses to use, a carbon tax would encourage the use of alternative energy sources that have a smaller environmental impact. Most economists agree that a carbon tax would be effective, but the issue hasn\u2019t gained much political traction. Brown campaign staffer Elizabeth Guyton pointed us to Shaheen\u2019s vote on an amendment to a 2013 budget resolution put forth by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who has expressed support for implementing a carbon tax. The amendment stipulated that revenue generated by any future carbon tax must be given back to the public in some form. Shaheen voted in favor of the amendment. However, nothing in that amendment would have actually enacted a carbon tax. Rather, the amendment offered a rough framework for how money generated from such a tax, if one were ever enacted, would be put to use. \"I think that ultimately a fee on carbon pollution is inevitable, and the purpose of that amendment was to begin a discussion on that and begin the discussion about when that happens, what the best way to use the proceeds of the fee are,\" Whitehouse told reporters in 2013. \"So from that point of view, I didn\u2019t view it as binding anybody on a carbon fee, but I did view it as an assessment of the best way of using carbon fee proceeds.\" Although Shaheen was one of 41 \"yea\" votes (all of them coming from Democrats or Democratic-caucusing Independents), the vote wasn\u2019t directly in support of a carbon tax. It would have been accurate to say Shaheen voted to \"pave the way\" for a carbon tax if she had cast a vote to -- for instance -- begin Senate debate on an actual carbon tax. But no carbon tax was waiting for a vote. The amendment she voted for wouldn\u2019t have brought a carbon tax any closer to fruition. (And don\u2019t forget that the measure didn\u2019t even pass, so it\u2019s not as if it paved the way for a tax that\u2019s now in place.) A second piece of evidence offered by Brown\u2019s campaign concerns an amendment proposed by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Blunt has emerged as a persistent carbon tax opponent in the Senate. In 2013, Blunt proposed an amendment that would have increased the threshold for passing a carbon tax framework within a budget resolution to 60 votes. Shaheen voted against this amendment, even as some of her Democratic colleagues from energy producing states voted for it. Still, it\u2019s an exaggeration to say that Shaheen \"paved the way\" for a carbon tax when no proposal was going anywhere in the Senate. Shripal Shah, a spokesman from Shaheen\u2019s Senate office, told us in June that Shaheen has never supported a carbon tax. Shah said Shaheen supports \"market-driven solutions\" to address pollution, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. This statement seems to fall in line with the position Shaheen took when she first campaigned for the Senate in 2008. During a roundtable discussion at Seacoast Energy Alternatives in Somersworth, New Hampshire, Shaheen said she would prefer a cap-and-trade program over a carbon tax because it\u2019s \"easier to sell to the population\" and \"puts the onus\" on the polluters. When it comes to the legislative record, Shaheen\u2019s efforts to influence energy policy since taking office have been focused largely on boosting energy efficiency. Shaheen partnered with Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, to craft an energy efficiency bill that would launch a federal training program for energy-efficient building design and operation and establish a loan program for energy improvements to homes and small businesses, among other initiatives. The bill has twice died in the Senate. The most recent effort failed on May 12, 2014, when supporters failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to close debate on the bill and proceed to a final vote. Our ruling Brown said Shaheen \"voted to pave the way for a new national energy tax.\" That\u2019s misleading. The two votes she took did mirror those of some lawmakers who favor a carbon tax, but that\u2019s not the same thing as saying she voted to \"pave the way for a new national energy tax.\" These weren\u2019t procedural votes to commence a debate on, or tee up a final vote on, an actual carbon-tax bill. We don't see how either vote would have brought a carbon tax any closer to fruition. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "10797", "claim": "Sit back and relax to brain wave music", "explanation": "The story describes a procedure to turn brain waves into music, which reportedly can help various medical conditions, although the evidence for this is lacking. Importantly, there seems to be little, if any, evidence that this treatment is helpful for the conditions mentioned, e.g. depression, anxiety, pain syndromes. Yet the story treats the \"treatment\" as if it has a proven benefit. It's also unclear what the benefit might be or for how long. Unfortunately, NBC's physician-reporter, who was apparently supposed to objectively comment on this \"therapy,\" only gushes at what the treatment might do, despite a lack of compelling evidence that it does anything. While this provides for good TV banter, it doesn't provide an objective source for the story. Despite all the airtime given this, NBC relied on only one source \u2013\u00a0 \"a neuropsychiatrist (who) brought brain music therapy to the U.S. from Moscow, and claims it cures all kinds of ills.\" The story also doesn't describe any harms from this procedure, its availability, or what other treatment options\u2013proven treatment options\u2013might exist for any of the conditions discussed. It seems to represent this procedure as a \"treatment\" for all psychiatric illness, fatigue, or stress, which is a disservice to the public. In an era in which many are pushing for evidence-based medical reporting, this story goes in the opposite direction.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story mentions the cost of a session ($500) and tells viewers that more than one session may be needed. The story does mention this is not covered by insurance. It does not explain how many sessions might be needed to get an effect. The story states that treatment worked in 80-85% of people who tried it, but it's not clear what \"worked\" really means, what the response was in the control group, or the duration of the response. The story does not mention any potential harms of turning brain waves into music. If the research has shown no harms, the story should have said that. The story tells viewers that the evidence is based on one double-blind study, but it doesn't say whether that study was randomized, or provide response rates for the control arm or even provide any other details to evaluate the strength of the study for which all claims are based. Based on only one study with such seemingly high effect rates, the strength of the evidence seems rather weak. It's not clear what the disease in this story would be. Is it depression, anxiety, pain syndromes? This is presented as a potential cure for all psychiatric illness and for fatigue or common stress. A description of one man's experience with depression and the fact that he could get off his paxil and xanax (which is not used for depression)\u00a0and \"be himself\" is misleading and potentially biasing. The story implies taking medications for depression is a weakness, which only serves to further stigmatize such a debilitating and serious condition. The story discusses little to no scientific evidence that this works, yet NBC's reporter-physician supports the treatment because she \"thinks\" it should work (vs. commenting on what the evidence actually tells us). Despite all the airtime given this, NBC relied on only one source \u2013\u00a0 \"a neuropsychiatrist (who) brought brain music therapy to the U.S. from Moscow, and claims it cures all kinds of ills.\" Medications are mentioned as an alternative for treatment of depression (and medications are mentioned for treatment of anxiety, although they are incorrectly ascribed to the treatment of one man's depression). However, medications are mentioned only in a negative way without mentioning their benefits. Other effective treatment options for depression, such as counseling, are not mentioned, nor are other treatment options for the other conditions this experimental approach is purported to help. It is not clear whether this is available to the public. The story states it is somewhat experimental, so viewers are left wondering if this is only available in research settings. There is no information on the stage of research or where to seek \"treatment.\" The story states the \"treatment\" has been used by 10,000 people, but doesn't explicitly state when this first started being used or how new this is. However, music therapy in general remains fairly novel and most people understand taking someone's EEG and reformulating it into music sounds very new. We can't be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release, although it did rely on only one source \u2013 \"a neuropsychiatrist (who) brought brain music therapy to the U.S. from Moscow, and claims it cures all kinds of ills.\""}
{"claim_id": "23159", "claim": "Pat Toomey \"still supports privatizing Social Security.", "explanation": "Joe Sestak says Pat Toomey \"still supports privatizing Social Security\"", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Message Machine 2010, Regulation, Social Security, Joe Sestak, ", "main_text": "In what's becoming a close Pennsylvania Senate race, Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak is hammering former Republican Rep. Pat Toomey over Social Security. Here's an ad unveiled Oct. 11, 2010. \"The stock market crash,\" a narrator somberly intones, as video and audio clips of the 2008 Wall Street tumble stream by. \"If Social Security had been privatized, seniors would have seen their retirement wiped out.\" (Video shows four images of seniors.) \"Congressman Pat Toomey still supports privatizing Social Security. See, Toomey has represented Wall Street his entire life, so Toomey puts Wall Street profits ahead of protecting Pennsylvania seniors.\" (Video shows images of Toomey and newspaper clips referring to his stance on privatizing Social Security.) We wondered how accurate Sestak's ad was, since it echoed other Democratic ads on Social Security that we've rated either Barely True or . First, a little background on the idea of privatizing Social Security. Conservatives have long embraced the idea of turning Social Security as we know it -- in which younger workers' payroll taxes fund retired Americans' monthly payments -- into a system where workers may invest at least a portion of their money to provide for retirement. The upside, supporters argue, is that retirement nest eggs could be much higher, given the historical rates of return from private investments. Of course, critics note a major downside -- the possibility of loss. Social Security may be invested more conservatively than some private investments, but that protects retirees from market losses. And, because it's a legal entitlement, retirees can count on Social Security, unless the law is changed. While Republicans have emphasized possible gains from personal investing, many Democrats have focused on potential losses, leading many Republicans to distance themselves from the word they once used to describe the idea -- \"privatization.\" Understanding that many seniors have deep concerns about changing the way Social Security works -- and knowing that seniors turn out to vote in comparatively high numbers -- few Republican politicians today advocate a full-blown privatization of Social Security. Rather, those who take up the issue at all propose a gradual transition in which current Social Security beneficiaries and those within a decade or so of entering the program will undergo no changes. Instead, the changes made would only affect those a decade or more away from retirement, and in most proposals, these younger workers would only divert a portion of their payroll taxes to private accounts (rather than 100 percent in the purest version) and would do so on a voluntary basis (instead of the shift being mandatory). This model is pretty close to what Toomey said represents his current view during a recent meeting with the editorial board of the Scranton Times-Tribune. \"Under Mr. Toomey's proposal, the government would guarantee the Social Security benefits of people currently at or approaching retirement age,\" wrote staff writer Borys Krawczeniuk in his Oct. 8 report on the meeting. \"'Any change for those folks would be outrageous and unreasonable. Those people who have worked a lifetime paying into a system with a promised set of benefits need to get what they were promised,' Mr. Toomey said. 'But if we're going to be honest about it, we know the program can't continue in its current form.'\" The article added that Toomey's plan would allow \"younger workers to voluntarily divert a portion of their Social Security payroll tax into private savings accounts they would control and invest any way they want. A young worker who did not want to do that could stay with the current system of a guaranteed benefit.\" So, back to the ad. We see two areas worth a closer look. \u2022 Is it \"privatization\" if it's partial, voluntary privatization? In our previous analyses, we have been critical of ads that fudge the difference. This one doesn't explicitly say that Toomey wants to privatize the whole program, but it doesn't disabuse viewers of that notion either. \u2022 Does the ad go too far in directing its message toward seniors, even though Toomey's plan specifically exempts them from any changes? As we've noted in an earlier fact-check of the Sestak-Toomey race, focusing on seniors makes good sense in Pennsylvania: It's the fourth oldest state in the union, with 15.5 percent of its residents over 65, trailing only Florida, West Virginia and Maine. Sestak's ad uses four images of senior citizens, and it specifically cites older Americans in its closing line by saying that \"Toomey puts Wall Street profits ahead of protecting Pennsylvania seniors.\" Yet Toomey makes a point of saying that his plan won't affect those currently in Social Security or those entering the program in the next few years. He even said that any effort to change the rules for older Americans would be \"outrageous\" and \"unreasonable.\" So wouldn't that qualify as misleading? Not so fast, says the Sestak camp. They argue that even though the seniors are nominally protected by Toomey's pledge, they wouldn't be kept safe in reality. When you drain Social Security revenue by allowing younger workers to invest a portion of their payroll taxes privately, you increase the fiscal pressure on Social Security in its role delivering benefits to current retirees. Since retirees are still promised full benefits under the Toomey plan, the revenue shortfall will eventually have to be made up somehow, whether it's through new taxes or increased borrowing -- or reduced benefits. If benefits are to be reduced, then even retirees supposedly protected under Toomey's plan could suffer. We ran this line of thinking by a variety of policy experts. They agreed that there's a legitimate policy concern with the transition to a partially privatized system, but they added that it may not provide full justification for the ad's focus on today's seniors. For one thing, you could just as easily make the argument that current benefit levels are under fiscal threat due to demographic trends, yet the ad doesn't acknowledge that risk. In addition, the amount of immediate fiscal pressure will ultimately depend on how big a portion of their payroll taxes participants are allowed to invest privately, and whether the option proves widely popular or not. Finally, Social Security has a trust fund that is predicted to remain solvent through 2037, meaning that revenue replenishment might not have to take place immediately. This latter fact is relevant in judging the ad's atmospherics, because if the replenishment is delayed long enough, no one who's a senior today -- or who's going to be one any time soon -- would face the possibility of a cut in retirement benefits. And that would undercut the ad's focus on seniors. Paul Van de Water of the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities does note that seniors may oppose even a partial privatization because they want their grandchildren to have a solid Social Security benefit when they reach retirement. \"Since we don\u2019t have pictures of what (their grandchildren) will look like 30 or 40 years from now, I don\u2019t think that it\u2019s misleading to use pictures of today\u2019s elderly to illustrate the point,\" he said. We see his argument, but we still think the ad overplays its hand. The ad is correct that Toomey supports a type of privatization -- in fact, he's been quite open about it -- but that privatization proposal is limited and optional. The Toomey plan also wouldn't directly affect today's seniors, and it may or may not affect any of today's seniors who are still alive years down the road. This clashes with the ad's visuals, which seem directly targeted at older voters, not younger ones."}
{"claim_id": "26483", "claim": "Facebook post Says the Asian, Hong Kong, swine and bird flus each \u201ckilled more people than coronavirus.\u201d", "explanation": "Most of the numbers listed in the post are wrong. Regardless, it\u2019s too soon to compare the number of COVID-19 deaths to deaths from longer-running pandemics.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "A Facebook user suspecting a conspiracy suggests that despite global shutdowns to stem COVID-19 spread , this virus isn\u2019t as deadly as four other historic outbreaks. \"In 1957, Asian flu killed 1 million people. In 1968, Hong Kong flu killed 1 to 4 million people. Swine flu caused 18,000 deaths, bird flu caused 75,000 deaths,\" the April 6, 2020, post says. \"All these viruses killed more people than coronavirus and yet they've never, ever shut anything down. So, what are the government not telling the public? Or, am I the only one confused by this?\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) As for the number of deaths, the numbers in the Facebook post are correct with respect to one outbreak. All of the other numbers are largely inaccurate. More importantly, it is too early to say what the final death toll will be for COVID-19. The pandemic is still raging and hasn\u2019t run nearly as long as the other four outbreaks. \"The coronavirus pandemic has just begun,\" Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases specialist at Johns Hopkins University\u2019s Center for Health Security. \"The numbers for the influenza pandemics are their complete impact over a full season and therefore not comparable to the numbers that have accrued thus far for the coronavirus pandemic.\" We\u2019ll cite the outbreaks as they are referred to by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This new influenza A, known as the Asian flu, was first reported in Singapore in February 1957, Hong Kong in April 1957 and in coastal cities in the United States in summer 1957, according to the CDC. Total estimated deaths: 1.1 million, roughly what the Facebook post claims, including 116,000 in the United States. What the post calls the \"Hong Kong flu\" was an influenza A that is believed to have originated in Hong Kong and was first noted in the United States in September 1968, according to the CDC. Total estimated deaths, according to the CDC: 1 million, including 100,000 in the United States. The post claimed the figure was 1 million to 4 million, a range Britannica.com also uses. The encyclopedia doesn\u2019t cite a source for that range. Other sources, including GlobalSecurity.org, refer to 1 million deaths or in the range of 750,000 to 1 million deaths (Medscape medical website, Nieman Foundation for Journalism). The H1N1 influenza virus was discovered in the United States in the spring of 2009 and spread around the world. The World Health Organization declared an end to the pandemic in August 2010, according to the CDC. It was originally referred to as \"swine flu\" because many genes in the virus were similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. Total estimated deaths: 151,700 to 575,400, far more than the 18,000 claimed in the post. An estimated 12,469 deaths occurred from April 2009 to April 2010 in the United States. What the post refers to as \"bird flu\" was not a pandemic and is an outlier in this context. Says the CDC: Avian influenza A outbreaks occur in poultry from time to time, and some of those outbreaks have been associated with illness and death in people in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific, and the Near East. \"While very rare, some avian influenza A viruses have also caused illness in people in North America.\" The post claims 75,000 deaths from bird flu. But only 455 human deaths from avian influenza A (H5N1) were reported to the World Health Organization from 2003 to Jan. 20, 2020. None of the deaths were in the United States. The coronavirus surfaced in China in late December. According to the World Health Organization, there were 67,594 deaths, including 8,358 in the United States, as of April 6, 2020, the date of the Facebook post. There were 1,210,956 confirmed cases globally as of that date, which creates a case fatality rate of 5.6%. That\u2019s up from a 3.4% rate cited by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization\u2019s director-general, at a news conference on the coronavirus on March 3, 2020. So far, it\u2019s dramatically higher than the case fatality rates for the three pandemics listed in the Facebook post, all of which were in a range of 0.5% or less, according to the New England Journal of Medicine and Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and director of the Center for Global Health Studies at Seton Hall University. But the rate can vary considerably during an outbreak, the World Health Organization told us. At this relatively early stage, estimating the case fatality rate is difficult for several reasons, according to an article The Lancet, a British medical journal: The virus and its clinical course are new, and we still have little information about them. Health care capacity and capability factors, including the availability of health-care workers, resources, facilities, and preparedness, affect outcomes. An unknown number of COVID-19 cases are uncounted, including people with the virus who don\u2019t have symptoms, or people who are misdiagnosed. A Facebook post that questions the lethality of COVID-19 cites specific figures in claiming that the Asian, Hong Kong, swine and bird flus each \"killed more people than coronavirus.\" The post is correct on the number of people killed only for the Asian flu. What the post calls the Asian, Hong Kong and swine flus each killed more people worldwide than COVID-19 has so far. But raw-number comparisons are meaningless, given that those pandemics each ran well over a year, and the COVID-19 outbreak is only four months old. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "2713", "claim": "As China builds biotech sector, cash floods U.S. startups.", "explanation": "For three whirlwind days in June, U.S. scientist Zhi Hong went shopping at the Boston Bio Conference to find drugs to fill the pipeline of his two-week-old drug company.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Crammed in tight, four-person booths executives use for private conversations, the former GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK.L) executive pitched dozens of U.S. biotech companies to partner with his start-up, Brii Biosciences. Months earlier, Hong had raised $260 million - much of it from Chinese and Asian investors - with a strategy to bring U.S. biotechnology drugs to China, the world\u2019s second-largest prescription drug market and home to a rapidly growing biotech sector. Brii is now discussing partnerships with about a dozen drugmakers, which it aims to help by conducting clinical trials in China, applying for governmental approval and eventually negotiating reimbursement in a bid to capitalize on China\u2019s stated plan to become the next global player in biopharma. \u201cI didn\u2019t see this coming,\u201d Hong told Reuters. \u201cThey said, \u2018If you start a company, you won\u2019t have any problem raising money.\u2019 I didn\u2019t quite believe that at the beginning. But as we went through the process, it was incredible.\u201d  Brii is one of many biotech startups riding a wave of money from Asia that so far this year has poured $4.2 billion into private U.S.-based biotech companies. That is over 43 percent of the total amount of venture funding invested in the biotech sector, according to PitchBook, up from just 11 percent in 2016. These investors range from China\u2019s 6 Dimensions Capital and Hillhouse Capital Group to Hong Kong-based Blue Pool Capital, the investment arm of Alibaba\u2019s executives. They are in search of better returns across the Pacific after China\u2019s recent homegrown biotech push has driven sky-high valuations. \u201cThere are companies in China that haven\u2019t even started clinical trials, and they have received term sheets for $400 million,\u201d said Nisa Leung, managing partner and leader of healthcare sector at China-based Qiming Venture Partners, referring to the agreements that describe the terms of an investment. \u201cI think that\u2019s crazy.\u201d  China\u2019s biotech craze stems in part from a government plan launched a few years ago as part of the Made In China 2025 campaign. The goal is to promote biotech as a strategic emerging industry, spawning rapid development and investment into the burgeoning sector. A rule change at the Hong Kong stock exchange this spring is also providing an added incentive for investors. Biotechs without revenue or profit from around the world are now able to list on the exchange \u00a0\u2013 which provides a faster way for investors to cash out. Among the winners are Menlo Park, California\u2019s GRAIL Inc, an early-stage cancer detection company that in May raised $300 million in a Series C round led by Chinese healthcare fund Ally Bridge Group. Immuno-oncology company TCR2 Therapeutics of Cambridge, Massachusetts, received $125 million in March in a Series B round co-led by Pacific-focused investor 6 Dimensions. In the United States, the influx of cash from China has inflated the size of biotech funding rounds and quickening the pace that companies can raise money. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2CG36Gb)  Companies that rely on licensing deals to develop innovative drugs in China - like Brii or Shanghai-based Zai Lab - are more often paying a premium. The interest from China has driven the upfront payments for licensing agreements for U.S. drugmakers to over $30 million currently from $1 million or $5 million three years ago, according to Leung. Other headwinds for Chinese biotech investment persist - ranging from the nagging threat of the Trump administration broadening restrictions on Chinese investment to the lackluster stock performance to date of the first Hong Kong biotech IPO under the new listing regime, Ascletis Pharma (1672.HK). Still many investors interviewed by Reuters do not expect China\u2019s biotech hunger to end overnight. \u201cIt makes a lot of sense (for Chinese funds) to look at U.S. biotech firms especially as many Chinese biotechs still lag behind their U.S. peers in terms of the quality and the pipeline of products,\u201d said Jonathan Wang, senior managing director and co-founder of the Asia fund at OrbiMed Advisors, a healthcare investment firm that continues to invest in young biotechs in both China and the United States. For some biotech companies, money from China has breathed new life into experimental drugs or devices that lost priority inside company pipelines for various reasons. That was the thinking behind scientist Bing Yao\u2019s move to strike out on his own, just as Asia investor interest in biotech was taking off. Yao first had the idea to leave his position as the head of the respiratory, inflammation and autoimmunity disease unit at AstraZeneca MedImmune in March 2017. The pharmaceutical company was pruning its drug development to focus on priority areas like cancer, so he proposed spinning off some programs to a new start-up that he would create to develop the drugs. One year later, Yao launched Viela Bio with AstraZeneca\u2019s blessing and six of the pharmaceutical company\u2019s experimental drugs. The furthest along is a medicine for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, a rare disease affecting the optic nerve and spinal cord of around five in 100,000 people. Yao raised $250 million from a consortium of investors led by China-focused funds, including Boyu Capital, 6 Dimensions and Hillhouse. AstraZeneca remains the largest minority shareholder. Yao said he received interest from more investors than he wanted to manage, so he selected the firms that \u201ccame earlier and faster.\u201d  \u201cA few years ago, it would have been harder to raise large sums like this,\u201d said Yao, who spent over 20 years focusing on immunology at companies like Amgen and Genentech before AstraZeneca. But it may not be as easy for companies going forward. Changes in Washington and the challenges of breaking into the Chinese healthcare sector are emerging on investor radars. A new law passed in August expanded the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews foreign investments for potential national security concerns. The broader scope prioritizes the protection of emerging technologies, including genetic information. Even those with funding could find the China market difficult to navigate. Launching new medicines in China is still relatively untested, and conducting clinical trials, getting government approval and selling medicines in China\u2019s segregated healthcare marketplace present formidable hurdles. \u201cIt\u2019s a significant job,\u201d said Moncef Slaoui, former head of global research and development and vaccines chairman at GSK and a Brii strategic advisor. \u201cBut this is a moment where there is an opportunity,\u201d he said, because moves by the Chinese government, such as modernizing its version of the FDA, will have long-lasting impacts. At Brii, the strategy calls for working with AliHealth, the healthcare arm of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), to find potential patients for its drugs. Another deal with WuXi AppTec Co Ltd (603259.SS) gives Brii access to WuXi\u2019s extensive research and development capabilities in China. Brii\u2019s first U.S. biotech partnership is with San Francisco-based Vir Biotechnology, an infectious disease-focused startup headed by former Biogen CEO George Scangos. The deal grants Brii the rights to develop some of Vir\u2019s future drugs in China. ARCH Venture Partners\u2019 Robert Nelsen backed both companies. \u201cOther companies try to become global,\u201d said Hong. \u201cWe\u2019re doing the reverse. We are dedicated 100 percent to the Chinese market.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "29052", "claim": "A photograph shows an anti-rape device known as RapeX, a female condom with teeth lining the inside.", "explanation": "What's true: The image shown here pictures a design for an anti-rape female condom. What's false: The pictured device has never been marketed or made available for purchase.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Crime, crime, rape", "main_text": "Sonette Ehlers, of South Africa (the rape capital of the world), has invented an anti-rape device that goes by the name, Rapex. The device is basically a female condom with teeth lining the inside that work just like the protective spikes in a parking garage\u2026 You can go in, but whatever you do, don\u2019t back out. The teeth are angled so they allow penetration, but bite like a shark as the penis is removed; supposedly causing so much pain that it will give the woman a chance to escape. Further, according to Ms. Ehlers, \u201cthe device will need to be surgically removed at a hospital, which will lead to the capture of the rapist.\u201d   The device shown above is a prototype for an anti-rape female condom which was unveiled in 2005, as designed by Sonnet Ehlers, a former medical technician in South Africa. Originally branded RapeX, the device\u2019s identification was changed to Rape-aXe due to a conflict with the European Union\u2019s warning system of similar name. Various news article reported of the device\u2019s introduction that:  \u201cNothing has ever been done to help a woman so that she does not get raped and I thought it was high time,\u201d Sonette Ehlers, 57, said of the \u201crapex\u201d, a device worn like a tampon that has sparked controversy in a country used to daily reports of violent crime. Ehlers said the \u201crapex\u201d hooks onto the rapist\u2019s skin, allowing the victim time to escape and helping to identify perpetrators. \u201cHe will obviously be too preoccupied at this stage,\u201d she told reporters. \u201cI promise you he is going to be too sore. He will go straight to hospital.\u201d The device, made of latex and held firm by shafts of sharp barbs, can only be removed from the man through surgery which will alert hospital staff, and ultimately, the police, she said. Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it \u2014 a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest. \u201cIt hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it\u2019s on,\u201d she said. \u201cIf he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter \u2026 however, it doesn\u2019t break the skin, and there\u2019s no danger of fluid exposure.\u201d It also reduces the chances of a woman falling pregnant or contracting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases from the attacker by acting in the same way as a female condom. \u201cThe ideal situation would be for a woman to wear this when she\u2019s going out on some kind of blind date \u2026 or to an area she\u2019s not comfortable with,\u201d she said. Ehlers, who showed off a prototype, said women had tried it for comfort and it had been tested on a plastic male model but not yet on a live man. Production was planned to start [in 2006]. However, even though the the Rape-aXe anti-rape condom was promoted online and announced as about to go into production eleven years ago, we\u2019ve found no indication that it has ever been marketed to the public nor any announcement confirming if or when it will be made available for purchase. CNN reported in 2010 that Ehlers planned to distribute 30,000 of the devices in South Africa during the upcoming World Cup football matches and hoped to make them available for sale after a \u201ctrial period,\u201d but we have found no report suggesting that the product has ever been released to vendors."}
{"claim_id": "14840", "claim": "The \"federal government is going after school districts, trying to force them to let boys shower with little girls.", "explanation": "Cruz said the \"federal government is going after school districts, trying to force them to let boys shower with little girls.\" Cruz\u2019s vision of schoolboys everywhere showering with girls grossly distorts the issue. The fact is the Obama administration has sided with transgender students seeking access to school facilities including locker rooms, holding that anything less would violate federal anti-discrimination requirements. Such conflicts \u2014 few and far between \u2014 haven\u2019t had to do with the government wanting boys to shower with girls.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Education, Sexuality, Sports, Texas, Ted Cruz, ", "main_text": "Sen. Ted Cruz recently veered from discussing Syria to suggesting our government wants schoolboys to shower with girls. The Republican presidential candidate commented after interviewer Steven Crowder mentioned \"genetically proper pronouns.\" \"Look,\" Cruz said, \"these guys are so nutty that the federal government is going after school districts, trying to force them to let boys shower with little girls.\" The Texan went on: \"Now listen: I\u2019m the father of two daughters, and the idea that the federal government is coming in saying that boys, with all the god-given equipment of boys, can be in the shower room with junior high girls \u2013 this is lunacy. And I bet you there are a whole lot of parents \u2013 particularly parents of daughters \u2013 that are not eager to have the federal government saying, \u2018Guess what? Your daughter has to shower with a boy, if he wants to be in there,\u2019 \" Cruz said. A video of the conversation was posted online Nov. 19, 2015. We hadn\u2019t heard about a push for coed showers by the government under President Barack Obama and also didn\u2019t hear back from Cruz\u2019s campaign about how he concluded the government is trying to let boys shower with girls. But a Nov. 22, 2015, news story in The Advocate said Cruz \"appeared to be alluding to the administration\u2019s recent support of two separate transgender students who have sued their school districts after administrators refused to let the students use the restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.\" Our read: Just one of the mentioned situations involves a student seeking access to locker rooms, though news stories indicate there have been other recent instances of transgender individuals seeking unfettered access to high school locker rooms. What\u2019s a transgender person? For starters, it\u2019s not factually accurate to say that letting transgender students into locker rooms amounts to boys being permitted to shower with girls. A transgender individual is a person whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. Broadly, this can mean a person born a boy identifies as a girl or vice versa. A transgender also may receive hormone treatments and undertake sex reassignment surgery. Pat Griffin, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, advocates for including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in college and interscholastic athletics. Griffin wrote in September 2015: \"It is important for policy-makers to understand that transgender girls (who were assigned a male gender at birth) are not boys. Their consistent and affirmed gender identity as girls is as deep-seated as the gender identity of non-transgender girls.\" After we posted this fact check, readers suggested we'd failed to capture the ongoing debate over transgender rights; we followed up by writing this story. \"Student A\" in Illinois The Advocate story led us to check into the case of an Illinois transgender girl barred by her school district from changing clothes for gym class and other activities with girls. The girl, represented by the ACLU of Illinois, filed a complaint in 2013 charging sex discrimination in violation of federal law. On Nov. 2, 2015, the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education wrote the superintendent of the school district in Palatine, Ill., northwest of Chicago, saying the district\u2019s restriction violates Title IX, the federal bar on sex discrimination in any education program or activity. The ACLU of Illinois declared the federal holding had national significance. \"The decision places school districts all across the nation on notice that Title IX requires making such facilities available for students who are transgender,\" the group said. \"It is the first such decision issued by the department, building on legal briefs and policy statements of the federal government interpreting federal laws prohibiting discrimination.\" The office\u2019s letter, signed by regional director Adele Rapport of Chicago, says \"Student A\" was born male and from a young age identified as female, transitioning in middle school \"to living full-time as a young woman\" and, among steps evidently not including sex reassignment surgery, taking \"an ongoing course of hormone therapy.\" Also, the letter says, the district has given the student \"unlimited access to all girls\u2019 restrooms in the school\" and \"allows her to participate in girls\u2019 athletics.\" According to the letter, the student, required to take a daily gym class, sought \"an opportunity to change clothes privately within the girls\u2019 locker rooms, in an area such as a restroom stall.\" The district answered that it would not be \"practicable\" to do so in the school\u2019s six girls locker rooms \"because there were too few stalls and too many students,\" the office wrote. The letter further says the student told the office in October 2015 she\u2019d use privacy curtains in the locker rooms if the school made them available. Talks involving the district and office did not lead to a resolution, the letter says. School district stresses private changing rooms The Palatine-based Township High School District 211 said in a Nov. 2, 2015, press release it disagreed with the department\u2019s ruling and beyond continuing settlement negotiations, it was prepared to \"engage in all avenues of due process to determine whether our position of \u00a0honoring the rights of all the students is within the law.\" The district\u2019s release also said: \"The students in our schools are teenagers, not adults, and one's gender is not the same as one's anatomy. Boys and girls are in separate locker rooms \u2013 where there are open changing areas and open shower facilities \u2013 for a reason.\" A Nov. 3, 2015, Chicago Tribune news story said the district had 30 days to reach an agreement with authorities or risk having its federal educational funding suspended or terminated and the matter also could be referred to the Department of Justice. And on Dec. 3, 2015, after Cruz made his claim, the government announced a settlement with the district agreeing to give the student access to school locker rooms \"based on the student's request to change in private changing stations\" in the rooms. Other conflicts A Nov. 2, 2015, New York Times news story on the Illinois dispute said: \"The rights of transgender students have become the focus of disputes in school districts in many states, leading to divergent approaches regarding which sports teams they can play on, bathrooms they can use and pronouns they are addressed by. In separate cases, two California school districts agreed to lift restrictions on transgender locker room and restroom access after federal officials intervened. Students at one Missouri high school protested a decision by the district to let a transgender girl use female locker rooms and restrooms.\" In the Missouri instance, the Times reported Sept. 2, 2015, transgender Lila Perry, 17, used girls\u2019 restrooms and locker rooms until a local protest led her to drop her physical education class. Professor\u2019s take We called Griffin, the professor emeritus, who told us it\u2019s her view that boys showering with girls is an inaccurate characterization of the government saying transgender students should, by law, have full access to school facilities including locker rooms. Griffin also called the education department\u2019s ruling in Illinois \"the developing precedent\" nationally. Cruz\u2019s statement, Griffin said, amounts to \"fearmongering\" and \"reflects a complete ignorance\" of transgender students, especially overlooking the fact that a transgender girl is not a boy so \"it\u2019s not a boy in the girls\u2019 locker room.\" In contrast, Griffin said, the focus of most U.S. school officials has been on ensuring every student has a right to privacy in a locker room or restroom. Griffin, asked about state policies on transgender student-athletes, pointed us to a breakdown on Transathlete.com, which compiles policies and research regarding transgender inclusion in sports. According to the website, Texas ranks among about a dozen states with no policy ensuring transgender participation. The site touts Massachusetts\u2019 policy, which says, in part: \"Where there are sex-segregated classes or athletic activities, including intramural and interscholastic athletics, all students must be allowed to participate in a manner consistent with their gender identity.\" We also reached out to the federal education department, which did not comment on Cruz\u2019s claim but pointed us to a Nov. 2, 2015, statement by Catherine Lhamon, an assistant secretary in the agency\u2019s Office for Civil Rights, saying: \"All students deserve the opportunity to participate equally in school programs and activities \u2013 this is a basic civil right. Unfortunately, Township High School District 211 is not following the law because the district continues to deny a female student the right to use the girls\u2019 locker room. The district can provide access to this student while also respecting all students\u2019 privacy.\" Our ruling Cruz said the \"federal government is going after school districts, trying to force them to let boys shower with little girls.\" Cruz\u2019s vision of schoolboys everywhere showering with girls grossly distorts the issue. The fact is the Obama administration has sided with transgender students seeking access to school facilities including locker rooms, holding that anything less would violate federal anti-discrimination requirements. Such conflicts \u2014 few and far between \u2014 haven\u2019t had to do with the government wanting boys to shower with girls. We rate the claim . \u2013 The statement is not accurate."}
{"claim_id": "9453", "claim": "In a First, Gene Therapy Halts a Fatal Brain Disease", "explanation": "This story is one of two that we are reviewing (the other is from the Associated Press) that focuses on a recent paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine. At issue is a novel gene therapy used to limit or eliminate symptoms related to the disease adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). The New York Times story does a good job of describing everything that led up to the study, does a fair job of describing the study itself (and its results), and highlights the potential price tag of this treatment. However, the story doesn\u2019t make clear how far this treatment is removed from widespread clinical use or the outstanding questions that remain about the treatment \u2014 such as the fact that we don\u2019t know if the benefits are temporary. Left untreated, ALD often leads to death within 1-10 years of diagnosis. And there are precious few treatment options available. What\u2019s more, the primary treatment, bone marrow transplantation, relies on the availability of a donor \u2014 and poses significant health risks of its own. All this makes new treatment options incredibly important for ALD patients and their loved ones. However, the fact that we are talking about the life and well-being of patients \u2014 usually children \u2014 also makes it incredibly important to place the work in context. Limitations, availability and unanswered questions are always key points worth making, and especially so when many parents are eager for information about something that may affect the health and well-being of their children.", "label": "true", "subjects": "ALD,gene therapy,Lorenzo's oil", "main_text": "The story tackles this issue head on, though what they report may not be comforting for those affected. Here\u2019s how they address the issue: \u201cThe results of the new study also give rise to a concern that is becoming a regular feature of gene therapy work and other new biotech therapies: How much will this treatment cost? Bluebird Bio is not saying\u2026[but one scientist involved in the study] expects the price to be similar to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it costs for a bone-marrow transplant.\u201d The story describes the outcomes for all 17 patients who were enrolled in the study, 15 of whom did not have symptoms of ALD after two years. Potential adverse effects were not adequately addressed. The story did do a good job of highlighting concerns about gene therapies in general, pointing to problems that have cropped up in previous, unrelated gene therapy trials. And it mentioned that bone marrow transplants have risks. However, it didn\u2019t address potential harms associated with this study in particular. According to a supplement of the journal article, side effects ranged from fever and seizures to gastroenteritis. The side effects listed in the supplement also included those for one patient (2018), whose ALD symptoms worsened significantly after treatment began. It\u2019s not clear what effect, if any, the treatment had on the relevant patient. The story does an adequate job of describing the study, but it\u2019s missing at least one key point: Namely, the story doesn\u2019t make clear that the study can\u2019t prove ALD is \u201ccured\u201d in these patients \u2014 a longer follow-up time is needed to determine what the long-term impact of the gene therapy treatment will be. We also don\u2019t know whether there will be significant adverse effects from the therapy (even if it is curative) in the long run. No disease mongering here. The story includes input from multiple independent sources, which is good. The story also notes that the relevant study was funded (in part) by Bluebird Bio \u2014 a company that hopes to market the relevant gene therapy. However, the story does not note that the principal investigator for the study, David Williams, has a conflict of interest. According to an appendix of the journal article, Bluebird Bio also funds other projects by Williams. The company has also licensed one of Williams\u2019 patents. That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that anything in the study is shady, but conflicts of interest should be acknowledged. The story did a good job of describing other treatment options \u2014 including bone marrow and cord blood transplants \u2014 as well as the associated risks. The story doesn\u2019t make clear that this treatment is, at the very least, years away from clinical use. The story notes only that Bluebird Bio is \u201cin hopes of marketing gene therapy for ALD.\u201d This line, found more than halfway through a 1,300 word story, isn\u2019t sufficient. This is an area where the Associated Press story fared better, noting that the FDA \u201crequires gene therapy participants to be monitored for 15 years, so these patients will continue to be studied.\u201d The AP story also notes that Bluebird Bio \u201cplans to seek approval of the therapy in the U.S. and Europe.\u201d The AP was stronger on this criterion. This is a strong point for the story, which provides a fairly detailed background on how this treatment technique developed over time, how the treatment works and what sets it apart from other treatment options. The story goes well beyond a news release."}
{"claim_id": "4667", "claim": "Arkansas may revoke retailers\u2019 inactive medical pot licenses.", "explanation": "Arkansas may consider revoking medical marijuana licenses for dispensaries that aren\u2019t open by June, officials said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical marijuana, General News, Marijuana, Business, Arkansas", "main_text": "Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control officials, who regulate the state\u2019s budding cannabis industry, said they could begin taking action against inoperable dispensaries at the end of January, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. But a necessary rule is still being drafted and won\u2019t be ready by then. Officials have said licenses may not be reissued when they are up for renewal in June. Scott Hardin, an ABC spokesman, said in an email last week that the amendment legalizing medical marijuana did not include an operation date for dispensaries. \u201cDue to this, the pace at which these dispensaries are developed and open for business is totally at the discretion of owners,\u201d Hardin said. \u201cABC Enforcement agents continually check in with owners, requesting status updates while offering support and a reminder that the company was licensed to serve patients. ABC will send a letter to each dispensary in early January explaining the process of renewing the license while also requesting an updated time frame for opening.\u201d Marijuana commissioners have expressed frustration at how long it is taking the 32 dispensaries in the state to open since being licensed this year. Only 11 are operating. Voters approved an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution in 2016 to legalize medical marijuana. David Couch, the attorney who drafted and sponsored the amendment, said more dispensaries should be open by now. \u201cIt\u2019s totally unreasonable,\u201d Couch added. \u201cI think a lot of these unopened facilities are managed by out-of-state entities who believe that it\u2019s not economically in their best interest to open a facility now, so they\u2019re just going to wait. I think that\u2019s wrong.\u201d Attorney Alex Gray, who represents several dispensaries, said cannabis companies have been weighing patient count, product supply and locations of other dispensaries. \u201cFrom the outside looking in, people don\u2019t understand a lot of the facts that go into a business,\u201d Gray said. \u201cThere may be frustration that not enough dispensaries are open. Given just the timeline and what\u2019s required to be invested and the numerous business decisions that have to be made to start a multimillion-dollar industry, these are decisions that have to be made thoughtfully and deliberately.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "2433", "claim": "Scientists who took chemistry into cyberspace win Nobel Prize.", "explanation": "Three U.S. scientists won the Nobel chemistry prize on Wednesday for pioneering work on computer programs that simulate complex chemical processes and have revolutionized research in areas from drugs to solar energy.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, awarding the prize of 8 million crowns ($1.25 million) to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel, said their work had effectively taken chemistry into cyberspace. Long gone were the days of modeling reactions using plastic balls and sticks. \u201cToday the computer is just as important a tool for chemists as the test tube,\u201d the academy said in a statement. \u201cComputer models mirroring real life have become crucial for most advances made in chemistry today.\u201d  Chemical reactions occur at lightning speed as electrons jump between atomic nuclei, making it virtually impossible to map every separate step in chemical processes involving large molecules like proteins. Powerful computer models, first developed by the three scientists in the 1970s, offer a new window onto such reactions and have become a mainstay for researchers in thousands of academic and industrial laboratories around the world. In drug design, for example, scientists can now use computers to calculate how an experimental medicine will react with a particular target protein in the body by working out the interplay of atoms. \u201cThe field of computational modeling has revolutionized how we design new medicines by allowing us to accurately predict the behavior of proteins,\u201d said Dominic Tildesley, president-elect of Britain\u2019s Royal Society of Chemistry. Today, all pharmaceutical companies use computational chemistry to screen experimental compounds for potential as medicines before further testing them on animals or people. The ability to model chemical reactions has also grown as computers have become more powerful, while progress in biotechnology has produced ever more complex large molecules for use in treating diseases like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. \u201cIt has revolutionized chemistry,\u201d Kersti Hermansson, professor in organic chemistry at Uppsala University, said of the computer modeling. \u201cWhen you solve equations on the computer, you obtain information that is at such detail it is almost impossible to get it from any other method.\u201d  \u201cYou can really follow like a movie, in time and in space. This is fantastic detail...\u201d  Karplus, a U.S. and Austrian citizen, carries out research at the University of Strasbourg and Harvard University. Levitt, a U.S. and British citizen, is at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Warshel, a U.S. and Israeli citizen, is a professor at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. The approach has applications in industrial processes, such as materials science, the design of solar cells or catalysts used in cars. For the former, programs can be used to mimic the process of photosynthesis by which green leaves absorb sunlight and produce oxygen. It was not an easy scientific journey, however. Warshel said he had been convinced of the case for using computers to simulate chemical reactions since 1975 but did not know if he would live to see it adopted. \u201cI always knew it was the right direction, but I had infinite difficulties and setbacks in the research. None of my papers were ever published without being rejected first,\u201d he told Reuters. Karplus said his early work using computers was initially met coldly by many of his scientific colleagues in the \u201870s. \u201cMy chemistry colleagues thought it was a waste of time,\u201d he told reporters at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, adding that the next generation of scientists should be courageous and \u201cnot believe their colleagues necessarily if they say they can\u2019t do something.\u201d  Karplus\u2019s family brought him to the United States in 1938 after the Nazi annexation of Austria. Austrian President Heinz Fischer said on Wednesday the Nobel Committee\u2019s decision to award the prize to Karplus \u201cis gratifying and at the same time an occasion to reflect on Austria\u2019s responsibility.\u201d  A unique insight of the trio\u2019s work was to use computer simulations to combine quantum mechanics, which explains the making and breaking of chemical bonds, with classical Newtonian mechanics, which captures the movement of proteins. Ultimately, the ability to computerize such complex chemical processes might make it possible to simulate a complete living organism at the molecular level - something Levitt has described as one of his dreams. \u201cI am a computer geek,\u201d Levitt told Reuters. Back in the 1960s there were no personal computers, he said, so the only way for scientists to get their hands on a computer was to find ways to use it in their work. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say that I became a computational chemist in order to play with computers, but a large part of any creative activity is to feel that you\u2019re playing.\u201d  \u201cI think if everybody did everything with passion, the world would be a better place,\u201d he said. Chemistry was the third of this year\u2019s Nobel prizes. The prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace were first awarded in 1901 in accordance with the will of businessman and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel."}
{"claim_id": "1667", "claim": "Battle ropes become popular go-to fitness tools in U.S. gyms.", "explanation": "Battle ropes, the thick and heavy ropes that look as if they could tether a ship to shore, have become go-to fitness tools in gyms for people seeking a tough workout that is also engaging and fun.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Whipping, slamming, dragging and drumming the long, anchored ropes have long been used in training for sports like football, but fitness experts said they have now gone mainstream in gyms as an efficient workout routine. \u201cIt\u2019s a little like running with the upper body,\u201d said Jonathan Ross, spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. \u201cIt\u2019s not just using different muscles but training muscles in different ways.\u201d  The Washington, D.C. area-based trainer and author of the book \u201cAbs Revealed,\u201d said a ropes workout engages the mind as well as the body with what he calls the grace of the wave. \u201cThe ropes show you how you\u2019re moving,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou see the physical manifestation of the body movement as you watch the ropes. If you do them well, your body is moving well.\u201d  Posture and coordination are inherent elements of the workout, Ross said. Battle rope workouts also pack a calorie-burning cardio punch. A study published in the April 2015 Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research showed that a 10-minute bout of rope training resulted in high heart rates and enough energy expenditure to increase cardio respiratory fitness. Crunch, the national chain of fitness centers, has built a group fitness class around battle ropes. \u201cIt\u2019s great core training. The abs, back, and glutes (muscles of the buttocks) are all engaged,\u201d said Donna Cyrus, senior vice president of programming at Crunch. \u201cObviously there\u2019s toning to the upper body and it burns a lot of calories.\u201d  Rope classes typically include a warm-up segment followed by teams competing to see who can keep the wave, or movement of the rope, going the longest time. Ross said battle ropes, which come in various diameters and lengths, require shoulder mobility and stability, so people dealing with shoulder issues should use them with caution. \u201cThe longer the rope, the more challenging because you have to generate more force,\u201d he said. \u201cYou want to see that move travel all the way down to that anchor point.\u201d  Another mistake, he added, is pulling the ropes too tight. \u201cYou can\u2019t make a wave if the rope is tight,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "17291", "claim": "We have invested record funding in protecting our environment.", "explanation": "During his State of the State speech Scott said, \"We have invested record funding in protecting our environment.\" After the speech, a Scott spokesman said he was referring to money directed toward springs restoration. Scott\u2019s statement during the speech likely left \u00a0listeners with the impression that his investment in the environment in general is a record, and that would be misleading. Sorting out the total investment in environmental protection under Scott compared to predecessors is complicated because funding comes from state and federal sources and multiple state programs relate to the environment. However, under one way to compare funding - - the total for the Department of Environmental Protection -- Scott falls far short of Bush\u2019s record. And Scott doesn\u2019t beat Crist\u2019s record, either. Scott tried to take his spending recommendation for one particular environmental project -- springs restoration -- and portray that as an overall record, and that\u2019s not the case.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Environment, Florida, Rick Scott, ", "main_text": "So we know Gov. Rick Scott likes to portray himself as the jobs-promoter-in-chief but what about tree-hugger-in-chief? During his fourth State of the state speech March 4, Scott began by reeling off a list of recent accomplishments. \"A lot has happened since I spoke to you last year. I can talk about how our unemployment rate is now down to 6.3 percent. How our crime rate is at a 42-year low. How we have invested record funding in protecting our environment.....\" Some of those numbers sounded familiar to us. But we hadn\u2019t heard Scott\u2019s claim that during his tenure we have invested record funding to protect the environment, so we decided to fact-check that claim. Funding to restore springs We asked Scott\u2019s spokesman to provide us with documentation to support his claim that during his tenure Florida had invested record funding on environmental protection. Spokesman John Tupps told PolitiFact Florida in an email that Scott was referring to his proposed budget that includes a \"record $55 million\" to protect and restore springs -- \"building upon last year\u2019s investment of more than $37 million.\" Funding for springs is only a subset of funding for environmental protection, but we\u2019ll look at the status of springs funding first. As of early March, the Legislature hadn\u2019t voted on the amount for springs protection. It\u2019s possible the Legislature will set an even higher amount: A coalition of Senate committee chairs drafted a bill to raise $400 million for springs from documentary stamp taxes on real estate transactions. The state has more than 1,000 freshwater springs, and many are suffering from nitrate pollution that fuels the growth of toxic algae blooms. Geologists have found an increase in saltiness in a few freshwater springs, which could signal future problems with the state's drinking supply, the Tampa Bay Times reported. In 2013, the state asked water management districts for a list of projects essential to springs restoration and received a list of about $122 million. The Legislature set aside $10 million, but the total climbed to $37 million, once other sources including local government money was included. \"If the Legislature passes Gov. Scott\u2019s $55 million springs recommendation it will be a record level of spending for Florida\u2019s springs,\" Eric Draper, Executive Director Audubon Florida, told PolitiFact Florida. Annual DEP funding Though Scott\u2019s spokesman said he was referring to money proposed for springs protection, his claim was more broadly about the environment, so we asked the Department of Environmental Protection, called DEP, for the bottom-line budget total for each year during Scott\u2019s tenure. We found similar figures back to 2004, during the tenure of his predecessors, Govs. Charlie Crist Jeb Bush. Here is the bottom line total each year: 2004-05: $2.1 billion 2005-06: $2 billion 2006-07: $2.9 billion 2007-08: $2.4 billion 2008-09: $2 billion 2009-10: $1.3 billion 2010-11: $1.4 billion 2011-12: $1.8 billion 2012-13: $1.4 billion 2013-14: $1.3 billion These numbers come with some caveats: they are appropriation numbers, not actual expenditures, and they combine state and federal dollars. In several of those years, the numbers included debt service payments of more than $400 million. It\u2019s no surprise that the dollar amounts were higher in flush financial times under Bush and part of Crist\u2019s term and then plummeted along with the economy in the second half of Crist\u2019s tenure and Scott\u2019s tenure. We have seen the same pattern for other state spending priorities. Spokespersons for DEP and Scott also cited other environmental projects Scott has supported -- including an $880 million water quality plan to provide clean water to the Everglades. Facing the prospect of court-ordered cleanup, in 2012 the state reached a settlement with the federal government to end a long-standing dispute about Everglades cleanup. All of the $880 million won\u2019t be spent this year; it is a 13-year agreement. For this year, Scott proposed $130 million for Everglades, which includes part of that $880 million, as well as other state and water management district sources. \"Scott has skillfully negotiated the Everglades deal with EPA, which gives him a talking point of boosting environmental programs in Florida,\" said Jerry Phillips, a DEP attorney in the 1990s who is now an environmental watchdog. \"But the reality is that Bush and Crist had been negotiating with EPA for years as well, on issues such as the Everglades.\" Environmental cuts The total DEP budget doesn\u2019t tell the full story because other agencies also do work that relates to protecting the environment. We interviewed several environmentalists who pointed to Scott\u2019s lack of investment in protecting the environment. We will cite some of their examples: \u2022 In 2011 Scott and the Legislature abolished the Department of Community Affairs, which for decades reviewed development plans in cities and counties. \u2022 In 2011, Scott and lawmakers forced state water management districts to slash property tax collections. The South Florida Water Management District\u2019s total budget dropped from about $1 billion in 2011 to $622 million in 2014. Water management districts handle planning for water resources and wetlands protection, among other environmental issues. \u2022 In December 2012, DEP laid off 58 employees. \u2022 The number of enforcement cases handled by DEP has dropped dramatically, from 2,289 in 2010 (Crist\u2019s final year) to 799 in 2012, the Tampa Bay Times reported. As of the end of May, only 145 new cases had been filed. \u2022 For many years the Legislature invested $300 million a year in Florida Forever, a program to buy land with money from a tax on real estate transactions. During the economic downturn, the Legislature pulled back. In 2010,\u00a0Crist\u2019s final year, the program received $15 million. In 2011, Scott proposed zeroing out Florida Forever (it ultimately got $744,000), and then in 2012 he signed a budget that included about $8 million. In 2013, lawmakers approved $20 million and directed the state to sell off $50 million worth of land to generate additional dollars. In March, DEP scrapped the program without selling an acre. Scott has proposed $70 million for next year -- that includes $40 million from the sale of non-conservation lands. Frank Jackalone, Sierra Club\u2019s Senior Organizing Manager in Florida, said Scott\u2019s claim is \"disconcerting\" because of the various cuts. \"You have to take all that into account when you run budget numbers,\" he said. \"It sounds to me like Scott\u2019s people are coming up with their own selective set of budget figures. ... He doesn\u2019t have environmental creds as far as I am concerned.\" Our ruling During his State of the State speech Scott said, \"We have invested record funding in protecting our environment.\" After the speech, a Scott spokesman said he was referring to money directed toward springs restoration. Scott\u2019s statement during the speech likely left \u00a0listeners with the impression that his investment in the environment in general is a record, and that would be misleading. Sorting out the total investment in environmental protection under Scott compared to predecessors is complicated because funding comes from state and federal sources and multiple state programs relate to the environment. However, under one way to compare funding - - the total for the Department of Environmental Protection -- Scott falls far short of Bush\u2019s record. And Scott doesn\u2019t beat Crist\u2019s record, either. Scott tried to take his spending recommendation for one particular environmental project -- springs restoration -- and portray that as an overall record, and that\u2019s not the case. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "36094", "claim": "Taco Bell recalled two million pounds of meat due to the possibility of contamination by metal shavings.", "explanation": "Is Taco Bell Meat Contaminated with Metal Shavings?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On October 15 2019, an Imgur user shared the following screenshot of a purported Newsweek article, which appeared to be reporting on a Taco Bell recall involving meat contaminated with metal shavings:Its submitter\u2019s title joked that \u201ctheir secret sauce is melted lead,\u201d and further down the page linked to a separate article dated October 15 2019. The Newsweek article that was in the screenshot reported:In a statement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it would be recalling the seasoned beef used in Taco Bell\u2019s burritos and tacos.On Saturday, October 12 [2018], Taco Bell informed FSIS that three customers had complained about finding metal shavings in their food. The USDA said nobody has been reported to have had an adverse reaction, but anyone concerned should contact a health care provider.The beef, produced by Kenosha Beef International, was manufactured in Columbus, Ohio, and sent to five distribution centers in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Virginia before being delivered to Taco Bell restaurants nationwide.On October 12 2019, various Taco Bell locations stopped serving seasoned beef, leading to confusion about its sudden absence from menus:Hey @tacobell can you guys be real about what\u2019s going on with your beef. I love eating there and the secrecy of what\u2019s going on makes me afraid to ever eat at your restaurant again\u2014 ICUrn (@jeff_serenks) October 14, 2019Still stuck on how Taco Bell out of beef\ud83d\ude12\u2014 Liyah\ud83d\udda4 (@liyaah_lovve) October 12, 2019The recalled beef was produced between\u00a0September 20 and October 4 2019, potentially affecting product in 21 states and 2.3 million pounds of beef in total. An October 15 2019 statement issued by Taco Bell explained that a single customer reported finding \u201ca metal shaving\u201d in their \u201cmenu item,\u201d which led to a shutdown of the entire supply chain:On Friday, October 11, Taco Bell took immediate action and voluntarily recalled approximately 2.3 million pounds of seasoned beef from its restaurants and distribution centers. As of 9 a.m. PDT, Monday, October 14, 2019, 100 percent of the affected restaurants in 21 states across the eastern Midwest, northern Southeast and Northeast regions impacted have confirmed product has been removed and discarded.The states include: CT, DE, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WV and Washington, D.C.[\u2026]The problem was discovered when a customer reported they found a metal shaving in their menu item. To ensure the safety of our guests, the company immediately partnered with the supplier to shut down the supply chain, remove the product from restaurants and distribution centers and notify the USDA.The product was produced at one plant location on only one of the two lines used to make seasoned beef. This product was sent to distribution centers in the following states: Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia.According to\u00a0Newsweek\u2018s report the same day, three customers reported finding metal shavings in their food but said no adverse reactions had been reported. The recall was deemed a \u201cClass I\u201d by the USDA,\u00a0constituting \u201ca health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.\u201dIn an October 14 2019 USDA/FSIS press release, the agency deemed the health risk to be \u201chigh.\u201d FSIS referenced an \u201cundetermined\u201d amount of seasoned beef recalled, and indicated that there was a possibility some affected meat remained in refrigerated storage at Taco Bell locations:Kenosha Beef International, a Columbus, Ohio establishment, is recalling an undetermined amount of seasoned beef products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically metal shavings, the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today \u2026\u00a0The problem was discovered when the firm notified FSIS on Oct. 12, 2019, that it received three customer complaints.There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.FSIS is concerned that some product may be in restaurant refrigerators. Restaurants who have purchased these products are urged not to serve them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.Although Imgur screeenshots are not optimal ways to convey food safety notices, a screenshot of a headline about a Taco Bell recall was accurate and current when it was posted on October 15 2019. On October 12, Taco Bell locations in some areas stopped serving seasoned beef, and the company notified FSIS that same day. Taco Bell recalled, by its count, 2.3 million pounds of beef after up to three customers discovered metal shavings in their food. Before the recall, potentially affected meat was delivered to 21 states, meaning residents of 29 states were likely unaffected by it. While the risk posed was classed as \u201chigh,\u201d no reports of illness or injury were immediately reported."}
{"claim_id": "2160", "claim": "U.S. eclipse watchers howl at Blood Wolf Moon but bitter cold cancels other festivities.", "explanation": "Skywatchers howled at the moon at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles when the full lunar eclipse appeared shortly after 9 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday and our celestial neighbor was bathed reddish-orange during a Super Blood Wolf Moon.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "\u201cAmazing. As you can see, it\u2019s a party atmosphere and everyone is just enjoying the spectacle,\u201d said Rosalind Von Wendt from Los Angeles. More than 1,500 people gathered at the observatory near the city\u2019s famous Hollywood sign to watch the eclipse. However, not everyone got to watch the cosmic show, with lunar eclipse parties canceled elsewhere due to a flash freeze across the central and northeastern United States. Icy roadways rather than cloudy skies were blamed by astronomers for spoiling the festivities. In Los Angeles, where the weather was markedly warmer and skies cleared just in time, skywatchers were treated to a full spectacle of the Earth casting its shadow over the moon\u2019s face. \u201cOh it was fantastic, it was great,\u201d said Brad Mortensen, from Philadelphia, Pa. \u201cThis was a great location. The observatory is always fun to visit so tonight when we heard about this we decided to come up.\u201d  The moon did not vanish entirely during the total eclipse but, at its height, the entire lunar surface was bathed in a reddish-orange glow that gives rise to the \u201cblood moon\u201d description. The reddish color is due to rays of sunlight passing through Earth\u2019s dusty, polluted atmosphere as the moon falls into our planet\u2019s shadow. The shorter, more pliable blue wavelengths of light are scattered outside the Earth\u2019s shadow and the longer, less bendable red wavelengths are refracted toward the moon. Adding to the visual effect is the fact that the eclipse occurred at a time when the moon reached a point in its orbit putting it close to Earth, an alignment called a supermoon. It has also earned the name \u201cwolf moon\u201d because it appears in January, when wolves would howl in hunger outside villages early in U.S. history, according to The Farmers Almanac. Sunday\u2019s eclipse reached its maximum effect over Los Angeles shortly after 9 p.m. Pacific time (0500 GMT Monday), but not everyone on the West Coast had a clear view. It rained in San Francisco and San Diego had cloudy skies. Astronomy buffs were urged to watch the eclipse livestreamed online at sites such as AstronomersWithoutBorders.org. It seemed days earlier that cloudy skies would be the biggest threat to the cosmic fun, but it turned out a wet, wide-ranging snowstorm followed by a deep freeze on Sunday made driving and outdoor activities too hazardous. Eclipse parties were canceled from Indiana\u2019s Lemon Lake County Park to New Jersey\u2019s Rowan University. \u201cIt\u2019s not the snow or cloudy skies but, rather, the extreme cold and what we fear may be hazardous travel conditions,\u201d said Pennsylvania\u2019s Carbon County Environmental Center, which scrapped its party in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, 54 miles (86 km) northwest of Allentown. The eclipse was otherwise visible to the naked eye by anyone in the United States where skies were clear. That included Atlanta, Ga., where only the determined went outside in freezing temperatures to watch. Unlike a solar eclipse, which requires eye protection to enjoy the view safely, no extra measures need to be taken for hazard-free lunar eclipse watching. The next chance for Americans to see a total lunar eclipse is 2022. The best viewing of the one-hour total eclipse was from North and South America, with as many as 2.8 billion people able to see it from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, West Africa and northernmost Russia."}
{"claim_id": "6074", "claim": "Ohio hospital faces lawsuits over Legionnaires\u2019 outbreak.", "explanation": "Two people who say they contracted Legionnaires\u2019 disease at newly opened Ohio hospital have sued the facility and its health system.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Columbus, Health, Lawsuits, Legionnaires disease, Ohio", "main_text": "Martin and Rebecca Brown, from Orient, sued Mount Carmel Grove City in Franklin County on Tuesday. Anna Hillis, of Grove City, filed suit Friday. Sixteen people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires\u2019, a severe form of pneumonia, since the outbreak was made public two weeks ago. A 75-year-old woman has died after being diagnosed. A spokeswoman says the hospital is committed to \u201cdoing what is right and fair\u201d for families. The Browns\u2019 lawsuit says Martin Brown was diagnosed with Legionnaires\u2019 after undergoing heart surgery at Mount Carmel. Anna Hillis says she contracted the disease while visiting there in mid-May. The outbreak has been traced to the hospital\u2019s hot water system."}
{"claim_id": "2954", "claim": "WHO says 4 new Saudi cases of MERS virus, one fatal.", "explanation": "Four more people in Saudi Arabia have been infected with the SARS-like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus and one of them - an elderly man - has died, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The new infections, including in two health workers from Riyadh who have not reported any adverse symptoms, bring the worldwide total of confirmed cases of the respiratory disease to 170 with 72 deaths, the United Nations health agency said. MERS first emerged in the Middle East in September 2012 and is from the same family as the SARS virus, can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia. Cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Tunisia as well as in several countries in Europe, and scientists are increasingly focused on a link between the human infections and camels as a possible \u201canimal reservoir\u201d of the virus. In Friday\u2019s update, the WHO said the latest MERS death - a 73 year-old man from Riyadh - had reported having contact with animals but had no travel history outside the Riyadh region. The fourth case, in a 53-year-old man from Riyadh, was after contact with a previously confirmed MERS case. He was hospitalized on November 26 and is currently receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, it said. Dutch and Qatari scientists published research earlier this month that proved for the first time that MERS can also infect camels - strengthening suspicions that these animals, often used in the region for meat, milk, transport and racing, may be a source of the human outbreak. The WHO said people at high risk of severe disease due to MERS should \u201cavoid close contact with animals when visiting farms or barn areas where the virus is known to be potentially circulating\u201d. For the general public it advised normal hygiene steps such as hand washing before and after touching animals, avoiding contact with sick animals and good food hygiene practices."}
{"claim_id": "28672", "claim": "More than 30,000 cows froze to death during a winter storm because farmers could not be bothered to take care of their animals.", "explanation": "What's true: More than 30,000 cows froze to death during Winter Storm Goliath in December 2015. What's false: This storm did not occur in 2017; farmers tried to protect their animals, but were unable to do so.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Critter Country, cows, snow, winter storm", "main_text": "In January 2017, a photograph purportedly showing a group of cows that had been apparently frozen solid was circulated on Facebook along with the claim that 30,000 animals had just died in a winter storm:  Weather.com\u00a0reported that more than 15,000 cows died during Winter Storm Goliath in Texas, while another 20,000 froze to death\u00a0in New Mexico: Dairy producers in Texas and New Mexico have estimated that the number of animals that died during the recent Winter Storm Goliath will climb to more than 30,000. The winds are believed to be the cause for many of the animals\u2019 deaths. It created drifts as high as 14 feet and pushed animals into fenced corners where they suffocated, according to The Associated Press. \u201cAs Winter Storm Goliath wrapped up over the southern Plains, strong winds were associated with the storm\u2019s tightening pressure gradient,\u201d said weather.com meteorologist Quincy Vagell. \u201cWhen combined with snow, the winds were strong enough to create dangerous blizzard conditions.\u201d Executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen Darren Turley said that an estimated 15,000 mature dairy cows died between Lubbock, Muleshoe and Friona, the primary impact area of the storm, AP also reports. This region includes the home of half the state\u2019s top 10 milk-producing counties, which provide 40 percent of Texas\u2019 milk. According to an agent with New Mexico State University\u2019s extension service, the state lost an estimated 20,000 cows. \u201cLike all agriculture, dairy producers always operate at the mercy of Mother Nature,\u201d said Turley. \u201cWith Goliath, she dealt a particularly harsh and costly blow to the area\u2019s dairy producers, from the death of thousands of livestock they spend so much time caring for to a loss of milk production both over the weekend and in the future.\u201d The photograph is\u00a0also real, although we were not able to determine a definite source. An uncropped version of the\u00a0image was published by Tri-State Livestock News shortly after the storm, which showed a group of frozen (or near-frozen) cattle on the side of the road:  More than one foot of snow on December 27 surprised ranchers and dairy farmers in a region accustomed to a few inches of precipitation each winter. Unlike their northern peers, Texas cattle raisers rarely own four-walled barns designed to keep cattle warn, often opting instead for open structures meant to keep Texas cattle cool during the long, hot summers. Forecast warnings of a \u201chistoric blizzard\u201d came too late. Voinis said some cattle raisers had tried to build shelters with hay bales and machinery, to little avail. Some cattle were buried in snowdrifts formed by gale force winds. Others froze to death in the open, died of frostbite in later days or just disappeared. Initial loss estimates increased greatly in the days following the storm. A similar story unfolded in New Mexico, which was swept by the same storm:\u00a0 Meteorologists sounded the first warnings about the storm some eight days before it hit on Dec. 26. Farmers prepared as best they could \u2014 putting down extra bedding behind wind breaks, placing extra bales of hay in front of calf bungalows and in places where snow typically accumulates. But as the blizzard raged on, cows that had sought shelter behind windbreakers were buried alive by drifting snow. Others froze to death on open fields. Calves that had been nestled inside hutches went hungry because no one could reach them. Farmers who tried to rescue their animals became disoriented and lost on their own land. \u201cWe did the best we could for our animals,\u201d Ms. Beckerink said. But as the storm worsened, saving them meant risking the lives of her workers \u2014 \u201ca horrifying decision to make.\u201d The deaths of the cattle dramatically affected the livelihoods of farmers in both states. It is extremely unlikely that any farmer (dependent on their animals\u00a0for money and food) would cavalierly leave their main source of income and food out in the snow to freeze to death, despite what this meme implies."}
{"claim_id": "26632", "claim": "2019 coronavirus can live for \"up to 3 hours in the air, up to 4 hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard up to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel.\u201d", "explanation": "Preliminary research indicates that COVID-19 can live for up to three hours in the air, four hours on copper, 24 hours on cardboard and three days on plastic and stainless steel. Health officials advise people to wash their hands regularly, avoid touching their faces and disinfect their homes daily to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "The No. 1 thing Americans can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is wash their hands. That\u2019s because you can contract the virus by touching surfaces that have the respiratory droplets of an infected person on them. But how long can coronavirus germs live on those surfaces? An infographic from KIRO-TV in Seattle offers some clarity. According to the graphic, which was published March 18 on Facebook, the coronavirus can live for \"up to 3 hours in the air, up to 4 hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard up to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel.\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) But in this case, the latest research backs it up \u2014 so keep washing your hands and disinfecting your home. The graphic cites an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine on March 17. Researchers tested how long the coronavirus, formally called SARS-CoV-2, lived on five different surfaces: aerosols, plastic, stainless steel, copper and cardboard. \"SARS-CoV-2 remained viable in aerosols throughout the duration of our experiment (3 hours),\" the authors wrote. \"SARS-CoV-2 was more stable on plastic and stainless steel than on copper and cardboard.\" Aside from air, the worst surface for the virus\u00a0is copper; researchers could only detect viable virus particles there for up to four hours. On cardboard, they could not detect any after 24 hours. The coronavirus lives the longest on plastic and stainless steel \u2014\u00a0up to three days. It\u2019s worth noting that the article is not a peer-reviewed study, and researchers tested the lifespan of SARS-CoV-2 in a lab setting. But their findings reflect what others have found about the potential longevity of the coronavirus outside the body. How Long Coronavirus Stays Active on Surfaces\u2060 \u2060 A new unpublished, un-peer reviewed analysis has received some attention in recent days for its findings that the #COVID19 virus can remain viable in the air for up to 3 hours, on copper for up to 4 hours, on cardboard up to 24 hours and on plastic and stainless steel up to 2 to 3 days. \u2060 \u2060 To date, there have been no published studies specifically looking at the novel #Coronavirus but there was research published this past February in The Journal of Hospital Infection which analyzed several dozen previously published papers on human coronaviruses. While it did not include #COVID_19, it may provide a better idea of how long this pathogen can survive outside of the body. \u2060 \u2060 The authors concluded that if this new coronavirus resembles other human coronaviruses, such as its \"cousins\" that cause #SARS and #MERS, it can stay on surfaces \u2014 such as metal, glass or plastic \u2014 for as long as nine days. \u2060 \u2060 This is in comparison to flu viruses which can last on surfaces for only about 48 hours.\u2060 \u2060 But there are some important caveats to consider. Some #coronavirus don't remain active for as long at temperatures higher than 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). \u2060 \u2060 The authors also found that coronaviruses can be effectively wiped away by common household disinfectants. \u2060 \u2060 For now that is the best information we have.\u2060 \u2060 To follow the continually updated coronavirus dashboard, tap the link in our bio and bookmark the page.\u2060 \u2060 \u2060 \u2060 \u2060 A post shared by  Medscape (@medscape) on Mar 17, 2020 at 2:29am PDT An article published in the Journal of Hospital Infection in March reviewed what other scientists have found about how long human coronaviruses can survive on different surfaces. The authors found that viruses like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which are both similar to COVID-19, could live for a couple of days on steel, plastic, wood, paper and glass surfaces. What about money, which many Americans handle every day? The World Health Organization advises people to wash their hands with soap and water after handling banknotes, coins and credit cards. The Journal of Hospital Infection article says human coronaviruses could live on paper for anywhere between one to five days. The U.S. Dollar is made up of 75% cotton and 25% linen, as opposed to wood pulp, which is the base for most paper. Still, you\u2019re probably safer handling coins. The New England Journal of Medicine article found that COVID-19 can only survive for up to four hours on copper, which is what quarters, nickels and dimes are primarily made of. Ironically, pennies are made primarily of zinc, although they have a copper exterior. Based on the information available, KIRO-TV\u2019s infographic is accurate. But we\u2019ll issue a small note of caution because the study has not been peer-reviewed. ."}
{"claim_id": "7880", "claim": "Tesla plans to supply FDA-approved ventilators free of cost: Musk.", "explanation": "Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday the company has extra FDA-approved ventilators that can be shipped free of cost to hospitals within regions where the electric carmaker delivers.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "\"Device & shipping cost are free. Only requirement is that the vents are needed immediately for patients, not stored in a warehouse. Please me or @Tesla know,\" Musk said in a tweet here  Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many ventilators it has to offer, or how the company will prioritize requests. Governments across the globe have appealed to automakers and aerospace companies help procure or make ventilators and other medical equipment amid a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 777,000 people globally and killed over 37,500. In United States, states hard hit by the pandemic have pleaded with the Trump administration and manufacturers to speed up production of ventilators to cope with a surge in patients. Earlier this week, Ford Motor Co (F.N) said it will produce 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days at a plant in Michigan in cooperation with General Electric\u2019s healthcare unit, and can then build 30,000 per month as needed to treat patients afflicted with the coronavirus."}
{"claim_id": "41061", "claim": "108 people died from Covid-19 in China on February 10th, one of the worst days so far.", "explanation": "It is true that 108 people died in China from Covid-19 on 10 February, however, this death toll has since been surpassed.", "label": "true", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "26,383 people die of cancer each day. 24,641 die of heart disease every day. This is an underestimate for all cardiovascular disease deaths, but close to the daily figure of those who die from coronary heart disease specifically. 4,300 people die of diabetes every day. Suicide is the cause of death for around 3,000 people per day Suicide is the cause of death for around 2,000 people per day. Mosquitoes kill 2,740 people every day. This appears to be an overestimate. Mosquitoes are responsible for no more than around 700,000 deaths per year, or 1,900 a day. Humans kill 1,300 fellow humans every day. Snakes kill 137 people every day This is an underestimate. Snakes kill around 378 people per day. Claim 1 of 8"}
{"claim_id": "25096", "claim": "The legislation ... that Senator McCain supports would provide the authority for the federal government to surveille American citizens in their own country without any suspicion whatsoever that they're engaging in discussions with terrorists or about criminal activity.", "explanation": "Carmakers and policymakers in Europe are staking their futures on a race to electric vehicles. But the vast charging network needed to sustain their vision is patchy, and it\u2019s not clear who\u2019ll pay for it.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Civil Rights, Terrorism, Bob Barr, ", "main_text": "The central German city of Ruesselsheim, home to carmaker Opel, wants to build 1,300 electric car charging points by 2020, plans that would make it a frontrunner on the continent. It has advantages enjoyed by few in Europe, including a powerful local car industry player and wealthy national economy. In Germany itself the city has an edge, having won a government grant of 12.8 million euros ($14.4 million) to fund the rollout. Yet, even here, red tape, shortages of qualified staff and the requisite hardware are likely to delay the installation by around two years, local officials told Reuters. The project will also need more money, said the officials who are running up against the complexity of civil engineering, potential power grid overloads and unwieldy payment processes, illustrating some of the difficulties facing cities and nations across Europe. \u201cWe are not doing this for profit,\u201d said Marianne Floersheimer, Ruesselsheim council\u2019s mobility chief. \u201cBut we cannot afford to top up the government money.\u201d  The number of electric cars on German roads grew fivefold between 2015 and 2018, and have risen strongly across Europe. However the growth in electric cars is outpacing the charging infrastructure. The ratio of electric cars to each charging point in Europe deteriorated to 7.0 from 6.1 in the same period, consultants AlixPartners found, although Europe is still better equipped than the United States at 19.7 per car, and China\u2019s 7.6. Some analysts say a lag in infrastructure could drag on sales as customers hold off until electric becomes a convenient option. Any logjam could prove a problem for carmakers which, faced with emissions penalties, are pumping tens of billions of euros into electric technology in an industry-wide charge. German champion Volkswagen, for example, aims for electric vehicles to account for about a quarter of its sales by 2025. Obstacles to electrification could also strain the European Union\u2019s plan to become \u201ccarbon neutral\u201d by 2050 to combat climate change. A quarter of climate-harming emissions come from transport and, within that, most from passenger cars. However some campaigners, including Transport & Environment, a group that promotes clean transport, say good progress is being made in rolling out charging points in many countries of western and northern Europe, although central and eastern Europe are further behind. They say limited infrastructure is not having a significant effect on Europe\u2019s electric car sales, which still represent a fraction of the vehicle market, and the ratio of cars to points is within the EU recommendation of 10. Given most charging will be done at home, they add, a lack of off-street parking in some areas could deter drivers from switching to electric. Like other German cities, Ruesselsheim is under pressure to roll out charging stations as environmental activists have started suing those municipalities that fail to comply with EU-wide rules for nitrogen dioxide emissions. With just 67,000 people, it has only a few charging points at the moment, some way behind the likes of wealthy and populous Hamburg on about 880 and Berlin with some 780. It is however aiming to provide one charging point per 72 people, the highest level in Europe, with the help of carmaker Opel, which will build around half of the points, plus the technical know-how of the local RheinMain University. Opel is owned by France\u2019s PSA Group. Ruesselsheim\u2019s electric plan won one of the highest grants under the German transport ministry\u2019s clean air program. But local officials described some of the complications in implementation. The installation of every charging point needs to be agreed with authorities such as those in charge of water, monument protection and civil engineering, for example. Charging equipment makers, meanwhile, have long lead times. \u201cWe are chasing the same charging points, employees and supply technology as all the other cities,\u201d said city spokesman Asswin Zabel. Hooking up inner-city charging points on low voltage lines will be relatively easy although some local people may object, said Matthias Schweitzer, head of technology at the local utility, Stadtwerke Ruesselsheim. But laying 2 km of medium voltage lines and ordering new transformer substations could take up to nine months, he said. The university aims to accompany the rollout with storage facilities to absorb green power and offer supply on demand. But it must measure whether inverters, which turn alternating current power from the grid into direct current used by car batteries, cause too much stress on the network. \u201cWe must ensure there is no overload,\u201d Schweitzer added. Yet more snags await: There is still a hodge-podge of charging and paying processes across the country as vendors are not in sync with each other, meaning Ruesselsheimers may encounter payment difficulties on longer journeys. \u201cThere is no obligation to provide free roaming. People have to carry around far too many different customer cards,\u201d said Hanns Koenig of research firm Aurora, which has studied commercial car charging opportunities. Germany is doing relatively well in Europe in terms of public charging points, with 17,400 countrywide, according to data from energy industry association BDEW. That would roughly equate to a point for every five of its 83,000 electric cars, about 1 percent of the vehicles on its roads. To keep up with sales, BDEW says thousands more public charging points are needed in coming years, as well as hundreds of thousands of private points at homes and workplaces. However funding could be a central problem in Germany, as well as in Europe and beyond, particularly along motorways which do not fall under any particular municipality. Carmakers are largely pouring much of their money into the development of electric vehicles, while energy providers hesitate to take on responsibility for the rollout as long as car sales remain too low to provide a profitable customer base. In Germany, many of the roughly 1,500 local utility players simply cannot shoulder huge infrastructure costs, especially while commercial success is not assured. The situation could become a vicious circle, some industry experts say, since without a large number of charging stations, customers may be reluctant to make the leap to electric. \u201cToday it is still largely unclear who will make the necessary investment in the charging infrastructure in cities, housing and along the motorways in the short term, and how these can refinance themselves in the medium and long term,\u201d said Jens Haas, managing director automotive at AlixPartners. \u201cThis results in lasting scepticism among German car customers and, in turn, hesitant buying.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "2999", "claim": "NY officials warn of rising flu cases, hospitalizations.", "explanation": "New York state says it\u2019s seeing more reported cases of influenza so far this season than in recent years.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Andrew Cuomo, General News, Flu, New York", "main_text": "The state\u2019s online flu tracker shows the state has seen over 10,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza as of Jan. 4. That\u2019s up from roughly 3,000 in 2017. The state\u2019s data do not represent all influenza illnesses, but officials consider it a useful indicator of influenza trends. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, ordered state health officials this month to work with hospitals to make sure they\u2019re equipped to meet a rising number of hospitalizations. Nearly 2,000 New Yorkers were hospitalized with lab-confirmed influenza in the first week of January, up 34% from the previous week. Meanwhile, the state is encouraging providers to promote the flu vaccine, which officials say is likely to be effective this season. The state declared influenza \u201cprevalent\u201d in December. Now, healthcare workers who are not vaccinated against influenza are required to wear surgical or procedure masks in areas where patients are typically present."}
{"claim_id": "1447", "claim": "Scientists reconstruct skeleton of elusive, pre-historic human.", "explanation": "Researchers in Israel say they have reconstructed the skeleton of a pre-historic human from a long-extinct and elusive species using DNA found in the pinky bone of a 13-year-old girl who died 70,000 years ago.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "Little is known about the Denisovans, who were ancient relatives of the more familiar Neanderthals and our own species. Their existence was only recently discovered and has fascinated scientists worldwide. Evidence was first uncovered in 2008 in a cave in Siberia, and today it includes only three teeth, a pinky bone and a lower jaw, said Hebrew University genetics professor Liran Carmel. It sounds like science fiction, but Carmel said that was enough to create a depiction of a full Denisovan skeleton. \u201cThis is the first time that we provide a detailed anatomical reconstruction showing us what these humans looked like,\u201d he said. It turns out, Carmel said, \u201cwe are all very similar.\u201d   His team developed a technology to decipher the ancient DNA and, more importantly, its gene activity. Gene activity, for example, differentiates between a frog and tadpole, even though their DNA is identical, Carmel said. DNA could indicate the Denisovan\u2019s dark skin, eyes and hair, Carmel said, but by mapping gene activity patterns, they could infer how the species stood out anatomically from modern humans or Neanderthals. They identified 56 traits, most in the skull, that differed. This helped them produce a rendering - claiming 85% accuracy - of a Denisovan skeleton that at first glance looks like it could be from a modern human, though differences are obvious on closer inspection. There were similarities to Neanderthals - a sloping forehead, long face and large pelvis - but the Denisovans were also unique in their very wide skull and large dental arch. The skeletal reconstruction, along with an artist\u2019s rendering of the 13-year-old girl\u2019s head and face, were published in the journal Cell. The team repeated the process as a test with Neanderthals and chimpanzees, whose anatomies are known, and found the reconstruction to be 85% accurate. The discovery of more Denisovan DNA would further improve the rendering. Some far-flung modern Asian populations possess small but significant amounts of DNA derived from Denisovans, suggesting they had a broad geographical presence. Research suggests that Denisovan DNA may have contributed to modern Tibetans\u2019 ability to live in high altitudes and the Inuits\u2019 ability to withstand freezing temperatures."}
{"claim_id": "9122", "claim": "Anti-gravity treadmills get patients running again after knee surgery", "explanation": "Researchers in the UK presented a single case study of a 39-year-old runner who had surgery on her knee followed by physical therapy using a special treadmill. The release claimed the \u201canti-gravity\u201d treadmill, which reduces the pressure of weight on the knee, helped this patient\u00a0reduce fears about re-injury and increase their confidence in their ability to run again. The release did not provide any data to support that claim. The release would have been stronger had it included a mention of the cost and availability of anti-gravity treadmills. They\u2019re very expensive pieces of equipment but are becoming more widely available through rehabilitation clinics. Knee pain is a very common condition and often keeps people from activities, including exercise, that are known to promote overall health. This news release about a single patient\u2019s recovery from surgery overstates the benefit of the \u201canti-gravity\u201d treadmill by implying that because this patient recovered better after using the machine, that others might, too. Studying a single patient, without comparison to a control group, cannot prove this treadmill improves outcomes. As we\u2019ve said in a recent blog post, case studies should not be used as proof of health outcomes.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Anti-gravity treadmills,knee surgery,University of Kent", "main_text": "The release makes no mention of costs of the \u201cspace age\u201d treadmill device. We found at least one anti-gravity treadmill has been around since 2005. The machines sell for between $24,500 and $70,000. Most people who would want to use them would be referred to a rehabilitation clinic where it may cost about $80 to run on one for 55 minutes. The release does not offer any units of measurement to describe the benefits. The descriptions of benefits also lean pretty heavily on abstractions that are tricky to measure. In the following example, the benefits are \u201ca great environment for healing\u201d and \u201cbelief\u201d that a patient can make a successful return. \u201cNot only does the tailored anti-gravity treadmill programme provide a great environment for healing, it also helps the person restore their belief that they can make a successful return to the sport they love.\u201d In another example, the researcher is paraphrased as saying the machine could be helping to \u201creduce fears about re-injury and increase self-belief.\u201d Basically they are saying that the runner re-gained some confidence in running. This cannot be extended to generalizations about health outcomes. The release does not mention any potential harms. As we outlined in benefits above, this release is written about a single case study of a single patient. The reader does not have enough information about the evidence to judge the quality. The release does not explain how the study measured the patient\u2019s attitude or knee recovery. We\u2019re only told that the therapy last 8 weeks. We did look at the published study which explained the measurements. But they aren\u2019t included in the release. There was no disease mongering. The release doesn\u2019t say if the author received funding to complete the case study. It also doesn\u2019t give readers any information about potential conflicts of interest, or the absence of any, between the study authors and anti-gravity treadmill manufacturers. The release doesn\u2019t mention any alternatives to the treadmill for people needing rehabilitation after knee surgery. The release is about a study of a single patient who pursued a single rehab journey following surgery. Besides that limitation, the news release also missed an opportunity to mention that there are non-surgical approaches to treating cartilage damage in the knee. The release does not tell us whether the device is available anywhere outside of the specific physical therapy facility profiled in the case study. The release doesn\u2019t tell us how this case study yields anything new beyond the previous research completed on anti-gravity treadmills used in rehabilitation. We did not find unjustifiable language \u2014 just exaggeration."}
{"claim_id": "11414", "claim": "Avastin Largely Safe for Patients With Type of Advanced Lung Cancer", "explanation": "This is a story reporting on a study which reported on the potential harms associated with the addition of the drug Avastin in patients with an advanced form of a specific type of lung cancer. What the study showed and was reported in this story was that there were several individuals who experienced bleeding complications with Avastin added to their treatment. The piece fails to indicate what benefit patients might hope to expect from the addition of this drug to their other treatment regimens. Although the story was clear about the potential harms associated with this drug, it seems a little odd not to more fully explain that it is not yet known whether the drug will be helpful to patients with metastatic non-squamous cell non-small cell lung cancer \u2013 especially since the FDA announced this week that this drug does not demonstrate benefit when used to treat breast cancer. In the absence of information about the benefits, it is not possible to weigh the risk of harm against the potential for benefit. This is an issue that should have been addressed in this story. The timing of this story is curious but probably coincidental \u2013 to a degree. The big news about the drug Avastin is that the FDA has decided not to approve it for use in treating breast cancer because it does not improve survival or delay disease progression. While this did receive one line in the story, instead of hyping the potential for use of this particular in lung cancer, the space might have better used to examine what are the expectations for a drug used to treat a metastatic cancer. Drugs need to be not only safe, but also affective in order to add value to a treatment regimen. So while we know the story was based on a journal article released this week, it is the editorial decision to report on this rather mixed bag finding that is curious. And while we applaud news coverage of Phase 4 trials, are all Phase 4 trials (or the relative paucity of same?) going to be reported consistently?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no discussion about the cost estimates for adding Avastin to treatment, nor any mention of the route of administration. The story failed to report that the study reported on examined whether the use of this drug in this clinical situation was safe but did not look at the question of whether it was of benefit to the patients. The story mentioned that a previous study has indicated that this drug has benefit but did not provide information about the type of benefit that was observed. The story reported on the potential harms associated with the addition of this drug to a treatment regimen. Without information about what a patient might gain \u2013 it is hard to know whether the risk of these harms is worth the potential benefit. And the story could have provided more details about the severity and impact of the harms. Nonetheless, we give it a satisfactory on this criterion. The story leads with a line that the drug is \"is safe and can effectively treat\u2026\"\u00a0 But it then delivers no data on effective treatment. The story did not engage in disease mongering though it did include an estimate for the number of people who die from advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer per year. The story should have been clear from the beginning that the study reported on the use of Avastin as a potential addition to treatment for\u00a0metastatic\u00a0non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. Several sources were quoted who did not have a direct connection to the study reported on or to the company. The story indicated clearly that the study reported on was funded by the maker of the drug studied. There was no discussion about whether there are other drugs that may be used in conjunction with the standard treatment for metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer to improve patient outcomes. And since the story did not discuss how the use of Avastin changes outcomes, it failed to report on how this new approach compared with existing treatment. This piece correctly indicated that this drug is currently available for use. The story used the trade-name Avastin (as opposed to its generic name bevacizumab)\u00a0nearly exclusively throughout and, at the end, mentioned that this drug has already received FDA approval for use in the treatment of other types of cancer. The story could have clarified that the use of Avastin in the treatment of metastic non-squamous cell lung cancer is still an off-label indication for this drug, which is more common in cancer treatment than in other diseases. The story was clear to indicate that Avastin is used to treat several other types of cancer and to mention in passing that at least for one type, breast cancer, the drug has failed to demonstrate that it has any benefit to patients. However \u2013 the story included no insight about any novel mechanism for this drug or why this drug is being examined for use in combination with standard chemotherapy. Does not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "7617", "claim": "Nursing home sues state over banned in-house beauty salon.", "explanation": "A Minot assisted living facility is suing North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and the state Health Department over an executive order that prohibits the use of an in-house beauty salon for its residents.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Assisted living, North Dakota, Minot, Virus Outbreak, Lawsuits", "main_text": "Somerset Court LLC said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday the executive order issued last month in response to the coronavirus is \u201cwithout sufficient justification or rationale.\u201d The North Dakota-owned facility is asking a state judge to stop the state from enforcing the executive order at the nursing home and to award attorney fees. It\u2019s the first such lawsuit filed against the state related to COVID-19 executive orders. Burgum said at his daily briefing he expects others but wouldn\u2019t comment specifically on any pending litigation. \u201cWe are deeply empathetic but we also understand the rate of where we could have the highest and fastest rate of outbreak that could be fatal would be inside a long-term care facility,\u201d Burgum said. The state is working \u201cto reopen personal care businesses and protect our elderly and this is at the intersection of that difficult spot,\u201d he said. Burgum said he would unveil a plan on Friday for \u201cwidespread rapid testing\u201d aimed at helping the state move toward reopening businesses. The North Dakota Department of Health on Thursday said 32 additional people tested positive for COVID-19 since Wednesday, bringing the state total to 709. They also reported one new death, a woman in her 80s from Cass County with underlying medical conditions, bringing the state\u2019s total to 15. Burgum last month ordered all bars, restaurants, barber shops, beauty salons. health clubs, movie theaters and other large-scale venues to close to patrons at least until April 30, while still allowing offsite food and beverage service. Shelly Peterson, president of the North Dakota Long Term Care Association, said her group has been asking for an amendment to the order to allow in-house salons at nursing homes since the order was established. She said protocols are in place at all facilities in response to the coronavirus. \u201cIt\u2019s just common sense with all the other personal care we do for residents,\u201d Peterson said. Residents \u201cdepend on us. We feed them, clothe them and we change them.\u201d There are 128 long-term care facilities in North Dakota and \u201cabout 70% of them have licensed beauty shops,\u201d she said. State officials said 13 of 218 long-term care facilities in North Dakota have a confirmed COVID-19 case in a resident or staff member. Lynn Boughey, an attorney for Somerset Court, said the facility\u2019s beautician was cited by Minot police recently for continuing to work. The contract worker was cited for an infraction that may carry a $1,000 fine, he said. \u201cWe should have never have had to bring this action and we\u2019ve been trying to resolve this for over a month,\u201d Boughey said. \u201cIt was clear for us that they only way to get this fixed is to sue.\u201d Dave Caldwell, Somerset Court\u2019s director, said there are 120 residents and about 80 staff members at the facility. He said there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus there. \u201cI think spirit of the executive order was to keep hair salons closed for the general public,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is not different than other activity of daily living that our staff performs here.\u201d For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia."}
{"claim_id": "2901", "claim": "Cold, wet weather may help spread deadly pig virus: USDA.", "explanation": "Frigid temperatures across a large swath of the United States this week followed by warmer conditions could aid the spread of a fatal pig disease now in 22 states, affecting hundreds of thousands of pigs, a swine veterinarian said on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "\u201cThe virus likes cold, wet and cloudy days,\u201d said Rodney Baker, a swine veterinarian at Iowa State University at Ames, Iowa, the top pork producing state in the United States. At this time of year the virus gets frozen on clothes and shoes, making it easy to track around and spread, Baker added. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), which causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration in hogs, has spread quickly across the U.S. hog belt since its discovery in the United States in April 2013. California and Wyoming are the latest states to report confirmed cases of the deadly pig virus, bringing the number of states affected to 22, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday. The number of new cases increased by 134 for the week of December 29, bringing total reported cases to 2,084, according to the USDA\u2019s National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN). Earlier this week several hog producing states experienced double digit sub zero temperatures, and forecasters now are calling for warmer temperatures as highs climb toward 30 degrees Fahrenheit by the weekend. Baker told Reuters the virus can remain viable after a single, maybe even a couple of freeze-thaw cycles. Cold weather and cloudy conditions protect the virus, but heat and sunlight will deactivate it, Baker said. The spread of the disease has heightened scrutiny of the U.S. trucking industry as livestock transport trailers are seen as a means of transmission. Trucks need to be washed, disinfected and heated to deactivate PEDv, hog industry health officials have said. However, if a sprayed disinfectant is not given ample time to activate before the truck is driven in freezing temperatures, the virus will not be killed and can infect the next load of pigs hauled in the trailer, Baker said. Heating trucks after washing and using disinfectant is the best way to rid them of the virus, but they are not washed frequently due to time and expense constraints, U.S. hog industry veterinarians have said. It can take at least two hours and costs of upwards of $500 to wash, disinfect and dry a truck properly, Baker said. Studies done at Iowa State University found temperatures as high as 155 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes will kill, or deactivate PEDv, Baker said. The virus, which is transmitted orally and through pig feces, has left the hog industry scrambling to curb its spread and has fueled concerns that hog supplies will fall in the spring and summer. There are no official figures for pigs lost to the disease but U.S. hog industry analysts estimate one million to four million have died."}
{"claim_id": "36694", "claim": "Congress approved a bill in November 2017 that makes it a federal crime to play\u00a0Christmas music before Thanksgiving.", "explanation": "Playing Christmas Music Before Thanksgiving Is a Federal Crime?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Christmas, Fact Checks, Holidays, Viral Content", "main_text": "It\u2019s not a federal crime to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving. A tongue-and-cheek report published by a website that describes its content as \u201cChristian news satire\u201d is behind the rumor.The fabricated report appeared at The Babylon Bee\u00a0just as the 2017 Christmas season began to ramp up in early November.According to the story, anyone who breaks the law would be subject to an \u201cimmediate search\u201d by federal agents under the fictitious law. And violators could be transferred to a secret CIA detention center where they\u2019d be subject to questioning and up to 20 months imprisonment.Of course, none of that is true. The Babylon Bee describes itself as \u201cyour trusted source for Christian new satire.\u201d Its stories shouldn\u2019t be mistaken for factual news. But that\u2019s lost on social media users who don\u2019t click-through to read the entire article on the website.Many shoppers complain that retailers seem to start playing Christmas music earlier every year, and they might have a point. In 2017, Best Buy added Christmas music to its repertoire on October 22nd. By November 11th, Office Depot, Belk, H&M, Ulta, Sears, Michaels and Mauricie\u2019s had all joined the fray, the Tampa Bay Times reported.So, what\u2019s the big deal? Well, for those who wish it were illegal to play Christmas songs early, there\u2019s a least some scientific proof. Clinical psychologists warned it could be detrimental to your mental health to listen to the same Christmas songs on repeat:In the end, it\u2019s not a federal crime to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving. Even if some people think it should be.Update 12/10/2019, 11:06am: This article has been revamped and updated. You can review the original here."}
{"claim_id": "7693", "claim": "At least seven missing in Alabama after deadly weekend tornadoes.", "explanation": "Alabama search and rescue teams on Tuesday were combing through the wreckage of houses flatted by weekend tornadoes, looking for seven or eight people still unaccounted for in the wake of the deadliest U.S. twister outbreak since 2013.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The tiny community of Beauregard, near the Alabama-Georgia border, was beginning to mourn the 23 people confirmed killed by the storms, which included four children and seven people from one family, officials said on Tuesday. The victims ranged in age from 6 to 93 years old, Bill Harris, coroner for storm-ravaged Lee County, told a morning news conference. \u201cJust keep these families in your prayers,\u201d Harris said. Most of the deceased were found in close proximity to their homes. The four children were age 6, 8, 9 and 10, officials said. County Sheriff Jay Jones said on Tuesday that search crews had narrowed their scope down to \u201cthe most affected areas\u201d after scouring much of the county on Monday. He said he hoped the search and rescue effort would become a recovery effort by the end of the day. U.S. President Donald Trump said he will visit the areas of Alabama that were devastated by the tornadoes on Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s been a tragic situation,\u201d Trump said at the White House before a ceremony on military veteran suicides. \u201cBut a lot of good work is being done. I\u2019m in constant touch with the governor and also the governor of Georgia.\u201d  The tornadoes, stirred up by a late-winter \u201csupercell\u201d thunderstorm, toppled mobile homes and uprooted massive trees on Sunday with 170 mile-per-hour (274 km-per hour) winds. Forecasters ranked the worst of the outbreak at step four of the six-step Enhanced Fujita scale of tornado strength. The Beauregard community in the twister\u2019s path might have had as few as eight or nine minutes to seek shelter from the time the warning was issued, National Weather Service chief meteorologist Chris Darden said. In addition to 23 confirmed deaths, more than 50 people were reported injured, authorities said, making this the deadliest tornado outbreak since a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, in May 2013, killing 24 people and injuring 375 others."}
{"claim_id": "2409", "claim": "New York City Council votes to add e-cigarettes to smoking ban.", "explanation": "The New York City Council voted to add electronic cigarettes to the city\u2019s strict smoking ban on Thursday, in what could be the latest of many anti-tobacco measures put in place by outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Bloomberg\u2019s detractors have derided him for trying to impose a \u201cnanny state\u201d in America\u2019s largest city, pointing to his bans on smoking, trans fats and the attempt to limit the sale of large sugary drinks. Public health advocates have applauded those same efforts. Only weeks after New York became the first major city to raise the legal age for buying tobacco to 21, the City Council voted 43-8 to add electronic cigarettes to the city\u2019s Smoke-Free Air Act. If the mayor signs the bill, which he is expected to do, smoking e-cigarettes - or \u201cvaping\u201d - would be prohibited at public and private venues such as beaches, parks, restaurants and office buildings after 120 days. City Council speaker, Christine Quinn, who sponsored the bill, said at a press conference on Thursday that the public use of e-cigarettes threatens to undermine enforcement of anti-smoking laws because their appearance is similar to traditional cigarettes and could \u201cre-normalize smoking in public places.\u201d  E-cigarettes are slim, reusable metal tubes that contain nicotine-laced liquid in a variety of exotic flavors such as bubble gum and bacon. As a \u201csmoker\u201d puffs on the device, the nicotine is heated and releases a vapor that, unlike cigarette smoke, contains no tar, which is known to cause cancer and other diseases. Critics of the law contend that such a ban would do more harm than good. Richard Carmona, a former U.S. Surgeon General and a current board member at NJOY, one of America\u2019s largest electronic cigarette manufacturers, sent a letter to the council recently to urge rejection of the bill. \u201cI\u2019m extremely concerned that a well-intentioned but scientifically unsupported effort like the current proposal to include electronic cigarettes in New York\u2019s current smoking ban, could constitute a giant step backward in the effort to defeat tobacco smoking,\u201d Carmona wrote. The debate over risks versus benefits of e-cigarettes is far from settled, but a study published recently in the British medical journal, The Lancet, said they are as effective as nicotine patches for smokers trying to kick the habit. Three states - Utah, North Dakota and New Jersey - have already passed legislation banning e-cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited."}
{"claim_id": "6932", "claim": "Officials: New California measles cases involve travelers.", "explanation": "Two people who returned to Southern California from overseas were infected with measles, health officials said Tuesday, emphasizing the travelers were not connected to other cases that prompted quarantines involving hundreds of people at two Los Angeles universities.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Los Angeles, University of California, Health, Measles, California, California State University, Public health", "main_text": "The latest case in Los Angeles County involves someone who arrived April 23 at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the county Department of Public Health. The person, who was not identified, is the sixth LA County resident to contract measles so far this year and one of more than 700 nationwide. Meanwhile, authorities said Orange County\u2019s first measles case of 2019 involve a woman in her 20s who recently returned from overseas. Word of the latest cases came as California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Los Angeles, announced that nearly all of the nearly 800 total students and staff members who recently came in contact with infected students had been released from quarantine. No quarantines were announced in the latest cases, but officials warned that people who were in the Los Angeles airport\u2019s international terminal or a nearby parking area may have come in contact with the infected person. Contact also might have occurred at a Home Depot store in suburban Lancaster. Measles symptoms include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash. Most people recover, but measles can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in some cases. Vaccinations administered in two doses are 97 percent effective, say health officials, who blame the increasing spread of the disease in recent years on people who are not vaccinated. Seventy people were still quarantined at Cal State-LA on Tuesday and 27 at UCLA. The UCLA quarantine was set to expire at the end of the day and at Cal State-LA on Thursday. Those already released had been vaccinated or were immune because they previously had the disease."}
{"claim_id": "33381", "claim": "A photograph shows an STD-related infection known as 'blue waffle disease.'", "explanation": "One common variation on the blue waffle myth is that it is an STI that passes exclusively from females to males and can be caused by improper hygiene. Perhaps this seems somewhat indicative of our society\u2019s tendency to blame, objectify, and vilify women.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Risqu\u00e9 Business, blue waffle disease, Medical Myths, sexually transmitted disease", "main_text": "In April 2013, New Jersey city councilperson Kathy McBride became the object of some derision when, according to the Trentonian, she reported at a city council meeting that she had received an \u201calarming call\u201d from a constituent who wanted to know \u201cwhat was the City of Trenton doing about an epidemic that\u2019s called the Blue Waffle Disease?\u201d McBride was mocked for taking the issue seriously and not recognizing that she had apparently been taken in by an April Fool\u2019s prank. References to \u201cBlue Waffle Disease\u201d hit the Internet around March 2010 when an image (disturbing image warning) of scabbed, blue-tinted labia was circulated along with the claim that the image pictured a type of vaginal infection resulting from a sexually transmitted disease (a condition which was supposedly common enough that it had been identified and given the slang name \u201cblue waffle disease\u201d): There is a rumor going around about a new STD called \u201cBlue Waffle.\u201d \u201cA \u2018waffle\u2019 is a slang term for a vagina. A \u2018blue waffle\u2019 is a slang term for a severe vaginal infection. It\u2019s basically a slang term for an extremely nasty or severe vaginal infection/STD on the vagina. The infection could cause lesions on the outside of the vagina, as well as bruising, which causes it to look blue in color.\u201d Much discussion ensured about whether the photograph was real or a digital manipulation, and, if the former, whether it really pictured an infection (rather than, say, bruising resulting from rape or some other form of trauma). Whatever the origins of the photo, \u201cblue waffle disease\u201d is a bit of fiction and not a known symptom or result of any type of STD-related infection. As reported in the Women\u2019s Health Foundation blog, Dr. Amy Whitaker, an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at the University of Chicago Hospital, said of the widely circulated \u201cblue waffles\u201d image that: There is no disease known as \u201cblue waffle disease,\u201d in the medical world. There is no disease that causes a blue appearance on the external genitalia. I had never heard of this until you wrote to our section and asked about it. The common belief among medical professionals with whom I have spoken or e-mailed about this is that it is a hoax; the picture and \u201cfake\u201d disease used to lure people into some web site. The picture itself is disturbing. It is possible that a bluish appearance to external genitalia could be from bruising, which could result from force, most likely from a sexual assault. I can\u2019t say, obviously, if that is the case here, but bruising certainly wouldn\u2019t be bright blue. No STDS cause external bruising. Additionally, there appears to be one or two lesions, which could be an STD of some sort (for example, a herpes lesion), although it is certainly not clear from the picture. It even appears that there might be some sort of laceration on her right labia, a \u201ccut\u201d of sorts, but again it\u2019s unclear. That could also be from force, or it could be an STD that presents with a lesion on the vulva. On the other hand, the entire thing could be \u2018photoshopped,\u2019 and nothing in it represents anything \u2018real.\u2019 In any case, this is not the typical appearance of any STD or any condition of the vagina or vulva. Columbia University\u2019s Go Ask Alice! Health column also notes that \u201cblue waffle disease\u201d is a hoax: \u201cBlue waffle,\u201d or \u201cblue waffle disease,\u201d is many things, but real is not one of them. It is an urban legend, a myth, a tall tale, a rumor, a hoax, etc. about a fictional sexually transmitted infection (STI). If you do an image search, you\u2019ll find (fake) pictures of blue waffle on the Internet. The blue refers to one of the alleged symptoms, and waffle is slang for vagina. Other supposed symptoms of blue waffle vary depending on the source and so does how it\u2019s spread, all of the details changing over time like a giant game of telephone. One reason the blue waffle myth may have spread so quickly is because of the fear and confusion surrounding STIs and sexual health. Symptoms associated with the imaginary blue waffle are reminiscent to symptoms of existing conditions or STIs. For example, a red or irritated vagina or vulva, smelly discharge, and itching or burning could all be signs of bacterial vaginosis (or vaginitis). Sores and lesions? Now it sounds more like herpes. Why blue? Perhaps this can be explained by the darker color of the clitoris and inner lips when increased blood flow due to arousal occurs in some women. Or perhaps a darker bluish color could be caused by a yeast infection or chronic irritation of the vulva, known as Lichen simplex."}
{"claim_id": "6871", "claim": "Surgeon fined $3K for removing kidney he thought was tumor.", "explanation": "The Florida Board of Medicine says a West Palm Beach surgeon has agreed to pay a $3,000 fine for removing a woman\u2019s healthy kidney that he thought was a tumor.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Tumors, Florida, West Palm Beach", "main_text": "The Palm Beach Post reports Ramon Vazquez was responsible for cutting Maureen Pacheco open in 2016 so two other surgeons could perform a back operation. Pacheco had a kidney that never ascended into her abdomen, and Vazquez believed it was a cancerous tumor near her pelvis and removed it without her consent. Vazquez has said that he didn\u2019t review her medical records before the surgery. Pacheco later sued the two primary doctors, who each settled for $250,000. Vazquez was also sued for malpractice and settled the case for a nominal amount. Vazquez must also attend training on preoperative patient evaluation. ___ Information from: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, http://www.pbpost.com"}
{"claim_id": "9167", "claim": "Allergan Reports Topline Phase II Data Supporting Advancement of BOTOX\u00ae (onabotulinumtoxinA) for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)", "explanation": "This news release from Allergan reports results of a phase II clinical trial of botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) as a treatment for major depressive disorder. The study compared effectiveness of two different dosages of botox with placebo in women for up to 24 weeks of treatment. The release states that the 30-unit\u00a0dose was superior to the placebo at three and nine weeks, but not at six weeks. The 50-unit dose was not superior to placebo. The heading claims\u00a0that the results support advancement of botox into larger phase lll trials, but further into the release we learn there was no statistically significant difference between treatment and placebo at the predetermined goal of six weeks. Additionally, the lower dose arm of the study\u00a0outperformed the higher dose. As written, the heading and some introductory material are misleading. With mental health concerns more and more in the spotlight of health policy in the United States, an effective treatment for depression would be important news. Current treatments for depression help about two-thirds of those with significant depression symptoms. A treatment with a different mechanism of action such as botox to help some treatment resistant patients would be a welcome addition to the therapeutic toolbox. However, this news release obscures the study results. Botox has already been promoted for \u201coff label\u201d use to treat depression for some time. HealthNewsReview.org has previously explored the marketing of botox for depression and other conditions.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Allergan,Botox,major depressive disorder", "main_text": "No mention is made of the cost of botox. GoodRx lists one 100-unit vial of botox selling for around $615 on average in the United States. We really don\u2019t have a good idea from the release of the degree of benefit. Some numbers provided trend towards statistical significance, but there is a big difference between statistical significance and clinical significance. How much of a change in these rating scales makes a difference to the way a patient is really feeling such that it makes a difference in their lives? Also the fact that one dose of the drug seemed to provide effects and the other higher dose didn\u2019t calls into question the whole idea of why botox may work for depression. The theory is that by paralyzing certain muscles in the face, botox affects emotions often reflected in those muscles. So shouldn\u2019t some benefit be present or comparable at the higher doses? No mention is made of possible negative side effects. According to MayoClinic.com, possible side effects include \u201cpain, swelling or bruising at the injection site, headache or flu-like symptoms, droopy eyelid or cockeyed eyebrows, crooked smile or drooling, eye dryness or excessive tearing.\u201d In rare cases, the effect of botulinum toxin can spread to other parts of the body and cause botulism-like signs and symptoms. Information is provided about the study design (a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single treatment study), the number of study volunteers (258 adult women), the proportion of people in each arm of the study, and the length of the trial. But the release seems to go to pretty significant lengths to conceal the fact that the primary outcome was negative. It introduces the results with the sentence: \u201cThe BOTOX\u00ae 30 U dose demonstrated numerically superior efficacy in MADRS total score compared to placebo.\u201d However, the release itself indicates that is\u00a0not true. At the predetermined endpoint of six weeks, there was no statistically significant difference between either dose of botox and the placebo groups. We also have concerns about the headline which announces that the results support advancement of botox for treatment of major depressive disorder. That\u2019s a stretch. Other outside experts have called these results mixed at best, unimpressive at worst. The release does not engage in disease mongering, but nor does it provide us with any context about major depressive disorder or describe how botox works to reduce depression symptoms. It is clearly stated that the study was funded by Allergan, the same company that produces botox. The article\u00a0makes no comparison between botox and\u00a0current treatments for depression so we\u2019re left wondering: what does botox bring to the table? How does its benefits compare with medication? Does botox have fewer side effects? Does it cost less than other therapies? Readers are given no context within which to interpret the news. No statement is made about the availability of botox, but readers can reasonably\u00a0assume that it will continue to be widely available. Allergan is not the first to test the effectiveness of single doses of botox to treat depression. Other researchers have conducted small, placebo-controlled studies with encouraging results, and a mention of the previous research should have been included in the release. The release doesn\u2019t rely on sensational language."}
{"claim_id": "9128", "claim": "Eating more vegetable protein may protect against early menopause", "explanation": "Australian officials took advantage of better weather on Monday to reopen roads blocked by wildfires and move some people to safety although thick smoke stalled rescue efforts and hundreds of people remained stranded.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "menopause,University of Massachusetts at Amherst", "main_text": "Fires have ravaged more than 8 million hectares (19.8 million acres) of land across the country, an area nearly the size of Austria, killing 25 people, destroying thousands of building and leaving some towns without electricity and mobile coverage. Police on Monday confirmed the death of a 71-year-old man on the south coast of New South Wales (NSW) state who was reported missing on Dec. 31. A second day of light rain and cool winds brought some relief from heat-fueled blazes that consumed parts of two states over the weekend, but officials warned the dangerous weather was expected to return this week. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said about 400 people were airlifted on Sunday out of Mallacoota, a small, coastal holiday town. \u201cWe had a plan to airlift another 300 out today. Sadly smoke means that is not possible,\u201d he said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has come under criticism for what opponents call his government\u2019s failure to tackle climate change, announced A$2 billion ($1.4 billion) over two years for a newly formed National Bushfire Recovery Agency. \u201cWhat we are focusing on here is the human cost and the rebuilding cost for people\u2019s lives,\u201d Morrison told reporters in Canberra. He said nearly 4,000 cattle and sheep have been killed in the fires. Countless wild animals have been killed. Dean Linton, a resident of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains, used the break in the immediate threat to his town to visit his wife and four children who had fled to Sydney. He also picked up a fire-fighting pump and generator to help him protect the family home. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fuel in that national park; it would only take one lightning strike,\u201d Linton told Reuters. The bushfire season started earlier than normal this year following a three-year drought that has left much of the country\u2019s bushland tinder-dry. GRAPHIC: A devastated east coast - here  Following are some highlights of what is happening:  * New Zealand Defence Force said the first of three air force helicopters being sent to help departed on Monday while the other two were expected over the next two days. * There were no emergency warnings in fire-ravaged states on Monday following the weather change. Two people were missing as 146 fires burned in New South Wales (NSW) but all were back at the \u201cadvice\u201d level, the lowest alert rating. * Victoria state had 39 fires with 13 \u201cwatch and act\u201d alerts. All missing people had been accounted for, authorities said. * About 67,000 people have left or been evacuated from fire-ravaged areas in Victoria, state Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said. * Victoria set up a Bushfire Recovery Agency, with initial funding of A$50 million. The recovery is expected to cost \u201ca lot more\u201d than A$500 million, state premier Andrews said. * Fire officials said light rain that has brought some relief posed problems for back-burning efforts to starve fires of fuel. * NSW state power distributor Essential Energy said its network had suffered \u201csignificant damage\u201d, with almost 24,000 customers without power. It might take a while to restore power to some areas because of the extent of damage and difficulty in gaining safe access, it said. Affected areas include Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast. * As conditions eased, the NSW fire service said residents of Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Eden, Pambula, Bermagui and villages to the north and south can now return though they need to monitor conditions. * Insurers have received 5,850 bushfire-related claims in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland since the Insurance Council declared a bushfire catastrophe on Nov. 8. * Losses are estimated at A$375 million since November, with a further A$56 million in insured property losses in September and October, the Insurance Council said. Figures do not include properties lost over the past 24 to 36 hours in areas such as the NSW Southern Highlands and south coast. * Accommodation provider Aspen Group (APZ.AX) said it expects a A$500,000 hit to both revenue and net operating income from the fires. * Canberra was running short of masks as smoke blanketed the capital, ACT emergency services said. The National Gallery of Australia said it was closed to protect visitors and art works. The government department responsible for coordinating disaster response also closed due to poor air quality. * Pictures on social media showed the city of Melbourne cloaked in thick smoke. * Actor Russell Crowe skipped Hollywood\u2019s Golden Globes ceremony, where he won an award for playing former Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes in the TV series \u201cThe Loudest Voice in the Room\u201d. Presenter Jennifer Aniston said Crowe stayed in Australia to protect his family from the fires and read remarks he had prepared in which he said the fires were \u201cclimate change based\u201d. * Prime Minister Morrison faced more criticism of his handling of the crisis. \u201cPoor political judgment is one thing. Competency is another thing altogether. This is the political danger zone Scott Morrison wants to avoid,\u201d Rupert Murdoch\u2019s the Australian newspaper, a supporter of the government, said in an article by the newspaper\u2019s national affairs editor. * Forty-one U.S. firefighters are in Victoria with a further 70 from Canada and the United States expected to join on Jan. 8, the Victoria Country Fire Authority said on Twitter."}
{"claim_id": "7192", "claim": "Reverend urges Lee to act during Nashville MLK Day event.", "explanation": "A civil rights leader gave an impassioned speech in front of thousands as he urged Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee and others in attendance to not just love Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s legacy but act.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Nashville, Universal health care, Tennessee, Medicaid, Martin Luther King Jr.", "main_text": "The Tennessean reports the Rev. William Barber II delivered a fiery and sometimes adversarial speech Monday in Nashville at an event honoring King. Barber is the co-chair of the Poor People\u2019s Campaign. Turning to directly address Lee and other elected officials, he said \u201cit is time to put down the partisanship and do what is right.\u201d Among other issues, Barber called for universal health care and a living wage for the poor. Lee is against expanding Medicaid in Tennessee and raising the minimum wage. A Lee spokesman says, \u201cFreedom allows for different opinions, and that is what makes this country the special place it is.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "26337", "claim": "Black cats in Vietnam are being killed and consumed as a COVID-19 cure.", "explanation": "Cats are eaten in Vietnam, but there is no evidence of widespread killing and consuming of black cats as a treatment for COVID-19. The news service that first published a story on the claim withdrew its story after questions were raised about how widespread any such practice is.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Animals, Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, South West News Service, ", "main_text": "Cats and dogs have long been\u00a0a\u00a0controversial\u00a0part of the cuisine for some in Vietnam. But a new claim circulating online says that people there are eating black cats as a treatment for COVID-19. Tabloid news sites including the Toronto Sun, the New York Post, the U.S. Sun and Vietnam Insider published stories saying black cats are being \"collected, killed and their bodies ground up as a supposed coronavirus treatment.\" Each of the stories in some way attributed its information to the South West News Service, which describes itself as a \"UK- and US-based news and media content agency with a proud 40-year history.\" These stories and other posts with the same claim were flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) With fewer than 300 reported cases and zero deaths, Vietnam has been highlighted for its response to COVID-19, which included strict quarantining and intensive testing. Much of the country has reopened, with children returning to school May 4. While Vietnam has grappled with real issues related to animal welfare, experts we spoke to say they haven\u2019t found widespread evidence that black cats are being killed and turned into a paste to treat COVID-19. The news service that generated the story said it has removed the article from circulation amid concerns about its credibility. Here\u2019s what we know. On April 17, The Sun, a tabloid in the United Kingdom and Ireland, published a story that reported on an investigation by an animal rights group called Four Paws. According to the story, the group said it examined dining app data and found that dog and cat meat sales were surging through dining app delivery services in Cambodia and Vietnam. The story surmised that \"doctors in the region are encouraging many to eat dog and cat meat, claiming its properties help fight off viruses.\" A week later, on April 23 and 24, stories credited to the South West News Service were published elsewhere that had a similar storyline, but took the claim further to suggest black cats are being singled out, turned into paste and consumed as medicine. Pictures credited to South West News Service accompanied some versions of the online stories. But the captions were vague and the images hard to verify. They included, for example, a photo of a baby drinking from a bottle that appears to contain a black substance. \"This distressing image shows a baby reportedly being fed the black cat concoction,\" the caption said. The stories\u2019 only source appeared to be the head of another charity, No to Dog Meat, based in London. We reached out to that group for evidence. They sent us to their YouTube account which includes four videos uploaded in April and May that claim in captions or titles to show cat mistreatment in Vietnam but which included no verifiable information about exactly where or when they were taken. Asked about the black cat claim, Cat Besch, founder and director of Hanoi-based Vietnam Animal Aid & Rescue, told PolitiFact she has seen \"zero evidence in Vietnam so far that this is true.\" Nam Nguyen, an editor in Vietnam with the government-run Vietnam News Agency, told PolitiFact \"the rumor has been around these weeks and originated from one post in Thailand social media, but as far as I know, Vietnamese are not so superstitious like other nations in southeast Asia to practice those ancient rites.\" He said the post has been deleted. Phuong Tham, director of Human Society International in Vietnam, told PolitiFact that black cats are being killed there \"by people with lack of knowledge, believing that black cats' bones can treat asthma in children, while others kill them for superstitious beliefs,\" but \"we have seen no evidence that black cats in Vietnam are being killed for COVID-19 treatment.\" Tham and Dr. Todd Pollack, Harvard University medical professor and country director in Hanoi of the Partnership for Health Advancement in Vietnam, said it is significant that they had not seen the claim reported by news organizations in Vietnam. VN Express, a newspaper in Vietnam, reported that on May 6, police in Nghe An province seized 630 kilograms of dog, cat carcasses and entrails of other animals from a passenger bus. The driver said the meat was being taken to Hanoi for consumption, according to the report. But the report contains no suggestion the meat was being used for treatment of coronavirus. When we reached out to South West News Service about the source of the information, the agency told PolitiFact that \"shortly after publication, we identified a number of issues with this story and pulled it from our service. We received new information which led us to doubt the widespread nature of the claims the charity had made on this issue.\" We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "6330", "claim": "Stanford catcher Handley\u2019s backup plan is career in medicine.", "explanation": "Last summer in the Cape Cod League, when most everybody else focused on baseball and nothing more, Maverick Handley carved out extra time to work toward his pre-med path and future after sports.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Baseball, General News, Medical schools, Sports", "main_text": "Observe a surgery in his spare time? Absolutely. Handley is a junior catcher at Stanford eligible for next week\u2019s amateur draft. His fallback plan is to attend medical school and become an orthopedic surgeon. At home in Colorado, Handley shadows doctors at every chance. He did the same while playing for Falmouth on the Cape. \u201cNo internships that were too serious where I was really getting my hands dirty and putting in some serious hours, but enough to where I\u2019m still getting exposure and making sure I\u2019m still interested,\u201d Handley says. \u201cIdeally I go out and play baseball forever, and when I\u2019m 40 I can be like, \u2018All right, what do I want to do with my life?\u2019 It\u2019s definitely stuff that interests me.\u201d All of the doctors he encounters encourage Handley to chase his baseball dream first, telling him, \u201cYou can always go back to medical school, you can\u2019t always play baseball.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s just kind of stuck with me,\u201d he says. For now, his focus is on a deep postseason run with the Cardinal. Handley is hitting .291 with two home runs, 13 doubles, three triples and 19 RBIs for 11th-seeded Stanford going into this weekend\u2019s NCAA Regional at home in Sunken Diamond. On Wednesday, he was named Pac-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year and to the all-conference team after leading the Pac-12 with seven pickoffs. Handley threw out 10 baserunners attempting steals. Somehow, with all the demands of being a Stanford student-athlete majoring in bioengineering, Handley has created an impressive balance. His 3.78 GPA is tied for the highest on the Pac-12 All-Academic team announced Thursday. A three-hour lab each Wednesday last season meant Handley couldn\u2019t practice with the rest of his Stanford teammates those nights. He showed up in the mornings to get in all his work \u2014 hitting, throwing, conditioning. \u201cPart of what makes, I don\u2019t want to say our program, but Stanford athletics great is we are willing to adjust to the kid as much as we can. We understand what an unbelievable opportunity it is for these kids to go to school,\u201d says Cardinal assistant coach Jack Marder, who guides the catchers. \u201cIf he\u2019s trying to be an orthopedic surgeon and we\u2019re going to get in the way of that so he can make baseball practice, to me that\u2019s ridiculous, so we\u2019re going to find a way, any way we can, to still develop him as a player with allowing him to do what he needs to do from the academic side of it. My obligation is just to be available to him.\u201d Everyone who knows Handley figures if it were possible he would probably pack even more into his busy schedule. That includes mentoring at Palo Alto High School near Stanford\u2019s campus. \u201cI think he probably wishes there were more hours in the day,\u201d Stanford pitching coach Thomas Eager says. \u201cHe likes to stay busy and I think he\u2019s one of those guys who wishes he could do more stuff. He\u2019s quite a remarkable young man how he goes about his business and how mature he is. He\u2019s always thinking about the next thing. I know he wants to be a big leaguer and that\u2019s what he wants to do, but I think it\u2019s really cool to hear him say, \u2018When baseball\u2019s over, I can still be a doctor and I\u2019m ready to be a doctor.\u2019\u201d The coaches challenged Handley to become a more consistent hitter this season, and he has emerged as one of the steady bats in Stanford\u2019s lineup to complement his strong defense. Eager has never had a catcher he let call pitches, something Handley gets to do sometimes. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen Maverick Handley ever be overwhelmed,\u201d Eager says. \u201cHe\u2019s never been overwhelmed with anything he\u2019s done. I think it\u2019s just part of his DNA. A lot of that is due to how his parents probably raised him, his work ethic. I\u2019ve never seen him complain and quite frankly you wouldn\u2019t know how much is on his plate because he doesn\u2019t really tell you. He doesn\u2019t make excuses, it\u2019s never like he\u2019s tired and he\u2019s never asking for shortcuts. Unless you ask him or people tell you, you really don\u2019t know how much stuff that kid is doing off the field. It\u2019s quite amazing.\u201d Handley\u2019s mother, Jill, is a certified nursing assistant who cares for his 7-year-old brother with autism. Knox is a first-grader in an inclusive classroom. \u201cHe\u2019s grown so much, which is awesome,\u201d Handley says. Handley came to Stanford with a plan and made sure to get his academic adviser on board from Day 1. \u201cHonestly, it hasn\u2019t been that difficult, which is great,\u201d he says of doing it all. \u201cJust some amount of mass hours of just putting in the work.\u201d A broken ankle suffered during his sophomore year of high school helped spark his interest in medicine. He has observed a half-dozen or so surgeries. \u201cIf you\u2019ve never been in a hospital or in a surgery you don\u2019t have any exposure to it and you\u2019re not going to really know what it\u2019s like or why you\u2019d be interested in it besides people saying \u2018doctors make a lot of money,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cIt was a pretty cool experience.\u201d Handley intends to use offseason breaks to focus on his next career, with plans to return to Stanford in the fall to finish his degree. \u201cOnce he knows what he wants to do, he just makes it so that it\u2019s impossible for him not to do it,\u201d Marder says. \u201cI think the reason why he\u2019s interested in surgery or the medical field, I think he looks at it and goes \u2018I can make a huge impact on this and it\u2019s exciting for me, it\u2019s fun and it challenges me, so why not see if I can do it?\u2019 For the backup plan of it, I think that he\u2019s always thinking, \u2018How can I maximize myself as a person first?\u2019 versus it being, \u2018I have this pressure on me to maximize what other people want from me.\u2019\u201d ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports"}
{"claim_id": "30278", "claim": "John and Carole Paladino were slated to testify before a grand jury as part of an investigation against HIllary Clinton before they died in an explosion in July 2018.", "explanation": "Given that John Paladino worked at a funeral home and Carole Paladino was a retired school nurse, it\u2019s unlikely that either of them would have been testifying before a grand jury about the operations of a large pharmaceutical company. Moreover, prosecutors in Gloucester County have told news outlets (and reiterated to us) that foul play is not suspected in the Paladinos\u2019 deaths, so any \u201cnews\u201d story attempting to link their demise to a deliberate and furtive criminal plot to keep the couple from testifying against Hillary Clinton is merely another iteration of the \u201cClinton body bag\u201d rumor that has been disseminated online since Clinton\u2019s husband, Bill, was president back in the 1990s.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News", "main_text": "Within 24 hours of the deaths of a New Jersey couple, dubious web sites seized on the tragedy as fodder for their latest round of conspiracy theory-driven content. On 7 July 2018, 72-year-old Carole Paladino and her 73-year-old husband Jon Paladino were killed when their Newfield, New Jersey, home exploded. The next day conspiracy-minded sites, citing \u201c4Chan and 8Chan users,\u201d published stories promoting the claim that Carole Paladino, a retired school nurse, was \u201cdue to testify\u201d in a grand jury investigation against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:  The dubious alleged connection here is a two-year old controversy over Mylan Pharmaceuticals (who donated somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation) having increased the price of EpiPens by more than 400% over the course of several years \u2014 something Hillary Clinton herself criticized the company over: \u201cOver the last several years, Mylan Pharmaceuticals has increased the price of EpiPens by more than 400%. They\u2019re now charging up to $600 for a two-EpiPen set that must be replaced every 12-18 months. This both increases out-of-pocket costs for families and first responders, and contributes to higher premiums for all Americans and their employers,\u201d Clinton said in a statement released to reporters by her campaign. \u201cThat\u2019s outrageous \u2014 and it\u2019s just the latest troubling example of a company taking advantage of its consumers \u2026 [I]t\u2019s wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them"}
{"claim_id": "22073", "claim": "Next year, \"you will be mandated by federal law to get rid of your existing light bulbs.", "explanation": "Conservative group claims new law would require people to throw away existing light bulbs and replace with more efficient ones", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Energy, Regulation, Chain email, ", "main_text": "A fundraising letter making the rounds from a conservative political action committee draws a political line in the sand over light bulbs. The letter, circulated by AmeriPAC, a political action committee that largely supports conservative Republican candidates, claims President Barack Obama is \"banning\" incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent lighting. It includes a lengthy letter purported to be written by Ron Arnold of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise Action Fund. \"A silly little light bulb is merely a small piece of the larger puzzle of global socialism that he feels is his agenda to enslave the American people -- and to choke Americans from a free enterprise system!\" the letter states. The letter seeks contributions and support for S.B. 395, the Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act, sponsored by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., which seeks to repeal the light bulb efficiency standards included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. We're writing about several claims in the letter, but here, we wanted to set the record straight on one of its worst inaccuracies. \"Next year your light bulbs will be obsolete,\" the letter reads. \"You will be mandated by federal law to get rid of your existing light bulbs.\" A few paragraphs later, the letter hits on the same idea, stating, \"Next year you will be required to trade in -- whoops...throw away...your trusty incandescent light bulbs so you will supposedly be 'environmentally-safe' with much more expensive Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs).\" Sec. 321 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 spells out the new standards for light bulbs, essentially requiring them to be 25 percent more efficient. The idea is that, over time, more efficient light bulbs will replace older, less efficient ones. But there is nothing in the bill that requires you to get rid of the light bulbs you've got. Rather, the bill sets standards for new light bulbs \"manufactured or imported\" to the United States. Just to be sure, we asked Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy, who said, \"The standards apply to bulbs being imported or manufactured after the standards go into effect.\" Not only can people keep using their existing bulbs, she said, stores can continue to sell the old ones -- even after the new standards are in place -- until they are sold out. \"There are no energy police coming to your home to make you remove your light bulbs,\" scoffed Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. We asked Arnold of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise Action Fund, who is purported to have penned the letter, about the claim. Initially, Arnold told us \"that's probably not a very good way to put that. I could have been more careful with that.\" Then he said he didn't recall including such a phrase in his letter at all. When we sent him a copy of the letter we received, he said it was \"an earlier version that was sent out by AmeriPAC, which had no reason to believe it was wrong in any part.\" Arnold attached another version of the letter, the one he said CDFE sent out, and it words the claim a little more carefully: \"Democrats in Congress have mandated that you must give up using traditional light bulbs all because environmentalists believed that traditional light bulbs caused global warming.\" But we're fact-checking the earlier version from AmeriPAC because it was widely circulated and spread even further via chain e-mail. The claim that next year, \"you will be mandated by federal law to get rid of your existing light bulbs,\" has no basis in fact. It amounts to a manufactured, baseless charge."}
{"claim_id": "5581", "claim": "UMass: More than 5,000 vaccinated after meningitis outbreak.", "explanation": "The University of Massachusetts has vaccinated more than 5,000 students during a mass meningitis vaccination program at its Amherst campus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Meningitis", "main_text": "A UMass spokesman tells The Republican the number of people vaccinated during the four-day clinic that ended Tuesday brings the total amount of students vaccinated this fall to about 7,040. The school scheduled the program after federal health officials determined that two recent cases of the disease at the school should be considered an outbreak. One student was diagnosed with a variant of the disease on Oct. 24, and a second was diagnosed last month. The first student remains hospitalized. The second has been released. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that because the two cases originated from a single strain of genetically identical organisms it should be considered an outbreak."}
{"claim_id": "8972", "claim": "Innovative triple pill significantly lowers blood pressure, study finds", "explanation": "This news release does a nice job of explaining the basic design of a study investigating whether a once-daily \u201ctriple pill\u201d (that combines 3 different blood pressure-lowering medications) is more effective in lowering blood pressure than doctors\u2019 usual approach. But there\u2019s plenty of room for improvement here including: presenting the findings in a more meaningful context for patients, including the substantial adverse outcomes noted by the researchers, and using much more toned down language for results that are neither novel or all that significant. Notably, there is a significant financial conflict of interest involving the authors. This should have been made clear to readers. The global importance of poorly controlled high blood pressure is well-stated by the authors in the introduction to their study published in JAMA (paraphrased): High blood pressure is the leading cause of mortality and cardiovascular disease globally with most of the disease burden occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The availability and affordability of medications is a critical issue. About one-third of individuals with high blood pressure in these settings receive treatment. Only about half of patients treated in high-income countries and about 1-in-4 patients in low- and middle-income countries achieve blood pressure control. A fixed low-dose combination therapy with inexpensive blood pressure-lowering drugs has the potential to address several barriers to improve blood pressure control worldwide. Indeed, there\u2019s significant need for a simple-to-take, effective, and affordable medication to address this issue. If successful, the benefits to patients, and the profits for developers, would be massive.", "label": "false", "subjects": "George Institute for Global Health,High blood pressure", "main_text": "The cost of the three-in-one pill is not mentioned. Two similar pills already on the market (Tribenzor and Exforge HCT). They\u2019re also once-daily pills combining an angiotensin II receptor blocker + calcium channel blocker + thiazide diuretic. They both have a retail price of approximately $10 a pill, or $300 per month [Source: Drugs.com]. The target blood pressure (BP) for this study was below 140/90 (or below 130/80 in patients with diabetes or chronic kidney disease). The news release states that: \u201c70% (of subjects) reached blood pressure targets with the \u2018Triple Pill\u2019, compared to just over half receiving normal care.\u201d (Normal or usual care is defined in the release as \u201ctheir doctor\u2019s choice of blood pressure lowering medication.\u201d) It should have been made more clear this was measured after 6 months in the study. And as a result, the effect on cardiovascular (CV) risk reduction of the combination is unknown. One of the goals of the approach using reduced dosage is to reduce the likelihood of side effects, but the side\u00a0 effects reported in the study were not mentioned in the news release, and include: Overall, 419 adverse events in 255 patients (about 38% for the triple pill and 35% for usual care) Of note, both groups experienced similar rates of musculoskeletal pain (roughly 7%), but the triple pill group had much more dizziness and fainting (5.2% vs. 2.8%) as well. It should have been mentioned that combination antihypertensive (blood pressure lowering) medications are well known to have dozens of \u201cmajor\u201d drug interactions, and can also cause swelling and metabolic disturbances. We were glad to see that the basic study design was included: 700 patients randomized to either receive the triple pill or usual care, with an average patient age of 56 years old, and a mean baseline blood pressure of 154/90. This qualifies as \u201cmild\u201d hypertension. But it should have been made clear that while reduced blood pressure is a goal it is a surrogate goal. The real target of blood pressure reduction is reduced cardiovascular (CV) event rates. As we learned from previous research (ALLHAT trial), drugs that reduce blood pressure equally are not all created equally with regard to CV risk reduction. A finding that should have been included in the news release is that \u2014 after 6 months of treatment \u2014 the triple pill group achieved a mean BP = 125/76 vs. the usual care a mean BP = 134/81. That\u2019s clinically relevant for two reasons. First, it clearly shows the difference in systolic blood pressure achieved by the triple pill group compared to the usual care group is only 9 mm of mercury. Not very clinically significant at the individual level, and arguably a modest achievement at the population level. Finally, it would have been useful to note, as the authors noted in the study, that since the research was conducted in Sri Lanka, with its unique health system and culture, the results may not be generalized to Western, industrialized countries. There is no disease-mongering here and a target blood pressure of <140/90 would be considered appropriate by many medical societies. It provides some context in terms of goals to reduce high blood pressure globally. Although this is mentioned \u2026 The study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia \u2026 what\u2019s not mentioned is that the two lead authors quoted in the news release both receive a salary from George Health Enterprises (GHE is the product commercialization arm of The George Institute for Global Health). According to disclosures cited in the published study: George Health Enterprises has received investment funds to develop fixed-dose combination products containing aspirin, statin, and blood pressure-lowering drugs and has submitted a patent for the treatment of hypertension The news release calls the pill \u201cinnovative\u201d and says it \u201ccould transform the way blood pressure is treated around the world\u201d \u2026 but it fails to mention that combination blood pressure-lowering medications have been around for decades. And, as mentioned above, there are some once-daily \u201ctriple pills\u201d already on the market. It\u2019s implied (but not made very clear for readers) that the pill is in trials and, therefore, not commercially available. Despite the fact that other combination blood pressure-lowering medications are available (but not mentioned), the headline and first paragraph of this news release suggest novelty. That\u2019s potentially misleading for readers. An editorial accompanying the study put this research in context in terms of what has been learned previously: The TRIUMPH investigators have demonstrated the effects of a promising intervention in a triple half-dose combination therapy, which logically extends findings from prior research to improve BP control among patients with mild to moderate hypertension. This study contributes to the existing literature demonstrating the essential role of fixed-dose combination therapy as a viable strategy for BP control on a global scale. This framing is premature, not supported by the study, and therefore unjustified: Could transform the way high blood pressure is treated around the world \u2026 expected the findings will change guidelines globally \u2026 a major advance."}
{"claim_id": "25972", "claim": "On COVID-19, Donald Trump said that \u201cmaybe if you drank bleach you may be okay.\u201d", "explanation": "Joe Biden said President Donald Trump told Americans that drinking bleach could help combat the coronavirus, but that\u2019s not correct. Trump did not explicitly recommend ingesting a disinfectant like bleach. But he did express interest in exploring whether disinfectants could be applied to the site of a coronavirus infection inside the body, such as the lungs. Responding to confusion over Trump\u2019s comments, the maker of Lysol said in a statement that \"under no circumstance\" should its products be used in the human body.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Elections, Pennsylvania, Joe Biden, ", "main_text": "Joe Biden criticized President Donald Trump\u2019s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying during a speech on the economy that Trump had given up trying to manage a crisis he\u2019s ill equipped to solve. \"And when it comes to COVID-19, after months of doing nothing, other than predicting the virus would disappear, or maybe if you drank bleach you may be okay, Trump has simply given up,\" said Biden, who delivered his remarks at a metalworks factory near his hometown of Scranton on Thursday. Trump spoke about the role he thought disinfectants could play in tackling an infection caused by the virus during a now infamous April 23 briefing. But he didn\u2019t say people should drink bleach. His comments came after William Bryan, the undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, presented a study that found sun exposure and cleaning agents like bleach can kill the virus when it lingers on surfaces. Trump remarked on the effectiveness of those methods and wondered if they could help address infections in the human body. Here are his full comments: \"A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you\u2019re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposedly we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it\u2019s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn\u2019t been checked, but you\u2019re going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. (To Bryan) And I think you said you\u2019re going to test that, too. Sounds interesting, right?\" He continued. \"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it\u2019d be interesting to check that, so that you\u2019re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we\u2019ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That\u2019s pretty powerful.\" Later, Trump clarified his comments after a reporter asked Bryan whether disinfectants could actually be injected into COVID-19 patients. \"It wouldn\u2019t be through injections, almost a cleaning and sterilization of an area. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn\u2019t work, but it certainly has a big effect if it\u2019s on a stationary object.\" Trump did not explicitly recommend ingesting a disinfectant like bleach. Nevertheless, his remarks led some companies and state agencies to issue warnings about ingesting disinfectants. The maker of Lysol said in a statement that \"under no circumstance\" should its products be used in the human body. The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment about what evidence the former vice president relied on when he claimed the president suggested Americans drink bleach to combat the virus. Biden said Trump said drinking bleach could help fight the coronavirus. Trump did not specifically recommend ingesting disinfectants, but he did express interest in exploring whether disinfectants could be applied to the site of a coronavirus infection inside the body, such as the lungs."}
{"claim_id": "35563", "claim": "Viral text accurately outlines how biotechnology company Moderna is linked to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, George Soros, and Jeffrey Epstein.", "explanation": "For the \u201cIs this true?\u201d record, we note the following:", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "In mid-2020, the American biotechnology company Moderna received prominent news coverage about their efforts to develop a vaccine to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. At that time, internet users were circulating a bit of text tying Moderna to infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Hungarian-born financier George Soros, and American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, figures who previously had all been the subjects of various baseless conspiracy theories. The text linking Moderna with all of these public figures and implying they were involved in some nebulous but nefarious plot appeared to have been a completely tongue-in-cheek spoof of groundless conspiracy theories, but many readers who skimmed it at least wondered if it might have at least some substance to it:  The vaccine that is coming\u2026 As many of you heard Moderna is in stage 3 of their vaccine testing. If all goes well it\u2019ll become federal law to get the vaccine. Here\u2019s something many of you don\u2019t know,  guess who the first CEO of Moderna was? A Cornell graduate by the name of Anthony Fauci, who was a roommate with none other than Bill Gates. Are you paying attention? It was at Cornell that Bill Gates designed the RFID (Radio-frequency identification) and patented it under US2006257852. Are you awake yet? Now let\u2019s really go down the rabbit hole. Moderna was a pharmaceutical company that started in Germany under the name IG Farben. IG Farben is infamous for it\u2019s mass production of Zyklon-B, the primary gas used to kill millions during the Holocaust. After Germany fell, IG Farben was dissolved and its assets sold off by a Nazi turned American by the name of, you guessed it, George Soros. Soros rebranded the company as Moderna. And who was the primary stockholder of Moderna until his death? Jeffrey Epstein. His role in Moderna is where he made his fortune and established his connections. Let that sink in. Wake up people! You are being conditioned and controlled."}
{"claim_id": "37510", "claim": "Image shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pierced nipples in a white polo shirt.", "explanation": "Andrew Cuomo\u2019s Pierced Nipples, Explained", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On March 31 2020, a bored-in-quarantine internet turned its attention to a state governor getting national attention, and decided a photograph showed Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s \u201cpierced nipples.\u201dA post to Reddit\u2019s r/TIHI (\u201cthanks, I hate it\u201d) went particularly viral, and and appended photograph of Cuomo (the governor of the state of New York) in the standard lawmaker disaster attire of a white polo shirt appeared to give away Cuomo\u2019s nipple piercings:Thanks I hate governor Cuomos pierced nipples from TIHIIncidentally, post flair on the entry read \u201cDude\u2019s a hero.\u201d This is quite a claim, so we will take it piece by piece.The White Polo ShirtState governors typically appear in public in suits and ties or pearls, rarely \u201cdressing down\u201d except for on-the-ground emergencies. After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came to similar national notoriety after working overtime for his state.During that round of press coverage, Christie frequently wore a similarly-logoed fleece pullover. So iconic was Christie\u2019s attire in the weeks after Sandy, he appeared on\u00a0Saturday Night Live and made fun of (among other things) his own outfits:Christie thanked the Red Cross and first responders. He also thanked his wife, who he said has put up with \u201ca husband who has smelled like a wet fleece for the last three weeks.\u201d\u201cYou have been wearing that fleece a lot,\u201d Seth Meyers noted.\u201cOh yeah, it\u2019s basically fused to my skin at this point,\u201d Christie quipped later adding, \u201cI\u2019m going to die in this fleece.\u201dChristie\u2019s fleece (and Cuomo\u2019s white polo shirt) are examples of nonverbal communication and the sort of symbol that subtly arises in times of national distress. Even governors, who normally take time to dress for the occasion, have bigger fish to fry than wearing suits can handle.The zoom inThe photograph of \u201cAndrew Cuomo\u2019s pierced nipples\u201d didn\u2019t just spread on Reddit. Over on Twitter, the same image was shared with similar captioning:I may be confidentbut I\u2019m not \u201cAndrew Cuomo exposing his pierced nipples during a pandemic press conference\u201d confident\ud83d\ude14 pic.twitter.com/WVSoRKu9Oa\u2014 Rogan O\u2019Handley \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@DC_Draino) March 31, 2020Notably,\u00a0that photograph was not the same as the one shared to Facebook. Cuomo\u2019s facial expression differed \u2014 so was this proof positive Andrew Cuomo\u2019s nipple piercings were on unintentional full display?This tweet read:I may be confident but I\u2019m not \u201cAndrew Cuomo exposing his pierced nipples during a pandemic press conference\u201d confident\ud83d\ude14Nipple height, jewelry, and Gov. CuomoAs several people pointed out, if those bilateral protrusions were, in fact, nipple rings, they were pretty low on his pectorals. At this point, we are really loath to point out that the design of some nipple rings is such that the ball-clasped edges do fall lower than the pierced appendage, but in the interest of fact-checking we will do so. Although the image below is jeweled and feminine nipple jewelry, you get the idea:Although New York State has its share of beaches, we were unable to locate a photograph of Andrew Cuomo without a shirt.A different theorySecurity protocols for notable politicians tend to be kept close to the vest (no pun intended), because public knowledge of what they might be (and thus their weaknesses) defeats their purpose. That said, Cuomo had been\u00a0publicly feuding with United States President Donald Trump over COVID-19 preparedness and federal aid \u2014 or more specifically, the lack thereof.In fact, pointed comments made by Trump at a March 2020 Fox News Town Hall were widely interpreted as aimed at Andrew Cuomo specifically:Did the President of the United States Tell Governors Seeking Ventilators That Favors Are \u2018a Two-Way Street\u2019?In that light, a perhaps more relevant theory was floated about \u201cAndrew Cuomo\u2019s pierced nipples\u201d \u2014 that the protrusions, too low to be near his nipples, were in fact the buckles of a bulletproof vest:Bulletproof vests come in many variations and with various purposes; the one depicted above is likely for quasi-military applications. Police officers are often seen wearing black kevlar bulletproof vests, all designed to protect the wearer from gunshots to center body mass.Other vests of the sort have velcro fastenings, and some have plastic, clickable buckles.Our conclusionLook, the COVID-19 pandemic is a rough time for many Americans and New Yorkers in particular, and if the thought of Andrew Cuomo\u2019s pierced nipples make this pandemic in any way more bearable, we have no desire to take that from you.Following on from that, nipple piercings and bulletproof vests are not mutually exclusive; who are we do say Cuomo doesn\u2019t have both Kevlar and pierced nipples? And maybe something else that we haven\u2019t even considered yet? Then again, secrecy around security protocols are such that Cuomo is probably best served by the nipple piercing story.But once again, the \u201cAndrew Cuomo\u2019s pierced nipples\u201d photos depicted protrusions which were quite low relative to his chest, and he was probably already aware that white polo shirts were less preferable than, say, navy blue ones for hiding anything beneath them. The best we can do is mark this\u00a0Unknown, with the caveat that Andrew Cuomo\u2019s \u201cnipple piercings\u201d were probably Kevlar straps or buckles."}
{"claim_id": "41032", "claim": "If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold.", "explanation": "These are the symptoms for the common cold, but they don\u2019t rule out Covid-19.", "label": "false", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold. These are the symptoms for the common cold, but they don\u2019t rule out Covid-19. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose. Some Covid-19 patients do get pneumonia, and one of the symptoms is a dry cough. A runny nose doesn\u2019t rule out Covid-19. The new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun. There\u2019s no evidence for this. There\u2019s evidence that similar viruses transmit less well in the heat, but many countries with reported Covid-19 cases are experiencing temperatures higher than this. If someone with the new coronavirus sneezes, it travels about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne. Environmental factors impact how far droplets from a sneeze can travel, but it is likely to be several metres. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours - so if you come into contact with any metal surface - wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap. It\u2019s not yet known exactly how long the virus survives on surfaces. It can survive for 6-12 hours on fabric and will be killed by normal laundry detergent . There\u2019s no evidence the virus can survive in clothing and be transmitted this way. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice. There\u2019s no evidence that the temperature of liquids consumed can protect you from viruses. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes. There is no evidence yet on how long the virus can survive on the skin. But it is important to regularly wash your hands. You should gargle as a prevention with salt in warm water. There\u2019s no evidence this will prevent or cure the virus. Covid-19 starts with a sore throat lasting 3-4 days. It then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and the lungs, causing pneumonia, which takes about 5 or 6 days. With pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty breathing. The nasal congestion makes you feel like you\u2019re drowning. This is a roughly accurate description of the most common symptoms, although not everyone with Covid-19 gets pneumonia. The symptoms may not come in this order or at these times. There have been no reports of sufferers experiencing nasal congestion that makes them feel they are drowning. Claim 1 of 11"}
{"claim_id": "31121", "claim": "NGOs like Doctors Without Borders are profiting from human smuggling in the Mediterranean Sea.", "explanation": "We found no evidence to support the claim that these NGOs are involved in illicit smuggling or trafficking activities. Although allegations has been leveled by critics that their presence encourages migrants to make the dangerous Mediterranean crossing and Italian authorities have at least twice investigated accusations of illegal activities, no concrete proof has appeared. Organizations like Frontex and the United Nations stress that the non-governmental organizations\u2019 role in saving lives is crucial.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Uncategorized, alt-right, defend europe, europe", "main_text": "In mid-July 2017, a group of young adults from Europe and North America chartered a boat and set out on a mission (named \u201cDefend Europe\u201d) in which their stated goal was to block migrants making the dangerous sea crossing from Libya to Italy into Europe. Their plan involved blocking rescue ships operated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to prevent those migrants from drowning. Defend Europe\u2019s pretext is their claim that the charities are profiting off illicit human smuggling or trafficking, which has become endemic in the migratory route. For example,\u00a0Martin Sellner, a representative from the group, told Reuters at the Sicilian port city of Catania on 21 July 2017: There is a difference between saving lives and smuggling people to Europe. What they are doing in fact is making millions of dollars for human trafficking rings. We have found absolutely no evidence to suggest the NGOs involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean are enriching themselves with smuggling, although this is a popular conspiracy theory among anti-immigrant groups angry at the high number of people making the journey into Europe. Defend Europe did not respond to questions we sent them asking for proof of their accusation, but they appear to be conflating the fact that while smugglers are involved in putting people on dangerous vessels and sending them out to sea, NGOs are rescuing migrants from these conditions, not profiting from them. Although the NGOs have been accused of creating a \u201cpull\u201d, or at least a link in transit for stranded migrants headed to Europe, they have not ever been officially accused of criminal smuggling or trafficking. There are eight NGOs operating rescue ships on the Mediterranean, including M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (Doctors Without Borders, known best by the French acronym MSF); SOS M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e (France); Save the Children; Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) (Malta);\u00a0Proactiva Open Arms (Spain); and the German groups\u00a0Sea-Watch, Sea-Eye and Jugend Rettet. Izabella Cooper, spokeswoman for the European Union border management agency Frontex, told us in an e-mailed statement: I would like to make it very clear that Frontex has never accused the NGOs of collusion. Saving lives is an international obligation for all those who operate at sea. The smugglers operating in Libya are taking advantage of this. Frontex has noted an important change in the way the smugglers operating in Libya run their dirty business since 2014: (1) The Search and rescue area has changed in the past: while in 2011 the boats were arriving all the way to Lampedusa, in 2014 the SAR area was half way between Italy and Libya, in 2016 and 2017 SAR area moved to the limit of the Libyan territorial waters. (2) The number of people travelling on board of the dinghies has increased: While\u00a0in 2014 smugglers put on average 90 persons on board of a 10-meter-long dinghies,\u00a0in 2016 and in 2017 we see as many as 170 travelling on boats of the same size. (3) The quality of the materials from which the boats are made has dramatically\u00a0worsened in\u00a0the past 2 years \u2014 the rubber is thinner and the boats made of one chamber\u00a0now (used to be thicker and made of multiple chambers). (4) While in 2014 the quantity of fuel was sufficient for the boats to make longer journeys, now the fuel is only sufficient for the boats to leave the Libyan territorial waters. The same is\u00a0valid for the drinking water and food. (5) Furthermore, recently we have also noticed that the smugglers\u00a0remove the engines from the boats\u00a0when they see a rescue boat nearby leaving the boat full of people adrift and in danger, in order to re-use the\u00a0engine for another trip. The Italian coast guard on 2 August 2017 seized the\u00a0Iuventa, a ship operated by the German NGO Jugend Rettet, on suspicion of aiding illegal immigration, and accused the crew of having contact with smugglers. However, Italian authorities stopped short of saying the NGO had colluded with smugglers for financial benefit, saying they believe the motivation was \u201cexclusively humanitarian\u201d. A previous investigation concluded in May 2017 by Catania\u2019s chief prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro\u00a0also found no evidence that the humanitarian groups were or are receiving illicit money from smugglers. The Defend Europe group, which is part of the white nationalist \u201cIdentitarian\u201d movement, crowdfunded nearly USD$200,000 by way of notorious Internet troll Chuck C. Johnson\u2019s web site WeSearchr to hire a Mongolian-flagged boat called the C-Star\u00a0to carry out their mission \u2014\u00a0although it\u2019s unclear what they are doing. According to media reports, they had been detained at least twice, once by authorities at the Suez Canal and again in Cyprus, where they lost five Sri Lankan members of the ship\u2019s crew who disembarked and then immediately applied for asylum. Meanwhile, Enzo Bianco, mayor of Catania, has asked authorities to block the ship from docking in that city\u2019s port because he feared their presence would further inflame an already tense situation. Defend Europe did not respond to our questions, which included a query about their current location and where they planned to travel, but posted videos in several European languages of themselves aboard the boat\u00a0on 3 August 2017. Of all the routes that migrants cross globally, the Mediterranean via Libya is by far the deadliest. Yet hundreds of thousands are making that journey to Europe and are expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. They come from a mixture of mainly Middle Eastern and African countries for a variety of reasons, according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report; some flee violence or conflict from war-torn places like Syria to seek asylum, while others are looking for better economic prospects. Others still are victims of human trafficking or environmental crises that drive them from their home regions. The instability and general lawlessness in Libya that currently prevails creates fertile ground for human smugglers, who pack people onto increasingly dangerous vessels. As many as 950 people are believed to have died in 2015 when one such vessel capsized. NGOs took on a high profile role in pulling people to safety after the Italian navy shuttered a short-lived but successful rescue operation known as \u201cMare Nostrum\u201d (\u201cOur Sea\u201d in Latin) that ran from October 2013 to October 2014, but was cut due to lack of support from other European Union countries. Mare Nostrum was initially launched in response to public outcry over a shipwreck that killed more than 300 people near the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013. When that program ended, aid agency MSF \u2014\u00a0a 45-year-old NGO that brings doctors and medical personnel to crisis areas \u2014\u00a0took up the mission along with Frontex, which provided search and rescue resources (but at a fraction of the budget of Mare Nostrum). Other aid groups also joined in. MSF spokeswoman Sandra Murillo told us: MSF currently has two boats actively searching for boats in distress in international waters north of Libya: MV Aquarius run in in partnership with SOS MEDITERRANEE, and Prudence. MSF medical teams onboard treat violence-related injuries linked to detention, torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence, that people experienced in Libya. Medics treat skin diseases, dehydration, hypothermia, scabies and serious injuries such as chemical burns caused by fuel mixing with sea water in the boats. Pregnant women are cared for by midwives onboard and several babies have been born safely at sea. Lifesaving emergency care is also provided in emergency rooms on the boats or through medical evacuations, when needed. In the first six months of 2017, NGOs have completed 35 percent of the total of rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean. MSF alone has rescued and brought to safety more than 16,000 people. As of the end of July, just over 100,000 people have arrived on European shores in 2017, 94,802 of them in Italy. In the same timeframe, 2,385 people died while making the journey, according to the International Organization for Migrants. In the most recent reported tragedy, a boat carrying two women and five children capsized off the\u00a0Turkish coast, killing all aboard."}
{"claim_id": "9222", "claim": "Immunotherapy shows promise in preventing leukemia relapse", "explanation": "This release about a small trial of immunotherapy applied to a dozen leukemia patients who are at unusually high risk of relapse leaps to premature interpretations and inflates the meaning of the results far beyond the limited guidance for future research that this sort of study can offer. It inappropriately elevates the importance of relapse rates, implying that they predict vital outcomes, such as survival or quality life improvements, which this trial did not measure. Even as it puffs up the potential benefits, the release neglects to note either the short-term harms reported by researchers in their scientific conference abstract or the potential life-threatening harms that immunotherapy may expose patients to. The release doesn\u2019t provide context for how these trial results relate to\u00a0 existing or other experimental treatments, and it makes makes only an oblique reference to the personal financial stakes of a lead researcher. It does not make any reference to cost, even though recently-approved immunotherapy treatments suggest the price tag could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. On the positive side, the release does a good job of explaining why adjuvant treatment to enhance the immune system after bone marrow transplant may be necessary in certain leukemia\u00a0patients. Relapse rates may reveal important clues to how long patients may live or how they will feel, but then again they may not. Any surmised connection between this sort of intermediate endpoint and the things that really mean something to patients must be tested. Until survival or quality of life trials are performed, news releases should not imply that an intermediate endpoint result, such as relapse rate, predicts better or longer life for patients.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center,leukemia,T-cell therapy", "main_text": "Although this research in still in early stages, the release could have noted that immunotherapy can be very expensive. Some courses of treatment cost $100,000, while others need to be given continually at a cost that can exceed $10,000/month. The release reports that all 12 participants in the trial (those who received the T-cell therapy after a transplant) remained in remission during a median follow-up period of more than two years, while more than a quarter of transplant-only patients relapsed within 10 months. Although that seems like clear quantification of benefits, there are many examples of cancer treatments that have produced higher remission rates, but ultimately failed to help patients live longer or better. To be clear, we have no problem with the release reporting on the surrogate outcome, which may be the only measure available to estimate the treatment\u2019s effects in these patients. However, we believe that the release should have cautioned that the remission rates do not necessarily predict survival or even quality of life\u2026and that these factors, the ones that really matter to patients, will be measured only in future experiments. Not only does the release omit side effects or other potential harms from this type of treatment, it emphasizes the harms of conventional treatment, thus presenting an unbalanced comparison. The conference abstract summarizing the research noted that adverse events included short-term flu-like symptoms that are common to certain types of immunotherapy, as well as temporary reductions in white blood cell counts. In addition to failing to mention these reported harms, the release did not alert readers to potential life-threatening risks of immunotherapy which sometimes do not become apparent until the therapies have been given to many people over many years. Of note: a similar experimental immunotherapy trial by the same company (with acute lymphoblastic leukemia rather than AML patients) was halted after some patients died, according to this conference recap. The growing awareness of potential hazards of immunotherapy was recently highlighted in this post on HealthNewsReview.org. The release should have mentioned that the absence of life-threatening complications in this small trial does not prove the treatment is safe. The release reports that the trial involved only 12 patients and that the comparison group was made up of \u201csimilar\u201d patients. But it does not explain that this comparison is not as clear-cut as a trial that randomizes patients to different treatments. Also, there is no mention of the amount or type of study that remains to be done. The release notes that the trial involved only acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients considered at high risk of relapse. It gives readers a sense that these patients are not typical of patients with AML. The release would have been better if it had provided some sense of the proportion of AML patients who fit the description of those in this trial. The release reports that funding came from the National Institutes of Health and from Juno Therapeutics. It says that one of the researchers is \u201ca scientific co-founder\u201d of Juno Therapeutics. So we will give the release a passing grade on this criterion. However, readers have to have sharp eyes to intuit that this disclosure means that the researcher owns part of the company and so stands to profit from any treatments that result from this work. Without any information on the extent of the type of leukemia relapse risk that is the target of this research or any evidence that a reduction in relapse rates ultimately gives patients longer or better quality life, there is no way to make an informed comparison with existing treatments. Nevertheless, the release makes unsupported assertions that this treatment appears to be superior to conventional treatment. The release also leaves out any mention of similar experimental therapies. The release reports that this is the first test of this particular treatment, so it is clear that it is just at the beginning of the research process. The release does not discuss similar experiments, including one that was outlined in the conference abstract, so readers cannot get a sense of how this experiment fits into a broad view of efforts to improve treatment of AML. The release doesn\u2019t rely on sensationalism to describe the findings. However, researchers are quoted as saying the experimental treatment \u201cmight actually be helping patients who have a high risk of relapsing to not relapse down the line.\u201d Then again, the reverse may be true and it might not be. While leukemia relapse is unwelcome, it cannot be known from this trial whether lower relapse rates mean longer or better lives for patients. Highlighting this sort of intermediate (or surrogate) endpoint distracts attention from the things that really matter to patients: the length and quality of their lives."}
{"claim_id": "27489", "claim": "Mexican troops provided aid to U.S. residents in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.", "explanation": "The Mexican government takes this opportunity to express its full solidarity with the people and government of the United States as a result of the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, and expresses that it has offered to provide help and cooperation to the US government in order to deal with the impact of this natural disaster \u2014 as good neighbors should always do in trying times.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Hurricane Katrina, donald trump, hurricane harvey, hurricane hermine", "main_text": "In early September 2016, the confluence of Hurricane Hermine and a viral comment made by a televised Donald Trump supporter (about how taco trucks would be appearing on every corner in the U.S. should Trump lose the presidential election) revived interest in Mexico\u2019s September 2005 response to Hurricane Katrina: \u00a0 On 30\u00a0August 2016, the Facebook page for\u00a0Mic. published a video reporting that Mexico\u2019s purported response to Hurricane Katrina was \u201can encouraging moment which counteracts\u201d the notion the country is \u201cconstantly in need,\u201d adding that when Mexico sends its people across our border \u201chistory shows they\u2019ve sent their best and bravest\u201d:  Hurricane Katrina marked the costliest natural disaster in American history and the third most deadly, claiming at least 1,800 lives after the failure of levees caused catastrophic flooding in some of New Orleans\u2019 most populous areas. Katrina was both newsworthy and culturally significant, inspiring multiple television documentaries and programs as well as rumors that continue to circulate years after the fact. The latter circumstance was likely due to the chaos that ensued after Katrina, as myriad accounts\u00a0surfaced well after the\u00a0floodwaters receded and the news media had moved on to other stories. Mic.\u2018s assertion that Mexico sent troops across the American border to assist what was by most accounts a stilted federal response\u00a0to the tragedy was news to many social media users when it cropped up again in August 2016. Mexico\u2019s response to Hurricane Katrina was well-documented at the time, but rarely included in retrospectives and long-form accounts of the storm and its aftermath, leading many social media users to question whether the claim was truly accurate. In July 2015, the Associated Press published archival footage of Mexican soldiers providing aid in Biloxi:  In a scene that would have given Donald Trump heart palpitations, 200 flag-waving Mexican troops breached the U.S. border outside Laredo, Tex., 10 years ago and advanced unopposed up Interstate 35 to San Antonio. It was the first time a Mexican army had marched on San Antonio since 1836 when Gen. Santa Ana massacred besieged Texas independence fighters at the Alamo. This time, however, the Mexican soldiers were on a relief mission to feed tens of thousands of homeless and hungry Americans displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Setting up camp at a former Air Force base outside San Antonio, they distributed potable water, medical supplies and 7,000 hot meals a day for the next three weeks. If this doesn\u2019t sound like the Mexico you\u2019ve been hearing about lately \u2014 the one that has been ripping America off, the one that sends rapists and criminals across the border \u2014 you might want to consider this little-known gesture of humanity from our abused southern neighbor as you think about Katrina 10 years later. I was serving as the No. 2 at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City in August 2005 when Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast. The storm\u2019s track posed no danger to Mexico, and we followed events like most expatriate Americans \u2014 aghast, but at a distance. But not Mexicans. They were watching the same scenes of floating corpses and botched relief efforts in New Orleans. My chief contact at Mexico\u2019s Foreign Ministry called to say the Mexican army had two field kitchens that could feed storm victims who had made their way to Texas, he said, and the navy had two ships that could help with cleanup efforts in New Orleans. To put this in context, the United States likes to think of itself as the country that does the helping, as we had done when Mexico City was struck by a devastating earthquake in 1985. But few had contemplated the possibility that Mexico would be coming to help us \u2026\u00a0The 45-vehicle convoy crossed the border at Laredo at dawn on Sept. 8 and arrived in San Antonio later that day. The only glitch was that the USDA would not allow the Mexicans to serve the beef they had brought because they couldn\u2019t prove it had been produced in a mad-cow-free facility. Undeterred \u2014 and un-insulted \u2014 the Mexicans bought their beef locally. By the time their mission in San Antonio ended Sept. 25, the Mexicans had served 170,000 meals, helped distribute more than 184,000 tons of supplies and conducted more than 500 medical consultations. Disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, or the spectacle of U.S. presidential politics, often force to the surface the true character of the players. The Mexicans proved they were neighbors we can count on. A few\u00a0traces of the years-old news story remained online as of 2017: A Mexican army convoy rolled into the United States with food, water and medicine for Hurricane Katrina victims, the first Mexican military operation on U.S. soil in 90 years. Part of an aid package that includes ships and rescue teams, the convoy of 45 olive-green vehicles and some 200 troops went over the Rio Grande into Texas from the city of Nuevo Laredo, witnesses said \u2026 The Mexican army trucks, filled with of thousands of ready-to-eat meals, drinking water and medical equipment, were searched like regular vehicles as they crossed the border early on Thursday headed for San Antonio, Texas customs officials said. Although Mexico\u2019s response to Katrina was often overlooked in historical accounts of the disaster, the accounts are completely true. Mexican troops crossed the border in a 45-vehicle convoy on 8 September 2005, providing material and physical aid to several areas of the Gulf Coast devastated by Katrina; the Mexican army offered hundreds of thousands of meals and tons of supplies to those in need and performed hundreds of medical consultations during a time when the United States was struggling to provide aid to its own citizens in devastated areas. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on 25 August 2017. As relief efforts were underway two days later, President Donald Trump tweeted: With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other. \u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017  Twitter users responded to President Trump\u2019s tweet, reiterating the claim about Mexican troops and Hurricane Katrina: Just so you know! #Mexico was there for #Katrina I\u2019m sure they would be willing to help w/ #Harvey but, UR damn wall is more important. pic.twitter.com/Kyy4kDlqyA \u2014 Kendra Drake (@KendraDrake94) August 27, 2017  I live in Houston, the flooding is horrible. Mexico sent their own people to help during Katrina and you want to tweet this Shit right now? pic.twitter.com/J9vciee3YW \u2014 Kyle Souder (@xSouder) August 27, 2017  Mexico\u2019s government also responded to Trump\u2019s tweet, releasing a\u00a0statement\u00a0that read in part:"}
{"claim_id": "38277", "claim": " Warnings about Powassan Virus, a virus transmitted by ticks that can be deadly or cause permanent neurological symptoms, circulated\u00a0as\u00a0summer of 2017 began. ", "explanation": "Warnings About Tick-Transmitted Powassan Virus", "label": "true", "subjects": "Animals, Health / Medical, Warnings", "main_text": "Powassan Virus is a real and potentially deadly transmitted virus that has affected about 75 people in the Northeast and Great Lakes region of America over a 10-year period, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. As the number of cases reported over a 10-year period indicate, Powassan Virus has been\u00a0fairly uncommon. Warnings about an increased risk for the virus were based solely on increases in the number of ticks in the Northeast,\u00a0and in an uptick in the number of confirmed cases of the virus in deer. Warnings about Powassan Virus, or POW, spread across social media after CNN reported in May 2017 that the number of white-footed ticks in Maine\u00a0in recent years had sparked some concerns about the virus, which is deadly in about 10% of reported cases. Dr. Jennifer Lyons, chief of the Division of Neurological Infections and Inflammatory Diseases at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital in Boston, warned that an increase in Powassan Cases among deer could mean the same is imminent for humans: Scientists also believe Powassan is on the\u00a0rise based on studies that have identified\u00a0an increasing number of infections in deer. \u201cSo it does seem that there are more and\u00a0more deer that they\u2019re finding that have\u00a0been infected with this virus,\u201d Lyons said. \u201cSo we should expect it to increase in\u00a0human disease incidence over the next\u00a0few years.\u201d By June 1st, Maine public health officials had confirmed two new cases of Powassan Virus, further fueling concerns that it could be spreading. The Maine Medical Research Institute also issued a report that found Powassan Virus was prevalent in the southern portion of the state. There aren\u2019t any\u00a0known vaccines or treatments for\u00a0Powassan Virus. Symptoms usually emerge anywhere from a week to a month after being bitten by an infected tick. Some people might not experience any symptoms. Others might experience headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, speech difficulties and seizures, CDC reports. About half of people with Powassan Virus have permanent neurological symptoms like memory loss, recurring headaches and muscle wasting. About 10% of Powassan Virus cases are fatal. To help avoid contracting POW, CDC suggests avoiding exposure to natural tick habitats, using over-the-counter repellants when you are in these areas, and removing ticks before they have a chance to bite. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "10858", "claim": "Noninvasive Test May Identify Down Syndrome Early On", "explanation": "Good examples:  Emphasis on how the test may \u201cone day\u201d offer a safe way to detect Down syndrome \u2013 rather than saying \u201cwomen may soon be able to have a blood test\u2026\u201d as Reuters did Emphasis on \u201csmall study\u2026experimental\u201d Inclusion of an independent perspective  \u00a0A story like this is going to catch the attention of many women and many couples. Establishing just how preliminary are these findings is essential to avoid promoting false hope and unrealistic expectations in readers.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "HealthDay", "main_text": "Only mention of cost was the researcher\u2019s quote:\u00a0\u201cThe cost is much lower than the invasive procedures.\u201d\u00a0 Oh? What is that cost? How much lower? We\u2019re not told. The story explained that \u201cthe test quickly pinpointed the chromosomal variation, identifying 14 Down syndrome cases and 26 normal fetuses.\u201d No discussion of potential harms \u2013 of sensitivity and specificity issues still not determined after such a small study. In small, subtle ways the story framed this as an early step in research \u2013 experimental, requiring confirmation in larger clinical trials. No disease mongering. The story included the perspective of one independent expert. No discussion of how this compares with any of the other approaches being studied in this field. More reserved than its Reuters competitor, this story emphasizes the test \u201cmay one day\u201d be available\u2026 \u201cif larger clinical trials confirm the results.\u201d \u201cSmall study\u201d and \u201cexperimental\u201d stressed in second sentence. No discussion of how this compares with any of the other approaches being studied in this field. The story did not rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "15240", "claim": "The U.S. has now spent more on reconstructing Afghanistan than was spent on the Marshall Plan and the reconstruction of Europe.", "explanation": "Wuerker said that the United States has spent more for Afghanistan reconstruction than it did to rebuild Europe under the Marshall Plan. While the math behind the claim adds up, it's important to know that the reconstruction programs are not identical. The Marshall Plan spent no funds on military projects, while about 60 percent of Afghanistan aid was spent on security. The Marshall Plan was entirely focused on economic investments, while the spending in Afghanistan\u00a0has been weighted much more toward establishing a secure space in which economic growth can occur. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Afghanistan, PunditFact, Matt Wuerker, ", "main_text": "The days of a massive American military presence in Afghanistan are over. Afghan forces might benefit from about 10,000 U.S. trainers and advisers, but otherwise, the country\u2019s security is in their hands. Yet after more than a dozen years of American engagement, the situation is fragile in the extreme. Talks between the government of President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban are on hold with no date to restart. Military casualties are up 50 percent from last year. Nearly 5,000 civilians have died so far in 2015. In this context, Politico cartoonist Matt Wuerker offered his take on the results of billions of American taxpayer dollars invested in rebuilding the country. In an Aug. 4, 2015, cartoon, a bewildered Uncle Sam stands on top of a pipeline of aid to Afghanistan riven with cracks that spell the word \"corruption.\" Superimposed is a box that says, \"The U.S. has now spent more on reconstructing Afghanistan than was spent on the Marshall Plan and the reconstruction of Europe.\" A reader asked us to verify that comparison. In terms of inflation-adjusted dollars, the statement holds up. But, as we\u2019ll explain, it falls short on two points. The primary source of the claim Wuerker pointed us to one of many news reports during 2014. In June that year, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released one of its regular updates for Congress. In a short section, it compared the two programs. \"Adjusted for inflation, U.S. appropriations for the reconstruction of Afghanistan exceed the funds committed to the Marshall Plan, the U.S. aid program that delivered billions of dollars between 1948 and 1952 to help 16 European countries recover in the aftermath of World War II,\" the report said. The Inspector General analysts wrote that in inflation-adjusted dollars, the United States had spent $103 billion on the Marshall Plan and $109 billion on Afghanistan. The investment of American dollars is a fair yardstick, but experts noted others. Two very different programs While both efforts aimed to rebuild war-torn nations, the most striking difference is the Marshall Plan spent no money on the European armed forces. In contrast, about 60 percent of the aid spent on Afghanistan went towards arming and training the military and police. In fact, the Inspector General\u2019s report makes note of that distinction. By its tally, building the Afghan security forces absorbed nearly $62 billion of the total. (To clarify, the total for Afghanistan excludes the cost of American military operations.) The Marshall Plan unfolded long ago, so a short summary is in order for those who might not know it well. The Truman administration and Congress created the Marshall Plan to stabilize the economies of Western Europe. In the early part, the program delivered hard goods such as food, animal feed, fertilizer and fuel. Later, direct aid shifted to providing raw materials and production equipment. Aid also came in the form of grants and loans. In the dollars of the time, spending reached $10.3 billion. About half was invested in power plants, roads, railroads and agriculture. Another portion went towards debt relief. There were loan guarantees to spur American firms to invest in Europe. Charles Maier, a Harvard historian, is a leading authority on post-World War II Europe. Maier told us that making comparisons across a span of more than 50 years is \"notoriously tricky.\" The circumstances on the ground in Europe in the later 1940s and Afghanistan today are fundamentally different, Maier said. \"The European countries \u2014 outside Greece \u2014 were really functioning administrative systems,\" Maier said. \"Few of those societal infrastructures have been operative in Afghanistan. Also, when the aid was being provided, there was no fighting in the recipient countries, except for the civil war in Greece, 1946-49.\" Maier also emphasized that while the inflation-adjusted dollars might put the Afghanistan price tag above that of the Marshall Plan, when compared to the size of the American economy at the time, the Marshall Plan represented a much heftier commitment than U.S. aid to Afghanistan. U.S. GDP then and now During the years of the Marshall Plan, the size of the U.S. economy was in the neighborhood of $310 billion (in dollars at that time). So, with total spending of $10.3 billion on European reconstruction, the Marshall Plan represented about 4.3 percent of average GDP. Maier then contrasted that with the Afghanistan spending between 2002 and 2014. During those years, the economy averaged about $14.3 trillion. The money spent on Afghanistan represented about 0.75 percent of average GDP. \"That's about one-twentieth of the Marshall Plan burden,\" Maier said. \"This seems a much more rational way of thinking about the burden the U.S. was bearing.\" Seen through the lens of the strain on the American economy, the Marshall Plan required more effort than rebuilding Afghanistan. Our ruling Wuerker said that the United States has spent more for Afghanistan reconstruction than it did to rebuild Europe under the Marshall Plan. While the math behind the claim adds up, it's important to know that the reconstruction programs are not identical. The Marshall Plan spent no funds on military projects, while about 60 percent of Afghanistan aid was spent on security. The Marshall Plan was entirely focused on economic investments, while the spending in Afghanistan\u00a0has been weighted much more toward establishing a secure space in which economic growth can occur. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "32503", "claim": "Anti-terrorism presentation warns about women in burqas buying up cell phones.", "explanation": "Lt. Col. Cotter was kind enough to send us a copy of his Eagle Eyes presentation, and it was indeed merely a general outline describing how citizens can help deter terrorism by recognizing and reporting pre-attack activities. It contained nothing about women in burqas buying up cell phones or \u201cragheads\u201d probing the Air National Guard base in Fresno.", "label": "false", "subjects": "September 11th, ASP Article", "main_text": "The account quoted above is a second-hand forwarding of a report by Earl Wright, who was in attendance at a December 2009 presentation given by Lt. Col. John G. Cotter of the California Air National Guard to the Rotary Club in Clovis, California, about the EagleEyes program for teaching military personnel and civilians to \u201crecognize elements of potential terror planning when they see it.\u201d   However, in reference to the above-reproduced report, Lt. Col. Cotter told us,  \u201cThat is my real name, and I am the Antiterrorism Officer at the 144th, but that\u2019s the end of the accuracy of Mr Wright\u2019s viral e-mail account\u201d:  This is a viral e-mail that went out from a fellow named Earl Wright following my Eagle Eyes presentation to the Clovis Rotary Club in December. It has gone around the world several times and I have heard back from folks who know me all over the place. The purpose of the Eagle Eyes program is to familiarize military and civilian folks with the eight observable steps leading up to a terrorist event and to encourage them to call the phone numbers I provided to the FBI, Fresno Police or Air Force OSI if they see something that doesn\u2019t look right. That way the appropriate agencies can intervene and stop an attack from taking place. Our program has been very effective and has been cited as the best in the Air Guard for two years in a row. I\u2019ve given this presentation hundreds of times to military and civilian organizations, and this is the first time something like this has happened. The quotes apparently attributed to me are false. I never refer to people as \u201cragheads\u201d or f***ers, although I do stress that we don\u2019t profile. The examples cited in this e-mail have been distorted, mis-represented and inaccurately reported and attributed to me. If you or your agency would ever like to see the real presentation, I\u2019ll be happy to come and give it at your convenience. The Fresno Bee also reported that other attendees did not recall Lt. Col. Cotter\u2019s having made the remarks attributed to him:  Rotary member Bill Mayhugh, who is in charge of lining up speakers for the club, backs up Cotter. \u201cIt was typical community outreach,\u201d Mayhugh says. \u201cHe said that if you see something suspicious, call the police, FBI or Homeland Security. I sure didn\u2019t hear the stuff that\u2019s in the e-mail.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "17826", "claim": "A $10 million fire fee proposal in St. Petersburg was \"inspired\" by Gov. Rick Scott.", "explanation": "A mailpiece attempts to connect Foster\u2019s rejected proposal for a fire readiness fee with Scott. This is junk mail.", "label": "false", "subjects": "City Budget, City Government, Taxes, Florida, Fact Check Florida, ", "main_text": "To political operatives, campaign mailers are often considered the most effective way to target voters, particularly in local elections. To fact-checkers, they\u2019re often home to glaring distortions. Today\u2019s example: A flier in the St. Petersburg mayor race that links incumbent Bill Foster, a $10 million fire fee and Republican Gov. Rick Scott. A headline on the mailer reads, \"Bill Foster's $10 million Rick Scott-inspired fire fee.\" \"Foster\u2019s $10 million fire fee would have charged you for services you already pay for. Sound familiar?\" the text continues. \"Instead of taking leadership by cutting fluff out of the budget, Bill Foster took a page out of Rick Scott\u2019s Tallahassee playbook and tried to charge us millions of dollars in \u2018fees\u2019 that taxed you for services the government should have already been providing -- $10 million of them!\" The flier comes from Fact Check Florida, an electioneering communication organization, or ECO, that supports liberal candidates and is run by Jacksonville resident Matthew Martz. As an ECO, Fact Check Florida (nice name, by the way) can pay for ads that attack candidates, but it cannot expressly advocate for a candidate\u2019s defeat or election. It can tell you why it thinks Foster is a bad guy but can\u2019t tell you to vote for Foster\u2019s opponent, Rick Kriseman. About the fire fee Yes, Foster pitched a fire readiness assessment, or \"fire fee\" in 2012 as a way to plug the city\u2019s budget gap after another year of disappearing property tax revenues. But the idea was not \"inspired\" by Scott in any way. \"It was funny because it was from Fact Check Florida,\" Foster told us, \"and there was nothing factual about it.\" In Foster\u2019s first two years in office, the city made up for lost property tax revenues (a result of declining home values) by reducing positions and program spending. Foster criticized a potential fire fee as a \"backdoor tax increase\" in those years. But in 2012, he suggested that instead of more cuts, the City Council approve a new fire readiness fee that would total $9 million a year, which was about the amount needed to close its gap for 2013. The latest version of the proposal called for property owners to pay $50 a year per parcel and $.21 per $1,000 of its appraised structural value annually, according to Tampa Bay Times archives. Some council members criticized the fire fee as disproportionately punishing low-income residents by asking them to pay the same amount as wealthier residents. The council rejected the idea and instead raised the city\u2019s property tax rate for the first time in two decades. Foster recently tried to distance himself from the fire fee that he was linked to so closely in news coverage. With Kriseman using it as an example of failed leadership, Foster told the Tampa Bay Times that he did not come up with the proposal, pointing to records that showed council members asked the idea to be considered at a workshop eight months before they ultimately rejected it. (This revelation came after the mailpiece was distributed, so we don\u2019t hold it against the group for not including.) The connection to Scott Let\u2019s go back to the ad. At its most generous reading, the ad implies Foster followed Scott\u2019s lead of raising fees for existing services. But that does not align with Scott\u2019s record in office, which has not seen major tax or fee increases beyond increases to tuition. The state also has cut taxes and fees for Floridians since Scott took office. You can read about that here. Fact Check Florida's Martz defended the mailer. While the fee was \"obviously\" not Scott\u2019s idea, he said, it\u2019s similar to Tallahassee Republicans who \"keep coming up with tiny ways to take money out of voters\u2019 pockets without them noticing.\" \"Under Rick Scott, it was with tuition rates,\" he said. \"And before he got there, the Republicans did it with driver\u2019s license renewals and things.\" Martz\u2019s last point refers to $2.2 billion in increased taxes and fees that Republican lawmakers passed in 2009 -- before Scott became governor. The St. Petersburg mayor\u2019s race is nonpartisan, but the injection of Scott highlights the political differences between the two candidates. Foster is a Republican who has Scott\u2019s endorsement, while Kriseman is Democrat whose campaign is being partly financed by the Florida Democratic Party. Another third-party group led by Tallahassee lobbyist David Ramba is attacking Kriseman in a separate mailer for sharing partisan policies akin to the ones that brought about the government shutdown. The evolution was inevitable after the city voted in 1993 to move to a strong mayor system, argues Darryl Paulson, University of South Florida St. Petersburg professor emeritus of government. In the case of this ad, tying Foster with an unpopular governor appeals to the emotions of voters, Paulson said. \"The Democrats are in essence trying to say that even though it\u2019s not a partisan race, look who is supporting Foster, and we as Democrats hate the governor,\" Paulson said. \"It\u2019s really designed as a get out the vote effort to get Democratic voters to to vote in a nonpartisan election.\" Our ruling A mailpiece attempts to connect Foster\u2019s rejected proposal for a fire readiness fee with Scott. This is junk mail. We rate it !"}
{"claim_id": "5655", "claim": "Can brain disease explain Aaron Hernandez\u2019s behavior?.", "explanation": "Former football star Aaron Hernandez\u2019 brain was riddled with damage from a degenerative brain disease linked with head blows, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily explain the troubles that plagued his young life.", "label": "true", "subjects": "NFL football, Health, Aaron Hernandez, Sports, Science, U.S. News, Football", "main_text": "The diagnosis comes from a Boston University researcher who has studied hundreds of brains from football players, college athletes and even younger players, donated after their deaths. Dr. Ann McKee announced Thursday she found evidence of severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in Hernandez\u2019 brain. Her autopsy also found signs of early brain shrinkage even though Hernandez was only 27 when he hung himself in prison in April. His lawyer filed a lawsuit against the NFL and the New England Patriots on Thursday, claiming they failed to protect their players\u2019 safety. What\u2019s known about CTE and how it affects the brain: DOES CTE MAKE PEOPLE VIOLENT? CTE can affect areas of the brain involved with regulating behavior and emotions. Aggression, depression, memory loss and dementia are among symptoms in former football players whose brains were donated to research, and some died by suicide. But substance abuse and other illnesses may be linked with those symptoms and there is no proof that CTE-related brain damage causes those behaviors. Hernandez was serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder when he died, and had been acquitted in two other killings. An associate had earlier accused Hernandez of shooting him in the face after an argument at a strip club. Hernandez\u2019 background included other aggressive behavior and drug use. WHAT CAUSES CTE? Repeated head blows from contact sports and military combat are the most likely causes, scientists say. These hits can cause the brain to ricochet inside the skull, damaging nerve cells. Researchers are seeking to identify genes that may make certain people susceptible to damage from head blows, and they believe drugs and alcohol might also play a role. CTE can only be diagnosed after death. A defining feature is abnormal deposits of tau, a protein that occurs naturally in the brain but is displaced in CTE. Tau build-up can damage or destroy brain cells. HOW COMMON IS CTE? In an account published in July, McKee reported finding CTE in the brains of all but one of 111 ex-NFL players studied. Most donated brains from former college players studied also showed signs, as did 20 percent of donated brains from high school players, most of whom died by suicide or drug overdoses. But experts say most people recover from repeated head blows and the true frequency of CTE in football, other sports, the military and the general population is not known. It is not known how many head hits Hernandez experienced; he was a star in high school and college football and played most of three seasons with the New England Patriots. He was released in 2013 after his arrest. WASN\u2019T HERNANDEZ TOO YOUNG TO HAVE CTE? Most brains donated for research are from older players but McKee has found CTE in an 18-year-old and her recent study found evidence of the disease in three high school players. ___ Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner on Twitter at @Lindsey Tanner . Her work can be found here ."}
{"claim_id": "10681", "claim": "The Healthy Skeptic: telomerase activators", "explanation": "This is a story about two over-the-counter products being sold to help counteract age-related changes because of their reputed capacity to affect telomere length. The story presented a generally cautious view of the value of these products but failed to question the very premise that doing something about telomere length is an assured means of slowing the aging process. We wish the column had been stronger in questioning the validity of information not backed up with data. There is historical precedence for searching for magical elixirs of youth and agents said to affect telomere length are the current sweethearts. It is telling that at the bottom of the TA Sciences website it states: \u201cThis product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.\u201d Yet aging is often framed as just that \u2013 a disease that could and should be treated.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Los Angeles Times", "main_text": "The costs for the treatments mentioned were discussed. The story did an adequate job raising questions about the evidence for alleged benefits. The independent sources interviewed helped in this regard. It\u2019s not very strong evidence to allow a statement from a company founder that, to his knowledge, no one has developed cancer while taking TA-65. The point could have been made earlier and more clearly that since neither TA-65 nor Reneuve are considered to be drugs by the FDA, there is no standard of safety or efficacy that they are held to. (Hinted at only in final sentence.) Jump ball call. Could have done better. The column did detail the extremely limited quantity and quality of the evidence that the products mentioned are effective. However some important details or context about some of the research were missing. A study in the journal Rejuvenation Research was cited \u2013 \u201cTA-65 boosted the activity of telomerase in 114 people who took the supplement for a year.\u201d\u00a0 This was, appropriately, followed by an expert questioning the significance of this report. Such a direct challenge could have been made for each claim made in the piece. Aging is not a disease. But this column opened with a catchy disease mongering riff engaging readers to consider \u2018wrinkled skin, gray hair, a growing need to turn up the volume on \u2018Jeopardy\u2019,\u201d and to consider the \u201cdream\u201d and \u201cglimmer of hope\u201d that the process of aging could be slowed. The first statement is a list of examples of age-related changes which often have contributing factors other than chronology. Even though the overall tone of the piece was in keeping with the \u201cHealthy Skeptic\u201d series title, we feel it went a bit too far on this criterion. We don\u2019t know why so much space was given to comments by company officials. But the independent expertise of Drs. Cawthon and Hornsby were important in countering conflicted claims. There was no comparison of the compounds discussed with the impact of maintaining healthy body weight, engaging in exercise or other interventions which have a more measurable track record of ameliorating age-related changes. One simple additional sentence could have satisfied this criterion. The story provided readers with insight about how to obtain the products discussed. The story did not provide any sort of historical context about telomerase research. Its first mention dates back more than 20 years and in 2009, the Nobel prize in medicine went to the scientists that discovered it. Many readers may have walked away with the impression that this field of research is far newer than it reallly is. It\u2019s clear that the story did not rely on a news release given the strong input from independent experts."}
{"claim_id": "7400", "claim": "Price tag on gene therapy for rare form of blindness: $850K.", "explanation": "A first-of-its kind genetic treatment for blindness will cost $850,000 per patient, making it one of the most expensive medicines in the world and raising questions about the affordability of a coming wave of similar gene-targeting therapies.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, Gene therapy, Genetic Frontiers, North America, Technology, Business", "main_text": "The injectable treatment from Spark Therapeutics can improve the eyesight of patients with a rare genetic mutation that affects just a few thousand people in the U.S. Previously there has been no treatment for the condition, which eventually causes complete blindness by adulthood. Pricing questions have swirled around the treatment due to a number of unusual factors \u2014 it is intended to be a one-time treatment, it treats a very small number of patients and represents a medical breakthrough. Previously, Spark suggested its therapy, Luxturna, could be worth more than $1 million. But the company said Wednesday it decided on the lower price after hearing concerns from health insurers about the affordability of the treatment. Consternation over skyrocketing drug prices, especially in the U.S., has led to intense scrutiny from patients, politicians, insurers and hospitals. \u201cWe wanted to balance the value and the affordability concerns with a responsible price that would ensure access to patients,\u201d said CEO Jeffrey Marrazzo, in an interview with The Associated Press. Luxturna is still significantly more expensive than nearly every other medicine on the global market, including two other gene therapies approved earlier last year in the U.S. Pharmaceutical industry critics said the slightly lower cost is a distraction from the ongoing problem of unsustainable drug prices. \u201cThe company very cleverly convinced everyone that they were going to charge a million dollars, so now they are being credited for being reasonable,\u201d said Dr. Peter Bach, director of a policy center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Approved last month, Luxturna, is the nation\u2019s first gene therapy for an inherited disease. It requires a 45-minute operation in which a tiny needle delivers a replacement gene to the retina, tissue at the back of the eye that converts light into electric signals that produce vision. The therapy will cost $425,000 per injection. The price does not include the cost of the operation, which Spark estimates will cost between $4,000 and $5,000. The treatment is part of an emerging field of medicine that could produce dozens of new gene-targeting medications in the next few years. Like Luxturna, these therapies are generally intended to be taken once, a fact which drug developers argue sets them apart from traditional drugs taken for months or years. Even compared to other one-time gene therapies Luxturna is still an outlier. Two customized gene therapies for blood cancer approved last year are priced at $373,000 and $475,000. Many older drugs for ultra-rare diseases also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and can quickly exceed a million dollars. For instance, a drug from Biogen called Spinraza, which treats a rare neuromuscular disorder, costs $750,000 for the first year\u2019s supply and $375,000 for subsequent years. The drug is intended to be taken for life. Drug prices are not regulated in the U.S., as they are in many other countries, so drugmakers can price their goods like any other manufacturer. Drugmakers have historically offered little explanation for the prices they charge, other than to cite the high cost of developing a drug and the fact that so many drugs fail during trials and must be abandoned. However, some companies have begun to offer more detailed reasoning as the backlash against drug prices has grown more heated. Spark Therapeutics, based in Philadelphia, has said that the cost for a lifetime of blindness \u2014 including lost earnings and caregiver wages \u2014 can easily exceed $1 million. Not everyone agrees with that argument. Even at $850,000 a preliminary analysis by one group found that the drug would need to be priced significantly lower to be a good value. The estimate by the non-profit Institute for Clinical and Economic Review assumes the drug will maintain patients\u2019 vision for 10 years. However, Spark expects the drug\u2019s effect to be long-lasting, if not lifelong, though it has only tracked patients for about four years. The group\u2019s director, Dr. Steven Pearson, said paying for gene therapies that have not yet shown lasting benefits will be an ongoing issue. \u201cIf the payment is going to be done all at once that will create real affordability concerns if we don\u2019t have tremendous confidence about how long the effects of the treatment will last,\u201d he said. At least one gene therapy sold overseas already crossed the $1-million price threshold, a treatment for a rare protein disorder launched in Europe. Manufacturer uniQure stopped selling the therapy last year due to a lack of demand. It was never approved in the U.S. Like most prescription medicines in the U.S., most of the immediate costs of Luxturna will be borne by insurers \u2014 not patients \u2014 including private plans and government programs. For patients, Spark said it will cover all out-of-pocket expenses needed to obtain the medication, including transportation to hospitals trained to administer the injections. Given Luxturna\u2019s federal approval and strong study results, experts say U.S. insurers will likely cover the drug. Spark will try to deflect some pricing concerns by offering unconventional payment plans to insurers. Under one arrangement with the non-profit insurer Harvard Pilgrim, Spark will refund some costs if patients don\u2019t experience the expected improvements in vision. The company did not disclose how much money would be returned to the insurer, which covers more than a million people in New England. Spark said it is also discussing a proposal in which insurers would pay for the drug in installments over several years. That idea would apply to government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which provide health coverage to the poor and elderly."}
{"claim_id": "9285", "claim": "Study Suggests Breastfeeding May Lower Risk of Childhood Leukemia", "explanation": "Do formula-fed children face increased risk of leukemia? This news release summarizes a published report on data from 18 separate studies worldwide that, when analyzed together, suggest breastfeeding is associated with reduced risk of developing childhood or adolescent leukemia. But that\u2019s basically the only message conveyed by the news release, which is otherwise devoid of important context, including \u2014 most importantly \u2014 on the limitations of the observational design used by all of studies in the analysis. The release\u2019s incomplete, one-sided presentation will most likely lead to a flurry of overblown media coverage that could have negative repercussions for the many women who cannot or choose not to breastfeed. There are many reasons for women to think that breastfeeding is a good choice for their babies. Is leukemia prevention one of them? That\u2019s the suggestion of the study reported on here, which is a re-analysis of previous studies examining the question. It\u2019s worthwhile research, but let\u2019s remember that these underlying studies all relied on a backward-looking case-control design that is subject to selection bias and a variety of other potential problems. And the scope of the potential benefit for this condition, which is thankfully quite rare, is limited. Our worry here is that women face a number of physical and lifestyle constraints that may affect their ability to breastfeed. And women who can\u2019t breastfeed already experience guilt that they aren\u2019t doing enough for their babies. Should they also be made to feel as if they are putting their children at increased risk of cancer? That\u2019s not a justifiable message based on this study. But without more careful communication of study limitations and other context, we\u2019re afraid that that\u2019s the message that could ultimately reach the public.", "label": "false", "subjects": "breastfeeding,infant formula,JAMA,leukemia", "main_text": "While it\u2019s obvious that breastfeeding is free of charge, readers might not appreciate what an advantage this is compared with prepared formulas. This is an especially important consideration in the developing world where a desire for westernization has caused a significant bump in infant formula sales. The average annual cost of a brand-name infant formula is approximately $1200 in the US. Then again, there\u2019s potentially a cost to breastfeeding in terms of work/career advancement for the mother and the labor value of time spent breastfeeding/pumping. Breast pumps can be expensive, too. The news release didn\u2019t need to explore all of this, but some acknowledgment of the issues at play would have been welcome. According to the release, this analysis of 18 studies found that \u201cbreastfeeding for six months or longer was associated with a 19 percent lower risk compared with no breastfeeding or breastfeeding for a shorter period of time.\u201d A sub-analysis of 15 studies further showed that \u201cever being breastfeed\u201d for a shorter period of time was associated with an 11 percent lower risk in developing leukemia compared to those who were never breastfed. But how big really is a \u201c19% lower risk\u201d? That depends upon whether leukemia is generally common or rare. A 19% reduction in a rare condition like childhood leukemia won\u2019t amount to a very large absolute benefit. The release could have put a number on it. We\u2019re on the fence here. We\u2019re not suggesting that breastfeeding causes serious harm to mother or child, except perhaps in some cases of infectious disease transmission. However, breastfeeding isn\u2019t always the peaceful scene of contentedly suckling infant often portrayed in the media. Cracked nipples, nipple pain, engorgement, mastitis (breast infections) are not uncommon and can reduce breastfeeding success. In addition, breast milk is low in vitamin D, and exclusive breastfeeding may increase the risk of rickets. Some acknowledgment of these issues could potentially encourage steps to prevent and address these problems, which would be beneficial. This was a meta-analysis of observational studies of breastfeeding and leukemia risk. As we\u2019re often fond of saying, these types of studies are incapable of proving cause and effect. And yet the release is headlined, \u201cStudy Suggests Breastfeeding May Lower Risk of Childhood Leukemia\u201d \u2014 the clear implication being that breastfeeding may have \u201ccaused\u201d the reduction in leukemia. The release also fails to mention any weaknesses or limitations in the study design. This is important, because case-control studies sit near the bottom of the evidence pyramid and their findings should be viewed cautiously. And this study doesn\u2019t control for confounding factors that could affect leukemia risk. The weaknesses that were cataloged in the original study (but not the release) include the following: the voluntary responses from mothers were collected in most of the studies years after the time of breast-feeding which might affect accurate recall; the response rates varied from 47 percent to 98 percent in the leukemia cases in a majority of the studies; and the response rates from controls were believed to be skewed toward a higher response rate from people with a higher socioeconomic status (which itself might be associated with lower rates of leukemia). Further, and perhaps most importantly, some studies didn\u2019t define whether the breastfeeding was exclusive or if the babies were concurrently fed with formula or other foods. The news release also doesn\u2019t define how many children were followed and for how long. This is an unfortunate oversight since the size, length and global nature of the study are its strong points. According to the research paper published in JAMA Pediatrics upon which the release is based, data from 10,292 leukemia cases and 17,517 controls were analyzed. Many of the studies followed children from 0 years to 14 years, some longer. The analysis includes 18 studies published over a 54-year period in 13 developed countries and five lesser developed countries. While the findings must still be viewed cautiously, the depth of data analyzed lends it more credence than research involving a small sample size and a brief time frame. The release states that \u201cLeukemia is the most common childhood cancer and accounts for about 30 percent of all childhood cancers.\u201d \u00a0And it suggests that breastfeeding can prevent these leukemias, which has the potential to make mothers feel badly if they\u2019re unable to successfully breastfeed (a common phenomenon). But the release never provides the comforting information that cancer in children is, according to the National Cancer Institute, a \u201crare\u201d disease. This is important context. Neither the news release nor the study cited any outside sponsors. The study was completed by epidemiologists at the School of Public Health in Haifa, Israel, and the Ministry of Health in Ramat Gan, Israel. Perhaps it goes without saying that the alternative to breast milk is infant formula, but the release could have stated this explicitly, which would have provided an opportunity to point out the other potential health advantages of breastmilk as well as the financial advantages. Not doing so provides a rather incomplete narrative. While it may be assumed that breastfeeding is available to all, this is an oversimplification. Many women have trouble initiating breastfeeding and may have jobs or other limitations that make it difficult to breastfeed. The public can be hostile to breastfeeding women. Some women do not produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed their babies. Studies have found that while about 75% of women attempt to breastfeed in the first week, only about 30% are still exclusively breastfeeding by three months. Some acknowledgment of the difficulties involved would have provided an opportunity to mention programs and interventions, including postpartum skin-to-skin contact, partner education, lactation consultants, etc, that may improve breastfeeding success. The news release did not comment on the novelty of the research, and doesn\u2019t tell us how this study differs from other meta-analyses of studies of breastfeeding and childhood leukemia. As the study authors claimed in the published report, \u201cto our knowledge, this is significantly the largest and most up-to-date review and analysis of current knowledge on childhood leukemia and breastfeeding.\u201d While the suggestion that breastfeeding reduces leukemia rates is questionable, we\u2019ve already flagged the release for that concern. The release makes no other unwarranted claims and its tone is generally measured."}
{"claim_id": "26683", "claim": "\u201cU.S. hospitals are preparing for 96 million coronavirus infections and nearly half a million deaths, leaked documents reveal.\u201d", "explanation": "An infectious disease expert presenting to the American Hospital Association estimated there could be as many as 96 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. in a year. He encouraged hospitals to prepare for an outbreak of this magnitude. But there is no indication that hospitals are preparing, covertly, for an outbreak of that magnitude, as this headline suggests.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "In a U.S. population of 329 million, is it possible that 96 million of them will suffer COVID-19? Yes, according to an infectious diseases expert who presented a webinar to members of the American Hospitals Association. But a story being shared on social media ominously refers to \"leaked documents\" and carries an alarmist headline that makes it sound as though hospitals are secretly preparing for an outbreak of that size: \"U.S. hospitals are preparing for 96 million coronavirus infections and nearly half a million deaths, leaked documents reveal,\" reads a March 7, 2020, headline on an article from the Daily Mail, a British newspaper. The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) One expert addressing an American Hospital Association webinar estimated there could be 96 million coronavirus cases and 480,000 deaths in the United States. But there isn\u2019t evidence to indicate that American hospitals are covertly preparing for an outbreak of this magnitude, as the original headline implies. The Daily Mail says the \"leaked documents\" were obtained by Business Insider. When\u00a0we contacted the Daily Mail for this fact-check, a spokesman said the headline would be changed. The headline was changed to: \"US hospitals should prepare for 96 million\u00a0coronavirus infections and nearly half a million\u00a0deaths, leaked documents reveal.\" That is, \"are preparing\" was changed to \"should,\" but the leaked documents reference remained. Business Insider, a U.S.-based news website, also used \"leaked\" in the headline of its article, which requires a subscription to access. Business Insider reported that it obtained slides from a webinar on COVID-19, the disease caused by the current coronavirus, that was hosted by the American Hospital Association on Feb. 26, 2020. The article said one slide, presented by Dr. James Lawler, an infectious diseases expert and internal medicine professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is director of international programs and innovation at its Global Center for Health Security. Lawler, who has treated patients infected with the coronavirus who have been evacuated from China, estimated there could be as many 96 million coronavirus cases and 480,000 deaths in the United States. \"Overall, the slide points out that hospitals should prepare for an impact to the system that's 10 times a severe flu season,\" the Business Insider story says. The hospital association confirmed to Business Insider that the slides it reported on were authentic. It said that the information represented the views of the experts who participated, not the association. The association told us the same thing. It did not respond to our questions about whether hospitals are preparing for coronavirus in the numbers estimated by Lawler. No other American mainstream news media have reported on the estimates, according to a Nexis search. Though clearly, with such guidance, hospitals are preparing for a large outbreak. A separate March 7, 2020, story about Lawler\u2019s estimates in another United Kingdom-based newspaper, The Independent, said Lawler \"advised hospitals to prepare\" for an outbreak of this size. That\u2019s a different tone than is implied by the Daily Mail headline. \"I HOPE hospitals are preparing for this,\" Lawler told PolitiFact by email. \"Word is percolating through groundswell of professional networks as people hear ground truth from Italy, but I am afraid official sources for information are way behind.\" The original post said, \"U.S. hospitals are preparing for 96 million coronavirus infections and nearly half a million deaths, leaked documents reveal.\" One expert estimated at an American Hospital Association webinar that there could be 96 million coronavirus cases and 480,000 deaths in the United States. But these supposedly \"leaked\" documents were slides presented by one epidemiologist during a webinar to members of the American Hospital Association. They don\u2019t represent some official attempt to conceal information, as the original Daily Mail headline, later changed, suggests. They also don\u2019t provide evidence that hospitals are preparing for coronavirus cases in those numbers, though clearly this information is being used as guidance for hospitals\u2019 preparations. The statement is not accurate. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "35506", "claim": "COVID-19 contact-tracing apps like Healthy Together and ABTraceTogether are tracking you and also the people in your phone contacts and Facebook friends lists.", "explanation": "What's true: Different mobile applications are using Bluetooth and/or GPS technology to trace various users' locations (on a voluntary basis) to inform public health workers about transmission zones and contact patterns. What's false: However, these applications don't have access to contact numbers stored on your phone, unless you voluntarily provide them, or to your Facebook friends list. Only voluntary app users' locations can be tracked; the locations of people in their contacts list who have not installed the app cannot be tracked. What's undetermined: Many of these applications are in the early stages of testing, and their effectiveness is still being determined, as well as their overall impact on data privacy.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Technology, COVID-19", "main_text": "In early 2020, a number of smartphone applications (apps) were tested and launched across North America to help regions identify which users have been infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, who they came into contact with, and transmission zones. These apps are attempting to help make contact tracing easier, a form of disease control that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls a key strategy for preventing further spread of the disease. The process involves public health staff who work with COVID-19 patients to help them recall everyone they came into contact with during the time they may have been infectious. Staff then warn exposed individuals in a rapid and sensitive manner (while protecting the identity of the patient) and provide support and information on how to mitigate the spread. In May 2020, a number of Facebook posts claimed that mobile apps that are using contact tracing to research COVID-19 transmission patterns are also taking information from the user\u2019s device to \u201cidentify, track or locate\u201d various contacts on their phones or their Facebook friends lists. Most posts refer to one of two such apps: Healthy Together or ABTraceTogether. The posts say:   These posts greatly exaggerate the extent to which apps have access to contact lists and particularly to Facebook accounts. Healthy Together, built by Twenty Holdings, Inc., was rolled out by the state of Utah in April and May 2020, as part of an effort to help public health officials trace contacts of those infected with the disease, and to allow Utahns to track their symptoms and find the nearest testing center. The app uses GPS, location data, and Bluetooth technology to identify potential contacts. Bluetooth technology allows health officials to gather data by connecting devices to each other, while GPS data allows them to track a person\u2019s movements and their location to within 5 to 10 feet. Thus, Bluetooth determines potential person-to-person transmission of the disease while GPS tracking figures out potential transmission zones and how contagious diseases can move through populations and regions. The Utah government is encouraging more people to download this application. As of May 13, more than 45,000 people had done so, at least 2% of the state\u2019s population, according to CNBC. The app is opt-in and voluntary and allows users to control what data they release. They own their personal data and can delete it at any time. Location data is automatically deleted after 30 days, symptom data becomes anonymous after 30 days, and users can identify what data they would like to share, which includes Bluetooth data, location data, or contact lists. The FAQ on the Utah government\u2019s coronavirus resources website suggest that officials are taking precautions around user privacy as well: Will anyone have access to personally identifiable information? Public health officials and a limited number of development employees with Twenty Holdings, Inc. will have access to your name, phone number, and location data for COVID-19 tracing purposes only. What collective data would the Utah government like to share publicly in the weeks following the launch? The State of Utah values the role of limited government and recognizes that asking you to provide personal information may be uncomfortable and concerning to some. However, you can be assured that your personal data will be used only for the purpose of fighting COVID-19. Utah will investigate GPS and location data to help understand transmission zones, with the goal of informing policy makers so they can make swift and smart decisions in the coming weeks or months. Healthy Together\u2019s privacy policy also states users may provide the following, among other details:\u00a0 We may receive: Registration and Profile Information. We may receive information from you when you register to use Healthy Together. That information may include, among other things, your full name, phone numbers, and device identifiers. Contact List. If you choose to share your mobile device contacts or address book with Healthy Together, we will store your contacts or address book information, including the phone numbers and names of your contacts, to enable you to invite your contacts to Healthy Together and help facilitate your user experience. Healthy Together responded to Snopes\u2019 questions about these rumors: Only if a user opts-in to share their phone\u2019s contact list, can they then invite friends on their contact list to use the app. Sending this invitation will prompt their contact to join Healthy Together, but this invitation to join the app is also opt-in. Sending an invitation to a friend does not mean Healthy Together will track or automatically collect data. If someone chooses to download the app by accepting their friend\u2019s invitation, they too have to opt-in to share any data permissions. The app is not connected to Facebook and Healthy Together users cannot invite their Facebook friends to use the app. Healthy Together is not tracing anyone who is not a user of the app, and is not tracing anyone who does not opt in to the Bluetooth or location data permissions. Healthy Together is completely opt-in, users own their data, and can delete it at any time. Thus the app\u2019s ability to access your contact list is in the user\u2019s control and is available only to invite friends to download the app. The app does not appear to have the ability to access your Facebook friends list. Furthermore, the app can only track and identify people who have downloaded it, so those people without the app cannot be tracked. The app ABTraceTogether requires even less information from the user. The other app at the center of the Facebook/phone contacts rumor mill has been downloaded in the Canadian province of Alberta 100,000 times as of May 5. This voluntary app also does not connect to your phone contact list or Facebook friends list but collects only the following information: During the app set up, the only personal data we collect is your mobile number, so Alberta Health Services can contact you quickly if you were in close proximity to a COVID-19 case. With your consent, the ABTraceTogether app exchanges Bluetooth proximity data with nearby phones running the same app. This data is anonymized and encrypted, and does not reveal your identity or the other person\u2019s identity. In order to measure distance, information about your phone model and the signal strength recorded is also shared, since different phone models transmit at a different power. This data is stored only on your phone, and is not shared with Alberta Health Services. Should Alberta Health Services need the data for contact tracing, they will ask you directly to share it with them and enable an upload of your contact tracing logs. Contact tracers, health officials who are trying to track down people exposed to the virus, may ask users about their locations in verbal interviews. The app\u2019s privacy policy states: The information you provide will be collected by Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services for the purpose of conducting contact-tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic response to manage the public health emergency under the Public Health Act. [\u2026] ABTraceTogether enables you to exchange non-identifying information with other users via Bluetooth; other users will not have access to any of your individually identifying information. If you receive a positive diagnosis for COVID-19, Alberta Health or Alberta Health Services will send you a code to enter into the Application. Your information will then be accessed and potentially disclosed by Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services to one another, for the purpose of facilitating contact-tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The privacy policy further points out that because tracers rely only on Bluetooth technology and not GPS, they do not collect data about users\u2019 locations; they only communicate with nearby phones through Bluetooth for a limited period. Privacy advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are critical of apps that ask for names and phone numbers of users, arguing that will erode trust and discourage people from signing on. They argue that developers need to be as transparent as possible to ensure their app is effective. Bennett Cyphers, a Staff Technologist with EFF spoke to Snopes, arguing that ultimately these apps should only get what is absolutely necessary from the user, with \u201cas little private information [and] strict data minimization,\u201d something they don\u2019t agree apps like Healthy Together and ABTraceTogether are doing:\u00a0 [The government] doesn\u2019t need [this information], they want it \u2026 Apple\u2019s and Google\u2019s proposals [have] ways to do it where the user\u2019s phone is able to give push notifications to the user through anonymized data."}
{"claim_id": "10581", "claim": "Prostate cancer blood test could transform treatment, say scientists", "explanation": "This story describes a potential advance in precision medicine. Certain cancer therapeutics target tumors that have specific characteristics, such as the so-called PARP inhibitors. A diagnostic test to see if those specific characteristic exist, such as the liquid biopsy test described here, could help select patients most likely to benefit. Unfortunately, this article is essentially a rewrite of the news release,\u00a0glossing over the measured benefits, the costs, the harms\u2013and much more. There are many details of this study that warrant critical examination. Readers won\u2019t be well-served by this story that parrots the PR promotions.", "label": "false", "subjects": "The Guardian", "main_text": "The article did not mention costs. The story did not quantify the benefits of using the three-in-one liquid biopsy. Readers learned that results of the biopsy were used to initiate (or not) and continue (or not) treatment with a cancer therapeutic drug that targets certain types of prostate cancers in men. Readers did not learn anything about the trial design or how effectiveness of the biopsy was measured. At the very least, it would have\u00a0been helpful to know what proportion of patients \u201cbenefited\u201d (changing drug vs. initiating drug). The story made no mention of potential harms of the liquid biopsy itself or of guiding chemotherapeutic treatment decisions based on results of the liquid biopsy. What about false positives? And false negatives? Erroneous results from a \u201csimple\u201d blood test could lead to a patient stopping the drug prematurely or initiating erroneously. Stories about screening tests must include the false positive and false negative rates for these reasons\u2013they are a real risk. The story does discuss the various ways the liquid biopsy might be helpful. Its descriptor \u2014 three-in-one \u2014 was explained for readers; its essentially a way to select patients that might benefit from targeted cancer therapy and to monitor response and resistance to the chemotherapeutic drug. But no study results were outlined, other than a brief mention that this was a phase 2 trial with about 49 men in the study. The article did not overhype the risks of prostate cancer. The story quotes two sources: 1) the first author, who\u2019s a researcher at the UK\u2019s Institute of Cancer Research; and 2) the Chief Executive of the very same research institution. No outside sources were mentioned, much less quoted. It was good that\u00a0funding sources were\u00a0mentioned, however. The article makes no mention about alternatives. It doesn\u2019t make clear what current standard therapy is for prostate cancer or how patients are currently selected for treatment with the targeted cancer drug. It also didn\u2019t discuss that the drug itself\u2013olaparib\u2013is still being researched for effectiveness. The story does not help readers understand whether this blood test is available now\u2013or if not, when it might become available for wider, non-research use. The article makes clear that this is a new test for circulating DNA that provides specific information about a cancer patient\u2019s individualized cancer profile. However, the only people to say so are the researchers testing the liquid biopsy. This claim would carry more weight if it came from an independent source. It appears that the story heavily relied on this news release from the\u00a0UK\u2019s Institute of Cancer Research. And without attribution. For example, this quote that appears in the news release appears verbatim in the news story:  \u201cOur study identifies, for the first time, genetic changes that allow prostate cancer cells to become resistant to the precision medicine olaparib. \u201cFrom these findings, we were able to develop a powerful, three-in-one test that could in future be used to help doctors select treatment, check whether it is working and monitor the cancer in the longer term. We think it could be used to make clinical decisions about whether a PARP inhibitor is working within as little as four to eight weeks of starting therapy. \u201cNot only could the test have a major impact on treatment of prostate cancer, but it could also be adapted to open up the possibility of precision medicine to patients with other types of cancer as well.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "23934", "claim": "Dale Peterson Says his opponent Dorman Grace brags on his Facebook page about receiving illegal campaign contributions.", "explanation": "Dale Peterson squawks about chicken farm campaign funds in Alabama Ag Commissioner race", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Agriculture, National, Campaign Finance, Ethics, Message Machine 2010, Dale Peterson, ", "main_text": "One of the most talked-about political ads of the primary election season comes courtesy of a relatively obscure race: the Republican primary for the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. It's the tough-talking, rifle-toting Dale \"Cowboy\" Peterson who propels the ad to an instant classic. To date, the ad has been viewed more 1.2 million times on YouTube. In it, Peterson aims his most pointed verbal attack against Republican primary opponent Dorman Grace. \"Dorman Grace brags on his Facebook page about receiving contributions from industries he would regulate. Bragging about receiving illegal money on Facebook. Who on earth would support such a dummy?\" It's one thing to call your opponent a dummy. It's another to call him a cheat. And so we decided to check out Peterson's claim that Grace was guilty of taking illegal campaign contributions. And then bragging about it on Facebook. Campaign finance reports submitted to the Alabama Secretary of State, and viewable online, show that Grace has taken contributions from several \"farms.\" Among them, deer and poultry farms. And on his Facebook page, Grace thanked some of the supporters who have contributed to his campaign, including some of the farmers in question. So are the contributions \"illegal\"? In 1998, the Alabama Legislature passed a law \"to prohibit the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Industries or a candidate for the office of commissioner from accepting campaign contributions from persons associated with businesses regulated by the department.\" The contributions to Grace have given rise to several complaints with the state Ethics Commission -- not by Peterson -- but the commission has yet to rule on them. He's no expert on election laws, Peterson said in a phone interview with PolitiFact, but this seems pretty cut and dry. \"You can readily see that industries that we regulate, he's accepting money from them,\" Peterson said. End of story? Not necessarily. The Grace campaign says it has done nothing wrong because the contributions to the campaign don't come from industries regulated by the agriculture commissioner. Tullie Culverhouse, campaign manager for Grace, contends the law was intended to bar contributions from agencies regulated by the ag commissioner, such as fertilizer and pest control companies which have to come to the department for a permit to operate in Alabama. \"Poultry farms are not regulated by the department,\" Culverhouse said. \"They are serviced by the department. The only thing they do is serve the industry with disease control. This is frivolous.\" So those are the competing opinions of the two campaigns. We spoke with Glen Zorn, the assistant ag commissioner and Democratic candidate for the top agriculture job. Zorn doesn't think it would be accurate to say, for example, that poultry farms are \"regulated\" by the\u00a0commissioner. He hasn't taken any money from any poultry farmers, he said, but he would. The law about not accepting contributions from \"persons associated with businesses regulated by the department\" has never been tested, and remains a gray area, said Jeff Webb, legal advisor to the Agriculture Commissioner. \"We can go on anyone's property that is growing hens and make sure they are following all of the mandates to prevent outbreaks of infectious or contagious disease,\" Webb said. And so, he said, \"There is an argument that they are regulated by us.\" But there's a pretty good argument in the other direction, too, he said. Ray Hilburn, Poultry Program Director for the Alabama Department of Agriculture, said he doesn't view the department's role as a regulator of poultry farms. \"We regulate diseases,\" he said. \"We do disease work. We make sure the birds are disease-free. But we don't regulate the poultry growers themselves, in my opinion.\" Ultimately, it appears the state Ethics Commission is going to have to decide whether these contributions were improper (and it seems unlikely we'll hear a decision before next month's Republican primary). But we think it's fair to say that when the state's poultry program director and the legal advisor to the Alabama Department of Agriculture say the law is untested and unclear, it's a bit of a gray area. And so we rule Peterson's statement ."}
{"claim_id": "28288", "claim": "Canadians can be fined $1,000 for eating while driving.", "explanation": "What's true: Canadian authorities may use their discretion to ticket motorists who are eating while driving if they deem those motorists are unable to operate their vehicles safely. What's false: The new distracted-driving law applies only in the province of Ontario, and it is geared toward distractions caused by hand-held devices and not by eating.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Automobiles", "main_text": "On 1 April 2019 the website \u201cCanada Eh?\u201d reported that Canadian motorists would soon run the risk of stiff fines for being caught eating while behind the wheel. The story\u2019s headline was: \u201cCanadians Can Be Fined $1000 for Eating While Driving Starting Next Month.\u201d Although the story was shared widely on social media, it wasn\u2019t quite accurate. One Canadian province, Ontario, did enact stricter penalties for distracted driving, such that first-time offenders could be penalized with a fine of up to $1,000 and a three-day license suspension. But each Canadian province, much like each state in the U.S., has its own motor vehicle code, and the $1,000 fine doesn\u2019t apply throughout all of Canada. Moreover, the new law in Ontario pertains specifically to hand-held devices rather than eating, and it went into effect on 1 January 2019 (not \u201cnext month\u201d). As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported, \u201cDrivers [in Ontario] who are caught talking on their phones, texting, dialing or emailing using a hand-held device, such as a cell phone and other entertainment devices, will be fined up to $1,000 with a three-day licence suspension and three demerit points.\u201d Penalties rack up with each offense, according to the CBC. \u201cDrivers with more than one distracted driving conviction will face a fine of up to $2,000, a seven-day licence suspension and six demerit points, while motorists who have been caught driving distracted more than two times will pay a fine of up to $3,000 and lose their license for 30 days.\u201d According to the Ontario government website, \u201cOntario\u2019s distracted driving laws apply to the use of hand-held communication/entertainment devices and certain display screens.\u201d Drivers may not: Eating while driving is not a specific part of the law, although motorists can still be ticketed if the act of eating impairs their driving, the Ontario government pointed out: You are allowed to use hands-free wireless communications devices with an earpiece, lapel button or Bluetooth. You can view GPS display screens as long as they are built into your vehicle\u2019s dashboard or securely mounted on the dashboard. Other actions such as eating, drinking, grooming, smoking, reading and reaching for objects are not part of Ontario\u2019s distracted driving law. However, you can still be charged with careless or dangerous driving. The British Columbian division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) tweeted in 2017 an example of an instance in whic drivers could potentially be ticketed for unsafely eating while driving \u2014 slurping hot noodles with chopsticks: #DYK you can\u2019t eat a bowl of soup while driving? Drive without due care= $368 Fine + 6 points #TicketTuesday pic.twitter.com/TlOXWtvgOW \u2014 BCRCMP Traffic (@BCRCMPTraffic) September 12, 2017  When asked for a clarification of the tweet, RCMP Constable Melissa Wutke said it was meant to depict an \u201cexaggerated situation,\u201d and that not all instances of eating while driving would result in motorists\u2019 being ticketed. \u201cEach situation is considered on its own merit, there is no blanket statement such as if you eat noodles and drive it will equal this, it\u2019s all very dependent on the situation the officer sees,\u201d she told the local news outlet KelownaNow. \u201cBut if you\u2019re able to eat something with one hand that likely isn\u2019t going to distract you from driving, then that probably is not the problem.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "4659", "claim": "Former Baltimore lawmaker charged with bribery, fraud.", "explanation": "Federal authorities on Monday unsealed charges against a former state lawmaker who represented Baltimore for allegedly taking more than $33,000 in bribes in exchange for various legislative actions, including voting to increase the number of medical marijuana grower and processing licenses available to an out-of-state company.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical marijuana, General News, Marijuana, Maryland, Baltimore", "main_text": "Cheryl Diane Glenn has been charged with honest services wire fraud and bribery. The veteran Democratic lawmaker, who abruptly resigned her job as a Maryland state delegate Wednesday, had become a leading advocate for legalizing marijuana in Maryland. \u201cThe victims are all of us: taxpayers, the people of Ms. Glenn\u2019s district, indeed, all Marylanders who are represented in the General Assembly ... ,\u201d U.S. Attorney in Maryland Robert Hur said at a news conference. \u201cThe people of Maryland expect \u2014 and they should expect \u2014 that elected officials place the interest of their citizens above their own. Unfortunately, the allegations in the charging document unsealed today show that Ms. Glenn betrayed that public trust.\u201d Authorities allege Glenn in March 2018 agreed to vote for a bill that would help an unnamed company obtain a medical marijuana license in exchange for $3,000 in cash. She received the money the following month, after the bill passed both chambers, and used it to pay outstanding property taxes. That bill would end up becoming law. The measure increased the number of grower licenses from 15 to as many as 22. The measure was designed to improve diversity in the state\u2019s medical marijuana industry. The legislation also increased the number of weed processor licenses from 15 to 28. Glenn was charged by information, which is a type of charging document prosecutors use when a defendant has waived being indicted by a grand jury and that may signal a plea deal. The document was signed on July 23 but was not unsealed until Monday. Hur declined to say whether a plea agreement is in the works with Glenn. Her attorney did not immediately return a voicemail seeking comment. The charging document accuses Glenn of splitting a $10,000 bribe with an associate weeks after meeting in June 2018 with a businessperson who wanted to talk about medical marijuana licenses. During the meeting, Glenn allegedly boasted that a medical marijuana company had received a growing license without having high-priced lobbyists because the enterprise knew \u201cGod and Cheryl Glenn.\u201d The bribe allegedly came after she agreed to introduce legislation that would give local businesses priority for medical marijuana licenses. Federal authorities have also accused Glenn of prefiling a measure on October 2018 to lower the required years of experience for medical directors at opioid maintenance therapy clinics from 5 to 2. Authorities say she received $5,000 from a businessperson after she formally introduced the bill in January. Glenn allegedly received the heftiest bribe in February, when a businessperson seeking a liquor license for a restaurant in her district gave her $15,000 after she introduced a necessary bill. Authorities say the businessperson had given Glenn an initial payment of $5,000 before the measure was introduced. In total, she is accused of taking $33,750 in bribes. Glenn, 68, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Baltimore on Jan. 22. Hur also would not say if any businesspeople or associates of Glenn could face charges. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the honest services wire fraud charge and five years for the bribery charge. The state\u2019s medical cannabis commission is named after Glenn\u2019s late mother, Natalie M. LaPrade. Glenn, who was first elected in 2006, chaired the Baltimore City delegation and previously headed the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. She now joins the list of Maryland public officials who have faced accusations of public corruption in 2019. Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh pleaded guilty last month to federal conspiracy and tax evasion charges involving sales of her self-published children\u2019s books. A month earlier, former state Del. Tawanna Gaines, a Prince George\u2019s County Democrat, pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge after admitting to converting more than $22,000 in campaign money for her personal use."}
