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10176 | Doctors hope newer versions of artificial ankles will better mimic nature’s joint | This news story attempts to explain the treatment options available for people who have severely disabling pain caused by osteoarthritis of the ankle. The article is generously sprinkled with both hope and caveats about the newest generation of ankle replacement implants intended to improve life for people like patient... | mixture | "The article says that the costs of a typical ankle replacement can “reach $50,000.” However, it doesn’t mention the cost of the most common alternative, fusion, or take into account the future cost of treatment after the device fails. The story provides no quantitative estimate of benefit from ankle replacement or ank... | |
39234 | This eRumor lists a number of different uses for hydrogen peroxide from using it as mouthwash to its alleged value for cleaning sinks. (The full text of the eRumor is at the bottom of this page.) | The Many Uses of Hydrogen Peroxide | mixture | Household, Medical | Hydrogen peroxide’s chemical representation is H2O2. It has uses in industry in it’s purest form but the product available to most of us over-the-counter is usually only 3% hydrogen peroxide and 97% water. It breaks down quickly when exposed to light so it generally comes in brown bottles that filter out the sun’s rays... |
8483 | Exclusive: Nurses at Mexico hospital hit by coronavirus say they were told to avoid masks. | Nurses at a public hospital hit by Mexico’s worst coronavirus outbreak were told by their managers not to wear protective masks at the start of the epidemic to avoid sowing panic among patients, nurses and other medical workers said. | true | Health News | Two doctors and a hospital administrator have died and at least 51 staff members have been infected since the new coronavirus was detected at the IMSS General Hospital in Monclova in the northern state of Coahuila in late March, the state health department said. The hospital became Mexico’s first hot spot for the COVID... |
5255 | Massachusetts prison cited for nearly 600 health violations. | State public health regulators say they found nearly 600 health code violations, including dirty or broken toilets, improperly stored food and sinks with discolored or scalding hot water, during an annual inspection at one of the state’s maximum security prisons. | true | Health, Shirley, Massachusetts, Public health | The Sentinel & Enterprise reports that the Department of Public Health says more than half of the citations at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley were for repeat violations. The department gave the prison 10 days to come up with a plan to fix the issues. A corrections department spokesman says prison m... |
3762 | Survey shows boom in marijuana vaping among school kids. | About 1 out of 5 high school students in the U.S. say they vaped marijuana in the past year, and its popularity has been booming faster than nicotine vaping, according to a report released Wednesday. | true | Health, Vaping, General News, Marijuana | “The speed at which kids are taking up this behavior is very worrisome,” said Dr. Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the federal agency that pays for the large annual teen survey. Electronic cigarettes and other battery-powered vaping devices mostly heat a liquid containing nicotine into a vapor that’... |
7063 | Residente worked with scientists to create his new album. | Grammy-winning rapper Residente has some new collaborators on his upcoming album: scientists. | true | Animals, Hip hop and rap, General News, Entertainment, Residente, Worms, Music, Science, Bad Bunny | The Puerto Rican performer said he studied intensely with professors at Yale University and New York University to read brain patterns in worms, mice, monkeys, fruit flies and even hitmaker Bad Bunny to create his second solo project. ″(The album is) going to be about everything that I have inside of my head ... becaus... |
30331 | TV celebrity and food writer Anthony Bourdain was planning to run an exposé of an pedophile ring at the time of his death. | All of this misreporting was par for the course for Neon Nettle, a notorious fake news site with a predilection for publishing sensationalized and exaggerated (if not completely fabricated) stories about pedophiles. True to form, Neon Nettle added multiple false elements to this particular report to enhance its luridne... | false | Junk News, neon nettle | As much of the world grieved the death of TV celebrity and food writer Anthony Bourdain, the Neon Nettle fake news site shamelessly exploited the tragedy to push out yet another fabricated clickbait story about “elite pedophile rings.” A 9 June 2018 Neon Nettle article headlined “Anthony Bourdain Was About to Expose an... |
6350 | Nearly 3,400 Hepatitis A cases reported in Florida in 2019. | Florida health officials say there were nearly 3,400 hepatitis A cases in 2019. | true | Health, General News, Florida, Hepatitis | According to statistics through Saturday, there were 3,395 cases — included 63 new cases reported the prior week. To underscore the outbreak, the Panama City News Herald reported the state totaled 1,175 reported cases of hepatitis A in the five previous years combined — with 548 of those cases in 2018, according to sta... |
8164 | As coronavirus takes emotional toll, mental health professionals brace for spike in demand. | For the last few days, unease and paranoia have followed Ann Ostberg like a black cloud, as the coronavirus swept through the United States, reaching all 50 states by this week. | true | Health News | With state and local governments urging isolation to stem the spread of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly respiratory illness, the 62-year-old Nebraska woman worries she will not be able to provide emotional support for her daughter, whose husband is paralyzed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. If someone were to i... |
35137 | Gargling with salt water or Vinegar 'eliminate' the COVID-19 coronavirus from the throat of an infected person's system. | What works for colds is unlikely to help an already-infected person stave off the COVID-19 coronavirus disease. | false | Medical, COVID-19 | The COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic of early 2020 brought a raft of dubious and false medical advice about the prevention and treatment of the illness to the internet, among which was one widely circulated graphic advocating that persons exposed to the virus try gargling various substance to ‘eliminate’ the virus... |
7502 | Nigeria confirms 1st case of new virus in sub-Saharan Africa. | Nigerian authorities on Friday confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa as the outbreak spread to a region with some of the world’s weakest health systems. | true | Health, General News, Airlines, Africa, International News, Business, Lagos, Milan, Nigeria, Virus Outbreak, Ebola virus | The health commissioner for Lagos, Africa’s largest city with more than 20 million people, said an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on Tuesday from Milan on a business trip fell ill the next day. Commissioner Akin Abayomi said the man was clinically stable with no serious symptoms. Abayomi said officials were workin... |
36314 | Police in Portland, Oregon determined that anti-fascist activists mixed quick-dry concrete and caustic chemicals into milkshakes that were both thrown and consumed. | Did Protesters Throw ‘Concrete Milkshakes’? | false | Disinformation, Fact Checks | "Dueling protests became dueling narratives in Portland, Oregon on June 29 2019 when clashes erupted between Proud Boys attendees and anti-fascist demonstrators, quickly devolving into rumors that milkshakes thrown at one person contained one or more damaging or caustic substances — including quick-dry concrete, quickl... |
7508 | Doctor’s death highlights dangers on front lines of outbreak. | The death of a doctor who issued an early warning about the new virus in China represents a grim reminder that the first health care workers to recognize new outbreaks are sometimes among their earliest victims. | true | AP Top News, Epidemics, General News, Health, China, United Nations, Asia Pacific, Virus Outbreak, Ebola virus | Dr. Li Wenliang’s death underlined the dangers health workers have faced in similar epidemics, including SARS and Ebola. On Dec. 3, Li wrote on his social media account that he saw a test sample suggesting the presence of a coronavirus similar to SARS. In early January, the 34-year-old eye doctor was visited by police ... |
