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1876 | Study finds one percent of human genes switched off. | Scientists studying the human genome have found that each of us is carrying around 20 genes that have been completely inactivated, suggesting that not all switched-off genes are harmful to health. | true | Science News | A team at Britain’s Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is developing a new catalogue of so-called “loss-of-function” (LoF) gene variants to help identify new disease-causing mutations, and say their work will help scientists better understand the normal function of human genes. Working as part of larger study called the 1... |
2995 | Mandated hep C treatment for SC inmates gets initial consent. | A federal judge granted preliminary approval Tuesday of a proposed settlement mandating testing and treatment for hepatitis C of all inmates in South Carolina correction facilities. | true | Health, General News, Lawsuits, Hepatitis, South Carolina | Plaintiffs Russell Geissler, Bernard Bagley and Willie James Jackson filed a lawsuit in 2017 against the Department of Corrections over a lack of treatment for hepatitis C. A proposed class-action settlement was submitted after the lawsuit was filed. “This is a major step toward eliminating a point source for hepatitis... |
17547 | "In altered photo, says Barack Obama wants ""more of Texans’ private data"" via health care." | "Dewhurst said Obama wants ""more of Texans’ private data."" The subset of Texans shopping for coverage through the online marketplace are providing additional private data for a reason: to ensure they’re qualified. Dewhurst's statement overlooks these aspects. Regardless, many more Texans will be asked to give the IRS... | true | Health Care, Homeland Security, Medicaid, Welfare, Taxes, Texas, Privacy Issues, David Dewhurst, | "Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, campaigning for re-election, tweeted a parody of President Barack Obama promoting his signature health-care law. Around midday Dec. 12, 2013, the official White House Twitter account posted a photo of Obama holding a sign urging Americans to get health coverage because ""nobody should go broke... |
35302 | The White House Gift Shop is selling coronavirus commemorative coins. | Breathing masks are selling out in Sydney with the city enveloped in the smoke from bushfires sweeping across a large swath of Australia’s east coast, damaging the country’s clean and green reputation. | false | Politics, COVID-19 | Office workers wearing protective masks, previously a rarity, have become a common sight in recent weeks in downtown Sydney, where record pollution levels have consistently ranked the city above the likes of Jakarta, Shanghai and Mumbai. The world-famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge have regularly been shrouded by th... |
10338 | Firm says test judges risk for common breast cancers | "The focus of the story is a newly available genetic test to assess a woman’s risk of developing of developing one of the more common forms of breast cancer. The story does not provide any evidence about the test itself (despite alluding to it). The story does mention that this test has not been validated in an externa... | true | "The story includes the cost of this test $1,625 and mentions that insurance companies currently don’t cover the cost of the new genetic test for breast cancer. The test manufacturer CEO’s speculation that insurance companies will eventually cover the test because it’s easy to perform and ""any doctor can order the tes... | |
9517 | Experimental Brain Cancer Treatment Is a Success | This TIME.com story describes a single-patient clinical test of injections of modified immune cell proteins, a type of immunotherapy known as CAR-T cell therapy. It 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 New England Journ... | mixture | brain cancer,immunotherapy | 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–particularly those that involve modifying a patient’s own immune cells– are many times more expensive than standard tre... |
8187 | Long lines at San Francisco area cannabis stores exempt from coronavirus lockdown. | Millions of California’s Bay area residents can still legally light up as cannabis facilities are exempt from a cornonavirus lockdown that has shuttered most businesses in San Francisco and nearby cities. | true | Health News | Cannabis store managers say they have lines longer than local grocery shops and waiting room only. Most staff at a dozen stores reached Tuesday evening said they were too busy to talk to Reuters. “Oh man, we’re flooded. As soon as people heard we were still open, they started lining up,” said Anthony Barajas, the gener... |
9512 | Good news for people who love spicy food | The story opens with a click-bait headline, a brief description of the main study finding, and then pulls its own punch by detailing the limitations of the observational study. We’re pleased to see the caveats high up before any readers head to the grocery to buy some red hot chili peppers. But we’d be happier to see s... | mixture | hot chili peppers | Not applicable. The intervention was an easily available and inexpensive food. The story says the benefit was a 13% lower risk of death, but relative risks can be misleading to the average reader as we point out in this primer on the topic. The study itself says that study participants were followed for a median of 19... |
2059 | Walking may keep brain from shrinking in old age. | Walking at least six miles a week may be one thing people can do to keep their brains from shrinking and fight off dementia, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. | true | Science News | A man leaves the polling booth during the second-round of parliamentary election in Budapest April 25, 2010. REUTERS/Karoly Arvai A study of nearly 300 people in Pittsburgh who kept track of how much they walked each week showed that those who walked at least six miles had less age-related brain shrinkage than people w... |
29168 | Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the existence of billionaires was wrong. | What's true: Ocasio-Cortez said it was wrong for billionaires to exist side-by-side with chronic poverty and deprivation. What's false: Ocasio-Cortez's remarks had a clear and significant context that was elided: she was condemning income inequality and economic injustice, rather than the existence of billionaires per ... | false | Politics, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, turning point USA | U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the target of widespread scrutiny and criticism, mostly from right-leaning commentators, towards the end of 2018 and during the early months of 2019, after she became the youngest female member ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In particular, some conser... |
11908 | The No. 1 job vacancy in Florida every month for seven years has been nursing. | Putnam said the No. 1 job vacancy in Florida every month for seven years has been nursing. He’s right. The top online job advertisement in Florida has been registered nurses every month for the past seven years. Experts agreed that the shortage has been an issue for awhile in Florida. | true | Public Health, Florida, Adam Putnam, | "In the Florida governor’s race, both Republicans and Democrats have highlighted an issue facing the Sunshine State: a shortage of nurses. For months now, Republican Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam has highlighted a surprising factoid about Florida’s nursing workforce, often while emphasizing the importance of tra... |
10726 | Study: Gene therapy improves Parkinson’s symptoms | Room for improvement: Some discussion of costs. While the gene therapy is in the early stages of development and a price is not likely available at the moment, the cost of other non-drug treatments could have been included. There were some critical gaps in the evaluation of the evidence and the reporting was not entir... | mixture | Associated Press | We would have liked to have seen some mention of costs. While the gene therapy is in the early stages of development and a price is not likely available at the moment, the cost of other non-drug treatments could have been included. For example, deep brain stimulation costs approximately $30,000 per side of the brain af... |
9741 | Pathway launches 'liquid biopsy' to find cancer in healthy people | This story did a very nice job of examining the premise behind “liquid biopsies” and pointing out the lack of supporting evidence — a slightly more thorough look than was given by a strong competing story from Bloomberg. While the story could have had a fuller explanation of the costs associated with liquid biopsies an... | true | liquid biopsy,Pathway Genomics | The story mentioned the cost of the test, but the competing Bloomberg story gave a more detailed breakdown of costs. There was no mention of insurance coverage, or of total costs of work ups of positive tests and the need for continual testing. The story cites a company figure stating that the test “is more than 99 per... |
