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18047	"Scott Walker Says President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ""felt there wasn’t a need in the public sector to have collective bargaining because the government is the people."	"Walker said FDR ""felt there wasn’t a need in the public sector to have collective bargaining because the government is the people."" The governor relies -- to good effect -- on Roosevelt’s 1937 letter, which, along with other primary evidence, lays out in striking language FDR’s deep reservations about the need for and wisdom of public-sector bargaining. While Roosevelt was open to discussion with represented and unrepresented employees over working conditions, he seemingly had major concerns about a formal, contractual bargaining process. Scholars cite Roosevelt’s positive comments on the Tennessee Valley Authority labor contracts, and debate certain phraseology in FDR's writings, but it’s limited evidence compared to the clear impression left by the letter and press conference remarks. Roosevelt saw a ""logical place"" for unions in government affairs, but the most compelling evidence suggests he drew the line at collective bargaining with them."	true	Federal Budget, Labor, State Budget, States, Unions, Wisconsin, Scott Walker,	"Reaction was swift and strong after Republican Gov. Scott Walker said the curbs he enacted on the collective-bargaining power of public-employee unions were philosophically in line with principles espoused by President Franklin Roosevelt, the liberal Democratic icon. Walker drew the comparison in a July 29, 2013 speech at the Governmental Research Association policy conference hosted by Milwaukee’s Public Policy Forum. The governor, whose Act 10 law wiped away most subjects of bargaining for most public unions and shifted more pension and health-care costs to workers, argued the changes helped balance government budgets and made merit more important than teacher seniority in schools. ""We think it has a dynamic impact going forward on how we perform, and that is putting power in the hands of the people duly elected at the state and at the local level,"" Walker said. ""It’s why -- some people are surprised to know this -- the position I pushed is not unlike the principle that Franklin Delano Roosevelt, not exactly a conservative, pushed as well when it came to public sector collective bargaining,"" Walker added. ""He felt that there wasn't a need -- and others like him, (former New York Mayor Fiorello) LaGuardia and others -- felt there wasn’t a need in the public sector to have collective bargaining because the government is the people. We are the people."" Did Roosevelt -- the patron of the post-Depression boost in organizing by industrial unions in the private sector -- really take the position that when it came to federal government employees, there ""wasn’t a need"" to have collective bargaining? Before we check Walker’s claim, let’s stipulate the obvious: There are dramatic differences between Walker and the architect of the New Deal, from their approaches to governing in times of economic distress to their views on the proper size and role of the state. In the labor realm, when it came to private-sector unions whose cause he championed, FDR called collective bargaining a ""fundamental individual right."" Walker, meanwhile, has not ruled out signing ""right to work"" limits on private-sector unions, though he’s not pushing it now. That’s one reason the comparison so riled Democrats and union leaders. ""FDR brought us out of the Great Depression with strong investment in workers and jobs programs that worked,"" Wisconsin State AFL-CIO leader Phil Neuenfeldt said. ""Scott Walker is drowning in a jobs deficit and to compare himself to FDR is laughably delusional."" But Walker in his speech made a claim on a very specific historical point: FDR’s views on collective bargaining for public employees. And that is the claim we are examining. Where Roosevelt stood Compared to the mountain of evidence on FDR’s sympathetic stance on protections and rights for private laborers, the historical record on his attitude toward public-sector unions is less than a few inches high. Walker cites an on-point and oft-quoted FDR letter that conservatives frequently highlight when arguing for limits on unions in the government sector. That letter, we found, dominates scholarly debate over Roosevelt’s views on this issue. And it’s easy to see why: The president’s Aug. 16, 1937 correspondence with Luther C. Steward, the president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, is bluntly worded -- to say the least. Roosevelt was responding to an invitation to attend the organization’s 20th jubilee convention. In the letter, FDR says groups such as NFFE naturally organize to present their views to supervisors. Government workers, he observed, want fair pay, safe working conditions and review of grievances just like private-industry workers. Organizations of government employees ""have a logical place in Government affairs,"" he wrote. But Roosevelt then shifted gears, emphasizing that ""meticulous attention should be paid to the special relationships and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government."" Then, the most-famous line and the one directly on point to Walker’s comment: ""All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service,"" he wrote. ""It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management."" Roosevelt didn’t stop there. ""The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations,"" he wrote. When Walker claimed FDR said ""the government is the people,"" he had Roosevelt’s next line in mind. ""The employer,"" Roosevelt’s letter added, ""is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress. Accordingly, administrative officials and employees alike are governed and guided, and in many instances restricted, by laws which establish policies, procedures, or rules in personnel matters."" Roosevelt concluded with a strong stance against strikes by unions representing government workers, noting that NFFE’s bylaws rejected strikes. The letter, the FDR Presidential Library site points out, was released publicly by the Roosevelt White House and became the administration's ""official position"" on collective bargaining and federal government employees. Roosevelt had previously laid out his views on public-sector unions at a July 9, 1937 news conference. His statements there add more weight to Walker’s claim. A reporter directly asked Roosevelt ""whether he favored government employees joining unions to the extent of collective bargaining with the government."" Roosevelt’s response made clear he thought managers should listen to worker concerns, whether raised by union representatives or not. Federal workers are free to join ""any union they want,"" he said. But he recalled that in 1913, when he was Navy assistant secretary, he told a union official the Navy would not enter into a contract with the union because it had no discretion under federal law. ""The pay is fixed by Congress and the workmen are represented by the members of Congress in the fixing of Government pay,"" Roosevelt said. His thinking then still applied, Roosevelt told the reporters in 1937. At the end of news conference, Roosevelt was asked, after making the point that Congress sets compensation: ""In other words, you would not have the representatives of the majority as the sole bargaining agents?"" Roosevelt: ""Not in the government, because there is no collective contract. It is a very different case. There isn’t any bargaining, in other words, with the government, therefore the question does not arise."" Taken together, the letter and news conference remarks positioned Roosevelt as deeply skeptical of the need and wisdom of collective bargaining power for unions in the federal system. When he wrote that the unique circumstances would make it ""impossible"" for government officials to make a binding deal on behalf of the government, that didn’t leave a lot of ambiguity. Same with the phrase ""insurmountable limitations."" What the scholars say Perhaps because of the strong wording of his views, the 1937 letter remains -- nearly 75 years later -- the best piece of evidence on this topic. Even scholars and union officials who chafe at Walker linking himself to FDR have acknowledged the letter’s significance. ""Roosevelt absolutely did not favor collective bargaining for federal workers and especially did not favor the right to strike,"" public-sector labor scholar Joseph McCartin told Salon.com shortly after Walker’s dramatic action in 2011. And the current head of the National Federation of Federal Employees says Roosevelt’s words meant he ""believed that there should be no right to federal bargaining over wages and benefits."" The union chief, William Dougan, told us Roosevelt feared that dealing with multiple unions could lead to pay disparities. To be sure, Roosevelt’s views were in part a product of his time. At the time, government unions had no collective bargaining rights, and it was not uncommon for elected officials to stand against union bargaining rights for government employees. Even in the private-sector, labor rights were still developing, their constitutionality still under debate in the courts. The notion of expanding those powers to the government sector had not yet taken hold -- and it would not under FDR. It wasn’t until 1962 that President John F. Kennedy’s executive order allowed bargaining, and then just over working conditions. Federal unions still cannot bargain over pay and benefits. Still, there are prominent scholarly voices who think Roosevelt’s 1937 letter has been misinterpreted, at least in part. One such voice is McCartin, the Georgetown University history professor who told Salon that ""Roosevelt absolutely did not favor collective bargaining for federal workers and especially did not favor the right to strike."" When we asked McCartin about that interview, he said he had spoken prematurely. He and other historians note that Roosevelt wrote that collective bargaining, ""as usually understood,"" cannot be transplanted into the public service. Historians and union officials have parsed the phrase for decades, debating its meaning, and sometimes disagreeing with each other. The phrase, some say, leaves open the possibility that Roosevelt supported a modified form of collective bargaining, different from what private workers had created. They note that in the letter, Roosevelt directed his opposition most specifically at the right to strike. Dougan, the union official, believes Roosevelt appeared open to bargaining over working conditions. Several scholars emphasize that Roosevelt later praised a union contract negotiated between the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority and unions representing workers for the electric utility created by the federal government in 1933. The TVA’s board, appointed by Roosevelt, chose as a matter of policy to recognize the unions and bargain with them. The TVA Act signed by Roosevelt did not direct or discourage such bargaining. The TVA episode is ""the only effective rebuttal"" offered to the words in FDR’s letter, wrote Wilson R. Hart, a longtime labor relations adviser in the federal government who examined Roosevelt’s thinking on unions. Hart felt that the apparent contradiction between FDR’s TVA comments and his 1937 letter strongly suggested that Roosevelt was not denouncing all elements of collective bargaining in the letter. How Walker’s action compares Scholars, including McCartin, believe FDR’s views might have evolved in favor of public sector bargaining -- and against what Walker did. We won’t judge that for this item, but we’ll end with a few observations regarding the two situations, separated by nearly three-quarters of a century. In substance, Walker’s move dramatically limited, but did not completely end, collective bargaining by most public employees. His Act 10 allowed the state to cut benefits and try to limit pay increases. He argued that unions had become too powerful and that elected representatives of the people should have more control over taxpayer-funded compensation. Roosevelt said in the 1937 press conference that compensation levels for federal employees should be set by Congress and the president, not through bargaining with unions. So both men -- decades apart -- envisioned a limited role for unions in the public sector. But the differences in context make the two men’s views hard to compare. Walker acted after 50 years of collective bargaining between the state and its employees -- in the birthplace of public collective bargaining -- while FDR expressed his views before labor won that toehold into that arena. Our rating Walker said FDR ""felt there wasn’t a need in the public sector to have collective bargaining because the government is the people."" The governor relies -- to good effect -- on Roosevelt’s 1937 letter, which, along with other primary evidence, lays out in striking language FDR’s deep reservations about the need for and wisdom of public-sector bargaining. While Roosevelt was open to discussion with represented and unrepresented employees over working conditions, he seemingly had major concerns about a formal, contractual bargaining process. Scholars cite Roosevelt’s positive comments on the Tennessee Valley Authority labor contracts, and debate certain phraseology in FDR's writings, but it’s limited evidence compared to the clear impression left by the letter and press conference remarks. Roosevelt saw a ""logical place"" for unions in government affairs, but the most compelling evidence suggests he drew the line at collective bargaining with them."
11177	Braeburn Pharmaceuticals and Camurus announce positive top line results from Phase 2 opioid challenge study with CAM2038 in subjects with opioid use disorder	This news release offers uniformly positive assessments about a trial of a drug that, theoretically, might help save thousands of lives. It is an important topic, but the release gave little in the way of meaningful data to support the assertions. It contains all the ingredients of what could be a useful news release — discussion of the study, its design, its findings, comments from company officials and two academics. But, absent meaningful numbers and context, those elements are not enough to help the reader decide how much importance to attribute to the news release’s claims. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 69,000 people die each year from opioid overdose. In addition, some 15 million people are addicted to opioids — most of them to heroin. Though treatments exist, only 10% of those who need them get them, the organization says. Those treatments include “psychosocial support, opioid maintenance treatments such as methadone and buprenorphine, supported detoxification and treatment with opioid antagonists such a naltrexone,” according to WHO. Treatment with buprenorphine (marketed as Subutex and Suboxone), which can be given in a variety of formulations, typically requires daily doses. If a once-a-week or once-a-month version of the drug were available, patients might be more likely to stick to their treatment plan and, as a result, be more likely to overcome their dependence on opioids. The drug cited in the news release, CAM2038, is a long-acting form of buprenorphine, which is used to treat pain as well as to treat opioid addiction.	false	industry/commercial news releases	No mention is made of the projected cost of the treatment and it is likely to be significant. In addition to the cost of the medication, if it requires a health care professional to administer it — that will add to the cost. It is also not clear how long the treatment might last. If the treatment is successful, the cost/benefit may be fine, but who pays for the treatment will be an issue. The claimed benefits are cited in only the broadest of terms. “The primary endpoint was met for both CAM2038 doses, demonstrating blockade of the subjective effects of hydromorphone as measured by the Drug Liking Visual Analog Scale,” the news release says. Camurus’ president tells us that the study showed that the drug “provides rapid and extended blockade of opioid effects,” but he does not say how rapid or how extended. A professor at the University of Kentucky is quoted as saying that the study “demonstrated that weekly injections of CAM2038 produced significant and robust opioid blockade” and that the drug “has the potential to alter the current treatment paradigm for opioid dependence.” But we are not given the data on which she bases that view, nor are we told whether she was involved in the study, nor are we told what the current treatment paradigm is. Similar questions apply to the comments from a neurobiologist at Columbia University. “We feel that this medication, with its ease of administration and flexible dosing capabilities, could significantly improve management of patients,” Prof. Sharon Walsh says. It is not clear who “we” is — the neurobiology department at Columbia? The company? “We were pleased to be involved in the development” of the drug, she adds. Does that mean she was part of the study? Does she have a financial stake in the drug? Such information might help a reader decide how to evaluate her statements. Finally, it appears the treatment regimen has hot been tested for the most important outcomes: continued opiate use and reduced opiate overdose deaths. No mention of potential harms was offered beyond saying the drug was “well tolerated across the course of treatment.” What does that mean? We do not know. We do know that the drug is not wholly benign. Here are some side effects listed by the U.S. government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: nausea, vomiting, constipation, muscle aches and cramps, cravings, inability to sleep, distress and irritability and fever. Until this is tested in a larger cohort, we do not know the potential array of side effects. We get this about the study design — “three-center, randomized, double-blind, inpatient study to evaluate the degree of subjective opioid blocking efficacy of CAM2038 q1w in non-treatment-seeking participants with moderate-to-severe opioid use disorder.” We are told that “The primary endpoint was met for both CAM2038 doses, demonstrating blockade of the subjective effects of hydromorphone as measured by the Drug Liking Visual Analog Scale.” But without more detail, it is impossible to draw conclusions about the findings. How many people entered the trial? How many dropped out? How many stayed off opioids? How was compliance assessed? How significant were the findings? Why was there no comparison arm of the study? The testimonial from one professor also fell short. “The current study demonstrated that weekly injections of CAM2038 produced significant and robust opioid blockade, a critical mechanism of efficacy for medications treating opioid dependence,” said Sharon Walsh, Ph.D, Professor of Behavioral Science and Director of the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, University of Kentucky. How significant? How robust? How do they compare with the significance and robustness of current treatments? The news release says that more information about the trial design is available on www.clinicaltrials.gov. But, without a link, it was not clear which of several CAM2038 studies listed there was being cited. The release doesn’t overstate the impact of opioid overdose. On the other hand, it would have been nice to include some context on the incidence of opioid addiction which this drug is designed to treat. No mention is made of funding, and the roles of the two academics quoted are never made clear. We are not told whether they helped carry out the study itself, whether they have a financial interest in the product, or whether they are speaking as disinterested expert observers. According to a speakers bio for a conference on treating opioid addiction, one of the experts quoted has financial ties to the sponsors of the drug tested. This conflict of interest should have been mentioned in the release. The FDA approved buprenorphine in 2002. According to SAMHSA, medication-assisted treatments like buprenorphine should be given in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies. No mention is made of whether the subjects in the experiment were given those supplementary therapies. Nor was any mention made of alternative drug treatments to buprenorphine. One of the most common ones is methadone. The news release doesn’t provide a time frame for when the drug, which is still under development, will be available but suggests it will be “a future treatment alternative.” We don’t fault them for not providing a date following a phase 2 trial. There are many steps to be completed before or if it is approved and marketed. The news release suggests the product under development is “novel” and that it “has the potential to alter the current treatment paradigm for opioid dependence.” We aren’t really told what is novel about the formula, though. A weekly or monthly administered opiate antagonist would be a new addition to the treatment options but it is not really novel. The news release doesn’t use overly promotional or inexact language.
31368	Photographs show a “new killer insect” that is able to spread a skin-altering virus when touched.	A warning about a “new killer insect” that is able to spread a skin-altering virus when touched is just a prank.	false	Fauxtography, Bugs	In January 2016, social media users began encountering an item warning that a “new killer insect” sighted in India harbored a virus spread through touch that was able to “circulate [throughout] the entire human system in minutes.” The insect and the deleterious effects of its virus were graphically shown in accompanying images, the latter of which were depicted in a hand with a large number of small holes throughout the palm and fingers: New Killer Insect (See Photo) If you ever see this Insect, please don’t try to kill it with your bare hands or touch it, this insect spreads virus to the place of bodily contact and circulates the entire human system in minutes, it was first sighted in India. Be kind enough to forward this information to be families and friends, do remember to educate the children never to kill an insect with bare hands or allow its secretion to touch their body. This is an SOS Alert!!!! Please Share. There was nothing to this warning, however. These images were fabricated ones that combined elements from two separate and disparate life forms to produce a visceral response is viewers, famously exemplified by a supposed photograph of a breast rash caused by South American larvae that was actually a melding of a picture of a human breast with an image of a lotus seed pod: The image of the allegedly virus-infected fingertips seen in the upper right-hand corner above is actually one that has long circulated online as an example of the effects of excessive computer use and was created by merging a photograph of fingers with images of lamprey mouths: The “insect” pictured here, at least, is real. It’s a giant water bug, a creature that is found in North America, South Africa, and India and is harmless to humans. These types of faked images are sometimes claimed to play on viewers who have trypophobia, defined as a “pathological fear of holes” (particularly irregular patterns of holes). Although many people claim to experience this disorder, it is not covered in scientific literature or listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: On Web sites and blogs, self-diagnosed trypophobes share tales of vomiting, sleep loss and anxiety attacks at the sight of such objects as honeycombs and rotting wood. They say the fears are haunting and disruptive of their daily lives. But the medical world hasn’t yet embraced the phobia as real. Trypophobia isn’t listed in any major dictionary or in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Attempts to add trypophobia to the Oxford English Dictionary and even to establish a Wikipedia page have been rebuffed because there hasn’t been any research published on the subject. A Wikipedia editor who deleted an entry on trypophobia in 2009 noted that trypophobia is “likely hoax and borderline patent nonsense.” The afflicted hand seen in the upper left-hand corner of the above example is similar to an effect helpfully documented in a video showing how to produce a scary-looking hand that will vex trypophobes:
11392	Surgeon’s trial study on cancer is hailed	This was an interesting story about an early trial to treat glioblastoma. It reported on partial results of a study. But it let the principal investigator get away with declining to reveal all of the survival data because he wanted to wait until he presented the data at a cancer meeting. Even when he presents the data at that meeting, it will not have been peer-reviewed and it would be difficult for others to comment in-depth about the results. This is one of the weaknesses of stories that try to get a jump on reporting research results. Indeed, the story contained only the perspectives of two clinicians involved in the study. No independent perspective was included. We commend the story for at least referring to the potential bias of one of the sources. The story did not really provide a clear picture about the usual course of the disease. It also did not adequately detail what lies behind the end point of time to cancer recurrence. In addition, although the story mentioned that the people who received the experimental approach were ‘cherry-picked’, it failed to point out that one can’t conclude that the approach had an effect because the outcomes for those in the study were compared to historical controls which would have included a broader range of disease than those in the ‘cherry-picked’ group. The optimism, therefore, may be misplaced. The grateful patient’s perspective may not be representative and her health status at this time cannot be clearly linked to the experimental approach. The story did not provide adequate information about risks and benefits. Cost information was also lacking. And while it was timely to mention Senator Kennedy’s recent diagnosis, the story exhibited one of the flaws in reporting on the illness of well-known people when you don’t have first-hand knowledge of the situation. The story said that “Kennedy’s tumor is thought to be inoperable.” Perhaps so. But today Kennedy had surgery, which may be followed by radiation and chemotherapy.	mixture		"There was no mention of costs associated with the two additions to current glioblastoma treatment strategies. How much does Temodar cost? How much does Avastin cost? Would insurance cover it? And why didn’t the story at least include a projection of how much the vaccine would cost? These are increasingly important issues in cancer treatment. The impact of the treatment on time to cancer recurrence was provided in the story. The story included a hint that the study may also demonstrate an increase of survival time. However since the information about survival time was not available at the time the story was published, it is not fair to make this suggestion. Inclusion by the clinician involved in the story that ""It appears very promising for a cancer where there’s been little hope."" may suggest more benefit than may be attained with this treatment. There was no mention of whether the vaccine had any effects other than appearing to lengthen the time needed to observe cancer recurrence. It is important to focus on the type of study this was: a trial of two different durations of the vaccine drugs, not a trial of the vaccine versus no vaccine. The lead paragraph states that the finding was that the combination of chemotherapy plus a new vaccine prolonged survival. This is misleading because there is no arm of the study without the vaccine. The prolongation is compared to historical controls, and this is not a robust comparison. The study participants were, as the story commendably explains, ""cherry-picked"" for the study and may not be comparable to the historical controls. Further, there was some information provided about the results of the trial (i.e. time to tumor recurrence) and that the trial itself was a pilot study and the results would need to be replicated. That said, the story mentioned the data about time to recurrence in the same paragraph as it discussed time to patient death (data not available at the time the story was written). It is likely that readers will fail to appreciate the difference between these two end points (time to cancer recurrence and time to death); the story should have provided some insight for readers about how meaningful the end point of time to recurrence really was (the sample size may have been too small for a difference of 2.6 months to be statistically different). Was it statistically different and/or clinically significant? No overt disease mongering. The story quoted two clinicians involved in the current study. While it was refreshing to include the comment from the first author of the study that though enthusiastic about the results, he was ""biased"", the story would have been much better if it had included comments from experts in the field who were not involved in the study. Inclusion of the interview comments from one of the patients who has received the experimental treatment is potentially misleading for readers because there was no framework for understanding the disease. While she is still alive and doing well 2 years after receiving the treatment, it is premature to conclude that this treatment is the reason for her current state of health. This was a story about additional treatments that might be used in conjunction with currently utilized therapy. It was clear that surgery, radiation and standard chemotherapy are used. The story explained that the treatment described was available only as part of a clinical trial. While this was accurately reported, the story should have mentioned whether or not patient recruitment for the trial was ongoing and if so, it could have included a link to http://clinicaltrials.gov/. The story was clear that combining a vaccine with conventional chemotherapy for the treatment of this tumor was novel. A story about a clinical trial should include a link to a source of information about clinical trials as a service to readers. We can’t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release. We do know that it only quoted two researchers who were involved in the current study."
9883	Niacin shrinks artery plaque; Merck’s Zetia does not and may carry risks, new study finds	Overall, a reasonably complete story that addressed our criteria. The story provides a reasonable amount of information on the study and places it in context of other studies and in context of other treatment options.	true		A cost for the medications discussed was provided; in addition the story noted that niacin was available in a less expensive, generic version. The story adequately discussed the benefits observed in this study, in a somewhat scattered fashion. It mentioned the difference in heart attacks and other heart problems observed and though they were few, the difference was statistically significant. The story does note the issues related to the surrogate endpoint and puts the study into context. The use of a spokesperson from the manufacturer of eztimibe in comments on the value of the surrogate endpoint is curious and takes away from the legitimate discussion on its value. This is offset somewhat by the comments of another presumably less conflicted expert. The side effect, flushing, associate with naicin was mentioned in the story as well as an estimate (1/3 of those taking Niaspan) for how many in the study were affected. The story provided information about the study in a piece meal fashion which included the number of individuals studied and that the study was stopped early because one group appeared to be faring better than the other with respect to size of carotid plaque. A comment from a representative of the other drug makers mentioned that the end point (size of plaque buildup in the carotid) needs to followed up on because in and of itself does not have a health impact. Coming from him it almost seemed as though it was sour grapes, but it is a very valid concern for interpreting the results of the study. It would have been better to have a less involved expert comment on the surrogate endpoint/ The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Comments from several expert sources outside of the study investigators or the manufacturer of the drug that appear to provide a better outcome were included in this story. The story discussed several of the available medications that could be used in addition to statins to lower heart attack risk. It might have been useful to include some information about dietary and lifestyle changes that could also be used to lower heart attack risk. The story made it very clear that the medications discussed are all currently commercially available. None of the medicines discussed in this story are new or novel and they were not presented as such. Does not appear to rely exclusively on a press release.
33044	"The CDC linked a parasitic worm outbreak to the use of ""worm filler"" in McDonald's beef patties."	The site similarly snared social media users in November 2015 with a false report that 53 people had been killed in a Halloween “hatchet massacre” aboard the Queen Mary.	false	Junk News, breaking13news, fake news, ilyke.co	On 12 January 2016 multiple fake news sites published articles reporting that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had linked an outbreak of “parasitic roundworm disease” to the use of “worm filler” in McDonald’s beef patties. A version published on the fake news web site breaking13news (and republished by ILyke.co a few days later) was titled “CDC: McDonald’s Parasitic Worm Outbreak Linked Back to Ground ‘Worm Filler’ In Patties” and opened thusly: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that it is looking into 183 more cases of parasitic roundworm disease linked to the McDonald’s restaurant chain. This is in addition to the 5 original cases that happened in Chicago in late December. However, the parasites that caused these new illnesses appears to be a bit different from the DNA fingerprint that involved the smaller outbreak last month. According to the CDC, this new case is a result of the filler used in McDonald’s so-called “all beef patties.” Testing revealed the beef patties contain 23% ground worm filler. Further investigation showed purchases made from Roger Lee’s Worm Farm by the fast food giant as far back as 2008. These reports played on an old (and false) urban legend dating back to the 1970s and claiming that McDonald’s has used worm meat in their hamburgers at times, ostensibly to increase profits by substituting cheaper worm filler for more expensive real beef. Even as pure folklore, that legend didn’t hold up from a logical scrutiny: As McDonald’s CEO Ray Kroc noted at the time, the rumor didn’t even make sense from a financial standpoint: Rather than saving the company money, the idea of using of worm meat as a “cheap filler” was nonsensical because worms were much more expensive than beef: Ray Kroc, who bought McDonald’s from Mac and Dick McDonald in 1955, added his own assurances: “We couldn’t afford to grind worms into our meat,” he countered. “Hamburger costs a dollar and a half a pound, and night crawlers six dollars.” Needless to say, no such finding was made by the CDC in January 2016 (or at any other time). Breaking13news is one of several fly-by-night “satire” news sites that publishes clickbait fake news stories with no actual satirical bent to them. Like many of its ilk, the site bears no disclaimer informing readers its articles are entirely fabricated.
34496	Macy's pulled funding from Planned Parenthood in December 2016 under pressure from anti-abortion groups.	We have contacted Macy’s about the claim, but have not yet received a response. However, the December 2016 controversy would not be the first time that a company was erroneously accused of donating to Planned Parenthood. Olive Garden was falsely accused of donating to the organization in a similar social media frenzy; the claims were false. The 2015 Macy’s statement reproduced here suggests that the company does not and did not fund Planned Parenthood, and we could find no evidence to the contrary.	unproven	Business, 2ndvote, donald trump, lifenews.com	On 7 December 2016, web site LifeNews.com reported that anti-abortion groups had pressured retail chain Macy’s into dropping its support for reproductive health organization Planned Parenthood: Another large corporation has decided to cease donations to the Planned Parenthood abortion business. After today, pro-life customers can resume shopping at Macy’s — which had been on a list of corporate contributors to the Planned Parenthood abortion company for some time. But today representatives of a pro-life group that tracks corporate donations to the Planned Parenthood abortion organization says Macy’s has ended his relationship with it. “In the spirit of thankfulness and celebration that comes this time of year, we have a special update to share with you,” Lance Wray of the pro-life group 2nd Vote told LifeNews.com in an email. “You may remember how four companies (AT&T, Coca-Cola, Ford, and Xerox) publicly distanced themselves from Planned Parenthood last year after our research exposed forty-one companies with direct financial ties to the abortion giant,” he elaborated. “Well, we are happy to report that we can take another company off that list—Macy’s, who confirmed with 2ndVote last week that they no longer give nor match donations to Planned Parenthood.” LifeNews.com appears to have sourced its claims to anti-abortion group 2ndVote rather than any firsthand information from Macy’s. We attempted to independently confirm that Macy’s had ever supported for Planned Parenthood, and turned up news items from a period in July 2015 when Donald Trump sent a tweet claiming Macy’s funded Planned Parenthood: . @Macy’s is a big contributor to @PPFA . Anybody against Planned Parenthood should boycott racial profiling Macy’s. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2015 In July 2015, Macy’s pulled Trump’s merchandise from its stores over an unrelated controversy, releasing the following statement: We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico. We do not believe the disparaging characterizations portray an accurate picture of the many Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinos who have made so many valuable contributions to the success of our nation,” Macy’s said. “In light of statements made by Donald Trump, which are inconsistent with Macy’s values, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship with Mr. Trump and will phase-out the Trump menswear collection, which has been sold at Macy’s since 2004. During the same time period, Planned Parenthood was making separate headlines over a series of undercover videos (which have since been discredited) captured in a “sting” perpetrated by an anti-abortion group. Trump did not cite his claims that Macy’s supported Planned Parenthood in the tweet, and we found nothing suggesting that the assertion was true. One month later, an individual contacted several companies to ask whether they provided funds to Planned Parenthood. A statement from Macy’s denied the claim: Thank you for writing to us and expressing your opinion. Please be aware that Macy’s makes no direct contributions to Planned Parenthood. Our company does offer a Matching Gift program which allows our employees (we have a workforce of 167,000 Americans) to apply for a company match to their personal gifts to any charitable organization (defined as any organization organized as a 501c3 under the Internal Revenue Service code). Of the many thousands of employee gifts matches each year across the country, a small handful are to Planned Parenthood. But again, these are not direct contributions from the company. We hope this clarifies the nature of our giving program. Again, we appreciate the time you took to express your viewpoint. Corporate Communications Macy’s
26323	"Young people ""have a greater chance of being killed by the HPV vaccine than COVID-19.”"	State Rep. Jeff Shipley wrote that young people have a higher risk of dying from the HPV vaccination than of COVID-19. No deaths have ever been linked to the HPV vaccine. While young people are less at risk of dying of COVID-19 than older adults, some younger people have died from the virus.	false	Health Care, Public Health, Iowa, Coronavirus, Jeff Shipley,	"Iowa state Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, is telling Iowans he wants younger Iowans to get back to work as the state begins to reopen, tweeting April 28 that ""seeing so many young people afraid of re-opening the economy because of the virus...Someone should tell them they have a greater chance of being killed by the HPV vaccine than COVID-19."" seeing so many young people afraid of re-opening the economy because of the virus...Someone should tell them they have a greater chance of being killed by the HPV vaccine than COVID-19 Shipley later tweeted that the remark was not meant to be taken literally, but as a ""hyperbole to engage critical thinking and relative public health risk."" Shipley said in a phone interview with The Daily Iowan he did not have data to support his point about young people having a greater chance of being killed by the HPV vaccine than COVID-19 so we checked, and found his statement to be inaccurate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no deaths have been linked to the use of the HPV vaccine. The CDC recommends all children receive the vaccine at ages 11-12, though it can be used as early as age 9 and up to age 26. The vaccine can prevent cancer-causing HPV infections. Shipley said in the interview he wanted to raise a point that young people have less risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 than older adults. He said young people should return to work, though public health experts say it isn’t safe for them to do so yet. ""What I’ve seen is a lot of young people are voicing that they’d much rather stay on welfare or unemployment than go back to work, and now they’re kind of complaining that they have to go to work, and they’re saying they don’t feel safe,"" Shipley said. ""I was really upset and kind of angry. And they say they are unsafe, but there’s really no data to support that."" While older adults are most at risk of dying from COVID-19, young people are not immune. In Iowa, 2 percent of deaths from COVID-19 have been individuals under the age of 40. In the U.S, at least 325 people under the age of 35 have died of COVID-19 as of May 6, according to the CDC, though this accounts for less than 1 percent of COVID-19 deaths nationwide. Data from the World Health Organizations indicates that in studies of the HPV vaccine, the rate of serious adverse events was no higher in those who received the vaccine than those who received a placebo injection. Christine Petersen, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Disease at the University of Iowa, said in a phone interview the risk of dying of COVID-19 is higher, given that no deaths have ever been linked to the HPV vaccine. The HPV vaccine prevents the most common types of human papillomavirus strains, which can cause cervical and other cancers. ""Roughly, for every 100,000 people in the state of Iowa, there are five who have had cervical cancer, there’s been zero that have died from the vaccine. We know that across the Iowa population, 7.27 people out of 100,000 have died of coronavirus,"" Peterson said. Shipley said he believes people who are most at risk should be social distancing, while younger adults can return to work. ""There’s a lot of ways we can protect ourselves and enforce social distancing between myself and my parents and my grandparents or whoever it is,"" Shipley said. ""Just because there are people at risk, that doesn’t necessarily mean we all need to stay home, collect government checks, and not go to work."" Petersen warned that separating those at-risk from those who are not is not an easy task. ""I would caution that it’s not so easy to target at risk or not at-risk people,"" Petersen said. ""You can be undiagnosed with a disease that can cause you to be impressively immune compromised and not even know it yourself yet, or you can not want to declare it to the rest of the world."" Petersen said COVID-19 still has a reproductive rate of 2 in Iowa, meaning on average, each positive case will spread the virus to two others. ""Those people may not show symptoms for at least a day, maybe two, so taking precautions isn’t just to protect yourself, it’s to protect those at risk people,"" Petersen said. Shipley wrote that young people are more at risk from the HPV vaccine than COVID-19. Both the CDC and the WHO have concluded that no deaths have been caused by the HPV vaccine, while young people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S and in Iowa. While young people are less at risk from the coronavirus than older people, adhering to social distancing protects people at risk of having greater complications from the coronavirus – including those who might not yet know they are at a higher risk. Moreover, Shipley conceded that he made the statement in order to start a discussion, not to give accurate information that could be taken literally."
29576	"Photographs of a six-year-old Happy Meal document that McDonald's food items don't break down or rot like ""real"" food."	"What's true: Under specific conditions, food items (and other organic matter) dry out quickly and don't decompose. What's false: It's not the case that McDonald's menu items alone ""don't rot,"" or that McDonald's food never ""rots"" under any condition, or that ""chemicals"" cause McDonald's food to not break down over the course of years."	false	Fauxtography, Food Fauxtography, mcdonald's	On 3 February 2016, Facebook user Jennifer Lovdahl published the above-reproduced status update, to which were appended were two images of an otherwise unremarkable McDonald’s Happy Meal along with the following comment: A receipt was attached to the Happy Meal box, indicating that it had been purchased over six years earlier, on 8 January 2010: Although Lovdahl’s assertions about the supposedly non-decomposing quality of face food weren’t novel, the images piqued viewers enough to garner hundreds of thousands of shares on Facebook. Claims maintaining that McDonald’s food “doesn’t rot” have been circulating online for a decade or more. For examples, a September 2008 post held that a McDonald’s cheeseburger purchased in 1996 showed few signs of decomposition twelve years on. The phenomenon was also examined by BuzzFeed in a 2014 video comparing seven separate fast-food burgers that had each been stored in glass jars for 30 days: On 15 October 2010 (the same year Lovdahl reportedly purchased the Happy Meal in question), the food blog Serious Eats published an article about “The Myth of The 12-Year-Old McDonald’s Hamburger.” The site took a more in-depth look at whether claims about McDonald’s held up in more detailed testing conditions. Most claims about McDonald’s food failing to decompose were presented in the context of individuals’ having purchased food items specifically to evidence the phenomenon, but rarely (if ever) did such claims provide much information about the conditions under which the experiments were conducted. Moreover, ever fewer of them included one or more “control” samples of items purchased at other outlets or made at home to rule out factors such as environmental or storage conditions as factors. Since most experiments involved significant passages of time and lacked control specimens, their probative value was significantly diminished. Serious Eats foregrounded their experiment by explaining that: The thing is, the hamburger [Karen Hanrahan, of the blog Best of Mother Earth has] been using as a prop is the same plain McDonald’s hamburger she’s been using for what’s now going on 14 years … Karen is neither the first nor last to document this very same phenomenon. Artist Sally Davies photographs her 137 day-old hamburger every day for her Happy Meal Art Project. Nonna Joann has chosen to store her happy meal for a year on her blog rather than feed it to her kids. Dozens of other examples exist, and most of them come to the same conclusion: McDonald’s hamburgers don’t rot … Most of you are probably thinking just plain, “ew” — a perfectly reasonable reaction to what at first seems like a totally disgusting perversion of nature. I mean, what kind of chemical-laden crap are they stuffing those burgers with to make them last that long? But then there’s a few people who’re probably shouting out, “now wait just a minute here! This ain’t science!” Serious Eats writer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt surmised that “[t]he problem with all of these tests is that there is but a single data point, and a single data point is about as useless as a one armed man in a clapping contest”; he then set out to “design and carry out the first well-documented, scientific experiment to shed some light on whether or not there is something truly evil lurking between the buns.” After pointing out the extensive number of factors involved, he listed the items with which he would attempt to replicate the results: A plain McDonald’s hamburger, stored on a plate at room temperature. A homemade burger of the same weight and dimensions as a McDonald’s burger (I was fine using a store-bought bun, because who bakes their own buns?) A McDonald’s hamburger patty on a store-bought bun. A homemade patty on a McDonald’s bun. A McDonald’s hamburger stored in its original packaging. A McDonald’s hamburger stored in a zipper-lock bag. A plain Quarter Pounder. A homemade quarter pounder. On 5 November 2010, Lopez-Alt published a follow-up, in which he noted of his testing conditions: Every day, I monitored the progress of the burgers, weighing each one, and carefully checking for spots of mold growth or other indications of decay. The burgers were left in the open air, but handled only with clean kitchen tools or through clean plastic bags (no direct contact with my hands until the last day). Lopez-Alt first presented his findings visually, producing an image of four virtually identical samples: He then described the status of all the hamburgers he tested at the conclusion of the experiment: Turns out that not only did the regular McDonald’s burgers not rot, but the home-ground burgers did not rot either. Samples one through five had shrunk a bit (especially the beef patties), but they showed no signs of decomposition. What does this mean? It means that there’s nothing that strange about a McDonald’s burger not rotting. Any burger of the same shape will act the same way. The real question is, why? Well, here’s another piece of evidence: Burger number 6, made with no salt, did not rot either, indicating that the salt level has nothing to do with it. Finally, Lopez-Alt pointed out that two burgers (one purchased from McDonald’s and the other a homemade facsimile) that were stored in sealed Ziploc-style bags behaved identically as well. He attributed the lack of decomposition to rapid dehydration, conditions under which mold and bacteria growth are rapidly inhibited: The final two burgers I tested were a McDonald’s burger and a regular homemade burger of the same dimensions placed in plastic zipper-lock bags side by side. Hopefully the bag would trap in enough moisture. The question: Would they rot? … Indeed they do. Within a week, both burgers were nearly covered in little white spots of mold, eventually turning into the green and black spotted beast you see above. … Pretty strong evidence in favor of Theory 3: the burger doesn’t rot because its small size and relatively large surface area help it to lose moisture very fast. Without moisture, there’s no mold or bacterial growth. Of course, that the meat is pretty much sterile to begin with due to the high cooking temperature helps things along as well. It’s not really surprising. Humans have known about this phenomenon for thousands of years. After all, how do you think beef jerky is made? So ubiquitous were the claims and online examples of well-preserved McDonald’s food items that the fast food chain addressed such questions on their web site. On a FAQ page titled “Why doesn’t your food rot?” the company stated that their food offerings can and do “rot,” except in conditions wherein they rapidly dry out (which is not unique to McDonald’s food or attributable to any unusual ingredients): Actually, it can [rot]. Food needs moisture in the air for mold to form. Without it, food will simply dry out — sort of like bread left out on a counter overnight to make croutons for stuffing. You might have seen experiments which seem to show no decomposition in our food. Most likely, this is because the food has dehydrated before any visible deterioration could occur. Examples of McDonald’s food items purportedly failing to decompose proved popular on social media when they intermittently appeared, but the big reveal is typically less compelling when contrasted with homemade burgers behaving in approximately the same fashion. No specific ingredient or other factor is usually singled out as a potential factor in such ad hoc experiments (other than the ambiguous “chemicals” presumed to permeate convenience food), and most serious analyses of the phenomenon cite dehydration as a primary cause. The outcome isn’t exclusive to fast food items (or even food in general): on occasion, human bodies have been discovered mummified in houses, cars, and apartments. In those instances, failure to decompose is similarly attributable to rapid dehydration, environmental conditions, and other factors not always present when organic matter is allowed to break down “naturally.”