2926 | Brain-dead California girl arrives at extended care facility. | A California girl declared brain dead following complications from a tonsillectomy, whose case has prompted debate over when to withdraw life support, has arrived at an undisclosed care facility with her mother, a family spokesman said on Monday. | true | Health News | Jahi McMath, 13, was taken by a private ambulance on Sunday night from Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland to a long-term care facility where she will be given a tracheostomy and feeding tube, uncle Omari Sealey said. “The goal is for them (the new center) is to give her treatment to help her get to full... |
24557 | We waterboard, incidentally, hundreds of our own military personnel. They waterboard themselves in training to toughen themselves up. | Duncan Hunter says we have waterboarded our own military as part of training exercises | true | National, Military, Duncan Hunter, | "In a discussion on MSNBC's Hardball program about whether the government ought to consider prosecuting people involved in enhanced interrogation techniques used on some terror suspects, former U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, argued that the issue really comes down to waterboarding. ""And,"" he... |
34879 | Actor Jimmy Stewart suffered what would in 2019 be diagnosed as PTSD due to his experience as a World War II bomber pilot. | Matzen’s depiction of Stewart’s state of mind as “flak happy” towards the end of World War II (a depiction reflected in Forney’s viral Facebook post) was relatively thinly sourced, and involved only one direct quotation from a person who met the actor at that time. | unproven | History | In late 2019, we received multiple inquiries from readers about the veracity of a viral Facebook post that presented an account of the actor Jimmy Stewart’s military service during World War II. The post claimed a profound link between the trauma Stewart suffered from flying 20 combat missions over Germany and his abil... |
12299 | One in three people who’s receiving treatment for (opioid) drug problems gets some help from Medicaid to pay for that. | Warren said that one in three people receiving treatment for opioid addiction were covered by Medicaid, basing her estimate on 34 percent of people with opioid use disorder. The number was higher when we looked at only those receiving treatment: 39 percent. So while the numbers differ slightly, one in three is still a ... | true | National, Health Care, Medicaid, Elizabeth Warren, | "In a video denouncing the Senate health care bill’s slashing of Medicaid funding, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., emphasized the importance of Medicaid in battling the opioid crisis. Warren called an additional $45 billion introduced in the new Senate health care bill to fight the opioid crisis insufficient if spendin... |
1773 | Montana to give bison from Yellowstone to tribes instead of zoos. | An Indian reservation in Montana will receive 145 bison from Yellowstone National Park that were quarantined to create a herd free of a disease that threatens ranchers’ cattle, according to a government plan approved on Thursday. | true | Environment | The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission agreed unanimously to give the bison to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation to further the conservation of the country’s last herd of wild, purebred buffalo. The tribe was chosen instead of a proposal to distribute the iconic, hump-shouldered cre... |
25896 | Majority Forward Says Sen. Thom Tillis “doesn’t think restaurant workers should have to wash their hands.” | A new television ad by Majority Forward PAC says U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) “doesn’t think restaurant workers should have to wash their hands.” The ad doesn't provide context for the comments, which Tillis made in 2015. Tillis was making a point about regulations, not offering his opinion on whether workers should wa... | false | Public Health, North Carolina, Coronavirus, Majority Forward, | "The novel coronavirus outbreak has prompted renewed attention on controversial comments Thom Tillis made in 2015. Tillis is the Republican incumbent running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. He faces a challenge from Democrat Cal Cunningham in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. A new TV ad from ... |
12875 | "Just last year, alone, 710 police officers"" were assaulted in New York state." | "Golden said, ""Just last year alone, 710 police officers … were assaulted in this state."" Golden relied on FBI data that does not include assaults on officers from New York City. Golden undercounted, but his point is not lost: The number of reported assaults on law enforcement officers is significant. His statement ... | true | Criminal Justice, Crime, New York, Martin Golden, | "A bipartisan push in Albany would classify offenses against first responders and law enforcement officers as hate crimes. The Community Heroes Protection Act would also toughen the sentences for those convicted. State Sen. Martin J. Golden, a Republican from Brooklyn and co-sponsor of the bill, said the number of assa... |
32265 | "Hillary Clinton and/or members of her 2008 presidential campaign started the ""birther"" movement questioning whether Barack Obama was born in the U.S." | The conspiracy theory was already fully formed at this point. Clearly, the Clinton supporters accused of spreading it via forwarded e-mails knew “good ammo” when they saw it, but, as the above posts show, they deserve neither credit nor blame for the invention of birtherism. | false | Politics Conspiracy Theories, barack obama, birtherism, donald trump | On 16 September 2016, after years of being the most visible and outspoken exponent of “birtherism” — the notion that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. and thus his presidency is illegitimate and his allegiances suspect — GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump stepped up to t... |
22157 | "Arianna Huffington Says although the unemployment rate seems to be improving, it does not reflect real job creation -- it’s caused by a ""shrinking of the actual labor force." | Arianna Huffington says unemployment gains are actually from shrinking workforce, not job creation | true | National, Economy, Jobs, Pundits, This Week - ABC News, Arianna Huffington, | "On the May 1, 2011, edition of ABC’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour, Arianna Huffington -- founder of the liberal news and opinion website The Huffington Post -- threw some cold water on the recent drop in the unemployment rate. Between October 2010 and March 2011 -- when unemployment measures have declined most c... |
24107 | A lot of the ideas in terms of the (health insurance) exchange, just being able to pool and improve the purchasing power of individuals in the insurance market, that originated from the Heritage Foundation. | Obama says Heritage Foundation is source of health exchange idea | true | National, Health Care, Barack Obama, | "EDITOR'S NOTE: An analysis of this comment by President Barack Obama was published on April 1, 2010. After it appeared, the Heritage Foundation's communications office contacted us to argue that our rating of was too generous to the president. We did some additional reporting to review our ruling. Our second round of... |
15510 | Georgia residents file the most insurance claims for lightning strikes in the country. | State Farm says Georgia residents file the most claims for lightning strikes in the country. There’s evidence this has been the case last year and the two previous years. | true | Georgia, Weather, State Farm Insurance, | "Florida leads the nation in deaths from lightning strikes. But State Farm, one of the nation’s major insurers, says it is Georgia residents who file the most claims for lightning strikes in the country, WSB-TV reported Friday, June 5. PolitiFact Georgia was intrigued and decided to dig a little deeper. We began by con... |
37413 | Army veteran Jerry Holliman's legs were repossessed because the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) refused to pay for them. | Were an Army Veteran’s Prosthetic Legs ‘Repossessed’ After a VA and Medicare Dispute? | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | "On January 9 2020, an article about Army veteran Jerry Holliman and the repossession of his prosthetic legs after a payment dispute between the VA and Medicare was shared to Reddit’s r/nottheonion, a subreddit for news stories odd enough to sound as though they could be satire, but aren’t:Army veteran has prosthetic l... |