1919 | ADHD drugs do not increase heart problems in kids. | Stimulants used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder do not increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes or sudden death, U.S. researchers said on Monday, in a finding that should reassure millions of parents whose children take the drugs. | true | Health News | Researchers studied the medical records of more than 1 million children and young adults aged 2 to 24 who were taking or had taken stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall and found no sign of increased risk of heart problems. “We don’t see any evidence of increased risk,” said Dr. William Cooper of Vanderbilt University... |
3863 | Some Kansas City-area patients ditch fee-for-service doctors. | Patients who are fed up with the bureaucracy of the health insurance industry are ditching the copays and high deductibles for a different way to get primary care. | true | Kansas City, Insurance industry, Health, Kansas, Health care services | One such patient is self-employed attorney Dan Hobart, who struggled to find insurance because of his pre-existing conditions. Even after Affordable Care Act went into effect, doctor visits were still too costly for him to get the care he needed. After learning about direct primary care from a friend, Hobart signed up ... |
2932 | BrainStorm says stem cells helped patient with ALS and MG. | A patient suffering from both ALS and myasthenia gravis (MG) showed significant improvement in cognitive and motor function following treatment with BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics adult stem cells, according to a published case report. | true | Health News | Israel-based BrainStorm said on Monday a case report is being published in the February issue of “Muscle & Nerve” by the principal investigator and his colleagues at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem and a professor from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The report is already available online. A 75 year-old-man diagnosed with... |
9228 | FDA approves Intrarosa for postmenopausal women experiencing pain during sex | The US Food and Drug Administration just approved Intrarosa, a once-daily vaginal insert used to treat women experiencing pain during sexual intercourse. The news release states that the drug’s efficacy was confirmed in two 12-week placebo-controlled clinical trials of around 400 postmenopausal women. “Intrarosa, when ... | mixture | FDA,Intrarosa,Vulvovaginal atrophy | The FDA evaluates drugs without consideration of cost, so it’s understandable that they wouldn’t comment on it — and that’s why we’re rating this Not Applicable. We look forward to the day when any news release about a new drug — even one from the FDA — includes some mention of cost in its message. After all, the value... |
34842 | Electric car manufacturers rely on child labor to extract cobalt for their car batteries. | What's true: Child labor has been used in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Cobalt is a chemical element used to make rechargeable batteries. What's false: However, cobalt is not used exclusively for electric car batteries. This chemical element is also used to make the rechargeable batteries ... | mixture | Business | The use of child labor in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where nearly 60% of the world’s cobalt is currently produced, is certainly a major issue that deserves the attention of consumers, corporations, and governments. However, some media outlets and social media users have distorted the issue in... |
311 | Therapy in the office: banks take mental health fight in-house. | In ‘Billions’, a U.S. television show set in the world of hedge funds, traders at the fictional Axe Capital regularly attend sessions with an in-house psychiatrist. | true | Health News | In real life, finance professionals are rarely so open about seeking psychological help. On Wall Street and in the City of London, hyperambition and an ‘always on’ attitude are richly rewarded and people are often wary of revealing something that could be perceived as a weakness. Two out of three people working in fina... |
38099 | U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), while undergoing taxpayer-funded cancer treatments, voted to end cancer treatments for Medicare beneficiaries. | Sen. John McCain Votes to End Cancer Treatments for Medicare Beneficiaries | false | Government, Health / Medical | John McCain voted in support of the GOP’s tax reform bill, which experts warn could trigger Medicare spending cuts. But McCain did not “vote to end cancer treatments for Medicare beneficiaries,” as has been claimed. If the GOP tax plan is enacted, and $1.5 trillion in unfunded tax cuts trigger pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) bud... |
9166 | Pet exposure may reduce allergy and obesity | This news release from the University of Alberta reports that certain types of bacteria in the gut are more prevalent in people who have furry pets (in the study, 70 percent were dogs), and speculates that there may be an association between pets and the development of allergies and obesity. Despite being short on deta... | mixture | allergy,furry pets,University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry | This is not relevant because we can assume that anyone who owns a dog is likely aware of the cost of housing, feeding and maintaining that animal and those amounts can be quite considerable. We learn from the release: “The abundance of these two bacteria were increased twofold when there was a pet in the house,” and th... |
27360 | Katie Flynn was decapitated while wearing a seat belt, in a 2005 car crash on Long Island, New York. | A website that publishes viral content accurately recounts the terrible story of Katie Flynn's death in 2005. | true | Horrors, car crash, deaths, drink driving | In February 2018, the web site Newsner, which produces viral content, recounted the horrifying story of the death of Katie Flynn, a seven-year-old girl who was decapitated in a devastating car crash on Long Island, New York, in 2005. We received several enquiries about the veracity of the article, and a similar one pub... |
11264 | SBRT Offers Curative Option for Lung Cancer Patients Age 80 and Older | lung cancer illustrationThe release, which summarizes a study of patients 80 or older who underwent stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for early stage lung cancer, should have stuck to what the researchers actually studied. In the headline, main text and quotes, the release makes unjustified claims about treatm... | false | Association/Society news release | The release does not report the cost of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) or any alternatives a patient could consider. The release provides some data on benefits with this statement: “At two years following definitive SBRT for lung cancer among elderly patients, survival rates were 73 percent for cancer speci... |
9875 | Back Surgery Not Always the Cure for Pain | Too often, back surgery is touted as a miracle cure with amazing results. Little attention is given to the fact that few people with back pain are actually candidates for surgery and that it is still unclear whether people end up better off than if they had chosen a non-surgical route. This ABC news story does a decent... | mixture | The story does not mention costs of discectomy or fusion. The story does not quantify the benefit of treatment. Other than to say that sugery is often unnecessary, the story does not discuss harms of treatment, which can be substantial. Though discectomy in general involves a low risk of complications, they occur. In a... | |
2913 | J&J petitions FDA to require 'similar' names for biosimilars, biologics. | Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday said it submitted a citizen petition asking that U.S. health regulators require copies of biological products to bear names that are similar and not identical to those of their reference products. | true | Health News | J&J’s view on naming of biosimilars contrasts that of Mylan Inc and Novartis AG over the past few months, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to work on drafting regulations for the approval of biosimilars — cheaper versions of expensive biologics, or the original reference drugs. “Assigning names that a... |
6732 | Dem senator: Trump VA pick vows not to privatize vets care. | President Donald Trump’s pick to be Veterans Affairs secretary is promising not to privatize the agency, a key Democratic senator said Tuesday, taking a stance on a politically charged issue that his predecessor says led to his firing. | true | Confirmation hearings, Health, Privatizations, Politics, North America, Ronny Jackson, David Shulkin, Jon Tester, Veterans, Veterans affairs, Donald Trump | The confirmation hearing of Ronny Jackson, Trump’s White House doctor and a Navy rear admiral chosen to speed up improvements to the VA, is scheduled for next week. On Tuesday, he met privately with Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, as a part of visits this week to a... |
