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In December 2016, President Obama signed a bill criminalizing alternative media.
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What's true: On 23 December 2016, President Obama signed a Defense Department appropriations bill with a provision establishing an interagency office to identify and combat foreign propaganda. What's false: The provision is aimed at countering foreign sources of disinformation and does not apply to American independent or alternative media.
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false
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Politics Conspiracy Theories, news punch, your news wire
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On 25 December 2016, the unreliable political site YourNewsWire.com published an article asserting that President Obama had signed a “Christmas bill … quietly” that effectively labeled alternative media as “propaganda” and criminalized it: President Obama has just quietly signed into law a bill that makes it illegal to run an alternative media website in the U.S … two days before Christmas [2016], Obama signed the “Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017” bill into law. Wearechange.org reports: This bill will “Criminalize ‘Fake News, Propaganda’ on the Web,” a key piece of legislation meant to crack down on free speech and independent media. In Layman’s terms, the act will allow the government to crack down with impunity against any media outlet it deems “propaganda.” The next piece of the legislation will provide substantial amounts of money to fund “counter propaganda,” to make sure the government’s approved stories drown out alternative media and journalists who question the status quo. What does that mean for you if you are an independent journalist or blogger? … it means that for simply writing this and asking questions and pointing out that Obama always signs these bills around the holidays like I did in this poem, if I am accused of “fake news” or propaganda, I could face criminal charges. The original source cited in the above excerpt, WeAreChange.org, claimed that the legislation was timed to coincide with the distraction of Christmas so as to escape public notice: Late Friday night, while Americans were distracted by the holidays, President Obama quietly signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act into law, which authorizes a military spending budget of $611 billion, and includes the dangerous Counter Disinformation and Anti-Propaganda Act. Purposely or not, these sources have conflated and misrepresented two separate pieces of legislation. One, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (H.R. 6393, reintroduced as H.R. 6480), authorized funding for the federal intelligence services. The other, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017, authorized funding for the Department of Defense. While both contained provisions related to foreign propaganda, only one, the NDAA, was signed into law before Christmas 2016. It contained a section (originally introduced as separate legislation called the Counter Disinformation and Anti-Propaganda Act) described by its bipartisan co-sponsors as follows: [On 16 March 2016], U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced legislation to help American allies counter foreign government propaganda from Russia, China, and other nations. Specifically, the bill will improve the ability of the United States to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation by leveraging existing expertise and empowering local communities to defend themselves from foreign manipulation. “In order to improve our response to foreign propaganda and disinformation, we need a comprehensive strategy. We have to delegitimize false narratives coming out of Russia, China and other nations and increase access to factual information,” said Portman. “By directly countering false narratives and empowering local media and civil societies to defend themselves from foreign manipulation, this legislation will help support our allies and interests in this increasingly unstable world. This bill underscores the United States’ commitment to protecting the freedom of the marketplace of ideas on the international stage. I’m proud to join my colleague, Senator Murphy, on this bipartisan effort.” “A hallmark of democracy is the free flow of accurate, uncensored information, but many nations today are bombarded by foreign propaganda and manipulated information. This disinformation is often intended specifically to undermine the United States, our allies, and interests,” said Murphy. “Keeping America safe requires us to adapt alongside the threats we face, and right now, we’re too slow to adapt to the disinformation campaigns of our adversaries and competitors. The Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act would ensure America’s national security infrastructure helps counter the false narratives that harm our security — delivering truthful information and making the world a safer place for the United States and our allies.” Note that according to its authors, the legislation was conceived not to clamp down on alternative news sources within the U.S., but rather to protect the “freedom of the marketplace of ideas on the international stage.” Note also that as written into the NDAA, the legislation’s provisions establish an inter-agency body “to track and evaluate counterfactual narratives abroad that threaten the national security interests of the United States and United States allies,” and to develop “procedures to expose and refute foreign misinformation and disinformation and proactively promote fact-based narratives and policies to audiences outside the United States.” Similarly, language in the Intelligence Authorization Act (passed by the House but not yet, as of this writing, passed by the Senate or signed into law) would establish an executive branch committee “to counter active measures by the Russian Federation to exert covert influence over peoples and governments.” So, while neither bill explicitly rules out targeting the spread of disinformation on the home front, the stated focus in both cases is on stemming its flow abroad. More to the point, the focus is on disinformation originating from foreign sources (e.g., Russia and China), not domestic ones. Contrary to rumor, therefore, there is nothing in either bill, targeting or “criminalizing” practitioners of so-called “alternative media” or “independent journalism” within the United States. As with any legislation, there is always the possibility that in practice its scope will extend, for good or ill, beyond the authors’ original intentions (and that circumstance can be cause for concern), but there is nothing in the language itself that directly threatens the freedom of American journalists.
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37618
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"A real piece of legislation filed in Tennessee sought to officially label CNN and the Washington Post as ""fake news."
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Tennessee State Legislature’s Bill to Recognize CNN, Washington Post as ‘Fake News’
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true
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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On February 11 2020, tweets and social media posts alluded to “an actual bill” in the state of Tennessee, aimed at labeling CNN and the Washington Post as “fake news”:This is an ACTUAL Bill being debated by the Tennessee State Legislature Today.Yes, this is, in fact, Real.SMDH. pic.twitter.com/BGYIAz31Oj— Allan Creasy (@ServeThe901) February 11, 2020Verifying the existence of the legislation was fairly straightforward; Tennessee House Joint Resolution 779 or HJR0779 was available to view on the official Tennessee General Assembly website. An asterisk next to the bill’s sponsor, Micah Van Huss, led to a state government profile page.A summary of Van Huss’ legislation was available in the form of a February 4 2020 [PDF] “fiscal note,” observing that the proposal would have no financial effects on the public. Its summary read:SUMMARY OF BILL: Resolves to recognize CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and part of the media wing of the Democratic Party, and further resolves to condemn such media outlets for denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood.A longer version was available via capitol.tn.gov [PDF], available to review in full. The House Joint Resolution’s final two lines were of key importance.It is clear that Van Huss filed the bill and sent it along a legislative track in Tennessee, along with a fleshed-out list of grievances against CNN and Washington Post for perceived characterizations made by both outlets of either United States President Donald Trump and/or his base of support.However, the final two lines following the list of Van Huss’ grievances sought only to label said outlets “as fake news and part of the media wing of the Democratic Party” and “condemn them for denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers” rather than actively censoring them from being distributed in the state:A RESOLUTION to recognize CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and condemn them for denigrating our citizens.WHEREAS, on October 3, 2019, an editor for The Washington Post wrote that President Donald J. Trump has cast a spell on the Republican Party and suggested that Trumpism is cultlike; andWHEREAS, on November 24, 2019, a CNN host suggested that Trump supporters belong to a cult and that our president is using mind control; andWHEREAS, we recognize that fake news outlets suggest ideas without directly making accusations so that they can claim innocence from their ivory towers; andWHEREAS, it is fascinating to see this latest “cult-of-Trump” meme coming from the left, because they are the true masters of deploying mobs to demand total conformity and compliance with their agenda; andWHEREAS, any thoughtful observer can see the cult-of-Trump meme as a classic case of psychological projection; after all, accusing someone’s perceived opponent of exactly what one intends to do is a very old tactic; andWHEREAS, the mainstream media is in a panic because President Trump has opened the eyes of many average Americans who are tired of politics as usual. They are tired of being politicians’ political pawns, and they are tired of every other country’s needs being put before their own; andWHEREAS, suggestions of cult-like behavior by President Trump’s supporters substitute a value judgment in place of a sorely needed argumentative analysis of how voters generate their own political views; andWHEREAS, to describe the entire Republican Party as a cult led by President Trump is problematic: If journalists are going to refer to the party as a cult and its supporters as cultists, they must define what “cult” means; otherwise, they are assuming that a cult is some obvious phenomenon and everyone knows what the word means; andWHEREAS, this cult diagnosis isn’t a reasoned argument, or even an objective description; andWHEREAS, the cult diagnosis draws a line between Trump opponents and Trump supporters, and it oversimplifies the way people think and feel about their own beliefs and those on the other side of that line; andWHEREAS, President Trump understood their frustration when he ran for office; he has taken a stand on behalf of the middle class and everyday people, and that is the reason he has growing support; andWHEREAS, suggestions that supporters of President Trump are exhibiting cult-like behavior isn’t helpful in an era of significant political polarization; now, therefore,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that the State of Tennessee recognizes CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and part of the media wing of the Democratic Party.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we condemn them for denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood.Neither proposed resolution appeared to meaningfully affect either the two named news outlets or residents of the state of Tennessee, even if passed. Van Huss did not seek to limit their distribution or reach, or attach any penalties to their reporting.One of Van Huss’ fellow Republican lawmakers answered a media query about HJR0779 on January 31 2020, citing legislative efforts such as healthcare and education as a more appropriate focus for state funds and man hours:Asked whether the resolution was a good use of taxpayer money, state Sen. Rusty Crowe of Johnson City, who is also mulling a run for Congress, said: “I don’t think so. It’s a personal message from Van Huss to his constituents.“I’ve got so many things that I’m working on as chairman of the Health Committee, on the Education Committee and on the Government Operations Committee that are so important. I just don’t… I don’t have time for that. I’ve got other things to do,” he said.In 2018, Van Huss cited the satirical website “The Onion” during a Criminal Justice Committee meeting.“I’m reading right here on The Onion a report about Kentucky seniors who haze freshmen basketball players,” Van Huss said.While careful to criticize Van Huss outright, Northeast Tennessee Republicans told News 5 that they have different priorities.Other Tennessee Republicans concurred, referencing constituents’ needs on issues they deemed more pressing:Asked if a fake news resolution is what Tennesseans want taxpayer-funded lawyers working on, state Sen. Jon Lundberg of Bristol said: “I think our voters determine that. Voters in each of our districts.”State Rep. David Hawk of Greeneville said he doesn’t believe the General Assembly should be addressing the topic.“We have a lot of work to do outside of that,” Hawk said. “That’s not the first issue that comes from my constituents’ mouths when I have a discussion with them. They’re worried about workforce development; they’re worried about health care; they’re worried about mental health and substance abuse, that’s about 15 to 20 down the list of concerns that they’ve got.“Really, as a state government, I don’t think that we should be dipping our toe in that.”No final action had been taken on it as of February 13 2020. As of that date, HJR0779’s next scheduled action was for February 18 2020.It is true that Van Huss sponsored House Joint Resolution 779, which was riddled with disinformation and jingoistic language, aiming for the “State of Tennessee [to recognize] CNN and The Washington Post as fake news and part of the media wing of the Democratic Party,” and to “condemn [those outlets] for denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood.”However, the resolution was not final as of February 13 2020, and it carried no measurable effects on either news outlet or on Tennessee citizens should it pass a vote.
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11557
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‘Boston Legal’ lawyer makes his case for Alzheimer’s drug
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"This story is an interesting twist to the usual health news article reviewed on this site. It comes from a regular column, ""The Unreal World,"" in the LA Times that reviews health issues in prime time TV shows. The story provides an overview of a recent episode of a popular TV show – Boston Legal (ABC, Dec 1) and then addresses the clinical content of the show in a point-by-point manner. The episode continues a story line about a lead character Denny Crane, played by William Shatner, who has been diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Crane/Shatner’s memory loss is progressing so he takes legal action (all the way to the supreme court) to gain access to an experimental drug which has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The aspects of this dramatization related to Alzheimer’s disease symptoms and stages, PET scans of the brain, the experimental drug Dimebon, and the FDA approval drug approval process are accurate. The article is well organized, raising and summarizing the relevant clinical issues, addressing the medical questions in depth and evaluating their portrayal in the TV show. The column omits some basic information we wish it had included such as quantifying the benefits seen with Dimebon, something on the harms seen with it, and a reminder that available medications for Alzheimer’s can help a small number of people but only for a limited amount of time."
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true
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The cost of the drug is not particularly relevant in this case. This story points out the potential benefits of Dimebon based upon preliminary research, but didn’t quantify those benefits. These include improved cognition, memory and ability to perform activities of daily living. These potential benefits should have been placed in the context of existing medications which have shown a very modest effect in these outcomes, in only one-third of people, and for a short-period of time. Little is know about the long-term use of these medications. The story references general concerns of experimental drugs which do not have proven effectiveness or safety. Potential harms of Dimebon were not mentioned. However, the research study about the Dimebon published in The Lancet reported that dry mouth was the most common side effect. For reference, there can be gastrointestinal side effects from currently approved medications. These are usually dose related and can be minimised by taking the medications with food and gradually increasing the dose overtime. This story takes a point-by-point approach to evaluate the medical issues related to Alzheimer’s disease raised in the TV episode. The Premise section provides a good, basic description of PET scan brain imaging and symptoms of mild to moderate memory loss. The story should have clearly noted that PET scans do not provide a definitive diagnosis and that tests to evaluate memory such as questionnaires and neurological examinations, are routinely performed as the first line of evaluation. The piece does provide an appropriate level of depth in its discussion of the experimental nature of Dimebon, results of research conducted in Russia, and the stages of the FDA approval process. Basics facts about the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease were not provided, but would have helped readers to understand how many people are affected (about 15% over 70 years old). Given that, Alzheimer’s disease was accurately characterized in the story. The story includes interviews from an independent medical expert and the chief medical officer for the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org). This story could have been enhanced by adding that there are currently no cures for Alzheimer’s disease. It should have noted that available medications can help a small number of people but only for a limited amount of time. This story clearly indicates that the experimental drug Dimebon is not available in the U.S. It also notes that the drug won’t be available for at least three years, pending FDA approval. The story indicates that Dimebon is a new and experimental drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. This story does not rely on a press release.
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2728
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Toxin at heart of drug recall shows holes in medical safety net.
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A toxin inadvertently produced in the manufacture of a widely prescribed medicine but not spotted for years raises questions about regulators’ ability to detect risks in a sprawling global drug supply chain increasingly reliant on factories in China.
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true
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Health News
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China’s Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical (600521.SS), which produces bulk ingredients for drugmakers, told its customers in late June it had found NDMA in its valsartan, an off-patent blood pressure drug originally developed by Novartis (NOVN.S). The discovery means that some of the 10 billion pills containing valsartan sold worldwide last year to prevent heart attacks and strokes had traces of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), classified as a probable human carcinogen. No one has been reported as sickened by the toxin, once used in the production of liquid rocket fuel. Regulators and industry experts say the toxin almost certainly was introduced when Huahai changed the way it produced valsartan in 2012 - a modification that was signed off on by the European body that sets standards. Subsequent inspections by European, U.S. and Chinese regulators also found no problem. “Everyone failed – the company, the inspectors, the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), the Europeans, the Chinese,” said Philippe André, an independent pharmaceutical auditor who inspected two Huahai facilities last August and found no critical concerns. “It’s a system failure.” Reuters was unable to determine how Huahai first discovered the problem. In a July 7 statement released through the Shanghai Stock Exchange, it said it detected the toxin during the “optimization and evaluation” of its manufacturing process. A Novartis spokesman told Reuters that its generic drugs arm, Sandoz, spotted the NDMA in the course of intensive testing to prepare for expanding its purchases of valsartan. He declined to comment further, including on the identity of the manufacturer or when the tests took place. Two other smaller bulk suppliers - Zhejiang Tianyu Pharmaceutical 300702.SZ and a unit of India’s Hetero Drugs - have since also discovered traces of NDMA in some of their valsartan. The three companies declined to comment to comment about the case. For a graphic on heart drug widely used, click tmsnrt.rs/2KnaxAx Huahai said in a document released through the Shanghai Stock Exchange it changed the production process to reduce waste and improve yields. “The NDMA impurity was produced in trace amounts during the normal manufacturing process according to the company’s current registered process,” it said in a statement on July 24. “All changes in the company’s valsartan manufacturing process have been approved by each country’s drug regulator, and the company manufactures in compliance with legal and regulatory standards.” The European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulator, which first publicly raised the alarm in a statement on July 5, told valsartan suppliers in a subsequent memo dated July 16 that the NDMA may have been connected to the combined use of the solvent dimethylformamide and sodium nitrite. The FDA is also going on that hypothesis, said Janet Woodcock, director of its Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. She stressed the investigation was still going on. “This (NDMA) was not what you look for in an inspection,” Woodcock said in an interview. “If you don’t test for this you’re not going to have an idea that it’s in there, and you’re not going to see it on an inspection.” The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM), responsible for setting manufacturing standards, told Reuters it was aware the solvent was being used when it approved the changed process, but that NDMA as a by-product was unexpected and not tested for. Detecting NDMA would have required gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, a very sensitive level of testing, an EDQM spokeswoman said. “These techniques are not normally used routinely to test pharmaceutical products,” she said. Built by Novartis into the $6 billion-a-year brand Diovan, valsartan’s European and U.S. patents expired in 2011 and 2012. Global sales totaled 10.4 billion pills last year, including combination products, healthcare data consultancy IQVIA estimates. People with high blood pressure typically take one pill daily and heart failure patients two. More than 50 companies around the world making finished tablets from the tainted valsartan have recalled products in recent weeks, according a Reuters analysis of national medicines agencies’ records. They include major generic drug manufacturers such as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA.TA), Ranbaxy Laboratories and Sandoz. Based on the average NDMA impurity detected at Huahai of 60 parts per million (ppm), the EMA says there could be one additional case of cancer in every 5,000 people taking the highest dose for seven years. The contamination puts a spotlight on manufacturers in China and India, which supply more than two-thirds of all active pharmaceutical ingredients used in medicines, industry executives estimate. China accounts for the lion’s share. Huahai, founded in 1989 and listed in Shanghai in 2003, was one of the first Chinese companies to get drugs approved in the U.S. market. The FDA has inspected the site that made the contaminated valsartan three times since 2010, its records show. European inspectors also visited regularly. The provincial branch of the Chinese FDA (CFDA) also inspected Huahai facilities 10 times in connection with new drug applications between January 2016 and June 2018, the national online database shows. U.S. and European regulators have increased scrutiny of Chinese and Indian drug factories after the adulteration of the blood thinner heparin sickened hundreds and caused the deaths of at least 81 Americans in 2007 and 2008. The CFDA is also on alert. Last month, it revealed that Changsheng Bio-technology 002680.SZ, a vaccine maker, had fabricated data and sold ineffective vaccines for children. It also found that a diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine sold by the state-owned Wuhan Institute of Biological Products was substandard. The fact that international inspections do not appear to have detected the NDMA contamination alarms Anders Fuglsang, a former European medicines regulator who runs a pharmaceutical consultancy in Denmark. “We need to ask ourselves how it is possible - despite pharmacopoeias and agency guidelines, inspection programs with coordination across continents, a system of public quality control, and companies complying with all rules - that a nasty carcinogen can find its way into our drugs and be there for years without anyone noticing,” he said.
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9018
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Pediatric cancer drug shows 93 percent response rate
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This news release describes a phase 1 safety trial of a new cancer therapy undergoing testing for certain pediatric cancers. Rather than focusing on the safety and tolerability of the study — which is the purpose of a phase 1 trial — the news release takes a great leap by claiming success in treating patients, and in particular one patient who apparently had a positive tumor response — even though that was not the primary purpose of the trial. The release needed to add some cautionary language that the drug is still in the early phases of testing, otherwise it could leave young patients and family members with false hopes. Overcoming a hurdle of bringing a potential new drug to market is worth announcing, but sponsors must take care not to mislead the public about how many hurdles remain. The primary focus of this phase 1 trial was to demonstrate that the drug is safe and tolerable among pediatric patients. Instead of highlighting this finding, the news release emphasized that 93% of the patients achieved a response rate without explaining that this was a secondary endpoint observed among 15 patients. It went into further detail describing the dramatic improvement among one of the trial participants. Hopefully, these outcomes will be demonstrated in a wide number of patients over the course of further investigation. But this requires much larger sample sizes and follow-up time periods. There are three big benefits to following the story of larotrectinib over time. The first is that pediatric populations have historically suffered from less extensive pharmaceutical testing. This patient population is inherently more vulnerable, and the ethical and pharmacology considerations are more complex. This leads to more innovative trial designs like the one used in this phase 1 trial to shorten trial timelines. The second key benefit is that targeted, tolerable drug therapy may be much more desirable than the existing treatment alternatives, which include disfiguring surgical therapies or highly toxic chemotherapy regimens. Lastly, because this drug targets a gene that is not currently widely tested for, we may anticipate spin-off innovation to accelerate and facilitate genetic testing. These emerging treatment approaches will lead to discussions about how we pay for expensive drugs and genetic tests in our current payment structure, which is compounded by the fact that the targeted patient population is expected to be very small compared to the general population.
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false
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larotrectinib,pediatric cancer,UT Southwestern Medical Center
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The release doesn’t offer any cost projections. Although larotrectinib is not yet FDA approved and therefore not available for sale in the US, its ultimate approval seems likely. In fact, the company that makes larotrectinib, Loxo Oncology, has pursued a partnership agreement with Bayer Pharmaceuticals to market the new drug in the US. Gene-targeted oncology drugs that have already hit the market, some of which are now available in generic form, have remained very expensive therapeutic options. An added expense with larotrectinib is that genetic testing for the oncogenic mutations NTK1, NTK2, and NTK3 is not yet commonplace. All of these factors suggest that larotrectinib will be an expensive treatment. The primary endpoint of the phase 1 study was safety and tolerability of the drug among a small number (17) of pediatric patients with and without specific genetic mutations. These results are essential to demonstrate before larger trials to demonstrate clinical effectiveness can commence. The release presented the anecdotal story of one patient’s tumor response and claimed a “93 percent tumor response rate” in the headline. With so few patients, this is just a rough estimate and very misleading. In addition, the release reports that the “response was long-lasting for most patients” without clarifying that the median follow-up period for the trial was just 8.2 months. The news release does not mention any of the specific harms from the drug. This phase 1 safety trial demonstrated only that the drug is sufficiently safe to take to the next level of trials, not to use in practice. The release mentions that “none of the patients with TRK fusions had to quit the study because of a drug-induced side effect.” This is a key finding of the study and readers would have benefited from a more thorough explanation of the harms. There were seven patients enrolled without the genetic mutation. Four patients experienced a grade 3 (severe) adverse event. No patients experienced a grade 4 or 5 adverse (life threatening) event. These are important results of the study because they support future testing of the drug in larger pediatric populations. The lack of evidence is a major weakness of the news release. It sensationalizes a secondary outcome (tumor shrinkage) and ignores the reason the study was done in the first place (to assess safety and tolerability in a small number of patients). The drug has a lot of testing to undergo involving larger groups of volunteers for a longer period of time before it can be approved as a treatment for pediatric cancer patients. The news release does not describe the study design of the phase 1 trial. It does not characterize it as a small safety trial, and it emphasizes the impressive results of one of the participants without qualifying that these results may not be generalizable to larger populations when the drug is tested in clinical effectiveness trials. The release doesn’t engage in disease-mongering. It notes that the NTRK mutations exist in rare pediatric cancers without exaggerating the severity of the underlying disease. The release lists the funders of the trial and notes that the lead investigator is a paid consultant for Loxo Oncology. The case study of the responsive patient includes mention of surgical management of her tumor prior to larotrectinib. The release does not include mention of the chemotherapy agents that are considered first-line therapy for many pediatric cancers. The release does not make it clear that the drug is not yet available in the US beyond clinical trials. The company recently completed its application for fast track approval from the FDA but it is not yet approved. The release makes at least two claims of novelty, calling the drug “A first-of-its-kind drug targeting a fused gene,” and also that “Larotrectinib is the first cancer drug to receive FDA breakthrough therapy designation for patients with a specific fusion of two genes in the cancer cell, no matter what cancer type.” An emerging cancer drug for a cancer with limited treatment options is an important health update. This release emphasizes the possibility of a very helpful new cancer drug, but it’s irresponsible to refer to results from a phase 1 safety trial as having an “unprecedented” response and “amazing.” It’s misleading to trumpet effectiveness on a very small sample that was not intended to evaluate effectiveness. It’s still too early to say the treatment works.
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29570
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is banning the conversion of road cars to racecars.
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What's true: In July 2015, the EPA proposed clarifications to existing laws governing emissions with respect to road-to-racecar modifications. What's false: The EPA is banning road-to-race car conversions.
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false
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Politics Legal
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On 8 February 2016, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA, a vehicle modification trade association) issued a press release regarding proposed EPA regulations regarding the conversion of vehicles from on-road use to racing purposes: The regulation would impact all vehicle types, including the sports cars, sedans and hatch-backs commonly converted strictly for use at the track. While the Clean Air Act prohibits certain modifications to motor vehicles, it is clear that vehicles built or modified for racing, and not used on the streets, are not the “motor vehicles” that Congress intended to regulate. “This proposed regulation represents overreaching by the agency, runs contrary to the law and defies decades of racing activity where EPA has acknowledged and allowed conversion of vehicles,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “Congress did not intend the original Clean Air Act to extend to vehicles modified for racing and has re-enforced that intent on more than one occasion.” … The EPA indicated that the regulation would prohibit conversion of vehicles into racecars and make the sale of certain emissions-related parts for use on converted vehicles illegal. The release caused concern among racing enthusiasts, specifically due to its assertion that the EPA sought to “prohibit conversion of vehicles originally designed for on-road use into racecars.” A 9 February 2016 Fox News article reported on SEMA’s press release and vaguely clarified that the proposed EPA regulations in question pertained specifically to emissions standards: Recently proposed EPA automobile emissions rules could put the brakes on the popular pursuit of converting road cars into race cars for professional and amateur use, says a major automotive trade organization. According to SEMA, which represents the aftermarket parts and custom car industry, this passage means just what it says: Cars and trucks originally built and sold for street use would not be exempt from emissions rules if they are converted into competition vehicles. And the EPA agrees. An agency spokeswoman told Fox News that the proposal essentially restates what the EPA already considers to be the law. A Fansided article held that the “EPA tried to pull a fast one on enthusiasts by sneaking in a proposed regulation that would ban you from building a racecar from a street car,” maintaining a somewhat conflicting viewpoint: According to the Specialty Equipment Market Association on their latest press release, the Environmental Protection Agency snuck in a piece of legislation that would prohibit all street cars from turning into race cars. In addition, any accessory or modification that aids in this process would be banned. That means certain coilover kits, intake kits, exhaust systems and roll cages meant for “off-road use only” that would turn your vehicle into anything not meant for the streets would be included in this sweeping regulation. The EPA regulation reads, “Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become nonroad vehicles or engines. 80 Fed. Reg. 40138, 40565 (July 13, 2015).” It was difficult to ascertain whether the proposed regulations would prohibit all racing conversions or simply extend emissions standards to competition vehicles no longer used as road cars. The 629-page long document [PDF] was part of a larger proposal in which road car to race car conversions constituted a minute portion of the larger regulatory focus on vehicle emissions. A portion of page 391 of the document addressed the impetus to regulate non-road vehicles with respect to emissions: The existing prohibitions and exemptions in 40 CFR part 1068 related to competition engines and vehicles need to be amended to account for differing policies for nonroad and motor vehicle applications. In particular, we generally consider nonroad engines and vehicles to be “used solely for competition” based on usage characteristics. This allows EPA to set up an administrative process to approve competition exemptions, and to create an exemption from the tampering prohibition for products that are modified for competition purposes. There is no comparable allowance for motor vehicles. There is no prohibition against actual use of certified motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines for competition purposes; however, it is not permissible to remove a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine from its certified configuration regardless of the purpose for doing so. On 9 February 2016, EPA spokeswoman Laura Allen released a statement in response to SEMA’s release which maintained that the proposed regulation(s) clarified (but didn’t alter) current laws pertaining to emissions standards and racecars: People may use EPA-certified motor vehicles for competition, but to protect public health from air pollution, the Clean Air Act has — since its inception — specifically prohibited tampering with or defeating the emission control systems on those vehicles. The proposed regulation that SEMA has commented on does not change this long-standing law, or approach. Instead, the proposed language in the Heavy-Duty Greenhouse Gas rulemaking simply clarifies the distinction between motor vehicles and nonroad vehicles such as dirt bikes and snowmobiles. Unlike motor vehicles — which include cars, light trucks, and highway motorcycles — nonroad vehicles may, under certain circumstances, be modified for use in competitive events in ways that would otherwise be prohibited by the Clean Air Act. EPA is now reviewing public comments on this proposal. Allen released an additional statement to Road & Track further clarifying the EPA’s July 2015 proposals, of which that web site emphasized the portion reproduced below: This clarification does not affect EPA’s enforcement authority. It is still illegal to tamper with or defeat the emission control systems of motor vehicles. In the course of selecting cases for enforcement, the EPA has and will continue to consider whether the tampered vehicle is used exclusively for competition. The EPA remains primarily concerned with cases where the tampered vehicle is used on public roads, and more specifically with aftermarket manufacturers who sell devices that defeat emission control systems on vehicles used on public roads. In short, the EPA maintained that no change to existing law was proposed in the July 2015 document which had prompted SEMA’s February 2016 press release. The only difference, the agency said, was clarification of the scope of standing laws. In subsequent statements, the EPA reoterated that their concern lay largely with modified vehicles on public roads and the sale of aftermarket devices that inhibit emission control systems. SEMA’s press release hyperbolically described the EPA’s focus as expressly prohibiting all conversions from street cars to race cars. The EPA later said their focus was “more specifically [on] aftermarket manufacturers who sell devices that defeat emission control systems on vehicles used on public roads.” While stricter enforcement of emissions standards on racecars might prove burdensome to racing enthusiasts, it wasn’t the absolute crackdown it was made out to be. Finally, the regulations would not be retroactive, nor would they go into effect until 2018. On 11 February 2016, a SEMA representative e-mailed us a statement regarding the EPA-related controversy. SEMA maintained that the wording of the EPA’s proposed changes made road to racecar conversions functionally illegal, irrespective of whether the EPA intended to enforce said proposed changes. Moreover, SEMA reiterated opposition to the EPA’s assertion extant provisions of the Clean Air Act extended to racing vehicles: Although your article claims that it is “false” that the EPA is banning road-to-race car conversions, the language that the EPA is adding to the regulations (below) literally makes it illegal to make any changes to the “emission control devices” of a “certified motor vehicle” (i.e., any vehicle that was originally sold as complying with emissions standards for street use) even if the vehicle is being converted for racing and will never again be used on public roads. The EPA considers “emission control devices” to include the engine, the computer that runs the engine, the intake and the exhaust, so any changes to these components would be prohibited. The fact that the EPA says that they don’t plan on enforcing it does not change the fact that they are adding it to the regulations. SEMA also disagrees with the EPA’s position that this was already the law because the Clean Air Act, as written and amended by Congress, was never intended to extend to racing vehicles. “Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become nonroad vehicles or engines.” 80 Fed. Reg. 40138, 40565 (July 13, 2015). Additionally, SEMA’s comments to the EPA on this proposal can be found online at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0827-1469″
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42213
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“NASA ADMITS To Spraying Americans With Lithium & Other Chemicals”
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Q: Is NASA “spraying Americans with lithium and other chemicals”?A: No. The space agency uses such materials, which are also used in fireworks, in the upper atmosphere – way above where planes fly. Experts say it’s “extremely unlikely” even “a minute amount” would reach Earth’s surface.
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false
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chemtrails, environment, health, NASA,
|
Q: Is NASA “spraying Americans with lithium and other chemicals”? A: No. The space agency uses such materials, which are also used in fireworks, in the upper atmosphere – way above where planes fly. Experts say it’s “extremely unlikely” even “a minute amount” would reach Earth’s surface. A persisting conspiracy theory of “bio-warfare against the world’s citizenry” has been shared thousands of times on Facebook this month. And while some users on the social media site rightfully flagged it as potentially false, others continued to spread and treat it as fact.The story — headlined “NASA ADMITS To Spraying Americans With Lithium & Other Chemicals” — claims that “NASA is spraying lithium, a pharmaceutical drug most often used to treat people with manic depression or bi-polar disorder, into our ionosphere.” It was posted on asheepnomore.net and has been published on other websites since at least 2016.But the chemtrail-like theory is a gross misrepresentation of NASA’s actual work.It’s true that NASA does occasionally use lithium and other chemicals in the upper atmosphere, but not in the way the false stories described.The agency’s Sounding Rockets Program, which uses rockets to carry scientific instruments into the air, deploys the chemicals as “vapor tracers” to observe “movements of the upper atmosphere or the ionosphere.” The ionosphere, above the ozone layer, begins nearly 50 miles above the Earth. By contrast, cruising altitude for commercial flights is typically about 7 miles.“These vapors when they’re released are very small — they ionize and you end up with these huge clouds,” explains Keith Koehler, a spokesman at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, which oversees the program. “They quickly dissipate.”The tests can help scientists understand activity in the ionosphere, through which satellite signals travel, and understand solar winds, Koehler told FactCheck.org. NASA points out that the vapor tracers aren’t harmful and are the same chemicals used in fireworks. “A typical Fourth of July fireworks display releases many times that amount and is much closer to the ground,” according to the agency, which says the tracers typically release about a pound of material.Of the roughly 25 sounding rockets launched each year, Koehler said, usually one or two release the tracers.Thomas P. Ackerman, director of the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean at the University of Washington, told us the conspiracy theory is nonsensical.The idea of spraying people with a material from the ionosphere — given its distance and conditions — wouldn’t work. He said it’s “extremely unlikely” for chemicals dispersed at that height to reach Earth’s surface because of how they interact in the atmosphere.The ionosphere, he said, “is a hostile environment in terms of the material you put there being struck by these high-energy particles in the solar spectrum.” And the atmosphere’s movement would spread the material across the globe, diluting it and rendering it ineffective.“If you want to spray a crop with pesticide … they fly right on top of the crop,” he said. “On any rationale thought process, it doesn’t make sense.”Plus, Koehler noted in a follow-up email that “the amount of metallic materials used in the vapor tracer studies is extremely small compared to the amount of material that enters the Earth’s atmosphere daily from meteors.”“Even if a minute amount from a vapor tracer were to reach the ground it would be extremely negligible,” he said.The false story accurately states that lithium — an element found in Earth’s crust with many uses, including to make batteries — is used to treat people with illnesses such as bipolar disorder (more specifically, the carbonate salt of lithium is used in such treatment). But the story then goes on to claim that “the power structure” aspires to “alter our neurochemistry.”The falsehoods don’t stop there: The article cites a study in The New England Journal of Medicine that tested “aerosolized vaccines” against measles, but that treatment was administered to children through a face mask — not by some mass air operation, as the story implies.Attempts to reach the listed author of the dubious story were unsuccessful.The claims about NASA are related to what’s known as the chemtrails theory, a debunked belief that the condensation trails left behind in the sky by airplanes are actually chemical releases by the government.Public Policy Polling in a 2013 survey found that 5 percent of American voters believed the chemtrails theory. Three years later, another study found that about 10 percent of Americans deemed the theory “completely” true.Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to help identify and label false stories flagged by readers on the social media network.Ackerman, Thomas P. Director, Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean at the University of Washington. Phone interview with FactCheck.org. 28 Mar 2018.“Chemtrails Conspiracy Theory.” The Keith Group, Harvard University. Accessed 28 Mar 2018.“Democrats and Republicans differ on conspiracy theory beliefs.” Press release. Public Policy Polling. 2 Apr 2013.Haelle, Tara. “Measles Aerosol Vaccine Works — But Not Quite Well Enough.” Forbes. 20 Apr 2015.“International travel and health.” World Health Organization. Accessed 28 Mar 2018.Koehler, Keith. Spokesman, NASA Wallops Flight Facility. Phone interview with FactCheck.org. 23 Mar 2018.“Lithium Carbonate.” National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Accessed 28 Mar 2018.Low, Nicola, M.D., et. al. “A Randomized, Controlled Trial of an Aerosolized Vaccine against Measles.” The New England Journal of Medicine. 16 Apr 2015.Sarich, Christina. “NASA ADMITS To Spraying Americans With Lithium & Other Chemicals.” 14 Nov 2017.Sounding Rockets. NASA. Accessed 27 Mar 2018.Tarascon, Jean-Marie. “Is lithium the new gold?” Nature Chemistry. 1 Jun 2010.Tingley, Dustin and Wagner, Gernot. “Solar geoengineering and the chemtrails conspiracy on social media.” Palgrave Communications. 31 Oct 2017.
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24697
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"A public option for health care would end private insurance ""because the private insurance people will not be able to compete with a government option."
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Some private health insurance can survive public option
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false
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National, Health Care, Mitch McConnell,
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"With high-profile support from President Barack Obama, Congress is preparing a major overhaul of the nation's health care system. The details have yet to be revealed, but that hasn't stopped critics in Congress from going on the attack. Obama and the Democratic leadership have proposed broad outlines for the overhaul. The centerpiece of their plan remains the employer-based system, where most people have private health insurance through work. To rein in costs, the government would invest in electronic medical records and encourage efficiency and preventive care. To get coverage for people who don't have health insurance, the plan would increase eligibility for the poor and children to enroll in initiatives like Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Finally, the plans seek to create a health insurance exchange, where individuals and small businesses can easily comparison shop for insurance coverage. One of the exchange plans would be a public option run by the government. It's the public option that has fueled Republican attacks. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said on Fox News Sunday that a public option would destroy the private insurance system. It ""would mean a government plan that would inevitably put the government between you and your doctor, and there would be no more private insurance,"" McConnell said. Asked why by interviewer Chris Wallace, McConnell said, ""Because the private insurance people will not be able to compete with a government option."" McConnell is incorrect — the Democratic plan does not intend to do away with private insurance. His statement that private insurance ""will not be able to compete with a government option"" is challenged by nonpartisan health care experts who disagree. McConnell's view is that if the government offers a cheaper, public plan, people will dump their private insurance to get lower health care premiums. Over time, this would errode the private health care system. In theory, it makes sense that people would want the health plan that saves them the most money, and experts do say some private insurance companies might struggle to survive against a government competitor. In practice, however, researchers don't believe public options would destroy the private insurance industry. ""Every time I hear these claims I'm astonished,"" said Cathy Schoen, senior vice president for the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that studies health care and advocates more coverage for the uninsured, minorities and people with low incomes. She said a public plan could pressure private insurers to lower premiums or negotiate better rates with hospitals, but it would not put private companies out of business. ""The public plan could get a reputation of not being good. The private plans could say, 'Let's change our behavior so we don't lose business,'"" Schoen said. Another nonpartisan research group, the Urban Institute, reached similar conclusions. ""Private plans would not disappear. Private plans that offer better services and greater access to providers, even at somewhat higher costs than the public plans, would survive the competition in this environment,"" wrote John Holahan and Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute's Health Policy Center. One of the problems right now is that private insurance is not as competitive as you might think. Both the Commonwealth Fund and the Urban Insitute have noted that most health care markets are dominated by a small number of big insurers. ""The increased concentration has made it difficult for the nation to reap the benefits usually associated with competitive markets,"" Holahan and Blumberg wrote. Not that a public option will solve all problems. They concluded that a public plan is not sufficient to control growing health care costs, and that other cost-containment strategies would be necessary. Finally, we should point out that it remains to be seen how the Democratic plan will deal with the public option, which could be structured in several different ways. McConnell flatly states that the public option would run private plans out business because they ""will not be able to compete with a government option."" Even though we have limited details on how the plan would be implemented, there is enough in the administration proposal to conclude that McConnell's worst-case scenario is unlikely."
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9790
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Study: Brain suffers when fish oil falls short
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It was oppressively hot, above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), and the wind was picking up. Bushfires were devastating nearby towns and now threatened Yanderra, a small village with just over 600 people located south of Sydney.
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false
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Omega-3
|
Diane and Ron Baxter bought a block of land here 43 years ago. They’d since built a house and a life, raising two children including a daughter now living next door with her family. As smoke filled the sky on Saturday and fire embers fell nearby, the Baxters, aged in their 70s, chose to remain and defend their property, rather than doing what their family wanted them to do - leave. “We left our run a little bit too late to get out and the roads were blocked, but we felt we needed to stay and protect the house anyway,” Diane Baxter told Reuters at her home. “We just feel at this time in our life we needed to stay with our home,” she said, adding she and her husband couldn’t face having to rebuild their lives. “It would be very hard to start over again, very hard.” Fire is a pervasive danger in Australia, but many people choose to stay to defend their properties at considerable risk. By patrolling their homes, people can put out sparks and embers before they take hold as they likely would in a building left vacant. But this fire season is proving to be particularly dangerous. On Saturday, fires swept through the town of Balmoral, located just a couple of kilometers from Yanderra, prompting New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian to declare there was “not much left”. During the past couple of months, more than 900 homes have been lost across the dry continent, according to authorities, even though the southern hemisphere summer has not yet reached its mid-point. At least six people have died. Authorities understand some people will want to defend their homes and they have developed check-lists which include having protective clothing and making sure a home is adequately prepared and free of flammable debris. “You have to physically and mentally be able to withstand the onslaught of a fire,” New South Wales Rural Fire Service liaison officer Elizabeth Ellis told Reuters. “And everybody in the household has to be prepared to do that. Because the worst thing you can do is tail run for it at the last minute.” The scorching heat from the weekend has subsided, and authorities are using the cooler conditions to strengthen fire containment lines ahead of the next wave of heat, forecast for late in the week. Matthew Doyle, from the nearby town of Bargo, left his and his partner’s new home on Saturday as the heat intensified and fire approached. He said that while his “gut feeling” was that he should protect his house, he decided it wasn’t worth the risk. A last-minute shift in the wind direction saved the house, but Doyle stood by his decision. “You can replace everything, except for your lives,” he said.
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15810
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"Under legislation that has cleared the Georgia House, some children who are ""legal refugees"" could obtain state scholarships to attend private schools."
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True: Legislation would open scholarship program to legal refugees
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true
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Georgia, Autism, Children, Disability, Education, Families, Immigration, State Budget, The Associated Press,
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"Georgia opened the door to private school vouchers in 2007, with a law aimed at parents who felt their disabled children weren’t being adequately served in public school. In the 2013-2014 school year, the families of about 3,400 disabled students received taxpayer-funded vouchers to help pay their children’s tuition to private schools. The vouchers, or scholarships, vary in amount based on the severity of the disability. The maximum last year was $12,803, just shy of what’s reported as the average tuition at private schools dedicated to teaching special needs students. Public school groups have been generally opposed to this program and the much costlier private-school tax credit. They argue that both programs undercut public education, a claim that supporters deny. The special needs scholarships are for students with disabilities, such as autism, blindness or a behavioral disorder. But an observant PolitiFact reader ealier this week saw House Bill 296, called PolitiFact and asked if it meant a major change to the special needs scholarship program was afoot. ""It looks like the program is no longer just about helping handicapped kids,"" she said. ""It looks like they want to give out scholarships so immigrant children who can’t speak English can attend private school. Can that be right?"" PolitiFact Georgia decided to investigate. We found a five-paragraph story about the bill by The Associated Press. We also reached out to the authors of House Bill 296, which is pending in the Georgia General Assembly and would amend the special needs scholarship law. We heard back from the bill’s chief sponsor, state Rep. Randy Nix, R-LaGrange, who told us an estimated 700 school-age legal refugees could qualify under the legislation for scholarships to attend private school. ""They are legal, and Georgia is obligated to educate them,"" Nix said. The highest concentrations of these students are in metro Atlanta, mainly in the Clarkston area of DeKalb County, he said. These students ""create a significant problem for their schools,"" Nix said. ""This bill is good for those schools that are struggling to deal with these students,"" he said. ""It will be better for all concerned for them to attend a school which creates a learning environment more geared and welcoming to their unique needs."" To qualify for a scholarship, a student will have to meet the definition of legal refugee under Title I of the Immigration and Nationalization Act, said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Education. The student will be required to have an I-94 clearance, with a refugee admission stamp, and be ""limited-English proficient as defined in 20 U.S.C. Section 7801."" Unlike other students in the special needs scholarship program, qualifying refugees will not be required to have individual education plans (IEPs) nor will they be required to attend public school in the prior school year. The original champions of the special needs scholarship program expressed surprise about the new bill when contacted Thursday by PolitiFact. ""There is no school choice program in the country related to refugees,"" the Friedman Foundation for Education Choice, the legacy foundation of Nobel economist and school choice founder Milton Friedman, said in a statement. ""We instead believe the one-year requirement to enroll in a public school to earn a scholarship should be removed for special needs students,"" said Susan Meyers, a spokeswoman for the organization. ""This effort argues in favor of a voucher for all children. If a child needs a different school, he or she should be able to choose no matter what their personal circumstances."" The bill overwhelmingly passed the Georgia House on Monday and moves to the state Senate for consideration. The measure, which also would require approval of the governor to become law, ""pays attention to some often-overlooked children – exceptional education students who are either children of immigrants or those learning to speak English,"" said Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE). ""That by itself is a positive since our legislators do not often look kindly on such students,"" Callahan said. He said the current group of political leaders are championing these students as ""part of their not-very-hidden efforts to splinter the public schools via defunding and diversion of funding, ie. vouchers posing as ‘scholarships."" ""The irony is that across the nation schools of choice -- charters, magnets, etc. -- are frequently criticized for either not accepting these types of students because they are labor intensive and more costly to educate … or for accepting them but forcing them out eventually. So I guess it is a mixed blessing."" Angela Palm, policy director for the Georgia School Boards Association, said she isn't sure of the goal. ""From a state policy statement, it makes little sense to single out one group of limited English proficient as being eligible for this unless they are trying to make sure a public benefit is not being given to an illegal immigrant,"" Palm said. Currently, K-12 schools don't check a student's immigration status. But this bill requires that scholarship candidates prove they meet the definition of legal refugee under Title i provision. School boards generally oppose vouchers because they allow public money to go to private schools without the same transparency and accountability required when public money goes to public schools, Palm said. Gov. Nathan Deal has taken issue with the number of refugees in Georgia. Last July, he fired off a blistering letter to President Barack Obama, saying he was shocked to learn that federal authorities had transferred 1,154 unaccompanied immigrant children to the care of sponsors living in Georgia. The children were placed in Georgia early in the year by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement as the Obama administration grappled with a surge of Central American children illegally crossing the southwest border. Our conclusion: Legislation has cleared the Georgia House that would expand the list of students eligible for a private school scholarship program created in 2007. The scholarships are now offered in varying amounts to students with disabilities. The bill would open the program to about 700 legal refugees who are not proficient in English."
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11292
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Fish Oil Supplements Linked to Lower Risk of Breast Cancer: Study
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You can read the full review below. But we don’t want to overlook what a big thing it is to see improvement in the two areas already noted. Keep it up, HealthDay. Breast cancer risk is not a one-size-fits-all story. It’s age-dependent. And this story should have pushed the researchers for age-specific breakdowns.
|
true
|
"Not applicable. No discussion of costs, but we think it’s common knowledge that these supplements are inexpensive. We have problems with the way this was handled. The subhead said, ""32 percent reduced odds seen in postmenopausal women."" But readers need to know 32% of what? It also explained that the study surveyed ""women who were between the ages of 50 and 76 and all past menopause."" But risk rises with age. So baseline risk in a 50 year-old is different than that in a 76-year old. So we would have preferred seeing absolute numbers for those in their 50s, 60s and 70s to make the message more meaningful. Not applicable. No discussion of harms, but this is not a serious issue in this case. We’re very pleased to see HealthDay include the line: ""we should not draw any conclusions about a causal relationship."" The study was ""observational"" only, and not a randomized trial that compared the use of fish oil with a group not using fish oil and the effect on cancer rates."" And the independent expert saying, ""The lower risk of breast cancer among women taking fish oil supplements could be due to chance."" (For comparison, an ABC News headline read, ""Breast Cancer Risk Lowered by Fish Oil."" That is far too definitive, and, thus, inaccurate. The story also touched on how squishy was the evidence when it quoted the researcher: ""She could not quantify the amount of fish oil supplements consumed, because ""current use"" was defined as any amount taken by a woman. ""Most women used it four to seven days a week. We don’t know how much,"" she noted"" No overt disease mongering. An important comment was made by an independent expert from the American Cancer Society: ""The lower risk of breast cancer among women taking fish oil supplements could be due to chance."" There could have been at least one line about other research looking at lowering the risk of breast cancer. The availability of fish oil supplements is not in question. The story quoted the researcher saying ""while studies examining the link between consuming fish or omega-3 fatty acids and breast cancer risk have produced inconsistent results, this is the first study that suggested a connection between fish oil supplements and reduced breast cancer risk."" It does not appear that the story relied solely on a news release."
