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7815
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New York City Council mulls adding e-cigarettes to smoking ban.
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The New York City Council on Thursday will vote on a bill that would add electronic cigarettes to the city’s strict smoking ban, in the latest of many anti-tobacco measures signed by outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
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true
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Health News
|
Bloomberg’s detractors have derided him for trying to impose a “nanny state” in America’s largest city, pointing to his bans on smoking, trans fats and the attempt to limit the sale of large sugary drinks. Public health advocates have applauded those same efforts. Only weeks after New York became the first major city to raise the legal age for buying tobacco to 21, the City Council will vote on a ban that would add electronic cigarettes to the city’s Smoke-Free Air Act. If the bill passes, smoking e-cigarettes - or “vaping” - would be prohibited at public and private venues such as beaches, parks, restaurants and office buildings. “While more research is needed on electronic cigarettes, waiting to act could jeopardize the progress we have made over the last few years,” New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said at a city council hearing on the bill earlier this month. E-cigarettes are slim, reusable metal tubes that contain nicotine-laced liquid in a variety of exotic flavors such as bubble gum and bacon. As a “smoker” puffs on the device, the nicotine is heated and releases a vapor that, unlike cigarette smoke, contains no tar, which is known to cause cancer and other diseases. Critics of the law contend that such a ban would do more harm than good. Richard Carmona, a former U.S. Surgeon General and a current board member at NJOY, one of America’s largest electronic cigarette manufacturers, sent a letter to the council recently to urge rejection of the bill. “I’m extremely concerned that a well-intentioned but scientifically unsupported effort like the current proposal to include electronic cigarettes in New York’s current smoking ban, could constitute a giant step backward in the effort to defeat tobacco smoking,” Carmona wrote. The debate over risks versus benefits of e-cigarettes is far from being settled, but a study published recently in the British medical journal, The Lancet, said they are as effective as nicotine patches for smokers trying to kick the habit. Three states - Utah, North Dakota and New Jersey - and Washington, D.C. have already passed legislation banning e-cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited.
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26697
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“NYC man drops dead in middle of street — suspected coronavirus!”
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New York City Police say a man was taken to the hospital after falling and hitting his head. He was in stable condition and it was unrelated to coronavirus, according to police.
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false
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Facebook Fact-checks, New York, Coronavirus, Bloggers,
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"As the death toll from COVID-19 clears 4,000 people globally, a scary blog post claims that a man in New York City collapsed on the street and died because of the disease caused by the coronavirus. ""NYC man drops dead in middle of street — suspected coronavirus!"" the headline says. It shows an image of someone lying flat on their back on a sidewalk with a mask covering their mouth and nose. Another image shows what looks like a medic leaning over the person. A 15-second video clip shows the same scene. The post goes on to say that an Asian man wearing a surgical mask passed out in the middle of a crowded street in Flushing Queens before he was ""rushed to the hospital"" and ""believed to have died."" ""According to reports, the man was walking down the street, when he was suddenly overcome with a bout of coughing. He collapsed onto the floor, and after a few seconds, he stopped moving,"" it says. ""Officers quickly arrived on the scene, but seemed unwilling to physically assist the man, perhaps out of fear."" This 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.) ""This is not true at all,"" the New York City Police Department told PolitiFact in a statement. Though the blog post is undated, the department was able to identify the incident from the description and images. On March 3, officers responded to a 911 call to help a man in the department’s 109th precinct, which serves a northeast portion of Queens, including downtown Flushing and East Flushing. When officers arrived, they found a 25-year-old man who had lost consciousness and hit his head on the sidewalk. Medics brought him NewYork-Presbyterian hospital in stable condition. It was unrelated to the coronavirus, according to police."
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25823
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Children are “almost immune from this disease.”
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Children represent about 7.3% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S and less than 0.1% of deaths, according to the CDC. Many children were not exposed to the virus as much as adults because schools shut down nationwide in March. Research in other countries that reopened schools shows children can catch COVID-19.
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false
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Coronavirus, Donald Trump,
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"As millions of parents across the United States agonize over whether their children should return to school, President Donald Trump has continued to downplay the chances that children will catch COVID-19. ""This thing is going away, it will go away like things go away. My view is that schools should be open,"" Trump said on Fox and Friends Aug. 5. ""If you look at children, children are almost, I would almost say definitely, but almost immune from this disease. So few. Hard to believe. I don’t know how you feel about it but they have much stronger immune systems than we do somehow for this. They don’t have a problem."" By the evening, both Facebook and Twitter took action against Trump for his statements about immunity and children which the social media companies said were violations of their policies against COVID-19 misinformation. Facebook took down a post of the Fox video clip on Trump’s official account, with a spokesperson saying it contained information that violated its standards around harmful COVID-19 misinformation. Twitter, meanwhile, required a Team Trump campaign account to remove the tweet. It appeared that Trump had tweeted the video from his own Twitter account but the video link was dead. Trump is using the term ""immune"" to suggest that children won’t get sick. It’s clear that children do get infected, although symptoms are often not as serious as those for older adults. But he’s wrong to state that children are ""almost immune."" ""Children as a group are clearly less impacted by this virus than adults, but to say they are almost immune does not provide a truthful message,"" said University of South Florida public health professor Dr. Marissa J. Levine. The data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that children account for about 7.3% of cases. Children account for less than 1% of deaths. But that data covers a time period when millions of children stayed home and did their classes online. That means we don’t yet know what will happen when children return to school buildings. Although it is early in the school year, there have already been some students who tested positive including in Mississippi and Indiana. It’s unclear how many students will attend in person nationwide, although the majority of the largest school districts have chosen virtual learning. Mark Schleiss, a University of Minnesota professor of pediatrics, said Trump is wrong on two counts: his statement about immunity and his suggestion that children are less likely to catch the germ than adults. ""Immunity means that your immune system has some sense of history with having encountered the germ before, and hence can fight it off,"" he said. ""Well, what's the biological plausibility that any person would have immunity to a virus that didn't even exist until a few months ago? And how could you have immunity to it if you never even encountered it before? So, as a pediatrician, immunologist and vaccine researcher, the statement is absurd, and unequivocally incorrect."" Schleiss pointed to a research letter published in The Journal of the American Medical Association by Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Researchers examined 145 cases of mild to moderate COVID-19 illness and found children younger than 5 years have much higher levels of genetic material for the virus in their noses compared to older children and adults. Authors concluded that young children can potentially be important drivers of the virus spread, which causes concern for educators. Experts also pointed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 at an overnight camp in Georgia. Test results were available for 344 (58%) attendees; among these, 260 (76%) were positive. While children are in closer proximity to each other at overnight camp than a school, experts say it still serves as a warning about reopening schools. ""That is not what we would expect of a group who were ‘almost immune,’"" Levine said. Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist at University of California, Irvine, said Trump has a point in that children get sick at low rates, but his overall statement is misleading. The main fear about reopening schools is how it will spread to teachers and parents. ""The idea schools can open and everything is going to be hunky dory, sort of a summary of the president’s intended message, that is misleading,"" Noymer said. ""I am worried kids can catalyze the pandemic even worse than it already is in terms of an engine of generating infection of adults."" The White House pointed to statements by CDC director Robert Redfield in favor of reopening schools and his agency’s guidance on schools, but those statements didn’t address immunity. The White House also pointed to statements by Dr. Scott Atlas that ""children under 18 have virtually zero risk of death from this"" or serious illness. Atlas is a senior fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University and is the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center. Studies about school children and COVID-19 are limited, but research from other countries indicates that high schoolers who come in contact with the disease respond more like adults, while elementary children present a lower risk of spread. A recent study out of South Korea looked at more than 1,200 cases of people with COVID-19. It found that the rate of infection was three times higher for children 10 to 19 years old than for children under 10. After schools reopened in Israel in late May, outbreaks forced hundreds of schools to close, the New York Times found. ""Opening schools, especially for children above the age of 10, in crowded settings, can facilitate transmission,"" Hagai Levine, an epidemiology professor at Hebrew University-Hadassah told PolitiFact. ""Education is a must. So the lesson from Israel is to prepare and look for careful, gradual opening. If possible, learn outdoors."" In its guidelines for schools, the CDC said infection seems to vary by age, with students 10 to 17 being more likely to catch the disease than those under 10. Some European countries did have success in reopening schools, but most didn’t reopen school amid a spike of outbreaks like ones in some states in the U.S. Experts have warned that we can’t assume the U.S. experience this fall will mirror that of some other countries. ""We may learn much more about COVID-19 in children as schools open,"" Levine said. ""That is part of the unknown for which I would be hesitant to conclude with blanket statements about pediatric immunity to COVID-19."" Trump said ""children are almost immune from this disease."" The White House cited a statement by the CDC director in support of schools reopening and a doctor who noted that kids rarely get severe cases, but that doesn’t mean that children are immune to COVID-19. It’s wrong to state that children are ""almost immune"" as we have seen cases spread at an overnight camp in the U.S. and at some schools, including in Israel."
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27490
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A vacationing couple staying in a foul-smelling motel room discovered a body hidden under their bed.
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Sightings: Look for this legend in the 1995 film Four Rooms. This legend was also the subject of a July 2014 fake news article.
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true
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Horrors, Gruesome Discoveries, horrors
|
In his urban legend book The Baby Train, folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand writes that he first heard the “dead body found under hotel bed” legend in 1991. Every version that came to him mentioned a Las Vegas hotel, but the lack of checkable details led him to believe this was an apocryphal tale. Okay, so we can date the appearance of this legend to 1991. Unlike a number of other such gruesome tales, this legend appears to have sprung from a misremembering of any one of a number of actual news items, with the talebearer shifting certain details so that deaths which took place in anonymous little motels along Interstates are said to have happened in Las Vegas, America’s own Sin City, and victims who’d (usually) done little else amiss than be in the wrong place at the wrong time and/or take up with questionable company were transformed through the magic of retelling into prostitutes. Dead bodies get stashed in the box spring or the bed’s pedestal more often than you’d want to believe. What’s more, a fair number of them are only discovered days later … after the new tenant complains about a persistent and disagreeable odor. In each of the following cases not only were bodies discovered under hotel beds, but it was investigations of the smell of decomposition that led to their discoveries. On 10 July 2003, a man checked into the Capri Motel, just east of downtown Kansas City, and began complaining about a foul odor in his room. Management told him nothing could be done about the problem, and he spent three nights in his room before checking out because he could no longer stand the smell. When the cleaning staff came in to make up the room on 13 July, they lifted the mattress and underneath found a man’s body in an advanced stage of decomposition. On 10 June 1999 the rapidly decomposing remains of 64-year-old Saul Hernandez were discovered inside the bed in Room 112 at the Burgundy Motor Inn in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A German couple had spent the night sleeping over Hernandez’s remains, and it was their complaint to the manager about the smell in their room which led to the discovery of the corpse. In July 1996 a woman’s body was found under a mattress in the Colorado Boulevard Travelodge in Pasadena, CA. Apparently the motel’s staff discovered her ten days after her demise and only after guests had complained for several days of a foul odor coming from that room. There were two stashed-and-smelly body cases in Florida in 1994. (Further adding to the confusability of these stories’ taking place in the same year and the same state, in both instances the next tenants those rooms had were German tourists.) In August 1994 in Fort Lauderdale, hotel staff discovered the body of 47-year-old Bryan Gregory tucked under a platform bed. Though the staff had themselves noticed the strange smell for days, they only set about looking for its source after a German couple spent the night in that room and afterwards complained about the odor. In March 1994 the body of 24-year-old Josefina Martinez was found underneath a bed at the Traveler’s Hotel near Miami International Airport. Again, the discovery was prompted by an aggrieved German tourist upset about a foul odor in his room. In Virginia in 1989, Jerry Lee Dunbar disposed of the remains of two victims this way: 27-year-old Deirdre Smith, who was discovered in May under the floor of a motel room on Route 1, and 29-year-old Marilyn Graham, who turned up in June under a bed in the Alexandria Econo Lodge. In Smith’s case, the killer first kept her body partially hidden under his bed for two days, then subsequently placed it in the crawl space under the carpeted floor. Her presence seemingly didn’t bother him, because he didn’t move out of that room until three or four weeks later. Both girls’ bodies were eventually found after other guests complained about the stink. In Mineola, New York, motel in 1988, a body turned up in a box spring. The remains of 29-year-old Mary Jean DeOliviera were found at the Oceanside Motel. Again, the body was discovered days later and only after other patrons complained about the smell. At least two other guests unknowingly cohabited with the body before it was found, and at least one guest refused to stay in that room because of the smell. Here’s a change of pace — not a murder, but a death by misadventure. In Rosedale, Maryland in 1987, an unidentified man died of a drug overdose after one of the thirty-four balloons of heroin he’d swallowed burst. His partner stashed the corpse under their motel bed, then split. Three days later, the family the room was next rented to complained about the odor, and this led to the body’s discovery. One of the oldest “smelly body left under the bed” sightings comes from 1982. Richard Kuklinski, Daniel Deppner, and Gary Smith often teamed together to run auto theft scams. Kuklinski and Deppner decided to kill Smith, and they accomplished this by feeding him a cyanide-laced hamburger in a North Bergen, New Jersey, motel room. Kuklinkski finished off Smith by strangling him when watching Smith die of poisoning proved tiresome. Smith’s body was stuffed under the bed and left there. It was found four days later, on 27 December 1982. During the intervening four days, the room had been rented to others each night. Guests had wrinkled their noses at the smell, but none thought to look under the bed. That case has seemingly been topped by one in which Sony Millbrook of Memphis, Tennessee, was reported missing on 27 January 2010 after she failed to pick up her children from school. Forty-seven days later, on 15 March 2010, homicide investigators were called to the room of a Budget Inn motel where Millbrook had been living just prior to her disappearance, her body having just been discovered inside the frame of the bed there — even though the room had reportedly been cleaned and rented several times since her disappearance almost seven weeks earlier. There are, of course, numerous other cases of dead bodies being left under hotel beds, but I’ve chosen not to report on these because they lack the key element of the legend: complaints about the presence of a horrific smell leading to the corpse’s discovery. What gives this urban legend its chills-down-the-spine gruesomeness is the body’s being found only after an unsuspecting traveler spends the night sleeping above it. That clearly happened in at least some of the cases mentioned here (and perhaps in others where the news reports stated only that hotel guests had complained without specifying which guests). Urban legends tend to localize to where we believe they likely would have happened. It’s easy to understand how in each of the versions Brunvand related that Las Vegas was always named as the city where the corpse reposed, for Vegas is indeed viewed as Sin City, USA. Much easier to believe that the unsuspecting traveler shared his room with a moldering corpse in Las Vegas than it is to (rightly) place that occurrence in small-town New York, Virginia, or Maryland. Especially when dealing with a half-remembered true story, it’s natural for the “obvious” details to replace facts that have been misplaced due to ordinary fuzziness of memory. One, after all, does not let a lack of certainty stand in the way of a good story. Keep in mind that the Deirdre Smith (1989, Virginia), Marilyn Graham (1989, Virginia), Mary Jean DeOliviera (1988, New York), John Doe (1987, Maryland), and Gary Smith (1982, New York) cases antedate 1991. Gruesome finds like those tend to get heavily reported on, and that certainly happened with Smith, Graham and DeOliviera (the cites below don’t begin to do justice to the coverage these discoveries got — they were reported on by a double handful of various papers across the USA). It is because of that widespread coverage that I lean towards this legend’s having sprung to life out of a true story whose location got shifted from Your Town, USA (where only nice people live) to Sin City (where life and room rates are cheap).