8475	Forest fire around Chernobyl plant put out, Ukraine says.	A huge fire that tore through forests around the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant has been put out, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, after hundreds of emergency workers used planes and helicopters to douse the flames.	true	Environment	Environmental activists said on Monday that the fire, near the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986 and believed to have been started deliberately, posed a radiation risk. Officials said they registered short-term rises in Caesium-137 particles in the Kiev area to the south of the plant, but radiation levels were within normal limits overall and did not require additional protection measures. They did not say why the particle levels rose. Assisted by rain, emergency services prevented the fire from spreading to either the plant or military facilities in the area, though they will need a few more days to fully extinguish it, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said in a statement. Separately, the state agency responsible for managing the area around the plant said new fires had broken out to the west and south of the site. Their extent was not immediately clear. The main fire, one of several that followed unusually dry weather, broke out on April 3. Police have accused a 27-year old local of deliberately starting it, and Zelenskiy’s office said officers had detained suspected arsonists near two points where the fire broke out. Parliament voted on Monday to increase fines for arson. The Chernobyl disaster in then-Soviet Ukraine occurred on April 26, 1986. It was caused by a botched safety test in reactor and sent clouds of nuclear material across much of Europe. The plant and the abandoned nearby town of Pripyat have become a draw for tourists, especially since a critically acclaimed U.S. television miniseries about the accident was aired last year. The site is currently shut as part of a nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
14396	"Congress will begin its recess ""without having allocated one penny"" to fight Zika."	"Clinton said that Congress had not ""allocated one penny"" to fight Zika. In terms of targeting new dollars to deal with the Zika virus, that is correct. House Republicans say that they did provide money through the emergency Ebola appropriation. To the extent that those funds could be redirected, that holds up. But it is also true that when that money was approved there was a bipartisan agreement that it would be used for longer term efforts to build overall health care system capacity. There is a policy disagreement on the best way to deploy federal funds -- and we're not weighing in on that here. But regardless, there is no new money to confront Zika."	true	Global News Service, Public Health, Hillary Clinton,	"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stepped into the Zika funding debate and chastised Congress for failing to step up to the plate. ""Congress should meet President (Barack) Obama’s request for $1.8 billion in emergency appropriations to fight Zika,"" Clinton said March 18, 2016 on Medium. ""The president asked for this funding over a month ago, but on Saturday, Congress will begin a two-week break without having allocated one penny."" Clinton went on to note that ""Congressional Republicans said the administration should use funds left over from fighting Ebola — even though that money is still being used. Why would we lower our defenses against one public health threat in order to meet another one? That’s senseless and dangerous. Congress needs to provide the funds to fight Zika now."" We were curious whether Congress recessed without ""allocating a single penny"" to deal with the Zika virus. The Zika virus has spread rapidly in South America and is making inroads in the United States, mostly in Puerto Rico, but in many mainland states as well. The mosquito-borne disease has been linked to birth defects and neurological disorders. On Feb. 8, Obama asked Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to expand mosquito control programs in the states, accelerate vaccine research and take a number of other steps to rein in the disease. By the budget rules in Washington, emergency funding is not controlled by the deficit reduction spending caps that apply to most programs. At first, Republicans sounded receptive. A few days after the administration’s request, House Speaker Paul Ryan said ""we do anticipate some kind of bipartisan action on this, because this is something we want to get ahead of."" On Feb. 18, the GOP chair of the House Appropriations Committee, joined by two Republican subcommittee chairs, told the White House Office of Management and Budget that before it asked for new money, it should use dollars left over from the emergency response provided to fight Ebola. ""If the aim of the request is to mount as rapid a response as possible, it is clear to us that the most expeditious way to identify the needed funding is to maximize the use of unobligated funds previously provided for Ebola response, prevention, and preparedness."" The House Republicans said they estimated that $2.7 billion remained unused out of the original $5.4 billion emergency appropriation. They noted that under the rules of the emergency appropriation, about $400 million of those funds need to be spent by the end of September. We’ll dig a little deeper into that Ebola money in a moment, but to settle one piece of this fact-check, in terms of committing new dollars explicitly to combat the Zika virus, Congress has not done that. The remaining Ebola money Jennifer Kates, director of the Kaiser Family Foundation’s program on global health and HIV policy, tracks Washington spending in this area about as closely as anyone. Kates told us that the Republican number might be a bit high, but by her latest count, about $2.4 billion of Ebola funding remains. So in theory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department’s Agency for International Development (USAID) could redirect some of that money to fight Zika. But there are some issues to unpack. First, Congress appropriated many of those dollars to be spent over a period of five years. For example, the funding bill gave the CDC over $1.7 billion with the broad instruction to ""prevent, prepare for, and respond to Ebola domestically and internationally."" ""Initially, they recognized that part of the job involved building the health care systems over time,"" Kates said. ""They wanted the tools to be in place so we could be on top of things when another outbreak took place. And we know there will be other outbreaks, of Ebola or something else."" There are plenty of examples of lawmakers, both Republican and Democratic, talking about the Ebola money as a longer term investment. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a high-ranking subcommittee chair on the appropriations committee, held a hearing in April 2015 to review the impact of the emergency funding. Cole opened the hearing saying he wanted to discuss ""the lessons learned from this outbreak and how the funding Congress provided will support longer term public health capacity."" At another appropriations subcommittee hearing in February 2015, Dirk Dijkerman, USAID’s coordinator for its Ebola Task Force described how his agency was using the money as the immediate Ebola threat eased. ""We are focusing on building more resilient health and prepared systems in West Africa, in other hot spots in Africa,"" Dijkerman said. ""Our goal is to detect, prevent and respond to future outbreaks before they become global security threats."" So while one could make the case that the emergency Ebola money was intended to be used for a future outbreak, much of the discussion was not about putting out fires, but about building health care infrastructure. CDC director Thomas Frieden told the House Appropriations Committee on March 23, 2016, that while his agency was working hard to tackle the Zika virus, ""we will not be able to do so without the resources requested in the administration's FY 2016 emergency supplemental request."" ""If you look at the definition of emergency -- unanticipated, potentially catastrophic, permanent damage -- I can't imagine a situation that meets this more than Zika,"" Frieden said. ""There has never before been a mosquito borne illness that can cause a birth defect; we've never seen that before."" Frieden said all of the dollars Congress had allocated before were for specific activities. While he could move dollars around, he warned that there would be trade-offs. Kates said a long-running debate in Washington lies behind this current tug-of-war. ""We have an episodic response to these things,"" Kates said. ""There's an interest in having a steady stream of funding to build up the systems we'd need to respond to new outbreaks, but that doesn't seem to be the way things are done."" Our ruling Clinton said that Congress had not ""allocated one penny"" to fight Zika. In terms of targeting new dollars to deal with the Zika virus, that is correct. House Republicans say that they did provide money through the emergency Ebola appropriation. To the extent that those funds could be redirected, that holds up. But it is also true that when that money was approved there was a bipartisan agreement that it would be used for longer term efforts to build overall health care system capacity. There is a policy disagreement on the best way to deploy federal funds -- and we're not weighing in on that here. But regardless, there is no new money to confront Zika."
30556	Vibrant Body Company staged an online bra promotion as a front for human trafficking.	A Vibrant Body Company bra promotion has been linked to rumors of a human trafficking scheme.	false	Inboxer Rebellion, human trafficking, something for nothing, vibrant bra	In general, most people like getting something for nothing. But when word got out online that the Vibrant Body Company was offering a promotion code that allowed shoppers to purchase bras free of charge, some skeptical social media users expressed fears that the giveaway was a front for a human trafficking scheme. The fearful premise was that the promotion was simply a trick to find out where women live and provide an excuse for sending delivery people to their homes, with those “delivery people” engaging in home invasions or abducting the women therein for human trafficking purposes: As a criminal scheme, this scenario is highly implausible. It posits that someone would go through all the trouble of setting up a realistic and very professional web site for selling bras (complete with full contact information and staff listings), take orders from women all over the United States, and then blindly dispatch thugs to the delivery addresses to break into those homes and/or kidnap women — despite knowing nothing about the nature of those residences or who lives there. (Are those delivery addresses actually residences rather than businesses or mail drops? Who else lives at a given address other than the person who ordered the bra? When are the people who live at those addresses at home? Do they have security systems?) Aside from the fact that it would be much more efficient and easier for criminals seeking to perpetrate any kind of crime on women to simply stake out public places that women frequent (e.g., shopping malls, grocery stores, restaurants, gyms), random home invasion abduction isn’t the method by which human traffickers generally ply their trade in the United States. The criminal process of soliciting human trafficking victims generally works by having someone build up a rapport with the targeted victim, or by luring victims with false promises and advertisements for jobs and travel. In this case, Vibrant Body Company eventually cleared the air by sharing via Facebook the information that the promotional code offering no-cost bras was not part of some criminal enterprise, but rather something that was aimed at a small breast cancer support group and issued in conjunction with a group event in Los Angeles. As often happens, that code became widely shared and used online outside of its intended audience, creating a problem for the company:
3237	Weight loss among fat-acceptance influencers a fraught topic.	Fashion and lifestyle blogger Maui Bigelow has always been curvy and built a social media presence by embracing every pound.	true	Fashion, Health, Media, General News, Entertainment, Social media, Lifestyle, New York, Weight loss surgery	Until the worst happened. At nearly 380 pounds, her health took a dive. She was diagnosed with a blood cancer and multiple uterine fibroids that couldn’t be treated due to her weight. That’s when she decided to have bariatric surgery, a weight loss procedure. She hadn’t yearned to be thinner, but she wanted to live at least long enough for her two children, ages 20 and 16, to make her a grandmother. “For months I talked to my counselor about how I would share my truth with you,” Bigelow told her followers at Phatgirlfresh.com after the weight loss surgery last year. “I was concerned about how you would receive it. I feared the plus-size and body positive communities wouldn’t understand or respect my choice.” Bigelow, a former teacher in Albany, Georgia, with 67,500 monthly unique visitors to her site and nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram, was pleased her fans were resoundingly positive. That’s not a small thing in her corner of the internet. Fat-acceptance and body positive influencers like Bigelow are on the rise on social media and as fashion models as they fight back against the damaging pressures of idealized beauty peddled online and off. But what happens when, as in Bigelow’s case, weight poses a serious health risk, or they decide to shed pounds for other reasons, turning their careers and social channels from fat acceptance to smaller sizes, dieting and fitness? “The people who are having weight loss surgery in our community, they have the surgery, they go about their business and they shut up, for the most part. But it’s important to share. There are women who are struggling with health issues who need this surgery,” Bigelow said in an interview. She’s down to 240 pounds, but she’s struggling to fully accept her future of fewer pounds, both personally and professionally. “I was a bomb ass girl at almost 400 pounds,” Bigelow said. “Some of these influencers, they talk about being fat and how they love their plus-size bodies and how they’re so empowered in the space that they’re in, and they have all of these women who support them, who are cheering them on. Then fast forward, they lose the weight and you see the before and after pictures: Oh, this is when I was 350 pounds. I was so depressed. I felt so ugly. And this is me now. I’m so happy. I’m so free. Wait a minute, girl. Didn’t you say two years ago when you were 350 pounds that you loved your body and that you loved the size that you were? Me, I came into womanhood as a fat woman. I’m not as confident as I was.” Pia Schiavo-Campo, who posts from Los Angeles about style and culture on Instagram and blogs at Mixedfatchick.com, isn’t a fan of dieting, before-and-after pictures or the lack of dialogue from fat-acceptance influencers about weight loss. As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder for the better part of 30 years, she’s triggered by diet talk and conflicted about weight turnarounds, especially those not directly addressed. It’s the messaging, she said in an interview, especially when dieting or weight loss surgery transforms the online mission through photos and new collaborations focused on health and weight-loss products. Schiavo-Campo’s concerns are echoed by others in the anti-diet movement. “Diet culture,” she says, has been “basically imposed on us, mostly women. By the same token, I also believe that people should do what’s best for their bodies.” JennyLee Molina in Miami did what’s best for her body by losing 80 pounds in a year, trimming down to a size 8 after being told she was pre-diabetic. She did it without surgery, and lost one of her heroes, body-positive model Tess Holliday, in the process, after documenting her health and weight-loss journey on Instagram, where she has 11,900 followers. Molina’s feed includes before-and-after photos. She said she sought out Holliday through private messaging after realizing Holliday had unfollowed her. “Your weight loss posts are too triggering for me, I’m sure you understand,” Holliday explained in a private reply earlier this year. “It’s not personal.” A representative for Holliday did not respond to requests for comment. Molina recalled how much she loved Holliday’s take-no-prisoners approach to fat acceptance as she gained popularity with a groundbreaking modeling contract and her “effyourbeautystandards” movement on Instagram in 2013. Molina, who has a 9-year-old son, was thrilled when she had a chance to meet Holliday in 2015, at a time when Molina had gained a significant amount of weight after knee surgery. “She was a go-to for inspiration, someone I admired in terms of embracing your curves, embracing where you’re at,” Molina said. “The community is very divided between those who are more about fat pride, which is fine, and the ones who are all about wherever you’re at, be comfortable in your own skin. That’s where I feel like I am. I think everybody should embrace themselves at every step of the journey and we shouldn’t shame people who decide to lose weight to feel better. There’s nothing wrong with it.” Peggy Howell, vice chair and spokeswoman for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, posts on Instagram as FatAcceptanceWarrior. Her organization was founded in 1969 and has a paid membership of more than 11,000. Howell, who lives in Las Vegas, thinks the fat acceptance and body positive movements have become muddled, with dieting and weight loss as a constant hot button. “It seems like hypocrisy,” she said of fat-acceptance influencers who shed weight and attempt to hang on to lucrative careers. “A lot of people clap back within the community. A lot of people get upset. We support people making choices that will help them be healthier, but dieting is a losing battle.”
14722	"I helped write"" the Affordable Care Act."	"Sanders said he ""helped write"" the Affordable Care Act. He deserves credit for one provision of it -- worth a not-insignificant $11 billion. But overall, he was hardly an inside crafter of the bill. Until his effort was blocked by a GOP procedural move, Sanders supported a more aggressive single-payer system, and multiple news articles quoted him as being undecided about supporting the main Democratic bill until late in the process. Sanders’ statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. UPDATE, March 28, 2016: After we published our story, Sanders’ staff provided PolitiFact with several additional examples of provisions the senator helped insert into the Affordable Care Act, sometimes with the cooperation of other lawmakers. According to his staff, these include $1.5 billion in mandatory spending for the National Health Service Corps, a negotiated rule-making process to redefine the criteria for designating medically underserved areas, a waiver for states that want to experiment on health care policy, a provision to double penalties for health care fraud, a provision strengthening the False Claims Act, language to make volunteer ambulance personnel and firefighters who perform emergency medical services eligible for grants and loans, a provision to ease payments to alternative medicine practitioners, higher funding levels for the Public Health and Prevention Fund, and a formula increase in Medicaid funding that benefited his home state of Vermont. While this list does provide a more detailed picture of Sanders’ role in the bill’s crafting, none of these provisions involve core elements of the law, such as the exchanges and subsidies, the individual and employer mandates, the Medicaid expansion, the tax changes, the essential benefits package, and the provisions on cost containment. We stand by our original conclusion that, despite making contributions to the final legislation, Sanders was, for most of the process, an outsider pushing for a more aggressive single-payer system rather than an insider negotiating and crafting the final design of the bill. While saying that he ""helped write"" the Affordable Care Act contains an element of truth, Sanders ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."	false	National, Corrections and Updates, Health Care, Bernie Sanders,	"Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders sparred over health care policy during a debate in Charleston, S.C., on Jan. 17. At one point, Sanders rejected assertions by Clinton that a Sanders presidency could imperil President Barack Obama’s signature legislative initiative, the Affordable Care Act. Clinton said, ""There are things we can do to improve (the Affordable Care Act), but to tear it up and start over again, pushing our country back into that kind of a contentious debate, I think is the wrong direction."" Sanders countered, ""We’re not going to tear up the Affordable Care Act. I helped write it."" We decided to check whether Sanders has a solid claim to have ""helped write"" the Affordable Care Act. As our friends at the Washington Post Fact Checker have noted, Sanders pushed hard for a more liberal version of health care reform -- the American Health Security Act of 2009, which would have implemented a national single-payer system. (Under a single-payer system, the government, rather than private health insurers, pays all medical bills, along the lines of Medicare.) Sanders backed down after Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., used a procedural move to force a full reading of Sanders’ bill, a move that would have taken hours of floor time and imperiled passage of a more moderate bill backed by Obama and his allies. However, as negotiations were in their final stage, Sanders successfully pushed for the inclusion of $11 billion in funding for community health centers, especially in rural areas. The insertion of this funding helped bring together both Democratic lawmakers on the left and Democrats representing more conservative, rural areas. ""There was no one who played a more important role than Sen. Sanders"" in securing that funding, Daniel Hawkins, vice president of the National Association of Community Health Centers, told the Intercept last year. (Sanders’ camp forwarded PolitiFact the Intercept article as evidence for his statement.) So there’s a good case to be made that Sanders made an important contribution to the final legislation. Still, when Sanders says he ""helped write"" the bill, it would be reasonable to imagine that Sanders was an integral player in the crafting of the bill over a long period of time -- an insider in the process. And that’s not the reality. Before the final bill was enacted, Sanders and his allies on the party’s left flank regularly expressed frustration at the concessions they had to make during the legislative process. ""Public-option proponents, including Sanders and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, say they already have given up enough,"" Politico reported in late November 2009. ""They agreed to forgo a single-payer system. They decided not to push a government plan tied to Medicare rates. And they accepted (Harry) Reid's proposal to include the opt-out provision. That's it, they say."" Politico went on to quote Sanders saying, ""I have made it clear to the administration and Democratic leadership that my vote for the final bill is by no means guaranteed."" A few weeks later, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank reported that Sanders was still undecided on supporting the primary Democratic bill. ""I am talking to the Democratic leadership, trying my best to salvage some positive things in this bill, so I am not on board yet."" And on Dec. 18, the New York Times quoted Sanders saying, ''I don't sleep well. I am struggling with this issue very hard, trying to sort out what is positive in this bill, what is negative in the bill, what it means for our country if there is no health insurance legislation, when we will come back to it. … And I have to combine that with the fact that I absolutely know that the insurance companies and the drug companies will be laughing all the way to the bank the day after this is passed.'' Sanders eventually voted for the legislation. Our ruling Sanders said he ""helped write"" the Affordable Care Act. He deserves credit for one provision of it -- worth a not-insignificant $11 billion. But overall, he was hardly an inside crafter of the bill. Until his effort was blocked by a GOP procedural move, Sanders supported a more aggressive single-payer system, and multiple news articles quoted him as being undecided about supporting the main Democratic bill until late in the process. Sanders’ statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. That meets our definition of . UPDATE, March 28, 2016: After we published our story, Sanders’ staff provided PolitiFact with several additional examples of provisions the senator helped insert into the Affordable Care Act, sometimes with the cooperation of other lawmakers. According to his staff, these include $1.5 billion in mandatory spending for the National Health Service Corps, a negotiated rule-making process to redefine the criteria for designating medically underserved areas, a waiver for states that want to experiment on health care policy, a provision to double penalties for health care fraud, a provision strengthening the False Claims Act, language to make volunteer ambulance personnel and firefighters who perform emergency medical services eligible for grants and loans, a provision to ease payments to alternative medicine practitioners, higher funding levels for the Public Health and Prevention Fund, and a formula increase in Medicaid funding that benefited his home state of Vermont. While this list does provide a more detailed picture of Sanders’ role in the bill’s crafting, none of these provisions involve core elements of the law, such as the exchanges and subsidies, the individual and employer mandates, the Medicaid expansion, the tax changes, the essential benefits package, and the provisions on cost containment. We stand by our original conclusion that, despite making contributions to the final legislation, Sanders was, for most of the process, an outsider pushing for a more aggressive single-payer system rather than an insider negotiating and crafting the final design of the bill. While saying that he ""helped write"" the Affordable Care Act contains an element of truth, Sanders ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. So we still rate his claim ."
7591	After bridge collapse, flashbacks, anxiety for one survivor.	Richie Humble says flashbacks and anxiety attacks have haunted him ever since a pedestrian bridge near a Florida university fell on the car he was riding in, killing six people including the college friend driving their vehicle.	true	Anxiety, Mental health, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, North America, Health, Bridge collapses, U.S. News	Humble said Monday that the collapse caused a fracture in his back, along with knee and neck problems. But he said his mental health has caused him to abandon all but one of his classes at Florida International University. The 19-year-old FIU student filed a negligence lawsuit last week against several companies involved in the bridge’s construction, the latest of a series of suits by injured survivors or victims’ families. He said he wouldn’t want anyone to go through what he did. His friend, Alexa Duran, was driving him back from a doctor’s appointment March 15 when he heard a crack and saw the bridge topple on top of them. He shouted Duran’s name and ducked down as fast as he could. She died at the site of the collapse without ever responding to his screams. “She wasn’t saying anything. And I had her blood on me, and I didn’t really know what to do,” he said. “I looked up at her one more time. I saw just her hair, nothing else.” The bridge was well known to FIU students like Humble and Duran. Their university had celebrated its installation five days before the collapse with officials saying they were filled with pride for seeing a 950-ton concrete bridge that was prefabricated and quickly installed over a busy six-lane highway. Angry at engineers, school officials and the government, Humble said more should have been done to protect drivers and pedestrians near the bridge after it was swung into place. “There were human lives at risk. It’s just something you shouldn’t play with at all ... people including myself; from this point on they will be changed,” he said. The teenager’s mother, Lourdes Humble, said she has found her son crying and curled up in a fetal position days after surviving the collapse. “He is a 19-year-old who cannot take a shower without screaming and crying. I have to go in and get him out of the shower. (It has been) very difficult for myself, my husband, my mother,” she said. Companies have not commented on the lawsuits. Stuart Grossman, Humble’s attorney, said his team is looking at the bidding process, the design and whether traffic should have been diverted the days that followed the installation. The construction of the bridge was behind schedule and over budget, partly because of a key change in the design and placement of one of its support towers north to the edge of a canal, documents have shown. The cause of the collapse is not clear. Before the failure, crews were adjusting a tension rod on the north end of the bridge, and authorities continue to investigate whether cracking that was reported on the same side before the span fell contributed to the accident. “The experiment failed, people are dead and Richie is not lucky. You are not lucky to have gone through something like this,” Grossman said. “He is fortunate he survived. But this isn’t winning the lottery.”
24165	"My ""border security efforts have led to a 60 percent decrease in border crime."	Gov. Rick Perry says his border security efforts led to 60-percent drop in crime along Texas-Mexico border	false	Crime, Texas, Rick Perry,	"At a time when violence along the U.S.-Mexico border is again in the news, Texas Gov. Rick Perry makes an eye-catching claim on his campaign Web site: ""Governor Perry's border security efforts have led to a 60 percent decrease in border crime."" We had lots of questions about that, so we went looking for answers. In 2005, saying the federal government had not done enough to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Perry announced he was investing in state border security efforts. His plans included helping local law enforcement agencies hire additional officers, buying the agencies equipment, assigning Texas Department of Public Safety personnel to the border and installing surveillance cameras. According to Perry's office, the governor spent about $30 million from his office's budget on the operations in fiscal years 2006-07. The Legislature allocated $110 million for border efforts in 2008-09 and more than $110 million for 2010-11, for a total of $250 million to date. And what was the impact of the efforts? Perry's campaign pointed us to a report from the Texas Border Security Council, whose members were appointed by Perry. According to a chart in the report, ""serious"" crime in the border counties dropped 65 percent in the two-year period between the third quarter of 2005 — when Texas funding for border operations started — and the third quarter of 2007. We learned that backup for the chart came from the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reporting program, which tracks the incidences of seven ""index"" crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft. However, the chart (dubbed ""Texas Border Counties Crime Index"") is only that: a jagged line on a page, rising and falling between 2004 and 2007. It doesn't detail specific crime data from border localities, making it impossible to tell exactly where crime dropped, by how much and in which categories.Seeking more detail, we talked to the Texas Department of Public Safety, which reports the state's crime numbers to the FBI. We then learned that the chart was drawn from data that omitted significant facts.The Border Security Council report only counted crimes from unincorporated areas of counties along the border which, it states, accounts for 93 percent of the 1,254 miles of the Texas-Mexico border. By taking that approach, the report excludes all the border region's towns and cities including major population centers such as El Paso, Laredo, Brownsville, McAllen and Harlingen. By our analysis, more than 75 percent of the population in the border counties lived in incorporated areas in 2007, the last year covered in the chart. What's wrong with leaving out the urban areas? More crimes usually occur where more people live. Consider El Paso County. According to DPS data, the sheriff's department there reported 1,350 ""index"" crimes in the county's unincorporated areas in 2005. Adding in offenses reported by the city's police department and other law enforcement agencies in the county causes the ""index"" crimes to total 25,134. Data provided by DPS to support the chart shows that crimes in unincorporated border areas dropped 65 percent between the third quarter of 2005 and the third quarter of 2007. But that only compares two different quarters. When we looked at crime over all three years of data — 2005 through 2007 -- the decline amounted to less than 1 percent. We also considered the data for both urban and rural areas of all the border counties during those years. The total number of ""index"" or serious crimes rose from 103,884 in 2005 to 103,986 in 2007. The ""index"" crime data omits crimes that may occur at higher rates in border regions, including drug offenses and human trafficking. Without those numbers, the border crime story is incomplete. We asked for that data. The DPS says it doesn't collect it but plans to in the future. Separately, the U.S. Border Control offered information on only two enforcement actions that the agency tracks: the number of foreign nationals caught for being in the United States illegally — what it calls ""apprehensions"" — and the amount of drugs seized. Apprehensions in the Border Patrol sectors that include Texas dropped 58 percent from fiscal 2005 through 2009. The amount of drugs seized — measured in pounds of marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and others — more than doubled. Border Patrol spokesman Mark L. Qualia and Tony Payan, an expert on the U.S.-Mexico border and political science professor at the University of Texas-El Paso, agreed that some crimes happen more often in border areas because of the large numbers of people passing through. Qualia cited trespassing and shoplifting as examples of such ""transient"" crimes. Such caveats undermine Perry's claim -- and build a case that border crime is a complicated subject. As for not counting crimes in cities and towns to assess changes in the border region, Payan said: ""This strikes me as sheer manipulation of geographical areas and numbers in order to make the governor look good."" When we asked the governor's office for an explanation of the report's methodology, we were referred to the DPS, whose spokeswoman Tela Mange said: ""We were focusing on the unincorporated areas ... because that is where much of the illegal activity involving human and contraband smuggling occurs."" That may be, though neither the state of Texas nor the Border Patrol gave us data on that activity. Don Reay, executive director of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, said that members of his group still believe that crime has gone down and that Perry deserves credit for improving the situation on the border -- though not all the credit. ""Crime has gone down based on cooperation between counties, between the state and between the federal government,"" Reay said. Since 2006, Washington has spent more than $3.7 billion on border security, although Qualia said he could not say exactly how much of the money went to the southwestern or Texas border. Some of the major initiatives have been to hire more Border Patrol agents and build hundreds of miles of fencing. Payan also said that outside factors could have caused border crime to decline. He cited the war raging between drug cartels in Mexico, which he says has limited the cartels' ability to do business across the Rio Grande. Perry's claims about reducing border crime have come under scrutiny before. In 2006, the El Paso Times investigated his statements touting the impact of Operation Rio Grande, which shifted DPS officers and other state resources to border areas. That October, Perry's office trumpeted in a press release: ""Crime down 60 percent across the border."" The Times questioned the statistic, noting it was based on average crime reductions in ""several"" counties -- not the entire border region -- where the state participated in ""surge"" operations over a four-month period. The operations beefed up federal, state and local law enforcement personnel in selected rural areas; urban areas weren't included in the statistics. That's relatively old news. What about more recently? We checked the latest available UCR crime data in both urban and non-incorporated areas along the Texas border in 2008, as reported by the DPS. Overall, serious crime went up 1.6 percent from 2007. Summing up: Perry's claim that his border security efforts have led to a 60 percent drop in crime doesn't hold water. The calculation he touts doesn't consider crimes committed in cities and towns where most border residents live. It also compared two calendar quarters rather than weighing years' worth of data. Crime may have temporarily subsided in some rural areas of the border region. However, it's not clear how much of any decline can be traced to the state's investment in security. We rate Perry's sweeping statement based on an unreasonable manipulation of crime statistics -- the second instance of his administration touting questionable border crime numbers."
35254	First daughter Ivanka Trump was granted a trademark on coffins in China and stands to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic.	What's true: Ivanka Trump's company holds a variety of trademarks in China, including one for coffins. What's false: However, this trademark was granted in 2018, well before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. Moreover, Ivanka Trump shuttered her business in July 2018 to focus on work for the White House and there is no evidence she is involved in manufacturing or selling coffins in China or elsewhere.	mixture	Politics, COVID-19	In April 2020, as the global death toll from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic surpassed 100,000, social media users started to post messages about how Ivanka Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter and newly appointed member of the White House’s council to reopen America, had a trademark in China on coffins: While some shared this claim as if it were a “fun fact,” others made a more direct connection between her company’s trademark on coffins in China to the rising death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic: According to multiple news reports, the first daughter’s company, Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, was truly awarded a trademark on coffins in China. However, this occurred in 2018, long before COVID-19 started to spread around the globe. The Associated Press reported in May 2018 that her company had been awarded 13 trademarks in China over three months. These trademarks covered a variety of products, including baby blankets, coffee, perfume, and coffins: Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House, The Associated Press has found. On Sunday, China granted the first daughter’s company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump’s company provisional approval for another eight trademarks, which can be finalized if no objections are raised during a three-month comment period. Taken together, the trademarks could allow her brand to market a lifetime’s worth of products in China, from baby blankets to coffins, and a host of things in between, including perfume, makeup, bowls, mirrors, furniture, books, coffee, chocolate and honey. Ivanka Trump stepped back from management of her brand and placed its assets in a family-run trust, but she continues to profit from the business. When users in April 2020 re-shared news stories about her trademarks amidst the global pandemic, many insinuated she would be capitalizing off of people’s deaths, and that people in China would be required to purchase a Trump coffin. But that’s not the case. This confusion appears to be based on the conflation of the terms “trademark” and “patent.” With a trademark, Ivanka Trump has the opportunity to sell products (in this case a coffin) bearing her company’s name. A trademark does not give Trump’s company any sort of exclusive deal to sell coffins in China. Other companies can still manufacturer and sell coffins just as always. Australia’s ABC News noted that companies sometimes file for a trademark as part of a “defensive” strategy to prevent competitors from squatting on a brand’s name: Companies register for trademarks for a variety of reasons. They can be a sign of corporate ambition, but in many countries, like China, where trademark squatting is rampant, companies also file defensively, to block copycats from grabbing legal rights to a brand’s name. This appears to be the strategy of Ivanka Trump’s company. Abigail Klem, the president of the Ivanka Trump brand, said in a May 2018 statement that these trademarks were obtained during the “normal course of business.” Klem also noted that trademark infringement was rampant, and that the company was trying to protect its brand: “The brand has filed, updated, and rigorously protected its international trademarks over the past several years in the normal course of business, especially in regions where trademark infringement is rampant. … We have recently seen a surge in trademark filings by unrelated third parties trying to capitalize on the name and it is our responsibility to diligently protect our trademark.” It should also be noted that, as Snopes reported in 2019, Ivanka Trump was not running the company at the time that these trademarks were obtained. Ivanka stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2017 and announced that the company was closing down the following year: Ivanka Trump said in a statement announcing the closure: “After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington. So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.” While Ivanka Trump may have not had a hand in obtaining these trademarks, the government transparency advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) cautioned that these trademarks could still represent a conflict of interest in the future.
16768	Teenage births cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in health care, foster care and lost tax revenue in 2010 alone.	"In the course of comparing the results of Colorado’s public contraceptives program to Texas’ high teen birth rate and abstinence-only program, Michael Eric Dyson said, ""Teenage births cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in health care, foster care and lost tax revenue in 2010 alone."" Dyson’s stat comes from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, who experts say is a reliable source. But Dyson misrepresents their data in three minor ways: He gives an incomplete list of the components of that cost; he implies that teenage births cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion when, in fact, births in Texas cost all taxpayers $1.1 billion; and he doesn’t mention that the National Campaign’s stat is a conservative estimate on an issue that’s difficult to quantify. Dyson gets the gist of the statistic right, though he was inartful in his phrasing."	mixture	Abortion, Sexuality, PunditFact, Michael Eric Dyson,	"On July 3, 2014, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced that his state has seen a 40 percent drop in teen birth rates since 2009, when Colorado began a program to provide discounted and free contraceptive devices to women. Pundits immediately compared Colorado’s contraceptive program to Texas’ abstinence-only efforts, including Michael Eric Dyson, filling in for Ed Schultz on the July 9 Ed Show. ""We should all be taking a page from Colorado when it comes to contraception,"" Dyson said. ""The state saved $42.5 million in health care expenditures associated with teen births in 2010 alone. It’s a stark contrast to the results out of Texas, where Gov. Rick Perry has pushed an abstinence-only education program."" Texas, said Dyson, ""has the fifth-highest birth rate among teenagers"" and ""the highest rate of repeat births among teenagers aged 15 to 19. Teenage births cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in health care, foster care, and lost tax revenue in 2010 alone."" The discussion around contraceptives often revolves around the rights of the unborn child and the mother, so we were surprised to see such a precise cost attributed to teenage birth. In this fact-check, we’re looking at Dyson’s claim that teenage births cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in 2010. The source of the claim While we didn’t hear back from Dyson, the statistic he’s referring to comes from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a nonprofit that researches and advocates for their eponymous cause. According to the National Campaign, teen childbearing cost U.S. taxpayers $9.4 billion, and $1.1 billion of that -- more than any other state -- comes from teen childbearing in Texas. David Wiley, professor of health education at Texas State University, vouched for the National Campaign’s reliability. ""They are pretty much the gold standard on research. Their methods are good and they don’t do hyperbole."" And even though there’s no perfect way to measure the public cost of teen birth, Denver University professor of sociology Jennifer Reich told us that the National Campaign’s stat is ""substantiated by a sizeable amount of data."" A press officer from the Texas Department of State Health Services also deemed the National Campaign’s figures credible. So on a basic level, Dyson is right to imply that Texas’ relatively high teen childbearing numbers have a substantial fiscal impact. But the National Campaign’s communications director, Jessica Sheets Pika, cautioned that ""Texas’ high cost compared to most states may not be the most meaningful way to measure differences in teen childbearing."" ""Part of this difference is due to Texas’ relatively high teen birth rate. For example, the teen birth rate in Texas was 52.2 births per 1,000 teen girls in 2010, while it was 33.4 in Colorado. However, much of this difference is simply due to the fact that Texas has a much larger population than most states."" It’s also worth noting that Texas’ teenage birth rate has been steadily decreasing, albeit at a slower rate than Colorado’s. Texas’ teenage birth rate for teenagers between 15 and 19 declined by 5 percent from 2011 to 2012, compared to 12 percent in Colorado and 6 percent nationally. Texas’ teenage birth rate remains, though, the fifth-highest in the nation, and three of the experts we contacted suggested that the difficulty of accessing contraceptives in Texas is part of the problem. Drilling down on the $1.1 billion figure Dyson gets the gist of the National Campaign’s research right, but his particular wording misrepresents exactly what goes into their $1.1 billion figure, and where that comes from. The National Campaign gets their public cost estimates by comparing teenage mothers to 20-to-21-year-old mothers on several factors, including the mothers’ and their children’s odds of participating in state and federal welfare programs, the children’s increased chances of incarceration, and the taxable incomes of these women, their children, and their children’s fathers. ""Based on this increased risk for participation among teen mothers and the total number of teen births, we then estimate the additional number of participants in various government programs,"" Pika said. ""Then, based on the cost per participant in each of those programs, we then estimate the total cost of teen childbearing."" The three factors Dyson names -- health care, foster care, and lost tax revenue -- certainly constitute part of the National Campaign’s measurement, but increased risk of incarceration and social welfare programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families are also part of the National Campaign’s full $1.1 billion figure for Texas. Importantly, that cost also isn’t only on the shoulder of Texas taxpayers; the loss in tax revenue and Medicaid costs, for example, are national. The National Campaign’s research more accurately means that Texas teenage births cost taxpayers $1.1 billion (instead of ""teenage births"" costing ""Texas taxpayers,"" as Dyson phrased it). The National Campaign also is careful to emphasize that their estimate is just that. ""It’s useful to keep in mind that this is an estimate,"" said Pika, ""based on the best available research on the consequences of teen childbearing, rather than a dollar-for-dollar accounting of exactly what was spent on teen mothers."" To that end, the National Campaign pegs the Texas figure as ""at least"" $1.1 billion, leaving open the possibility that it could be more. Our ruling In the course of comparing the results of Colorado’s public contraceptives program to Texas’ high teen birth rate and abstinence-only program, Michael Eric Dyson said, ""Teenage births cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion in health care, foster care and lost tax revenue in 2010 alone."" Dyson’s stat comes from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, who experts say is a reliable source. But Dyson misrepresents their data in three minor ways: He gives an incomplete list of the components of that cost; he implies that teenage births cost Texas taxpayers $1.1 billion when, in fact, births in Texas cost all taxpayers $1.1 billion; and he doesn’t mention that the National Campaign’s stat is a conservative estimate on an issue that’s difficult to quantify. Dyson gets the gist of the statistic right, though he was inartful in his phrasing."
34584	DNC speaker Khizr Khan, father of fallen Army Capt. Humayun Khan, is a Muslim Brotherhood operative.	What's true: Khizr Khan is a Muslim-American. What's false: No credible evidence supports the assertion that Khan is an operative of the Muslim Brotherhood.	unproven	Politics	An unexpected controversy took root after the July 2016 Democratic National Convention (DNC) involving key speaker Khizr Khan, who took to the convention stage to speak about Donald Trump, Muslims in America, and the loss of his son, U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan: Khan’s speech was preceded by brief introductory footage of Hillary Clinton describing his immigration to the United States, and how his son was killed in action in Iraq while guarding his Army unit. Khan reiterated his son’s story and challenged Donald Trump (who has at times proposed barring Muslims from entering the United States) to read the U.S. Constitution: Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty-handed. We believed in American democracy; that with hard work and goodness of this country, we could share in and contribute to its blessings … Our son, Humayun, had dreams too, of being a military lawyer, but he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son “the best of America.” If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities: women, judges, even his own party leadership. He vows to build walls, and ban us from this country. Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you: have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. [Waved “Pocket Constitution.”] In this document, look for the words “liberty” and “equal protection of law.” Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one. Trump repeatedly issued comments about Khan via Twitter as the Khans were being interviewed about the speech and about Trump’s reaction to it: Captain Khan, killed 12 years ago, was a hero, but this is about RADICAL ISLAMIC TERROR and the weakness of our “leaders” to eradicate it! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2016 I was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the Democratic Convention. Am I not allowed to respond? Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2016 This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016 On 31 July 2016, the dispute escalated when Trump suggested to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and the New York Times‘ Maureen Dowd that Khan’s wife Ghazala was silent during her husband’s DNC speech because, as a Muslim female, she was not permitted to speak: Mr. Trump told Mr. Stephanopoulos that Mr. Khan seemed like a “nice guy” and that he wished him “the best of luck.” But, he added, “If you look at his wife, she was standing there, she had nothing to say, she probably — maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say, you tell me.” Mr. Trump also told Maureen Dowd of The New York Times, “I’d like to hear his wife say something.” A day earlier, Mrs. Khan told MSNBC that she was unable to bring herself to speak at the convention due to her ongoing grief over her son’s death: Ms. Khan did speak to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, saying she “cannot even come in the room where his pictures are.” When she saw her son’s photograph on the screen behind her on the stage in Philadelphia, she said, “I couldn’t take it.” “I controlled myself at that time,” she said, while choking back tears. “It is very hard.” On 31 July, Ghazala Khan wrote an editorial for the Washington Post addressing the ongoing controversy. The same day Mrs. Khan’s editorial appeared, bloggers Theodore and Walid Shoebat published a lengthy polemic stitching together circumstantial evidence to suggest Khizr Khan was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood: The Muslim who attacked Donald Trump, Khizr Muazzam Khan, is a Muslim Brotherhood agent, working to bring Muslims into the United States. After reading what we discovered so far, it becomes obvious that Khan wanted to ‘trump’ Trump’s Muslim immigration policy of limiting Muslim immigration into the U.S. But not so fast. Trump we have your back. The Shoebats went on to cite two papers written by Khan in 1983 and 1984 pertaining to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, described as “an intergovernmental oil company consisting of mainly Islamic countries” and a second titled “Juristic Classification of Islamic Law” (both of which were written prior to the family’s move to the United States). With respect to the latter, Shoebat bracketed a not-present “Sharia” in the title and included a snapshot of the only page of the paper freely available (which in no part suggested support for Sharia law or membership in the Muslim brotherhood and appeared to be an academic piece, not an advocacy paper). The Shoebats maintained that in the paper “Khan shows his appreciation for the icon of the Muslim Brotherhood,” referencing a citation holding that “The contribution to this article of S. Ramadan’s writing is greatly acknowledged.” However, the quoted text was suspiciously elided from the screenshot that appeared on Shoebat and looked far less damning in its actual context as an academic footnote: The elided citation was offered as support of the assertion that Khan’s work was undersigned by the “Saudi Wahhabist religious institution” and cited a “recent report” that Khan had moved from Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates, “a hotbed for the Muslim Brotherhood.” That “recent report” was a Politico article that described the Khan “family’s journey from Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates, and from there to Boston,” which in turn referenced Khan’s 2005 interview with the Washington Post about the recent loss of his son Humayun. In its original context, the interview revealed a very different picture than the one painted by the Shoebats: [Khan] and his wife would talk often to their three boys about why they decided to come to the United States, he began. It was the 1970s, and Pakistan was under military rule. They came to Silver Spring to have more freedom and opportunity. “It sounds cliche,” said Khan, 54, “but that is the story.” His son was always reading books about Thomas Jefferson; that part of his passion was certainly his father’s doing. When the boys were small, Khan would take them to the Jefferson Memorial. He’d have them stand there and read the chiseled, curving words about swearing hostility against tyrannies over the minds of men … It was not exactly surprising, he continued, that Humayun quoted Jefferson in his admissions essay for the University of Virginia, a line about freedom requiring vigilance. It was a bit surprising, though, when he signed up for ROTC and told his dad that after graduation in 2000, he wanted to join the Army. “He said that it seems only fair and logical to join the Army,” Khan said. “Because he wanted to complete the journey — he felt that ROTC had completed him as a person, and he wanted to give back. That’s what he wanted to do.” It was logical, Khan said, and how was a lawyer going to argue with logic? Humayun finished his four years of service and was preparing for law school when the Army called him back to duty. As he was moving into Iraq last year, Khan called him and they spoke briefly, a conversation he has turned over in his mind a million times since. His son said, “Remember I wrote that article for admission to U-Va.?” Khan said, pausing, taking the pen cap off and putting it on again, his voice steady. “He said, ‘I meant it.’ He said that. He wasn’t going there through some thoughtless process, or thoughtlessly following orders. He thought he was serving a purpose.” Khan recounted the details of his son’s death to the paper in 2005, noting that by all accounts his son sent his unit to safety before running towards a suicide bomber: Over time, his colonel and his fellow soldiers told Khan how his son died, and that, too, had some sort of horrible logic to it. Humayun’s job at the base in Baqubah was to inspect the soldiers at the gates, where crowds of Iraqis would sometimes gather. Humayun went early that morning, which was just like him. He saw a taxi speeding toward the gates, too fast, he thought. He yelled for everyone to hit the dirt. Then, as was his nature, he went running toward it, they said. “Ten or 15 steps with his hand outstretched,” his father said, stretching his own arm out in front of him almost a year later, telling some ghost taxi to stop in a downtown conference room. The explosives detonated before the car could ram the gates or the mess hall nearby, where several hundred soldiers were eating breakfast. The Shoebat page was something of a Gish Gallop, patching together a pile of loosely or unrelated details to paint a picture of a Muslim Brotherhood infiltrator in the Army who was killed before he could complete some undescribed subversive mission: I can go on and on. Is it likely that Khan’s son was killed before his Islamist mission was accomplished? Only another type of investigation will determine that. Do they ever mention how many soldiers have died because of Muslim traitors? Do they ever bring up how many Christians in the US military were killed? Yet the modernists and homosexuals continue to attack Christians. But soon everything we need to know will be uncovered. As we say in the Middle East: the snow always melts and the sh*t under it will soon be revealed. The Shoebats’ insinuations about the younger Khan directly conflict with all other published accounts about him. Had Humayun’s intent in joining the Army been one of sabotage, there would be no reason to expect he’d ultimately lay down his life to stop a suicide bomber from killing scores of other American soldiers — yet by every telling, that is exactly how Capt. Humayun Khan died. The other big “smoking gun” Shoebat cited to support their theory that Khizr Khan is a Muslim Brotherhood operative is his work as an immigration lawyer. By their rationale, Khan bears a grudge against Donald Trump for the candidate’s myriad statements about Muslims and immigration — but although it’s true that Khizr Khan and his sons were Muslims immigrants to the United States, none of the “evidence” presented by Shoebat remotely supported the idea that Khan is an operative of the Muslim brotherhood. Not only were most of the points made about Khan by Shoebat unrevealing and tenuous, the heroic death of Humayun Khan flies in the face of claims the family were Muslims operatives seeking to harm Americans or work against U.S. interests. Capt. Khan enlisted in the U.S. Army by choice and died protecting his fellow soldiers; by contrast, the only “evidence” linking his family to the Muslim Brotherhood are irrelevant, decades-old papers written about OPEC and Islamic law by Khizr Khan before he immigrated to America.