34334 | "The Amish own 20 percent of the nation's ""puppy mills." | Because there are millions of unwanted pets in animal shelters, animal advocates generally encourage prospective pet owners to adopt from shelters and rescues instead of purchasing from breeders (but in cases where a breeder is preferred, HSUS also provides a checklist on how to find a responsible one). According to th... | unproven | Viral Phenomena, amish, animal abuse, animal memes | In late November 2017, a meme circulated on Facebook with the claim that the Amish community, a relatively small and isolated group of Christians who live throughout the American Northeast and Midwest and abide by the lifestyle and technology of a bygone era, own 20 percent of the nation’s “puppy mills,” a term used by... |
41088 | US patent number 20120251502 is for Ebola. | This application number was for a strain of the Ebola virus but the application has now been abandoned. The virus was not created by those who filed the patent. | mixture | online | US-Patent 8835624 is for the H1N1 virus. The patent with this number was for a strand of DNA that binds to the H1N1 virus, not the virus itself. US patent number 20120251502 is for Ebola. This application number was for a strain of the Ebola virus but the application has now been abandoned. The virus was not created by... |
34832 | The shopping cart was not a resounding success when first introduced. | We could happily conclude our history of the shopping cart there, but that would leave out all the sex. Modern shoppers have found new uses for this now seemingly mundane grocery conveyance — it has at least in some parts of the U.S. become a component in a specialized way to indicate via non-verbal signals potential ... | true | Business, Product Origins | In the middle of the Depression, Sylvan Goldman, an Oklahoma grocer, acquired several Humpty Dumpty stores (a bankrupt chain of retail grocers in the South) and tried to make them profitable. His 1934 acquisition didn’t originally look to have been a wise decision — the economy was shot, and although it’s true that eve... |
40328 | Embattled “7th Heaven” actor Stephen Collins has committed suicide. | 7th Heaven Actor Stephen Collins Committed Suicide | false | Celebrities, Crime / Police | Stephen Collins, who played the role of Eric Camden on the television show 7th Heaven, has not committed suicide. Police were called to Collins’ home on October 7, 2014, for a report of a suspected suicide, US Weekly reports. Officers found the 67-year-old actor’s house empty and no evidence of a gunshot. Th... |
1351 | Father-son team plans Antarctic trek powered by renewable energy. | With solar panels tacked to their sledges and a biofuel made from wood chips to keep them warm, a British father and son duo will attempt to reach the South Pole relying solely on green energy. | true | Environment | Seasoned explorer Robert Swan and his 23-year-old son Barney will begin their eight week, 600-mile expedition on Wednesday, hoping to show renewable energy can work in extreme conditions and prove a viable alternative to fossil fuels. “For the first time in history we will be surviving only on renewable energy. It’s ne... |
16481 | The president referred to the Syrian opposition just a few months ago as pharmacists and doctors, and so on. | "In discussing Obama’s decision to arm opposition forces in Syria, Hayden said, ""The president referred to the Syrian opposition just a few months ago as pharmacists and doctors, and so on."" We found several examples of Obama, as recently as June and August, characterizing the Syrian rebels as pharmacists and doctors... | true | Iraq, Terrorism, PunditFact, Michael Hayden, | "President Barack Obama drew harsh criticism for comparing the terrorist group Islamic State to a ""JV team"" — and then again for claiming that’s not what he said (PolitiFact rated that statement False). On Sunday, another one of his characterizations of the situation in the Middle East came under fire as the politica... |
31038 | "During a speech in which he declared Jesus Christ his ""redeemer,"" Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan gave indications that he was breaking with Islam in favor of following Christianity." | We reached out to the Nation of Islam for comment on this rumor, but have not yet received a reply. | false | Politics, louis farrakhan | In August 2017, various online sources reported that Louis Farrakhan, the 84-year-old leader of the Chicago-based religious group Nation of Islam, had posted a video on his Facebook page in which he declared Jesus as his redeemer, seemingly contradicting his own Muslim teachings. For example, the Christian Post stated:... |
12401 | "Obamacare premiums have doubled"" in Wisconsin." | "Trump says ""Obamacare premiums have doubled"" in Wisconsin. The average premium for individuals who buy their own health insurance in the Obamacare marketplace nearly doubled from 2013 to 2017. But the vast majority of Wisconsin residents buying those plans get Obamacare subsidies that protect them from the premium i... | mixture | Health Care, Government Regulation, Public Health, Wisconsin, Donald Trump, | "On his second visit to Wisconsin since entering the Oval Office, President Donald Trump stepped off Air Force One on June 13, 2017, and tore into Obamacare. Joined by two Wisconsin families whom he described as victims of the Affordable Care Act, Trump said in Milwaukee: ""These are sad but familiar stories in Wiscons... |
29088 | Mortality rates in hospitals go up in July due to an influx of inexperienced doctors. | Yet being the first under the knife on any given day may confer certain advantages to the patient. Being early on the day’s roster means one’s surgery will start on time, whereas patients booked later in the day may find their procedures pushed back as complications in the operating room work to make a mess of the day’... | mixture | Medical, Medical Myths | Precious few who are under the weather skip happily into hospitals, a song on their lips, and not a care in the world. Typical inpatients worry about many things: the condition that’s caused them to be hospitalized, being away from their homes and families, and even the quality of medical care they will receive while h... |
10510 | Some Blood Pressure Drugs May Stave Off Dementia | "Generally well done though the story may have been, we’re troubled when a story talks about ""a small but protective effect "" and uses active verbs to say the drugs ""may stave off dementia"" when it also states in the story this is not convincing proof of cause and effect. Then how can you have a protective effect? ... | true | "The cost of the drugs was not mentioned. And the possible cost-effectiveness ramifications of the research were not mentioned. As is often the case with 70% of the stories we review, cost just doesn’t seem to matter. But we all know it does. The benefits are given only in relative, not absolute terms. See our primer o... | |
10754 | Midlife: Drop in testosterone can affect sexual desire in men and women | The piece does little to evaluate the evidence behind health claims made for testosterone products, provides no quantification of benefits or of harms and does not discuss any cost information. It does, however, provide some independent commentary that should give readers enough cautionary notes to not run out and star... | false | Los Angeles Times | The story makes no mention of costs. These treatments can be costly and may not be covered by insurance. A 30-pill box of AndroGel costs $295 on Drugstore.com. If, as the story states, “testosterone use is very widespread but it’s misused a lot,” cost certainly seems to be an important issue to address. As with the har... |
41718 | The government gave the police much more use of Tasers to help deal with street crime. | The Home Office announced police in England and Wales can bid for part of a fund to equip their force with more Tasers. Final funding allocations will be announced in February. | true | health | There will be 50,000 more nurses going into the NHS. The government has committed to do this by 2024/25. Not all of these nurses will be ‘new’. The government have announced the end of hospital parking charges for patients. In December it was announced that hospitals in England will have to provide free car parking to ... |