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41664
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The population is projected to grow to 74 million, another 10 million by 2039.
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China’s total planned coal-fired power projects now stand at 226.2 gigawatts (GW), the highest in the world and more than twice the amount of new capacity on the books in India, according to data published by environmental groups on Thursday.
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mixture
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health
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The projects approved by China amount to nearly 40% of the world’s total planned coal-fired power plants, according to the Global Coal Exit List database run by German environmental organization Urgewald and 30 other partner organizations. The new China projects would be more than Germany’s existing installed power capacity of around 200 GW by the end of 2018. The environmental groups said in a press release on Thursday that worldwide 400 of the 746 companies in their database were still planning to expand their coal operations. The companies include miners and power generators, and account for 89% of the world’s thermal coal production and nearly 87% of the world’s installed coal-fired power capacity. Of the total, 161 are Chinese. China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will be the focus of attention at next week’s United Nations summit on climate action in New York, with Beijing promising more ambition when it comes to tackling global warming. China has been under pressure to curb investments in coal, at home and overseas, but Chinese financial institutions have continued to support coal projects. Beijing said on Tuesday, in a position paper ahead of the U.N. meeting, that it would remain on “the clean energy and low-carbon development path” but stopped short of setting new targets. China has cut the share of coal in its total energy mix from more than 68% in 2012 to 59% by the end of last year, but overall consumption has continued to increase. China had 1,020 GW of coal-fired power by the end of July, amounting to 55% of its total installed capacity. A Chinese industry group has suggested total capacity could eventually settle at 1,300 GW. (This story corrects figure in paragraph 10 for total coal-fired power to 1,020 GW)
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26423
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“Pick up a product. Look at the barcode. If the first 3 numbers are 690 or 691 or 692, the product was made in China.”
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A product’s barcode numbers don’t reveal its country of origin. Prefixes for product numbers are assigned to individual manufacturers based on a set of country codes, but the products could be made anywhere. These claims have been around since 2008 and have been debunked several times.
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false
|
China, Small Business, Viral image,
|
"As American businesses struggle to stay afloat amid shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, calls to buy American-made products have been growing on social media. Also rearing its head online is anti-Asian and anti-Chinese sentiment, directed at the country where the novel coronavirus was first discovered. One viral image from Facebook reads: ""Pick up a product. Look at the barcode. If the first 3 numbers are 690 or 691 or 692, the product was made in China. Put it down and buy from any other country."" The post misrepresents what the numbers that accompany a barcode indicate; they do not tell consumers where a product was made. These claims appear to date back to a 2008 email chain, and they’ve been repeatedly dismissed as incorrect. The idea that barcodes indicate a product’s country of origin has been debunked through the years by outlets such as Snopes, Reuters, Lead Stories and Nationwide Barcode. Barcodes are found on nearly all consumer products worldwide. The black and white barcode on a product package is an electronically scannable image that is accompanied by product number, usually printed just below it. This number, called a Global Trade Item Number, identifies what a product is and the owner of the brand that makes it. Although several variations of product numbers are used around the world, a 12- or 13-digit product number is common. The Facebook post claims that the first two to three digits of a product number indicate a product’s country of origin. But this is not the case, according to GS1, the global nonprofit foundation that works with manufacturers to assign the unique product numbers used with barcodes. These first few digits, called a prefix, are significant: GS1 licenses prefixes to manufacturers so they can create unique product numbers and barcodes that identify their particular company as the owner. These company prefixes are based on a set of country codes. It’s true that 690 to 699 prefixes are assigned to GS1 China, but that doesn’t mean products with those prefixes are made there. GS1’s website notes that ""since GS1 member companies can manufacture products anywhere in the world, GS1 prefixes do not identify the country of origin for a given product."" Most products have written labels that indicate where they were made. For example, a box of anti-viral Kleenex tissues says, ""Made in the USA from domestic and imported material."" Nationwide Barcode, another outfit that sells EAN and UPC barcodes, confirms that the product number prefix does not indicate what country a product was made in. ""Whether you purchase a barcode prefix from the GS1 or purchase a barcode from a company like Nationwide Barcode, the barcode will indicate the country where the prefix originated, regardless of where that company has their products manufactured,"" says a Nationwide Barcode article. A viral image reads, ""Pick up a product. Look at the barcode. If the first 3 numbers are 690 or 691 or 692, the product was made in China."" The prefix of the number that accompanies a barcode does not indicate what country the product was manufactured in. While GS1 assigns prefixes to companies based on a set of country codes, those companies can manufacture their products anywhere in the world."
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3389
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Arkansas judge denies students’ appeal to vaccination policy.
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A judge has denied two University of Arkansas students’ request to block a public health decree that has barred them from attending classes during a mumps outbreak because they don’t have the proper vaccinations.
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true
|
General News, Arkansas, Public health, Mumps
|
The Arkansas Department of Health issued the public health directive in a Nov. 22 letter that stated students without at least two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine either be vaccinated immediately or be barred from classrooms and school activities for at least 26 days. Brothers Shiloh Isaiah and Benjamin Andrew Bemis asked the Washington County Circuit to issue a temporary injunction, arguing “that the University of Arkansas failed to recognize and uphold our philosophical beliefs as enrolled students -- beliefs which include the choice to abstain from vaccinations.” In a one-sentence order, Judge Doug Martin on Tuesday denied their request to be allowed to return to their classes without getting the vaccinations. Martin’s order didn’t explain the reason for the decision. Shiloh Bemis, 21, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he’s disappointed in the court’s order. “On a larger level, we are taking issue with the fact that we don’t think we’ve quite been given a choice that fully takes into account what we believe our rights to be,” the third-year architecture student from Fayetteville said. Benjamin Bemis didn’t respond to the Democrat-Gazette’s request for comment. State law requires vaccinations for students, but it also allows exemptions for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. But the state Health Department said even exempted students must heed the public health directive. “Even if they have an exemption, they still are supposed to be excluded from class and activities, since they are much more susceptible to getting the infection,” said Dr. Joel Tumlison, a physician specialist in the health department’s outbreak response team. “For any student, whether simply undervaccinated or with an exemption, if they change their mind and get the vaccine, they can then return to class/activities.” University spokesman Mark Rushing said the school will continue to follow the health department’s instructions. The university has had 26 mumps cases since September, according to health officials. As of last week, 168 students lacked the required vaccinations to attend classes, UA spokesman Zac Brown said.
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8054
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Raincoats and rubber boots for Pakistani aid workers in coronavirus fight.
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Pakistan’s biggest charity, famous for its emergency services for the poor, is kitting staff out in rain coats and rubber boots in the battle against the coronavirus as it can’t get hold of proper personal protective equipment, the organization says.
|
true
|
Health News
|
Pakistan has reported the highest number of coronavirus infections in South Asia, with 1,179 cases and nine deaths, but health experts say there is a lack of public awareness about the virus and the cash-strapped government is ill-prepared to tackle it. The Edhi Foundation has for decades stepped in to help when government services fail communities and it runs the country’s largest ambulance service. Now it has had to train dozens of staff on how to handle suspected coronavirus patients. But providing them with proper protection is a problem given a nationwide shortage of the equipment. “We’ve compromised on certain things and use alternatives,” Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi Foundation, told Reuters at his office in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, on Thursday. “Full aprons are in short supply in the market.” He said he was confident the raincoats would work just as well. Doctors in the capital, Islamabad, last week threatened to go on strike over a lack of protective equipment in hospitals. The health ministry has acknowledged some problems with facilities and shortages of equipment to tackle the virus and officials have said they are importing personal protection equipment from China. Edhi said his organisation was getting dozens of calls a day from people worried that they or their relatives were infected with the coronavirus. “We advise them to self-isolate and separate the utensils,” he said. (This refile corrects spelling of first name of head of aid group, paragraph five)
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11033
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Cancer History Should Consider MRI: Study
|
The story says the study indicates benefits of annual MRI testing, but the study looked at just one-time imaging, not annual scans. Does adding MRI to conventional mammography improve survival? This study can’t answer that question. It didn’t include any data to compare MRI to mammography and it didn’t measure survival. It refers to women with a history of breast cancer without addressing questions about whether the women in this study actually represent typical cases. It brushes off concerns about costs, false positive results and other potential harms of such additional imaging tests. It neglects to report that the senior researcher is a consultant to a company that manufactures MRI scanners. It doesn’t explain what makes this particular study on MRI for breast cancer noteworthy in comparison to all the other studies that have been done recently. Women who have been treated for breast cancer do have a higher risk of another cancer. They deserve clear information about what is known about the potential benefits and harms of available followup testing, including exams, conventional mammography, ultrasound and MRI. This story tosses out a few results from a study, but fails to provide the context and depth that would make the information useful.
|
false
|
Cancer,HealthDay,women's health
|
Although the story acknowledges that women may need to pay for such imaging out of their own pockets, it does not provide any estimate of the cost… which may run more than $1000 per MRI scan. And since such testing is rarely a one-time event… women who choose to have MRI scans that are not covered by their health care insurance may spend thousands of dollars. One estimate of the cost of MRI for women at an extremely high (50%) risk of developing breast cancer concluded that more than $50,000 was spent for each cancer found. According to the abstract of this study, cancers were found in 3 percent of the women with a history of breast cancer, which means that about 33 women were scanned for each cancer found, so the scanning cost would be somewhat more than $30,000 for each cancer found. And since conventional mammography was not part of this study, the researchers cannot claim that MRI found any tumors that would not have been found by conventional mammography, so there is no way to conclude from this data that there was any incremental advantage to adding MRI. As noted above, the story reports that this study indicates women who have had breast cancer could benefit from annual MRI scanning. But since the women in the study had just one scan, not a series of scans over time, it does not appear to be able to evaluate the potential benefits of annual scans. The story dismisses the potential harms of adding MRI scans. It paraphrases an expert as saying there is no downside to getting an MRI, “except perhaps an increased risk of false positives and perhaps a need to pay out of pocket.” As noted above, the out of pocket costs of ongoing scanning could cost a woman thousands of dollars. The researchers reported that 9 percent of the women with a history of breast cancer underwent biopsies following their MRI scans. Two out of three of those women were found to not have cancer. The story should have been more clear about this false positive rate. This story misrepresents a study comparing two groups of women who had one-time MRI scans of their breasts as being a study that looked at whether annual MRI scanning is superior to conventional mammography (which wasn’t even part of the study). In addition, as noted above, there is very little information in the story about who was included in this study; including why they were given MRI scans of their breasts even though such scans are not routinely recommended. The story should have made clear whether these women represent the general population of women who have had breast cancer or whether there was something specific about their situations that led them to have MRI scans. The story does say that the American Cancer Society does not currently recommend MRI scans for most women with a history of breast cancer. However, it does not give readers the information they need to understand who this study is relevant to. It does not provide key details about the women who participated in the study. Was there something unusal about their cases that prompted them to get an MRI scan of their breasts? The researchers reported that 3 percent of the women with a personal history of breast cancer were found to have another tumor. That number seems quite high. The story should have told readers more about the women in the study and how they compare to the average woman who has had treatment for breast cancer. And again, it should not allow researchers to claim that MRI adds anything to conventional mammography when this study did not involve any such comparison. This story does include an independent source. However, it fails to report that the senior researcher involved with this study disclosed that she is a consultant to a manufacturer of MRI scanners and that another researcher has received grant support from the MRI scanner company. Reference: Meeting abstract disclosures http://rsna2010.rsna.org/program/event_display.cfm?em_id=9006996 Although the story does say that MRI scanning would be used in conjunction with conventional mammography, it does not include any discussion of the relative merits. Indeed, the study did not appear to include any comparison of MRI scans to conventional mammography that would provide any insight to whether the combination of scanning methods might be superior to conventional mammography alone. The story does not address the availability of appropriate equipment and skilled operators and radiologists. The story should have pointed out that MRI imaging available to women in general may not match the quality of the work done in this research study. The story does not include any claims that MRI scanning for breast cancer is a new test. It could have done a better job of telling readers that there have been many, many studies of MRI for breast cancer. It does not maker clear what is new about the information provided by this study. The story includes a comment from an independent expert, so it’s clear that it didn’t rely solely on a news release.
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34286
|
In May 2018, Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate Christopher Barnett advocated euthanasia for disabled people and those on benefits.
|
The Republican primary in the Oklahoma gubernatorial election is scheduled for 26 June 2018. Mangum is unlikely to feature among the contenders in a ten-way race which — as of May — was led by Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb, former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, and businessman Kevin Stitt.