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34302
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Corey Feldman was stabbed by assailants angered by his claims that he was victim of pedophilia.
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An investigation into Corey Feldman’s stabbing claims is ongoing, and police have suggested “road rage” (rather than pedophilia) was a possible factor in the incident.
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unproven
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Crime, corey feldman, neon nettle
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On 28 March 2018, actor Corey Feldman reported via Twitter that he had been stabbed while he was driving in Los Angeles, blaming a “wolfpack” for the purported attack: IM IN THE HOSPITAL! I WAS ATTACKED 2NITE! A MAN OPENED MY CAR DOOR & STABBED ME W SOMETHING! PLEASE SAY PRAYERS 4 US! 🙏🏼🙏🏼 THANK GOD IT WAS ONLY MYSELF & MY SECURITY IN THE CAR, WHEN 3 MEN APPROACHED! WHILE SECURITY WAS DISTRACTED, W A GUY A CAR PULLED UP & ATTACKED! I’M OK! pic.twitter.com/TZ0ppZeEWN — Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) March 28, 2018 @LAPD R CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING THE CASE AS AN ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE! I HAVE HAD MOUNTING THREATS ON ALL SM PLATFORMS BY THIS VILE “WOLFPACK” & THIS IM SURE IS A RESULT OF THOSE NEGATIVE ACTIONS! I HAVE REASON 2 BELIEVE ITS ALL CONNECTED! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! HOW SICK R THESE PPL?!? — Corey Feldman (@Corey_Feldman) March 28, 2018 Speaking to TMZ, Feldman posited that the purported attack was related to his claims about pedophilia in Hollywood: Corey Feldman has a detailed story about a group of men that were following his car before yanking his door open and stabbing him with a sharp object, and Corey thinks this might be an intimidation tactic over his recent claims that he was victim of pedophilia. Corey tells TMZ he was driving home from dinner with his security guard when he noticed a car on the freeway driving so erratically it caused a crash. Corey says he got off the freeway and soon noticed a car was following him — a car that looked like the one with the erratic driver on the freeway. He says his security guard had words with someone in the other car and, when Corey was stopped at a red light, the passengers in the other car made their move. Corey says one of the guys pulled his door open and jabbed him one time with a sharp object — either the tip of a knife or a syringe. In a video published by TMZ, Feldman elaborated on his assertion that the assault was related to his pedophilia claims: One thing I can tell you for sure is that I do know 100% for a fact that there is a conspiracy. I do know for a fact that that conspiracy has to do with every false accusation that you’ve heard about me in the media within the last six months. And I do know who the organizer of that conspiracy is. And I do know who it’s being lead by — and I do know why. It all has to do with the pedophilia claims that I’ve made … I can’t say that this incident was related, but what I can say is that it’s very odd that a group of Mexican guys would pull over a car, go as far as opening a door and stabbing the person inside. Because generally, if they’re going to do that kind of an aggressive move, they’re going to ask for a wallet at that point, they’re going to ask for your car keys, they’re going to ask for some kind of demand. Because they’ve got you there. The guy just got back in his car and left. So that sounds pretty direct to me. That sounds like a message. A representative of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) provided conflicting information to Los Angeles television station KTLA, stating that an unidentified person had merely gesticulated at Feldman while his car was stopped at a traffic light, and that no wound had resulted from the incident: Officer Drake Madison said Feldman, who was behind the wheel, and a passenger were at a stoplight when an unknown person approached the driver’s window, made a “jabbing motion” and fled. Feldman drove himself to a hospital, Madison said. The actor had no laceration to his stomach, and it’s unclear what the weapon was, the officer said. The Washington Post similarly cited Los Angeles police in reporting that Feldman exhibited no obvious stab injury: But according to the Los Angeles Police Department, there are “no lacerations to Mr. Feldman’s abdomen,” spokesman Luis Garcia said. Police received a call around 10:45 p.m. reporting an assault with a deadly weapon. Feldman told police that he was driving his car with a passenger and was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Reseda and Ventura boulevards when “someone, an unknown person, opened his driver side door and jabbed at his abdomen with an unknown object,” Garcia said. Feldman then took himself to the hospital, where he was treated and released, according to police. While Feldman said he was stabbed with a sharp object, police know of no injuries and have no suspect or weapon descriptions. In a TMZ video, Feldman described his purported injury as “the world’s smallest stab wound” to a police photographer:
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11533
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FDA OKs Implantable Telescope to Aid Vision
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"This story called the technology a ""breakthrough."" In contrast, the AP story quoted the same researcher emphasizing ""We’re not giving people back 20-year-old eyes."" Tone and framing are important in health care stories. This one relied a bit too much on the enthusiasm that came from a company news release. Since the story was posted a day later than AP’s, we don’t understand why it had to rely on quotes from a company news release."
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mixture
|
"There was no discussion of cost as there was in the competing AP story. The story adequately quantified the benefits seen in the study that led to FDA approval. The story did quantify the harms: ""the IMT is large enough to pose a threat to the cornea of the eye, leading to extensive loss of cells essential for maintaining the clarity of the cornea. In the study, 10 eyes had unresolved corneal edema, or swelling, caused by trapped fluid. Five such cases resulted in corneal transplants. The FDA says the five-year risk for unresolved corneal edema, corneal decompensation, and corneal transplant are 9.2%, 6.8%, and 4.1%, respectively."" The story did an adequate job explaining the study that led to FDA approval. There was a form of disease-mongering in that the story gave the big picture of 8 million Americans with macular degeneration, 2 million of whom have had significant loss of vision. But the story didn’t give an estimate of the number of people who might benefit from this approach – which is less than 8 million or less than 2 million. As the competing AP story explained, ""But it’s only for a subset of the nearly 2 million Americans with advanced macular degeneration… Those 75 and older, with a certain degree of vision loss, who also need a cataract removed."" So the 8 million figure is almost irrelevant in this discussion. No independent experts were quoted – only quotes from a company news release. The story explained that ""Despite advancements in therapies for macular degeneration, ‘retina specialists still did not have a treatment for the many wet and dry AMD patients who progressed to end-stage disease.’ "" The focus of the story was on FDA approval of the device. The novelty of this approach and the void it would fill in treatment is explained. At least the story acknowledged that much of its information came from news releases, but we don’t understand why it was necessary to rely on news releases. The story was posted a day later than AP’s. Why no independent interviewing?"
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24219
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"The health care bill ""dumps 15 to 18 million low-income Americans into a Medicaid program that none of us want to be a part of because 50 percent of doctors won't see new patients."
|
Health care reform bill will expand Medicaid, increasing demands on doctors
|
mixture
|
National, Health Care, Poverty, Lamar Alexander,
|
"Little known fact: The health care bill will open up Medicaid to millions of Americans.The expansion has been overshadowed by debate over the public option, taxes on ""Cadillac"" health care plans, and a litany of other controversial items in the overhaul. But during the Feb. 25, 2010, health care summit between President Barack Obama and members of Congress, Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, pointed to the provision as one of his biggest problems with the bill. ""It dumps 15 to 18 million low-income Americans into a Medicaid program that none of us want to be a part of because 50 percent of doctors won't see new patients,"" Alexander told Obama in his opening remarks. ""So it's like giving someone a ticket to a bus line where the buses only run half the time. ""No one likes to wait for the bus, so we decided to look into Alexander's claim.Currently, Medicaid is available to low-income individuals who are pregnant, disabled, elderly or have children 18 years old or younger; the program covers about 60 million patients. The Senate and House health care bills, and Obama's latest health care proposal, would open up the program to all people under 65 with a low income. The Obama proposal and the Senate bill would offer Medicaid benefits to those with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, while the House version would allow those with incomes up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level to enroll. All that would mean a major expansion of the program. Medicaid is funded jointly by the states and the federal government, but administered by the states. So, the proposed expansion has proven particularly controversial among state officials, who say local budgets are already strapped and can't handle additional enrollees. One of the biggest complaints among doctors is that Medicaid reimbursements are already too low. We asked Alexander's office for some information on the statement, and his spokesman, Ryan Loskarn, pointed us to two recent studies about impacts of the potential law change. The first, compiled by the Congressional Budget Office, was published on Dec. 19, 2009, and looked at the impact of the Senate bill's Medicaid expansion provision. The CBO estimated that the expansion would increase the number of enrollees in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program by about 15 million, costing states about $26 billion over 10 years. (CBO does not specify how many of those would be only Medicaid patients, but the experts we spoke with told us that they would make up the vast majority of new enrollees. )The second study was published on Jan. 8, 2010, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. According to the report, the Senate bill would put 18 million people on the Medicaid beneficiary list. An additional 2 million with employer-sponsored health insurance would enroll in Medicaid for supplemental coverage. So, if anything, Alexander is understating the high end of the overall estimate. Meanwhile, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a group that analyzes health care policy, estimated that Medicaid would enroll as many as 17.1 million new beneficiaries under the health care bill. So, by all accounts, Alexander is in the ballpark on how many people would be newly eligible for Medicaid.To back up the second part of Alexander's claim -- that 50 percent of doctors won't see new Medicaid patients -- Alexander's office pointed us to a 2007 Wall Street Journal article about access issues in Medicaid. The story mentioned a 2006 report from the Center for Studying Health System Change that estimated nearly half of doctors have stopped accepting or limited the number of Medicaid patients. According to that 2006 study, about 52 percent of doctors surveyed said they were accepting all new Medicaid patients, while only 21 percent said they were accepting no new patients. Presumably, the rest of the doctors surveyed were limiting to some degree the number of new Medicaid patients they were accepting. So, to say that 50 percent of doctors are accepting no new Medicaid patients based on that study is incorrect, said Alwyn Cassil, the group's director of public affairs. Furthermore, the Center for Studying Health System Change updated those figures in 2009 and provided more detail. Currently, 40.2 percent of doctors are accepting all new Medicaid patients, 12.4 percent are accepting most, 19.2 percent are accepting some, and 28.2 percent are accepting no new patients.Cassil did emphasize the fact that the 2006 study and the 2009 study are hard to compare because the group has changed its survey methods in the last few years. In 2006, for example, the group spoke with doctors over the phone. This time around, they administered a written survey. So, the group doesn't know if the most recent statistics are really worse than they were a few years ago or if patient rejection was simply underreported during the last survey.Nevertheless, Alexander raises a good point, Cassil said. ""It is a valid point to raise, physician willingness to accept new Medicaid patients,"" she said. ""If you're going to be throwing another 15 million into the program, you've got to be thinking about that. ""Joan Alker, executive director for the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, agreed that Alexander's statement is generally true, but glosses over some important details. ""I would say that certainly, access to physicians is a concern and that there's room for improvement,"" she said. ""But being on Medicaid provides more access to patients,"" than they would get if they had no insurance at all. Alexander's statement ""suggests that having Medicaid is meaningless, which is misleading. ""Leighton Ku, a health policy professor at George Washington University, said that those statistics are more nuanced than they seem. First, he pointed out, Medicaid patients surveyed often don't report great difficulty in finding doctors. But more importantly, Medicaid patients tend to be concentrated; there are many doctors that see just a few Medicaid patients, and a handful of clinics that see a lot. So, it's reasonable to think that some doctors aren't seeing new Medicaid patients because there are not many in their area. Finally, he said, many primary care physicians aren't seeing new patients at all, whether they are on Medicaid or have private insurance. In the first part of his statement, Alexander is in the ballpark: Anywhere from 15 to 18 million new patients could enroll in Medicaid if the health care overhaul is put into law. We also found that Alexander's underlying point, that some Medicaid patients might have trouble finding doctors, is a valid concern. But he overstates the percentage of doctors that won't accept new Medicaid patients and based that claim on old data. As a result, we find Alexander's claim to be ."
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1016
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Cholera surge stalks Yemen's hungry and displaced.
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In the last two weeks Dr Asmahan Ahmed has seen a surge in suspected cholera cases arriving at her health center in Abs, a small, Houthi-held town in northwest Yemen.
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true
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Health News
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“Every day there are 30-50 cases, no fewer. Suddenly it became like this,” she said in the 15-bed diarrhea treatment center. Yemen is suffering its third major cholera outbreak since 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened to try to restore Yemen’s internationally recognized government after it was ousted from power in the capital Sanaa by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The conflict has put 10 million people at risk of famine in the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis. Cholera causes profuse diarrhea and fluid loss which can kill within hours. Children, the elderly and those weakened by years of poor nutrition are most at risk. The World Health Organization said last week that Yemen had seen more than 724,000 suspected cholera cases and 1,135 deaths this year, but that case numbers had stabilized in recent weeks. In the clinic, limp children’s faces are covered with flies and their chests heave as they breathe while receiving intravenous fluid tubes in their feet and wrists. The recent influx means some patients are forced to lie on the floor and the center has run out of some medicines. Cholera is spread through dirty water, which more and more Yemenis are forced to drink as water resources are scarce in the poorest Arabian Peninsula nation. Pumps are needed in many parts of the country of 30 million people to bring water to the surface. Fuel shortages have dramatically increased clean water prices. “We rely on wells which are uncovered and very dirty ... We and livestock drink from these wells, as do children,” said Qassem Massoud, a young man standing at a rural well where people haul water up using plastic containers on string. Others fill containers from a muddy pool as donkeys drink alongside. Dr Abdelwahab al-Moayad said Yemen’s internally displaced were particularly at risk. “The number of cases are increasing by the day and if it continues we would consider it a humanitarian disaster,” he said. A breakthrough in U.N.-led peace efforts last December, the first in more than two years, had sparked hope for improved humanitarian and aid access. But implementation of a ceasefire and a troop withdrawal initiative in the main port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions, has dragged on for six months. Violence has continued in other parts of Yemen. Since the deal, more than 255,000 people have been displaced, U.N. migration agency figures show. The Houthis, who say their revolution is against corruption, control the biggest population centers. The Saudi-backed government is based in the southern port of Aden.
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33319
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The New York Assembly passed a law making it expressly legal to shoot babies in the heart with poison.
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The New York Assembly did not pass a law making it expressly legal to abort third-trimester fetuses by shooting them in the heart with poison.
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false
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Politics, abortion, lifenews
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On 25 March 2015, the web site LifeNews published an article headlined “New York Assembly Passes Bill Allowing Shooting Babies Through the Heart with Poison to Kill Them.” According to that article, lawmakers in New York State had just passed a bill “that would promote late-term abortions in the Empire State.” The article declared that the bill would somehow “expand” the legality or frequency of third-trimester abortions and stated that the recent legislative actions would allow abortions effected by “shooting poison through the hearts of unborn children to kill them.” The article did not cite the text or function of the legislation in question in support of the former claim, nor did it reference any medical terminology or procedure in support of the second claim: The abortion bill would allow an abortion procedure that has abortionists shooting poison through the hearts of unborn children to kill them. Today in a vote of 94-49 the New York State Assembly approved passage of AB 6221, the extreme stand-alone 10th point from the previously packaged 10-point Women’s Equality Act, which would expand third-trimester abortions and allow non-doctors to perform abortions. Since 2013, abortion advocates have been holding the Women’s Equality Act hostage to this single dangerous bill, refusing to break the 10-point bill up. The following day, the blog BuzzPo repeated LifeNews‘s claims and enhanced the rumor by describing a hypothetical scenario under which a third trimester abortion could putatively occur: Reasons included under the new language would be, emotional, familial, age, physical, or psychological. So for example, if a potential mother feels she’s not “emotionally stable” to handle a baby two weeks before birth, New York will allow her to have an abortion. In addition, it would allow these procedures to be performed by non-doctors who would inject poison into the full-term fetuses heart to stop it. Unsurprisingly, the rumors about New York state’s purported expansion of abortion law shocked and angered many readers, but they didn’t align with the reality of any bill actually passed by the New York legislature. In his 2013 State of the State address, New York governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a 10-point Women’s Equality Agenda, the tenth point of which sought to bring New York state law regarding abortions in alignment with the federal protections provided by Roe v. Wade: • New York’s abortion law was enacted in 1970, three years prior to Roe v. Wade, and lacks the important protections found in federal law. • Under New York law, a woman’s health is not protected in the rare and tragic situation that a serious complication jeopardizes her health later in pregnancy; New York law only provides protection if a woman’s life is in danger. The Women’s Equality Act would: Ensure that a woman can access abortion care in New York State when her health is at risk by: 1. Codifying in New York State law the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade; 2. Ensuring that a woman in New York can get an abortion within 24 weeks of pregnancy, or when necessary to protect her life or health; 3. Ensuring that physicians operating within their scope of practice cannot be criminally prosecuted in New York for providing such care; and 4. Retaining those provisions in state law that allow the state to prosecute those who harm pregnant women. The Women’s Equality Agenda was not voted on as a whole by the state legislature: Each point was offered in a separate bill, and the bill dealing with the tenth point (AB 6221) was passed on 17 March 2015. Nothing in the text of that bill “allows an abortion procedure that has abortionists shooting poison through the hearts of unborn children to kill them,” “expands third-trimester abortions,” or “allows non-doctors to perform abortions.” Instead, it merely codified provisions of Roe v. Wade into New York State law: ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE SERVICES The state shall not deny a woman’s right to obtain an abortion as established by the United States Supreme Court in the decision Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S.113 (1973). Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, New York protects a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy within twenty-four weeks from commencement of her pregnancy, or when necessary to protect a woman’s life or health as determined by a licensed physician. Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with any applicable state or federal law or regulation permitting a health care provider to refrain from providing abortions due to the provider’s religious or moral beliefs. Nothing in this section shall conflict with the partial birth abortion ban codified under 18 USC section 1531. No prosecution or proceeding shall be brought or maintained under the penal law or otherwise for acts that are authorized or permitted pursuant to this section or by this chapter and the education law.
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7924
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Stocks savaged, Italy on lockdown, Trump seeks to reassure as coronavirus spreads.
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All of Italy under lockdown, reeling financial markets and rioting prisoners made clear on Monday how the global coronavirus epidemic was extending its reach into all aspects of social and economic life.
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true
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Health News
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Major European stock markets dived more than 7%, Japanese indexes fell over 5% and U.S. markets sank over 7% after Saudi Arabia launched an oil price war with Russia that sent investors already spooked by the coronavirus epidemic running for the exits. In Italy, scene of Europe’s worst outbreak with infections and deaths still soaring, the government took its most drastic steps yet to contain the outbreak, affecting some 60 million people. It ordered everyone across the country not to move around other than for work and emergencies, banned all public gatherings and suspended sporting events, including soccer matches. Deaths in Milan’s Lombardy region - which had already been on lockdown with cinemas, theaters and museums closed and restaurant hours restricted - jumped 25% in a day to 333, while the national death toll soared by 97 to 463, the highest in the world after China. Over 9,000 people have become infected in Italy in little over two weeks, out of a global total of more than 113,000 in over 100 countries. Nearly 4,000 people have died across the world, the vast majority in mainland China. “Now that the virus has a foothold in so many countries, the threat of a pandemic has become very real,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. But he welcomed Italy’s tough measures, noting that just four countries - China, South Korea, Italy and Iran - accounted for 93% of cases worldwide. Israel ordered anyone entering the country to self-quarantine for 14 days on Monday. “It would be the first pandemic that could be controlled,” Tedros added. “The bottom line is we are not at the mercy of the virus.” In the United States, which has reported over 600 cases and 26 deaths, the administration scrambled on Monday to assure Americans it was responding to the outbreak as stock markets plunged and top health officials urged some people to avoid cruise ships, air travel and big public gatherings. U.S. President Donald Trump, who continued to play down the threat posed by the flu-like virus, said he would announce economic measures on Tuesday and would discuss a payroll tax cut with Congress to bolster the economy. Trump recently spent time with two members of Congress, including one who rode on Air Force One, who are self-quarantining over concerns about exposure to the virus. Vice President Michael Pence said he did not know if Trump had been tested for coronavirus. Around the world, flights have been canceled, communities and cruise liners isolated, and concerts and trade fairs postponed. While some countries, such as China and Italy, have turned to drastic measures to try to delay the spread of the virus, others remain in a “containment” phase, where individual cases can still be tracked. Britain, with five deaths from almost 300 confirmed cases, said it would remain in that phase for now, allowing major gatherings and sporting events to continue, while making extensive preparations to move to the “delay phase.” In neighboring Ireland, acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said a 3 billion euro ($3.4 billion) coronavirus package had been agreed. Funds set aside for a potential sudden rupture in trade ties with Britain, which has left the European Union, were to be diverted to coronavirus mitigation. Perhaps just as dramatically, Varadkar announced cancellation of all parades planned for the national St. Patrick’s Day festival on March 17, including one in Dublin that draws more than 500,000 people from all over the world. In Spain, schools were closed across the Madrid region and the Basque capital Vitoria for two weeks as cases topped 1,200 nationwide. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said an emergency economic plan had been prepared. In the Gulf region, where most cases stem from travel from Iran, the emphasis has been on border control. Saudi Arabia said it would fine people who did not disclose health information and travel details at entry up to $133,000. Iran, with 7,161 cases and 237 deaths, said it was temporarily releasing about 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus. China and South Korea both reported a slowdown in new infections. Mainland China, outside the outbreak center of Hubei province, recorded no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases for the second day. South Korea reported 165 new cases, bringing the national tally to 7,478, while the death toll rose by one to 51. With the rate of increase in new infections at its lowest in 11 days, President Moon Jae-in said South Korea could enter the “phase of stability” soon. In Italy, that phase still seems far off. Authorities said seven prisoners died as riots spread through more than 25 jails across the country over measures imposed to contain the coronavirus. Police and fire trucks massed outside the main prison in the northern town of Modena, the site of some of the worst violence. Barkeepers in Rome and Milan said police had visited them to warn that they risked closure if they let customers huddle together. “We went into the cafe together but were told to stand far apart. It was really odd because we are friends,” said Ilaria Frezza, a 21-year-old student. But the bar she was in was, in fact, almost deserted. “I wish I was having problems keeping people apart, but that’s the least of my worries,” said Franco Giovinazzo, who runs the Spazio Caffe in Rome. “The real problem is there’s no-one here.” (Graphic: Coronavirus spreads in China and beyond, here) (Graphic: Tracking the novel coronavirus, here) (Online package of coronavirus news, here)
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6197
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Florida’s new Trump-backed governor seeks to broaden appeal.
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Florida voters who expected new Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to be politically divisive because of his strong ties to President Donald Trump may be surprised by the quick actions he’s taken in his first two weeks in office.
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true
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Legislature, Medical marijuana, Rising sea levels, Florida, Ron DeSantis, Marijuana, Environment, Donald Trump
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DeSantis announced a bold plan to address environmental issues, including an acknowledgement that the state needs to address rising sea levels; posthumously pardoned four black men accused of raping a white teenager nearly 70 years ago; named a Democrat to a top position in his administration; and demanded that the Republican-led Legislature rewrite a restrictive law so medical marijuana can be more accessible to patients. While Trump continues to divide the country, DeSantis is beginning his term with actions that can unite people across political affiliations. “This new governor is a great governor. I’m more encouraged by Ron DeSantis’ first two weeks than anything I’ve seen in years,” trial lawyer John Morgan said recently in a Facebook video. Morgan has raised millions of dollars over the years for Democratic candidates, including Trump’s 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton. Morgan also led the effort to put legal use of medical marijuana in the state constitution and sued when the Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott banned smokable use of the plant. DeSantis is now on Morgan’s side on the medical marijuana issue, prompting Morgan to declare, “DeSantisclause came to town!” DeSantis campaigned on building off the economic accomplishments of Scott, who was elected to the U.S. Senate after two terms as governor, but he’s proving to be neither a Scott clone nor a divisive figure like Trump. Scott had a reputation for being partisan, and DeSantis is starting his term by appealing to a broader political base. In doing so, he’s taking action on issues Scott failed to address. In 2017, the Legislature unanimously approved a resolution apologizing to the families of the Groveland Four, the men accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in 1949. One of the four was tracked down by a posse and shot 400 times. The other three were convicted with dubious evidence. The case is now seen as a racially unjust blight on Florida’s history. The Legislature asked Scott to pardon the men, but he took no action. DeSantis and the state’s Cabinet granted the pardons on his first Friday in office. “I don’t know why it took this long to do it. I don’t know why Gov. Scott didn’t (pardon them). He didn’t have the guts,” said Wade Greenlee, the brother of one of the Groveland Four. “But I thank God for the governor that we have now. He didn’t waste no time.” Although Scott was criticized by environmentalists for denying climate sea level rise, DeSantis plans to create a chief science officer position and said on his second day in office that the state needs to protect wildlife and communities from sea level rise. The new governor has also strengthened the commitment to addressing red tide off the state’s coast and pollutants in Lake Okeechobee that cause algae blooms downstream by promising to spend a billion more dollars on the issues and create new state offices dedicated to environmental threats. DeSantis is also reaching out to people who opposed him politically — most notably by appointing former Democratic state Rep. Jared Moskowitz, one of the Legislature’s most vocal opponents of the Republican agenda, as the state’s emergency management director. Of course, DeSantis’s first impression is only two weeks old, and the remaining three years and 50 weeks of his term will be the test of whether he continues to govern for a broad spectrum of Floridians. But for now, he’s even caught the attention of some Democrats. “He’s taken a pretty proactive Florida stand, and it’s a distinct contrast with Scott,” Democratic pollster David Beattie said. “It’s almost like he’s giving the finger to Scott.” Beattie was among those who thought DeSantis would have a hard time getting elected because he ran almost entirely on his and Trump’s mutual admiration. Trump backed DeSantis in the primary, tweeting his praise and holding a Florida rally. Beattie said at the time that the extreme partisan nature of the campaign would make it difficult for DeSantis to build off his base. But Beattie now admits DeSantis as governor appears to be different than DeSantis the candidate, saying there’s no doubt he’s appealing to a broad base rather than a narrow ideology. “I’m surprised. It’s not what I anticipated,” he said, predicting that DeSantis’ first approval ratings will be higher than Scott’s ever were in his eight years in office. DeSantis said he’s not trying to create a distinction between himself and Scott. “We all come in under different circumstances. Gov. Scott came in when the economy was in the tank. He had run based on being a jobs guy and he focused on that,” DeSantis said. He said issues like the environment are more of a priority for voters now than they were 10 years ago. “Some of these other things like the Groveland Four, the Legislature led on that ... ,” he said. “I was like, ‘These guys got railroaded. We’ve got to do what’s right.’ So I’m just calling them as I’ve seen them.”
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21100
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Gov. Scott Walker received a $7,300 pay raise.
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Wisconsin Democratic Party says Gov. Scott Walker received a $7,300 pay raise
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false
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Wisconsin, Democratic Party of Wisconsin,
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"The reaction to plans by Gov. Scott Walker to freeze the pay of state workers continues to roll in. And Walker’s own pay continues to be a focal point of his opponents. On Nov. 9, 2011, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin issued a news release that attempted to fan the fire. The group, which is launching a recall against the first-term Republican governor, says Walker has given himself a pay raise -- and he should give some of it back. ""The rest of Wisconsin is being asked to accept less and suffer his unemployment economy, but apparently Scott Walker thinks he deserves a $7,300 raise,"" state Party Chairman Mike Tate was quoted as saying in the news release. A raise when pay for others is frozen? This one sounds familiar. We looked at this same topic recently when various liberal bloggers said Walker had given himself -- along with other statewide elected officials -- a pay hike. They had misread a sloppily prepared document about the pay changes. We ruled the claim on Walker’s raise . The state Democrats revived the topic with their news release, which took Walker to task for ""whining"" about his family’s loss of buying power in a TV interview. We asked party spokesman Graeme Zielinski for backup on the claim that Walker had received a raise. His reply: ""Why do we have to do your homework for you? Go ask the executive office. Google. You arrive at the same conclusions regardless of whether we help you or not, and then congratulate yourself, so why should we waste our time?"" OK. Here’s what state law says: Walker is not receiving a raise in January. That would violate Article IV, Section 26 of the the state Constitution. Here’s how it works. Walker took office in January and was paid $144,423. That’s $7,331 more than his predecessor, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. State law calls for the pay of the governor, other state constitutional officers, and members of the Legislature to be set before their terms of office begin. In Walker’s case, the higher salaries were proposed by Doyle’s administration and approved by state lawmakers in 2008. So Walker received one level of pay when he took office. Under the state constitution, that pay will not change for the duration of his four-year term. Critics have noted that Walker will be making more than Doyle (true), that as Milwaukee County Executive he gave back some of his pay (true) and that he could choose to do the same as governor (true). But that’s not what the party said. The Democrats called upon Walker to ""return his $7,300 raise."" Their statement continued: ""As pay remains the same for Corrections Officers, Licensed Practical Nurses, Social Workers and Facilities Maintenance Employees, Scott Walker's salary increases by more than $7,331."" So let’s bring this one home. Again. The state Democrats’ news release states that the governor ""is set to make $143,000,"" and says Walker ""thinks he deserves a $7,300 raise,"" and calls upon the governor to ""return his $7,300 raise."" The release states that Walker’s ""salary increases by more than $7,331."" That’s wrong, wrong and still wrong. The pay for Walker -- or whoever succeeded Doyle as governor in January 2011 -- was long ago established. It’s one amount -- $144,423 -- and it can’t change. Walker can’t give himself a pay raise. It’s right there in the state Constitution."
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8692
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Donated meals make 'huge difference', say UK coronavirus medics.
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Doctors and nurses dealing with the influx of coronavirus patients in a south London hospital said on Tuesday that the donated meals delivered to them daily made a big difference.
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true
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Health News
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A group of volunteers led by husband and wife Niall Barrett and Janneke Diemel set up a catering service last month that provides free meals to hard-pressed medical staff at St George’s Hospital. “Normally we all provide our own food and now we don’t have to think about it, we just come to work and eat,” said critical care sister Anthea Allen as she helped push a trolley to transfer the food from a car to the hospital. “We’ve had halloumi wraps, curry, pizza, shepherd’s pie and we have vegan food, vegetarian food. It’s been amazing,” she added. Allen said she mentioned to local friends that medical staff would appreciate any snacks they could provide, and the idea quickly caught on. “That seemed to escalate in my community, my friends, expanding and expanding to a point where I don’t know who is bringing the food now. “But other things, they’ve given us PPE (personal protective equipment), marker pens, name badges ... radios.” Allen is one of thousands of frontline medical staff working for Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) who are trying to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The death toll in British hospitals from COVID-19, the disease associated with the virus, rose to more than 12,000 on Tuesday. “It’s hard, what we’re doing,” said Allen. “And food and radios and name badges, all these tiny little things, make such a huge, huge, huge difference.”
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4004
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New measles case in child who visited Portland airport.
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Officials say an unvaccinated child in southwestern Washington has contracted the measles after travelling internationally.
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true
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Health, Measles, General News, Vancouver, Washington
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Clark County Public Health officials said Wednesday that the child passed through the Portland International Airport and PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver Nov. 14 while contagious. The child also visited Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland from Nov. 16 to Nov. 17. The agency warned that people may have been exposed to the virus. Anyone exposed who is susceptible to the virus could start having symptoms between Nov. 18 and Dec. 9. Officials urge anyone who believes they have symptoms of measles to call their health care provider to make a plan that avoids exposing others. Clark County has had 72 confirmed measles cases this year. Measles is highly contagious. The U.S. has experienced a resurgence of the illness that’s fueled by outbreaks in unvaccinated communities.
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37512
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Florida residents kept congregating at local beaches in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Were Florida Residents Spotted Packing Beaches During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
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true
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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A photograph of beachgoers ignoring social distancing guidelines concerning the COVID-19 pandemic prompted local officials to close their gathering place to the public.The photo, attributed to Clay Archer of Jacksonville Beach, was shared thousands of times on Twitter after being posted there by Travis Akers, a spokesperson for Democratic Party congressional candidate Donna Deegan, on March 28 2020.“You can see exactly where Duval County ends and St. John’s County begins,” Akers wrote. “All beaches in Duval are closed, while St. John’s only blocked parking at the beach. Gov. [Ron] DeSantis needs to order a state-wide closure of all Florida beaches.”The photograph showed a cluster of people on the St. John’s side of the county line on a beach, while the beach was empty on the Duval County side:This picture is from 3pm today.You can see exactly where Duval County ends and St. John’s County begins.All beaches in Duval are closed, while St. John’s only blocked parking at the beach.Gov. DeSantis needs to order a state-wide closure of all Florida beaches. pic.twitter.com/JfKzCGCPLq— Travis Akers (@travisakers) March 28, 2020We contacted the St. John’s County board of commissioners seeking comment about the photograph. But scores of residents were spotted going to beaches in the area, to the point that local officials ordered that they be closed to the public as of March 29 2020.“We have taken as many measures as possible up to this point to preserve our residents’ ability to access their beach,” county administrator Hunter S. Conrad said in a statement:Unfortunately, those visiting the beach continue to ignore CDC guidelines regarding crowd size and personal distancing. In order to maintain public safety and respect the State of Florida’s Executive Order, we had no choice but to close the coastline to public access today.A day after the beaches were closed in St. John’s County, Florida’s governor announced an executive order mandating that residents in four southeast Florida counties — Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach — remain at home until “the middle of May.” According to the Miami Herald, the four counties account for a combined 59 percent of all COVID-19 diagnoses in the state. DeSantis has also ordered that travelers into the state from Louisiana and New York undergo fourteen-day quarantines.DeSantis — a supporter of United States President Donald Trump — has benefited from a comparatively swift federal response to the spread of the disease. As the Washington Post reported:The state submitted a request on March 11 for 430,000 surgical masks, 180,000 N95 respirators, 82,000 face shields and 238,000 gloves, among other supplies — and received a shipment with everything three days later, according to figures from the state’s Division of Emergency Management. It received an identical shipment on March 23, according to the division, and is awaiting a third.By comparison, Trump has insinuated that healthcare workers facing massive equipment shortage in New York City were stealing protective masks. And California’s governor Gavin Newsom said on March 28, 2020 that 170 ventilators that the state received from the Trump administration had to be repaired because they “were not working” when they arrived. Both Newsom and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are Democrats.
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7948
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PM Johnson warns Britons: more loved ones are going to die from coronavirus.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Thursday that many more families would see their loved ones die from coronavirus, as the government’s chief scientific adviser said Britain likely has as many as 10,000 people infected.
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true
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Health News
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Britain and the EU also agreed to cancel face-to-face trade negotiations planned for next week in London due to the outbreak. At a meeting of the government’s emergency committee on Thursday, Johnson moved Britain’s response to the outbreak to the so-called “delay phase”, aimed at putting off the peak until the summer months, ending a phase of outright containment. “It’s going to spread further,” Johnson said at a news conference, flanked by the government’s top scientific and medical advisers. “I must level with you, level with the British public - more families, many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.” Rapidly spreading disruptions to business, trade and everyday life around the world have triggered panic on global markets, including in Britain. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 10.9%, its worst one-day performance since 1987. Sterling fell three cents against the dollar, the biggest fall since the 2016 vote to leave the EU. The British government has faced questions over why it is not taking the more far-reaching measures seen in many other countries. Johnson defended his approach, saying the government was following scientific advice and would “do the right thing at the right time”. He said those showing even mild symptoms of having the virus should self-isolate for at least seven days. In the next few weeks that advice would change to entire households being asked to stay at home if one person has symptoms. “This is the worst public health crisis for a generation,” he said. The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus across the United Kingdom rose 29% percent to 590 over the past 24 hours. Ten people with coronavirus have died in the UK. Graphic: UK coronavirus cases - here “There are currently about 590 cases identified in the UK and there are more than 20 patients on intensive care units,” chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said. “If you calculate what that really means in terms of the total number, it is much more likely that you have somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people infected at the moment.” Vallance said Britain was currently on a trajectory about four weeks behind Italy, which has reported more than 15,000 cases and 1,000 deaths. He predicted the peak of coronavirus cases in Britain may be at least 10 to 14 weeks away. England’s chief medical adviser Chris Whitty said not all suspected cases of the virus would be formally tested, with the government focusing on those in hospital. The British plan for dealing with the outbreak has three main phases - containment, delay and mitigation. The delay phase includes consideration of so-called social distancing measures such as more home-working, reducing large scale gatherings and closing schools. Johnson said Britain was not cancelling major public events and schools would stay open for now but that advice could change as the virus spreads. Whitty said at some point social interaction for old and vulnerable people would need to be reduced, but not yet. “People start off with the best of intentions but enthusiasm at a certain point starts to flag,” Whitty said. “So we do need to do it at the last point it is reasonable ... to get through what will be quite difficult things to do.” Meanwhile, Ireland is to shut schools, universities and childcare facilities until March 29 and restrict mass gatherings, acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said.
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26852
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Video shows Democratic presidential candidates speechless for 20 seconds when discussing whether any of them started a business.
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The video makes it look like Bloomberg left the other presidential candidates speechless for 20 seconds after claiming he was the only one who had started a business. In fact, there was a two-second pause. The video was selectively edited to splice together unrelated moments of expressive faces from his rivals.
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false
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Debates, New York, Michael Bloomberg,
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"Democratic presidential candidates jumped over each other to land rhetorical punches against Mike Bloomberg at the Las Vegas debate, hitting the billionaire former mayor over redlining, stop and frisk, and his past critiques of Barack Obama. Bloomberg selected a different highlight to share on Twitter the next day. The video starts with Bloomberg on stage saying, ""I’m the only one here I think that’s ever started a business. Is that fair?"" In the video, Bloomberg’s question is met with silence and blank stares from the other Democrats on stage. The sound of crickets plays in the background. ""OK,"" he says at the end of the 25-second clip. Anyone? pic.twitter.com/xqhq5qFYVk Bloomberg’s video makes it look like he left the other presidential candidates speechless for 20 seconds. But that’s not what actually happened. In fact, there was a two-second pause between when the former mayor said ""Is that fair?"" and ""OK."" Here are Bloomberg’s full remarks, which came in response to a question about his stance on redlining: ""I've been well on the record against red-lining since I worked on Wall Street. I was against it during the financial crisis. I've been against it since. ""The financial crisis came about because the people that took the mortgages, packaged them, and other people bought them, those were — that's where all the disaster was. Red-lining is still a practice some places, and we've got to cut it out. But it's just not true. ""What I was going to say, maybe we want to talk about businesses. I'm the only one here that I think that's ever started a business. Is that fair? OK."" His last comment was met with laughter from the audience. The video was selectively edited to make Bloomberg’s debate performance look better than it was — splicing together unrelated moments of expressive faces from his rivals. According to Twitter’s policy on ""synthetic and manipulated media,"" the company is only likely to remove videos that have been ""significantly and deceptively altered or fabricated,"" ""shared in a deceptive manner"" and are ""likely to impact public safety or cause serious harm."" As of now, Bloomberg’s video does not appear to meet those standards. Twitter may label clips that meet just one of the criteria, but it has not yet done so for Bloomberg’s tweet. A deepfake video is one that uses artificial intelligence to make it look like someone is doing or saying something that never occurred. In contrast, the clip that Bloomberg shared is an example of what the Washington Post calls ""splicing,"" or ""editing together disparate videos"" that ""fundamentally alters the story that is being told."" Bloomberg’s video is the latest example of deceptive video editing techniques being used in the 2020 election. On Feb. 6, President Donald Trump tweeted an edited video of his State of the Union address. The clip makes it look like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of the speech after Trump introduced each of his guests, which included military families and a young woman receiving a scholarship. In fact, Pelosi waited until the end of the address to rip up her copy. And she stood and clapped for many guests. PolitiFact reached out to Twitter and the Bloomberg campaign for comment, but we haven’t heard back. Bloomberg tweeted a video that purports to show a 20-second pause from Democratic candidates at the Las Vegas debate after he claimed he was the only one who had started a business. The video was selectively edited to splice together unrelated moments of expressive faces from his rivals. In fact, there was a two-second pause after Bloomberg brought up his business experience. Bloomberg’s video contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."
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9480
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Flattening The 'Mummy Tummy' With 1 Exercise, 10 Minutes A Day
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A reporter shares her personal experience taking an exercise class aimed at flattening what she calls her “mummy tummy,” the abdominal bulge more formally known as diastasis recti, a separation of abdominal muscles after pregnancy. The story provides a lot of good details and explanations for the science behind the problem. Many sources were consulted for the story, and costs of the treatment were made clear. However, the story didn’t delve into the lack of research quite enough here–it posited one small, pilot study as fairly strong evidence that this method works. That may be the case, but that’s hard to know until more rigorous research is done, especially randomized research with a control group. The mixture of the reporter’s own positive impressions of the limited medical research behind this technique could leave readers believing there is substantial proof that it works. A few more cautionary details would have helped the piece on this front.
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mixture
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weight loss
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The story provides the average cost of a 12-week training in the exercise technique as “around $100 to $300.” It also mentions alternatives like online classes and videos that are much less expensive. The story is primarily a combination of anecdotes about a reporter’s personal experiences in a class, and interviews with a physician and a trainer. The physician, Geeta Sharma, published a study in 2014 about a small pilot experiment in 63 women to determine if a specific exercise method, named “the Dia Method” by its developer, Leah Keller, could reduce diastasis recti. But the story does not give us numbers from the results from the 2014 study. The trainer is quoted saying the results were “100%” but does not explain this. We’re told that the study compared two groups of women – one group who began training during pregnancy and one group who started after delivery. We are not told how wide the diastasis recti was for the post-delivery group, and how much narrower at the conclusion. This information was available on Keller’s website, though. The story also should have pointed out that without a control group, it’s hard to really assess how beneficial the treatment was, even if the preliminary numbers look “promising.” The story does not mention potential harms for the specific training that Keller provides. She is quoted saying that doing some abdominal exercises can cause harm, including common abdominal exercises like simple crunches and bicycle crunches. But her own special set is not subject to any warnings – even if these are unlikely, it would be better to say so explicitly. For the one study it discusses about the “Dia” method, the story discloses that it was a small, pilot study. But other than that, it doesn’t disclose the limitations of the study–what makes a small, pilot study a weak form of evidence? What kind of research needs to be done to verify the findings? Is any of that research underway? We also wish the story had clearly indicated that the “Dia” method isn’t necessarily any more effective than home-based programs–we just don’t know yet, because of a lack of research. Also, we did find several exercise-based studies (example) conducted since the one small pilot study, and we’re curious where those findings fit in and change what’s known about this intervention. The story does not disease monger. The story includes interviews with several independent experts, and we did not detect any undisclosed conflicts of interest with industry. However, the story leans heavily on the testimony of the trainer whose method is profiled and who stands to benefit from positive publicity. (She markets herself as having received “unparalleled endorsement” from medical research.) The story could have done a better job of explaining how that poses a conflict of interest for the study that was performed. And it could have done more to mitigate this conflict by discussing the details of alternate training methods. The story mentions three different training methods that are “widely” recommended by obstetricians and gynecologists. Excerpt: “That said, there are a few exercise programs for diastasis recti that many doctors and physical therapists support. These include the Tupler Technique, Keller’s Dia Method and the MuTu System in the U.K.” However, it’s not clear why someone just couldn’t go to a physical therapist or do free home workouts. The story included information on where this and other exercise programs are available. The story referred to research from three years ago, which is hardly new. But since this appears to be a feature/general-interest story (and not specifically about new study findings), we’ll rate this N/A. The story did not rely on a news release.
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27902
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A virus deadly to dogs has been spreading in the canine population of the U.S.
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Has a virus deadly to dogs been spreading in the canine population of the U.S.?
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true
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Critter Country, American Veterinary Medical Association, ASP Article, Centers for Disease Control
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In 2004, a virulent form of canine influenza surfaced at greyhound racing parks in Florida. In that outbreak, it infected 24 greyhounds and killed 8 more. The contagion has since been confirmed in seven states, having killed greyhounds at tracks in Florida, Massachusetts, Arizona, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Texas and Iowa. It is highly contagious, spreading through shared items (like toys) or human contact (kennel workers have carried the virus home with them), in addition to dog-to-dog encounters. The virus that has been felling greyhounds is an H3N8 flu closely related to an equine flu strain. It is not related to typical human flus or to the H5N1 avian flu that killed about 100 people in Asia. Several states — including Florida, Minnesota, and Louisiana, among others — reported another rash of cases in late June 2017. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the outbreaks in those states were caused by a strain known as canine H3N2 influenza, which was first reported in Chicago in 2015. An AVMA spokesperson, Sharon Granskog, told us in a phone interview that such outbreaks can be seasonal in nature: There’s a time of year when more dogs are in contact with one another, they’re at dog parks, it’s highly contagious. We suggest that you make sure if your dog is going to a dog park that it’s healthy and talk to a veterinarian about whether or not a vaccine would be right for your dog. The disease was first reported in the U.S. in 2004 after several racing greyhounds in Florida contracted it. The AVMA said that they believed that the dogs became infected by a strain of H3N8 influenza, which is particular to horses. Dr. Ruben Donis, chief of molecular genetics for the influenza branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed that the flu jumped from horses to dogs, “a very rare event of considerable scientific interest” and added “at this point, there is no reason to panic.” How that jump occurred is either not known at this point or is not being commented on, so the email’s assertion that the eating of raw meat was to blame should be regarded as speculation rather than as fact. While there is always the possibility the virus might again jump species, this time to humans, this strain of flu has been present in horses for more than 40 years without any documented cases of humans catching it or the related canine flu. But there are vaccines available for both the equine and canine flus. Many readers have been confused (and unnecessarily frightened) by the difference between the terms “morbidity rate” and “mortality rate.” The morbidity rate describes the percentage of animals that will contract the disease after being exposed to the virus, but, despite its name, the term has nothing to do with the death rate associated with the flu. (Nearly 80 percent of dogs exposed to the canine flu virus will contract only a mild form of the disease which mimics kennel cough, a type of canine bronchitis that is rarely serious.) The mortality rate, which describes the percentage of animals that will die after contracting the disease, is in the much lower range of 5 to 8 percent, according to Dr. Cynda Crawford, the veterinary immunologist who first isolated the canine flu virus: The mortality rate is around 5 to 8 percent, says veterinarian Cynda Crawford at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville. “I want to stress that despite the rumors that are out on the Internet and other such sources, this disease is not as deadly as people want to make it,” Crawford said. She says she receives more than 30 calls a day from concerned veterinarians. Dr. Crawford describes the contagion as producing in dogs “a moist, productive cough that ends in a gagging response, that will persist for one to four weeks, despite treatment with antibiotics or cough suppressants. Some dogs develop a thick, yellow discharge from the nose. A very few dogs will spike a high fever, between 105 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit. They become lethargic and weak, with rapid, shallow breathing. This is likely to progress to pneumonia.” Other veterinary experts have estimated the potential death rate as between 1 and 10 percent, with the higher percentage applying to very young, very old, or infirm dogs. Presence of the virus in dogs can be confirmed only through blood tests performed at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Results of such blood screens take as long as two weeks. Dr. Crawford recommends keeping dogs showing symptoms of respiratory disease at home and away from other dogs for up to two weeks. The CDC, which is tracking the disease, issued no official recommendations. Because the symptoms of this as yet unnamed virus somewhat mimic bordetella, a less virulent illness commonly known as kennel cough, it is hard to ascertain how widespread the flu has become. On the flipside of that confusion, vets in various parts of the country have been thrown into a panic when encountering run-of-the-mill kennel cough in any of their clients, fearing they are instead confronting cases of the new flu. The Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University inserted a caution against such hair-trigger diagnosis within a larger advisory about the potential for the flu to have spread to the state of New York: “One should not lose sight of the fact that all respiratory infections in dogs are not due to canine influenza virus. Adhering to the ‘band wagon’ approach could result in the failure to appropriately treat dogs with infections previously known to cause respiratory problems in dogs.” We found this good advice for vets and dog owners in our inbox one day: PLEASE DO NOT PANIC, and do NOT assume that every cough is Canine Influenza. Kennel Cough from parainfluenza and Bordetella is more common. However, the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell is interested in receiving samples from dogs that appear to have kennel cough. Clinical Signs: Since this is a new pathogen in dogs, there is currently no natural immunity present in the unexposed canine population. Almost all exposed dogs will become infected, and nearly 80% have clinical signs. In the mild form the dogs will have a cough that persists for 10 to 21 days. The cough may be soft and moist or dry. Many dogs will have a nasal discharge from a secondary bacterial infection and low grade fever. The nasal discharge responds to broad spectrum antibiotics. In the severe form with pneumonia there is a high fever (104-106 F) and respiratory difficulties. X-rays may show consolidation. These dogs often have secondary bacterial infections and have responded to broad-spectrum antibiotics and supportive care including intravenous hydration. The incubation period is two to five days and dogs may shed virus for seven to 10 days. The disease can spread rapidly throughout a boarding kennel. Dogs that are coughing SHOULD NOT BE BROUGHT TO SHOWS or Performance EVENTS. In a 1 June 2017 advisory to its members, the AVMA suggested that vaccines against the H3N2 virus strain “might be another prevention option” for dogs who were at least 8 weeks old and also recommended isolating dogs who could be infected, as well as not sharing toys between dogs and disinfecting shelter, veterinary, and boarding facilities.