17702 | Things went wrong with the Medicare prescription D plan that George Bush rolled out. | "Israel said, ""Things went wrong with the Medicare prescription D plan that George Bush rolled out."" There definitely were problems, and in some cases, the parallels between the prescription benefit program’s introduction and the Obamacare marketplaces are strikingly similar. While we also found some serious differen... | true | National, Health Care, Medicare, Retirement, Technology, Steve Israel, | "Democrats are pleading for patience as they try to reassure the country that the online insurance marketplaces critical to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul can be fixed. Big programs have seen rocky rollouts only to achieve success later, they say. Their top example: the 2005 launch of Medicare Part D, Pr... |
37720 | "On July 28 2020, United States President Donald Trump lamented that doctors Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx were popular for their coronavirus response, but ""nobody likes me." | A chyron reading “TRUMP AS U.S. NEARS 150,000 DEATHS: “NOBODY LIKES ME” circulated on social media, often without much context about the veracity or substance of the quote. On July 28 2020, Trump provided a response at length to a reporter during a coronavirus news conference, covering a range of topics before addressi... | true | Fact Checks, Politics | On July 29 2020, an apparent CNN screen capture featuring a chyron quoting United States President Donald Trump as saying “nobody likes me” circulated on sites like Reddit:Does this count? from facepalmTrump: ‘Nobody likes me’ from politicsThe ChyronIn the first of the two Reddit posts above, shared to r/facepalm, a “B... |
34629 | Nylabone brand pet products are toxic and cause dogs to have seizures. | Nylabone stands for quality in chews and treats. It is our goal to exceed consumer expectations for our products in innovation, safety, quality, and the enjoyment of the people and pets we serve. | unproven | Uncategorized | In March 2016, a message reporting that a Nylabone brand pet product had caused a dog to have a seizure began circulating on Facebook, with the earliest iteration of the claim we could find having been posted on 8 March 2016 by Samantha Love: FYI. To all my friends and family who have a pet. This weekend A pet friend b... |
6169 | Bird flu detected in chicken breeding facility in Tennessee. | A commercial chicken breeding facility in south-central Tennessee has been hit by a strain of bird flu, agriculture officials said Sunday. | true | U.S. News, Health, Flu, Animal health, Tennessee, Bird flu, U.S. News, Agriculture | The state Agriculture Department said in a news release that tests confirmed the presence of the H7 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI, at a facility in Lincoln County. The facility alerted the state veterinarian’s office on Friday about an increase in chicken deaths. The statement did not name the fa... |
5846 | Indiana health agency urges residents to get tested for STDs. | State health officials are urging Indiana residents to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases as the nation marks STD Awareness Month during April. | true | Sexually transmitted diseases, Chlamydia, Health, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Indiana | The Indiana State Department of Health said Thursday that chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are of particular concern in the state. Indiana has nearly 31,000 cases of chlamydia, 9,500 cases of gonorrhea and 800 cases of primary and secondary syphilis reported in 2016. State Health Commissioner Kris Box warns that STDs ... |
2354 | Marijuana fans pack 4/20 events in Colorado, Washington state. | Thousands of marijuana enthusiasts gathered in Colorado and Washington state over the weekend for an annual celebration of cannabis culture with rallies, concerts and trade shows in the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana. | true | Health News | Voters in both Western states approved ballot initiatives in 2012 allowing personal possession and use of marijuana by anyone aged 21 and or older for purposes of just getting high, though public consumption of pot remains illegal. In January the world’s first state-licensed retail marijuana outlets opened for business... |
28402 | "In August 2018, ""researchers"" provided a ""warning"" about the spread of the ""flesh-eating STD"" donovanosis." | "What's true: Authorities in the U.K. disclosed information showing that a woman in England had been infected with donovanosis, in the preceding 12 months. If left untreated, the ulcers which commonly accompany donovanosis can spread and destroy healthy tissue around the genitals. What's false: Researchers did not issu... | mixture | Medical, sexually transmitted disease | In August 2018, several news outlets around the world reported on a rare sexually-transmitted infection contracted by a woman in England, offering that information under scary-sounding headlines which raised the specter of a “flesh-eating STD” running rampant. Fox affiliates WFLD (in Chicago) and WTTG (in Washington D.... |
2938 | UK lawmakers criticize govt's stockpiling of Roche drug Tamiflu. | British lawmakers on Friday criticized government spending of 424 million pounds ($702 million) to stockpile Roche’s medicine Tamiflu, saying doubts about the drug’s effectiveness suggest it may not be money well spent. | true | Health News | Parliament’s influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it was “surprised and concerned” to discover that information on methods and results of clinical trials of such prescribed drugs “is routinely withheld”, and said there was a “lack of consensus over how well Tamiflu ... actually works”. “The case for stockpi... |
4458 | Gene-edited food quietly arrives in restaurant cooking oil. | Somewhere in the Midwest, a restaurant is frying foods with oil made from gene-edited soybeans. That’s according to the company making the oil, which says it’s the first commercial use of a gene-edited food in the U.S. | true | Genetics, Health, North America, Genetically modified organisms, Science, Trans fats, Technology | Calyxt said it can’t reveal its first customer for competitive reasons, but CEO Jim Blome said the oil is “in use and being eaten.” The Minnesota-based company is hoping the announcement will encourage the food industry’s interest in the oil, which it says has no trans fats and a longer shelf life than other soybean oi... |
9012 | Multiple Studies Show Freespira® Eliminates Panic Attacks in 80% of Patients | This news release claims that 80% of patients with panic attacks due to anxiety could get relief after 4 weeks of using a biofeedback device and training package known as Freespira. The device includes a sensor to measure carbon dioxide in the breath of a patient, and a tablet computer and an app to help them understan... | false | Freespira,Palo Alto Health Sciences | The news release does not give us the cost of the Freespira treatment. This is especially troubling since the release claims that the treatment reduces overall costs “by 50%” after a year of treatment. When we reviewed a news story about Freespira in 2015, the monthly cost was reported as $500. The release does not giv... |
15607 | Ben Carson is running for president to ‘eliminate dependency on government.’ But he doesn’t mention that he grew up in public schools, got public housing and food stamps, got free glasses from a government program, was helped by Affirmative Action, and got Pell Grants for college. | A popular liberal Facebook meme aims to hold up Carson’s past reliance on public assistance against him as he calls for eliminating government dependence in high-profile speeches. The meme gets many details of Carson’s biography right, though it also jumps to some conclusions in a few places. More complicated is the co... | mixture | National, Candidate Biography, Welfare, Occupy Democrats, | "With Ben Carson officially in the ring of Republican presidential contenders, Democratic social media activists are using his famous scraps-to-scalpel narrative against him. Carson, 63, was raised in a single-parent, impoverished household in Detroit and went on to become a Yale University-educated neurosurgeon at Joh... |
31348 | A commercial produced by Volkswagen employs suicide bomber imagery. | “We are prepared to pursue the two individuals but need to locate them to ensure the success of our legal claim,” the company said in a private memo, details of which have been obtained by MediaGuardian.co.uk. | false | Fauxtography, Advertisements, Volkswagen | The availability of the Internet as a tool to spread information quickly, cheaply, and (mostly) anonymously has enabled the advent of “viral marketing”: buzz-generating advertisements whose content is often unsuitable for traditional media (such as television) and is therefore distributed through “unofficial” channels ... |