26809 | Viral image Says it’s “OK to kill babies once born” in Virginia. | Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam made confusing comments in 2019 about abortions when a mother is about to go into labor, but this Facebook post overreaches by claiming that killing newborns is legal in that state. | false | Abortion, Virginia, Viral image, | "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam worked as a doctor before he was elected to helm the Commonwealth, and it’s not hard to find photos of him online wearing a stethoscope around his neck. One such picture shared on social media features text on top criticizing the state. ""Thanks Virginia,"" it says. ""OK to kill babies once... |
7823 | Scientists find how 'obesity gene' makes people fat. | Scientists have unraveled how a gene long associated with obesity makes people fat by triggering increased hunger, opening up potential new ways to fight a growing global health problem. | true | Science News | A common variation in the FTO gene affects one in six of the population, making them 70 percent more likely to become obese - but until now experts did not know why. Using a series of tests, a British-led research team said they had found that people with the variation not only had higher levels of the “hunger hormone”... |
1984 | Beaches, parks off limits to New York smokers. | New York City took its smoking prohibition outdoors on Monday, adding the city’s parks and beaches to the list of places where smoking is banned as part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign to promote healthy habits. | true | Health News | A man walks his dog through Central Park in New York August 27, 2010. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The ban, which officials hope will prevent problems caused by second-hand smoke, adds to the city’s 2003 ban on cigarettes in bars and restaurants. The new law will not be enforced by police but by some 200 parks personnel who w... |
7424 | Trump says ‘life and death’ at stake in following guidelines. | President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “hell of a bad two weeks” ahead as the White House projected there could be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus pandemic even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained. | true | AP Top News, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, Politics, Pandemics, Virus Outbreak, Public health, Donald Trump | Public health officials stressed Tuesday that the number could be less if people across the country bear down on keeping their distance from one another. “We really believe we can do a lot better than that,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force. That would require all America... |
7585 | Anxiety in Alaska as endless aftershocks rattle residents. | Seven weeks after a massive earthquake rocked Alaska, aftershocks are still shattering 7-year-old Connor Cartwright’s sense of safety. | true | Anxiety, Anchorage, Alaska, AP Top News, Science, U.S. News, Earthquakes | They shake the earth far less than the 7.0 magnitude quake that sent a mirror, TV and dishes crashing to the ground in the Anchorage home where Connor lives with his mother, father and 11-year-old brother. But the seemingly never-ending aftershocks deepen quake anxiety for the second-grader and many other Alaska reside... |
35343 | Churches are required by the local government to record and register lists of attendees for tracking purposes in Kansas City, Missouri. | Liberty Counsel noted this change in a follow-up blog post on May 5, attributing the revision to an “overwhelming public outcry.” A city spokesperson released the following statement regarding the updated guidance: | false | Politics, COVID-19 | In early May 2020, various websites and commentators claimed that Kansas City, Missouri, was ordering churches to turn over lists of attendees to the government. The commentary posted by evangelical groups implied that the measures persecuted Christians, with one of the more sensational takes gaining online traction. “... |
11553 | Journal of Surgical Oncology Publishes Study Showing Oncotype DX® DCIS Score™ Result Changes Treatment Recommendations in 30 Percent of DCIS Breast Cancer Patients Physicians Ranked Oncotype DX DCIS Score Most Important Factor in Treatment Planning | DCIS is usually diagnosed from a screening mammogram.This company news release describes a study which found that the Oncotype DX DCIS Score test changed recommendations for radiation treatment among women with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) — a condition marked by abnormal, pre-cancerous cells inside the breast. The ... | false | Breast cancer,Diagnostic tests,industry/commercial news releases | The release never mentions the cost of the test and there is some concern that insurance carriers may not cover costs for tests of DCIS. Insurance coverage is variable and appeals do not always result in reversal of the denial. The news release highlights the fact that information from the test changed physician recomm... |
32728 | Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter was stripped of his award for failing to complete a minor driving course while on active duty. | Readers familiar with Duffel Blog immediately recognized its satirical intent. However, the brand of humor employed is very specific. Because of this, occasionally Duffel Blog articles can cause confusion on social media. Previous instances in which Duffel Blog material was misidentified as factual include articles rep... | false | Junk News, duffel blog, kyle carpenter, medal of honor | On 3 May 2016, the military satire site Duffel Blog published an article reporting that Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter had been stripped of the award for valor after he failed to complete an online training course during active duty: Marine veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter was recently infor... |
8730 | Number of U.S. coronavirus cases of unknown origin climbs to four. | U.S. public health officials said they have identified four “presumptive” coronavirus cases believed to have emerged from community transmission of the infection, signaling a turning point in efforts to contain the disease in the United States. | true | Health News | The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement on Friday citing three such cases newly diagnosed by state public health authorities - one each in California, Oregon and Washington state. If confirmed by the CDC, together with a previous case of unknown origin announced on Wednesday in Cali... |
10729 | Larger Dose of Zinc Lozenges May Shorten Colds | Here we have a story with lots of facts, but not a coherent message to consumers about whether zinc lozenges are of any benefit in shortening cold symptoms. The title and early comments suggest this single retrospective review of existing research gives evidence that larger doses of zinc are effective, but the author o... | mixture | HealthDay | The story does not mention cost. But zinc lozenges are not expensive, costing perhaps $5 – $10 for a course of treatment. The story gives us many figures, but it may not reveal enough for a consumer to gain much insight on benefits. It says that some clinical trials comparing zinc acetate lozenges to placebo reduced th... |
7372 | Soccer clubs contemplating options for season ticket holders. | Many soccer clubs in Europe are still contemplating how to reimburse their season ticket holders amid the coronavirus pandemic. | true | Soccer, Health, Madrid, Sports - Europe, Europe, La Liga, Virus Outbreak, Sports - General, Spain | With most European leagues likely finishing the season in empty stadiums, clubs have decisions to make regarding fans who paid for tickets but won’t be allowed to attend matches. Though few clubs in Spain have announced options for their ticket holders, Madrid-based club Getafe is taking the forefront by giving fans a ... |
18225 | Stephen Nodine Says he can be on the ballot for Congress while serving time in jail. | "Nodine claimed that he ""can run"" for office. As a legal matter, he is correct. The Constitution enshrines the idea that the people get to decide who shall represent them, and the only limits are age, citizenship and residency. In terms of federal law, Nodine can indeed run. His desire to run as a Republican puts him... | true | National, Elections, Stephen Nodine, | "By day, Stephen Nodine works at a law office in Bay Minette, Ala. By night, he is an inmate at the Baldwin County Jail where he is serving a two-year sentence for perjury. This would be of little interest except Nodine says he might want to run for Congress and represent Alabama’s 1st Congressional District. Nodine no... |