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unproven
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Politics, euthanasia, hacking, oklahoma
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A Tulsa-based businessman running for governor of Oklahoma was the center of controversy in May 2018, when posts appeared on his campaign’s Facebook page in which he appeared to call for disabled people in receipt of government benefits to be euthanized or left to “starve and die.” Christopher Barnett, who runs several small businesses in Oklahoma and is running as a Republican on platform of free speech and cuts to public spending, has claimed that his account was hacked and denies personally writing the posts. On 13 May 2018, a Facebook user posted a series of screenshots of posts from the “Chrisforgov” Facebook page, which has since been suspended: In one post, Barnett’s account posted a poll which asked: “Should a person be required to apply for 2 jobs a week if receiving Food stamps and take any job offered to them to gain employment and if they refuse, they lose their food stamps?” In another post, someone wrote: “The ones who are disabled and can’t work … why are we required to keep them up? Sorry but euthanasia is cheaper and doesn’t make everyone a slave to the government.” In a third post, written in response to another user’s comment (which isn’t shown) the following was posted from Barnett’s account: …I firmly believe we should have assisted suicide in the US. I also ask the legitimate question of why should we have to keep up people who cannot contribute to society any longer? Obviously, I’m not saying the Government should put these people down, I’m just saying that we shouldn’t keep them up. If they can take care of themselves without Government assistance, great. If not, let them starve and die. Easy as that. Yet another post, captured by the Oklahoma City television station KFOR, proclaimed: As the next Mayor of Oklahoma, I’m going to enact a mandatory nationwide lottery that euthanizes 1 out of every 100 people in the world. This will be the only Government program that is truly 100% equal to everybody. The lottery will take place once every year. On the years the lottery doesn’t take place, we will have a purge where all crimes will be legal for 12 hours. In an e-mail, Barnett denied ever having written any of these posts: Our Facebook page was recently compromised, we have been the victims of some very sick people. There is no truth to me running for “Mayor of Oklahoma” as there is no such thing. I have never advocated for killing anyone, despite what has been put out there. I do not want to euthanize poor people, sick people, or people on Government assistance. Christopher’s husband, George Barnett (also known as Trey), was an administrator of the campaign page and reportedly had his personal Facebook accounts suspended as well. In a statement posted on his campaign web site, Chris Barnett wrote that he had received “thousands of death threats” in the days after the screenshots were posted. He told us he and his husband had hired a “24/7 security detail” to keep them safe and had placed “armed guards” outside their businesses as well. In response to our questions, Barnett told us he does not support involuntary euthanasia in any circumstances, but he does support assisted suicide (due to the experience of “watching [his] father die from cancer”), and does believe governments have a duty to prevent the deaths of people who are disabled, cannot work, or cannot pay for food. Barnett also told us he had reported the alleged hacking of his account to both Facebook and law enforcement. When asked which agency he reported the hacking to, he replied, “Our security team is handling that.” He also said he had reported the alleged death threats to law enforcement but again did not specify which agency. Without evidence of a hack, or proof that Barnett personally wrote the statements published on his campaign page, we cannot determine what was the true source of the controversial posts. Barnett is clear about whom he suspects to be responsible for the alleged hacking of his Facebook account, as well as most of the purported death threats. In an e-mail, he told us: “This was a very well played move by someone, likely from the University of Tulsa or the law firm of Hall Estill…” Representatives for both the university and the law firm told us they were unable to respond to any of Barnett’s allegations due to ongoing litigation. We asked Barnett to provide proof of the death threats and evidence to support his claim that they had “mostly” come from the University of Tulsa and the Tulsa-based law firm Hall Estill, as well as his claim that “Democrats have promised to assassinate [him] if [he] is elected.” Barnett told us “this is a security matter that we cannot discuss,” but added that he hoped to be able to publish evidence of the purported threats at a later date. Barnett is suing both the University of Tulsa and Hall Estill in federal court as part of a messy, years-long legal saga which began with a production of The Glass Menagerie, a delayed dinner date, and — somewhat fittingly — a series of Facebook posts. ‘Christopher Blackstone’ Trey Barnett was a theatre major at the University of Tulsa in September 2014, and he was a lighting designer on a production of the classic Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie. On the night of 27 September, he accompanied faculty and fellow students to the on-campus theater to continue work on the production, which was scheduled to open two weeks later. Some students arrived late, however, which delayed the start of their work and ultimately caused Trey Barnett to be late in meeting Christopher Mangum (then his fiancé) for dinner, Senior Vice Provost Winona Tanaka would later recount. (To avoid confusion, we’re going to refer to Christopher Barnett using his maiden name for the remainder of the article, even though the couple were married in December 2014.) That night, Mangum vented his frustration in a post on Barnett’s Facebook page, criticizing the chair of the theatre department for not taking “better control” of her students, denouncing one theatre professor as “unqualified,” and musing that “TU really needs to fire” her, as well as attacking a theatre student for being “morbidly obese” and “giving alcohol to underage minors.” This wasn’t the first time that Mangum had posted scathing criticisms of the University of Tulsa’s theatre program on social media. In March 2014, under the pseudonym “Christopher Blackstone,” he accused a second theatre professor of being “corrupt” and having an affair while she was on a theatre trip to Ireland with Barnett, seven other students, and Mangum himself. The following month, he once again posted to his fiancé’s Facebook page, accusing the theatre department of being “quite careless and extremely disorganized” in its supervision of a class project involving painting the walls of an off-campus building. These postings came to a head in September when figures within the theatre program filed complaints against Trey Barnett. The following month university officials decided Barnett had breached the school’s harassment policy by not removing his fiancé’s posts from his Facebook page, despite repeated requests. The University of Tulsa suspended Trey Barnett until January 2016, by which time the student who was the target of some of Mangum’s attacks was expected to graduate. Barnett was also barred from finishing his theatre degree, which he was close to completing, meaning that if he did return to the university in 2016 he would have to effectively start his studies from scratch with a new major. The suspension garnered coverage from Inside Higher Ed and drew condemnation from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), who wrote: “Punishing someone for the speech of a friend or relative might be par for the course in a dictatorship, but it has no place on our nation’s college campuses.” In January 2016, Barnett filed a lawsuit against the school in Tulsa County District Court, alleging breach of contract, a violation of his right to due process, negligence (for allegedly failing to conduct a proper investigation) and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He is demanding more than $75,000 in damages in a case which was still before the court as of May 2018. The university has denied almost every factual claim made by Barnett. The school is represented in that case by the law firm Hall Estill. ‘The Lies of Susan’ At the same time, the couple were engaged in a separate battle with another local educational institution — Tulsa Community College (TCC). In early 2015, a few months after Trey Barnett’s suspension from the University of Tulsa, Mangum contacted TCC with a request to rent its theater for a play called “The Lies of Susan,” which Barnett was going to put on. This appears to have set off red flags among TCC and University of Tulsa faculty, according to e-mails released later. The head of the university’s theatre department, whose complaint about Barnett paved the way for his suspension, is named Susan Barrett. Her husband, Bill Carter, works in the theatre department at TCC. “Wow, now you are ‘art,'” a University of Tulsa colleague wrote to Barnett in July 2015. In an email sent to us, Mangum acknowledged that his husband’s former department head was “going to be the inspiration for the main character.” The couple never got the space, and the play was never performed, but the story did not end there. In July 2015, Mangum filed an open records request with TCC, asking for any and all email correspondence between TCC faculty member Bill Carter and his wife, University of Tulsa professor Susan Barrett. The college sent him some emails, but not all of them, withholding messages of a personal or private nature. From there, Mangum’s requests mushroomed. He asked the college for a copy of any contract it had with a local attorney; consistently disputed the search fees charged to him; and requested all emails held on TCC’s servers containing the words “nigger,” “terrorist,” “queer,” “fag” and “fagot” [sic], in order to “see if discrimination and racism” were taking place at the college. When Mangum found out that the woman in charge of records requests at TCC also worked for the city’s water and sewage authority, he then filed a records request with the city of Tulsa, asking for all emails sent to or from her email address, later noting that they would “answer more of [his] questions about the city’s drinking water.” In July 2017, two years after his first open records request, Mangum sued TCC, asking Tulsa County District Court for a declaration that TCC’s policy on records requests was a violation of the Oklahoma Open Records Act, as well as an injunction ordering the college to end its allegedly narrow interpretation of the law. As of May 2018, that case was also pending. “This does NOT make me feel safe” On 4 January 2018, the lawsuit took a dramatic turn — one which would spawn yet another legal battle, provoke troubling questions about Mangum’s behavior, and prompt a sharp escalation in his allegations against the University of Tulsa and attorneys at Hall Estill. That morning, Mangum was taken out of court by Sheriff’s deputies and detained for a short period, before being released and returned to the courtroom. In transcripts, Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Jeb Joseph, who is representing TCC in the open records case, explained that his office had received information about possible “threats” made by Mangum: Agents from our office at the Attorney General’s office had communications this morning, it’s my understanding, with the sheriff’s office here in Tulsa…We have — the Attorney General’s office — been informed by counsel in another case, that is tangentially related to this one, involving the same or similar plaintiffs, that in that case, the plaintiff has made physical and verbal and written threats to counsel in that case,…and/or people involved in that litigation. We asked Mangum whether this was true, or if he had ever said or done anything, even as a joke, which could have been interpreted as a threat. He responded, “No.” We could find no record of him ever having been prosecuted for making threats or engaging in intimidation or harassment. However, court records and e-mails sent between members of the Tulsa theatre community reveal a pattern of behavior that some of Mangum’s legal adversaries clearly found concerning. During Trey Barnett’s litigation against the University of Tulsa, Mangum started a web site called UniversityofTulsaLawsuit.com, which he promoted by sending thousands of leaflets to local residents, and even taking out billboard advertisements bearing the web site’s name. In September 2017, he told local news web site Tulsa World that the billboards were costing him $7,500 a month. On the web site, Mangum posted documents from the couple’s ongoing lawsuits, but also launched relentless personal attacks on almost everyone involved in each case. He called University of Tulsa administrators and attorneys from their law firm Hall Estill “Nazis” and “racists,” claiming they were members of the Ku Klux Klan and “hate gay people.” “I think that these people are worse than Adolf Hitler,” Mangum wrote of Hall Estill attorneys. In a series of bizarre postings, he lashed out at the appearance and even personal hygiene of his legal adversaries, calling one University of Tulsa professor a “cat lady” whose “house smelled of cat urine and feces,” and labelling one attorney at Hall Estill “morbidly obese,” writing that “the man smelled like big macs during the court hearing.” Mangum took to posting the home addresses and names of relatives of Hall Estill attorneys, as well as figures from the University of Tulsa and TCC. He took photos of opposing attorneys from inside the courtroom and posted them online, in one instance posting a photograph of a Hall Estill attorney and a woman Mangum identified as his wife. He made deeply personal comments and allegations about the purported criminal history of one attorney’s wife and daughter. In one instance, he even posted about the death of that attorney’s son, writing that “karma is a bitch,” and “he is dead because of you.” In an email sent in response to our enquiries, Mangum defended these postings, saying “it shows how ridiculous it sounds to make someone responsible for something they have no control over,” and likened this to Barnett’s suspension from the University of Tulsa over comments Mangum had made. He told us he posted this type of content because he is “defending [himself] against their attacks and trying to bring the truth to light.” “People choose to read my website and they choose to get upset because they do not like the content. I’ve not done anything illegal,” he added. Mangum told us he posted various home addresses as a “demonstration of how transparency works,” and defended his repeated descriptions of his adversaries as “Nazis” and “little Hitlers,” saying: “To take away someone’s rights and try to take away their livelihood because of who they are is exactly what the Nazis did.” Mangum is an avowed gun lover and owns several firearms. In the midst of several bitter legal disputes, some of his public pronouncements on that subject have clearly caused concern to those he and his husband are suing. In April 2015, while engaged in a dispute over renting theatre space from TCC, he mused on Facebook about his desire to purchase an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and buy a safe for all his guns. “Does that make me a terrorist or a radical or a threat to society?” he asked, adding that he was looking for “something powerful.” A few months later, a University of Tulsa theatre professor highlighted the Facebook posts in an e-mail to department chair Susan Barrett, which was later disclosed under Mangum’s open records requests. The professor said she was “concerned” by them, writing, “While there was no explicit threat, this does NOT make me feel safe,” and adding: “I don’t think [the University of Tulsa] will do a thing until Chris comes in with that big gun and mows us all down.” In February 2015, the same professor asked Barrett for a security guard to be assigned to the theatre building, citing her concerns about Mangum. On UniversityofTulsaLawsuit.com, Mangum later posted a photograph of himself holding an AR-15 rifle and carrying a holstered handgun: When asked why he had posted a photograph of himself holding firearms on a web site devoted to a lawsuit that had no connection to gun rights, Mangum told us he was only using the picture “to show who the author [of the posts] is” and that others had “put meaning behind it.” Although Mangum was only briefly taken out of court for questioning by a sheriff’s deputy in January 2018, he saw the episode as proof of a conspiracy between the University of Tulsa, Hall Estill, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office, and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s office to silence and intimidate him in the context of the ongoing litigation. The next day, he filed yet another lawsuit, this time accusing the university, the law firm, and two particular attorneys of unlawful seizure, false imprisonment, civil conspiracy and other charges relating to the January courtroom incident. The case was sent to federal court in February, where both the university and the law firm have rejected almost every factual claim made by Mangum, and argued for his suit to be thrown out. As of May 2018, the case is still before the U.S. District Court for the northern district of Oklahoma. The “false imprisonment” lawsuit marked a striking escalation in the couple’s contentious history with the University of Tulsa and its law firm, Hall Estill. In May 2018, those allegations reached a new peak of seriousness when Mangum accused them of hacking into his gubernatorial campaign Facebook page, posting inflammatory comments on his behalf, and then sending him hundreds of death threats.