8352 | As Myanmar farmers lose their land, sand mining for Singapore is blamed. | From a boat on the Salween River in southeastern Myanmar, Than Zaw Oo pointed to a brown stretch of water he said was once full of lush paddy fields. | true | Environment | “This used to be my land,” said the 51-year-old farmer, frowning at the murky waves. All but six of the 24 acres where he used to grow rice and vegetables have slipped into the water in recent years, he said. Another farmer, Than Tun, said he had lost 15 acres of his land to erosion. While official records were not ava... |
36216 | "Tim Allen shared ""pearls of wisdom"" about Trump 2020, Chelsea Clinton, Maxine Waters, and the putative death of America should the sitting president not be re-elected." | Tim Allen ‘Trump 2020 or America Is Dead’ Commentary | false | Disinformation, Fact Checks | "In late August and early September 2019, a number of Facebook users shared “pearls of wisdom” attributed to actor Tim Allen; topics discussed included United States President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, the death of America as we know it, former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Cali... |
18488 | "If an individual is determined ""to commit suicide, the availability of a gun is not a factor"" because they will find a way." | "State Rep. Michael Chippendale said, ""If an individual is under enough emotional or psychological distress where they’re going to commit suicide, the availability of a gun is not a factor."" There is evidence that such substitution takes place, but it is limited and contradicted by other data. Most experts told us th... | false | Rhode Island, Public Health, Guns, Michael Chippendale, | "More than 60 percent of the 31,000 gun deaths in the United States each year result from suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the arguments used by supporters of gun control is that restricting access to guns could prevent some of those suicides. Some gun-control opponents dispu... |
7526 | Woman who went to hospital twice tests positive for virus. | A woman who went to a Georgia emergency center with flu-like symptoms late last month has tested positive for COVID-19 by the state health lab, officials said Friday. | true | Georgia, Health, General News, Flu, Atlanta, Virus Outbreak, Public health | The Georgia Department of Public Health said it is still awaiting final confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Floyd County case. The 46-year-old woman went to the emergency care center on Feb. 29, but didn’t meet testing criteria for COVID-19 and was released, Floyd Medical Center said... |
42106 | A meme claims that “if you cross the border illegally in the U.S., you get a Drivers License, Medical Insurance, housing, career training, the right to vote.” | Q: Does the U.S. provide medical insurance and voting rights to immigrants in the country illegally? A: No. A viral meme misrepresents what such immigrants are entitled to in the U.S. | false | Illegal immigration, Memes, | Q: Does the U.S. provide medical insurance and voting rights to immigrants in the country illegally? A: No. A viral meme misrepresents what such immigrants are entitled to in the U.S.A viral meme on Facebook criticizes the U.S. for supposed benefits afforded to immigrants who enter the country illegally, and it attempt... |
41915 | "A White House plan to rescind unspent CHIP funds would be ""taking money away from kids who need health care." | Sen. Chuck Schumer said the White House proposes “taking money away from kids who need health care.” But congressional budget experts say a plan to rescind unspent funds wouldn’t affect federal spending or the number of individuals covered in the Children’s Health Insurance Program. | mixture | children's health insurance, government spending, | The White House has proposed rescinding $7 billion in unspent funds from a children’s health program, a move Sen. Chuck Schumer said would be “taking money away from kids who need health care.” But congressional budget experts say most of that money cannot be legally spent and the number of individuals covered would no... |
22859 | "Donna Garner Says Joe Straus ""was co-author of a bill that would have allowed Planned Parenthood to control public school sex education." | Conservative education activist Donna Garner says Texas House Speaker Joe Straus coauthored a bill that would have allowed Planned Parenthood to control public school sex education | false | Education, Health Care, Texas, Donna Garner, | "Blasting House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, as a ""Republican in name only,"" the conservative Texas Eagle Forum says ""he has much more in common with the Democrats."" In a Nov. 9 newsletter, the group urges Texans to tell their state representative to vote for one of the other Republicans running for speaker. ... |
14162 | "Water rates in Manila, Philippines, ""were raised up to 845 percent"" when a subsidiary of the World Bank became a partial owner." | Moore said that when the International Finance Corporation became a part-owner of Manila Water, rates rose 845 percent. The source cited by Moore’s staff undermines that number. The International Finance Corporation bought its stake in 2004. Between 2004 and 2012, rates rose about 170 percent. Moore incorrectly used a ... | mixture | Global News Service, Financial Regulation, Foreign Policy, Water, Gwen Moore, | "If a city can’t provide safe drinking water, should it turn the whole operation over to a private company? No, we’re not talking about Flint, Mich. This concerns the southeast Asian city of Manila, the capital and biggest city in the Philippines. In 1997, officials in the Pacific island nation set up not one but two p... |
9940 | Heart failure therapy twice as effective in women | The story didn’t deliver the numbers and the explanations to help readers evaluate the evidence. It is not clear from the story what ‘a 70% reduction in heart failure compared with a 35% decline in men’ actually means. The story went on to mention a ‘dramatic’ reduction in cause of death from any cause. But what does t... | false | heart disease,Reuters Health,women's health | There was no discussion of costs. These things are not cheap. In this story, the ‘result’ of the combination device in men was described as ‘good’ as compared to women in whom the benefit was described as ‘fantastic’ . What exactly was the ‘result’ the clinician was describing, and then how does ‘good’ compare to ‘fant... |
2864 | Australian scientists microchip bees to map movements, halt diseases. | Australian scientists are gluing tiny sensors onto thousands of honey bees to track their movements in a trial aimed at halting the spread of diseases that have wiped out populations in the northern hemisphere. | true | Science News | Scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, said the microchips could help tackle so-called colony collapse disorder, a situation where bees mysteriously disappear from hives, and the encroachment of the parasitic varroa mite. Scientists w... |
37948 | There’s more cases of Covid in the White House than in all of New Zealand. | A viral tweet claiming that there were more cases of COVID-19 in the White House than all of New Zealand, was — although likely intended as to be a bit hyperbolic — was not, mathematically speaking, true. New Zealand reported twelve new cases on October 1 2020 and zero on October 2 2020, and appeared to have a minimum ... | false | Fact Checks, Viral Content | After news broke of U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump testing positive for COVID-19, a viral tweet contrasted the spate of positive tests in the White House outstripped the rate of positive tests in all of New Zealand:There’s more cases of Covid in the White House than in all of New Zealand— Forr... |
2561 | Long-lived bats offer clues on diseases, aging. | The bat, a reservoir for viruses like Ebola, SARS and Nipah, has for decades stumped scientists trying to figure out how it is immune to many deadly bugs but a recent study into its genes may finally shed some light, scientists said on Friday. | true | Science News | Studying the DNA of two distant bat species, the scientists discovered how genes dealing with the bats’ immune system had undergone the most rapid change. This may explain why they are relatively free of disease and live exceptionally long lives compared with other mammals of similar size, such as the rat, said Profess... |
9119 | Football boosts bone development in boys | The news release reports on a British study comparing bone development in 12- to 14-year-old boys who played football (or soccer, as it’s known in the United States) to those involved in competitive cycling or swimming and to active boys who did not regularly play sports. The release touts the bone-building benefits of... | false | bone development,soccer,University of Exeter | The news release provides no discussion of costs. While a soccer ball isn’t terribly expensive, the boys involved in this study weren’t casually kicking the football around the back yard or the neighborhood soccer pitch; they were “aspiring professionals who played as much as nine hours a week,” according to the study’... |