3516	Connecticut lawmakers considering expanding seatbelt law.	Connecticut’s Department of Public Health is recommending state lawmakers require everyone riding in a vehicle to wear a seatbelt.	true	Transportation, Health, Transportation safety, Connecticut, Public health, Laws	It marks the second year the state agency has proposed such a measure. Connecticut is currently one of about 20 states that do not require all rear-seat occupants to wear a seatbelt. Republican Rep. Mitch Bolinsky of Newtown, testifying Monday before the General Assembly’s Public Health Committee, says people sitting in the backseat can become “human missiles” in a crash. The National Transportation Safety Board says 169 vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle crashes in Connecticut in 2016. NTSB says half of those occupants were not using seat belts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Connecticut would save an additional 18 lives annually if everyone is required to be restrained.
9035	NIH scientists adapt new brain disease test for Parkinson’s, dementia with Lewy bodies	Getty Images This news release describes how researchers are adapting a test they developed for rapid diagnosis of prion diseases to earlier detection of Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. The news release gives data from the results, which appeared in a published study, and explains how a more rapid test could help identify patients for clinical trials. However, it doesn’t talk about the impact of early detection of these devastating diseases on patients or give a good sense of the test’s potential availability. Also, it doesn’t mention that four of the authors have applied for a patent on the related technology. Quicker, cheaper detection of neurological diseases might be good for individual patients, or it might not. News releases about such advances will be read by patients and their families and should strive to discuss the impact of early diagnosis, beyond the potential benefits for research. That might include prompter treatment of symptoms or unnecessary anxiety, for example. Readers should be aware that since the test is still under development; earlier detection from such a test isn’t going to be available to individual patients any time soon.	mixture	dementia with Lewy bodies,National Institutes of Health (NIH),Parkinson's disease	There’s no mention of the cost. The study itself says having quicker results “markedly enhances the cost effectiveness and practicality” of these tests. The release says the test “correctly excluded all the 31 controls and diagnosed both Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies with 93 percent accuracy.” The author also noted the number of people tested. There’s no discussion of how patients might be affected by earlier diagnosis. For example, do patients want to know whether they have one of these incurable diseases? According to the study, “the earlier the diagnosis, the earlier that any appropriately targeted therapies can be initiated before further tissue damage is done.” But the news release doesn’t explore that potential benefit. Also, a 93 percent accuracy rate means 7 percent of patients will get a false result. According to the study, the test correctly identified those without the disease in all cases, which means the disease was not detected in some patients, which could give them a false assurance. The release doesn’t assess potential harms of taking spinal fluid samples, which though generally considered safe it is still an invasive test and can result in headache, back pain, bleeding, and increased skull pressure. The release states that researchers are attempting to come up with better tests for neurological diseases “using the least invasive patient sample possible — whether that is blood, skin, nasal brushings, or other samples.” The release gives specific information on the scope of the study, including that researchers “tested 60 cerebral spinal fluid samples, including 12 from people with Parkinson’s disease, 17 from people with dementia with Lewy bodies, and 31 controls, including 16 of whom had Alzheimer’s disease.” However, it doesn’t mention some limitations, such as very small number of patient volunteers and the researchers’ observations that factors such as sample volume and temperature “strongly influenced the performance of the assay.” The researchers say further testing will be necessary to understand some of the specific detection abilities of the test, including when they’re used in clinical settings. If the test is to be used in clinical trials, standardization across sites will have to be assured — both where samples are collected and where the assay is done. There’s no evidence of disease-mongering. The release says Parkinson’s disease affects “up to 1 million people in the United States, with 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Lewy body dementia affects an estimated 1.4 million people in the United States, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.” The news release mentions that the research was supported by the NIH but doesn’t mention other significant funders such as the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Foundation and the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of California San Diego. It also doesn’t note (as the published article does) that four study authors have applied for a US provisional patent application on the technology. The news release says “test results were available within two days, compared to related assays that require up to 13 days.” However, it doesn’t say how the faster test compares in terms of accuracy. The study says early detection is helpful in part because “the accuracy of diagnoses based on other clinical indices is poorest in the earlier phases of disease.” The tentative wording of the lead — that the test could “offer the possibility of improving early diagnosis” — raises the question of what needs to happen for this test to become widely available. The release doesn’t answer that question. Nor does the study discuss improved diagnosis since that’s not the intent of the test’s development — it’s research to determine who to include in trials and follow their disease progression. The release does a good job here, stating: Early and accurate diagnoses of these brain disorders is essential for developing treatments and identifying patients eligible for clinical trials. The diseases typically progress for years before symptoms appear, and once they do, distinguishing one disease from another can be difficult. There’s no unjustifiable language.
10094	Parkinson’s patients get relief from symptoms with Pilates	The goals of therapy in Parkinson’s include a broad range of coping strategies to help patients better manage the emotional and physical toll of their disease. Stretching, strengthening, and gait and balance training are among the therapies that may help to blunt symptoms, reduce disability, and improve patients’ sense of control and well-being. A discussion of how Pilates’ exercises fit into the existing research in this area would have been informative for patients and their caregivers. The AP story instead relies almost exclusively on the testimonials of Pilates’ studio owners and Parkinson’s patients who have enrolled in Pilates’ classes. Despite the author’s contention that there is no evidence to support the efficacy of Pilates' exercises, many readers will take away the opposite message. The story fails to provide the cost of Pilates’ classes, an accounting of their availability, their potential harms (if any), a scientific estimate of their clinical value, or their context among other medical therapies and interventions for Parkinson’s. Millions of people around the world rely on wire-services articles such as this for meaningful reporting on serious medical conditions. They deserve fewer anecdotes and more science.	false		"The story fails to discuss the cost of a Pilates' program. The story mentions a Pilates’ pilot study at Oregon Health and Science University that ""found improvement in the participants' rigidity and balance,"" but it makes no attempt to explain or quantify the benefits of that program (or any other) in a scientific fashion. There is no information on the potential harms associated with Pilates' exercises. According to the article, there is no scientific research on the ability of Pilates' exercises to blunt the symptoms of Parkinson’s. However, researchers have evaluated many other forms of physical training (e.g. stretching, strengthening, and balance and gait training) in Parkinson’s patients. A discussion of how Pilates’ exercises might fit into the existing research in this area would have been informative for patients and their caregivers. There are no obvious elements of disease-mongering. The AP story cites one physician, neurologist Michael S. Okun, MD, but misstates his affiliation. Okun is the national medical director at the National Parkinson Foundation, not the National Medical Foundation (as the AP story states). The article is otherwise entirely reliant on testimonials from the owners of Pilates' studios or patients who have enrolled in Pilates' programs. The story fails to mention any other therapies for Parkinson’s. The story says that “a few” Pilates' programs are available around the country, in addition to the program at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). But it cites no source for this assertion. Though the story implies that Pilates is a novel therapy for Parkinson’s (""no research,"" ""few"" instructors), it does not state how long the exercise program has been used to treat Parkinson's or any other condition. And it ignores the fact that researchers have evaluated many other forms of physical training (e.g. stretching, strengthening, and balance and gait training) in Parkinson’s patients. The Oregon Health and Science University issued a press release about its Pilates pilot program on November 10. This story, 17 days later, included an interview with a patient quoted in the press release, but added other interviews and information as well."
36376	A proposed bill in Ohio would ban birth control pills and IUDs if it passes.	Does a Proposed Ohio Bill Make the Pill and IUDs Illegal?	unproven	Fact Checks, Politics	In May 2019, a number of posts about “heartbeat bills” in various American states circulated on social media. For example, a rumor about Georgia (archived here) subsequently appeared that proposed legislation would purportedly ban birth control pills and IUDs.One popular Facebook post about a provision of yet another bill, this time in Ohio, featured a screenshot of two May 8 2019 tweets:and this is what is on the table in ohio pic.twitter.com/3kIwG5vSeY— rachel syme (@rachsyme) May 8, 2019As with a claim involving similar proposed legislation in Georgia, the tweet included a screenshot snippet of an unlinked article. The excerpt was from an article published by Ohio’s Statehouse News Bureau on May 7 2019, “Ohio Legislature Considering An Abortion Bill That Is More Restrictive Than The ‘Heartbeat Bill,'” about Ohio House Bill 182 (full text here), which was sponsored by state representative John Becker. In its original context, the screenshot (italicized below) was part of commentary from Becker and a NARAL representative opposing the bill:One fifth of the representatives in the House have signed on to a bill sponsored by Republican John Becker that would prohibit most insurance companies from offering coverage for abortion services. […]The bill would ban nontherapeutic abortions that include “drugs or devices used to prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum.”And Becker says the bill also speaks to coverage of ectopic or tubal pregnancies where the fertilized egg attaches outside of the womb.“Part of that treatment would be removing that embryo from the fallopian tube and reinserting it in the uterus so that is defined as not an abortion under this bill,” Becker explains.“That doesn’t exist in the realm of treatment for ectopic pregnancy. You can’t just re-implant. It’s not a medical thing,” says Jaime Miracle, deputy director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio.She says, under this bill, women would have to wait until their very lives were in danger to get an abortion in the case of an ectopic pregnancy.“This bill will have grave impacts on Ohio’s infant and maternal mortality rate,” Miracle says.And she says that’s not all. She says it will ban insurance from covering popular methods of birth control.“Birth control pills, IUD’s and other methods of birth control like that – the bill states that any birth control that could act to stop a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus is considered an abortion under this bill,” Miracle says.One applied usage of contraceptive pills and IUDs is “emergency contraception,” as they can be used after sex to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting. The language of the bill implies emergency contraception versus standard usage (both of which fall under contraception, not abortion), but Becker seems to be unclear on those nuances. The article goes on to quote Becker’s admission that he is not familiar how contraceptives work:Becker insists his bill does not target birth control.“When you get into the contraception and abortifacients, that’s clearly not my area of expertise but I suppose, if it were true that what we typically known as the pill would be classified as an abortifacient, then I would imagine the drug manufacturers would reformulate it so it’s no longer an abortifacient and is strictly a contraceptive,” Becker says.One of the two controversies involved Becker’s claim that the bill would allow removal of an ectopic pregnancy from elsewhere in the body and re-implanting it in a woman’s uterus — a procedure that does not exist and is medically impossible to perform:Unfortunately, an ectopic pregnancy cannot be “reimplanted” into the uterus. We just don’t have the technology. So I would suggest removing this from your bill, since it’s pure science fiction.— Dr. Daniel Grossman (@DrDGrossman) May 8, 2019Unlike the provision involving ectopic pregnancies, the excerpt in the tweet above was about a muddier issue: the bill’s language about birth control pills and intrauterine devices. House Bill 182 itself appeared to target insurance coverage of abortion specifically (not contraceptives per se), and its introduction states:To amend sections 9.04, 1739.05, and 5101.56 and to enact sections 1751.95 and 3923.591 of the Revised Code to prohibit insurers from offering coverage for abortion services.Language of the bill targeted provisions of existing legislation, redefining clauses and provisions affecting insurance coverage of abortions. Its first sections involved contraceptive pills and IUDs, underlined:Sec. 9.04. (A) As used in this section: (1) “Nontherapeutic abortion” means an abortion that is performed or induced when the life of the mother would not be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or when the pregnancy of the mother was not the result of rape or incest reported to a law enforcement agency. (a) “Nontherapeutic abortion” includes drugs or devices used to prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum.As noted in numerous places above, Becker’s bill was highly problematic due to portions of it that are physically impossible, such as the proposed “re-implantation” of an ectopic pregnancy. The quoted portion were the words of NARAL representative Jaime Miracle, who said that “the bill states that any birth control that could act to stop a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus is considered an abortion under this bill.”In the quoted and underlined portion of the bill above, it does target “drugs or devices” — contraceptive pills and IUDs — “used to prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum.” However, the article from which the tweet captured a screenshot says that would “prohibit most insurance companies from offering coverage for abortion services,” not necessarily ban them outright.Overall, important context was absent from both the Facebook post and tweet about Ohio’s HB 182. The language about birth control pills and IUDs did appear, but the lead-in to both the source article and the bill on which it reported noted that its provisions (on which its sponsor was admittedly unclear) purportedly targeted insurance coverage of abortion. Should it pass, it could affect standard usage of both forms of contraception, but the bill itself did not appear to target birth control itself. Nevertheless, Becker’s admitted unfamiliarity with the treatments he sought to legislate did not inspire public confidence.
10887	Dose reduction strategy can substantially reduce high cost of TNF inhibitor therapy in RA	This news release lays out in clear, lay language the findings of a study looking into whether reducing the amount of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) administered to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diminishes its effectiveness. It goes beyond the study to include quotes from the lead author that do a good job summarizing the work. But while the release touts the possible cost-effectiveness of the reduced-dose strategy, it does not say how much money might be saved if clinicians adopt it, or even provide a ballpark figure for what the drug costs. Perhaps direct costs aren’t as important for patients in Europe, where this release originated, but surely any journalist reporting on the story would want to put a figure on the potential savings — so why not put those numbers in the news release? Cutting the amount of drug used would save money and might reduce the incidence or severity of side effects — both of which would increase value to patients and the health care system.	mixture	Association/Society news release,Health care costs	The news release includes a quote from the lead author, Dr. James Galloway, saying that his study findings offer “a more cost-effective option by substantially reducing the high drug costs associated with TNFi maintenance therapy.” But it does not specify how much the drug costs or how much might be saved with the new strategy. The news release notes that there was no significant difference in outcome between those who got the standard dose and those who got the dose that was reduced by a third. It gives the absolute percentage of patients experiencing flares in both groups. The news release says: “There were no significant differences in self-reported measures of disability (Health Assessment Questionnaire score) with either dose reduction strategy at six months.” But it is not clear whether self-reported measures of disability are limited to the effects of rheumatoid arthritis, or whether they also include side effects that may have been caused by the drug. According to the American College of Rheumatology, those side effects can include “an increased risk for all types of infections, including tuberculosis (TB) and fungal infections. Some of these infections may be severe.” While the potential for side effects should have been mentioned, we’d note that reducing the TNFi dose should theoretically reduce harms. But that is an assumption that needs to be studied. This study is too small to do that. The news release appears to lay out faithfully the data reported in the study. But it lacks information on the study’s limitations, particularly the fact that this was a very small study and that patients were followed only for 12 months. Because it’s so small, it might not pick up adverse effects or benefits from this regimen that would be evident in a larger study. The release should have included some cautionary statements. The release mentions the potentially debilitating effects of RA, but does not exaggerate them. It would have been stronger if it had mentioned the prevalence of the disease and well as the prevalence of disability is in those with the disease. No mention is made in the news release of who funded the study or whether there were any conflicts of interest. The study’s lead author, Dr. James Galloway, said in an email to HealthNewsReview.org that the work was funded by Arthritis Research UK, a charity. The study itself says the authors declared no conflicts of interest. The release notes that conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs such as methotrexate can prevent joint damage and loss of function. It adds that biologic therapy — usually a tissue necrosis factor inhibitor — is reserved for those who either don’t respond, or respond inadequately. Although availability is not explicitly addressed, the release does note that biologic drugs are used as an add-on treatment option to methotrexate, which suggests that they are approved and available. This is true in the U.S., and also seems to be true in the UK, where the study originated. The release doesn’t establish novelty. The implication is that the approach is new, but is this the very first time that such a strategy has been tested? If so, where did the idea come from? If not, what did previous studies of this approach find? A bit of background would have been useful. The language used in the release does not appear to oversell the findings in the study.
2308	Pope Francis warns on 'evil' of drugs, opposes legalization.	Pope Francis warned on Friday against legalizing drugs, calling addiction an “evil” which he said had to be resisted without compromise.	true	Health News	Setting himself against the trend in several western countries to allow the use of so-called soft drugs like marijuana, Francis said narcotics were putting more and more young people in danger. “Drug addiction is an evil, and with evil there can be no yielding or compromise, he said in remarks to a drug enforcement conference in Rome carried on the website of Vatican Radio. The remarks came a day before the pontiff is due to visit Italy’s Calabria, home of the powerful ‘Ndrangheta mafia, which controls a significant share of the global trade in illegal narcotics. “Here I would reaffirm what I have stated on another occasion: No to every type of drug use. It is as simple as that,” he said. Francis, who has spoken out against drug use several times, said that to ensure young people did not fall prey to drugs, society had to say “‘yes’ to life, ‘yes’ to love, ‘yes’ to others, ‘yes’ to education, ‘yes’ to greater job opportunities”. “If we say ‘yes’ to all these things, there will be no room for illicit drugs, for alcohol abuse, for other forms of addiction,” he said in remarks to a drug enforcement conference in Rome carried on the website of Vatican radio. “The scourge of drug use continues to spread inexorably, fed by a deplorable commerce which transcends national and continental borders,” he said. The comments came as the state of New York prepared on Friday to pass measures that should lead to its becoming the 23rd U.S. state to allow medical use of marijuana. Uruguay, which has already legalized the production and sale of cannabis, also said it would also allow doctors to prescribe the drug to treat certain conditions. “Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called ‘recreational drugs’, are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects,” the pope said.
27089	"The U.S. government ""subsidizes"" medications for erectile dysfunction."	For context, we asked the DoD for a cost breakdown of how much it spends on birth control, but we did not receive a response by the time of publication. We will update when further information becomes available.	true	Politics	In May 2019, readers questioned whether the federal government pays for erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra, after the following image was circulated on social media: Both the image and the dollar amount it cited were dated as of this writing. The image shows a woman at a 2017 International Women’s Day rally, while the $41.6 million figure on her sign was what was spent on Viagra by the Department of Defense in 2014. The image initially made the rounds in relation to a separate controversy in 2017, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a decision to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, claiming the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender [people] in the military would entail.” At that time, multiple news articles reported the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) was spending far more on erectile dysfunction medication than it would cost to provide medical care to transgender service members. The original sources for all these claims was a February 2015 Military Times article. That Military Times piece presented figures provided by the Defense Health Agency (DHA), a subsidiary of the Department of Defense, which documented that in 2014: We contacted the Department of Defense, which confirmed almost all of these figures were accurate for the year 2014, with some slight corrections: the total number of prescriptions for erectile dysfunction medication was 1,178,423, of which 905,683 were for Viagra; the total spent on Cialis was $22,827,346; and the cost of prescriptions for active duty members was $7.68 million. The DoD also clarified that the number of erectile dysfunction prescriptions given to active-duty members in 2014 was 140,789, not 102,885. According to data posted on the public transparency tool USASpending.gov, the DoD continues to purchase Viagra. Attempts in both 2019 and 2017 to make political points by juxtaposing the controversy du jour with coverage for erectile dysfunction prescriptions for service members and their families don’t serve their causes well. For example, the Department of Defense does provide coverage for such prescriptions, but it also covers birth control. In September 2014, the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center published figures showing that the rate of erectile dysfunction diagnoses among active-component service members had doubled between 2004 and 2013, and that 48% of cases were psychogenic, meaning the erectile dysfunction was linked to mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
1643	In rise of U.S. vape shops, owners eye new marijuana market.	When Matt and Jen Osmun opened their vape shop in Bethel, Connecticut, last December, they didn’t expect to get a boost from the local medical marijuana outlet.	true	Health News	“Sales are going really well, and getting better every month,” said Jen Osmun, who started the business with her husband, a former plumber, after he was injured in an accident. Most customers at Grassy Plain Vape & Smoke buy electronic cigarettes to help them quit smoking tobacco, but a growing number are referred by medical marijuana commissaries in the neighborhood – the nearest is about five miles away. The Osmuns’ experience is becoming more common as the number of U.S. vape shops soars and shop owners seek to capitalize not only on the vaping trend, but on the more widespread, and legal, use of medical marijuana. Since 2008, the number of U.S. vape shops has grown to about 8,500, and the sale of electronic cigarettes and supplies climbed to $3.5 billion, according to Wells Fargo Securities analyst Bonnie Herzog. She expects U.S. use of e-cigarettes and vaporizers to overtake combustible cigarettes in 10 years. Marijuana represents an additional lucrative market. IBISWorld, a market research firm, projects sales of cannabis for medical use to increase to $13.4 billion in 2020 from $3.6 billion in 2015, largely due to demand from an aging population with conditions such as arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and glaucoma. GreenWave Advisors, an industry research firm, estimates marijuana sales could reach $35 billion in 2020 if all 50 states legalize marijuana for both medical and recreational uses. Medical marijuana use is permitted in 23 states and the District of Columbia for a number of conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, severe pain and HIV/AIDS, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. Another 15 states allow patients – often with severe seizure disorders - to use a few strains of cannabis for treatment. Recreational use is legal in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. At many vape shops, the new customers are typically older nonsmokers suffering from serious illness, according to vape shop owners, customers and industry experts. Patients and medical marijuana groups say they prefer the vaping device for marijuana rather than smoking because they believe there are lower risks. Some states, including New York and Minnesota, prohibit patients from smoking the cannabis. In a vape device, the cannabis leaves or concentrate are heated to a temperature that’s lower than required for combustion. Vaping devices, which can be as small as a ball point pen, also provide medical marijuana users with more privacy, since the vapor released by the heating device is nearly odorless. “Vaporized cannabis is a really significant trend in both medical and adult use,” said Christie Lunsford, a Colorado-based consultant who focuses on issues involving cannabis. “It’s consistent, it’s almost instantaneous, and it’s appropriate for a wide variety of consumers.” Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Palm Beach Vapors has opened 14 shops and is in the process of starting another eight, said Chip Paul, CEO and co-owner. He told Reuters that 90 percent of the franchisees eventually hope to capitalize on marijuana-related sales. Individual stores pay a $25,000 franchise fee and $50,000 for initial stocking, while Palm Beach Vapors helps train workers and set up the store. Franchisees are on average grossing about $20,000 a month, Paul said. “We think the cannabis market will mimic and mirror the tobacco market,” he said. “We think they will see this (vapor) as a safer alternative.” Patients need a doctor’s approval to get the marijuana, which is typically available from state approved dispensaries, private growers, and – in some instances - their own plants if they can’t afford the cannabis, which is not covered by most insurance plans. At the same time, vaping devices have gone mainstream as the industry pushes them as an alternative to tobacco. Marijuana dispensaries in some states also sell the electronic devices. But vape shops, with their larger selection of devices, have seen an uptick in sales especially from consumers who don’t want to shop at tobacco stores or head shops, which cater more to recreational use. “We try to steer our patients to someone who will explain to them the different models and find them the one that is right for them,” said JoAnne Leppanen, executive director of the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition. “You don’t necessarily want to go into a place geared for people who want a tie-dyed T-shirt.” The process can be daunting for someone who is seriously ill and struggles to even hold a device because of tremors, arthritis or other medical conditions. Leppanen said medical marijuana patients “do not want to be associated with recreational use.” They also want their privacy. Some patients don’t even “want their cars to be seen in a dispensary parking lot,” she said. Most investments in the future of legal marijuana have focused on growing, branding and technology firms, especially those already producing medical marijuana. A subsidiary of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co, for example, purchased General Hydroponics Inc, which is popular with indoor marijuana growers. A small number of private equity and hedge funds have invested in companies that produce and market the cannabis. Billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, for example, has invested in Privateer Holdings, which has raised $82 million. Privateer’s portfolio includes companies like Tilray – a medical cannabis company in Canada – which has applied for a license in New York. Privateer has also invested in Leafly, a tech company that helps consumers find cannabis information, doctors and stores. By contrast, vape shops are still primarily mom-and-pop operations. VaporFi, one of the largest franchises, has grown in two years to 52 stores. Kevin Cintorino opened Elevated to sell vaping equipment and snacks in Providence, Rhode Island, where medical marijuana users can gather to vape. He came up with the business plan during a college class. “Why not open a place where we could get the entire patient community together?” he said. John Avey and his father, Dillard, opened in May a Palm Beach Vapors franchise in rural Council Bluffs, Iowa, to supplement income from their seasonal cement business. Sales have been so good that they’re already planning more stores. “It’s like the cherry on top,” said John Avey, 25, about the equipment sales for cannabis.
8706	Ventilator receives first approval in UK's coronavirus battle.	Britain has given regulatory approval to a ventilator which will be made by a group of companies including Airbus, Ford and McLaren, the first such go-ahead as part of efforts to combat the coronavirus.	true	Health News	Governments around the world are trying to boost the number of available mechanical breathing devices that can supply air and oxygen, crucial for the care of people who suffer lung failure, which can be a complication of COVID-19. The modified version of an existing design by medical devices company Penlon will join a product from Smiths, which is already being built by a consortium of aerospace, engineering, Formula One and automotive firms to fulfil a government order. “We are working closely with our supply chain partners to rapidly scale up production to achieve our target of at least 1,500 units a week,” said Dick Elsy, chief executive of the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium. The government said on Thursday it wanted 15,000 Penlon devices and thousands from Smiths. The initiative comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on industry to help combat the pandemic, with several manufacturers switching from their normal day-to-day activities to contribute to the project. Ford’s Dagenham plant in east London, Britain’s biggest automotive engine factory, is now testing and assembling some components for ventilators. Planemaker Airbus is using its Welsh Broughton site, which makes wings for commercial aircraft, for the sub-assembly of absorbers and flow machines. McLaren’s southern English Woking site is making trolleys on which the medical devices are fixed for use in clinical settings. Over 10,000 mechanical ventilators are available to patients in Britain’s publicly funded health service with more to come from this production run and overseas purchases, the government has said. But whilst new models need approval, it is also taking time to ramp up the output of existing designs and prompting questions about suitability. On Sunday, a source told Reuters that the government had cancelled an order for thousands of units of a simple model, known as BlueSky, because more sophisticated devices are now needed. Separately, vacuum-cleaner firm Dyson is still awaiting approval for its ventilator. “Contracts are under discussion with Dyson and are not yet available,” the Cabinet Office told Reuters on Tuesday in response to a freedom of information request.
6575	Colorado OKs electric car requirement to fight air pollution.	Colorado tightened its air quality regulations on Friday, requiring that at least 5% of the vehicles sold in the state by 2023 emit zero pollution.	true	U.S. News, Transportation technology, Colorado, Health, General News, Air pollution, Automobiles, Business, Denver, Technology, Air quality, Electric vehicles, Pollution	The state Air Quality Control Commission, which passed the rule on an 8-1 vote, said the requirement applies to auto manufacturers, not buyers. It’s intended to boost the number of electric vehicles in a state struggling to control ozone pollution in its most heavily populated area. The minimum rises to 6.23% in 2025. Colorado is the 11th state to adopt zero-emission standards, according to Green Car Reports, which tracks developments in low-pollution vehicles. Two auto industry groups, Global Automakers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, applauded the rule. They said they had been working with Colorado officials on how to structure the requirement. John Bozzella, president of Global Automakers, said Colorado had adopted an innovative policy by collaborating with manufacturers. Environmental groups also welcomed the standards, but the Colorado Freedom to Drive Coalition called them costly and ineffective. “We believe commissioners did a disservice to all Coloradans, but especially Coloradans of modest means,” coalition spokeswoman Sara Almerri said. Regulators said the zero-emission standard is aimed at reducing ozone and greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change. Democratic Gov. Jared Polis directed the Air Quality Control Commission to set a zero-emissions standard shortly after he took office in January. In a statement Friday, he said the new rule was “only the beginning” of the state’s work to reduce air pollution. Excessive ground-level ozone has plagued Colorado’s urban areas for years. Ozone is the main component of smog and can aggravate asthma and contribute to early deaths from respiratory disease. It’s created from pollution emitted by vehicles, the oil and gas industry and other sources. Ozone alerts have frequently flashed on signs over Denver freeways this summer, asking drivers to reduce car trips. Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Denver and the northern Colorado urban corridor failed to meet federal ozone standards and said the state must come up with a new plan to clean up the air. The state is also rewriting air pollution rules for the oil and gas industry. ___ This story has been corrected to say Colorado would be the 11th state to adopt zero-emissions requirements, not the 15th. ___ Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP
20332	Lean, finely textured beef is the proper name [not pink slime], and it is a safe, widely used product.	Don't call it pink slime, Georgia official says	true	Georgia, Food Safety, Gary Black,	"There’s a meaty political campaign going on across the nation with slimy accusations being hurled -- and it has nothing to do with the race for the White House. It began in earnest April 2, when the governor and lieutenant governor of Iowa sent letters to their colleagues in other states to fight against what they said are media misperceptions about a form of ground beef maliciously maligned as ""pink slime."" Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black quickly joined the effort to defend this form of beef, holding a news conference two days afterward. ""Lean, finely textured beef is the proper name, and it is a safe, widely used product,"" Black told reporters. Officials in Kansas and Texas have begun their own public relations campaigns in support of the beef that is a cash cow, pardon the pun, in those states. So, too, has U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor. Proponents say beef prices would rise with less meat on the market. Although the Department of Agriculture maintains the meat is safe, the federal agency announced in March that it would give schools more beef choices in the wake of public concerns about children eating ""pink slime."" McDonald’s and some major grocery stores have said they will no longer sell the meat. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver last year showed how the meat is made to horrify a studio audience. ""Everything about this process is about no respect for food or people or children,"" he said. So is it really safe? First, let’s explain how it is made. The meat is taken from slaughterhouse trimmings with high fat content that are more susceptible to contamination because the meat is often close to the hide, which is highly exposed to fecal matter. The trimmings are warmed to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit in equipment that looks like a large, high-speed mixing bowl that spins these trimmings to separate meat from the fat that has been liquefied. Ammonium hydroxide is mixed in to destroy bacteria and E. coli that could make someone ill if a raw product is not cooked thoroughly. It is then mixed with regular ground beef. The federal government has approved the practice for slightly more than a decade. The use of this meat gained national attention in recent months when a blogger who writes about kids’ food began an online petition to urge federal officials to remove it from school cafeterias. It may sound disgusting to know that beef contains ammonia, but the companies that produce the beef and experts say ammonia hydroxide is used in other foods such as cheese and chocolate to reduce acidity and kill bacteria. The beef is produced by a handful of companies nationwide. Federal officials inspect the process daily. Because this type of beef is not mentioned in packaging, there’s been little discussion about it or its safety. The New York Times, however, reported in late 2009 that E. coli was detected three times and salmonella 48 times, including back-to-back incidents in August in which two 27,000-pound batches were found to be contaminated. The meat in question, produced by the nation’s largest distributor of the product, Beef Products Inc., was caught before reaching lunchroom trays. BPI told the Times it found E. coli in what was described as a low 0.06 percent of samples that year. The Times also reported that from 2005 to 2009, BPI had a rate of 36 positive results for salmonella per 1,000 tests, compared with a rate of nine positive results per 1,000 tests for the other suppliers, according to statistics from the program. BPI said its testing regime was more likely to detect contamination. Some federal officials were concerned that the beef hadn’t been studied enough before it was approved. The Times reported that one federal microbiologist, Gerald Zirnstein, called the processed beef ""pink slime"" in a 2002 email to colleagues. A University of Arkansas student did a study of the beef last year. The student, Courtney Moon, found the beef held up better than regular ground beef. ""I was surprised,"" Jason Apple, a meat science professor at the school, said in a news release sent by the university. ""I just assumed the lean beef trim would negatively impact the quality of the burgers, but it actually made them better in this study."" Researchers at other colleges have come forward in recent days offering similar conclusions. We were curious whether this beef was sold in other parts of the globe. A Canadian government health spokeswoman told PolitiFact Georgia that the country does not allow ammonia to be used in ground beef during production nor does it allow such food to be sold there. Ammonium hydroxide would be considered a food additive and require a safety evaluation, the official said. ""Only if a safety evaluation identified no safety concerns would the requested use be considered for approval,"" Olivia Caron, a media relations official for Health Canada, said via email. Interestingly, Caron used ""pink slime"" in the subject line of her email. Several food safety experts we interviewed were well-versed on the beef treating process and didn’t have what one of them called ""the ick factor"" that many Americans are feeling about it. For the most part, they consider it safe to eat. The main problem, they said, was the lack of information about the beef provided by manufacturers and the federal government, particularly at a time when Americans want fewer chemicals and preservatives in their food. ""Right now, we’re in a situation where you don’t know, and that’s why people are so infuriated,"" said Michael Batz, executive director of the Food Safety Research Consortium. ""The lack of disclosure and the lack of transparency is very troubling."" The USDA recently gave meat processors and supermarkets the option to put labels on ground beef packages identifying it as ""lean finely textured beef."" So where does this leave us? It is correct that the meat is called lean, finely textured beef and it has been widely used in fast-food restaurants and school cafeterias, and is sold in stores. But is it safe? The federal government says it’s safe. So do some state officials. Some research has concluded it is safe. Still, there are reasons for concern, such as those listed in the 2009 New York Times report. We also find it interesting that our neighbor to the north, Canada, has not permitted the beef to be sold there."
22750	"Under current U.S. immigration policy, ""literally one person with a green card"" can, in the extreme, bring in more than 270 of his relatives."	Marietta Republican says a single immigrant can lead to more than 270 others	false	Georgia, Immigration, Phil Gingrey,	"U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey wants Georgians to know that even a trickle of immigration can lead to a deluge. The Marietta Republican explained just how bad he thinks it can get during a state legislative committee meeting on immigration. Speaking via a video conference transmission from Washington on Dec. 16, he put blame on the shoulders of national immigration policy. ""And so now, under the policy, our immigration policy, literally one person with a green card can bring in, in the extreme ... 279 people."" That sounds like a lot. Is this true? Immigration became a central issue during the election season when now-Gov. Nathan Deal and his Democratic foe, former Gov. Roy Barnes, both called for an Arizona-style immigration law. That state's decision to take a more active role enforcing federal laws prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to file suit against it. We called Gingrey's office for evidence. A staffer referred us to NumbersUSA, a nonprofit group that advocates for lower immigration levels. Roy Beck, the group's executive director, said he did not know of any cases where this happened, but he stressed it's possible through ""chain migration."" That's when immigrants take advantage of U.S. rules that allow them to bring their relatives here. Foreigners who obtain green cards can apply to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to bring their spouses and unmarried children. If they become citizens and are over age 21, they can also apply to bring in their married children, parents and siblings. We checked NumbersUSA's math. The group used immigration rules and fertility rates for less-developed countries to determine that 273 relatives of a legal immigrant can follow him during the next 15 years. (Gingrey said 279, but we won't count this slight difference against him.) Since Gingrey said such immigration was possible ""in the extreme,"" we accepted the group's assumptions such as that in recent years, families in the less-developed world have, on average, three children, and that all of an immigrant's eligible family members would leave for the U.S. and become citizens as soon as they could legally do so. We also assumed there were absolutely no visa processing waits and that immigration backlogs do not exist. We found NumbersUSA's estimate was not based on ""literally one person with a green card"" entering the country, as Gingrey said. Their estimate assumes that the first immigrant comes here as a worker with his spouse and three children. This roughly doubles its estimate. We also found that immigration researchers generally agree that in the real world, such large-scale immigration is at least extremely unlikely if not impossible. Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels, is critical of chain migration, but she noted that administrative wait times and quotas can make such large-scale migration difficult. She had not heard of a case where this has happened. Karen Woodrow-Lafield, who studies immigration as a professor at the Maryland Population Research Center at the University of Maryland, noted those same problems. She said such numbers are ""not possible under the current immigration system"" because of visa application backlogs. Atlanta's USCIS field office now takes four or five months to process immigration documents. In California, the processing time for U.S. citizens to bring in siblings is more than four years. Crystal Williams, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a national association of attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law, said her group also determined that NumbersUSA's figures are not possible. Her group supports the U.S. Justice Department's suit against Arizona. ""If people could bring in those numbers, they would have,"" Williams said. ""But they didn't."" U.S. law sets yearly quotas on legal permanent residents and caps the percentage of potential immigrants from a particular country to 7 percent. This means waits that can last for decades. For instance, Filipino siblings of U.S. residents who applied for visas before Jan. 1, 1988, are only just beginning to be interviewed for entry, according to the U.S. State Department. For countries without backlogs, the date is Jan. 1, 2002. In reality, chain-migration numbers are much lower, experts who study the subject told us. Over a span of 20 years, immigrants who came in on employment visas in 1971 brought in an average of one resident. More recently, one researcher found that on average, one foreign citizen brings in 2.1 others under family reunification rules. And another study shows only some 10 percent of immigrants who got their green cards in 2003 petitioned to bring a relative to the U.S. So what does this mean? Gingrey said that ""literally one person with a green card"" could bring in more than 270 others ""in the extreme."" But we found his figure was not based on one person. It's based on a family of five. We found this scenario is likely impossible under quotas established under current immigration policy. Quotas mean it can take years -- even decades. Merely processing immigration documents can take months, if not years. Given that recent data show that the average immigrant brings in 2.1 others in his lifetime, Gingrey could easily have remained within the bounds of accuracy by describing an ""extreme"" scenario as one where two or three dozen others followed the first immigrant within 15 years. Instead, he said ""279"" -- hundreds more than ""extreme."" We therefore rule Gingrey's statement ."
8755	Mini antibodies: biotech's next big thing?.	GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s head of biotech research is excited about a new generation of “slimline” antibody medicines that may be successors to current blockbusters such as Avastin and Rituxan.	true	Science News	That’s no surprise, perhaps, given Ian Tomlinson headed the next-generation antibody firm Domantis until Glaxo snapped it up for 230 million pounds in 2006. But the fact the world’s second-largest drugmaker has put the technology centre-stage shows how a coming wave of ultra-small antibody products — capable of working in ways impossible for conventional treatments — is gaining attention. “I think the next generation approaches have tremendous applications across the board,” Tomlinson said in an interview. “It’s potentially a big deal; the question is how big.” Today’s monoclonal antibodies are large proteins that act as footsoldiers for the immune system. They are already the fastest-growing section of the global drugs market, with sales expected to hit $49 billion (30 billion pounds) in 2013 compared with $26 billion in 2007, according to market analysis group Datamonitor. And by the middle of the next decade, Genentech Inc and Roche AG’s cancer drug Avastin is predicted by analysts to be the biggest-selling medicine of any type in the world. But conventional antibodies, which must be injected, are limited in the parts of the body they can reach. Next-generation antibody fragments, which are a fraction of the size, are potentially more flexible, cheaper to make and could lead to the development of drugs that are inhaled, used as eyedrops or given by mouth. Last week, Belgium’s Ablynx, which produces so-called nanobodies derived from llama antibodies, signed its most lucrative deal to date with Germany’s Merck KGaA. It was the latest in a string of alliances with Big Pharma players, including Novartis, Wyeth and Boehringer Ingelheim. Other major drugmakers are pursuing rival approaches. A year ago, Bristol-Myers Squibb bought Adnexus Therapeutics for $430 million to get access to its novel class of drugs called Adnectins, which have similar properties to monoclonal antibodies but are much smaller. And in 2006, Amgen bought Avidia in a $290 million deal to exploit its Avimer platform technology. At the same time, a host of independent biotech companies are developing different technologies to shrink tomorrow’s antibody drugs — among them Switzerland’s ESBATech, U.S.-based Trubion Pharmaceuticals and Denmark’s Genmab. At the moment, the jury is out on how well the new generation of products will work, since even the most advanced are only now starting mid-stage Phase II clinical trials. “The answer is only going to come when we get the clinical data for these things in the next two years or so,” said Sam Fazeli, a biotech analyst at brokerage Piper Jaffray. Nonetheless, Ablynx CEO Edwin Moses is convinced the ability of these smaller molecules to penetrate tissue more effectively will open many new doors in treatment. “There will be areas where we can only do as well as a whole antibody but there are certainly areas where we feel we can do better,” he said. Others are more wary. Genmab CEO Lisa Drakeman, whose company is developing next-generation mini antibodies called Unibodies as an adjunct to its main business in conventional ones, sees the emerging technology as more of a niche. “My personal feeling is that whole antibodies is where most of the products will come from. We think next generation technology will be for special applications,” she said. Glaxo, which was slow to get into antibody treatments in the first place, is hedging its bets by backing both the established and new approaches. “The current market for monoclonal antibodies is very big and is growing rapidly — GSK is aggressively pursuing both avenues,” Tomlinson said.
33344	Drinking cold water after meals causes unpleasant and lasting side effects.	The Japanese subsidiary of Pfizer Inc is recalling a drug for high blood pressure which was found to contain a carcinogenic substance in its active ingredient valsartan, the drugmaker said on Friday.	false	Medical, cancer, heart attack, Medical Myths	More than 763,000 tablets of the drug Amvalo, manufactured from April to July in Mylan Laboratories Limited in India, are the subject of recall, Pfizer Japan Inc said in a statement, adding there were no reports of any damage to health. “We will fully pay careful attention to our manufacturing and quality control to prevent a recurrence,” Pfizer Japan President Akihisa Harada said. Mylan NV said in November it would recall certain batches of blood pressure medicine valsartan in the United States after they were found to contain a probable cancer-causing impurity. Chinese pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals also said in July it would recall valsartan from consumers in the United States after finding traces of a probable carcinogen. Last year, the Japanese Health Ministry asked pharmaceutical firms to check whether any of their drugs using valsartan contained any carcinogenic impurities.
33488	College cafeteria food is laced with laxatives.	Less common versions of the legend aim it at the military and fast food restaurants, with the fast food tellings citing the reduction of food poisoning risk as the reason for the addition of laxatives to those edibles. (However, laxatives generally aid in the process of evacuating waste material from the bowels; they don’t prevent the body from digesting noxious material that has been taken into the stomach.) The military variant of this version contains a surprising twist: not only does it assert the purgative is hidden in the gum that comes with Meals Ready to Eat (M.R.E.s), but that the M.R.E.s themselves are meant to constipate soldiers so as to alleviate the issue of their potentially needing to go during battle, with the gum meant to resolve that issue once things have quieted down.	false	College	College life is hard, say students, with one of its most trying aspects being the sorry state of food foisted upon them by their chosen institutes of higher education. Jokes about cafeteria food are legion, but there are also persistent beliefs not just about the taste of college food, but about its very nature. One of the most well-traveled is the assumption that laxatives are incorporated into various of the cafeteria offerings: Over Thanksgiving dinner, a college student related that there is “a law” that cafeterias are required to put laxatives into the food they serve. The purpose of the additives is to reduce the chances of food poisoning by limiting the length of time that the food is in the body. This is my first year in college and there’s word going around that the food people put laxatives in the food. It’s a very small amount and it’s supposedly intended so that if there is ever food poisoning, that the food would be flushed out anyways so no one would find out and sue the school. I don’t even know if anyone can answer this, but since I’ve been in college my friends and I have been getting sick after dinner every night we eat in the cafeteria. Someone said its because the cafeteria people put laxatives in the food so the students won’t get fat and the school will have a good reputation. There are other, non-college legends about special chemicals having been slipped into ingestibles by large and presumed uncaring entities, such as the claim that Tim Hortons coffee is laced with nicotine to ensure patrons of that donut shop stay hooked on its java, and the long-standing belief that those serving in the military are regularly dosed with saltpeter via that substance’s having been mixed into the mashed potatoes served to enlisted men. Three explanations are given as to why college cafeteria food might be laced with laxatives. The most common asserts it’s an attempt to forestall costly food poisoning lawsuits by speeding noxious components of the institution’s meals through collegians’ systems before they have a chance to do them any harm, a claim underpinned by the belief that college cafeterias cut corners and use sub-par foodstuffs wherever they can, placing their fiscal bottom line far ahead of any concern about the health and wellbeing of the students. (This belief is the lynchpin on which the “Grade D but edible” legend turns.) Heard less often is the claim that the change in diet plus the anxiety inherent to seeking a degree results in constipation in most students, hence the college is just doing what it can to help things along. Last, the college’s presumed concern about the expanding waistline of the student body (the fabled “freshman 15“) is cited as the reason for the purgative dosing on the sly. Many students do notice once they’re living on campus that their bathroom habits change — they find themselves having to go more frequently, and note that their output is greater in volume. They chalk up sudden and powerful attacks of urgency to something having been slipped into their food that is making them hotfoot it to the nearest privy rather than to the actual cause, which is their own change in eating habits. For many, life on campus represents their first time out from under parental constraint, and they tend to celebrate this by going a bit wild. At least for a bit, the balanced and regularly-spaced meals enjoyed at home give way to a constant eating binge wherein junk foods are especially favored. Since junk foods are generally high in fat content, and fat does have somewhat of a laxative effect, it’s no wonder those indulging in unfettered gluttony find themselves blasting the seat off the toilet. Belief in the legend fails to take into account what would happen to a school foolhardy enough to secretly dose its students with any kind of medication. Just about any drug can prompt an adverse reaction in at least a few people, causing them to become ill, or maybe even to die. Is it reasonable to assume any college would risk that kind of lawsuit for the sake of helping freshmen go potty regularly?