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15631
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"Joe Scarborough Says the Clintons ""burst through their own self-pronounced guidelines"" by accepting foreign donations. ""There is a clip of Bill Clinton saying we're not going to take foreign donations."
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Scarborough accused Bill Clinton of hypocrisy, saying the former president violated his own self-pronounced guidelines by accepting foreign donations while his wife was secretary of state. As evidence, Scarborough pointed to comments made by Clinton in 2012. But Clinton's comments were more narrowly focused than Scarborough let on. Clinton said the Clinton Global Initiative didn’t take donations from foreign entities while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state because it opens questions of conflicts of interest. That prohibition is outlined in a memorandum of understanding signed by the foundation and the Obama administration. There is, as of yet, no accusation that the initiative broke that term of the agreement. As far as the other Clinton programs and initiatives, the Clintons were permitted to collect donations from foreign governments. But they did agree to increased reporting requirements, though the Clinton Foundation says it failed to meet the reporting requirements in some cases. In short, there are serious questions about how the Clinton Foundation reported foreign government donations. But Bill Clinton’s 2012 interview provides little extra fodder -- beyond a juicy soundbyte -- for those questioning the Clintons’ decision to take foreign government money.
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false
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Ethics, PunditFact, Joe Scarborough,
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"A 2012 Q&A session between Bill Clinton and Ashley Judd has surfaced as evidence in the case against the Clinton Foundation and its acceptance of foreign donations while Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state. In the video, Clinton’s words seem hypocritical. Here’s how MSNBC host Joe Scarborough described it on his April 30, 2015, show. ""There is a clip of Bill Clinton saying we're not going to take foreign donations because if somebody had business before the State Department, there would be an appearance of impropriety,"" Scarborough said. ""They not only burst through what the guidelines of the White House put up, they burst through their own self-pronounced guidelines."" Scarborough is right that there's a video clip of Clinton dicussing foreign donations, but as this fact-check will show, he misleads viewers by saying it's a sign the Clintons burst through their ""self-pronounced guidelines"" of taking foreign donations. What Bill Clinton said The 2012 interview took place at the London School of Economics. Clinton was asked by a fawning Judd about the creation of the Clinton Global Initiative -- which is, effectively, a subsidiary of the Clinton Foundation. Initiative projects range from paying for technology so that small stoves to charge cell phones, to loans for small businesses, to free Web ads to raise money for overseas development nonprofits. As often happens with Clinton, he gave a sidewinder of an answer. But here’s the relevant portion of his response for our purposes: ""The Clinton Global Initiative meets every year. Then we do one (meeting) just on the American economy, which we will continue to do until we reach full employment. We had one (meeting) in Hong Kong for Asia, which I had to suspend those while Hillary was secretary of state for good reason. In order to do one around the world and make the economics work and keep the entry fee fairly low, you have to have sponsors. And if your wife is secretary of state and you get sponsors in another country, they may be doing it just because they believe in it, but it opens up too many questions of conflicts of interest. So we suspended those. ""But if she leaves the State Department in January, then I expect we’ll have one in 2013 in Latin America and then another shortly thereafter in Asia because they’re interested in it."" As you can see, Scarborough’s comments aren’t out of thin air. But Clinton is talking specifically about the Clinton Global Initiative. That’s an important distinction, it turns out, because of the specific guidelines set out by the Clintons when Hillary Clinton was nominated as secretary of state. A bevy of initiatives The Clintons (and we say Clintons to describe them as a group, but Hillary Clinton was walled off from the organizations as secretary of state) operate several separate initiatives under the umbrella of the Clinton Foundation. While Hillary Clinton ran the State Department, the foundation oversaw the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Clinton Climate Initiative, the Clinton Guistra Sustainable Growth Initiative and the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative. (The last one had nothing to do with hunting. It was named for Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter and focused on development projects in Rwanda and Malawi.) The foundation still runs those different programs, although it has dropped the initiative label from some of them. The point is, the Clinton Global Initiative was one of a handful of programs under the foundation’s umbrella. The modus operandi of the Clinton Global Initiative is to act as a broker between donors and doers. It holds big meetings to bring together governments, donors, and non-governmental organizations with shared concerns. The initiative charges fees to join as members, seeks sponsors to hold these big meetings and then pushes members to make big dollar commitments to key projects. Brian Mittendorf, a professor of accounting at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business who follows nonprofit filings, including those of the Clinton Foundation, said that most of the money never passes through the Clinton Global Initiative’s hands. ""CGI (the Clinton Global Initiative) doesn't implement the projects but instead acts as a ‘facilitator’ to match donors and get commitments to action,"" Mittendorf said. ""So, those commitments are not reflected as donations to the Clinton Foundation or CGI."" To get an idea of the contrast, in 2011, the global initiative had $26 million in revenues, but boasted that it secured commitments of $7.39 billion for projects that would roll out over many years. The promises of the Clintons and the memorandum of understanding So now we get to the Clintons ""self-pronounced guidelines."" When Hillary Clinton was nominated by Barack Obama as secretary of state in 2008, the Clinton Foundation instantly emerged as a stumbling block to her confirmation. The Obama transition team attempted to deal with the possible conflicts of interest with a memorandum of understanding between the Clinton Foundation and the new administration. That memo created different requirements for the Clinton Global Initiative and other Clinton entities. According to the memorandum, the Clinton Global Initiative would be spun off as a separate nonprofit entity that could take no money from any foreign government. In addition, the Clinton Global Initiative agreed not to hold any big meetings outside the United States. The other Clinton programs and initiatives could continue to accept money from foreign governments, but they had to report new donors or any existing government donor that decided to ""increase materially its commitment."" Memorandum terms Clinton Global Initiative Memorandum terms Clinton Foundation and other Clinton subsidiaries No donations from foreign governments Can accept donations from foreign governments, increased reporting requirements No large meetings outside the United States Foreign meetings allowed This, again, is key, because Clinton was speaking only of the Clinton Global Iniative in his 2012 remarks. Clinton Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian said the global initiative was treated differently because the initiative mainly brought funders together. As such, the global initiative did not need to collect money directly from foreign governments. In contrast, Minassian said, a program like the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative -- now called the Clinton Health Access Initiative -- ran projects that delivered health care to people in developing countries. ""You couldn’t stop the money for AIDS because millions of people depended on that for their drugs,"" Minassian said. ""Those were programs we actually implemented. No one wanted to interrupt that because it would make no sense."" So why would the Clinton Global Initiative have any need at all for funds from foreign governments? Minassian said such help made large foreign meetings possible. ""You need to be invited. You need additional police and security,"" Minassian said. ""The host country is a key sponsor. This is not like holding a meeting at the Sheraton in New York City."" Minassian said that after a meeting in December 2008 in Hong Kong, the program limited its annual gatherings to New York City from 2009 to 2012, the years Hillary Clinton headed the State Department. The first meeting outside America took place about 10 months after she left. It was held December 2013 in Brazil. Foreign money did go to the Clinton Global Initiative The restriction on the global initiative applied specifically to foreign governments. However, the initiative could and did accept donations from foreign donors (Scarborough just said foreign donations, not donations from foreign governments). There are two ways to support the initiative. Membership costs $20,000 and comes with a ticket to go to the annual meeting. Sponsors pitch in substantially more to help pay for the meetings themselves. In return, they get publicity, multiple tickets to the meeting and other perks like their own meeting room at the annual gathering. The organization’s Internal Revenue Service filings show total revenues of $28.2 million in 2012 and $26 million in 2011. The split between member fees and sponsorships is unclear, but Minassian said those are the only two sources of revenues. In 2011, foundations backed by Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk and Dubai-based Indian Sunny Varkey helped fund the annual meeting in New York. So did the French bank Credit Agricole and Indo Gold, an Australian mining company with investments in India, Africa and Germany. During Hillary Clinton’s confirmation hearings, senators raised concerns about any foreign entity, government or private, making donations to the Clinton Foundation. The policy for the Clinton Global Initiative that emerged from the memorandum only banned accepting funds from foreign governments, along with no longer holding large meetings outside America. Since Hillary Clinton left the State Department, the governments of Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Oman, and others have given money to the global initiative. Minassian said that now that she is running for president, that will stop, as will plans to hold gatherings overseas. Our ruling Scarborough accused Bill Clinton of hypocrisy, saying the former president violated his own self-pronounced guidelines by accepting foreign donations while his wife was secretary of state. As evidence, Scarborough pointed to comments made by Clinton in 2012. But Clinton's comments were more narrowly focused than Scarborough let on. Clinton said the Clinton Global Initiative didn’t take donations from foreign entities while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state because it opens questions of conflicts of interest. That prohibition is outlined in a memorandum of understanding signed by the foundation and the Obama administration. There is, as of yet, no accusation that the initiative broke that term of the agreement. As far as the other Clinton programs and initiatives, the Clintons were permitted to collect donations from foreign governments. But they did agree to increased reporting requirements, though the Clinton Foundation says it failed to meet the reporting requirements in some cases. In short, there are serious questions about how the Clinton Foundation reported foreign government donations. But Bill Clinton’s 2012 interview provides little extra fodder -- beyond a juicy soundbyte -- for those questioning the Clintons’ decision to take foreign government money."
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16998
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"A company hired to do Common Core testing in Florida will ""attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can."
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"A firm hired to do Common Core testing in Florida will ""attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can,"" Van Zant said. The firm hired to do testing, AIR, separately provides information to entities that request it to help them assist LGBT students. Currently, the federal government accesses AIR’s information but the organization doesn’t have such a contract with the state of Florida or any Florida districts. We found no evidence that when AIR administers tests in Florida that the testing process will involve recruiting students to become gay. Van Zant takes a somewhat limited connection between the testing company and gay and lesbian issues and then blows it up into a wild claim that lacks evidence."
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false
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Corrections and Updates, Education, Gays and Lesbians, Florida, Charles Van Zant,
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"Heads up moms and dads -- a Florida lawmaker has unearthed one more conspiracy behind Common Core. A company that has been hired by Florida to give students tests will be recruiting every one of those students to become gay. Think Progress, a liberal blog, dug up a video of state Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights, speaking about the topic at the ""Operation Education"" conference -- a gathering of conservative religious groups who met about the theme of ""How education reforms are attacking America’s Foundation."" The Orlando conference was in March, but Think Progress posted a video clip of Zant on May 19, and the video then spread to other blogs. We listened to the full speech. Here is the portion that drew attention: ""Our new secretary of education in Florida recently appointed AIR to receive the $220 million contract for end-of-course exam testing and to prepare those tests. Please -- go on their website. Click the link to what they are doing with youth, and you will see what their agenda really is. They are promoting as hard as they can any youth that is interested in the LGBT agenda and even name it 2-S, which they define as having two spirits. The Bible says a lot about being double-minded. ""These people that will now receive $220 million from the state of Florida, unless this is stopped, will promote double mindedness in state education, and attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can. I'm sorry to report that to you. ... I really hate to bring you that news, but you need to know."" Van Zant encouraged listeners to research AIR, so we took him up on his suggestion and decided to check if AIR plans to ""attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can."" We contacted Van Zant’s office and asked him to provide evidence to support his claim and did not get a response. We should note that our previous fact-checking shows people can’t be recruited to a particular sexual orientation. In 2011, GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said scientists are ""in dispute"" about whether being gay is a choice. (Editor’s note: We added this point after our initial publication to address reader concerns.) Here, we’ll explore Van Zant’s specific claim that a testing company was making the attempt. Common Core tests and AIR In March, the state Department of Education announced that it would give a $220 million, 6-year contract to American Institutes for Research to develop and administer new accountability tests to replace Florida’s old testing system, the FCAT. The Washington-based nonprofit will develop tests aligned to the Florida Standards, the new education benchmarks based on the controversial Common Core State Standards. The new tests are expected to be ready for the 2014-15 school year. AIR has contracts to develop tests for about 10 states including Florida. When the state chose AIR, Common Core foes took aim at the testing company. The Florida Stop Common Core Coalition accused AIR of promoting a lesbian gay bisexual transgender ""lifestyle"", better known as LGBT, calling the choice of AIR ""completely unacceptable"": ""Besides implementing the same deceptive plan discussed at the governor's summit in August, the state has chosen a company that has a significant history of promoting identification of the GLBT lifestyle for children as young as seven years old,"" Florida Eagle Forum lobbyist Randy Osborne said in a Florida Stop Common Core Coalition letter to supporters. (Similar claims have been made by Common Core opponents in Utah and Tennessee.) As we explained in that fact-check, one part of AIR’s business is creating materials for schools on LGBT Youth issues, in which it studies the youngsters’ experiences and offers recommendations for how to help the students. AIR only provides those materials to entities that request them -- currently that includes federal government contracts. AIR has no such contracts with the state Department of Education or any Florida districts to provide LGBT materials. (AIR is in discussions with a couple of districts in other states.) ""No entity in Florida has asked us to do LGBT work,"" AIR spokesman Larry McQuillan said. AIR describes its practice in this way: ""AIR’s Health and Social Development program develops knowledge and understanding about LGBT youth that takes account of their experiences and needs. AIR also enhances opportunities for the healthy development, well-being, and safety of LGBT children, youth, and their families by providing workforce training and technical assistance to service providers across systems addressing behavioral health, child welfare, education, juvenile justice, and homelessness."" AIR also does similar work in the areas of bullying and substance abuse in addition to its efforts in education, health and workforce matters. ""We are not an advocacy group,"" McQuillan told PolitiFact in March. ""AIR is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization. We do educational assessment, research, health policy research and communication, and international development. We have supported many states by providing high-quality assessments of their specific state standards."" A few standards include sexual orientation We interviewed McQuillan about Van Zant’s comments and asked about what sort of material will be included on the tests. ""It’s the state that decides what questions they want to ask,"" he said. ""Florida is truly in control."" Joe Follick, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Education, said the tests administered by AIR will only include English language arts and math. ""Florida has always been and will continue to be committed to assessments that solely measure a student's knowledge of subject areas and critical thinking spelled out in the Florida Standards,"" Follick said in an email in response to our questions. Our ruling A firm hired to do Common Core testing in Florida will ""attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can,"" Van Zant said. The firm hired to do testing, AIR, separately provides information to entities that request it to help them assist LGBT students. Currently, the federal government accesses AIR’s information but the organization doesn’t have such a contract with the state of Florida or any Florida districts. We found no evidence that when AIR administers tests in Florida that the testing process will involve recruiting students to become gay. Van Zant takes a somewhat limited connection between the testing company and gay and lesbian issues and then blows it up into a wild claim that lacks evidence."
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40778
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The number of EU nationals leaving the NHS jumped by 14% in 2017.
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That’s correct for staff in England, comparing the number who left in 2016 with the number who left in 2017.
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true
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health
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The number of EU nurses coming to the UK has fallen by 90% since the Brexit vote. The number of nurses and midwives from the EEA joining the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s register fell by 91% from 2015/16 to 2017/18. The number of EU nationals leaving the NHS jumped by 14% in 2017. EU nationals have fallen as a percentage of those joining the NHS. EU nationals made up 8% of new staff (whose nationality was known) joining the NHS in England in the year to June 2018. That compares to 11% in the year to June 2016. It’s possible that the number in June 2016 was unusually high. Claim 1 of 4
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4278
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Sweet sizzlin’ beans! Fancy names may boost healthy dining.
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Researchers tried a big serving of food psychology and a dollop of trickery to get diners to eat their vegetables. And it worked.
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true
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Health, Stanford University, Psychology, Science
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Veggies given names like “zesty ginger-turmeric sweet potatoes” and “twisted citrus-glazed carrots” were more popular than those prepared exactly the same way but with plainer, more healthful-sounding labels. Diners more often said “no thanks” when the food had labels like “low-fat,” ″reduced-sodium” or “sugar-free.” More diners chose the fancy-named items, and selected larger portions of them too in the experiment last fall at a Stanford University cafeteria. “While it may seem like a good idea to emphasize the healthiness of vegetables, doing so may actually backfire,” said lead author Bradley Turnwald, a graduate student in psychology. Other research has shown that people tend to think of healthful sounding food as less tasty, so the aim was to make it sound as good as more indulgent, fattening fare. Researchers from Stanford’s psychology department tested the idea as a way to improve eating habits and make a dent in the growing obesity epidemic . “This novel, low-cost intervention could easily be implemented in cafeterias, restaurants, and consumer products to increase selection of healthier options,” they said. The results were published Monday JAMA Internal Medicine. The study was done over 46 days last fall. Lunchtime vegetable offerings were given different labels on different days. For example, on one day diners could choose “dynamite chili and tangy lime-seasoned beets.” On other days the same item was labeled “lighter-choice beets with no added sugar,” ″high antioxidant beets,” or simply “beets.” Almost one-third of the nearly 28,000 diners chose a vegetable offering during the study. The tasty-sounding offering was the most popular, selected by about 220 diners on average on days it was offered, compared with about 175 diners who chose the simple-label vegetable. The healthy-sounding labels were the least popular. Diners also served themselves bigger portions of the tasty-sounding vegetables than of the other choices. Turnwald emphasized that “there was no deception” — all labels accurately described the vegetables, although diners weren’t told that the different-sounding choices were the exact same item. The results illustrate “the interesting advantage to indulgent labeling,” he said. Dr. Stephen Cook, a University of Rochester childhood obesity researcher, called the study encouraging and said some high school cafeterias have also tried different labels to influence healthy eating. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to us because marketing people have been doing this for years,” Cook said. ___ Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner and her work can be found at http://tinyurl.com/kv4uhoh
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3951
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Aid groups halt work in south Yemen after targeted bombings.
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A dozen humanitarian organizations in war-torn southern Yemen suspended their operations following a string of targeted attacks, the United Nations said, while the country’s rebel-led health ministry announced on Tuesday that severe outbreaks of swine flu and dengue fever have killed close to 200 people since October.
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true
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Dengue fever, Health, Middle East, Flu, Bombings, United Nations, Swine flu, General News, Yemen, Sanaa
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The suspension of aid work came after unknown assailants fired rocket-propelled grenades at three aid organizations in the southwestern province of Dhale over the weekend, according to the U.N. Humanitarian Office in Yemen, wounding a security guard and damaging several office buildings. The bombings signaled “an alarming escalation in the risks faced by humanitarian workers” and halted the provision of badly needed aid to 217,000 residents, the U.N. statement said. Yemeni officials blamed Islamic extremist groups, noting that al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen has previously attacked aid organizations around Dhale and routinely incites violence against foreign-funded humanitarian programs, accusing them of anti-Islamic activity. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations. The U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock condemned “the continuation of media campaigns in parts of Yemen that spread rumors and incitement against aid operations,” compelling them to cut back on crucial work. The International Rescue Committee, a New York-based nonprofit, reported that grenades exploded in its office and women’s center on Sunday night and expressed “extreme concern” for the safety of its local staff. It said the group would restart programs “as soon as it is deemed safe for our staff to return to work.” Militants also struck the Dhale office of Oxfam, one of Britain’s largest charities. “Aid workers should not be a target,” said Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s director in Yemen. Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, has been convulsed by civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured the capital, Sanaa, along with much of the country’s north, driving out the internationally-recognized government. Months later, a Saudi-led coalition intervened to fight the Iran-backed Houthis and restore the government. In the country’s north, the Houthi-run health ministry declared Tuesday that a bout of fast-spreading swine flu had killed 94 people in October alone. Thousands of reported cases have overwhelmed health care facilities already crippled by constant violence, said Mohammed al-Mansour, a senior Houthi health official, warning the death toll would likely rise. A new outbreak of dengue fever has also swept across the country, killing 68 people, including 16 children under five so far this month, he added. The painful disease has re-emerged due to the deterioration of Yemen’s health and sanitation systems. Fighting in Yemen has killed over 100,000 people and set off the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine. ___ DeBre reported from Cairo.
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24152
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Americans who get their insurance through the workplace, cost savings could be as much as $3,000 less per employee than if we do nothing.
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Obama says health reform legislation could reduce costs in employer plans by up to $3,000
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mixture
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National, Health Care, Barack Obama,
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"As the health care reform legislation heads toward a final vote, President Barack Obama has been out stumping hard for the plan, promising that if it passes, insurance premiums for most people will go down, at least compared to where they would be if the bill doesn't pass. ""Americans who get their insurance through the workplace, cost savings could be as much as $3,000 less per employer than if we do nothing,"" Obama said in a health reform speech at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., on March 19, 2010. ""Now, think about that. That’s $3,000 your employer doesn’t have to pay, which means maybe she can afford to give you a raise. ""We couldn't help but notice that this statistic is at odds with the forecast from the government's nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that Obama has been so fond of citing in the health care debate.But the CBO is not where the president got his number. Rather, the White House told us he got this statistic from a November report commissioned by the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs from some of the country's leading companies. The report, prepared by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources outsourcing and consulting company, states, ""We estimate that if enacted properly, the right legislative reforms could potentially reduce that trend line by more than $3,000 per employee, to $25,435. ""As a baseline for its analysis, Hewitt assumed that if the government does nothing, health care costs will continue to rise at the same pace they have over the last decade -- just over 10 percent a year. By that measure, health care expenses for companies would rise 166 percent by 2019, a rate they conclude is ""not sustainable."" The report is not a line-by-line analysis of the bill now being considered by the House, but rather looks at reforms in a broader context, said MacKenzie Lucas, a spokeswoman for Hewitt. Nevertheless, the report did consider the legislation in play at the time, most of which remains in the bill now being considered, and concluded it ""provides opportunities for real savings."" Among the promising ideas included in the legislation, the report stated, are ""proposed delivery system reforms such as value-based purchasing, Innovation Centers to experiment with alternative methods of provider reimbursement, accountable care organizations, payment bundling, and financial penalties for avoidable hospital readmissions. ""The report estimates these and other reforms ""could potentially reduce the rate of future health care cost increases by 15% to 20% when fully phased in by 2019. ""The report includes this caution, however: ""This assumes the government implements the initiatives quickly, accurately, and consistently, and that private payers follow by implementing similar measures in a disciplined and timely way. ""So that's the Hewitt report. But what about the report from the oft-cited Congressional Budget Office?In November, the CBO estimated that for the four out of five Americans who would get their insurance through their employer, the effect on premiums would be modest. Specifically, the CBO found that for people in the small group market, employers with 50 or fewer workers, the change in premiums would range from an increase of 1 percent to a decrease of 2 percent in 2016. In the large group market, premiums are projected to be zero to 3 percent lower in 2016 (relative to current law). That shakes out to a reduction of about $100 a year, at best, for single policies.So how do we get from the CBO's projected reduction of maybe $100 to Hewitt's $3,000?While Hewitt tried to quantify the long-term effects of some of the cost-saving pilot projects being tried in the health reform bill, and assumed their potential if they were fully implemented industry-wide, the CBO shied away from forecasting the effect of such programs. The CBO report states: ""The analysis does not incorporate potential effects of the proposal on the level or growth rate of spending for health care ... from the development and dissemination of less costly ways to deliver care that would be encouraged by the proposal. The impact of such 'spillover' effects on health care spending and health insurance premiums is difficult to quantify precisely, but the effect on premiums in 2016 would probably be small. ""But that doesn't mean those provisions should be dismissed, said Len Nichols, director of the Center for Health Policy Research an Ethics and George Mason University.While the CBO lacked the necessary proof to forecast the effects of programs that have never happened before, the potential savings from reorganizing the health care system are significant, he said. Assuming those changes occur, the $3,000 figure cited by Obama is a ""pretty reasonable projection,"" Nichols said. Just don't expect those changes to affect your premiums any time soon. Some of them may be 10 to 20 years down the road, he said. ""But if it's going to take 17 years, we need to start this afternoon,"" Nichols said. ""Either we realign the incentives, or we suffer the fate. ""A couple qualifiers are in order here. First, none of the forecasts suggests premiums will be going down. Rather, the Hewitt report talks about premiums going up dramatically over the next decade, just not as much as if proper reforms are instituted. And the report is talking about long-term effects. The CBO doesn't think people getting insurance through an employer will see much change in premiums either way by 2016. And while the Hewitt report suggests significant reductions in health care costs could be achieved through meaningful health care reform, it doesn't say specifically that that is the case with the plan now before the House. And it provides lots of warnings about how things could go awry. In short, Obama is citing a very speculative report that doesn't speak directly to the legislation at hand. And it's a report that speaks to potential effects many years in the future. For more near-term effects, we think the CBO report is more definitive. But the Hewitt report does track a number of the provisions that were in the Senate plan in November, most of which are in the plan now before the House."
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11091
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Study Shows a Probiotic Supplement May Help Treat Babies With Colic
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There was no independent perspective or interview of any kind conducted for this story. And the lack of expert feedback shows in the mediocre evaluation of the evidence, vague discussion of benefits, and failure to provide important context about previous research in this area. Perhaps most troubling, the story did not mention that the study being covered was funded by the manufacturer of the probiotic supplement being tested–one of several reasons for readers to look cautiously on the findings. It would be nice to offer parents an effective evidence-based treatment for infant colic–a condition typically characterized by at least 3 hours of crying at least 3 days per week during the first few months of life. Although many will consider this trial to be proof of probiotics’ effectiveness (an impression bolstered by WebMD’s incurious coverage), a small study such as this one can never conclusively establish a treatment benefit. Failure to discuss this uncertainty leaves readers with only half the story.
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false
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"The story did not mention how much treatment with this probiotic costs. A month’s supply costs about $40 according to one Internet retailer–information that easily could have been included in the piece. The story reports the number of minutes per day that children cried in the probiotic and placebo group — a reasonable characterization of the main findings. Although we’ll award a borderline satisfactory, we wish the story had avoided some of the following vague language: Probiotics are generally regarded as safe for healthy children. Nevertheless, the mechanism through which these bacteria work are not well understood, and there have been reports of severe infections attributable to probiotics in critically ill or immunocompromised patients. We don’t necessarily think the story needed to get into this level of detail about potential adverse effects, but some comment about the general safety (or lack thereof) of this probiotic strain should have been provided This one was close, but ultimately unsatisfactory in our opinion. Although the study provides a reasonable explanation of the intervention, the measures, and the main results, it failed to discuss the limitations of a study which included just 50 patients. Small, early studies often report dramatic benefits from a new therapy (especially when they are industry-sponsored); the benefits seen in subsequent larger studies is usually less impressive for a variety of reasons. Had the study contacted an independent expert for a comment on the findings (another deficiency discussed below under the ""Sources"" criterion), they likely would have provided this context. The story did not exaggerate the effects of infant colic. A real shortcoming. No independent perspective was provided nor were the researchers themselves interviewed for the story. In addition, the story failed to point out that the study was funded by probiotic manufacturer BioGaia. The story notes that there is no known cause or cure for infant colic. However, the story should have noted that colic goes away on it’s own after several weeks, and is not a ""disease"", therefore may not need treatment. A close call, but satisfactory. Not enough information here. The probiotic tested in this study is actually a commercially available product distributed by the study’s sponsor, BioGaia–information which was never provided to readers. (More on this later under the ""Sources"" criterion below.) Moreover, the story attributed the benefits observed in the study to the Lactobacillus reuteri species of probiotic; it should have pointed out that the researchers tested a specific commercial strain of L. reuteri known as Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17 938. Different strains of the same probiotic are known to produce widely varying effects, so the reduction in crying observed in the study might not be seen with other strains of L. reuteri. The story failed to mention important background here. The study reported on was actually a follow-up to a previous open label study (the researchers knew which children were getting what treatment) conducted by these same investigators and which also found a benefit for L reuteri on colic. The fact that this second, blinded trial has confirmed the previous findings should increase our confidence that something real is happeneing here. Still, as previously noted, larger, independent studies will be needed to conclusively establish a benefit for probiotics on colic. We couldn’t find any evidence that this story relied on a news release. Considering that nobody was interviewed, however, the best we can do is call it not applicable."
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8030
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Toughest weeks ahead in coronavirus fight, warns French PM.
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The next two weeks will be the toughest yet in the fight against coronavirus in France, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned on Saturday as his government raced to add intensive care beds and source protective gear.
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true
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Health News
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The outbreak initially took hold in eastern France, where hospitals have become overwhelmed, and has been spreading west. Doctors in the greater Paris region have said their intensive care units will be full by the end of the weekend. “We are fighting a battle that will take time,” Philippe said at a news conference. “The first two weeks of April will be harder than the two we have just lived through.” To free up intensive care beds in worst-hit areas, the army and emergency workers were this weekend stepping up the transfer of patients to less-affected regions, using a military helicopter and a specially adapted train. By Saturday, the coronavirus had claimed 2,314 lives in France, with more than 37,575 confirmed cases, according to official figures. The government tally only accounts for those dying in hospital but authorities say they will be able to compile data on deaths in retirement homes from next week, which is likely to result in a marked increase in registered fatalities. In southern France, the Occitanie health authority reported 11 deaths in a nursing home near Montpellier. Dozens more elderly people are known to have died in separate cases. Health Minister Olivier Veran said he would be instructing care homes to isolate every single elderly resident in an effort to curb the virus among the most vulnerable. “We need to go further to protect the vulnerable in nursing homes,” Veran said. As the number of cases balloons and hospitals struggle, doctors, carers and police have complained of an acute shortage of protective gear. Veran said the government had ordered more than 1 billion face masks, most from China, to build up supplies, with the country using some 40 million every week during the crisis. Hospitals have scrambled to add intensive car beds and canceled non-essential operations. There were now 10,000 intensive care beds nationwide, double the capacity when the outbreak began, and another 4,500 were targeted, Veran said. But doctors warned beds alone were insufficient. “We lack manpower,” Djillali Annane, head of intensive care at the Raymond Poincare hospital on the edge of Paris, told BFM TV. Medical students are being drafted in to help ease the staffing crunch. A decision would be taken in a week on a further extension of an unprecedented lockdown beyond April 15, the prime minister said. People in France can only leave their homes to buy groceries, go to work if essential or seek medical care. “We will only be able to see the first signs of what impact the lockdown has had toward the end of next week,” Arnaud Fontanet of the Institut Pasteur told the same news conference.
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10096
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Restrictive Diet May Reduce ADHD Symptoms
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This story presented a more cautious view than the WebMD story we reviewed on a study suggesting that a restrictive diet may help ease the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It did a nice job avoiding disease mongering, evaluating the quality of the evidence, describing the benefits in both relative and absolute terms and making good use of independent experts. It also does a better job describing the diet itself and explaining the IgG antibody component of the research. ADHD affects, by most estimates, 1 out of every 20 kids, and researchers are not certain what causes it or what aggravates it. This story noted that there is controversy among researchers and clinicians about whether to put children on restrictive diets. Many parents are eager to find efficacious therapies that are not medications. This is one of only a few studies to take a randomized, controlled trial approach to studying dietary effects on ADHD, and, according to the Lancet, it is the largest trial to date. That makes the findings important, but, as experts in the field note in this story, the findings demand more questions than they answer. This story did a good job raising those issues and making it clear to readers that they should not put their children on a restrictive diet based on this one study.
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mixture
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Diet studies,HealthDay
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Neither story mentions specific costs. Both stories say that if parents are to embark on this diet, they will need to have their kids monitored. This story says that parents should have their children monitored by “a primary care doctor and, if possible, a dietician.” That would make this diet extremely expensive and would require significant out-of-pocket spending given that insurance companies are not currently paying parents to see their doctor for ADHD-related diet monitoring. The story provided the benefits in both relative and absolute terms, allowing readers to see that the numbers are actually quite small. “Forty-one children completed the restrictive phase of the diet. Of those, 78 percent had a reduction in their ADHD symptoms, compared with no improvement in the controls. Nine children (22 percent) didn’t respond to the diet.” However, why not give the absolute number for what the 78% represents, rather than expecting people to pull out a calculator. The story provided such a number for the non-response group. The jumble of how numbers are presented can be confusing.
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29801
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Then-Vice President Joe Biden publicly revealed the identity of the special-operations unit responsible for Osama bin Laden’s killing during a 3 May 2011 speech at the Atlantic Council Awards Dinner.
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In point of fact, the claim that Biden “publicly revealed the identity of the special-operations unit responsible for bin Laden’s killing” is demonstrably false. He did not identify the unit involved in the attack. He did, however, acknowledge the involvement of Navy SEALs more generally. This fact had been widely reported before Biden made his remarks.
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false
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Politics
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In the early hours of 2 May 2011, a team of 79 American special-operation forces belonging to the Navy’s elite SEAL Team 6 flew two helicopters at low altitude across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, avoiding Pakistani radar as they landed in a compound inhabited by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Minutes later, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. was dead, and the SEALs were airborne once again. That evening, U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed in televised remarks that bin Laden was dead and that no Americans had been harmed in the operation. In its 2 May 2011 reporting of the raid, The New York Times stated that the Obama administration “disclosed” that SEALs and CIA operatives had taken part in the raid: The administration disclosed that military and intelligence officials first learned last summer that a “high-value target” was being protected in the compound, and they began working on a plan for going in to get him. Beginning in March, Mr. Obama presided over five national security meetings at the White House to review plans for the operation. On Friday morning, just before leaving Washington to tour tornado damage in Alabama, Mr. Obama gave the final order for members of the Navy Seals and C.I.A. operatives to strike. That same day, the Washington Post specifically identified the SEAL team that carried out the raid: The elite team of Navy SEALs tapped for the job were a group who were stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach. The team is part of a counterterrorism group so specialized that no one can apply to join it. The operatives are recruited from existing SEAL teams. They are an elite group within the elite. The next day, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the 2011 Atlantic Council Awards Dinner, which was that year honoring among others Admiral James G. Stavridis, then-Supreme Allied Commander for NATO. In Biden’s speech, he acknowledged the bin Laden raid in two instances, mentioning — as did The New York Times the day before — that Navy SEALs and the CIA were involved: Let me briefly acknowledge tonight’s distinguished honorees: Admiral Jim Stavridis is a – is the real deal; he could tell you more about and understands the incredible, the phenomenal, the just almost unbelievable capacity of his Navy SEALS and what they did last – last Sunday. […] I’d be remiss also if I didn’t say an extra word about the incredible events, extraordinary events this past Sunday. As vice president of the United States, as an American, I was in absolute awe – awe – of the capacity and dedication of the entire team, both the intelligence community, the CIA, the SEALs; it just was extraordinary. These statements have been used to suggest that Biden put Seal Team 6 in danger, and that he may have even been responsible for the death of several SEAL Team 6 members in a raid that occurred three months later — a claim popularized by Boston-area radio personality Jeffrey T. Kuhner. Writing an “opinion/analysis” piece for the Washington Times in June 2013, he described Biden’s speech this way: On May 3, at an event in Washington, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. did the unthinkable: He publicly revealed the identity of the special-operations unit responsible for bin Laden’s killing. His reckless action put at risk the lives of every member of SEAL Team 6. The Taliban and other jihadists eager to avenge bin Laden now knew which unit to target. Stunned and shocked, SEAL members immediately realized they were going to be hunted by al Qaeda sympathizers. […] SEAL Team 6 is a covert unit, which is supposed to operate in the shadows. This is how they are able to conduct deadly raids on terrorist groups. Their reward, however, for killing the world’s foremost terrorist mastermind was to be outed by their own government. Readers who had actually seen Biden’s speech would likely be confused by this interpretation. In his speech, Biden at no point mentioned SEAL Team 6, the names of any SEALs involved in the raid, or any other information that had not been publicaly reported the day before. We asked Stavridis if he felt Biden’s words put the lives of people who conducted the raid at risk. By email, he told us that he and another military figure in attendance did not then, and do not now, believe Biden put lives at risk: The Navy Special Warfare community is generally (and appropriately) tight lipped about their operations. That said — I did not believe that night in May 2011 — or today — that Vice President Biden’s comments were in any way inappropriate or that they put at risk the lives of those who conducted that historic operation. I think he kept it at a level of generalization that made it completely acceptable in my view. My close friend and colleague retired Navy captain Bill Harlow was also at the event and served many years as a public affairs specialist for the Navy and at both NSC staff and the CIA. I matched recollections with his and he agrees with the view above as well. Despite these realities, the claim that Biden released actionable, identifying information about the unit that carried out the bin Laden raid has metastasized into something even more inflammatory. Kuhner, in his Washington Times piece, suggested that Biden intentionally placed SEAL Team 6 in danger, and that this action was responsible for the death of Americans involved in a later 6 August 2011 mission that took the lives of 15 SEAL Team 6 operators and 15 other American service members: On Aug. 6, 2011, a Chinook helicopter carrying 30 U.S. service members — including 15 SEAL Team 6 members — was shot down in Afghanistan. Everyone on board was killed. The rescue team was sent to aid an Army Ranger unit battling the Taliban and desperately in need of backup. The Chinook was shot down by a Taliban rocket-propelled grenade in Wardak province. Taliban fighters were waiting on three sides for the aircraft as it approached. The Chinook was a sitting duck as it hovered in the sky. The evidence is overwhelming and disturbing: SEAL Team 6 members were ambushed. It was America’s single greatest loss of life in Afghanistan and the largest number of SEALs ever killed in one incident in history. […] Mr. Biden is no bumbling fool. Rather, his deliberate, reckless disclosure placed SEAL Team 6 in mortal jeopardy. He and his boss, President Obama, exploited them in order to boost their re-election chances. The SEALs, however, paid the ultimate price. Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden have American blood on their hands. Kuhner made no effort in that story or in any subsequent reporting that repeats his claims to explain how Biden’s “disclosure” that Navy SEALs were involved in the 1 May 2011 bin Laden raid would have tipped off the Taliban to the fact that the SEALs — specifically SEAL Team 6 — would be conducting an operation in Afghanistan on 6 August 2011. Instead, Kuhner relies on innuendo and a misrepresentation of Biden’s remarks to make that point. This poorly reasoned innuendo, though it may be lacking in basis, apparently is re-emerging as a smear against Biden now that he has declared his candidacy for president in the 2020 election.
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26065
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"Priorities USA Action Says President Trump said coronavirus testing makes the U.S. look bad, ""so I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down.’"
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As health officials push increased testing as key to managing COVID-19, Trump has increasingly questioned the need for testing. The president has called testing “overrated” and repeatedly said the high number of confirmed cases makes the U.S. look bad. He went a step farther at a rally in Oklahoma, saying the U.S. should slow testing as a result. Aides insisted he was joking, while Trump at one point said he wasn’t joking, and at another said he wasn’t serious about slowing testing. The attack ad in question lays out these quotes in chronological order in a way that is fair to the context where Trump used them.
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true
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Public Health, Wisconsin, Coronavirus, Priorities USA Action,
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"Months into the coronavirus pandemic, much remains unknown about the virus’ origins, transmission and longevity. But the need for more testing is a point of near unanimous agreement among health officials, scientists and members of both political parties. It’s the pathway to better understanding how far the disease has spread, how common severe cases are and how best to address it. So is the president pushing to limit testing? A new attack ad from Priorities USA targeting Wisconsin and other battleground states makes that claim with a series of quotes from President Donald Trump. Over the mandatory ominous music, the ad plays four Trump quotes asserting testing is making America look bad, so we should slow it down. Ads in this style have been known to pull quotes out of context or rearrange them chronologically to create a more compelling narrative. That didn’t happen here. America has the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the world — with 2.3 million as of June 24, 2020 — and has also done the most testing in the world, in terms of raw numbers. Across the nation we are conducting about 500,000 tests per day now, double where we were in early May, according to covidtracking.com. That said, many countries have done more testing on a per-capita basis, as detailed by Johns Hopkins University. Throughout the pandemic the U.S. has averaged about 56 tests per day per 100,000 people. Germany, Canada, Spain and Australia have all tested at a higher rate, and Russia and Qatar are among a handful of countries that have topped 100 daily tests per 100,000 people. Trump has boasted of the volume of testing in the past, saying America’s testing is the best in the world and that the high number of confirmed cases is a ""badge of honor."" But since May, the president has also increasingly pushed back against testing, calling it ""overrated"" and noting the bad optics associated with the higher case counts. He took that line of reasoning a step farther in his latest comments, as detailed in the ad. Here are the four quotes in context. Trump said this May 6, 2020, during a meeting with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. The quote ""The media likes to say we have the most cases, but we do, by far, the most testing. If we did very little testing, we wouldn’t have the most cases. So, in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad."" The context Reynolds — a Republican — responded to Trump by highlighting the importance of testing: ""That really provides us the data we need to understand the virus activity better."" Trump, meanwhile, has made numerous similar comments, including a June 19, 2020, Wall Street Journal interview where he called testing ""overrated"" and said ""in many ways, it makes us look bad."" Trump said this May 14, 2020, during an appearance in Pennsylvania. The quote ""Don’t forget, we have more cases than anyone in the world, but why? Because we do more testing. When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases."" The context Trump asserts there would be fewer cases if there were less testing. Of course, less testing would simply mean officials are aware of less cases, or there would be fewer identified cases — it wouldn’t mean fewer cases exist. But this line of thinking is consistent with other comments from the president, including a May 15, 2020, event where Trump said, ""If we didn't do any testing, we would have very few cases,"" and ""Maybe it (testing) is overrated."" These statements, used separately in the ad, are both from a June 20, 2020, rally in Oklahoma. The quote ""You know, testing is a double-edged sword. We’ve tested now 25 million people. It’s probably 20 million people more than anybody else. German’s done a lot. South Korea’s done a lot. They called me, they said the job you’re doing (trails off). Here’s the bad part. When you’re testing to that extent, you’re going to find more people, you’re going to find more cases. So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’"" (Note: The U.S. has conducted more tests than any other country in terms of raw numbers, but the ""20 million … more than anybody else"" is wrong. Russia has conducted more than 17 million tests, according to tallies from Our World in Data) The context Various White House officials claimed Trump was speaking in ""jest"", was ""obviously kidding"" or was speaking ""tongue in cheek"" about slowing down testing. Trump himself has responded to this assertion multiple ways. On June 23, 2020, he was asked specifically if he was kidding about slowing down testing. He responded, ""I don’t kid. Let me just tell you. Let me make it clear,"" then went on to talk about America having ""the greatest testing program anywhere."" But in an interview that day with FOX News, Trump responded to a question — ""But you don’t mean, do you mean slow down testing?"" — by backing away from the statement and reiterating the idea that the U.S. would look better if it tested less. ""No I don’t mean slow down, but if we did slow down … let’s say instead of 25 million tests we did 5 million tests, we’d be very low in cases right now, and everyone would say, ‘Isn’t that wonderful,’"" Trump told ""Fox & Friends."" Dr. Anthony Fauci — part of the national coronavirus task force — said that day in testimony before Congress the federal government is trying to expand coronavirus testing, not slow it down. Fauci told the House Energy and Commerce Committee, ""None of us have ever been told to slow down on testing."" An attack ad targeting various battleground states quotes Trump as saying testing makes the U.S. look bad, ""so I said to my people slow the testing down."" Video recordings show he did indeed say these lines, and in the order presented. And the overall impression created by the ad is consistent with Trump’s messaging over the preceding month and a half. As health officials and politicians alike have pushed for more testing, Trump has expressed increasing doubts as to its importance, progressing from calling it ""overrated"" to calling for the slow down. Though White House officials defended that as a joke, Trump at one point contradicted that, while at another saying he didn’t mean it."
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In Defense of Fiber: How Changing Your Diet Changes Your Gut Bacteria
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Top Indian electricity generator NTPC has rejected the emissions-cutting technology of GE and other foreign firms for its coal-fired plants, documents show, shutting them out of an estimated $2 billion in orders.
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akkermansia,Fiber,gut bacteria
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Despite struggling with some of the world’s worst air pollution levels, India has already pushed back a deadline to cut emission levels to up to 2022, after extensive lobbying by power producers who cited high costs and technical difficulties. The rejection of the foreign technology comes at a time when over half of coal-fired plants in India are already set to miss a phased deadline starting Dec. 2019 to cut emissions of lung diseases-causing sulphur oxides. State-run NTPC, which generates a quarter of India’s electricity, held talks with foreign firms including General Electric Co, Norway-based Yara International and Japan-based Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems over the potential purchase of filters that lower emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxide. However, none of the pilot tests it conducted met key emissions parameters, NTPC said in a presentation submitted last month to the Central Pollution Control Board. “The pilot tests concluded that both selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies currently available are not suitable for installation at power plants in India,” it said in the presentation reviewed by Reuters, referring to technologies used to cut emissions of nitrogen oxides. Thermal power companies produce three-quarters of the country’s electricity and account for some 80% of India’s industrial emissions of sulphur oxides that cause lung diseases and smog-creating nitrogen oxides. NTPC had presented cost estimates in 2016 for the installation of the technology to cut nitrogen oxides throughout its network of power plants. According to Reuters calculations based on those estimates, the cost would total $2.4 billion, although industry consultants said recently that those costs could now be 25% lower. The utility wants a dilution in nitrogen oxide emissions standards and claimed in last month’s presentation that the lowered standards can be achieved with minor retrofits, without the need to install new equipment. The pollution board held a stakeholder meeting on Nov. 7, an audio recording of which was reviewed by Reuters. In the meeting, GE and Yara representatives rejected NTPC’s views, saying their technologies were proven worldwide, according to the recording and two sources present at the meeting. NTPC did not attend the meeting. NTPC, and the Indian units of GE and Yara did not respond to detailed Reuters questionnaires seeking comment. Mitsubishi Hitachi did not immediately respond to a request for comment made on its website. NTPC said in the earlier presentation to the pollution board that high ash content in Indian coal posed challenges to installing SCR technology and that SNCR did not meet key parameters. The foreign companies responded, saying pilot tests were run in a constrained environment and that commercial use of the equipment, which requires some changes to the plant, would cut emissions to the required levels. “The conditions for the (pilot) test was that we can’t touch special parts at all, we can’t touch furnace tubes. NTPC did not allow us,” Senthilvel Rangasamy, a GE representative, said in the meeting. Premchand Talreja, the managing director of the Indian unit of Yara, said the pilot tests achieved the desired results. “There should not be doubt on the technology itself,” Talreja said in the meeting. Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and previously a member of a European Union technical working group on emissions by coal-fired utilities, said India has failed to curtail emissions due to “delay and misinformation tactics by the power industry”. “The power industry managed to build a myth that Indian coal is so special that technologies proven on a wide range of coal types elsewhere need to be tested and validated again in India before the standards can be implemented,” Myllyvirta told Reuters.