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11129
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Radiation from CT scans may raise cancer risks
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"There is no doubt that advances in imaging technology have revolutionized how we diagnose and treat disease. The past two decades have seen dramatic increases in the utilization of high tech imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). The ever expanding list of indications and uses for these technologies have been a boon for device manufacturers, hospitals and radiologists, however is there a potential for overuse? At what point may the harms of these tests outweigh the benefits? Two new studies published in The Archives of Internal Medicine highlight rather starkly the particular harm of radiation exposure from CT scanning. In one study, the authors predict that between 15,000 and 45,000 future cancers could be caused by ionizing radiation from CT scans. This story clearly describes the harm of radiation exposure from CT scanning. It could have also mentioned that excessive CT scanning can also lead to unecessary follow-up testing and/or procedures for suspicious findings that turn out to be benign. The story could have been improved by elaborating on the strength of the evidence to support the findings of the number of deaths attributable to CT scans. The numbers cited in the story come from a risk model that estimates the expected number of deaths based on the amount of radiation exposure in a particular year. These deaths were not directly observed, but were rather predicted. This approach, while valid, has its own limitations and set of caveats that should be mentioned. It could have also discussed costs of CT scanning, which are substantial and increasing. The story does not quote sources other than the authors of the study. The story should have quoted independent experts who could have provided perspective on the importance of these results. Finally the story missed some wonderful opportunities to educate consumers on the problem of radiation exposure. The second article in the journal highlights the dramatic differences in radiation exposure in routine clinical CT scans in four academic hospitals. The radiation differences noted were significant with up to a 22 fold difference in exposures seen in the same scans. Radiation exposure from CT scans appears to represent a public health problem, which is particularly important in young and middle aged women. No attempts were made to point out that in many instances other diagnostic methods are available, including MRI, ultrasound and routine xrays that involve less or no radiation. It matters because, as the story explains, ""We’re doing millions of CT scans every year and the numbers are increasing."""
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mixture
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"The story does not describe the costs of CT scanning, which are substantial and increasing. Because the story focused on the cancer risk associated with radiation exposure from CT scanning, it would not be necessary for the story to also quantify the benefits of CT scanning. How the story could go about quantifying the benefits of something so generic as CT scanning is also not clear. The story clearly describes the harm of radiation exposure from CT scanning. The story could have also mentioned that excessive CT scanning can also lead to unecessary follow-up testing and/or procedures for suspicious findings that turn out to be benign. The story doesn’t adequately describe the evidence to support the findings of the number of deaths attributable to CT scans. The numbers cited in the story come from a risk model that estimates the expected number of deaths based on the amount of radiation exposure in a particular year. These deaths were not directly observed, but predicted. This approach, while valid, has its own limitations and set of caveats that should be mentioned. The story accurately represents the number of cancers that are expected from the radiation doses observed in the study and how many of them could be fatal. The story does not quote sources other than the authors of the study and the journal editor. The story should have quoted independent experts who could have provided some perspective on the importance of these results. The story does not compare CT scanning to any alternatives, such as other types of imaging tests (MRI scans, ultrasounds, conventional X-rays, etc). Although it is implied, the story should have explicitly mentioned ""no scanning"" as an alternative. Clearly CT scans are available. The story does a good job of describing the dramatic increase in the use of CT scanning in the past 20 years. The story highlights the risks associated with the increasingly common use of CT scans. This issue is certainly not new. While the two cited articles in the story are important additions to our understanding of the risks, they are not seminal articles by any means. The issue of risk, necessity of testing and dose delivered per test have been discussed in the literature for at least a decade. Nonetheless, we’ll give the story a satisfactory score on this criterion. There is no evidence that the story relied solely or largely on a news release."
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3736
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Health officials: Flu activity widespread in New Mexico.
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New Mexico health officials say flu activity already is widespread across the state and they’re recommending vaccinations to prevent spreading the illness.
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true
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Health, Pneumonia, General News, Flu, New Mexico
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The Health Department said Wednesday that different variations of the virus are circulating in different parts of the state. The agency says 21 pneumonia and flu deaths have been reported so far this season. Last season, 237 New Mexicans died of pneumonia and/or influenza. Symptoms may include rapid onset of illness with fever, cough, sore throat, headache and/or muscle aches. New Mexico Health Secretary Kathyleen Kunkel says with the holidays approaching, it’s important that people take preventive measures such as getting vaccinated, covering coughs and staying home when sick. Officials say the peak of the flu season is still to come.
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5833
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3 sexually transmitted diseases hit new highs again in US.
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U.S. infections from three sexually transmitted diseases have risen for the fifth consecutive year.
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true
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Health, Sexually transmitted diseases, General News, Syphilis
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More than 1.7 million cases of chlamydia (kluh-MID’-ee-uh) were reported last year. The infection rate rose 3% from 2017. It’s the most ever reported in a year, though the trend is mainly attributed to increased testing. About 580,000 gonorrhea (gah-nuh-REE’-uh) cases were reported. That’s the highest number since 1991. The rate rose 5%. Scientists worry antibiotic resistance may be a factor. And the syphilis rate rose 15%. About 35,000 cases of the most contagious forms of the disease were reported — also the most since 1991. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the numbers Tuesday. The increases coincided with public health funding cuts and clinic closures.
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5431
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Olivia Newton-John diagnosed with cancer for 3rd time.
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Olivia Newton-John says she has been diagnosed with cancer for the third time in three decades.
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true
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Cancer, Olivia Newton-John, Medical marijuana, Entertainment, North America, California, Celebrities
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The four-time Grammy winner, who will turn 70 on Sept. 26, told Australian news program “Sunday Night” doctors found a tumor in her lower back in 2017. Newton-John says she’s “treating it naturally and doing really well.” The “Grease” star says for pain, she is taking cannabis oil, made from marijuana her husband grows in California. She has undergone radiation treatments and has cut sugar out of her diet. She said, “I believe I will win over it.” She said she hopes her native Australia will legalize medical marijuana. Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, undergoing a partial mastectomy and reconstruction. She was diagnosed with breast cancer again in 2013.
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4609
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University of Alabama team look at untreated sewage issue.
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How much untreated sewage gets dumped in Alabama’s Black Belt?
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true
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Health, Public health, Alabama, University of Alabama, Wastewater
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That’s the question a team of students and professors at the University of Alabama is trying to determine. In many parts of the Black Belt, homeowners are resorting to “straight pipe” systems to dispose of wastewater and sewage, rather than sewers or septic tanks because of a type of thick, clay soil and widespread poverty across isolated areas. In those instances, untreated wastewater and sewage are simply flushed out of a plain PVC pipe from the house into the woods, or even the backyard, raising concerns about tropical diseases like hookworm and other public health issues. Al.com reports University of Alabama graduate students and professors, backed by a federal grant, are joining efforts to determine just how widespread these practices are and what can be done about them. The UA team received a $15,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “People, Prosperity and the Planet,” program, a competition for students proposing a yearlong project to address an environmental or public health issue. The students will use computer models to map how widespread sanitation issues are in Alabama’s Black Belt, a region plagued with sewage and wastewater problems and reports of tropical diseases like hookworm that are associated with poor sanitation. The student project will go hand-in-hand with efforts by university researchers and state and federal agencies. University of Alabama civil engineering professor Mark Elliott, a faculty adviser for the project, said the Black Belt is being hampered by a combination of poor soil conditions where traditional septic systems don’t work, high levels of poverty, and people living in relatively isolated areas where connecting to municipal sewer lines is not an option. Elliott said the “shrink-swell clays” that make up about half the soil in the Black Belt don’t allow water to flow through, and make most septic systems “almost impossible to use.” “So in that situation, understandably, many people, especially poor people, have decided not to waste their money on a system that they know is going to fail,” Elliott said. One survey conducted by UA and the Alabama Department of Public Health found that 60 percent of homes surveyed in Wilcox County that weren’t connected to municipal sewer lines had a visible straight pipe. Though disposing of waste through a straight pipe is illegal, most of the people who resort to such methods cannot afford to install a septic system, and in large areas in the Black Belt, most septic systems would not work anyway. The Alabama Department of Public Health has decreased emphasis on fining offenders and instead is focused on finding workable solutions. In recent months, political figures including Cory Booker, Al Gore and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have attempted to draw attention to the area’s struggles, but it’s still not clear just how widespread those problems are. “There’s been publicity around this issue, particularly in Lowndes County, for a long time but the scope of the problem was never really defined,” Elliott said. “It was presented as a series of anecdotes, and that made it hard to define how much it would cost to fix the problem and what solutions would be appropriate.” The students, led by UA graduate student Aaron Blackwell, plan to construct a computer model to estimate how likely a home is to have a straight pipe, based on factors such as soil conditions, existing infrastructure, population density and property values. The students will apply their model to five of the 17 counties traditionally included in Alabama’s Black Belt: Lowndes, Wilcox, Perry, Dallas and Hale Counties. UA’s team is in the first phase of the program, and will attend the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo in Boston in June to showcase its research. The team can then apply for a second-phase grant for funding up to $100,000 to further the project design. Other members of the team include Joseph Weber, UA professor of geological sciences, Sagy Cohen, UA associate professor of geological sciences, and Rebecca Greenberg, a UA graduate student studying geology. The students’ project will be part of a larger collaborative effort involving a group of state and federal health and environmental agencies, universities and elected officials to find solutions to the problems. That group, dubbed the Alabama Rural Water and Wastewater Management Consortium, continues to meet to discuss which potential solutions might work best and how to pay for those solutions. Elliott said one idea that is frequently discussed among the group is identifying clusters of houses that could be grouped together to use smaller-scale treatment systems that that would be more effective than a typical septic system but less expensive than expanding municipal sewer lines to remote areas.
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10730
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MS Patients May Soon Bypass Painful Injections
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The online story (we listened to the radio version as well) did some nice things that other stories didn’t do – including providing a direct link to an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine – when many news organizations surprisingly fail to refer to accompanying editorials when they do appear. This story was a nice little example of how a short radio piece and web article can provide appropriate context on a research story.
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true
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"No cost was discussed. Benefits were described but only in relative terms. Half of what? A third of what? We wish absolute data were provided. Potential harms were listed but not quantified. How often do they occur? The radio piece didn’t give much information on how the studies were done – and therefore, not much on the quality of the evidence. But the NPR online piece at least offered direct links to both studies and to an editorial – something often overlooked by many news organizations covering studies in journals. For that reason, we give this a satisfactory grade. There was no disease mongering. The story used one independent expert source in addition to interviewing one of the study authors. For a short radio and web piece, the story did a good job of comparing the new drugs with injections (through the story of a patient’s experience) and mentioning the problems with another MS drug Tysbari and mentioning another new oral MS drug that may be approved soon. The story was clear that the drugs in question are not yet on the market and that ""federal regulators may go slowly with the two new drugs."" The story appropriately addressed the novelty of the oral drugs – and added something the AP and LA Times stories did not – about approval of another new oral MS drug that may occur soon. The story clearly did not rely on a news release."
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10769
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Vitamin D might be factor in longer life
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"This was an interesting update on the importance of vitamin D in human health, highlighting a recent meta-analysis on the topic. The reporter did a particularly nice job of including expert comments in the piece. It would have been stronger with a brief comment on potential harms of excess vitamin D intake, and with the presentation of absolute (not just relative) benefit data where possible. The story also let some researchers get away with some enthusiastic quotes that seemed to cry out for balance: ""You should probably get rid of all the other vitamins in the medicine cabinet."" ""I’ve been trying to give bottles of vitamin D to my family for holidays for years."" And ending on this quote: ""It’s such a simple thing. Imagine taking a vitamin to prevent cancer. It’s almost too good to be true."" Perhaps the better summary would be a line that appears far earlier in the story: ""Past experience means there is some need to be cautious about vitamins."" Nonetheless, overall this was a good job of reporting."
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true
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"There was no estimate of the costs associated with obtaining the amounts of vitamin D mentioned in the story. The story did an adequate job quantifying the benefits found in the meta-analysis: ""Over an average of nearly six years, those who took vitamin D had a 7 percent lower risk of death from all causes than those who did not. Some scientists say more years of study would give better clues as to how large a role vitamin D plays in decreasing mortality. Others point out that while there was a statistically significant 7 percent drop in mortality in Autier’s analysis, because of the size of the study that only accounted for a difference of 117 people who died in the control groups as compared with those who took vitamin D supplements."" The story made it appear as though any form of vitamin D were safe to consume in whatever dosage a reader might envisage and this is misleading. It mentioned ""there is little evidence of vitamin D toxicity at levels under 10,000 IU a day"", and while rare, there are cases of lethal doses of vitamin D that have been documented. The story could have explained that there are definite harms of excess vitamin D. The story did an adequate job explaining the 18-study meta-analysis. The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. The story included comments from several researchers involved with investigating the benefits of vitamin D who were not connected to the authors of the highlighted study. The story covered the various means for obtaining sufficient levels of vitamin D (food, sunshine, functional foods, and supplements). It could have explained that the application of high SPF value creams and lotions blocks the body’s ability to convert sunlight into circulating vitamin D. The story mentioned that commercially available vitamin D supplements were available, listed some food sources rich in vitamin D, as well as other foods which are fortified with the vitamin. The story was clear that it was reporting on the results of a recently published meta-analysis of previously published data. Does not appear to rely on a press release."
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738
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Exclusive: While battling opioid crisis, U.S. government weighed using fentanyl for executions.
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The U.S. Department of Justice examined using fentanyl in lethal injections as it prepared last year to resume executing condemned prisoners, a then untested use of the powerful, addictive opioid that has helped fuel a national crisis of overdose deaths.