10713 | Here’s how a five-day diet that mimics fasting may ‘reboot’ the body and reduce cancer risk | The story is about a USC study that links partial fasting for five days each month to a number of health benefits. But it fails to quantify those benefits in any way and fails to note that two of the researchers have potential conflicts of interest when promoting this line of research. The story receives 0 out of 5 sta... | false | Conflict of interest,Washington Post | The story described what the diet would contain (and would not contain), but it did not say how much it would cost to follow the regimen composed of the foods that were given to the study participants. However, since participants were mostly eating what they would normally consume (and less on partial fasting days), we... |
7478 | Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets. | The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. | true | AP Top News, Malaria, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, Politics, Charles Schumer, Virus Outbreak, Veterans, Veterans affairs, Donald Trump | Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the VA needs to provide Congress more information about a recent bulk order for $208,000 worth of hydroxychloroquine. President Donald Trump has heavily promoted the malaria drug, without evidence, as a treatment for COVID-19. Schumer’s request comes after a whistleblower complaint... |
11464 | Gene Therapy Shows Potential Against Heart Failure | Are we really going to report commonly now when early research moves from one phase into another? What researchers announced was that a year after a very small number of heart failure patients were given a type of gene therapy intended to improve how their heart muscles manage calcium cycling there appear to be enough ... | false | HealthDay | Although this gene therapy has barely begun the long road of clinical trials and so we won’t hold this story to the expectation that it discuss costs, the story could have offered readers at least some general comments about how the costs of this sort of gene therapy might compare with conventional treatments for heart... |
6298 | Long-hidden toxic waste endangers Serbia’s health, EU status. | Dozens of rusty barrels and plastic tubs filled with a dark, oily liquid cluttered a muddy yard where chickens roamed. More brimming containers packed a wooden barn. | true | International News, Industrial waste, Serbia, Environment, Europe, Hazardous waste | The property in northern Serbia, located next to farmland and a railway line, stored about 100 tons of likely hazardous waste altogether, the country’s environmental protection ministry said. Authorities found it last month, along with another big batch cemented into the walls of a nearby brick factory. A string of sim... |
10549 | Colonoscopy may miss more than 7 percent of cancers | "The story puts the numbers right in the headline and follows up with more numbers in the lead. The story hits most of our marks and does an especially good job making use of independent voices. We would have liked to see more use of absolute numbers to help readers understand whether, on balance, colonoscopy is still ... | true | "The story does not discuss costs and should have. If colonscopy is not providing that value that people once thought, it should be examined from a cost basis as well. Since fecal occult blood stool slide testing is so much cheaper (something referenced in the story but without cost estimates given), this is an even mo... | |
18042 | "Of the roughly 15 percent of Americans who don’t have health insurance, ""half of them made more than $50,000 a year." | "Paul said that of the roughly 15 percent of Americans who don’t have health insurance, ""half of them made more than $50,000 a year."" In reality, if you measure what individuals make, Census data shows that 28 percent of uninsured Americans earn $50,000. By another measure, using household income, almost 38 percent o... | false | National, Health Care, Income, Rand Paul, | "During a recent appearance on The Daily Show, guest host John Oliver and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., engaged in a lively exchange on health insurance and why people buy it or not. Paul, an eye surgeon, is strongly opposed to President Barack Obama’s health care law. During the interview, Oliver pressed him on how to get mo... |
1694 | France bans super-skinny models in anorexia clampdown. | France will ban excessively thin fashion models and expose modeling agents and the fashion houses that hire them to possible fines and even jail, under a new law passed on Friday. | true | Health News | The move by France, with its fashion and luxury industries worth tens of billions of euros, comes after a similar ban by Israel in 2013, while other countries, like Italy and Spain, rely on voluntary codes of conduct to protect models. The measure is part of a campaign against anorexia by President Francois Hollande’s ... |
29151 | New York City is set to ban hot dogs and processed meats in an effort to combat climate change. | "What's true: New York City announced a ""Green New Deal"" in April 2019 that would reduce the amount of processed meat purchased by government-run facilities such as hospitals, schools, and correctional facilities. What's false: New York City did not ban hot dogs outright. Restaurants, hot-dog stands, grocery stores, ... | false | Politics | On 22 April 2019, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city’s “Green New Deal,” an “audacious plan to attack global warming on all fronts.” While this package of investments and new legislation covered several approaches to reduce emissions by nearly 30 percent by the year 2030, a number of outlets focused ... |
5741 | California Assembly committee backs vaccine exemption law. | A California Assembly committee backed new rules for vaccination exemptions on Thursday following a raucous, hours-long hearing in the midst of a national measles outbreak and renewed scrutiny of immunization policies. | true | Bills, Immunizations, Health, Measles, General News, Legislation, California, Science, Sacramento, U.S. News | The 9-2 vote showed support among lawmakers for a modified version of legislation that has spurred heated debate. But the vote also showed division within the Assembly’s Democratic majority. America’s most populous state allows students exemptions from required vaccinations for medical reasons. But proponents of the bi... |
40889 | There were 32 deaths from suicide in Ireland in August. | It’s too soon to know this figure as only a coroner can officially rule a death as a suicide, but this figure is realistic looking at past data. | false | online | There were 700 deaths from cancer in Ireland in August. We don’t know these figures yet as it is too soon after the fact. The figure for cancer seems realistic from past trends, as there were around 830 deaths caused by cancer in Ireland per month in Q1 of 2020. There were 70 deaths from alcohol in Ireland in August. W... |
28448 | So far in 2018, the number of U.S. students killed in school shootings is greater than the number of U.S. military personnel who have been killed on active duty. | What's true: The number of U.S. students killed in school shootings so far this year is greater than the number of U.S. military personnel who have been killed in combat operations. What's false: The number of active duty U.S. military personnel killed from all causes so far this year (including training accidents) is... | mixture | Politics, school shootings | On 18 May 2018, ten people were killed in a mass shooting by a 17-year-old student at Santa Fe High School in Texas. That same day, the Washington Post published an article whose headline proclaimed that so far, the year has been “deadlier for schoolchildren than deployed service members.” Readers’ summaries of the art... |
8292 | U.S. to start antibody testing of sailors on coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier. | The U.S. Navy said on Friday it will conduct antibody testing of sailors aboard the coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt to determine whether they were exposed to the virus as it spread through the ship. | true | Health News | Sweeping testing for the coronavirus among the entire crew of the Roosevelt has already yielded a curious result: The majority of the positive cases so far are among sailors who are asymptomatic. With so many of the crew symptom-free, it is unclear how many of them had been infected and recovered without anyone realizi... |
7480 | Plan to use malaria drug in Mumbai slums temporarily shelved. | A plan to give the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to thousands of people in Mumbai’s crowded slums to prevent coronavirus infections has temporarily been shelved, officials said Wednesday. | true | Understanding the Outbreak, Malaria, Mumbai, Health, General News, India, Asia, International News, Asia Pacific, Virus Outbreak | Health officials in Mumbai said that a test to prove the efficacy of the much touted but largely untested drug was still in the cards, but that for now they would follow federal Indian guidelines. India, which reached the grim milestone of over 1,000 deaths from the virus on Wednesday, is one of the few countries that ... |