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Soaking pumpkins in a bleach bath of ten parts water or one part bleach extends their lifespan.
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A viral Facebook post was correct in indicating that a “bleach bath” could preserve pumpkins, but its ratio of one part of bleach to ten parts water was far stronger than the ratio recommended by Clorox, on a page designed to sell more bleach. Although other sites (like BobVila.com and ApartmentTherapy.com) recommended bleach baths for all pumpkins, Clorox only advised bleach for carved pumpkins and compared their treatment to that of cut flowers. Clorox said that carved pumpkins could be preserved with a solution of a teaspoon of bleach per gallon, or one teaspoon of bleach to 768 teaspoons of water.
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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As Halloween loomed, a September 26 2020 Facebook post advising users to give pumpkins a “bleach bath” proved extremely popular, racking up a six-figure share count in just a few days:Alongside an image of a carved pumpkin in a bucket, the original poster wrote:Did you know if you give your pumpkins a bleach bath (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) they will last much longer into the season? It kills all of the mold and fungus that causes them to rot. Happy fall!The image accompanying the claim showed a carved pumpkin; carved pumpkins tend to deteriorate far more quickly than intact ones. It wasn’t clear if the bleach tip was specifically intended for only pumpkins carved into jack-o-lanterns, or if the poster recommended dunking all pumpkins into a bleach bath. (The image in the Facebook post was taken from an October 13 2017 ApartmentTherapy.com post where the “bleach bath” tip appeared. )Discussion on the Pumpkin Bleach Bath Post: Clever Household Hack or Squirrel Death Penalty?Perhaps unsurprisingly, the comments section of the post did not appear to be awash in fellow users thanking the poster for her tip or exchanging stories about long-lived Halloween displays.Instead, most top-level comments debated whether or not the advice posed a fatal risk to hungry creatures. Others mentioned the dilution level (one part bleach to ten parts water), questioning whether or not that endangered potentially endangered wildlife or farm animals who might be fed donated pumpkins:“PLEASE DO NOT. It will kill animals that eat it. Deer, chipmunks, squirrels, birds, dogs/cats. Please, if you must, spray with vinegar -I am a wildlife biologist, I promise this is important”“Unfortunately very dangerous for wildlife even if kept away from them while on display it can’t be composted and will end up in landfill where animals will eat it and get very sick or worse.”“This is not safe for animals that will more than likely snack on your pumpkins when they’re outside unattended or when you get rid of them… please think about your local wild life before doing this!! !”“Everybody on here is is like don’t soak your pumpkins with a 1 to 10 ratio of bleach to water, but don’t realize a neighbor has 10,000 of bleach water next door in their pool. How many of those animals stop by for a quick drink. Gtfoh”“PROPERLY DILUTED BLEACH WILL NOT HARM THE SQUIRRELS YOU WALNUT BRAINS. You can literally use BLEACH TABLETS to purify drinking water. Stop word vomiting stuff that you’re not actually knowledge about 🙄”“If you do this, please remember not to donate them to the pig farmers when they start asking for your pumpkins.”Earlier Variations on the Pumpkin Bleach Bath ‘Halloween Hack’On October 28 2011, Today.com advised a solution of one tablespoon of bleach to one quart of water.You’ve just spent hours carving a freshly-picked pumpkin to perfection. How do you lengthen the life of your prized jack-o-lantern to keep it from shriveling up before Halloween? Try these tips using household products you already have …That was a ratio of one part bleach to 65 parts water, as one quart contains 65 tablespoons.ApartmentTherapy.com’s instructions were slightly more involved than those presented in the Facebook post, and the site recommended ongoing pumpkin bleach baths for carved pumpkin maintenance. Also, the ratio was even smaller than one part bleach to ten parts water, recommending a tablespoon of bleach for a gallon of water — although there were 65 tablespoons in a quart, there are 256 tablespoons in a gallon.The site advised soaking pumpkins in bleach prior to carving for ten minutes or longer:With your pumpkin still intact, find a bucket or vessel a bit bigger than your gourd. With the pumpkin inside, fill the bucket the rest of the way with a mixture of bleach and water (around 1 to 2 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water). Let the pumpkin soak for 10 minutes or more, moving the floating pumpkin around as needed. After the bleach bath, make sure to let your pumpkin dry completely before digging in with your carving knife.If you’re not carving your pumpkin, she’s good to go! Put her on the porch and enjoy the spooky season.But if you are carving… save that bleach water!For carved pumpkins, ApartmentTherapy.com advised reserving the “bleach bath” solution in an empty spray bottle, spraying the carved pumpkin after carving, and then re-spraying “every few days” to extend its life:You can use the same bleach water from your pre-carve bath, or make a fresh mixture with the same ratio (around 1 to 2 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water), but this time, you’ll want to use it to fill a spray bottle. When you’re done carving your Jack-O-Lantern, spray the bleach mixture all over the open surfaces inside of the pumpkin and within the carved sections. Then leave it upside down for a while until it’s fully dry.You can use your bleach spray every few days periodically to try and keep your pumpkin looking perfect.An undated post on BobVila.com recommended bleach as one of a few common household items useful in preserving uncarved pumpkins:Method 1: Use Bleach Bleach can scare off fungi and bacteria from your uncarved pumpkin before they transform into mold and rot. Dilute one tablespoon of bleach in four cups of water in a large bucket, then soak the pumpkin in the bleach solution for 20 minutes before removing and drying the pumpkin. If you decorated your uncarved pumpkin, skip the soaking and enlist a can of bleach-based spray to spray the entire surface of the pumpkin before letting it dry.BobVila.com used the same ratio Today.com provided, but specified “four cups,” or one quart. The site further advised at least twenty minutes of a bleach bath to “scare off” enterprising bacteria and fungi.Clorox Clarifies the Pumpkin Bleach Bath ControversyA May 2015 page on Clorox.com ( “How to Preserve a Carved Pumpkin,” under Home > How To > Hacks Crafts DIY > Surprising Uses For Clorox) addressed the use of bleach to extend the life of pumpkins. A search of Clorox.com returned a second page, published on October 28 2016. It covered the same topic and was headlined “Preserving Your Halloween Jack o’ Lanterns.”Both pages contained the same ratios and roughly identical language, explaining that the tip was an extension of similar advice they offered for extending the lives of cut flowers:Lots of people know Clorox® Regular Bleach2 can be used to help cut flowers stay beautiful longer, but may not know that the same bleach solution can also help keep a jack o’ lantern from getting fuzzy mold and black mildew inside. It’s super easy! If you’d like to try this, here’s how! […]The ratio offered by the bleach brand was even lower than ApartmentTherapy.com’s ratio of a tablespoon of bleach to a gallon of water. Clorox advised using three teaspoons (or one tablespoon) of standard (not concentrated) bleach to three gallons of water, or one teaspoon per gallon.Clorox’s recommendation was the most dilute; the Facebook post recommended one part bleach to ten parts water, while Clorox recommended one part bleach to 768 parts water. Although the 2016 post did not address wildlife safety, the 2015 post included the following portion about whether hungry animals were placed at risk by the pumpkin bleach bath:Don’t worry about bleach hurting squirrels or other curious critters who might take a nibble of your treated pumpkin. During normal household use, bleach breaks down primarily into salt and water. So after using Clorox® Bleach as directed on your pumpkins, the diluted bleach solution will break down to table salt and water when it’s exposed to the air and sun. The pumpkin will just taste a bit saltier than the squirrels were expecting!Nevertheless, Clorox recommended a far smaller ratio of bleach to water for carved pumpkins. The ratio of bleach in the Facebook post was 77 times higher than the dilution Clorox advised.Bleach, Food Science, and Pet SafetyA PDF published by food scientists at the University of Oklahoma issued guidelines regarding the safe use of “chlorine bleach for sanitizing raw fruits and vegetables,” writing:Presumably, the fresh water rinse eliminates any potential problem with residual chlorine. As a practical matter, residual chlorine would in most foods produce highly objectionable flavors and odors well before becoming a safety hazard. Food processing in-plant chlorination systems typically produce water for processing with residual available chlorine levels of no more than 0.5 ppm. For container cooling or general washing, residual available chlorine levels of 2 to 7 ppm are commonly used. Typical municipal water systems produce potable water with a residual available chlorine level of 0.25 to 2 ppm.Per the guidance, “residual” bleach would — for humans — produce an unpleasant flavor or scent before reaching levels of poisoning risk; diluted bleach is used in food processing at low levels. That said, a number of veterinary advice pages address accidental bleach ingestion in pets and suggest that animals do not always avoid eating objects contaminated with it.A 2008 toxicology brief about bleach and dogs notes that calculating a precise safe level of diluted bleach is difficult, but extrapolates a rough amount from known levels of human toxicity. That report involved two dogs which were euthanized after consuming undiluted bleach:While a lethal dose of sodium hypochlorite in dogs is not established in the veterinary literature, extrapolation from a reported lethal dose of sodium chloride of 3.7 g/kg in dogs may be considered. For example, a 40-lb (18-kg) dog would have to ingest about 67 g of sodium chloride to attain this lethal dose. The consumption of 1 L of 6.15% sodium hypochlorite bleach containing 19.1 mg/ml of sodium and 30 mg/ml of chloride would equal the ingestion of 49.1 g of sodium chloride. Assuming the animals only ingested several hundred milliliters of bleach, this amount would not have been sufficient to attain the lethal dose of sodium chloride. However, corrosive injury to the gastrointestinal tract and the development of other metabolic derangements and secondary complications, such as aspiration pneumonia, likely contributed to the severity of the toxicosis. Therefore, it is reasonable to suspect that ingestion of at least several hundred milliliters of bleach resulted in the severe morbidity of these dogs, which led to their euthanasia.Researchers deduced a lethal dose of 67 grams for a dog weighing roughly 40 lbs. ; one teaspoon is equivalent to about 4.2 grams, and a tablespoon contains about 14.6 grams. Although most of the concentrations mentioned above diluted the nearly 15 grams of a tablespoon in either a quart or a gallon, the Facebook post advised one part of bleach to ten parts of water.Clorox also featured a March 2018 page about pet-safe uses of Clorox bleach, and noting that bleach can serve as “a simple and inexpensive way to help prevent the spread of parvo and other viruses.” That recommended a slightly stronger dilution for disinfecting toys and crates:Use Clorox® Regular-Bleach to disinfect hard, nonporous surfaces and accessories like crates and toys on a regular basis. You can use a solution of ½ cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water. To kill parvo, soak the items in the solution for 10 minutes, then rinse and air dry.That solution of half a cup of bleach to a gallon of water was stronger than the pumpkin solution Clorox recommended (a teaspoon per gallon), as there were 32 half cups in a gallon. Therefore, the recommended ratio for pet cleaning was one part bleach to 32 parts of water.SummaryA viral Facebook post was correct in indicating that a “bleach bath” could preserve pumpkins, but its ratio of one part of bleach to ten parts water was far stronger than the ratio recommended by Clorox, on a page designed to sell more bleach. Although other sites (like BobVila.com and ApartmentTherapy.com) recommended bleach baths for all pumpkins, Clorox only advised bleach for carved pumpkins and compared their treatment to that of cut flowers. Clorox said that carved pumpkins could be preserved with a solution of a teaspoon of bleach per gallon, or one teaspoon of bleach to 768 teaspoons of water.Comments
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Czech hospital says baby girl born to brain-dead mother.
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A Czech clinic says a baby girl has been born to a brain-dead woman kept on life support for nearly three months to allow her pregnancy to go ahead.
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true
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Health, General News, Europe, Brno
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The University Hospital in the second-largest Czech city of Brno said Tuesday the 2.1-kilogram (4.6-pound) baby was born by cesarean section when the mother was 34 weeks pregnant. The hospital statement did not provide details on the baby’s health, but Czech public television said the girl — born earlier this month — is now with her father. The 27-year-old mother was declared brain-dead in early June after suffering a brain hemorrhage a few weeks into her pregnancy. At the time, the hospital said doctors would keep the mother alive on mechanical support until the baby was developed enough to be delivered.
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A single test to detect many winter ailments
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This story does a good job of presenting accurate, comprehensive information about the xTag Respiratory Viral Panel. The xTag test was recently approved by the FDA and is the first of its kind to provide early detection of multiple respiratory viruses. These viruses can cause acute respiratory infections such as the common cold, influenza, bronchitis, croup, and pneumonia. The article succinctly describes the complex technology employed by the test in easily understandable terms. The xTag test is presented in context of a key health issue: the under-diagnosis of the flu in vulnerable populations, such as children, versus the inappropriate and unneeded prescription antibiotics in cases where they are ineffective in treating the flu. This story takes a balanced approach in presenting the evidence supporting the pros and cons of the test. It could have been improved by stating that it is not necessary for most routine febrile illnesses in the outpatient setting. Overall, the article is well done and informative.
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true
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This story does a good job of providing the cost of the XTag respiratory panel, $300-400, and cost-related information. The test is relatively expensive but is also covered by insurance. The story presents several benefits of the xTag test. It is 1) more sensitive and more comprehensive than currently available tests and diagnostic procedures, 2) it can address the problem of under-diagnosis of the flu in vulnerable populations, such as children and the elderly, 3) it can inform treatment decisions by potentially reducing the inappropriate use of antibiotics while indicating when they might be beneficial. An important caveat is that it is not known whether diagnosing these viruses improves outcomes, i.e. decreased use of antibiotics, fewer hospitalizations, fewer deaths. The two main drawbacks of the xTag test, that it is expensive and can take up to a day or two to get the results, are presented. Expense is an important issue given the volume of acute febrile illnesses in children, particularly if this test were given routinely in an outpatient setting. In addition, if the processing time at the specific location is is too long, the test may not have any practical benefit in the treatment decision window. This article provides comprehensive information in an easily understandable way. For example, it provides the context/relevance of the xTag test by summarizing results published in a prestigious medical journal, describing how the test is administered to a patient and the laboratory process used to analyze the sample. It also explains the key pieces of a diagnostic test, sensitivity and specificity. This article is topical because the winter flu season is arriving. However, clarification of the type of patient and situation where this test would be most beneficial was missing. This test would be beneficial for children seen in emergency rooms or hospitalized with acute respiratory illnesses, where making the correct diagnosis as rapidly as possible is essential. The test is generally not needed for most children in the primary care setting who present with symptoms of a short-term flu. In these cases, good physician judgement will determine whether an acute illness is viral in most instances, precluding the need for antibiotics. Although the example of influenza treatment (as a ‘missed opportunity’) was given, this treatment would only decrease symptoms by 1-2 days, which would not be significant for most healthy children. This story draws information from a variety of credible sources, including the FDA, a researcher who published results indicating that the flu is under-diagnosed in children, and an independent emergency room physician. Information from the manufacturer is also given. This article covers all of the bases on treatment diagnosis and treatment option. The flu can be diagnosed based upon clinical observations of signs and symptoms or by other available flu tests. Treatment options, flu medicine, antibiotics or no treatment, are clearly indicated. This story provides good information about availability. The Xtag test is mainly used in hospitals and emergency rooms but can also be done in the primary care setting. Other important information on variability of the length of time needed to process the test, from hours to 1-2 days, was also provided. The xTag test is novel and the article handles this nicely. It is the only FDA approved product that can detect multiple viral strains that can cause acute respiratory diseases. Because an independent source was quoted, it appears the story did not rely solely or largely on a news release.
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Gerwig talks ‘Little Women’ for academy’s women initiative.
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With a new awards season underway, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hosted a luncheon Wednesday supporting female filmmakers and celebrating the women behind Greta Gerwig’s upcoming “Little Women.”
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true
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Laura Poitras, Cynthia Erivo, Academy Awards, New York, Entertainment, Laura Dern, Jane Rosenthal, Movies, Amy Pascal, Meg Ryan, Science, Greta Gerwig, Constance Wu
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The event, held at Rockefeller Center’s Rainbow Room, drew much of New York’s filmmaking elite and many of the faces likely to be seen throughout the coming season, including actors Constance Wu (“Hustlers”), Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”) and Meg Ryan; producers Christine Vachon (“Dark Waters”) and Jane Rosenthal (“The Irishman”); documentarians Barbara Kopple and Laura Poitras; and “Honey Boy” director Alma Har’el. Gerwig, actor Laura Dern and producer Amy Pascal _ all collaborators on “Little Women” _discussed the hardships and joys of getting a female-led production made in an industry that has made improvements in gender parity but still lags woefully behind in equality. Pascal, the former Sony Pictures chief, noted that today there are just as many women running studios (one, Universal’s Donna Langley) as there were when she took over Sony two decades ago. “Nothing’s ever any different,” said Pascal. “So how do you get a movie made like this? Everybody says no. You ask everyone else again and they say no. Then you just beg someone and make it impossible for them to say no because you have a script that is so spectacular and is so accessible and is so different and modern, and a director who just made the most amazing first film.” Gerwig’s acclaimed first solo writing-directing effort, 2017’s “Lady Bird,” ultimately led to her becoming just the fifth woman ever nominated for best director at the Academy Awards. But none of that had happened when Gerwig first met with Pascal on “Little Women.” “Greta came to us and said ’I’m the only one who can do this,” recalled Pascal. “She said, ‘It’s all about money and women and freedom.’ That’s it.’ “I just imagine when I go meet with people who have the power to get things done, I say, ‘What’s the worst that can happen? They say no,’” said Gerwig. “So I tell them I’m the best.” Wednesday’s event, part of a women’s initiative by the academy begun last year, was a moment, amid the sparkling heights of the Rainbow Room, for encouragement, inspiration and female solidarity. “I look around and I think: We are unstoppable,” said Dawn Hudson, chief executive of the academy. Since 2015, the academy has grown its female membership from 25% to 32%. Earlier this year, its new class of inductees reached gender parity for the first time. In 10 of the 17 branches _ including directing, writing and producing _ more women were invited than men. But studies have also shown the industry isn’t changing so much. Last year, just 8% of the top 250 films at the domestic box office were directed by women, a decrease of 3% from the year before, and below even the levels of 1998. To help urge on a new generation of filmmakers, the academy has been giving fellowships to young women aspiring to Hollywood. On Wednesday, Hudson awarded the fourth such fellowship, which includes a $35,000 grant, to Eliana Pipes, a Columbia University graduate currently studying theater at Boston University. In London on Friday, she will hand out a fifth fellowship. Researching “Little Women,” Gerwig said, made her realize that the difficulties of being a woman getting a film made today aren’t so different than those Louisa May Alcott faced publishing her novel in 19th century New England. “What was astonishing to me was how parallel Louisa May Alcott’s experience was to the experience of trying to get a film about women off the ground today. Her publisher didn’t know that it was any good. And she didn’t really think it was any good,” said Gerwig. “It took other women saying they were interested in it, and I think that happens today in all offices.” Dern was still buzzing from seeing “Little Women” (to be released Dec. 25) just the day before. She said the production was plainly different than most. “As we’re longing for change in all these areas, to show up on set, to show up in rehearsals and see that the space you created was not only incredibly embracing and collaborative and safe, but I saw women everywhere,” said Dern, who plays Marmee March. “I saw the choices you were making each day to lift up and support other female artists, collaborators, crew.” Gerwig said those cast and crew decisions weren’t based on anything but talent. “Female filmmakers, female storytellers, female collaborators, you hire them because they’re the best ones,” said Gerwig. “That’s why you hire them.” The male perspective of the industry, they collectively agreed, has given rise to some absurd myths about women, among them the “difficult” actress, the “emotional” director or “infighting”-prone females. “Have you ever been on a movie set with a bunch of men? They’re fighting all the time,” said Gerwig to laughter and applause. “But when women display any emotion at anything at all, they’re like, ‘She’s crazy.’ If women have an argument on the film set, it’s no different than men having an argument on a film set.” The Oscar-winning filmmaker and journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy concluded the afternoon with rousing remarks drawing on her hard-fought experiences in her native Pakistan. “I see every single day that young women are changing the way they see themselves,” said Obaid-Chinoy. “And film is empowering them to do that.” ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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Fauci: ‘We’re not there yet’ on key steps to reopen economy.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation’s economy, adding a dose of caution to increasingly optimistic projections from the White House.
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true
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AP Top News, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, Anthony Fauci, General News, Politics, Business, Infectious diseases, Donald Trump, Virus Outbreak, Economy
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“We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet,” Fauci said in an interview with The Associated Press. Fauci’s comments come as President Donald Trump and others in the administration weigh how quickly businesses can reopen and Americans can get back to work weeks after the fast-spreading coronavirus essentially halted the U.S. economy. Trump has floated the possibility of reopening some areas by May 1 and said he could announce recommendations as soon as this week. Fauci said a May 1 target is “a bit overly optimistic” for many areas of the country. Any easing off the strict social-distancing rules in place in much of the country would have to occur on a “rolling” basis, not all at once, he said, reflecting the ways COVID-19 struck different parts of the country at different times. Among Fauci’s top concerns: that there will be new outbreaks in locations where social distancing has eased, but public health officials don’t yet have the capabilities to rapidly test for the virus, isolate any new cases and track down everyone that an infected person came into contact with. “I’ll guarantee you, once you start pulling back there will be infections. It’s how you deal with the infections that’s going count,” Fauci told the AP. Key is “getting people out of circulation if they get infected, because once you start getting clusters, then you’re really in trouble,” he added. At the same time Fauci is directing critical government research, he’s also one of the administration’s leading spokespeople on the virus, spending hours each week by Trump’s side during his lengthy, daily White House briefings. Fauci said his public role is important but conceded that the duration of those briefings — Monday’s ran for nearly two-and-a-half hours — was “really draining” and that doesn’t even count preparation and waiting for it to start. “If I had been able to just make a few comments and then go to work, that would have really been much better,” he said. “It isn’t the idea of being there and answering questions, which I really think is important for the American public. It’s the amount of time.” Much of Fauci’s time outside of the White House briefing room is focused on analyzing progress on blood tests that aim to tell who was exposed to the coronavirus -- whether they knew they were sick or not -- by spotting antibodies their immune system formed to fight back. Those tests will be crucial in determining when and how people can go back to work. The problem: Most of the tests have not yet been proven to work well, Fauci cautioned. He noted that some countries bought millions of antibody tests only to learn they didn’t work. Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health, said his staff is working with the Food and Drug Administration to validate those tests. That means proving what level of antibodies it takes to really be immune; if particular types of antibodies are key rather than an overall level; and how long that protection lasts. “We’re going to have to find out the answer to all of those questions,” Fauci stressed. “I know people are anxious to say, ‘Well, we’ll give you a passport that says you’re antibody-positive, you can go to work and you’re protected.’ The worst possibility that would happen is if we’re actually wrong about that” and those people get infected. Another complication is that scientists still don’t have a solid understanding of how often people who show either no obvious symptoms or very few symptoms are spreading the virus. It’s “purely a guesstimate” but no less than 25% and no more than half of overall cases may be from the relatively asymptomatic, he said. Looking ahead, Fauci said a second wave of infection isn’t inevitable. But he added: “if you mean it goes way down and then come September, October, November, we have another peak, I have to say I would not be surprised. I would hope that if and when that occurs, that we jump all over it in a much, much more effective way than we have in these past few months.”
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All hotels in Las Vegas have made donations to help emergency personnel in the city except for one: Trump International Hotel.
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What's true: Some Vegas hotels have donated rooms (or food) to healthcare workers and first responders who need to quarantine themselves away from home. The Trump International Hotel Las Vegas does not appear to be one of them, according to one news investigation. What's false: However, not all of the city's dozens of hotels have made donations in light of COVID-19.
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mixture
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Politics, COVID-19
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Like most other U.S. governors in spring 2020, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on March 20 ordered all nonessential businesses to close — including Las Vegas’ many casinos and hotels — and urged residents to stay home to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease. Meanwhile, a growing number of Nevada nurses, doctors, firefighters, and other first responders who have been treating COVID-19 patients sought alternative housing arrangements to prevent the spread of the virus to their own family members or housemates. In early April 2020, Facebook users began sharing posts with the claim: “All Las Vegas hotels have donated food and rooms for emergency personnel except for one: Trump International Hotel Las Vegas.” Additionally, one Twitter user posted the statement with a photograph of the Trump hotel. We received numerous inquiries at Snopes asking about the veracity of the claim. Firstly, the Trump Organization — which owns the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, as well as six hotels in other cities and a dozen U.S. country clubs — does not appear to be offering rooms nor donating food to Las Vegas first responders. According to a ProPublica investigation, which analyzed all of the organization’s properties, no evidence suggests the group is offering to help people who are the frontlines of the global pandemic. “It is possible that the Trumps have engaged in unseen acts of charity connected to the pandemic,” the ProPublica story reads. “The Trumps, however, have not been known to hide deeds for which they might receive favorable public attention.” According to the investigation, the Trumps’ 64-story, 1,282-room hotel in Las Vegas closed its doors in mid-March, complying with the governor’s order. A person who answered the hotel’s main phone number on April 13 confirmed with Snopes that the hotel remains closed. The person said no one was available to take media inquiries nor comment on whether the hotel was donating rooms or food. Across the city, the abrupt shuttering of hotels and casinos in late March “provided huge quantities of unused food to the area’s Three Square Food Bank,” which helps low-income people get meals across Southern Nevada. The nonprofit’s chief operating officer, Larry Scott, told ProPublica that it has received big donations from “most all” of the area hotels and casinos — including MGM, Wynn, Boyd Gaming, Station Casinos and Caesars, among others — but it has never received donations from the Trump Hotel. “No, they have not been a donor,” Scott told ProPublica. But here’s where the viral claim about Las Vegas hotel donations lacks truthfulness: Not all of the city’s hotels have opened up rooms for first responders to quarantine themselves away from family or roommates, nor have they all donated food. An Extended Stay America, for example, is in that group. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, at least 148 hospitality businesses offer short-stay rooms downtown or near the strip in Las Vegas. Combined, hotels and motels citywide maintain 149,158 rooms. Of the total amount of hospitality properties in Las Vegas, 36 are opening rooms up to medical staff and first responders in light of COVID-19, a representative of the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Hospitality for Hope program told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for one story. Others could be making donations on their own, too.
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7181
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Baltimore mayor’s $500K book deal draws intense criticism.
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A search is underway in Maryland for “Healthy Holly” — not a fugitive or a missing citizen, but a self-published children’s book series authored by Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and sold for half a million dollars to a health care system whose board of directors she sat on for nearly two decades.
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true
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U.S. News, Health, Childrens books, University of Maryland, Catherine Pugh, Maryland, U.S. News, Baltimore
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Since 2011, Pugh received $500,000 selling her illustrated books to the University of Maryland Medical System, a $4 billion hospital network that’s one of the largest private employers in the state. Since the arrangement was exposed by The Baltimore Sun earlier this month, she’s stepped down from the volunteer board and returned her most recent payment of $100,000 for the hard-to-find books. She also defended her actions and portrayed press inquiries as a “witch hunt.” A Democrat who became mayor in 2016 and represented some of Baltimore’s poorest areas in the state’s Senate before that, Pugh is the public face of the still-unfolding debacle. But the Baltimore mayor — who served on the UMMS board since 2001 and once sat on a state Senate committee that funded the major health network — is hardly the only influential Marylander connected to the board or the medical system facing questions. One-third of the UMMS board members received compensation through the medical system’s arrangements with their businesses, a revelation that Gov. Larry Hogan has called “appalling.” Two other members of the board also resigned, and four others went on voluntary leave while the system reviews governance practices. The president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System has recently been sent on a temporary leave of absence. Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said Tuesday that an independent audit is urgent to understand how many “self-dealing” arrangements there have been over the years. In Pugh’s case, there needs to be a thorough examination of whether a product was actually delivered, he said. “I describe it as juvenile, this arrangement where she was providing or not providing books — no receipts, no contracts, no procurement. It was simply a $500,000 gift to her from the University of Maryland Medical System,” Franchot asserted in a phone interview. The slim “Healthy Holly” books, sharing tips on nutrition and exercise, were meant to be distributed to schools and daycares. However, the Sun has reported that 50,000 copies are unaccounted for, leading to widespread speculation that a good chunk were never printed in the first place. In recent days, fewer than 9,000 copies were tracked down collecting dust in a warehouse of Baltimore’s school district, which has described Pugh’s children’s books as “unsolicited” donations. The city library system, daycare programs and booksellers can’t find copies. “Healthy Holly: Exercising is Fun” is unavailable on Amazon, where the only reviews for the book are entries of people savaging Pugh’s ties with UMMS. In a written statement, Pugh has defended her lucrative book deal with UMMS, saying it started as a passion project. “I recall passing the time by thumbing through the first book before an UMMS meeting. One my colleagues loved it and thought it would help advance children’s health,” she said in a recent statement. Pugh has since cancelled all public appearances and her spokespeople say she was hospitalized over the weekend with pneumonia. They say she will address the matter more once her health improves. Criticism of UMMS and of Pugh — who faces a 2020 Democratic primary for re-election in a city dominated by a single party’s political machine — has been intense. The Washington Post’s editorial board asserted the UMMS had a “get-rich-quick program” for many of its board members, with Pugh’s involvement painted as an egregious case of “political sleaze.” Meanwhile, UMMS and Pugh have not provided clarity on the whereabouts of the 100,000 copies of the “Healthy Holly” series books or definitive proof they were published and distributed. A spokeswoman for the university-based health network says their communications team was “working hard on all of the inquiries.” The medical system had classified the “Healthy Holly” purchases as grants in federal filings. Some critics say the various statements made by Pugh and others regarding the arrangements with UMMS board members are absurd on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to begin. “Whatever Pugh does, she is going to be operating under a very, very big cloud for a long time,” said Donald Norris, professor emeritus of public policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. “This is an unethical lapse of humongous proportions — $500,000 worth.” ___ Follow McFadden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmcfadd
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13911
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"Harris County, Texas has ""some of the highest jailing and incarceration rates in the U.S. and the world."
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Ellis said Harris County has some of the highest jailing and incarceration rates in the U.S. and the world. Harris County's rate -- calculated as the number of inmates per 100,000 residents -- exceeds the rates for the United States and world though we found jurisdictions including Dallas County with higher rates. To be fair, though, Ellis didn’t say Harris County’s rate is the highest, only that it’s among the highest.
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true
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Corrections and Updates, Criminal Justice, Texas, Rodney Ellis,
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"Editor’s note, July 8, 2016: We originally published this fact check on June 13 and rated the statement False. After that, experts pointed out we left out a step in our calculation of Harris County’s incarceration rate. We have updated our story and the rating has changed. You may read an archived version of the original article here. Equal Justice Under Law, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against Harris County’s bail system alleging that hundreds of offenders are jailed for minor offenses every day because they cannot afford to make bail. The group says that since 2015, it has filed 10 class action challenges to money bail systems in eight states. The May 2016 suit led state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, to issue a press release on May 19, 2016, sharing his support of the legal action, saying, ""Harris County’s overreliance on the inefficient and ineffective use of mass incarceration as a means of dealing with low-level and nonviolent offenses continues to result in some of the highest jailing and incarceration rates in the U.S. and the world."" We’re familiar with incarceration rates. In August 2015, PolitiFact Virginia found a claim the U.S. has the world’s highest incarceration rate -- meaning the greatest share of the population behind bars. In March 2016, we rated a claim that Texas has a higher incarceration rate than Russia or Iran. So, does Harris County, the third most populous in the nation, also have one of the highest incarceration rates in the country and world? The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics defines an incarceration rate as the number of inmates per 100,000 residents held in state or federal prisons or local jails. To our request for the senator’s factual backup, Ellis aide David Edmonson emailed a spreadsheet listing incarceration rates for the five most populous counties in the state, based on data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Harris County had a rate of 234 inmates per 100,000, while the four less-populous counties had rates between 152 and 233 people per 100,000. Edmonson also included a link to a Washington Post fact-check stating the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and a link to the website of The Sentencing Project listing Texas as having the seventh highest incarceration rate in the country. Harris County, he said, has the highest prison and state jail rate of the five largest counties in the state, as determined by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. ""In other words,"" Edmonson wrote, ""Harris County sends the most people to prison and state jail -- in the state with the seventh-highest incarceration -- in the country with the highest incarceration rate."" Checking with TDCJ With Edmonson’s reply in our pocket, we looked to verify figures on our own. First, we checked with TDCJ to see how Harris County’s incarceration rate compares nationally and with other counties in Texas, focusing on the agency’s 2014 annual statistical report tallying newly incarcerated people (receives) and each facility’s on-hand population, which provides a closer look at the incarcerated population on Aug. 31, 2014, all by county of conviction. The data reflect populations in state prisons, state jails and substance abuse felony punishment facilities. By phone, we asked Jason Clark, the director of TDCJ, what the different charts represented in the agency’s report, and which would be most accurate for reflecting each county’s incarcerated population in state facilities. Clark described the on-hand population as the best overall measure, as ""new receives,"" only show the newly admitted population. He added one caveat — the counties listed show where a person was convicted, not necessarily where that person lived before or where that person is being detained. So, according to TDCJ, Harris County’s incarceration rate in state facilities in 2014, the most recent year published, was 599 inmates per 100,000 residents, or 26,647 inmates. By rate alone, that ranked Harris County 134th out of Texas’ 254 counties. However, there are many other prisoners held in local jailhouses. So we turned to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, which regulates county jails and municipal lockups. The commission’s monthly incarceration rate report reflects the average daily population of county jail inmates, based on a 12-month average of one-day snapshots, taken the first day of each month. According to the commission’s September 2014 report, Harris County in 2014 had a rate of 196.6 inmates per 100,000 residents, or 8,731 inmates in county and municipal lockups. Looking strictly at incarceration rates, regardless of the relative population of different counties, Harris County placed 169th in the state. By adding figures from both sources of data, we get a fuller picture of the number of people behind bars in Harris County, regardless of whether they are in a county jail or state prison. That gives Harris County a 2014 incarceration rate of 796 inmates per 100,000 residents, or 35,378 people who were in county jail, state jail, prison or substance abuse facilities. If we include federal prison inmates, the overall rate increases to 816 per 100,000 residents, or 36,234 people. U.S., world incarceration rates For the same year, the total United States’ incarceration rate was 716 per 100,000, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that advocates against what it calls mass criminalization policies. Worldwide, the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, a London-based nonprofit that conducts research on crime and criminal justice issues, calculated an incarceration rate of 144 per 100,000, based on United Nations data. That is, Harris County had a total incarceration rate exceeding both the world and U.S. rates. There are some Texas-centric wrinkles, however. Out of the five most populous Texas counties, Harris County’s rate came in second place for 2014. Dallas County had an overall incarceration rate of 913 inmates per 100,000, or 23,006 inmates. And far less populous counties had even higher rates. Notably, Kenedy County in South Texas ranked first in the state with an overall rate of 5,000 people per 100,000 residents, though the county accounted for a grand total of 20 inmates. At the time, Kenedy County was home to 400 residents; Harris County’s population was 4.4 million. Experts comment For guidance, we checked with two independent criminal justice experts. Peter Wagner directs the Prison Policy Initiative, which studies incarceration rates closely and often is called upon to explain such figures. Michele Dietch, a senior lecturer in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, has worked on criminal justice issues since the late 1980s. Wagner said the initiative’s global report, which folds in U.S. states with other countries to make state-to-country incarceration rate comparisons, leaves out countries with populations of less than 500,000. Smaller countries could prove distracting in discussing how the United States differs from its peers, he said. According to the report, Texas had a 2014 incarceration rate of 1,063 per 100,000, which was the fifth highest in the world. Louisiana ranked No. 1 internationally; its rate was 1,341 inmates per 100,000 residents. Louisiana’s population of 4.6 million, according to 2015 Census figures, is comparable to Harris County’s population of 4.5 million for the same time period. The report includes federal prison populations in state incarceration rate calculations, since ""state politics certainly influence whether and where federal prisons are built."" Mississippi, Oklahoma and Georgia also topped Texas, with rates ranging from 1,074 to 1,155 inmates per 100,000 residents. Among countries, the U.S. had the highest rate, 716 prisoners per 100,000 residents. Since we began our research, the PPI came out with a new 2016 global incarceration rate report. While rates have changed (Texas went from a rate of 1,063 inmates per 100,000 to 890), rankings have more or less remained the same. Texas ranks eighth in the world, Louisiana is now second after Washington, D.C. and the United States is still the first country to appear on the list with a rate of 693 per 100,000. Dietch told us by phone that she sees value in both per capita rates and raw counts. Per capita rates, she said, are the best way to make comparisons because they adjust for what can be vast differences in population. ""Per capita rates equalize comparisons across jurisdictions of different sizes,"" she wrote in a follow-up email. ""Otherwise, big jurisdictions will always look worse in terms of absolute numbers."" But, she said, there’s value in looking at absolute numbers, since jurisdictions contributing the largest numbers of inmates will have ""by far the biggest impact on the system."" That is, rural Kenedy County may have the state’s highest incarceration rate and may be sending a higher share of its residents into the criminal justice system, Dietch said, yet its share of all state prisoners remains negligible. ""Those absolute numbers — not the rates — are one of the key drivers of the size of the incarcerated population,"" she said via email. ""And none of this even begins to take into account issues such as the length of sentences, another key driver of incarceration trends in Texas."" ""You need to look at both to understand,"" she said. She explained one of the main reasons a smaller county may have a higher incarceration rate lies in the lack of local sentencing alternatives including support programs, substance abuse treatment or electronic monitoring. People end up in prison or jail, Dietch said, because there isn’t much else as an alternative. In contrast, she said, urban communities like Harris County have more options to keep people out of jail and prison, she said. Our ruling Ellis said Harris County has some of the highest jailing and incarceration rates in the U.S. and the world. Harris County's rate -- calculated as the number of inmates per 100,000 residents -- exceeds the rates for the United States and world though we found jurisdictions including Dallas County with higher rates. To be fair, though, Ellis didn’t say Harris County’s rate is the highest, only that it’s among the highest. – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.
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31684
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A new tactic used by abductors and carjackers is to leave a shirt on a windshield to lure women out of their cars.
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UPDATE: 24 February 2017 — We changed the status of this page from “Unproven” to “False” with the addition of the statement from the Flint Township police.
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false
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Crime, carjack, human trafficking, sex trafficking
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On 16 February 2017, Facebook user Ashley Hardacre published the following image and warning, claiming that abductors and thieves were employing a new tactic to lure potential female victims out of their cars: As some of you know I work at a store in the Mall out in Flint. I worked a closing shift tonight so me and the girls I work with always walk out together to make sure we are safe in the parking lot. I got to my car and locked the doors behind me immediately as I always do and noticed that there was a blue flannel shirt on my windshield. There were two cars near me and one was running so I immediately felt uneasy and knew I couldn’t get out to get it off. At first I thought maybe someone had just thrown it on my car for some odd reason. I used my windshield wipers to try to get them off but the shirt was completely wrapped around my wiper blade. I had seen posts lately about people finding things under their windshield wipers in the burton/Flint area as an attempt to get girls out of their cars and distracted. Luckily I knew better than to remove the shirt with cars around me so I drove over to a place where I was safe and quickly rolled down my window and got the shirt off. I don’t know why the shirt was on my car but it had to have been intentional the way it was put on there. I really can’t think of another reason as to why someone would put it on my car. Tomorrow I am informing security of the situation and making them walk me to my car from now on. It definitely frightened me a little bit ? I’m so glad my parents had informed me that it was happening in our area, I just never thought it would potentially happen to my car. Commenters immediately pointed out that Hardacre’s claim resembled warnings perpetually circulating online about various ways in which criminals supposedly attempt to lure marks away from vehicles under seemingly benign pretenses. And news outlets confused he situation by conflating Hardacre’s story with a widely-reported account from an actual victim of sex trafficking. Some news reports made no effort to differentiate the victim’s account of being held against her will and from an unrelated Facebook post about a woman’s finding a shirt on her car’s windshield: Rosa Castillo shared her story with CBS12 about the world she was forced into and how she escaped. “They raped me in a group of 30 men. I would lose conscious back and forth. It’s like, I was alive, but I was dead,” she said. Now, authorities are putting out a new warning for women about a tactic being used by human traffickers. When we see something like a shirt or a piece of cloth tied to our windshield, our first instinct is to remove it. But that is exactly what a viral warning says human traffickers want you to do. A Facebook post with this warning has been shared more than 99,000 times. [Ashley Hardacre] found that shirt on her windshield, but instead of taking the time to remove it, and becoming a target, she drove to a safe place first … She recalled her mother telling her this is a tactic used by traffickers. Hardacre’s name was not used in initial reference to the Facebook post, creating the impression that Rosa Castillo might have been the one spreading the warning about shirts on windshields. News reports were vague about which authorities were reportedly warning women about shirts on windshields, and lacking in evidence documenting that criminals were actually engaging in any such practice. We contacted the City of Flint’s police department to ask whether any reports had been filed or received about carjackers luring women with shirts on windshields, but they said no such incidents had been recorded there. Sergeant Brad Wangler told CBS News nothing of the sort had ever been reported in the area: Flint Township Police Detective Sergeant Brad Wangler said he contacted Hardacre after he saw her post on social media. The local police department is now investigating the incident along with mall security, searching surveillance footage to hopefully find the person responsbile. But he assures residents that it’s not a common practice, at least not in the Flint area, and is no cause for panic. “Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Wangler told CBS News. “There have been no other incidences like this. It’s kind of unknown as to what or why or who [did this].” Local police eventually determined that the shirt had been placed on the windshield of Hardacre’s car as a prank and had no connection to any crime or criminal intent: [Flint] Township police made contact with [Hardacre] after learning of the incident and with assistance from Genesee Valley Center were able to obtain a vehicle description and identified two males who were interviewed. “As a result of these interviews, they admitted to putting the shirt on the vehicle as a random prank,” per the statement. “Also, interior video surveillance at the Genesee Valley Center corroborated their presence at the mall.” The males had no prior knowledge that placing an item on a vehicle could potentially be construed as a human trafficking tactic, police said, and they had left the parking lot more than one hour before the woman exited the shopping center. They have since apologized to the woman “that their actions caused her to feel scared that night,” reads the statement.
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33612
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"Rub-on ""tattoos"" of cartoon characters laced with LSD are handed out to children by unscrupulous drug dealers."
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Drug dealers hand out LSD-laced tattoos of cartoon characters to schoolchildren?
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false
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Horrors, ASP Article, Drug Horrors, Parental Nightmares
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This bit of scarelore dates to at least the late 1970s, and it still makes little logical sense. A dealer looking to recruit new customers would do better to distribute a more addictive drug than LSD, handing out LSD-soaked candy would work far more effectively than passing around LSD-impregnated papers which require the drug to be absorbed through the skin, and elementary school kids are not known for having large incomes to spend on drugs. This “warning” also includes a legend within a legend: the notion that strychnine is present in LSD, either because it’s a byproduct of the synthesis process, or because it’s used to adulterate or “cut” the drug. Even if strychnine were present in LSD (for whatever reason), introducing your customers to the world of drugs by giving them samples laced with enough poison to kill them is an extremely poor way of generating repeat business. Not surprisingly, no verified case of LSD-laced transfer tattoos has ever surfaced. The one bit of the story with anything genuine to it at all is the association between cartoon characters and LSD. Sometimes when the drug is manufactured by impregnating sheets of blotter paper with dots of liquid LSD, the paper is first printed with cartoon characters. This illustrated blotter acid, however, is ingested the usual way: the tab is chewed, then swallowed. Blurred photocopies of this specious warning against innocent children’s being lured into a life of drug use via rub-on LSD-laced tattoos have been circulated everywhere. Back in the 1970s the image rumored to be used on these transfers was that of Mickey Mouse, but as times changed so did the image: the 1990s version of this tale saw Bart Simpson’s name added to the list of potentially dangerous tattoos. These flyers have come to be known as “Blue Star Acid” warnings because even though the cartoon characters the tattoos purportedly depict have changed over the years, a blue star is the image most often cited as the one to look out for. This rumor spreads through communities like wildfire because, as always, anything that’s perceived to be an immediate danger to children is taken very seriously and immediately passed on, no matter how implausible or unverified it may be. That these flyers are often issued with the imprimatur of the local police department (or some other important-sounding organization) makes them all them more believable to the public. By far the most common version of this alert is signed by a “J. O’Donnell” of the Outpatient Chemical Dependency Treatment Service at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. Don’t believe it. The hospital says it has never employed anyone by that name, and they’ve been inundated with Blue Star calls every year since 1992. Blue Star warnings tend to crop up every year as the kids are going back to school and seem to run strong right up until Halloween. Though Blue Star panics can occur at any time, the early fall is the season for them: Still, school officials insist they were just playing it safe, putting out a warning after receiving an alert from a concerned parent.”If it’s not true, that’s terrific, but you like to err on the side of caution,” said Islip Terrace Junior High School principal Bruce Castka. Though at first glance this seems a reasonable approach to take, it breaks down upon further examination. It comes down to a matter of credibility — lose it by panicking your kids over Blue Star Acid, and you won’t have the support you need when you talk to them about things they should be in the know about. How authoritative will “Yes, you can get pregnant the very first time, or you could even catch AIDS!” sound when your little darlings can toss back at you, “Oh, Mom! Don’t you remember when you had us all going about LSD-laced tattoos?” While protecting kids always has to be a priority, sometimes what they most need to be protected from is misinformation. Kids need to be able to trust what their parents and teachers tell them. Cry “Wolf!” once too often, and you send your kids defenseless into a world of lurking lupines they’ll never recognize on their own. Here is a typical newspaper article appearing in the wake of yet another “Blue Star Acid” scare rolling through yet another town: It’s not the first time the alarm bell has sounded. Nor will it likely be the last.In recent weeks, public and private schools have sent home frightening letters warning of drug-soaked fake tattoos and have been urging parents to spread the word. “It’s like a bad nightmare. This letter keeps resurfacing over a period of time,” said Dr. Frank Bonfiglio, program director for the Middle Tennessee Poison Center of this urban folklore. But the letters, often circulated by well-intentioned individuals, perpetuate a hoax. Bonfiglio said no LSD-laced tattoos have been reported in Middle Tennessee. One letter notes the information came from a “J. O’Donnell, Danbury Hospital Outpatient Chemical Dependency Treatment Center.” No other details are provided. There is a chemical dependency center at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. Apparently the volume of inquiries has been so high that the answering machine states: “We did not issue this warning. . . . We have not had any indication of this occurring in our area.” Even if the tattoos exist, Bonfiglio said touching them as the letters imply presents no harm. “Kids would have to lick the tattoo to get it absorbed into the body,” he said. The warning flyers began resurfacing early last month, said Joe Edgens, director of operations for Metro Schools. His copy came from the Metro Emergency Management office, which learned about the tattoos from the Tennessee Emergency Management Association, which was sent the information from Washington, D.C. Edgens said he forwarded the letter to school principals. Many, like Chadwell Elementary Principal Jim Bob James, copied the letter and sent it home with children. In his letter to parents, James cautions parents that “Blue Star” tattoos laced with LSD are being sold to children. Other tattoos resembling postage stamps with Superman, Disney characters and Bart Simpson could also be drug laced and dangerous, he added. The letter continues: “If your child gets any of the above, do not handle them. These are known to react quickly and some are laced with strychnine.” James said he had his students’ best interest at heart when he sent out the alarming letter. “If it is a hoax, it’s still important to look out for the safety of our children. If anything, it could make parents more cautious of what their children have.” Edgens added: “If you err, err on the side of safety. I don’t know that we’ve erred.” More information about this legend can be found in Dave Gross’ comprehensive Blue Star Acid FAQ. Barbara “the only tattoo you have to worry about your kid coming home with is the one from Fantasy Island” Mikkelson
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24550
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"Preventive care ""saves money."