9134	Uterine fibroid embolization helps restore fertility	The news release describes a research study that assessed pregnancy rates in women with uterine fibroids after they’d undergone a treatment called uterine fibroid embolization (UFE). UFE involves injecting an agent into the uterine arteries to block the blood supply to the uterus and fibroids which causes the fibroids to shrink and die. The research set out to determine whether either of two types of UFE — conventional and partial — is viable for treating uterine fibroids while preserving fertility. But the release suggests that all of the women who became pregnant after the procedure did so because the fibroids were treated. However, it’s unclear whether the fibroids caused infertility (they don’t always) or whether their removal made pregnancy possible. The release could have spelled out potential harms from the procedure a lot more clearly than it did. The release misleadingly associates uterine fibroids with infertility. Fibroids are very common and often do not cause symptoms such as bleeding or pain. If they do cause symptoms, treatment options include medication, surgery and uterine artery embolization (UAE). Some cases of infertility can be caused by fibroids, but (contrary to the release) it is not well known how often fibroids are the root cause. The release quotes the study, but the study itself misstates the extent to which fibroids are known to cause infertility. The quote that 1-in-4 women with fibroids have problems with fertility is based on a classic study published in 1981, and is inaccurate to boot. Other authors citing the same reference conclude that fibroids account for 1-2 percent of infertility, according to UpToDate, the gold standard online medical text. Because of the uncertainty of the effects of fibroids on fertility, women found to have fibroids who desire a future pregnancy are generally counseled not to postpone pregnancy, since fertility declines with age — but they are NOT advised to have treatment in the absence of other symptoms, unless the fibroids have particular features such as their location that are likely to prevent pregnancy. The conventional treatment for women with uterine fibroids is myomectomy. Though UFE is a less invasive procedure than myomectomy, its use remains controversial because its effects on fertility are unknown.	mixture	fertility,Radiological Society of North America (RSNA),uterine fibroid embolization	The costs of the three treatments considered — conventional UFE, partial UFE, myomectomy — are not discussed in the news release. The news release does a good job providing absolute numbers in describing the trial results: After an average follow-up of almost six years, 149 of the 359 women, or 41.5 percent, had become pregnant one or more times, and 131 gave birth to a total of 150 babies. It was the first pregnancy for more than 85 percent of the women who gave birth. The procedures had a clinical success rate of approximately 79 percent for fibroid-related symptoms. However, to understand the actual benefits, we’d need to know more about the women who were treated with UAE. This study enrolled women who had fibroids and/or adenomyosis (a different condition) that apparently caused symptoms, and had not become pregnant after a year of unprotected sex; it offered them the option of UAE, even though its fertility effects were not well understood at the time of the study. There is no information on whether these women had fibroids as the cause of their failure to conceive after a year. Thus, the pregnancy rates achieved after UAE are difficult to interpret. The release would also have been more informative had it broken down pregnancy rates by full or partial UAE. The release cites concerns that UFE “may cause inadequate blood flow to the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, and the ovaries” as the reason the procedure isn’t more widely used. This is a bit hard to interpret by the layperson and it isn’t until later in the release that we learn this essentially means there are risks of infertility associated with conventional UFE. The release should have spelled out the known complications, which, in addition to infertility, include pelvic pain, fever and vaginal discharge, all of which are usually temporary. Death from an embolism (an artery blocked by blood or an air bubble or some other foreign body) following the procedure has been reported but is extremely rare. Also, one of the reported findings is fairly misleading: Complication rates were 14.6 percent for partial UFE and 23.1 percent for conventional UFE. The original research article discloses that this observed difference is not significantly significant. There is little in the news release describing what kind of study was undertaken. A reading of the original research article reveals that the findings are based on a retrospective, observational cohort study (one that establishes a link between risk factors and health outcomes but can’t establish cause and effect). It isn’t until the last line of the news release that we learn the researchers next plan to conduct “a randomized study comparing the results of partial and conventional UFE.” Disease mongering is the most serious shortcoming of this release. The cited statistic that “one out of every four women with fibroids has problems related to fertility” inflates the causal relationship between fibroids and infertility. The more relevant statistic would be the percentage of infertile women who have fibroids. The release disease mongers because it makes it sound like all women with fibroids are at high risk of infertility, and thus, should receive treatment. In reality, UFE and related procedures are generally reserved for women with fibroids who have symptoms such as bleeding and pain. The concern is that readers will infer that all women with fibroids who wish to optimize future fertility need treatment for the fibroids — regardless of whether they are causing bothersome symptoms — and that the use of UFE will be extended to treating women with fibroids but without symptoms who hope for a future pregnancy. That’s a very large group indeed, since fibroids are so common. Funding sources were not mentioned. The research article states there were no conflicts of interest to disclose. The release discusses the different alternatives for treating uterine fibroids. It at first leads the reader to anticipate a study comparing UFE to myomectomy, but it turns out that the study is much more about comparing conventional UFE to partial UFE. The hypothesis that partial UFE may help reduce the risks of infertility compared to conventional UFE could have been given more discussion. It is not clear why the lack of difference between conventional and partial UFE is not highlighted in the study abstract or the release. There is no explicit discussion of UFE’s availability, but as conventional UFE is described as such, its availability is implicit. The release doesn’t make an outward claim of novelty. However, there is novelty here in that there is little published evidence on fertility rates after UFE and this adds to the body of available research. There is no evidence of unjustifiable language.
33834	Gangster John Dillinger's exceptionally large penis is housed in one of the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C.	In the 1988 Jay McInerney’s novel Story of My Life, we found this: “I remember I read somewhere that outlaw guy John Dillinger had one that was about a foot and a half long and it’s preserved in the Smithsonian or someplace. Now that’s what I call the Washington Monument.”	false	Risqué Business, Phallacies	One of the more bizarre celebrity legends is the claim that notorious bank robber John Dillinger was not only the proud possessor of an unusually large penis, but that this portion of his anatomy was removed post-mortem and put on display at one of the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. (Some versions state that the receiving institution was not the Smithsonian but the Armed Forces Medical Museum, which is on the grounds of the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington.) That the Smithsonian denies having (or ever having had) this piece of classic Americana in their collection is part of the game, of course. (An auxiliary portion of the legend is that Smithsonian docents, upon being asked where Mr. Dillinger’s organ can be found, will not deny its presence in the collection but will fabricate an excuse as to why it is not currently on display.) How and when this rumor got started is unknown. No documentary evidence indicates that Dillinger was renowned for either his sexual prowess or his possession of a prodigious member during his lifetime. It is often claimed that the photograph below, taken in the circus-like atmosphere of the Cook County morgue after the elusive bank robber was finally gunned down by FBI agents outside the Biograph theater in Chicago on 22 July 1934, begat the legend of the pickled penis: The bulge in the center of the photo (Dillinger’s arm) was supposedly mistaken by contemporary viewers of fuzzy newspaper photos for his penis, thus starting the tale of an incredibly well-endowed John Dillinger. (How he managed to die in a fully erect state was a question the public either didn’t ponder or else attributed to some rather strange misunderstandings about the process of rigor mortis.) We doubt this explanation of the rumor’s genesis because the legend does not seem to have begun circulating until many years after the photograph was first published in newspapers, and it doesn’t account for how the famous phallus supposedly came to be housed in one of America’s premier museums (other than that, because it was an extraordinary anatomical specimen, somebody who felt that it belonged in a museum somewhere happily donated it). How the organ was surreptitiously severed also remains unexplained; presumably the undertaker who prepared the body for burial in Indiana would have noticed the mutilation and reported it to one of Dillinger’s relatives before the funeral. Our psychological take on the rumor? Consider that Dillinger was the FBI’s Public Enemy #1 after committing a string of flamboyant bank robberies, continually eluding capture, and boasting that no jail could hold him (and proving the latter by escaping from the Lake County Jail in Crown Point, Indiana, on 3 March 1934, reportedly bluffing his way out with a wooden replica of a gun). After Dillinger held up a few more banks and raided a Warsaw, Indiana, police station in the following months, the FBI was finally tipped off to his presence at the Little Bohemia Lodge in northern Wisconsin. The raid on the lodge by J. Edgar Hoover’s vaunted FBI was an embarrassing disaster: agents opened fired on a carful of innocent lodge visitors (killing one), an agent was shot to death by Baby Face Nelson (who then escaped in an FBI automobile), and Dillinger himself once again eluded capture. Although the FBI finally caught up with and killed the infamous gangster in Chicago a few months later (with the assistance of Anna Sage, the “lady in red” who tipped off local police to Dillinger’s presence and agreed to lead him into a trap), he had given Hoover and the FBI a black eye, leading them on a extended merry chase across the Midwest and humiliating them by escaping yet again when they had him cornered. What better revenge for Hoover than a symbolic emasculation, especially considering that it was a woman whom the FBI finally used to lure Dillinger to his death? Spread the word that Public Enemy #1 had been interred sans penis, and that his manhood had been put on display for all to see right across town from FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. It’s an unlikely explanation, but a satisfying one. Sightings: Look for Kevin and his buddies to refer to this legend in an episode of television’s The Wonder Years (“Heartbreak”, original air date 23 January 1991). Also, in the 2003 film The Recruit, one character offers his romantic interest a day of tourist activities in Washington, suggesting they “Look at John Dillinger’s penis; I swear to God it’s in the Smithsonian.”
31590	Attorney General Jeff Sessions said using marijuana leads to more sex, thus causing more unwanted pregnancies and more abortions.	"A report that the U.S. Attorney General said that marijuana caused more unwanted pregnancies was a hoax from a ""hybrid"" news site."	false	Junk News, jeff sessions, marijuana, newslo	On 19 March 2017, Newslo.com published an article appearing to report that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had said that using marijuana leads to more sex, along with heavier use of condoms but also a higher number of abortions: “When you get high on pot, I’m told it amplifies your sensory perception and even makes one’s morals skyrocket,” he added. “Coincidentally, I’m also told having intercourse while high is, apparently, a real hoot. The trouble is – because of marijuana, couples who engage in sex while high seem to use condoms a lot more than couples that do it normally. And that means no babies. But, there’s even a more worrisome side effect: pot also leads to couples going for abortions; once normal, they must become aware of their foolishness and then come to a decision that they don’t want a baby. So, in reality, what we have here is a situation in which pot leads to condoms, and then, inadvertently, to abortions as well. As a result, Americans as a race are dying off one abortion at a time.” Newslo (and sister sites Religionlo, Politicops, and Politicalo) typically follow a format in which some factual information is combined with embellishments. Newslo’s “hybrid” fake news sites have a clickable field enabling readers to “show facts” or “hide facts,” but by default all its stories display in “hide facts” mode. : On 15 March 2017, remarks delivered by Sessions were quoted in a press release from the Department of Justice: I reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana – so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful. Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life. However, the words “pot” and “condoms” appeared nowhere in Attorney General Sessions’ remarks, and were highlighted as falsehoods on Newslo:
9021	Eating pecans had significant effect on biomarkers of heart disease and type 2 diabetes	This release summarizes a small 4-week study of 26 middle-aged adults with overweight or obesity. Researchers from Tufts University examined the effects of eating 1.5 ounces of pecans daily on the volunteers’ cardiovascular biomarkers. The release notes pecans produced “significantly improved insulin sensitivity and had a significant effect on markers of cardiometabolic disease in otherwise healthy overweight and obese adults with excess belly fat.” The release gives readers little in the way of evidence or help in understanding the actual benefits (as opposed to changes in biomarkers) someone supplementing with pecans could experience. People are hungry for good advice on how to eat in order to lessen their risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. But this short news release paints a too simple picture based on a month-long study of a few patients. This study measured biomarkers in blood that are associated with health outcomes in order to find out whether eating pecans changed their health outcomes, but it did not follow these patients beyond four weeks. Sometimes a biomarker is just a surrogate that does not help patients understand real health outcomes. We wish the National Pecan Sheller’s Association, which funded the study, had taken a longer look at more meaningful outcomes. Read more about the misleading nature of some nutrition studies.	false	cardiovascular disease,National Pecan Shellers Association,pecans	The release does not mention the cost of pecans. More expensive than some other tree nuts, the ballpark price of pecans should be known to the average reader. The release does not give us numerical measures of the benefits it reports from the study. Instead, the release uses the phrase “significantly improves” in relation to “insulin sensitivity” and further states that pecans had a “significant effect on markers of cardiometabolic disease in otherwise healthy overweight and obese adults with excess belly fat.” None of that helps readers gauge the impact of pecan supplementation. The lead researcher is quoted saying, “What’s really interesting is that just one small change — eating a handful of pecans daily — may have a large impact on the health of these at-risk adults.” But no where in the releases are readers provided any evidence of a large impact. There is no mention of any possible harms from adding pecans to the diet. A brief mention of nut allergies and the high fat and calorie content of nuts would be appropriate in a release advocating daily pecan supplementation. The release provides a very brief summary of the study design that provides a backdrop for the reader. However, the beneficial effects as stated are not as clear as they could be. While insulin sensitivity was reportedly improved with the pecan added to the diet, the fact that a composite endpoint of cardiovascular markers was used in the study was not disclosed in the release. The study authors noted in the published report, “Pecan consumption lowered the risk of cardiometabolic disease as indicated by a composite score reflecting a significant change in clinically relevant markers, i.e., blood lipids and glucoregulation. Using a composite score to concurrently analyze changes in several markers is not unique. However, our method, which used reference ranges to normalize the markers, demonstrates how appropriately aggregating similar markers increases statistical power to detect a difference between groups.” The release could give the reader the incorrect impression that biomarkers were individually improved. There is no disease mongering. The news release made it clear that the study was funded by the National Pecan Shellers Association. The published study also noted that the researchers had no conflicts of interest. There are many different dietary recommendations that could lower a person’s risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This release does not discuss any other strategies for lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes or heart disease. Pecans are known to be widely available. The release states that this study is “the first study to look at the effects of pecan consumption on factors other than blood lipid levels and specifically those related to T2D. Obesity is a risk factor for T2D, and both obesity and T2D increase CVD risk.” We don’t know whether pecans are similar enough to other well-studied nuts that perhaps there is already quite a bit of evidence. We did not find unjustifiable language.
37913	BREAKING: Autopsy reveals that Kyle Rittenhouse’s first victim was shot in the back multiple times. Rittenhouse did not act in self-defense.	A popular and widely-shared Facebook post asserted that an autopsy of “Kyle Rittenhouse’s first victim” Joseph Rosenbaum determined Rosenbaum “was shot in the back multiple times”; ergo, “Rittenhouse did not act in self-defense.” Milwaukee’s Medical Examiner in fact determined Rosenbaum was shot once in the back, and sustained several additional wounds. Rittenhouse’s lawyer has telegraphed an intent to claim the teen was acting in self-defense during the incident; the location of the victims’ wounds was only one of a number of possible elements to a self-defense claim.	mixture	Disinformation, Fact Checks	On August 28 2020, a Facebook user shared the following post about 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, charged with shooting and killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin:It read:BREAKING: Autopsy reveals that Kyle Rittenhouse’s first victim was shot in the back multiple times. Rittenhouse did not act in self-defense.That popular post involved numerous elements and sub-claims, all of which are relevant.The IncidentOn August 25 2020, demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin gathered to protest Jacob Blake‘s shooting; incidentally, Kenosha police shot Blake seven times in the back on August 23 2020.It seemed possible that the person who posted this claim was conflating the two shootings:Protesters in the Wisconsin city were demanding justice after an officer shot local resident Jacob Blake seven times in the back while his children watched from his car. As the 29-year-old Black man fought for his life at the hospital following the [August 23 2020], people marched, chanted and asked why for three days. At times, demonstrators and armed civilians faced off.Then things took a deadly turn.The teenager with the long gun scuffled with people near a car dealership and opened fire, allegedly killing two people and wounding a third, a criminal complaint says. Even as police and emergency vehicles raced to the scene and chaotic videos of the fatal encounter appeared on social media, the armed suspect walked past a group of officers unnoticed. He was arrested 30 miles away in Antioch, Illinois.News reports identified the two protesters killed as Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber.Injuries Sustained by Joseph RosenbaumRosenbaum was the first person shot and killed at the protest. Associated Press reported that he was indeed shot in the back, but also in the groin and his left hand:The medical examiner found that Rosenbaum was shot in the groin, back and left hand. The wounds fractured his pelvis and perforated his right lung and liver. He also suffered a superficial wound to his left thigh and a graze wound to his forehead.On August 27 2020, WBBM-TV published extensive detail from a criminal complaint filed the same day, reporting:Dr. P. Douglas Kelley of the Milwaukee Medical Examiner’s office determined that Rosenbaum suffered one gunshot to the groin that fractured his pelvis, another to the back which perforated his right lung and liver, another to the left hand, a superficial gunshot wound to his lateral left thigh, and a graze wound to the right side his forehead.Rosenbaum was shot once in the back. Although he was shot multiple times, other rounds struck his groin, hand, and perforated his internal organs.Rittenhouse’s Lawyer Claims Shooting Was in Self-DefenseThe Facebook post claimed that Rittenhouse did not act in self-defense, and it was true his lawyer, L. Lin Wood, asserted otherwise:“From my standpoint, it’s important that the message be clear to other Americans who are attacked that there will be legal resources available in the event false charges are brought against them,” he said. “Americans should never be deterred from exercising their right of self-defense.”Another report quoted Wood further as he reiterated the self-defense claim:Rittenhouse’s attorney decried the charges. “This young boy was not only attacked on the streets of Kenosha, he’s been attacked in the media and social media all over the damn world,” L. Lin Wood told CBS News. “It’s wrong. He’s a 17-year-old boy. He was not there to create trouble, but he found himself with his life threatened and he had the right to protect himself with self defense and now he finds himself accused of murder.”On August 26 2020, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel addressed the question of whether Rittenhouse could reasonably be construed to have acted in self-defense, regardless of wound location. Experts offered opinions on elements of the shooting known at the time, but no conclusive analysis:Anthony Cotton, a Waukesha defense attorney, said whether or not Rittenhouse legally possessed the rifle is trifling compared to the homicide charges.Was Rittenhouse acting in self-defense when he fired his weapon?Many gun-rights advocates believe he was, based only on watching the videos, but that would ultimately be a question for a jury to answer.Nik Clark, president and CEO of Wisconsin Carry, a gun rights advocacy group, who instructs classes for those obtaining concealed carry permits, thinks Rittenhouse followed the principles of such courses.“We teach to retreat when possible,” Clark said. “He’s fleeing, but the threat follows him.” He thought Rittenhouse showed restraint in not immediately shooting one of the people he later shot in the elbow after the man first halted his approach to Rittenhouse and then lunged at him.Others will likely argue the people going after Rittenhouse in the street, after the first shooting, were attempting to detain him for police or get him to drop the gun and avoid further shootings.Lawyers and gun rights advocates speculated on myriad elements of the incident, including whether Rittenhouse was legally of age to carry the weapon, whether the weapon was transported from his home in Antioch, Illinois across state lines to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and whether a reasonable attempt to “retreat” preceded the shooting.SummaryA popular and widely-shared Facebook post asserted that an autopsy of “Kyle Rittenhouse’s first victim” Joseph Rosenbaum determined Rosenbaum “was shot in the back multiple times”; ergo, “Rittenhouse did not act in self-defense.” Milwaukee’s Medical Examiner in fact determined Rosenbaum was shot once in the back, and sustained several additional wounds. Rittenhouse’s lawyer has telegraphed an intent to claim the teen was acting in self-defense during the incident; the location of the victims’ wounds was only one of a number of possible elements to a self-defense claim.Comments
7470	US report indicates broad risk of COVID-19 at wildfire camps.	Outbreaks of the coronavirus could sweep through large camps where crews typically stay as they fight wildfires across the U.S., according to a federal document obtained by The Associated Press, and the problem is likely to get worse the longer the fire season lasts.	true	Wildfires, Virus Outbreak, Understanding the Outbreak, General News, Forests, Health, Fires, Idaho, U.S. News	The U.S. Forest Service’s draft risk assessment suggests that even in a best-case scenario — with social distancing followed and plenty of tests and protective equipment available — nearly two dozen firefighters could be infected with COVID-19 at a camp with hundreds of people who come in to combat a fire that burns for months. The worst-case scenario? More than 1,000 infections. “The Forest Service is diligently working with partners to assess the risk that COVID-19 presents for the 2020 fire season,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday. “It is important to understand that the figures in this report are not predictions, but rather, model possible scenarios.” The Forest Service said the document was outdated and being redone, and the newest version wasn’t yet ready to share. The AP obtained the draft from an official who has access to it and didn’t want to be named. One of the authors of the risk assessment said Tuesday that in the new version, the infection rates remain the same. But while the draft originally said the death rate among infected firefighters could reach as high as 6%, that is being revised sharply downward, to less than 2%, to reflect newer data, said Jude Bayham, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University. He said the initial death rate was based on data from early in the pandemic, when testing was far more limited. Based on new data, firefighters — who are largely healthy and young — will likely fare far better if they contract COVID-19 than the general population, he 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 people who are older or have health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. Federal guidelines released last week reimagine how to combat wildfires to reduce the risk of firefighters getting the virus. The guidelines urge fire managers to use small crews that can have the close contact that firefighting and travel often require, while staying away from other groups. The guidelines recommend avoiding the traditional large camps and relying on military-issue ready-to-eat or bagged meals instead of catered buffet-style meals at campsites. Some fire managers also are told to take temperatures with their own touchless thermometers if possible. The guidelines say everyone should wear masks and other protective equipment when around those outside their immediate crew. Good cleaning and sanitation is recommended, as is isolating firefighters and potentially entire crews if COVID-19 is detected. A review of incident reports from wildfires so far this year show the guidelines are difficult, and sometimes impossible, to follow and could actually increase some risks to firefighters. “We have developed pinch-points that cause operational lapses in guidance that may very well get confused with policy and doctrine. This situation could result in injury — or even unwanted death — of our multiagency employees,” Greg Juvan, a fire management officer with the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, wrote in a report from a small wildfire last month. Social distancing was difficult, and firefighters found it unrealistic to meet sanitation standards for truck radios, hand tools and other gear used in the initial attack on the Idaho wildfire, Juvan said. Social distancing guidelines call for more vehicles to transport crews, but that led to congestion on the narrow roads leading to the fire. The guidelines could raise one of the greatest risks to wildland firefighters — traffic wrecks, Juvan said. Even something as basic as sanitizing vehicles proved problematic, with cleaning supplies difficult to find, the report said. In New Mexico, several agencies responded to a small wildfire last month, with some not practicing social distancing and other virus policies appearing to vary greatly, George Allalunis, a Carson National Forest engine captain, wrote in a report. For the Forest Service’s draft risk assessment, researchers created scenarios using three actual fires from 2017 and applied disease modeling. They found testing every firefighter before they started work reduced the coronavirus risk most significantly for short, high-intensity wildfires, said Bayham, the professor. But for longer, drawn-out firefights, initial testing was less important than keeping firefighters spread out in small campsites. The models showed that even with strict pre-work testing and social distancing, about 21 COVID-19 infections could be expected in a large camp like that used for a 2017 fire in Montana. In the worst-case scenario, more than 1,000 firefighters would be infected. The problem could compound as fire crews are sent to new locations over the monthslong fire season, which has largely begun. The risk assessment will be updated throughout the season, the Forest Service said. The American West could see higher-than-normal levels of wildfire this year because of drought.
11632	Alternative to Statins Shows Promise	"Headlines matter. When a story begins under the banner, ""Alternative to Statin Shows Promise,"" it leads readers to immediately believe that an alternative exists. This drug isn’t even on the market yet. Does it hold promise? How much promise can be established in a small, 12-week trial? Why is the hyperbolic language necessary? At the same time, important data – such as how big was the effect size – was missing. It’s way too early to draw any conclusions about the drug eprotirome. The strong cautionary comments from an independent expert at the end of the story are important, but will readers be swayed by the ""promise"" before they get to those comments?"	false		"There was no discussion of costs – not even a projection. If you can label something as an ""alternative to statins"" in the headline, then you can certainly at least project for readers what this ""alternative"" might cost. A major weakness of the story: it did not quantify the effects seen in the study in any way. The story says that the drug "" did not cause the feared side effects on the heart and other organs that have plagued similar thyroid-based treatments."" But can these side effects be expected to show up in a small, short-term trial? Nonetheless, because of the strength of the concluding comments by the independent expert – ""But if there is one thing we’ve learned about drugs in this arena, it’s that we need large trials to see how they measure up in terms of risk and benefit…I’m not sure I’d want to sign up for that one before I had longer-term results. Being impotent is no fun. ""- we’ll give this story the benefit of the doubt. Overall, while there was some discussion of the need for more study to track possible long-term effects, there still was not enough emphasis on how limited are the conclusions that can be drawn from such a small, short-term (12 weeks) study. There was no overt disease mongering in the story. Important caveats were included in the independent expert’s views at the end of the story. Since results were not quantified in the story, we really don’t even learn how the drug compared with statins alone. We really never learn the status of the drug eprotirome. Is it approved? Is it used for anything else now? Readers may assume that it is because the headline already labels it as an ""alternative to statins."" The story didn’t put this study into the context of other research on alternatives to statins. It’s clear that the story did not rely solely on a news release."
31437	A Popeye's manager in Brunswick, Georgia was caught lacing chicken with cocaine to drive business.	Channel22News is a prank news generator site, one that claims to enable social media users to play jokes on their friends. But not uncommonly, the outputs of prank news sites spread rapidly and widely in the online world, essentially turning their creators into operators of fake news sites.	false	Junk News, channel22news, cocaine, news generator sites	On 3 May 2017, what looked to be a news item reported that the manager of a in Brunswick, Georgia, outlet of the Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen restaurant chain was caught lacing chicken with addictive substances in order to increase sales: Popeyes’ in Brunswick, Ga (3319 Altama Avenue) is under investigation after a man alerted police that he got an euphoric high after eating dinner from the restaurant. The man stated after he ate dinner he was craving more and more food. Brunswick Police Department went to the Popeyes’ location and collected samples of the food and found numerous trace amounts of drugs: marijuana, heroin and crack cocaine. Many more arrest and details to come. The original source of this information was the Channel22News.com web site, whose widely-linked headline asserted “Popeyes manager arrested for allegedly dipping chicken in cocaine based flour to increase business sales”: Many readers who viewed the headline through social media likely didn’t click through to read the underlying article, and even those who did might not have spotted the sidebar disclosure informing them the story was a “prank”:
25969	Facebook post Says COVID-19 testing could be done with mouth swabs, so maybe deeper swabbing is “implanting something.”	Nasal swabs are preferred over mouth swabs as a more accurate way of testing for COVID-19. There’s no evidence nasal swabs are used for “implanting something.”	false	Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,	"Could coronavirus testers be doing more than just testing with their nasal swabs? An ominous Facebook post suggests that instead of just retrieving a sample with a swab to test for the presence of COVID-19, testers are ""implanting something."" The post, shared 320,000 times, argues it this way: ""1) Modern Science can take a swab from the inside of your cheek and do a COMPLETE DNA MAPPING. 2) If this COVID-19 is so CONTAGIOUS that tiny microscopic particles of Saliva in your MOUTH could spread out in excess of 6 feet and you need to wear a mask to stop the Spread. WHY not Swab the inside of your HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS MOUTH ? 3) When you tilt your head back are you sure that is just a Q-Tip going 6 inches up your nose ? - Is it possible that instead of retreiving a SAMPLE, they could actually be IMPLANTING SOMETHING ? ? ? Again DNA can be done at home through the mail with simple MOUTH SWAB but the HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS COVID-19 in your MASK COVERED MOUTHS can't be tested with a Mouth Swab ? ?"" The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Tests that extract samples from where the nasal cavity connects with the throat are considered the most accurate, and there is no evidence of testers implanting anything. Here’s how the test is described by Dr. Micah Bhatti, an infectious-diseases professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston: ""The person conducting the test will insert a long stick with a very soft brush on the end — kind of like a pipe cleaner — up your nose and twirl it around for a few seconds. The soft bristles will collect a sample of secretions there for analysis. The swab has to go pretty far back, because cells and fluids must be collected from along the entire passageway that connects the base of the nose to the back of the throat to get a really good specimen. ""Tests can be performed on other specimen types that are less invasive, such as a throat swab. But they are less sensitive than the COVID-19 nasal swab test. Saliva is another specimen type that is being explored, but the jury is still out on that one."" The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends upper respiratory system tests. And the Mayo Clinic says: ""Though not considered the best way to get a good sample, a saliva test may be done if discomfort is an issue with a nose or throat swab."" Similar conspiracy theories have emerged about the tests and have been debunked: We rated a claim that ""the spot where they are ‘getting a sample’ for the COVID-19 test is called your Blood-Brain Barrier."" The swabs do not go anywhere near the blood-brain barrier, the name given to the unique protective properties found in blood vessels that supply blood to the central nervous system. And there is no evidence that getting a COVID-19 test could cause anything more serious than temporary irritation. We rated a claim that Bill Gates and George Soros want to ""secretly stick you with a chip while testing you for the coronavirus."" There was no evidence to back the claim. A number of fact-checks, including by USA Today and AFP Fact Check, also found no evidence for the implanting theory. A Facebook post claims COVID-19 testing could be done with mouth swabs, so maybe deeper swabbing is ""implanting something."" Mouth swabs can be done for testing, though nasal swabs are considered more accurate. There’s no evidence of ""implanting.""."
20285	We are at a 40-year low in our crime rate in our state.	Rick Scott said Florida crime rates are at a 40-year low	true	Crime, Florida, Rick Scott,	"Florida crime rates are at 40-year lows. Forty-year lows? That’s the kind of dramatic statement that makes fact-checkers sit up and say, ""Really?"" Gov. Rick Scott has made that statement several times when asked about the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager in Sanford, Fla. His comments seem intended to reassure people that Florida is a safe place to work and live, even while the state investigates the Martin shooting. (See Scott discuss it on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.) ""We are at a 40-year low in our crime rate in our state,"" he said in an April 13, 2012, report from Reuters. ""From a public safety standpoint we are absolutely heading in the right direction."" Martin died after a resident, George Zimmerman, reported him to 911 as acting suspicious. The operator told Zimmerman not to pursue Martin, but Zimmerman shot Martin a short while later. Police didn’t arrest Zimmerman, and that angered Martin’s family and others. It also got people talking about Florida’s ""stand your ground"" law, which allows people to use deadly force when they believe their lives are at risk. Scott said an official review of the controversial ""stand your ground"" law will begin after the investigation into the shooting itself is complete. A reader (and Palm Beach Post reporter) on Twitter reported that Scott again said crime rates were at 40-year lows during a forum in West Palm Beach; she asked us to check it out. So we decided to investigate. Our first stop was with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Crime statistics on the website only go back 11 years, so we contacted the department directly. It provided us with crime statistics from 2010 back to 1971, for a total of 40 years. The department uses the number of crimes and the population of Florida to calculate crime rates, so different years can be compared. The crime rate shows how many crimes occurred per 100,000 people. In 1971, the crime rate was 5,668. The rate crept up through the 1970s, peaking in the late 1980s at 8,908. The rate then slowly dropped through the 1990s. In 2000, it dropped below the 1971 mark and continued downward. In 2010, the crime rate reached a new low of 4,105. (See the data for yourself.) As we dug deeper, we saw that Scott has been touting the statistic since it was first announced by the department almost a year ago. Do the numbers reflect reality, though? From time to time, there have been allegations that local police haven’t always reported numbers as accurately as they should. We addressed this point in detail in another fact-check. Overall, though, we found no evidence that isolated cases of cheating undermine the larger trend of declining crime rates. We should also point out that Florida isn’t the only place experiencing historically low crime rates, even during a severe economic recession. Why are rates declining? Nobody can say for sure. ""I wish we had some really good answers, but we don’t,"" said Ronald L. Akers, a professor of criminology at the University of Florida. ""There have been a number of reasonable hypotheses that fit what we know, but nothing we can really pin down with certainty."" The theories are highly diverse, and some are fairly controversial, as we noted in previous fact-checks on crime rates. Here are some of the ideas that have been advanced to explain the lower crime rates: Police are getting better at using technology to prevent crime. More people are in jail and therefore can’t commit crimes. Drug addiction is not as widespread as it once was. Online banking and debit cards mean people don’t have cash at home. Abortions have suppressed the number of poor, unsupervised young men. Low inflation makes stealing non-cash items less attractive. President Barack Obama is setting a positive example for African-American youth. New gun laws establishing the right to carry are deterring criminals. Joblessness means people are at home watching the neighborhood. Extended unemployment benefits and food stamps mean people don’t have to turn to crime. Banning lead paint and leaded gasoline has reduced criminal impulses among young men. In the case of Scott’s comments, he didn’t get into the causes of the crime rates or claim unearned credit for the trend. Rather, he was pointing out that while individual crimes might receive a great deal of media attention, statistics show that crime rates in Florida are at 40-year lows. The official numbers confirm Scott’s statement."
8051	'Like wartime' - Philippine doctors overwhelmed by coronavirus deluge.	Private hospitals in the Philippines capital Manila have stopped accepting coronavirus patients in the face of surging numbers of sufferers and people seeking tests, the hospitals said.	true	Health News	The Philippines has reported relatively fewer infections than many other countries in Southeast Asia, but medical experts say a lack of testing has meant that the scale of the epidemic has gone undetected. “It’s like wartime,” said Eugenio Ramos, a doctor and head of The Medical City, a Manila private hospital, which was among the first to turn away coronavirus patients. It has attended to more than 1,000 people who feared they had coronavirus and is currently treating more than 100 suspected coronavirus patients, 14 in intensive care. “More and more are coming, a lot of scared people, some of them already in their advanced stage,” Ramos said this week - adding that facilities were so stretched that many who should be in the intensive care unit were just being intubated with breathing tubes to keep them alive. The scenes are akin to those in hospitals in countries that have been overwhelmed by coronavirus cases, but comes less than three weeks since the country of 107 million reported its first case of local transmission. The Philippines has reported 803 cases and 54 deaths. Malaysia, with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia at 2,161, has had 26 deaths. The situation in the Philippines is similar to that in Indonesia, the region’s most populous country, where there is an even higher ratio of deaths to detected cases - an indicator for doctors that the number of infections may be much higher. Former Health Minister Esperanza Cabral said the reported infection rate was probably just the tip of the iceberg, given the Philippines has so far only tested 2,147 people. “We cannot gauge the extent of the outbreak until we have tested about 10,000 to 20,000 people,” Cabral told Reuters. Testing in the Philippines is to be ramped up with the arrival of 100,000 test kits from China. Modeling from the Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford suggests the number of infections in the Philippines may already be higher than 11,000. The Philippines took drastic measures to contain the spread after its first domestic case on March 7, becoming the third country after China and Italy to put its people under home quarantine, suspend transport, work and commercial activity. But the health system is weak. The Philippines, which on average sends 19,000 trained nurses overseas each year, has 10 beds and 14 doctors per 10,000 people, according to data from the World Health Organization. Italy has more than 40 doctors and 30 beds per 10,000 people. An emergency ward worker who spoke to Reuters described patients waiting up to six hours to be seen and inexperienced staff treating critical patients due to manpower shortages. Nine medical workers have died, and hundreds more have been quarantined for being close to sufferers. The University of Santo Tomas hospital has 530 staff quarantined. The Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center said it had insufficient testing kits and protective gear and could not take more coronavirus patients. Under pressure from 11 private hospitals, the government has now dedicated three public hospitals to serve as special COVID-19 treatment centers - but they themselves are also under strain. “We have every reason to be scared,” the private hospitals said in a letter appealing for help. The head of the emergency department of St. Luke’s Medical Centre, Richard Enecilla, said it had received 120 possible coronavirus-related patients in one day, and made them line up on the hospital driveway to limit exposure. “The way it exploded caught a lot us off-guard,” he told Reuters. “The volume of cases went up and our capacity to serve went down at the same time.”
35529	The U.S. Department of Justice issued a card that exempts holders from wearing face masks on the grounds that it poses a health risk to them due to medical conditions they aren't required to disclose by authority of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).	"What's true: The ADA requires that businesses with mandatory mask rules for customers due to COVID-19 also must accommodate people who may not be able to wear masks due to medical conditions or disabilities. In many cases individuals do not need to disclose or provide proof of those medical conditions. What's false: However, face mask ""exempt"" cards were declared fraudulent by the U.S. Department of Justice. The FTBA, the organization mentioned on the card to “report” potential violations to, also does not appear to be officially recognized by any government agencies as an enforcing body."	false	Medical, COVID-19	Mandatory mask-wearing in public gradually became the law of the land in regions across the United States in 2020 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. Seemingly in response to such regulations, images of cards and flyers citing the Department of Justice (DOJ) began cropping up across the internet, proclaiming certain laws made the bearer exempt from wearing face masks These cards were shared on California-based Facebook groups in June, around the same time the state issued an executive order requiring Californians to wear face masks in public. Snopes readers asked us if the cards were valid. We learned they were not. HEADS UP fellow businesses…. This is not a thing. This is what happens when Arts and Crafts Karens have too much time on their hands. We will throw it in the trash and send them on their way. pic.twitter.com/VKACSA3pRU — Lance Bass (@LanceBass) June 24, 2020 I am exempt from any ordinance requiring face mask usage in public. Wearing a face mask posses [sic] a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), I am not required to disclose my condition to you … Denying access to your business/organization will be also reported to FTBA for further actions. Presented like a business card, it mislabeled the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as singular “Disability” act, included the ADA information line‘s phone number, and claimed there would be steep fines for any violation. In an announcement on ADA.gov, while not explicitly referencing the above card, the Department of Justice (DOJ) declared such postings or flyers on the internet that used its seal as fraudulent. The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, California, reiterated this:
4258	Talc verdict winner: Money can’t make up for lost health.	When Deborah Giannecchini was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer four years ago, it didn’t make sense. She had no family history, nor did she seem a high risk.	true	AP Top News, Cancer, St. Louis, Lawsuits, Ovarian cancer, Health, Business, Modesto, California, U.S. News, U.S. News	But months later, when her daughter saw a TV ad for a law firm asking ovarian cancer victims who used talcum powder to come forward, Giannecchini realized a possible link: She had been using Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder for most of her life. “I used it for 45 years, from age 15,” Giannecchini, now 63, said Friday. “I was still using it.” On Thursday, a St. Louis jury awarded more than $70 million to Giannecchini, of Modesto, California, wrapping up a monthlong trial. It was the third big verdict awarded by a St. Louis jury against Johnson & Johnson in ovarian cancer lawsuits this year. Combined, the three awards amount to nearly $200 million. Giannecchini said she was happy with the verdict, but it doesn’t make up for the cancer fight and ongoing health problems caused by chemotherapy. “There’s not enough money in the world to pay for fighting the cancer,” she said at a news conference arranged by her lawyers. A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that while the company sympathizes with women and their families impacted by ovarian cancer, it will appeal the latest verdict “because we are guided by the science, which supports the safety of Johnson’s Baby Powder.” About 2,000 women nationwide have filed similar suits over concerns about health damage caused by extended talcum powder use. Lawyers are reviewing many additional cases, many of them generated by television ads by law firms. In February, a St. Louis jury awarded $72 million to relatives of an Alabama woman who died of ovarian cancer. Another jury awarded $55 million in May to a South Dakota survivor of the disease. But two cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said there wasn’t reliable evidence that talc leads to ovarian cancer, an often fatal but relatively rare form of cancer. Ovarian cancer accounts for about 22,000 of the 1.7 million new cases of cancer expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Factors known to increase a women’s risk of ovarian cancer include age, obesity, use of estrogen therapy after menopause, not having any children, certain genetic mutations and personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancer. Talc is a mineral that is mined from deposits around the world, including the U.S. The softest of minerals, it’s crushed into a white powder. It’s been widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products to absorb moisture since at least 1894, when Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder was launched. But it’s mainly used in a variety of other products, including paint and plastics. Much research has found no link or a weak one between ovarian cancer and using baby powder for feminine hygiene, and most major health groups have declared talc harmless. Still, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies genital use of talc as “possibly carcinogenic.” Attorneys with Onder, Shelton, O’Leary & Peterson, the firm that handled all three St. Louis cases, cited other research that began connecting talcum powder to ovarian cancer in the 1970s. They cite case studies showing that women who regularly use talc on their genital area face up to a 40 percent higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. The firm has also accused Johnson & Johnson of marketing toward overweight women, blacks and Hispanics — the very same women most at-risk for ovarian cancer. Wylie Blair, an attorney for Giannecchini, said the firm is working with about 1,700 additional plaintiffs. Another trial is scheduled for February. Blair said there has been no talk with Johnson & Johnson concerning a class-action settlement. “Acknowledging that a seminal product that everybody identifies with the company has been causing a horrible disease for all these years is going to be a tough pill to swallow for them,” Blair said. Giannecchini said that as of now there is no evidence of cancer, but she won’t know for years if she is free of the disease. “One day at a time,” she said. “Just stay hopeful.”