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true
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Health News
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The department revealed it had contemplated using the drug in a court filing last month, which has not been previously reported. In the end, it decided against adopting the drug for executions. Attorney General William Barr announced in July his department instead would use pentobarbital, a barbiturate, when it resumes federal executions later this year, ending a de facto moratorium on the punishment put in place by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. But the special consideration given to the possibilities of fentanyl, even as federal agents were focused on seizing illegal imports of the synthetic opioid, show how much has changed since the federal government last carried out an execution nearly 20 years ago. Many pharmaceutical companies have since put tight controls on their distribution channels to stop their drugs being used in executions. As old supply chains vanished, many states, and the federal government in turn, have been forced to tinker with their lethal recipes. They have experimented with different drugs, in some cases leading to grisly “botched” executions in which the condemned prisoners have visibly suffered prolonged, excruciating deaths, viewed by some as a breach of the constitutional ban on “cruel and unusual” punishments. In 2017, Nebraska and Nevada announced they would use fentanyl, which is 100 times more powerful than morphine, in new multi-drug execution protocols. By 2018, the U.S. Justice Department was also examining the “use of fentanyl as part of a lethal injection protocol,” according to a three-page internal memorandum from March 2018 by the director of the department’s Bureau of Prisons. The Justice Department revealed the memo’s existence in an August court filing after a federal judge ordered it to produce a complete “administrative record” showing how it arrived at the new pentobarbital execution protocol announced in July. The full contents of the memo are not public. It is not known why the department decided to examine fentanyl, what supply channels were considered or why it ultimately rejected fentanyl as a protocol. The government’s court filing shows the only other named drug examined as the subject of a department memo was pentobarbital, the drug it now says it wants to use in December and January to kill five of the 61 prisoners awaiting execution on federal death row. Wyn Hornbuckle, a department spokesman, declined to share a copy of the memo or to answer questions about the government’s execution protocol. Mark Inch, who was the Bureau of Prisons’ director at the time, acknowledged in a brief telephone interview writing the memo. Inch, who abruptly resigned a couple months after writing the memo, declined to answer questions, in part because he said it would be in conflict with his current role running Florida’s Department of Corrections. Doctors can prescribe fentanyl for treating severe pain. In recent years, illegal fentanyl has become a common additive in bootleg pain pills and other street drugs, contributing to the tens of thousands of opioid overdose deaths in the country each year. Even tiny quantities can slow or stop a person’s breathing. Earlier this year, an Ohio lawmaker proposed using some of the illegal fentanyl seized from drug traffickers to execute condemned inmates. Death penalty researchers say that just because a drug is deadly does not mean it is always appropriate as an execution drug. “I don’t think it’d be a surprise that the government would be looking at alternative methods of carrying out lethal injection, and fentanyl has been in the news,” Robert Dunham, the director of the Washington-based non-profit group the Death Penalty Information Center, said in an interview. “But there is just something fundamentally wrong about using a drug implicated in illegal activities as your method of executing prisoners.” In August 2018, Carey Dean Moore became the first person in the United States to be executed using a protocol that included fentanyl. Nebraska prison officials injected him with fentanyl and three other drugs. Moore took 23 minutes to die. Witnesses said that before succumbing, Moore breathed heavily and coughed and that his face turned red, then purple.
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42129
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"Christine Blasey Ford ""Sent Feinstein Same Letter Last Year"" About Gorsuch"
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Q: Did Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, make similar allegations against Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch?A: No. There’s no evidence for that rumor, which has been spread on conservative websites.
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false
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Supreme Court confirmation,
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Q: Did Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, make similar allegations against Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch? A: No. There’s no evidence for that rumor, which has been spread on conservative websites. There is no evidence to substantiate an online rumor that Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, ever lodged a similar allegation against Justice Neil Gorsuch.Nevertheless, that claim has boomeranged across social media platforms and websites — creating an impression that Ford, the California professor whose story has disrupted Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, made repeated allegations in an effort to derail the confirmations of conservative Supreme Court picks.Gorsuch was confirmed in 2017 after being nominated by President Donald Trump.“BREAKING: According to sources Diane Feinstein’s reluctance to mention the Kavanaugh accuser’s letter during confirmation session is because the accuser sent a similiar letter directed at Judge Gorsuch last year. The whereabouts of the earlier letter remain a mystery.developing,” Josh Cornett, a pro-Trump Twitter user, posted Sept. 18.Nearly 9,000 people retweeted the post. Cornett said in a subsequent tweet that he had “no idea” if it was true.The baseless assertion made its way onto conservative websites, gaining traction online alongside other falsehoods about Ford. In some cases, the supposed Gorsuch accusation was dropped in the form of a question or with a caveat, but nevertheless spread as if credible.“Rape Accuser Allegedly Sent Feinstein SAME Letter Last Year — About Someone Else,” declares the Sept. 19 headline on madworldnews.com.The article goes on to name Gorsuch and cites a story from theblacksphere.net, the website of political commentator and Fox News contributor Kevin Jackson.Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California, received a July letter from Ford about her allegations against Kavanaugh, which the senator later provided to the FBI. Kavanaugh has said the allegations are “completely false.” Feinstein’s office disputed the idea that she received a previous allegation by Ford against Gorsuch. A spokesman, Tom Mentzer, told us in an email: “That is false.”Jackson’s article on theblacksphere.net advanced the rumor with a story headlined (with a noticeably absent question mark): “Did Kavanaugh Accuser Send SAME Letter About Gorsuch.”But the post — which describes Ford as a “poster child” who is “part of the plot to bring down men” — suggests the possibility carries weight.After citing Cornett’s tweet, Jackson writes: “As Josh Cornett suggests, the mystery is developing. But I wouldn’t be surprised.”Other websites carried the claim with caveats. “There are rumblings that Ford also accused Gorsuch of abuse,” a Gateway Pundit article said. “But there is no evidence to support this.”Well-known conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh used a similar approach.“I want to share some things with you that may be fake news, but if they’re not fake, I want to be on record as having had them for you. There’s a Twitter thread out there. I have no idea the veracity because, as you know, I do not ‘twit,'” a Sept. 18 post on his website reads. “But this particular thread claims that the reason that Dianne Feinstein was reluctant to go public with Christine Blasey Ford’s letter is because she received a similar letter from the woman about Judge Gorsuch.”It added: “No idea whether this is fake news or true.”It’s the former.Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on the social media network.Brown, Emma. “California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault.” Washington Post. 16 Sep 2018.Diserio, Rebecca. “Rape Accuser Allegedly Sent Feinstein SAME Letter Last Year — About Someone Else.” Madworldnews.com. 19 Sep 2018.Hoft, Jim. “Christine Blasey Ford Has Record of Questionable Integrity – Kavanaugh and Gorsuch Went to Same School.” The Gateway Pundit. 18 Sep 2018.Jackson, Kevin. “Did Kavanaugh Accuser Send SAME Letter About Gorsuch.” Theblacksphere.net. 18 Sep 2018.Mentzer, Tom. Spokesman for Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Email sent to FactCheck.org. 21 Sep 2018.“Two Rumors That Could Be Fake News But Ring True.” Rushlimbaugh.com. 18 Sep 2018.
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14078
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"Florida has ""issued more than 3 million conceal carry permits in the past 30 years. Only 168 have been revoked."
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"Trump said Florida has ""issued more than 3 million conceal carry permits in the past 30 years. Only 168 have been revoked."" Trump cited the number of permits issued since 1987 but exaggerated how few had been revoked. Florida revoked 10,841 permits, including 168 for misuse of a firearm. We don’t know the full picture about who has a gun permit -- or had it revoked -- because the identities of permit holders in Florida are private."
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mixture
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Florida, Guns, Donald Trump,
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"Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton continued their battle over gun rights following his recent endorsement by the National Rifle Association. Trump told the NRA that Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment (she doesn’t) while Clinton said that Trump wants to allow guns in schools (he has promised to get rid of gun-free zones). But Trump says Clinton’s positions are misguided because gun permit holders follow the law — and that includes Florida, where he says only a tiny speck have lost the right to a gun permit. ""These are among the most law-abiding folks statistically in the entire country,"" Trump said. ""In Florida, for example, they have issued more than 3 million conceal carry permits in the past 30 years. Only 168 have been revoked. That's 0.006 percent."" Trump’s statement isn’t exactly right because he is only citing a certain category of revocations. A Trump spokeswoman didn’t respond for this fact-check. Number of Florida revocations Florida’s concealed weapon permit program started in 1987. Florida is a ""shall issue"" state, which means it's easier to get a gun permit here than in some other states, and Florida also grants permits to out-of-state residents. As Trump said, 3 million permits had been issued in Florida over the last three decades -- 3.1 million, to be more exact. As of April, about 1.6 million people in Florida currently have the permits. But Trump got his facts wrong about revocations, because he only cited a slice of them. Between October 1987 and April 2016, Florida revoked 10,841 concealed weapon or firearm license permits, according to a summary provided by the state’s division of licensing within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The 168 figure that Trump cited is the number of those revoked for misuse of a firearm. There are various reasons that someone can have his or her gun permit revoked, according to state law. That includes permit holders who are convicted of certain crimes including felonies, those convicted of disorderly intoxication three times in a year, those committed to a mental institution, or those who due to physical problems can no longer safely use a gun. In 2011, the state stopped providing a breakdown for the reasons that permits have been revoked and by law now only track the number of revocations. What experts say about the revocations Revocation data alone doesn’t tell the full story about whether nearly all gun permit holders are law-abiding. In 2006, the state Legislature made the names of gun permit holders private, making it difficult for the public or journalists to examine whether there are questionable permit holders. That means we found little research about the topic in Florida, and much of it outdated. A Sun Sentinel investigation of those licensed to carry guns in the first half of 2006 found that permit holders included: More than 1,400 people who pleaded guilty or no contest to felonies but qualified because of a loophole in the law that allows them to carry guns three years after they complete their sentences if a judge withheld adjudication; 216 people with outstanding warrants, including a Tampa pizza delivery man wanted in the fatal shooting of a teenager over a stolen order of chicken wings; 28 people with active domestic-violence injunctions against them; and, Six registered sex offenders. The low number of revocations isn’t a surprise because the applicants had to meet criteria to get the permit in the first place, some experts said. ""Revocations are relatively rare largely because the permit-holder population was already ‘pre-selected’ to be relatively law-abiding by virtue of the requirement that applicants pass a background check to get a permit in the first place,"" said Gary Kleck, a criminologist at Florida State University. Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy & Research, said that, as a group, concealed-carry permit holders have a below average rate of arrests and convictions. ""But the policy question is are Florida and the other states who have made it so easy for nearly anyone to legally carry a loaded gun in public safer as a result? The research indicates that they are not,"" Webster said. ""The best-case scenario is that these laws don’t affect violent crime, but the most rigorous research on the subject indicates that when states expand concealed carry of firearms, assaults with guns increase."" Our ruling Trump said Florida has ""issued more than 3 million conceal carry permits in the past 30 years. Only 168 have been revoked."" Trump cited the number of permits issued since 1987 but exaggerated how few had been revoked. Florida revoked 10,841 permits, including 168 for misuse of a firearm. We don’t know the full picture about who has a gun permit -- or had it revoked -- because the identities of permit holders in Florida are private.
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29216
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"Robert De Niro linked to a ""prostitution ring that used children."
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"What's true: In early 1998, de Niro was questioned in a large-scale French investigation of ""procuring"" prostitution after his name was mentioned by a woman questioned separately in the case. What's false: De Niro was not otherwise involved with the case or any other like it in 1998 or at any other time; the case centered around the charge of ""procuring"" and did not involve any children; no articles published at the time reported on a ""child sex ring""; his connection to the case was tenuous at best."
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false
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Junk News, child sexual abuse, robert de niro, sex trafficking
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On 11 June 2018 a social media rumor spread that suggested actor Robert De Niro had been involved in a child sex trafficking ring: Robert De Niro was a client of an international prostitution ring that hired underage children for wealthy, high-profile clients. Given the crackdown on sex slave rings here in the states, it sheds more light on De Niro’s seething hatred for Trump.#KAGhttps://t.co/Xe9b3Kl8BZ — 🍃 V 🍃 (@vannsmole) June 11, 2018 An international prostitution ring, whose call-girls entertained the actor Robert de Niro, specialized in tricking, or trapping, star-struck teenage girls as young as 15 into selling their bodies with the promise of careers as models or actresses. Fuck De Niro. from r/The_Donald Clickbait sites often attach pedophilia charges to celebrities in the news to generate traffic, and in this case it was framed as the reason De Niro “hated” President Donald Trump. De Niro made headlines for remarks about the President delivered at the Tony Awards on 10 June 2018: By 12 June 2018, the “pedophilia” claim was virally popular on social media sites and forums. Trend-monitoring site Trendolizer flagged the rumor as having originated with the extremely dubious (and pedophilia-focused) Your News Wire: It appeared that De Niro’s expletive-littered Tony Awards speech was the sole reason the story became popular, as the “trending” article was published in July 2017. It held that the actor was once linked to a prostitution ring that victimized children: According to court records from 1998, Independent journalist John Lichfield discovered that the prostitution agency routinely ensnared girls as young as 15, forcing them to have sex with Hollywood’s rich and powerful elite. While it is not clear whether or not De Niro was supplied with underage girls, his involvement in the ring received little to no media coverage. On 11 June 2018, the True Pundit blog published an article with the headline “Attorney Denies Robert De Niro Was Client of Prostitution Ring With Underage Girls; Police Interrogated Star for Nine Hours.” Readers might have missed the post’s first paragraphs: “We travel back to 1998 and things get very interesting indeed… Actor Robert De Niro’s attorney denied his client’s involvement in an international prostitution ring.” As the excerpt noted in its first few paragraphs, the referenced events were cited in court documents from 1998. Your News Wire linked to a 15 November 1998 Independent article about the prosecution of six individuals in Paris, none of whom were De Niro: … But the evidence to be presented to a criminal court in Paris [in November 1998] also has a disturbing side — or, rather, two disturbing sides. The case uncovers the brutal methods used to snare young women — some as young as 15 — into a call-girl agency specialising in wealthy, high- profile clients. It also exposes attempts by the French government machine to block an investigation which might embarrass senior politicians and damage French interests abroad. Six people are charged with the running of an international prostitution ring, whose call-girls entertained the actor Robert de Niro, the former tennis player, Wojtek Fibak, two senior (but unnamed) French politicians and several Gulf princes. The agency specialised in tricking, or trapping, star-struck teenage girls into selling their bodies with the promise of careers as models or actresses… The two principal accused are Jean-Pierre Bourgeois, 51, a failed fashion and glamour photographer and Annika Brumark, 50, a Swedish former model and one-time beauty queen. They, and four others, will be charged before the Tribunal Correctionel in Paris tomorrow with procurement or complicity in procurement. (Prostitution is legal in France; procurement is not.) Mr Bourgeois also faces possible additional charges of rape. De Niro was referenced as a possible client of the individuals being prosecuted — evidently because his name was mentioned by one of the girls — but he was mentioned only once in passing, with no additional details provided. News articles rarely mentioned him, and in June 1997 the Associated Press reported that the charges related primarily to “pimping”: While prostitution is legal in France, pimping is not. … Former model Annika Brumark and Jean-Pierre Bourgeois, a photographer for the soft-porn magazines Lui and New Look, have been accused of receiving fees from young prostitutes. The two, considered the architects of the ring, which charged between $500 and $8,600, have been in detention since January [1997], Le Monde reported. In February 1998, the London Independent published statements made by the actor’s lawyer about his questioning by French authorities: French police questioned Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro for more than nine hours in connection with the investigation of a deluxe prostitution ring and then released him without pressing charges, justice sources said. De Niro’s attorney, former French Justice Minister Georges Kiejman … said he would sue investigating magistrate Frederic N’Guyen for violation of secrecy during an investigation and for unlawfully hampering De Niro’s movements. “I was shocked and upset by the way in which he was treated in a case in which his name came up only incidentally,” Kiejman said. On 6 January 1999, the BBC reported a defendant in the case was convicted of “procuring”: Jean-Pierre Bourgeois, 51, was also required to pay $40,000 in damages to five young women who filed the charges that led to his arrest. Investigators say the ring’s leaders recruited dozens of young women — described as models, students and aspiring actresses. Clients are said to have included movie producers, sports stars and Middle Eastern businessmen. Robert De Niro’s June 2018 Tony Awards speech re-renewed interest in a 1997 and 1998 “procuring” prostitution case in France. Archived news items from 1997 and 1998 indicated that De Niro was questioned at length in early 1998 “after his name was mentioned by one of the call girls,” and the number of articles that remained accessible showed that the case did in fact receive extensive media attention and coverage… in 1998. None of the reporting indicated that De Niro was among the ring’s clients, and although 2017 and 2018 rehashes of the case described a “child sex ring,” a BBC article reported that the youngest sex workers in the case were 15 and 16 years old. The age of consent in France is 15, but the word “minors” is used for anyone under the age of 18.