{"claim_id": "25802", "claim": "Allen West Says the coronavirus has a \u201c99.9% recovery rate\u201d in Texas.", "explanation": "The calculation behind West\u2019s \u201crecovery rate\u201d is not accurate. He looked at people who did not die after contracting COVID-19 and compared that figure to the entire population, not just those individuals who have been infected. Experts said his definition of the recovery rate is also misleading, as it counts any person who did not die as having recovered. In reality, studies have shown lasting health impacts on those who contracted the virus but are no longer infectious.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Texas, Coronavirus, Allen West, ", "main_text": "Texas Republicans selected a new party leader at last month\u2019s virtual state convention, overwhelmingly supporting retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West, a former one-term U.S. House member from Florida as chairman over incumbent James Dickey. West described some state-level actions aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus in the state as tyrannical during his address to delegates during the convention \u2014 a criticism that he has carried over to media appearances following his election. During an appearance on a North Texas radio program on July 27, West talked about the state\u2019s coronavirus response and the recovery rate for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. \"When I look at a state like Texas, which has 29 million in population, we\u2019re getting close to I guess about 300,000 or so COVID-19 positive cases \u2014 there\u2019s some questions about what a positive case really means \u2014 and sadly we\u2019ve lost about 3,900 Texans,\" West said. \"That\u2019s only .01% of our population. If you just want to look at the facts, and I know everyone is concerned about this resurgence of COVID-19, but again we see more testing, more positive cases but yet the death rate is continuing to drop. I don\u2019t want to see us get to the point where we\u2019re imposing draconian measures, measures that go against our fundamental liberties and freedoms and rights over something that has a 99.9% recovery rate.\" West described the same recovery rate during an interview with a television station in Dallas on Sunday, stating: \"99.9% of Texans are able to recover from COVID-19.\" Is that accurate? West\u2019s numbers for positive cases and deaths are outdated and his figure for the recovery rate is wrong. \"The statement that COVID-19 \"has a 99.9% recovery rate\" is something I would characterize as ,\" said Cory Zigler, an associate professor of statistics and data sciences and of women\u2019s health at the University of Texas. Coronavirus figures in Texas At the time of West\u2019s statement on July 27, Texas was reporting 385,923 positive COVID-19 test results from molecular tests and 5,713 fatalities connected to the coronavirus. The state has since corrected the number of fatalities for July 27 as 5,489. West said the numbers he used in his calculation were from mid-July. When asked about the formula he used to calculate his recovery rate \u2014 recoveries versus the state\u2019s population \u2014 he said it was meant to show the impact of the virus in the state. \"I chose that comparative means because we would use the same methodology to assess any illness affects against the greater population,\" he said in a statement (which was later posted to the Texas Republican Party\u2019s Facebook page). But that\u2019s not true. Zigler said calculating the recovery rate would involve a count of the people who have been infected with COVID-19 and the count of those who recover \u2014 which in West\u2019s definition is all those who did not die. The latest numbers would put that rate closer to 98.7% Comparing recoveries to the population at-large does not produce a recovery rate. \"You don\u2019t recover from something you\u2019ve never had,\" Zigler said. Diana Cervantes, director of the Master of Public Health Epidemiology Program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, agreed and said the calculation West used is \"poor math.\" \"How can you say someone is recovered if they have never been infected?\" she said. Plus, Cervantes said West\u2019s assertion that this methodology would be used to assess the impact of any illness is a stretch. \"The reason you collect data on diseases is because you have certain goals, including to understand the burden of the disease and whether control measures are effective,\" she said. \"One of those goals is usually not \u2014 because of limited resources \u2014 to say \u2018what is the recovery rate\u2019 and \u2018how many people return to their normal state of health\u2019.\" \"That kind of question is usually beyond the scope of the resources of health departments and even academic institutions to answer that question,\" she said. Examining what recovery means Another component of West\u2019s claim that needs a closer look is how he characterizes recoveries: all those who tested positive and did not die. Zigler and Cervantes said this is one way of describing recoveries, but another definition may be more common. \"One could imagine a different definition of \u2018recovery\u2019 to mean \u2018did not die and no longer remains sick\u2019 which would decrease the \u2018recovery rate\u2019 since there is evidence that many people have lasting problems after infection,\" Zigler said in an email. While research is ongoing, doctors and researchers have raised concerns about the lasting impact of COVID-19. Studies have found that \"recovered\" patients continued to have impaired organ function and blood test results did not return to normal after the individual was no longer infectious. The recovery rate has been a point of friction for some public officials, as different states use distinct formulas to calculate the rate. In Texas, the state produces an estimate based on hospitalizations and average stays. \"It is misleading and could be a little dangerous,\" Cervantes said, adding that people may be less cautious in their efforts to stop the spread of the virus if they think their chances of returning to their usual state of health after becoming infected are as high as 99.9%. \"It will give people a  impression that most people who get infected, we know that they are now back to their previous state of health and really, there is no way to know that,\" she said. \"We don\u2019t know that unless we survey people and do a more in depth look into this thing, and we\u2019re barely keeping up with contract tracing as it is.\" Our ruling West gave outdated numbers for the numbers of infections and deaths in Texas. He also said the recovery rate for COVID-19 is 99.9%, based on the number of people in Texas who did not die after testing positive for COVID-19 divided by the entire population of Texas. Experts said West\u2019s calculation here is wrong. Even if you defined all people who were infected with the virus and didn\u2019t die as having recovered, that rate would be 98.7%. But that way of considering recovery would be misleading since studies have shown many people suffer long-term health effects from the virus. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "29438", "claim": "Voters across Texas have witnessed their votes switch from \"straight Republican\" to Democrat on compromised voting machines.", "explanation": "What's true: A woman in Tarrant County claimed that her vote switched from Republican to Democrat and she caught and corrected the error; a subsequent investigation determined the machine was working properly, and the woman admitted she may have erroneously selected the wrong candidate. What's false: Reports are not flooding in from across Texas about vote switching, and most anecdotes are identical with localities changed.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Ballot Box, election fraud, rigged election, texas", "main_text": "On 25 October 2016, rumors spiked claiming Texas voters (in cities as far-flung as San Antonio, Odessa, Amarillo, and Houston) were witnessing voting machines swap out \u201cstraight Republican\u201d line voting with votes for Hillary Clinton. The starting point of the rumor was not clear (many different Texas cities have been cited in otherwise identical versions of the rumor), but a number of inquiries mentioned the City of Arlington as the purportedly affected jurisdiction. We contacted Tarrant County and spoke with an elections official there who told us the rumor was not new, as every election brings along with it claims of \u201cvote switching.\u201d She stated that in all instances where machine or voting equipment malfunctions are reported, a technician\u00a0physically investigates the machine involved in an attempt to replicate the error (adding that the county has never successfully managed to reproduce a\u00a0switched vote). The representative stated that someone from the county spoke with the claimant on 24 October 2016 after the machine she had used was tested by a technician. The representative asked the woman whether it was possible she inadvertently hit \u201center\u201d using a scroll wheel, and the woman said she might have in fact accidentally selected\u00a0the wrong candidates herself. But the machine the woman used was found to be properly calibrated and working correctly. San Antonio radio station KISS-FM reported that similar claims out of Potter and Randall County were investigated, and the purported \u201cvote switching\u201d was attributed to \u201chuman error\u201d: Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner released a statement [on 25 October 2016]. It said, \u201cThere is nothing wrong with any of the machines we use for voting. They do not flip your vote. They do not flip parties. Humans do that.\u201d It goes on to talk about the situation in Canyon: \u201cThere was one incident in Randall County where a voter voted straight ticket and when they hit the vote button, it flipped parties \u2026 The machine was then checked and nothing was wrong with the machine.\u201d According to the Randall County Elections Office, they were aware of this mistake but addressed it as user-error. They said that there are several voters each year who report that their ballots are mismarked, but they are usually caused by the voter accidentally selecting a different party. We also contacted the Texas Secretary of State to ask about the geographically dispersed rumors, and the representative with whom we spoke stated that Texas comprises 254 different elections, all administrated at the county level. Machines and even voting methods (such as optical scan or wheel) vary from county to county, meaning that a particular form of vote \u201crigging\u201d would be difficult or impossible to implement all across Texas. She explained that voting equipment used in that state had largely been obtained many years prior to the 2016 election, and that voting machines are not connected to the Internet. According to the Texas Secretary of State\u2019s office, each vote is recorded in three places: on the machine itself, on an external drive, and on a paper printout. Citing the possibility of human error or (relatively rare) miscalibration of voting machines, the representative told us the office encouraged all voters to double check their ballots before submitting their vote. She added that should a voter encounter a malfunctioning piece of voting equipment, it is imperative they report the incident to election officials to ensure the issue can be addressed. However, she was not aware of any official reports of widespread or localized vote switching (despite the rampant rumors on Facebook). All three agencies we contacted affirmed that vote-switching rumors are in no way news to the 2016 general election, and that user error overwhelmingly accounts for reports of switched votes. The County of Chambers in Texas did temporary switch from voting machines to emergency paper ballots while awaiting a software upgrade to fix a problem with the former, but that issue affected both parties equally: On Monday, October 24, 2016, at the beginning of Early Voting it was brought to the attention of the County Clerk, Heather H. Hawthorne, that the Straight Party vote for both the Republicans and Democrats, did not automatically select one race on each ballot. The error was caused in programming by ES&S (Election Systems and Software Inc.), the vendor who programs the election software used in Chambers County. Immediately, Hawthorne contacted ES&S and advised them of the issue. Hawthorne then contacted the Secretary of State\u2019s office, the office overseeing the elections in Texas, and was informed to create emergency paper ballots to be used until the problem could be fixed. ES&S, based in Dallas, informed Hawthorne they would send software to correct the issue. Today, Hawthorne will be in the polling locations to install the corrected software to the votronic machines. Hawthorne is confident that all machines should be ready by the end of today. However, that particular glitch did not appear to affect votes cast for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton: An error in the voting machine programming by Election Systems & Software (ES&S) caused votes for one statewide court of appeals race not to be entered when a voter tried to vote straight ticket in either party according to a release from Chambers County. As local news sources indicated, the malfunction in question did not involve \u201cvote switching,\u201d but rather the machines failure to record downballot votes for \u201cstraight ticket\u201d voters. The machines were repaired on 25 and 26 October 2016, and the issue was immediately addressed by the Texas Secretary of State. A number of readers contacted us claiming that a cell video depicted the Texas \u201cvote switching phenomenon\u201d: Does anyone still believe that #VoterFraud doesn\u2019t exist? Here we have a sample from early voting in Texas\u2026 https://t.co/8jmTt2S3hO \u2014 Logic Doesnt Lv Here (@LD_LH) October 26, 2016  Not that I\u2019m trying to support these claims on voting machines switching votes, but there is a video that seems to show this. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=814936408608816&id=644891892279936 Explain this link. http://viralliberty.com/cell-phone-video-released-showing-vote-machines-changing-votes-democrat/. I\u2019m writing to you about your fact checking on \u201cDallas Cow-ploys\u201d are you working for clinton as well? There are video showing the machines are changing votes to Hillary, it\u2019s voter fraud! Take a look https://youtu.be/cDyWu0b4T_c and stop reporting media bias for Hillary! I used to think you were reporting/investigating the truth but this is pure BS! When links were included, the videos exclusively\u00a0depicted a single instance of what appeared to be a malfunctioning voting machine in the state of Virginia (and again not involving candidates for President). The glitch\u00a0in question involved Virginia Republican Rep. Scott Rigell, the voter appeared unable to select Rigell, and no votes were \u201cswitched\u201d in the viral clip. None of the forwarded clips featured candidates in the state of Texas, and the depicted video misleadingly depicted a 2014 race."}
{"claim_id": "39800", "claim": "\u00a0 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised young mothers to delay breastfeeding because studies show that it could make vaccines less effective for their babies.  ", "explanation": "CDC Says Mothers Shouldn\u2019t Breastfeed to Make Vaccines More Effective", "label": "false", "subjects": "9/11 Attack on America", "main_text": "This claim is false. A number of blog sites have cited a 2010  study titled, \u201cThe Inhibitory Effect of Breast Milk on Inactivity of Live Oral Rotavirus Vaccines,\u201d in making this claim. The study explored why vaccines are less effective among children in poor, developing countries than in middle income and industrialized countries. According to the study\u2019s abstract: The lower immunogenicity and efficacy of rotavirus vaccines in poor developing countries\u00a0could be explained, in part, by higher titers of IgA and neutralizing activity in breast milk\u00a0consumed by their infants at the time of immunization that could effectively reduce the\u00a0potency of the vaccine. Strategies to overcome this negative effect, such as delaying breastfeeding at the time of immunization, should be evaluated. Researchers from the CDC did participate in the study, as the eRumor claimed. But the study does not suggest that women in the U.S. should delay breastfeeding. It suggests that delayed breastfeeding \u201cshould be evaluated\u201d in developing countries at the time of the child\u2019s vaccination. In the U.S, the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) working group  suggests that young mothers forgo immunizations \u2014 not breastfeeding \u2014\u00a0to avoid complications in their children: Precaution: A condition in a recipient that might increase the risk for a serious adverse reaction or that might compromise the ability of the vaccine to produce immunity. Under usual circumstances, vaccination should be deferred. However, vaccination might be indicated because benefits outweigh risks. In the context of pregnancy and breastfeeding, serious adverse reaction includes maternal, fetal or neonatal serious adverse events linked to the vaccine. Contraindication means that there is direct evidence or strong biologic plausibility and suggestive evidence that the risk of severe adverse event is elevated for at least one of these groups. Precaution means there is no supporting evidence but there is some biologic plausibility; precaution may also mean that there is a lack of data to support safety. For its part, the CDC  encourages that all young mothers breastfeed their babies and  works to increase breastfeeding rates. The CDC  reports: One of the most highly effective preventive measures a mother can take to protect the\u00a0health of her infant is to breastfeed. However, in the United States, although most\u00a0mothers hope to breastfeed, and 79% of babies start out being breastfed, only 19% are\u00a0exclusively breastfed 6 months later. Additionally, rates are significantly lower for\u00a0African-American infants. The success rate among mothers who want to breastfeed can be greatly improved\u00a0through active support from their families, friends, communities, clinicians, health care\u00a0leaders, employers, and policymakers. Given the importance of breastfeeding for the\u00a0health and wellbeing of mothers and children, it is critical that we take action across\u00a0the country to support breastfeeding. And \u201cdeferred breastfeeding\u201d is a very small portion of global efforts to increase the effectiveness of vaccines in developing countries. One of the biggest hurdles is that vaccines must be kept cold to remain effective, yet children live in remote areas with limited access to electricity and refrigeration, so vaccines often spoil, the humanitarian group Deutsche Welle\u00a0reports: Health workers have to keep vaccines cool at all times \u2013 from the moment\u00a0of their production until they are administered by injection or in other\u00a0ways. \u201cThis is one of the reasons why we\u2019re still unable to vaccinate many\u00a0children against diseases, which have been wiped out in developed\u00a0countries \u2013 polio, for example,\u201d says Sebastian Dietrich, a physician\u00a0working with Doctors without Borders. \u201cWe just can\u2019t get the vaccines to\u00a0very remote areas while keeping them cool.\u201d When Doctors Without Borders vaccinates people in developing countries,\u00a0they face serious challenges, says Dietrich. Most sensitive vaccines\u00a0solutions become unusable as soon as their temperature rises above eight\u00a0degrees Celsius. Dietrich and his colleagues have to get the vaccines through customs\u00a0before they go bad, and they have to find storage rooms with good\u00a0refrigeration, or transport the vaccines by car to remote areas, where there\u00a0may not even be electricity. Deutsche Welle concludes that developing nanovaccines that don\u2019t need refrigeration is the key to increasing effectiveness \u2014 not delayed breastfeeding. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "10089", "claim": "Bone drug cuts risk of breast cancer", "explanation": "This article presents the preliminary results from STAR, a large clinical trial comparing tamoxifen and raloxifene in postmenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer. The study found comparable reduction in breast cancer risk. While the article reported that for the women taking raloxifene, the incidence of uterine cancer, blood clots, and cataracts were less than the women taking tamoxifen, only the difference in cataract was statically significant. This oversight is major as the incidence of uterine cancer and blood clots may be among the factors a woman considers when deciding which, if either breast cancer risk treatment option, is right for her. The other big omission is that the comparability in breast cancer reduction is only for invasive breast cancer; tamoxifen reduced the risk of less aggressive breast cancer (i.e. ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) while raloxifene did not. If the risks for all breast cancer events had been compared, the reported outcome of the study may have differed.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "No mention of the costs of either tamoxifen or raloxifene was made. Failure to mention the lack of statistical significance for the incidence of uterine cancers and blood clots for women at increased risk of breast cancer taking raloxifene as compared with those taking tamoxifen is an important lack of framework. The story didn\u2019t describe how well either drug prevents breast cancer (i.e. how many would have developed it and how many were prevented from developing it because of treatment. In addition, the reported impact on the quality of life was the same for the two treatments. The increased incidence of other, less-invasive forms of breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ and lobular carcinoma in situ) was not mentioned. The absolute number of cases for the side effects was not presented. The article discussed some recently released data from a large clinical trial comparing tamoxifen and raloxifene in postmenopausal women considered to be at increased risk of breast cancer. Though the study found that the reduction in invasive breast cancer was the same for the two drugs, the article failed to distinguish between differences in side effects that were and were not statistically significant (i.e. that there were 36% fewer uterine cancers and 29% fewer blood clots among women who took raloxifene were not statistically significant while the 21% fewer cataracts were statistically significant). As the purported benefit of raloxifene over tamoxifen is about the prevalence of side effects, this distinction is important. While it was noted within the story that the average five-year breast cancer risk for the women in the study was 3.4%, the overall tone of the article was one of disease mongering. One quoted expert (chairman for one of the studies) is quoted as saying that as many as 10 million postmenopausal women are at increased risk for breast cancer. Failure to present the absolute number of breast cancer cases and side effect cases in each study group serves to amplify concern about cancer risk. The results of this study , its analysis, and interpretation have not yet been peer reviewed or published. Two quotes, one from the executive director of Breast Cancer Action and a spokesperson from the American Cancer Society, contribute valuable cautionary interpretation for the rest of the material presented in the article. The article mentioned tamoxifen, the only medication to date that has been approved by the FDA for reducing breast cancer risk in healthy women. However the article failed to mention that not doing anything, increased screening (such as more frequent mammograms, screening with MRI, ductal lavage) and prophylactic mastectomy are also options to decrease breast cancer risk. Although the article mentions that doctors could prescribe raloxifene for the purpose of reducing breast cancer risk, it is not yet approved by the FDA for this purpose and would therefore represent an off-label use of this medication. The use of raloxifene as a medication to reduce breast cancer risk is new. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release, although the story does appear to rely on information in the STAR study press release."}
{"claim_id": "37491", "claim": "An April 2020 image shows the United Kingdom's flag projected onto the Matterhorn as a show of solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic.", "explanation": "Did a Swiss Town Project the Union Jack Onto the Matterhorn to Show COVID-19 Solidarity?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "In early April 2020, images of the United Kingdom\u2019s flag projected onto the Matterhorn began circulating \u2014 striking photographs that appeared to perhaps be of\u00a0questionable veracity:The town of #Zermatt in #Switzerland projecting the Union Flag onto the #Matterhorn in solidarity with the UK, and it looks phenomenal.Thank you Switzerland! \ud83c\udfd4\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 pic.twitter.com/agIwTk1DfI\u2014 Jacob Young MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JacobYoungMP) April 11, 2020In addition to Twitter, the photograph was shared by a notorious karma-farming poster to Reddit\u2019s r/nextfuckinglevel, and it appeared on r/DamnThatsInteresting and r/CasualUK:In the town of Zermatt Switzerland they have been displaying national flags on the Matterhorn to show support during these trying times. Today they did one for the United Kingdom from nextfuckinglevelIn the town of Zermatt Switzerland they have been displaying national flags on the Matterhorn to show support during these trying times. Today they did one for the United Kingdom from DamnthatsinterestingMost variations of the claim consisted solely of an image, not a news article or other information indicating whether the image was anything more than inspired digital editing. Even blog posts and articles gave the same image (none from different angles) along with the same basic description, location (Zermatt, Switzerland), and a date range:Zermatt projected an enormous Union Jack flag onto the Matterhorn [on April 10 2020] as a sign of solidarity towards their \u201cfriends from the UK\u201d.The story was picked up by BBC:At an incredible 4,478 metres high, the Matterhorn is one of the tallest mountains in the Alps. It towers over the town of Zermatt, Switzerland. For the last few weeks, a powerful projector aimed at the face of the mountain, has been displaying the flags of the nations affected by the coronavirus. This was the amazing sight of the Union Jack \u2014 the flag of the United Kingdom, lighting up the mountain.Another news article \u2014 translated here from Greek \u2014 included an entire series of images. That April 12 2020 article\u00a0reported\u00a0that the projections were in honor of countries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic:The Matterhorn Mountains in the Alps are illuminated by the landmarks of Europe, which have been hit hardest by the spread of the virus. It is a symbolic move that aims to show that everyone\u2019s thoughts are never far from those who are struggling to get out of this ordeal.That article also included images of the Union Jack on the Matterhorn taken from different angles. On Zermatt.ch, the Zermatt region\u2019s official tourism site, a page explained\u00a0when the illuminations occurred, and invited people to watch \u2014 from home, of course:Light is hope! In this sense, the Matterhorn is illuminated daily during the Coronavirus pandemic. The projections take place [daily] from 21:30 to 23:00 hrs.With this light projection, Zermatt wants to give people a sign of hope and solidarity in these difficult times. The village shows solidarity with all the people who are currently suffering and is grateful to all those who are helping to overcome the crisis.Stay at home \u2014 you can follow the spectacle live via webcams.As indicated above, the British flag was projected onto the Matterhorn on April 10 2020 \u2014 followed by a graphic marking Easter (April 12 2020) the following day, and a candle on Easter itself. The stunning image is real, and a gallery of additional efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found on Zermatt.ch."}
{"claim_id": "5586", "claim": "Wyoming records first 2 vaping illness cases.", "explanation": "Wyoming has recorded its first two cases of vaping-related illnesses.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Vaping, General News, Wyoming, Mark Gordon", "main_text": "The cases announced Wednesday occurred in Uinta and Park counties around the second week of September. Wyoming Department of Health spokeswoman Kim Deti says both people were hospitalized. The illnesses are prompting the department and Gov. Mark Gordon to warn people to avoid vaping products containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Symptoms of vaping illness include coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports over 1,600 lung injury cases and 34 deaths nationwide. About 80 percent of cases involve THC use. Gordon says he has told the department to investigate ways Wyoming can address vaping-associated illness."}
{"claim_id": "6417", "claim": "Michael Bloomberg named World Health Organization ambassador.", "explanation": "Billionaire philanthropist and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has a new job \u2014 as global ambassador for the U.N. health agency with a mandate to help reduce deaths from prevalent diseases, traffic accidents, tobacco, alcohol and obesity.", "label": "true", "subjects": "World Health Organization, New York, Michael Bloomberg, AP Health, Margaret Chan, Health, United Nations, Injuries, Road safety", "main_text": "World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan cited Bloomberg\u2019s longtime support for its efforts to control smoking and tobacco use, improve road safety and prevent drowning in announcing Wednesday that he will be the agency\u2019s Global Ambassador for Non-communicable Diseases. She said Bloomberg will help mobilize national and local political leaders, donors and the private sector to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases which are experiencing a growing epidemic and to reduce injuries from road traffic crashes, burns, falls and drowning. According to WHO, non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart and lung disease and injuries are responsible for 43 million deaths each year. They represent almost 80 percent of all deaths worldwide and are the leading cause of premature death in developing countries. Yet, despite their prevalence, non-communicable diseases currently account for only 2 percent of all health funding, the agency said. Road traffic crashes account for a further 1.25 million deaths each year and are the leading cause of death among young people, aged 15-29 year, WHO said. Chan said she is \u201cabsolutely delighted\u201d that Bloomberg will be a WHO ambassador, calling him \u201ca valued partner\u201d who will help strengthen the agency\u2019s response to the major public health challenges posed by non-communicable diseases and injuries. Bloomberg said he is \u201chonored ... and excited about the possibilities that are within our reach.\u201d \u201cCities and countries around the world are making great progress reducing preventable, premature deaths, and by replicating the most effective measures on a global scale, we can save many millions of lives,\u201d he said. WHO said effective strategies to prevent non-communicable diseases include increasing the tax and price of tobacco and alcohol, enforcing smoke-free environments, promoting healthy affordable diets, and discouraging the eating of foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat. Proven actions to prevent the most common injuries include wearing seat belts and helmets, enforcing speed limits, drink-driving legislation, enforcing laws on smoke alarms and hot water temperatures, and covering water hazards and fencing pools, WHO said. Bloomberg took steps to try to improve the health of New Yorkers as mayor including raising cigarette prices, banning trans fats and attempting unsuccessfully to do the same for large sodas. His philanthropic investments in public health include a $100 million commitment to eradicate polio, a $600 million initiative to reduce global tobacco use, and programs to tackle obesity, road safety, maternal health, and drowning, WHO said. The agency said Bloomberg\u2019s position as WHO Global Ambassador is for an initial period of two years and is on a purely honorary basis. In January 2014, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Bloomberg as his first Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, a position he still holds."}
{"claim_id": "416", "claim": "Thailand rolls out cannabis clinic based on traditional medicine.", "explanation": "Thailand opened its first full-time clinic specializing in traditional and alternative cannabis-based medicine on Monday, as part of a move by the government towards developing a medicinal cannabis industry.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "\u201cThis is a pilot clinic, because we cannot produce enough doctors with expertise in cannabis,\u201d Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told reporters at the opening ceremony in Bangkok. Patients will receive treatment free of charge for the first two weeks, he added. Thailand, which has a tradition of using cannabis to relieve pain and fatigue, legalized marijuana for medical use and research in 2017 to boost agricultural income. There are already around 25 cannabis clinics attached to general hospitals around the country but, unlike the newly-launched pilot clinic, they operate for just a few days a week due to a lack of specialized staff. The largest producer of medicinal cannabis is currently the health ministry\u2019s Government Pharmaceutical Organization. Kasetsart University\u2019s director of medical cannabis research, Natakorn Thasnas, told Reuters that the university would supply  2,200 kilograms of cannabis leaf to the ministry. Cannabis production, cultivation and sale has been limited to licensed Thai producers for the next four years to protect the domestic industry. Currently, only hospitals and research facilities are allowed to apply for cannabis production and extraction licenses, but the government is reviewing regulations to enable Thai businesses to apply for permits. Last year, Thailand dropped cannabis and hemp extracts from its narcotics list and proposed a draft law that would allow each household to grow six cannabis plants. Four types of drugs, containing different combinations of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psycho-active ingredient in cannabis, were given to patients to treat migraine, insomnia, neck pain and muscle stiffness, the ministry said in a statement. The pilot clinic, based in the Ministry of Public Health, expects to see between 200 to 300 patients daily. \u201cI was worried at first, but I studied the effects and decided it was better because its natural,\u201d said Waraporn Boonsri, 69, who received four vials of cannabis oil to help her sleep. Nearly 2,200 patients have registered at the clinic until March, a health official told Reuters. Anutin said there were plans for 77 clinics to be opened across the country, with one in every province. (This story fixes minister\u2019s name to \u201cCharnvirakul\u201d in second paragraph)"}
{"claim_id": "8630", "claim": "Mexico official calls diet a factor as coronavirus death toll climbs.", "explanation": "Mexican Deputy Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Saturday that decades of poor eating habits in the country have created an epidemic of obesity, diabetes and other related health complications that make its people more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Mexican health ministry has so far registered a total of 1,890 cases of the novel coronavirus and 79 deaths. \u201cThese people, unfortunately, had chronic diseases or were older,\u201d Lopez-Gatell said during a press conference, adding that the country had one of the world\u2019s highest rates of diabetes and obesity. \u201cThis is the product of many years, at least four decades, of poor nutrition, a diet that has been created by products of low nutritional quality and very high calories, in particular in processed foods,\u201d Lopez-Gatell said. The World Health Organization has said people with diabetes and its related health complications are among those most vulnerable to severe cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly illness caused by the new coronavirus."}
{"claim_id": "29006", "claim": "Marijuana cigarettes deposit four times more tar into smokers' lungs than tobacco-based cigarettes.", "explanation": "In conclusion, although it may be true that marijuana smoke deposits more tar into the lungs than tobacco smoke, current evidence does not indicate that the former results in proportionally greater deleterious health affects.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Medical, marijuana", "main_text": "A somewhat misleading infographic concerning the amount of tar deposited in smokers\u2019 lungs by marijuana is frequently shared on social media sites:  Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains cancer-causing chemicals. There are 33 cancer-causing chemicals contained in marijuana. Marijuana smoke also deposits tar into the lungs. In fact, when equal amounts of marijuana and tobacco are smoked, marijuana deposits four times as much tar into the lungs. This is because marijuana joints are un-filtered and often more deeply inhaled than cigarettes. However, although it may be true that marijuana smoke deposits more tar into a smoker\u2019s lungs than tobacco smoke, the above-displayed photograph does not accurately depict the difference in overall harm caused to a tobacco smoker\u2019s lungs versus a marijuana smoker\u2019s lungs. Marijuana contains many of the same cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke, but a recent study found no link between marijuana and an increased risk of lung cancer. According to Dr. Hal Morgenstern, a University of Michigan epidemiologist, this factor was likely attributable to the differences between marijuana and tobacco use: When you think about people smoking 20 to 40 cigarettes a day for 40 years, they\u2019re smoking hundreds of thousands of cigarettes. The exposure that marijuana users get is more than a magnitude of difference less. However, a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that even heavy marijuana smokers did not have an increased risk of developing lung cancer: We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use. What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect. Donald Tashkin, a UCLA pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years, hypothesized that the chemical THC may prevent the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke from negatively affecting the body: The THC in marijuana has well-defined anti-tumoral effects that have been shown to inhibit the growth of a variety of cancers in animal models and tissue culture systems, thus counteracting the potentially tumorigenic effects of the procarcinogens in marijuana smoke. We don\u2019t know for sure, but a very reasonable possibility is that THC may actually interfere with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."}
{"claim_id": "16736", "claim": "Literally, by the time a child is 18 years of age, they've killed over 100,000 people in video games and other online things.", "explanation": "CNN legal analyst: By 18, kids have killed over 100,000 people in video games", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Pop Culture, PunditFact, Mark O'Mara, ", "main_text": "The death of a Google executive at the hands of an escort he met online have pundits wondering: Is the digital age one of sex, lies and dark fantasies? To see the moral rupture created by technology, look no further than the reckless slaughtering on video games, said CNN legal analyst Mark O\u2019Mara. O'Mara represented George Zimmerman, the Orlando-area man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin. \"The perceived anonymity of digital existence makes it much easier to sort of distance yourself for your own morality,\" said O\u2019Mara on July 16, 2014 on CNN Tonight. \"It\u2019s just what happens because it\u2019s so much easier to be somebody you want to be but know you shouldn't be when you\u2019re online. Literally, by the time a child is 18 years of age, they\u2018ve killed over 100,000 people in video games and other online things.\" Whether video games lead to real-life violence has been a debate for decades. As for the virtual violence, we were struck by O\u2019Mara\u2019s claim that an 18-year-old has killed over 100,000 people in video games. We wanted to check it out. Shots in the dark While O\u2019Mara\u2019s delivery suggests we\u2019d find our answer in some sort of academic journal, his spokesman told us the statistic was \"napkin calculation.\" More realistically, it sounds like a guess. \"(He) may have underestimated that significantly, it could be less than 5 percent of what the real number may be,\" O\u2019Mara spokesman Shawn Vincent said. \"The point is that young people are simulating murders, and witnessing thousands of them on TV.\" We were unable to find any study or research that approximates the number of video kills of an 18-year-old, and experts in the field said no such research exists. The problems include the types of games children play, how often they play them, how they play them. Plus, while the vast majority of children play video games,\u00a0not all do. \"There's absolutely no way to determine this -- it's too vague,\" said Entertainment Software Association spokesperson Dan Hewitt. \"It's all how a game is played. For example. Grand Theft Auto can be played from beginning to end without harming or \u2018killing\u2019 anyone. Same is true with many games. It's all in how an individual plays it and there's no way to even make an estimate.\" From the gamer\u2019s perspective So while it\u2019s dangerous to make a broad generalization the way O\u2019Mara did, we can get a sense of what\u2019s happening among gamers who play shooting-style games. The take-away: Their virtual personas do a lot of killing. One of the best-selling gaming franchises, Halo, estimates that the first three games amassed 136 billion player-versus-player kills. We reached out to several players either through Facebook groups or through colleagues\u00a0to hear about their personal stories. Pete Cruz, 22, has a total kill count of player-versus-player 52,459 on one Halo 3 game. He estimates that this is a pretty average or slightly above average count. Cruz has been playing the Halo games since 2004 and says his total kill count was \"easily 100,000\" when he was 18. \"More like 150,000 if not more,\" he said. \"That number can easily be reached during your teenage years or from 10 to 19 (years old).\" Jay Manning, 21, estimated he probably reached 100,000 kills in his first six months of playing. Reaching that count by the you\u2019re 18, he agreed, is \"easy.\" Govinda Sessa, 18, has a total kill count of 73,316 over 30 game days in Halo 4. Ben Stuart, 23, put these numbers in context: He averages about 10 to 15 kills per game and has played about 5 or 6 games daily since he was 10 years old. That adds up. Call of Duty, another popular shooting franchise, hasn\u2019t released recent data since its newest game debuted, said spokesperson Kyle Walker. But from the start of the franchise in 2003 to its second newest game, players have \"respawned\" (come back to life after a player-inflicted death) 1.9 quadrillion times. That\u2019s 15 zeroes. Marty Maldonado, 21, began playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 when he was 16. He estimates spending two or three hours daily on the game in high school, and says he probably reached 100,000 kills by the time he was 18. But Maldonado is wary of saying these kills were of people. \"You don't really see them as people, mainly because you're playing a game and you think of the avatar as an extension of the other person's ability,\" he said. \"The only time I would say I felt like I killed someone were emotional games that had good character development like the BioShock series or (the) nuke scene in Call of Duty 4.\" Different keystrokes Halo and Call of Duty are both first-person shooting games, a category of video games that make up about a fifth of the market, according to a Entertainment Software Association report. All the gamers and experts we talked to point out that it\u2019s hard to compare total kills. \"What\u2019d you even consider a kill? Mario stomping? Call of Duty shooting?\" said PC Magazine writer David Murphy. In some categories -- action and sports game, for example, which take up about 22 percent and 15 percent of the market respectively -- killing is not even the point. The No. 2\u00a0best selling video game of 2012 was Madden NFL 13, a football game in which players aim for touchdowns not deaths. In Assassin\u2019s Creed, a popular action-adventure franchise, the main gameplay involves storylines and missions. Though you do kill in the game, you don't really count the number in an open world game, said player Rahul Prakash. Even in shooting games, total kill counts don\u2019t account for the many variables in video games and differences in players. Time spent on games, time frame per game, game goals, player age, player level, online or offline, single player versus multiplayer -- these factors all matter and are rarely accounted for, said Cruz. \"Depending on how that number is constructed, it can definitely lead to misinformation and misconstrue facts about video games,\" he said. The ruling O\u2019Mara said, \"Literally, by the time a child is 18 years of age, they\u2018ve killed over 100,000 people in video games and other online things.\" Literally, the stat is a\u00a0\"napkin calculation.\" Research doesn\u2019t exist on the point and there are too many variables to affect how many people someone might have killed in video game. That said, a range of gamers told us that if you play shooting-style games in your teen years, you\u2019re quite likely to kill 100,000 people or more. While that gives O\u2019Mara\u2019s statement some truth, the lack of definitive information makes this claim somewhat dodgy. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "24796", "claim": "The House Democrats' so-called 'stimulus' has been stuffed with an astonishing $335 million to fund prevention programs of sexually transmitted diseases.", "explanation": "STD spending is in the economic stimulus plan", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Economy, Stimulus, National Republican Congressional Committee, ", "main_text": "Republicans have large philosophical differences with the $819 billion economic stimulus package that passed the House on Jan. 28, 2009, and they have tried to discredit the plan by singling out relatively small spending proposals they see as inappropriate. One of the most widely cited claims from Republican leaders has been that the stimulus plan includes millions for sexually transmitted disease education. On the day of the the House vote, the National Republican Congressional Committee circulated a news release in the districts of 29 freshman House Democrats, chastising them for supporting a massive spending plan that the NRCC said includes $335 million for sexually transmitted disease prevention programs. A version of the news release circulating in Florida, for example, begins, \"Rep. Alan Grayson (FL-08) and Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24) are set to cast their vote today on a so-called 'stimulus' package, which has shattered the trillion dollar mark. The question is: Will Alan Grayson and Suzanne Kosmas still support the massive spending bill now that it has become public that the House Democrats' so-called 'stimulus' has been stuffed with an astonishing $335 million to fund prevention programs of sexually transmitted diseases?\" Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Republican whip, had been making the same point for days, including in an interview with Fox News on Jan. 23. But the STD spending issue gained considerable momentum as a Republican attack after the Drudge Report posted an alert about it at the top of its popular political Web page on Jan. 28. So is there really STD prevention spending in the stimulus bill passed by House Democrats on Jan. 28? Yes, there is. In a section of the plan that includes funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the bill states that \"not less than $335,000,000 shall be used as an additional amount to carry out domestic HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually-transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis prevention programs, as jointly determined by the Secretary and the Director.\" In an interview on CBS's  Early Show  on Jan. 29, the day after the House passed the stimulus package, anchor Maggie Rodriguez asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi how $335 million in STD prevention would stimulate the economy. Said Pelosi: \"I'll tell you how. ... I'm a big believer in prevention. And we have \u2014 there's a part of the bill, on the health side of it, that is about prevention. It's about it being less expensive to the states to do these prevention measures.\" We note that while the NRCC news release specifically calls out House Democrats for the STD spending, the Senate version of the bill also includes it \u2014 in fact, slightly more. A portion of the stimulus plan approved by the Senate Appropriations committee on Jan. 27 states that \"not less than $400,000,000 shall be transferred to the CDC for an additional amount for the screening and prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV.\" A committee report on the bill backs up the HIV and STD prevention spending with this analysis: \"CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new STD infections occur annually in the United States, with 1 in 4 teenage girls currently infected. This epidemic is estimated to cost the U.S. healthcare system $15,000,000,000 annually, all of which is preventable. The Committee has included $400,000,000 for testing and prevention of these conditions. The Committee intends that funds be used for grants to States for testing activities, and the prevention of STD infections like chlamydia that have been increasing dramatically in recent years.\" We're not going to wade into the debate over whether the spending is appropriate for an economic stimulus bill. We're only ruling on whether there is $335 million in the House version of the bill for STD prevention programs. We note that while the proposed $335 million in the House bill includes prevention programs for STDs, it also includes prevention programs HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis prevention programs, which are not always transmitted sexually. So we find the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "8965", "claim": "NUS researchers use AI to successfully treat metastatic cancer patient", "explanation": "This news release focuses on a paper from Singapore-based researchers who used artificial intelligence (AI) to treat cancer in a single patient. The release argues that this is a \u201cgamechanger\u201d and a \u201cbig step forward\u201d that \u201cis applicable to all diseases and all patients\u201d \u2014 which are bold claims to make based on the treatment of only one patient. Unjustifiable language throughout and a lack of attention to key details like harms, cost and an explanation of the severe limitations of the research make this a weak and misleading release. There has been a lot of research focused on the use of AI to help diagnose cancers and develop treatment protocols \u2014 and it continues to be an area of great interest. However, it is difficult \u2014 if not impossible \u2014 to draw far-reaching conclusions from a single case. What costs, benefits and risks are associated with AI-directed treatment for cancers? A study like the one highlighted in this release simply cannot tell us. The release claims the researchers were able to improve treatment efficacy by adjusting treatment dose and presumably still minimizing adverse events. Again \u2014 impossible to prove based on a single patient. It is an interesting case study, and we look forward to learning the results of future research, but it is misleading (if not dishonest) to make sweeping claims based on the treatment of a single patient.", "label": "false", "subjects": "artificial intelligence (AI),cancer treatment,National University of Singapore", "main_text": "The AI used in this case is called the \u201cCURATE.AI\u201d platform. It\u2019s not clear if the platform is proprietary. If it is, it is not clear what the cost would be for health care providers to access and make use of the platform. It is also not clear what level of training, and associated costs, would be needed for health care providers to be able to use the platform in a clinical setting. Given that the AI platform appears to be designed to create personalized treatments for each patient, the cost could be considerable. It\u2019s hard to estimate, since the release does not address cost in any way. The release does not attempt to quantify benefits. In fact, it would be impossible for the release to address this issue in any meaningful way, given that the relevant study was of one patient. The release says that the patient was \u201csuccessfully treated\u201d \u2014 but what does that mean? Lower down in the release, readers are told that \u201cdisease progression was halted,\u201d meaning that the cancer was not getting worse. Further, no information is given about the tumor\u2019s biology nor can any conclusions be drawn in the absence of a comparator such as\u00a0enzalutamide alone vs the combination. Readers are told that \u201cpatient care guided by CURATE.AI is currently ongoing.\u201d In other words, by the time anyone is reading the release, the patient could be in remission. Or the cancer may have spread. Or the patient\u2019s condition may not have changed at all. We just don\u2019t know. AI is not perfect. AI programs can, and will, make mistakes. What might those mistakes mean in the context of cancer treatment? It\u2019s not clear, and the release doesn\u2019t address this. We know that clinical trials using \u201cCURATE.AI-guided\u201d therapies are underway, and that the patient highlighted in the news release is involved in a clinical trial. But we don\u2019t know how any of those trials are going. Will those trials identify any risks or potential harms? How will medication dosages be adjusted to reduce side effects? That remains to be seen, and the release should not simply ignore the issue. If this single patient\u2019s treatment was sufficient to warrant a news release, any potential harms (or even the absence of potential harms) should also be worth addressing. The release makes clear that it is focused only on one patient\u2019s treatment. But that\u2019s not good enough. The release should make clear that, while this patient\u2019s results were promising, there are severe limitations on the extent to which the patient\u2019s results can be extrapolated to a larger population. Instead, the release does just the opposite, calling a single case a \u201cbig step forward.\u201d In addition, as noted above under \u201cExplain Harms,\u201d this patient was part of a clinical trial, and there are other clinical trials under way. Are they phase 1 trials? Phase 2? Phase 3? How many patients are involved? What are the study designs? The release raises more questions than it answers. No disease mongering here. Some context on the prevalence of prostate cancer would have been useful. It is not made clear who funded the relevant study, who funded the creation of CURATE.AI, or whether CURATE.AI has been patented or is under consideration for being marketed as a for-profit medical tool. CURATE.AI is far from the only AI tool that has been considered for use in cancer treatment. For example, HealthNewsReview.org wrote last year about a (failed) attempt to incorporate IBM\u2019s Watson system into cancer treatment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. And there are hundreds of papers that address various attempts to use AI, machine learning, or artificial neural networks in the context of cancer treatment. Here\u2019s a review paper from 2006 that addresses 396 related papers that had already been published at that time. The release on CURATE.AI does not make clear how this new AI tool is different from or similar to the body of work in the field. We don\u2019t expect a news release to offer a detailed overview of how the new work differs from what came before it, but we do expect a release to provide at least a broad idea of what sets the new work apart. The release does make clear that clinical trials are under way. That\u2019s good. However, the release is written as if the clinical trials have already been completed successfully. For example, the release states that \u201cCURATE.AI is applicable to all diseases and all patients.\u201d There is, as far as can be discerned from everything else in the release, nothing that supports that statement. And despite the sweeping language used in the release, it is not at all clear when CURATE.AI may be available for clinical use. The release says that \u201ca first generation of the [CURATE.AI] platform was previously validated in the clinic for single drug optimisation,\u201d and that this single-patient study \u201cdemonstrates that CURATE.AI can optimise multi-drug regimens.\u201d That\u2019s enough to earn it a satisfactory rating here, but we\u2019ll revisit that language under \u201cUnjustifiable Language.\u201d The release uses unsatisfactory language throughout. We\u2019ll provide two examples here. The release tells readers that this study \u201cdemonstrates that CURATE.AI can optimise multi-drug regimens.\u201d No, it doesn\u2019t. This study focuses on the experience of one patient. Did the use of CURATE.AI improve the patient\u2019s treatment? It\u2019s impossible to tell \u2014 because it is one patient. We simply cannot determine what the cancer\u2019s progression would have been, since we can only the see the data on one individual. The release also states that \u201cCURATE.AI is applicable to all diseases and all patients\u201d \u2014 a claim that the release (and related study) cannot support in any way."}
{"claim_id": "758", "claim": "U.S. doctors' group says just stop vaping as deaths, illnesses rise.", "explanation": "The American Medical Association on Monday urged Americans to stop using electronic cigarettes of any sort until scientists have a better handle on the cause of 450 lung illnesses and at least five deaths related to the use of the products.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The AMA, one of the nation\u2019s most influential physician groups, also called on doctors to inform patients about the dangers of e-cigarettes, including toxins and carcinogens, and swiftly report any suspected cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarette use to their state or local health department. The recommendation followed advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday for people to consider not using e-cigarette products while it investigates the cause of the spate of severe lung illnesses associated with vaping. Many, but not all, of the cases have involved those who used the devices to vaporize oils containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis. CDC officials said some laboratories have identified vitamin E acetate in product samples and are investigating that as a possible cause of the illnesses. Public health experts have not found any evidence of infectious diseases and believe the lung illnesses are probably associated with a chemical exposure. Megan Constantino, 36, from St. Petersburg, Florida, quit vaping six days ago after hearing reports of the illnesses and deaths related to vaping. \u201cIt scared me into quitting,\u201d she said. Like many users of vaping pens, Constantino picked up the device after quitting cigarette smoking three years ago, and said, \u201cIt\u2019s the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d  She added, \u201cI threw the last cartridge away. I took a picture of it and I literally cried.\u201d   Constantino said many people who vape have been \u201con pins and needles\u201d for the investigation results, and she is concerned that the reports of a link to vaping THC may give people an excuse to ignore the warnings. E-cigarettes are generally thought to be safer than traditional cigarettes, which kill up to half of all lifetime users, the World Health Organization says. But the long-term health effects of vaping are largely unknown. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has faced mounting pressure to curb a huge spike in teenage use of e-cigarettes, a trend that coincided with the rising popularity of Juul e-cigarettes. \u201cWe must not stand by while e-cigarettes continue to go unregulated. We urge the FDA to speed up the regulation of e-cigarettes and remove all unregulated products from the market,\u201d AMA president Dr. Patrice Harris, said in a statement. Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, which advocates for cigarette smokers to switch to nicotine-based vaping devices, said the AMA should be \u201cashamed of themselves for playing politics with people\u2019s health and protecting the profits of drug dealers.\u201d  He criticized the AMA for \u201cfearmongering about nicotine vaping products\u201d while not mentioning \u201cthe very real risks of vaping illicit THC products.\u201d  Juul Labs declined to comment. Altria Group Inc owns a 35 percent stake in Juul."}
{"claim_id": "9151", "claim": "Non-surgical weight-loss treatment found safe, effective for those with limited options", "explanation": "More information on potential harms and availability would have made this news release on three medical interventions for weight loss stronger. And addressing the need to complement the procedures with other lifestyle changes would have made the release much stronger. The news release addresses study findings related to the relative success of endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) \u2014 in which the stomach is sutured via a tool introduced through the mouth \u2014 as a less invasive, non-surgical alternative to facilitate weight loss in obese patients. We disagree with the release\u2019s use of the term \u201cnon-surgical\u201d to describe the procedure since it\u00a0involves internal cutting and suturing of internal organs. However, the release does a good job of addressing cost and comparing the outcomes of various procedures. According to the NIH, 35.7 percent of U.S. adults are obese \u2014 and obesity increases an individual\u2019s risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other health problems. On top of those health risks, obesity also has an adverse effect on an individual\u2019s quality of life. Patients with obesity may view medical procedures, such as ESG, as effective ways of helping them lose weight \u2014 and a study that compares costs and outcomes of several procedures is a useful means of helping patients consider their options. For the most part, the release does a good job here. However, additional insight on the lifestyle choices needed in conjunction with the procedures, and more information on potential harms, would have offered a fuller overview for readers.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Digestive Disease Week,endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty,obesity", "main_text": "The release does a good job here, comparing the average cost of three different procedures: \u201cresearchers reported endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty resulted in the lowest-cost, with an average institutional procedure cost of $12,000, compared to $22,000 for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and $15,000 for laparoscopic banding.\u201d However, the release also notes that banding and gastrectomy involve spending more time in the hospital, and it\u2019s not clear if those costs are solely for the procedures, or if they are for both the procedures and the hospital stay. Some clarification there would have been valuable. The release does a direct comparison between the three procedures: \u201cAt one-year follow-up, patients who chose laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surgery achieved the greatest percent total body weight loss at 29.28 percent, compared to 17.57 percent for [ESG] patients and 14.46 percent for laparoscopic banding patients.\u201d That earns it a satisfactory rating. However, based on an abstract of the conference presentation, the researchers also collected data on weight loss 18 months after the procedure. This raises the question: why didn\u2019t they include the 18-month follow-up numbers here? In addition, the release would have been stronger if it had told readers whether there was any significant variation between the patients who had the various procedures. For example, were the patients who had the gastrectomy procedure more obese to start with? Or were there differences in age across groups? In addition, following surgery the patient volunteers all went to a weight-loss \u201ccenter of excellence\u201d for a full year. The release doesn\u2019t mention whether that made a difference in the results within each group or among the entire group. In any case, \u00a0this year-long stay at a weight loss center after a procedure is not likely to be replicated in other studies and in the real word. This is a close one. The release does state that \u201cresearchers found that patients who received endoscopic treatment had lower complications (1 percent) than those who received surgical treatment (10 percent for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and 11 percent for laparoscopic banding).\u201d That\u2019s good. However, the release doesn\u2019t tell us what they mean by \u201ccomplications.\u201d Endoscopy, in general, is fairly low risk \u2014 but potential complications can include short-term pain and nausea, infection, organ tearing and bleeding. The release does an adequate job of describing the study. However, there are two things that could have made the release significantly better. First, there could have been some information about the patients involved \u2014 including age, sex, and other characteristics that could potentially affect outcomes. (e.g., the conference abstract notes that a lower age was a predictor for weight loss at six months.) Were there any factors that informed physicians to choose one procedure over another? Since this was not a randomized trial, the release could have noted that factors other than the treatment itself likely played a role in how much weight was lost. Second, while the release notes that \u201cpatients went to an academic bariatric center of excellence as part of their treatment,\u201d it could have made it clear that changes to diet and exercise are an important factor in determining the outcome of medical interventions for weight loss. The release doesn\u2019t engage in disease mongering. It does refer to the \u201cobesity epidemic\u201d and there\u2019s some difference of opinion as to whether obesity is a disease. The\u00a0word \u201cepidemic\u201d applies (or should apply) solely to disease. But there\u2019s no question that obesity contributes to a host of health problems and is a\u00a0significant risk factor for serious diseases, which are discussed near the end of the release. The release includes a reference stating that the researcher actually making the presentation does not have any conflicts of interest to report. However, there is no information on conflicts of interest regarding the other researchers, nor does the release tell readers who funded the research. The release does compare the most common types of medical weight loss interventions that involve making changes to the stomach. However, there is no real discussion of alternatives, such as pharmaceutical interventions, attending counseling or support groups, and lifestyle changes involving diet and exercise. This is an important oversight given that, even with a surgical or endoscopic procedure, these other interventions are likely to play an important role in helping patients keep off any weight that they lose. What would the outcome be for\u00a0patients who only\u00a0went to a \u201ccenter of excellence\u201d weight loss facility for a full year? For someone reading the news release who is unfamiliar with weight loss treatment procedures, ESG may sound like an entirely novel treatment that is not yet clinically available. However, while it is relatively new, it is already in use. The release doesn\u2019t give us any idea of how many facilities perform any of these procedures. The release notes that this is the first study to compare the outcomes associated with these three procedures. The release uses fairly measured language. Although it doesn\u2019t rise to the occasion of sensationalism, we do have concerns over the\u00a0use of the term \u201cnon-surgical\u201d to describe a\u00a0procedure that certainly sounds like surgery. If it walks and quacks like a duck\u2026."}
{"claim_id": "2745", "claim": "Ten rivals join with NIH to search for new drugs - WSJ.", "explanation": "Ten big rival drug companies have formed a pact to cooperate on a government-backed effort to accelerate the discovery of new drugs, the Wall Street Journal reported.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The companies and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will share scientists, tissue and blood samples, and data, to identify targets for new drugs for diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s, Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, the Journal said. The collaboration, called the Accelerating Medicines Partnership, will cost about $230 million and involves drugmakers such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi. (link.reuters.com/guw56v)  The agreement prohibits participants from using any discovery for their own drug development until the project makes data public on that discovery. The NIH, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers, Sanofi, Takeda, and Johnson & Johnson could not be immediately reached for comments by Reuters."}
{"claim_id": "2991", "claim": "Thailand reports case of coronavirus from China  .", "explanation": "A Chinese visitor to Thailand has been confirmed to be infected with a new strain of coronavirus that has been linked to a pneumonia outbreak in central China, health officials said Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Bangkok, Health, General News, Wuhan, Pneumonia, China, United Nations, Asia Pacific, Thailand, U.S. News, Public health", "main_text": "The U.N.\u2019s World Health Organization said Thai officials have reported that a traveler from the Chinese city of Wuhan has been hospitalized in Thailand with the virus. The outbreak of the virus has been traced to Wuhan, where it affected several dozen people who had been to a major meat and seafood market. Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said it appears to be the first confirmed case of the virus found outside China, the Bangkok Post newspaper and other Thai media reported. He identified the infected tourist as a 61-year-old woman whose symptoms were detected on arrival at Bangkok\u2019s Suvarnabhumi Airport last Wednesday. Her coronavirus was confirmed Sunday by a laboratory test, Anutin said. She has been treated at an isolation ward at a state health facility outside of Bangkok, and no longer has any fever or respiratory symptoms, he said. Eight other people with possible symptoms have also been held at the facility, he said, but none has been confirmed to have the virus. A statement issued Monday by the Geneva-based World Health Organization said it is working with officials in Thailand and China following the report of the confirmed case outside China. The agency says its director-general is consulting with the agency\u2019s emergency committee, which generally decides whether viral outbreaks merit an expanded response from health authorities. \u201cThe possibility of cases being identified in other countries was not unexpected, and reinforces why WHO calls for ongoing active monitoring and preparedness in other countries,\u201d the agency said. \u201cWHO reiterates that it is essential that investigations continue in China to identify the source of this outbreak and any animal reservoirs or intermediate hosts.\u201d The virus is not believed to be spread by human-to-human contact. Officials in Wuhan said over the weekend that a total of 41 people were suffering from pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus and a 61-year-old man had died \u2014 China\u2019s first known death from the virus. China says the cause of the Wuhan outbreak remains unknown but has sought to play down speculation that it could be a reappearance of the SARS epidemic, which killed hundreds in 2002 and 2003. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold. Others found in bats, camels and other animals have evolved to cause more severe illnesses. Common symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever. Shortness of breath, chills and body aches are associated with more dangerous kinds of coronaviruses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."}
{"claim_id": "26292", "claim": "\u201cPelosi\u2019s new coronavirus bill allows illegals to receive billions in relief funds in past, current, and future payments.\u201d", "explanation": "The HEROES Act, a proposal backed by Pelosi, would allow tax-paying immigrants who are in the country illegally to receive emergency relief funds during the coronavirus pandemic. The help would also extend to their family members who are U.S. citizens and green-card holders. Immigrants in the country illegally who pay taxes using an ITIN would also retroactively become eligible for a payment under the CARES Act enacted in late March. A tax policy group estimated that if the HEROES Act became law as written, about $16.4 billion would go toward households of ITIN filers or of mixed status.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Immigration, Economy, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "House Democrats are advocating legislation that would send Americans a new round of checks to help with financial problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A Facebook post says that under their proposal, immigrants in the country illegally also stand to benefit, getting billions of dollars. \"Pelosi\u2019s new coronavirus bill allows illegals to receive billions in relief funds in past, current, and future payments,\" said text over a photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holding a gavel, with a crowd of people, purportedly immigrants, in the background. The caption on the May 12 Facebook post said the payments \"would not just be a one-time check, they would give them past, current any future payments of YOUR money as 33 million Americans are unemployed.\" The post is from We Build The Wall, Inc., a group that's raising money to build sections of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Pelosi does support a bill that would allow immigrants who are in the country illegally and who pay taxes to get coronavirus emergency aid from the federal government. But the Facebook post needs clarification and additional information. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or the HEROES Act, was introduced May 12 and passed the House May 15, 208-199, with only one Republican vote. Among the key provisions of the roughly $3 trillion bill, it gives nearly $1 trillion to state and local governments, creates a $200 billion hazard-pay fund for essential workers, and provides $75 billion to support coronavirus testing, contact tracing and patient isolation. The bill also offers a new round of direct payments to families \u2014 $1,200 per person and up to $6,000 per household. The payments would go out to people who filed tax returns for 2018 or 2019 (and to some who didn\u2019t), with the total amount based on income. For instance, a single person who earned less than $75,000 would get $1,200;\u00a0those who earned $75,000 or more would receive less. The proposal seeks to augment the financial assistance that started mid-April when one-time checks were sent under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. Under the CARES Act, however, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents were ineligible for a check if they filed a joint tax return with a spouse who used an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN. ITINs are issued by the IRS to people who don\u2019t have a Social Security number, including immigrants in the country illegally, so they can use it to pay federal income taxes. (Some international students and researchers and their spouses also use ITINs.) The IRS in 2014 said ITIN filers pay over $9 billion in annual payroll taxes. So the proposed HEROES Act includes them in its aid package, and retroactively makes ITIN filers eligible for the CARES Act payment as well. The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, using IRS data, estimated that this provision would benefit more than 4.3 million adults and 3.5 million children in households of ITIN filers or of mixed immigration status, paying them a total $16.4 billion ($7 billion under the CARES Act and $9.4 billion under the HEROES Act). The beneficiary figures include ITIN filers as well as their spouses and children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Meg Wiehe, deputy executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said it was difficult to discern from the IRS data exactly how many prospective beneficiaries are immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Julia Gelatt, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, said a lot of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can get support through unemployment insurance, stimulus payments, food stamps and other public benefits. ITINs are used for federal tax reporting, but they do not provide legal immigration status, and immigrants in the country illegally are generally ineligible for federal public benefits, such as food stamps. The goal of the HEROES Act, as it relates to unauthorized immigrants and their family members, is to help people who are struggling financially and who have no access to other financial support, Gelatt said. The HEROES Act financial assistance isn\u2019t exclusive to ITIN filers; U.S. citizens and green-card holders who file taxes using a Social Security number would also benefit, with the same aid amounts and income thresholds. The payments to all eligible people are estimated to cost more than $400 billion. A Facebook post said, \"Pelosi\u2019s new coronavirus bill allows illegals to receive billions in relief funds in past, current, and future payments.\" The HEROES Act, a proposal backed by Pelosi, would allow immigrants who are in the country illegally and who pay taxes to receive federal relief funds during the coronavirus pandemic. Immigrants who pay taxes using an ITIN would be eligible for an aid payment under the HEROES Act, and retroactively under the CARES Act, which corresponds to the \"current\" and \"past\" payments cited in the post. It\u2019s unclear what is meant by \"future\" payment. We contacted We Build the Wall for comment, but did not hear back. A tax policy group estimated that if the HEROES Act became law as written, about $16.4 billion would go to households of ITIN filers or of mixed status. Beneficiaries would include U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who live in a household with an ITIN filer. The post is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "14726", "claim": "Hillary Clinton Says\u00a0Bernie Sanders \"has reversed his position on immunity\" for gun manufacturers and sellers.", "explanation": "So is Clinton right that Sanders flip-flopped on immunity for gun manufacturers and sellers? Sanders voted for the 2005 measure that provided broad liability exclusions for gunmakers and sellers. After months of Sanders and his staff defending the vote, Sanders\u2019 position started to evolve in October. Sanders\u2019 position three months ago -- that he would \"take another look\" at the liability question -- is consistent with his Jan. 16 news release saying he supported a proposal to rescind the immunity provisions. But to look back only to October doesn\u2019t tell the full story, ignoring not only the 2003 and 2005 votes but also several instances in which Sanders or his staff defended those votes in interviews between June 2015 and early January 2016. That sounds like a flip-flop to us.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Legal Issues, Guns, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "In the increasingly competitive Democratic primary for president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spent months hammering Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for his vote on a 2005 bill that provided gun makers, sellers and trade associations with significant protection against lawsuits. Now, after Sanders clarified his position on the issue, she\u2019s calling him a flip-flopper. Sanders, who represents the small, rural state of Vermont where guns are widely accepted, has sometimes sided with advocates of gun rights on key legislation and sometimes sided with supporters of gun control. One of the primary examples where Sanders broke with Democrats is in supporting the gun liability bill, which was enacted in 2005. A similar bill also passed the U.S. House in 2003. Sanders, then serving in the House, voted for it both times. Clinton called on Sanders to \"stand up and say I got this one wrong\" in a Jan. 8 interview on MSNBC\u2019s Hardball. About a week later, Sanders released a statement on the gun-liability issue in the run-up to the Jan. 17 Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C. In a news release, Sanders said, \"I\u2019m pleased that this legislation is being introduced,\" referring to proposals by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to rescind portions of the 2005 law. \"As I have said for many months now, we need to look at the underlying law and tighten it up,\" Sanders added. The Clinton camp portrayed this as a flip-flop during the Charleston debate. Clinton said, \"I am pleased to hear that Sen. Sanders has reversed his position on immunity, and I look forward to him joining with those members of Congress who have already introduced legislation.\" The Sanders camp disagreed that this was a change of position. Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver had told MSNBC, \"This is not a flip flop, this is consistent with the position he held earlier in the campaign.\" So is Clinton\u2019s portrayal accurate? We took a closer look. Sanders\u2019 vote on the 2005 bill While the bill includes two relatively non-controversial provisions -- one on trigger locks and the other on armor-piercing bullets -- the most contentious elements of the 2005 bill, and the ones that drove overwhelming Democratic opposition at the time, deal with liability for gun makers and sellers. The official bill summary provides for broad-based immunity for gun sellers, but it also provides a few exceptions, such as: \u2022 Cases where a person transfers a firearm knowing that a violent crime or drug-trafficking crime will be committed with it; \u2022 Cases where a seller is negligent or a manufacturer or seller knowingly violated the law; \u2022 And cases involving an injury caused by a physical defect with the weapon when it was used as intended. What Sanders and his campaign said prior to Jan. 16 On numerous occasions, Sanders or his aides have expressed comfort with his past vote. In June 2015, Weaver, Sanders\u2019 campaign manager, told Politico, \"I believe he would make the same vote\" today. In October, at a Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Sanders said, \"If somebody has a gun and it falls into the hands of a murderer and that murderer kills somebody with the gun, do you hold the gun manufacturer responsible? Not any more than you would hold a hammer company responsible if somebody beats somebody over the head with a hammer. That is not what a lawsuit should be about.\" Sanders continued to make similar arguments into January 2016. Asked by CBS whether gun manufacturers should be held accountable for gun deaths, Sanders said, \"Of course not, that doesn't make any sense,\" he said, while adding that if guns fall into the hands of criminals, \"Of course you hold the gun manufacturers liable.\" At the same time, Sanders has increasingly fine-tuned his stance, saying he\u2019d be open to reconsidering his vote on the 2005 measure. In an October 2015 interview on NBC\u2019s Meet the Press, Sanders said he was \"willing to see changes\" in the gun-liability provision: \"Can we take another look at that liability issue? Yes.\" Then, in January, a few days before the campaign issued its news release on gun liability, Sanders told a crowd in Iowa, \"I think we should take another look at that legislation and get rid of those provisions which allow gun manufacturers to act irresponsibly.\" The Jan. 16 news release In the news release, Sanders expressed support for the Blumenthal-Schiff initiative to rescind the liability portions of the 2005 law. The trigger-lock and armor-piercing-ammunition provisions would not be overturned. The sponsors said they will try to advance the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act as an amendment to an appropriations bill, according to the New York Times. On the Jan. 17 edition of NBC\u2019s Meet the Press, Sanders explained that in 2005, \"there were things in (the bill) that I did not like and I was willing to rethink. We have rethought it. There's a bill apparently being introduced, I like that bill, it makes some good changes and we will be supportive of it.\" Sanders did say in his news release that he will be proposing an amendment to the Blumenthal and Schiff bills to require the Commerce Department to monitor and report on the law\u2019s impact in rural areas on the availability of hunting supplies, including firearms, sold by non-negligent local gun stores. This, he indicated, was consistent with his past concerns about the threat of lawsuits against small gun shops serving primarily rural areas of Vermont. Our ruling So is Clinton right that Sanders flip-flopped on immunity for gun manufacturers and sellers? Sanders voted for the 2005 measure that provided broad liability exclusions for gunmakers and sellers. After months of Sanders and his staff defending the vote, Sanders\u2019 position started to evolve in October. Sanders\u2019 position three months ago -- that he would \"take another look\" at the liability question -- is consistent with his Jan. 16 news release saying he supported a proposal to rescind the immunity provisions. But to look back only to October doesn\u2019t tell the full story, ignoring not only the 2003 and 2005 votes but also several instances in which Sanders or his staff defended those votes in interviews between June 2015 and early January 2016. That sounds like a flip-flop to us."}
{"claim_id": "1751", "claim": "Widespread flooding ahead for snowy western New York: officials.", "explanation": "Warm temperatures and rain were forecast for the weekend in the city of Buffalo and western New York, bringing the threat of widespread flooding to the region bound for days by deep snow.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Areas where several feet of snow fell this week should brace for significant, widespread flooding, the National Weather Service warned on Friday. Swept by lake effect storms, parts of western New York including Buffalo, received as much as seven feet (2 meters) of snow, an amount equal to a year\u2019s worth of accumulation for the region. Such storms occur when cold air moves across warmer Great Lake waters and can dump heavy snowfall when they hit land. Temperatures in western New York will stay above freezing through Tuesday night, with highs of nearly 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) on Sunday and nearly 60 F (16 C) on Monday, the Weather Service said. \u201cThe warming will bring melting. The melting will bring water. Water will bring floods,\u201d New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference. \u201cWe are preparing now for more flooding than we have seen in a long, long time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve never had this much snow and this much melting of this much snow in a short period of time.\u201d  Some areas should expect five (152 cm) to six feet (183 cm) of water, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. To prepare, area residents said they were moving valuables out of their basements. Sections of the New York State Thruway will reopen on Friday afternoon to move vehicles and help remove snow, Cuomo said. Some 140 miles (225 km) of the thruway had been closed. So far, at least 13 deaths have been blamed on the weather. The most recent reported death was a person found buried in snow in a car in Cheektowaga, while two nursing home residents died in an evacuation of a Cheektowaga facility, officials said. Two people on Thursday died of exposure. Erie County officials said they had suffered mental illness and were found outside. Eight deaths were reported earlier in the week. Meanwhile, a Buffalo Bills home game scheduled for Sunday against the New York Jets was moved to Monday in Detroit due to public safety concerns, the National Football League said. The National Hockey League postponed the Buffalo Sabres\u2019 home game against the New York Rangers on Friday."}
{"claim_id": "11495", "claim": "For kids\u2019 coughs, silence is golden and sweet", "explanation": "This story reports on the publication of a study in this week\u2019s Journal of the American Medical Association comparing honey to cough syrup or no treatment for upper respiratory infections in children ages 2 to 18. The study found a modest benefit to honey over no treatment and no difference between honey and cough medicine. The study is timely because of recent news about the potential harms of over-the-counter cough and cold preparations for younger children. It is also \"cold and flu season\", and many parents are no doubt grappling with ways to provide symptom relief. The\u00a0story does\u00a0a fine job\u00a0of outlining the study, main findings, potential mechanism, and potential harms. A bit more detail about how the study quantified the main findings (cough reduction) would be helpful to readers. By how much did the children cough less\u00a0or sleep better? Did treatment result in a shorter duration of symptoms?", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Other than to describe honey as \"cheap\" the story does not discuss costs. However, because honey is a food product, prices are dependent on the store and source. The story does not quantify the benefits of honey. By how much did the children cough less and sleep better? Did this result in a shorter duration of symptoms? The story explains that honey may cause an allergic reaction and that, rarely, it contains bacteria. The story adequately describes the design of the current study. The story does not exaggerate the prevalence of common colds. The story does quote an independent expert in addition to the lead author of the study. The story mentions cough medicine as the alternative. Clearly honey and over-the-counter cough medicine are available. The story mentions that using honey as a treatment is not a new idea. There is no way to know if the story relied on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "5445", "claim": "Millions of pigs culled as swine fever spreads through Asia.", "explanation": "Millions of pigs have been culled in China and Vietnam as a U.N. food agency urges Asian governments to make containing virulent African swine fever their top priority.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Animals, Epidemics, Hong Kong, General News, North Korea, Hanoi, Asia, Health, Business, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Asia Pacific, Disease outbreaks, Taiwan, International News", "main_text": "With an announcement by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization that infections have spread to Laos, some experts are saying it is the largest animal disease outbreak in history. The FAO said in a report late Thursday that more than 3.7 million pigs in the region had been culled since the outbreak began in China last August. Vietnam has been the hardest hit, culling at least 2.6 million pigs followed by China, which reported more than 1.1 million. All the figures were provided to the FAO by governments of countries affected by the epidemic. Smaller outbreaks have been reported in Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, Cambodia and Mongolia after cases were first reported in China\u2019s northeast in August. African swine fever is harmless to people but fatal and highly contagious for pigs, with no known cure. With pork supplies dwindling as leading producer China and hard-hit Vietnam destroy huge numbers of hogs and tighten controls on shipments, prices have soared by up to 40% globally and caused shortages in other markets. \u201cThis is the largest animal disease outbreak in history,\u201d said Dirk Pfieffer, a veterinary epidemiologist at the City University of Hong Kong. \u201cWe\u2019ve never had anything like it.\u201d In South Korea, where diets rely heavily on pork, there is concern an outbreak could hurt an industry with 6,300 farms raising more than 11 million pigs. \u201cAnimal disease containment in its broadest sense should be prioritized within the highest levels of governments,\u201d the FAO said, warning, \u201cOutbreak control strategies must be in place.\u201d China has reported 139 outbreaks in all but two of its 34 provinces. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts its total hog herd will shrink by 18% this year to 350 million animals, the lowest since the 1980s. This year\u2019s Chinese pork output might fall by up to 35%, according to Rabobank, a Dutch bank. Vietnam reported in mid-May that 1.2 million pigs, or about 5% of its total 30 million, an industry worth $18 billion, had died or been destroyed. FAO said Thursday that number had more than doubled to 2.6 million. Military and police were mobilized to help contain the outbreak, officials said. Rabobank expects Vietnamese pork production to fall 10% this year from 2018. The mass culling in Vietnam could sink many farmers deeper into poverty, said Wantanee Kalpravidh, a regional coordinator of the FAO\u2019s Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Disease. Last month, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged authorities to prevent the disease, found in 58 of 63 provinces, from escalating into an epidemic. In My Duc, a suburb of Hanoi, disinfecting lime powder has been scattered around empty pig farms and checkpoints were set up to control shipments. \u201cWe have to prevent and fight this disease like fighting an enemy,\u201d Phuc told Cabinet officials. Farmer Nguyen Van Hoa lamented that only three pigs had died from the fever but authorities culled 40 of his pigs. They were among 14,000 hogs buried in My Duc district in the past month. About 2.4 million Vietnamese households engage in small-scale pig farming. In Cambodia, more than 2,400 pigs have died or were culled since April in an eastern province bordering Vietnam, the FAO said. Sem Oun, a 58-year-old farmer and father of two in Ta Prum, a village near the capital Phnom Penh, frets that the illness could spread from Vietnam. \u201cI don\u2019t have any other job and my income that provides for my entire family relies solely on these pigs. If they die because of swine flu then everybody in the family will die too,\u201d he told The Associated Press. Hong Kong authorities have killed 10,700 pigs in two outbreaks, including one triggered by an animal imported from the mainland that was found to be infected. Two dead pigs infected with a virus similar to those in mainland Chinese were found in Taiwan, the FAO says. Epidemic fighting efforts have gotten entangled in regional geopolitics. North Korea scaled back cooperation with South Korea after the collapse of a February summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, hampering joint work on stemming the spread of the disease following an outbreak near North Korea\u2019s border with China. South Korea\u2019s agricultural ministry said that blood tests of pigs from some 340 farms near the border with the North were negative. Fences and traps have been installed near farms to protect hogs from being infected by wild boars that roam the inter-Korean border. The North\u2019s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said quarantine efforts were focused on disinfecting farms and transport vehicles, restricting visitors, and banning the distribution of food products containing pork. Its references to nationwide quarantine efforts suggest the disease may have spread beyond regions near China. Thailand and other countries still free of infections have taken strong preventive actions, including banning importation of pork, sausages, ham, or bacon. Sorawit Taneeto, director-general of Thailand\u2019s Department of Livestock Development, urged people to cooperate with soldiers at checkpoints in border provinces and quarantine areas. Airports are using more dogs like beagles to help in luggage inspections. ___ McNeil reported from Beijing. Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan, and Pitcha Dangprasith and Jim Gomez in Bangkok contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "39282", "claim": " A list of comparative facts about margarine and butter. ", "explanation": "Butter versus Margarine", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Food / Drink, Health / Medical, Household, Medical", "main_text": "The heart of this eRumor, the comparison between butter and Margarine, has been circulating since 2005. Later versions added the tidbit about Margarine being manufactured to fatten turkeys. We\u2019ll go through the email one fact at time but it needs to be kept in mind that not every Margarine product is the same. There are other spreads that are loosely called Margarine but may, for example, be part vegetable oil or a fat-free Margarine product. 1. Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed The turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a Payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this Product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food Appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in Place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever New flavorings According to the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers, Margarine was the idea of a Frenchman named Hippolyte Mege-Mouriez in response to a request from Emperor Louis Napoleon for ideas for a substitute for butter. In 1869 he used margaric acid and the name of his formulation became known as Margarine. It became a hit in the United States in the late 1800\u2019s. 2. Both have the same amount of calories A tablespoon of butter is 100 calories. A tablespoon of Margarine is 100 calories. 3. Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study We didn\u2019t find the \u201c53%\u201d study, but Harvard School of Public Health has published a report on this. It says that more than 30 years ago research indicated that saturated fat (such as in butter) was bad for the heart and people were told to switch to margarine. A Harvard study of women between 1980 and 1994 found a significant reduction of heart disease risk by reducing smoking, hormone treatment, and dietary improvements including reducing or eliminating saturated fat (such as in butter.) Further research has shown, however, that some margarines contained trans fat, which was even worse for the heart than saturated fat. The report cautions us not to make decisions as a result of just one study but to consider the body of recent research about an issue like butter versus margarine. 4. Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 Grams A tablespoon of butter is 7g of saturated fat. A tablespoon of margarine is 2g of saturated fat. 5. Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other Foods  We could not find anything definitive about this. 6. Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added! It depends on what you are measuring. The advantage of butter is that it is a more natural product than margarine and does have more vitamin content. But butter is high in saturated fat, which is associated with increased heart attack risk. Saturated fats are the ones that are solid at room temperature and increase the \u201cbad\u201d cholesterol (LDL) as well as the \u201cgood\u201d cholesterol (HDL). The disadvantage of true margarine is the trans fat level. The more solid a margarine is at room temperature, the more trans fat it contains, as much as 3 grams per tablespoon. Margarine makers have responded to that by releasing tub or liquid products that have either reduced or eliminated trans fats. Watch for the labels. Heart doctors recommend butter over normal margarine but recommend trans fat free margarines over butter. It all gets very confusing. There are even margarine products now that say they actually lower cholesterol. 7. Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods-A Matter of Personal Taste! 8. Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for Less than 100 years Margarine was introduced as an inexpensive alternative in France in 1869, according to a history found in the   Margarine and Spreads Association in the United Kingdom. 9. Margarine is high in trans fatty acids 10. Margarine triples the risk of coronary heart disease  Although trans fats are to be avoided, we did not find any research that says that the use of margarine triples the risk of heart disease. 11. Margarine ncreases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol) 12. Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold We could not find any substantiation of this claim. 13. Margarine lowers quality of breast milk We didn\u2019t find any research on this but there are studies on how a mother\u2019s eating of trans fats affects the level of trans fats in her milk. One study, for example, comparing Canadian breast milk to Chinese breast milk found that Canadian mothers had 33 more trans fats in their milk than the Chinese mothers. So the quality of the breast milk can be affected by the consumption of trans fats. 14. Margarine decreases immune response We found several references to this including an article by nutritionist Dr. Mary Enig that said that consuming trans fatty acids \u201cAffects immune response by lowering effeciency of B cell response and increasing proliferation of T cells.\u201d 15. Decreases insulin response Actually the trans fat can increase blood insulin levels, which increases the risk for diabetes. 16. Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC We found no support for this. Perhaps whoever wrote this heard a discussion about the \u201cplasticity\u201d of margarine. It is \u201cplastic\u201d at room temperature meaning that the shape of it can be changed when pressure is applied. That doesn\u2019t mean it is composed of what we normally think of as plastic. It was originally made of animal fats but increasingly now is made from vegetable oils. Updated 3/29/07 Comments"}
{"claim_id": "34399", "claim": "Marilyn Monroe's intelligence quotient was measured at 168.", "explanation": "Although Monroe was known to be more scholarly\u00a0than her public persona indicated, we were unable to find any proof that\u00a0her intelligence quotient was measured as\u00a0168 with any test at any time.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Entertainment, marilyn monroe", "main_text": "Pages devoted to both \u201cfacts\u201d and Marilyn Monroe frequently\u00a0share a tidbit of purported truth\u00a0about the Hollywood legend, repeating a rumor that the storied actress and model had a profoundly high intelligence quotient: Marilyn Monroe had an IQ of 168. \u2014 What The F*** Facts (@WhatTheFFacts) March 29, 2017  We were unable to find any versions\u00a0of this rumor\u00a0that came\u00a0with any corroborating information, such as the year she was tested, the type of IQ test she took, or why she took an IQ test to begin with; typically, it appeared alone or alongside a related claim that Monroe hated being typecast as a \u201cdumb blonde.\u201d The earliest iteration we were able to find of that particular rumor\u00a0was in a BuzzFeed list\u00a0published on 5 August 2013:  No citation was provided for the early appearance of that claim, but its wording indicated\u00a0it may have formed the basis of subsequent rumors. Monroe was born in 1926, and turned 18 in 1944. According to the American Psychological Association\u2019s Monitor on Psychology, Monroe was in her twenties when the modern form of IQ testing was introduced in 1949 (earlier versions were used, but less widely): Among intelligence tests for children, one test currently dominates the field: the WISC-III, the third revision of psychologist David Wechsler\u2019s classic 1949 test for children, which was modeled after Army intelligence tests developed during World War I. A version for adults was introduced in 1955, when Monroe was nearly 30. We uncovered no evidence that the star had been tested using what were then relatively new psychological screening methods\u00a0used primarily in relation to schooling and the military. Chronologically, it is possible that Monroe had undergone such testing, but there also is\u00a0no reason to believe she had done so in an era when IQ tests\u00a0were uncommon. Monroe\u2019s early life was known to be marked by unrest and instability, and she spent much of her childhood in foster care. The tumultuous environment in which Monroe was raised seemed unlikely to have included intelligence testing; she married just after she turned 16 and became a homemaker before reinventing herself in her twenties. We consulted Scott Fortner, expert on Marilyn Monroe and curator of MarilynMonroeCollection.com. Fortner was familiar with\u00a0the rumor that Monroe\u2019s IQ was measured at 168, and told us that he believed it to be \u201cunfounded\u201d:\u00a0 I\u2019ve never come across any information or details on Marilyn actually having been tested on her intelligence quotient. I was lucky enough to have viewed the contents of her personal files on multiple locations. There were no records present of her having been tested. She was very sensitive about her education. It\u2019s known widely that she never graduated high school, but she did focus on self improvement and development throughout her life. Her personal library contained over 400 books on a variety of subjects, reflecting both her intelligence and her wide-ranging interests. No surprise to those familiar with Monroe, they were the books of a well-read and inquiring mind. Works of Literature, Art, Drama, Biography, Poetry, Politics, History, Theology, Philosophy, and Psychology covered the walls in her library. Among the First Editions was her own copy of The Beat Generation classic On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Ralph Ellison\u2019s The Invisible Man and William Styron\u2019s This House on Fire. From Tolstoy to Twain, many other classic works of literature were represented, including her copies of The Great Gatsby, Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland, James Joyce\u2019s Dubliners, Hemingway\u2019s The Sun Also Rises, and The Fall by Camus. Her library also contained books on gardening, her Bibles, and children\u2019s books, including her own copy of The Little Engine That Could which was possibly marked with her own childish scrawl. Like others\u00a0directly familiar with Monroe\u2019s belongings and possessions, Fortner described her\u00a0as an autodidact and literary buff (as did\u00a0New York City-based clothing store Barneys style maven\u00a0and Monroe fan,\u00a0Simon Doonan): Shoes? Yes, there were several pairs of black suede Ferragamo stilettos with worn heels. But Marilyn \u2014 brace yourself for another shocker \u2014 was more into books than shoes. Her poignant desire to cultivate her mind and give herself an education resulted in an extensive library of first editions. Take that, Carrie Bradshaw!"}
{"claim_id": "8662", "claim": "Ardern's online messages keep spirits up in New Zealand's coronavirus lockdown.", "explanation": "Hours after New Zealand imposed a nationwide lockdown to beat a coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took to Facebook, livestreaming in a sweater from bed, to \u201ccheck in\u201d on citizens and tell them of the day\u2019s events.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Ardern\u2019s news conferences for more than 30 minutes a day, taking queries, streaming Facebook videos and posting pictures on Instagram, offer a contrast with some world leaders who have stumbled through confusing briefings about virus combat plans. \u201cI thought I would jump online quickly and check in with everyone...as we all prepare to hunker down for a few weeks,\u201d she said in one of her social media messages, seen and cheered by millions in lockdown. \u201cThis feels like the comfort of being tucked into bed at night by my mum,\u201d said a viewer who responded to the post. \u201cThanks for checking in with us.\u201d   New Zealand\u2019s tally of 589 virus infections, and one death, is far smaller than other countries, such as giant neighbor Australia, which has 4,200 cases and 17 deaths. Thursday\u2019s lockdown is expected to have far-reaching effect on the export-oriented economy of the nation of five million. But the 39-year-old prime minister\u2019s clear communication has garnered praise, even from her fiercest critics. \u201cI think she communicates really clearly and really well,\u201d John Key, a former prime minister and senior leader of the opposition National Party said on a radio show. While urging New Zealanders to keep to their own \u201cbubble\u201d, or stay home to save lives, Ardern has also talked about working from her office, spending time with family, and even a struggle with toilet training her daughter, who turns two in June. Ardern took the helm of the Labour-led government in October 2017, as the youngest female prime minister at the time, and became only the second elected leader to give birth while in office, after Pakistan\u2019s Benazir Bhutto. Her compassionate yet decisive actions after last year\u2019s mass shooting at two Christchurch mosques drew global praise. But facing domestic criticism for her government\u2019s handling of housing shortages and the economy, Ardern is expected to face a tough re-election contest in September. On Instagram on Sunday, she described events in her \u201cbubble\u201d, and was asked how toilet training was going with daughter Neve Te Aroha, who was three months old when she accompanied Ardern at her United Nations debut in 2018. \u201cWe are having zero success!\u201d Ardern replied."}
{"claim_id": "33634", "claim": "Owning a chihuahua can help cure a person of asthma.", "explanation": "Beliefs that canines can be pressed into accepting human illness and thereby freeing human sufferers from their physical maladies are quite old. For instance, an 1898 folklore journal examined a Midwestern folk remedy that stated: \u201cThe Negro sometimes sleeps with a young dog in order to transmit rheumatism to the dog.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Critter Country, Wild Inaccuracies", "main_text": "Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the bronchial tubes that affects more than 17 million Americans and causes more than 5,000 deaths per year. It is also the most common chronic childhood disorder, affecting 6.3 million children (approximately 1 in 13 school-aged kids). Although numerous medications exist that work to keep asthma in check, there is no cure for this malady. Because not all asthma medications are equally effective on all sufferers, it is therefore to be expected that at least some who live with this illness look to the world of folk medicine and superstition for relief from the crushing inability to breathe. In addition to various herbs, nostrums, and rituals said to alleviate asthma symptoms, a surprisingly widespread belief positions one particular breed of man\u2019s best friend as an asthma cure. Chihuahuas, it is said, will take asthma out of a home, either their presence working to wipe out the disease, or the animals themselves soaking up the illness resident in human masters and so transferring it to themselves. (The rumor exists in both forms: something about these dogs kills asthma, or chihuahuas serve as canine illness sponges.) [Collected via e-mail, August 2004]  I have encountered a weird one that is apparently quite popular in the Georgia US area: chihuahua dogs will \u2018take on\u2019 a child\u2019s asthma. The dog will pick out the one in the family with asthma and sleep on their chest, will cough, and one day will cough up black stuff and this cures the asthma sufferer. I couldn\u2019t believe my ears \u2013 my neighbor believes this 100% as advised by both her MD and a vet, she tried it and claims this has cured her son of asthma. I am now finding that many folks around here have heard of this. [Collected via e-mail, May 2008]  I have heard from numerous people that if a person who has asthma owns a chihuahua the dog will actually exhibit asthma symptoms and the human\u2019s attack will be less severe. I ask because I have a chihuahua and have recently been diagnosed with asthma. It seems farfetched, but my dog actually exhibits breathing problems and I can\u2019t help but wander if there is a chance that I am making her sick. Consequently, many families of asthmatic children have rushed to purchase these dogs and install them as family pets. Some believers in this cure insist the child must sleep with the chihuahua if the remedy is to be effected; others also specify that the dog must lie on the child\u2019s chest. When those who pass along the news of this cure advance a source for their information, they will often says that the chihuahua remedy began with the Aztecs. Some will add that the Aztecs revered the chihuahua as the \u201cruler of the nose\u201d and thought it had the power to cure various ailments in addition to asthma. Impressive as that sounds, there\u2019s only scant reason to believe Aztecs had anything to do with the development of the belief that this particular dog would cure this particular disease. The Aztecs certainly did like this little dog: while it is rumored that the chihuahua started out as a foodstuff for them, the small canine eventually came to be regarded as a spiritual guide that would help a dead Aztec make his way in the afterlife, with part of that process involving the animal\u2019s absorbing the sins of the person who\u2019d died. This information bears enough of a resemblance to the \u201cchihuahuas cure asthma\u201d rumor (i.e., it involves the notion that chihuahuas were used to take on something noxious their human masters wanted to be rid of) that the Aztec connection cannot be completely dismissed   More plausible is the explanation that the rumor became attached to this particular pooch because a great many chihuahuas wheeze and make breathing noises the sound like someone struggling with asthma. It can therefore sound (especially to those desperate for a cure) that the dog is drawing the asthma from the sufferer and taking it up himself. (For worried pet owners out there, we note that this not the case: asthma does not get passed from human to dog.) Unfortunately for asthma sufferers, the chihuahua remedy doesn\u2019t work. While it is true that these creatures are somewhat less likely to provoke allergies than most other breeds of dogs, owning one will not in itself cure asthma. (Even in terms of providing canine companionship for allergy sufferers, these short-haired dogs aren\u2019t a magic bullet: they can still stir up all the usual symptoms of asthma because it\u2019s not fur that is the allergen; it\u2019s substances contained in dander and bodily secretions. However, smaller dogs and dogs with single-layered coats generally produce less dander, and chihuahuas possess both these qualities.) The belief about chihuahuas as an asthma cure has been around for a very long time; we found it written up in a 1956 folklore journal and a 1965 medical journal. One of the reasons for the rumor\u2019s longevity has to do with the nature of asthma in children: about half of young sufferers lose their symptoms sometime during childhood or adolescence. That inexplicable loss, coupled with the presence in the home of the four-legged asthma cure (the chihuahua), works to entrench belief in the fiction that the dog cures the disease. In this sense, the belief is akin to the various \u201cwart cures\u201c that folklore advocates for the treatment of children afflicted with such bumpy growths: The body\u2019s eventual triumph over the virus is mistakenly attributed to some external cure, such as rubbing these benign skin tumors with bean pods or snails or wishing them onto the occupants of passing hearses."}
{"claim_id": "3839", "claim": "Ex-NFL player, doctor are arrested in Georgia opioid case.", "explanation": "A former NFL football player and a Georgia doctor face charges of illegally distributing prescription drugs, including opioids.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Georgia, Opioids, Cartersville, NFL, Arrests, Prescription drugs, Atlanta, General News, Football", "main_text": "Former New Orleans Saints player Sedrick Hodge sold oxycodone pills in Cartersville, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Hodge, 40, is accused of illegal distribution of controlled substances, among other charges. Dr. Victor Hanson, 86, faces 14 counts of illegal drug distribution involving prescriptions that included powerful opioid painkillers, prosecutors said. Two other suspects also face charges. Hanson lives in the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven and operated a weight loss clinic in nearby Sandy Springs. He issued \u201cnumerous illegitimate prescriptions for drugs, including powerful opioid painkillers,\u201d U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said in a statement Wednesday. \u201cWhile Hanson prescribed these drugs without a legitimate medical purpose, Sedrick Hodge and other associates allegedly sold these drugs in communities like Cartersville,\u201d Pak said. The doctor accepted only cash or checks for the drugs, and Hodge then sold them on the street for cash, prosecutors wrote in the indictment. The drugs included oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam and others, prosecutors said. Lawyers for Hodge didn\u2019t immediately respond Wednesday to calls and emails requesting comment. It wasn\u2019t known whether the others have lawyers yet. Hodge, a linebacker who played at the University of North Carolina, was drafted by the Saints in 2001. He spent all five of his NFL seasons in New Orleans, appearing in 63 games and starting 43. He signed with Miami as a free agent in 2006, but was cut before the regular season began. This case is part of the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office\u2019s Operation SCOPE, an acronym for Strategically Combatting Opioids through Prosecution and Enforcement, according to prosecutors. It is aimed at fighting the nation\u2019s opioid crisis by cracking down on physicians and dealers. The opioid crisis is the \u201cdeadliest drug epidemic in American history,\u201d the U.S. Department of Justice said in its recent budget request. President Donald Trump has declared it a National Public Health Emergency. Opioid overdoses claimed the lives of about 400,000 Americans from 1999-2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ___ Associated Press Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed."}
{"claim_id": "5117", "claim": "EPA boss visits polluted mining sites in Montana.", "explanation": "The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency visited two contaminated mining sites in Montana on Friday as the agency faces pressure to speed cleanup work that\u2019s dragged on for more than three decades.", "label": "true", "subjects": "U.S. News, Steve Daines, Environment, Montana, Billings, Butte, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency", "main_text": "Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited Butte and Anaconda with Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines. \u201cSuperfund is a priority for the administration, for President Trump, and it\u2019s a priority for myself as well,\u201d Wheeler said during his visit, Montana Public Radio reported . Wheeler also said the cleanup plans for both sites are works in progress and community input could still shape the final agreement. Butte is home to the notorious Berkeley Pit , an open-pit copper mine holding 50 billion gallons (190 billion liters) of acidic, metal-laden water. An estimated 3,000 snow geese died after landing in the pit in 2016. Anaconda\u2019s environmental damage was caused by a century\u2019s worth of copper smelting that sent arsenic, lead and other metals into the air until 1980. The two communities were placed on the EPA\u2019s Superfund list, which includes many of the nation\u2019s most contaminated sites, in 1983. EPA officials in June announced a \u201cconceptual\u201d cleanup plan for Butte. Details have not been made public because of a gag order imposed by a federal judge in a lawsuit over the pollution. In July, the agency reached a preliminary agreement over pollution in Anaconda with Atlantic Richfield Co., the state of Montana and Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. Daines has been prodding the EPA to accelerate the cleanup projects and said Wheeler\u2019s visit demonstrated the agency\u2019s willingness to work with the two communities after so many years. \u201cIt\u2019s time for action,\u201d Daines said in a telephone interview. \u201cThe sooner that happens, the sooner we can reduce the health risks.\u201d Researchers from the University of South Carolina concluded in a study published last month that Butte and Anaconda residents continue to die from cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other illnesses at higher rates than in other Montana counties. The death rate has been falling over time but remains elevated, the study said, suggesting cleanup work done to date appears to be \u201cslowly improving the health impact of ongoing and historical pollution from mining and smelting.\u201d The study was based on an analysis of death certificate data between 2000 and 2016 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."}
{"claim_id": "35887", "claim": "When U.S. President Donald Trump took office, he inherited a \u201cbare\u201d Strategic National Stockpile that lacked an adequate supply of mechanical ventilators that would have aided the nation at the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.", "explanation": "What's true: Stockpiles of some types of personal protective equipment such as N95 masks were depleted by the Obama administration\u2019s response to the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, and had not been replenished by the time the COVID-19 outbreak began. What's false: The ventilator supply, specifically, was not depleted under the Obama administration, though it did fall short of what experts said would be needed in the event of a severe pandemic.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "At the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that he inherited a \u201cbare\u201d Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) that lacked an adequate supply of ventilators from the administration of former President Barack Obama, hindering Trump\u2019s ability to adequately respond to the growing number of coronavirus cases across the nation. We revisited the timeline of the pandemic and the various (and contradictory) statements issued by Trump and his administration to check the accuracy of this claim. The SNS is overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and is allocated as a resource to supplement state and local authorities in their response to public health emergencies. In addition to many state stockpiles, the federal stockpile includes medicines, supplies, and devices needed for life-saving care that are strategically located at secret warehouse locations around the country. According to a timeline published by the Department of Health and Human Services, the stockpile has been used at least 13 times since its 1999 creation, including during responses to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A mechanical ventilator is a breathing machine used to assist a patient suffering from respiratory distress, or a condition that makes it difficult for them to breathe on their own. SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for the 2020 pandemic, causes COVID-19, one such respiratory condition that can make it difficult for an infected person to breathe on their own. Concern over whether the U.S. had enough ventilators took center stage in early 2020 \u2014 shortly after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11. When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked the federal government for additional ventilators, Trump responded by criticizing Cuomo\u2019s handling of the pandemic, saying that the state should have stockpiled ventilators. During a March 26 press briefing, Trump tried to buck the blame for a shortage of ventilators, saying that he had taken over an \u201cempty shelf.\u201d The president reiterated the claim just over a week later, adding that the depleted stockpile he supposedly inherited impacted his administration\u2019s ability to respond to the pandemic. Hey, I inherited \u2014 we, this administration \u2014 we inherited a broken system, both militarily, but we\u2019ve rebuilt our military where we now have so much ammunition, whereas you remember a very important general said, \u201cSir, we have no ammunition.\u201d They wanted to save money on ammunition. They didn\u2019t want to save money because they spent money like nobody ever spent money. But you know what? We now have a great military rebuilt. And we have so much ammunition, we don\u2019t know what to do with it. Okay? And that\u2019s a nice feeling to have. But they also gave us empty cupboards. The cupboard was bare. You\u2019ve heard the expression: \u201cThe cupboard was bare.\u201d So we took over a stockpile where the cupboard was bare and where the testing system was broken and old. And we redid it. Though Trump repeatedly blamed the Obama administration for leaving behind an empty stockpile and falsely took credit for restocking the ventilator supplies, he said on more than one occasion that the U.S. had enough ventilators in the weeks following the pandemic declaration. In the April 7 press briefing, Admiral Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of HHS, said that the number of ventilators is not a \u201cnumber that we give out\u201d but said that there were thousands remaining in the stockpile. Trump quickly added that there were 9,000 breathing machines. In an April 8 Tweet, the White House said that it had shipped out 8,000 ventilators and had an \u201cadditional 10,000 ready to go.\u201d An op-ed written by Vice President Mike Pence added that the SNS \u201chadn\u2019t been refilled since the H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009, and it had only 10,000 ventilators on hand\u201d in March \u2014 an inadequate number given the extent of the pandemic \u2014 but that by the June 16 publication of his piece, there were more than 30,000 ventilators in the SNS and that the administration was \u201cwell on [its] way to building 100,000 ventilators in 100 days.\u201d It appeared that the Trump administration initially recognized that the ventilator supply was inadequate to respond to the pandemic, but failed to supplement the limited inventory despite promises to do so. The discrepancy continued well into 2020. Some references: While it is true that the Trump administration had inherited a depleted supply of some personal protective equipment (PPE) like N95 respirator masks, it is not accurate to say that the stockpile was left \u201cbare\u201d or depleted of ventilators. The SNS had 16,600 ventilators \u201cimmediately available for use\u201d at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a spokesperson with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who spoke with FactCheck.org in June 2020: [T]here were 16,660 ventilators in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) inventory immediately available for use when the SNS began deploying ventilators in March 2020 in support of the COVID-19 response. All of these ventilators were serviced, recertified and operable. An additional 2,425 ventilators were in maintenance at that time as part of the normal and routine maintenance process. Every ventilator and resupply kit in the SNS is serviced regularly by a contracted commercial vendor to meet or exceed the manufacturer\u2019s recommended maintenance schedule. In general, prior to March of this year, the SNS stored approximately 19,000 ventilators in its inventory for many years, and this number fluctuated on any given day depending on the number of ventilators in scheduled maintenance. \u2026 [I]n January 2017 the total number of ventilators in the SNS inventory immediately available for use would not have been much different than what the SNS had immediately available for use in March 2020. The spokesperson added that the stockpile would likely have held the same number of ventilators in January 2016 when Trump was inaugurated, suggesting that ventilator stock left by the Obama administration was considered adequate by HHS when Trump took office. Snopes contacted the HHS to confirm the above figures, but had not received a response at the time of publication. However, given the nature of the 2020 pandemic, health experts argued that ventilator inventory at the onset of the outbreak was inadequate, and the Trump administration should have immediately taken measures to increase the inventory of ventilators and other emergency medical supplies. As part of the COVID-19 response, the SNS deployed more than 14,500 tons of cargo to states, according to data published on Sept. 16, 2020. An HHS document submitted to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform criticized the low number of ventilators that had been distributed from the stockpile in April 2020, suggesting that the outsourced 7,920 ventilators were\u00a0inadequate compared with the estimated need of 139,000 machines. \u201cNow that the national stockpile has been depleted of critical equipment, it appears that the Administration is leaving states to fend for themselves, to scour the open market for these scarce supplies, and to compete with each other and federal agencies in a chaotic, free-for-all bidding war,\u201d said committee chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a statement."}
{"claim_id": "9139", "claim": "Treating depression w/ software: Tech from Mount Sinai steps into the digital healthcare universe", "explanation": "The news release describes an interesting new technology that uses computer technology to try to \u201crebalance\u201d activity in regions in the brain of depressed patients towards normal patterns by having them repeatedly do a task involving identifying moods on faces. Industry connections were clearly established, which is good. But many details are missing: How many people were in the study? How severe was their depression before and after? What were the limitations? Any adverse events? We need more and better ways of treating depression, which is one of the chronic diseases that disables millions of U.S. adults. But this release does not go far enough to\u00a0help readers assess this new therapy\u2019s potential, nor how it might compare to existing techniques such as drugs and psychotherapy.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "depression", "main_text": "There is no mention of costs. The release would have been stronger if it allowed readers to see the economic context of this new therapy. The release provides only percentages, with no actual numbers for the patients who did and did not receive the therapy. We don\u2019t know if it was 10 patients or 10,000 patients. We also don\u2019t know how the symptoms were measured, nor how severe the depression was in the two groups at baseline and afterward. (We looked up a presentation of the study: It had just 26 people.) Excerpt: \u201cIn the trial, the therapeutic reduced MDD symptoms by 42 percent in the experimental group after six weeks compared to 15.7 percent in the control group, which was given a similar task using simple shapes instead of emotions.\u201d Also: If the groups received therapy for six weeks, how often did they receive it each week? What was the control group receiving? Was it once for 45 minutes or twice a week for 30 minutes? All these details would help us understand this. We found just one comment. Excerpt: \u201cThe initial results demonstrate that the efficacy of this digital therapeutic is comparable to drug therapy, with a highly favorable safety profile.\u201d Each drug shows different efficacy, so we\u2019re not sure how this was established. Also, it\u2019s standard to track\u00a0adverse events in trials. For this one, what adverse events did the researchers find? We\u2019re not told. The news release doesn\u2019t adequately establish the quality of the evidence. Specifically, that because the research has not been published in a journal, it is preliminary. It\u2019s also worth pointing out that six weeks is a short timeframe to measure the effectiveness of a treatment for a chronic disorder. There is no disease mongering. We were glad to see the for-profit entity, Click Therapeutics, clearly labeled as a contributor to the research and employer of at least one of the investigators. But we would have liked a clearer explanation of conflicts. Do any of the study authors participate in patents related to this work? How might\u00a0researchers benefit financially? The study presentation does disclose they hold patent applications. Excerpt: \u201cMount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), the commercialization-arm of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has been a key partner in this development.\u201d Many other therapies for major depression have been developed, and some of them use technological approaches. Besides these, there are also drugs, psychotherapy and exercise with known benefits. The release would have been stronger if it had listed some of what is already known to work, and explained how the new therapy fit into that context. Is it cheaper? More effective? Easier for rural patients to access? Because the release is about a new therapy, we assume it is not available outside of a clinical study yet. The release establishes the\u00a0novelty about this technology. Although we think this could have waited until a large, randomized study had been completed\u2013and peer-reviewed\u2013before they publicized the work. Some of the language appeared to swerve into exaggeration but was not unjustifiable."}
{"claim_id": "36963", "claim": " A former Marine called out Sarah Palin for blaming her son, Trek Palin\u2019s, arrest for domestic violence and weapons violations on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an open letter. ", "explanation": "Marine\u2019s Open Letter to Sarah Palin-Authorship Confirmed!", "label": "true", "subjects": "Government, Politics", "main_text": "We can confirm that a former Marine wrote an open letter to Sarah Palin in which he said she had used PTSD to \u201cdivert blame from her family\u2019s abhorrent, violent behavior.\u201d The open letter surfaced days after Sarah Palin said Trek Palin\u2019s arrest for domestic violence was linked to PTSD, and more specifically, to President Obama for not doing more to help veterans. Palin delivered the remarks in a January XX campaign stop with Donald Trump in Kentucky, the Daily Mail reports: \u2018I guess it\u2019s kind of the elephant in the room \u2013 because my own family, going through what we\u2019re going through today\u00a0with my son, a combat vet having served in a Stryker brigade, fighting for you all, America, in the war zone. But my\u00a0son, like so many others, they come back a bit different. They come back hardened,\u2019 Palin said at the Wednesday\u00a0rally. \u2018They come back wondering if there is that respect for what their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member\u00a0of the military have given so sacrificially to this country, and that starts at the top,\u2019 Palin said. She continued to say it\u2019s a \u2018shame\u2019 that military personnel come home and \u2018have to wonder if they\u2019re respected\u00a0anymore\u2019. \u2018So when my own son is going through what he goes through coming back, I can certainly relate with other families\u00a0who kind of feel these ramifications of PTSD and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with, and it\u00a0makes me realize more than ever, it is now or never for the sake of America\u2019s finest that we\u2019ll have that commander in\u00a0chief who will respect them and honor them,\u2019 she said. In response, former Marine and Navy Officer Chris Marks wrote the open letter. The open letter, which was published on Marks\u2019 personal blog site, begins: I am a former US Marine and US Navy Officer with a Combat Action Ribbon as well as service connected\u00a0disabilities. I am also a Republican. I have also served with, and am friends with, dozens of combat\u00a0veterans who suffer daily from various injuries and wounds to include PTSD. I recently read your\u00a0comments related to PTSD in which you attempted to excuse your son\u2019s arrest on domestic abuse charges\u00a0and firearm charges by\u00a0referencing his supposed PTSD. Based upon your previous comments I am not\u00a0surprised that you would choose to use this very serious condition as a political football and, once again,\u00a0attempt to divert blame from your own family\u2019s abhorrent, violent behavior. Marks also called for Palin to use her \u201ccelebrity status\u201d to help veterans in a more productive, less political manner. And Marks wasn\u2019t the only veteran that took exception with Palin\u2019s comments. Other veterans who spoke out in the media said Palin had used \u201cdangerous stereotyping\u201d about PTSTD and veterans in her remarks, the Boston Globe reports,"}
{"claim_id": "2616", "claim": "Softer restaurant music, lighting can help cut calories: study.", "explanation": "Just as music and lighting can influence what shoppers buy, toning down the tunes and dimming the lights in a fast food restaurant can help diners enjoy their meal more and eat less, according to a U.S. study.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "After transforming part of a fast food restaurant in Illinois with milder music and lighting, researchers found that customers ate 18 percent fewer calories than other people in the unmodified part of the restaurant. \u201cWhen we softened the lights and softened the music in the restaurant it didn\u2019t change what people ordered, but what it did do was lead them to eat less and made them more satisfied and happier,\u201d said Brian Wansink, a professor of marketing and consumer behavior at Cornell University in New York. In the study published in the journal Psychological Reports, Wansink and his co-author Koert Van Ittersum, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the bright lights, stimulating colors, sound-reflecting surfaces and loud music in fast food restaurants are not designed to be relaxing. So they improved the mood in a section of a Hardee\u2019s restaurant for the study, adding plants, paintings, indirect lights, tablecloths, candles and instrumental music. After seating customers in both the original and restyled sections of the restaurant, they timed how long their meal lasted and how many calories they consumed. Customers in the modified section ate longer than those in the main dining area, consumed fewer calories and rated the food as more enjoyable. \u201cSpending that extra time eating a little more slowly at a more relaxed pace made a world of difference, not just to how much they ate but how much they liked it,\u201d said Wansink, a former executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion and the author of the book \u201cMindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think.\u201d  \u201cThese results suggest that a more relaxed environment increases satisfaction and decreases consumption,\u201d he added. About one in three adults and one in six children and teens in the United States is obese, according to government figures. Wansink, who is sending the findings to restaurant chains, said some simple changes could help people eat better and enjoy food more. \u201cIf softer music and softer lighting seem to get people to eat less in a fast food situation, why not try the same thing at home?\u201d said Wansink."}
{"claim_id": "36034", "claim": "United States President Donald Trump was fined $2 million for using funds collected as donations to veterans for his 2016 campaign.", "explanation": "Was Donald Trump Fined $2 Million for Misappropriating Funds Donated for Veterans but Used for His Campaign?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "In November 2019, a constellation of Facebook posts appeared, collectively making one claim: that United States President Donald Trump was fined $2 million after a judge ruled that funds he had raised were improperly diverted to finance his campaign.One such post was shared on November 8 2019 (archived here):It read \u201cImagine a country where its president is fined $2 million for stealing money from a charity and nobody cares? You\u2019re living there.\u201d On November 10, another was shared\u00a0(archived here):That one featured a photograph of the President surrounded by men in military uniforms and said \u201cgo ahead and fact check all you want,\u201d and \u201cit is a fact that draft dodger Trump stole charitable donations that were meant for our Veterans.\u201d On November 11 2019, another\u00a0two posts were shared (archived here and here):The first read:If you believe a black man kneeling to peacefully protest racism dishonors veterans but Donald Trump stealing $2.8 million in charity from veterans doesn\u2019t \u2014 you need to stop disguising your racism as patriotism.And the second said:On this Veteran\u2019s Day, it is important to remember that Donald Trump stole money he raised for veterans to pay his own bills.In the aggregate, the posts made a broader set of allegations \u2014 that Donald Trump had raised more than $2 million for veterans, illegally used the money for his own campaign, and that as a result, he was fined $2 million. Two of the four posts we located were initially covered by a large Facebook pop-up stating that the claims were false information:Underneath an \u201ci\u201d (\u201cinformation\u201d) icon, boldface text read \u201cFalse information,\u201d and under that, \u201cChecked by independent fact-checkers\u201d and a button reading \u201cSee Why.\u201d At the lower left corner, as seen in the bottom image, readers were shown a \u201cSee Photo\u201d button, familiar from content tagged graphic.Clicking on \u201cSee Why\u201d would trigger the following dialogue window to pop up (TruthOrFiction.com is familiar with Facebook content restrictions, having been under one for the better part of two months as of November 2019 due to the social network\u2019s tagging of our content as \u201cclickbait\u201c):At the top it read \u201cConclusion: False,\u201d and a lightbulb icon beneath those words accompanied text reading \u201cThe primary claims in the information are factually inaccurate.\u201d A third line indicated that the conclusion originated with a Factcheck.org fact-check titled \u201cPosts Falsely Claim Trump \u2018Stole\u2019 From Vets,\u201d and a partial subheading which read \u201cViral Facebook posts falsely claim that President Donald Trump \u201cstole \u2026\u201dWe concluded the claim was \u201chighway sharked,\u201d a term meaning redoing an article about a stubborn piece of disinformation that has come up multiple times (recently coined with fellow fact checkers after \u201cprebunked,\u201d which means using transparent information to inoculate against anticipated disinformation ahead of time, was newly purposed.) To put it another way, FactCheck.org had evaluated the information first and, according to Facebook, rated it \u201cfalse.\u201dOn November 12 2019, FactCheck.org\u2019s assessment was published. Although the piece was in a category called \u201cDebunking False Stories,\u201d it did not seem to feature a truth rating \u2014 a common structural element of fact-check pages indicating the claim is true, not true, a mixture of veracity, out-of-context, or unknown:Pages on TruthOrFiction.com typically open with a \u201cclaim\u201d statement, the standard being a concise version of the rumored information we are examining. FactCheck.org also lacked a claim field, opening instead with a \u201cQuick Take,\u201d which appeared to combine a claim with a conclusion centering around a January 28 2016 fundraiser hosted by then-candidate Trump in Iowa:Viral Facebook posts falsely claim that President Donald Trump \u201cstole\u201d charitable donations meant for veterans. A court ruled Trump illegally used his foundation for political purposes when it held a fundraiser for veterans, but all of the money raised went to veterans\u2019 groups.At the top of this page, we set a claim field. Summarizing the claims made in these various memes, it reads:President Trump was fined $2 million for using funds collected as donations to veterans for his 2016 campaign.In a section labeled \u201cFull Story\u201d (we left out the portions transcribing the memes, as they appear above in our own fact check), FactCheck.org reported:President Donald Trump was recently ordered to pay $2 million to several charities to settle a lawsuit over the dealings of his now-defunct charitable organization, the Trump Foundation. But social media posts have distorted the facts about the court order to falsely claim that the foundation \u201cstole\u201d money earmarked for veterans. [\u2026]Those posts, spread during Veterans Day, misrepresent the facts of the case and the court order that resolved it.One of the Facebook posts linked by FactCheck.org was no longer available, but we were able to find a different version of it:\u2026\u00a0 it\u2019s false to claim that Trump \u201cstole\u201d the money and that \u201cnone of the veterans groups that were supposed to get the money got a single dime.\u201dA November 7 2019 press release from the Office of the New York State Attorney General was titled \u201cAG James Secures Court Order Against Donald J. Trump, Trump Children, And Trump Foundation.\u201d It too began with a \u201cQuick Take\u201d of sorts, which read:AG James Achieves Restitution of Misused Funds, Dissolution of Foundation, and Restrictions on Charitable Activity After Donald J. Trump\u2019s Abuse of the Trump FoundationTrump to Pay $2 Million in Damages for Illegal Activity During 2016 ElectionFactCheck.org\u2019s assessment, quoted above, acknowledged that Trump was \u201crecently ordered\u201d by the state\u2019s Attorney General to pay $2 million, adding that \u201csocial media posts have distorted the facts about the court order to falsely claim that the foundation \u2018stole\u2019 money earmarked for veterans.\u201d And all four of the Facebook post we linked or embedded mentioned a variation of \u201cstealing\u201d the funds.It is definitely true that Trump was ordered to pay $2 million in damages, in the words of the Attorney General of New York State, \u201cfor improperly using charitable assets to intervene in the 2016 presidential primaries and further his own political interests.\u201d The November 7 2019 press release\u2019s following two paragraphs said that he admitted to \u201cpersonally misusing [Trump Foundation funds]\u201d and a stipulation imposed required that he report any future attempts to create a charity.The press release further explained that \u201cfunds that were illegally misused are being restored,\u201d wording suggestive that misappropriated donations remained outstanding and unrestored as of the November 7 2019 release:As part of the [$2 million] settlement, Attorney General James also announced that her office entered into multiple stipulations with the Trump Foundation and its directors to resolve the remaining claims in the lawsuit. Chiefly, Mr. Trump admits to personally misusing funds at the Trump Foundation, and agrees to restrictions on future charitable service and ongoing reporting to the Office of the Attorney General in the event he creates a new charity. The settlements also include mandatory training requirements for Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. Finally, the settlements name the charities that will receive the remaining assets of the Trump Foundation as part of its dissolution.\u201cThe Trump Foundation has shut down, funds that were illegally misused are being restored, the president will be subject to ongoing supervision by my office, and the Trump children had to undergo compulsory training to ensure this type of illegal activity never takes place again,\u201d said Attorney General James. \u201cThe court\u2019s decision, together with the settlements we negotiated, are a major victory in our efforts to protect charitable assets and hold accountable those who would abuse charities for personal gain. My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law \u2014 not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the President of the United States.\u201dIn that statement, the Attorney General\u2019s Office referenced nearly $1.8 million in assets held by the Foundation at that point and plans for their distribution:The $1.78 million in assets currently being held by the Trump Foundation, along with the $2 million in damages to be paid by Mr. Trump, will be disbursed equally to eight charities: Army Emergency Relief, the Children\u2019s Aid Society, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Give an Hour, Martha\u2019s Table, United Negro College Fund, United Way of National Capital Area, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The charities \u2014 which were required as part of the resolution to be entities that did not have any relationship with Mr. Trump or entities he controlled \u2014 were approved by the Office of the Attorney General and the court.Another document referenced and linked by FactCheck.org was an October 2018 motion filed by the State of New York against President Trump, his foundation, and his children. On pages five and six of the document, Judge Saliann Scarpulla wrote:Mr. Trump\u2019s fiduciary duty breaches included allowing his campaign to orchestrate the Fundraiser, allowing his campaign, instead of the Foundation, to direct distribution of the Funds, and using the Fundraiser and distribution of the Funds to further Mr. Trump\u2019s political campaign.The Attorney General has argued that I should award damages for waste of the entire $2,823,000 that was donated directly to the Foundation at the Fundraiser. In opposition, Mr. Trump notes that the Foundation ultimately disbursed all of the Funds to charitable organizations and that he has sought to resolve consensually this proceeding.As stated above, I find that the $2,823,000 raised at the Fundraiser was used for Mr. Trump\u2019s political campaign and disbursed by Mr. Trump\u2019s campaign staff, rather than by the Foundation, in violation of [laws and or statutes]. However, taking into consideration that the Funds did ultimately reach their intended destinations, i.e., charitable organizations supporting veterans, I award damages on the breach of fiduciary duty/waste claim against Mr. Trump in the amount of $2,000,000, without interest, rather than the entire $2,823,000 sought by the Attorney General. Further, because the parties have agreed to dissolve the Foundation, I direct Mr. Trump to pay the $2,000,000, which would have gone to the Foundation if it were still in existence, on a pro rata basis to the Approved Recipients.In the above-quoted decision, Scarpulla described:Regarding additional \u201cpenalty\u201d damages sought by the NYS AG\u2019s office to, in their words, deter future misconduct, Scarpulla ruled:Here, Mr. Trump has stipulated to a number of proactive conditions so that the conduct which engendered this petition should not occur in the future. For this reason, I decline to award penalty damages.FactCheck.org also linked to an archived [PDF]\u00a0list (\u201cThe Donald J. Trump Foundation List of Contributions to Veterans 2016\u201d), totaling $2,825,000. Disbursals on that list took place between January and June of 2016. Around 34 organizations appeared on the list, alongside sums totaling $100,000, $75,000, $40,000, $25,000, and $10,000. Seventeen $100,000 donations amounted to $1.7 million in disbursals, 14 $75,000 donations to $1,050,000, and one each at $40,000, $25,000, and $10,000. The sum total was $2,825,000:As the list above demonstrated, more than half of the donations occurred on May 24 2016, and a check for the final donation was issued on June 28 2016. The first four checks (totaling $400,000) were cut one day after the fundraiser on January 29 2016. Ten more checks were cut in February, eight of which were for $100,000, and two for lower amounts, totaling $835,000. A total of $140,000 was disbursed in the month of March 2016, making the total share of the $2,823,000 disbursed between the January 28 2016 fundraiser June 23 2016 $1,375,000. The bulk of the remaining $1,448,000 was released on May 24 2016 specifically, and the final $100,000 on June 28 2016.We looked for news for the months intervening between January 28 2016 and May 24 2016, the date on which most of the checks were written. That highlighted a separate discrepancy in what turned out to be something of a warmed-over controversy. The day after the fundraiser, multiple news organizations\u00a0quoted the Trump campaign\u2019s claim that it had raised $6 million in one night for veterans:No one ever really doubted that Donald Trump could pull off a major counter-programing feat \u2014 even when competing with a GOP debate that was expected to draw millions of viewers. He did it [on January 28 2016], dazzling a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic supporters by announcing that he had raised more than $6 million for veterans in one day \u2014 $1 million of it from his own checkbook. \u201cWe love our vets,\u201d he said. [\u2026]$6 million for 22 veterans\u2019 groups \u2026 The Trump campaign on [that] night released a list of 22 veterans\u2019 organizations that will share the more than $6 million fundraising haul. The organizations run the gamut from groups focused on helping veterans with disabilities and mental health problems to those aimed at helping veterans reintegrate into civilian society.On March 3 2019 (at which point fewer than half the checks had been cut according to the 2018 court document embedded above), the\u00a0Washington Post\u00a0reported controversy over whether the donations collected by Trump on that day in January 2016 had been issued to veterans\u2019 groups. Once again, the total funds raised was placed at $6 million in that report, not the $2,823,000 cited in 2018 and 2019 court documents:[On] January [28 2016], Donald Trump skipped a televised Republican debate in Iowa and held his own event instead \u2014 a rally to raise money for veterans. Trump said it was a huge success.\u201cOne hour. Six million dollars,\u201d Trump told a campaign rally in Iowa a few days later, boasting about the total raised. He listed more than 20 groups that would receive money. \u201cThese people that get these checks are amazing people, amazing people.\u201dMore than a month later, about half of the money, roughly $3 million, has been donated to veterans\u2019 charities, according to a summary released Thursday by the Trump campaign in response to inquiries from The Washington Post.In recent days, after the campaign initially did not provide details of where the money had gone, The Post had undertaken its own accounting. After contacting each of the 24 charities that Trump had previously listed as his beneficiaries, The Post had accounted for less than half of the $6 million.Contrasting March 2016\u2019s news with November 2019\u2019s left a confusing gap \u2014 according to Facebook popups, the meme\u2019s claims were rated \u201cfalse.\u201d According to FactCheck.org, all $2.8 million collected by Trump for veterans eventually made it to charities, primarily on or about May 24 2016. And according to news from the date of the Iowa fundraiser through mid-2016, Trump claimed to have raised $6 million.In the Washington\u00a0Post\u2018s report slightly more than a month after the fundraiser, the newspaper spoke to purported beneficiaries of the funds, some of whom seemed to believe received donations were either light or missing \u201ca large chunk\u201d of money:\u201cWhere\u2019s the rest of the money going?\u201d said Keith David at the Task Force Dagger Foundation, which offers support to Special Operations personnel and their families.David\u2019s group typifies the confusion over Trump\u2019s money. It was listed by Trump as a group that would benefit from his fundraising. And soon after the Iowa fundraising event, the group got a check for $50,000. It came from Rahr\u2019s foundation, with a note that mentioned Trump.But was that it? The group\u2019s board \u2014 noting the huge amount of money that Trump raised and the lesser amount of money Trump seemed to have given out \u2014 decided it could not be.\u201cThere\u2019s a large chunk missing. I\u2019m just kind of curious as to where that money went,\u201d David said. \u201cI\u2019d like to see some of it come to us, because we are on the list.\u201dAs of that March 3 2016 report, the paper quoted the\u00a0Trump campaign as saying \u201cthe Trump Foundation had given out about $1.1 million so far.\u201d In our above calculations, the sum total of donations disbursed on the list before that date actually added up to $1,235,000. On March 7 2016, the Foundation distributed a further $40,000, and another $100,000 on March 22.On April 7 2016, the\u00a0Wall Street Journal reported that two months had gone by since the $6 million was raised, and it appeared just over a third of the $6 million raised had been distributed to veterans\u2019 groups:More than two months after Donald Trump skipped a Republican debate to hold a fundraiser for veterans, the targeted beneficiaries are still seeing a fraction of the promised money raised from the Republican\u2019s charitable foundation and his wealthy friends.A survey by The Wall Street Journal of 19 of the 22 groups originally listed by Mr. Trump\u2019s presidential campaign as the prospective recipients of the funds found that they had received roughly $2.4 million of the estimated $6 million in donations the campaign said the event generated. The total received by all of the groups is likely to be more.One organization refused to disclose how much it received, another said it needed to submit more paperwork before a check would be forthcoming, and one didn\u2019t respond to multiple inquiries.All of the groups reported receiving checks from the Donald J. Trump Foundation or associates through the mail, and most arrived in late February in increments of $50,000 or $100,000. Three organizations reported getting smaller donations in March that averaged between $5,000 and $15,000.CNN raised the same question on April 22 2016, noting that of 22 listed beneficiaries, \u201conly nine groups confirmed they had received payments totaling $800,000, one group said no payment had yet been made, and the rest either refused to disclose contributions or did not respond to CNN\u2019s requests for comment.\u201dBoth reports were published more than a month prior to the flurry of May 24 2016 checks were cut, according to records obtained by New York State in the 2018 court documents. As we noted above, the \u201cbulk of the remaining $1,448,000 was released on May 24 2016 specifically, and the final $100,000 on June 28 2016.\u201dThree days before those checks appeared, the\u00a0Washington Post published an article headlined, \u201cTrump said he raised $6 million for veterans. Now his campaign says it was less.\u201d It opened, reporting:One night in January [2016], Donald Trump skipped a GOP debate and instead held his own televised fundraiser for veterans. At the end of the night, Trump proclaimed it a huge success: \u201cWe just cracked $6 million, right? Six million.\u201dNow, Trump\u2019s campaign says that number is incorrect.Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said the fundraiser actually netted about $4.5 million, or 75 percent of the total that Trump announced.Lewandowski blamed the shortfall on Trump\u2019s own wealthy acquaintances. He said some of them had promised big donations that Trump was counting on when he said he had raised $6 million. But Lewandowski said those donors backed out and gave nothing.\u201cThere were some individuals who he\u2019d spoken to, who were going to write large checks, [who] for whatever reason . . . didn\u2019t do it,\u201d Lewandowski said in a telephone interview. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you who.\u201dLewandowski also said he did not know whether a $1 million pledge from Trump himself was counted as part of the $4.5 million total. He said Trump has given that amount, but he declined to identify any recipients \u2026\u00a0The comments appear to be the first acknowledgment \u2014 almost four months later \u2014 that Trump\u2019s fundraiser had brought in less than the candidate said. Lewandowski said he did not know the exact total raised or how much of it remained unspent.In that report, the\u00a0Post noted that \u201cas the [2016 primary] race continued, the checks from the fundraiser began to come less frequently,\u201d and that the \u201cmost recent check identified by The Post was dated March 25 [2016].\u201d As noted previously, one of two checks on the list above was purportedly issued on March 22 2016. The story concluded:In the past few days [prior to May 20 2016], The Post has interviewed 22 veterans charities that received donations as a result of Trump\u2019s fundraiser. None of them have reported receiving personal donations from Trump.Did Trump make good on his promise to give from his personal funds?\u201cThe money is fully spent. Mr. Trump\u2019s money is fully spent,\u201d Lewandowski said.To whom did Trump give, and in what amounts?\u201cHe\u2019s not going to share that information,\u201d Lewandowski said.Four days after the Washington\u00a0Post article was published, more than half of the donations were quietly disbursed to nearly twenty charities.A complaint filed by the Campaign Legal Center in July 2018 [PDF] cited the\u00a0article quoted here, but further indicated that \u201cthe Fundraiser\u201d on January 28 2016 raised a total of $5.6 million, $2.8 million of which was \u201ccontributed to the [Trump] Foundation.\u201d Presumably, the $2.8 million portion of the $5.6 million total (a total that was challenged by the Trump campaign in May 2016) was the portion in dispute:At the televised fundraising event, the podium was decorated with a sign that borrowed Trump Campaign themes and slogans, displaying the DonaldTrumpForVets.com website on a blue placard with a red border and star pattern identical to the design of Trump Campaign signs and billboards, with Mr. Trump\u2019s name in capital letters and his trademarked campaign slogan, Make America Great Again! The Fundraiser reaped approximately $5.6 million in tax-free donations, some of which went directly from the private donors to veterans charity groups. Of that total, $2.823 million was contributed to the Foundation. [\u2026]The Fundraiser reaped approximately $5.6 million in tax-free donations, some of which went directly from the private donors to veterans charity groups. Of that total, $2.823 million was contributed to the Foundation \u2026\u00a0Following the Fundraiser, senior Trump Campaign staff dictated the manner in which the Foundation would disburse those proceeds, including the timing, amounts, and recipients of the grants. (Incidentally, it appeared the referenced domain \u2014 DonaldTrumpForVets.com\u00a0\u2014 was registered on January 28 2016, the day of the fundraiser. )At the end of the document, page two of twelve-page June 2018 letter from the New York State Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) said of their investigation into the total money purportedly raised ($5.6 million), an amount was disbursed from the fundraiser to the Trump Foundation ($2.8 million):The Investigation acquired substantial credible evidence that the Foundation disbursed in excess of $2.8 million to influence the 2016 Republican presidential primary election at the direction and under the control of senior leadership of the Trump presidential campaign committee and apparently with the candidate\u2019s knowledge and approval. As such, the Foundation made \u2014 and the committee knowingly accepted \u2014 prohibited, excessive, and unreported in-kind contributions during the 2016 presidential election cycle. Moreover, the evidence of coordination and control further indicates that the Foundation and campaign may have violated the so-called soft money provisions of the Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (\u201cBCRA\u201d). Finally, we refer certain additional evidence relating to a $25,000 prohibited contribution the Foundation made in 2013 to the political committee of another candidate for public office for any further action that the Commission may deem warranted under the circumstances.Among the OAG\u2019s findings was a claim that Trump had \u201cpersonally distributed promotional checks from the Foundation to veterans groups at official campaign rallies, just days in advance of the [February 2016] Iowa caucuses, [which] underscore that the grants were intended to benefit Mr. Trump\u2019s\u00a0ambitions as candidate \u2014 that is, for the purpose of influencing the presidential election \u2014 and thus constitute expenditures under the Act.\u201d Much of the OAG\u2019s letter focused on the political effects of the purportedly charitable drive, adding that even in practice, the fundraiser served as a political promotion under the bailiwick of federal election law:[There remains] no genuine question that the rallies and events at which Mr. Trump and other campaign speakers promoted his Foundation\u2019s philanthropic giving were Trump Campaign events that Mr. Trump attended in his capacity as a candidate for federal office. Moreover, the campaign committee\u2019s extensive coordination of all the material elements of the featured charitable giving further confirms that publicizing the gifts of the Foundation in the context of a political event was intended to serve the purpose of promoting and advancing Mr. Trump\u2019s prospects as a federal candidate in the looming election contest.In November 2019, a number of viral claims about United States President Donald Trump and a levied fine over the misappropriation of donations made by the public to the Trump Foundation that was intended for veterans circulated on Facebook. Facebook \u201cflagged\u201d the claims, triggering a FactCheck.org assessment that did not explicitly give the claim a false rating. Nevertheless, FactCheck.org effectively labeled all the claims false, leading to their reduced distribution and what appears to be a new \u201cflagging\u201d mechanism hiding the memes from initial view, as shown above.In sum, the claims were that Donald Trump was ordered to pay $2 million for \u201cstealing\u201d donations he collected for veterans; use of the word \u201cstealing\u201d appeared to be the hinge of the tacit \u201cfalse\u201d rating, as FactCheck.org ruled that the donations eventually were properly disbursed. In an attempt to replicate those findings ourselves, we came across a years-long controversy with many twists and turns. The controversy began in\u00a0late January 2016, when the Trump campaign skipped a debate to hold a fundraiser for veterans. At the end of the night, Trump and the campaign claimed an approximately $6 million (or $5.6 million) haul of one-day donations.In the ensuing months, news outlets reported difficulty in verifying the $6 or $5.6 million in funds raised, and additional difficulty in tracking their disbursal. On May 20 2016, former campaign staffer Corey Lewandowski told the\u00a0Washington Post that the original $5.6 to $6 million figure was inflated, that \u201cthe fundraiser actually netted about $4.5 million,\u201d and Lewandowski was unable to account for\u00a0\u201cwhether a $1 million pledge from Trump himself was counted as part of the $4.5 million total.\u201d Four days after that article was published, the Trump Foundation wrote multiple checks dated on or around May 24 2016, totaling more than a million dollars from either $6 million, $5.6 million, $4.5 million, or $2.8 million.June and July 2018 investigations and complaints from organizations like the Campaign Legal Center and the New York State OAG were predicated on the collection of $5.6 million in donations for the fundraiser. The OAG issued a press release on November 7 2019 announcing that Trump had been ordered to pay $2 million following the investigation, that funds held by the Trump Foundation totaling nearly $1.8 million would be disbursed, and that the President \u201cagrees to restrictions on future charitable service and ongoing reporting to the Office of the Attorney General in the event he creates a new charity.\u201dOne of the November 2019 memes claimed that \u201con this Veteran\u2019s Day, it is important to remember that Donald Trump stole money he raised for veterans to pay his own bills.\u201d\u00a0Another mused \u201cImagine a country where its president is fined $2 million for stealing money from a charity and nobody cares? You\u2019re living there.\u201d FactCheck.org and by extension Facebook rated those claims completely false owing to the fact that the $2.8 million was \u201cultimately\u201d donated. But the underlying story was both messier than indicated and almost inarguably not false. What was originally promoted as a $6 million haul of donations was adjusted down to $3.5 to $4.5 million as outlets queried it, and the record of checks showed that more than half were not released at all until an unflattering May 20 2016\u00a0Washington Post article asked about them.It is true that Trump was ordered to pay $2 million for \u2014 in the words of Judge Scarpulla\u2019s decision \u2014 \u201cusing the Fundraiser and distribution of the Funds to further Mr. Trump\u2019s political campaign.\u201d The Trump Foundation was consequently shuttered, and \u201cmandatory training requirements for Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump\u201d were imposed as part of the settlement. Nearly four years after the fundraiser, there remained a great deal of confusion around the total amount collected and the timing of its disbursal, and while one meme\u2019s apparent claim that no organizations saw \u201ca dime\u201d of the funds was untrue, the entire fundraiser was the subject of both extensive investigation, as well as the $2 million settlement and acknowledgement of wrongdoing. Owing to the extremely complicated nature of a vast constellation of details, we have rated this complex claim as \u201cmixed\u201d\u00a0\u2014 but it certainly is not false."}
{"claim_id": "17478", "claim": "Thanks in part to our all-of-the-above strategy for American energy,\" the United States generates \"more natural gas than anybody.", "explanation": "Obama said, \"Thanks in part to our all-of-the-above strategy for American energy,\" the United States generates \"more natural gas than anybody.\" The best available data suggests that he\u2019s right about the United States being No. 1 in the world in natural gas production, though it\u2019s more in dispute whether his administration deserves credit (or, in the eyes of some environmentalists, blame) for \"part\" of this development, as Obama put it.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Energy, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "During a recent radio address, President Barack Obama said the nation\u2019s energy picture was robust. \"Thanks in part to our all-of-the-above strategy for American energy, for the first time in nearly two decades, we produce more oil here at home than we buy from the rest of the world,\" Obama said on Jan. 18, 2014. \"We generate more renewable energy than ever, and more natural gas than anybody.\" We\u2019ve previously checked one of these claims. Earlier this month, we gave a True rating to Obama\u2019s claim that \"for the first time in nearly two decades, we produce more oil here in the United States than we buy from the rest of the world.\" But we hadn\u2019t fact-checked his claim that we generate \"more natural gas than anybody.\" So we\u2019ll check it here. We turned to two widely used sources for energy data. One is the Statistical Review of World Energy, published by petroleum giant BP. The other is the website of the Energy Information Administration, an office of the U.S. Department of Energy. According to BP\u2019s data, United States natural gas production in 2012 was 619 million tons of oil equivalent, or 20.4 percent of the world. The only nation that came close to that was the Russian Federation, which produced 533 million tons of oil equivalent, or 17.6 percent of the world total. So by this measurement, Obama was correct. And the Energy Information Administration data concurs that the United States was No. 1 in the world. According to EIA -- which has figures as recent as 2011 -- the gross natural gas production by the United States was 28.5 trillion cubic feet, or 19.7 percent of the world total. The figure for Russia was 23.7 trillion cubic feet, or 16.4 percent of the world total. That said, there are still some issues to factor in. One is that there\u2019s no guarantee that every country\u2019s data is reliable, since not every nation has put the same effort into researching the question -- or, if they have, they may not be interested in sharing accurate information with economic rivals. While it would seem less likely that Russia would undercount its production than overcount it, it can\u2019t be ruled out that, intentionally or unintentionally, the Russian figure for production is higher than these tables would suggest. The second issue is whether it\u2019s justified for Obama to claim a share of the credit for the United States\u2019 burst of natural gas production. It\u2019s nothing new that the United States is at or near the top in natural gas production internationally. According to BP\u2019s data, the United States and Russia have traded off the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in natural gas production ever since the data separated out the Russian Federation from the old Soviet Republics in 1985. Since 1985, the United States has outpaced the Russian Federation in 13 years: 1985, 1986, 1995, 1997 to 2002 and 2009 to 2012. During the same period, the Russian Federation outpaced the United States from 1987 to 1994, 1996 and 2003 to 2008. The United States\u2019 lead over Russia has increased during Obama\u2019s tenure. The United States produced 12 percent more natural gas than Russia in 2009, but 16 percent more than Russia in 2012. A big reason is the expansion of natural gas extracted from shale, using advanced technologies known as fracking. In some areas of the country, fracking has kicked off an economic boom, and measured by carbon emissions at the point of combustion, natural gas represents an improvement over oil or coal. But environmentalists argue that there are other downsides to fracking, from the risk of localized water contamination to higher carbon emissions when the entire drilling and transportation cycle is considered. We won\u2019t referee this debate, but we will note that both advocates of drilling and environmentalists have criticized Obama, either for being too cautious about promoting natural gas development or being too eager to support it. When we looked at Obama\u2019s campaign promise to expedite oil and gas drilling from domestic shale formations, we rated it, noting that the numbers can be framed in ways that can either support or weaken the case that Obama has sped up the process of developing oil and natural gas resources. Obama did issue an executive order in 2012, titled, \"Supporting Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources\" that established an interagency working group to \"facilitate coordinated\" federal efforts on new types of natural gas extraction. \"While natural gas production is carried out by private firms, and states are the primary regulators of onshore oil and gas activities, the federal government has an important role to play by regulating oil and gas activities on public and Indian trust lands, encouraging greater use of natural gas in transportation, supporting research and development aimed at improving the safety of natural gas development and transportation activities, and setting sensible, cost-effective public health and environmental standards to implement federal law and augment state safeguards,\" the order said. Alan Krupnick, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future, a think tank that tracks energy policy, said that the administration at the very least \"has not interfered with the shale gas revolution, which I'd say is something. In my view, the Environmental Protection Agency has not been heavy-handed on environmental concerns\" relating to natural gas. Still, as the administration acknowledged, the advances in shale-based natural gas extraction largely developed due to the private sector. And given the long-term pattern, it\u2019s clear that natural gas production in the United States was already high before Obama took office. \"Obama's claim, implied or voiced, rings hollow,\" said Joel Darmstadter, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future. \"The shale gas fracking revolution, especially in its development phase, antedates Obama's presidency. And the bonanza it has created and the dramatic price declines it has spurred don't seem to me to be traceable to any of his administration's policies.\" Our ruling Obama said, \"Thanks in part to our all-of-the-above strategy for American energy,\" the United States generates \"more natural gas than anybody.\" The best available data suggests that he\u2019s right about the United States being No. 1 in the world in natural gas production, though it\u2019s more in dispute whether his administration deserves credit (or, in the eyes of some environmentalists, blame) for \"part\" of this development, as Obama put it."}
{"claim_id": "11630", "claim": "Surgeons Move From Knees to Hips", "explanation": "This news story introduces readers to arthroscopy as a treatment for hip pain. It explains what the procedure does and the theoretical basis for its potential benefit. But the story fails to mention costs or potential harms, and cites expert testimony in lieu of evidence. In brief:  Costs and Harms: The story mentions neither. Although harms appear to be uncommon, readers should have some sense of their relative frequency and severity. Evidence: the story says that hip arthroscopy can \u201cfix\u201d acetabular labral tears and femoroacetabular impingement. And yet it fails to describe the quality of the evidence to support this claim. There are virtually no high-quality clinical studies to support the treatment. The story also mentions that diagnostic imaging can be unreliable, and suggests that some doctors can pinpoint the diagnosis better than others. But recent literature reviews show that standard diagnostic techniques in use today (imaging and clinical examination) can not accurately or consistently identify the source of pain in people with hip complaints. Readers should understand that when diagnostic techniques are imprecise, people may receive treatments they don\u2019t need or not receive treatments they do. Quantification of Benefits: The story provides no quantitative estimate of benefit in the short or mid term. A surgeon contends that in the long term, \u201chip arthroscopy may be a way of delaying or even possibly preventing hip arthritis.\u201d News stories should carefully evaluate such claims. In the April 2009 issue of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, editor Richard Brand,MD, concludes a commentary by saying, \u201cWhile current [hip arthroscopy] procedures clearly relieve pain and restore function and to a lesser degree restore motion in large portions of patients, we do not know whether these procedures will delay the development of osteoarthritis in middle age and beyond.\u201d (Clin Orthop Rel Res 2009;467:605-7)    Sources: The story quotes two surgeons who perform a substantial number of hip arthroscopies. Testimony from a trusted independent source who is not an advocate would add balance.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not mention the cost of hip arthroscopy or other methods to treat labral tears and femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). The story provides no quantification of benefit. The anecdotal evidence of long-term benefit provided by one surgeon\u2013that \u201chip arthroscopy may be a way of delaying or even possibly preventing hip arthritis\u201d\u2013is controversial, and viewed with skepticism by many experts. (Clin Orthop Rel Res 2009;467:605-7)  The news story fails to mention potential harms of hip arthroscopy. A recent review suggests the rate of complications for all indications is \u201cgenerally less than 1.5%.\u201d (Clin Orthop Rel Res 2009;467:760-8) Various sources suggest complications include: scuffing of the articular cartilage and chondral surface from instrument breakage and inadequate distraction (separation of the femoral head from the hip socket); iatrogenic dislocation; nerve damage (sciatic, superior gluteal, lateral femorocutaneous); removal of too much labral tissue; removal of too much bone, thus weakening the bone and causing a fracture; damaging the blood supply to the femoral head, leading to avascular necrosis; temporary numbness of the perineum or foot (a distraction neuropraxia); and scrotal necrosis. Although an expert says that the procedure is meant to prevent future arthritis, this is not quantified; without good data on people who did not have the procedure, it is conceivable that arthroscopy could promote arthritis. The story does not mention any evidence or attempt to describe the quality of the scientific literature on this topic. A recent systematic review described the quality of the literature in this area as \u201climited.\u201d The authors found no clinical trials and no studies with a prospective design that investigated treatment for labral tears and femoracetabular impingement. (Arthroscopy 2008;24:1135-45) The story does note that imaging is unreliable, and suggests that some doctors can make the diagnosis in spite of these limitations. But recent reviews have pointed out that the standard diagnostic techniques used today are not reproducible and can not accurately or consistently identify the source of pain in people with hip complaints. (Clin Orthop Rel Res 2009;467:666-75; Arthroscopy 2008;24:1013-18)  Hip pain can be very uncomfortable and occasionally disabling. The story does not over hype the problem or medicalize a normal human variation. Although it suggests that labral tears \u201ccan lead to osteoarthritis,\u201d it doesn\u2019t provide a complete picture of the natural history: do the symptoms ever go away on their own, even if the pathology doesn\u2019t? In addition, there is no mention of how common the problem is and how many of these procedures are now being performed. The story includes interviews with two surgeons who perform a substantial number of hip arthroscopies. But the story should also include testimony from a trusted independent source who is not a proponent. The story briefly mentions rest and physical therapy, and implies that they do not work, but it is hardly a balanced discussion. Also, the story does not mention open surgical procedures, the historical \u201cgold standard,\u201d which can also restore the normal clearance that separates the femur and hip socket. There is no discussion of the relative benefits of the newer procedure compared with the options\u2013and no mention that there do not appear to be any clinical studies comparing treatments. The news story explains that orthopaedic surgeons are performing increasingly more hip arthroscopy procedures, and are taking increasingly more courses to learn how to do them. Readers are likely to correctly infer that the procedures are commonplace in some centers around the U.S. and less common in others. The story provides accurate information on the novelty of the treatment and its growth in popularity over the past 15 years. The story cites two sources and does not appear to rely solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "29608", "claim": "Locks of Love sells most donated hair for profit and charges ailing children exorbitant amounts for wigs.", "explanation": "The charity auditing page Charity Navigator rates Locks of Love favorably, with a total score of 92.7 points out of 100. On the aspect of accountability Locks of Love scored 92 out of 100, with more than 92% of the charity\u2019s expenses allocated to program costs. Less than 7% of expenses went to administrative costs and salaries, and CEO Linda Borum\u2019s most recently listed salary (for fiscal year 2015) was a modest $64,866.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Business", "main_text": "In 1997, a longtime sufferer of alopecia areata founded the now popular charity Locks of Love to provide children who suffer from hair loss due to medical conditions with high-quality wigs and hairpieces. And since at least 2005, Internet-based rumors have circulated claiming that the vast majority of hair donated to Locks of Love is resold to make commercially-vended wigs, that the charity provides very few free hairpieces relative to the volume of hair donated each year, and that most of those wigs aren\u2019t made actually available to children with cancer. Many critics have claimed that children lucky enough to receive wigs were charged exorbitant prices and made to endure a rigorous screening process:  Today I got a HUGE surprise! As I was preparing our Baby Girl Shiloh\u2019s hair to send to Locks of Love some of my wise friends informed me that they charge patients for their hair and not to give them Shiloh\u2019s hair. Me: I asked, \u201cpatients with cancer? That we are donating hair to?\u201d Friends: \u201cYes! Could charge them $1000.00.\u201d So I just called and talked to Locks of Love and sure enough they charge people for the hair that is being donated to them!! Me: \u201cY\u2019all charge? People with cancer? My 9 year old is giving u her hair!\u201d Lady: Well, depending on how much money the family has \u2026\u201d Me: \u201cWow. Thanks, have a great day!\u201d Recently I cut off a little over 11 inches of my hair and was interested in donating it to an organization who would make good use of it. Hair donation is important because it costs approximately $1,800 for a complete hair replacement. Locks of Love is one of the most popular groups for hair donation but after research I was highly disappointed. They use less than 1/3 of the hair they receive from donations. They should not be considered a charity but a for-profit business because they do not give hair to those in need, they SELL it. Not only do they make children pay for their wigs, but they make them jump through hoops just to receive one. They are known to deny wigs to children with dim prognosis\u2019 because they would not get enough use from the wig. I looked for other organizations after reading about Locks of Love. Pantene Beautiful lengths is a non-profit charity that accepts hair 8\u2033 and longer for donation, their hair replacements go to adults. Wigs for Kids is another private non-profit group that specializes in hair replacements for children. Doing your research before donating anything is extremely important because you don\u2019t want to help empower corrupt \u201ccharities\u201d  Before examining such rumors, we have to consider the scope of a charity like Locks of Love. Hair donation charities have a primary function of raising money and providing hairpieces to people who suffer from chronic hair loss, but their secondary purpose is rather unique: while contributing to most other charities requires available cash, Locks of Love enables anyone who can grow healthy hair to contribute. Because of the relatively low barrier to participation, Locks of Love and similar charitable entities remain popular among children and youth groups seeking to engage in good works. While hair donation is a particularly accessible form of charitable service, the ease of contributing has triggered skepticism and the fear that well-intentioned kids are being hooked and crooked for their good deeds. In the March 2015 Facebook post quoted above, the author claimed that Locks of Love only used a third of donated hair to craft wigs and sold the remaining two thirds to commercial hairpiece makers. Locks of Love themselves say that as much as 80% of donated hair isn\u2019t used to make hairpieces directly, but according to that organization and the wigmaker with whom they work, most donated hair cannot be used because it does not meet the necessary criteria for making hairpieces: But although charities have been highly effective at stirring the passions of donors, they have been less successful at finding a use for the mountains of hair sent to them as a result. As much as 80 percent of the hair donated to Locks of Love, the best known of the charities, is unusable for its wigs, the group says. Many people are unaware of the hair donation guidelines and send in hair that is gray, wet or moldy, too short, or too processed, some of which is immediately thrown away. Even hair that survives the winnowing may not go to the gravely ill, but may be sold to help pay for charities\u2019 organizational costs. Locks of Love sends the best of the hair it receives to a wig manufacturer, Taylormade Hair Replacement in Millbrae, Calif., which weeds through the selection still further, rejecting up to half. \u201cWe hate throwing it away but ultimately we have to clear the place out,\u201d said Greg Taylor, the president and owner of Taylormade. \u201cThere is a disparity between the hundreds and hundreds of braids and ponytails and the number of hairpieces we\u2019ve produced.\u201d The interview quoted above (which took place in 2007) made mention of the sale of hair to keep the charity running. However, such an admission is not necessarily suspect. As explained earlier, the charity functions in part to convert a resource nearly all can provide (hair) into a usable product for children in need. If that need is aided by selling some donated hair to fund manufacturing costs and the charity\u2019s organizational needs, the charity\u2019s primary goal (acquiring and providing hairpieces to children) is still being served. Locks of Love\u2019s web site addresses the matter of wig costs to recipients, noting that hairpieces are provided free to families who lack the means to purchase them. For others, the hairpieces are available on a sliding scale of prices depending upon their ability to pay: \u201cWe provide hairpieces and repairs free of charge or on a sliding scale based on the financial need of those responsible for the children.\u201d Also at issue is the matter of who the primary recipients of wigs are. One aspect of rumor states that children with cancer were not primary candidates for Locks of Love, another thing the charity itself has frequently explained: Most of our recipients suffer from alopecia areata. Others have experienced hair loss from radiation therapy and chemotherapy, severe burns or trauma, and various other genetic and dermatological conditions. While those looking to donate hair may prefer their donations help cancer sufferers, Locks of Love was founded by and operates primarily for sufferers of alopecia. This focus of the group does not constitute any subterfuge or lie by omission, as some rumors insinuated. The Locks of Love FAQ also addresses the sale of hair: Hair that is short, gray, or otherwise unusable will be sold to help offset manufacturing costs. Locks of Love DOES NOT throw hair away unless it is wet and moldy or not bundled in a braid or ponytail when it is received. Earlier rumors about Locks of Love claimed that the organization failed to account for a vast quantity of donated hair:  Human hair, especially Caucasian hair, is a valuable commodity. And Locks of Love admits it does sell some of the hair, it just can\u2019t say how much. \u201cWe can\u2019t figure out where that goes,\u201d said Kent Chao. He runs Nonprofit Investor, a watchdog group that analyzes charities from a business perspective for potential investors. So they are more detailed than your typical charity watchdog. But when he made those requests to Lock of Love, Chao said, \u201cThey indicated that Locks of Love does not count, track or keep lists of any hair donations they receive.\u201d \u201cThe missing pieces of information are actually fairly significant,\u201d said Marc Owens, the former director of the tax-exempt division of the IRS. He said the charity\u2019s 990 tax filings show a \u201cprogram service revenue\u201d of nearly $580,000. But there is no explanation or breakdown. \u201cThere are just so many omissions, that it\u2019s hard to say for certain that any of the data on the return is accurate,\u201d he told KPIX 5. However, a number of factors were elided in that report. The value of donated hair when applied to actual hairpieces provided to children relied on a projection, not actual processing and manufacturing costs. Also, Locks of Love must account for their incoming and outgoing expenses each year in tax filings. If the group truly trafficked heavily in black market hair, significant discrepancies would arise in their accounting books. Despite the organization\u2019s admitted lack of record-keeping in respect to hair received (for which there is no clear monetary value), any significant revenues from the sale of hair would have appeared on their ledgers as income."}
{"claim_id": "14719", "claim": "More than 100,000 women in Texas \"have attempted to self-induce abortion in the past year alone.", "explanation": "Keene said that \"due to the rapidly declining number of women\u2019s health care centers\" in Texas, more than \"100,000 women have attempted to self-induce abortion in the past year alone.\" She\u2019s wrong. The study to which she refers estimates that between 100,000 and 240,000 Texas women ages 18 to 49 attempted to self-abort at some point in their lives. We don\u2019t mean to diminish that finding; it suggests a lot of women have put their health in danger. But lumping the women\u2019s efforts into the \"past year,\" Keene inaccurately places the blame for all self-abortion attempts on restrictions on abortion clinics that Texas passed in 2013.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, Virginia, Tarina Keene, ", "main_text": "On the opening day of the Virginia General Assembly, abortion rights advocates held a news conference to urge lawmakers to sign a \"statement of intent in support of women\u2019s health and rights.\" Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, said it\u2019s time to stop an avalanche of abortion restrictions that have been approved in Virginia and across the nation during the past five years and that she said are threatening women\u2019s health. \"Recently, research out of Texas revealed that due to the rapidly declining number of women\u2019s health centers in that state, over 100,000 women - 100,000 women - have attempted to self-induce abortion in the past year alone,\" Keene said. \"This is what happens when you shame and degrade women,\" she added. \"You encourage hateful, violent rhetoric and attack the fundamental rights of women.\" We wondered whether her jaw-dropping figure - more than 100,000 Texas women in one year attempted self-abortion - is correct. Keene referred us to a November 2015 report by the Texas Policy Evaluation\u00a0Project at the University of Texas, a research group that focuses on the impact of the state\u2019s reproductive laws. The organization conducted a survey of 779 Texas women ages 18 to 49 in December 2014 and January 2015. When the participants were asked whether they \"ever\" tried to end a pregnancy on their own, 1.7 percent said yes. The researchers were concerned that some of the women might not be willing to admit they\u2019ve tried to self-abort. So they also asked each participant whether her best friend \"ever\" tried to end a pregnancy by herself. The response: 1.8 percent said they were \"sure\" their best friend had done so, and another 2.3 percent \"suspected\" that had happened. The researchers concluded that the proportion of Texas women who have tried to self-abort falls somewhere between the 1.7 percent who said they did so and the 4.1 percent who said they either were sure or suspected their best friend had tried. That converts to somewhere between 100,000 and 240,000 women ages 18 to 49 in the Lone Star State. Again, this is an estimate of the women who tried \"ever\" in their lives to self-abort. Keene makes a significant error in saying the research shows that more than 100,000 of the incidents occurred \"in the last year alone.\" The timing is important, because a number of pro-abortion groups are linking the study\u2019s figure to a series of abortion restrictions Texas enacted in 2013. The state banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy; required abortion clinics to meet the same standards as hospital-style surgical centers; and mandated that a doctor have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility where he or she performs abortions. \"Definitely, the timing of most of the self-induced abortions is not connected to the legislation,\" said Daniel Grossman,who headed the research team. He told us he plans to continue surveying Texas women. \"To make any estimate whether self-abortion goes up because of these laws will take years to study,\" Grossman said. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge from reproductive rights groups that the laws block constitutional rights to an abortion. More than half of the 41 abortion clinics in Texas have closed since 2012, just before the legislation was introduced. The researchers noted that self-abortion rates are likely to be higher in Texas than in the rest of the nation, in part because of its shared border with Mexico where Misoprostol, a drug that effectively can end pregnancies, \"is often available in pharmacies without a prescription.\" Other methods reported by those who said they knew someone who attempted a self-induced abortion included herbs or homeopathic remedies; getting hit in the stomach; using alcohol or illegal drugs; and taking hormonal pills. Our ruling Keene said that \"due to the rapidly declining number of women\u2019s health care centers\" in Texas, more than \"100,000 women have attempted to self-induce abortion in the past year alone.\" She\u2019s wrong. The study to which she refers estimates that between 100,000 and 240,000 Texas women ages 18 to 49 attempted to self-abort at some point in their lives. We don\u2019t mean to diminish that finding; it suggests a lot of women have put their health in danger. But lumping the women\u2019s efforts into the \"past year,\" Keene inaccurately places the blame for all self-abortion attempts on restrictions on abortion clinics that Texas passed in 2013. We rate her statement ."}
{"claim_id": "18290", "claim": "New Jersey\u2019s once-broken pension system is now solvent.", "explanation": "A primary campaign flyer from Assembly members Declan O\u2019Scanlon and Amy Handlin, and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos last week claimed, \"New Jersey\u2019s once-broken pension system is now solvent.\" O\u2019Scanlon said \u2018once broken\u2019 refers to the state\u2019s pension system being on a path to insolvency or bankruptcy without major reforms \u2013 but admits the state has always been able to pay its pension bills. If the system was once broken, those bills wouldn\u2019t have been paid. Furthermore, O\u2019Scanlon and experts told us that a pension system being able to pay its obligations means the system is solvent.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "New Jersey, Pensions, 13th District GOP slate, ", "main_text": "When it comes to reducing the size and scope of government, three New Jersey Republicans claim they\u2019re on the right path to accomplishing that goal. Assembly members Declan O\u2019Scanlon and Amy Handlin, and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, representing the 13th District, touted those reforms and others in a campaign flyer sent out for last week\u2019s primary election. The flyer highlighted less spending, less government, more prosperity and standing up to the Internal Revenue Service as evidence of their efforts. The trio won their primaries Tuesday. But one claim under the heading of less government intrigued us: \"New Jersey\u2019s once-broken pension system is now solvent.\" The underfunded pension system that set off a political firestorm two years ago when Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature ordered higher employee contributions and suspended Cost Of Living Adjustments for beneficiaries is solvent? In pension terminology, the part of the claim is correct. But the state pension system was once broken? That\u2019s debatable. Let\u2019s explain, starting with solvency. Some dictionaries define solvency as the ability to pay debts \u2013 and O\u2019Scanlon and others say New Jersey has enough money in its pension funds to cut checks every month for retirees and have those checks clear. New Jersey\u2019s pension reforms also will help keep the system more sustainable, O\u2019Scanlon said. In addition to the temporary suspension of COLAs and increased employee contributions, New Jersey has increased the pension eligibility requirement for new hires and increased the salary timeframe on which retirement benefits are based. An improving stock market, as well as the state ramping up annual payments into the system until reaching full contributions starting in 2018 will help, he said. Two pensions experts we spoke with agreed with O\u2019Scanlon\u2019s assessment of solvency and emphasis on the state\u2019s pension reforms. \"If you have enough money to pay benefits in the short term or in the foreseeable future, to the extent that plans have enough cash on hand to pay benefits for the next 10 or 13 years, it\u2019s solvent,\" said Jean-Pierre Aubry, assistant director for State and Local Research at the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. \"A pension fund is solvent if it is able to honor its obligations,\" said Keith Brainard, research director for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators in Washington, D.C. \"If they can pay their pension liabilities they would be considered solvent.\" New Jersey is able to pay its pension obligations, so it\u2019s solvent. But was it once broken, as the mailer claims? \"We would define broken as unquestionably heading on the path to insolvency,\" O\u2019Scanlon said. \"You couldn\u2019t continue on the path we were going and end up with a sustainable system,\" he added. Either we were going to have bankruptcy or we were going to have massive tax increases to cover the obligation. With the reforms we did we now brought it in to solvency. It\u2019s on a completely different path since the reforms.\" But O\u2019Scanlon also admitted that the state has always been able to pay its pension obligations. If that\u2019s the case, the system was never broken. Now let\u2019s look at pension funding levels. Each of the state\u2019s five open pension accounts is funded well below 80 percent, which Aubry said is a threshold that has come to mean \"adequate.\" The state's total underfunded liability was $47.2 billion as of July 1, 2012, according to an annual report on the state's pension fund. The state\u2019s Public Employees Retirement System account was at 49.1 percent funding as of July 1, 2012; teachers, 59.3 percent; police and firefighters, 51.5 percent; state police, 71.2 percent; judiciary, 46 percent. Aubry and Brainard both said 80 percent funding is an oft-cited threshold of whether pension accounts are \"healthy.\" \"Eighty percent has come to be recognized by practitioners as an adequate funding level,\" Aubry said. \"The notion may be that at 80 percent funded you do have enough money in the pension fund to pay benefits for the foreseeable future, but the underfundedness basically helps battle the push for increase of benefits.\" Brainard said looking at funding ratios is just one metric of determining the health of a pension fund, \"but it\u2019s not the be-all, end-all.\" \"The objective should be to reach full funding but there\u2019s nothing necessarily wrong with being underfunded,\" Brainard added. \"The issue is whether funding the plan is causing fiscal stress for the plan sponsor -- making the contributions to ensure that the benefits can be paid.\" Bill Quinn, a state Treasury Department spokesman, said New Jersey\u2019s underfunded liabilities will flatten out and stop growing as the state puts more money into the pension fund each year as required by the reforms. Our ruling  A primary campaign flyer from Assembly members Declan O\u2019Scanlon and Amy Handlin, and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos last week claimed, \"New Jersey\u2019s once-broken pension system is now solvent.\" O\u2019Scanlon said \u2018once broken\u2019 refers to the state\u2019s pension system being on a path to insolvency or bankruptcy without major reforms \u2013 but admits the state has always been able to pay its pension bills. If the system was once broken, those bills wouldn\u2019t have been paid. Furthermore, O\u2019Scanlon and experts told us that a pension system being able to pay its obligations means the system is solvent. We rate this claim . To comment on this story, go to NJ.com."}
{"claim_id": "30150", "claim": "Clinton associate Vince Foster shot himself three times in the back of the head to avoid testifying against Hillary Clinton.", "explanation": "Yes, the bullet was never found. (Foster died in a wooded park.) Yes, the Clinton White House was sometimes slow to release information or took steps that at times raised suspicions, such as removing from Foster\u2019s office files concerning an Arkansas real estate deal. But that was all examined, dissected, discussed, investigated two decades ago \u2014 and found to be not material. The fifth probe lasted three years \u2014 and still found nothing.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Conspiracy Theories, brett kavanaugh, clinton body bags, clinton body count", "main_text": "No matter how many times conspiracy theories are disproved, they never die. Witness the return of a decades-old canard holding that Vince Foster, a longtime friend and associate of Bill and Hillary Clinton, did not commit suicide in 1993 (contrary to the findings of multiple investigations), but instead was murdered by the Clintons \u201cbecause he knew too much.\u201d Since the mid-1990s, Foster\u2019s name has held a place of prominence on the viral list of \u201cClinton Body Bags,\u201d a constantly growing roster of Clinton contacts who supposedly died under \u201cmysterious circumstances.\u201d Like the theory that Foster didn\u2019t really kill himself, the rest of the \u201cBody Bags\u201d list has been discredited time and time again. The Vince Foster theory persists because it has a partisan fan base. While campaigning for the presidency, Donald Trump lent it credence during a 2016 interview in which he called the circumstances of Foster\u2019s death \u201cvery fishy,\u201d the Washington Post reported: \u201cHe had intimate knowledge of what was going on,\u201d Trump said, speaking of Foster\u2019s relationship with the Clintons at the time. \u201cHe knew everything that was going on, and then all of a sudden he committed suicide.\u201d He added, \u201cI don\u2019t bring [Foster\u2019s death] up because I don\u2019t know enough to really discuss it. I will say there are people who continue to bring it up because they think it was absolutely a murder. I don\u2019t do that because I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair.\u201d The rumor cropped up in September 2018 in the form of a meme shared by two hyperpartisan Facebook pages, Uncle Sam\u2019s Misguided Children and Cold Dead Hands:  The timing was curious. \u201cOn this date in 1993,\u201d the meme says, \u201cVince Foster went to Fort Marcy Park and shot himself 3 times in the back of the head to avoid testifying against Hillary Clinton.\u201d But Foster committed suicide in July of that year, not September. After some searching, we found that the meme had been previously posted on 20 July 2018, when that part of the claim, at least, would have been accurate. The decision to re-share it in September 2018 (assuming there was any thought behind it at all) may have had to do with the fact that the Senate confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had just run into a roadblock in the form of an accusation of sexual assault by a woman who said Kavanaugh groped her at a party in the 1980s. The most likely explanation for bringing up Foster would seem to be that it was meant to divert attention from a Trump-related scandal to a Clinton-related scandal, but there\u2019s a complication: Kavanaugh led the investigation of Vince Foster\u2019s death by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr in the mid-1990s, an investigation that confirmed (ironically, in this context) Foster\u2019s death was indeed a suicide. Kavanaugh has been condemned, on the one hand, for reopening an investigation that had already been concluded by a previous independent counsel, Robert Fiske, and \u201ctormenting\u201d Foster\u2019s family (in the words of liberal pundit Paul Begala) on the basis of rumors that the Clintons were somehow involved in his death. But Kavanaugh\u2019s involvement has also given rise to a strange new addendum to the conspiracy theory in far-right circles, namely that in exonerating the Clintons he helped cover up wrongdoing on their part. Right-wing pundit Andrew Napolitano gave voice to this accusation during a Fox News Channel appearance: You remember Vince Foster who killed himself in the White House? How did his body get from the White House to Fort Marcy Park? Who was the prosecutor in charge of figuring out how his body got there? Who was the prosecutor that exonerated Hillary and the thugs that moved his body? A young Brett Kavanaugh. Whatever the motivation behind its re-sharing, the meme got almost everything wrong. What\u2019s true is that Foster killed himself in 1993 (although it was in July, not September), and that he did so in Fort Marcy Park in Virginia (not, contrary to Napolitano\u2019s claim, in the White House). But the sarcastic claim that he \u201cshot himself three times in the back of the head\u201d (implying that it wasn\u2019t really a suicide) is a fabrication. Every investigation to date has found that he shot himself once, in the mouth, with his own handgun. The implication that his death was connected to an expectation of his giving testimony against the Clintons is equally false. Foster, who was a White House deputy counsel at the time, was distraught over accusations of malfeasance involving the White House Travel Office, and he had sought treatment for depression prior to his suicide. Foster consistently maintained that the Travel Office scandal was baseless. As the Washington Post\u2018s Glenn Kessler wrote: Yes, there is a fringe minority of people who will believe in just about every conspiracy theory. There are hacks who believe that Foster died in the White House and that his body was moved. There was even a member of Congress who fired bullets into a cantaloupe (or was it a watermelon?) in an effort to prove that Foster was killed. But there were also five official investigations into Foster\u2019s death, conducted by professional investigators, forensic experts, psychologists, doctors and independent prosecutors with unlimited resources."}
{"claim_id": "24485", "claim": "You don't know if this (the H1N1 vaccine) is gonna cause neurological damage like it did in the 1970s.", "explanation": "Glenn Beck warns that in 1970s, flu shots caused neurological problems", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Pundits, Glenn Beck, ", "main_text": "Radio and talk show host Glenn Beck has said he doesn't want to share his personal take on whether he will immunize his family with the H1N1 vaccine \u2014 the stakes are too high either way to give a personal opinion, he says \u2014 but he and some of his guests have repeatedly raised concerns about the safety of the vaccine. On his radio show on Oct. 8, Beck said, \"You don't know if this (the H1N1 vaccine) is gonna cause neurological damage like it did in the 1970s.\" Beck refers here to a concern often raised by vaccine opponents, so we decided to give the claim some scrutiny. It is rooted in a 1976 swine flu outbreak at Fort Dix in New Jersey, which resulted in the death of a U.S. soldier. President Gerald Ford initiated a massive immunization effort that resulted in some 45 million Americans getting a swine flu vaccine. The flu never went beyond Fort Dix, and the immunization program was halted, but among those who got the vaccine, more than 500 people got a rare neurological illness called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune disease that affects the nervous system and can cause paralysis. Two dozen people died from it. Understandably, many Americans grew wary of flu vaccines, particularly since the swine flu never materialized outside Fort Dix. But was the flu vaccine really responsible for all those people developing Guillain-Barre? In 2003, the Institute for Medicine commissioned a medical panel, called the Immunization Safety Review Committee,\u00a0 to look into it. The issue is complicated by the fact that Guillain-Barre can be triggered by all kinds of influenza. So how much was the vaccine to blame? The panel  concluded  that \"the evidence favored acceptance of a causal relationship\" between the 1976 swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barre in adults. However, the panel concluded that in the nearly 30 years of administering the seasonal flu vaccine since then, there was no proof that the vaccines had caused any more cases of Guillain-Barre, or any other neurological diseases, for that matter. \"The evidence was at most weak that the vaccine could act in humans in ways that could lead to these neurological problems,\" the panel concluded. So what about the risk of the H1N1 vaccine now? Doctors say the track record of seasonal flu vaccines shows the new one is safe. \"The vaccine was made essentially the same way vaccines have been made for the last 30 years,\" said Dr. Marie C. McCormick, a Harvard University professor who chaired that 2003 committee. Concerns about neurological issues with the H1N1 vaccine \"are not based on the evidence we have at hand today,\" McCormick said. In addition to studies conducted by the five pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the H1N1 vaccine, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has conducted clinical trials on more than 4,000 people, and the only side effects recorded so far amount to little more than sore arms and stuffed-up noses. Still, that's a relatively small sample, too small to ferret out any possible connection to Guillain-Barre, which in 1976 was recorded in just 1 in every 100,000 people who got the vaccine. There's no denying that the swine flu vaccine in 1976 appeared to contribute to an outbreak of Guillain-Barre, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. But to raise that specter without talking about the ensuing 30 years needlessly stokes fears, he said. Since that 1976 experience, Osterholm said, the seasonal flu vaccine has been administered to 100 million to 250 million people a year worldwide, and there's been no evidence it caused anyone to get Guillain-Barre or any other neurological disorder. \"At this point, we have no reason to believe it will,\" Osterholm said. \"This vaccine was made essentially the same way we made the seasonal flu vaccines for more than 20 years. You have to put it into context.\" Put it this way, he said: His 31-year-old daughter is 6 months pregnant and works with children, and he is eager for her to get the vaccine. \"That's about as objective as I can get,\" he said. Patricia Quinlisk, medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, said the only difference between the H1N1 vaccine and the regular seasonal flu shot is that it targets a different viral strain. In fact, had H1N1 showed up earlier, she said, it would have been included in the seasonal flu vaccine package. But by the time it appeared in May, the seasonal flu vaccine was already being made. Quinlisk also cautioned not to put much stock in the fact that the 1976 vaccine targeted swine flu, and the H1N1 has often been called the swine flu. The H1N1 is actually combination virus, mixing the typical swine flu with avian flu and typical human influenza. Can scientists give a 100 percent guarantee that no one getting the H1N1 vaccine will develop neurological problems? No, she said. There haven't been enough trials to definitively rule that out. \"But do I think it's safer to get the vaccine than to risk getting the flu? Yes,\" she said. \"If the H1N1 vaccine becomes available to me, I'm going to take it.\" That risk-reward ratio is markedly different than in 1976, she said. Then, the flu never spread beyond Fort Dix. \"The H1N1 is here,\" she said. \"It's a pandemic.\" We should also note that taking the H1N1 vaccine is being encouraged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, both of which say the track record of seasonal flu vaccines over more than two decades suggest the H1N1 vaccine will be safe and effective. Beck is correct in that scientists say that in 1976, the swine flu vaccine likely caused Guillain-Barre in a very small number of adults. But Beck's statement lacks important context. The 30-year track record of seasonal flu vaccines strongly suggests the new H1N1 vaccine won't cause neurological damage. Without noting that the H1N1 vaccine has been manufactured in essentially the same way as the seasonal flu shot that has been used by hundreds of millions of people \u2014 without any established link to neurological problems \u2014 ends up misleading by omission. And so we rule Beck's statement Barely True. Editor's note: This statement was rated Barely True when it was published. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to ."}
{"claim_id": "30895", "claim": "NFL players protesting police brutality are doing so because they have many children with different women, leading their families into lives of crime.", "explanation": "Lewis, who is an NFL analyst for Showtime, said in September 2017 that the Baltimore Ravens (his former team) almost signed Kaepernick to a contract, but were put off after the quarterback\u2019s girlfriend posted a picture of Lewis and Steve Bisciotti juxtaposed with a still from the movie Django Unchained showing Samuel L. Jackson\u2019s slave character mourning his owner.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, colin kaepernick, nfl", "main_text": "In October 2017, a Facebook post\u00a0seeking to link protests against extrajudicial killings by police to single-parent families appeared and made the usual rounds. The post misrepresents \u201ctaking a knee\u201d demonstrations\u00a0\u2014 in which National Football League players kneel during the national anthem in order to bring attention to police brutality, and which were originated by former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016 and continued into 2017 \u2014 by tying them to several players who have been retired for years: Children raised in fatherless homes, especially black children, are far more likely than children raised in two parent homes to engage in criminal behavior and thus, have contact with police. Ergo when they father a child with a woman to whom they are not married \u2013 or at least living with \u2013 they are contributing to the problem against which these football players are taking a knee. If you look at many of these players\u2019 records on out-of-wedlock children, you find that they are contributing significantly to the problem against which they are protesting. For example, Antonio Cromartie has 12 children by 9 different women. Apparently the NFL had to shell out $500,000 before he could even play football for them. Travis Henry has 11 children by 10 women, Willis McGahee has 9 children by 8 women, Derrick Thomas has 7 children by 5 different women, Bennie Blades has 6 children by 6 women, Ray Lewis has 6 children by 4 women and Marshall Faulk has 6 children by 3 women. Before these guys take a knee they should take a good look in the mirror. It appears that their problem is not the knee. The post contains several false claims: The post\u2019s premise rests on the theory that growing up in a single-parent household can be a predictor of criminal activity. According to a 2003 study by the Center for Law and Social Policy: Research indicates that, on average, children who grow up in families with both their biological parents in a low-conflict marriage are better off in a number of ways than children who grow up in single-, step- or cohabiting-parent households. Compared to children who are raised by their married parents, children in other family types are more likely to achieve lower levels of education, to become teen parents, and to experience health, behavior, and mental health problems. And children in single- and cohabiting-parent families are more likely to be poor. This being said, most children not living with married, biological parents grow up without serious problems. But that argument has come under question. In 2012, University of Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen noted: Violent crime has fallen through the floor (or at least back to the rates of the 1970s) relative to the bad old days. And this is true not just for homicide but also for rape and other assaults. At the same time, the decline of marriage has continued apace. Looking at two aggregate trends is never enough to tell a whole story of social change, of course. However, if two trends going together doesn\u2019t prove a causal relationship, the opposite is not quite as true. If two trends do not go together, the theory that one causes the other has a steeper hill to climb. In the case of family breakdown driving crime rates, I don\u2019t think the story will make it anymore. Not one of the players named in the post is currently active in the NFL. Terricka Cromartie said in an Instagram post in October 2016 that her husband\u2019s employment was terminated because he kneeled during the national anthem before a game, much like Kaepernick \u201ctook a knee\u201d as part of his demonstrations. (Cromartie subsequently deleted her post.) Faulk, who is currently an analyst for the NFL Network, has also expressed support for Kaepernick, saying: The problem that I have with it is, they think it\u2019s civilians against the cops. It\u2019s not about that. It\u2019s [that] lives are being lost and someone needs to be held accountable and that\u2019s all Kaepernick was talking about. It doesn\u2019t matter what color you are\u00a0\u2014 it just happens to be that what he\u2019s talking about specifically was black people. On 24 September 2017, Faulk also criticized President Donald Trump for saying that NFL franchise owners should fire players who took part in any protest: Right now, there\u2019s not anything good that I can say that would shine a light on this to help the situation. I find myself kind of perplexed by that situation, because normally I have something to say that could right the situation and make it better. I just believe that it\u2019s sad that our President lacks the moral compass on things to say and things to talk about when we have so much going on in our country. You want to attack people for expressing themselves and their freedom in this country and you say things like suggesting what an owner should do to a player for just exercising his right to protest peacefully. I really do not know where to go with this and where we are going and why this is where it is right now."}
{"claim_id": "2066", "claim": "Whale snot, bat sex win 2010 IgNobel spoof prizes.", "explanation": "Researchers who used a remote-controlled helicopter to collect whale snot, documented bats having oral sex and showed that swearing makes you feel better when you stub a toe were among the winners of spoof IgNobel prizes on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "A remote-controlled helicopter used by researchers to collect whale blows is seen in a handout photo. REUTERS/Diane Gendron/Handout The prizes, meant to be both humorous and to encourage scientific research, are given every year by the Journal of Improbable Research as a whimsical counterpart to the Nobel Prizes, which will be awarded starting next week. IgNobels also went to researchers who found that wearing socks outside shoes can prevent slipping on ice and that organizations would fare better if managers were promoted randomly. Former winners of the real Nobel prizes hand out the prizes at a ceremony held at Harvard University in Massachusetts. \u201cThere are four winners from Britain this year,\u201d said Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals and architect of the IgNobels. \u201cThe British Empire had a rough 20th century. Maybe this is the best sign that the empire is surging back to prominence.\u201d   Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse and Agnes Rocha-Gosselin of Britain\u2019s Zoological Society and Diane Gendron of Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico won an engineering IgNobel for a new way to study respiratory diseases in whales. \u201cThe technique involves flying a remote-controlled helicopter above a whale as it surfaces and catching the whale blow in petri dishes attached to the underside of the helicopter,\u201d they said in a statement. A team of Chinese researchers led by Min Tan of Guangdong Entomological Institute and including Gareth Jones of Britain\u2019s University of Bristol won a biology IgNobel for scientifically documenting oral sex between fruit bats. \"Our observations are the first to show regular fellatio in adult animals other than humans,\" they wrote in their paper, published at www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0007595. Oil spill researchers Eric Adams of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Scott Socolofsky of Texas A&M University and Stephen Masutani of the University of Hawaii, along with BP Plc, won a prize \u201cfor disproving the old belief that oil and water don\u2019t mix.\u201d   Other winners:   \u2014 Simon Rietveld of the University of Amsterdam and Ilja van Beest of Tilburg University in the Netherlands for discovering that asthma symptoms abate with a roller-coaster ride. \u2014 Alessandro Pluchino and colleagues at the University of Catania in Italy for showing mathematically that organizations would become more efficient if they promoted people at random. \u2014 Toshiyuki Nakagaki of Future University Hakodate in Japan and colleagues for using slime mold to route railroad tracks. \u2014 Lianne Parkin and colleagues of the University of Otago, New Zealand for demonstrating that people slip and fall less often on ice if they wear socks on the outside of their shoes. \u2014 Richard Stephens and colleagues of Britain\u2019s Keele University for confirming that swearing relieves pain. \u2014 Manuel Barbeito and colleagues of Fort Detrick in Maryland for demonstrating that microbes cling to beards. An economics prize was given to the \u201cexecutives and directors of Goldman Sachs, AIG, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Magnetar for creating and promoting new ways to invest money.\u201d   The awards ceremony can be seen here"}
{"claim_id": "24490", "claim": "The Baucus health care bill would require taxes on medical devices such as X-ray machines, female condoms, HIV tests and surgical needles.", "explanation": "Conservative blogger says proposed tax could hit wide array of medical devices", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Taxes, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "Republicans often complain that the Democratic health care bills would impose a heavy tax burden on Americans. So when the Senate Finance Committee began considering a tax on medical devices \u2014 including some modest devices such as enema kits and breast pumps \u2014 it was no surprise that conservatives would use the tax to rally opposition. Initially, the Finance panel was planning to subject all medical devices to the tax. (Technically this would be a tax on companies that make devices, based on their market share, rather than an excise tax on individual units.) But an outcry that it would lead to \"tampon taxes\" and \"Q-tip taxes\" led the committee's chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to shift course. He decided to apply the tax rules based on the three medical device categories determined by the Food and Drug Administration. These categories align roughly with how complex and risky the devices are. When the bill was unveiled on Sept. 16, 2009, Baucus said it would exempt items labeled Class I by the FDA, things such as enema kits and elastic bandages. Those items, which account for 47 percent of all devices, are often inexpensive and are defined as \"present(ing) minimal potential for harm to the user\" by the FDA. But critics continued to argue that including all Class II devices \u2014 which rank between Class I and III in complexity and risk \u2014 would still mean imposing a tax on a host of inexpensive items that could ultimately be passed on to consumers. So Sept. 22, 2009, Baucus exempted from the tax all Class II items costing less than $100. (Class III items \u2014 the 10 percent that \"sustain or support life, are implanted, or present potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury\" \u2014 have always been subject to Baucus' proposed tax.) This eased the attacks somewhat, but not entirely. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., offered an amendment to eliminate the tax altogether, but on Oct. 1, 2009, it failed by a 10-13 vote. Then, on Oct. 7, 2009, blogger Meredith Jessup on the conservative Web site TownHall.com cited work by a  Washington Times  columnist to show a wide range of items that she said would still be taxed despite Baucus' revision.   \" Washington Times  columnist Amanda Carpenter has looked into the matter and found that new moms who want to use a powered breast pump to bottle milk for their babies will have to pay this excise tax,\" Jessup wrote. \"These pumping devices, Carpenter points out, typically retail for more than $100. In addition, other items used by both men and women \u2014 including 'pacemakers, ventilators, X-ray machines, powered wheelchairs and surgical needles \u2014 will be taxed too.' ... So what else is on this list of items to be taxed? Lots of things, including dentures, fetal cell-screening kits, female condoms (I'm surprised there aren't angry 'feminists' taking to the streets over this one), tests for syphilis and HIV, hip, knee, ankle and breast prosthetics, dialysis catheters, mammograms and sickle-cell anemia tests.\" We found many other conservative bloggers have made similar claims. We turned to the FDA's Web site to determine which items would be subject to the tax. We found that the following items would still be subject to the current version of the proposed tax, either because they're rated Class III or because they're considered Class II and cost more than $100: powered breast pumps; tests for HIV; pacemakers; ventilators; X-ray machines; powered wheelchairs; hip, knee, ankle and breast prosthetics; and dentures. Many dialysis catheters are rated Class III, and the female condom is Class III. (Male condoms are Class II \u2014 go figure.) Assuming Jessup meant \"mammography machines\" rather than \"mammograms,\" then you can add that to the list as well. It's a bit more complicated to determine the taxability of the remaining four that Jessup mentioned. Tests for sickle-cell anemia and syphilis are both categorized as Class II, and a Web search turned up prices well below $100 per test, suggesting that both would be exempt. Meanwhile, most surgical needles are rated Class I or Class II, and the one fetal-cell screening kit rated by the FDA is considered Class II; for both the needles and the fetal-cell kit, we were unable to find price quotes on the Internet. Based on this information alone, these products would seem likely to avoid the tax. However, congressional aides said that the final details about what's covered and not covered remain to be written. One possibility is that all Class II items that are generally sold directly to hospitals or doctors' offices, rather than to consumers directly, could be subject to the tax, even if they cost less than $100. Most likely, the Treasury Department would be responsible for providing final guidance \u2014 perhaps even a list of specific items \u2014 on which items fall into which category. So it's possible the four items above could eventually be hit by the tax. So Jessup is correct about most of the items she cites: They would be subject to the tax. A few others she cites would not fall under the committee's latest definition for the tax, but the practical details of the bill right now are not yet settled, so it's possible that they will be taxed eventually. We should also add that the tax may not necessarily be included in the final health care bill that will be crafted from the various versions in different committees. But for now, the provision remains part of the Senate Finance bill."}
{"claim_id": "30000", "claim": "A video shows the liquid from a can of BANG Energy bursting into flames. ", "explanation": "BANG told us in response to our query that: \u201cIt was a hoax. The user who made the video poured lighter fluid in the can. There are multiple videos online debunking that one video.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fauxtography", "main_text": "Are BANG brand energy drinks flammable? In December 2018, internet hoaxers fostered that notion by spreading videos supposedly showing people lighting the beverage on fire. Although we haven\u2019t been able to determine the exact source of these videos, a few examples of these clips can be glimpsed below: Y\u2019all keep drinking them #Bang energy drinks pic.twitter.com/BKEQrc7qaa \u2014 \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfdCOME SEE US \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@SeahawkValdez) December 17, 2018   Although the videos may appear at first glance to show the drinks are flammable, a few red flags contained within them indicate the fiery displays are merely a hoax. In the first video, the clip starts with the camera focused on a can of BANG energy drink. The viewer witnesses the can being opened, but before its contents are poured onto the ground, the can disappears from view for seconds. It\u2019s likely that a second can pre-filled with a flammable liquid such as gasoline or lighter fluid was swapped in for the original can during this brief interlude. The second video uses an even lazier (but equally deceptive) trick. Instead of showing the viewer an unopened can of BANG before swapping it out with a second can, this clip starts with a can that was already opened before the camera even started rolling. Again, it\u2019s likely this can was filled with a flammable liquid and not BANG energy drink. A number of the brand\u2019s fans have posted their own \u201cexperiments\u201d to YouTube in order to debunk this rumor. YouTubers\u00a0Pleeka, Lil\u2019 Bones Leo, Brooke Curtis, Growing Pains,\u00a0Angrytexan Green, Jesse Walker, and Dustin Orman all posted videos documenting their unsuccessful attempts to light a BANG energy drink on fire. We\u2019ve chosen to highlight the following video from Toby Dunnagan because it shows a can of BANG energy drink being opened, poured, and held to a flame all in one continuous shot without any aspect of the claim leaving the frame:"}
{"claim_id": "22383", "claim": "There is a growing body of evidence that radiation in excess of what the government says are the minimum amounts you should be exposed to are actually good for you and reduce cases of cancer.", "explanation": "Ann Coulter says exposure to low levels of radiation is good for you, reduces cancer risk", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Nuclear, Pundits, Science, Ann Coulter, ", "main_text": "As news broke last week that Japan's nuclear disaster may result in low levels of radiation wafting all the way to the U.S., political pundit Ann Coulter wrote a column arguing that too much is made of exposure to low levels of radiation. In an appearance on Fox's O'Reilly Factor on March 17, Coulter argued some exposure to radiation may actually be good for you. \"There is a growing body of evidence that radiation in excess of what the government says are the minimum amounts you should be exposed to are actually good for you and reduce cases of cancer,\" Coulter said. Before you go sticking your head in the X-ray machine, a little perspective is in order here. While there are scientists who subscribe to the theory that low levels of radiation can have beneficial health effects -- it's called hormesis -- it is still an outside-the-mainstream opinion. \"There is not a shred of evidence that radiation is good for you,\" said Eric Hall, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University in New York City. As for hormesis, Hall said, \"No one in the mainstream believes it.\" Said Fred Mettler, a radiation expert at the University of New Mexico: \"Ms. Coulter -- who I find very enjoyable -- might be better sticking to political opinions.\" Mettler, the U.S. representative for the United Nations committee on the health effects of radiation, pointed us to a chapter on hormesis from his book, Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation. In the book, Mettler calls hormesis \"a concept that is controversial at best.\" \"Early studies in the United States seemed to suggest a hormetic effect, or at least there were areas of higher radiation background that had lower cancer incidence,\" Mettler wrote. In particular, Mettler cited the work of T. D. Luckey, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri, Columbia, School of Medicine, who argued in multiple studies that evidence shows \"a significant decrease in cancer mortality rates of lightly exposed humans.\" Mettler cautioned not to read too much into such studies, however. \"In addition to variability in populations, statistical uncertainties, potential bias factors, and chance, on one hand there will be instances in which there was less effect than predicted,\" he wrote. \"This is all understandable without invoking a unifying hypothesis of hormesis.\" Owen Hoffman, a radiation-risk expert at Senes Oak Ridge Inc., a center for risk analysis, said that studies show low levels of radiation might eliminate some cancer but initiate others. \"Certainly radiation kills cells and can stimulate immune responses,\" Hoffman said. \"Thus it is possible for precursors of cancers, which are produced in the absence of above-background radiation exposure, might be eliminated through the processes of cell killing and immune response activation. But radiation exposures, even at background levels, can also initiate, promote new cancers and accelerate the manifestation of cancers that would occur in later life in the absence of exposure.\" Hoffman also pointed to the work of Dr. Charles Land of the National Cancer Institute, who \"has shown in several of his recent publications that there is considerable uncertainty in the estimation of radiation risk. In his work, he does not give much credibility to the possibility that radiation induces a protective or beneficial effect. On the other hand, he concludes that even if some credibility could be given to the possibility of a threshold or beneficial effect of radiation exposure at low doses and low dose rates, the biological and epidemiological evidence that new cancers may be initiated or promoted by radiation exposure cannot be completely ruled out.\" \"At present,\" Hoffman said, \"carefully conducted epidemiological evidence does not support the presence of such beneficial effects in human populations that have been carefully monitored and followed up over time.\" In her blog post, Coulter cited the work of Bernard L. Cohen, a physics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, who \"compared radon exposure and lung cancer rates in 1,729 counties covering 90 percent of the U.S. population. His study in the 1990s found far fewer cases of lung cancer in those counties with the highest amounts of radon -- a correlation that could not be explained by smoking rates.\" We e-mailed Cohen and asked him about Coulter's statement. \"Word for word, what she says is correct,\" Cohen responded. \"It could go further and say that no other confounding factors (like socioeconomics, geography, etc., 500 were explored) can explain the results. However, my study was designed to test the assumption that the danger of radiation is simply proportional to the radiation dose, which is the only evidence that low-level radiation may be harmful. My conclusion was that that assumption is false. \"Whether low-level radiation is protective against cancer, a theory called hormesis, is debated in the scientific community,\" Cohen said. \"There is evidence on both sides.\" So where does this leave us? We are not rating whether hormesis -- or as Coulter put it, the theory that exposure to low levels of radiation is actually good for you and reduces cases of cancer -- is correct. Reputable scientists disagree about that. We're rating whether Coulter was correct in saying there is \"a growing body of evidence\" that radiation in excess of approved exposure levels may be beneficial. There is a small but growing body of research to back up those claims. But the fact is that the mainstream of the scientific community has not embraced the theory. They point to limitations of those studies and argue the research falls well short of scientific evidence. Coulter failed to present this counter-weight, the opinion shared by the majority in the scientific community, which doesn't buy into -- and in many cases outright rejects -- the idea that low levels of radiation can have beneficial health effects and reduce the risk of cancer."}
{"claim_id": "5929", "claim": "Social worker sentenced to jail for having sex with patient.", "explanation": "A former social worker at a suburban Chicago mental health center has been sentenced to 180 days in jail after pleading guilty to a sexual misconduct charge involving a patient with a disability.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Sexual misconduct, Elgin, Mental health, Chicago, Health, General News", "main_text": "Christy Lenhardt\u2019s plea entered Friday stems from an investigation into allegations she engaged in sexual misconduct between November 2014 and July 2017 with a patient at the Elgin Mental Health Center. The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reports the 55-year-old Lenhardt was also ordered to register as a sex offender. The patient who was involuntarily committed to the facility after being found not guilty by reason of insanity for what authorities said was an attack on a police officer sued Lenhardt. That lawsuit and one filed by a second patient that makes similar allegations are pending."}
{"claim_id": "9532", "claim": "Allergy treatments enter a new era \u2014 with a focus on stopping reactions before they start", "explanation": "The headline on this story from STAT\u00a0promises to highlight a \u201cnew era\u201d in allergy treatment built around the idea of preventing histamine and other immunologic explosions in our bodies\u2019 mast cells and basophils before they start. What it delivers is something less\u2013updates on efforts at immunologic therapies that are way short of popping up at the pharmacy anytime soon\u2013and more: an eye-opening look at how Big Pharma and Big Science are investing Big Money in a potentially huge worldwide market for treatments that probably won\u2019t do much better than antihistamines, epinephrine and allergen-avoidance. Parents curious about these forthcoming treatments\u2013including very pricey immunotherapies\u2013are likely already wondering if they\u2019ll be affordable, yet the story skirts any discussion of pricing. But readers who stick with the piece to the end will learn something about the intentions and operations of the medical/pharmaceutical industrial complex, and that\u2019s a good thing. Stories that describe new allergy treatments\u00a0are likely to have mass audiences, including parents who are hopeful they can ease their child\u2019s severe food allergies. But will any of these treatments pan out, and one day be widely available and/or affordable to the masses? It\u2019s too early to say, and the story may raise some false hopes for not reining in some of the excitement with more about the realities of drug development.", "label": "true", "subjects": "allergies", "main_text": "Although the\u00a0story\u00a0cites the hundreds of millions of dollars of investment made by drug companies and research institutions, it doesn\u2019t address the potential costs of some newly developed commercial products, including one in stage 3 clinical trials that (literally) encapsulates bits of peanut protein designed to offer desensitization to peanut allergy. The approach has long depended on what the article calls the \u201chome brews\u201d of food allergy \u201cconcoctions\u201d and injections that have been compounded and prescribed by allergists for decades. Nor does it mention the cost of a biologic made by Genentech that already is on the market for a form of asthma and is likely much more expensive than antihistamines and even the notorious Epi-Pens that would compete for an expanded market. The story also mentions Xolair, but does not mention the cost of this drug, which is quite prohibitive. Although the article finally does get to the point that biologics, immunologics, and quicker ways to achieve desensitization may not \u2014 for many patients \u2014 work better than golden oldies like antihistamines, the story could have, but didn\u2019t, make any attempt to pin down what kinds of patients and how many of them might need or want the newer drugs, which are at best mostly years from being available. Particularly for the new-style food-desensitization therapies under development, the article explains potential (and even deadly) risks associated with them and it alludes to some of the downsides of immunotherapies (\u201callergy shots,\u201d for instance) that can take months or years to work. But it says essentially nothing about the potential or actual adverse effects of a DNA vaccine under development, noting only that it \u201chypothetically decreases the risk for adverse events.\u201d The article does a fairly good job of describing some of the hypotheses involved in the development of new or updated treatments, but it doesn\u2019t offer enough information about the\u00a0research underway. For example, we\u2019re given no information about the status of the research on using the immunotherapy drug Xolair for food allergies combined with allergy desensitization therapy. No mongering: the prevalence of allergies is high and, according to some sources, rising rapidly in the developing world as well as in the U.S. The article casts a pretty wide net of sources, including interviews with allergy researchers at Stanford and at Mass General Hospital in Boston, as well as investigators with drug companies. There is acknowledgment of the possibility that the new treatments may not work any better than older ones for many patients. The story would have been stronger if it had done more head-to-head comparisons of effectiveness. The article, admirably, makes clear that movement through the new drug pipeline is likely to be slow for most of the newly envisioned therapies. The article makes clear that the some of the proposed \u201cnew era\u201d treatment are actually old wine in new bottles\u2013commercial versions of things allergists have been hand-tailoring to their patients for years. And it does examine some novel twists in describing the development of a DNA vaccine, and the expanded use of a relatively new \u201cbiologic\u201d drug that exploits the immune system\u2019s weaknesses and strengths. However, it could have been stronger at pointing out that nothing here is really brand new. The article was certainly not based on a single news release."}
{"claim_id": "11415", "claim": "Shingles Vaccine Looks Like a Safe Bet for Seniors: Study", "explanation": "This story about a study of how the shingles vaccine performs in regular clinical use does a nice job of putting the pros and cons of the vaccine in a larger context. We also applaud how this story addresses the potential harms of the vaccine. This story reports both the relative risk reduction (55 percent) and absolute risk reduction (from 13 to 6 cases per 1,000 people per year), but we wish it had told readers that 71 people would have to be vaccinated in order to prevent one shingles attack. We encourage broader use of this sort of statistic about the number of people you need to treat in order for at least one person to benefit. However, like the other stories, this one does not tackle the limitations inherent in this sort of observational study. Shingles is a terribly painful condition caused by the chicken pox virus. It often reemerges late in life. Although a large clinical trial demonstrated that a vaccine could reduce the risk of shingles attacks and postherpetic neuralgia under idealized conditions, things are often different in the real world. This study of actual clinical experience adds an important perspective on the effects of the vaccine, but stories about this sort of study need to clearly address the limitations of observational trials and the ways that bias and confounding factors can muddy the results. Finally, the take-home message here is a clear need to promote shared decision-making between caregivers and patients on this issue, because this is not a slam dunk must-do vaccine.", "label": "true", "subjects": "HealthDay", "main_text": "The story reports that the vaccine can cost a couple of hundred dollars and that cost can put the vaccine out of reach for some people and that even people who could afford it may decide it is not as high a priority as other health care items. Interestingly, while other stories about this study touted the finding that vaccination cut the risk of shingles by more than half, this story points out that compared to many other vaccines, a 55 percent reduction in relatively risk is a weak performance. The comment from one individual that the vaccine is \u201cbetter than nothing\u201d also helps readers put the benefits into perspective. The story does include endorsement of vaccination and descriptions of the terrible pain shingles attacks can inflict. It also points out that this study provides information about a reduction in the risk of serious eye problems caused by shingles that was collected by the clinical trial that led to the vaccine\u2019s approval. The story reports the absolute annual shingles attack risk figures of 6.4 per 1,000 among the vaccinated participants versus 13 per 1,000 among those not vaccinated. We would have like to also see the story mention that the results indicate that about 71 people need to be vaccinated to prevent one from suffering a shingles attack. And since the story reported relative risk reduction statistics for ophthalmic herpes zoster cases, it should have also told readers the absolute numbers. The story should have pointed out that the study looked at a limited time span and that the researchers can\u2019t say whether the effects of the vaccine persist through later years. That\u2019s an important caveat, since a 60-year-old who had chicken pox as a child is at risk for a shingles attack for the remaining decades of life. If the vaccine cuts the risk of attacks in half, but only for the first few years after vaccination, then the lifetime reduction in risk would be much smaller. Also, the final quote from an expert saying \u201cthe benefit, I think, is overwhelming\u201d may overpower all the statistics, leaving readers with an unbalanced summary of the benefits of this vaccine. So, while overall the story had a mixed performance on this criterion, we\u2019ll give it a satisfactory score. This story briefly refers to this vaccine providing protection against shingles \u201cwithout many side effects.\u201d While many stories would stop there (if they even acknowledged the potential for side effects), this report goes further to include the comment from an independent source that \u201cI think it\u2019s a very good vaccine, and it\u2019s a safe vaccine, but obviously there needs to be continuing surveillance of usage of the vaccine to make sure there are no adverse effects that are seen in one in a 100 million cases versus one in five or 10,000 people.\u201d The story highlights the value of studying how the vaccine works in routine clinical use, rather than merely doing clinical trials under idealized conditions. It also notes that the people who were vaccinated \u201cwere more likely to be white, female and in better overall health than the unvaccinated people.\u201d However, the story does not explain why these differences might be important to determining how much confidence to place in the study results. There should have been more attention to the inherent weaknesses and limitations of this sort of observational study, especially since the researchers called attention to potential sources of bias and their attempts to take those factors into account. The story accurately describes the population for which shingles vaccine is recommended. It specifically notes that the vaccine is not recommended for people with \u201cleukemia, lymphoma, HIV or an allergy to any ingredients in the vaccine.\u201d It also includes comments about people discussing their eligibility for vaccination with a doctor. The story would have been better if it had more clearly told readers that most people do not have lasting effects after a shingles attack. This story includes more than one independent source. The comments from these sources add valuable perspective on this study and the larger context of shingles vaccination. The story reports that the Kaiser Permanente health plan funded the study. However, it does not tell readers that some of the researchers have received funding from vaccine companies for other studies or consulting. While it may seem that the decision to vaccinate is a simple yes or no matter, this story does a nice job of expanding the question to include other vaccination priorities. It includes comments that point out that shingles, while terribly painful, is not contagious or life-threatening\u2026 and that considering the high cost of the shingles vaccine, it may be reasonable to place a higher priority on other vaccinations. The story does readers a service by addressing some of the real world choices people face, rather than merely considering a single intervention in a vacuum. The story reports that the vaccine has been available since 2006. The story reports that this is the only approved vaccine to reduce shingles risk and that it has been available since 2006 in the United States. It also makes clear that this study provides information about how the vaccine performs in the real world, as opposed to the idealized conditions of a clinical trial. The story does not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "2001", "claim": "108 mins that stunned the world: Russia honors Gagarin.", "explanation": "His 108-minute flight into space 50 years ago set new a horizon for humanity and overnight turned a farmworker\u2019s son named Yuri Gagarin into one of the century\u2019s heroes.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "A visitor looks at a wall of photographs of cosmonauts on display during the opening of an exhibition at the Memorial Museum of Astronautics in Moscow, April 8, 2011. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin But half a century after his exploit captured the world\u2019s imagination and fueled a space race with the United States, Russia has found it necessary to release top secret archives to counter persistent rumors that Gagarin was later murdered on the orders of jealous or paranoid Soviet rulers. \u201cGagarin once said: \u2018To me my whole life seems to be one perfect moment,\u2019\u201d recalled veteran Soviet space journalist Vladimir Gubarev earlier this month. The 27-year-old\u2019s single Earth orbit on April 12, 1961 was one of the Soviet Union\u2019s most enduring Cold War victories and is proudly remembered today, especially in the cosmonaut town that is the heart of the nation\u2019s space program. Star City, the world\u2019s oldest space-flight training center, resembles in many ways a shrine to the first man in space, whose premature death in a mysterious plane crash seven years after his flight cemented a poster-boy status. Visitors on a rare open day were greeted by a lone statue of Gagarin dominating the snowy paths between worn buildings scattered behind a perimeter fence in a pine forest outside Moscow like some isolated university campus. A mural of the national hero leads into a small museum hall filled with memorabilia: Gagarin\u2019s orange-brown space suit, gifts from foreign dignitaries and a room that painstakingly re-creates his office as it was on the day he died. One striking photo shows Gagarin\u2019s round orbiter, scorched from its fiery descent, lying in a field in Russia\u2019s central Saratov region, where he was famously offered milk and bread by an astonished farmworker moments after landing. Conspiracy theories abound that he did not die in a plane crash, but was murdered on the orders of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev for an unspecified offence or disloyalty to the party. In an apparent bid to quash such whisperings about Gagarin\u2019s death ahead of the anniversary, the archives declassified by post-Soviet Russia last week shed new light on the crash. The documents show a Soviet probe concluded that Gagarin had most likely lost control of his jet after swerving sharply to avoid a weather-forecasting balloon, archives official Alexander Stepanov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. Gagarin\u2019s maiden orbit nearly ended in disaster. \u201cFor 10 whole minutes of his flight, he thought he was dead,\u201d said Gubarev, who knew Gagarin as a young fighter pilot. \u201cThe flight was absolutely heroic. It was unimaginably difficult. People thought a man might go crazy in space,\u201d he told Reuters. When Gagarin\u2019s Vostok-1 capsule hit the atmosphere on re-entry, the cables hooking the descent module to the service module failed to separate. The craft shook violently before they burned loose and Gagarin was sucked down by gravity. He experienced G-forces \u2014 the force of gravity on a body \u2014 two to three times steeper than those felt by today\u2019s astronauts. \u201cWhen I dream now, it is mostly nightmares about the descent,\u201d said veteran cosmonaut Georgy Grechko, 79, who worked as an engineer on Gagarin\u2019s space capsule. \u201cWhen the craft re-enters the thick levels of the Earth\u2019s atmosphere, it burns. The flames tear at the craft. It rolls and the coating melts. It\u2019s scary.\u201d   A letter Gagarin drafted to be sent to his family in case he died was among the documents declassified last week, and offered a glimpse into the steely-eyed courage of the young pilot. \u201cI trust the hardware completely. It will not fail. But it can happen that a man trips at ground level and breaks his neck. Some accident may happen,\u201d the letter previewed by opposition paper Novaya Gazeta said. \u201cIf it does... do not waste yourself with grief. Life is life, and nobody is safe from being run over by a car.\u201d   The 19 candidates selected for the Vostok-1 flight were all test pilots, unafraid of speed, and slight enough in build to fit into the tiny 2m-wide (6ft) capsule. The Soviet-era charm of Gagarin\u2019s humble roots may have favored him over others, including his backup Gherman Titov. Born in the village of Klushino, some 150 km (95 miles) west of Moscow, his father was a carpenter and his mother a milkmaid. The family was forced to live in a tiny mud hut when the village was burned down during the German occupation in World War Two. \u201cYura (Gagarin) was a very quick learner. He assimilated everything new. His mind was stellar,\u201d Gubarev said. Gagarin sung Soviet hymns during the last checks, strapped atop the 30m-high (98 ft) rocket that would blast him into space from the long-secret Baikonur cosmodrome on the Kazakh steppe. \u201cPoyekhali! (Let\u2019s go! ),\u201d he cried, in a phrase that has become synonymous with Gagarin in Russia. \u201cThe most emotional moment was when we heard he was walking and waving; his arms and legs were whole. We understood in one sigh that our five to six years of hard work had paid off and we had achieved something huge,\u201d Grechko said. The United States responded 10 months later, when John Glenn made the first U.S. orbital flight."}
{"claim_id": "997", "claim": "Eroding trust in vaccines leaves populations vulnerable, global study finds.", "explanation": "Trust in vaccines - one of the world\u2019s most effective and widely-used medical products - is highest in poorer countries but weaker in wealthier ones where skepticism has allowed outbreaks of diseases such as measles to persist, a global study found on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "France has the least confidence of any country in the world in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, with a third believing that vaccines are unsafe, according to the study. While most parents do choose to vaccinate their children, varying levels of confidence expose vulnerabilities in some countries to potential disease outbreaks, the study\u2019s authors said, recommending that scientists need to ensure people have access to robust information from those they trust. Public health experts and the World Health Organization (WHO) say vaccines save up to 3 million lives every year worldwide, and decades of research evidence consistently shows they are safe and effective. But to achieve \u201cherd immunity\u201d to protect whole populations, immunization coverage rates must generally be above 90% or 95%, and vaccine mistrust can quickly reduce that protection. \u201cOver the last century, vaccines have made many devastating infectious diseases a distant memory,\u201d said Charlie Weller,  head of vaccines at the Wellcome Trust health charity, which co-led the Wellcome Global Monitor study. \u201cIt is reassuring that almost all parents worldwide are vaccinating their children. However, there are pockets of lower confidence in vaccines across the world.\u201d  The spread of measles, including in major outbreaks in the United States, the Philippines and Ukraine, is just one of the health risks linked to lower confidence in vaccines. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, false rumors about polio vaccines being part of a Western plot have in recent years hampered global efforts to wipe out the crippling disease. The study, led by Wellcome and polling company Gallup, covered 140,000 people from more than 140 countries. It found 6% of parents worldwide - equivalent to 188 million - say their children are unvaccinated. The highest totals were in China at 9%, Austria at 8% and Japan at 7%. Seth Berkley, chief executive of the not-for-profit GAVI vaccine alliance, said the report showed a \u201cworrying number of people\u201d questioning vaccine safety. But by focusing on the \u201cvocal minority\u201d who refused to vaccinate, it was easy to forget that the vast majority trusted vaccines and the science that underpinned them. The study also found that three-quarters of the world\u2019s people trust doctors and nurses more than anyone else for health advice, and that in most parts of the world, more education and greater trust in health systems, governments and scientists is a also sign of higher vaccine confidence. In some high-income regions, however, confidence is weaker. Only 72% of people in North America and 73% in Northern Europe agree that vaccines are safe. In Eastern Europe it is just 50%. Heidi Larson, director of the vaccine confidence project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, worked with researchers on this study. She said it \u201cexposes the paradox of Europe\u201d which, despite being a region with among the highest income and education levels, also has the world\u2019s highest levels of vaccine skepticism. In poorer regions, trust levels tend to be much higher, with 95% in South Asia and 92% in Eastern Africa feeling confident that vaccines are safe and effective."}
{"claim_id": "1972", "claim": "Study finds Americans are eating more - and more often.", "explanation": "Americans may be cutting back on super-sized meals, but waistlines continue to expand from more frequent eating, according to a study released on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "People line up to buy food at a fast food restaurant in Harlem in New York December 16, 2009. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly The number of daily meals and snacks consumed by U.S. adults rose to 4.8 in 2006 from 3.8 in 1977, according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers who examined surveys of daily eating habits over a 30-year period. In the top 10 percent of those surveyed, the number of daily meals and snacks rose to seven from five. The analysis also found that although the size of meal portions has stabilized in recent years, but the number of total calories consumed is rising. By 2006, the end of the period studied, Americans were consuming 570 more calories per day than they did in the late 1970s. A chief culprit behind the calorie gain: Americans now consume 220 more calories daily from sugar-sweetened soft drinks than they did in the 1960s, the study found. The study is thought to be the first to examine the combined contribution of changes in portion sizes, the caloric level of foods, and eating frequency on people\u2019s total calorie consumption. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, and the findings appear in the June 2011 issue of the journal PLoS Medicine. Kiyah Duffey, a postdoctoral fellow at the UNC Interdisciplinary Obesity Center and one of the study\u2019s authors, said large portion sizes drove the rise in calories during the early part of the study period. \u201cAround the time people became aware of the portion sizes, we see a decline in the portion sizes they are consuming,\u201d Duffey told Reuters. \u201cIt really seems that in the last couple of decades, it is the number of eating occasions that is driving this change.\u201d   A proliferation of food availability and a decline in regular mealtimes may be fueling the pattern, Duffey said. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t sitting down to three meals anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cWe sort of think about eating all through the day.\u201d   Some sources of dieting and health advice say frequent eating in small doses revs up the metabolism and controls hunger, and is a healthier way of eating than three big meals. Duffey said what matters is what and how much you eat over the course of the day rather than how often you eat. \u201cDon\u2019t eat seven times a day if what you\u2019re eating is a salty snack or a pizza,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to do that, reach for an apple instead.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "10061", "claim": "New painkiller studies show new risks", "explanation": "This story tries to explain a new analysis of many studies of cardiovascular and stomach bleeding problems caused by painkiller use. Although the background material for the article is complicated, this article is less helpful to a reader than it ought to be. Without presenting how often the events like heart attack, stroke, heart arrhythmias or kidney disorders occur, it is not possible for an individual to evaluate how much concern it causes them. Although these are serious risks and individuals thinking about or currently taking these medications should consider them, the article did a a poor job of clearly delineating treatment options. There is confusion about the various risks and how they differ among the available treatment options. Though the article mentioned sticking with a drug which hasn\u2019t caused problems in the past, waiting seven years after FDA approval before trying a new medication, using naproxen plus an acid-reflux drug (without specifying the class that is most successful in this role) and recommending use of \u2018pain ointments\u2019, it did a poor job of clarifying how a given individual should assess these options and how they apply to themselves.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no information about the costs of the various treatment options, though this was not the focus of the article. However generic NSAIDS, such as naproxen, are much less expensive than name brand NSAIDs, such as Celebrex and Mobic, and this could have been mentioned. The biggest problem with this article is that there was no framework for the estimate of the size of the risks, only that there were gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and renal risks associated with the use of these medications. Quantification of the risks in relative and absolute terms would have been valuable to the reader. While clearly mentioning some disease risks which are elevated with long term or high dose use of NSAID medications, the article failed to provide fair balance about the benefits that these medications can confer. In this story, the perspectives on benefits and harms were switched. The benefits discussed in the article were about the harms associated with some NSAID use, with the benefits being about using other meds instead. This was unsatisfactory because the article failed to provide a context about how often these harms are experienced. With respect to harms, the article failed to discuss the benefits of taking the meds in question and so would include the harms associated with not taking those medications. The article failed to mention anything about these and so was given an unsatisfactory. The article explained that the newest reports on the risks associated with use of NSAID medications were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And the story briefly mentioned the nature of the analysis: \u201cNew reports on painkiller risks, based on reviews of dozens of studies including hundreds of thousands of patients\u2026\u201d This article presented some information about risks associated with the medications without providing how often these adverse events occur. The reader is left with a sense that the adverse events are very common when in fact, they are not. For example, kidney dysfunction was observed in less than 1% of patients taking any of the specific NSAID medications studied. The article included some confusing quotes from experts in the field. Recommending \u201cIf something has helped you in the past and you haven\u2019t experienced an adverse reaction with it, stay with that drug\u201d seems to contradict the recommendation from the FDA (web-link provided at the end of the article) about the chance of heart attack or stroke associated with NSAID use which increases \u201cwith longer use of NSAID medicines.\u201d Another expert recommended that \u201cpatients should wait seven years before trying a new drug\u201d when one of the drugs for which there are newly observed heart risks, diclofenac, has had FDA approval from at least 1996 and is well over that seven year waiting period. The article quoted experts; it is just that what the experts had to say was confusing and the story could have interpreted better. The article did a poor job of clearly delineating treatment options. There is confusion about the various risks and how they differ among the available treatment options. Though the article mentioned sticking with a drug which hasn\u2019t caused problems in the past, waiting seven years after FDA approval before trying a new medication, using naproxen plus an acid-reflux drug (without specifying the class that is most successful in this role) and recommending use of \u2018pain ointments\u2019, it did a poor job of clarifying how a given individual should assess these options and how they apply to themselves. Many of the medications mentioned in the article are commonly prescribed medications which have been approved for use by the FDA. This article basically summarizes the adverse reactions that have been documented to date with the use of NSAID medications and in particular, the subset set of NSAID medications which are exclusively COX-2 inhibitors. It is clear that these are not novel treatments. Does not appear to rely exclusively on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "7690", "claim": "Flood waters rise, eight killed as Florence dumps 'epic' rain on Carolinas.", "explanation": "Tropical Storm Florence dumped \u201cepic\u201d amounts of rain on North and South Carolina as it trudged inland on Saturday, knocking out power and causing at least eight deaths as flood waters that have devastated many communities kept rising.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Florence\u2019s intensity has diminished since it roared ashore along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast on Friday as a hurricane. But its slow march over the two states, crawling west at only 3 miles per hour (6 km per hour), is expected to leave large parts of the region deluged in the coming days, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said late Saturday. \u201cThis system is unloading epic amounts of rainfall, in some places measured in feet and not inches,\u201d North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news briefing. His state has already endured record rainfall, with much more forecast to come. Rivers will continue to rise days after the rain has stopped, he said. \u201cThis is a hurricane event followed by a flood event,\u201d said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. With flood waters advancing rapidly in many communities, around 50 stranded people had been airlifted out by helicopter in North Carolina, said Petty Officer Michael Himes of the U.S. Coast Guard. More than 26,000 hunkered down in shelters. Numerous roads were closed, and authorities warned of the risk of landslides, tornadoes and flash floods, with dams and bridges in peril as rivers and creeks swelled. As of Saturday, about 676,000 homes and businesses were without power in North Carolina, along with 119,000 in South Carolina. North Carolina officials said there had been at least seven storm-related fatalities in the state, with unconfirmed reports of a further three deaths. South Carolina authorities reported one death. The White House said President Donald Trump approved making federal funding available in some affected counties. Trump, who plans a visit to the region next week, tweeted his \u201cdeepest sympathies and warmth\u201d to the families and friends of those who had lost their lives. (GRAPHIC: Hurricane Florence to pummel U.S. Southeast for days - tmsnrt.rs/2oZFKSb)  At 2300 EDT (0300 GMT), the NHC said Florence had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km), and was slowly drifting westward over South Carolina. The center said the storm would dump as much as 40 inches (102 cm) of rain along coastal areas of the Carolinas, as well as up to 10 inches in southwestern Virginia. In Fayetteville, a North Carolina city of about 210,000 people about 90 miles inland, authorities told thousands of residents near the Cape Fear River and Little River to get out of their homes by Sunday afternoon because of the flood risk. \u201cIf you are refusing to leave during this mandatory evacuation, you need to do things like notify your legal next of kin because the loss of life is very, very possible,\u201d Mayor Mitch Colvin said at a news conference. \u201cThe worst is yet to come,\u201d he added. The storm made landfall on Friday near Wilmington, a city of about 120,000 squeezed between North Carolina\u2019s Atlantic coastline and the Cape Fear River. On Saturday, its streets were strewn with downed tree limbs and carpeted with leaves and other debris. Electricity remained out for much of the city, known for its historic mansions, with power lines lying across roads like wet strands of spaghetti. Near the Sutton Power Plant in Wilmington, coal ash leaked from a Duke Energy landfill. The site lost enough material to fill around two-thirds of an Olympic-sized pool, the company said in a statement, adding that it did not believe the incident posed a risk to health or the environment. Officials had warned before the storm that the rains could risk tainting waterways with murky coal ash and toxic hog waste. Florence has already set a North Carolina record for rainfall totals, exceeding that of Hurricane Floyd, which struck  in 1999 and caused 56 deaths. Floyd produced 24 inches of rain in some parts of the state, while Florence has already dumped about 30 inches in areas around Swansboro. In New Bern, about 90 miles northeast of Wilmington at the confluence of two rivers, Florence overwhelmed the town of 30,000 and left the downtown area under water. Some area residents described a harrowing retreat as the storm hit. \u201cIt was pitch black and I was just scared out of my mind,\u201d said Tracy Singleton, who with her family later drove through torrential rain and high winds from her home near New Bern. South Carolina authorities said law enforcement officers were guarding against looting in evacuated areas, while Wilmington set a curfew on Saturday evening in response to looting in one area. As the United States dealt with Florence, a strong typhoon tore across the northern tip of the Philippines, wrecking homes and triggering landslides before heading toward Hong Kong and China."}
{"claim_id": "27868", "claim": "Soupy Sales was once suspended for asking his young television viewers to send him \"little green pieces of paper\" taken from their parents' wallets.", "explanation": "Perhaps someone should have been more concerned with the gullibility of parents, not children.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Entertainment, Radio & TV, Television", "main_text": "It may be hard to imagine for those who have grown up in the modern era of radio and television with its \u201cshock jocks\u201d and numerous programs involving hosts playing all sorts of bizarre (and sometimes outright cruel) pranks on unsuspecting participants, but back in 1965 an off-the-cuff joke by children\u2019s television host Soupy Sales touched off a huge scandal over what would today seem like little more than a harmless prank: Examples: [Sivulka, 1998] In January 1965 on his morning children\u2019s show, the performer Soupy Sales suggested to his young viewers that they find the wallets of their sleeping fathers and take out \u201csome of those funny green pieces of paper with all those nice pictures of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Alexander Hamilton, and send them along to your old pal, Soupy, care of WNEW, New York.\u201d [Collected on the Internet, 1997] \u201cHey kids, last night was New Year\u2019s Eve, and your mother and dad were out having a great time. They are probably still sleeping and what I want you to do is tiptoe in their bedroom and go in your mom\u2019s pocketbook and your dad\u2019s pants, which are probably on the floor. You\u2019ll see a lot of green pieces of paper with pictures of guys in beards. Put them in an envelope and send them to me at Soupy Sales, Channel 5, New York, New York. And you know what I\u2019m going to send you? A post card from Puerto Rico!\u201d The controversy began on Friday, 1 January 1965, when Soupy Sales \u2014 who was somewhat miffed at having to work on New Year\u2019s Day \u2014 had a few minutes to kill at the end of his program. Ad-libbing, Sales looked into the camera and delivered a request to his young viewers to sneak some \u201clittle green pieces of paper\u201d (i.e., currency) out of their parents\u2019 wallets and send them to him. (The show was aired live and no tape of it exists, so a verbatim transcription of what Sales actually said is not available.) Complaints from outraged parents came fast and furious, and the television station that hosted Sales\u2019 program, WNEW-TV in New York, had pulled him off the air by the following Monday. (Contrary to common belief, Sales wasn\u2019t fired over the stunt, nor was his show canceled because of it: He resumed broadcasting two weeks later, and his program ran on WNEW for almost another two years.) It\u2019s easy for those who weren\u2019t around back then to be puzzled by the frenzied response to what now seems like a tepid, impulsive gag at worst, but back in 1965 plenty of adults were livid at the thought of a TV personality\u2019s crassly manipulating children for commercial gain. As many of Sales\u2019 supporters maintained, though, Soupy hadn\u2019t really done anything that radio and television pitchmen hadn\u2019t already been doing for years: he had simply cut out the middleman by suggesting that children send him money directly rather than exhorting them to buy his sponsors\u2019 products. Hadn\u2019t his radio predecessors been just as commercially manipulative when they continually touted the charms of various mediocre products to children, who then pestered their mothers to buy those products solely because the purchases were necessary to obtain a Shake-Up Mug or Code-O-Graph or whatever geegaw was being plugged on popular kids\u2019 shows like Little Orphan Annie and Captain Midnight? If cooler heads had prevailed back in 1965, adults might have realized that the furor was much ado about nothing. The premise of Soupy\u2019s stunt was largely untenable, because it required that children mostly too young to understand or appreciate the concept of \u201cmoney\u201d would nonetheless be able to recognize it, surreptitiously remove it from their parents\u2019 wallets, put it in envelopes with the correct postage and address (even though Soupy hadn\u2019t provided an address), and mail it to him, all without their parents\u2019 knowledge or assistance. At that age I\u2019d have been hard-pressed to successfully mail a postcard to myself without help, and no kid I knew who was mature to enough understand the value of money was about to part with any prized currency by sending it to a TV host who promised nothing in return, no matter how nicely he asked. Nonetheless, decades later sloppy historians were still reporting that \u201cIt worked. According to reports it was \u2018the biggest heist since the Brink\u2019s robbery. '\u201d1 It didn\u2019t work. Although various accounts credit Soupy with having received up to $80,000 through the mail, Sales himself has revealed on numerous occasions that he netted only a few real dollars, along with a lot of play money, green Monopoly money, and other forms of fake currency: The most famous single gag comes on New Year\u2019s Day 1965. Mr. Sales tells kids to go into their parents\u2019 wallets and to send him \u201cthose little green pieces of paper.\u201dIt\u2019s become a cult thing to say you sent $10, $20, he says, but if that had been true, he would have had enough money to buy the building. He received only a few dollars, and a week\u2019s suspension. 2"}
{"claim_id": "63", "claim": "Usain Bolt brings his e-scooter to Japan despite regulatory road bumps.", "explanation": "Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt is bringing his electric scooters to Japan, hopeful that his celebrity status will help persuade regulators that the environmental benefits are important enough to relax some of the curbs on their use.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Under current laws, scooters can only be driven on roads, they need to carry license plates, and riders require a motorcycle license. The world-record sprinter and co-founder of Bolt Mobility announced the launch at an event in a Tokyo restaurant on Friday. The initial goal is to limit its scooter rentals to private land, which is exempted from the traffic regulations, and to be operating on 40 university campuses by the end of 2020. Beyond that, representatives of the year-old American start-up are talking with regulators about easing restrictions, arguing its scooters can reduce traffic congestion and thereby reduce emissions. Bolt hopes his celebrity can help deliver that message. \u201cWe\u2019re still talking and trying to figure out how to push forward and do better things for the environment, because that\u2019s where it started,\u201d he said in an interview with Reuters following the event. \u201cThis is the future.\u201d   Bolt Mobility aims to be in 20 cities globally by the end of this year and 50 across eight countries in 2020. Earlier this year, it launched in New York, Paris and Washington. E-scooter sharing has become a popular option for so-called \u201clast-mile\u201d commutes in many urban centers worldwide, but they have also created problems. In San Francisco, customers have abandoned the vehicles on public walkways, spurring the city attorney to call them a \u201cpublic nuisance.\u201d   Paris has tightened rules on where scooters can be ridden following two deaths and scores of injuries. An elderly cyclist died after colliding with an e-scooter in Singapore in September. In Tokyo, e-scooters are still a rarity, and under current laws are treated as low-powered motorcycles. However there is growing momentum for making them more mainstream. At the Tokyo Motor Show this month, hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, visitors could try out electric scooters built by Japanese and foreign startups. The world\u2019s largest e-scooter company, Lime, joined the Japanese lobby group Microbility Promotion Council on Thursday. However a change in regulation may take some time, despite the backing of some Japanese government officials. \u201cEven though everyone says it\u2019s very convenient, safety has to be the top priority,\u201d an official at Japan\u2019s transport ministry said, declining to be named because he was not authorized to talk to the media. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be an extremely high hurdle.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "7440", "claim": "New Mexico OKs more businesses to open, mandates masks.", "explanation": "New Mexico is giving the green light for nonessential businesses including retailers and many services to reopen on Saturday at limited capacity, while ordering that face masks be worn in public with few exceptions to limit the spread of the coronavirus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Michelle Lujan Grisham, Health, General News, New Mexico, Virus Outbreak, Public health", "main_text": "New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a news videoconference Wednesday that a new public health order will allow businesses to reopen at 25% of building occupancy limits. Large retailers can attend to 20% of maximum capacity set under fire safety regulations. New Mexico health officials cautioned that infections among children are surging, complicating efforts to reopen the economy and provide summer recreation programs. Lujan Grisham referred to children as potential \u201csuper-spreaders\u201d of COVID-19. Strict limits on nonessential business will remain in place in northwestern New Mexico, which includes a portion of the vast Navajo Nation. Human Services Secretary David Scrase said average daily infections in the northwest of the state, including McKinley and San Juan counties, have declined slightly in recent days. But those two counties still accounted on Wednesday for 109 out of 155 newly confirmed infections and eight out of 12 deaths statewide. Lujan Grisham said the state was on target to potentially open dine-in restaurant service in early June. She said safety concerns are making it difficult to allow hair salons and gyms anytime soon. No date has been set for public schools to reconvene. Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said he believes the easing of business restrictions is arriving too late for many small businesses to survive, and he urged the governor to speed up relief from onerous restrictions. He deferred to health officials on the need for face coverings in public. Lujan Grisham said that the state secretary of health is in negotiations to have a \u201cqualified hospital administrator\u201d take the reins of day-to-day operations at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital in Gallup, where medical staff last week held a street protest to complain of inadequate staffing and urge hospital CEO David Conejo to resign. She said the negotiations are designed to avoid protracted litigation or receivership proceedings. About 17 nurses were cut from the Rehoboth hospital workforce in March as the pandemic bore down on New Mexico, and at least 32 staff have tested positive for the virus, according to the hospital\u2019s chief medical officer and other hospital officials. Those events and the departure last week of the hospital\u2019s pulmonologist have limited its ability to treat COVID-19 patients, as people with acute respiratory symptoms are transported to Albuquerque facilities. Further details of management negotiations were unavailable. Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital also is under mounting pressure to comply with a financial audit. State Auditor Brian Col\u00f3n said he has given hospital officials a week to deliver additional financial documents to independent auditors and that public confidence was fading in management at the 60-bed hospital funded in part by property taxes. \u201cIt\u2019s gone from a deeply concerning issue to a crisis that isn\u2019t being overstated when we say that it\u2019s a matter of life and death,\u201d said Col\u00f3n, who led a conference call Tuesday involving Conejo, officials from McKinley County and the hospital board of trustees. Conejo said nothing of negotiations with the Health Department on Wednesday as he defended his leadership during the health crisis he described as a \u201cperfect storm.\u201d He says surgical staff and hospital trustees signed off on workforce reductions in March. The state has confirmed 231 deaths and more than 5,300 infections. Testing was offered this week to the state\u2019s entire public and private workforce for any reason, and officials are encouraging multiple tests for people who fear exposure or sense symptoms. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. ___ This version corrects that the state is unlikely to reopen dine-in restaurant service until early June.."}