7035 | Canadian mining firm threatens to suspend Greece investment. | Canadian mining company Eldorado Gold on Monday threatened to suspend a major investment in Greece in 10 days, accusing the government of delaying permits and licenses. | true | International News, Europe, Athens, North America, Environment, Business, Greece, George Burns | One of Greece’s largest foreign investors, Eldorado operates mines in northern Greece that have faced vehement opposition from parts of local communities on environmental grounds, with protests often turning violent. “This decision is not one that we have taken lightly,” Eldorado President and CEO George Burns told rep... |
6833 | States, military clash on cleanup of toxic chemicals. | The U.S. Department of Defense has quietly begun battling environmental regulators in several states, after the agencies attempted to force the military to clean toxic firefighting chemicals from polluted streams, marshes and aquifers. The efforts mark the opening acts of what could turn into a nationwide war on legal ... | true | Financial markets, U.S. Department of Defense, Health, Environment, Aquifers | Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have burst onto the national radar in recent years. Originally produced by companies 3M and DuPont, the chemicals are used in everything from Teflon pans to food packaging to water-resistant clothing. Scientists have linked some PFAS chemicals to health effects including u... |
10832 | Now what do I do? Suddenly women in their 40s must ponder whose mammography advice to follow | News of the new recommendations from the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) stating that average risk women need not start regular mammography screening until age 50 has exploded all over the media. The timing of the issuing of the new guidelines at the time of great debate in health care reform has many wome... | true | There is no mention of costs or insurance coverage for mammograms and if or how this recommendation might affect insurance coverage. The story does not adequately quantify the benefits or harms of mammography. The representative of the American Cancer Society provides the number needed to screen, which is very helpful,... | |
23242 | "Harry Reid ""voted to use taxpayer dollars to pay for Viagra for convicted child molesters and sex offenders." | Sharron Angle attacks Harry Reid over giving sex offenders taxpayer-subsidized Viagra | false | National, Federal Budget, Health Care, Crime, Message Machine 2010, Sharron Angle, | "Judging by her newest television ad, Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Nevada, is banking on the idea that even Sin City voters have limits on acceptable behavior. In an ad released Oct. 7, 2010, Angle accuses Harry Reid of voting to use taxpayer dollars to pay for Viagra for convicted child... |
1689 | A dog's life: study reveals people's hormonal link with tail-waggers. | Dogs are called “man’s best friend” - women’s, too - and scientists say the bond between people and their pooches may be deeper than you might think. | true | Science News | Researchers in Japan said on Thursday oxytocin, a hormone that among other things helps reinforce bonds between parents and their babies, increases in humans and their dogs when they interact, particularly when looking into one another’s eyes. They described a series of experiments that suggest that people and their ca... |
9153 | First large-scale population analysis reinforces ketamine's reputation as antidepressant | In this study of the effect of the anesthetic drug ketamine on depression, researchers at University of California – San Diego data-mined the FDA Adverse Effect Reporting System database for information on ketamine use for pain relief. Their analysis found an association between ketamine and reduced incidence of depres... | false | depression,ketamine,University of California San Diego | The release does not specify cost, but says ketamine is “relatively inexpensive and is covered by most health insurance plans if three other antidepressants fail.” If prescribed it is done so “off-label” since ketamine is not FDA approved for depression, and thus not covered by health insurance. At least one ketamine t... |
2909 | Intercept liver drug meets main goal in study, shares quadruple. | Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc’s drug to treat liver disease caused by fat buildup was found effective in a trial, paving the way for it to become the first approved treatment for the chronic condition. | true | Health News | The company’s shares nearly quadrupled to a life high of $305 on Thursday morning on the Nasdaq, valuing the company at about $6 billion. Intercept said it had stopped the trial after the drug showed statistically significant improvement in patients, compared with a placebo, in a review by an independent safety committ... |
8470 | With cheers, New York nurses greet reinforcements from across the U.S. | With loud cheers and applause, medical staff at New York’s Northwell Health network greeted 46 nurses on Tuesday who had arrived from all over the United States to reinforce hospitals as they battle the coronavirus pandemic. | true | Health News | U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus topped 24,000 on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally. There were nearly 583,000 confirmed cases, over 200,000 of which were in New York state alone. Treating the large number of patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has challenged hospitals in its U.... |
10990 | More Options Before Bypass Surgery, Study Finds | The piece gave readers some powerful information to help them sort through the range of factors that should be considered for any medical intervention. The only weakness our reviewers found with the story is the lack of comment about cost. Too often stories present medical options as false choices of best versus worst.... | true | heart disease,Wall Street Journal | The story does not talk about costs, which was disappointing. The costs of intensive medical therapy can easily be identified. Using an online pharmacy we calculated the costs to be about $1,500 to $2,000 annually for medical therapy, using generic drugs. Using the Health Care Blue Book, we found the average cost of co... |
38836 | Johnson & Johnson has removed formaldehyde from baby products like No More Tears shampoo. | Johnson & Johnson Removes Formaldehyde from Baby Products. | true | Business, Health / Medical | Johnson & Johnson removed formaldehyde-releasing ingredients from its baby products back in 2014. Susan Nettesheim, the vice president of product stewardship and toxicology at Johnson & Johnson, wrote in a 2012 blog post that the company would reformulate its baby products due to consumer concerns over ingredients: Ove... |
8594 | Swiss urge public to stick to anti-virus measures over Easter. | Switzerland’s president called on the public to stick with emergency measures designed to halt the spread of the new coronavirus, saying on Tuesday the country remains “very far from normal” ahead of the long Easter weekend. | true | Health News | Police are bulking up their presence at tourist hot spots and on the roads over the four-day holiday, officials said, urging people to stay home during what is normally a popular time for trips. The appeal came as the Swiss death toll continued to rise and neighbouring Austria prepared to relax its own lockdown. “It is... |
3978 | Wasting disease detected in 4 deer on Crow Wing County farm. | Chronic wasting disease has been detected in four deer at a quarantined farm in Crow Wing County. | true | Animals, Health, Deer, Minnesota, Animal health | The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has been monitoring the farm since December 2016 when two white-tailed deer tested positive for the disease. The Department of Natural Resources is currently in the second year of sampling wild deer for CWD in Crow Wing County as a result of the farm’s earlier infection. The disease... |
9750 | 'Play This Video Game And Call Me In The Morning' | This story about video games being tested as therapies for cognitive disorders is better than its star score indicates. The focus of the story is primarily on the standards that should be used to evaluate and regulate such video games, rather than the evidence, or lack thereof, that this sort of game could have therape... | false | ADHD,video games | There is no mention of the costs of the games. The story does quote an insurance industry executive who suggests that the reimbursing patients to play games could lead to overall cost savings, but we didn’t think that was quite enough for a Satisfactory rating. The story includes claims that these games could be effect... |