29173	Entering the wrong PIN into a card reader will protect you against debit card fraud.	It is also unlikely, he said, that someone could have “all her bank accounts emptied” after a single transaction. While it is probable that consumers would lose some money after their banking information was compromised, most financial institutions are able to detect and flag suspiciously large or frequent transactions to prevent the draining of entire accounts.	false	Fraud & Scams	In November 2018, a bit of “helpful advice” circulated via social media promoting the claim that consumers could stymie the theft of money from their debit cards via card readers through the use of a simple technique. The most common version of the post read: This is from a friend who just had all her bank accounts emptied after she paid a taxi driver with her debit card. She wanted to pay with her credit card but he asked for another method because he didn’t want to pay the 4% visa fee. Received some great advice from the police today that I want to share: whenever you are asked to use debit instead of credit for whatever reason, first fully enter in the wrong PIN. If it is a counterfeit machine it will pseudo process the payment and produce a receipt. An authentic machine will reject the PIN and request a “try again” of some sort. Help spread the word, as the police tell me this type of fraud is becoming increasingly prevalent. The problem with this tip is that although it might indeed be useful for detecting counterfeit card readers, the use of such devices is a fairly rare form of theft. Crooks are far more likely to be employing other methods with card readers to illicitly draw funds from bank accounts via debit cards. For example, some users shared the tip reproduced above alongside a 19 July 2017 report from CTV News in Toronto, Canada, concerning a police advisory for residents. But that report said nothing about cabbies’ using “counterfeit” card readers — it described instead a completely different scheme involving the furtive switching of cards, a form of theft that wouldn’t be thwarted at all through the deliberate entering of incorrect PINs: The advisory stems from multiple reports to police about taxi drivers switching debit card while completing a payment with an electronic terminal machine. In each instance, police believe the driver hands the customer a different debit card — from the same bank — at the end of the transaction. We asked Los Angeles Police Lt. Jeff Hollis, who works in his department’s financial crimes section, whether he had heard of this kind of scam and whether any factual basis underlay the idea that entering a fake number could fool this kind of machine. He told us, “No and no.” It is unclear whether the “wrong PIN” post was spun out of the news story about the Toronto debit card scam or a faulty retelling of another type of incident. But Hollis did say taxi drivers are sometimes unwitting accomplices in yet another type of financial crime: theft involving credit card skimmers. The devices can be attached to a cab’s credit card reader without the driver’s knowledge, leaving customers’ debit card numbers and PINs vulnerable to being harvested via wireless technology. “The suspect who placed [the skimmer] there doesn’t have to be in the cab,” Hollis said. “They can pick [the information] up later on when the cab passes a known location or returns to base.” Thieves who use skimmers, he said, are able to attach them to not only card readers in taxis, but also to gas pumps, ATMs, and grocery store payment terminals. “They’re very small, and they’re very well-concealed, and they blend in with the rest of the machinery,” Hollis warned. Since skimmers simply record card information as it’s passed along to the underlying payment processing device, purposely entering wrong PINs won’t foil or reveal them. But while card skimmers are “dirt common,” Lt. Hollis added, wary consumers can still protect themselves from them: “A good defense is to manipulate the machine with your hand at any time and see if any loose parts come off,” Hollis said. “If so, that’s a good indication that it may be a skimmer. It can be a gentle manipulation — touch the machine and see if any loose parts break off.”
4794	French women demand action amid high domestic violence rate.	Sylvia. Dalila. Aminata. Céline. Julie. Their names are plastered on buildings and headlines across France, calling attention to their shared fate: Each was killed, allegedly by a current or former partner this year.	true	AP Top News, Emmanuel Macron, General News, Violence, France, International News, Domestic violence, Health, Europe, Weekend Reads	More than 130 women have died from domestic violence this year alone in France, according to activists who track the deaths. European Union studies show France has a higher rate of domestic violence than most of its European peers. And frustrated activists have drawn national attention to a problem President Emmanuel Macron has called “France’s shame.” Under cover of night, activists have glued posters with the names of the dead and calls to action to French city walls. “Complaints ignored, women killed,” read the black block letters on one such sign. They have also posted anti-violence slogans, tagged with Macron’s name. By the hundreds, women have walked silently through city streets after each new death. Two years after Macron made a campaign pledge to tackle the problem, his centrist French government has begun to act. A Justice Ministry report released earlier this month acknowledged authorities’ systematic failure to intervene to prevent domestic violence slayings. On Monday, the government will announce measures that are expected to include seizing firearms from people suspected of domestic violence, prioritizing police training and formally recognizing “psychological violence” as a form of domestic violence. Women are not the only victims of domestic violence, but French officials say they make up the vast majority. Lawyers and victims’ advocates say women are too often disbelieved or turned away by French law enforcement. But they’re encouraged by the new national conversation, which they say marks a departure from decades of denial. “In France, we always have the impression that we are perfect,” activist Caroline de Haas told The Associated Press. A 2014 EU survey of 42,000 women across all 28 member states found that 26% of French women respondents said they been abused by a partner since age 15, either physically or sexually. That’s below the global average of 30%, according to UN Women. But it’s 4 percentage points above the EU average and the sixth highest among EU countries. Half that number reported experiencing such abuse in Spain, which implemented a series of legal and educational measures in 2004 that slashed its domestic violence rates. Conversations about domestic violence have also ratcheted up in neighboring Germany, where activists are demanding that the term “femicide” be used to describe such killings. In France, victims and advocates say government action is overdue — and that more training is needed for police who are often ill-prepared to protect women in danger. Police inaction made national headlines in France after Macron visited a hotline call center in September and listened in on a call with a 57-year-old woman whose husband had threatened to kill her. He heard a police officer on the other end tell the woman he couldn’t help her. The hotline operator told Macron that such responses weren’t unusual. Police officers across Europe often dismiss domestic violence as a private matter and fail to intervene at crucial moments, an EU study found this year. But France is particularly bad, said EU researcher Albin Dearing, who led a study this year that examined domestic violence in seven European countries, including France. “When it comes to violence against women, it showed actually that police do very little to protect women who turn to them for protection,” he said. It can take between three weeks and two months for authorities to act on a complaint, leaving the victim “in a very fragile situation,” according to Frederique Martz, who runs anti-domestic violence organization Women Safe. The Justice Ministry report this month found that 41% of “conjugal homicide” victims studied had previously reported incidents of domestic violence, and 80% of complaints sent to prosecutors went uninvestigated. “Our system doesn’t work to protect women,” Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet told French TV channel LCI after another French woman was allegedly killed by her husband in Alsace last week. But Maj. Fabienne Boulard of the national police said many officers respond appropriately to reports of domestic violence. Those who don’t — the ones who react “clumsily” or ask the wrong questions — usually don’t mean harm, she added; they just don’t recognize domestic violence or know how to intervene. This is particularly true when women receive threats but not yet physical blows, victims say. Officers “absorb this violence into the category of violence between a couple that is going through a difficult period,” said one woman whose ex-husband repeatedly threatened her and their children. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. The woman divorced him after years of what she describes as psychological abuse that left her “terrified to cross him.” His threats only grew worse from there, she said. She filed multiple complaints, but she said police officers suggested she didn’t seem like a victim or wasn’t able to prove that she was in danger. Earlier this month, Boulard led the first supplementary training on domestic violence for police in the Paris suburb of Les Mureaux. She emphasized to the eight officers there that among victims, “shame is an extremely strong feeling.” Participants traded stories of issues they had encountered: the surge in complaints on Sundays, the woman who retracts her complaint, the partner who insists everything is fine. “We can’t do anything,” one female police officer complained. Boulard told The AP that the three-hour session aimed to help officers understand the pressures that victims face and “why the victim is not what they imagined, why sometimes they don’t correspond with the criteria they expect to see.” Trainings like Boulard’s take place in some parts of France, but regional authorities can decide whether to hold them. Activists hope they’ll become routine. “A year or two ago, no one used the word ‘femicide’ apart from feminist organizations,” Haas said. “There is very much a change in public consciousness.”
38776	Bananas purchased at Walmart and other stores in the U.S. have been injected with HIV blood.	Beware of Bananas Injected with HIV Blood	false	Food / Drink	Don’t worry about reports about bananas injected with HIV. Reports of HIV bananas that were bought at supermarkets in the U.S. began popping up on social media sites in the fall of 2015. One such report claimed that a bunch of bananas purchased in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was injected with HIV infected blood. In another post, a writer claimed that she had purchased HIV-laced bananas at a Walmart in Aberdeen, Washington: I bought a bundle of bananas from the Walmart in Aberdeen tonight and opened it to give my 2 yr old daughter. This is what I found on the inside! I opened the rest of the bundle and they appeared to be normal bananas. I’m not saying it’s blood but what else could it be! Turns out that red spots in bananas could be a lot of things. Things like disease, fungus and insects have all been known to cause red spots in bananas. There have been no known cases of HIV being injected into bananas, however. That claim is similar to a rumor that went viral in early 2015 that blood oranges from Libya are being injected with HIV blood (also false). Even if these accounts were true, it would be nearly impossible to contract HIV from eating an orange that was injected with infected blood before it was shipped over a long distance. HIV is a living virus, and it needs a human host to survive, the non-profit group Aid for AIDS reports: “HIV is a very fragile virus outside of the body. The HIV virus needs the human body as its host. The life span of HIV outside of the body has not been determined. However, we know that HIV needs its host cell (a human), the body temperature, and the chemistry of the blood to survive. Out of the body, HIV is out of its environment. As the blood dries, the HIV will die. In areas like a syringe or on a razor in a medicine cabinet, HIV would probably live longer because of less airflow and it’s a more moist temperature controlled area. “Just remember, outside of the body HIV can’t survive. In minutes it will die and be harmless, but Universal Precautions should always be used.” And, when it comes to bananas, studies have shown that they have high levels of a naturally occurring chemical called lectin that can actually help prevent the transmission of HIV: The study showed a lectin called BanLec was as potent as two HIV drugs, T-20 and maraviroc, that are currently being used to treat HIV. Lectins are sugar-binding proteins found in plants that can identify and attach to foreign invaders, and subsequently blocks HIV’s entry into the body. Michael E. Swanson, study author and doctoral student in the graduate program in immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School said “The problem with some HIV drugs is that the virus can mutate and become resistant, but that’s much harder to do in the presence of lectins.” So, not only does HIV not survive long enough outside the human body to transmit the virus via fruit, bananas have a natural chemical that has actually been found to prevent the transmission of HIV. That means this rumor is a hoax. Comments
32429	A 12-year-old Wisconsin girl in died as a result of receiving the Gardasil HPV vaccine.	Although the autopsy results weren’t yet available when Health Impact News claimed Prohaska’s death was caused by the vaccine, neither has that page on the web site been updated to reflect the true cause of death.	false	Medical, gardasil, HPV vaccine, vaccine misinformation	On 11 August 2014, the alternative medicine web site Health Impact News posted an inaccurate and poorly documented article entitled “Gardasil Vaccine: One More Girl Dead,” which blamed the death of 12-year-old Meredith Prohaska of Waukesha, Wisconsin — whose mother had found her face-down on the floor and unresponsive six hours after being vaccinated on 30 July 2014 — on the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil: The sudden death of a 12-year-old girl in Waukesha, Wisconsin, just hours after receiving the HPV Gardasil vaccine has shocked the girl’s family, and sent local media out asking questions as to how this could happen. Here is a report from WISN 12 News. Dr. Geoffrey Swain of the local health department was interviewed to give the standard CDC reply, which is similar to almost every other vaccine, stating that severe reactions like this resulting in death are “very rare,” and about “1 out of a million”. Assuming that there is some data to back up the claim of only “1 out of a million,” how many doses of the HPV vaccine are administered every year? According to the latest statistics (July 2014) published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services here (page 7), over 9 million per year. So the government admits that at least 9 girls per year are killed by the HPV vaccine. How many parents know this prior to taking a doctor’s advice to administer this vaccine that is supposedly a protection against cervical cancer caused by the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease? The article goes on to recite a litany of alleged dangers and problems associated with Gardasil (“There are many more reported side effects than just death…”), without ever addressing the central question in the Prohaska case: Was it the vaccine that actually killed her? Gardasil is one of the three HPV vaccines licensed for use in the United States and protects against several types of cancer caused by the various strains of human papillomavirus, as well as genital warts. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) currently recommends a routine HPV vaccination consisting of a series of three shots for both boys and girls beginning at age 11 or 12. Based on medical studies and data collected via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the CDC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have determined that HPV vaccines are safe and effective, with only minor side effects in some people. Among the data collected between 2006 and 2015 were a reported 117 fatalities among the people who received the approximately 80 million doses of HPV vaccine given out in the U.S. during that time. Each case in which it was confirmed that a fatality had occurred was reviewed by both the CDC and FDA, however, which concluded that in every instance there was “no diagnosis that would suggest that Gardasil caused the death.” This proved true in the Meredith Prohaska case. In October 2014, the Waukesha County medical examiner announced that an autopsy found no evidence that the vaccination caused or contributed to the girl’s death. The actual cause of death was determined to be diphenhydramine intoxication — diphenhydramine being an antihistamine drug, the main ingredient in over-the-counter medications such as Benadryl. Somehow (the details of the manner of death weren’t made public), the girl had ingested a fatal overdose of the drug.
15699	U.S. police killed more people in just one month than the U.K.’s did in over a century.	"Addicting Information said that ""U.S. police killed more people in just one month than the U.K.’s did in over a century."" This comparison was based on an incomplete Wikipedia list. While hard figures for the number of police-related deaths in the United Kingdom over more than a century are impossible to come by, our research shows the comparison is inaccurate. It’s certainly unproven. That makes it deeply flawed, which means it’s False."	false	PunditFact, Guns, Addicting Information,	"As the country learned about the shooting death of Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C., a comparison between police in the United States and the United Kingdom began to spread across the Internet. The liberal website Addicting Info put up a graphic under the headline ""U.S. Police killed more people in just one month than the U.K.’s did in over a century."" Other groups made similar claims -- including RT, the English language cable channel financed by the Russian government. According to Addicting Info: U.S. police killed 111 people in March 2015 U.K. police killed 69 people from 1900-present. A reader asked us to check it out. Tracing the source of the data Addicting Information used this eye-catching graphic to tell its story. You won’t find this image on the Addicting Information website any longer. Elisabeth Parker, the author of the piece, explained to us where she got her information. She started with a post that made a similar but not identical claim on Daily Kos, a liberal website. The post’s count of American deaths in March tracked back to a website called Killed by Police. Killed by Police has a singular task. Each time a television station or newspaper reports that a person has died at the hands of the police, the people behind Killed by Police (we don’t know who they are) add a link to the news story in a spreadsheet. When we saw the list for deaths in March, it had 115 entries. We read each news report and found that just about every death, 98 of them, involved a police shooting. There were 16 cases when a person died from other causes, most frequently when police used a taser. One time an officer accidentally hit and killed a person with his car. In a category by itself, an officer in Hawaii got into an argument with a neighbor and killed him, thus becoming a common murderer completely apart from his role in law enforcement. The warning here is the warning with all fact-checks and analysis of police-related deaths. There is no singular, verified U.S. database of police shootings. So all we have are estimates. In this case, University of Missouri-St.Louis criminologist David Klinger said the Killed by Police numbers -- whether you settle on 98, 111 or some other figure -- ""wouldn’t be unexpected."" Deaths in the United Kingdom So, yes, the U.S. figure for March is plausible. But this claim really hinges on the stat encompassing more than 100 years in the United Kingdom. The fact is, that relies on a Wikipedia list of killings by law enforcement officers in the United Kingdom. ""I pored over the Wikipedia entry and realized that some incidents included multiple shootings and adjusted (the) figure to 69 police shootings,"" Parker said. The problem with that is that Parker had to make two big assumptions: That the list was accurate, and more critically, that it was complete. With Wikipedia, those are assumptions people should not make. In fact, the Wikipedia entry warns at the top that ""This list is incomplete."" So what’s the real number? Over such a long time horizon -- and in a country whose borders changed (Ireland was part of the United Kingdom until the 1920s) -- it’s really impossible to say. The British advocacy group Inquest has looked at police incidents in England and Wales going back to 1990. By its count, there were 55 police shooting deaths between 1990 and the present. The group reports another 1,453 deaths that had some connection to contact with police. However, the causes range from someone dying of a drug overdose while at a police station, to car thieves killing themselves in a wreck, to suicide while in custody, to excessive use of force by officers. There simply is no way to tease out the details. Comparing police shootings to the American data is the only reliable approach. The only other country in the United Kingdom for which we found hard numbers was Northern Ireland. Between April 2008 and September 2014, roughly a six-year period, members of the Police Force of Northern Ireland discharged their weapons nine times. However, there is no data on whether any deaths resulted. During the times of ""The Troubles"" from 1968 to about 2000 when separatists, generally Catholics, and unionists, generally Protestants, battled over whether Northern Ireland should break away or remain part of the United Kingdom, there were over 3,000 deaths. Some of those were at the hands of the police. Aogan Mulcahy, a researcher in the School of Sociology at the University College Dublin, walked us through the numbers. The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the police force in Northern Ireland until 2001. Based on an online database, Mulcahy told us that the RUC ""was responsible for 55 deaths over the period 1969-2001."" We found no information for Scotland. We should note that only the Northern Ireland police regularly carry firearms. In Scotland, Wales and England, the typical officer relies on less lethal equipment such as nightsticks, pepper spray and tasers. In sum, we know Wikipedia’s count is far low, but we don’t know how low. When we alerted Parker to the information we were finding, she retracted her original article and wrote another. Parker wrote that ""U.S. police killed more people in one month than the U.K.’s did in an entire year."" While the underlying numbers this time are still incomplete, that’s more accurate. Our ruling Addicting Information said that ""U.S. police killed more people in just one month than the U.K.’s did in over a century."" This comparison was based on an incomplete Wikipedia list. While hard figures for the number of police-related deaths in the United Kingdom over more than a century are impossible to come by, our research shows the comparison is inaccurate. It’s certainly unproven. That makes it deeply flawed, which means it’s ."
27942	Some symptoms of a heart attack are subtle and can be mistaken for indigestion.	A viral message lists some of the more subtle symptoms of a cardiac arrest, such as signs of indigestion.	true	Medical, american heart association, ASP Article, Disease	Heart attacks come with a variety of symptoms, some subtle and seemingly mild, others severe. To further muddy the waters, the symptoms often present in a very different way for women than for men. As a result, there have been various attempts to educate people on the more unusual signs of a cardiac arrest. The e-mail quoted below (which has subsequently begun circulating via other avenues and in somewhat shortened form) first landed in the snopes.com inbox in early March 2007: Women and heart attacks I’ve meant to send this to my women friends to warn them that it’s true that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing a heart attack… you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Having had a completely unexpected heart attack about 10:30 p.m. with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might’ve brought it on, it was this past April, ’06, about 1-1/2 hours after I’d spent a pleasant 2 hrs. rehearsing with the Note-a-Belles. I was sitting all snuggly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, “A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.” A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you’ve been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you’ve swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn’t have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach, which doesn’t do much good, as your esophagus and throat muscles are in spasm and it hurts to swallow. This was my initial sensation — the only trouble was that I hadn’t taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m. After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening. We all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of a heart attack happening, haven’t we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, “Dear God, I think I’m having a heart attack!” I lowered the footrest, dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, “If this is a heart attack, I shouldn’t be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else…. but, on the other hand, if I don’t, nobody will know that I need help. And if I wait any longer, I may not be able to get up in moment.” I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the paramedics. I guess when one reaches them, your address automatically flashes on a screen, as the operator verified my address immediately and asked my symptoms. I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn’t feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts, ma’m. She said she was sending the paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in. No, I didn’t take an aspirin, as I’m allergic to it, but I did take a 100 mg magnesium oxide capsule… which bottle I keep handily in reach on the kitchen counter… which is a small detour on my way to the front door…with about a 3/4 glass of water to get it dissolving ASAP into my bloodstream. Magnesium relaxes blood vessels as it dissolves to get them expanded to let blood get through the constriction of the vessels. I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don’t remember the medics coming in… their examination… lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance… or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way. But I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like “Have you taken any medications?”) but I couldn’t make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again… not waking up until the cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed two side-by-side stents to hold open my right coronary artery and now was being taken into the CCU, and looking up at the three anxious faces of Karen, Mark, and Wendy. Since I’d been a patient at St. Jude in 2002 for my TIA treatment, they had my emergency info in their system and had called my kids. I spent two days in CCU and two in general ward, then was discharged. I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents. Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned firsthand, as a Certified Medical Back-Office Assistant in Internal Medicine Clinics, and as one who has lived through a heart attack due to: 1. Being aware that something very different was happening in my body.. not the usual men’s symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last!) MI because they didn’t know they were having one, and commonly mistake it as indigestion… take some Maalox or other anti-“heartburn” preparation… and go to bed… hoping they’ll feel better in the morning when they wake up… which doesn’t happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you’ve not felt before. It is better to have a “false alarm” visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be! 2. Note that I said “Call the Paramedics,” Ladies. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER. You’re a hazard to others on the road, and so is your panicked husband/friend who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what’s happening with you instead of the road, and so are your kids or friends a hazard as well. As sure as I sit here, they will get the attention of a cop who will pull you over for speeding–more wasted time. Do NOT call your doctor — he doesn’t know where you live and if it’s at night you won’t reach him anyway, and if it’s daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn’t carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do — principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later. 3. Don’t assume it couldn’t be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count — I did, and do, too. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it’s unbelievably high, and/or accompanied by high blood pressure.) MI’s are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there (and, of course, family genetics can be a factor. I qualify for the latter, and the years 2005 and 2006 have been the most stressful of my life since Jack died in 1981.) 4. Read on for the e-mail I received today that prompted my above lecture to you: SUBJECT: Drinking ice water at mealtime (which I’ve always done until now.) Noting neither Urban Legions nor Snopes has anything to say about this one, it must be true. Interesting, if you’ve read it before, re-read it. It may save your life. Send it to your friends and family. It may save their lives…. This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your meal, but about ladies and their heart attacks. This makes sense… the Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals… not cold water… maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose — everything to gain… For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this “sludge” reacts with the stomach’s hydrochloric acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal. (Make it green tea — a great antioxidant!) A serious note about heart attacks: Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line, or even pressure there and under the sternum, or “indigestion” symptoms, especially if you haven’t eaten in several hours. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack, but heaviness /pressure under the sternum is common. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms, but not necessarily in the women. 60% of people who have heart attacks while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let’s be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this email and sends it to ten people, you can be sure that we’ll save at least one life. Although in general the missive contains good information about what symptoms to watch out for and what to do if you’re having a heart attack, it jumps the track at two points. Of these two missed points, the most important is the assumption that one kind of heart attack typically afflicts men (i.e., the kind that results in a sudden clutching of the chest and keeling over) while another kind strikes down women (i.e., an attack that manifests itself as a bit of pain or tightness in the chest accompanied by an array of symptoms that could easily be mistaken for other ailments, or even by non-specific symptoms such as a general feeling of fatigue and weakness). Heart attacks don’t discriminate by sex — men and women alike can (and do) experience both sorts. Says the American Heart Association: “Some heart attacks are sudden and intense — the ‘movie heart attack,’ where no one doubts what’s happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren’t sure what’s wrong and wait too long before getting help.” Yet there is some truth to the notion of gender-based differences: Women are more prone to experiencing symptoms beyond the obvious sudden-onset chest pains. As the American Heart Association notes: “As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.” Women are also more likely to experience atypical heart attacks; that is, the sort that don’t present as sudden shooting pains or a feeling of crushing weight in the chest area, followed by a sensation of pain radiating up the arm and into the neck, all accompanied by cold sweats. While 60 percent of female heart attack victims experience the more usual form of attack, 40 percent feel little or no chest pains at all. Yet the atypical heart attack happens to men too, which is why people of both sexes need to remain alert to the onset of more subtle symptoms, such as back and jaw pain, nausea, and indigestion. The second bit of misinformation is present only in the longer form of the e-mail, where it is included as the fourth entry in a numbered list of tips for surviving heart attacks (following three entries about making oneself aware of the variety of symptoms that can signal a heart attack, summoning paramedics rather than attempting to drive oneself to the hospital, and not regarding a normal cholesterol count as something that rules out the possibility of myocardial infarction.) That fourth item advances the claim that ingestion of cold water causes cancer or heart attacks. In a nutshell, no, it doesn’t. For those who prefer the non-nutshell version, our “Cold Comfort” article tells all. Additional information:
27992	Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis hurled a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD.	An unfortunate aspect of Dock Ellis’ admission is that he is now remembered by many people (especially those too young to have seen him play during his heyday with the Pirates) as “the guy who pitched a no-hitter on drugs,” a characterization which not only slights a baseball career that included some very fine moments, but also obscures the many acts of charity and conscience in which Ellis engaged both during and after his playing days: he worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to rehabilitate black prisoners, helped start the Black Athletes Foundation for Sickle Cell Research, and served as the coordinator of an anti-drug program in Los Angeles before passing away from liver disease in 2008.	true	Sports, baseball	Dock Phillip Ellis, best remembered as the winningest pitcher on the champion 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club, was also one of his sport’s more colorful personalities, although his exploits were generally overshadowed by those of players (Curt Flood, Richie Allen, Reggie Jackson) more talented and more controversial. Ellis’ intolerance for slights which he perceived to be related to the color of his skin was well-established long before he reached the major leagues (he declined to play on his high school’s baseball team because it was coached by a “racist,” and while in the minor leagues he once took a bat into the stands in pursuit of a racially-motivated heckler), and he was the subject of several headline-grabbing altercations during his prime years in the big leagues: “I know the orders came from [baseball commissioner] Bowie Kuhn, and I don’t like it. Look around, there are fellows who wear white shoes in practice. Some wear jackets. Others don’t wear hats. I wasn’t going to say anything, but since they seem to be aiming in my direction, I’m going to say things. They didn’t put out any orders about Joe Pepitone when he wore a hairpiece down to his shoulders.” But, oddly enough, the most notorious aspect of Dock Ellis’ playing days wasn’t disclosed until several years after he had retired, and it involved an accomplishment that is usually the highlight of any pitcher’s career. On 12 June 1970, Ellis hurled the first no-hitter of the 1970 season as he blanked the Padres 2-0 in the opening game of a double-header in San Diego. Ellis’ feat was a bit unusual in that he seemed particularly wild that day, walking eight batters and hitting one, but many pitchers have achieved stellar results despite laboring with obvious control problems. (Yankee hurler Bill Bevens came within one out of throwing a no-hitter against Brooklyn in the fourth game of the 1947 World Series despite issuing the Dodgers an astounding ten bases on balls.) In post-game interviews Ellis said he had been thinking about a no-hitter from the fourth inning onward and attributed his wildness to his efforts to keep the ball away from hitters: “I know guys who don’t want to talk about it, but if you’re going to throw [a no-hitter], you’re going to throw it. The ball I was throwing was moving. I was keeping the ball away from the hitters. That’s why I walked so many.” Fourteen years later, however, Dock Ellis revealed an alternative explanation for his lack of control that day: he was under the influence of LSD at the time. According to accounts he gave the press in April 1984, Ellis had spent the morning of 12 June 1970 relaxing in his home town of Los Angeles, under the mistaken belief that the Pirates had the day off. Ellis said he ingested LSD around noon, but at about 1:00 PM his girlfriend picked up a newspaper and discovered that not only were the Pirates scheduled to play a double-header in San Diego that evening, but Ellis was slated to start the first game for Pittsburgh. Ellis’ companion hustled him off to the airport by 3:30 PM and got him on a flight to San Diego, where arrived at 4:30 PM, in time for the double-header’s 6:05 PM start. Ellis told reporters he remembered little of what took place during the game itself: “I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the [catcher’s] glove, but I didn’t hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn’t hit hard and never reached me.” Any assignment of a “True” status to this story must be a guarded one: only Dock Ellis knows whether or not he actually took LSD the day he pitched his no-hitter, and even if he did ingest LSD that day, judging the extent to which the drug (which can affect different people in different ways) was affecting him by the time he took part in that evening’s game is problematic. Baseball is a difficult game to play at the major league level, even for skilled professionals free from the effects of mind-altering substances, yet Ellis managed to pitch a complete game that evening, apparently did not act so unusually that his teammates or manager took notice, and was quite lucid while conducting post-game interviews with the press. (Of course, since it’s a long-standing baseball superstition that players should avoid speaking to a teammate who is in the midst of pitching a no-hitter, the other Pirates likely had little or no interaction with Ellis in the dugout during the latter half of the game.) Although Ellis might correctly be described as having been “under the influence of LSD” during his no-hitter, quite possibly the drug’s primary effects had peaked and were wearing off by game time. Dock Ellis’ recollections are also somewhat questionable. Donald Hall’s 1976 biography, Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball, initially stated that Ellis had been drinking (vodka) before his no-hitter. Ellis maintained that he never pitched again while under the influence of LSD after his 1970 no-hitter, but he later said he had also taken the drug before the 1974 Cincinnati game in which he intentionally threw at the first several batters. And that admission came after he had previously stated that he took “pep pills,” not LSD, before that 1974 game. Then he said in 1985 that he “never pitched a game in the major leagues I wasn’t high.”
8081	Locked-down French Catholics mark holy mass via YouTube.	Coronavirus restrictions meant Catholic priest Guillaume Le Floc’h officiated at Wednesday evening’s mass in front of empty pews, so to make sure his flock could celebrate the holy feast of Annunciation, he had the service livestreamed on YouTube.	true	Health News	The virus outbreak and government restrictions on all gatherings, intended to curb the spread of the virus, have forced many people in France and around the world to innovate, including the Catholic church in Carquefou, in northwest France. For Wednesday’s mass, the only people taking part in the service in person were Le Floc’h, an IT support person whose job was to make sure the live feed did not go down, and three Catholic nuns from a nearby religious community. “They appreciate being able to connect with their priest and their usual church,” the 43-year-old priest said of his parishioners viewing online, speaking to Reuters before the mass. The Annunciation, one of the holiest dates in the Catholic calendar, marks the moment that, according to Catholic tradition, the Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she was expecting a child. Le Floc’h, in a prayer at the start of Wednesday’s mass, made reference to the coronavirus outbreak that has killed some 1,100 people in France to date, with 22,300 people infected. “We think of all the sick, the carers, and the people who are in isolation,” said the priest. “Amen.” The livestream of the service featured a fixed shot of the church altar, with its 15th century Notre Dame de la Blanche, a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. The livestream peaked at 175 views, according to YouTube data. The live feed was advertised in advance on the parish’s Facebook page. Parishioners were given the option of downloading the order of service and the hymn sheet for the mass. Believers across France, now 9 days into a nationwide lockdown, marked the Annunciation in unfamiliar ways this year. The Catholic church hierarchy encouraged believers to place candles in their windows at 19:30 (1830 GMT), the same time church bells rang to mark the holy day. “This common gesture will mark our coming together in thought and prayer for those who have died, for those who are sick and the people close to them, for the carers and all those who make life in our country possible,” the church said in a statement.
1994	"New York Earth Day celebrates with ""virtual"" forests."	A “virtual” forest sprouting on Times Square’s renowned billboards, 1,000 free rain barrels for gritty city backyards and a parade of clean energy vehicles including hybrid garbage trucks are all helping New Yorkers go green for Earth Day on Friday.	true	Environment	Earth Day New York’s managing director Joanne Black said accompanying giant forest images of dense vegetation and nature in the quintessential lit-up, crowded and chaotic urban landscape of Times Square will be “a visual call to action.” On Saturday, supporters of the environment can text message “tree” to the number 85944, pledging $5 for the United Nations’ Year of Forest. The running tally will play out on large screens supplied by corporate sponsors including CNN, MTV, Reuters and Toshiba. The onetime $5 dollar donation will be debited from cell phone bills to fund the planting of trees in degraded lands as far afield as Mexico, Kenya, India and the Philippines. “It’s rare for so many companies to give up their screens,” Black said of the colossal, often dazzling billboards that hover above the so-called crossroads of the world and are seen by tens of thousands of people daily. “For this, they have.” “We hope to engage a broad segment of the public and show that even a small contribution can really make a difference,” Earth Day New York Executive Director Pamela Lippe said. Although the Times Square Alliance does not keep a figure on the total amount of electricity used by the billboards - which are run independently of one another - a spokesman said the billboards used today run on considerably less energy than those used in previous years. On Friday, a convoy of more than 30 electric and alternative fuel cars, including an Inizio, the world’s fastest electric sports car, will tour Manhattan, their GPS-tracked progress followed on the Times Square screens. The route will form the letter “E” — for environment, a take on Earth Day New York’s slogan, “Be the E”. Hybrid vehicles from the city Departments of Transportation, Parks, and Sanitation will escort the Inizio, along with a privately owned, completely electric DeLorean similar to the one featured in the “Back to the Future” films. New York’s myriad Earth Day celebrations come as Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration moves to make the city, often seen as grimy and polluted, more environmentally friendly and sustainable. On Thursday, Bloomberg announced several additions to his long-term “PlaNYC” campaign to make the city greener, including a “clean heat” campaign to encourage conversion to cleaner fuels in favor of heavy heating oils which pollute the air with fine particular matter known as PM 2.5. Officials say a 10 percent reduction in PM 2.5 could prevent 300 deaths, 200 hospital admissions and 600 emergency department visits from airborne pollution each year. The free rain barrel program for residents of the four boroughs outside Manhattan began last week and is meant to help fight water contamination by minimizing flow to city sewers. Officials hope homeowners will use them to water their lawns and gardens.
11236	Antidepressants linked to major personality changes	There are a few important holes in this story. We think the story misinterpreted the study’s findings. We think any story about SSRI antidepressant medications should discuss potential harms, and this story did not. We wish the story had placed the findings in context with the broader literature in regards to effects of SSRI drugs and cognitive therapy (CT) on depressive symptoms. In the short term they appear comparable but CT takes a little longer to take effect. Longer term – some evidence suggests CT may have a longer lasting effect. Many questions have been raised about the safety and effectiveness of SSRI medications for depression. It’s not clear that this story – or the study on which it’s based – clear up many of those questions. It’s also worth noting that the question of benefit for the personality changes is in the eye of the beholder. Certainly in American culture, being more positive and outgoing is generally perceived as a good thing. But that is not necessarily true in all cultures.	mixture		"While the story mentions how much the US spends on antidepressants and generally discusses ""cost-effectiveness"" questions, it never describes the cost of these medications for the individual. We’ve already commented in the ""Evidence"" criterion about how we think the story partially miscommunicated the study’s findings. In addition, the story quantified the benefits for how antidepressant use may have impacted peoples’ responses on the neuroticism scale, but not for the extroversion scale. And what happened on the other three traits of the five mentioned at the beginning of the story? Yet the story goes on to talk about the potential for using all five of the ""big five"" traits – without any evidence to back up that projection: For these reasons, we think the discussion was incomplete. There was no discussion of the potential for harms from using these antidepressants – a significant oversight. The story stated:"
41871	We’ve got the cleanest country in the planet right now. There’s nobody cleaner than us.	President Donald Trump recently said “we’ve got the cleanest country in the planet right now” when it comes to “clean air” and “clean water.” Rankings compiled by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities say otherwise.	false	environment,	President Donald Trump recently said “we’ve got the cleanest country in the planet right now” when it comes to “clean air” and “clean water.” Rankings compiled by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities say otherwise.Out of 180 countries studied, the U.S. comes in at No. 27 on the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, which scores countries based on their performances in a number of categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.On air quality, the U.S. ranked 10th, and on water and sanitation, it placed 29th.The topic of clean air and water came up in remarks Trump made this week during a campaign-style rally in Charleston, West Virginia.“There’s nobody cleaner than us,” the president bragged.Trump, Aug. 21: We want a strong, beautiful, clean environment. I want clean air. I want crystal clean water. And we’ve got it. We’ve got the cleanest country in the planet right now. There’s nobody cleaner than us, and it’s getting better and better, but I’m getting rid of some these ridiculous rules and regulations, which are killing our companies, our states and our jobs.Trump provided no evidence, and the White House didn’t provide us with any when we asked.But there are several countries that are “cleaner” than the U.S., overall and in specific categories, according to the most recent EPI.The report — which is released biennially in even-numbered years — was produced jointly by Yale and Columbia in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.This year, the U.S. ranked 10th in air quality, though it was tied with 11 other countries for 1st in household air pollution. And it ranked 29th overall in water and sanitation, though it was tops in drinking water along with nine other nations.The U.S. rankings in those categories suffered due to lower scores in exposure to particulate matter (where it was 88th) and sanitation (where it was 31st).Factoring in all 24 performance indicators across the 10 environmental health and ecosystem vitality categories, the U.S. ranked 27th on the index.“This ranking,” a press release said, “puts the United States near the back of the industrialized nations, behind France (2nd), the United Kingdom (6th), Germany (13th), Italy (16th), Japan (20th) and Canada (25th).”So there are indeed countries that are cleaner than the U.S.
24688	"Sotomayor thinks ""that one’s sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench."	Sotomayor's comment about Latina women versus white men	mixture	National, Sotomayor Nomination, Supreme Court, Judicial Confirmation Network,	"If you've been following the story of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor via cable news, you've undoubtedly heard this sound bite from a 2001 Sotomayor speech: ""I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."" For many conservative detractors, the quote has formed the centerpiece of their opposition. In a released statement, Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, a conservative nonprofit, said, ""Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written. She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one’s sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench."" Previously, we have looked at the issue of Sotomayor's statement about judges making policy . Here we look at the claim that Sotomayor thinks ""that one’s sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench."" A number of Republicans have expressed concern about the statement. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said that due to Sotomayor's comments, the Senate will need to weigh ""her ability to rule fairly without undue influence from her own personal race, gender or political preferences."" On his blog, Newt Gingrich wrote this about Sotomayor's nomination: ""Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a Latina woman' Wouldn't they have to withdraw? New racism is no better than old racism. A white man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw."" Asked repeatedly about Sotomayor's comments during the daily White House press briefing on May 27, 2009, spokesman Robert Gibbs admonished reporters not to make a judgment on an 8-second sound clip from a 40-minute speech. Gibbs said he was confident that when people looked at the totality of Sotomayor's speech, and the context of the comment in question, they would ""come to a reasonable conclusion on this."" So we read the whole speech, titled ""A Latina Judge's Voice,"" which was delivered by Sotomayor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2001, and was later published in the Spring 2002 issue of Berkeley La Raza Law Journal. The purpose of the speech, she said, was to ""talk to you about my Latina identity, where it came from, and the influence I perceive it has on my presence on the bench."" She described herself as ""Newyorkrican,"" a born and bred New Yorker of Puerto Rican-born parents, and talked about her close affinity to the Puerto Rican culture as well as her love of America, and how being Latina helped to shape who she is. She then begins to discuss what it will mean to have more women and people of color on the bench. ""While recognizing the potential effect of individual experiences on perception, Judge (Miriam) Cedarbaum nevertheless believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices and aspire to achieve a greater degree of fairness and integrity based on the reason of law,"" Sotomayor said. ""Although I agree with and attempt to work toward Judge Cedarbaum's aspiration, I wonder whether achieving that goal is possible in all or even in most cases. And I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society. Whatever the reasons why we may have different perspectives, either as some theorists suggest because of our cultural experiences or as others postulate because we have basic differences in logic and reasoning, are in many respects a small part of a larger practical question we as women and minority judges in society in general must address. I accept the thesis of a law school classmate, professor Steven Carter of Yale Law School, in his affirmative action book that in any group of human beings there is a diversity of opinion because there is both a diversity of experiences and of thought."" ""I further accept that our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions,"" Sotomayor said. ""The aspiration to impartiality is just that — it's an aspiration because it denies the fact that we are by our experiences making different choices than others."" Sotomayor spoke briefly about the contributions of women judges and attorneys in race and sex discrimination cases, while acknowledging that Supreme Courts made up completely of white men have made seminal decisions on those issues. It's in that context that Sotomayor made the statement heard round the world via YouTube. ""Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences ... our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. ... I am ... not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life. ""Let us not forget that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Cardozo voted on cases which upheld both sex and race discrimination in our society. Until 1972, no Supreme Court case ever upheld the claim of a woman in a gender discrimination case. I, like professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. Many are so capable. As Judge Cedarbaum pointed out to me, nine white men on the Supreme Court in the past have done so on many occasions and on many issues including Brown ."" Sotomayor later concludes that ""personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see. My hope is that I will take the good from my experiences and extrapolate them further into areas with which I am unfamiliar. I simply do not know exactly what that difference will be in my judging. But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage. ... I can and do aspire to be greater than the sum total of my experiences, but I accept my limitations. I willingly accept that we who judge must not deny the differences resulting from experience and heritage but attempt, as the Supreme Court suggests, continuously to judge when those opinions, sympathies and prejudices are appropriate."" You can read the whole speech for yourself right here . Tom Goldstein, a partner at Washington law firm Akin Gump and the founder of ScotusBlog, a widely read blog on the Supreme Court, read the speech and concluded it amounted to little more than Sotomayor acknowledging that judges, like anyone, are products of where and how they grew up. ""Having that context can be valuable for a judge,"" Goldstein said. ""There are some cases, like cases of discrimination, where if you have been in someone's shoes, you can better understand it."" By way of reminder, we are fact-checking the statement from the Judicial Confirmation Network that Sotomayor's statement shows that she thinks ""that one’s sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench."" We think the key words in that sentence are ""ought to."" To the contrary, Sotomayor says several times that she agrees judges should aspire to ""transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices."" However, she acknowledges that we are all informed by our experiences and that ""personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see."" And, she concludes, when it comes to things like race and sex discrimination, that kind of diversity of experience can be an asset. In context, it's clear that Sotomayor isn't suggesting the intellect of Latina women is superior to that of white men, only that a greater diversity of experience and thought would be a valuable addition to the court system."