{"claim_id": "7847", "claim": "Black women's hair loss tied to braiding, weaving: study.", "explanation": "Very tight braiding or weaving may be linked to a permanent type of hair loss that affects many African American women, according to a U.S. study.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Prolonged pulling at the hair strands may cause inflammation of the hair follicle, which has been showed to lead to scarring. In principle, this could lead to scarring hair loss or central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, a type of balding that starts at the top of the scalp and then spreads slowly to the rest. \u201cOur survey results suggest there is a high prevalence of central hair loss among African American women,\u201d wrote Angela Kyei, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, who led the study. Though the findings couldn\u2019t prove that hair grooming was at the base of the problem, women might still want to take them into consideration, she added. The study, published in the Archives of Dermatology, is based on health questionnaires and scalp examinations of 326 African American women. Nearly all of them straightened their curls chemically and about one in six had scarring hair loss. More than half the women with this condition said they had braids, weaves or hair extensions, as compared to only a third of those with less severe hair loss. Kyei did note, however, that there could be other causes for the balding. The researchers found that women with type 2 diabetes were more likely to have scarring hair loss, as were those with bacterial scalp infections. \u201cIf there is any take-home message from this study, it is that hair grooming is not the only thing you should look at in these patients,\u201d she added. SOURCE: bit.ly/e3oj6W"}
{"claim_id": "10678", "claim": "Testing hand-grip strength could be a simple, low-cost way to predict heart attack and stroke risk", "explanation": "This release about the ability of grip strength testing to predict death and disease rates leaves readers without enough context and ultimately overstates the importance of the findings. While the tone of the release is measured and the quotes include some caution about interpreting the results, there\u2019s no mention anywhere in the release about the limits of observational studies \u2014 which are discussed both in the study that\u2019s the basis for the release and the accompanying editorial. And although overall death rates are unquestionably an important outcome, the release does not tell readers what it would mean for a person to be identified as having a 17 percent higher risk. What use is that information and how would it affect how that person is cared for? \u201cWhy This Matters\u201d is something this news release should have educated us about. A clinical test result is useful only when it helps people make decisions. This release should have spent more time addressing how the study results might be applied. Would identifying a person as being at a 17 percent increased risk of death or a 7 percent increased risk of a heart attack change how doctors would monitor or treat him or her? Would someone be prescribed a statin based on a finding of decreased hand grip strength? Even though the study was intended only to assess how grip test results in a wider variety of countries compare to previous findings in high-income countries, the release could have at least briefly mentioned how such test results are commonly used in clinical settings. What\u2019s more, it\u2019s clear that news coverage, feeding off this news release, is reporting on this without caveats about observational studies, and therefore, delivering an incomplete message to the public. And it all started with this news release, because the caveats appear in both the journal article and in an accompanying commentary. Here are a handful of examples: Your Handshake Tells the Story of Your Health Patients\u2019 grip strengths reveal heart attack risk: study Palm \u2018holds secrets of future health\u2019 Why a weak handshake is bad news for your heart", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The release says that grip strength is low-cost, but a dynamometer is not something used routinely in clinical practice. Why not provide a cost estimate for both the dynamometers, the cost of administering the test in the clinical setting, and the cost of potential widespread risk-stratifying use? Would this still be low-cost? Maybe so, but some projections are possible IF you deal with real numbers, not just the researchers\u2019 value judgment that it is \u201clow-cost.\u201d The release does not tell readers how important a 7 to 17 percent increase in risk for the measured outcomes really is. There are no absolute figures included, only relative risks. What\u2019s more, the release makes no mention of how this sort of risk stratification would be used. Would people identified as having a 10-20 percent higher risk of certain conditions be offered different tests or treatments than those with stronger grips? Without this sort of context, readers of this release don\u2019t have any way of knowing what the benefits of grip testing might be. It is also odd that the headline and lead paragraph of the release highlighted heart attack and stroke, when the risk stratifications for those events were smaller than those for other outcomes. As mentioned in the section on benefits, the release does not explain how the test results might be used. If the intent is to steer people identified as being at higher risk toward more testing or treatment, then the release should have mentioned the risk of doing more harm through overtreatment. The release would have been better if it had included a clear statement near the top highlighting that this observational study cannot say whether poor grip strength itself predisposes a person to health problems or is merely a result of factors that also lead to health problems. The journal article included that caveat: \u201cThe observational nature of this study does not allow us to make strong conclusions on the causal role of muscular strength in death or cardiovascular disease. Although we adjusted for many potential confounders, we cannot exclude the possibility that residual confounding underlies the associations between grip strength and these outcomes.\u201d And an accompanying editorial also described \u201cthe limitations of observational epidemiology to address causal pathways.\u201d \u00a0Yet the Lancet news release made no mention of these clearly-stated limitations. Journal news releases could do a great deal to help educate journalists and the public about the value of, and the limitations of, such research. The outcomes highlighted in the release, including overall death rates and cardiovascular disease, are indeed important, as is evidence on ways of improving clinical practice. But we\u2019re\u00a0troubled by the\u00a0introduction of the concept of hand grip strength being a \u201cnew biomarker of aging\u201d \u2014 as if aging were some type of disease that we need better tools to diagnose and/or monitor. We\u2019ll rule it Satisfactory with some reservations. This rating is for a sin of omission. It does not appear that any conflicts were hidden, but all news releases should routinely report a summary of funding sources and disclosures. The journal article reports funding sources for the study and lead authors. There are no competing interests reported. The maker of the dynamometer used does not appear to have played any role in the study. But even in cases like this, where it does not appear that there any funding or other conflicts of interest, news releases should routinely include some reference to funding and disclosures by researchers. The release specifically notes that grip strength results are a stronger predictor of death than systolic blood pressure. But what about the most common ways that clinicians currently assess the health risks of patients, such as with\u00a0Framingham data and the related NHLBI heart risk assessment tool \u2014 free and online? Call us picky, but\u00a0we can easily recall widespread news coverage of whether wrinkles in your earlobes can predict heart attack risk. So we don\u2019t think it\u2019s unreasonable to expect some reference to an enduring, well-supported alternative to the risk predictor of the day. The release implies that the type of dynamometer used to assess grip strength in this study is widely available, but a clearer statement about availability, especially in low-income countries, would have made the release better. The release notes that this association between grip strength and health risks has been documented previously in high-income countries, and that a key feature of this study is the inclusion of people from low- and middle-income countries. This is a close call. The tone of the release is generally measured. However, the release headline suggests that hand grip strength\u00a0is \u201csimple\u201d and \u201clow cost\u201d \u2014 neither of which have been proven in widespread clinical practice. It takes training to use this device and interpret the results correctly. And it\u2019s not clear how accurate this test is or if it\u2019ll lead to unnecessary tests or treatments. In other words, the release conveys a certainty about this test that just doesn\u2019t exist\u00a0\u2014 something we think is unjustified."}
{"claim_id": "10980", "claim": "Immunotherapy reduces cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis", "explanation": "This news release asserts that a study found that combining two\u00a0biologic drugs\u00a0which contain\u00a0extra-low doses of antibodies against tumor necrosis factor (TNF\u03b1) and interferon (IFN) can \u201cimprove the efficacy of standard rheumatoid arthritis therapy and decrease cardiovascular risk.\u201d But the accuracy of that statement depends on what your definition of \u201ccardiovascular risk\u201d is. If your definition includes the risk of heart attacks and strokes (as it surely does for most people), then the statement is questionable at best. The release does not mention any of those outcomes and instead focuses on \u201cunstable angina, severe hypertensive crisis, and deterioration of chronic heart failure.\u201d The news release is rich in mechanistic details, ie: how the treatments\u2019 processes may help reduce markers of cardiovascular risk, but poor in important details of interest such as potential harms, costs and impacts on heart attacks or strokes. Granted, it was\u00a0a small study, but it would have benefited from appropriate caveats around the actual outcomes observed, the potential for harms, and an overall sense of context. [Editor\u2019s note: The European Society of Cardiology, which issued the release, has appeared on HealthNewsReview.org\u2019s Wall of Shame twice before (see here and here) and this release comes close to meriting a repeat appearance.] In rheumatoid arthritis cytokines, a type of proteibn such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and interferon (IFN), start to attack healthy cells. If low-dose anti-TNF or anti-IFN drugs could reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as decrease cardiovascular risk they may make a huge contribution to\u00a0rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. If\u00a0many people with rheumatoid arthritis also have a higher risk of\u00a0cardiovascular disease it is useful to\u00a0study\u00a0if biologic drugs can reduce those risks\u00a0by slowing down or halting\u00a0the disease process.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Association/Society news release,cardiovascular disease", "main_text": "No mention of costs, whatsoever. This may be a lost learning opportunity because these drugs are not only very expensive, but are also at the ends of their patent lives and hence generic companies are making cheaper biosimilars. The release offers some quantification of benefits when it describes the \u201cincidence of cardiovascular events (unstable angina, severe hypertensive crisis, and deterioration of chronic heart failure)\u201d as being 37% in conventional disease-modifying drugs group\u00a0compared to those who also took anticytokines (at 13%). Normally, that quantification would earn the release a satisfactory rating but the definition provided here for \u201ccardiovascular risk\u201d does not include heart attacks and strokes. It\u2019s misleading to leave them out. No mention of harms, and there are known rare, but serious, adverse effects associated with all of the biologic drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. What the study description needed was a caveat saying that a 68-person trial might be preliminary, or interesting, or even hopeful, but certainly not definitive. In addition, the release doesn\u2019t mention how the outcomes were measured and if the study was blinded on the part of either the patient or the research observer. No obvious disease mongering here. We would caution that whenever a drug study encourages physicians to prescribe the drug more often, particularly in patients with mild disease, it could be construed by some observers as disease mongering. We learn that Professor Aida Babaeva, the lead investigator, is the head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Volgograd State Medical University, Volgograd, Russia, but not the degree to which she may have connections to companies making these drugs. Those kind of clarifications are important. There are a range of alternatives (statins, antihypertensives, anticoagulants) that can help reduce cardiovascular risk in patients but none of these alternatives are mentioned in the context of the study. Even one line acknowledging the existence of these alternatives would have rendered this a much more satisfactory release. It can be safely assumed that the biologics mentioned in the study are on the market, but are the \u201cextra-low dose combination of two anticytokines\u201d readily available? We\u2019re not sure. This might be worth the benefit of the doubt. The news release does not misrepresent the novelty of the approach and the lead investigator asserts that not all rheumatoid arthritis patients should be using this combination, saying \u201cIn patients with highly active disease, the standard biologics are better at preventing severe complications such as progressive joint destruction and/or systemic manifestations (vasculitis, uveitis, involvement of internal organs).\u201d\u00a0 It appears that the use of the \u201cextra low\u201d doses are simply a novel use of standard drugs, possibly in patients who would never have used the drugs in the past. There are no obvious examples of the use of unjustifiable descriptors. However, the first paragraph seems to suggest that it is well-known that these drugs will reduce rheumatoid and cardiovascular disease. The implication is that these have been well-proven, but we think that\u2019s still an open question."}
{"claim_id": "8800", "claim": "Morning-after pill sold over the counter in Canada.", "explanation": "The so-called \u201cmorning after\u201d pill Plan  B has received full over-the-counter status in Canada, drug  maker Paladin Labs Inc said on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Paladin said that following a decision by the National  Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities, an umbrella  group for Canada\u2019s provincial regulators, the emergency  contraceptive will be available directly from pharmacy shelves. Plan B, which is used after having sex to prevent  unintended pregnancies, previously had behind-the-counter  status, meaning that it was available from a pharmacist on  request but did not require a doctor\u2019s prescription. The pill is 95 percent effective in preventing a pregnancy  when taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, but does not  have any impact on an pre-existing pregnancy, according to  Paladin. Canada allowed the controversial pill to be available  without prescription in 2005. In the United States, women and men 18 and older can buy  Plan B without a prescription if they show proof of age at a  pharmacy. Girls under 18 still need a prescription. Supporters of the contraceptive have hailed it as a way to  reduce the number of abortions, while critics have argued it  could promote promiscuity or be used as a regular method of  birth control. Family-planning groups in the United States have said some  women have run into difficulties getting Plan B, with some  pharmacists declining to dispense it or stores refusing to  carry it. In Canada, Plan B is distributed and marketed by Paladin,  while in the United States, it is sold by Barr Pharmaceuticals  Inc, which owns the rights to the contraceptive."}
{"claim_id": "26710", "claim": "\u201cEvery election year has a disease\u201d ... SARS in 2004; avian flu in 2008; swine flu in 2010; MERS in 2012; Ebola in 2014 and 2018; Zika in 2016 and the coronavirus in 2020.", "explanation": "Most of these diseases were discovered and spread before the election years and were minimally mentioned during campaigns. SARS, avian flu and MERS had virtually no effect on the U.S. during election years. One exception: Ebola was a significant campaign issue in 2014.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Elections, Health Care, Facebook Fact-checks, Health Check, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "As coronavirus misinformation spreads like wildfire, there have been conspiratorial attempts to connect the disease to election year politics. Many tweets and Facebook posts are making the  claim that there is a trend of disease outbreaks matched to elections. \"Every election year has a disease,\" reads one. The posts connect SARS to 2004, avian flu to 2008, swine flu to 2010, MERS to 2012, Ebola to 2014 and 2018, Zika to 2016, and the coronavirus to 2020. \"Coincidences? NEVER.\" One post we saw supposedly linked to the World Health Organization (WHO), but that lead to a 404 error page. Our research showed that most of these connections weren\u2019t real. We decided to take a closer look and see if the diseases were significant enough to appear in party platforms or mentioned during candidate interviews. In most cases, they weren\u2019t. Online, fact-based news is going to be very important in the coming weeks. Please consider donating to PolitiFact today. SARS is a coronavirus disease that spread from animals to humans and was diagnosed in China in 2003. SARS is a respiratory illness that affects breathing and is usually associated with coughing and a fever. It is spread through infected droplets that can survive on surfaces and could affect you if airborne. The SARS outbreak was stopped by July 2003, and in 2004 China took precautions by putting an embargo on animals that could have been the source of the disease. SARS affected eight people in the United States, and all these cases were contracted from travel abroad. SARS did not spread within the United States during the 2003 outbreak, and there have been no cases reported since then. SARS wasn\u2019t a main campaign point in the 2004 presidential elections. It was referenced once in the Republican Party platform that was released in August 2004, under a section on international diplomacy that mentioned it as a joint concern of the United States and China. Avian flu is usually found in aquatic birds and poultry, but in rare cases the influenza can cross over and infect humans. The symptoms of avian flu are like general influenza, including cough, fever, sore throat or headaches. The two most prevalent avian influenza viruses, H5N1 and H9N2, caused respiratory infections in humans in China as early as the 1990s. Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Egypt, Thailand, and many other countries struggled with the spread of H5N1 from 2004 to 2014. In 2014, there was only one case of H5N1 in North America, according to the CDC, and there were never any U.S. cases. As far as the 2008 presidential campaign is concerned, the Democratic Party platform mentioned avian flu briefly to justify strengthening international support systems. Nevertheless, the avian flu was a pandemic before the 2008 presidential election and has continued to be a problem even today, with new strains appearing as recently as 2017. The 2008 strain of the influenza had no significant influence on elections that we could determine. The swine flu, more specifically H1N1, started spreading in early 2009 and combined avian, swine, and human influenza in one new strain. The symptoms of the disease are like most flu symptoms, including a fever, chills, cough, sore throat, or a runny or stuffy nose. It also spreads like most influenza, with infected droplets that could be airborne or left on surfaces. The 2009 swine flu outbreak was the \"first global flu pandemic in 40 years,\" according to the CDC. The panic surrounding swine flu led to many extreme measures, including school shutdowns and people camping outside of free swine flu vaccine centers. But not everyone approved of the vaccine. PolitiFact checked a statement from October 2009 by Glenn Beck, a conservative talk show host who was against the swine flu vaccination. He believed the vaccine would lead to neurological problems like that of an influenza vaccine from the 1970s. Swine flu was a politically polarizing disease when it came to vaccinating and expanding the government\u2019s health budget to prevent more outbreaks. It affected Americans directly and led to preventative legislation, but we found no examples of representatives using H1N1 in their campaigns during the 2010 midterm elections. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, is a viral respiratory illness that was first found in dromedary (or one-humped) camels and then spread to humans. Most cases of the disease came from direct or in-direct contact with camels. Human-to-human transmission of MERS is more rare and mostly appears in unsanitary health care settings. Symptoms of the disease include fever, coughing, or trouble with breathing that can lead to pneumonia. MERS was first diagnosed in Saudi Arabia in 2012, according to the CDC. All cases of MERS in 2012 were within the Arabian Peninsula, with two unlinked cases only reaching the U.S. in 2014. MERS was not brought up by any campaigns or included in any party platforms in the 2012 presidential election. It didn\u2019t affect the U.S. until 2014, and even then the only comment was from press secretary Jay Carney, when he said at a press conference that President Barack Obama had \"been briefed\" on the MERS developments. Even though MERS did occur during the 2012 election, it didn\u2019t seem to have any effect on U.S. politics. The Ebola virus emerged periodically and caused outbreaks in many African countries as early as 1995. Ebola is introduced into the human population when there is close contact with the bodily fluids of infected fruit bats, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope or porcupines. Human-to-human transmission only occurs when touching infected human bodily fluids or objects that have touched infected human bodily fluids. The first signs of Ebola include fever, fatigue, or a sore throat. Later, the infected person will experience vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function. In the most deadly cases, there is internal and external bleeding. The first large outbreaks were in 1995 and 2000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, according to the CDC\u2019s timeline. The CDC also documented only four diagnosed Ebola cases in the U.S. in 2014, and only two of the Ebola patients were infected in the U.S. In 2018, there were only outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. In 2014, an NPR report broke down how Ebola was used by both Democrats and Republicans. Democrats would use Ebola to \"argue that budget-cutting Republicans have deprived the government of the resources it needs to keep Americans safe.\" Republicans used the government\u2019s reaction to Ebola as an example of President Obama\u2019s \"incompetence\" and linked Ebola to border security. In contrast, Ebola was not a topic in the 2018 election because Ebola was only concentrated in two African countries and had a very low chance of coming to the U.S. again, according to the Association of Health Care Journalists. Ebola was not a huge threat to Americans in the United States despite some cases in 2014, but it was used as a political tool in the 2014 midterm elections. Comparatively, there were no cases of Ebola in 2018 in the United States, and it was not used as rhetoric in the elections. Zika is spread mostly through the bite of infected mosquitoes, but can also be transmitted through unprotected sex. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, headache, joint and muscle pain, and red eyes (conjunctivitis). While Zika has a low death rate, it became a larger issue when it was linked to fetal brain defects in infected pregnant women\u2019s children. Outbreaks of the Zika virus have been reported in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands since 1952, according to the CDC. It began to appear more in the United States in 2015 and 2016 because of people travelling from tropical climates and from local mosquitos in Texas and Florida. In 2016, the Zika outbreak hit a peak, with 5,168 symptomatic Zika virus disease cases reported in the U.S., according to the CDC\u2019s 2016 report. Zika sowed division in an already divided Senate but didn\u2019t impact the presidential race. President Obama\u2019s administration asked Congress \"for more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to enhance\u2026 efforts to prepare for and respond to the Zika virus\" in February 2016. It took almost seven months for Congress to approve a federal spending bill to prevent the Zika virus from spreading. The New York Times reported that they voted to advance the funding, despite disagreements between Republicans and Democrats on where the funding should come from. A month later, the bill had fallen apart, with the Democrats rejecting provisions added by the Republicans. Finally, the bill passed on Sept. 28, 2016, with concessions made by both sides. During this congressional tug of war, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both brought up the Zika virus only once during their campaigns. When Trump was asked about how he would deal with the Zika virus while he campaigned in Florida, he said that Rick Scott, the state\u2019s Republican governor, was doing a great job and \"he's going to have it under control, he probably already does.\" Clinton urged Congress to pass a spending bill and \"called for more public education about the virus\u2019 dangers, the development of a rapid diagnostic test, investment in treatment and a vaccine, better mosquito control and abatement, and improved access to health and family planning services.\" While the Zika virus had an impact on Americans in 2016 and showed how divided the Senate was, we found little impact on the 2016 presidential election. The 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is a respiratory disease that has symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. It is spread by airborne respiratory droplets that are released when an infected person coughs or sneezes and can also be spread by touching surfaces that droplets have landed on. Like it says in the name, COVID-19 was discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. It has spread across the world as people traveled to and from China. There are now 647 cases in the U.S. as of March 10, 2020. As COVID-19 has spread in the United States, Congress and President Donald Trump have approved funding to create a vaccine and prevent a pandemic. On March 6, 2020, Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill. This time, the virus has been a major point of discussion for the president and other presidential candidates. A post on social media says \"Every election year has a disease\" ... SARS in 2004; avian flu in 2008; swine flu in 2010; MERS in 2012; Ebola in 2014 and 2018; Zika in 2016 and the coronavirus in 2020. But most of these diseases were discovered and spread before the election years. Some of the diseases never impacted the United States, and never came up as a large point in a campaign. There is some evidence that Ebola in 2014 impacted the election, but otherwise there is no straightforward connection between national U.S. elections and pandemics. The post is not accurate. We rate this statement ."}
{"claim_id": "3578", "claim": "Minnesotans are drinking water contaminated by nitrate.", "explanation": "Years of unchecked agricultural pollution has led Minnesotans to drink tap water that is contaminated with unsafe levels of nitrate, a chemical associated with cancer and other serious health problems.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment, General News, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Pollution", "main_text": "In a report released Tuesday morning by the Environmental Working Group, it was found that one in eight Minnesotans are drinking nitrate-tainted tap water, according to the Star Tribune. The environmental group says Minnesota is on \u201cthe brink of a public health crisis.\u201d Nitrate, a chemical component in fertilizer and manure, is being washed away by rain and irrigation off crop fields and seeping into groundwater. Based on public records from the state Department of Health and Department of Agriculture, the nitrate contamination is far worse in privately owned wells, given they are not required to be periodically tested like Minnesota public water systems are. \u201cI think we would all be surprised how much nitrate is in these wells if we actually tested them,\u201d said Anne Weir Schechinger, a senior economic analyst in the the organization\u2019s Minneapolis office and co-author of the study. Drinking water high in nitrate has been linked to different types of cancer, elevated heart rates and a potentially fatal condition known as blue baby syndrome in which infants are deprived of oxygen. In efforts aimed to stop the use of nitrogen fertilizers, Minnesota implemented at the beginning of this year, the Groundwater Protection Rule. It prohibits applying commercial nitrogen fertilizer in the fall and in drinking water supply management areas that already have elevated nitrate levels. The rule also establishes an enforcement program encouraging farmers to adopt greener practices. Farmers are in full support of the new nitrogen fertilizer restrictions but conservation groups and some agricultural experts criticize the new rule doesn\u2019t address manure or contamination of private wells. Retired University of Minnesota soils scientists Gyles Randall said a big miss in the rule is it only focuses on when commercial fertilizer is applied and not how much is applied. The Environmental Working Group praised the rule as a strong first step, and said other states are watching to see how it\u2019s implemented."}
{"claim_id": "25422", "claim": "A ham and cheese sandwich on one slice of bread is the responsibility of the USDA ... But a ham and cheese sandwich on two slices of bread is the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration.", "explanation": "A legitimate beef with ham sandwich regulations", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Consumer Safety, Regulation, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "In a speech in Shenandoah, Iowa, Clinton made a campaign issue out of a ham and cheese sandwich. She said the federal government \"is not taking the steps necessary to protect us\" because of inadequate inspections of toys and food. She cited this example: \"A ham and cheese sandwich on one slice of bread is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which inspects manufacturers daily. But a ham and cheese sandwich on two slices of bread is the responsibility of the Food and Drug Administration, which inspects manufacturers about once every five years.\" To find out if her sandwich example was correct, we turned to government reports on food safety, interviewed the head of the USDA's food inspection service and studied the government's Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book, a fascinating manual that provides rules for Wiener schnitzel (\"a veal cutlet prepared by dipping in egg, flour and bread crumbs, and frying to a golden brown\") and vinegar pickle (\"sausage in vinegar pickle is approved with the understanding that sausage is completely covered with pickle and that the pickle has a pH level not higher than 4.5\"). The manual also spells out which foods are under USDA jurisdiction. We found that Clinton is correct about the regulation of sandwiches and the big disparity in inspections by the two agencies. In an interview with PolitiFact last week, Richard Raymond, the USDA's undersecretary for food safety, acknowledged that the sandwich rule is silly. \"There is no rationale or logic that I can explain to anybody,\" he said. \"It defies logic.\" He said the rules don't affect the safety of the nation's food supply, but said, \"it's an issue that makes it look like we don't know what we're doing.\" Raymond didn't know the origin of the sandwich rule, but others suggested that the volume of meat might have been the key factor in whether it was FDA or USDA jurisdiction. (The rule only applies to plants that assemble sandwiches for retail stores like 7-Elevens. Sandwiches made-to-order at a deli or a Subway store are not subject to the inspections, Raymond said.) To understand the strange bureaucratic turf of food inspections, you have to go back to the 1906 publication of Upton Sinclair's novel  The Jungle  , which described horrific conditions at meat plants. That book, still required reading in many high school English classes, had such impact that it persuaded Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt to enact a law requiring meat inspections. Roosevelt had called for a law that would require oversight \"from the hoof to the can.\" Since then, the government has put considerable emphasis on meat and poultry, which fall under the USDA. The agency's 7,500 inspectors and veterinarians conduct continuous daily inspections of the nation's meat and poultry plants. The law requires USDA inspections before the products can be sold. But other foods have not gotten the same scrutiny. Most are regulated by the FDA, but the law does not mandate inspection frequencies, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The report confirms that Clinton is correct that, on average, the FDA inspects the 57,000 food plants under its jurisdiction about once every five years. \"There is no rhyme or reason to how we regulate food today in the U.S.,\" said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. \"It's based on antiquated laws and bifurcated agencies. The current food safety system doesn't protect the public.\" Without a mandate for regular inspections, the FDA hasn't gotten enough money to do them more frequently. Smith Dewaal said the agency is \"really starving for resources.\" Her complaints are echoed in a new report from an FDA advisory panel. The November 2007 report for the agency's Science Board said the FDA is so overburdened and underfunded that it can't effectively conduct routine surveillance. \"The nation's food supply is at risk,\" the report said. And so we find that Sen. Clinton has a legitimate beef on ham and cheese. We find her claim to be ."}
{"claim_id": "9415", "claim": "Sleep apnea patient finds rest with implant device: \"It saved my life", "explanation": "Inspire Therapy implant The story focuses on one patient\u2019s experience with a technology called Inspire, which is an implantable device used to treat one particular form of sleep apnea (obstructive). While sleep apnea is a common problem in the United States, the story does little to place the work in context. Instead, the story cites a medical professional who calls it \u201crevolutionary\u201d and a \u201cgame-changer\u201d without telling readers that the doctor is a consultant for Inspire. There is also no objective medical assessment of the device\u2019s effectiveness, as the medical professional quoted is also the treating physician. It\u2019s also not clear why the story came out now, given that Inspire has been on the market for a few years and that the evidence cited is from 2014. We are happy for any patient who has found relief for a medical problem. But the treatment that works for one patient may not work or even be appropriate for others. It is important for any story about medical treatments to offer detailed information about the costs, risks and benefits of a treatment, rather than relying on one person\u2019s story. This is true for any treatment, but especially for medical devices, which are not tightly regulated by the FDA. This story focuses on one person, but tells readers that Inspire \u201cis offering hope for millions of patients with sleep apnea.\u201d The story should let readers know whether that hope is justified, and also provide clarification regarding its potential benefit applies only to individuals with obstructive sleep apnea.", "label": "false", "subjects": "medical devices,sleep apnea", "main_text": "Here\u2019s what the story says in regard to cost: \u201cThe device costs around $20,000 not including the surgery.\u201d This doesn\u2019t adequately address two key points. The first problem here is that an invasive surgery, such as this one, could be extremely expensive. Does it require the patient to be put completely under by anesthesia? Is it out-patient surgery, or would patients have to spend at least one night in a hospital? Details like that can make a huge difference in terms of cost. The second, bigger problem is that the story doesn\u2019t make clear that this is not a one-time cost. Inspire implants can malfunction, and the batteries in the implants will need to be replaced. For example, a 2010 study published in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that, out of eight patients, five experienced device malfunctions more than six months after implantation. There may have been improvements in the technology since that study was published, but there is still no acknowledgment that Inspire\u2019s internal power supply would need to be replaced periodically \u2014 and neither the new battery nor the related medical procedure is likely to be free. Benefits are not quantified. Beyond one patient\u2019s anecdotal experience, the story refers to a study that found \u201c68 percent of patients experienced less sleep apnea after getting the implant.\u201d How bad was the apnea before? How did the compare against a control group (if there was one)? But there is virtually no information about the study, the extent of the improvement, how long it lasted, etc. More detailed information is needed here. However, the biggest concern here is that the story doesn\u2019t make sufficiently clear that Inspire is designed to address just one particular type of sleep apnea. It does say that Inspire is for \u201cmoderate to severe cases,\u201d but that\u2019s pretty vague \u2014 and doesn\u2019t address the core problems here. First off, there are two large classes of sleep apnea: obstructive (in which the airway becomes blocked) and central (in which the brain doesn\u2019t send the appropriate signals for normal breathing). Inspire can only address obstructive sleep apnea. What\u2019s more, it can only address some types of obstructive sleep apnea. For example, Inspire\u2019s website notes that \u201cInspire therapy is not intended for patients with a complete concentric collapse at the level of the soft palate.\u201d What exactly does that mean? How common is that condition? I wish the story had told us. What\u2019s more, Inspire\u2019s website also notes that \u201cInspire therapy has not been clinically tested in patients with a body mass index greater than 32.\u201d In other words, no one knows whether Inspire would work on one of the groups of people at greater risk of sleep apnea. There\u2019s also this hyperbolic quote:\u00a0\u201cThis has been revolutionary. It\u2019s been a game changer,\u201d Dr. Maurits Boon said. Considering the device doesn\u2019t work for everyone, is expensive, invasive, and may cause side effects, it doesn\u2019t seem revolutionary. The story notes that \u201clike any surgery, there is risk of infection\u201d when Inspire is implanted. That isn\u2019t enough. A check of FDA\u2019s MAUDE database reveals patient complaints of slurred speech, difficulty breathing, and the device suddenly activating itself, among other problems. In addition, there are questions particular to the use of an electrical device implanted in the chest \u2014 especially for a condition that is most common among patients who are \u201colder, overweight and male\u201d (as the story puts it). For example, can patients with pacemakers also use Inspire, or would they interfere with each other? Outside of one patient\u2019s personal experiences, and a single, vague reference to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, there is no discussion of evidence supporting benefits associated with Inspire. To be clear, we are not saying this evidence isn\u2019t out there, we\u2019re simply saying the story doesn\u2019t tell us what that evidence is. The story only includes the perspective of one patient with very severe sleep apnea, but never clarifies how many people with sleep apnea have mild, moderate or severe sleep apnea. We\u2019re left to assume it\u2019s a whole heck of a lot of people, because the story says this new treatment \u201cis offering hope for millions of patients.\u201d This lack of clarity adds up to disease-mongering. The story cites only one expert source \u2014 and fails to tell readers that the source is a consultant for Inspire. In fairness, you won\u2019t find that information on the doctor\u2019s professional website. However, it is disclosed in a 2016 journal article by the doctor and one of his collaborators. If we could find that information (with a minimum of effort), we think its omission is a significant oversight. The story does tell readers that CPAP, a widely used treatment for sleep apnea, did not work for the patient being profiled. However, the story doesn\u2019t let us know how often CPAP is ineffective, whether there is any difference in effectiveness between CPAP and Inspire for most patients, or what other treatment options are available. It is clear from the story that Inspire is available. This is a tough one. On the one hand, the story does clearly explain how the Inspire technology works \u2014 which is good. However, doesn\u2019t state how this is different from any other treatment options \u2014 the only other option mentioned is CPAP. If Inspire takes a completely different approach from other treatment technologies, it\u2019s important for the story to come right out and say so. The story doesn\u2019t appear to rely on a news release. In fact, it\u2019s not clear why the story is running now at all. Inspire was approved by the FDA in 2014 and has been on the market for quite some time."}
{"claim_id": "2518", "claim": "Your child's brain on math: Don't bother?.", "explanation": "Parents whose children are struggling with math often view intense tutoring as the best way to help them master crucial skills, but a new study released on Monday suggests that for some kids even that is a lost cause.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "According to the research, the size of one key brain structure and the connections between it and other regions can help identify the 8- and 9-year olds who will hardly benefit from one-on-one math instruction. \u201cWe could predict how much a child learned from the tutoring based on measures of brain structure and connectivity,\u201d said Vinod Menon, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, who led the research. The study, published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to use brain imaging to look for a connection between brain attributes and the ability to learn arithmetic. But despite its publication in a well-respected journal, the research immediately drew criticism. Jonathan Moreno, professor of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, fears that some parents and teachers might \u201cgive up now\u201d on a math-challenged child. \u201cIf it gets into the popular consciousness that it\u2019s wise to have your kid\u2019s brain checked out\u201d before making decisions about academic options, he said, \u201cthat raises huge issues.\u201d  Menon and his fellow scientists agree that their research shouldn\u2019t lead to hasty conclusions. They are exploring whether any interventions might change the brain in such a way that children who struggle with math can benefit more from tutoring. Just as learning to juggle increases the amount of gray matter in the area of adult brains that is responsible for spatial attention, said Menon, maybe something could pump up regions relevant to learning arithmetic before a child begins math tutoring. Until then, he said \u201cit\u2019s conceivable\u201d that parents will interpret the new study as saying some kids cannot benefit from math tutoring, \u201cand give up before even trying. How this plays out is far from clear.\u201d  The study was conceived as a way to understand why some children benefit more than others from math instruction, said study co-author Lynn Fuchs, professor of special education at Vanderbilt University and an expert on ways to improve reading and math skills in students with learning disabilities. For the research, the scientists first ran several tests on 24 third-graders to measure their IQ, working memory and reading and math ability. The children also underwent brain imaging. Structural MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) revealed the size and shape of various regions, while functional MRIs revealed connections among them. Then the children received 22 one-on-one tutoring sessions, spread over eight weeks, for eight to nine hours per week. The tutoring emphasized number knowledge (principles like 5 + 4 = 4 + 5, and that many pairs of numbers add up to, say, 9) and fast-paced mental math (\u201cquick, what is 6 + 9?\u201d). After the tutoring, the children all improved in their arithmetic ability, solving more problems correctly and more quickly. But the amount of improvement varied enormously, from 8 percent to 198 percent. None of the measures - pre-tutoring IQ score, working memory and math skills - predicted how much a child would improve. But when the scientists compared each child\u2019s improvement with his or her pre-tutoring brain images, two connections jumped out. The volume of gray matter (neurons) in the right hippocampus, one of the twin structures crucial for forming memories, varied by about 10 percent in the children, Stanford\u2019s Menon said. The strength of the wiring between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia varied by about 15 percent. Both predicted how much a child\u2019s math skills improved with tutoring, the scientists reported. The prefrontal cortex, behind the forehead, \u201cis important for cognitive control, which plays a role in the formation of long-term memories,\u201d Menon said. The basal ganglia, tucked under the brain\u2019s outer surface, \u201cis involved in habit formation and procedural memory,\u201d such as how to add numbers. \u201cChildren with a larger right hippocampus and greater connectivity between the hippocampus and these two structures improved their arithmetic problem-solving skills more,\u201d said Menon. These brain features explained 25 percent to 55 percent of the variation in improvement after math tutoring, he said. That, of course, leaves almost half of the difference among children to be explained by other factors. Among the concerns raised about the study is its size. It enrolled only two dozen children, on a par with many neuroimaging studies but quite small for research that might influence people\u2019s behavior, said psychologist Scott Lilienfeld of Emory University. \u201cThis is very, very preliminary evidence that brain measurements might tell you something that psychological measurements don\u2019t,\u201d said Lilienfeld, co-author with psychiatrist Sally Satel of an upcoming book, \u201cBrainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience,\u201d that critiques some uses of neuroimaging. \u201cIt\u2019s important to see if the findings hold up in a second sample, and if other labs corroborate this.\u201d  Because brain images seem more rigorous than psychological measures, he said, there is a risk that parents and educators will interpret the study as definitive evidence that some children are doomed to be innumerate. \u201cCaution has to be the watchword here,\u201d he said."}
{"claim_id": "11623", "claim": "Injection to treat alcoholism OK\u2019d", "explanation": "This article highlights a different approach for the treatment of alcoholism, namely a monthly injection of an opioid antagonist in conjunction with counseling or group therapy. The allure of this drug is that the oral medication performs well among those who take it. This may be a welcome treatment regimen for individuals seeking help for their alcoholism. Perhaps because of side-effects or for other reasons, compliance with the pill is not great, so this once-a-month treatment is attractive on the face of it. Unfortunatelly, this story provides little information about the efficacy of this treatment. Trials of the drug showed that about 15% of patients stopped taking the drug during the 6 month trial because of side effects, but the story didn\u2019t mention this. The story also didn\u2019t mention that the trials showed high rates of anorexia, nausea and fatigue among the actively treated subjects. In fact, no details on the clinical trials or the views of experts in the field were provided. The story only included quotes from drug company spokesmen. Finally, while this was an article highlighting a new option for the treatment of alcoholism, no mention was made of established programs for treating alcoholism.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The article may have been a bit naive on the pricing issue. While saying that a drug company executive said the drug\u2019s price wouldn\u2019t be decided until its U.S. launch in late June, did the reporter even push for an estimate? Were drug analysts consulted? In addition, the drug needs to be given as monthly injections in a doctor\u2019s office. The story didn\u2019t include that factor in its too-brief discussion of costs. No mention of the percentage of individuals who could be expected to benefit from this treatment was provided. The potential for liver damage was mentioned, acknowledging that Vivitrol will carry a black-box warning about this. But the trials of the drug showed that about 15% of patients stopped taking the drug during the 6 month trial because of side effects. The story didn\u2019t mention that the trials showed high rates of anorexia, nausea and fatigue among the actively treated subjects. No mention was made of the recently-concluded phase III clinical trials studying the efficacy of this treatment. This randomized controlled trial can be found in the April 6, 2005 issue of JAMA. While the treatment was shown to result in a statistically significant decrease in heavy drinking in men, there was no reduction in the number of days without any alcohol consumption for either men or women. This piece does not appear to disease-monger. A prevalence for alcohol dependence in the US is placed at 9 million with an estimated 2.2 million who are seeking treatment for alcoholism. The story didn\u2019t include any comment from any independent expert not connected with the drug or its maker. The article mentions other medications for the treatment of alcoholism such as oral naltrexone and antabuse while failing to mention acamprosate. The benefit of this new, injectable treatment for alcoholism, which is to be administered monthly, is that it eliminates the challenge presented by the need for daily adherence to treatment. However, there was no mention of Alcoholic\u2019s Anonymous or other treatment programs . It was reported that this drug will be sold beginning in late June which concurs with the information in the company press release. Reported as new treatment for alcoholism; according to the FDA, there is no therapeutic equivalent for Vivitrol. So we\u2019ll give this a satisfactory score. But the story could have asked questions such as \u201cIs this truly novel? Is an injectable treatment that different from a pill?\u201d As much of the material in the article is consistent with the Alkermes, Inc. (drug company) press release of April 13 on the FDA approval of Vivitrol, it would appear that the press release was a main source of information for this story. There is no evidence of information from any other source."}
{"claim_id": "5556", "claim": "Cancer the latest health woe for resilient Justice Ginsburg.", "explanation": "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is resting in a New York hospital following surgery to remove two malignant growths in her left lung, the third time the Supreme Court\u2019s oldest justice has been treated for cancer and her second stay in a hospital in two months.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Supreme courts, Cancer, Health, Politics, North America, U.S. Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Courts, Donald Trump", "main_text": "Worries over Ginsburg\u2019s health have been a constant of sorts for nearly 10 years, and for liberals, particularly in the last two. Ginsburg, the leader of the court\u2019s liberal wing and known to her fans as the Notorious RBG, has achieved an iconic status rare for Supreme Court justices. If she did step down, President Donald Trump would have another opportunity to move a conservative court even more to the right. \u201cWishing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a full and speedy recovery!\u201d Trump tweeted after the court\u2019s announcement Friday. But Ginsburg has always bounced back before, flaunting her physical and mental fitness. After past health scares, she has resumed the exercise routine popularized in a book written by her personal trainer and captured in a Stephen Colbert video. Weeks after cracking three ribs in a fall at the Supreme Court in November, the 85-year-old Ginsburg was asking questions at high court arguments, speaking at a naturalization ceremony for new citizens and being interviewed at screenings of the new movie about her, \u201cOn the Basis of Sex.\u201d Ginsburg will remain in the hospital for a few days, the court said. She has never missed arguments in more than 25 years as a justice. The court next meets on Jan. 7. While it\u2019s hard to refer to good luck and cancer diagnoses in the same breath, this is the second time for Ginsburg that cancerous growths have been detected at an apparently early stage through unrelated medical tests. The nodules on her lung were found during X-rays and other tests Ginsburg had after she fractured ribs in a fall in her Supreme Court office on Nov. 7, the court said. In 2009, routine follow-up screening after Ginsburg\u2019s colorectal cancer 10 years earlier detected a lesion on her pancreas. Doctors operated and removed the growth they\u2019d previously spotted, plus a smaller one they hadn\u2019t seen before. The larger growth was benign, while the smaller one was malignant. Doctors who are not involved in Ginsburg\u2019s care said she may have gotten lucky again, although they caution it is too soon to know. \u201cThis is just luck\u201d that the growths were found through those rib X-rays because accidentally discovered lung tumors tend to be early-stage when surgery works best, said Dr. Giuseppe Giaccone, an oncologist at Georgetown University\u2019s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. John Lazar, director of thoracic robotic surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, said it\u2019s not uncommon to see slow-growing lung cancers in women in their 80s, and they tend to respond well to surgery and go on to die of something unrelated, he said. Ginsburg\u2019s previous bouts with cancer were so long ago they\u2019re unlikely to be related, Giaccone said. \u201cIf she doesn\u2019t need anything but the surgery, it is a very good sign,\u201d Lazar said. Both doctors said patients typically spend three days or four days in the hospital after this type of operation. On Friday, doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York performed a procedure called a pulmonary lobectomy on Ginsburg. The growths they removed were determined to be malignant in an initial pathology evaluation, the court said, citing Ginsburg\u2019s thoracic surgeon, Dr. Valerie W. Rusch. But there was \u201cno evidence of any remaining disease\u201d and scans taken before the surgery showed no cancerous growths elsewhere in her body, the court said. No additional treatment is currently planned, it said. Among other health problems, she also broke two ribs in a fall in 2012 and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. She was hospitalized after a bad reaction to medicine in 2009. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, Ginsburg rebuffed suggestions from some liberals that she should step down in the first two years of President Barack Obama\u2019s second term, when Democrats controlled the Senate and would have been likely to confirm her successor. She already has hired clerks for the term that extends into 2020, indicating she has no plans to retire. ___ AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "2252", "claim": "Scottish government identifies case of mad cow disease.", "explanation": "Scotland\u2019s government said on Thursday that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, had been discovered on a farm in Aberdeenshire, the first in Britain since 2015.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A quarantine area has been put in place around the farm while inspectors try to identify the origin of the disease. \u201cI have activated the Scottish government\u2019s response plan to protect our valuable farming industry, including establishing a precautionary movement ban being placed on the farm,\u201d Scotland\u2019s farming minister, Fergus Ewing, said in a statement. The infected animal did not enter the food chain and food safety body Food Standards Scotland said there was no risk to human health as a result of the isolated case. BSE was first detected in Britain in the late 1980s, spreading from there to other parts of Europe and ravaging cattle herds until the early 2000s. It has been linked to the brain-wasting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) data show that the two most recent cases in Britain were in 2015. \u201cThe epidemic of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in cattle in the UK is largely over but there is still the odd detected case,\u201d said Matthew Baylis, Chair of Veterinary Epidemiology at the University of Liverpool. He said it was too early to say if the case was significant. \u201cIt is described as \u2018classical BSE\u2019, like the vast majority of cases we have seen in the UK. This form of BSE is acquired by cattle from BSE-contaminated food,\u201d Baylis said. \u201cAt this stage, we need to know if it was a very old animal, infected long ago, or if it is younger and there is still an active source of infection on the farm, such as a contaminated feed bin.\u201d  Scotland had been classified by the OIE as a zone with a negligible risk of BSE, a status it may now lose. England and Wales have a higher \u201ccontrolled risk\u201d classification. \u201cWhilst we lose our negligible risk status, it is not unexpected to see a new case and demonstrates the efficacy of the surveillance measures in place,\u201d Andrew McCornick, president of NFU Scotland, said. \u201cThis simply brings us back in line with the rest of Great Britain, reverting back to where we were 18 months ago.\u201d  Britain\u2019s beef exports were banned by many countries after the original outbreak and in some cases it took many years before measures were lifted. China only lifted a ban on British beef earlier this year. \u201cOur current export activity is not affected (by this case) and this emphasizes to the world the effective and robust surveillance systems we have in place in the UK,\u201d the British industry and farmer funded Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) said in a statement."}
{"claim_id": "35037", "claim": "Children's radio host Uncle Don inadvertently uttered a shockingly derogatory remark about youngsters that was caught on an open mic.", "explanation": "Narrator: One lesson an announcer learns is to make sure he is off the air before he makes any private comment. But even the greatest sometimes slip. A legend is, Uncle Don\u2019s remark after he had closed his famous children\u2019s program. Let\u2019s turn back the clock.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Entertainment", "main_text": "In the early days of Snopes.com, I paid a visit to an elderly aunt whom I hadn\u2019t seen in many years and found it difficult to explain to her what I did for a living in a way that she understood \u2014 primarily because she didn\u2019t seem to grasp the concept of what an \u201curban legend\u201d was. I searched my memory for an example of an urban legend that she would recognize, and recalling the time and place where she grew up (i.e., the East Coast in the 1930s), I asked her, \u201cDo you remember Uncle Don?\u201d Her face immediately lit up. She started to say, \u201cI was listening the day when \u2026\u201d My aunt didn\u2019t need to finish that sentence for me to know what she was referring to, of course. Nor did she need to say anything more for me to know that she was about to regale me with her personal reminiscence of witnessing an event that never took place. The \u201cUncle Don\u201d legend was the seminal cautionary tale of the mass communications era ushered in by the advent of broadcast radio, a technology that created the potential for an injudicious remark uttered in an unguarded moment to be heard in real time by thousands of persons geographically remote from the speaker \u2014 with potential career-ending consequences: The affable host of a radio show for children finished telling his last story of the day, wished a good night to all the youngsters in his audience, and sang his familiar sign-off ditty. As the station went to a commercial break, he leaned back in his chair, sighed, and said to no one in particular, \u201cThere, that oughta hold the little bastards!\u201d Unfortunately for the ill-fated host, the engineer was late in cutting to the station break, and the host\u2019s disparaging remark was picked up by the still-open microphone and broadcast into millions of homes. The station was immediately flooded with thousands of telegrams from outraged listeners, and the humiliated host was fired before the day was out, never to broadcast again. Disgraced beyond redemption, he lived out the rest of his life in obscurity and died, an impoverished drunk, several years later. Versions of this tale were familiar to many Americans in the mid-20th century, typically told by someone who claimed to have heard the infamous broadcast themselves, or who had an older friend or relative who did. At the very least, most everyone knew someone who recalled the national uproar caused by the incident or remembered reading about the firing of the hapless host in the newspaper. This legend seems to have been attributed, at one time or another, to virtually everyone who had ever hosted a show for youngsters on radio or television. Adults who grew up in America during the years of radio\u2019s prominence between the world wars tended to name whichever local children\u2019s host they listened to or were most familiar with as the culprit. Those who grew up after television became a fixture in American households were more likely to identify one of the many ubiquitous kiddie TV personalities as the guilty party. In one of his popular books of urban legends, folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand provided a prime example of this phenomenon. After devoting a few pages on the legend to letters debunking the notion that this incident took place on a \u201cBozo the Clown\u201d television show, Brunvand offered his own recollections: \u201cTo tell the truth, I always thought that the host of my own favorite kids\u2019 radio show, \u2018Happy Hank\u2019 (heard in Lansing, Michigan, mid-1940s), had spoken these naughty words into a live mike.\u201d Despite the wide variety of radio and television hosts with whom this legend has been associated, over the years one name has been connected with the alleged incident more often and more prominently than any other: Don Carney, known to millions of pre-television youngsters as \u201cUncle Don.\u201d As broadcast radio rapidly gained in popularity during the early 1920s, commercial stations began creating programming specifically for children, leading to the rise of numerous radio \u201cuncles,\u201d \u201caunts,\u201d and \u201cbrothers,\u201d hosts who related stories and songs and acted out skits with regular characters they invented for a largely preschool audience. These shows typically aired in the hours after school, on Saturday mornings, and in the early weekday evenings. By far the longest-lived and most well known of these children\u2019s hosts was \u201cUncle Don\u201d Carney of station WOR, whose show aired throughout a seven-state area including metropolitan New York six days a week for 21 years. Don Carney, born Howard Rice in 1897, hailed from St. Joseph, Michigan. He left home to join the circus as an acrobat and ended up in vaudeville, where, at age 15, he began using the stage name of Don Carney while performing stock Irishman parts. He traveled throughout the Midwest, performing in various stock and repertory companies before gaining minor notoriety as a trick pianist who could play while standing on his head. After bouncing from job to job and state to state, Carney eventually made his way to New York, where he obtained employment at radio stations WMCA and WOR, working as an announcer, vocal handyman, and stand-by pianist. When a toy manufacturer came to WOR one day looking for a children\u2019s show to sponsor, Carney was tapped to audition for them. The routine he threw together in a few hours impressed the sponsors, and Don Carney soon embarked upon a new career as the beloved kiddie host \u201cUncle Don.\u201d His children\u2019s show made its debut in September 1928 and ran for nearly two decades (until February 1947), airing six nights a week Monday through Saturday. (At various times Carney also read the funnies to his audience of youngsters on Sunday mornings.) Uncle Don\u2019s program was a combination of original stories and songs, jokes, advice, personal messages, birthday announcements, and club news, woven around numerous commercial messages. Even before we begin a discussion of any potential factual basis for this legend, we can already determine that the repercussion aspect of the legend \u2014 the claim that Uncle Don was fired (and, in some versions, replaced with a sound-alike) in response to his alleged careless remark \u2014 is clearly false. Don Carney broadcast day in and day out, six and sometimes seven days a week, starting in 1928 and ending only when he finally stepped down from daily broadcasting in 1947. (Even then, he continued on with WOR as a DJ devoted to playing children\u2019s records before moving to Miami Beach in 1948 and hosting a weekly children\u2019s show on WKAT until his death in 1954.) His show was never canceled, and he was never taken off the air or relieved of his job for any period, until his daily spot was finally discontinued by WOR in 1947. Don Carney was never penalized for anything he said as an on-air radio personality. We also note that not a single contemporaneous account of Don Carney\u2019s supposed involvement in a \u201cbastard\u201d scandal appeared in any major news or trade publication of the day. The only articles linking the name of Uncle Don to this tale did not report it as current or recent news, but rather recounted the incident in the latter years of his career as an occurrence that had purportedly taken place at some indeterminate time in the past (a typical pattern for print accounts of apocryphal events). In fact, we know that this Uncle Don \u201cbastards\u201d rumor is false, and we know exactly how it became associated with Don Carney. It was an extant legend told about a number of different children\u2019s show \u201cuncles\u201d and \u201cbig brothers\u201d in the early days of broadcast radio, and \u2014 in true urban legend fashion \u2014 when Uncle Don eventually became the most famous exemplar of that form of radio host, the story gravitated to, and became permanently attached to, him. We know this because in May 1928, several months before Don Carney debuted as \u201cUncle Don,\u201d the very same story appeared on the front page of the Los Angeles Examiner, related in a first-person account by a \u201cradio station Big Brother\u201d identified only as \u201cJ.K.\u201d:  And within a few years (April 1930), the very same story was published in the entertainment industry trade publication Variety, once again attributed to a unidentified children\u2019s radio host who was clearly not Uncle Don. (Carney broadcast out of New York and not Philadelphia.) Readers at the time would have assumed the announcer referenced here was most likely Christopher Graham, known in Philadelphia as Uncle WIP: His Error! A wisecracking radio announcer in a Philadelphia station lost his job about two weeks ago as a result of a stern reprimand of the station by the Federal Radio Commission. Announcer had concluded a bed-time story for children and thought the power was off. For the benefit of the control room he added: \u2018I hope that pleases the little b______.\u2019 This went out over the air. Within 10 minutes several telegrams of protest, among them [some from] the Federal Radio Commission, had arrived. Others came later in bundles. Note the many aspects of implausibility to this item. It bears a curious lack of detail for a news report of an event that supposedly happened only \u201ctwo weeks ago\u201d: no specific host was named, no particular radio station was identified, and no date was provided, even though the incident was supposedly quite recent. Moreover, it posits that telegrams of protest allegedly started arriving at the radio station \u201cwithin 10 minutes,\u201d as if the show\u2019s listeners (including members of the Federal Radio Commission, who apparently had the facilities and staff to monitor every single program on the air) lived within yards of a telegraph office and had nothing better to do that evening than pop out the door and dash off telegrams of complaint. Unfortunately, once the \u201clittle bastards\u201d rumor was attached to Don Carney, it clung there tenaciously for the rest of his life (and beyond), reinforced by manifestly false accounts which supposedly documented something that never took place. For example, the following narrative appeared in Sidney Skolsky\u2019s syndicated entertainment column \u201cHollywood Is My Beat\u201d on July 24, 1957: \u201cI\u2019ve just run across your reference to Uncle Don\u2019s classic blooper on radio and your bid for the exact story from a reader, who had some connection with the incident,\u201d writes Oliver M. Sayler. It was back in the winter of 1928-29. The station was WOR. I was in the fifth year of my weekly book and play review, \u201cFootlight and Lamplight.\u201d One of Uncle Don\u2019s, programs for children immediately preceded my time on the air. I had no contact with it except, when occasionally, other studios were occupied and I was asked to broadcast in the studio he had used. On this particular occasion, I was to follow Uncle Don on the spot, and I was standing by in his studio, waiting for the late Floyd Neal to sign him off, give the station break and introduce me. Uncle Don twittered his usual cheery wind-up, and then, not realizing that I was to follow on the same microphone, and thinking he was off the air, blurted out: \u201cThere, I hope that\u2019ll hold the little b_______.\u201d Well, he wasn\u2019t off the air! The nation-wide reaction to his blunt statement raised a furor that impaired his celebrated program. Only after a 10-year atonement and the spending of a fortune on his part to conduct a children\u2019s entertainment concession at the N.Y. World\u2019s Fair in 1939, did he manage to return fully to radio\u2019s good graces. But he never again achieved his former vogue. On the surface, this would appear to be a fairly credible account of the incident in question. It comes from someone purportedly in the broadcasting business, working at the same station as Uncle Don, and it describes a fairly specific time and place of occurrence (even if it does rely upon the amazingly fortuitous circumstance of the claimant\u2019s just happening to be in precisely the right spot, at just the right time, to witness the event). However, this account leaves us puzzled as to how a \u201cnation-wide reaction\u201d could have taken place yet remain unreported in any major newspaper, magazine, or trade publication of the time. Where, then, did this national reaction play out? Moreover, a check of the radio listings in The New York Times from the winter of 1928-29 reveals that Oliver Sayler\u2019s \u201cFootlight and Lamplight\u201d radio program didn\u2019t, as he claimed, follow Uncle Don\u2019s show, but preceded it. (\u201cFootlight and Lamplight\u201d aired after the news at 6:15 p.m.; Uncle Don was on the air from 6:30 to 6:55 p.m.) How, then, did Sayler come to be in the studio at the conclusion of Uncle Don\u2019s program, as he claimed he was? Despite the occasional attempts to perpetuate it in newspaper columns, this rumor might have significantly declined in prevalence after Don Carney\u2019s death (or at least been less frequently associated with his name) were it not for a series of popular \u201cBlooper\u201d records that rekindled public awareness of the legend. Starting the mid-1950s, writer and producer Kermit Schafer began compiling several albums of alleged boners, fluffs, and outtakes from radio and TV and issuing them in record jackets deceptively claiming that the recordings contained within were \u201cauthentic.\u201d Although the \u201cBloopers\u201d records led listeners to believe that they were hearing actual recordings of broadcast blunders, much of what Schafer presented actually consisted of fabricated \u201cre-creations\u201d based on (often apocryphal) secondhand sources. In this vein, Vol. 1 of the \u201cBlooper\u201d series presented Uncle Don front and center, in a clip of impossible clarity and audio fidelity which had clearly been staged in a modern recording studio:"}
{"claim_id": "7723", "claim": "Over 20 dead in U.S. polar vortex, frostbite amputations feared.", "explanation": "Tens of millions of Americans braved Arctic-like temperatures on Thursday as low as minus 56 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 49 Celsius) that paralyzed the U.S. Midwest and were blamed for at least 21 deaths.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Warmer-than-normal weather was on the way, but that offered little comfort to vulnerable populations such as the homeless and elderly enduring cold that caused frostbite in minutes and made being outside potentially deadly. Officials across multiple states linked numerous deaths to the frigid air. The death toll rose from a previous 12 after at least nine more people in Chicago were reported to have died from cold-related injuries, according to Stathis Poulakidas, a doctor at the city\u2019s John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital. Poulakidas, a trauma specialist, said the hospital had seen about 25 frostbite victims this week. He said the most severe cases risked having fingers and toes amputated. Among those believed to have died from the cold was  University of Iowa student Gerard Belz. The eighteen-year-old was found unresponsive on campus early Wednesday morning just a short walk from his dorm, according to university officials. Police told a local television station they believed the cold played a factor in his death. The wind chill at the time officers found Belz was minus 51 F (minus 46 C), according to the National Weather Service. Homeless and displaced people were particularly at risk, with Chicago and other cities setting up warming shelters. But many toughed it out in camps or vacant buildings. A 60-year-old woman found dead in an abandoned house in Lorain, Ohio, was believed to have died of hypothermia, Lorain County Coroner Stephen Evans said. \u201cThere\u2019s just no way if you\u2019re not near a heat source that you can survive for very long out in weather like this,\u201d Evans told the Chronicle-Telegram newspaper. It has been more than 20 years since a similar blast of frigid air covered a swath of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast, according to the National Weather Service. The bitter cold was caused by the mass of air known as the polar vortex drifting south from its usual position over the North Pole. Homes and businesses used record amounts of natural gas to fight the cold, according to financial data provider Refinitiv. Utilities appealed to consumers to conserve energy to avoid power outages. In Detroit, General Motors Co suspended operations at 11 Michigan plants to cut natural gas consumption. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV canceled a shift on Thursday at two of its plants. Snow and ice created treacherous travel conditions, with 26 road collisions reported within two hours on Thursday in eastern Iowa\u2019s Johnson County, emergency communications center chief Tom Jones told the Iowa City Press-Citizen. For the second day in a row, the intense cold and windy conditions forced U.S. airlines to cancel more than 2,000 flights. Chicago was hardest hit, with O\u2019Hare International Airport experiencing over 700 cancellations, according to the FlightAware tracking site. Heavy snow hitting Chicago off the Great Lakes was set to begin winding down on Thursday night, the weather service said. More than 30 record lows were shattered across the Midwest. Cotton, Minnesota, had the lowest national temperature recorded early on Thursday at minus 56 F (minus 48 C), before the weather warmed up, the weather service reported. Temperatures in the Upper Midwest will rebound to well above zero F (minus 18 C) on Friday, with highs making it into the teens and low 20s F. By Saturday, highs will be in the 30s and even low 40s F, while the central Plains will be in the low 60s F, nearly 20 to 25 degrees above normal, the weather service said."}
{"claim_id": "14657", "claim": "Nothing was done. I mean, $25 million was spent, but we don\u2019t have that (gun ownership)\u00a0database.", "explanation": "Rep. Loretta Sanchez said in a recent interview that California Attorney General Kamala Harris has done \"nothing\" to address a backlog of cases in a high-profile gun ownership tracking system. The database allows law enforcement to seize guns from people with criminal records and mental illness. \"So the Legislature gave the Attorney General $25 million to match up those people who were felons versus those people who were buying guns. Just a database, so that we could weed out what was going on with respect to those people who shouldn\u2019t be able to purchase guns \u2013 by existing law. Nothing was done. I mean, $25 million was spent, but we don\u2019t have that database,\" Sanchez said. Not only does the program exist, but some progress has been made. The backlog has been cut from more than 20,000 cases to 12,700. That\u2019s after Harris\u2019 office spent $15 million of $24 million allocated by the Legislature and governor. Some continue to argue that the cases should be cleared more quickly, citing the mass shootings that have continued across the country. But there\u2019s no denying that the Attorney General\u2019s Office, under Harris, has put a dent in the backlog, allowing for the seizure of thousands of guns. And that\u2019s far from \"nothing.\" While there\u2019s room to criticize the pace of the program, Sanchez\u2019s statement amounts to a complete misrepresentation of reality.", "label": "false", "subjects": "California, Guns, Loretta Sanchez, ", "main_text": "Critics have repeatedly attacked California Attorney General Kamala Harris for what they say is her slow progress investigating gun owners who are legally prohibited from having them. In 2001, California created the nation\u2019s only database to identify these gun owners, including the mentally ill and those subject to domestic violence restraining orders. It allows the seizure of weapons by law enforcement from people in the prohibited categories. There\u2019s no record of anyone questioning the existence of the database, which has been praised by gun control advocates. But\u00a0a decade after it went into effect, the tracking system has a backlog of thousands of cases. Enter Rep. Loretta Sanchez. The Orange County congresswoman is Harris\u2019 closest competitor for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer. All three are Democrats. Sanchez told Capital Public Radio during an interview in January 2016 that Harris has squandered state resources, and hasn\u2019t even produced a database. \"So the Legislature gave the Attorney General $25 million to match up those people who were felons versus those people who were buying guns. Just a database, so that we could weed out what was going on with respect to those people who shouldn\u2019t be able to purchase guns \u2013 by existing law. Nothing was done. I mean, $25 million was spent, but we don\u2019t have that database,\" Sanchez said. We decided to focus on whether the database exists, and check on how the state funds have been spent. #ICYMI: See & hear the words that put @LorettaSanchez on the hot seat. #PantsOnFire: https://t.co/HEY8WGisUz pic.twitter.com/pBIkGNvYHd  Our research The database is officially called the Armed Prohibited Persons System, or APPS. It was created in 2001 after the Legislature passed SB 950, a Republican-authored bill, in response to gun violence across the nation. It cross-references all handgun and assault weapon owners in California against criminal records. It\u2019s designed to check for individuals who legally purchased or registered a firearm but later committed a crime\u00a0that would prevent them from owning the gun. Law enforcement agents are charged with tracking down the individuals and trying to confiscate their weapons. The database became active in December 2006, according to Harris\u2019 office, or four years before she was elected attorney general. In this Nov. 16, 2012 Associated Press file photo, California Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks during a news conference in Los Angeles. While the database is not public, it is real. It\u2019s been tied to a court challenge and is the subject of reports by the Attorney General\u2019s Office, articles by the press, and letters by gun rights groups and gun control advocates. \"Yes. It does exist,\" said Michelle Gregory, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General\u2019s Office. \"These (enforcement) agents are working these cases every day. \u2026 It\u2019s definitely a lot of work. It\u2019s time consuming.\" \"The database absolutely exists,\" added Mike McLively, an attorney with the San Francisco-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. We asked the Sanchez campaign to explain her claim. A campaign spokesman argued that it\u2019s correct \u2014\u00a0if you add words that greatly change the original statement: \"To date, we don\u2019t have that database as it was promised by the (State) Department of Justice in 2013,\" the spokesman wrote in an email. As a refresher, here\u2019s what Sanchez said originally: \"Nothing was done. I mean, $25 million was spent, but we don\u2019t have that database.\" Still a backlog? It\u2019s a clear misstatement to say \"we don\u2019t have that database.\" But we wanted to see what progress Harris has made reducing its backlog, to better examine Sanchez\u2019s claim that \"nothing was done\" and that \"$25 million was spent.\" In 2013, the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown approved $24 million in additional funds to reduce the long list of cases. It had grown to more than 20,700 at the time, according to Harris\u2019 office. Earlier that year, a Harris aide seemed to suggest that the backlog could be eliminated in a single year, according to news reports from the time. That same year, the attorney general pledged to hire 36 enforcement agents with the money. Two years later, only half as many had been hired \u00a0due to what Harris\u2019 office called \"hiring challenges.\" And while state investigations helped clear nearly 7,000 names off the list, the overall backlog had shrunk by only one-fifth during that time, to about 17,500, according to a March 2015 report by the Attorney General\u2019s office. A sample of the firearms seized through the state's APPS program. Photo courtesy California Attorney General's Office. Republicans in the Legislature criticized Harris for what they said was slow progress. Sanchez\u2019s comments about the database came five days before the Attorney General\u2019s Office issued another report on the program. It said the list is now down to about 12,700 cases, which the office called \"a historic low.\" The report makes clear that the list is not static. More than 20,000 people were added to it during the past two and a half years, while about 7,800 dropped off due to death or other reasons. SOURCE: California Attorney General's SB 140 Supplemental Report of the 2015-2016 Budget Package. The above figures represent the end of fiscal year numbers. *This data represents the first six months of FY\u00a015-16. Since the additional funding was approved in 2013, state agents have removed more than 20,500 people, and doubled the average number of guns seized per year, according to the most recent report. The office has spent $15 million of the $24 million, according to the Attorney General\u2019s Office. The office\u2019s authority to spend the remainder expires May 1, though Harris has asked the Legislature to create a permanent funding stream for the program. Our ruling Rep. Loretta Sanchez said in a recent interview that California Attorney General Kamala Harris has done \"nothing\" to address a backlog of cases in a high-profile gun ownership tracking system. The database allows law enforcement to seize guns from people with criminal records and mental illness. \"So the Legislature gave the Attorney General $25 million to match up those people who were felons versus those people who were buying guns. Just a database, so that we could weed out what was going on with respect to those people who shouldn\u2019t be able to purchase guns \u2013 by existing law. Nothing was done. I mean, $25 million was spent, but we don\u2019t have that database,\" Sanchez said. Not only does the program exist, but some progress has been made. The backlog has been cut from more than 20,000 cases to 12,700. That\u2019s after Harris\u2019 office spent $15 million of $24 million allocated by the Legislature and governor. Some continue to argue that the cases should be cleared more quickly, citing the mass shootings that have continued across the country. But there\u2019s no denying that the Attorney General\u2019s Office, under Harris, has put a dent in the backlog, allowing for the seizure of thousands of guns. And that\u2019s far from \"nothing.\" While there\u2019s room to criticize the pace of the program, Sanchez\u2019s statement amounts to a complete misrepresentation of reality."}
{"claim_id": "18897", "claim": "200 consumer laws were destroyed\" in 2011 when Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 92.", "explanation": "Hundreds of Afghans, weary of war and unsure of the future, have joined a letter-writing campaign to share their feelings with the powerful few who will decide on peace with the Taliban and, with it, the fate of their country.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Consumer Safety, Legal Issues, Wisconsin, Vince Megna, ", "main_text": "The letters from different parts of Afghanistan express a tangled mix of confusion, resignation and fear. \u201cI live in grief but I smile. People think I am brave but I have no choice,\u201d wrote one unidentified person. The letters, part of a project called Dard-e-Dil (a painful heart) are addressed to U.S. diplomats, the Taliban and government officials. They are being written as high-level talks are underway to find a political settlement to end a war that has raged on for 18 years. \u201cI am writing with a hope that we have a better life in Kabul, we live amidst so much tension, I can do nothing to change the situation but I am still writing,\u201d wrote another person from the Afghan capital. The Dard-e-Dil project aims to give ordinary people an outlet to express their feelings at a time when the peace talks among top officials dominate politics, even though the fighting has not subsided. \u201cThe prevailing political uncertainty is clearly the most nerve-racking phase for Afghans, most of us are already battling depression and mental health issues,\u201d said artist Omaid Sharifi, who organized the project. Sharifi\u2019s interest in expressing the feelings aroused by the conflict goes back to his work with ArtLords, an art collective he co-founded that has become famous for the dramatic murals it has painted on grim concrete blast walls around Kabul. His team has installed special letter boxes outside cafes, educational centers, hospitals and government offices, encouraging people to try to deal with their anxieties and voice their opinions about the peace talks in letters. The letters are sorted at the ArtLords studio with the aim of sending them on to government authorities, diplomats and the leaders of the insurgency. More important, though, is the need to help people tell their stories, a basic requirement for mental health, said Sharifi, who struggled with anxiety for years. \u201cEveryone has a right to narrate their story. Some of these stories will highlight and reveal human rights abuses and some will offer hope and solidarity,\u201d he said. Afghanistan has been devastated by decades of war, stretching back to the conflict with the former Soviet Union from late 1979. Violence, instability and poverty have touched virtually every family and many Afghans suffer from mental health problems. However, facilities for treating such illnesses are scarce. Wahid Mayar, a spokesman for the public health ministry, estimated that about half of the population will experience mental stress during their lifetime, a consequence of war often overshadowed by daily struggles. \u201cThe suffering of mental illness in Afghanistan is a silent war. If peace comes then we will have to accept the new normal, but currently we are in a phase of tremendous uncertainty,\u201d Mayar said. \u201cThe prospect of peace brings hope and anxiety. We wonder can peace ever come to embrace us, to calm our minds,\u201d he said. Accurate data on mental health is not available in Afghanistan but the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates more than a million Afghans suffer from depressive disorders and more than 1.2 million from anxiety disorders. The WHO says the actual numbers are likely much higher. Nobody expects the letter-writing campaign to heal the wounds of more than four decades of conflict but it may allow at least some people to start working through their fears and prepare for an uncertain future. \u201cThere are times when I want to run away from my country and then I think I should wait for peace and plan my life here,\u201d wrote one person. \u201cKabul is always the best place to be.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "5589", "claim": "Texas: Evangelical women\u2019s health group owes state $1.5M.", "explanation": "An anti-abortion group that has come under fire for failing to fulfill its promise to provide health services to thousands of low-income Texas women owes the state more than $1.5 million for reimbursement payments that were either inflated or that the state shouldn\u2019t have paid at all, according to state investigators.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Legislature, General News, Abortion, Womens health, U.S. News, Texas", "main_text": "The office of the health inspector general announced Thursday that it had uncovered \u201cserious contractual violations\u201d and was expanding its probe of the Heidi Group, an evangelical nonprofit that started promoting alternatives to abortion in the 1990s, the Houston Chronicle reported. It was founded by Carol Everett, an influential conservative activist in the Texas Legislature, which has passed some of the country\u2019s toughest anti-abortion laws in recent years. A copy of the investigation report obtained by the newspaper shows that forensic accountants found the group had paid medical providers hundreds of thousands in extra fees, had overspent on payroll and fringe benefits, and had expensed thousands of dollars in prohibited costs on things such as food, gift cards, clothing and retail membership fees. The inquiry covered a seven-month period, from September 2017 to March 2018. \u201cIt\u2019s a travesty when you look at all the women who should have been receiving services and were not because of this,\u201d said state Rep. Donna Howard. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about women who don\u2019t have means to afford health care like many of us do.\u201d Texas hired the group in 2016 to help strengthen small clinics that specialize in women\u2019s health but do not offer abortions after Republican lawmakers cut funding to Planned Parenthood. Initially, the Health and Human Services Commission gave the Heidi Group $6.7 million, despite apprehensions because the group hadn\u2019t previously contracted with the state and had no experience serving women in clinical settings. An Associated Press investigation found that the group came nowhere close to meeting its promise to serve 50,000 women. When the group\u2019s clinics started falling short of their goals, officials were slow to move money to higher performing providers. Representatives for the Heidi Group swiftly disputed the findings, contending that the payments had been permitted and budgeted from the start by the Health and Human Services Commission. \u201cEverything we did was according to the contract,\u201d CEO Carol Everett said. Last year, Texas canceled millions of dollars in troubled contracts with the organization. ___ Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com"}
{"claim_id": "10625", "claim": "Drug could fight effects of aging", "explanation": "This story notes that using growth hormone to counteract the effects of aging is controversial and that it is not FDA approved for this use, yet the story mentions growth hormone is available in \u201canti-aging\u201d clinics. The term \u2018anti-aging\u2019 is a misnomer, as there are no proven medical interventions to stop or reverse the process of aging. Federal law states that distributing or administering human growth hormone for age-related health problems or for cosmetic use is illegal. Growth hormone is currently only approved for adults with Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) and for children with pituitary disorders. The promotion of growth hormone to counteract the effects of aging, namely a decline in physical functioning, is not new; however, the benefit of this use has not been established and the long-term safety is unknown. In this randomized controlled study, an increase in physical functioning was reported in the growth hormone group, but we are not told the degree of this benefit, or if the difference in functioning (measured by improved balance, climbing stairs and heel-to-toe walking) between this group and the placebo group was statistically significant. This story notes that diet and exercise are preferred methods of prevention for staying healthy and functional as we age. However, the story focuses on the notion that normal physical decline involved with aging needs to be counteracted with a pill, such as growth hormone. The natural decline in growth hormones with age may actually be protective. The comparison of prescription eye-glasses for older adults with taking growth hormone to improve physical functioning is unfounded and qualifies as disease mongering. Eyeglasses are an intervention to improve a manifestation of aging, i.e. degenerating eyesight, and glasses pose few (if any) risks to physical health. Growth hormone may pose serious risks to the endocrine and cardiovascular systems, and long-term use may actually reduce longevity by increasing the risk of prostate cancer in older men. The only sources of information appear to be researchers who presented their work at a scientific meeting. (There can be problems with such reporting. See \u201cMedia reporting on research presented at scientific meetings: more caution needed,\u201d at: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/184_11_050606/wol10024_fm.html) The story does note that the study was sponsored by Pfizer, maker of the growth hormone drug capromorelin, but there is no independent reporting or corroboration with sources not affiliated with the study.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not provide the cost of growth hormone for the purpose of improved physical functioning in the elderly. The story mentions there was an increase in physical functioning in the growth hormone group, but we are not told how much they improved in physical functioning or increased muscle mass. How big was the benefit? Was it statistically significant? And, more important, was it clinically significant for these people? The story mentions that further study of growth hormone in otherwise healthy older adults is needed due to a lack of safety information, however none of the potential harms are mentioned. We do not know the long-term effects of growth hormone in older adults; however, it may pose an increased risk of prostate cancer for older men and decrease longevity (Vance, M. L. (2003). Can growth hormone prevent aging? N Engl J Med, 348(9), 779-780.). The story briefly mentions the study design: randomization of men and women ages 65-84 to either growth hormone or placebo. The story does not mention how long the participants took the growth hormone, what their functioning was at baseline when they enterred into the study, the incidence of any side effects of the drug compared to placebo, or the degree of benefit achieved from the drug. There was an increase in physical functioning, but how much, and was the difference statistically significant? While the story notes that diet and exercise are preferred methods of prevention for staying healthy and functional as we age, the story focuses on the notion that normal physical decline involved with aging needs to be counteracted with a pill, such as growth hormone. The natural decline in growth hormones may actually be protective. Also, the term \u2018anti-aging\u2019 is a misnomer, as there is no proven medical intervention to stop or reverse the process of aging. The comparison of prescription eye-glasses to improve eyesight in older adults with taking growth hormone to increase muscle mass and improve physical functioning is unfounded. Eyeglasses are an intervention to improve a manifestion of aging, i.e. reduced eyesight, and glasses pose few (if any) risks to physical health. Growth hormone may pose serious risks to the endocrine system, and possibly the cardiovascular system, and long-term use may increase the risk of some cancers in older adults. The only sources of information appear to be researchers who presented their work at a scientific meeting. (There can be problems with such reporting. See \u201cMedia reporting on research presented at scientific meetings: more caution needed,\u201d at: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/184_11_050606/wol10024_fm.html) The story does mention that the study was sponsored by Pfizer, maker of the growth hormone drug capromorelin. Diet and exercise are mentioned as preferred means of counteracting some of the effects of aging, such as muscle loss and health problems of a sedentary lifestyle. The study mentions improved functioning (increased balance, heel-to-toe walking and stair climbing) with growth hormone, but a comparison of growth hormone with a structured exercise program for older adults is not mentioned. The story notes that growth hormone to counteract the effects of aging is controversial and it is not FDA approved for this use. However, the story also subtly suggests it is available for non-approved use. \u201cAnti-aging\u201d clinics may administer growth hormone, but federal law states that distributing or administering human growth hormone for age-related health problems or for cosmetic use is illegal. Growth hormone is currently only approved for adults with Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) and for children with pituitary disorders. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists does not recommend growth hormone to prevent age-related muscle loss in otherwise healthy adults, due to a lack of information on long-term safety: http://www.aace.com/pub/pdf/guidelines/hgh.pdf Promoting growth hormone to counteract the effects of aging, namely physical functioning, is not new. However, the benefit of this has not been established and safety of growth hormone for this use in older adults in unknown. The story does note that this study does not represent a breakthrough in preventing age-related decline in physical or cognitive functioning. We can\u2019t be sure if the story relied largely on information from a news release, although much of the material in the story appears in a University of Pittsburgh news release at the time of The International Congress of Neuroendocrinology, where the research was presented."}
{"claim_id": "34525", "claim": "\u201cClean coal technology\u201d currently makes coal a clean source of energy and helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.", "explanation": "Regardless of one\u2019s view on the philosophical debate about spending money to clean a technology we may begrudgingly have to use for years to come, the fact is that currently, so-called \u201cclean coal\u201d technology can for now do nothing to reduce carbon emissions on any appreciable or significant scale.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Politics, clean coal, climate change", "main_text": "\u201cClean coal, \u201da broad term for technology that can reduce the environmental impact of burning coal, has become a popular political buzzword in the past two U.S. presidential campaigns. To those who promote it, clean coal is a \u201cthird way\u201d that will allow humans to continue to mine and burn that form of fossil fuel in a more responsible way, obviating the need for regulations on the coal industry or heavy investment in green energy. To detractors, it is an expensive marketing ploy selling an unrealized and unrealistic fantasy. Humans have used coal as fuel for at least 4000 years. A combustible rock formed from the chemical transformation of organic plant matter over hundreds of millions of years of burial, coal is a relatively cheap and easy source of energy. Its widespread use powered the industrial revolution, and coal-burning power plants currently provide 33% of all household energy in the States. But for as long as coal has been an energy source, it has been plagued by environmental issues. Burning coal produces hazardous acid rain and irritating particulate matter, and it releases climate-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. From a global warming standpoint, burning coal is significantly worse than burning other fossil fuels, as its chemistry allows for the production of more CO2 per reaction, as discussed in a December 2010 Atlantic article about clean coal technology: Compared with most other fossil-fuel sources of energy, coal is inherently worse from a carbon-footprint perspective, since its hydrogen atoms come bound with more carbon atoms, meaning that coal starts with a higher carbon-to-hydrogen ratio than oil, natural gas, or other hydrocarbons. This situation is especially unfortunate for the United States, since the country has large domestic reserves of cheap coal, and because many local economies depend on coal mining jobs that could be lost if regulations were to make coal economically unfeasible. The intersection of these environmental and economic concerns has made coal mining and energy a polarizing political issue in the United States. \u201cClean coal\u201d is not a special type of coal, nor is it a new technology that reduces the environmental impact of coal mining. Instead, it refers to technology used to clean up the emissions from burning coal after it has already been burned for energy, or technology used to treat coal just prior to being burned. In the context of global warming, the main technology that is cited is \u201ccarbon capture, utilization and sequestration\u201d, defined on the U.S. Department of Energy web site thusly: Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), also referred to as carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, is a process that captures carbon dioxide emissions from sources like coal-fired power plants and either reuses or stores it so it will not enter the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide storage in geologic formations includes oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal seams and deep saline reservoirs \u2014 structures that have stored crude oil, natural gas, brine and carbon dioxide over millions of years. The term \u201cclean coal\u201d was first used by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in 1980s during an initiative they sponsored to demonstrate the commercial viability of technology that could scrub acid-rain creating toxins from the emissions of coal burning. At the time of the initiative, acid rain was the primary environmental concern, and greenhouse gases were an afterthought: The early program, however, was focused on the environmental challenges of the time \u2014 primarily concerns over the impact of acid rain on forests and watersheds. In the 21st century, additional environmental concerns have emerged \u2014 the potential health impacts of trace emissions of mercury, the effects of microscopic particles on people with respiratory problems, and the potential global climate-altering impact of greenhouse gases. The term was, in effect, rebranded in 2007 by an industry-funded group called the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, who were concerned about the prospect of increased coal regulations under an Obama presidency. They made the term \u201cclean coal\u201d a household name through a 30 million dollar public relations campaign touting the benefits of clean coal technology. The problem, though, is that from the standpoint of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the technology (for all practical purposes) does not yet exist on a scale that could be considered at all meaningful. In terms of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration technology, the only projects underway in the United States are pilot studies. These are not viable on larger scale, as the DOE admits: Today, there are commercially available First Generation CO2 capture technologies that are being used in various small-scale industrial applications. At their current state of development these technologies are not ready for widespread deployment on fossil fuel based power plants [\u2026]. Furthermore, there are a number of barriers to the successful implementation of carbon capture technology at coal-burning power plants, as discussed in a report by the British humanitarian think tank the Overseas Development Institute. First, the pace and scale of carbon capture technology is unlikely to overcome its limitations in a time period that would have any relevance to reducing atmospheric CO2: Essentially, coal-powered CCS has yet to be technologically proven as planned even at a quarter-scale. With per-plant investments running to the billions, this stepping-stone from laboratory to full commercial rollout of just the first phase of coal-powered CCS plants is incredibly important and getting past it is going to take years. Although the industry might argue that it is close, it has clearly not yet refined an \u2018off-the-shelf\u2019 product. The investment and time needed to build, test, and learn from projects to reduce costs means that CCS for coal power will not be ready to be commercially deployed at scale for at least a decade. Second, implementation of CCS makes the cost of coal too high to be competitive, and it reduces its output by consuming energy from the power plant trying to sell that energy: To capture CO2 at a power station requires adding a large separation unit, which also requires a significant amount of power to run. Adding the extra process currently doubles the capital costs of a plant, while running the separation process effectively decreases the overall efficiency of the plant by around a quarter. This efficiency penalty means that only the most efficient coal plant (\u2018advanced coal\u2019) can feasibly be used with CCS. Together these mean that adding CCS to a coal-fired plant will make the electricity it produces substantially more expensive than both conventional and advanced current coal plants. These problems were made plainly visible by a recent pilot study of a coal-burning power plant in Canada\u2019s Saskatchewan province that used a nearby hydroelectric dam to power the separation of CO2 from its exhaust. Though early reports painted a rosy picture, a March 2016 New York Times article suggested that the system was affected by a number of critical problems: Known as SaskPower\u2019s Boundary Dam 3, the project has been plagued by multiple shutdowns, has fallen way short of its emissions targets, and faces an unresolved problem with its core technology. The costs, too, have soared, requiring tens of millions of dollars in new equipment and repairs. \u201cAt the outset, its economics were dubious,\u201d said Cathy Sproule, a member of Saskatchewan\u2019s legislature who released confidential internal documents about the project. \u201cNow they\u2019re a disaster.\u201d This is not to say that research into minimizing the effect of the emissions from coal burning is necessarily futile. As discussed in a 2010 Atlantic article, there are two arguments to be made in favor of funding clean coal technology: One is that coal can be used in less damaging, more sustainable ways than it is now. The other is that it must be used in those ways, because there is no plausible other way to meet what will be, absent an economic or social cataclysm, the world\u2019s unavoidable energy demands. The latler argument is a staple of the pro-coal camp, who argue that, like it or not, we are going to have to use coal in the future to supply energy for our country. So why not try to make it cleaner in the process? The push against that argument is well summarized by a comment made by Mary Finley-Brook, a professor of geography, environmental studies and international studies at the University of Richmond in Virginia, to the science news website Live Science: \u201cClean coal does not currently exist,\u201d Finley-Brook wrote in an email. \u201cIt will be expensive to develop and is uncertain (unlikely) to work, depending on what technology is selected. This is moving in the wrong direction from a climate change mitigation perspective. We need energy transition away from fossil fuels, not nice-sounding names to confuse people who don\u2019t know better.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "30001", "claim": "The celebration of Christmas was illegal in the United States until 1836.", "explanation": "For these reasons, the claim contained in the \u201cFor Truth Not Religion\u201d meme is false.", "label": "false", "subjects": "History, christmas, war on christmas", "main_text": "The final weeks of every year see the \u201cWar on Christmas\u201d return to television panel debates and newspaper columns in the United States, bringing (dubious) claims that modern American society has progressively marginalized and turned against public expressions of Christianity. In December 2018, one widely-shared internet meme turned this annual trope on its head, claiming that Christmas only came to be accepted relatively late on in the history of the United States, after a long period of Puritan disdain for what was once perceived as a \u201cpagan holiday.\u201d The Facebook page \u201cFor Truth Not Religion\u201d posted a meme featuring blurred images of \u201cpublick notices\u201d describing Christmas traditions as \u201cSatanical practices,\u201d along with the claim that \u201cChristmas was illegal in the U.S. until 1836 as it was considered an ancient Pagan holiday\u201d:  At one time, in both American and English history, Christmas was indeed regarded as a pagan holiday, but it\u2019s not true to say that the festival was banned in the United States until 1836. Neither the meme itself nor \u201cFor Truth Not Religion\u201d cited any sources, but the two archaic notices shown in the meme provided some clue as to the origins of the claim. The first was a law passed by the General Court in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1659, which read as follows:  Publick Notice For the preventing of disorders, arising in several places within this jurisdiction by reason of some still observing such festivals as were superstitiously kept in other communities, to the great dishonour of God and offense of others. It is therefore ordered by this court and the authority thereof that whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like \u2014 either by forbearing labour, feasting or any other way, upon any such account as aforesaid, every such person so offending shall pay for every such offense five shilling as a fine to the county. Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1659. The second notice read as follows:  Publick Notice The observation of Christmas having been deemed a sacrilege, the exchanging of Gifts and Greetings, dressing in Fine Clothing, Feasting and similar Satanical Practices are hereby FORBIDDEN with the Offender liable to a Fine of Five Shillings. The first notice came from a statute passed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1659, which can be viewed here. The provenance of the second notice is unclear: the earliest instance of it we could find was a 1963 newspaper article that referred to the Atlantic Monthly magazine\u2019s having republished it as part of a subscription renewal advertisement, describing the notice as a 1660 Massachusetts law. Despite this citation, it is not included in various online collections of Massachusetts colonial records, which, by contrast, do contain the first notice. It\u2019s possible that the second notice did originate in Massachusetts in 1660 but was a public advertisement that summarized and reiterated the 1659 law, rather than being a discrete statute of its own. In any event, it is true that the celebration of Christmas was indeed banned in colonial Massachusetts in 1659. That ban was motivated largely by the austere Puritan religious beliefs of authorities in the colony, who objected to the December 25th celebration for two main reasons: because it was originally a pagan winter festival co-opted by Christians and lacking in any Biblical basis, and because it was typically accompanied by merriment and indulgence and therefore was anathema to the Puritan principles of sobriety and hard work. In his book The Battle for Christmas the historian Stephen Nissenbaum referenced the suppression of Christmas celebrations in early New England:  In New England, for the first two centuries of white settlement most people did not celebrate Christmas. In fact, the holiday was systematically suppressed by Puritans during the colonial period and largely ignored by their descendants \u2026 Only in the middle of the nineteenth century did Christmas gain legal recognition as an official public holiday in New England. Nissenbaum noted that the Puritans often pointed out the lack of explicit Biblical support for December 25 as Jesus\u2019 birthday (an issue we have separately examined in greater depth) and emphasized its pagan origins as well as decrying the excess that often came with it: It involved behavior that most of us would find offensive and even shocking today \u2014 rowdy public displays of eating and drinking, the mockery of established authority, aggressive begging \u2026 and even the invasion of wealthy homes \u2026 Excess took many forms. Reveling could easily become rowdiness; lubricated by alcohol, making merry could edge into making trouble. Christmas was a season of \u201cmisrule,\u201d a time when ordinary behavioral restraints could be violated with impunity. The Puritan crackdown on Christmas in Massachusetts had a recent precedent in English history. During the 1640s and 1650s, under the influence of Oliver Cromwell, England\u2019s short-lived republican parliament passed laws restricting and prohibiting the celebration of Christmas. First in 1644, lawmakers passed an ordinance which called for December 25 to be a day of \u201csolemn humiliation\u201d rather than the \u201ccarnal and sensual delights\u201d which had characterized the celebration of Christmas: This day in particular is to be kept with the more solemne humiliation, because it may call to remembrance our sinnes, and the sinnes of our forefathers, who have turned this Feast, pretending the memory of Christ into an extreame forgetfulnesse of him, by giving liberty to carnall and sensuall delights, being contrary to the life which Christ himselfe led here upon earth. In 1647, the English parliament banned the celebration of Christmas altogether, along with Easter and Whit Sunday, replacing them with a monthly day of rest: Forasmuch as the Feasts of the Nativity of Christ, Easter and Whitsuntide, and other Festivals commonly called Holy-Dayes, have been heretofore superstitiously used and observed Be it Ordained, by the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled, That the said Feast of the Nativity of Christ, Easter and Whitsuntide, and all other Festival dayes, commonly called Holy-dayes, be no longer observed as Festivals or Holy-dayes within this Kingdome of England and Dominion of Wales \u2026 However, these crackdowns did not last long. When the English monarchy resumed under Charles II in 1660 (ushering in a period known as the Restoration), laws passed during the preceding 18 years were struck down, and Christmas has been legally and enthusiastically celebrated there ever since. Similarly, the Massachusetts Bay prohibition on Christmas was repealed in 1681, some 22 years after it was introduced. We were unable to find any record of a similar ban on the celebration of Christmas after that date, either in the north-eastern colonies of the 17th and 18th centuries, or anywhere throughout the United States after 1776. Indeed, the emphasis on religious liberty in the 1791 Bill of Rights, whose First Amendment famously bars states from creating any law \u201cprohibiting the free exercise\u201d of religion, means any attempt to outlaw the celebration of Christmas would have been given short shrift. The significance of 1836 appears to be as the year in which, it is widely held, Alabama became the first U.S. state to formally recognize Christmas Day as a public holiday. However, some dispute exists over this date. The earliest record we could find placing Alabama\u2019s legal recognition of Christmas at 1836 was James Harwood Barnett\u2019s 1954 book The American Christmas. However, despite searching news archives and Alabama legislative records, we were unable to verify that the state passed any statute or resolution in 1836 rendering Christmas Day a public holiday. In any event, the claim in the meme that Christmas was \u201cillegal in the U.S. until 1836\u201d is wrong in several ways. First, Christmas was only ever illegal from 1659 until 1681, and not thereafter. Secondly, that ban was limited to the Massachusetts Bay colony and never took hold throughout the United States, which was not even formed until almost a century after the Massachusetts ban had ended. Finally, 1836 was the year in which, according to some sources, the first U.S. state recognized Christmas Day as a public holiday. However, there is reason to doubt the accuracy of that date, and in any case, the series of laws passed throughout the United States in the 19th century had the effect of making December 25 a day off for laborers, not overturning a ban on Christmas Day."}
{"claim_id": "22191", "claim": "Leo Berman Says the hospital listed on Barack Obama\u2019s just-publicized long-form birth certificate denies the president was born there.", "explanation": "State Rep. Leo Berman says Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children denies President Barack Obama was born there", "label": "false", "subjects": "Obama Birth Certificate, Texas, Leo Berman, ", "main_text": "Trying to quell recurrent unfounded claims that he wasn\u2019t born in Hawaii, President Barack Obama released his long-form birth certificate Wednesday. In a White House news conference, the president said he was releasing the document in order to move on from the so-called \"birther\" issue: \"We have to make a series of very difficult decisions about how we invest in our future but also get a hold of the deficit and debt. But we're not going to be able to do it if we are distracted. We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts.\" Nevertheless, Obama said, there will likely be \"a segment of people\" for whom the evidence of his birth certificate is not enough. Indeed, shortly after Obama spoke, state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said he\u2019s still not persuaded that Obama was born in a Honolulu hospital, according to the Texas Tribune. The Tribune reported that Berman, who has filed legislation to require presidential candidates who want to appear on the Texas ballot to present their birth certificate to the secretary of state, \"claims the hospital Obama lists on his birth certificate \u2014 in fact, all hospitals in Honolulu \u2014 have denied the president was born there.\" We followed up with Berman, who told us that two hospitals, including Kapiolani Medical Center For Women and Children, where Obama says he was born, have denied it. He couldn\u2019t recall the name of the other hospital. Asked where and when the hospitals made the denials, Berman told us: \"In several places over the past year and a half,\" but provided no more specifics. \"Neither hospital recognized the fact that he was born there and not only that, but you would think that the hospital that gave birth to the president of the United States would have some kind of commemorative plaque or something.\" Berman also said that \"it\u2019s going to take someone with a lot of money like Donald Trump to take a look at this and see if Kapiolani will admit whether or not he was born there.\" Trump, a possible GOP presidential candidate, has repeatedly suggested that Obama was not born in the United States. Earlier this month, for example, he said Obama\u2019s \"grandmother in Kenya said he was born in Kenya and she was there and witnessed his birth.\" PolitiFact rated that statement False. Responding to a 2008 question about whether \"she was present when he was born in Kenya,\" Obama\u2019s grandmother, who speaks Swahili, at first said through a translator that she was. Then she clearly and repeatedly corrected herself, saying that he was born in the United States. A subset of Obama critics, dubbed \"birthers,\" doubt that he is a natural-born U.S. citizen, a requirement to serve as president. PolitiFact has checked at least five other claims about Obama\u2019s birthplace, finding no truth to any of them. One was a February claim by Berman, who said Hawaii\u2019s governor \"can\u2019t find anything that says (Obama) was born in Hawaii.\" Finding no evidence that the governor said that. We searched the Lexis-Nexis database, which archives news articles, and the Internet, where skepticism about Obama\u2019s proof of citizenship thrives, for assertions that Kapiolani hospital had ever denied that it was the site of Obama\u2019s birth. We found no instances of hospital officials making that assertion. However, we found a Jan. 18 story by World Net Daily, a conservative news website that has fanned the birth certificate controversy, reporting that a former Honolulu elections official had said that Kapiolani hospital has no record that Obama was born there. Two days later, Hollywood reporter Mike Evans, claiming to be a longtime friend of Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie\u2019s, told Minnesota\u2019s KQRS-FM radio that the governor had told him that he had searched \"everywhere using his powers as governor\" at Kapiolani and Queen\u2019s hospitals and that \"there is no Barack Obama birth certificate in Hawaii. Absolutely no proof at all that he was born in Hawaii.\" However, FoxNews.com later quoted Evans as saying that he had misspoken. \"I haven\u2019t talked to Neil since he\u2019s been governor,\" he said. According to Fox, Evans said that he called Abercrombie\u2019s office after reading online reports that the governor couldn\u2019t find Obama\u2019s birth certificate but Abercrombie did not return his call. Obama\u2019s newly-released long-form birth certificate contradicts those reports \u2014 and Berman\u2019s claim. The document says that Barack Hussein Obama II was born at Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital at 7:24 p.m. Aug. 4, 1961. We attempted to reach officials from the Kapiolani Medical Center for Woman and Children on Wednesday and didn\u2019t hear back. But as FactCheck.org reported in its April 9 look at Trump\u2019s claims, Kapiolani can\u2019t legally release individually identifiable health information, which the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) prohibits. Individually identifiable health information, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is information relating to the provision of health care to an individual, or anything that can reasonably be used to identify the individual, such as a name, address, birth date or Social Security number. An individual\u2019s health information can only be shared under certain circumstances, according to the site, such as reporting a gunshot wound to the police. Protected information includes information in an individual\u2019s medical record, and health providers must comply with an individual\u2019s right to decide whether or not health information can be shared for certain purposes. In July 2009, World Net Daily quoted Kristy Watanabe, a spokeswoman at Hawaii Pacific Health, which includes the Kapiolani hospital, as saying: \"Our comment to everyone who has been calling is that federal law does not permit us to provide any more details concerning information about Obama\u2019s birth without authorization from Mr. Obama.\" However, the medical center has promoted a January 2009 letter Obama wrote on White House stationery to congratulate the medical center on its centennial celebration. \"Kapiolani was one of Hawaii\u2019s earliest hospitals, and it has served many generations of Hawaii\u2019s people with distinction,\" the letter says. \"As a beneficiary of the excellence of Kapiolani Medical Center \u2014 the place of my birth \u2014 I am pleased to add my voice to your chorus of supporters.\" The Foundations of Hawaii Pacific Health published the letter in the spring 2009 issue of its Inspire magazine, and the medical center posted video of Abercrombie reading Obama\u2019s letter at the centennial dinner on its website. For CNN\u2019s recent investigation into \"birther\" claims, which aired April 25-26, CNN reporter Gary Tuchman traveled to Hawaii to conduct numerous interviews, including one with Monika Danielson, who says she was in the hospital at the same time as Obama's mother and saw him in the nursery. He also interviewed Chiyome Fukino, who was the state Health Department's director under Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. The bottom line, according to Tuchman: His research \"reveals what most analysts have been saying since the 'birther' controversy erupted during the 2008 presidential campaign: Obama was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961. Period.\" So far as we can tell, Kapiolani hasn\u2019t confirmed that Obama was born there, citing federal privacy law that prevents it from doing so. But we found no record that the hospital has ever denied it, as Berman claims. Nor did the lawmaker provide evidence of such. We have a rating for such statements. !"}
{"claim_id": "26470", "claim": "Facebook post Says Dr. Anthony Fauci \u201cstands to lose 100 million dollars on Bill Gates \u2018vaccine\u2019 for the coronavirus. Because he invested in this vaccine.\u201d", "explanation": "There is no evidence that Dr. Anthony Fauci is personally financially invested in a coronavirus vaccine. The Gates Foundation has pledged up to $60 million for COVID-19 vaccine development, not $100 million, as the post says. Some of that will go to a group that\u2019s manufacturing a potential vaccine developed by NIAID scientists, but not the agency itself. While some studies have found that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could help alleviate coronavirus symptoms, other studies have found the drugs have no discernible effect.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Ethics, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "The country\u2019s top infectious disease expert is discouraging the use of a potential COVID-19 treatment because he could earn millions of dollars from a vaccine, at least, that\u2019s according to a popular Facebook claim. One post published by an anti-vaccine page on April 12 says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), \"stands to lose 100 million dollars\" on a coronavirus vaccine from Bill Gates because he invested in it. \"If everyone can be healed with the Malaria drug and a Z pack, there will be no need for the vaccine if we could use drugs already on the market that helps heal 98 percent of the cornovirus (sic) patients,\" reads the image. \"That\u2019s why he\u2019s been so hesitant to put his seal of approval on this form of treatment that has shown to drastically improve hundreds of people\u2019s symptoms.\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) (Screenshot from Facebook) As a member of the White House\u2019s coronavirus task force, Fauci has tempered expectations for the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients. The drugs, which are used to treat conditions like malaria and lupus, respectively, have shown some promise in alleviating coronavirus symptoms, but the research is not conclusive. PolitiFact has seen a lot of misinformation about public officials\u2019 financial interests in hydroxychloroquine. Fauci has become a popular target for coronavirus disinformation, so we wanted to check out this post, too. The Facebook post draws a  connection between Gates\u2019 philanthropy and Fauci\u2019s public remarks about hydroxychloroquine. There is no evidence that Fauci is personally financially invested in a coronavirus vaccine, and scientists still don\u2019t know if hydroxychloroquine is effective in treating COVID-19. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is indirectly supporting the NIAID by funding a group that is helping the agency develop a potential coronavirus vaccine. But there is no evidence that Fauci himself stands to profit. The Gates Foundation said in a Feb. 5 statement that it is investing up to $100 million for \"the global response to the 2019 novel coronavirus.\" That includes efforts aimed at improving detection and treatment of the virus in addition to vaccine development. \"The foundation will commit up to $60 million to accelerate the discovery, development and testing of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for 2019-nCoV (the formal name for the coronavirus),\" the statement reads. While the Gates Foundation has supported the NIAID in the past, the philanthropy told PolitiFact in an email that it does not provide funding to the agency now, even though NIAID is currently developing a COVID-19 vaccine. During his March 11 testimony to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Fauci said it could take a year and a half to roll out a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine. There are 70 vaccines in development, according to the World Health Organization \u2014\u00a0three of which are in clinical trials. The first trial began in mid-March. The potential vaccine was developed by NIAID scientists in partnership with pharmaceutical company Moderna, Inc. A search of the Securities Exchange Commission\u2019s database, which contains information on publicly traded companies, turned up no documents linking Fauci directly to Moderna. According to a statement from the National Institutes of Health, which houses the NIAID, manufacturing for the potential vaccine was supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a foundation that funds vaccine research. The Gates Foundation said in its February release that it will allocate some of its research and development funding to the coalition. So Gates' money is indirectly going toward the development of a potential coronavirus vaccine created by NIAID scientists, but not to the agency itself. And there is no publicly available evidence that Fauci personally stands to profit from a vaccine. The Facebook post claims that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine heal \"98% of coronavirus patients\" and have improved \"hundreds of people\u2019s symptoms.\" There is no evidence to back that up. With more than 50 studies in the works, there is still much scientists don\u2019t know about how hydroxychloroquine affects the coronavirus. But four studies \u2014\u00a0two from France and two from China \u2014\u00a0have come to conflicting conclusions. One study of 62 patients in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the pandemic, found that those who were issued hydroxychloroquine saw their body temperature and cough go down faster than the control group. But a separate group of doctors in Shanghai found that the drug had no discernible effect on a group of 30 patients over the course of a week. One hospital in Marseilles gave 80 COVID-19 patients a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, an antibiotic. After five days, 95% of the patients tested negative for the coronavirus. But a similar hospital study in Paris found no marked improvement in 10 patients. Bottom line: We still don\u2019t know whether chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine is effective at improving COVID-19 symptoms. That uncertainty, as well as the drugs\u2019 adverse heart effects and the potential for doctors to stockpile it, is why public health officials have urged caution. There are no Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs to treat COVID-19, although the agency has issued an emergency authorization for the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in hospitals. A Facebook post claims Fauci has downplayed the potential use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus patients because he stands to lose $100 million on a Gates-funded vaccine. There are 70 potential COVID-19 vaccines in development, one of which was created by NIAID scientists in partnership with Moderna, Inc. That vaccine is being manufactured by an organization that the Gates Foundation supports, but there\u2019s no evidence that NIAID or Fauci will directly profit from that support. And the Gates Foundation has pledged up to $60 million for vaccine development, not $100 million, as the post says. Some studies have found that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could help treat coronavirus patients, but others have found no effect at all. Public health officials have urged caution due to the uncertainty and the adverse side effects of the drugs. The Facebook post is inaccurate. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "26669", "claim": "Facebook post Says COVID-19 came to the United States in 2019.", "explanation": "The first confirmed COVID-19 case in the United States was reported on Jan. 20, 2020. The patient was a man who had recently returned to Washington state from Wuhan, China. The first reported case of COVID-19 in the world was from Wuhan on Dec. 31, 2019. \u201cIt is very unlikely we had cases in November or December, given what we know about the course of the disease and its later symptoms,\u201d one expert said.", "label": "false", "subjects": "China, Corrections and Updates, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "U.S. cities and states are increasingly taking action to stem the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. On social media, however, some users are sharing theories that COVID-19 has been infecting people in the United States since the fall. \"I remember my family and a lot of you being sick for 2-4 weeks with unknown strain of flu with the same symptoms as covid-19,\" said one Facebook post. \"Now that a team of doctors have been able to identify/diagnose what it is and name it suddenly it\u2019s a big deal. NEWS FLASH!!!! Half of you idiots already had it and got over it!!\" \"U.S. authorities only just started testing for it, and even now testing is severely limited, so in all likelihood, many have had or do have it, and it\u2019s gotten passed off as just a typical cold \u2014 because (AHEM, NEWSFLASH) it IS just a bad cold for the vast majority of people who get it\" another post said. \"The normal cold and flus that we\u2019ve already been dealing with kill thousands every season \u2014\u00a0it just doesn\u2019t get talked about because it\u2019s nothing new and the media can\u2019t use it to panic us at this point.\" There\u2019s no evidence that either of these posts are accurate. Both posts, which have been shared nearly 100,000 times combined, were flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Here\u2019s what you need to know about the history of the COVID-19. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses including the common cold and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), according to the World Health Organization. And they\u2019re zoonotic, which means that they are transmitted between animals and humans. Vincent Racaniello, a professor microbiology and immunology at Columbia University, has said that the likely, distant source of COVID-19 is bats, \"but we don\u2019t know who was between bats and people.\" It could be a direct infection between bats and humans. COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus that was discovered in 2019. It hadn\u2019t previously been identified in humans. As of March 16, 164,837 cases have been confirmed in 146 countries, and 6,470 people have died, according to WHO. In the United States, there are 1,678 confirmed cases. The first COVID-19 case was reported to the World Health Organization from Wuhan, China, on Dec. 31, 2019. On March 13, though, the South China Morning Post reported on unpublished Chinese government data indicating that the earliest case was Nov. 17, 2019, according to the Guardian. Richard Watanabe, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, told PolitiFact that there\u2019s at least evidence that there were four cases in China from earlier in December than the first reported case in Wuhan on Dec. 31. And since it\u2019s a new virus and the early symptoms are similar to the flu, it\u2019s possible cases existed in China even earlier than that, he said. \"However,\" he said, \"in the U.S., it is very unlikely we had cases in November or December, given what we know about the course of the disease and its later symptoms. The first cases in the U.S. were, in fact, travelers that brought the virus from China or other countries.\" Vox recently reported that an analysis of the coronavirus\u2019 genome by Tanja Stadler, a professor of computational biology at ETH Zurich and a molecular epidemiology expert, found that the virus emerged in humans in China in the first half of November 2019. \"The widespread hypothesis that the first person was infected at an animal market in November is still plausible,\" Stadler said in a statement. \"Our data effectively rule out the scenario that the virus circulated in humans for a long time before that.\" The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States was reported on Jan. 20. The patient, a 35-year-old man, had had a cough and fever for four days when he went to an urgent care clinic in Snohomish County, Washington, on Jan. 19. He had recently returned to Washington state from Wuhan, China, on Jan. 15. The source of his infection is unknown, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. We\u2019ve already debunked claims that the new coronavirus is \"simply the common cold.\" These Facebook posts make unsubstantiated claims that many people have been infected and recovered from COVID-19 well before the first cases were documented in the United States and even China. There\u2019s a lot we still don\u2019t know about the disease. But current evidence indicates that COVID-19 originated in China in November and has since spread around the world. We rate these posts . Correction, March 19, 2020: An earlier version of this post had an incorrect date for when the first COVID-19 case was reported to the World Health Organization from Wuhan, China. The story has been updated."}
{"claim_id": "6108", "claim": "Judge rules EPA failing to curb pollution blowing east.", "explanation": "A federal judge in New York has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has violated the federal Clean Air Act by failing to curb ozone air pollution that blows into Connecticut and New York from the west.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Clean Air Act, New York, Scott Pruitt, Environment, Connecticut, Air pollution, Smog, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pollution", "main_text": "U.S. District Judge John Koeltl, in a decision dated Tuesday, granted the states\u2019 request for a summary judgment against the EPA and Commissioner Scott Pruitt for violating the so-called \u201cGood Neighbor Provision\u201d of the act, which requires it to enforce 2008 clean-air standards with state-by state implementation plans. The lawsuit, which was filed in January, is one of several in the past year involving mostly East Coast states seeking to have the EPA regulate out-of-state pollutants. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said as many as two in three New Yorkers are breathing unhealthy levels of smog. \u201cThe Trump administration has repeatedly flouted the law \u2014 and over and over again, we\u2019ve taken them to court and won. We will continue to do what it takes to protect New Yorkers\u2019 health and environment,\u201d she said. New York and Connecticut alleged the air quality there is being choked by smog emanating from Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. \u201cAs a downwind state, our residents have suffered for too long from other states\u2019 lax clean air standards,\u201d Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, said. \u201cThe EPA\u2019s recent failure to hold upwind states accountable is not acceptable.\u201d The judge ordered the EPA to come up with an action plan by June 29 and implement those plans by Dec. 6. \u201cAs we have already publicly announced, we intend to propose \u2014 by the end of June \u2014 and finalize \u2014 by December \u2014 an action that will address any remaining good neighbor obligations related to the 2008 ozone standard for these and other states,\u201d Dave Deegan, an EPA spokesman, said in an email responding to the ruling."}
{"claim_id": "2996", "claim": "South Dakota reports 3 flu deaths, 1st of the season.", "explanation": "South Dakota has reported three flu deaths, the first deaths of the season, state health officials said Tuesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, South Dakota, Flu", "main_text": "The South Dakota Department of Health says the deaths were reported in Deuel and Mellette counties, and those who died were all 50 years or older. State epidemiologist Dr. Joshua Clayton says the deaths are a reminder that influenza \u201ccan be a very serious illness,\u201d and that it\u2019s not too late to get vaccinated for flu this season. Flu activity is classified as widespread across South Dakota. So far, the state has reported 1,555 lab-confirmed cases of flu and 59 flu-related hospitalizations."}
{"claim_id": "32598", "claim": "The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will be reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug in August 2016.", "explanation": "A purportedly credible source reported that the DEA would be reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule 2 drug in August 2016, but the DEA has denied petitions to that effect.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, DEA, FDA, marijuana", "main_text": "In mid-June 2016, rumors began to circulate on social media claiming that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would effectively be legalizing marijuana by moving it from Schedule 1 classification (drugs with no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States) to Schedule 2 (drugs that have a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States), which would pot to be used and researched for medical purposes. A 18 June 2016 article published by the Santa Monica Observer included commentary from an anonymous source said to be a DEA lawyer in which the difference between Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 classifications was explained: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will reclassify marijuana as a \u201cSchedule Two\u201d drug on August 1, 2016, essentially legalizing medicinal cannabis in all 50 states with a doctor\u2019s prescription, said a DEA lawyer with knowledge of the matter. The DEA Lawyer had told the lawyer representing a DEA informant of the DEA\u2019s plan to legalize medicinal cannibis nationwide on August 1, 2016. When questioned by our reporter, the DEA lawyer felt compelled to admit the truth to him as well. \u201cWhatever the law may be in California, Arizona or Utah or any other State, because of Federal preemption this will have the effect of making THC products legal with a prescription, in all 50 states,\u201d the DEA attorney told the Observer. Federal Preemption is a legal doctrine that where the US Government regulates a particular field, State and local laws are overridden and of no effect. He explained that \u201cthere are five DEA schedules. Nothing on Schedule One is ever legal, and that is where Cannabis is today. Schedule Two drugs are available with a prescription.\u201d The article stated that marijuana would be rescheduled alongside \u201cPercocet, Aderall [sic], Oxycontin, Hydrocodone and other drugs that are legal, even common, with a prescription\u201d as a Schedule 2 drug. It continued with speculation that California\u2019s medical marijuana industry would view the move as unwelcome competition: He opined that the 135 medicinal cannabis clinic owners in Los Angeles will no doubt oppose this move by the Federal government, because the rule change will eliminate any reason for people to visit medical marijuana clinics. \u201cIn my opinion, CVS pharmacy, Rite-Aid and Walgreens will sell Schedule Two THC products similar to what users call \u201cedibles,\u201d but will not sell smokeable weed because of the health risk smoking anything entails,\u201d said the DEA lawyer \u2026 He speculated that this action will be taken in the closing days of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, so as to motivate the Democratic base to turn out and vote for Hillary Clinton[.] The item was popular among residesnts of states without flexible medical marijuana policies, as it suggested that the sale of weed lozenges at CVS was on the horizon, but remarks\u00a0about the change being election year maneuvering bordered on conspiracy theory. And\u00a0not everyone was convinced the anonymous source was credible \u2014 a post on the Daily Chronic blog expressed considerable skepticism of the assertion: Shouldn\u2019t we be excited? Not quite, as this \u201cnews\u201d is unlikely to be true. The entire article \u2014 which has since been cited as fact by several pro-cannabis blogs \u2014 is speculation and rumor from a source that is identified only as \u201cThe DEA Lawyer.\u201d According to the second paragraph of the article, \u201cThe DEA Lawyer had told the lawyer representing a DEA informant of the DEA\u2019s plan to legalize medicinal cannibis [sic] nationwide on August 1, 2016.\u201d This, the second paragraph of the article, should be as far as anyone needs to read to realize that this article is hastily written, poorly researched, and simply speculation or a rumor, including the misspelling of \u201ccannabis\u201d and a poorly worded sentence structure. Throughout the Observer\u2019s article, the sole source of this information is only ever referred to as an attorney who wishes to remain anonymous. Reputable journalists rarely use an anonymous source as the sole source of information because they simply can not be properly vetted. According to guidelines issued by the Associated Press (AP), one of the world\u2019s largest news organizations, articles must be properly vetted before publication \u2014 including requiring more than one source. In rare cases, one source will be sufficient \u2013 but only when the information comes from an authoritative figure who provides information so detailed that there is no question of its accuracy, according to the AP. For example, a press release issued by the DEA, or a statement from a DEA spokesperson, but not an anonymous attorney acting as the sole source of information. That marijuana-centric outlet decried the swift circulation of the rumor-as-fact across social media and cannabis blogs: [E]ven more reputable sites such as marijuana.com were also fooled, although they took a slightly more cautious approach with their headline, \u201cDEA Attorney Claims Feds Will Reschedule Marijuana This Summer.\u201d But does this mean that the DEA won\u2019t reschedule cannabis? No. In April, the DEA said they were prepared to respond to an administrative petition calling for the reclassification of marijuana, a petition that was launched in 2011. Replying to a July 2015 inquiry by US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and seven other senators, representatives from the DEA acknowledged that they intend to respond to a five-year-old rescheduling petition, filed by then Governors Christine Gregoire of Washington and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. The DEA\u2019s response is expected by July 1. The DEA last decided on a similar rescheduling petition in 2011. The agency rejected that petition, alleging, \u201cAt this time, the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy.\u201d On 17 June 2016, business site Inc. addressed what such a change might mean for the fledgling cannabis industry, noting that marijuana\u2019s rescheduling would subject many businesses to a change in regulation and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight: If marijuana becomes a Schedule II drug, the FDA would subject companies to intense inspections and testing. Companies would need to get their packaging and labeling approved by the FDA; the Federal Trade Commission would be there to ensure companies don\u2019t sink to unfair or deceptive marketing and advertising practices. If marijuana was de-scheduled, and placed into the same category of alcohol and tobacco, it would fall under the purview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. That has its own maw of legal hoops to maneuver. \u201cIf the FDA came out and said we are making cannabis Schedule II and the entire industry didn\u2019t change, the whole industry would be illegally trafficking a Schedule II substance,\u201d says Hank Levy, a CPA for marijuana companies, including Harborside, one of the largest dispensaries in the nation. Simply put, the industry as it stands today would not be legal under a whole set of other laws. \u201cI don\u2019t see Schedule II as being any help here for the existing cannabis industry at all,\u201d says Ittleman, who notes that the changes likely open the door to big pharmaceutical companies that have the experience manufacturing Schedule II controlled substances. \u201cThis is the red carpet for Purdue Pharma and Pfizer to enter the industry,\u201d adds Ittleman. The Denver Post (based in Colorado, where marijuana is currently legal for recreational use) ran an editorial surmising that states with laws allowing for broader use of legal cannabis would suffer fiscal losses under a rescheduling of the substance: If the DEA keeps marijuana on Schedule I, the federal government risks continued suffering by those with true medical ailments and continued lack of scientific study. The DEA would be wildly out of step with rapidly changing public opinion. If the DEA de-schedules marijuana, big tobacco companies could take over, and the fears of many anti-marijuana advocates would be realized. Rescheduling marijuana for medical/prescription use, but shutting down the state recreational side, would result in unintended negative consequences. Because prescriptions are not taxed, state and local jurisdictions would lose millions of dollars in tax revenues. Colorado collected nearly $135 million in medical and recreational marijuana taxes and license fees in 2015 on a combined medical and recreational market of nearly $1 billion. With a prescription-only industry, states would lose their current marijuana-related jobs to existing pill-manufacturing companies. Claims that marijuana would move from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 on 1 August 2016 initially excited folks in states without laws allowing for medical or recreational use of the substance, but the claims were made by an anonymous source to a small community newspaper. And in August 2016 the DEA dashed those hopes by announcing they had declined two rescheduling petitions:  DEA has denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In response to the petitions, DEA requested a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which was conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in consultation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Based on the legal standards in the CSA, marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance because it does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision, and it has a high potential for abuse. In his letter to the petitioners, DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg offered a detailed response outlining the factual and legal basis for the denial of the petitions. The full responses to the petitions can be found in the Federal Register. Response 1 AND Response 2  The DEA and the FDA continue to believe that scientifically valid and well-controlled clinical trials conducted under investigational new drug (IND) applications are the most appropriate way to conduct research on the medicinal uses of marijuana. Furthermore, DEA and FDA believe that the drug approval process is the most appropriate way to assess whether a product derived from marijuana or its constituents is safe and effective and has an accepted medical use. This pathway allows the FDA the important ability to determine whether a product meets the FDA criteria for safety and effectiveness for approval."}
{"claim_id": "14836", "claim": "There is a federal criminal law that says it's a crime to transport dentures across state lines.", "explanation": "Goodlatte said it\u2019s a federal crime \"to transport dentures across state lines.\" He made the statement while promoting a bill that would repeal what he considers to be unnecessary laws. A 73-year-old federal law does make it a crime for non-dentists who make false teeth to ship their wares out of state. But it doesn\u2019t restrict citizens from wearing their dentures wherever they go. The congressman didn\u2019t mention that. So Goodlatte\u2019s claim is accurate but needs a clarification.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Public Health, Virginia, Bob Goodlatte, ", "main_text": "Our jaws dropped when U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte called for the repeal of a federal law banning the transport of dentures across state lines. Does such a law really exist? Goodlatte, R-6th, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, made the statement during a Nov. 24 radio interview on \"The John Fredericks Show\" in Portsmouth. He was touting a bill his committee passed Nov. 18 that would strike a number of what he considers to be superfluous laws. \"There is a federal criminal law that says it\u2019s a crime to transport dentures across state lines,\" he said. \"So we\u2019re getting rid of that.\" Seeking more information, we contacted Beth Breeding, Goodlatte\u2019s communications director. She pointed us to a section of the U.S. code called the Federal Denture Act of 1942. It\u2019s a murky law, and we had trouble finding experts who know about it. It turns out that some states have laws that only dentures provided by licensed dentists can be sold within their borders, and other states don\u2019t have that mandate. The federal law says its purpose is to protect the integrity of state laws requiring dentist-made false teeth and to promote good oral health. Those who violate the law can be charged criminally or reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We wondered how often people have been charged with the federal crime. Peter Carr, a Justice Department spokesman, told us his department looked back over the past decade, starting in 2004, and could not find records of any charges being filed under the provision. If no one is being prosecuted, is there still any value in having the law? The answer depends on who makes the dentures. Maria Lopez Howell, a consumer adviser with the American Dental Association, said the law protects people by making sure their dentures are provided by someone \"who has been trained to do this very customized work.\" On the other side of the fence are denturists - technicians who have been trained in making dentures but do not have medical degrees. Paul M. Levasseur, secretary of the National Denturist Association, called the restriction on interstate transport of false teeth \"a strange law.\" \"While I've never heard of anyone being prosecuted, it is probably a case of protectionism by organized dentistry,\" Levasseur said in an email. The New York Times documented the dispute between dentists and denturists in 2007. Denturists said they were highly trained and sometimes work under the supervision of a dentist. The ADA said the technicians aren\u2019t trained to diagnose mouth diseases or to spot broken roots of teeth, which can cause harm if not corrected before dentures are inserted. All of this debate, however, ignores a more basic question: Can grandpa wear his false teeth across state lines without the risk of prosecution? The answer is yes. \"If you have a family member who has dentures, they can still travel across the United States without any consequences,\" Howell said. Levasseur told us, \"I believe this deals with commerce not individuals.\" Our ruling Goodlatte said it\u2019s a federal crime \"to transport dentures across state lines.\" He made the statement while promoting a bill that would repeal what he considers to be unnecessary laws. A 73-year-old federal law does make it a crime for non-dentists who make false teeth to ship their wares out of state. But it doesn\u2019t restrict citizens from wearing their dentures wherever they go. The congressman didn\u2019t mention that. So Goodlatte\u2019s claim is accurate but needs a clarification. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "25853", "claim": "\u201cFlorida is doing over five times better\u201d than New Jersey and New York in COVID-19 deaths per million people.", "explanation": "The claim is accurate on one measure \u2014 the number of COVID-19 deaths per capita for the duration of the outbreak. But the claim is that Florida is doing well now, when in fact deaths are on the rise.", "label": "false", "subjects": "New Jersey, Public Health, Florida, Facebook Fact-checks, New York, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "A Facebook post that argues that Florida compares favorably with New Jersey and New York in the rate of COVID-19 deaths has a point. But it\u2019s misleading, and there is much more to the story. \"This is a time-sensitive and difficult metric,\" Dr. Myron Cohen, an epidemiologist and director of Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina, told PolitiFact. \"You do not know the true denominator \u2014 death rate versus number of people infected \u2014 and you cannot see forward. Any discussions such as these lack proper context.\" The July 26 post, from a Facebook user with more than 1.4 million followers, says: \"Despite all the fake, negative media hype, as of posting this the Covid death count per 1 million population: \"NJ: 1,787 NY: 1,680 Florida: 273 \"Florida is doing over 5 TIMES better in deaths, yet media tells the opposite story because they protect Democrats.\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The Facebook user, saying the media highlights that Florida\u2019s COVID-19 cases are surging, cited a table of Worldometer data. When we checked the site\u2019s state data on July 29, we found that Florida\u2019s death rate was one-sixth of New Jersey\u2019s and New York\u2019s. The same was true on other databases we checked, including one from Johns Hopkins University. But it\u2019s a limited measure, bearing on a state that became a hotspot well after New York and New Jersey. Here\u2019s what news reports said about Florida\u2019s record-breaking coronavirus surge in the days before the post: Florida had the highest single-day total of new cases by any state, with more than 15,000 new infections. There were 872 deaths in one week, the highest weekly total in the Sunshine State during the outbreak. Florida was among the 21 states with outbreaks serious enough to place them in the \"red zone,\" according to a federal report. For a larger perspective, among the 20 countries currently most affected by COVID-19, the United States has the fourth-highest death rate per 100,000 people, behind the United Kingdom, Peru and Chile, according to Johns Hopkins University. Timing is a big reason why the statistic cited in the Facebook post is misleading. New Jersey and New York were hit hard early in the pandemic, and Florida was hit later. \"One has to wait until all is over to really see how \u2018well\u2019 states have been doing,\" Dr. Werner Bischoff, professor of infectious diseases at Wake Forest University, told PolitiFact. As of July 30, Florida recorded 988 COVID-19 deaths in the previous seven days, compared with 91 in New Jersey and 114 in New York, according to the New York Times. Death counts and rates are lagging indicators, which means they can confirm a trend after the fact, but can\u2019t necessarily predict the course of the outbreak. \"While cases started to increase exponentially in Florida in June, deaths only started to increase exponentially in July,\" Boston University global health professor Brooke Nichols told PolitiFact. \"The only way to compare these types of death rates meaningfully would be once we are several months after Florida\u2019s first wave \u2014 and compare that to several months after the first wave in New York and New Jersey,\" she said. Nichols gave an example. On April 4, when the first wave of cases in New York peaked, the state had 237 deaths per 1 million population. Using July 16 as a peak in cases for Florida, the death rate was 223 deaths per million. \"Those two numbers are eerily similar, and a foreshadow of what\u2019s to come in Florida,\" Nichols said. The Facebook post said \"Florida is doing over 5 TIMES better in deaths\" than New York and New Jersey. For a statement that contains only an element of truth."}
{"claim_id": "41939", "claim": "We have no [trade] deficit [with Canada], but that doesn't include energy and timber. But when you do we lose $17 billion a year.\" ", "explanation": "This Sunday in South Africa, an accountant, an entrepreneur and a boxing executive are among 20 friends running the Cape Town marathon - with saplings strapped to their backs.", "label": "false", "subjects": " North American Free Trade Agreement, trade, ", "main_text": "The group are promoting the planting of native trees amid a nationwide push to replace invasive species with indigenous one to cope with drought and climate change. Last year, Cape Town suffered its worst drought in a century, nearly running out of water and forcing authorities to enforce severe water rationing and set up public water points. Spooked businesses put $3.7m into a fund to eradicate invasive water-hungry trees around Cape Town, a move that would top up reservoirs with billions of liters of water. Activist and treegrower Siyabulela Sokomani, who is running carrying a wild olive, said the group of friends is raising cash to plant 2,000 trees in Khayelitsha, one of Cape Town\u2019s biggest townships, where many of them come from. The 34-year-old entrepreneur attended school there and was  inspired by a teacher who started an environmental club. \u201cThere were no trees in the township where I grew up,\u201d he said. Now Sokomani has tattoos of his favorites - the Coral Tree, Speckboom and Acacia - twining across his shoulder. The Speckboom is a favorite at Sokomani\u2019s Shoots and Roots nursery. Spekboom can grow almost anywhere and absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere faster than most other trees in dry conditions, the United Nations says. Last year Sokomani went back to his school to plant 67 trees on Mandela Day, symbolizing the 67 years that Mandela spent in public service. He co-founded Township Farmers in 2017 to teach children about agriculture and plant trees in schools. From 2001 to 2018, South Africa lost 1.34 million hectares of tree cover, equivalent to a 22% decrease since 2000, according to Global Forest Watch, a monitoring organization run the Washington-based thinktank World Resource Institute."}
{"claim_id": "5588", "claim": "Ohio abortion clinic lands license needed to stay open.", "explanation": "The Dayton area\u2019s last abortion clinic has prevailed in a years-long battle over Ohio\u2019s stringent new licensing requirements and will remain open.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Dayton, Health, General News, Abortion, Ohio", "main_text": "The Ohio Department of Health has granted Women\u2019s Med Center a surgical facility license. The center in Kettering had postponed surgical abortions as it pursued multiple avenues to stay open, including state and federal court challenges and negotiations with local health systems and doctors. After being unable to land the legally required emergency patient-transfer agreement, the center secured enough doctor signatures for a variance. Ohio Right to Life, the state\u2019s largest anti-abortion group, said it\u2019s disappointed the state has licensed a facility that\u2019s skirted laws for years that are intended to protect women. NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, an abortion-rights group, said Ohio\u2019s restrictive abortion laws are not medically necessary."}
{"claim_id": "27017", "claim": "If Cory Gardner gets his way, you'd better stock up on condoms.", "explanation": "The ad claims that \"if Cory Gardner gets his way, you'd better stock up on condoms.\" The most obvious interpretation of this statement is that Gardner wants to ban condoms -- something that\u2019s based on an incorrect interpretation of the measures Gardner has supported in the past (and which he has since distanced himself from). Gardner says he doesn\u2019t support banning condoms, and in any case, condoms would not be at issue under the personhood measure he once supported.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, National, NARAL Pro-Choice America, ", "main_text": "Even amid a torrent of campaign ads during the waning days of the 2014 midterm election cycle, a new television ad in Colorado\u2019s tight Senate race certainly stands out. It addresses a topic -- abortion and birth control -- that have recurred often in the campaign between incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and Republican Rep. Cory Gardner. But the imagery, and the claim, make the ad unusual. The ad shows footage of a young, partially dressed couple in a bed, with the man reaching for a condom on the night table. \"Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys!\" the narration says. \"If Cory Gardner gets his way, you'd better stock up on condoms.\" In bold type, the ad offers a visual saying, \"Gardner: Ban birth control.\" The ad\u2019s sponsors -- the abortion-rights groups NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado -- frame the ad as an \"edgy\" attempt to reach young voters. (The ad also makes claims about climate change, but we won\u2019t address those in this fact-check.) How accurate is the claim about condoms? We have previously addressed claims on Gardner and birth control, but this one is slightly different, so we\u2019ll take a closer look. First, here\u2019s what the Gardner campaign said when we asked about the ad. \"Cory does not want to ban condoms,\" said campaign spokesman Alex Siciliano. \"In fact, he believes in increased access to contraceptives. He has proposed making common forms of oral contraception available over the counter.\" So where does the ad get its evidence from? Past claims about Gardner and birth control have stemmed from his support of efforts to support \"personhood\" measures that would define life beginning at fertilization to the Colorado Constitution. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Gardner co-sponsored H.R. 1091, known formally as the Life At Conception Act and informally as a \"personhood\" bill. The bill was introduced April 8, 2013, by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. According to the bill text, it would \"implement equal protection for the right to life of each born and preborn human person\" and \"declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being.\" It goes on to say that \"\u00a0'human person'\u00a0and 'human being'\u00a0include each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.\" Opponents of personhood legislation say that giving a fertilized egg all the rights of person could make illegal several FDA-approved contraceptives, such as the pill and intrauterine devices, or IUDs. Anti-abortion groups successfully petitioned to get personhood measures on the Colorado ballot in 2008 and 2010. Both times it was rejected by more than 70 percent of voters. As we have noted in the past, we can\u2019t predict how the courts would interpret personhood legislation or their impacts on forms of birth control that are currently legal. Though even Gardner acknowledges that some contraceptives could be at risk if personhood passed, a lot of legal ambiguity remains. Because no state has passed a personhood measure, we don\u2019t know how it could impact specific types of contraceptives. As we\u2019ve noted in past articles about the debate over personhood, some legal scholars and the medical community have cautioned that it could potentially impact access to birth control. Gardner\u2019s critics may have a point that some forms of birth control could be outlawed if personhood measures became law -- but that shouldn\u2019t affect condoms. That\u2019s because condoms prevent sperm from reaching the egg in the first place. No fertilization ever takes place. In a further twist, Gardner made a major about-face during the 2014 campaign, saying he no longer supports the personhood movement, partly because he now thinks it could potentially impact access to certain forms of birth control. \"The fact that it restricts contraception, it was not the right position,\" Gardner told The Denver Post. \"I've learned to listen. I don't get everything right the first time.\" Gardner has also said that if the Affordable Care Act is not repealed, he wants to allow the birth control pill to be sold over-the-counter without a prescription. Udall\u2019s campaign said he supports allowing over-the-counter sales of the pill as long as insurance companies are still mandated to cover it without any cost sharing. Finally, Gardner\u2019s campaign notes that in 2007, he was one of five to cosponsor an anti-abortion measure in Colorado that specified that \"nothing in this section shall prohibit the sale, use, prescription or administration of a contraceptive measure, device, drug or chemical.\" This bill, his campaign said, demonstrates that Gardner is not anti-contraceptive. The ad\u2019s sponsors didn\u2019t get back to PolitiFact, but Doug Gordon, a spokesman for NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, told our friends at FactCheck.org that \"we're not saying he is banning condoms. We are saying if Gardner starts limiting other forms of birth control, you better stock up on condoms because there will be so much demand for them \u2014 since Gardner wants to ban other forms of birth control.\" While an affiliated radio ad does make that argument, the television ad doesn\u2019t say that. It seems much more plausible to us that viewers of the TV ad would assume that Gardner wants to ban birth control, period. Our ruling The ad claims that \"if Cory Gardner gets his way, you'd better stock up on condoms.\" The most obvious interpretation of this statement is that Gardner wants to ban condoms -- something that\u2019s based on an incorrect interpretation of the measures Gardner has supported in the past (and which he has since distanced himself from). Gardner says he doesn\u2019t support banning condoms, and in any case, condoms would not be at issue under the personhood measure he once supported. We rate this claim !"}
{"claim_id": "29568", "claim": "Several widely-available cheeses are partially made from wood.", "explanation": "What's true: The percentage total of the ingredient cellulose in some cheeses attracted the attention and ire of the Food and Drug Administration. What's false: Cheese is made from actual wood, wood pulp, or anything people would recognize as wood-related in its raw state. What's undetermined: The pervasiveness of overuse of cellulose in cheese.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Food, bloomberg businessweek, carboxymethylcellulose, cellulose", "main_text": "In February 2016, multiple outlets prompted consumer concern with claims\u00a0that the Food and Drug Administration discovered wood in many mass-market cheeses, including some higher-end varieties. The rumor wasn\u2019t due to poor reading comprehension, as multiple headlines left the impression that ordering cheese on your burger could lead to a mouthful of splinters:    This cheese company has been putting wood in their parmesan for 30 yearshttps://t.co/75k2AFl6V3 \u2014 NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 18, 2016 Wood in your Parmesan? How to make sure you\u2019re getting the real cheese https://t.co/Fc26zvCRaQ pic.twitter.com/GBaD5Fdxqc \u2014 TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 18, 2016  FDA discovers that \u2018100% real\u2019 Parmesan cheese you\u2019re eating may be wood: https://t.co/aA1fDDRUyb pic.twitter.com/zMJQQFi4RX \u2014 PCMag (@PCMag) February 18, 2016  \u201cWood,\u201d \u201cwood in parmesan,\u201d and \u201ccheese \u2026 may be wood\u201d weren\u2019t very ambiguous ways to describe the claim. On 17 February 2016, USA Today published an article that claimed: Parmesan cheese or wood pulp? Chances are when you sprinkle parmesan on your spaghetti you may be getting a little of both. \u2026 while the idea of eating a product that contains wood pulp doesn\u2019t seem appetizing, you probably do it more than you think. That item cited\u00a0Bloomberg Businessweek, the outlet that apparently kicked off the flurry of wood\u00a0worry. After mentioning a 2012 FDA investigation, the site reported they\u2019d done their own independent testing for \u201cwood pulp\u201d in several cheeses: How serious is the problem? Bloomberg News had store-bought grated cheese tested for wood-pulp content by an independent laboratory\u00a0\u2026\u00a0Essential Everyday 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, from Jewel-Osco, was 8.8 percent cellulose, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc.\u2019s Great Value 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese registered 7.8 percent, according to test results. Whole Foods 365 brand didn\u2019t list cellulose as an ingredient on the label, but still tested at 0.3 percent. Kraft had 3.8 percent. Some of the less sensational aspects of that article\u00a0provided a clearer picture of the actual controversy. Bloomberg Businessweek\u00a0clarified the ingredient in question was actually cellulose (not \u201cwood pulp\u201d per se) and that blending of lesser cheeses was part of the overall dispute: Some grated Parmesan suppliers have been mislabeling products by filling them with too much cellulose, a common anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp, or using cheaper cheddar, instead of real Romano. Someone had to pay. Castle President Michelle Myrter is scheduled to plead guilty this month to criminal charges. She faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Although most outlets referenced \u201ccellulose,\u201d the FDA\u2019s list of food additives generally recognized as safe primarily listed\u00a0carboxymethylcellulose (cellulose gum) as an approved additive in cheese production, which isn\u2019t necessarily made from wood. The FDA said: Cellulose is a major constituent of many foods of plant origin. As such it is a significant portion of the diet, but is neither degraded nor absorbed. Cellulose derivatives considered in this report are virtually unabsorbed and little or no degradation of absorbable products occurs in the human digestive tract. In man, consumption of large amounts appears to have no effect other than providing dietary bulk, reducing the nutritive value of such foodstuffs and possibly exerting a laxative effect. Many of the FDA\u2019s regulatory provisions pertained not to the safety of the carboxymethycellulose, but concentration thresholds for specific cheese labeling (in this instance, pasteurized cheese spread): One or any mixture of two or more of the following: Carob bean gum, gum karaya, gum tragacanth, guar gum, gelatin, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (cellulose gum), carrageenan, oat gum, algin (sodium alginate), propylene glycol alginate, or xanthan gum. The total weight of such substances is not more than 0.8 percent of the weight of the finished food. In this case, the FDA appeared less concerned with the safety of cellulose in cheese and more so with labeling standards. A 2011 Mayo Clinic item focused on the increasing use of cellulose in foods for a variety of reasons, but did not mention any health risks: Small cellulose particles impart a smooth consistency, mouthfeel and stickiness to products such as salad dressings, barbecue sauces and, yes, ice cream. Longer fiber lengths provide structure and a firmer texture to baked goods. Cellulose also helps capture and retain moisture and keeps products from seeming dry. We\u2019re seeing more foods with added fiber, such as cellulose, because most people aren\u2019t eating enough foods that are naturally high in fiber \u2014 namely vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Manufacturers are also adding cellulose because it means they can use less fat and sugar without losing the desired mouthfeel or moistness. The rising cost of flour, sugar and oil may be another reason for this trend. Castle Cheese was the recipient of a FDA warning letter dated 11 July 2013, and the mention of cellulose had to do with possible labeling inconsistencies, not wood in cheese: 3. Your International Packing Parmesan Cheese, (b)(4) Romano 100% Grated Cheese and (b)(4) 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese products are adulterated within the meaning of Section 402(b)(4) of the Act [21 U.S.C. \u00a7 342(b)(4)] in that a substance has been added to increase the products\u2019 bulk and weight. Specifically, cellulose and/or starch were used to increase the weight of the cheese base used to manufacture your products. Another approach during the February 2016 wood cheese dustup\u00a0came in the form of a February 2016\u00a0Bon App\u00e9tit article. The piece made a\u00a0distinction between proper labeling of specific cheeses and the presence of \u201cwood pulp\u201d in parmesan: Eating cellulose won\u2019t kill you. There are no known harmful side effects from adding it to food, and it\u2019s completely legal. \u201cCellulose is a non-digestible plant fiber, and we actually happen to need non-digestible vegetable fiber in our food\u2014that\u2019s why people eat bran flakes and psyllium husks,\u201d says Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks. And though it makes for more sensational headlines, it\u2019s not quite accurate to claim that something made with cellulose is part \u201cwood pulp,\u201d as implied in a rather breathless Bloomberg News headline. Noting that cellulose was \u201ccompletely safe to eat,\u201d the magazine again expressed skepticism at the widespread conflation of cellulose and \u201cwood pulp\u201d: So could part of the faux-Parmesan cheese you eat once have had a tire-swing hanging from it? Sure \u2026But it could also have been made in part from a crateful of apples that didn\u2019t make it onto supermarket shelves, or corn husks, or any variety of plant matter. It could even have been made from the crate the apples came in. By the time it becomes cellulose, it\u2019s pretty much just a tasteless powder whose primary purpose in life is to take up space\u2026 It\u2019s like an accountant at a rock concert after-party. It\u2019s worth noting, by the way, that the official FDA warning letter to Castle Cheese Inc. lists cellulose and starch as adulterants they discovered, but that they don\u2019t mention wood pulp anywhere in the text. Blame easy conflation by an overeager headline writer. We\u2019ve all done it. The cellulose-in-food scare was nothing new. On 2 July 2014,\u00a0Slate covered a then-current panic over wood pulp in burgers: This media meme, catching on like wildfire burning up so much delicious wood pulp, is not only alarmist but 100 percent misleading. \u2026\u00a0It\u2019s pure fiber, so it contains no calories. Cellulose is a natural component of all plants\u2019 cell walls and is therefore in contained in every fruit or vegetable you might care to eat\u00a0\u2026 A single article in February 2016 launched a wave of responses to the \u201cnews\u201d that cheese contained cellulose, widely described as \u201cwood pulp.\u201d But the news was not all that new, as even the original item referenced a controversy that began in late 2012. The FDA indeed investigated cheese manufacturers over the presence of cellulose in cheese, but only in the larger context of honest labeling (not safety or health concerns). Cellulose is considered safe in all expected concentrations (though it could certainly dilute the flavor of parmesan) and it didn\u2019t in any way resemble wood or wood pulp as many outlets suggested. Finally, the early 2016 outpouring of concern was not new at the time it occurred. In 2014, the same media \u201cmeme\u201d latched on to \u201cwood pulp in fast food,\u201d ignoring its presence in a vast quantity of other widely eaten foods. While it was true many cheeses were held to strict standards of labeling, the controversy over cellulose was confined to purity and misrepresentation, not the sneaky addition of wood to otherwise benign cheese."}
{"claim_id": "24306", "claim": "The president's health care proposals will cause \"most Americans to have their premiums increased, not decreased, and hundreds of millions of people lose their current insurance coverage.", "explanation": "Health care reform does not increase premiums and boot people out of their coverage", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Pundits, Nancy Pfotenhauer, ", "main_text": "In an interesting display of chutzpah from a television pundit, Republican strategist Nancy Pfotenhauer claimed on CNN that she understood perfectly the president's health care proposals, then proceeded to distort them. \"You've got an extremely talented man here who's a great orator,\" she said after President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. \"I don't think anybody could challenge that. But if there's a sin, it's hubris, and at one point, when he was talking about health care, he literally said, you know, hey, you're not with me, but that's okay. I understand. I just didn't speak clearly enough to you. Like if I slow down and talk in smaller words, maybe you'll get it.\" \"And so the response is, no, no, you explained it, I heard it and I disagreed with you,\" she added. \"You're talking about a proposal that increases taxes by half a trillion dollars, that cuts Medicare by half a trillion dollars, that causes most Americans to have their premiums increased, not decreased, and hundreds of millions of people to lose their current insurance coverage. This is not something that's good.\" (That didn't get challenged by host Larry King, who then went to a commercial.) Pfotenhauer boiled down some complicated issues we've been reporting on for quite a while into a zinger of a soundbite. A bit of what she said was true, but most of this is a significant distortion of Obama's reforms. Here, we're going to rule on the most dramatic part of her claim, that the plans cause \"most Americans to have their premiums increased, not decreased, and hundreds of millions of people lose their current insurance coverage.\" We contacted Pfotenhauer, who served as an adviser to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, and asked what the basis of her claims were. But we didn't hear back. We've written before about the Democratic proposals to increase taxes to pay for expanded health care coverage. The House bill increases income taxes on the wealthy, and the Senate bill has an excise tax for high-cost health care plans, or \"Cadillac\" plans. Add up those taxes, plus other revenue provisions in the form of fees, and those revenues do approach $500 billion over 10 years. On Medicare spending, both bills seek to curb spending on Medicare by trimming excess payments to private insurers under the Medicare Advantage program, as well as other freezes on payments intended to reduce waste. (Check out this comparison on the details on Medicare created by the independent Kaiser Family Foundation. You'll find details on Medicare changes on Page 14.) Those provisions too approach $500 billion over 10 years. But the measure also includes more funding for Medicare's prescription drug plan. Then Pfotenhauer said most Americans would \"have their premiums increased, not decreased,\" and that \"hundreds of millions of people lose their current insurance coverage.\" On Nov. 30, 2009, the Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, released a detailed analysis on how health insurance premiums might be affected by the Senate Democrats' health care bill. The CBO is an independent agency whose estimates for pending legislation are considered nonpartisan and rigorous. The CBO reported that, for most people, premiums would stay about the same, or slightly decrease. This was especially true for people who get their insurance through work. (Health policy wonks call these the large group and small group markets.) People who have to go out and buy insurance on their own (the individual market) would see rates increase by 10 to 13 percent. But more than half of those people -- 57 percent, in fact -- would be eligible for subsidies to help them pay for the insurance. People who get subsidies would see their premiums drop by more than half, according to the CBO. So most people would see their premiums stay the same or potentially drop. As for \"hundreds of millions of people\" losing their coverage, there is little evidence to support this. Republicans have been making the claim based on a study by the Lewin Group, which stated that 123 million people would choose a public option for health insurance if it were cheaper than their current coverage. (The Lewin Group is respected by many health care analysts and operates with editorial independence, but it is a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, whose primary business is private health insurance.) There were other problems with how Republicans have used the Lewin study to claim that people would be pushed out of their coverage, and you can read more about those problems in another item we reported back in October. But it's not necessary to go into those details because the Senate has since rejected a public option. So it's not clear where Pfotenhauer is getting her numbers now. Certainly there will be some churn among plans, just as there is now, when companies change insurance plans. (For this reason, we gave Obama a Half True for saying that people could keep their current coverage. Under the plan, employers would still be able to choose new plans.) But the CBO has found that the numbers of uninsured will be lower under the Democratic plans. The Senate Democrats plan would increase the percentage of the insured from 83 percent to 94 percent. So we don't see how millions of people would lose their current coverage. It's true that there is a lot of confusion among the public about the health care proposals. The independent Kaiser Family Foundation recently conducted a poll and found that \"even after a year of substantial media coverage of the health reform debate, many Americans remain unfamiliar with key elements of the major bills passed by the House and Senate.\" The poll also found tremendous differences based on political affiliations: Democrats supported the proposals, Republicans opposed them, and independents were roughly split. In Pfotenhauer's appearance on CNN, though, she said she understood the proposals but disagreed with them. Then she said -- and this was not phrased as an opinion -- that the plans will cause \"most Americans to have their premiums increased, not decreased, and hundreds of millions of people to lose their current insurance coverage.\" There's not an independent, nonpartisan analysis out there on the current Democratic proposals that shows that. These are Republican talking points that have repeatedly been proven false, but they keep coming back. Pfotenhauer's statement is not just false, it's ridiculously so. !"}
{"claim_id": "35181", "claim": "An 1875 report by the Horseless Carriage Committee warned about the dangers of gasoline-fueled vehicles.", "explanation": "\u201cThis discovery begins a new era in the history of civilization. It may some day prove to be more revolutionary in the development of human society than the invention of the wheel, the use of metals, or the steam engine. Never in history has society been confronted with a power so full of potential danger and at the same time so full of promise for the future of man and for the peace of the world.", "label": "false", "subjects": "History, Documentary Evidence", "main_text": "Many of us take especial delight in items that document how people of earlier times severely misjudged their futures, either holding expectations of a vastly improved world that proved to be ridiculously grandiose, or expressing woefully misplaced fears and concerns about dangers that never came to pass. The same principle can be applied in reverse, however \u2014 one common form of  satire is to lampoon a particular position on a modern political or social issue by projecting it into the past to highlight its ridiculousness. Into which category does the following purported 1875 report by the \u201cHorseless Carriage Committee\u201d warning about the dangers of gasoline and gasoline-powered vehicles fall: an example of 19th century citizens expressing exaggerated fears about a then-new technology, or a modern  piece of satire intended to make a point about a 20th century issue? \u201cA new source of power called gasoline has been produced by a Boston engineer. Instead of burning the fuel under a boiler, it is exploded inside the cylinder of an engine. The dangers are obvious. Stores of gasoline in the hands of people interested primarily in profit would constitute a fire and explosive hazard of the first rank. \u201cHorseless carriages propelled by gasoline might attain speeds of 14 or even 20 miles per hour. The menace to our people of vehicles of this type hurtling through our streets and along our roads and poisoning the atmosphere would call for prompt legislative action even if the military and economic implications were not so overwhelming. The cost of producing gasoline is far beyond the financial capacity of private industry. In addition, the development of this new power may displace the use of horses, which would wreck our agriculture.\u201d Horseless Carriage Committee, U. S. Congressional Record, c. 1875. The first clue is that the dating of the report appears to be anachronistic. The year 1875 was the dawn of experiments in building gasoline-fueled, internal combustion engines and using them to power wheeled vehicles, and the term \u201chorseless carriage\u201d to refer to such vehicles didn\u2019t come into use until the 1890s, when the public was much more familiar with the concept of the automobile. Researchers at the Library of Congress expressed similar thinking in responding to a query about this item:    This is in response to your inquiry about trying to verify a quote before the congressional \u201cHorseless Carriage Committee.\u201d This in fact an urban legend. We checked \u201cCommittees in the U.S. Congress,\u201d published by CQ Press and verified that there never was a \u201cHorseless Carriage Committee.\u201d We also checked the Congressional Record Index (indexing debate in Congress), the Congressional Hearings Index and the U.S. Serial Set which indexes congressional reports and documents and found no references. Indeed the terms \u201cgasoline\u201d or \u201chorseless carriage\u201d do not even appear in these sources for this time period. We also checked these sources using the terms \u201cautomobile\u201d and \u201cpetroleum\u201d and again found no references for this time period. We also believe this statement is anachronistic. In 1876 Nicholas Otto of Germany invented and built the first gas motor engine and then built it into a motorcycle. Subsequently in 1885 Karl Benz designed and built the first practical automobile to be powered by an internal combustion engine. The first gasoline powered automobile built in the United States was in 1891 by John Lampert and was a three wheeled motor vehicle. The first U.S. patent for a gasoline powered automobile was issued in 1895 and the first U.S. company to manufacture automobiles was founded in 1896 by the Duryea brothers. Another clue is that all the concerns stated in the putative report about gasoline and gasoline-powered vehicles \u2014 potential for dangerous explosions, poisoning of the atmosphere, military and economic implications, development costs exceeding the financial resources of the private business sector, potential for displacement of existing industries \u2014 sound very much like the apprehensions that were expressed about atomic power in the years after the end of World War II. In fact, both lines of thinking are correct: The \u201cHorseless Carriage Committee\u201d report dates not from 1875 but from the late 1950s, and it is a bit of fiction created for (and excerpted from) a much longer editorial intended to point out the dangers of the U.S. government\u2019s capitalizing on all those fears to justify controlling the development and application of atomic power:  Individually, we tend to learn from experience. Collectively, if mankind can be viewed as a collective, we tend to repeat the same old mistakes. The differences between the government of Julius Caesar and of Dwight Eisenhower are minor and of academic interest. The parallels are startling and numerous. Today, in this world of scientific advancement, we live under the shadow of political reaction. Let something new come to the attention of the politicians and steps are immediately taken to control it, to limit it, or to repeal it. If none of these things is feasible, the politicians then devise a program whereby they can own it outright. It is said that Tiberius Caesar cut off the head of a Phoenecian glass blower who had developed a formula for flexible glass. Such a glass, according to Caesar, would have upset the economy and might have become more valuable than gold. Currently, our Washington officials have blanketed pay television, put a crimp in railroad operations, tied the hands of business men by means of taxes and laws which compel union deals and various types of controls, arrested farmers who produce in excess quotas and so forth. The list is nearly endless. To illustrate just how the same old fallacies repeat year after year, we reproduce here a special report by a Joint Congressional Committee on the subject of the horseless carriage. This report was made as a result of the \u201cemergency\u201d occasioned by the development of the internal combustion engine, in the year 1875. \u201cA new source of power, which burns a distillate of kerosene, has been produced by a Boston engineer. Instead of burning the fuel under a boiler, it is exploded inside the cylinder of the engine. This so-called internal combustion engine may be used under certain conditions to supplement steam engines. Experiments are under way to use such an engine to propel a vehicle."}
{"claim_id": "16352", "claim": "According to a government supplier of emergency products, the Disaster Assistance Response Team was told to be prepared to be activated in the month of October for an outbreak of Ebola.", "explanation": "Brittany passed along as fact that a government supplier knew that emergency responders had been told well in advance to get ready for Ebola. The rumor was based on tweets from a private California medical and safety services company, which now says the tweets were based on nothing. The reckless use of implausible assertions earns this claim.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Ebola, Public Safety, PunditFact, Morgan Brittany, ", "main_text": "As if Ebola were not frightening enough in its own right, it is a breeding ground for conspiracy theories. One of the latest comes from Morgan Brittany, a former actress from the original television soap opera Dallas who is now a commentator with the conspiracy-minded blog WND. Brittany suggests that Ebola is part of a larger White House plan to control the nation. Brittany\u2019s column describes a Los Angeles dinner party where the conversation turned grim. \"One of the men brought up the fact that Washington has known for months if not years that we were at risk for some sort of global pandemic,\" Brittany wrote. \"According to a government supplier of emergency products, the Disaster Assistance Response Team was told to be prepared to be activated in the month of October for an outbreak of Ebola. Hmm, that\u2019s just like the fact that they knew 60,000 illegal children were going to be coming across our southern border eight months before it happened.\" A few months ago, we debunked that last eyebrow-raising bit about the government being behind the surge of undocumented children at the border. Now, we examine whether something called \"the Disaster Assistance Response Team\" was told to get ready for an outbreak of Ebola. Brittany\u2019s column provided a link to Global Research, another conspiracy website. Global Research had its own alarming article. \"A large government supplier of emergency response products specializing in \u2018high risk events\u2019 says that Disaster Assistance Response Teams were told to prepare to be activated in the month of October. The shocking revelation, made on the Golden State FIRE EMS Twitter page, suggests that not only did someone know that the Ebola virus would be reaching America, but that they knew exactly when it would happen.\" Global Research even had a screenshot of the Twitter exchange from Sept. 30, and indeed, there we found, \"DART teams were notified months ago they would be activated in October. Timing seems weird. Source: current DART member.\" The tweets are authentic. What\u2019s lacking is anything of substance behind them. We spoke to Ed Castillo, president of Golden State FIRE EMS. Castillo was regretful. \"A couple of EMS guys were talking about conspiracy theories,\" Castillo said. \"There are no facts to support it. It can be written off as a couple of guys shooting the breeze.\" Golden State is based in Woodland Hills, Calif. Among other services, it contracts with Hollywood film companies to have a medical team on hand when they shoot stunt sequences. Castillo said the company\u2019s only goal now is to \"extinguish the flames\" and stop hearing from conspiracy theorists. \"These guys came out of the woodwork left and right,\" Castillo said. \"We had to tear down our Twitter account. Now we\u2019re just sticking to Facebook and our Web page. We just want to get back to work.\" The Golden State tweets might have been vacuous blather taken as reality, but the Global Research and Brittany posts went beyond even what the tweets said. Their reference to a \"large government supplier of emergency response products\" seems to have greatly reimagined Golden State\u2019s line of work. To write about \"the Disaster Assistance Response Team\" as a singular entity also seems odd. Such a name applies generically to any group that jumps in to help in a disaster. Brittany doesn\u2019t write definitively that these theories are accurate but closed her article on a note of fear. \"Maybe the current administration needs this to happen so martial law can be declared, guns can be seized and the populace can be controlled. Once that happens \u2026 game over.\" Our ruling Brittany passed along as fact that a government supplier knew that emergency responders had been told well in advance to get ready for Ebola. The rumor was based on tweets from a private California medical and safety services company, which now says the tweets were based on nothing. The reckless use of implausible assertions earns this claim\u00a0."}
{"claim_id": "5316", "claim": "Protesters vent their anger as UN climate talks stutter.", "explanation": "With less than 72 hours left to reach a deal on key measures in the fight against global warming, major countries at a U.N. meeting on climate change took the floor to stake out their positions \u2014 showing that deep differences remain to be breached.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Climate, North America, Climate change, International News, Madrid, General News, Business, Science, United Nations, Europe, Greta Thunberg", "main_text": "In a sign of growing frustration over the pace of the talks in Madrid \u2014 the logo of which is a stylized ticking clock \u2014 more than 100 activists led by representatives of indigenous peoples from Latin and North America staged an impromptu protest, blocking the gates of the main plenary hall for a few tense minutes. Activist Greta Thunberg, who on Wednesday was announced as Time magazine\u2019s Person of the Year shortly after addressing the talks\u2019 plenary, also accused governments and businesses of misleading the public by not achieving real action and instead fostering \u201cclever accounting and creative PR.\u201d   Climate negotiators in Madrid also had one eye on Brussels, where the European Union announced a 100-billion euro ($130-billion) plan to help wean EU nations off fossil fuels. But some observers predicted the talks could head into overtime, with ministers struggling to agree on rules for a global carbon market and ways to compensate vulnerable countries for disasters caused by global warming. World leaders agreed in Paris four years ago to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) \u2014 ideally no more than 1.5 C (2.7 F) \u2014 by the end of the century. Scientists say both of those goals will be missed by a wide margin unless drastic steps are taken to begin cutting greenhouse gas emissions next year. The World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank, said the 80 countries that have so far announced plans to step up their emissions-reduction targets only represent a tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions \u2014 while most major emitters have yet to commit. Friction was palpable when heads of delegations took the floor Wednesday for their national statements, which every one of the nearly 200 U.N. members delivers toward the end of the annual summit. Among them was China\u2019s vice minister of ecology and environment, Zhao Yingmin, newly sworn in as the top climate official in the world\u2019s largest carbon emitter, who used the opportunity to deliver a rebuke of the European Union\u2019s threat to impose carbon tariffs on products imported from countries without sufficient climate protection measures. \u201cAll parties need to join hands in opposing all forms of unilateralism, including trade protectionism and stay the course in our collective efforts to tackle climate change,\u201d said Zhao in his speech. Meanwhile, Japan\u2019s environment minister said his country was aware of criticism it faces for continuing to fund coal-fired power plants both at home and abroad, despite the greenhouse gas emissions they produce. Shinjiro Koizumi also acknowledged U.N. chief Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 call for the world to end its \u201caddiction to coal.\u201d Koizumi, 38, said he had consulted with his Cabinet colleagues ahead of the talks on how to respond to the issue but that further discussion was needed to reach a conclusion. \u201cPlease watch for that,\u201d he added. The United States also made its first major public intervention on the 10th day of the talks after keeping a low profile. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration began proceedings last month to abandon the 2015 Paris agreement, a yearlong process that will culminate on Nov. 4, 2020 \u2014 a day after the next presidential elections. Until then, the U.S. \u201cwill remain focused on a realistic and pragmatic model, backed by a record of real world results,\u201d said Marcia Bernicat, a career ambassador who heads the U.S. negotiating team. \u201cThe United States continues to lead on clean, affordable and secure energy, while reducing all type of emissions, including greenhouse gases over the last 15 years,\u201d she said. Some experts echoed the activists\u2019 concerns about a lack of progress. \u201cIn my almost 30 years in this process, never have I seen the almost total disconnect that we\u2019re seeing here in Madrid, between what the science requires and the people of the world are demanding on the one hand and what the climate negotiations are delivering in terms of meaningful action,\u201d said Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientist, a U.S.-based nonprofit group. Guterres, the U.N. chief, suggested that negotiators in Madrid should stop listening to those who oppose more ambitious measures for reducing emissions. \u201cI call on anyone who is still lobbying their governments for a slow transition \u2013 or even in some cases no transition \u2013 to end those activities now,\u201d he said. He also said governments were slowing down businesses action on the climate front by keeping \u201cbureaucratic and regulatory obstacles, including perverse fossil fuel subsidies.\u201d But Guterres expressed confidence that the 1.5 C limit was \u201cstill within reach\u201d if countries, starting with the main emitters, step up emission cuts over the next 12 months. As he spoke, activists demanding greater action and for richer countries to step up compensation for environmental degradation in poorer regions blocked the entrance until U.N. security personnel escorted them outdoors. In a statement, more than a dozen NGOs accused the global body of silencing their voices instead of kicking out the \u201crich industrialized countries who refuse to meet their commitments\u201d and \u201ccorporate polluters.\u201d U.N. climate officials didn\u2019t offer an immediate comment. Amid a lack of tangible progress in Madrid, the European Union gave environmentalists some hope. The European Commission says the 100-billion-euro fund announced in Brussels will help those regions that will be hit the hardest financially by the transition to cleaner industries \u2014 namely Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, which rely heavily on coal-fired power plants. The three countries have yet to commit to the EU\u2019s goal of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. Richard Klein, an expert with the Stockholm Environment Institute, called the EU\u2019s proposal \u201cambitious.\u201d \u201cI think it will have a real impact on these negotiations here at the COP,\u201d Klein said. \u201cOf course, it still needs to be implemented, there\u2019s a lot of work to be done until March, and then after that by the various member states, but I think this is very good.\u201d ___ AP journalists Bernat Armangue and Helena Alves contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP\u2019s climate coverage at https://www.apnews.com/Climate ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "25953", "claim": "\u201cKids are less likely to get it (COVID-19). You know, they\u2019re less likely to spread. So I think there\u2019s some pretty good data out there that will help alleviate some of the concerns.\u201d", "explanation": "Children do contract the coronavirus but current research shows it is happening at a much lower rate than for adults. Children in available studies also have been less likely than adults to spread the coronavirus. Iowa\u2019s governor cited these factors, plus general acceptance from educators and pediatricians that in-person learning is better for children, in her call to re-open K-12 schools for the 2020-21 school year.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Children, Education, Public Health, Iowa, Coronavirus, Kim Reynolds, ", "main_text": "Iowa, like many other states, faces a calendar-driven fact: the beginning of another school year. The state\u2019s governor, Kim Reynolds, says schools should re-open for students who do not have health conditions that would put them at risk if exposed to the novel coronavirus. \"Kids are less likely to get it,\" Reynolds said at a July 14, 2020, news conference about children\u2019s susceptibility to the virus, COVID-19. \"They\u2019re less likely to spread. So I think there\u2019s some pretty good data out there that will help alleviate some of the concerns.\" PolitiFact has visited this topic previously, stating that children can catch the virus but that their symptoms aren\u2019t as potent as those in older people. And, President Trump has called forcefully for schools to re-open for the next school year. Deciding to re-open schools that have been closed since mid-March in Iowa while the coronavirus pandemic continues has been a balancing act. Parents and teachers are dealing with the virus\u2019s health threat on students, teachers and staff but also fear negative effects on children isolated at home instead of learning face-to-face with teachers and interacting with other children. The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and the School Superintendents Association are on record saying interaction is necessary but also caution against moving unsafely when reopening schools. While there\u2019s no mistaking that a child ill with the virus would deal with discomfort, or in a worse scenario serious health risks, existing research backs up Reynold\u2019s statement about the virus\u2019 incidence rate and spread rate for children and research backing that up. In Iowa, 5% of people testing positive for COVID-19 as of July 15 were 17 or younger, state data showed on July 16, 2020. That\u2019s lower than the national rate, which shows 10% of Americans testing positive for COVID-19 were age 17 or younger, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed July 16. Almost one-half of Iowa\u2019s COVID-19 cases were detected in people ages 18 to 40. Researchers concluding, to date, that young children are at less risk than older adults of catching or spreading the virus include: An international research team conducting studies in China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Canada and South Korea. They concluded that the risk of transmitting the virus under the age of 20 could be as much as one-half the risk for those over the age of 20. They published their findings June 16, 2020, with Nature Medicine. Doctors and researchers at Mayo Clinic, of Rochester, Minnesota. \"While all children are capable of getting the virus that causes COVID-19, they don't become sick as often as adults,\" the clinic\u2019s COVID-19 section on its website states. \"Children also rarely experience severe illness with COVID-19. Despite many large outbreaks around the world, very few children have died.\" Chinese researchers whose work was published in July 2020 in Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics journal. University of Vermont researchers writing in Pediatrics\u2019 July 2020 issue, which also published American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for returning to school classrooms. A research team in Dresden, Germany. (more on that later) A World Health Organization-China joint report from February 2020. Skepticism has existed about the WHO-China report, especially when testing only was done in hospitals. Also, some researchers caution that infection and transmission rates among young people aren\u2019t as high as they are for adults because the youths have not been exposed as much as adults to the virus. And that CDC data? It shows a higher percentage of people age 17 and younger who are tested for the virus showing up positive. Part of the reason for those CDC numbers is that fewer children than adults have been tested, and that what testing has been done has been with children suspected to be at risk. \"Our data is skewed originally to people with symptoms, and then skewed to adults over 18,\" Dr. Deborah Birx, coronavirus response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said at a July 8, 2020, White House news briefing. More in-depth study of COVID-19\u2019s affect on children is needed, she said. Five days later, German researchers released a study of students in their country who were exposed to each other in school that, the researchers said, could indicate that COVID-19 might not spread as much among the youths as feared. Pediatricians at Dresden University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus said they reached their conclusions after studying blood samples taken in May and June from 1,541 youths mostly in eighth through 11th grade. The samples were from 13 secondary schools and part of a 2,045-sample test that also included teachers, the researchers said. Reynolds said, \"Kids are less likely to get it (COVID-19). You know, they\u2019re less likely to spread. So I think there\u2019s some pretty good data out there that will help alleviate some of the concerns.\" Reynolds\u2019 assertion is supported by the bulk of the existing research, which shows that scientists have seen lower COVID-19 infection rates among young people and have not seen the virus spread among children at the rate as high as the ones for adults. However, researchers have only been able to study the virus since late January 2020, and they are learning more about it by the day. There may also be statistical quirks affecting the data, such as the limited extent to which children are being tested for the virus. Reynolds\u2019 statement is largely supported by the research published so far, but with a big caveat that the science is preliminary and evolving. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "13806", "claim": "Tim Kaine Says \"Donald Trump is a guy who has called for privatization\" of the Veterans Administration.", "explanation": "Kaine said, \"Donald Trump is a guy who has called for privatization of the V.A.\" Actually, Trump is a guy who has called for giving veterans access to private providers. That may lead some veterans to seek care outside the V.A., but it\u2019s not the same thing as completely privatizing the system.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Veterans, Tim Kaine, ", "main_text": "For all of Donald Trump\u2019s talk about veterans, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said he doesn\u2019t have their backs. Kaine, Hillary Clinton\u2019s vice presidential pick, blasted Trump on MSNBC for his \"not a war hero\" comments about John McCain, his delay in donating to veterans charities, and his ideas for fixing the Veterans Administration. \"Donald Trump is a guy who has called for privatization of the V.A.,\" Kaine said July 11. \"That is something that is overwhelmingly rejected by America's veterans. They do not want to go down that path. Do they want improvement? Sure they do. But they don't want risky or radical.\" To back up his claim, the Kaine camp pointed to Trump\u2019s campaign page on V.A. reforms and articles suggesting privatization is among them. But the Trump campaign told us Trump\u2019s plan simply gives veterans a choice, and that\u2019s not the same thing as privatization. While Trump wants to give veterans access to health providers outside the V.A. system, Kaine is being overly simplistic by suggesting Trump wants to turn over the whole thing to the private sector. What Trump proposed Trump\u2019s VA plans include some elements of privatization, but it isn\u2019t an outright overhaul of the existing system. At an October 2015 rally in Virginia, Trump said even though some candidates want to get rid of the V.A. (possibly referring to Ben Carson\u2019s proposals to give veterans health savings accounts) he wants to \"supplement\" the existing V.A. system for veterans. \"No, it doesn\u2019t have to be privatization,\" Trump said at a May 2016 press conference. \"What it has to be is when somebody is online and they say it\u2019s a seven-day wait, that person\u2019s going to walk across the street to a private doctor, be taken care of, we\u2019re gonna pay the bill.\" Nowhere on his position page or in his July 2016 Virginia Beach speech on veterans issues does Trump propose privatizing the V.A. Instead, he seeks to modernize it, crack down on inefficiency and abuse, and provide more care for female vets and those in in rural areas. He does, however, propose a veterans ID card for use outside of the V.A. system on his campaign website: \"Under a Trump Administration, all veterans eligible for VA health care can bring their veteran\u2019s ID card to any doctor or care facility that accepts Medicare to get the care they need immediately. ...The power to choose will stop the wait time backlogs and force the VA to improve and compete if the department wants to keep receiving veterans\u2019 health care dollars.\" Similarly, Trump floated the idea in his speech in Virginia: \"We are going to ensure every veteran in America has the choice to seek care at the V.A., or to seek private medical care paid for by our government.\" According to the Trump campaign, this is essentially the recommendation of the bipartisan federal Commission on Care, but with more choice in doctors. But veterans groups (many of which support the commission\u2019s recommendations) told us that\u2019s not an entirely accurate comparison. In short, the commission plan folds private health care providers into the V.A. system, while the Trump plan allows veterans to opt out of it. In its 300-page report, the commission emphasized that the V.A. should have oversight over an integrated health care network by vetting, training and coordinating with private sector doctors and clinics that qualify for participation. Trump\u2019s plan, again, gives veterans access to all Medicare providers, but it doesn\u2019t specify that these non-V.A. doctors would have to coordinate or meet the standards of the V.A. The I.D. card proposal also bears some resemblance to the Veterans Choice program, a law sponsored by John McCain that gives veterans access to community providers if they\u2019ve been waiting for more than 30 days for V.A. care or if they live more than 40 miles away from a V.A. facility. Trump\u2019s plan would essentially get rid of these eligibility requirements. Trump advisor Sam Clovis did tell the Wall Street Journal the candidate might model V.A. care after Medicare (like an insurance provider), as the Kaine campaign pointed out, but Clovis also said Trump \"doesn\u2019t want to take away the veterans hospitals and the things that are working out.\" Not exactly privatization Veterans group agreed that Trump\u2019s I.D. card plan would lead to more privatized care, but were divided on whether Kaine\u2019s characterization of Trump\u2019s plan was accurate. Paralyzed Veterans of America\u2019s executive director Sherman Gillums Jr. criticized Trump\u2019s proposal for \"completely privatizing\" the V.A. in a press release, but praised Trump\u2019s attention to veterans issues. AMVETS spokesman John Hoellwarth called the proposal \"well-intentioned,\" but agreed that it was privatization and would be disastrous. \"Encouraging all veterans to seek care in the private sector, which lacks the expertise to treat military and combat injuries and illnesses, and which does not typically provide integrated or coordinated care, would lead to worse health outcomes for many veterans,\" Hoellwarth said. Veterans of Foreign Wars, meanwhile, considers the Trump\u2019s idea partial privatization. \"Our concern is that a \u2018go anywhere card\u2019 leads to veterans receiving fragmented, uncoordinated, and lower-quality care, which is not what veterans have earned and deserve,\" said Joe Davis, the group\u2019s director of public affairs. \"Private sector health care must complement, not compete with or supplant the VA health care system.\" On the other end, Dan Caldwell, vice president for political and legislative action at Concerned Veterans for America (which is backed by the anti-Trump Koch brothers) said the group supports both choice and integration and disagreed vehemently with Kaine\u2019s characterization. \"Giving veterans the choice of where to use their VA benefits does not necessitate the sale of VA hospitals to corporations nor does it eliminate government control of veterans\u2019 health care,\" Caldwell said. \"Calling expanded health care choice for veterans \u2018privatization\u2019 is simply a poll-tested scare tactic.\" Our ruling Kaine said, \"Donald Trump is a guy who has called for privatization of the V.A.\" Actually, Trump is a guy who has called for giving veterans access to private providers. That may lead some veterans to seek care outside the V.A., but it\u2019s not the same thing as completely privatizing the system. We rate Kaine\u2019s claim ."}
{"claim_id": "15077", "claim": "Number of Americans killed by terrorism in the last decade: 24. Number of Americans killed by guns in the last decade: 280,024.", "explanation": "A viral image says the number of Americans killed by terrorism in the last decade is 24, while the number of Americans killed by guns in the last decade is 280,024. NowThis, the creators of the image, told us they only counted lives lost to domestic jihadist attacks, though the image doesn\u2019t specify that. If we look at deaths due to all extremist attacks on U.S. soil, the number goes up to 71. A more accurate count for gun deaths between 2005 and 2015 is 301,797. Though the image\u2019s numbers are slightly off, that doesn\u2019t undercut the point: guns have claimed many more lives than terrorist attacks.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Terrorism, Guns, Viral image, ", "main_text": "In the wake of the Oct. 1 shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, President Barack Obama tasked the media to put the number of gun violence-related deaths into perspective. \"Have news organizations tally up the number of Americans who've been killed through terrorist attacks in the last decade and the number of Americans who've been killed by gun violence, and post those side by side on your news reports,\" he said in his address on the shooting. \"We spend over a trillion dollars, and pass countless laws, and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?\" Obama's underlying point was to highlight the lack of resources and legislative action taken on gun violence. Some have questioned the merit of such a comparison -- for example, critics have\u00a0pointed out\u00a0that cigarettes kill more people than guns. We're not weighing in on that debate. Rather, we're looking just at the data. Multiple outlets obliged (though each came up with slightly different numbers). Several readers asked us to check out one specific comparison widely shared on Facebook and Twitter. It was created by NowThis, a New York-based news company that produces content specifically for social media. The image says that 24 Americans have been killed by terrorism in the last decade, while 280,024 Americans were killed by guns. While NowThis\u2019 numbers aren\u2019t perfect, the overarching point is accurate. There have been far more deaths from gun violence than from terrorist attacks. Walking through the math Let\u2019s start with the tally for terrorist-related deaths. NowThis senior editorial producer Versha Sharma told PolitiFact that the 24 figure refers to the number of U.S. citizens killed by terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, and does not include deaths abroad. Sharma acknowledged that this could have been made clear in the graphic. But she maintained that it\u2019s more apt to compare domestic gun deaths to domestic terrorism deaths. Counting terrorist attacks abroad, she said, would make it an apples to oranges comparison. The number comes from the nonpartisan think tank the New America Foundation\u2019s count of lethal jihadist attacks on U.S. soil from 2005 to 2015. It includes for example the four people killed during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 and the 13 deaths from the Fort Hood shooting in 2009. To get to 280,024 gun deaths, NowThis compiled data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s National Vital Statistics System and the Mass Shooting Tracker, a crowd-sourced project that tallies deaths and injuries in mass shootings. According to the CDC, the number of violent gun deaths between 2005 and 2013 (the latest year on record) was 279,976. That includes suicides, homicides, and police-related shootings. Mass Shooting Tracker counts 389 mass shooting gun deaths in 2014 and 375 so far in 2015. There are, however, a few issues with these numbers. For starters, a spokesperson for New America told us it would have been more accurate to include lives lost to both jihadist and non-jihadist extreme violence (47 deaths from 2005 to 2015) for a total count of 71 deaths from terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Secondly, Mass Shooting Tracker, as the name implies, only tracks deaths from mass shootings, defined by the group as when four more people are shot in an event. If we look at all gun-related deaths as the CDC does from the past two years, the numbers are much higher. According the nonprofit project the Gun Violence Archive, there were 12,562 gun deaths in 2014 and 9,959 in 2015 thus far. That\u2019s a grand total of 301,797 firearm-related deaths in the past decade, compared to 71 deaths from domestic acts of terrorism. If we factor in terrorist attacks overseas, the comparison is still stark. From 2004 to 2014, 303 Americans were killed in terrorist attacks worldwide, according to State Department reports. During that same time frame, 320,523 Americans were killed because of gun violence. Here\u2019s a breakdown:  Our ruling A viral image says the number of Americans killed by terrorism in the last decade is 24, while the number of Americans killed by guns in the last decade is 280,024. NowThis, the creators of the image, told us they only counted lives lost to domestic jihadist attacks, though the image doesn\u2019t specify that. If we look at deaths due to all extremist attacks on U.S. soil, the number goes up to 71. A more accurate count for gun deaths between 2005 and 2015 is 301,797. Though the image\u2019s numbers are slightly off, that doesn\u2019t undercut the point: guns have claimed many more lives than terrorist attacks. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "14772", "claim": "By the end of 2015, more than 1,300 people will have died on Georgia roads. One of out evey four fatalities resulted from drunken driving.", "explanation": "A public service announcement says more than 1,300 people will die on Georgia roads before the end of the year. By Monday of this week, the number was 1,345, according to a tally kept by the Georgia Department of Transportation and released by the Governor\u2019s Office of Highway Safety. The PSA also makes the claim that one in four of those people died in alcohol-impaired fatalities. The truth is that state officials don\u2019t know for certain what\u2019s happened in these traffic deaths. It takes time to investigate. They\u2019re basing the claim on a trend they\u2019ve seen and one that doesn\u2019t seem to be changing in Georgia or the nation. That\u2019s probably context the reader deserves to know.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Georgia, Alcohol, Crime, Public Safety, States, Transportation, State Public Service Announcement, ", "main_text": "More than 1,300 people have died on Georgia roads this year, and 25 percent of the deaths are the result of drunken driving. Those claims headline a public service announcement airing statewide on television and radio in this season of merriment and cheer. \"Watch your speed. Put down the phone, and don\u2019t get behind the wheel if you\u2019ve been drinking,\" Gov. Nathan Deal warns listeners. For months, state officials have been alert to an unwelcome change: After falling annually for nine straight years, Georgia\u2019s traffic deaths were up this year. But have more than 1,300 people really died this year on Georgia roads? And have 25 percent \u2014 or one out of four of those deaths \u2014 been caused by drunken driving, as the public service announcement says? PolitiFact Georgia decided to rev up the Truth-O-Meter. Figures compiled by the state Department of Transportation and released through the Governor\u2019s Office of Highway Safety show traffic deaths in Georgia fell each year from 2005 to 2014, going from 1,729 to 1,170, even as U.S. census estimates show the state added about 1 million residents. Georgia roadway deaths for 2015 hit 1,345 as of Monday of this week. That's up 186, or 16 percent, from 2014, and it\u2019s still a few days until we turn the calendar to 2016. According to state data, the 1,345 included six people killed in car-train collisions, 192 pedestrians, 138 motorcyclists and 21 bicyclists. The largest number of traffic deaths occurred on state and local roads, 675 and 485, respectively. But deaths on interstates \u2014 often the most visible because of the gridlock that follows \u2014 are up 21 percent, from 153 in 2014 to 185 so far this year. But were 25 percent of this year's fatalities alcohol-related? The answer: That could well be the case, but officials don\u2019t know that with absolute certainty. Harris Blackwood, the director of the Governor\u2019s Office of Highway Safety, said his agency has certified data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showing that 297 of Georgia\u2019s 1,179 fatalities two years ago, or 25 percent, involved alcohol blood content of 0.08, the legal limit. Smaller amounts of alcohol \u2014 0.01 percent or higher \u2014 were found in 30 percent, or 349, of those fatalities in 2013, Blackwood said. Part of the reason they don\u2019t know for certain about the role of alcohol in 2015 traffic deaths is it can take months to obtain blood test results from the GBI crime lab, he said. \"However, there are indicators, such as open containers, information provided by other passengers, and so on,\" Blackwood said. \"The percentage of alcohol as a factor has been consistent on a percentage basis over a 10-year period, even as fatalities were going down prior to this year,\" he said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration\u2019s website gives an extensive five-year view of fatal crashes in Georgia and the nation \u2014 including the role alcohol plays. Between 2010 and 2014, alcohol-impaired driving was a factor in 24 percent to 25 percent of all fatal accidents each year. The one exception was 2011, when the percentage dropped to 22 percent. Nationally, 30 percent to 31 percent of all fatalities in those same five years involved alcohol-impaired drivers (those with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or above), according to the NHTSA data. Blackwood said the Governor\u2019s Office of Highway Safety also did a preliminary analysis early this year and found no evidence that \"the alcohol percentage is going down\" from prior years. In the first nine months of 2015, there were 483 instances where an officer requested an alcohol test or a driver refused an alcohol test, he said. (We should note that some law enforcement agencies consider it standard protocol to request a blood alcohol test in fatal traffic accidents.) Our ruling A public service announcement says more than 1,300 people will die on Georgia roads before the end of the year. By Monday of this week, the number was 1,345, according to a tally kept by the Georgia Department of Transportation and released by the Governor\u2019s Office of Highway Safety. The PSA also makes the claim that one in four of those people died in alcohol-impaired fatalities. The truth is that state officials don\u2019t know for certain what\u2019s happened in these traffic deaths. It takes time to investigate. They\u2019re basing the claim on a trend they\u2019ve seen and one that doesn\u2019t seem to be changing in Georgia or the nation. That\u2019s probably context the reader deserves to know. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "13743", "claim": "In Liberia, \"a girl is more likely to be married by 18 than to know how to read.", "explanation": "Rosenberg made the claim that a Liberian woman is \"more likely to be married by 18 than to know how to read.\" This claim relies on data from an old 2007 survey. Using a more recent survey and the closest age group for which data are available, the comparison doesn\u2019t hold. Young Liberian women are more likely to know how to read than be married.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Global News Service, Children, Education, Women, Tina Rosenberg, ", "main_text": "Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and author Tina Rosenberg recently drew attention to a shocking statistic about women\u2019s education in the African country of Liberia. \"This is education in Liberia,\" Rosenberg wrote in the New York Times on June 14. \"A girl is more likely to be married by 18 than to know how to read.\" Liberia was devastated by civil war between 1989 and 2003. More recently, its schools were closed for six months following the outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2014. Our partners at Africa Check looked at the available survey data to determine the accuracy of Rosenberg\u2019s claim. Recent data doesn\u2019t support claim Rosenberg, who won the Pulitzer for non-fiction\u00a0The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism,\u00a0told Africa Check that her claim was based on a Liberian database of statistics collected from the United Nations Children\u2019s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). The database reported that 37.9 percent of children are married in Liberia by 18. That is fractionally higher than the female youth literacy rate of 37.2 percent, according to the UNICEF database. The problem is those figures come from 2007 reports and are out of date. The 37.9 percent figure for child marriage appears to track back to Liberia\u2019s Demographic and Health Survey from 2007. The youth literacy figure is likely from a 2007 UNESCO Institute for Statistics\u2019 estimate. The estimate covers women between the ages of 15-24, not just girls 18 and under. The most recent data comes from the country\u2019s 2013 Demographic and Health Survey. Teen marriage rates in Liberia The Demographic and Health Survey presents data in five year increments for people aged 15 to 49. Women who are 18 fall into the youngest age group of 15 to 19. However, the survey is missing data for marriage rates for this age group. Instead, a United Nations Children\u2019s Emergency Fund note on interpreting child marriage data recommends using the next age group: \"Looking at the group of women 20 to 24 years old is simpler and allows for the inclusion of all girls who were married or in union by age 18 within the closest time period for which complete data are available.\" Following this standard, the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey shows that 35.9 percent of Liberian women aged 20 to 24 reported being married by the time they were 18. This method is imperfect because it doesn\u2019t tell us about the chances that a girl under 20 today will have been married by 18. However, it gives us the best estimate for youth marriage rates for a group of young women who could reasonably be called girls. Literacy rates in Liberia The 2013 survey reported a literacy rate of 64.2 percent for women between 15 and 24 years of age. Someone is considered literate if they went to high school or if they can read a whole sentence or part of that sentence. The literacy rate decreases slightly to 58.9 percent when you look at women ages 20 to 24. Other organizations define literacy more strictly. For example, UNESCO doesn\u2019t include people who can only read part of a sentence in the literate population. If we apply UNESCO\u2019s literacy definition to Liberian women aged aged 20 to 24, literacy drops to 51.2 percent \u2013 still much higher than the marriage figure of 35.9 percent. Our Ruling Rosenberg made the claim that a Liberian woman is \"more likely to be married by 18 than to know how to read.\" This claim relies on data from an old 2007 survey. Using a more recent survey and the closest age group for which data are available, the comparison doesn\u2019t hold. Young Liberian women are more likely to know how to read than be married. We rate this claim . This fact-check originally was published by Africa Check. Read their version of this story here."}
{"claim_id": "5755", "claim": "Senate OKs Coast Guard bill with ballast water compromise.", "explanation": "The U.S. Senate approved a compromise policy Wednesday on dumping ship ballast water in coastal ports and the Great Lakes, a practice blamed for spreading invasive species that damage the environment and the economy.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Coast guard, Lakes, Shipping, Environment, U.S. News, Invasive species, Bills, Economy, Traverse City", "main_text": "The plan, part of a $10.6 billion Coast Guard budget authorization bill, includes provisions sought by environmentalists as well as the cargo shipping industry. They have battled for years over how to regulate disposal of water stored in tanks that is essential for steadying vessels in rough seas but has brought unwanted mussels, fish and even viruses to U.S. waters. Under the bill, approved 94-6 and sent to the House for consideration, the Environmental Protection Agency would set national rules for ballast and other water discharges while the Coast Guard would enforce them. An earlier version backed by industry would have put the Coast Guard in charge of regulation and exempted ballast from the Clean Water Act, which environmentalists feared would result in weaker requirements for treating the water before it\u2019s released. But in a victory for shippers, states would be prohibited from imposing tougher treatment rules than EPA\u2019s. Presently, 26 states have rules in addition to those on federal level, creating what the industry describes as a confusing regulatory patchwork. Environmentalists contend states should be able to exceed federal standards to safeguard their waterways. The bill creates an exception for the Great Lakes, where damages and control costs from quagga mussels and other exotic organisms reach $200 million annually. Regional requirements could be imposed there if enough of the eight states that border the lakes want them. Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, co-chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, said EPA policy required under the bill \u201cwill help prevent pollution and ensure that that ballast water does not transport invasive species from one body of water to another along a vessel\u2019s shipping route, while providing greater regulatory certainty for the shipping industry.\u201d Debate will persist even if the measure is enacted. Federal policy currently limits numbers of live organisms in ballast water before it\u2019s discharged, based on international standards that environmentalists contend are too weak. A federal court has ordered EPA to strengthen the standards, noting the availability of treatment tools such as chlorine, ultraviolet light and filtration. Shippers contend available technology can\u2019t hit the cleanliness targets environmentalists want. EPA will grapple with such issues as it develops national rules. Still, both sides praised the bill. The Lake Carriers\u2019 Association, representing Great Lakes cargo shippers, said it strikes a \u201cgood balance,\u201d while an environmentalist coalition said it \u201cupholds many core protections to prevent future invasions.\u201d The bill authorizes $10.6 billion for the Coast Guard in fiscal year 2019, a roughly 16 percent increase from 2017 that would help modernize its aging fleet of cutters and aircraft. The Coast Guard is the primary federal authority for maritime safety and security on the U.S. coast and in ports and inland waterways. \u201cPassing it will ensure the Coast Guard has the tools it needs to continue to carry out its many important missions,\u201d said Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat. The measure also contains provisions to help the agency crack down on drug smuggling and enforce borders through use of informants and greater cooperation with other agencies. It also boost efforts to place and maintain navigational aids and enter less expensive contracts for acquiring the largest and most technologically advanced cutters. Other provisions would create a Coast Guard center to develop responses to oil spills in the Great Lakes and other freshwater environments and authorize funding to design and build a National Coast Guard Museum in New London, Connecticut. ___ AP reporter Kevin Freking in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story."}
{"claim_id": "34014", "claim": "New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis was fined by the NFL for wearing a \"Man of God\" headband. ", "explanation": "What's true: New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis was fined by the NFL for violating the \"personal message\" provision of the league's dress code policy by sporting a \"Man of God\" headband. The fine was later overturned. What's false: Davis was not fined due to the religious nature of the message on his headband.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "On Sept. 22, 2019, New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis wore a headband bearing the words \u201cMan of God\u201d during a game against the Seattle Seahawks. The National Football League (NFL) ended up fining Davis $7,017 because his wearing of the headband violated the league\u2019s dress code policy, as reported by The Washington Post: During a Sept. 22 game against the Seattle Seahawks, the New Orleans Saints linebacker wore a headband matching the team\u2019s colors bearing the words, \u201cMan of God.\u201d He said he was fined $7,017 for a first-offense uniform violation even though the headband wasn\u2019t visible beneath his helmet. NFL rules are strict when it comes to game-day apparel, and personal messages are prohibited. It\u2019s undeniable that Davis\u2019 was fined after he wore a \u201cMan of God\u201d headband during an NFL game, but some people spread news of Davis\u2019 fine as if it documented that the league held an anti-Christian bias and/or that the penalty was predicated purely upon the \u201cMan of God\u201d message. Conservative commentator Todd Starnes, for example, suggested that the phrase \u201cMan of God\u201d (or religious expression in general) was a \u201cbig no-no\u201d in the NFL: Demario Davis, a starting linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, was fined more than $7,000 for wearing a headband with a Christian message. The headband was emblazoned with the words \u201cMan of God\u201d \u2014 a big no-no in the National Football League these days. The NFL has a famously strict dress code policy that has led to the levying of some unpopular fines over the years. In 2015, two players were fined for honoring their late mothers by wearing pink and purple items (to represent causes related to domestic abuse and breast cancer) with their uniforms. In 2013, a Detroit Lions player was fined for wearing blue and black socks instead of the league-approved blue and white socks. And a few weeks after Demario Davis was fined in September 2019, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was similarly fined for wearing an Apple Watch on the sidelines. The aforementioned fines were not levied by the NFL because the league has something against charity, blue and black socks, or smartwatches. These fines were handed out because the players violated a provision of the league\u2019s five-page-long dress code policy. Here\u2019s the \u201cpersonal message\u201d portion of the NFL\u2019s dress code policy that relates to Davis\u2019 fine (emphasis ours): Throughout the period on game-day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field), players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office. Items to celebrate anniversaries or memorable events, or to honor or commemorate individuals, such as helmet decals, and arm bands and jersey patches on players\u2019 uniforms, are prohibited unless approved in advance by the League office. All such items must relate to team or League events or personages. The League will not grant permission for any club or player to wear, display, or otherwise convey messages, through helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment, which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns. Further, such armbands and jersey patches must be modest in size, tasteful, noncommercial, and non-controversial; must not be worn for more than one football season; and if approved for use by a specific team, must not be worn by players on other teams in the League. Davis was fined for displaying an unapproved personal message, regardless of its content. A player\u2019s wearing a headband bearing the words \u201cHail Satan,\u201d \u201cAvengers Endgame Was a Bad Movie,\u201d or \u201cTrump 2020\u201d would have, theoretically, resulted in the same penalty. It should also be noted that fines collected for dress code violations don\u2019t go to the NFL, but to two charities that support former players. The NFL also started the \u201cMy Cause, My Cleats\u201d campaign in 2017, which allowed players to wear personalized cleats in support of a charity during one week of the NFL season. Demario Davis is selling \u201cMan of God\u201d and \u201cWoman of God\u201d headbands to raise money for St. Dominic\u2019s Hospital: I accept the fine but the mission continues! Obstacles are made to be conquered and I\u2019m here to serve!!! We all can. Me, my family, and my headband are partnering with @stdomhospital so that 100% of proceeds can help save lives. You in?! #ManOfGod You can get your headband and help me support St. Dominic\u2019s by going to: bit.ly/56manofgod (link in bio) A post shared by  Demario Davis #56 (@d56davis) on Oct 5, 2019 at 6:06pm PDT  Davis appealed the fine and on October 9, 2019 he announced that the NFL had reversed their decision: The New Orleans Saints\u2019 starting weak-side linebacker fielded a message from his agent, telling him that he wouldn\u2019t have to pay the $7,014 fine stemming from the \u201cMan of God\u201d headband he wore during the Seattle Seahawks game. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge win,\u201d Davis said Wednesday. Davis and his team cited several reasons for their appeal. Davis said he didn\u2019t know the headband was a fine-worthy offense. He also argued that the headband wasn\u2019t offensive and that he wouldn\u2019t wear the headband during a game again."}
{"claim_id": "24949", "claim": "John McCain Says Obama called Sarah Palin a pig.", "explanation": "If there's lipstick on a pig, it's this McCain ad", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Candidate Biography, John McCain, ", "main_text": "(Published Sept. 10, 2008) The story begins, like so many these days, with Gov. Sarah Palin\u2019s speech at the Republican National Convention last week. Having stirred the crowd to its feet more than once, Palin delivered a knockout line when she deadpanned: \u201cI love those hockey moms. You know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.\u201d The line drew cheerful applause and has echoed ever since, which seems to explain how Sen. Barack Obama found himself in the middle of an uproar when he uttered a time-worn phrase to denigrate Sen. John McCain\u2019s proclaimed agenda for \u201cchange\u201d in Washington. \"John McCain says he's about change, too,\" Obama said. \"And so I guess his whole angle is, 'Watch out, George Bush! Except for economic policy, health care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy, and Karl Rove-style politics, we're really going to shake things up in Washington.'\" \"That's not change,\" Obama said. \"That's just calling something the same thing something different. But you know, you can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it\u2019s still going to stink after eight years. We\u2019ve had enough of the same old thing.\" Gasp! He just said lipstick! Did he just call Sarah Palin a pig??!!! That\u2019s the charge. Later that day, the McCain campaign arranged a conference call for reporters with Jane Swift, the former governor of Massachusetts. She said that when you add up Obama\u2019s comments and Palin\u2019s comments, you get Obama calling Palin a pig. Swift said Obama should apologize. \u201cCalling a very prominent female governor of one of our states a \u2018pig\u2019 is not exactly what we want to see,\u201d Swift said. The issue has dominated the presidential campaign for two days, with the McCain campaign stirring a controversy by having local lawmakers call for Obama to apologize, and the Obama campaign responding with examples of how often he and others have used the phrase. The next day, Obama called the McCain\u2019s campaign tactics \u201clies and phony outrage and Swift-boat politics.\u201d On Wednesday, the McCain campaign released a Web ad called \u201cLipstick.\u201d It begins with a clip of Palin delivering her lipstick line, then text flashes on the screen saying \u201cBarack Obama on: Sarah Palin.\u201d A moment later, the ad plays a small portion of Obama\u2019s \u201clipstick on a pig\u201d remark, but not enough of his quotation to make clear what he was talking about. The ad concludes with a clip of CBS anchor Katie Couric soberly remarking on sexism on the campaign trail. The ad has two big problems, as does the complaint of former Gov. Swift. First, in the full text of the remarks it\u2019s clear that Obama isn\u2019t talking about Sarah Palin. He\u2019s talking about McCain\u2019s argument that he represents change. Second, \u201cputting lipstick on a pig\u201d is a popular put-down, especially among politicians. It generally means taking a bad or unattractive idea and trying to dress it up. We weren\u2019t able to pin down the origins of this folksy expression, but we found tons of instances of people using it. The political newspaper  The Hill  labeled the phrase \u201cCongress Speak\u201d back in June, and gave it an official definition: \u201can expression used to illustrate that something unattractive cannot be beautified or otherwise positively changed by any amount of makeup or other exterior alterations.\u201d In 1986, Texas Agricultural Commissioner Jim Hightower used the phrase to criticize Ronald Reagan\u2019s farm policy. During the 2004 presidential campaign, both Dick Cheney and John Edwards used it to attack the other guy\u2019s running mate. Earlier this year, Democratic Congresswoman Linda Sanchez of California gave a speech on trade policy. \u201cYou know the old saying about putting lipstick on a pig? Well, I smell bacon,\u201d she groused. Obama and McCain both have used the expression. In September 2007,  Washington Post  columnist Eugene Robinson quoted Obama using the phrase to discuss Iraq policy: \u201cI think that both Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are capable people who have been given an impossible assignment,\u201d Obama said. \u201cGeorge Bush has given a mission to Gen. Petraeus, and he has done his best to try to figure out how to put lipstick on a pig.\u201d In Iowa on Oct. 11, 2007, McCain panned Sen. Hillary Clinton\u2019s health care plan, calling it \u201ceerily reminiscent\u201d of the plan that failed during Bill Clinton\u2019s administration, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. \u201cI think they put some lipstick on a pig,\u201d McCain said, \u201cbut it\u2019s still a pig.\u201d On Feb. 1, 2007, McCain blasted a Senate resolution that would have criticized President Bush\u2019s strategy in Iraq. Some had praised the resolution as a compromise measure, but McCain disagreed. \u201cIt gets down to whether you support what is being done in this new strategy or you don\u2019t,\u201d McCain said. \u201cYou can put lipstick on a pig, [but] it\u2019s still a pig, in my view.\u201d It is simply impossible to view the complete remarks by Obama and conclude that he\u2019s making a veiled and unsavory reference to Palin. Her name never is used in the preceding sentence. In fact, it\u2019s hard to see how one could interpret Obama\u2019s lipstick-on-a-pig remark as referring directly to McCain, either. We think it\u2019s very clear that Obama was saying McCain\u2019s effort to call himself the \u201ccandidate of change\u201d is like putting lipstick on a pig, trying to dress up a bad idea to look better. Agree or disagree with Obama\u2019s point, but his remark wasn\u2019t the smear that McCain\u2019s people have tried to make it. If anyone\u2019s doing any smearing, it\u2019s the McCain campaign and its outrageous attempt to distort the facts. Did Obama call Palin a pig? No, and saying so is  wrong."}
{"claim_id": "5573", "claim": "Louisiana, Mississippi top nation in worst West Nile illness.", "explanation": "Louisiana and Mississippi are leading the nation in the number of people who have become the most seriously ill from West Nile virus this year. State health departments are warning residents to take precautions against mosquitoes, which spread the virus.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Mississippi, Meningitis, Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile virus, Louisiana", "main_text": "\u201cNot in my house, not on my skin, not in my yard,\u201d said Dr. Raoult Ratard, Louisiana\u2019s state epidemiologist, as he repeated the state slogan for fighting the disease Wednesday. Precautions include making sure door and window screens don\u2019t have holes; wearing long clothes and using mosquito repellent; and making sure the yard doesn\u2019t hold any standing water where mosquitoes might breed \u2014 even a bottle cap. As of Aug. 21, Louisiana had 18 cases of West Nile encephalitis or meningitis out of a national total of 133, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday on its website. Mississippi had 15 such \u201cneuroinvasive\u201d cases, Texas 14 and California 12. South Dakota had nine, Iowa seven, Nebraska six and Alabama and Pennsylvania five each. Dr. Paul Byers, Mississippi\u2019s state epidemiologist, said Mississippi is \u201calways\u201d among the states with the highest rates for West Nile virus. \u201cRegardless of whether we report the disease in your county ... we want everybody to take those appropriate precautions,\u201d Byers said. Reports of infections of the brain and nervous system are more reliable indicators of West Nile\u2019s seriousness than statistics for flu-like West Nile fever or symptomless infections found most often when people donate blood, he and Ratard both said. That\u2019s because most patients will be hospitalized, Ratard said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s the major problem with West Nile,\u201d he added. \u201cOne out of 10 (with neuroinvasive West Nile virus) will die; one out of 10 will have permanent disabilities.\u201d The CDC reported eight deaths so far this year: two in South Dakota and one each in Louisiana, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. Overall, the CDC said, 45 states and the District of Columbia have reported the virus in people, birds or mosquitoes this year. About one in five infected people becomes ill, and the virus spreads to the nervous system in about one in 150, according to the CDC. West Nile fever diagnoses depend on whether a patient even goes to the doctor, and then on whether the doctor tests for it. And most people bitten by an infected mosquito never show any symptoms. They\u2019re diagnosed only if their blood is tested. The CDC reported 98 cases of fever and 89 positive blood tests. Six states \u2014 Florida, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Oregon and Utah \u2014 have diagnosed only one or two fever cases and none in the nervous system. The only reports in New Mexico and Montana were from a single blood test in each. Ratard said 1,054 people in Louisiana have come down with the most serious form of the disease over the past 16 years. \u201cSo we probably have 100,000 to 200,000 people that were infected in Louisiana, and that are immune,\u201d Ratard said. CDC figures often lag behind state reports. Louisiana reports there have been 31 residents with dangerous nervous system infections, including two deaths, and 13 cases of West Nile fever. Mississippi has reported 10 fever cases in addition to the 15 nervous system infections, Byers said. Variations from state to state and year to year depend on various local factors, Ratard said. He noted that although Louisiana is seeing more cases this year than last, numbers are still down considerably from the worst years, such as 2002 and 2012. Louisiana had 142 nervous system infections by this week in 2002, out of a total of 204 for the year. There were 95 such cases by now in 2012, out of 160 for the year. There were nearly 3,000 cases of encephalitis and meningitis caused by the virus in both 2002 and 2012."}
{"claim_id": "1842", "claim": "State high court rules NYC ban on large sodas is illegal.", "explanation": "New Yorkers can now sip their super-sized sodas without worry.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg\u2019s plan to limit the sale of large sugary drinks was rejected on Thursday by the state\u2019s highest court, which ruled the local health board overstepped its authority in approving the regulation. The 4-2 ruling from the state Court of Appeals upheld two lower court decisions from last year, siding with the soft drink, restaurant and movie theater industries, which had challenged the law. \u201cBy choosing among competing policy goals, without any legislative delegation or guidance, the Board engaged in law-making and thus infringed upon the legislative jurisdiction of the City Council,\u201d wrote Judge Eugene Pigott for the majority. The law, which was struck down by a state judge in March 2013 one day before it was to take effect, would have barred restaurants, movie theaters and other businesses from selling sugary beverages larger than 16 ounces (473 ml). The decision Thursday ended the city\u2019s final appeal, which was taken up by Bloomberg\u2019s successor, Bill de Blasio. But the so-called \u201csoda ban\u201d remained closely associated with Bloomberg, who had previously banned cigarettes from parks and bars and trans fats from restaurants in a broad effort to combat public health problems through regulation. The soda ban, the first of its kind in the United States, drew national attention, with critics blasting Bloomberg\u2019s \u201cnanny state\u201d and public health advocates praising the attempt to fight obesity. In a statement, de Blasio said he was disappointed but that officials have a \u201cresponsibility to address the causes of this epidemic.\u201d  A spokesman for the American Beverage Association, which led the legal challenge and includes members like PepsiCo Inc, The Coca-Cola Co and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc, said the law \u201cwould have created an uneven playing field for thousands of small businesses in the city and limited New Yorkers\u2019 freedom of choice.\u201d  Steve Anastos, the manager of City Diner on Manhattan\u2019s Upper West Side, said he supported the decision because \u201cpeople can drink whatever they want.\u201d  The court focused on the law\u2019s loopholes, which exempted businesses not subject to the health board\u2019s authority and left untouched certain drinks, such as milk-based beverages. As a result convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, which sells a 64-ounce Big Gulp drink, were unaffected. Likewise, high-calorie coffee drinks like Starbucks\u2019 Frappuccinos remained exempt from the ban. The decision could also curtail the board\u2019s power in the future to enact sweeping health initiatives. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Susan Read said the health board acted properly and any challenge belonged in the political arena, not the courts. \u201cWhat petitioners have truly asked the courts to do is to strike down an unpopular regulation, not an illegal one,\u201d she wrote. \u201cBut if that is so, eliminating, limiting, or preventing it via political means should present little obstacle.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "18077", "claim": "Under Obamacare, people who \"have a doctor they\u2019ve been seeing for the last 15 or 20 years, they won\u2019t be able to keep going to that doctor.", "explanation": "Rubio said that for people who currently have health insurance, \"They have a doctor they\u2019ve been seeing for the last 15 or 20 years, they won\u2019t be able to keep going to that doctor,\" due to Obamacare. Rubio ignores the fact that without Obamacare, patients can lose access to their doctor when their employer switches plans or they switch (or lose) jobs. Some patients who buy health insurance through the exchange could lose access to their current doctor, but it\u2019s difficult to predict how many.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Health Care, Florida, Marco Rubio, ", "main_text": "Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., calls Obamacare a \"broken and failed experiment.\" In an interview with Fox\u2019s Sean Hannity on July 31, Rubio railed against the health care law, saying it would hurt regular folks. \"Just think about the people that have health insurance now, and they\u2019re happy with it. They\u2019re going to lose that health insurance. They have a doctor they\u2019ve been seeing for the last 15 or 20 years, they won\u2019t be able to keep going to that doctor,\" he said. Rubio\u2019s claim that insured patients will have to stop seeing their long-time doctors caught our attention, so we decided to check it out. We asked a Rubio spokesman for an explanation and did not get a response. Even without Obamacare patients sometimes have to switch doctors If we set aside the health care law, there are already ways that people can end up losing access to their doctor now. Companies can switch health care plans, and some employees\u2019 doctors may not be in the new network. Employees can lose their job -- or switch jobs -- and end up with a different plan that doesn\u2019t include the same doctor. Switching jobs -- and therefore, potentially health insurance -- can happen often. In 2012, the median job tenure was 5.4 years, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. \"It's hard to imagine many people on the same health plan for 15-20 years given natural job turnover,\" said Paul Fronstin, senior research associate at Employee Benefit Research Institute. The health care law leaves in place the current health insurance system, so switching plans and possibly doctors will still happen. The law also puts more requirements on insurance companies, so that they have to offer more comprehensive coverage. For people who are uninsured or have to buy insurance on their own, the law creates state-by-state health insurance exchanges where people can buy their own insurance. These new options mean people may end up switching health plans, and that could mean switching doctors. But experts on the health care law told us it\u2019s difficult to predict how many will fall into that category. There are many factors at play, including the particular insurance plan, geography and if the patient shops for a plan on the exchange. \"Most people are not going to be affected, at least in the short term,\" said Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. \"Will it be huge numbers? Probably not. Will some people find they can\u2019t keep their current doctor? Yes.\" If Rubio wants to protect people from involuntary changes in their doctors, \"the best remedy is to abandon the current employer-based insurance system and to provide insurance on some other basis -- e.g., a single-insurer system of the kind they have in Canada,\" said Gary Burtless, an economist at the Brookings Institution. Now let\u2019s examine the possibilities as it relates to Obamacare: \u2022\u00a0Employers that offer health insurance: It\u2019s possible that employers will switch their health care plans and that a new plan won\u2019t include some employees\u2019 current doctors in network. But that was already the case before Obamacare. \"If the ACA results in more employers switching plans, it is possible that more people will be in a situation where their new plan isn't in the network, but I've seen nothing that quantifies this,\" Fronstin said. It\u2019s also possible that some large employers could decide to drop their plan and pay the penalty, forcing employees to buy insurance from the exchanges. Also, a small employer who won\u2019t face a penalty could drop their plan, sending workers to the exchanges. But industry experts are not expecting the changes to be particularly widespread. Barry Schilmeister, a health care actuary and senior consultant at Mercer, said that \"it's not likely that employers will be making a lot more carrier changes than in the past, if they're keeping their traditional programs (which most are, for now).\" \u2022 Exchanges: A patient\u2019s current doctor may not be available through some -- or potentially any -- of the plans offered on the exchanges. There are lots of different scenarios here. A patient\u2019s doctor might be on an exchange plan, but the consumer might choose a cheaper alternative instead that doesn\u2019t cover that doctor. If that consumer truly couldn\u2019t afford the plan covering their doctor, we might call that being \"forced\" to switch doctors, but if someone simply chooses to save money, then they are making a choice. Gail Wilensky, former head of Medicare and Medicaid under President George H.W. Bush, said that there is some truth to Rubio\u2019s claim, because there is the potential for some patients to lose access to their doctor. But she said at this point, it\u2019s not possible to predict how many people that will happen to in the first year of the exchange -- or beyond. \"Just like private plans now don\u2019t include all the doctors, many doctors may not choose to be in the plans offered in the exchanges,\" she told PolitiFact. That \"will depend on which companies participate in the exchanges, whether they have a relationship with those plans, and the payment rates that the plan will use for the exchange. Many states have pushed plan premiums way below what the companies thought it would take and may come in with narrow networks to live within those rates.\" News reports indicate that some health care insurance companies are forgoing some state exchanges, at least for now. Aetna announced Aug. 2 that it was pulling out of Maryland\u2019s individual exchange. We interviewed spokespersons at a few health care companies and learned that United Health plans to participate in about a dozen exchanges, while Aetna plans to join about 14. Cigna currently offers individual plans in 10 states and has chosen half for initial participation in exchanges. This means for consumers who now have a particular insurance company and have to buy a plan on the exchange, \"whether your doctor might be on other plans is a crapshoot -- maybe yes, maybe no,\" Wilensky said. \u2022 Medicare: Jeff Johnson, state director of Florida AARP, said that nothing in the Affordable Care Act would force patients on Medicare to switch doctors. Future changes to Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors \"could affect doctors getting out of Medicare.\" However, that has been an issue years before Obamacare. The \"sustainable growth rate\" passed into law under President Bill Clinton is supposed to set Medicare reimbursement costs but is routinely bypassed by Congress. \"The Affordable Care Act did not include a permanent fix to that,\" he said. Judith Stein, executive director of Center for Medicare Advocacy, said every year doctors decide whether to continue serving patients on Medicare or Medicare Advantage -- and that\u2019s unrelated to Obamacare. With Medicare Advantage, doctors consider how many of their patients are on the plan, reimbursement rates and administrative hassles \"It may be your Medicare Advantage plan may not include your doctor next year, but not because of Obamacare. ... That has always been the case and continues to be the case.\" Our ruling Rubio said that for people who currently have health insurance, \"They have a doctor they\u2019ve been seeing for the last 15 or 20 years, they won\u2019t be able to keep going to that doctor,\" due to Obamacare. Rubio ignores the fact that without Obamacare, patients can lose access to their doctor when their employer switches plans or they switch (or lose) jobs. Some patients who buy health insurance through the exchange could lose access to their current doctor, but it\u2019s difficult to predict how many. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "34779", "claim": "Walter Reed Medical Center guidelines prohibit the use or distribution of religious items during visits with patients.", "explanation": "WRNMMC prides itself on embodying the principles of the \u201cPatient and Family Care\u201d philosophy, to include the spiritual and holistic health of our Wounded, Ill, Injured Warriors, and their families. The WRNMMC care paradigm finds the holistic and family elements of care to be important to the overall rehabilitation path of our patients. The Integrated Healthcare Delivery System, of which WRNMMC is an integral part, is bolstered by the combined holistic and spiritual capabilities of the integrated healthcare teams of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Public Health medical establishments who remain dedicated to enhancing the holistic, mental, physical, and spiritual health needs of our Wounded, Ill, and Injured Warriors, their families and our beneficiaries.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Uncategorized, bible ban, todd starnes, walter reed", "main_text": "Example: [Collected via e-mail, December 2011] The soldiers who wake up in Walter Reed Medical Center are in Maryland \u2014 not communist China. But under the Navy\u2019s new rules, they may not know the difference! Navy officials have announced that \u201cno religious items (including Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.\u201d The new orders are buried in a four-page document about patient care, which an Army officer forwarded to us in disbelief. Effective immediately, families, friends, and even pastors will have to check their beliefs at the door to visit one of the largest military hospitals in the United States. Summary: A guideline memo issued by the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in September 2011 stated that \u201creligious items\u201d (including Bibles) could not be used or given away during visits with patients at that facility. The rule was not enforced, however, and was rescinded four months later, hence the condition described in the above-quoted example no longer exists and is therefore outdated. Origins:\u00a0On 14 September 2011, Col. C.W. Callahan, Chief of Staff of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, issued a memorandum headed \u201cWOUNDED, ILL AND INJURED PARTNERS IN CARE GUIDELINES\u201d with the expressed purpose of providing revised guidelines for the hospital\u2019s patient visitation policies. Most of the memo dealt with routine matters such as setting visiting hours and maximum group sizes, but one item near the end of the memo caused a good deal of public outcry when it was made public: No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit. The intent of that stipulation was claimed to be the protection of patients from unwanted proselytizing, but the memo was worded so broadly that it read as an absolute ban on visitors\u2019 using Bibles or other religious materials during visits to Walter Reed Medical Center, even those brought by family members to receptive patients. After the issue became public, Walter Reed officials quickly issued statements proclaiming the policy as worded in the memo was incorrect, had not been enforced, and had since been rescinded. As the Navy Times reported of the controversy in December 2011: A section of the guidelines designed to protect patients from proselytizers was rescinded after Rep. Steve King of Iowa discussed it on the House floor, asserting it violated the First Amendment protecting free exercise of religion.The intent was to respect patients\u2019 religious practices and preserve their privacy, explained hospital spokeswoman Sandy Dean. She said patients often are visited by volunteers from benevolent organizations as well as strangers, ranging from celebrities, politicians and well-meaning VIPs, and the guidelines were developed to respect patients\u2019 own beliefs. \u201cIf the family, if friends, wanted to bring things in, it was fine,\u201d Dean said. \u201cThe way the policy was written was incorrect. We are rewriting the policy,\u201d she said. Dean said the guidelines are necessary because the hospital needs to protect its patients, who declare their religious preferences when they arrive. \u201cWe want to make sure that visitors are respecting our patients\u2019 religious practices and culture,\u201d she said. Hospital leaders are revising the policy carefully but she could not say when it would be complete. \u201cWe are having a lot of eyes on it to ensure it\u2019s articulated correctly,\u201d she said. Another memorandum dated 24 January 2012 canceled the earlier controversial instructions, and an information paper from May 2012 explained the situation the previous policy had attempted to address: The policy in question was established after receiving complaints from Warriors and their families at both Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center who were approached by unsolicited faith-based groups visiting the inpatient wards. Patients and families reported that these groups were proselytizing and making disparaging remarks about Warrior\u2019s service, sometimes using threatening and condemning language. According to the patients, some visits were persistent and repeated.The WRNMMC policy was not intended to nor did it ever have the effect of limiting religious expression of patients. The policy as written was incorrect and should have been more thoroughly reviewed before its release. It has been rescinded. Family members have been and will always be allowed to bring religious materials and texts. Subsequently, the new \u201cPatient Visitation Policy\u201d WRNATMILMEDCEN INSTRUCTION 5720.4D was reissued on 24 January 2012 with all incorrect verbiage and implications removed."}
{"claim_id": "10651", "claim": "Virtual Colonoscopy Can Spot Cancers Outside Colon", "explanation": "Based on a news release. No independent expert perspective. Numbers that inflated the supposed benefit and hid the possible harms. Awful. Add this story to the pile of hype that has accumulated to support newer virtual colonoscopy despite the hidden but even higher piles of evidence raising legitimate questions about its expanded use. This story did not serve the public good.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "No discussion of cost of virtual colonoscopy. And, since a conventional colonoscopy must still be performed if abnormalities are found, the costs quickly mount in the face of anything suspicious. But remember:\u00a0this story was about abnormal findings outside the colon \u2013 76% of which were found to be insigificant. But we weren\u2019t given any estimate of the significant costs expended to show that 76% of these findings were insignificant. How can you NOT discuss cost in the context of this story? The quantification that was given \u2013 the 78% increased odds of identifying high-risk lesions\" \u2013 was not at all helpful, for reasons we described in the \"evidence\" criterion above. There wasn\u2019t a word about a downside, a disadvantage, a harm of virtual colonoscopy. In the use in question, 76% of people might consider it a harm that a test that suggested a problem outside the colon were actually told this was an insignificant finding. Fun with numbers. The story says that 2,277 people had a virtual colonoscopy. Cancers and lesions outside the colon were identified in 1,037 patients \u2013 787 insignificant and 240 significant. That means 76% were insignificant. But it also means that 10% of those who had the scan were found to have significant lesions. The story didn\u2019t provide those percentages. But it did provide the unexplained stat that \"virtual colonoscopy increased the odds of identifying high risk lesions by 78%.\" Where do those numbers come from? A story on MedPageToday explained where that number came from when it said, \"CT colonography detected 16 high-risk lesions, whereas nine would have been identified by optical colonoscopy, resulting in a 78% increase in the yield of high-risk lesions.\" So, remember, you\u2019re using this technology on 2,277 people in order to find 7 high-risk lesions that would not have been found by traditional colonoscopy. This story could not have failed much worse in explaining the evidence. The subhead \u2013 in what it says and in what it doesn\u2019t say \u2013 is disease-mongering, in our view. It says that that the \"less invasive procedure raises chances of finding high-risk lesions.\" But it raised the chances much higher of finding what were termed \"insignificant\" lesions. Why wasn\u2019t THAT in the headline? The implication to readers is, \"Run out and get a virtual colonoscopy \u2013 you need to find these high-risk lesions!\" The fact that 3 out of 4 findings didn\u2019t need to be found \u2013 and the fact that the subhead and the story don\u2019t emphasize that \u2013 is disease-mongering."}
{"claim_id": "33849", "claim": "The Titanic went to a watery grave carrying a cursed mummy in its hold. ", "explanation": "In case you\u2019re curious (and have some vacation time to spare), the coffin lid of the Priestess of Amun is still on display at the British Museum, just as it was when Stead and Murray created their infamous \u201ccursed mummy\u201d tale a century ago. Look for exhibit BM No. 22542, in the Second Egyptian Room.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Horrors, Supernatural Tales, titanic", "main_text": "The following tale sends chills down your spine, doesn\u2019t it? Of all tales of the supernatural, this one is perhaps the best documented, the most disturbing and the most difficult to explain \u2026  The Princess of Amen-Ra lived some 1,500 years before Christ. When she died, she was laid in an ornate wooden coffin and buried deep in a vault at Luxor, on the banks of the Nile. In the late 1890s, 4 rich young Englishmen visiting the excavations at Luxor were invited to buy an exquisitely fashioned mummy case containing the remains of Princess of Amen-Ra. They drew lots. The man who won paid several thousand pounds and had the coffin taken to his hotel. A few hours later, he was seen walking out towards the desert. He never returned. The next day, one of the remaining 3 men was shot by an Egyptian servant accidentally. His arm was so severely wounded it had to be amputated. The third man in the foursome found on his return home that the bank holding his entire savings had failed. The fourth guy suffered a severe illness, lost his job and was reduced to selling matches in the street. Nevertheless, the coffin reached England (causing other misfortunes along the way), where it was bought by a London businessman. After 3 of his family members had been injured in a road accident and his house damaged by fire, the businessman donated it to the British Museum. As the coffin was being unloaded from a truck in the museum courtyard, the truck suddenly went into reverse and trapped a passerby. Then as the casket was being lifted up the stairs by 2 workmen, 1 fell and broke his leg. The other, apparently in perfect health, died unaccountably two days later. Once the Princess was installed in the Egyptian Room, trouble really started. The Museum\u2019s night watchmen frequently heard frantic hammering and sobbing from the coffin. Other exhibits in the room were also often hurled about at night. One watchman died on duty; making the other watchmen wanting to quit. Cleaners refused to go near the Princess too. When a visitor derisively flicked a dustcloth at the face painted on the coffin, his child died of measles soon afterwards. Finally, the authorities had the mummy carried down to the basement figuring it could not do any harm down there. Within a wk, one of the helpers was seriously ill, and the supervisor of the move was found dead on his desk. By now, the papers had heard of it. A journalist photographer took a picture of the mummy case and when he developed it, the painting on the coffin was of a horrifying, human face. The photographer was said to have gone home then, locked his bedroom door and shot himself. Soon afterwards, the museum sold the mummy to a private collector. After continual misfortune (and deaths), the owner banished it to the attic. A well known authority on the occult, Madame Helena Blavatsky, visited the premises. Upon entry, she was sized with a shivering fit and searched the house for the source of an evil influence of incredible intensity; She finally came to the attic and found the mummy case. Can you exorcise this evil spirit? Asked the owner. There is no such thing as exorcism. Evil remains evil forever. Nothing can be done about it. I implore you to get rid of this evil as soon as possible. But no British museum would take the mummy; the fact that almost 20 people had met with misfortune, disaster or death from handling the casket, in barely 10 years, was now well known. Eventually, a hardheaded American archaeologist (who dismissed the happenings as quirks of circumstance), paid a handsome price for the mummy and arranged for its removal to New York. In Apr 1912, the new owner escorted its treasure aboard a sparkling, new White Star liner about to make its maiden voyage to New York. On the night of April 14, amid scenes of unprecedented horror, the Princess of Amen-Ra accompanied 1,500 passengers to their deaths at the bottom of the Atlantic. The name of the ship was of course, the H.M.S. TITANIC [sic]. Ah, but it\u2019s only a ghost story: no mummy (cursed or otherwise) was carried as cargo by the ill-fated RMS Titanic on its one and only voyage. First of all, the tale is logically inconsistent. One of the few names quoted in the piece is that of Helena Blavatsky, a well-known occultist of the period. And we\u2019re told the dreaded Princess of Amen-Ra was purchased in Luxor, Egypt, by four foolish young Englishmen \u201cin the late 1890s,\u201d while later in the same piece we\u2019re informed of Helena Blavatsky\u2019s dire pronouncements to the private collector who supposedly had possession of the mummy right before it was shipped on the Titanic. These claims cannot both be true, because Helena Blavatsky died of influenza in 1891, but the Titanic\u2018s first and only voyage didn\u2019t take place until 1912. As for the facts of the matter, in 1985, Charles Haas, president of the national Titanic Historical Society, gained access to the ship\u2019s cargo manifest and cargo diagrams. Though the cargo included raw feathers, linen, straw, hatter\u2019s fur, tissue, auto parts, leather, rabbit hair, elastics, hair nets and refrigerating apparatus, not so much as one mummy was listed. Speaking to the legend that a cursed mummy was on board, Haas said, \u201cThe cargo manifest throws those myths right out the window.\u201d   Other experts have come to the same conclusion: no mummy \u2014 least of all one \u201cof the vengeful Princess of Amen-Ra\u201d \u2014 was shipped aboard the Titanic. (Of course, the fact that the ship\u2019s manifest listed no gold and no insurance claims were filed for valuable gems hasn\u2019t stopped people from believing that those objects went down with the Titanic as well.) Note that \u201cAmen-Ra\u201d isn\u2019t the name of a place; it\u2019s the name of an Egyptian god, one whose name means \u201cthe hidden one\u201d. He was seen as the creator of all things and, with his consort Mut and their son the moon-god Khonshu, was worshipped in the great temples of Luxor and Karnak. In fact, the mummy to which this story refers (which was actually just the coffin lid, not the mummy, of the Priestess of Amun) never left the British Museum, and it is still there to this day. So how did this fanciful tale begin? This ghost story was concocted around the turn of the century by two Englishmen named William Stead and Douglas Murray. Stead was a well-known journalist and editor who crusaded on behalf of liberal causes and created a national scandal when he published an article entitled \u201cThe Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon,\u201d describing how he was able to purchase the services of a thirteen-year-old prostitute for \u00a35. Stead was also a believer  in mysticism and spiritualism who consulted mediums, investigated psychic phenomena,  and published a related periodical. We don\u2019t know much about Murray \u2014 he\u2019s been described as an \u201cEgyptologist\u201d and as the man who shipped the mummy in question to London in the first place, although he was probably neither. Stead and Murray crafted an elaborate horror story about a mummy that was brought to England and set up in the drawing room of an acquaintance of theirs. The morning after the mummy arrived, they claimed, everything breakable in the room was destroyed. The mummy was moved from room to room within the house, but each move resulted in the same destruction of all the breakable objects at hand. Wherever the mummy went, it brought sickness, death and destruction to its owner. Sometime after Stead and Murray invented their mummy tale, they were visiting the First Egyptian Room of the British Museum and noticed the coffin lid of the Priestess of Amun. They concocted yet another story that the look of terror and anguish in the face depicted on the coffin lid indicated that the coffin\u2019s original occupant was a tormented soul, and her evil spirit was now loose in the world. Stead and Murray told their fanciful tale to eager newspaper reporters who \u2014 then as now \u2014 weren\u2019t about to let the truth get in the way of a sensationally good story. The two stories were conflated into one and spread widely, and the Priestess of Amun came to be identified as the mummy whose mortal remains wreaked havoc wherever they were stored. This ghost story made the leap from London to the Titanic after William Stead went down with the ill-fated ship on 15 April 1912. Stead was traveling to America at President Taft\u2019s request to address a peace conference, and he took delight in relating his \u201ccursed mummy\u201d tale to Titanic passengers. He reportedly defied superstition by starting his narrative at a dinner party on Friday, the 12th of April, and drew it out so that he concluded the tale just after midnight on the 13th. A few days after the Titanic\u2018s sinking, one of the survivors recounted Stead\u2019s \u201ccursed mummy\u201d tale in an interview with the New York World, and eventually the ghost story Stead and Murray invented, Stead\u2019s presence aboard the Titanic, and reports of Stead\u2019s having related the mummy tale to Titanic passengers became jumbled together, producing a new legend about an actual mummy aboard the Titanic. The modified legend told of a cursed mummy the British Museum was so anxious to be rid of that they sold it to an American, who naturally sought to ship it back home via the Titanic. The presence of the cursed mummy (which had escalated the expressions of its wrath from breaking cups and saucers and making people ill to sinking passenger liners) in the Titanic\u2018s hold came to be whispered as the cause of the most famous maritime disaster in history. In an even more elaborate version of the legend, the mummy\u2019s American owner paid a bribe to have the mummy placed in one of the Titanic\u2018s lifeboats; it was then smuggled aboard the Carpathia when that ship picked up the Titanic\u2018s survivors and secretly landed in New York. When the mummy continued to wreak havoc at its new home, its new owner had it taken to Canada in preparation for shipping it back to England. The mummy was placed aboard the liner Empress of Ireland, which, while on its way from Quebec City to Liverpool on 29 May 1914, was struck by a Norwegian coal ship. The Empress of Ireland sank so quickly that only 7 of her 40 lifeboats could be launched, and 840 passengers went down with her. As to how widespread this \u201ccurse of the mummy\u201d stuff is, some of the crew members on a failed 1980 expedition to locate the sunken Titanic spoke darkly of the famous mummy that was allegedly on board her, saying it transferred the curse of all who disturbed its grave to the vessel\u2019s maiden voyage and all subsequent search efforts. (Yeah. Like it couldn\u2019t have been plain bad luck. And what was the mummy doing back on the Titanic after having sailed on the Empress of Ireland?) In looking to blame their bad luck on an outside force they couldn\u2019t possibly have hoped to defeat, those crew members weren\u2019t all that unusual. They merely brought into play a standard avoidance technique employed to keep us from having to confront what a scary, random world this place can be. In the wake of any disaster, there\u2019s a strong urge to explain away the tragedy by ascribing it to some dark power beyond our control. As inconceivable as this might seem at first blush, it\u2019s easier for many people to accept that a cursed mummy was the cause of great loss of life than it is to co-exist with the knowledge that sometimes even unthinkable accidents will happen. Being at the mercy of the God of Random Chance is far more frightening a reality to face than any vengeful mummy will ever be. Ghost stories like this one reaffirm our faith in the world being a predictable (and therefore safe) place. If a great tragedy such as the sinking of the Titanic can be explained away as the direct result of the evil forces of the supernatural\u2019s being stirred up, we can again feel safe about placing our faith in the inherent safety of great ships, airplanes or even automobiles. Beyond the reassurance factor, such tales also make darned good storytelling. That too lies at the heart of their appeal."}