35577 | The address used for the home of the SpongeBob SquarePants character corresponds to a location on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's privately owned island. | Hundreds of thousands of false listings sprout on Google Maps each month, according to experts. Google says it catches many others before they appear. | false | Viral Phenomena | One of the odder conspiracy claims associated with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (who committed suicide in custody while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges) was the claim that the home address shown on the driver’s license of the beloved SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon chara... |
11628 | Oral multiple sclerosis drug shows promise | "LA Times blog headline: ""Oral multiple sclerosis drug shows promise."" AP story headline: ""MS pills show promise and risk."" Two huge differences should jump out at you. AP mentioned pills – plural – because two drugs were reported on in this week’s NEJM. And AP mentioned risks right along with harms. The blog ent... | false | "No costs were mentioned. The story could have at least mentioned what is the cost of the drug when now used to treat hairy cell leukemia. Again, only one drug was mentioned and benefits given in only relative terms. This was a major shortcoming of this piece: harms were never mentioned. They were emphasized – even he... | |
7654 | In crackdown, U.S. FDA seeks details on new electronic cigarettes. | Faced with a proliferation of new electronic cigarettes and a sharp rise in teen vaping, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday sent letters to 21 electronic cigarette manufacturers seeking information to assess whether the products are being marketed illegally. | true | Health News | An FDA rule banned the sale of new e-cigarette products after August 2016 without regulatory approval. In September, Reuters reported that startups and big tobacco firms launched more than a dozen new high-nicotine e-cigarette products mimicking the popular Juul devices after the FDA imposed the deadline reut.rs/2PwFgO... |
27944 | A girl on an amusement park ride was scalped when her hair got caught in the attraction's machinery. | Girl on an amusement park ride is scalped when her hair gets caught in the attraction's machinery? | true | Horrors, amusement parks, ASP Article, scalping | Amusement parks are supposed to be carefree, fun-filled environments folks visit when looking for a thrilling yet safe experience. Attractions are designed to chill and terrify even the most stalwart of souls yet do so with every care having been taken to prevent riders from coming to harm. Or at least that’s the way i... |
10969 | Exelixis drug slows prostate cancer spread in trial | The story provides the reader with a confused and often contradictory profile of interim findings of a study reported in abstract at a big scientific conference. The American Society of Clinical Oncology conference fosters a lot of rush-to-publication among journalists. This story was an example of what an empty exerci... | false | Cancer,Reuters Health | No discussion of projected costs – not even a statement that the company has not yet projected costs. We look for cost information in every single story. The story presents the reader with a set of apparently contradictory information on the benefits of the drug. How many patients were in the study: 108 or 31? What wer... |
10555 | Pain Relief for Some, With an Odd Tradeoff | "This story delivers some important information about how spinal stimulation devices have been investigated for use in chronic pain. But it does not make clear that the study upon which the story is based concerned patients for whom an initial surgery had failed. The story suggests that the procedure might be an altern... | mixture | "The article notes the cost of the device alone ($20,000), the cost inclusive of hospital and other charges ($40,000), and the cost in comparison to other operations (""cheaper""). But let’s not forget that the alternatives include non-invasive treatment. The story accurately characterizes the results of a 2007 multina... | |
7494 | Congo, weary from Ebola, must also battle the coronavirus. | Congo has been battling an Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands of people for more than 18 months, and now it must also face a new scourge: the coronavirus pandemic. | true | AP Top News, International News, Ebola virus, Africa, Health, Pandemics, Virus Outbreak, General News | Ebola has left those living in the country’s east weary and fearful, and, just as they were preparing to declare an end to the outbreak, a new case popped up. Now, they will now have to manage both threats at once. The new virus has overwhelmed some of the world’s best hospital systems in Europe and ripped through comm... |
13499 | "Tim Kaine Says Hillary Clinton and millennials have the same positions on climate change, abortion rights, immigration reform, gay rights and college affordability. ""Donald Trump doesn't." | "Kaine said Hillary Clinton and millennials believe in climate change, abortion rights, immigration reform, gay rights and college affordability but ""Donald Trump doesn't."" Reputable polls back Kaine’s claim, though the VP nominee is overstating the extent of Trump’s opposition to gay rights and college affordability... | true | Abortion, Immigration, National, Climate Change, Education, Gays and Lesbians, Tim Kaine, | "Young voters carried Barack Obama to victory in the past two elections and felt the Bern for Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Democratic primary. But polls show they’re not exactly transferring their enthusiasm to Hillary Clinton. The 69.2 million millennials — typically defined as adults under age 35 — now make up the ... |
36320 | Proof exists that Rep. Ilhan Omar married her brother. | There Is No Credible Evidence Rep. Ilhan Omar Married Her Brother | false | Disinformation, Fact Checks | On June 23 2019 pundit Dinesh D’Souza tweeted a very old claim: That Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) once married her own brother:I’m trying to keep the @IlhanMN story straight. She marrried her brother to evade immigration laws? Then she divorced him and illicitly filed joint tax returns with another guy years before th... |
9811 | Study clouds evidence on soy and menopause | Overall, this story addressed our criteria. The big picture is that this is a small study, funded by pharma that showed a benefit for soy. Put in the context of the many randomized clinical trials that have looked at this issue over the past decade, there are questions about this finding, and the story puts those doubt... | true | hot flashes,menopause | Soy supplements are over the counter so the price may vary. Story cites estimate. There was a discussion about the reductions of symptoms among patients in the study in both relative and absolute terms. Would have liked a better idea if the levels in the study among Chinese women are what American women also experience... |
14225 | "Bernie Sanders Says an array of statistics show that conditions in some parts of Baltimore rival that of ""the West Bank in Palestine,"" ""North Korea,"" and ""distressed cities in Nigeria, India, China and South Africa." | "Sanders presented a series of comparisons showing that conditions in some parts of Baltimore rivaled that of ""the West Bank in Palestine,"" ""North Korea,"" and ""distressed cities in Nigeria, India, China and South Africa. Some of Sanders’ figures need to be updated, but the gist of his specific comparisons are accu... | true | Global News Service, Poverty, Public Health, Bernie Sanders, | "Residents of some Baltimore neighborhoods are no better off than people living in impoverished North Korea and the violent West Bank, Bernie Sanders said during a campaign rally in Maryland ahead of that state’s primary. ""Poverty in Baltimore, and around this country — poverty is a death sentence,"" Sanders said Apri... |
2906 | Sangamo to develop blood disorder drugs with Biogen. | Sangamo Biosciences Inc said it would collaborate with Biogen Idec Inc to develop treatments for a group of inherited blood disorders in a deal for up to $320 million. | true | Health News | Sangamo shares jumped as much as 30 percent to a six-year high of $17.73 on the Nasdaq on Thursday morning. Biogen will use Sangamo’s genome-editing technology to develop drugs targeting sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. It will provide Sangamo $20 million upfront and reimburse costs related to research and dev... |