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Obama says preventive care saves money. It doesn't.
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false
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National, Health Care, Barack Obama,
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"President Barack Obama defended his health care plan in a speech to a joint session of Congress, promoting the benefits of reform for those who already have coverage. One of those benefits, he said, is that insurers will be required to cover checkups and other preventive care. ""Insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies — because there’s no reason we shouldn't be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer before they get worse,"" Obama said. ""That makes sense, it saves money, and it saves lives."" It may make sense and save lives, but does it save money? Experts say no. The head of the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan group that does all the number-crunching for Congress, has said this isn't the case, despite claims from many Democrats to the contrary. ""The evidence suggests that for most preventive services, expanded utilization leads to higher, not lower, medical spending overall,"" CBO director Douglas Elmendorf wrote in an Aug. 7 letter to Rep. Nathan Deal, the top Republican on a congressional subcommittee involved in the debate. Elmendorf explained that, while the cost of a simple test might be cheap for each individual, the cumulative cost of many tests could be quite expensive: ""But when analyzing the effects of preventive care on total spending for health care, it is important to recognize that doctors do not know beforehand which patients are going to develop costly illnesses. To avert one case of acute illness, it is usually necessary to provide preventive care to many patients, most of whom would not have suffered that illness anyway. . . Preventive care can have the largest benefits relative to costs when it is targeted at people who are most likely to suffer from a particular medical problem; however, such targeting can be difficult because preventive services are generally provided to patients who have the potential to contract a given disease but have not yet shown symptoms of having it."" In fact, a new government policy to encourage prevention could end up paying for services that people are already receiving, including breast and colon cancer screenings and vaccines, Elmendorf went on. The CBO did not put a price tag on the costs or savings associated with preventive care measures in bills being considered in the House of Representatives because budgeting rules prevent them from doing so. But a few other studies back up the CBO's analysis, including a Feb. 14, 2008, article in the New England Journal of Medicine that was written in response to campaign promises for more preventive care. ""Sweeping statements about the cost-saving potential of prevention ... are overreaching,"" according to the paper. ""Studies have concluded that preventing illness can in some cases save money but in other cases can add to health care costs."" And a study conducted by researchers from the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society concluded that, while interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease would prevent many strokes and deaths, ""as they are currently delivered, most of the prevention activities will substantially increase costs."" So, the consensus is that, while preventive care will almost certainly save lives, it won't reduce government spending on health care."
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11478
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More evidence prostate tests overdiagnose cancer
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A recent study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute injects more controversy to the question of the utility of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing. The study estimates that between 23 and 42 percent of cancers found with PSA testing would never go on to cause a problem or be detected by other means (i.e., by symptoms or digital rectal exam). These cancers are considered overdiagnosis because identifying them does nothing to improve the health of the man. In fact, in these cases, finding these cancers does more harm than good because the man is subjected to treatments that cause very difficult side effects, such as impotence and incontinence. This story does a good job of describing the current study and its implications. It adequately describes the availability and novelty of PSA testing and does not engage in disease mongering. It mentions several potential harms of PSA testing and adequately quantifies the risk of overdiagnosis. The story discusses the benefits and risks related to undergoing a PSA test–implying that no testing is an option and that this would decrease over-diagnosis. The story could have described more of the tradeoffs involved in this choice. The story could have been improved by describing the costs of PSA testing.
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true
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The story does not mention the cost of PSA testing or the costs of prostate cancer treatment. Overtesting that leads to overtreatment has significant cost implications and should be part of the story. The story provides percentages of the cases that are thought to be overdiagnosis, that is cancers that were found by PSA testing that would never have gone on to be detected or cause a problem if they had not been found by screening. The story mentions several harms of PSA testing, including false positive results and overdiagnosis, both of which could lead to unnecessary treatments associated with significant side effects. The story adequately describes the current study and the uncertainty about the use of PSA testing. The story accurately describes the seriousness and prevalence of prostate cancer, highlighting that not all prostate cancers need to be treated, and is careful to explain what a high PSA test means. The story quotes more than one expert who is not associated with the current study. The story discusses the benefits and risks related to undergoing a PSA test–implying that no testing is an option and that this would decrease over-diagnosis. The story could have described more of the tradeoffs involved in this choice. Clearly PSA testing is available. Clearly PSA testing is not a new idea. Because the story quotes several sources, it’s safe to assume it did not rely solely or largely on a news release.
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6076
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Hospital’s water now OK to use after Legionnaires’ outbreak.
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Patients at a hospital in Ohio where there has been an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease can now use the water inside the recently opened medical center near Columbus.
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true
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Columbus, Health, General News, Legionnaires disease, Grove, Ohio
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Mount Carmel Health System said Thursday it has lifted water restrictions after installing new filters on the patient floors at Mount Carmel Grove City. More than a dozen people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease since April 29, the day after the hospital opened. One patient died last Sunday. Mount Carmel says it’s continuing to search for a source of the bacteria while also looking at adding ways to prevent another outbreak. Hospital officials say the water supply had been disinfected. But they expect more people will be diagnosed with the severe form of pneumonia because the incubation can last two weeks.
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26488
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo “was simply saying if we can share 20 percent of your excess, your non-used ventilators, to help people in other parts of the state on a voluntary basis, that would be great. Of course, there was a reaction to that, which was not positive.
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Cuomo said he would use the National Guard to redeploy unused ventilators and personal protective equipment to hospitals in greatest need. Some upstate hospital officials and politicians reacted with great concern to this plan. When the plan changed, hospital executives who had been concerned said they were happy to work with the state on a collaborative, voluntary basis.
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false
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New York, Coronavirus, Kathy Hochul,
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"Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul has been talking to news outlets across New York State about the Covid-19 crisis. In a recent appearance on WIVB-TV in Buffalo, she talked about the availability of ventilators. Anchor Luke Moretti asked Hochul: ""What’s the situation with the ventilators? I know there was that bit of a back and forth between upstate, downstate a little while ago? Where do we stand right now? Are we in good shape with ventilators?"" ""Well, we always have been in good shape with ventilators,"" Hochul replied. Gov. Andrew Cuomo ""was simply trying to get an inventory to see if there are communities where there is a surplus of ventilators and he was simply saying if we can share 20 percent of your excess, your non-used ventilators, to help people in other parts of the state on a voluntary basis, that would be great. And, of course, there was a reaction to that, which was not positive, and that’s unfortunate, because I think that we always respond in a way that we look out for each other."" She further described how first responders pitch in during snowstorms in other parts of the state, adding ""we were never going to leave anyone in Western New York without the support they need."" She also said the urgent need for ventilators has subsided somewhat because of shipments of the breathing equipment from other states and China. We were struck that she said Cuomo was ""simply saying"" that hospitals could share their ventilators on a ""voluntary"" basis. Cuomo made clear during his daily briefing on April 3 that he intended to sign an executive order that would allow the state to move unused ventilators from one part of the state to another. The headline the Cuomo administration wrote on the day of the announcement indicated as much: ""Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Executive Order Allowing State to Redistribute Ventilators & Personal Protective Equipment to Hospitals with Highest Need."" During a press briefing, Cuomo said that more ventilators were necessary to meet the state’s needs, and that he has been working with suppliers in China. ""But we are going to have to redeploy ventilators from across the system,"" he said. ""In other words, there are hospitals that have ventilators. There are hospitals that have (personal protective) equipment. There are private-sector companies that have PPE equipment that they are not using that we are going to need to redeploy to the places in the hospitals where we need them,"" he said. Cuomo also acknowledged during the briefing that hospital administrators who would lose ventilators under his plan are upset. ""I had a conversation with a hospital administrator yesterday,"" he said. ""I understand they don't want to give up their ventilators. Ventilators are expensive pieces of equipment. I understand that, even if they're not using them, they are reluctant to see them go out the door. The theory is if the government gets them, they will never get them back. I understand that. But I don't have an option."" He added later: ""I'm going to sign an executive order that says the state can take ventilators and (personal protective equipment) from institutions that don't need them now and redeploy them to other parts of the state and other hospitals that do need them. Those institutions will either get their ventilator back or they will be reimbursed and paid for their ventilator so they can buy a new ventilator."" He was asked later in that briefing about how many the state would need to redeploy, and he said the state hadn’t done that calculation, but he added several hundred ventilators could be available. ""So am I willing to deploy the National Guard and inconvenience people for several hundred lives? You’re damn right I am,"" Cuomo said. Reaction to the plan was swift, with upstate hospital executives and elected officials expressing their concerns. Jody Lomeo, chief executive officer of Kaleida Health and chair-elect of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said that he was opposed to the executive order and would ""welcome and encourage us all to develop a more collaborative plan."" Thomas Quatroche Jr., Erie County Medical Center’s chief executive officer and chair of the Healthcare Association of New York State, said Cuomo’s executive order, as announced, would ""place our patients and community at risk."" The following day, April 4, Cuomo talked about taking 20 percent of a hospital’s unused ventilators. The executive order that Cuomo described on April 3 was never signed. On April 6, HANYS, the hospital group, said that it understood that any redeployment of equipment would be on a voluntary basis. On April 7, Cuomo signed an executive order leaving the movement of medical supplies and equipment up to the state Department of Health. It does not mention the National Guard nor 20 percent of available inventory. It states: ""DOH may shift any such items not currently needed, or needed in the short term future by a health care facility, to be transferred to a facility in urgent need of such inventory, for purposes of ensuring New York hospitals, facilities and health care workers have the resources necessary to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and distribute them where there is an immediate need."" In reaction to the order that Cuomo did sign, hospital executives, such as Lomeo, and elected officials, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, said they were pleased by the change. Quatroche Jr., of ECMC and HANYS, said: ""We are pleased the governor’s executive order gives the commissioner of health the ability to work collaboratively with hospitals to identify needs across New York State and provide resources in ‘real time.’"" Hochul's answer to Moretti, the news broadcaster, came on April 8, one day after Cuomo signed an executive order that hospital executives found to be more cooperative than how the governor initially described it. We reached out to Hochul’s office, and her spokesperson, Bryan Lesswing, said: ""The lieutenant governor was giving a status update on New York State's close coordination with hospitals to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, calling for state unity not division, and reinforcing Western New York's preparedness. Any other characterization is simply untrue and an unfair attack while New York State government officials have been consistently transparent in keeping New Yorkers updated with the latest facts."" Hochul’s office also said that there was nothing contradictory in what Hochul said because the state was indeed working with hospitals to share equipment on a voluntary basis, and that she was speaking broadly about the current status with ventilators and then talked about the dialogue between upstate and downstate in Moretti’s question. Hochul said Cuomo was simply saying that hospitals could share 20 percent of their unused ventilators on a voluntary basis. That’s not how hospital executives and other elected officials heard Cuomo describe his initial plan, thus explaining the immediate backlash. And those who listened to the governor’s televised briefing heard him say this: ""So am I willing to deploy the National Guard and inconvenience people for several hundred lives? You’re damn right I am."" Parsing that quote to find any semblance of ""voluntary"" is beyond challenging. Cuomo said the state would move hospital equipment from one part of the state to harder-hit areas that desperately needed them because of the Covid-19 outbreak. When the plan changed, after significant backlash, hospitals and others praised the administration for acting collaboratively. Hochul misled viewers about what happened."
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35222
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"Author C. S. Lewis wrote a passage in ""The Screwtape Letters"" involving Satan wanting to ""shut down businesses"" and Jesus wanting to restore the family unit. "
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Jesus: I will bring together neighbours, restore the family unit, I will bring dinner back to the kitchen table. I will help people slow down their lives and appreciate what really matters. I will teach my children to rely on me and not the world. I will teach my children to trust me and not their money and material resources.
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false
|
Questionable Quotes, COVID-19
|
In late March 2020, an image supposedly showing an excerpt from author C. S. Lewis’ “The Screw Tape Letters” started to circulate on social media among users who claimed that the passage was especially pertinent when so many people find themselves homebound due to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic: The excerpt involves an exchange between Satan and Jesus that presumably occurred in the aftermath of a similar pandemic. Satan says that his purpose was to cause “anxiety” and to shut down businesses and places of worship, while Jesus says that he will use this trying time to restore the family unit: The full exchange reads: Satan: I will cause anxiety, fear and panic. I will shut down business, schools, places of worship, and sports events. I will cause economic turmoil.
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26840
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Bloomberg says he wants to ban guns holding more than three rounds.
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U.S. states filed a lawsuit accusing Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc of orchestrating a sweeping scheme with 19 other drug companies to inflate drug prices - sometimes by more than 1,000% - and stifle competition for generic drugs, state prosecutors said on Saturday.
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false
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Facebook Fact-checks, Guns, Facebook posts,
|
Soaring drug prices from both branded and generic manufacturers have sparked outrage and investigations in the United States. The criticism has come from across the political spectrum, from President Donald Trump, a Republican, to progressive Democrats including U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for president. The 20 drug companies engaged in illegal conspiracies to divide up the market for drugs to avoid competing and, in some cases, conspired to either prevent prices from dropping or to raise them, according to the complaint by 44 U.S. states, filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut. A representative of Teva USA, a unit of Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, said it will fight the lawsuit. “The allegations in this new complaint, and in the litigation more generally, are just that – allegations,” it said in a statement. “Teva continues to review the issue internally and has not engaged in any conduct that would lead to civil or criminal liability.” The 500-page lawsuit accuses the generic drug industry, which mainly sells medicines that are off patent and should be less expensive, of a long history of discreet agreements to ensure that companies that are supposedly competitors each get a “fair share.” The situation worsened in 2012, the complaint said. “Apparently unsatisfied with the status quo of ‘fair share’ and the mere avoidance of price erosion, Teva and its co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States,” the complaint said. With Teva at the center of the conspiracy, the drug companies colluded to significantly raise prices on 86 medicines between July 2013 and January 2015, the complaint said. Representatives of Sandoz, another company named in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The drugs included everything from tablets and capsules to creams and ointments to treat conditions including diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, epilepsy and more, they said. In some instances, the coordinated price increases were more than 1,000 percent, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit also names 15 individuals as defendants who it said carried out the schemes on a day-to-day basis. “The level of corporate greed alleged in this multistate lawsuit is heartless and unconscionable,” Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said in a statement. According to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, more than half of the corporate defendants are based in New Jersey, and five of the individual defendants live in the state. The lawsuit seeks damages, civil penalties and actions by the court to restore competition to the generic drug market. Generic drugs can save drug buyers and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year because they are a lower-priced alternative to brand-name drugs. “Generic drugs were one of the few ‘bargains’ in the United States healthcare system,” the lawsuit said. However, it added, “Prices for hundreds of generic drugs have risen – while some have skyrocketed, without explanation, sparking outrage from politicians, payers and consumers across the country whose costs have doubled, tripled, or even increased 1,000% or more.” As a result of the drug companies’ conspiracies, it said, consumers and states paid “substantially inflated and anticompetitive prices for numerous generic pharmaceutical drugs” while the drug companies profited. The lawsuit filed on Friday is parallel to an action brought in December 2016 by the attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia. That case was later expanded to include more than a dozen drugmakers.
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6880
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Sabres’ Okposo eager to look forward now that he’s healthy.
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Buffalo Sabres forward Kyle Okposo happily looks to the future now that he’s fully recovered from concussion-related symptoms which nearly derailed his career in March.
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true
|
NHL hockey, Health, Kyle Okposo, Buffalo, Buffalo Sabres
|
Saying he’s not dwelling on the past, Okposo was eager to rejoin the Sabres after skating with numerous teammates for practice a little more than a week before the team opens training camp. Though he’s has been skating for much of the summer, Tuesday marked his first time on the ice in Buffalo since being hospitalized late last season. “It was obviously a tough situation, a tough road,” Okposo said. “I’m just happy to be back and happy to be able to play again, and play at a high level.” He acknowledged questioning if he would ever get better before he started feeling “clear” in May. “It was definitely a scary thing,” Okposo said. “Your mind starts to question a lot of things.” In a letter posted on the Sabres website in July, Okposo wrote he began losing weight and had difficulty sleeping after what he described as “a routine hit” in practice. He played one game before the symptoms worsened. Okposo then spent nearly a week in Buffalo General Hospital’s Neuro Surgical ICU to be stabilized in April. The 29-year-old from St. Paul, Minnesota, had 19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points in 65 games during his first season with Buffalo. Okposo signed a $42 million, seven-year contract with the Sabres in free agency last year. ___ For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
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11531
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Gastric Bypass Best for Weight Loss, Study Finds
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This story also was better than the LA Times story in other small but tangible ways, including its handling of the statistics on benefits and harms and its discussion of costs. More context on the previous research that has been conducted in this field — and particularly the well-established differences in surgical mortality associated with the different operations — would have been valuable. Most Americans today are either overweight or obese, and all that fat is taking a serious toll on our health and our economy. With manyt of us seemingly unable or unwilling to change our diets and exercise more, surgery remains one of the few options that can produce substantial long-term weight loss. The emergence of the gastric banding procedure in recent years provides an alternative to the more widely used and more invasive gastric bypass operation. Studies like those covered in this story can help us determine which procedure is a better fit for different types of patients.
|
true
|
HealthDay
|
The story notes that the average cost of weight loss surgery is about $30,000. It would have been helpful to include a comparison of the different procedures discussed in the story, but this is good enough. A little bit better job with the numbers than the LA Times. The same weight loss data are provided in absolute terms, but this story also attaches a figure to the number of patients whose diabetes resolved after bypass compared with the band procedure. The LA Times called the results here “far better” for gastric bypass, but HealthDay notes that improvement or resolutions was seen in three-fourths of bypass patients and half of band patients — a more precise characterization. Unlike the LA Times, this story attached a number to the risk of complications observed during the study. It would have been interesting to see some discussion of the seriousness of these problems, as some data suggest that short-term complications with gastric bypass are more grave than those with the band, while longer-term complications with the band may be more frequent and serious. This story mentioned that there were no deaths in either group in the bypass vs. band study, but as with the competing coverage, it didn’t explain that there are well established differences in mortality risk associated with each procedure. We’ll award a passing grade, but the story could have done better here. There were some differences between this story and the competing LA Times piece on this criterion. Notably, this story injected some caution into the discussion in the second paragraph, where it noted that bypass outcomes are better with more experienced surgeons like the ones who conducted the study comparing bypass to the gastric band. Patients with different surgeons at a different institution might not fare as well with bypass as the patients in this study. It also included comments from an expert who noted that the band may be a better choice for certain patients, such as those with a lower BMI or who don’t have related medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Although it included a closing caveat about the relatively short-term follow-up of these patients, which is an important limitation to point out, it could have done a bit better job of explaining why this is important. Previous studies suggest that some band patients continue to lose weight for years and may approach the weight loss seen with bypass patients, whereas bypass patients may gain back some of the weight they lose initially. There may also be differences in the risk of very long-term complications (e.g. neurological disorders resulting from nutritional deficiencies after 5-10 years in bypass patients, versus failure of the device and need for reoperation with the band). No disease-mongering here. The story quotes an independent expert source and weaves his comments into the coverage nicely. Remarks from a second source would have been even better. As with the LA Times, there was no mention of the effectiveness of diet or lifestyle interventions for weight loss. Even a line would have helped. This story did not fully explain who might be a candidate for these procedures – which is a matter of availability. A brief explanation of the criteria for weight loss surgery would have dispelled any confusion. The story didn’t mention that many other studies have examined these procedures or establish what, if anything, is novel about these new findings. It should have. The reporter seems to have contacted two expert sources, although only one is quoted directly. There’s no evidence that anything was taken directly from a press release. A close call, but we’re fairly confident in the level of independent reporting done here, so we’ll award a satisfactory.
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26000
|
New York state “hospitals reporting thousands of fungus lung infections due to wearing a mask!!”
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New York hospitals didn’t report this. There’s no evidence wearing a face mask properly causes fungal lung infections.
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false
|
Facebook Fact-checks, New York, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,
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"""You can’t make this up,"" begins a Facebook post sharing what would be a shocking claim — if it were true. ""NYS hospitals reporting thousands of fungus lung infections due to wearing a mask!!"" The June 30 post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) We found no evidence to support its claim. ""Sounds like you can, in fact, make it up,"" one account commented on the Facebook post. Barbara Osborn, a spokesperson for Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider in New York state, told PolitiFact that she checked out the Facebook post’s claim with multiple infectious-disease doctors ""and they have not heard of this or are aware of this."" Michael Pauley, a spokesperson for the Healthcare Association of New York State, said, ""We have heard nothing to this effect from our member hospitals."" And Brian Conway, a spokesperson for the Greater New York Hospital Association, told us he asked two colleagues ""who would be the most likely to have heard this"" and said they haven’t heard anything about it. In a recent fact-check debunking a claim that general use of face masks can cause fungal and bacterial pneumonia, the Associated Press quoted Davidson Hamer, an infectious-disease specialist at Boston University. ""There’s no evidence of masks leading to fungal or bacterial infections of the upper airway or the lower airway as in pneumonia,"" he said. There is a similar dearth of evidence to corroborate the claim that hospitals in New York have reported thousands of fungus lung infections caused by face masks, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does recommend washing cloth face coverings after each use."
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38083
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Essential oils can kill cats and mall animals. Social media posts warn those with cats to avoid certain essential oils.
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Essential Oils Are Harmful to Cats and Small Animals .
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true
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Animals
|
Exposure to essential oils can be fatal for cats and small animals. But there’s not much scientific evidence about how risky essential oils are for cats, and what levels are safe. First, we’ll take a look at what essential oils are. They’re high concentrations of oils that occur naturally in plants. When mixed with solvents, essential oils can be diluted and defused throughout a room. They’re used for aromatherapy and for medicinal purposes. Warnings that essential oils are harmful to cats have been circulating for years. And for good reason. One version that we found on social media warns that “all citrus” varieties of essential oils are toxic to cats. Among those listed is tea tree essential oil. Studies indicate that the warning is valid, but only when cats are exposed to the oils in large doses. The Science Behind Claims That Essential Oils Are Harmful to Cats The Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory published a study in 1998 that described how three purebred cats were poisoned by Australian tea tree oil. The cats’ owner applied a topical ointment containing the oil directly to the cats to treat fleas. All three became sick within hours. Ultimately, two of the cats survived and one died. Tea tree oil is toxic to cats because of how they metabolize terpenes, the organic compounds that give essential oils their scents. And other essential oils, like eucalyptus oil, are very similar in composition . They can be toxic to cats for the same reason. Most cases of poisoning result from misuse (like applying the oil directly to the cat’s fur). But cats can also be especially susceptible to high concentrations of defused tea tree essential oil because of cats’ grooming habits, the study found: The terpenes in tea tree oil are rapidly absorbed through the skin and digestive tract because of their highly lipophilic nature. Toxicity from dermal exposure has not been produced in rabbits but may be possible. Cats may be more susceptible to tea tree oil toxicosis after topical application than are other species because of their grooming behavior. In this case, the cats had been shaved, so that tea tree oil was applied directly to the skin, enhancing dermal absorption. The flea bite lesions may have also increased dermal absorption somewhat. Further, grooming efficiency was probably augmented due to shaving, allowing cats to ingest a large amount of the oil applied To summarize essential oils like tea tree oil can be toxic to cats if they lick it from their fur, or even if it’s absorbed through their skin. Some argue that highly defused, high-quality essential oil in a well-ventilated room is perfectly safe for pets. However, we weren’t able to find any studies indicating that that’s true, or at what levels essential oils are safe for cats. For those reasons, we’re calling claims that some essential oils are toxic for cats “true.” Comments
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28820
|
"Swedish police have introduced anti-sexual assault bracelets due to an increase in ""refugee rape."
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What's true: Police in Sweden are distributing colored bracelets as a means of engaging young people and raising awareness about unwanted sexual advances. What's false: Swedish police did not create or distribute the bracelets in an attempt to dissuade refugees from raping Swedish women.
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mixture
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Politics Immigration, rape in sweden, refugees, sweden
|
On 30 June 2016, the Federalist Papers web site published an article reporting that police in Sweden were distributing distinctive bracelets to “stop refugee rape”: Police in Sweden have come up with a sure-fire way to stop Middle Eastern refugees from raping local women: wristbands that read “Don’t Touch Me.” In a press release announcing the idiotic attempt to stem the flood of women reporting being sexually assaulted, the national police announced that “groping is a crime.” “No one should have to accept sexual molestation. So do not grope. And if you are groped, report it to the police,” said Chief Dan Eliasson, Breitbart is reporting. Like many similar articles, the site approached the story from the assumption Sweden and other European countries had seen an uptick of sexual assaults due to an influx of refugees from the Middle East: Notwithstanding the fact that most men bent on raping a woman aren’t going to be dissuaded by a silicone bracelet, since the surge in reports is due to Middle Eastern perpetrators, they’re unlikely to be able to read the bracelets anyway — which are written in Swedish. Another super-cool advantage of wearing the bracelets — besides clearly providing a shroud of protection from rapists &mdas; is that it can “draw attention to the issue of sexual assault and urge those affected to report.” Breitbart also approached the bracelets from the assumption that their production was directly and unequivocally a result of sexual assaults committed by refugees in Sweden: It is unclear how effective the wristbands, which read “don’t touch me” in Swedish, will be in preventing attacks, as the majority of sex attack perpetrators are thought to be recent migrants who are unlikely to be able to read them. Such articles linked to a June 2016 press release issued by police in Sweden. But the press release pertained to unwanted sexual advances among youth, it didn’t target rape, migrants, or linguistic barriers that might inhibit the bracelets’ effectiveness: Groping is a crime. In summer, the police use the bracelet to initiate conversations with young people about the problem. “No one should accept sexual molestation. So do not grope. And a police report if you have been a victim,” said national police chief Dan Eliasson. A hand tucked between the legs, a hug from behind in the crush at a club or a festival, a person who holds another while a third fondles their breasts, sexual pictures shown or sent to someone who has not asked for them. There are situations with which many young people are all too familiar. Police are taking sexual molestation seriously, specifically among young people. It is obviously a very offensive crime that the whole community must become better at working towards preventing, said Dan Eliasson. Now the police are being supplied with bracelets that read “don’t grope” to assist them in engaging young people. The bracelets will be distributed during the summer in connection with festivals and other major events targeted to young people, to prompt both boys and girls to start talking about these problems and demonstrate that they have taken a stand. The misinterpretations involving “rape bracelets” were related to a May 2016 report on sexual assault in Sweden. Both Swedish- and English-language news outlets either mistranslated or misconstrued the findings of that lengthy report to claim that refugees or “migrants” were responsible for an increase in sexual assaults in that country. In fact, the document primarily addressed alcohol and music festivals as high-risk factors. A May 2015 Globe and Mail column addressed both misconceptions about “refugee rape” in Sweden and why that country appears to have a higher than average sexual assault rate than comparable countries: [The idea that refugees are responsible for sexual assault rates] falls apart as soon as you speak to anyone knowledgeable in Sweden. “What we’re hearing is a very, very extreme exaggeration based on a few isolated events, and the claim that it’s related to immigration is more or less not true at all,” says Jerzy Sarnecki, a criminologist at Stockholm University who has devoted his career to the study of criminality, ethnicity and age. Sweden does indeed have far more reported cases of sexual assault than any other country. But it’s not because Swedes — of any colour — are very criminal. It’s because they’re very feminist. In 2005, Sweden’s Social Democratic government introduced a new sex-crime law with the world’s most expansive definition of rape. Imagine, for example, if your boss rubbed against you in an unwanted way at work once a week for a year. In Canada, this would potentially be a case of sexual assault. Under Germany’s more limited laws, it would be zero cases. In Sweden, it would be tallied as 52 separate cases of rape. If you engaged in a half-dozen sex acts with your spouse, then later you felt you had not given consent, in Sweden that would be classified as six cases of rape. The marked increase in rape cases during the 2000s is almost entirely a reflection of Sweden’s deep public interest in sexual equality and the rights of women, not of attacks by newcomers. That op-ed included more nuanced information from Sarnecki about the relationship between immigration and crime rates in Sweden and elsewhere: Statistics show that the foreign-born in Sweden, as in most European countries, do have a higher rate of criminal charges than the native-born, in everything from shoplifting to murder (though not enough to affect the crime rate by more than a tiny margin). The opposite is true in North America, where immigrants have lower-than-average crime rates. Why the difference? Because people who go to Sweden are poorer, and crime rates are mostly a product not of ethnicity but of class. In a 2013 analysis of 63,000 Swedish residents, Prof. Sarnecki and his colleagues found that 75 per cent of the difference in foreign-born crime is accounted for by income and neighbourhood, both indicators of poverty. Among the Swedish-born children of immigrants, the crime rate falls in half (and is almost entirely concentrated in lesser property crimes) and is 100-per-cent attributable to class — they are no more likely to commit crimes, including rape, than ethnic Swedes of the same family income. What also stands out is that almost all the victims of these crimes — especially sex crimes — are also foreign-born. But for a handful of headline-grabbing atrocities, it isn’t a case of swarthy men preying on white women, but of Sweden’s system turning refugees into victims of crime. Some English-language reporting cited the anti-immigrant publication Fria Tider, but a more neutral article published by the English-language version of The Local described the bracelets and their purpose (mentioning the rumors about migrants, but not as a driving factor behind their creation) as follows: Swedish police have launched a campaign aimed at curbing sexual harassment among young people … A debate about sexual molestation flared in Sweden earlier this year after it emerged that groups of boys had groped girls at the We Are Sthlm youth festival for two years running. “We’re hoping mainly that this will get boys to think twice. A lot of them don’t seem to realize that this is a crime,” national police chief Dan Eliasson told news agency TT. Swedish police were heavily criticized for not releasing details on the total 36 reports of sexual assault and two rape allegations filed after the festivals in 2014 and 2015. With the festival season about to kick off, police have started the new #tafsainte (Don’t grope) campaign as part of a wider plan to counteract sexual harassment among young people. The notion that refugees in Europe (and particularly Sweden) are, among other things, sexually assaulting women at alarming rates remains prevalent. But Swedish police are not distributing “rape bracelets” as a tactic to stop a purported increase in “refugee rape.”
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36613
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"Nearly one out of ten Americans think chocolate milk comes from ""brown cows."
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Do Nearly Ten Percent of Americans Think Chocolate Milk Comes from Brown Cows?
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unproven
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
|
On December 9, 2018, the Facebook page “Unbelievable facts” shared the following meme, which held that nearly ten percent of Americans genuinely believed that chocolate milk was produced by brown cows:That article reported that a study had been conducted to reach alarming figures suggesting that a large contingent of Americans are perilously ignorant about the source of flavored milk:In a study by the Innovation Center of US Dairy, it was found that seven per cent of Americans believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. That works out at about 16.4m people.These weren’t children either – the research was conducted on 1,000 people over the age of 18.A whopping 48 per cent of people said they didn’t know where chocolate milk came from.An article about the claim published one day prior by the Washington Post, “The surprising number of American adults who think chocolate milk comes from brown cows,” noted that the numbers actually came from a small online survey — not a “study” as claimed by the Independent:Seven percent of all American adults believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, according to a nationally representative online survey commissioned by the Innovation Center of U.S. Dairy.If you do the math, that works out to 16.4 million misinformed, milk-drinking people. The equivalent of the population of Pennsylvania (and then some!) does not know that chocolate milk is milk, cocoa and sugar.But while the survey has attracted snorts and jeers from some corners — “um, guys, [milk] comes from cows — and not just the brown kind,” snarked Food & Wine — the most surprising thing about this figure may actually be that it isn’t higher.The piece reiterated the initial claim from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy (a forum “that leverages the collective power of the dairy community to address the changing needs and expectations of consumers through a framework of shared best practices and accountability”) and lamented that the American public is increasingly and critically ignorant about the origins of its food:One Department of Agriculture study, commissioned in the early ’90s, found that nearly 1 in 5 adults did not know that hamburgers are made from beef. Many more lacked familiarity with basic farming facts, like how big U.S. farms typically are and what food animals eat.Experts in ag education aren’t convinced that much has changed in the intervening decades.“At the end of the day, it’s an exposure issue,” said Cecily Upton, co-founder of the nonprofit FoodCorps, which brings agricultural and nutrition education into elementary schools. “Right now, we’re conditioned to think that if you need food, you go to the store. Nothing in our educational framework teaches kids where food comes from before that point.”A prescient piece published by the New York Times’ Opinionator blog in 2013 discussed what actually constitutes a “study” (hint: not this milk thing).An editor’s note added to the Washington Post piece also noted that a “previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the survey in question was commissioned by the National Dairy Council” when it “was actually commissioned by the Innovation Center of U.S. Dairy.”So is the Innovation Center of U.S. Dairy a school, research body, or other organization devoted to collecting impassive data? According to its own website, its mission didn’t appear to be entirely academic in nature:The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is a forum that leverages the collective power of the dairy community to address the changing needs and expectations of consumers through a framework of shared best practices and accountability.In our search for information about the surprising “study” findings, we discovered a relevant article published by Columbia Journalism Review in June 2017. Although it didn’t seem to spread as far as the other articles did and spawned no memes, that outlet assessed the claim far more thoroughly than others:The chocolate milk question was part of a survey, commissioned by a dairy advocacy group, ostensibly to gauge what Americans know about agriculture and food production. It turns out: not very much. It was a reminder of the importance of knowing where our food comes from, a topic that touches on other relevant issues, like the much-buzzed-about rural-urban divide and the modern economy.By the following day, NPR had picked up the story, running with a similarly lighthearted take. Those tuning into All Things Considered heard hosts Ari Shapiro and Audie Cornish mix in audio clips from Jean Ragalie-Carr, president of the National Dairy Council:RAGALIE-CARR: When we asked them, where does chocolate milk come from, they indicated that they thought it came from brown cows.SHAPIRO: Seven percent of Americans thought that.CORNISH: Jean Ragalie-Carr is president of the National Dairy Council, which commissioned the survey. She says they put that question to a thousand people and gave them several options for how to answer.RAGALIE-CARR: Well, there was brown cows or black-and-white cows, or they didn’t know.As CJR pointed out, the initial coverage failed to point out that the questions posed to those who commissioned the survey were misleading:How exactly was the question phrased? Were those the only three options – two cow colors or “I don’t know”? And did this mean that even someone who plainly knew that chocolate milk was simply any milk that had been mixed with chocolate and sugar was not given the option of choosing anything resembling the correct response?CJR’s digging revealed that the purported findings very strongly hinted at what became a successful bid for free press coverage, not a genuine attempt to gauge Americans’ knowledge of dairy distribution and bovine facts:Like so many stories, it seems this one was originally hatched as a PR pitch. An advocacy organization, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, commissioned the survey via a marketing firm, Edelman Intelligence, to kick off a campaign called Undeniably Dairy. A spokesperson for the Innovation Center told me the purpose of the survey was to “gauge some interesting and fun facts about consumers’ perceptions of dairy,” and the chocolate milk stat was apparently a winner. (She declined to respond to my queries about the wording of the questions, and said the full results of the survey were not intended to be published.) Food & Wine magazine was the first to bite, on June 1 (World Milk Day), but the ball didn’t really get rolling until the Post jumped in two weeks later.CJR appeared to stand alone in basic questioning of a claim that was carried far and wide, oftentimes billed as a “study.” The meme above with the claim that “nearly ten percent” of American adults (actually seven percent of survey respondents, a number rounded up by a more-than-healthy margin) believed chocolate milk came from brown cows demonstrated how careless reporting encouraged that factoid to make its way to meme form, still circulating widely a year and a half later in December 2018. It doesn’t even appear anyone attempted to resolve fact that many people make chocolate milk at home from powder or syrup — and plain white milk.In the end, the evidence to support of the claim that millions of Americans credited brown cows for their chocolate milk was already extremely thin. We contacted the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to reiterate questions initially unanswered during their first run of media mentions, but have not yet received a response.
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During the Obama administration 18 children died while in custody of Border Patrol
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Q: Is it accurate that “18 children died while in custody of Border Patrol” during the Obama administration?A: No. Prior to two children’s deaths in December, it had been more than a decade since a child died while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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false
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Customs and Border Protection, Illegal immigration,
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Q: Is it accurate that “18 children died while in custody of Border Patrol” during the Obama administration? A: No. Prior to two children’s deaths in December, it had been more than a decade since a child died while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.18 children died in Border Patrol custody during the Obama presidency! Where was the media outrage then?True?The news last month that two children from Guatemala died while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection fueled scrutiny of the government’s ability to care for young immigrants.CBP officials reported that 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin died Dec. 8, two days after being apprehended for illegally crossing the Southwest border with her father. Weeks later, the Department of Homeland Security announced that an 8-year-old boy, later identified as Felipe Gomez Alonzo, died Dec. 24 while in CBP custody. He and his father had also crossed the border without authorization.But in some social media circles, criticism of the deaths was met by claims of a double standard. Viral posts argued that “during the Obama administration 18 children died while in custody of Border Patrol.” That’s false.In fact, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a Dec. 26 statement following the two children’s deaths that “it has been more than a decade since CBP has had a child pass away in their custody.” U.S. Border Patrol is a part of CBP, which is an agency within DHS.DHS has also said that “deaths in CBP custody are extraordinarily rare.” The most recent data publicly available, from a 2016 report to Congress, show that CBP reported 13 deaths in fiscal year 2015 between Oct. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015 — 10 of which were the result of “use of force.” We asked CBP for more information on the deaths of immigrants in its custody but did not get a response.What’s more — according to data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which also falls under DHS and oversees the civil immigration detention system — none of the 67 immigrants who died while in ICE custody during the Obama years were children. The youngest individual to die while in ICE custody during Obama’s presidency was a 23-year-old man from El Salvador.The “18 children” claim may stem from a misrepresentation of a story published Dec. 18 by a conservative website, the Daily Caller. The headline of that story reads, “18 DEATHS OF ICE DETAINEES ACKNOWLEDGED UNDER OBAMA — BUT NOT INVESTIGATED.”While the story juxtaposes news of Maquin’s death with information on immigrant deaths during the Obama administration, it never makes the claim that immigrant children died while in custody under Obama. In fact, the story says, “The detainees who died then were between 24 and 49 years old.”Instead, the Daily Caller revisited a 2016 analysis by Human Rights Watch, which enlisted medical experts to review government information on 18 immigrant-detainee deaths from mid-2012 to mid-2015. The international human rights organization, citing the experts, faulted “substandard medical care and violations of applicable detention standards” as “failures” that “probably contributed to the deaths of 7 of the 18 detainees.”Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on the social media network.“CBP Shares Additional Information about Recent Passing of Guatemalan Child.” Press release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 25 Dec 2018.“List of Deaths in ICE Custody.” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Accessed 2 Jan 2019.“Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen Statement on Passing of Eight Year Old Guatemalan Child.” Press release, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 26 Dec 2018.“Statement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the Death of a Seven-Year-Old Female Child.” Press release, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 14 Dec 2018.U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “Investigations into Deaths in Custody and Use of Force Incidents.” 17 Aug 2016.“US: Deaths in Immigration Detention.” Press release, Human Rights Watch. 7 Jul 2016.
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10400
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Women’s Health Alert: New Anti-Cancer Vaccine
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A vaccine against the virus that causes most cervical cancers is an important new preventive tool, and the implications are far-reaching for future generations of women who will be spared much of the anxiety and invasive monitoring that is part of cervical cancer screening today. However, two issues make this story unbalanced and possibly misleading. First, by focusing on the number of women worldwide who are diagnosed with and die from cervical cancer, it overstates the impact of the disease in the United States–where the vaccine is to be licensed and used. Less than 10,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with the condition this year in the United States, and about 3,700 will die from it. The “huge excitement” about the vaccine’s approval is not balanced by any mention of the costs and challenges of delivering 3 doses of it to young women in the developing world. It would also have been helpful to estimate how many women would need to get the vaccine in order to prevent one cervical cancer death and the other problems that can be associated with HPV. Second, by stating that cervical cancer is ‘one of the most deadly’ cancers, and by including the story of a young white woman who died from advanced cervical cancer, the story paints an inaccurate picture of the actual experience of the disease in this country. Several other cancers are both more common and more deadly in the U.S., including lung, colon, and ovarian cancers. The young woman’s story is compelling, and younger women will benefit most from a vaccine that prevents cancer and other HPV-related problems. However, providing some additional information on cervical cancer would have helped viewers to put her story in perspective. For example, in 2002-03, just 5.6% of cervical cancer deaths were in women aged 34 and younger. More than half were in women aged 57 and older. And black women die of cervical cancer at twice the rate of white women. More than 5 minutes was devoted to the story – a long time for TV news – so there certainly was time available to explore these important issues.
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false
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Given that the story cites worldwide cervical cancer statistics to explain the importance of this vaccine, it would have been helpful to note how much the vaccine will cost. The story states that the vaccine will “greatly reduce” the risk for problems related to HPV infection. It would have been helpful to include estimates of the actual number of infections and cancers prevented, and how many women will need to receive the vaccine to prevent one case of cancer or the other problems that can be related to HPV infection. The story notes that 0.2% of women dropped out of trials because of side effects, but it does not specify what those side effects were. Nonetheless, we’ll give the story the benefit of the doubt and rate it satisfactory here. The evidence provided in the story is accurate, but somewhat limited: that 70% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV, that the vaccine prevents nearly 100% of these types of HPV, and that the risk for other HPV-related problems (abnormal pap tests, genital warts, etc.) will be greatly reduced. The source of the evidence (trials involving 21,000 women) is not described, however. The notion seems to be that FDA approval implies there is good scientific evidence. The vaccine is being considered for use in the United States, and so it would have been more appropriate to note how many women in this country are expected to be diagnosed with (about 9,700) or die from (about 3,700) cervical cancer this year. Citing the worldwide numbers overstates the impact of the disease here, as does stating that cervical cancer is “one of the most deadly forms.” It is true that problems related to HPV — not cancer deaths, but cancer treatments (including surgery that can cause infertility), as well as abnormal pap smears, diagnostic procedures, and the associated anxiety — do tend to affect young women more. However, highlighting a story of a 28-year-old white woman who was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer misrepresents the typical situation in the United States for cervical cancer patients. This woman’s experience, while certainly devastating to her family and friends, is not typical. In 2002-03, just 5.6% of cervical cancer deaths were in women aged 34 and younger, while more than 50% were in women aged 57 and older. Death rates are twice as high in black women compared with white women. The story told by Sara Lyle about her friend’s death from cervical cancer could have been balanced by an expert who commented on how typical or unusual her case was. There is no mention of sources of information or corroboration from any other expert. The story does not mention how the new vaccine fits into the context of other available options for reducing the risk for HPV infection, other than a brief mention of abstinence. The story states that the FDA is expected to approve the vaccine, and that it will probably be available later this summer. There is no evidence that the story relied solely or largely on a news release.
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Still no autism-vaccine link, say health officials.
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Federal health officials said on Thursday the government has not conceded that vaccines cause autism even after a Georgia girl won federal compensation in a case arguing a vaccine led to her brain damage.
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true
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Health News
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A nurse extracts a vaccine in a file photo. Federal health officials said on Thursday the government has not conceded that vaccines cause autism even after a Georgia girl won federal compensation in a case arguing a vaccine led to her brain damage. REUTERS/Phil Klein Hannah Poling, 9, had a rare mitochondrial disorder and a federal court ruling said regular childhood vaccinations may have contributed to some of her autism-like symptoms. She was awarded compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in a case that became public this week. Some activists who argue vaccines can trigger autism jumped on the case as vindication of their cause. But Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, denied this. “Let me be very clear that (the) government has made absolutely no statement about indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism,” Gerberding told reporters in a telephone briefing. “That is a complete mischaracterization of the findings of the case, and a complete mischaracterization of any of the science that we have at our disposal today. So I think we need to set the record straight on that.” The vaccine injury program is a no-fault system that has a $2.5 billion fund built up from a 75-cent-per-dose tax on vaccines. It was set up to ensure companies would not be afraid to make vaccines, and to provide injured children an easier way to seek compensation. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by parents who argue their children have autism caused by vaccines. The Institute of Medicine, an independent organization set up to inform U.S. policy, has found there is no evidence that vaccines can cause autism. Many recent studies have come to the same conclusion. Some autism advocacy groups argue that a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines called thimerosal can cause autism. Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain entered the debate last week, saying there is “strong evidence” linking autism to a thimerosal. Dr. Edwin Trevathan, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said the Poling case did not demonstrate any link between vaccines and autism. “I think it’s also worth noting that most children with autism do not seem to have a mitochondrial problem,” he told the briefing. “So this association between mitochondrial disorders and autism is actually probably relatively rare. But the association between mitochondrial disorders and severe brain damage and dysfunction is one that is not as rare and is actually quite important.” Trevathan said it is not clear whether a fever caused by a vaccine might further stress a child with such a condition, causing autism-like symptoms. Autism can have relatively mild symptoms or can severely disable a child by interfering with speech and behavior. No one knows what causes it. The CDC estimates that about one in every 150 children has autism or a related disorder such as Asperger’s syndrome — 560,000 people up to age 21 in the United States. “Our message to parents is that immunization is life-saving. There’s absolutely nothing changed in the adamant recommendations that we are making to get children vaccinated,” Gerberding said.
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Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell were murdered because they were about to reveal a ring of pedophiles.
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Your News Wire is not a reliable source of information — they regularly post inaccurate articles and unfounded conspiracy theories. There is no evidence that Bennington or Cornell were murdered in an effort to cover up a debunked pedophile sex ring.
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false
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Politics
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On 21 July 2017, the junk news website Your News Wire (now News Punch) published a story reporting that Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, who passed away on 20 July 2017 in his Palos Verdes Estates home near Los Angeles, had been murdered in similar fashion to his friend, Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, who died two months earlier. Both Bennington’s and Cornell’s deaths have been ruled suicides by hanging by Los Angeles County and Wayne County medical examiners, respectively. Cornell died on 18 May 2017 in his hotel room after a concert in Detroit, while Bennington passed away at his Palos Verdes Estates home on 20 July 2017. The two men were friends — in fact, Bennington took his life on what would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday. But rumors that their deaths were connected in any nefarious way are based on speculation and not evidence, and Your News Wire’s headline thus falsely proclaims “Police: Chester Bennington Was Murdered.” Citing a “police source,” Your News Wire asserted that authorities were investigating Bennington’s death as a homicide: Detectives are looking into whether Chester Bennington was murdered, with the death scene later arranged to resemble a suicide. They have put a team of investigators in place and are refusing to rule out a criminal homicide charge. “Murders are sometimes made to look like suicides. We think he was murdered, we just have to find out who was behind it,” said a police source. It’s unclear what “detectives” Your News Wire could possibly have obtained such a quote from. Palos Verdes Estates police have not commented on the case and have instead referred all inquiries to the coroner’s office. The police department for that small coastal community south of Los Angeles contracts with the much larger Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to handle homicides, and the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau told us they did not respond to Bennington’s death. The quote doesn’t appear in any other news report about the incident. We have spoken to all the agencies that have jurisdiction over Bennington’s home and can confirm that, contrary to what Your News Wire reported, law enforcement has not said Bennington was murdered. The celebrity status of both men means relevant details about their deaths are publicly available. Cornell’s autopsy report has been uploaded online, and in that report, Wayne County assistant medical examiner Dr. Theodore Brown notes that Cornell’s bodyguard discovered him in the bathroom of his Detroit hotel room with an exercise band around his neck. Ligature marks were found around Cornell’s neck, and the cause of death was determined to be suicide by hanging. The Los Angeles County Coroners told us the official cause of Bennington’s death was also a suicide by hanging and that an autopsy report would be forthcoming at the end of July 2017. Your News Wire also quoted Randy Cody, a person they described as an “investigator”: Detroit police wrapped up their investigations quickly and the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a suicide, but investigators are claiming that unexplained gaps in the official timeline of Cornell’s final moments and suspicious inconsistencies in the records suggest that Cornell’s death was not suicide at all, but a premeditated homicide and cover up. Investigator Randy Cody is among those questioning the suicide ruling. He points to perceived timeline gaps, forensic questions and what he says are two signs that Cornell had a head wound that was not mentioned in autopsy reports. Cody may be an amateur sleuth, but he is not a law enforcement investigator. He is a blogger who runs The Metal Den web site, where he occupies himself coming up with various theories to prove Cornell was murdered. He was interviewed for a Detroit News story about theories surrounding the singer’s death by fans unsatisfied with the suicide ruling, which is where Your News Wire lifted this information from. A piece of supposed evidence cited by Cody is a head wound he believes he saw in a YouTube video of Cornell’s last performance at Detroit’s Fox Theater on 17 May 2017 and an unverified recording of radio traffic in which a medic claimed to have seen a wound on the head of an unnamed victim. No mention was made of a head wound in the autopsy report, prompting accusations that the information was “suppressed.” However in the image from the concert it appears the “wound” is simply red stage light reflecting off the singer’s skin. In a 22 May 2017 post, Cody claimed Cornell was murdered because he was about to expose pedophiles involved in PizzaGate, a debunked conspiracy theory holding that a child sex trafficking ring linked to Hillary Clinton was being run out of Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, D.C., pizzeria. No evidence was offered linking Bennington to the non-existent PizzaGate conspiracy other than a circumstantial reference to a revelation he made in a rock magazine interview that he had been molested when he was a child. PizzaGate has been debunked by none other than conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was one of the key figures in originally spreading it. Jones apologized and retracted the claim after a man intent on “rescuing” children went to the pizzeria with a rifle in December 2016 and opened fire inside.