{"claim_id": "4022", "claim": "Tourist may have brought measles to Southern California.", "explanation": "A New Zealand teenager who visited Disneyland and other Southern California tourist spots last week brought along more than just her luggage. She brought measles.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Los Angeles, Health, Measles, General News, New Zealand, California, Santa Ana, Public health", "main_text": "Public health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties issued a warning Friday that people may have been exposed to the disease if they were at Disneyland or the Disney California Adventure Park on Aug. 12. The girl had measles when she arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Aug. 11 and went to the Desert Palms Hotel in Anaheim, officials said. After Disneyland, she is believed to have gone to Universal Studios, the TCL Chinese Theatre and Madame Tussauds in Hollywood, and the Santa Monica beach and pier on Aug. 14-15, authorities said. The girl has since returned to New Zealand, said Dr. Nichole Quick, Orange County\u2019s health care officer. The California Department of Public Health said it wasn\u2019t aware of any measles cases resulting from exposure to the traveler but is continuing to investigate. However, local health agencies said it can take up to 21 days after exposure for symptoms, such as fever and rash, to appear. \u201cMeasles is spread by air and by direct contact even before you know have it,\u201d said Dr. Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County\u2019s health officer. Quick urged anyone who has symptoms to call a health care provider before going to the doctor to avoid additional exposures. People are also urged to check their records to determine if they have been vaccinated or previously had measles. Quick said she expects to see more measles cases, generally, among international travelers who visit California because of an increase in the illness overseas. \u201cWe\u2019re in general concerned with the outbreaks going on in places in this country as well as internationally,\u201d she said. Measles cases are rising around the world. The number of cases nearly tripled globally during the first seven months of the year compared with the same period in 2018, the World Health Organization reported this month. New Zealand \u2014 and the United States \u2014 are dealing with their worst outbreaks in decades. Disneyland officials on Friday said no employees at the theme park were reported to have contracted the illness. Dr. Pamela Hymel, Disneyland\u2019s chief medical officer, said in a statement that health officials said the risk to employees and visitors \u201cis likely low.\u201d \u201cWe maintain rigorous sanitation standards to protect guests and cast, and earlier this year we strengthened our immunization program and educational resources for cast members,\u201d the statement said. Disneyland and adjacent Disney California Adventure Park are major tourist destinations, drawing tens of thousands of visitors a day. In 2015, a measles outbreak involving Disneyland sickened 147 people and spread across the U.S. and into Canada. As of early this month, Los Angeles County health officials reported 16 measles cases among county residents this year and \u2014 in addition to the New Zealand girl \u2014 10 others among non-residents who traveled through."}
{"claim_id": "5790", "claim": "Maine lawmakers\u2019 bills focus on solar energy, health care.", "explanation": "Democrats with newfound control over Maine\u2019s Legislature have proposed bills to expand access to health care, eliminate restrictions on solar projects, forgive student debt and promote firearms safety, according to the titles of over 2,000 bills released by the Legislature.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Legislature, Access to health care, Health, Marijuana, Gun politics, Bills, Maine", "main_text": "Meanwhile, other bills \u2014 proposed by Democrats, Republicans and independents \u2014 would tackle the opioid crisis, the roll-out marijuana sales and the future of ranking candidates on the ballot. There are also proposals on paid sick leave, an income tax hike, state funding for abortion services and measures to prevent \u201chigh-risk\u201d people from obtaining firearms. Few details are available so far about lawmakers\u2019 bills, whose titles were released Tuesday. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who was sworn in last week, leads the state alongside Democrats who now control Maine\u2019s Senate and House. She\u2019s set to release a budget proposal in early February, and lawmakers face a healthy surplus left over from Republican Gov. Paul LePage\u2019s administration. Mills told supporters in an email Tuesday that too many Mainers are facing high health insurance bills while the state\u2019s aging workforce and changing climate must be addressed. The leaders of Maine\u2019s Republican Party called on GOP lawmakers to work against bills that would \u201ctake Maine in the wrong direction.\u201d RENEWABLE ENERGY Mills has said promoting renewable energy is one of her top priorities in her first year. At least five bills would eliminate restrictions on solar power projects, while over a dozen other bills tackle other aspects of energy policy, including creating a \u201cGreen New Deal for Maine\u201d and promoting investment in renewable energy. Wind power ballooned under former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who criticized subsidies to solar and wind industries. Pete Didisheim, lobbyist for Natural Resources Council of Maine, said he hopes Maine takes more action on climate change under Mills. \u201cWe\u2019ve been kind of alone as states all around us have been doing a much better job at reducing their dependence on fossil fuel and aggressively moving forward on renewables,\u201d Didisheim said. ___ OPIOID CRISIS The number of people dying from drug overdoses has continued to increase in Maine, which saw 418 such deaths in 2017. Mills used her first executive order to start expanding Medicaid to as many as 70,000 low-income Mainers, as voters demanded in 2017. She says the expansion will help provide drug treatment to people struggling with substance use. Democrats are pushing to eliminate the two-year limit on Medicaid coverage for opioid use treatment drugs, while also pushing for new treatment programs in rural areas. A Republican bill would make it a crime to \u201ctransmit illegal drugs through breast milk.\u201d ___ POT SALES, RANKED-CHOICE VOTING, WAGES Lawmakers are still figuring out the future of measures that voters approved in referendums, such as legalizing marijuana sales, ranking the candidates in some elections and increasing the minimum wage. Adults over 21 can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. But sales have been delayed until lawmakers approve new regulations. Dozens of new bills tackle marijuana policy, from allowing state-chartered credit unions to serve marijuana businesses to sealing the criminal records of nonviolent offenders convicted of previous marijuana violations. Maine voters can rank candidates in primaries and federal races, but not state-level races. Several Democrats and an independent lawmaker want to amend Maine\u2019s constitution to allow ranking for all races, while some Republicans are pushing to repeal or freeze the voter-approved law. Maine\u2019s minimum wage jumped to $11 an hour this year and will increase again to $12 in 2020. Then, the wage will increase according to a formula tied to the cost of living. Republicans are proposing changes in the hopes of helping smaller businesses and state-funded nursing homes struggling with the increase. ___ ODDITIES Other bills deal with more obscure topics. One bill would examine \u201cthe sale and release of balloons.\u201d The title of another proposes changing Maine\u2019s license plate slogan from \u201cVacationland\u201d to \u201cStaycationland.\u201d Lawmakers have also proposed to allow hunters to shoot bows with crossbows and to allow barbers to use straight edge razors."}
{"claim_id": "9204", "claim": "Personalized treatment for those in blood pressure 'gray zone'", "explanation": "This news release describes an analysis of data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study showing a link between a buildup of calcium in coronary arteries and heart attacks in patients with borderline high blood pressure, referred to here as \u201cprehypertension.\u201d The study asserts that coronary artery calcification (CAC) can be used to guide treatment decisions for these \u201cgray zone\u201d patients. Aside from an overreaching headline and sub-headline, the news release delivers essential information including costs, harms, availability, and study limitations. Nearly 30 percent of U.S. adults have prehypertension, defined as blood pressure between 120 and 139 for the first number (systolic) and/or 80 to 89 for the second number (diastolic). Preypertension is associated with a higher risk of heart attack as well as a heightened risk of developing high blood pressure, which increases the risk of stroke. But the concept of \u201cprehypertension\u201d is somewhat controversial. The most recent hypertension guidelines (JNC 8) do not include this classification. It\u2019s still a leap of faith to imply that identifying this risk group and more aggressively treating their blood pressure would significantly reduce their cardiovascular risk. Patients generally are advised to make lifestyle changes such as exercise and weight loss, but medication is sometimes prescribed. A tool to better determine which patients would benefit from aggressive treatment \u2014 as coronary artery calcification scans might prove to be \u2014 could help clinicians make better recommendations, improving outcomes and reducing costs.", "label": "true", "subjects": "blood pressure,Johns Hopkins Medicine,prehypertension", "main_text": "The news release says that coronary artery calcium scans \u201caren\u2019t usually covered by insurance and can range in cost from $100 to $400.\u201d The news release does a good job of explaining the findings with numbers. It says the study shows \u201cheart CT scans can help personalize treatment in patients whose blood pressure falls in the gray zone of just above normal or mild high blood pressure.\u201d It says the study suggests \u201cpeople with the highest calcium levels would benefit most from aggressive blood pressure treatment, whereas those with little or no calcium may not need to be treated as intensively, depending on their other heart disease risk factors.\u201d It gives some detailed numbers to show the risk differential between people with no calcium buildup and those with a lot of calcium. To paraphrase the release, among participants with borderline blood pressure readings, those with calcium scores of zero and high predicted risk of heart disease had a low actual event rate, of 12.7 events per 1,000 person-years. Those with calcium scores over 100 but a low predicted risk of heart disease ended up with a higher rate of actual cardiac events, 19.7. \u201cThus,\u201d the release says, \u201ceven though their calculated heart disease risk is relatively low and their blood pressure is below traditional cutoffs for treatment, the researchers say people in this category with calcium over 100 are high risk and may benefit from more aggressive blood pressure treatment. Given that the difference in cardiac event rates between people with low calcium scores and those with high calcium scores isn\u2019t extreme, this might amount to a marginal benefit; we would have liked some discussion of how many patients might fall into this \u201cgray zone\u201d and thus benefit from this approach. Basically, the benefits, including the number needed to treat (NNT), cost-effectiveness, as well as harms and costs of obtaining these calcium scores are unknown. All we know is the magnitude of the increased potential risk associated with higher calcium scores, not whether this risk can be reduced. The news release states: \u201cThe scans use radiation, so there is a very small cancer risk for susceptible individuals.\u201d While the mention of cancer risk is laudable, we aren\u2019t clear what\u2019s meant by \u201csusceptible individuals.\u201d Also, it does not mention that CT scans are not recommended for pregnant women due to possible risk to the fetus. In addition, harms can also arise from medications prescribed to treat these calcium scores. The news release is forthcoming about study limitations. It states: \u201cThe researchers caution that results are from an observational study, and a randomized trial would be needed to confirm the recommendations.\u201d While other limitations are mentioned in the study, these are key ones readers should know about. The news release is accurate when it states that nearly one in three adults in the US. has the range of blood pressure it describes as prehypertension. But we wonder why it mentions that 70 million adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure, since the study results do not directly apply to that population. The news release mentions who funded the study, but it omits one potential conflict of interest that was reported in the study: one of the authors serves on a speakers\u2019 bureau for GE Healthcare, which makes imaging equipment and software designed to detect coronary artery calcification. It\u2019s not a a major concern, but the lack of disclosure means the release doesn\u2019t quite meet our standard here. The news release offers this comparison: \u201cPreviously, the appropriate blood pressure treatment for these patients used risk calculations and some guesswork, potentially leaving many vulnerable to heart disease or taking drugs they don\u2019t need.\u201d Previous treatment guidelines (JNC 7) recommended only lifestyle changes for the average-risk prehypertensive patient. (And as noted above, the current guidelines do not include a prehypertensive category.) We would like to see some mention of these recommended lifestyle changes such as exercise, weight loss, dietary changes, and limiting alcohol, which can reduce blood pressure along with providing other health benefits. Though CT scans are widely available, the news release mentions that coronary artery calcium scans aren\u2019t usually covered by insurance. This seems to be an important stumbling block to widespread adoption. Could insurers be persuaded to pay for scans if the cost is outweighed by better targeting of treatments? Addressing this point would have added value to the news release. The news release offers perspective via this quote from a researcher: \u201cOur study, along with others, such as SPRINT and HOPE, positions cardiac risk and coronary artery calcium as helpful ways to determine if a given patient would either benefit from more intensive blood pressure control or do just fine with a more traditional blood pressure target.\u201d According to the study itself, it\u2019s the \u201cfirst to incorporate information on individual coronary artery calcium (CAC) burden to personalize the risk-based treatment of hypertension.\u201d It should be noted that the release is comparing an observational study with the HOPE and SPRINT trials which were randomized treatment trials. The former examines an association while the latter provides experimental evidence. This is a close call. Overall the tone of this news release is measured. However, the sub-headline jumps the gun when it states the CAC score \u201cgives risk assessment to prevent over- or undertreatment of blood pressure.\u201d The score may be able to help guide treatment decisions when the path is unclear, but as the body of the news release mentions, a randomized trial is needed to find out whether there\u2019s a clinical benefit. Also, we\u2019re wondering whether the term \u201cpersonalized treatment\u201d is overused. In the past it\u2019s typically referred to treatment approaches directed by genetic variables. But in this case, the term has been expanded to cover variables in calcium buildup, with no known genetic component. The release also states: \u201cthe researchers say these calcium scores allow physicians to go beyond the traditionally calculated risk factors to determine which blood pressure treatment strategy may be most appropriate for a particular patient.\u201d \u00a0At best, this provides the rationale for conducing a study to determine whether blood pressure treatment is appropriate\u2013it cannot address the issue of which strategy."}
{"claim_id": "11705", "claim": "In a government shutdown, \"what they are really doing is shutting down our military.", "explanation": "Trump said that in a government shutdown, \"what they are really doing is shutting down our military.\" This is an exaggeration. Based on historical precedent, the Defense Department does stand to see a substantial fraction of its civilian workers furloughed, and employee morale would likely suffer if paychecks are held back. But experts agreed that core military functions would remain operational, including all active-duty military personnel and many essential civilian workers.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Federal Budget, Military, Donald Trump, ", "main_text": "As a possible government shutdown loomed, President Donald Trump preemptively blamed Democrats for any negative fallout. Trump charged that Democratic intransigence about how to renew Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was preventing an agreement on federal spending that would keep the government open \u2014 including the country\u2019s defense forces. \"Because of the Democrats not being interested in life and safety, DACA has now taken a big step backwards,\" Trump tweeted on Jan. 12, 2018. \"The Dems will threaten \u2018shutdown,\u2019 but what they are really doing is shutting down our military, at a time we need it most. Get smart, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!\" ....Because of the Democrats not being interested in life and safety, DACA has now taken a big step backwards. The Dems will threaten \u201cshutdown,\u201d but what they are really doing is shutting down our military, at a time we need it most. Get smart, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! We won\u2019t wade into the question of who would be to blame for the shutdown. However, we wondered whether Trump was correct that a government shutdown is tantamount to \"shutting down our military.\" When we checked with the White House, they said that Trump was not using the term literally, to suggest that the entire military will cease to operate. In other tweets, Trump used less sweeping language. In one, for instance, he warned against moves that would \"stop paying our troops and government workers.\" Still, the less cautiously worded tweet attracted nearly 23,000 retweets and almost 91,000 likes, so we thought it was worth a closer look. What is a shutdown? Federal government shutdowns occur when spending bills expire, and Congress and the president find themselves at an impasse. A law known as the Antideficiency Act requires suspending a federal agency\u2019s operations until an appropriation bill is enacted. But there is some leeway to continue certain federal activities deemed essential. A two-week shutdown occurred most recently in 2013, when Barack Obama was president, Democrats controlled the Senate, and Republicans controlled the House. Prior to that, there were two shutdowns in the mid 1990s, when President Bill Clinton squared off against a new Republican majority in the House and Senate. One was for five days in November 1995, and the other was for 21 days, from December 1995 to January 1996. Who works and who doesn\u2019t During the 2013 shutdown, as many as 850,000 workers were furloughed per day, or about 40 percent of the federal workforce (not counting active-duty military personnel and U.S. Postal Service workers). The longstanding guidance is that \"employees who are performing emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property\" remain on their jobs during a shutdown. The determination of who works and who doesn\u2019t has traditionally been made by senior executives and legal advisors at each agency. This means that the president, as the head of the executive branch, could theoretically order which federal workers must continue to show up for work, said Stan Collender, a budget specialist at the consulting firm Qorvis MSLGROUP. During a shutdown, national parks typically shut their doors, government-funded scientific research is halted, and various health and safety inspections \u2014 by agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration \u2014 are put on hold. (Some government functions are not reliant on congressional appropriations, and these can usually continue unimpeded in the face of a shutdown.) But workers responsible for human safety and security will typically remain on the job, and that includes many members of the military. How the military is affected Active-duty military personnel have always been required to work through shutdowns. Army troops don\u2019t abandon their posts and naval ships don\u2019t all return to port. In addition, many civilian workers in the Defense Department have been required to work through shutdowns. Other civilian workers in the Defense Department, however, hold jobs that do not meet the urgency threshold to keep working. In 2013, the government furloughed about half of its civilian workers, or about 400,000 employees, leaving a patchwork of various permissible and impermissible activities,\u00a0according to Federal News Radio. \"We can and will continue to support key military operations,\" former Defense Department comptroller Bob Hale told Federal News Radio in 2013. \"We\u2019re allowed to do that by law, but the law would force us to disrupt many of our support activities. We wouldn\u2019t be able to do most training, we couldn\u2019t enter into most new contracts, routine maintenance would have to stop, and we couldn\u2019t continue efforts to improve contracting and financial management including our audit improvement efforts.\" The Defense Department, like other parts of the government, will experience some consequences from a shutdown. But experts we interviewed agreed that Trump\u2019s language in this tweet amounted to an exaggeration, especially because the Defense Department is hurt less by a shutdown than most agencies. \"All critical military functions will continue,\" said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. \"There would be some wrinkles, but nothing like other areas of government.\" Todd Harrison, a defense budget specialist with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the \"biggest impact is probably on defense contractors, who will have to stop working.\" But \"troops that are in harm\u2019s way overseas will continue operating as normal and won\u2019t be at any increased risk,\" he said. Paychecks could be delayed One way that even active-duty troops could feel the shutdown is in their wallets. Employees who are required to work are not paid until a new spending bill is passed\u2014 effectively working for free, at least temporarily. Workers who are furloughed have historically been compensated for back pay through subsequent congressional action, though there is no requirement that such a bill be passed. In 2013, the Office of Management and Budget estimated that $2.5 billion in pay and benefits was paid for hours not worked government-wide, said Tyler Evilsizer, research manager for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Usually, paychecks have been sent after a shutdown is over, but for the Defense Department in 2013, Congress and the president agreed to a bill in the middle of the shutdown that paid all active-duty and many civilian Defense Department employees. This enabled Defense Department employees to return to work while the shutdown was still going on for workers in other departments. Delayed paychecks are just one downside of government shutdowns. \"A shutdown is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars, disruptive of government operations, and simply bad management,\" said John Palguta, a former federal human-resources official who is now an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. \"A shutdown, however, will not put the U.S. in harm\u2019s way by shutting down our military.\" Even just planning contingencies for a possible shutdown divert time and effort from the government\u2019s duties, said Mallory Barg Bulman, vice president of research and evaluation at the Partnership for Public Service. Our ruling Trump said that in a government shutdown, \"what they are really doing is shutting down our military.\" This is an exaggeration. Based on historical precedent, the Defense Department does stand to see a substantial fraction of its civilian workers furloughed, and employee morale would likely suffer if paychecks are held back. But experts agreed that core military functions would remain operational, including all active-duty military personnel and many essential civilian workers. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "14831", "claim": "A Muslim immigrant in Michigan can list his second, third or fourth wives as \"extended family\" and qualify for welfare.", "explanation": "Teva Pharmaceutical\u2019s UK unit has recalled some batches of heartburn medicine Ranitidine, Britain\u2019s medicines watchdog said on Thursday, making it the latest drugmaker to pull the product.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Immigration, National, Income, Islam, Welfare, Chain email, ", "main_text": "Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, is recalling all unexpired stock of Ranitidine Effervescent Tablets in 150 micrograms and 300 micrograms dosages, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said here  Teva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rantidine, a copycat of GlaxoSmithKline\u2019s Zantac, is being taken off the shelves after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found \u201cunacceptable\u201d levels of a probable cancer-causing impurity in the drug. GSK last week recalled Zantac in all markets. U.S. and European health regulators said last month they were reviewing the safety of Ranitidine, after online pharmacy Valisure warned of possible contamination with an impurity called NDMA, which has carcinogenic potential. Ranitidine is the latest drug in which cancer-causing impurities have been found. Regulators have been recalling some blood pressure and heart failure medicines since last year."}
{"claim_id": "11212", "claim": "CT Scans Can Reduce Lung Cancer Deaths, Study Finds", "explanation": "This story concisely reports the announcement that the long-anticipated National Lung Screening Trial indicates that heavy smokers who were offered a certain type of CT scan were less likely to die of lung cancer than similar smokers who were offered chest x-rays. It includes valuable comments that help readers understand what was found and, more importantly, some of the limitations on what is known. However, the lead sentence skews the story by highlighting that researchers saw a 20 percent relative difference in lung cancer death rates, while failing to make it clear that the absolute difference in death rates was much less than one percent, because of the small number of few lung cancer deaths in either the CT (354 or 1.32%) or x-ray (442 or 1.65%) group compared to the size of the total trial population (about 53,500). The National Cancer Institute reported that 300 smokers would have to undergo screening in order for one life to be extended. Readers should have been shown that aspect of the results. Putting a spotlight on relative differences in rates usually magnifies the effects of an intervention. Absolute numbers \u2013 and the number of people that need to undergo the intervention in order for at least one to benefit \u2013 should get at least equal billing in order to put trial results into perspective.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Cancer,New York Times,Screening", "main_text": "Mixed bag and, in the end, not specific enough to warrant a satisfactory score. The story does say that a nationwide lung cancer screening program would be \u201cenormously costly,\u201d and it does mention that screening leads to additional tests and treatments. But what does \u201cenormously costly\u201d\u00a0mean? And how much could those additional tests and treatments cost? The story doesn\u2019t tell readers that this type of CT scan costs about $300 (or that the trial participants each received about $900 worth of scans) and that this type of screening is generally not covered by insurance. This story might have met this criterion if not for a misleading lead sentence. Researchers did announce that the heavy smokers in this trial who were offered CT scans had a 20 percent lower rate of death from lung cancer than those offered chest x-rays. The story does report the total number of deaths in the body of the story (354 vs. 442), but it does not point how that because so many smokers were in this trial, the lung cancer death rate in each group was less than 2 percent. That context is important, because while the relative difference in death rates is indeed 20 percent, the absolute difference is less than one-third of one percent (1.32% vs. 1.65%). A letter sent by the National Cancer Institute to trial participants points out that based on these results, 300 heavy smokers would have to be screened in order to extend a single life. Those statistics would have helped readers put the results in perspective. The story does include valuable comments from one of the researchers about how much more analysis and study is needed in order to understand whether and for whom this sort of screening might be beneficial. Another problem with the lead sentence is that it is not quite accurate to say that \u201cannual CT scans\u201d produced this result, since the trial didn\u2019t offer ongoing annual screening, but rather three scans done at one-year intervals and then no more. The final paragraph of the story points out that there is a risk of harms from the radiation used for the CT scans and that the scans cause false positives and may lead to tests and treatments done on people who actually don\u2019t have dangerous tumors. We wish some attempt had been made to quantify these harms \u2013 even if it meant drawing from past research \u2013 but we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt. The story describes the trial, including who was enrolled, that they were screened by either chest x-rays or low-dose CT scans, and that they were followed for up to five years. It also notes that early trials of CT scanning of smokers had failed to demonstrate a difference in death rates. The story reports that this study involved current and former heavy smokers. However, near the end of the story there is a reference to \u201cmore than 80 million current and former smokers in the United States.\u201d It is not clear whether this number is meant to be an estimate of the number of people who smoked as heavily as those included in this trial. (The study enrolled only people who had smoked at least 30 pack-years, which is calculated by multiplying the number of years of smoking and the number of packs smoked per day. For example, 30 years of smoking a pack a day or 15 years of smoking two packs a day would each have 30 pack-years of smoking experience.) There is an independent source and the story reports that the trial was government-financed. However, the story does not tell readers that the independent source, Dr. Claudia Henschke, has been a loud critic of this trial. Dr. Henschke has been criticized both for making claims about benefits of CT screening that went beyond the available evidence, for having ties to a leading manufacturer of CT scanners, and for taking funding from a tobacco company. She should have been identified as someone who has frequently clashed with those who have supported this trial. The story reports that no other screening method (including chest x-rays) has been shown to reduce lung cancer death rates among current and former smokers. However, many health experts are concerned that lung cancer screening could lull smokers into a false sense of safety. This story fails to mention quitting smoking as a way to reduce the risk of death. Nonethless, we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. While it may seem obvious that CT scanning is widely available, this trial used a specific and rigorous protocol for selecting the type of low-dose CT scanners used, how they were maintained and operated, as well as certifying the training and practices of the radiologists who interpreted the scans. The sort of CT machines, operators and radiologists generally available to smokers may not meet the demanding standards of this trial and thus may not be able to match the results. The story recaps some of the history of research on screening for lung cancer and quotes one of the researchers saying, \u201cThis is the first time that we have seen clear evidence of a significant reduction in lung cancer mortality with a screening test in a randomized controlled trial.\u201d The story is not based on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "9755", "claim": "Surprising news about teens, marijuana, and health issues. It\u2019s all good.", "explanation": "The story describes one study of about 400 men who were followed from their teens in the late 1980s until 2010. The researchers found no increased risk of asthma, depression, lung cancer or mental illness, which the story seems to accept as a big reassurance. We felt the story did not squarely address the study limitations as described by the authors themselves in the paper. Instead, the \u201csurprising news\u201d came in a single-source story, lifting quotes from a news release, without any independent perspective or adequate context. Millions of individuals, of all ages, are making current decisions about medical and recreational marijuana use every day. Medical research on the health impacts of that exposure matter for each person and for society as a whole. This story over-valued the conclusion of a single small study based on a sample of only young men. Yes, the study results were interesting and indeed add to a body of knowledge about the use of marijuana by adolescents but it is by no means definitive. Suggesting, \u201cit\u2019s all good\u201d is\u00a0a misleading leap based on this one limited study.", "label": "false", "subjects": "marijuana,teens", "main_text": "We\u2019ll rule this Not Applicable. The story didn\u2019t discuss costs, and we acknowledge it would be difficult to pin down marijuana costs from different sources \u2013 from the time period in question in the analysis \u2013 or today. Although the story is about research examining harms we think that a brief line or two\u00a0about the reasons for marijuana use would have been informative. Especially when the author is allowed to say that he wanted to \u201chelp inform the debate about legalization of marijuana.\u201d \u00a0Debates involve tradeoffs of benefits and harms and we heard only one side of it in this story (and incompletely at that). The story provides\u00a0a list of the potential harms associated with marijuana use but it over-emphasizes the importance of this relatively small study in downplaying them \u2013 calling it \u201csurprising news\u201d that is \u201call good\u201d in the headline. And the second sentence says the study \u201cshould alleviate some of the worst fears.\u201d \u00a0That is too big a leap. The story tried to describe the context of previous studies on marijuana but used this language \u201cother studies in the past that seemed to allude to marijuana use and later development of psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations.\u201d\u00a0As readers, we want to ask \u2013 did previous studies conclude there were risks? How can a study \u201cseem to allude?\u201d A recent review (N Engl J Med 2014; 370:2219-222) cited 69 publications examining the potential harms of marijuana use by the general population. This one study is simply an addition to the growing body of evidence. The story provides several hints into the study design. We are told how many subjects were enrolled and the duration of the data collection. We are also told that the 408 really represented 4 separate and distinct groups based on usage with the early chronic users highlighted. This latter group was represented by 86 subjects. The implication is that these young men ingested a good deal of marijuana. Usage was not however uniform. The methods of assessing the presence of absence of the harms under study are not provided (of note:\u00a025 of the original subjects died during the study period with 21 deaths listed as homicides) nor are we told about missing data. The study was conducted only in male teens, so the headline or early sentence should have emphasized the limitation\u00a0that the \u201csurprising\u201d findings apply only to one gender. This single study relies solely on the reports of the participants and ended in 2010 \u2013 based on their reported use of marijuana in the 1980s and 90s. Many observers believe the marijuana sold in the United States has changed dramatically in the past 25 years. Results on exposures from so long ago may not apply to modern marijuana strains for sale. Here\u2019s how one laboratory representative described the potency change, in a CBS story from earlier this year. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen a big increase in marijuana potency\u00a0compared to where it was 20 or 30 years ago,\u201d lab founder and director of research Andy LaFrate, Ph.D., said in a video released by ACS. Based on testing in laboratory equipment, \u201cI would say the average potency of marijuana has probably increased by a factor of at least three. We\u2019re looking at average potencies right now of around 20 percent THC.\u201d THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive compound in marijuana that acts on the brain to produce the feeling of being high. Not applicable in this case. There was not a single disease or condition explored in any detail. The story badly needed an independent source. It would have been possible and helpful\u00a0to choose from among many researchers whose work points to potential\u00a0harm from chronic marijuana exposure. Again, letting the researcher get away with saying \u2013 unchallenged- that he wanted to \u201chelp inform the debate about legalization of marijuana\u201d in a single source story is problematic. This is not an\u00a0applicable category for this story topic. However, it is interesting to consider whether teens who use marijuana are not\u00a0using alcohol, and whether that may lower their risk of harms from alcohol use. The story leads with the \u201cwidespread availability of marijuana in recent years\u201d \u2013 especially \u201cthanks to its legalization in a growing number of states.\u201d The story suggests that the study highlighted was novel in that it did not find an association between marijuana use in adolescent and harms seen by other researchers. However, the story did little to provide any context to the differences. Since the intent of this criterion is to establish the true novelty of a finding,\u00a0we judge the story to be unsatisfactory. The quotes from researcher Bechtold\u00a0are identical to those in an American Psychological Association news release. The story euphemistically refers to these comments appearing in \u201ca statement.\u201d \u00a0Let\u2019s call it what it is: \u00a0a news release or press release written by public relations people. Lifting quotes and then not seeking independent perspectives are a double whammy."}
{"claim_id": "27560", "claim": "Nazi Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering  proclaimed that although \"the people don't want war,\"  they \"can always be brought to the bidding of their leaders.", "explanation": "We note that the validity of this quote is based upon a single source\u2019s report of a private comment (and therefore cannot be independently verified), but it is the only possible source, and Gustave Gilbert was a respected psychologist with no obvious motivation to fabricate a tale such as this. Some sixty-five years on, Gilbert\u2019s book The Psychology of Dictatorship: Based on an Examination of the Leaders of Nazi Germany is still a highly regarded entry in its field.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Questionable Quotes, nazi party", "main_text": "Another quote in the vein of the apocryphal Julius Caesar warning about political leaders who can all too easily send the citizenry marching eagerly off to war by manufacturing crises that purportedly threaten national security and making popular appeals to patriotism. In this case the sentiment expressed is even more disturbing because it comes not from a venerated figure of antiquity, but supposedly from a reviled twentieth-century figure associated with the most chilling example of genocide in human history: Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarshall and Luftwaffe-Chief:  \u201cOf course the people don\u2019t want war. But after all, it\u2019s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it\u2019s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it\u2019s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them  they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.\u201d \u2014 Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials  We may be made somewhat uneasy by the idea that the head of a classic civilization recognized 2,000 years ago that the populace could be manipulated into sacrificing themselves in wars at the whims of their leaders, but perhaps we\u2019re more outraged (and maybe even scared) at the thought of a fat Nazi fascist flunky\u2019s recognizing and telling us the same thing. The notable difference here is that although the Caesar quote is a latter-day fabrication, the words attributed to Hermann Goering are real. Goering was one of the highest-ranking Nazis who survived to be captured and put on trial for war crimes in the city of Nuremberg by the Allies after the end of World War II. He was found guilty on charges of \u201cwar crimes,\u201d \u201ccrimes against peace,\u201d and \u201ccrimes against humanity\u201d by the Nuremberg tribunal and sentenced to death by hanging. The sentence could not be carried out, however, because Goering committed suicide with smuggled cyanide capsules hours before his execution, scheduled for 15 October 1946. The quote cited above does not appear in transcripts of the Nuremberg trials because although Goering spoke these words during the course of the proceedings, he did not offer them at his trial. His comments were made privately to Gustave Gilbert, a German-speaking American intelligence officer and psychologist who was granted free access by the Allies to all the prisoners held in the Nuremberg jail. Gilbert kept a journal of his observations of the proceedings and his conversations with the prisoners, which he later published in the book Nuremberg Diary. The quote offered above was part of a conversation Gilbert held with a dejected Hermann Goering in his cell on the evening of 18 April 1946, as the trials were halted for a three-day Easter recess:  Sweating in his cell in the evening, Goering was defensive and deflated and not very happy over the turn the trial was taking. He said that he had no control over the actions or the defense of the others, and that he had never been anti-Semitic himself, had not believed these atrocities, and that several Jews had offered to testify in his behalf. If [Hans] Frank [Governor-General of occupied Poland] had known about atrocities in 1943, he should have come to him and he would have tried to do something about it. He might not have had enough power to change things in 1943, but if somebody had come to him in 1941 or 1942 he could have forced a showdown. (I still did not have the desire at this point to tell him what [SS General Otto] Ohlendorf  had said to this: that Goering had been written off as an effective \u201cmoderating\u201d influence, because of his drug addiction and corruption.) I pointed out that with his \u201ctemperamental utterances,\u201d such as preferring the killing of 200 Jews to the destruction of property, he had hardly set himself up as champion of minority rights. Goering protested that too much weight was being put on these temperamental utterances. Furthermore, he made it clear that he was not defending or glorifying Hitler. Later in the conversation, Gilbert recorded Goering\u2019s observations that the common people can always be manipulated into supporting and fighting wars by their political leaders:  We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction. \u201cWhy, of course, the people don\u2019t want war,\u201d Goering shrugged. \u201cWhy would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don\u2019t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.\u201d \u201cThere is one difference,\u201d I pointed out. \u201cIn a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.\u201d \u201cOh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "9007", "claim": "Researchers use smart phone to make a faster infection detector", "explanation": "This news release about a smartphone-based infectious disease testing device confuses speed and device cost with benefits to patients and public health. It oversimplifies infectious disease detection and response. In their published study, the researchers reported an important achievement: comparable accuracy (under ideal conditions) with existing lab devices. However, the release doesn\u2019t point out vital distinctions between performance in the lab and in real-world field use, or between the cost of a device and the total cost of a public health program that uses such a device. The release does not put the status of this device into context with other similar devices being developed by universities and companies around the world. We note that the release does report the funding source and the commercial intentions of the researchers. News releases should include essential context, not just certain facts that put researchers\u2019 work in the most positive light. This release focuses narrowly on accuracy comparisons between an experimental device and existing lab equipment. It leaves reporters and other readers to discover on their own how this device compares to similar experimental products. The release highlights potential real-world health benefits without acknowledging the complex questions that need to be asked before anyone can know whether this device can deliver on the promises. Infectious diseases are still a significant source of mortality and morbidity especially in low\u00a0and middle income countries. A device that could improve the diagnosis of these diseases would be useful in\u00a0these settings.", "label": "false", "subjects": "infectious disease,smartphone apps,Washington State University", "main_text": "The news release reports that the device would probably cost less than $50 to manufacture. However, the cost of a lab device is only part of the cost of infectious disease testing. What sort of training is needed to accurately interpret results? Would the device be able to replace conventional lab tests or would it be used as a preliminary test, that would then be checked by conventional tests? It is possible that in real world circumstances, the device could lead many more people into testing, potentially increasing the total cost of testing programs. The health benefit could be worthwhile, but the news release should not claim that a device would reduce costs without evidence of total costs in real world use. The release reports details of a direct comparison between test results produced by this device and standard lab equipment. However, relative accuracy of lab tests is not, by itself, a health benefit. The release says that using conventional lab testing services takes too long \u201cby which time the infection may have become widespread.\u201d The obvious implication is that this hand-held device would lead to more rapid and more effective outbreak detection in the field. Perhaps\u2026but that\u2019s not what was tested. The release should have been clearer that actual human health benefits won\u2019t be known until after testing in the field. Tests, even accurate ones, have downsides which were not mentioned in this release. The release stated that the device \u201cprovided false positives only about one percent of the time.\u201d If field workers fanned out across a city and tested 100,000 people, that 1% false positive rate would mean that about a thousand people would be told they were infected when they actually were not. The release did not mention false negatives (telling an infected person that he or she is not infected). The lead sentence of the release claims that this device \u201cworks nearly as well as clinical laboratories.\u201d But what was actually reported was just a comparison of this device to standard lab equipment in an ideal laboratory setting as performed by the device\u2019s developers. The release should have made clear that the device was not tested in the field or using people who had only the amount of training that would be available under actual use conditions. The release should have noted the limitations of the study. It would have been more appropriate for the release to state that the researchers made progress demonstrating the potential for their device but that the actual public health benefits won\u2019t be known until after field testing. We will give the release a satisfactory rating on this criterion. However, other than measles, it is not clear that other types of infections used in this study (including mumps, herpes and Lyme disease) are responsible for the type of fast-moving outbreaks that the release says this device could help identify more rapidly. The release reports that the researchers have filed a patent and hope to commercialize their product. It also states that the work was supported by a Washington State University fund to support entrepreneurial endeavors. As noted above, this test was done by the device\u2019s developers under ideal lab conditions. The comparisons to existing devices and speculation about relative effectiveness should wait until field tests are done. The release states that the researchers \u201chope to move forward with clinical trials that could lead to commercialization.\u201d Although the release does not claim this device is the first or most advanced of its kind, it conspicuously avoids mentioning similar devices. A quick search of PubMed.gov and other online sources reveals a number of reports on similar products being tested at competing institutions including UCLA and Macquarie University in Australia. The release does not explain how this device compares to others. The release includes several speculative claims that this device could perform better than existing devices in reducing public health program costs, health care access and delivery, infectious disease control and more. None of these important goals has been tested."}
{"claim_id": "11506", "claim": "Lipogen Targets PMS/PMDD Relief, Naturally", "explanation": "This news release announces an Israel-based company\u2019s success in obtaining a U.S. patent for a proprietary \u201cphospholipid formulation\u201d called PS Plus, which is purported to treat physical and \u201cemotional\u201d symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Somewhat misleadingly, the release suggests the formulation was \u201cdesigned\u201d to address PMS and PMDD, when in fact it appears to be the same single-ingredient supplement already sold to provide \u201cbrain support,\u201d \u201csharpen memory\u201d and ameliorate \u201cstress.\u201d Prevalence statistics presented in the release are contradictory and qualitatively lightweight. There is evidence in the literature of some clinical testing of phosphatidic acid, a natural phospholipid, or fatty acid derivative of soy lecithin, used as a carrier for some experimental drugs, but it is the only active ingredient mentioned on the product website \u2013 and not at all in the release \u2014 and there is precious little information about other ingredients or costs anywhere. PMS is a very common health condition in women of reproductive age. As such, women in this age group and in many countries may be interested in \u201cnatural\u201d remedies to alleviate some of the symptoms. Additionally, Americans are high users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions. Recent studies have noted that in the United States, \u201capproximately 38 percent of adults (about 4 in 10) and approximately 12 percent of children (about 1 in 9) are using some form of CAM.\u201d Moreover, CAM use among adults is greater among women and those with higher levels of education and higher incomes \u2013 exactly the population this news release is trying to reach. The supplement industry\u2019s so-called \u201corthomolecular\u201d therapies, which claim to maintain health with the use of natural compounds, have long been the subject of public health and scientific controversy, and come-and-go fads among consumers who spends millions on supplements for which rigorous evidence of clinical value is at best scant. For an aging population of boomers, in particular, the promise of protecting and boosting brain health (and by inference reducing the risk of age-related dementia), has been especially appealing, particularly if the products claim to be \u201cnatural\u201d and with no ill effects. Similarly, for younger women, claims of safe, natural relief for \u00a0PMS and related syndromes are appealing, given that the conditions have long been \u201cmedicalized,\u201d and such treatments as hormone replacement therapy and anti-depressants \u2014 all carrying risks and adverse effects \u2014 \u00a0have been over-prescribed and costly. Consequently, there is likely to be substantial interest in a product that promises to relieve what the release says are \u201cmore than 200 different symptoms\u201d of PMS, and protect and enhance brain function.", "label": "false", "subjects": "industry/commercial news releases,Women's health", "main_text": "Although the release points out the\u00a0high costs of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other drug treatments for PMS cost $60 to $535 per month, it fails to mention that a 30-day supply of its product costs $54.95. According to a website showing the product patent application,\u00a0 it appears to be a combination of\u00a0phosphatidylserine (PS) as the active ingredient along with phosphatidic\u00a0acid\u00a0(PA) and magnesium. These products are available from other manufacturers for purchase on the internet for varying costs. Of interest, the patent application (but not the news release) states that various formulations were given \u201cfour times a day\u201d\u2026\u201dfrom three weeks before the expected monthly menstruation until the commencement of menstruation.\u201d\u00a0 That would amount to more than 80 pills or tablets per cycle, which would be quite expensive compared to daily dosing of other medications. The description of the benefits is very poor, vague and unscientific. No information is given on study participants such as ages, inclusion criteria, type of symptoms, duration, and severity of symptoms at baseline and post-intervention. The release does report that 23 out of a subset of 220 women among\u00a02,000 volunteers who took PS Plus for brain health and stress management over a two-month period, \u201cnoticed relief of premenstrual syndromes.\u201d The company claims these are \u201cstrong\u201d results. There is no description of potential harms. The company CEO is quoted saying there are \u201cno reported side-effects.\u201d However, a look at a commonly used scientific database for CAM product ingredients reveals there are side effects associated with phosphatidilserine, the active ingredient found in the product. Those include nausea, gastric distress and insomnia. There also may be an increased risk for acquiring infectious diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) if the phosphatidilserine is derived from bovine cortex, according to the database site. As noted above, there is precious little information about the volunteer subjects except that they are women,\u00a0and under age 40. At one point, the release states that premenstrual syndromes occur in 15 percent of pre-menopausal women ages 25-44, and later that \u00a0symptoms \u201cqualify\u201d as PMS in 20 to 30 percent of such women. But there is no citation for these numbers, nor is it clear that they are meant to reflect the experience in the United States or elsewhere. The essential concern here is that there are no published data, based on standard clinical trial protocols, to provide credible evidence of benefits that are consistent and predictable. That has been an issue and challenge for the supplement industry, regulators, and consumers, and one not likely to end anytime soon. The release and the study upon which the evidence is based lumps together two conditions \u2014 \u00a0PMS and PMDD \u2014 which have different diagnostic criteria and severity. Their citations are inaccurate (PMS occurs in women outside of the age range 25-44, for example) and confusing. It is true that PMS can be annoying and disruptive, but many women\u2019s symptoms are not disruptive enough to require any medication interventions. Additionally, lumping PMS it together with PMDD (which is much more severe and intense) is uncalled for and bordering on disease mongering. In addition, the release offered no explanation for how it came up with the claim that \u201cMore than 200 different symptoms have been associated with PMS.\u201d It\u2019s clear from the release that Lipogen, the company that issued the release, also funded the study. According to the release: \u201cWhen the benefits of phospholipids on PMS and PMDD came to light through Lipogen\u2019s research, we immediately explored its potential,\u201d says David Rutenberg, CEO for Lipogen. Other than mentioning anti-depressants, which are not routinely prescribed for PMS, the release does not discuss any of the many other alternatives to managing PMS/PMDD symptom relief. Many interventions have been studied, from exercising (from which there is insufficient evidence) to other CAM therapies. According to a review published in American Family Physician journal, \u201cA 2009 systematic review found 62 studies of herbal supplements, vitamins, and minerals with published claims for PMS symptom relief, only 10 of which were [randomized controlled trials] RCTs.\u201d The review found that data are insufficient to evaluate the effectiveness of ginkgo, saffron, St. John\u2019s wort, soy, or vitamin E, because only one study existed for each. However, results suggested that chasteberry and vitamin B6 may reduce PMS symptoms.\u201d \u00a0Other pharmacologic interventions include: SSRIs, oral-contraceptives, GnRH agonists, and anxyolitics. The release might have been strengthened somewhat if there had been some acknowledgement of some other non-pharmalogical interventions. The release doesn\u2019t mention when or in which formulation the supplement might be available in the U.S. market, even though the release is introducing the supplement to a U.S. audience. The release does, albeit somewhat confusingly, make the point that the observation about its purported benefits in PMS were made, apparently serendipitously, during a study of its effects on brain health and stress. That\u2019s newsworthy, but could have benefited from more detail. The claims made were not supported by the evidence provided. Some of the unsupported or misleading claims: \u201cRealizing the significance of this discovery\u201d \u201cStrong results\u201d \u201cCan save significant health costs over medication alternatives\u201d \u201cNo reported side-effects\u201d \u201cLipogen guarantees its customers ingredient systems that are supported by the highest level of scientific data.\u201d What are these \u201cingredient systems\u201d and why didn\u2019t they include the \u201chighest level of scientific data?\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "4360", "claim": "Medical group: 953 vaccines, tests may be ineffective.", "explanation": "A Connecticut medical group recommends more than 900 people get second vaccinations or tuberculosis tests because the first vaccines and tests might have been ineffective.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Connecticut, Hartford, Tuberculosis", "main_text": "Hartford HealthCare Medical Group said Tuesday that the vaccines and tests may not have been stored in accordance with manufacturers\u2019 recommended temperature guidelines. This represents about 1 percent of vaccines given by the medical group. The 953 patients affected are encouraged to receive a second vaccine or tuberculosis test free of charge. The multispecialty group says the temperature fluctuations were found when HHC recently enacted a proactive auditing program for all its locations\u2014 Colchester, Vernon and other communities \u2014that provide vaccinations. HHC says the finding allowed it to implement best practices to prevent the incident from occurring again."}
{"claim_id": "14209", "claim": "After my first year as governor, I was one of the most unpopular governors, maybe the most unpopular governor in the country. ... It changed.", "explanation": "Kasich said, \"After my first year as governor, I was one of the most unpopular governors, maybe the most unpopular governor in the country.\" At its lowest, in March 2011, his favorability among the Ohioans who had just elected him was an abysmal 30 percent. That was bad enough to crown Kasich as the least-popular governor in America for a brief period.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Ohio, Elections, Polls and Public Opinion, John Kasich, ", "main_text": "Gov. John Kasich has been repeating an odd talking point lately: He keeps saying how unpopular he was as governor. The Ohio leader and presidential candidate said it in a Republican debate on March 30. On April 24, he repeated it on CBS Face the Nation when host John Dickerson asked if he thought it was possible for a candidate to change negative perceptions about him. \"After my first year as governor, I was one of the most unpopular governors, maybe the most unpopular governor in the country,\" Kasich said. \"It takes a long time to change negatives. People have to see that you're actually being fruitful in your work. What happened with me is when people started getting work, and we started balancing budgets and reaching out to people, it changed.\" Is he right about being the least beloved state leader across the land after his first year in office? An August 2011 poll by Public Policy Polling said that with a 36 percent approval rating, he was the second or third least popular governor in the country. That was at least a few points better than in March 2011, when the same pollsters found Kasich\u2019s approval ratings in the basement at 30 percent, and in May 2011 at 33 percent. Where was the love? In April 2011, his third month in office, Kasich made boatloads of enemies with a stroke of his pen. Kasich signed a massive union reform bill that prohibited forced union membership for state employees, mandated merit pay, outlawed strikes and limited collective bargaining rights for public employees. Unlike a similar reform bill in Wisconsin, Ohio\u2019s SB 5 included police and firefighters. The political backlash was immediate, and a repeal effort quickly coalesced and reversed Kasich\u2019s attempt at reform. Vying for the\u00a0title\u00a0of most unpopular governor in 2011 was Florida\u2019s Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Public Policy Polling found that Kasich edged out Scott for most unfavorable governor in September 2011 with a 53 percent disapproval rating, compared to Scott\u2019s 52 percent. But Kasich said he was (maybe) the country\u2019s most unpopular governor after his first year. If he took office in January 2011, then we\u2019d need to know his approval rating for the first few months of 2012. PolitiFact\u2019s Louis Jacobson looked at the cast of rookie governors in February 2012, one year into their terms, for Governing magazine. Kasich made Jacobson\u2019s list of the seven rookie governors who were struggling the most. Here they are, by approval rating: Jerry Brown (D-CA): 47 percent Rick Scott (R-FL): 43 percent Neil Abercrombie (D-HI): 39 percent Scott Walker (R-WI): 38 percent Nikki Haley (R-SC): 35 percent John Kasich (R-OH): 33 percent Lincoln Chafee (I -RI): 22 percent Based on these numbers, Kasich is the second-most unpopular governor after his first year. But Jacobson\u2019s analysis only counted the 26 governors who took office at the start of 2011. Jacobson notes that approval ratings for governors aren\u2019t exactly the holy grail of polling. He had to consult a handful of different polling groups for his comparison. Peter A. Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, concurred. \"Nobody\u2019s done every governor in the country,\" he said. \"There\u2019s no reason to.\" He said Quinnipiac only polls from nine states. \"What you can say is that it\u2019s not possible to determine (whether Kasich was the least popular governor in the country),\" Brown said. \"But in a general sense, he\u2019s probably right. He was certainly close to the bottom.\" Rob Nichols, Kasich\u2019s presidential campaign spokesman who was also the spokesman for the governor\u2019s office in 2011, told us, \"Well yeah, we had just come from the election with $10 million in negative attack ads against us. So the last thing you saw was all this TV, trashing him.\" Nichols also gave us this anecdote: In August 2011, his official email inbox was bombarded with form letters that started out, \"Dear Gov. Kasich staff member, I wanted Gov. Kasich to know that I voted for him in the Worst Governor Ever contest at www.worstgovernorever.com....\" \"I got so many that I had to get our IT people to route them to a special mailbox so they wouldn\u2019t destroy my inbox,\" Nichols said. Ohioans started to warm to Kasich after the turbulent first year. Later in 2012, his rating bumped up to the 40s, and was up to 53 percent approval in 2013. Quinnipiac University had Kasich polling at 62 percent favorability in October 2015. Our ruling Kasich said, \"After my first year as governor, I was one of the most unpopular governors, maybe the most unpopular governor in the country.\" At its lowest, in March 2011, his favorability among the Ohioans who had just elected him was an abysmal 30 percent. That was bad enough to crown Kasich as the least-popular governor in America for a brief period. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "2709", "claim": "J&J, U.S. states settle hip implant claims for $120 million.", "explanation": "Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit have agreed to pay $120 million to resolve deceptive marketing claims by several U.S. states over the company\u2019s metal-on-metal hip implants.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Attorneys general of 46 U.S. states announced the settlement agreement in statements on Tuesday. They alleged DePuy engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in the promotion of its ASR XL and Pinnacle Ultamet hip implant devices. DePuy in a statement said the settlement involves no admission of liability or misconduct on the part of the companies. \u201cDePuy Synthes remains committed to meeting the current and future needs of orthopedic surgeons and patients,\u201d the company said. The states claimed J&J made misleading claims about the longevity of its metal-on-metal hip implants, with patients frequently having to undergo a revision surgery before the company\u2019s advertised timeframe of five years. Under Tuesday\u2019s settlement agreement, DePuy is required to maintain a post-market surveillance program and update procedures to track complaints over the hip implants, according to a statement by New York Attorney General Letitia James. DePuy in 2010 announced a worldwide voluntary recall of 93,000 of its ASR hip implant systems, saying that 12 percent of them failed within five years. Saying it would pay at least $2.47 billion, the company has since settled thousands of lawsuits by patients who had to have the ASR implant removed. In 2013, DePuy ceased selling the Pinnacle devices after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strengthened its artificial hip regulations. Metal-on-metal hip implants have also come under scrutiny over allegations that the products cause a build-up of metal ions in the blood, causing groin pain, allergic reactions, bone erosion and tissue death. The company faces some 10,400 lawsuits in the United States over its Pinnacle device in connection with those claims. J&J denies consumer claims related to its Pinnacle products, saying the company acted appropriately and responsibly in the development, testing, and marketing of the devices."}
{"claim_id": "4764", "claim": "Ocean coastline, closed to shellfish harvesting due to toxin.", "explanation": "New Hampshire\u2019s Department of Environmental Services has closed the state\u2019s ocean coastline and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor to shellfish harvesting because of a toxin that comes from what\u2019s known as red tide.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment, New Hampshire, Oceans, Harbors", "main_text": "New Hampshire Public Radio reports the DES found high levels of the toxin, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. It was recently found in mussel samples. Chris Nash, shellfish program manager at the department, says it comes from toxic algae. The waters will be closed for the rest of May, which will affect soft shell clamming season. Some oyster harvesting areas remain open in Great Bay and Little Bay. The DES says paralytic shellfish poisoning is a life-threatening syndrome. It says the onset of symptoms is rapid, usually within two hours of consumption. Symptoms include tingling, burning, numbness, drowsiness, incoherent speech, and respiratory paralysis. ___ Information from: WEVO-FM, http://www.nhpr.org/"}
{"claim_id": "12405", "claim": "Americans are 25x more likely to be shot & killed than others in developed countries.", "explanation": "Candidate for California governor Gavin Newsom recently said \"Americans are 25x more likely to be shot and killed than others in developed countries.\" Newsom\u2019s spokesman pointed to a study in the American Journal of Medicine that backs up this very sad statistic. It found the gun homicide rate in the United States is about 25 times greater than in other high-income, industrialized countries such as Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. A similar study by the United Nations found America had a slightly lower gun homicide rate but included countries such as Turkey and Chile with relatively high gun homicide rates not included in the American Journal of Medicine report. Their inclusion explains the slightly lower rate. Newsom\u2019s claim is backed by what appears to be a valid study. But another report with credible findings shows the gun homicide rate is not quite as high compared to other nations as Newsom asserts. His statement could have used this additional information. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. ", "label": "true", "subjects": "Crime, The 2018 California Governor's Race, California, Guns, Gavin Newsom, ", "main_text": "Gun control is a top priority for California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. So, it\u2019s no surprise Newsom, a Democrat and 2018 candidate for governor, promoted the cause on National Gun Violence Awareness Day. He claimed in a statement on Twitter on June 2, 2017: \"Americans are 25x more likely to be shot & killed than others in developed countries. We've had enough. #NationalGunViolenceAwarenessDay.\" This is not the first time we\u2019ve fact-checked a gun claim by Newsom. In November 2016, we rated his assertion that California has seen a \"56 percent decline in the gun murder rate\" since the 1990s. Earlier that year, his statement that \"So far in 2015, there have been more mass shootings than days.\" In this case, we wondered whether the facts support his claim about the seemingly huge disparity in gun homicide rates between the United States and other developed countries. We\u2019ll fact-check this claim below. First, here\u2019s some background on Newsom and the 2018 California governor\u2019s race. Governor\u2019s race Newsom is among several prominent Democrats as of now competing in 2018 to succeed Jerry Brown as governor. Others include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; California Treasurer John Chiang and Delaine Eastin, the state\u2019s former superintendent for public instruction. Announced Republican candidates include John Cox, a venture capitalist from San Diego County and Rosie Grier, a Hall of Fame professional football player. As part of our Tracking The Truth series, PolitiFact California is fact-checking claims in the 2018 governor\u2019s race. Tracking the Truth: Hear a claim you want fact-checked? Email us at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected], tweet us\u00a0@CAPolitiFact\u00a0or contact us on\u00a0Facebook. Newsom has supported California\u2019s stringent gun and ammunition laws. In 2016, he proposed and helped pass Proposition 63, a voter initiative that requires instant background checks for the sale of ammunition statewide. Our research We interpreted Newsom\u2019s claim of \"shot and killed\" to mean gun homicides. These are intentional killings using a firearm, not including suicides. To back up the statement, Newsom\u2019s campaign spokesman pointed to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine in March 2016 called \"Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-income OECD Countries, 2010.\" The study relied on mortality data from 2010 collected by the World Health Organization. It found the rate of gun homicides was 25.2 times higher in the United States than in 22 other populous and high-income countries for which data was also gathered. A sample of those included South Korea, Australia, Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. When considering all types of gun deaths, such as homicides, accidental shootings and suicides, people in the United States were 10 times more likely to die from a gun-related death than those in the other countries, the report said. Authors of study weigh in We contacted the co-authors of this study. Both described Newsom\u2019s claim as \"accurate.\" \"Yes, what he said seems accurate,\" David Hemenway, professor of health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author, said by email. \"I think anyone who looks at the data would agree.\" Erin Grinshteyn, an assistant professor of health policy at the University of San Francisco and the other co-author, also said the claim was correct. Grinshteyn described the report as \"purely an academic study.\" She said her portion of the work was not funded while Hemenway\u2019s participation was funded, in part, by the Joyce Foundation. On its website, the foundation says it supports \"research-based strategies that can prevent gun violence by reducing the easy accessibility of firearms.\" Related study In 2014, PolitiFact examined a related claim by lawyer and author Lisa Bloom that said \"Americans are 20 times as likely to die from gun violence as citizens of other civilized countries.\" PolitiFact took this to mean gun homicides. It rated her claim , citing figures collected by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. That data showed the United States had a slightly lower gun homicide rate in 2010 than reported in the American Journal of Medicine Study. That, in turn, meant Americans would be closer to 20 times as likely to die in gun homicides compared with several other \"civilized countries.\" But as PolitiFact noted, much depends on which countries are included in this comparison and the years for which that data was available. Chile and Turkey, both with relatively high gun homicide rates, were included in the United Nations study but not in the report in the American Journal of Medicine. Grinshteyn told us her study only included high-income, populous countries \u00a0as defined by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. \"If they included Chile and Turkey, which were not included in our comparison group, those will cause the comparison to be skewed,\" she added. We reached out to the Sacramento-based Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun rights advocacy group, to ask whether its members knew of any additional and independent reports on this topic. We did not immediately hear back. Our rating Candidate for California governor Gavin Newsom recently said \"Americans are 25x more likely to be shot and killed than others in developed countries.\" Newsom\u2019s spokesman pointed to a study in the American Journal of Medicine that backs up this very sad statistic. It found the gun homicide rate in the United States is about 25 times greater than in other high-income, industrialized countries such as Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. A similar study by the United Nations found America had a slightly lower gun homicide rate but included countries such as Turkey and Chile with relatively high gun homicide rates not included in the American Journal of Medicine report. Their inclusion explains the slightly lower rate. Newsom\u2019s claim is backed by what appears to be a valid study. But another report with credible findings shows the gun homicide rate is not quite as high compared to other nations as Newsom asserts. His statement could have used this additional information. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information."}
{"claim_id": "17766", "claim": "In 2011, texting surpassed alcohol as the leading contributing factor in teen driving deaths.", "explanation": "Sachs\u2019 statistic -- that starting in 2011, \u00a0texting began surpassing alcohol as the leading contributing factor to teen driving deaths -- was based on a misinterpretation of a scientific study and information from NHTSA that could not be confirmed. In reality, NHTSA\u2019s analysis of their data found that alcohol was involved in more lethal crashes than distracted driving in 2011. While there\u2019s no question that texting while driving is a danger, it hasn\u2019t supplanted alcohol as \"the leading contributing factor in teen driving deaths.\" However, the figures are imperfect enough that we can't rule out an undercount in deaths associated with texting while driving.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Safety, Florida, Maria Sachs, ", "main_text": "On the first day of Florida\u2019s new texting-while-driving ban, state Sen. Maria Sachs, the Senate Democratic leader pro-tem, was already announcing a proposal to make the law tougher. The new law makes texting while driving a secondary offense, which means an officer can\u2019t ticket a motorist only for typing or reading messages while behind the wheel. Rather, the driver has to first commit another violation, like swerving or running a red light. Sachs, of Delray Beach, has filed a bill to make texting while driving a primary offense, which she argues will make it easier to enforce. The penalties -- $30 for a first violation -- will remain. At a press conference with AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson to announce her proposed changes, Sachs recited several somber statistics. We decided to fact-check this claim: \"In 2011, texting surpassed alcohol as the leading contributing factor in teen driving deaths.\" There\u2019s little doubt that texting is a danger in automobile safety. A 2006 study by David Strayer and Frank Drews at the University of Utah found that people are just as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent. The report, which looked at talking on handheld or hands-free cell phones and not texting, concluded that using a cell phone while driving \"can be as profound as those associated with driving while drunk.\" But is it true that in 2011, texting surpassed alcohol as the leading contributing factor in teen driving deaths? When we contacted Sachs\u2019 office, her legislative chief of staff said the information came from an op-ed piece AutoNation\u2019s Mike Jackson wrote for the Tampa Bay Times and from news articles about a study done by the Cohen Children\u2019s Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y. The statistic quoted by Sachs has appeared in various media outlets, including CBS and Newsday, but the study\u2019s chief researcher, Dr. Andrew Adesman, said the media \"wrongly attributed\" the drinking-texting conclusions to his team\u2019s studies, a bit of misinformation that has continued to spread. Adesman said his research team analyzed CDC data -- the 2011 \"Youth Risk Behavior Survey\" The study found that 45 percent of U.S. high school students 16 and up (46 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls) reported texting while driving during the previous 30 days. The study suggested that the number could actually be a lot higher, given that 75 percent of teens now have cell phones. The study, however, didn\u2019t directly compare texting and drinking while driving, which makes Sachs\u2019 conclusion questionable. The study found a \"subgroup\" of the students who admit to texting while driving also tended to be involved in other risky behaviors on the road, including not wearing a seatbelt, riding with a driver who had been drinking alcohol and drinking and driving. These risk takers were also more likely to smoke marijuana, have unsafe sex and \"use indoor tanning devices.\" The correlation of all these factors makes it difficult to determine what is the \"leading contributing factor in teen driving deaths.\" Indeed, certain aspects of the study didn\u2019t provide much support for proponents of texting laws. Researchers found that while texting while driving was slightly less common in states that prohibit it, \"the reality is that millions of teens text while driving,\" Adesman said. The study didn\u2019t consider the strength of the laws or penalties. Adesman did say there\u2019s reason to be alarmed about the number of teens texting. \"Kids aren\u2019t drinking on a regular basis on school days, but they are texting daily.\" (The CDC reports that high school teens drive after drinking 2.4 times a month.) Sachs said she wants to \"change the culture\" of texting while driving. \"I think our culture has turned against alcohol and driving, so we want to say to kids, \u2018you know it\u2019s wrong to drink and drive\u2019 and the same thing has to be said about texting.\" Another problem for Sachs\u2019 claim: The data isn\u2019t perfect. The involvement of cell phones is still underreported in accidents, said Deb Trombley, senior program manager for transportation initiatives for the National Safety Council. \"One challenge is that there isn\u2019t good data. Cell phone use isn\u2019t being recorded on crash reports\u2026 It goes down as distracted driving.\" Jackson\u2019s office said that he discovered the information about texting surpassing drunk driving as a cause of teen driving deaths from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, but staff didn\u2019t have any further details. NHTSA officials said the data they collect suggested the opposite of what Jackson and Sachs claimed. According to the agency, 12 percent of 2,105 teen-aged drivers ages 14 to 18 involved in fatal crashes in 2011 were distracted in some way; 24 percent of those distracted drivers were using a cell phone. By comparison, 20 percent (428) of 14 to 18-year-old drivers involved in a fatal crash in 2011 had some level of alcohol in their system, according to NHTSA. A driving distraction can be anything from adjusting the radio or putting on makeup to eating a burger behind the wheel. With teens, there are often a bunch of noisy friends in the car. Our ruling Sachs\u2019 statistic -- that starting in 2011, \u00a0texting began surpassing alcohol as the leading contributing factor to teen driving deaths -- was based on a misinterpretation of a scientific study and information from NHTSA that could not be confirmed. In reality, NHTSA\u2019s analysis of their data found that alcohol was involved in more lethal crashes than distracted driving in 2011. While there\u2019s no question that texting while driving is a danger, it hasn\u2019t supplanted alcohol as \"the leading contributing factor in teen driving deaths.\" However, the figures are imperfect enough that we can't rule out an undercount in deaths associated with texting while driving. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "39839", "claim": " This is a forwarded self   defense tip that says if you do not have pepper spray to use a can of   wasp spray to stop an assailant. Wasp spray shoots a stream up to twenty   feet and can temporality blind an attacker. \u00a0   ", "explanation": "Use Wasp Spray to Stop an Assailant as a Criminal Deterrent ", "label": "false", "subjects": "Crime / Police, Miscellaneous, Warnings", "main_text": "The source quoted in the   eRumor for this suggestion of the use of wasp spray for defense is a man   named Val Glinka. He is real and is a self defense instructor at   Sylvania Southview High School near Toledo Ohio. He told an  ABC affiliate that he considers wasp   spray \u201cinexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper   spray.\u201d\u00a0 Glinka said, \u201cThis is better than anything I can teach   them.\u201d  Pepper spray is a personal defense weapon that is legal in all 50   states. Each state has various restrictions as to how it is sold and   when it was originally introduced users in some states had to take a   self defense class to be certified for proper use. We have not found any other credible source that recommends using wasp   spray instead of pepper spray. We have not found any studies that   suggest that wasp spray would be effective as a deterrent. There is also a   liability issue to consider. There is the question of whether using   insecticides in such a manner could bring liability issues for the user. Insecticides are controlled by the  Environmental\u00a0 Protection Agency (EPA), which prohibits   the use of such products other than the originally intended purpose. The EPA web site has information posted that says insecticides must be   properly labeled to inform users on proper use before they can be sold. The EPA site also says, \u201cThe overall intent of the label is to provide   directions for product use while managing risks to human health and the   environment. It is a violation of federal law to use a pesticide in a   manner inconsistent with its labeling.\u201d Police officer   J.D. Dhein hosts an internet radio feature called \u201cPolice   On The Scene\u201d and this eRumor was read   to him on his program by his producer. Dhein was taken by surprise by   the advice offered and voiced his concerns about liability issues of   using wasp spray against an assailant. He said that he did   not believe that any police department would suggest the use of wasp   spray as a criminal deterrent. He did offer the church a valuable   tip when counting the offering and that was to lock the door. Updated 06/04/10    Comments"}
{"claim_id": "11185", "claim": "All in vein: New varicose veins treatments work quickly", "explanation": "Varicose veins can range from the unsightly to the painful and disabling. In the past, the traditional treatment has been surgery to strip the veins, however newer, less invasive options are becoming more common. Advertising for a variety of laser treatments has proliferated, however not all of these are effective and consumers should be wary of exaggerated claims. This story does a good job of describing different types of varicose veins, the treatment options available, and the different practitioners who provide the treatments. It appropriately warns the reader about laser treatments that are ineffective. Although the story quotes multiple experts, it isn\u2019t clear if any of them are connected financially to any of the companies developing the treatments. The story could have been improved by describing the range of costs of treatment, important information given that insurance coverage varies. It could have more thoroughly described the evidence to support the claims and quantified the benefits of treatment. A consumer considering their options would want to know: Are there any studies available? if so, what are the long term results? How much do these procedures reduce pain? What percentage of patients feel better after each procedure? Do the benefits last a long time or only temporarily?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Although the story mentions that insurance coverage varies, the story should have provided some rough estimate of the range of costs of treatment. This is how consumers get shielded from the true cost of elective procedures. The story doesn\u2019t quantify the benefit of treatment. Although the story mentions some harms of treatment, it does not indicate how often that occurs and how often the procedure itself doesn\u2019t work. The story does not describe the strength of the evidence to support the claims made. A consumer considering their options would want to know: Are there any studies available? if so, what are the long term results? How much do these procedures reduce pain? What percentage of patients feel better after each procedure? Do the benefits last a long time or only temporarily? The story does a good job of describing the difference between painful, disabling varicose veins and others that are only a cosmetic issue. Adding a little more information about how common these conditions are and the potential long term problems if they are not treated would have been useful. The story quotes multiple experts. The story should have indicated whether any of these sources are independent of the company that developed the technology under discussion. The story mentions the various options and what they are intended for. The story is also helpful to the reader in describing the various practitioners involved and warning about treatments that are ineffective. The story adequately represents the availability of the treatments for varicose veins. The story adequately describes the novelty of the treatments. Because the story quotes multiple experts, the reader can assume the story didn\u2019t rely on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "1051", "claim": "U.S. states, cities sue to block Trump 'conscience' rule for healthcare workers.", "explanation": "Two dozen U.S. states and municipalities sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to stop it from enforcing a rule that would make it easier for doctors and nurses to avoid performing abortions on religious or moral grounds.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A lawsuit led by New York Attorney General Letitia James said the expanded \u201cconscience\u201d protections could undermine the ability of states and cities to provide effective healthcare without jeopardizing billions of dollars a year in federal aid. It also said the rule would upset legislative efforts to accommodate workers\u2019 beliefs while ensuring that hospitals, other businesses and staff treat patients effectively. Sterilizations and assisted suicide are other procedures that might be impeded, according to a complaint filed by New York and 22 other states and municipalities in federal court in Manhattan. California filed a similar lawsuit in San Francisco. \u201cThe federal government is giving health care providers free license to openly discriminate and refuse care to patients,\u201d James said in a statement. The rule is scheduled to take effect on July 22. It will be enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Roger Severino, director of HHS\u2019 Office for Civil Rights, said in a statement: \u201cThe rule gives life and enforcement tools to conscience protection laws that have been on the books for decades. HHS finalized the conscience rule after more than a year of careful consideration and after analyzing over 242,000 public comments. We will defend the rule vigorously.\u201d  President Donald Trump, a Republican, has made expanding religious liberty a priority, and the proposed rule drew  support from anti-abortion activists. Critics, including some civil rights medical groups, have said the rule could deprive some patients, including gay and transgender people, of needed healthcare because they might be deemed less worthy of treatment. The Manhattan lawsuit said the rule could even prevent hospitals from asking applicants for nursing jobs whether they opposed giving measles vaccinations, even during an outbreak. So far in 2019, the worst U.S. measles outbreak in a quarter century has sickened 880 people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday. The plaintiffs in Tuesday\u2019s lawsuits are led by Democrats or often lean Democratic. They also include New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C.; the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin; and Cook County, Illinois. Hundreds of lawsuits by Democratic-leaning states and municipalities have targeted White House policies under Trump. The cases are New York et al v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 19-04676; and California v. Azar et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-02769."}
{"claim_id": "33804", "claim": "In August 1997, the Baltimore Orioles deliberately created a lighting malfunction before a game to keep Cal Ripken's consecutive game streak intact.", "explanation": "Whatever Kevin Costner\u2019s relationship with the Ripkens might have been, Cal and Kelly stayed together long afterwards (they were married for 28 years), and Costner didn\u2019t make some Machiavellian maneuvering on the part of the Orioles necessary to keep Cal from missing a game.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Entertainment, baseball", "main_text": "On 6 September 1995, Baltimore Orioles infielder Cal Ripken, Jr. broke a record long thought to be unassailable when he played in his 2,131st consecutive baseball game, surpassing the mark of 2,130 set by Lou Gehrig back in 1939. Ripken would go on to play in a total of 2,632 straight games before finally sitting one out on 20 September 1998. One of the most remarkable aspects of Ripken\u2019s most remarkable of streaks was that he started every game (i.e., his streak included no pinch-hitting, pinch-running, or late-inning defensive appearances), he voluntarily left a game before the seventh inning only four times (in addition to twice being ejected by umpires), and at one point he played every single inning of every single game for a span over five years. In other words, Ripken didn\u2019t even come close to missing a game during his streak \u2014 except, as rumor claims, for one evening in August 1997, when Ripken was unable to make it to the park for that day\u2019s game due to the fallout of having caught his wife in bed with another man, and a mysterious malfunction in his home ballpark\u2019s lighting system (allegedly one deliberately created by an Orioles employee) forced the cancellation of the game and thereby preserved Ripken\u2019s streak:  Cal Ripken, Jr. was allowing Kevin Costner, the actor, to stay at his house, following the wrap of \u201cThe Postman\u201d. One day, Ripken left for Camden Yards to play in a game. Somewhere between his home and the stadium, Cal realized that he had left something back at his house, and turned back to retrieve it. Upon arriving at his home, he found Kevin Costner in bed with his wife, Kelly. Cal then proceeded to beat the crap out of Costner, to the point that Costner was unable to make any publicity opportunities for a time. Cal then called the Orioles, and told them he wouldn\u2019t be coming in to play that day. Upon hearing this, the owner reminded Cal about his streak, telling him The Streak would end if he didn\u2019t play that day. Cal told him it was impossible for him to come in, so there went the streak. Reportedly, the owner told him not to worry, because he would take care of it. That night, the game was cancelled due to \u201celectrical failure\u201d with some lights on the field. The caller [I heard this rumor from] said that there was no problem with the lights, that everything else, including the hotels and restaurants that are part of Camden Yards, worked perfectly. The next day, the lights were fixed, Cal was able to play, and the streak stayed intact. A game between the Orioles and the Seattle Mariners scheduled for Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore on 14 August 1997 was cancelled due to lighting problems, but there was nothing \u201cmysterious\u201d about the incident. A ground fault interrupt kept tripping the circuit breaker each time the lights in one of Oriole Park\u2019s lighting banks were turned on, and the game\u2019s 7:35 P.M. starting time was pushed back as a crew worked on the problem. (That the businesses surrounding Oriole Park did not experience similar problems is not strange, as the ballpark is on a separate portion of the city\u2019s power grid.) The crew finally got the bank of lights working by 8:45 P.M., but about 20 bulbs in the bank failed to illuminate, and the umpiring crew had to make the decision whether to allow the game to begin. Umpire crew chief Al Clark officially postponed the game at 10 P.M. after determining that shadows at home plate created unsafe playing conditions, a decision influenced by the fact that fireballing pitcher Randy Johnson was scheduled to start for the Mariners. Given that Johnson was a left-hander who threw extremely hard, and the lighting outage occurred on the first-base side of the field (i.e., the side on which batters would be visually picking up the ball from Johnson\u2019s hand as the southpaw threw towards home plate), the risk of serious injury to a batter was deemed too great to allow the game to proceed. The contest was cancelled and made up as part of a double-header the following day. Shortly afterwards, a conspiracy rumor was concocted from this scenario which involved actor Kevin Costner, who had a long-standing friendship with Cal Ripken, and rumors of marital difficulties between Ripken and his wife Kelly. According to that rumor, Ripken caught Costner in bed with his wife on the morning of 14 August 1997, and the shock of that betrayal left Ripken too emotionally distraught and/or too sore and bruised from brawling with Costner to show up at Camden Yards for the Orioles\u2019 game with the Seattle Mariners that evening. (Some versions of the rumor even maintained that Ripken couldn\u2019t make it to the ballpark because he had been hauled off to jail for assault.) In order to preserve the tremendous publicity value of Ripken\u2019s consecutive game steak, Orioles management quickly arranged for someone in the Camden Yards facilities crew to create a \u2018malfunction\u2019 that would prevent the day\u2019s game from coming off as scheduled and provide Ripken with a much-needed day off to recover from his ordeal. Kevin Costner and Cal Ripken, Jr. met in 1990 at a premiere of Costner\u2019s film Dances with Wolves and began what Costner described as a \u201cburgeoning friendship.\u201d  Before a game during the 1991 season, Costner took batting and fielding practice with the Orioles, played catch on the sidelines, went through stretching exercises in the outfield, and batted and took grounders with Ripken. Costner was often seen taking in Orioles games from the stands at Baltimore\u2019s Camden Yards, sometimes sitting with Ripken\u2019s wife, Kelly. In late 1997, gossip began circulating to the effect that the Ripkens had separated, Cal was staying with a teammate, and a divorce was imminent. The rumors included claims of infidelities on both sides, with the male interloper named as anyone from \u201can Orioles trainer\u201d to Costner (who at the time lived about an hour from the Ripkens\u2019 ranch). From such rumors was the \u201cmysterious game cancellation\u201d legend concocted back in 1998. Whether the electrical outage was \u201cmysterious\u201d or not, it wasn\u2019t devised to keep Ripken\u2019s streak alive by forcing the cancellation of a game he would otherwise have missed. News reports of the day\u2019s events prove Ripken was present at the ballpark, suited up and ready to play, and both fans and reporters noted him sitting in the dugout and playing catch along the sidelines that evening. Ripken himself addressed the rumor in a 2008 interview on NPR:  It\u2019s easy to check the facts of that one. I remember it very well. The bank of lights went off and Randy Johnson was pitching for the Seattle Mariners. And we were deciding what to do about that. Was there enough visible light out there to actually see a guy throwing over 100 miles per hour? The bank was just over our dugout. And I physically went out and tested it for the umpire. I was in discussion with the umpires. I was definitely there, I was ready to play. And the funny part about it was we all decided it was better that we play that night, because the next day would have been a Sunday day game, and Randy Johnson would have been throwing out of the stands, and in day games he\u2019s much harder to see. So we all decided that we were going to go. Evidently [Mariners manager] Lou Piniella told Seattle a little different story that the game wasn\u2019t going to go, and they started leaving the ballpark, so we didn\u2019t have that option after all. We scheduled it for the next day, and we played. But I definitely was there. And I\u2019m sure I was on camera a number of times being out on the field. When this legend was repeated by a couple of hosts on Fox Sports Radio in June 2001, an angry Costner called the show the next day to deny it and tell the hosts that if they had claimed the story was true, \u201cI was going to take your heads off.\u201d  Costner maintained at the time that he had met Ripken\u2019s wife only twice in his life, that he had probably spent no more than 10 minutes with her altogether, and that he had never been to the Ripkens\u2019 home. (Since Costner had been noted sitting in the stands for whole games with Kelly Ripken, his \u201c10 minutes\u201d and \u201ctwice in his life\u201d claims were probably underestimates)."}
{"claim_id": "11330", "claim": "Fish oil linked to lower Alzheimer\u2019s risk", "explanation": "This story reported on the findings from a recent research study that found lower rates of dementia in individuals who had higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their blood. They were also able to show individuals who consumed 2 or more servings of fish per week were found to have higher levels of DHA. The reporting about this study is a good example of where the relative risk reduction sounds impressive but the absolute risk reduction is small. Yet the story provided only the relative risk numbers, not the absolute. (Read more about absolute vs. relative risk.) Although it's good that the story pointed out the harms that are associated with fish oil consumption and the lack of FDA approval of fish oil as a means to prevent dementia, it neglected to mention that there currently are no evidence-based means to reduce the incidence of dementia. The story also ought to have included information about other reasons the authors might have found the results they did (chance, confouding dietary or behavioral patterns, etc). Because it is possible that these and not the fish consumption per se are associated with reduced dementia, it\u00a0is information that a reader\u00a0should be aware\u00a0of. The headline of the story \u2013 \"Fish Oil Linked to Lower Alzheimer's Risk\" \u2013 is somewhat misleading because the results of the story demonstrated that fish oil was associated with lower risk of all-cause dementia; when an attempt was made to parse out the effect of fish oil on Alzheimer's disease specifically, its effect was not statistically significant. It should be noted that this story was not the only one to fail to appreciate this distinction. The editorial accompanying this research in the Archives of Neurology was entitled \"Docosahexaenoic Acid and Alzheimer Disease\" and nowhere in the editorial was the distinction made between Alzheimer's and all-cause dementia.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "This story did not include any cost estimates for fish or\u00a0docosaheaenoic acid (DHA)\u00a0containing supplements. It also did not include an estimate for the amount of supplements that would be needed to result in the plasma levels of DHA seen to be associated with lower dementia risk. Early in the story, it mentioned that the\u00a0research involved 899 people and that 99 people developed dementia during the course of the study. This works out to a total incidence of dementia of 11%, something that was not explicitly stated in the story. The piece then went on to discuss that\u00a0 that two\u00a0or more servings of fish a week reduced the risk of dementia by 39%. This is a relative risk reduction. Before readers can put that in context, they would really need to have the absolute risk of developing dementia. (Read more about absolute vs. relative risk.) While it is true that the original source piece for this story did not contain this information, the story could have raised the question. The story mentioned potential harms from fish oil consumption and included speculation on potential harms from fish consumption. This story reported on the observations\u00a0reported in one recently published paper which found that there appeared to be a lower risk of developing demnetia for individuals with the highest level of plasma levels\u00a0of docosaheaenoic acid (DHA). It mentioned that the study reported on has been published in the Archives of Neurology, that the data were part of the Framingham Heart Study and that the individuals were followed for an average of 9 years. It would have been useful to more clearly describe for readers the design of the prospective study giving rise to the results reported on. A blood sample was taken from people who did not have dementia, a diet history was collected from about half of the people, then they were follwed for an average of 9 years to determine the incidence of dementia that was observed. There did not appear to be a dose response in terms of the protective effect of DHA, but rather a reduced risk for developing dementia was seen only in those with the highest DHA levels. Plasma DHA levels were seen to correlate with the number of servings of fish or the amount of DHA consumed. The story also could have described other potential confounders that may have contributed to the results. There are other behaviors that are associated with reduced dementia that may be more common in those who eat more fish (social activities, better dietary variety, or others). This story did not appear to disease monger. This story was based on information from an original research study and included quotes from the study senior author as well as material from an editorial about the research study. This story did not mention the lack of evidence-based measures to prevent Alzheimer disease. A brief statement about lack of strong evidence would help guide readers in this regard. This story mentioned that omega-3 fatty acid docosaheaenoic acid (DHA) was found in fatty fish, as well as supplements in the form of fish oil or DHA. It was good to point out that neither DHA or fish oild supplements have FDA approval for prevention of dementia. The story curiously mentioned that it was also found in some meats. However, the only tissues in which DHA is found in significant quantities are the brain, retina, and testes \u2013 which are not frequently consumed by people. Thus the story ought not to have included 'some meats' as a source of DHA. The story reported that the results of the current study were consistent with earlier data. Does not appear to rely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "22336", "claim": "David Prosser Says Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg\u2019s record as a state Justice Department lawyer consists only of the prosecution of cases regarding regulation of docks.", "explanation": "Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser says challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg\u2019s record consists only of prosecuting cases regarding regulation of docks", "label": "false", "subjects": "Environment, Candidate Biography, Legal Issues, Wisconsin, David Prosser, ", "main_text": "The candidates in the acrimonious race for Wisconsin Supreme Court have spent a considerable amount of time focusing on their experience and qualifications for the job. Justice David Prosser\u2019s experience is pretty simple to understand. He has served a dozen years on the court and was Outagamie County district attorney for a couple of years. A Republican, Prosser also served 16 years in the state Assembly, and was speaker. The JoAnne Kloppenburg file is more difficult to evaluate: 21 years as an attorney in the state Department of Justice. That leaves plenty of room for interpretation -- by the candidate and her opponent. That\u2019s what happened in a March 21, 2011, debate at the Marquette University Law School. Prosser told the audience that Kloppenburg \"is incredibly envious\" of his record as a district attorney, and his time as a lawmaker and justice. He said he had prosecuted cases that involved violent crime. \"I\u2019ve had victims of crime cry on my shoulder,\" Prosser said. He continued with this observation about Kloppenburg\u2019s experience: \"She has a very different record as a prosecutor. It\u2019s all the prosecution of DNR regulations of docks \u2026 the length of docks. The width of docks. Whether people can have docks. That\u2019s a complete different kind of prosecution that I am familiar with or have been writing cases about as well for 12 and a half years.\" That stopped us and undoubtedly many in the audience. More than two decades on cases hassling dock owners? Sounds like a lot of legal grunt work. It\u2019s a claim that Prosser has made repeatedly on the campaign trail, and a theme that\u2019s been picked up in ads from outside groups attacking Kloppenburg. We asked for backup. Prosser\u2019s campaign spokesman Brian Nemoir said in an email that state court records and other research tools showed 46 cases that involved Kloppenburg, 76 percent of which \"were for the DNR.\" \"Of the 46, five were directly identifiable with piers,\" he said. Fair enough. For a decade, Kloppenburg led the Department of Justice\u2019s environmental litigation team. Docks would be in her wheelhouse. Kloppenburg opponents have seized on her record as a environmental lawyer, painting her as an extremist. On March 29, talk show host Charlie Sykes said: \"If you are an environmental zealot, I do understand that JoAnne Kloppenburg is probably your candidate.\" Sykes added: \"If you have a pier that\u2019s a few feet too close \u2026 JoAnne Kloppenburg is your worst enemy.\" But let\u2019s circle back to the support Prosser\u2019s campaign provided. Of the 46 cases cited, only five dealt with docks. What about the rest? The Kloppenburg campaign gave us a list of 17 published decisions of cases that she argued before the state Appeals Court. The cases involved water and air pollution permits, a landfill dispute and the state\u2019s authority over navigable waterways. Two involved the civil rights of state prison inmates, one involved the treatment of a prisoner. No dock cases were included. The campaign noted that over the years, Kloppenburg has argued hundreds of cases in circuit courts around the state, and numerous cases before the state Supreme Court -- including one in which a decision was handed down March 23, \u00a0two days after the debate at Marquette. In that case, Kloppenburg represented the state in a lawsuit involving a dispute over a hearing for a water discharge permit for a paper mill in Green Bay. Environmentalists wanted a public hearing about the permit; the DNR did not. Kloppenburg represented the DNR and won the case -- with Prosser voting with the majority. While environmentalists were unhappy with the decision, business groups -- some of which are paying for ads attacking Kloppenburg\u2019s legal credentials -- were pleased. She said her campaign was able to identify citations of 206 court cases dating back to 1989, and said few, if any, involved docks or piers. Other cases she\u2019s handled in her career included those involving complaints from prisoners, the state\u2019s part of lawsuits against big tobacco companies, Indian treaty rights and gaming compacts, and medical malpractice caps. She has had numerous cases involving well-known state and local companies, including Patrick Cudahy, Enbridge, Georgia Pacific, and a sunken barge in the Menomonee River. Kloppenburg told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board that her job was to enforce the state\u2019s environmental laws. When we asked Prosser directly to explain his comment, he said he was well aware Kloppenburg handled a much broader variety of cases for the Justice Department than docks. Indeed, a number of them were argued before him on the Supreme Court. \"I\u2019m certainly aware of the breadth of those cases,\" Prosser said, adding that his comments about docks were \"a little rhetorical flourish.\" Prosser recalled a case about a July 2006 decision about a Green Lake subdivision that let homeowners have a fractional interest so they could have a boat slip on a nearby dock. The court ruled in favor of the DNR and forced the association to reduce the number of boat slips. Prosser also mentioned another case that was relayed to him in a private letter from a circuit court judge in northern Wisconsin. \"Those are the two I was most familiar with,\" Prosser said. He added this about his dock comment: \"I was really trying to inject a little bit of levity into this. I think the rhetorical flourish is easily justified in terms of these two cases.\" But that flies in the face of the reality of the campaign. As we noted, the dock cases have emerged as a line of attack against Kloppenburg from several fronts. What\u2019s more, those in the audience didn\u2019t offer a lot of chuckles during that portion of the debate. Former Journal Sentinel reporter Alan Borsuk, who now works for the Marquette Law School, blogged this about the event: \"I\u2019ve been at some testy and tense debates and joint appearances by candidates in various races, but this one was way up the list, if it wasn\u2019t the champion on my personal list.\" Borsuk noted the exchange about experience and said Prosser touted his record \"while slighting her record in environmental work with the attorney general\u2019s office as involving \u2018the length of (boat) docks.\u2019\"  Let\u2019s bring this ship to shore. Justice Prosser told a debate audience that his opponent\u2019s work as a prosecutor was very limited and said she only handled cases involving the size and length of docks. But the record shows a much broader range of cases handled by Kloppenburg in her time at the Department of Justice. Indeed, Prosser later said he was well aware of the \"breadth\" of those cases. What\u2019s more, Prosser brushed the claim off as a \"rhetorical flourish\" and an attempt at \"levity.\" That would be more believable if people treated it that way at the time and if it didn\u2019t match up with one of the major lines of attack from Kloppenburg critics in the campaign. At PolitiFact, a statement is False if it is not accurate. It\u2019s not accurate to say that Kloppenburg\u2019s has only handled dock cases. That\u2019s a ridiculous claim -- from a justice who has heard her argue a variety of cases before him on the state\u2019s high court. False plus ridiculous equals ."}
{"claim_id": "10570", "claim": "Under-Skin Defibrillators Seen Closer to Reality", "explanation": "This story includes an independent source and details about the underlying concept of the new device and its limitations that help readers put the research into the proper perspective. Aside from including more pertinent information, this story did a better job of characterizing the research report as one step in a long process. Until two treatments are directly compared, it is usually inappropriate to claim that one is superior to the other. This story does a good job of explaining the results of research into this new device without implying that the preliminary trials produced evidence it may be better than existing devices.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story notes that the cost of the device would be similar to that of existing devices, but that implantation is simpler, which might make those costs lower. It would have been helpful to specify the estimated cost of existing implantable defibrillators. This story outlines the problems with the electrical lead wires of existing devices that have harmed patients and required re-operations and recalls. It explains that by using wires placed under the skin, instead of through blood vessels into the heart, the new device might reduce the risks associated with implantable defibrillators for certain patients. The story cautions that only about a quarter of patients who currently are given implantable defibrillators might be candidates for the new type of device. Although the researchers pointed out in their journal article that \u201cthe initial experience includes several cases of problems such as lead migration, lead dislodgement, and inappropriate sensing,\u201d the story does not refer to any potential harms. In the lead, this story appropriately characterizes the new report as a step toward implantable defibrillators that do not have wires attached directly to the hearts of patients. It points out that much of the new data is based on the experiences of about 60 patients who had one of the new devices for a year. The story makes more than one reference to the need for further trials before the developers of the new device would have enough evidence to apply for FDA approval. The story points out that the new device is intended for use in a subset of patients who are already considered candidates for conventional implantable defibrillators. The story includes an independent source. It points out that the trials of the new device were paid for by the manufacturer and that the lead researcher founded the company. The story makes clear that, depending on the results of further trials, the new device could be an incremental improvement on existing implantable defibrillators for certain patients. It also notes that it does not offer the heart pacemaker function of some existing implantable defibrillators. The story points out that the new type of implantable defibrillator is available in some countries in Europe, but that further trials are needed to produce evidence that could be used to apply for FDA approval in the United States. The story notes that the device has been under development for several years and requires further research before it can be considered for clinical use. The story does not appear to rely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "3928", "claim": "California to require abortion medication at public colleges.", "explanation": "California will be the first state to require abortion medication on college campuses under a law signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medication, Health, General News, Abortion, California, Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom, U.S. News, Laws", "main_text": "The law takes effect in 2023 and only applies to the 34 campuses in the University of California and California State University systems. But the law will only be implemented if a state commission can raise more than $10 million in private donations to pay for it. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year, arguing it was not necessary because abortion services were readily available off campus. But Newsom, who took office in January, said the law is needed \u201cas other states and the federal government go backward, restricting reproductive freedom.\u201d Several Republican-led states, including Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi, have passed laws banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Abortion-rights groups are challenging those laws in court. \u201cAbortion is a protected right, and it is important that everyone \u2014 including college students \u2014 have access to that right, if they so choose,\u201d said Democratic Sen. Connie Leyva, the bill\u2019s author. Religious and anti-abortion groups opposed the bill, with Live Action President Lila Rose saying the law \u201cturns universities into abortion centers.\u201d And Maria Jose Fernandez, legislative advocate for the California Catholic Conference, said the law is \u201ctrying to limit the alternatives for women.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re giving them the option to terminate a life, but what about those who want to continue on with that pregnancy? Where is the help for those women?\u201d Fernandez said. The medication is an option for women who are less than 10 weeks pregnant. The process requires taking two pills. The first pill, taken at the clinics, blocks the hormone progesterone. The second, taken a few days later at home, has an effect similar to a miscarriage. More than 400,000 women attend public universities in the state. Officials at the University of California and California State University did not take a position on the bill as it worked its way through the state Legislature. California State University spokesman Michael Uhlenkamp said the university will comply with the law by 2023. University of California spokeswoman Sarah McBride said the university \u201cbelieves students should have access to affordable and convenient reproductive health care of their choosing.\u201d \u201cThe university is currently evaluating next steps and will implement the law accordingly,\u201d she said. Also Friday, Newsom signed a law clarifying that Planned Parenthood can prescribe birth control via teleconference without a video chat, as they can in other states. Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, said the bill signings show \u201cthat California understands reproductive health care is health care. And health care is a human right.\u201d ___ This story has been updated to correct the name of the anti-abortion advocacy group Live Action."}
{"claim_id": "995", "claim": "Exhausted polar bear wanders into Siberian city.", "explanation": "A starving polar bear has strayed hundreds of kilometers from its natural Arctic habitat and wandered, exhausted, into the major Russian industrial city of Norilsk in northern Siberia.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The female bear, visibly weak and seemingly ill, lay despondently on the ground for hours on Tuesday in Norilsk\u2019s suburbs, its feet caked in mud, occasionally rising to sniff around for food. It is the first polar bear seen in the city in more than 40 years, according to local environmentalists. Oleg Krashevsky, a local wildlife expert who filmed the polar bear close-up, said it was unclear what had brought the animal to the city, although it was possible it had simply got lost. He said it had watery eyes and could clearly not see well. Climate change has been damaging polar bears\u2019 sea-ice habitats and forced them to scavenge more for food on land, bringing them into contact with people and inhabited areas. A state of emergency was declared in a remote inhabited area of northern Russian earlier this year when dozens of hungry polar bears were seen scavenging for food and entering public buildings and homes. State wildlife experts are expected to arrive in Norilsk on Wednesday to assess the bear\u2019s condition. Local residents in the city known for nickel production came out to photograph the bear and look at it as police prevented them from getting too close. Krashevsky said it was not clear what would be done with the polar bear as it looked too weak to be taken back to its natural habitat."}
{"claim_id": "9856", "claim": "Mediterranean diet may help prevent dementia, study says", "explanation": "This is a story about a study that won\u2019t be presented for two months yet \u2013 about a health benefit that is seen in individuals who self-report consuming a Mediterranean diet. It was good that the story pointed out \"The study shows association, not causation\" but the explanation of this was a bit awkward and incomplete. It also never answered what \"36% less likely to have areas of brain damage\" really meant. 36%\u00a0of what? And what clinical significance might that have? There can be a difference between being able to find something and whether that something has significance in people\u2019s lives. Dementia is a major concern for older people. However, the gist of the story \u00a0\u2013 that the \"Mediterranean diet may help prevent dementia\" \u2013 as the headline states \u2013 is something an observational study can\u2019t prove. That\u2019s what the story could have better explained.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Another not applicable criterion for this story. Costs not mentioned, but also hard to pin down costs of this diet. The story specified that those following a Mediterranean diet were \u201836% less likely to have areas of brain damage\u2019. This is an inadequate presentation of information because the reader has no sense of how common the thing prevented might be (36% of what?) and also how well this measurement of brain damage correlates with a clinical parameter of concern to real people. There can be a difference between being able to find something and whether that something has significance in people\u2019s lives. There was no discussion of harms, but we\u2019re not sure of any from this diet \u2013 so we judge this criterion Not Applicable in this case. The story highlighted the results of a study to be presented two months from now. This means that the results have not been peer reviewed. This should have been explained. Even then there are weaknesses in stories about presentations at scientific meetings. See our primer. We appreciate that the story stated that the study showed an association but does not prove causality \u2013 but think the story could have used better language to explain this, such as: The story came close at times \u2013 dancing around these messages \u2013 but never quite clearly communicating the significance of the limitation of an observational study. No disease-mongering of Alzheimer\u2019s disease or vascular dementia in this story. The story has a quote from a clinician who does not appear to be associated with the research to be presented that was reported on. The story could have at least briefly mentioned other approaches to risk reduction. For example, control of hypertension and use of daily aspirin to reduce risk of vascular disease in the brain. It doesn\u2019t require many words in a story to put one area of research into context of other research in the field. There isn\u2019t any question about the availability of the \u2018mediterranean diet\u2019 so this criterion is not applicable for this story. The story appropriately tried to put this research into the context of other resarch on the Mediterranean diet and health. Although there is some language in the story that is very similar to that found in a news release, we rule this satisfactory because an independent expert was quoted, indicating that the story didn\u2019t rely solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "9212", "claim": "New study finds EPA and DHA omega-3s lower risk of coronary heart disease", "explanation": "This news release summarizes a recent paper published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings that evaluated the effect two types of omega-3 fatty acids \u2014 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) \u2014 had on reducing risk of coronary heart disease. The report was a meta-analysis, meaning researchers evaluated the findings of multiple published studies. Specifically, the meta-analysis looked at 18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 16 prospective cohort studies. RCTs are designed to measure the effect of a specific intervention under clearly-defined, experimental conditions. This means that researchers aim to determine, with some degree of certainty, whether a specific intervention is causing a specific outcome. Prospective cohort studies follow large groups of people over extended periods of time, allowing researchers to determine what characteristics or behaviors may be associated with specific outcomes. Because of the nature of these cohort studies, they can only tell researchers if a behavior or practice is correlated with an outcome \u2014 but not whether the behavior is causing the outcome. These sorts of meta-analyses can be extremely valuable tools for assessing a broad body of work on a given subject. However, this news release is problematic. It is written in a way that is confusing, if not misleading, and fails to make clear that the scientific-sounding organization that funded the study (and wrote the release) is an industry group that was created to promote the global use of omega-3 supplements or foods that are high in omega-3s. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, approximately 370,000 people die of coronary heart disease each year in the United States. Many adults make decisions about their diet, activities and lifestyle based on how those decisions may affect their heart health. Research on subjects such as how omega-3 fatty acids affect heart disease risk play an important role here. According to a 2015 Washington Post article, people in the U.S. spend $1.2 billion each year on fish oil supplements, largely because they contain omega-3s that consumers think will reduce their risk of heart disease. But increasingly consistent evidence shows that fish oil does not, in fact, protect against heart disease. If people are going to make informed decisions about their personal health \u2014 and how they spend their money \u2014 they need to have good information that they can actually understand. News releases like this one make it hard for most consumers to understand exactly what the research says.", "label": "false", "subjects": "coronary artery disease,Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s,GOED,omega-3s", "main_text": "Cost is only addressed in a quote from the executive director of an omega-3 industry organization, who refers to increasing one\u2019s omega-3 intake as an \u201cinexpensive\u201d lifestyle change. What does \u201cinexpensive\u201d mean? What may be cheap for one consumer could be cost-prohibitive for another. What\u2019s more, it\u2019s difficult for any reader to work out what the cost may be, because the release doesn\u2019t make it easy to determine how much of EPA or DHA one needs to take in order to see any potential benefit. It is only in the tenth paragraph, which quotes an editorial suggesting that taking \u201cat least 1 gram of EPA+DHA per day\u2026continues to be a reasonable strategy.\u201d That\u2019s still not necessarily clear for many consumers, since it\u2019s not directly linked to the benefits discussed elsewhere in the release, but it\u2019s the only reference to how much an individual might need to consume \u2014 and it\u2019s buried near the bottom of the release. The release tells readers that, among the RCTs, \u201cthere was a statistically significant reduction in [coronary heart disease] risk in higher risk populations, including\u202616 percent in those with high triglycerides and 14 percent in those with high LDL [low-density lipoprotein] cholesterol.\u201d So the release is claiming that seafood, supplements and pharmaceuticals offer a 16 percent reduction in risk of coronary heart disease for people with high triglycerides. That sounds good, right? But over what time span? A year? A lifetime? And how high does a person\u2019s trigylceride count need to be in order for that person to have \u201chigh triglycerides?\u201d The release doesn\u2019t tell us. And then things get really confusing. Consider this statement: \u201cA non-statistically significant 6 percent risk reduction among all populations in RCTs, a finding supported by a statistically significant 18 percent reduced risk of [coronary heart disease] among prospective cohort studies.\u201d Does the statistically significant finding somehow make the non-statistically significant finding more, well, significant? No. Does bundling those two things together into one sentence muddy the waters for readers? You bet. Does the release still fail to explain the time-frame it is using when discussing risk reduction? Yes. Providing readers with figures describing the absolute risk reduction would have been very helpful here. The release does not mention any potential problems associated with omega-3s. And there are potential harms. For example, the University of Maryland Medical Center notes that patients should consult with their doctors about potential interactions with prescription drugs before taking omega-3 supplements, and adds that \u201cHigh doses of omega-3 fatty acids may increase the risk of bleeding, even in people without a history of bleeding disorders, and even in those who are not taking other medications.\u201d There are concerns about other potential harms as well, such as whether fish oil supplements may increase risk for prostate cancer. We don\u2019t expect a news release to include an exhaustive summary of all the possible harms associated with a particular intervention. But we do expect a news release to at least acknowledge that the potential for harms exists, when appropriate. The release does tell readers the total number of RCTs and cohort studies that the meta-analysis looked at, as well as the overall number of study participants involved. That\u2019s good. The release also articulates the difference between the two types of studies \u2014 which is also a good thing. However, things get dicey when the release starts discussing benefits. For example, the release tells readers that \u201cThe study reviewed 18 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 16 prospective cohort studies, with 93,000 and 732,000 subjects, respectively.\u201d As noted above, the release also states that the study found a \u201c16 percent [risk reduction] in those with high triglycerides and 14 percent in those with high LDL cholesterol.\u201d It would be natural for readers to assume that those risk reduction numbers are based on the 18 RCT studies, which evaluated 93,000 study participants. But that would be wrong. According to the journal article, only six of the RCT studies looked at patients with \u201chigh triglycerides,\u201d and only five of the RCT studies looked at patients with high LDL cholesterol. So, while the release is not technically incorrect, it\u2019s misleading \u2014 and that\u2019s not okay. No disease mongering here. But there\u2019s also no context about the prevalence of coronary heart disease. This is a really close call. The story makes clear that the research was funded by the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) \u2014 which also issued this news release, through AAAS\u2019s EurekAlert! news service. The release also quotes two GOED employees, and clearly identifies them as such. However, the release doesn\u2019t include any language explaining what GOED is, what it does, or who its members are. And that\u2019s important, because GOED is not an independent research organization, it\u2019s an industry group that exists to promote consumer use of products that contain omega-3 fatty acids. There are many actions that invididuals can take to reduce their risk of coronary heart disease, including losing weight, exercising regularly, and managing stress. The release doesn\u2019t mention any of them. This is particularly problematic given that these are actions which are not mutually exclusive: one could lose weight, exercise regularly, manage stress and eat more fish (for example). The release refers to consuming EPA and DHA in the form of either seafood or supplements, so we\u2019ll give this a pass. However, that single reference to sources of EPA and DHA is only found in a quote in the tenth paragraph. There are a ton (to use a technical term) of studies on omega-3 fatty acids and heart disease, including lots (and lots) of meta-analyses (like this one or this one, for example). What sets this meta-analysis apart? The release doesn\u2019t tell us. As noted above under the Why This Matters section, there\u2019s considerable evidence and recent consensus that fish oil doesn\u2019t have much if any effect on cardiovascular disease. A few points here. First, the release states that increasing their consumption of omega-3s is a \u201cchange that most consumers need to make.\u201d That\u2019s over-reach, and that alone would give the release an unsatisfactory rating here. But there\u2019s one other note that we\u2019ll make here, since it doesn\u2019t really fit anywhere else: at no point does the news release tell readers what EPA and DHA stand for. Nor does it explain what they are, or even what omega-3 fatty acids are, much less how they may be beneficial for heart health. If you\u2019re going to use terms that are not common knowledge \u2014 such as \u201cDHA omega-3s\u201d \u2014 please give your readers some idea of what you\u2019re talking about."}
{"claim_id": "8991", "claim": "XARELTO\u00ae (rivaroxaban) Associated with Significantly Reduced Time in Hospital and Decreased Costs Compared to Standard of Care in New Study of Patients with Low-Risk Pulmonary Embolism (PE)", "explanation": "iStock / Getty Images Plus The news release is about a study that explores if\u00a0patients with pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the lungs, who are at low risk for complications can be sent home from the emergency department early rather than be admitted to hospital. The patients were divided into two groups: One group of patients were sent home early while taking rivaroxaban (Xarelto), a type of blood thinner, whereas the \u201cusual care\u201d group could get any blood thinner of their physician\u2019s choosing, including rivaroxaban, and hospitalization. The study findings suggest that early discharge of low-risk patients was safe and feasible and also resulted in cost savings because of less time spent in hospital. Unfortunately, the news release seemed to suggest that it was the use of rivaroxaban that resulted in cost savings\u2013rather than the strategy of sending low risk patients home early. The news release failed to state was that over half the patients in the comparison group who got usual care also received rivaroxaban. In other words, the news release implies that rivaroxaban was being compared to other anti-coagulants when what was actually being compared was an early vs. late discharge strategy. Janssen\u2019s misleading news release could result in news stories trumpeting rivaroxaban as a superior blood thinner, when that is not what this study looked at.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Janssen,Xarelto", "main_text": "The news release acknowledged that there would be a cost savings associated with the early discharge group. But, adding in the cost of the drugs used in the study would have been useful. It\u2019s worth noting that the modest case savings\u00a0reported here might be considerably larger if a generic blood thinner is used. Both primary and secondary efficacy outcomes are listed: Primary: patients who received Xarelto spent less time in the hospital due to blot clots \u2014 either in deep veins (DVT) or the lungs (PE) \u2014\u00a0 when compared to the standard of care (SOC) within the first 30 days of treatment (4.8 vs. 33.6 hours, respectively). Secondary: No recurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE), or VTE-related deaths \u2026 or any significant differences in the bleeding-related hospitalizations \u2026 or physician visits \u2026 within the first 90 days. It requires a close reading of this news release, and the study, to realize that this should have been framed as early discharge while on a blood thinner did not result in harmful outcomes compared to patients who were admitted and had longer hospital stays. We\u2019ll address this issue under quality of evidence, below. However, the release did provide quantification of benefits so it squeaks by on this one. This news release does provide a section on the side effects and drug interactions of Xarelto. It also could have mentioned some of the risks of early release from the hospital. While this news release describes the study with reasonable accuracy, one glaring omission is the fact that they neglected to mention that most of the usual care group also got rivaroxaban. In effect, attempting to spin this study to suggest that rivaroxaban was better than its competitors in treating pulmonary embolism is a rather significant mischaracterization of what the study attempted to demonstrate, which was the safety of an early discharge strategy compared to keeping patients in the hospital. No disease mongering. Pulmonary embolism is a relatively common disorder with a very\u00a0wide range of severity and mortality. It\u2019s made somewhat clear that both the news release and the study are sourced from Janssen Pharmaceutical Company (who\u2019s developing rivaroxaban with Bayer). However, the principal investigator quoted in the release has financial ties to the company, which should have been disclosed. There are other blood thinners used in patients with PE, but the release doesn\u2019t name any of them. The news release states that the current research adds to previous studies dating back to 2015, and that rivaroxaban is currently being used to reduce the risk of blood clots in people with atrial fibrillation and deep vein thrombosis (or, DVT). The vice president of scientific affairs for Janssen Pharmaceuticals is quoted in the news release as saying the research is \u201cthe first prospective randomized trial\u201d to investigate discharging emergency room patients with low-risk pulmonary embolism\u201d (LRPE). It also gives some background on an earlier study to establish that this isn\u2019t a brand new idea. The headline of this release crosses the line into unjustified language. It credits rivaroxaban with reducing the time patients spent in the hospital, when the early discharge strategy was actually the main difference between the groups \u2014 not the use of rivaroxaban."}
{"claim_id": "6533", "claim": "Michigan expands list of conditions medical pot can treat.", "explanation": "Michigan regulators have significantly expanded the list of conditions approved for treatment by medical marijuana.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Michigan, Arthritis, Medical marijuana", "main_text": "The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs on Monday added 11 medical conditions deemed debilitating by the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008. They are: arthritis, autism, chronic pain, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, obsessive compulsive disorder, Parkinson\u2019s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal cord injury, Tourette\u2019s syndrome and ulcerative colitis. Denied conditions include anxiety, asthma, brain injury, panic attacks, depression and diabetes. Existing entries on the list include post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Crohn\u2019s disease, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and severe and chronic pain. Officials say they received public comments related to petitions to add conditions to the list. They add the final decisions reflect changes in state law to include marijuana-infused products and advancing research."}
{"claim_id": "33563", "claim": "A hand-held police radar unit successfully tracked a military aircraft on maneuvers, nearly causing the aircraft to fire a missile in response.", "explanation": "A classic \"warning against technology\" tale.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Technology, police, Techno File, Techno-Industrial Terror", "main_text": "This report has been circulating around the internet for several years at least. Examples: A report has revealed that two traffic patrol officers from North Berwick were involved in an unusual incident whilst checking for speeding motorists on the A1 road between Oldhamstocks and   Grantshouse. Last May, they were using a hand-held radar device to trap unwary motorists on the Edinburgh to London trunk road. One of the unnamed officers used the device to check the speed of an approaching vehicle, and was surprised to find that his target had registered a speed in excess of 300 miles per hour. The \u00a35000 machine then seized up and could not be reset by the bemused PC\u2019s. The radar had in fact latched on to a NATO Tornado aircraft in the North Sea, which was taking part in a simulated low-flying exercise over the Borders and Southern Scotland. Following a complaint by Sir William Sutherland, Chief Constable of the Lothian & Borders Police force to the RAF liaison office, it was revealed that the officers had a lucky escape \u2013 the tactical computer on board the aircraft not only detected and jammed the \u201chostile\u201d radar equipment, but had automatically armed a Sidewinder air-to-ground missile ready to neutralize the perceived threat. Luckily the Dutch pilot was alerted to the missile status and was able to override the automatic protection system before the missile launched. The Police have so far declined to comment, although it is understood that officers will be advised to point their radar guns inland in future. USMC speeding ticket Top this for a speeding ticket: Two California Highway Patrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on I-15, North of MCAS Miramar. One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching near the crest of a hill. The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300+ miles per hour. The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and turned off. Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that the radar had in fact locked onto a USMC F/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near the location. Back at the CHP Headquarters the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the USMC Base Commander. Back came a reply in true USMC style: Thank you for the message, which allows us to complete the file on this incident. You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked onto your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it. Furthermore, an air to ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked onto your equipment. Fortunately the Highly Trained Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile was launched and your hostile radar was destroyed. Thank you for your concerns. The story is almost certainly false for a number of highly technical reasons. First off, police radar is relatively weak \u2014 it doesn\u2019t need to be strong, and you wouldn\u2019t want to fry passing motorists or the police officers who use it daily. These units don\u2019t have much range; a few miles or so is sufficient since the police officer needs to be in line-of-sight with the vehicle he\u2019d like to track. Next, a number of different radar types (pulse, continuous-scan, doppler, and so on) are used for different purposes. Doppler radar is used for tracking the speed of an object, whether it\u2019s a moving automobile or a particularly threatening thunderstorm. Pulse units are used for aerial and naval navigation as well as military applications; in the latter case their ON/OFF nature makes it slightly more difficult for an enemy to identify their source. Additionally, there are different types of scan profiles in use, such as circular, unidirectional,  bi-directional, helical, raster, palmer, conical, and track-while-scan. Police radar units are directional ones that send pulses in a relatively narrow cone in the direction the officer points the device. (This type of radar is used to prevent the operators from being exposed to the devices\u2019 high-frequency radiation over long periods of time.) Therefore, it\u2019s pretty unlikely that an officer pointing a hand-held unit at an incoming car would also manage to illuminate a flying aircraft \u2014 an intervening hill, a large building, or even heavy plant growth would block any stray signal. Surface-to-air missile (SAM) radars behave differently than handheld police units. Also, each type or model of radar gives off very specific characteristics, and the onboard systems in military planes can differentiate among these types of threats (e.g., a SAM-2 vs. a ZSU vs. an F-16). To quote from Info-Strategies\u2019 web site, \u201cEvery radar produces a radio frequency (RF) signal with specific characteristics that differentiate it from all other signals and define its capabilities and limitations.\u201d Excepting a case of incredible coincidence, the police radar wouldn\u2019t be on the \u201cthreat\u201d list. Also, SAM radar units are also relatively short range systems (30-50km), since the usual practice is to employ longer-range tracking stations to keep watch on incoming aircraft, then alert the SAM unit in the aircraft\u2019s flight path of the impending arrival of the hostile plane. Building on the above, we also need to remember that radar is in common use all over the world, and Europe sports some densely-packed airspace. All aircraft are tracked by large, fixed stations in order to prevent mid-air collisions and other accidents. Thus, the Tornado in question was most likely being \u201cpainted\u201d by multiple radar stations at various airports around the UK, and possibly also from the continent. A puny police traffic-enforcement radar signal wouldn\u2019t even be noticed in all the noise. Next, and very important to our understanding of this legend, the systems on military aircraft will not automatically arm and fire offensive ordnance. This is the case  to specifically prevent incidents such as the one described in this story. There\u2019s no way that the Tornado\u2019s systems would auto-arm a missile, much less try to fire it without a human \u201cgo\u201d signal. At any rate, a human operator in a non-wartime situation would need  explicit permission to fire at an enemy position; if the pilot in our story was alerted of a possible \u201cthreat\u201d radar signal by an onboard system, he or she could simply confirm the source by checking the direction from which the signal was emanating. As the police unit was outside any military firing range it would be obvious from the start that the signal was not a threat or was merely a spurious contact. Lastly, there are glaring factual errors in the story itself. The \u201cSidewinder\u201d is a heat-seeking air-to-air missile (AAM) designed for short-range strikes against attacking aircraft. In other variants of the story, an \u201cASRAAM\u201d (also a heat-seeking AAM) is mentioned. Neither would ever be used against a ground-based target; instead an ALARM (Air-Launched Anti-Radar Missile), AGM-65A \u201cMaverick,\u201d or AS.30(L) air-to-surface missile (ASM) would be fired. Also, the act of \u201cjamming\u201d radar does not involve disabling the unit itself, but rather forces it to produce inaccurate or widely fluctuating results (or no results at all) in order to confuse the operator and any incoming missiles are attempting to \u201clock\u201d onto the target. This urban legend seems to be a classic \u201cwarning against technology\u201d tale, cautioning us against the development of systems that could somehow escape human control and cause havoc. Compare this tale with Cruise Control, in which a misunderstanding of the operation of an automotive device leads to a serious accident. Also think of  the Y2K craze, or even to recent stories of the purported existence of an automated \u201cArmageddon\u201d system called \u201cDead Hand\u201d in Russia (which was supposedly about to fire all Soviet missiles on 1/1/2000 after the computers failed). All are about our fear of modern technology and how a possible lack of human control in a given situation spells disaster."}
{"claim_id": "2985", "claim": "Health advocates call for action to stem youth e-cig use.", "explanation": "Public health advocates rallied at Kentucky\u2019s Capitol on Tuesday to push for legislation aimed at reducing smoking and e-cigarette use among young people.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Legislation, Kentucky, Business, Mitch McConnell, Public health, Tobacco industry regulation", "main_text": "A group called the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow urged Kentucky lawmakers to impose an excise tax on the sale of e-cigarettes. The bill would tax e-cigarettes at 27.5% of their wholesale price, which is equivalent to the state\u2019s $1.10-per-pack tax on cigarettes. The measure would generate an estimated $34 million in its first year. Another measure backed by the group would raise the minimum legal age in Kentucky to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. It\u2019s similar to a new federal law championed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The coalition also called for increased state funding for tobacco prevention and cessation efforts. The statehouse rally featured students, health advocates and business leaders. \u201cKentuckians broadly support the measures that research tells us will curb the youth e-cigarette epidemic, which continues to expand at alarming rates in the commonwealth,\u201d said Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. State health officials last week announced Kentucky\u2019s first probable vaping-related death. The person who died was a male in his late 20s, officials said."}
{"claim_id": "10577", "claim": "Ultrasound Headset May Be New Way to Recognize Concussion on the Sidelines", "explanation": "A Los Angeles-based company has found that its \u201cadvanced version\u201d of a transcranial Doppler (TCD) device is able to pick up changes in blood flow in the brains of recently concussed athletes, potentially increasing the likelihood of a useful ultrasound device that can be available on the sidelines of sporting events to diagnose concussions in real time. The abstract of the study is being presented at the American Academy of Neurology\u2019s annual meeting, and the association issued this news release as part of its conference outreach. The news release does an admirable job of explaining the experimental design that led to this finding, getting specific about the nature of the participants and using language understandable to lay audiences. Its omission of information about potential costs, harms and conflicts of interest is less ideal. Journalists, of course, will also need to be sensitive to the fact that the research has not yet undergone peer review. [Editor\u2019s note: Kathlyn Stone, one of three reviewers on this news release, worked for the American Academy of Neurology from 2000-2004 as senior manager of media relations. She has no current relationship with the AAN.] According to the release, more than 1 million athletes in the United States sustain concussions each year. Detecting those \u201chits\u201d early\u2014ideally on the field of play\u2014and determining which require medical intervention would be valuable. That being said, there really is no medical intervention to prevent sports-related concussion except to abstain from more contact. If the test were sensitive enough to detect early signs of concussion, it could prevent some additional damage that could result from continuing to play.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Association/Society news release,Diagnostic tests", "main_text": "While the study\u2019s principle investigator notes that the device may be \u201cless expensive\u201d than MRI, costs are not broached in the text. To have one of these devices at all sport events, say, starting at high school and beyond, would be quite expensive. Plus, staff would need to be trained to use the device and interpret the results. Dopplers are not used and interpreted by the lay public. The practicality of this was not mentioned. The release states that the TCD ultrasound device \u201cwas able to differentiate between healthy and concussed athletes 83 percent of the time\u201d compared to lower success rates for other procedures. But that is not the only important statistic. While the concordance between the clinical criteria and the ultrasound was 83 percent, the test has a sensitivity of only 70 percent, suggesting that 30 percent of concussions are missed. In addition, there is a 17 percent false positive rate, It was not made clear by the news release when the test was performed. It appears that the test was well after the traumatic event, so we do not know what the test performance is at the time of injury. The release also makes clear that physicians do not yet know\u00a0what to \u201cmake\u201d of this ability when it comes to clinical care. Possible harmful effects, most notably false positive and false negative results, of the ultrasound procedure are not mentioned. A false positive could result in unnecessary follow-up tests and treatments while a false-negative result could lead to an athlete resuming on-field play too soon, greatly increasing their risk of head injury complications and severity. The experiment is carefully explained in the news release, using language that will be accessible to non-scientists. But\u00a0 we are not told when the test was performed in relation to the trauma, which has bearing on the results and diagnostic accuracy. We think the release earns a satisfactory here for adding a caution that doctors have not yet forged a clear link between documenting changes in blood flow in the brain after a concussion and treatment. The release doesn\u2019t engage in disease mongering. Concussions among athletes is an increasingly recognized health risk. While the news release makes clear that the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation funded the study, it does not illuminate the potential conflict of interest of the lead investigator. The lead investigator is identified in the release as the co-founder of Neural Analytics which developed the technology, and a journalist or other reader must then infer that the company may well be a beneficiary of the adoption of this technology. At minimum, some acknowledgement of the financial prospects for the company would be appropriate. Existing strategies to detect changes in blood flow in the brain\u2014magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and \u201ctraditional\u201d transcranial Doppler devices\u2014are compared to the advanced version of TCD ultrasound tested here. However, we think the criteria here was just marginally met. An alternative for diagnosing concussion not discussed is evaluating clinical signs and symptoms, the typical method for classifying a head trauma as a concussion or not. We do not know whether doppler ultrasound is a better predictor of long-term problems than clinical signs and symptoms. The second half of the news release discusses through comments of sources the need for further research to explore the utility of the device. That type of content sends the message\u00a0to readers that the technology is not yet available. We do have concerns with the language suggesting that this technology should be readily available at sporting events. The closest the release comes to claiming novelty is its assertions that the TCD ultrasound device is more accurate than other devices and that its application \u201cmay be a less expensive and portable way to measure these changes.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ll give that a satisfactory. Although the text does not shy away from demonstrating\u00a0that the\u00a0technology under study does a better job of detecting changes in blood flow among concussed athletes than do other diagnostic strategies, it also offers cautionary comments that make clear the device is still very much in the testing phase."}
{"claim_id": "34582", "claim": "Hillary Clinton travels with a doctor carrying a Diazepam pen in case she has a seizure.", "explanation": "The Washington Post identified the above-pictured agent as \u201cSecret Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge Todd Madison\u201d but we have not been able to independently verify his identity. We\u2019ve reached out to the Secret Service for additional information.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Uncategorized, diazepam, diazepam pen, hillary clinton", "main_text": "Conservative corners of the Internet were aflutter in August 2016 over claims that a Secret Service agent frequently spotted standing near Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention was actually a doctor carrying a Diazepam pen in case the presidential nominee had a seizure. While these claims have proliferated quickly across social media, the evidence back them up is flimsy to non-existent. Author Mike Cernovich was one of the first\u00a0to raise questions about Clinton\u2019s bodyguard when he posted images purportedly showing the agent\u2019s \u201cmedic badge\u201d on Twitter: Hillary\u2019s handler is medic (see badge) and carries pen with injection. #HillarysHealth pic.twitter.com/LxlV18MRcx \u2014 Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) August 7, 2016  Fringe web sites such as the Ralph Retort the Conservative Treehouse and the Last Refuge have attempted to legitimize the \u201cdoctor angle\u201d by asserting that Clinton\u2019s attendant might have been identified as Dr. Oladotun Okunola, such as when The Ralph Retort offered a confusing headline \u2014 \u201cREPORT: CLINTON\u2019S HANDLER IDENTIFIED as Neurologist Dr. Oladotun Okunola?\u201d \u2014 that purposefully misled readers by emphasizing the salacious (but untrue) words \u201cCLINTON\u2019S HANDLER IDENTIFIED\u201d then returning to lower case before inserting a skeptical question mark. A photographic comparison of Dr. Okunola and Clinton\u2019s attendant, however, reveals that they bear little resemblance to each other and are in fact two separate people: Hillary Clinton\u2019s handler is clealy not Dr. Oladotun Okunola, but is he a different doctor being explained away as a Secret Service agent? The evidence here is also pretty flimsy. The only real \u201cevidence\u201d offered for that hypothesis is a photograph of the agent\u2019s supposed \u201cmedic\u201d lapel pin, but the image is too blurry to positively identify it. However, a side-by-side comparison of the agent\u2019s pin and a \u201cmedic\u201d pin shows that they are not the same: The physician assistant pin is round (the agent\u2019s pin is not), has a black border (the agent\u2019s pin does not) and has a gold emblem in the center (the agent\u2019s pin does not). The agent\u2019s pin is most likely a red Secret Service pin, similar to the one pictured below: Furthermore, the \u201cdoctor\u201d accompanying Hillary Clinton does not always wear the pin in question. Secret Service agents sometimes wear matching lapel pins at large events to help identify one another, but those lapel pins are frequently changed: There can be as many as 10 different types of credentials for events. At the Centennial Olympics in Atlanta \u2014 where we supervised 250 event and entertained President Bill Clinton and a host of celebrities from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Muhammad Ali over a 30-day period in the Olympic Village \u2014 our extensive security plan included eight credentials ranging from lapel pins for the Secret Service to thermal hand-screening for athletes and employees with access into the residential area of the athletes\u2019 village. The photograph below shows the agent wearing another pin, likely one commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Secret Service in 2015: Other web sites offered \u201cproof\u201d that the pictured man was not a Secret Service agent by maintaining that the Secret Service do not wear clearance badges: If he was Secret Service, he wouldn\u2019t be wearing a security clearance like that. However, both the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention were\u00a0classified as\u00a0National Special Security Events (NSSE), which require special credentialing: The USSS\u2019s Major Events Division (MED) is responsible for NSSE planning and coordinates with other USSS headquarters and field offices. Some of the coordination includes advance planning and liaison for venue and air space security, training, communications, and security credentialing. NSSE operational plans include the use of physical infrastructure security fencing, barricades, special access accreditation badges, K-9 teams, and other security technologies. Of course, the \u201csmoking gun\u201d to this theory is that the agent has purportedly been pictured carrying a Diazepam pen used to treat seizures: Again, this image is too blurry to positively identify the object in the agent\u2019s hand. However, a video of the agent using the above-pictured object shows that it is being used like a flashlight and not a Diazepam pen:  Theories about a doctor being planted in the Secret Service to administer Diazepam in case Hillary Clinton has a seizure are based on mostly uninformed speculation about a few blurry photographs but no actual evidence. If some sort of medical cover-up were taking place, it\u2019s doubtful that the Secret Service doctor would wear a badge or pin identifying himself as a doctor, or that he would openly carry a Diazepam pen in plain sight."}
{"claim_id": "16773", "claim": "Radio Marti and TV Marti have spent more than $500 million to reach less than 1 percent of the Cuban population.", "explanation": "Hurricane Dorian spun across the Atlantic ocean toward Florida on Friday, becoming an even stronger Category 4 storm as residents and tourists alike hunkered down in one of America\u2019s biggest vacation destinations.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Foreign Policy, PunditFact, Lawrence O'Donnell, ", "main_text": "Dorian has the potential to put millions of people at risk, along with holiday attractions such as Walt Disney World, the NASA launchpads along the Space Coast, and even President Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Dorian was packing maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (225 kph) as it churned an unpredictable path toward Florida. \u201cAlthough fluctuations in intensity are possible early next week, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next few days,\u201d the NHC said in a statement on Friday. On Florida\u2019s east coast, where Dorian\u2019s winds are expected to quickly gather speed on Monday morning, residents snapped up bottled water, plywood and other supplies as fast as they could be restocked. Some gas stations had run out of fuel. \u201cThey\u2019re buying everything and anything that applies to a hurricane, flashlights, batteries, generators,\u201d said Amber Hunter, 30, assistant manager at Cape Canaveral\u2019s ACE Handiman hardware store. In the Bahamas, evacuations were already underway, two days before Dorian is expected to bring a life-threatening storm surge forecast at up to 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 meters) to the northwest of the islands. NHC Director Ken Graham saw a worrying, unpredictable situation for Florida, with the hurricane set to hit land somewhere up its east coast and potentially linger over the state, spinning slowly. \u201cSlow is not our friend, the longer you keep this around the more rain we get,\u201d Graham said in a Facebook Live video. It was unclear where the hurricane would hit land, but the results were expected to be devastating: \u201cBig-time impacts, catastrophic events, for some areas 140 mph winds, not a good situation,\u201d said Graham. Mindful of that warning, Cocoa Beach Mayor Ben Malik was putting up storm shutters on his Florida home on Friday afternoon and worrying about the flooding Dorian could unleash on his barrier island town. \u201cIt\u2019s slowed down, we\u2019re looking at a multiple-day event, we were hoping it would just barrel through and leave,\u201d Malik said of forecasts that Dorian could sit over Florida for up to two days, dumping up to 18 inches (46 cm) of water. \u201cI\u2019m really worried about the amount of rain we\u2019ll be getting.\u201d  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents to have in reserve at least a week\u2019s worth of food, water and medicine. President Donald Trump told reporters before leaving for Camp David for the weekend: \u201cWe\u2019re thinking about Florida evacuations, but it\u2019s a little bit too soon. We\u2019ll probably make that determination on Sunday.\u201d  But Fort Pierce Mayor Linda Hudson urged its 46,000 residents who planned to evacuate not to delay. \u201cIt\u2019s decision time now. Don\u2019t wait until I-95 north and I-75 north and the turnpike are parking lots,\u201d said Hudson, who experienced two devastating hurricanes in 2004. Dorian\u2019s course remains unpredictable. One of Florida\u2019s last major hurricanes, 2017\u2019s Irma, swept up the peninsula, instead of hitting the east coast. Florida residents like Jamison Weeks, general manager at Conchy Joe\u2019s Seafood in Port St. Lucie, planned on staying put. \u201cI\u2019m planning on boarding up my house this evening,\u201d said  Weeks. \u201cThe mood is a little tense, everybody\u2019s a little nervous and just trying to prepare as best as possible.\u201d  In the Bahamas, Freeport\u2019s international airport was set to close on Friday night and not reopen until Sept. 3, amid worries that Dorian will slam tourist hotspots on the archipelago. Dorian began on Friday over the Atlantic as a Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. By Friday night it was moving at nearly 10 mph (16 kph), giving it time to intensify before making landfall. Two thousand National Guard troops will have been mobilized for the hurricane by the end of Friday, with 2,000 more joining them on Saturday. Florida officials also were making sure all nursing homes and assisted living facilities had generators. Only one in five Florida nursing homes plans to rely on deliveries of temporary generators to keep their air conditioners running if Dorian knocks out power, a state agency said on Friday, short of the standard set by a law passed after a dozen people died in a sweltering nursing home after 2017\u2019s Hurricane Irma. North of Cape Canaveral, the Kennedy Space Center\u2019s 400-foot (122-m) launch tower was dragged inside a towering vehicle assembly building to shelter it from Dorian, a video posted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-owned space launch center showed."}
{"claim_id": "30728", "claim": "The world suicide rate plummeted following Logan Paul's \"suicide forest\" video.", "explanation": "There were an estimated 788 000 suicide deaths worldwide in 2015. This indicates an annual global age-standardized suicide rate of 10.7 per 100 000 population.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, fake news, huzlers, logan paul", "main_text": "YouTube star Logan Paul was widely condemned after he posted a video titled\u00a0\u201cWe Found A Dead Body in Japan\u2019s Suicide Forest\u201d which featured footage supposedly showing the body of a man who recently took his own life. But a surprising claim was made in a fake news article published by the \u201cfauxtire\u201d web site\u00a0Huzlers: the world suicide rate dropped 37 percent as a result: Days After Youtube star Logan Paul uploaded a video of him and friends laughing at a japanese suicide victim\u2019s corpse, It is being reported that worldwide suicides have actually dropped by 37% since the video was uploaded a few days ago. This, of course, is not a genuine statistic. Huzlers\u00a0is a fake news web site that does not publish factual stories. A disclaimer at the bottom of the web site states that \u201cHuzlers.com is the most infamous fauxtire & satire entertainment website in the world.\u201d In addition to the dubious origins of this rumor, the world suicide rate does not fluctuate on a day-to-day basis, so there would be no way to know if Paul\u2019s \u201csuicide forest\u201d video, which was first uploaded on 31 December 2017, had any impact on the suicide rate over the course of a few days. Paul has since apologized for the video, which upset many of Paul\u2019s notoriously obsessive fans and inspired criticism from mental health advocates. Suicide is a serious problem in Japan, home to the so-called suicide forest that Paul visited, with more than 20,000 such deaths recorded there annually. The rate has been in decline there in recent years, as Japanese officials have undertaken prevention efforts. The most recent data from the World Health Organization comes from 2015. According to WHO, the suicide rate was 10.7 per 100,000 people in 2015:"}
{"claim_id": "26062", "claim": "North Carolina is one of four states\" that hasn't opened gyms.", "explanation": "North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican, is running for governor against incumbent Roy Cooper, a Democrat. Forest, who has accused Cooper of reopening business sectors arbitrarily, tweeted that North Carolina is one of only four states that hasn't reopened gyms. Most other states have reopened gyms with restrictions. And in a couple states, gyms opened after a court ruling -- not the governor's orders. But his claim is generally accurate.", "label": "true", "subjects": "North Carolina, Coronavirus, Dan Forest, ", "main_text": "Gov. Roy Cooper has kept gyms and fitness centers closed during the coronavirus outbreak, drawing criticism from his Republican challenger. The number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations has been steadily rising in the Tar Heel state, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Cooper has said he worries that the heavy breathing associated with exercise could increase the spread of the virus. But Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, the Republican who hopes to unseat Cooper in November, criticized the governor for picking pandemic \"winners and losers.\" On Monday, Forest said North Carolina is one of only a fraction of states keeping gyms closed. \"Now, 46 states have gyms/fitness centers open - North Carolina is one of four states that does not,\" Forest tweeted. Is that ? Generally speaking, yes. Some states are taking a regional approach to reopening gyms. In those states, gyms are allowed to open in some counties but not others. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina are the only states where governors are keeping gyms closed across the board. Our review of virus-related executive orders tracked by CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post and the National Governors Association backs up Forest\u2019s assessment. Our review of these websites found that Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina are the only states keeping gyms closed across the board. Most other states have either reopened gyms with restrictions, or reopened gyms in some areas but not others. For example, in California, gyms are allowed to reopen in all but seven counties. In Pennsylvania, 54 of the state\u2019s 67 counties had entered a \"green phase\" by June 19, meaning gyms could reopen at reduced capacity. But 13 counties remained in the \"yellow phase,\" meaning their gyms were still closed. Things are moving a little slower in Washington, where less than half of the state\u2019s 39 counties have entered Phase 3. That\u2019s the phase when gyms can reopen at less than 50% capacity, according to the Seattle Times. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allowed some gyms to open on June 10, while others remained closed because they didn\u2019t meet the state\u2019s qualifications to reopen. But a federal judge recently halted the order, allowing all gyms to open on June 25. They\u2019ll remain closed if Whitmer\u2019s appeal is successful. A similar situation happened in Wisconsin, too. Gov. Tony Evers didn\u2019t lift his ban on gym operations. The ban was dissolved after the state Supreme Court struck down his stay-at-home order. Forest tweeted that \"46 states have gyms/fitness centers open\" and that \"North Carolina is one of four states that does not.\" Our review found that North Carolina, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts are the only states where gyms remain closed across the state. It\u2019s worth noting that, in other states, government leaders are opening gyms in some counties, but not others. But Forest\u2019s wording is broad enough to account for that variation. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "3747", "claim": "Trapped Thai boys being closely watched for health problems.", "explanation": "The 12 youth soccer teammates who were trapped in a flooded Thai cave for more than two weeks are finally out, and now they are being closely monitored in a hospital.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Youth soccer, International News, Soccer, Health, Caves, Pneumonia", "main_text": "The boys \u2014 who ranged in age from 11 to 16 \u2014 emerged in relatively good shape. Here is a breakdown of the health issues they still face: WHAT CONDITION WERE THE BOYS IN? The first eight boys rescued came in with low body temperatures and were provided with heaters, Thai doctors said Tuesday. One had a low heart rate, and one had a scratch on his right ankle. Doctors suspected two had lung infections \u2014 probably pneumonia \u2014 based on irregular X-rays. HOW ARE THEY FEELING AFTER TREATMENT? Overall they were feeling better, with no fever, and were getting around on their own and smiling. But doctors said the boys were being kept quarantined. Parents were allowed to see them through a glass isolation barrier and talk to them via hospital phones. It could be at least seven days before they can be released from hospital, said Jedsada Chokdumrongsuk, permanent secretary at the Public Health Ministry. WHY ARE THEY BEING QUARANTINED? The boys were malnourished and weak, and doctors are probably worried that they could be susceptible to germs spread by family members or other visitors, said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University infectious diseases expert. But it\u2019s also possible they are infection risks to others. Thai doctors have said they don\u2019t know what type of unusual illnesses the boys may have picked up in the cave. \u201cWe have never experienced this kind of issue from a deep cave,\u201d and doctors are running a battery of tests on the boys, Jedsada said. Bats live in caves. They can spread viruses ranging from rabies to Nipah, which can cause pneumonia, seizures and death. The boys told doctors they did not see any bats or other animals, and experts say it\u2019s unlikely bats would dwell as deep in a cave as the boys were. Lipkin said more likely risks are tetanus bacteria that could infect a wound, diarrhea-causing bacteria that could have contaminated the cave waters, and inhalable fungal spores that could cause breathing problems \u2014 including pneumonia. WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR THE BOYS? Lipkin said the most likely problems will stem from \u201cthe stress associated with this harrowing experience.\u201d One of the Thai doctors said the boys were happy but that psychologists would be evaluating them. The guided escape was stressful, and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the boys were given an anti-anxiety medication to help calm their nerves. People who endure such an intense and dangerous event can go on to suffer lasting anxiety, depression and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Thailand\u2019s Department of Mental Health said hospitals are working with the families to help the boys mentally recover, including by not digging for details about what they endured. ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "26308", "claim": "\u201cClearly, the Obama administration did not leave any kind of game plan for something like this.\u201d", "explanation": "Numerous Obama administration officials dismissed this statement. Ronald Klain, who was Obama\u2019s Ebola response coordinator, tweeted a link to the plan. Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary for President Donald Trump, held up a hard copy of the Obama \u201cpandemic playbook\u201d during a May 14 press availability on the White House lawn.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Corrections and Updates, Health Check, Coronavirus, Mitch McConnell, ", "main_text": "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell alleged that the Obama administration did not provide the Trump administration with any information about the threat of a possible pandemic during a May 11 Team Trump Facebook Live video discussion with Lara Trump. \"They claim pandemics only happen once every 100 years, but what if that is no longer true? We want to be ready, early, for the next one. Because clearly, the Obama administration did not leave any kind of game plan for something like this,\" said McConnell. This claim caught our attention because its definitive nature was directly at odds with the position of some former Obama administration officials, who immediately disputed it and started circulating on social media the link to such a plan. We reached out to McConnell\u2019s press team to ask for the basis of his statement. McConnell\u2019s spokesperson David Popp said in an emailed response that \"this is a unique crisis and we are all adapting to the public health and economic challenges.\" In terms of the pandemic\u2019s economic impact, he said there was \"definitely no playbook there\" and instead credited McConnell with his work on the CARES act, a coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress. Soon after McConnell made his playbook comment, Ronald Klain, who was the White House Ebola response coordinator from October 2014 to February 2015, tweeted out a link to a document titled \"Playbook for Early Response to High-Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats and Biological Incidents.\" The document, originally unearthed in March by Politico, is a 69-page National Security Council guidebook developed in 2016 with the goal of assisting leaders \"in coordinating a complex U.S. Government response to a high-consequence emerging disease threat anywhere in the world.\" It outlined questions to ask, who should be asked to get the answers and what key decisions should be made. Nicole Lurie, another Obama administration official, confirmed to us the existence of the NSC pandemic playbook and also said similar documents were created for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \"To say there was no playbook was ridiculous,\" said Lurie, who served as the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS during both terms of the Obama administration. The playbook lists types of infectious disease threats that could emerge. \"Novel coronaviruses\" were among pathogens flagged as having potential to cause heightened concern. Lurie said that there were tabletop exercises, which included planning for a pandemic-like situation, during the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations. (The Trump administration also conducted an exercise \u2014 known as \"Crimson Contagion\" \u2014 in 2019.) Other Obama-era officials offered similar stories in interviews this week with CNN: \"They were extensively briefed, to the extent that they paid attention to these things during the transition,\" said Jeremy Konyndyk, who directed USAID\u2019s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. \"We absolutely did leave a plan. It was called a playbook,\" said Lisa Monaco, who was a former homeland security adviser to President Obama\u00a0 The goal, she said, was to share the lessons learned during Ebola and Zika. Meanwhile, Peter Loge, who served as a senior adviser within Obama\u2019s Food and Drug Administration, told KHN he remembered a very clear message from the HHS secretary regarding the presidential transition. \"Our job was to set up the Trump political staff for success, and we took that mandate very seriously,\" said Loge. He and his colleagues wrote memos to inform the Trump staff about priority issues. \"But nobody called me and asked what I was doing in my job,\" said Loge. However, the Trump administration has maintained that the coronavirus sneaked up on the U.S., and Trump himself has even said it was a \"very unforeseen thing.\" But, in a May 14 exchange with reporters on the White House lawn, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany acknowledged the existence of the Obama pandemic playbook, even holding it up to show the press. She also dismissed its usefulness. \"The Obama-Biden plan that has been referenced was insufficient. It wasn\u2019t going to work. What our administration did under the leadership of President Trump was do an entire 2018 pandemic preparedness report,\" said McEnany. Trump, who was standing nearby, agreed. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Obama administration did not leave behind a \"game plan\" for a pandemic. That\u2019s wrong. Multiple Obama-era officials have said they left a 2016 \"pandemic playbook\" that detailed exact steps to take in the event of an infectious disease outbreak. The White House press secretary even held up the actual document on the White House lawn. There has been discussion in recent days as to whether the Obama plan was dated because it dealt with lessons learned from earlier outbreaks that may not apply to the current pandemic. Still, McConnell\u2019s statement focused only on whether any such \"game plan\" existed, and ample evidence suggests it did. We rate it . UPDATE, May 15, 2020: In a Fox News interview, McConnell acknowledged that he was incorrect in his assertion that the Obama administration didn\u2019t leave behind any kind of \"game plan\" regarding a pandemic threat. \"I was wrong. They did leave behind a plan so I clearly made a mistake in that regard,\" McConnell said May 14."}
{"claim_id": "26588", "claim": "Facebook post Says the CDC now says that the coronavirus can survive on surfaces for up to 17 days.", "explanation": "A CNBC story touted a misleading headline that said the CDC reported that the coronavirus survived on cruise ship cabins for up to 17 days. A recent CDC report found that traces of the virus were found on the ship for that long, not a live sample.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "A CNBC story circulating on Facebook displayed a misleading headline that claimed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus \"survived\" in cruise ship cabins for up to 17 days. The headline, which has since been changed, led some Facebook users who shared the story to believe that the CDC now says the virus can survive on surfaces that long. The organization has made no such statement. The story was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Knowing the facts has never been more important. Please consider donating to PolitiFact today. The World Health Organization says it\u2019s not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses: \"Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).\" New CDC research conducted on the Diamond Princess cruise ship found traces of the coronavirus on some of the ship\u2019s surfaces up to 17 days after passengers disembarked. But traces are not the same thing as live viruses. The report doesn\u2019t conclude that the virus \"survived\" on any of the surfaces that long and the CDC hasn\u2019t issued an official statement that gives that assessment, either. Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology and molecular, cellular and developmental biology at Yale University, also told us it was the presence of the virus that was found, not a live sample. \"The CDC report examined the presence of viral RNA on various surfaces of the cruise ship. They found viral RNA up to 17 days after cabins were vacated on the Diamond Princess,\" Iwasaki wrote in an email. \"A piece of viral RNA is not the same thing as a live infectious virus. In order for a virus to be infectious, it has to have intact membrane, spike protein and the whole intact genome (there are close to 30,000 bases of genetic code in the viral genome).\" We previously looked at how long the virus can survive on certain surfaces in a recent fact-check and found research suggesting it can live for up to three hours in the air, four hours on copper, 24 hours on cardboard and three days on plastic and stainless steel. It\u2019s important to note that the study hasn\u2019t been peer-reviewed and more research is needed. The WHO and other health experts recommend that people disinfect surfaces often and wash their hands to avoid contracting or spreading the virus. More research needs to be done, but there is no evidence that the coronavirus can surive for up to 17 days on various surfaces. We rate this ."}
{"claim_id": "905", "claim": "Drones to deliver vaccines, blood and drugs across Ghana.", "explanation": "Hundreds of drones will begin delivering life-saving vaccines, blood and medicines to patients in Ghana this week in the largest scheme of its kind, the global vaccine alliance GAVI said on Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Medics will place orders by text message when supplies run dry, said GAVI chief executive Seth Berkley. Drones will then fly in from four distribution centers, hover over health posts and drop deliveries using tiny parachutes. \u201cThe idea is that these four distribution centers can make up to 600 on-demand delivery flights a day,\u201d Berkley told reporters in a telephone briefing. \u201cAnd that can expand up to 2,000 (a day) over time.\u201d  The aim is for deliveries to arrive within 30 minutes, Berkley added, meaning emergency treatments such anti-snake venom or rabies shots could arrive in time to save lives. The project - led by Zipline, a California-based robotics company - is designed to deliver to around 2,000 health facilities serving 12 million people across the west African country. It is backed by the non-profits GAVI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as several companies including the parcel delivery firm UPS and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Up to 12 routine and emergency vaccines will be available, including shots for yellow fever, polio, measles, meningitis and tetanus, as well as 148 blood products and other critical medicines. The drones fly autonomously and can carry up to 1.8 kilograms of cargo, GAVI said. Zipline said a similar but smaller project had made more than 13,000 deliveries of blood products since it was launched in Rwanda in 2016 - about a third of them for emergency life-saving treatment."}
{"claim_id": "28476", "claim": "Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb passed a law that will lead to jail time for women who fail to disclose abortions.", "explanation": "What's true: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill into law mandating that health care providers gather and report certain information whenever they treat patients suffering from abortion complications. What's false: The law posits legal penalties (including jail time and fines) for health care providers who fail to report information about patients with abortion complications, not for patients who fail to disclose such information to their doctors.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics, abortion, indiana", "main_text": "In March 2018, a number of memes appeared on social media to express the notion that the state of Indiana had just passed a law requiring that \u201cevery time a woman seeks medical or psychological treatment she MUST be quizzed about past abortions,\u201d with the failure to disclose such information being punishable by jail time and fines:  The most common interpretation attached to such memes was that women would face jail time for their failure to disclose previous abortions in health care settings. However, the actual news underlying this claim reported that health care providers (not patients) would be subject to potential legal sanctions under the law if they did not attempt to elicit and report information about previous abortion complications from their patients: A new state law directs Indiana doctors and hospitals to investigate every time a woman seeks treatment for a physical or psychological condition whether she previously had an abortion that is in any way connected to the ailment. If so, the care provider is obligated starting July 1 to submit a detailed \u201cabortion complications\u201d report to the State Department of Health, or risk being charged with a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, for each instance of noncompliance. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who routinely describes himself as \u201cpro-life,\u201d approved Senate Enrolled Act 340 with little fanfare prior to departing on three-day Canadian trade mission. Senate Enrolled Act 340 was authored by Indiana State Senator Travis Holdman in January 2018; it was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb on 25 March 2018. That bill amended existing law to require that health care providers \u201creport to the state department each case in which [they] treated a patient suffering from an abortion complication,\u201d and to require that reports of abortion complications (including psychological or emotional complications, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and sleeping disorders) contain information such as the age and race of the patient, the type of abortion procedure used, and where that procedure was performed. The bill says that each failure to report an abortion complication as required is a misdemeanor. In other words, the law posits legal penalties (including jail time and fines) for health care providers who fail to report information about patients with abortion complications, not for patients who fail to disclose such information to their doctors. Critics of the bill maintained that it was an attempt to discourage abortions by making the procedure appear \u201cdangerous\u201d and required the gathering of \u201cinappropriate\u201d information about patients: Opponents of SEA 340 said the abortion complication reporting requirements are overly burdensome and view the law as the state\u2019s latest attempt to restrict abortion access. Rep. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, wondered why the same state requirements are not required for other medical care. \u201cIt seems to me that this is an attempt to make this appear like a dangerous procedure, and it\u2019s not,\u201d Errington said. Martinsville Rep. Peggy Mayfield, the Republican who carried the bill, said the legislation is necessary for health purposes because the state is the only group providing oversight of abortions. Holcomb said the bill\u2019s language is commonplace in other states. \u201cThis bill does what 27 other states have done to gather information on these procedures without restricting access to them,\u201d Holcomb said in a statement. Richard Feldman, a family physician and the group\u2019s legislative chairman, said the bill\u2019s reporting requirements went too far and could create barriers in the doctor-patient relationship, even for physicians who don\u2019t perform abortions. \u201cWe opposed this bill and felt compliance was onerous for physicians, especially in light of non-compliance being treated as a criminal violation including jail time,\u201d he said. \u201cFurther, the list of complications is astonishingly long and many are inappropriate in regard to current standards of care, research value, clinical relevance, or reasonable time frames for patient contact.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "33705", "claim": "Bacteria formed on cut onions and potatoes are responsible for more food poisoning cases than spoiled mayonnaise.", "explanation": "The one instance we found that fingered bulb onions as the transmitter in a food poisoning case was the 1984 sickening of 28 people in Peoria, Illinois. Botulism was passed to those unfortunate souls by the sauteed onions used on a restaurant\u2019s \u201cpatty melt\u201d (a cheeseburger on rye with sauteed onions).", "label": "false", "subjects": "Food, Food Contamination", "main_text": "For several years, alerts circulated online have warned about the purported dangers of cutting an onion and then cooking with that sliced vegetable the following day:  The earliest example of such a warning we\u2019ve encountered came in that form of a missive that began circulating in March 2008. It was penned by Sarah McCann, who writes online about food-related matters, including recipes, warning about the purported dangers of spoiled onions. (The pen name \u201cZola Gorgon\u201d is a play on gorgonzola, a veined blue Italian cheese known for its strong flavor and distinctive odor.) Spoiled Onions Written by Zola Gorgon \u2013 author of several cookbooks. Watch out for those spoiled onions\u2026 I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products. Mullins is HUGE and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family. My friend Jeanne is the CEO. The facility is mammoth. We toured about 280,000 square feet! Questions about food poisoning came up and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist. The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He\u2019s one of the brothers. Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula. He\u2019s even developed sauce formula for McDonald\u2019s. Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed\u2019s answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made Mayo is completely safe. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it\u2019s not really necessary.\u201d He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the quint essential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick. Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the \u2018victim\u2019 last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it\u2019s not the mayonnaise (as long as it\u2019s not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It\u2019s probably the onions, and if not the onions, it\u2019s the POTATOES. He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion. He says it\u2019s not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator. It\u2019s already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!) Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you\u2019ll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you\u2019re asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down. So, how\u2019s that for news? Take it for what you will. I (the author) am going to be very careful about my onions from now on. For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company, that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.\u2019 Also, dogs should NEVER eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions. Mike Mullins of Mullins Food Products had this to say about the tour of his company\u2019s facilities that resulted in the Internet rumor about food poisonings from onions and mayonnaise: There is some truth to the story, but the two examples from the plant tour look to have been combined. The potato in the potato salad is much more likely to spoil than the mayo. [\u2026] The ph level for mayonaise is in the low 4\u2019s and is a poor environment for the growth of many of the organisms that can make you ill. A good rule of thumb is that if it is sold at room temperature in your retail store that it is probably safe. Any product can be mishandled and when left in suitable temperatures for growth the products can become unsafe for consumption. Often times what is mixed with mayo or salad dressings (tuna, potatoes, vegetables, etc.) can become more readily contaminated than the base of the salad dressing or mayonaise. The second example used on the tour referred to the onions. The example given was that in a warm environment an onion that was sliced is a great environment for growth. The ballpark example referred to the hot dog dressing table where fresh onions were put on top of onions that already started to show contamination. Onions are easily contaminated once the protection of the outer skin has been removed. Onions, potatoes, and eggs are handled with extreme care in the food industry once the outer layer of protection has been removed. Quite a few food poisonings have been traced back to onion contaminations, and we throw out onions after 10 days even though we cook any onions we use in our facility. The stories were used as examples for \u201cold wives tales\u201d for various foods. The mayo is usually the ingredient that gets the blame and we try to point out that there might be a lot more going on than meets the eye. As to the content of the article, it is true that commercially-prepared mayonnaise is hardly the food poisoning menace it is widely believed to be. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin\u2019s Food Research Institute in late 1980 and early 1981 (results published in the Journal of Food Protection in February 1982) showed that mayonnaise actually inhibited the growth of some bacteria in food. Its high acid content, gained from the incorporation of ingredients like vinegar or lemon juice into the product, slows bacterial growth. \u201cWhen you add the mayonnaise to your salad, you decrease the PH of that salad. It makes it more of a hostile environment for that bacteria,\u201d said Michael P. Doyle, an assistant professor of agriculture and life sciences at the university. Salt in the condiment also works to prevent spoilage. However, mayonnaise is still not a substitute for keeping food cold. Also, homemade mayo, which is made from raw eggs, poses the threat of salmonella poisoning. (The eggs used in commercially-prepared mayonnaise have been pasteurized.) The claims made in the article about onions (and to a lesser extent, potatoes) are harder to substantiate. Germ transmission does occur more quickly when surfaces nasty microbes are lurking on or items that become contaminated by them are wet rather than dry; but it\u2019s a great leap from realizing that cut surfaces of onions and potatoes are wet to concluding either of these vegetables are \u201ca huge magnet for bacteria.\u201d Also, cut bulb onions are highly acidic; the act of slicing them causes the enzymes they contain to generate sulphenic acids, the gas form of which has made many an unwary onion chopper cry. Given that it is mayonnaise\u2019s acidity that retards the growth of bacteria, it\u2019s hard to conclude that cut onions would be a hospitable place for germs or bacteria to take up residence, let alone a magnet that drew them from the air. However, long-standing superstition posits that very thing. It has long been asserted that keeping a plate of cut raw onions in the house will draw illness-causing germs from the air, thereby rendering the home free of contamination. These print sightings gathered by folklorists Iona Opie and Moira Tatum showcase that belief:  [1956] The onion is cut up and stood in an old tin-plate. Then you place it in the room where the sick child sleeps. The onion draws the complaint into itself, and when the child is better care must be taken to see that the onion is properly burnt. [1964] When there\u2019s flu about, I puts a plate of cut up onion in every room. That\u2019s what keeps colds away \u2026 All the cold germs goes into they. [1978] I fondly remember the smell of my mother\u2019s window sill adorned with half onions. She swore by the legend that the onions captured any incoming germs and purified the air. Mind you, superstition also asserts that it is unlucky to keep cut onions around, as these additional sightings gathered by Opie and Tatum demonstrate: [1855] To have a cut onion lying about in the house breeds distempers. [1891] An old servant (Essex) \u2026 recently complained that \u2026 Spanish onions \u2026 were too big. When an obvious method of getting over that difficulty was suggested, she replied, \u2018Oh, no! that would never do! It\u2019s so unlucky to have a cut onion in the house.\u2019 [1958] Special small onions are being grown for me as I am liable to keep half a cut onion from one meal to another, which I am assured is highly dangerous. Are cut bulb onions therefore a health scourge one must be on guard against? No scientific evidence points in that direction. What reports there are that tie onions to outbreaks of food poisoning almost exclusively name green onions (also known as long onions or scallions) as the culprit. Although both sorts could be exposed to e. coli and other nasties during their time in the ground or while being handled during the move to market, green onions are chopped up and eaten as is, whereas the paperish brown peel that covers bulb onions and which is discarded rather than ingested acts as a shield against contamination."}
{"claim_id": "8845", "claim": "Repeat blood clots more common with stents: study.", "explanation": "Treating a stent-related blood clot  with an additional stent in an emergency procedure sharply  raises the risk that a patient will get a second clot and  should be avoided, Dutch researchers said on Saturday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "One in six patients who suffer a potentially deadly clot  inside a coronary stent risk developing another clot,  especially if they had a second stent implanted during  emergency treatment for the first clot, the Dutch Stent  Thrombosis Study said. The study, led by Dr. Jochem Wouter van Werkum of St.  Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands, was presented  at a joint meeting of the American College of Cardiology and  the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions in  Chicago. Stents are wire mesh tubes inserted into the coronary  arteries that supply blood to the heart. They help keep the  vessels from reclogging after they have been cleared of  blockages in an angioplasty procedure. Clots that form inside a stent, also known as stent  thrombosis, can block blood flow to the heart and cause a heart  attack or even death. Use of an additional stent during emergency treatment of a  stent-related blood clot is a strong predictor of repeat stent  thrombosis, the researchers said. Patients in the study who had a second stent implanted  during emergency treatment for their first clot were 4.2 times  as likely as other patients to endure another episode of stent  thrombosis. Patients who previously had a heart attack were 2.6 times  as likely, and those who developed a clot long after stent  implantation, known as late stent thrombosis, were 2.1 times as  likely to suffer a repeat episode. The study looked at 437 patients with various kinds of  stents who had stent thrombosis between January 2004 and  February 2007. It found 16.9 percent of the patients had multiple episodes  of stent thrombosis \u2014 61 patients had two episodes, 12 had  three episodes and one had four episodes."}
{"claim_id": "9977", "claim": "Study fuels low-fat vs. low-carb debate", "explanation": "This article\u00a0summarizes a recent research study comparing the\u00a0long-term effects of three popular diets: low carbohydrate (Atkins style, unlimited meat and fatty foods), Mediterranean (high in olive oils, whole-grains, fruit, wine), and low fat (conventional American Heart Association diet). This study was done to fill in missing information about these different diets, specifically whether\u00a0one was better than another for weight loss and to examine whether\u00a0the non-conventional low carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets are safe. Previously, safety was a particular concern among the medical community as it was thought that weight loss resulting from non-conventional diets might be at the expense of increase heart disease risk. This is a 5-star article. Accurate, balanced, reliable, and well written.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "We wish the story would have at least mentioned whether there were any cost differences among the three diets. Was there a cost to the workplace cafeterias to offer these diets in the specialized manner in which they delivered them? We also wish the story had mentioned whether the study subjects had to pay, or were paid, to participate (a criticism of another diet study). This article does a very good job of documenting the absolute and relative benefits of each of the three diets. Also see Evidence comments. This article addressed the safety issue of of the three diets, which was a main outcome of the research study. There had been concern among medical and health professionals that low carbohydrate diets like the Atkins Diet, which allow large amounts of meat and cheese, could cause harmful increases in LDL (\"bad cholesterol\") and increase the risk of heart disease. An important message of this article is that alternative dietary approaches can be safe and beneficial to reduce serious health risk of overweight and obesity. This article receives high marks for accurate presentation of medical evidence. This article devoted enough space to adequately cover the study methodology, e.g. the study setting, participant characteristics, calories and composition of each of the three diets, etc.,\u00a0which is not always provided in the such stories. This article\u00a0did a thorough job in presenting\u00a0detailed\u00a0results of the\u00a0three diets for several outcomes in addition to weight loss: blood lipid profiles (LDL \"bad cholesterol\", HDL \"good cholesterol\", triglycerides), blood sugar levels, and adherence to the diets. This article article does not pander to popular fad diets. Obesity is a significant health problem that has reached epidemic proportions among all segment of the\u00a0population. Current dietary guidelines do not appear to be helping Americans maintain a healthy body weight. This study accurately summarized the results of the New England Journal of Medicine article on weight loss with three popular diets. This article provided a good balance of commentary by independent experts\u00a0representing alternative opinions and interpretation of the results. This article concludes with the bottom line for weight loss, cutting calories and exercising are the key, regardless of the type of diet. The three popular diet plans discussed in this article\u00a0are\u00a0widely available and have been used by thousand of people in the U.S. and elsewhere. This article does due diligence in pointing out that the dieters in the\u00a0study received support in the workplace to help them stick to their diets. In addition, the study dieters had the advantages of\u00a0purchasing meals in their work cafeteria\u00a0 with color-coded menu information corresponding to their diet requirements. These diets are not new or novel and are not presented as such in this\u00a0article. This article is clear that the new information being presented is the comparison of health benefits. Because of the number of sources and perspectives represented, it\u2019s safe to assume this story did not rely solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "20637", "claim": "Newt Gingrich \"co-sponsored a bill with Nancy Pelosi that would have given $60 million a year to a U.N. program supporting China\u2019s brutal one-child policy.", "explanation": "Newt supported China's one-child policy, Super PAC says", "label": "false", "subjects": "Georgia, Message Machine 2012, Restore Our Future, ", "main_text": "There they go again. With Georgia\u2019s Republican presidential primary just a few weeks away, the four remaining candidates and their supporters are expected to blanket the airwaves with attack ads in this delegate-rich state. One that we\u2019ve seen -- scheduled to hit the airwaves Wednesday -- takes aim at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who represented portions of Atlanta\u2019s western suburbs for 20 years in Congress. \"He co-sponsored a bill with Nancy Pelosi that would have given $60 million a year to a U.N. program supporting China\u2019s brutal one-child policy,\" says the voice in the ad paid for by Restore Our Future. The super PAC is run by supporters of Republican hopeful Mitt Romney. There\u2019s nothing that makes conservatives see more red than a reference to Pelosi, the liberal California congresswoman and House minority leader. Or talking about China for that matter. The ad that will soon be on your TV screens in Georgia is different than what Restore Our Future aired in Florida and South Carolina before their primaries. Our colleagues at PolitiFact Florida looked into this claim. We wondered: Did the group get its facts right this time? Gingrich is ahead in the polls in Georgia, a state where he desperately needs to do well to keep his campaign from becoming an episode of \"The Walking Dead.\" His GOP rivals, particularly Romney, are trying to make Gingrich work hard for every vote here. Romney made a campaign stop in Atlanta last week and took a couple of shots at Gingrich. Restore Our Future has another ad on its website that says Gingrich \"is no Ronald Reagan.\" The Georgia ad contains the same language as the one that aired in Florida and South Carolina. Here\u2019s some more detail about the issue:  Restore Our Future refers to House Resolution 1078, which was introduced on Feb. 22, 1989, before Gingrich became speaker and when Democrats had control of the House of Representatives. The legislation was called the Global Warming Prevention Act of 1989. It set national goals to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and encouraged international agreements to address global warming, PolitiFact Florida reported. It required the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor global warming and create plans for future action. It supported stricter fuel standards for cars and alternative energy. It also sent money to developing countries to encourage practices that reduce carbon emissions. The bill had several hearings but received unfavorable reviews from the administration of George H.W. Bush and never became law. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Claudine Schneider, a Rhode Island Republican who left Congress in 1991. Yes, Gingrich and Pelosi co-sponsored the bill. In all, there were 144 House members who sponsored the legislation. Most were Democrats, but there were a handful of Republicans in the mix, such as Olympia Snowe of Maine and Jim Kolbe of Arizona. China\u2019s one-child policy generally refers to the government\u2019s efforts to limit population growth to one child per couple. Human rights advocates say the policy has resulted in forced sterilizations and abortions. The Restore Our Future website says the $60 million went to the United Nations Population Fund and that President Ronald Reagan withheld funds from the program after he determined the program, which supports family planning and contraception, was supporting Chinese actions. The bill did propose money for the United Nations Population Fund. But Section 1102, Part C, of the bill prohibits using any of the funds for \"the performance of involuntary sterilization or abortion or to coerce any person to accept family planning.\" That is the exact opposite of the language in Restore Our Future\u2019s ad about Gingrich. The language is the same in this ad. And the facts haven\u2019t changed."}
{"claim_id": "2180", "claim": "Bayer says won't tolerate unethical behavior as France probes Monsanto file.", "explanation": "Bayer said on Saturday it did not accept \u201cunethical behavior\u201d following a French investigation into a suspected file assembled by the German company\u2019s seed making unit Monsanto to influence various personalities in France.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The French prosecutor said on Friday it had opened the probe after a complaint was filed by daily newspaper Le Monde. According to the newspaper and other French media, Monsanto built up a file of some 200 names that includes journalists and lawmakers in the hope of influencing their positions on pesticides. The file, Le Monde reported, dates from 2016 and was leaked by U.S public relations and marketing agency FleishmanHillard. In an emailed statement, Bayer declined to comment on the investigation, saying it did not know which documents the allegations referred to. \u201cWe stand for openness and a fair treatment of all interest groups. We do not accept any unethical behavior in our company,\u201d it said. \u201cThat applies obviously for the data privacy regulations in the respective countries as well.\u201d     FleishmanHillard said on Friday it would investigate the allegations in Le Monde. The company will \u201cexamine the questions raised by certain media outlets about the lists of stakeholders that included publicly available information,\u201d it said in a statement. Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in a $63 billion deal last year, faces mounting litigations over its weedkiller Roundup, a systemic, broad-spectrum glyphosate-based herbicide. A U.S. jury in August 2018 found the company liable because Monsanto had not warned users of alleged cancer risks linked to Roundup. Bayer suffered a similar defeat over the weedkiller last month, while more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages. The company said last month it intended to defend itself in all lawsuits."}
{"claim_id": "6491", "claim": "Republicans hope Trump amenable to food stamp restrictions.", "explanation": "Maine resident Zak McCutcheon says he likes soda but acknowledges he\u2019d drink less of it if his governor convinced Republican President Donald Trump to put restrictions on the approximately $200 a month he receives in food stamps. He thinks it may even make recipients healthier and less overweight.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, Augusta, Donald Trump, AP Weekend Reads, Maine, U.S. News", "main_text": "\u201cIf I was more restricted to what I could buy, I would become more of a veggie eater,\u201d said McCutcheon, who recently perused grapes and packages of pre-chopped vegetables at an Augusta food bank with his pregnant girlfriend. But another one of Maine\u2019s 180,000 food stamp recipients, Samantha Watson, said she believes a ban from using food stamps on soda and candy won\u2019t make low-income people any healthier. It would take more than that to change eating habits, she said, since food stamps cover only a fraction of the monthly grocery bill for herself and her 3-year-old daughter. Maine Gov. Paul LePage and fellow Republicans in two other states are now renewing their efforts to restrict food stamps in the hopes that Trump will be more amenable than the previous administration. In 2011, former Democratic President Barack Obama\u2019s administration rejected then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg\u2019s soda ban for food stamp recipients and in June, he raised \u201csignificant\u201d concerns with LePage\u2019s proposal, saying there\u2019d be no meaningful way to evaluate whether the ban changed the way recipients bought sweets. While Trump\u2019s budget proposal doesn\u2019t include food stamp changes, his choice for secretary of agriculture, Sonny Perdue, of Georgia, has signaled support for overhauling the $71 billion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which administers food stamps to 44 million recipients. LePage is optimistic the new administration will approve his revived proposal, which he says is backed by common sense and a desire to reduce high rates of obesity and diabetes, the latter of which afflicted his mother. The governor\u2019s efforts in Maine have inspired legislators in Tennessee and Arkansas, who say they won\u2019t give up trying to restrict food stamp purchases. \u201cWe don\u2019t allow people to buy alcohol and cigarettes with welfare dollars, why should we allow people to buy junk food that leads to just as many health problems?\u2019\u201d said Tennessee Rep. Sheila Butt, a Republican, who hopes Trump will give states more power over the state-run SNAP program. A study of one leading U.S. grocery retailer released in November by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that in 2011, 20 cents of every dollar spent on food stamps went to sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar. SNAP households spent about 5 cents per dollar on soft drinks and 2 cents per dollar on candy, similar to the spending habits of households not receiving SNAP benefits. Last summer, LePage threatened to cease Maine\u2019s administration of the food stamp program after the USDA raised questions about Maine\u2019s proposed ban. The governor\u2019s renewed request would divert federal funds away from nutrition education \u2014 which amounted to $4.3 million in the last fiscal year \u2014 and toward food banks, schools and other community agencies to distribute healthy foods. Jim Hanna, the executive director at Cumberland County Food Security Council, said poor people have enough issues to manage without being told what to eat and drink, and that a soda or candy tax would be a better approach than eliminating the state\u2019s SNAP education program. \u201cIt seems very contradictory to, on the one hand, limit people\u2019s access to foods that have negative nutrition content and then to limit access to information to support them to make better choices about nutrition,\u201d Hanna said. The debate over restrictions goes back to the 1940s, when the then-orange food stamps couldn\u2019t buy soft drinks, and the 1960s and 1970s, when concern over bureaucracy and figuring out just what counts as junk food hindered attempts to exclude soft drinks. There\u2019s been little change over the ensuing years, although the USDA will soon require stores that accept food stamps to stock more fruits, vegetables and other healthy food. The agency\u2019s also providing farmers market with free equipment to accept SNAP debit cards, and supporting programs that provide \u201cbonus dollars\u201d for purchases at farmers markets. Critics from major medical groups to food policy experts say the existing program promotes chronic illness and amounts to public subsidies for powerful junk food conglomerates that lobby against restrictions. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents companies like Coca-Cola, calls the restrictions a \u201cbureaucratic mess.\u201d Still others wonder what impact the restrictions might have on SNAP long term. Tatiana Andreyeva, a University of Connecticut professor and director of economic initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, fears that proposals such as LePage\u2019s could be the first step to the program\u2019s decimation. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to jump from a restriction on sugary beverages to let\u2019s just cut benefits,\u201d she said."}
{"claim_id": "27951", "claim": "A photograph shows a child in a famine-stricken country crawling on the ground while a vulture waits in the background.", "explanation": "Kevin Carter\u2019s life (and death) was the subject of the 2004 documentary, The Life of Kevin Carter.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fauxtography", "main_text": "If a hundred of the most talented members of the advertising industry were tasked with creating an image to illustrate the concepts of poverty and famine, quite possibly none of them would come up with anything nearly as grippingly and devastatingly effective as a 1993 picture snapped by South African freelance photographer Kevin Carter:  The PHOTO in the mail is the \u201cPulitzer prize\u201d winning photo taken in 1994 during the Sudan famine. The picture depicts a famine stricken child crawling towards an United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child, including the photographer Kevin Carter who left the place as soon as the photograph was taken. Three months later he committed suicide due to depression. This was found in his diary, \u201cDear God, I promise I will never waste my food no matter how bad it can taste and how full I may be I pray that He will protect this little boy, guide and deliver him away from his misery. I pray that we will be more sensitive towards the world around us and not be blinded be our own selfish nature and interests.\u201d I hope this picture will always serve as a reminder to us that how fortunate we are and that we must never ever take things for granted. His poignant photograph of an emaciated toddler who collapsed from hunger on her way to a feeding center in famine-ravaged Sudan while a vulture ominously loomed in the background was originally published in the New York Times (which later described it as \u201ca metaphor for Africa\u2019s despair\u201d) and earned Carter the 1994 Pulitzer Prize in the Feature Photography category, and the image has since become widely known as a metaphor for Africa\u2019s despair. As described in Time magazine, the scene Carter captured in his now-famous photograph was one he stumbled across during a trip he made on his own in order to cover the civil strife in war-torn Sudan:  In 1993 Carter headed north of the border with [friend and fellow journalist] Jo\u00e3o Silva to photograph the rebel movement in famine-stricken Sudan. To make the trip, Carter had taken a leave from the [South Africa] Weekly Mail and borrowed money for the air fare. Immediately after their plane touched down in the village of Ayod, Carter began snapping photos of famine victims. Seeking relief from the sight of masses of people starving to death, he wandered into the open bush. He heard a soft, high-pitched whimpering and saw a tiny girl trying to make her way to the feeding center. As he crouched to photograph her, a vulture landed in view. Careful not to disturb the bird, he positioned himself for the best possible image. He would later say he waited about 20 minutes, hoping the vulture would spread its wings. It did not, and after he took his photographs, he chased the bird away and watched as the little girl resumed her struggle. Afterward he sat under a tree, lit a cigarette, talked to God and cried. \u201cHe was depressed afterward,\u201d Silva recalls. \u201cHe kept saying he wanted to hug his daughter.\u201d After another day in Sudan, Carter returned to Johannesburg. Coincidentally, the New York Times, which was looking for pictures of Sudan, bought his photograph and ran it on March 26, 1993. The picture immediately became an icon of Africa\u2019s anguish. Hundreds of people wrote and called the Times asking what had happened to the child (the paper reported that it was not known whether she reached the feeding center); and papers around the world reproduced the photo. Friends and colleagues complimented Carter on his feat. His self-confidence climbed. But Kevin Carter was also a troubled soul, struggling with issues such as financial insecurity, drug problems, failed relationships, and the horrors of having witnessed multiple scenes of death \u2014 enough of a burden for anyone to struggle with, but in Carter\u2019s case a burden made extra-heavy by the critical condemnation heaped upon him for taking the photograph that had made him world-famous:  Though the photo helped draw enormous attention to the humanitarian crisis that was engulfing Sudan, it was criticized by others who felt that Carter should have helped the girl and was instead exploiting her suffering for his gain. The real vulture, they said in vitriolic hate mail, was Carter himself. Some photojournalists might have easily dismissed such criticism, but it hit Carter hard and fed his self-doubts. On 27 July 1994, barely two months after having received his Pulitzer Prize, 33-year-old Kevin Carter could shoulder that burden no more and took his own life:  The Braamfonteinspruit is a small river that cuts southward through Johannesburg\u2019s northern suburbs \u2014 and through Parkmore, where the Carters once lived. At around 9 p.m., Kevin Carter backed his red Nissan pickup truck against a blue gum tree at the Field and Study Center. He had played there often as a little boy. The Sandton Bird Club was having its monthly meeting there, but nobody saw Carter as he used silver gaffer tape to attach a garden hose to the exhaust pipe and run it to the passenger-side window. Wearing unwashed Lee jeans and an Esquire T-shirt, he got in and switched on the engine. Then he put music on his Walkman and lay over on his side, using the knapsack as a pillow. The suicide note he left behind is a litany of nightmares and dark visions, a clutching attempt at autobiography, self-analysis, explanation, excuse. After coming home from New York, he wrote, he was \u201cdepressed \u2026 without phone \u2026 money for rent \u2026 money for child support \u2026 money for debts \u2026 money!!! \u2026 I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain \u2026 of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners \u2026 \u201c  Although the purported diary entry (beginning \u201cDear God, I promise I will never waste my food\u201d) that has been tacked onto this photograph may sound like something Kevin Carter might have written, those words were not recorded in his diary, nor are they known to have been written or spoken by him. They were added to the photograph by an unknown hand after the picture had been circulating on the Internet for several years."}
{"claim_id": "11009", "claim": "Bioidentical hormones for menopausal symptoms", "explanation": "Bio-identical hormone therapy\u00a0is a poorly-defined term for using\u00a0a set of hormones that are molecularly identical to natural hormones in the body. Proponents of this treatment claim\u00a0that bio-identical hormones are\u00a0safer and more effective\u00a0than conventional hormone therapy for treating the symptoms of menopause, however there is no evidence to support these claims. Furthermore, hormones are expected to have the same risk and benefits\u00a0as approved drugs for which there is an evidence base\u00a0as well as extensive research and regulation. Many medical organizations, both in the US and internationally, have issued statements raising concerns about the claims made about bio-identical hormones. This story does a good job of raising awareness about this issue, although it should have noted that many women don\u2019t experience symptoms in the same way and\u00a0that\u00a0treatment with bio-identical hormones or traditional hormones should only be used by women who are bothered by their symptoms and not\u00a0if they are trying to\u00a0prevent heart disease. The story could have been greatly improved by coming down harder on the proponents of bio-identical hormones. While the story\u00a0includes a debate on whether there is evidence to support the use of bio-identical hormones, in doing so, it gives the impression that there really is a debate. Bio-identical hormone supporters claim that there have been dozens of clinical trials showing a benefit. However,\u00a0a 2007 systematic review\u00a0found \"a dearth of scientific evidence to support these claims\". The story should have been more critical of the evidence base to support the use of bio-identical hormones. This is a subject sure to attract attention, given the wide range of troublesome symptoms experienced by many women during the menopausal transition. It is important for women to be aware of the potential risks of uNPRoven therapies, including\u00a0bioidentical hormone preparations,\u00a0that may be \"prescribed\" by alternative health clinics.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story describes the cost of two bio-identical hormone products. There are many products available so costs may vary widely. The story does not quantify the potential benefits of either bio-identical or conventional hormones. There was much talk about efficacy by the Holtorf Medical Clinic Director, all about patient perception. At the least, the story could have pointed out that patients who self-refer to such alternative care clinics (and often pay out of pocket for these services)\u00a0may be\u00a0 more likely to report benefit from the treatment. The story does not quantify the potential harms of bio-identical or conventional hormones. The story does rightly point out that there is no real reason to assume that bio-identical hormones are any safer than conventional hormones. There was some mention of blood clots and uterine issues, but this was\u00a0not clearly delineated. Harm\u00a0is one of the major concerns about any estrogen or estrogen-like compounds, and the health risks could be more serious than with other supplements. The story includes a debate on whether there is evidence to support the use of bio-identical hormones. However, in doing so, it gives the impression that there really is a debate. Bio-identical hormone supporters claim that there have been dozens of clinical trials showing a benefit. However,\u00a0a 2007 systematic review\u00a0found \"a dearth of scientific evidence to support these claims\". The story should have been more critical of the evidence base to support the use of bio-identical hormones. This is the biggest drawback to this article, which was otherwise pretty good. The story really didn\u2019t get at the problem of shaky to absent scientific evidence of efficacy. The story doesn\u2019t exaggerate the seriousness or prevalence of menopause. However, it should have noted that many women don\u2019t experience symptoms in the same way and\u00a0that\u00a0treatment with bio-identical hormones or traditional hormones should only be used by women who are bothered by their symptoms and not\u00a0if they are trying to\u00a0prevent heart disease. The story also could have countered some of the suggested symptoms of menopause \u2013\u00a0 such as \"fuzzy thinking\" \u2013 which are not clearly associated with menopause in epidemiologic studies. For these two reasons, we lean toward an unsatisfactory score on this criterion. The story quotes two independent experts who provide valuable,\u00a0differing opinions on\u00a0the value of bio-identical hormones. The story does compare bio-identical hormones with its most important alternative, conventional hormones. Bio-identical hormones are clearly available in many formulations. Bio-identical hormones have been around for some time, although they grew in popularity within the past 10 years, particularly after the publication of the results of the Women\u2019s Health Initiative. The story didn\u2019t make any inappropriate claims of novelty. Because the story quotes two independent experts, the reader can assume the story does not rely solely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "3752", "claim": "State sued over involuntary psychiatric boarding.", "explanation": "The New Hampshire chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of psychiatric patients being involuntarily held in hospital emergency departments.", "label": "true", "subjects": "New Hampshire, American Civil Liberties Union, Concord, Health, Lawsuits, Class action lawsuits", "main_text": "State law requires involuntary psychiatric patients to get probable cause hearings within three days of admission to determine whether they are a danger to themselves or others. Under the state\u2019s interpretation, the clock starts when someone is admitted to the state psychiatric hospital or other inpatient facility, but the lawsuit points to a Merrimack County court ruling that said the clock should start at the time of emergency room admission. The lawsuit names the Department of Health and Human Services and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center as defendants. The lead plaintiff is a 26-year-old man who was admitted to the emergency room at the Nashua hospital on Nov. 5 after a suicide attempt and was held involuntarily without a hearing for nearly a week until his status was changed to voluntary. The lawsuit was filed Saturday, before his status was changed. \u201cWhen someone is indefinitely detained against their will without due process, wishes to see their children, and is worried about the financial security of one\u2019s family, such frustration should be sympathized with, especially when the person is kept in a secluded, windowless room,\u201d the lawsuit states. \u201cHere, Plaintiff is desperate to get back to his family and his work. His family needs him. He is entitled to make that case to a Circuit Court judge.\u201d A spokeswoman for Southern New Hampshire Medical Center did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The Department of Health and Human Services referred questions to the attorney general\u2019s office, which did not immediately respond. The lawsuit highlights a problem the state has struggled with for years. A report released Tuesday by the New Hampshire Community Behavioral Health Association notes that the number of adults waiting for inpatient beds has steadily increased since 2015, peaking at a one-day high of 71 adults and 27 children. Aside from a few inmates, they are all waiting in emergency rooms and most, if not all, are deemed to be held involuntarily because the state psychiatric hospital does not accept voluntary admissions, said Ken Norton, executive director of the New Hampshire chapter National Alliance on Mental Illness. He welcomed the lawsuit as a necessary step to what he called the \u201csystemic discrimination\u201d against people with mental illness and said he hopes it will spur a solution to a situation he has long deemed medically, legally, ethically, morally and economically wrong. \u201cNone of us want to see people released on a legal technicality, but all other remedies have been attempted, including really good-faith efforts by the commissioner, by the Legislature, by the governor, and all ultimately failed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe do think this will draw further attention to the current mental health boarding crisis.\u201d A sweeping bill to reform the state\u2019s mental health system last year included a provision requiring the development of a plan to ensure timely hearings for patients held involuntarily in emergency rooms. But a planned pilot program involving four hospitals was scrapped in part due to safety concerns about essentially setting up mini courtrooms in hospitals. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, asks that the state\u2019s practice of denying due process to such patients be deemed unconstitutional. But Gilles Bissonnette, the ACLU attorney, said he hopes it will also prompt policy makers to take action to address the wider problem. \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with a symptom, not the disease. The due process issue is a symptom, the disease is really the underlying waitlist,\u201d he said. Mobile crisis response teams helped 5,052 people avoid emergency room admissions in 2017, according to the report from the Community Behavioral Health Association. But such teams are based only in Concord, Manchester and Nashua, leaving large areas of the state uncovered. Peter Evers, CEO of Riverbend Community Mental Health Center, said he hopes those teams will be expanded, but also believes the state should consider increasing the number of inpatient beds. \u201cYou have to ask the question, does New Hampshire really have the appropriate services for people with serious mental illness?\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not really having a proper conversation about the whole continuum of care until we understand that some people need a longer stay in a hospital.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "7599", "claim": "Official: Montana nursing home virus outbreak appears over.", "explanation": "A COVID-19 outbreak that started at a north-central Montana assisted living facility and caused six of the state\u2019s 16 deaths appears to be over, a state health official said Friday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Business, Montana, Nursing homes, Virus Outbreak, Steve Bullock", "main_text": "Jim Murphy, the health department\u2019s Communicable Disease Control and Prevention Bureau chief, said that while there are still seven active cases in Toole County, those who are ill remain in isolation, and no new cases have been diagnosed in weeks, \u201cwell past an incubation period.\u201d Because the outbreak was tied to the Marias Heritage Center in Shelby, state and local health officials have been cautious in confirming that someone has fully recovered, he said. Sometimes it takes up to four or five weeks for a person to test clear of the virus, he said. Meanwhile, thousands of Montana businesses and hundreds of residents applied for coronavirus relief funding that was available beginning Thursday, Gov. Steve Bullock said. He announced $123 million in funding for nine programs on Tuesday, including $50 million for small businesses and $50 million for rent and mortgage assistance. The money comes from Montana\u2019s $1.25 billion share of federal coronavirus relief money. \u201cThere\u2019ll certainly be additional funding announced in the upcoming weeks, and we\u2019ll closely monitor the demand for this first round of emergency grants to adjust as needed and ensure that Montanans are getting relief,\u201d the governor said Friday. On Friday, Montana had 22 new active cases of COVID-19, including two new cases in Gallatin County that raised the state\u2019s total to 458. The Gallatin County health department said the new cases involved people in their 20\u2032s and 30\u2032s, in the same family, who were likely infected while traveling out of state. They had limited contact with other people when they returned to West Yellowstone and are self-isolating, the agency said. Another person tested positive in Lake County on Thursday, but because they live out of state, the case was assigned to their home state, officials said. Bullock said almost half of Montana\u2019s COVID-19 cases were discovered through contact tracing. Close contacts of those who tested positive were quarantined for 14 days and tested if they showed symptoms of the respiratory virus. Those efforts helped contain the outbreak because quarantined individuals who got sick were identified early in their illness, which exposed fewer people, Bullock said. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. In other coronavirus-related developments: \u2014 Ballots for the 2020 primary were mailed out Friday. All counties decided to use a mail-only election to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Voters can return only one ballot. The ballots must be received at county election offices by June 2. \u2014 A group that is seeking to gather signatures to qualify two recreational marijuana issues for the November ballot will resume its efforts Saturday. New Approach Montana\u2019s petition to allow it to gather signatures electronically was rejected by a state judge. The group has six weeks to gather nearly 51,000 signatures for a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to set a legal age for the consumption of recreational marijuana, the Missoulian reported. They need nearly 25,500 signatures to put an initiative on the ballot that would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana use."}
{"claim_id": "11525", "claim": "Study shows children's best hope for the potassium and fiber missing in their diets is potatoes", "explanation": "This news release is about a study funded by and written by the potato industry. And not surprisingly given its provenance, the news release advocates vigorously for the inclusion of more potatoes in children\u2019s diets. Interestingly, though, the study that\u2019s the basis for the release does not deliver the same message. Instead, it says that a broad array of vegetables are not being eaten by children and therefore children\u2019s diets are lacking in calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients. Potatoes are a big focus of the study, of course, but here\u2019s where the news release falls short, too: The study notes \u2014 and the news release ignores \u2014 that the potatoes being studied included french fries and potato chips. All potential health harm from these foods is completely ignored. (Such harm is ignored in the study, too.) The potential benefits are not clearly broken out in the study and seem to appear out of nowhere in the news release. Childhood intake of nutrients has been linked to later development of cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as obesity and diabetes. As the release states, childhood eating patterns carry over to adults. Encouraging kids to eat a wide variety of vegetables is therefore important. The argument that potatoes should be particularly encouraged has little foundation in science.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Food,industry/commercial news releases", "main_text": "There is no mention of costs. We won\u2019t penalize the release for not including this information since potatoes are a common and relatively inexpensive food. The release could have noted the average cost of a pound of potatoes to give parents a sense of how they might fit into a family grocery budget. The release says that potatoes are the \u201cbest hope\u201d for delivering more fiber and potassium to kids. Based on what evidence? The study certainly doesn\u2019t show this. Here\u2019s what the study concludes: \u201cThe results suggest that patterns of potassium, [dietary fiber], and vitamin D intake for young children should be studied further in order to develop strategies for increasing intakes of these crucial nutrients. The consumption of a variety of all vegetables, including [white potatoes], is important to increase potassium and [dietary fiber]\u00a0intakes and should be encouraged.\u201d The most troubling thing about this study and about the release is the inclusion of french fries and potato chips in the study as if they were equal in health value to other forms of potatoes. There is no discussion of the potential harms that come from foods high in sugar, salt, fat, and calories. The release skirts any explanation of how the study was conducted. The study itself appeared to be focused on overall dietary patterns, not potatoes per se. In addition, the study was published as a paid supplement to a journal article. In general, supplements are not peer-reviewed, and so it would be helpful to note specifically whether the papers in the supplement were peer reviewed or not. The release is somewhat cagey on this point, saying that the study was published \u201cin a special supplement of the peer-reviewed journal Advances in Nutrition.\u201d The release does not engage in disease mongering. The release notes: The supplement is the outcome of a November 2014 USDA/ARS Children\u2019s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine roundtable on vegetable consumption in children. The forum was supported by the Alliance for Potato Research and Education, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to expanding and translating scientific research into evidence-based policy and education initiatives that recognize the role of all forms of the potato\u2013a nutritious vegetable\u2013in promoting health for all age groups. That\u2019s good information as far as it goes, but the release does not acknowledge that the authors of the main study that is the basis for the release are both paid by the Alliance (one is an employee, the other a consultant), which is a membership group for potato growers. There are many comparisons in the study but the release mentions none of the many other dietary sources of potassium and fiber. We think it\u2019s obvious that potatoes are widely available. By claiming that potatoes are the best hope for increasing potassium and fiber intake in kids, we think the release needed to prove the novelty of the research and this finding. But there\u2019s nothing new here. The headline \u2013 and use of \u201cbest hope\u201d \u2014 is unjustified, as far as we can tell."}
{"claim_id": "14220", "claim": "Research even shows that sending more girls to school can boost an entire country\u2019s GDP.", "explanation": "Michelle Obama said that research shows that sending girls to school can boost a country\u2019s entire economy. That\u2019s a fairly broad statement and broadly speaking, it\u2019s accurate. Research from economists at the World Bank and elsewhere suggest that it\u2019s possible that educating more girls produces a stronger economy. But researchers can\u2019t say whether it\u2019s the education of girls that leads to growth, or the growth that leads to more education of women. Plus, women can hit roadblocks in the job market even if they are educated. The research shows that, too. Obama\u2019s statement is accurate but it needs additional information.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Global News Service, Education, Foreign Policy, Women, Michelle Obama, ", "main_text": "Among the causes First Lady Michelle Obama has championed during her time in the White House is improving the lot of girls and women worldwide. About a year ago, Obama helped kick off Let Girls Learn, an interagency effort focused on educating adolescent girls. \"Studies from the World Bank show that one extra year of secondary school can increase a girl's\u00a0future income by 15 to 25 percent,\" Obama said in an interview with a U.S. Agency for International Development publication. \"And we know that when girls are educated, they are less likely to contract HIV, more likely to delay childbearing and vaccinate their children, and have lower maternal and infant mortality rates. Research even shows that sending more girls to school can boost an entire country\u2019s GDP.\" We\u2019ve seen that claim about educating girls and a rising GDP before. Is it true? Largely, yes. Research does show that a higher percentage of girls in school correlates with a higher gross domestic product. But those findings are much more limited than many people understand. Behind all the research, there\u2019s uncertainty about whether a stronger economy leads to more girls in school, or if more girls in school leads to a stronger economy. No single rule applies everywhere. A stronger economy, for instance, provides both the resources and incentives to educate more women, who go to school, earn more and boost the economy a little higher. But it doesn\u2019t always work that way. In the Middle East and North Africa, more women might be educated but for social and religious reasons, they can\u2019t work, or must work in jobs that don\u2019t fully reward their level of education. And the biggest sticking point is that what\u2019s been called the \"girl effect\" seems to be much stronger in middle-income countries. For poorer nations, the effect is more muted. A few key studies and cautions The White House press office backed up the First Lady\u2019s claim by citing policy reports that declared that educating girls and young women would boost a country\u2019s economy. One from the World Bank said \"By effectively educating more women -- that is, providing more women with a high-quality education -- more will enter the labor market, and the economy will show the favorable results.\" Those reports didn\u2019t actually give the underlying research, so we\u2019ll cover the highlights. \u2022 A 2009 article in the journal Feminist Economics compared regions of the world and measured gender gaps in both education and employment. That\u2019s worth noting because, while the two generally go hand-in-hand, they are separate. You can educate girls, but if companies won\u2019t hire them, a lot of the economic benefit is lost. This study\u2019s bottom line was that between 1960 and 2000, East Asia\u2019s growth rate was .9 percent higher than the region of the Middle East-North Africa. The difference was due to the higher fraction of girls in school in East Asia. \u2022 A 2011 World Bank study took 14 countries and teased out what would happen if every girl finished whatever level of school she was in -- either primary or secondary. Not surprisingly, the economic impact depended hugely on a country\u2019s starting point. India and China, for example, had very low rates of girls not completing school, while on the opposite end, places like Burundi and Senegal had dropout rates over 80 percent. So the study found that getting girls and young women to complete a given level of schooling added a \"barely noticeable\" amount in India and China, while in the other countries, researchers predicted a hefty rise. One important contribution of this research is it factored in the diminishing returns of educating more women. When more people hit the job market, it tends to drive wages down. There\u2019s still a net gain, but in this study, earnings could be about 20 percent less than you might expect. Tuck that point away and keep it in mind for the next landmark analysis on our list. It provided advocacy groups with a talking point that has gone viral. \u2022 In a 1999 World Bank paper Gender inequality, income and growth: Are good times good for women?, economists David Dollar and Roberta Gatti worked with data on 100 nations. The finding that gained the most traction was that \"in the countries with higher initial education, an increase of 1 percentage point in the share of adult women with secondary school education implies an increase in per capita income growth of 0.3 percentage points.\" That might seem like a simple equation, but it actually makes two points that are often overlooked. The economic growth took place only in middle-income countries that already had a higher rate of educating women. \"For the poorer half of the observations, there is no relationship between female attainment and income,\" the authors wrote. The other generally ignored element is that the 1 percent increase in educated women applies to completing secondary education. Simply putting more girls in classrooms at any grade level wouldn\u2019t necessarily deliver the same results. You have to get the girls all the way through high school. Specifics are important when measuring education gains Here\u2019s where many organizations, including USAID, get into trouble. They say -- right now on their website -- that \"if 10 percent more girls attend school, a country\u2019s GDP increases by an average of 3 percent.\" That statement has three flaws. First, it treats all nations the same, whether they are low income or middle income. Second, it treats all education the same, whether it\u2019s primary or secondary. Perhaps most troubling is it scales up the original equation by a factor of 10. Dollar, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told us that doing that \"is a bit risky.\" \"You would expect diminishing returns,\" he said. Which takes us back to that 2011 World Bank study we tucked away. It predicted wages would be about 20 percent lower than you would expect. Less money in women\u2019s pockets means less economic activity, and less economic growth. Our ruling Michelle Obama said that research shows that sending girls to school can boost a country\u2019s entire economy. That\u2019s a fairly broad statement and broadly speaking, it\u2019s accurate. Research from economists at the World Bank and elsewhere suggest that it\u2019s possible that educating more girls produces a stronger economy. But researchers can\u2019t say whether it\u2019s the education of girls that leads to growth, or the growth that leads to more education of women. Plus, women can hit roadblocks in the job market even if they are educated. The research shows that, too. Obama\u2019s statement is accurate but it needs additional information. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "31561", "claim": "Using toilet paper as a barrier between your derriere and a toilet seat poses more health risks than just sitting down without a barrier.", "explanation": "Ultimately, what you put between yourself and the toilet seat is between you and your toilet, but we rate these claims because a.) you are not reducing risk of spreading germs by failing to put down\u00a0toilet paper, and b.) you are, likewise, certainly not increasing the risk by putting down toilet paper. The risk of germs is omnipresent, and it should, if anything, highlight the importance of washing your hands after using the bathroom.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, hefty.co, pathogens, toilet", "main_text": "On 23 June 2016, Hefty.co published an article with the headline \u201cAfter You Read This, You\u2019ll Never Put Toilet Paper on the Seat Again. Never.\u201d The piece attempted to make the argument that, due to germs released to the air when a toilet is flushed combined with superior germ prevention abilities of toilet seats, there would be more germs on the paper\u00a0barrier than on the seat itself: For a long time, people thought the seats were covered in germs and nasties and people could pick up all kinds of horrible gastrointestinal infections from them. But given their special shape and their particularly smooth surfaces, toilet seats actually prevent bacteria from settling on them. In addition, germs cannot multiply on bare skin, so mere contact with the toilet seat is not so bad after all. Toilet paper, on the other hand, is a completely different story. It\u2019s common knowledge that (almost) no one puts the toilet lid down after using and flushing the toilet. As a result, all those germs spread around the room and also on the toilet paper. And contrary to the toilet seat, toilet paper is an ideal place for germs to gather. Its surface makes it easy for bacteria to settle on. It is precisely this germ-infested toilet paper that you would reach out to grab with your hands and then, unconsciously, you would touch your face, allowing the bacteria the easiest passageway into your body. There is a glaring logical fallacy in this argument that essentially makes debunking the science behind it unnecessary: Presumably, you will still be touching that same toilet paper with your hands when you reach for it to wipe; as well, you might \u201cunconsciously\u2026 touch your face, allowing the bacteria the easiest passageway into your body.\u201d We are not going to take that easy route out, though, because the science presented is not only illogical, it is factually inaccurate. The article\u2019s central argument is that there is unlikely to be any appreciable amount of bacteria on the seat itself and that there would be, comparatively speaking, more on the toilet paper. These are actually questions scientists have addressed on multiple occasions in peer-reviewed journals. For example, a\u00a01975 study (\u201cMicrobiological Hazards of Household Toilets\u201d) used\u00a0both laboratory work and \u201cfieldwork\u201d in public bathrooms to reveal\u00a0that, while flushing a toilet does allow bacteria and viruses to \u201cremain airborne long enough to settle on surfaces throughout the bathroom\u201d, the samples most consistently showing the most bacteria was the seats of the toilet, not the walls or other surfaces near it. A study published in 2005, using its own experimental data as well as a review of literature on the topic, reached a similar conclusion: Epidemiological studies from recurrent outbreaks of norovirus infection in successive cohorts of guests in hotels and on cruise ships [\u2026] suggests spread from infected persons after vomiting by settling of aerosol particles onto surfaces which are then touched by hands. In addition, these studies suggested that splashing or aerosol generation during toilet flushing may spread virus particles onto contact surfaces such as the toilet seat or flush handle. Combined with our experimental data we believe that the potential spread of enteric disease by contact with surfaces in bathrooms harbouring pathogens cannot be ignored and must be regarded as a serious infection risk. So yes, flushing can liberate pathogens into the air and allow them to settle on a variety of bathroom surfaces (pretty much all of them, according to the 2005 study), but given that these pathogens\u2019 most common area of detection is\u00a0the toilet seat, whatever magical anti-germ power it is supposed to have is\u00a0not\u00a0doing its job, or\u00a0more likely is\u00a0nonexistent. To that point, experiments have demonstrated that pathogens on non-porous surfaces (such as the toilet seat) are more easily transferred to the skin than from porous ones (such as toilet paper). The post also makes the argument that putting the seat cover down reduces the risks of introducing pathogens to the air and, as a result, bathroom surface; as we now know, this would certainly increase the risk of transferring pathogens to your hands as well. But this claim, as well, flies in the face of the experimental results presented in that 2005 study: Experiments were carried out to establish the dynamics of aerosol formation and surface contamination after seeding the toilet with [both a bacterial and viral pathogen]. Closing the toilet lid had little effect in reducing the number of bacteria released into the air [\u2026]. The highest level of surface contamination was closest to the aerosol source, at the toilet seat level [\u2026]. The final false claim of this viral (and bacterial!) post is that \u201cgerms cannot multiply on bare skin\u201d. Broadly speaking, this is not true. Logically speaking, it is also fairly irrelevant. The mechanism that is discussed throughout the Hefty.co post is not an infection on the skin, but transfer to the\u00a0mouth from the\u00a0hands. As you need only a small number of pathogens to enter your gastrointestinal tract, and because many pathogens can survive on a variety of\u00a0surfaces for extended periods of time, the purported lack of \u201cmultiplication\u201d on your skin\u00a0is no protection from infection if there should be any contact between your hand and your buttocks (or anything else your buttocks may have come in contact with)."}
{"claim_id": "28850", "claim": "Kellogg's is adding traces of peanut flour to its products.", "explanation": "What's true: Kellogg's announced that it was adding peanut flour to some of its products. What's false: Kellogg's did not fail to announce this change to the public.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Food, allergies, food warnings, kellogg's", "main_text": "On 5 May 2016, the web site\u00a0Snack Safely\u00a0published an article reporting\u00a0that Kellogg\u2019s was adding \u201ctraces\u201d of peanut flour to all of\u00a0its products: As we predicted, Kellogg\u2019s is now intentionally adding traces of peanut flour to other products beyond\u00a0their Keebler and Austin Cracker lines. [\u2026] To date, the company has issued no press release explaining their decision to add minute quantities of\u00a0peanut flour, but we can only surmise that we are in the early stage of a plan to add traces of allergens across much of their product line to avoid the complications of complying with the FSMA that were intended to make foods safer for the allergic community, not the opposite. While it is true that Kellogg\u2019s has recently added peanut flour to some its products, the article included some\u00a0misleading information. The Snack Safely\u00a0article used Kellogg\u2019s\u00a0Nutri-Grain \u201cFruit Crunch\u201d bars\u00a0as evidence that the company was adding peanut flour to additional products, but those products are no longer available, and already contained peanut flour when they were introduced in 2012. Kellogg\u2019s said in a statement that the information from Snack Safely\u00a0is inaccurate: The \u201cFruit Crunch\u201d Nutri-Grain bars mentioned in the Snack Safely blog post have been discontinued and are no longer on the market. Additionally, they always had peanut flour listed as an ingredient since they were introduced in 2012, and there is currently no new product or ingredient change. There have been changes to some products from the company. However, the insinuation that it was done in secrecy and that Kellogg\u2019s has not commented on the ingredients in\u00a0its products\u00a0is misleading. At\u00a0least two statements (one regarding the Austin Cracker line and one regarding Keebler)\u00a0explained the ingredient updates, and subsequent label adjustments,\u00a0in April 2016: The Kellogg Company would like you to know that starting in April, 2016 Austin will be changing the allergen statement on four flavors of sandwich crackers under the Austin\u00ae label. The flavors, Austin\u00ae Cheddar Cheese Cracker Sandwiches, Austin\u00ae Grilled Cheese Cracker Sandwiches, Austin\u00ae Pepper Jack Cracker Sandwiches and the Austin\u00ae Variety Pack Cracker Sandwiches will contain Wheat, Milk, Soy, and Peanut ingredients. While Snack Safely\u00a0also accused Kellogg\u2019s of adding peanut flour to its products in order to \u201cavoid the complications of complying with the Food Safety Modernization Act,\u201d they provided no\u00a0evidence to back up that assertion: It is surmised that Kellogg\u2019s is preemptively adding minute quantities of peanut flour to these crackers so the ingredient can be added to the ingredient list. This will allow the company to avoid the costs of complying with directives of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that go into effect this September. Rather than implement the additional requirements of the new FSMA directives, it is believed Kellogg\u2019s is adding trace amounts of the allergen to dispense with the entire process. If this is indeed true, they are making their products more allergenic in order to avoid the costs of complying with directives intended to make product safer. The main critique of the article published by\u00a0Snack Safely\u00a0(and the accompanying petition) is that Kellogg\u2019s did not do a good job of alerting the public about the change. While that\u00a0is a matter of debate, the company does\u00a0say that parents should always check the packaging, as the ingredients list occasionally goes through changes: Because product formulations may change from time to time, consumers are strongly encouraged to read the package label prior to every purchase. While it is\u00a0true that Kellogg\u2019s added peanut flour to some of its products in 2016, there\u2019s no evidence that the decision to do so was to \u201cavoid the complications of complying with the Food Safety Modernization Act.\u201d After all, Kellogg\u2019s has announced dozens of ingredient changes over the years. Further, the company also said that it will be releasing an Austin Cracker flavor that does not contain peanut flour this September: As we told you when we first announced the change, we\u2019ve been exploring ways to make a sandwich cracker that parents of children with peanut allergies can buy. Today, I want to share with you that we will be making our Austin Grilled Cheese Sandwich crackers without peanut products. They will be available in stores starting in September. Given the prevalence of peanut and other nut allergies and the strictness of the Food and Drug Administration (not to mention the high-profile public relations nightmare that would ensue after a spate of allergy-related illnesses or deaths) it seems extraordinarily unlikely that any company would alter recipes for popular foods in secret to introduce ingredients that would have a potentially devastating effect on its consumers. On 11 May 2016, Snack Safely\u00a0published the following retraction: Yesterday,\u00a0we posted an article entitled \u201cKellogg\u2019s Now Adding Traces of Peanut Flour Across Product Lines\u201d that asserted that Kellogg\u2019s had recently begun adding trace quantities of peanut flour to\u00a0Nutri-Grain Apple Cobbler Fruit Crunch Bars, much like their recent addition of peanut flour to the company\u2019s Keebler and Austin cracker varieties. Despite our best efforts to verify\u00a0the timing of this addition, we were wrong. Though the product information is listed on the company\u2019s website, the product itself\u00a0has been discontinued. We apologize to you, or readers, and to the Kellogg Company for this error. That said, this does not alter our belief that\u00a0the company is adding minute quantities of peanut flour \u2013 as they have done with the Keebler and Austin crackers \u2013 to avoid the complications and cost of complying\u00a0with new, stricter FSMA directives regarding the handling of allergens that take effect this September. We reiterate our call to the company to explain why they are adding this allergen to products and end the speculation. Kellogg\u2019s dispelled some of the rumors about its recent decision to add peanut flour to a few select products in\u00a0an article published on the company\u2019s \u201cOpen For Breakfast\u201d web site: Myth: Kellogg added peanut flour to some Keebler and Austin sandwich crackers to avoid complying with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Fact: This is completely false. Food safety is a top priority for us at Kellogg. Our food safety standards are in full compliance with FSMA and FDA regulations issued under FSMA. These products all remain subject to FSMA and are not exempt from regulation. FSMA requires food companies to include allergen control as part of their hazard analyses and to ensure allergen preventative controls are in place where appropriate. Kellogg does all of these things. We carefully identify and evaluate all food safety hazards, including hazards posed by allergens. Guided by our robust hazard analysis, we have controls in place to prevent allergen cross-contact and contamination during shipping, receiving, storage, handling and use of all ingredients. We also have controls in place to ensure proper labeling of allergens on our foods. In many areas, our food safety standards even go above and beyond those required by the FDA."}
{"claim_id": "20162", "claim": "Brigid Shea Says Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell voted for a toll lane on MoPac.", "explanation": "During the debate, Shea responded to Leffingwell\u2019s description of the plan to add a managed lane to each side of a stretch of MoPac by calling it a toll lane and saying Leffingwell had voted for it in a transportation plan. Our conclusion is that except for a select few kinds of motorists, drivers who use the new lanes would have to pay varying tolls. And Leffingwell voted for this approach thrice. Shea did not say MoPac would be entirely tolled. Her comment had the context already given at the debate by the mayor.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Transportation, Texas, Brigid Shea, ", "main_text": "In a recent Austin mayoral debate, challenger Brigid Shea and incumbent Lee Leffingwell sparred over a plan to expand MoPac Boulevard, with Shea ultimately saying that Leffingwell voted to add a toll lane to the frequently congested north-south expressway. We wondered whether Shea was right about Leffingwell\u2019s record. First, let\u2019s flash back to their exchange during the debate aired April 16, 2012, by KXAN-TV, Channel 36. Shea began by saying the city hasn\u2019t done enough to ease congestion on Austin\u2019s roads. But, she said, one approach she doesn\u2019t support is \"putting toll lanes on MoPac.\" Leffingwell responded that the decision to add a toll lane to MoPac (Loop 1) \"has not been made\" and that under the plan in progress, no existing lanes would be tolled. The new lane on MoPac \"would be a high occupancy lane,\" Leffingwell said. \"It would be reserved for bus rapid transit and express buses and for registered car pools. It would also facilitate the movement of emergency vehicles such as police, fire and EMS vehicles. There has been some discussion of placing a variable toll on that lane only, not on the rest of MoPac, which would make it usable for folks in their private automobiles to use. It would be a variable-type toll depending on the movement of traffic in that lane to make sure it moves quickly. \u2026 If the speed goes down, the toll would go up. If the speed goes up, the toll would go down. That\u2019s under discussion right now, and hopefully, that project will begin in 2014.\" Shea shot back: \"All the transportation experts that I\u2019ve spoken with have said you might call it an HOV lane, but it\u2019s really a toll lane. And the mayor has voted for it in the three-year TIP transportation plan.\" Shea was more blunt in a recent mailer to voters, saying: \"Lee voted for a toll lane on MoPac.\" Over the years, various ideas have been floated to relieve congestion on MoPac, which opened in the 1970s. The current plan \u2014 to be built and operated by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, with most of the funding from the Texas Department of Transportation \u2014 includes adding an \"express lane\" to each side of MoPac for the approximately 11-mile stretch from Lady Bird Lake north to Parmer Lane. At the debate, Leffingwell described the additional lanes as \"high occupancy.\" Then again, the MoPac express lanes wouldn\u2019t be the same as the \"high occupancy vehicle,\" or HOV, lanes found in some urban areas. Often called \"car-pool lanes,\" they are typically reserved for vehicles carrying more than one or two people; some allow solo drivers to use them if they pay a toll. But Central Texas never adopted the HOV strategy, according to a Jan. 30, 2012, Austin American-Statesman news article, \"and the MoPac express lanes won\u2019t change that.\" Instead, as Leffingwell indicated, the additional northbound and southbound lanes would be open \u2014 for no charge \u2014 to transit buses, registered vanpools and emergency and military vehicles. Everyone else who wanted to hop in the express lane would have to pay a toll, the amount of which would change minute by minute depending on the level of traffic in the lane. The article quoted Mike Heiligenstein, executive director of the mobility authority, as saying that the point of the fluctuating tolls is to keep the speeds in each express lane at 50 mph or more. While there are no MoPac toll lanes yet, construction could start as early as 2013, according to an April 2, 2012, Statesman news article. The project is expected to receive final environmental clearance from the federal government around August 2012, which would trigger a six-month period in which approval can be challenged in court. We wondered how Leffingwell factored into the toll-lane plan. Shea told us that she was referring to three votes Leffingwell cast in 2010 as a board member for the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. That\u2019s a regional body whose primary jobs, according to its website, are to coordinate regional transportation planning and to approve the use of federal transportation funds within the region. The 19-member CAMPO board is made up mostly of local elected officials from Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties. CAMPO director Maureen McCoy told us that Leffingwell, who was elected mayor in 2009 and was a council member before that, joined the board in 2008. To back up her claim, Shea sent us copies of the minutes of CAMPO board meetings that struck us as showing that Leffingwell did vote for toll lanes on MoPac. Let\u2019s look closer:  ** Vote No. 1: On May 24, 2010, the board voted to adopt Central Texas\u2019 25-year transportation plan, with Leffingwell and 16 others voting \"aye.\" The plan, which is required under federal law, undergoes a top-to-bottom rewrite every five years. Any road or transit project that uses federal money, as most of them do, must be in the plan to qualify for that money. A May 10, 2010, Statesman news article previewing the vote said the proposed CAMPO 2035 plan contained several hundred road, rail, bicycle and pedestrian projects projected to cost nearly $30 billion. It noted that in the plan was $392 million for a new \"managed lane\" in each direction on MoPac from Parmer Lane in North Austin to Slaughter Lane in South Austin. The plan that the board approved in May 2010 includes the MoPac \"managed lanes\" project in its \"priority project list.\" And a separate chart in the plan lists the MoPac project in a section labeled \"toll roads and toll express lanes.\" Several months after the vote, in July 2010, state and local officials announced that the proposed MoPac project, with express toll lanes between Parmer Lane and the river, was moving forward after delays of several years, according to a July 8, 2010, Statesman news article. ** Vote No. 2: On Aug. 9, 2010, the CAMPO board voted to adopt the 2011-2014 Transportation Improvement Program, a short-term document that designates projects to be carried out over the next four years and how they will be funded. (Shea erred slightly in the debate by describing it as a three-year document.) Leffingwell was among the 16 board members who voted for the plan, which included the \"managed lanes\" project for MoPac between Parmer Lane and the river. In a telephone interview, we asked McCoy, the CAMPO director, whether she considered Leffingwell\u2019s 2010 votes for the long-range plan and the TIP as votes to add a toll lane to MoPac. She said yes, saying that the projects had been discussed for some time. ** Vote No. 3: On Sept. 13, 2010, the board voted 13-4, with Leffingwell\u2019s support, to approve the \"terms and conditions\" for the MoPac express lane project, as required by state law. According to a summary in the agenda for that meeting, the \"terms and conditions,\" developed by the mobility authority and TxDOT, establish that the project would add an express lane in the Parmer-to-the-river stretch of MoPac \"consistent with the CAMPO 2035 Regional Transportation Plan and the current Transportation Improvement Program.\" They also establish that the toll rate for the project would be \"variable based on traffic demand with a minimum rate of 22 cents per mile\" and that emergency, military and transit vehicles would be exempt. Finally, it notes that the toll rates would increase annually based on the \"Consumer Price Index for Urban Areas.\" As we closed out this review, Andy Mormon, Leffingwell\u2019s city chief of staff, said in a telephone interview that to describe the MoPac project\u2019s \"managed lanes\" as \"toll lanes\" oversimplifies a complex traffic solution project. He also suggested that Shea\u2019s claim leaves out critical context in that under the regional plan, drivers could continue using MoPac without paying tolls. \"When you say toll lane in Austin, there\u2019s a lot of people who get up in arms,\" he said. Our ruling During the debate, Shea responded to Leffingwell\u2019s description of the plan to add a managed lane to each side of a stretch of MoPac by calling it a toll lane and saying Leffingwell had voted for it in a transportation plan. Our conclusion is that except for a select few kinds of motorists, drivers who use the new lanes would have to pay varying tolls. And Leffingwell voted for this approach thrice. Shea did not say MoPac would be entirely tolled. Her comment had the context already given at the debate by the mayor. We rate her claim ."}
{"claim_id": "24228", "claim": "The costs for families (in the individual market) for the same type of coverage that they're currently receiving would go down 14 percent to 20 percent.", "explanation": "Obama says under Democratic health plan, family insurance premiums in the individual market would decrease 14 to 20 percent", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Barack Obama, ", "main_text": "For many people, the health care issue boils down to this: Are my insurance rates going to go up or down? Not surprisingly then, one of the testiest exchanges at the health care summit on Feb. 25, 2010, came between President Barack Obama and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., over the issue of how the Democrats' health care plan would affect premiums. Interestingly, both cited an analysis of the Senate health care bill by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to make their case. \"The Congressional Budget Office report says that premiums will rise in the individual market as a result of the Senate bill,\" Alexander said. \"No, no, no, no,\" Obama retorted. \"This is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight.\" \"Let me respond to what you just said, Lamar, because it's not factually accurate,\" Obama continued. \"Here's what the Congressional Budget Office says. The costs for families for the same type of coverage that they're currently receiving would go down 14 percent to 20 percent. What the Congressional Budget Office says is that because now they've got a better deal, because policies are cheaper, they may choose to buy better coverage than they have right now, and that might be 10 percent to 13 percent more expensive than the bad insurance that they had previously. \"But they didn't say that the actual premiums would be going up. What they said was they'd be going down by 14 percent to 20 percent. And I promise you, I've gone through this carefully with the Congressional Budget Office, and I'll be happy to present this to the press and whoever's listening because this is an important issue.\" Alexander later stood his ground, saying, \"With respect, you're wrong about -- your bill would increase premiums, I believe. You say it wouldn't. So rather than argue with you in public about it, I'd like to put my facts down, give them to you.\" \"I think it's a great idea,\" Obama said. \"I'd like to get this issue settled about whether premiums are reduced before we leave today, because I'm pretty certain I'm not wrong.\" This seemed like a good place for us to step in and referee. First, one of the key qualifiers that many people may have lost in this exchange is that they were debating the effects on premiums for people in the individual market. These are the people who do not get their insurance through an employer. This is only a fraction of the overall market. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if the Democrats' plan were adopted, the individual market would grow to about 17 percent of the American population by 2016. The Democrats' plan calls for the creation of a health insurance exchange in which individuals could shop for insurance with private companies competing for their business. The idea is that it would allow individuals to purchase insurance at lower, group rates. Plans offered by companies participating in the exchange would have to meet government-mandated minimum coverage thresholds. The CBO estimated that the average premium for people in the individual market would be about 10 percent to 13 percent higher in 2016 than under current law. Specifically, the CBO estimates the average cost of family policies purchased by individuals would be $15,200 in 2016, as opposed to $13,100 under current law. That's the backing for Alexander's comment. But Obama correctly notes that much of the added cost is tied to people getting better insurance. The CBO said there are three drivers that would cause premiums to rise or fall. And it broke them down as follows: \u2022 Average premiums would be 27 percent to 30 percent higher because a greater amount of coverage would be obtained. In particular, the average insurance policy would cover a substantially larger share of enrollees\u2019 costs for health care and a slightly wider range of benefits. Those expansions would reflect both the minimum level of coverage (and related requirements) specified in the proposal and people\u2019s decisions to purchase more extensive coverage in response to subsidies. \u2022 Average premiums would be 7 percent to 10 percent lower because of a net reduction in costs to insurers, mostly from the changes in the rules governing the individual market. \u2022 Average premiums would be 7 percent to 10 percent lower because of a shift in the types of people obtaining coverage. Most of that change is tied to an influx of healthier people with below-average spending for health care, who would purchase coverage because of subsidies and a new tax penalty for failing to purchase insurance. Obama gets to his figure by combining those last two cost reductions, but not including the cost increase tied to people essentially getting better insurance. Both Obama and Alexander cited figures independent of the effect of subsidies. But we think it bears noting that under the Senate health plan, about 57 percent of people on the individual market would receive federal subsidies, and those subsidies would cover nearly two-thirds of the total premium. One last point, the Democrats' plan would allow people who currently have individual policies to grandfather in their existing policy. According to the CBO, \"the premiums for those policies would probably not differ substantially from current-law levels.\" In other words, if you were to opt to keep the exact same individual plan (an option the CBO doesn't believe many will take because, with subsidies, most could get a better plan cheaper), the CBO doesn't see the cost rising or falling substantially. And again, we are talking here only about premiums for people in the individual market. For most people, who get their insurance through their company, the CBO projects premiums to decline slightly from where they'd go if no health plan is passed. How slightly? In the 0 to 3 percent range, depending on whether you work at a large or small company. We think both Obama and Alexander have selectively chosen from the CBO report to suit their needs. Alexander insists the cost of premiums in the individual market will go up, without acknowledging that that's because most people will be getting better insurance coverage, either because of new government-mandated minimum coverage levels or because many will decide that subsidies will make upgrades to a better plan more cost-effective. Bottom line, people won't be paying more for the same thing. They'll be paying more for better plans. And on top of that, many will get federal subsidies, so they won't be paying the increased cost out of their own pockets. But we also think Obama has put on blinders when citing the CBO report. Yes, the CBO estimated 14 to 20 percent savings due to rule changes in the individual market, and because the plan is expected to infuse a large number of low-risk people into the insurance pool. But he ignores the estimated cost increases tied to more people getting better insurance. Obama tries to gloss over this by comparing costs \"for the same type of coverage that they're currently receiving.\" But the fact is, most would not be getting the same kind of coverage. Some of the shift to better coverage would be due to personal choice -- with subsidies, many people would be able to get better coverage at the same cost or cheaper -- but some would be tied to new government-mandated minimum coverage and the threat of tax penalties if you decide not to get insurance. And for those who opt to grandfather in their current individual policies (even if they don't meet the new government minimum standards), the CBO doesn't see much of a change in premiums one way or the other. And so we rule Obama's statement ."}