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13812
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"On gift taking, ""Bob McDonnell took a fraction of what (Tim) Kaine took."
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U.S. regulators have halted a trial of Novartis’s Zolgensma treatment after an animal study raised safety concerns, the company said on Wednesday, in a setback for the drugmaker’s plan to expand its use to older patients.
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false
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Ethics, Virginia, Donald Trump,
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s partial hold on the so-called STRONG trial impacts patients aged up to five with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who were to receive a higher dose of the gene therapy via a spinal infusion. The hold was issued after Novartis told health authorities about the animal study’s findings that showed dorsal root ganglia (DRG) mononuclear cell inflammation, a neurological condition sometimes accompanied by nerve damage or loss. Novartis shares fell 1% at 0715 GMT, while other European drugmakers rose. Analysts said more information was needed to assess whether these findings could have an impact on Zolgensma’s long-term prospects. “We need to better understand, what the issues are and whether there really is a read-through to the human trial,” Vontobel analyst Stefan Schneider said. Novartis said it was working with regulators, in hopes of having the hold released. Zolgensma, whose $2.1 million list price makes it the world’s most-expensive treatment, is already approved for children aged up to two with the deadly muscle wasting disease and is given by infusion into the young patients’ veins. The medicine had $160 million in sales in its first full quarter on the market. The STRONG study is meant to underpin its expanded approval for older children, where Novartis would also compete with Biogen’s Spinraza that is already on the market, and Roche’s investigational risdiplam that is due to seek approval this year. Roche shares were up 0.7%. “The clinical significance of the DRG inflammation observed in this pre-clinical animal study is not known and was not seen in prior animal studies,” Novartis said in a statement. “We are working with health authorities to confirm further guidance to clinical investigators.” The partial FDA hold halts enrollment of patients getting a higher dose of Zolgensma, also known as AVXS-101, via an spinal infusion, also called intrathecal administration. Low- and mid-dose portions of the STRONG trial have already been completed, as has presentation of interim results. “Of note, we have completed a thorough review of human safety data from all available sources to date and no adverse effects related to sensory changes have been seen,” Novartis said.
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37637
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62-year-old doctor Liang Wudong died while helping treat patients for coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
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Chinese Media Walks Back Reports Linking Doctor’s Death to Coronavirus
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unproven
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Fact Checks, Viral Content
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A January 2020 story about a 62-year-old doctor who reputedly died “at the front lines” of fighting a coronavirus outbreak in China was walked back by state media within the country after the report spread internationally.Both the China Global Television Network (CGTN) and the People’s Daily initially reported that Dr. Liang Wudong had been helping combat the outbreak in Wuhan when he died. The latter outlet also included a photograph of a man identified as Wudong:The story then spread outside China then internationally, with several news organizations reporting on Wudong’s death.A Facebook post on February 1 2020 also celebrated Wudong, in a post featuring both the photograph of him that had already been published as well as one of an unidentified man on the floor of a hospital:But on January 25 2020, the same organizations that had originally reported his death sent follow-up tweets saying that Wudong had actually retired from medicine in March 2019. The People’s Daily listed the new information as a correction, saying that hospital officials in Wuhan added “that Dr. Liang had heart diseases.” The CGTN called its tweet an update to its original reporting.Wudong was also mentioned by name in a CGTN on-air report about the stress that the virus was putting on doctors in the area, described as “ground zero” for the outbreak, though he was listed as being “suspected” of dying from the virus.
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10742
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Industry Giants Push Obesity Surgery
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This is an interesting and informative piece about the utility and the marketing of gastric banding, a type of weight loss surgery. It covered the marketing of this medical device in great detail. Consumers reading this piece would have a much better sense of the recent history of gastric banding and the strong direct-to-consumer marketing push that is happening now. Providing this information enables readers to recognize the market forces at work. And while the story was really less about helping people make a decision about whether this was an appropriate procedure for them to undergo, it would certainly arm a consumer with questions to pursue if they were considering this operation. Overall, a very well done story.
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true
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The story provided several estimates for the cost of gastric banding; it also discussed insurance coverage, i.e. that the procedure was not always covered by insurance. While the story mentioned weight loss, health improvement, and longer life, it failed to provide quantitative estimates for these. The story provided quantitative information on the disease reduction obtained with the use of this device in individuals with type II diabetes. Although the story did mention that weight loss is slower with gastric banding than with gastric bypass, it failed to provide quantitative information about the amount or rate of weight loss attained with banding. The story should also have mentioned that long-term followup finds for those whose diabetes resolves following gastric banding, about half re-develop diabetes at 10 years. The story mentioned weight regain as well as some of the side effects that occur with the use of this device. For a more complete discussion, it should have included information about how frequently these occur. When discussing the effect of gastric banding on type II diabetes, the story mentioned the research about the use of this device for this population. It mentioned the evidence about safety and effectiveness and where it had been published. As for the impact of the banding procedure on weight, the story neglected to include information on the average weight loss seen but did include several patient anecdotes. However the story was more focused on the marketing strategies for this device rather than the health claims per se. The story did not engage in disease mongering. The story included primary quotes from clinicians, industry spokespersons, and individuals who had undergone gastric banding. The story included a pretty comprehensive comparison between gastric banding and gastric bypass, another type of weight loss surgery. It only mentioned diet and exercise in passing and failed to mention medication that can be used for weight loss. The story provided a very complete discussion about the various venues at which gastric banding was available. The story provided a pretty complete history of the use of gastric banding. Does not rely on a press release
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31806
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A study has determined that Nutella brand spread includes a known carcinogen among its ingredients.
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A more accurate headline summarizing the EFSA report would have been something like: “The thermally altered byproduct of a chemical component of palm oil that is sometimes produced when it is processed in a way that Nutella claims they avoid may potentially be a carcinogen to infants and some adults who consume it in other products.” But, of course, such a headline doesn’t sell many newspapers or generate online click-throughs.
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false
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Medical, cancer, carcinogens, not actually a study
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In January 2017, numerous news outlets reported on a scientific opinion from May 2016 written by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Scientific opinions are peer-reviewed studies that provide guidance to regulatory agencies but do not dictate or create any regulations on their own. The report (bearing the catchy title “Risks for human health related to the presence of 3- and 2-monochloropropanediol [MCPD], and their fatty acid esters, and glycidyl fatty acid esters in food”) was commissioned to investigate the toxicity of three specific classes of contaminants in food that are created by high-temperature processing of various vegetable oils. Among the report’s findings was their conclusion that one of these chemical groups (found in its highest concentrations in palm oil relative to other vegetable oils), glycidyl fatty acid esters (GE), could be considered carcinogenic at some levels of exposure. A 3 May 2016 EFSA press release about the report stated that: EFSA’s expert Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) considered information on the toxicity of glycidol (the parent compound of GE) for its risk assessment of GE, assuming a complete conversion of the esters into glycidol following ingestion. Dr Helle Knutsen, Chair of the CONTAM Panel, said: “There is sufficient evidence that glycidol is genotoxic and carcinogenic, therefore the CONTAM Panel did not set a safe level for GE.” This finding, which led at least one major European grocery chain to pull a variety of palm oil products off their shelves when the report was released, was thrust back into the spotlight in early January 2017 when Ferrero (the company that produces the popular Nutella brand spread) announced that they would not be replacing palm oil, a key component of their product, with something else: The $44 billion palm oil industry, under pressure in Europe after authorities listed the edible oil as a cancer risk, has found a vocal ally in the food sector: the maker of Nutella. Italian confectionery firm Ferrero has taken a public stand in defense of an ingredient that some other food companies in the country are boycotting. It has launched an advertising campaign to assure the public about the safety of Nutella, its flagship product which makes up about a fifth of its sales. The palm oil industry, cancer fears aside, has been facing an onslaught of negative attention for the environmental effects caused by its harvesting, which often results in large-scale deforestation of rainforest environments. There are a number of reasons, however, why the narrative “Nutella causes cancer”, based only on this EFSA report, is flawed. The first is that glycidol (which forms GE when metabolized in your body) only forms in palm oil when it is processed at temperatures above 200ºC, which Ferraro has stated they do not do, for this very reason: We manage all technological-productive factors with the aim to reduce the duration and the temperatures of the processes, thus minimizing the risks of possibly developing or increasing 2MCPD, 3MCPD or GE. Furthermore, our Quality Assurance and Process Control Systems allow us to constantly monitor such factors and guarantee the food safety of our products to the consumer. Indeed, the EFSA noted in their press release that a number of palm oil producers have been taking action to reduce the temperature of palm oil processing, again for this very reason: The Panel’s review revealed that levels of GE in palm oils and fats halved between 2010 and 2015, due to voluntary measures taken by producers. This has contributed to an important fall in consumer exposure to these substances. The second issue is that the EFSA report aimed to assess the risk of GE relative to the average daily consumption of palm oil products in general, not consumption of any specific product. Their findings suggested that infants (in general) and adults (who consume disproportionately high quantities of processed vegetable oil products) may be exposed to a level of these products that is within a conservatively wide range for possible carcinogen risk. For infants, this was attributed to consumption of infant formula specifically: The MoE [margin of exposure] estimates corresponding to the P95 of exposure for ‘Infants’ were particularly low [low, in this case, means higher risk] due to the contribution of glycidyl esters from infant formulae. The study’s findings are ultimately just as much a reflection of the current consumption of vegetable oil products in Europe as they are of those products’ inherent carcinogenicity, and they are potentially irrelevant to Nutella if Ferraro produces their palm oil in the manner in which they claim.
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1811
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Alzheimer's documentary 'Alive Inside' pushes for music therapy.
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Michael Rossato-Bennett initially thought it was the worst job he had ever taken.
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true
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Health News
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The filmmaker was flabbergasted when he entered a nursing home on a commission to film a few clips for a website. “I walked into these hallways with hundreds of residents in wheelchairs just sitting on the side of the hallway, and I had felt like I’d entered into Dante’s ‘Inferno,’” he said. That visit, though, eventually sparked “Alive Inside,” an award-winning independent documentary on musical therapy for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological ailments. When Rossato-Bennett started filming three years ago he met Henry. The 94-year-old man was crumpled in his wheelchair with his head down, eyes closed and hands clasped. He had been in a nursing home for a decade and couldn’t recognize his daughter. But when a nurse put headphones over Henry’s ears and played his favorite music, he began to shuffle his feet, move his arms and sing. “It was like a resurrection of life in a person,” Rossato-Bennett, 53, said. “Then when we took the headphones off the guy, and we started talking to him, the being revealed itself. He had this incredible voice and he spoke poetry, like greater poetry than I’m capable of.” Henry’s story, which went viral a few years ago when the video clip was released online, is a common occurrence in the film that has begun its rollout into U.S. theaters this month after winning the audience award for top U.S. documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The documentary chronicles New York social worker Dan Cohen’s effort to bring such therapy to dementia patients as a way to lessen the use of medication and combat its cost on a strained healthcare system about to absorb aging Baby Boomers. Cohen, the 62-year-old founder of Music & Memory, a program that seeks to make musical therapy a standard part of nursing home care, began using the treatment in 2006. “It was just an instant hit,” Cohen said with a snap of his fingers. His program is now in more than 600 facilities worldwide. Music, which targets areas of the brain not affected by dementia, brings back a sense of identity to dementia patients neurologist and author Oliver Sacks says in the film. “If you give somebody music for an hour, they’re going to be in a better mood for the day, which is really no different if a relative visits,” Cohen added. The film shows patients singing and dancing, seemingly re-animated while listening to music. At one point, Henry sings in the scat style of jazzman Cab Calloway, his favorite singer. “When people see this they get it,” Cohen said. Many of the subjects, which also includes a woman with schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, show deep emotional resonance to the music. “Music is a companion to our becoming,” Rossato-Bennett said. “So to enter the desert of soul and bring back something that precious is a great gift.”