36227	Breastmilk effectively treats many conditions, including abrasions, cuts, insect bites, diaper rash, eczema, acne, and burns.	Can You Use Breastmilk Topically to Treat Various Conditions?	unproven	Fact Checks, Viral Content	In August 2018, a post from “Parents R Us” about topical use of breastmilk to treat various conditions (archived here) appeared and has made the rounds online since, showing claims that have long been around in other forms as advice shared between parents:Underneath a photograph of a ziplock bag full of breastmilk in syringes, a post claimed:here are some facts for youDid you know that 1 drop of breastmilk has 1 million white blood cells? Original post by: Chelsea Leigh Ward You can use breastmilk topically to treat the following: Ear infections Some eye infections (Please note, never in the eye, but put it our around the eye) Bug bites Cuts Diaper rash Acne Eczema Burns CongestionThe list goes on and on, it’s literally liquid gold! Here’s my little life hack for when you need just a little bit of milk and don’t want to thaw out an entire bag! please consult your doctor to see if this is an option for you or your babyAfter stating that “one drop” of breastmilk contains a million white blood cells, the post lists off a number of minor topical ailments for which the substance is supposedly an effective treatment. A slightly more specific but unsourced claim that one milliliter of breastmilk contains between one and five million “white blood cells” appears on two blogs, but is otherwise unsourced. Both Medela (a breastfeeding supply company) and a 2018 paper note that there are “millions” of cells in breast milk (not in just one drop), and that some are white blood cells.One study determined that the composition of breastmilk changes over time, concluding that it varies and depends on various intertwined issues, such as “stage of lactation, the degree of breast fullness, infant feeding, the mother and infant health status, and many other factors and may be associated with the maternal diet and environment, and potentially with genetic factors.” It cited concentrations well below the “one to five million per drop” estimate, though, with respect to a type of cell known as a leukocyte:The stage of lactation is associated with major changes in milk leukocyte composition . Using multicolor flow cytometry to identify and quantify leukocyte subsets in breast milk obtained from healthy women, Trend et al. found that colostrum contains approximately 146,000 cells/ml and that the amount decreases in transitional (8–12 day postpartum) and mature milk (26–30 day postpartum) to 27,500 and 23,650 cells/ml, respectively . They also demonstrated that breast milk contains a greater variety and complexity of leukocyte subsets than previously thought.Similar ranges were cited in a separate study. Colostrum, which is only expressed for a brief period after birth, was found to have far higher concentrations of such cells than transitional milk. A similar study in 2018 noted that ingested white cells did survive infants’ gastric systems and remained active for up to six days.The broader post was about the use of breastmilk as a topical treatment. A 2018 Parents.com article about topical uses for breastmilk opens by claiming that the antibacterial properties of breastmilk have been proven, but it links to a study about ingested breastmilk rather than topical applications. When infection was mentioned in that research, it referred to breastfed infants and consumption of breastmilk.Parents.com’s list of six topical uses for breastmilk cites a midwife and lactation consultant as its source, and both professions are known to recommend the use of breastmilk for ailments like maternal mastitis or cradle cap in infants. Of the six conditions mentioned in the article, only one (diaper rash) involved links to research. The site linked to a summary of a small study in 2015 finding breastmilk to be as efficient as hydrocortizone in treatment of diaper rash, and similar research supporting the same conclusion in 2013.The 2015 research found breastmilk to perform slightly better than ointment, and it cited earlier research on topical use of breastmilk for umbilical cord separation sites [PDF] as well as maternal mastitis:The frequency of healed infants was 81.5% and 76% in HBM and 1% hydrocortisone groups on day 21 respectively … Pishva et al. indicated the topical application of HBM as having beneficial effects on the prevention of neonatal conjunctivitis. Mohammadzadeh et al. showed the therapeutic effect of HBM and lanolin on sore nipples. HBM was found to heal nipples faster than using lanolin.Ahmadpour and his colleagues compared the effects of topical HBM to ethyl alcohol 96%, dry care, and silver sulfadiazine groups on the umbilical cord separation time. They showed that the mean cord separation time in the HBM group was significantly shorter than the other groups.A broader meta-study on the topical uses of breastmilk was published in May 2019. In its concluding paragraphs, researchers noted “considerable heterogeneity” in the studies, meaning that their parameters were diverse enough to make it difficult to draw conclusions. They added that the most reliable clinical studies for assessing the benefits of breastmilk are “randomized, double-blinded, multicenter controlled trials but to date, they are very scarce.”Its authors also listed the pros for topical application of breastmilk (cost, convenience, and low risk of side effects) with the cons (poorly demonstrated efficacy as a whole) and a significant number of variables (conflicting outcomes and inconsistencies in breastmilk overall):Common skin problems may appear during lactation and breastfeeding, particularly affecting the nipple, areola, and breast. Some medications used in the treatment of skin conditions are unsuitable during lactation. It has been shown that expressing a few drops of milk and rubbing them gently into the sore nipples, then allowing it to dry naturally, takes advantage of the healing properties of human milk. Many studies have indicated that bioactive components of human milk and microbiota have promise as adjuvants for wound healing. From lesions of the corneal epithelium to lacerations of the skin, milk-treated groups healed faster than controls.Breast milk is used in many cultures for skin irritations. Breast milk involves no risk of allergy, contains antibodies, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and erythropoietin, which may promote the growth and repair of skin cells. Human milk is a source of commensal bacteria that can play an anti-infectious, immunomodulatory role. Their possible function in the acceleration of conditions for skin biofilm formation can open new perspectives for the prevention and treatment of skin and wound healing diseases. Interestingly, the analysis of Simpson et al. showed that miRNAs are possible mediators of the observed preventative effects of atopic dermatitis.The concentration, regulation, and individual variation between bioactive element, immune factors, various progenitor and mature cell types, and stage of lactation are not well established. Complexity and variability in human milk composition, and infants’ responses to many human milk constituents may also explain some of the conflicting results of studies evaluating the effects of non-nutritional uses of human milk.The studies considered here vary in methodology and in definition of outcomes, which leads to considerable heterogeneity. Human milk composition varies both within and between individuals, and this may partially explain the conflicting data.The Facebook post touting the efficacy of breastmilk as a topical treatment racked up several tens of thousands of shares, a testament to its popularity as folk medicine. In recent years, numerous studies have attempted to determine whether those claims were provable, with limited success. Variations in breastmilk and study outcomes have not yet shown breastmilk to be a substitute for more conventional topical treatments, although it has demonstrated some use in applications for skin conditions like diaper rash. Consulting a doctor before eschewing standard treatment is advisable — although breastmilk in and of itself is not likely to pose much risk to the nursing infant or their mother.
3931	Porter County to offer genetic tests for juvenile offenders.	The juvenile court for northwestern Indiana’s Porter County is partnering with a laboratory to offer genetic testing for young offenders to help see what psychiatric medications might help them.	true	Genetic testing, Medication, Mental health, General News, Courts, Indiana	The county’s juvenile court will collaborate with Valparaiso-based Great Lakes Labs to offer self-styled pharmacogenetic tests to youths in the criminal justice system, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported. “Mental health for our kids is really, really important for us, because they grow up,” Porter County Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper said. “We need to help them, and we need to help our community, by helping our kids come out as healthy as possible.” Pharmacogenetic tests analyze patients’ genetic codes to decide which medications are more likely to be ineffective or cause damaging side effects. The testing is also done on drugs to treat conditions such as heart disease, pain and erectile dysfunction, but Porter County intends to use the psychiatric screening to address the high rate of mental health disorders among its juvenile offenders. Officials estimate that 70-80% of youths who enter the court system struggle with mental illness. Amy Beier, executive director of the county’s juvenile services, said the testing could be a “game-changer.” The county hopes to start offering the testing Nov. 1. Some in the medical community consider the tests unsubstantiated because of a lack of a research. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cautioned the public that the agency has not evaluated many of these tests and therefore they “may not be supported by clinical evidence.” But Great Lakes Labs officials noted that America’s largest private insurer, United Healthcare, recently announced its plans to begin covering the testing for psychiatric medications. Michelle Volk, president and CEO of Great Lakes Labs, called pharmacogenetics one of the most significant developments she’s seen in her four decades in the testing field. Juvenile justice officials are still deciding how to fund the program. They have secured some county money and are looking into possible state and federal subsidy opportunities. The tests cost roughly $300 apiece, but the price should be deemed an investment, Cox said. Jim Biggs, business development director of Great Lakes Labs and also a Porter County commissioner, said he believes the test results could be profound and receive national attention. “We think we’re onto something here, and we think we’re going to make a difference in some of these kids’ lives,” he said. ___ Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com
10220	The promise of proton-beam therapy	This story reports on the hype, the promise and the controversies around proton beam therapy. The potential benefit of proton beam therapy is that it can accurately target deep-seated cancers without damaging surrounding tissues. For this reason it is an attractive idea for certain rare and serious tumors such as tumors of the brain or eye where surgery or conventional radiation would be very destructive. However, it is increasingly being used to treat more common cancers, such as prostate and lung cancer. Moreover, proton beam therapy is extraordinarily costly because the equipment involved requires huge investments from hospitals. Given the current economic climate in healthcare, the acceleration of this technology has raised serious questions about its cost-effectiveness and issues around access to care, given that it is currently only available in academic medical centers. This story does a good job of describing the problem of limited availability to those patients who could truly benefit from proton therapy while at the same time it is increasingly being used in cancers for which there is questionable benefit, especially prostate cancer. The story also rightly points out the limited evidence that it is any better than conventional radiation and that the low risk of side effects may be an underestimation. The story also highlights the perverse incentives to use the therapy to treat prostate cancer so that hospitals can recover their high costs of investing in the technology. However, the story could have more explicitly compared the cost of proton beam radiation to conventional radiation to give the reader a sense of the scope of the cost difference. Overall, this was a very enlightening in-depth piece about a growing concern in health care.	true		Although the story mentions the high upfront cost of proton therapy, it does not describe the cost of treatment compared to other alternatives. The story points out that there have been no controlled treatment trials for proton therapy in prostate cancer–increasingly the targeted use–so there really are no good data on benefits. Since the technology is relatively new there are probably no good long-term survival estimates even from case series. The story mentions side effects of proton therapy, such as incontinence and sexual side effects in men with prostate cancer, and explains that they may be more common than reported in studies. The story mentions that there is a lack of randomized trials comparing proton therapy to conventional radiation. The story does not appear to engage in disease mongering. However, the article doesn’t indicate that many of the 186,320 new prostate cancer cases are early-stage for which the benefit of any treatment–let alone proton beam–remains uncertain. The story quotes multiple experts who provide meaningful perspectives on the value of proton therapy. The story mentions conventional radiation and surgery as the alternatives to proton therapy. The story accurately describes the limited availability of proton therapy. The story accurately describes the novelty of proton therapy. Because the story quotes multiple experts, the reader can assume that the story does not rely on a press release as the sole source of information.
31991	When the Germans ordered Jews in occupied Denmark to identify themselves by wearing armbands with yellow stars during World War II, King Christian X of Denmark and non-Jewish Danes thwarted the order by donning the armbands themselves.	The legend of non-Jewish Danes donning yellow stars in solidarity with Jews during the Nazi occupation of Denmark is a touching story but not historically accurate.	false	History, ASP Article, Government, World History	The legend of Denmark’s King Christian X and his wearing of the yellow star is our most stirring example of non-violent opposition to evil: ordinary citizens (following the example of a courageous leader) defy their military overlords by selflessly putting themselves in harm’s way to prevent the persecution of a defenseless minority. If only more people exhibited such moral fortitude nowadays, we reason, the world would be a much better place. Perhaps if more people had exhibited such moral courage back then, we think, the Holocaust might never have happened. Although the Danes did undertake heroic efforts to shelter their Jews and help them escape from the Nazis, there is no real-life example of the actions described by this legend. Danish citizens never wore the yellow badge, nor did King Christian ever threaten to don it himself. In fact, Danish Jews never wore the yellow badge either (except for the few who were finally deported to concentration camps), nor did German officials ever issue an order requiring Danish Jews to display it. We will assume everyone is familiar with the systematic persecution of Jews instituted in Germany after Adolph Hitler became chancellor in 1933, and the subsequent imposition of laws requiring Jewish-owned shops to be identified as such with prominent signs; passports and ration cards held by Jews to be stamped with the letter ‘J’; and Jewish concentration camp inmates to wear yellow-and-red six-pointed stars. (Surprisingly, it was not until late 1941 that the display on clothing of a yellow Star of David with the word ‘Jude’ printed on it by Jews was mandated by law in Germany.) Denmark entered the tragic saga on the morning of 9 April 1940, when German troops overran the country and an ultimatum was delivered: if Denmark offered no resistance, Germany would respect Danish political independence. The Danish government and monarch, with no real options, quickly capitulated, and the five-year long occupation of Denmark began. The occupied engaged in symbolic gestures of defiance against their occupiers, such as wearing four coins tied together with red and white ribbons in their buttonholes. (Red and white are the Danish colors, and four coins totalling nine ore represented the date of the occupation, April 9.) Tales of King Christian’s snubbing of Hitler and the Nazis (some true and some apocryphal) began to circulate. When Hitler sent a letter of congratulations to King Christian X on the latter’s 70th birthday in September 1942, the monarch’s brief response (“My best thanks”) was taken as an insult by Hitler, who recalled and replaced the German ambassador in Denmark. A Swedish newspaper cartoon (possibly the origin of this legend) depicted the monarch talking with the former Danish prime minster, who asks him, “What are we going to do, Your Majesty, if Scavenius makes all the Jews wear yellow stars?” (Erik Scavenius was the Danish foreign minister who became prime minister at the insistence of the Germans after the Danish government resigned in 1943.) The king responds by asserting, “We’ll all have to wear yellow stars.” Matters came to a head in Denmark during the summer of 1943 when strikes and other overt resistance activities against the Germans resulted in a demand from Hitler that the Danish government declare a state of emergency. The government refused to comply, resigning in protest, and the German commander-in-chief, Hermann von Hanneken, imposed martial law. The arrest and deportation of Danish Jews was finally ordered and carried out on 2 October 1943, but by then nearly all the Jews in Copenhagen had already been warned and gone into hiding while government officials secretly negotiated an agreement with Sweden to receive them. Only 284 of an estimated 7,000 Jews in the area were rounded up, and over the next several weeks most of them made their precarious way to Sweden on fishing boats, private vessels, and any other type of floating craft that could undertake the journey. Fewer than 500 Danish Jews were deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, and nearly 90% of them survived to return to Denmark after the war. (Only these few hundred Danes who were sent to Theresienstadt were made to wear yellow stars identifying them as Jews.) Although this legend may not be true in its specifics, it was certainly true enough in spirit. The rescue of several thousand Danish Jews was accomplished through the efforts of “thousands of policemen, government officials, physicians, and persons of all walks of life.” The efforts to save Danish Jews may not have had the flair of the “yellow star” legend, and they may not have required quite so many citizens to visibly oppose an occupying army, but those who were rescued undoubtedly preferred substance to style. Variations:
9501	DRUG SHOWS PROMISE AGAINST VISION-ROBBING DISEASE IN SENIORS	Credit: National Eye Institute This story discusses research findings about a drug that may slow the progression of geographic atrophy, a type of macular degeneration that leads to vision loss. The story provides a careful, reader-friendly explanation of the mechanism by which lampalizumab is likely to work, and a concluding section with clear information about what can currently be done for geographic atrophy. However, the article falls short in precisely describing the method and findings of the study–and missed an important conflict of interest involving the drug company and a source. Geographic atrophy, a type of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), affects approximately one million Americans and more than 5 million people worldwide. It is characterized by gradual and irreversible vision loss. Geographic atrophy is not the most common type of AMD; neovascular macular degeneration is more prevalent. However, a number of treatment options are available for the latter, whereas no treatment is currently available for geographic atrophy. Therefore, the condition represents a critical, unmet medical need. This study indicates a possible new treatment, though the measured benefit was pretty small and it’s not clear if it helped anyone see anyone better or was worth the risk of side effects. Readers should also keep in mind that this drug is an immunotherapy–all of which are very expensive (at least until generics come along), so it’s also likely to be very expensive if it’s approved.	mixture	vision loss	Even if we can’t know the exact cost of what this drug might be (if it’s approved–that’s TBD), we can surmise that it will be very high based on the price tags of every other drug in this class, known as immunotherapies. The story should have noted this. The story tells us that patients who had the genetic variation and were treated with the drug had “44 percent less eye damage than the untreated patients.” However, since there is no information on what the baseline measurements were, we’re not sure what that means. Is this a little or a lot in absolute terms? Did the treated group have noticeably improved vision? As the study shows, all patients got worse after 18 months. But the lesions in the gene-carrier placebo group grew by about 4.2 millimeters, whereas the treated gene-carrier group’s lesions grew 2.3 millimeters. It’s not clear at all if that provides any actual vision benefit–or is worth the risk of side effects, since presumably the patients will need to be treated indefinitely. We wish the story had explored this important aspect. The story states that there were no “safety concerns” noticed during the trial. We’re not sure what that means–does that mean there were zero side effects? Or just no life-threatening ones? When we looked at the study, we did see that the drug caused side effects, which might not meet the researchers’ definition of a “safety concern” but could certainly be of interest to patients taking the drug. Readers can infer that there was a control group in this study, but that is not clearly stated. We’re also told of at least one important limitation to the results–that the “the study is too small to prove if lampalizumab really helps maintain vision.” We wish the story had explained that the results are from a phase 2 clinical trial. Phase 2 trials use small samples and looser criteria for effectiveness in order to provide “proof-of-concept” to justify larger and more demanding phase 3 trials. Furthermore, the small sample size used in this phase of research means the margins of error (or confidence intervals) surrounding results are quite large. The original study states that the confidence interval for the 44% figure is 15 to 73%. In other words, the decreased atrophy could actually be anywhere from 15% to 73%. That’s a wide range of possibilities that will only be narrowed with additional research and larger samples. There is no disease mongering in the article. Macular degeneration is a debilitating and irreversible condition. Although there are independent sources in the story, we’re not told that one of them–Dr. Rahul N. Khurana–has served as a consultant and speaker for Genentech, the drugmaker behind the study (as disclosed here). In the story, he’s quoted several times, including here: “It’s a very, very exciting study,” said Khurana, the ophthalmologist association’s spokesman, who also wasn’t part of the research. “From the basic science perspective, it makes a lot of sense.” There are currently no approved or effective treatments for the geographic atrophy type of advanced macular degeneration, so there are no known alternatives with which to compare. The story makes this clear. The story implies that the drug is not yet available, when it explains that the drug company plans to “open two large-scale studies that aim to prove if the drug works. Results are expected later this year.” The story claims this is the first treatment found to be effective for geographic atrophy macular degeneration. This claim appears accurate, so the novelty of the drug is appropriately established. With the two outside experts quoted, the story does not appear to rely on a news release.
1071	Health funding gap means 1,700 in Gaza may face amputations: U.N.	A lack of health funding in Gaza means 1,700 people shot by Israeli security forces may have to have amputations in the next two years, Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for occupied Palestinian territory, told reporters on Wednesday.	true	Health News	McGoldrick said 29,000 Palestinians had been wounded in protests in the past year, and 7,000 of them had gunshot wounds, mostly in the lower legs. “You’ve got 1,700 people who are in need of serious, complicated surgeries for them to be able to walk again,” McGoldrick said. “These are people who have been shot during the demonstrations and who are in need of rehabilitation, and very, very serious and complex bone reconstruction surgery over a two year period before they start to rehabilitate themselves.” Without those procedures, all these people are at risk of needing an amputation, he said. The U.N. is seeking $20 million to fill the gap in health spending. A lack of funding to the World Food Program and UNRWA, the U.N. humanitarian agency that supports Palestinians displaced by the 1948 war of Israel’s founding, also meant there could be an interruption of food supplies for 1 million people. “If that stops, there is no alternative for people to bring food in from any other sources, because they don’t have purchasing power,” McGoldrick said. WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said a severe lack of funds meant WFP had cut aid for 193,000 people this year in the West Bank and Gaza, with 27,000 getting nothing and the rest getting only $8 per month instead of the usual $10. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, the economy of which has suffered years of Israeli and Egyptian blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts and sanctions by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas’ West Bank-based rival. People’s prospects were “precarious”, McGoldrick said. Gaza families averaged $4,000 of debt, while salaries averaged $400 per month, but 54 percent of the population was unemployed. The health system was impoverished, with unpaid salaries and dilapidated equipment, and many medical professionals had left if they could find opportunities elsewhere. One teaching hospital was now only teaching trauma medicine, McGoldrick said, but the doctors on the ground did not have the technical ability to carry out the treatment required for the people at risk of amputation. There have already been 120 amputations, 20 of them in children, in the past year, he said.
41045	This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.	There’s no evidence for this. There’s evidence that similar viruses transmit less well in the heat, but many countries with reported Covid-19 cases are experiencing temperatures higher than this.	unproven	online	If the new coronavirus gets into your mouth, drinking water or other liquids will wash them down through the oesophagus. Once they’re 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’t 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’t 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’s no evidence for this. There’s 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’t know how long the virus survives on surfaces yet—it may be between hours and days. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it. There’s 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’s 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’t 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’s 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 ‘feels like drowning’ as a specific symptom for Covid-19. Claim 1 of 12
2993	China reports 1st death from new type of coronavirus .	Health authorities in a central Chinese city on Saturday reported the country’s first death from a new type of coronavirus, as the government braced for the Lunar New Year travel boom amid concerns over a possible outbreak similar to that of the SARS virus in the early 2000s.	true	Health, General News, Wuhan, Pneumonia, China, Asia Pacific	The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said seven other people were in critical condition among a total of 41 who were suffering from pneumonia caused by a “preliminarily determined new type of coronavirus” as of Friday. That was down from the earlier figure of 59. The others were in stable condition and at least two had been released from a hospital. The patient who died was identified as a 61-year-old man who had been hospitalized after suffering shortness of breath and severe pneumonia. The commission said the man, who died Thursday, also suffered from abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease and had been a frequent customer at a food market on Wuhan’s outskirts linked to the majority of cases. China says the cause of the Wuhan outbreak remains unknown, but has sought to quash 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 into 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. China’s transport ministry says it plans additional measures to disinfect trains, planes and buses and prevent transmission of diseases during the 40-day travel rush centered on the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, which falls this year on Jan. 25. The period began Friday and runs through Feb. 18. “The emergence of the epidemic may cause panic among people, especially in areas where people are concentrated during the Spring Festival travel period,” the ministry’s chief engineer, Wang Yang, told reporters at a news conference Thursday. “In order to further ensure the health of passengers, our ministry attaches great importance to the arrangements and deployment, and will focus on the disinfection monitoring and protection measures in areas with a large number of passenger travel volume, including transportation hubs, passenger stations and cargo hub plant stations,” Wang said. Possible cases of the same illness have been reported in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan involving recent travelers to Wuhan. Health authorities elsewhere in China have yet to announce similar cases, despite the high population density around Wuhan and its role as a travel hub for central China. University of Hong Kong disease expert Yuen Kwok-yung was quoted by the city’s official news agency as saying that the genetic makeup of the novel coronavirus was 80% similar to SARS as it had been found in bats, civet cats and humans. Yuen said that it was unclear whether the virus could further change to become more lethal, as the SARS virus had, but that Hong Kong had a robust system for detecting more severe problems among patients. “So we have to take every measure and closely monitor the situation,” Yuen said, according to Radio Television Hong Kong.
3134	Mexico City plastic bag ban to take residents back in time.	For centuries, Mexico City residents brought warm tortillas home in reusable cloths or woven straw baskets, and toted others foods in conical rolls of paper, “ayate” mesh or net bags, or even string bundles.	true	Caribbean, Mexico, International News, General News, Latin America, Environment, Mexico City, Laws	People in Mexico’s massive capital city may have to return to those old ways starting Wednesday, when a new law takes effect banning the plastic bags that became ubiquitous over the last 30 years. Some say they are ready and willing, and grocery stores are promising to promote reusable synthetic fiber bags, but others are struggling to get their minds around how the ban will work in practice. “We have a very rich history in ways to wrap things,” said Claudia Hernández, the city’s director of environmental awareness. “We are finding that people are returning to baskets, to cucuruchos,” she said, referring to cone-shaped rolls of paper once used to wrap loose bulk goods like nuts, chips or seeds. Some Mexico City residents still use traditional ayate bags, or tortilla towels or baskets, and many — especially the elderly — pull two-wheeled, folding shopping baskets through grocery stores. Some merchants still use old sardine cans to measure out bulk goods. Under the new law, grocery stores will be fined if they give out plastic bags. Most will offer reusable shopping bags made of thick plastic fiber, usually selling them for around 75 cents. “They are not giving them away, they are selling them, and that is what I don’t agree with,” said city subway worker Ernesto Gallardo Chávez, who wonders what will happen if he goes grocery shopping after Jan. 1 and forgets to bring his reusable bags. “Just imagine, I forget my bag and I buy a lot of stuff,” said Gallardo Chávez. “How do I carry it all, if they don’t give you bags anymore?” Like most city residents, Gallardo Chávez thinks protecting the environment is “very good.” But plastic bags in Mexico City are almost never really single-use: most city residents have bought garbage cans and waste paper baskets just the right size to be lined with supermarket bags. And the bags are commonly used to clean up after dogs on sidewalks. “We use the bags for garbage, to separate it into organic and inorganic, and then take it out to the garbage truck,” he notes. Hernández, the environment official, said people should get out of the habit of putting their garbage in plastic bags. “They can take it out (to the garbage truck) directly in garbage cans.” But that is complicated given the city’s stubborn water shortages. It’s all very well to tell city residents not to line their trash cans with plastic bags, but washing out a kitchen receptacle every couple of days after use because it doesn’t have a plastic liner will takes its toll on water supplies. Not to mention the widespread habit of tossing used toilet paper into wastepaper baskets to spare the strain on many homes’ aged and insufficient plumbing. Used toilet paper is not the kind of thing you can turn over loose to the trash collector. Data analysis specialist Daniel Loredo says he is planning to hoard his last remaining plastic shopping bags precisely for that purpose. But he and his roommates have already taken steps to build up a supply of reusable bags and make sure whoever goes to the grocery store is carrying a few. But for poorer city residents, forgetting to do so even one day could carry a high price in a country where the 75-cent reusable bag costs the equivalent of an hour’s worth of the minimum wage. “I think this will be a challenge, because these bags represent an additional cost, and maybe not everyone can bear that cost quite as easily,” Loredo said. Aldimir Torres, the leader of the country’s Plastic Industry Chamber, called the new law “cheap populism,” noting that it was drawn up without having clear guidelines about what kind of “compostable” bags would still be allowed. The law leaves the door open to using plastic bags ”for reasons of hygiene,” presumably for items like deli meats or cheese. It also allows for bags that biodegrade very quickly, but sets no specific standards for them. “This was a law that was copied and put together in a rush, without consulting people who really know about this issue,” Torres said. Hernández acknowledged there was still a lot of work to be done on alternatives. For example, Mexico City’s ubiquitous street food stalls often use plastic bags to temporarily cover plastic plates, in areas where they have no taps or sinks to wash each plate after use. While that might seem to be covered under the “hygiene” clause of the new law, Hernandez said somewhat ingeniously that “this could be solved by some device to wash the plates.” The law, she claimed, had to be rushed into effect. “I don’t know why, but sometimes we need a little more pressure in order to take action,” Hernández said, noting the bag ban “is an invitation, a provocation to rethink they way we consume”. Loredo thinks the law may be imperfect, but worth it. “I think that in some way this is a responsible strategy, to introduce us to some more appropriate method of consumption,” he said. “In the end, they (plastic bags) are something that pollute and hurt the environment.” By 2021, the same law will ban handing out plastic straws, spoons, coffee capsules and other single-use items. ″
180	Biotech is going to the dogs - and big profits await.	For Jessica Lescault there is no question that her 6-year old English bulldog “Moose” deserves cutting-edge biotechnology cancer treatment as much as any human patient.	true	Health News	“Pets are your loved ones, pets should be your family, pets are not something you keep on a chain in the backyard,” the intensive-care nurse from Somers, Connecticut, said. Lescault, 43, who enrolled Moose in a clinical trial of an experimental drug designed to help his immune system fight his cancer, represents the type of pet lover that has spurred animal health companies around the globe to invest in developing complex new treatments previously reserved for humans. Biotechnology, which produces medicines from living cells, revolutionized the drug industry more than a quarter century ago with breakthrough medicines at prices that now run as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. In recent years, the cost of genetic testing and biotech drug production has fallen sharply, making biotechnology for pets financially viable at much lower prices, industry experts said. For a FACTBOX, click Sector leader Zoetis (ZTS.N) and others say animal drug development is faster, less expensive and more predictable than drugs for people. “It’s not nearly as common for pivotal studies to fail in animal health as it is in human medicine. Most of them are successful,” said Cheryl London, professor in comparative oncology at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Biotech drugs for pets, if proven safe and effective, would be a boon to a $44 billion veterinary medicines market currently dominated by vaccines, flea and tick repellents and anti-infectives. A recent product launch has galvanized the industry. Cytopoint for canine itch relief sold by Zoetis reached blockbuster status by animal health standards in its second year on the market. Launched in late 2016, Cytopoint generated 2018 sales of $129 million, and first-quarter 2019 sales jumped 65% from a year earlier. Produced from cloned genetically engineered hamster cells over at least eight bio-processing steps, the monoclonal antibody is no less complex than comparable therapeutic proteins used in human medicine. But the cost to consumers is far less. Like many biotech drugs, dose and cost is determined by weight. Zoetis declined to disclose its prices. But an animal hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, for example, charges $104 for a 40-pound (18 kg) dog. For much smaller dogs, a Cytopoint injection, which lasts about four to eight weeks, costs about $35 to $50. To keep a large dog from scratching itself raw could run $140 per shot. The cost of a highly effective new anti-itch biotech drug to treat severe atopic dermatitis in humans can run about $30,000 a year. “Cytopoint was a turning point that has made it clear that (biotech drugs) can be successful in this space,” London said. “Now there are an estimated five to ten companies developing antibodies for the veterinary market.” That has created increased business for related services. “It’s a big challenge for us to keep up with the pace of demand growth,” said Klaus Hellmann, managing director at Munich-based Klifovet AG, Europe’s largest contractor for late-stage clinical trials of veterinary drugs. While Cytopoint sparked investment interest in biotech treatments for animals, drug development still comes with inherent risks and uncertainty. Aratana Therapeutics Inc’s canine lymphoma drug, Blontress, was launched in 2015, but later withdrawn after scientific data led the company to determine it was unlikely to be a financial success. Declining costs has mitigated some of the risk. “Over the past several years, human health has been able to advance the technology to improve efficiency of their cell production systems,” said Rob Polzer, head of global therapeutics research for Zoetis. Zoetis can repurpose and optimize existing procedures, mechanisms of action and technologies, it said. The company is seeking approval for a biotech medicine to treat osteoarthritic pain in cats, with plans for a 2021 market launch and a similar product for dogs thereafter. Others have jumped on the bandwagon. German start-up Adivo was spun out of biotech firm Morphosys (MORG.DE) in March 2018 out of frustration by its founders that scientific advances for humans were not translating into better treatment options for their dogs. It has since struck a global collaboration deal with Bayer’s (BAYGn.DE) animal health unit for its early-stage research platform for animal-specific monoclonal antibodies - the backbone of biotechnology. “Over the last few years, the veterinary market has seen an incredibly dynamic development,” said Adivo co-founder Kathrin Ladetzki-Baehs. This could prove a lifesaver for Moose, the bulldog in the oncology drug trial. In early August, Lescault discovered a mass on Moose’s throat, soon followed by deteriorating health and a diagnosis of canine B-cell lymphoma. Moose was given one to two months to live without treatment or about a year with 25 weeks of punishing chemotherapy. Lescault’s local vet suggested the Tufts trial testing an experimental protein that could help advance the current immuno-oncology craze into the animal health arena. Tufts declined to disclose the compound or the study’s sponsor. But more than three weeks into the trial, Moose’s cough and labored breathing has disappeared and he is back to his playful and boisterous self, Lescault said. While treatment in a clinical trial is free, Lescault said she would not hesitate to pay thousands of dollars for a safe and effective drug to save Moose. “I wouldn’t blink an eye,” she said. That is exactly what drug companies are banking on.
31231	"Health officials announced in June 2017 that Donald Trump's health is ""deteriorating."	“The key thing is how any person lives with the stress,” said Gordon Lithgow, a professor of geroscience at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in California, which studies ways to increase healthspan. “Some people absolutely thrive on the edge of stress.”	false	Junk News, donald trump, nc scooper, nevada county scooper	On 21 June 2017, the Nevada County Scooper published a satirical article appearing to report that President Donald Trump’s health is quickly deteriorating because of the stressors of his job: “When he took office, let’s be honest, he was no spring chicken,” said one White House insider who spoke on condition of anonymity, “but it seems like he’s aged a decade or more in just the past few months. Everyone is very concerned about him and even his physician has told him to cut back on his daily tasks. Maybe he should go to Mar-a-Lago more than once a week, you know?” Although there have been legitimate editorials discussing Trump’s age and relative health, NCScooper.com does not publish factual stories. The web site readily explains in its “manifesto” that all of its content is intended to be read as satire: The Scooper is a satirical website is in scope and intent. Sometimes it’s funny; often it is not. in scope and intent. It provides social criticism in a satirical, sometimes news-genre setting. We are not a “fake news” site, but rather an entertainment one. Sometimes it’s just plain-old crappy writing with a few bad jokes. Our intention is not to fool or trick anyone, but obviously it happens. We firmly believe that you can soften a person’s willingness to listen by injecting irony, and yes sometimes humor, into the conversation. At the age of 70, Donald Trump became the oldest person to be sworn in as President of the United States. Shortly after his election, a health expert told the Washington Post that there was no reason to expect that the stress of the job would have a negative effect on Trump’s health: But unlike the fitness fanatic whom he follows into the White House, Trump apparently has never smoked tobacco. He doesn’t drink alcohol. And as a wealthy American, he has presumably spent much of his life with access to excellent health care. Experts agree there is no reason why a healthy man in his 70s cannot carry out the demanding responsibilities of president of the United States, especially someone who has just been tested by the rigors of a 16-month campaign. Yet a person’s “healthspan” — the years he or she is healthy and free of serious disease — is a highly individual mix of genetics, nutrition, lifestyle, social support, access to care and more.
7538	Fauci warns of ‘suffering and death’ if US reopens too soon.	Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon during the coronavirus pandemic, it will result in “needless suffering and death.”	true	AP Top News, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, Anthony Fauci, General News, Politics, Infectious diseases, Pandemics, Donald Trump, Virus Outbreak, Economy	Fauci is among the health experts testifying to a Senate panel. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lock-down aimed at controlling the virus’ spread. Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, which has killed tens of thousands of people in the U.S., is testifying via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus. With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been pressuring states to reopen. Fauci, in a statement to The New York Times, warned that officials should adhere to federal guidelines for a phased reopening, including a “downward trajectory” of positive tests or documented cases of coronavirus over two weeks, robust contact tracing and “sentinel surveillance” testing of asymptomatic people in vulnerable populations, such as nursing homes. “If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines...then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” Fauci wrote. “This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.” Other senior health officials scheduled to testify before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee will also appear via video link after going into self-quarantine, following their exposure to a White House staffer who tested positive. The chairman of the committee, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, also put himself in quarantine after an aide tested positive. He’ll participate by video, too. Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus “testing czar” at the Department of Health and Human Services. Even before the gavel drops, the hearing offers two takeaways for the rest of the country, said John Auerbach, president of the nonprofit public health group Trust for America’s Health. “One thing it tells you is that the virus can have an impact in any workplace setting or any community setting,” said Auerbach. “All businesses will find it very challenging to ensure safety when there are cases.” Another lesson is that the public officials involved are taking the virus seriously by not appearing in person. “They are following the guidelines that they are recommending to others,” said Auerbach. “There is not a double standard.” The main questions for the administration experts revolve around the “Three T’s,” or testing, tracing and treatment. Without widespread testing, state and local officials will be basing decisions to reopen businesses and schools on incomplete data with blind spots lurking. Without the ability to do the painstaking work of tracing the contacts of people infected, unwitting transmission will continue. Without effective treatments, hospitals in a given community could be overwhelmed in a COVID-19 rebound. Ultimately, the goal is a vaccine that would offer widespread protection. The health committee hearing offers a very different setting from the White House coronavirus task force briefings the administration witnesses have all participated in. Senators on the panel are knowledgeable and some have working relationships that go back years with the agencies that the panelists are representing. Most significantly, President Donald Trump will not be controlling the agenda. Eyeing the November elections, Trump has been eager to restart the economy, urging on protesters who oppose their state governors’ stay-at-home orders and expressing his own confidence that the coronavrius will fade away as summer advances and Americans return to work and other pursuits. The ranking Democrat on the health panel, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, doesn’t think the Trump administration is doing nearly enough to keep the virus under control as the economy reopens. “President Trump is trying to ignore the facts, and ignore the experts who have been clear we are nowhere close to where we need to be to reopen safely,” she said in a statement. Murray will participate via video, but some senators are expected to attend in person. Alexander is more nuanced about the nation’s readiness. He suggests there’s enough testing to move to reopen the economy, but worries that there won’t be enough to sustain a return to normality. “It’s enough to do what we need to do today to reopen,” he said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday. “But it’s not enough, for example, when 35,000 kids and faculty show up on the University of Tennessee campus in August.” With more types of tests on the market from different manufacturers and providers, testing is an area that’s become particularly difficult for lay people to navigate. Until now there has been only one kind of test to detect active infection. Called a PCR test, it detects the genetic material of the virus, and is still considered the most accurate. Last weekend the FDA approved the first “antigen” test, which looks for protein traces of the virus instead, much like rapid tests for flu or strep throat. Antigen tests aren’t as accurate as PCR tests but promise to be faster and easier to use. A third kind of test detects past infection, by spotting antibodies in people’s blood. But it’s not yet clear if having those antibodies means someone is immune from another bout of COVID-19.
7254	Nebraska eyes county facility to treat juvenile offenders.	Lancaster County officials and the state of Nebraska are discussing a way to provide intensive behavioral health services to juvenile offenders who need the help, the head of the state Health and Human Services Department said.	true	Lincoln, Health, General News, Nebraska, Kearney	Department CEO Danette Smith made the pronouncement at a Lincoln news conference Monday while discussing her department’s efforts to better serve the teenage girls sent to the Geneva center that she emptied last week. Two dozen female juvenile offenders were moved to the boys center in Kearney after department officials learned the girls’ buildings in Geneva had fire hazards, holes in walls and mold and water damage. Staffers are discussing leasing a 20-bed portion at the Lancaster County Youth Services Center, Smith said. Discussions with the county are still preliminary, but she said the center could house the youths there, providing education, case management, probation and therapeutic recreation and transition services. The department is talking to various groups about addressing the needs of juvenile offenders, Smith said. “The department has an obligation to the youth we serve, and we are committed to making the necessary changes to provide an environment that is safe, supportive and gives youth the opportunity to thrive as they make the transition into adulthood,” she said. Regarding the troubled Geneva center, Smith said work has begun to fix the LaFlesche Cottage, a building that has been awaiting sewer line repairs since spring, and to assess what could be done to the other three residential buildings to make them usable. The campus in rural, central Nebraska serves as a rehabilitation center for girls ages 14-18 who have broken the law and been rejected by other private treatment facilities. The problems came to a head two weeks ago, when one girl damaged the sprinkler system in one of the four residential cottages. The girls moved to the boys center in Kearney have mental health services and case management support available there, as well as physicians who can manage medications, Smith said.
33962	"Astronaut and former NFL player Leland Melvin wrote an open letter to Donald Trump concerning the President's comments about the ""Take a Knee"" protest."	An open letter to President Trump addressing his comments about football players truly originated with astronaut and former NFL player Leland Melvin.	true	Questionable Quotes, donald trump, leland melvin, nfl	As tensions rose in September 2017 in response to football players’ protesting police brutality and inequality by kneeling during the U.S. national anthem, astronaut and former football player Leland Melvin jumped into the fray with a lengthy open letter to president Donald Trump. During a September speech in Alabama, Trump had called for a boycott of the National Football League (NFL), saying: Wouldn’t you love one of the NFL owners when someone disrespects our flag, ‘get that son of a bitch off the field right now’ . . . If you see it, leave the stadium, I guarantee things will stop. Trump’s words heightened emotions on both sides of the issue, but for athletes and team owners, it seemed to heighten solidarity and even spread the protest to as quarterback Tom Brady and National Basketball Association players Steph Curry and Lebron James spoke out against Trump. Amidst all this, a lengthy open letter to the President purportedly penned by astronaut and former NFL Player Leland Melvin came to light: To Donald Trump I believe in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of this country even though at the time they were drafted, their tenets of life, liberty justice for all and eventual freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press and petition amendment ratified in Dec 1791, only applied to a select group of people and not ones that looked like me. Donald Trump I listened to your Alabama rally rant and could not believe how easily you say what you say. We have become numb to your outlandish acts, tweets and recent retweet of you knocking down Hillary Clinton with a golf ball that you hit. Donald Trump your boorish and disgusting actions are not funny. They actually promote violence against women especially when your followers act out what you say. I used to walk the grounds of UVA in Charlottesville, VA as a graduate student only to watch in horror as those same grounds became a battlefield being trod by Nazi and anti-Semitic worshippers armed with assault style weapons ready to fight to make America White again. (their words). You actually said there were nice people on both sides. People armed and ready to kill other Americans for the purpose of eradicating Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Mexicans, Asians, Latinas and even the first real Americans, Native Americans to make America Great Again were “nice people”? Verses what you say in condemnation of an unarmed black man peacefully protesting by exercising his constitutional First Amendment rights by silently taking a knee is appalling, unnerving and reprehensible. You called Colin Kaepernick “a son-of-a-bitch.” And said he should be fired. You are basically calling his white mother a bitch. The strong contrast in language for a black man and a Nazi is very telling. Do you have any sense of decency or shame in what you say to the American people that are part of your duty to serve respectfully with dignity, presidentially? The National Anthem that we listen too has been edited to try not to offend because when Francis Scott Key penned the song he watched freed slaves fighting for the British and wrote this stanza: “And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion A home and a Country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” I guess if I were a slave back then I probably would have done anything to obtain freedom from my American oppressors who were whipping, killing, raping, dismembering, hanging or releasing the dogs on people like me all under our Constitution. In 1814 former slaves fought with the British for their freedom from their American enslavers and Key witnessed a battle from a ship off the Maryland shore at Fort McHenry which inspired him to write what became our National Anthem. I served my country not in the military but as 1 of 362 American Astronauts that have explored the universe to help advance our civilization. Not just Americans but all humans. I also was briefly in the NFL and stood for the National Anthem with my hand over my heart. What makes us great is our differences and respecting that we are all created equally even if not always treated that way. Looking back at our planet from space really helps one get a bigger perspective on how petty and divisive we can be. Donald Trump maybe you should ask your good friend Mr. Putin to give you a ride on a Soyuz rocket to our International Space Station and see what it’s like to work together with people we used to fight against, where your life depends on it. See the world and get a greater sense of what it means to be part of the human race, we call it the Orbital Perspective. Donald Trump please know that you are supposed to be a unifier and a compassionate and empathetic leader. If you can’t do the job then please step down and let someone else try. I pray that you do the right thing. May God bless you. Sincerely, Leland Melvin Former Astronaut and NFL Player It’s unclear why this particular response was met with skepticism, but several readers wrote in to ask us if the letter was authentic. It’s possible that many were unfamiliar with Melvin. Some may have also questioned the authenticity of the national anthem stanza mentioned by the former NFL Player (it is indeed part of the song). The length of Melvin’s post, which was significantly longer than most of the other responses that circulated on social media, may have also raised some doubts. However, this open letter was truly written by Leland Melvin. It was originally posted to his Facebook page on 23 September 2017: To @realDonaldTrump I believe in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of this country even… https://t.co/FezF6vqZuO pic.twitter.com/VUGdZa7lL0 — Leland Melvin (@Astro_Flow) September 23, 2017
3366	Health officials: At least 2 Idaho kids have died from flu.	Idaho state health officials say at least two children have died of influenza-related causes recently and a third child’s death is under investigation because it appears to be flu-related.	true	General News, Flu, Public health, Idaho	Officials with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the deaths Friday, saying they are unusual because most influenza-related deaths occur among older adults. “This flu strain appears to be impacting some children in Idaho heavily, and we want to make sure that Idahoans are taking precautions to stay safe this flu season,” said Dr. Christine Hahn, medical director for the department’s Division of Public Health. Hahn said influenza illness has been increasing in Idaho and nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also seen more reported pediatric flu deaths than usual this time of year, Hahn said. As of Jan. 4, 32 children have died from the flu nationwide this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The two confirmed pediatric flu deaths happened in northern and eastern Idaho; the child who likely died of flu-related causes was also in eastern Idaho, according to the Department of Health and Welfare. Hahn said that they don’t believe the children who died in Idaho had any underlying medical conditions. But she said state health officials don’t always have access to the patients’ entire medical history, so it can’t be completely ruled out. “It is pretty unusual in Idaho — we had one child death reported in the last season, but prior to that we had not had any child deaths for several years,” Hahn said. “The fact that we are looking into possibly a third flu-related death is very concerning.” Most of the pediatric flu-related deaths nationwide appear to be from a strain of influenza B, Hahn said, which is less common than influenza A strains. Experts are still trying to figure out what makes this particular influenza B strain harder on kids, she said, but it could be because many children will have had no or low exposure to influenza B strains in the past, so their body doesn’t have any experience fighting the virus to draw on. “That’s one of the theories about why in some years, like in 1918, young people had the highest mortality rate from the flu. Sometimes kids get hit harder because there’s something about the virus that kids haven’t seen but adults have,” Hahn said. People who are sick with flu-like symptoms — which can include coughing, fever, sore throat, headache, fatigue, and a runny or stuffy nose — should consider seeking medical attention, according to the Department of Health and Welfare. Some people, especially kids, may also experience diarrhea and vomiting with influenza. “If you know how your child normally handles a cold or virus and they’re worse than that, they’re declining, or if they’re having trouble breathing, then I would take that child in” to the doctor, Hahn said. “If there is any concern above what you think is a normal, mild illness, it doesn’t hurt to get checked out.” Anyone with underlying health conditions, under the age of 2, and pregnant women should contact a healthcare provider if they have flu symptoms, Hahn said. “There are medications that can reduce the severity and duration of the illness,” Hahn said. The flu vaccine protects against four flu strains, two type A and two type B. Of the four strains in this season’s vaccine, one type A and one type B appear to be a strong match, offering high levels of protection against those virusus, Hahn said. The other type A and type B strains in the vaccine appear to be less closely matched to the viruses circulating in the wild, she said, but they still help. “Even when it’s not a perfect match, it still provides some protection,” Hahn said.