{"claim_id": "10416", "claim": "Erbitux OK for colorectal cancer patients with genetic marker", "explanation": "This report describes a study showing that colon cancer patients whose tumors have a certain genetic mutation don\u2019t benefit from the drug Erbitux. Since that drug is expensive and has serious side effects, it\u2019s important to know which patients will benefit. This study confirms previous research into the question. The story follows nearly all medical journalism best practices, as the ratings show. It could have been improved in two ways:  It might have put the studied treatment in context to other clinical approaches used to treat metastatic colon cancer. In the second paragraph, it says that the drug \"doesn\u2019t work\" in patients whose tumors have the genetic mutation. But it does not return to verify or elaborate on this point in less vernacular language. For instance, later on the story reports that patients whose tumors do not have the mutation showed significant tumor shrinkage. It would have been useful to reiterate that patients who did have the mutation and took Erbitux saw outcomes no different from those taking the placebo\u2013the core finding that supports the \"doesn\u2019t work\" formulation at the top of the story. It\u2019s also important to note that tumor shrinkage should not be equated with considerable benefit \u2013 which should be expressed in terms of improved survival, lower recurrence or improved quality of life. Overall, though, this story was well done, and it took only 391 words to do such a good job.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The article does an excellent job of comparing the price of Erbitux with the cost of testing for the genetic mutation that indicates whether it will be effective. The article states that adding Erbitux does not work in patients whose tumors have a specific gene mutation. The story reports that 36 percent of the study respondents\u2019 tumors had that genetic profile. It is important to note that the marker of benefit used in the study (tumor shrinkage) may not result in better patient outcomes. The article does a good job of describing the harms of treatment with Erbitux: high costs and serious side effects\u2013and, for people with a specific genetic profile, a lack of efficacy. The article is based on a clinical trial of sufficient size and quality to justify publication of the story. The research was presented at a scientific meeting, however. While the story mentioned this fact, it should also have said that the research has not yet been subjected to peer review. Yet the meeting, ASCO, is an important annual scientific gathering with considerable credibility in the field. All things considered, the article earns a satisfactory rating for this criterion. The article does nothing to exaggerate the benefits of the treatment or the severity of the underlying condition for which it is used, metastatic colon cancer. While the description of the side effect of Erbitux is vivid, it\u2019s useful information that helps explain why it\u2019s so important to know which patients are likely to benefit from the drug. The article quotes one of the study co-authors and interviews a knowledgeable independent source familiar with the research and the condition. The article makes plain that the studied options are standard chemotherapy and standard chemotherapy plus Erbitux. It does not mention whether there are other treatments for newly diagnosed advanced colon cancer, however. Given the context, however, this omission is acceptable. The article makes clear that Erbitux is available, as is the combination treatment examined in this report. The article makes clear that the tested treatment is widely used. It also explains that previous research has been done on this specific question, preventing readers from thinking the conclusions of this research are novel. It does not appear that the story relied on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "2037", "claim": "Quake amputees embody resilience in broken Haiti.", "explanation": "Sprinting on their crutches at breakneck speed, the young soccer players who lost legs in Haiti\u2019s earthquake last year project a symbol of hope and resilience in a land where so much is broken.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A member of an amputee soccer team hits the ball during a training session for an upcoming exhibition match in Port-au-Prince January 8, 2011. REUTERS/Kena Betancur Playing a weekend warm-up match days before the anniversary of the devastating January 12 quake, the players control the ball artfully with their good legs, avoiding \u201cillegal\u201d contact with their crutches. The teams train on a dusty pitch near Cite Soleil, Haiti\u2019s largest slum on the outskirts of the wrecked capital Port-au-Prince. They faced off again on Monday in the National Stadium as part of a low-key yet poignant commemoration of the disaster that killed around a quarter of a million people. \u201cEverything can\u2019t get fixed after the earthquake but life goes on,\u201d said Mackendy Francois, whose friends used a hacksaw to cut off his left leg below the knee when they freed him from the rubble of a shirt factory a year ago. Thousands of people lost limbs in the earthquake, which left more than 1 million Haitians homeless and living in misery in the already poor, calamity-prone Caribbean nation. \u201cLife didn\u2019t end when I lost a leg,\u201d Francois, 23, told Reuters. He said he felt proud to represent his team against opposing side Zaryen, named after the Haitian Creole term for a tarantula because of the way the hardy spider keeps on going even after it loses a leg. The players got treatment, athletic training and prosthetic limbs thanks to a joint effort by Miami\u2019s Project Medishare and the Knights of Columbus, which committed more than $1 million to the prosthetics and therapy program. More than 100 young quake victims have been fitted with limbs in the program so far and hundreds more will begin treatment in the coming weeks and months, Knights of Columbus Senior Vice President Patrick Korten told Reuters in an email. The soccer teams include some players disabled by birth defects and amputees from accidents unrelated to the quake. Despite the uplifting example of the amputee players, initial hopes that a new, more successful Haiti could somehow rise from the rubble with international help are becoming clouded by a sense of pessimism and despair. Even before the quake, about 70 percent of the 10 million people in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere\u2019s poorest state, lived on less than $2 a day. Conditions for many now seem worse. Zaryen midfielder Bernard Noubert, who lost both his parents in the quake in the same building where he lost a leg, said soccer has helped keep him going. \u201cIt\u2019s the best distraction for me to lighten my heart,\u201d he said. LOW-PROFILE COMMEMORATION   Despite billions of dollars in pledged aid and a generous outpouring of world solidarity for Haiti after the quake, the anniversary promises little in the way of celebration. That may be due to a steady drumbeat of criticism from many quarters about how little has been achieved so far in trying to rebuild the capital city. Major streets in Port-au-Prince have been mostly cleared of rubble and tent cities that once held more than 1.3 million people made homeless by the quake have slowly started to thin out. But debris still covers vast tracts of the capital and bodies are still being pulled from collapsed buildings. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the U.N. special envoy to Haiti who heads a reconstruction commission with outgoing Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, has also faced criticism over the lack of tangible results. Clinton is expected back in Port-au-Prince this week and is likely to call for patience in the grueling rebuilding task. Commemoration events this week include a ceremony on Tuesday marking the reopening of Port-au-Prince\u2019s restored Iron Market, a cultural and architectural landmark in the city\u2019s downtown area. Built by the French in the late 19th Century, the market with its ornate clock tower was badly damaged in the quake after a fire in 2008. Its restoration was funded by Irish-owned telecoms company Digicel, Haiti\u2019s largest private investor. But such schemes are of little interest to Anise Sainee, a 54-year-old grandmother who lives with her husband and 11 children and grandchildren in a tent in a crowded camp in front of the wrecked presidential palace. She holds little hopes for a better future. \u201cI can only count on God,\u201d she said. A strong stench drifted from nearby latrines and from a sewer in front of Sainee\u2019s tent, with its corrugated tin roof and dirty plastic sheeting stamped with the words \u201cU.S. Aid from the American People.\u201d   \u201cI\u2019ve seen no government here. There is no government,\u201d Sainee said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen no progress either. It seems like the situation just gets worse.\u201d   Nine months after the quake, a cholera epidemic hit Haiti and has since killed more than 3,600 people. Even the November 28 presidential and legislative elections failed to give greater credibility to the government, with the outcome of the vote mired in uncertainty after widespread fraud allegations and sporadic street violence. Screeds of Creole graffiti on Port-au-Prince\u2019s walls chronicle Haiti\u2019s chaotic politics. One reads \u201cAba Okipasyon (Down With the Occupation)\u201d but it is not clear if it refers to the U.N. peacekeeping force in Haiti, the reconstruction commission co-chaired by Clinton or the army of foreigners involved in Haiti\u2019s reconstruction. Given this instability, it is not surprising that some Haitians hark back with nostalgia to the rule of Jean-Claude \u201cBaby Doc\u201d Duvalier, who from 1971 continued the rule of his late despotic father Francois \u201cPapa Doc\u201d Duvalier. Sainee\u2019s 62-year-old husband, Fedor Cine, lost his job as a street sweeper four years ago and is one of those who believes things were better in the Duvalier era. \u201cHe was a real president,\u201d Cine said of Jean-Claude Duvalier, who lives in France after being ousted by a popular uprising in 1986 \u2014 a rebellion that began Haiti\u2019s still ongoing experiment with democracy."}
{"claim_id": "27718", "claim": "A man was arrested after sugar from his Krispy Kreme donuts tested positive for methamphetamine during a traffic stop.", "explanation": "In October 2016, Rushing sued the city of Orlando and The Safariland Group, which manufactures and distributes the drug testing kits used by Orlando police. He is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Crime, drug testing, false positives, florida", "main_text": "In December 2015, Daniel Frederick Rushing was arrested when he was leaving\u00a0a 7-Eleven in Orlando, Florida. That particular convenience store is apparently a locus of illegal activity, and since Rushing had been in and out of it a few times that day, police were suspicious. They pulled him over, found a few flakes of a \u201crock like substance\u201d\u00a0that looked suspicious on his floorboard, and \u2014 according to the police report\u00a0\u2014\u00a0arrested him for possession of methamphetamine after a field test: A silver 4-door Chevy pulled into the 7-11 and parked. A white male, later identified as Daniel Frederick Rushing entered the 7-11 for a very brief moment and then exited the store without making a purchase. Rushing drove away and then returned a few minutes later with a black female employee of the 7-11. Rushing went back into the store and then left with the female a short time\u00a0later. As Rushing was leaving the parking lot of the 7-11, he made no attempt to stop before entering the roadway to travel East on Colonial Drive (in violation of Florida state statute). Rushing then traveling north onto Parramore Avenue where the speed limit was 30 miles per hour. I paced Rushing at 42 miles per hour (with my certified calibrated speedometer) in the 30 mile per hour zone. For those two infractions I conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle at Parramore and Robinson. When I made contact with Rushing I asked him for his driver license. When Rushing opened his wallet I observed a concealed weapons permit. I asked Rushing if he was armed and he\u00a0stated that he was. For my safety, I asked Rushing to step out of the vehicle. When Rushing exited the vehicle, I observed in plain view a rock like substance on the floor board where his feet were. I recognized, through my eleven years of training and experience as a law enforcement officer, the substance to be some sort of narcotic. I removed the firearm (a loaded revolver) from Rushing and placed it in my vehicle for my safety. Additionally, I asked Rushing if he had anything illegal in his vehicle and he stated no. I asked Rushing if I could search his vehicle and he stated yes. Officer Vance (17448) and Officer Rolle (18874) arrived to assist me with the traffic stop. I retrieved the substance that I initially saw on the floor board and two other small pieces from the floor board of the driver side. Officer Vance found an additional piece of the same substance in between the driver seat and the door area. I field tested the substance and I received a positive indication for the presence of amphetamines. I conducted a separate test on the substance and received another positive indication for amphetamines. I provided Rushing his rights per Miranda. Rushing stated that he has never done any drugs in his life and he has no idea how the substance got in his vehicle. Rushing stated that the substance is sugar from a Krispy Kreme donut that he ate. Rushing was placed under arrest and charged with possession of amphetamine with a weapon. The \u201crock-like substance,\u201d as it turned out, really was glaze from the Krispy Kreme donut that Rushing had been eating as he was\u00a0driving one friend to the hospital for a chemotherapy appointment, before picking up another friend\u00a0who needed a ride home. Rushing was jailed for ten hours. \u201cIt was incredible,\u201d he told reporters:\u00a0 It feels scary when you haven\u2019t done anything wrong and get arrested. \u2026 It\u2019s just a terrible feeling. Several weeks after Rushing\u2019s arrest, the lab reports came back showing no trace of methamphetamines or any other types of illegal substances. He has now hired a lawyer, and plans to sue the city because he was arrested for no reason at all. (Orlando police said that the arrest was lawful.) It\u2019s not the first time field tests have mistaken sugary substances for methamphetamines or crack cocaine. In July 2016, investigative journalist outfit\u00a0ProPublica found that up to half of the positive results from the $2 drug kits Florida police use for field testing are later invalidated: In one notable Florida episode, Hillsborough County sheriff\u2019s deputies produced 15 false positives for methamphetamine in the first seven months of 2014. When we examined the department\u2019s records, they showed that officers, faced with somewhat ambiguous directions on the pouches, had simply misunderstood which colors indicated a positive result. According to a 2015 story published by\u00a0The Marshall Project, a reporting initiative about the United States criminal justice system, the tests yield false positives\u00a0at least five percent of the time: Sage has been mistaken for marijuana; motor oil for heroin;\u00a0jolly ranchers for meth; and breath mints for crack. In February, a Minnesota man spent months in jail after his vitamin powder tested positive for amphetamines. Soon after the arrest in Tampa, a Hillsborough police lieutenant conducted his own experiment on the NARK II tests, which cost between $15 and $20 for a box of ten. He found that just opening the test bag to the air produced the same shade of purple as exposure to methamphetamine, according to an internal memo. In February, the Hillsborough sheriff\u2019s department announced it had switched to a different field test, made by the same company, which tests for a wider variety of illegal drugs. A spokeswoman for the sheriff\u2019s department declined interview requests. In Austin, Texas, the field tests law enforcement was using yielded so many false positives that they stopped relying on\u00a0field tests for drug-related\u00a0indictments in 2013,\u00a0instead returning to\u00a0far\u00a0slower lab test results for suspected drug offenses. No central agency regulates what\u00a0drug tests are used in police departments, and there are no centralized or comprehensive records about their use."}
{"claim_id": "29108", "claim": "Swabbing ticks with liquid soap is a recommended and effective method for removing them.", "explanation": "What's true: Swabbing liquid soap on ticks may sometimes help remove them. What's false: Using liquid soap to remove ticks is not a effective method of tick removal recommended by experts.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Old Wives' Tales", "main_text": "In addition to their being repulsive-looking bugs that survive by latching onto warm-blooded victims to suck blood from them, there is another reason to regard ticks with horror: they can deliver a deadly payload of disease to those they are making a meal of. These arachnids feed by burrowing their heads into skin, a method that introduces their body fluids into their victims. If those fluids are disease-laden, those microbes will be passed to the ones being dined upon. However, it generally takes at least 12 to 24 hours of feeding before an infected tick can spread disease to its host, so speedy removal of these parasites is therefore key to avoiding tick-borne illness, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Ehrlichia. Household lore is replete with tick removal suggestions that involve covering or coating the embedded arachnid with a substance it will find objectionable. Other long-lived suggestions for removing ticks include touching a lit match or hot needle to the tick\u2019s rear, swabbing the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, and tickling the tick\u2019s underside in an effort to persuade it to release its bite:  A School Nurse has written the info below \u2014 good enough to share \u2014 And it really works!! \u201cI had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it\u2019s some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc. Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on it\u2019s own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I\u2019ve used it (and that was frequently), and it\u2019s much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can\u2019t see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor\u2019s wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn\u2019t reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, \u2018It worked! '\u201d  Although these home remedies are effective in some cases, however, those in the know about tick removal warn against them. Countermeasures of such nature don\u2019t always work to encourage ticks to detach from skin promptly (if at all),  and even if such measures do seemingly aid the process of removing the critters, they may also make matters worse by stimulating the creatures to release additional saliva or regurgitate their gut contents, acts that increase the chance of their transmitting pathogens to their hosts. A 2006 journal article review of published literature on tick removal methods reported that:  One study compared several different techniques for removing ticks. Application of petroleum jelly, fingernail polish, 70% isopropyl alcohol, or a hot kitchen match failed to induce detachment of adult American dog ticks. Experimental evidence suggests that chemical irritants are ineffective at persuading ticks to detach, and risk triggering injection of salivary fluids and possible transmission of disease-causing microbes. In addition, suffocating ticks by smothering them with petroleum jelly is an ineffective method of killing them because they have such a low respiratory rate (only requiring 3-15 breaths per hour) that by the time they die, there may have been sufficient time for pathogens to be transmitted. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) likewise advises readers to \u201cAvoid folklore remedies such as \u201cpainting\u201d the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible \u2014 not wait for it to detach.\u201d Similarly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautions:  If a tick is removed within 24 hours, the chances of it transmitting Lyme disease or other infections are much less. Use fine-point tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull gently. Avoid squeezing the body of the tick. Clean the site of the bite, your hands and the tweezers with disinfectant. You may want to wear protective gloves. You also may want to place the tick in a small container, like a pill container, and bring it to your vet for identification. Never use a burned match, petroleum jelly, or nail polish to try to remove ticks. These methods are ineffective. A list of \u201cDO NOTS\u201d in a Medline Plus article about tick removal similarly warned:  Do NOT try to burn the tick with a match or other hot object. Do NOT twist the tick when pulling it out. Do NOT try to kill, smother, or lubricate the tick with oil, alcohol, vaseline, or similar material. The recommended procedure for removing ticks is:  To reduce your chances of becoming a tick\u2019s dinner:  After any outdoor excursion into areas where ticks are commonly found, adults should check themselves and their children. Your four-legged friends should be checked for ticks too, because dogs and cats can also be felled by the diseases spread by these blood-sucking creatures."}
{"claim_id": "28855", "claim": "A treatment for a serious disease that costs $900 in India is sold for $84,000 in the United States because of corporate greed.", "explanation": "A French court has ruled that Monsanto was liable for the sickness of a farmer who inhaled one of its weedkillers, in another legal setback for the Bayer-owned business over health claims.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Medical, american health care system, big pharma, corporate greed", "main_text": "In the latest stage of a decade-long legal tussle, the appeals court in Lyon on Thursday found in favor of farmer Paul Francois\u2019 claim that Monsanto\u2019s Lasso weedkiller had made him sick and that the product\u2019s labeling had been inadequate. Francois, 55, says he suffered neurological problems, including memory loss, fainting and headaches, after accidentally inhaling Lasso in 2004 while working on his farm. \u201cMr Francois justifiably concludes that the product, due to its inadequate labeling that did not respect applicable regulations, did not offer the level of safety he could legitimately expect,\u201d the court said in its ruling. The latest verdict, however, did not determine compensation for the farmer, which will now be considered by another court in Lyon. Francois is seeking about 1 million euros ($1.1 million) in damages. Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in a $63 billion deal last year, said it was considering its legal options, including an appeal before France\u2019s highest court. The German chemicals group added that crop-protection products \u201cdo not pose a risk for human health if they are used according to the terms of use set out in their regulatory approval\u201d. Mr Francois had won rulings against Monsanto in 2012 and 2015 before France\u2019s top court overturned the decisions and ordered the new hearing in Lyon. \u201cWe are all happy to have won but it came at a heavy price,\u201d Francois told reporters in Paris. \u201cIt\u2019s a big sigh of relief. It\u2019s been 12 years of fighting, 12 years during which I had to put my whole life on hold.\u201d  Lasso was banned in France in 2007 after the product had been withdrawn in some other countries. It used a different active substance to glyphosate, the chemical contained in Monsanto\u2019s best-selling weedkiller Roundup and the target of lawsuits in the United States over alleged cancer links. The company has been found liable in two trials in California brought by cancer sufferers who have been awarded tens of millions of dollars in damages. Bayer is appealing against those rulings. The legal troubles surrounding glyphosate have contributed to Bayer losing about 30 billion euros in market value since last August. The group\u2019s chief executive on Thursday said it was \u201cmassively affected\u201d by the litigation. After the announcement of the decision, Bayer\u2019s shares extended a fall to trade about 1.5 percent down before recovering some of the losses. ($1 = 0.8874 euros)"}
{"claim_id": "2629", "claim": "U.S. woman's altruism starts chain of five kidney swaps, extending lives.", "explanation": "A soon-to-be wed gay couple, a retired teacher and his wife, and two pairs of fathers and sons were among those whose lives were changed one extraordinary day this week when a 35-year-old single mother of four from North Carolina donated a kidney to a stranger in New York.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Honica Brittman waits to take part in a five-way organ transplant swap in New York, August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Keith Bedford \u201cI\u2019m not losing nothing,\u201d Honica Brittman said this week, sitting in a blue and white hospital gown before surgery in which she would give, for free, the initial kidney in a chain of five kidney transplants at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. \u201cTo actually help somebody live a little bit, a lot longer, that\u2019s an awesome thing,\u201d she said. Brittman, who decided to be part of the swap after learning she could not donate to a family friend because of incompatibility, represents what experts say is a critical and growing number of \u201caltruistic\u201d or \u201cnon-directed\u201d donors, people willing to donate to anyone in need as long as their blood type, antigens and other factors are compatible. The health dangers for kidney donors is believed to be low. The risk of death from the surgery is 1 in 1,700, according to the National Kidney Foundation, and life expectancy is said to be unchanged with one kidney. High blood pressure is a possible side effect, and critics point out there is no systemic collection of national data on the risks associated with living kidney donations. Experts say donors such as Brittman are key to helping the over 90,000 people awaiting a kidney transplant in the United States, according to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. As in Brittman\u2019s case, donors can enable a chain of kidney exchanges that increases the number of people who can benefit from live kidney transplants, which typically last longer than cadaver kidneys. The series of operation on Wednesday and Thursday, which required 10 separate surgical teams and weeks of coordination, was made up of a series of swaps within a group of men and women between the ages of 23 and 68 and with compatible blood types, all motivated by a mix of compassion and commitment to their loved ones. The chain started with Brittman, who donated a kidney to a 39-year-old television producer whose fianc\u00e9e and partner of more than 10 years donated to a businessman from upstate New York. In turn, the businessman\u2019s son, a college-age student who felt that for being healthy and the youngest of four sons, he should step up on behalf of his father and donate one of his kidneys to another young man, a 23-year-old originally from Haiti. His father then donated to a retired teacher from New Jersey. The operations took place in neighboring rooms with doctors simply walking from one room to another to deliver the small, plump vital organ from the donor to the recipient. The chain that Brittman made possible ended on Thursday when a woman, the wife of the retired teacher, donated her kidney to another woman who had been waiting four years for a transplant. \u201cAll this stems from the fact that this young woman ... wanted to donate a kidney purely altruistically without knowing any of the recipients,\u201d said Lloyd Ratner, a surgeon and director of renal and pancreatic transplantation at the hospital. Brittman, by giving the first kidney, prevented any pair in the chain from having to donate a kidney before receiving one. While there is no conclusive national data on the number of donors like Brittman, experts estimate they have increased to between 100 and 200 a year, up from just dozens a few years ago. \u201cAfter every chain that gets some publicity, there\u2019s a flood of potential donors contacting kidney exchange networks and individual transplant centers,\u201d Alvin Roth, an economics professor at the Harvard Business School said. The chain was also made possible by the decision of another pair in the group to be part of it. Adam Abernathy, the television producer, and his fianc\u00e9e Dave Ferguson, 43, could have done a simple transplant between them because Ferguson\u2019s blood type made him a universal donor. But they decided to be part of a chain when it was proposed by the hospital that Ferguson donate his kidney to a man whose blood type had made him a harder match for a donor, A. Jamal, the businessman and father of four. \u201cWe realized if we were in somebody else\u2019s shoes, we\u2019d want someone to do the same,\u201d Ferguson said. Most of the group said they plan to meet their donors after recovering from the operation. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to meet them,\u201d Brittman said."}
{"claim_id": "8311", "claim": "Ebola patient dies in Congo, first case in 50 days.", "explanation": "The first person to contract Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo in more than 50 days has died, the government said on Friday, ending hopes that the second worst outbreak of the disease in history might be over.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Central African country planned to declare an end to the epidemic on Sunday, which would have allowed its overstretched health service to concentrate on containing the coronavirus, which has infected 215 and killed 20 there. The new Ebola case, the first since Feb. 17, was a 26-year-old man in the area of Beni, a town in eastern Congo. He developed symptoms on March 27 and died in hospital on Thursday morning, regional health authorities said in a statement. Ebola has killed more than 2,200 since August 2018 in a volatile area of the country where rebel attacks hobbled efforts to contain it. The country is also trying to bat back a measles epidemic. \u201cThis is now a triple emergency: vulnerable populations facing ongoing humanitarian crises, the spread of COVID-19, and now again potentially a re-emerging Ebola crisis,\u201d said Kate Moger, International Rescue Committee\u2019s Regional Vice President of the Great Lakes region. Ebola causes fever, bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea and spreads among humans through bodily fluids. The current outbreak has killed about two thirds of those it infected. The World Health Organization (WHO) had been expecting more cases to emerge in Congo, and was primed to respond, its head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The agency\u2019s top emergencies expert, Mike Ryan, said health teams on the ground were continuing to investigate 2,600 Ebola alerts across the country\u2019s two affected provinces. \u201cWe take thousands of samples every single week, and we will continue that active surveillance right the way through,\u201d he told a news conference. Flare-ups or one-off transmissions are common towards the end of Ebola outbreaks, and a new case does not necessarily mean that the virus will spread out of control again. But it can stay in semen for over 550 days, researchers have said, and can be transmitted through sex long after a patient recovers. A \u2018LESSON\u2019 FOR COVID-19? Congo has suffered 10 outbreaks of the virus since it was first detected in humans near the Ebola River in 1976. The biggest was in West Africa between 2013 and 2016 and killed over 11,000 people. Two new vaccines have had a major impact on containing the virus this time, though Islamist rebels stopped health workers from reaching some areas where the virus spread. Late last year deadly attacks on health centres in and around the city of Beni forced aid groups to suspend operations and withdraw staff from the epidemic\u2019s last strongholds. For those on the frontline, like Babah Mutuza lusungu, a doctor at a health research clinic in Beni, Friday\u2019s news was a bitter blow. \u201cIt\u2019s really a step backwards, you see today if we\u2019re going to start managing a pandemic and an epidemic at the same time, it\u2019s going to be impossible, it\u2019s going to be very difficult to manage,\u201d he said. The WHO\u2019s Ryan said it and the Congo government were ready to respond should the Ebola situation deteriorate. \u201cAnd in that sense, maybe that\u2019s our lesson for COVID-19,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no exit strategy until you are in control of the situation, and you must always be ready to go back again and start again.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "38072", "claim": " Facebook user Heather Hanford described her son, Isaac\u2019s, reaction to Tamiflu. Also, Facebook user Melissa Rodriguez said her daughter tried to kill her after taking Tamiflu. ", "explanation": "Facebook Users Warn About Tamiflu Side Effects in Children, Including Homicidal Tendencies ", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "Personal accounts of parents who gave Tamiflu to their children are impossible to verify, but Tamiflu has been linked to \u201cneurologic and behavioral symptoms\u201d like hallucinations, delirium and abnormal behavior in children over the years. Viral Facebook posts in January 2018 warned about Tamiflu side effects in children. Users named Heather Hanford and Melissa Rodriguez described dream-like states their children were unable to awake from after taking Tamiflu. Rodriguez said her daughter told her she was going to kill her, and Rodriguez had to wrestle the girl for 10 minutes. Hanford said her son had dream-like delusions that he was being chased by monsters. Again, we can\u2019t independently verify Hanford and Rodriguez\u2019s accounts, but they would appear to align with Tamiflu\u2019s general disclosures about \u201cneurologic and behavioral symptoms\u201d in children. Roche states in a product information sheet that it\u2019s not clear how often those side effects occur. They\u2019ve all been reported after-market, and most are from Japan. Why Are Tamiflu Side Effects Hard to Judge in Children? Tamiflu is the brand name of the anti-viral drug oseltamivir phosphate. The FDA approves the drug for use in children two weeks and older who have influenza A or B viruses. However, an FDA FAQ on Tamiflu describes potential for \u201cseries side effects\u201d of the medication: \u00a0Children and teenagers with the flu may be at a higher risk for seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior early during their illness. These serious side effects may happen shortly after beginning Tamiflu or may happen in people when the flu is not treated. These serious side effects are not common but may result in accidental injury to the patient. People who take Tamiflu should be watched for signs of unusual behavior and a healthcare provider should be contacted right away if the patient shows any unusual behavior while taking Tamiflu. When it comes to neuralgic and behavior disruptions in children, it can be hard to determine which are caused by the flu and which are caused by the medication. For example, seizures can be a side effect of high givers in children. Also, high temperatures impact how our brains function, giving rise to the age-old expression \u201cfever dreams.\u201d It works like this: the body\u2019s temperature control is poor during the REM phase of sleep (when dreams occur). And research indicates that the amygdala \u2014 the area of the brain that processes intense emotions and,\u00a0researchers believe, causes nightmares \u2014 goes into overdrive when people fever. The result is fever dreams. So it\u2019s not clear whether dreamlike delusions are caused by flu or Tamiflu. Is Tamiflu Banned in Japan? Disturbing reports that two people fell to their deaths after taking Tamiflu surfaced in Japan in March 2005. In the aftermath, Reuters reported that the drug was tied to the deaths of 12 children in 2005, and to 32 reports of abnormal behavior in children that same year. But Roche said that there was no clear link between Tamiflu and the deaths: Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG, which produces Tamiflu, also known generically as oseltamivir, has denied a link between the medication and the deaths, adding that influenza itself could cause psychiatric problems. \u201cThese events are extremely rare in relation to the number of patients treated,\u201d Roche spokeswoman Martina Rupp said last week. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to state that none of these events were linked to Tamiflu.\u201d The company also noted that the drug had been used to treat more than 50 million people suffering from the flu, and there were only 103 reports of neuropsychiatric problems. Still, Japan\u2019s heath ministry required the drug\u2019s importers to warn doctors about the psychiatric symptoms in teenagers in 2007. But rumors that Tamiful is outright banned in Japan are false. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "26466", "claim": "If you ask Amazon\u2019s Alexa about the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, it says \u201cthe government planned\u201d it.", "explanation": "The Alexa answer in the post refers to a real project called Event 201 that simulated possible outcomes of a coronavirus pandemic. However, it was a planning exercise and did not predict the COVID-19 pandemic. We were unable to elicit the same answer from Alexa, and Amazon told us that the answer to that question would be different.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Technology, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "A Facebook video that racked up thousands of shares claims the coronavirus now spreading across the world was planned and released by the United States government \u2014 and it says that this claim is backed up by \"Alexa,\" the voice of the Amazon Echo. Echo is a voice-activated home speaker that can provide the user with answers to questions and other content by searching the internet for information. Echo users connect with the device by conversing with \"Alexa,\" the system\u2019s \"virtual assistant.\" The March 31 video is a recording of a TikTok video playing on another smartphone. The man recording the Facebook video warns viewers of his fears that the TikTok video will be deleted from the platform. In the TikTok, a man asks his Amazon Echo, \"Alexa, did the government release the coronavirus?\" In the video, Alexa\u2019s computer-generated voice responds: \"According to Event 201, the government planned this event, created the virus and had a simulation of how the countries would react. This simulation occurred October 18, 2019. The government released the virus among the population and has lost control of the outbreak.\" The spread of misinformation about the coronavirus on TikTok and through Amazon Alexa have recently been reported by outlets such as WUSA9\u2019s VERIFY team and Vox. Let\u2019s take a closer look. There was an Event 201, involving a simulated viral pandemic. And it did take place on Oct. 18, 2019, at a hotel in New York. But no actual virus was created or released. During the event, officials from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and 15 global business, government and public health leaders held a 3.5 hour simulation to view the potential effects of an infectious pandemic. The exercise consisted of pre-recorded news broadcasts, live \"staff\" briefings, and moderated discussions on specific topics, the organizers said. The purpose of the simulation was to examine how industries, governments and public health leaders might have to join forces to combat a global health crisis. It was inspired by research published by the World Economic Forum, an international foundation that studies the intersection of business, politics and academics and their impacts on policy. The pandemic in the fictionalized scenario was caused by a coronavirus, of which there are many types. The study found that a pandemic could cause an average annual economic loss of 0.7% of global gross domestic product, or about $570 billion. The businesses and political leaders involved in the simulation were tasked with working together to create viable solutions to the theoretical pandemic. The participants\u2019 conclusion was that \"the next severe pandemic will not only cause great illness and loss of life but could also trigger major cascading economic and societal consequences that could contribute greatly to global impact and suffering.\" Now that the world is grappling with an actual coronavirus pandemic, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a statement reaffirming that the simulation did not predict the current outbreak, but rather was an exercise to examine what would need to happen if one did occur. \"For the scenario, we modeled a fictional coronavirus pandemic, but we explicitly stated that it was not a prediction,\" the center said. \"Instead, the exercise served to highlight preparedness and response challenges that would likely arise in a very severe pandemic.\" Why did the question posed to Alexa bring up Event 201? That only happens in the TikTok video. We asked Alexa directly, and it brought up a different response. Alexa said, \"According to the World Health Organization, the exact cause of the current outbreak of COVID-19 is still under investigation. On December 31, 2019, it was reported to the WHO country office in China that a new coronavirus strain later, named COVID-19, was identified by Chinese researchers in connection with a pneumonia-like illness based in Wuhan city, China.\" A spokesperson at Amazon told PolitiFact that the one appearing in the video \"is not Alexa's response to customers, and we have not been able to replicate this example.\" The company said that any news Alexa is providing to customers about COVID-19 is from official government sources. The company suggested a couple of explanations why Alexa might have responded the way it did in the video. One possibility is that a customer set a specific response for Alexa. Responses can be recorded and scheduled, like a daily reminder service. This response would play only on that customer\u2019s device, not the system at large. Another possibility involves Alexa Skill Blueprints, which offer templates for trivia games, birthday cards, and flashcards. With this feature, users can create their own automated questions and responses. Facebook posts say that if you ask Amazon\u2019s Alexa about the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, it says \"the government planned\" it and refers to something called \"Event 201.\" There was a project called Event 201 that simulated possible outcomes of a coronavirus pandemic, but it was a planning exercise and did not predict this specific COVID-19 pandemic. More importantly, we were unable to elicit the same answer from Alexa, and Amazon told us that the answer to that question would be different. We rate the statement ."}
{"claim_id": "9183", "claim": "Nonsurgical treatment can correct congenital ear malformations in infants", "explanation": "Infant ear, before and after. Image: Becon Medical website The news release focuses on a recent journal article that evaluates the use of a nonsurgical treatment called the \u201cEarWell system\u201d to treat malformations of the ear in newborn infants. The news release reports that results were judged \u201cgood to excellent\u201d for most patients in the retrospective study. However, the release poses some significant problems for readers. For example, the release doesn\u2019t discuss cost and does not tell readers that the study co-author quoted extensively is the inventor of the EarWell system. The release also treats ear deformation and ear malformation interchangeably \u2014 a distinction made clearly in the relevant journal article. This is particularly important because the numbers discussed in the news release sometimes refer to patients with deformities and sometimes to patients with malformation. Ear malformations and ear deformations are not the same thing. As the journal article itself makes clear, \u201cdeformations are characterized by a misshapen but fully developed pinna [or external portion of the ear] with no missing skin or cartilage,\u201d whereas \u201cmalformations demonstrate a partial absence of skin and/or cartilage resulting in an underdeveloped pinna from an error in embryologic development.\u201d The headline, section headline and first three paragraphs all refer solely to malformations. Deformity is mentioned for the first time in paragraph four, and in such a way as to make many (if not most) readers assume the terms deformity and malformation are interchangeable. But they\u2019re not interchangeable. Here\u2019s one reason that matters: the release later tells readers that \u201cresults were judged good to excellent in 97 percent of ears with one simple deformity.\u201d And, based on the journal article, that\u2019s true. But it wasn\u2019t true for ear malformations \u2014 which is what the headline and opening paragraphs would lead readers to expect. Parents of newborn infants want to do what\u2019s best for their children, and having to make medical decisions for their infants is a stressful and emotional ordeal. Those decisions can be particularly tricky when the medical decision to be treated is not life threatening. Confusing news releases do not help people make informed decisions under any circumstances, but that is particularly true in circumstances as fraught as those facing parents of a newborn.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "congenital ear malformations,Wolters Kluwer Health", "main_text": "The news release does not address cost at all, which is particularly unusual given that the release focuses on the use of a product that is already on the market. Given that online cost estimates for the EarWell system range from $2,500 to $4,500 per ear, this is a significant oversight. This is not satisfactory for several reasons. First, as noted above, the release does not tell readers that there is a difference between an ear deformity and malformation of the ear. As a result, it would be very easy for readers to assume that the benefits for patients with ear deformities would apply to patients with ear malformation. There are some other problems as well. Here\u2019s some of the language from the release: \u201cResults were judged good to excellent in 97 percent of ears with one simple deformity and 88 percent with more complex \u2018mixed\u2019 deformities. About 70 percent of ears with constricted malformations were graded as having no deformity after treatment.\u201d Here are the problems: What does it mean that results were \u201cgood to excellent\u201d? What is the difference between \u201csimple\u201d and \u201cmixed\u201d deformities? How are those different from \u201cconstricted malformations\u201d? And how many patients were in each group? Percentages can be misleading if any of the listed subgroups were particularly large or small. Benefits should be clearly explained and quantified, and that wasn\u2019t the case here. We aren\u2019t told what proportion of the less severe deformations would have spontaneously improved. The study and news release claim a high rate of success but it\u2019s not clear what this should be compared to. It\u2019s possible that some reasonable proportion of such ears do OK without intervention. The release clearly addresses the vast majority of the complications discussed in the journal article, which is enough to earn it a satisfactory rating. However, the release does not mention the possibility of infection. There was only one case identified in the article, but it is also the most significant of the complications that cropped up over the course of the (retrospective) study. The release does not explicitly state this was a retrospective study, rather than a clinical trial, but it implies as much when it says \u201cThe researchers review their experience with nonsurgical correction of congenital ear malformations in 175 infants.\u201d However, there\u2019s a problem with that sentence: the researchers didn\u2019t treat ear malformations in 175 infants. The researchers also didn\u2019t treat a total of 303 ears, as the release states. According to the article itself, the researchers treated 478 ears in 201 patients. Specifically, the researchers treated 303 newborn ear deformities in 111 patients, and 175 infant ear malformations in 90 patients. In short, while we give the news release a pass for suggesting (rather than clearly stating) that this was a retrospective study, the description of the study in the release is fundamentally wrong. This is a close one. The release begins by stating that EarWell can help infants \u201cavoid the pain and cost of later surgery.\u201d That\u2019s problematic, given that people aren\u2019t required to undergo a later surgery \u2014 it\u2019s purely elective. However, the release later makes clear that these treatment options are designed to address issues related to \u201cteasing, bullying and loss of self-esteem\u201d that could stem from ear deformity or malformation. And those are very real concerns that parents do take into consideration. That makes it a bit of a toss-up. What tipped it into the disease mongering camp was the section heading that states \u201cNonsurgical Treatment Avoids Later Consequences of Infant Ear Malformations.\u201d What could this mean? Hearing loss? Higher rates of ear infections? Something worse? Eight paragraphs later, the release mentions the \u201cteasing, bullying and loss of self-esteem\u201d as noted above. Those are important things for parents to consider, but they are certainly not a foregone conclusion. And scaremongering language in the section heading, and the huge gap between the section heading and the description of the \u201cconsequences\u201d go too far. The release refers to study co-author H. Steve Byrd four times, but never mentions that he has a financial interest in EarWell systems. In fact, as the journal article states: \u201cDr. Byrd has a royalty agreement with Becon Medical [which markets EarWell] for his work designing the EarWell device.\u201d And Byrd isn\u2019t the only one. Another of the co-authors is also listed in the journal article as having an investment in Becon Medical. This sort of conflict-of-interest information needs to be disclosed in a news release. The release cites an independent source, stating \u201cWhile we can operate on ears later in the patient\u2019s life, waiting not only increases the surgery\u2019s difficulty and expense, but may expose the child to teasing, bullying, and loss of self-esteem.\u201d We\u2019re giving the benefit of the doubt here since the release suggests delayed surgery as an alternative treatment. It would have been better if the release had mentioned no treatment \u2014 or watch and wait to see if less severe ear deformities resolved on their own \u2014 as an option as well. The release makes clear that the EarWell system is not new and is already in clinical use. The release notes that: \u201cWhile the EarWell system is not new, the report is the largest study of congenital ear malformations treated with this approach\u2013including a standardized approach to treatment and assessment of the results.\u201d That earns it a satisfactory rating here. However, the release would have been much stronger if it had offered some information as to how these study findings related to previous evaluations of the EarWell system. Are they consistent with previous results? And if they diverge from those results, how so? We\u2019ve already dinged the release for problems with language under the section on disease mongering. We don\u2019t want to penalize them twice for the same thing, so it earns a satisfactory rating here."}
{"claim_id": "358", "claim": "Oklahoma top court clears way for Purdue, J&J, Teva to face opioid trial.", "explanation": "Oklahoma\u2019s top court on Monday declined to delay a landmark trial set for May in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit accusing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and two other drugmakers of helping fuel an opioid abuse and overdose epidemic in the state.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Oklahoma Supreme Court\u2019s decision was a win for the state\u2019s attorney general, whose case is set to be the first to face trial of roughly 2,000 lawsuits nationally seeking to hold opioid manufacturers responsible for contributing to the epidemic. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter\u2019s 2017 lawsuit accuses Purdue, Johnson & Johnson & Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of engaging in deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of addiction associated with opioid pain drugs while overstating their benefits. The companies deny wrongdoing. They had sought to delay the May 28 trial to Sept. 16, citing the need to review records the state belatedly turned over that could be critical to their defense. The state is seeking over $20 billion in damages. The trial delay bid came as Purdue, owned by members of the wealthy Sackler family, was exploring filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to address potential liabilities stemming from the lawsuits, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters. Purdue did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. After the trial judge declined on March 8 to delay the trial, Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue denied that his ruling would have any affect on whether it files for bankruptcy. \u201cWe appreciate the quick action taken by the court and for not rewarding the defendants with more time for a problem of their own making,\u201d Hunter said in a statement. J&J and Teva did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl, were involved in a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The epidemic has prompted lawsuits by state and local governments accusing Purdue and other drugmakers of contributing to the crisis. More than 1,600 lawsuits have been consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio, who has pushed for a settlement ahead of the trial before him in October. Other cases, including Oklahoma\u2019s, are pending in state courts."}
{"claim_id": "6670", "claim": "Task force offers guidelines to treat rat lungworm disease.", "explanation": "A task force of Hawaii Governor David Ige\u2019s announced new preliminary guidelines to help physicians diagnose, treat and manage rat lungworm disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, David Ige, Rats, Hawaii", "main_text": "The task force\u2019s clinical subcommittee spent the last year crafting the guidelines, which were announced Thursday and will be presented in November during the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, according to the Hawaii State Department of Health. Before the group\u2019s work, there were no clear or reliable diagnosis or treatment protocols available for Hawaii physicians, subcommittee chairman Vernon Ansdell said. \u201cThese preliminary guidelines provide critical guidance to physicians to help them make timely and accurate diagnoses and give their patients the best possible treatment available,\u201d he said. Rat lungworm disease, also known as angiostrongyliasis, is caused by a parasitic roundworm and can affect a person\u2019s brain and spinal cord, according to the Health Department. The worm larvae are passed to humans who ingest raw or undercooked freshwater shrimp, land crabs and snails or raw produce that contains infected slugs or snails and their slime. The adult parasite is found only in rodents, but its larvae can be passed through feces. In turn, creatures like snails and slugs can become infected by ingesting the larvae. Humans get rat lungworm by accidentally eating infected snails or slugs. The parasite causes a rare type of meningitis. Its symptoms include severe headaches and neck stiffness, tingling or painful feelings in the skin or extremities, low-grade fever, nausea and vomiting. Some effects can be permanent and create lifestyles changes, such as the inability to walk or drive. For treatment, \u201cthe most important drug is a steroid that suppresses inflammation,\u201d Ansdell said. The preliminary guidelines also call for a complete neurologic examination, a carefully sought exposure history, and stress the importance of a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, in diagnosing the disease. It \u201csounds very dramatic, a spinal tap,\u201d Ansdell said, but it\u2019s a \u201cstandard procedure\u201d and is \u201cinvaluable when it comes to making the diagnosis.\u201d It also helps with treatment by relieving pressure in the brain, he said. The development of the new guidelines is a \u201ccrucial and imperative step forward,\u201d said Anna Koethe, public health information coordinator for the Department of Health."}
{"claim_id": "3180", "claim": "Melania Trump listens as teens share experiences with vaping.", "explanation": "Melania Trump said Wednesday she\u2019s glad some stores are pulling electronic cigarettes off the shelves amid an explosion in vaping among young people, calling it a necessary step to protect the next generation.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Vaping, General News, Melania Trump, Tobacco industry regulation", "main_text": "\u201cWe need to be proactive before it gets out of control,\u201d she said at a White House \u201clistening session\u201d where a small group of teenagers from around the country told her about their experiences using e-cigarettes. Luka Kinard, 16, of High Point, North Carolina, said he quit vaping only after spending 39 days in rehab in California in October 2018. He said he had been using e-cigarettes for about a year when he began experiencing intense chest pain, insomnia and cold sweats and thought he was having a heart attack at 15. He said his parents thought a seizure he suffered in September 2018 was tied to vaping, and they sent him away for treatment. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until then that my parents recognized, \u2018Hey, this is really an issue,\u2019\u201d he told the first lady. Ally Harrison, 18, said she suffered from physical and mental ailments, including heart palpitations and panic attacks. Friends in her hometown of Baytown, Texas, encouraged her to vape, assuring her it would \u201ccalm you down.\u201d But it had the opposite effect. \u201cI had worse panic attacks. The fear was always there,\u201d Ally said. Asked by Mrs. Trump how he obtained e-cigarettes, Luka said he got them from friends or by hanging around outside smoke shops or gas stations and enlisting strangers to get the products for him. Amid an increased focus on vaping by young people, a few big-name retailers have said they will no longer sell those products. Walmart, the nation\u2019s largest retailer, said last month that it will stop selling electronic cigarettes at its namesake stores and Sam\u2019s Clubs in the U.S. when it sells out its current inventory. Supermarket chain Kroger and drugstore chain Walgreens announced Monday they will follow Walmart\u2019s lead. Juul Labs Inc., the nation\u2019s largest maker of electronic cigarettes, is ending advertising in the U.S. In response to a surge in vaping by young people, President Donald Trump recently announced that the federal government will act to ban thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes, mostly the fruity flavors that are believed to entice young people to start vaping. The first lady, who has a 13-year-old son, Barron, went public with her concerns about youth vaping in a tweet last month. She sat with Trump when he announced the proposed ban, and Wednesday\u2019s roundtable was the second time she highlighted youth vaping this week. Federal statistics show a significant increase in vaping among teens between 2017 and 2018. More than 1 in 4 high school students reported vaping in the past month, up from 1 in 5 students in 2018, according to the latest statistics. Health authorities are also investigating hundreds of vaping-related lung illnesses. The Truth Initiative , a nonprofit, anti-tobacco organization that brought the group of nine students to meet with the first lady in the ornate White House Blue Room, wants the federal government to ban all flavors used in vaping, including mint and menthol, among other steps. Industry groups, such as the American Vaping Association, which represents makers and retailers of e-cigarettes and vaping solutions, oppose a ban. They argue that it could create a \u201cblack market\u201d for vaping products and push adults who vape \u2014 as an alternative to traditional cigarettes \u2014 to resume smoking. E-cigarettes work by heating a liquid to produce an aerosol that users inhale. ___ Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap"}
{"claim_id": "13657", "claim": "Under those eight years before (Barack)\u00a0Obama came along, we didn\u2019t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States\" since Sept. 11, 2001.", "explanation": "Moments after mentioning 9/11, Giuliani said, \"Under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn\u2019t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States.\" Since then, there have been four successful plots on U.S. soil that were declared by the FBI to be terrorist attacks or whose perpetrators claimed to be motivated by ideology or anti-U.S. sentiments. Reasonable people can disagree over the definition of jihad-inspired terrorism, but Giuliani is taking things too far by omitting all of them.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Terrorism, Rudy Giuliani, ", "main_text": "Rudy Giuliani, warming up the crowd for Donald Trump\u2019s counter-terrorism speech, appeared to forget one of the defining moments of modern U.S. history and his own political career: the Sept. 11 attacks. The former mayor of New York City during 9/11 was widely lampooned for suggesting that terrorist attacks on U.S. soil were unique to Barack Obama\u2019s presidency. But many media reports left out the beginning of his speech, when he talked at length about 9/11. He recounted how it was the \"worst foreign attack in our history since the War of 1812\" and how Trump\u2019s running mate, Mike Pence, visited \"Ground Zero when we were in desperate need of help.\" Still, Giuliani seemed to throw everything he had just said out the window: \"By the way, under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn\u2019t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States. They all started when Clinton and Obama got into office.\" Back in 2010, Giuliani made a similar gaffe when he claimed, \"We had no domestic attacks under (President George W.) Bush.\" He later apologized for misspeaking and not adding the words, \"since Sept. 11.\" Giuliani apparently made the same mistake again, telling the New York Daily News that he was just using \"abbreviated language.\" But even barring 9/11, Giuliani is omitting several successful attacks on U.S. soil. Some are undoubtedly jihad-linked while the connection to \"radical Islamic extremism\" is murkier in others. The New America Foundation, for example, compiles a comprehensive list of terrorist plots, but its definition of \"violent jihadist attacks\" does not necessarily match up with law enforcement classification. That\u2019s because strict definitions like \"hate crime\" or \"terrorist attack\" may be useful for prosecuting cases, but they may cloud the public\u2019s understanding of what the attack was and what motivated the crimes \u2014 \"questions to which answers are rarely linear or packaged into a neat explanation,\" said Albert Ford, a research assistant at New America. That being said, let\u2019s go through successful attacks on U.S. soil in which ideology played some role. 2002 Los Angeles Airport shooting On July 4, 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport, killing two and injuring four. Hadayet, a 41-year-old Egyptian national, died after being shot by an airport security guard. Prior to his immigration to the United States, Egyptian authorities accused him of belonging to the terrorist organization, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (though he denied this charge). The FBI concluded that Hadayet\u2019s killing spree was a terrorist act, but he acted alone and hoped to influence U.S. government policy toward Palestine. 2002 Beltway snipers In October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and his accomplice, 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo, randomly gunned down 10 people in Washington. They were arrested by police and SWAT officers on Oct. 24. The snipers\u2019 motives were myriad. Malvo drew sketches depicting his acts as jihad and testified that Muhammad, a member of the Nation of Islam, lectured him on the religion. He also said Muhammad wanted to start a revolution over \"the continued oppression of black people.\" A Virginia court found Muhammad guilty of engaging in an act of terrorism, and the incident is listed as a major terrorism case on the FBI\u2019s website. Muhammad was executed in 2009 and Malvo is currently serving a life sentence. 2006 Seattle Jewish Federation shooting On July 28, 2006, Naveed Afzal Haq killed one woman and injured five others at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. A witness told the Associated Press that Haq declared himself \"a Muslim American, angry at Israel\" before opening fire. FBI officials said he was not acting part of a terrorist group, but \"acting out some kind of antagonism toward this particular organization.\" The attack was ultimately classified as a hate crime by the county prosecutor. In 2014, however, the City of Seattle included the shooting as an example of an incident that fits \"into the terrorist mold\" while the New America Foundation lists it as a \"violent jihadist attack,\" because Haq claimed to be motivated by opposition to U.S. actions. 2006 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill attack In March 2006, UNC graduate Mohammad Reza Taheri-azar drove an SUV onto campus, injuring nine pedestrians. He turned himself in following the attack and sent several letters to UNC\u2019s student newspaper from jail declaring his intentions to exact revenge for Muslims. \"I was aiming to follow in the footsteps of one of my role models, Mohammad Atta, one of the 9/11/01 hijackers, who obtained a doctorate degree,\" he wrote in one letter. UNC students were divided over whether Taheri-azar\u2019s actions constituted an act of terror. The FBI declined to comment on whether it was investigating links to terrorism, the New York Times reported in 2006. Terrorist attacks that were unsuccessful or with unknown motives Two other infamous attacks don\u2019t exactly fit Giuliani\u2019s criteria, but are worth noting. The 2001 anthrax scare, which occurred shortly after 9/11, is the worst biological attack in U.S. history and a major terrorism case, according to the FBI. Five Americans were killed and another 17 were injured during the attacks. In 2008, the FBI was about to bring charges against Dr. Bruce Ivins, but the microbiologist committed suicide before they were filed. The 2001 shoe bomber, admitted al-Qaida member Richard Reid, attempted to light explosives on an American Airlines flight before he was subdued. In addition to these attacks, the New America Foundation has documented a handful of thwarted terrorist plots before Obama\u2019s presidency. Our ruling Moments after mentioning 9/11, Giuliani said, \"Under those eight years before Obama came along, we didn\u2019t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attack in the United States.\" Since then, there have been four successful plots on U.S. soil that were declared by the FBI to be terrorist attacks or whose perpetrators claimed to be motivated by ideology or anti-U.S. sentiments. Reasonable people can disagree over the definition of jihad-inspired terrorism, but Giuliani is taking things too far by omitting all of them. We rate his claim ."}
{"claim_id": "8868", "claim": "Study finds immune system can cause reaction to cancer drug.", "explanation": "People who live in parts of the U.S.  south may have pre-existing immunities that cause a severe  allergic reaction to the cancer drug Erbitux, U.S. researchers  reported on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "They found that patients who had sometimes life-threatening  reactions had a pre-existing immunity to a sugar compound found  in the drug made by ImClone Systems Inc.. The discovery, reported in the New England Journal of  Medicine, might help explain why people living in certain  regions of the United States are more likely to have the  reaction, the researchers said. And because the drug is so widely used \u2014 it had global  sales of $1.1 billion in 2006 for use in treating colon, head  and neck cancers \u2014 potential patients should be tested first,  the researchers said. Erbitux, known generically as cetuximab, is a monoclonal  antibody, a genetically engineered immune system compound  designed to home in specifically on cancer cells. But some patients have a severe allergic reaction to the  drug. Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills of the University of Virginia and  colleagues looked at reports of these cases, which suggest that  as many as 22 percent of patients treated with Erbitux in  Tennessee and North Carolina reported some kind of reaction,  including anaphylaxis, which can rapidly lead to difficulty  breathing, shock or fainting. \u201cIt\u2019s stunning,\u201d Platts-Mills said in a telephone  interview. Even higher rates were reported from parts of Arkansas,  Missouri and Virginia. But fewer than 1 percent of patients  treated in the Northeast reported any reactions. Tests showed a significant number of these patients were  having immunoglobulin E or IgE responses \u2014 the classic immune  response that causes anaphylactic seizures. Many had them  almost instantly after getting the drug, which suggests they  had a pre-existing immunity, Platts-Mills said. His team tested 538 people, including 76 cancer patients  who got Erbitux in Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina and  healthy volunteers from Tennessee, California and Boston. Of the 76 cancer patients, 25 developed hypersensitivity  reactions and 18 had IgE antibodies to the drug. Of the noncancer patients, antibodies against Erbitux were  found in 21 percent of the samples from Nashville, 6 percent of  the samples from California and fewer than 1 percent of the  samples from Boston. \u201cWe all said why? Why on Earth would they have them?\u201d  Platts-Mills said. Possible culprits included ticks, roundworms  and certain microbes. Then Platts-Mills went on a mountain hike. \u201cMy feet started  itching and I took off my shoes and there were all these baby  ticks \u2014 little ones,\u201d he said. He realized these small ticks. known locally as seed ticks,  are found only in the south \u2014 the same states where patients  were reacting to Erbitux. \u201cWe are making extracts of ticks to test people for IgE  antibodies,\u201d Platt-Mills said. \u201cWe need to know much more about  the immune response to ticks in these people.\u201d    \u201cThese intriguing research findings not only are  potentially important to physicians treating certain cancer  patients, but also may have broader implications for the use of  immunotherapies for other diseases,\u201d added Dr. Anthony    Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and  Infectious Diseases, which helped pay for the study."}
{"claim_id": "31380", "claim": "World Superbike star Nicky Hayden passed away on 19 May 2017.", "explanation": "He is still in the intensive care unit of Cesena\u2019s Maurizio Bufalini Hospital and the prognosis stays reserved.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, death hoax, nicky hayden, nicky hayden dead", "main_text": "UPDATE: Former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden passed away on 22 May 2017. A genuine news report about his death can be read here. The following report concerns a death hoax that circulated shortly after Hayden was hospitalized but well before he actually passed way. On 19 May 2017, the web site\u00a0Reports-TV.com\u00a0published a tasteless fake news\u00a0article that included the claim that motorcycle race champion Nicky Hayden had passed away after a cycling incident in Italy: Former MotoGP [a motorcycle race] champion Nicky Hayden who was in an \u201cextremely critical\u201d condition has died, family announces in a statement. According to the statement the family was by his side after suffering \u201cserious cerebral damage\u201d in a cycling accident on Wednesday until his death this morning. Nicky Hayden did in fact suffer serious injuries while cycling in Italy. However, his family did not release a statement on 19 May 2017 informing the public that the motorcycle racer had passed away. In fact, Earl Hayden, Nicky\u2019s father, told\u00a0Roadracing World\u00a0that rumor was not true and this article was fake news: I spoke to Earl this morning, and adding to the family\u2019s pain has been a cascade of FAKE NEWS posted all over the internet, including by alleged professional news organizations that should know better. Earl told me the following: The family HAS NOT issued a statement that Nicky is dead. Nicky IS NOT dead, although he is on life support. Nicky was riding his bicycle alone, NOT in a group of 14 riders. Doctors DID NOT perform surgery on Nicky. Nicky WAS NEVER in an induced coma. The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, of which Hayden is a member,\u00a0released a statement on 18 May 2017 reporting that Hayden had been involved in a serious accident while cycling near Rimini, Italy. Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team rider Nicky Hayden was involved in an incident while cycling near Rimini, Italy yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, 17th May) Following the incident, Nicky was treated on site by medical staff and then taken by ambulance to a hospital near Rimini for immediate treatment. Once Nicky\u2019s condition was stabilised, he was transferred to Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena and remains in the hospital\u2019s intensive care unit. The team issued another statement the following day reporting that Hayden\u2019s condition had not changed: The following statement regarding Nicky Hayden\u2019s current condition has been released today, 19 May 2017, at 19:45 local time (GMT +2), by the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena (Italy). \u201cThe clinical picture of Nicky Hayden remains unchanged. His condition is still extremely critical."}
{"claim_id": "14745", "claim": "As governor of Florida, I used a combination of strategies to help reduce heroin use among youth in Florida by approximately 50 percent.", "explanation": "Bush said that \"as governor of Florida, I used a combination of strategies to help reduce heroin use among youth in Florida by approximately 50 percent.\" The only statistics that directly address his statement offer numeric support. However, the report in question cautions against drawing broad conclusions for such low-frequency events as youth heroin addiction, and experts thought it curious that the drop essentially happened in the first year, with little change after that. Experts praise Bush for his drug policies, but it\u2019s important to note that broader demographic and social factors -- reflected in falling youth heroin use nationally during that period -- likely made a difference as well.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Drugs, Health Care, Public Health, Jeb Bush, ", "main_text": "Addiction is a deeply personal issue for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, whose daughter Noelle suffered from addiction and a string of related criminal charges while he was serving as governor of Florida. In a Medium post on Jan. 5, 2016, Bush offered a glimpse into \"the heartbreak of drug abuse\" that his family had experienced, along with policy proposals to better address addiction. In the column, Bush discussed his record on drug policy during his gubernatorial tenure. \"As governor of Florida, I used a combination of strategies to help reduce heroin use among youth in Florida by approximately 50 percent,\" Bush wrote. Bush took office in January 1999 and left in January 2007. We took a closer look into that statistic. (A few days later, Bush turned Noelle's story into a television ad.) The Bush campaign pointed us to the 2006 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey conducted by the Florida Department of Children and Families. (Although several surveys of drug use are released on an annual basis, experts told us that this is the only survey that would speak to the specific numerical claim Bush made.) For heroin use, the survey offers two measurements -- heroin use at any time of one\u2019s life, and heroin use during the past 30 days. For the first category -- use of heroin in one\u2019s lifetime -- 2.2 percent of respondents between the ages of 11 and 18 had used it in 2000, compared to 1.1 percent in 2006. That\u2019s a 50 percent decrease. And for the second category -- heroin use in the past 30 days -- 0.8 percent reported using it in 2000, compared to 0.4 percent in 2006. That\u2019s also down by 50 percent. So numerically, Bush has a point. Still, experts said it\u2019s worth taking those numbers with a grain of salt. Testing the numbers One concern is that the percentage of youth using heroin is small, meaning the differences from year to year are small -- and this makes them potentially unreliable. Indeed, the report itself cautions, \"Heroin use in a school population is extremely rare. Nationally, no lifetime prevalence rate for heroin has exceeded 2.4 percent in the 8th, 10th or 12th grades in the past decade. \u2026 Given the extremely low prevalence rates associated with heroin use by Florida students, analyses that attempt to precisely specify or quantify changes over time are subject to error.\" In addition, for both measurements, the biggest drop came between 2000 and 2001, with minimal changes between 2002 and 2006. That seemed curious to Lloyd Johnston, a senior research scientist at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future study, which tracks drug use in the United States. \"While that is possible, I don't think it very plausible,\" Johnston said. \"Rates almost always change more gradually.\" One possible explanation for that pattern, he said, is that the 2000 survey collected its data in December and January, whereas the 2001 to 2005 surveys conducted their data in April and May of those years. A further curiosity, Johnston said, is that one would not expect a one-year decline that steep for lifetime heroin use. From year to year, the pool of respondents is mostly the same. In the first year, the survey includes youth who are 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 years of age. The following year, the 18-year-olds drop out and a new group of 11-year-olds joins, but all the other groups are included again. With such modest changes from year to year in the makeup of the age groups, one would not expect a large change in heroin use over a lifetime from one year to the next, Johnston said. \"That makes the lifetime improvement in 2001 highly implausible,\" Johnston said, adding that a sizable change in the 30-day-rates would be more plausible. What was Bush\u2019s role? There\u2019s also a separate issue: Did Bush\u2019s policies help engineer this decline? That\u2019s hard to say, though drug-policy experts in Florida do praise Bush for his work on the issue. James Hall, a drug abuse epidemiologist at Nova Southeastern University, said that Bush gave the issue high priority, including the creation of a drug policy office out of his own office to coordinate law enforcement, treatment, education and prevention. The office -- which was later eliminated by Gov. Rick Scott -- made a \"very significant contribution\" to drug policy in the state, Hall said. In addition, Bush championed community-based anti-drug coalitions that helped consolidate prevention efforts, Hall said. And his wife Columba was also active in drug- and alcohol-abuse issues, he added. Still, such efforts likely had a \"marginal influence\" on heroin-use rates, Hall said. Often, broader issues such as demographic and social trends have a bigger impact. Indeed, it\u2019s worth noting that heroin use among youth was declining nationally during roughly the same period. Johnston\u2019s own study found that heroin use among youth was declining nationally between 1999 and 2007, the full extent of Bush's term in office. \"For the three grades we study (eighth, 10th, and 12th), the combined prevalence of heroin use during the prior 12 months declined from 1.3 percent in 1999 to 0.8 percent in 2007,\" he said. That\u2019s a drop of about 40 percent -- not far from what the Florida-only survey found. Our ruling Bush said that \"as governor of Florida, I used a combination of strategies to help reduce heroin use among youth in Florida by approximately 50 percent.\" The only statistics that directly address his statement offer numeric support. However, the report in question cautions against drawing broad conclusions for such low-frequency events as youth heroin addiction, and experts thought it curious that the drop essentially happened in the first year, with little change after that. Experts praise Bush for his drug policies, but it\u2019s important to note that broader demographic and social factors -- reflected in falling youth heroin use nationally during that period -- likely made a difference as well. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "28724", "claim": "During pregnancy, a woman\u2019s brain shrinks and takes up to six months to regain its previous size.", "explanation": "What's true: A single study published in 2002 observed a reduction in women's brain volume during  pregnancy. What's false: One study is not necessarily representative of a real pattern, the sample size of the study was small, the study was designed, for a different purpose,  and there have been no efforts to replicate its results.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Uncategorized, pregnancy", "main_text": "In January 2002, the American Journal of Neuroradiology published a study titled \u201cChange in Brain Size during and After Pregnancy: Study in Healthy Women and Women with Preeclampsia,\u201d which, based on before-during-after-pregnancy MRI scans of 14 women\u2019s brains, concluded that \u201cThe brain decreases in size during pregnancy and increases in size after delivery. The changes follow a consistent time course in each woman.\u201d A six-month time period for a postpartum brain\u2019s return to its pre-pregnancy size is also referenced in this study, so it is therefore likely that this paper was the primary source of information for the image reproduced above. What is less clear is how relevant this limited study is to a broader population of pregnant women. The study was originally set up to test differences in brain volume through pregnancy between nine healthy women and five women with a condition known as preeclampsia (a pregnancy disorder whose primary symptoms are high blood pressure and large amounts of protein in the urine). Lead researcher Dr. Anita Holdcroft discussed this in a 1997 New Scientist article that shared her group\u2019s preliminary results:  The research into brain size and pregnancy started with women who developed pre-eclampsia, a syndrome involving high blood pressure and fluid build-up that affects some pregnant women, causing their faces, legs and arms to swell. If untreated, it can lead to fatal seizures. \u201cWe assumed that their brains would also swell, but last year we found that they shrink,\u201d says Holdcroft. The new research suggests that this is not a symptom of pre-eclampsia, but a normal feature of pregnancy. This research focus, however, demonstrated that the  limited sample size was not intended to be representative of the population at large. Furthermore, a 2016 review paper that (in part) searched for any study relating to changes in the shape or structure of the brain during pregnancy did not mention a single subsequent study that replicated \u2014 or attempted to replicate \u2014 the 2002 study. One of the main reasons the finding of pregnant brain shrinkage seems to have resonated so well on the Internet (in spite of the sparse amount of research on the topic) is that it serves, incorrectly, as a simple and tidy explanation for the mental cloudiness or forgetfulness women sometimes report during pregnancy. Dr. Holdcroft hinted at this connection in the New Scientist article, but the final 2002 paper published by her team five years later conceded that \u201cthe mechanism and physiologic importance of these findings are speculative at the present time.\u201d She also mentioned in that article that the culprit for reduced brain volume was likely not caused by a reduction in the number of brain cells, but by decreases in each cell\u2019s individual volume. While research has documented impairment to some cognitive functions in pregnant women, it is important to note this body of research has not demonstrated an actual decline in mental capacity. It is equally important to note that these studies do not suggest that a shrunken brain is the culprit for this effect, either. This subject remains one of those many gray areas (pun retroactively intended) in science \u2014 far too gray for the certainty implied by a two-sentence social media image."}
{"claim_id": "7104", "claim": "Bill would OK land swap for Arizona veterinary program.", "explanation": "The University of Arizona would get ownership of a ranch that\u2019s now federal property under a proposed land swap intended to support the university\u2019s planned new veterinary program.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Martha McSally, Veterinary medicine, Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema", "main_text": "Legislation proposed by Sens. Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema would have the university obtain title to the 13-acre V-V Ranch near Camp Verde while the U.S. Forest Service would get equally-valued ranch land that the university owns near Happy Jack. A statement released Tuesday by McSally\u2019s office says the UA already operates the V-V Ranch but that acquiring ownership outright would enable the university to add buildings and other facilities for its planned College of Veterinary Medicine program. Happy Jack is in a forested area north of Payson and south of Flagstaff. Camp Verde is in the Verde Valley."}
{"claim_id": "34680", "claim": "California wine contains dangerous levels of arsenic.", "explanation": "[A wine company] spokesman said he had not heard of any named winery contacted by Hicks before the lawsuit was filed. The same day the suit was filed, BeverageGrades sent a press release to certain retailers offering its services for a \u201cscreening and certification model that allows them to assure their customers of the purity of all the alcoholic beverages they sell.\u201d", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Food, arsenic, food safety, wine", "main_text": "On 19 March 2015, several articles about a class-action lawsuit filed in California Superior Court claiming that dozens of brands of (primarily inexpensive) wines produced in that state contain \u201cdangerously high levels of poisonous inorganic arsenic\u201d were published on the Internet. This claim spread quickly online, although some of its details were somewhat obscured in its rapid transmission via social media. CBS in San Francisco published an article on the topic that provided some additional details behind the story. According to that article and others, the class action lawsuit was initiated by Kevin Hicks of BeverageGrades, \u201ca private company offering lab testing, quality assurance and certification of alcoholic beverages for suppliers, restaurants, retailers and ultimately, the end consumer.\u201d The CBS article summarized Hicks\u2019 claims, nothing an inverse relationship between the cost of wines and the levels of arsenic they contained and the lack of an explanation to account for that phenomenon: [Hicks] tested more than 1,300 bottles of wine and found almost a quarter contained levels of arsenic higher than the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s maximum limit for drinking water of 10 parts per billion. In some cases he says the wines contained up to four and five times that amount. So far there is no theory on why this might be happening, but Hicks\u2019 tests showed an interesting pattern. The lower the price of wine on a per-liter basis, the higher the amount of arsenic,\u201d he said. Hicks\u2019 list of low-priced, high-arsenic wines includes Trader Joe\u2019s famous Two-Buck Chuck White Zinfandel, which tested at three times the limit. A bottle of Menage a Trois Moscato was four times the limit and a Franzia Blush had five time the EPA limit for drinking water. Immediately some skeptics (including winemakers affected by the news) pointed out that whether or not Hicks\u2019 claims had merit, his company stood to gain financially should consumers develop an interest in lab testing of alcohol. And, in fact, BeverageGrades sent out a press release timed to the announcement of the lawsuit that offered services to provide \u201cretailers reassurance from arsenic in wine.\u201d Critics also dismissed as mere scare-mongering that Hicks used safety standards established for drinking water and applied them to wine, noting that consumers imbibe far more water than they do wine: The EPA threshold for acceptable amounts of arsenic in drinking water is 10 parts per billion. Which, as you probably can figure out, is not very much at all. Now it\u2019s quite logical on one level to be worried about a wine that exceeds that level. But on the other hand think about how much water you drink relative to how much wine you drink.The average adult generally consumes somewhere around two liters of water per day. If they\u2019re seriously lucky, or seriously happy, an adult might consume a full liter (almost 1.5 bottles) of wine on one particular day. But seven days per week? Then we\u2019re into serious alcoholism territory. And that\u2019s what you\u2019d have to do in order to get yourself a dose of arsenic that approached the amount that the EPA says you should be able to consume safely in your drinking water. Here\u2019s another data point for you. Apple juice and pear juice contain up to two or three times as much arsenic as drinking water as a matter of course. The Food and Drug Administration has known this for years. In fact the acceptable threshold for traces of arsenic in juice is much higher than it is for water, a fact that the FDA explains by simply saying that people don\u2019t drink as much juice as they do water. In short, the FDA is not worried about arsenic levels in juice that are up to five times higher in juice than in water. And what were the most egregious results that BeverageGrades found in their testing of these mass-market wines? Their worst offender was a bottle of Franzia\u2019s White Grenache which had five times the amount [of arsenic] allowed in drinking water. This is basically a bullshit, scaremongering story that BeverageGrades is very cunningly using to drum up business. CBS This Morning cast additional doubt on the urgency of the \u201carsenic in wine\u201d scare by testing four of the wines named in the lawsuit. In those tests, the levels of arsenic in wine found did not match those reported in BeverageGrades\u2019 testing: CBS News also spot-checked and tested the four wines listed in the lawsuit. They were not the same vintages, but the arsenic levels were all considerably lower than BeverageGrades\u2019 results. One of them, the Wine Group\u2019s Flip Flop Pinot Grigio, came in within the acceptable federal arsenic levels for water.The others were at or above that limit, including Trader Joe\u2019s Two Buck Chuck White Zinfandel, which tested at more than twice that standard. In response to news of the lawsuit, California wines trade group The Wine Institute released a statement noting that while the United States indeed had no established acceptable levels of arsenic in wine, California wines were routinely tested by other countries (including the EU) and deemed to be below those countries\u2019 established limits: We have learned of possible litigation alleging that certain wines pose a risk to consumers because they contain trace amounts of arsenic. Although we are not privy to the contents of the litigation, we believe this allegation is false and misleading and that all wines being sold in the U.S marketplace are safe.Arsenic is prevalent in the natural environment in air, soil and water, and in food. As an agricultural product, wines from throughout the world contain trace amounts of arsenic as do juices, vegetables, grains and other alcohol beverages. There is no research that shows that the amounts found in wine pose a health risk to consumers. The U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the agency that regulates wine, beer and spirits, monitors wines for compounds, including arsenic, as part of its testing program. While there are no established limits in the U.S., several countries, including the European Union, have established limits of 100 parts per billion or higher for wine. California wine exports are tested by these governments and are below the established limits. Wine Spectator contacted some of the wine brands named in the lawsuit, many of whom stated that Hicks had made no effort to contact them before filing the class action, although he did send out a press release to some wine vendors offering his company\u2019s testing services to them:"}
{"claim_id": "10106", "claim": "New Stomach Stapling Procedure: No Surgery, Less Recovery Time", "explanation": "This extremely brief television news segment about a non-surgical treatment for morbid obesity manages to describe the procedure, contrast it with conventional treatment, and indicate that it is being studied and not yet available. Yet as the ratings here show, both the brevity of the story and the way the time is used leave the story short of journalistic best practices. At the very least, the report should have:   included an interview with a dispassionate observer mentioned the possible harms and shortcomings of the procedure  stated more plainly that the procedure may never be approved in the U.S., and\u00a0 disclosed that the owner of the procedure\u2019s patent is funding the research   Ideally it also would have explained a bit more about the findings so far\u2013which patients have been helped the most, what the side effects have been, whether there have been any surgical complications and so on. These findings should have been compared to what is known about conventional gastric bypass surgery.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The segment failed to disclose the cost (or expected cost) of the procedure. The segment does nothing to report results, other than to say that on average patients in the trials lost nearly 40 percent of their body weight. The story fails to report possible harms of the treatment. While it enumerates the ways in which harms are less likely to occur with the non-surgical method, it says nothing about the harms that pertain to both. These include weight regain as patients find ways to consume high amounts of calories anyway, and nutritional deficiencies. The segment fails to report any evidence from the ongoing trials. The only figure cited is that patients can lose up to 40 percent of their body weight. The segment fails to say, as the press release does, that weight loss in this group has been less than in those who have conventional bypass surgery. The story does nothing to exaggerate the dangers of morbid obesity. The segment quotes the one patient who has had the procedure, and one of the physicians treating her. The reporter should have talked to an independent source. The fact that the patent-holder on the procedure funded the trials should have been disclosed. The segment correctly says the main option for obesity of over 100 excess pounds is conventional bypass surgery. Other interventions for weight loss that are sometimes successful for other populations, such as diet and exercisse, have not been shown effective for the morbidly obese. The story is very clear that this procedure has been performed only twice in the U.S., and has been tested on over 40 people overseas. It says the procedure is not approved for use in the U.S. The segment properly reports that the procedure has been done on only two people in the U.S. and around 40 people abroad. We can\u2019t be sure about the extent to which the story relied on the press release. We do know that the story uses the same patient that is named in the news release. We also know that no independent expert source was interviewed."}
{"claim_id": "36095", "claim": "A study proved that humans ingest five grams of plastic a week, similar to eating one credit card per person per week.", "explanation": "Do People Ingest Five Grams of Plastic Per Week?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "On October 15 2019, the Facebook page \u201cUsing Less Plastic\u201d\u00a0shared a meme which claimed that \u201ca new study\u201d had found that humans ingested an average of five grams of plastic per week, about the same amount contained in an average credit card:Text drawn onto an illustration of a person and a plate with two credit cards on it read:People ingest 5 grams of plastic per week \u2026 [on] average, it\u2019s 2,000 microplastic particles every week! It is the equivalent of eating a credit card every week! [Easy Eco Tips]Text included in a status update reiterated:A new study by the University of Newcastle in Australia has found that in average, people ingest 5 grams of plastic every week, or 2,000 microplastic particles. That\u2019s the equivalent of eating a credit card.Big if true, readers might think, but the \u201cnew study\u201d was not linked in the original post or in any prominent comments. Commenters responded by saying \u201cI believe it\u201d and offering similar thoughts:Holy shit.. We are killing the planet and ourselves! So sad..Ocean plastic remained a major ecological interest in 2019, following massive global pro-environment protests, controversial bans on plastic straws, and arguments over whether such bans could really affect the amounts of microplastics in both oceans and the food supply. Although the problem itself is not new, accelerated interest in the issue was\u00a0speculatively attributed\u00a0to viral photographs of the effects of ocean plastic on sea life and habitats.Around the same time, a highly viral claim made the rounds in the UK that Christmas crackers posed a massive ecological threat\u00a0\u2014 but that claim was a hodgepodge of statistics that were only semi-related to Christmas crackers, and they were not rooted in credible information about ocean plastic. Claims about ocean plastic in general generate massive engagement for people and pages, and are thus incentive to post claims whether or not they are legitimate.As for a purported \u201crecent study,\u201d\u00a0USA Today\u00a0reported in\u00a0June 2019 that the average person was \u201ceating about a credit card\u2019s worth of plastic every week,\u201d adding that drinking water was deemed a culprit:You\u2019re eating, swallowing or breathing in about 2,000 tiny pieces of plastic each week, a new study suggests, an amount equal to the weight of one credit card.\u201cNot only are plastics polluting our oceans and waterways and killing marine life \u2013 it\u2019s in all of us and we can\u2019t escape consuming plastics,\u201d said Marco Lambertini of the World Wildlife Fund, which commissioned the study \u2026\u00a0According to the study, most of the pieces of plastic we ingest come from drinking water, but it\u2019s also in other foods such as shellfish and salt. And also, sadly, beer.That same month, CNN indicated \u201cyou could\u201d be ingesting five grams of plastic per week, and QZ.com endeavored to explain \u201chow you eat a credit card\u2019s worth of plastic each week.\u201d\u00a0National Geographic\u00a0went with an arguably\u00a0safer \u201cYou eat thousands of bits of plastic every year\u201d in their coverage, but also introduced the specter of inhaled microplastics, as if we don\u2019t have enough to worry about:Last October [2018], microplastics were found in fecal samples from eight people participating in a pilot study to research how much humans might be inadvertently consuming plastic. Now, a new study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology says it\u2019s possible that humans may be consuming anywhere from 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles a year. With added estimates of how much microplastic might be inhaled, that number is more than 74,000.Incidentally, a 2009 CreditCards.com item estimated the average credit card weighed 5.07 grams, calculated a decade before heftier plastic (and other material) charge cards became\u00a0de rigueur. An August 2019 credit card blog post ranked the top \u201cheaviest\u201d credit cards, listing a total of 20 cards weighing between 10 and 27 grams apiece. The heaviest of the lot was the JP Morgan Reserve at 27 grams, followed by the Luxury Card MasterCard Gold Card at 22 grams.Nearly all cards on the list involved a yearly annual fee ranging from $99 to $2,500 for the card that likely kicked off the trend, the fabled American Express (AmEx) Centurion. Presumably, cardholders indeed forked out hundreds to thousands of dollars for the privilege of being charged interest on the (literally) weightier status symbol cards. That list also noted the average weight of plebeian plastic ia five grams.In articles about the \u201cnew study,\u201d a lot of \u201cmight be,\u201d \u201cmay be\u201d and \u201ccould\u201d qualifiers appeared in headlines. That also held true for the June 2019 press release about the actual research underlying the many articles (and now, Facebook memes). It explained \u201cplastic ingestion by people could be equating to a credit card a week,\u201d describing the research cited was a meta-analysis of more than fifty studies on human microplastic ingestion:A new study finds on average people could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week, which is the equivalent weight of a credit card.\u201cNo Plastic in Nature: Assessing Plastic Ingestion from Nature to People\u201d prepared by Dalberg, based on a study commissioned by WWF and carried out by University of Newcastle, Australia, suggests people are consuming about 2000 tiny pieces of plastic every week. That\u2019s approximately 21 grams a month, just over 250 grams a year.The University of Newcastle is the first to combine data from over 50 studies on the ingestion of microplastic by people. The findings are an important step towards understanding the impact of plastic pollution on humans. It also further confirms the urgent need to address the plastic system so that it does not pollute ecosystems in the first place.On the original meme, the figures attributed to the research were either five grams, or its purported equivalent of 2,000 microplastic particles consumed by humans on average per week. A June 2019 study (\u201cHuman Consumption of Microplastics\u201d)\u00a0published in the journal\u00a0Environmental Science & Technology also attempted to calculate a specific gram-value for average consumption of microplastics.Although the meme said five grams or 2,000 microplastic particles each week (or an average credit card), concurrent research arrived at a different number:Microplastics are ubiquitous across ecosystems, yet the exposure risk to humans is unresolved. Focusing on the American diet, we evaluated the number of microplastic particles in commonly consumed foods in relation to their recommended daily intake. The potential for microplastic inhalation and how the source of drinking water may affect microplastic consumption were also explored. Our analysis used 402 data points from 26 studies, which represents over 3600 processed samples. Evaluating approximately 15% of Americans\u2019 caloric intake, we estimate that annual microplastics consumption ranges from 39000 to 52000 particles depending on age and sex. These estimates increase to 74000 and 121000 when inhalation is considered. Additionally, individuals who meet their recommended water intake through only bottled sources may be ingesting an additional 90000 microplastics annually, compared to 4000 microplastics for those who consume only tap water. These estimates are subject to large amounts of variation; however, given methodological and data limitations, these values are likely underestimates.In that abstract, several figures were provided: a range of 39,000 to 52,000, and a range of 74,000 to 121,000 alongside a floating additional 90,000 microplastics annually for bottled water enthusiasts (versus 4,000 for tap water drinkers). Noting the estimates inherently involved \u201clarge amounts of variation,\u201d researchers indicated the values were likely underestimated.In that range, the lower estimate of 39,000 particles annually worked out to 750 particles versus the 2000 in the meme; the second figure of 52,000 worked out to 1,000 per week. The higher value of 121,000 worked out to just over 2,300 particles, higher than the 2,000 referenced in the meme. A major takeaway of that study was that the range was massive as an estimate, and that researchers leaned toward understanding real values were probably higher.The research referenced in the meme [PDF]\u00a0was \u201cunder consideration\u201d for academic publication, but it was released early \u2014 in June 2019 \u2014 in order to to coincide with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) campaign for action on plastic pollution, and its overall status remained unclear. On its release, Alastair Grant, a professor of ecology at the University of East Anglia,\u00a0opined that the report \u201cdoes not present evidence that consuming even the highest figure (which represents approximately 250 particles a day) presents a risk to human health,\u201d and that due to improper recycling practices, \u201c[burned] plastic in developing countries is likely to have much more serious health effects than those from rather small numbers of plastic particles in food and water.\u201dIn that overall opinion, Grant suggested that the broader problems around microplastics ought not be ignored in an induced panic over plastic ingestion. Furthermore, the meme referenced 2,000 microplastics as the basis of the five gram/credit card figure. The actual underlying research stated that an average person \u201cpotentially consumes as much as 1769 particles of plastic every week just from water,\u201d going on to estimate that the individual could consume up to 182 microplastics in shellfish, ten in beer, and eleven in salt.Assuming this person does consume all four things in a given week (including beer and shellfish), the maximum calculated figure was around 1,972 total plastic particles \u2014 close to the 2,000 figure. But the context of sources was not included, and the numbers in the meme were presented as definitive, not \u201cpotential.\u201dWWF researchers also maintained their that estimates on inhalation suggested that \u201ca negligible proportion of microplastics entering the human body [were inhaled] but may vary heavily depending on the environment.\u201d\u00a0In contrast, the\u00a0Environmental Science & Technology study published the same month the WWF research was released seemed to weight inhalation estimates far less conservatively, indicating that figures of\u00a039,000 to 52,000 particles per year (or 750 to 1,000 particles per week) increased \u201cto 74,000 and 121,000 when inhalation [was] considered\u201d:The study reveals that consumption of common food and beverages may result in a weekly ingestion of approximately 5 grams of plastic, depending on consumption habits. Out of a total of 52 studies that the University of Newcastle included within its calculations, 33 studies looked at plastic consumption through food and beverage. These studies highlighted a list of common food and beverages containing microplastics, such as drinking water* , beer, shellfish, and salt.With respect to the accuracy of the figures, researchers noted:The [underlying research] builds on a comprehensive review of existing studies to estimate plastic ingestion through inhalation, food, and beverages. The approach was to focus on available data and to use conservative extrapolations and assumptions when data was not available.While this study represents a synthesis of the best available data, it builds on a limited set of evidence, and comes with limitations. The consensus among specialists is thus that while these numbers are in a realistic range, further studies are needed to get a precise estimate.A key limitation is the lack of data available on crucial metrics, such as weight and size distribution of microplastics in natural environments, and the varying quality of data collected. A widespread issue in data collection for instance is variations in sample collection methodologies leading to risks of contamination \u2026 The Newcastle study team used assumptions and extrapolations to bridge data gaps and adjust for data quality. It is acknowledged that with every assumption and extrapolation, the level of uncertainty increases, and further research and data collection is needed to ascertain these results.Variations within the data set studied were also noted, with shellfish consumption a particularly variable condition. Shellfish consumption could account for .5 grams per week (ten percent of the five gram total) if a person consumes shellfish:Another key source [of consumed plastic] is shellfish, accounting for as much as 0.5 grams a week. This comes from the fact that shellfish are eaten whole, including their digestive system, after a life in plastic-polluted seas.As is common in generalized reporting on research, a very shareable soundbite moved from findings to articles to memes, losing details at every stage in its evolution. One October 2019 meme in particular resulted from a spate of June 2019 reports on research released that month by the WWF in conjunction with a university in Australia, which was as of that point pending academic review. Where the research itself pointed to high-range estimates and was based on dozens of earlier studies, reporting slowly began to strip away the \u201cmaybes\u201d and \u201cpossiblys\u201d before the findings were condensed into an out-of-context meme.The meme claimed that the average person ingests 2,000 ocean plastic particles per week, thus essentially \u201ceating one credit card\u201d per person per week. But even shallow reporting on the research indicated that those estimates were at the high end, and the WWF\u2019s report noted variables such as drinking water quality and habits as well as shellfish consumption affected even those estimated figures. A study published in an environmental journal\u2019s range of figures differed slightly from the WWF numbers, which were \u2014 again\u00a0\u2014 still under review when the reporting first started. All reports noted that the actual effects of microplastic consumption on human health is still unknown. Nevertheless, the World Wide Fund for Nature never suggested that every human or even most humans on Earth ate \u201ca credit card a week,\u201d despite using the comparison as a benchmark."}
{"claim_id": "9169", "claim": "Magnetic brain stimulation causes weight loss by making gut bacteria healthier", "explanation": "The focus of this news release from The Endocrine Society is on research examining the impact of deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) \u2014 a non-invasive treatment that can stimulate different regions of the brain \u2014 on weight loss, hormones and signaling molecules that can affect metabolism and appetite, and composition of the gut microbiome in 14 obese human subjects living in Italy. Microbiome refers to the community of microorganisms living in and on our bodies, most of which are within the gut, and their genetic makeup. The results indicated that volunteers who underwent dTMS lost more weight and fat mass than those who had a sham procedure and that changes were seen in the microbiome profile in individuals who\u2019d had dTMS. The release didn\u2019t discuss any changes in the sham group, and there was no discussion of where these results fit within the total body of evidence in this area of research. Most importantly, the release takes significant liberties by stating that\u00a0dTMS can directly impact microbes living in the gut, without considering the impact that weight loss and lifestyle changes have on microbial composition. Employing a more cautious interpretation of the results, and including a discussion of costs, risks, and comparisons to other weight loss treatments would have significantly improved the release. Researchers and clinicians work relentlessly every day to find treatments for obesity and its chronic health consequences, and yet, new, safe and effective techniques are few and far between. It\u2019s well known that obesity treatment and management are critical concerns in the United States and abroad. Any new technique that might influence weight loss, appetite, or the gut microbiome is exciting to consider, given that lifestyle changes and prescription weight loss drugs often have limited long-term impacts. However, this news release overstates and oversimplifies the results of the study without fully addressing the complex interplay between weight loss, metabolic hormones and neurotransmitters (the brain\u2019s chemical messengers), and the microbes living in our gut. Change in one of these components typically doesn\u2019t proceed without the others, and the mechanisms are extremely intricate and multifaceted. This release seems to leap from Point A to Point C in a conclusion that does not show appropriate and cautious interpretation of the results of this very small study.", "label": "false", "subjects": "magnetic brain stimulation,obesity,The Endocrine Society", "main_text": "Cost of dTMS is not mentioned in this release. After doing a bit of independent information gathering, it seems that even though dTMS may be more cost-effective than other more invasive neurostimulation techniques, each session can cost a patient roughly $400-$500, according to PyschologyToday. Individuals in this study underwent 15 sessions each, which amounts to $6000 to $7500 for five weeks of therapy. We don\u2019t know the long-term effects of dTMS on weight loss, nor do we know if, or \u2013 more likely \u2013 how often these sessions would need to be repeated, but it\u2019s easy to see the price for an individual mounting quickly. The release doesn\u2019t mention insurance coverage but costs for this type of therapy are likely to be out-of-pocket. One of the least straightforward ways to present research results is by stating changes in percentages rather than absolute differences between groups \u2014 and this release does exactly that. The release states, \u201cAfter five weeks of treatment, subjects receiving dTMS lost more than 3 percent of their body weight and more than 4 percent of their fat \u2014 significantly more than controls did.\u201d And yet, the release doesn\u2019t report actual body weight or body fat data, leaving readers out in the cold as to what a 3 or 4% change in weight or fat loss really means. This is unintentionally misleading for people trying to assess the value of the treatment. Current guidelines for treating obesity recommend a 5 to 10 percent weight loss within one year for benefits to be clinically meaningful, and it\u2019s uncertain if participants would achieve this goal, given the short time frame of the study. Neither the release or the abstract it\u2019s based on addressed whether volunteers in the sham group (those who didn\u2019t receive dTMS therapy) also lose weight or fat mass. Without this comparison, it\u2019s difficult to understand the impact of dTMS itself or if the placebo effect played a role in these results. Specific risks are not discussed, though it\u2019s mentioned that dTMS is currently approved in the U.S. for treating major depression and is being studied in other countries for treating neuropsychiatric disorders. Unlike deep brain stimulation, this technique does not require an operation or implantation of electrodes, so we can deduce that the potential harms are lower than other neurostimulation procedures. Nevertheless, a brief\u00a0mention of harms would give readers a sense of the risk-benefit balance should dTMS rise in popularity and availability in the coming years. The release tells us that this research builds upon previous findings demonstrating that dTMS reduced food cravings and induced weight loss in obese individuals. That conclusion is also supported by the results of the current study, though we can\u2019t gloss over the fact that the study only had 14 participants total \u2014 just 7 of whom received dTMS. The release claims that dTMS \u201chelps obese people lose weight, partly by changing the composition of their intestinal bacteria.\u201d But based on the study design of this research, there simply isn\u2019t a way to determine if the changes in gut microbes were due to changes in weight, food intake, physical activity, hormonal or metabolic shifts, or if they were directly due to dTMS. The release suggests that dTMS can influence pituitary hormones and neurotransmitters, which are known to affect appetite and certain microbiota, respectively, but very little is known in this area of research and it would be wise to tread with caution through this conclusion. The release doesn\u2019t engage in disease mongering. Obesity is an increasing problem on both the individual and population-level scales. The release provides some context about why new obesity treatments are needed, as well as the possible role gut microbes might play in weight management. No funding sources or conflicts of interest are described in the news release. While many strategies for weight loss are well known to the general public, none are mentioned in this release. It would be beneficial for readers to be able to compare the weight loss and metabolic changes in subjects who underwent dTMS to the results typically seen through changes in diet and physical activity, FDA-approved weight loss medications, or bariatric surgery, all of which are widely accepted treatments for obesity. The release does not discuss the availability of this treatment and the treatment does not appear to be available for obesity at this time. Since dTMS is only approved in the U.S. for treatment of depression, it\u2019s unlikely that it would be available to people without a formal diagnosis of depression. The news release confirms that dTMS has been around for a while and is used to treat other conditions, but highlights that using the procedure to treat obesity is a new area of exploration. Though the release does take liberties in stating the conclusion of the study, it stays away from sensational language about the dTMS and its potential role in weight loss and microbial changes."}
{"claim_id": "30528", "claim": "Before his death, physicist Stephen Hawking declared his Christian faith after a visit with Pope Francis.", "explanation": "This Facebook post is just another in a litany of fabricated claims about famous non-believers. The source is a Facebook page associated with the disreputable web site FrancisMary.org, which appears to have no formal affiliation with the Catholic church and routinely posts clickbait articles touting videos of Jesus Christ appearing in the flesh during a church service, or as an \u201cangel on a white horse fighting in Israel.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, pope francis", "main_text": "The renowned physicist Stephen Hawking died in March 2018 at the age of 76, prompting a wave of tributes from the world of science, as well as reflections on his inspirational life story. On 14 March 2018, the \u201cCatholics Online\u201d Facebook page posted a photograph of Hawking meeting Pope Francis alongside a fabricated claim: Before he died, Stiph [sic] Hawkins [sic] who did not believe in God requested to visit the Vatican. \u201cNow l believe\u201d was the only statement he made after the Holy Father blessed him. Hawking was a longstanding and prominent atheist who often wrote and spoke about the origins of the universe and his views on the notion of a divine Creator (or rather, a lack thereof). As the Washington Post\u00a0documented after his death, Hawking told the Guardian\u00a0in 2011 that he did not believe in an afterlife or heaven: I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark. In 2010, he told ABC News: \u201cOne can\u2019t prove that God doesn\u2019t exist, but science makes God unnecessary.\u201d\u00a0 There is no evidence that Hawking deviated from those lifelong views before his death, and he did not make any declaration of faith after a meeting with Pope Francis.The photograph in the Facebook post shows Hawking and Francis together at the Vatican in November 2016, the last time the two men met. Contrary to the claim, Hawking did not request a private visit with the pontiff; rather, he travelled to Rome for a scheduled meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Hawking was a valued member of the academy, having been appointed to it by Pope Paul VI in 1968. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences listed has among its aims \u201cfostering interaction between faith and reason and encouraging dialogue between science and spiritual, cultural, philosophical and religious values.\u201d After his death, the academy honored Hawking, tweeting a series of photographs of the physicist meeting Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. il beato Paolo VI che si inginocchia per consegnare la medaglia di Pio XI e Hawking che ringrazia al Papa per la decorazione pic.twitter.com/zVICFDlkaE \u2014 Casina Pio IV (@CasinaPioIV) March 15, 2018  However, notwithstanding his decades-long commitment to fostering dialogue between science and faith, Hawking remained an unbeliever himself. Hawking\u2019s phony deathbed conversion is one in a long series of similar hoaxes of opportunity. For example, after the 2011 death of the writer Christopher Hitchens \u2014 an outspoken atheist and critic of organized religion \u2014 American evangelical Christian writer Larry Alex Taunton published a controversial book in which he claimed Hitchens had reevaluated his religious faith while he was dying of esophageal cancer. The book was widely dismissed and fiercely criticized by friends of Hitchens. Before that, there were debunked eleventh-hour \u201cconversions\u201d to Christianity by Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution, and astronomer Carl Sagan."}
{"claim_id": "9715", "claim": "FDA approves cancer treatment that uses virus to attack tumors", "explanation": "The federal Food and Drug Administration has just approved a modified herpes simplex virus as a treatment for advanced-stage melanoma. The virus, which is designed to activate patients\u2019 own immune systems, has been shown to shrink tumors for at least six months in patients who have run out of treatment options. This story does a nice job of explaining the way the virus works and offers readers reactions from a variety of scientists. Clearly a lot of legwork went into this story. But we were disappointed to see that none of these sources provided any critical evaluation of the research or pointed to any caveats \u2014 of which there are quite a few. In addition, while the piece\u2019s patient stories don\u2019t overdo the \u201cgood news\u201d aspect of the treatment, we wished for more data and a more thorough discussion of the ultimate outcomes that matter to patients such as survival time. Newer and experimental treatments for malignant melanoma have changed the uniformly poor outcome for this cancer. But the legitimate excitement surrounding these treatments must be tempered with acknowledgment that the benefits are limited and not everyone benefits. The treatments are very costly and can still cause significant harm to patients.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "immunotherapy,melanoma", "main_text": "The story nods to costs when it says the company will charge the patient $65,000 for a treatment. But they actually will be trying to charge insurance companies this amount. How widely will it be covered and when? How many courses of treatment will be necessary? We\u2019ll give the benefit of the doubt here but the story could have done more to clarify. The story indicates that the treatment caused some tumors to shrink for at least 6 months, particularly in those\u00a0whose cancer had not yet spread to internal organs. But the overall discussion of benefits is lacking some important details. What does \u201cshrink\u201d mean? And when it says that 16% \u201cresponded,\u201d what exactly does that mean? (Of course, 84% did not respond \u2014 a statistic that was also worthy of comment in our view.) Finally, important outcomes, such as length of survival, are not presented or compared with alternatives. One study reported that median survival was 23.3 months with the new drug vs.\u00a018.9 months with the comparison treatment \u2014 a finding that would have been easy to include. The FDA cautioned in a news release that \u201cImlygic has not been shown to improve overall survival.\u201d This is a close call, but we think the story downplays the significance of the harms attributable to these drugs. The story quotes a researcher who calls one drug \u201clow-toxicity\u201d and lists 3 adverse effects, but does not say with what frequency they occurred. According to the linked study, 11% of patients developed grade 3 (severe) and 4 (life-threatening) adverse events related to the treatment. We don\u2019t think that\u2019s what readers have in mind when they hear \u201clow-toxicity.\u201d No real study results are provided for us to assess. We aren\u2019t told how the 436 patients mentioned in one study were selected, what the comparison treatment was, if there was a random assignment, and so on. The study itself mentions an open label design (both researchers and patients knew who was getting what treatment) that \u201cmay have influenced assessment of some end points.\u201d We wish the story had delved a bit deeper into the research and discussed the potential limitations. Metastatic melanoma is a serious disease that is difficult to treat successfully. The story heralds this use of a genetically modified herpes simplex virus as important, and we think that is an appropriate judgment. The story quotes a number of experts and clearly a lot of legwork went into the reporting. But two of the sources quoted in the story consult for Amgen, the company that will sell this treatment, and they are not so identified. From the description provided in the story, some readers can probably gather that these experts are involved with the company. But it would have been better to state clearly that these are paid consultants. In addition, we wish that any of the sources quoted in the story had raised questions, pointed to limitations, or provided some critical analysis of the research. The overall tone of the piece is optimistic and positive \u2014 overly so in our view. The story mentions another drug called Yervoy and also mentions conventional treatments. It also describes other virus-based treatments that are under development. The story notes that the drug has been approved by the FDA, so we\u2019ll award a Satisfactory grade here. But the story could have gone further. Folks with advanced-stage melanoma do not have anywhere to turn; they will be keen to follow up on this information. A news release from Amgen indicated that the company would make the treatment available within a week, so more thorough availability information appears to have been, well, available. One of the main points of the story is that this is the first virus to be approved by the FDA for advanced-stage melanoma. That\u2019s about as novel as you can get! Amgen issued a news release on the same day as the Boston Globe/Stat story was published; there is enough original reporting that we can be sure the story went beyond this or any other news release."}
{"claim_id": "33352", "claim": "White House adviser Valerie Jarrett once said she seeks \"to help change America to be a more Islamic country.", "explanation": "Moreover, the wording of the meme in its commonly reproduced form was too stilted to be believable as the utterance of a fluent English speaker (e.g., \u201cI am an Iranian by birth and of [sic] my Islamic faith\u201d). Finally, no news article or document associated with Stanford University records Jarrett as having made this statement back in 1977; and if there were any credible evidence Jarrett had ever said anything remotely like this, it would have been a well-covered news story since shortly after the 2008 presidential election and not a obscure meme that didn\u2019t pop up until several years later.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics Quotes, islam, muslim, valerie jarrett", "main_text": "Valerie Jarrett was offered a role as a White House Senior Advisor at the very beginning of the Obama administration in January 2009 and held the position of Senior Advisor to the President of the United States. President Obama said he consulted Jarrett on every major decision, and the New Republic\u2018s Noam Scheiber reported thus of her influence with the White House: \u201cHer role since she has been at the White House is one of the broadest and most expansive roles that I think has ever existed in the West Wing,\u201d says Anita Dunn, Obama\u2019s former communications director. Broader, even, than the role of running the West Wing. This summer, the call to send Attorney General Eric Holder on a risky visit to Ferguson, Missouri, was made by exactly three people: Holder himself, the president, and Jarrett, who were vacationing together on Martha\u2019s Vineyard. When I asked Holder if Denis McDonough, the chief of staff, was part of the conversation, he thought for a moment and said, \u201cHe was not there.\u201d Jarrett holds a key vote on Cabinet picks (she opposed Larry Summers at Treasury and was among the first Obama aides to come around on Hillary Clinton at State) and has an outsize say on ambassadorships and judgeships. She helps determine who gets invited to the First Lady\u2019s Box for the State of the Union, who attends state dinners and bill-signing ceremonies, and who sits where at any of the above The level of influence Jarrett held with the Obama administration prompted many detractors to complain she wielded too much control over the President and decisions about who should have access to him, and one expression that detraction commonly took was the assertion that Jarrett was a foreign-born Islamic \u201cmole\u201d who was pushing for (or furthering) a Muslim agenda through the executive branch. One quote attributed to Jarrett is a typical example, holding that while she was an undergraduate psychology student at Stanford University in 1977, she proclaimed herself to be an Iranian who sought \u201cto help change America to be a more Islamic country\u201d and she felt \u201clike it is going well in the transition of using freedom of religion in America against itself\u201d:  Contrary to common rumor, however, neither Jarrett nor her parents are Iranian, nor (as far as we can tell) are any of them Muslim. Jarrett\u2019s parents, James E. Bowman and Barbara Taylor Bowman, were both American-born U.S. citizens from Washington, D.C. and Chicago, respectively; the couple merely lived in Iran for about six years in the late 1950s and early 1960s while James served as chair of pathology at Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz as part of a program that sent American physicians to work in developing countries. Valerie was born in Shiraz during the Bowmans\u2019 sojourn in Iran; she returned to the U.S. with her parents in 1962 (when she was five years old), whereupon she attended prep school in Massachusetts, graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University in 1978, and earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981 before returning to Chicago to begin her working career. We\u2019ve found no evidence Valerie Jarrett is (or ever was) Muslim, her only apparent connection to that religion being the incidental one that she temporarily lived in a predominantly Muslim country with her American parents for the first few years of her life. The quote to attributed \u201cValerie Jarrett, Stanford University, 1977\u201d about her \u201cseek[ing] to help change America to be a more Islamic country\u201d is an unfounded one that has no source other than recent repetition (primarily on right-wing web sites and blogs). It\u2019s also an anachronism, as \u201cValerie Jarrett\u201d didn\u2019t exist in 1977: she was born Valerie Bowman and didn\u2019t take the latter surname until she married William Jarrett in 1983."}
{"claim_id": "11207", "claim": "Mixed Outcomes in Laparoscopy for Prostates", "explanation": "This newspaper article reports on the findings of a study that compares prevalence and outcomes of minimally invasive laparoscopic prostate removal with the standard \"open\" surgical method. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology provide a useful snapshot at a time when laparoscopic surgery is rapidly becoming popular. The news article does a solid job of describing the findings in detail and providing comments from independent sources who help interpret them. The reader takes away the idea that laparoscopic surgeries, despite their increased popularity, appear to have significant potential harms. But the article leaves some major questions unanswered. First, the newspaper report does not mention costs. Robot-assisted procedures are inherently controversial because the equipment is so costly but the benefits unknown. By not mentioning costs of the surgery, the article strips the findings of context. Second, the study itself looks at a very narrow question\u2013it compares the two surgical approaches in a 65-plus population. But the analysis did not account for disease state, mortality, the side effects of surgery men are most likely to care about (impotence and incontinence), or even whether the laparoscopic procedures were robot-assisted. The possibility that selection bias colors the findings is obvious. This is an important piece of research in the field. But given its limitations, it\u2019s not clear that reporting on the findings to a large audience has much public value.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not report how much the laparoscopic surgery costs, either directly or over time due to fewer complications or more treatments. One assumes that robot-assisted surgeries are more expensive, though again the story should have specified. Given the possibility of economic self-interest by proponents of laparoscopic surgery, this information would have been very useful. A daVinci machine reportedly costs over a million dollars, with signficant annual maintenance costs in addition. The article does a thorough job of describing the findings by specifying the percentage of patients who had minor and more serious complications. It also compares days spent in the hospital. However, the article reports a 27 percent reduction in risk of short-term complications and a 40 percent greater risk of scarring without indicating the underlying risks for either of these outcomes. See our primer on absolute versus relative risk statements. The story explictly compares the harms of the two surgical approaches in terms of short-term complications and longer-term consequences. The article is based on a retrospective study of outcomes in a large population, conducted by university researchers and published in a major peer-reviewed journal. However, there have been no head-to-head randomized trials comparing open vs. laparoscopic prostatectomies. Since outcomes in observational studies are subject to selection bias, the article should have plainly indicated this. The story does nothing to exaggerate the complications of prostatectomy or the success of the procedures studied. The article uses as sources the study itself, the lead author, and two independent medical specialists. This is sufficient sourcing. It is not known if any of the researchers had ties to interested parties such as device makers. The published abstract does not include this information. The article, like the study upon which it is based, compares only two treatment options\u2013miniminally invasive laparoscopic surgery and traditional \"open\" surgery to remove the prostate. It would have been helpful, but not necessary, to place these two approaches in the context of the many choices men with prostate cancer face based on age, severity, co-morbidities, personal preference and other factors. The story implies that laparoscopic prostatectomies are widely available, and in fact are done about a third of the time in the studied population. But it would have been useful to state how difficult it is (or is not) to find a surgeon experienced with laparoscopic procedures. The story plainly states that the procedure is increasingly common and widely advertised. It cites figures from the study that demonstrate the increase of use between 2003 and 2005. It does not appear that a press release is associated with this journal article."}
{"claim_id": "7367", "claim": "Arkansas approves new date for concert shut down by virus.", "explanation": "A country-rock concert that Arkansas officials said could not happen on Friday because of restrictions to control the coronavirus will be allowed to take place next week.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Nathaniel Smith, Fort Smith, Health, General News, Entertainment, Arkansas, Virus Outbreak", "main_text": "The Department of Health said Friday that it approved the plan by TempleLive, a Fort Smith theater, to move its show by singer Travis McCready to Monday night. The theater had initially planned the show for Friday, three days before the state is allowing indoor entertainment venues to reopen. The concert is expected to draw at least 200 people. \u201cThey made some modifications that allowed us to approve it,\u201d said Dr. Nathaniel Smith, the state\u2019s health secretary. The state had ordered  operators of the former Masonic Temple to cancel or postpone the show and temporarily pulled the facility\u2019s alcohol permit until it agreed to do so. TempleLive said Thursday it would postpone  the show. A Health Department spokeswoman said the primary changes were the date and adding a requirement that anyone over the age of 10 wear a mask. The plan also requires performers to be at least 12 feet away from the audience and all patrons to have their temperature checked at the door. The theater is reducing its capacity from 1,100 people to 239 for the event. Arkansas is allowing arenas, theaters and other indoor entertainment facilities to reopen Monday, but with a limit of 50 people in the audience. That limit can be increased to one-third capacity, but only after the state approves the venue\u2019s plan. Gov. Asa Hutchinson also said the state has approved plans for all three of the state\u2019s casinos  to reopen on Monday. The state last week said casinos could open at one-third capacity if they would enforce new social distancing rules approved by the Health Department. The Health Department said at least 4,463 people in Arkansas have tested positive for the coronavirus, an increase over the 4,366 reported Thursday. The true number is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick. Ninety-eight people in the state have died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Smith also said the state is loosening its requirement that anyone undergoing elective surgery have a negative coronavirus test before their procedure. Starting Monday, Smith said, the requirement will be eased from 48 hours before the procedure to 72 hours. The requirement sparked a legal challenge from the state\u2019s only surgical abortion clinic, which said the rule was preventing many women from undergoing the procedure. A federal judge last week blocked the clinic\u2019s request  to prevent the state from enforcing the requirement on three women who were nearing the state\u2019s limit on when an abortion can be performed. ___ Check out more of the AP\u2019s coronavirus coverage at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak ___ Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ademillo"}
{"claim_id": "13993", "claim": "Ryan Frazier Says \"Michael Bennet votes for President Obama's agenda 98 percent of the time. Hardly independent, hardly bipartisan.", "explanation": "Frazier said, \"Michael Bennet votes for President Obama's agenda 98 percent of the time. Frazier cited the frequency of Bennet voting with the president as proof he is \"hardly independent, hardly bipartisan.\" In this case, Bennet is close on the available numbers, but they don\u2019t indicate a blind allegiance to Obama\u2019s agenda, as Frazier argues. CQ data show Bennet voting for the president\u2019s position on legislation an average of 96.57 percent over seven years. That\u2019s just over 1 percentage\u00a0point\u00a0below Frazier\u2019s figure. However, the CQ data distorts the senator\u2019s voting record, because a majority of the time the president expresses his position is when a vote involves someone he\u2019s nominated for a federal post. There is also independent support for the view that Bennet is a \"bipartisan\" lawmaker who works with and votes with Republicans more often than the Senate\u2019s Democratic caucus as a whole. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Colorado, Bipartisanship, Voting Record, Ryan Frazier, ", "main_text": "At a recent debate, Colorado U.S. Senate candidate Ryan Frazier made a plea for party unity with his opponents. \"We as Republicans must unify, because the stakes are that important. And I believe any of us on this stage would be a heck of a lot better than Michael Bennet,\" said Frazier, a former Aurora city councilman, referring to Colorado\u2019s incumbent Democratic senator. \"You see, Michael Bennet votes for President Obama's agenda 98 percent of the time. Hardly independent, hardly bipartisan,\" Frazier stressed. (Watch debate video clip, courtesy KKTV) It\u2019s a no-brainer for a Republican candidate to portray Bennet as marching in lockstep with a president who\u2019s unpopular with GOP primary voters. Frazier is among five Republicans scrapping to win the June 28 primary and a shot at toppling Bennet in the general election. So let\u2019s look deeper at Frazier\u2019s claim that Bennet votes for Obama's agenda 98 percent of the time, and whether that makes him \"hardly independent, hardly bipartisan.\" Here\u2019s Bennet\u2019s presidential support rate since he and Obama took office in 2009, according to CQ: Year Presidential support rate 2009 96.2 percent 2010 98.4 percent 2011 95.5 percent 2012 98.7 percent 2013 98.2 percent 2014 99.3 percent 2015 89.7 percent We asked the Frazier campaign for evidence supporting the statement. The campaign cited a Jan. 12 online statement by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which cited the annual percentage of Bennet\u2019s votes where he supported the president\u2019s position from 2009 through 2014. The average for those years is 97.5 percent, which rounds up to 98 percent, the figure Frazier cited. The NRSC attributed the data to CQ Roll Call, a nonpartisan news service that tracks congressional data. But the NRSC statement misstated the percentage for Bennet\u2019s 2014 votes with Obama as \"100 Percent Of The Time.\" CQ\u2019s Vote Watch database says Bennet voted with Obama 99.3 percent of the time in 2014. The NRSC also left out data for 2015, when Bennet backed the president\u2019s positions 89.7 percent of the time, according to CQ. When we add\u00a0the 2015 voting data, Bennet\u2019s seven-year average of voting with the president is 96.57 percent \u2014 just a bit lower\u00a0than Frazier\u2019s claim of 98 percent. However, Bennet\u2019s campaign spokesman Andrew Zucker said it\u2019s easy to use the CQ figures to distort a lawmaker\u2019s overall record in Congress. Zucker noted that Bennet has opposed Obama\u2019s plans when they conflict with Colorado\u2019s interest. He successfully fought the administration\u2019s 2010 plan to slash funding for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory in Fort Collins that is working to combat the Zika virus. He also pushed back against the administration\u2019s proposal to cut funding for the Orion aerospace program in Colorado that supported 1,000 jobs in the state. Bennet has also voted against the president on major issues. He was one of nine Democrats to side\u00a0with Republicans on a bill to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama vetoed that bill and Bennet voted for\u00a0an unsuccessful\u00a0effort to override the veto. Here\u2019s some background to keep in mind when sifting through CQ\u2019s presidential support statistics. First of all, they only deal with a fraction of votes cast by Bennet. CQ only counts those votes where the president takes a \"clear position\" on an issue. For example, according to CQ, Obama only staked out a position on 145 of the 366 votes the Senate took in 2014. And the vast majority of the presidential support votes in 2014 \u2014 125, or 86 percent \u2014 involved a glut of presidential nominees for federal posts, because the Democrats controlled the Senate then and had lowered the threshold for approving most nominees from 60 votes to a simple majority, CQ reported. In fact, in every year but 2009 (40 percent), a majority of the votes Obama has supported were on his nominees. Bennet called \u2018party loyalist\u2019 and \u2018bipartisan problem solver\u2019 While Frazier calls Bennet \"hardly independent, hardly bipartisan,\" there is evidence the senator works across the aisle. Last year, the Washington Post ranked him fifth among Democratic senators who \"vote against their party the most.\" The chart below shows how often Bennet has voted with Senate Democrats, compared to how the party majority voted, according to CQ. Bennet voted closest with the Democratic Party in 2014 -- he voted 98.8 percent to the party\u2019s average of 98.6 percent -- but his support for the party\u2019s position dropped down to 82.9 percent in 2015. Over seven years, Bennet voted with the Democratic Party on average 91.29 percent of the time \u2014 a few points less than the average for all Democratic senators voting with the party (94.51 percent) during that period. A CQ profile of the senator said, \"Bennet has played dual roles, as a party loyalist and a bipartisan problem solver.\" As a Democratic loyalist, he\u2019s fought to protect Medicare, saying, \"We can\u2019t attempt to balance the nation\u2019s budget on the backs of our seniors,\" CQ reported. Wearing his problem-solver hat, Bennet worked with Republican Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah to win FDA support for \"breakthrough therapies\" legislation in 2012 that sped approval of new drug treatment for cystic fibrosis, lung cancer and leukemia. Bennet often joins groups seeking compromise Bennet has been a frequent member of bipartisan groups of lawmakers working to find compromise on major legislation, the CQ profile said. He was one of three Democratic senators to oppose the January 2013 \"fiscal cliff\" deal, which averted income tax increases on earnings under $400,000 but didn\u2019t cut federal spending \u2014 a deal-breaker for Bennet. Bennet, a\u00a0former Denver Public Schools superintendent, has earned praise from Republicans for reaching across the aisle, including for his work on the overhaul of the No Child Left Behind law. \"Michael understands that the Senate is a place where you have extended debate on important subjects and work across party lines until you come to a consensus \u2014 that\u2019s how you get a result, and that\u2019s how you govern a complex country,\" Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate education committee, told the Denver Post in 2015. Our ruling Frazier said, \"Michael Bennet votes for President Obama's agenda 98 percent of the time. Frazier cited the frequency of Bennet voting with the president as proof he is \"hardly independent, hardly bipartisan.\" In this case, Bennet is close on the available numbers, but they don\u2019t indicate a blind allegiance to Obama\u2019s agenda, as Frazier argues. CQ data show Bennet voting for the president\u2019s position on legislation an average of 96.57 percent over seven years. That\u2019s just over 1 percentage\u00a0point\u00a0below Frazier\u2019s figure. However, the CQ data distorts the senator\u2019s voting record, because a majority of the time the president expresses his position is when a vote involves someone he\u2019s nominated for a federal post. There is also independent support for the view that Bennet is a \"bipartisan\" lawmaker who works with and votes with Republicans more often than the Senate\u2019s Democratic caucus as a whole. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context."}
{"claim_id": "5572", "claim": "Michigan mom pushes for meningitis vaccination requirement.", "explanation": "A Detroit-area mom whose daughter died of bacterial meningitis is asking universities to require that students get the meningitis B vaccine.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Michigan, Meningitis", "main_text": "Alicia Stillman\u2019s 19-year-old daughter, Emily Stillman, died of the disease in 2013, when the vaccine had not yet been approved for use in the U.S., The Detroit News reported. The vaccine was approved in 2014. \u201cI remember taking the buses to Canada to get my other two children vaccinated because it wasn\u2019t approved in the U.S. yet. If it had, my daughter would still be here pursuing her dreams,\u201d Alicia Stillman of West Bloomfield said. She started the Emily Stillman Foundation in 2015 to raise awareness about the meningitis vaccine. She wants students at Big 10 universities to be vaccinated against meningitis. Health care organizations, including the Michigan State Medical Society, have joined Stillman\u2019s effort. \u201cMeningitis B is a deadly disease that\u2019s especially dangerous for college students, but it can be prevented,\u201d said Betty Chu, president of the society. \u201cStudents and young adults are among those most likely to contract meningitis B, especially in settings where students are living in close proximity to each other and sharing drinks and food. Indiana University and Purdue University began requiring the vaccination this spring. The University of Michigan and Michigan State University recommend the vaccination but haven\u2019t made it mandatory. Meningitis B is spread through saliva and nose secretions, Stillman said. Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, a stiff neck, joint pain, confusion, sensitivity to light and a red or purple skin rash. ___ Information from: The Detroit News, http://detnews.com/"}
{"claim_id": "10543", "claim": "Blood test that could predict arthritis risk", "explanation": "This release from the University of Oxford describes a new blood test that researchers there developed after zeroing in on the protein that collects in the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis. The presence of the protein can predict the advance of rheumatoid arthritis many years before arthritis symptoms develop, according to the research findings published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Among some of the 2,000 individuals who were part of the study, the protein, called tenascin-C, was found as many as 16 years before disease symptoms appeared. The release does a good job describing the science behind the test but may leave readers wondering, \u201cWhat\u2019s next?\u201d That\u2019s because we aren\u2019t told when and where the test will be available and there\u2019s no mention of early treatment strategies \u2014 what the options are, what they entail, how long it lasts and what it might cost. Most doctors screen for rheumatoid arthritis among patients presenting with joint symptoms. Tests to diagnose RA aren\u2019t perfect but have gotten better over time. This news release highlights a new test that may be able to identify patients who have not yet been diagnosed. As such, it would be predicting future RA in patients who do not yet have symptoms or other findings such as arthritis changes on x-rays. Identifying patients with so-called \u201cpre-RA\u201d might appear to be a good thing, but it may not be as simple as implied in this news release. First, it is one thing to retrospectively examine whether blood samples performed years earlier\u00a0can identify people we\u2019ve already classified. The next logical step would be to prospectively see if we can take patients who don\u2019t have any symptoms and use the test to say \u201cpositive or negative\u201d and then wait to see if the test correctly predicts a future diagnosis. This is complicated by the need to say who should we use the test on. Everyone? Someone who may be at risk for other reasons? It isn\u2019t clear and the news release doesn\u2019t help us. Second, since no test is perfect and there inevitably will be false-positives, what does it mean to label someone as being likely to develop future RA if in fact they won\u2019t? Third, even if the test is correct, it isn\u2019t clear what to do with the results. Should we start treating these patients with medications to prevent future symptoms? If the treatments had no side effects, one could argue to do so. But we know that the treatments for RA all have side effects, some quite serious. For those with debilitating symptoms, the risks of such medications may be justified. But for someone who has no such symptoms, it isn\u2019t as clear. One would like to see studies saying that use of this test result leads to better outcomes. No such data exists. Finally, there is no effort to state what would be the potential costs of using such a test in routine practice. One would not only need to consider the cost of the test itself, but also the downstream costs associated with treatment and the potential savings in terms of RA complications avoided.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release,Diagnostic tests", "main_text": "The release doesn\u2019t provide discussion of what the cost of the blood test might be. If the test is promising enough to issue a news release about it, readers should be given some idea of the cost. A related test called the CCP assay, which detects certain peptides that also predict future RA, is already in use and would make a good comparison. Moreover, there would not only be the cost for this test, but also the downstream costs of earlier treatment (and potential benefits). In general, the potential benefits in terms of cost savings are usually offset by higher costs associated with treatment for a longer duration of time (earlier diagnosis = earlier \u201clonger\u201d treatment). The release asserts that the key benefit of the test for tenascin-C protein is early detection of RA that can be used to initiate early treatment. After looking at results from 2,000 patient volunteers, the lead researcher was quoted saying the test \u201ccould diagnose RA in about 50% of cases\u201d and that the test was 98% accurate in ruling out RA. It isn\u2019t clear from the release if all 2,000 patients started out healthy and half went on to develop RA, or if the test accurately detected the RA precursor protein in only half the patients that went on to develop RA. Overall, the release provides insufficient information to quantify the benefits. Accuracy is a reflection of both sensitivity (diagnosing the condition when it really exists) and specificity (not diagnosing the condition when it doesn\u2019t exist). The very high accuracy implies the test is both sensitive and specific. However, this may be misleading depending on the nature of the population studied. If the population includes patients with established rheumatoid arthritis it may make the test look better than studying a population of individuals who don\u2019t have the condition or may have a different condition. The release briefly notes that the test carries a very low rate of false positives. However, the harms from screening tests are well-known. A false positive can result in additional tests, unnecessary treatment, anxiety and financial strains. A major concern is using the test in asymptomatic individuals who may be at risk for future development of symptoms due to rheumatoid arthritis. If the test isn\u2019t 100% specific, it means we\u2019re telling some patients who are otherwise fine that they\u2019re going to develop something bad in the future \u2013 when in fact they won\u2019t. Oops! Second, it isn\u2019t clear that treating such asymptomatic patients may benefit them long-term. Remember the drugs for rheumatoid arthritis all have side effects \u2013 some of which can be quite serious. These potential harms are not mentioned at all. The research is a statistical analysis of data from four separately conducted studies of patients in four different geographic locations. The study cohorts varied which could affect accuracy of the findings. One group included 20 British RA patients and 20 healthy controls; one included 101 pre-RA cases and 326 matched controls compiled from four Southern European cohorts; a Swedish study involving 1985 RA patients and 160 health controls; and 287 RA patients and 330 control patients with osteoarthritis (OA) in the United States. The key missing point is that these are all retrospective cohorts. What one would like to see is a prospective cohort where you apply the test and classify the patient as positive or negative and then see what happens. Even before that, one would like information on the cut-points used in this study to define what is positive or not. Understanding whether there is a clear point where the test is positive or not would be useful information. In practice, that cut point is usually never 100% obvious. One could argue that this study and news release are pushing for the creation of a new disease \u2013 called \u201cpre-rheumatoid arthritis.\u201d But the value of classifying people with such a condition is not established, and the release doesn\u2019t explore any of the downsides of such an approach. Expanding the boundaries of disease without sufficient evidence that this is justified constitutes disease-mongering. So we\u2019ll flag the release here. There\u2019s no mention of the funders in the release. According to the published study, funding was provided by the Arthritis Research UK, the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research and BT CURE. In addition, it was disclosed that \u201cdata in this manuscript are the subject of a patent filing\u201d and that the lead investigator sits on the board of and is a consultant to Nascient. The release provides some information about the cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) test, the standard test used, and states that the new blood test appears to be more accurate and reliable in comparison. The true alternative is actually to wait until symptoms develop. As noted above under \u201cCost,\u201d if the test is promising enough to issue a news release about it, readers should be given some idea of when and where it might be available. We aren\u2019t told until the very last paragraph that the research \u201cprovides the basis of tests that could improve diagnosis and, importantly, detect disease at a very early stage, with the promise even that people at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis can be followed before the disease begins.\u201d In other words, it could be a very long way off. We think there should have been a caveat that more studies are needed or that this test may be years off before it will be ready for routine practice. Research into different proteins to diagnose RA in patients prior to the appearance of symptoms isn\u2019t new. In fact, HealthNewsReview.org reviewed a WebMD news story on early detection of RA in 2010. Another blood test for RA is already on the market in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia.The JOINTstat test looks for another protein called 14-3-3\u03b7. The release suggests the test will \u201cimprove diagnosis\u201d and help patients get the right treatment early in order to manage their disease. It\u2019s too early to make such claims about a test still under development. For the reasons cited, this release does an inadequate job in placing this potential test into a larger context."}
{"claim_id": "4447", "claim": "New genetic links to same-sex sexual behavior found.", "explanation": "The largest study of its kind found new evidence that genes contribute to same-sex sexual behavior, but it echoes research that says there are no specific genes that make people gay.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Genetics", "main_text": "The genome-wide research on DNA from nearly half a million U.S. and U.K. adults identified five genetic variants not previously linked with gay or lesbian sexuality. The variants were more common in people who reported ever having had a same-sex sexual partner. That includes people whose partners were exclusively of the same sex and those who mostly reported heterosexual behavior. The researchers said thousands more genetic variants likely are involved and interact with factors that aren\u2019t inherited, but that none of them cause the behavior nor can predict whether someone will be gay. The research \u201cprovides the clearest glimpse yet into the genetic underpinnings of same-sex sexual behavior,\u201d said co-author Benjamin Neale, a psychiatric geneticist at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. \u201cWe also found that it\u2019s effectively impossible to predict an individual\u2019s sexual behavior from their genome. Genetics is less than half of this story for sexual behavior but it\u2019s still a very important contributing factor,\u201d Neale said. The study was released Thursday by the journal Science. Results are based on genetic testing and survey responses. Some of the genetic variants found were present in both men and women. Two in men were located near genes involved in male-pattern baldness and sense of smell, raising intriguing questions about how regulation of sex hormones and smell may influence same-sex behavior. Importantly, most participants were asked about frequency of same-sex sexual behavior but not if they self-identified as gay or lesbian. Fewer than 5% of U.K. participants and about 19% of U.S. participants reported ever having a same-sex sexual experience. The researchers acknowledged that limitation and emphasized that the study\u2019s focus was on behavior, not sexual identity or orientation. They also note that the study only involved people of European ancestry and can\u2019t answer whether similar results would be found in other groups. Origins of same-sex behavior are uncertain. Some of the strongest evidence of a genetic link comes from studies in identical twins. Many scientists believe that social, cultural, family and other biological factors are also involved, while some religious groups and skeptics consider it a choice or behavior that can be changed. A Science commentary notes that the five identified variants had such a weak effect on behavior that using the results \u201cfor prediction, intervention or a supposed \u2018cure\u2019 is wholly and unreservedly impossible.\u201d \u201cFuture work should investigate how genetic predispositions are altered by environmental factors,\u201d University of Oxford sociologist Melinda Mills said in the commentary. Other experts not involved in the study had varied reactions. Dr. Kenneth Kendler a specialist in psychiatric genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University, called it \u201ca very important paper that advances the study of the genetics of human sexual preference substantially. The results are broadly consistent with those obtained from the earlier technologies of twin and family studies suggesting that sexual orientation runs in families and is moderately heritable.\u201d Former National Institutes of Health geneticist Dean Hamer said the study confirms \u201cthat sexuality is complex and there are a lot of genes involved,\u201d but it isn\u2019t really about gay people. \u201cHaving just a single same sex experience is completely different than actually being gay or lesbian,\u201d Hamer said. His research in the 1990s linked a marker on the X chromosome with male homosexuality. Some subsequent studies had similar results but the new one found no such link. Doug Vanderlaan, a University of Toronto psychologist who studies sexual orientation, said the absence of information on sexual orientation is a drawback and makes it unclear what the identified genetic links might signify. They \u201cmight be links to other traits, like openness to experience,\u201d Vanderlaan said. The study is a collaboration among scientists including psychologists, sociologists and statisticians from the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. They did entire human genome scanning, using blood samples from the U.K. Biobank and saliva samples from customers of the U.S.-based ancestry and biotech company 23andMe who had agreed to participate in research. ___ Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner . ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives %href_on(file:"}
{"claim_id": "9686", "claim": "Zafgen reports promising results from weight-loss drug study", "explanation": "This article presents business developments related to Zafgen\u2019s beloranib drug in a clear and accessible manner. But there was room for improvement in several areas, including sourcing. The only sources interviewed have links to Zafgen and were involved with the study being reported on. The story also could have done a better job reporting on the quantitative results of the study. For example, it never defines what it means by \u201csignificant\u201d when discussing the weight loss achieved by study participants. Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare but life-threatening cause of obesity for which there is no current treatment. The drug candidate beloranib, if successful, would then be the first treatment for this patient population.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "obesity", "main_text": "As the drug is still pending approval from the FDA, the exact cost of the drug is unknown. However, it seems close enough to approval that some cost estimate should have been attempted \u2014 perhaps via a market analyst or company officials. Should it be approved, the drug will most likely be quite expensive. The article only states that the data shows\u00a0beloranib met its two primary endpoints of\u00a0significantly reducing weight and decreasing excessive eating. No numbers are attached to these statements, however. In particular, how is excessive eating measured? Clearly this is harder to define than weight loss. Presumably, surrogate variables were introduced to quantify the degree of excessive eating. A significant decrease in these surrogate variables can be difficult to interpret in many situations. The article discloses the possible side effects of beloranib related to blood clotting along with the caveat that Prader-Willi patients are predisposed to clotting issues. Two deaths out of 100 patients is a significant issue, even if they can\u2019t be linked definitively to the drug, so it\u2019s good that this is a focal point. But the story mentions no other adverse effects that were observed in the study, and it should have. We\u2019ll give the benefit of the doubt and hope for improvement next time. From the presentation of the results, it is not clear exactly how many patients were included in the final analysis. It is said that the six-month study involved 107 patients who showed significant weight loss and reduction in excessive eating. However, the very next paragraph reveals that only 68 patients completed the full study, while 27 patients completed only 20 of the trial\u2019s scheduled 26 weeks. Furthermore, it is reported that a \u201csmall number other\u00a0patients withdrew early.\u201d This small number, by our calculation, is 107 \u2013 68 \u2013 27 = 12, which is not such a small number considering there were only 107 patients to begin with. The article provides an accurate profile of the Prader-WIlli syndrome emphasizing its life-threatening consequences but also conceding that it is a rare disease affecting roughly 6,000 to 8,000 Americans. Two sources appeared to have been interviewed for this piece, Dr. Hughes and Dr. Butler. The former is the chief executive of Zafgen while the latter is a medical researcher serving as a principal investigator of the clinical trial at the University of Kansas Medical Center. To meet our standard here, the story would have had to interview a source completely independent of the company and the trial. We rate this Not Satisfactory, but at least the article makes it clear that the studies under consideration are for a commercial drug. It is stated that there are no current treatments for Prader-Willi syndrome. It is made clear that the beloranib drug is still under experimentation and pending FDA approval. Having stated that there are currently no treatments for Prader-Willi, the novelty of the beloranib should be\u00a0self-evident to the reader. There\u2019s enough original reporting that we can be sure the story isn\u2019t based entirely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "41710", "claim": "Men in Uxbridge and South Ruislip live 14 years longer than they do in Stockton North.", "explanation": "Surf culture often prides itself on an affinity for nature. But there\u2019s a dirty secret hiding in many surfers\u2019 cupboards - old wetsuits.", "label": "true", "subjects": "health", "main_text": "A combination of salt water, UV rays and the wear-and-tear of life in the surf means most wetsuits only last a couple of years before they start to lose warmth and elasticity. Made from non-biodegradable rubber neoprene, surfers are often stuck with their old gear. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of wetsuits out in people\u2019s garages and houses,\u201d Tom Kay, founder of sustainable outdoor wear brand Finisterre, told Reuters from the company\u2019s headquarters near the rugged headlands of St Agnes in Cornwall. \u201cMost wetsuits only last two years and after that there\u2019s no known guidance about what to do with them at the end of their life... And neoprene is a very unbiodegradable fabric,\u201d he added. Neoprene is a widely used petroleum-based synthetic rubber known for its thermal insulation and snug fit, making it wetsuit manufacturers\u2019 go-to choice for decades. But unlike many plastics that can be broken down and recycled, neoprene is a \u2018thermoset\u2019 where its molecules are locked in position. \u201cIt basically means that it\u2019s processed in a way that can\u2019t (easily) be reversed. So that\u2019s why it\u2019s so challenging to recycle,\u201d explained materials scientist-turned fulltime wetsuit designer Jenny Banks, who is employed by Finisterre specifically to figure out how to bring recycling into the wetsuit industry. She added that traditional wetsuit design also involves the use of fabric linings which pose further challenges when it comes to recycling. After two years of research and experimentation, they\u2019ve created what they believe is the first fully recyclable wetsuit. \u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to find other ways to keep the wetsuit performing and staying strong and having reinforcement but actually eliminating the (nonrecyclable) fabrics,\u201d said Banks. The first prototype was recently tested by Kay in the surf. It was warmer than his usual wetsuit, he found. Some tweaks were needed on the fit and ease of getting in and out of, \u201cbut it\u2019s a really exciting start. We are still testing before we refine for the next prototype,\u201d he said in a statement. When it does hit the shelves, Finisterre says its price must be comparable to a regular wetsuit. Eventually, the team says they want to make the design construction open-source in a bid to help the wetsuit industry as a whole become more environmentally friendly. \u201cWe want to say to bigger brands \u2018look, we can do this\u2019 and if we can do this together, we can all do it,\u201d said Banks. As well as trying to eliminate wetsuit waste at the design phase, Finisterre has also partnered with UK-based company Renew ELP to trial their innovative recycling technology - breaking down and transforming existing wetsuits into a non-virgin crude oil that can be re-used by the plastics industry. As part of these ongoing trials, Finisterre is launching a wetsuit buy-back scheme in October, where surfers can drop off their old wetsuits to be used in a test recycling programme."}
{"claim_id": "4975", "claim": "Study: Millions should stop taking aspirin for heart health.", "explanation": "Millions of people who take aspirin to prevent a heart attack may need to rethink the pill-popping, Harvard researchers reported Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Heart disease, AP Top News, Health, General News, Heart attack, Heart health, U.S. News", "main_text": "A daily low-dose aspirin is recommended for people who have already had a heart attack or stroke and for those diagnosed with heart disease. But for the otherwise healthy, that advice has been overturned. Guidelines released this year ruled out routine aspirin use for many older adults who don\u2019t already have heart disease \u2014 and said it\u2019s only for certain younger people under doctor\u2019s orders. How many people need to get that message? Some 29 million people 40 and older were taking an aspirin a day despite having no known heart disease in 2017, the latest data available, according to a new study from Harvard and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. About 6.6 million of them were doing so on their own \u2014 a doctor never recommended it. And nearly half of people over 70 who don\u2019t have heart disease \u2014 estimated at about 10 million \u2014 were taking daily aspirin for prevention, the researchers reported in Annals of Internal Medicine. \u201cMany patients are confused about this,\u201d said Dr. Colin O\u2019Brien, a senior internal medicine resident at Beth Israel who led the study. After all, for years doctors urged people to leverage aspirin\u2019s blood-thinning properties to lower the chances of a first heart attack or stroke. Then last year, three surprising new studies challenged that dogma. Those studies were some of the largest and longest to test aspirin in people at low and moderate risk of a heart attack, and found only marginal benefit if any, especially for older adults. Yet the aspirin users experienced markedly more digestive-tract bleeding, along with some other side effects. . In March, those findings prompted a change in guidelines from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology: \u2014People over 70 who don\u2019t have heart disease \u2014 or are younger but at increased risk of bleeding \u2014 should avoid daily aspirin for prevention. \u2014Only certain 40- to 70-year-olds who don\u2019t already have heart disease are at high enough risk to warrant 75 to 100 milligrams of aspirin daily, and that\u2019s for a doctor to decide. Nothing has changed for heart attack survivors: Aspirin still is recommended for them. But there\u2019s no way to know how many otherwise healthy people got the word about the changed recommendations. \u201cWe hope that more primary care doctors will talk to their patients about aspirin use, and more patients will raise this with their doctors,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "33754", "claim": "The purpose of the 'crash' or 'brace' position in airliners is to kill passengers quickly in the event of an crash, or to preserve their remains so as to make identification of bodies easier.", "explanation": "Johnson & Johnson\u2019s DePuy Orthopaedics unit is in settlement talks to resolve the bulk of individual lawsuits alleging the company\u2019s metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implants were defective and caused severe injuries, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said on Monday.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Travel, Air Apparent", "main_text": "Texas-based plaintiff lawyer Mark Lanier said lawyers for the consumers had talked to the company in recent days to reach an agreement to resolve the long-running litigation that includes more than 10,000 cases. \u201cIt\u2019s still not a done deal, but we\u2019re getting close,\u201d Lanier said, adding that plaintiffs hope to reach a final agreement by the end of the year. Lanier said it was uncertain at this point how many of the roughly 10,000 Pinnacle lawsuits would be subject to the settlement. He declined further comment. A spokeswoman for DePuy on Monday declined to comment. Bloomberg first reported on the settlement talks. In 2013, DePuy ceased selling the metal-on-metal Pinnacle devices after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strengthened its artificial hip regulations. The Pinnacle system continues to be sold with other material combinations. Metal-on-metal hip implants have come under scrutiny over allegations that the products cause a build-up of metal ions in the blood, causing groin pain, allergic reactions, bone erosion and tissue death. J&J denies those allegations, saying the company acted appropriately and responsibly in the development, testing and marketing of the devices. Last month, J&J agreed to pay $120 million to resolve deceptive marketing claims by several U.S. states over metal-on-metal hip implants. DePuy said the settlement involved no admission of liability or misconduct on the part of the companies. J&J to date has faced several federal jury trials over the Pinnacle hip implants. It won the first case in 2014, but lost all subsequent trials, with verdicts ranging from $151 million to $540 million. J&J has appealed those verdicts. News of the settlement talks on Monday caused a federal judge overseeing an ongoing Pinnacle trial in Dallas to dismiss the jury in that case. Lanier said that case, involving five Texas plaintiffs, has not been settled yet."}
{"claim_id": "14845", "claim": "Ted Cruz tried to ban contraception\" five times.", "explanation": "The post on Clinton\u2019s website claims\u00a0\"Ted Cruz tried to ban contraception\" five times. There\u2019s little doubt that Cruz is a strong opponent of abortion, and as such, he and other anti-abortion advocates find certain types of contraception objectionable. But the Clinton campaign\u2019s examples don\u2019t exactly show Cruz trying to push across-the-board bans on contraception. The strongest conclusion about Cruz\u2019s views that one could draw from these examples is that he might support a ban on certain types of contraception (but not all) through his support for a personhood amendment. The other examples are even more limited and deal with what employers would be required to pay for, for instance, or whether a major birth control provider should continue to receive federal funding. The statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, National, Health Care, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called out Republican rival Ted Cruz for a contradiction on contraception after Cruz made a widely aired comment about condoms on his college campus. It started when Cruz mocked a consistent charge from Democrats that Republicans are against birth control during a Nov. 30, 2015, campaign stop in Bettendorf, Iowa. \"Last I checked,\" Cruz said, \"we don\u2019t have a rubber shortage in America. Look, when I was in college, we had a machine in the bathroom, you put 50 cents in and voila. So, yes, anyone who wants contraceptives can access them, but it\u2019s an utter made-up nonsense issue.\" The Clinton campaign didn\u2019t think much of his comment, challenging Cruz with a post on its website headlined, \"Ted Cruz says no one's trying to ban contraception. Here are 5 times Ted Cruz tried to ban contraception.\" It added, \"Cruz has personally tried to make it harder for women to get birth control.\" The post\u2019s fine print includes more nuanced language than the headline lets on -- that Cruz is \"trying to limit access to contraception,\" \"tried to make it harder for women to get birth control,\" and is pursuing policies that \"could ban some forms of birth control.\" The details in the softened (and more accurate) statements are lost in the blaring headline that Cruz \"tried to ban contraception\" five times.\" None of the Clinton campaign\u2019s examples supports the idea that Cruz seeks a flat-out ban on contraception. The Clinton campaign took issue with our characterization of the post, saying that they never meant for the headline to say that Cruz tried to ban all contraceptives on five separate occasions. However, we think ours is the most obvious interpretation of the language in question. 1. \"The time he supported a so-called personhood amendment, which could criminalize abortion and could ban some forms of birth control.\" This example offers the most support for Cruz trying to ban contraception, but it still overreaches. Cruz signed a \"personhood affirmation\" circulated by Georgia Right to Life this summer that commits him to a \"human life amendment\" to the U.S. Constitution that would define life as beginning at fertilization. As we have noted, the impact of such proposed \"personhood\" amendments on birth control is in dispute. Opponents, along with some legal scholars and\u00a0medical organizations, say that giving a fertilized egg all the rights of a person could make several FDA-approved contraceptives illegal. But that would depend on how courts interpret personhood. A \"personhood\" provision has not yet passed at the federal or state level. Even more complicated is the meaning of \"fertilization,\" according to a 2011 op-ed in the New York Times by Glenn Cohen, co-director of Harvard University\u2019s Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics, and Jonathan Will, law professor at Mississippi College. Fertilization, they wrote, could mean at least four different things: \"penetration of the egg by a sperm,\" successful combination of the genetic information from sperm and egg, activation of the genetic information, or implantation of the embryo in the uterus, Cohen and Will wrote. Sperm penetration occurs almost immediately, but implantation can take up to two weeks. \"Thus, on some reasonable readings of the amendment, certain forms of birth control ... would seem impermissible, while on other equally reasonable readings they are not.\" A relatively narrow judicial interpretation could allow the use of the pill and intrauterine devices, or IUDs, while a broader interpretation may not. But even if an enacted personhood amendment was interpreted by judges in the most expansive fashion possible, it would still not limit spermicides and -- notably given Cruz\u2019s comments -- condoms, since these prevent fertilization from taking place at all. So the first of Clinton\u2019s examples holds some plausibility as supporting evidence for her overall claim, but it\u2019s overly broad in suggesting that Cruz would ban all contraception and more speculative than she lets on. 2. \"The time he was willing to shut down the government to cut funding from Planned Parenthood.\" Cruz was indeed willing to shut down the federal government if lawmakers and President Barack Obama maintained federal funding of Planned Parenthood. (Combined, state and federal funding accounts for about 41 percent of Planned Parenthood\u2019s yearly revenue, or about $528 million, according to the group\u2019s most recent annual report.) \"It will be a decision of the president's and the president's alone whether he would veto funding for the federal government because of a commitment to ensuring taxpayer dollars continue to flow to what appears to be a national criminal organization,\" Cruz said in August 2015. But even if this shutdown had happened -- and it didn\u2019t -- the result would have been more indirect than an attempted ban on contraception. At most, it might have hampered the ability of individuals to receive contraceptives from one specific provider, albeit a significant one. 3. \"The time he called for the Supreme Court to turn women\u2019s personal health decisions over to their employers by striking down the Obamacare birth control co-pay provision\" in the Hobby Lobby ruling. In Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that a closely held, private corporation could decline on religious grounds to pay for certain kinds of contraceptives otherwise mandated in employee health coverage by the Affordable Care Act. Hobby Lobby\u2019s Christian owners said they objected to four of 20 Food and Drug Administration-approved forms of contraception that prevent implantation of the embryo. These include two forms of emergency contraception, also known as the morning-after pill, and two forms of intra-uterine devices, or IUDs. (The FDA considers these four methods to be contraception, but the company\u2019s owners consider them to be a form of abortion.) The way the decision was written leaves some question about whether closely held, religious companies can choose to opt out of supporting any of the remaining 16 forms of contraception in their health plans. Already, some companies have been allowed by lower courts to stop paying for a wider range of contraceptives than were at issue in the Hobby Lobby case, though some of those cases are still working their way through the courts. Still, Cruz\u2019s support for the Hobby Lobby decision does not by itself mean that he supports banning all contraceptives. First, the case involved employer co-payments for contraceptives, making it financially harder but not impossible for an individual to obtain contraceptives. And second, that case involved only four of the 20 FDA-approved contraceptives; whether the Supreme Court might some day support a broader interpretation that permits closely held companies to opt out of all contraceptives remains to be seen. 4. \"The time he tried to get rid of a law that made it so women couldn\u2019t be fired for their personal reproductive decisions (including birth control).\" The Washington, D.C., law in question -- the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 -- says employers cannot use their personal beliefs to discriminate against an employee for his or her reproductive health choices. Cruz took issue with the law in his capacity as a member of Congress, which is allowed a 30-day period to object to D.C. laws. (Congressional opponents were unable to derail the law, which would have also required the cooperation of Obama.) The potential to be fired or demoted from a job for using contraception is a heavy penalty. Still, opposing this bill is not the same thing as advocating for a ban on contraception. 5. \"And the time he used a medically and scientifically incorrect argument to try to ban emergency contraception.\" The Clinton campaign cites an article in the liberal publication Salon.com that takes Cruz to task for saying that the federal government wants to make private companies (like those in the Hobby Lobby case) provide \"abortifacients\" to employees. The article draws a distinction between abortifacients, such as the pill RU-486, and \"emergency contraceptives\" that may be taken up to three days after unprotected sex. The medical community also draws a distinction between the two methods. The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, for instance, writes that RU-486 \"ends pregnancy\" whereas emergency contraception \"prevent(s) unintended pregnancy.\" The group states flatly that \"emergency contraception is not the same as medical abortion.\" A potential gray area -- emphasized by anti-abortion advocates -- is that emergency contraception may take effect after fertilization has already taken place. Regardless of how early that occurs, this is enough for some abortion opponents to classify it as causing a pregnancy to be aborted. Setting aside this difference of opinion, it\u2019s not clear that this example supports Clinton\u2019s overall point that Cruz has sought to \"ban contraception.\" By focusing on \"emergency contraception,\" it addresses Cruz\u2019s position on one type of contraception but not all types. Our ruling The post on Clinton\u2019s website claims\u00a0\"Ted Cruz tried to ban contraception\" five times. There\u2019s little doubt that Cruz is a strong opponent of abortion, and as such, he and other anti-abortion advocates find certain types of contraception objectionable. But the Clinton campaign\u2019s examples don\u2019t exactly show Cruz trying to push across-the-board bans on contraception. The strongest conclusion about Cruz\u2019s views that one could draw from these examples is that he might support a ban on certain types of contraception (but not all) through his support for a personhood amendment. The other examples are even more limited and deal with what employers would be required to pay for, for instance, or whether a major birth control provider should continue to receive federal funding. The statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."}
{"claim_id": "37958", "claim": "A viral photograph depicts soft serve \"cannabis ice cream.", "explanation": "A popular engagement baiting poll featuring the same image of \u201ccannabis ice cream,\u201d a bright green soft-serve cone, circulated on Facebook and other sites. The image was inaccurately labeled, and shows soft-serve green tea ice cream. Although cannabis-infused ice cream edibles exist, those products appear to be not widely available in many American dispensaries.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Viral Content", "main_text": "In mid-2020, a purported photograph of \u201ccannabis ice cream\u201d circulated on Facebook\u00a0as a mildly engagement-baiting poll asking whether readers were for or against the putative dessert:Earlier iterations of the image featured the same text reading \u201ccannabis ice cream,\u201d but lacked the \u201cyes or no\u201d element encouraging users to interact with the post:Who wants to go for ice cream? #StayCrispy #Cannabis #IceCream pic.twitter.com/anWFuKUhxI\u2014 The Green Daily (@TheGreenDailyy) July 25, 2018\u2018Cannabis Ice Cream\u2019 Images and PostsThe image was even older than that; nearly four years before \u201ccannabis ice cream\u201d was shared in the above tweet, a blogger included the photograph in a November 2014\u00a0post bearing the same title, and wrote:I have just returned from a city break in Amsterdam and I saw this sign in the window of a store in the centre of the city. So to sign-off my recent blogs on ice cream, I just thought I would share this most unusual ice cream flavour with readers. No, I didn\u2019t get around to trying it myself (I promise you), but this is what it looks like if you are ever in the wonderful cosmopolitan Dutch city of Amsterdam.Although the author included. the image and said \u201cthis is what it looks like,\u201d the post\u2019s other image suggested otherwise:All six advertised flavors were depicted on the poster, and all were scooped hard ice cream, not soft serve. Each flavor was depicted in front of a cannabis leaf, and none were even faintly green in color \u2014 much less a vibrant green.The flavors and colors were as follows:No element of the advertisement indicated a strictly cannabis flavor was available, or alluded to the portion size seen in the viral image. Small white text in the lower right-hand corner read \u201cTraditional Sicilian ice cream with an Amsterdam Twist.\u201d Finally, the image in question did not originate with that blog post, and was first crawled by TinEye in October 2014:Unrelated mentions of cannabis ice cream typically also featured hard scooped ice cream, occasionally in of light green hue:Israeli ice cream chain pushes cannabis flavored scoops https://t.co/TIrGppbY3i pic.twitter.com/PzAMDM39I2\u2014 The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) August 16, 2018In August 2015, the blog Curious About Cannabis/Cannabis Corner featured the image in a post titled \u201cCannabis Edibles: GREEN Ice Cream!\u201d However, the post primarily described what was at the time the growing popularity of cannabis edibles, and discussed methods to make homemade ice cream infused with cannabis:Ice Cream infused/made with Cannabis is becoming quite popular. Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerrys famously branded ice cream impresarios) declared on HuffPo Live that they\u2019d support making a cannabis-infused version of their sweet treats available where marijuana is legal. SO, how probable is it that we\u2019ll see Ben & Jerry\u2019s \u201cReefer Rum\u201d or \u201cCheeba Cherry\u201d in the freezer case?With the sale of almost 5 million edibles in Colorado last year, according to Time, creating a food-based marijuana product seems like a no-brainer for Ben and Jerry\u2019s\u2026 BUT, for now, it\u2019s not happening\u00a0 \u2026 Speaking with Brian Smith, co-owner of Ample Hills Creamery, a Brooklyn-based ice-cream shop, for some ideas about making a weed-infused ice cream at home. Smith says they\u2019ve concocted a lot of flavors that involved steeping ingredients like Cap\u2019n Crunch, pretzels, or tea leaves, which is exactly what you would do to make a weed-infused ice cream. According to The Stoner\u2019s Cookbook, you should cook (decarboxylate) your weed first,, but the steeping process will give you a smoother texture and a stronger potency.A separate 2015 Italian blog post said of the image:Green like pistachio, it is an ice cream that has tasty cannabis seeds at its base, however free of THC, the famous active ingredient, mixed with milk and vanilla, and with the addition of a tasty caramel.A flavor that many have liked and that has already received hundreds of bookings from ice cream makers from all five continents, happy to rely on the experience of MEC3, the Italian company that invented and produces it.That claim did have some basis in truth \u2014 a product known as\u00a0One Love Hemp Gelato by Italian company MEC3 went viral in March 2017. But as The Daily Meal noted, the product offered no psychoactive effects:As medical marijuana sweeps the nation, and more states and cities are legalizing greenery, one product, cannabidiol from Hemp Health Inc., gives you the benefits of medical marijuana without any of the psychoactive effects of the THC chemical. And now you can have these benefits in gelato form. Introducing Italian gelato and pastry products giant MEC3\u2019s One Love hemp-flavored gelato. Cheekily named after Bob Marley, the ice cream product is completely legal in all 50 states because it does not contain any THC: just the hemp plant minus the munchies and paranoid thoughts. But the good news is that the ice cream does taste exactly like marijuana. Watch out, Ben & Jerry\u2019s, these guys are ahead of the marijuana ice cream game.CNN Travel also reported on the product in March 2017, reiterating that MEC3\u2019s One Love hemp-flavored gelato would not produce the high associated with cannabis edibles:Perleco, a gelato parlor in Alassio, recently launched the gelato \u2014 named Marley after reggae legend Bob. But while it sounds like a weed fiend\u2019s dream, its makers say the frozen treat isn\u2019t going to get anyone high.\u201cCannabis has a very intense flavor,\u201d Aldo De Michelis, who created the flavor with son Mauro and wife Emanuela Baudana, tells CNN.CNN also featured an image of the flavor \u2014 which was neither green nor soft serve:Consistently, the image was mislabeled and presented as an accurate depiction of \u201ccannabis ice cream,\u201d often alongside blog posts or content about cannabis-flavored ice cream.Origin of the \u2018Cannabis Ice Cream\u2019 ImageAlthough image crawlers first tagged the photograph of two green soft-serve ice cream cones in October 2014, it was still older than that.The first iteration of the image we found was shared on April 13 2014, by Tumblr user lychei\u00a0(archived). In the post, the user described it as \u201cgreen t soft serve\u201d:That Tumblr post linked to a since-deleted Instagram post from April 2014. We located an archived version of the post, which was originally shared in April 2014.Initial comments on the post complimented the image, and asked what flavor ice cream was depicted. One user asked if it was \u201cweed ice cream,\u201d and the user answered that it was \u201cgreen tea!\u201dReal \u2018Cannabis Ice Cream\u2019A handful of cannabis edible manufacturers do retail THC-infused ice creams, but the products are sparsely distributed\u00a0(likely due to logistical difficulties) and they aren\u2019t necessarily green, either.A company in the Netherlands, Dr. Greenlove, produced a Drumstick-like, cannabis-infused product:Cannabis Ice Cream \ud83c\udf31\ud83d\udc9a Dr. Greenlove Amsterdam #drgreenlove #cannabisicecream #cannabis #icecream #cannabisinfused #cannabisoil #cannabissativa #cannabisicecream #drgreenlove #hemp #heladodecannabis #gelatoallacannabis #gelato #cannabiseis #cannabisijs #heladodeca\u00f1amo #cannabisinfusedicecream #cannabisoil #terps #cannabisterpenes #terpenes #cannabisnation #hempicecream #cannabisfood #cannabissativa #hempfood #gelatoallacanapa #cannabiscandy #hanfeis #hennepijs #amsterdamcannabis #hempoil #hempharvestA post shared by  Dr. Greenlove, Amsterdam (@dr.greenlove) on May 27, 2020 at 6:19am PDTInstagram users occasionally shared creative cannabis-infused frozen edibles:Introducing the #SweetTartResinBar \ud83d\ude0d Black, sweet & tart ice cream w/red sprinkles, a dark chocolate shell & a white & dark chocolate glittery cherry on the back. #imadethis #homemade #edibleglitter #blackicecream #sweettart #medicatedicecream #edibles #weedinfused #weedtreats #weedicecream #medibles #weed #cannabisicecream #cannabis #madewithlove #medicated  #glitterchocolate #gottreats #getthembeforetheyaregoneA post shared by  Fillip Wilson (@fluffleman) on Aug 10, 2020 at 9:13pm PDTAs did other small-batch purveyors, such as @janeandmarys:Weed Ice Cream #vegascannabiscommunity #smokeweedeveryday #cannabisicecream #710society #702dabbersA post shared by  Aim (@aimhigh710) on Sep 11, 2020 at 9:04am PDTDrumberries Ice Cream Social was sooooo fun!!! Thx @drumberries for having us! @djskoli and @terrenceart32 set the tone. The ice cream was a hit too! #HighlyDelicious  #summertimechi #chicagocannabis  #blackownedbusinessA post shared by  Jane & Mary's Ice Cream (@janeandmarys) on Aug 29, 2020 at 4:53pm PDTNevertheless, most content tagged #cannabisicecream featured CBD-infused edibles, lacking THC:MedCannabis fagylaltjaink CBD-t tartalmaznak, melynek rengeteg j\u00f3t\u00e9kony hat\u00e1sa lehet. Tov\u00e1bbi inform\u00e1ci\u00f3kr\u00f3l a https://www.cannabisicecream.hu/miert-jo-a-cbd oldalunkon t\u00e1j\u00e9koz\u00f3dhatsz! \ud83d\ude09  A fagyiszezon m\u00e9g jav\u00e1ban tart! \ud83d\ude0e Ne maradj le r\u00f3la \ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\udc9a #medcannabis #cannabisicecream #summer #summervibes #fagyi #icecream #zoldfagyi #budapest #obuda #kostoldmeg #greenicecream\ud83d\udc9a #CBDA post shared by  MedCannabis Magyarorsza\u0301g Kft. (@medcannabis_icecream) on Aug 11, 2020 at 12:04am PDTIT'S BACK!!! The decadent CBD Ice Cream from Heavenly Hash Creamery is back! Come and Get it! Cannabis Ice Cream! #HHC #heavenlyhashcreamery #cannabisicecream  #CBDIceCream  #VaporRoadTyrone #VaporRoadFloridaA post shared by  Heavenly Hash Creamery (@heavenlyhashcreamery) on Sep 16, 2020 at 2:11pm PDTTL;DRA popular engagement baiting poll featuring the same image of \u201ccannabis ice cream,\u201d a bright green soft-serve cone, circulated on Facebook and other sites. The image was inaccurately labeled, and shows soft-serve green tea ice cream. Although cannabis-infused ice cream edibles exist, those products appear to be not widely available in many American dispensaries.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "16739", "claim": "Facebook post Says former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that \"if the workers are more insecure, that's very healthy for the society\" because \"they'll serve the masters gladly and passively.", "explanation": "The meme says Greenspan said that \"if the workers are more insecure, that's very healthy for the society\" because \"they'll serve the masters gladly and passively.\" Those words actually come from a sarcastic critique of Greenspan\u2019s words by Noam Chomsky, not from Greenspan himself.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Economy, Labor, Workers, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "Amid a stubbornly slow economic recovery, a reader recently forwarded us a social media post taking aim at former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan for using callous language about worker insecurity. The post features images of Greenspan and says: I am Alan And, I used to run the Federal Reserve. And, I actually said this: If the workers are more insecure, that's very healthy for the society, because if workers are insecure they won't ask for wages, they won't go on strike, they won't call for benefits; they'll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that's optimal for corporations. The reader wondered if the five-time chairman of the United States\u2019 central bank actually said something so dismissive about America\u2019s economically left-behind. So did we. As it turns out, Greenspan didn\u2019t say it. Instead, it's\u00a0academic Noam Chomsky's take on something Greenspan said. And Greenspan and Chomsky couldn\u2019t be more different ideologically. As a young man, Greenspan was a member of the inner circle of Ayn Rand, the libertarian thinker and novelist. (Rand would eventually stand with Greenspan when he was sworn in as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in 1974.) Greenspan was nominated for the Fed chairmanship by three Republican presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush) as well as by Democrat Bill Clinton. Meanwhile, Chomsky is an influential academic linguist who\u2019s at least as well known for his political views. They veer sharply left and are sometimes referred to as \"anarcho-syndicalist,\" a philosophy he\u2019s described as promoting \"a very organized society, but organized from below by direct participation at every level, with as little control and domination as is feasible, maybe none.\" So how did this misattribution happen? It emerged from remarks Chomsky made to the Adjunct Faculty Association of the United Steelworkers on Feb. 4, 2014, reprinted in transcript form in the February-March issue of CounterPunch. Here are excerpts from a section of the transcript where Chomsky discusses the issue of universities hiring non-tenure-track faculty: \"That\u2019s part of the business model. It\u2019s the same as hiring temps in industry or what they call \u2018associates\u2019 at Walmart -- employees that aren\u2019t owed benefits. It\u2019s a part of a corporate business model designed to reduce labor costs and to increase labor servility. When universities become corporatized ... they want to keep costs down and make sure that labor is docile and obedient. The way to do that is, essentially, temps. \u2026 \"This idea is sometimes made quite overt. So when Alan Greenspan was testifying before Congress in 1997 on the marvels of the economy he was running, he said straight out that one of the bases for its economic success was imposing what he called \u2018greater worker insecurity.\u2019 If workers are more insecure, that\u2019s very \u2018healthy\u2019 for the society, because if workers are insecure they won\u2019t ask for wages, they won\u2019t go on strike, they won\u2019t call for benefits; they\u2019ll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that\u2019s optimal for corporations\u2019 economic health. At the time, everyone regarded Greenspan\u2019s comment as very reasonable, judging by the lack of reaction and the great acclaim he enjoyed.\" We looked at Greenspan\u2019s Feb. 26, 1997, testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Here\u2019s a portion: \"The performance of the U.S. economy over the past year has been quite favorable. \u2026 Continued low levels of inflation and inflation expectations have been a key support for healthy economic performance. \u2026 Atypical restraint on compensation increases has been evident for a few years now, and appears to be mainly the consequence of greater worker insecurity. The willingness of workers in recent years to trade off smaller increases in wages for greater job security seems to be reasonably well documented. The unanswered question is why this insecurity persisted even as the labor market, by all objective measures, tightened considerably.\" Greenspan, in his testimony, then suggests technological change and international competition as possible reasons for worker insecurity, before noting that \"suppressed wage cost growth as a consequence of job insecurity can be carried only so far. At some point, the tradeoff of subdued wage growth for job security has to come to an end. In other words, the relatively modest wage gains we have experienced are a temporary rather than a lasting phenomenon because there is a limit to the value of additional job security people are willing to acquire in exchange for lesser increases in living standards.\" Chomsky\u2019s take on the substance of what Greenspan said seems reasonably on target. However, Greenspan\u2019s tone is far different than Chomsky\u2019s. Greenspan\u2019s words are explanatory and analytical, displaying none of the sarcasm that Chomsky, or the creator of the Facebook post, ascribes to them -- especially the part about workers serving their masters \"gladly and passively.\" Reached by email, Chomsky confirmed that he and other economists have periodically pointed to Greenspan\u2019s 1997 testimony, including a reference in his book, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy. Chomsky added, \"Don\u2019t know anything about Facebook. I don\u2019t use it.\" Our ruling The meme says Greenspan said that \"if the workers are more insecure, that's very healthy for the society\" because \"they'll serve the masters gladly and passively.\" Those words actually come from a sarcastic critique of Greenspan\u2019s words by Noam Chomsky, not from Greenspan himself. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "41011", "claim": "Three Maryland coronavirus patients fully recovered and are able to return to everyday life.", "explanation": "Correct. On 13 March 2020, Montgomery County, Maryland confirmed that three residents who previously had the virus no longer tested positive.", "label": "true", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "Doctors in India have been successful in treating coronavirus with a combination of drugs (Lopinavir, Retonovir, Oseltamivir along with Chlorphenamine) and are going to suggest the same medicine globally. India\u2019s ministry of health has advised that the anti-HIV drugs, Lopinavir and Retonovir, are used in some groups of Covid-19 patients. But it is unclear how successful this treatment has been. The other two drugs from the claim are not mentioned in their guidance. Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center claim to have found an antibody against coronavirus. Researchers in the Netherlands have released research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, on an antibody against the new coronavirus. A 103 year-old Chinese grandmother has made a full recovery from Covid-19 after being treated for 6 days in Wuhan, China This has been widely reported in the media. Apple has reopened all 42 China stores. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Apple announced that it had reopened all 42 stores in mainland China after a closure of almost six weeks. Cleveland Clinic developed a Covid-19 test that gives results in hours, not days. The number of new cases in South Korea is declining. Italy is hit hard, experts say, only because they have the oldest population in Europe. Whilst it is true that an older population has contributed to a high number of deaths in Italy, it may not be the sole reason. Scientists in Israel are likely to announce the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Scientists in Israel and elsewhere are working on developing a vaccination to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, but it won\u2019t be ready for the public for over a year. Three Maryland coronavirus patients fully recovered and are able to return to everyday life. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Montgomery County, Maryland confirmed that three residents who previously had the virus no longer tested positive. A network of Canadian scientists are making excellent progress in Covid-19 research. At least one group of Canadian scientists has recently announced some progress in understanding Covid-19. A San Diego biotech company is developing a Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with Duke University and National University of Singapore. Tulsa County's first positive Covid-19 case has recovered. This individual has had two negative tests, which is the indicator of recovery. Correct, this patient has recovered according to official Tulsa County sources. Two negative tests is one of three official indicators of recovery among people with Covid-19 (who showed symptoms). All seven patients who were getting treated for Covid-19 at Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi have recovered. There is a news story reporting that seven patients in this hospital in New Delhi had recovered. However, these were not the only Covid-19 patients in the city. Plasma from newly recovered patients from Covid -19 can treat others infected by Covid-19. This is being used as a treatment in some countries, but clinical trials have not yet proved that this is effective. Claim 1 of 15"}
{"claim_id": "16805", "claim": "Thanks to #ObamaCare, average E.R. wait in California is 5 hours.", "explanation": "In a tweet, Priebus said, \"Thanks to #ObamaCare, average E.R. wait in California is 5 hours.\" The statistic was based on data from 2012 -- two years before the provisions of the ACA could have had any impact. Meanwhile, the five-hour figure is just one of three measurements of E.R. wait times -- and not even necessarily the best one. If you count from the time of a patient's arrival to being seen by a health care professional, the wait time was 31 minutes in California. Even the strongest support for the claim is far from solid: A survey of emergency physicians found signs that E.R. traffic had increased since the ACA took effect in January, but the results were mixed, and this documents patient volume, not wait times.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Reince Priebus, ", "main_text": "Republican criticism of Obamacare may have been overtaken by other talking points -- from the influx of unaccompanied minors at the border to the Internal Revenue Service\u2019s handling of tax-exempt organizations -- but it hasn\u2019t disappeared entirely. On July 7, 2014, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus sent the following tweet: \"Thanks to #ObamaCare, average E.R. wait in California is 5 hours: http://gop.cm/6015YqKd And 'it\u2019s only going to get worse.' \" The tweet is based on, and links to, a July 4 report aired on the Fresno, Calif.-based TV station KMPH, a Fox affiliate. \"If you have to go to an emergency room get ready to wait more than five hours,\" says the Web version of the KMPH report. \"Right now, that is the average wait in the state of California. Health experts say you can blame Obamacare and Covered California for that long wait and they say it's only going to get worse. One of the promised benefits of the Affordable Care Act was to reduce the pressure on emergency rooms by expanding Medicaid and giving the poor better access to primary care. But instead, a survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians suggests something else. The organization says President Obama's health care reform actually has had a destructive effect on the nation's emergency rooms.\" (The version that aired is archived here.) But when we took a closer look, we found several problems -- including that the alleged 5-hour wait time was measured before the health care law took effect. What does 'average E.R. wait' mean? Actually, there isn\u2019t just one definition. A study published in October 2013 by the California HealthCare Foundation offered three different measurements. The one Priebus references is \"patient arrival to being admitted to hospital as inpatient.\" For California, this wait was five hours and 26 minutes -- longer than the national average of four hours and 34 minutes. But this is by far the longest of the three measures. The second longest is \"patient arrival to emergency room departure for discharged patients\" -- basically, the entire length of the visit for someone who isn\u2019t actually admitted as an inpatient after being seen by the E.R. For Californians, this wait time was two hours and 49 minutes, once again a bit higher than the national average of two hours and 19 minutes. The third measurement is by far the shortest -- \"patient arrival to being seen by health care professional.\" In California, this was 31 minutes, slightly more than the national average of 29 minutes. One might take away from Priebus\u2019 tweet that someone going to a California E.R. can expect a wait of more than five hours just to get in to see a doctor or a nurse. In reality, they\u2019re seeing a health professional in about a half an hour -- and if their injury or illness isn\u2019t serious enough to keep them in the hospital overnight, then they\u2019re on their way home in under three hours. For those patients, their entire visit is much shorter than the five hours Priebus indicates. Steven Birenbaum, a spokesman for the California HealthCare Foundation, said the wait time to see a health professional -- the shortest of the three measures -- is actually the most useful statistic in this context, because the longer figure \"mainly reflects the inpatient service and how full the hospitals is.\" Julie Lloyd, a spokeswoman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, said there\u2019s no \"definitive answer\" on which measurement is better. Her group focuses more on the wait time to admission or discharge, but she said hospitals market themselves based on wait time to see a doctor. The wait time to see a doctor is likely more familiar to ordinary Americans. Are long E.R. waits really due to Obamacare? At this point, any link between the Affordable Care Act and longer E.R. waiting times is speculative at best, because post-ACA data on wait times do not yet exist. The data from the California HealthCare Foundation is from 2012 -- in other words, long before provisions of the law began taking effect on Jan. 1, 2014. \"It is too early to confirm that wait times are increasing under the ACA, due to the delay in data being released,\" Birenbaum said. Indeed, E.R. wait times \"have been a serious problem for many years,\" said Lloyd of the emergency physicians\u2019 group. \"This is not anything new. It is often incorrectly blamed on nonurgent patients, who only comprise 7 percent to 8 percent of all E.R. patients.\" The real reasons for long wait times, Lloyd said, include \"increasingly complex workups for patients, particularly older patients with multiple health problems, and the hospital practice of \u2018boarding.\u2019 \u2018Boarding\u2019 occurs when a patient admitted to the hospital from the E.R. is held in the E.R. while waiting for an inpatient bed. That ties up a bed and physicians\u2019 attention, preventing them from getting to the next patients in line. Some patients are boarded for many, many hours.\" This doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s no support at all for the notion that the ACA has complicated matters for emergency rooms. An online survey of 1,845 emergency physicians, conducted in April 2014 by the American College of Emergency Physicians, found evidence that caseloads had increased since the start of Obamacare -- though even here, the results were mixed. The TV report that Priebus linked to cited this recent survey. When asked whether the volume of emergency patients in their own E.R. had changed since Jan. 1, 2014, 9 percent said it had increased greatly and 37 percent said it had increased slightly. However, a larger percentage said it had remained the same (27 percent), decreased slightly (20 percent) or decreased greatly (3 percent). And while 86 percent of emergency physicians said they expected to see an increase in emergency visits over the next three years, it\u2019s not clear that the ACA will be the dominant -- or even a significant -- reason for this. When asked what type of long-term impact the Affordable Care Act will have on access to emergency care, \"positive\" (34 percent) outweighed \"negative\" (29 percent), with another 29 percent saying it would have no impact. It\u2019s also worth noting that the survey data -- the only post-ACA data we have -- speaks to patient volume in emergency rooms. It doesn\u2019t speak to wait times, which was the focus of both the KMPH report and Priebus\u2019 tweet. Kirsten Kukowski, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, stood by the KMPH story the tweet cited. \"If you have to go to an emergency room, get ready to wait more than five hours,\" she said. \"Right now, that is the average wait in the state of California. Health experts say you can blame Obamacare and Covered California for that long wait and they say it's only going to get worse.\" KMPH did not return an inquiry for this article. But Birenbaum of the California HealthCare Foundation added a footnote: The San Joaquin Valley, where the TV segment was reported, \"has one of the lowest rates of primary care physicians to population. It would make sense that patients often end up\" in the E.R. Our ruling In a tweet, Priebus said, \"Thanks to #ObamaCare, average E.R. wait in California is 5 hours.\" The statistic was based on data from 2012 -- two years before the provisions of the ACA could have had any impact. Meanwhile, the five-hour figure is just one of three measurements of E.R. wait times -- and not even necessarily the best one. If you count from the time of a patient's arrival to being seen by a health care professional, the wait time was 31 minutes in California. Even the strongest support for the claim is far from solid: A survey of emergency physicians found signs that E.R. traffic had increased since the ACA took effect in January, but the results were mixed, and this documents patient volume, not wait times. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "33722", "claim": "An alligator captured in the Chicago River in June 2008 was the first such creature ever found in that body of water.", "explanation": "Apparently alligators have yet to get their fill of news headlines. A 4-5-foot alligator was discovered living in Humboldt Park Lagoon on Chicago\u2019s West Side in July 2019.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Critter Country, alligators, Not Necessarily The News, nucleation", "main_text": "A recent news article about the Internet rumors swirling around a particular presidential candidate included a statement by the writer that he was \u201cwaiting to learn that [the candidate] put the first alligator in the New York City sewer,\u201d an acknowledgement that a tale about the looming threat of deadly alligators silently lurking just beneath city streets has come to be recognized as a quintessential urban legend Although no hordes of alligators (mutant or otherwise) dwell within the bowels of the New York City sewer system, reports of saurians found in municipal waterways have been common newspaper fodder for over a century. Some of these accounts have been more fiction than fact, but a surprising number of abandoned, escaped, or otherwise misplaced gators \u2014 everything from infants to full-grown adults \u2014 really have been found in urban waters far from their native habitats over the years. So, I wasn\u2019t taken aback by June 2008 news reports announcing the discovery and capture of an alligator in the Chicago River:  A 45-pound gator was captured along a stretch of the river in Chicago\u2019s industrial South Side that was once one of the dirtiest waterways in the world but now has been restored and is full of fish, something that could have attracted the reptile. Officials think the American alligator, one of the strongest and most aggressive breeds, could have been a transplant or even a dumped pet. It was captured by volunteers from the Chicago Herpetological Society and will be sent to its native area of the U.S. southeast. What caught my eye, however, was the claim that this was the first such saurian ever pulled from that river. A UPI account opened with the following paragraph:  Animal control officials say the first alligator ever found in the Chicago River will be shipped to a wildlife sanctuary in the southeastern United States. And the Chicago Tribune reported:  Terrible things have emerged over the years from Bubbly Creek, a spot in the Chicago River that was once a churning sewer for the city\u2019s slaughterhouses. But until Friday, nobody had seen what Bill Cox and his co-workers saw \u2014 something with a devilish underbite, sinister eyes and a cold-blooded appetite. An honest-to-goodness alligator in the Chicago River. Given the prevalence of urban alligator reports over the last century, I wondered if this was truly the first one sited at the Chicago River, or whether it was merely being reported as such because nobody recalled any earlier incident. Sure enough, a search through newspaper archives not only turned up a similar account from 1902, but one that had been published in the pages of the Chicago [Daily] Tribune itself (transcribed below):   \u201cLook out for alligators\u201d is the warning which fond parents soon may be giving their small boys when they go swimming in the Chicago river. An alligator two and one-half feet in length was captured in the river at the Twelfth street bridge yesterday, after Policeman Daniel McCarthy had fired four shots at it from his revolver and James Burke, a bridge iron worker, had fallen into the river in his endeavors to capture the animal. Shortly after noon Burke and McCarthy were crossing the river to get shelter in a small shanty at the east side of the stream. \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter with me?\u201d almost shouted Burke. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d began McCarthy at the same time, seeing the alligator swimming about in the river. \u201cI\u2019ve got them, too.\u201d The two men watched the animal swimming about for a moment, and both agreed that it must be the \u201creal thing.\u201d McCarthy drew his revolver and tried four times to hit the little beast, but missed. Then Burke made a noose with a piece of heavy twine, and leaned far out over the water. As Burke tried to slip the noose over the alligator\u2019s head he slipped and fell head foremost into the river. After some trouble he managed to climb out of the water, and, nothing daunted, he renewed his efforts to capture the alligator. A few minutes later Burke succeeded in lifting the animal out of the water and took it to the little shanty near by. Later it was placed in a barrel of water."}
{"claim_id": "26243", "claim": "Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, \u201cMinnesota now has the highest unemployment rate in U.S. history.\u201d", "explanation": "There is no official unemployment rate that backs the claim in the Facebook post. Minnesota\u2019s reported unemployment rate, which was for March 2020, was near a record low when this Facebook post was published. Time lags in reporting official data mean that reported unemployment rates don\u2019t reflect recent claims for unemployment insurance. There are indications that Minnesota\u2019s unemployment rate could climb toward the Depression-era national record of nearly 25%.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Jobs, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "Minnesota ranks near the middle of the states on the number of confirmed coronavirus cases per capita. So is it possible that the pandemic has left it with the highest-ever unemployment rate in the country? \"Well, we did it!\" a Facebook post declares. \"Minnesota now has the highest unemployment rate in U.S. history. Yesterday we surpassed the peak of the Great Depression.\" The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It was updated a few times in subsequent days with different numbers, but was\u00a0taken down after we started work on this fact check. The post is ambiguous about whether it refers to a record high for Minnesota or for all states throughout U.S. history. The post alluded to the national unemployment rate of roughly 25% during the Great Depression as a benchmark, but state records are not available for that period. And there is no officially reported unemployment data for Minnesota to back up the claim. As of May 6, the date of the Facebook post, Minnesota\u2019s most recently reported unemployment rate was for March. At that time, its jobless rate was among the lowest in the country, at 2.9%. Minnesota has since reported data for April, which reflect more pandemic-related shutdowns and show unemployment jumping to 8.1% \u2014 still second-lowest in the country behind Connecticut\u2019s 7.9%; Nevada was highest, at 28.2%. The national rate was 14.1%. There are indications that Minnesota\u2019s jobless rates could head much closer to that Depression-era mark, though at this point, that is speculative. The time lag in reporting unemployment rates means that the officially reported data don\u2019t fully reflect the trends in the number of people filing unemployment insurance claims week to week. So even as Minnesota was reporting strong jobs numbers, signs of a much greater unemployment problem were already appearing. On April 16, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on data suggesting that close to one in five Minnesota workers was unemployed or had lost work in the previous six weeks. On May 6, Minneapolis TV station Fox 9 reported that Minnesota had received 624,873 unemployment filings, amounting to 20% of the state's workforce, since mid-March. Mixing measures, that news report said the percentage rivaled unemployment rates during the Great Depression, when rates pushed towards 25%. The Facebook post attacks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a member of the state\u2019s Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, as being the \"first governor to force 25% of our workforce out of jobs.\" The post also refers to federal figures. But at that point, Minnesota\u2019s reported rate was nowhere near that high. \"Once we have the data, it may well turn out to be true that on May 6, Minnesota \u2014 and indeed the nation as a whole \u2014 may have had the highest unemployment rate in history, including the Great Depression,\" University of Minnesota economist V.V. Chari told PolitiFact. \"My own guess is that we do have the highest unemployment rate in history now, but until we have the data, it is only an educated guess. Too early to say it quite as definitively as the poster puts it.\" In 1933, during the Great Depression, the national unemployment rate reached 24.9%, although that\u2019s an annual rate, and a different measure from what is used now by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chari and Brian Hannon, an economist at the bureau, said there are no official state figures during the Depression period. A Facebook post claimed that amid the COVID-19 outbreak, \"Minnesota now has the highest unemployment rate in U.S. history.\" There is no official unemployment rate to back the claim. At the time of the post, on May 6, the most recently available data were for March and showed Minnesota\u2019s unemployment rate at only 2.9%. Later data for April showed Minnesota still with one of the nation\u2019s lowest jobless rates. However, during that lag, it was reported that roughly 20% of Minnesota residents, based on unemployment insurance filings, were unemployed or had lost work. The statement contains an element of truth."}
{"claim_id": "10845", "claim": "Aspirin cuts heart attacks, not deaths or strokes", "explanation": "This story demonstrates a careful and contextual analysis of the evidence, making clear what the study did show and what it didn\u2019t. The trials aren\u2019t long enough to show downstream effects on mortality, which is, unfortunately, a problem with most primary prevention trials. The real question here (which is not answered but is discussed) is what is the balance of benefits and harms.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Reuters Health", "main_text": "We\u2019ll accept the brief mention \u2013 at the very end of the story about aspiring being \u201ccheap\u201d and \u201ccost effective for men over 45.\u201d\u00a0 We all know it\u2019s cheap. But it doesn\u2019t hurt to include a few words about cost and cost-effectiveness. Appropriate context. With a meta-analysis it is not statistically appropriate to pool absolute risk reductions, so the way the story treated the evidence is as good as can be done (showing the relative risk reduction and an \u201canchor\u201d in terms of absolute risk. Excerpt: \u201cThe researchers found a 19-percent reduction in non-fatal heart attacks among participants who took aspirin compared to those who did not. They don\u2019t mention how many people actually suffered such a heart attack, but an earlier analysis of six of the trials showed that out of every 1,000 people, 18 individuals taking aspirin had heart attacks every year, compared to 23 individuals taking placebo pills. On the other hand, that analysis also found aspirin increased the rate of bleeding from 0.7 to 1 per 1,000 people per year, making the authors conclude the drug was of \u201cuncertain net value.\u201d The story stated \u201caspirin increased the rate of bleeding from 0.7 to 1 per 1,000 people per year, making the authors conclude the drug was of \u201cuncertain net value.\u201d Excellent analysis of the evidence. No disease mongering in this story. Two independent experts were quoted. And the story noted that the research was funded by Bayer. Embedded in the analysis was at least a nod to other approaches. For example, the story stated: \u201cThere is not universal agreement on what is high risk,\u201d he told Reuters Health. \u201cIn my mind, if you have diabetes or multiple risk factors for heart disease \u2014 such as smoking or obesity \u2014 it is reasonable to take aspirin.\u201d In addition, working to eliminate those risk factors by other means will not only slash the risk of heart disease, but also a host of other health problems.\u201d Not applicable. The availability of aspirin is not in question. The story explained that \u201cThe new work\u2026pooled the results of the nine trials that have tested the drug in the prevention of heart disease so far, including three that weren\u2019t part of the 2009 USPSTF review.\u201d It\u2019s clear that the story did not rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "21167", "claim": "Attacks on Planned Parenthood \"come at a time when the poverty rate among women is the highest in nearly two decades and 1 in 5 women under 65 don\u2019t have access to health care.", "explanation": "Tim Ryan says the poverty rate for women is highest in two decades", "label": "true", "subjects": "Ohio, Health Care, Poverty, Women, Tim Ryan, ", "main_text": "Conservatives frequently take shots at Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions, even though the controversial procedure is but a small part of what the health care organization provides. Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee, led by Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns, \u00a0launched an investigation in September 2011 into Planned Parenthood by demanding that it provide years of information about its federal funding and its compliance with abortion restrictions. This didn\u2019t sit well with Rep. Tim Ryan, a Ohio Democrat from Niles, who called the investigation a baseless, ideological attack on Planned Parenthood, which he described as a trusted provider of health care to millions of people, \"many of whom would otherwise not receive vital services like pre-natal care, well woman exams and cancer screenings.\" Among those Planned Parenthood treats are the poor, according to Ryan. In a news release Sept. 28, he detailed just how those numbers are increasing in the United States:  \"These attacks come at a time when the poverty rate among women is the highest in nearly two decades and 1 in 5 women under 65 don\u2019t have access to health care.\" We will leave the debate over abortion rights which is at the center of this flap to Ryan, Stearns and others. But PolitiFact Ohio took a look at Ryan\u2019s claims about impoverished women without health care. The stats back up the first part of the claim -- that the poverty rate among women is the highest in nearly two decades. Ryan based his information on an analysis by the National Women\u2019s Law Center of U.S. Census Bureau data. It shows that the poverty rate for women ages 18 to 64 rose to 14.5 percent in 2010, the highest rate in 17 years. Furthermore, the number of women it classifies as living in extreme poverty (with incomes less than half of the federal poverty level) checked in at 6.3 percent, the highest rate over the 22 years the measurement has been taken. What about the second part of Ryan\u2019s claim; that 1 in 5 women (or 20 percent) under 65 don\u2019t have access to health care. Ryan again relied on the National Women\u2019s Law Center analysis, only what the organization more precisely stated is that the number of uninsured women between the ages of 18 and 64 rose to 19.7 percent in 2010. That figure counts only women who had no coverage of any kind, private or public, for the entire year. Ryan\u2019s statement equates not having insurance to not having access to health care. While a woman, or any person for that matter, without health insurance finds it much more difficult or expensive to get medical treatment, there are places they can go, at least in an emergency. Many physicians will see an uninsured patient if they are dogged enough and the ailment severe enough, said Henry Aaron, senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington, but that\u2019s asking an awful lot of the patient. And non-profit hospitals are obligated to stabilize patients with serious conditions, he said, but perhaps not to provide follow-up treatment. \"The whole thing is your treatment is delayed,\" he said. Those without insurance also find it more difficult to get simple check-ups and then to find a doctor who will write a prescription, Aaron said. They are often embarrassed to ask for charity or to run the risk of being refused. \"(Being uninsured) just leaves barriers, psychological and financial, to acquiring health care,\" he said. Ryan reinforced that point when we contacted his office. \"This economic barrier to health insurance obstructs many women from obtaining the most basic health care,\" he said. \"While these women are legally guaranteed treatment to stabilize emergency conditions at some hospitals, this promise falls far short of the access to medical care most of us depend upon to stay healthy and safe. It's shameful that in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we have allowed women to reach such a high level of poverty.\" Planned Parenthood is part of the safety net of health care providers for the indigent, said Tara Broderick, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio. Less than 30 percent of its clients have health insurance. Those who don\u2019t have insurance are billed on a sliding scale, she said. As for abortion services, nationally, only about 10 percent of Planned Parenthood\u2019s clients receive an abortion or an abortion pill, Broderick said, and the percentage locally is even smaller. The 50,000 people (primarily women) who visited one of Planned Parenthood\u2019s 13 offices in Northeast Ohio last year were more likely to receive non-abortive birth control assistance or medical check-ups such as pap tests, breast and pelvic exams and blood work for checking cholesterol levels or for evidence of diabetes, Broderick said. So, how do we rate Ryan\u2019s statement? Before returning to Ryan\u2019s statement, we note one other point Aaron made.There is a wide enough difference in the amount of health care that someone with insurance receives compared to someone without insurance that there is \"something\" about Ryan\u2019s statement that conveys truth, he said. Politifact Ohio would agree. On Ryan\u2019s first point about the rate of poverty for women, census data backs his assertion. On the second part he said 1 in 5 women age 18 to 65 don\u2019t have access to health care. That differs from the census database, which said 1 in five do not have health insurance. That\u2019s a point that needs clarification. And that also consistent with \u00a0Ryan\u2019s underlying point, that the number of women in poverty is at a high point, and that getting access to health care would be difficult for many women without services of agencies like Planned Parenthood."}
{"claim_id": "30603", "claim": "Vice President Mike Pence said that White House aide Rob Porter's purported domestic abuse was supported by the Bible.", "explanation": "Before putting out the item about Pence and Porter, Fox News the FB Page had spread similar claims that a statue of Jefferson Davis was to be replaced with one of Barack Obama, that President Obama ordered Mother\u2019s Day be used to \u201ccelebrate abortions,\u201d and that Senator Bernie Sanders planned to <a \u201chttps://www.snopes.com/bernie-sanders-plans-to-tax-churches/\u201d target=\u201d_blank\u201d rel=\u201dnoopener\u201d>tax churches.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, fox news the fb page, mike pence, rob porter", "main_text": "After White House senior aide Rob Porter resigned amid allegations of domestic violence in February 2018, a fake news article claimed that Vice President Mike Pence had publicly expressed support for Porter, with the help of some Bible verses. That article, as well as an excerpt from it that worked into a meme form, originated with posts made to pages masquerading as legitimate Fox News accounts:  \u201cFox News the FB Page\u201d uses the cable news channel\u2019s style and logos in its content, but the page has no affiliation with Fox News, and everything it publishes is parody. Incongruously, \u201cFox News the FB Page\u201d is also a web site that utilizes the domain www.tdalliance.com. They published the fake news article that this meme is based upon. In reality, Vice President Pence said publicly that he was \u201cappalled\u201d when he learned of the domestic abuse allegations. (He also maintained he did not know about them until Porter\u2019s resignation.) The article used this morsel of truth\u00a0 as a jumping off point for the false claim that Pence later \u201csoftened\u201d his stance on the issue, leaning on Biblical teachings for guidance: Pence has softened his comments about Porter saying his actions if true were \u201cin accordance with Biblical principles\u201d and that women should \u201csubmit to their husbands as their husbands are their heads just as Jesus is head of the church.\u201d This passage appears to be a reference to Ephesians 5:22, which reads: \u201cWives, submit yourselves to your own husbands\u00a0as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church,\u00a0his body, of which he is the Savior.\u201d However, Pence said no such thing in regard to the Porter allegations, nor has he \u201csoftened\u201d his stance on that subject."}
{"claim_id": "7422", "claim": "White House moves toward promoting face masks to fight virus.", "explanation": "The Trump administration is formalizing new guidance to recommend that many Americans wear face coverings in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus as the president defends his response to the crisis.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, Anthony Fauci, General News, Politics, Infectious diseases, Virus Outbreak, Michael Pence", "main_text": "\u201cBecause of some recent information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak as opposed to coughing and sneezing -- the better part of valor is that when you\u2019re out, when you can\u2019t maintain that 6-foot distance, to wear some sort of facial covering,\u201d the top U.S. infectious disease official said Friday on \u201cFox & Friends.\u201d  But Dr. Anthony Fauci also made clear that the aim is not to \u201ctake away from the availability of masks that are needed for the health care providers who are in real and present danger of getting infected from the people that they\u2019re taking care of.\u201d  The recommendations were expected to apply to those who live in areas hard hit by community transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. A person familiar with the White House coronavirus task force\u2019s discussion said officials would suggest that nonmedical masks, T-shirts or bandannas be used to cover the nose and mouth people go outside \u2014 for instance, at the grocery store or pharmacy. Medical-grade masks, particularly short-in-supply N95 masks, would be reserved for those dealing directly with the sick. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the proposed guidance before its public release. President Donald Trump, who was tested again for coronavirus Thursday using a new rapid test, indicated he would support such a recommendation. The White House said Trump\u2019s latest test returned a negative result in 15 minutes and Trump was \u201chealthy and without symptoms.\u201d Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force\u2019s coordinator, told reporters that the White House was concerned the mask guidance would lead to a \u201cfalse sense of security\u201d for Americans. She said new data shows the administration\u2019s social-distancing guidelines were not being followed to the extent necessary to keep virus-related deaths to a minimum. The discussions on face masks came as the White House defended its handling of the pandemic, particularly its efforts to speed the distribution of ventilators and protective equipment needed by medical professionals. Trump sent a letter to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York objecting to Schumer\u2019s criticism of the administration\u2019s response. \u201cThe Federal Government is merely a back-up for state governments,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cUnfortunately, your state needed far more of a back-up than most others.\u201d Trump said states should have done more to stockpile medical supplies. Vice President Mike Pence also announced Thursday that the White House was considering direct payments to hospitals to cover COVID-19 treatment costs for the uninsured. The emerging guidance on masks appeared to be more limited than a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention draft that suggested the recommendation apply to nearly all Americans, according to a federal official who has seen the draft but was not authorized to discuss it on the record. Officials were expected to limit the geographic scope to just those areas where the virus was spreading rapidly, the official said. An announcement was expected as soon as Friday. Under the previous guidance, only the sick or those at high risk of complications from the respiratory illness were advised to wear masks. The new proposal was driven by research showing that some infections are being spread by people who seem to be healthy. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. On Wednesday, Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, urged his city\u2019s 4 million residents to wear masks when they\u2019re in public. On Thursday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio followed suit in his city, the epicenter of the virus\u2019 spread in the U.S. In response to recent studies, the CDC on Wednesday changed how it was defining the risk of infection for Americans. It essentially says anyone may be a considered a carrier, whether that person has symptoms or not. The virus spreads mostly through droplets from coughs or sneezes, though experts stress that the germ is still not fully understood. U.S. officials have been telling people to stay at home as much as possible and keep at least 6 feet (2 meters) away from others when they do go out. Other advice includes frequent hand washing and not touching your face. But until now federal officials have stopped short of telling people to cover their faces out in public. Scientists can\u2019t rule out that infected people sometimes exhale COVID-19 virus particles, rather than just when coughing or sneezing, but there isn\u2019t enough evidence to show if that can cause infection, according to a committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to advise the White House. The question has to do with whether the new coronavirus spreads mostly by droplets that don\u2019t linger for long in the air or also by tinier aerosolized particles. Certain medical procedures, such as inserting breathing tubes, can create those tiny particles, which is why health care workers wear close-fitting N95 masks during such care. The World Health Organization on Monday reiterated its advice that the general population doesn\u2019t need to wear masks unless a person is sick. Since the epidemic began in China, the WHO has said masks are for the sick and people caring for them. WHO\u2019s epidemic chief Dr. Mike Ryan noted the risks from an improperly fitted mask or from someone improperly putting it on or taking it off. ___ Stobbe reported from New York. AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "7054", "claim": "Legal pot sales begin in Uruguay under landmark 2013 law.", "explanation": "Marijuana aficionados lined up at pharmacies across Uruguay on Wednesday to be among the first in the South American nation to legally buy pot as a law regulating its sale took full effect.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Uruguay, International News, South America, Latin America, Caribbean, Health, Business, Montevideo", "main_text": "Customers sniffed pungent green buds and grinned as they showed off blue-and-white envelopes containing the plant, which is now available as part a 2013 measure that made Uruguay the first nation to legalize a pot market covering the entire chain from plants to purchase. Santiago Pinatares, a 35-year-old construction worker, braved freezing temperatures in the capital, Montevideo, as he waited outside one of the 16 pharmacies authorized to sell marijuana. He said he has been smoking pot since age 14 but had no choice but to buy on the black market until now. \u201cTo be able to buy it legally is a huge breakthrough,\u201d he told The Associated Press. \u201cUruguay is at the forefront of the world on this.\u201d Some customers declined to comment saying they didn\u2019t want their families or employers to know they were buying marijuana. Authorities say nearly 5,000 people have registered as consumers allowing them to buy up to 40 grams per month using fingerprint recognition. About two-thirds of them live in Montevideo. The price is set at the equivalent of $1.30 per gram, with 90 cents of that going to the two businesses chosen to cultivate marijuana. The rest is split between the pharmacies and the government, which will use its share to fund prevention programs. The marijuana comes in packages emblazoned with a seal of authenticity and warnings about the drug\u2019s effects. Uruguay became the first country to regulate a national marijuana marketplace in an effort to fight rising homicide and crime rates associated with drug trafficking. The law also lets licensed individuals grow marijuana plants and form clubs. The country\u2019s marijuana plan was widely applauded globally and seen as going beyond marijuana legislation in the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington, but polls showed that most Uruguayans opposed it. Most of the country\u2019s estimated 1,200 pharmacies also decided not to register to sell, stoking a debate over how the drug should be distributed. Experts attributed delays in the implementation of the pioneering plan to the fact that no other country had attempted such an ambitious endeavor. \u201cThere was a lot of hard work to finally come to this day,\u201d Drug czar Diego Olivera said. \u201cIt is a challenging and complex project, and today we have taken a step forward.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "23651", "claim": "Republican candidate for governor Nathan Deal \"explicitly voted to fund abortions ...", "explanation": "RedState.com blogger said Nathan Deal voted to fund abortion", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, Georgia, Women, Erick Erickson, ", "main_text": "The bickering over which Republican candidate for governor is a stronger foe of abortion just won't stop. Last week, Georgia Right to Life accused Karen Handel of supporting abortion if a fetus tests positive for Down syndrome. We gave that claim our lowest rating, . Now Handel's opponent, Nathan Deal, stands accused of voting to fund abortions while he was a U.S. congressman in 1993. The Deal-Handel runoff is slated for Aug. 10. The winner will face former governor and Democrat Roy Barnes in November. Erick Erickson, an influential blogger and editor of RedState.com, one of the most popular conservative sites on the Web, was the first to make the claim. It appeared Thursday on RedState.com and Erickson's PeachPundit.com, which focuses on state issues. The Macon city councilman supports former Secretary of State Handel's bid. \"In Congress, Nathan Deal Voted for Henry Waxman sponsored legislation to give $500 million to Planned Parenthood to pay for actual abortions,\" he wrote in identical items on RedState.com and PeachPundit posted after 8 p.m.  Deal? The candidate who won the endorsement of Georgia Right to Life? He voted to fund abortion with our tax dollars? We fired off an e-mail to Erickson, who replied that the issue has \"nothing to do with Nathan Deal who I don't doubt is pro-life.\" It's more about GRTL's conduct, he said. So we took a look at his blog posts. The earliest item we located was \"Georgia Right To Life Supports Candidate Who Voted For Major Abortion Funding,\" which was posted on PeachPundit.com at 8:14 p.m. An identical one appeared on RedState.com at 8:24 p.m.\u00a0  \"Hypocrisy, thy name is Georgia Right to Life,\" the post began. It then stated a few paragraphs later that Deal voted for the Waxman legislation. Waxman is a Democratic congressman who represents portions of the Los Angeles area. Planned Parenthood runs family planning clinics, some of which perform abortions. Monday, Erickson wrote a 5 a.m. post that repeated the claim. \"Deal explicitly voted to fund abortions,\" it said. Deal voted for the Family Planning Amendments Act of 1993. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives but not the Senate. It never became law. It was an authorization bill, which is a kind of legislation that establishes or re-establishes a government agency or program. It also recommends how much money should be spent on it. This bill would have re-established the Title X program of the Public Health Service Act, which has funded family planning services such as providing birth control since 1970. The beneficiaries are mostly poor women. A portion of those funds go to Planned Parenthood clinics. Title X was authorized in another bill that passed. Amounts set by authorization bills are not binding. The feds don't cut any checks until another type of legislation, an appropriations bill, passes the House and Senate. So the 1993 bill didn't really fund anything at all, much less abortions. Furthermore, the bill had nothing to do with \"actual abortions.\" Title X explicitly states that \"none of the funds appropriated under this subchapter shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.\" This has been the rule since the program began. If a clinic that receives Title X funding also performs abortions, it must make sure none of that federal money goes to those services. For instance, if women getting abortions share a waiting room with those who receive federally funded family planning services, the clinic can't bill the government for the entire cost of running the waiting room. It must subtract the proportion that goes to pay for patients waiting for abortion services. Whether the 1993 bill was anti-abortion is debatable, said Mary Harned, staff counsel for Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion group. That year, President Bill Clinton issued an executive order rescinding what was called the \"gag rule,\" which prohibited clinics from discussing the option of abortion with patients. This bill would have made it more difficult for a subsequent administration to reinstate the rule. Deal received 90 percent and 94 percent ratings from the anti-abortion group National Right to Life during the latter half of the 1990s, which means he supported its agenda almost all the time. It's likely that Deal would not have voted for a similar bill later in his career in Congress, a campaign spokesman said. He has since come to believe that if the federal government provides any funding for Planned Parenthood, it frees up their funds for pro-abortion efforts. During his last two terms in Congress, Deal received 100 percent ratings from National Right to Life. Erickson's claim crumbles in the face of the facts. The Family Planning Amendments Act of 1993 didn't fund anything. What it would have done was re-authorize a federal family planning program that is explicitly barred from funding abortions. Funding for actual abortions was never up for debate, and the bill never passed. Erickson earns a ."}
{"claim_id": "17768", "claim": "Emergency rooms account for \"2 percent of all health care spending.", "explanation": "Gillespie said emergency rooms account for \"2 percent of all health care spending.\" Experts told us that\u2019s not the only way to calculate it, but it\u2019s a credible way, and even if that figure is too low, other calculations put it in the single digits. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.", "label": "true", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Pundits, Nick Gillespie, ", "main_text": "In recent years, advocates for universal health coverage have regularly decried a side effect of having no health insurance -- the use of emergency rooms as a substitute for basic health care services. For instance, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said in August 2009, \"We have 48 million people with no health care. As a result, they walk into emergency rooms. It's costing every American who is insured $1,100 to pick up the cost of uncompensated care that goes on at the emergency room.\" We gave Boxer\u2019s claim this rating, largely due to questionable assumptions that undermined the calculations Boxer cited. But other Democrats in favor of a health care overhaul, including Hillary Clinton in 2008 and Barack Obama in 2009, also pointed to the use of emergency rooms by uninsured Americans as an argument for passing a health care overhaul. Given the frequency of this talking point, it came as something of a surprise to hear Nick Gillespie, the editor of Reason.com, a libertarian publication, say recently that emergency room costs actually represent a tiny share of health care spending. During the Oct. 22, 2013, edition of CNN\u2019s Crossfire, Gillespie had an exchange with Van Jones, one of the show\u2019s liberal co-hosts. Jones argued that Obama\u2019s health care law should be able to bring uninsured Americans into the health care system in less costly and more efficient ways, cutting the use of emergency rooms for front-line care. Gillespie countered that \"emergency rooms (are) 2 percent of all health care spending. It's not a huge amount. That's a big red herring in this.\" We wondered whether Gillespie was correct. We easily found the source of the statistic -- a calculation publicized by the American College of Emergency Physicians. Obviously, this is a group with a dog in the fight, but the calculation they made was pretty straightforward and is based on federal data. The group used figures from 2008 collected by the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a study undertaken by a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The survey found that the total amount of money spent on emergency care -- including physician and other emergency-room services -- was $47.3 billion. That\u2019s slightly less than 2 percent of the same survey\u2019s $2.4 trillion estimate of total health care expenditures that year. We asked a number of experts in health care economics whether they saw any red flags with that kind ofcalculation. Both Austin Frakt of Boston University and Katherine Baicker of the Harvard School of Public Health said the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey is a credible source of data. Their concerns, to the extent they had any, focused on whether the survey under-reports health care costs. Indeed, there is at least one study that suggests just that. A paper in the Annals of Emergency Medicine used different data and an alternative accounting method to determine emergency room costs. The study -- by Michael Lee and Brian Zink of Brown University\u2019s Warren Alpert Medical School and Jeremiah Schuur of Harvard Medical School -- used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, which tallied approximately 130 million ER visits, a much higher number than the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which counted 49 million visits. Based in part on this discrepancy, the authors said the actual percentage may range anywhere from 4.9 percent to 10 percent, rather than 2 percent. The American College of Emergency Physicians stands by its calculations but acknowledges that other calculations can be legitimate. The data that produced the 2 percent figure \"comes from reputable sources, and the calculation is correct,\" said spokeswoman Julie Lloyd. \"At the same time, we know that the numbers could be calculated in different ways.\" Gail Wilensky, who headed Medicare and Medicaid under President George H.W. Bush, agreed that the percentage of health care spending devoted to emergency rooms could change depending on what figure is used for the denominator. \"All these expenditure figures are at best approximations,\" Wilensky said. \"There is no really good, precise way to calculate it.\" Several experts added that the total amount of money going to emergency care is ultimately less important than making sure that emergency rooms are used for the right type of care. Services provided in the ER do tend to cost significantly more than services provided in a primary-care setting. \"Getting anything other than true emergency care in an emergency department tends to be an expensive, fragmented way to receive care and should be avoided if any other reasonable alternative is available,\" Wilensky said. That said, recent academic studies have suggested that the economics of emergency rooms and the larger health care system are more nuanced than previously thought. For instance, one study by the Rand Corp. suggested that it may be overburdened primary-care doctors -- not patients -- who are driving traffic toward the ER. According to Arthur Kellermann, one of the authors of the RAND paper, doctors described the ER to researchers as their \"overflow valve\" where they \"send complicated patients\" for diagnosis. Even Lee, who co-wrote the paper suggesting that ERs could account for as much as 10 percent of health care spending, has said that heavy use of emergency rooms is not necessarily a problem. \"Diverting non-emergency care may simply shift costs onto primary care offices and clinics which may not have the infrastructure to accommodate a large volume of unscheduled care,\" Lee told Science Daily. Our ruling Gillespie said emergency rooms account for \"2 percent of all health care spending.\" Experts told us that\u2019s not the only way to calculate it, but it\u2019s a credible way, and even if that figure is too low, other calculations put it in the single digits. The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information."}
{"claim_id": "4557", "claim": "Warren\u2019s \u2018Medicare for All\u2019 plan reignites health care clash.", "explanation": "Elizabeth Warren\u2019s proposal to gradually move the country to a government-funded health care system has further inflamed the debate over \u201cMedicare for All,\u201d likely ensuring the issue will play a significant role in this week\u2019s Democratic presidential debate.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Access to health care, Health, General News, Politics, Election 2020, Elizabeth Warren, AP Top News, Medicare, Massachusetts, Business", "main_text": "The Massachusetts senator announced Friday that her administration would immediately build on existing laws, including the Affordable Care Act, to expand access to health care while taking up to three years to fully implement Medicare for All. That attempt to thread the political needle has roiled her more moderate rivals, who say she\u2019s waffling, while worrying some on the left, who see Warren\u2019s commitment to a single-payer system wavering. The divide could complicate plans by Democrats to turn health care into a winning issue in 2020. The party successfully took back control of the House last year by championing programs that ensure that people with preexisting medical conditions keep their insurance coverage while arguing that Republicans want to weaken such provisions. But the Medicare for All debate is more delicate as advocates including Warren grapple with concerns that a new government-run system won\u2019t provide the same quality of coverage as private insurance \u2014 and would be prohibitively expensive. \u201cThe Medicare for All proposal has turned out to be a real deal-breaker in who gets the Democratic nomination,\u201d said Robert Blendon, a Harvard University School of Public Health professor whose teaching responsibilities include courses on political strategy in health policy and public opinion polling. \u201cThis is not just another issue.\u201d Warren\u2019s transition plan indicates she\u2019d use her first 100 days as president to expand existing public health insurance options. That is closer to what has been supported by former Vice President Joe Biden and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. Both Democratic presidential candidates have criticized Medicare for All for wiping out private insurance \u2014 something they say many Americans aren\u2019t ready for. Warren insists she\u2019s simply working to expand health insurance in the short term to people who don\u2019t have it while remaining committed to the full plan in the long run. \u201cMy commitment to Medicare for All is all the way,\u201d Warren said while campaigning in Iowa over the weekend. Still, the transition signified a step toward pragmatism and an acknowledgement that the government has ways to expand health insurance coverage before embracing a universal system \u2014 something that would be difficult for any president to get through Congress. Consider that current entitlements, such as Social Security and Medicare, were phased in over years, not all at once. \u201cIf she\u2019s looked at it and decides the sensible thing to do in order to not cause too much disruption in employment situations and within the medical system is to gear up over three years, she\u2019s probably right,\u201d said Cindy Wolf, a customer service and shipping manager who attended the California state Democratic Convention on Saturday in Long Beach. Still, the move may prove politically problematic for a candidate who has long decried others settling for consultant-driven campaigns seeking incremental changes at the expense of big ideas. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is the original architect of Medicare for All and has made fighting for it the centerpiece of his 2020 White House bid. He tweeted following the release of Warren\u2019s transition plan: \u201cIn my first week as president, we will introduce Medicare for All legislation.\u201d Campaigning in Nevada on Monday, California Sen. Kamala Harris said, \u201cI believe that government should not be in a position of taking away people\u2019s choice.\u201d \u201cEspecially on one of the most intimate and personal decisions people can make,\u201d Harris said, \u201cwhich is about how to address their health care needs.\u201d The criticism from others was far sharper. Top Biden adviser Kate Bedingfield dismissed Warren\u2019s plan as \u201ctrying to muddy the waters\u201d by offering \u201ca full program of flips and twists.\u201d Buttigieg spokeswoman Lis Smith said it was a \u201ctransparently political attempt to paper over a very serious policy problem.\u201d It\u2019s easy to see the issue spilling into Wednesday\u2019s debate because Warren rode a steady summer climb in the polls to become one of the primary field\u2019s front-runners \u2014 but no longer seems to be rising. Polls recently show her support stabilizing, though not dipping, as focus on her Medicare for All ideas intensifies. The last two debates featured Warren failing to answer direct questions on whether she would be forced to raise middle class taxes to pay for the universal health care system she envisions. That set up a plan released two-plus weeks ago in which Warren vowed to generate $20-plus trillion in new government revenue without increasing taxes on the middle class \u2014 but that\u2019s been decried by critics who accuse Warren of underestimating how much Medicare for All would really cost. And, though Warren never promised to begin working toward Medicare for All on Day 1 of her administration, the release of the transition plan, which spelled out that the process will take years, has unsettled some. Una Lee Jost, a lawyer who was holding \u201cBernie\u201d signs in Chinese and English at the California Democratic Convention, called any lengthy transition to Medicare for All \u201ca serious concern.\u201d \u201cWe should have implemented this decades ago,\u201d she said. ___ Associated Press writers Kathleen Ronayne and Michael R. Blood in Long Beach, Calif., and Michelle Price in North Las Vegas, Nev., contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "28040", "claim": "New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was previously named \"Warren Wilhelm Jr.\" and once supported the socialist government of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.", "explanation": "What's true: De Blasio was born \"Warren Wilhelm\" but legally changed his named to \"Bill de Blasio\" in 2001 for personal reasons having to do with his family relationships. He was a supporter and advocate for the revolutionary socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua during the 1980s. What's false: Contrary to claims of subterfuge or secrecy on his part, de Blasio has publicly discussed the deeply personal and somewhat traumatic reasons for his decision to change his name. Furthermore, while he was during the 1980s a strong supporter of the Sandinistas, de Blasio has more recently articulated a measure of criticism of the movement.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "In May 2019, a widely shared Facebook post made several interesting claims about the personal background and history of New York mayor Bill de Blasio, who had just announced that he was in the running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. president in 2020. On 17 May, a Facebook user posted what appeared to be a photograph of de Blasio in his younger days, along with the following caption: \u201cMeet Warren Wilhelm Jr. He worked for the Quixote Center, which strongly supported the Marxist\u2013Leninist ruling government of Nicaragua, the Sandinista National Liberation Front. Warren, better known as Bill de Blasio, is the current mayor of New York \u2026 he also announced he\u2019s running for president.\u201d  Much of the post\u2019s content was accurate \u2014 de Blasio was indeed once a strong supporter of the revolutionary socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua \u2014 but elements of it were somewhat misleading. The Mayor of New York is not \u201cbetter known\u201d as Bill de Blasio, a framing that might suggest a certain degree of subterfuge or secrecy on his part. Rather, de Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm but legally changed his name to Bill de Blasio for personal reasons having to do with his relationship with his parents. This suggestion of dishonesty was made explicit in another May 2019 Facebook meme which incorporated the text the earlier post but added: \u201c*None* of them are who they say they are\u201d in apparent reference to other Democratic presidential candidates:  While de Blasio was once a strong supporter of the Sandinista regime, he has since resiled somewhat from that support and has criticized aspects of the leftist regime, important contextual information that was left out of the May 2019 memes. Warren Wihelm Jr. The 109th mayor of New York City was born Warren Wilhelm to his parents Warren Wilhem and Maria de Blasio in Manhattan on 8 May 1961. He grew up in Connecticut and later Cambridge, Mass. As a child, he took on the nickname \u201cBill,\u201d as reflected in a 1979 Boston Globe profile of his accomplishments as a 17-year-old student leader named as \u201cWarren (Bill) Wilhelm Jr.\u201d According to a 2013 New York Times article, which was informed by interviews with de Blasio and his family members, Warren Wilhelm Sr., a Harvard economist who received a Purple Heart in World War II, regularly drank to excess and developed a difficult relationship with his wife and children. In 1969, Maria de Blasio filed for divorce, and in July 1979, Wilhelm Sr., who had terminal lung cancer, shot himself to death in Connecticut. In an interview with the National Public Radio affiliate WNYC in September 2013, de Blasio said he had begun to identify more closely with his mother\u2019s side of the family in the months and years leading up to his graduation from high school and his father\u2019s eventual suicide. As part of that difficult process, he decided to add his mother\u2019s maiden name to his own name in 1979, going by \u201cWarren de Blasio-Wilhelm\u201d: \u201cI had made the initial decision even in the senior year of high school that I was starting to think about the name. \u2026 I asked for one of the diplomas or one of the certificates to have de Blasio put in as a middle name. That was in May and he didn\u2019t die until July so already something was deep in me starting to feel like I really wanted to identify myself at least also with my mother\u2019s side.\u201d According to the New York Daily News, court documents show that the future mayor of New York legally changed his name to Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm in 1983. Our search of records from Kings County Civil Court in Brooklyn showed that he legally changed his name to Bill de Blasio in January 2001, although in practice he had already taken on that name for some years, as evidenced by a 1996 news article that named \u201cBill de Blasio\u201d as Bill Clinton\u2019s re-election campaign director in New York City. The May 2019 memes were correct in claiming that de Blasio had once been named Warren Wilhelm Jr., but despite the deeply personal reasons for his name changes, which relate to a traumatic family history, de Blasio has publicly discussed them, something that undermines any suggestions of subterfuge or secrecy on his part. During the 1980s, de Blasio was a strong supporter of the revolutionary socialist government of Nicaragua, formed by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, commonly known as the Sandinistas. The then-mayoral candidate acknowledged his activities in a September 2013 interview with the New York Times, which outlined his political efforts, including a brief visit to Nicaragua in 1988: Mr. de Blasio, who studied Latin American politics at Columbia and was conversational in Spanish, grew to be an admirer of Nicaragua\u2019s ruling Sandinista party, thrusting himself into one of the most polarizing issues in American politics at the time. The Reagan administration denounced the Sandinistas as tyrannical and Communist, while their liberal backers argued that after years of dictatorship, they were building a free society with broad access to education, land and health care \u2026 Mr. de Blasio became an ardent supporter of the Nicaraguan revolutionaries. He helped raise funds for the Sandinistas in New York and subscribed to the party\u2019s newspaper, Barricada, or Barricade. When he was asked at a meeting in 1990 about his goals for society, he said he was an advocate of \u201cdemocratic socialism.\u201d \u2026 The roots of Mr. de Blasio\u2019s progressive brand of politics lie in the shadows of volcanoes, thousands of miles from the city he now hopes to lead, at a decaying health clinic in Masaya, a small Nicaraguan city. Mr. de Blasio, bearded, gawky and cerebral, had arrived in the city as part of a 10-day tour of Nicaragua in 1988, the capstone of the year he spent as an employee of the Quixote Center, a social justice group in Maryland. The center, founded by Catholic leaders, officially did not take sides in the Nicaraguan dispute, though much of its aid went to help families sympathetic to the Sandinistas. \u2026 In 1987, Mr. de Blasio was hired as a political organizer, soon after he finished graduate school at Columbia, earning $12,000 a year. He worked inside the Quixote Center\u2019s Maryland office, converted apartments filled with homegrown squash and peace posters. Hunched over his desk with a phone to his ear \u2014 his colleagues likened him to \u201cBig Bird with a beard\u201d \u2014 he oversaw efforts to solicit and ship millions of dollars in food, clothing and supplies to Nicaragua. He also proved to be a skilled provocateur, twice being arrested during rallies against United States foreign policy that were held in the Washington area. In 1990, after the Sandinistas were voted out of power in Nicaragua, de Blasio (using the name William Wilhelm) reflected on the party\u2019s time in government in an interview with the New York Times: \u201cThey gave a new definition to democracy. They built a democracy that was striving to be economic and political, that pervaded all levels in society.\u201d However, speaking to the Times for its 2013 article, de Blasio somewhat downplayed his support for Sandinistas and articulated a measure of criticism of the movement: \u201c\u2026 Mr. de Blasio said he was also not blind to the party\u2019s imperfections. He said the revolutionary leaders were \u2018not free enough by any stretch of the imagination,\u2019 pointing to their efforts to crack down on dissent by shuttering newspapers and radio stations.\u201d We asked a spokesperson for de Blasio\u2019s 2020 presidential campaign whether the mayor still largely stood by his support and advocacy for the Sandinistas, or whether he had regrets about his activities at that time. We did not receive a response in time for publication."}
{"claim_id": "6360", "claim": "Judge: Treatment of Tennessee inmates with hep C improving.", "explanation": "A federal judge in Nashville ruled this week that Tennessee\u2019s treatment of prisoners with hepatitis C is not grossly inadequate but warned the state to make good on its promises to treat more patients more quickly.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Prisons, General News, Nashville, Hepatitis, Tennessee, Treatment of prisoners, U.S. News, Antiviral drugs", "main_text": "In a Monday ruling, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw noted that Tennessee has made a number of changes to improve treatment of the sometimes deadly disease within the past few months. Despite the availability of antiviral drugs that often cure the disease, prisons across the country have struggled to get funding for the drugs, which cost more than $10,000 per patient. Tennessee prisons saw at least 56 hepatitis C-related prisoner deaths between 2013 and 2017. Prisoners testified at the July trial that even after they became severely ill, and qualified for treatment under Tennessee Department of Correction rules, they were not given the crucial drugs. That\u2019s because a committee must approve all prescriptions for the expensive antiviral medications Around 4,700 Tennessee prisoners are known to be infected with hepatitis C, but until recently the committee only considered the cases of about eight prisoners each month. The department is now working to increase that number to 160 per month. Crenshaw acknowledged the prisoners\u2019 testimony in his ruling but noted the recent changes that corrections officials have made, including new guidelines for care released in May. Under the previous guidance, the committee would not even consider treatment for patients with hepatitis C viral infections, sometimes called HCV, unless they were already very sick. Dr. Zhiqiang Yao, an infectious disease specialist at East Tennessee State University, testified for the prisoners that the current standard of care is to treat anyone infected with hepatitis C with the antiviral medications, regardless of how sick they are. He said waiting to provide treatment can put patients with the infectious, liver-damaging disease at greater risk of cirrhosis, cancer and death. Although the Correction Department\u2019s new rules still prioritize the sickest patients, they do not preclude less sick patients from receiving treatment, Crenshaw wrote. He noted that Yao testified that prioritizing care for the sickest patients is understandable where there are limited resources and staffing. Other states have grappled with how to provide the expensive treatment. After a lawsuit, Michigan agreed to provide antiviral treatment to all Medicaid patients with hepatitis C beginning this month. Louisiana limited antiviral treatment for Medicaid patients and prisoners until earlier this summer. It now offers unlimited access thanks to an agreement with a drug provider where the state will pay a flat fee for unlimited medication for five years. Meanwhile, Crenshaw noted that the Tennessee Department of Correction\u2019s prioritization guidance mirrors that of the federal Bureau of Prisons. New antiviral drugs that promise to cure most hepatitis C patients within weeks have only been available since 2011. Since then, the cost of the drugs has dropped from around $80,000 to about $13,000 for the simplest cases, according to the lawsuit. Dr. Kenneth Williams, the Correction Department\u2019s chief medical officer, testified at trial that he recently requested and received enough funding to treat about 1,800 inmates, or more than a third of Tennessee inmates currently known to be infected with hepatitis C. \u201cTime will tell whether TDOC implements the 2019 HCV Guidance in the dedicated manner it has represented and continues to accelerate approval of inmates for treatment,\u201d Crenshaw wrote. He concluded it would behoove the department to do so \u201clest treatment that is not grossly inadequate today be subject to that renewed claim in the future.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "33703", "claim": "Mel Gibson was the inspiration for the film \"The Man Without a Face.", "explanation": "Note: This may well help in the understanding of why Mel Gibson\u2019s love for the Lord is why he has made such a powerful movie \u201cThe Passion\u201d that\u2019s coming out February 25th to demonstrate Jesus love and sacrifice for us.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Glurge Gallery, mel gibson", "main_text": "An item that began circulating online in the latter half of the year 2000 was neither an accurate description of actor/director Mel Gibson\u2019s early life nor a transcription of a radio piece by commentator Paul Harvey. Suffice it to say that someone took the framework of Mel Gibson\u2019s biography and built upon it a touching but completely fictitious house of glurge:  Here is a true story by Paul Harvey. Pass it to anyone who you think would find it interesting and inspiring. You will be surprised who this young man turned out to be. (Do not look at the bottom if this letter until you have read it fully.) Years ago a hardworking man took his family from New York State to Australia to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man\u2019s family was handsome young son who had aspirations of joining the circus as a trapeze artist or an actor. This young fellow, biding his time until a circus job or even one as a stagehand came along, worked at the local shipyards which bordered on the worst section of town. Walking home from work one evening this young man was attacked by five thugs who wanted to rob him. Instead of just giving up his money the young fellow resisted. However they bested him easily and proceeded to beat him to a pulp. They mashed his face with their boots, and kicked and beat his body brutally with clubs, leaving him for dead. When the police happened to find him lying in the road they assumed he was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon. On the way to the morgue a policeman heard him gasp for air, and they immediately took him to the emergency unit at the hospital. When he was placed on a gurney a nurse remarked to her horror, that his young man no longer had a face. Each eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all is teeth were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull. Although his life was spared he spent over year in the hospital. When he finally left his body may have healed but his face was disgusting to look at. He was no longer the handsome youth that everyone admired. When the young man started to look for work again he was turned down by everyone just on account of the way he looked. One potential employer suggested to him that he join the freak show at the circus as The Man Who Had No Face. And he did this for a while. He was still rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his company. He had thoughts of suicide. This went on for five years. One day he passed a church and sought some solace there. Entering the church he encountered a priest who had saw him sobbing while kneeling in a pew. The priest took pity on him and took him to the rectory where they talked at length. The priest was impressed with him to such a degree that he said that he would do everything possible for him that could be done to restore his dignity and life, if the young man would promise to be the best Catholic he could be, and trust in God\u2019s mercy to free him from his torturous life. The young man went to Mass and communion every day, and after thanking God for saving his life, asked God to only give him peace of mind and the grace to be the best man he could ever be in His eyes. The priest, through his personal contacts was able to secure the services of the best plastic surgeon in Australia. They would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor was the priest\u2019s best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by the young man, whose outlook now on life, even though he had experienced the worse was filled with good humor and love. The surgery was a miraculous success. All the best dental work was also done for him. The young man became everything he promised God he would be. He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, and many children, and success in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from his mind as a career if not for the goodness of God and the love of the people who cared for him. This he acknowledges publicly. The young man . . . Mel Gibson. His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie \u201cThe Man Without A Face.\u201d He is to be admired by all of us as a God fearing man, a political conservative, and an example to all as a true man of courage. Mel Gibson\u2019s father did move his family from New York to Sydney, Australia, when Mel was 12, but the similarities between this piece and Mel\u2019s real life end there. Young Mel wasn\u2019t dreaming of \u201cjoining the circus as a trapeze artist\u201d; he was a Catholic high school student mulling over the possibilities of becoming a chef or a journalist and ended up enrolling in the University of New South Wales\u2019 National Institute of Dramatic Art. Young Mel had a role in the low-budget film Summer City while still a student and then appeared in a number of productions with the State Theatre Company of South Australia before the lucky break that catapulted him to stardom: being chosen for the lead role in George Miller\u2019s action film Mad Max. A little bit of truth may have sneaked into the story quoted above at this point. The night before his Mad Max audition, Gibson reportedly came in a poor second in a barroom brawl, ending up with a face \u201clike a busted grapefruit.\u201d He then had to audition for the Mad Max role with a bruised, swollen, discolored, and freshly stitched face \u2014 an appearance that, legend has it, helped win over producers who wanted someone weathered and rough-looking to take the part. The beating Gibson received did not, however, leave him with \u201csmashed eye sockets,\u201d fracture his \u201cskull, legs, and arms,\u201d result in the loss of \u201call his teeth\u201d or a nose that was \u201changing from his face\u201d or a \u201cjaw almost completely torn from his skull.\u201d He didn\u2019t spend \u201cover a year in the hospital,\u201d nor did five years pass with Mel in agony before \u201cplastic surgery restored his looks.\u201d His face got smashed up a bit, he required a few stitches to close some open cuts, and a few weeks later he was good as new. (However, some Hollywood pundits maintain that even the milder \u201cbarroom brawl\u201d version was a bit of fiction invented by a publicist.) Mel Gibson did direct and star in The Man Without a Face, a 1993 film about a man who became a recluse after his features were disfigured in an automobile accident, but the movie was based upon a novel by Isabelle Holland, not Mel Gibson\u2019s life. Many of our readers have sworn to us they heard Paul Harvey recite this piece, exactly as reproduced above, on one of his broadcasts. Paul Harvey did offer a \u201cRest of the Story\u201d segment about Mel Gibson on 24 June 2000, and it was a typically (for Paul Harvey) exaggerated version of the truth, but it didn\u2019t come close to the glurge reproduced here. What Harvey reported, verbatim, was this:  In all his years as a cop, Ollie Gerrick had never seen a beating case like the one before him. The boy\u2019s face was smashed in. His partner say he wouldn\u2019t survive. The ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital and when he came to, the doctors told him the rest of the story. He was in the hospital and then he remembered that night in the bar. It was late the next night that the young man remembered he had an important appointment. He realized it was tomorrow. He struggled to get out of bed but the nurse restrained him. The next morning, he got out of bed and looked in the mirror and he didn\u2019t recognize himself. Nevertheless, he went on to the job interview. Despite the bar fight in October of 1977. He showed up for a role in a movie and the producers were looking for someone unknown who was really tough looking. He got the role they were casting for. They were looking for someone to play the rugged role of Mad Max and this Australian with the beaten up face went on to become one of our best modern-day actors. We know him as Mel Gibson, and now you know the rest of the story. And now you know \u2026 the real story. The February 2004 release of the film The Passion of the Christ, financed and directed by Mel Gibson, started this legend circulating anew, often with tacked-on codas such as the following:"}
{"claim_id": "3303", "claim": "San Francisco Bay Area Medicare kickbacks scheme charged.", "explanation": "Thirty people have been charged with a multimillion-dollar scheme that allegedly bribed doctors and others to steer Medicare patients to the largest home health care provider in the San Francisco Bay Area, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "San Francisco, Louis Vuitton, Health, General News, Medicare, California, San Francisco Bay", "main_text": "The criminal complaints name Amity Home Health Care and its CEO along with a related company, hospice service provider Advent Care Inc., along with dozens of doctors, nurses, marketers and a social worker. Amity provided $8 million worth of kickbacks for the referrals, ranging from Golden State Warriors tickets, Las Vegas trips and Louis Vuitton handbags to \u201cliteral envelopes of cash,\u201d David Anderson, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, said at a news conference. The Medicare patients brought in $115 million in funds to Amity and Advent, authorities said. The complaints said law enforcement officers recorded each defendant offering, approving or accepting illegal payments for patient referrals. \u201cThese doctors and health care professionals sold patients like commodities, placing their own financial gains over the well-being of their patients and betraying the basic principles of their profession,\u201d Craig Fair, the FBI\u2019s deputy special agent in charge for San Francisco, said in a news release. However, there\u2019s no evidence that the patients received poor care, Anderson said. Those charged include Ridhima \u201cAmanda\u201d Singh, Amity\u2019s chief executive officer. A telephone message seeking comment was left with Amity. Singh\u2019s lawyer, Chuck Kreindler, declined to comment to the San Jose Mercury News outside court. A woman who answered a call to Advent said she had no comment and would not identify herself. If convicted of taking part in illegal kickbacks, the defendants could each face up to 10 years in federal prison and a $100,000 fine."}
{"claim_id": "26803", "claim": "Michael Bloomberg Says of President Donald Trump\u2019s actions on the coronavirus: \u201cNo. 1, he fired the pandemic team two years ago. No. 2, he's been defunding the Centers for Disease Control.\u201d", "explanation": "\u201cFired\u201d may be a little strong, but in 2018, top national security\u00a0officials handling pandemics\u00a0left abruptly and were not\u00a0replaced by the Trump administration. As for funding, there\u2019s no question that the Trump administration sought to cut key CDC budget categories. But thanks to Congress, that funding was restored and even increased in bills that Trump ultimately signed.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Federal Budget, Public Health, Science, Coronavirus, Michael Bloomberg, ", "main_text": "During a CNN town hall before the South Carolina primary, Mike Bloomberg \u2014 a former New York City mayor and Democratic presidential candidate \u2014 was asked whether he had confidence in President Donald Trump to handle a potential coronavirus pandemic, officially known as the COVID-19 virus. After jokingly saying, \"I feel so much better,\" Bloomberg told the audience, \"No. 1, he fired the pandemic team two years ago. No. 2, he's been defunding the Centers for Disease Control. So, we don't have the experts in place that we need. I hope he's right that the virus doesn't come here, that nobody gets sick. That would be a wonderful outcome. But the bottom line is, we are not ready for this kind of thing.\" Bloomberg had a point that the Trump administration ousted some of its officials dealing with global pandemics, but \"defunding\" the CDC is more complicated than he let on. \"Fired\" may be a strong word, but there have been abrupt changes to key national security posts with responsibility for global pandemics. More recently the administration has assigned new officials to take leadership roles. In May 2018, the top White House official in charge of the U.S. response to pandemics left the administration. Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer was the senior director of global health and biodefense on the National Security Council and oversaw global health security issues, a specialty that had been bolstered under President Barack Obama. After Ziemer\u2019s departure, the global health team was reorganized as part of an effort by then-National Security Adviser John Bolton. Meanwhile, Tom Bossert, a homeland security adviser who recommended strong defenses against disease and biological warfare, was reportedly pushed out by Bolton in 2018. Neither White House official or their teams, which were responsible for coordinating the U.S. response to pandemic outbreaks across agencies, have been replaced during the past two years. In November 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and experts formally recommended that health security leadership on the NSC should be restored. And on Feb. 18, 2020, a group of 27 senators sent a letter to current National Security Adviser Robert O\u2019Brien to ask him to appoint a new global health security expert to the NSC. \"The fact that they explicitly dismantled the office in the White House that was tasked with preparing for exactly this kind of a risk is hugely concerning,\" Jeremy Konyndyk, who ran foreign disaster assistance in the Obama administration, told the Guardian. \"Both the structure and all the institutional memory is gone now.\" Instead, Trump has looked within his administration to fill roles for the coronavirus response. Last month, Trump appointed his Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, to chair a coronavirus task force. On Feb. 26, he announced that Vice President Mike Pence would be taking charge of the U.S. response to the coronavirus. And the following day, Pence announced he was appointing Ambassador Debbie Birx to assist the effort as \"White House coronavirus response coordinator.\" Birx is a physician and global health expert who is currently responsible for coordinating the State Department's HIV/AIDS task force. The White House said she will be supported by NSC staff in her role. It\u2019s not accurate to say that Trump has been \"defunding\" the CDC, but he has tried to make cuts in key programs. It\u2019s just that Congress didn\u2019t listen. The Trump administration\u2019s initial proposals for the budgets for emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases at CDC \u2014 a key player in the fight against coronavirus \u2014 have consistently been lower than what was spent the previous year. The administration proposed $61.7 million less in 2018 than 2017; $96.4 million less in 2019 than in 2018; $114.4 million less in 2020 than in 2019; and $85.3 million less in 2021 than 2020. However, Congress reshapes presidential recommendations as they see fit when they craft final spending bills. Every year since Trump has been president, lawmakers have passed bills \u2014 bills signed by Trump \u2014 that not only exceeded what Trump requested on emerging infections but also exceeded what had been spent the previous year. As the chart below shows, funding increased every year from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2020. (We have not included the 2017 proposal, since that was submitted by the Obama administration. The figures for 2020 are preliminary.) It\u2019s important to note that Trump has asked Congress for a $2.5 billion supplemental budget to help combat the emergence of this coronavirus. House Democrats quickly said the amount was insufficient to meet current threats, and Trump said he was willing to seek more if lawmakers were willing. In addition, the Trump campaign pointed to consistent funding for certain budget sub-categories, such as CDC\u2019s public health emergency preparedness, which helps states and localities deal with public health emergencies, including outbreaks. That program suffered funding losses that predate Trump. Bloomberg said Trump is hampered in the fight against coronavirus because \"No. 1, he fired the pandemic team two years ago. No. 2, he's been defunding Centers for Disease Control.\" On the first point, it\u2019s hard to pin down whether the National Security Council staffers were \"fired\" in 2018, but they certainly left abruptly and have not been replaced, though other leaders in the coronavirus fight have been named in recent days. On the second point \u2014 funding \u2014 there\u2019s no question that the Trump administration sought to cut key CDC budget categories that would be involved in emerging infections like coronavirus. But Bloomberg overlooks that, thanks to Congress, that funding was restored and even increased in bills that were ultimately signed by Trump. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details."}