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13334
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"National Republican Congressional Committee Says Colorado congressional candidate Morgan Carroll ""voted to allow welfare recipients to use your tax dollars at ATMs at strip clubs and pot dispensaries."
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"NRCC says, ""Carroll voted to allow welfare recipients to use your tax dollars at ATMs at strip clubs and pot dispensaries."" There's slightly more to this than the NRCC lets on: Carroll voted, unsuccessfully, to allow welfare recipients to continue withdrawing money from ATMs at strip clubs and pot dispensaries. Carroll’s spokesman said the senator voted against the bill that prohibited people from using public benefit cards for cash withdrawals at strip clubs and marijuana dispensaries because she was concerned about the impact on residents of poor neighborhoods where there are few -- if any -- banking services. State officials and lawmakers warned that Colorado could face financial sanctions for failing to comply with federal prohibitions against the use of benefit cards at adult entertainment venues. With that additional information in mind.
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true
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Colorado, Welfare, Marijuana, National Republican Congressional Committee,
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"A Republican group has launched a racy ad saying Colorado state Sen. Morgan Carroll, a Democratic congressional candidate, voted to allow welfare recipients to use public benefit cards at ATMs in strip clubs and marijuana dispensaries. The National Republican Congressional Committee’s ad shows how down and dirty the race between Carroll and Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman is getting in the final sprint to Election Day. They’re fighting over suburban Denver’s 6th Congressional District, one of the nation’s most competitive swing districts. ""Career politicians waste lots of money. Morgan Carroll is one of the worst,"" the narrator says at the beginning of the ad, titled ""Clubs."" ""Carroll voted to allow welfare recipients to use your tax dollars at ATMs at strip clubs and pot dispensaries,"" the narrator continues as the video shifts from Carroll addressing the Legislature to her standing at a podium in front of a red neon silhouette of a nude female figure and the words ""STRIPPERS"" and ""MORGAN CARROLL"" on a brick wall. There's a row of marijuana-filled jars beside the senator. ""It's enough to make you ask, 'What's Morgan Carroll thinking?' Welfare for lap dances? Morgan Carroll is careless with our money,"" the ad concludes. We examined the claim that ""Carroll voted to allow welfare recipients to use your tax dollars at ATMs at strip clubs and pot dispensaries."" The facts are fairly straightforward. Carroll was among a dozen Democratic senators who voted against final passage of a 2015 bill to prohibit welfare recipients from using state-issued electronic benefit transfer (or EBT) cards to obtain cash from ATMs at pot shops and strip clubs. Low-income families use these debit cards to buy ""essential goods"" such as food and clothing and to help pay for utilities and rent. Senate Bill 65, which became law, expanded on existing state law prohibiting people from using the cards to withdraw ATM cash at liquor stores, casinos and gun shops. Federal law already required states to prevent people receiving public benefits from using EBT cards at liquor stores, gambling and adult entertainment venues. Colorado also has had trouble preventing people from withdrawing ATM cash totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars at casinos and liquor stores, according to Watchdog.org. State officials and lawmakers warned that Colorado would face financial sanctions for failing to comply with federal prohibitions against EBT card use at strip clubs. There were also concerns about a federal crackdown after several reports of people using the benefit cards at shops selling medical or recreational marijuana -- a drug that’s legal under state law but illegal under federal law. ""We stand to lose a lot if we don't show we are trying"" to prevent the use of tax money for marijuana, Republican Sen. Vicki Marble, a primary sponsor of the bill, told the Associated Press last year. ""The growers here put in a lot of time and effort. A raid would be absolutely devastating to our state."" Why did Carroll -- along with many other Democratic senators -- vote against the bill? ""The reason she voted against it was because of 'banking deserts,' where many poor people don't have"" bank ATMs in their neighborhoods, said Carroll campaign spokesman Drew Godinich. Removing their ability to get cash from ATMs at the many marijuana dispensaries that dot Colorado cities and towns hampers low-income families’ ability to access money to purchase legitimate products elsewhere, he added. According to the Atlantic magazine, a March study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the increase of ""banking deserts"" found that ""lower-income communities and communities of color have historically and disproportionately limited access to mainstream banking services."" This makes it harder for people in these communities to manage their finances and build wealth, the study said. Democratic lawmakers had repeatedly defeated similar legislation, arguing that improper ATM withdrawals at strip clubs, liquor stores, casinos represent a tiny fraction of the total use of cash-assistance cards, the Denver Post reported. Critics also note that the 2015 law doesn't prevent someone on welfare from using their EBT card to make a withdrawal at a supermarket ATM and then go spend the cash at a pot shop or a strip club. Our ruling NRCC says, ""Carroll voted to allow welfare recipients to use your tax dollars at ATMs at strip clubs and pot dispensaries."" There's slightly more to this than the NRCC lets on: Carroll voted, unsuccessfully, to allow welfare recipients to continue withdrawing money from ATMs at strip clubs and pot dispensaries. Carroll’s spokesman said the senator voted against the bill that prohibited people from using public benefit cards for cash withdrawals at strip clubs and marijuana dispensaries because she was concerned about the impact on residents of poor neighborhoods where there are few -- if any -- banking services. State officials and lawmakers warned that Colorado could face financial sanctions for failing to comply with federal prohibitions against the use of benefit cards at adult entertainment venues. With that additional information in mind, we rate the claim .
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7819
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Treadmill classes mix it up with workhorse of the gym.
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For many outdoor runners the idea of pounding a treadmill means trading daylight for drudgery but as the air chills, fitness experts say treadmill classes can hone efficiency and form and add a dash of glamour to indoor running.
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true
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Health News
|
“There’s a little snobbery about running on a treadmill,” said David Siik, a track and field sprinter turned treadmill class fitness instructor at Equinox, the upscale chain of fitness centers. “Most racers are a little ashamed of running indoors.” Siik, who is now based in Los Angeles, turned reluctantly to treadmill running after a post-college stint in New York City. “I was sick of running into cars trying to get to Central Park,” he explained, “and New York in January is not always the friendliest place to run.” Now the humble treadmill has him hooked. “I still really enjoy running outside, but there is nothing better than the ability to calculate and monitor your goals on a treadmill,” he said. “You’re running on this computer.” Siik, 33, believes too many people get on the treadmill without knowing what to do. “They hit ‘on’ and then they’re clueless,” said Siik, who tries to bring the energy of a spin class to his 45-minute treadmill workout class, which includes three runs, each progressively harder, after an initial warm-up. The treadmill is by far the most popular cardio machine, accounting for 58 percent of home fitness sales in 2012, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, a percentage that has stayed consistent over the past years. The elliptical trainer, at eight per cent, is a distant second. Melanie Douglass, a Utah-based dietitian and trainer with ICON Health and Fitness, whose products include cardio equipment, has also taught classes on the treadmill, which she calls her preferred piece of equipment. “People always work more efficiently (on the treadmill), because the motor and belt help you maintain a consistent pace,” said Douglass. She said people err when they go too slow, or do the same thing day after day. “Exercise is not supposed to be comfortable,” she explained. “You have to challenge your body.” Dr. Michele Olson, professor of exercise physiology at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama, said besides teaching proper running and walking form, classes help the exerciser learn “the bells and whistles” of the modern machine. And unlike outdoor running, training on a treadmill ensures you are running at your intended pace, she said. Simply varying the grade, or incline, every minute will push up the calorie burning. But that’s just the beginning. “We’ve researched and studied walking and running on treadmills in all directions,” Olson said. “You burn more calories moving sideways and backwards, particularly at walking speeds.” She even likes to see people with their feet on the floor behind the treadmill walking on it with their hands. “After a set of push-ups, treadmill walk with your hands,” she suggests. “Your shoulder girdle will become a beast providing you with both upper body strength and endurance in those under-aerobically used upper body muscles.” Siik said using a treadmill is the best 30 to 45 minutes of cardio anyone can get inside a gym. “The beautiful thing about a treadmill is that it will never lie to you. It’s a brutally honest machine,” he added.
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17672
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"Alison Lundergan Grimes Says Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has ""blocked the Senate over 400 times."
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"In her ad, Grimes said that McConnell has ""blocked the Senate over 400 times."" If you look at cases of permanent blockage -- which you can do by counting failed cloture votes -- then Grimes’ number significantly exaggerates the scale of McConnell’s obstructionism. But her 400 figure sounds much more reasonable if one uses a broader definition of ""block"" that counts delays, many of which have gone on for months and even years. In fact, there are enough ways for a minority to gum up the works that aren’t counted in the statistics that the actual number of blockages -- if it could be divined -- could well push the number higher than 400. And that’s a key problem for Grimes -- the number can’t be divined, meaning that Grimes’ figure, even if it is actually a low estimate, communicates a false sense of statistical specificity. It’s also debatable how much McConnell deserves blame for the Senate’s current gridlock, though most experts say he at least deserves some."
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mixture
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National, Alison Lundergan Grimes,
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"Is Mitch McConnell the ""guardian of gridlock""? One of the marquee races in the 2014 midterm elections is McConnell’s bid to win a sixth term representing Kentucky. And one of the issues likely to get significant attention in the campaign is whether McConnell, as the Senate’s minority leader, has unduly obstructed the Senate majority’s work. The allegation of obstructionism is at the center of an ad released in October by his Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergan Grimes. The ad shows a house slowly catching fire, as the narrator says, ""He calls himself a proud guardian of gridlock. He’s blocked the Senate over 400 times, then voted to shut down the government, hurting Kentucky’s economy. Mitch McConnell can’t light the house on fire, then claim credit for putting it out, especially while it’s still burning."" As evidence, the Grimes campaign cited a report by WFPL, the Louisville NPR affiliate, in July 2013. The radio report noted that ""since 2007, Senate statistics show McConnell has used the filibuster 413 times as minority leader. That is almost twice as much as when Democrats held the minority from 1995 to 2001."" The rules behind filibusters can get pretty wonky, but Grimes’ claim has sparked intense discussion concerning some highly technical rules of Senate debate. Our fact-checking colleagues at FactCheck.org and the Washington Post Fact Checker have looked into the claim, with FactCheck.org concluding that ""Grimes uses inflated figures,"" and the Fact Checker giving the claim three Pinocchios out of a possible four. Meanwhile, political scientists pushed back, saying Grimes’ claim had merit. We decided to take a fresh look at the evidence. The finer points of Senate procedure Under the Senate’s rules, action on legislation can proceed one of two ways. The smoother path, if it can be achieved, is through unanimous consent of all senators on the terms of a debate. But, as the term ""unanimous"" indicates, this standard means that any senator who wishes to can block consent. The alternative is to file a ""cloture motion."" If it passes, then debate on the underlying legislation can proceed. If it fails, Senate action remains stalled. A cloture motion must secure a supermajority -- 60 votes. Because rounding up 60 votes is no easy task, the Senate’s minority party -- and indeed any individual senator in either party -- can wield significant influence by slowing or stopping action, simply by objecting, either publicly or behind the scenes. The claim in Grimes’ ad, that McConnell blocked the Senate 400 times, counts almost every time a cloture motion was filed between 2007 and 2013. But skeptics have pointed out that, in some of those cases, cloture was approved, meaning that the blockage was ultimately overcome. In other cases, cloture requests were withdrawn, meaning the parties managed to work out an agreement to proceed. And in some cases, it was McConnell who filed cloture to end a Democratic blockage, a move that shouldn’t be considered part of McConnell’s efforts to block action. After weeding out these instances, both Factcheck.org and the Fact Checker settled on 120 cases in which the chamber voted on cloture but failed to approve it. That’s a lot less than 400. McConnell’s office agrees with this interpretation. ""As a matter of a fact check, your job is simple,"" McConnell spokesman Don Stewart told PolitiFact. ""Did McConnell block the Senate ‘over 400 times’ or not? That’s an easy one: No."" The Grimes campaign acknowledged that there are other reasonable interpretations of the data, but said it stands by the ad. Other ways to define obstructionism Experts on congressional procedure told PolitiFact that counting only 120 cloture votes doesn't fully encapsulate the extent of blocking undertaken by McConnell or the conference he leads. Part of the uncertainty stems from the definition of the word Grimes used: ""block."" If blocking means a maneuver that permanently prevents something from happening, then 120 examples would seem to be the right call. But if blocking means a delaying action, sometimes for months or years at a time, then the number of cloture motions filed -- roughly 400 -- begins to look much more defensible. When counting the number of cloture motions filed, rather than just those voted down, ""the sequence of events suggests that the majority tried to move forward but couldn't because they were blocked by the minority,"" said Sarah Binder, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution. ""So the majority filed for cloture, and then the minority came to the table. You just can't drop those from the count. McConnell, with support of his party, effectively blocked the Senate, at least temporarily."" Binder offered two examples to illustrate the larger phenomenon. In the first case, Barbara Keenan, a judicial nominee, had to wait four months for a confirmation vote due to GOP opposition. After Reid filed for cloture, the Senate approved cloture by a 98-0 margin. ""Yes, cloture was invoked, but GOP obstruction delayed seating a judge for four months,"" Binder said. Binder’s second example is Richard Cordray, President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray waited almost two years for a vote; one finally came in July 2013, when cloture was approved, 71-29. ""How can you say there was no effort to block the Senate from confirming Corday?"" Binder said. ""The minority tried to block him and they failed."" Binder sees the Keenan and Cordray cases as ""examples of a more general phenomenon."" Other congressional scholars agreed. ""Looking only at things actually killed by failed cloture motions is the narrowest way to look at the impact of filibusters and threatened filibusters,"" said Norm Ornstein, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ""Instances of filibusters invoked on bills and nominations that passed unanimously or nearly so are done to soak up huge amounts of the Senate's most precious commodity, time. I view those actions as blockage."" Steven Smith, a congressional scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, thinks the more expansive definition of what counts as ""blocking"" has merit, because delays aren’t cost-free. ""Agencies that go without leadership, courts struggling with large workloads, departments without regular appropriations, and many, many other consequences of delay cannot be dismissed as inconsequential,"" he said. In fact, if you use the broader definition of ""block"" -- and throw in examples of the minority using amendments, motions, extraneous debate and roll-call vote demands -- then the number 400 could actually underestimate the amount of blocking going on. How much is McConnell to blame? Another tricky issue is whether the obstruction can be pinned on McConnell personally. Most experts we checked with said both parties bear some responsibility for the current paralysis in the Senate -- both due to Democratic actions prior to 2007 (when their party was in the minority) and current actions by the Democratic majority that have minimized the GOP’s ability to offer amendments. In addition, each senator is individually empowered to block whatever legislation they wish, so some of the blocking is being driven by individual senators rather than McConnell specifically. Still, the experts agreed that just because McConnell shares the responsibility doesn’t mean he’s absolved of all responsibility. After all, he’s been the GOP leader since 2007 and once said, ""The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."" Binder believes that as the party’s leader and chief Senate strategist, ""it’s reasonable to hold him accountable for party-backed filibusters."" ""If an observer can't see that this is central to McConnell's style of leadership, then it's time to find another line of work,"" said Roy T. Meyers, a political scientist at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County who specializes in Congress. Our ruling In her ad, Grimes said that McConnell has ""blocked the Senate over 400 times."" If you look at cases of permanent blockage -- which you can do by counting failed cloture votes -- then Grimes’ number significantly exaggerates the scale of McConnell’s obstructionism. But her 400 figure sounds much more reasonable if one uses a broader definition of ""block"" that counts delays, many of which have gone on for months and even years. In fact, there are enough ways for a minority to gum up the works that aren’t counted in the statistics that the actual number of blockages -- if it could be divined -- could well push the number higher than 400. And that’s a key problem for Grimes -- the number can’t be divined, meaning that Grimes’ figure, even if it is actually a low estimate, communicates a false sense of statistical specificity. It’s also debatable how much McConnell deserves blame for the Senate’s current gridlock, though most experts say he at least deserves some. "
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29813
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Immigrants who illegally crossed into the U.S. at the Mexico border are the cause of measles outbreaks in 2019 in the U.S.