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897
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Cannabis among top priorities for new Thai government.
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Developing a medical cannabis industry is among top policy priorities for Thailand’s new government, according to a document released before the formal announcement.
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true
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Health News
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Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former junta leader who heads a civilian government following March elections, is due to set out the policies for debate in the national assembly on Thursday. The policy document was released on Sunday. Developing the medical cannabis industry was a key demand of the Bhumjaithai party, one of the biggest parties in Prayuth’s 19-party coalition. “The study and technological development of marijuana, hemp, and other medicinal herbs should be sped up for the medical industry to create economic opportunity and income for the people,” the policy document said. Thailand, which had a tradition of using cannabis to relieve pain and fatigue, legalized marijuana for medical use and research last year. Bhumjaithai party leader Anutin Charnvirakul, now a deputy prime minister and health minister, said his goal was to enable all Thais to grow marijuana to make money. Anutin told local media it was important to remove hemp with a high level of cannabidiol (CBD) from the list of banned drugs for cultivation and then to free up hospitals to prescribe drugs containing the chemical compound. Among other urgent government priorities were addressing drought, labor and economic problems. Also on the list was a study to amend a new constitution that critics say preserves the hold of the military indefinitely. This study had been a demand of another coalition partner, the Democrat Party. However, any constitutional changes would require the support of the Senate - which is entirely made up of appointees of the previous junta.
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40976
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Anti-inflammatories should be used to fight Covid-19.
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Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen may be useful in treating Covid-19 symptoms at home.
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mixture
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online
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Antibiotics should be used to fight Covid-19. Antibiotics are not recommended in patients with Covid-19. Covid-19 is caused by a virus and antibiotics are used to prevent or treat bacterial infections. Antivirals should be used to fight Covid-19. Antiviral drugs can be used to treat viral infections, but no specific antiviral drug has been conclusively shown to be effective against Covid-19 so far. Anti-inflammatories should be used to fight Covid-19. Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen may be useful in treating Covid-19 symptoms at home. Anticoagulants should be used to fight Covid-19. There is evidence supporting the use of anticoagulants in some Covid-19 patients. Claim 1 of 5
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Scientist links 2 state outbreaks with genetic fingerprints.
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A U.S. scientist is helping public health authorities understand and track the coronavirus, turning up clues about how it arrived and spread through Washington state and beyond, including potentially seeding an outbreak on the Grand Princess cruise ship.
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true
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Virus Outbreak, Genetics, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, Washington, Science, Seattle, Public health, U.S. News
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Washington’s governor banned large public events in three counties on Wednesday, a strategy guided by the work of Trevor Bedford and his colleagues, who have estimated there are currently 1,100 active cases in the state, most of them undiscovered by testing. Like a detective studying fingerprints, Bedford uses the genetic code the virus leaves behind. The dots he connects are mutations in the genetic alphabet of the virus, a 30,000-letter string that changes at the rate of one letter every 15 days. Those tiny mutations don’t change the virus’ effect on people, but they do allow scientists to draw conclusions about how it spreads from person to person. After a person gets tested for the virus with nasal and throat swabs, a small bit of the specimen can be used to rapidly sequence the virus’ genome. That work has been happening, not just in Seattle, but in other labs around the world. Scientists are sharing their results on a public platform where they’ve been sharing influenza genome data since 2008. This week, Bedford’s lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center worked with California researchers to find links between a cluster of cases in the Seattle area and the outbreak on the Grand Princess cruise ship in California. “They all are very similar genetically,” Bedford told The Associated Press. “It seems very possible” that virus from the Washington outbreak made it onto the Grand Princess. Dr. Charles Chiu at the University of California, San Francisco, agreed. He provided genome sequencing of seven samples from infected passengers who got off the Grand Princess this week. An eighth sample from an earlier Grand Princess cruise to Mexico had ties to Washington state, Chiu said, and that person likely seeded the outbreak among passengers on board as the ship left for Hawaii. “The simplest explanation,” Chiu said, is that the earlier Grand Princess passenger had been in Washington state and then seeded the cruise ship outbreak. There’s an alternative explanation, Chiu said. A cruise passenger or crew member was infected in another country, coincidentally by a virus with the same mutations as the Washington state cases. “Common sense tells you it more likely came from Washington,” Chiu said. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover within a few weeks. Based on genome sequencing of 18 Washington state cases, Bedford believes the state outbreak began with one person, perhaps the 35-year-old man who was the first known U.S. case. The coronavirus infection rate in the Seattle Flu Study, a project mapping seasonal flu, indicates there could be 1,100 active COVID-19 infections in the state, although because of limitations in the modeling that number could range from as low as 210 to as high as 2,800 active infections. Health authorities tried to trace all the people who had contact with the first U.S. case, a resident of Snohomish County, north of Seattle, who had visited Wuhan, the Chinese city that was the initial epicenter of the outbreak. He landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Jan. 15 and started feeling sick the next day. On Jan. 19, he visited a clinic in and was hospitalized on Jan. 20. “They did very aggressive contact tracing looking to identify anybody who had had contact with that initial case and sort of concentric circles outward,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. She called Bedford’s work “an interesting hypothesis,” but said the outbreak could have been caused by “a secondary seeding.” Kristian Andersen, a genetic epidemiologist at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, agreed that the virus was introduced to Washington state by one person and suggested that the active cases probably exceed 1,100. Neither of the conclusions Bedford described is a surprise, he said in an email. “The United States has completely failed to prepare for the pandemic — despite having adequate time — and we currently have one of the lowest capacity for COVID-19 testing,” he wrote. “This continues to be an enormous problem and it is highly likely that we are currently be missing the vast majority of cases occurring across the country.” “Unless our ability to detect cases is transformed within days and aggressive strategies for responses are put in place, within a couple of weeks, we are going to find ourselves in a situation that is very similar to the one currently unfolding in Italy,” Andersen wrote. ___ Associated Press Science Writer Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___ Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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NBA coaches’ new play: tending to health to cope with grind.
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Luke Walton began a wellness program for his Lakers coaching staff. Steve Kerr reached out to Steve Clifford after each spent significant time away from the sideline because of debilitating headaches and other symptoms.
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true
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Steve Clifford, Health, Doc Rivers, North America, Steve Kerr, Coaching, Sports, Basketball, Luke Walton, NBA
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Coaches around the league are taking preventive measures to help deal with the grind and stresses of a long NBA season. That hasn’t always been the case. Now, the NBA Coaches Association provides guidance to its members on everything from diet and exercise to sleep and mental health. “Well, we’re trying. We all are trying, we all are conscious of it,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “I don’t think we’re very good at it, honestly. I know I’ve tried. It’s still very hard to accomplish. The game consumes us. It consumes me at least, and it should, if you love it. And it’s just hard to turn off. It’s important. We have to do it. We should have been doing it.” After a late arrival in Bay Area last month, it was after 10 p.m. when Rivers had the team tissue therapist work on his body, including knees and ankle — “and my brain.” He has consulted a sleep doctor, too. In Los Angeles, Walton is being proactive by encouraging every staff member to stay physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. The advice is to recharge when necessary, in whatever way is best. “It’s a priority,” Lakers assistant Mark Madsen said. “It’s important because think about all the late nights. We’ll get into cities at 4 in the morning sometimes. You have to stay on top of it.” As a youngster, J.B. Bickerstaff knew there were a couple of hours in the afternoon on game days his father needed for himself. Bernie Bickerstaff took a power nap that allowed him to be fresh for a long night on the NBA bench. J.B. Bickerstaff now does it the same exact way as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. The coaches’ association is providing support and guidance like never before, and many coaches are making a point to openly discuss wellness strategies and share ideas. There’s also a close-knit support system within this crop of NBA coaches that Dallas’ Rick Carlisle, the coaches’ association president, considers special. “We also have a unique group of head coaches right now, guys that are extremely competitive but have great respect for one another and provide a high level of support for each other,” Carlisle said. “Guys who are going through tough times with health and even things like losing streaks. We’ve got a very high character group.” For example, Clifford so appreciated a call he got last season from Kerr, each having gone through his own challenging health ordeal that kept him from the bench for an extensive stretch. Clifford, then coaching the Charlotte Hornets, missed more than five weeks dealing with agonizing headaches that after a battery of tests were deemed to be caused by sleep deprivation. Kerr has endured some of the most high-profile absences. He missed the initial 43 games of the 2015-16 season — including a record 24-0 start — dealing with painful and confounding symptoms following a pair of back surgeries. Kerr was sidelined again for 11 games during the Warriors’ 16-1 postseason in 2017 before returning to the bench for Game 2 of the NBA Finals the Warriors wound up winning in five games against LeBron James and Cleveland. Kerr had undergone a procedure to repair a spinal fluid leak on May 5, 2017, at Duke University but was not well enough to return until June 4. He made it through last year’s repeat run to a title. “My advice to coaches who are coming into the league: Don’t get back surgery,” Kerr quipped. “That’s my main advice. Sorry, bad joke. Luke Walton, when he took the Laker job, we talked a lot about that. He told me his whole staff is really on a conditioning program and a health-wellness program. I think it’s really smart, something that every staff should try to do is just make sure you’ve got people looking after you and looking after each other.” Kerr practices regular yoga and can often be seen on the elliptical machine after practice in a corner of the gym, getting loose on a foam roller or stretching with the assistance of an athletic trainer. Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts appreciates the points of emphasis and information provided by the coaches’ association “whether it’s diet or things to alleviate stress.” He watches what he eats and works in exercise whenever he can, saying those two things are “the remedy for everybody.” “A lot of it is just common sense that everybody has to deal with to take care of yourself,” Stotts said. “It’s not just coaches, obviously, it’s everybody, a lot of middle-aged men need to be doing the same, and some like me, beyond-middle-aged men. The fact that our lifestyle, if you give in to it, it can be a detriment, and everybody needs to be aware of it.” Clifford is in Orlando now, and he understands better than ever the importance of taking care of himself and monitoring his own health in a business where keeping your job depends largely on winning. He took significant steps to improve his sleep patterns and overall health, this after a previous heart scare as well. The 57-year-old Clifford deeply appreciated Kerr’s call. “It was great,” Clifford said. “He was one of the guys who reached out and obviously we had the health issue in common. It was a terrific gesture.” Last season, former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue dealt with anxiety and needed a mental and physical break. “Wellness isn’t just physical. It’s mental as well,” Portland guard Damian Lillard said. “I think the position we’re in as professional athletes and with coaches in the social media age, it’s a little more difficult. That takes it to a much higher level from physical and mental ... when you’ve got people talking about you all the time, on Twitter bashing you. People just have so much more access to you. It becomes a more stressful job, much more pressure on your job and so many more eyes.” Coaches are also realizing they can’t always do it alone, relying on experts to stay healthy. Golden State hired Rick Celebrini this past offseason as director of sports medicine and performance. “If you can find some help, somebody to give you a little guidance,” Kerr said, “like we have here with Rick and Drew Yoder, I think it’s a big help.” The coaches’ association sends a regular newsletter with guidance from nutrition consultant Stacy Goldberg, who also is always available for 1-on-1 conversations. She attends coach association meetings, too, offering healthy food and snack choices. “Often, coaches are so focused on taking care of the players that they are not always focused on taking care of themselves,” said Goldberg, founder and CEO of Savorfull. “This is especially true when it comes to their nutrition.” Added Carlisle: “We view this as important as anything else we do with the NBA coaches association.” ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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35816
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When it comes to protecting against COVID-19 transmission, neck gaiters are worse than wearing no mask at all.
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“We noticed that speaking through some masks (particularly the neck fleece) seemed to disperse the largest droplets into a multitude of smaller droplets, which explains the apparent increase in droplet count relative to no mask in that case,” wrote the researchers. “Considering that smaller particles are airborne longer than large droplets (larger droplets sink faster), the use of such a mask might be counterproductive.”
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false
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Medical, COVID-19
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As the world continued to grapple with changing restrictions and recommendations surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, rumors persisted into late summer 2020 regarding scientific understanding behind the effectiveness of certain face coverings used to reduce COVID-19 transmission. In August, a number of news publications reported findings from Duke University research and claimed wearing “neck gaiters” — stretchy, thin articles of clothing worn around the neck to sometimes cover the face — can be worse for transmission than foregoing a mask altogether. Our research found this claim to be false and largely misreported by some media outlets. The claim can be traced back to a study published in Science Advances on Aug. 7, 2020. Throughout the course of their research, scientists set out to determine the best methods for testing how to evaluate 14 types of face coverings — not determine which one is the most effective in protecting against transmission. The study was not meant to be a conclusive guide describing which masks to wear, but rather how to test their varied effectiveness. Results regarding the effectiveness of any particular face covering were merely a byproduct of the study. A simple and cost-effective method for testing the efficacy of certain face coverings is thought to be a crucial element to furthering the understanding of how SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19, is spread. To that end, the research team turned to optical imaging in order to “highlight stark differences in the effectiveness of different masks and mask alternatives” that may help stop the spread of respiratory droplets, which are known to contain SARS-CoV-2 and can transmit during “regular speech.” Furthermore, as of mid-2020, there was still much to be determined about the infection pathways of COVID-19, the route of transmission, how to properly use a mask, and how the virus may be affected by environmental variables. For the proof-of-concept study, which is meant to inform future research, a person wearing a mask stood inside of a dark enclosure and spoke into the direction of a laser beam. Respiratory droplets were visible as they scattered light from the laser beam that a cell phone camera recorded. A simple computer algorithm then counted the droplets. Masks tested included a fitted N95 mask both with and without valves, surgical masks, different variations of polyester or cotton masks, as well as a bandana, and neck fleece, or gaiter. These were then compared against respiratory droplets emitted by a person who wore no face covering. In short, the study findings concluded that the laser-beam method for viewing, recording, and counting respiratory droplets from analyzed face coverings is a quick and easy way to test their effectiveness. But how well each mask worked was not determined —– that would require further, more specific, evaluation, stricter testing mechanisms, and greater control over variables. Now, other scientists can use this same laser-beam method to specifically test for mask effectiveness. A fitted N95 mask was determined to be the most effective, since just .1% of droplets were transmitted. A gaiter, on the other hand, was shown to disperse larger droplets into smaller ones, resulting in a higher droplet count than any other face covering and, indeed, than even foregoing a face mask altogether.
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11594
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Menopause Therapy Sparks Controversy
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This broadcast piece does a reasonable job of framing the use of custom-mixed 'bioidentical' hormones as an alternative to commercially available hormone therapies for relieving menopausal symptoms. However, it relies exclusively on interviews, and does not tell the whole story about the available evidence on these products. While it's true that botanical products are not regulated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many have been tested in clinical trials both in the United States and in Europe–and the evidence that they relieve menopausal symptoms is somewhat less positive than the story suggests. An interview with a woman who found they did not relieve her symptoms, or more information about the evidence, would have provided some important balance. Similarly, concerns about their risks are primarily theoretical, because to date there have not been large-scale studies of their harms. Dr. Schwartz's statement that profit motives explain the lack of these studies goes unchallenged. What's more, it's a bit disingenuous, given that 'Dr. Erika' herself runs a website marketing both her books and her 'exclusive' supplements (www.DrErika.com).
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mixture
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No mention of cost. The story doesn't provide any information about how many women are helped, or how much. Story quotes an expert who asserts that bioidentical hormones have same possible harms as other forms, as well as other possible downsides related to 'custom mixing' of these unregulated products. It's not possible to tell from the story whether bioidentical hormones have been studied in the same way as synthetic hormones or whether there is evidence that they can relieve menopause symptoms. No overt disease-mongering, though the story was somewhat skewed toward a view that menopause is a time of universal and persistent suffering. The story relies on interviews with experts without noting whether any attempt was made to verify their statements about the benefits and harms of bioidentical hormones. The story relied heavily on input from Dr. Erika Schwartz, book author, who runs a website marketing both her books and her 'exclusive' supplements (www.DrErika.com). The story makes a reasonable attempt to put bioidentical hormone products in context with commercial or synthetic hormones. Story notes that bioidentical hormones, as defined in this piece (those derived from soy and yam extracts) are not FDA-approved. It's clear that the story is discussing an alternative approach to an existing treatment. We can't be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release, although it did lean heavily on the input from one book author.
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26660
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President Donald Trump “will evoke (sic) what is called the Stafford act” and “order a two week mandatory quarantine for the nation.”
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There is no evidence that the federal government is set to announce a nationwide lockdown. President Trump said March 16 that he was not considering it. Trump said the government is thinking about additional measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in some hotspots around the country. The Stafford Act authorizes aid to state and local governments and is commonly used during hurricanes. It does not mandate a nationwide lockdown.
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false
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Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,
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"Social media users are misinterpreting a federal disaster relief law to promote a hoax about a nationwide quarantine. A Facebook post published March 16 includes a screenshot of another post from a page called Ninety Degree Turns. It claims that President Donald Trump will soon lock down the entire country to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which had infected 4,226 people in the United States as of March 17. ""Please be advised, within 48 to 72 Hours the president will evoke (sic) what is called the Stafford act,"" reads the post. ""Just got off the phone with some of my military friends down in DC who had a two hour briefing. The president will order a two week mandatory quarantine for the nation."" The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) (Screenshot from Facebook) The screenshot is similar to a chain message that claims to have information from ""my friend’s aunt"" who works for the federal government. This Facebook post is wrong, and it gives the wrong impression about the Stafford Act. There is no evidence that the federal government is set to announce a nationwide lockdown like the ones seen in France, Italy and Spain. Trump and the National Security Council have both refuted the claim. So far, officials have advised Americans to practice ""social distancing,"" or avoiding crowded public spaces. In a press conference March 16, Trump outlined several recommendations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Among them is avoiding gatherings of 10 or more people. ""My administration is recommending that all Americans, including the young and healthy, work to engage in schooling from home when possible, avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people, avoid discretionary travel and avoid eating and drinking in bars, restaurants and public food courts,"" he said. In response to a question, he said the administration is not considering a national curfew or quarantine. He reiterated that point in another press conference March 17. ""It’s a very big step. It’s something we talk about, but we haven’t decided to do that,"" he said. That part is accurate — the president announced the move in a letter to Cabinet officials on March 13 — but it doesn’t mean there will be nationwide quarantine. ""COVID-19 has the potential to impose a temporary financial hardship on all Americans,"" Trump wrote. ""It is therefore critical that we deploy all powers and authorities available to the Federal Government to provide needed relief."" ""Therefore, as an initial step, I hereby determine, under section 501(b) of the Stafford Act, that an emergency exists nationwide."" The move activates the Federal Emergency Management Agency, authorizes aid to state and local governments, and waives certain regulations that impede access to health care. The Stafford Act is commonly used during hurricanes and does not necessitate a nationwide lockdown. Meanwhile, some places around the country have taken matters into their own hands. In New Rochelle, N.Y., Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered a one-mile containment zone on March 10. In the San Francisco Bay Area, local officials on March 16 announced sweeping measures to try to contain the coronavirus, including a ""shelter in place"" order for residents in six counties. That order is among the strictest in the country, although it fell short of a total lockdown. The Facebook post misconstrues the effects of the Stafford Act, and its warning about a two-week nationwide lockdown has been dismissed by federal officials. With the information we have."
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28510
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President Donald Trump hosted the National Rifle Association at the White House on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre.
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What's true: A White House Christmas party was held on 14 December 2017 (the anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre); the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre was among attendees. What's false: President Trump did not host only the NRA on that specific date; LaPierre was one of many individuals invited to one of many White House holiday receptions.
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mixture
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Politics Guns, donald trump, nra, sandy hook
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On 15 December 2017, progressive blogs reported that President Trump had hosted the head of the National Rifle Association at the White House on the fifth anniversary of Sandy Hook massacre, in which a gunman murdered twenty children and seven adults in Connecticut before killing himself: The article began: Not only did Donald Trump not tweet out messages of condolences for families who lost loved ones five years ago on Thursday at the [Sandy] Hook gun massacre in Connecticut, and not only did White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on that day insist there’s simply nothing that can be done to battle American epidemic of gun violence, but Trump himself managed to insult the Sandy Hook families in another appalling way. In a craven display of collective indifference, Trump hosted Wayne LaPierre, the controversial head of the NRA, at the White House on [14 December 2017], as families and friends of the elementary school gun massacre were remembering the victims of the horrific killing spree. The piece cited a Facebook post published by Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick: Patrick’s Facebook post described the “the White House Christmas party,” adding that LaPierre was among attendees. No other NRA officials were mentioned, and LaPierre was shown with Patrick (not Trump) in attached photographs. The blog’s header image showing Trump and LaPierre shaking hands dated to early 2017 and was not taken at the 14 December reception. Readers came away with the impression that the White House had hosted a holiday party explicitly for the National Rifle Association: @realDonaldTrump A NRA party at the White House on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre? Really? You dont have people on your staff to prevent stupid optics like this? I thought you were surrounded by the best? — Yusef Johnson (@coachyusef) December 16, 2017 Few outlets covered the reception, but a 15 December 2017 article published by the Palm Beach Daily News written by an attendee: Both the East Room and the State Dining Room were filled with gourmet delights. The tasty treats had an Americana feeling, from chaffing dishes filled with Southern grits sprinkled with Christmas-green parsley to elegant silver platters of smoked salmon and on to macaroni casserole, sliced tenderloin of beef, spinach-filled pastry cups to an array of mixed salads and fruits. The dessert table — make that tables — held gingerbread cookies and those red raspberry-filled Christmas candies, a delight to look at and enjoy. Those White House chefs can do anything the First Family might enjoy. The president and the first lady seemed merry, extending to their guests the warmth and happiness that accompanies this season of joy. It included an invitation to the “Holiday Reception”: A 27 November 2017 Washington Post article reported that the invitation was one used for several events: There have, however, been a few hiccups in Trump’s attempt to make Christmas great again. The formal invitations to the series of White House parties hosted for friends, supporters, staff and the press corps went out this month with some messaging underneath the gold presidential seal that sent political media cackling. Rather than calling the event a White House “Christmas party” the invitation’s curly script reads, yes, “Holiday Reception.” The White House’s blog post about the holiday season also mentions more than one event: Throughout the month of December, the White House will host more than 100 open houses and many receptions. More than 25,000 visitors will walk the halls taking part in public tours. In 2014, the Washington Post published an article about the many holiday receptions held at the White House each year, noting that members of the First Family hardly interact with guests at all because of the sheer number of such events held each year: You’re not actually mixing and mingling with the president and first lady. The Obamas usually hole up in the residence at the beginning of the reception before descending the grand staircase, possibly saying a few words and then heading straight to the photo line. But despite the brief cameo, the crowd goes wild. “Everyone is cheering and showing all 32 teeth when the president and first lady enter the room,” said one invitee. “Now granted, most people don’t realize they have been invited to one of the 13 or more holiday parties.” Headlines coupled with an unrelated photograph of Trump with LaPierre exacerbated the impression that the White House had callously hosted the NRA and warmly welcomed LaPierre on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting; but despite the unrelated image, LaPierre was just one of many people in attendance at one of many holiday events. While it can be argued that his inclusion on that date was tone-deaf, it does not appear to be a deliberate slight against victims of mass shootings. The coordination of such events is handled by the White House Social Secretary, and the President and First Lady historically make cameo appearances at the events but they rarely interact with guests.
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36070
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"An image shows a mite known as ""Demodex,"" which lives on your face."
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‘Lonely? Don’t Be. Demodex is the Name of a Mite that Lives on Your Face. Friends Forever!’ Meme
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mixture
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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On October 25 2019, the Facebook page “Cheerful Nihilism” shared the following meme, purportedly depicting a Demodex mite, which according to the meme lives on human faces:Above an apparent illustration of an alien-like insect, text read:Are you lonely? Don’t be. Demodex is a type of mite that lives on your face. Friends forever.The meme was identical to a Reddit r/pics thread shared in November 2018:Are you lonely? Don’t be. Demodex is a type of mite that lives on your face. Friends forever. from picsA top comment on that thread reflected what was likely a common reaction to the coupled title and image:I swear, the microscope has opened up more horrific images than anything humans had thought up previouslyA Google Image search for the graphic returned “demodex” as a result, but that was likely due to its widespread appearance in the meme, and in Twitter screenshots of the post.Demodex is indeed a genus of “tiny mites that live in or near hair follicles of mammals”; two species in that genus are known to exist on humans, Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis. The former (as its name suggests) inhabits hair follicles, and the latter exist in the sebaceous glands of humans — which, yes, can be found on the face.However, microscopic images of Demodex mites are far less detailed than the meme’s illustration suggested:Demodex brevis at the top were slightly less narrow but largely similar to Demodex folliculorum on the bottom. In the meme, it’s strongly implied that all people have Demodex mites crawling on and about their person, but a 2012 story in Discover magazine about the Demodex genus noted that while the mites are “common,” they are far from universal:These mites are our most common ectoparasites (those that stay on the surface of our bodies, rather than burrowing inside). They’ve been found in every ethnic group where people have cared to look, from white Europeans to Australian aborigines to Devon Island Eskimos … But it’s hard to say exactly how common they are. The first estimate came from a 1903 study, which found the critters in 49 out of 100 French cadavers. The next count, from 1908, found them in 97 out of 100 German cadavers. The nationalities are probably a red herring. What’s clearer is that age matters. The mites aren’t inherited at birth, so each generation picks them up anew, probably from direct contact with our parents. Thanks, parents! If you’re under 20, good news! A French study from 1972 says that you’ve only got a 4 percent chance of carrying Demodex. If you’re old, bad news! You’ve almost certainly got Demodex somewhere.For instance, Demodex folliculorum are not found on infants or children, but are common in the elderly and are often acquired during a normal human lifespan. That article also noted that “face mites … have sex on your face,” “‘crawl about your face in the dark,’ lay eggs in your pores, and release a burst of faeces when they die.” Images accompanying that piece looked like the ones above, not the cheerfully horrifying meme.As for the meme’s image, its first crawled appearance on the internet was in a November 2009 blog post where commenters were asked to identify the creature shown. Commenters quickly came to guess “silkworm,” reaching an apparent consensus. In 2013, the image was shared to a different subreddit as a “caterpillar under a microscope”:The face of a caterpillar under a microscope. Look familiar? (X-Post from r/WTF) from SCPHowever, many links in the post were no longer working, and blog posts around 2013 often identified the image simply as a “caterpillar.” The image was hosted on Science Photo Library, with a caption explaining it was a colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) image depicting the head of a silkworm moth caterpillar (Bombyx mori):Silkworm. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of a silkworm moth caterpillar (Bombyx mori). The silkworm uses its chewing mouthparts (upper centre) to feed on mulberry leaves. On either side of the mouthparts is an antenna and several simple eyes (ocelli, black round structures, upper left and right). The caterpillar has three pairs of jointed legs behind the head (lower centre). Most caterpillars also have prolegs further along the body (not seen).A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is an electron microscope which generates images by scanning a sample’s surface with a focused beam. A similar image featured by another scientific stock image site included a similar description:Color-enhanced SEM of the caterpillar of the silk moth (Bombyx mori), probably the most famous in the world. More than 4,000 years ago, the Chinese began to breed and domesticate them, because the material they use to spin their cocoons for pupation is unique: a strand of silk, ten times thinner than the human hair and three kilometers long. What is more, it is tear-proof and elastic. The thread, with these wonderful qualities, comes out of the spinneret – the organ which can be seen underneath the head, just above the front pair of legs. The long, sharp claws are also conspicuous. They are the perfect tools for climbing, in order to get at the leaves of the mulberry tree – the only nourishment silk worms can tolerate. But they eat these leaves with a passion: in the 5 weeks of their caterpillar stage, they increase their weight by 10,000 times, half of which goes into its highly productive spinneret. Magnification 31:1 at an image size of 15×15 cm.The image from the meme was a suggested “conceptually similar” entry on the second site, and a slightly different caption appeared for the meme’s illustration:Silkworms (Bombyx mori) are the larvae (caterpillars) of the silk moth. They feed only on mulberry (Morus sp.) leaves. The caterpillars produce fine silk cocoons around themselves as they pupate for metamorphosis. The silk is harvested for use in clothing and fabrics. Once the cocoons have been produced, the pupae are killed to ensure the silk is not damaged by the emerging moths. REM 31x.A popular meme originated with an inaccurate post on Reddit’s r/pics, originally titled “Are you lonely? Don’t be. Demodex is a type of mite that lives on your face. Friends forever.” It’s true that two of over 60 species of the Demodex mite live on the faces of some humans (Demodex brevis and Demodex folliculorum), but microscope images of those two species do not look like the meme’s image. The meme featured a science stock image, a micrograph of the face of silkworm (Bombyx mori) larvae. Silkworms do not live on the faces of humans, and the image itself was not representative of “face mites.”
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10422
|
Mini medical miracles: Getting rid of wrinkles
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"This story was a classic case of disease-mongering. The anchor lead-in states that this segment was part of a four-part series on ""mini-medical miracles."" The anchor said: ""This week we’ve checked out potential breakthroughs in treatments for baldness, insomnia and dandruff. Today we end with wrinkles. Could having a new laser treatment in your forties or fifties prevent you from ever needing a facelift?"" No one needs a facelift. It is not a matter of need. Similarly, baldness, insomnia and dandruff are not diseases that require treatment – much less miracles or breakthroughs. There is absolutely no evidence provided – not on benefits, not on harms, not on how long this approach has been tested nor in how many people. Only a single source is interviewed – a physician who appears in several company news releases. This is one of the rare stories that fails on all of our criteria."
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false
|
"The reporter says ""it’s going to cost three to five thousand dollars."" That’s too broad a range to be helpful to the viewer. There is also no cost comparison with any of the other multitude of wrinkle ""treatments"" already on the market. Most important, there is no discussion of whether insurers are likely to cover it. There is no data provided on either benefits or harms. The reporter says there is ""redness for a few days and that’s it. Very safe."" For something that is called a mini-miracle and a breakthrough, and which costs thousands of dollars, viewers deserve a much more thorough, numeric discussion of potential harms. In another place, she says ""essentially you’re back to work in four or five days."" That’s a big consideration for most people – maybe not the people who would pursue this approach. There is no discussion of the evidence for this procedure – not how long nor in how many patients. This story was a classic case of disease-mongering. The anchor lead-in states that this segment was part of a four-part series on ""mini-medical miracles."" The anchor said: ""This week we’ve checked out potential breakthroughs in treatments for baldness, insomnia and dandruff. Today we end with wrinkles. Could having a new laser treatment in your forties of fifties prevent you from ever needing a facelift."" No one needs a facelift. It is not a matter of need. Similar, baldness, insomnia and dandruff are not diseases that require treatment – much less miracles or breakthroughs. The only physician quoted is one who appears in several company news releases. No independent source is interviewed. The story only mentiones one other laser treatment but there is no meaningful comparison with any of the multitude of other wrinkle ""treatments"" already on the market. Also no discussion of the fact that wrinkles don’t need to be treated. Although the story notes that the device was approved by the FDA, there is no indication of its general availability. The physician-reporter says ""This is going to be in your doctor’s office soon."" How does she know that? She acknowledges that ""what will be interesting to see is how many dermatologists have that credit card to pay for this upfront and how long it’s going to take them to pay it off."" At this point, we have no idea how widely accepted this procedure will be. The only physician quoted calls it ""the biggest breakthrough in wrinkle removal in the last five to ten years."" But the reporter lumps it in with all other laser approaches, saying ""Laser technology has been around for a long time and very vetted."" Given that there is no independent source analyzing the approach, no meaningful comparison with other wrinkle treatments, and no evidence is provided, the story provides only a confusing and hyped-up promotion of this approach. We can’t be sure if the story relies solely or largely on a news release, but we do know that the only physician quoted is one who appears in many company news releases."
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58
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Bristol-Myers misses main goal of late-stage skin cancer trial.
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Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Wednesday a late-stage trial testing a combination of its cancer drugs missed a main goal of preventing skin cancer from recurring in a certain group of patients, sending its shares down nearly 1%.
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true
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Health News
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The company said the trial will continue unchanged as per the recommendation of a data monitoring committee. The trial was testing Bristol-Myers’ drugs Opdivo and Yervoy, against Opdivo alone, in patients with advanced melanoma. The combination failed to show a statistically significant benefit in patients whose tumors had 1% or lower levels of the PD-L1 protein being targeted, the company said. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 96,480 melanoma cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year. Bristol-Myers shares were trading at $55.99 before the bell.
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29110
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A list of safety tips offers effective counters to being victimized in random violent crimes.
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The world is not awash with rapists, murderers, thieves, and kidnappers, but a bit of common sense routinely applied can help you avoid meeting up with any of the handful that are actually out there. Rather than fret about how to properly throw an elbow, or whether you should run from someone holding a gun on you, or how to crash a car into a barrier so as to incapacitate an attacker but leave yourself unharmed, learn these three tips by heart: Keep away from deserted places, stay alert to what is going on around you, and when something feels the slightest bit wrong, get out of there. While there’s nothing of Lynda Carter or Steven Seagal in those three tips, they will serve to keep you out of a pine box far better than all the more flashy “saw it on the Lifetime Movie of the Week” moves put together.
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mixture
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Crime, Crime Prevention Tips, crime warnings
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We first encountered versions of the following list of crime safety tips in 2001, and it has since been widely circulated under titles such as “Safety Tips for Women” (although its advice is intended for members of both genders) and “Written by a Cop”: WRITTEN BY A COP: Everyone should take 5 minutes to read this. It may save your life or a loved one’s life. In daylight hours, refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation… This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children, & everyone you know. After reading these 9 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in. 1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do! 2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you….chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! 3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives. 4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON’T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. a. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location. 5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.) 6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!) 7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig-zag pattern! 8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked “for help” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. 9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her “Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.” The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, “We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.” He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby’s cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby’s cries outside their doors when they’re home alone at night. Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby — This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America’s Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana. I’d like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well. Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it’s better to be safe than sorry. This item actually began as a summary of the teachings of Pat Malone, a personal safety expert and former bodyguard who instructs on defensive and survival tactics, and the much-longer original (which is displayed on a number of websites) appears to have been penned by someone who attended one of Mr. Malone’s seminars and so might not accurately reflect what had been presented in that class. The advice provided should therefore not be viewed as “the teachings of a self-defense expert” or something “written by a cop” but as “the teachings of a self-defense expert, as remembered by someone else.” Pat Malone’s seminars are described as “self-protection from predators, without self-defense or weapons” and “not self-defense classes.” On his web site, he offers for sale a video entitled “Taking Control,” which he represents as “A self-protection training program using common sense as a weapon.” Over the intervening years, the e-mailed list of crime avoidance tips has been edited by various anonymous folks whose cyber hands it has passed through, being severely pared down from its original form and then padded with extraneous material in a number of places. It has thus become even less reliable in terms of the quality of advice being offered than it was in 2001, and even then it would have had to have been regarded as suspect. The tips the e-mailed list has currently devolved to include some information that might be useful in a general sense. But much of the information presented is not very useful because it is wrong, pertains to situations that are extremely unlikely to arise, or dangerously applies absolutes to scenarios that are highly situational. 1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do! Right off the bat we have an instance of dangerously trying to apply an absolute to a highly situational scenario, a course which may be far more likely to increase (rather than lessen) a victim’s chances of being physically harmed. Yes, if you’re confronted by a threatening presence, you might be able to get in a good blow by using your elbow, but then what? Are you going to be able incapacitate him with that single blow? If not, what are you going to do next? Will you be able to escape to safety or summon help before he recovers and reacts? Are you going to be able to overpower him in a physical confrontation? If he has a weapon, will he still be able to wield it? Engaging in hand-to-hand combat with a threat should probably be an option of last resort unless you are very well trained in self-defense. And for accuracy’s sake, we note that while the elbow is one of your body parts that can be used effectively in a fight, it is not the strongest: that honor goes to the humble knee. 2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you … chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! This is another situational scenario. Yes, if you toss your purse or wallet some distance away rather than handing it to a mugger, that might give you time to start running while he retrieves it … but is that always a good idea? If a robber is “truly more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you,” isn’t it more likely that he’s going to simply grab your valuables and skedaddle anyway rather than stick around to inflict physical harm that won’t garner him any further monetary gain? Is it possible that your deliberately tossing away your wallet rather than handing it over could be perceived by your assailant as a form of non-cooperation or disrespect that might provoke him into attacking you when he otherwise would have let you go unharmed? And if your assailant’s objective included something other than a mugging (e.g., kidnapping, rape, murder), throwing your handbag away might do nothing other than rid you of an item you could have used as a defensive weapon. 3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives. The chances that the average person is ever going to find himself locked in the trunk of a car by an abductor are slim to begin with, much less so when one includes the presumption that the victim would be placed there with hands and feet unbound (or somehow manage to free himself from such bonds). In any case, the tail lights of most modern vehicles are not accessible from the trunk, so even if one’s arms and legs were free there would be nothing to kick out to create an opening for waving at others. A better plan might be to look for the glow-in-the-dark trunk release tabs incorporated into many newer vehicles. Also, the back seats of many recent models fold down to accommodate the transport of larger items, so going deep into the trunk and pushing on the rear of the back seats (feeling about for knobs or levers to unlatch folding seats if necessary) might create an opening large enough for egress from a trunk. 4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON’T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. This list’s assessment of the behavior of women who have just entered their cars is unfortunately accurate: most women we’ve observed do indeed settle their purses on the passenger seats, sling briefcases, jackets, and packages into the back seat area, get out their car keys, rummage about in their handbags for various items (e.g., lipstick, cell phone, address book) which they might or might not use right then, put their keys in the ignition, fasten their seat belts, and only then get around to locking their doors. During that interval they are indeed vulnerable to someone’s getting into the car with them or pulling open the driver’s side door. A good habit to get into is immediately locking your car’s doors as soon as you are in your vehicle. Train yourself so that it becomes one smooth motion that you don’t even have to think about — your rump’s landing on the seat should trigger your hand to reach out and hit the lock button. Driving away immediately rather than taking a moment to make out this year’s Christmas card list is also advice worthy of following, especially in locations such as parking garages (because the structure prevents others not in your immediate area from seeing what might be happening at your car) and open air parking lots that are somewhat deserted rather than teeming with other folks coming and going. a. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location. If the assailant has gotten into the passenger seat, the passenger’s side air bag (a standard feature in most newer model cars) will also protect him from the crash, so banking on his getting the worst of a car crash might not be a good idea. It’s still possible, if not necessarily likely, that the element of surprise (you’ll know the collision is coming long before he does) might enable you to bail out of the car before your assailant can react, but disentangling yourself from a deployed air bag isn’t necessarily quick or easy (and very few people have opportunity to practice such a maneuver). 5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat. This list is correct in suggesting that taking a moment before going to your car to look about and see who else is around is a good habit to adopt. Pause for a few seconds to judge your surroundings rather than unthinkingly heading for your vehicle with your eyes down and your mind occupied with other matters. Once you arrive at your vehicle, but before entering it, give its back seat a quick glance to ensure no one is hiding there. B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. This claim is wrong. Most serial killers do not grab women from parking lots and thrust them into vans; they hunt for potential victims according to their personal killing rituals, with each murderer following his own personal script. Some drive about looking for lone hitchhikers. Others seek out solitary travelers who have paused in their journeys to use the facilities at rest stops along the interstate highways. Others go after late night gas station and convenience store clerks who are working alone and unprotected. Yet others troll areas known to be frequented by streetwalkers, presenting themselves as customers interested in buying the prostitutes’ services. Others break into houses they have minutes or hours earlier seen their desired victims enter. Some place ads in newspapers, luring their victims to them with promises of great bargains on desired items or offers of employment. Yet others frequent lonely spots that have personal meaning to them, preying upon whoever attempts to traverse these areas. Each serial killer has his own method of acquiring victims, and it is unique unto him. C.) Look at the car parked on the driver’s side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. The proffered advice makes the assumption that every man sitting in a car parked next to yours is a would-be attacker, but someone trolling for a victim at a mall is rather unlikely to be doing so by waiting patiently within his own vehicle for whoever is parked beside him to return. He could be left twiddling his thumbs for hours only to discover his intended target comes back accompanied by three friends she met up with inside or returns at a moment when the lot is awash with other people getting in and out of their cars. Moreover, this item contradicts the advice which immediately precedes it: if you need to be wary of cars parked on either side of your vehicle, then entering your car through the passenger-side door is no guarantor of safety. 6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!) Stairwells are typically far less trafficked than other public areas of buildings and offer areas where would-be attackers can lurk out of sight, which does make them more risky places to traverse. When taking the stairs alone, stay alert to the presence of others rather than allowing yourself to become lost in your thoughts and losing focus on your surroundings. When at all uncertain about the behavior of someone else in the stairwell, exit onto the nearest floor. Never use a stairwell unaccompanied where the doors lock behind you, thereby preventing you from exiting anywhere other than the ground-floor egress. Elevators also pose risk, but since they are better trafficked and more public, the possibility of being harmed while using one is much reduced. Still, unlike a stairway, an elevator does not allow for escape: once those doors close, you’re trapped inside with whoever else might be in the car until those doors open again. Therefore, don’t get onto an elevator car unaccompanied if you are at all uncertain of the car’s current occupants or someone else who is also waiting to enter — if something strikes you as not quite right, wait for the next car. 7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig-zag pattern! We don’t know the origin of the claim that someone shooting at you “will only hit you 4 in 100 times”, but we’re highly skeptical of the notion that a gun-wielding bad guy in relatively close proximity to a human target hits what he’s aiming at only once out of 25 times (even if the target is a moving one). And just because the shooter may not hit a “vital organ” doesn’t mean the victim is going to get away — a gunshot to just about any body part will usually inflict enough pain or physical damage to hamper the escape of someone fleeing on foot. 8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked “for help” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. While Ted Bundy did trick some of his victims into going with him by appearing injured and in need of assistance (e.g., putting his arm in a sling and attempting to hoist a canoe onto the roof of his car), he picked up other victims while they were hitchhiking, and he also attacked victims in their homes while they were sleeping — there was no “ALWAYS” to his methodology. Bundy is regarded by those who study criminals as a highly unusual serial killer because he was intelligent, charming, had well-honed people skills, and varied his mode of securing victims. It is therefore a mistake to assess the threat posed by those who murder random victims for the thrill of it by using Ted Bundy as a yardstick. However, it is not a mistake to keep in mind people aren’t always what they appear to be, and that someone who looks disabled or encumbered might well be entirely able-bodied. Unfortunately, we must also stay alert when we are around strangers and allow for the possibility of being the target of deception rather than being lulled into a false sense of security by the other party’s apparent limitations. 9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her “Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.” A more lengthy debunking of the “crying baby” lure can be found in our article on that topic, but in a nutshell it’s a hoax: no serial killer used that ruse, and the story about helpful policemen who instructed the woman who heard such cries to stay inside and not open her door is fiction. The “audio tape of a baby’s cries used by a murderer to draw women from their homes” fabrication was born of the anxiety surrounding the hunt for the Baton Rouge serial killer in 2002. That case was profiled on America’s Most Wanted in September 2002 and again in January 2003, but neither airing made any mention of the purported “crying baby” theory. 10. Water scam! If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full blast so that you will go out to investigate and then attack. This item was a later addition to the original list of nine tips, and it’s not particularly helpful. Of all the ways home intruders might gain entry to a house, turning on the outside taps in the middle of the night to lure someone outside is quite a rare approach, and the homeowner who ignores the sound of a running tap or burst pipe in the night is most likely going to awaken to a flooded yard or house. If some circumstance (whatever it might be) prompts the need for you to examine something outside your home when it’s too dark to safely check the surrounding area, call the local non-emergency police number and report a suspicious noise, then wait until a patrol car arrives to go outside and make your investigation. While we’ve hopefully assisted readers in making sense of which of these tips contain good advice that should be followed and which should be regarded as codswallop, the overall tenor of its recommendations is for the reader to make like Wonder Woman or Captain America when confronted by someone intent upon doing him or her harm. As stated earlier, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with an attacker should be an option of last resort unless you are very well trained in self-defense. A far better counter is to avoid becoming the victim of random violent crime in the first place, which the following tips will help with: Avoid potentially dangerous places. The more isolated and devoid of other people a location is, the more potentially dangerous it is. Hence, stairwells are generally more perilous than elevators, underground parking garages more risky a proposition than open air parking lots. As a rule of thumb, anywhere other people aren’t is a good place for you not to be either. One mistake folks do make time and again is letting their sense of familiarity with a place lull them into a presumption of security. Though you may know the parking lot at the local grocery store like the back of your hand and have never experienced any problems there, you should still regard it as a potentially dangerous location if your plan is to park there at midnight on a Sunday while you reprogram the buttons on your car’s radio. A location that can be perfectly innocuous during the day when there are all sorts of other people around is not necessarily just as safe in the dead of night when the place is empty. Stay aware of your surroundings. Get into the habit of noticing not only the details of your physical surroundings (such as where exits are located) but who else is there with you. Maintain focus on the here and now instead of letting it drift to where and what you will be doing ten minutes from now. If trying to do two things at once, strive to stay alert to what is going on around you. Rather than wander towards your car with your head down while you’re yakking on your cell phone, take a break from the conversation to look about. The same goes for getting into an elevator: look at the other people in the car before getting in yourself. Also, as stated in “Assaulted Tale” (our debunking of a widely-circulated list about what rapists supposedly look for), not only is it important to see trouble coming before it gets to you and avoid it, but maintaining an alert stance can help discourage a would-be attacker. Those looking to prey upon others — whether their aim is robbery, rape, or mayhem — generally choose as victims those who appear preoccupied or tentative in preference to those who exude a sense of purpose. Or, as I was told long ago, “Always look like you know exactly where you’re going and move like you’re expected to be there at exactly a certain time.” Mooning about aimlessly can make you a statistic. Do not get into vehicles with strangers or allow them into yours. A murderer is not going to approach you by saying, “Hi, I’m interested in killing you; please get into my car.” Rather, it’s going to be, “Please, miss; can you help me? My little boy has been in an accident and I have to get to the hospital but I can’t find the place. No, don’t give me directions because I’ll just get turned around; come with me, and I’ll pay for a cab to get you back here afterwards.” Or, “I’m the new minister in town. My car broke down a few miles back, so I walked here to call the tow truck. Can you give me a lift back to my car? My wife is there, and I don’t like leaving her out there all alone for any longer than I have to, her being pregnant and all.” Also, be wary of helping strangers when you are unaccompanied. Don’t help them load packages into vans or trot over to them like a good little Girl Scout when summoned to give directions by someone you don’t know. Save your helpful impulses for when you have other people with you, but when on your own keep walking even as you call out, “Nope, sorry, can’t” back over your shoulder. Do not let strangers into your home. If someone appears at your door saying his car quit running and he needs to call a tow truck, offer through the closed door to make the call for him. If he says his wife is ill and asks if he can have a glass of water for her, offer, once again through the closed door, to call 911 for him. If someone dressed in work clothes says he’s been sent by the building superintendent, your homeowners association, the electric company, the city, or anything else, leave him standing outside until you’ve called that entity and ascertained it has sent that person and does indeed vouch for him.