9650	Teen Feels 'Hopeful' After Experimental Stem Cell Procedure on Damaged Heart	This is a story about one young man receiving an experimental infusion of stem cells into his heart, to help with tissue scarring due to muscular dystrophy. Despite booming research around potential stem cell treatments for a wide range of conditions, the list of diseases for which stem cell therapy has been shown to be effective remains very short, according to the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Yet media outlets often put an optimistic spin on unproven stem cell therapies, as we’ve seen in our examinations of stories on heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe combined immunodeficiency, and multiple sclerosis. Showcasing a few preliminary cases with encouraging outcomes can exaggerate the potential benefits of a treatment and raise false hopes for patients. This story, based on a single case with an unknown outcome, fits this pattern. It fails to counter rosy statements by a physician and a patient with realistic assessments of the potential benefits and pitfalls of an unproven procedure for a fatal disease with no known cure. The story also lacks clinical details that would help readers get a true picture of the nature of the treatment, as well as a discussion of costs. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a heartbreaking disease that affects an estimated 1 in 3,600 boys as well as some girls. The most common inherited pediatric muscle disorder, it’s caused by a shortage of a protein called dystrophin, which leads to progressive muscle weakness. Most patients lose their ability to walk by age 12, and average life expectancy is about 25. Often patients die of heart failure because dystrophin deficiency leads to cardiomyopathy, a weakness of the heart muscle that makes the heart less able to pump blood and maintain a regular rhythm. A recent review of current therapies states that “only steroids have been shown to produce a slowing in the declining course of the disease.” Recent research has focused on using stem cells and gene therapy to create new, healthy muscle cells and thus halt or reverse the disease. The rapid advance and certain fatality of Duchenne muscular dystrophy has patients and their families desperate for new treatment options. Reporters have an obligation to those families to present stories in a reasonable and responsible fashion.	false	anecdotes over evidence,muscular dystrophy,stem cell therapy	The cost of this procedure and the potential for health insurance coverage are not addressed. The costs of high-tech interventions such as stem cell infusions are likely to be high and given their experimental nature are not likely to be covered by insurance. Quantifying long term benefits at this point may not be possible. The story offers this statement from a physician: “If we can preserve his cardiac function he has a fantastic outlook.” But the story missed an opportunity to educate readers by explaining how physicians intend to measure results. The story fails to quantify any improvement in cardiac function in this young man. Previous clinical trials of stem cell infusions in patients with hearts damaged by heart attack have shown modest improvement in function using standard diagnostic methods in the short term. Most patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy would probably be willing to take almost any risk for the chance of being cured. Still, any stem cell therapy can be perilous. According to the International Society of Stem Cell Research, potential risks include complications that create short-term and long-term health problems, ineligibility for future clinical trials or treatment options, and time away from friends and family. The story could have offered readers insight by explaining what was involved from the patient’s standpoint: how long the procedure took, what discomfort it may have presented, what follow-up is involved, etc. The story asserts that the patient, Caleb Sizemore, is the first to receive an infusion of stem cells in his heart in the hope of stopping or reversing scarring related to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It does not discuss any similar procedures that may have been used to treat other conditions and how they have fared. Optimistic quotes from a physician and a patient are not balanced with a detailed explanation of the significant hurdles that must be overcome before stem cell therapy could be counted as a successful treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The story only points out that Sizemore will return to Cincinnati from his home state of North Carolina “in a few months” so physicians can determine whether the procedure had an effect. The story skimps on significant clinical details, such as what type of stem cells were used. There’s no disease mongering here. It’s hard to overstate the devastation of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This story begs for comments from outside experts, including research clinicians and patient advocates who could provide unbiased perspective on the potential for this treatment and describe how it fits into ongoing research in the field. For example, outside experts might shed light on the outcomes of similar procedures that have been performed on cardiac patients and whether they are relevant to this case. Given the scarcity of effective treatments for this disease, a comparison with other treatment options is probably not warranted. The story leaves the misleading impression that widespread application for millions of patients could be around the corner. It paraphrases a physician as stating, rather confusingly, that “if the medication works on patients like Sizemore, it could then be tested on millions of other Americans who have scarring on their heart due to disease or past heart attacks.” Moreover, Sizemore it quoted as saying, “It is very exciting especially because of the impact it has on other kids and how it paves the way so that others can get the treatment and how this will change people’s lives and extend them.” These statements are a huge leap, begging for a discussion of the complexity of stem cell therapies and the process of measuring patient outcomes and proving efficacy. There is no reason to believe the story is inaccurate when it says identifies its subject as the first patient to have had a stem cell infusion for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, though it should have cited a source. As previously mentioned, it appears that similar procedures have been used on cardiac patients, although the story lacks sufficient details to tell for sure. It does not appear that this story is based on a news release.
26441	Herd immunity is probably why California has far fewer COVID-19 deaths than New York.	Once a high percentage of people have been infected with a virus or vaccinated — in other words, herd immunity is achieved — spread of the virus can be stopped or greatly slowed. Despite having a population twice that of New York State, California has experienced only a fraction of the number of COVID-19 deaths. There’s no evidence herd immunity has limited coronavirus deaths in California, which adopted stay-at-home measures before New York did.	false	Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, California, New York, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,	"There is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19. So, is it possible a naturally occurring ""herd immunity"" has, in effect, inoculated much of California, keeping the number of the state’s coronavirus deaths a fraction of those in New York? That’s the claim of a lengthy Facebook post, titled ""CV-19 Hoax Update."" It starts with this: ""Do you wonder why CA only has 559 CV19 deaths compared to 7,067 deaths in NY? Welp, researchers at Stanford's School of Medicine suspect it's because CA had already developed ‘herd immunity’ to the virus. They're now conducting a study to find this out. Makes sense. … Building ‘herd immunity’ is the only way to get rid of a virus when there is no vaccine."" The post also claims that California is a leading tourist destination for people from China and theorizes that the virus has been ""kicking around"" California ""since October or November."" It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Herd immunity, also called ""herd protection,"" is a real phenomenon. It’s when the percentage of the population immune to a virus becomes so high that the virus virtually dies off. But experts, pointing to how relatively little testing is being done, say there is no evidence of herd immunity for COVID-19 anywhere, let alone just in California. The numbers of COVID-19 deaths cited in the April 10 Facebook post — 559 in California and 7,067 — were accurate. News reports at the time cited those figures from Johns Hopkins University. That means New York had more than 12 times as many coronavirus deaths, even though its population is only about one-half that of California. Think of herd immunity as being a situation in which so many people — above 50% to perhaps 70% — are immune to a virus that it essentially stops spreading. It occurs when enough people in a community become immune through vaccination and/or prior illness, making the spread of the disease from person to person unlikely, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology says. The theory is that once many people develop immunity, the virus will eventually stop spreading to people who haven’t yet caught it. It’s not easy to achieve. Based on testing, even hard-hit Wuhan, China, where the virus was first detected Dec. 31, 2019, isn’t close to achieving herd immunity, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 16, 2020. And in the days after the Facebook post, California Gov. Gavin Newsom talked about herd immunity as an aspiration for his state, not as something that has spared it. The Facebook post argues that it makes sense that California would have herd immunity because so many people travel there from China. It alludes to a Stanford University study as evidence. That study, which tested for coronavirus antibodies among 3,300 people in Santa Clara County, Calif., on April 3 and 4, 2020, was aimed at determining how many people in the county had unknowingly been infected with the virus, but didn’t become seriously sick. Newsom said the project would show ""how far away we are from herd immunity."" The study concluded that the infection is much more widespread than indicated by the number of confirmed cases — an estimated 48,000 to 81,000 people were infected in the county by early April, 50 to 85 times more than the number of confirmed cases. That’s likely due to several factors, including early spread, lack of systematic testing, and asymptomatic or lightly symptomatic cases that were previously undetected, the study said. But the study’s findings are not evidence that California has herd immunity, Dr. David Hamer, an expert on infectious diseases and global health and medicine professor at Boston University, told PolitiFact. Experts told PolitiFact that, because relatively little COVID-19 testing has been done, there simply is no evidence of herd immunity for COVID-19. ""We just don't have the testing data yet to determine who is protected. So, we are still not there in terms of declaring herd immunity,"" said Melissa Brown, professor of microbiology/immunology at Northwestern University. Stephen Morse, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University in New York, agreed. ""Since almost all of the testing is done only on sick (symptomatic) people, presumably due to limitations in testing capacity, and only a very few counties are testing more widely, we don’t know the level of immunity in either California or New York,"" he said. ""Therefore, we can’t say anything about herd immunity, as we simply don’t know."" While the federal and state governments are building up their testing capabilities, ""it’s not clear how good all these tests are,"" said Hamer. ""And we don’t have a clearly defined test to tell whether a person has had the disease"" and also has antibodies to protect from getting COVID-19 again. As a number of news reports have suggested, experts also told us that one explanation for California’s lower death toll is that it adopted stay-at-home orders and other responses before New York did. A widely shared post on Facebook claims herd immunity is probably why California has far fewer COVID-19 deaths than New York. Experts say that with relatively little testing having been done, there is no evidence to indicate that herd immunity explains the large gap in coronavirus deaths in the two states."
7359	Things to Know: Face covering rules vary by jurisdiction.	Health authorities want people to wear masks or face coverings outdoors to help prevent spread of the coronavirus, but is it a hard and fast rule? It depends. Here are things to know:	true	Los Angeles, Health, General News, Virus Outbreak, Eric Garcetti	WHY WEAR A MASK? Health experts say face coverings help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Cloth coverings cannot block the virus itself. However, they can provide some protection from droplets from breath and saliva that can carry the disease. Some people don’t realize they are infected because they have no symptoms. If they wear a mask, it limits the possibility of them unwittingly spreading the disease. HOW IS THE LOS ANGELES MASK REQUIREMENT DIFFERENT? The city of Los Angeles has the strictest requirement of any major city in the state. Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an order this week saying: “All individuals engaging in outdoor activities, except for water activities, must wear a cloth face covering.” That includes everything from walking around the block to skateboarding. The order exempts children under 2 and people with certain disabilities. Even in surrounding Los Angeles County it’s a little less stringent. Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer say masks aren’t needed for solitary walks or jogs. DO I HAVE TO WEAR IT IN THE CAR? Garcetti says no. But he emphasized wearing it other places when away from home and applying social distancing are foundational elements to continuing the progress Los Angeles has made against the virus. ABOUT THE VIRUS As of Friday, 1,755 people have died due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, which has a quarter of the state’s nearly 40 million residents but more than half the deaths. Slight decreases in hospitalizations have occurred over the last week and a half and “we are encouraged,” Ferrer said. For the most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms for up to three weeks. The vast majority recover. Some older adults and people with existing health problems can experience severe illness including pneumonia and death.
37481	The cities of Los Angeles and New York City announced that no concerts or sporting events would be held until 2021.	Did Los Angeles and NYC Announce ‘No More Concerts In 2020’?	mixture	Disinformation, Fact Checks	A newly-created Twitter account’s unsubstantiated claim was still shared widely on the platform by readers perhaps dreading the long-term ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on Los Angeles and New York City.Touting it as “BREAKING NEWS,” the user — who registered on the platform in March 2020 — claimed that the two cities “just announced that there will be no more concerts or professional sports in 2020.”Regardless of the lack of citations or proof for their argument, the tweet was shared more than 800 times and highlighted by more than 3,000 other accounts:The tweet might have been a distorted version of comments Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made in an interview with CNN on April 16 2020. Rather than issue an order barring concerts or sporting events, the mayor acknowledged that large gatherings of that type would be unlikely to be held until 2021.“It’s difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon,” Carcetti said. “I think we should be prepared for that this year.”A day earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported that Garcetti raised the issue during a meeting with city officials that included Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas. Both the department and the mayor’s office confirmed the report.“The mayor was generally referencing studies of current and historical data and best practices for safely reopening our economy,” said Alex Comisar, a spokesperson for Garcetti.Similarly, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio did not order a widescale cancellation of events, but he told CNN:I’ve got to see in my city real, steady progress, even to start to think about relaxing some of those social distancing standards even a little bit. I want to get people back to work, of course. I want to get kids back to school. But I think it will take months to go through that whole sequence. And the last thing I want to do is gather 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 people in one place. That’s like the exact opposite of social distancing.While President Donald Trump has said that he wants the United States economy to reopen in May 2020 — and falsely claimed that he had “total authority” to do so — California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on April 14 that he had developed a plan, alongside his counterparts in Oregon and Washington, allowing for a gradual easing of social distancing guidelines that allowed for stricter measures as determined by individual municipal governments. He did call the possibility of holding large public events “negligible at best” before a vaccine for the disease was available.A day earlier, governors in seven East Coast states including New York announced their own plan to collaborate on re-establishing their local economies.
6475	Continued protection sought for medical-marijuana states.	Two members of Congress — one an Oregon Democrat and the other a California Republican — are pushing to ensure that protections against federal intervention remain for another year for 46 states, Washington DC, Guam and Puerto Rico that allow some form of medical marijuana.	true	Earl Blumenauer, Medical marijuana, Oregon, Dana Rohrabacher	Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California have sent a letter with the signatures of 64 colleagues to congressional leaders supporting the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment that prevents federal officials using public funds to enforce federal laws against medical marijuana. “The provision, which first became law in December 2014, has successfully protected patients, providers, and businesses against federal prosecution, so long as they act within the confines of their state’s medical marijuana laws,” they said in the letter that was sent this week. It asked Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to include the provision in any final package as they negotiate a fiscal year 2018 appropriations bill to fund the government beyond Dec. 8. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in May told congressional leaders in a letter that it would be “unwise” to renew the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, saying marijuana is harmful and is banned by federal law. Blumenauer, in a message to marijuana stakeholders and supporters, said that despite bipartisan support for the provision, the leadership of the House didn’t allow a vote on it or any other marijuana-related amendments. But the Senate Appropriations Committee included the provision in its bill. “I’m working hard to ensure Rohrabacher-Blumenauer remains in effect to protect individuals in 46 states and thousands of state-legal businesses from federal intervention,” the Oregon congressman said in his message, emailed to The Associated Press by the Oregon Cannabis Business Council. Blumenauer, in a telephone interview with AP last summer, said Sessions is “out of step” with most members of Congress, who have become more supportive “of ending the failed prohibition on marijuana.” ___ Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky
16194	According to recent reports, a group of death panels organized under Obamacare ordered their first execution.	The chain email claimed that Dorothy Zborknak was ordered executed by an Obamacare death panel. We ruled on this topic five years ago, but we’ll repeat it again: Death squads are not a part of the Affordable Care Act, and you can still catch Dorothy on Golden Girls reruns most nights.	false	National, Health Care, AmericanNews.com,	"An old piece of Affordable Care Act mythology has come back from the dead: death panels. A reader sent us a link to a September American News article that claims an 86-year-old woman was ordered executed after a panel established by the Affordable Care Act determined that ""she is no longer useful."" ""According to recent reports, a group of death panels organized under Obamacare ordered their first execution. ""Following a hearing by the president’s Patient Resource Efficiency Board (PREB), 86-year-old Dorothy Zborknak has been ordered to death. The reason? According to the administration, she is no longer useful. ""Zborknak worked at Fleur de Lis Florist in Chicago for nearly forty years, before she made the decision to retire in 1998. Since that time, she has struggled with a host of health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney failure. "" ‘Unfortunately, the cost of her care just became too expensive,’ claims Peter Johnston, a member of the Chicago PREB. ‘Under the Affordable Care Act, we have the power to make choices about end of life care and I stand by our ruling. I know it will be hard for the family to accept what’s going to happen…But from a financial standpoint, this was a very easy decision.’ We’ll offer a quick diagnosis: This claim is not accurate. Back in 2009, the myth of death panels was our inaugural Lie of the Year. Almost five years later, death panels are still not a part of U.S. health care law. Our first clue that the American News article was not real was the name of the woman who was supposedly sentenced to execution: Dorothy Zborknak. That’s the name of Bea Arthur’s character on the TV show The Golden Girls. (Slightly misspelled -- it's actually Zbornak.) It turns out that the story is ripped from an article posted on The Daily Currant in January. The Daily Currant is a satirical website with a mission ""to ridicule the timid ignorance which obstructs our progress and promote intelligence,"" according to the website. Other headlines include things like ""Obama Announces Two-Year Golfing Trip"" and ""Al-Qaeda Member Elected to California City Council."" The debunkers at Snopes.com caught this case of copying back in September. As for the American News site, its ""About Us"" and ""Privacy Policy"" pages have no information on them besides ads. Stories are posted without attribution or bylines. We attempted to contact them through a form on the site, but did not receive a response. The article was posted on The Patriot Facebook page in September and quickly spread. It has 6,019 likes and was shared 4,906 times. For those who don’t recall it, the death panel discussion stemmed from a post on former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s Facebook page on August 7, 2009. ""The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care,"" she wrote. There is no mention of such a system in the massive Affordable Care Act. Instead, the idea originated from changes to Medicare to cover appointments on end-of-life planning, such as living wills and do-not-resuscitate orders. The appointments were not required, and AARP backed the addition. The change wasn’t implemented after the controversy over Palin’s comments. Our ruling The chain email claimed that Dorothy Zborknak was ordered executed by an Obamacare death panel. We ruled on this topic five years ago, but we’ll repeat it again: Death squads are not a part of the Affordable Care Act, and you can still catch Dorothy on Golden Girls reruns most nights."
36541	A Facebook post shows a huge turnout (of at least 650,000 people) at 2019's March for Life demonstration.	Does This Photograph Show the 2019 ‘March for Life’?	false	Fact Checks, Viral Content	On January 20 2019, a Facebook user shared the following photograph and caption:Estimated 650,000 MARCH FOR LIFE IN D.C.! So thankful that we are seeing so many stand up for the innocent babies being killed every day in this nation. Over 2500 babies a day are killed in the USA. Over 61 million have been murdered since a leftist 1973 Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade. It’s time to turn the page and reverse this barbaric, pagan, law of sacrificing infants. Babies lives matter!According to the poster, the photograph was captured at the annual March for Life on January 18, 2019. In a comment, the original poster accused the media of deliberately refusing to run the image because of its bias against anti-abortion positions:The leftist owned media does not show the March For Life, because their owners also own abortion clinics, pharmaceutical companies, medical supplies, etc. All of which are making billions in abortion murder industry. It’s a money thing.However, that is not true. There was a reason that the photograph did not accompany reporting on 2019’s March for Life in Washington, DC, as a quick reverse image search immediately revealed, but it had nothing to do with the media’s ideological biases, either real or imagined. This photograph originally appeared online in March 2018 — nearly a year before the 2019 event, and doesn’t show the March for Life; it shows the turnout for the 2018 March for Our Lives, which was advocating for gun control, not opposing abortion.The same image appeared in Vox’s March 24 2018 article, “The March for Our Lives, explained”:Thousands rallied in Washington, DC, [in March 2018] for a March for Our Lives protest to advocate for gun control. Thousands more joined them at other marches in cities large and small across the country.Their motto is “never again.”The march marked most dramatic and powerful show yet of teenage activism against gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Close to a million students stood up and streamed out of classrooms across the country last week as part of the National School Walkout, which honored the victims of the Parkland shooting one month ago and called on lawmakers to pass gun control legislation. Another national school walkout is planned for April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine shooting. […]In Washington, protesters rallied along Pennsylvania Avenue starting at noon — though students, parents, and others began showing up with their signs much earlier. The demonstration was expected to draw as many as 500,000 people to the nation’s capital.Although Vox initially estimated the crowd size for the student-organized March for Our Lives in 2018 as approaching 500,000, actual attendance far outstripped that projection. On the same day, TIME reported that 800,000 people attended. Organizers had prepared for the smaller figure of 500,000 attendees.As for the March for Life 2019, organizers expected around 100,000 attendees. Estimates of actual attendance after the march were difficult to come by due to the media frenzy that followed an incident at that event involving students from Covington Catholic school and Native American activist Nathan Phillips.The highest estimate we could find from the 2019 March for Life organizers was between 200,000 and 300,000 attendees, about a third of the number of people who attended 2018’s March for Our Lives. It’s possible that the 650,000 number cited in the Facebook post originated with reporting on the rally’s history, along with the highest-ever attendance (in 2013) possibly approaching that number:Though attendance has fluctuated over the years, the event has expanded dramatically since a Labor Department lawyer turned activist, Nellie Gray, organized a protest outside the Capitol on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. (Reporting at the time suggested that the 1974 rally attracted about 6,000 attendees, though the organization now claims 20,000 were there.) At its peak in 2013, shortly after Obama’s second inauguration, organizers estimated that 650,000 activists participated. Even if that’s a Trumpian overestimate, a crowd of half that size would be remarkable for an annual event focused on a seemingly intractable, if hot-button, policy issue.Notwithstanding how many people attended 2019’s March for Life in Washington, the photograph shows a different demonstration with indisputably massive attendance — the 2018 student-led March For Our Lives, which was held in support of gun control.
6080	Legionnaires’ disease found in adjacent California prisons.	Legionnaires’ disease bacteria that killed one inmate and sickened another is more widespread than expected in a California state prison, officials said Wednesday, citing new test results.	true	Stockton, Prisons, Health, Legionnaires disease, North America, California	Preliminary results found the bacteria in the water supply at a prison medical facility in Stockton and at two neighboring youth correctional facilities, Corrections Department spokeswoman Vicky Waters said. Officials had thought it was isolated to one housing unit where the two inmates lived. They restricted water use throughout the medical facility and neighboring juvenile facility, bringing in bottled water. But they put special filters only on showers in the housing unit where the inmates had been housed in the California Health Care Facility, which treats about 2,670 inmates needing medical or mental health care. The neighboring O.H. Close Youth Correctional Facility houses about 150 youths and N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility about 260 youths. No subsequent illnesses were reported and the source hasn’t been found. But officials now are adding the shower filters in other areas and warning against using unfiltered water throughout the three facilities. “We are responding to preliminary findings and recommendations,” Waters said in an email. “We are still awaiting the final findings and working on a remediation plan.” That includes deciding how they will clean out the bacteria from the facilities’ water system and how much it might cost, she said. The bacteria weren’t detected in the Stockton city water supply, though the city supplies water to the state facilities. An inmate who died last month had Legionnaires’ disease, which is considered a severe form of pneumonia. A second inmate tested positive for the bacteria but is in good condition. Legionella bacteria grow in water and spread through water vapor. They can cause a mild infection known as Pontiac fever or the more serious infection known as Legionnaires’ disease, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease occurs when contaminated water is inhaled into the lungs. It is considered particularly dangerous for older people and those with underlying health issues. Officials tested 28 inmates who suffered from pneumonia in February or March, but only the two inmates tested positive, officials said. Tests are pending on a more recent inmate with pneumonia. No inmates died but nearly 80 were sickened during a 2015 outbreak at San Quentin State Prison, 80 miles to the west. That temporarily forced the state’s oldest prison to cancel visits, hot meals and showers and ship in water and portable toilets.
2990	Australian wildfire smoke stokes health fears in cities.	Fire alarms have been sounding in high-rise buildings across downtown Sydney and Melbourne as dense smoke from distant wildfires confuse electronic sensors. Modern government office blocks in the Australian capital Canberra have been closed because the air inside is too dangerous for civil servants to breathe.	true	Climate, Australia, Climate change, Canberra, International News, General News, Wildfires, Melbourne, Health, Fires, AP Top News, Science, Sydney, Asia Pacific	The sun has glowed an eerie red behind a brown shrouded sky for weeks over Australian metropolitan areas that usually rank high in the world’s most livable cities indexes. It’s an unprecedented dilemma for Australians accustomed to blue skies and sunny days that has raised fears for the long-term health consequences if prolonged exposure to choking smoke becomes the new summer norm. Similar concerns over smoke are emerging in other regions of the globe being impacted by more fires tied to climate change, including the Western U.S. “I’m going to give birth any day now, literally, and I’m going to have a newborn baby that I’m going to protect from all this,” said Emma Mauch, a pregnant Canberra mother. Her friend, Sonia Connor, described the struggle of keeping her own energetic 3-year-old daughter contained inside their Canberra house with windows and doors sealed by tape as the outside temperature exceeded 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s a choice between air flow in stifling heat or keeping potentially toxic smoke out. “My daughter hasn’t shown any sort of symptoms, let’s say. For me, I can feel it in my lungs, my throat has felt weird,” Connor said. “It doesn’t seem to be stopping her, but the long-term effects? Who knows? She’s 3. Who knows what’s going to happen?” she added. Slovenian tennis player Dalila Jakupovic fell to her knees in a coughing fit on Wednesday while competing in a qualifying match for the Australian Open in Melbourne. “I’ve never experienced something like this,” Jakupovic told Nine Network television. “We are used to pollution — like, we play in China and more polluted countries — but this smoke is something different that for sure we’re not used to.” Canberra as well as Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have at various times in recent weeks rated as the most polluted cities in the world, although some argue the industrial pollutants in places such as New Delhi are more dangerous than wood smoke. The fires have claimed at least 28 l ives since September, destroyed more than 2,600 homes and razed more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), mostly in New South Wales state. The area burned is larger than the U.S. state of Indiana. Victoria state increased its official fire death toll by one to five on Wednesday when it reclassified the death of a fire management contractor in a traffic accident in November as a victim of the current wildfire crisis. Hospital admissions have increased in the smoke-affected cities, with some patients suffering asthma for the first time in their lives. The government has responded by distributing 3.5 million free particle-excluding masks. Acting Australian Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said he was discussing with the government launching a study of the long-term health implications of the wildfire smoke. Bruce Thompson, president of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, is among the respiratory disease experts who predict increases in heart and lung diseases as well as some cancers if climate change makes prolonged exposure to wildfire smoke an annual phenomenon. “We’re breathing in stuff that the lungs don’t like that leads to significant changes, especially people who are predisposed to respiratory conditions,” Thompson said. Thompson, who suffers itchy eyes and a running nose from smoke at home in Melbourne, said comparisons could be drawn between the current crisis and a wildfire that ignited coal in the open-cut Hazelwood mine near the town of Morwell in Victoria state in 2014. The fire burned for 45 days, blanketing Morwell and its 14,000 residents in thick smoke and coal dust. That exposure was still taking tolls on the health of the Morwell community and the wider Latrobe Valley, particularly the young, Thompson said. Brian Oliver, head of the Respiratory Molecular Pathogenesis at University of Technology Sydney, likened prolonged and repeated exposure to such wildfire smoke to smoking cigarettes. Oliver predicted increases in smoker diseases across Australia if the wildfire smoke became more common in a drier and hotter future. NASA says the unprecedented masses of Australian smoke that have drifted east across the Pacific Ocean have returned after circumnavigating the globe. In the U.S., an estimated 20,000 premature deaths now occur annually due to chronic wildfire smoke exposure. That’s expected to double by the end of the century, according to scientists funded by NASA, as tens of millions of people get exposed to massive “smoke waves” emanating from blazes in Western states. Experts say an increase in serious health problems in California may be almost inevitable for vulnerable residents as the disasters become more commonplace. Research suggests children, the elderly and those with existing health problems are most at risk. Short-term exposure to wildfire smoke can worsen existing asthma and lung disease, leading to emergency room treatment or hospitalization, studies have shown. Increases in doctor visits or hospital treatment for respiratory infections, bronchitis and pneumonia in otherwise healthy people also have been found during and after wildfires. Some studies also have found increases in ER visits for heart attacks and strokes in people with existing heart disease on heavy smoke days during previous California wildfires, echoing research on potential risks from urban air pollution. For most healthy people, exposure to wildfire smoke is just an annoyance, causing burning eyes, scratchy throats or chest discomfort that all disappear when the smoke clears. Wood smoke contains some of the same toxic chemicals as urban air pollution, along with tiny particles of vapor and soot 30 times thinner than a human hair. These can infiltrate the bloodstream, potentially causing inflammation and blood vessel damage even in healthy people, research on urban air pollution has shown. Studies have linked heart attacks and cancer with long-term exposure to air pollution. Whether exposure to wildfire smoke carries the same risks is uncertain, and determining harm from smog versus wildfire smoke can be tricky. There is little known about the long-term effects of wildfire smoke because of difficulties in studying populations years after a wildfire. Michael Abramson, professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine at Melbourne’s Monash University, is a co-author of a report on the ongoing investigation of the health impacts of the Hazelwood blaze. Abramson urges a national study of the health impacts of the latest wildfires, saying his research focused on a much smaller population of 74,000 people in the Latrobe Valley. “We’re now seeing substantial exposure extending over weeks to cities that have millions of inhabitants, so I think it’s very likely that there might be more subtle effects that we haven’t been able to detect,” Abramson said.
18159	"Gilberto Hinojosa Says if Texas abortion measure passes, ""someone living in El Paso would have to drive 550 miles each way to San Antonio for something as simple as cervical cancer screening."	Hinojosa said that if the abortion legislation passed, an El Paso resident would have to make a 550-mile trip to San Antonio for simple services like a cervical cancer screening. That’s not so; such services will continue to be available in El Paso, local experts say. This statement misses the mark so badly, it’s ridiculous. UMC-El Paso women’s health clinics Click here for addresses and contact information for the University Medical Center of El Paso Hospital’s seven Women’s Health Centers. Clinics in state Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program This state program has three main providers in El Paso -- Centro San Vicente, Project Vida and Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe -- and several satellite clinics. Click here to map such clinics across Texas. El Paso-area clinics providing health services free or at reduced cost for eligible women through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program.	false	Abortion, Health Care, Texas, Gilberto Hinojosa,	"The Texas Democratic Party sent out an email blast July 3, 2013, seeking signatures on a petition calling (ultimately without success) for hearings to be held around the state on a legislative measure tightening restrictions on abortion in Texas. Signed by party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, the letter said, ""If this bill passes, someone living in El Paso would have to drive 550 miles each way to San Antonio for something as simple as cervical cancer screening at a clinic."" House Bill 2, which a House committee approved the day Hinojosa’s email went out and was awaiting Senate consideration as we posted this article, would ban most abortions after 20 weeks and toughen standards for abortion clinics. Opponents have said a provision that clinics must upgrade to the standards of ambulatory surgical centers could lead 36 of 42 clinics that perform most Texas abortions to shut down. When we contacted the Democratic Party about Hinojosa’s claim, spokeswoman Tanene Allison told us by email that although the chairman’s San Antonio reference could be read as saying no El Paso facility would continue to provide such services, it was not intended that way. Hinojosa ""does recognize that there may be other clinics open for these screenings in El Paso,"" Allison said. ""Our intention was to say that if you go to the clinics that are covered under HB2, you would have to drive 550 miles to get some of the services that you normally get locally,"" Allison said. ""We certainly could have been clearer and will be in future emails."" Still, we checked on conditions in El Paso for ourselves. El Paso, a city with 672,538 residents as of 2012, is at Texas’ western edge, but it’s not isolated. It’s across the Rio Grande from the more than 1 million residents of Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez, and inside the U.S., it’s closer to Albuquerque, N.M. (population 555,417) and the nation’s sixth-largest city (Phoenix, population 1.5 million) than it is to San Antonio. Two El Paso clinics could shutter if the measure becomes law, according to a July 10, 2013, El Paso Times news story. The clinics appear on a Department of State Health Services list of abortion facilities we received by email June 25, 2013. Reproductive Services of El Paso, near downtown, provides cancer screenings and other services, while Hill Top Women’s Reproductive Clinic solely offers abortions and pregnancy tests, according to the clinics’ websites. We called both clinics, but did not hear back. So, if Reproductive Services were to shut down, would El Paso women have to drive 550 miles to get a test for cervical cancer? ""That’s unbelievable. That’s not possible. I don’t even know where to start,"" said Adriana Valdes, co-director of outreach and case management at the Cancer and Chronic Disease Consortium, which manages El Paso clinics’ participation in the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program. ""There are a lot of organizations and institutions here that can provide access to those services,"" Valdes told us by phone. Lawmakers ""need to put all the facts together"" before making decisions that could affect funding for women’s health ""coming into needy communities like ours,"" she said. ""Many towns and hospitals are committing their monies to diagnostic screenings and diagnostic services and none of them are providing abortion services."" Valdes said she was not aware of the two clinics listed as abortion facilities, but said that any time a facility closes, it has a big impact on the women in the area who rely on its services. ""We have central locations,"" she said. ""Those are not long distances."" Access to transportation is a concern, she said, but the biggest issue can be making sure women know the services are available, especially with patients who get used to going to a single facility for years and don’t know of other options. Education and advice for such women is a main function of her organization, which subcontracts with 12 to 14 clinics and some private health care providers to help women get breast and cervical cancer screenings at low or no cost, Valdes said, and gives ongoing assistance to women diagnosed with cancer. The clinics do not provide abortions, she said, and so would not be directly affected by the legislation, although it could mean more women would seek their ""already overwhelmed"" services. Access to cervical cancer screenings in El Paso decreased when Planned Parenthood clinics in El Paso closed, we learned from Valdes and Theresa Byrd, a professor at Texas Tech University’s Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso. According to the 2013 El Paso Times news story and another from June 27, 2009, all six Planned Parenthood clinics in El Paso closed in 2009 because of financial problems. Byrd, who helped develop a intervention program being tested now in El Paso and other cities to increase the prevalence of cervical cancer screenings among Mexican American women, told us that if the abortion measure became law, ""the situation would stay about the same"" in El Paso regarding cervical cancer screening. That is, such tests would still be available. Byrd said, ""In El Paso, is it easy to get service? No. You might have to wait, and it’s probably not as easy as it would be in other communities"" such as Houston. ""But can you get them? Yes."" For women who have health insurance, Byrd said, the path starts with a visit to the obstetrician/gynecologist or family doctor. ""So many women in our community are uninsured that many of them use our federally qualified health centers,"" she said, naming El Paso’s three major providers in the state program: Centro San Vicente, Project Vida and Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe. Three or more health fairs held each year in El Paso also offer screenings, Byrd said, and cervical cancer tests are available in Juárez as well. Among health care options in El Paso is University Medical Center, which according to an online fact sheet is the largest public hospital on the U.S./Mexico border. Spokesman Jethro Armijo told us by phone that the hospital has seven outpatient clinics offering women’s health care including cervical cancer screenings. The clinics do not offer abortions and are located throughout the county, he said. Our ruling Hinojosa said that if the abortion legislation passed, an El Paso resident would have to make a 550-mile trip to San Antonio for simple services like a cervical cancer screening. That’s not so; such services will continue to be available in El Paso, local experts say. This statement misses the mark so badly, it’s ridiculous. ! UMC-El Paso women’s health clinics Click here for addresses and contact information for the University Medical Center of El Paso Hospital’s seven Women’s Health Centers. Clinics in state Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program This state program has three main providers in El Paso -- Centro San Vicente, Project Vida and Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe -- and several satellite clinics. Click here to map such clinics across Texas. El Paso-area clinics providing health services free or at reduced cost for eligible women through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program."
3497	Judge won’t compel health system to fund doctor’s defense.	A federal judge declined for now to compel a Michigan-based health system to advance legal costs for a doctor’s defense against murder charges in the deaths of 25 Ohio hospital patients.	true	Columbus, Michigan, Health, General News, Ohio, Lawsuits	U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh in Michigan concluded Wednesday it’s in the public interest to deny the preliminary injunction sought by William Husel. The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System fired the intensive care doctor after concluding he ordered excessive painkillers for dozens of patients who died. Husel has pleaded not guilty in the resulting criminal case. His pending lawsuit against Mount Carmel’s parent company, Trinity Health Corporation, and its insurer argues his ability to defend himself is hurt if they won’t cover his legal costs in the criminal case as happened in dozens of related civil cases. The judge concluded the public interest supported denying the preliminary injunction “to protect THC’s Catholic principles on end of life issues, to comport with public policy that liability insurance does not exist to relieve wrongdoers for intentional criminal conduct, and to fulfill the court’s obligation to read the insurance contract by its plain and unambiguous terms.” A spokeswoman for Mount Carmel said by email that it and Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health, are pleased with the decision and focusing on patient care. Husel’s lawyer in the matter called the decision disappointing and accused those health care systems of misleading the public. “Mount Carmel and Trinity both know that Dr. Husel’s care was entirely appropriate and did not cause harm to any patient, and they should be standing up for their employees and defending them against all baseless allegations,” attorney Adam Ford of Ford O’Brien LLP said in an email. In a separate defamation lawsuit against Mount Carmel and Trinity, Husel contends the patients died because of their illnesses, not the drugs he ordered.
28707	Jellyfish and lobsters are considered biologically immortal, meaning they don’t age and will never die unless they are killed.	What's true: One species of jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula, is considered biologically immortal as it can—and does—revert to its immature state even after reaching sexual maturity. What's false: Despite not showing the typical signs of aging during their lives, lobsters can and do die from old age.	mixture	Science, immortality, jellyfish, lobsters	Memes like the one presented above, containing the very cool-sounding claim that both jellyfish and lobsters are biologically immortal, have been popular on the internet for years. Biological immortality is usually defined as an organism that will not die from senescence, the scientific term for aging. However, as reported for BBC Earth by Colin Barras, the term is a bit of a misnomer: What we’re talking about here is “biological immortality”, although many biologists would probably rather we didn’t use the phrase. “Immortal really means you don’t die at all, which is stupid,” says Thomas Bosch at the University of Kiel, Germany. Paradoxical though it might seem, biologically immortal organisms are definitely mortal. They can be killed by a predator, a disease, or a catastrophic change in the environment such as an erupting volcano. But unlike humans, they rarely die simply because they get old. To put it another way, biologically immortal organisms do die, but they don’t seem to age. There are two separate questions to investigate: 1) Are jellyfish biologically immortal? ; and 2) are lobsters biologically immortal? Not all jellyfish are immortal, but apparent biologic immortality has been documented in one specific species of jellyfish known as Turritopsis nutricula —popularly referred to as the immortal jellyfish. This phenomenon was first described in a 1996 paper, demonstrated in later laboratory experiments, and is well-described in a 2013 Berkeley Science Review story by Nikki R. Kong: When it encounters unfavorable environmental conditions, the adult Turritopsis—normally overflowing with tentacles that evoke the image of the head of Medusa—simply sinks to the ocean floor and reverts to its juvenile polyp phase that resembles nothing more than a tiny clump of cells. Even more fascinating is that the jellyfish can repeat this process of regression and re-growth endlessly. To date, there have been no reported observations of its death due to aging. While multiple jellyfish species can revert to earlier life stages, Turritopsis is unique because it can do this even after reaching sexual maturity. Lobsters, however, are not biologically immortal. A discussion on this piece of internet misinformation in Smithsonian Magazine suggested that it has its origins in a 2007 NPR story about how lobsters don’t age in typical ways: The viral scientific tidbit can be traced back to a brief 2007 news story that reports that lobsters don’t show typical signs of a phenomenon known as senescence. In plain terms, the report says that lobsters don’t age the way other living creatures do—they don’t lower their reproductive ability, slow their metabolism or decrease in strength. This led to extrapolations that lobsters, if left undisturbed, can’t die. What is true, however, is that lobsters do not age in a traditional sense, as discussed in a 1998 study published in FEBS Letters: Humans and other mammals stop growing after reaching the adult stage. During their longest life period, size and weight are kept essentially constant. Lobsters grow continuously throughout their lifespan, only decreasing growth rates with age. Furthermore, and again in contrast to humans, they are able to regenerate whole limbs even at a high age. These characteristics assume a life-long high proliferative capacity also in cells of differentiated tissues and not restricted to the embryonic stage. A leading hypothesis for this phenomenon is that lobsters have a constant supply of an enzyme called telomerase, which can prevent cell aging. Most vertebrate animals, on the other hand, can produce this chemical ONLY in early developmental stages of life. But lobsters do ultimately end up dying, if not from a predator or disease, then simply from the process of non-stop growth. Lobsters grow by molting their exoskeleton—a very energetically demanding process that, as discussed in Smithsonian Magazine, ultimately will get the best of even the most resilient lobsters: According to Carl Wilson, lead lobster biologist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, between 10 and 15 percent of lobsters die naturally each year as they shed their exoskeletons because the exertion proves to be too much. Each molting process requires more and more energy than the one before it as lobsters grow in size. Finally, older crustaceans stop shedding their exoskeletons altogether—a clue that they’re near the end of their lifespans. They run out of metabolic energy to molt, and their worn-and-torn shells contract bacterial infections that weaken them. Shell disease, in which bacteria seeps into lobster shells and forms scar tissue, adheres the crustaceans’ bodies to their shells. The lobster, attempting to molt, gets stuck and dies. The disease also makes lobsters susceptible to other ailments, and in extreme cases, the entire shell can rot, killing the animal inside. Those 10 to 15 percent that die from the exertion of molting directly counter the claim that lobsters are biologically immortal creatures, as that would be considered death from senescence. Death from infection later in life, while a bit more of a philosophical debate, could also be argued to be natural death from aging, as College of William & Mary marine science professor Jeffrey D. Shields, said in the Smithsonian piece: “Is that senescence? Maybe not in how we think about it, […] But it is senescence in the way that older people die of pneumonia.” One thing that is true — it is really difficult to figure out how old lobsters are due to their perennially young cellular tissue. While lobsters will always die, and probably can’t accurately be described as “living fast”, one could indeed argue, then, that they will always die young.