32110 | Hillary Clinton vowed that she would shut down the NRA and ban handguns if she were elected President. | In short, Hillary Clinton spoke of wanting to implement broader, universal background checks for gun purchasers to keep firearms away from domestic abusers and people with serious mental health problems, but not of shutting down the NRA or banning handguns entirely. “I will get the NRA shut down if I become president. ... | false | Politics Guns, gun control, hillary clinton, nra | On 25 October 2015, a Tumblr page dedicated to dubious Hillary Clinton quotes posted an image of the Democratic presidential candidate along with a quote supposedly uttered by her during an interview with the Des Moines Register on 8 August 2015 about her vowing to shut down the NRA and ban handguns if she were elected... |
25983 | A patient discharge document proves that “The WHO and CDC do NOT recommend that healthy people wear masks.” | A photo of discharge paperwork from the Beaumont Emergency Center in Texas says that the CDC does not recommend healthy people wear face masks, but that advice is outdated and the emergency center says it has corrected it. The CDC does generally recommend healthy people wear face masks. | false | Texas, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Viral image, | "A Facebook user who recently shared what he described as his discharge papers after getting a COVID-19 test in Beaumont, Texas, has caused confusion over face mask recommendations, and fairly so. ""Paperwork from my negative test today, Beaumont Emergency center,"" he wrote alongside a photo of a document dated June 2... |
10270 | Antiviral Treatment During Pregnancy Reduces Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B | This news release describes a clinical trial testing whether an antiviral drug given to pregnant women in their third trimester reduces their hepatitis B viral load. The study also examined whether the drug limits the transmission of the virus from mother to baby. The answers to both questions are yes, suggesting a new... | true | Academic medical center news release | The release makes no mention of the cost of the drug in question, Tenofovir. A web search found that the cost for a month’s supply of the antiviral drug averages just over $1,000. For some patients, that cost may be prohibitive. The cost is an issue of particular concern for developing countries, but it is also true th... |
4442 | China convicts 3 researchers involved in gene-edited babies. | A Chinese scientist who set off an ethical debate with claims that he had made the world’s first genetically edited babies was sentenced Monday to three years in prison because of his research, state media said. | true | AP Top News, Genetics, He Jiankui, Health, General News, International News, China, Asia Pacific, Scientific research | He Jiankui, who was convicted of practicing medicine without a license, was also fined 3 million yuan ($430,000) by a court in the southern city of Shenzhen, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. Two other researchers involved in the project received lesser sentences and fines. The verdict said the three defend... |
11348 | New drug clears psoriasis in clinical trials | This release summarizes results from a group of three phase 3 studies that evaluated ixekizumab, a new drug treatment for psoriasis. The clinical trials enrolled nearly 4,000 patients from 21 countries. About 80 percent of the patient volunteers with moderate-to-severe psoriasis that received the drug saw improvement t... | true | Academic medical center news release | The release does not mention cost or whether it’s covered by private insurance or Medicare, and in this case, it’s a pretty big omission. This may be an enormously expensive treatment for patients — and it’s why we have a cost criterion in our reviews. The hopeful psoriasis patient who sees this release without a cost ... |
39072 | An email is making the rounds that talks about a woman in Texas whose family has experienced a variety of health problems which she says are due to the lead content of some candles. The email warns that burning candles in the home can lead to health problems. | Beware of potential pollution from certain candles | true | Health / Medical, Household, Warnings | The Texas woman’s name is Cathy Flanders and she has been on a crusade to bring the problem of indoor pollution from candles to the forefront. She has filed a lawsuit against the store that sold her candles which she says resulted in toxic levels of lead in her home and with serious medical consequences on her family. ... |
12712 | More than half of Planned Parenthood facilities are in rural or medically underserved areas. | NY Rep. Maloney: More than half Planned Parenthood clinics are in underserved areas | true | Abortion, National, Health Care, Public Health, Women, Carolyn Maloney, | "During debate on the Republican health care bill, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., spoke passionately about the impact it will have on women’s health and especially on Planned Parenthood. ""We all know by now that the recent CBO analysis has bad news for millions of Americans, but it has some especially bad news for... |
15282 | "In FY 2014 Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions while receiving $528 million from taxpayers, in violation"" of ""the Hyde amendment." | John Cornyn says Planned Parenthood provided abortions, fielded aid, violating Hyde amendment | false | Abortion, Families, Federal Budget, State Budget, Texas, John Cornyn, | "U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Planned Parenthood performed hundreds of thousands of abortions in a recent year while fielding hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars--in violation of federal law. Planned Parenthood has been under fire from Republican quarters in the wake of stealth videos showing its representatives tal... |
21992 | "The Central Falls School system ""spent $100,000 on a time clock." | State Sen. John Tassoni says the Central Falls school system paid $100,000 for a time clock | false | Rhode Island, City Budget, Education, John Tassoni Jr., | "State Sen. John Tassoni Jr. is waging an aggressive campaign to oust the leadership of the embattled Central Falls school system In a news release, he called for the immediate resignation of Supt. Frances Gallo, saying that management of the state-funded district is ""erratic at best and incompetent at worst. … State... |
10622 | Drug gives couch potato mice benefits of a workout | When you report on mouse research, you can’t include enough caveats. This story – about mouse research on compounds to provide the benefits of exercise without the exercise – didn’t place enough emphasis on the lack of evidence of efficacy and safety in humans. Also, the story should have mentioned the process that the... | false | Although not approved for the use described in the story, cost information about at least one of the compounds described is available and could have been mentioned. While the story provided relative improvement in exercise capacity, it would have been clearer if it had presented absolute improvement. This might have ma... | |
24549 | The claim ... that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens ... is a lie, plain and simple. | "Obama is correct that ""death panel"" charge is a lie" | true | National, Health Care, Barack Obama, | "In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama brought up the most explosive charge to emerge in the health care debate: the specter of ""death panels."" ""Some of people’s concerns (about the health care legislation) have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill re... |
29600 | "American liberals are debating the merits of ""after birth abortion." | While the subject drew the interest of many during a debate over abortion and medical ethics, the July 2015 articles mashed up old medical ethics debates with current ideological disputes to manufacture social media outrage over a non-existent issue. (The issue-no-one-was-debating template bore a striking resemblance t... | false | Politics, after birth abortion, american news, conservative post | On 29 July 2015, the unreliable web site Conservative Post published an article titled “Liberals Debate to Introduce ‘After-Birth Abortions’ as Newborns ‘Are Not Persons. '” The similarly disreputable web site American News published a similarly titled article on the same day. The two articles featured nearly identical... |
34579 | Scented candles can cause cancer (or other major health problems). | The evidence does indicate that there are dangers associated with pollutants that result from burning candles (and incense), although how much damage can be caused (and by which candles) is still up in the air. Moderation is probably the best approach, as is keeping areas well-ventilated and not leaving candles unatten... | unproven | Uncategorized, candles, scented candles, toxins | Anecdotal stories abound about the dangers of burning scented candles in an enclosed space. The information is difficult to track down, muddied by vague claims about “toxins” and what seems to be conflicting information: Some studies indicate that scented candles cause cancer, others conclude they don’t. Yet another st... |