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Johannesburg wildlife clinic saves animals hurt in city.
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At the edge of a sprawling Johannesburg suburb, a veterinary hospital is saving the lives of wildlife on the urban fringes.
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Wildlife, Animals, Johannesburg, Africa, South Africa, Science, Pretoria
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“I’d love to be in the bush, but I get more cases here,” said veterinary rehabilitation specialist Nicci Wright. Wright founded the hospital two years ago with veterinarian Dr. Karin Lourens and since then has treated about 4,000 animals. With the expansion of Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa’s capital city and its economic center, the animals indigenous to the region are being squeezed out by the rapid urbanization. The wildlife hospital mainly treats small mammals and raptors that are injured. There are about 160 animals on the small premises now, including half a dozen leopard tortoises, a toothless 12-foot python and an otter that was taken far from her natural habitat when someone tried to domesticate her as a pet. A Johannesburg resident arrives at the hospital, carrying a gray lourie in a cage made for much smaller domesticated bird. He found the large bird in the garden, attacked by his dogs, unable to fly after its tail and wing feathers were plucked out. Like in any hospital, nurse Alicia Abbott opens a file and transfers the new patient to a more comfortable setting so its treatment may begin. Most of the cages in the hospital are covered with towels to block the electric light from disturbing the animals. Along with physical injuries, many of them also suffer from trauma. Some species, like the endangered pangolin, show visible signs of post-traumatic stress disorder when they hear a male human voice or smell cigarettes smoke, a reminder of the poachers who hunt them, said Wright. “Everything is terrifying for them,” she said. In a wooden crate on the hospital floor, a juvenile pangolin begins to stir, scratching against the box. It is feeding time and a volunteer will walk him on a nearby hill where the pangolin, which is a scaly anteater, animal to search for ants. Pangolins are one of the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals because of demand for their scales in Asia. Another pangolin was recently sedated and checked by a sonogram scan to find that she was pregnant. Along with five staffers, the hospital relies on volunteers like Lauren Beckley, who lives nearby. Beckley cares for young primates like baboons and vervet monkeys, who cling to her after their own mothers have been shot or run over by humans. Other wildlife at the hospital include two newly born bush babies which are small nocturnal primates. One had been attacked by a cat and the other had fallen out of its nest. Once the animals are ready to return to the bush, Wright and her team work with nature reserves around the country to slowly introduce the animals into a new, safer, habitat.
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Trump again criticizes ailing McCain over health care vote.
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President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of John McCain for the senator’s dramatic thumbs-down deciding vote last year against the GOP health care repeal.
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Health care reform, John McCain, Politics, Meghan McCain, Donald Trump
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Without using McCain’s name, Trump spoke of his move in December that effectively defeated the overhaul in a close vote. The president told the Conservative Political Action Conference that “except for one Senator, who came into a room at three o’clock in the morning and went like that,” Trump gave a thumbs-down, “we would have had health care (reform), too.” The crowd booed. Trump added, “I won’t use his name.” McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer last summer and is in Arizona battling the disease. His daughter, Meghan McCain, said Friday on ABC’s “The View,” that she’d address Trump’s remarks with her mother, Cindy, next week.
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J&J recalling certain lots of drugs after theft.
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Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it was voluntarily recalling specific lots of three of its medicines to protect patients from receiving potentially mishandled or damaged products after a truck carrying the drugs was stolen.
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Health News
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The truck, which was stolen earlier this month while en route from a distribution center in Kentucky to a specialty distributor, was carrying the anemia treatment Procrit, the rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade and the cancer medicine Doxil. The theft was reported to local and federal law enforcement offices, as well as to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the transport trailer and products have not been recovered, the company said. J&J units Centocor and Ortho Biotech have recalled just the products with lot numbers that match those that were on the stolen truck. “If the stolen product were to be reintroduced into distribution channels, the companies cannot guarantee that products were stored at appropriate temperatures, nor can the companies guarantee the products were not damaged,” J&J said in a statement. “A voluntary withdrawal of products with lot numbers corresponding to that of the stolen product minimizes the possibility of inadvertent use of stolen product by physicians and, therefore, the overall risk to patients,” it said. The amount of stolen and withdrawn product represents a very small proportion of the total product within the distribution channel, J&J said, adding that it does not expect a disruption in product availability for patients. The companies discontinued shipment of products with lot numbers matching the stolen products on May 7. Health-care providers and patients who received those drugs from an authorized distributor on or before May 7 should consider the product safe for use, J&J said.
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White House pushes unproven drug for virus, but doctors wary.
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President Donald Trump and his administration are promoting an anti-malaria drug not officially approved for fighting the new coronavirus, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it’s proven safe and effective against COVID-19.
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true
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AP Top News, Understanding the Outbreak, Malaria, International News, Peter Navarro, General News, Politics, Health, Medication, Virus Outbreak, Donald Trump
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Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro championed hydroxychloroquine in television interviews Monday, a day after the president publicly put his faith in the medication to lessen the toll of the coronavirus pandemic. “What do I know, I’m not a doctor,” Trump said Sunday. “But I have common sense.” In promoting the drug’s possibilities, the president has often stated, ”What have you got to lose?” Trump held out promise for the drug as he grasps for ways to sound hopeful in the face of a mounting death toll and with the worst weeks yet to come for the U.S. The virus has killed more than 10,000 in the U.S., and measures meant to contain its spread have taken a painful economic toll and all but frozen life in large swaths of the country. But medical officials warn that it’s dangerous to be hawking unproven remedies, and even Trump’s own experts have cautioned against it. The American Medical Association’s president, Dr. Patrice Harris, said she personally would not prescribe the drug for a coronavirus patient, saying the risks of severe side effects were “great and too significant to downplay” without large studies showing the drug is safe and effective for such use. Harris pointed to the drug’s high risk of causing heart rhythm problems. “People have their health to lose,” she said. “Your heart could stop.” In a heated Situation Room meeting of the White House’s coronavirus task force Saturday, Navarro challenged the top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, over his concerns about recommending the drug based only on unscientific anecdotal evidence. Navarro, who has no formal medical training, erupted at Fauci, raising his voice and claiming the reports of studies he had collected were enough to recommend the drug widely, according to a person familiar with the exchange who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the blow-up. Fauci has repeatedly said current studies provide only anecdotal findings that the drug works. In response, Navarro told CNN on Monday, “I would have two words for you: ‘second opinion.’” Hydroxychloroquine is officially approved for treating malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, not COVID-19. Small, preliminary studies have suggested it might help prevent the new coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner. But those have shown mixed results. Doctors are already prescribing the malaria drug to patients with COVID-19, a practice known as off-label prescribing. Research studies are now beginning to test if the drugs truly help COVID-19 patients, and the Food and Drug Administration has allowed the medication into the national stockpile as an option for doctors to consider for patients who cannot get into one of the studies. But the drug has major potential side effects, especially for the heart, and Fauci has said more testing is needed before it’s clear that the drug works against the virus and is safe for such use. Navarro told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that doctors in New York hospitals are already distributing the drug to COVID-19 patients and that health care workers are taking it in hopes of being protected from infection. Asked about his credentials for pushing the drug, Navarro cited his doctorate in social science and said that “in the fog of war, we might take more risks than we otherwise would.” He added, “I’d bet on President Trump’s intuition on this one.” Administration officials say Trump’s embrace of the drug stems from his desire to provide “hope” for the American people as the death toll mounts and he looks to avoid political consequences from the outbreak. Some limited studies have been conducted on the use of hydroxychloroquine and antibiotic azithromycin in concert to treat COVID-19, but they have not included critical control groups that scientists use to validate the conclusions. Researchers in China, for instance, reported that cough, pneumonia and fever seemed to improve sooner among 31 patients given hydroxychloroquine compared with 31 others who did not get the drug, but fewer people in the comparison group had cough or fevers to start with. Many questions have been raised about another study in France. Some of the 26 people given hydroxychloroquine in that test were not counted in the final results, including three who worsened and were sent to intensive care, one who died a day after later testing negative for the virus and one who stopped treatment because of nausea. The French study was published in an International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy journal. The society’s president wrote on its website that the report “does not meet the society’s expected standard.” At least one other world leader has also promoted the drugs. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has touted the benefits of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, saying he’s heard reports of 100% effectiveness when administered in the correct dosages. Trump’s interest in the drug was piqued in part by coverage on conservative media. On March 16, Fox News ran a segment on a small French study promoting the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in treating the coronavirus. Hours later, attorney Gregory Rigano appeared on a prime-time show and said evidence suggested it could rid the body “completely” of the virus. Almost instantly, just as the projections of the virus’ impact on the nation grew more dire, the drug’s promise bounced around the echo chamber of the conservative media. Just three days later, Trump himself made the first mention of the drug. Among the loudest voices in the president’s ear has been Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, who has spoken to Trump about the drug and advocated it in interviews and his new podcast. He has had, as guests, several experts touting the drug and made a few late-night phone calls to the White House residence. “I discussed it with the president after he talked about it,” Giuliani said. “I told him what I had on the drugs. Others around him believe it too.” The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., on Friday tweeted a link to an article about the drugs’ possible success and added: “Waiting for others to write this up. The Democrats and the media must be really upset because they tried to destroy @realdonaldtrump for being hopeful that this would be the case.” Across Europe, there has also been a recent spike in demand for the drugs even as regulators caution against their unlicensed use. Last week, the European Medicines Agency warned doctors that since there is no proof yet of the drugs’ effectiveness, they should be used only in clinical trials or under emergency use provisions. The jump in demand for the drugs has meant in some instances that patients who rely on hydroxychloroquine for lupus or other conditions are seeing their supplies diverted for COVID-19. If hydroxychloroquine is proven to work well against COVID-19, its sales would jump, but pharmaceutical analysts say they don’t know of any company or individual that stands to make a windfall. That’s because there’s so much competition and the vast majority of prescriptions filled are for generics. For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. ___ Associated Press writers Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee, Linda A. Johnson in Trenton, N.J., Jonathan Lemire in New York, Maria Cheng in London, Amanda Seitz in Chicago, David Biller in Rio de Janeiro and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report.
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39798
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Scores of mourners at a funeral in Mozambique, Africa, died after they drank a traditional homebrewed beer that was poisoned with crocodile bile.
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Crocodile Bile Tainted Beer Kills Dozens in African
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unproven
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9/11 Attack on America
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"It’s true that dozens of mourners died after drinking a traditional beer in Africa, but their cause of death isn’t yet clear. The eRumor started after the Associated Press reported that the beer had likely been poisoned with crocodile bile: MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — When a crocodile is killed, the bile of the animal must be immediately removed and buried in front of witnesses to prove that it has not fallen into the wrong hands, to be used as poison, according to some African traditions. The deadly greenish-brown liquid, produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, is now believed to have been put into traditional beer that killed 69 people who drank it at a funeral on Saturday in Mozambique’s northeast Tete province, health authorities said. District health official, Alex Albertini, said poisoning by crocodile bile was common in the area, in an interview with Radio Mozambique. News outlets from around the world quickly echoed the report of deadly crocodile bile-infused beer, and the eRumor was born. Still, local health officials hadn’t determined what had poisoned the funeral goers — and scientists dispute the local legend that crocodile bile is poisonous. A translated report from Radio Mozambique doesn’t even name crocodile bile as a possible source of the poison, so it appears that the sensational idea led news outlets around the world to run with the unverified story. Radio Mozambique quoted Attorney General Beatriz Buchili: “So far no clues. (Local authorities), in coordination with other institutions, (are) working on all fronts to determine the causes and the type of product used to contaminate drinking. After that, and if it is proved to have been a criminal act, we blame the alleged perpetrators.” The victims reportedly drank a traditional local beer called “Phombe” — a mixture of sorghum, maize and sugar — on their way home from a funeral. Olivia Olocane, the 60-year-old woman who brewed the phombe, was among its first victims, the Global Post reports. The drink also killed a number of Olocane’s family members and neighbors. And as local officials rush to determine what led to the deaths of the mourners, it’s not even clear that crocodile bile is deadly. A study on commercial crocodile farming presented at the World Crocodile Conference in 2013 concluded that crocodile bile could be safe for human consumption in limited amounts. Similarly, Christian Lindmeier, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, told the Washington Post that crocodile bile is often used in cheap African home brew: “The use of bile is not uncommon in the production of local or poor quality beer but is not known to be toxic to the extent this outbreak shows,” he said. The cause of the mourners’ deaths won’t be known until local officials complete toxicology tests and autopsies. Future updates will be posted here. Comments"
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5709
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St. Jude: $100M for children with cancer global outreach.
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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has helped with the treatment of thousands of cancer-stricken children around the world. Striving to reach so many more, the Memphis, Tennessee-based hospital announced a $100 million plan Thursday to expand its global outreach.
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true
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Cancer, Health, North America, Tennessee, Carlos Rodriguez, Diagnosis and treatment, Memphis
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President and CEO James R. Downing told doctors and media that the St. Jude Global program’s goal is ambitious — to influence the care of as much as 30 percent of children with cancer worldwide in the next decade. He said he hopes the investment will improve access and quality of medical care for many children who might otherwise die. More than 80 percent of children with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, where they lack access to adequate diagnosis and treatment, St. Jude said. The majority of those children will die, said Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, director of St. Jude Global. In developed nations, survival rates for pediatric cancers exceed 80 percent. “We must address this gap,” Downing said. Founded by actor Danny Thomas, St. Jude is considered a leading researcher of cancer and other life-threatening diseases that affect children. It shares its research with hospitals, doctors and health programs worldwide. Families with children being cared for at the hospital never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food. St. Jude is expanding its International Outreach Program, which was founded in 1993 and presently includes 24 hospitals in 17 countries. The hospital’s Department of Global Pediatric Medicine, formed in 2016, accelerated the hospital’s global outreach. The department has created St. Jude Global, which aims to improve access to care and quality of treatment by focusing on education of medical workers and research. The global program will seek to strengthen health systems that are treating children with cancer and establish standards and guidelines to improve patient care. Hospital officials plan to form what they describe as a global alliance to help transfer knowledge across regions. “We have set a very bold goal,” Rodriguez-Galindo said. The hospital said that among several other nations, it is building relations in Russia, Myanmar, Cambodia and sub-Saharan Africa. Its research has already influenced medical care in the Philippines, where Dr. Mae Dolendo treats children with cancer in Davao City on the island of Mindanao. Dolendo said doctors from her cancer treatment facility have communicated regularly with St. Jude experts for the past 12 years. These experts have guided Dolendo on programs in leukemia treatment and nursing infectious diseases. Her cancer institute has increased from four beds to 50 beds with the help of St. Jude. “Children from all over Mindanao come to us, some being carried in hammocks, some taking outrigger boats, some traveling for eight hours by bus, just to get pediatric cancer treatment,” Dolendo said. The overall survival rate was less than 10 percent in 2004, Dolendo said. It is now 50 percent. “This is the impact of St. Jude to us,” she said.
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28635
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"The first ""radioactive salmon"" attributed to the Fukushima nuclear disaster have been found in British Columbia, Canada, posing a risk to human health."
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What's true: A single salmon found in the Osoyoos Lake in British Columbia in 2015 (first reported in November 2016) had low but detectable levels of the radioactive isotope cesium-134, universally acknowledged as a marker for Fukushima radiation. What's false: This single fish, whose radiation levels were well below any metric used by any government agency to gauge exposure risk, remains the only salmon specimen to test positive for Fukushima radiation in North America; the actual amount of radiation you would be exposed to from this fish — should more exist — would be roughly equal to the amount you would get from eating any salmon as a result of naturally occurring radioisotopes.
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mixture
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Science, cesium, fukushima, radiation
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On 10 February 2017, OrganicAndHealthy.org published a story with the frightening headline “Fukushima: First Images Emerge Of Radioactive Salmon In Canada”. While this post did, in fact, come with a stock image of Canadian salmon, it did not deliver on its promise of visual evidence of radioactive salmon, instead providing lazily researched, error-riddled assertions based entirely on others’ flawed reporting. Bad news for everyone – the first radioactive salmon have been found in British Columbia, Canada and there are pictures to prove it. After researchers realized over a third of the world’s oceans were contaminated from the Fukushima rector’s [sic] explosion, a team of researchers from the University of Victoria started investigating radioactive samples of salmon. The American West Coast is also contaminated, and traces of seaborne Cesium 123 [sic, cesium-123 has a half life of 5 minutes and is irrelevant to this discussion, but we will assume the author meant cesium-134] (the indicator of Fukushima nuclear contamination) can still be detected in the ocean waters. […] According to the tests, the samples from the Oregon coast measured around 0.3 becquerels per cubic meter for cesium 134. Cesium-134 is a radioactive isotope formed principally by man-made activity, whose only plausible source on Earth, currently, is the Fukushima disaster. It decays at a relatively fast rate and therefore cannot be tied previous nuclear disasters or atomic testing. The narrative presented by OrganicAndHealthy.org conflates two issues: the presence of cesium-134 in marine waters off of the coast of western North America, and the presence of cesium-134 in North American salmon. Becquerels per cubic meter, cited above, are used to assess the concentration of radioactive isotopes in a volume of liquid, while becquerels per kilogram would be the appropriate for measuring its presence in fish. These issues are likely conflated because news of both radioactive salmon and radioactive marine waters in North America were reported together by a number of media outlets in December 2016. Here’s an example from USA Today: Cesium-134, the so-called fingerprint of Fukushima, was measured in seawater samples taken from Tillamook Bay and Gold Beach in Oregon, according to researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Cesium-134 was also detected in a Canadian salmon, according to the Fukushima InFORM project, led by University of Victoria chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen. Both statements are factual. Cesium’s presence on the Oregon Coast in November 2016 was a first, although an anticipated one. The presence of cesium-134 in salmon, as well, was a first. That announcement came from a University of Victoria initiative called InFORM, who issued a press release about the find on 15 November 2016: For the first time, the Fukushima fingerprint isotope, cesium-134 (134Cs; half-life ~ 2 years), has been detected at an extremely low level in a Canadian salmon by the InFORM project. The single sockeye salmon that tested positive was sampled from Osoyoos Lake in the summer of 2015, according to scientists from the Radiation Protection Bureau at Health Canada, in cooperation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and local First Nations. […] The results of this extended analysis show that trace (0.07 Bq kg-1) levels of 134Cs were detected in one sample from Okanagan/Columbia River population. No 134Cs was detectable in the other samples. The observed levels remain well below the action level (1000 Bq kg-1) set by Health Canada guidelines. Of note are both the low levels detected and the fact that the report concerns, again, one single fish collected in 2015 (making any image of multiple salmon, employed by viral posts purporting to cover this news, wholly irrelevant to the story). To put 0.07 Bq kg-1 into proper context, the World Health Organization’s limit for acceptable radiation adopted by most governments from radioisotopes in food is 1000.00 Bg kg-1. Further context can be provided by comparing the radioactivity of Fukushima-contaminated fish to the naturally occurring radioactivity of fish. A study published in March 2015 did just that. Reporting their values (in millisieverts per year) based on an assumed annual diet, these researchers found that the radioisotope exposure attributable to Fukushima in both Japanese fish and Pacific Northwest fish was equal to or less than the amount expected by radioisotopes that occur naturally in fish: The total effective dose commitment from ingestion of radionuclides in fish, shellfish and seaweed caught in coastal waters off Fukushima was estimated to be 0.6 ± 0.4mSv/y. The individual effective dose commitment from consumption of radioactive-contaminated fish caught in the open Pacific Ocean was estimated to be 0.07 ± 0.05mSv/y. These doses are comparable or much lower than doses delivered from the consumption of natural 210Po in fish and in shellfish (0.7mSv/y). The estimated individual doses have been below the levels when any health damage of the Japanese and world population could be expected. Polonium-210 (210Po) is a highly radioactive decay product of lead-210, regularly formed in the atmosphere through the modification of radon gas, which Earth naturally and continually emits. The radioactive lead-210 rains down over earth, with a fraction decaying into polonium-210 in living organisms, as described in a 1965 paper in Nature: Radon-222 is released continuously by the land surfaces of the Earth, and a reservoir of this gas is thereby maintained in the atmosphere. Radioactive decay of atmospheric radon-222 and its short-lived daughters results in the formation of lead-210, which eventually returns to the Earth’s surface. In other words, the cesium-134 in this single salmon almost certainly came from the Fukushima disaster, but eating it would be no more or less dangerous than consuming any fish on Earth. Not to be derailed by these observations, OrganicAndHealthy.org merely dismissed them by (in a sense) dismissing objective reality itself: Of course, we know better – there’s no such thing as safe amount of radiation for living organisms. This statement ignores the fact that, like it or not, humans are exposed to radiation naturally every moment of every day. According to a review of marine effects of the Fukushima disaster published on 30 June 2016: The added dose from the [Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants] should be discussed relative to the global average dose from natural background radiation, which is approximately 2.4 mSv y−1 […] This can be apportioned into 1.2 mSv y−1 from inhaled radionuclides (primarily radon gas), 0.29 mSv y−1 from ingested radioactivity, 0.39 mSv y−1 from cosmic radiation, and 0.48 mSv y−1 from radiation arising from the surrounding geology. Globally, natural background varies, primarily because of elevation, latitude, and the underlying geology. Exposures worldwide from natural sources are estimated to fall within the range of 1–13 mSv y−1, although there are exceptions. High natural background radiation can exceed 50 mSv y−1 in locations such as Ramsar, Iran; Guarapari, Brazil; Kerala, India; and Yangjiang, China. To be sure, the Fukushima disaster was a worldwide environmental catastrophe with global effects. The presence of a single North American salmon with trace levels of cesium-134, undoubtedly the result of the Fukushima event, will nevertheless have a barely negligible — let alone catastrophic — effect on public health.
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921
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High and dry: Alpine resorts grapple with climate change.
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The prospect of searing heatwaves driving holidaymakers to cool mountains and children asking grandparents about their memories of snow is focusing minds in Alpine ski resorts on the implications of climate change.
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true
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Environment
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With global warming widely expected to slash snowfall, especially at lower levels, the Swiss tourism industry is looking for ways to preserve a lucrative business brutally exposed to the weather. Enter Napa, Serbia’s last circus bear. The Arosa ski resort in eastern Switzerland has created a $6.5 million refuge hosting Napa and two other bears rescued from cages at restaurants in Albania to help draw summer visitors and reduce its reliance on skiers and snowboarders. School classes, families and a group of army veterans celebrating an 80th birthday were visiting one recent summer day, helping the park toward what Arosa tourism director Pascal Jenny said was a target of 50,000 visitors this year. Arosa has reinvented itself before - moving to winter tourism in the 1930s after decades as a health resort for tuberculosis patients. But with nearly 620,000 overnight stays in winter last year, more than three times the summer total — it will not be easy. Jenny, who fears a sharp decline in snowfall over the next 20 or 30 years, is hedging his bets. “What gives us some hope is that artificial snow is making strong technical advances. I can make snow now at 5 degrees above freezing,” he said, standing on an observation platform beside the Weisshorn cable car which gives a sweeping view of the snow-capped Alpine valley. His two-pronged approach highlights the dilemma faced by mountain resorts — how to retain profits as they embark on what the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) says needs to be a global rethink of tourism. “The consequences of climate change will be felt across the travel and tourism sector over the coming decades,” the OECD, whose member countries represent 80% of the world’s trade and investment, said in a 2018 study of megatrends in tourism. Storms, flooding and tidal surges will threaten coastal regions, southern destinations face extreme heatwaves and northern ones will see shorter periods of snowfall, it said. Mountain resorts tend to be higher in Switzerland than in Austria or France, giving them better chances as snow becomes scarcer. But even at 3,000 meters, pistes could see snow depths more than halved by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed, a report in The Cryosphere, a peer-reviewed geosciences journal named after the frozen water parts of the Earth, said. Resorts below 1,200 meters - as about a quarter of Alpine ones are - might get almost no snow, said the 2017 report, whose title starts “How much can we save?”. Snow levels will gradually stabilize if global temperature rises are contained, it says. Arosa is 1,775 meters up but Jenny worries that a loss of snow in the lowlands will cost it visitors because people will lose their emotional connection with snow. “That is almost more dangerous for the sector,” he said. Hence his interest in an industrial estate in Denmark, where Arosa is cooperating on a project to make artificial snow so that urban dwellers can learn to ski and then, he hopes, go on to hone their skills in the Alps. The economics are clear: a daily lift pass for skiers in Arosa costs 79 Swiss francs ($80.27), while a summer hiker or mountain biker typically pays 18 francs for a pass that lets them use a rope park, a swimming area and paddle boats on the town’s lake. Hotels and restaurants charge more in winter too, but the strong Swiss franc has priced many people out. Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and the Swiss government says the long-term outlook for tourism is healthy. “Mountain summers can position themselves as an alternative to the Mediterranean regions,” a 2017 report said. Summer tourism already accounts for 60% of overnight stays across Switzerland, but the season brings in only 18% of revenue, said Therese Lehmann, an economist at the University of Bern’s Centre for Regional Development. Government data already shows a 24% drop in skiers in the decade to 2016, with other factors as well as climate change. “The decline of ski tourism — a powerful economic engine — will have more of an impact than the additional revenue in summer,” said Dominik Siegrist, director of the Institute for Landscape and Open Space at Switzerland’s University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil. Europe’s population is aging and younger people are less interested in skiing. Snowshoeing, winter hiking, sledding and ski touring — in which people hike up mountains, are on the increase, industry lobby Swiss Tourism says. Consolidation of winter tourism is on the horizon, with overnight stays in bigger Swiss resorts up 1 percent in the decade to 2015, but down 17 percent in smaller ones. “Lots of smaller ones are grasping at straws, trying to survive as long as they can because the valleys depend on this tourism,” Siegrist said. Large resorts in the Swiss cantons of the Grisons and Valais, Austria’s Tyrol province and France’s Savoie region have the marketing pull to survive, Siegrist said, listing high- altitude Andermatt, Zermatt and St Moritz in Switzerland. The Andermatt Swiss Alps resort, in central Switzerland, is targeting cyclists in summer, and has also built new lifts to lure winter sports fans. It covers a nearby glacier with strips of artificial fleece in spring to help reduce melting and creates piles of snow higher than houses to deploy on ski pistes as early as November to avoid having to use expensive artificial snow. The strong Swiss franc has hit ski lifts focused on winter business from European visitors hard in the past 10 years, the government says, but the minority of lifts with strong summer business are booming thanks to visitors from overseas. Many smaller lift firms get cheap loans and, increasingly, state subsidies to help balance the books, said Lehmann. Roughly a third are debt-free, but depend on long-haul tourism, which she said was not ideal from an environmental point of view, because flights are a major contributor to holiday carbon emissions. “Maybe we have to get away from focusing solely on growth, and promote Alpine areas as good habitats for living, not just for tourism,” she said. Listed cable car companies Bergbahnen Engelberg Truebsee Titlis Bet AG (TIBN.S) and Jungfraubahn Holding AG (JFN.S), cite year-round visitors from Asia - especially China and India - as important sources of income. Asked about sustainability, Titlis marketing director Peter Reinle said the firm’s prospects were good for the next 50 years. “We as a single entity can not solve the whole climate problem. Politicians have to provide framework conditions.” Jungfraubahn’s Corporate Secretary Christoph Schlaeppi said it employed 800 local people, helping to make life in the mountains economically sustainable for a new generation. The government says it is up to individual resorts to decide how much they want to attract Asian groups, but focuses its own promotion efforts on individual travelers and sustainability, noting Japanese tourists now come independently and stay longer. “We have to see that guests from Asia making the long flight to Europe or Switzerland stay as long as possible,” Richard Kaempf, head of tourism policy at the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs, told Reuters. While the government encourages year-round use of mountain infrastructure, he said it is not giving up on winter sports, a deep cultural touchstone for the Swiss. But he acknowledged the growing challenge of lowlanders losing the “winter feeling”.
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41005
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A 103 year-old Chinese grandmother has made a full recovery from Covid-19 after being treated for 6 days in Wuhan, China
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This has been widely reported in the media.
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true
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online
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Doctors in India have been successful in treating coronavirus with a combination of drugs (Lopinavir, Retonovir, Oseltamivir along with Chlorphenamine) and are going to suggest the same medicine globally. India’s ministry of health has advised that the anti-HIV drugs, Lopinavir and Retonovir, are used in some groups of Covid-19 patients. But it is unclear how successful this treatment has been. The other two drugs from the claim are not mentioned in their guidance. Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center claim to have found an antibody against coronavirus. Researchers in the Netherlands have released research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, on an antibody against the new coronavirus. A 103 year-old Chinese grandmother has made a full recovery from Covid-19 after being treated for 6 days in Wuhan, China This has been widely reported in the media. Apple has reopened all 42 China stores. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Apple announced that it had reopened all 42 stores in mainland China after a closure of almost six weeks. Cleveland Clinic developed a Covid-19 test that gives results in hours, not days. The number of new cases in South Korea is declining. Italy is hit hard, experts say, only because they have the oldest population in Europe. Whilst it is true that an older population has contributed to a high number of deaths in Italy, it may not be the sole reason. Scientists in Israel are likely to announce the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Scientists in Israel and elsewhere are working on developing a vaccination to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, but it won’t be ready for the public for over a year. Three Maryland coronavirus patients fully recovered and are able to return to everyday life. Correct. On 13 March 2020, Montgomery County, Maryland confirmed that three residents who previously had the virus no longer tested positive. A network of Canadian scientists are making excellent progress in Covid-19 research. At least one group of Canadian scientists has recently announced some progress in understanding Covid-19. A San Diego biotech company is developing a Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with Duke University and National University of Singapore. Tulsa County's first positive Covid-19 case has recovered. This individual has had two negative tests, which is the indicator of recovery. Correct, this patient has recovered according to official Tulsa County sources. Two negative tests is one of three official indicators of recovery among people with Covid-19 (who showed symptoms). All seven patients who were getting treated for Covid-19 at Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi have recovered. There is a news story reporting that seven patients in this hospital in New Delhi had recovered. However, these were not the only Covid-19 patients in the city. Plasma from newly recovered patients from Covid -19 can treat others infected by Covid-19. This is being used as a treatment in some countries, but clinical trials have not yet proved that this is effective. Claim 1 of 15
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1165
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Gene-editing startups ignite the next 'Frankenfood' fight.
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In a suburban Minneapolis laboratory, a tiny company that has never turned a profit is poised to beat the world’s biggest agriculture firms to market with the next potential breakthrough in genetic engineering - a crop with “edited” DNA.
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true
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Environment
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Calyxt Inc, an eight-year-old firm co-founded by a genetics professor, altered the genes of a soybean plant to produce healthier oil using the cutting-edge editing technique rather than conventional genetic modification. Seventy-eight farmers planted those soybeans this spring across 17,000 acres in South Dakota and Minnesota, a crop expected to be the first gene-edited crop to sell commercially, beating out Fortune 500 companies. Seed development giants such as Monsanto, Syngenta AG and DowDuPont Inc have dominated genetically modified crop technology that emerged in the 1990s. But they face a wider field of competition from start-ups and other smaller competitors because gene-edited crops have drastically lower development costs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has decided not to regulate them. Relatively unknown firms including Calyxt, Cibus, and Benson Hill Biosystems are already advancing their own gene-edited projects in a race against Big Ag for dominance of the potentially transformational technology. “It’s a very exciting time for such a young company,” said Calyxt CEO Federico Tripodi, who oversees 45 people. “The fact a company so small and nimble can accomplish those things has picked up interest in the industry.” Gene-editing technology involves targeting specific genes in a single organism and disrupting those linked to undesirable characteristics or altering them to make a positive change. Traditional genetic modification, by contrast, involves transferring a gene from one kind of organism to another, a process that still does not have full consumer acceptance. Gene-editing could mean bigger harvests of crops with a wide array of desirable traits - better-tasting tomatoes, low-gluten wheat, apples that don’t turn brown, drought-resistant soybeans or potatoes better suited for cold storage. The advances could also double the $15 billion global biotechnology seed market within a decade, said analyst Nick Anderson of investment bank Berenberg. The USDA has fielded 23 inquiries about whether gene-edited crops need regulation and decided that none meet its criteria for oversight. That saves their developers years of time and untold amounts of money compared to traditional genetically modified crops. Of those 23 organisms, just three were being developed by major agriculture firms. The newly competitive landscape could foster more partnerships and licensing deals between big and small firms, along with universities or other public research institutions, said Monsanto spokeswoman Camille Lynne Scott. Monsanto - which was recently acquired by Bayer AG - invested $100 million in startup Pairwise Plants this year to accelerate development of gene-edited plants. North Carolina-based Benson Hill, founded in 2012 and named after two scientists, mainly licenses crop technology to other companies. But it decided to produce its own higher-yielding corn plant because of the low development costs, said Chief Executive Matt Crisp. Calyxt plans to sell the oil from its gene-edited soybeans to food companies and has a dozen more gene-edited crops in the pipeline, including high-fiber wheat and potatoes that stay fresh longer. Developing and marketing a traditional genetically modified crop might easily cost $150 million, which only a few large companies can afford, Crisp said. With gene-editing, that cost might fall as much as 90 percent, he said. “We’re seeing a huge number of organizations interested in gene-editing,” Crisp said, referring to traditional crop-breeding companies, along with technology firms and food companies. “That speaks to the power of the technology and how we’re at a pivotal point in time to modernize the food system.” Supporters of gene-editing say it allows a higher level of precision than traditional modification. With CRISPR, one popular type of gene-editing technology used by Syngenta, scientists transfer an RNA molecule and an enzyme into a crop cell. When the RNA encounters a targeted strand of DNA inside the cell, it binds to it and the enzyme creates a break in the cell’s DNA. Then, the cell repairs the broken DNA in ways that disrupt or improve the gene. (For a graphic on how the Syngenta process works, see: tmsnrt.rs/2KJmtxr ) Biotech firms hope the technology can avoid the “Frankenfood” label that critics have pinned on traditional genetically modified crops. But acceptance by regulators and the public globally remains uncertain. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on July 25 that gene-editing techniques are subject to regulations governing genetically modified crops. The ruling will limit gene-editing in Europe to research and make it illegal to grow commercial crops. The German chemical industry association called the decision “hostile to progress.” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue blasted the ruling for enacting unnecessary barriers to innovation and stigmatizing gene-editing technology by subjecting it to the EU’s “regressive and outdated” regulations governing genetically modified crops. The USDA also has no current plans to regulate gene-editing in animal products, according to a document provided by the agency. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, however, plans to regulate gene-editing in both plants and animals, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wrote in a June blog post. The agency is developing an “innovative and nimble” approach to regulating gene-editing, he wrote, that will aim to ensure its safety for both humans and animals while allowing companies to bring beneficial products to market. The USDA, by contrast, chose not to regulate gene-edited crops because the process typically introduces characteristics that are “indistinguishable” from those created through traditional plant breeding, which take much longer, USDA Secretary Perdue said in a March statement. Although there has been no widespread consumer resistance to gene-editing, activists who have long opposed genetically modified crops remain suspicious of any sort of tinkering with DNA. The new technique raises risks of creating undesired changes in the food supply and warrants increased regulation, said Lucy Sharratt, coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. That kind of opposition is why agribusiness giant Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] is pursuing gene-edited technology with caution, said Randal Giroux, the firm’s vice-president of food safety, quality and regulatory affairs. Cargill announced in February that it would collaborate with Precision BioSciences to develop healthier canola oil, but is proceeding slowly on agreements to store and transport other companies’ gene-edited crops pending clarity from regulators, Giroux said. “We really do want to see gene-editing evolve in the marketplace,” Giroux said. “We’re watching to see how consumers adopt these products and react to these products.” SECRET FIELD-TESTING Other major agriculture biotech firms are moving more aggressively, hoping to take advantage of lighter regulation to speed development. A gene-edited crop may take five years to move from development to commercialization in the United States, compared with a genetically modified crop that could take 12 years, said Dan Dyer, head of seeds development at Syngenta. The firm is working on better-tasting tomatoes that take longer to spoil and hopes to launch a gene-edited crop in the mid-2020s, said Jeff Rowe, Syngenta’s president of global seeds. DowDuPont - at a secret location in the U.S. Midwest - is field-testing waxy corn, a variety grown for industrial purposes that has been edited for higher yields. The company plans a commercial launch next spring. Smaller firms will be nipping at the heels of these massive companies in the race to bring the next generation of genetically engineered foods to market, said Robert Wager, a biology faculty member at Vancouver Island University. “The lack of USDA-regulated status is a huge game-changer,” he said, “for universities and small startups to enter the market.”
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23731
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“In Rick Perry’s Texas, we import nurses ... from other countries.”
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White: In Perry's Texas, we import nurses
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mixture
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Health Care, Texas, Bill White,
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"What do nurses and welders have in common? According to Bill White, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, those are two jobs in the state that foreign workers fill. During his June 25 speech to delegates at the Texas Democratic Party convention in Corpus Christi, White said the values of his Republican opponent, who has been governor for more than 10 years, are out of step with Texans’, saying: “Rick Perry’s Texas is different than our Texas. ... In Rick Perry’s Texas, we import nurses and welders from other countries.” We’ll leave welders for another day. In this article, we’re checking the nurses’ element. Katy Bacon, White’s spokeswoman, said the hiring of foreign nurses shows the state has failed to educate enough Texans for the jobs. That's a Perry issue “since he's the leader of state government, and the primary function of state government is education,"" Bacon said. ""The buck stops at his desk.” Bacon backed White's statement about Texas importing nurses by pointing to the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, taken every few years by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. The latest study, completed in 2004, had Texas among six states employing the bulk of the nation’s foreign-educated registered nurses. The leader was California (28.6 percent), followed by Florida (10.7 percent), New York (10.4 percent), Texas (7.5 percent), New Jersey (6.9 percent) and Illinois (5.6 percent). The survey found that the majority of the nation's foreign-educated nurses went to school in the Philippines, Canada or the United Kingdom. Based on a sample of nurses -- not a head count -- the report estimated that in 2004, Texas had 6,738 registered nurses who had attended foreign nursing schools. Counting licensed nurses, the Texas Board of Nursing put the number significantly higher: It said 20,048 internationally educated registered nurses were eligible to work in Texas in 2004. The number increased more or less steadily from 18,358 in 2000 to 24,483 in 2009, when they accounted for 11 percent of the state's 219,458 registered eligible nurses. News reports from the early 2000s confirmed that Texas hospitals were recruiting nurses from abroad to help fill their staffs. That's not new. Clair Jordan, executive director of the Texas Nurses Association, said foreign-trained nurses were even more prevalent decades ago. From the 1960s through the 1980s, she said, as many as 30,000 foreign-trained nurses may have been hired to work in Texas. Jordan said very few Americans go overseas for training. In the past few years, said Jordan, the nursing pinch has been eased somewhat by the economic downturn (which reduced job turnover as some nurses put off retirement or worked more hours) and an increase in graduates from the state’s nursing schools. Federal visa restrictions have also hampered foreign recruitment, said Amanda Engler, a spokeswoman for the Texas Hospital Association. What's been state government's role in all this? In 1999, the year before Perry became governor, the Texas Nurses Association joined with other organizations to address the nursing shortage, according to a report written in 2008 and updated this year by the Texas Team -- 10 state, industry, higher education and legislative leaders selected by the governor's office. Among the concerns raised by the coalition: Too many qualified applicants were being turned away from the state's nursing programs, mainly because the schools lacked the resources to train them. Graduating more nurses was one of the group's legislative goals. Since 2001, the Legislature has appropriated more than $100 million to tackle the nursing shortage, according to the nurses association. Enrollment in registered nursing programs increased 62 percent from 2001 to 2009 and graduates increased 81 percent, according to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies and the Texas Board of Nursing. What has Perry done? Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for the governor’s campaign, said Perry “has led the charge to improve the nursing shortage and nursing education in Texas.” We found five examples, from 2002 to 2010, of Perry citing the shortage in speeches and endorsing efforts to help expand the educational system. Under “Nursing Education Efforts” on his office's website, Perry touts several legislative actions, starting with the Professional Nursing Shortage Reduction Program, which he signed into law in 2001. The legislation, authored by then-Sen. Mike Moncrief, D-Fort Worth, established grant programs for nursing schools to increase student enrollment and retain faculty members. Elizabeth Sjoberg, associate general counsel for the Texas Hospital Association, told us Perry “has supported initiatives to address the nursing shortage for a number of years.” Sjoberg noted that Perry’s wife, Anita, is a former nurse. Despite the improvements, Sjoberg said, Texas still has catching up to do. In a 2010 report, the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies said that by 2020, Texas will be short about 70,000 full-time registered nurses as the state continues to grow, its population ages and older nurses retire. The center said that to meet the demand for registered nurses by 2020, the number of graduates will need to triple from the 2009 level, when 8,211 people graduated. Texas nursing schools are still turning away qualified applicants -- about 8,700 in 2009, primarily because the schools lack sufficient faculty, the center reports. Upshot: White is correct that Texas imports nurses from abroad. But implying that Perry is to blame for that disregards the governor's efforts to address a shortage that existed before he became governor, and has persisted despite efforts by the state to produce more Texas-trained nurses."
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26351
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“Immigrants make up a majority of essential workers in places like New York City.”
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Gillibrand’s number is backed up by a New York City comptroller’s office study that found that 53% of all “frontline” workers in the city are immigrants. However, the comptroller’s definition doesn’t include government workers such as first responders and differs from the state’s definition of “essential workers.” So it is one way of analyzing the data, and other methods might produce a lower percentage.
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true
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Immigration, Workers, New York, Coronavirus, Kirsten Gillibrand,
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"When President Trump announced a plan to suspend immigration to the United States, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted the news with her own assessment of the decision: ""Immigrants make up a majority of essential workers in places like New York City,"" the Democrat wrote April 21. ""They're on the front lines of the battle against this pandemic. I stand with our immigrant communities now and always."" With so much dependent on the group of people that have become known as ""essential workers,"" we wanted to look closer at Gillibrand’s statement to see if the numbers support it. Immigrants make up a majority of essential workers in places like New York City—they're on the front lines of the battle against this pandemic. I stand with our immigrant communities now and always. https://t.co/3KvPLoztko We found that while the statistics on this question are a little murky, one credible study does reinforce her assertion. Gillibrand’s communication’s director, Evan Lukaske, told PolitiFact that the senator was defining essential worker based on the way the New York City comptroller's office defined ""frontline workers"" in its March 26 report, ""New York City’s Frontline Workers."" The comptroller’s report defined New York City’s COVID-19 ""frontline workers"" as grocery, convenience, and drug store workers; public transit workers; trucking, warehouse, and U.S. Postal Service workers; health care workers; child care, homeless, food, and family services workers; and cleaning service workers. On March 20, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and the New York State Department of Economic Development issued a guidance on the term ""essential worker,"" and it listed several categories of worker who would not be covered under the categories used in the comptroller’s report, including those working at airports, certain types of manufacturing enterprises, hardware stores, funeral homes, animal shelters, and banks. Notably, the comptroller report’s ""frontline worker"" category includes only ""direct-service, mostly non-governmental employees,"" meaning that it doesn’t count most types of public employees. As a result, the report does not take into account police officers, firefighters, and other first responders. So while Lukaske said that Gillibrand ""is using ‘frontline’ and ‘essential’ as synonymous, there is a discrepancy between the two terms, and an alternate definition could end up changing the demographic profile. That said, the comptroller’s report provides one reasonable definition. So what does the report’s analysis show? According to the comptroller’s study, more than 53% of frontline workers are foreign-born, meaning they’re immigrants. Of the sectors studied, building cleaning services employs the highest share of immigrants at 70%. It is followed by health care and food and drug store workers, both at 53%. Other studies have backed up the broader proposition that immigrants make up a significant portion of essential workers. The Center for Migration Studies of New York, a think tank on international migration, has estimated that 1.8 million immigrants in New York state work in jobs the state considers ""essential businesses."" The think tank found that foreign-born workers make up 31.5% of workers in essential businesses in New York state, despite only representing 28% of the state’s overall labor force. (It is logical that New York City’s percentage would be higher, since immigrants represent a higher share of the population in the city than in the rest of the state.) Nationally, immigrants make up a ""sizable"" share of essential workers in the fight against the pandemic, said Michelle Mittelstadt, director of communications for the Migration Policy Institute. The group estimates that 6 million immigrants are working frontline jobs in health care, food production, and transportation, and another 6 million immigrants work in industries such as food services and domestic household services. ""You can assume that an immigrant-rich area like New York City might have higher shares of immigrants than the U.S. average in particular occupations,"" she said. Meanwhile, U.S. Census Bureau data shows that immigrants represent about 45% of the total workforce in New York City. That’s in line with Gillibrand’s assertion, said Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer with the Pew Research Center. Gillibrand said that ""immigrants make up a majority of essential workers in places like New York City."" This number is backed up by a New York City comptroller’s office study that found that 53% of all ""frontline"" workers in the city are immigrants. However, the comptroller office’s definition, which doesn’t include government workers such as first responders and which differs from the state’s definition of ""essential workers,"" is only one way of analyzing the data, and other methods might produce a lower percentage."
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34678
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The red dye commonly used in nectar for backyard feeders is harmful to hummingbirds.
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Some bird lovers fear the presence of their nectar dispensers will tempt the little birds to delay migration, causing coddled hummers to become trapped by the sudden onset of cold weather. Yet they need not so fearful, because the hummingbird’s instinct to migrate is too strong to be sidetracked. When it’s time to go, they know.