{"claim_id": "35086", "claim": "Former President Barack Obama's administration was to blame for the shortage of protective equipment like N95 respirator masks in the early months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.", "explanation": "What's true: The U.S. federal stockpile of N95 protective face masks was largely depleted during the 2009 swine flu outbreak and was not restocked. What's false: However, the Obama administration was not solely responsible for the current shortage of masks. In the intervening years, the stockpile went unreplenished as the Trump administration failed to heed indications that dramatic shortages could occur.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "In late March 2020, amid a widening COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump sought to blame previous administrations for the fact that frontline medical workers facing a spike in cases were reporting urgent shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE), notably N95 respirator masks that filter out particles in the air. \u201cSo, many administrations preceded me. For the most part, they did very little, in terms of what you\u2019re talking about,\u201d Trump stated during a March 21 press conference when asked by a reporter about protective medical gear shortages. Right-leaning media outlets followed suit, focusing the blame more narrowly on the administration of former President Barack Obama in particular. \u201cReport: Obama Admin Depleted Stockpile of N95 Masks, Never Restored,\u201d a Breitbart.com headline read. \u201cLos Angeles Times and Bloomberg News: Federal stockpile of N95 masks was depleted under Obama and never restocked,\u201d Washington Examiner reported. Readers asked Snopes.com to verify the claim that the Obama administration was directly responsible for the shortage of equipment. The reports on pro-Trump websites relied on selectively culled facts from other sources to weave a somewhat misleading narrative. It\u2019s true that both Bloomberg and Los Angeles Times, for example, reported that the national stockpile of N95 masks was largely depleted under the Obama administration during the swine flu epidemic, and that the depletion was not corrected. From the Times\u2019 report on March 20, 2020: After the swine flu epidemic in 2009, a safety-equipment industry association and a federally sponsored task force both recommended that depleted supplies of N95 respirator masks, which filter out airborne particles, be replenished by the stockpile, which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That didn\u2019t happen, according to Charles Johnson, president of the International Safety Equipment Assn. But both the Times and Bloomberg pointed out that Congress and the Trump administration bore some responsibility for the current medical equipment shortages as well. Bloomberg reported that Trump\u2019s Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told Congress in February 2020 that the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), a reserve of emergency medical supplies, contained \u201c30 million surgical masks and 12 million of the more protective N95 masks. He said there were an additional 5 million N95 masks that may have passed their expiration date\u201d in the stockpile, which at that time had not yet been tapped to deal with COVID-19. But as far back as 2015, government scientists had estimated that \u201ca severe flu outbreak infecting 20 to 30 percent of the population would require at least 1.7 billion of the N95 respirators.\u201d The SNS didn\u2019t have that quantity on hand, even before the swine flu broke out (in 2009 the SNS distributed 85 million N95 respirators). The Times also reported that the Trump administration, which is currently in its third year, ignored alarms raised by various government agencies early on that the U.S. was not prepared for a pandemic: As the current crisis has widened, President Trump has attempted to deflect responsibility for his administration\u2019s poor planning, suggesting the coronavirus outbreak was inconceivable. \u201cNobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion,\u201d the president said Thursday. The opposite is true. The [Government Accountability Office], public health experts and others issued a steady drumbeat of warnings that America would sooner or later face a widespread infectious disease outbreak or a major bioterrorism attack and was woefully unprepared."}
{"claim_id": "9891", "claim": "UNC Hearing Loss Experts Lead Clinical Trials of FDA-Approved Hearing Implant", "explanation": "Synchrony EAS (electric acoustic stimulation) hearing implant. Image credit: Med-El USA, the device manufacturerThis news release from the University of North Carolina purports to advise journalists and the public about clinical\u00a0research from the university that helped gain recent FDA approval for an implantable hearing device designed for adults with a form of moderate to severe hearing loss. But this news release is a not-very-thinly veiled infomercial for the device\u2019s maker, and a promotional piece for and by the head of the university department whose faculty members clearly stand to benefit from marketing it. The release is full of hyperbolic praise for the device (\u201cThe technology is remarkable and so were the results\u2026\u201d) and the university\u2019s role in the clinical trials. But it is very light on quantitative data and information about costs, complications and side effects that would help readers judge the pros and cons of an invasive cochlear implant. The release offers no links or references to published, peer-reviewed data; to the manufacturer\u2019s website; or notes on potential conflicts of interest. There is some useful information about the prevalence of hearing loss in the U.S. and about what is novel about the implant. But this releases reads more like a commercial brochure than an informative and educational summary for public awareness. Hearing loss is indeed a significant and growing problem and a threat to an aging population. In recent years, hearing loss has been tied by research to cognitive loss (as described in this 2013 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine), as well as social isolation, traffic accidents and a host of other physical, emotional and social ills. Because Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers do not cover the cost of hearing aids \u2014 which can run into the thousands of dollars for state-of-the-art devices \u2014 most adults who need them don\u2019t have them. For the most severe, disabling forms of \u201csensorineural\u201d \u00a0hearing loss, cochlear implants can be life-changing, and the device described in this release could have novelty and benefits in addressing both high and low frequency hearing problems. Significantly, most insurance, including Medicare, covers the cost of the device and implant surgery. But the benefits of the implants come with risks, including the need for general anesthesia, damage to facial nerves, infections, tinnitus, and numbness. Adjustment to the devices can take months of habilitative services \u2014 and removal rates remain high in some populations. Long-term effects, moreover, still are largely unknown. For all these reasons, news releases and stories about surgical implants should offer context about the benefits, risks, costs and alternatives.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Academic medical center news release", "main_text": "Neither the release nor a company web site, nor a Google search turned up information about the cost of the approved device. There are almost always out-of-pocket costs associated with implants, even when insurance coverage is good. The release claims that 97 percent of participants in the clinical trial at UNC \u201creported a benefit\u201d from the device within the first year and 90 percent reported overall satisfaction. It says \u201con average, patients performed more than twice as well on tests of speech understanding\u201d compared to those without the implant. It is not clear if the benefit experienced by 97 percent of participants translated into clinical (real-life) significance for patients. What exactly does \u201csatisfaction\u201d represent in this context? The release doesn\u2019t specify. And how big a benefit is performing \u201ctwice as well\u201d as patients who didn\u2019t get the device? The answer depends on what the baseline hearing losses were for each group of participants \u2014 something not discussed in the release. There are no data at all on failures, removals, infections, etc. They are not mentioned. The release has zero information about harms, actual or potential. Readers of this release never learn anything about the age, gender, socioeconomic status, educational background, or race of participants. Nothing is learned about the implant procedure, evaluation of the patients, how participants were selected, or how they were followed in after-implant care. In short, the release doesn\u2019t offer any particulars about the clinical research protocol that the university treated \u201cmore of\u201d than any other participating hearing center. We can assume that the study involved multiple sites but not much more. There is no mongering and to its credit, the release provides concrete statistics on the prevalence of hearing loss. But there is some evidence of \u201cbenefits mongering.\u201d The release needed information about funding sources for the clinical trials. In addition, the release does not explain the quoted source\u2019s relationship to the study (although it is implied that he is helping to lead it). Although the release makes some distinction between the type of hearing loss most likely to benefit from this FDA approved device; and it explains in some detail how the device is an improvement over other cochlear implants, it isn\u2019t clear about the overlapping benefits of newer digital hearing aids and the implants for people in the \u201cmoderate\u201d sensorineural hearing loss category. The release notes that the device received FDA approval on September 16.and that it will be available \u201cin coming months.\u201d The release does a good job of explaining what is different about this device compared to other cochlear implants, notably that it is combines two technologies to address both high frequency and low frequency hearing loss. But the release would have been strengthened by noting that newer \u201copen fit\u201d \u00a0hearing aids also try to tackle the dual hearing loss problem for many people. The release doesn\u2019t rely heavily sensational language."}
{"claim_id": "11654", "claim": "New York has the third lowest rate of gun-caused death in America.", "explanation": "Kavanagh said \"New York has the third-lowest rate of gun-caused death in America.\" Government figures confirm Kavanagh\u2019s claim. Only two other states rank lower than New York state in gun deaths. New York state also ranks third lowest in suicidal gun deaths, though the state\u2019s rank climbs when assaults are considered alone.", "label": "true", "subjects": "New York, Guns, Brian Kavanagh, ", "main_text": "State Sen. Brian Kavanagh claimed New York state has one of the lowest gun death rates in the country. \"New York has the third-lowest rate of gun-caused death in America,\" Kavanagh said. Kavanagh, a Democrat who represents the Brooklyn waterfront and Lower Manhattan, has introduced legislation that would allow a judge to temporarily restrict someone\u2019s gun rights. Family members or law enforcement officials could ask for such an order for those they believe to be a danger to themselves or others. Kavanagh said his bill would make New York state an even safer place to live. But is he right that the state already ranks third lowest in gun-caused deaths? Data on gun deaths The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks firearm mortality by state each year. The data includes suicides, homicides\u00a0and accidental gun deaths. New York state reported that 4.4 of every 100,000 residents died from gun-related causes in 2016. Only Rhode Island and Massachusetts had lower rates. Massachusetts was lowest, with 3.4 gun-related deaths for every 100,000 residents. Alaska had\u00a0the highest gun death rate, with 23.3 of every 100,000 people dying from gun-related causes in 2016. New York state reported 900 gun deaths in 2016, the 17th highest number in the country. Texas had the most, with 3,353 such deaths. What\u2019s in the data? More than half of those who died from gun-related causes in New York state took their own life in 2016. The state reported 490 suicides. That said,\u00a0New York had the third-lowest rate of suicidal gun deaths \u00a0-- 2.5 for every 100,000 residents. Montana had 15.5 suicide\u00a0gun deaths for every 100,000 residents, the highest in the country. New York state ranked higher in gun homicides. About two out of every 100,000 people were killed by a firearm assault in New York state in 2016. Seven states had lower rates, and six other states had so few gun homicides\u00a0that the CDC considered their calculated death rates unreliable. Our ruling Kavanagh said \"New York has the third-lowest rate of gun-caused death in America.\" Government figures confirm Kavanagh\u2019s claim. Only two other states rank lower than New York state in gun deaths. New York state also ranks third lowest in suicidal gun deaths, though the state\u2019s rank climbs when assaults are considered alone. We rate his claim ."}
{"claim_id": "23294", "claim": "Rick Perry thinks \"injecting 11- and 12-year-old girls with a controversial drug (the HPV vaccine), without a parent's consent, is a good idea.", "explanation": "Lone Star First, funded by the Democratic Governors Association, says Rick Perry endorsed injecting girls with an HPV vaccine without parental consent", "label": "false", "subjects": "Children, Message Machine 2010, Texas, Lone Star First, ", "main_text": "Zeroing in on Gov. Rick Perry's long tenure in public office, Lone Star First, an organization that's funded and supported by the Democratic Governors Association, unleashed an attack ad called \"Cracks.\" It features a photo of Perry that splinters more with each charge the association levels against him. \"Twenty-five years as a politician changes you,\" a narrator says in the ad posted on YouTube Sept. 28. \"You think injecting 11- and 12-year-old girls with a controversial drug, without a parent's consent, is a good idea. You think it's right to use a government takeover of Texas homes and property so foreign companies can get rich. You spend taxpayer money on a fancy mansion while Texas faces an $18 billion deficit. On the issues, 25 years as a politician has changed Rick Perry, for the worse.\" We've previously touched on Perry's past advocacy of a toll-road network, his rental digs and the budget\u00a0shortfall. Now we wondered about Texas girls receiving a \"controversial drug\" without parental consent. On Feb. 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order that required the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules mandating that Texas girls entering sixth grade receive a vaccine against the human papillomavirus. Certain types of HPV, a sexually-transmitted virus, can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Critics said the vaccine, Merck & Co.'s Gardasil, was too new to declare safe. Some said too that Perry's order would infringe on parental rights or give girls a false sense of security, leading them to be sexually active too young. Lawmakers blocked the plans, and earlier this year, Allison Castle, Perry's press secretary, told us that the governor's office considers the mandate \"null and void.\" She said Perry \"will not pursue it in the future.\" At the time, we rated\u00a0Perry's statement that his executive order didn't make the vaccine mandatory. But did Perry's move mean children would receive shots without parental consent? Brannon Jordan, a spokesman at the Democratic Governors Association, pointed us to three news articles to back up the statement. While the articles quoted parents expressing anger at Perry for requiring something they considered none of his business, none of the clips mention parental consent. The mandate, which was scheduled to go into effect for the 2008-09 school year, included an opt-out \"in order to protect the right of parents to be the final authority on their children's health care.\" It ordered the Department of State Health Services to allow parents dissenting for philosophical or religious reasons to request a conscientious objection affidavit form. That form enables parents to enroll their children in public school even if they lack state-required immunizations. It's automatically granted as long as parents provide all required information. Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman at the Health and Human Services Commission, told us that \"the child would only get the vaccination if the parent took the child to get it.\" Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman at the Department of State Health Services, said: \"Vaccines cannot be given to children without consent of a parent or a legal guardian.\" Texas law lists two primary people who can consent the immunization of a child \u2014 the guardian and a person authorized under the law of another state or a court \u2014 and secondary people if the former are unavailable, including a grandparent, stepparent, or aunt. Janet Realini, a physician and president of Healthy Futures of Texas, a San Antonio-based nonprofit striving to reduce teen and unplanned pregnancies, told us that the mandate would have been no different than state requirements for numerous immunizations that Texas requires children need to attend public school, such as the polio vaccine, measles and hepatitis B. When we checked back with the DGA, spokeswoman Emily Bittner told us that she wasn't familiar with the ad. We asked to speak with someone who was, but no one had gotten back to us as we were wrapping up our research. Where does that leave us? Perry's executive order would have required Texas girls to receive a vaccine against HPV before entering sixth grade. The order included an opt-out for parents who objected to the vaccine. But there's no evidence \u2014 not a scintilla of proof \u2014 that shots would have been given without parental consent, and saying so preys on the fears of parents who objected to Perry requiring the vaccine. Parents and guardians are gatekeepers for children getting the vaccinations required for students to go to Texas schools. Perry's failed mandate would not have changed that, and the ad sounds like Perry endorsed forcing families against their will to vaccinate their children with a scary drug. We rate Lone Star First's statement ."}
{"claim_id": "11529", "claim": "New Merck osteoporosis drug boosts bone density", "explanation": "This story, about results from a Phase II trial of Merck\u2019s new osteoporosis drug odanacatib, should not have been published in a mainstream publication. Phase II results are not necessarily predictive of Phase III results or of FDA approval. Readers looking for new treatments for osteoporosis are likely to assume incorrectly that safety, efficacy and availability are assured. The reporter could have tempered the story by interviewing independent experts with no stake in the drug being studied, who likely would have pointed this out. Further, by talking to an independent clinician, the reporter could have learned about existing treatments for osteoporosis and how this one could\u2013possibly, and at some point in the future\u2013compare. Supplements, diet and exercise have been shown to slow or even halt osteoporosis for some patients. So have some drugs currently on the market. The story also fails to clarify a point that would be valuable to consumers: That risk of fracture, not bone mass density, is the most meaningful outcome for osteoporosis drugs. Because this trial did not look at that outcome, the drug\u2019s practical clinical value remains untested. The report should have plainly stated this caveat. And finally, it is well known that osteoporosis is a \"big market opportunity\" in the pharma trade. In other words, new drugs in this field, if well-publicized and well-marketed, can be huge revenue and profit drivers for the company. By failing to mention price, and the very strong financial motivation for a company to be first-to-market with a novel drug in this category, the reporter misses an opportunity to help educate readers about a source of rising healthcare costs\u2013and to invite a skeptical view of news about unpublished Phase II results about this drug. Which is why we think this story should not have been published in a newspaper.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The report is silent on the drug\u2019s possible costs. Our general view on HealthNewsReview.org is that if it\u2019s not too early to project benefits, it\u2019s not too early to discuss costs. This is especially appropriate given the high costs of current drug treatments for osteoporosis and the recent patent expiration of Merck\u2019s blockbuster drug in this category. The story reports details about the findings, but fails to put them in context. How do results compare to existing drugs in terms of bone mass density improvements? This study does not appear to take into account the endpoint of fracture risk. If that\u2019s so, the report should have said so. The story properly summarizes the side effects: Over one-third of the women in both placebo and treatment groups had nausea, headache, muscle spasms and rash, about 8 percent serious enough to lead them to stop taking the drug. The story is built around unpublished results of a phase II trial conducted by the company. The story should have explictly said the results have not been peer-reviewed or published, and that Phase III trials often show different results. The story does not falsely dramatize or expand the definition of osteoporosis. The story cites only Merck\u2019s data and researcher. No independent sources are consulted. The story fails to mention the range of drugs and treatment approaches to osteoporosis, and how their results compare to those seen in this Phase II trial. The story indicates the osteoporosis drug odanacatib is still in trials and not yet on the market. It explains that a larger Phase III trial is being conducted, and it does not forecast an availability date. The story explains that the drug under development works by a mechanism that\u2019s different from the current osteoporosis meds. The story does not draw directly from the Merck press release that announces the results."}
{"claim_id": "28824", "claim": "A list of statistics shows the leading causes of death in the United States through the first half of 2016.", "explanation": "None of the entries on the list save for the last involves intentional killing, while nearly every other entry on the list other than the last references some form of medical malady. It\u2019s an inescapable fact that everyone who manages to avoid being killed (intentionally or otherwise) by someone or something else first will eventually die of some sort of medical condition.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics Guns, abortion, causes of death, gun deaths", "main_text": "A graphic purportedly showing the leading causes of death in the United States during the first half of 2016 was widely circulated on Facebook in June 2016, its most eye-catching feature being that the number one entry was abortion while the lowest-ranked entry was murder by firearm: \u00a0 The list was problematic in several aspects, however. First of all, the displayed figures for 2016 are simply projections based on past trends, as up-to-date information of this nature simply isn\u2019t available. The most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concerning causes of death tallies mortality data from 2014. Second, although this list (put together\u00a0by the web site Romans322.com) relies heavily upon mortality data compiled by the CDC, that organization does not record abortion as a cause of death. The leading causes of death in the United States in 2014, according to CDC, were heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disease: During that same year the FBI recorded 8,124 murders by firearms in the United States, a statistic that would indeed rank below all other entries on this list. The usefulness of this information to make a point about gun issues is somewhat questionable, however."}
{"claim_id": "3036", "claim": "Chicago coyote captured after 2 suspected attacks reported.", "explanation": "Authorities on the hunt for coyotes in downtown Chicago after two reported attacks, including one where passersby said they had to pull a wild canine off of a 6-year-old boy who was bitten in the head, captured one animal Thursday night on the city\u2019s North Side.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Wildlife, Animals, Chicago, Coyotes, General News, Science, U.S. News", "main_text": "The reported attacks come amid an increase in sightings of coyotes in the nation\u2019s third-largest city, including one in the city\u2019s Lincoln Park neighborhood that briefly prompted the lockdown of two schools on Thursday. Neither the boy nor a man who showed up at a hospital with what he said was a coyote bite suffered life-threatening injuries. Officials were confident the animal that attacked the boy was a coyote, based on witness interviews, Kelley Gandurski, executive director of the Chicago Animal Care and Control, told reporters. If true, it would mark the first time in the state that a coyote has attacked a human, according to a wildlife biologist with the Urban Coyote Research Project. \u201cThe last several times that this occurred, people reported the same thing, that they were bitten by a coyote, and days and weeks later it turned out through DNA analysis of the victim\u2019s clothing it was, in fact, dogs and not coyotes,\u201d said Chris  Anchor, who also works for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, where Chicago is located. The 5-year-old was attacked Wednesday while outside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park. Gandurski said the animal may have been surprised by the boy as the child ran along a path. Two DePaul University track team members were running nearby when the coyote attacked the boy and they helped kick the animal away, according to WBBM-TV. \u201cWe just acted. Went over there as fast as we could. Knew something was wrong,\u201d DePaul sophomore Ryan Taylor told the television station. \u201cThere was an open CTA bus there. I told him to get on the bus in case the coyote tries to come back for something else.\u201d DePaul sophomore Dominic Bruce added: \u201cI was just trying to make him happy. I told him you\u2019ll have quite the story for story time when you go back to school. Later Wednesday, a man walked into the emergency room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a scratch on his behind, police said. He told police a coyote bit him, but Gandurski could not confirm his account because her staff had not yet interviewed him. The animal captured on the city\u2019s North Side was chased by police and animal control officials over several city blocks and finally captured near an intersection just after 10 p.m. Thursday, according to WMAQ-TV. Video showed the animal being loaded into an Animal Care and Control van after it was apparently shot with a tranquilizer: It was not immediately clear if the animal is connected to either of the reported attacks. While coyotes don\u2019t usually bite humans, there have been confirmed minor attacks in other U.S. cities, Stan Gehrt, a wildlife ecology professor at Ohio State University who helped launch the Urban Coyote Research Project with Anchor in 2000. Gandurski said reports of coyote sightings in the city have remained fairly consistent in recent years, but the recent increase may be because of cold weather and a lack of food. Anchor, who monitors the movements of hundreds of coyotes in the region who have been fitted with electronic collars, said it doesn\u2019t mean more of the animals are in Chicago. Instead, said Anchor, coyotes may have changed their behavior in ways that make them more visible. \u201cThey are very smart and when they realize there is nothing to fear from humans because they are not trapped, they begin to ignore humans,\u201d he said. Coyotes are adaptable. In Chicago, where the animals have been living for decades after following train tracks and other routes in search of food, they don\u2019t just make their dens in parks and nature preserves, but in nooks and crannies around the city, he said. They will eat \u201cwhatever is available,\u201d from small mammals and dead birds to fruit and insects, Anchor added. Chicago Animal Care and Control urged residents to not leave pets unattended outside and to secure their garbage. Gandurski said city and county animal control workers, as well as police and other agencies are taking part in the search for the coyote that attacked the boy. If captured, the animal will likely be relocated outside the city, she said. Dr. Tom Wake, the interim administrator of the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control, said the animal would first be tested for rabies, though he noted it\u2019s unlikely it would have that disease. \u201cThere has not been a case of rabies in any other animal except bats since 1954 in Cook County,\u201d he said. __ This story has been corrected to reflect that the boy was 6 years old, not 5, and to correct all references to Chris Anchor\u2019s last name to Anchor instead of Archer."}
{"claim_id": "7460", "claim": "US choir outbreak called \u2018superspreader event\u2019 in report.", "explanation": "Disease trackers are calling a choir practice in Washington state a superspreader event that illustrates how easily the coronavirus can pass from person to person.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, Washington, Virus Outbreak, Public health, U.S. News", "main_text": "The act of singing itself may have spread the virus in the air and onto surfaces, according to a report from Skagit County Public Health published Tuesday. \u201cOne individual present felt ill, not knowing what they had, and ended up infecting 52 other people,\u201d said lead author Lea Hamner, calling the outbreak a tragedy. Two choir members died of COVID-19 after attending the March 10 practice of the Skagit Valley Chorale. The rehearsal was held nearly two weeks before the state\u2019s stay-at-home order. Other superspreader events are known: A Chicago cluster of 16 cases, including three deaths, stemmed from a funeral and a birthday party. South Korea is investigating an outbreak linked to nightclubs reopening earlier this month. The singers sat 6 to 10 inches apart in different configurations during the 2 1/2 hour rehearsal at a church in Mount Vernon, Washington, about 60 miles north of Seattle, according to the report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Choir members had no physical contact, although some snacked on cookies and oranges or helped stack chairs, they told investigators. The virus could have spread when exhaled droplets landed on those items. Another theory? A fine mist of virus particles emitted during singing could have contributed, the report suggests. Some people emit more particles than others and such emissions can happen with loud talking or, possibly, singing. The virus is thought to primarily spread through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The singers felt their first symptoms \u2014 cough, fever, muscle pain or headaches \u2014 one to 12 days after the practice. The sick singers\u2019 average age was 69 and most were women, nearly matching the demographics of choir practice attendees. Understanding how the coronavirus spreads is important for preventing and tracking the disease it causes. The CDC recommends avoiding large groups, wearing cloth masks in public and staying at least 6 feet apart from others. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support  from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "29834", "claim": "A photograph shows a Japanese Giant Emperor Moth. ", "explanation": "Toys and figurines are confused for real animals at surprising rate.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fauxtography, insects", "main_text": "In April 2019, an image supposedly showing a Japanese Giant Emperor Moth was passed around social media:  Although this photograph has often been presented as if it documented a large species of moth, it actually depicts a figurine made from embroidered fabric by artist Yumi Okita. Okita describes her artwork as \u201ca series of botanical and insect fiber sculptures. Hand painted cotton fabric that is embroidered with layers of threads creates texture and color. I try to capture the realism of nature then manipulated into the world of imagination.\u201d Okita stated this particular piece to be \u201c6 inches tall and 12 inches wide.\u201d The wings are made from hand-painted fabric embroidered with a \u201clayer of thread creating texture and depth and color.\u201d A number of similar \u201cfabric sculptures\u201d can be seen on Okita\u2019s Etsy page:  Although this viral image does not show a Japanese Giant Emperor Moth, it was inspired by a genuine species of moth called the Hemileuca eglanterina, or sheep moth. Okita noted that while she tries to capture the realism of nature, she adds a bit of imagination into her pieces. Here\u2019s a glimpse of an actual sheep moth:  As far as we can tell no species known as the \u201cJapanese Giant Emperor Moth\u201d exists, although the Japanese giant silkworm moth and the Japanese emperor butterfly do. Here\u2019s a look at the silkworm (left) and the butterfly (right):"}
{"claim_id": "28668", "claim": "Chinese people are selling each other bags of fresh air because of air pollution.", "explanation": "What's true: Some customers in China are buying bottles and cans of fresh air. What's false: The companies selling the air are not Chinese firms, the air is sold in compressed form in cans or in bottles (not in plastic bags), and the product is not necessarily being  bought as a practical source of clean air.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Business, china, environmental hazards, pollution", "main_text": "It may have started as a joke in the Mel Brooks satire \u201cSpaceballs,\u201d but in February 2016 various publications began reporting that bottles of fresh air were being sold to Chinese customers seeking relief from persistent air pollution in major cities such as Beijing. As countries such as China and India have developed industrially, they have also developed major smog problems. In December 2016, the New York Times reported that Beijing officials sparked controversy when they listed smog as a natural disaster: Beijing is still reeling from a grimy November, and public anger over smog is running high. Some are concerned that classifying the murky air as a natural disaster will reduce pressure on officials to fix the problem, The Beijing News said. Levels of fine particulate air pollution, known as PM2.5, soared to a monthly average of 100 micrograms per cubic meter in November, according to Luo Yi, head of the Ministry of Environmental Protection\u2019s environmental monitoring bureau, a ministry statement said. PM2.5 particles are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, and they can enter deep into the lungs and even into the bloodstream. Across the so-called Jingjinji region \u2014 which is home to 130 million people and includes Beijing, the surrounding province of Hebei and the port city of Tianjin \u2014 the average PM2.5 level in November was 102 micrograms per cubic meter, Mr. Luo said. According to the World Health Organization, which has stricter guidelines than most countries, yearly averages of PM2.5 levels should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic meter. Moses Lam, a Canadian entrepreneur, saw an unlikely product opportunity in this phenomenon: pristine Canadian Rockies air. Lam said his canned air business is booming: We\u2019re selling fresh air in China, but we sell in a can, not in a bag. We started our company first selling two Ziploc bags full of air. After we sold them on eBay, we figured there might be a bit of a market there, and we wanted to improve our product. So we started compressing air in cans. Now Lam\u2019s company, Vitality Air, sells thousands of cans of fresh air collected from Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. He has customers in China, India and South Korea, with a developing market in Vietnam. On 3 January 2017, the Chinese government announced that 24 cities were on \u201cred alert\u201d for smog, with \u201cred\u201d being the most serious level for alerts in China\u2019s four-tiered public warning system. Lam said that during the winter months, pollution gets worse because Chinese citizens are heating their homes and burning coal, which adds to pollution produced by\u00a0coal-burning factories: The pollution and our sales for product goes hand in hand for sure. We see a spike in sales, we also see a spike in people asking for distributorship of our products. Every time this year we move thousands and thousands of bottles. Lam said he\u2019s seen photographs of Chinese people selling each other inflated bags of air, but that\u2019s not where he got the idea. Vitality, which incorporated in 2015, has a 24-foot trailer and 14,000 pounds of equipment (including a giant vacuum device) which Lam uses when he drives from Edmonton\u00a0to Banff and collects 200,000 liters of air over about a 40-hour period. The air is compressed into containers that double as face masks, allowing customers to experience the smell and quality of Rocky Mountain air for about 160 breaths: Lovin\u2019 that Rocky Mtn air! Puffing away all morning. On a natural high. @vitalityair #payingforair pic.twitter.com/5cIQdx1YaZ \u2014 Dave Mitchell (@mitchee69) June 10, 2016  Lam\u2019s idea has caught on. Leo De Watts and his company, AethAer, sell empty-looking jars for \u00a380 (nearly $100 U.S.) \u2026 but the emptiness is in the eye of the beholder. According to the company\u2019s web site, the jars contain air from pristine parts of Great Britain, including Dorset, Yorkshire and Somerset: A businessman is raking in thousands of pounds selling jars of \u2018fresh air\u2019 to people in China for \u00a380 each. Leo De Watts, 27, sells air collected in the British countryside and ships it over to polluted cities Shanghai and Beijing, where the wealthy elite pay a hefty sum for a few seconds of inhalation. A video shows De Watts standing in a gusty English meadow with a woman appearing to \u201ccatch\u201d air in a large bag behind him:  The British newspaper The Independent notes that such products may be bought by consumers more as novelty or collector\u2019s items than as practical sources of clean air: As well as those buying the product to inhale, it is reportedly also being purchased by people who will never open it, but instead keep the jar for its novelty value. The air is collected using jars held in makeshift nets, which are held into the air and walked around in areas far removed from anywhere polluted \u2014 a process Watts describes as \u2018air farming\u2019. Reuters reported that a millionaire  Chinese philanthropist handed out cans of fresh air as a stunt to make a political point abut the environment: Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune in the recycling business and is a high-profile philanthropist, on Wednesday handed out soda pop-sized cans of air, purportedly from far-flung, pristine regions of China such as Xinjiang in the northwest to Taiwan, the southeast coast. \u201cI want to tell mayors, county chiefs and heads of big companies: don\u2019t just chase GDP growth, don\u2019t chase the biggest profits at the expense of our children and grandchildren and at the cost of sacrificing our ecological environment\u201d, Chen said. Vitality Air\u2019s head said the pollution problem in China is so pervasive he doesn\u2019t believe will be corrected any time soon, and he acknowledged how serious it is \u2014 after a trip to China, he reported, he coughed for three weeks upon returning home to Edmonton."}
{"claim_id": "3283", "claim": "US-built capsule with a dummy aboard docks at space station.", "explanation": "A sleek new American-built capsule with just a test dummy aboard docked smoothly with the International Space Station on Sunday, bringing the U.S. a big step closer to getting back in the business of launching astronauts.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Technology, North America, Elon Musk, Business, Science, SpaceX, U.S. News", "main_text": "The white, bullet-shaped Dragon capsule, developed by Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX company under contract to NASA, closed in on the orbiting station nearly 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean and, flying autonomously, linked up on its own, without the help of the robotic arm normally used to guide spacecraft into position. Dragon\u2019s arrival marked the first time in eight years that an American-made spacecraft capable of carrying humans has flown to the space station. If this six-day test flight goes well, a Dragon capsule could take two NASA astronauts to the orbiting outpost this summer. \u201cA new generation of space flight starts now with the arrival of @SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon to the @Space_Station,\u201d NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted. \u201cCongratulations to all for this historic achievement getting us closer to flying American Astronauts on American rockets.\u201d Ever since NASA retired the space shuttle in 2011, the U.S. has been hitching rides to and from the space station aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft. In the meantime, NASA is paying two companies \u2014 SpaceX and Boeing \u2014 to build and operate America\u2019s next generation of rocket ships. SpaceX\u2019s 27-foot-long (8-meter-long) capsule rocketed into orbit early Saturday from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center with a mannequin strapped into one of its four seats in a dashing, white-and-black, form-fitting SpaceX spacesuit. The test dummy was nicknamed Ripley after the main character in the \u201cAlien\u201d movies. Ripley and the capsule are rigged with sensors to measure noise, vibration and stresses and monitor the life-support, propulsion and other critical systems. As the capsule closed in on the space station, its nose cap was wide open like a dragon\u2019s mouth to expose the docking mechanism. In a docking with a crew aboard, the capsule would likewise operate autonomously, though the astronauts might push a button or two and would be able to intervene if necessary. The three U.S., Canadian and Russian crew members aboard the space station watched the rendezvous via TV cameras. Within hours, the capsule\u2019s hatch swung open and the three astronauts floated inside to remove supplies and take air samples, wearing oxygen masks and hoods until they got the all-clear. Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques pronounced the docking flawless and called it \u201ca beautiful thing to see.\u201d \u201cWelcome to the new era in spaceflight,\u201d he said. Dragon will remain at the space station until Friday, when it will undock for an old-school, \u201cRight Stuff\u201d-style splashdown in the Atlantic, a few hundred miles off Florida. As part of Sunday\u2019s shakedown, the space station astronauts sent commands for Dragon to retreat and then move forward again, before the capsule closed in for good. SpaceX employees at company headquarters in Hawthorne, California, cheered the docking, then burst into applause again when the Dragon\u2019s latches were secured. The two astronauts set to fly aboard Dragon as early as July, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, witnessed the Florida liftoff, then rushed to Southern California to watch Sunday\u2019s maneuver. \u201cJust super excited to see it,\u201d Behnken said minutes after the linkup. \u201cJust one more milestone that gets us ready for our flight coming up here.\u201d Next up, though, is Boeing, which is looking to launch its Starliner capsule without a crew as early as April and with a crew possibly in August. SpaceX already has made 16 trips to the space station using cargo Dragons. The version designed for humans is slightly bigger and safer. It can carry as many as seven people and has three windows, emergency-abort engines that can pull the capsule to safety, and streamlined controls, with just 30 buttons and touch screens, compared with the space shuttle cockpit\u2019s 2,000 switches and circuit breakers. ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "3049", "claim": "Study: Air pollution greatly affects St. Louis\u2019 poorer areas.", "explanation": "St. Louis residents living in poor, segregated neighborhoods are at a greater risk of cancer from air contaminants, and proximity to congested traffic make up a significant share of that vulnerability, according to a study from Washington University.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Cancer, St. Louis, General News, Air pollution, Science, Public health, Pollution", "main_text": "Christine Ekenga, an assistant professor of public health at the university and the study\u2019s lead author, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the pollutants that conferred the greatest dangers were traffic-related. \u201cThe closer a neighborhood was to a major interstate highway, the more elevated their risk was,\u201d she added. \u201cAfrican American neighborhoods were more likely to be in these hotspot areas.\u201d The findings support the university\u2019s other recent research that details how St. Louis is plagued by inequalities. The city\u2019s stark racial divide makes it one of the most segregated in the U.S. and contributes to differing outcomes across a wide range of environmental health concerns, from asthma rates to lead exposure and inadequate access to healthy food. Elevated cancer risk from air contaminants could be included on that list, according to the new study. Published in late October in the journal Environmental Research, the findings are based on modeled estimates of concentrations for 180 chemicals that the Environmental Protection Agency said are known to cause cancer, or suspected to cause cancer. The model factors in such things as industrial emissions and traffic, and also measures lifetime cancer risk if someone were to live in the same neighborhood \u2014 or specifically, census tract \u2014 for 70 years. The regional study suggests that 14% of St. Louis-area census tracts have heightened cancer risk linked to air pollutants. Dangers are especially great in areas with high levels of both racial and economic isolation \u2014 where people are less likely to interact with someone of a different race or economic status. Ekenga said the findings also underscore that broader changes must occur, and those in positions of power must do more to account for the interests of underprivileged communities. \u201cThese are communities that are economically disenfranchised and environmentally disenfranchised, and what this means is they\u2019re not involved in conversations about land use,\u201d Ekenga said. \u201cWe need to seek their input, and when they provide their input, we need to listen to them.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "28631", "claim": "Eating farm-raised tilapia and other fish from China is dangerous.", "explanation": "Making generalizations about China\u2019s food industry is difficult. Several thousand modern, large-scale, multinational and joint venture companies and farms that use best practices and sophisticated equipment operate alongside millions of small independent farms, workshops, and merchants that use crude equipment and techniques. China has some 200 million farming households with average land holdings of 1-2 acres per farm and at least 400,000 food processing enterprises, most with 10 or fewer employees. Millions of people and businesses are involved in the handling and transportation of food beyond the farm gate. The vast number of food suppliers increases the challenge of disseminating standards, monitoring production, and tracing problems to their source.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Food, china, tilapia", "main_text": "ALWAYS buy wild caught fish NEVER farm raised! I read several articles on Google about this, and even one that was defending the eating of tilapia said to avoid the fish that came from China. Also, I had just returned home from buying Albertson\u2019s 4-day special of 4 bags of frozen tilapia for the price of one. Sure enough, on the top of the bags, it read \u201cfarm raised\u201d, and on the bottom in small print it said, \u201cChina\u201d. I recently saw a Food inspector on TV\u2026. He said he had lived overseas and he had seen the filthy conditions their foods are raised and processed in. It is enough to make you throw up. Some foreign workers have to wear masks as they work in these places, because the food is so rotten and filthy, it makes them want to throw up. Many of their Fish on Fish Farms are fed Raw sewage daily. He said he has seen so much filth throughout their food growing and processing that he would \u201cnever\u201d eat any of it. They raise this filth, put some food coloring and some flavorings on it, then they ship it to the USA for YOU to consume and feed to YOUR families. They have no Food & Safety Inspectors. They ship it to you to buy and poison your families and frien The tilapia referenced in the online warning reproduced above are a fast-growing tropical species of fish native to Africa whose popularity in the commercial food industry has surged in recent years. (Technically, tilapia is not the name of one specific species of fish but rather a common name for dozens of different species of cichlid fish.) Tilapia is now the fourth most-consumed seafood in the United States, after shrimp, tuna and salmon, and due to increased demand, much of the tilapia consumed by the public is now farm-raised rather than wild-caught. A June 2013 report from the Earth Policy Institute noted that worldwide production of farmed fish now not only exceeds the production of beef, but that consumption of farmed fish is soon expected to exceed consumption of wild-caught fish: The world quietly reached a milestone in the evolution of the human diet in 2011. For the first time in modern history, world farmed fish production topped beef production. The gap widened in 2012, with output from fish farming \u2014 also called aquaculture \u2014 reaching a record 66 million tons, compared with production of beef at 63 million tons. And 2013 may well be the first year that people eat more fish raised on farms than caught in the wild. One of the reasons for the popularity of tilapia is that they are short-lived and primarily vegetarian and therefore do not accumulate substantial amounts of mercury by consuming other fish, as other common predatory food fish (such as tuna) do. This factor also means, as reported in a June 2013 National Geographic article, that tilapia are more efficient to farm because they eat lower on the food chain: Andy Sharpless, the CEO of Oceana [an ocean conservation organization] explained that many popular food species like salmon are carnivorous, often devouring other fish. So when farmed, they eat upwards of five pounds of small fish to produce just one pound of salmon, a net loss of protein. \u201cWe\u2019re actually taxing the oceans every time we eat farmed salmon instead of relieving it,\u201d said Sharpless. \u201cAquaculture should add edible protein to the world, not reduce it.\u201d Carl Safina, author, conservationist, and Ocean Views contributor, said he isn\u2019t surprised that farmed fish have overtaken beef, because the process is more efficient. \u201cIt\u2019s probably more like Step One in a long-term downsizing,\u201d said Safina. He explained that people will soon start eating more farmed carp and tilapia, because they are lower on the food chain, and therefore more efficient \u2014 a driving force in an increasingly overpopulated world. \u201cWe\u2019re down mainly to two mammals (cows and pigs) and two birds (chickens and turkeys), and seafood is probably headed in that same direction as the spectacular variety of our overfished ocean yields to a few easily farmed, efficiently fed fish,\u201d said Safina. \u201cA crowded world has less room for choices; that\u2019s the bull lurking in this china shop.\u201d Farmed fish aren\u2019t necessarily inferior to their wild-caught brethren, any more than farmed beef or grain is inferior to wild varieties of those foods. And there\u2019s no guarantee that wild-caught fish are a safer food source than farmed fish, as the former often ingest a variety of toxins and other pollutants that flow into the world\u2019s waterways. However, farmed tilapia can vary considerably in quality based on where they are produced. Tilapia are typically farmed in the U.S. and Canada using tanks with closed recirculating systems, but much of the tilapia consumed by Americans is imported from Latin America and Asia (particularly Ecuador, China, and Taiwan), where the fish are usually raised in outdoor freshwater ponds. (China is the world\u2019s largest producer of farmed tilapia, supplying approximately 40% of global production; nearly 40% of that output is exported to the U.S., primarily in the form of frozen fillets.) As reported by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), in Ecuador tilapia are grown at low densities alongside shrimp to reduce water pollution, resulting in less disease and chemical use. But in China and Taiwan, water pollution and the use of chemicals in tilapia farming is a concern. One of the issues with tilapia farmed in China is that smaller, independent farmers face economic pressures to use animal manure rather than more expensive commercial feed for farmed fish, a practice which contaminates water and makes the fish more susceptible to spreading foodborne diseases. A July 2009 report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the safety of food imports from China noted that in that country \u201cFish are often raised in ponds where they feed on waste from poultry and livestock\u201d and cited an increased rate of FDA rejection of fish imports from China between 2000 and 2008: Fish and shellfish products were the industry group with the most refusals from China, followed by vegetables and fruit products. Fish/shellfish share of refusals from China doubled from about 20 percent in 2000-04 to nearly 40 percent in 2007-08. Food and Water Watch also drew attention to the high incidence of safety problems with fish and shellfish imports from China. Eels (frozen and/or roasted), catfish fillets, and shrimp accounted for most of the refused fish/shellfish shipments, but a wide variety of other products were also refused, including tilapia, tuna, monkfish, squid, jellyfish, crawfish, crab, cod, mackerel, and other fish species. The large number of fish and shellfish refusals may reflect increased monitoring of these products that began in 2006 due to chronic problems. Similarly, an October 2012 Bloomberg article observed that the FDA had rejected 820 Chinese seafood shipments since 2007, including 187 that contained tilapia, and furnished examples of the practice of using manure as feed for farmed fish in China: At Chen Qiang\u2019s tilapia farm in Yangjiang city in China\u2019s Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, Chen feeds fish partly with feces from hundreds of pigs and geese. That practice is dangerous for American consumers, says Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia\u2019s Center for Food Safety. \u201cThe manure the Chinese use to feed fish is frequently contaminated with microbes like salmonella,\u201d says Doyle, who has studied foodborne diseases in China. On a sweltering, overcast day in August, the smell of excrement is overpowering. After seeing dead fish on the surface, Chen, 45, wades barefoot into his murky pond to open a pipe that adds fresh water from a nearby canal. Exporters buy his fish to sell to U.S. companies. Yang Shuiquan, chairman of a government-sponsored tilapia aquaculture association in Lianjiang, 200 kilometers from Yangjiang, says he discourages using feces as food because it contaminates water and makes fish more susceptible to diseases. He says a growing number of Guangdong farmers adopt that practice anyway because of fierce competition. \u201cMany farmers have switched to feces and have stopped using commercial feed,\u201d he says. The Monterey Bay Aquarium\u2019s Seafood Watch program issued a report on pond-farmed tilapia from China in June 2012 which upgraded its previous \u201cAvoid\u201d recommendation to a \u201cGood Alternative,\u201d although that organization\u2019s ratings primarily focus on environmental sustainability and ecological impact rather than food safety issues. China\u2019s increased recommendation status was due mostly to a reduction in water use and the discharge of effluent by tilapia farmers \u2014 factors which are local environmental concerns \u2014 rather than enhanced food safety measures. The report noted that use of banned chemicals by Chinese tilapia farmers is an ongoing concern: Most Chinese tilapia is farmed in ponds. Recent reductions in water use, achieved by only emptying the ponds at the time of each harvest, has also reduced discharge of effluent to the environment. Both of these factors were sufficient to raise this recommendation from its previous \u201cAvoid\u201d to a \u201cGood Alternative.\u201d Chinese farms do discharge the water without relevant treatment, however, and there is evidence that some banned chemicals \u2014 including antibiotics and fungal treatments (nitrofurans and malachite green) \u2014 are still used in Chinese tilapia production. Overall, Chinese tilapia gets a moderate overall score of 5.34 out of ten. Tilapia as a species has the potential to be raised in sustainable ways, but the increasing intensification and industrialization has resulted in one \u201cRed\u201d score for the Chemical Use criterion. This means that the overall ranking is \u201cYellow,\u201d and therefore the recommendation is \u201cGood Alternative.\u201d Issuing a blanket declaration about whether American consumers should shun all food (or all of a particular type of food) imported from China is problematic because, as the FDA noted, the Chinese food industry is so broad and diverse:"}
{"claim_id": "30407", "claim": "North Korea is now allowing the open practice of Christianity.", "explanation": "YourNewsWire frequently generates clicks by latching on to the news cycle and adding their own outlandish, conspiratorial, or outright false narratives to actual news stories. For example, the site in 2017 lumped the suicide deaths of rock singers Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington in with the notorious (and utterly ridiculous)\u00a0Pizzagate conspiracy theory, falsely reporting they were murdered because they were about to expose a ring of \u201centertainment industry pedophiles.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, neon nettle, your news wire", "main_text": "On 2 May 2018, Charisma Magazine, a monthly publication aimed at devout Christian readers, posted a story\u00a0written by minister J. Lee Grady with the hopeful headline,\u00a0\u201cNorth Korea Will Open Its Doors to Christianity.\u201d The article was written amid news of historic thawing of relations between North and South Korea and talk of the North dismantling its nuclear program. One day later, the notoriously disreputable blog\u00a0YourNewsWire.com reappropriated the piece, for the most part republishing it word-for-word \u2014 but attaching their own writer\u2019s name to it. YourNewsWire also rewrote the headline to misleadingly report that North Korea\u2019s acceptance of Christianity was a done deal:\u00a0\u201cNorth Korea Agrees To Open Its Doors To Christianity.\u201d But because the original story doesn\u2019t claim that North Korea is already welcoming the free practice of Christianity, the article doesn\u2019t support YourNewsWire\u2019s headline. Instead, it expresses religious views about ongoing developments on the Korean peninsula and hopes that Christians will make inroads soon: When I heard the news last week about the Korean miracle\u2014after I pinched myself to see it was a dream\u2014I turned to Psalm 46. It says: \u201cCome, see the works of the Lord \u2026 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts off the spear; He burns the chariot in the fire\u201d (vv. 8-9). God has worked this miracle. It is not the work of any politician. He has heard the prayers of his people on both sides of this conflict\u2014and the prayers of the faithful around the world who felt North Korea\u2019s pain. He will engineer a lasting peace in this part of the world, and open the doors wide for the gospel to flourish in a thirsty land. Before long, the churches of South Korea will freely send teams into the North with food, medicine and the message of Christ. Like a patient who has been in a coma, North Korea will awaken. The world will watch a national transformation. We are witnessing the greatest display of God\u2019s sovereign power over nations since the Berlin Wall fell. Although the repressive state of North Korea may well some day welcome religion, it is currently de facto prohibited. Ji-Min Kang, a columnist for NK News who lived in Pyongyang until 2005, explained the dynamic in a 2014 column: North Korea\u2019s ruling principles are based on Juche ideology, which is itself based on Marxist materialism. Karl Marx was a sharp critic of organised religion, saying it was \u201cthe opium of the people\u201d. In essence then, the basic principles of North Korean socialism are strongly opposed to and incompatible with religious beliefs. Even though the North Korean constitution officially states that it allows the freedom of religion, this freedom simply does not exist in the North. As such, I had to learn continuously about the negative effects and harms of a religion while growing up in North Korea. This environment therefore makes many North Koreans agnostic, but some of course conduct religious activities behind closed doors, often however with serious consequences."}
{"claim_id": "40283", "claim": " This is a prayer request for   Nick Doize of Katy, Texas who is suffering from acute lymphoblastic   leukemia.\u00a0 The email also requests readers add their names to a   list at the bottom and forward it to friends.\u00a0 It also instructs   that when the list reaches 1000 names to email it to the originator. \u00a0   ", "explanation": "A Prayer Request and Email Chain For a Cancer Patient named Nick Doized", "label": "true", "subjects": "Prayers", "main_text": "Nick Doize is a cancer patient and has been   fighting acute   lymphoblastic leukemia since February 2006. Doize was fourteen at   the time of his diagnosis. As of September 28, 2009 Doize is still   battling the disease, according to the Dallas Texans soccer team. The team has been sponsoring events and auctions to help raise funds for   his treatment. Doctors at  M.D. Anderson Cancer hospital in the Houston area are exploring the   possibility of a second bone marrow transplant for Doize. The Athletes for Hope   organization, hosted a special \u201cNick Doize 6 v 6 Invitational Soccer   Tournament\u201d which was held on Saturday June 16th 2007 in Houston that   raised nearly $18,000 for the young cancer patient. Click for Athletes for Hope site. The email chain   request is a grass roots campaign. Updated 10/21/09 Comments"}
{"claim_id": "2460", "claim": "Possible closure of Ohio clinic shows new tactic in U.S. abortion clash.", "explanation": "When open for business, the single-story, L-shaped brick building in a run-down west Toledo neighborhood is usually targeted by sign-toting protesters pacing the sidewalk across the street while off-duty police patrol the parking lot.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A sign in a neighbor\u2019s window reads: \u201cYou Shall Not Murder.\u201d  Toledo\u2019s Capital Care abortion clinic, the only one in this rust belt city of 285,000, has become the latest front in the national battle over abortion rights, this one centering on a new state law that bars agreements to move women needing emergency care to public hospitals. Toledo\u2019s clinic may have to close because its transfer agreement with a public hospital expired last month and under the new law it cannot renew it. Abortion clinics in Ohio are required to have so-called transfer agreements with hospitals under which a patient can be admitted in case of complications. In 2011, the latest year for which data is available from the health department, complications arose in 91 of 24,764 abortions performed in Ohio. The new law passed by Ohio\u2019s Republican-dominated legislature in June blocks public hospitals from entering into transfer agreements with abortion clinics. The result is that clinics either must have arrangements with private hospitals, since those with public hospitals are barred, or be forced to close since they would be operating without the required transfer agreement in place. Eight other states require abortion clinics to have transfer agreements, including Nebraska and Wisconsin, and abortion rights groups fear Ohio\u2019s crack down could be replicated elsewhere. \u201cThis is a brand new idea,\u201d said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be surprising if next year we saw this restriction appear in other states.\u201d  A renewed push by conservative Republicans to put fresh restrictions on abortion at the state level has resulted in a rash of new legislation over the past two years. New laws have ranged from limits on insurance coverage for abortions to requirements that women considering an abortion undergo an ultrasound test, during which technicians typically are required to point out a fetus\u2019 visible organs. Some states have extended waiting periods for those who seek an abortion, while others have zeroed in on later term abortions. Ohio\u2019s law marks yet another approach. Backers of the legislation say a transfer agreement with a public hospital amounts to indirect support for abortion, paid by many who disagree with it. \u201cWe think it\u2019s going to protect taxpayers who oppose abortions,\u201d Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis said. State Rep. Lynn Wachtmann, a Republican who chairs the House health committee, helped prepare the language for the transfer agreement law, which was included as a provision in the budget bill. \u201cThe real issue with any agreement with a public hospital is the vast majority of the people in Ohio feel that no public funds or public entities should be supportive of the babykilling industry,\u201d said Wachtmann. Opponents of the law say it will put women\u2019s health at risk, and decry it as a maneuver to undermine the Supreme Court\u2019s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing the right to abortion. The court has left the states free to place various restrictions on abortion. Nearly one in ten abortions performed in Ohio in 2011 was in Lucas County, which includes Toledo, according to the health department. A second abortion clinic in Toledo closed earlier this year. Capital Care Network of Toledo\u2019s agreement with the University of Toledo Medical Center, a public hospital, to transfer patients in case of complications expired on July 31. It cannot renew that agreement under the new law. Ohio\u2019s health director, Theodore Wymyslo, told Capital Care he is proposing revoking the facility\u2019s license, and that it has 30 days to request a hearing. His letter was received August 6, and the clinic had not yet requested a hearing as of Friday, according to the department. \u201cWe are seeking a way to stay open,\u201d said Dr. Thomas Michaelis, who works at the clinic. \u201cWe have lawyers who are working on this out of our main office in Columbus.\u201d  Michaelis said if the clinic closes, women in the area will have to travel to Detroit, Cleveland or Columbus for abortions. Terrie Hubbard, identified by the health department as the owner of Capital Care Network in Columbus, did not respond to requests for comment. It was not clear if the new Ohio law would affect the state\u2019s 11 other abortion clinics, since the measure only directly affects those with transfer agreements with public hospitals rather than private. Ohio Right to Life\u2019s Gonidakis said he does not know of any other abortion clinic tied to one of the state\u2019s 18 public hospitals. The health department said it was still reviewing the measure and its impact on the state\u2019s clinics. Abortion rights groups, however, say the impact of the Ohio law could be felt beyond the Capital Care clinic. \u201cIt\u2019s just a very shrewd way to close abortion clinics,\u201d said Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about patient safety - this is about putting barriers between women and a safe, legal medical procedure.\u201d  A woman waiting at a bus-stop with her infant son near the Capital Care clinic said she had considered making an appointment there when she found out she was pregnant again two months ago. But then she heard the clinic was closing. \u201cI\u2019m not happy,\u201d said the 21-year-old woman, who gave her name only as \u201cFaye.\u201d \u201cThey made the decision for me.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "7256", "claim": "Idaho bighorns killed after contact with domestic sheep herd.", "explanation": "State officials on Thursday killed two bighorn sheep rams in central Idaho that came in contact with domestic sheep and might have carried deadly diseases back to the wild bighorn herd.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Sheep, Wildlife, Wildlife health, Health, Games, Darts, Idaho", "main_text": "The Idaho Department of Fish and Game in a news release says attempts to dart and put radio collars on the 5- and 6-year-old rams near Challis failed Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Samples taken from the sheep and their carcasses have been sent to a wildlife health lab for analysis. Domestic sheep and goats carry diseases that can infect bighorn herds and cause die-offs. Fish and Game\u2019s 2010 Bighorn Sheep Management Plan directs the agency to remove bighorns that come in contact with domestic sheep to prevent diseases from reaching bighorn herds."}
{"claim_id": "11527", "claim": "Back Pain: Revolution: Replacement Disc Surgery", "explanation": "This story is about a new treatment option for low back pain \u2013 artificial disk replacement. For viewers suffering from low back pain, trying to make a treatment decision, there is too much crucial information missing in this story. Most people with low back pain will not be eligible for the device. Viewers need to understand how little is known about the risks of the device and how it compares to other treatment options. Even if the short-term risks/benefits look good, there will be major unanswered questions abouts the durability and long-term safety of the device. The 25 year old woman in this story may require additional spine surgery in the future as this device wears out. This is not intended to be a one-time cure. In the story, the viewer learns that \u201cMore than 75% of Americans suffer back pain at some time.\u201d While this may be technically correct, it\u2019s not clear that all find it \u201csignificant.\u201d The kind of back pain that would make an individual eligible for disc replacement surgery represents a very small percentage of all cases of back pain. Most people suffer acute episodes of back pain that resolves on its own. More importantly, the story implies that \u201cinjured discs are often to blame.\u201d In fact, only a small percentage of low back pain is attributable to an acute disc herniation. Finally, the statement that \u201cdoctors have treated problems by fusing spinal bones together\u201d is unclear and also misleading. Most patients with low back pain are not going to need surgery of any type. For patients with an acute disc herniation, the accepted procedure is a discectomy, not fusion. The story does quantify the benefits of treatment. Although the story quotes the surgeon saying he has had good results, this is not sufficient. The audience deserves more than just a single surgeon\u2019s experience and a couple of days experience in one patient. Although the story mentions that the patient tried accupuncture and electrical stimulation, the story neglects other alternatives and does not discuss the pros and cons of the alternatives. The story does not mention harms. The story does not mention either short-term risks of surgery, or the short to long-term risks of the device itself. Given that the ideal candidate is a young, otherwise healthy person, the device would need to work for many decades. Some early results demonstrate failure rates of 30% after a few years. Furthermore, the story fails to indicate whether disc replacement is available or not, does not describe the quality of the available evidence, and does not mention costs (which could be substantial). Even with the time constraints of TV news, much more could have been done with this story if the topic was to be covered at all.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not mention the cost of the procedure, how it compares to other treatments, or whether it is covered by insurers. Medicare has just approved one device for its population. Most commercial insurers haven\u2019t covered this procedure yet, but will probably start covering it as a result of Medicare\u2019s policy. The story does not attempt to quantify the benefits of treatment. Although the story quotes the surgeon saying he has had good results, this is not sufficient. The audience deserves more than just a single surgeon\u2019s experience and a couple of days experience in one patient. The story does not mention harms. The story does not mention either short-term risks of surgery, or the short to long-term risks of the device itself. Given that the ideal candidate is a young, otherwise healthy person, the device would need to work for many decades. Some early results demonstrate failure rates of 30% after a few years. The story does not describe the strength of the available evidence. Although the story cites the surgeon as aying that he has had good results in his patients, this is not sufficient. No evidence other than the one surgeon who describes his case series is provided. In the story, the viewer learns that \u201cmore than 75% of Americans suffer back pain at some time.\u201d While this may be technically correct, it\u2019s not clear that all find it \u201csignificant.\u201d The kind of back pain that would make an individual eligible for disc replacement surgery represents a very small percentage of all cases of back pain. Most people suffer acute episodes of back pain that resolves on its own. More importantly, the story implies that \u201cinjured discs are often to blame.\u201d This is not true at all. In fact, only a low percentage of low back pain is attributable to an acute disc herniation. Finally, the statement that \u201cdoctors have treated problems by fusing spinal bones together\u201d is unclear and also misleading. Most patients with low back pain are not going to need surgery of any type. For patients with an acute disc herniation, the accepted procedure is a discectomy, not fusion. The story only quotes one surgeon and provides no additional perspectives. Although the story mentions that the patient tried acupuncture and electrical stimulation, the story neglects other alternatives and does not discuss the pros and cons of the alternatives. Many treatments are available and thus describing options is critical. The story does not indicate whether disc replacement is available or not. As a new device, it is unclear how widely available it is throughout the U.S. If the pattern of past ideas is followed, it will likely be widely disseminated before we actually know the true benefits and risks of the device, as well as who it should and shouldn\u2019t be used in. The story clearly states that this is a new treatment. But even then, the story provides almost no information about just how novel this is conceptually and practically. There is no way to know if the story relied on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "7844", "claim": "Bubble cars to provide jolt to Paris motoring.", "explanation": "Bubble-shaped vehicles will appear on Paris streets next week which billionaire entrepreneur Vincent Bollore hopes will help clear the traffic-clogged arteries of the French capital as well as providing a charge to his nascent battery business.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "Former French Formula One champion Alain Prost drives a BlueCar Electric Concept Car during a news conference in Le Bourget, north of Paris, February 3, 2006. REUTERS/Franck Prevel The electrically powered Autolib cars will be available for hire in a two-month trial starting October 2 at 4 to 8 euros per half hour to motorists prepared to pay a membership fee starting at 10 euros for a day of driving. The 235 million euro ($321 million) project is the brainchild of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who hopes to duplicate the success of Velib, the bicycle-sharing scheme he launched in 2007 and which has been copied by several cities in France and abroad. It\u2019s also a potential showcase for Bollore\u2019s eponymous industrial conglomerate, which is making the BlueCar vehicles involved in the scheme and which are based on a lithium-metal-polymer battery, a different technology from the lithium-ion batteries other car makers are using. Bollore told journalists on Friday he expected the project to make a profit in a number of years. \u201cWe estimate that it will be profitable from the seventh year, and an industrial group like ours is used to (its investments) turning a profit from the sixth or seventh year,\u201d he said. The scheme echoes increasingly popular car clubs such as City Car which allow members to hire a local car for as little as an hour at a time. \u201cWe want to persuade people to shift from the concept of owning a car to that of using a car,\u201d Autolib General Manager Morald Chibout told Reuters. The city of Paris has spent 35 million euros ($47.8 million) in building the car rental stations, while neighboring communes have contributed 50,000 for each station. The Bollore group, which has invested 200 million euros in the project, will pay a 750 euros annual fee for each car space. Taking a cue from the success of Velib, the project is aimed at reducing the need for the private cars that hog Parisian boulevards as well as offering locals and visitors a chance to discover electric cars. The service will debut next week with 66 cars and 33 stations throughout Paris, but will expand to 3000 vehicles and more than 1000 stations by the end of 2012. The project gets underway as top automakers test the market\u2019s enthusiasm for electric cars on a large scale in Europe. Renault SA and its Japanese sister company Nissan Motor Co, which have invested 4 billion euros in electric vehicles, have begun selling a few such cars ahead of volume production and sales set to kick off in 2012. Bollore\u2019s cars are being manufactured exclusively for the car-sharing service. First unveiled at the 2005 Geneva motor show, the bubble-shaped four seater has been designed and manufactured exclusively for Bollore by Italian designer Pininfarina, famous for sculpting Ferraris and Maseratis. Unlike Pininfarina\u2019s more upmarket designs, the BlueCar has been kept simple, with basic controls that are meant to be intuitive and easy to understand. The car is powered by batteries manufactured by Bollore and can travel up to 250 km between charges which will take about four hours. Bollore says the batteries are safer than the lithium-ion batteries used by most of the car industry because they are less prone to overheating. They are also more stable when being charged and discharged. With estimates for the electric vehicle market of between 20 billion and 50 billion in 2020, Bollore\u2019s bet may pay off if Autolib becomes a success. Soaring insurance and parking costs in French cities have already persuaded 25 percent of its citizens to reduce or give up using their cars, according to a study published last year by Chronos TNS Sofres. Valentine de la Celle, a 30-year-old Parisian mother of two, would seem to be the typical target for the service. She doesn\u2019t own a car, but expects to start using the station on Boulevard Haussmann for short trips, as she lives nearby. \u201cWe\u2019re doing building work at home at the moment and to take things to the tip I\u2019d have to hire a car, which is difficult,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the scheme needs to be quick and simple, otherwise people will not use it.\u201d   Bollore says picking up an Autolib vehicle from a station and returning it to another will only take a few minutes. Before hiring a car, drivers will have to register at Autolib\u2019s flagship office in central Paris or at kiosks located near some stations. A driving license, ID card and a credit card will be required to sign up, along with an uncashed deposit. Users will be able to sign up for daily, weekly or annual memberships ranging from 10 euros to 144 euros for a year, with users paying more depending on the length of time the car is used. The tiered pricing system is designed to encourage hiring the cars only for short trips, said Annick Lepetit, Paris\u2019 deputy mayor in charge of transportation. \u201cWe are not here to compete against traditional car rental businesses,\u201d she said. Unlike traditional rental cars, Autolib vehicles will be tracked by an operational center which will be staffed 24 hours a day to help drivers who run into difficulties. \u201cWe hope other cities will contact us to adopt our system,\u201d said Chibout. \u201cThree cities have already called us.\u201d   ($1 = 0.733 Euros)"}
{"claim_id": "11030", "claim": "Treadmill test has limited usefulness", "explanation": "This story explains why, for many people, treadmill stress testing is a poor tool for detecting heart disease and predicting mortality. The article was whittled down by half from a longer version written by the New York Times\u2019 Jane E Brody six days earlier. (Is it a coincidence that the Charlotte paper hacked the original story exactly in half \u2013 from the original 1,166 words to 583? Did an editor just say, \"Cut it in half.\"?) Regardless of length, the story lacks important information on several fronts:    It does not describe the quality of the scientific evidence on stress tests It fails to mention potential harms of a positive test  It does not adequately quantify the potential benefits of a stress test It lacks information about other options for diagnosing heart disease", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story explains that the charge to Medicare is about $150 per recipient, but three or four times higher to younger patients. The story fails to state exactly how much a person might benefit from a treadmill test. This is admittedly difficult to do, and an area of significant controversy in medicine. Who does it help\u2014and how much? The story does provide the test\u2019s prognostic accuracy: three in a thousand people with heart disease will die from heart disease within a year if they have a low-risk test, and about ten-fold more will die of heart disease if \u201cthey are deemed at high risk.\u201d This is a story about the pros and cons of testing for heart disease with a treadmill stress test\u2014a method that is fast and cheap but often difficult to accurately interpret. Though the story does not explicitly say so, a reader could infer that such an unreliable test might easily lead to an unreliable diagnosis or prognosis. Still, the story fails to explain just how significant that can be: tests for heart disease quickly lead to additional tests as well as expensive and potentially unnecessary and harmful interventions. The story points out that there is a difference between heart disease and a test for detecting heart disease that does a poor job of predicting true problems in a lot of the people who receive it. This is essentially an anti-disease-mongering message. The story wrongly says that its single source was the physician of the late journalist Tim Russert. This error was introduced during editing at the Charlotte Observer. In the original article by the New York Times\u2018 Jane E. Brody, published six days earlier on 7/29, Brody states that the source \u201cwas not one of [Russert\u2019s] physicians.\u201d Had the Observer gotten this right, then the story would have received a \u201csatisfactory\u201d grade for this criterion. The story says nothing about the pros and cons of other methods used to diagnose heart disease. The story states that hundreds of thousands of Americans get a treadmill stress test annually. It\u2019s clear from the story that treadmill testing has been around a while. The story does not appear to rely solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "8780", "claim": "New antibody drug helps cells kill blood cancer.", "explanation": "A new kind of antibody drug that makes the body\u2019s own \u201ckiller\u201d cells fight tumors has produced promising early-stage results in patients with a deadly form of blood cancer, researchers said on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "All seven patients with previously incurable non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma (NHL) who were given the highest dose of Micromet Inc\u2019s experimental drug blinatumomab showed either complete or partial responses. The results, which were published in the journal Science, are a boost for the concept of harnessing the power of the body\u2019s cytotoxic, or cell-destroying, T-cells against tumors. Until now, scientists have struggled to find a way of triggering a T-cell attack. But blinatumomab works by binding them to cancer cells, allowing the T-cells to more effectively kill the tumor. Importantly, it does so without setting off uncontrolled T-cell activity. Two years ago six men were left seriously ill when a clinical trial of another experimental drug made by TeGenero went badly wrong. \u201cIt\u2019s a very different kind of response,\u201d Patrick Baeuerle, Micromet\u2019s chief scientific officer, told Reuters. \u201cIt does activate the T-cells but it only activates those in contact with a tumor cell, so it is very conditional.\u201d   If all goes well, German-U.S. firm Micromet hopes next year to conduct a pivotal clinical trial necessary to win regulatory approval. The drug, for which AstraZeneca has marketing rights in North America, is also in mid-stage Phase II clinical tests against acute lymphocytic leukemia. In the Phase I trial reported for NHL, 38 patients were given varying doses of the drug, with 11 of those receiving higher dosages showing major responses and tumor regression, despite being given no other supporting chemotherapy. There were a number of side effects with the product, which targets a protein called CD19, but most occurred in the first week of treatment and usually normalized. Significantly, the amount of drug needed was much lower than for existing antibody treatments such as Roche and Genentech\u2019s Rituxan/MabThera. \u201cWith these low doses, cost of goods should not be much of an issue,\u201d said Baeuerle."}
{"claim_id": "26530", "claim": "Facebook post Says Goodwill used the pandemic \u201cto fire all of their employees instead of laying them off.\u201d", "explanation": "More than 96% of Goodwill stores have closed because of state regulations in response to the spread of COVID-19 Goodwill employees have been laid off and furloughed across the country. In Northern and Central Arizona, a majority of employees at Goodwill stores were laid off. Other Goodwill operations are ongoing.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "Scores of Americans have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the jobless rate to its highest point since the Great Depression. As of April 2, nearly 10 million people had filed for unemployment insurance. But getting fired for cause \u2014\u00a0as opposed to being laid off or furloughed \u2014\u00a0can jeopardize workers\u2019 ability to collect benefits. And a recent Facebook post suggests that Goodwill exploited shelter-in-place orders to fire its employees instead of merely laying them off. \"I just want to share what Goodwill Industries just did to all their employees,\" begins the April 2 Facebook post. \"They use this pandemic to fire all their employees instead of laying them off. They did say they would hire them all back as a brand new employee with no built up benefits or vacation time. I will not be donating or shopping there again. They definitely do not care about our community only how much money they can make off of us.\" This post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Lauren Lawson-Zilai, a spokesperson for Goodwill Industries International, told PolitiFact that each of the 157 Goodwill organizations in the United States and Canada is a locally operated nonprofit with its own president and CEO. More than 96% of Goodwill\u2019s thrift stores have closed because of state regulations in response to the spread of COVID-19, she said. But she said the Facebook post doesn\u2019t appear to be accurate. \"Some Goodwill organizations have had to furlough their employees,\" she said. \"These employees are receiving benefits\" that vary state by state. Other Goodwill operations are ongoing in some capacity, she said. For example, 90% of Goodwills are operating business services. Local Goodwill organizations contract with commercial and government organizations, among others, \"to provide a wide range of business services, including janitorial and grounds maintenance, flexible staffing, food service ... and laundry services.\" Lawson-Zilai said many are also providing job preparation skills and they\u2019re offering online learning through Google Classroom. One Goodwill partnered with a local dry cleaner to dry clean previously donated clothes that physicians can use as smocks. At Goodwill stores in parts of Arizona, however, a majority of employees lost their jobs. In a statement, Goodwill of Northern and Central Arizona said that mandatory state stay-at-home orders led Goodwill there to \"make the very difficult decision to close our stores in order to protect the health and safety of our employees and shoppers.\" The statement says ensuring the organization\u2019s financial stability \"included the very difficult decision to part ways with the majority of employees at each store.\" \"We are providing a severance package, which includes two-weeks pay, to help these team members in their transition to new employment,\" it says. \"We truly hope when this situation passes, we will be able to rehire the majority of these employees.\" Lawson-Zilai said those employees were laid off because of economic constraints, not fired. The Facebook post, which was shared more than 19,000 times, drew hundreds of comments, too. Among them were comments from people who claimed to be Goodwill employees. \"As an employee of a local Goodwill retail location, I can tell you this isn\u2019t true at my location,\" one commenter wrote. \"I\u2019m a full-time, hourly shift manager of five years who was given the choice of working or being furloughed; I chose furlough and I will keep my health insurance, my benefits and will retain my years of employment when I return, all while being eligible for full unemployment insurance benefits.\" \"As a furloughed employee I can confirm that this is a completely untrue statement,\" another commenter said. \"Health insurance is being paid in full by the company for full time employees while furloughed and accrued (personal time off) isn\u2019t going anywhere.\" Yet another commenter wrote that she was \"\u2018let go\u2019 because of the virus.\" \"All I was told was that I\u2019m eligible for rehire when they allow managers to hire again,\" she said. Our ruling The Facebook post says that Goodwill fired all employees instead of laying them off. That\u2019s not accurate. Across the country, employees at local Goodwill organizations have been laid off or furloughed, but some operations have not shuttered, according to a Goodwill spokesperson. In parts of Arizona, a majority of employees were laid off. But they weren\u2019t fired as the Facebook post claims. We rate this post ."}
{"claim_id": "11326", "claim": "Medtronic atrial fibrillation system shines in study", "explanation": "This story reports on results from a preliminary study for a device in development to treat atrial fibrillation. Although it appears to be intended as a business story, we think shareholders would care about cost and comparisons with existing alternatives as much as patients and consumers should care about these. Since the story acknowledged that a competing device was already on the market, it wouldn\u2019t have required much more work to do some comparative analysis \u2013 especially if our call for an independent expert\u2019s perspective was heeded.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "There was no discussion of costs. The story did provide insight about the difference in heart attack, stroke and death in the groups taking medication alone or those who had received treatment with this device. However, since the story did note that there is currently a device on the market, it would have been helpful to readers to provide information about treatment with the other device affects the rate at which these things occur. A comparison of effectiveness would provide insight as to the relative merit for this new device. The story did mention several of the harms associated with the use of this device along with the incidence with which they were observed. There was adequate discussion of the evidence and that the main limitation of this study was its small size. There was no overt disease-mongering of atrial fibrillation. There were no independent sources interviewed to discuss the potential of this device to affect outcomes and patient care. This is a problem. While mentioning that Johnson and Johnson had an ablation device approved for use in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, there was no discussion about how the results obtained with the Medtronic device compared. Towards the end, the story mentions that the treatment device discussed is not yet approved for use, though a device made by a different company (Johnson and Johnson) has been used to treat AF for years. Towards the end of the story, there was a clear statement that there is another device on the market that has been used for a long time in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. We can\u2019t be sure of the extent to which this story was influenced by a new release, so we judge this criterion Not Applicable."}
{"claim_id": "4495", "claim": "Pakistan court frees ex-PM Sharif for medical treatment.", "explanation": "A top Pakistani court on Friday ordered convicted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif released on bail so he can seek medical treatment at home or abroad, his family and a defense lawyer said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, Health, General News, Lahore, Asia Pacific", "main_text": "The decision was announced by the Lahore High Court after hearing a petition from Sharif\u2019s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who heads the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League party. But it doesn\u2019t mean that the former premier will automatically be freed as he faces another appeal hearing for bail next week. Nawaz Sharif was rushed from prison to the government hospital in Lahore on Monday, after his health condition was said to have deteriorated. He has remained there under supervision of prison authorities. The 69-year-old Sharif, who served three times as prime minister, has had a history of health problems, including heart disease. His lawyer Ashtar Ausaf said court authorities cannot release Sharif immediately until they hear a separate appeal set for next Tuesday. That hearing pertains to the second corruption conviction against Sharif, he added. \u201cWe are grateful to God. We are grateful to the judiciary which has granted bail to Nawaz Sharif who is facing a complicated disease,\u201d Sharif\u2019s brother told reporters outside the court in Lahore. \u201cI request the nation to pray for speedy recovery of its leader,\u201d Sharif. Maryam Aurangzeb, a spokeswoman for Sharif, said she hopes he will be granted bail in the second case as well so that he can receive medical treatment at a hospital of his choice. So far, it was unclear whether Sharif would wish to travel for treatment outside Pakistan. When Sharif was taken to hospital on Monday, his doctors initially believed he had contracted dengue fever, which is rampant across Pakistan. But later medical tests concluded that his immune system malfunctioned, which was the reason for a concerningly low platelet count. Panicked over his deteriorating health, Sharif\u2019s family petitioned the court in Lahore, requesting his release. During his political carrier, Sharif faced many upheavals but could never overcome the death of his wife at a London hospital in 2018. While he was in London visiting his wife Kulsoom Nawaz in hospital, a Pakistan court convicted and sentenced him and his daughter Maryam Nawaz on corruption charges. They were arrested on their return home and taken to prison to serve their sentences. Sharif\u2019s 12-year conviction in one case was suspended but he was serving a seven-year jail term when the country\u2019s anti-graft body in the past weeks began questioning him in another case, related to his family\u2019s sugar mills. ___ Ahmed reported from Islamabad."}
{"claim_id": "10851", "claim": "New test can detect autism in children, scientists say", "explanation": "A small European study found increased biomarkers in the blood of 38 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when compared to 31 healthy children in the control group. This story jumps the gun by implying the results suggest these biomarkers cannot only \u201cdetect autism in children\u201d but also \u201ccould lead to earlier diagnosis.\u201d This speculative language appears to come directly from the lead author of the study who\u2019s also quoted as saying \u201cwe hope the tests will also reveal new causative factors.\u201d What would have helped this story considerably would be interviewing sources not affiliated with the study to clarify the limitations of these biomarkers, explain how ASD is currently diagnosed, and provide some much-needed context about the novelty, availability, and clinical relevance of the biomarkers studied. Autism spectrum disorder includes a wide range of problems with social communication and interaction, as well as behavioral issues that can be repetitive, compulsive, and/or disruptive in many social settings. The condition cannot be predicted or cured, so any news coverage about a potential screening method needs to be extremely cautious and pay special attention to the limitations of the study at hand, as well as include critique from independent sources. According to 2016 statistics published by the CDC, around 1.1 million American children under the age of 21 have been diagnosed with autism, with a prevalence of roughly 1 in 68 kids.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Autism,The Guardian", "main_text": "The costs for the blood and urine tests mentioned in the story are not included. A cost estimate might be speculative at this point, but it seems reasonable to expect some discussion of what specialized tests like this might cost. The story says the study found \u201ca link between ASD and damage to proteins in blood plasma \u2026 the most reliable of the tests they developed was examining protein in blood plasma, which found children with ASD had higher levels of the oxidation marker \u2018dityrosine\u2019 (DT) and certain sugar-modified components called \u2018advanced glycation end-products (AGEs).\u201d However, the story doesn\u2019t include actual data, so the reader has no way of knowing how reliable these tests might be. According to the study, a computer was used to analyze several combinations of various biomarkers, and the best diagnostic association was found in children with ASD who had higher levels of DT and AGEs. The sensitivity of this model (ie. how many children with ASD were correctly identified) was 92 percent. The specificity of the model (ie. how many people without ASD were correctly identified) was 84 percent. It means that 8 percent of the children with ASD were missed by the model, and 16 percent of the children that were diagnosed with ASD didn\u2019t actually have the condition. Although potential harms from blood or urine tests are quite minimal, the story suggests the research findings could lead to routine screening for autism. Screening tests are never completely benign; in particular \u2014 in this case \u2014 if a \u2018false positive\u2019 result led parents to believe their child had ASD when they did not \u2026 or \u2026 if a \u2018false negative\u2019 result offered false assurance that there was no ASD present. This is quite a small study which relies upon biomarkers in the blood. It can only show an association between those biomarkers and the 38 children already diagnosed with ASD. It can not prove those biomarkers cause autism. Nor can it prove \u2014 as suggested in the story \u2014 that these biomarkers can actually predict a child developing autism, or reliably diagnose a child with the condition. These limitations are not mentioned in the Guardian story. This sentence also caught our eye: \u201cThe outcome was a diagnostic test better than any existing method.\u201d This is incorrect on two counts. First, as just noted, the study results do not support these blood and/or urine tests as diagnostic. Second, there is no existing diagnostic \u2018test\u2019 to compare to. There is no single diagnostic test, just as there is no cure, for autism. The story does not disease monger and does well to provide this context: \u201cIt is estimated that about one in every 100 people in the UK has ASD, with more boys diagnosed with the condition than girls.\u201d There are no independent sources. Including independent experts could have given the story much-needed context, including whether there are other studies looking for potential biomarkers for ASD. Conflicts of interest are not mentioned, and we could find none. It\u2019s never mentioned that there is no known blood, urine, or imaging test for predicting or diagnosing autism. Diagnosis, as stated in this Mayo Clinic summary, is based solely on behavioral observations and assessments. The story mentions two damaged proteins, in particular, which researchers found in higher concentrations of the blood of children with ASD, than in blood of children in the control group. We\u2019re not told if the tests for these proteins are routine or highly specialized. Exactly what was found in the urine isn\u2019t mentioned. Therefore, the availability of both the blood and urine tests is unclear. We\u2019re told the study identifies blood and urine tests \u201cthat can detect autism in children\u201d and the tests are believed to be \u201cthe first of its [sic] kind.\u201d However, as mentioned above, the study does not prove these blood and urine tests can predict or diagnose autism. So suggesting novelty in this way is, at the very least, premature if not sensationalistic. The story lifts quotes and almost entire sentences from a news release with no apparent original reporting."}
{"claim_id": "7525", "claim": "Trump scrambles to broaden coronavirus testing options.", "explanation": "The Trump administration scrambled Friday to broaden testing for the coronavirus with a flurry of new measures, and public confusion persisted over who should be tested and how to get checked for the disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "AP Top News, Health, General News, Flu, Politics, Utah Jazz, NBA, Virus Outbreak, Michael Pence, Donald Trump", "main_text": "Declaring a national emergency, President Donald Trump and senior staffers laid out a new testing strategy designed to screen hundreds of thousands of Americans at drive-thru centers based around major retail chains. Countries including South Korea and Germany have been using that approach for weeks, allowing people to quickly provide a throat or nasal swab for testing without leaving their cars. \u201cWe want to make sure that those who need a test can get a test very safely, quickly and conveniently,\u201d Trump said at a news conference in the Rose Garden. But he added that the test is not intended for everyone, such as those without symptoms. The moves come a day after one of the government\u2019s top health officials called the initial testing effort \u201ca failing\u201d and health care professionals, politicians and patients across the country complained about lack of access to testing. Vice President Mike Pence, who is the leading the coronavirus task force, said the U.S. can currently test 15,000 to 20,000 patients per day, but added that the number would increase \u201cvery soon.\u201d Health officials said Friday that a new website \u201cfacilitated\u201d by Google would guide users through a series of questions to determine whether they should be screened. If testing is recommended, users would be directed to a local testing location, which could include parking lots at Walmart, Target, Walgreen\u2019s and other major chains. People will be able to log on to the screening website later to view test results, according to the administration. Verily, a health care company under Google, confirmed that it is working to \u201chelp triage\u201d people for screening and said the effort will first launch in the San Francisco Bay area. The company offered no details about what the tool would look like or when it would launch. The administration\u2019s coordinator for the virus response acknowledged growing scrutiny of the government\u2019s testing effort. \u201cI understand a lot of this behind-the-scenes action over the last couple of weeks was invisible to the press and the American people,\u201d said Dr. Deborah Birx, a government researcher and health official. For weeks, public health experts have warned that the U.S. testing effort is being stymied by the limited number of labs running the COVID-19 tests and confusion among health care workers over who can be tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells people to seek testing if they have certain symptoms of the flu-like illness caused by the coronavirus \u2013 fever, cough and trouble breathing \u2013 and if they have traveled recently to a coronavirus outbreak area or have been in close contact with someone who\u2019s been infected. Ultimately, it\u2019s up to the doctor to decide who should get tested. In many states, health officials have parroted the CDC guidance when telling doctors who to test. But in some states, officials have varied a bit, depending on a range of factors, including availability of tests and whether the virus is known to be spreading there. A New York man said he ran into hurdles trying to get tested after the death of a business associate who was infected with the coronavirus. Joseph Faraldo said he began feeling ill earlier this month and tested negative for the flu. He said he called the state health department and \u201cthey were useless,\u201d and then the city health department failed to call him back as promised. His doctor sent him to a clinic where he was tested Wednesday. He expects results Friday. \u201cI think I was pretty lucky, they told me come on in,\u201d Faraldo said. Oklahoma used more than half of the state\u2019s testing capacity Wednesday to test 58 members of the Utah Jazz basketball organization after player Rudy Gobert tested positive. Those tests results showed one other player, Donovan Mitchell, also tested positive. Oklahoma state epidemiologist Laurence Burnsed said it would have been too risky to transport the team back to Utah for testing without knowing who might be positive. The CDC also tells doctors to give priority to the elderly or those who have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19, which can cause pneumonia. Doctors are supposed to prioritize medical workers or others who have been in contact with a confirmed case. The agency recommends people be tested for flu, to rule that out, because many of the symptoms are similar and it is flu season. Meanwhile, some researchers are trying to estimate how many Americans are actually infected. Earlier research suggests that for every documented, confirmed case, seven or more people are infected but not diagnosed, said Jeffrey Shaman, a Columbia University scientist noted for his work on flu predictions. That suggests there could be 14,000 or more infected people in the United States right now, he said. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. The vast majority of people recover from COVID-19 in a couple of weeks. The U.S. testing effort has been hobbled by a series of delays, including flaws with the testing kits first distributed by the federal government and bureaucratic hurdles that held up testing by private labs at hospitals, universities and testing chains. Public health labs across the country are now running the tests, and large commercial labs like LabCorp and Quest are ramping up too. Broad-scale testing is a critical part of tracking and containing viral outbreaks. Responding to complaints, the Trump administration named a testing \u201cczar\u201d at the Department of Health and Human Services. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health, will be responsible for coordinating between the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as private labs and state and local government. Medicare also announced it will pay about $36 for the CDC coronavirus test and around $51 for tests from other providers. Private insurers have said they would cover the tests. Swiss medical company Roche received emergency approval from the FDA to run coronavirus tests on its automated, high-volume testing system. The approval is expected to help U.S. labs dramatically increase their testing capacity, although Roche\u2019s system is mainly available at large health facilities. Roche said the test takes about 3 1/2 hours to run and can deliver as many as 4,000 results per day. Currently most U.S. labs are testing using a manual method that involves mixing chemicals and processing small batches. Testing times vary by lab and can range from four to eight hours. Separately, the FDA posted on Twitter that labs having problems getting supplies for collecting patient samples for testing should call the agency\u2019s toll-free information hotline. \u201cThe demand is very high,\u201d said Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a pathologist and lab director at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. \u201cThere are going to be shortages at first before we can really ramp this up.\u201d Hospitals and other health systems will have to prioritize testing for patients who truly need it, versus those who may be worried but don\u2019t have symptoms, Pritt said. ___ Associated Press writers Mike Stobbe in New York and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar in Washington contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "1286", "claim": "Scientists angry at UK visa denials for African, Asian researchers.", "explanation": "Scientists in Britain expressed concern on Thursday after at least 17 delegates from Africa and Asia wanting to attend a health conference in London were denied visas.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "Peter Piot, a Belgian-born microbiologist who was part of a team that discovered the Ebola virus in the 1970s and is now director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, was among those protesting against restrictive criteria for granting short-term business visas. In a letter to the interior minister, Sajid Javid, Piot said the restrictions \u201crepresent a significant threat\u201d to the United Kingdom establishing itself as a global health and science hub when it should be showing it is \u201copen for business\u201d. The 17 African and Asian delegates had wanted to attend a two-day Women Leaders in Global Health conference, exploring gender balance in global public health. \u201cThis conference is a forum to promote international debate and to nurture new talent,\u201d Piot said in the letter, a copy of which was posted on his institution\u2019s website. \u201cThe denial of these visas not only excludes experts and emerging experts from low- and middle-income countries from participating in these global dialogues around health and health equity but it also precludes the UK from benefiting from this important knowledge exchange.\u201d  The conference has attracted around 900 people from 70 or more countries. Among delegates due to attend are Britain\u2019s chief medical officer Sally Davies and Soumya Swaminathan, a World Health Organization deputy director general. \u201cAll UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules and guidance,\u201d an interior ministry spokesman said in a statement. \u201cThe onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that they satisfy the immigration rules.\u201d  He said the ministry would respond to Piot once it had received his letter. Piot said the restrictive visa rules \u201ccan only deter organizations from holding future conferences in the UK\u201d. He said his own school, a world-renowned scientific and global health institution, \u201cis considering moving the locations of many of our large international meetings to outside of the UK so that valued global experts can participate more easily.\u201d  Other leading scientists echoed Piot\u2019s concerns. \u201cIf we want to continue producing the best science, producing discoveries that will improve all our lives, we need to make it easier, not harder, for researchers to travel and collaborate across borders,\u201d said Beth Thompson, head of UK and European Union policy at the Wellcome Trust health charity. Research conducted by the Wellcome and published in September found that a third of African and Asian researchers seeking visas for short term visits to Britain had encountered problems."}
{"claim_id": "1607", "claim": "Home for the Holidays? Hold the sugar, please.", "explanation": "Bagged or boxed, brown or powdered, Americans are buying markedly less sugar this year, a trend nowhere more noticeable than during the holidays when home-baking picks up.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "In the biggest decline in sugar sales in at least four years, purchases have fallen 4.4 percent in the year through October, according to Nielsen data, a drop grocers attribute to growing consumer consciousness over the negative health effects of sugar such as a higher risk of diabetes and obesity. And they are seeing that trend through the holiday season, when sugar sales traditionally peak. In the month of December, retail sales of sugar typically account for almost double most other months of the year. That could pose a challenge to the politically-connected sugar industry, dominated by the Fanjul family which owns Domino Sugar, C&H, and Florida Crystals, and Louis Dreyfus, which operates the second-biggest U.S. refiner Imperial Sugar. Stew Leonard, Jr., chief executive of the Stew Leonard\u2019s chain of four supermarkets in New York and Connecticut, has begun paring back shelf space devoted to sugar as he braces for another year-over-year decline in December sugar sales. \u201cSugar is a number one enemy,\u201d Leonard said of public concern. \u201cYou can see that people are trying to cut back on it and not eating as much sugar as they used to.\u201d  The decline in bagged and packaged sugar purchases may reflect a trend toward less baking and more consumption of store-bought desserts, which contain as much, if not more, sugar. The steady years-long shift away from bagged and packaged sugar comes as the so-called \u2018war on sugar\u2019 intensifies in the United States, with bitter debates in the past two years between government, food companies, and advocates over proposals to add labels to products containing added sweeteners. Public officials including First Lady Michelle Obama have argued that rising sugar consumption is a leading cause of rising levels of diabetes and obesity. \u201cSugar has become one of the new trendy enemies,\u201d said Sean Lucan, a professor of family and social medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. \u201cIt\u2019s almost become what dietary fat was in the 1980s and 1990s.\u201d  The majority of U.S. sugar consumption is still in food and beverage products, according to the U.S. Sugar Association, which represents sugar growers, refiners and traders, which declined to comment on the drop in bagged sugar sales. Alternative products are nowhere close to trumping traditional sugar in sales. But while sales of granulated sugar, brown sugar, confectioners sugar and sugar substitutes all slumped, sales of \u201call other types\u201d of sugar - a category including unrefined sugars like jaggery and panela - grew by nearly 200 percent between 2011 and 2015 to 1.1 million units in the first 10 months of each year. In an informal survey of five U.S. grocery store chains by Reuters over the past week, participants reported a change in customer buying habits that suggests a long-term shift in tastes and supports data that shows waning appetite for sugar. Camilo Curiel, manager of a C-Town supermarket serving mainly low-income, Hispanic shoppers in Reading, Pennsylvania, said he has cut back on wholesale sugar orders after customers curbed their purchases over the past 2-3 years, though he has not yet begun devoting less shelf space to the sweetener. That decline is part of a broader trend toward healthier foods among his customers, who he said are buying less soda, boxed juice and cereal. But December, the peak sugar-buying season by far at the store, remains an exception. Retail sales of bagged and boxed sugar during the November and December months fell 2.3 percent to 203 million units between 2011 and 2014, Nielsen data show. That two-month period typically accounts for nearly one quarter of annual purchases. Purchases during the December month alone fell 3 percent over that period to 104 million units, measured in bags and boxes, the data show. Data is not yet available for the current holiday season. But market research firm Euromonitor sees sales of sugars and bulk sweeteners falling to 14.2 million tonnes in 2015, the lowest level on records dating back to 2001. Overall U.S. sugar consumption grew steadily in the past 10 years to levels not seen since before rise of corn-based sweeteners in the 1970s, but it is expected to fall off that peak in the season that ends in September 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Domino and Imperial Sugar did not respond to requests for comment on the trend. Some grocers including C-Town and specialty organic food store chain Whole Foods Market Inc have seen a surge in popularity of alternatives to traditional sugar like honey, agave, palm sugar and coconut sugar. \u201cCustomers are migrating toward less processed sugar, alternatively-sweetened products,\u201d said Errol Schweizer, global grocery coordinator at Whole Foods. Ahold USA, which owns supermarkets including Stop & Shop and Giant Food, has not seen a decline in sugar sales, though its stores have begun reducing added sugar in private label products like yogurt and cereal, a spokesman said. \u201cYou\u2019re never going to eliminate it, but you can see that people are trying to cut back on it,\u201d Leonard said."}
{"claim_id": "2747", "claim": "Iowa research lab identifies new strain of deadly pig virus.", "explanation": "A new strain of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus, or PEDv, has been identified in samples taken from Illinois and Missouri, a top veterinarian at Iowa State University said on Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "\u201cWe found that there is a variant out there that appears to be quite different than the original,\u201d Rodger Main, the head veterinarian of Iowa State University\u2019s veterinary diagnostic lab, told Reuters on Monday. More research needs to be completed, however, to determine if the new variant is a mutation or a different introduction of the original virus. \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a tremendous amount of sequencing completed and there will be additional work to determine if we can truly understand where it came from,\u201d he said. PEDv, a highly contagious and potentially fatal pig virus, causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration. It is transmitted orally and through pig feces. The virus does not affect humans, however, and U.S. federal officials have determined meat from pigs that survive the virus is safe to eat. While older pigs have a small chance of survival, the virus kills 80 percent to 100 percent of piglets that contract it. There are no official figures for pigs lost to the PEDv in the United States, but up to 4 million pigs may have died from the virus, according to industry analysts\u2019 estimates. Some U.S. meat processing companies have said the virus, first discovered in the United States in April 2013, is beginning to impact their bottom lines as it contributes to higher priced pork and is trimming U.S. hog supplies. The Unites States is the world\u2019s largest pork exporter. PEDv has been confirmed in 23 of the 50 U.S. states and was confirmed in Canada two weeks ago. Confirmed cases of PEDv across the U.S. Hog Belt recently jumped by its highest weekly total since it was discovered, according to USDA\u2019s National Animal Health Laboratory Network."}
{"claim_id": "2044", "claim": "Too fat? Study fingers one \"thrifty gene\" suspect.", "explanation": "Looking beyond obvious causes of obesity like overeating, scientists said on Wednesday they may have found a gene that also plays a role, one that helped our ancestors survive famines.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Targeting this thrifty gene and others with diagnostic tests and drugs offers another way to fight the global epidemic of obesity, the researchers said. Mice bred to lack this gene, known as CRTC3, can eat a high-fat diet without gaining weight, while normal mice on the same diet grow plump, the researchers found. And Mexican Americans who have an especially potent version of this gene are more likely to be obese than others, Dr. Marc Montminy of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California and colleagues reported in the journal Nature. The gene did not appear to have the same effect in whites, which supports what scientists know \u2014 that obesity is very complex. But CRTC3 is clearly important. \u201cIt slows down the rate at which the fat cells burn fat,\u201d Montminy said of the gene in a telephone interview. The findings lend more evidence to the theory of obesity made popular in the 1960s, which held that certain people have genes that slow metabolism, making it harder to lose weight. These \u201cthrifty genes would slow the rate of fat burning and increase your chances of surviving famine,\u201d Montminy said. Researchers are looking for ways to prevent and treat obesity, which affects 72 million U.S. adults, or 27 percent of the population. Being obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and arthritis. Finding and countering the effects of a thrifty gene would be an obvious target,   Montminy\u2019s team had a look at CRTC3 because it is very active in fat cells and is known to respond to signals that regulate fat burning. \u201cWhen we make animals that don\u2019t have the CRTC3 gene, these animals become lean,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you feed them a diet that has up to 60 percent of calories from fat, their normal brothers and sisters that have the CRTC3 gene gain weight and become obese, insulin resistant and some go on to develop diabetes, but those who don\u2019t have the CRTC3 gene remain lean and insulin sensitive.\u201d   One effect of obesity is the body loses its ability to use insulin effectively, eventually leading to diabetes. The researchers looked for evidence of this same effect in people, and found it in a group of Mexican Americans being studied by a team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles who had a genetic mutation of the CRTC3 gene that makes it more potent than the normal form of the gene. \u201cIndividuals with this variant had higher rates of obesity by several different measures,\u201d Montminy said. Interestingly, non-Hispanic whites who have this same genetic variant do not have higher rates of obesity. \u201cIt means the therapies we come up with for diabetes or obesity will need to be a little bit more tailor-made, depending on the individual\u2019s genetic makeup,\u201d Montminy said. He said it may be possible to test people for the gene to predict who is likely to become obese, and it may even help predict who is at risk for obesity-related diseases like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Drug companies looking for treatments for obesity might search for ways to turn down the effects of CRTC3, Montminy said."}
{"claim_id": "11558", "claim": "Less Radiation OK for Breast Cancer", "explanation": "The story reports on a study of shorter course of radiation therapy for women with early stage breast cancer . Results of this study were presented at the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. (The limitations of interpreting such findings could have been emphasized.) The story notes that more long-term data may be needed to determine the safety and effectiveness of the shorter course of radiation treatment. The story notes that this shorter course treatment is for women who have cancer confined to the breast. The story lists some options for radiation treatment following breast cancer surgery; however, it does not mention partial breast radiation and other alternatives to traditional radiation currently being tested. The story describes the study and provides recurrence rates at 5 years \u2013 from 2-5% in all groups. We are told that doctors \"believe the treatments are equivalent\", but \"cannot say so with certainty\", meaning in lay terms the difference was not statistically significant. It is important to note that this is a large study, which is good, but we do not know well it translates (e.g. what size tumors did these women have, what was the margin status, what type of systemic therapy). It would be good to note that results controlled for all these other factors. More data on side effects in the groups would also be useful. The story does list some of the side effects of radiation, namely skin and breast tissue changes, and notes these were less common in women who had a shorter course of radiation. Fatigue is also a common side effect of radiation, but this is not mentioned. Time, energy and the expense of travelling to more radiation treatments may influence a women\u2019s decision for breast cancer surgery. The story does not list the cost of radiation treatments; however, what is really at stake here is time lost from work or other activities. All of these may play into a woman\u2019s decision to forego radiation or to have a mastectomy vs. lumpectomy with radiation.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not list the cost of radiation treatments; however, what is really at stake here is time lost from work or other activities which may play into a woman\u2019s decision to forego radiation or to have a mastectomy vs. lumpectomy with radiation. The story lists the current options for radiation treatment following breast cancer surgery and provides the recurrence rates at 5 years \u2013 from 2-5% in all groups. We are told that doctors \"believe the treatments are equivalent\", but \"cannot say so with certainty\", meaning in lay terms the difference was not statistically significant. More data on side effects in the groups would be useful. The story does note some of the side effects of radiation, namely skin and breast tissue changes, and notes these were less common in women in this study who had a shorter course of radiation. Fatigue is a common side effect of radiation, but this is not mentioned. The story notes that longer follow up is still needed to assess the long-term safety and efficacy of the shorter course of radiation. The story describes the study and provides the 5-year recurrence data. The story notes that results of this study were presented at a conference. This means the results\u00a0 have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal \u2013 a point not emphasized in the story. The story notes that more long-term data may be needed to determine the safety and effectiveness of the shorter course of radiation treatment and cites a researcher not affiliated with the study who notes that treatments seem to be roughly the same, \"but we cannot say so with certainty\". It is important to note that this is a large study, which is good but we do not know well it translates (e.g. what size tumors did these women have, what was the margin status, what type of systemic therapy). It would be good to note that results controlled for all these other factors. The story does not engage in disease mongering, but lists the annual rates of diagnosis of early stage breast cancer in the U.S. The story provides balance by citing the study author, other clinician researchers not affiliated with the study and a patient who took part in the study and had the shorter course of radiation. The story notes that this shorter course treatment is for women who have cancer confined to the breast. The story lists some options for radiation treatment following breast cancer surgery, it does not mention partial breast radiation and other alternatives to traditional radiation currently being tested. The story also does not mention that shorter radiation may provide some women with the option of lumpectomy and radiation. Time, energy and possibly expense of more radiation treatments and travel is reduced with a shorter course and more women may consider lumpectomy vs. mastectomy. The story mentions that the shorter course of radiation is being used in clinical trials (such as the one described). The same machines used for traditional radiation are used for a shorter course of radiation, just different doses. The story reports on\u00a0 a study looking at a shorter course of radiation therapy for women who have had breast cancer surgery. This option for treatment is newer and still being studied. The information presented in this story does not appear to be taken from a press release. There is independent reporting and several sources cited."}
{"claim_id": "26339", "claim": "Central Park hospital tents housed thousands of abused children released from underground captivity.", "explanation": "The field hospitals set up in tents in New York\u2019s Central Park were treating coronavirus patients from the Mount Sinai Health System. There is no evidence that children are being held in, or released from, underground captivity in New York. This conspiracy has been researched and debunked by other news outlets.", "label": "false", "subjects": "New York, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "As the early epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, New York City scrambled to expand its hospital capacity. The Navy hospital ship traveled to New York to relieve the pressure on hospitals; the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center was converted into a 4,000-bed medical center; and a field hospital was set up in Central Park. The Central Park tent hospital, operated by Samaritan\u2019s Purse, an evangelical Christian group run by the son of late televangelist Billy Graham, has since become the focus of online conspiracy theories. \"Thousands of babies and children are being brought up out of underground tunnels in New York's Central Park by military personal (sic), during the night and placed in tents brought in by Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse,\" one Facebook post says, in all capital letters. The children, it adds, have been captive underground since birth, subjected to torture and \"kept as sex slaves.\" There is absolutely no evidence of this. A 68-bed field hospital was set up in Central Park in April to help overwhelmed hospitals treat patients with COVID-19. The hospital was made up of 14 tents used primarily for diagnosis, treatment and storage. When it first began operating, it had 10 ventilators and treated patients from Mount Sinai Health System hospitals in New York\u2019s Queens and Brooklyn boroughs. Beginning April 1, an organization known as Samaritan\u2019s Purse, working with Mount Sinai,\u00a0treated nearly 200 coronavirus patients in the Central Park field hospital. The facility operated until May 5, and \"all patients under Samaritan\u2019s Purse care\" have since been discharged, according to its website. Samaritan\u2019s Purse said there is no truth to the claims about abused children being treated there. \"These are totally false rumors,\" Kaitlyn Lahm, a Samaritan\u2019s Purse spokesperson, said in a statement to PolitiFact. \"We worked hand-in-hand with Mount Sinai Hospital to bring desperately needed surge capacity,\" she said. \"All patients treated at the Emergency Field Hospital were transferred from Mount Sinai to Samaritan\u2019s Purse.\" News outlets including VICE and the Associated Press have investigated the origin of the claims and linked the conspiracies to the group QAnon and its followers. QAnon \"centers on the baseless belief that (President Donald) Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the \u2018deep state\u2019 and a child sex trafficking ring run by satanic pedophiles and cannibals,\" according to AP reports. A post claims, \"Thousands of babies and children are being brought up out of underground tunnels in New York's Central Park by military personal (sic), during the night and placed in tents brought in by Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse.\" The Central Park hospital treated coronavirus patients. There is no evidence to support the claim that it housed abused children released from captivity. It appears the claim originated with the QAnon conspiracy group. Samaritan\u2019s Purse said the claims are false. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "5789", "claim": "Vermont governor plans incremental health insurance reform.", "explanation": "Republican Gov. Phil Scott wants to make health insurance more affordable for young people, but he\u2019s not planning a major overhaul after the state\u2019s failed attempt to create a single-payer system.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health care reform, Vermont, Health, Access to health care", "main_text": "Elsewhere in the country, the first full week of state legislative sessions and swearings-in for governors saw a flurry of Democratic proposals to expand access to health care and make it more affordable. Those proposals fall short, however, of providing universal health care. Scott said this week he will propose reforms as part of a broader effort to attract more people to the state. His spokeswoman says the focus will be in incremental change. Senate President Pro Tem Tim Ashe, a Democrat and Progressive, said carving out  low-cost programs for young people usually leads to higher premiums for others."}
{"claim_id": "29853", "claim": "A photograph shows the heart of a child who contracted a fatal case of heartworm from kissing and sleeping with a dog.", "explanation": "In short, you can feel secure that your children\u2019s cuddling the family dog will not result in any of them contracting a fatal case of heartworm.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fauxtography", "main_text": "A Facebook post circulated in March 2019 that purported to offer a photograph of the heart of a child who died after contracting parasites from sleeping with and kissing a domesticated dog. \u201cA bad practice is to humanize pets. I\u2019m sending you a kid\u2019s heart that, due to sleeping and kissing his dog, it transmitted its parasites,\u201d the post warned. \u201cThose parasites blocked his heart and he died here at the Children\u2019s Hospital. Please forward this to family and friends\u201d:  In fact, this photograph was taken from a 2012 paper published in the journal Clinical Microbiology Reviews, where it was captioned as picturing \u201cMale and female adult worms of D. immitis in the heart of a dog,\u201d not in the heart of a human child. D. immitis (or Dirofilaria immitis), commonly known as \u201cheartworm\u201d or \u201cdog heartworm,\u201d is a parasitic, thread-like roundworm that is spread via mosquito bites. D. immitis infections cause dirofilariasis (also known as \u201cheartworm disease\u201d), which can be fatal to dogs if left untreated: \u201cD. immitis adult worms can cause pulmonary artery blockage in dogs, leading to an illness that can include cough, exhaustion upon exercise, fainting, coughing up blood, and severe weight loss.\u201d However, as the Clinical Microbiology Reviews paper noted, \u201chumans are not suitable hosts for Dirofilaria species,\u201d and one of that paper\u2019s illustrations shows that Dirofilaria infections in humans do not spread to the heart:  As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated in an article about dirofilariasis, humans become infected with Dirofilaria through mosquito bites (not from physical contact with infected canines); reported cases of infections in humans are quite uncommon; and D. immitis worms are rarely found outside the lungs in humans: Like dogs, humans become infected with Dirofilaria through mosquito bites. In persons infected with D. immitis, dying worms in pulmonary artery branches can produce granulomas (small nodules formed by an inflammatory reaction), a condition called \u201cpulmonary dirofilariasis\u201d \u2026 Rarely, D. immitis worms have been found in humans outside the lungs, including in the brain, eye, and testicle. A review of cases of human dirofilariasis in the United States published in 2005 lists a total of 81 cases reported in the literature since 1941, the year of the first reported case. A Healthline article that specifically addresses the issue of \u201cCan Humans Get Heartworms from Dogs?\u201d reiterates these same points \u2014\u00a0heartworm infections in humans are rare, aren\u2019t transmitted by contact with dogs, don\u2019t occur in the heart, and aren\u2019t fatal: Heartworms are rarely transmitted from dogs to humans. In fact, only 81 cases of heartworm in humans were reported from 1941 to 2005. Both dogs and humans can get heartworm infections. But your dog can\u2019t give it to you through their bodily fluids. Heartworms get into the bloodstream of both humans and dogs through mosquito bites. The symptoms of heartworm infections in animals and humans differ because of how they develop in the bloodstream. You may not always experience any symptoms because the heartworms will die before maturity in a human host. In humans, heartworm larvae never fully mature. As young heartworms die, your body reacts to their tissue with inflammation as it tries to destroy the heartworms. This condition is known as pulmonary dirofilariasis. Heartworms don\u2019t live long in human blood, so you won\u2019t need to have heartworms removed through either medication or surgery. Treatment for heartworms addresses any granulomas that appear on an imaging test that may have resulted from dead heartworm tissue buildup in your arteries. If a granuloma isn\u2019t causing any symptoms or blockage in your arteries, you probably won\u2019t need any further treatment."}
{"claim_id": "1942", "claim": "Death industry reaps grim profit as Japan dies.", "explanation": "Across from a noodle shop in a Yokohama suburb, Hisayoshi Teramura\u2019s inn looks much like any other small lodging that dots the port city. Occasionally, it\u2019s even mistaken for a love hotel by couples hankering for some time beneath the sheets.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Morticians prepare a body at the Lastel corpse hotel in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, September 10, 2011. Death is a rare booming market in stagnant Japan and the Lastel corpse hotel, where bereaved families can check in their dead while they wait their turn in the queue for one of the city's overworked crematoriums, is just one example of how businessmen are trying to tap it. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao But Teramura\u2019s place is neither a love nest nor a pit stop for tired travelers. The white and grey tiled building is a corpse hotel, its 18 deceased guests tucked up in refrigerated coffins. \u201cWe tell them we only have cold rooms,\u201d Teramura quips when asked how his staff respond to unwary lovers looking for a room. The daily rate at Lastel, as it is known, is 12,000 yen ($157). For that fee, bereaved families can check in their dead while they wait their turn in the queue for one of the city\u2019s overworked crematoriums. Death is a rare booming market in stagnant Japan and Teramura\u2019s new venture is just one example of how businessmen are trying to tap it. In 2010, according to government records, 1.2 million people passed away, giving the country and annual death rate of 0.95 percent versus 0.84 percent in the United States, which is also the global average. The rate of deaths is on the increase. Last year, there were an extra 55,000 dead and over the past decade, an average of 23,000 more people have died each year in Japan. Annual deaths are expected to peak at 1.66 million in 2040 as the bulk of the nation\u2019s baby boomer generation expires. By then, Japan\u2019s population will have shrunk by around 20 million people, an unprecedented die off for a nation neither at war or blighted by famine. Although two decades of economic malaise has weighed on incomes, a tradition on splashing out on ceremonies means the Japanese still pay an average of 1.2 million yen on flowers, urns, coffins and other funeral expenses. It adds up to a market worth a whopping $21 billion a year, or twice what Americans spend annually on funerals. \u201cThere\u2019s been a rush into the market,\u201d says Teramura, who founded cemetery developer company Nichiryoku 45 years ago. Even Japan\u2019s second biggest retail chain, Aeon, rail companies and the nation\u2019s biggest farmers association, Japan Agriculture are getting into the business, he notes. Teramura, 71, decided a decade ago to widen his business beyond graves to funerals and he opened Lastel last year. Behind its flower box framed windows, hidden away from mourners, is an automated storage system. It stores and chills encoffined corpses, delivering them through hatches and into a viewing room, day or night, whenever friends and family come to pay their respects. Building new urban crematoriums to deal with the surge in bodies is near to impossible because nobody wants the furnaces in their back yard, explains Teramura. That not-in-my-backyard crowd is forcing cities to make do with the facilities they have, even as the body count mounts. In Yokohama, the average wait for an oven is more than four days, driving up demand for half-way morgues such as Lastel. \u201cOtherwise people have to keep the bodies at home where there isn\u2019t much space,\u201d says Teramura. It also provides a captive audience to which he can market his other funeral services and wares. Joining Teramura in the funeral rush are a slew of new entrants, some of them refugees from a shrinking wedding industry. Entry to the industry is easy. There are no licenses or mandatory qualifications. All any wannabe funeral director needs is an office and a telephone. Flowers or coffins are easy to order and ceremonial halls, hearses and monks are all for hire. In the United States, by comparison, most funeral entrepreneurs need to study for three years, including a stint as an apprentice before regulators consider handing out a license. In a recent poll of 2,796 funeral industry related firms, Japan\u2019s Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI) found that a third have been in business for a decade or less. It\u2019s becoming a wild west market in some ways, attracting the honest operators and the not so reputable too. \u201cPeople tend to leave things to the funeral director and some people take advantage of that. So instead of a 100,000 yen coffin you may end up with a 1 million yen cask,\u201d Teramura says. A lack of official oversight and a wealth of cash transactions also makes it a magnet for full fledged mobsters, or yakuza, say some industry players. A niche that the yakuza have slipped into is as brokers who introduce funeral homes to hospitals, said one funeral director, who declined to be identified. That role alone can pull in millions of dollars in commissions. Just how fast the industry is growing is hard to ascertain. METI in 2005 said there were 4,107 companies employing 49,079 people. Across the street at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, officials say there were 6,606 firms in 2006, supporting a workforce of 72,046. Yoshiatsu Mitsuhashi, who is in charge of compiling the METI survey, said that growth may even understate the pace, because the ministry changed the way it gathered data. \u201cIt probably does indicate that the number of operators is rising, but we don\u2019t really know,\u201d he admits. Tokyo-based Yano Research Institute said companies positioned to succeed may be former wedding organizers able to respond to growing demand for personalized services on a tighter budget \u2014 changes that have roiled the bridal industry already. Yano predicts the funeral market will be worth 1.96 trillion yen by 2015. One former wedding organizer trying his hand at the death industry is Takayuki Nakagawa. In 2002, he founded Urban Funes, which offers customized theme funerals from a converted wedding chapel in a Tokyo suburb. For recent events, Nakagawa has asked his staff to collect discarded fruit and vegetable boxes for the funeral of a greengrocer. For another, he asked them to come up with a fitting send off for father and husband who for four decades had blown half his salary on booze and gambling. \u201cPeople are less bothered about following customs,\u201d says Nakagawa in his offices above the hall where workers were arranging flutes and other memorabilia as part of a final farewell for a middle-aged woman. To make money Nakagawa, who has no qualifications as a funeral director, says he keeps his operation lean, outsourcing whatever he can. Within five years he wants to do 3,000 funerals a year, compared with 900 in the last 12 months. \u201cThe places that are struggling are those with a lot of facilities,\u201d says Nakagawa. Those include mutual associations known as gojokai, set up to collect monthly fees from members, meant to pay a chunk of funeral expenses when they pass on. Those funds combined amount to more than 1.7 trillion yen, according to the industry association that most are members of. Over-exuberance during Japan\u2019s Shangri-La bubble years meant they invested much of that money poorly in golf memberships, event halls and real estate, leaving many teetering on the brink of failure two decades on. The Japanese government is pushing for the industry to consolidate, cajoling stronger operators to absorb weaker ones. A round of funeral fund failures will allow investors to make at least some money for their distressed assets, Nakagawa reckons. \u201cWe aren\u2019t ordering them to combine, but encouraging them to act in order to avoid problems for consumers,\u201d explains an METI official in charge of overseeing the associations. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to give a timeline for when this issue will be resolved,\u201d he adds. As for Lastel\u2019s Teramura, he\u2019s pushing ahead with expansion plans. He pulls out his mobile phone and shows a picture of an office building he just bought in another Yokohama neighborhood. When he has finished renovating it will be his second Lastel, with room for 40 bodies, more than double the first. He refuses to divulge, however, exactly where it is in case any NIMBY neighbors get wind of what he is up to and try to kill his latest corpse hotel."}
{"claim_id": "26668", "claim": "\u201cCoronavirus \u2014 22. Clintons \u2014 39.\u201d", "explanation": "Conspiracies linking the Clintons to various deaths are longstanding and unsubstantiated. We\u2019ve debunked a number of them. The novel coronavirus has killed thousands globally and a growing number of people in the United States.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fake news, Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, ", "main_text": "In some corners of the internet, every crisis traces back to Bill and Hillary Clinton. No matter how many times fact-checkers swat down hoaxes faulting them for murders and other mischief, there\u2019s always another conspiracy floating around, or so it seems. This time, a Facebook post suggests that the political family is responsible for more deaths than the novel coronavirus that\u2019s infected more than 153,000 people worldwide. \"Coronavirus \u2014 22. Clintons \u2014 39,\" said an image posted to Facebook on March 9, 2020. The post doesn\u2019t specify that the numbers are in reference to alleged death tolls, but comments from the original poster and other social media users make the connection clear. The post was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) In reality, there\u2019s no proof that the Clintons have a \"body count\" or have killed people who have damaging information on them, as hoaxes about the Clintons routinely allege. These conspiracies are not new. In a 1998 fact-check of a bogus hit list that purported to name dozens of people the Clintons had killed, Snopes wrote that similar rumors had been spreading for decades. Since our start in 2007, we\u2019ve also seen numerous Clinton-related conspiracies. We\u2019ve debunked claims alleging the Clintons were behind the celebrity deaths of everyone from Kate Spade to Anthony Bourdain to Kobe Bryant to Paul Walker. We\u2019ve also quashed numerous baseless rumors about the Clintons orchestrating the murders of political leaders and enemies. Recently, we debunked a Wisconsin state lawmaker\u2019s false claim that \"more people have died from knowing Hillary\" than the novel coronavirus. As of March 15, COVID-19 had killed 5,735 people globally and 41 people in the United States, according to the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Protection. More recent news reports have the U.S. death toll topping 70 people as of March 16. As of March 9 \u2014 the date the Facebook post went up \u2014 COVID-19 had killed 3,809 people globally and 11 people in the U.S., according to the WHO and the CDC. But those numbers were lagging, as some news reports from March 8 had the U.S. number up to 22 people. Regardless of where the coronavirus death toll sits, there\u2019s no credible evidence to substantiate the claim that the Clintons are behind the deaths of 39 people. We rate this post !"}
{"claim_id": "34443", "claim": "Parents in Texas found a codeine tablet in a sealed canister of Gerber Puffs.", "explanation": "Holt Davis further asserted that the object was retrieved by a representative for Gerber on 22 February 2017; Gerber did not mention their retrieval of the object in either exchange. Neither Holt Davis nor Gerber had further information on the results of the company\u2019s testing, which was pending as of 24 February 2017.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Uncategorized, food warnings, gerber, viral facebook posts", "main_text": "On 15 February 2017, Facebook user Meghan Holt Davis published a Facebook post (subsequently edited in a timeline fashion), claiming that\u00a0she found\u00a0a foreign object in her child\u2019s Gerber Puffs canister: PARENTS: Please carefully inspect whatever it is you give your little ones! I put B into his high chair and dumped some Puffs onto his tray & a little piece of what looks like a white pill came out with them. After removing him, I dumped the rest of the container and found another little piece. I\u2019m not sure what it is, but the thought that sometimes we all as parents don\u2019t always pay attention terrifies me that he or some other child could have eaten it. Always always always inspect their food/snacks! ?? Update 2/17/17: After taking the \u201cforeign object\u201d to be tested in 2 different cities, 3 different pharmacist have concluded that it was a Tylenol 3/Codeine 300mg. That\u2019s all I can currently say. Thank you all for helping spread the awareness! Update # 2, 2/19/17: Other families with similar experiences are starting to contact us with information, pictures, case numbers & complaint file numbers where Gerber has swept this recklessness under the rug. This Momma & Daddy WILL get something done about this! And as I always say, continue to be vigilant when giving your child pre-packaged snacks! ? Also- when posting this originally I did it as a scared mother, in a complete state of shock and disappointment. My goal was to reach my immediate friends and family whom we personally know. In posting and being terrified of what I had just found, I failed to mention that the container of Puffs was sealed twice. Once under the lid and one on top surrounding the lid- both seals were 110% in tact with no holes, cuts or damage. The container its self was in perfect condition. When I notified Gerber within minutes of my finding I did inform them of that from the start. Thank you to those of you whom brought it to my attention that the information regarding the seals was lacking from my post. I had stated it numerous times in comments throughout but had failed to update on the main post! Update 2/23/17: Update: not too long ago in Illinois some parents found a white tablet of medication in their child\u2019s Gerber oatmeal and filed a police report. I just got off of the phone with that police department and they informed me that they had sent the evidence to Gerber and that Gerber said it was an isolated incident and never reported back their findings. Just a quick update for those who seem to believe this is not real or it is not worth raising concern over. Holt Davis wrote that\u00a0she located the object while\u00a0pouring Gerber Puffs onto her child\u2019s high chair tray, and that she traveled to \u201ctwo cities\u201d where\u00a0three separate pharmacists concluded the item was a tablet of Tylenol containing\u00a0codeine, a\u00a0Schedule III controlled\u00a0medication. Holt Davis said\u00a0that a different family also found\u00a0an unidentified tablet in their child\u2019s Gerber oatmeal, and that still more families had contacted her to share their own experiences. On 23 February 2017, we asked Gerber about the claim; a representative told us that a family in Texas reported finding a tablet in a can of Gerber Puffs, but it was not known whether anything\u00a0had been sent to the company for testing. Gerber, contracting the Facebook post, told us that no additional reports of tablets in their products had been filed. A June 2016 complaint about a pill purportedly found in a Gerber oatmeal product was initially reported in the news, but information about the outcome of an ensuing investigation was not available: The Waterloo Police Department is warning the public about a possible case of food tampering. A resident reported finding a pill in their baby\u2019s food Wednesday night. The pill was found in a Gerber oatmeal and banana cereal container purchased at a Waterloo Walmart. On 24 February 2017, we received a response from Gerber about the complaint: Gerber was contacted by a consumer in Texas who reported finding an unexpected object \u2013 that appeared like a white pill \u2013 in one canister of GERBER Graduates Banana Flavored Puffs. The mother informed us that the object was not consumed by the child and the child was not harmed. While we are still conducting a complete investigation, based upon the facts we have and call records we log from parents, this is an isolated incident and a highly unusual circumstance for our foods. Baby\u2019s safety and nutrition is our number one priority. To ensure our foods are as safe as they are wholesome, we have extremely strict safety protocols and hygienic practices followed by our staff. When it comes to GERBER Graduates Banana Flavored Puffs, the safety of our snacks is achieved in ensuring that: \u00b7 Puffs are made in a hygienic facility on a dedicated baby food line. \u00b7 Workers put on special uniforms with no pockets above their waist. Any food or medicines are forbidden on the factory floor. \u00b7 Before being filled with puffs, the canister packaging is inverted and rinsed with pressurized air so each package is hygienic and clean before the puffs are placed in the package. \u00b7 We then check 100% of packages using detectors and sensors to identify any materials or large particles, including hard objects like metal, plastic and glass. When a container is rejected, we identify the particles and take immediate action to protect our products. \u00b7 Finally, canisters are triple sealed for freshness and safety before heading out to stores and homes. Our seals include foil, a plastic cap and then a full package seal wrap. We take great care of every food and every package for baby. If parents or caregivers have any questions or concerns, we encourage them to contact us immediately at 1-800-4-GERBER. We treat every consumer call seriously and investigate product concerns thoroughly. We also received a detailed and forthcoming response from Holt Davis, who stated she originally intended for her post to be viewable only to friends and family and was surprised by the groundswell of interest: When I originally found the \u201cforeign object\u201d and made the initial Facebook post it was simply to make our family and friends aware to check their children\u2019s snacks. Prior to having my youngest son I worked in an Elementary so I know numerous teachers and parents whom I wanted to make aware \u2026 Our children have used Gerber products for almost 12 years. Not once (prior to this happening to us recently) have we ever researched their products or looked for reviews online. Gerber promises to provide safe and healthy products for children, so we as parents trusted that. Finding the pill in our Puffs container upset us in every level possible. The container was sealed under the lid and on top of/around the lid, both 100% intact. Had I of seen any type of damage I would have thrown it away before even opening it in its entirety as I would have assumed it happened in shipping and would have thought \u201cno big deal, it happens.\u201d After finding the pieces of pill I immediately contacted Gerber where I was told \u201cI can only say sorry so many times\u201d and was offered coupons. They told me they had never heard of [similar contamination] and to [submit it to the company for testing]. Holt Davis said that while she waited for a Gerber representative to retrieve the object, her family had it\u00a0independently examined: While waiting on their representative to come to our home (almost a week later) we chose to have the \u201cpill pieces\u201d tested to find out exactly what it was before we sent it away \u2026 After having it tested in 2 different locations and by 3 pharmacist it was determined and documented to be Tylenol 3/Codeine 300mg. The entire product including the pill pieces were taken to the store they were purchased at so they could document it with their corporate office in hopes of having the product pulled from their shelves. She added that in the interim\u00a0she was contacted by families reporting similar contaminants (including a penny), and maintained others shared documented complaints of a similar nature with her: I was able to contact [a] family where they showed me pictures of the product, the penny inside, as well as the case number Gerber gave them. Gerber did nothing except offer them coupons and say it didn\u2019t happen in their facility. This really baffled me and made me wonder how often has this type of thing happened? So, I decided to research it. I have found so many awful consumer complaints of people finding wood, sharp shards of plastic, finger tips of rubber gloves and steel wool in their children\u2019s Gerber products. Everyone stating that Gerber said they were not responsible for it and only offered them coupons or cut off communication. I have been messaged on Facebook by 2 other families whom have found \u201cmedicine\u201d in their Gerber Puffs. Both families have contacted Gerber (at the time of their findings) and have case numbers, pictures and evidence of it. I have been contacted by a family who found a pill in the Sweet Potato Puffs that their pharmacist determined was also Tylenol 3/Codeine and they were offered free product is all. Also, as you read on my post the situation in Illinois was brought to my attention. I did contact the police station, they told me it was in fact a true \u201creport\u201d and that they sent everything to Gerber, were told it was an isolated incident and never contacted the police department back on their findings. The investigator we are working with was sent a copy of the case from the police department. We have had families contact us with finding wood pieces in their products, also with case numbers from Gerber. One parent was told that Gerber still uses wood pallets to dump ingredients on\u00a0\u2026 for Gerber to make a public statement stating \u201cwe check 100% of packages using detectors and sensors to identify any materials or large particles, including hard objects like metal, plastic and glass. When a container is rejected, we identify the particles and take immediate action to protect our products\u201d is absurd to me. If that was the case, why are all of these documented \u201cforeign objects\u201d ending up in children\u2019s food/snacks? Holt Davis subsequently stated that a representative for Gerber retracted the comment about pallets made to the family complaining of wood shards in a product, asserting\u00a0that the wooden crates\u00a0could not be a factor\u00a0in that purported instance of contamination. Stating that she did not wish to be compensated and solely wanted to make others aware of her experience, she concluded: All we wanted was for Gerber to make the changes necessary to ensure this doesn\u2019t keep happening to children and their families. It absolutely should not take a child dying from ingesting medication in their products or choking to death on a foreign object for the changes to occur."}
{"claim_id": "9652", "claim": "New Stroke Treatment Saves Lives, Improves Recovery", "explanation": "This is a story about an invasive procedure to treat stroke patients, known as stent retriever therapy. Unfortunately, the story presents a misleading picture to readers by relying on one\u00a0successful\u00a0patient anecdote, and by making unqualified statements, such as \u201cexperts call the [procedure] the most major advance in stroke treatment in two decades.\u201d Scant attention is paid to the actual benefits quantified in the study that is the meat\u00a0of the story. No attention is paid to the possible harms of the procedure. Costs are never mentioned, and there is no real discussion of the quality of the evidence. Instead the audience is left with a very powerful image of an otherwise healthy 43-year-old man suffering a stroke while driving, nearly killing himself in a subsequent car crash, being treated by surgery, and being fully restored to a normal life. His experience is certainly remarkable, but the audience is given the false impression that it is representative of everyone who has undergone the procedure or might in the future. Patient stories are powerful, which is why news outlets should choose them carefully when reporting on medical treatments. The impression left with readers is that miracle-like recoveries are commonplace with this procedure. But as we discuss in more detail below, this procedure is indicated for only a very small number of patients. Since the story chose to focus on one of these relatively rare patients, we think it was crucial to provide some broader context. How many patients are eligible for such treatment? How often are they treated within the 2.5-hour window associated with the best odds of a full recovery?", "label": "false", "subjects": "anecdotes over evidence,medical devices,stent retriever therapy,stroke", "main_text": "We found multiple studies that discuss the cost of these types of clot retrieval procedures, including this one. It would have been helpful for the reporter to have asked how much the procedures cost, on average, in the cases studied for the journal article. The story mainly discusses the benefits as they pertain to one patient. We had to read the story multiple times\u00a0to realize that the study in question went beyond this one patient. A review of the study itself shows that 196 patients were part of the study, and less than half \u2014 96 \u2014 underwent the treatment described in the story. The study says that, \u201cIn the stent retriever arm of the study, symptom onset to reperfusion time of 150 minutes led to 91% estimated probability of functional independence, which decreased by 10% over the next hour and by 20% with every subsequent hour of delay.\u201d\u00a0The story accurately reports this finding, saying, \u201crestoration of blood flow within 2.5 hours of stroke onset was associated with minimal or no disability in 91 percent of patients.\u201d Despite this attempt at quantification, we think the story relies excessively on an individual patient\u2019s story that is likely not representative of the broader experience. Since the optimal time window to perform this procedure is so small,\u00a0many stroke patients may not be eligible for the therapy. In addition, the story does not explain that the study was done in 39 centers and only managed to randomize 196 patients over a 2-year period. This comes out to 5 patients per center or an average of one patient every 4 months, hardly a large\u00a0number (or even percentage) of stroke patients who would benefit from (or be eligible for) this technology. There are no mentions of potential harms from any aspect of the treatment studied. This is a major oversight in any story, but especially one dealing with a surgical procedure. The study itself provides an easy-to-understand explanation of how the study was conducted and under what circumstances. Details like this are\u00a0missing from the news story, even basic details like how many people were studied. A closer look at the study itself would have revealed, for example, that the paper is looking mainly at the time intervals for each step in the process rather\u00a0than the actual outcome of the patients, which is not directly reported, but only indirectly reported as an adjusted analysis. There is no overt disease mongering in the story. However, we\u2019d note that with a procedure such as this, there will be a temptation\u00a0to use this device more often and this could lead to \u201cindication creep\u201d where more patients who don\u2019t quite meet the very strict standards of the study are\u00a0offered the therapy. This could lead to poorer results than are obtained here. The story could have commented on this. Independent sources were included, but the story missed an important detail about conflicts of interest: The study was funded by Medtronic, the maker of the device used in the study. This detail was easy to find in the published paper about the study, which also provided a list of all the conflicts of interest declared by all the authors. The story hints at the procedure being better than drug therapy alone, but it does not provide an actual comparison. The story makes it clear that this procedure is not going to be widely available in the U.S. It says, \u201cCenters accredited by the American Heart Association.currently, stent retriever therapy is offered in just a few hundred hospitals across the country, including all 96 Comprehensive Stroke Centers.\u201d It also provides a map showing how few centers there are in the West. Novelty is not established, and it\u2019s not even made clear how frequently this procedure is performed or how long it has been around. We\u2019re always happy to see a story go beyond a news release \u2014 which this story clearly does with its inclusion of several independent expert sources. We have to note, however, that the release in this case actually provided more and better information than the story."}
{"claim_id": "36208", "claim": "Children should avoid school bus stops due to a credible threat of human trafficking.", "explanation": "Are School Bus Stops Now More Dangerous Because of an All-Time High in Human Trafficking?", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "A back-to-school themed Facebook warning shared on September 5 2019 (archived here) declared that all school-age children must avoid all school bus stops because of an increased threat of human trafficking:Against a pastel background, black text decreed:Let NO Child walk to or Stand at a Bus Stop Alone for the rest of the school year human trafficking is at an all-time highAs we frequently note in the many fact checks we\u2019ve done on this genre of viral text-generated image-based Facebook post, content spreading in this fashion is both easy to spread and a fantastic vector for falsehoods, scaremongering,\u00a0and misinformation or disinformation \u2014 all of which Facebook excels in spreading. In this format, posts lack any supporting citations or news articles, but their easily shareable form means they are shared nevertheless.Readers here are faced with a seemingly serious warning ripped directly from the news \u2014 that \u201chuman trafficking\u201d is a serious problem and, given the prominence and prevalence of such stories, that they are \u201cat an all-time high\u201d does not seem particularly difficult to believe. If you are already concerned, standing at school bus stops alone seems to definitively posed a risk for young children.Although the post lacked any meaningful proof, it still generated engagement and attracted friend tags with comments suggesting that it might be true:Still think I\u2019m paranoid? !\ud83d\ude29\ud83d\ude22We checked news and law enforcement bulletins for any sweeping advisements that school bus stops had been identified as hotbeds of abduction or any indication that human trafficking is at an all-time high, but came up empty handed. Abduction is an exhaustive topic in the realm of baseless rumors and urban legends, routinely inspiring social media moral panics about malls, schools, and other purported strategies undertaken by kidnappers.And if you didn\u2019t look closely, it might seem that legitimate connections between school bus stops and human trafficking existed. A January 2019\u00a0article\u00a0in trade site School Transportation News, which was predicated on the abduction of 13-year-old Wisconsin girl Jayme Closs, began:A child abduction case in Wisconsin that recently made international headlines has refocused attention on school bus stop safety. The role that bus drivers may be able to play in better keeping their students proactively safer, is a core part of the incident and aspects to evaluate.That lead-in indicated that a link between school bus stops and the kidnapping case be made at some point. A subsequent section titled \u201cWhat does this have to do with student transportation?\u201d made mention of a passing connection to bus stops, before consulting an expert who disagreed with any potential link:As has been widely reported, court documents stated that [the abductor] said he was driving to work one morning and stopped behind a school bus on Highway 8. It was then that he said he first saw [the victim] as she boarded her school bus.\u201cThe defendant stated he had no idea who she was nor did he know who lived at the house or how many people lived at the house. The defendant stated, when he saw [Closs], he knew that was the girl he was going to take,\u201d according to the criminal complaint. [\u2026]An expert in the field of child sexual predators told School Transportation News that Patterson\u2019s act was not, in fact, a random bus stop incident, but instead something that Patterson could have done before.In that passage, the site draws a line between Jayme Closs being spotted at a bus stop and the kidnapping, but an expert in child exploitation disputed the suggestion and no aspect of that alleged sighting in any way differentiated bus stops from any other public location. More to the point, no safety measures involving buses could have prevented the kidnapping, and being at a bus stop made Jayme no less safe than being in any other public area.A January 2019 Reuters piece titled \u201cKidnapped children make headlines, but abduction is rare in U.S.\u201d was also premised on Jayme Closs\u2019s October 2018 abduction in which her parents were murdered and she was taken from her home. (She was later found alive.) The article delved into the relative rarity of abduction by a stranger:On average, fewer than 350 people under the age of 21 have been abducted by strangers in the United States per year since 2010, the FBI says. From 2010 through 2017, the most recent data available, the number has ranged from a low of 303 in 2016 to a high of 384 in 2011 with no clear directional trend.Hundreds of thousands of juveniles are reported missing to the Federal Bureau of Investigation each year. The circumstances of the disappearance is only recorded about half the time, but in cases where they are, only 0.1 percent are reported as having been abducted by a stranger. The vast majority, typically more than 95 percent, ran away.The FBI data does not record how many reported abductions are confirmed as actual kidnappings.\u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen very often, but they\u2019re certainly the cases that capture our attention because they strike at our worst fears,\u201d Robert Lowery, a vice president at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), said in a telephone interview.In noting that there was \u201cno clear directional thread,\u201d we may reasonably infer that abduction is not actually \u201cat an all-time high.\u201d But a more striking statistic mentioned is that only 0.1 percent of cases involve stranger abduction. In 95 percent of cases, minors reported missing \u201cran away.\u201d According to earlier statistics cited by Reuters, 99.8 percent of children reported missing are recovered alive.So what of the remaining 4.9 percent of abductions? The article states that a non-custodial parent is the most common kidnapper:In cases where children are abducted, it is far more common for a non-custodial parent to be the kidnapper: This was reported 2,359 times in 2017, the FBI data showed.As to whether that 0.1 percent of kidnappings classed as stranger abduction, National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART) data didn\u2019t specify bus stops as a particular threat. Further, many kidnappings do not look in real life as they might in movies or television shows:About 32 percent of those abducted were taken from a place where they were living or staying (their home, a relative\u2019s home, a homeless shelter, etc.). Another 32 percent were abducted at the kidnapper\u2019s home. The final 36 percent of victims were taken from a public place of some sort. Most cases featured only one victim (81 percent) and only 18 percent of cases involved a child taken from a group of two or more children. In nearly two-thirds of the abductions, the victims voluntarily went with kidnappers at first.One factor in the popularity of kidnapping panics involves the typical trajectory of investigations in a time when most people get news almost immediately after events occur, forming their opinions long before the facts of the cases are clear. After media reports of a possible kidnapping spread in March 2019 in Ontario, Canada, police later determined the child was in the custody of her father; law enforcement later learned that the father was simply picking up his daughter from school, as he was permitted to do so.An August 2019 news article in Oklahoma provided an excellent object lesson in how initial reports are spread and updates rarely seen. Both the original and amended versions of that article appeared on a single page, and authorities later determined an alleged rash of attempted kidnappings were the result of mistaken identity and courteous behavior.Human trafficking is a hot-button topic on social media, due in part to widespread ignorance about what is a legitimate and misunderstood problem. Posts heavily relying on emojis and exclamation points appear with regularity on Facebook, as do panics about Uber-related sex trafficking and a Snapchat trafficking ring (both of which have always been false.) In an earlier fact check, we noted:[E]xperts in trafficking routinely\u00a0decry\u00a0such claims about the issue. Experts regularly underscore the fact that sex trafficking is rarely (if ever) a \u201crandom\u201d crime of sudden abduction; instead, traffickers tend to lure vulnerable teens over time[. ]Rationality advocate and author of\u00a0Free Range Kids\u00a0Lenore Skenazy has long been addressing the popularity of such claims on social media. In March 2017, Skenazy\u00a0addressed\u00a0a flurry of sex-trafficking Facebook panics:What the heck is going on, America? This \u201cMy kids were about to be trafficked, I just KNOW it\u201d post is so shockingly similar to last week\u2019s, \u201cMy kids were about to be trafficked, I just KNOW it\u201d post that it feels\u2026creepy. A lot creepier than being at Ikea where a couple of men glance at my kids.The reader who sent me this link asked if I thought there might be some \u201cvalidity\u201d to it, to which I must respond: No. In fact, I think it\u2019s crazy. What, two men are going to grab two or three kids, all under age 7, IN PUBLIC, in a camera-filled IKEA, with the MOM and the GRANDMA right there, not to mention a zillion other fans of Swedish furnishings?Can we please PLEASE take a deep breath and realize how insanely unlikely that is? How we don\u2019t need to be \u201cwarned\u201d about this? How NOTHING HAPPENED!You can TELL nothing happened, because the whole thing was described as an \u201cincident.\u201d And Lenore\u2019s #1 Rule of Reporting is: When something is called an \u201cincident,\u201d it\u2019s because nothing happened. In fact, my alternate headline for this post was:POINTLESSLY TERRIFIED MOM URGES OTHER MOMS TO BE POINTLESSLY TERRIFIEDIn June 2018, Skenazy revisited the topic of phony human trafficking scares and the media\u2019s endless tolerance for them. In that commentary, she highlighted the darker side of moral panics and the irony that they themselves can be riskier to communities than the supposed dangers themselves. After noting that \u201csecurity expert Bruce Schneier has dubbed [such rumors a] \u2018movie-plot threat\u2019 \u2014 a narrative that looks suspiciously like what you\u2019d see at the Cineplex,\u201d she explained just how old and corrosive safety panics actually are:[David Finkelhor, head of the Crimes Against Children Research Center] has not heard of a single case in which a child was taken from a parent in public and forced into the sex trade. Zero. That\u2019s because actual traffickers build relationships with the young people they go on to exploit, usually troubled or runaway teens. No one is spiriting away 2-year-olds from Target.These Facebook posts about fiends snatching innocent children are eerily reminiscent of a much older scare: a corrosive lie called blood libel, in which Jews during medieval times were said to be killing Christian children and using their blood to make matzo. The most famous blood libel of all, says medieval scholar Emily Rose, was the 1475 abduction and murder of a young Italian boy, Simon of Trent.Simon was not the first such story, but his went viral thanks to a brand-new social medium: print. Posters and poems disseminated the allegations. Trent became a pilgrimage destination.That\u2019s all it took. Suddenly, people across the continent started claiming that a Christian child had been murdered by a Jew in their town, too. \u201cMost of these kids didn\u2019t even exist,\u201d Rose says, \u201cand if they did exist, they weren\u2019t killed.\u201d But that didn\u2019t stop the stories from catching on. And the people repeating them were excited, because suddenly they were part of something big. A drama!Today\u2019s panicked moms probably don\u2019t see themselves playing a role that goes back centuries. But the only thing new is the media they\u2019re using to spread fear.A quick browse of our pages on sex trafficking, human trafficking, Facebook warning, and parental panic tags illustrates the ubiquity and illegitimacy of warnings like the post above. No credible information indicates that school bus stops expose children to an \u201call-time high\u201d risk of human trafficking, nor does anything substantiate the claim that crimes of that nature have increased in frequency. While \u201cbetter safe than sorry\u201d is the excuse routinely used to spread safety panics, as is often the case, spreading bad information inhibits the circulation of actual, legitimate, and helpful safety advice."}
{"claim_id": "36135", "claim": "People who confronted an elderly woman as she attempted to cross a street using a walker were allied with anti-fascist (or \"antifa\") movements.", "explanation": "Does a Video Show \u2018Antifa Protesters\u2019 Screaming at an Elderly Woman Crossing the Street?", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "In late September 2019, a video clip of masked people shouting at and blocking an elderly woman while she was using a walker to cross a street began to circulate on Twitter:Antifa protesters scream at & block elderly couple outside an event featuring conservative politician @MaximeBernier & @RubinReport. Further violence broke out, leading to two arrests. Mohawk College had faced massive campaign to cancel the event. pic.twitter.com/D49dTcMi4X\u2014 Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) September 30, 2019The clip quickly gained traction and generated significant outrage, due to the fact it purportedly featured anti-fascist protesters engaging in aggressive behavior. Often, the clip spread without any indication of when, where, or why protesters had gathered:The Tolerant Left Folks.What kind of monster refuses to let an elderly couple cross the street\u2026Antifa. pic.twitter.com/wT0areI1al\u2014 Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) September 30, 2019Imagine being a member of Antifa blocking and harassing an elderly woman using a walker & actually thinking YOU are the one fighting \"fascism. \"pic.twitter.com/jpbiV34RuI\u2014 Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) September 30, 2019Antifa chanting \u201cNazi scum off our streets\u201d at an elderly couple.Next level \ud83e\udd21 \ud83c\udf0e! https://t.co/qmQ7VR5wZr\u2014 Austen Fletcher (@fleccas) September 30, 2019In one widely-shared tweet, a commenter lamented that \u201cthis isn\u2019t America,\u201d presumably decrying the actions in the clip as un-American and inviting others to do the same:Antifa blocks, harasses, and shouts in the faces of elderly couple crossing the street..This isn\u2019t America..RT if you agree and want to unmask these cowards..pic.twitter.com/ZdJiHv3WOA\u2014 Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) September 30, 2019Typically, the angry tweets linked only to a context-free video, not to any news articles about the events in the video.Readers might recognize Andy Ngo (quoted above) as one of the initial sources for the claim. Ngo was largely responsible for similar claims about anti-fascist protesters in July 2019, involving nonsensical allegations about \u201cconcrete milkshakes,\u201d and in September 2019\u00a0Rolling Stone reported on Ngo\u2019s questionable standing as a source\u00a0of credible information. In particular, the magazine\u2019s investigation centered on a video showing that Ngo \u2014 despite his claims of being an objective, independent journalist \u2014 was not acting in an any sort of journalistic capacity:Nowhere was [Occam\u2019s Razor] demonstrated more quickly than in the case of the meteoric rise and equally rapid fall of Andy Ngo, the provocateur and social media personality who garnered nationwide sympathy last June [2019], when he tweeted that he was attacked by antifascist protesters at a Proud Boys rally. [In August 2019], the local newspaper the Portland Mercury reported that a left-wing activist going undercover as a member of Patriot Prayer, a far-right group known for promoting and engaging in violent clashes with leftist activists, had given the publication an 18-minute video that included footage of Ngo with a group of Patriot Prayer members as the members discuss an upcoming brawl, including weaponry to be used in altercations with antifa. Ngo, who describes himself as a journalist, did not record the conversation, and does not appear to have his camera or notebook out. For part of the footage, he is seen on his phone.\u2026[the release of that] footage was highly embarrassing for Ngo, who has long claimed to be an independent and objective journalist, despite many left-wing activists in Portland accusing him of antagonizing them at rallies and selectively editing his footage to malign the left. Shortly after the footage was released, Quillette, a \u201cfree thought\u201d publication with a libertarian bent, deleted Ngo\u2019s byline from its masthead, though founder Claire Lehmann denied to the Daily Beast that it had anything to do with the recently surfaced Patriot Prayer footage.Although Ngo\u2019s byline was removed by Quillette, his claims about \u201cantifa\u201d in the tweet quoted above still gained traction. To his credit, Ngo provided the name of a politician involved with the events, but it seemed many angrily spreading it on did not look further \u2014 causing at least one to reference \u201cAmerica\u201d in their disapproving tweet.Ngo referenced Maxime Bernier, a\u00a0far-right political figure in Canada perhaps best known for ousting candidates from his own party for speaking out against racism while having former leaders of neo-Nazi groups as official signatories:The former leader of a U.S. neo-Nazi group, a former\u00a0Soldiers of Odin\u00a0member and a\u00a0Pegida Canada\u00a0official were among those whose signatures were submitted to Elections Canada last year to officially register the\u00a0People\u2019s Party of Canada, records show.All three of their names appear on Elections Canada documents, obtained by Global News, that confirmed a minimum of 250 party members had signed membership declarations. The forms were required to obtain party status for the PPC and its leader,\u00a0Maxime Bernier.Bernier attended an event on September 29 2019 in Hamilton, Ontario, and the\u00a0National Post reported on clashes outside the venue site \u2014 including one involving an \u201celderly woman\u201d:Demonstrators, some covering part of their faces with bandannas or balaclavas, hoisted signs that read \u201cWhite supremacy is terrorism\u201d and \u201cRefugees welcome here\u201d as they yelled chants of \u201cNazi scum, off our streets\u201d at those going inside.Some attempted to prevent people from entering the building and at one point blocked the path of an elderly woman who was using a walker, yelling at her and her companion.Bernier was hosted by American YouTube personality Dave Rubin in an event that drew both attendees and protesters; a Facebook event titled \u201cAll Out Against Maxime Bernier\u201d invited Hamilton-area users to demonstrate outside the event on September 29 2019. CBC\u2019s coverage of the event and demonstrations described the circumstances of the video:Some protesters attempted to prevent people from entering the building and one video, which is being widely shared among Bernier supporters, shows several protesters, one masked, blocking the path of an elderly woman who was using a walker, yelling at her and her companion.Aall three of the local articles linked above mentioned anti-fascist protesters, but not in the context of the viral video. The only mention of \u201cantifa\u201d in any of the articles involved statements made by Rubin about the event\u2019s cancellation due to \u201cthreats from Antifa.\u201dHowever, Rubin later admitted the event had not actually been canceled:Rubin tweeted earlier [that] week that the event had been cancelled due to \u2018threats from Antifa,\u2019 or left-wing anti-fascist protesters, but later clarified the event was still going ahead as planned.\u201d\u201cRubin, meanwhile, tweeted earlier [that] week that the event had been cancelled due to \u2018threats from Antifa,\u2019 stirring allegations of censorship. He later clarified the talk was still taking place.In all three articles, protesters present at the Bernier-Rubin talk were not described as being involved with or representing antifa, and no other mention appeared in any reporting on the event. How Ngo concluded the individuals seen in the video were anti-fascist demonstrators were unclear. Four people in total were arrested at the event.On September 30 2019, a separate CBC article referenced the viral video and backlash, but did not report that \u201cantifa\u201d was involved. One representative for the groups organizing the demonstration indicated that the masked individuals were unknown to organizers:Police have now said they are aware of the [elderly woman video] incident and that while officers did not witness the initial confrontation, they said once officers saw what was happening, some intervened and escorted the woman and her companion into the building.Alice Smith, one of the organizers of the event, told CBC Hamilton that the actions by those in the video toward the elderly couple do not reflect the views held by the majority of protesters.\u201cI have never seen [the people blocking the woman] before last night,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I had been there at that spot, at that moment \u2026 I would have stepped in to stop it, because that wasn\u2019t what we were there for.\u201dPolitical science professor Peter Graefe acknowledge the video\u2019s spread, adding that \u201c[far-right activism has] come to Hamilton in a way it hasn\u2019t come to other places\u201d in Canada:Peter Graefe, a political science professor at McMaster University, said the photo and video of the moment was one of vulnerability and could be used to frame the situation.\u201cThat\u2019s a powerful image if you want to tell the story of this being some all-powerful antifa preventing the free expression of ideas and being so afraid of ideas that they wouldn\u2019t even let an elderly woman come and hear them,\u201d he said.\u201cIt frames it as one of free speech and \u2018who\u2019s the problem standing in the way? These people that came to protest it. '\u201dUltimately, video of clashes outside the Bernier-Rubin event included a clip wherein masked individuals appeared to shout at an elderly woman and block a crosswalk. The video spread quickly and without context on Twitter, advanced by at least one person who had previously been involved in spreading disinformation about anti-fascist demonstrators. The video does appear to be authentic and undoctored, but no information was available about the identity or affiliation of the masked protesters or the circumstances of the incident being filmed.As the clip spread, many commenters mistook the location of the demonstration, which actually took place in Canada, not the United States. And prior to the event, Rubin falsely claimed it had been canceled due to \u201cAntifa threats,\u201d later admitting it was not in fact canceled or censored."}
{"claim_id": "38799", "claim": " DEW brand bottled water sold in Nigeria and other parts of Africa has caused at least 180 deaths and has been known to infect those who drink it with the Ebola virus. ", "explanation": "DEW Bottled Water Has Caused 180 Deaths in Nigeria", "label": "false", "subjects": "Food / Drink", "main_text": "Claims that DEW bottled water causes death or has been contaminated with the Ebola virus are false. Those rumors have been repeated in chain emails and social media posts since at least 2011. One such message reads: URGENT!!!! Please, don\u2019t buy or drink any bottled water called \u201cDEW\u201d. Customs says it was shipped into Nigeria from Tanzania where it has\u00a0killed 180 people and now finding its way into south africa. It is said to\u00a0contain ebola. Please pass this on and save millions. If u don\u2019t believe\u00a0check google for \u201cDEW bottled water. (SFTBC)\u2026 Plz broadcast Reports of toxic DEW bottled water can be traced back to 2011. At that time, it was rumored that Dew, an unregistered bottled water that contained a poison, had made its way into marketplaces in Nigeria by way of Tanzania and had killed 180 people. The National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) of Nigeria said it had investigated those claims and found that they were \u201cfalse and mischievous.\u201d Still, Nigeria doesn\u2019t allow bottled water to be imported into the country, and DEW is not among the country\u2019s registered bottled waters, so consumers were urged to alert authorities if they saw DEW bottled water being sold in marketplaces, Modern Ghana reports: The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has therefore advised the public to report any\u00a0person who offered DEW bottled water for sale. According to a statement issued by the FDB in Accra and copied to the Ghana News\u00a0Agency (GNA), the board had not registered any brand of bottled water with the name\u00a0DEW. The statement, signed by the Chief Executive of the FDB, Dr Stephen K. Opuni, said\u00a0rumours had suggested that the DEW bottled water had been imported from Tanzania\u00a0into Nigeria and was alleged to contain a chemical that had caused the death of 180\u00a0people in that country. It said the FDB established that the rumour was false, after investigations it conducted,\u00a0including post-market surveillance activities and contacts with the NAFDAC of Nigeria\u00a0and the Tanzanian Bureau of Standards. So, it\u2019s not true that DEW bottled water is poisonous and has killed 180 people. It is true, however, that DEW bottled water cannot be sold in Nigeria because it isn\u2019t registered with health agencies there. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "38962", "claim": " 99-year-old billionaire David Rockefeller has successfully undergone his sixth heart transplant surgery in the last 38 years. ", "explanation": "99-year-old David Rockefeller Undergoes Sixth Heart Transplant ", "label": "false", "subjects": "Health / Medical", "main_text": "A fake news website started the false report that David Rockefeller has had six heart transplant surgeries. An\u00a0article\u00a0that appeared on the website\u00a0World News Daily Report\u00a0claimed that David Rockefeller, an heir to the billion-dollar Rockefeller estate, has had six heart transplants and two kidney transplants over the years: \u201cHis first heart transplant occurred in 1976 after a dramatic car accident led him to suffer\u00a0a heart attack. He was operated 24 hours later and up and jogging a week later.\u201d Within days, the fake news report was shared more than 130,000 times on social media. Many people believed that David Rockefeller had actually undergone his sixth heart transplant and argued about whether or not it was right for a rich, 100-year-old man to take a heart from a younger person in need. But those people missed\u00a0World News Day Report\u2019s\u00a0disclaimer. It says that the website is not \u201cresponsible for inaccurate information\u201d and assumes \u201call responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles. This isn\u2019t the first time that David Rockefeller\u2019s health has been at the center of an online hoax, either. Just weeks earlier, a separate false report spread across social media that David Rockefeller had died: \u201cAt about\u00a011 a.m. ET\u00a0on Tuesday (April 28, 2015), our beloved business man David Rockefeller\u00a0passed away. David Rockefeller was born on June 12, 1915 in New York. He will be missed but\u00a0not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this\u00a0page.\u201d The debate about wealthy people \u201ccutting in line\u201d to receive an organ transplant isn\u2019t a new one. In 2009, Steve Jobs was criticized after he traveled to Tennessee for a liver transplant on short notice,\u00a0ABC News\u00a0reports: \u201cJobs\u00a0couldn\u2019t pay for an organ. Nor could he pay to cut the queue. But what\u00a0someone with Jobs\u2019\u00a0resources\u00a0could do, according to liver transplant surgeons and ethicists, is to use money and\u00a0mobility to improve the odds either by going to an area of the country where there are more organ\u00a0donors, or by signing up at multiple transplant centers.\u201d Dick Cheney drew\u00a0similar criticism\u00a0when he underwent a heart transplant in 2013. Cheney had waited on a transplant list for 20 months before the surgery, but some argued that he was too old (71 at the time) to receive a donor\u2019s heart. The United Network for Organ Sharing, the non-profit that maintains the nationwide patient waiting list,\u00a0often considers\u00a0a patient\u2019s ability to pay for a transplant when deciding where to place an available organ. Comments"}
{"claim_id": "4941", "claim": "Senators draw on own experiences to chastise drug companies.", "explanation": "Channeling the ire of constituents and drawing from personal experience, senators chastised drug company executives Tuesday over the high cost of prescription medications, while the CEOs warned that government price controls could stifle breakthroughs on diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Johnny Isakson, AP Top News, Health, Legislation, Politics, North America, Business, Medication, Medicare, Medicaid", "main_text": "The Senate Finance Committee hearing marked the first time lawmakers have called the industry\u2019s top executives to account for rising prices, which are a drain on Medicare and Medicaid and a burden to millions of Americans. The extraordinary public accounting was a sign that Congress and the White House are moving toward legislation this year to curb costs. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who has Parkinson\u2019s, said the cost of one of his longtime medications had jumped by $90 when he went to refill it recently. \u201cI can\u2019t explain it,\u201d said Isakson, who credits prescription drugs for allowing him to keep working. He started making calls and found a whole range of prices for the medication. The second-ranking Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, expressed disbelief that Humira, a blockbuster drug for immune system conditions from AbbVie, is protected by more than 130 patents that cumulatively translate to decades of roadblocks for generic competitors. AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez responded that each new FDA-approved use of the drug represents an investment by the company in research, even if the medication is the same. \u201cAt some point that patent has to end so that the patient can get access to that drug at much cheaper cost,\u201d Cronyn said. Drug costs are squeezing Americans in a number of ways: New medicines for cancer and other diseases often launch with prices exceeding $100,000 per year even as employers are shifting more pharmacy costs onto workers. Less expensive drugs for common ailments like diabetes and asthma often see price hikes of around 10 percent annually. Meanwhile some drugmakers have been buying up once-cheap medicines and hiking prices by 1,000 percent or more. The pharmaceutical executives expressed a general desire to lower costs for patients, but made no firm commitments. Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier warned that \u201coutrageous solutions\u201d could sacrifice industry innovation. He said lung cancer patients in the United Kingdom are still waiting for a drug available here that can cut deaths in half among those newly diagnosed. Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt said using government \u201cprice controls\u201d would not be enough to make medicines affordable. Senators seemed to be looking for a balance between protecting innovation and closing off legal and policy loopholes that have enabled savvy companies to game the markets. New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez, considered an ally of the industry, delivered what he called a friendly warning: \u201cIf you don\u2019t undertake meaningful action to reduce pharmaceutical costs, policymakers are going to do it for you.\u201d Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Congress intends to respond to the drug price problem in a \u201cmeasured and effective way\u201d and he is planning to question other industry actors including health insurance companies and middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers. The CEOs said drug development is a risky and costly undertaking and that prices reflect investment in research and development. But under questioning from Grassley they also acknowledged other factors affecting how they set prices, including public perception and what Medicare and Medicaid pay. In addition to Merck, Sanofi and AbbVie, other companies represented at the hearing included AstraZeneca, which makes the cholesterol drug Crestor, Bristol-Myers Squibb, maker of the blood thinner Eliquis; Johnson & Johnson, maker of Xarelto to prevent blood clots; and Pfizer, maker of Lyrica for nerve pain. \u201cAll you who are here are here because the way you\u2019ve been doing business is unacceptable and unsustainable,\u201d ranking Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon told the CEOs. Democrats say it\u2019s time for Medicare to leverage its purchasing power and directly negotiate prices with the industry, a step most Republicans oppose. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington. Drugmakers\u2019 top lobbying arm, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, spent a record $27.9 million last year to sway federal decision-makers, according to records tallied by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. But Tuesday\u2019s hearing seemed to mark a change in direction. President Donald Trump\u2019s recurring blasts at drugmakers appear to be closer to finding a pathway to legislation. Drugmakers pointed a finger at other industry players. Rebates paid to pharmacy benefit managers help assure favorable treatment for a medication on an insurer\u2019s list of covered drugs and help keep premiums lower. But the rebates are not passed on to consumers who use the particular medication, and they can face high copays based on the drug\u2019s list price, not the discounted one. The companies offered solutions of their own, some of which echo proposals from the administration or awmakers. Among them: \u2014 Allow patients to share in rebates when they buy their medication, proposed by the Trump administration. \u2014 Place a hard limit on cost-sharing and copays for Medicare beneficiaries in the popular Part D prescription program, supported by Wyden. \u2014 Make greater use of value-based contracts that tie payments to how well a medication works. \u2014 Promote the introduction of lower-cost generics and biosimilars, competition that brand manufacturers are often accused of impeding."}
{"claim_id": "29353", "claim": "Boiling the same water twice will make your water dangerous to drink.", "explanation": "The risks posed by reboiling water are minimal, due to the scale of concentration needed to bring any dissolved component of water to a relevant or harmful concentration. If the change of concentration caused by boiling off some water a couple of times results in dangerous water, that water was almost certainly dangerous to begin with.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Science, reboiled water", "main_text": "Claims that boiling water multiple times comes with health risks have been around in various forms for years. A spate of posts on a variety of alternative health websites in 2015 added to the hysteria, with claims of all sorts of damaging health effects from reboiled water. A post from \u201cHealthy Holistic Living\u201d is representative of the claims made in many locations:  It\u2019s something they never taught us in chemistry class, but really should have. When we boil water, the chemistry of it changes, which is usually a good thing as it boils out volatile compounds and dissolves [sic] gases. This is why boiling water mostly ensures that it\u2019s safe to drink. If water is left boiled too long or is reboiled, the chemical compounds change for the worse. By leaving your water to boil down, you\u2019re actually concentrating many harmful chemicals instead of getting rid of them \u2026 The same thing happens when you reboil water, as the compounds concentrate and increase the risk of ingesting certain chemicals.\u2019 These chemicals could include arsenic, nitrates, and fluoride. Even the minerals that are healthy for us can become dangerous when concentrated, such as calcium salt which can lead to kidney stones and gallstones when taken excessively. The only scientific principles at play here are the concepts of evaporation and concentration, which more than likely are a component of any chemistry class. Boiling water causes it to evaporate but leave behind heavier impurities that are likely dissolved in the water, increasing their concentration. Aside from portraying middle-school science as some sort of secret health scare, these posts also, as is so often the case, ignore any discussion of scale. The implication that the water itself somehow changes into new toxic chemicals in the absence of any other factor, merely through the process of boiling, is not factual. Discussion of increasing concentrations of \u201carsenic, nitrates, and fluorides\u201d, therefore, requires the presence of some amount of them in your water to begin with. Arsenic Arsenic is an undeniably toxic chemical that can, indeed, be found in both public water supplies and in groundwater. Arsenic poisoning is a major health problem in places like Bangladesh, where high levels of naturally occurring arsenic occur due to the local geology. Studying areas like these, the World Health Organization has concluded that chronic health problems may occur when concentrations reach around 50 ug/L:  In 2010, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) re-evaluated the effects of arsenic on human health, taking new data into account. JECFA concluded that for certain regions of the world where concentrations of inorganic arsenic in drinking-water exceed 50\u2013100 \u03bcg/litre, there is some evidence of adverse effects. Assuming the water you are boiling contains the maximum allowable level considered by the EPA of 10 ug/L (which is the same as the limit recommended by the WHO), you would need to boil 80% of your water away to reach this concentration. While it is not inconceivable, especially if you are a somewhat scatterbrained individual, to boil away this amount of water from time to time, these numbers apply to chronic exposure, and as such would require all of the water you consume for every use to be boiled down by 80% \u2014 even your regular drinking water. This requirement is made even more unlikely by the fact that boiling 80% of water away in a teakettle may not leave enough for even a single cup of coffee or tea. The numbers get even more absurd when scaled up to the amount that would cause acute arsenic toxicity (i.e the amount you would have to consume all at once to see fairly immediate and serious negative health consequences). Scientists have estimated that acute toxicity occurs when an individual consumes 0.6 mg of arsenic per kg of bodyweight per day day. Using the average American female body weight of 166 lbs (75 kg), one would have to boil over 2600 gallons (nearly 10,000 L) of water down an amount that could fit in a regular coffee cup. Nitrates Nitrates, a broad group of naturally occurring chemicals containing a nitrate ion (NO3-), can indeed be found in water (and pretty much everything else one runs into on a daily basis) The concern raised in viral anti water reboiling posts is the conversion of organic nitrates to a group of carcinogens called nitrosamines:  When nitrates are exposed to high temperatures, they convert to nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. Nitrates have been linked to many diseases such as leukemia, non-Hodkin [sic] lymphoma, and different cancers, including colon, bladder, ovarian, stomach, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer. While the risks posed by nitrosamines, a broad group of chemicals, are factual, the claim that nitrates (in general) in water will be converted to nitrosamines solely through the action of boiling is false, as their formation in drinking water requires specific precursor molecules and environmental conditions to form. The most important source of these chemicals, of which a compound named NDMA is most common, is wastewater (which generally contains high levels of organic nitrogen) that has been disinfected with chloramine, a process called chloraminiation:  Mechanistic studies and results from occurrence studies suggest that the most important mechanism for nitrosamine formation during disinfection is the chloramination of amine precursors. This means that the formation of these dangerous chemicals has everything to do with what is in the water and, outside of increasing concentration through water loss, nothing to do with boiling it. A 2011 study investigated the effect of boiling water with two different nitrosamines showed that the amount was either unchanged after 20 minutes of boiling, or reduced:  The total amount of NMOR [a nitrosamine] in boiled water did not change significantly in 5-min samples, but apparently decreased with boiling time in 10- and 20-min samples, corresponding to 18.7 and 31.8% decreases, respectively, compared to the initial amount. However, the total amount of NDMA [the most important nitrosamine] did not vary with time. This suggests that NMOR is thermally labile whereas NDMA is thermally stable. An additional study needs to be conducted on the by-products of the thermal breakdown. Now that we have cleared up the fact that the only way boiling affects nitrosamine in water is that it removes water (thereby mathematically increasing its concentration), we are returned once more to similar scale issues found in the above discussion of arsenic. Nitrosamines in water are a relatively new concern, and as such there is not much information about their variability from different water sources. A 2009 survey of drinking water in Japan found that:  NDMA was detected in 15 of 31 raw water samples collected in the summer at concentrations up to 2.6 ng/L, and in 9 of 28 raw water samples collected in winter at concentrations up to 4.3 ng/L. The NDMA concentrations were higher in raw water samples collected from treatment plants with catchment areas that have high population densities. A 2011 study of water collected from treatment plants and taps in Korea found a range of NDMA concentrations ranged between 26.1 and 112.0 ng/L. In terms of the United States, multiple wells in California in 2000 were shut down when concentrations ranging from 32 to 91 ng/L were found in water sourced near treatment plants. The takeaway point here is that there is considerable variability of nitrosamines in drinking water caused by local land use factors and water treatment methods. The effect of that original variability is far more significant than any changes that could arise from increasing the concentration of those chemicals by boiling away a fraction of the amount of water contained in a tea kettle. Fluoride As the \u201cHealthy Holistic Living\u201d page states, Fluoride is indeed added to water in many municipalities around the world in an effort to reduce cavities \u2014 a source of wild conspiracy theories for some and of health claims of varying merits from others:  Many studies have been done over the controversial chemical fluoride and its presence in drinking water. The fact is, it\u2019s there and it could pose a threat to your health. Despite the proof of the dangerous effects of fluoride, the government insists to keep it in our water. Harvard University took data from over 27 studies that were carried out for 22 years and linked fluoride exposure to neurological and cognitive function in children. A more recent study completed in 2013 links fluoride to lower infertility rates [presumably the author meant higher infertility] in male mice. Oddly enough, the post makes two faulty claims of health problems while ignoring the more legitimate concern. The science linking IQ and water fluoridation, based on the study mentioned above, is deeply flawed and relies on research that was inadequate to test such a link, as we discussed in a post in which we rated that connection as false. The laboratory study with mice mentioned above, in addition to the usual problems of scaling animal studies up to human studies, found problems with fertility only at extremely high concentrations, per the study:  Our study showed that fluoride reduced the ratio of chemotactic sperm [sperm capable of following a chemical gradient to the egg] in mice by administrating with 100 and 150 mg [of sodium fluoride per liter] in drinking water for 8 weeks. Currently, the EPA\u2019s maximum allowable limit for fluoride in drinking water is 4 mg/L with a voluntary recommendation of 2 mg/L. When fluoride is added to a public water supply, the target concentration is 0.7 mg/L \u2014 both multiple orders of magnitude less what was used in the mouse study, without even taking into account the relative size difference between humans and mice. The most significant and demonstrable health effects from fluoride in drinking water is a condition called dental fluorosis, a staining or pitting of teeth caused by too much fluoride intake. The risk of this condition is greater for children, and could occur at levels found in drinking water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:  In some regions of the United States, public water systems and private wells contain a natural fluoride concentration of more than 2 mg/L, and at this concentration, children 8 years and younger have a greater chance for developing dental fluorosis, including the moderate and severe forms. These children should have an alternative source of drinking water that contains fluoride at the recommended level. In this case, fluoridated water could pose a risk to children regardless of its being boiled with a resulting minor increase fluoride concentration, making the argument that boiling water poses a fluoridation risk somewhat moot. Even if it weren\u2019t, the issue of scale as it applied to the other chemicals of concern, still needs to be considered here. The most aggressive estimate for the concentration at which acute fluoride toxicity may occur (promoted in an expressly anti-fluoridation journal of questionable scientific merits) is 0.8 mg of fluoride per kg of body weight. While this number is an order of magnitude less than almost every governmental health organization on the planet, we can still run the same experiment we did with arsenic using the questionable figure. Assuming the water you are boiling contains the maximum allowable level of flouride considered by the EPA (4 mg/L) and you have an average American female body weight of 166 lbs (75 kg), you would need to concentrate 15 liters of water into a 12 oz cup of tea of coffee. Bottom Line"}
{"claim_id": "15375", "claim": "Despite keeping distance from national media interviewers, \"I did local press all along, the last three months.", "explanation": "GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) on Tuesday said it is recalling the popular heartburn medicine Zantac in all markets as a \u201cprecaution\u201d, days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found \u201cunacceptable\u201d levels of probable cancer-causing impurity in the drug.", "label": "false", "subjects": "New Hampshire, States, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "Zantac, also sold generically as ranitidine, is the latest drug in which cancer-causing impurities have been found. Regulators have been recalling some blood pressure and heart failure medicines since last year. Britain's medicines watchdog said GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was recalling four prescription-only Zantac medicines: a syrup, an injection and tablets of 150 and 300 milligram (mg) dosages. (bit.ly/2IATooO)  Over-the-counter 75 mg dosage Zantac products are produced by a different company and are not affected by the recall, it added. \u201cGSK informed the MHRA of our decision to suspend the release, distribution and supply of all dose forms of Zantac products,\u201d a company spokesman confirmed to Reuters. \u201cGSK is continuing with investigations into the potential source of the NDMA,\u201d he said, adding that the investigations include continued engagement with its suppliers and with external laboratories to conduct tests on finished product batches of Zantac. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said healthcare professionals were told on Monday to \u201cstop supplying the products immediately, quarantine all remaining stock and return it to their supplier\u201d. \u201cWe are advising that patients should not to stop taking their medication, and do not need to see their doctor until their next routine appointment but should seek their doctor\u2019s advice if they have any concerns,\u201d the MHRA said. U.S. and European health regulators said last month they were reviewing the safety of ranitidine, after online pharmacy Valisure flagged the impurities. The FDA said Valisure\u2019s higher-temperature testing method generated very high levels of NDMA from the ranitidine drugs. NDMA had previously been found in some blood pressure medicines from a class of drugs known as angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs. After checking the over-the-counter drugs using a low-heat method of testing, the FDA said it found much lower levels of  NDMA than was discovered with a higher temperature test employed by Valisure. The U.S. regulator has asked ranitidine makers to conduct their own testing to assess levels of the impurity and to send samples of their products for testing by the agency. Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.S) halted global distribution of its ranitidine drugs last month. Last week, Walmart Inc (WMT.N) joined pharmacy chains CVS Health Corp (CVS.N), Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) and Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) in suspending the sale of over-the-counter heartburn drugs containing ranitidine. Canada\u2019s health authorities have asked makers of the drugs to halt distribution as they gather more information. Last month, regulators in Hong Kong pulled four products, while in Ireland 13 products containing ranitidine were recalled. The impurity was believed to have been introduced by changes in the manufacturing process."}
{"claim_id": "6735", "claim": "Some Alabama residents likely exposed to measles.", "explanation": "Health officials are warning that a traveler passing through Alabama may have exposed people to measles .", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Alabama, Fort Payne, Measles", "main_text": "A statement released Wednesday by the Alabama Department of Public Health says a Tennessee measles patient stopped twice in Alabama on April 11. A news release says the person stopped around mid-afternoon at the D&J Travel Plaza in Livingston for food and gasoline. The same person later stopped for food at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Fort Payne. Both businesses are along Interstate 59. The head of the state health agency, Dr. Scott Harris, says anyone who suspects they were exposed should call their health provider before showing up at a medical office. Measles is a highly infectious respiratory illness. Anyone who isn\u2019t vaccinated stands a high chance of being infected."}
{"claim_id": "41840", "claim": "[Aftab] Pureval\u2019s lobbying firm made millions helping Libya reduce payments owed to families of Americans killed by Libyan terrorism. Selling out Americans? Aftab Pureval can\u2019t be trusted.", "explanation": "Congressional Leadership Fund, the highest-spending super PAC seeking to sway House races in the upcoming midterms, has been flooding TV airwaves around the country with ads attacking Democrats running in close races. But we found that some of those ads are misleading.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " crime, health care, Libya, lobbying, medicare-for-all, terrorism, ", "main_text": "Congressional Leadership Fund, the highest-spending super PAC seeking to sway House races in the upcoming midterms, has been flooding TV airwaves around the country with ads attacking Democrats running in close races. But we found that some of those ads are misleading.Congressional Leadership Fund, which bills itself as \u201cthe super PAC endorsed by House Republican leadership,\u201d is by far the biggest-spending super PAC attempting to influence races in the upcoming November elections. It\u00a0announced in early October that it had surpassed its $100 million fundraising goal to help elect Republicans to the House in the midterm elections. To date, the group says it has amassed a war chest of $132 million.All four of the House races we write about here are rated as \u201ctoss-ups\u201d by the Cook Political Report.An ad CLF is running in Ohio\u2019s 1st Congressional District misleadingly suggests that Democratic candidate Aftab Pureval, in his work \u201cat a D.C. lobbying firm,\u201d was \u201cselling out Americans\u201d because the firm \u201cmade millions helping Libya reduce payments owed to families of Americans killed by Libyan terrorism.\u201dPureval worked at a large law firm that does a bit of lobbying work. But he never did any lobbying work for the firm. Nor was he involved with a settlement the firm helped to negotiate on behalf of the Libyan government to compensate victims of terrorism. Furthermore, Pureval\u2019s opponent, as a member of the House, signed off on the deal.The narrator of the ad begins by saying, \u201cPolitician Aftab Pureval will say anything to get elected.\u201d The ad then cuts to a clip of Pureval in an ad saying, \u201cThe special interests and lobbyists rig the game to benefit themselves.\u201d\u201cPureval should know,\u201d the narrator continues. \u201cHe worked at a D.C. lobbying firm. But worse than Pureval\u2019s lies is his hypocrisy. Pureval\u2019s lobbying firm made millions helping Libya reduce payments owed to families of Americans killed by Libyan terrorism. Selling out Americans? Aftab Pureval can\u2019t be trusted.\u201dAfter graduating from the University of Cincinnati Law School in 2008, Pureval was hired that September by White & Case, a large global law firm that, like many large law firms, also does\u00a0some lobbying work. Pureval, however, was never a lobbyist, and he did no lobbying for the firm. Rather, he acted as an antitrust associate, his campaign said. The Lobbying Disclosure Act database shows no record that Pureval has ever been a registered lobbyist.Prior to Pureval joining White & Case, the New York-based law firm was hired by the Libyan government under the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi to help reach a settlement to compensate victims of several terrorist attacks, including the 1988 bombing of Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. A settlement that would pay those victims $1.5 billion was approved by then-President George W. Bush a month before Pureval joined White & Case.The settlement agreement was approved in the House by consent without objection. Among those who did not object was Rep. Steve Chabot, Pureval\u2019s opponent in the House race. The Libyan Claims Resolution Act also passed the Senate by unanimous consent and was signed by President Bush on Aug. 4, 2008 (a month before Pureval joined White & Case).Pureval\u2019s campaign said Pureval never worked on the settlement. In fact, Pureval never worked on any matter having to do with Libya, his campaign said. And as the Cincinnati Enquirer noted, Pureval was not one of the three White & Case attorneys who registered as foreign agents and submitted expenses related to representing Libya in 2008, according to Justice Department records. Pureval is not listed as a foreign agent for any country in the Department of Justice\u2019s Foreign Agents Registration Act database.CLF unleashed two misleading attack ads against Democrat Abigail Spanberger, who is facing incumbent Republican Rep. Dave Brat for Virginia\u2019s 7th Congressional District seat.The first ad portrays Spanberger as being in lockstep with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi \u2014 whom Spanberger says she would not support to be speaker of the House if Democrats regained control of the House \u2014 and claims she would vote for a Medicare for All bill that Spanberger has said she does not support.\u201cAs a mom of two, I\u2019m in charge of balancing my family\u2019s budget,\u201d Susan Beals of Midloathian, Virginia, says in the ad. \u201cThat\u2019s why I can\u2019t support Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger joined Nancy Pelosi to oppose the $2,000 middle class tax cut. And Spanberger would vote with Pelosi for a $32 trillion government takeover of health care, nearly doubling the debt. Spanberger and Pelosi would raise our taxes and put America deeper in debt.\u201dThe \u201c$2,000 middle class tax cut\u201d refers to Spanberger\u2019s opposition to the 2017 Republican tax law. Though that shorthand to describe the tax plan is a regular Republican talking point, a Tax Policy Center analysis of the plan found that the average tax cut would amount to $380 a year for those in the second income quintile, $930 for those in the middle quintile, and $1,810 for those in the fourth quintile. As for the effect for a typical middle-income family, as\u00a0we wrote in March, the Tax Policy Center\u00a0calculated that a family of four with two young children and an adjusted gross income of $75,000 would see a tax savings of $2,119 in 2018. But the savings would be nearly half that ($1,119) for a couple earning the same amount but with two older children, 17 and 18 years old. And by 2027, both of the couples would be paying $150 more in taxes, the Tax Policy Center said, because most of the personal income tax cuts are set to expire that year.As for the ad\u2019s suggestion that Spanberger would be in lockstep with Pelosi, Real Clear Politics noted that in an April interview, Spanberger praised Pelosi but said she would \u201cvery much like to vote for someone else\u201d to lead the Democrats in the House. It\u2019s true that the House Majority PAC \u2014 a PAC with ties to Pelosi \u2014 is running ads in support of Spanberger, but she\u00a0told NBC News in August, \u201cUnder no circumstances, would I vote for Nancy Pelosi to again be speaker of the House.\u201dThe ad\u2019s claim that Spanberger would \u201cvote with Pelosi for a $32 trillion government takeover of health care, nearly doubling the debt,\u201d is a reference to Sen. Bernie Sanders\u2019 Medicare for All Act,\u00a0which would expand Medicare into a universal health insurance program.An Urban Institute analysis of an earlier version of Sanders\u2019 plan \u2014 which is cited in the ad \u2014 concluded it would increase federal expenditures by about $32 trillion over 10 years (though it concluded overall national health expenditures would increase by $6.6 trillion over that period). Whether the federal debt would double depends on how the plan is offset by increased taxes, though the Urban Institute says the tax revenues suggested by Sanders so far are \u201cmuch too low to fully finance the plan.\u201dBut Spanberger doesn\u2019t support that plan. She told USA Today in August she opposed \u201ca government-run single-payer health care system,\u201d and she told Richmond2Day in August: \u201cThe single-payer bill that is currently before Congress is not one that I currently support.\u201dRather, as she has stated repeatedly throughout her campaign, she supports the Medicare-X Choice Act, which would offer a public plan option based on Medicare to those under age 65 who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act\u2019s marketplaces.CLF points to an interview in January in which Spanberger said, \u201cI think that single-payer is a really great direction to go towards.\u201d But her fuller answer (starting at the 24-minute mark) was that: \u201cWhether or not we are ready if the Democrats take Congress in 2018 to fully move towards a single-payer system, that I\u2019m not sure about.\u201dSpanberger said her \u201cgoal is to ensure that as many people as possible \u2013 that everyone \u2013 has access to affordable, quality health care. And that\u2019s full stop, my goal.\u201d She added that in order to provide stability to the health care system, she wants to \u201cmake sure that any legislation we can reach really does have a significant amount of bipartisan support.\u201dAnother CLF ad targeting Spanberger attempts to tie her to an Islamic school in suburban Washington, D.C., once dubbed \u201cTerror High\u201d because one of its students aligned with al Qaeda years after graduating. \u201cAs a mom, nothing\u2019s more important than my family\u2019s safety,\u201d Lane Carr, of Henrico, Virginia, says in the ad. \u201cAbigail Spanberger is a risk we can\u2019t afford. Spanberger taught at an Islamic school called Terror High, a school so radical one graduate tried to kill President Bush.\u201dIt\u2019s true that Spanberger spent a year as a long-term substitute teacher of AP English at ISA, an Islamic School funded by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia. And it\u2019s also true that a one-time valedictorian of the school, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, was later convicted of joining al Qaeda and plotting to assassinate then-President George W. Bush.But it\u2019s beyond a stretch to call Spanberger a \u201crisk,\u201d as the ad does, because of her brief employment as a substitute teacher at the school. In 2002, after graduating from business school, Spanberger applied for employment with the CIA and received a conditional offer to serve in the National Clandestine Service, her campaign said. As she awaited background clearance, which can sometimes take years, Spanberger discussed a substitute teaching position at the school with CIA recruiters, and the CIA was fully aware of her employment. After teaching at the school from December 2002 to December 2003, Spanberger took a job as a federal law enforcement officer at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and then in 2006 began working for the CIA on counterterrorism and nuclear-related issues.Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who is serving a life sentence, graduated from the school several years before Spanberger was a teacher there. And his arrest came after she had left the school.\u201cFor a Republican Super PAC to question my national security credentials and integrity based on the time I spent as a long-term substitute, teaching English to children at an embassy school in Northern Virginia, is desperate and weak,\u201d Spanberger said in a statement provided to FactCheck.org. \u201cThe CIA hired me, gave me a Top Secret//SCI security clearance, and trusted me with some of our nation\u2019s greatest secrets in part because of my engagement with and knowledge of other languages, perspectives, and cultures. I drew on this knowledge every day at CIA \u2014 doing so made me a strong operations officer.\u201dThe ad also says Spanberger \u201csupported the Iranian deal, giving billions to the leading sponsor of terrorism.\u201d That\u2019s based on a tweet from Spanberger on May 8 in which she stated, \u201cThe decision to abandon #IranianNuclearDeal without cause hurts US credibility across the world & erodes the trust necessary to maintain the diplomatic & intelligence efforts that keep our country safe.\u201dBut opposing the abandonment of the deal, which unfroze billions in Iranian assets, is different from supporting the deal at the time. Indeed several congressional leaders, Republicans and Democrats, opposed the Iran deal struck by President Barack Obama, but later opposed Trump\u2019s withdrawal from the deal because they worried about the perception that the U.S. reneges on settled negotiations.CLF notes that her comments in a Facebook post explaining her opposition to Trump\u2019s decision to end the deal sounded supportive of it.Spanberger, May 8: The Iranian nuclear deal, officially the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, took 20 months for diplomats from the P5+1 countries to negotiate. The purpose of this agreement was to make the world safer by bringing countries together to address the threat of a nuclear Iran and compel Iran to accept restrictions on its nuclear program. According to ALL accounts, the agreement was working.Spanberger\u2019s campaign says she was collecting intelligence for military advisers when the deal was negotiated, and took no position on it at that time.In Washington\u2019s 8th District, CLF is running a misleading ad against Democrat Kim Schrier on taxes.It says, \u201cWe\u2019ve already got the fourth highest sales tax rate in the nation. And Kim Schrier, she\u2019d make it much worse. Schrier supports a state income tax.\u201d It goes on to say that\u00a0Schrier supports \u201can energy tax,\u00a0raising our electric bills and gas prices.\u201dIn making its claim that Schrier supports a state income tax, the ad cites one line she wrote in a candidate questionnaire, in which she said: \u201cHere in Washington state, we need to address our regressive tax system and move toward a progressive income tax.\u201dWashington has no income tax and instead relies on a high sales tax, which is considered a regressive tax\u00a0because it takes a\u00a0larger percentage of income from low-income groups than from high-income groups. Income taxes, on the other hand, typically impose higher tax rates on higher-income people.There\u2019s no actual state tax plan from Schrier to evaluate, so we cannot determine whether a new tax system would make Washington\u2019s taxes \u201cmuch worse,\u201d\u00a0even when coupled with an \u201cenergy tax.\u201d The ad simply assumes that.Schrier didn\u2019t say she supported an income tax on top of the state\u2019s sales taxes, as the ad suggests. An overhaul of the state\u2019s sales-tax-based system might make taxes \u201cworse\u201d for some but not for others. Typically, changing tax types or rates would lead to lower taxes for some individuals and higher taxes for others.It\u2019s also worth noting that Schrier is running for the U.S. Congress, where she would have no authority over state tax decisions. Schrier is running against Republican Dino Rossi for the open House seat.In her candidate questionnaire, Schrier addressed federal taxes, where she would have some control if elected.\u201cFrom the federal level, we need to make sure everyone pays their fair share, including making sure that any tax cuts go to the middle class and that we remove the loopholes that benefit high-earners,\u201d she wrote.The ad then says that Schrier supports \u201can energy tax,\u00a0raising our electric bills and gas prices.\u201d That claim is based on a candidate forum in March in which she raised a green \u201cyes\u201d card when the host of the forum said: \u201cI support the carbon tax recently voted down in the Washington legislature.\u201d (See the 53-minute mark of the video. )The state proposal, which didn\u2019t succeed this year, called for a tax of $12 per metric ton of carbon emissions on fossil fuels, an amount that would increase until it hit $30 in 2030. The Washington Policy Center, an independent think tank that promotes \u201cpublic policy based on free-market solutions\u201d and opposed the legislation,\u00a0said that for households that drive about 25,674 miles a year, that would amount to $150 in 2019 in higher gas prices (and $376 in 2029) and that the average family would pay $12 more in 2019 for electricity. The bill called for financial assistance to mitigate the impact on low-income households.Again, it\u2019s not possible to evaluate whether a carbon tax coupled with a new, but undefined, progressive income tax would make taxes \u201cmuch worse\u201d for residents of Washington and, if so, for whom.Voters will consider a state ballot initiative in November to enact a carbon fee.In an ad\u00a0attacking Brendan Kelly, who is challenging Republican incumbent Mike Bost in Illinois\u2019 12th Congressional District, the Congressional Leadership Fund claims that Kelly \u2014 the St. Clair County state\u2019s attorney \u2014 \u201ccut plea deals that put violent criminals into our neighborhoods.\u201d On-screen text says: \u201c50% of crimes pled out.\u201dBut that message lacks both accuracy and critical context about the use of plea deals.Actually, 64 percent of the felony cases in St. Clair County under Kelly resulted in guilty pleas, according to our review of the Illinois annual court reports between 2011 and 2016. (Kelly assumed the position at the end of 2010.) That figure isn\u2019t much higher than the 61 percent plea-deal rate we found for felony cases statewide in Illinois during the same period. St. Clair\u2019s rate also is roughly in line with the rates seen in 2016 for five surrounding counties. Either way, the use of plea bargaining to dispose of cases is to be expected, said Theodore Wilson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Albany. Wilson told us that there are two primary avenues used to resolve cases: \u201cGuilty pleas and then case dismissals.\u201dThe vast majority of the felony cases that ended in convictions between 2011 and 2016 in St. Clair County were secured by guilty pleas: 98 percent, according to the state\u2019s\u00a0annual court reports. Wilson said that isn\u2019t far from the norm. He pointed to an estimate, cited by former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in a 2012 decision, that \u201c94 percent of state convictions are the result of guilty pleas.\u201d\u201cProsecutors don\u2019t know exactly what will happen if they take a case to trial,\u201d Wilson said. He noted that a \u201cplea deal often times involves punishment \u2014 where you\u2019re going to be incarcerated or put on probation, at risk of incarceration.\u201dAnd Wilson cautioned that \u201ca single number without context is misleading.\u201d The rate of plea deals, he said, doesn\u2019t offer insight into the severity of the sentences in each of the cases. The ad does accurately point to a case in which a man found guilty of\u00a0sexually\u00a0assaulting\u00a0two teenage girls was sentenced to three-and-a-half years probation. The Belleville News-Democrat, which reported that the man was a \u201cfamily member\u201d of one of the minors \u201cat the time of the conduct,\u201d quoted Kelly as saying the terms of the sentence were what the victim preferred \u201cunder the circumstances.\u201dAnother ad from CLF claims that \u201cKelly let rape cases go unpunished,\u201d citing an investigation that the News-Democrat published in 2015. The newspaper\u2019s investigation\u00a0found\u00a0that, between 2005 and 2013, \u201c82 percent of the total rape reports made to police\u201d in St. Clair County did not result in charges being filed. It should be noted, though, that Kelly took office at the end of 2010, and the newspaper found that the number of sex crime charges being filed in 2012 and 2013 had increased. Kelly also announced\u00a0protocol changes in response to the newspaper\u2019s revelations.To support the assertion that Kelly \u201ccut plea deals allowing violent criminals to walk free,\u201d the ad cites a case in which a man convicted of killing his daughter\u2019s mother had twice before been charged with battery against the victim, but received probation. After the slaying, Kelly told the Associated Press that the victim had\u00a0lobbied for probation despite receiving earlier court protections from him. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it was because of the baby or what,\u201d her mother, Cathy McGolson, said to the AP at the time. \u201cEvery time I asked her if something was wrong, she just told me everything was fine.\u201dAnother case cited involved an HIV-positive teacher who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a student. The deal allowed for the dismissal\u00a0of some charges, and the teacher was sentenced to 36 months of probation.Kelly campaign manager Sam Barrett declined to comment on specific cases but pointed us to\u00a0the candidate\u2019s work\u00a0leading an Illinois task force that eyed improvements to sexual assault prosecutions, and his\u00a0support of a measure that ended the statutes of limitations for child sex crimes.The same ad also tells viewers that\u00a0\u201cKelly even said it wasn\u2019t his job to win convictions.\u201d That quote is taken out of context. In a video\u00a0interview with the News-Democrat, Kelly said: \u201cAs prosecutors, our goal is not a conviction. Our goal is not to make an example necessarily out of anybody. Our goal first and foremost is justice.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "10295", "claim": "People With Mild Cognitive Impairment Should Exercise Twice a Week, Research Says", "explanation": "This brief article in U.S. News & World Report discusses recently published professional guidelines for treating a condition of aging known as \u201cmild cognitive impairment\u201d (MCI) with regular moderate exercise. As the article itself notes, scientists and physicians \u201cgush\u201d endlessly about the benefits of exercise for seemingly everything, and now for MCI. However, the story didn\u2019t make it clear that this recommendation is based upon just two studies, both short-term. Nor did it give us a sense of the scope of the benefits. Does exercise help a little? A lot? The rapidly growing numbers of people diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other forms of dementia are clearly causes for genuine concern and even alarm in the United States. Beyond the human costs are the financial burdens on families and the overall health care system. And the persistent failure of hoped-for benefits from clinical trials of\u00a0 drugs has added to the drumbeat of worry. As a consequence, those with symptoms of MCI (which may or may not be linked to the onset of actual AD or dementia), may turn to \u201calternative\u201d interventions such as diets and dietary supplements, \u201cbrain training\u201d with crossword puzzles, and exercise. Because exercise has been demonstrated to have specific and non-specific physical and psychological benefits for many people, it\u2019s no surprise at all that guidelines from a respected journal suggesting that moderate regular exercise can improve memory would be of interest. But when the ability to summarize the precise impact of exercise is muted at best; and when the potential exists for \u201cvictim blaming\u201d among those who fail to exercise, journalists should take great care in promoting such guidelines.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "U.S. News & World Report", "main_text": "Exercise in general is affordable, even free, for most people, though it can be challenging for some people if it requires access to a gym or non-inclement weather. The story doesn\u2019t discuss to what extent exercise is beneficial, so readers aren\u2019t given a sense of scope of the benefits. (If the new guidelines don\u2019t explain the scope of the benefits, the story needs to make that clear.) The story also doesn\u2019t explain what kind of exercise they\u2019re talking about (weight training, running, Zumba?) or how long people need to exercise to benefit. Since this is targeted at older adults who might have medical conditions or other factors that put them at risk of falls or other injury, the story should have at least carried a caution to consult with a doctor before initiating a new exercise routine. The story briefly explains the guidelines are based on \u201csix-month studies.\u201d Looking at the published paper itself, it appears they were based on a total of two short studies (both under 6 months) that showed twice-weekly exercise \u201cis likely to improve cognitive measures.\u201d Long-term improvements are unknown. These details were needed. No mongering, here. The article states the facts and estimates about the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its symptoms pretty well, and duly notes the difference between MCI and dementia. No people were quoted or cited. Potential conflicts of interest were not discussed, though they are disclosed in the guidelines. The story acknowledged the lack of alternatives: The guidelines note that no Food and Drug Administration-approved medications exist for mild cognitive impairment treatment, nor are high-quality, long-term studies in the works that imply drugs or dietary changes could aid people who have the condition. For the most part, exercise is widely available. The news peg is that the Academy of Neurology updated its guidelines, which is a legitimate starting point for many health-related articles. This story makes that clear. This is a just-barely satisfactory. The story used some similar passages (though not verbatim) to a news release, and also cites an LA Times story in lieu of reporting. Stronger sourcing would have improved the story."}
{"claim_id": "8700", "claim": "Earthquake in Turkey-Iran border region kills nine, injures more than 100.", "explanation": "Nine people were killed and buildings collapsed across southeastern Turkey on Sunday when a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck near the border with Iran, injuring more than a hundred in villages and towns in both countries, government officials said.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "In Turkey, three of the dead were children, and 50 people were injured, including nine critically, the health ministry said. The shallow tremor caused more than 1,000 buildings to collapse in Turkey, prompting a brief rescue effort to find those trapped under rubble. The quake damaged buildings some 90 km (56 miles) to the west in the Turkish city of Van, and to the east in dozens of villages in Iran, where state TV said 75 people were injured including six in hospital. There were several aftershocks including a larger tremor measuring 6.0 magnitude that stuck nearby 10 hours later. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from that quake, which was also fairly shallow and potentially dangerous. Crisscrossed by major fault lines, Iran and Turkey are among the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. After the initial tremor, Turkish TV footage showed people digging with shovels and their hands in the rubble, as well as furniture and belongings strewn on cracked and snowy roads. In one village the ground cratered under several buildings, while in others residents were wrapped in blankets outside homes with crumbled and cracked exterior walls, fallen metal roofs and twisted wiring. \u201cThe damage caused loss of life,\u201d the governor of Van, Mehmet Bilmez, told reporters standing in front of a pile of cinder blocks and sheet metal. \u201cThere is destruction in all four villages\u201d he visited on Sunday morning, he added. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the quake, which hit at 8:53 a.m. (05:53 GMT), had a depth of 5 km (3.1 miles). The second big quake struck at 7:00 p.m.  Broadcasters and government officials said dozens of villages were rattled in Turkey. Nearly 150 tents were sent to shelter families in the region, where several schools in the districts of Baskale, Saray and Gurpinar sustained minor damage. Turkey\u2019s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has begun rescue work in villages including in Ozpinar, about 25 km south of the epicenter, said Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. AFAD measured the initial tremor at 5.9 magnitude. The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter 47 km west of the Iranian city of Khoy, where people felt the effects, according to state TV. An earthquake last month in eastern Turkey killed more than 40 people while another in Iran did structural damage to homes without causing any fatalities. An Iranian official told state TV that rescue teams had been dispatched to the area in Iran\u2019s West Azarbaijan province. Another local official said the earthquake was felt in several towns including Urmiah and Salmas, and many villages including some that suffered \u201c100% damage\u201d, state TV reported."}
{"claim_id": "35206", "claim": "People who have survived the COVID-19 coronavirus disease can become reinfected by the virus. ", "explanation": "A coronavirus infection\u2019s going into a \u201cdormant\u201d stage and then re-emerging was another possibility for explaining the appearance of reinfection suggested by Dr. Philip M. Tierno, Clinical Professor of Microbiology and Pathology at at New York University: \u201cOnce you have the infection, it could remain dormant with minimal symptoms. And then you can get an exacerbation if it finds its way into the lungs.\u201d", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical, COVID-19", "main_text": "As the world grappled with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic in early 2020, people around the globe began to consider the dread possibility that COVID-19 might not only be more infectious and have a much higher mortality rate than the seasonal flu, but that at least some persons who survived  it might become reinfected rather than developing an immunity to it. A few reports have trickled in from around the world suggesting that someone who had COVID-19 recovered and then fell ill with it again, such as the following account from China:  Mr. Wang, a resident of Xuzhou, in Jiangsu province, appeared to have emerged victorious from a monthlong battle with the illness. Three days later, though, Wang tested positive for the coronavirus again. He was re-hospitalized and his neighbors were locked down once more. His current condition is unknown. Wang, whose full name has not been disclosed for privacy reasons, is one of more than 100 reported cases of Chinese patients who have been released from hospitals as survivors of the new coronavirus \u2014 only to test positive for it a second time in the bewildering math of this mysterious illness. However, at this juncture it\u2019s difficult to determine whether such reports document that fully recovered COVID-19 patients truly became infected anew, or whether those persons may have relapsed or not completely recovered from their first bout of the illness. Problems with diagnostic testing techniques have been raised as one possibility to explain why some patients might have retested positive for COVID-19 after seemingly recovering:  [Such cases] are raising questions in China about the reliability of diagnostic tests, the possibility of reinfection and whether patients are wrongly designated as \u201crecovered\u201d and released too early from hospitals. Scientists in and outside China agree that reinfection is a highly unlikely explanation for the patients who retest positive. They say testing errors are more likely to blame \u2014 either false negatives that resulted in patients being discharged too early, or false positives when they retested and were taken back into hospital. Those errors could be attributed to contaminated test samples, human error while taking swabs, or an oversensitive nucleic acid test that detects strands of virus. The Los Angeles Times quoted Dr. Keiji Fukuda, director of Hong Kong University\u2019s School of Public Health, as saying that COVID-19 reinfection was unlikely and that false positives in testing procedures were a more likely possibility:  \u201cIf you get an infection, your immune system is revved up against that virus,\u201d he said. \u201cTo get reinfected again when you\u2019re in that situation would be quite unusual unless your immune system was not functioning right.\u201d What\u2019s more likely is that people are being released from hospitals while still carrying dormant fragments of the disease that are not infectious but resemble the virus when put through a nucleic acid test, he said. \u201cThe test may be positive, but the infection is not there,\u201d he said  Dr. Clifford Lane, deputy director for Clinical Research and Special Projects at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was also quoted as suggesting that the real issue was with inaccuracies in testing patients who had not fully recovered rather than with reinfection:  Another possibility is that the level of virus fell below the threshold that tests could detect but then resurfaced, [Lane] said. \u201cSo it looks like [some patients] cleared the virus and then the virus came back,\u201d Lane said. \u201cBut they never really cleared it and they had a more prolonged course of infection.\u201d Lane was one of only two U.S. experts in a World Health Organization delegation that visited China in February. He said Chinese experts told the visitors that there were no examples of people who became \u201creinfected.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "35994", "claim": "Private prisons sue states for millions of dollars if \"lockup quotas\" are not met, incentivizing incarceration.", "explanation": "Are Private Prisons Suing States for Millions of Contract Quotas?", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "A long-popular October 2018 Facebook post continued spreading through late 2019, alleging that private prisons were suing states over unmet contract quotas promising a minimum number of profitable inmates.A status update read \u201cSO WE JUST NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT!\u201d Alongside that commentary was the following image of an unidentified print article, suggesting that the clipping was reported as news in a newspaper:A June 2015 post to Reddit\u2019s r/politics featured the same headline with additional content:Private prisons suing states for millions if they don\u2019t stay full: \"Those quotas can range from a mandatory occupancy of, for example, 70 percent occupancy in California to up to 100 percent in some prisons in Arizona.\" from politicsThat post linked to an editorial dated September 26 2013, published by the site RollingOut.com. RollingOut.com did not feature an \u201cabout\u201d page or a masthead, and we were unable to find any information via the site itself about the nature of its content.In contrast with the newspaper-style version in the image, the actual title of the piece was:What?!? Private prisons suing states for millions if they don\u2019t stay fullA subheading matched the image:Low crime rates bad for business for private prisons; they demand states keep them fullBased on the excerpted portion in the image, it seems reasonable to conclude that the piece reported on lawsuits lodged by private prisons against state governments after those governments failed to meet incarceration \u201clockup quotas,\u201d since the headline claimed that private prisons were \u201csuing states for millions if they don\u2019t stay full.\u201dBut what the article actually went on to say was:The prison-industrial complex is so out of control that private prisons have the sheer audacity to order states to keep beds full or face their wrath with stiff financial penalties, according to reports. Private prisons in some states have language in their contracts that state if they fall below a certain percentage of capacity that the states must pay the private prisons millions of dollars, lest they face a lawsuit for millions more.It would be reasonable to presume the claims were predicated on the existence of specific contracts with specific language mandating prisoner quotas, and that failure to meet those quotas resulted in private prisons suing state governments. However, that very first paragraph contained the slippery phrasing \u201caccording to reports\u201d without mentioning whose, and the piece\u2019s sole mention of lawsuits seemed to be speculative in tone (\u201clest they face\u2026\u201d)RollingOut.com went on to reference (but not link anything related to) an investigation by a group called In the Public Interest; the article itself was written by a staffer who mainly covered entertainment. It mentioned a purported offer made by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA, now rebranded as CoreCivic) in 2012 \u201cto governors of 48 states to operate their prisons on 20-year contracts.\u201d Whether that offer was accepted or resulted in any business between the corporation and any or all 48 states was not reported.The story continued:In the Public Interest has reviewed more than 60 contracts between private prison companies and state and local governments across the country, and found language mentioning \u201cquotas\u201d for prisoners in nearly two-thirds of those contracts reviewed. Those quotas can range from a mandatory occupancy of, for example, 70 percent occupancy in California to up to 100 percent in some prisons in Arizona.\u2026 The offer included a demand that those prisons remain 90 percent full for the duration of the operating agreement. You know what that means: if there are not enough prisoners then there will be an unspoken push for police to arrest more people and to have the courts send more to prison for petty, frivolous and nonviolent crimes. There will also be a \u201cnudge\u201d for judges to hand down longer or maximum sentences to satisfy this \u201cquota.\u201d\u2026 When the crime rate drops so low that the occupancy requirements can\u2019t be met, taxpayers are left footing the bill for unused facilities.The report found that 41 of 62 contracts reviewed contained occupancy requirements, with the highest occupancy rates found in Arizona, Oklahoma and Virginia.Despite the headline claims of \u201cprivate prisons suing states for millions,\u201d initially the article softened its claims to \u201clest [states] face\u201d the purported lawsuits. In the Public Interest\u2019s research purportedly \u201cfound language mentioning \u2018quotas'\u201d in some contracts they reviewed, but there was no information about whether those quotas were acted upon.Finally, the story contained a claim that the offer included a \u201cdemand\u201d that private prisons remain 90 percent full for the agreement\u2019s duration (assuming any agreement was adopted in the first place.) Immediately thereafter, they go on to reference \u201can unspoken push\u201d for the arrest and incarceration of non-violent offenders, stacking inferences and presenting them as existing occurrences in a headline that remained viral years later.RollingOut.com\u2019s editorial seemed to be based on a report from In the Public Interest titled \u201cCriminal: How Lockup Quotas and \u201cLow-Crime Taxes\u201d Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations.\u201d As noted in the op-ed shown on Facebook, In the Public Interest maintained that the contracts included inmate quotas:65 percent of the private prison contracts ITPI received and analyzed included occupancy guarantees in the form of quotas or required payments for empty prison cells (a \u201clow-crime tax\u201d). These quotas and low-crime taxes put taxpayers on the hook for guaranteeing profits for private prison corporations.As the excerpt above shows, that was presented in the form of tax-funded shortfalls for under-occupancy prisons, not necessarily \u201cprivate prisons suing states for millions\u201d or convictions necessarily stemming from such contracts.In the Public Interest highlighted three particular states in which quotas proved either costly, high, or both:\u2022 Colorado: Though crime has dropped by a third in the past decade, an occupancy requirement covering three for-profit prisons has forced taxpayers to pay an additional $2 million. \u2022 Arizona: Three Arizona for-profit prison contracts have a staggering 100% quota, even though a 2012 analysis from Tucson Citizen shows that the company\u2019s per-day charge for each prisoner has increased an average of 13.9% over the life of the contracts. \u2022 Ohio: A 20-year deal to privately operate the Lake Erie Correctional Institution includes a 90% quota, and has contributed to cutting corners on safety, including overcrowding, areas without secure doors and an increase in crime both inside the prison and the surrounding community.Neither the original report nor its attendant long-form version [PDF] mentioned private prisons suing or private prison lawsuits over contract quotas. In its longer report, the group fairly notes that prison quotas inherently provide incentives incarceration, but also force the public to bear the brunt of the risks of prison population variances:By contractually requiring states to guarantee payment for a large percentage of prison beds, the prison companies are able to protect themselves against fluctuations in the prison population. These provisions guarantee prison companies a consistent and regular revenue stream, insulating them from ordinary business risks. The financial risks are borne by the public, while the private corporations are guaranteed profits from taxpayer dollars.RollingOut.com said In the Public Interest \u201creviewed more than 60 contracts between private prison companies and state and local governments across the country,\u201d suggesting that an emphasis on states and a widespread sample. In their report, ITPI said it \u201cidentified 77 county and state-level private facilities nationwide and collected and analyzed 62 contracts from these facilities.\u201d Although there are 50 states in the US, there are 3,007 counties alone (not to mention other jurisdictions). Overall, any given state has an average of 62 counties; Texas alone has has 254.A large number of articles about prison quotas linked back to the 2013 ITPI report, citing its figures and details. One of those outlets was the Huffington Post, whose September 2013 report mentioned an instance of threatened legal action over unmet prison quotas:[In 2011, private prison company] Management & Training Corp., threatened to sue the state. A line in their contract guaranteed that the prison would remain 97 percent full. They argued they had lost nearly $10 million from the reduced inmate population.State officials renegotiated the contract, but ended up paying $3 million for empty beds as the company continued to address problems, according to state documents and local news accounts.Circumstances of that legal dispute were slightly more complicated, though, and they involved an inmate transfer after a larger dispute over alleged mismanagement of one facility. In the ensuing months, Arizona\u2019s Department of Corrections rehoused 200 inmates and refused to honor a contract, alleging\u00a0that the private prison was improperly administrated:In July 2010, three prisoners escaped from the Kingman facility, leading authorities on a two-week, multi-state manhunt that ended only after the escapees had brutally murdered an Oklahoma couple as they were driving through New Mexico. In the aftermath, the [Arizona Department of Corrections] found gross mismanagement at the Kingman prison complex, including malfunctioning alarms and other serious security breaches.ADC Director Charles Ryan ordered over 200 \u201chigh-risk\u201d prisoners removed from the Kingman complex, stopped sending new prisoners to the facility for nearly a year while MTC addressed security lapses and refused to honor the state\u2019s contract with the company, which included a 97% bed guarantee.In January 2011, MTC filed a claim against the ADC for failing to meet its contractual obligations related to the lockup quota, asking for almost $10 million to cover the company\u2019s losses under the bed guarantee. State prison officials relented, agreed to honor the 97% quota beginning May 1, 2011 (although the empty beds were not filled by then) and paid MTC $3 million in damages.All of which is not to say that there are not broader disputes over the ethics of privatizing prisons. A 2016 documentary by filmmaker Ava DuVernay called\u00a013th\u00a0examined private prisons in general, and the intersection of \u201crace, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States.\u201dSimilarly, the 2009 \u201ckids-for-cash\u201d scandal (resulting in a documentary of the same name) involved uncovered judicial corruption in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Before that corruption was uncovered, thousands of children were incarcerated across two private facilities. After the scheme came to light, two judges and a co-owner of the facilities were found guilty, and all juvenile convictions under one of the judges were expunged:The scope of the violations of the children\u2019s rights in Luzerne County turned out to be more egregious than anyone could have imagined. From 2003 to 2008, the Luzerne County judicial corruption scandal altered the lives of more than 2500 children and involved more than 6000 cases. Over 50 percent of the children who appeared before Ciavarella lacked legal representation; 60 percent of these children were removed from their homes. Many of them were sent to one or both of the two facilities at the center of the corruption scandal. Believed to be the largest judicial corruption scandal in our history, the story was featured in a 2009 episode of ABC\u2019s \u201c20/20.\u201dFor their involvement in the \u201ckids-for-cash\u201d scandal, Judge Michael Conahan, the facilities\u2019 former co-owner Robert Powell, and the developer Robert Mericle pled guilty to federal criminal charges; Judge Mark Ciavarella was found guilty of various federal crimes following his trial in 2011. In 2009, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated the adjudications of all youth who appeared before Ciavarella between 2003-2008, dismissed their cases with prejudice and ordered all of their records expunged.The closure of a for-profit prison in New Mexico in 2017 due to low inmate populations was reported as having an adverse effect on the local economy. Private prisons can pull up stakes and leave town more easily when fewer inmates leads to reduced profit, leading to the loss of 200 jobs in that instance alone. Corrections officer job security is, of course, not a good reason to jail people, but state corrections officers might be likelier to obtain a transfer or reassignment, and the effects reverberated in the small jurisdiction:Following the company\u2019s announcement [of the prison\u2019s closure], the county released a statement lamenting the news. Two hundred prison employees would be laid off. The town of Estancia would lose $700,000 in annual tax and utility payments and the surrounding county, Torrance, would give up roughly $300,000. The sheriff\u2019s office will have to find another facility to house the 50-75 county inmates usually held at the facility.Belinda Garland, the county manager, told Quartz that 200 jobs are a significant loss for the county, where the median household income is $32,000 ($12,000 less than the state overall). The money the prison brings in for the town is roughly 60% of its annual budget. This means cuts for schools, roads, the fire and police departments, among other services. \u201cThe county is very concerned with this closure,\u201d she said.Prison privatization has also had an effect on immigration policy. An August 2018 report from criminal justice reform organization The Sentencing Project alluded to private prisons\u2019 alarming impact on immigration and detention policy, with firm quotas in place:In 2002, approximately 4,800 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees were held in privately run facilities. By 2017, that number had jumped to 26,249 people. This expansion of detention was influenced by a shift in immigration policy enforcement.Beginning in 2009, Congress established a quota for immigrant detention beds under appropriations law, requiring that the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s (DHS) funding be linked to maintaining 33,400 immigration detention beds a day even if there were not a sufficient number of people in detention to fill them. By fiscal year 2013 the quota was raised to 34,000 beds. In 2014, a major influx of migrants from Central America led to an expansion of immigration detention under the Obama Administration. Individuals fleeing violence in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala crossed the Southern border in search of asylum; many families were held in privately-run family detention centers. Incidents of assault, hunger protests, and medical neglect were reported at these facilities.A viral Facebook post depicted what looked like a newspaper article with the headline \u201cPrivate prisons suing states for millions if they don\u2019t stay full.\u201d We found no indication that article was ever published in print, and its full text demonstrated a speculative view of the admittedly ethically dicey topic of private prisons. The ITPI report focused on the cost of quotas to state taxpayers versus the ephemeral and nebulous (but clearly incentivized) prospect of increased convictions to make up the contracted shortfall. Private prison quotas do exist, but typically result in taxpayer bills or prison closures if not met.The only instance of a private prison suing a state over \u201cquotas\u201d was a 2011 dispute between Arizona and a private prison company over a large transfer of prisoners following an escape."}
{"claim_id": "7491", "claim": "Doctors: Nearly 8000 Malaria cases in Sudan province.", "explanation": "Doctors in Sudan say the number of malaria cases in North Darfur province has climbed to nearly 8,000 people in less than a month.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Sudan, General News, Africa, Malaria", "main_text": "They are warning that the outbreak in the country\u2019s far-flung west may persist if the Sudanese government and international organizations do not intervene \u201cimmediately.\u201d The Central Committee of Medical Laboratories, a union of the country\u2019s pathologists, released the statement late Wednesday. The World Health Organization has previously said malaria cases were reported in several provinces of Sudan. Sudan is also facing a Cholera outbreak, following flash floods that swept the country in late August, affecting water sanitation. Last week, the U.N. humanitarian agency reported 124 suspected cholera cases and seven deaths. A rebellion in long-neglected Darfur was brutally suppressed in the 2000s."}
{"claim_id": "11034", "claim": "Constant migraines may be from an unlikely culprit: a deviated septum", "explanation": "This story advances the claims of a book author/ear, nose\u00a0and\u00a0throat surgeon who says that many patients with migraines actually suffer from migraine-like headaches caused by a deviated\u00a0septum in the nose. While the idea sounds reasonable enough, what\u2019s lacking here is evidence. Most problematic is that the\u00a0story unquestioningly\u00a0passes\u00a0along the author\u2019s\u00a0claim \u2014 based entirely on his own\u00a0practice data \u2014\u00a0that he has a\u00a090% success rate when treating headache patients with deviated septums. That\u2019s a statistic that will probably help sell lots of books and drive more patients to the author\u2019s practice, but we doubt it accurately reflects the benefits that the typical patient can expect from this treatment. Also\u00a0troubling is the story\u2019s failure to mention any possible harms associated with the surgery promoted in the book. Considering that septoplasty itself can provoke\u00a0new chronic pain in\u00a0some patients,\u00a0this\u00a0omission\u00a0is particularly glaring. Migraine headaches\u00a0can have a huge impact on people who suffer with them and\u00a0 these patients\u00a0may seek out multiple treatments in the hope\u00a0of finding\u00a0some relief. When evaluating these therapies, journalists need to go beyond sources who stand to gain financially from promoting them, including\u00a0book authors. The most important question to keep in mind is: Where is the evidence that they work?", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "While the story does mention costs, it does so in a\u00a0superficial and potentially misleading way. First, any useful discussion of costs would have to include information about the\u00a0costs of the CT scanning and surgery \u2013 costs t hat are not mentioned in the\u00a0article. Second, claims that the book author\u2019s approach\u00a0is \"cost-saving\" are non-sensical given that the\u00a0treatment\u00a0implied by the article\u00a0includes an MRI and referral to a specialist or two. Such profligate and unsupported waste of society\u2019s resources flies in the face of claims of \"cost-savings.\" The story relies entirely on Dr. Smith\u2019s assertion that\u00a090% of patients experience relief\u00a0after repair of a deviated septum. But important questions remain unexplored. For example: How many patients are we talking about here \u2014 two or two hundred? And: How does Dr. Smith define \"relief\" \u2014 total absence of headaches or merely reduced headache frequency/intensity? In addition: What percentage of migraine-like headache\u00a0sufferers are diagnosed with a deviated septum and would be candidates for surgery? And finally: How\u00a0does\u00a0septoplasty\u00a0stack up against other forms of treatment or no treatment in controlled studies? We think that by failing to challenge\u00a0in any way Dr. Smith\u2019s estimate of a 90% success rate, readers are likely to come away with an exaggerated view of what this treatment can do for the\u00a0average\u00a0patient. The story mentions no potential harms from septoplasty or from CT\u00a0scanning. This is a major error considering that some patients develop new chronic pain from the surgery itself and are left with daily intrusive pain. The surgery on balance may be harmful, especially if performed poorly or on the wrong patients, the incidence of the latter being likely to rise if many people read the book or this article. There\u00a0also is growing evidence that\u00a0unnecessary CT scans increase the risk of cancer. There was no evidence presented in this story\u00a0beyond the anecdotal impressions of the book author, Dr. Smith. Smith says that in his experience,\u00a0\"some 90 percent\" of patients have gotten headache relief after a deviated septum is repaired. But we can\u2019t really tell\u00a0if this is a ballpark\u00a0guesstimate or\u00a0a carefully conducted analysis of his practice statistics. If the latter, we might reasonably expect some\u00a0discussion\u00a0of how they selected patients,\u00a0how the study was designed, whether there was\u00a0a control group, or if any blinding or randomization was used. But the story provides none of these things. At the very least, the story\u00a0should have cautioned that\u00a0a case series from a\u00a0single practice\u00a0constitutes a very shaky evidence base,\u00a0but again, it didn\u2019t. Some problems here: Migraine headache is not defined in this article. In fact, the opening line is terribly vague:\u00a0 \"If you suffer from chronic or migraine headaches\u2026.\" The word \"migraine\" implies to many readers that there is something special about the head pain the word describes. Migraine represents a small proportion of all head pain, and migraine that cannot be managed adequately without lifestyle changes or medications are rarer still. The reader of this article might assume their head pain is what the author is talking about, and it seems unlikely. Conversely, sinus pain is common, often easily diagnosed, and responds to many treatments. The article implies that MRI and referral to a neurologist are standard treatments for \"migraine.\" Thankfully, this is not the case. Many people with head pain and /or migraine headache do very well without such interventions. Anyone\u00a0with a book\u00a0to promote is\u00a0clearly going to have a strong financial incentive to advance their own interpretation of the evidence. And while this story\u00a0did include a comment from one outside expert, presumably a radiologist,\u00a0in this case the\u00a0issue demanded some perspective from an expert on migraines\u2013 e.g. a neurologist or other pain specialist. This story didn\u2019t provide that. This story didn\u2019t mention any other approaches to treating migraines that don\u2019t respond to initial\u00a0therapy. The availability of surgery to correct a deviated septum is not in question, so we\u2019ll rule this one not applicable. There\u2019s nothing new here that merits a book or even a newspaper article. It is standard \u2014 repeat, standard \u2014\u00a0practice to rule out sinus conditions such as a deviated septum in the evaluation of\u00a0persistent head pain. Although the story bears some similarity to a press release put out by Dr. Smith\u2019s book publisher, we didn\u2019t find any copy that was directly lifted from the press release. Since we can\u2019t be sure to what extent the story relied on this release, we\u2019ll rule it not applicable."}
{"claim_id": "10963", "claim": "Botox use on migraines gains support", "explanation": "Botox, or Botulinum Toxin Type A is typically regarded as a way to\u00a0reduce fine lines and wrinkles. However, it is increasingly being used to treat disorders related to overactive muscles\u00a0and twiching because of the temporary muscle\u00a0paralysis that Botox causes. This story reports on a news release by Allergan, the manufacturer of Botox,\u00a0about the results of a new study looking at Botox as a preventive measure for chronic migraine sufferers. This story does a commendable job outlining the evidence to support Botox use for this indication. It rightly points out that there are serious questions about the\u00a0methodology and that the details of the study have not been made available. Furthermore, it accurately describes the availability and\u00a0novelty of Botox and is careful to quote multiple, independent experts who provide valuable perspective. The story could have been improved by describing the costs of Botox injections,\u00a0and mentioning possible harms or side effects and the alternative treatment options, of which there are many. Overall, a very well balanced and informative piece that could have easily gotten off course.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The study does not mention the costs of the injections nor does it comment on whether insurance would be likely to cover it for migraines. The story rightly points out that Botox did not signficantly reduce the number of headache episodes in the study but that it did reduce the number of days the patients said they suffered from headaches. Although the study does not quantify the difference, these data have not been released by the drug company. In all, the story did a good job of providing balance, by framing the results as being greeted with reactions ranging from \"exhuberance to caution\" which set a nice balanced tone from the start. The study does not mention any potential harms of botox injection. While the procedure is safe, there are some risks that would be important to mention and consumers should also be told that they should seek out a practitioner who is skilled and experienced in providing the injections. The story does a very good job of describing the strength of the available evidence, including the challenge of how to appropriately measure\u00a0headache duration or severity. The story also rightly points out that the details of the current study have not yet\u00a0been released. The story does not exagerrate the seriousness or prevalence of chronic migraines and is clear to repeatedly mention that chronic, severe\u00a0migraines are the indication in question, not everyday garden-variety headaches. The story quotes multiple experts who provide valuable persepctive. The story does not mention alternative treatments for migraines, of which there are many. The story clearly states that Botox is available and FDA-approved for several other indications. Clearly Botox is not\u00a0a new idea, but it is not approved to treat chronic\u00a0migraines. Because the study quotes multiple independent experts, the reader can assume the story did not rely on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "27411", "claim": "In December 1915, San Diego agreed to pay $10,000 to \"rainmaker\" Charles Hatfield to bring an end to the region's drought; over the next few weeks the city was inundated by rain and suffered one of the worst floods in its history.", "explanation": "Neither Hatfield nor his brother (and sometime assistant) Paul, who died in 1974, ever revealed his secret formula for making rain. All we really know about it to this day is that, according to Hatfield, it contained 23 different chemical ingredients and emitted fumes that bystanders said reminded them of Limburger cheese.", "label": "true", "subjects": "History, charles hatfield, drought, history meme", "main_text": "\u201cThe bigger the humbug, the better the people will like it,\u201d\u00a0P.T. Barnum once\u00a0said. One of the best examples of that might be the life and career of Charles Hatfield, professional rainmaker, who is remembered as the man who summoned rain from the heavens to save San Diego from the drought it had suffered throughout most of 1915, only to be blamed afterward for one of the worst floods in the city\u2019s history. Even now, his saga is recounted in Internet memes that don\u2019t always get the facts straight and are often accompanied by images unrelated to Hatfield\u2019s own endeavors (see the featured image above, which depicts an altogether different rainmaker at work), while still conveying the bitter irony of his single greatest claim to fame. Hatfield, who preferred the title \u201cmoisture accelerator\u201d to \u201crainmaker,\u201d set about rescuing San Diego by climbing the two 35-foot towers he had built outside the city limits and igniting a secret slurry of chemicals he claimed would extract moisture from the atmosphere and convert it to rain. The setup was similar to one he had used 11 years before in Los Angeles: Jan 12, 1958: Rainmaker Charles Hatfield died in #EagleRock. In 1904, LA paid him for 18\u2033 of rain. @LATimesPhotos: https://t.co/DPdQqE8Dhq pic.twitter.com/JmRszVFc4H \u2014 LAhistory (@LAhistory) January 12, 2017  The verbal agreement he struck with the San Diego City Council in mid-December 1915 called for Hatfield to produce enough rainfall to fill the 15 billion-gallon Morena Reservoir within one year for a fee of $10,000 (equivalent to more than $200,000 today), on a \u201cno rain, no pay\u201d basis. No one had seen the reservoir completely full since it was built in 1897. The city figured it had nothing to lose. On or around 1 January 1916, puffs of smoke or vapor reportedly wafted skyward from the towers as Hatfield put his so-called \u201crain precipitation and attraction plant\u201d into operation (at least one witness also reported hearing muffled explosions, although this detail has been disputed). Hints of precipitation, in the form of a light drizzle, were noted almost immediately. On 5 January it actually rained at Morena Reservoir, though not heavily enough to make a serious dent in the water level. But on 10 January, rain \u201cof a\u00a0genuinely remarkable quan\u00adtity\u201d started to fall, according to the San Diego History Center: For 24 hours in San Diego itself it rained off and on, but reports from the back country said it rained hard and almost continuously. From then until the 18th it was rainy weather. On the 14th it rained torrents and continued to rain heavily for several days. Roofs leaked. Storm drains that had not been taxed for years overflowed. On 17 January, the San Diego River overflowed its banks and flooded the Mission Valley. The Associated Press reported: Three days of steady rain has transformed the San Diego and Tijuana Rivers into raging torrents, the rapidly rising waters compelling hundreds of persons in the lowlands to abandon their homes. The Mission Valley, through which the San Diego River courses, is inundated for miles, while the flood waters of the Tijuana River threatened the new race track of the Lower California Jockey Club and submerged many homes at San Ysidro, a few miles south of this city. Charles Hatfield wasted no time claiming credit for the deluge, the Los Angeles Times reported on 20 January: Charles Hatfield telephoned to the City Hall today that in ten days he will have the Moreno [sic] reservoir full and will come to sign up his contract. He has a verbal contract with the City Council now for $10,000 if he causes the reservoir to be filled. He would brook no skepticism about his having caused the precipitation. \u201cI understand the newspapers are saying I didn\u2019t make the rain,\u201d he told the San Diego Union. \u201cAll I have to say is that Morena has had 17\u00bd inches of rain in the last five days and that beats any similar record for the place that I have been able to find.\u201d The rains subsided for a few days then picked up again on 26 January as new storm fronts settled in over Southern California. The fresh downpour was so heavy it caused the Otay Dam southeast of San Diego to collapse on the 27th, flooding the Otay Valley and killing a reported 50 people (an estimate later revised downward to about 20). \u201cNo survivors and no corpses were discovered as the torrents had swept everything clean,\u201d the San Bernardino News reported two days later. The catastrophe (which locals took to calling the \u201cHatfield Flood\u201d) has been described by the National Weather Service as \u201cthe most destructive and deadly weather event in San Diego County history,\u201d with damages approaching $8 million in 1916 dollars (the equivalent of almost $200 million today). Despite rumors that lynch mobs were looking for him, Hatfield set out from his Morena Reservoir campsite to San Diego City Hall to demand payment for his services. \u201cThe essence of my contract was to fill Morena Reservoir. That has been done,\u201d he said in an appearance before the City Council on 17 February. \u201cI have fulfilled my contract and I desire that the city should fulfill its contract to pay me $10,000.\u201d Perhaps fearing the legal repercussions of acknowledging it played a role in bringing on the devastating storms, the city reneged, arguing that Hatfield did not have an enforceable contract with San Diego. He filed suit and indicated his willingness to accept a settlement, which prompted an offer from the city attorney to pay Hatfield the full amount of $10,000 if Hatfield would assume full legal responsibility for the flood and all the damage it caused. He turned it down. After many years in legal limbo, the lawsuit was eventually dismissed. Far from harming his reputation, the San Diego flood only increased the demand for Hatfield\u2019s services. His rainmaking career would ultimately span almost 30 years, from 1902, when he first began devoting time off from his job selling sewing machines to the study of meteorology, into the early years of the Great Depression. But San Diego would always be his biggest claim to fame. Was Hatfield (and, by association, the San Diego City Council) really responsible for the massive January 1916 rainfall that almost destroyed San Diego? As far as the courts were concerned, the answer was no. A judge ruled in damage lawsuits filed against the city that the flooding was \u201can act of God.\u201d Professional meteorologists didn\u2019t buy Hatfield\u2019s claim that he successfully manipulated the weather, either. Notices in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society\u00a0regularly dismissed his efforts as \u201cpseudo-scientific trickery.\u201d Skeptics pointed out that the storm systems responsible for the flooding in San Diego County were actually quite vast, wreaking devastation throughout Southern California. A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)\u00a0report\u00a0gives a sense of the scale: The rains that swept southern California in mid-January 1916, converted the streams into torrents that overran their banks and devastated wide areas of the most fertile land of the State. The rains were heaviest and the floods most disastrous in San Diego County, but they were also very heavy in parts of Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties, and they wrought widespread ruin throughout the region that extends southward from Santa Clara River to the Mexican boundary, and westward from the north-south ranges of San Bernadino and San Diego counties to the ocean. Could Hatfield have accomplished all that by sending up fumes from his campsite at the edge of Morena Reservoir in San Diego? And it wasn\u2019t just a question of scale. The timing of Hatfield\u2019s endeavor was a bit suspect, as well. The month of January is smack in the middle of San Diego\u2019s normal rainy season. If you\u2019re betting on rain, bet on January. Even better, Hatfield\u2019s proposal gave him a full year to accumulate enough rainfall to fill the reservoir. It seems unlikely that the choices he made that so greatly favored the odds of success were accidental. Despite insisting throughout his life that his methods were valid and scientific, the closest Hatfield ever came to explaining them was when he plied the press with self-promoting double-talk. \u201cThere is no magic in my method,\u201d Hatfield assured\u00a0Everybody\u2019s Magazine in 1919, continuing: The problem involved in the production of rain by artificial means resolves itself into the matter of somewhat localizing the ever-present air-borne moisture and condensing it to the point of precipitation. To accomplish this I use certain chemicals, the character of which must naturally remain my secret. I work from towers about thirty-five feet high, on which I have great evaporating tanks. The fumes of the chemicals, by means of the heat I use, are mixed with the surrounding air, which results in what you may term an overturning of the atmosphere. This first produces clouds, cirrus clouds, the forerunners of rain-clouds. In a short time these cirrus clouds develop into a nimbus, or rain-cloud. Yes, it is all very simple. My system is not one of bombarding the heavens, nor do I merely trust to luck. You can understand that luck isn\u2019t going to favor the same man something like five hundred times running. Charles Hatfield died in obscurity in Pearblossom, California in January 1958, at age 82 (his death wasn\u2019t reported until three months later). Among the photographs taken of him in the last years of his life are publicity shots of Hatfield posing with the cast members of The Rainmaker, a 1956 film based on the play by N. Richard Nash, which was said to have been loosely inspired by the life of Charles Hatfield. He did not appear troubled by the fact that the title character in that drama (portrayed by Burt Lancaster in the movie) is a flamboyant con man."}