5026 | Argentine women see legal abortion closer than ever. | Pushed by a wave of demonstrations by women’s groups, the homeland of Pope Francis seems closer than ever to legalizing abortion. | true | Public opinion, Mauricio Macri, International News, Buenos Aires, Abortion, Latin America, Health, Pope Francis, Argentina, Bills | The protests and shifting public opinion have led conservative President Mauricio Macri to call for Congress to launch a debate on a broader legalization of abortion in Argentina, which currently allows the procedure only in cases of rape or risks to the mother’s health. A bill allowing elective abortion in the first 1... |
2827 | Covidien to stop making hypertension devices. | Covidien Plc said it would stop making devices for treating high blood pressure due to weak industry-wide demand. | true | Health News | The device, known as a renal denervation system, belongs to a class of products that take a new approach to treating hypertension and are aimed at patients resistant to traditional drug-based therapies. Covidien’s device is approved in Europe and is being tested in the United States. The adoption of such devices has be... |
6602 | UK jury convicts doctor of performing unnecessary surgeries. | A prominent breast surgeon whose victims accused him of playing God with their lives faces a life sentence after a jury convicted him Friday of carrying out unnecessary operations that maimed some of his victims for life. | true | Health, Nottingham, AP Top News, Europe, Courts | The Nottingham Crown Court jury found Ian Paterson guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and three counts of unlawful wounding. Prosecutors say the 59-year-old doctor lied to patients or exaggerated their risk of cancer to persuade them to have surgery. “Of the 11 victims he was char... |
8112 | Malaysia steps up coronavirus tests as it braces for 'worst scenario'. | Malaysia is ramping up coronavirus tests in preparation for the “worst scenario”, as it grapples with Southeast Asia’s highest number of infections, a health ministry official told Reuters. | true | Health News | The World Health Organisation has urged countries to widen testing to contain the virus. Malaysia’s tally of infections has jumped six-fold in just ten days to more than 1,500, exceeded only by China, South Korea and Japan in Asia. By the end of the week, Malaysia will double daily testing capacity to 7,000, before ste... |
8613 | Chinese masks, or 'blue gold', arrive for Swiss hospitals. | A Boeing 747 landed in Geneva on Monday with 92 tonnes of protective medical equipment including masks made in China for distribution to 13 Swiss hospitals and pharmaceutical associations as they battle the COVID-19 pandemic. | true | Health News | The flight contained 2.5 million surgical masks, 10 million gloves as well as goggles and thermometers worth more than 3 million Swiss francs ($3.1 million), and made by Sinopharm Group Co Ltd. Another delivery arrived in Zurich on Sunday evening on a chartered Swiss airline flight from Shanghai carrying protective go... |
29980 | Meth in Louisiana is contaminated with the Zika virus. | Police Chief Walker stated that as of the evening of 30 December 2018, no one had brought in meth to the department for testing. | false | Politics | On 29 December 2018, the Police Department of Harahan, Louisiana, posted a warning on Facebook advising local residents that if they had “recently purchased meth in any area of Louisiana,” they should bring it to their local police department to ensure it was not “contaminated with the Zika virus”: ***WARNING: *** If ... |
29244 | The World Health Organization has declared that medical marijuana has no health risks. | What's true: The World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence announced they considered the non-psychoactive component of cannabis — cannabidiol or CBD — safe enough to justify not scheduling the chemical legally. What's false: The announcement says nothing about cannabis as a whole or about any othe... | false | Medical, cannabidiol, cannabis, CBD | Since mid December 2017, viral headlines have made the astonishing announcement that, in the words of the New York Post, the World Health Organization recently declared that medical marijuana has no health risks. While most experts agree that cannabis in general carries few serious health risks for adult use compared ... |
3585 | 2 puppies euthanized after contact with rabid bats. | Officials say two German shepherd puppies were euthanized after they came into contact with bats that tested positive for rabies in southwestern Washington. | true | Rabies, Health, General News, Washington, Longview, Environment, Bats, Pets, Dogs | KATU-TV reports Cowlitz County environmental health manager Season Long said Friday a 4-month-old and a 5-month old German shepherd were euthanized because the puppies hadn’t been vaccinated for rabies yet. Cowlitz County Health and Human Services said Thursday that two bats tested positive for rabies in the county and... |
5211 | Harris, Gillibrand offer plans to bolster maternal care. | Two Democratic women running for president unveiled plans Wednesday to improve maternal health care, with Sen. Kamala Harris reintroducing a bill aimed at addressing racial disparities in childbirth care and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand promising to make adoptions and high-tech fertility treatments more accessible to those ... | true | Health, Kirsten Gillibrand, Race and ethnicity, Kamala Harris | Harris’ bill, first introduced in 2018, would create a $25 million program to fight racial bias in maternal care. It would direct grants to medical schools, nursing schools and other training programs to improve care for black women, who are three to four times more likely than white women to die in childbirth . Her re... |
26811 | “If you have the Flu… get these two items… Sambucol (and) Oscillococcinum… in 48 hours you will feel better. In 72 hours you will be almost symptom-free.” | These homeopathic supplements have been shown in some small studies to help relieve symptoms of flu and respiratory infection. But there are not enough trials to conclusively call them medications. Doctors agree that Sambucol has the most flu-fighting potential, while there is little evidence that Oscillococcinum can c... | false | Drugs, Health Care, Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Health Check, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "You wouldn’t expect drops that taste like ""sweet tarts"" or elderberry syrup to cure anything, but one Facebook post claims that these homeopathic supplements can rid you of flu symptoms after only three days. This post, which has been shared more than 70,000 times, was flagged by Facebook as part of efforts to comba... |
32262 | Pouring Coca-Cola onto a piece of raw pork will cause worms to come crawling out of the meat. | Pouring Coca-Cola onto a piece of raw pork will not cause worms to come crawling out of the meat. | false | Cokelore, coca-cola, pork | Most of us have been exposed to information cautioning us to be wary of pork, from religious traditions (particularly in Jewish and Muslim cultures) that proscribe its consumption to warnings that one can get really sick by ingesting parasites present in (undercooked) pork products. The disease trichinosis (or trichine... |
15200 | Of the 25 wealthiest nations, we're the only one that doesn't provide basic health coverage. | "Gecker said that ""of the 25 wealthiest nations, we’re the only one that doesn’t provide basic health coverage."" Gecker was referring to rich nations that provide coverage to all of their citizens. We can’t say definitively that the U.S. is the only one that doesn’t provide universal coverage, but evidence strongly p... | true | Health Care, Virginia, Dan Gecker, | "When it comes to health care, state Senate hopeful Dan Gecker says the U.S. is in a dubious league of its own. ""Of the 25 wealthiest nations, we’re the only one that doesn’t provide basic health coverage,"" Gecker, a Democrat who serves on the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors, said during an Aug. 18 candidate... |
37651 | Author Malcolm Gladwell said in a January 2020 speech that a statue of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno should be restored. | Did Malcolm Gladwell Say Penn State Should Restore a Statue of Joe Paterno? | true | Fact Checks, Viral Content | Author Malcolm Gladwell’s latest defense of deceased Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno drew attention on January 29 2020.During a speech at the campus in State College, Pennsylvania, Gladwell once again said that a statue of Paterno — who was fired in 2011 for failing to respond appropriately to an alleg... |