9815 | Magnesium-rich diet may lower stroke risk: study | Except for the headline, the story was carefully framed to avoid overstating the findings. This story is a good example of how to report on an observational meta-analysis. We know how headlines are almost always written by someone other than the reporter. The disconnect here was clear. Stroke is a major cause of death ... | true | Reuters Health,Stroke,Supplements | Not applicable. The cost of such a diet is not in question. The story provided the absolute number of strokes observed in the analysis, and the relative risk reduction observed. With a meta-analysis it is not statistically appropriate to pool absolute risk reductions, so the way the story treated the evidence is as goo... |
1676 | Fitness studios keep clients on track with photos, social media. | Need a little extra encouragement to shape up in time for that wedding, class reunion or vacation? | true | Health News | Boutique fitness studios are keeping track of clients’ progress with methods ranging from videotaping their workouts to measuring their fat, to posting a friendly nudge on their Facebook pages. Gregory Chertok, a sports psychology consultant with the American College of Sports Medicine, said research has shown that eve... |
35842 | A drug used to treat animal parasites like heartworm and roundworm is a potential cure for coronavirus. | What's undetermined: The preliminary results of several studies may show potential for the effectiveness of ivermectin as an antiviral in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. However, it is too early to draw overarching conclusions. Clinical trials and further research are still necessary to determine whether the ... | unproven | Politics Medical, COVID-19 | Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug used as the primary ingredient in canine heartworm preventatives, was touted as a “new tool” in the “arsenal” against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus strain responsible for the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Media publications like far-right cable channel OAN touted the drug as a “cure” that cou... |
9404 | FDA approves first blood test for concussion | This story managed to earn three stars despite grossly misleading readers. It reports the FDA’s approval of a blood test to detect biomarkers associated with brain lesions, which the FDA says will eliminate the need for a CT scan in at least a third of suspected concussions. The story covers cost and availability and u... | mixture | blood test,Concussion | The story quotes Hank Nordoff, chairman and CEO of the company that makes the device, on the anticipated cost of the blood test compared with the cost of a CT scan: “Where a CT scan can cost $800 to $1,500, Nordhoff predicts that the new test would cost closer to $150.” A neutral source on the price of CT scans would h... |
7447 | Dispute over reopening California Tesla factory may be over . | It appears the dispute between Tesla and San Francisco Bay Area authorities over the reopening of a factory in the face of shutdown orders appears to have ended. | true | U.S. News, San Francisco, Health, General News, Detroit, Business, California, Elon Musk, Virus Outbreak, Public health | The Alameda County Public Health Department announced on Twitter late Tuesday that the Fremont, California, plant will be able to go beyond basic operations this week and start making vehicles Monday — as long as it delivers on worker safety precautions that it agreed to. It wasn’t clear from a news release whether Tes... |
9667 | To quit smoking, it's best to go cold turkey, study finds | This story looks at a study that investigated whether going cold turkey (quitting abruptly) is more effective than cutting back gradually. The article does a good job quantifying the benefits, and informing readers of the quality of the research. We also liked how the author made an effort to place this latest study in... | true | cold turkey,nicotine addiction,smoking cessation research | Both groups in this study used smoking cessation products, and so it would have been helpful to know how much they cost, even if it was just a quick approximation or discussion of affordability. At the same time, these aren’t high-dollar items, so cost isn’t as important to discuss as say, when reporting findings about... |
41761 | If you have a windmill anywhere near your house, congratulations, your house just went down 75 percent in value. And they say the noise causes cancer. | During an April 2 speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee, President Donald Trump once again attacked wind power, falsely claiming that noise from turbines causes cancer and that turbines sink property values by 75 percent. Both claims are unsubstantiated. | false | cancer, wind energy, | During an April 2 speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee, President Donald Trump once again attacked wind power, falsely claiming that noise from turbines causes cancer and that turbines sink property values by 75 percent.The president has repeatedly erred when it comes to wind power. As we’ve explai... |
6537 | FDA approves lower-cost alternative to biotech drug Humira. | Federal regulators on Friday approved the first alternative version of the second-best selling drug in the world, Humira, the blockbuster injection used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. | true | CA State Wire, AP Health, Arthritis, IL State Wire, Health, Rheumatoid arthritis, Amgen Inc | The Food and Drug Administration cleared a near-copy of the drug, dubbed Amjevita, developed by Amgen Inc. Regulators approved the drug for more than a half-dozen conditions listed on the original drug’s label, including severe psoriasis and Crohn’s diseases. Humira posted sales of nearly $15 billion in 2015 and was fo... |
2560 | Idaho, California cities deemed best in U.S. for men. | U.S. men looking for the best place to find happiness, health and a good quality of life might consider heading to Boise, Idaho, or San Jose and San Francisco in northern California. | true | Health News | The three western U.S. cities top the list of the 100 best towns for men in a new ranking compiled by Men’s Health magazine, while Charleston, West Virginia, Philadelphia and Birmingham, Alabama are considered the worst. “Anytime we do a best and worst city ranking and a city comes in at the very top like this, it imme... |
30709 | Dolly Parton said that the people of California were being punished with droughts, fires, mudslides and other natural disasters as punishment for embracing Satan. | “And in any religion we’re supposed to be that—we’re supposed to be kind…we’re not supposed to pass judgment. Our Bible says, ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged,’ and I believe in all those kinds of things.” | false | Junk News, dolly parton, fake news, fake quote | In January 2018, click-seeking web site YourNewsWire.com fabricated an inflammatory Dolly Parton quote — a sure-fire way to attract attention. According to the web site, the actress and country music star blamed California’s recent natural disasters on the city’s “embracing Satan”: “California just keeps on being hit b... |
11306 | Study: Medical Marijuana Relieves Range of Symptoms With No Serious Side Effects | This story drew largely from a news release about two studies purporting to show sweeping health benefits of marijuana, based on user-reported data from the Releaf phone app. There was no critical examination of the underlying evidence, and this story is basically providing free marketing for all sorts of things the au... | false | U.S. News & World Report | There’s no discussion about the cost of marijuana. Also, the story doesn’t mention that the app is free to users. The story gave some numbers, but provided inadequate data on the quantity of reported benefits for any specific condition. For example, it reported that 94% of users with medical problems reported a reducti... |
763 | Thousands try to flee hurricane-devastated Bahamas islands. | Hundreds of people fled the Bahamas island of Great Abaco by boat and plane on Friday and thousands more lined up to get on a cruise ship leaving neighboring Grand Bahama to escape the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. | true | Environment | The most powerful hurricane on record to hit the Bahamas swept through the islands earlier this week, leveling some neighborhoods, swallowing others with storm surge, and causing what one official described as a “staggering” number of deaths. Hundreds, if not thousands, are still missing in the country of about 400,000... |