{"claim_id": "9092", "claim": "New research to treat acute malnutrition", "explanation": "This news release describes a study published in\u00a0PLOS Medicine, showing that among moderate acute malnourished infants lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS)\u2013a kind of fortified peanut butter\u2013produced more gain in muscle and organ weight over 12 weeks than a corn-soy blend (CSB) porridge. Acute malnutrition affects over 50 million children across the world. It is characterized by bodily wasting following experience of a recent period of starvation. According to the researchers, until now there has been concern that because LNS has a very high fat content any weight gain it produced would be composed primarily of fat. The distinction of this study is its demonstration that LNS not only resulted in more weight gain, but that weight gain was in muscles and organs (lean mass) rather than fat. Children with the most severe level of acute malnutrition are at risk of death. Increasing the effectiveness of interventions with children before their malnutrition becomes severe could save millions of lives. However, readers would take away a better understanding of this critical issue if more space in this news release had been devoted to explaining the study itself, and less to citing various researchers and partners about how important the project was.", "label": "false", "subjects": "malnutrition,University of Copenhagen", "main_text": "No comparison is made in the news release between the cost of the current corn-soy blend (CSB) nutrient supplement and the alternative lipid-based supplement. This is strange considering that the original study devotes some space to addressing the issue of cost-effectiveness. The researchers conclude that although LNS is about twice as expensive as CSB, the possibility that it could require a shorter treatment regimen, is easier to prepare, and has a longer shelf life could make it more cost-effective in the long run. They call for detailed cost-effectiveness studies to inform policy decisions, a point that goes unmentioned in the release. The primary outcome in this study was weight gain that was not primarily fat; it is important to note that this study did not address survival or neurodevelopment, which are the presumed benefits of greater fat-free weight gain. The news release tells us that children who received LNS gained more weight than children on the corn-soy porridge, and that weight was primarily lean mass. It doesn\u2019t tell us how much more weight they gained, nor does it describe the difference in progression to severe acute malnutrition. Studies with large samples like this one can give results that are statistically significant even when differences are small. Specific information about the size and clinical importance of the difference should have been included. Many people\u2019s first question upon reading about a peanut buttery kind of nutrient supplement might be whether it produced any allergic reaction or other side effects in infants. In fact, it didn\u2019t, but the news release doesn\u2019t tell us that. Readers are told there were two arms of the study, the treatment lasted for 12 weeks, and children\u2019s lean mass was assessed afterward. It would have been better if the news release mentioned that children were randomly assigned to treatment. Nevertheless,\u00a0the basics for understanding how the study was conducted are provided. No mongering here. It would be pretty much impossible to engage in disease mongering about acute malnutrition. The major funding sources for the study are listed, but financial relationships between two of the authors and Nutriset, a producer of LNS products, were not included in the release. According to the published study they are Nutriset patent holders. The study is all about comparing widely used alternatives about which there have been long standing questions of relative benefit. The news release assumes availability of both types of supplements, though no specific information is provided about how much each is currently used for treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in infants. This piece gives the impression that across the globe most current interventions for infants with moderate acute malnutrition use CSB as a nutritional supplement. The original study itself presents a somewhat different picture, noting that there is currently no consensus on which of the two food supplements is better, and citing a World Health Organization recommendation that more research needs to be done. The news release claims in the first paragraph that \u201ccorn-soy porridge should be replaced with \u00a0a lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS)\u201d [emphasis ours]. The researchers in the original study are careful to qualify their recommendation with the need for a cost-effectiveness analysis as well as more study about the role of soy and milk in food supplements. We\u2019d like to have seen correspondingly moderate claims in the news release."}
{"claim_id": "36119", "claim": "Members of the Royal British Legion have been barred from selling poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day in certain areas for fear of \"upset minorities.", "explanation": "Recurring Disinformation Around Remembrance Day, Poppies, and \u2018Upset Minorities\u2019", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "An enduring piece of misinformation surrounding the Remembrance Day holiday and the Royal British Legion charity group resurfaced again in September 2019, despite the best efforts of fact-checkers the last few times the same exact disinformation appeared.One\u00a0Facebook user amassed several thousand shares on the platform for regurgitating the long-debunked lie that members of the legion would not sell the commemorative poppy flowers \u201cbecause some minorities say that it will upset them.\u201dThe rhetorically overheated, citation-free post read as follows:Some really shocking news. The Royal British Legian are not selling poppies in certain areas on Nov 11 this year. This is because some minorities say that it will upset them. I say sod off \u2026 The poppy is a symbol of reverence for our fallen heroes of all the wars the BRITISH military have fought in. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN BRITAIN! BRITISH CITIZENS STAND UP AND SAY \u2018WE WANT THE POPPY SOLD EVERY WHERE IN THE UK\u2019. THIS IS OUR RIGHT TO REVERE OUR FALLEN.. PLEASE RE-POSTFar from being \u201cshocking news,\u201d the post is a claim that has been debunked many times, by many news outlets, for many years. It even recalls the equally xenophobic \u2014 and also thoroughly debunked \u2014 rumors about so-called \u201cno-go zones,\u201d where even trained law enforcement supposedly fears to tread, because certain ethnic groups have purportedly taken over specific areas. As we have already reported, this has not happened, and in fact the person who first made the claim has since apologized:Rumors of \u201cno-go zones\u201d throughout Europe have frightened many a far-right activist, at least judging by the amount of false stories that they seem to exhaustively share about such areas without any evidence to back up claims that they even exist.There is no evidence that they exist, because \u201cno-go zones\u201d are nothing more than a myth spun up and perpetuated by individuals who are presumably too nervous about going to these purported zones to see for themselves.Stories about these \u201cno-go\u201d areas were floating around on the fringes for years before they were brought into the mainstream by an American Fox News pundit named\u00a0Steven Emerson,\u00a0who made the claim on Fox News on January 11, 2015, just after an attack on the offices of French satirical publication\u00a0Charlie Hebdo\u00a0in which twelve people were murdered. [\u2026]For his part, Emerson issued an apology on his website and explained that he had used unreliable sources in making his comments about Birmingham:I have clearly made a terrible error for which I am deeply sorry. My comments about\u00a0Birmingham were totally in error. And I am issuing this apology and correction for having\u00a0made this comment about the beautiful city of Birmingham. I do not intend to justify or\u00a0mitigate my mistake by stating that I had relied on other sources because I should have been\u00a0much more careful. There was no excuse for making this mistake and I owe an apology to\u00a0every resident of Birmingham. I am not going to make any excuses. I made an inexcusable\u00a0error. And I am obligated to openly acknowledge that mistake. I wish to apologize for all\u00a0residents of that great city of Birmingham.As the Royal British Legion\u00a0told the British site FullFact:We are aware that there are statements online suggesting the poppy is not being offered in certain areas of the country. We\u2019d like to reassure you that this is categorically untrue. We are proud to offer the poppy in every community in the UK \u2014 we always have been and always will be.Another fact-checking site, ThatsNonsense.com, broke down the nature of the lie in September 2015:Numerous variations of the above messages have circulated previously, but none of the them have been able to support their spurious claims that the Royal British Legion have ever been prohibited from selling poppies in any part of the UK because of causing offence to minorities.Such messages are an extension to the on-going far right narrative that claims ethnic minorities are destroying or diluting British culture, forcing their own own culture onto British people, or forcing British people to compromise on their own traditions or values. However, this narrative often relies on misinformation and propaganda to spread, and this is definitely the case with the above message concerning poppies.The significance of the poppy as a way to honor fallen service members dates back to World War I, when John McCrae, a lieutenant colonel in the Allied forces, noticed the bright red flowers continuing to bloom amid the fighting across France and Belgium. As the History Channel reported:McCrae wrote a poem, \u201cIn Flanders Field,\u201d in which he channeled the voice of the fallen soldiers buried under those hardy poppies. Published in Punch magazine in late 1915, the poem would be used at countless memorial ceremonies, and became one of the most famous works of art to emerge from the Great War. Its fame had spread far and wide by the time McCrae himself died, from pneumonia and meningitis, in January 1918.McCrae\u2019s poem sparked campaigns of solidarity in the United States, France, and throughout the United Kingdom. Shortly after forming in 1921, the Royal British Legion sold nine million poppies as part of a fundraising drive for housing and jobs for veterans. Since then they are worn every November 11, a holiday known as Armistice Day or Rememberance Day in several countries.\u201cWearing a poppy is still a very personal choice, reflecting individual experiences and personal memories,\u201d the group said on its website. \u201cIt is never compulsory but is greatly appreciated by those who it is intended to support.\u201dHowever, the rumors about \u201cangry minorities,\u201dwhich are as perennial now as many poppy species, are nothing more than disinformation and lies which emerged out of white supremacist far-right fever swamps, were laundered of their origins by groups such as UKIP and the Brexit Party, and are routinely pushed on the public by activists and politicians who personally or politically benefit from widespread xenophobia."}
{"claim_id": "31671", "claim": "Seth Rogen, Bette Midler, and other Hollywood \"liberal heroes\" were arrested during an Oscar party drug raid.", "explanation": "While the ceremony was not without its controversies (and conspiracy theories), this was not one of them.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, oscars, the last line of defense, thelastlineofdefense.org", "main_text": "On 26 February 2017, TheLastLineOfDefense.org\u00a0published an article appearing to report\u00a0that seven \u201cliberal heroes\u201d were arrested during an Oscar party drug raid: Oscar night is Hollywood\u2019s big chance to come together to celebrate each others\u2019 achievements, strut around in a million dollars worth of gowns and tuxedos, show the world how elitists rule our society and then get together for a drug-filled night of partying and debauchery afterward. This year, on the orders of our president, Hollywood would pay for sticking its nose up at our laws, denigrating the good name of our president and protecting the illegal aliens and terrorists we all want gone. [\u2026] Arrested in the raid were Allison Janney, Bradley Cooper, Bette Midler, Seth Rogan, Drew Barrymore, Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake. They were all charged with providing safe haven for drug abuse, possession of various classes of substances, resisting arrest and inciting violence against the government. The drugs seized at the different parties included cocaine, molly, ecstasy, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine. Rogan\u2019s party also had large quantities of powerful psychotropic drugs like LSD, MDMA and the ubiquitous brain chemical DMT. TheLastLineOfDefense.org has a long history of publishing fake news stories, and carries a disclaimer\u00a0buried on its site advising readers\u00a0that all of its content should be considered satirical: The Resistance may include information from sources that may or may not be reliable and facts that don\u2019t necessarily exist. All articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney. Pictures that represent actual people should be considered altered and not in any way real."}
{"claim_id": "33232", "claim": "In the last ten years no one has died of measles in the U.S., but more than 100 people have died due to the MMR vaccine.", "explanation": "Finally, the possibility of death is not the only reason one should (or should want to) vaccinate a child against measles. As the CDC notes in their measles fact sheet, in some children measles can lead to pneumonia, lifelong brain damage, and deafness.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "During a then-current measles outbreak, on 4 February 2015 the alternative health site Health Impact News published an article claiming no one in the United States had died of the measles since 2003. Furthermore, the article stated, more than 100 people (mostly young children) had died after receiving the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. The article circulated widely during a time of increased debate over parental decisions about vaccinations, particularly among those who are opposed to the practice. In some iterations the statement was amended to specify \u201cchild deaths,\u201d but the article itself stated there were zero deaths (among all age groups) from measles in the United States in the timeframe cited. That claim is inaccurate, as the CDC has reported that a Washington woman who passed away in early 2015 died from (an initially undetected) measles infection:  The death of a Clallam County woman this spring [2015] was due to an undetected measles infection that was discovered at autopsy. The woman was most likely exposed to measles at a local medical facility during a recent outbreak in Clallam County. She was there at the same time as a person who later developed a rash and was contagious for measles. The woman had several other health conditions and was on medications that contributed to a suppressed immune system. She didn\u2019t have some of the common symptoms of measles such as a rash, so the infection wasn\u2019t discovered until after her death. The cause of death was pneumonia due to measles. This tragic situation illustrates the importance of immunizing as many people as possible to provide a high level of community protection against measles. People with compromised immune systems often cannot be vaccinated against measles. Even when vaccinated, they may not have a good immune response when exposed to disease; they may be especially vulnerable to disease outbreaks. Public health officials recommend that everyone who is eligible for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine get vaccinated so they can help protect themselves, their families, and the vulnerable people in their community. According to the World Health Organization, 145,000 people around the world died of measles in 2013 alone, and documents on the CDC web site also record two U.S. deaths from the measles in 2009, and another two deaths from measles in 2010. (Other sources, including the CDC, sometimes confusingly cite 2003 as the year of the last previous recorded measles death in the U.S. According to the CDC, that difference is due to the 2003 death being listed as \u201cconfirmed,\u201d while the other cases have statuses of \u201creported\u201d or \u201csuspected\u201d but not \u201cconfirmed.\u201d) The Health Impact News article also failed to address the reason why measles killed so few Americans in the period cited. The glaring omission had a very specific root cause, namely measles elimination:  In 2000, the United States declared that measles was eliminated from this country. The United States was able to eliminate measles because it has a highly effective measles vaccine, a strong vaccination program that achieves high vaccine coverage in children and a strong public health system for detecting and responding to measles cases and outbreaks. Measles elimination is defined as the absence of continuous disease transmission for 12 months or more in a specific geographic area. Measles is no longer endemic (constantly present) in the United States. It stands to (very simple) reason a timespan beginning in 2004 (four years after measles elimination) and ending just before the late 2014 outbreak would see few (albeit not zero) deaths from measles, because the viral infection had been largely eliminated from the United States during the period specifically selected to illustrate the purported innocuous nature of measles. The second portion of the claim entailed deaths attributed directly to the MMR vaccine in the same period. Even if a minute number of fatalities were proved to have resulted from the MMR vaccine, it would still be impossible to accurately contrast that figure with deaths due to a disease no longer spreading in the United States during the period selected. That speculation itself, however, is a big \u201cif.\u201d According to the article, their figures for MMR deaths were culled from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), but VAERS does not exist to track specific and proved adverse reactions to vaccines. The purpose of the system is clearly denoted on the VAERS site (in a disclaimer not reproduced by the article spreading the claim):  When evaluating data from VAERS, it is important to note that for any reported event, no cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event. Submission to VAERS alone is not evidence of vaccine-related injury or illness. The overwhelming majority of young children residing in the United States receive the MMR vaccine early in their lives, and a small number of those children have become ill (some fatally) due to reasons found to be unrelated to the vaccine. There is nothing to preclude individuals from submitting VAERS reports of sickness or death that are wholly unrelated to vaccines, and the system exists not to track substantiated incidents of vaccine injury but to identify potential trends in vaccine administration. Few people died of measles in the U.S. between 2004 and 2015 because measles was classified as eliminated in 2000. Relatively few people in the U.S. contracted the viral infection after that, so it stands to reason far fewer would go on to die of it. And while more than 100 reports of suspected adverse reaction or death may have been reported to VAERS in the years cited, that number references unconfirmed public reports, not verified vaccine-related fatalities."}
{"claim_id": "36123", "claim": "Butchers just cut cancer out of diseased meat and sell the rest of the contaminated carcass.", "explanation": "\u2018When We See Cancer in Pork, We Just Cut It Out And Still Sell It To Customers\u2019 Claim", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "A February 2018 post (\u201cAn Experienced Butcher Admits: \u201cWhen We See Cancer In The Pork, We Just Cut It And Still Sell It To Customers\u201d\u201d) circulated widely on Facebook in October 2019, inspiring a fresh round of users vowing to never again eat any pork products.Images accompanying the post were presumably responsible for the viral spread of the claim, which were used to illustrate the purported discovery of cancer in pork on a butcher\u2019s table:One widely circulated iteration was published by EducateInspireChange.org on February 20 2018:Meat eaters might want to reconsider their diet choices.A butcher has shocked the world by saying that when coming across cancer in pork, he and many other butchers just cut it out, and continue to sell to customers.When you buy meat from a butchers, you expect that you are usually buying the best quality, better than supermarket standard, but this has been shown not to be the case.Meat cuts are very expensive, and this butcher has been honest about the process that the meat goes through before selling. I guess it would be mad for a butcher to throw a whole cut away just because there was a problem with one part of it.There is no legal obligation for butchers to give information about cancers in the meant to the customers.The article strongly implied\u00a0\u2014 but did not state outright\u00a0\u2014 that the following image was part of the purported claim, and that the quoted butcher shared it as an example:In the above excerpt, the second half of the first paragraph linked to what presumably constituted the basis of the claim and headline. But it wasn\u2019t a news item or other vetted claim; instead, the link simply brought users to a November 2017 tweet. That included an image of a different piece of purportedly diseased pork, along with an unverified claim:I worked in a meat market for 5 years, this is very true. pic.twitter.com/g7NWguDvSb\u2014 \u2625Lucky\u2625 (@Wisethedome) November 16, 2017EducateInspireChange.org likely didn\u2019t carefully read that tweet\u2019s discussion thread. Although its headline described the Twitter user as an \u201cexperienced butcher,\u201d they actually\u00a0described themselves specifically as a one-time supermarket employee:I worked at one the largest grocery store retailers on the east coast and all the grocery stores get there meats from pretty much the same companies. You don\u2019t have to believe me, I KNOW what I\u2019ve seen.Notably, in the article excerpt above, EducateInspireChange.org contrasted this person\u2019s knowledge as a purported butcher with that of an average supermarket worker in their content:When you buy meat from a butchers, you expect that you are usually buying the best quality, better than supermarket standard, but this has been shown not to be the case.To reiterate, their claim contrasting supermarket meat with butcher meat specifically was predicated on differences between the sources \u2014 but they got the information from a purported supermarket employee, contradicting their own stated reasoning.Furthermore, the Twitter user said that they were vegan, and that they regularly shared content about the dangers and perils of eating meat:I been vegan 6 years i been posting about this stuff, for years you just seeing it posted today. \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffd\u200d\u2642\ufe0fBeing vegan in and of itself is absolutely not cause to distrust a claim, but in this case, the commenter was a supermarket worker \u2014 not a butcher as was later claimed, and espoused a clear and admitted anti-meat viewpoint. From subsequent comments, it appeared that they did not actually describe themselves as a \u201cbutcher,\u201d much less an \u201cexperienced butcher.\u201dA screenshot included with the post featured an image not crawled until the tweet went viral in November 2017, and its source remains unclear. EducateInspireChange.org wasn\u2019t even the first site to use \u201cAn Experienced Butcher Admits: \u201cWhen We See Cancer In The Pork, We Just Cut It And Still Sell It To Customers\u201d\u201d as their headline. In December 2017, the site TheUnknownButNotHidden published an article with an\u00a0identical headline:This guy said he\u2019s been a butcher for 30 years and when he sees cancer in the pork he just cut it out then they still sell the meat to customers.Both articles included images that in part formed the basis of their claims. The same month the tweet appeared (November 2017), a commenter shared the image to Reddit\u2019s r/ThatHappened, a subreddit where users share stories that, to them, seem obviously fake:Cancer in Pork from thatHappenedCommenters were divided; some mused that it was impossible to contract cancer from eating cancerous meat, and others asserted that the \u201ctumor\u201d was in fact garlic butter. Without a source, determining the circumstances of the image definitively was impossible. That particular image did resemble the Kiev style of wrapping meat around herbed butter, and the image looked like at least one image tutorial for pork Kiev.In October 2017, another Reddit user shared a similar image to the site\u2019s r/whatisthisthing.Is this cancer in my pork? from whatisthisthingIn the top comment on that thread, a commenter claimed their butcher friend identified the substance and advised \u201cthose are glands and should not be eaten.\u201d Another speculated the image showed \u201cabscesses,\u201d which might have a high concentration of bacteria.As for the other popular image depicting cooked, sliced pork, that too seemed to originate on Reddit via r/mildlydisgusting. That poster didn\u2019t explain the image\u2019s origin:Tumor in pork from mildlydisgustingIf that Reddit post was the image\u2019s first appearance on the internet, the image was not presented as either originating with a butcher or showing cancer in retail meat. If it was accurately titled, the meat could have been obtained through a farm directly, or been raised by a private livestock owner. As no information was given, no explanation was certain.Rumors of cancer in meat circulated in 2012 and 2013 too, once again bolstered by images shared to Reddit and later removed from their context. In 2013, a post to r/skeptic included debate about the image. Originally, the same image (without captioning) was shared to r/popping\u00a0\u2014 a subreddit devoted to draining pimples and abscesses.In the 2012 version, the submitter admitted to \u201cfinding\u201d the image and not having taken it themselves. After the photograph circulated, the \u201ccancer in pork\u201d rumor spread on separate subreddits. In the 2013 r/skeptic discussion, a user opined:Looks like a spinal abscess, i.e a localised collection of pus separated from the surrounding tissue by a fibrous capsule. Happens occasionally. No respectable establishment is going to be serving that, though. It\u2019s not sanitary, it stinks and the meat surrounding the abscess is toughened. Depending on the amount of contamination (those things can be quite pressurised and when cut into the puss will just spray out) a thing like that may lead to a large chunk, if not the whole of the carcass being condemned.Another self-identified \u201cmeat industry\u201d insider agreed with the assessment, adding possibly informed context. According to that user, butchers and other meat processors don\u2019t \u201cjust cut it and sell it.\u201d All efforts are made to detect and discard diseased meat, although the individual maintained it happened solely through error:As someone who has worked in the meat industry for the last 8+ years, I can confirm that this is exactly right. We see these things all the time. Usually, they are caught and excised by QA\u2019s or \u201cmeat inspectors\u201d. Sadly though it is fairly common that they are missed. For around two of those 8 years, I worked in an area that involved sorting the \u201cfinished\u201d product, and I was pretty disgusted to see how often these things are missed. It may not end up on your plate often, but it\u2019s the middleman who will end up furious most of the time.In response to a question about how common such oversights are, the same commenter replied:[Chances you\u2019ll see infected meat are very] small. It will get past the people who are too bored to do their job properly, but once it hits the butcher who\u2019s selling to you, he has a very vested interest in keeping your food clean and presentable, lest he lose customers. Which is why it is he as the middle man who gets so frustrated. He just wants to sell an edible product, but ends up doing a lot of the work he has already paid the wholesaler for and he\u2019s losing good product/weight due to careless work further back in the chain.Bottom line is that consumers really don\u2019t need to worry about this. It\u2019s not unheard of, but if it does happen it will be pretty obvious and you should most definitely take steps to make sure whomever is accountable is held as such.That comment was published in 2013, four years before the articles and tweet went viral. In it, the user correctly states that butchers have a vested interest in avoiding the handling and sale of infected pork and other meat \u2014 it harms their business and inhibits repeat custom. According to the two circulating articles,\u00a0butchers finding cancer in meat \u201cjust cut it and sell it to customers,\u201d a practice that would have only negative consequences for their business.A tweet embedded above that served as a citation for both articles was shared on November 16 2017. On November 21 2017, a butcher Jon Viner did a Reddit AMA (\u201cask me anything\u201c) inviting questions about butchery from the Reddit community ahead of Thanksgiving:IamA butcher with more than 30 years of experience here to answer your questions about meat for Thanksgiving or any time of year. AMA! from IAmANeither of the two subsequent articles (\u201cAn Experienced Butcher Admits: \u201cWhen We See Cancer In The Pork, We Just Cut It And Still Sell It To Customers\u201d) had yet been published, but a user submitted a question with a virtually identical title:Is it true that if you see a cancerous part in the animal you just cut it out and keep the rest of the meat to cut and sell?Viner explained standard procedure for butchers when infected meat is discovered:No, at work when I come across something like that, we discard everything. We gotta clean our saw, we clean everything, that\u2019s contamination. Like a cyst, something like that, we discard all the meat.Interestingly, the thread of questioning seemed to mirror claims that would eventually appear in the viral article. The next user asked if there was a correlation between high-end sources and supermarkets:Can you elaborate on this? Is that something that I would normally find on something I buy in a higher-end supermarket with a good butcher (like Stew Leonard\u2019s)? Is there something I should look for?Viner again responded, adding that meat processors discard the entire carcass irrespective of whether the retail destination was \u201chigh-end\u201d:No, there really isn\u2019t [something consumers should look for]. It\u2019s just like [illness in] people \u2013 you don\u2019t know it until you find it, and when we do, we get rid of the whole animal. We don\u2019t want to let our consumers have any of that.On November 22 2017, meat scientist\u00a0Janeal Yancey, Ph.D. addressed what was clearly rapidly spreading viral nonsense on her meat-focused blog. Yancey said that friends had been asking her about the viral tweet quite a lot as it circulated.Yancey maintained that most meat \u201ccomes from young animals who would be very unlikely to have cancer, adding that any \u201canimal with cancer would be very sick and would be condemned on the kill floor by the inspector.\u201d Correctly observing that \u201cpictures like these aren\u2019t about safety or public health; they are about generating clicks and shares and fame for the originator,\u201d she confirmed that the picture is \u201cnot cancer\u201d but \u201can abscess, a localized infection that the animal\u2019s body was fighting.\u201dYancey then reiterated what commenters had been saying for years, that there are \u201cseveral barriers that keep abscesses out of a retail butcher\u2019s hands,\u201d explaining:Abscesses like this one would be very rare to find in a butcher shop. Our meat supply is one of the most inspected industries in the world. Not even hospitals and nursing homes are inspected like meat plants are. Employees of the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service inspect every single animal as it goes through the harvest process. In a big commercial plant, dozens of pairs of eyes will look at every carcass. When an abscess is spotted, it is removed immediately. If an animal has been sick, USDA inspectors will see the signs of illness in the animal\u2019s lymph nodes and internal organs. Sick animals are condemned and not allowed to go into the food supply.As Yancey observed at the end of the post, the virality of such claims was itself an indicator that tumors or cancer in butcher meat or pork could not possibly be as common as rumors suggest. No good explanation was apparent for why more butchers didn\u2019t speak out, but more compellingly, why Facebook and Instagram were not awash in images of pus-filled pork. TruthOrFiction.com has done numerous pages on extremely viral Facebook claims about contaminated food, and pork dripping pus is, as Yancey again noted, guaranteed \u201cclicks and shares and fame for the originator.\u201dAnother element to the posts beyond their morbid fascination is the underlying question of whether you can get cancer by eating meat from an animal with cancer. That question is itself part of a larger question about whether cancer is contagious. As it applies to the possibility of eating cancerous-infected animals and subsequently developing cancer, the answer is \u201cthat\u2019s not how it works\u201c:In general, no. Cancer is not a contagious disease that easily spreads from person to person. The only situation in which cancer can spread from one person to another is in the case of organ or tissue transplantation. A person who receives an organ or tissue from a donor who had cancer in the past may be at increased risk of developing a transplant-related cancer in the future. However, that risk is extremely low\u2014about two cases of cancer per 10,000 organ transplants. Doctors avoid the use of organs or tissue from donors who have a history of cancer.Finally, as LeadStories noted in a post about the rumor, the viral article falsely claimed there is \u201cno legal obligation for the butchers to give information about cancers in the meant to the customers.\u201d In actuality, animals found to be ill by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service \u201care not allowed to be slaughtered and are humanely euthanized.\u201dThis particular rumor may have been resurrected and driven by an April 2019 announcement from the Trump administration that regulations for the pork industry would be changing effective November 2019, limiting oversight and allowing the industry to monitor itself:Really big plants commonly have seven government inspectors working the hog line. One looks at the whole pig carcass, three look at the heads, and the last three are looking at everything else.So here\u2019s what the Trump administration is changing, starting in November:The regulatory change has roiled public health watchdogs, who claim the changes give meat companies too much authority and not enough oversight. They claim the industry will easily be able to cut corners, which will ultimately expose the public to more foodborne pathogens.There\u2019s quite a bit to recap about the two articles titled \u201cAn Experienced Butcher Admits: \u201cWhen We See Cancer In The Pork, We Just Cut It And Still Sell It To Customers,\u201d one of which appeared to have been shared nearly a million times on Facebook. The \u201cexperienced butcher\u201d in question was just a random Twitter user who claimed to have worked in a supermarket; he did not claim to have been a butcher. Images published with the articles came from random Reddit threads. Meat processors and butchers do in fact have a legal obligation not to process or sell meat from diseased animals, and protocol for finding disease includes discarding the entire animal and disinfecting all equipment. Contradicting the rumor also is a large dearth of similar images. And finally, grossness aside, you can\u2019t become infected with cancer by eating meat from a sick animal \u2014 but the USDA still prohibits the slaughter and sale of diseased meat."}
{"claim_id": "4001", "claim": "American Samoa to begin mass measles vaccination this week.", "explanation": "Health officials in the U.S. territory of American Samoa say they will begin mass measles vaccinations later this week.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Measles, General News, American Samoa", "main_text": "At a meeting Sunday, officials said the vaccinations would be given for seven days starting Friday. There are nine confirmed cases of measles in the island territory. American Samoa Health Department Epidemiologist Dr. Aifili John Tufa says five of the island\u2019s cases were in people who had been traveling and the others were locally transmitted. On Friday, American Samoa officially declared a measles outbreak, a move that closed public schools Monday and prohibits gatherings in parks. In the neighboring independent nation of Samoa, more than 60 people have died, mostly children, from the measles and more than 4,000 were infected since the outbreak started in mid-October."}
{"claim_id": "35084", "claim": "U.S. President Donald Trump said state governors must \"treat me well\" in order to obtain masks and ventilators from federal reserves.", "explanation": "What's true: Trump asserted that state governors \"have to treat us well\" while discussing the coordination of federal and state efforts in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. What's false: Trump did not say governors must \"treat me well\" or rhetorically ask them if they \"want ventilators and masks from the federal government's reserves to treat your citizens.\"", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "As state governments attempted \u2014 sometimes contentiously \u2014 to coordinate with the U.S. federal government in obtaining supplies and equipment needed to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, President Donald Trump suggested, according to news reports, that \u201cgovernors should show some appreciation first\u201d: President Trump said he\u2019s working well with governors across the country as both the federal government and the states battle the coronavirus pandemic. Trump singled out his working relationship with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), with whom he\u2019s clashed in the past over issues like homelessness. And everyone else, it seems, remains in communication with each other and the White House as the country develops some semblance of a coordinated plan. But, there\u2019s a catch. The president said governors can\u2019t simply tell him they want assistance and expect the administration to comply in the blink of an eye. Instead, he suggested governors should show some appreciation first. More specifically, a quote meme that was widely circulated on social media held that Trump had overtly declared that if state governors wanted to obtain masks and ventilators from government reserves, those governors \u201chave to treat me well\u201d:  Although the meme was based on something Trump said, the wording and context it offers differs somewhat from what actually took place. During a Fox News Virtual Town Hall event with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and members of the Coronavirus Task Force on March 24, Trump was asked whether his working with state governors was proving helpful in stemming the spread of the coronavirus. In his response, Trump both complimented and criticized the way in which governors had been working with him: DR. SIEGEL: So I was really encouraged to see you reaching out to governors \u2014 Governor Cuomo, Governor Newsom \u2014 making liaisons that weren\u2019t there before. Do you think that that kind of movement, where you\u2019re the leader and other people work with you, will help us to isolate the virus in the epicenters where they are \u2014 to separate out those epicenters, to test the people in those centers, and to thereby squash the virus? THE PRESIDENT: I do. I think, Doctor, it\u2019s a very good thing. And Governor Newsom and I have been getting along really great. We\u2019re sending the ship \u2014 the great hospital ship, as you know. And we are doing very well with, I think, almost all of the governors. For the most part, it really has become something. It\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s \u2014 we\u2019re dealing almost every day. We\u2019re speaking to each other, whether it\u2019s conference calls. Usually we\u2019ll have 50 governors on the call at the same time. No, I think we\u2019re doing very well. But, you know, it\u2019s a two-way street. They have to treat us well also. They can\u2019t say, \u201cOh gee, we should get this, we should get that.\u201d We\u2019re doing a great job, like in New York, where we\u2019re building, as I said, four hospitals, four medic \u2014 we\u2019re literally building hospitals and medical centers. And then I hear that, you know, there\u2019s a problem with ventilators. Well, we sent them ventilators. And they could have had 15- or 16,000; all they had to do is order them two years ago. But they decided not to do it. They can\u2019t blame us for that. Although Trump mentioned ventilators in his response, he said nothing about masks, nor did he address state governors and rhetorically ask them, \u201cYou want ventilators and masks from the federal government\u2019s reserves to treat your citizens?\u201d That sentence was someone else\u2019s attempt to provide implied context for the sentence that followed it in the meme, but it was misleadingly placed inside quotation marks as if it were something Trump had literally said. Also, in his response, Trump did not say that governors (or anyone else) \u201chave to treat me well.\u201d As documented in the above transcript and the following video clip, Trump asserted that \u201cthey have to treat us well\u201d: On Governors asking for help, Trump says, \"It's a two way street they have to treat us well too.\" \u2026. (realized i had wrong clip before) pic.twitter.com/gXM83TCUZR \u2014 Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 24, 2020  Viewers could reasonably infer that the pronoun \u201cthey\u201d referred to governors, but the referent for the \u201cus\u201d who needed to be treated well in Trump\u2019s mind was somewhat ambiguous. Was he referring to the federal government? To his administration? To the coronavirus task force? Or to himself personally (via the royal we)? In what manner Trump meant governors had to \u201ctreat us well\u201d was also ambiguous. By not criticizing him or his administration? By publicly expressing praise or appreciation? By making concessions on issues unrelated to the current pandemic? Trump did indeed suggest governors needed to engage in some form of behavioral quid pro quo in obtaining assistance from the federal government to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, but not as literally or specifically as the wording in the meme displayed above asserts. During a press briefing three days following the town hall event referenced in the text meme, Trump more specifically suggested that his choice would be not to respond to governors who did not express sufficient appreciation, although he allowed that Vice President Pence (who chairs the coronavirus task force) was in fact choosing to engage the supposedly unappreciative governors:  Q: So it\u2019s the words [the governors are] saying that you\u2019re concerned about? It\u2019s not that they\u2019re \u2014"}
{"claim_id": "34389", "claim": "An Indian man who was bitten by a snake then bit his wife because he wanted them to 'die together.'", "explanation": "Alternative facts should keep this alive though.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Medical, Amiri Devi, gulf news, India", "main_text": "A story out of India about a man\u2019s fatal encounter with a snake and his \u201cromantic\u201d gesture toward his wife has spread online, but with little in the way of corroboration. The Gulf News reported on 12 June 2017 that Shankar Rai was bitten by the snake while asleep in his home in the village of Birsingpur, but became \u201cemotional\u201d when he woke up to discover his condition was getting worse. The story went on: Apparently realising that he won\u2019t survive for long, he came rushing to his wife Amiri Devi and bit her hands saying he loved her very much and wanted to die together. Both fell unconscious soon, witnesses said. Immediately they were rushed to a local government hospital where the man died soon after being admitted there. However, the woman was saved by the doctors due to timely medication. \u201cThe woman could be saved as her treatment began on time. She is safe now,\u201d a local medical practitioner Dr Jaykant told the local media on Monday. However, the story failed to give the doctor\u2019s\u00a0surname (\u201cJaykant\u201d is usually a given name) or elaborate on anonymous \u201creports\u201d it cited as a source for the story. The story was subsequently picked up by web\u00a0sites in not only India, but the United States. Those stories, though, did not add any details adding to the original report, leaving open the question of \u201cDr. Jaykant\u2019s\u201d identity, among other details. We contacted Shri Pranav Kumar, the magistrate assigned to the Samastipur district (where Birsingpur is located) by the Indian Administrative Service seeking comment. He has not responded. We also contacted the Gulf News seeking more details about its report, but have yet to hear back. We also reached out to several zoos and medical experts, as well as the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, to ask whether it is possible to poison someone by biting them after being bitten by a poisonous snake. Scott Lafee, a spokesperson for the school of medicine at the University of California-San Diego, told us: Our experts quickly and summarily dismissed the idea as \u201cfake news. Can\u2019t happen.\u201d Frank Burbink, a research associate in the herpetology division at the American Museum of Natural History, dismissed the idea just as bluntly: Great story. Sounds like an excellent case to try in court. Love it. But no, there is no way to transfer venom from an envenomated person to another victim by biting them (or probably any other way)."}
{"claim_id": "2338", "claim": "Haitian orphan gets nation's first 3-D printer prosthesis.", "explanation": "A 12-year-old orphan boy handicapped from birth became the first recipient of a 3-D printer prosthesis in Haiti last month, thanks to a British-born software engineer in California.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "Born without fingers on either hand, Stevenson Joseph had little hope of treatment in a country where programs for the disabled are rare apart from a handful of charities. Now the 3-D prosthesis fitted to his left hand has given him a whole new range of dexterity, including being able to play catch with his friends for the first time and maybe even enabling him to write one day, according to staff at the home for disabled orphans where he lives. In 2010, Stevenson was brought to Bernard Mevs hospital in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where an orthopedic team was working to fit prosthetic limbs after a devastating earthquake caused injuries that required amputations. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t do anything for him here,\u201d recalled Thomas Iwalla,\u00a0a Kenyan orthopedic technician at hospital. \u201cSome congenital conditions, like Stevenson\u2019s, are pretty hard to tackle. Not even surgery could repair his missing fingers,\u201d he said. On a mission trip to Haiti for Florida-based Food for the Poor last year, John Marshall and his wife Lisa, met Stevenson at the Little Children of Jesus orphanage where he has lived since he was abandoned when he was 3 years old. Back in California, Marshall read an article about Richard van As, a South African man who developed a plastic prosthetic \u201cRobohand\u201d using a 3-D printer after losing his fingers in an woodwork accident in 2011. Marshall and van As worked for months to design a 3-D print prosthesis for the Haitian boy. \u201cStevenson is handicapped in a small way, in a way that\u2019s not as bad as some of the other children, yet his hands are holding him back. He can do so much more. He has the potential,\u201d said Marshall. After three attempts, the skeleton-looking prosthesis was ready and shipped to Haiti where Bernard Mevs hospital medical team fit Stevenson with it last month. \u201cA printed prosthesis is more anatomical and it allows more motion than the one that is usually custom-made,\u201d said Iwalla, an orthopedic technician at the hospital. Also, once the model is designed, printing the prosthesis cost only around $300. \u201cSome patients care more about cosmetics. But for Stevenson function is the most important criteria. That\u2019s what is in his mind. His robot-hand makes him happy, makes us happy,\u201d said Iwalla. Instead of shooting ink to print words or images in a page, 3-D printers use plastic or metal to build three-dimensional objects ranging from jewelry to guns. Stevenson now spends his days getting used to his new hand. \u201cIt is a great hand,\u201d he smiled, ticking off his list of accomplishments. \u201cNow I can take a balloon with it. I can score at basketball. I can hold a TV remote and push my friends on their wheelchairs. I can hold a water bottle, a bag. I like it a lot.\u201d  The 3-D device, articulated by Stevenson\u2019s wrist, makes a slight creaking plastic sound when moving. \u201cSome say that now he looks like a robot, but Stevenson doesn\u2019t care,\u201d said Edouard Williamson, one of the staff at the orphanage."}
{"claim_id": "9272", "claim": "Asthma pill could reduce symptoms in severe sufferers", "explanation": "This release explains the results of a small clinical trial testing whether the use of a new drug, fevipiprant, would be effective in reducing the serious symptoms of asthma. It does a good job of reporting data on the primary goal of the research and then slips when suggesting the research had other positive outcomes but fails to provide any data backing that up. The release is further weakened by its inclusion of what is basically a testimonial for the new drug by one of the participants in the study. And it fails to mention either costs or possible harms from using the drug, and ignores some rather substantial conflicts of interest among the investigators. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says more than 22 million Americans have asthma, including about 6 million children. There are many more millions with the condition worldwide. A daily pill that might alleviate serious symptoms of the disease, or even prevent asthma attacks, would be a boon to public health, especially considering some of the shortcomings of other current treatments. New medications to treat the underlying problem, namely airway inflammation, are needed and would translate into improved health for this very common and sometimes serious medical problem. This release may have helped spawn two news stories that we also reviewed that had glaringly different story framing. One was by Reuters and the other by Medical Daily. The latter of the two didn\u2019t offer \u201canything beyond what is in the news release,\u201d according to reviewers.", "label": "false", "subjects": "asthma,University of Leicester", "main_text": "The release does not mention the cost of the potential new drug, nor is there any estimate of what the cost might be in comparison to other asthma treatments currently in use including inhalers and corticosteroids. The release would have been more helpful to people with asthma if it had included some cost estimates since new medications tend to be very expensive. If it\u2019s not too early to promote a treatment to a patient audience, it\u2019s not too early to provide a ballpark cost. If this release would have only discussed the primary outcome goal of the study \u2014 \u201cto examine the effects on inflammation in the airway by measuring the sputum eosinophil count\u201d \u2014 then we\u2019d probably give it a satisfactory rating on this category since it provided clear numerical data showing a significant reduction in percentages among patients taking the drug versus those on placebo. But the release didn\u2019t stop there. It had the principle investigator add glowingly, \u201cA unique feature of this study was how it included measurements of symptoms, lung function using breathing tests, sampling of the airway wall and CT scans of the chest to give a complete picture of how the new drug works.\u201d If these additional measurements were so significant in the study, then why was that data excluded from the release? We need quantification of the actual results of the clinical tests to be able to judge benefits. It\u2019s particularly important to note side effects associated with new medications but the release makes no mention of any harms arising from the drug\u2019s use in the study. However, the full research paper (which unfortunately is behind a paywall) includes a table of adverse events experienced by both the experimental group and patients receiving a placebo that include problems such as infections, respiratory disorders, gastrointestinal and nervous system disorders. While these may ultimately have been minor problems, they deserve mentioning. This release does a good job of explaining the nature of the research and the resulting data (as far as the sputum eosinophil count data goes). As mentioned above, it falls short in providing other indicators which would have strengthened it considerably. But readers are given a clear idea of the degree of improvement the drug provides to patients in terms of the reduction of eosinophil in sputum, compared to those receiving only a placebo. The release verges on disease mongering given some of the exuberant language, particularly from the patient testimonial, but it stops short by noting how many asthma suffers there are in the UK. Asthma is a common and often-serious health problem so giving some context was beneficial. The release gets credit for including the funding sources of the study \u2014 Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the National Institute for Health Research in the UK, and the European Union \u2014 but it fails to point out any of the linkages among the study\u2019s authors to pharmaceutical firms. According to the published study disclosures, these relationships include speaking fees, consultancies, grants and full-time employment with Novartis and other companies. This transparency is needed for readers to ascertain bias. The release makes no mention of alternative treatments for asthma. There is no comparison with current approaches such as inhalers and corticosteroids or any other approaches regarding this illness. There are a variety of established treatments that are used according to standard protocols depending on asthma severity. The release is fairly clear in pointing out that this was a clinical trial and that the drug, fevipiprant, isn\u2019t available to the public as of yet. The release claims novelty with the statement, \u201cThe first new asthma pill for nearly 20 years has the power to significantly reduce the severity of the condition.\u201d\u00a0That\u2019s not correct. In recent years, several new drugs known as leukotriene receptor antagonists have come on the market in the U.S. as tablets. The release gets credit for having a conservative headline \u2014 \u201cAsthma pill could reduce symptoms in severe sufferers\u201d \u2014 but then loses it when it allows the main researcher to proclaim, \u201cThis new drug could be a game changer for future treatment of asthma.\u201d\u00a0 Then it follows that up with what basically is a testimonial from one of the participants in the study who says, \u201cI felt like a completely different person\u201d after taking the drug, adding, \u201cFor me, it felt like a complete wonder drug and I can\u2019t wait for it to be available because I really think it could make a huge difference to me.\u201d\u00a0 She closes by saying that after stopping taking the drug, her health started to \u201cgo downhill again very quickly.\u201d\u00a0 Her comments may be factual and might fit well in marketing advertising but they have no place in a news release explaining new health research. Interestingly, the University had also issued a second release related to the same research but not linked in the original release, that offered commentary from two unaffiliated experts. One offered that \u201cThe data strongly support further studies,\u201d while the other said, \u201cMore research is needed and we\u2019re a long way off seeing a pill for asthma being made available over the pharmacy counter.\u201d\u00a0 Both comments would have improved the value of the initial release, had they been included."}
{"claim_id": "7377", "claim": "South Dakota plans mass testing in elder care facilities.", "explanation": "South Dakota health officials are planning to test everyone in nursing homes and assisted living facilities over the next month, Gov. Kristi Noem announced Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Sioux Falls, Health, General News, South Dakota, Assisted living, Nursing homes, Virus Outbreak, Native Americans, Elder care, Kristi Noem", "main_text": "The Department of Health will be working with facilities that care for the elderly to test over 26,000 people in the coming weeks. Nursing homes have been most susceptible to deaths from COVID-19, with one Sioux Falls facility recording 20 deaths, according to the Argus Leader. \u201cIt\u2019s a foundation for us and our response moving forward,\u201d said Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon. The state has acquired more supplies needed for tests, allowing them to hold mass testing events. Health officials also plan to conduct random testing among vulnerable people to try to catch infections before they spread. Malsam-Rysdon said the state is also planning to hold mass testing events in Native American tribal communities, starting with a mass testing event with the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate next week. Noem has feuded with two tribes over coronavirus checkpoints they set up on federal and state highways last month to keep unnecessary visitors off the reservations. On Friday, she threatened to sue the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe if they did not remove highway stops within 48 hours. The governor backed away from that plan this week, offering to negotiate on the issue if they would take them off of U.S. and state highways. Noem said both tribes responded to letters she sent, saying they would consider the plan. But they have not taken down the checkpoints. Still, Noem said it was encouraging they didn\u2019t reject the plans outright. She said she hoped the conflict could be settled out of court. \u201cWe are working through our process,\u201d Noem said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful that we can come to a resolution.\u201d But the Rosebud Sioux Tribe announced on Wednesday it will be setting up highway checkpoints to enforce a lock down on the reservation after 14 people tested positive for the coronavirus. Meanwhile, health officials recorded four more COVID-19 deaths and 60 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday. The new figures bring the state\u2019s death toll to 43 and its confirmed case count to 3,792. State officials said the count does not reflect the total number of infections because many people may not display symptoms or have not sought testing if their symptoms are mild. All of the deaths reported Thursday were in Minnehaha County, the state\u2019s most populated area. About 80% of cases in the state have come from the county. The economic fallout from the global pandemic has also continued to cause layoffs in the state, according to the Department of Labor and Regulation. State officials reported that 5,131 people made new claims for unemployment last week. A total of 23,791 people are receiving unemployment benefits, according to the latest available count. \u201cAbout eight weeks ago, it was like a light switch was flipped,\u201d said Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman. \u201cClaims instantly and to a degree never-before-seen began to hit our system.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "6750", "claim": "Winona assisted living facility offers housing for students.", "explanation": "There\u2019s a new housing option for students at Winona State University.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Assisted living, Minnesota", "main_text": "But it helps to be good with letters and numbers. \u201cB 11, B one one,\u201d nursing student Ashley McGaw is calling the day\u2019s bingo game in the basement meeting room at Senior Living at Watkins, an assisted living center. In her senior year, McGaw chose to take part in the student residence program at the facility, which is run by Winona Health. It\u2019s a new program that allows up to 10 students to reside in the Watkins Manor for $400 a month. That fee covers utilities, Wi-Fi, cable and three meals a day in the facility\u2019s cafeteria. There\u2019s one catch: The students have to volunteer 10 hours a month in the assisted living facility, which is connected to the mansion, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. If they volunteer 20 hours a month, rent goes down to $200 a month. \u201cIt\u2019s a steal,\u201d said McGaw, who moved in this August. McGaw works a summer job as a certified nursing assistant in Wisconsin. So, the arrangement is a perfect fit for her, she said. \u201cI was like, \u2018This is the coolest idea ever.\u2019 I always wish I could just sit down and hang out with residents and just talk and do life with them, instead of doing my job and trying to do life with them,\u201d she said, talking about her summers working as a certified nursing assistant. \u201cSo, this is just like one of the coolest opportunities that just honestly fell into my lap and I\u2019m so happy.\u201d She\u2019s not the only one. \u201cI think that\u2019s wonderful, so they can be close to us and we can have an association with them,\u201d said Alan Thompson, who has lived at the assisted living facility for two years. \u201cThey learn about us; we learn about them because I think most of us as elders do not know enough about what confronts the younger generation.\u201d There are 46 residents in the assisted living wing of the building. A squat building connects the facility to the mansion where the students live. The mansion is filled with ornately carved woodwork, an early Steinway grand piano and large paintings in elaborate gold frames. The home, which was built in a Jacobethan \u2014 or English Renaissance Revival \u2014 style, was built between 1924 and 1927 for Paul Watkins, who ran the J.R. Watkins Company for several years. The mansion was donated to the local Methodist church in the 1950s and became part of a senior living facility. For several years, older adults lived in the mansion. But, for a variety of reasons, the home shifted all those residents into the newer wing of the building. Cheryl Krage, director of assisted living and hospice services at Winona Health, said the mansion isn\u2019t built for wheelchairs or walkers. \u201cRegulations for the elevator have made it a little more challenging,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s where we had the opportunity to do something different.\u201d McGaw, the student, lives in a spacious third-floor room with high ceilings, a large window with painted glass inserts and a giant fireplace framed by tiles. Resident Nancy Neumann, a former nurse, said the students help the residents enjoy getting older. \u201cWe are like grandparents to the young people and they are like our grandchildren, which is a joy,\u201d she said. ___ Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mprnews.org"}
{"claim_id": "2580", "claim": "Nobel winner and organ transplant pioneer Joseph Murray dies at 93.", "explanation": "Dr. Joseph Murray, the surgeon who carried out the first successful kidney transplant and later won a Nobel Prize for his work in medicine and physiology, died on Monday in Boston at the age of 93.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "Murray died after suffering a stroke last Thursday, Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital spokesman Tom Langford said. Murray and his team completed the first human organ transplant in 1954, taking a kidney from one identical twin and giving it to his twin brother, opening a new field in medicine, the hospital said. \u201cThe world is a better place because of all Dr. Murray has given. His legacy will forever endure in our hearts and in every patient who has received the gift of life through transplantation,\u201d hospital president Dr. Elizabeth Nabel said in a statement. Later in his career, Murray continued to search for ways of suppressing a patient\u2019s immune response to prevent it from rejecting foreign tissue, eventually becoming a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1990. \u201cDifficulties are opportunities. This is a quote that sits atop my father\u2019s desk at home. It reflects the unwavering optimism of a great man who was generous, curious, and always humble,\u201d his son Rick said in a statement. Murray began a career in medicine on graduating from Harvard Medical School in the 1940s, and developed an interest in transplanting tissue while working with service personnel injured in World War Two, according to the Britannica Online Encyclopedia. He completed his surgical training at the Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital and later returned to join the staff and serve as chief of plastic surgery. With broad interests beyond medicine, Murray said in a brief autobiography for the Nobel Prize organization that he and his extended family had been \u201cblessed in our lives beyond my wildest dreams.\u201d  \u201cMy only wish would be to have 10 more lives to live on this planet. If that were possible, I\u2019d spend one lifetime each in embryology, genetics, physics, astronomy and geology,\u201d he said. \u201cThe other lifetimes would be as a pianist, backwoodsman, tennis player, or writer for the National Geographic.\u201d  More than 600,000 people worldwide have received transplants since Murray\u2019s innovation, the hospital said."}
{"claim_id": "24566", "claim": "All the really great programs in American history, Social Security, was done without Republicans. Medicare was done without Republican support until the last vote where they realized they had to get on board.", "explanation": "Dean claims Social Security and Medicare were passed without Republican support", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Health Care, History, Medicare, Howard Dean, ", "main_text": "With virtually no Republican support for the health care reform bill, some Democrats believe they will have to go it alone. But Howard Dean, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, isn't worried about the political repercussions. When asked about the risks of abandoning efforts for a bipartisan bill, Dean had this to say:   \"All the really great programs in American history, Social Security, was done without Republicans. Medicare was done without Republican support until the last vote where they realized they had to get on board,\" Dean said on the Aug. 25, 2009, episode of  The Rachel Maddow Show  . \"So a lot of the things that have been done that have helped seniors in particular have been done without Republican support at all and there's not going to be any political penalty. The only political penalty will be suffered is if we don't pass a bill and the Republicans know that. And that's why they're not interested in helping pass the bill.\" Our recollection about the votes on Social Security and Medicare was a little rusty, and we wondered whether Dean was right that both bills passed with no Republican support. To find out, we had to turn back the clock to 1935 \u2014 the height of the Great Depression \u2014 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, an insurance program funded through taxpayer dollars meant to support retirees. The legislation was controversial for a number of reasons, including its perceived effects on the labor market and whether its benefits favored working white men. Nevertheless, on Aug. 8, 1935, the conference report \u2014 the final version of the bill that melds together changes made in the House and in the Senate \u2014 passed in the House 372-33, with 81 Republicans voting in support. The next day, the bill was passed in the Senate 77-6, with 16 Republicans supporting the legislation. So Social Security did pass with Republican support. Thirty years later, a significant number of Republicans voted in favor of the Medicare bill. The House adopted the conference report on July 27, 1965, 307-116, with 70 Republicans supporting it. And on July 28, the Senate adopted the final version of the bill by a vote of 70-24, with 13 Republicans in favor of the bill. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill into law on July 30, 1965. But is Dean correct that the Republicans didn't support Medicare until the end? Donald Ritchie, the associate historian in the U.S. Senate, told us that the Republican support wasn't just a last-minute phenomenon. During the discussion of both bills, \"There were always progressive Republicans and liberal Republicans, some of whom supported Roosevelt and Johnson,\" Ritchie said. Johnson had the political muscle to pass Medicare because the 1964 elections ushered in 42 new Democrats to the House of Representatives, giving the party a two-thirds majority overall and a larger majority on the Ways and Means Committee, where the legislation would originate. Up until then, many members of the committee, including its Democratic chairman, Wilbur D. Mills, opposed the idea of government-funded health care. In fact, Mills proved a tough sell in 1965 until some of his own pet proposals were added to the legislation. One of those \u2014 the addition of a voluntary, supplemental health care plan \u2014 had its roots in a Republican alternative bill. In the House, no Republicans voted for the bill until it reached the floor. It passed the Ways and Means Committee by a party-line vote of 17-8, although the panel's GOP members endorsed some of the bill's non-health care related provisions, according to the 1965  Congressional Quarterly Almanac  . Likewise, all four Republicans on the House Rules Committee \u2014 the panel that sets the boundaries of debate on all bills that come to the House floor \u2014 voted against the bill. In the Senate, however, there was Republican support in the Finance Committee. When the panel cast its final vote, the bill passed 12-5, with four of the committee's eight Republicans supporting it. (President Barack Obama would probably love to get even that much GOP backing.) So we find Dean is glossing over the details and exaggerating the partisan split. Both Social Security and Medicare were indeed championed by Democrats, but passed with the help of Republican votes. And while some GOP members waited until the last minute to support Medicare, it was backed by half the Republicans on the Senate committee. So we find Dean's statement ."}
{"claim_id": "8919", "claim": "Washington state man who traveled to China is first U.S. victim of coronavirus.", "explanation": "A Washington state man who recently traveled to China has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed U.S. case of the newly identified illness that has killed six people in China and sickened some 300 others across Asia.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The patient, identified only as a man in his 30s, fell ill over the weekend after traveling to his hometown in China and was diagnosed with the coronavirus on Monday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee told reporters at a press conference in Seattle. \u201cThis is not a moment of high anxiety,\u201d Inslee said, reporting that the man was listed in satisfactory condition at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington and not known to have infected anyone else. \u201cThis is a low risk. It appears to have a transmission vector that really should not prevent anyone from going anywhere in Snohomish County, except maybe the isolation ward at the hospital,\u201d Inslee said. The coronavirus, which causes respiratory symptoms similar to a cold or flu, has been linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, the largest city in central China with a population of about 11 million. That market has since been shut down. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Washington State say the agency is preparing for more U.S. cases of the coronavirus to emerge, and the CDC raised its travel alert for Wuhan to a level 2, calling for enhanced precautions. Under that alert level, the CDC recommends travelers to Wuhan should avoid contact with sick people, animals or animal markets. At the Seattle press conference, CDC Medical Officer Satish Pillai said that all travelers from Wuhan would be directed to five U.S. airports - in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco - for screening. CDC officials said they have begun tracking down individuals who came in contact with the patient, who lives alone, to check them for symptoms, but so far have not found any additional patients. Besides the United States, cases outside of China have been reported in South Korea, Thailand and Japan. \u201cI don\u2019t think looking at what we know so far that this it on the scale of SARS and MERS, the two most significant coronavirus outbreaks that we know from history,\u201d Dr. Amesh Adalja, from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, said in a phone interview with Reuters. \u201cIt is early days in this outbreak and we don\u2019t have a good handle on the severity of illness,\u201d Adalja added. The CDC said it has screened more than 1,200 passengers since Jan. 17. None of them have been sent on for additional testing. The U.S. traveler from Washington state had returned on Jan. 15, arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is not on the U.S. list for enhanced screening. The patient sought care at a medical facility in Everett, Washington, and was treated for the illness. Based on his travel history and symptoms, healthcare professionals suspected the new coronavirus. Specimens were taken from the patient and sent to the CDC for testing. The agency said it has developed a new test that allowed it to identify the presence of the virus in a traveler. As is often the case, preliminary information suggests  older adults with underlying health conditions may be at increased risk of severe disease, according to the CDC. The agency is working with health officials in China and globally to better understand the virus and any potential treatments, but U.S. officials have said it could take at least a year of testing before any vaccine could be used on the public."}
{"claim_id": "17769", "claim": "Wisconsin sold fresh water to California, helping that state's dairy industry, and \"lost a bunch of jobs (and) a bunch of farmland.", "explanation": "Kaleka said Wisconsin sold fresh water to California and \"lost a bunch of jobs (and) a bunch of farmland.\" There\u2019s no evidence of such a water sale, something that would have made for countless front-page stories, let alone it leading to a loss of jobs and farmland in Wisconsin. The statement is false and ridiculous. You can comment on this item on the Journal Sentinel's web site.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Agriculture, Jobs, States, Water, Wisconsin, Amardeep Kaleka, ", "main_text": "After their father and five other worshippers were shot to death on Aug. 5, 2012 at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., brothers Amar and Pardeep Kaleka became active with Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Pardeep said in a video for the national group, of which the Oak Creek and Milwaukee mayors are members, that 34 Americans are murdered with guns every day. Ten months later, Amar (also known as Amardeep) stepped into an even more public role, announcing plans to run in 2014 against eight-term U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice-presidential candidate. Kaleka, a 35-year-old Democrat and documentary filmmaker, was interviewed about his planned candidacy on the Oct. 20, 2013 edition of \"Upfront with Mike Gousha,\" a public affairs program on WISN-TV (Channel 12) in Milwaukee. When Gousha asked Kaleka what he would say to people who might view him as a one-dimensional candidate focused on guns, Kaleka turned the conversation to the economy. \"I mean, gun legislation is just one of the many things that are holding us down economically. A number of other things, immigration reform, the economic disparity that we\u2019re experiencing, has to do with our thoughts and models that we\u2019ve had in place for now, well over two decades,\" he said. \"I mean, the Midwest is a great example of how we\u2019re losing so many factories and manufacturing jobs and agricultural jobs. For example, we used to be called America's Dairyland. Now, California is called America's Dairyland. We sent them fresh water, and we sold it to them. Ultimately, we didn't get anything in exchange. We lost a bunch of jobs, a bunch of farmland.\" It\u2019s been two decades since California eclipsed Wisconsin in milk production, although Wisconsin still calls itself America\u2019s Dairyland. But we\u2019ve never heard that Wisconsin had sold fresh water to California to boost their dairy industry -- and lost jobs and farmland in the process. Wouldn\u2019t there have been a titanic hue and cry if that had ever happened? Big ideas To be sure, there have been some grandiose proposals to sell Great Lakes water to faraway places. In 1998, a Canadian company actually obtained a permit from Ontario to ship fresh water by tankers from Lake Superior to Asia. But after a backlash in Canada and the United States, the permit was canceled two weeks later. In 2007, Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson raised the possibility of exporting Great Lakes water to the Southwest, calling for a national water policy and saying \"states like Wisconsin are awash in water.\" But less than two weeks after Richardson\u2019s comments rattled Midwest politicians, his campaign issued a statement saying Richardson \"in no way proposes federal transfers of water from one region of the nation to the other.\" The following year, the eight Great Lakes states reached agreement on the Great Lakes Compact, which bans Great Lakes water from being \"diverted,\" or piped out of the basin, with a few exceptions, such as the possible sale of Lake Michigan water from Oak Creek to another Milwaukee suburb, Waukesha, which is under consideration. Even then, Waukesha would have to return 100 percent of the water by volume to the lake by discharging treated wastewater to the Root River in Franklin. Even with the compact, officials remain wary of outsiders coveting Great Lakes water, said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission, an interstate agency that promotes the development, use and conservation of water in the Great Lakes basin. So, was there a Wisconsin sale of fresh water to California before the 2008 compact? \"No way. It's really simple,\" Eder said of Kaleka\u2019s claim. \"He\u2019s wrong. I don\u2019t know where he\u2019s getting his information, but it\u2019s not based in fact.\" Two other experts -- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources water use section chief Eric Ebersberger, and Peter Annin, managing director of the University of Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative, which does research on water resources -- were also dumbfounded and emphatic: No water sale to California has ever occurred. And if it never occurred, it certainly didn\u2019t boost the dairy industry there, or mean lost jobs or farmland here. Indeed, federal figures show that in 2012, Wisconsin produced 27.2 billion pounds of milk, a record for the state, and led the nation by producing 2.79 billion pounds of cheese. Said Annin, author of \"The Great Lakes Water Wars\": \"I\u2019m not aware of any instance where the State of Wisconsin, or anybody in the state of Wisconsin, sold water to California. There\u2019ve been a lot of weird proposals, but they\u2019ve never actually happened.\" We also checked with the federal Mississippi River Commission, which assured us that water from the Mississippi River was never sold to California. Kaleka, meanwhile, told us he meant to say \"we thought about sending them fresh water.\" He added: \"I'm going to have to take my hit on this. It was a sloppy response to a very big problem of local and national economics.\" But on even that he is off. None of the information Kaleka provided us indicates that Wisconsin even considered selling water to California. And we could find no record of it. Our rating Kaleka said Wisconsin sold fresh water to California and \"lost a bunch of jobs (and) a bunch of farmland.\" There\u2019s no evidence of such a water sale, something that would have made for countless front-page stories, let alone it leading to a loss of jobs and farmland in Wisconsin. The statement is false and ridiculous: . You can comment on this item on the Journal Sentinel's web site."}
{"claim_id": "11075", "claim": "A world first: AIDS vaccine cuts the risk of HIV infection by 31 percent in large Thai study", "explanation": "This was a very nicely written piece presenting the results of the first successful AIDS vaccination trial. Using an appropriately cautious tone, this story effectively informs the reader of the vaccine\u2019s availability, novelty and efficacy. The story also does a good job of describing the study methods and accurately points out that the same results may not be seen in the U.S. given that study took place in Thailand where HIV is spread largely through heterosexual sex. Additionally, the expert commentary puts it nicely in perspective from a public health standpoint. While the story meets many of our criteria, it could have been improved by mentioning potential harms and making it clear that this research has not yet been published, and that others have raised questions about the lack of data and details that have been released.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Since the vaccine is not available, a discussion of costs is not warranted. The piece does a nice job of presenting the results in terms of absolute and relative risk reduction and makes it clear that the benefits of the vaccine are modest and additional research is needed. The story mentions that the vaccine cannot infect patients with HIV, but there\u00a0is no further discussion of adverse effects or lack thereof. According to the International Data and Safety Monitoring Board, there were no reported safety concerns. While this story provides an excellent overview of the study population, methods and potential limitations in its generalizablilty, it fails to mention that the data have not been yet been published in a medical journal. Unlike published articles, this study has not gone through a rigorous review process. The Washington Post story, for example, included questions based on the lack of data and details that had been released. This story does not engage in disease-mongering. It was very specific about the numbers of newly infected people per year and annual estimated deaths. This story provides comments from those involved in the trial, as well as from independent sources. This story gave at least a brief historical perspective on past vaccine research. It mentions that the latest study participants were given condoms and STI prevention counseling; however, emphasis on how a vaccine would only be part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy would have been useful. This story clearly states that this vaccine is not yet available and may not be for several more years. The story indicates that this is not the first attempt at an AIDS vaccine; however, the positive results from the recent trial are uNPRecedented. The story does not appear to be based on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "11028", "claim": "Low-Calorie Diet May Lead to Longer Life", "explanation": "This article reports on a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the first rigorous test of calorie restriction in people who are overweight but not obese.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The story states potential benefits of calorie restriction without providing adequate context for understanding what it would take to maintain adequate nutrition long-term. People were paid $7,000 to be in the study and all the food consumed in the study was provided to the participants to ensure adequate nutrition. The story didn\u2019t explore the long-term practical implications of that approach for the average American. The long-term effect of maintaining body weights in the range supported by calorie restriction has not yet been established. This is an important caveat before concluding that the evidence demonstrates that such limits in caloric intake are beneficial.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Everything has a cost. Yet the story gave no cost estimate for the costs associated with consumption of foods \u2018high in nutrients but low in calories.\u2019 The story didn\u2019t quantify the suggested benefits (decreased insulin level, decreased body temperature, drop in thyroid hormones, and decline in DNA damage) gained by the study participants. And the study didn\u2019t mention the parameters that failed to demonstrate change during the study (protein carbonyl, glucose, and dehydroepiandroestrone sulfate (DHEAS). This article does a good job of highlighting the weight regain that occurs when peoples\u2019 adherence to a dietary program that provides all the food ends. However, there was no mention of potential side-effects or harms of long-term calorie restriction such as decreased testosterone, muscle mass or bone density. This article reported on the results of a randomized controlled trial comparing the outcomes from 4 groups. There is no framework provided to assess the magnitude of potential improvement. Presentation of the results follows the opinions of the authors of the study without critical examination of that interpretation. There isn\u2019t any discussion of how many Americans are overweight but not obese, so we can\u2019t judge the story unsatisfactory on this criterion. However, we are tempted to do so when the story states, without attribution or evidence to back it up: \u201cThe notion that going hungry could be the fountain of youth has captivated scientists and the public.\u201d The main expert quotes in the story came from people with a vested interest in showing positive results. Evan Hadley of the National Institute on Aging (source of funding for the study) called the results of this pilot study \u201cstriking\u201d. In addition, an estimate for the number of individuals currently engaging in calorie restriction appears to have been obtained from the president of the Calorie Restriction Society. While this study is one of three pilots studies for the feasibility of calorie restriction in humans, no comments from the other research groups was included. The story is about calorie restriction in overweight but non-obese people. But no alternative treatment options are discussed. The story mentions \u2018people experimenting on themselves\u2019, indicating the potential for anyone to self-impose calorie limitations on themselves. However, the article failed to explain that all the food consumed by the research subjects in the study was provided for them thus ensuring nutritional adequacy while restricting calories. That\u2019s beyond the reach of the average American. People were paid $7,000 to be in the study! This is not a novel \u2018treatment\u2019 for the length of life, notwithstanding the quote from Dr. Hadley from the National Institute on Aging stating that \u201cThere\u2019s never been a study like this one\u201d. This research is actually one of three pilot projects; results of the other two were published in 2005. The story explains that this \u201cis the subject of intense research, and some people have already begun trying it on their own.\u201d And it explains that there is no data in non-obese but overweight people. We can\u2019t judge if the story relied solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "9100", "claim": "New recommendations for managing menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors", "explanation": "This news release lists several non-pharmalogical steps for relieving menopausal symptoms of women who have been treated for breast cancer. The main takeaway is that most women who have been treated for breast cancer shouldn\u2019t receive hormone therapy, but instead focus on lifestyle changes although some emerging pharmacologic approaches were listed as well. It\u2019s not clear from either the news release or the published study how researchers drew their conclusions. The release states that clinical trials, observational studies, guidelines, and expert opinion were analyzed, but no study data is provided to put the findings in perspective. Women who are dealing with premature menopause as a result of breast cancer treatment would benefit from a better understanding of risks and benefits of treatments. The news release states that there are 9.3 million breast cancer survivors worldwide but doesn\u2019t note, as the study does, that 43 percent of these are older than 65 at diagnosis and thus would not have menopausal symptoms due to chemotherapy for their breast cancer. The study also notes that 25 percent of those diagnosed are below age 50 and are thus more likely to be pre-menopausal at diagnosis. By not including those breakdowns the news release makes chemotherapy-induced menopause seem more prevalent than it is.", "label": "false", "subjects": "menopause,The Endocrine Society", "main_text": "The report lists a variety of methods for reducing menopausal symptoms, but no costs associated with any of the methods are mentioned. Many of the recommended methods \u2014 like cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnosis and acupuncture \u2014 may not be covered by insurance or even available to many women depending on their location. No numerical context is given in the news release showing how lifestyle modifications might benefit breast cancer survivors with menopausal symptoms. For example, did any of the studies find an association between smoking cessation and reduced hot flashes or nighttime sweating? A breast cancer diagnosis may be incentive for women to make healthy lifestyle changes. Knowing the benefits of each of the lifestyle modifications mentioned would help women decide which change they would like to make. No harms were mentioned in the release. The only nod to harms was the recommendation that women who were treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer should not be treated with hormone therapy. The news release mentions that the results were based on a comprehensive review of \u201ccontrolled clinical trials, observational studies, evidence-based guidelines, and expert opinion from professional societies.\u201d Unfortunately, in neither the release or the original article is there a description of the criteria used to determine which articles were used in the review. Before the quality of evidence can be assessed we need to know some basics: How many women were included in the studies? How long were the studies? What were some limitations? The review did not commit disease mongering. However, by omitting the breakdown of breast cancer survivors by age the release might give the impression that chemotherapy-induced menopause symptoms are higher than they actually are. As noted above, the study states that 43 percent of these women are older than 65 at diagnosis and would not have chemotherapy induced menopausal symptoms. The release doesn\u2019t state any funding sources. Several of the review authors have received industry funding and any relevant industry funding should be noted in the release. The release lists things women should do to help relieve menopausal symptoms, but there are no comparisons of which ones may be more beneficial. Knowing which ones offered the strongest benefits would help women decide on which approaches to follow. It\u2019s unrealistic to suggest that all women would be willing or able to make all of the modifications recommended. We\u2019ve all heard these messages throughout our lives. A cancer diagnosis may be the incentive needed to make changes but women deserve to know which changes have the potential for the greatest\u00a0 benefit. Although lifestyle changes are readily available, it\u2019s unclear if the emerging approaches (\u201cselective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), Tissue selective estrogen complex (TSECs), estetrol, and neurokinin B inhibitors\u201d) listed in the release are even available. Some of the recommended lifestyle changes aren\u2019t available to women with limited access to healthy foods which are often more costly even if they are available. Lack of insurance coverage and lack of availability of alternative treatments like cognitive behavior therapy, acupuncture and hypnosis put these modifications out of reach for many women. Besides listing lifestyle approaches which are not novel, it\u2019s unclear if the emerging approaches listed are novel. The release did not use unjustifiable language."}
{"claim_id": "40936", "claim": "You cannot catch Covid-19 from touching surfaces.", "explanation": "Incorrect. Respiratory droplets can land on surfaces and the virus in these droplets have been shown to remain viable for up to 72 hours on some surfaces.", "label": "false", "subjects": "online", "main_text": "You cannot catch Covid-19 from touching surfaces. Viruses are dead material expelled from healing cells. Everyone has thousands of viruses inside their body. There is debate about whether viruses are technically alive. The human body does contain a number of viruses that don\u2019t do harm. Covid-19 is caused by a virus that is potentially very harmful though. Masks decrease oxygen intake, increase carbon dioxide intake, increase toxin intake, increase stress levels which directly impacts the immune system in a negative way making us more susceptible to illness. Claim 1 of 4"}
{"claim_id": "3599", "claim": "Southern Illinois University starts marijuana, hemp research.", "explanation": "Southern Illinois University is creating new programs for students who want to know more about marijuana.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical marijuana, Agricultural science, Marijuana, Illinois, Science, Carbondale", "main_text": "The school announced last week that it\u2019s creating programs at the Carbondale campus to study medical marijuana and industrial hemp. Officials hope the programs will give students and farmers a chance to earn a new certificate in the subject. Officials have been planning for the new programs for years, said Karen Midden, interim dean of agricultural sciences. \u201cWe\u2019re getting this request and input from stakeholders, who are reaching out to us, telling us they need the science,\u201d Midden said. \u201cBut we\u2019re also getting it from students \u2014 current and potential students \u2014 that they would like to have programs to prepare them for work in these areas.\u201d In joining the growing number of colleges around the country to offer courses related to marijuana, Southern Illinois University\u2019s interdisciplinary program in cannabis science will be a mixture of agriculture and plant biology with courses in subjects ranging from chemistry to business to engineering. \u201cBoth of these crops \u2014 hemp and medicinal cannabis \u2014 show benefits in numerous areas, all the way from health and quality of life to having another natural fiber that can be used in so many ways,\u201d Midden said. \u201cWe want a program to support this emerging industry. They need the science we can provide, and we are positioning ourselves to help.\u201d Southern Illinois University researchers already have approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration to grow hemp. School leaders said they hope to begin planting in the spring on a 5-acre parcel of land, which will be split into a series of individual test plots to study specific research questions, such as the crops\u2019 optimal growing conditions and environmental impact. Illinois has permitted the sale of medical marijuana since 2015, but only to patients with a few dozen documented conditions. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation in August that expands access to medical cannabis and permits its use as a painkiller. Rauner also lifted a state ban on planting hemp."}
{"claim_id": "7342", "claim": "Crisis averted, hospital ship leaves LA; treats 77 patients.", "explanation": "Seven weeks ago a Navy hospital ship pulled into the Port of Los Angeles to provide relief to the city amid fears it was about to become the next epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic after New York City. But Los Angeles so far hasn\u2019t been overrun with virus cases, and on Friday the massive USNS Mercy left after treating just 77 patients.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Los Angeles, San Diego, Health, General News, New York, Gavin Newsom, Virus Outbreak, Eric Garcetti, New York City", "main_text": "Tugs pulled the  Mercy away from its dock shortly after 7 a.m., and the vessel headed south down the coast back to its home port of San Diego. The ship with 1,000 hospital beds was a powerful symbol of the federal government\u2019s response to the pandemic and was welcomed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti when it arrived at the end of March to provide beds for non-coronavirus cases to take the load off regional medical centers expecting a surge of COVID-19 patients. Garcetti noted the ship immediately became his city\u2019s largest hospital. The city averted the worst predictions, and so the Mercy didn\u2019t play a huge role as a safety net. The ship instead dealt with its own small outbreak on board with nine crew members testing positive for the virus in April. No patients are believed to have been infected while on the ship. About 750 crew members were sent to stay at nearby hotels. The Navy removed all but 250 hospital beds to ensure social distancing and prevent another outbreak. That same month, the Navy began sending its medical staff to skilled nursing facilities that were facing staff shortages because of outbreaks. About 60 medical staff assigned to the ship will remain in the Los Angeles area. Some personnel were also sent from the Mercy to aid the USNS Comfort in New York City. That ship initially planned to treat only non-coronavirus cases like the Mercy. But as the city became overwhelmed and doctors criticized the Navy for having empty beds on board, it started accepting coronavirus patients. It left New York on April 30 after treating 182 patients during its month docked there. In the end, the 894-foot-long (272 meter-long) converted supertankers designed to treat mass casualties from international conflicts treated only a fraction of patients relative to their capacity as the grim outlooks improved. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death, and nursing homes have been hit hard. The Mercy performed a total of 36 surgeries on its non-coronavirus patients, including an operation that marked the first time a pacemaker was repaired aboard a Navy ship. The last patient left the ship May 5. The Navy\u2019s storied hospital ships could be used again if a second wave hits. Mercy\u2019s Capt. John Rotruck said in a statement that he couldn\u2019t be \u201cmore proud\u201d of his sailors who came from bases across Southern California and quickly learned to work as a team seamlessly. \u201cWe came together and accomplished every task we were given,\u201d he said. _____ Watson reported from San Diego."}
{"claim_id": "2612", "claim": "U.S. obesity epidemic propels fitness as career.", "explanation": "As the American waistline continues its spread, fitness is shaping up as one of the hottest careers of this tepid economic recovery.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Employment of fitness trainers and instructors is expected to grow by a brisk 24 percent in the decade to 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as businesses, health professionals and insurance companies take sharper aim at the sedentary lifestyle. \u201cThe obesity epidemic has produced a lot of noise and talk and chatter,\u201d said Cedric Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise (ACE), which has certified more than 50,000 fitness professionals. \u201cHelping individuals be more active is important and fitness professionals can be at the center of that,\u201d he said. Obesity rates have sky-rocketed in the last 20 years. More than one third of adults in the United States are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bryant said the health crisis is strongly linked to the lifestyle choices that fitness professionals, such as personal trainers and group fitness instructors, address. Despite the shaky economy, health club membership is up more than 10 percent over the past three years, according to IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. Exercise physiologist and ACE spokesperson Jessica Matthews said workplace wellness campaigns also increase demand for fitness professionals. Bryant said the average salary for a certified personal trainer is about $53,000 and rising. A high school diploma is sufficient to begin a career in fitness, he added, although more than two-thirds of professionals have college degrees. Matthews said the industry attracts career changers driven by the downturn to reinvent their working selves. \u201cIn the last few years people have been coming from all different industries,\u201d said Matthews, who has worked in fitness for 12 years. While you don\u2019t need college to enter the field, she said, continuing education is a must to remain in it. \u201cIt\u2019s accessible, but it involves a great commitment,\u201d she explained. \u201cThere\u2019s the preparation and study for the exam, and then the requirement of continuing education to stay current.\u201d  Bryant said the individual must re-certify every two years. Matthews, who is qualified in group fitness, personal training and yoga, said the most successful trainers are the constant learners. The obesity epidemic is the United States is also a contributing factor. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge push from the weight standpoint,\u201d she said. \u201cMost people come to fitness professionals with weight goals.\u201d  Bryant said the profession is about more than aesthetics: it\u2019s about making a connection with the client. \u201cIt\u2019s called personal training for a reason,\u201d Matthews explained. \u201cYou\u2019re an educator, a motivator, someone who holds them (clients) accountable. You coach individuals. At the end of the day it\u2019s customer service.\u201d  Husband-and-wife team Phil and Michelle Dozois opened their mom-and-pop gym, BreakthruFitness, in Pasadena, California, just as the economy was tipping into free fall. \u201cWe opened in 2009, pretty much when the economy fell apart, said Phil Dozois. \u201cWe had both been working in gyms for 15 years, me as trainer, my wife as group exercise instructor.\u201d  The Dozois envisioned and created a club where people buy only what they need. Dozois said his programs range from eight-week weight loss to total conditioning. \u201cPeople will pay more money for it if there\u2019s a start-finish,\u201d he said. \u201cFor us it\u2019s been really successful financially.\u201d  When he hires a new fitness professional, Dozois said he looks for a person with a pleasing personality who is open to learning. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to be fit, as long as they\u2019re on the path to fitness. I believe they should walk the walk,\u201d he said. (This story was refiled to correct the spelling of Dozoirs to Dozois throughout)"}
{"claim_id": "10976", "claim": "Acupuncture Benefit Seen in Pregnancy", "explanation": "This story adequately describes the current study and provides the appropriate caveats to interpreting its results. The story could have been improved in the following ways: 1. By providing more detail on the specially-designed type of acupuncture used in one arm of the study. Where could a woman seeking this treatment find it? How many practitioners are trained on this regimen? 2. By mentioning any harms of the treatment. While acupuncture is very safe, the study did report some pain and bleeding. 3. By seeking the perspective of an independent expert and not simply quoting the lead author of the study. 4. By describing the costs or insurance coverage for acupuncture. Because insurance coverage for acupuncture varies widely, out-of-pocket expenses for the 12-session regimen could be a substantial barrier to many women seeking treatment. Interviewing only the lead author may provide an incomplete perspective of the significance of the findings.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The study makes no mention of costs or insurance coverage. Because insurance coverage for acupuncture varies widely, out-of-pocket expenses for the 12-session regimen could be a substantial barrier to many women getting the treatment. We note a couple of flaws: Acupuncture is very safe, however there are some potential undesirable side effects that were reported in the study and that should have been mentioned. The story adequately describes the design of the current study and provides appropriate caveats, such as the small sample size, the fact that this is a single study that has not yet been replicated and the lack of comparison with proven treatments such as psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. The story doesn\u2019t exaggerate the seriousness or prevalence of partum depression. The story quotes only the lead author on the study. The story should have quoted additional, independent experts who could have provided much needed perspective on the importance of \u2013 or limitations of \u2013 these new findings. The story mentions other established, safe and effective treatments for depression such as psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. While acupuncture is widely available, the story doesn\u2019t clearly point out that the regimen used in the study was specially developed for this study. Where could a woman seeking this treatment find it? How many practitioners are trained on this regimen? The story explains that the study is \"the largest to date examining the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat depression in pregnant women.\" However, the story could have mentioned that the regimen used in the study was a novel regimen specially-designed for the study. There is no way to know if the story relied on a press release as the sole source of information."}
{"claim_id": "5863", "claim": "North Carolina man charged for not treating syphilis.", "explanation": "A 19-year-old man faces a criminal charge for refusing to get treatment for syphilis after health officials identified him as the \u201cpoint of contact\u201d for three cases of the disease in Cumberland County, North Carolina.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Fayetteville, North Carolina, Syphilis", "main_text": "The Fayetteville Observer reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/29kyr1W) that Deyzaun Ford was charged June 28 with a misdemeanor public health violation for ignoring the Cumberland County Health Department\u2019s order to manage and treat his syphilis within five days. The department can criminally charge someone who refuses treatment or intentionally spreads communicable diseases. Court documents did not say whether Ford intentionally exposed others. Police arrested Ford on June 19 in response to a suspicious vehicle report. He was separately charged with a misdemeanor for carrying concealed weapons without a license. The Associated Press emailed his attorney for comment. ___ Information from: The Fayetteville Observer, http://www.fayobserver.com"}
{"claim_id": "949", "claim": "Biblical bad guys the ancient Philistines came from Europe, DNA shows.", "explanation": "The ancient Philistines, the Biblical villains whose origins have puzzled scholars for decades, came to the Middle East from southern Europe more than 3,000 years ago, new DNA testing has shown.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "The genetic findings came from skeletons unearthed by archaeologists in Israel in 2016, including the bones of infants buried beneath Philistine houses, archaeologists said in a paper published on Wednesday. The much-maligned group is regularly depicted as the enemy of the Israelites in Biblical texts. The giant Goliath was a Philistine. So was Delilah who entrapped legendary warrior Samson. Thanks to their bad press, their name has also become synonymous with crassness, ignorance and hostility to culture. But for all their prominence, where they came from before settling the coast of what is now southern Israel and Gaza remained a mystery. Varying theories had asserted their ancestors originated in the Aegean, or the northern Levant or that they were actually a local culture. \u201cOur study has shown for the first time that the Philistines immigrated to this region in the 12th century (BC),\u201d said Daniel Master, director of the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon, a coastal city where the first ever Philistine cemetery was found. \u201cWe didn\u2019t show it by showing similar styles of pottery, we didn\u2019t show it by looking at texts, we showed it by looking at the DNA of the people themselves,\u201d Master said. \u201cWe can see at Ashkelon new DNA coming in from this immigrant population that is really changing the whole region.\u201d  The Ashkelon team sent more than 100 skeletal samples to Germany\u2019s Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. DNA was found in ten individuals, particularly in the inner ear bones that preserved it over the millennia. The findings, published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, showed three stages: pre-migration, migration, and then a dilution of the genetic footprint within the local population a couple hundred years later. Although the genetic modeling suggests southern Europe as the area of origin, there are some limitations to 3,000-year-old DNA testing, said Michal Feldman, an archaeo-geneticist who worked on the study at Max Planck. \u201cThis ancestral component is derived from Europe, or to be more specific, from southern Europe, so the ancestors of the Philistines must have traveled across the Mediterranean and arrived in Ashkelon sometime between the end of the Bronze age and the beginning of the Iron age,\u201d Feldman said. \u201cThere would be a lot more that we can say if we had more data, for example we could maybe more precisely pinpoint the source of this migration,\u201d she said. Earlier work by the Ashkelon team has suggested the Philistines were actually no \"philistines\". Excavations of a 3,000-year-old cemetery in 2016 found bodies buried with jewelry and perfumed oil. (reut.rs/2LBBkxd)"}
{"claim_id": "16448", "claim": "To deprive\" underprivileged children \"of a meat-based protein during school lunch is most likely depriving them of their only source of protein for the day.", "explanation": "Todd Staples airs smoky claim about children not getting protein unless they're served meat", "label": "false", "subjects": "Children, Education, Texas, Todd Staples, ", "main_text": "Todd Staples, the Texas state agriculture commissioner, recently described a veggie-based dietary awareness campaign in the schools as an activist movement that degrades children\u2019s nutrition to push an agenda. Meatless Monday is pretty self-explanatory; it\u2019s an awareness campaign that encourages people to abstain once weekly from eating meat. The program was born in 2003 as a health initiative out of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with stated goals of improving people\u2019s health and lowering fuel and water costs of food production by encouraging lower meat consumption. It has since spread to participants that include hundreds of schools, universities and restaurants in 24 countries. But the arrival of the Baltimore-based program at three elementary schools in the Dripping Springs Independent School District made Staples \"very concerned,\" he said in a Sept. 8, 2014, commentary in the Austin American-Statesman. For Staples, excluding meat is not just a matter of taste \u2013 it\u2019s a blow to daily nutrition, especially if students are not well nourished at home. \"It is important to remember that for many underprivileged children the meals they eat at school often represent their best meals of the day. To deprive them of a meat-based protein during school lunch is most likely depriving them of their only source of protein for the day,\" Staples wrote. Was Staples right about kids getting shorted? Let\u2019s look at the meals that drew his ire, then explore if affected children are not getting needed proteins. Warning: Flames ahead. Dining options on a Meatless Monday Generally in Dripping Springs, lunching students may select up to one meat/meat alternate, three fruit or vegetable dishes and one grain or milk dish. If a child forgoes a meat/meat alternate, he or she is allowed four fruit or vegetable dishes. A student must take a minimum of three dishes with at least one serving of fruit or vegetable. On any day, of course, there's a chance a child won't choose to eat any protein dishes. The lunch menu at Dripping Springs Elementary, which participates in Meatless Mondays, runs on a three-week cycle. On the first Monday, when meat is not an option, the school offers vegetarian chili with cornbread, grilled cheese sandwiches, assorted vegetarian soups, cheese nachos, a baked potato with fixings, \"healthy\" refried beans, crunchy vegetable dippers and chilled pears or fresh fruit. On the second Monday of the school\u2019s cycle, the menu includes cheese ravioli, vegetarian chili, cornbread, mozzarella sticks with marinara, a baked potato with fixings, spinach salad, green beans, apple sauce and fresh fruit. On the third Monday, the cafeteria offers black bean burritos, bean and cheese burritos, vegetarian chili, corn bread, cheese nachos, a baked potato with fixings, \"healthy\" refried beans, \"carrot babies\" with ranch, chilled sliced peaches and fresh fruit. This is a Meatless Monday menu from Dripping Springs Elementary, as presented online by the school. Staples\u2019 backup information By email, Staples spokesman Bryan Black pointed out the website of First Lady Michelle Obama\u2019s school nutrition program, Let\u2019s Move, hosted by the federal government and affiliated with the White House, which says: \"Many children consume at least half of their meals at school, and for many children, food served at school may be the only food they regularly eat.\" We heard from Black before Staples announced he plans to resign to become president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association. Black said the website \"is dedicated to healthy lifestyles for children and confirms the message from Commissioner Staples\" that many students might not have access to protein at home."}
{"claim_id": "10379", "claim": "Experimental Test May Warn of Premature Births", "explanation": "But we wish it had given even a little context of what\u2019s done to help predict prematurity now instead of the vague quote from the researcher saying \u201cthe test \u2018should be an important tool for an obstetrician who currently has no clue\u2019 if premature birth is a possibility until it happens. \u2026Physicians will \u2018be able to use a simple blood test and then know that this woman is at increased risk or reduced risk of a preterm birth.\u2019 \u201d As the story later made clear, this research is a long way away from being able to prove that claim. Most of our criteria were addressed in this story, yet more context and more independent expert perspective focusing on the data reported in the study would have been helpful. The most challenging fact \u2013 which wasn\u2019t addressed \u2013 is that we lack interventions to use at and after 28 weeks that effectively prevent preterm birth.", "label": "true", "subjects": "HealthDay", "main_text": "The story included an estimate that \u201cThe test may cost $150 to $250.\u201d Mixed bag here. We\u2019ll give it a somewhat satisfactory grade. Here\u2019s why. The story stated that the test \u201cpredicted 80 percent to 90 percent of the premature births at 28 weeks of gestation. The false positive rate \u2014 referring to tests that wrongly indicated premature birth \u2014 was 20 percent. The test wasn\u2019t as effective at 24 weeks of gestation.\u201d\u00a0 It didn\u2019t give any numbers to back up the experience at 24 weeks. But we would have appreciated somewhere a note that it is the very early preterm births that are the most crucial to predict. The story fixates on 28 week testing. What\u2019s really needed are means to identify and study the 23 to 28 weekers. The story also doesn\u2019t acknowledge that we have no effective interventions to stop preterm birth and somewhat incorrectly explains how betamethasone for lung maturity works. It also had an independent expert\u2019s quote: \u201cIf you are going to be alarming a patient by saying that she may have premature delivery, you want to make sure that\u2019s truly the case.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s a very important contribution to the story. It mentioned that the false positive rate was 20%, so we\u2019ll give it a passing grade. We wish, though, that it had included some expert comment on the significance of a false positive rate that high. We\u2019ll give it a satisfactory score, but because very high in the story it stated that \u201cThe test isn\u2019t ready for prime time, however, and it\u2019s not foolproof: a study found that it misses some premature births and incorrectly predicts others.\u201d The story gave estimates of how many births are premature, so did not commit overt disease-mongering. The story quoted one independent expert; it could have been improved with more comment from her or from others. The story didn\u2019t comment on any other research in this field \u2013 nothing on any other investigations into what can be done to better predict prematurity. So this one study on this one approach is reported in isolation. The big gap that is unaddressed is that we don\u2019t have any treatments even if we know someone is at high risk. In effect, we would be \u201calarming\u201d lots of patients to no particular end at this point; unless they have had a prior preterm birth and are eligible for progesterone treatment but use of that preventive intervention starts at 16 to 22 weeks and is not relevant to the new test. It\u2019s clear from the story that \u201cIt would require several years to go through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process.\u201d The story never put the new test into the context of other research attempts to study what to do to predict prematurity. So its real novelty \u2013 and role \u2013 isn\u2019t clearly established. It\u2019s clear that the story did not rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "4419", "claim": "Inoculations give endangered California frog a shot at life.", "explanation": "Endangered California frogs are getting an immunity boost from scientists who are scooping them up from remote Sierra Nevada ponds and sending them to big city zoos for inoculation, giving them a fighting chance to beat extinction, officials said Wednesday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "San Francisco, Frogs, Parks, North America, National parks, Canyons, California, Science, U.S. News", "main_text": "The experiment aims to rescue the 3-inch mountain yellow-legged frog \u2014 named for distinctive coloring under its hind legs. Scientists use nets to capture diseased tadpoles and then fly them by helicopter from their natural range deep within the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. They are next driven over 200 miles (322 kilometers) across the state to the San Francisco and Oakland zoos, where they are inoculated against a ravaging disease partly blamed for wiping them out from much of their historical range in the Sierra, scientists said. Roughly 385 frogs have been treated at the zoos and returned after two years as healthy, young adults to their native lakes and ponds. Aquatic ecologist Danny Boiano of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, who has led the three-year project, said it appears to be paying off. Next, his team will study their frogs to determine if it\u2019s working. \u201cIt\u2019s experimental at this point,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take several years to find out if it works.\u201d The frog holds a key place in the Sierra Nevada food chain. Scientists say they feed on insects, then snakes and birds eat the frogs. The species once thrived in such masses that people could not walk the shores of lakes and ponds in the mountain range without stepping on them, according to historical accounts, which add that with each step, dozens more launched into the water. Their decline began a century ago with the introduction of non-native trout for sport fishing that gobbled up the tadpoles. Starting in the 1960s, the frog suffered a second blow from an invasive disease, called the chytrid fungus. The fungus is blamed for the decline and extinction of more than 200 amphibians worldwide, scientists say. Today, the mountain yellow-legged frog is missing from 90 percent of its historical region in the Sierra. Both state and federal wildlife authorities have listed it as endangered. At neighboring Yosemite National Park, the frog\u2019s population has made a significant recovery in part because rangers stopped stocking some lakes with non-native fish, park officials say. Inoculating the frogs in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks costs roughly $175,000 a year, which Boiano said mostly goes to pay his team of 10 seasonal biologists doing field work. \u201cJust like vaccinating people, we are jump-starting their disease-fighting immune systems,\u201d said Jessie Bushell, director of conservation at the San Francisco Zoo. \u201cLetting the population completely die out is not a good option.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "40725", "claim": "\u00a0\u00a0 An email claims that the use of antiperspirants is the leading cause of breast cancer.\u00a0 The theory is that toxins are released by sweat, especially under the arms, and antiperspirants are blocking the release of the toxins, allowing them to build up, and the result is cancer.\u00a0 It also claims that nearly all breast cancers are in the upper, outside quadrant of the breast, near the armpits. ", "explanation": "Breast cancer can be caused by underarm antiperspirants ", "label": "false", "subjects": "Household, Medical, Warnings", "main_text": "According to the American Cancer Society and several other respected medical authorities, the use of antiperspirant does not cause cancer. Additionally, sweating is not the prime way the body gets rid of toxins, so even if the pores under the arms were clogged, that would not doom the body to an accumulation of cancer-threatening build-ups. According to the American Cancer Society, the upper, outside quadrant is not the site of \u201cnearly all\u201d of breast cancers, but about half that. For more information:\u00a0 The American Cancer Society (Do a keyword search using \u201cantiperspirant.\u201d) Link established by Unilever, a UK antiperspirant manufacturer Comments"}
{"claim_id": "8524", "claim": "Moscow restricts Easter week church service as coronavirus cases mount.", "explanation": "Russia on Sunday reported 2,186 new coronavirus cases, the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak, as authorities announced restrictions on Easter services to contain the spread of the disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "Moscow and many other regions have been in lockdown for nearly two weeks, but the number of cases reached 15,770 as of April 12, while deaths rose to 130. The Russian Orthodox Church, which observes Easter this year on April 19, ordered churches in and around Moscow to close their doors to large groups during the Holy Week leading up to the holiday. Moscow authorities also clamped down on those venturing outside without a reason, such as to buy food or medicine, get medical treatment, walk the dog or take out the rubbish. The capital issued 1,358 fines for breaking the rules on Saturday, its coronavirus crisis centre said. Around 3.5 million people in Moscow, a city of 12.5 million, left their homes for more that 6 hours on Friday, according to a track analysis of their cellphones, TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing the crisis centre. Moscow is preparing to introduce digital permits next week to control movement to help enforce the lockdown. An increased number of traffic police accompanied by armed officers were checking cars heading into Moscow on Sunday, a Reuters witness said, and some drivers with non-Moscow plates were refused entry to the capital. Russia will not defeat the coronavirus in time to lift restrictions by May 9, when the capital normally hosts an annual military parade to celebrate victory in World War Two, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova told state TV. \u201cShould we be disciplined, able to listen to ourselves and those recommendations applied today, then we\u2019ll successfully get out of this situation and will shake each others\u2019 hands by the summer,\u201d Golikova said in an interview released on Sunday."}
{"claim_id": "27990", "claim": "The youngest mother on record was a Peruvian girl who give birth at five years old.", "explanation": "Lina\u2019s boy, named Gerardo (after Dr. G\u00e9rado Lozada, chief physician of the hospital in Pisco where Lina\u2019s pregnancy was diagnosed), did not learn until he was 10 years old that the woman he thought to be his sister was in fact his mother. Gerardo died in 1979, but Lina\u2019s second son, born in 1972 (thirty-three years after his brother), now lives in Mexico. Lina and her husband currently reside in the \u201cLittle Chicago\u201d district of Lima, Peru.9", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "Although we can see a tremendous amount of variety in the plant and animal life all around us, both within and between species, many of us still find extremes in variety among human beings somewhat disconcerting. While an extraordinarily large dog or a cat with an unusually long tail may be regarded as nothing more than a momentarily interesting curiosity or a source of amusement, people who exhibit one of the extremes in human development \u2014 whether it be in intelligence, height, weight, or some other feature \u2014 have long struggled to avoid being identified as \u201cfreaks.\u201d Perhaps the most discomfiting record of this nature involves the youngest person ever to give birth, reputedly a five-year-old girl \u2014 not only because such a record posits that a child barely of kindergarten age involuntarily underwent an experience we associate with physical and psychological maturity, but also because it implies the commission of an act now considered to be nothing less than child molestation. Regardless of our squeamishness, we have to note that the claim of a five-year-old girl giving birth is  true. Her name was Lina Medina, a Peruvian girl from the Andean village of Ticrapo who made medical history when she gave birth to a boy by caesarean section in May 1939 at the age of five years, seven months and 21 days. Lina\u2019s parents initially thought their daughter had a large abdominal tumor, but after they took her to a hospital in the town of Pisco physicians confirmed that her abdominal swelling was due to pregnancy. Lina was eventually transferred to a hospital in Lima, where she delivered a six-pound baby boy by Cesarean section on 14 May 1939 (coincidentally the date on which Mother\u2019s Day was celebrated that year). Lina\u2019s father was temporarily jailed on suspicion of incest, but he was released for a lack of evidence and authorities were never able to determine who fathered Lina\u2019s child. Lina\u2019s incredible story was documented in contemporaneous reports by Edmundo Escomel, one of Peru\u2019s preeminent physician-researchers of the period and a laureate of the prestigious French Academy of Sciences. Escomel\u2019s first correspondence to the editors of La Presse Medicale1 (which is undated but appeared in the 13 May 1939 issue) noted that Lina first came to the attention of Dr. G\u00e9rado Lozada, chief physician of the Hospital of Pisco, when she appeared at that hospital in early April 1939 for evaluation of what was assumed to be a massive abdominal tumor. It soon became obvious to the stunned Lozada, however, that the little girl was pregnant. A medical history revealed that she had been having regular periods since age 3, but that she had stopped menstruating for the past 7\u00bd months. Additionally, she had fully developed breasts. Further examination revealed a fetal heartbeat, and an X-ray confirmed the pregnancy. Escomel stated that Lozada had submitted a report about the case to the Academy of Medicine in Lima. Escomel\u2019s announcement2 (dated 20 May 1939) that Lina had delivered a baby boy (on 14 May) appeared in the 31 May issue of La Presse Medicale. In addition to amending the age at which Lina began menstruating (to an incredible 8 months), Escomel submitted a photograph of the gravid 5\u00bd-year-old:  At the end of his piece Escomel noted with some sadness that no one had yet discovered the identity of the father since Lina \u201ccouldn\u2019t give precise responses.\u201d He also stressed the importance of getting adequate care for the little girl. Escomel\u2019s final report3 was published in the 19 December 1939 issue of La Presse Medicale. He commented on a biopsy of one of Lina\u2019s ovaries performed on a sample removed at the time of the Cesarean section and provided photomicrographs of the stained tissue sections. In the end, pathologists pronounced Lina to have the ovaries of a fully mature woman. Escomel posited that the reason behind her precocious fertility could not lie in the ovaries themselves but must have stemmed from an extraordinary hormonal disorder of pituitary origin. (As a point of comparison, the average age of first menstruation in the U.S. is 12\u00bd.) The U.S. press was also interested in this curious and disturbing story. A United Press report published in the Los Angeles Times on 16 May 1939 noted:  Dr. Hipolito Larrabure, head of the maternity hospital, who aided Dr. [Geraldo] Lozada [director of the Pisco Hospital] during the [Cesarean] operation, said Lina withstood the operation in excellent manner. Medical circles here were astonished at the birth, which they believed without precedent. Dr. Larrabure said the case was \u201ctruly astounding\u201d and added that he hoped \u201csome United States scientific foundation will send an investigator to Lima to observe the case and indicate the best manner of caring for the mother and child.\u201d4  The Los Angeles Times also reported their own confirmation of the story that same day:  The possibility of a girl becoming a mother at the age of 5, as reported on Sunday from Lima, Peru, was upheld today by Dr. Joseph B. De Lee, obstetrics authority of Chicago Lying-in Hospital.Dr. De Lee cited the case of a Russian girl who became a mother at the age of 6\u00bd. According to the physician who reported the case in a German medical journal, Dr. De Lee said, the mother had the physical development of a girl 10 or 12 years old.5  Six months later, the New York Times reported that an American public health official had verified Lina\u2019s remarkable story:  While in Lima Dr. [S.L. Christian, assistant surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service] examined Lina Medina, the Indian child-mother whose baby was born last May when the mother was about 5 years old. He said that although there was some confusion as to whether the mother was 5 or 6, there was no doubt of the authenticity of the case, which he described as the most amazing thing in his career as a physician.6  The following year the New York Times reported in a follow-up article that a trip was being organized so Lina could be \u201cbrought to the United States within a month for examination by a five-man medical commission.\u201d Plans called for the little mother, the baby boy, and the girl\u2019s parents to travel to Chicago, but there was no follow-up indicating that the Medina family ever made the journey to the U.S.7 In 1941, two years after Lina give birth, the New York Times published an account of an American psychologist who had examined Lina while visiting South America:  Another passenger [on the liner Santa Clara, which was returning from South America] was Mrs. Paul Kosak, specialist in child education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Mrs. Kosak is the only child psychologist who has been permitted to make studies of Lina Medina, the Peruvian girl who, two years ago, gave birth to a child at the age of 5 years.Mrs. Kosak said she gave a series of intelligence tests to the child and that on the basis of this study she has no doubt the child\u2019s age was given correctly. \u201cLina is above normal in intelligence and the baby, a boy, is perfectly normal and is physically better developed than the average Mestiza (Spanish Indian) child,\u201d she said. \u201cShe thinks of the child as a baby brother and so does the rest of the family.\u201d8  Jose Sandoval, an obstetrician who took an interest in Lina Medina\u2019s case and authored a book about her in 2002 said that Lina was a psychologically normal child, that she displayed no other unusual medical symptoms, and that she preferred playing with dolls rather than her own child."}
{"claim_id": "15954", "claim": "It used to be that the only children at school who weren't vaccinated were those who had true medical\" conditions. \"Now there are 19 states that allow personal belief exemptions.", "explanation": "Besser said, \"It used to be that the only children at school who weren't vaccinated were those who had true medical\" conditions, but \"now there are 19 states that allow personal belief exemptions.\" Besser, a pediatrician, is right about the number of states that allow exemptions to state vaccination laws for personal beliefs. But his history lesson about vaccination laws of yesteryear is not as accurate. States have consistently provided religious exemptions alongside medical exemptions, and five predominantly Midwestern states allowed parents to seek exemptions for any reason even in the 1960s. His claim is partially accurate. Clarification: This post has been updated to better reflect how Elena Conis said the modern anti-vaccine movement began.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Health Care, Public Health, PunditFact, Richard Besser, ", "main_text": "The measles outbreak linked to Disneyland provided an uneasy backdrop Sunday for talk about another southwestern venue hosting thousands of people from around the country with varying immunization histories: Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz. On the news shows, medical experts stressed that the right of parents to choose whether their children vaccinate should not trump the risk that unvaccinated people pose to public health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden said on ABC\u2019s This Week that \"study after study\" has shown there are no long-term hazards with vaccines even though pockets of the population are unwilling to get them. ABC News\u2019 chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser lamented how there was once a time where the only children who wouldn\u2019t get vaccinated had immunity issues. \"It used to be that the only children at school who weren't vaccinated were those who had true medical contraindications. They may have an immune problem and couldn't get vaccinated,\" Besser said. \"Now there are 19 states that allow personal belief exemptions. And I think that that is wrong.\" There are two parts to Besser\u2019s statement worth considering. One is that 19 states permit parents to exempt their children from vaccinations because of their personal beliefs. The other is that there was a time when the only children who weren\u2019t vaccinated had true medical conditions. The 19 states Documenting the state-by-state situation is a simple task, so we\u2019ll handle that first. Information compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures, among other sources, backs up Besser\u2019s point. While there are laws in every state that spell out vaccination requirements for children entering public school, it is easier to avoid them in some states over others. Every state except for Mississippi and West Virginia provides an exemption for religious reasons. Mississippi\u2019s tough vaccination laws result in high immunization rates in its school children. And as Besser said, 19 states also have exemptions for philosophical, personal reasons. They are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Missouri also has an exemption that applies only to daycare, preschool and nursery school. Experts attribute the growth of personal belief exemption laws to pressure from anti-vaccine organizations on policymakers. They use as one benchmark the year 1998, when a study since condemned by peers and retracted by The Lancet, connected the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine with \"leaky gut\" and maybe autism. Another popular year is 1982, when NBC ran the story \"Vaccine Roulette,\" which raised concern about the pertussis vaccine. Historian Elena Conis, author of Vaccine Nation, traces the origins of the movement back to the 1960s and '70s, at a time when people were arguing for tighter environmental regulations, additional women's rights and broader consumer protections. In California, a state well-known for its vaccine resistance, more than 17,200 children enrolled in kindergarten with exemptions from vaccinations based on either religious or personal reasons in the 2013-14 school year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (There is no difference in the CDC reporting for personal or religious reasons.) That was the most of any state by far. California lawmakers tried to tighten up the exemption for personal reasons in 2014 so that instead of just signing a piece of paper, they had to first show they met with a physician who described the risks of going without vaccinations. A Los Angeles Times analysis found an overall decline in the state\u2019s rate of vaccine waivers, dropping from 3.1 percent in 2013 to 2.5 percent in 2014 -- the first drop in a dozen years. Data-crunching by the Washington Post found that the rate of parents applying for personal belief exemptions was strikingly high in Disneyland\u2019s Orange County, the southern coast up to San Luis Obispo, and parts of the northern edge of the state. Vaccine opposition was lower in less-affluent parts of the state, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. \"It used to be that the kids that were not vaccinated were from poor families,\" said Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center. \"Now we\u2019re seeing the opposite. These are educated parents who are choosing not to vaccinate their kids.\" Looking back on vaccine exemptions So Besser\u2019s correct on the number of states now offering personal exemptions. But his claim that that there was a time when the only children who weren\u2019t vaccinated had true medical conditions doesn\u2019t ring as true. The debate about the effectiveness and dangers of vaccination has been raging for at least 50 years. As part of that debate, there have always been exemptions beyond those for medical reasons. A 1969 report entitled \"State laws on compulsory immunization in the United States,\" which is available through the U.S. National Library of Medicine, does an excellent job of laying out the issue. In 1969, author Charles L. Jackson reported that only 17 states required measles shots, for instance. And that in most every state, religious exemptions were written into the vaccination laws. Five states, Jackson said, went even further. Missouri, Rhode Island, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois had what Jackson called \"voluntary compulsory vaccination.\" \"Each state has provisions in the statute for exempting children if a parent objects in writing to such requirements for any reason,\" Jackson wrote. So 45 years ago, less than half the states required a measles vaccine, and only 26 states required any type of vaccine, according to Jackson. That changed, of course, over time, and more states began requiring measles vaccines. But they also included exemptions for religious reasons. What\u2019s the net effect? Vaccinations increased dramatically in the 1970s as new laws came on the books. Joseph A. Califano, the United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1977-79, \u00a0helped lead a push that saw vaccination rates rise from 60 percent to over 90 percent. By the early 1980s, more than 95 percent of children were completely immunized by the time they entered school. That number has dipped slightly in recent years. According to the CDC, 92 percent of children 19-35 months old received the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine in 2013, the most recent year available and the highest percentage since 2008. Federal health officials were content with the national immunization levels but voiced concerns about late first doses, a rise in measles cases not seen since 2000, and slacking coverage in some states. We were not able to connect with Besser to explain his claim by our deadline. Our ruling Besser said, \"It used to be that the only children at school who weren't vaccinated were those who had true medical\" conditions, but \"now there are 19 states that allow personal belief exemptions.\" Besser, a pediatrician, is right about the number of states that allow exemptions to state vaccination laws for personal beliefs. But his history lesson about vaccination laws of yesteryear is not as accurate. States have consistently provided religious exemptions alongside medical exemptions, and five predominantly Midwestern states allowed parents to seek exemptions for any reason even in the 1960s. His claim is partially accurate. Clarification: This post has been updated to better reflect how Elena Conis said the modern anti-vaccine movement began."}
{"claim_id": "9665", "claim": "This New Blood Test Could Detect Concussions", "explanation": "This brief story discusses a new study published in JAMA Neurology about blood tests for two biomarkers that may assist in the diagnosis of traumatic brain injuries among patients brought to a level-one trauma unit. The story was careful not to exaggerate the potential of the blood markers in assessing the severity of concussions. (Note: See our separate review of the news release here:\u00a0Another \u2018simple blood test\u2019 for concussion PR release over-promises) However, it missed the mark in some important ways: It didn\u2019t tell us how these biomarkers fared on accuracy, and it lacked\u00a0independent sources, such as\u00a0a brain injury or concussion expert who wasn\u2019t connected to the research. We saw some of the same limitations in\u00a0another story\u00a0we reviewed\u00a0about the use of flashcards in detecting brain injury. If a simple blood test can accurately predict traumatic brain injury, then\u00a0patients may be spared the effects of radiation from a diagnostic CT scan, and clinicians\u2013 including ambulance and emergency room attendants\u2013might have a more rapid and affordable diagnostic tool in assessing patients. However, a lot more research is needed to know if this is the case. These individuals had enough of an injury to be treated at\u00a0a level one trauma center. As such, the study may not be able to answer whether the test can be used in the majority of cases, which involve milder injuries. And these results were only applicable to adults, even though the story references drawbacks of CT scans for kids, implying these blood tests could be used for children, too.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Concussion,head injuries,neurology", "main_text": "Costs are not addressed here. But readers should be informed if there are commercially available tests for the proteins the researchers were measuring, and how much they cost. If not, the costs of tests for similar proteins could possibly be used to give a ballpark estimate. Readers should be informed of how many people with a concussion were accurately identified, and how many people without concussions were accurately ruled out. The story doesn\u2019t tell us, nor any other quantified benefits. The story doesn\u2019t mention any harms, but all screening tests have harms associated with false positive and negative results. In athletes, for example, a false positive test keeps you off the field and creates\u00a0unnecessary anxiety. A false negative result\u00a0means you go back on the field with a concussion and potentially suffer another head injury that could have catastrophic consequences. This was a tough call, but we\u2019re going with Satisfactory\u00a0because\u00a0the story included descriptions of the study\u2019s design, such as the sample size and the fact that patients without head injuries were included as a control comparison, which to some degree gives readers a sense of the quality of the study. However, the story otherwise had barebones information. What were the benefits and drawbacks to a study like this? For example, the study looked at adults, not children. The commentary of an outside observer could have given readers\u00a0more context. No obvious disease mongering in this story. Concussions and traumatic brain injury are a serious public health issue. This story included no independent sources, and failed to mention a potential conflict of interest with the only source quoted in the story. As stated in the JAMA Neurology\u00a0study, lead researcher\u00a0Dr. Linda Papa was listed as one of several researchers who have consulted or received contract research funding from Banyan Biomarkers, Inc. Banyan is a for-profit biotech company in Florida seeking to commercialize a biomarker for head injury. The story mentions CT scans as the current primary tool for hospital-based diagnosis, so we\u2019ll count this as Satisfactory. However, given that the story does talk about these blood tests possibly being used by athletic trainers, we\u2019d have liked to have seen a brief comparison\u00a0of what\u2019s currently used in sports settings, such as the\u00a0Standardized Assessment of Concussion, which measures cognition and a timed tandem gait test of balance. The story implies these tests aren\u2019t yet available, chiefly by calling them \u201cpromising.\u201d However, the story should have made it explicitly clear whether these tests are something patients could ask for now. The story establishes the novelty of this study\u2019s premise by letting us know \u201cthe research team focused on two blood proteins that have already been linked to brain injury.\u201d The story includes quotes from the lead researcher that did not appear in the news release, so we\u2019ll count this as Satisfactory."}
{"claim_id": "32411", "claim": "Marijuana dealers are using the popular game app Pok\u00e9mon GO to hook children on drugs.", "explanation": "The number of people missing after California\u2019s deadliest and most destructive wildfire jumped on Saturday to 1,276, despite authorities locating hundreds of people who scattered when the Camp Fire tore through the mountain town of Paradise.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Uncategorized, drugs, marijuana, pokemon go", "main_text": "Forensic recovery teams sifting through the charred wreckage recovered the remains of five more victims, bringing the death toll to at least 76, authorities said. Sixty-three of them have been tentatively identified, pending DNA confirmation. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said much of the increase in the number of missing was due to his office\u2019s efforts to comb through a backlog of emergency calls that came in during the first hours of the fire on Nov. 8. He said officials were sifting through the list of missing persons for duplications and people who fled. Some 380 people had been located and taken off the list since Friday, he said. \u201cA lot of progress is being made with regard to that, but this is still raw data,\u201d Honea told a news conference. The sheriff spoke after President Donald Trump visited Paradise, the small community that was home to nearly 27,000 people in the Sierra foothills, 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco, before being all but consumed by the blaze. \u201cNobody could have thought this would ever happen,\u201d Trump told reporters amid the charred wreckage of the town\u2019s Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park. \u201cThis is very sad to see. As far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet,\u201d Trump said. \u201cRight now we want to take care of the people who have been so badly hurt.\u201d  Trump was flanked by California Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom. Brown said the federal government was doing what it needed to do, including supporting first responders and helping with clean-up and search for victims. The disaster already ranks among the deadliest U.S. wildfires since the turn of the last century. Eighty-seven people perished in the Big Burn firestorm that swept the Northern Rockies in August 1910. Minnesota\u2019s Cloquet Fire in October 1918 killed 450 people. Trump has blamed the recent spate of fires on forest mismanagement, and he said he discussed the issue with Brown and Newsom on the ride into Paradise. Asked whether the scenes of devastation had changed his view on climate change, Trump said: \u201cNo. I have a strong opinion. I want great climate and we\u2019re going to have that and we\u2019re going to have forests that are very safe.\u201d  Authorities attribute the high death toll from the blaze - dubbed \u201cCamp Fire\u201d - partly to the speed with which flames raced through the town with little warning, driven by howling winds and fueled by drought-desiccated scrub and trees. More than a week later, firefighters have managed to carve containment lines around 55 percent of the blaze\u2019s perimeter. Besides the toll on human life, property losses from the blaze make it the most destructive in California history, posing the additional challenge of providing long-term shelter for many thousands of displaced residents. With more than 12,700 homes and other structures up in smoke, many refugees have taken up temporary residence with friends and family, while others have pitched tents or were living out of their vehicles. Hundreds of evacuees were being housed in 14 emergency shelters set up in churches, schools and community centers around the region, with more than 46,000 people remaining under evacuation orders, authorities said. Several shelters are full and although authorities say they still have space for everyone, hundreds of people have been camping in tents and cars in the area. The names were being compiled from information received from a special hotline, along with email reports and a review of emergency 911 calls that came in on the first night of the fire, Honea said. Some listed have likely survived but not yet notified family or authorities. Others may not have been immediately listed because of delays in reporting them. Honea bristled at a Friday press conference when asked whether many of those listed, more than a week after the disaster, were expected at this point to end up either deceased or declared missing and presumed dead. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate for any of us to sit and speculate about what the future holds,\u201d he said. The sheriff on Saturday emphasized that authorities were largely relying on the public\u2019s cooperation to determine who on the list of missing persons is alive. \u201cI want to tell people that it\u2019s really very important for you to take a look at the list and call us if you\u2019re on the list and let us know.\u201d   Weather conditions have since turned more in the firefighters\u2019 favor, though strong, gusty winds and lower humidity were expected through early Sunday ahead of rain forecast for mid-week. The outbreak of Camp Fire coincided with a series of smaller blazes in Southern California, most notably the Woolsey Fire, which is linked to three fatalities near the Malibu coast west of Los Angeles. Scientists have said the growing frequency and intensity of wildfires in California and elsewhere across the West are largely attributable to prolonged drought that is symptomatic of climate change. The precise causes of the Camp and Woolsey Fires were under investigation, but electric utilities have reported equipment problems in the vicinity of both blazes around the time they erupted."}
{"claim_id": "8921", "claim": "India's coronavirus cases nears 30, hits major payments firm.", "explanation": "The total number of known coronavirus cases in India rose sharply to 29 on Wednesday, including 16 Italian tourists who had tested positive for the disease as well as an employee of a digital payments company who had traveled to Italy.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "On Monday, the world\u2019s second-most populous country had only six reported cases of coronavirus, but it is one of the places U.S. intelligence agencies are most closely monitoring due to fears over how it would cope with a widespread outbreak. Authorities are increasing screenings at airports and border crossings, and urging citizens to avoid large crowds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would not attend celebrations for the Hindu Holi festival, scheduled to be held across the country next week. \u201cExperts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the (virus) spread,\u201d Modi said in a tweet on Wednesday. \u201cHence, this year I have decided not to participate.\u201d  An employee of Paytm - an Indian payments company whose parent firm is backed by Alibaba and SoftBank  - who had vacationed in Italy and is based in Gurugram near New Delhi tested positive for the coronavirus, a spokesperson said late on Wednesday. \u201cWe have also advised all our colleagues to work from home for a couple of days while we get our offices sanitized,\u201d the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that daily operations and services would not be impacted. Paytm has six offices around New Delhi, employing more than 3,000 people. An Italian visiting the western desert state of Rajasthan was among those who had tested positive earlier. And on Wednesday, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said 15 of 21 tourists from Italy - Europe\u2019s worst-affected country - who had been taken to a quarantine facility on the outskirts of New Delhi had tested positive for the virus. Their Indian driver was also placed in quarantine. Indian stock markets slid nearly 2% after the government disclosed the rise in cases, before paring losses late in the day. Vardhan said authorities were taking extra precautions against the spread of the virus after the sharp rise in cases. \u201cWe will now screen all international passengers. We will not limit our screenings to 12 countries as we did earlier,\u201d Vardhan told a news conference. More than 93,000 cases have been reported worldwide, and several thousand have died from the flu-like coronavirus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has since spread to more than 80 countries. India, the world\u2019s largest supplier of generic drugs, has curbed the export of pharmaceuticals due to fears of coronavirus-related shortages and this has caused \u201cpanic\u201d in Europe, the head of the country\u2019s top pharmaceuticals export group told Reuters on Wednesday."}
{"claim_id": "9299", "claim": "New Data Shows Irreversible Electroporation Nearly Doubles Overall Survival of Patients with Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer When Added to Standard Therapy", "explanation": "A futuristic-sounding medical treatment is paired with a bold claim of survival benefit in this news release. But the release is missing basic\u00a0information to back up the headline\u2019s claims and put the treatment\u2019s efficacy into perspective. And an important conflict of interest is not disclosed. Such omissions could help instill false\u00a0hope in sufferers of pancreatic cancer and their families. [Editor\u2019s note: At the top of this review, we\u2019ve left blank the area where we\u2019d normally put the logo for the organization that issued this new release. This reflects our uncertainty as to who should be considered the source of this news. As we\u2019ve discussed in a blog post, the release is worded to suggest that it originated with the University of Louisville, and it includes a University of Louisville media contact. However, that contact has told us, via email and a comment on this review, that the release originated with MCS Healthcare Public Relations, which was working with a member of the University of Louisville faculty. That faculty member, in turn, suggested to us that the release was in fact cleared and sanctioned by the University. The University of Louisville media contact has refused to provide any further clarification. We\u2019re unsure whom to believe, so we\u2019ve deliberately left blank the area where we\u2019d normally indicate the news release source. The fact that we can\u2019t even tell where this news came from should raise questions about the process that produced it.] Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive\u00a0forms of cancer, killing nearly three-quarters of victims within\u00a0a year of diagnosis and about 94 percent within five years. One reason, according to the CDC, is that\u00a0nearly 80 percent of patients are diagnosed too late for\u00a0surgery (which can extend median survival by about 10 months). Thus any treatment shown to be effective in treating the disease\u2013especially a minimally invasive, non-surgical\u00a0method\u2013could possibly reduce patients\u2019 suffering and\u00a0provide them significantly more quality time with their loved ones.", "label": "false", "subjects": "NanoKnife,pancreatic cancer,University of Louisville", "main_text": "Costs aren\u2019t discussed, but secondary sources suggest each NanoKnife machine (which can be used over and over again) costs between $200,000\u2013$300,000. The one-use needles, which are used to\u00a0zap or ablate cancerous pancreatic tissue, cost about $2,000 each\u2013but it\u2019s not said how many sessions are required. Nor is the cost\u00a0of\u00a0doctors, hospital stay, etc. discussed. Plus, it\u2019s unknown if insurance will cover this. The release clearly states that nearly three-quarters of pancreatic cancer patients die within a year of diagnosis and 94 percent die within\u00a05 years. It then goes on to\u00a0say the NanoKnife IRE treatment doubles overall survival to 24 months. But the release never provides the absolute numbers from either the treatment or control group to substantiate this. The percentage of patients alive at 24 months may be higher in one group or the other, but the data are not there to tell. In addition, the release states that existing treatment \u201cwill only stabilize the disease and not destroy the tumor,\u201d whereas the new treatment \u201covercomes rapid growth of the tumor by killing all malignant cells at once so they cannot continue to grow and spread.\u201d But it\u2019s not clear that the new treatment does, in fact, do more than \u201cstabilize the disease\u201d or that the cancer won\u2019t \u201cgrow and spread\u201d with the new treatment, since a chart in the abstract suggests that the disease unfortunately remains uniformly fatal even with the new treatment. Harms are alluded\u00a0to, e.g. \u201c[19] percent sustained complications with a median grade of 2 (range 1-3),\u201d but they\u2019re not discussed or explained in sufficient detail. What\u2019s a \u201cmedian grade 2\u201d complication? It would have helped this release to cite, for example, the\u00a0American Cancer Society\u00a0on the side effects of\u00a0ablative therapies for pancreatic cancer. Generally, according the ACS, those harms can \u201cinclude abdominal pain, fever, nausea, infection, and blood clots in nearby blood vessels\u201d with a\u00a0potential for serious complications. We\u2019re told the study results were \u201ccompared to standard of care data for Stage III\u00a0[locally advanced pancreatic cancer],\u201d but the release doesn\u2019t provide any numbers or context with the control group. There are many factors that can affect cancer survival, and so it\u2019s important to know how these control group patients were selected and whether their disease and treatment were truly comparable to those who received electroporation. But details on that issue are missing. It\u2019s also worth noting that, while a\u00a0median survival of nearly 2 years sounds promising, there\u2019s a chance this\u00a0claim might be overstated. Four known variations in pancreatic cancer tissue\u00a0were recently and\u00a0significantly shown to predict a pancreatic cancer patient\u2019s\u00a0survival. Those with three or four of the\u00a0variations showed a median survival of\u00a0about 9 months; those with only 1-2 survived about 23 months. Although it\u2019s unlikely most of the 200 patients in the study presented by this release fell into the latter category, it\u2019s just one example of how the benefits aren\u2019t put into context and adequately explained. There\u2019s no exaggeration of pancreatic cancer here. Pancreatic cancer is uniformly fatal with or without this new treatment. At great expense it appears survival might be extended (it is not clear for how long) . Adding\u00a0the number of people who are diagnosed and/or die from the disease every year in the U.S.\u2013about 49,000 and 40,000, respectively\u2013would have made this release stronger. We aren\u2019t told what the funding sources are, nor whether there\u2019s any conflict of interest. This information is also missing from the abstract itself. But by digging just a little bit, we learned that the lead author of the study and the primary source for this release (Dr. Martin) is a paid consultant to Angiodynamics\u00a0(scroll to the bottom for disclosure info),\u00a0which makes the NanoKnife system. This is critical information to disclose with these results. A quote from the lead author\u00a0mentions\u00a0the\u00a0alternatives for pancreatic cancer patients, \u201cwhose only treatment options until now were chemotherapy or a combination of chemo-radiation therapy\u201d and that\u2013with the NanoKnife IRE treatment\u2019\u2013\u201cthese patients now have a surgical treatment option to augment their treatment plan.\u201d We\u2019re told the NanoKnife\u00a0system \u201cis approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the surgical ablation of soft tissue\u201d and that it \u201cis not approved for use in specific cancers.\u201d So does that mean a pancreatic cancer patient could ask for this treatment? It\u2019s unclear. It\u2019s also unclear if insurance will pay for it. Ablative therapy is not new to pancreatic cancer treatment, but if true, extending 1-year survival to nearly 2 years\u00a0could be a\u00a0large and significant improvement. The release\u00a0asserts the NanoKnife IRE treatment can\u00a0double the survival for pancreatic cancer patients, but it doesn\u2019t lay out\u00a0potential\u00a0caveats, nor how this only applies to the 1-year survival category (and not the 5-year survival category). However, since we\u2019ve already dinged them for that deficiency, and there are no other examples of hyperbole, we\u2019ll call this Satisfactory."}
{"claim_id": "35276", "claim": "U. S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared during the COVID-19 pandemic that Congress would be out of session \"unless there is an emergency.", "explanation": "What's true: Leaders of both parties announced that the recesses of both houses of Congress would be extended an additional two weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but that legislators would continue to work remotely and would return to the Capitol sooner if needed to vote on emergency pandemic-related legislation. What's false: Nancy Pelosi did not unilaterally declare that Congress would be out of session during a pandemic \"unless there is an emergency.\"", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "In April 2020, as much of the U.S. economy was at a standstill while the federal and state governments scrambled to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic, a meme circulated via social media held that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had declared Congress would be out of session until the following month unless an \u201cemergency\u201d arose:  This meme was a gross distortion of what actually took place, which was not that Pelosi took it upon herself to decide no current emergency required lawmakers\u2019 attention and to adjourn Congress until the following month (a power she does not possess). Rather, bipartisan statements from the majority leaders of both houses of Congress \u2014 Republican Mitch McConnell for the Senate and Democrat Steny Hoyer for the House of Representatives \u2014 announced that Congress would be extending its current recess by an additional two weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but legislators would continue to work remotely until May 4 unless they needed to return to Washington, D.C., earlier than that to pass emergency measures related to the pandemic. For example, CNBC reported the following of the House Majority Leader\u2019s statement on scheduling: The House will not come back to Washington until at least May 4 unless it needs to pass emergency measures to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer\u2019s office told representatives. The chamber previously expected lawmakers to return on April 20 after an extended absence. House members, most of whom have been in their districts for all of April as Covid-19 spreads, will not have to travel to Washington before May 4 \u201cabsent an emergency,\u201d the Maryland Democrat\u2019s office said. It added that lawmakers would get \u201csufficient notice\u201d if they have to travel to Washington to vote on coronavirus legislation. Similarly, NPR reported the following of the Senate Majority Leader\u2019s statement on scheduling: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the full Senate will not plan to return to the Capitol before May 4 \u2014 a delay from a planned return [on April 20]. McConnell said the decision to change the schedule was made \u201cfollowing the advice of health experts\u201d and in consultation with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. McConnell, R-Ky., stressed that Congress continues to work remotely to respond to the economic impact of the coronavirus. \u201cAs Senators continue working together from our home states, we must stay totally focused on fighting this pandemic and strengthening our nation. The coronavirus does not take days off and the United States Senate must not either, wherever we are,\u201d McConnell said in a written statement. The move follows a similar announcement a day earlier from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., informing members the House would not return until May 4. Both leaders indicated that if Congress needed to act quickly on something, members would be given at least 24 hours\u2019 notice. Here is the full announcement issued by U.S. Senate Majority Leader McConnell on April 14, 2020, regarding scheduling: Since the Senate passed the historic CARES Act in late March, Senators have been working around the country to monitor its implementation and help our states and nation attack this pandemic. As the country continues working together to flatten the curve, following the advice of health experts, the full Senate is not expected to travel back to Washington D.C. sooner than Monday, May 4th. All members will receive at least 24 hours\u2019 notice if this changes. This bipartisan decision reflects consultation with Leader Schumer and my colleagues in Senate leadership. As Senators continue working together from our home states, we must stay totally focused on fighting this pandemic and strengthening our nation. The coronavirus does not take days off and the United States Senate must not either, wherever we are. For example, the crucial Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is literally saving millions of American jobs, will run dry this week if we do not pass more funding. While other CARES Act programs such as hospital funding and assistance for state governments are just beginning to push out money, 70% of the PPP\u2019s funding has been already allotted in just a week and a half. President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, and Senate and House Republicans simply want to add more funding for this job-saving program that both parties designed together. There is no time to insist on sweeping renegotiations or ultimatums about other policies that passed both houses unanimously. Clean funding for worker pay in a crisis should not be controversial. I hope our Democratic colleagues will let Congress act this week. American workers deserve paychecks, not pink slips caused by political games. And here is the scheduling announcement issued by U.S. House Majority Leader Hoyer: Members are advised that absent an emergency, the House is not expected to meet prior to Monday, May 4, 2020. Members are further advised that if the House is required to take action on critical legislation related to the coronavirus response or other legislative priorities, Members will be given sufficient notice to return to Washington, DC. Further information will be provided as it becomes available."}
{"claim_id": "6682", "claim": "Drugmaker will donate meds for US push to end HIV epidemic.", "explanation": "The Health and Human Services Department announced Thursday that California-Based Gilead Sciences Inc. has agreed to donate medications that reduce the risk of HIV transmission for up to 200,000 people a year.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medication, Alex Azar, Health, Politics, North America, Gilead Sciences Inc, Epidemics, United States, Donald Trump", "main_text": "\u201cWill help us achieve our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America!\u201d President Donald Trump said in a celebratory tweet. The pledge may last up to 11 years, said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Gilead will donate its Truvada prevention pill until a second-generation version becomes available. The Trump administration has set a goal of ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. within 10 years. Carl Schmid of the AIDS Institute called the donation \u201ca really significant step,\u201d saying it will make the drug available to uninsured people. It lists for more than $20,000 per patient, per year. Gilead Sciences said in a news release that the medication donation is one of the largest ever made in the United States and is part of the company\u2019s ongoing initiatives to help ensure that everyone who can benefit from the medicine is able to access it. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS."}
{"claim_id": "28999", "claim": " Article lists a variety of household uses for WD-40 brand spray lubricant.", "explanation": "What's true: Some of the items on the list were corroborated by the manufacturer, while others were omitted from a modified list they provided. What's undetermined: This doesn't mean WD-40 won't necessarily work for the other purposes originally listed, just that the manufacturer doesn't recommend them.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Inboxer Rebellion, consumer products, Household Hints", "main_text": "The WD-40 brand of spray lubricant (we cover the origins of its name in another article) is one of those ubiquitous products that is both found in a large percentage of households and put to a wide variety of uses (not all of them recommended by the manufacturer). Example: I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray-painted red all around the sides of his beige truck (for some unknown reason). I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news. He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open. Another neighbor came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his paint job that was on the truck. I am impressed! WD-40Water Displacement #40. The product began from a search for a rust Preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a \u201cwater displacement\u201d compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you. When you read the \u201cshower door\u201d part, try it. It\u2019s the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It is a miracle! 1. Then try it on your stovetop.. Voila! It\u2019s now shinier than it is ever been. You will be amazed. 2. Here are some of the uses: 3. Protects silver from tarnishing. 4. Removes road tar and grime from cars. 5. Cleans and lubricates guitar strings. 6. Gives floors that \u2018just-waxed\u2019 sheen without making it slippery. 7. Keeps flies off cows. 8. Restores and cleans chalkboards. 9. Removes lipstick stains. 10. Loosens stubborn zippers. 11. Untangles jewelry chains. 12. Removes stains from stainless steel sinks. Cleans the fronts of Stainless steel appliances (have personally seen the employees of Lowes use it on their appliances in the store to keep them new looking) 13. Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill. 14. Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing. 15. Removes tomato stains from clothing 16. Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots. 17. Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors. 18. Keeps scissors working smoothly. 19. Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes. 20. Gives a children\u2019s play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide. 21. Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers. 22. Rids kid\u2019s rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises. 23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open. 24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close. 25. Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers. 26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles. 27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans. 28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling. 29. Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly. 30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools. 31. Removes splattered grease on stove. 32. Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging. 33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs. 34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell). 35. Removes all traces of duct tape. 36. Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve Arthritis pain. 37. Florida\u2019s favorite use is: \u201ccleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.\u201d 38. The favorite use in the state of New York \u2014 WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements. 39. WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it is a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using Some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states. 40. Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch. 41. WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag. 42. Also, if you\u2019ve discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone! 43. If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start. 44. It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn\u2019t seem to harm the finish and you won\u2019t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks. 45. Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40! P. S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL. The above-quoted list seeks to enlighten consumers about a number of unusual uses for WD-40 lubricating spray they might not have considered. As we explain in our article about a similar list of tips about Bounce brand fabric softener sheets, classifying as \u201cTrue\u201d or \u201cFalse\u201d e-mails that enumerate the many uses to which a particular household product can supposedly be put is always problematic, for a couple of reasons: We queried the manufacturer of WD-40 about this e-mail to see if they could provide any enlightenment, and their customer service department responded by offering a modified list from which they \u201cremoved the tips we do not recommend.\u201d The manufacturer-recommended uses for WD-40 spray that remained after their emendations were as follows: 3. Protects silver from tarnishing. 4. Removes road tar and grime from cars. 10. Loosens stubborn zippers. 11. Untangles jewelry chains. 14. Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing. 18. Keeps scissors working smoothly. 19. Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes. 21. Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers. 22. Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises. 23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open. 24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close. 26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles. 27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans. 28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling. 30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools. 33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs. 34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell). 35. Removes all traces of duct tape. 37. Florida\u2019s favorite use is: \u201ccleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.\u201d 43. If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start. 44. It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn\u2019t seem to harm the finish and you won\u2019t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks. Wash off after use. 45. Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40! Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean WD-40 won\u2019t necessarily work (more or less effectively) for the other purposes originally listed, just that the manufacturer doesn\u2019t recommend them. We welcome comments from readers detailing the results obtained from trying some of these alternative uses for WD-40 spray. As for the claim the \u201cbasic ingredient\u201d in WD-40 is \u201cfish oil,\u201d it\u2019s a common rumor and one that is easily propagated (because cans of WD-40 spray include no ingredients list), but a glance at the composition information included in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for WD-40 aerosol indicates the product is primarily petroleum-based, with the main ingredient being \u201csolvent naptha, petroleum, medium aliphatic\u201d (also known as Stoddard Solvent):"}
{"claim_id": "8963", "claim": "Testosterone replacement therapy may slow the progression of COPD", "explanation": "This release summarizes an observational study noting a relationship with two groups of men (middle aged and older), their consumption of testosterone replacement therapy and whether they are hospitalized for respiratory problems. It found that testosterone replacement therapy users had a decrease in respiratory hospitalizations compared with non-users. While observational studies such as these are useful and hypothesis generating, they do not have the strength of a randomized, blinded trial and hence one cannot conclude that such associations are causal. Better information about the harms, costs and conflicts of interests of the researchers would have made this a better news release. If testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) slows the progression of COPD in men by producing a positive lung function, this could indeed be a public health advance. Observational studies, however, are problematic in that the two cohorts of men observed (those who take TRT and those who don\u2019t) may be different in other fundamental ways. There could, for example, be a \u201chealthy user bias\u201d in that the TRT cohort of men may be naturally healthier at the start, and that any improvements in COPD function may just be a function of their basic overall health. Studies like these allow us to draw conclusions,\u00a0but only that there is an association \u2014 not that TRT caused a reduction in COPD.", "label": "false", "subjects": "COPD,SAGE,testosterone replacement therapy", "main_text": "There was no discussion of costs. The benefits were reported in quantitative terms:\u00a0 \u201cmiddle-aged testosterone replacement therapy users had a 4.2 percent greater decrease in respiratory hospitalizations compared with non-users and older testosterone replacement therapy users had a 9.1 percent greater decrease in respiratory hospitalizations compared with non-users.\u201d\u00a0 Even though this suggests that testosterone replacement therapy may slow the progression of disease in men with COPD, one is still left wondering how often that occurs. We aren\u2019t given any baseline numbers so the 4.2% and the 9.1% relative risk numbers lack context. There are known dangers to TRT including raising the risk of prostate cancer but none of the risks are mentioned in the news release. We are told that the study is based on a database of \u201c450 men aged 40 to 63 with COPD who began testosterone replacement therapy between 2005 and 2014,\u201d as well as \u201c253 men with COPD aged 66 and older who initiated testosterone replacement therapy between 2008 and 2013.\u201d It is hard to say whether the size of these study groups are large enough to draw conclusions. As the published study pointed out, the research had several limitations, none of which are pointed out in the news release: The results of our study may have been influenced by several limitations. First, all diagnoses were based on ICD-9-CM codes, which may be inaccurate or incomplete. It is possible that some of the cases we identified may have been based on misclassified data. Second, the pharmacy plans used by both study cohorts did not cover over-the-counter medications. Our database, therefore, did not include information on coadministration of these drugs; some of them, such as n-acetylcysteine, may influence the risk of respiratory outcomes. Third, the claims data used in this study did not permit examination of certain potential confounding factors such as diet, alcohol use, and other health-related behaviors. Fourth, our study cohorts were relatively small and may have lacked adequate statistical power and precision. Finally, our data included the date the prescription was filled but not the date it was obtained by the patient. In view of this, some of the drug exposure periods may have been misclassified. There is no disease mongering here. The release provides context on how many people could be affected globally by COPD. The funders of the study are not named in the release. The lead author, we learn in the full paper, \u201chas received payment, for consulting, from AbbVie, Endo Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals.\u201d\u00a0Some of these companies manufacture testosterone replacement therapy. This was not mentioned in the news release. There are a range of treatments for COPD, none of which are mentioned in this release. It is pretty obvious that TRT is available to men, so the fact it wasn\u2019t mentioned as available is a moot point. The release notes that there are some previous hypothetical links between TRT and lung function in men and that this is the first \u201clarge scale nationally representative study on this association.\u201d There are no examples of egregious and unjustified language here."}
{"claim_id": "13977", "claim": "As a result of Roe vs. Wade, \"America\u2019s maternal mortality rate dropped dramatically.", "explanation": "As a result of Roe vs. Wade, \"America\u2019s maternal mortality rate dropped dramatically.\" Rates of women dying as a result of pregnancy complications were already on the decline when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade. But experts told us that a primary reason behind this trend was legalizing abortion nationwide, which took place over a decade, with Roe as a focal point. So Roe solidified this improvement in maternal mortality rates.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Abortion, National, Public Health, Supreme Court, Women, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "Hillary Clinton says her opponent Donald Trump wants to take the country back to a time that was bad for women\u2019s reproductive health. \"When Donald Trump says \u2018let\u2019s make America great again,\u2019 that is code for \u2018let\u2019s take America backward.\u2019 Back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all,\" she said in June 10 remarks at a Planned Parenthood event. \"Back to the days when abortion was illegal, women had far fewer options, and life for too many women and girls was limited. Well, Donald, those days are over.\" Clinton went on to note significant moments in history for women\u2019s health, notably the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, Roe vs. Wade. \"So young women were no longer dying in emergency rooms and back alleys from botched, illegal abortions,\" she said. \"And this is a fact that is not often heard, but I hope you will repeat it: America\u2019s maternal mortality rate dropped dramatically.\" We decided to look into Clinton\u2019s factoid: that Roe vs. Wade resulted in a decreased number of women dying as a result of pregnancy complications. Maternal mortality rates, which are the number of deaths per 100,000 live births, were already declining rapidly in the years prior to the January 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, according to the Vital Statistics of the United States, maintained by the Centers for Disease Control. This is also true looking just at mortality rates related to abortion. In 1965, about 32 women for every 100,000 live births died as a result of pregnancy complications, including abortions. It fell steadily every year leading up to Roe in 1973, when the rate was 15.2. The rate continued to decrease in the years after, to 9.6 in 1979. You can see in the graph that there is a slightly bigger drop than previous years in maternal mortality rates between 1972 and 1973, during which the Supreme Court decided Roe. The same pattern is visible for abortion-related deaths, with a rate of 6.3 in 1965, falling to fewer than 1 in the years after Roe. Both overall maternal mortality and abortion mortality were declining in the years leading up to Roe due to better antibiotics, blood banks and other medical advancements, said David Grimes, a clinical professor in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. However, the decline in abortion related-deaths accelerated when abortion started to become legal. It\u2019s also worth noting that before abortion became legal, the number of abortions \u2014 and thus the number of abortion-related deaths \u2014 were likely underreported. While Roe is a focal point, the decline in maternal mortality as a result of legalized abortion took place over about a decade \u2014 from the time states began to legalize abortion on their own in 1966 to when the rest transitioned to complying with the Supreme Court ruling in the late 1970s, said Johanna Schoen, an expert in reproductive rights history and professor at Rutgers University. By the time the court decided Roe in 1973, New York, Alaska, Hawaii and Washington legalized abortion in nearly all cases, while about 13 other states legalized it in some cases, such as in the case of rape or incest. Legalizing abortion gave medical professionals the okay to conduct the procedure out in the open and to research safer methods, which helped bring overall maternal mortality rates down. So not only were women moving from less-safe illegal abortions to legal ones, the legal abortions were becoming safer. In fact, receiving an abortion now carries a lower mortality risk than moving forward with a pregnancy. \"With the legalization of abortion and the simultaneous introduction of medical equipment to perform first trimester abortions with vacuum aspiration machines, a previously clandestine and dangerous procedure became safe, quick, and inexpensive almost overnight,\" Schoen wrote in her book, Abortion after Roe. The fact that legalizing abortion was able to affect overall maternal mortality rates is a testament to how many women were having abortions at the time, Schoen told PolitiFact. In a stark turn of events, maternal mortality rates are currently on the rise in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This sets the United States apart from its peer countries, which have generally seen continued declines. Researchers hypothesize that the increase has to do with women getting pregnant while suffering from a chronic illness like diabetes, more women giving birth via higher-risk cesarean sections, or hospitals are getting better at reporting maternal deaths. Our ruling As a result of Roe vs. Wade, \"America\u2019s maternal mortality rate dropped dramatically.\" Rates of women dying as a result of pregnancy complications were already on the decline when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade. But experts told us that a primary reason behind this trend was legalizing abortion nationwide, which took place over a decade, with Roe as a focal point. So Roe solidified this improvement in maternal mortality rates."}
{"claim_id": "8879", "claim": "U.S. says UCB cough medicine overdose can kill.", "explanation": "U.S. health officials warned parents and doctors about Tussionex, the prescription cough medicine, saying it may have fatal side effects if used inappropriately.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert on Tuesday saying it had received reports that indicate doctors may be over prescribing the cough medicine made by UCB. Some people also are taking the medicine, Tussionex Pennkinetic Extended-Release Suspension. more frequently than every 12 hours, the recommended time interval, or giving it to children under age 6, the FDA said. Tussionex is not approved for children younger than 6 years old. The FDA said it had received numerous reports of health problems and deaths among children and adults who took Tussionex, which contains the narcotic pain reliever hydrocodone. Too much hydrocodone can cause life-threatening breathing problems. Five deaths have been reported among children under 6 who took Tussionex since its approval in 1987, company spokesman Eric Miller said on Friday. He said then that UCB has proposed a stronger warning for the medicine following the reports of the deaths. Miller said on Tuesday the number of deaths reported to the company for that age group remained at five. The FDA urged doctors and patients to follow prescribing instructions and to only use a medical syringe or other device designed to measure liquid medications. Household spoons vary in size and should not be used, the FDA said. \u201cThere is a real and serious risk for overdosing if this medication is not used according to the labeling,\u201d Dr. Curtis Rosebraugh, acting director of the FDA office that regulates prescription cough medicines, said in a statement. UCB, based in Belgium, will update the Tussionex label to address the concerns, the FDA\u2019s statement said. \u201cThe FDA\u2019s alert is fully in line with our efforts to make sure this product is properly used,\u201d a spokeswoman for UCB told Reuters, adding the company had already taken steps to clarify the label of the product in 2007. The spokeswoman said she could not see any reason why UCB would withdraw the product as the FDA alert only addressed an improper use of the medicine. Tussionex sales in the U.S. totaled 114 million euros ($176 million) in 2007, the spokeswoman added. The FDA alert was posted here"}
{"claim_id": "22454", "claim": "Alan Grayson Says Florida Gov. Rick Scott\u2019s cuts to education are the same as his proposed\u00a0corporate income tax rate reduction.", "explanation": "Alan Grayson returns to MSNBC stage, criticizes Gov. Rick Scott's corporate tax cut plan", "label": "false", "subjects": "Education, State Budget, Taxes, Florida, Alan Grayson, ", "main_text": "Minutes after Florida Gov. Rick Scott finished delivering his first State of the State address, a trio of Democrats took turns rebuffing the new governor on everything he just said. Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich and House Minority Leader Ron Saunders came first in brief televised remarks, attacking Scott\u2019s plans to cut education funding and make teachers, firefighters and police officers take de facto pay cuts in order to contribute to their own retirement. They were, in many ways, a warm-up act for former Florida U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who used a national cable platform offered by MSNBC to excoriate\u00a0Scott's plans. Grayson opened the interview on March 8, 2011, by answering a question about how Scott -- whose former hospital company Columbia/HCA pleaded guilty to 14 corporate felonies and paid $1.7 billion in fines -- could be elected governor in the first place. He said it was par for the course for Florida Republicans. \"The last head of the Republican Party of Florida was literally led away in chains and indicted,\" Grayson said, referring to deposed RPOF chairman Jim Greer. Then Grayson cracked a joke, saying Scott once refused to answer questions during a deposition by invoking his 5th Amendment constitutional rights 75 times. \"That\u2019s like pleading the 375th.\" Grayson closed the interview by criticizing Scott\u2019s plan to cut and eventually eliminate the state\u2019s 5.5 percent corporate income tax, suggesting education spending reductions are funding the corporate tax cut. \"He wants to eliminate the corporate income tax and cut corporate taxes in Florida by $1.5 billion,\" Grayson said. \"He wants to cut funding for the schools by $1.5 billion. \"He\u2019s taking money out of children\u2019s pockets dollar for dollar so he can stuff it in his own.\" We knew we\u2019d find a fact check among all the one-liners. We wanted to see if Grayson\u2019s shrewd ledger work is right: Does Scott\u2019s budget reduce education funding by the same amount he would cut\u00a0corporate taxes? The numbers are fairly easy to find, it turns out. Scott\u2019s budget proposal for 2011-12 reduces the total amount of state K-12 education funding from $18.2 billion, to $16.5 billion -- a total cut of $1.7 billion. That number includes local property taxes the state mandates school boards collect (the required local effort), the state contribution from sales tax revenues and trust funds, and money passing through the state from the federal government. The cuts break down this way (we\u2019re rounding a bit, so everything might not add up exactly):  * The state\u2019s contribution would decrease by about $11 million, but remain largely the same, about $8.9 billion. * Required local education taxes would shrink by about $660 million, and discretionary local taxes would shrink an additional $200 million -- shrinking the local contribution from about $8.4 billion to nearly $7.5 billion. * And the state also would not replace about $873 million in federal stimulus funds. On the other side of the ledger is Scott\u2019s proposed cut to the 5.5 percent corporate income tax. The tax is exactly what it sounds like -- it\u2019s paid as a percentage of the incomes of Florida businesses. Florida already has one of the lower corporate tax rates in the country, but Scott has made eliminating the tax a priority. As part of his 2011-12 budget, Scott proposes reducing the tax rate to 3 percent. His office says the reduction will save corporations $460 million. Put another way, the cut will trim state revenues as part of the 2011-12 budget by $460 million. It doesn\u2019t take an Ivy League mathematics degree to figure out that the numbers don\u2019t begin to line up the way Grayson suggests. The tax cuts represent $460 million, which is less than one third of the $1.7 billion education cut. Part of the issue might be Scott\u2019s budget proposal is actually for two years -- 2011-12 and 2012-13. Over two years -- after factoring in a second reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 3 to 2.5 percent -- corporations would save a total of $1.5 billion, according to the governor\u2019s office. But that\u2019s not being fair -- $1.5 billion over two years doesn\u2019t exactly compare to $1.7 billion over one year. In reviewing Scott\u2019s tax-cutting proposals, it appears Grayson\u2019s error also could have been singling out the corporate income tax as a way to cast Scott as a greedy CEO-type looking out only for his buddies. As we said in a previous item, Scott is proposing a total of $1.7 billion in tax and fee cuts as part of his 2011-12 budget. Scott\u2019s proposal includes cuts to the corporate income tax, a cut to required school district property taxes, and a cut to unemployment taxes. PolitiFact Florida has previously ruled that roughly half of those cuts apply only to businesses, while half apply to homeowners and typical Floridians. Look at the numbers -- a total of $1.7 billion in tax and fee cuts in 2011-12 versus a proposed total education funding cut of $1.7 billion. They match (well, they\u2019re not identical, because of rounding). And there\u2019s one final way to look at this. The corporate income tax is estimated to collect about $2 billion in the current budget year. If it\u2019s eliminated, a goal of Scott\u2019s, that would be $2 billion less the state would receive. That\u2019s on the order of the $1.7 billion K-12 education Scott is proposing for 2011-12. But again, that\u2019s comparing additional budget years beyond even 2012-13 to cuts coming this year. On MSNBC, Grayson targeted Scott\u2019s proposal to cut the corporate income tax, suggesting the cuts for corporate CEOs are being paid for on the back of students. While he\u2019s right that any tax cut results in money not available to be spent on programs like education, he gets his numbers wrong. If Grayson had said the tax cuts and fees being proposed by Scott are being paid for by education cuts, he\u2019d have more of a point. But sticking to what he said."}
{"claim_id": "21739", "claim": "Lois Kolkhorst Says $500 billion in Medicare cuts are coming.", "explanation": "Lois Kolkhorst says $500 billion in Medicare cuts are coming", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medicare, Texas, Lois Kolkhorst, ", "main_text": "Defending her own health care measure, state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst answered a colleague\u2019s query about preserving insurance for the elderly of Texas by warning that national cuts loom. The Brenham Republican, who chairs the House Public Health Committee, said during June 15 floor debate: \"We know they are reducing the entitlement to Medicare.\" She added: \"We know that we have these cuts coming our way of over half a trillion to Medicare.\" We do? Some background: PolitiFact teams in Washington and other states have pointed out that it\u2019s incorrect to deem reductions in the growth of Medicare spending, written into the federal health care overhaul signed into law last year by President Barack Obama, as cuts. These reductions are being counted as projected savings compared to what would have happened without the change in law. The program\u2019s overall costs are projected to increase to $929 billion in 2020, up from $499 billion in 2009, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Also, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, tagged Obamacare by critics, doesn\u2019t eliminate benefits. Indeed, portions of the law improve benefits and coverage, according to Tricia Neuman, director of the Medicare Policy Project at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit health care research organization. Medicare will cover more preventive health care services, such as wellness visits, and recipients won't face the \"doughnut hole\" gap in prescription coverage imposed under an existing Medicare program. Other provisions reduce the growth in Medicare spending by helping the program operate more efficiently and fund other coverage expansions to the uninsured. Other provisions are designed to improve the delivery of care and quality of care, Neuman has said. To back up Kolkhorst's claim, which was brought to our attention by Democratic activist Phillip Martin, her office passed along a September 2010 Wall Street Journal opinion piece quoting Richard S. Foster, Medicare's chief actuary, outlining intended cuts in payments to medical providers and hospitals as well as reductions in payments for Medicare Advantage, an optional program where the federal government pays private insurance companies a set rate to treat Medicare recipients. It was hoped that competition between private insurers for Medicare Advantage programs would drive down costs and make the system more efficient, ultimately saving the federal government money. But it has not worked out that way. A June 2009 analysis from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission said the Advantage programs cost taxpayers an average of 14 percent more than traditional Medicare. The 2010 health care law will phase out extra payments for Medicare Advantage programs to bring their costs in line with traditional Medicare. The law also calls for slowing increases in payment rates to hospitals and other service providers each year. Also, the law directs a new national board to identify $15.5 billion in savings, though the board \u2014 the Independent Payment Advisory Board \u2014 is prohibited from proposing anything that would ration care or reduce or modify benefits. Kolkhorst\u2019s office pointed us to the Medicare actuary\u2019s April 2010 analysis, which includes a chart suggesting that through 2019, the new law will net Medicare \"savings\" of $575.1 billion. It also says that 60.5 million Americans will be covered by Medicare in 2019, the same number that would have been covered without a change in law. Foster\u2019s memo says the Medicare savings are to be achieved largely through reduced payments to medical providers including hospitals, tied to raised productivity expectations. It warns, though, that those gains are unlikely to be sustainable on a permanent basis and would also probably prove unworkable and less than projected in some health-care sectors during the law\u2019s roll-out. Moreover, his memo says, health care providers \"for whom Medicare constitutes a substantive portion of their business could find it difficult to remain profitable and, absent legislative intervention, might end their participation in the program (possibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries).\" It says its own simulations suggest that about 15 percent of providers in the Medicare program specific to inpatient care in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities as well as hospice care and home health services would become unprofitable by 2019 due to the productivity provisions. Kolkhorst\u2019s chief of staff, Chris Steinbach, suggested the projected reductions in rates are tantamount to cuts in Medicare. He said by email: \"If there is an entitlement for everyone eligible to receive a pizza, and we are cutting the rate paid to pizza kitchens by x percent, then there will be less of that entitlement for pizza.\" Similarly, Kolkhorst told us the changes built into the 2010 law will reduce access to Medicare. \"You\u2019re splitting hairs to say those are savings; they\u2019re cuts,\" she said, adding: \"Things are going to change ... To say that everything is going to remain as it is today, that\u2019s erroneous.\" That last point seems reasonable, but it\u2019s not exactly what she told her House colleagues. The referenced $500 billion figure depends on a slowing in the pace of Medicare cost increases. That\u2019s not the same as cutting back. Medicare spending will still grow; benefits will expand. Still, there remains the prospect of some providers quitting Medicare, possibly making it harder for patients to get care. Kolkhorst\u2019s statement has an element of truth, making it Barely True."}
{"claim_id": "8458", "claim": "A day fighting COVID-19: U.S. hospital staff share hardest moments on shift.", "explanation": "The shifts are long and the scenes are heartbreaking inside a Maryland hospital where nurses and doctors have been treating coronavirus patients for weeks, unable to let family inside to visit loved ones on their death beds.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "One of the hardest moments of a recent work day for registered nurse Julia Trainor was intubating a patient, and then calling the patient\u2019s husband so he could talk to his wife. He was not allowed in the hospital. \u201cI had to put him on the phone and hold the phone to her ear as he told her that he loved her so much, and then I had to wipe away her tears,\u201d says Trainor, who works in a surgical intensive care unit. \u201cI\u2019m used to seeing very sick patients and I\u2019m used to patients dying, but nothing quite like this.\u201d  The highly infectious COVID-19 disease caused by the novel coronavirus has infected more than 580,000 people across the United States and killed nearly 24,000. In Maryland, where residents have been ordered to stay at home since March 30 to stem the spread of the disease, around 9,000 have tested positive for the virus and more than 260 have died. After finishing what for many was a more than 12-hour shift, some nurses and doctors at one hospital shared with Reuters the hardest moments of their days. The hospital asked that it not be named. The medical workers agreed that one of the toughest parts of the job - more than the exhausting schedule or adjusting to work in a new unit - was witnessing the toll on patients and families. Because of the hospital\u2019s no-visitor policy, which was implemented to prevent further spread of the virus, the medical staff must care for the patients\u2019 physical needs and offer as much emotional support as they can muster in the absence of the patients\u2019 families. \u201cThe hardest moment during the shift was just seeing COVID patients die helpless and without their family members beside them,\u201d says Ernest Capadngan, a nurse in the hospital\u2019s biocontainment unit. Communicating with the families has weighed heavily on the hospital staff. Staff cannot bend the no-visit rules, even when a family calls in desperation. \u201cI had a patient fall out of bed today and I had to call his wife and tell her and she couldn\u2019t come see him, even though she pleaded and begged to come see him,\u201d says Tracey Wilson, a nurse practitioner. \u201cOne of the hardest moments was having to see a family member of a COVID patient say goodbye over an iPad,\u201d says Tiffany Fare, a nurse in the biocontainment unit. \u201cYou can\u2019t see your loved one and then they\u2019re gone.\u201d  There are very few opportunities to rest during a shift, although colleagues look out for one another and try to cover for each other when someone needs a break. Cheryll Mack, a registered nurse in the emergency room, says she tries to get outside for 15 minutes during the day to breathe. \u201cIt has given me relief, just fresh air,\u201d Mack says. Each shift concludes with a similar decontamination drill. Nurses and doctors must remove their personal protective equipment and shower immediately before coming in contact with their family at home. \u201cI take a very long, very hot shower. And then I usually sit on the couch and... read a book or watch some mindless reality show in order to destress,\u201d says Martine Bell, a nurse practitioner. Laura Bontempo, an emergency medicine physician, says she removes her work clothing and gear in a decontamination tent she has set up outside her home, and then wraps herself in a towel and runs inside to shower. Then she puts the scrubs in the washing machine by themselves to not contaminate any other items. Meghan Sheehan, 27, a nurse practitioner, says she drives home each night without turning on the radio and uses the quiet time to reflect on her shift and her patients. When she gets home, she tries hard not to dwell on the day. \u201cI go home, I shower immediately and try to have dinner with family, and try to not talk about it,\u201d she said. \u201cNighttime is definitely the hardest because you\u2019re constantly thinking about what the next day will bring.\u201d   For a photo essay see reut.rs/2wFeik7"}
{"claim_id": "15092", "claim": "In 2006, Planned Parenthood performed more prevention services and cancer screenings than abortions, but in 2013, there were more abortions.", "explanation": "At the hearing, Chaffetz presented a chart that showed the number of abortions at Planned Parenthood rising higher than the number of preventive services and cancer screenings between 2006 and 2013. But that\u2019s inaccurate, disputed by the chart\u2019s own, hard to read numerical labels. In fact, there were three times as many cancer screenings and prevention services as abortions in 2013. Experts in data presentation said this was an egregious example of using a chart to mislead.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, National, Women, Jason Chaffetz, ", "main_text": "Congress may have avoided a government shutdown related to Planned Parenthood funding \u2014 at least so far \u2014 but the controversy over the women\u2019s health organization looks like it\u2019s here to stay. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sparred with Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards during a high-profile hearing on Sept. 29. One of their face-offs originated with a chart Chaffetz flashed, indicating that Planned Parenthood performed more abortions than \"life-saving procedures\" in 2013, a complete reversal from just seven years ago. The chart\u00a0features a pair of lines crossing \u2014 one headed upward (abortions) and the other headed downward (cancer screening and prevention services). When referring to the chart in the hearing, Chaffetz said, \"In pink, that's the reduction in the breast exams, and the red is the increase in the abortions. That's what's going on in your organization.\" \"This is a slide that has never been shown to me before,\" Richards responded. \"Excuse me, my lawyer is informing me that the source of this is actually Americans United for Life, which is an anti-abortion group. So, I would check your source.\" \"Then we will get to the bottom of the truth of that,\" Chaffetz agreed. Many news outlets characterized the chart as misleading, so we too wanted to get to the bottom of the truth. As it turns out, Richards\u2019 lawyer was correct about the source of the chart -- it comes from an Americans United for Life web post from June 2015. The chart, we found, gives a misleading impression. The numbers listed on the chart are based on actual statistics, but they are small and were hard to read during the televised hearings. The chart\u2019s most prominent feature \u2014 the much larger crossed arrows \u2014 suggests a conclusion that\u2019s flat wrong. We reached out to Chaffetz\u2019s office but did not hear back. A spokesperson for Americans United for Life told PolitiFact that the graphic is accurate and honest. Experts, however, begged to differ. \"That graphic is a damn lie,\" said Alberto Cairo, who researches visual communication at the University of Miami. \"Regardless of whatever people think of this issue, this distortion is ethically wrong.\" Dueling axes Chaffetz\u2019s chart falls into a category known as a dual-axis chart. On the left side, cancer screenings and prevention services are plotted in the millions. On the right side, abortions are plotted in the hundreds of thousands. But the way the chart was assembled is problematic. For starters, dual-axis charts are particularly susceptible to showing spurious correlations. With two axes, trend lines can be exaggerated and manipulated, as most people ignore the axis labels that put the numbers in context. \"It forces your brain to see a relationship that isn\u2019t there,\" Cairo said. \"As economist Gary Smith once said, \u2018If you double the axes, you can double the mischief.\u2019 \" Second, it\u2019s even more inappropriate to use a dual-axis chart when comparing equivalent measures (in this case, the number of services performed by Planned Parenthood) using different scales, said Enrico Bertini, a professor at New York University who studies data visualization and who called the chart \"scandalous.\" Typically, dual-axis charts are used to compare lines that represent different things \u2014 \"for instance, abortion rates and cost,\" said Bertini. \"But in this case the unit is the same.\" \"You cannot put two measures, one in the millions and one in the hundreds, without making it explicit,\" Cairo said. \"We map data into visual properties \u2014 height, length, color \u2014 but we need to keep the proportions. We cannot force the data to adopt a shape we like.\" Finally, perhaps the most egregious decision was to not label the axes. Experts told us that, given this decision, they cannot rule out purposeful deception. \"By claiming to combine these two lines into one graph and then omitting the y-axis, we are being misled into to making a false comparison of two non-equivalent contexts,\" said Noah Iliinsky, a visualization and information designer based in Seattle. \"The graph is absolutely misleading, and intentionally so.\" Iliinsky also said he saw \"propagandized design choices\" in the choice of the arrowheads, which suggest a \"strong continuation of these trends, which we don\u2019t know to be true.\" Corrected charts With guidance from the experts, we compiled the number of abortions and cancer screenings/prevention services from Planned Parenthood\u2019s annual reports from 2006 to 2013 (we could not find a report from 2008). Here\u2019s what the chart should look like:  As you can see from the chart, the number of abortions provided by Planned Parenthood has essentially held steady, with marginal increases and a modest peak in 2009. It is true, however, that the organization now provides fewer cancer screenings and preventive services, though medical experts said that\u2019s more likely due to changing health guidelines than the organization prioritizing abortions. Spokespersons for Planned Parenthood and for the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists both pointed to changing guidelines for Pap smears, the screening test for cervical cancer. Medical groups used to recommend an annual Pap, but now suggests the test every three or five years for most women. Planned Parenthood also provides an array of other services such as STI/STD testing and treatment \u2014\u00a0services that have gone up by 50 percent since 2006 \u2014\u00a0as well as pregnancy tests. Here\u2019s how all of the services have changed from 2006 to 2013: < A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood told PolitiFact that the number of services provided in each category tend to fluctuate from year to year for myriad reasons, ranging from changes in laws and medical practices to the opening or closure of Planned Parenthood clinics. Megan Christin, a spokesperson for the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, speculated that the decline in contraception could be due to a growth in the use of IUDs, which last for five to eight years. Overall, if we compare abortions and non-abortion services provided by Planned Parenthood \u2014\u00a0and if we use standard scales on the axes, we see largely consistent trend lines for both:  Our ruling At the hearing, Chaffetz presented a chart that showed the number of abortions at Planned Parenthood rising higher than the number of preventive services and cancer screenings between 2006 and 2013. But that\u2019s inaccurate, disputed by the chart\u2019s own, hard to read numerical labels. In fact, there were three times as many cancer screenings and prevention services as abortions in 2013. Experts in data presentation said this was an egregious example of using a chart to mislead. We rate the claim ."}
{"claim_id": "13681", "claim": "Hillary Clinton Says Donald Trump \"has been talking about the option of using a nuclear weapon against our Western European allies.", "explanation": "A Clinton campaign ad claims Trump has talked about the option of using nuclear weapons against America\u2019s western European allies. Experts said his comments on nuclear weapons are imprecise, but they interpreted his comments as vaguely aligned with U.S. policy, at least in the sense that America does not rule out using weapons to protect allies. Trump never explicitly talked about using nuclear weapons against America\u2019s allies in Europe -- but that he he is just leaving the option open. The claim has an element of truth but is misleading. https://www", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Nuclear, Hillary Clinton, ", "main_text": "Donald Trump is \"too dangerous\" to have access to the nuclear codes, Hillary Clinton emphasizes in a new ad. The ad features soundbites from pundits voicing concern about whether Trump is ready for the responsibilities of the presidency. Speakers include Michael Hayden, former CIA director under George W. Bush; Max Boot, a conservative foreign policy analyst; and Charles Krauthammer, a conservative columnist. (All have criticized Trump on some occasions.) One clip features Gillian Turner, who worked at the White House National Security Council under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, talking on Fox News. Trump \"has been talking about the option of using a nuclear weapon against our Western European allies,\" the ad shows Turner saying. We wanted to fact-check whether the Clinton campaign accurately portrayed Trump\u2019s comments about nuclear weapons and western Europe. In our view, even though Turner made the statement, it was the Clinton campaign\u2019s decision to pull the clip and advance its \"unfit\" argument. Is Clinton\u2019s campaign correct in saying Trump has considered using nuclear weapons against America\u2019s western European allies? Not exactly. What Trump has said The comment in question stems from an MSNBC town hall interview in March. Trump was asked by host Chris Matthews if he might use nuclear weapons. Trump: \"I\u2019d be the last one to use the nuclear weapons, because that\u2019s sort of like the end of the ballgame.\" Matthews: \"So, can you take it off the table now? Can you tell the Middle East we are not using the nuclear weapon on anybody?\" Trump: \"I would never say that. I would never take any of my cards off the table.\" Matthews: \"How about Europe? We won\u2019t use it in Europe.\" Trump: \"I\u2019m not going to take it off the table for anybody.\" Matthews: \"You might use it in Europe?\" Trump: \"No. I don\u2019t think so, but \u2014 I am not taking cards off the table. I\u2019m not going to use nukes, but I\u2019m not taking cards off the table.\" In the same breath, Trump said he would not use nuclear weapons, but he went on to say he wouldn't take it off the table for \"anybody,\" include Europe. He stuck by this phrasing in another interview on The O\u2019Reilly Factor when Eric Bolling asked the same question. \"Europe\u2019s a big place,\" he said. \"I\u2019m not going to take cards off the the table. We have nuclear capability. Now, our capability is going down rapidly because of what we're doing. It's in bad shape. The equipment is not properly maintained. There are all lot of talk about that. And that's a bad thing, not a good thing.The last person to use nuclear would be Donald Trump. That\u2019s the way I feel. I think it\u2019s a horrible thing. The thought of it is horrible, but I don\u2019t want to take anything off the table.\" In these two interviews, each held within a day of one another, Trump\u2019s position on nuclear weapons overall and in Europe is convoluted. Yes, he hates the idea, but he doesn\u2019t want to take the option off the table. Experts weigh in Experts we spoke to said Trump\u2019s comments were a departure from previous rhetoric because they\u2019re imprecise, but they noted his refusal to \"take options off the table\" is vaguely in line with U.S. policy. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, referred to the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review Report, which focuses on preventing nuclear proliferation, \"Indeed, as long as nuclear weapons exist, the United States will sustain safe, secure, and effective nuclear forces,\" reads the report. \"These nuclear forces will continue to play an essential role in deterring potential adversaries and reassuring allies and partners around the world.\" Point being, there are some instances where the United States does not rule out using nuclear weapons, he said, which is why Trump\u2019s \"cards on the table\" policy is somewhat in line with U.S. policy. Jim Walsh, an international security and research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he\u2019s \"seen nothing\" suggesting Trump would use nuclear weapons against America\u2019s European allies. \"What Trump may be trying to say is actually consistent with traditional U.S. doctrine, that is, we are prepared to use (nuclear weapons) to counter a Russian/Soviet invasion of Western Europe with conventional forces,\" Walsh, who is not a fan of Trump, said. \"That's a NATO commitment.\" The usual rhetoric -- that America would use nuclear weapons against Soviets to protect our allies -- is in line with what previous presidents have said, said Richard Nephew, a research scholar and program director for economic statecraft, sanctions and energy markets at Columbia University. It should be noted that Nephew said he is \"repelled by Trump and his rhetoric, including around nuclear weapons.\" \"Previous presidents have spoken about the use of nuclear weapons to threaten the Soviets and others that might attack our allies,\" Nephew said. \"They have talked about battlefield uses only in an extreme crisis and rarely spoken about tactical nuclear weapons at all (which would be what a normal president would be referring to: using nuclear weapons to attack enemy forces invading our Allies).\" After speaking to experts, we can conclude that Trump\u2019s comments are vague, but do not translate directly into using weapons against our European allies. We reached out to Gillian Turner to hear how she feels about being used in the ad, but we didn\u2019t hear back from her. Our ruling A Clinton campaign ad claims Trump has talked about the option of using nuclear weapons against America\u2019s western European allies. Experts said his comments on nuclear weapons are imprecise, but they interpreted his comments as vaguely aligned with U.S. policy, at least in the sense that America does not rule out using weapons to protect allies. Trump never explicitly talked about using nuclear weapons against America\u2019s allies in Europe -- but that he he is just leaving the option open. The claim has an element of truth but is misleading."}
{"claim_id": "9964", "claim": "Marijuana Eases Spasticity in MS Patients", "explanation": "This story lacked many of the vital ingredients of any health news story. It didn\u2019t:\u00a0  offer any independent perspective; quantify harms or benefits of the marijuana extract use; scrutinize the quality of the evidence; challenge the implication that subjective evidence was OK despite limitations in objective measurements. A story like this turns the website (in this case) over to researchers to talk about their work without any challenge from any other expert independent source. News consumers should be cautious whenever they see a story like this. And given the desperation of many people with MS, an incomplete story like this is particularly unfortunate.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "If the marijuana extracts are experimental, we could understand why costs might not be mentioned \u2013 which they weren\u2019t. But since the story never explained whether these are available products or not, we have no idea of availability nor of cost. Absolutely no numbers were provided to give a sense of the scope of the suggested benefit. How many people who took the extracts benefited? You\u2019d never know from the story. Absolutely no numbers were provided to give a sense of the scope of the potential harms of taking the extracts. All the story said was, \"Side effects vary greatly.\" What were they? How many people had them? The story included this curious quote from the researchers: But science is all about objective measurement, and the story never did anything to address this questionable assertion. There was no exaggeration of the muscle spasm symptoms of MS. A HealthDay story reported: But this WebMD story included no independent perspective \u2013 a major shortcoming. The story stated that \"many existing therapies for this condition are difficult to obtain, ineffective, or associated with intolerable side effects. But we are not told anything about what these therapies are \u2013 nor are we given any details about all of these suggested shortcomings. So readers are not able to make any meaningful comparison based on the story. The story described \"marijuana extracts\" but never clarified whether they were now available or still experimental. Also, many people would want to know how these extracts \u2013 taken by mouth \u2013 differ from smoking marijuana \u2013 which the story never explained. A HealthDay story quoted a Mayo Clinic neurologist saying, \"the idea of using cannabis to treat MS has been around for a long time.\" No such context appeared in this story. The story discloses that it lifted a quote from a news release. We appreciate that admission. But we judge the story unsatisfactory on this criterion because it clearly relied on a news release without putting any independent perspective in the story \u2013 something other stories managed to do easily (See \"Source\" criterion below.) It\u2019s difficult to see how/if any independent reporting went into this story."}
{"claim_id": "3502", "claim": "Governor works with broadcasters to address mental health.", "explanation": "Rhode Island\u2019s governor and her husband are joining with local broadcasters to launch a mental health awareness campaign.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Mental health, Health, Gina Raimondo, Campaigns, Providence", "main_text": "Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo and Andy Moffit plan to visit the Rhode Island PBS office in Providence on Monday. Members of the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association partnered with state officials to address mental health and substance use issues. Especially during the holidays, it\u2019s important to raise awareness of mental health issues, Raimondo said. Local television and radio stations plan to simultaneously air a locally-produced, 30-minute special at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The program will continue on Rhode Island PBS at 8 p.m. It aims to provide resources for people dealing with mental health and substance use issues, and for people caring for them. Reporters from WLNE-TV, WJAR-TV and WPRI-TV worked together on the project."}
{"claim_id": "9844", "claim": "Microwave Technique Fights Lung Tumors", "explanation": "We would have liked to have seen a little more detail about the following: \u00a0 Yes, this approach is being studied for lung, bone, liver and kidney cancers, but it can\u2019t be emphasized enough how preliminary are these findings from this one Italian study that was reported. And a US audience was given no perspective on how/whether it\u2019s being analyzed here.", "label": "true", "subjects": "lung disease", "main_text": "The story says that the procedure \u201ccosts about $2,000, takes about an hour, and the patient is typically kept overnight in the hospital for observation.\u201d That\u2019s good information. Whether most insurance companies cover the therapy would have been good additional context. And the story could have included the costs for complications from the procedure \u2013 with 8 of the patients experiencing partial lung collapse with respiratory symptoms, this drives up the cost substantially. Nonetheless, we\u2019ll give the story the benefit of the doubt on this criterion. The story says that microwave ablation \u201celiminated lung tumors in 19 of 28 patients. Eight months later, none of the tumors had come back.\u201d It also paraphrases one of the study\u2019s authors saying \u201cTumors shrank or stopped growing in the other nine patients\u201d. We were glad to see additional comments later in the story pointing out that eight months is not enough time to determine whether cancer is going to return. Taken as a whole, the story shows readers that the results of this therapy \u2014 while dramatic at first glance \u2014 require further research. The story explains the short term harms associated with the therapy, noting that there were no \u201cmajor complications\u201d and that eight of the 28 patients \u201chad temporary trouble breathing due to a partially collapsed lung, but all got better on their own within a week.\u201d\u00a0 It would help to provide further information about whether those collapsed lungs required additional monitoring or hospitalization days. The information about the quality of the evidence was a bit scattered, but we think most readers would see that far more work needs to be done to establish microwave ablation as the first choice for cancer patients. The story calls it a \u201cpreliminary study\u201d and notes that findings were presented at a Radiological Society of North America conference. The story included boilerplate language at the end about why these findings should be considered preliminary for that reason. The story also notes a key limitation in the study, which is how long patients were followed. It says that patients should be followed for at least five years before declaring that the therapy has adequately eliminated any tumors. We have a problem in this category. The story lists the total numbers of patients in the US living with lung cancer, when in fact the therapy is only being tested/applicable to patients with inoperable lung tumors. This greatly overestimates the number of people for whom this therapy might be applicable. It would have been possible to provide an estimate of the number of inoperable tumors. The story quotes one independent source: American Society of Clinical Oncology spokesman Gregory Masters, MD, a medical oncologist at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center. More sources could have deepened our understanding of the technique. The story spells out both the current treatment options and potential new therapies. It says, \u201cStandard treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Researchers are looking at a number of ways of destroying tumors with heat from radiofrequency waves or by freezing it, for example.\u201d But the story could have given even a little information about how the tumor reduction rates in this preliminary study stack up against chemotherapy and radiation. Readers are really only told that this was a study in Italy and that \u201cUS researchers say the technique certainly shows promise.\u201d The story does not make it clear whether a patient could expect to have this technique performed in a typical hospital or how many clinical trials are currently ongoing involving microwave ablation. As with the \u201cavailability\u201d criterion, the novelty of the technique is a bit of a mystery, although the story does say that \u201cmicrowave ablation is being studied for the treatment of liver, kidney, and bone cancers.\u201d\u00a0 How long has it been studied or in use? We\u2019re not given a clue. It does not appear that the story relied solely on a press release."}
{"claim_id": "10881", "claim": "Obesity Surgery Helps Diabetic Patients Kick Medicines", "explanation": "As you\u2019ll see, our critique of just the \"Evidence\" criterion was almost as long as the entire blog story, but we think the points we raise about evidence are essential \u2013 no matter the story format or its perceived limitations. Good job analyzing costs. No independent sources quoted; we would like to hear from an independent expert who could address the evidence questions we raise.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "Health care spending before and after the surgery is a key point in this story. The story also includes an estimate of the cost of stomach-reduction surgery. However, neither the story nor the study offer a comparison of the spending of these patients to that of people who do not have this type of surgery. Our primary reviewers (a journalist and a physician) were split on this one. The journalist said that the story reports specifics of how many participants in this study stopped taking diabetes medications following stomach-reduction surgery, but it does not provide any context. All of the study participants were extremely obese and had diabetes. How many obese people have diabetes? Readers are not told. How many people with diabetes are so obese that they may be candidates for stomach-reduction surgery? Readers are not told. How does the reduction in health care spending following surgery compare to the spending trends of other people who are obese and have diabetes? Readers are not told that the study did not explore that question."}
{"claim_id": "11788", "claim": "Missouri \"is leading the country when it comes to improving services for mental and behavioral health. Innovation is happening right here.", "explanation": "Blunt said Missouri \"is leading the country when it comes to improving services for mental and behavioral health.\" Under the demonstration program sponsored by Blunt, Missouri will start reporting real behavioral health measures to the federal government. The reports will include information regarding time between request for treatment and treatment, hospital follow-up and medication adherence. Experts agree that Missouri has started several new initiatives to improve and innovate when it comes to services for mental and behavioral health.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health Care, Missouri, Roy Blunt, ", "main_text": "Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt has been on a mission to expand access to mental health and behavioral health patients. He believes it should be treated the same way as physical health. Blunt spoke recently in Springfield about the importance of the Excellence in Mental Health Act, which he first introduced in 2014. \"After visiting community health centers and certified community behavioral health clinics across Missouri, I\u2019m proud to see firsthand how our state is leading the country when it comes to improving services for mental and behavioral health. Innovation is happening right here,\" Blunt said Oct. 13. Access is improving, but has Missouri become the leader in championing this cause? Steps taken We reached out to Blunt\u2019s office, which referred us to a press release from Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare. Download PDF Missouri was one of the eight states initially selected to participate in the pilot program of the Excellence in Mental Health Act. This is a demonstration program that would implement a Medicaid prospective payment system for community behavioral health services. Being one of the few selected for this pilot program already puts Missouri ahead in the nationwide effort to improve mental and behavioral health services. Debra Walker, director of the Office of Public and Legislative Affairs for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, agrees with Blunt. She believes Missouri has become a national leader in the expansion of mental and behavioral health services, pointing to many of the new initiatives taking place in the state. Others shared this view. \"Sen. Blunt has truly been an asset in representing the state of Missouri in areas relating to mental health services and has historically been a strong advocate for our most vulnerable population,\" said Denise Mills, vice president of corporate relations for Burrell Behavioral Health. Brent McGinty, president of the Missouri Coalition, agrees, stating that Missouri is paving the way in \"whole-person\" health. \"Our health care home program is leading the nation in results around cost reduction and physical health improvement among the 25,000 Missourians we serve,\" McGinty said. As a representative of all of the Missouri Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers, McGinty said Missouri is currently working with law enforcement and developing a statewide system to better address behavioral health crises. \"It\u2019s hard to really say which state, if any, is leading the country for providing services for mental and behavioral health,\" said Ronald Honberg, senior policy advisor for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Honberg points out that there is no system in place for measuring this. \"It\u2019s fair to say that Missouri has been innovative,\" said Honberg, pointing to Senator Blunt and Joe Parks as champions in the cause in improving coordination between mental and behavioral health. Parks is the Medicaid director for the Missouri Department of Social Services and a member of the National Council for Behavioral Health. Some of the innovative work Missouri has been doing is with Emergency Departments and Mental Health First Aid, which are considered cutting edge across the country. Future of mental and behavioral health Currently there are no statistics to show where Missouri stands in improving services for mental and behavioral health as part of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic demonstration, but measures are to be reported to the federal government according to McGinty, president of the Missouri Coalition. \"Under the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic demonstration, sponsored by Senator Blunt, we will finally start reporting to the federal government real behavioral health measures,\" McGinty said. Recently, Sens. Blunt and Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, along with Reps. Leonard Lance, R-New Jersey, and Doris Matsui, D-California, announced this would be expanded to 11 more states. With the inclusion of more states it will more likely create distinctions in who is and is not leading the nation in regard to improving services for mental and behavioral health. As of now, Missouri is implementing new measures to address whole-person care. Some of these initiatives include a partnership for Hope Waiver for Developmental Disabilities and the construction of a new, state-of-the-art, high security facility at Fulton State Hospital. \"The state that actually is moving ahead fastest, gets the most done, where access and quality are both being addressed, the state that not only comes to my mind but everyone in the field\u2019s mind, is Missouri,\" said Linda Rosenberg, CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health in a 2016 press release. Our ruling Blunt said Missouri \"is leading the country when it comes to improving services for mental and behavioral health.\" Under the demonstration program sponsored by Blunt, Missouri will start reporting real behavioral health measures to the federal government. The reports will include information regarding time between request for treatment and treatment, hospital follow-up and medication adherence. Experts agree that Missouri has started several new initiatives to improve and innovate when it comes to services for mental and behavioral health. We rate this claim\u00a0."}
{"claim_id": "8454", "claim": "From Eurovision host to coronavirus care, Rotterdam venue changes tune.", "explanation": "Rotterdam\u2019s Ahoy concert hall had been gearing up for the glitter and glamour of next month\u2019s Eurovision song contest - but on Wednesday it opened its doors to medics instead as the Netherlands\u2019 newest care centre for coronavirus patients.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The venue has capacity for 680 hospital beds in its halls, normally used for concerts, trade fairs and international sports events, and the first 80 have now been installed. \u201cWe have built it in the last two weeks and now I am organising all the nurses and doctors who are going to work here,\u201d the newly christened Care Centre Ahoy\u2019s director Hugo Keuzekamp told Reuters. It is expected to open for patients on Monday, he said, and will treat people with the coronavirus or other illnesses who do not require hospital admission. The number of coronavirus infections in the Netherlands has risen rapidly since the first case was reported on Feb. 27, topping 28,000 as of Wednesday, with more than 3,100 deaths. But in recent days reported hospital admissions have levelled off below 200 a day, leading to speculation that the Ahoy might not need to take in any patients at all. \u201cWell that would be good news, because ...that would mean that our (existing) care system ...is (coping),\u201d said Saskia Baas of the Rotterdam-Rijmond health services. The Ahoy was picked to host Eurovision after Dutch singer-songwriter Duncan Laurence won last year\u2019s event in Tel Aviv with a song called \u201cArcade\u201d. The epidemic forced organisers to call off the 2020 contest in March."}
{"claim_id": "4833", "claim": "Georgia woman gets life sentence in boyfriend\u2019s slaying.", "explanation": "A Georgia woman convicted of shooting her boyfriend to death then confessing to the crime at a mental health facility has been sentenced to life in prison.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Columbus, Shootings, Mental health, Health, Crime, Georgia", "main_text": "The Ledger-Enquirer reports 45-year-old Yashicer Alexandra Pritchett was found guilty of felony murder on Monday for the 2018 attack on her boyfriend, 51-year-old Tommy Ellis Marshall Jr. Under her sentence, she\u2019ll be eligible for parole. Prosecutors say Pritchett and Marshall had a dispute over him talking to another woman. Crime scene evidence showed she shot him in the neck as he bent over to fix a TV. Prosecutors added that Pritchett checked herself into a mental health center afterward and called 911 the next day, telling dispatchers Marshall was hurt and someone should check on him. Police found his body days later. ___ Information from: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, http://ledger-enquirer.com"}
{"claim_id": "34639", "claim": "Coca-Cola is an effective solution for eliminating head lice.", "explanation": "Coca-Cola is not an officially endorsed product for removing head lice, and while some people may have found\u00a0the beverage to be seemingly effective on an individual basis, there is no evidence that this is a reliable method of lice removal. If you\u2019re trying to get rid of your nits, it\u2019s probably best to stick to the tried-and-true methods: a lice comb, medicated shampoo, and patience.", "label": "unproven", "subjects": "Uncategorized, coca-cola", "main_text": "In February 2016, a meme asserting that the soft drink Coca-Cola was an effective solution for eliminating head lice began circulating on social media. Although this claim has frequently appeared\u00a0in answers to lice-related questions on web sites such as\u00a0MamaPedia\u00a0and Budget 101,\u00a0it has not been vetted by any authoritative source. The Coca-Cola lice remedy is also mentioned in the \u201cmiscellaneous treatments\u201d section of Itch No More, an Australian business that specializes in head lice removal, but the company provides no information on how that method ostensibly works: Miscellaneous treatments:\u00a0 Vaseline, Tea Tree Oil, Olive Oil, Mayonnaise, Kerosene, Coca Cola, Hair Dye, Raid, Lysol, Dog Shampoos, Vinegar The best approach to treating head lice:\u00a0 Many decisions about treating head lice is best approached with an understanding of the biology of the lice. When exploring lice treatment options, consider the life cycle of the head lice and when they are most vulnerable. Adult head lice are able to lay as soon as they reach full size and continue doing so for their entire 30 day life span resulting in as many as 100 nits per lice. This means that even if you get rid of all the adult lice, there will be plenty of viable nits and immature nymphs to take their place and repeat the cycle if they are not removed or killed during the initial lice treatment process. The National Pediculosis Association, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about\u00a0head lice infestations (and selling lice combs, a removal method that\u2019s endorsed by the American Academy of Dermatology) said in an e-mail response that they had never heard Coca-Cola as a lice remedy, nor could they provide any scientific reasoning why it would work: For what it is worth \u2014 nits on hair sold to wigmakers remain glued to that hair even after repeatedly being dipped in chemicals to remove all the color from the hair and [being] dyed again for a new wig. But nits remain stuck to the hair. We don\u2019t know of anything that truly loosens the glue beyond the use of a physical method. The organization stated that the effectiveness of these methods, such as Coca-Cola, may only appear to work due to the determination of the parents: Many who try \u201calternatives\u201d have already had failure with readily available pediculicides from the local drug stores. If there is success with such alternatives, we suspect that it may have to do with motivation and the \u201cparent power\u201d behind the effort rather than any particular pediculicidal or ovicidal property. Effective screening and combing is the ultimate complement to whatever course of action an individual selects. It is impossible to obtain independent scientific data as to the effectiveness and safety on many of the different ideas being circulated about \u201cnatural\u201d remedies. Ultimately, it will always be the \u201cparent power\u201d behind the effort that makes the difference."}
{"claim_id": "9393", "claim": "FDA takes fresh step towards curbing U.S. nicotine addiction", "explanation": "This Reuters story reports on a new FDA proposal to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes in order to reduce the addictiveness of smoking. It\u2019s thought that such a move would help current smokers to quit their habit while also reducing the likelihood that those experimenting would get addicted. The story hits many bases, but doesn\u2019t spend enough time discussing the evidence behind the proposal. Smoking contributes to many diseases, including heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, and cancer. The CDC says smoking is the leading cause of preventable death \u2014 worldwide and in the US. Because of its impact on the health of Americans, any intervention that aims to reduce smoking is worthy of news coverage.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "nicotine addiction", "main_text": "This is a proposal for reformulating a product already on the market. Also the cost is not closely tied to their contents \u2014 cigarettes are among the most highly taxed products in the US. It\u2019s too early to know if cigarette costs would be altered by this proposal, so we\u2019ll rate this as not applicable. The story informed readers that the FDA\u2019s own analysis predicts \u201cwould help 5 million smokers quit within a year and prevent more than 33 million teens and young adults from becoming regular smokers\u00a0by the year 2100.\u201d We think more could have said about the data this was based, but we address that below, in evidence quality. The story did not mention possible harms of introducing low-nicotine cigarettes, namely that it might encourage current smokers to smoke more to get their usual dose or make people think the cigarettes aren\u2019t as harmful, so they aren\u2019t as cautious about intake. In that scenario, smokers would be inhaling more of the toxic smoke that causes damage to the lungs. We think it\u2019s important to share with readers if researchers have looked into this, and if it\u2019s indeed a concern, as NPR did. While the story gave a brief description of the benefits of lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes, it provided no information about how those numbers were obtained. It didn\u2019t even mention that the data were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, as many other outlets did. No disease-mongering here. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths, according to the CDC. The story contained information from two FDA officials, one quote from an antismoking group (the identical quote was found in several different news stories), and a comment from a cigarette maker. We only wished that there was an outside source commenting on the quality of the projected benefits or of the possible harms of this plan. The story mentioned e-cigarettes in passing and mentioned the FDA\u2019s efforts to tackle smoking in general. However, there are a host of ways that federal policy might tackle smoking rates in this country that were not raised, including outlawing menthol cigarettes, placing further restrictions on advertising, and adding stronger language or graphic warnings on cigarette packaging. It\u2019s clear that lowering nicotine in cigarettes is in the proposal stage. The story makes very clear that this is a new and sweeping effort by the FDA to reduce smoking rates in the US. The story did not appear to rely solely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "29286", "claim": "Manuka honey, as a topical treatment, is better than all known antibiotics.", "explanation": "While there is growing evidence to suggest an important role for manuka honey for wound care and recalcitrant infections, the research is too preliminary and largely untested on humans to truly know its complete potential, and it is certainly too preliminary to suggest it is \u201cbetter than all known antibiotics.\u201d As such, we rank this claim as mostly false.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical, antibiotic resistance, honey, manuka honey", "main_text": "Despite celebrity endorsements from Gwyneth Paltrow and other actresses-turned-lifestyle brands, humans have used honey as a treatment for skin ailments and infections for thousands of years. Early practitioners may not have known why, but, later scientific discoveries elucidated one of the primary reasons behind honey\u2019s success as an antiseptic \u2014 it naturally produces hydrogen peroxide when diluted, per a 2014 review paper: All undiluted raw honeys restrict microbial growth due to their osmolarity and acidity. On dilution many honeys produce low, sustained levels of hydrogen peroxide by the oxidation of glucose by glucose oxidase. Since 1989, however, a growing body of work has suggested that one particular kind of honey called manuka honey, found in New Zealand and Australia and derived from bees that feed on the manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium), appears to have additional antiseptic and antibiotic properties likely attributed to something beyond the hydrogen peroxide. Later research, beginning in 2008, determined that the main compound responsible for this increased antimicrobial activity is a chemical called methylglyoxal (MGO), a byproduct of the bee\u2019s honey production. Some manuka honey contains up to 100 times more MGO than other honeys. It is against this backdrop of scientific research that viral news stories and specialty honey distributors frequently extol the virtues of manuka honey. Yet, exaggerations are frequent. In viral post from January 2017, the website Healthy Holistic Living made this claim of the honey: Not all honey is created equal. While the benefits of raw, unprocessed honey have been well-documented over the centuries, Australian researchers have found one type of honey, called Manuka honey, to be better than all known antibiotics. That story, as well as a similar\u00a0post on the missed-bee-pun-opportunity website bewellhub.com from October 2017, highlights research from October 2010 and January 2015 (not exactly breaking science news)\u00a0to suggest manuka honey has potential to avoid antibiotic resistance. They claim it could fight some strains of Staphylococcus aureus, which can develop marked resistance to antibiotics in the form of MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: In the aforementioned studies, Australian researchers found that the honey killed every bacteria or pathogen it was tested on [\u2026]. The honey can be applied topically to help fight against infections of the skin, cuts and insect bites, or taken internally. The most exciting difference with the manuka honey that was tested is that none of superbugs killed by the honey were able to build up immunity, a common problem with today\u2019s antibiotics. The older 2010 study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, is a preliminary, but not definitive, suggestion that treating wounds with honey does not result in honey-resistant bacteria, but this research was not performed on human test subjects, and was instead performed using the tightly controlled conditions of a petri dish: Two cultures of bacteria from reference collections [\u2026] and four cultures isolated from wounds [\u2026] were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of manuka honey in continuous and stepwise training experiments to determine whether the susceptibility to honey diminished. Reduced susceptibilities to manuka honey in the test organisms during long-term stepwise resistance training were found, but these changes were not permanent and honey-resistant mutants were not detected. The risk of bacteria acquiring resistance to honey will be low if high concentrations are maintained clinically. While it is accurate to suggest this study showed that manuka honey \u201ckilled every bacteria or pathogen it was tested\u201d on, it would be inaccurate to suggest that evidence from two specific strains of bacteria and four heterogenous samples taken from wounds suggest broad superiority over antibiotics in all cases. In fact, much of the current research on manuka honey is focused on the possibility that, medically, it could be used in combination with other antibiotics, primarily for hard to fight infections like MRSA. The more recent 2015 study highlighted in the bewellhub.com post and published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, primarily addressed that issue looking at a variety of Staphylococcus infections: We demonstrate that manuka-type honey combined with [one of four tested] antibiotics frequently produces a synergistic effect. In some cases when synergism was not observed, there was a significant enhancement in antibiotic susceptibility. Some strains that were highly resistant to an antibiotic when present alone become sensitive to clinically achievable concentrations when combined with honey. However, not all of the S. aureus strains tested responded in the same way to these combinational treatments. Our findings support the use of NZ manuka-type honeys in clinical treatment against S. aureus-related infections and extend their potential use as an antibiotic adjuvant in combinational therapy. This study, like the one discussed before, was done using cultures, and was not performed on actual human subjects, as well. In a 2014 paper reviewing the available science for manuka honey as a topical treatment for infections, the authors suggest that there is certainly potential for manuka honey, but more human trials will need to be conducted to get a clearer picture and gain widespread acceptance: Despite accumulating evidence of the efficacy of manuka honey in inhibiting wound pathogens in vitro, substantive in vivo data are required because practitioners influenced by evidence-based medicine are likely to need objective clinical evidence before they risk adding manuka honey to their armament as a first-choice topical treatment. Since laboratory studies carry little weight in the hierarchy of evidence, suitable funds must be found to support clinical investigation. An effective topical antimicrobial could have a significant impact on the fight to limit the spread of MRSA in healthcare establishments."}
{"claim_id": "7685", "claim": "China expands switch from polluting coal heating in 2018: environment minister.", "explanation": "China expanded its coal-to-gas and coal-to-electricity projects to 35 cities in 2018 from 12 cities the previous year, China\u2019s environment minister, Li Ganjie, said on Monday, as the world\u2019s second-largest economy stepped up its fight against smog.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "China\u2019s winter heating program used to burn an estimated 400 million tonnes of coal a year, and switching it to cleaner types of fuel was identified as a major part of the country\u2019s war on pollution, now in its sixth year. The program to convert households to low-emission heating ran into difficulties last winter amid widespread natural gas shortages, but 4.8 million households still managed to make the switch from coal to natural gas and electricity last year, up from 4 million households switched in 2017, Li said. China has also installed ultra-low emissions technology at more than 80 percent of its total coal-fired power generation capacity, Li added. But, speaking to journalists at a press conference on the sidelines of China\u2019s annual parliamentary meeting, Li warned that despite the strides made in 2018, China\u2019s war on smog was getting harder. \u201cIn reality the pressures are huge and it isn\u2019t easy to be optimistic about the trends,\u201d he said. \u201cThe things that could easily be done have already mostly been done, and the things that need to be done afterwards are much harder.\u201d  While China cut the share of coal in its total energy mix to 59 percent last year, down from 68.5 percent in 2012, it remained too high, he said. There were also still regional disparities in the way environmental protection was being enforced, he said. China said last week that it would implement special emissions restrictions for a third consecutive winter, after Premier Li Keqiang told parliament that the state would continue to strengthen pollution controls in 2019. China\u2019s economy expanded at its slowest rate since 1990 last year, and the environment ministry has been at pains to state that it would not relent in its efforts to curb pollution. However, though concentrations of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 fell overall last year, they rebounded over winter, with averages in 39 smog-prone northern cities up 13 percent over the October-February period."}
{"claim_id": "17279", "claim": "Every child in Colorado who has been given medical marijuana for treatment for seizures has had diminished seizure activity.", "explanation": "Lawmaker: Studies show medical marijuana reduces seizures", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Georgia, Children, Health Care, Marijuana, Allen Peake, ", "main_text": "An important debate is ongoing in the Georgia Legislature concerning the use of a form of medical marijuana to treat certain forms of seizures. The state\u2019s House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Bill 885, which would allow for the use of medical research cannabis in specific cases. The bill\u2019s supporters are anxiously hoping the Georgia Senate will adopt the legislation. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution\u2019s new Legislative Navigator gives it a 27 percent chance of passing this session. The bill\u2019s primary sponsor, Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, offered what appeared to be a persuasive argument to support the legislation. \"(In Colorado), 100 percent of children have seen diminished seizure activity,\" Peake told fellow House members in the discussion before the bill was passed. PolitiFact Georgia wondered whether Peake\u2019s statement was correct. Peake and other leading House Republicans did not plan to advocate this session on legislation that involves medical marijuana, particularly in an election year. Peake said he was persuaded to get involved after meeting a 4-year-old girl from his area named Haleigh Cox who suffers from a severe seizure disorder. Peake said he received the information he used to base his claim from the Realm of Caring, a Colorado-based organization that has attempted to provide care to patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, Parkinson\u2019s disease and other conditions through the use of medicinal cannabis oil. Some Georgians have moved to Colorado to seek treatment for their children. Peake clarified his statement, saying that it was actually 98 percent of patients who had diminished seizure activity. Marijuana contains about 60 chemical components called cannabinoids. The cannabinoid that the bill\u2019s proponents are considering is cannabidiol. It would be ingested and not smoked, the bill\u2019s supporters say. It would not include THC, which is the element in cannabis that causes smokers to get high. The form of cannabidiol used at the Realm of Caring is named Charlotte\u2019s Web, after a 5-year-old girl whose recovery from a rare condition is credited to the substance. Charlotte\u2019s Web is a rich amber and as thick as cold honey. It smells like marijuana and tastes like raw plants. A month\u2019s supply of the oil can cost $150 to $250, and some families say they receive financial help from nonprofit groups. Heather Jackson, the executive director of the Realm of Caring Foundation, said Peake was correct that every patient studied in the first set of tests, \"harvests\" is the term she used, had a reduction in seizures. The Realm of Caring is in its second harvest and has seen less than a handful of nonresponders, which accounts for Peake\u2019s revised 98 percent total. The New York Times, though, reported in December that there is \"scattered medical research\" to substantiate claims cannabis oils helped reduce seizures, citing a 2012 study on the American Epilepsy Society\u2019s website. Other researchers have also cautioned there is not enough research on its medicinal benefits. The American Epilepsy Society wants \"well-controlled studies\" it believes will lead to a better understanding of the effectiveness of cannabidiol and other forms of medical marijuana on epilepsy patients. Amy Brooks-Kayal, a Colorado-based neurology physician who is first vice president of the American Epilepsy Society, said there\u2019s not enough information to determine what the dosage should be or how it interacts with other medicines. The AES, which claims about 3,500 members, said although cannabidiol offers hope, these are only anecdotal reports. Robust scientific evidence for the use of marijuana, it said, is lacking. \"There haven\u2019t been good studies with cannabidiol with children with epilepsy,\" Brooks-Kayal said. The federal Food and Drug Administration has authorized trials of an established British drug, Epidolex, that comes from marijuana. Some experts who believe Epidolex is a better option say it\u2019s unclear whether Charlotte\u2019s Web is free of potentially harmful impurities. Jackson offered us two studies in defense of the treatment. In one study, all 11 children studied showed a reduction in weekly motor-type seizures, the study concluded. After three months, five of the 11 children were seizure-free, the study found. The paper, introduced at the American Epilepsy Society\u2019s annual meeting in December, acknowledged the sample size was small. In the other study, two Stanford University researchers asked parents whose children were using cannabidiol to fill out a survey detailing its impact on their children. Sixteen of the 19 parents reported reduced seizure frequency. Three parents said their children were free of seizures. The most often reported side effects were better mood, increased alertness, better sleep and drowsiness. Common side effects with other forms of treatment were not found, the parents said. Jackson said 13 of those 19 parents had children who were using Charlotte\u2019s Web. Jackson said they are doing more research. Jackson, whose son has used the treatment, said in the cases in which Charlotte\u2019s Web did not result in fewer seizures for the patient, \"there is less than a 1 percent chance that a child in this intractable epilepsy population will find one that will work.\" Charlotte\u2019s Web, she said, has performed better than other forms of treatment. \"There is not a treatment in the world that will work for all,\" Jackson told us. \"However, it is important to note that there is not a pharmaceutical in the world that works for even 5 percent of the epilepsy population. So the numbers are quite staggering actually.\" Peake said he was not deterred by questions or concerns about the research. \"The anecdotal evidence is so strong that a parent, in conjunction with their doctor, should have the personal choice to make that decision,\" Peake said. To sum up, Peake said \"every child in Colorado\" who has been given medical marijuana for treatment for seizures has had diminished seizure activity. Peake then said it\u2019s actually 98 percent, citing newer data. There are very few studies out there. They do show medical marijuana has a positive impact on seizure activity. But not at the levels Peake said. His statement is partially accurate. But it needs a lot of context to be fully understood. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "30152", "claim": "A video shows the aftermath of a school prank in which a student spiked lemonade with laxatives.", "explanation": "A video appears to capture the disturbing and messy aftermath of a school prank.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Fauxtography, american vandal, laxatives, liveleak", "main_text": "A video purportedly showing the aftermath of a school prank in which a student spiked a batch of lemonade with laxatives was uploaded to the web site LiveLeak in mid-September 2018. This footage racked up millions of views when it was shared on Facebook along with the caption: \u201cSo Wrong: A student puts laxative in the school\u2019s lemonade\u201d: This video does not capture real students at a high school suffering bouts of diarrhea after a student spiked their lemonade with laxatives. This footage was taken from the Netflix mockumentary television series American Vandal and depicts a staged incident involving a group of actors. American Vandal plays like a true crime documentary, but instead of focusing on villainous acts such as murder, the mockumentary takes place in a high school and features juvenile pranks and acts of vandalism. The second season of the show, which made its debut just a few days before this video went viral, opened with an episode entitled \u201cBrown Out.\u201d The New Yorker described the opening sequence of that episode thusly: I got a queasy feeling watching the opening sequence of the new season of \u201cAmerican Vandal,\u201d and not only because it showed a lunchroom full of teenagers soiling themselves. The scene is certainly disgusting: in an event known afterward as \u201cthe Brownout,\u201d students at the fictional St. Bernardine prep school in tony Bellevue, Washington, having been poisoned by laxative-tainted lemonade, suffer together in a grisly act of mass defecation, all of it memorialized in real time and shared on social media. Some of the footage from this viral hoax video can also be glimpsed in a trailer for the second season of the show:"}
{"claim_id": "16426", "claim": "Charlie Crist Says Rick Scott \"pled the Fifth 75 times to avoid jail for Medicare fraud.", "explanation": "Crist said Scott \"pled the Fifth 75 times to avoid jail for Medicare fraud.\" If you haven\u2019t heard by now, Scott did invoke his Fifth Amendment rights 75 times in a deposition to avoid discussing\u00a0a Medicare fraud case. But Crist\u2019s ad is pushing the envelope to say he did it to avoid jail. No one went to prison for the Medicare fraud debacle, nor did Scott actually face the rigors of a grand jury or even federal investigators. The commercial seems to imply Scott was in the thick of the raids, when he was actually sent packing as soon as it became apparent the company faced a major punishment for defrauding the U.S.\u00a0government. It\u2019s impossible to say if Scott would have gone to jail if he had answered those deposition questions, but experts say he was certainly avoiding possible legal trouble by asserting the Fifth Amendment.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Corrections and Updates, Legal Issues, Florida, Charlie Crist, ", "main_text": "Gubernatorial campaign commercials have been digging up each candidate\u2019s past for months, but now Gov. Rick Scott and Charlie Crist are pretty much calling each other criminals. The Republican Party of Florida, working on Scott\u2019s behalf, had a Fort Lauderdale investor say in a TV ad\u00a0that he was \"swindled\" by Crist. The man had invested with Scott Rothstein, who was later convicted of a Ponzi scheme. We rated that !, because Crist had nothing to do with the plot to defraud investors. Now Crist is going after Scott\u2019s past as the CEO of hospital chain Columbia/HCA, which in 1997 was busted by the federal government for bilking Medicare. Crist referred to the Rothstein attack in a Sept. 19, 2014, commercial, saying Scott lied to voters \"4,000 times,\" the number of times the Rothstein ad had aired on Florida TV stations. \"We shouldn\u2019t be surprised,\" the narrator said. \"Scott pled the Fifth 75 times to avoid jail for Medicare fraud.\" That\u2019s referring to a deposition Scott gave in 2000 for an unrelated civil case. To further muddy the waters, the commercial shows footage from a deposition for yet another unrelated case in 1995. This attack should sound familiar, because it came up in the 2010 campaign, when Scott\u2019s Republican primary opponent Bill McCollum said Scott \"barely escaped imprisonment,\". PolitiFact Florida wanted to revisit this angle and see if Scott, who was never charged with wrongdoing in the federal fraud case, gave vague testimony to avoid time in the cooler. The Columbia/HCA case We\u2019ve been over this many, many times before, so let\u2019s explain the history as quickly as possible. Scott began what eventually became Columbia/HCA in 1987, buying and merging hospitals until his publicly traded company became the nation\u2019s largest health care chain. At its peak, the company boasted more than 340 hospitals, 135 surgery centers and 550 home health locations in 37 states and two foreign countries. Scott\u2019s reputation as a hard-nosed businessman came from a cutthroat corporate environment, in which the most productive managers were rewarded and the least were fired. Some employees speculated it was that culture that led to unscrupulous behavior, such as padding bills, charging Medicare for procedures that were more lucrative than what was actually performed, and giving doctors kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals. Whether Scott knew about such practices is unknown, although he apparently signed off on reports that raised concerns about things happening within the chain. Jerre Frazier, a company attorney told the Miami Herald in 2010 that Scott said the company wasn\u2019t doing anything differently than other chains in the health care industry. Whistle-blowers exposed the fraud, helping federal investigators gather enough evidence to raid the company\u2019s offices and hospitals in 1997. Scott was pressured to resign in July of that year, taking a $5.1 million cash severance and an additional \u00a0$300 million in stocks and options with him. (Five other top executives also resigned.) Scott has said it was because he wanted to fight the charges while the board wanted to settle, which they did in 2000 and 2002, for a total of $1.7 billion in fines and penalties. Scott was never charged with a crime. His boilerplate response to the incident is that he wasn\u2019t even questioned by investigators, although ABC\u2019s World News Tonight reported in 1997 he was \"considered a prime target of the investigation.\" That\u2019s not unusual, legal experts told PolitiFact, because replacing a CEO is often a first step a company makes to show the government it means business about cleaning up its wayward methods. Whether that\u2019s exactly what happened in Scott\u2019s case, we can\u2019t say. Scott has addressed the case plenty, however. In a 2010 debate he called the deposition a \"fishing expedition\" he refused to participate in. He told the Tampa Bay Times that same year that he was partly culpable. \"There's no question that mistakes were made and as CEO, I have to accept responsibility for those mistakes,\" he said. \"I was focused on lowering costs and making the hospitals more efficient. I could have had more internal and external controls. I learned hard lessons, and I've taken that lesson and it's helped me become a better business person and a better leader.\" Think about the clink The company agreed to plead guilty to at least 14 corporate felonies, which don\u2019t involve jail time but did factor into the fines. Four Florida-based Columbia/HCA executives were indicted. Two were convicted of defrauding Medicare and sentenced to prison, but those verdicts were later overturned. One was acquitted, and a jury couldn\u2019t reach a verdict on the last. Does that mean Scott faced jail at all? In pleading the Fifth Amendment, it certainly seems like a possibility, former federal prosecutor Ryan O\u2019Quinn told us. That\u2019s because the only legal reason to use your Fifth Amendment right in court is if you think your answer would incriminate you. The deposition in which Scott pleaded the Fifth 75 times was part of a civil case by Nevada Communications Corp., which alleged that Columbia/HCA breached the terms of a communications contract. Scott gave the deposition at his offices in Stamford, Conn., on July 27, 2000, months before the settlement with the federal government. Scott lawyer Steven Steinbach explained the strategy thusly: \"Unfortunately because of the pendency of a number of criminal investigations relating to Columbia around the country, he's going to follow my advice, out of prudence, to assert his constitutional privilege against giving testimony against himself.\" While pleading the Fifth in a criminal case can\u2019t be used as an admission of guilt, it\u2019s just fine to assume that in a civil case. For example, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2014 upheld a $67 million judgment against TD Bank for a group of investors bilked by imprisoned attorney Scott Rothstein, who has factored heavily into campaign commercials between Scott and Crist. In that ruling, the judge said jurors could infer former TD Bank South Florida regional VP Frank Spinosa knew about or participated in Rothstein\u2019s scheme when he invoked the Fifth 193 times. Spinosa has not been charged with a crime and was no longer a bank employee, but was likely avoiding self-incrimination, or possibly as a favor to TD Bank, the ruling said. Scott wasn\u2019t facing a jury, but we\u2019re trying to establish whether one could infer guilt for invoking the Fifth Amendment. In fact, there\u2019s no other reason to think otherwise, because by the letter of the law, Scott must have thought he would incriminate himself if he answered truthfully. \"Given the adverse consequences of an assertion of the Fifth Amendment in a civil deposition, an executive must have a significant concern that their response could contribute to their criminal prosecution,\" O\u2019Quinn said. \"A frivolous assertion of the Fifth Amendment would be an unethical act.\" So if Scott was avoiding incriminating himself and other executives were actually convicted and sentenced to prison (albeit later overturned), does that mean Scott faced jail? That\u2019s conjecture, but he certainly could have\u00a0faced federal charges, which could have resulted in time in prison. There is a possibility some in the FBI regretted the decision to not go after Scott. \"After Columbia/HCA, I realized people, individual corporate officers, had to be held accountable for the actions of their companies,''\u00a0former Tampa FBI agent Joe Ford said in a book about the Columbia/HCA case. \"Instead of just giving us (the government) money, people need to go to jail. I learn from my mistakes and this was my first big one.'' Our ruling Crist said Scott \"pled the Fifth 75 times to avoid jail for Medicare fraud.\" If you haven\u2019t heard by now, Scott did invoke his Fifth Amendment rights 75 times in a deposition to avoid discussing\u00a0a Medicare fraud case. But Crist\u2019s ad is pushing the envelope to say he did it to avoid jail. No one went to prison for the Medicare fraud debacle, nor did Scott actually face the rigors of a grand jury or even federal investigators. The commercial seems to imply Scott was in the thick of the raids, when he was actually sent packing as soon as it became apparent the company faced a major punishment for defrauding the U.S.\u00a0government. It\u2019s impossible to say if Scott would have gone to jail if he had answered those deposition questions, but experts say he was certainly avoiding possible legal trouble by asserting the Fifth Amendment. We rate the statement . Correction, Oct. 3, 2014, 2:30 p.m.: This version clarifies the context in which Scott asserted his Fifth Amendment right. The change does not affect the ruling."}
{"claim_id": "3386", "claim": "New York tries to keep alive flavored e-cigarette ban.", "explanation": "New York\u2019s ban on flavored e-cigarettes is still held up in court, but a state council voted Thursday to keep it alive in case the judge rules in the state\u2019s favor.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Marijuana, New York, General News, Vaping, U.S. News, Public health, Tobacco industry regulation", "main_text": "The state\u2019s Public Health and Health Planning Council voted Thursday to keep the emergency ban on the books for another 90 days. The council had approved the ban in September, but a state appeals court blocked the state in October from enforcing it. The state also plans to seek public comment on banning menthol e-cigarette flavoring. In October, a state appeals court temporarily blocked New York from enforcing its prohibition on sales of flavored e-cigarettes after the vaping industry sued to block the ban. The rules were set to expire this month, but the council wants to renew the regulations for another 90 days. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the vote to keep it alive would make sure New York has the emergency regulations on the books if the courts uphold the ban. \u201cWhile our scheduled enforcement of this ban has been delayed by pending litigation, we are confident that the court will agree that this is a public health emergency demanding immediate action to help ensure the wellbeing of our children,\u201d spokeswoman Jill Montag said. New York\u2019s prohibition covering flavored e-cigarettes and other vaping products except for menthol and tobacco flavors went into effect immediately in September. Retailers initially had two weeks to remove merchandise from store shelves. Health officials issued the regulations in response to worries that vaping may cause illnesses and that its use is growing among teenagers. According to data from the state health department, use among high-school students increased from 10.5% in 2014 to 27.4% in 2018. Critics including the Vapor Technology Association sued the state over the ban, which they called governmental overreach that would hurt small businesses selling e-cigarettes and adult smokers who say flavors help them quit. The opponents have argued states should address improper marketing to kids and follow New York\u2019s move to raise the statewide smoking age to 21. But supporters such as the American Cancer Society\u2019s advocacy group said they\u2019ll continue pushing for New York\u2019s ban on flavored e-cigarettes and for laws to make similar restrictions permanent. The groups want New York to ban all flavored tobacco, and argue flavoring can attract kids to tobacco products and get them hooked. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo had said he would move to expand New York\u2019s flavor ban to include menthol. Anti-tobacco and -vaping groups say there\u2019s no scientific basis for leaving menthol alone. They warn that menthol has been unethically marketed toward African Americans, and that mint and menthol flavors can still increase the appeal of e-cigarettes for young people who aren\u2019t smokers by overcoming the harshness of nicotine. New York City Council separately passed its own bill last month banning flavored vaping products including menthol. The bill has the support of Democratic Bill de Blasio and is expected to take effect in July 2020, barring legal challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday over 2,400 confirmed and probable cases of lung illnesses and 52 deaths nationwide have been attributed to vaping. The CDC says laboratory findings suggest vaping products with vitamin E or THC has played a major role in the outbreak."}
{"claim_id": "6406", "claim": "Rhode Island officials issue air quality alert.", "explanation": "Rhode Island environmental officials are warning residents of the potential for unhealthy air quality as temperatures rise.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Rhode Island, Environment, Travel, Smog, Air quality", "main_text": "The state Department of Environmental Management says the poor air quality possible on Thursday afternoon and evening will be due to elevated ground level ozone concentrations Ozone is a major component of smog and is formed by the photochemical reaction of pollutants emitted by motor vehicles, industry and other sources in the presence of elevated temperatures and sunlight. Residents are being urged to help reduce air pollutant emissions by limiting car travel and charcoal lighter fuels. Unhealthy levels of ozone can cause throat irritation, coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, increased susceptibility to respiratory infection and aggravation of asthma and other respiratory ailments."}