7483 | South Dakota continues malaria drug trial despite FDA alert. | South Dakota health officials said Friday that they will continue to make a malaria drug widely available to treat COVID-19, even as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned against its use outside of hospital and research settings. | true | Sioux Falls, Drug trials, Malaria, Health, General News, South Dakota, Kristi Noem, Virus Outbreak, Clinical trials, Donald Trump | In an alert, regulators flagged reports of serious side effects and death among patient s taking hydroxychloroquine and the related drug chloroquine. Gov. Kristi Noem has pushed for doctors to be able to use hydroxychloroquine, creating a statewide clinical trial as well as making it available to COVID-19 patients if t... |
8437 | Taiwan says donating 2 million face masks to virus-hit Japan. | Taiwan will donate two million face masks to its former colonial master Japan, which has been hard hit by the outbreak of the new coronavirus, as part of the island’s efforts to show it can help the world combat the pandemic. | true | Health News | Despite being locked out of the World Health Organization (WHO) due to the objections of China, which considers the island merely a Chinese province, Taiwan has been keen to demonstrate it is a responsible member of the international community. Taiwan is in the process of donating 16 million masks to countries hardest ... |
9718 | Merck's Keytruda extends survival in lung cancer study | The story reports on new findings from a clinical trial of the drug Keytruda. Specifically, the story says that patients with late-stage lung cancer whose tumors produce a protein called PD-L1 had increased overall survival when taking Keytruda rather than docetaxel, which is is a widely-used drug for treating lung can... | false | Keytruda,Merck | The story does not mention cost at all. Given that this is as much a business story as a health story, and that Keytruda has already been approved for use by regulators, this is a significant oversight. Previous news coverage of Keytruda in other news outlets says that Keytruda will cost $12,500 per month, and that med... |
31139 | Actor Kirk Cameron has contracted an extremely rare form of leprosy. | If Cameron, who is best known for playing Mike Seaver on the show “Growing Pains”, was truly diagnosed with a rare form of leprosy, legitimate news outlets would certainly report on it. However, the only mention of this alleged diagnosis comes from a well-known purveyor of fake news. | false | Fauxtography, fake news, kirk cameron, leprosy | On 26 July 2017, TheLastLineOfDefense.com published a shocking article about an unexpected diagnosis for former child actor Kirk Cameron: Actor, musician, director and devoted follower of Christ, Kirk Cameron, has been stricken with an extremely rare form of what can only be described as a biblical disease. Cameron ha... |
3734 | South Korea reports 1st possible case of viral pneumonia. | South Korea has put a 36-year-old Chinese woman under isolated treatment amid concerns that she brought back a form of viral pneumonia that has sickened dozens in mainland China and Hong Kong in recent weeks. | true | Seoul, Health, Hong Kong, General News, Wuhan, Pneumonia, China, South Korea, Asia Pacific | The Korea Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the woman, who was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday following two business trips to China last month, represented the country’s first possible case of the respiratory illness whose cause remains unknown. The unidentified woman, who works for a S... |
10871 | Study: Advanced Cancer Patients Receiving Early Palliative Care Lived Longer | This post from the Wall Street Journal Health Blog got it right on the big picture but missed some smaller points that might have been addressed in a longer piece. Kudos to the WSJ for doing the best job of reporting on the limitations of this study. A bit more detail on costs and availability would have rounded out th... | true | "This issue is alluded to obliquely in the quote that ends the article, which suggests that palliative care may help address ""critical concerns regarding the use of health care services at the end of life."" This is not specific enough to satisfy the criterion. This story adequately quantifies the survival benefit and... | |
33215 | U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hide a close familial connection to an Iranian official with whom he negotiated a nuclear deal. | Finally, the unsourced statement that “Secretary Kerry and Zarif first met over a decade ago at a dinner party hosted by George Soros at his Manhattan penthouse. What a surprise.” is (even if true) little more than out-of-context innuendo intended to suggest some kind of close pre-negotiation friendship between the two... | false | Politics, allen b. west, conservative tribune, iran nuclear talks | On 28 July 2015, the web site of Allen B. West, a former one-term congressman and conservative pundit, published an article asserting that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had hidden a close familial connection to an Iranian official with whom he had negotiated a nuclear deal. According to that article (“You will NOT... |
33355 | An unusually high percentage of the child actors who starred in the Our Gang film series have met tragic, premature ends. | Although these percentages may be higher than one would expect to find among the general population, they’re not at all out of line with reasonable expectations given the extremely small sample size (29) used here. One man’s “curse” is another man’s normal cross-section of society. | false | Entertainment, curse, Movies, our gang | Classifying this entry about a purported Our Gang curse as “True” or “False” is a bit problematic: Although the facts stated in the example above are mostly true, we’ve listed this item as false because the implied significance of these facts — that they represent an unusually high pattern of tragic deaths amongst a se... |
28279 | The FBI discovered a terrorist compound in Alabama, as reported in May 2019. | "What's true: The FBI discovered a property near Tuskegee, AL, that is closely linked to a group of people, mostly U.S. citizens, charged with serious terrorism offenses stemming from the discovery of another compound in New Mexico. According to the FBI, the Alabama property contained a ""military-style obstacle course... | mixture | Politics | In May 2019, several news websites — most of them right-leaning — reported that federal agents had discovered a “terror compound” or “terror training camp” in Macon County, Alabama, and that the property was owned by Siraj Wahaaj, a man who was charged with terrorism offenses after a high-profile raid on a New Mexico c... |
4094 | Appeals court hears Johns Hopkins black lung lawsuit. | A federal appeals court heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by the families of coal miners who were denied benefits for black lung disease after a Johns Hopkins doctor insisted their X-rays did not show the disease. | true | Health, Lawsuits, Lung disease, Courts, U.S. News, U.S. News | A federal judge in Maryland dismissed the lawsuit in 2017, finding that Dr. Paul Wheeler had immunity as an expert witness for coal companies under Maryland and federal law. During arguments before a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday, the families’ lawyer, Jonathan Nace, said Wheeler ... |
20737 | For the first time in 13 years, our dependence on foreign oil is below 50 percent. | Barack Obama campaign says U.S. dependence on foreign oil now below 50 percent | mixture | Ohio, Energy, Ethics, Message Machine 2012, Barack Obama, | "Good news, America: The country is no longer importing the majority of oil it needs. You might have heard about this from a television commercial sponsored by President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, the first commercial the president’s team has run in the 2012 race. Obama for America launched the ad Jan. 18 in O... |
11343 | Analysis weighs benefits, risks of Actos | A recent analysis suggests a newer diabetes drug, Actos, may lower risk of death, heart attack, or stroke compared to taking a sugar pill or other types of diabetes drugs. But despite the findings, the story makes it clear that many experts consider these newer types of drugs as second line therapy, due to their higher... | true | While absolute costs of the new drug are not given, the story does tell readers that older, cheaper drugs are less than 20 cents a day, which is 10 times less than the cost of the newer drug. The story provides absolute rates of death, heart attack, or stroke in those taking Actos and in those taking placebo or other d... |
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