4254	Record $417M award in lawsuit linking baby powder to cancer.	A Los Angeles jury on Monday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $417 million to a hospitalized woman who claimed in a lawsuit that the talc in the company’s iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene.	true	Los Angeles, Cancer, Health, Lawsuits, North America, Business, California, Ovarian cancer, U.S. News	The verdict in the lawsuit brought by the California woman, Eva Echeverria, marks the largest sum awarded in a series of talcum powder lawsuit verdicts against Johnson & Johnson in courts around the U.S. Echeverria alleged Johnson & Johnson failed to adequately warn consumers about talcum powder’s potential cancer risks. She used the company’s 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 “proximate result of the unreasonably dangerous and defective nature of talcum powder,” she said in her lawsuit. Echeverria’s attorney, Mark Robinson, said his client is undergoing cancer treatment while hospitalized and told him she hoped the verdict would lead Johnson & Johnson to put additional warnings on its products. “Mrs. Echeverria is dying from this ovarian cancer and she said to me all she wanted to do was to help the other women throughout the whole country who have ovarian cancer for using Johnson & Johnson for 20 and 30 years,” Robinson said. “She really didn’t want sympathy,” he added. “She just wanted to get a message out to help these other women.” The jury’s award included $68 million in compensatory damages and $340 million in punitive damages, Robinson said. The evidence in the case included internal documents from several decades that “showed the jury that Johnson & Johnson knew about the risks of talc and ovarian cancer,” Robinson said. “Johnson & Johnson had many warning bells over a 30 year period but failed to warn the women who were buying its product,” he said. Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said in a statement that the company will appeal the jury’s decision. She says while the company sympathizes with women suffering from ovarian cancer that scientific evidence supports the safety of Johnson’s baby powder. The verdict came after a St. Louis, Missouri jury in May awarded $110.5 million to a Virginia woman who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. She had blamed her illness on her use of the company’s talcum powder-containing products for more than 40 years. Besides that case, three other trials in St. Louis had similar outcomes last year — with juries awarding damages of $72 million, $70.1 million and $55 million, for a combined total of $307.6 million. Another St. Louis jury in March rejected the claims of a Tennessee woman with ovarian and uterine cancer who blamed talcum powder for her cancers. Two similar cases in New Jersey were thrown out by a judge who said the plaintiffs’ lawyers did not presented reliable evidence linking talc to ovarian cancer. More than 1,000 other people have filed similar lawsuits. Some who won their lawsuits won much lower amounts, illustrating how juries have wide latitude in awarding monetary damages. Johnson & Johnson is preparing to defend itself and its baby powder at upcoming trials in the U.S., Goodrich said. ___ Associated Press writer Amanda Lee Myers contributed to this report. ___ Follow Michael Balsamo on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1 .
11122	Preventing cancer: Study finds dramatic benefits of weight-loss surgery	The news release provides a good summary of the methods behind the study, the benefits found, and where the findings fit in the larger issue of how weight contributes to poor health. It could have been improved with an exploration of costs and the potential harms from bariatric surgery. In addition, it’s not clear that the reported results (e.g. resolution of precancerous changes in a small number of women) amounts to a “dramatic benefit” for “preventing cancer” as the headline suggests. The release would have done well to more carefully frame these cancer-related effects, which are of uncertain importance. According to the National Cancer Institute, obesity is associated with increased risk of many cancer types: esophageal, pancreatic, colorectal, breast, endometrial, kidney, thyroid, and gallbladder. In 2007, a study using NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, estimated that “in the United States, about 34,000 new cases of cancer in men (4 percent) and 50,500 in women (7 percent) were due to obesity” (2015). Their prediction model estimated that continuation of existing trends in obesity will lead to about 500,000 additional cases of cancer in the United States by 2030. This topic is important because, if there were a way to reduce the risk of cancer by means of bariatric surgery, the overall burden of disease in the US would be reduced.	mixture	Academic medical center news release,Cancer,Weight loss	There is no mention of costs in the release (or in the study). This release does something wonderful. It sums up the main findings from the study – including a quantification of some benefits – at the very top of the release. What would have made the quantification even better would have been breaking down the raw numbers. How many women lost how much weight? Not just the averages. And when the release talks about improvements in other outcomes such as physical quality of life and insulin levels, what sort of changes are we talking about? Were they just statistically significant or would they really be meaningful to these patients in their daily lives? Another area of concern is the headline, which suggests that bariatric surgery offers “dramatic benefits” for “preventing cancer.” This seems to be referring to a reduction in precancerous changes in a small number of women and some changes in these women’s gut bacteria. We would be hard-pressed to characterize those changes as a “dramatic” cancer-prevention benefit. In fact, the study offered no proof that the surgery prevented any cancers at all. We’ll address this issue down below under “Unjustifiable Language.” There is no mention of harms or risks in the release. Bariatric surgery has many well-documented short- and longer-term risks. According to the Mayo Clinic, risks associated with the procedure may include excessive bleeding, infection, blood clots, and leaks in the gastrointestinal system, to name a few. Long term risks of the procedure include bowel obstruction, vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition, and stomach perforation. We appreciated the detailed breakdown of the methodology behind the study, often skipped in these types of releases. The release says: The study looked at 71 women with a mean age of 44.2 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 50.9. Women are considered obese at a BMI of 30 and morbidly obese at 40 (which is typically about 100 pounds over a woman’s ideal body weight), yet almost a third of women presenting for bariatric surgery did not identify themselves as obese. The study looked at the effects of bariatric surgery in a relatively short timeframe, one to three years after surgery. A total of 68 participants underwent the procedure; two opted out of the surgery, and another died of a heart condition prior to surgery. Note that the release explains that the study “looked at the effects of bariatric surgery in a relatively short timeframe”. The release signals one of the caveats of the study, that it does not capture the long-term health effects of the surgery. Later in the release, in referring to a result related to a possible effect from surgery on cancer, the release says: “We’re talking about small numbers, really tiny numbers” of study participants, Modesitt said, noting one limitation of the study. “So I could never say that effect is definitive, but it is suggestive, given that we know already the incredibly strong link between endometrial cancer and obesity.” Because this finding did make it past peer review and into the published article, we think it’s worth mentioning and that the caveats provided are sufficient. The release does not engage in disease mongering and, in fact, provides a nice explanation of what it means to be obese and how some women did not perceive themselves that way. The authors declared no conflicts of interest in the paper. But one of the study authors was an employee from the company that provided the technology for some of the analyses in the study. This probably was worth a mention. There is a nice admonition at the end of the release encouraging people to keep their eye on the main way to avoid complications from being overweight or obese: avoid eating too much and exercise more. The release says: While the study speaks to the transformative effect bariatric surgery can have, Modesitt urged people to avoid gaining weight in the first place and for those seeking to lose weight to exercise and eat more healthily before turning to surgery. “We really should be working on diet and exercise from the get-go in our entire society, starting with our children. And exercise does seem to be protective — even if you don’t lose all the weight, it absolutely has beneficial effects,” she said. “There are lots of studies showing if you exercise, it improves your insulin, your glucose, all of those sorts of things that go along with the cancer-causing effect. Almost everybody agrees adding exercise would be wonderful and improve health on many levels. But losing excess weight would also be good.” It is clear from the release that the participants underwent a standard bariatric surgery and that these procedures are available. The release could have specified the criteria used to determine who is eligible for such procedures and whether insurance will cover it. The findings are not presented as novel, and, in fact, are in some cases placed in the context of the larger body of research. For example, the release says: “The study results demonstrate that there is a huge alteration, but I don’t even know what to say about that, except it is really new and intriguing area to look at in the link between obesity and cancer. For example, before groundbreaking work by Dr. John Marshall at UVA in the past, no one knew that ulcers were from bacteria. Who knows what role the gut bacteria play in promoting obesity, but metabolic parameter/markers of the bacteria definitely changed after [study participants] lost weight.” This news release gets ahead of itself with the headline as noted above. The claim of a “dramatic” cancer-prevention benefit is just not tenable. The researchers found that precancerous changes resolved in a small number of women, and that there was a “huge alteration” in these women’s gut bacteria. But as the study author readily admits, it’s not clear whether such changes in gut bacteria have any relationship at all to cancer risk. Similarly, all the other outcomes (weight loss, glucose/insulin levels) may have a relationship with cancer, but whether the impact of surgery is enough to affect actual cancer rates is unknown. With so much uncertainty, why frame these results as a “dramatic” benefit in the headline?
18990	A man using bath salts reported that raccoons had set fire inside his home and stolen his cell phone.	Mike DeWine says abuse of bath salts led man to make bizarre claim about racoons	true	Ohio, Criminal Justice, Drugs, Crime, Mike DeWine,	"Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine recently told some disturbing and odd stories about bath salts – an emerging drug that he said is a growing problem in Ohio. The stories were part of DeWine’s announcement last month that his office will target bath salts in its ongoing fight against drugs. Bath salts and other synthetic drugs have a tendency to induce violent and paranoid behavior, said DeWine, the state’s top law enforcement officer. One example DeWine, a Republican, gave involved a man having hallucinations of raccoons in his house. ""The Ohio State Highway Patrol confronted a man who after using bath salts reported that raccoons had set fire inside his home and stolen his cell phone. He proceeded to chop up his deck with a hatchet while looking for the fire-setting raccoons,"" DeWine said. That got PolitiFact Ohio’s curiosity going, so it decided to look into the facts behind the bizarre tale. Examining the statement might provide useful information to people unfamiliar with the drug and its effects. When we called DeWine’s office for information to back up his account, spokesman Dan Tierney provided an Ohio State Highway Patrol study to educate the law enforcement community about bath salts. Bath salts, which became illegal in Ohio in 2011, are a synthetic drug that can be snorted, injected or mixed with a fluid to drink. Users have said the drug gives an intense high and a rush similar to cocaine, according to the highway patrol study, which was completed in May. Others have described users as violent, unpredictable and paranoid. The study includes a short description of the raccoon event DeWine described – along with five other incidents involving bath salts – but it doesn’t provide any details about the time, place and people involved. We called the highway patrol and were told the incident happened in Reynoldsburg, near Columbus. The police department there provided a report with written accounts from three responding officers. The police report includes a transcript of the 911 call in August 2011 from the 31-year-old Reynoldsburg man who was seeing raccoons: ""I got raccoons in my house that are starting fires. I wonder how the hell they are doing it,"" he said. ""I keep putting them out but they start another one. I had to drive down here because I couldn’t find my cell phone. I think one of them took it and did something with it."" The report also said the man told police he took bath salts three times that day and could be hallucinating. A local fire department determined there were no fires inside the house. One of the officers noticed the deck at the house was destroyed and there was a hatchet nearby. The man told police he chopped up the deck because he was looking for a dead raccoon. So where does that leave us? DeWine’s account at the press conference last month was backed up by the Reynoldsburg police report. His only misstep was saying state patrolmen confronted the man. The mistake is immaterial because it doesn’t change the circumstances of the incident and the role of bath salts, according to police. The Reynoldsburg man, for what it’s worth, eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of making false alarms. DeWine’s statement is accurate and there is nothing significant missing. That rates on the Truth-O-Meter."
16056	Newly Elected Republican Senators Sign Pledge to Eliminate Food Stamp Program in 2015.	"More than 115,000 social media users passed along a story headlined, ""Newly Elected Republican Senators Sign Pledge to Eliminate Food Stamp Program in 2015."" But they failed to do due diligence and were snookered, since the story came from a publication that bills itself (quietly) as a ""satirical, parody website."""	false	National, Federal Budget, Welfare, Facebook posts,	"In December 2014, some Internet users were passing along links to a story with a striking headline: ""Newly Elected Republican Senators Sign Pledge to Eliminate Food Stamp Program in 2015."" Here’s the text of the story, originally published at a website called the Daily Leak: One hundred percent of newly elected Republican Senators have agreed to vote to eliminate the food stamps program including; Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark. ), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont. ), Mike Rounds (R-S.D. ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). ""Small businesses and the American people cannot afford President Obama’s countless new regulations and tax increases. There is a right way and a wrong to improve our country’s welfare system, and the President’s policies just aren’t working. We need to put poor people first and lower costs,"" Senator Gardner said in a statement. Senator Perdue stated on his campaign website that he was one of the millions of Americans who would support free market solutions to feeding the nation. ""The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is an overreaching federal program that has actually worsened the nutritional standards in this nation and increased costs. I am one of the millions of Americans who wish this program would end. To make matters worse, SNAP benefits are discouraging full-time job creation. We need to repeal the SNAP program and replace it with more affordable free market solutions,"" Perdue said on his campaign page. The Senators signed a pledge to approve any legislation in 2015 that would completely defund the $78 billion program. In recent years, some conservatives have criticized the growing usage of the program, due largely to higher demand during the Great Recession. Still, suggesting it should be eliminated entirely would be a big deal. The food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has a budget of more than $80 billion. So is the story accurate? 'Satire' sites No, it’s not accurate. The Daily Leak is one of a growing number of websites that run ""satire"" -- or more accurately, as we’ve noted, fake news. Sites such as the Daily Currant, the National Report, Empire News and others publish plausible-sounding -- but entirely fabricated -- news articles. Buried on the Daily Leak’s hard-to-find FAQ page is a disclaimer: ""The Daily Leak is a satirical, parody website. … The Daily Leak uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases where public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental."" Interestingly, the quote by Gardner turns out to be rooted in something real -- but the Daily Leak twisted the language from its original purpose. Gardner’s staff pointed us to a news release from when Gardner was serving in the House. It applauded a House vote to approve the Repeal of Obamacare Act, but the Daily Leak changed the news release’s focus from the health care legislation to food stamps by changing the phrase ""health care"" to ""welfare"" and ""patient-centered care"" to putting ""poor people first."" The popular impact What we’ve seen happen is that these posts go viral, free of any ""satire"" label, reaping Web traffic and advertising revenue for the site when people unwittingly share them on social media. This certainly happened with the food stamp story. Through Jan. 6, 2015, when we were researching this fact-check, the Daily Leak story had been shared more than 115,000 times on Facebook alone. These posts likely reached many times that number of eyeballs as friends of these Facebook posters scrolled through their news feeds. And many who saw the story had no inkling it was fake. For instance, the website of the Progressive Democrats of America, a coalition of ""labor, peace, healthcare-for-all, and justice groups"" founded in 2004, re-posted the story without any indication that it was fake. The story was also posted on other political sites, such as Coloradopols.com. When one user at the popular liberal site Democratic Underground posted the Daily Leak item, some commenters warned that it was satire -- but other commenters, even after hearing that, seemed unfazed, saying the Republican Party’s rhetoric on food stamps made it plausible in their mind. ""I totally believe they'd do something like that,"" wrote one user in the Democratic Underground thread. Another wrote, ""If it's satire, it sucked me in completely. I saw nothing that would stretch my credulity."" A third added, ""Even after knowing it's satire, I have a hard time believing it isn't true. These people work tirelessly to cut food stamps. Who is to say they won't try to gut the program?"" In late December, Dave Weigel, a political blogger for Bloomberg, expressed exasperation on his Facebook page with both the fake-news sites and the social-media users who are gullible enough to believe their posts -- or who are too lazy to give them the barest level of scrutiny. ""I first learned of the Daily Leak story when a very smart economist friend -- seriously, he's smart -- emailed it as a shocking story political reporters should have been on,"" Weigel told PolitiFact. ""He didn't mean it as an insult, but increasingly I think reporters should take fake news that way. This story was bogus, but shared more than 100,000 times, while actual stories about Republicans and entitlements that took sourcing and reporting and the support of news organizations can get ignored."" The Daily Leak post, Weigel added, ""was written to be shared by liberals who think conservatives are stupid. In sharing it, they said that they didn't really care whether the bad thing they heard about Republicans was true or not. It's incredible that in the age of Google, so many people decline to take the step of double-checking their sources -- or don't search for better articles."" Our ruling More than 115,000 social media users passed along a story headlined, ""Newly Elected Republican Senators Sign Pledge to Eliminate Food Stamp Program in 2015."" But they failed to do due diligence and were snookered, since the story came from a publication that bills itself (quietly) as a ""satirical, parody website."" UPDATE, Jan. 8, 2015: After we published our fact-check, we received a response from Kevin Gallagher of the Daily Leak. We had asked him whether he considers the site’s articles to be political satire. Gallagher responded, ""Yes, the site is full of satire, parody, and spoofs, mainly of politics and sports."" When we asked why the site’s satire label is relatively inconspicuous, Gallagher said, ""Are you familiar with The Onion? Let me know when you find their disclaimer. I'll give you a hint, it's hidden deep down in the FAQ. My site has a much more prominent disclaimer than The Onion, National Report, Daily Currant, or most other similar sites, for that matter."" We also asked him his reaction to 110,000-plus people sharing their story on Facebook thinking it was real: ""As a teacher, it would please me greatly to see more people fact-checking what they read on the Internet. Unfortunately, when it comes to politics in particular, people often have an emotional reaction to a headline before using any reason to deduce whether it could possibly be true."" Help fund PolitiFact's Kickstarter to live fact-check the 2015 State of the Union and GOP response."
3899	Mental health services a concern in rural Nebraska schools.	The president of Nebraska’s public-school teachers’ union says she’s hearing concerns from rural schools about a lack of mental health services and state equalization aid.	true	Mental health, Health, General News, Nebraska, Scottsbluff, Education	The Star-Herald in Scottsbluff reports that many schools are also concerned about retaining qualified teachers, particularly in rural areas. Nebraska State Education Association President Jenni Benson says she hopes to tackle those issues and others in the upcoming legislative session. Benson says she heard the concerns during a statewide tour of Nebraska communities to learn about what support teachers and students need to succeed. Benson says her association recently received a grant from the National Education Association to help. The association plans to visit Nebraska communities in the spring to determine schools’ needs and how best to address them.
3455	Moroccan journalist denies charges of illegal abortion.	A judge ruled that a Moroccan journalist remain in custody after she appeared Monday in a packed courtroom on charges that she had an illegal abortion after becoming pregnant while single.	true	Journalists, Health, Middle East, Rabat, Africa, Morocco, General News, International News	The case has gained attention among journalists and rights groups. The 28-year-old Hajar Raissouni has been jailed since Aug. 31. She denies having had an abortion and claims she was married to her Sudanese fiancé under Islamic law. The fiancé, a gynecologist and two others also were jailed. They appeared in court as dozens of protesters gathered outside the courthouse in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, chanting “freedoms are in danger.” The judge on Monday denied Raissouni’s temporary release request. Abortions are illegal in Morocco as is premarital sex. Raissouni faces up to two years in prison if convicted on all counts. Raissouni claims she was arrested outside a clinic she visited for an “urgent intervention,” not an abortion. “She was not arrested in flagrante delicto. She didn’t confess to any crime. But this is the state of our country ... We’ve reached the level where women’s bodies become the subject of public debate,” said one of Raissouni’s lawyers, Fatiha Chtatou. Raissouni didn’t speak in court Monday, but was expected to when it convenes again over the case on Sept. 16. She works for the Arabic-language paper Akhbar Al Yaoum, a major daily critical of the state. Family members maintain that her arrest was politically motivated and that she was targeted because she is a journalist who covers a grassroots opposition movement. Amnesty International has called for Morocco to drop charges and release her. “Hajar is a victim in all this,” her uncle Soulaimane Raissouni, a columnist at the paper where she works, said in an interview. Police reportedly forced Raissouni into a medical exam at the time of her arrest. “It is a rape of her body. It shows that the state controls the bodies and freedom of a woman,” said Ibtissam Lachgar, spokeswoman for the rights group Alternative Movement for Individual Freedoms.
30203	Police executing a search warrant at the home of a Bloomington, Illinois, mortician discovered 218 embalmed human penises.	This is surely not the last we’ll see of the smokey-eyed miscreant.	false	Junk News	In August 2018, an article recounting a grisly discovery during a police raid in Bloomington, Illinois, appeared on a website purporting to be affiliated with the Fox News Channel. The report said a local mortician was being held for psychiatric evaluation in connection with charges of organ trafficking: Police made an astonishing discovery this morning while executing a search warrant at the residence of a Bloomington mortician: 218 embalmed human penises. Authorites [sic] suspected 54-year old Paul Houston, an employee of the McLean County Coroner’s Office, of being implicated in an organ trafficking network. Investigating several reports of missing organs and body parts, dozens of police raided his residence this Monday morning, hoping to find evidence of his involvement in the crimes. What they found on the site was a lot more disturbing than what they expected, as the Police spokesman Andy Ramirez described the scene in an interview with WMBD. “There were shelves everywhere, filled with hundreds of glass jars. Each of them contained a penis floating in formalin.” The article included an image that appeared to be a screen capture of a version of the story broadcast on the Fox News Channel: Several aspects of the story raised doubts about its legitimacy, however. For starters, the article referenced an interview with a police spokesman named Andy Ramirez which supposedly aired on WMBD, a Bloomington television station. We were unable to find any record of a Bloomington police spokesperson by that name, nor evidence that WMBD had interviewed anyone by that name in connection with any recent police investigations. We were also unable to find the named suspect, Paul Houston, listed as a staff member on the web page of the McLean County Coroner’s Office. In point of fact, in a statement to Cities 92.9 (a Bloomington radio station), County Coroner Kathy Donovan-Davis said that no person by that name had worked there in the entire history of the McLean County Coroner’s Office. When asked if organ harvesting is going on in Bloomington or McLean County, Donovan-Davis replied, “No, there is not.” The first anyone in her office heard of the alleged incident was when the phones “blew up” with calls from upset citizens, she said: “People actually believed the fake news, which is really sad.” One clue that ought to have alerted readers to the hoax was the URL of the spoof website: foxnews-us.com (the legitimate URL of Fox News Channel’s website is www.foxnews.com). Also, the story may have had a familiar ring to some of our readers. A search of our fact-check archive turned up a similar fabricated news item from 2017: “FBI Seizes Over 3,000 Penises During Raid at Morgue Employee’s Home.” The mugshot of the supposed perpetrator has been used to illustrate a number of junk news stories on various sites in the past, including one from EmpireNews.net in June 2018:
16782	"On the last night of the General Assembly, ""by 11 o'clock 95 to 98 percent of the business was done. So we really didn't have that late-night session. We were just holding on one bill."	"Nicholas Mattiello said that ""by 11 o'clock 95 to 98 percent of the business was done. So we really didn't have that late-night session. We were just holding on one bill."" It's true that one issue -- Newport Grand and its associated bills -- was holding things up on the last night of the session. It's much less true that 95 percent of the business was done by 11 p.m. And Mattiello's suggestion that you shouldn't call a 4 a.m. adjournment a late-night session simply because most votes involved legislation that members had seen before strikes us as Pants On Fire ridiculous. His statement contains just enough truth -- the fact that one bill was at issue -- to escape having his slacks scorched. (If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"	false	Rhode Island, History, Voting Record, Nicholas Mattiello,	"Some things in life are a certainty -- death, taxes and members of the Rhode Island General Assembly staying up until the early morning hours to pass a flurry of legislation on the final day of the session. On the edition of WPRI-TV's ""Newsmakers"" program that aired July 6, 2014, reporter Tim White was talking to House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello about the assembly session that had just ended. He noted that legislators were passing bills as late as 4 a.m. White questioned whether they had time to fully consider them before voting and asked, ""Is this how you think the legislative process should happen?"" Mattiello argued that the House really didn't have an all-night session this year. ""We kept to our curfew every night of the last week of (the) session,"" he said. ""Most of the business, even on the last night of the session, was concluded by, I think, roughly 11 o'clock."" ""The session went late because of negotiations with the Senate over a Newport Grand gambling bill. So there was that one bill,"" Mattiello said. ""Most of the business, and I don't want to be fact-checked, but I think by 11 o'clock 95 to 98 percent of the business was done. So we really didn't have that late-night session. We were just holding on one bill."" (He was referring to legislation, later signed by Governor Chafee, authorizing referenda on whether table games should be allowed at the slot parlor.) Mattiello may not have wanted to be fact-checked, but we couldn’t resist, because we had a very different recollection of a legislative day that didn't officially end until 4:06 Saturday morning. The last vote was at 3:48 in the morning. So was 95 to 98 percent of the business done by 11 p.m.? Was only one bill at issue? And did the House not really have a late-night session? When we contacted Mattiello's office, spokesman Larry Berman said in an email that ""There were 126 votes taken by House members on the final day of session (June 20). Of those, 87 were made before 11 p.m."" That's 69 percent, not 95 to 98 percent. However, Berman said, Mattiello was referring to new business. Most of those after-11-p.m. votes don't count, he argued, because all but one of those issues had already been debated before by the House. That's a distinction the speaker didn't make on Newsmakers. The remaining votes did consist largely of cleaning up language so House and Senate versions were identical on bills that allowed optometrists to prescribe the opiate drug hydrocodone; regulated music therapists; authorized special license plates for Olympic medal winners, and eliminated the so-called master level that provides for straight-party voting. But those are still final votes on important issues. Those votes are not insignificant. And when you don't leave the building until after 4 a.m., that's a late night. Our ruling Nicholas Mattiello said that ""by 11 o'clock 95 to 98 percent of the business was done. So we really didn't have that late-night session. We were just holding on one bill."" It's true that one issue -- Newport Grand and its associated bills -- was holding things up on the last night of the session. It's much less true that 95 percent of the business was done by 11 p.m. And Mattiello's suggestion that you shouldn't call a 4 a.m. adjournment a late-night session simply because most votes involved legislation that members had seen before strikes us as Pants On Fire ridiculous. His statement contains just enough truth -- the fact that one bill was at issue -- to escape having his slacks scorched. We rule it . (If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"
38297	Prayer requests for a boy named Dakota who was suffering from continuous seizures and was airlifted to a hospital in Dallas made the rounds on social media in December 2016 and May 2017.	Prayer Requests for Dakota, Boy Airlifted with Repeated Seizures	unproven	Prayers, Religious	Prayer requests for a boy named Dakota who was reportedly suffering from continuous seizures have been widely circulated on social media, but we weren’t able to verify that the boy actually exists. Different versions of the prayer request for Dakota have been circulated since December 2016. These different post make references to a few specific people and places, but we weren’t able to use those details to independently verify details of the prayer request. One version of the prayer request appeared at an online prayer board managed by Woodland Hills Baptist Church in Longview, Texas. That version contained a few specific details, including Dakota’s last name,”Wells,” and that he was from the Big Sandy area of Texas: Please pray for Dakota Wells. He is a child from Big Sandy area … he is having continuous seizures and has been air lifted to Dallas. Please pray for his healing … pray for his family and the Medical staff taking care of him. Thanks Those details, however, proved fruitless as we were unable to track down a boy or family by the name of Dakota Wells there. We also didn’t find any reference to a boy named Dakota Wells in news reports, obituaries, or online family lineage sites covering the areas surrounding Big Sandy. Social media users posting another version of the prayer request for Dakota say that he’s the grandson of a friend or of a friend’s cousin in December 2016. One version actually identifies a woman named Joyce Randolph as Dakota’s grandmother. The original poster later added that she had shared the prayer request “not knowing if its real.” Another version of the prayer request for Dakota that began circulating in May 2017 identifies Dakota’s father as “Michael Bass.” Again, we couldn’t find any record of a man named Michael Bass with a son named Dakota: And it should be noted that the May 2017 version of the prayer request is nearly identical to the version that circulated in December 2016, aside from the name Michael Bass, which means that the may version would, at the very least, be out of date. Expanding our search, we found a number of news stories related to children named Dakota suffering from continuous seizures — but none that matched the particulars of the prayer request for Dakota. A report that appeared in the U.K.’s Mirror in 2015, for example, told of a little girl name Dakota from Massachusetts who was suffering from continuous seizures — 80 a day — and needed to undergo a pioneering surgery: Little Dakota Roberts was born with West Syndrome, a one-in-250,000 condition. Her mum and dad need to raise the cash so that she can have surgery in Massachusetts, US. After being resuscitated, she was diagnosed with meningitis, which she survived, with the epileptic condition infantile spasm seizures – known as West Syndrome – and with cerebral palsy. The epileptic condition causes Dakota up to 80 seizures a day. She spent Christmas in hospital after contracting an infection but parents Amy Trow, 22, and her partner Daniel Roberts, 28, are fighting back on her behalf. They have kicked off the New Year with a fundraising drive to raise £20,000 for pioneering surgery at a hospital in Massachusetts. Little Dakota, who turned one in October, is still in the children’s ward at Wrexham Maelor Hospital with her mum at her bedside. Even though that version hits on a few of the particulars for the prayer request for Dakota — the age, name, condition — of the child, other important details don’t match. In the end, we weren’t able to confirm prayer requests for Dakota that have been circulating Facebook since December 2016. Comments
40332	A video from the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) television network reports on a Florida physician who is promoting the use of pure coconut oil as possible treatment for Alzheimer’s symptoms. She tells the story of helping her own husband overcome some Alzheimer’s symptoms.	Coconut Oil May Help Alzheimer's Victims	unproven	Medical	The video is authentic and features the story of Dr. Mary Newport from Tampa, Florida. Newport is a physician who runs a neonatology ward but became concerned when her husband seemed to be showing signs of early Alzheimer’s. She discovered that her husband had what she calls “diabetes of the brain,” which prevented brain cells from accepting glucose, which they need to function and survive. She also determined that there is an alternative fuel for the brain cells, ketones, which are in coconut oil and easily metabolized by the liver. She began giving her husband coconut oil in his diet and saw quick improvement in some of his symptoms. She has now written a book on the subject titled Alzheimer’s Disease: What if There Was a Cure?” TruthOrFiction.com recommends caution when considering embracing a treatment such as this. The report is not based on clinical research and is the passionate story of a person who said it has worked for her husband. That doesn’t not constitute proof of any broad-based use of coconut oil to treat Alzheimer’s and does not include research about whether there could be any reasons for some people to actually avoid it. updated 1/25/12 Comments
9380	For advanced lung cancer, immune therapy plus chemo prolongs survival	This story is one of two we reviewed about lung cancer immunotherapy studies presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting. Our other review is of TIME’s coverage. The three drugs mentioned in the story — Keytruda, Yervoy and Opdivo — are known as checkpoint inhibitors, which remove the ability of some cancer cells to hide from the immune system. This story highlights a study that showed Keydruda specifically improved survival in people diagnosed with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer. Results were discussed Monday at an American Association for Cancer Research conference in Chicago and published by the New England Journal of Medicine. The story refrains from sensational wording, attempts to quantify benefits, and offers a comment from one independent expert. However, it doesn’t discuss side effects or conflicts of interest and — most significantly — doesn’t tell us about the $150,000 annual price tag for each patient. News coverage hailing new cancer therapies should always include details such as side effects and price — particularly when they will potentially add billions of dollars to annual U.S. healthcare spending.	mixture	immunotherapy,lung cancer	Costs of these drugs weren’t given. Checkpoint inhibitors run about $150,000 a year, according to some published news reports. With 140,000 people in the U.S. diagnosed annually with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer — the type in the Keytruda trial — the cost of treating people with this drug could easily run into the billions. It’s also worth noting it isn’t clear how long treatment with these drugs should continue, which significantly affects costs. When it comes to the overall survival benefit, the story reports that after a median follow-up time of 10.5 months patients who received both Keytruda and chemotherapy were 51 percent less likely to die, compared with patients who received only chemo. But actual percentages aren’t given. According to the study, the estimated proportion of patients who were alive at 12 months was 69% in the combination group and 49% in the chemo-only group. The story also describes — but doesn’t give numerical data — on a different Keytruda trial that it says “showed that the medication prolonged survival even when used alone, compared with chemo.” The story mentions two other immunotherapy lung cancer studies, one using two medications called Opdivo and Yervoy to treat newly diagnosed patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer with a high number of mutations in their tumors, and another treating patients with early-stage lung cancer with Opdivo before and after surgery. Only some data were reported for those studies. Side effects were not addressed. About 14% of the patients in the combination group dropped out of the trial due to adverse events, versus about 8% of those in the chemo-only group. Acute kidney injury and fever relating to neutropenia, a low white blood cell count, occurred more frequently in patients who received Keytruda. The story tempers the positive news, stating: “Roy Herbst, an oncologist at Yale Cancer Center said that most lung cancer patients now will be offered immunotherapy in some form much earlier than before. Still, he said, the approach was not a cure and there is a lot of room for improvement.” That is information we wish the TIME story had included, too. It also states that it’s unclear whether Keytruda will work alone, without chemo. And it notes that it’s too early to know whether two other treatments will translate to benefit that matter to patients. However, the story lumps together survival and progression-free survival — or non-worsening of the cancer — into the same group without explaining that progression-free survival may not translate into overall survival. Also, the story doesn’t go into the remaining unknowns about the studies and these treatments. How many years will these patients survive? And will they have to take these drugs indefinitely? No disease-mongering here. The story states that lung cancer is the “second-most-common malignancy in the United States, after breast cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that 234,000 people will be diagnosed with the disease this year, and 154,050 will die of it.” However, the story could have explained that about 140,000 of these patients have nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer, the condition that is treatable with Keytruda. The story has one independent source: “Scientists who weren’t involved in the study agreed that it was highly significant. H. Jack West, an oncologist at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, said, ‘It is literally practice-changing — immediately.’ However, it doesn’t say that the studies were sponsored by the drugmakers and many study leaders as well as another oncologist who’s quoted, Roy Herbst, MD, has received consulting fees for companies that make immunotherapy drugs. The story states that most patients diagnosed with advanced lung cancer “initially receive chemotherapy, which provides only marginal benefit” and “researchers are trying to develop and use more effective approaches earlier.” The story states that the FDA approved the Keytruda-chemo combination last May based on an early-stage trial, but many doctors did not adopt it because the trial was small and didn’t initially show a survival benefit. The story describes this as “a new study that is expected to change the way such patients are treated.” It also says several reports “underscore the increasingly important first-line role that immunotherapy, which unleashes the immune system to destroy cancer cells, is taking against the deadliest cancer.” We think it’s interesting that one of the quotes is: “Instead of chemo being the backbone on which to improve, immunotherapy is now the backbone on which we build.” This may technically be true but the over-arching fact is that cancer treatment is a multi-pronged approach. The story does not appear to rely on a new release.
33735	"Singer ""Mama"" Cass Elliot experienced an increase in her vocal range after she was hit in the head by a pipe."	Although the “knocked in the head with a pipe” tale may not have originated as a television sitcom plot, it featured the upbeat, positive ending of one: Even the reluctant John Phillips eventually acknowledged the value of Cass Elliot’s vocal abilities and personality, and she was a key element in the tremendous popularity and success that followed as the Mamas and the Papas turned out a string of hit records in the mid-1960s.	false	Entertainment, music	A book of canonical television sitcom plots might include an entry like the following: 34) Character is hit on head by solid object. Hilarity ensues when character: Oddly enough, although that last entry might seem a bit goofy even for a sitcom plot, it’s something that has been claimed as happening in real life. The subject of the claim was singer “Mama” Cass Elliot, most famous for her stint with the pop group The Mamas and the Papas, who related the story behind her increased vocal on many occasions, including during a 1968 interview with Rolling Stone: Q: Is that a true story about a pipe falling on your head … A: It’s true, I did get hit on the head by a pipe that fell down and my range was increased by three notes. They were tearing this club apart in the [Virgin] Islands, revamping it, putting in a dance floor. Workmen dropped a thin metal plumbing pipe and it hit me on the head and knocked me to the ground. I had a concussion and went to the hospital. I had a bad headache for about two weeks and all of a sudden I was singing higher. It’s true. Honest to God. Could a knock on the head really increase a singer’s vocal range? Did Mama Cass actually experience such a phenomenon? Whether or not the answer to the first question is yes, the answer to the latter one is no. Although Cass Elliot apparently was hit on the head by a pipe a few months before she officially joined The Mamas and the Papas in late 1965 (at least, group member Michelle Phillips later said she remembered such an incident), the notion that the accident increased the upper end of her vocal range by three notes is quite suspect. Elliot had been singing since she was a child and had engaged in a number of professional singing ventures (both live performance and recording) prior to joining The Mamas and the Papas, but nothing from that period evidences her possessing a lesser vocal range. Her recordings with pre-Mamas and Papas groups such as the Big 3 and the Mugwumps demonstrate her to have a vocal range similar to that displayed in her work with the Mamas and the Papas, and other musicians who knew her during her pre-Mamas and Papas days attested to her already being possessed of a fine voice: Michelle Phillips: I remember when she was hit on the head with a pipe, but if you listen to Cass singing on her own before she joined the group, she’s singing way up there, she sings very, very high. Jerry Yester: Cass was always a great singer, even back then [in 1964]. I never noticed a difference in her voice from those days to The Mamas & The Papas. Roger McGuinn: I met Cass when she was in the Big Three. I remember seeing them at The Bitter End. I used to hang out there a lot. But Cass’s voice was a standout, even then. No question about it. Great lady and a great singer. So what, then, was the origin of the “pipe” tale? Was it yet another fictional “amazing-but-true” story concocted by a publicist? Was it something Cass Elliot believed to be true, even if the accident in fact had no effect on her vocal range? According to Russell Gilliam (sister of Michelle Phillips), the claim was a cover story cooked up after the fact to explain why, after Cass had hung around and performed with the other three singers who would eventually form the Mamas and the Papas (John Phillips, Michelle Phillips, and Denny Doherty) during their 1965 sojourn in the Virgin Islands, leader John Phillips was still unwilling to accept her as a member: There are two things that I disagree with, that they usually talk about. One is this story about Cass being hit over the head with a pipe. That was stupid. The entire time Cass was in the Virgin Islands, Cass wanted to be in the group. John refused to let her into the group for one reason, and one reason only. She was too fat. Once they got famous he couldn’t say that. They made up this story about that she couldn’t hit a certain note, and that it changed when she was hit with the pipe … where they get this, I’ll never know. Author Eddi Fiegel expanded on the real explanation behind the pipe story in Dream a Little Dream of Me, her 2005 biography of Cass Elliot: Cass had in fact been angling to be let in the group since she had arrived on [St. Thomas], but it was John’s group and, as far as he was concerned, Cass definitely didn’t fit the image he wanted. In the years to come, both Cass and John would go to extraordinary lengths to rewrite this episode in the group’s history. John would produce various excuses, maintaining Cass’s vocal range didn’t fit the group’s material — it was too low, he claimed, as well as admitting that he didn’t think her look was quite right. “Mitch, Denny, and I were three string beans and she was huge. The sound was off and the look didn’t fit either. So I kept her out,” he said. Denny, meanwhile, remembers there being no doubt as to why he wouldn’t let her in. “She was too fat! His ideal woman, he had: Michelle.” Michelle’s sister, Russell Gilliam, meanwhile, remembers John being straightforward with Cass and telling her the truth straight out. “John wanted to have a Peter, Paul and Mary-style rock-and-roll group and he had no compunction of saying, ‘Sorry, Cass, but you’re too fat,’ right to her face. But not in a mean way. He’d just say, ‘Cass, I’m sorry — you’re too fat. '” Once the Mamas and the Papas became famous, it is easy to see why Cass would have been as keen as John to gloss over some of these original facts. Rather than have to admit that her size had prevented John from letting her in the group, John’s original yarn about Cass not having the right vocal range was reinstated and when journalists naturally wanted to know how she had miraculously gained the necessary notes, the well-worn, but frankly ludicrous “pipe incident” story came to the rescue, and was vigorously defended. How many people ever believed this is questionable, and others who were there at the time dismiss the tale as the lie it clearly was. “All of that was such baloney!” says Russell. “Cass was following them around like a little puppy. Just everywhere they went, Cass popped up asking to sing with the group and John wouldn’t let her.” Nevertheless, once they were famous, everyone in the band seemed happy to go along with this revisionist version of events without so much as a glance back to the slightly more awkward truth.
30694	A Chinese engineer contracted an STD after having sexual intercourse with a sex robot prototype.	This report was false. As should be obvious from contextual clues (such as the name of the putative engineer), Huzlers is a well-known satire web site with a long history of publishing fantastic fabrications. They carry a disclaimer in their article footer stating that “Huzlers.com is the most infamous fauxtire & satire entertainment website in the world.”	false	Junk News, huzlers	On 18 January 20178, the Huzlers web site published an article reporting that a Chinese engineer has contracted a sexually-transmitted disease (STD) after having sexual intercourse with a sex robot prototype: CHINA – A Chinese engineer has reportedly contracted an STD after having sexual intercourse with a sex robot prototype. Phuck Yu Mang, pronounced “f*ck you mang”, has reportedly tested positive for HIV after he had sex with a sex robot prototype. According to reports, Phuck is a sex robot engineer for a Chinese local company, and would regularly have sex with the sex robot prototypes to ensure they will be safe for human use. According to Phuck, he began feeling flu-like symptoms after having sex with the most recent prototype. Phuck then went to get tested and was positive for HIV. Phuck says he was certain it was the robot: “I know it was the robot because i’ve been dry lately, the last time i had sex with a real woman was 1 year ago, so it can’t be that person. I can’t believe it man, not even female robots are loyal”.
9340	EXPERIMENTAL DRUG VISTUSERTIB COULD SHRINKS TUMORS IN 50% OF OVARIAN CANCER PATIENTS, STUDY SUGGESTS	This story reported on a phase 1b trial of a drug called vistusertib, which is being tested in tandem with chemotherapy on ovarian and lung cancer patients whose disease had been unresponsive to other treatments. The purpose of the trial was to establish dosing and get a preliminary look at the drug’s effectiveness. Findings were published in the Annals of Oncology. Echoing the optimistic framing of a news release, this Newsweek story focused on the fact that some patients who took their drug saw their tumors shrink, including a quote calling the findings “very encouraging.” It also overlooked discussion of potential harms and and didn’t caution readers that tumor shrinkage doesn’t necessarily lead to longer survival. Nearly half of women in the U.S. diagnosed with ovarian cancer don’t live more than five years. Targeted therapies like this one — which are designed to attack specific vulnerabilities in cancer cells — are being tested to treat cases that recur or resist standard treatment with surgery or chemotherapy. While targeted therapies are an important area of research, the public shouldn’t be oversold on early-phase trials or led to think that tumor shrinkage portends a cure.	false	ovarian cancer	There’s no discussion of the potential cost of this drug, which is likely to be significant due to the high cost of new cancer therapies. As a comparison, a recently approved new cancer drug also made by Astra Zeneca, Imfinzi, costs $180,000 a year. The story said that over “half of patients with ovarian cancer and over a third with lung cancer saw their tumors shrink“ and the combination of therapies “also stopped the cancer growing for almost six months.” That doesn’t provide readers with much information — by how much did their tumors shrink, especially when compared to the control group? Same with the suppression of cancer growth — how did that compare to the control group? Most importantly, the story didn’t address overall survival. Does the drug help women live longer? As we’ve explained, tumor shrinkage and progression-frees survival are “surrogate markers” and no guarantee of a longer life. Potential harms were not mentioned. According to the study, the most common side effects were fatigue, nausea, anemia, and diarrhea. The story never lets readers know that phase 1b trials such as this one are primarily conducted to assess the safest dose for patients as well as establish adverse event rates. While some aspects of the drug’s benefit were tested (see quantify benefits, above), the trial is still too small and preliminary to make any big claims about the drug working. The story did not exaggerate the prevalence of these cancers, though it would have been useful to provide some numbers on how many women develop metastatic ovarian cancer that doesn’t respond to current treatments. There was no information about conflicts of interest. The study was funded by drugmaker AstraZeneca with support from the UK-based Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden. Some of the researchers reported ties with AstraZeneca. The story correctly mentions that treatment options for ovarian cancer are limited, but doesn’t spell out what is available. In addition to chemotherapy, surgery is commonly performed to remove ovarian tumors, and other targeted therapies are under study. The story mentioned a larger trial with 140 ovarian cancer patients that will test the drug’s effectiveness versus chemotherapy alone, with results “expected later this year.” This is enough information that a reader can infer that it’s not available yet. However, the story didn’t explain what scientific and regulatory hurdles would have to be overcome for this drug to become available. The story didn’t put this trial into context. Multiple other targeted therapies have been tested in phase 1 and 2 trials for ovarian cancer, with results that warranted further study. This seems to be one more avenue of research. The story drew from but did not rely on an enthusiastic ICR news release, which said the drug combination had “exciting” results.

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