{"claim_id": "5070", "claim": "In Florida and elsewhere, GOP pressured over climate change.", "explanation": "Since taking office in January, Florida\u2019s Republican governor has appointed a science officer, established a climate change czar and pledged to spend billions of dollars to restore the Everglades and combat the pollutants that spawn blue-green algae and red tides.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Climate, Climate change, General News, Florida, Politics, AP Top News, Science, Tallahassee, Donald Trump", "main_text": "A top Republican lawmaker in the state, meanwhile, recently stood on the House floor and implored his party \u201cto stop being afraid of words like \u2018climate change\u2019 and \u2018sea level rise.\u2019\u201d While President Donald Trump and his administration reject the urgency of the threat, leading Republicans in Florida and other states find themselves under political pressure to address the immediate impacts of climate change. As a result, these leaders are increasingly changing their message, and in some cases their policies, to acknowledge climate science and discuss mitigation, even as the Trump administration dismisses both. In the Southeast, where Republicans in South Carolina and Georgia control the legislature or occupy the governor\u2019s mansion, the GOP is acknowledging, even if begrudgingly, sea level rise and the growing threat from intensifying hurricanes. Nowhere is the break from Trump\u2019s path clearer than in Florida, his adopted home state, where Gov. Ron DeSantis is a close ally and where Republicans are sounding the alarm about the harm that rising oceans pose to coastal communities. With its 1,350 miles of coastline, Florida faces some of the starkest risks from rising oceans. Higher global temperatures bring extreme weather conditions, including more intense and destructive hurricanes. Miami and other cities could find themselves submerged as glaciers melt into the oceans. While it\u2019s hardly the dramatic call to action that environmentalists and scientist say is needed, the shift signals a new pragmatism among many Republicans, especially in states where their constituents already are grappling with the consequences of a warming planet. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about the next election. This is about the next several decades and what our environment is going to look like for our children and grandchildren,\u201d said GOP state Rep. Chris Sprowls. At 35, he is poised to leads Florida\u2019s House of Representatives next fall. His district northwest of Tampa lies along the Gulf Coast. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t fall into the same trap on the environment, where we allow the national conversation to dictate and hamstring us from accomplishing practical goals that truly protect our water and make our state beautiful for decades to come,\u201d Sprowls said in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019re playing the long game here.\u201d Still, there is political motivation. The new messaging comes as Democrats saw success in 2018 running on a promise to combat climate change and hammering Republicans as the party of deniers. The White House declined to comment. Forty-six percent of Florida midterm voters said they were very concerned about climate change, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 3,700 midterm voters in Florida. Among Florida independents, 51% expressed great concern, slightly higher than independents nationally. \u201cRepublicans have figured out that if you get caught crossways on the environment, you could very well lose an election. That\u2019s how important the issue is to Floridians of all stripes,\u201d said Susan MacManus, a former political science professor at the University of South Florida. The state\u2019s rising population is pushing development and asphalt deeper into once-rural areas. Fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals are flowing into creeks, rivers, lakes and eventually into the waters that surround the Florida peninsula, further damaging coral reefs and putting sensitive ocean life at risk. One sign of Republicans\u2019 shift is former Gov. Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator. Many environmental groups accuse him of mostly ignoring the issue during his eight years in Tallahassee. In February, Scott acknowledged in an opinion piece that climate change \u201cis real and requires real solutions.\u201d More recently, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., joined the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, a fledgling bipartisan group launched in October. Even Republican firebrand U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a fierce ally of the president, has espoused cleaner energy. \u201cI think that more of my colleagues need to realize that the science of global warming is irrefutable,\u201d Gaetz said last spring while offering his \u201cGreen Real Deal,\u201d a counterpoint to the \u201cGreen New Deal\u201d backed by some Democrats. While Trump has discouraged federal agencies from prioritizing preparation for changes, DeSantis has cast himself as Florida\u2019s environmentalist-in-chief. Two days after taking office, the new governor pledged to invest $2.5 billion during his four-year term \u2014 a billion dollar increase from his predecessor\u2019s final four years in office \u2014 to protect water resources and help restore the Everglades, the largest ecosystem restoration project in the United States. He issued an executive order mobilizing action against algae blooms and the pollutants that taint the state\u2019s lakes, waterways and coastlines. Thus far, the governor has gotten much of what he\u2019s requested from the Republican-dominated Legislature, an indication of the political muscle he\u2019s put behind his environmentalism. Florida\u2019s environment \u2014 its beaches, swamps, woods and abundant sunshine \u2014 is a fundamental pillar of the state economy, generating billions in tourism and agriculture dollars, said Noah Valenstein, the secretary of Florida\u2019s Department of Environmental Protection. \u201cWhat you see in Florida is an independent streak, a belief that the environment is important,\u201d Valenstein said. \u201cWe as a state have determined that this is a top issue and we\u2019re going to take that on.\u201d The conversation in Florida may be shifting, but action isn\u2019t moving fast enough and policy discussions are not broad enough for critics. Land conservation groups note that while DeSantis talks about conservation, he also supports 340 miles of new toll roads that could permanently alter some of the state\u2019s most pristine landscapes. These groups want DeSantis to boost funding for Florida Forever, the state\u2019s land preservation program, which is projected to get $100 million instead of the $300 million that had been historically allocated. \u201cEven though he has now talked about climate change for the first time, it\u2019s all about mitigation,\u201d said Sierra Club Florida director Frank Jackalone. He wants the governor to emphatically say that ``climate change is caused by all the pollution we have in the atmosphere and that we need to do something about it.\u201d Mitigation projects, including sea walls, only address the symptoms of climate change, Jackalone said, but do little to combat the root causes \u2014 namely the continued reliance on fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases and the escalating deforestation of the planet. The only money that DeSantis is proposing for reduced carbon emissions is Florida\u2019s $166 million slice from a $14.7 billion emissions settlement U.S. regulators reached with the European automaker Volkswagen. The money will be used to expand the state\u2019s fleet of electric transit vehicles, install electric charging stations along major highways and cut diesel emissions. Still, Florida derives three-quarters of its electricity by burning carbon-emitting natural gas \u2014 a cleaner alternative to sooty coal that still powers parts the state. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to appoint a science officer and chief resilience officer, and it\u2019s terrific that they\u2019re going to the use the VW settlement money to help,\u201d said Susan Glickman, the Florida director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. \u201cThat\u2019s a far cry from the bold action that we need if Florida really wants a future. We have to deploy clean energy solutions.\u201d But it\u2019s a start, said state Rep. Ben Diamond, a Democrat who represents a Tampa-area district and who is giving the governor and other Republicans the benefit of his doubt \u201cWe may come from different political parties, but we all recognize that this is the biggest and most immediate threat to Florida,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cIt\u2019s time for us to get past this whole partisanness and make some real progress here.\u201d ___ Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report."}
{"claim_id": "11684", "claim": "Dan Patrick Says \"566,000 crimes\" were \"made in Texas by criminal aliens in the last 6 years.", "explanation": "Patrick said that \"566,000 crimes\" were \"made in Texas by criminal aliens in the last 6 years.\" We didn't find\u00a0a factual path to this figure and, in fact, spotted no state-posted information specifying a relevant count of criminal arrests or convictions for the six-plus years singled out by Patrick. The DPS has said that more than 638,000 charges and over 286,000 convictions were accumulated through their \"criminal careers\" by more than 240,000 \"criminal aliens\" booked into Texas jails in the six-plus years. Unsaid: Some of those people were living in the U.S. with legal authorization. We find Patrick\u2019s statement inaccurate and ridiculous. The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim. ", "label": "false", "subjects": "Immigration, Criminal Justice, Crime, Texas, Dan Patrick, ", "main_text": "Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, seeking re-election,\u00a0entered 2018 by warning on his campaign\u2019s Facebook page that \"criminal aliens\" committed more than 500,000 Texas crimes in recent years. We wondered about Patrick\u2019s declaration in part because we\u2019d just found scant data about Texas crimes committed by individuals living illegally in the United States. Also, research rooted in U.S. Census Bureau data suggests that nationally, unauthorized immigrants commit few crimes. For that other fact-check, we calculated from annual state-posted crime reports that the 170,000 arrests of \"criminal immigrants\" proclaimed by a Texas House member at a 2015 hearing represented about 4 percent of all the adult arrests in the state from 2011 through 2015. But absent expert analysis, we wouldn't brandish that percentage as a fact. Here\u2019s Patrick\u2019s statement on Facebook, which he presented against the backdrop of a wire fence: \"566,000 crimes made in Texas by criminal aliens in the last 6 years.\" We took that to mean that \"criminal aliens\" were found guilty of 566,000 crimes over six years. Then again, text in smaller print to the right of Patrick\u2019s fence-backdropped statement offers a different interpretation. That text says: \"In the past six years, criminal aliens have been charged with more than 566,000 crimes in Texas including kidnapping, homicide, burglary, and much more. There is no excuse for endangering our communities by allowing criminal aliens who have committed a crime to go free.\" Some perspective: We estimate, starting from Texas Department of Public Safety annual crime reports for 2011 through 2016, that there were 5,513,663 adult criminal arrests in the state in the six-plus years referenced by Patrick. If the 566,000 figure offered by Patrick solely reflects arrests, he was referring to about 10 percent of adult arrests in the state. Patrick points to state-posted figures We asked Patrick, a Houston Republican who touts his support for a secure U.S.-Mexico border in a fresh video ad, about the basis of his 566,000 \"crimes made\" statement. A spokesman, Alejandro Garcia, replied by email: \"We have answered this question many times.\" Garcia provided a link to a familiar DPS web page, \"Historical Arrest and Conviction Data for Select Offenses Associated with Criminal Aliens:\"        SOURCE: Web page, \"Historical Arrest and Conviction Data for Select Offenses Associated with Criminal Aliens,\" Texas Department of Public Safety, undated (accessed Jan. 23, 2018) Adding up the chart\u2019s tallied arrests, covering 11 crime categories, gets you to 638,411 arrests \"associated with criminal aliens.\" And did all those arrests occur in the six-plus years noted by Patrick on Facebook? Not so. A related DPS web page noted by Garcia, \"Texas Criminal Alien Arrest Data,\" says that according to Department of Homeland Security \"status indicators, over 240,000 criminal aliens have been booked into local Texas jails between June 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017. During their criminal careers,\" it says, \"these criminal aliens were charged with more than 638,000 criminal offenses.\" We read \"criminal careers\" to refer to the booked individuals\u2019 lifetime rap sheets. More from the DPS page about those \"career\" arrests: \"Those arrests include 1,300 homicide charges; 76,044 assault charges; 18,126 burglary charges; 76,660 drug charges; 774 kidnapping charges; 43,591 theft charges; 49,154 obstructing police charges; 4,180 robbery charges; 6,878 sexual assault charges; and 9,561 weapon charges.\" Unmentioned in that text: 352,143 of all the tallied arrests, 55 percent, were for \"all other offenses,\" according to the DPS. According to DPS criminal history records, the agency says, those 638,000-plus criminal charges \"have thus far resulted in over 286,000 convictions.\" The conviction count presented on the chart offered as Patrick\u2019s backup indicates 286,101 convictions. The DPS page says the convictions break out to 547 homicide convictions; 28,592 assault convictions; 8,915 burglary convictions; 37,581 drug convictions; 268 kidnapping convictions; 19,803 theft convictions; 24,084 obstructing police convictions; 2,153 robbery convictions; 3,164 sexual assault convictions; and 3,973 weapon convictions.\" Its text on the web page doesn\u2019t mention the 157,021 included convictions for other offenses accounting for 55 percent of the total convictions. We spotted a couple other wrinkles. DPS\u2019s web page indirectly reminds that a \"criminal alien\" isn\u2019t necessarily someone living in the country without documentation. \"Of the total criminal aliens arrested in that timeframe,\" the page says, \"over 160,000 or 66% were identified by DHS status as being in the U.S. illegally at the time of their last arrest.\" We noticed too that the DPS doesn\u2019t specify how many of the noted arrests or convictions through criminal careers tie to the 160,000-plus people believed to be living here illegally at the time of their latest arrest. Our requests to the DPS to corroborate Patrick\u2019s 566,000 figure didn\u2019t yield additional information. Our ruling Patrick said that \"566,000 crimes\" were \"made in Texas by criminal aliens in the last 6 years.\" We didn't find\u00a0a factual path to this figure and, in fact, spotted no state-posted information specifying a relevant count of criminal arrests or convictions for the six-plus years singled out by Patrick. The DPS has said that more than 638,000 charges and over 286,000 convictions were accumulated through their \"criminal careers\" by more than 240,000 \"criminal aliens\" booked into Texas jails in the six-plus years. Unsaid: Some of those people were living in the U.S. with legal authorization. We find Patrick\u2019s statement inaccurate and ridiculous. The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim."}
{"claim_id": "28059", "claim": "Caravan migrants demanded $50,000 payments from the U.S. in order to go home.", "explanation": "What's true: A small group of migrants marched to the U.S. consulate in Tijuana and demanded that their asylum claims be processed more quickly or that they be given $50,000 each to return home. What's false: The vast majority of migrants waiting to have their asylum claims processed by the United States had nothing to do with this demand.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, donald trump, fox news, honduran caravan", "main_text": "On 12 December 2018, Fox News reported that a group of Central American migrants currently housed in Tijuana, Mexico, and hoping to present asylum claims to the United States had demanded $50,000 each from the Trump administration in exchange for returning home. Although the group that made the demand was relatively small (100-plus people out of a total of the roughly 3,000 housed at El Barretal migrant shelter), the outrageous-sounding headline captured most readers\u2019 attention: \u201cMigrant group demands Trump either let them in or pay them each $50G to turn around.\u201d The Fox News report was aggregated from the work of the San Diego Union-Tribune, which had earlier that day reported that:  The first group demanding action, numbering about 100, arrived at the U.S. Consulate at about 11 am. The migrants said they were asking that the Trump Administration pay them $50,000 each or allow them into the U.S. When asked how the group came up with the $50,000 figure, organizer Alfonso Guerrero Ulloa of Honduras, said they chose that number as a group \u2026 [A] second letter, delivered around 1:20 p.m., came from a separate group of caravan members asking for the U.S. to speed up the asylum process. Specifically, the group asked U.S. immigration officials to admit up to 300 asylum seekers at the San Ysidro Port of Entry each day. Currently, officials admit between 40 and 100 asylum seekers. The group of migrants say the slow pace violates American and international laws that call for an immediate process, and places vulnerable migrants at risk. The Union-Tribune reported that the group demanding money in exchange for turning around and going home was organized by Alfonso Guerrero Ulloa, a 54-year-old Honduran who sought political asylum in Mexico after being accused (falsely, he maintains) by the Honduran government of planting a bomb in a Chinese restaurant that injured six U.S. soldiers and a civilian in 1987. Ulloa joined the caravan in early November 2018 and viewed it as something of a political cause, according to the Union-Tribune: [Ulloa] led a group of 100 migrants to the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana asking President Donald Trump to either let the migrants into the United States or oust [Honduran President Juan Orlando] Hernandez from office and pay each migrant $50,000 to go back to Honduras. He based that figure on what he considers reparations from the U.S. for their intervention in Central America. \u201cThe United States is directly responsible for this humanitarian crisis,\u201d he said. \u201cHonduras is practically colonized by the United States.\u201d  The Trump administration has sought to require that Central American migrants apply for asylum in the \u201csafe third country\u201d of Mexico rather than in the U.S. According to the Union-Tribune, roughly 2,500 have already done so, but humanitarian groups \u2014 including the international medical charity M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF) \u2014 maintain that Mexico (still a developing country) is not safe for many of them, with women, children, and members of the LGBT community particularly vulnerable to violence in Mexico: MSF medical data shows that a quarter of our medical consultations for migrants and refugees in Mexico are related to injuries from intentional violence. Ninety per cent of our mental health consultations are related to violence. Our patients are suffering from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, among other conditions, which have severe consequences on their ability to function. Women, children, and members of the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Queer (LGBTQ) community are more vulnerable to certain types of violence and require specific protection measures that are not effectively in place in Mexico. The migrants arrived in Tijuana roughly one month before the Fox News report. As they traveled north in a caravan that originated in northern Honduras on 12 October 2018, they were a constant target of hoaxes and misinformation, particularly in the lead-up to the 6 November 2018 midterm elections in the U.S."}
{"claim_id": "8148", "claim": "Italy coronavirus deaths jump by almost 800, government shuts most workplaces.", "explanation": "Italy recorded a jump in deaths from coronavirus of almost 800 on Saturday, taking the toll in the world\u2019s hardest-hit country to almost 5,000.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "In its latest desperate effort to halt the epidemic Rome ordered that all businesses must close until April 3, with the exception of those essential to maintaining the country\u2019s supply chain. \u201cIt is the most difficult crisis in our post-war period,\u201d Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a video posted on Facebook, adding \u201conly production activities deemed vital for national production will be allowed\u201d. Conte did not specify which factories and businesses will be considered crucial to keep the country going. The government is expected to publish an emergency decree on Sunday to make the new crackdown immediately effective. Supermarkets, pharmacies, postal and banking services will remain open and essential public services including transport will be ensured. \u201cWe are slowing down the country\u2019s production engine but we are not stopping it,\u201d Conte said. Italy on Thursday overtook China as the country worst hit by the highly contagious virus. On Saturday fatalities jumped by 793 to 4,825 in the largest one-day rise since the contagion emerged a month ago. Reported infections rose to 53,578 from 47,021, the Civil Protection Agency said. There were 2,857 people in intensive care, up from 2,655. Lombardy, the northern Italian region around Milan which is the worst-affected by coronavirus, remains in a critical situation, with 3,095 deaths and 25,515 cases. \u201cWhat we all understand is that no member state can face this threat alone. The virus has no borders and the European Union is stronger when we show full solidarity,\u201d EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen told Italy\u2019s Corriere della Sera newspaper. Late on Friday the EU Commission moved to formalize a deal reached by EU finance ministers on March 5 to suspend EU budget rules that limit borrowing, giving Italy and other governments a free hand to fight the disease. Italy\u2019s failure to reduce its huge debt of 134% of gross domestic product would normally have drawn a rebuke from the EU executive, but von der Leyen said there were now other priorities. \u201cThe Italian government will be able to put as much money into the economy as needed. Normal budget rules, debt rules for example, will not be applied at this stage,\u201d she said. Brussels is expected next week to unveil a plan for using the euro zone\u2019s bailout fund, known as the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which could unlock unlimited sovereign bond purchases by the European Central Bank. \u201cThis work is ongoing,\u201d Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview with Reuters. The lockdown measures imposed in Italy and emulated by several other countries in Europe are likely to trigger a recession and heavy job losses. Dombrovskis said the Commission is accelerating work on an EU-wide scheme to help the unemployed, scheduled for presentation in the fourth quarter."}
{"claim_id": "37888", "claim": "President Donald Trump asked about the possibility of injecting people with disinfectant to treat COVID-19.", "explanation": "Did Donald Trump Ask About Using Disinfectant Injections to Treat COVID-19?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Fact Checks, Politics", "main_text": "While social media users might not believe it, it is true that United States President Donald Trump asked during a briefing about the possibility of injecting disinfectants into a human body to treat COVID-19 on April 23 2020.The president\u2019s outlandish and medically unsound suggestion came after a presentation from Bill Bryan from the Department of Homeland Security. Bryan, who leads the agency\u2019s science and technology division, had said that the disease \u201cdies quickest in sunlight,\u201d later adding that people should still practice physical distancing (also called social distancing) to remain safe.But following his remarks, Trump took to the stage and said:Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it\u2019s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn\u2019t been checked but you\u2019re going to test it. Supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you\u2019re going to test that too. Sounds interesting. And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. And is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning? It would be interesting to check that. That you\u2019re gonna have to use medical doctors with.Transcripts and footage were quickly shared and spread online:Trump: \u201cAnd then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. And is there a way we can do something, by an injection inside or almost a cleaning? It would be interesting to check that. That you\u2019re gonna have to use medical doctors with.\u201d\u2014 Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) April 23, 2020\u201cThe disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning. It gets in the lungs\u201d \u2014 Trump seems to suggests that injecting disinfectant inside people could be a treatment for the coronavirus pic.twitter.com/amis9Rphsm\u2014 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 23, 2020When later asked about testing Trump\u2019s hypothesis on injecting disinfectant, Bryan said, \u201cWe don\u2019t do that within our lab.\u201d Trump then chimed in, \u201cMaybe it works, maybe it doesn\u2019t work.\u201dFollowing Trump\u2019s remarks, Reckitt Benckiser \u2014 the company that manufactures household cleaning products Lysol and Dettol \u2014 released a statement urging users not to test the president\u2019s theory for themselves.\u201cUnder no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route),\u201d the statement read.That evening Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), also refuted Trump\u2019s idea in an interview with CNN.\u201cI certainly wouldn\u2019t recommend the internal ingestion of a disinfectant,\u201d Hahn said.Meanwhile, the New York Times was criticized online for its coverage of Trump\u2019s display, specifically a Twitter post seemingly treating the idea that injecting bleach into one\u2019s self is harmful as something up for debate.\u201cAt a White House briefing, President Trump theorized \u2014 dangerously, in the view of some experts \u2014 about the powers of sunlight, ultraviolet light and household disinfectants to kill the coronavirus,\u201d the tweet read.The newspaper\u2019s actual story on the briefing did not mention any \u201cexperts\u201d who would advocate using disinfectants against the disease.When contacted for comment, the Times sent us a link to a subsequent post saying, \u201cWe\u2019ve deleted an earlier tweet and updated a sentence in our article that implied that only \u2018some experts\u2019 view the ingestion of household disinfectants as dangerous. To be clear, there is no debate on the danger.\u201dAccording to CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang, the Trump administration responded by attacking news outlets; White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement on April 24, 2020:President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday\u2019s briefing. Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.Trump also attempted to backtrack a day later, claiming that he was being \u201csarcastic\u201d and then telling reporter Jeff Mason, \u201cI was looking at you.\u201d\u201cNo you weren\u2019t sir,\u201d Mason responded. \u201cI wasn\u2019t there yesterday.\u201dHuffington Post reporter Jennifer Bendery posted a transcript of the exchange:Reporter: Some doctors want you to clarify that you weren\u2019t telling people to inject disinfectant into their veins.Trump: I was being sarcastic, obviously, based on the way the question was asked. I was looking at you.Reporter: I wasn\u2019t there. (via pool report) pic.twitter.com/feUu3T7d62\u2014 Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) April 24, 2020The Guardian reported that days before the remarks, Trump was contacted by Mark Grenon, whose Florida-based group, Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, sells chlorine dioxide bleach as a \u201cmiracle mineral solution.\u201d Grenon\u2019s group claims, falsely, that the substance (billed as \u201cMMS\u201d) can cure not only COVID-19 but cancer and HIV, among other illnesses.Grenon read the letter he said he sent to Trump on his radio show, and also gushed over Trump\u2019s remarks \u2014 with no indication that he took them to be sarcastic \u2014 on his own Facebook page.\u201cTrump has got the MMS and all the info!! !\u201d he wrote. \u201cThings are happening folks! Lord help others to see the Truth!\u201dGrenon\u2019s \u201cchurch\u201d was also ordered by a federal court to stop selling its product after the US Justice Department requested a temporary injunction against the group, which had already incurred a warning letter from the FDA over its practices.\u201cDespite a previous warning, the Genesis II Church of Healing has continued to actively place consumers at risk by peddling potentially dangerous and unapproved chlorine dioxide products,\u201d Hahn said in a statement. \u201cWe will not stand for this, and the FDA remains fully committed to taking strong enforcement action against any sellers who place unsuspecting American consumers at risk by offering their unproven products to treat serious diseases.\u201dUpdate, April 24 2020, 9:20 a.m.: Updated with comments from the Food and Drug Administration and Reckitt Benckiser as well as a note on the New York Times\u2019 coverage of the story.Update, April 24 2020, 10:07 a.m.: Updated with response from the Times.Update, April 24 2020, 11:41 a.m.: Updated with further comments from Trump and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.Update, April 24 2020, 12:37 p.m.: Updated with notes on Trump being contacted by Mark Grenon.Comments"}
{"claim_id": "1688", "claim": "Amazonian tribe study shows how human bodily bacteria is changing.", "explanation": "Everyone\u2019s body is brimming with bacteria, and these microbes do plenty of good things like building the immune system and helping digestion. But modern diets, antibiotics and hygiene seem to be reducing the range of microbes occupying our anatomy.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "A study published on Friday looking at the gut, mouth and skin microbes in people from a small, isolated tribe in southern Venezuela\u2019s Amazonian jungles shows just how much modern life may be altering humankind\u2019s bodily bacteria. The Yanomami villagers, secluded from the outside world until 2009, possessed the most diverse collection of bacteria ever found in people including some never before detected in humans, said scientists whose research appears in the journal Science Advances. The researchers were surprised to learn the Yanomami\u2019s microbes harbored antibiotic-resistant genes including those conferring resistance to manmade antibiotics, considering they never had exposure to commercial antibiotics. Every person hosts trillions of microbes, collectively called the microbiota, that live in and on virtually every part of the body. They contribute to functions essential to human health including immune system development, processing food and confronting invading pathogens. \u201cOur study suggests that the pre-modern human microbiota was composed of a greater diversity of bacteria and a greater diversity of bacterial functions when compared to populations impacted by modern practices, such as processed foods and antibiotics,\u201d said pathology and immunology professor Gautam Dantas of Washington University in St. Louis. A microbiota diversity decline may be linked to the increase in the past several decades of immunological and metabolic diseases such as asthma, allergies, diabetes and obesity, said Maria Dominguez-Bello, a professor of medicine at New York University\u2019s Langone Medical Center. The researchers analyzed microbial samples from 34 of the 54 Yanomami villagers. They were compared to a United States group, another Venezuelan Amazonian indigenous people, the Guahibo, and residents of rural Malawi in southern Africa. Yanomami were found to have twice the number of microbe varieties of the U.S. subjects and 30 to 40 percent more diversity than the Malawians and Guahibo. Some of the bacteria found in the Yanomami but not in the others offer beneficial effects like protecting against kidney stones. The Yanomami are semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in their remote mountainous region. \u201cIt really is a unique opportunity to contact communities with this ancient lifestyle,\u201d said Oscar Noya, a researcher with the Amazonic Center for Research and Control of Tropical Diseases in Venezuela who visited the villagers."}
{"claim_id": "21340", "claim": "Earl Blumenauer Says \"Every year air pollution protections are delayed, another 34,000 people will die prematurely.", "explanation": "Earl Blumenauer says delaying air pollution rules will kill 34,000 people a year", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment, Oregon, Government Regulation, Public Health, Earl Blumenauer, ", "main_text": "Even in these cynical, partisan days, there are some universal truths. For example: Sulfur dioxide is a pollutant that can severely affect a person\u2019s health and, in extreme cases, be fatal. Nitrogen oxide is another common and nasty pollutant that makes people sick. Scientists and non-scientists as well as Republicans and Democrats generally agree the stuff is bad for you. But how you deal with it is where agreement ends -- at least in Congress. On the House floor Sept. 23, Republicans muscled through legislation that would delay or scrap rules to reduce mercury and other harmful air emissions, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Though the bill passed, it\u2019s highly unlikely to pass the Senate and would be vetoed by President Barack Obama if it did. Nevertheless, the House debate was lively. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., was one of the loudest critics, insisting that delaying the tougher air pollution rules would have dire results. \"Every year these protections are delayed, another 34,000 people will die prematurely,\" he said. Really? That\u2019s a lot of dead bodies and it\u2019s very specific. Perfect for PolitiFact. First, some background. As passed on a nearly party-line vote of 249-169, the bill would, among other things, require the president to set up a committee of Cabinet-level officials to evaluate the toll that a dozen-plus Environmental Protection Agency regulations would have on jobs, electricity, gasoline prices and competitiveness. Republicans said action was needed to slow down a runaway bureaucracy. \"While there are reasonable regulations that protect our children and help keep our environment clean, we need to stop unelected bureaucrats from imposing excessive regulations that unnecessarily increase costs for consumers and make it harder for our economy to create jobs,\" House Speaker John Boehner said. Blumenauer and other Democrats said the bill was a craven gift to business that would result in dirtier air and more death. Blumenauer\u2019s dire prediction was directed at the bill\u2019s delay of something called the Cross\u2010State Air Pollution Rule which would limit the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide belching from power plants in 27 states. The pollutants react in the atmosphere to create ground-level ozone and set free tiny particulates that can damage lung capacity and cause respiratory problems. In real numbers, the EPA says the rules would reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide from the plants by 6.4 million tons a year (from 8.8 million tons in 2005) and to 1.4 million tons a year of nitrogen oxide (from 2.6 million tons annually in 2005). Those are big numbers and Blumenauer argued Sept. 22 during floor debate that lawmakers voting for the bill would be directly responsible for making people sick. \"The losers are hundreds of thousands of people (who) will die, get illness from cancer, asthma, lost school days, millions of lost work days, the lost quality of life that is documented beyond belief,\" he said. \"This is real, and these people lose.\" Blumenauer\u2019s aides said he was relying on studies conducted by the EPA to support his claim. The most authoritative of those studies is a 414-page analysis released in June. The dense title suggests it\u2019s a product of science rather than sound-byte politicians: \"Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Federal Implementation Plans to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone in 27 States; Correction of SIP Approvals for 22 States.\" The report relied on the work of EPA scientists and a survey of independent, peer-reviewed studies by outside scientists. And there, listed among the \"key findings\" is this: \"The benefits result primarily from 13,000 to 34,000 fewer (particulate matter) and ozone-related premature mortalities.\" The report repeats the number eight more times. We find that Blumenauer was on solid ground. But he also \u00a0cherry-picked the highest death number rather than using the range of 13,000 to 34,000 additional deaths. While that omission does not change the conclusion that air pollution is bad for public health, it could exaggerate the problem. Return to OregonLive.com/politics to comment on this PolitiFact/Oregon ruling."}
{"claim_id": "13367", "claim": "Hillary Clinton \"supports unlimited abortion on demand up until the moment of birth, including partial-birth abortion, with taxpayer funding.", "explanation": "False: Ted Cruz claim that Hillary Clinton backs 'unlimited abortion' to moment of birth", "label": "false", "subjects": "Abortion, Texas, Ted Cruz, ", "main_text": "Ted Cruz of Texas stirred an Austin crowd by declaring that Hillary Clinton favors abortion without limit. The Republican senator characterized the Democratic presidential nominee\u2019s position after an audience member at the September 2016 Texas Tribune Festival asked why the father of two young girls could support \"a candidate who is so openly misogynistic,\" referring to Cruz\u2019s endorsement the day before of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Cruz stressed his concerns about entrusting Clinton with nominating Supreme Court justices who would, he said, threaten his daughters\u2019 constitutional rights. When he paused, the audience member voiced another question: \"Like the right to choose?\" Cruz replied that the \"right to life\" needs to be protected, adding: \"I can also tell you even on the question of the right to life that the views of Hillary Clinton on abortion are radical and extreme. Her views: She supports unlimited abortion on demand up until the moment of birth, including partial-birth abortion, with taxpayer funding.\" Unlimited to the moment of birth? Readers asked us to check this claim. For starters, it\u2019s worth noting that abortions in the weeks leading up to birth are rare; 91 percent in 2012 occurred before the 14th week of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a New York-based reproductive health nonprofit. That year, the institute says, 1.3 percent took place in the 21st week or later. Notably too, as of October 2016, Texas ranked among 15 states to have proscribed abortion after about 20 weeks post-fertilization, the institute says. It\u2019s also so that abortions earlier in pregnancy aren\u2019t always available on short notice. Twenty-eight states have statutory waiting periods for an abortion, PolitiFact Ohio noted in August 2016, and 14 states require physician counseling that necessitates two trips to a medical facility prior to an abortion. Clinton through the years And how does Clinton herself characterize her abortion position? We perused her own statements and one of her votes as a New York senator. A January 2016 \"fact sheet\" on her campaign website states that as president, Clinton will ensure the right to choose an abortion is protected, a reference to the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion. Also, the sheet says, Clinton will \"repeal the Hyde amendment to ensure low-income women have access to safe reproductive health care.\" That's potentially a call for more federally funded abortions in that the Hyde amendment, regularly embraced by Congress since 1976, bars government funding of abortion through Medicaid except in cases of rape, incest or to save the health or life of the mother. According to a 2016 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, similar \"restrictions affect the appropriations for other federal entities, including the Department of Justice, where federal funds may not be used to perform abortions in the federal prison system, except in cases of rape or if the life of the mother would be endangered.\" Hyde acts as a rider on federal appropriations bills. As such, PolitiFact Ohio noted in August 2016, it doesn\u2019t have to be \"repealed\" to be deactivated. Bills on federal spending could just cease to include it. Some states have Hyde-like restrictions on their Medicaid dollars, and would have to change their guidelines to open an avenue to fund abortions if Hyde disappeared at the federal level. Clinton has long said that she\u2019d support a late-term limit on abortion--provided it has exceptions. In 2003, as a senator for New York, Clinton was on the losing end of a 64-33 floor vote to advance the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 later signed into law by President George W. Bush. That change--barring physicians from knowingly performing intact dilation and extraction on a living fetus--had no exception to preserve the health or life of the woman. \"Clearly, the administration and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle see this as an opportunity to begin to eliminate Roe v. Wade,\" Clinton said at the time, according to an NPR news report, \"and the possibility of safe, legal and rare abortions in this country. And many young women don't seem to understand that this is not an option that they can take for granted.\" Earlier, in an Oct. 8, 2000, candidate debate, Clinton said: \"I have said many times that I can support a ban on late-term abortions, including partial-birth abortions, so long as the health and life of the mother is protected. I\u2019ve met women who faced this heart-wrenching decision toward the end of a pregnancy. Of course it\u2019s a horrible procedure. No one would argue with that. But if your life is at stake, if your health is at stake, if the potential for having any more children is at stake, this must be a woman\u2019s choice.\" In March 2016, more recently, Bret Baier of Fox News asked Clinton during a Democratic presidential town hal whether she favors legal restrictions on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. That exchange: BAIER: \"Do you think a child should have any legal rights or protections before it\u2019s born? Or do you think there should not be any restrictions on any abortions at any stage in a pregnancy?\""}
{"claim_id": "1402", "claim": "UK campaigners win appeal case over preventative HIV drug.", "explanation": "The state health service in England has the legal power to fund an HIV pill to prevent infection, the court of appeal ruled on Thursday, in a victory for AIDS campaigners who have been calling for its widespread use.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "But it is still unclear whether the state system will have the financial resources to make the drug widely available. So-called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV can cut the risk of getting the virus during sex by more than 90 percent, according to clinical studies. NHS (National Health Service) England had argued it was not in a position to fund the medicine because PrEP was a preventative service and therefore the responsibility of local authorities. The NHS lost that argument in an initial court case in August, prompting the appeal. \u201cWe are delighted to have been vindicated by the court a second time,\u201d said Deborah Gold, chief executive of the National Aids Trust (NAT), which brought the case. The NAT argues that PrEP is a potential game-changer and is urgently needed in Britain, where more than 4,000 people acquire HIV annually. NHS England said it would now formally consider whether to fund PrEP. It noted the court ruling established that the NHS had the ability but not the obligation to pay for the medicine. Gilead Sciences\u2019 Truvada is currently the only drug approved in Europe for PrEP, although several generic companies in India make cut-price versions of the product. The original Gilead drug costs around 400 pounds ($500) for a month\u2019s supply and its unavailability on the state health service has prompted some people to turn to online \u201cbuyers clubs\u201d to get cheaper copies delivered from India. NHS England said it would ask Gilead to reconsider its current \u201cexcessively high pricing\u201d and would also explore options for using generics. \u201cWe expect to be able to update on these developments shortly,\u201d it said in a statement. Gilead said it welcomed the appeal court decision and hoped NHS England would make PrEP available as soon as possible. It had no comment on the call for lower Truvada prices. Use of PrEP is rising fast in the United States, where tens of thousands of people are now taking it to prevent infection. It is also being rolled out in other parts of Europe. Truvada is a combination of two antiretroviral drugs that work to keep HIV, which causes AIDS, from replicating in the body."}
{"claim_id": "26980", "claim": "Blogger Says the Chinese Communist Party \"will finally admit that the real source of the coronavirus is from \u2018a lab in Wuhan\u2019 linked to its covert biological weapon programs.", "explanation": "No evidence that Chinese officials will say coronavirus was leaked from a lab", "label": "false", "subjects": "Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Bloggers, ", "main_text": "A website with ties to Steve Bannon and a Chinese billionaire is claiming to have a scoop on the source of the coronavirus. In an article published Jan. 25, G News wrote that Chinese Communist Party officials would soon \"admit that the real source of the coronavirus is from \u2018a lab in Wuhan (China)\u2019 linked to its covert biological weapon programs.\" \"A reliable source told Miles Guo today that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will admit to the public of an \u2018accidental\u2019 leak of lab-created virus from a P4 lab in Wuhan to put blames on \u2018human errors,\u2019\" the article reads. \"But the official announcement is still being finalized.\" The article was flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat  news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It has been shared thousands of times. (Screenshot from G News) The coronavirus, which originated in the central China city of Wuhan, has infected more than 2,700 people worldwide, according to a Jan. 27 World Health Organization report. China has restricted travel within the country amid a rising death toll. While we can\u2019t know who G News has or hasn\u2019t spoken to, we could find no evidence to support the website\u2019s story. Miles Guo, also known as Guo Wengui, is a Chinese billionaire and political activist. He fled China in 2014 in anticipation of corruption charges from the Communist Party. Since then, Wengui, who is a member of President Donald Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, has become known for his outspoken criticism of Chinese efforts to weed out corruption. G News is the media arm of Guo Media, a company linked to Wengui. Axios reported in October that the company paid Bannon, Trump\u2019s former chief strategist and former executive chairman of Breitbart News, at least $1 million for \"strategic consulting services.\" Both Bannon and Wengui have their own sections on G News. We could find no other media reports that corroborate G News\u2019 story about the source of the coronavirus. There is a lab near Wuhan that deals with dangerous pathogens \u2014\u00a0and some have linked it to China\u2019s biological warfare program. The country denies having such a program, but the U.S. State Department has raised concerns about China\u2019s potential noncompliance with the Biological Weapons Convention, which bans the production of such weapons. Officials are still working to determine the source of the coronavirus outbreak. In its most recent situation summary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that both it and Chinese authorities had isolated the genome of the 2019 coronavirus. Their findings suggest \"a likely single, recent emergence from a virus related to bat coronaviruses and the SARS coronavirus.\" The disease appears to have originated at a seafood and animal market in Wuhan, and it spread from there to several Asian countries, Australia, France, Canada and the United States. Researchers believe the current outbreak pattern suggests the coronavirus may have spread from animal to human at first, and now from human to human. G News\u2019 story is inaccurate. We rate it ."}
{"claim_id": "27406", "claim": "A Fresno man turned up at a local emergency room carrying a 5-foot-long tapeworm he pulled out of his own intestine.", "explanation": "If you\u2019re not confident your favorite sushi restaurant sources and handles its fish in accordance with the law, we trust our little cautionary tale will inspire you to seek out one that does.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Medical, Emergency Room, sushi, tapeworms", "main_text": "In January 2018, readers notified us that a number of news outlets had reported that a man in Fresno, California, had walked into a local emergency room carrying a 5-foot-long tapeworm he said he had pulled out of his own body after experiencing symptoms that included cramping and bloody diarrhea. According to the reports, the patient, a frequent sushi eater, extracted the parasite as best he could after feeling it \u201cwiggling\u201d in his intestines and wrapped it around a toilet paper tube for transport. He presented it to doctors at Fresno\u2019s Community Regional Medical Center and requested immediate treatment for \u201cworms.\u201d We decided to check the story out for ourselves by contacting the person named as the attending physician, Dr. Kenny Banh. It\u2019s all true, Dr. Banh told us, right down to the toilet paper roll. \u201cI have seen and treated intestinal worms and parasites before, but never had a patient bring in a giant tapeworm,\u201d he said in an e-mail. By \u201cgiant\u201d he means five-and-a-half feet long. The tapeworm had a flat, skinny body, tan in color, with narrow,\u00a0dark brown lines down its back and \u201ca big, flat head.\u201d Tapeworms are a type of parasitic flatworm\u00a0(also called cestode) most often taken into the body by eating contaminated raw meat or fish. They reside in the digestive tracts of infected human beings or nonhuman animals, where they hold themselves in place using the suckers on their heads, and they may or may not cause noticeable symptoms ranging from abdominal discomfort to intestinal blockage. They can grow to more than 30 feet in length. What was Banh\u2019s first thought when he saw the creature? \u201cVery cool,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople asked if it was disgusting, but as an EM physician I see much worse. This was more geeky scientifically interesting \u2014 though funny, as it was wrapped around a toilet paper roll.\u201d Treatment for tapeworms in humans is fairly simple: usually a single dose of an oral antihelminthic, a drug that kills the worms, \u201csimilar to the deworming medication you give your pet dog,\u201d Banh says. Of greater concern to the patient was figuring out how he contracted the tapeworm in the first place. He hadn\u2019t been exposed to parasitic infection by travel, or by drinking contaminated liquids, or by eating raw meat, he was sure \u2014 which really only left one possibility: sushi. The patient said he eats a lot of sushi \u2014 daily, in fact \u2014 and his favorite dish is salmon sashimi. A bit of Googling confirmed that he was probably right. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a research letter in January 2017 noting that the Japanese broad tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense) has been detected in wild salmon caught along the U.S. and Asian Pacific coasts and that it therefore poses \u201cpotential dangers for persons who eat these fish raw.\u201d For any salmon sashimi addicts reading this, that doesn\u2019t mean you have give up your habit on pain of contracting a tapeworm infection, but it does mean you need to make sure the raw salmon you consume has been handled properly. Freezing kills parasites, which is why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that all fish be frozen before it can be served raw anywhere in the United States."}
{"claim_id": "11456", "claim": "Bipolar Treatment Comes Into Question", "explanation": "The story reports recent evidence that anti-depressants given in conjunction with mood stabilizing drugs (such as lithium) do not significantly improve depression or exacerbate mania in bipolar patients. The story suggests that anti-depressants are over-prescribed to patients with bipolar disorder; therefore, there is a suggestion that less treatment with anti-depressants\u00a0is better. The story appropriately describes the design and some of the quantitative results of a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study conducted by The Systemic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The story includes information from an author of the study, as well as from a researcher not involved in the study, but who specializes in bipolar treatment. The story\u00a0notes that the study was sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. The story mentions the potential harm of triggering a manic episode and reports (accurately) that there was no observed difference. The story could have gone further and discussed common harms from antidepressants stacked up against this finding of no benefit \u2013 strong incentive to stop giving antidepressant to\u00a0bipolar disorder. The story also could have discussed other options (such as psychosocial treatments) and whether any of these treatments work. Overall, though, a very complete story \u2013 and in only 406 words.", "label": "true", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not mention the cost of medication to treat bipolar disorder; however, the story and evidence from the study cited\u00a0are advocating fewer anti-depressant medications. So cost seems less of an issue in this case. However, the story missed an opportunity to talk about the cost of bipolar disease (90 million work loss days annually in the U.S) and associated health care/treament costs. The story provides some absolute data on patients' self-reported recoveries and mood. At 26 weeks follow-up, of 366 bipolar patients, 27% of patients who took a mood stabilizer and placebo experienced 8 weeks of of positively improved mood, but did not become manic; 23.%5 of patients receiving anti-depressants and a mood stabilizer achieved the same 8-week period of improved mood. The story mentions the potential harm of triggering a manic episode and reports (accurately) that there was no observed difference in the groups studied. The story could have gone further and discussed common harms from antidepressants stacked up against this finding of no benefit \u2013 strong incentive to stop giving antidepressants for bipolar disorder. The story describes the study design and provides some quantitative evidence from the study of bipolar patients who were given placebos or anti-depressant medications with mood stabilizing drugs. The story does not engage in disease mongering. The story lists the estimated prevalence of bipolar disorder in the U.S. The story includes information from an author of the study cited, as well as from a researcher not involved in the study, but who specializes in bipolar treatment. The story mentions that the study was sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, and the authors disclose the potential conflicts. The story\u00a0notes, in\u00a0passing, that mood stabilizing drugs are used. It doesn't say anthing about other options (such as psychosocial treatments) and whether any of these treatments work. It's clear from the story that the drugs in question are commonly prescribed and available. The story reports on a recent\u00a0evidence that anti-depressants given in conjunction with mood stabilizer drugs do not significantly improve depression in bipolar patients. This was a novel research question and finding. There was independent reporting and no evidence the information in this story is taken directly from a press release."}
{"claim_id": "8067", "claim": "Study sees 'severe and acute' emergency for world in coronavirus pandemic.", "explanation": "The world faces \u201ca severe and acute\u201d emergency due to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus and national responses in the coming weeks will be critical to the trajectory of their epidemics, a leading group of scientists said on Thursday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "If no mitigating measures or policies had been taken, the COVID-19 disease outbreak would have resulted in 7.0 billion infections and 40 million deaths globally this year, the scientists said from Imperial College London said. But if mitigation strategies are implemented that are able to shield the elderly via a 60% reduction in social contacts, and slow but not interrupt transmission of the disease with a 40% reduction in social contacts for the wider population, that disease burden could be cut in half, saving 20 million lives. \u201cBut we predict that even in this scenario, health systems in all countries will be quickly overwhelmed,\u201d said the report, the 12th study by this research team since the new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan, China in December. \u201cThis effect is likely to be most severe in lower income settings where (health service) capacity is lowest.\u201d  The researchers, led by Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology, said their analysis suggests healthcare demand worldwide can only be kept within manageable levels with  \u201cthe rapid adoption of public health measures ... similar to those being adopted in many countries\u201d - including testing and isolation of cases and wider social distancing measures. Ferguson\u2019s 10th study, published earlier this month, was seen as a key influencing factor on moves governments in Britain and Europe took to increase social distancing measures and tighten lockdowns in an effort to slow the expansion of the pandemic. The study, a mathematical modeling analysis which uses data and estimates to predict potential outcomes, found that in a best case scenario, if countries around the world implement suppression strategies early and sustain them, some 38.7 million lives could be saved. \u201cSuppression strategies will need to be maintained in some manner until vaccines or effective treatments become available to avoid the risk of later epidemics,\u201d Ferguson\u2019s team wrote in a summary of their study\u2019s findings. \u201cDelays in implementing strategies to suppress transmission will lead to worse outcomes and fewer lives saved,\u201d they added."}
{"claim_id": "10402", "claim": "Medtronic insulin pump beats injections in study", "explanation": "It touts benefits of insulin pumps and blood glucose sensors without mentioning potential harms. It fails to tell readers that the trial included only a subset of patients and thus the results may not necessarily apply to people with diabetes in general. It implies that the improvement seen in the intermediate endpoint measured (A1C blood sugar levels) will actually reduce the risk of eye, kidney, heart and other diseases without making clear that this trial was not designed to reveal differences in actual health outcomes. It makes no mention of the financial ties between the researchers and insulin pump manufacturers, even though the researchers\u2019 published conflict of interest disclosure summary was substantially longer than the news story itself. This thumbnail sketch of medical device trial results that may suit the needs of investors trying to predict stock performance fails to meet the needs of people who need relevant information about ways to manage diabetes. But does it really even give investors the true nitty-gritty they need?", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story does not mention that the devices cost thousands of dollars and their use requires ongoing purchases of supplies and services. These costs may or may not be covered by health care insurance. As mentioned above, the story implies that the degree of improvement in the control of blood sugar levels reported by the researchers will reduce the risk of eye, kidney and heart disease, even though these health outcomes were not measured. Although control of blood sugar levels is a widely accepted target of diabetes treatment, the trial did not measure whether or not there were any noticeable improvements in real health outcomes. The story does not mention any potential harms of insulin pumps, even though the researchers reported that two patients were hospitalized because of infections at the site of the pump insertion. The story fails to report any of the limitations or qualifications reported by the researchers in their article in New England Journal of Medicine. These include: \u2013 the trial included only people who were able to adequately control their blood sugar levels and the results may not necessarily apply to people who are able to manage their diabetes by other methods; \u2013 the researchers were not blinded, that is, they knew whether patients were using the study devices or multiple daily insulin injections; \u2013 that the motivation of participants and support by health care providers in a clinical trial may not be replicated in regular clinical practice. And as mentioned above, the story implies that the improved control of one measure of blood sugar control (A1C) would lead to reductions in eye, kidney and heart disease, even though this trial did not measure those outcomes. Although diabetes and complications from the disease are serious and common, the story fails to note that this trial reported only changes in one measure of blood glucose control, not hard health outcomes. While the story says that, \u201cLowering A1C levels helps reduce the risk of long-term complications from diabetes such as eye, kidney and heart disease,\u201d it fails to point out that this study did not measure whether participants who used the pump and senor devices had lower rates of these diseases. Not only does this story lack an independent source, it makes no mention of the ties between the researchers and manufacturers of insulin pumps and blood glucose sensors. Indeed, the disclosure summary included in the New England Journal of Medicine is 30 percent longer than the news report about the study. The story does note that the trial was sponsored by Medtronic, which manufactures the pump used by researchers. (Disclosures are summarized at the end of the article posted online at: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa1002853Disclosure statements provided by each auther are available at: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa1002853/DC3   Although the story does mention that people with diabetes can manage blood glucose levels with multiple daily injections of insulin, without a pump, it leaves out a critical piece of information. Patients who could successfully manage their blood sugar levels without a pump were excluded from the study. Readers should be told how often people with diabetes can achieve treatment targets without using a pump. This story does not make clear that the trial results apply only to people who are unable to achieve treatment goals by using multiple daily insulin injections. The story points out that these results are from a post-market study, thus indicating the device is already available. However, an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine accompanying the research article made an important point that was not included in the study: devices are not enough, effective glucose management requires effective management\u2026 and the \u201cexpert training and guidance received by patients in clinical trials cannot be readily duplicated in a busy clinical practice.\u201d In other words, the results of this trial may not necessarily be achieved in general clinical practice because while the devices tested are widely available, expert support services are not. The novelty of insulin pumps and monitoring sensors was not part of this story. Not applicable because we can\u2019t be sure of the extent to which the story relied on a news release. The quote used in this story does not appear in the news releases available for review. However, the story fails to include any information beyond that provided by Medtronic in its news release: http://wwwp.medtronic.com/Newsroom/NewsReleaseDetails.do?itemId=1277813641618\u2329=en_US"}
{"claim_id": "5493", "claim": "Slovakia may force women to get pre-abortion ultrasound.", "explanation": "Lawmakers in Slovakia are scheduled to debate a proposed law Friday that would compel women seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound and listen to the heartbeat of the embryo or fetus, a move many groups have decried as a backward step for women\u2019s rights.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Abortion, Ultrasound, Slovakia, Europe", "main_text": "The bill was submitted by three members of the conservative Slovak National Party, who wrote that it is intended \u201cto ensure that women are informed about the current stage of their pregnancy\u201d before having an abortion. It would oblige doctors to show a woman ultrasound images \u201cabout the development stage of the embryo or fetus whose development is to be terminated.\u201d The draft bill states that \u201cif technically feasible, the physician must also enable her to listen to the heartbeat of the embryo or fetus.\u201d The authors of the bill wrote that \u201cthe proposed draft law has positive impacts on marriage, parenthood and family\u201d and that \u201csociety does not consider the induced termination of pregnancy a good solution.\u201d In a series of demonstrations this week in Bratislava, protesters argued the draft law violates women\u2019s fundamental human rights, including the rights to privacy, autonomy and the ability to make medical decisions free from coercion. In September, the Slovak Parliament rejected four other bills attempting to ban or restrict abortion in the largely Catholic central European country, but this latest bill passed its first reading last month. Silvia Shahzad, a lawmaker with the conservative Ordinary People political party, says she will be voting against the proposal. \u201cTo try to change the opinions of women about their pregnancy with this kind of pressure, this is not acceptable,\u201d Shahzad said. In Slovakia, abortion is legal upon request in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy; it is available after that for certain medical reasons. Earlier this month, more than 30 organizations, including Amnesty International and Marie Stopes International, wrote to Slovak parliamentarians expressing their \u201cdeep concern\u201d about the proposed law. \u201cIf this legislation is adopted, Slovakia would be the only EU member state to impose these harmful requirements on women,\u201d the groups wrote, adding the abortion requirements would violate several international human rights treaties Slovakia has ratified. Similar letters were sent by European legislators and the Council of Europe. The World Health Organization does not recommend a routine ultrasound before abortion. The U.N. health agency says abortions should be \u201cdelivered in a way that respects a woman\u2019s dignity, guarantees her right to privacy and is sensitive to her needs and perspectives.\u201d Hillary Margolis, a senior research at Human Rights Watch, said the provisions in Slovakia\u2019s draft bill would intimidate some women from obtaining an abortion. \u201cThese are clearly tactics meant to potentially stigmatize women, humiliate them and subject them to degrading treatment,\u201d she said. In the U.S., seven states have similar provisions obliging women to have an ultrasound and listen to a fetal heartbeat, according to Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute. The 2011 law in Texas was challenged, but an appeals court ruled the provisions, which also compel doctors to provide a description of the ultrasound image, did not violate the U.S. constitution. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in Slovakia is unfortunately a replay of what\u2019s been happening in the U.S.,\u201d Nash said. \u201cIt\u2019s worrying to see this kind of legislation being introduced elsewhere now. Just because it\u2019s been successful in America doesn\u2019t mean it should be exported.\u201d Dr. Jennifer Conti, a spokeswoman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said it was medically inaccurate to refer to a \u201cheartbeat\u201d in the early stages of pregnancy. \u201cWe are not talking about a fully formed heart,\u201d Conti said. She said there is no evidence to show that introducing stricter criteria for abortions reduces the numbers of women seeking them. \u201cWhat we see is that when you make it more difficult to get an abortion, the rate of women dying or having complications or finding other alternatives goes up,\u201d she said. Leah Hoctor, Europe director of the Center for Reproductive Rights, also worried about the \u201cdemoralizing\u201d impact of the proposed regulations on doctors and nurses in Slovakia. \u201cI could imagine for medical professionals in Slovakia this could be very troubling because they\u2019re being forced to perform these procedures,\u201d she said. \u201cThis sends a message to women across Slovakia and other countries about the very dangerous role politics can play when it comes to women\u2019s access to health care.\u201d Across Europe, 39 countries have legalized abortion on request. Six countries only allow abortion in rare instances, such as if the woman\u2019s life is at risk: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Poland and San Marino."}
{"claim_id": "30991", "claim": "California's governor is allowing people who are HIV-positive donate blood", "explanation": "Mr. Moore\u2019s view are highly out of step with the overwhelming view in the HIV advocacy community. SB 239 is supported by a massive public health coalition, including almost every HIV advocacy organization, including the Black Coalition on AIDS, Positive Women\u2019s Network, APLA Health, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and many others.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Uncategorized, california, HIV, jerry brown", "main_text": "On 13 September 2017, YourNewsWire.com posted a story regarding a state legislative bill in California that contradicted itself within the first two paragraphs: California Governor Jerry Brown is expected to give a green light to a bill allowing HIV positive people to knowingly expose their blood to others. The bill, SB 239, will reduce the penalties for knowingly exposing someone to HIV without telling them, allowing HIV positive people to donate their blood to others. Lawmakers claim the current felony charge for the crime is \u2018discriminatory.\u2019 The measure, which was approved by the state Senate on 11 September 2017, does indeed reduce the penalties for HIV-positive people who knowingly expose others to the virus or donate blood. But as the state legislature\u2019s website stated, doing so is still illegal: The bill would instead make the intentional transmission of an infectious or communicable disease, as defined, a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 6 months if certain circumstances apply, including that the defendant knows he or she or a 3rd party is afflicted with the disease, that the defendant acts with the specific intent to transmit or cause an afflicted 3rd party to transmit the disease to another person, that the defendant or the afflicted 3rd party engages in conduct that poses a substantial risk of transmission, as defined, that the defendant or the afflicted 3rd party transmits the disease to the other person, and if the exposure occurs through interaction with the defendant and not a 3rd party, that the person exposed to the disease during voluntary interaction with the defendant did not know that the defendant was afflicted with the disease. The bill would also make it a misdemeanor to attempt to intentionally transmit an infectious and communicable disease, as specified, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 90 days. This bill would make willful exposure to an infectious or communicable disease, as defined, a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 6 months, and would prohibit a health officer, or a health officer\u2019s designee, from issuing a maximum of 2 instructions to a defendant that would result in a violation of this provision. The bill would impose various requirements upon the court in order to prevent the public disclosure of the identifying characteristics, as defined, of the complaining witness and the defendant. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Brown signed the bill into law on 6 October 2017. Before then, knowingly exposing a person to the virus via sexual contact was a felony punishable by either three, five, or eight years in prison. It was also a felony for an HIV-positive person to knowingly \u201cdonate blood, tissue, or, under specified circumstances, semen or breast milk.\u201d Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill, told us in an e-mail on 18 September 2017: Sexual assault will remain a felony, regardless of HIV status. So if someone with HIV sexually assaults someone, that will be continue to be a felony. In addition, SB 239 does not repeal the HIV-related sentencing enhancement for sexual assaults. The goal of the bill, Wiener said, was to end HIV infections: SB 239 will make it more likely that people will get tested for HIV and seek treatment, by removing stigma. Criminalizing health conditions harms public health. Criminalizing HIV makes it less likely people will get tested. If an HIV infection occurs, we need to make sure that people have access to healthcare. The bill passed in the state Senate by a margin of 24-12 (with four lawmakers abstaining) four days after the state assembly approved it in a 52-19 vote (with eight members abstaining). One of the bill\u2019s critics, Republican Sen. Joel Anderson said: I\u2019m of the mind that if you purposefully inflict another with a disease that alters their lifestyle the rest of their life, puts them on a regiment of medications to maintain any kind of normalcy, it should be a felony. It\u2019s absolutely crazy to me that we should go light on this. However, a 28 June 2017 editorial by two Alameda County Public Health Department officials argued that intentional exposure to the virus is rare. J. Phoenix Smith (interim head of the department\u2019s HIV care unit) and Nicholas J. Moss (director of its HIV STD Section)\u00a0wrote: Of note, a careful examination of hundreds cases revealed only two cases of actual intentional HIV transmission \u2014 nationwide, over more than 30 years. Wiener and the bill\u2019s sponsor in the Assembly, Democratic lawmaker Todd Gloria, said in a statement that the bill is supported by several LGBTQ and HIV-related advocacy groups, including the Center for HIV Law & Policy, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation among others. But another HIV activist, Deondre B. Moore, said in a March 2017 post for the group HIV Equal that the bill should be revised. In his piece, Moore reveals that a partner infected him with the virus after lying to him about testing negative. While he does not feel having HIV is a \u201cdeath sentence,\u201d he said, his peace of mind was stolen by his former partner\u2019s behavior: No one deserves a pass. It\u2019s one thing to be positive and be in control of your health by engaging in care and maintaining an undetectable viral load. It\u2019s another thing to just not care and intentionally aim to infect others with HIV. Something should be done and justice should always be served. I believe that SB 239 should be revised to note that, a person with a proven undetectable viral load should not be penalized or have to face consequences for having unprotected sex and not disclosing their status. However, a person who is positive and is proven to be intentionally infecting or aiming to infect others should face felony charges and brought to justice. When asked for a response to Moore\u2019s remarks, Wiener told us:"}
{"claim_id": "4046", "claim": "Tick, tick, tick: Alaska braces for invading parasites.", "explanation": "Health and wildlife officials are taking steps to prepare for potentially dangerous parasites that could gain a foothold because of Alaska\u2019s warming climate.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Climate, Health, Anchorage, Ticks, Wildlife, Alaska, Environment", "main_text": "Non-native ticks represent a threat to wildlife and people because they can carry and transmit pathogens, said Micah Hahn, an assistant professor of environmental health with the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage. \u201cThings are changing really rapidly in Alaska,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really important for us to establish a baseline. We need to know what ticks are already here, what ticks are established and reproducing, and where they are, so that we can monitor these changes as the environment changes in the future.\u201d A $125,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health will help sample ticks and prepare a model to forecast where ticks could thrive, she said Tuesday in a presentation to the Local Environmental Observer network, whose members report unusual animal, environment and weather events. Researchers will look for ticks in the field. Researchers, wildlife officials and the state veterinary office also are encouraging biologists and the public to participate in a \u201cSubmit-a-Tick\u201d program, in which they pluck blood-sucking arachnids from people and pets, drop them off at Department of Fish and Game offices and fill out a form with details of their capture. Alaska is largely free of many pests that bedevil people elsewhere, from snakes to creepy-crawly insects. Alaska\u2019s handful of native ticks attach themselves to squirrels, snowshoe hares and wild birds and sometimes moose, dogs, or cats, but no one buys bug repellent or tick collars to keep them at bay. However, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game nearly a decade ago began to collect tick samples out of concern that moose ticks, which can kill moose, especially calves, could establish themselves in Alaska. Moose ticks have been found within Alaska\u2019s neighbor, Canada\u2019s Yukon Territory. \u201cWe are nervous that it\u2019s very close to our border,\u201d Hahn said. The search for moose ticks led to the recovery of a variety of non-native ticks, she said. Most were associated with travel outside the state. Researchers believe they hitch rides on people and pets but also migratory birds. In some cases, non-native brown dog ticks and American dog ticks were found by people who had not left the state in months, Hahn said. \u201cThe question is, where did that tick come from?\u201d Officials have created an online Alaska tick information page with instructions on how to collect ticks. Researchers will use data collected to create a model focused on two nonnative ticks of concern, blacklegged ticks and western blacklegged ticks. Both can transmit Lyme disease. Ten Alaskans reported Lyme disease in 2017 but all were exposed in other states. Just because non-native ticks reach Alaska, it doesn\u2019t mean they will survive, Hahn said. Some ticks are vulnerable to dry conditions or harsh winters. The models will coordinate tick sampling information with environmental conditions in Alaska, such as humidity, temperature and rainfall, to project where non-native ticks might thrive in future decades as climate conditions change. Alaska doctors and veterinarians don\u2019t now automatically consider a connection to ticks if a person or pet shows up for treatment and has not traveled, Hahn said. \u201cIf we know what species are here, and where they are in the state, it can help us develop control measures to make sure we stay on top of the problem,\u201d Hahn said. ___ Online: Alaska tick information page: https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/vet/ticks/"}
{"claim_id": "12541", "claim": "Easing school lunch regulations \"is not reducing the nutritional standards whatsoever.", "explanation": "Perdue said his changes to the school lunch requirements did not reduce nutritional standards. The plain facts and the assessment of experts confirm that the long term goals for whole grains and sodium remain in place for now. However, under the new policy, schools need not make more progress toward those goals for another three years. In addition, the current standards don\u2019t allow flavored 1 percent milk, and the new policy states that the department wants to change that through an interim rule. So the standards might not have changed yet, but Perdue said he plans to do so.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Georgia, Education, Food, Sonny Perdue, ", "main_text": "Agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue went to an elementary school lunchroom in Virginia to announce new rules for the food schools serve. Under the banner of trimming the childhood obesity rate, combatting rising levels of diabetes and other health problems, Congress passed and the Obama administration implemented new targets for schools. Perdue gave schools more time to comply in two areas -- whole grains and sodium levels -- and expanded the rules for milk. \"We're giving these food service professionals the flexibility to move as we get a healthier generation,\" Perdue said May 1. \"This is not reducing nutritional standards whatsoever. It's pausing here to evaluate whether or not the progressive standards of moving even further are appropriate or not.\" Perdue argued that if kids don\u2019t like what they\u2019re offered, they simply won\u2019t eat it, and giving schools more time to comply would help children get more of the nutrition they need. We focus here on Perdue\u2019s claim that his move does not reduce nutritional standards. Is it true that they do no reduce nutritional standards set by the department in 2012 \"whatsoever?\" While Perdue is technically correct about not reducing the standards, his department will not be enforcing them. \"He is not changing the standards per se, but he is allowing schools to not follow them,\" said nutrition policy researcher David Pelletier at Cornell University. \"It\u2019s a bit like saying the posted speed limits on the roads remain the same, but you can go as fast as you want.\" The starting point Washington\u2019s school lunch program reaches about 30 million kids every day at a yearly cost of about $11 billion. To qualify for federal support, schools must meet a number of dietary regulations. In 2012, the Agriculture Department announced the final version of Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. For milk, schools could provide \"flavor in fat-free milk only.\" By 2015, all grain products, such as bread, oatmeal and noodles had to be \"whole grain-rich.\" That term meant that at least half was whole grain and the rest could be processed but enriched with vitamins and minerals. The rule for reducing sodium, or salt, was more complicated and set increasingly lower targets that varied slightly by age group. So for example, by July 2014, a lunch for an elementary student couldn\u2019t contain more than 1,230 mg of sodium, which is about 65 percent of the upper limit for a full day as set in the Federal Dietary Guidelines. By July 2017, the target became 50 percent of the daily limit, and by July 2022, the target went down to about 33 percent. Making 'school meals great again' Perdue\u2019s office sent out a press release entitled \"Ag Secretary Perdue Moves to Make School Meals Great Again.\" It said the department would start the process to allow schools to start serving 1 percent flavored milk. At the elementary school event, Perdue said, \"I wouldn't be as big as I am today without chocolate milk.\" For grains, schools could apply for exemptions to the whole grain-rich content rule through 2020. On sodium, any school meeting the first target for lunches of about 65 percent of the daily limit would be considered in compliance through 2020. In a statement, the department said this was similar to a 2016 memo from the Obama Agriculture Department. That memo said it recognized that manufacturers had lagged in cutting down the salt in food, and so schools \"that are working toward compliance\" would not suffer if they hadn\u2019t yet made the grade. Perdue\u2019s policy is more lenient, declaring that no school need push beyond the first target while, as Perdue said, the department pauses \"to evaluate whether or not the progressive standards of moving even further are appropriate or not.\" Were nutrition standards reduced? For whole grains and sodium, the new policy extends the timeline for achieving those standards, but so far, the overall goals remain -- with the option to reassess later. Pelletier of Cornell and nutrition policy researcher\u00a0Joann Slavin at the University of Minnesota\u00a0both said the underlying nutrition standards are unchanged. But Pelletier called Perdue's statement a \"semantic trick.\" The situation with milk is a little trickier. The 2012 rules, which match the recommendations from a 2009 National Academy of Sciences panel, said flavored milk had to be non-fat. Perdue hasn\u2019t officially changed that yet, but he said \"USDA will seek to publish an interim rule as soon as possible to effect the change in milk policy,\" to allow flavored 1 percent milk. Slavin said the federal rules on milk went too far. That said, they were published as nutritional standards and followed the guidance from an independent research group. Our ruling Perdue said his changes to the school lunch requirements did not reduce nutritional standards. The plain facts and the assessment of experts confirm that the long term goals for whole grains and sodium remain in place for now. However, under the new policy, schools need not make more progress toward those goals for another three years. In addition, the current standards don\u2019t allow flavored 1 percent milk, and the new policy states that the department wants to change that through an interim rule. So the standards might not have changed yet, but Perdue said he plans to do so. We rate this claim ."}
{"claim_id": "5636", "claim": "Sununu appointments to shape judicial, education policy.", "explanation": "Republican Gov.-elect Chris Sununu will have a chance to shape New Hampshire\u2019s judicial, education, criminal justice and environmental policy.", "label": "true", "subjects": "New Hampshire, Environment, Education policy, Environmental policy, Education", "main_text": "Sununu will make key appointments in the departments that focus on those and other areas of governance during his two-year term. The decisions won\u2019t be his alone; the five-member executive council must approve all gubernatorial appointments. But Republicans will control the council, making it more likely Sununu\u2019s appointments will get through. Sununu takes office in January and has not yet announced nominees. ___ ATTORNEY GENERAL Democratic Attorney General Joe Foster\u2019s appointment is up in early 2017. As the head of the Department of Justice, the attorney general is the state\u2019s chief defender and prosecutor. Sometimes the decisions are political. Foster, for example, chose not to defend a state law around education funding to the ire of many lawmakers. He also attempted to make the courts send mental health records to the national gun background check system, a move the courts rejected. Foster helped set the state\u2019s response to the opioid crisis. Under his leadership, the state sued Purdue Pharma over its marketing of prescription pain killers and began approaching drug overdoses as crimes with potential murder charges for dealers. Sununu\u2019s attorney general could continue any of these policies or change them. ___ EDUCATION Sununu will make three appointments to the State Board of Education and an opportunity to appoint a new education commissioner. The seven-member board is an advisory body of sorts to the department, with say over setting state education standards and approving charter school applications. The board adopted standards in language arts and math that line up with Common Core, a set of standards developed by the states that are opposed by many Republicans. More recently, the board approved new science standards. Education Commissioner Virginia Barry\u2019s term ends in early 2017. On the campaign trail, Sununu said he wants to end the Common Core standards and focus more on \u201clocal control\u201d in schools \u2014 priorities that are likely to shape his picks. ___ SUPREME COURT Two of New Hampshire\u2019s five Supreme Court justices will retire soon \u2014 Associate Justice Carol Ann Conboy and Chief Justice Linda Dalianis \u2014 giving Sununu an opportunity to reshape the court through his appointments. The past three Democratic governors have appointed a bipartisan judicial review commission to suggest nominees. The last Republican governor, Craig Benson, appointed his own partisan commission. Sununu told the Concord Monitor in October he would \u201cabsolutely\u201d use a bipartisan selection commission. The Supreme Court is the state\u2019s last stop for judicial decisions. In recent years, the court has voted to uphold the death penalty for convicted cop killer Michael Addison and to keep the sexual history of a murdered college student private during her killer\u2019s appeal. The court also made the Claremont education decision that established the state\u2019s school funding formula. ___ ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Thomas Burack recently announced his intention to resign after about 10 years in the post. The department works to keep New Hampshire\u2019s air, land and water clean, and deals with issues such as the drought and the contamination of drinking water by the chemical PFOA. The Public Utilities Commission regulates electric, natural gas and telecommunications utilities in the state. One of its duties is approving the utilities\u2019 rate requests. One of three commissioners\u2019 terms is expiring soon. The commissioner of environmental services and Public Utilities Commission members serve on the Site Evaluation Committee, which approves large-scale energy projects, such as the Northern Pass transmission line project. ___ OTHER DEPARTMENTS Other appointments Sununu will make include commissioners of labor, corrections, liquor, cultural resources, agriculture, insurance, and resources and economic development."}
{"claim_id": "10939", "claim": "Sanofi Obesity Drug Helps Sugar Levels Of Diabetics in Study", "explanation": "This story is about a drug which is currently unavailable in the US that may be useful in the arsenal of treatments for diabetes. The story was crafted around the results of one single study recently presented at a meeting. See our primer on \"News From Scientific Meetings\" to learn about the pitfalls in such reporting. The results have not been critically reviewed by experts in the field. In addition, it is not clear as to whether the beneficial effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels are directly due to the effects of the drug itself or derive from the loss in weight/reduction in food intake by the people in the study. The story mentioned that rimonabant is the first in a new class of drugs that might have use in treating diabetes, but it did not contain much information about its mode of action, how it might be used (alone or in conjunction with other medications and/or lifestyle interventions), or what the nearly 10% discontinuation rate in the trial might suggest. The FDA has raised major concerns\u00a0about this drug and rates of depression, and that is not clear from the story. Although the title of the story makes it sound like use of this drug in the treatment of\u00a0type II diabetes\u00a0is a fait accompli, rather than report on the results from a single story, the article would have better served the reader by presenting the back story \u2013 which phases of clinical trials have been completed, what are the concerns associated with the drug's use, and where does it fit in the scheme of diabetes treatment.", "label": "false", "subjects": " ", "main_text": "The story didn't discuss the cost of the drug. Although the story informed the reader that half of the people taking the rimonabant brought their blood sugar to the range considered to be the target for good glucose control, the story did not provide information about the starting blood-sugar levels for this cohort. In addition, the story mentions in passing that the improvements were linked to weight loss. It is not clear from the story whether weight loss alone was sufficient to elicit the benefits in blood-sugar level observed. The story did an incomplete job on side effects. It did mention nausea, depressed mood and skin tingling \"which led to a discontiuation rate of 9.4%.\" But the FDA has raised major concerns\u00a0about this drug and rates of depression, and that is not clear from the story. The evidence presented comes from a study just presented at a scientific meeting. See our primer on \"News From Scientific Meetings\" to learn about the pitfalls in such reporting. Although the results of this study are interesting, it is premature to extrapolate from this to use in treatment. The story did mention that there are currently a number of clinical trials being conducted that should better inform us about the utility of this particular drug in treating and/or managing diabetes. This story presents data on rimonibant out of context. There have been other larger studies of rimonibant that have already been reviewed by the FDA. The FDA has already turned down one request for approval of this drug for the US market citing concerns over side effects, especially depression. This study doesn't go into the details of that history in enough detail. Does not appear to overtly disease monger. Although the story did include the thoughts of two analysts, this story would have been more useful to readers if it had included comments from a clinician or scientist not involved in the study who could have commented on why the benefits of this drug differ from those of others currently used for treating this condition. This story reported on the comparison of rimonabant as compared to placebo in a group of individuals with type-two diabetes whose sugar levels were not adequately controlled using diet alone. Although rimonabant may be the first in a new class of drugs that may someday be used in the treatment of diabetes, the story failed to mention the pharmacologic and lifestyle approaches currently used to treat diabetes. It did not mention the clear evidence that intensive behavioral counseling for weight loss is effective in improving health outcomes in obese adults, and improving blood sugar control in diabetic patients. The fact that the drug discussed in this story is not currently available in the US is not completely clear in this story. The article does mention that this drug is available in Europe, but doesn't clearly state it isn't available in the US. It ends with the prediction that the new data should result in eventual approval of rimonabant by the FDA, though the time frame for such approval is not predictable. It's clear from the story that this is a relatively new drug in a new class of drugs for obesity/diabetes treatment, and that this research is looking at a possible new use for the drug. Because the story turned to several independent sources, it does not appear that it relied solely or largely on a news release."}
{"claim_id": "8481", "claim": "Protesting Poles engage in drive for abortion rights.", "explanation": "Poles took to social media and their cars on Tuesday to oppose proposals set to be discussed in parliament this week to limit abortion rights and to criminalise sex education in conservative Poland.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "As restrictions on movement to contain the novel coronavirus prevented street gatherings, protesters driving in their cars blocked off one of Warsaw\u2019s main roundabouts, Rondo Dmowskiego. They honked their horns and held up signs in their car windows, footage on social media seen by Reuters showed. Polish women\u2019s rights groups also called for Poles to protest on their balconies, in shopping queues and by putting posters in their windows. Police, using loud speakers, warned demonstrators they could be held criminally liable if they flouted lockdown rules. Abortion rights are a contentious issue in Poland, with the conservative ruling Law and Justice (PiS) keen to curb the nation\u2019s already restricted access further, despite significant public opposition. Parliament is set to decide later this week whether to debate a proposal submitted for its consideration by anti-abortion activists. It is unclear whether the PiS, which controls the legislature, will back it, however. The party, which campaigns on introducing more religious values into public life, has previously retreated from proposals to nearly ban abortion after a massive public outcry. Campaigners say it would face renewed criticism if it pushed through legislation when restrictions on public life because of the coronavirus pandemic prohibit large-scale demonstrations. \u201cThe chaos and anxiety surrounding COVID-19 shouldn\u2019t be used as a distraction from harmful attempts to push through dangerous legislation,\u201d Hillary Margolis, senior women\u2019s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, one of the world\u2019s largest human rights groupings, said on Tuesday. \u201cThe Polish government\u2019s focus during the pandemic should be to protect people\u2019s health and rights, not diminish them.\u201d  For the PiS, a tough stance against abortion could bolster its support among the conservative electorate ahead of a presidential election scheduled for May 10. Its incumbent, Andrzej Duda, is leading in opinion polls. Under current rules, abortion is allowed in Poland in the case of rape, incest and risks to maternal health or if prenatal tests show serious, irreversible damage to the foetus. The new proposal would eliminate foetal health as an exception, which accounts for the vast majority of legal abortions conducted in Poland. \u201cI believe that killing disabled children is simply murder,\u201d Duda, a PiS ally, told Catholic news outlet Niedziela, earlier this month when asked about the proposal. \u201cIf legislation about this crosses my desk, I will certainly sign it into law,\u201d he said. The abortion imitative, alongside a proposal to criminalise sex education in schools, was submitted during parliament\u2019s previous term, before the October 2015 general election, which the PiS won. It must be reviewed by May, according to parliamentary rules. The Council of Europe\u2019s Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic on Tuesday also urged parliament to reject the two bills, saying they could restrict women\u2019s rights to safe and legal abortions and children\u2019s rights to sex education. A spokesman as well as PiS members of parliament contacted by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment. #RatujmyKobiety, which translates as #Rescue Women, was one of the trending hashtags on Twitter in Poland on Tuesday."}
{"claim_id": "615", "claim": "'You have stolen my dreams,' an angry Thunberg tells U.N. climate summit.", "explanation": "Teenage activist Greta Thunberg angrily denounced world leaders on Monday for failing to tackle climate change, unleashing the outrage felt by millions of her peers in the heart of the United Nations by demanding: \u201cHow dare you?\u201d", "label": "true", "subjects": "Environment", "main_text": "The Swedish campaigner\u2019s brief address electrified the start of a summit aimed at mobilising government and business to break international paralysis over carbon emissions, which hit record highs last year despite decades of warnings from scientists. \u201cThis is all wrong. I shouldn\u2019t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?\u201d said Thunberg, 16, her voice quavering with emotion. \u201cYou have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,\u201d she said. Inspired by Thunberg\u2019s solitary weekly protest outside the Swedish parliament a year ago, millions of young people poured onto the streets around the globe last Friday to demand governments attending the summit take emergency action. \u201cI was very struck by the emotion in the room when some of the young people spoke earlier,\u201d French President Emmanuel Macron told the U.N. Climate Action Summit. \u201cI also want to play my role in listening to them. I think that no political decision maker can remain deaf to this call for justice between generations.\u201d  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who organised the one-day event to boost the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat global warming, had warned leaders only to turn up if they came armed with concrete action plans, not empty speeches. \u201cNature is angry. And we fool ourselves if we think we can fool nature, because nature always strikes back, and around the world nature is striking back with fury,\u201d said Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister. \u201cThere is a cost to everything. But the biggest cost is doing nothing. The biggest cost is subsidising a dying fossil fuel industry, building more and more coal plants, and denying what is plain as day: that we are in a deep climate hole, and to get out we must first stop digging,\u201d he said. Nevertheless, there were few new proposals from governments for the kind of rapid change climate scientists say is now needed to avert devastating impacts from warming. The summit has, by contrast, been marked by a flurry of pledges from business, pension funds, insurers and banks to do more. \u201cWe have broken the cycle of life,\u201d said Emmanuel Faber, chief executive of French food group Danone (DANO.PA), who announced a \u201cOne Planet\u201d initiative with a group of 19 major food companies to transition towards more sustainable farming. \u201cWe need your support for shifting agricultural subsidies from killing life into supporting biodiversity,\u201d Faber said. U.S. President Donald Trump, who questions climate science and has challenged every major U.S. regulation aimed at combating climate change, made a brief appearance in the audience of the summit along with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He did not speak but he listened to remarks by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who serves as a U.N. special envoy on climate action, called out Trump\u2019s low-key appearance before he spoke on Monday: \u201cHopefully our deliberations will be helpful to you as you formulate climate policy,\u201d he said to audience laughter. Merkel announced Germany would double its contribution to a U.N. fund to support less developed countries to combat climate change to 4 billion euros from 2 billion euros. Among the day\u2019s other initial announcements was one from the Marshall Islands, whose president Hilda Heine said she would seek parliamentary approval to declare a climate crisis on the low-lying atoll, already grappling with sea level rise. Heine said her country and New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and others who form the \u201cHigh Ambition\u201d bloc at U.N. climate negotiations, will commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. With climate impacts such as extreme weather, thawing permafrost and sea-level rise unfolding much faster than expected, scientists say the urgency of the crisis has intensified since the Paris accord was agreed. The agreement will enter a crucial implementation phase next year after another round of negotiations in Chile in December. Existing pledges to curb emissions are nowhere near enough to avert catastrophic warming, say scientists, who warn that failing to change course could ultimately put the survival of industrial societies at risk. Laurence Tubiana, a former French diplomat and an architect of the Paris accord, said she drew some comfort from more ambitious pledges by a nucleus of political and business leaders. \u201cWhen you look at the emergency and you see the level of the response, of course I cannot be happy,\u201d Tubiana told reporters. \u201cThe golden nugget I see is this group of countries, companies and cities.\u201d  Over the past year, Guterres has called for no new coal plants to be built after 2020, urged a phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies and asked countries to map out how to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. While some countries have made progress, some of the biggest emitting countries remain far behind, even as wildfires, heat waves and record temperatures have provided glimpses of the devastation that could lie in store in a warmer world. In a measure of the gap between government action and the ever-louder alarms sounded by climate scientists, the United Nations Development Programme said that 14 nations representing a quarter of global emissions have signalled that they do not intend to revise current climate plans by 2020. Pope Francis, in a message broadcast to the conference,  called for honesty, responsibility and courage to face \u201cone of the most serious and worrying phenomena of our time\u201d."}
{"claim_id": "4336", "claim": "FDA approves TB pill that cures more hard-to-treat patients.", "explanation": "U.S. regulators Wednesday approved a new tuberculosis medicine that shortens and improves treatment for the hardest-to-treat cases, a worsening problem in many poor countries.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Business, Tuberculosis", "main_text": "It\u2019s the first TB drug from a nonprofit group, the TB Alliance. Formed to come up with better treatments, the group developed pretomanid with help from charities and government agencies. The pill was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use with two other antibiotics. Decades of incomplete or ineffective treatment has resulted in TB strains that have become drug resistant and aren\u2019t killed by long-standard medicines. In a key study, the three-pill combo cured about 90% of patients with very drug-resistant TB, usually within 6 months. Patients also infected with HIV, a common situation, fared as well as the other study participants. Pretomanid also appears to stop patients from spreading the deadly bacterial infection after just a few days\u2019 treatment. Until now, the best option cured about two-thirds of patients, took 18 to 30 months and required up to eight kinds of shots and pills. Many patients die or don\u2019t finish treatment, according to TB Alliance CEO Mel Spigelman. Worldwide, TB kills about 1.6 million people annually. It spreads through droplets when someone sick with TB sneezes or coughs. TB attacks the lungs and sometimes other organs. Pretomanid was approved for use with Zyvox and Sirturo, two other antibiotics used for the toughest cases. The three drugs, which have little known resistance, attack tuberculosis in different ways. Potential side effects include liver damage, nerve pain and an irregular heartbeat. The new combo could help over 75,000 patients per year, mostly in India, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Nigeria, Spigelman said. The FDA is the first regulator to approve pretomanid, though there aren\u2019t many severe cases in the U.S. The FDA\u2019s action should bring quick approval in countries where it\u2019s endemic. The alliance will work with the World Health Organization to speed adoption of the treatment in those countries. The alliance is contracting with multiple generic manufacturers to make pretomanid and keep it affordable. ___ Follow Linda A. Johnson at https://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma . ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "7210", "claim": "California legislators focus on climate, immigration, roads.", "explanation": "California\u2019s Democratically-controlled Legislature kicked off 2017 pledging to stand strong against Republican President Donald Trump and pursue a liberal slate of policies on everything from climate change to health care.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Legislature, Climate, Climate change, Health, Legislation, Immigration, Universal health care, Environment, California, Jerry Brown, Donald Trump", "main_text": "They headed home Friday for the year having reauthorized a major climate change-fighting initiative and hiking taxes to pay for road and bridge repairs. But a proposal to provide universal health care coverage for Californians fell by the wayside. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has until Oct. 15 to sign legislation. Here\u2019s a look at what lawmakers did \u2014 or didn\u2019t do \u2014 this year. ENVIRONMENT Lawmakers gave another decade of life to California\u2019s cap-and-trade program, the centerpiece of the state\u2019s effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The measure passed with bipartisan support, ultimately costing Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes his job following an insurrection from party activists. Environmental justice groups, meanwhile, argued it was too generous to oil companies. They weren\u2019t mollified by companion legislation to address toxic air around oil refineries. Cap and trade puts limit on carbon emissions and requires polluters to obtain permits to release greenhouse gases under the cap. Some permits are auctioned off, providing billions of dollars in state revenue. Lawmakers voted to spend $1.5 billion of that money on electric vehicle rebates, cleaner trucks and buses and other initiatives to reduce pollution. ROAD REPAIRS \u2014 AND A TAX HIKE After years of failed attempts to address much-needed road repairs across California, lawmakers voted to increase the gas tax to generate $5 billion a year. Gas prices will rise 12 cents per gallon in November and 19.5 cents by 2020. Diesel taxes will increase 20 cents, and drivers will pay a new vehicle registration fee ranging from $25 to $175 depending on the value of their vehicles. The money pays primarily for road repairs, not new or expanded highways, though some of it will also fund transit, parks and other projects. The tax increase is at the center of an attempt by Republicans to recall Democratic Sen. Josh Newman, who supported it. HEALTH CARE Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount, faced a backlash when he shelved a plan to eliminate health insurance coverage and provide government-funded health care for everyone in California. Rendon said the proposal, which did not have a plan to raise the estimated $400 billion per year that it would cost, was not fully developed. He\u2019s since formed a special committee to explore universal health coverage. Meanwhile, the Legislature approved a drug-price transparency bill that had stalled for two years. It requires pharmaceutical companies to provide advance notice before instituting large price increases. The bill is awaiting a signature or veto from Brown. LAW ENFORCEMENT Lawmakers failed to act on one of their highest-profile law enforcement issues: changing a money bail system that critics say disproportionately punishes poor defendants. They plan to try again next year. But the Legislature did send Brown two bills that would lighten criminal penalties for young offenders. One would bar sentencing juveniles to life without parole, in keeping with recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings. The other would expand the state\u2019s youthful parole program by requiring parole consideration for offenders who committed their crimes before age 25, up from age 23 in current law. Another would write into state law a federal court order that requires officials to consider releasing inmates age 60 or older who have served at least 25 years in prison, excluding death row and other no-parole inmates along with police killers and third-strike career criminals. Other bills would restrict employers from asking about prior criminal convictions on job applications, allow juvenile offenders to ask a judge to seal records of crimes committed before turning 17 and end additional three-year sentence for repeat drug offenders. IMMIGRATION The centerpiece of California\u2019s effort to push back against Trump\u2019s immigration policies is a plan to limit cooperation of local and state law enforcement with federal immigration agents. Dubbed a \u201csanctuary state\u201d proposal, it passed the Legislature late Friday and heads to Brown for signature. Under other immigration bills awaiting Brown\u2019s action, immigration officials would need warrants to enter college campuses or work places. And lawmakers approved $30 million in legal and college financial aid for participants in a program that gives temporary legal protection to young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children or by parents who overstayed visas. HOUSING A package of bills to address the state\u2019s affordable housing crisis likewise cleared the Legislature at the last minute, with Brown planning to sign them. The three key bills will place a $4 billion housing bond on the 2018 ballot, streamline development approval in communities that aren\u2019t meeting housing goals, and add a $75 fee on real estate transaction documents. California is home to many of the nation\u2019s most expensive rental markets, and demand for housing outpaces supply by about 1.5 million homes. OTHERS People who don\u2019t pay traffic fines will no longer face a suspension of their driver\u2019s license under a budget bill signed by Brown. That\u2019s one of a handful of bills passed this year aimed at eliminating fines that disproportionately harm poor people. A bill headed to Brown would let Californians choose the third gender option of \u201cnon-binary\u201d on driver\u2019s licenses and other state documents. Lawmakers also sent the governor a bill to ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits bred at mass-breeding operations, instead requiring them to work with animal shelters and rescue operations. An effort to push back middle and high school start times to 8:30 a.m. or later also failed to pass, but will be addressed next year. ___ Associated Press writer Kathleen Ronayne contributed reporting."}
{"claim_id": "33885", "claim": "David Attenborough said that \"I am unaware of any animal that is as cruel as Israelis\" as part of a scathing attack on the country's treatment of the Palestinian people.", "explanation": "Sir David Attenborough is a household name in the U.K. and a hugely-respected broadcaster whose pronouncements are closely followed and widely reported in the news media. If he had weighed in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially in a way which asserted that Israelis were worse than animals, such comments would certainly have made headline news. No such news coverage exists, though, because Attenborough never made any such comments.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Politics, David Attenborough, israel, middle east", "main_text": "Between 2014 and 2018, a quotation emerged online which purported to show the English broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough comparing Israeli people to \u2018animals\u2019 for their alleged treatment of the Palestinians. Attenborough\u2019s alleged statement was turned into a meme which read as follows: I am not aware of any animal that is so cruel as the Israelis \u2014 not even crocodiles. They bomb schools, hospitals, refugee camps, orphanages, UN feeding stations, water works, power plants, ambulances, kids playing on the beach. They put millions of people in siege. They shoot children going to school. They kidnap kids and harvest their organs. They inject prisoners with disease pathogens before releasing them. They murder by land sea and air. And worst of all, they slander their defenceless victims as \u201cterrorists\u201d. David Attenborough, July 21st 2014. These words also appear on lists of \u201cDavid Attenborough quotes\u201d and were prominently cited by the Indian journalist Aijaz Zaka Syed in an August 2014 column he wrote for the Saudi newspaper Arab News on the subject of Israel\u2019s then ongoing \u201cOperation Protective Edge\u201d in Gaza. Syed prefaced the quotation with \u201cAs an agitated David Attenborough, the celebrated British environmentalist, noted \u2026\u201d The quotation has almost always appeared with a specific date attached to it: \u201cJuly 21st, 2014.\u201d It\u2019s possible the date was used to add to the statement\u2019s appearance of authenticity \u2014 not only did Attenborough say these things, the logic goes, but we know exactly when he said them. However, the inclusion of this date actually allows us to conclude that the quotation is not a genuine one. On 21 July 2014, a user with the pseudonym \u201cDavid Attenborough\u201d commented under an article on the Iranian news web site PressTV. That article has since been removed, but an archived version shows that the headline proclaimed \u201cIsrael drops white phosphorus bombs on Gazans,\u201d and in the comments section of that article a \u201cDavid Attenborough\u201d wrote: I am unaware of any animal that is as cruel as Israelis \u2014 not even crocodiles. They bomb schools, hospitals, refugee camps, orphanages, UN feeding stations, water works, power plants, ambulances, kids playing on the beach. They put millions of people in a siege. They shoot children going to school. They kidnap kids and harvest their organs. They inject prisoners with disease pathogens before releasing them. They murder by land sea and air. And worst of all, they slander their defenceless victims as \u201cterrorists\u201d. The distinctive date and time format from this comment (\u201c5:8 PM\u201d) was carried over into some later versions of the meme, which establishes that the 2014 PressTV article was the original source of this quotation. One version of the meme even falsely described Attenborough as an MP (member of parliament), further undermining its credibility:  Attenborough did not say those things about Israel. The date and time included with the quotation since its emergence online establishes that it originated with a comment made by an unknown person using the moniker \u201cDavid Attenborough\u201d on an Iranian news web site."}
{"claim_id": "9751", "claim": "Testing for more breast cancer genes offers useful information", "explanation": "This story does a nice job of describing a recent study that looked at the clinical validity of several cancer genetic test panels. The study looked at a group of women who were very high risk for breast cancer but tested negative for the BRCA1/2 genes and who were tested for other, potentially high-risk genes. It describes the potential harms associated with such test panels, touches on the authors\u2019 reported conflicts of interest, and avoids disease mongering. It could have done better by specifying costs, interviewing independent experts, and by putting this evidence in context \u2014 explaining some general issues with genetic testing and their analytical as well as clinical validity. About 5-10% of breast cancer cases in the US are linked to hereditary genetic mutations, the two best-known mutations being BRCA1 and BRCA2. Mutations in dozens of other genes have been studied and identified as possible risk factors for breast cancer. Myriad Genetics owned a patent on these two tests until 2013, when the Supreme Court ruled that genes couldn\u2019t be patented, thus invalidating their patents and their status as the only company that could offer BRCA1/2 genetic testing. Since this ruling, other companies have begun to offer multiple genetic test panels that are now marketed to doctors and to patients alike. The main question behind these, and other (including non-cancer), genetic tests is what to do with the information generated by them. Are identified genetic mutations \u201cclinically actionable\u201d? Are the results meaningful enough to allow the medical team to alter or tailor clinical management? The availability of various panels of genetic tests, for cancer as well as for other diseases, has been controversial in the medical community. At issue are the \u201canalytical validity\u201d of the test (Can the test accurately detect whether a specific genetic variant is present or absent? ), as well as the \u201cclinical validity\u201d of the test (Can the test provide information about diagnosis, treatment, management, or prevention of a disease that will be helpful to a patient or to a consumer?)", "label": "true", "subjects": "BRCA,breast cancer,genetic testing", "main_text": "The article mentions that the tests themselves \u201care not more expensive than testing for the BRCA mutations alone,\u201d but it doesn\u2019t state what those BRCA-only panels cost. In addition, insurance coverage for panel testing is not as uniform as it is for BRCA 1/2 testing. There are established guidelines for BRCA 1/2 testing from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network that most insurance companies honor. There are not yet established guidelines for panel testing. We appreciate the nod to cost, but we thought a little bit more detail was needed here for a Satisfactory rating. The story relays the benefits described in the study for the study population. It notes that 63 (about 4%) out of more than 1,000 women who test negative for BRCA mutations tested positive for non-BRCA mutations. \u201cOf those, the researchers decided that 33 would have been considered for additional screening or prevention measures based on their results.\u201d That description earns to the story a Satisfactory rating. Additional details on what screening and prevention measures might be recommended for which women \u2014 and some statement about whether those results are likely to apply to people outside of the study \u2014 would have been welcome. Potential harms, including having uncertain results leading to psychological difficulties, were mentioned in a quote from the lead author, who also discussed the complexity of interpreting the results. The article also quoted him as saying that misinterpretation could potentially lead to \u201ca drastic, unnecessary surgical procedure\u201d. The story describes the evidence as presented in the original article and includes some restraining comments from the researchers about the complexity of interpreting the tests and the fact that they are not advocating for broad-based testing. However, there are various major questions and issues related to genetic test panels themselves, including their \u201canalytic validity\u201d \u00a0(the degree of accuracy with which a test detects the presence or absence of a mutation), and \u201cclinical validity\u201d (how well the mutation is related to the presence, absence, or risk of a specific disease), which are not mentioned. We would like to have seen those terms \u2013 key issues when reporting on the utility of genetic testing \u2014 mentioned and discussed somewhere in the article. (Or if not those specific terms then the issues that they are meant to describe.) This is important because this study looked at two specific panels, but gene mutations included in some other tests may have uncertain analytic/clinical validity. Related to these issues, the story doesn\u2019t clarify that while the management of the women with positive \u201cpanel\u201d test results might have changed because of the result, it\u2019s not clear from this study whether their ultimate outcome (e.g. rate of cancer diagnoses or survival) was improved or to what extent because of the additional testing. Finally, it would have been great to see mention of the CDC\u2019s ACCE model which is a \u201cpublicly-available analytical process for evaluating scientific data on emerging genetic tests\u201d. There was no disease mongering here. Breast cancer is a real concern to many women. The article mentions that several of the study\u2019s authors have links to the industry and to companies that produce the genetic test panels. The story also quotes from an editorial written by an expert who wasn\u2019t involved with the study. Conducting an interview with an outside expert might have unearthed additional useful context, but the story is pretty solid here as it stands. The piece in itself is about an investigation of the clinical usefulness of additional (alternative) genetic panels to the \u201croutine\u201d BRCA1/2 tests. So the story meets our standard here. But as mentioned before, there are serious concerns about the use and availability of genetic test panels and it would have been great to add some context. Although availability isn\u2019t explicitly addressed, the story does note that women and their physicians are \u201cordering a wide selection of multiplex tests daily,\u201d from which one can infer that they are available. The story could have been more specific as to which panels were tested here and what others are available from physicians and even online. A good review is included in a table in this recent article from the NEJM. The novelty of the research \u2014 the fact that there\u2019s now some evidence that these tests may provide actionable information \u2014 is discussed. It would have been great to put this research and the tests themselves in context with recent legal and scientific advances in the field. The story references an interview with the study\u2019s lead author, so we can be sure it went beyond this news release issued about the study."}
{"claim_id": "12625", "claim": "Here are some of the things that are more popular than Congress: hemorrhoids, Nickelback, traffic jams, cockroaches, root canals, colonoscopies, herpes. Even herpes, they couldn\u2019t beat herpes in the polls.", "explanation": "Arnold Schwarzenegger recently claimed: \"Here are some of the things that are more popular than Congress: hemorrhoids, Nickelback, traffic jams, root canals, colonoscopies, herpes. Even herpes, they couldn\u2019t beat herpes in the polls.\" Surveys by the Public Policy Polling mostly back-up Schwarzenegger\u2019s dramatic claim. It should be noted, however, that the polls were conducted about four years ago and don\u2019t include a comparison of Congress to herpes. Congress\u2019 overall approval rating has remained in the dumps since that time, rising only slightly from 8 percent to 11 percent. It\u2019s disapproval rating has, however, shrunk somewhat from 85 percent to 68 percent.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Congress, Polls and Public Opinion, California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, ", "main_text": "Do voters really have a higher opinion of hemorrhoids -- hemorrhoids! -- than Congress? Do they really prefer root canals, traffic jams and colonoscopies over this branch of government? Really? That\u2019s Arnold Schwarzenegger\u2019s colorful claim from a February 2017 video that went viral. He repeated the allegations in an April 12, 2017 post on Facebook. In the video, he\u00a0points out the deep disdain for Congress but also notes that nearly all members are re-elected due to what Schwarzenegger calls a rigged political redistricting system, or gerrymandering. Here\u2019s his claim in its raw form: \"Here are some of the things that are more popular than Congress: hemorrhoids, Nickelback, traffic jams, cockroaches, root canals, colonoscopies, herpes. Even herpes, they couldn\u2019t beat herpes in the polls.\" The former California governor and movie star has vowed to raise awareness about gerrymandering now that\u2019s he\u2019s finished as host of The New Celebrity Apprentice and squashed rumors he might run for U.S. Senate. While we know approval ratings for Congress are low, we wondered if they\u2019re really as pathetic as Schwarzenegger wants us to believe. We set out on a fact check. Our research This isn\u2019t the first time we\u2019ve checked Schwarzenegger\u2019s claims on Congress and gerrymandering. In February, we rated his assertion that, \"The average margin of victory in the House of Representatives was 37%.\" He was referring to the average percentage point victory for both Democrats and Republicans in the 2016 election. We asked Schwarzenegger\u2019s spokesman for evidence backing up his claim about Congress\u2019 pitiful popularity. He pointed to results from surveys conducted by Public Policy Polling in January 2013 and October 2013. The polling company is known for conducting some tongue-in-cheek surveys and works with liberal clients. In the polls on Congress\u2019 popularity, it asked hundreds of\u00a0registered voters if they have a higher opinion of either Congress or a series of unpleasant or disliked things. Before we tackle those results, let\u2019s look at Congress\u2019 overall approval ratings in these recent PPP polls: -- January 2013: Congress\u2019s overall favorability rating among voters was just 9 percent favorable and 85 percent unfavorable. -- October 2013: Congress\u2019 overall favorability rating dipped slightly to 8 \u00a0percent favorable with the same 85 percent unfavorable. -- March 2017: Congress\u2019 overall favorability rating nudged up to 11 percent with only 68 percent of voters disapproving of it. Now, let\u2019s tackle those head-to-head results: Hemorrhoids -- 53 percent of voters said they had a higher opinion of hemorrhoids than Congress, which was favored by only 31 percent in this matchup, according to the October 2013 survey Nickelback -- 39 percent of voters said they had a higher opinion of the rock band Nickelback than Congress, which was favored by only 32 percent Traffic jams -- 56 percent of voters said they had a higher opinion of traffic jams, than Congress, which was favored by only 34 percent Root canals -- 56 percent of voters said they had a higher opinion of this dental procedure than Congress, which was favored by only 32 percent Colonoscopies -- 58 percent of voters said they had a higher opinion of this invasive procedure than Congress, which was favored by only 31 percent Herpes The PPP surveys didn\u2019t ask about herpes. It did ask, however, about gonorrhea. And Congress was still less popular than that venereal disease. A spokesman for the company that produced Schwarzenegger\u2019s video pointed to a 2011 CNN op-ed where comedian and radio show host Dean Obeidallah claimed Congress was less popular than herpes, without citing evidence. Our ruling Arnold Schwarzenegger recently claimed: \"Here are some of the things that are more popular than Congress: hemorrhoids, Nickelback, traffic jams, root canals, colonoscopies, herpes. Even herpes, they couldn\u2019t beat herpes in the polls.\" Surveys by the Public Policy Polling mostly back-up Schwarzenegger\u2019s dramatic claim. It should be noted, however, that the polls were conducted about four years ago and don\u2019t include a comparison of Congress to herpes. Congress\u2019 overall approval rating has remained in the dumps since that time, rising only slightly from 8 percent to 11 percent. It\u2019s disapproval rating has, however, shrunk somewhat from 85 percent to 68 percent. We rate Schwarzenegger\u2019s claim . \u2013 The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. Click here for\u00a0more\u00a0on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check."}
{"claim_id": "32397", "claim": "The CIA found a \"dead man's switch\" on the computer of the deceased father of a doctor treating Hillary Clinton for dementia.", "explanation": "Before the recent series of\u00a0Clinton-related fabrications,Sorcha Faal claimed\u00a0President Obama had ordered the military to attack\u00a0the city of Charleston\u00a0with nuclear weapons (which didn\u2019t happen), Rear Admiral Rick Williams was fired because he revealed Obama\u2019s purchase of a mansion in Dubai (Williams was terminated for misconduct), and Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama were engaged\u00a0in a potentially conflict-starting dispute\u00a0over the practices of\u00a0Monsanto.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, clinton body count, daniel fleck, dnc deaths", "main_text": "In July 2015, Hillary Clinton\u2019s personal physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, issued a public letter affirming that the candidate is \u201cin excellent condition and fit to serve as President of the United States.\u201d Presidential candidates typically have their doctors release such statements, but this instance was particularly noteworthy because the Democratic presidential nominee has been beset by unfounded rumors holding that she is prone to seizures and is concealing some serious neurological condition. In August 2016, someone issued a hoax \u201cleak\u201d of purported medical records from Dr. Bardack supposedly documenting that, contrary to what the physician had asserted in public, Hillary Clinton was experiencing \u201cmore frequent\u201d seizures and showed signs of \u201cadvancing\u201d dementia. Shortly afterwards, the notorious conspiracy-pushing outlet WhatDoesItMean.com\u00a0 published a fabricated article reporting that Vincent Fleck, the \u201cfather of the doctor treating [Hillary Clinton] for dementia\u201d and the \u201cleaker\u201d of those records, had died under mysterious circumstances: The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is reporting today that the continuing to grow list of mysterious deaths surrounding US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has increased after the father of the doctor treating her for dementia suddenly died this past weekend \u2014 and who is believed to have been behind the leaking of her most secret medical records. [Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.] The SVR first became \u201calerted/alarmed\u201d regarding the circumstances of this latest mysterious death associated with Hillary Clinton on 17 July, this report says, when a \u201cknown/suspected\u201d Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) \u201chit team\u201d traveled about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from their New York City \u201cbase/headquarters\u201d to a small village named Mount Kisco, both being located in New York State. Upon arriving in Mount Kisco, this report continues, this CIA \u201chit team\u201d broke into a specialized small computer security companies annex office named Right Click Solutions, located at 322 East Main Street, but were \u201cshocked/surprised\u201d by the unexpected arrival of an off duty employee \u2014 who immediately called the local police forces when he noticed the break in \u2014 and who were only able to obtain a single laptop computer. An \u201celectronic interrogation\u201d of this company and its customers to ascertain the CIA\u2019s interest in it, this report says, revealed an anomaly where this computer security company had installed a \u201cSnowden-like dead man\u2019s switch\u201d on the personal computer of man named Vincent Fleck. [Note: The \u201cdead man\u2019s switch\u201d refered to by the SVR in this report relates to a software programme that will automatically distribute information should something happen to the owner.] It is true that news accounts reported the death of a Vincent Fleck of Mount Kisco, who passed away from drowning or a medical event suffered while competing in a triathalon in early August 2016. However, all the rest of the story about a CIA \u201chit team\u201d finding a \u201cdead man\u2019s switch\u201d on Vincent Fleck\u2019s computer is a fabrication, as is the claim about Dr. Daniel Fleck\u2019s treating Hillary Clinton for dementia. (It\u2019s rather unlikely a physical therapist with a regular practice specializing in sports injuries would be furtively treating a high-profile politician campaigning throughout the country for dementia.) As reflected in the example tweets reproduced above, many readers inferred that Dr. Daniel Fleck himself had died mysteriously, but we confirmed with a beleaguered employee at his practice (beset with phone calls about the conspiracy rumors) that the physician was alive and well. Vincent Fleck\u00a0was the fourth\u00a0individual \u201cconnected\u201d to Clinton by WhatDoesItMean.com as part of a series of fabrications suggesting people who posed risks to Clinton\u2019s power\u00a0were being serially murdered. Previously, the outlet falsely claimed hacker Guccifer (Marcel Laz\u0103r Lehel) was missing and presumed dead after he purportedly hacked into Clinton\u2019s e-mail, and claimed former UN official John Ashe was murdered on the eve of scheduled testimony against Clinton. The site also used the tragic unsolved murder of Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich\u00a0to germinate a baseless conspiracy theory that ultimately caused the young man\u2019s family additional sorrow in an already harrowing period of grief. Guccifer was confirmed alive and well by officials at the facility in which he was housed, and a federal prosecutor\u2019s office affirmed Ashe\u2019s legal troubles were in no way connected to Clinton. Rich\u2019s murder remains unsolved, but his family has pled with the public not to engage in painful speculation about the circumstances of his killing. All four rumors were started by a\u00a0blogger known by the nom de plume\u00a0\u201cSorcha Faal.\u201d\u00a0 RationalWiki\u00a0says of Faal\u2019s \u201csensational\u201d and \u201coutrageous\u201d\u00a0WhatDoesItMean.com conspiracy site that: Sorcha Faal is the alleged author of an ongoing series of \u201creports\u201d published at WhatDoesItMean.com, whose work is of such quality that even other conspiracy nutters don\u2019t think much of it. Each report resembles a news story in its style but usually includes a sensational headline barely related to reality and quotes authoritative high-level Russian sources (such as the Russian Federal Security Service) to support its most outrageous claims. Except for the stuff attributed to unverifiable sources, the reports don\u2019t contain much original material. They are usually based on various news items from the mainstream media and/or whatever the clogosphere is currently hyperventilating about, with each item shoehorned into the conspiracy narrative the report is trying to establish."}
{"claim_id": "29245", "claim": "A Russian woman was embalmed alive due to the intravenous administration of formalin.", "explanation": "What's true: Ekaterina Fedyaeva died after a medical error resulted in her mistakenly being poisoned with formalin. What's false: Fedyaeva was not given formalin intravenously and did not experience the functional equivalent of being \"embalmed alive.\"", "label": "false", "subjects": "Medical", "main_text": "On 9 April 2018, a number of tabloid-like news reports suggested that a Russian woman had been \u201cembalmed alive\u201d after doctors mistakenly administered formalin intravenously instead of saline: Russian woman \u2019embalmed alive\u2019 after being given solution with formaldehyde instead of saline drip https://t.co/ft8UNewMj7 pic.twitter.com/Gny5xg9Cbz \u2014 National Post (@nationalpost) April 10, 2018 \u00a0 One of the first articles to appear\u00a0reported\u00a0that 28-year-old\u00a0Ekaterina Fedyaeva had been \u201cembalmed alive\u201d: Ekaterina Fedyaeva\u2019s mother has accused medics of \u2018murder\u2019 after they put her daughter on a formalin drip \u2013 a solution contain formaldehyde \u2013 instead of saline. She was given a drip normally infused into the veins of the dead to prevent decomposition. Other news reports were light on details about the medical mishap, stating only that Fedyaeva had been given \u201cformalin, a solution that contains formaldehyde \u2014 which is used to preserve dead bodies.\u201d An article from the Russian news agency TACC (translated) clarified the chain of events, reporting that formalin had mistakenly been used instead of saline during a relatively routine removal of ovarian cysts: On March 15 [2018], medical personnel mistakenly introduced formalin instead of saline into the abdominal cavity of a 28-year-old female patient during a routine operation. After detecting what happened, doctors performed a [cleaning] of the abdominal cavity to remove the substance from the body. The next day, the woman was transferred to the Ulyanovsk Regional Clinical Hospital, then for the most effective course of treatment the patient was sent to the FGBU of the State Scientific Center of the All-Russian Medical Center named after A.I. Burnazyan FMBA of Russia. As previously reported, investigators of the regional SS of the Criminal Code initiated a criminal case of causing serious harm to human health through negligence as a result of improper performance by a person of their professional duties (Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The routine surgery took place on 15 March 2018. Early local reports contradicted the repeated claim that Fedyaeva was placed on a \u201cformalin drip,\u201d stating that an \u201cunknown nurse\u201d washed the surgical site with formalin instead of saline. Four days later, Fedyaeva was transported to Moscow where doctors worked to undo the damage caused by the administered formalin, but the patient succumbed to her injuries on 5 April 2018. Ongoing accounts published by local news sources provide a relatively clear timeline. No formalin drip was substituted for saline, nor was the patient injected with formalin. Initial English-language reports claimed Fedyaeva had been \u201cgiven a drip normally infused into the veins of the dead to prevent decomposition,\u201d suggesting that the medical mishap amounted to an accidental embalming, but according to morticians that was not even close to the case. In an assessment of the claims, mortician Caleb Wilde wrote that a \u201cslow, intravenous drip of formalin would have ripped apart the insides of Ekaterina Fedyaeva.\u201d Wilde repeated his skepticism that the story occurred in the manner reported, adding that \u201cformalin has a potent smell \u2026 that burns when you breathe it in \u2026 whoever put formalin in the IV bag (and I don\u2019t know the protocols for filling IV bags) were either without a sense of smell, extremely dense, or they did it on purpose\u201d: This per the often unreliable tabloid The Sun, \u201cEkaterina Fedyaeva was said to be undergoing routine surgery at a hospital in Ulyanovsk, in the Volga Federal District of Russia, when the hospital provided her on a formalin drip, which contains formaldehyde and is used to prevent corpses from decomposing.\u201d I\u2019m still hoping that this is some elaborate hoax. But it doesn\u2019t seem to be. This is a once in a billion kind of mistake that could have only been made through a confluence of poorly designed and poorly practiced medical protocols. Pure formalin is a much strong[er] solution that the embalming fluid we use on dead bodies. Formaldehyde is a naturally occurring gas that is highly dissolvable in water. When it is dissolved in water, it\u2019s called \u201cformalin\u201d, which is the liquid that was intravenously given to Ekaterina. Formalin is 40% formaldehyde. Embalming fluid is rated by formaldehyde index: strong embalming fluid has an index of 28% to 36%, medium fluid has an index of 19% to 27%, and weak fluid is 10% to 18% index. Even our strongest embalming fluid has less formaldehyde than pure formalin, and even much less when we mix the embalming fluid with water. After we mix the embalming fluid with water, the solution has a much lower amount of formaldehyde, often around 2%. In other words, what was injected into Ekaterina \u2014 if it was formalin with 40% formaldehyde \u2014 could have been up to 20 times stronger than the embalming fluid I would use in my prep room. With arterial fluid that is 2%, I can effectively harden and preserve most cases. This is how it happens: \u201cFormaldehyde or glutaraldehyde fixes tissue or cells by irreversibly connecting a primary amine group in a protein molecule with a nearby nitrogen in a protein or DNA molecule through a -CH2- linkage called a Schiff base\u201d \u2026 To put it simply: formaldehyde literally rips apart tissue on a molecular level. Formalin or formaldehyde is extremely toxic and can easily be absorbed through the skin. Intravenous (or IV) fluids are used to infuse medications or fluids into the bloodstream of a living person. This process is effective for the living because of the process of circulation. As Wilde notes, the procedures of embalming differ dramatically from those of IV administration. Although embalming fluid (which is around five percent formaldehyde) is eventually introduced via a completely different apparatus, that process takes place only after the cadaver is drained of blood and fluids. Another question posed by many readers involved presence of formalin in the operating room. It is typically used for\u00a0routine histology, and it was likely intended for the preservation and analysis of tissue collected during the operation. We contacted Wilde with additional questions about that subject, and he explained: Formalin is not something that would be found in a funeral home\u2019s prep room. There are two main types of embalming fluids that embalmers use: one is arterial fluid and the other is cavity fluid. Arterial fluid generally comes in a 16-ounce bottle that we generally dilute in water. Formalin is 40% formaldehyde. Bottled arterial fluid ranges from a weaker 10% to a stronger 38% of formaldehyde. When we\u2019re ready to use the arterial fluid for embalming, we then dilute it in water which should result in a fluid that is somewhere between the range of 1.5% to 2% formaldehyde. This fluid is then pumped through the arterial system by means of an embalming machine. We make an incision in an artery, which is where the arterial fluid enters. And we make an incision in a vein, which is where the blood is forced out of the deceased\u2019s body. The embalming fluid should displace the blood and dissipate throughout the entirety of the arterial system. There are some parts of the body that aren\u2019t thoroughly reached by the arterial system, such as the abdominal and chest cavities. For those areas, we use a large syringe-like instrument called a trocar which is the tool we use to reach the cavities. That fluid is much stronger than the arterial fluid. The cavity fluid that we use at our funeral home is 20% formaldehyde. Unlike arterial fluid, we do not dilute cavity fluid with water. Although I do not use formalin, I understand that it is generally injected to preserve specimens in the same way we use a trocar, except with a smaller instrument like a syringe. Unlike arterial fluid, formalin is not injected through the arterial system but through a syringe-type instrument that is fanned throughout the entirety of the tissue. Formalin is so strong that if it were injected through the arterial system with an embalming machine, I would imagine that the strength of the fluid would make distribution difficult. It\u2019s likely that formalin would in effect cauterize the capillaries and render the embalming incomplete, resulting in some of the tissue being unreached by the fluid and more susceptible to decomposition. Fedyaeva\u2019s death remains under investigation, but initial reports indicated that a nurse mistakenly used formalin instead of saline to wash a surgical site. The patient was eventually transported to Moscow in efforts to reverse the damage, but she died a few days later. It appears that reports about inadvertent substitution of formalin for saline was correct, but the rest of the tragic medical mishap was misrepresented in many news accounts."}
{"claim_id": "1587", "claim": "Beer brewers toast Australian gluten-free barley.", "explanation": "Australian scientists say they have developed the world\u2019s first WHO-approved \u201cgluten-free\u201d barley, a breakthrough for global beer manufacturers which have had to use alternatives to barley such as rice and sorghum to brew gluten-free beer.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "Australia\u2019s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said on Friday it had sold 70 tonnes of the new Kebari barley to Germany\u2019s largest brewer Radeberger, which has produced a beer to be sold in local supermarkets. \u201cGluten-free barley will be highly sought after, with European brewers particularly interested,\u201d said John O\u2019Brien, a brewer of gluten-free beer in Melbourne. Gluten-free is one of the world\u2019s fastest growing consumer trends with the market expected to grow more than 10 percent a year until 2020 to be worth $7.59 billion, a 2015 report by MarketsandMarket estimated. European drinkers, already among the world\u2019s largest consumers of beer per capita, have embraced gluten-free more than other regions, brewers said, with several large manufacturers releasing gluten-free brands.One of the problems brewers have faced in making gluten-free beer without barley, or barley with the gluten stripped out, is that beer drinkers often complain it doesn\u2019t taste like traditionally brewed beer. \u201cA true gluten-free barley variety is a true game changer, there is going to be a massive market for the product,\u201d said Phin Ziebell, an agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank. While the new \u201cgluten-free\u201d Kebari barley actually contains minute amounts of gluten, the CSIRO said it had 10,000 times less gluten than traditional strains, or about 5 parts of gluten per million, well below the World Health Organization\u2019s (WHO) 20 parts per million for classification as a gluten-free grain. Barley is primarily used for animal feed and alcohol production and the development of a \u201cgluten-free\u201d barley is expected to boost Australia\u2019s ability to capitalize on the growing global gluten-free market. \u201cAs it expands, certainly some growers will benefit, this will be a premium grain,\u201d said Phil Larkin, research manager for healthy cereals at CSIRO. The new \u201cgluten-free\u201d barley is part of Australia\u2019s push to become Asia\u2019s delicatessen, supplying premium agricultural products like finger limes, olive oil, honey, wagyu beef and organic baby food to the region\u2019s growing middle class. While the diagnosis of gluten-related disorders such as coeliac disease has increased, the majority of consumer growth in the sector has come from non suffers. However, gluten-free beer has seen only small gains, curbed by differing global standards of what is considered gluten-free. The United States plans to tighten requirements on manufacturers of gluten-free beer to prove their claims. Kebari barley is not a product of genetically modified farming, but a decades program of breeding out the gluten by cross-breeding low gluten barley varieties, said the CSIRO. Production of the new strain of barley, which has been patented by CSIRO, will be strictly controlled within Australia, limiting farmer access to seeds, in order to prevent cross contamination, said the government-funded scientific body."}
{"claim_id": "5299", "claim": "FDA warns of asbestos in Claire\u2019s makeup; company disputes.", "explanation": "U.S. regulators on Tuesday warned people not to use certain Claire\u2019s makeup products after samples tested positive for asbestos, but the retailer disputed the findings.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, Cosmetics, North America", "main_text": "The Food and Drug Administraiton said it issued the warning because it said Claire\u2019s refused to comply with its request for a recall, and that the agency doesn\u2019t have the power to force one. In a statement, Claire\u2019s noted that it removed the three products identified by the FDA from its stores \u201cout of an abundance of caution,\u201d and that it\u2019s also removing any remaining talc-based cosmetics. But the company said the FDA\u2019s test results mischaracterize fibers as asbestos. It said it tried to discuss the matter with the FDA, but the agency moved ahead with its warning. The FDA conducted the tests after learning of reports of asbestos in products sold by retailers Claire\u2019s and Justice in 2017. A Justice representative noted that it quickly recalled products in 2017. Justice said one set of its tests showed no evidence of asbestos, while a second round of testing showed trace amounts. Claire\u2019s removed products from stores but didn\u2019t issue a recall. The FDA said Tuesday its tests, conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and AMA Analytical Services, confirmed asbestos in three Claire\u2019s products and one Justice product. The FDA said the three products people shouldn\u2019t use are Claire\u2019s Eye Shadows, batch/lot No: 08/17; Claire\u2019s Compact Powder, batch/lot No. : 07/15; and Claire\u2019s Contour Palette, batch/lot No. : 04/17. The agency said it was not aware of anyone being sickened by the makeup. Asbestos fibers can get stuck in the lungs and it can cause cancer, but the greatest risk is to people with frequent, long term exposure to it. Cosmetics do not have to be reviewed or approved by the FDA. On Tuesday, the agency said it plans to collect information on how companies ensure the talc they use is free from asbestos. The FDA also asked companies to register their products and ingredient lists on its website, but noted that doing so is not required."}
{"claim_id": "30686", "claim": "Alarmed by instances of Marines imperiling their health by eating liquid laundry detergent, top Marine Corps leaders issued a warning to all junior troops to stop participating in the Tide Pod Challenge.", "explanation": "Facebook and Google (which owns YouTube) announced on 18 January that they are deleting Tide Pod Challenge videos from their platforms because they encourage dangerous activities, a violation of community guidelines.", "label": "false", "subjects": "Junk News, duffel blog, duffelblog.com, fake news", "main_text": "The so-called Tide Pod Challenge, a bizarre viral social media phenomenon involving teens sharing videos of themselves consuming liquid laundry detergent pods, crossed over into fake news territory in mid-January 2018 with the publication of an article stating that members of the Marine Corps have taken up the fad. An 18 January post on the satirical Duffel Blog said that the Corps\u2019 top leaders had issued a warning to junior troops to stop eating the pods after an unspecified number were hospitalized as a result of doing so: WASHINGTON \u2014 The Marine Corps\u2019 top leaders have warned junior troops to stop eating Tide Pods after a number of Marines have been hospitalized due to poisoning, sources confirmed today. \u201cI don\u2019t care what you guys do. Hell, you can even go back to drunken driving. Just stop eating laundry detergent, for Christ\u2019s sake,\u201d said Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Commandant. Top officials have expressed concern in recent days over a number of incidents involving enlisted troops taking part in the \u201cTide Pod Challenge,\u201d a viral internet campaign that challenges people to put laundry detergent in their mouth in order to raise awareness for Charles Darwin. While we do not doubt that youthful military personnel are as susceptible as anyone else to idiotic fads, we\u2019ve found no reports in reliable news sources of U.S. troops hospitalized for laundry detergent poisoning. A disclaimer on the Duffel Blog web site describes its content as entirely fictitious: We are in no way, shape, or form, a real news outlet. Everything on this website is satirical and the content of this site is a parody of a news organization. No composition should be regarded as truthful, and no reference of an individual, company, or military unit seeks to inflict malice or emotional harm. All characters, groups, and military units appearing in these works are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual military units and companies is purely coincidental. Just days before the Duffel Blog article appeared, the\u00a0American Association of Poison Control Centers issued an alert warning that the health consequences of ingesting detergent pods can be severe, possibly leading to seizures, respiratory arrest, and even coma. It also reported that the rate of self-inflicted poisonings by this means had increased dramatically during the first two weeks of 2018: According to AAPCC data, in 2016 and 2017, poison control centers handled thirty-nine and fifty-three cases of intentional exposures, respectively, among thirteen to nineteen year olds. In the first fifteen days of 2018 alone, centers have already handled thirty-nine such intentional cases among the same age demographic. Ingestion accounted for ninety-one percent of these reported exposures."}
{"claim_id": "7546", "claim": "Virus delay, early ice melt challenge Arctic science mission.", "explanation": "They prepared for icy cold and trained to be on the watch for polar bears, but a pandemic just wasn\u2019t part of the program.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Climate, AP Top News, Climate change, International News, General News, Lifestyle, Health, Science, Asia Pacific, Europe", "main_text": "Now dozens of scientists are waiting in quarantine for the all-clear to join a year-long Arctic research mission aimed at improving the models used for forecasting climate change, just as the expedition reaches a crucial phase. For a while, the international mission looked like it might have to be called off, as country after country went into lockdown because of the virus, scuppering plans to bring fresh supplies and crew to the German research vessel Polarstern that\u2019s been moored in the high Arctic since last year. News of the pandemic caused jitters among those already on board, said Matthew Shupe, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Colorado and co-leader of the MOSAiC expedition. \u201cSome people just wanted to be home with their families,\u201d he told The Associated Press in a video interview from the German port of Bremerhaven, where he and about 90 other scientists and crew have been kept in isolation to ensure they\u2019re virus-free. Organizers at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Ocean Research managed to fly out a handful of people via Canada last month. The rest of the crew will be exchanged with the help of two other German research ships that will meet the Polarstern on the sea ice edge. That upcoming rendezvous will force the Polarstern to abandon its current position for three weeks at a critical time in the Arctic cycle. \u201cWe are on the cusp right now of the onset of the sea ice melt season and that\u2019s a really important transition,\u201d said Shupe. \u201cThat could happen when the ship is gone,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a distinct risk we face.\u201d To avoid missing out on key data, researchers will leave some instruments behind, including an 11-meter (36-foot) tower used for atmospheric measurements, and hope that it\u2019s still there when they return. \u201cThe ice could just come together and destroy everything,\u201d said Shupe. \u201cHopefully that doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d Adding to the problem is the fact that the sea ice is cracking up and moving about earlier than anticipated, a sign of possible future changes to the Arctic if global warming continues. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging,\u201d said Shupe. \u201cBut we need to face that challenge in order to get these kind of measurements.\u201d Scientists on the 140-million-euro ($158 million) expedition have already gathered valuable data since setting out last September with 100 researchers and crew from 17 nations including the United States, France, China and Britain. Shupe said the measurements that scientists were able to perform during the long Arctic winter will improve the models they use to calculate how snow insulates sea ice and affects the movement of energy. \u201cConceptually we know that, of course, but we actually have observations now that will tell us how that\u2019s working,\u201d he said. Measurements of tiny airborne particles can also help shed light on the role they play in trapping heat or reflecting sunlight, especially if there\u2019s less ice and more open ocean as temperatures in the Arctic continue to rise. The intense interest into research about the coronavirus could have a positive knock-on effect for fields such as climate science, said Shupe. \u201cEverybody is now looking at the new for models of how this (virus) spreads,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps this actually opens the door to more people to understand the climate problem.\u201d Still, the researchers on MOSAiC are hoping to deal with one problem at a time, hence the strict quarantine to avoid any chance of carrying the coronavirus into the Arctic. \u201cWe definitely don\u2019t want anybody getting sick and we don\u2019t want to take that out to the ship,\u201d said Shupe. \u201cRealistically, it\u2019s actually one of the safest places on Earth right now.\u201d ___ Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak ___ Follow AP coverage of climate change issues at http://apnews.com/Climate."}
{"claim_id": "15695", "claim": "Rick Santorum Says Howard Zinn, \"an anti-American Marxist,\" wrote \"the most popular textbook that's taught in our high schools in America.", "explanation": "Santorum said that Zinn wrote \"the most popular textbook that's taught in our high schools in America.\" While there is anecdotal evidence that Zinn\u2019s work is popular among some high-school teachers, there is zero hard evidence to support Santorum\u2019s core statistical claim -- that Zinn\u2019s volume is taught in more high-school history classes than any other book. The claim contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.", "label": "false", "subjects": "National, Education, History, Rick Santorum, ", "main_text": "A debate over high school history books doesn\u2019t seem like the most obvious point to bring up during a speech to members of the National Rifle Association. But potential presidential candidate Rick Santorum did just that during the group\u2019s annual convention last week. In addition to touching on gun rights issues in his speech, Santorum, a former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, criticized teachers for assigning works by the late Howard Zinn, including A People\u2019s History of the United States, that cast a critical -- and often sharply negative -- light on the past actions of the U.S. government. \"Do you know the most popular textbook that's taught in our high schools in America is written by a man named Howard Zinn, who is an anti-American Marxist, and that is the most common textbook?\" Santorum said in the April 10, 2015, speech. (It\u2019s around the 10:15 mark.) We wondered whether Santorum was correct, so we took a closer look. Who was Howard Zinn? First, some background on Zinn. Zinn was born in 1922 to Eastern European immigrants and grew up in working-class Brooklyn. \"By his late teens, his reading had veered into politics, especially Marxism,\" wrote Rutgers University historian David Greenberg. Greenberg noted that historians have divided over the question of whether Zinn ever officially joined the Communist Party, but there is no doubt that his politics were -- and remained -- left-wing until his death in 2010. Zinn earned a Ph.D. in history from Columbia, taught for more than two decades at Boston University, and went on to write a number of books and plays, but A People\u2019s History became his most famous work, selling more than 2 million copies since its publication in 1980, including various updated editions, according to Amazon.com. Zinn intended it as history from the bottom-up -- \"the Constitution from the standpoint of the slaves, of Andrew Jackson as seen by the Cherokees, of the Civil War as seen by the New York Irish\u00a0... .\" It\u2019s a black-and-white, heroes-and-villains history of the United States in which the United States is almost always in the wrong. The book clearly hit a nerve: It became a cultural icon, name-checked on such television shows as The Sopranos and The Simpsons and receiving a prominent endorsement by Matt Damon\u2019s character in the movie Good Will Hunting. The book also informed a number of historical documentaries and has inspired a national effort to promote his approach to history called the Zinn Education Project. So Zinn clearly has his admirers. But he also has detractors -- and they are not just conservatives. Some of Zinn\u2019s fiercest critics have been liberals. Greenberg, writing in the liberal magazine The New Republic in 2013, called it a \"pretty lousy piece of work\" and said Zinn\u2019s scholarly contributions were \"meager.\" Zinn \"renounces the ideals of objectivity and empirical responsibility, and makes the dubious leap to the notion that a historian need only lay his ideological cards on the table and tell whatever history he chooses,\" Greenberg wrote. Even a publication of the American Federation of Teachers -- one of the nation\u2019s two leading teachers\u2019 unions -- ran a piece critical of Zinn by Stanford education and history professor Sam Wineburg. \"It seems that once (Zinn) made up his mind, nothing\u2014not new evidence, not new scholarship, not the discovery of previously unknown documents, not the revelations of historical actors on their deathbeds\u2014could shake it,\" Wineburg wrote. He added that \"history as truth, issued from the left or from the right, abhors shades of gray. It seeks to stamp out the democratic insight that people of good will can see the same thing and come to different conclusions.\" What\u2019s the evidence? We won\u2019t take a position on the merits of Zinn\u2019s historiography, but we will look at the evidence for whether Santorum is correct that Zinn is the author of \"the most popular textbook that's taught in our high schools in America.\" We\u2019ll start by noting that, contrary to Santorum\u2019s wording, A People\u2019s History is \"not a textbook but a trade book,\" said Gilbert T. Sewall, director of the New York City-based American Textbook Council. While A People\u2019s History might serve as supplementary material in a high school history class, \"its choices are highly idiosyncratic and it really wouldn\u2019t do as your main text for a U.S. history survey class,\" Greenberg of Rutgers told PolitiFact. Beyond this, though, is there hard evidence that Zinn is the \"most popular\" book in high-school history classes? The short answer is no. When we asked Matt Beynon, a spokesman for Santorum, for supporting evidence, he referred us to two articles that mentioned the book but didn\u2019t provide any hard evidence that it was the \"most popular.\" Other experts also came up empty in the search for hard data. \"I have never heard anyone in our organization suggest that it is the most popular by any stretch of the definition of \u2018most,\u2019 \" said Susan Griffin, executive director of the National Council for the Social Studies, which represents high school history teachers. Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, said that while he believes anecdotally that Zinn\u2019s books are \"widely used\" in American high schools, he is unaware \"of any hard data on how often it is assigned relative to other textbooks or how popular it is compared to other historical surveys.\" Sewall, of the American Textbook Council, concurred. While Zinn\u2019s impact on social studies teachers \"is prodigious and possibly unparalleled,\" he said, \"there is no way to determine the most popular base history instructional materials used in U.S. high schools.\" In an interview, Wineburg of Stanford added that \"not a single state in the union\" has put Zinn\u2019s books on an \"approved adoption list for middle or high school. Three big companies, including the biggest, Holt-McDougal, control about 90 percent of the market. They issue conventional, 1,000-page behemoths. \u2026 Find me one instance in which Zinn appears on any one of 50 state adoption lists, and I'll find you a unicorn.\" Not even Zinn\u2019s supporters agree with the claims that his influence in high school classrooms is unmatched. Alison Kysia, who has taught history at Northern Virginia Community College and has served as a fellow with the group that co-sponsors the Zinn Education Project, has written that \"for as much as I wish\" it were true that A People\u2019s History was the most popular history textbook used in classrooms today, \"it isn\u2019t.\" Not only is there no comprehensive study, she wrote, but the evidence of the volume\u2019s use in college classes shows that it\u2019s not used especially widely. Specifically, a study by Dan Cohen, the founding executive director of the Digital Public Library of America and a former historian at George Mason University, found that of 258 undergraduate U.S. history survey courses in spring 2004, only three assigned Zinn\u2019s book. The most commonly assigned volumes were The American Promise, by Roark, Johnson, Cohen, Stage and Hartmann, and The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, by Nash, Jeffrey, Howe Frederick, Davis, Winkler, Mires and Pestana. \"I doubt that high school is much different,\" Cohen told PolitiFact. \"There are a lot of textbooks out there, and Zinn's is a tiny fraction of the assigned books.\" Anecdotal evidence So we find no evidence to support the statistical claim that Zinn\u2019s is \"the most popular textbook that's taught in our high schools in America.\" But we do think it\u2019s worth paying at least some attention to the broader question of whether Zinn remains influential. For starters, Zinn\u2019s sales are still strong, even five years after his death. He ranks about 30th on Amazon.com\u2019s list of best-selling history authors. (The ranking changes constantly based on new sales, so it\u2019s impossible to pinpoint a specific number.) While this bit of evidence should be taken with a grain of salt -- Fox News host Bill O\u2019Reilly ranks about 10th on the same list -- it does suggest a continuing interest in his works. Indeed, Wood of the National Association of Scholars said it\u2019s possible to interpret Santorum\u2019s use of the word \"popular\" as meaning best-liked, rather than most widely used. While he acknowledges that this would be impossible to test empirically, he said it\u2019s not implausible to think that Zinn\u2019s supporters have an unmatched level of passion for his writings. \"There really is no other history textbook that enjoys the level of enthusiasm among students as Zinn\u2019s book enjoys,\" he said. There\u2019s anecdotal evidence for this. Wineburg of Stanford noted in his article that \"in 2008, the National Council for the Social Studies invited Zinn to address its annual conference\u2014the largest gathering of social studies teachers in the country. Zinn's speech met with raucous applause.\" Greenberg of Rutgers, while he called Santorum\u2019s claim \"hyperbole,\" agreed that Zinn\u2019s works are \"influential.\" \"It\u2019s very simplistic and appeals to the high school mind,\" he said. \"I think there is a germ of truth in the conservative complaint that the academy is captive to left-wing ideas.\" Our ruling Santorum said that Zinn wrote \"the most popular textbook that's taught in our high schools in America.\" While there is anecdotal evidence that Zinn\u2019s work is popular among some high-school teachers, there is zero hard evidence to support Santorum\u2019s core statistical claim -- that Zinn\u2019s volume is taught in more high-school history classes than any other book. The claim contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."}
{"claim_id": "1981", "claim": "30 years on, AIDS fight may tilt more to treatment.", "explanation": "After 30 years of AIDS prevention efforts, global leaders may now need to shift their focus to spending more on drugs used to treat the disease as new data show this is also the best way to prevent the virus from spreading.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "People light candles for AIDS victims during an AIDS awareness event marking the World AIDS Day at Sergels Torg square in Stockholm December 1, 2010. REUTERS/Janerik Henriksson/Scanpix The U.N. General Assembly will take up the issue next week as it assesses progress in fighting the disease \u2014 first reported on June 5, 1981 \u2014 that has infected more than 60 million people and claimed nearly 30 million lives. Guiding the meeting is groundbreaking new data that shows early treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, can cut its transmission to a sexual partner by 96 percent. \u201cThere had been for a long time this artificial dichotomy or artificial tension between treatment versus prevention. Now it is very clear that treatment is prevention and treatment is an important part of a multifaceted combination strategy,\u201d Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), told Reuters. Fauci, who has made AIDS research his life\u2019s work, has a big role to play in the discussion of the NIH-funded study made public on May 12. \u201cA month ago, we didn\u2019t have that data. People were still arguing. \u2018Well, we are not so sure if you treat people you are really going to prevent infection,\u2019\u201d Fauci said. \u201cThe policy makers need to sit down and say, \u2018Now that we know this, is this going to be enough incentive to change around our policy?\u2019\u201d   That could mean redirecting, or adding to, global spending on fighting AIDS, particularly how much is spent on education or other research versus antiretroviral drugs that allow patients to live with the suppressed disease for many years. In 2010, nearly $16 billion was spent on HIV response in low and middle-income countries, according to the U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS. UNAIDS says at least $22 billion will be needed to combat the disease by 2015, helping avert 12 million new infections and 7.4 million more deaths in the next decade. Globally, the number of people living with HIV rose to 34 million by the end of 2010, from 33.3 million a year earlier. But in poorer countries, a majority of eligible patients were not receiving antiretroviral treatment, according to UNAIDS. Fauci says he has already discussed this with policymakers and may make public his views on needed policy changes at the International AIDS Society meeting in Rome. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be one-size-fits all,\u201d Fauci said of the policy approach. \u201cThere is going to be certainly a difference between how things are looked at in the developing world and the developed world. And within the developed world, I think it will be a country-by-country issue.\u201d   UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe noted that AIDS remained \u201ca metaphor for inequality\u201d as the vast majority of patients live in Africa, where every year nearly 400,000 babies are born with HIV. \u201cIf you\u2019re privileged to be born in the North, you will not die from HIV. It you\u2019re privileged to be born in the North, you will not have a baby born with HIV,\u201d Sidibe said. \u201cCountries need to start looking at innovative financing. We need to have drugs which are not just for the rich market.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "1311", "claim": "Mother's stand-off with British authorities over medicinal cannabis stirs debate.", "explanation": "The mother of an epileptic boy who journeyed to Canada to buy cannabis-based medication she says is keeping her son alive had her supplies confiscated by British customs officials upon her return on Monday.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The case has ignited a debate about the medicinal use of cannabis, a drug which is illegal in Britain and which the British authorities do not recognize as having any medicinal benefits. Billy Caldwell, 12, had been receiving medicinal cannabis oil on prescription by his doctor for just over a year, but supplies ran out after the Home Office (interior ministry) ordered the doctor to stop prescribing it. Billy\u2019s mother, Charlotte Caldwell, says that without the cannabis oil her son has up to 100 seizures a day, each of which is potentially fatal. Mother and son, who live in the British province of Northern Ireland, flew to Canada over the weekend to get some more of the medication, but it was seized when they arrived at London\u2019s Heathrow Airport on Monday morning. \u201cI\u2019m just going to turn around and go get some more, and keep doing so until the UK authorities see sense,\u201d Charlotte Caldwell said in a statement. \u201cI take the view that I\u2019d rather have my son illegally alive than legally dead. This is the scenario that the phrase \u2018no brainer\u2019 was invented for.\u201d  The Home Office said it was sympathetic to what it called the difficult and rare situation of Billy Caldwell and his family, but the border force had a duty to stop banned substances from entering Britain. Under British law, cannabis is listed as a schedule 1 drug, meaning that it is not recognized as having a therapeutic value. Schedule 1 drugs can be used for research purposes and clinical trials, but only under a Home Office license. The Home Office invited Charlotte Caldwell to meet Nick Hurd, a junior minister in charge of policing, to discuss the issue. Caldwell has received support from Dan Poulter, a member of parliament from the ruling Conservative Party. \u201cThe current law is ridiculous; there is growing evidence that cannabis products used medically can be helpful in treating a number of conditions, but yet it is still seen through the prism of illegality here in the UK,\u201d Poulter was quoted as saying in a statement from Caldwell\u2019s representatives. \u201cIt is simply inhumane that Billy\u2019s medication, which is legal in many other countries across the world, has been confiscated.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "33802", "claim": "Those who go swimming less than one hour after eating will be taken by a cramp and drown.", "explanation": "Sightings: \u00a0 Reference to this belief appears in the 1968 film Star! when one of the characters remarks that \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been an hour since lunch\u201d as she passes on a swimming invitation. We mention this sighting in particular solely because of its age: it shows the belief was widespread even in 1968. Also, in a episode of television sitcom Cybill (\u201cCybill Sheridan\u2019s Day Off,\u201d original air date 18 March 1998), the lead character commands a hunky pool boy whom she loves to see strip down and dive into the pool, \u201cYou know, it\u2019s been over an hour since I ate. You can swim again.\u201d", "label": "false", "subjects": "Old Wives' Tales", "main_text": "One of the greatest bogeymen needlessly inflicted upon countless youngsters is the unshakable belief that if they go swimming too soon after eating, they will be seized by cramps and drown. Unless that hour is waited out \u2014 all sixty minutes of it, and no cheating \u2014 they will surely sink like stones, leaving barely a ripple on the surface. Example:  I was a kid in the 1960s, and I used to hear the \u201cDon\u2019t go swimming for an hour after you eat or you\u2019ll get cramps\u201d exhortation from my mother. I had no idea what these \u201ccramps\u201d were, but they sounded bad. Being literal-minded even as a kid, I was puzzled by the whole idea. I understood \u201ccramps\u201d to be something that would afflict a person who entered the water too soon after eating (rather than who swam too soon after eating); that somehow this bad thing happened if water came in contact with your skin within an hour of your last meal. This raised all sorts of questions in my young mind \u2014 How did the \u201ccramps\u201d know you were in a swimming pool? (You could get wet from a hose, for example, but nobody\u2019s parent ever warned us about running through sprinklers after eating.) How did the \u201ccramps\u201d know when the hour was up? (What would happen if you waded into the pool only fifty minutes after eating lunch, for example?) Did the \u201ccramps\u201d know the difference between someone who had eaten a full meal and someone who had merely snacked on a Slurpee? The whole thing was very mysterious. No other outcome was possible, according to this caution. The warning made no allowance for those who would develop cramps but would manage to unkink themselves in time or who would make it to safety in a still-cramped state, let alone for those who wouldn\u2019t develop cramps in the first place. If you dared go into the water less than an hour after eating, you would \u2014 with 100% certainty \u2014 get cramps, and you would then \u2014 also with 100% certainty \u2014 drown. Kids who had eaten so little as a sandwich and a popsicle were routinely forced to sit out the full hour by the water\u2019s side, forlornly watching their friends splash about. No doting mother would have sentenced her young\u2019un to the certain death that awaited those fool enough to ignore this time-tested truism, and some went so far as to forbid wading. One hour was the rule, so one hour it was. And never mind that an hour to a kid is approximately as long as four are to an adult. Caution is a good thing when it comes to youngsters and water, because drowning is a leading cause of accidental death for infants and children nationwide. Yet in this case, the caution was far from warranted. No one knows how long the belief about the dangers of swimming after eating has been with us, but it does appear in Scouting for Boys, which was published in 1908:  First, there is the danger of cramp. If you bathe within an hour and a half after taking a meal, that is, before your food is digested, you are very likely to get cramp. Cramp doubles you up in extreme pain so that you cannot move your arms or legs \u2014 and down you go. You may drown \u2014 and it will be your own fault. In 1961 exercise physiologist Arthur Steinhaus took a position against this belief in the Journal of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. He labeled the very idea of stomach cramps \u201cquestionable.\u201d  Although muscle cramps in the calves, feet, and hands while swimming are not unknown, they are certainly not life threatening provided the swimmer does not panic. The sharpest charley horse can be tamed by tensing and relaxing the afflicted muscle, a treatment any swimmer can manage to perform. Even if the cramp is left untreated, it will not cause the swimmer to slip beneath the waves. One can simply float until help arrives. All of the above applies to ordinary muscle cramps of the sort brought on by overexertion, not the dread stomach cramps this admonition warns against. Many believe this fearsome condition does not exist, although those who tout the dangers of premature swimming will go into great detail when describing the presumed mechanics behind the threat:  [Engel & Malloy, 1993] A form of muscle cramp, stitches are caused by the blood supply to the diaphragm being shut off by pressure from the lungs above and the abdomen below, like a bomb and a submarine attack at the same time. So what does this have to do with food? Well, if you have food in your stomach you are likely to develop stomach cramps. Here\u2019s why: To aid digestion the heart pumps a large volume of blood to the stomach. During exercise, the heart pumps blood to the muscles, and the flow of the blood to the stomach is greatly diminished. Without the blood supply, the stomach muscles suffer from lack of oxygen and, like any muscle without oxygen, develop cramps. Whether oxygen-deprivation stomach cramps are real or not is open to debate, as is whether they can be brought on by eating right before engaging in strenuous activity. What\u2019s not in doubt, however, are the lack of deaths associated with swimming right after eating \u2014 there hasn\u2019t been so much as one drowning attributed to this, not even a near drowning. For something that was supposed to be fatal if you so much as dipped a toe, this particular old wives\u2019 tale proved to be a dud. So what to do with this information? Those who are very careful about not taking any risks that are avoidable might want to put off striking out for the other side of the lake right after having tucked into a large meal. However, ordinary levels of swimming or just general horsing around in the water need not be eschewed, even if a whole turkey has just been consumed, feathers and all. Likewise, strenuous sidestroking can still be safely undertaken after a snack or a light to moderate-sized meal. As for those kids who will continue to be sidelined for an hour after eating (deeply internalized cautions are very hard to dislodge, especially those inculcated into the legions of moms and dads already convinced everything their youngsters get up to will end in disaster), they can at least take comfort in the knowledge that they\u2019re not being raised in Cuba where the parental belief runs to three hours."}
{"claim_id": "1629", "claim": "Paralyzed California man recounts re-learning to walk via computer.", "explanation": "For paraplegic Adam Fritz, the thrill of the computer-assisted first steps he took five years after being paralyzed in a motorcycle crash came only after he was unhooked from the system that enabled him to walk briefly in a bioengineering lab.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "During the experiment itself, Fritz recounted, he had to keep his mind focused entirely on placing one foot in front of the other as his brain waves were translated by a computer algorithm into impulses that bypassed his severed spinal cord and activated his legs. \u201cIf you break your concentration, it wouldn\u2019t work anymore,\u201d he told Reuters shortly after scientists from the University of California, Irvine, reported the feat in the British open-access Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. \u201cOnce I finished, I had that \u2018Oh my God, this thing worked,\u2019 kind of a moment,\u201d the 28-year-old religious studies graduate said. \u201cIt was very exhilarating.\u201d  The \u201cproof-of-concept\u201d study published late Wednesday documented how brain-to-computer technology, which converts thoughts to body motion, enabled Fritz to become the first person paralyzed from the waist down by spinal cord injury to walk without the use of robotics. As captured in a YouTube video of that pioneering moment last October, it was hardly a casual stroll. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBAeR-Z0EHg)  Fritz is seen slowly shuffling with painstaking effort across the floor of UC Irvine\u2019s iMove Lab. His weight was partially supported by an overhead suspension harness and a walker he grasped to keep his body upright. But researchers said he propelled himself entirely by his own leg muscles, controlled by his own brain, over a distance of 12 feet (3.66 meters). The weight support was necessary because he lacks sensation in his legs or feet, said Dr. An Do, a neurologist and study co-author. The outcome marked a promising though incremental achievement in the development of brain-computer interfaces that may in the future help stroke and spinal injury patients regain day-to-day mobility, but clinical applications remain years away, Do said. Fritz, who now works full time as a disability claims administrator, recounted that his computer-assisted walk posed a rather unexpected challenge. \u201cThe hardest part, honestly, wasn\u2019t taking the steps - it was stopping, because at that point, you\u2019re focusing so hard on getting yourself to walk that to instantly stop, that was actually difficult to do,\u201d he said. Fritz said it took nearly a year of rigorous physical and mental training to prepare for the experiment, using a specially designed virtual-reality simulator where he learned to control a video-animated character using his own brain waves. \u201cI spent months sitting in front of a computer just trying to make that little avatar move, and there were times I felt like, \u2018What\u2019s the point? I\u2019m never going to get it.\u2019\u201d  But he eventually caught on. Once ready to take computer-assisted steps of his own, he did so initially suspended a few inches off the ground and ultimately with his feet on the floor. Neural signals produced as he concentrated on moving his legs were detected by an electroencephalogram (EEG) worn over his head, processed through a computer algorithm and relayed to electrodes placed around his knees to stimulate his muscles. Fritz said he already has volunteered to take part in later research stages in which scientists hope to miniaturize the system with brain implants allowing greater control and perhaps even to deliver the sensation of foot pressure back to the brain for balance and weight support. \u201cSeeing this experiment and what this research has done, I think within my lifetime we will see a cure for spinal cord injury, or a treatment to fix it,\u201d Fritz said."}
{"claim_id": "5668", "claim": "2nd Ebola vaccine to be used in Congo, as UN efforts slammed.", "explanation": "The World Health Organization on Monday announced Congo will start using a second experimental Ebola vaccine, as efforts to stop the deadly outbreak are stalled and Doctors Without Borders criticizes vaccination efforts to date.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Matshidiso Moeti, Health, General News, Africa, United Nations, Ebola virus", "main_text": "Since this outbreak was declared in August 2018, more than 200,000 people have received doses of a vaccine made by Merck which will continue to be used in Congo. The U.N. health agency in a statement said the second vaccine, made by Johnson & Johnson, will be used from October in areas where Ebola is not actively spreading. Using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine \u201cwill ensure that we have potentially an additional tool to prevent the expansion of the outbreak,\u201d said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO\u2019s Africa director. So far, more than 3,030 people have been sickened by the Ebola virus in this outbreak, the second-worst in history, and more than 1,990 have died. The question of whether the Johnson & Johnson experimental vaccine should be used was at the center of a dispute between Congo\u2019s former health minister, Dr. Oly Ilunga and global health officials. Ilunga had insisted Congo would not use the vaccine because he said it wasn\u2019t sufficiently tested and would create confusion. He resigned as the health minister in July after the president replaced him as the head of Congo\u2019s Ebola response team. In his resignation letter, Ilunga criticized the \u201cstrong pressure exercised in recent months\u201d to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Separately, Doctors Without Borders is seeking an independent committee to oversee Ebola vaccination efforts, similar to those that have been formed internationally to respond to outbreaks of meningitis, yellow fever and cholera. The medical charity said greater transparency is needed and alleged that WHO is \u201crestricting the availability\u201d of the Merck vaccine in the field. Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym, MSF, said the approximately 225,000 people vaccinated so far is \u201clargely insufficient\u201d and that between 450,000 and 600,000 people should have been immunized by now. \u201cNot enough people are getting the vaccine because of some arbitrary rules that haven\u2019t been made clear,\u201d Dr. Natalie Roberts, emergency coordinator for MSF, told The Associated Press. She said restricting the vaccine to people who are known contacts of Ebola cases is problematic. \u201cIt comes down to very local control, when every morning it\u2019s someone from WHO who decides who is going to be vaccinated and how many vials to open,\u201d she said. \u201cTrying to restrict eligibility for a vaccine for a disease that everybody is afraid of is just not going to work.\u201d MSF has described WHO\u2019s strategy as \u201clike giving firefighters a bucket of water to put out a fire, but only allowing them to use one cup of water a day.\u201d WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said in an email that the limited number of Ebola vaccines needs to be used sparingly. \u201cIf all doses were sent to (Congo), there would be no reserves available to respond should cases emerge in any of the high-risk neighboring countries,\u201d he said. \u201cThat would jeopardize an effective, speedy response in those high-risk countries.\u201d Beyond Congo, cases have been confirmed in Uganda and some health workers in Rwanda and South Sudan have been vaccinated preventively. Jasarevic said an international committee like the one called for by MSF is only used for licensed vaccines; both Ebola vaccines remain experimental and have not been approved by any regulatory agencies. \u201cWhen the vaccine is licensed, this would be an appropriate mechanism for managing supply of the vaccine,\u201d he said. Roberts said the number of people vaccinated so far is ultimately a damning assessment of response efforts. \u201cIf you had said at the beginning of the outbreak that we were going to vaccinate this many people, you would assume the outbreak would be over by now,\u201d she said. \u201cBut clearly the right people were not vaccinated.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "35289", "claim": "Under U.S. President Donald Trump, federal authorities are confiscating orders of personal protective equipment (PPE) from local governments amid the COVID-19 pandemic.", "explanation": "What's true: Numerous health care officials and state leaders have reported instances in which federal authorities have intervened on local agencies' agreements with PPE vendors. In several cases, state officials reported the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confiscated supplies within the last minute of deals with no explanation, while others reported the agency outbid them for the equipment. What's false: However, FEMA does not appear to have an organized effort for commandeering equipment at the local level. Agency representatives said they are working under a broad distribution plan to get supplies to areas in highest need.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Politics, COVID-19", "main_text": "As the U.S. federal government and states clashed over how to respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, workers on the frontlines of helping virus patients reported widespread shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), including N95 masks and gowns. Hospital and state leaders described a chaotic and highly competitive market for securing supplies from vendors \u2014 disarray that critics of President Donald Trump blamed on his ad-hoc approach to addressing the shortfall. Meanwhile, several news reports surfaced, claiming federal officials seized PPE shipments from local agencies or stopped the deals between vendors and states by offering higher bids. Snopes received numerous inquiries from readers about the validity of the assertion. To get to the root of the claim, we first researched from where the news reports originated. From The New York Times to the Boston Globe to The Intelligencer (a blog within New York magazine), several media outlets highlighted the experience of Dr. Andrew W. Artenstein, an infectious disease physician in Springfield, Massachusetts, who said the pandemic has forced him into PPE supply-chain work. On April 17, 2020, he published a letter in a peer-reviewed medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine, about his apparent travails of getting a large shipment of face masks and respirators from a warehouse in a mid-Atlantic state. (He told The New York Times he would not publicize the location of the transaction out of fear of jeopardizing his relationship with the supply vendor.) The letter read: Before we could send the funds by wire transfer, two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrived, showed their badges, and started questioning me. No, this shipment was not headed for resale or the black market. The agents checked my credentials, and I tried to convince them that the shipment of PPE was bound for hospitals. After receiving my assurances and hearing about our health system\u2019s urgent needs, the agents let the boxes of equipment be released and loaded into the trucks. But I was soon shocked to learn that the Department of Homeland Security was still considering redirecting our PPE. Only some quick calls leading to intervention by our congressional representative prevented its seizure. It is unclear why federal officials may have targeted the Massachusetts delivery or where they would have allegedly redirected the supplies. Citing a policy of not confirming or denying specific investigations, the FBI declined to comment on Artenstein\u2019s account in an April 20 New York Times story, saying only that the agency had been working to ensure that PPE \u201cis not being unlawfully distributed or hoarded\u201d during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, the Boston Globe could not reach the Department of Homeland Security, which encompasses FEMA, to comment on the doctor\u2019s story. Though widely circulated online, Artenstein\u2019s story was not the only report of federal interference in the procurement of PPE in spring 2020. On April 7, the Los Angeles Times reported health care officials in seven states said the federal government seized their shipments and did not give guidance on how or if the local agencies would someday get the supplies they ordered. \u201cAre they stockpiling this stuff? Are they distributing it? We don\u2019t know,\u201d one unidentified official told the LA Times. \u201cAnd are we going to ever get any of it back if we need supplies? It would be nice to know these things.\u201d Additionally, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told The New York Times that FEMA stepped in at the last minute of a deal the city had with \u201cone of its usual suppliers\u201d to buy 1 million masks; a New Jersey county official told local media an order of 35,000 N95 and other masks were \u201ccommandeered\u201d by the federal government; and a leader of the private health care company Kaiser Permanente told staff members that the company had found 20 million masks to purchase, \u201cbut the feds actually seized that shipment before we were able to acquire it,\u201d the Times reported. The same news story said: In Massachusetts, state leaders said they had confirmed a vast order of personal protective equipment for their health workers; then the Trump administration took control of the shipments. In Kentucky, the head of a hospital system told members of Congress that his broker had pulled out of an agreement to deliver four shipments of desperately needed medical gear after the supplies were commandeered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado thought his state had secured 500 ventilators before they were \u201cswept up by FEMA.\u201d Adding to those reports are worries by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker that if he publicly discusses how he\u2019s obtaining masks and gloves for his state, federal officials may catch wind and seize the materials, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. \u201cThe supply chain has been likened to the wild West, and once you have purchased supplies, ensuring they get to the state is another herculean feat,\u201d a spokesperson for the governor told the news outlet."}
{"claim_id": "8759", "claim": "Gene trawl shows curing cancer harder than thought.", "explanation": "Cancer experts who probed every gene in tumors from two of the hardest-to-treat cancers found that cancer is much more complicated than anyone thought \u2014 and say they found why a cure is so unlikely after a tumor has spread.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "A strand of DNA is seen in an undated handout image. REUTERS/National Institutes of Health/Handout But they also discovered a potential new way to treat a common and fatal form of brain cancer, and opened the door to finding cancer before it has spread, when it can still be cured surgically, they reported on Thursday in the journal Science. \u201cCancer is very complex \u2014 more complex than we had believed. It is not going to be easy to develop therapies,\u201d said Dr. Bert Vogelstein of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. \u201cIf you have 100 patients, you have 100 different diseases.\u201d   The findings suggest that popular new targeted therapies such as Novartis\u2019s Gleevec may not work broadly, because they affect only one mutated gene, while cancer is caused by dozens. A better approach would be to find the pathways \u2014 networks of genes \u2014 that control a tumor\u2019s uncontrolled growth and spread, they told reporters in a telephone briefing. The international team sequenced the more than 20,000 genes in cells from 24 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and from 22 patients with glioblastoma multiforme. The typical pancreatic tumor had 63 genetic mutations, while the average brain tumor had 60, they found. The good news is they found just 12 pathways that were abnormal in most of the tumors. Some were in expected areas, such as the regulation of programmed cell suicide, or apoptosis, the process by which abnormal cells self-destruct. \u201cOften what appeared to be mutations in disparate genes turned out to be working in common pathways,\u201d said Dr. Kenneth Kinzler of Johns Hopkins, who worked on the study. One surprising discovery was a new gene called IDH1 found in glioblastoma multiforme, the most common type of brain tumor and one that usually kills patients within a year, said Dr. Victor Velculescu, also of Hopkins. Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, 76, was diagnosed in May with this type of brain tumor. The patients with these mutations were younger and lived longer than the typical brain tumor patient. \u201cGlioblastoma multiformes used to be thought of as one disease. It is now clear they are two,\u201d Velculescu told the briefing. Vogelstein said the findings suggest that pharmaceutical companies should change their approach to developing new cancer drugs. While Gleevec, a pill, transformed the treatment of a blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia, \u201cour work suggests that most solid tumors are really nothing like CML,\u201d Vogelstein said. \u201cIt is extremely unlikely that drugs which target a single gene like Gleevec will be active against a major fraction of solid tumors. Instead of screening for drugs against single proteins, our work suggests that it may be more productive to screen for drugs that act against core pathways,\u201d Vogelstein said. The findings also suggest better ways to screen for cancers, Vogelstein said. \u201cOur group as well as others have found that you can detect mutations outside of cells, just floating in the plasma, in virtually all patients with advanced colorectal cancer and about two-thirds of those with relatively early tumors,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will be possible soon to detect them in many other samples from patients, say in their blood, even when the tumors are early. Almost all tumors and even those of the brain and pancreas would be curable if they are caught early.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "27854", "claim": "The Newfoundland town of Gander played host to thousands of airline passengers stranded there when American airspace was closed after the September 11 terrorist attacks.", "explanation": "The Newfoundland town of Gander played host to thousands of airline passengers stranded there after 9/11.", "label": "true", "subjects": "September 11th, 9/11", "main_text": "Gander, a town of about 10,000 people (and 550 hotel rooms) in Newfoundland, Canada, lies in the northeastern tip of North America and has long served as a refueling stop for trans-Atlantic flights and a temporary haven for flights diverted from their destinations. Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the town become famous through a widely shared message extolling the hospitality of the town\u2019s residents in helping stranded travelers: My Mom, who, as most of you know, works for Air Canada, got this from a pal. It is written by a member of a Delta Flight crew called Nazim:         We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the North Atlantic and I was in my crew rest seat taking my scheduled rest break. All of a sudden the curtains parted violently and I was told to go to the cockpit, right now, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed  the crew had one of those \u201cAll Business\u201d looks on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. I quickly read the message and realized the importance of it. The message was from Atlanta, addressed to our flight, and simply said, \u201cAll airways over the Continental US are closed. Land ASAP at the nearest airport, advise your destination.\u201d Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately without suggesting which airport, one can assume that the dispatcher has reluctantly given up control of the flight to the captain. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. It was quickly decided that the nearest airport was 400 miles away, behind our right shoulder, in Gander, on the island of New Foundland. A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic controller and a right turn, directly to Gander, was approved immediately. We found out later why there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller approving our request. We, the in-flight crew, were told to get the airplane ready for an immediate landing. While this was going on another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander and we went about our business \u2018closing down\u2019 the airplane for a landing. A few minutes later I went back to the cockpit to find out that some airplanes had been hijacked and were being flown into buildings all over the US. We decided to make an announcement and LIE to the passengers for the time being. We told them that an instrument problem had arisen on the airplane and that we needed to land at Gander, to have it checked. We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There were many unhappy passengers but that is par for the course. We landed in Gander about 40 minutes after the start of this episode. There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world. After we parked on the ramp the captain made the following announcement. \u201cLadies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. But the reality is that we are here for a good reason.\u201d  Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. Local time at Gander was 12:30 pm. (11:00 AM EST)     Gander control told us to stay put. No one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near the aircrafts. Only a car from the airport police would come around once in a while, look us over and go on to the next airplane. In the next hour or so all the airways over the North Atlantic were vacated and Gander alone ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, out of which 27 were flying US flags. We were told that each and every plane was to be offloaded, one at a time, with the foreign carriers given the priority. We were No. 14 in the US category. We were further told that we would be given a tentative time to deplane at 6 pm. Meanwhile bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC. People were trying to use their cell phones but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the US were either blocked or jammed and to try again. Some time late in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. Now the passengers were totally bewildered and emotionally exhausted but stayed calm as we kept reminding them to look around to see that we were not the only ones in this predicament. There were 52 other planes with people on them in the same situation. We also told them that the Canadian Government was in charge and we were at their mercy. True to their word, at 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would come at 11 AM, the next morning. That took the last wind out of the passengers and they simply resigned and accepted this news without much noise and really started to get into a mode of spending the night on the airplane. Gander had promised us any and all medical attention if needed; medicine, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situation during the night. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without any further complications on our airplane despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th we were told to get ready to leave the aircraft. A convoy of school buses showed up at the side of the airplane, the stairway was hooked up and the passengers were taken to the terminal for \u201cprocessing\u201d We, the crew, were taken to the same terminal but were told to go to a different section, where we were processed through Immigration and customs and then had to register with the Red Cross. After that we were isolated from our passengers and were taken in a caravan of vans to a very small hotel in the town of Gander. We had no idea where our passengers were going. The town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people. Red Cross told us that they were going to process about 10,500 passengers from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to just relax at the hotel and wait for a call to go back to the airport, but not to expect that call for a while. We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started. Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves going around town discovering things and enjoying the hospitality. The people were so friendly and they just knew that we were the \u201cPlane people\u201d. We all had a great time until we got that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7 AM. We made it to the airport by 8:30 AM and left for Atlanta at 12:30 PM arriving in Atlanta at about 4:30 PM. (Gander is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of EST, yes!, 1 hour and 30 minutes.) But that\u2019s not what I wanted to tell you. What passengers told us was so uplifting and incredible and the timing couldn\u2019t have been better. We found out that Gander and the surrounding small communities, within a 75 Kilometer radius, had closed all the high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to a mass lodging area. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students HAD to volunteer taking care of the \u201cGUESTS\u201d. Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 Kilometers from Gander. There they were put in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were given no choice and were taken to private homes. Remember that young pregnant lady, she was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24 hour Urgent Care type facility. There were DDS on call and they had both male and female nurses available and stayed with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and emails to US and Europe were available for every one once a day. During the days the passengers were given a choice of \u201cExcursion\u201d trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went to see the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the eatery of their choice and fed. They were given tokens to go to the local Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words every single need was met for those unfortunate travelers. Passengers were crying while telling us these stories. After all that, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single one missing or late. All because the local Red Cross had all the information about the goings on back at Gander and knew which group needed to leave for the airport at what time. Absolutely incredible. When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. It was mind boggling. Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party flight. We simply stayed out of their way. The passengers had totally bonded and they were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. And then a strange thing happened. One of our business class passengers approached me and asked if he could speak over the PA to his fellow passengers. We never, never, allow that. But something told me to get out of his way. I said \u201cof course\u201d. The gentleman picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He further stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide a scholarship for high school student(s) of Lewisporte to help them go to college. He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, it totaled to $14.5K or about $20K Canadian. The gentleman who started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia. He promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well. Why, all of this? Just because some people in far away places were kind to some strangers, who happened to literally drop in among them? WHY NOT? On 11 September  2001, a total of 240 flights were rerouted to Canada when American airspace was closed after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, and 39 of those flights ended up in Gander. The townspeople of Gander (and surrounding areas) came through magnificently in the crisis, as 6,579 marooned passengers and crew members swelled their population by two-thirds:  Responding to radio announcements, the residents and businesses of Gander and other towns supplied toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, blankets and even spare underwear, along with offers of hot showers and guest rooms. Newtel Communications, the telephone company, set up phone banks for passengers to call home. Local television cable companies wired schools and church halls, where passengers watched events unfolding in New York and realized how lucky they were. There were some with special needs. Carl and Ethna Smith found kosher food through an airport caterer and a new set of kitchenware for an orthodox Jewish family from New York. At the Gander Baptist Church, Gary and Donna House dealt with the needs of four Moldovan refugee families, members of a religious sect who spoke no English and were bewildered by events. Plenty of grateful Americans who passed through Gander that day took the opportunity to pen appreciative letters similar to the one quoted above when they returned home, such as the following letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:   We\u2019re writing to express our appreciation for the people in Canada who so generously assisted the people on US Airways Flight 3 returning to the United States on Sept. 11. We were grounded in Gander, Newfoundland, at 1:30 p.m. on that day and then informed of the events that had taken place in New York, at the Pentagon and \u201coutside of Pittsburgh.\u201d  We spent the next 23 hours locked on the plane until we could be safely cleared to leave the plane, and then we were transported to the Salvation Army in Lewisporte, 45 minutes away. The people of Lewisporte and the Salvation Army fed us three meals a day and provided countless blankets, toothbrushes and toiletries for the passengers on that flight. The elementary school next to the Salvation Army building canceled classes for its children to provide us with access to the much-needed shower stall and the computer classroom for us to e-mail home. During that time when all of us were frantic to find out what had happened, make sure our loved ones were safe and contact those who would be missing us in the next few days, our hosts were endlessly cheerful, giving and kind. They dropped everything to cook for us and make us feel less isolated and abandoned during those five days of uncertainty. When we finally received word of the plane\u2019s clearance for leaving, we said goodbye with bittersweet memories of a group of people of unlimited generosity. This experience will stay with us during this time and continue to remind us that we have more friends than enemies in this world, and we are grateful for the proximity to our country of some of them. And this letter from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:  We were flying home from a wonderful vacation in Paris and were about an hour from Newark when an announcement was made that terrorists had attacked New York and Washington and our flight was being diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. We were the fourth of 37 planes to land in Gander and were kept on the plane for seven hours. Then we proceeded to immigration, where many compassionate people met us. An unidentified woman approached and put her arm around us and wanted to know if there was anything she could do to help us. At this point we were greatly concerned about our two sons who work in Manhattan. She took us to a phone, where we called our oldest son, who assured us that he and his brother were safe. From there we were put on school buses and taken to the College of the North Atlantic. Many ordinary, caring people met us and made all 300 passengers feel welcome. We were given blankets and pillows from their homes. We stayed for two nights and three days. We slept on the floor, as cots could not be rounded up fast enough. We shared our classroom with 18 others and a dog. Everyone was extraordinarily thoughtful of each other. One woman must have put her life on hold and was constantly checking on us. She even came to the airport when we finally left to make sure we all were fine. I never saw her without a smile. The lady who ran the cafeteria along with many neighbors made hot meals and brought in casseroles each day. Students helped us to use e-mail, and we were able to use the phone to call our family. No organization with financial backing was behind this \u2013 this was a call to neighbors and friends to come and help those of us in need. We will never be able to think of Gander, Newfoundland, without remembering all the goodness and kindness that was showered upon us by our neighbors and friends from Canada. And yes, a Gander Flight 15 college scholarship fund was established for high school students in Lewisporte, Newfoundland, by passengers, crew members and friends of Delta Flight 15. Other towns in Newfoundland and Labrador (and across Canada) also took in temporarily displaced passengers with hospitality that day and are equally deserving of our gratitude. A variant of this item circulated in 2012 identified Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the Delta Flight 15 passenger who established a scholarship trust fund for Lewisporte high school students. Romney was not a passenger on that flight, nor did he establish a scholarship trust fund for Lewisporte students."}
{"claim_id": "2360", "claim": "Jaws, the prequel: Scientists find the 'Model T Ford' of sharks.", "explanation": "You\u2019ve heard of the Model T Ford, the famed early 20th-century automobile that was the forerunner of the modern car. But how about the Model T shark?", "label": "true", "subjects": "Science News", "main_text": "Scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of the impeccably preserved fossilized remains of a shark that lived 325 million years ago in what is now Arkansas, complete with a series of cartilage arches that supported its gills and jaws. Because shark skeletons are made of soft cartilage, not hard bone, finding anything more than scrappy fossilized remains of teeth and vertebrae is rare. Finding a fossil shark in an almost three-dimensional state of preservation, boasting important skeletal structures, is exceptional. This primitive shark, named Ozarcus mapesae, may lead scientists to rethink shark evolution, erasing the notion that these beasts of the deep have remained little changed since they first appeared at least 420 million years ago. \u201cThese things have been very successful, among the top predators in the Earth\u2019s oceans, for over 400 million years,\u201d said paleontologist John Maisey of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, one of the researchers. \u201cThe best analogy I can come up with is this: It\u2019s like comparing a Model T Ford with a modern automobile. They are both recognizably the same kind of thing. But they are completely different under the hood. We found the Model T of sharks,\u201d added Maisey, whose research was published in the journal Nature. Those cartilage arches, for example, are quite different from those in modern sharks, the scientists said. This suggests that while their general outward appearance has stayed roughly the same, important changes have occurred over time that have helped make sharks the perfect eating machines of the sea. Maisey said Ozarcus mapesae was small by shark standards - about 2 to 3 feet long, with relatively big eyes. It swam in the murky waters of a shallow inland sea teeming with life including other fish and squid-like creatures in shells. It is not the oldest shark fossil, but it is the oldest to reveal all of the anatomy of the skeleton supporting the gill arches, a vitally important element of a fish. Employing sophisticated equipment at the European Synchrotron in France, the scientists used high-resolution X-rays to obtain a detailed view of the shape and organization of the arches and associated structures. They found that the arrangement was unlike that of modern sharks but was very much like that of bony fishes like today\u2019s tuna or swordfish. Maisey said that scientists had viewed today\u2019s sharks as very primitive creatures while seeing bony fish as more advanced. \u201cModern sharks cannot be considered anymore as living fossils that did not evolve since their origin. They are actually very derived compared to early cartilaginous fishes,\u201d said American Museum of Natural History paleontologist Alan Pradel, another of the researchers. Sharks have undergone many other changes since the time of Ozarcus mapesae, the researchers said. Their jaws are no longer firmly bound to the cranium, giving them greater biting freedom. Specializations in their inner ear enable them to hear very low frequency sounds, improving their hunting ability. They are better at replacing teeth. And there have been changes in their scales, among other things. \u201cThere\u2019s lots of ways in which modern sharks are quite highly evolved and different from the Model T,\u201d Maisey said. The shark\u2019s genus name, Ozarcus, comes from the Ozark Mountain region where it was found. Its species name, mapesae, honors Ohio University scientist Gene Mapes, who found it."}
{"claim_id": "23672", "claim": "We caught (the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) lying to us about the results of air quality studies in the Barnett Shale.", "explanation": "Wendy Davis says the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) lied about air quality tests in the Barnett Shale", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Environment, Texas, Wendy Davis, ", "main_text": "Speaking at the Texas Democratic convention last month, Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, lambasted the state agency responsible for approving permits to pollute the air. \"The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality \u2014 what a joke,\" she said during a speech to delegates June 26. \"In my district, we caught them lying to us about the results of air quality studies in the Barnett Shale. They are playing with the health and safety of our communities, and we are going to tell them that is not acceptable.\" First, the basics: When we contacted Davis to elaborate on her statement, Davis said that \"we\" meant the public. But was TCEQ lying? The answer to that question is more complicated. From Dec. 15-17, TCEQ tested air samples collected at 126 natural gas production sites in Fort Worth for toxic pollutants. Natural gas drilling creates pollution from a couple sources, according to the Star-Telegram: the tank batteries that store wastewater and condensate \u2014 a light form of crude oil that often vents into the atmosphere \u2014 and the motors that drive pipeline compressors. Plus, drillers vent natural gas into the atmosphere when they complete a well. Fort Worth covers about 6 percent of the Barnett Shale, a natural gas field that covers more than 20 counties, according to the Star-Telegram. On Jan. 12, John Sadlier, deputy director of the office of compliance and enforcement at TCEQ, presented the results to the Fort Worth City Council. \"Based on this study, the air is safe,\" he said, reporting that the agency didn't find pollutants at levels that could cause health problems. Eight slides accompanying the presentation had a red disclaimer noting that the samples had not been collected, analyzed or reviewed following specific protocol for quality control. TCEQ spokesman Terry Clawson told us that the city had asked TCEQ to perform tests \"as quickly as possible\" using the agency's mobile laboratory. (The request came on the heels of testing in DISH, a nearby town, that revealed high levels of benzene and other compounds.) While the mobile lab enables results to be produced within hours after samples are taken, Clawson said, the testing didn't meet national standards. Davis pointed out that the slides shown to the city council clearly said that benzene didn't exceed the levels considered safe for both short-term and long-term health, instead of noting that the data to prove that wasn't available. On Feb. 3, someone filed a fraud complaint with the TCEQ chief auditor's office, alleging the agency's monitoring operation had knowingly reported \"inaccurate and misleading\" information based on inadequate testing methods for butadiene, isoprene and benzene. The office initiated an audit, reporting the results on March 25. According to the audit memo, shortly after the council presentation, Sadlier questioned the validity of the data and ordered further tests. TCEQ sent the air samples to its lab using a more sensitive analysis. On Jan. 22, those tests showed that several samples measured benzene, a byproduct of gas drilling known to cause cancer in humans, at levels that exceeded those considered safe for people's long-term health. TCEQ did not report the new results to council members. The memo said Sadlier ordered more tests in February. Once more, TCEQ detected benzene, but not at levels that exceeded state standards. Clawson told us those results were published in a report dated April 26. The report was shared with the city of Fort Worth and posted on the agency's website on May 21. Davis said that it was \"buried,\" so that someone visiting the site wouldn't know it was there unless they were looking for it. Still with us? On June 1, TCEQ released results from samples taken at two sites in late April \u2014 that would be the fourth round of tests \u2014 that again showed levels of benzene exceeding the state's long-term health standard. \"State officials have said the level is not enough to cause immediate health problems, but it could make people sick if they were exposed continually for several years. It also serves as an indication that more testing in the area is needed,\" according to a June 2 Star-Telegram article. Clawson told us that TCEQ later collected more samples at the two facilities and did not find benzene that exceeded short-term or long-term exposure levels. That report was published and distributed to the City of Fort Worth on July 7, he said. Clawson told us that the agency regrets \"the failure to communicate the results to the city in a more timely fashion.\" However, he also said that during presentation to the Fort Worth City Council, \"we stated that tests found 'no cause for concern.' This statement was true then, and it is true today.\" As for the fraud complaint against the agency, the March 25 auditor's report concluded that the information provided to Sadlier from the first round of tests \"while technically correct, could be considered to be misleading.\" It did not find evidence that Monitoring Operation's management knew the information was misleading. Sadlier said he didn't know the equipment couldn't detect lower levels of benzene when he talked to city officials, according to a May 28 Dallas Morning News article. Just a few days after TCEQ posted the toxicology report online May 21, the Texas Observer broke the story about the fraud complaint and audit, prompting Davis to issue a press release blasting the agency for waiting \"four months to reveal these disturbing test results. The agency had determined the public had been exposed to elevated levels of benzene, and yet the public and their elected officials were not made aware of these exposures.\" On May 28 Davis filed a 30-point open-records request, asking for all TCEQ documents and communications related to benzene and other potentially harmful chemicals that may, could be, or are found in the air above the Barnett Shale. In our conversation with Davis last week, she said that Mark Vickery, executive director of the TCEQ, had called her to apologize. \"He was very contrite, expressed great apology for not having revealed to me the information before,\" she said, adding that Vickery told her TCEQ didn't think the January test results posed \"a serious health risk and therefore did not disclose it.\" Where does that leave us? First, TCEQ reported data that backed up the agency's claim that emissions from the Barnett Shale sites in Fort Worth were safe, but those tests could not measure lower levels of toxic chemicals. Subsequently, more sensitive tests have gone back and forth: some showed benzene levels exceeding the standard for long-term health effects and some did not. Until recently, the agency has not reported the results promptly. To Davis' point: TCEQ waited four months to alert officials of the January tests that detected elevated levels of benzene. Did the agency lie, as Davis claimed? Or simply fail to disclose \u2014 by TCEQ's own admission \u2014 in a timely fashion? \"Hiding the truth is lying,\" Davis said. However, absent proof of an intent to deceive. Should her open-records request yield new information that shows the TCEQ knowingly lied to the public, we'll reconsider our rating."}
{"claim_id": "23560", "claim": "Republicans are now \"taking credit\" for provisions of the health care bill \"that they had tried to derail.", "explanation": "Democrats' op ed accuses Republicans of taking credit for provisions of the health care bill they once tried to derail", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Health Care, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, ", "main_text": "Whoa, talk about a change in tune. Are Republicans now trying to take credit for parts of the health care bill? Are the Yankees rooting for the Red Sox? Are dogs and cats getting along? In an Aug. 12, 2010, op-ed for Politico headlined \"GOP touts preventive care it opposed,\" Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Rosa DeLauro , D-Conn., touted the benefits of preventive and wellness care. As survivors of breast and ovarian cancer, respectively, they said that preventive care saved their lives. But if Republicans have their way, the Democrats said, they would roll back a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires no co-pay for preventive care \u2014 including cancer screenings, health checkups, flu shots, mammograms and immunizations. That's pretty standard fare from Democratic supporters of the health care bill. But here's the part of the op-ed that caught our attention:  \"Even Republicans who voted against the health care reform law and went out of their way to prevent its passage have now lauded these reforms. Recently, on the Senate floor, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) actually took credit for the preventive care provision. 'One of the things we did in the health care legislation,' Kyl said, 'was to provide a lot of different incentives for preventive care.'\" And, they wrote, \"This is not the first time Republicans have taken credit for health care provisions that they had tried to derail. After the act passed, and every Republican attempt to gut the bill had failed, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) took credit for provisions that banned the practice of rescissions \u2014 dropping people\u2019s health coverage when they get sick \u2014 and allowed young adults to continue being covered by their parents\u2019 plans until age 26. \"To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, success has a thousand fathers, while defeat is an orphan. So we understand why Republicans now like to laud health care reform \u2014 particularly when one considers that, after a decade of congressional control with eight years holding the White House as well, they had failed to do anything about the issue.\" That Republicans are now lauding the health care bill was news to us. So we decided to check out the two examples cited in the op-ed. Kyl's comments about preventive care came from the Senate floor on July 12, 2010. The topic was the White House's controversial recess appointment of Dr. Donald M. Berwick as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Here's what Kyl said:  \"Dr. Berwick expressed his disapproval for costly cutting-edge medical technologies and has said prevention services such as 'annual physicals, screening tests, and other measures' are 'over-demanded.' One of the things we did in the health care legislation was provide a lot of different incentives for preventive care, for screening, to try to help people avoid illnesses on the theory that it would be a lot cheaper if we didn\u2019t do a lot of treatment that was unnecessary. If you could identify in advance that an individual had a need for some treatment, maybe you could catch the disease, say, the cancer, early and not have the expensive treatment, the end-of-life kind of care that is frequently very expensive.\" Kyl's new use of the royal \"we\" didn't quite mesh with his vocal opposition to the bill. In a health care debate last year -- that ended up a minor hit on YouTube -- Kyl argued against mandating blanket coverages. \"I don't need maternity care, and so requiring that to be in my insurance policy is something that I don't need and will make the policy more expensive,\" Kyl said. So were Kyl's recent comments from the Senate floor an endorsement of the health care bill's preventive care provisions, and was he now taking credit for it? \"Sen. Kyl did not, in fact, 'take credit for' anything in his remark,\" said Andrew Wilder, a spokesman for Kyl. \"'We' was a factual reference to Congress, and did not contain a partisan context, as some now assert presumably for political reasons.\" Still, Democrats note that Kyl's tone appears to have changed, saying \"we\" instead of the more typical reference to the bill as \"the Democrat health care bill.\" \"The way he's talking about it, he's talking about it like it's a good thing,\" said Brian Cook, press secretary for Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., chair of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. Whether that amounts to taking credit for the idea is getting into a bit of semantics. Certainly Republicans -- and Kyl in particular -- have forcefully opposed the health care bill, and repeatedly spoken of it in terms that liken it to a disaster. And so we can understand Democrats' frustration when a strong opponent of the bill cites a provision of of the bill that \"we did\" -- especially in light of his earlier comments against requiring insurers to carry preventive services -- like maternity care -- that not everyone would use. But we think it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that Kyl was \"taking credit\" for that provision. The \"taking credit\" moniker better fits the comments regarding Boehner. In an April 30, 2010, interview with Boehner on National Public Radio, a reporter said, \"As you know, Democrats are already pointing to things that are already changing in America because of this (health care) bill. They will point to the fact that college seniors who would have been kicked off their parents' insurance when they graduated will get to stay on. Insurance companies are now saying they are going to end the practice of rescissions, or at least modify it...\"  Boehner interjected, \"Both of those ideas, by the way, came from Republicans and are part of the comments and ideas that we ought to have in the law.\" Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, noted that both provisions -- abolishing rescissions and encouraging extended coverage of young adults on their parents\u2019 insurance through age 25 -- were included in the Republican alternative health care plan proposed by Boehner last November. But the ideas were in the Democrats' health plan long before that. And if they were Republican ideas, asked Cook, the Democratic spokesman for the Ways and Means committee, then why was it never a part of the Republicans' legislative agenda when they held the majority? We weren't able to pinpoint who originated the ideas, but we can say these were two ideas with rare bipartisan support -- as they were both in the Democratic and Republican health care proposals. It's certainly true that Republicans aggressively fought the health care bill, and are now aggressively seeking to overturn it. But it is misleading to suggest Republicans tried to derail the health care bill based on these two provisions. So are Wasserman Schultz and DeLauro correct that Republicans are now \"taking credit\" for provisions of the health care bill \"that they had tried to derail\"? In the case of Kyl comments, we think it's a stretch to say he took credit for the preventive care provisions in the health care bill. But Boehner did credit Republicans for provisions to abolish rescissions and allow young adults to continue being covered by their parents\u2019 plans until age 26. Yet those specific provisions were not the target of the GOP opposition, which focused on larger issues of cost and the growth of government. And so we find the claims in the op-ed ."}
{"claim_id": "28252", "claim": "A Fox News guest referred to people injecting marijuana into their systems.", "explanation": "What's true: David Avella, a Republican strategist and guest of the Fox News talk show \"Outnumbered,\" referenced people injecting marijuana. What's false: After making the mistake, Avella and the hosts corrected the record immediately.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Politics", "main_text": "A Fox News guest on the talk show \u201cOutnumbered\u201d incurred some internet scorn after he accidentally referred to people \u201cshooting up\u201dmarijuana, even though he corrected himself moments later. fox news is very worried about homeless people laying \u201cin the street having just shot up with marijuana\u201d people forget that weed is always done intravenously pic.twitter.com/RE9Ag9iLPe \u2014 Caleb Ecarma (@calebecarma) August 22, 2019  The Republican strategist did indeed make the comment as a guest on \u201cOutnumbered\u201d on Aug. 22, 2019. Avella and the show\u2019s hosts were discussing new \u201cperson first\u201d guidelines adopted by San Francisco legislators, would eliminate words like \u201cfelon,\u201d \u201coffender,\u201d \u201cconvict,\u201d \u201caddict\u201d and \u201cjuvenile delinquent,\u201d per the San Francisco Chronicle. \u201cGoing forward, what was once called a convicted felon or an offender released from jail will be a \u2018formerly incarcerated person,\u2019 or a \u2018justice-involved\u2019 person or simply a \u2018returning resident,\u201d the Chronicle reported. Avella wasn\u2019t a fan of that idea. \u201cAnd the focus ought to be on a society that follows the law, not allowing people to defecate in the streets, not allowing individuals to lay on the street having just shot up with marijuana,\u201d he said. The hosts immediately interjected with the word \u201cheroin,\u201d and Avella quickly corrected his statement. Marijuana is not a substance that is injected. It is either smoked or consumed. The digital media and entertainment publication Mashable explained that the idea of injecting weed \u201cis a long-running joke to refer to those so out of the loop, they have no idea how consuming marijuana works.\u201d"}
{"claim_id": "1530", "claim": "'Sesame Street' to welcome first autistic Muppet.", "explanation": "Long-running children\u2019s television show \u201cSesame Street\u201d is welcoming a new kid to the block - a Muppet with autism called Julia.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "A redhead who loves to sing and remembers the words to lots of songs, Julia will debut on the show for preschoolers on April 10 after a five-year outreach effort to families and experts on autism, Sesame Workshop said on Monday. \u201cFor years, families of children with autism have asked us to address the issue,\u201d Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of U.S. social impact at the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, said in a statement. One in 68 American children is currently diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase of some 119 percent since 2000. Autism is a developmental disorder present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts  Stacey Gordon, the puppeteer who will perform the role of Julia, and Christine Ferraro who wrote her part, both have family members who are on the autism spectrum. \u201cIt\u2019s important for kids without autism to see what autism can look like,\u201d Gordon told the CBS show \u201c60 Minutes\u201d in a preview on Sunday. \u201cHad my son\u2019s friends been exposed to his behaviors through something that they had seen on TV before they experienced them in the classroom, they might not have been frightened. They might not have been worried when he cried. They would have known that he plays in a different way and that that\u2019s okay,\u201d she added. The show will see Julia interact with favorite characters like Big Bird and Elmo but sometimes get overexcited, or flap her hands. The character will be supported with books and videos in both Spanish and English on the sesamestreet.org website and  costumed character visits to community events. Since its launch in 1969, \u201cSesame Street\u201d has tackled issues such as divorce, disability, race and death alongside its role in teaching very young children to read, count and learn colors. \u201cSesame Street\u201d is seen in either the United States on PBS and HBO, or local TV versions in more than 150 nations and has won multiple awards for its educational content and its message of inclusion."}
{"claim_id": "1388", "claim": "UK confirms two more cases of bird flu on turkey and pheasant farms.", "explanation": "British authorities say they have confirmed two more bird flu cases on farms in northern and eastern England, meaning there are now four areas where restrictions are in place across the country to reduce the spread of the disease.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health News", "main_text": "The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said it had confirmed a case of H5N8 avian flu in a flock of about 1,000 pheasants at a farm in Wyre, Lancashire, in northern England on Friday. A number of birds had died and the rest were being culled. It was the second outbreak reported at a farm in Wyre this week. Another H5N8 case had been identified on Thursday at a turkey rearing farm which had about 19,500 birds near Boston in Lincolnshire, Defra said. A 3-km (1.9-mile) protection zone and a 10-km surveillance zone have been put in place around both farms, with authorities saying the virus posed a very low risk to humans and no food safety risk. Different strains of bird flu have been spreading across Europe and Asia since late last year, leading to the large-scale slaughter of poultry in certain countries and some human deaths in China. Disease experts say the global spread of bird flu and the number of viral strains circulating and causing infections have reached unprecedented levels, raising the risk of a potential human outbreak."}
{"claim_id": "4446", "claim": "New genetic links to same-sex sexuality found in huge study.", "explanation": "The largest study of its kind found new evidence that genes contribute to same-sex sexual behavior, but it echoes research that says there are no specific genes that make people gay.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Health, General News, Genetics, Science", "main_text": "The genome-wide research on DNA from nearly half a million U.S. and U.K. adults identified five genetic variants not previously linked with gay or lesbian sexuality. The variants were more common in people who reported ever having had a same-sex sexual partner. That includes people whose partners were exclusively of the same sex and those who mostly reported heterosexual behavior. The researchers said thousands more genetic variants likely are involved and interact with factors that aren\u2019t inherited, but that none of them cause the behavior nor can predict whether someone will be gay. The research \u201cprovides the clearest glimpse yet into the genetic underpinnings of same-sex sexual behavior,\u201d said co-author Benjamin Neale, a psychiatric geneticist at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. \u201cWe also found that it\u2019s effectively impossible to predict an individual\u2019s sexual behavior from their genome. Genetics is less than half of this story for sexual behavior but it\u2019s still a very important contributing factor,\u201d Neale said. The study was released Thursday by the journal Science. Results are based on genetic testing and survey responses. Some of the genetic variants found were present in both men and women. Two in men were located near genes involved in male-pattern baldness and sense of smell, raising intriguing questions about how regulation of sex hormones and smell may influence same-sex behavior. Importantly, most participants were asked about frequency of same-sex sexual behavior but not if they self-identified as gay or lesbian. Fewer than 5% of U.K. participants and about 19% of U.S. participants reported ever having a same-sex sexual experience. The researchers acknowledged that limitation and emphasized that the study\u2019s focus was on behavior, not sexual identity or orientation. They also note that the study only involved people of European ancestry and can\u2019t answer whether similar results would be found in other groups. Origins of same-sex behavior are uncertain. Some of the strongest evidence of a genetic link comes from studies in identical twins. Many scientists believe that social, cultural, family and other biological factors are also involved, while some religious groups and skeptics consider it a choice or behavior that can be changed. A Science commentary notes that the five identified variants had such a weak effect on behavior that using the results \u201cfor prediction, intervention or a supposed \u2018cure\u2019 is wholly and unreservedly impossible.\u201d \u201cFuture work should investigate how genetic predispositions are altered by environmental factors,\u201d University of Oxford sociologist Melinda Mills said in the commentary. Other experts not involved in the study had varied reactions. Dr. Kenneth Kendler a specialist in psychiatric genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University, called it \u201ca very important paper that advances the study of the genetics of human sexual preference substantially. The results are broadly consistent with those obtained from the earlier technologies of twin and family studies suggesting that sexual orientation runs in families and is moderately heritable.\u201d Former National Institutes of Health geneticist Dean Hamer said the study confirms \u201cthat sexuality is complex and there are a lot of genes involved,\u201d but it isn\u2019t really about gay people. \u201cHaving just a single same sex experience is completely different than actually being gay or lesbian,\u201d Hamer said. His research in the 1990s linked a marker on the X chromosome with male homosexuality. Some subsequent studies had similar results but the new one found no such link. Doug Vanderlaan, a University of Toronto psychologist who studies sexual orientation, said the absence of information on sexual orientation is a drawback and makes it unclear what the identified genetic links might signify. They \u201cmight be links to other traits, like openness to experience,\u201d Vanderlaan said. The study was a collaboration among scientists including psychologists, sociologists and statisticians from the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. They did entire human genome scanning, using blood samples from the U.K. Biobank and saliva samples from customers of the U.S.-based ancestry and biotech company 23andMe who had agreed to participate in research. ___ Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner . ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}
{"claim_id": "36215", "claim": "A social media post correctly contextualizes the 30,000 approximate gun deaths each year in the United States.", "explanation": "\u2018There are 30,000 Gun Related Deaths Per Year by Firearms\u2019", "label": "false", "subjects": "Disinformation, Fact Checks", "main_text": "In August 2019, a Facebook post about the United States\u2019 purported 30,000 gun deaths per year circulated, typically copied and pasted into individual posts which themselves were each shared a handful of times.One particular version coupled with a \u201cmass shooters 2019\u201d meme (a meme that is riddled with flaws, and which we debunked in early August 2019) was shared by one user in mid-August 2019. A version was also published to the blog of the agenda-driven\u00a0Heartland Institute on August 26 2019, purportedly \u201cwritten by Nancy Thorner.\u201dThorner clearly did not write the copypasta commentary for which she took credit, as a near-verbatim version was shared by Ted Nugent via Facebook in June 2017. In October 2017, the same text was shared to Reddit\u2019s r/DebunkThis:Debunk This: Gun Control Doesn\u2019t Matter Because It\u2019s Not A Leading Killer of Americans from DebunkThisThat post\u2019s title (\u201cDebunk This: Gun Control Doesn\u2019t Matter Because It\u2019s Not A Leading Killer of Americans\u201d) alluded to the general gist of the forwarded message \u2014 that through a series of calculations and statistics, the clear takeaway should be that guns do not warrant classification as the danger the media made them out to be. A search of Twitter revealed the text of the post was regularly shared as seemingly original content by individuals dating back to at least June 2017.Right off the bat, the post could be characterized as a \u201cgish gallop.\u201d Named for creationist Duane Gish and also described as \u201cproof by verbosity,\u201d RationalWiki defines a \u201cgish gallop\u201d as follows:\u201cThe Gish Gallop is the fallacious debate tactic of drowning your opponent in a flood of individually-weak arguments in order to prevent rebuttal of the whole argument collection without great effort. The Gish Gallop is a conveyor belt-fed version of the on the spot fallacy, as it\u2019s unreasonable for anyone to have a well-composed answer immediately available to every argument present in the Gallop. The Gish Gallop is named after creationist Duane Gish, who often abused it \u2026\u00a0Gish Galloping is frequently employed (with particularly devastating results) in timed debates. The same is true for any time- or character-limited debate medium, including Twitter and newspaper editorials.\u201cExamples of Gish Gallops are commonly found online, in crank \u201clist\u201d articles that claim to show \u201cX hundred reasons for (or against) Y\u201d. At the highest levels of verbosity, with dozens upon dozens or even hundreds of minor arguments interlocking, each individual \u201creason\u201d is \u2014 upon closer inspection \u2014 likely to consist of a few sentences at best.\u201dWith that in mind, the \u201c30,000 gun deaths in America\u201d forward is certainly a mixture of statistics, assertions, and opinions, the latter of which often cannot be fact-checked. Its various claims were voluminous as befits a gish gallop, and many were cobbled together from long-circulating claims of many types. The Ted Nugent iteration began:There are 30,000 gun related deaths per year by firearms, and this number is not disputed. U.S. population 324,059,091 as of Wednesday, June 22, 2016. Do the math: 0.000000925% of the population dies from gun related actions each year. Statistically speaking, this is insignificant! What is never told, however, is a breakdown of those 30,000 deaths, to put them in perspective as compared to other causes of death:Even \u201cthis is not disputed\u201d is an iffy start, because no evidence of whether the number cited is or is not disputed was included. In 2016, FiveThirtyEight averaged gun deaths across several years, estimating 33,000 approximate deaths by firearm each year in the United States \u2014 making the number reasonably accurate, but not exact. Other figures referenced in the forward appeared to come from the FiveThirtyEight piece on gun deaths linked above, presumably accurate as of 2016.In the next sentence, the forward urges readers to \u201cdo the math,\u201d citing a population of 324,059,091 as of June 2016. (The United States population had climbed by four million in 2019, so we\u2019ll use 2016 statistics wherever possible.) The post asserts that the 33,000 gun deaths \u2014 misstated as 30,000\u00a0\u2014 amounted to 0.000000925 percent of all Americans in any given year.Using the accurate figure of 33,000 gun deaths and the population provided of\u00a0324,059,091, the actual \u201cmath\u201d works out to 0.01 percent\u00a0\u2014 not \u201c0.000000925 percent.\u201d That section subsequently holds that the purportedly small number of gun deaths is \u201cinsignificant,\u201d which is purely subjective opinion.A final note on that section is that readers might be duped into believing that the mortality rate from guns is less than one percent. However, mortality rate is not calculated by contrasting a cause of death with the entire population. It is actually \u201ca measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time,\u201d and \u201cexpressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year.\u201dWe are typically accustomed to understanding mortality percentages in the context of mortality rate. According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Wonder data, the actual mortality rate for any firearm-related deaths from 1999 through 2017 is 10.6 per 100,000 Americans. Consequently, the percentage as presented could constitute the logical fallacy of a \u201cbiased sample.\u201dMoving on:\u2022 65% of those deaths are by suicide which would never be prevented by gun laws \u2022 15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and justified \u2022 17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons \u2014gun violence \u2022 3% are accidental discharge deathsSo technically, \u201cgun violence\u201d is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100.Next up the post claims that 65 percent of gun deaths are suicide, and \u201cwould never be prevented by gun laws.\u201d No attempt is made to substantiate the claim. A 2017 study (\u201cHandgun waiting periods reduce gun deaths\u201c) published in the\u00a0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences observed that waiting periods alone can reduce gun-related suicides by up to 11 percent \u2014 and waiting periods are just one gun control measure.An undated Johns Hopkins/Bloomberg American Health Initiative paper notes several ways in which gun control measures are known to affect rates of suicide:\u201cRestricting access to lethal means, at least temporarily, during a time of crisis can prevent suicide. Even if one wishing to attempt suicide were to substitute a different method, he or she is far more likely to survive that attempt because firearms are the most lethal means available. And the vast majority of individuals who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die from suicide in the future.\u201dAccording to research on the availability of firearms and suicide, gun control measures do in fact lower rates of suicide, making that claim flatly false.The post also claims that another 15 percent of gun deaths are officer-involved shootings and thus \u201cjustified,\u201d once again an opinion clearly not espoused by all \u2014 and certainly not a fact. It goes on to state that a further 17 percent are under the umbrella of \u201cgun violence,\u201d and three percent are accidental discharge-related deaths, or firearm accidents.From there, the original author, whomever that actually was, eliminates the purported 15 percent of officer-involved deaths, and three percent of accidental deaths (along with suicide) are automatically excluded from the number or rate of gun deaths, going on to redefine \u201cgun deaths\u201d as \u201cdeaths solely from gun violence.\u201dTracking the math in the upcoming section is simple, as the rate of \u201cgun violence\u201d is provided as 17 percent of all gun deaths, and the original erroneous figure of all gun deaths was provided as 30,000. Seventeen percent of 30,000 is 5,100 (approximately), and 17 percent of 33,000 is 5,610. But as gish gallops are prone to doing, the missive at that point unilaterally decides that the only gun deaths that truly count are what the writer defines as \u201cgun violence,\u201d and all other gun-related deaths do not \u201ccount\u201d towards meaningful statistics.It appears many of the numbers are at least crudely based on the FiveThirtyEight post, and according to that item, approximately 12,000 of the 33,000 deaths cited annually are \u201chomicides,\u201d which would fall under the same umbrella as gun violence by all but the most creative accounting. We could not determine how the author identified that number as 17 percent, but homicides alone using those two numbers represented 36 percent of gun deaths in FiveThirtyEight\u2019s data.From that point, the post goes into supposed city hotbeds for gun violence, claiming that a quarter of all gun crime occurs in just four cities:Still too many? Well, first, how are those deaths spanned across the nation? \u2022 480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago \u2022 344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore \u2022 333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit \u2022 119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years)So basically, 25% of all gun crime happens in just 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that is the root cause.This basically leaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 deaths per state. That is an average because some States have much higher rates than others. For example, California had 1,169 and Alabama had 1.Again, while the numbers look authoritative, no citations or frames of reference are included in the post or its iterations on blogs and Facebook, so hunting down possible sources for the claims is a needle-in-a-haystack proposition. But the base claim \u2014 that four cities (Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and Washington D.C.) have massive rates of gun crime and essentially skew the country\u2019s curve\u00a0\u2014 is both old and long debunked. We examined the claim in 2015 and rated it mostly false, as did PolitiFact in 2018.Even if those claims were accurate (they were not), they would constitute cherry picking, another fallacy. Typically, the origin meme holds that excluding those four cities from overall gun homicide rates drastically alters that rate, a claim repeatedly proven false:\u201cThe cities cited in the [four cities] meme accounted for 1,568 of 17,250, or 9.1 percent, of all homicides reported to the FBI in 2016, Tom Kovandzic, a criminologist at the University of Texas, Dallas, calculated for us. And without those cities, the homicide rate (per capita) would only decline by 7.73 percent, or from 5.34 to 4.93.\u201dIts subsequent claim that the exclusion of those four cities \u201cleaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 deaths per state\u201d is based on prior false conclusions, and thus irrelevant to the overall credibility of the post as a whole. The post then states\u00a0\u2014 correctly \u2014 that\u00a0California has the strictest gun laws, before launching into a lengthy, barely intelligible rant about other causes of death, former United States President Barack Obama, and cheeseburgers.Incidentally, states with stricter gun laws maintain higher rates of gun-related homicide when they share borders with states that have looser restrictions. Another aside is that in 2017, the most recent year for which gun statistics were available, 39,773 Americans died\u00a0from gun-related injuries in the United States. Basing any of these calculations on that number versus the original inaccurate 30,000 figure would greatly alter the percentages involved in breakdowns.No portion of the following segment of the circulating post constitutes a piece of checkable data, nor does it seem to make sense as an editorial opinion:Now, who has the strictest gun laws by far? California, of course, but understand, so it is not guns causing this. It is a crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states. So if all cities and states are not created equally, then there must be something other than the tool causing the gun deaths.Are 5,100 deaths per year horrific? How about in comparison to other deaths? All death is sad and especially so when it is in the commission of a crime but that is the nature of crime. Robbery, death, rape, assault all is done by criminals and thinking that criminals will obey laws is ludicrous. That\u2019s why they are criminals.But what about other deaths each year? \u2022 40,000+ die from a drug overdose\u2013THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT! \u2022 36,000 people die per year from the flu, far exceeding the criminal gun deaths \u2022 34,000 people die per year in traffic fatalities(exceeding gun deaths even if you include suicide)Now it gets good: \u2022 200,000+ people die each year (and growing) from preventable medical errors. You are safer in Chicago than when you are in a hospital!\u2022 710,000 people die per year from heart disease. It\u2019s time to stop the double cheeseburgers! So what is the point? If Obama and the anti-gun movement focused their attention on heart disease, even a 10% decrease in cardiac deaths would save twice the number of lives annually of all gun-related deaths (including suicide, law enforcement, etc.). A 10% reduction in medical errors would be 66% of the total gun deaths or 4 times the number of criminal homicides\u2026\u2026Simple, easily preventable 10% reductions!So you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns? It\u2019s pretty simple. : Taking away guns gives control to governments.The founders of this nation knew that regardless of the form of government, those in power may become corrupt and seek to rule as the British did by trying to disarm the populace of the colonies. It is not difficult to understand that a disarmed populace is a controlled populace.Thus, the second amendment was proudly and boldly included in the U.S. Constitution. It must be preserved at all costs.So the next time someone tries to tell you that gun control is about saving lives, look at these facts and remember these words from Noah Webster: \u201cBefore a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole body of the people are armed and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force at the command of Congress can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power.\u201dRemember, when it comes to \u201cgun control,\u201d the important word is \u201ccontrol,\u201d not \u201cgun.\u201dThe claims presented in this long-circulating \u201c30,000 gun related deaths per year by firearms, and this number is not disputed\u201d forward are a mixture of cherry picked or misrepresented statistics, extensive opinion, distortions, and a sprinkling of numbers that occasionally bear a passing resemblance to evidence-based factual reality. A 2016 article by FiveThirtyEight approximated 33,000 (not 30,000) gun deaths per year, 12,000 (not 5,100) of which were homicides \u2014 roughly 36 percent. The author of the post repeatedly passes on their opinions of what excludes portions of the data while presenting no citations or basis to do so, and frequently misrepresents or falsifies numbers to make a point. It concludes with a largely incoherent rant about \u201ca crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states\u201d and an entreaty that \u201call death is sad,\u201d assertions which provide little support to the \u201cmath\u201d espoused in the commentary\u2019s opening paragraph.On multiple counts, the entire claim is false."}
{"claim_id": "23701", "claim": "We're not engaged in nation-building\" in Afghanistan.", "explanation": "Joe Biden says U.S. 'is not engaged in nation-building' in Afghanistan", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "National, Foreign Policy, Military, This Week - ABC News, Joe Biden, ", "main_text": "During a July 18, 2010, interview on ABC's This Week, Vice President Joe Biden made a clear characterization of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. \"If you notice, what we have is a counter-insurgency plan along the spine of the country, where the population is,\" Biden said. \"It's not a nationwide counter-insurgency plan. We're not engaged in nation-building, which the original discussion was about. We have ... a date where we're going to go look and see whether it's working. And we have a timetable in which to transition.\" The part that caught our eye was the notion that the United States is \"not engaged in nation-building.\" We thought it would be worth seeing whether that's a fair characterization of what the U.S. is doing. Our initial challenge was to define what \"nation-building\" actually means. One concise definition offered in America's Role in Nation-Building: From Germany to Iraq, a 2003 study by the RAND Corp, is \"to use military force to underpin a process of democratization. Substitute \"stablilization\" or \"reconstruction\" for \"democratization\" -- as many recent commentators have done -- and that serves as our definition. We should start by noting that the term isn't exactly in favor these days. In recent years, \"nation-building\" has variously taken hits from the right, for seeming to place battle-hardened troops in softer roles of promoting civic society, and from the left, for fear of an open-ended military commitment. \"Labeling it as such would help discredit such interventions,\" said Ivan Eland, a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a libertarian think tank, and author of an upcoming book on counterinsurgency warfare. True to form, the Obama Administration avoids the term \"nation-building\" as if it were allergic to the concept. We were unable to find any instance in which a White House official used the term to describe what was actually happening on the ground in Afghanistan. Just about the only time the term is used is when the administration seeks to explain what the U.S. is not doing. In a Dec. 1, 2009, speech at the U.S. Military Academy intended to outline the administration's policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama said that \"there are those who oppose identifying a time frame for our transition to Afghan responsibility. Indeed, some call for a more dramatic and open-ended escalation of our war effort -- one that would commit us to a nation-building project of up to a decade. I reject this course because it sets goals that are beyond what can be achieved at a reasonable cost and what we need to achieve to secure our interests. Furthermore, the absence of a time frame for transition would deny us any sense of urgency in working with the Afghan government. It must be clear that Afghans will have to take responsibility for their security, and that America has no interest in fighting an endless war in Afghanistan.\" Two days later, in Congressional testimony, Defense Secretary Robert Gates sounded the same note. \"This approach is not open-ended 'nation building,'\" Gates said. \"It is neither necessary nor feasible to create a modern, centralized, Western-style Afghan nation-state -- the likes of which has never been seen in that country. Nor does it entail pacifying every village and conducting textbook counterinsurgency from one end of Afghanistan to the other. It is, instead, a narrower focus tied more tightly to our core goal of disrupting, dismantling and eventually defeating al-Qaida by building the capacity of the Afghans -- capacity that will be measured by observable progress on clear objectives, and not simply by the passage of time.\" The administration is essentially arguing that it is not undertaking \"nation-building,\" first, because the goal of strengthening civil society in Afghanistan is secondary to the narrower goal of taking on al-Qaida, and second, because the U.S. role in the mission is not one that will keep personnel on the ground indefinitely. Marvin Weinbaum, a former Afghanistan specialist at the State Department and now a scholar at the Middle East Institute, said the U.S. will have an interest in supporting Afghanistan's development long after the troops leave. But since the context of Biden's comment was a discussion of military policy, we'll keep our analysis narrowly focused on military-led nation-building. Meanwhile, Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the centrist-to-liberal Brookings Institution, said that \"nation-building\" is not only a loaded term, \"it's also a vague term.\" Some foreign-policy experts say the administration has some justification for distinguishing between current U.S. policy and \"nation-building.\" While we did not receive any clarification from the Vice President's office, O'Hanlon said that \"in Afghanistan, our goals are relatively limited to ensuring some semblance of security and stability. In that sense, the vice president is right\" that the mission in Afghanistan is more limited than full nation-building would be, O'Hanlon said. Lawrence Korb -- a former Defense Department official under President Ronald Reagan who now serves as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal group with close ties to the Obama Administration -- added that the time element is important too. A strict interpretation of the term \"nation-building\" would suggest that the U.S. would \"literally stay until everything was secure and a functioning government was in place.\" But the administration is saying that the Afghans \"have 18 months to shape up,\" Korb said. That 18 months would end in July 2011, according to current plans. That said, both O'Hanlon and Korb agreed that there is significant substantive overlap between what goes on under the traditional definition of \"nation-building\" and what the U.S. is doing in Afghanistan. \"There certainly are major elements of what one might call 'state-building' going on, starting with creation of a strong army and police,\" O'Hanlon said. Indeed, key policy documents outline a variety of duties that would seem to fit well within our definition of nation-building. The administration's National Security Strategy document released in May 2010 says that the U.S. \"will continue to work with our partners, the United Nations, and the Afghan Government to improve accountable and effective governance. As we work to advance our strategic partnership with the Afghan Government, we are focusing assistance on supporting the president of Afghanistan and those ministries, governors, and local leaders who combat corruption and deliver for the people. Our efforts will be based upon performance, and we will measure progress. We will also target our assistance to areas that can make an immediate and enduring impact in the lives of the Afghan people, such as agriculture, while supporting the human rights of all of Afghanistan\u2019s people--women and men. This will support our long-term commitment to a relationship between our two countries that supports a strong, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan.\" If this sounds a lot like nation-building, so does a portion of the Army's Counterinsurgency Field Manual, which was authored by Gen. David Petraeus in 2006. While the document was written during the Bush Administration, it still holds significant sway, especially given that Petraeus is now the top commander in Afghanistan. One portion of the manual says that \"particularly after security has been achieved, dollars and ballots will have more important effects than bombs and bullets. This is a time when 'money is ammunition.' Depending on the state of the insurgency, therefore, Soldiers and Marines should prepare to execute many non-military missions to support (counterinsurgency) efforts.\" It even goes so far as to use the now-taboo words: \"Everyone has a role in nation-building, not just Department of State and civil affairs personnel.\" Another portion of the manual says that \"success in (counterinsurgency) operations requires small-unit leaders agile enough to transition among many types of missions and able to adapt to change. They must be able to shift through a number of activities from nation-building to combat and back again in days, or even hours.\" Such overlap suggests that for the current administration, the difference between its policy in Afghanistan and nation-building is, to a certain extent, one of nomenclature. Doug Bandow, a senior fellow with the libertarian Cato Institute, said, \"Of course they are engaged in nation-building, and of course they are denying it.\" Eland added, \"They are simply doing it and using a different name.\" So let's recap. When Biden says that \"we're not engaged in nation-building\" in Afghanistan, he's correct that the administration doesn't use that word, and that the U.S. commitment is narrower and more time-limited than a nation-building effort might be. However, many of the things the U.S. is seeking to do in Afghanistan would fall under a reasonable definition of what used to be known as nation-building. So while we acknowledge the limits of U.S. military intentions in Afghanistan, we don't think it's right to let the vice president simply deny the existence of the types of activities formerly identified with \"nation building\" by disavowing the phrase."}
{"claim_id": "39818", "claim": " There are reports of suicides   and even murders resulting from the Doomsday prediction of Family   Radio\u2019s Bible Teacher Harold Camping that judgment day would come on May   21, 2011 and that the true believers in Jesus Christ would be raptured   to heaven. \u00a0     ", "explanation": "Deadly Aftermath of Harold Camping's May 21, 2011 Judgement Day Prediction", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "Crime / Police, Religious", "main_text": "Harold Camping is a   self-taught Bible teacher who was one of the founders of Family Radio, a   collection of radio stations and affiliates based in Oakland,   California. Camping hosted a live Monday through Friday talk show on the   network during which he spread his teachings and took phone calls   answering Bible questions. Camping first attracted attention outside of   his followers when he wrote a book titled 1994? in which he predicted   that the end of the world would probably take place between September 15   and 17 of that year. When it didn\u2019t he said that he\u2019d gotten his   calculations wrong. Camping bases his views on his own brand of Biblical numerology. He\u2019s an   engineer by training and likes playing with numbers. His calculations   are a little hard to follow and some are based on assumptions of the   dates of events like the creation or the world or Noah\u2019s flood. He became a fresh subject of news headlines in 2011 when he began to   intensely promote his conviction that on May 21, 2011, there would be   catastrophic earthquakes and other natural phenomena harkening the   beginning of severe judgment on the world. He also predicted that those   who were \u201ctrue believers\u201d in Jesus Christ would be taken from the earth   and go to heaven on that date. Associated with that he said that after a   period of judgement the world would come to an end on October 2 1, 2011. Camping was alone in his assertions. No other church, denomination, or   major pastor or Bible teacher supported his theory and most condemned   it. During the months leading up to May 21, Camping spread the word about   judgement day through his radio broadcast, which is heard both in the   United States and several foreign countries, and there were reports that   Family Radio spent millions of dollars buying advertising time and   funding a caravan of motor homes that went from city to city to warn   people about the pending event. The predicted date came and went without anything happening. Harold   Camping went into seclusion for a few days then emerged to say that he   would explain everything in a special radio broadcast on his network. In   that program, Camping announced that he was at first bewildered when   nothing seemed to happen but that he then realized that judgment day did   indeed come on May 21, but it was spiritual not physical and that was   why nobody noticed it. In June, 2011, Camping was hospitalized because   of a stroke and later transferred to a nursing home. Family Radio   announced an end to his program and substituted it with another. Over the following weeks, however, information started emerging about   some of the fallout of his prediction. Nobody knows how many people took   him seriously, but some stories came to light that caused great concern   about the impact of his failed prediction. A few days after the May 21, a Florida man who was visiting family in   California jumped into a reservoir in Contra Loma regional Park in   Antioch saying he had to \u201cget to God.\u201d Family members said the 25-year   old man became erratic and \u201cstarted talking about God more profoundly\u2026\u201d   After watching a video about UFO\u2019s he started quoting Bible verses from   the book of Ezekiel and insisted that he had to go to the park. One of   the detectives in the case said the man \u201c\u2026told his family that he now   understood the Bible and that God was going to come see him.\u201d He dived   into the reservoir. His brother and his wife jumped in to save him and   brought him ashore, but he jumped back into the lack and drowned. Investigators said that the coverage of Camping\u2019s prediction was to   blame. In Palmdale, California, authorities say that a woman who wanted to   protect her children from the \u201ctribulation\u201d slit the throats of her two   daughters before cutting her own throat. This happened in March of 2011. The injuries were not fatal, however, and all survived. The daughters   were 11 and 14. In Michigan, a group of teenagers who say they were celebrating the   failed prediction of the May 21 rapture decided to mark the occasion by   jumping from a bridge. A 17-year old who did not know how to swim was   swept away by the current and drowned. News reports from Taiwan told of an elderly man who jumped out of a   building on May 5 saying he had heard that doomsday was nearing. News reports in June told of a Malawian man who pleaded guilty to   \u201ccirculating false documents\u201d about the judgment day prediction. He was   identified as a 39-year old bicycle repairman who had been spreading the   world about May 21. Police charged him with \u201ccirculating false documents   that threatened the peace and security of citizens.\u201d He was given a   six-month suspended sentence. There were also news reports from Vietnam that an ethnic group in the   northern reaches of the country, the tribal Hmong people, were among   those who took the prophecy to heart. They had heard it through   missionary radio. The news reports said there were \u201cthousands\u201d of people   gathering on a hillside to await their trip to heaven. In July, 2011,   James Jacob Prasch of Moriel Ministries traveled to Vietnam and met with   Hmong leaders. He reported that more than 7,000 Hmongs did gather on a   mountain with hopes that they were going to be delivered from their   suffering at the hands of the Communist government. Prosch was told that   at one point police and military police opened gunfire on the crowd and   that many were killed and buried in mass graves on the site. He also   said that two pastors were beheaded and that many thousands are missing   and either among the dead, among the imprisoned, or scattered in the   local jungle. updated 07/16/11   Comments"}
{"claim_id": "15793", "claim": "The state of Florida has seen \"double-digit drops\" in alcohol use among teens.", "explanation": "Pitman said Florida has seen \"double-digit drops\" in alcohol use among teens. A survey conducted by the state does show double-digit drops for both middle- and high-schoolers over the last decade, though the decline for high schoolers in a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a decline of about 8 percentage points. The statement is accurate but needs additional information.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Alcohol, Children, Florida, Susan Pitman, ", "main_text": "As the Legislature considers changing rules for Florida\u2019s burgeoning craft beer industry, one advocacy group is saying it\u2019s important to maintain the state\u2019s downward trend in teen alcohol abuse. During debate at the Senate commerce and tourism committee about whether to let breweries sell 64-ounce growlers, Susan Pitman, a board member for a collection of drug abuse prevention groups called the Florida Coalition Alliance, urged lawmakers to consider limiting pour sizes in beer-tasting rooms. Pitman said that preventing alcohol abuse demands regulation of these tasting rooms. \"While the country as a whole has seen a decline in youth drinking, the state of Florida is a leader, with double-digit drops in 30-day teen alcohol use,\" she said. Pitman\u2019s arguments may have had some impact; sponsor Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, agreed to revisit his bill. But in the meantime, we wondered: Has the declining drinking rate of Florida\u2019s minors really dropped as much as Pitman said? (We considered checking whether Florida\u2019s decline made it a \"leader\" among states, but we backed off after we learned that the state and national numbers -- which also are on the decline --\u00a0aren\u2019t precisely comparable.) Pitman, who also serves as executive director of Jacksonville-based Drug Free Duval, told PolitiFact Florida that she got her talking point from the\u00a0Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey. That\u2019s an annual questionnaire given to middle and high school students in order to collect data about risky behaviors, such as smoking and drug use. The survey is coordinated by the state departments of Children and Families, Education, Health, Juvenile Justice and the Governor's Office of Drug Control. The 2014 report is drawn from answers from almost 70,000 Florida students from all 67 counties. There are several questions measuring alcohol use, including binge drinking and whether kids have ever tried alcohol. But in the category Pitman cites -- the percentage of children who had used alcohol during the past 30 days -- the data show a distinct decrease over the last decade. Grade 2004 2014 Decline, 2004-2014 Middle schoolers 20.3 percent 10.1 percent 10.2 points High schoolers 42.0 percent 28.4 percent 13.6 points That\u2019s a double-digit drop for both categories, providing strong evidence for Pitman\u2019s claim. The only caveat is that there\u2019s a different data set that leads to slightly different results. Every two years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention undertakes a survey for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. It\u2019s conducted every odd-numbered year during the spring semester for grades 9-12 and for middle schoolers. The 2013 data was culled from more than 13,000 forms filled out in schools across the United States. The CDC survey doesn\u2019t offer 30-day alcohol data for middle schoolers, but it does for high schoolers. For Florida, the survey found that between 2003 and 2013, alcohol use by high schoolers during the previous 30 days dropped from 42.7 percent to 34.8 percent. That\u2019s a decline of a little under 8 percentage points -- a bit shy of a double-digit drop. Our ruling Pitman said Florida has seen \"double-digit drops\" in alcohol use among teens. A survey conducted by the state does show double-digit drops for both middle- and high-schoolers over the last decade, though the decline for high schoolers in a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a decline of about 8 percentage points. The statement is accurate but needs additional information."}
{"claim_id": "5271", "claim": "Officials probe respiratory illness at Quincy veterans\u2019 home.", "explanation": "State officials are investigating several cases of communicable respiratory illness at the same state-run veterans\u2019 home in Quincy where there have been multiple outbreaks of Legionnaires Disease over the years.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Quincy, Health, General News, Legionnaires disease, Illinois, Disease outbreaks, Veterans, Public health", "main_text": "The (Quincy) Herald-Whig reports the departments of Veterans\u2019 Affairs and Public Health on Friday confirmed nine cases of communicable respiratory illness and three possible illnesses. State and local public health officials are trying to find the source. State officials say Legionella bacteria isn\u2019t suspected as the cause. It was previously blamed for several Legionnaires\u2019 disease outbreaks at the home from 2015 to 2018. Over a dozen people died and numerous others were sickened. State officials say residents showed symptoms of respiratory illness between July 24 and Aug. 10. ___ Information from: The Quincy Herald-Whig, http://www.whig.com"}
{"claim_id": "9002", "claim": "Sylentis announces the results of tivanisiran for dry eye syndrome", "explanation": "This news release focuses on a study of\u00a0a new drug, tivanisiran, to treat dry eyes that was presented at a recent medical conference. It mentions the completion of both phase I and phase 2 trials and the start of a phase 3 trial, but it neglects to provide any of the details of the research. There is nothing offered about costs, the benefits or the harms of using the drug. It refers to the terms of \u201cdry eye disease\u201d or \u201cdry eyes syndrome\u201d repeatedly even though these are not recognized medical conditions. When it comes to health and medical news, journalists and other members of the public deserve useful information that can be used to evaluate a new treatment. The research summarized here is in far too early a\u00a0stage to warrant distributing a news release.", "label": "mixture", "subjects": "dry eye,Pharmamar", "main_text": "There is no discussion of the potential cost of this new medication, tivanisiran. We do know, however, that current other treatments for dry eyes can be expensive. Cyclosporine A drops, for example, may run as high as $400 a month. There is no indication that tivanisiran might be more affordable to patients, or if insurers might cover the cost of this news drug. There is no effort made in this release to provide any numbers that would put the benefits of using tivanisiran in context. It does quote a scientist working on the treatment endorsing the drug: According to Ana Isabel Jim\u00e9nez, Director of R&D at Sylentis, \u201cwe trust in our technology, innovative in this field, and we hope that tivanisiran will soon become a real alternative for the treatment of millions of people that suffer dry eye disease around the world.\u201d Likewise, there is no mention of potential harms that use of tivanisiran might cause to patients. Since one of the earlier studies was a safety trial it would have been appropriate to include those results in the release. There is no evidence included in the release, despite the headline that says the drugmaker \u201cannounces the results of tivanisiran for dry eye syndrome.\u201d The release only notes that the drug completed both phase I and phase 2 trials, (for safety and optimum dosage) and that a phase 3 trial is starting. The release doesn\u2019t point readers to any of the earlier trials. It should be noted that these results were reported at a medical conference and have not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. This release crosses the line into disease mongering with its repeat references to \u201cdry eye disease\u201d and \u201cdry eye syndrome\u201d which are not recognized medical conditions. Dry eyes can be caused by numerous things, ranging from side effects of medications to normal aging. PharmaMar, the parent company of he drugmaker, is listed as the study funder on the EurkekAlert! website which hosts the news release. We encourage news releases to include sponsors and conflict of interest information in the body of the news release so that information follows when the release is picked up verbatim by news aggregators. The release mentions alternatives to tivanisiran: \u201cDry eye can be treated with cyclosporin drops or autologous serum, but there is as yet no specific product for chronic treatment of the ocular pain related to dry eye syndrome; oral analgesics or anaesthetics are used in general. However, the main treatment consists of artificial tears, in the form of drops, gel or creams. Preservative-free eye drops have generally been found to offer the best long-term response.\u201d The American Optometric Association publishes a patient pamphlet that provides additional management options. A scientist working for the drugmaker says she hopes \u201cthat tivanisiran will soon become a real alternative.\u201d Savvy readers will note that the drug is still in development and that the drug is not yet ready for patient use outside of a research setting. This treatment, at least for dry eye, is novel since it is using a different approach to dealing with dry eyes than currently available medications use. But it\u2019s important to keep in mind that the treatment is still preliminary and must be studied in larger trials before being submitted for FDA approval. The unjustifiable use of the terms \u201cdry eye disease\u201d and \u201cdry eye syndrome\u201d have already been addressed under the Disease Mongering criteria."}
{"claim_id": "4459", "claim": "US regulators clear path for genetically modified salmon.", "explanation": "U.S. regulators on Friday gave the green light to salmon genetically modified to grow about twice as fast as normal, but the company behind it may face legal challenges before the fish can be sold domestically.", "label": "true", "subjects": "Genetics, Health, Fish, Salmon, North America, Technology, Science, U.S. News", "main_text": "The Food and Drug Administration said it lifted an alert that had prevented AquaBounty from importing its salmon eggs to its Indiana facility, where they would be grown before being sold as food. The agency noted the salmon has already undergone safety reviews, and that it lifted its alert because the fish would be subject to a new regulation that will require companies to disclose when a food is bioengineered. The move comes despite a pending lawsuit filed by a coalition of consumer, environmental and fishing groups that challenged the FDA\u2019s approval of the fish. \u201cWe think a remedy in our case would stop sale of the fish before they\u2019re allowed to be sold,\u201d said George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups suing the FDA. AquaBounty was founded in 1991, and it has been working through years of safety reviews and regulatory hurdles to sell its fish in the United States. In 2015, its salmon became the first genetically modified animal approved by the FDA for human consumption. But the agency subsequently issued an alert that stopped the Maynard, Massachusetts-based company from importing its fish eggs until disclosure guidelines for genetically modified foods were resolved. Called AquAdvantage, the fish is Atlantic salmon modified with DNA from other fish species to grow faster, which the company says will help feed growing demand for animal protein while reducing costs. AquaBounty CEO Sylvia Wulf said the company expects to get a final certification for its Albany, Indiana, growing facility in the coming weeks. Salmon eggs could then be sent from the company\u2019s research and development facility in Canada, and would be harvested after about 18 months when they reach 10 pounds, she said. Wulf said it\u2019s been difficult to engage companies in sales discussions because AquaBounty didn\u2019t know when it could start growing the fish in the United States. She said the salmon already has been sold in limited quantities in Canada, where it doesn\u2019t have to be labeled as genetically modified. Wulf said she doesn\u2019t expect the pending lawsuit to affect the company\u2019s U.S. plans. The genetically modified salmon are raised in tanks and bred to be female and sterile, measures designed to address any fears that they might get into the environment and breed with wild fish. But Kimbrell, of the Center for Food Safety, said the company\u2019s own tests have shown it\u2019s not 100 percent certain the fish would be sterile, and that concerns about it getting in the environment would grow if the company\u2019s operations were to expand. He also noted the disclosure regulation uses the term \u201cbioengineered,\u201d even though most people are more familiar with the term genetically modified. And he pointed out that companies can provide disclosure through codes that have to be scanned. Implementation of that regulation starts in 2020, though people may start seeing disclosures on packages sooner. Compliance becomes mandatory in 2022. The genetic modification for AquaBounty\u2019s fish is different from gene-editing technology, which lets scientists snip out specific genes to bring about traits without introducing foreign DNA. Companies are also working to develop a variety of gene-edited crops and animals . ____ Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content."}