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unproven
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Critter Country, hummingbirds, red dye, Wild Inaccuracies
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In the 1970s DDT, a highly effective pesticide then widely in use in the U.S., was believed to be threatening the continuation of a number of bird species. Reports claimed that bald eagles, ospreys, and peregrine falcons exposed to the chemical laid eggs with abnormally thin shells which broke during incubation and resulted in markedly fewer successful hatchings, so new generations were not surviving to replace earlier ones as older birds died off. Because of this looming extinction threat, DDT was subjected to a domestic ban in 1972. Once the pesticide was removed from the environment, the population levels of the endangered birds returned to near their previous levels. (Later studies indicated that factors other than DDT use were likely responsible for most of the decline.) Half-remembered fragments of the many news stories about the effects of DDT on those threatened raptors may have contributed to a related widespread conviction regarding hummingbirds — that the red dye commonly added to the nectar used in hummingbird feeders works to thin the shells of their eggs, placing them in similar jeopardy: Examples: [Collected via e-mail, 2000] This morning I got a stern lecture from the checkout lady at the grocery store because I was buying red food coloring to use in a hummingbird feeder. “Don’t you know red food coloring weakens their egg shells?” she demanded. [Collected via e-mail, 2001] I have heard that the use of red dye in Humming Bird feeders will wipe out the family of the birds using the feeder in three generations. The dye is surposed to weaken the eggs. Or the suspicion could have been fueled by a more general wariness attached to red dyes, especially in the wake of the longstanding controversy over Red Dye #3, a colorant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned for a number of uses of in 1990 after it was linked to the development of thyroid tumors in male rats. (Red Dye #2 has been banned by the FDA since 1976.) For whatever reason, many folks have come to suspect the color additive in hummingbird nectar poses a danger to the little creatures, with the “It thins the shells of their eggs” belief heard most often as the specific harm wrought by the coloring. Others reasons claimed for avoiding red dye include a fear the substance will build up in hummingbirds’ kidneys or livers, or that new hatchlings whose mothers partook of the sweet will be born blind or deformed. The red dye traditionally added to attract hummers to nectar dispensers may never have been necessary anyway. While it is true hummingbirds are drawn to red, there is more than one way to entice a bird. According to an entry found in the Audubon Society’s FAQ: Current thinking is that the red dye may not be good for them, nor is it necessary to attract hummingbirds. The color on your feeder is enough to attract them. You can mix your own nectar using 1/4 cup sugar to every 1 cup of water. The Audubon Society’s page does not detail the harm it fears dye could potentially cause. We’re unaware of any definitive study either linking the colorant to a particular illness in hummingbirds or demonstrating it to be harmless. Anecdotal evidence postulates a causal connection with beak and liver tumors. Rather than take a chance with the little birds’ health, many bird fanciers have chosen to omit red dye from the liquid feed they offer their airborne visitors. A mixture of 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water makes a perfectly serviceable nectar. (Do not use honey in place of sugar, because it can promote the growth of a fungus that kills hummers.) Dye is unnecessary in the mix because the birds are already attracted to the red coloring of the feeders themselves. But do keep those feeders clean, because the sugar/water mix can ferment fairly quickly in the summer sun, making it bad for the very wildlife it’s meant to energize. The feeding of hummingbirds has attracted a second rumor, one of a more sinister nature: [Collected via e-mail, 2000] I heard that a man was recently arrested for cruelty to animals after starving a number of humming birds by putting out feeders with nutra-sweet in them. We haven’t found a news account or other report of any such incident. Moreover, hummingbirds generally draw their sustenance from spiders, flies, gnats, and other insects they eat, not from the sweet nectar they sip. The sugary liquid provides extra energy to the birds, but it’s not their primary source of nutrition.
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27631
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Article details efforts of John Glenn's wife to overcome stuttering.
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“Annie was never silent to me,” [Glenn] says. “But to see her at this age branch out to things she was interested in but could never participate in …”
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true
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Glurge Gallery, ASP Article
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Most Americans are familiar with the exploits of John Glenn, a former U.S. Marine Corps pilot who, as one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, was transformed into a national hero after becoming the first American to orbit the Earth on 20 February 1962. Later in life he represented Ohio in the United States Senate for twenty-four years, and in 1998 he became the oldest person to go into space when he flew on a Space Shuttle Discovery mission in 1998. Much less well known is John Glenn’s wife, the former Annie Castor, whom Glenn had known since childhood and married when he was a 21-year-old combat pilot during World War II. In February 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of Glenn’s orbital flight prompted CNN contributor Bob Greene to pen the article referenced above about the Glenns’ lengthy marriage (currently 68 years) and Annie’s long battle to overcome a terrible stuttering problem which had she had struggled with since she was a little girl, an affliction she finally managed to overcome at the age of 53. Annie Glenn began speaking out publicly about her lifelong struggle with her speech impediment in the early 1980s, discussing the subject on national television and in the press, crowning her achievement by making speeches on behalf of her husband as he campaigned for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. A 1982 Los Angeles Times article on the subject of Annie Glenn’s speaking out about her disability reported that: Annie Glenn is one of the country’s estimated 2 million people who suffer what may be the most misunderstood disability: stuttering. Until she underwent a new form of intensive, live-in treatment three years ago at the Communications Research Institute at Hollins College in Roanoke, Va., Mrs. Glenn could not speak well enough to call the plumber, order a meal in a restaurant or go by herself with her injured child to a hospital emergency room, much less give a campaign speech for her husband. Although she still stutters slightly and speaks haltingly, Mrs. Glenn can perform all those once impossible tasks. She even gives campaign speeches, maybe not with as much polish as other wives, but certainly with more pluck. At a private athletic club in Cleveland, 150 people attending the annual meeting of the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center sat in silent attention at their dinner tables as their speaker told them something really quite remarkable. “For the first time in my life,” said Annie Glenn, age 62, “I can carry on a conversation.” It wasn’t so long ago that Mrs. Glenn, classified as an 85% stutterer, would have found it impossible, even, to travel by airplane from Washington to Cleveland by herself unless she wrote down what she wanted for the airline employee at the ticket counter. She told the audience of such an experience and how the men wrote notes back, thinking she was deaf. During the slow, agonizing process in which stutterers try to force out sounds, often with their hearts beating at an accelerated rate, their palms sweating, their cheeks blushing and their heads bobbing, Mrs. Glenn has been laughed at. Store clerks have reacted by pointing an index finger at the head and moving it in circles (the “crazy” sign), or by asking if she were cold when her jaw would quiver, or saying quite simply, “Lady, I haven’t got all day.” Sometimes Mrs. Glenn would walk away rather than continue the ordeal of shopping. Her husband had to make all the telephone calls to repairmen and friends. Her neighbors had to call the doctor when her children became ill and go to the hospital with her to talk with the doctors. Mrs. Glenn had undergone several traditional speech therapies but experienced little or no improvement until she enrolled herself for two different sessions at the Hollins Institute, most recently in September of 1978. The therapy lasts 11 hours a day for three weeks. After taking the therapy twice, Mrs. Glenn still sees a therapist twice a month at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, and she practices every day — on the telephone. She makes several calls every morning. There is a sign next to her phone at home that says “Take a full breath, relax your throat, keep the sound moving.” “She talks to her buddies all over the world,” John Glenn said, pretending to resent the phone bills. “This is a dramatic, new life for her.” A 1983 Associated Press article on the same subject read (in part): For 53 of her 63 years, Annie Glenn was a prisoner of her own tongue, a stutterer who tripped over eight out of every 10 words, relying on facial expressions to make a point. She disciplined her two children, she recalls, “with my eyes and my hand.” Today, the wife of Ohio Sen. John Glenn has broken through a sound barrier. “Being able to talk to people is something I could never do,” she says. “My life is like a dream.” In numerous conversations [on the campaign trail] throughout a day that started before dawn and ended long after sunset, [the couple] talked about Mrs. Glenn’s newly acquired ability to speak fluently and the impact of her lifetime of stuttering on their marriage, children and career. “John would make all my telephone calls,” Mrs. Glenn says, shooting a stern look at her husband as he reached for a third chocolate bar. “I would try to go shopping but couldn’t ask the clerk what I wanted, so I would hunt and hunt. A lot of the time I’d go out of the store empty-handed because I couldn’t find what I wanted.” It was in 1974, after Mrs. Glenn enrolled in a speech program at Hollins College near Roanoke, Va., that her speech improved noticeably. But she didn’t keep up the daily therapy sessions or return for refresher courses, and she regressed. After a second session at Hollins and a program of daily therapy, Mrs. Glenn is making speeches.
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27660
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A daughter expressed her not-so-warm feelings about her deceased mother by running a scathing and caustic obituary.
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A daughter expressed her not-so-warm feelings about her deceased mother by running a scathing and caustic obituary.
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true
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Humor, obituary
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Most newspaper obituaries adhere to one of a handful of set formulas that incorporate listing the name of the deceased, date of passing, predeceasing and surviving relatives, and where and when services will be held. Some deviate from this standard by providing additional information about the departed, information that is almost always of a laudatory nature. However, every now and again one encounters a written send-off that is far from the expected loving expression of facts about the person who died. Such was the case with the obituary of Dolores Aguilar. The obit for this 79-year-old woman ran on 16 and 17 August 2008 in the Vallejo [California] Times-Herald. It was placed by one of the deceased’s many daughters. According to John Bogert of the Daily Breeze (a newspaper based in the South Bay area of Los Angeles), Dolores Aguilar’s daughter was moved to place the notice after reviewing the obituary of a co-worker’s father and noting as she read through it how little any of it fit her mother. “What struck me was how my mother was none of the things I was reading. She was never there for us, she was never good and she left no legacy. So how could I say any of the usual things about her?” said the daughter to Bogert. She and her siblings, she maintained, were kept “unfed, poorly clothed and completely terrorized.” Before agreeing to run the unusual obituary, the Times-Herald took the additional step of requesting a copy of the death certificate, just to ensure that what they were being asked to publish wasn’t a hoax. It wasn’t: the woman being memorialized had passed away on 7 August 2008. On 10 September 2013, the Reno Gazette-Journal published a similar obituary (in both its print and online versions) for Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick, who had passed away at the age of 78 and was described in her obit as having “neglected and abused her small children” and lived an “evil and violent life”: Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick born Jan 4, 1935 and died alone on Aug. 30, 2013. She is survived by her 6 of 8 children whom she spent her lifetime torturing in every way possible. While she neglected and abused her small children, she refused to allow anyone else to care or show compassion towards them. When they became adults she stalked and tortured anyone they dared to love. Everyone she met, adult or child was tortured by her cruelty and exposure to violence, criminal activity, vulgarity, and hatred of the gentle or kind human spirit. On behalf of her children whom she so abrasively exposed to her evil and violent life, we celebrate her passing from this earth and hope she lives in the after-life reliving each gesture of violence, cruelty, and shame that she delivered on her children. Her surviving children will now live the rest of their lives with the peace of knowing their nightmare finally has some form of closure. Most of us have found peace in helping those who have been exposed to child abuse and hope this message of her final passing can revive our message that abusing children is unforgivable, shameless, and should not be tolerated in a “humane society”. Our greatest wish now, is to stimulate a national movement that mandates a purposeful and dedicated war against child abuse in the United States of America. Johnson-Reddick’s unusual obituary quickly garnered national attention, and the Gazette-Journal published a follow-up article explaining its origins: Katherine Reddick, 57, said she wrote the obituary about her mother, 78, who died at a Reno nursing home. Her mother had bladder cancer and had become a ward of the state when she became sick and was hospitalized. The two were not in contact. Katherine Reddick, who works in education in Texas, described a horrific childhood that she and her brothers and sisters endured. Moved from California to Las Vegas to eventually live in an orphanage in Carson City, she described being abused for years by her mother and in multiple foster homes. Reddick said she slept on the floors of places where her mother ran escort businesses. From 1963 to 1964, six of Johnson-Reddick’s [eight] children were admitted to the Nevada Children’s Home in Carson City, the long-standing orphanage that closed in 1992. The children lived there until they either turned 18, joined the military, got married or were ordered to go back and live with their mother, according to state documents at the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. “We were constantly physically, mentally abused even after being taken away and put in the children’s home,” Patrick Reddick said during testimony in 1987. He said that on weekends, they were sent home to an office in Reno, sometimes lined up and beaten with a steel-tipped belt. Katherine and her brother Patrick said they talked about writing the obituary after learning about their mother’s death. Both are graduates of Carson High School. They said they did not expect the obituary to garner national attention. “People may see this as something we did to shame our mother,” Patrick Reddick, the second oldest of eight children, said in a phone interview. “But this is to bring shame to the issue of child abuse. I want every single person to realize this could be your obituary.”
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11803
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"A Colgate toothpaste is subject to ""recall."
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"Shared This stated that the FDA issued a ban on triclosan, which is an ingredient in soap, toothpaste and other products. The article included photos of Colgate toothpaste and uses an image of the word ""recall."" In reality the FDA’s ban in September 2016 only applied to antibacterial soaps and not Colgate Total toothpaste."
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false
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Fake news, Health Care, PunditFact, Shared This,
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"A headline warns consumers about triclosan, an ingredient in some consumer products: ""If you are using this toothpaste .... throw it away immediately!"" Facebook users flagged the Nov. 28 story on Shared This as being potentially fabricated, as part of the social network’s efforts to combat fake news. The article could leave readers with an inaccurate picture about actions the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took with respect to triclosan, but it also contains some factual information. Shared This wrote that the FDA issued a warning ""this week"" that it will ban triclosan, a common antibacterial agent used in soaps, detergents, toys, cosmetics, and toothpaste. ""Apparently, the chemical poses a high-degree of health risks and side effects. Colgate Total is just one of many products that list triclosan as an active ingredient,"" wrote Shared This. The website included an image of the word ""recall"" and a photo of Colgate toothpaste showing that it contains triclosan. That could give readers the impression that the FDA banned triclosan in toothpaste -- and that’s not the case. Here’s what actually happened: Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit in an effort to force the FDA to take action related to triclosan. In September 2016 the FDA issued a new rule banning the use of triclosan in antibacterial soaps. ""That rule was specific to consumer hand washes,"" Sandy Walsh, a spokeswoman for the F.D.A. told PolitiFact. That means the ban doesn’t apply to toothpaste. Colgate Total Toothpaste was approved in 1997 as a toothpaste containing fluoride and triclosan, which was shown to be effective in reducing plaque and gingivitis. ""Based on the scientific evidence, the balance of benefit and risk has been shown to be favorable for this product,"" Walsh said. The New York Times reported in September 2016 that triclosan remained in toothpaste because Colgate Total convinced the FDA that the benefit of triclosan outweighed the risks. Colgate Total is the only toothpaste in the United States that contains triclosan. A spokesman for Colgate-Palmolive, Thomas DiPiazza, told the New York Times that Colgate’s product had a far more rigorous safety review than other toothpastes. When the company sought approval to use triclosan in 1997, it conducted a comprehensive evaluation of human safety. The original FDA submission for Colgate Total included more than 100 toxicology studies. DiPiazza directed PolitiFact to a statement on Colgate’s website which cited a 2013 review of 30 studies by Cochrane Oral Health Group. The review concluded that there were benefits including reduction in plaque, gingivitis and bleeding gums in using a triclosan/copolymer fluoride toothpaste when compared with one without the ingredient. ""There was no evidence of any harmful effects associated with the use of triclosan/copolymer toothpastes in studies up to three years in length,"" Cochrane reported. But a debate about triclosan has continued. Several months after the FDA’s September 2016 rule was published, an article by 200 scientists and medical professionals published by Environmental Health Perspectives raised multiple concerns about triclosan. The authors concluded that the ingredient has detrimental effects on aquatic organisms, overuse may contribute to antibiotic/antimicrobial resistance, and that potential implications for human reproduction and development merit further study. The authors recommended that people avoid the use of triclosan except if there is an ""evidence based health benefit (e.g., physician-prescribed toothpaste for treating gum disease) and there is adequate evidence demonstrating they are safe."" Colgate-Palmolive and the FDA however continue to stand by the use of triclosan in Colgate Total toothpaste. ""It has been approved as safe and effective through the U.S. FDA rigorous New Drug Application process,"" DiPiazza said. Shared This is a website that posts articles about health, beauty, news and other topics. We sent a message to the website on Facebook and did not get a reply. Our ruling Shared This stated that the FDA issued a ban on triclosan, which is an ingredient in soap, toothpaste and other products. The article included photos of Colgate toothpaste and uses an image of the word ""recall."" In reality the FDA’s ban in September 2016 only applied to antibacterial soaps and not Colgate Total toothpaste."
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13724
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Illinois suffered 1,652 overdose deaths in 2014 ... of which 40 percent were associated with heroin. Illinois is ranked number one in the nation for a decline in treatment capacity between 2007 and 2012, and is now ranked the third worst in the country for state-funded treatment capacity.
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"Durbin said, ""Illinois suffered 1,652 overdose deaths in 2014 ... of which 40 percent were associated with heroin. Illinois is ranked number one in the nation for a decline in treatment capacity between 2007 and 2012, and is now ranked the third worst in the country for state-funded treatment capacity."" The drug overdose figure Durbin uses came from provisional data provided to the senator by the CDC. In 2014, drug overdose deaths totaled 1,705, or 1,700 if using statistics from IDPH, which tend to be more accurate. As for the other figures, the percent increase from 2010 is slightly more than 32 percent, and drug overdose deaths in 2014 that were associated with heroin is about 42 percent. But as IDPH notes, tracking overdose deaths involving heroin cannot be reliably determined as counties’ coroners did not specifically test for heroin prior to 2013. We don’t see these discrepancies as an attempt to mislead in making his case for heroin and prescription opioid addiction treatment legislation he is advocating. If anything, it underscores the growing epidemic that’s not only gripping Illinois, but the rest of the country."
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true
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Drugs, Illinois, Richard Durbin,
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"U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has been one of the most vocal members in Congress in the fight against the growing heroin and opioid epidemic in Illinois and across the country. Durbin has introduced a handful of measures to expand and improve access to treatment programs for heroin addiction, as well as legislation that would curtail the amount of prescription opioid medication on the market. In a July 20 press release discussing new initiatives to combat heroin and prescription opioid addiction, Durbin highlighted some startling statistics to hammer home just how big a problem opioid abuse has become in Illinois: ""Illinois suffered 1,652 overdose deaths in 2014... of which 40 percent were associated with heroin. Illinois is ranked number one in the nation for a decline in treatment capacity between 2007 and 2012, and is now ranked the third worst in the country for state-funded treatment capacity."" Those are some pretty shocking numbers and there are a lot of them, so we wanted to take a closer look. Drug overdose deaths in Illinois Durbin’s press secretary John Normoyle said in an email the senator was using overdose statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but that the figures cited came from a provisional report for 2014 and the number of drug overdose deaths were not revised to reflect the most recent count. Data on drug overdose deaths is readily available on the CDC website, which shows there were a total of 1,705 drug overdose deaths in 2014, compared to 1,288 in 2010 -- a 32.4 percent increase over that four-year period. However, the Illinois Department of Public Health, which reports preliminary and final drug overdose deaths to the CDC, puts the 2010 total at 1,284 and 1,700 in 2014 -- a slight discrepancy but not unusual when reporting overdose deaths as they often get revised. For that reason, Divya Little, a public information officer at IDPH, said the state’s finalized data is more accurate, though the difference is negligible with regard to some of the other statistics presented in Durbin’s claim. Of the roughly 1,700 drug overdose deaths, 711 were heroin-related, accounting for nearly 42 percent of all drug overdose deaths in 2014. While the percentage of drug overdose deaths associated with heroin would be a little more than 1 percentage point higher using the provisional 1,652 figure, Normoyle said the 40 percent statistic was pulled from a Reboot Illinois article that uses final data for 2014. It’s important to note that prior to 2013, counties did not specifically test for heroin in overdose deaths, so tracking deaths involving heroin cannot be reliably determined, according to IDPH. Durbin’s use of outdated numbers from the CDC neither misleads nor drastically alters the claim. If anything, it helps Durbin in making his point that heroin and prescription opioid abuse and addiction continues to get worse. Dwindling state-funded treatment capacity A report published in August 2015 by the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University, or ICDP, shows state-funded treatment capacity in Illinois fell by 52 percent from 2007-2012, the largest decrease in the nation. Durbin, who used statistics from this study, is correct when he says Illinois led the nation in the decline for state-funded treatment capacity. In 2007, Illinois ranked 28th in state-funded treatment capacity before dropping to No. 44, or third worst in 2012, behind Tennessee and Texas, respectively, according to the report. Kathie Kane-Willis, co-founder and director of the ICDP, told Politifact Illinois the state’s budget woes are making the situation much worse, and Illinois already was in ""pretty dire straits"" long before the political tug-of-war between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled Legislature ensued. Illinois hasn’t had an actual budget for more than a year and the majority of the state’s social service providers that offer drug treatment programs haven’t been funded or received payment since July 1, 2015, leading many to cut programs, turn away people seeking help or shut down entirely. Although a six-month stopgap budget was passed on June 30 that appropriates $667 million for human services, including nonprofits and other social service providers, that only amounts to 65 percent of the cost of those services since last July. ""When you look at Illinois, we have a crumbling treatment infrastructure,"" Kane-Willis said. ""We do not have the capacity to treat the people who need it."" Kane-Willis, a former heroin user, said that in light of these fiscal issues, Illinois probably now is second-worst in the U.S. when it comes to treatment capacity as Tennessee has improved and expanded treatment programs and capacity since the study was released. Treating those in need Durbin notes that as the state's treatment capacity shrinks, the vast majority of Illinoisans who are in need of treatment do not receive it. A report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, ""Behavioral Health Barometer: Illinois, 2014,"" found ""individuals aged 12 or older with illicit drug dependence or abuse, about 32,000 individuals (12.7 percent ) per year in 2009–2013 received treatment for their illicit drug use within the year prior to being surveyed."" Our ruling Durbin said, ""Illinois suffered 1,652 overdose deaths in 2014 ... of which 40 percent were associated with heroin. Illinois is ranked number one in the nation for a decline in treatment capacity between 2007 and 2012, and is now ranked the third worst in the country for state-funded treatment capacity."" The drug overdose figure Durbin uses came from provisional data provided to the senator by the CDC. In 2014, drug overdose deaths totaled 1,705, or 1,700 if using statistics from IDPH, which tend to be more accurate. As for the other figures, the percent increase from 2010 is slightly more than 32 percent, and drug overdose deaths in 2014 that were associated with heroin is about 42 percent. But as IDPH notes, tracking overdose deaths involving heroin cannot be reliably determined as counties’ coroners did not specifically test for heroin prior to 2013. We don’t see these discrepancies as an attempt to mislead in making his case for heroin and prescription opioid addiction treatment legislation he is advocating. If anything, it underscores the growing epidemic that’s not only gripping Illinois, but the rest of the country."
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10950
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Once-a-day heart combo pill shows promise in study
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"This story accurately reported on the results of a recent study and at the same time engendered enthusiasm not supported by the current data for the use of a single pill that contained a group of 5 different medications for heart disease. While the study enrolled individuals who could be calculated to be at increased risk of heart attack or stroke, the story went on to speculate about the use of this ‘polypill’ for use as a preventative medication. The story should have included some discussion about the difference between treatment and prevention of conditions. The story included discussion of psychologic benefits which could be gained through the use of a combined pill as opposed to individual medications without providing any background on where the data demonstrating this came from. While there is reason to think that there may be benefits to be gained through the use of multi-action medications, there ought to be some critical thought given to the impact of medication of this nature when used in older individuals or in those being treated for other conditions with drugs that might interact with a combination medication of this nature. The line that states ""Taking it could cut a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke roughly in half, the study concludes” overwhelms several other good features of the story. That statement makes it seem like it was tested for its effect on cardiovascular outcomes, when it has only been shown to reduce risk factor levels in a short-term study. To its credit, the story included comments with caveats that were not included in some other news accounts."
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true
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As this is not an available treatment, the cost was presented as something not yet known. The story suggested that the cost for the pill would likely be something less than $17/month – the cost for its component medications. The story did not provide a rational for why the expected costs would be less than the costs for the individual medications on their own. Nonetheless, it tried to address cost. The benefits of treatment in terms of blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and anti-clotting were presented However, it is premature to present an estimate for the reduction in heart attack and stroke as the time frame of the study presented is much too short to inform us as to whether this is the case. There was no discussion of harms of treatment beyond a statement that the side effect rates for the polypill were the same as for the medications individually. While this was what was observed in the current 12 week trial, the reader should have been reminded of the short term nature of the study, the limited demographics of the study population, and that conclusions, although informed by the common long-term use of the component medications, still require analysis of the effects these medications may have in individuals who may not have all of the underlying conditions being treated. Although the story did an adequate job of describing the results of the study, it did not confine itself to discussion of the observed outcomes but chose to focus on extrapolating the results to what might be the longer term benefit. Stating that this pill could ‘cut a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke roughly in half, the study concludes’ implies that the pill was tested for its effect on cardiovascular outcomes, when in fact it has only been shown to reduce risk factors levels in a single, short-term study. This is misleading. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Quotes from a number of clinicians involved in the current study, and individuals who were supportive or critical of the current treatment approach were included in this story. While the story failed to mention options other than the use of multiple pharmaceuticals to lower risk of heart attack and stroke, it did touch on the use of the drugs separately rather than in combined form. The story made clear that the combination pill discussed was experimental, while at the same time indicating that all of its components were available as generic medications. The novelty of such a polypill was appropriately portrayed. Does not appear to rely on a press release.
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33624
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Only two Coca-Cola executives know Coke's formula, and each of them knows only half of it.
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This great-grandfather who did the scribbling was Frank Mason Robinson, who was a partner of pharmacist John Pemberton. Robinson named the drink in 1886 and wrote the famous label in flowing script.
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false
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Cokelore
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For three quarters of a century, rumors about the measures the Coca-Cola Company has employed to keep the formula of its flagship product a secret have been used to enhance consumer perception of Coca-Cola‘s specialness. The company has courted the media on this issue, establishing through repetition the belief that anything so closely guarded must be special indeed. Well, lollipops to that notion. What’s special here isn’t the formula; it’s how the hulaballoo raised over it has been turned into yet another way to enhance the product’s cachet. Coca-Cola does have a rule about only two executives’ being privy to the formula, but each of those men knows how to formulate the syrup independent of the other, not just half of an ingredients list. Perhaps this particular rumor about two executives, each knowing only part of the secret and thus incapable of concocting a batch of syrup on his own, results from confusion with the business practices of another Southern company famous for guarding its secrets, Kentucky Fried Chicken. (KFC’s security measures include its secret blend of 11 herbs and spices being mixed at two different locations and combined at a third location.) Coca-Cola’s two executives rule to the contrary, the whole notion is simply part of a media circus — other than for the publicity value, there’s no need to go to any lengths to keep the Coke recipe secret. Anyone who could reproduce the drink couldn’t market the product as Coca-Cola, and without that brand name — as well as the advantages of Coca-Cola’s established global distribution system — the recipe alone wouldn’t be worth much. Moreover, at least one of the ingredients called for in the recipe would be next to impossible to secure in the U.S. (or to bring into the country): decocainized flavor essence of the coca leaf. As it now stands, only Stepan Co.’s New Jersey plant possesses the necessary DEA permit to import the leaves and remove the cocaine from them. Anyone looking to reproduce the drink would have to go to Stepan to get one of the key ingredients, and Stepan would refuse to sell to them. Okay, so keeping a tight lid on the recipe isn’t so vitally important. Where, then, did all this tap dancing about a secret formula come from? Ernest Woodruff (he who was Coca-Cola from 1916 through about 1931) reveled in the secrecy of the formula, knowing that making a big to-do about it would convince the media — and thus the general public — that they were getting something really special when they bought a Coke. In 1925, the only written copy of its formula Coca-Cola admits to having was retrieved from a New York bank (where it had been held as collateral on a sugar loan) and reverently laid in safe deposit box in Woodruff’s Atlanta bank, the Trust Company of Georgia (which later merged with Sun Bank of Florida, creating SunTrust Bank). But that was only the first step. That same year the company set a policy whereby no one could view the formula without written permission from the Board, and then only in the presence of the President, Chairman, or Corporate Secretary. Furthermore, the rule dictated that only two company officials would be allowed to know the recipe at any given time, and their identities were never to be disclosed for any reason. In keeping with the spirit of things, company policy was amended once air travel became the norm to preclude those two officers from ever flying on the same plane. ‘Twas all smoke and mirrors, though — even as Woodruff’s people were communicating these security measures to the media, the company employed at least four men who were known to be capable of producing Coke syrup in their sleep and a handful of others who were strongly rumored to have this knowledge. These days the Coca-Cola Company is quite close-mouthed about who knows how to make the syrup that makes the world go around. It is reasonable to assume, however, that no matter what the publicly stated policy is, realities on the manufacturing floor regarding syrup production haven’t changed from the Woodruff days, with a number of people in syrup production knowing the formula by heart. Official policy, after all, is for the media — it’s not meant for everyday use. Throughout the years, a number of handwritten formulas have surfaced and have been presented to Coca-Cola. The company routinely waves them off as “not authentic,” and that usually ends the matter. After all, no one can authenticate his tattered copy of the recipe for the Holy Grail of soft drinks unless Coca-Cola shows theirs, and Coca-Cola never does. Even so, that Holy Grail may already be in the public’s hands. In 1993, Mark Pendergrast published what he believed to be Coke’s original formula in For God, Country and Coca-Cola. He’d come across the following among John Pemberton’s papers: Mix Caffeine Acid and Lime Juice in 1 Qt Boiling water add vanilla and flavoring when cool. (‘F.E. Coco’ stands for fluid extract of coca. The cola part of the product’s name comes from the kola nut, an ingredient that appears on the above list as ‘Citrate Caffein.’) The Coca-Cola Company was quick to label Pendergast’s published find as “not accurate” and “the latest in a long line of previous, unsuccessful attempts to reveal a 107-year-old mystery.” Mind you, given how much Coca-Cola has invested in proclaiming its formula to be a carefully-guarded secret, it is never expected to react in any other fashion even if it is someday handed the real formula. In a disingenuous way, even if the Pendergrast version were the original, Coca-Cola would still be right about the “not accurate” part. Changes were made to the recipe between the time Pemberton marketed it in 1886 and Woodruff in the 1920s made it company canon that the formula would hereafter not be tinkered with: glycerin was added as a preservative, cocaine was eliminated, caffeine was greatly reduced, and citric acid was replaced with phosphoric acid, to name the changes we know about. Therefore, even if the Pendergrast version were dead on, it still would not be the formulation currently in use, because important changes were later made to it. (Visit our Knew Coke page to find out about what happened to the company the one time it broke Woodruff’s “no tinkering” rule by reformulating the product as New Coke.) Is the Pendergrast version The Real Thing? Chances are it is (or perhaps, more accurately, it was — remember what we said about changes made to the formula decades later). It certainly fits with what lab analysis has for years been telling Coke-hunters had to be in the formula, and with what Coca-Cola outsiders who claim to have seen or been told about the formula now remember of it. A bit of a stir was created in 1996 during the divorce proceedings of Frank and Patti Robinson. Mrs. Robinson laid claim to several sheets of Mr. Robinson’s great-grandfather’s handwriting, notes which might well have been a record of Pemberton’s earliest attempts to come up with Coca-Cola. These papers had been passed down through the Robinson family for generations. In 1997 these jotted notes were awarded to the husband, but the matter of who owns them is still very much in contention, as the matter is currently under appeal.
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5957
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Environmental justice issues focus of town hall.
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Former Vice President Al Gore and the Rev. William Barber II, co-chair of the national Poor People’s Campaign, held a town hall in Alabama to spotlight environmental justice issues.
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true
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Al Gore, Environment, Alabama
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The two on Thursday toured a Lowndes County neighborhood where residents say the sewage system regularly overflows into their yards and homes. They then held a town hall in Hayneville. Charlie Mae Holcombe, 70, of Hayneville, said heavy rains are always a sign of trouble. Holcombe described the problems she faced as Gore and Barber spoke with her in her driveway. She said the toilets in her house will begin to bubble as a sign the sewage system is about to backup, sometimes filling her yard — including the area around a child’s swing set — and her house with raw sewage. “They have had to come and pump it out of my yard with the pump truck,” Holcombe said. “It’s backing up, even in my bathtub. The sewage has run over all in the house.” Her home in Lowndes County is in an area that has been plagued by sewage problems and concerns about potential illness. “I have heard about it and seen pictures of it for a long time, but it was shocking to see it in person,” Gore said of the conditions he saw. Alabama’s Black Belt region gets its name for the dark rich soil that once gave rise to cotton plantations. But the type of soil makes it difficult for traditional septic tanks, in which wastewater filters through the ground, to function properly, said Alabama State Health Officer Scott Harris in an interview with The Associated Press. The region’s intense poverty and inadequate municipal infrastructure contribute to the problem. “Sewage is typically handled at a local level... These counties haven’t always been able to do that,” Harris said. Catherine Coleman Flowers, an activist who has worked on rural environmental issues in the county for years, said wastewater sanitation problems are not limited to Alabama’s Black Belt. “It’s all over the country,” Flowers said, adding that climate change, with heavy rains and rising water tables, will make it worse. Holcombe said she’s not sure what it means, but when a red light flashes at a sewage treatment lagoon across the street, it is a reliable sign that her yard will flood. In addition to overwhelmed septic and sewage systems, some homes in the rural county are on “straight pipe” systems where sewage runs untreated from home to yard. Harris said a May survey of almost 200 Lowndes County households found that two to three percent of the households were on straight pipe systems. Holcombe’s home sits not far from the state highway where voting rights marchers walked from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Barber noted the proximity to the key sites of the civil rights movement and said the environmental issues are about the continued fight for justice. The town hall, held at a community center in Hayneville, focused on a number of environmental issues. Birmingham resident Jimmy Smith described living near a Superfund site in Birmingham. Others described concerns about landfills, straight pipe sewage systems and coal ash disposal in the Black Belt. At the town hall, Gore criticized what he described as the continued resistance from power companies and politicians to switching to renewable forms of energy such as solar energy. “It’s really a disgrace that this far Southern state with abundant sunshine is deprived of the advantages of the solar revolution being enjoyed all over the world,” Gore said.
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35143
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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held up a coronavirus funding package so that Democrats could run negative ads about Republicans that made the latter look bad.
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Trump soon signed the funding bill into law, on March 6.
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false
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Politics, coronavirus, COVID-19, kevin mccarthy
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As cases of COVID-19 caused by a new coronavirus grew in the U.S. amid a global outbreak, U.S. lawmakers attacked each other over the government’s response to the illness in early 2020. One such example: A Republican Twitter account accused U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of delaying a vote on a coronavirus-funding package on the House floor so that a Democratic political organization could run ads against Republican lawmakers to make the latter look bad. We reached out to McCarthy’s office asking what he meant by his claim that Pelosi delayed the vote on a $8.3 billion funding package to fight the coronavirus but did not hear back. As of March 3, 2020, when McCarthy made the remark, both Republicans and Democrats were continuing to negotiate the funding package that the House passed the next day. Pelosi’s chief of staff, Drew Hammill, took to Twitter to respond to McCarthy, pointing out as much. “The bipartisan negotiations on the coronavirus funding supplemental are still underway. Your staff have been participating in those talks,” Hammill wrote, calling McCarthy’s comment “a disgusting and false accusation.” Pelosi’s office also didn’t respond to our emailed questions. The Capitol Hill-oriented news publication Roll Call reported the same day McCarthy made his remark that, “Lawmakers late Tuesday were polishing up a roughly $8 billion emergency aid package to respond to the COVID-19 illness, with signs pointing to talks going on into the wee hours.” Roll Call further reported on the content of what legislators were debating: By most accounts, there was bipartisan agreement on the broad contours of the measure. But a Democrat briefed on the negotiations said Tuesday night that outstanding issues included price limitations for drug treatments and eventually vaccines; reimbursements to hospitals for uncompensated care; and a Medicare waiver to allow payments to certain health care providers for telehealth services, such as in-home video visits.
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7442
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Wyoming to loosen COVID-19 restaurant, bar, gathering rules.
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Wyoming will again allow people to dine in at restaurants, meet in bars and gather in larger numbers as the state continues to post some of the lowest coronavirus infection numbers in the U.S., Gov. Mark Gordon said Wednesday.
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true
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General News, Wyoming, Mark Gordon, Virus Outbreak, Public health
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Bar and restaurant tables will need to seat no more than 6 people at a time and be spaced at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart. Staff must wear face coverings and be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 under new state public health orders taking effect Friday. As many as 25 people — up from 10 currently — will be allowed to gather, enabling movie theaters and other performance venues to reopen with limited numbers of customers. On a day when Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks announced plans to begin reopening Monday after an eight-week closure, Gordon urged people to continue to be careful to avoid spreading the virus. “Even as we ease restrictions, the virus is not gone. It is still here, it is still invisible and it is still capable of wreaking havoc,” Gordon said at a news conference. Wyoming had over 10 times more active cases of the coronavirus than the known number in the state when Gordon announced the business and public-gathering restrictions in March. As of Wednesday, Wyoming had 208 active lab-confirmed and suspected cases of the coronavirus. Another 480 people with confirmed and suspected cases had recovered. Yet the number of COVID-19 deaths in Wyoming, seven, had not increased for over three weeks and remained among the lowest of any state. Adjusted for population, only Hawaii had as few deaths. The number of people in Wyoming hospitalized with the coronavirus remained stable at about 10, and the rate of people testing positive, 3.9%, has dropped slightly and remained well below the national average of 9% to 13%, Gordon said. Meanwhile, the Wyoming Department of Health would get $15 million in federal funding to help increase coronavirus testing and contact tracing, or finding out who has been in contact with people with the virus, Gordon announced. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
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41855
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We found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election.
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At a United Nations meeting, President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. “found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election.” But the president offered no evidence of covert actions, such as the kind that Russia engaged in during the 2016 election.
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unproven
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2018 elections, China, tariffs,
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At a United Nations meeting, President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. “found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election.” But the president offered no evidence of covert actions, such as the kind that Russia engaged in during the 2016 election.Instead, Trump criticized China for publicly trying to “convince people to go against Donald Trump” in the November midterm elections because of the U.S. trade war with China.The president has specifically complained recently that China is running “propaganda ads” on trade and has imposed retaliatory tariffs to hurt his political supporters.On July 6, the U.S. began imposing tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports. China retaliated with equal tariffs on $34 billion in U.S. goods, including on soybeans, wheat, corn, sorghum and beef. The trade war has only escalated since. It was during a U.N. Security Council meeting on counterproliferation in New York that Trump made his accusation about China.Trump, Sept. 26: Regrettably, we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election coming up in November against my administration. They do not want me, or us, to win because I am the first President ever to challenge China on trade. And we are winning on trade. We are winning at every level. We don’t want them to meddle or interfere in our upcoming election.At a press conference after the Security Council meeting, a reporter asked Trump if he has evidence of his “significant allegation” that China is meddling in the 2018 U.S. elections.“That’s right. That’s what I hear,” Trump said. “We have evidence. We have evidence. It will come out. I can’t tell you now, but it didn’t come out of nowhere, that I can tell you.”The president then went on to complain that China’s retaliatory tariffs were targeting his supporters. “They actually admitted that they are going after farmers,” Trump said.At another point, the president said, “One thing that they are trying to do is convince people to go against Donald Trump.”Earlier in the day, the president tweeted about a four-page supplement in the Des Moines Register that was purchased by China Daily, a Chinese government-run media outlet. His tweet (see below) showed a headline that reads, “Duel undermines benefits of trade.”China is actually placing propaganda ads in the Des Moines Register and other papers, made to look like news. That’s because we are beating them on Trade, opening markets, and the farmers will make a fortune when this is over! pic.twitter.com/ppdvTX7oz1— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2018It is not unusual for foreign countries or state-owned media outlets to run advertising supplements in U.S. newspapers. China Daily regularly runs supplements in U.S. papers, including the Washington Post and New York Times.In a news story about the newspaper ad in Iowa, the Des Moines Register quoted David Skidmore, a political science professor at Drake University, as saying the ad campaign is designed “to change its trade policies toward China by attempting to show White House and Republicans that they’re going to pay a price with the mid-terms.”This is not the first time that Trump has accused China of interfering in the upcoming midterm elections. He has also accused the country of imposing tariffs on products in states that Trump won during the 2016 election. On Sept. 18, Trump issued two tweets complaining that China’s tariffs are targeting “our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me.”Trump has complained about China’s public relations campaign against tariffs before. On Aug. 4, the president tweeted that China “is spending a fortune on ads and P.R. trying to convince and scare our politicians to fight me on Tariffs.”It is worth noting that China Daily is registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, since at least 1983.In its earliest filing available online, China Daily says that part of its agreement with China is to obtain “paid advertisements in the U.S. & Canada for inclusion in the newspaper.” In its most recent filing in May, China Daily reported that it had “advertising campaigns” in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal in the previous six months.But the paid advertisements, the publicly registered lobbying reports and retaliatory tariffs are all different than the kind of extensive covert election interference that Russia engaged in during the 2016 election.During the 2016 election, Russian intelligence agents hacked into the email systems of the Democratic Party and its officials, secretly directed the release of the hacked material, and engaged in a social media influence campaign — all “to help President-elect Trump’s election chances,” according to a U.S. intelligence report released in January 2017.In February, the special counsel’s office investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election indicted three Russian organizations and 13 Russian nationals for conspiring to violate U.S. election laws and defraud the United States. The conspiracy involved using the names of U.S. citizens and entities to illegally buy political ads on social media and stage political rallies. Some defendants also “solicited and compensated real U.S. persons to promote or disparage candidates,” according to the indictment.In July, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, announced the indictment of 12 members of GRU, a Russian military intelligence agency. The GRU officers “engaged in a sustained effort to hack into the computer networks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, and the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, and released that information on the internet under the names ‘DCLeaks’ and ‘Guccifer 2.0’ and through another entity,” a Justice Department press release says.It’s not clear if the president has any evidence of a covert operation by China.At an Aug. 2 briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said “our intelligence shows that there are a number of others that are looking at and considering engaging, particularly in 2018.” But she declined to offer specifics at the time and the White House press office did not answer our questions about Trump’s latest accusation.
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18019
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"Marco Rubio Says President Barack Obama could ""basically"" legalize all immigrants here illegally ""by the sign of a pen."
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"Rubio said that absent immigration reform from Congress, Obama ""will be tempted to issue an executive order like he did for the DREAM Act kids a year ago, where he basically legalizes 11 million people by the sign of a pen."" Could Obama offer deferred action for the entire population of undocumented immigrants? His executive powers over deportations are strong, but most experts say that’s an extreme scenario and susceptible to legal challenges, not to mention political fallout. More likely is that Obama could extend deferred action to more subsets of the undocumented population, pushing them lower on the priority list and into a deal-with-you-later category. That might be relief for them, but it’s also a legal limbo that falls short of legalization."
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false
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Immigration, Florida, Marco Rubio,
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"U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has a dire message for conservatives who oppose immigration reform: Do something to improve the status quo, or President Barack Obama could make the situation much worse. ""I’ve been saying now I believe that this president will be tempted, if nothing happens in Congress, he will be tempted to issue an executive order like he did for the DREAM Act kids a year ago, where he basically legalizes 11 million people by the sign of a pen,"" Rubio said in a recent interview with Tallahassee talk radio host Preston Scott. Rubio, an author of the immigration proposal that passed the Senate this summer, said such a move could doom GOP immigration priorities of stepped-up border security and E-Verify checks in the Senate proposal. We cannot fact-check the future, but we thought it appropriate to examine whether Rubio’s worst-case scenario could actually happen. Could Obama essentially legalize ""11 million people by the sign of a pen"" like the DREAM Act population? No blanket citizenship It’s easy to interpret Rubio’s statement as Obama conceivably granting all-out citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrants via an executive order. That could not happen. Doing so would violate the country’s separation of powers. Congress determined the laws governing how a person can legally reside in the country, so Obama cannot give out green cards, paths to citizenship or permanent residency en masse, experts told us. He does not have the authority to override laws simply by proclamation. ""Executive orders have tended to be quite focused, not open-ended over time,"" said Kevin Johnson, University of California Davis School of Law dean. ""Such an order would likely be subject to quite possibly successful legal challenge, with the claim being that legalization would be contrary to an act of Congress, namely the Immigration and Nationality Act."" But all-out citizenship is not exactly what Rubio warned against. Rubio is very familiar with this subject, having tried to craft a proposal similar to the DREAM Act, a law that would have provided legal residency to immigrants brought to the country by their parents. But in June 2012, amid stalled DREAM Act efforts, Obama announced a new administrative policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children to apply for a renewable, temporary status that suspends deportation and allows them to work in the country. So far, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has approved at least 430,000 people for this form of deferred action. An angry Rubio said Obama made it harder for any legislation to pass. To Rubio, Obama’s policy ""basically legalized"" this group of illegal immigrants and was improper -- and he’s not alone in this perspective. Giving someone a renewable status with work authorization and other benefits without punishment is de facto legalization, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that opposes the Senate bill and is for stricter immigration control. Others say deferred action does not amount to legal status because the classification is temporary. The action puts an individual in legal limbo while allowing them to possibly apply for a driver’s license and work without fear of immediate deportation, said Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, a professor at the Pennsylvania State Dickinson School of Law and director of the Center for Immigrants’ Rights. The Department of Homeland Security justified the policy by saying it was within the ""prosecutorial discretion"" of the executive branch. Obama: ‘I’m not a king’ We’ve arrived at a significant part of our fact-check: Could Obama grant deferred action to the entire population of illegal immigrants, not just Dreamers? Obama has shot down that possibility, stressing the need for a comprehensive bill. ""I’m not a king,"" Obama said in January to Telemundo. ""You know, my job as the head of the executive branch ultimately is to carry out the law. And, you know, when it comes to enforcement of our immigration laws, we’ve got some discretion. We can prioritize what we do. But we can’t simply ignore the law."" Still, the administration has considered the pros and cons of a broad-based legalization program that excludes people who are a security risk, according to a leaked 2010 DHS memo. The draft memo detailed many risks for such a move, including blowback from Congress and the impression the department secretary is abdicating ""her charge to enforce immigration laws."" Rubio spokesman Alex Conant pointed us to a National Journal piece that examined an idea among immigration activists that involves persuading Obama ""to freeze the current undocumented population in place through an administrative order, give them work permits, and hope for a better deal under the next president, with the hope that he or she is a Democrat,"" according to the story. They want Obama to expand the deferred action program to other immigrants here illegally, such as those who work, are caregivers, or are immigrant parents of children who are citizens. ""It’s not an empty threat,"" Frank Sharry of America’s Voice told POLITICO. ""If Republicans block reform with a path to citizenship, immigration reform activists will look at all their options, including broad executive action."" Deferred action for all? Experts told us Obama indeed has broad executive power over deportations and granting temporary work permits. But it’s a stretch to say he could legally offer all undocumented immigrants that deal. If he wanted to order a stay of deportations across the board, he would have to provide a strong justification, such as a lack of resources to do the job, said Robert Delahunty, a University of St. Thomas School of Law professor who co-authored an argument against the constitutionality of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. ""But he could do that only briefly, and only in what I’d consider pretty extreme circumstances,"" Delahunty said. On the other hand, the country’s immigration laws grant Obama and the Department of Homeland Security lots of wiggle room in granting temporary work permits and refusing to widely deport people, said Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute. A widespread stay, though, would be ""a crazy scenario,"" he said. Even some of Obama’s loudest critics on immigration policy don’t think he would go that far. ""It could be done. Obama’s gotten away with as much, but I don’t think he’d do it,"" Krikorian said. ""That would be a bridge too far even for the pusillanimous appeasers among Republicans in Congress."" Experts thought it more conceivable that Obama would chip away at the undocumented immigrant population little by little by building on the deferred action policy for children who came to the country as minors. An expansion would have to come with caveats, such as cut-off dates and clean criminal histories. ""It would be the mother of all political battles,"" said Carl Hampe, a private immigration lawyer who was counsel for the Senate subcommittee on immigration from 1983 to 1991 and worked for the Department of Justice under President George H.W. Bush. ""As a purely theoretical legal question, is there a plausible argument that the president has that legal authority? Some would argue yes."" There’s also an argument that halting deportations alone would do little to offer relief to the country’s millions of unauthorized immigrants. They would still be in a legal limbo because most of the 400,000 or so people currently being deported are those who’ve committed crimes, said Lynden Melmed, who served as former chief counsel of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the George W. Bush administration. Our ruling Rubio said that absent immigration reform from Congress, Obama ""will be tempted to issue an executive order like he did for the DREAM Act kids a year ago, where he basically legalizes 11 million people by the sign of a pen."" Could Obama offer deferred action for the entire population of undocumented immigrants? His executive powers over deportations are strong, but most experts say that’s an extreme scenario and susceptible to legal challenges, not to mention political fallout. More likely is that Obama could extend deferred action to more subsets of the undocumented population, pushing them lower on the priority list and into a deal-with-you-later category. That might be relief for them, but it’s also a legal limbo that falls short of legalization."
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