24621 | Only 15 percent of drug users are African-American, yet 74 percent of all drug offenders sentenced to prison are black | Arianna Huffington calls drug imprisonment rates for blacks disproportionate | mixture | National, Legal Issues, Crime, Pundits, Marijuana, Arianna Huffington, | "In another example of how the arrest of African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. has driven pundits to talk about issues of race and crime, Arianna Huffington, the founder of the liberal Huffington Post news Web site, offered some statistics about race, drug use and incarceration during a July 26, 2009, roundtab... |
11609 | Study: Riskier surgeries for back pain raise costs | "Thorough report, including a glance at how marketing and financial conflict of interest may have influenced the rise in costly, complex surgeries. The story ends with an important quote from a spine surgeon: ""Too much fusion surgery is done in this country and often for inappropriate reasons"" and patients ""should ... | true | "The story deal with cost very early in the story: ""You have one kind of operation that could cost $20,000 and another that could cost $80,000 and there’s not good evidence the expensive one is being used appropriately in the majority of cases""… Add to that the expense for patients whose problems after surgery send t... | |
2498 | Tai chi: getting there more slowly, but gracefully and intact. | For modern, harried lifestyles focused on getting and spending, fitness experts say tai chi, the ancient Chinese slow-moving exercise, can be an ideal way for anyone to stay fit. | true | Health News | A staple in senior citizen centers and a common dawn sighting in public parks, the practice can offer long-term benefits for all age groups. “In this high-tech world that’s all about speed, greed and instant gratification, tai chi is the antidote to bring us back to balanced health,” according to Arthur Rosenfeld, a ta... |
26602 | Donald Trump Says Nancy Pelosi’s coronavirus bill includes “tax credits for solar and wind energy … retirement plans for community newspaper employees … $300 million for PBS … climate change studies” and more. | The House version of a coronavirus relief bill does include several requirements for airline companies that take federal assistance from the bill. The House bill also includes provisions related to community newspaper pension plans and a $300 million funding boost for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. However, t... | true | Environment, Energy, Federal Budget, Pensions, Transportation, Taxes, Coronavirus, Donald Trump, | "As President Donald Trump’s negotiators were working with congressional leaders to assemble a coronavirus economic relief package, the president’s re-election campaign didn’t shy away from blasting one key Democratic leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. On March 24, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale shared ... |
13359 | "Donald Trump Says after Hillary Clinton helped a man accused of raping a 12-year-old, ""she's seen laughing on two separate occasions, laughing at the girl who was raped." | "Trump said after Clinton helped a man accused of raping a 12-year-old, ""she's seen laughing on two separate occasions, laughing at the girl who was raped."" Trump is referring to an audio tape in which she does respond with amusement at her recollections of the oddities of the case, which involve the prosecution and ... | false | National, Candidate Biography, Corrections and Updates, Criminal Justice, Women, Donald Trump, | "Donald Trump offered a confusing mashup of unsavory accusations during Sunday night's presidential debate as he lumped allegations against Bill Clinton with a claim about Hillary Clinton's attitude when she discussed her defense of a man accused of raping a child in 1975. Trump, asked about his offensive comments whil... |
7458 | Arkansas orders venue not to defy restrictions with concert. | Arkansas has ordered a large theater to abandon its plans to defy the state’s coronavirus restrictions on gatherings by holding what could be the nation’s first major concert this far into the pandemic. | true | Fort Smith, General News, Entertainment, Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, Virus Outbreak, Public health | Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday that the state Health Department was sending a cease and desist letter to the Fort Smith venue, TempleLive, to postpone or cancel a concert Friday night by country rock singer Travis McCready. The event, which is expected to draw more than 200 people, would be held three days before Ar... |
33548 | Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy. | People still feeling anxious about the prospect of tearing into a drumstick and suddenly being overcome by an irresistible urge to nod off should consider that those who took tryptophan-based supplements as sleep aids were, on the average, ingesting between 500 and 2,000 milligrams of L-tryptophan daily. Four ounces of... | false | Holidays, cooking, Odd Ingredients, thanksgiving | Most fans of the popular sitcom Seinfeld recall a subplot from a November 1997 episode in which Jerry and George plied Jerry’s girlfriend Celia with a dinner of wine and turkey in the hopes that the combination of alcohol and tryptophan (along with some of George’s boring home movies) would put her to sleep, enabling t... |
2843 | South Africa risks spreading totally drug-resistant TB: study. | Patients with contagious and highly drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) are being routinely discharged from hospitals across South Africa, exposing others in their communities to potentially deadly infections, researchers said on Friday. | true | Health News | In a study in the medical journal The Lancet, they said the patients, with strains of TB known as extensively-drug resistant (XDR) and totally drug resistant (TDR) TB, have exhausted all available treatment options and are sent home. “These patients can survive for months or even years and are contributing to the commu... |
26493 | "It is the decision of the President,"" not governors, to ""open up the states." | Reopening businesses, schools and public facilities is a decision with major implications for public health, the economy and education. Governors have issued their own closures of non-essential businesses without Trump’s direction. Legal experts say governors have the right to order closures of non-essential businesses... | false | States, Coronavirus, Donald Trump, | "President Donald Trump said it’s up to him — not the governors — to decide when to reopen the states amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ""For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United ... |
7988 | Canada coronavirus deaths jump by 35%, Quebec says equipment running low. | Canada’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak jumped by 35% to 89 in less than a day, officials said on Tuesday, and the major province of Quebec said it was running low on key medical equipment. | true | Health News | Ottawa said it would spend C$2 billion to help buy supplies amid complaints from some doctors and nurses about shortages of personal protection gear. “The situation is going to get worse before it gets better. That is the unfortunate truth,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told a daily briefing. By 9 a.m. easte... |
9090 | LED lights safer, more effective in producing Vitamin D3 than sunlight | This news release from the Boston University School of Medicine covers a study describing a new technology in which ultraviolet (UV) LEDs at a specific wavelength produce more vitamin D in a shorter amount of time in human skin samples compared to natural sunlight. These lights are also a safer alternative than sunligh... | false | Boston University School of Medicine,LED lights,vitamin D | Our philosophy: if not too early to talk about a device’s effectiveness, then it’s not too early to start discussing its potential price on the market. And the release claims there “will be” a new generation of marketable products based on this research. The news release states RayVio’s 293nm UV LED was the most effect... |
10895 | Have a baby at new low, low price, says fertility doctor Joel Batzofin | Is cheap really the whole story? This piece focuses on a novel infertility or subfertility treatment that is still an active subject of active research in the biomedical research community. It provides little data and little balanced expert comment. Also, there is NO evidence that anyone has data that directly compares... | false | "The story does compare average costs of one course of IVF treatments with one course of IVM treatments. Given the lack of proven success with IVM, multiple rounds of treatments may be necessary to conceive. This is not specifically stated and the focus of the story is promoting IVM as a more cost-effective method of f... |
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