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Claims that measles outbreaks in the U.S. are caused by Southern-border immigration are therefore wholly unsupported by factual evidence or hard data. To claim otherwise, one must ignore the actual data that links these measles outbreaks to specific unvaccinated Americans traveling abroad in measles-prone regions. For both of these reasons, the claim is false.
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false
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Politics
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In early 2019, the United States suffered its worst series of measles outbreaks since 1994. Between 1 January 2019 and 26 April 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 704 individual cases of measles had been confirmed in 22 states. “This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000,” the organization reported. Dubious websites and citation-free social media posts have attempted to suggest that these measles outbreaks are the result of immigrants who illegally crossed into the U.S. via the Southern border — a common but almost-always-false trope employed by those who oppose more open immigration policies. For example, pro-conspiracy, anti-vaccine website Natural News claimed on 28 April 2019 that, “It’s the disease-ridden illegal aliens that are bringing infectious diseases into America” in a story titled in part, “The Measles Outbreak is a Massive False Flag.” That report cited a story from Alex Jones’ Infowars that misrepresented a Fox News segment about a measles outbreak in New York. In keeping with this theme, on 29 April 2019, in response to a tweet claiming “The GOP brought Measles back,” former GOP congressman and radio personality Joe Walsh tweeted: “If you truly wanted to keep terrible diseases from overtaking our population, you’d secure the border and get a handle on illegal immigration.” No factual basis exists to support the claim that illegal immigrants are the cause of the increase in U.S. measles outbreaks. But multiple pieces of evidence do support the claim that unvaccinated people who have traveled to areas with high rates of measles and then returned to the U.S. are the cause of the uptick. As of 30 April 2019, measles outbreaks — defined by the CDC as three or more simultaneous cases in the same area — were identified in nine geographic areas: The epidemiology of many of these outbreaks has been researched by the CDC, which concluded that “these outbreaks are linked to travelers who brought measles back from other countries such as Israel, Ukraine, and the Philippines, where large measles outbreaks are occurring.” The cases in New York State’s Rockland County and New York City, for example, have been tied to an unvaccinated Orthodox Jewish child who picked up measles on a trip to Israel, and who then spread it among the largely unvaccinated community to which that child returned. As reported by New York City’s Health website: As of April 29, 2019, there have been 423 confirmed cases of measles in Brooklyn and Queens since October. Most of these cases have involved members of the Orthodox Jewish community. The initial child with measles was unvaccinated and acquired measles on a visit to Israel, where a large outbreak of the disease is occurring. Since then, there have been additional people from Brooklyn and Queens who were unvaccinated and acquired measles while in Israel. People who did not travel were also infected in Brooklyn or Rockland County. This New York measles outbreak, comprising 423 of the 704 individual infections, represents the vast majority of cases that are part of this troubling resurgence of measles in 2019. It was caused not by illegal immigration across the Southern border, but by unvaccinated American citizens traveling abroad in Israel — a country that is currently having its own measles epidemic. Similarly, the outbreaks in California have been tied to four cases of people traveling abroad and returning to the United States: In 2019, four outbreaks linked to patients with international travel have been reported in California. As of April 24, 2019, 38 confirmed measles cases, including 28 outbreak-associated cases, have been reported. As argued in Vox, “Had these travelers and their families been vaccinated, we wouldn’t have measles here. And when you couple the ease of opting out of vaccines with the fact that there’s a greater global risk of catching measles elsewhere, it’s not hard to see why the disease is now roaring back.” Those who attempt to tie the rise to Southern-border-crossing immigrants do so by ignoring the epidemiological realities of a world that sees one billion people cross international borders every year, sometimes into and out of countries with low vaccination rates or ongoing outbreaks. Israel currently is experiencing a measles outbreak that vastly outpaces that experienced in the U.S. in 2019. As reported in the Daily Beast, Israel has seen diagnosed cases of measles “soar from about 30 in the year 2017-2018 to almost 4,000 in the year 2018-2019.” Ukraine, another country listed as a source of measles exposure to unvaccinated Americans, also is experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of measles. That country’s acting minister of health told Science that the rise is caused by “a decade of corruption, war, a lack of political commitment to vaccination, and antivaccine sentiment.” The Ukraine saw more than 15,000 cases and seven deaths in between 28 December 2018 and 1 February 2019. The Philippines, the third country indicated by the CDC as a source of contact for international travelers who could carry measles to the U.S., is also experiencing a massive outbreak. As of 26 February 2019, “over 12,700 measles cases [were] officially reported by DOH [Department of Health] with 203 deaths from 1 January to 23 February 2019.” According to that country’s health department, “the Philippines has seen a decline in the first dose of measles vaccine in the past decade — from above 80% in 2008 to below 70% in 2017. Initial figures for 2018 indicate further decrease.” For herd immunity to kick in and protect people from measles at a population level, the number of those vaccinated needs to approach 95%. Conversely, the countries of origin from which immigrants are attempting to cross the Southern border have comparatively high vaccination rates and are currently not experiencing large scale outbreaks of measles. As we reported in a 2018 iteration of this claim, many of the countries in Central America from which the migrants are attempting to flee have higher vaccination rates for measles than does the United States. In 2017, 92% of children aged 12-23 months were vaccinated for measles in the United States. In Mexico and Honduras, that figure was higher, at 96% and 97% respectively. El Salvador and Guatemala have seen a recent decline in vaccination rates, with 85% and 86% coverage in 2017 — the most recent year for which World Bank data is available.
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8337
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Investors await data on coronavirus drugs as market rally builds.
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Clinical data on potential treatments for the new coronavirus could help sustain a market bounce that has buoyed stocks after last month’s plunge, as investors look for signs that authorities may be able to stabilize the pandemic.
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true
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Health News
|
"Highly anticipated data for a Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) experimental antiviral drug are expected later this month. Analysts are also awaiting results in the near-term for products already approved for other conditions from companies such as Roche Holding (ROG.S) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN.O). While experts estimate an approved vaccine could be at least a year away, progress toward treatments that benefit some COVID-19 patients could help investors gauge when the epidemic could come under control and some economic activity might resume. “The more we see positive clinical data, the more investors will be comforted in the fact that this is a transitory issue like all epidemics are,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. Early signs of a slowdown in hospitalizations and intensive care needs in coronavirus hotspots in the United States and abroad have fed a stock market turnaround sparked by massive support from the Federal Reserve and a more than $2 trillion government bailout. As of Monday, the S&P 500 .SPX was off about 21% from its Feb. 19 all-time high but had rebounded 19% since March 23. “With each incremental piece of good news, that gets us closer to the end of the epidemic and the economic damage that falls in its wake,” Hogan said. New York is nearing a plateau in the number of coronavirus patients hospitalized, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday, even though the number of the deaths in the state hit a single-day high. Governments around the world have locked down their communities - urging citizens to stay inside and ordering restaurants, stores and other businesses shuttered - to contain the spread of COVID-19 cases, which have exceeded 1.4 million globally with over 80,000 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins tally. Drugmakers are studying ways to combat the respiratory illness, for which there are no approved treatments, as hospitals face strains from the flood of patients. More than 330 clinical studies related to COVID-19 are listed in clinicaltrials.gov, a database maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, including many seeking to test drugs already approved for other conditions. Gilead's remdesivir, which is administered intravenously, is one experimental treatment that has captured investors' attention. The biotechnology company's chief executive on March 28 said initial data would arrive in the ""coming weeks"" here and analysts said data could come in mid April. Remdesivir previously failed as a treatment for the Ebola virus. But it helped prevent disease and reduce severity of symptoms in monkeys infected with a virus more closely related to the new coronavirus in a study, raising hopes. Some analysts are cautioning against expecting that remdesivir will show an overwhelming benefit. Initial data are expected to come from studies of patients with relatively severe COVID-19. Because antivirals work best when patients are healthier, those results may show limited effectiveness, said Evan Seigerman, a biotech analyst at Credit Suisse. Even if remdesivir proves effective, the amount of the drug that would be available remains a concern. Gilead said last weekend here its existing supply could equate to more than 140,000 courses of treatment. Data is also anticipated for Regeneron (REGN.O) and Sanofi’s (SASY.PA) Kevzara, perhaps by the end of the month, and for Roche’s (ROG.S) Actemra - two similar rheumatoid arthritis drugs being tested for COVID-19 illness. Studies are also ongoing for hydroxychloroquine, a decades-old malaria drug that has been used by doctors for COVID-19 despite controversy over its effectiveness. “Just knowing that something works means investors can start thinking about the other side of this,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist/SunTrust Advisory Services, in emailed comments to Reuters, “both from a human side and an economic and market perspective.”"
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28644
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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was confronted by a shareholder over the company’s support for same-sex marriage.
|
What's true: Howard Schultz affirmed the company’s support for same-sex marriage at a shareholder meeting. What's false: Howard Schultz did not say opponents of same-sex marriage were not allowed to be Starbucks stockholders or were not desired as Starbucks customers.
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mixture
|
Politics, howard schultz, starbucks
|
Starbucks, the ubiquitous behemoth of a coffee chain, was one of several prominent Washington-area companies (including Microsoft, Nike, and Amazon) who in early 2012 supported a state measure to legalize same-sex marriage, stating that: Starbucks is proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples. Starbucks strives to create a company culture that puts our partners first, and our company has a lengthy history of leading and supporting policies that promote equality and inclusion. This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners. It is core to who we are and what we value as a company. We are proud of our Pride Alliance Partner Network group, which is one of the largest Employer Resource Groups for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees in the U.S., helping to raise awareness about issues in the communities where we live and work. For the last 20 years, our benefits program has offered domestic partner benefits in the U.S. These benefits include medical, dental, vision, prescription drugs and alternative health care coverage. All partners (part-time and full-time) in all work locations, whether in a store, a roasting plant or a corporate office, adhere to the same eligibility requirements for health coverage and have access to the same comprehensive health plans. We are deeply dedicated to embracing diversity and treating one another with respect and dignity, and remain committed to providing an inclusive, supportive and safe work environment for all of our partners. We look forward to seeing this legislation enacted into law. That support led the company to becoming the target of “Dump Starbucks” boycotts instituted by anti-gay marriage groups such as the National Organization for Marriage. At a Starbucks shareholders meeting in March 2013, shareholder Tom Strobhar (founder of The Corporate Morality Action Center, an organization which also opposes same-sex marriage) challenged Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz over the company’s financial performance, which Strobhar suggested had been harmed by Starbucks’ corporate support of same-sex marriage and the subsequent boycotts, saying: “In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our earnings — shall we say politely — were a bit disappointing.” Schultz responded (and drew two rounds of applause from attendees) by asserting that Starbucks stock had performed well over the past year, affirming the company’s support of same-sex marriage, and stating that not all corporate decisions were based purely on economics: Not every decision is an economic decision. Despite the fact that you recite statistics that are narrow in time, we did provide a 38% shareholder return over the last year. I don’t know how many things you invest in, but I would suspect not many things, companies, products, investments have returned 38% over the last 12 months. Having said that, it is not an economic decision to me. The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity. Of all kinds. If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38% you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares in Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much. Howard Schultz did not, however, say anything that could reasonably be construed as “If you support traditional marriage, we don’t want your business” or “you can’t buy shares in [this] company,” as online chatter would later have it: Breaking News: Starbucks moves even farther left and tells traditional marriage supporters we don’t want your business. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz just said at their annual meeting that If you support traditional marriage, we don’t want your business. He told a shareholder to sell his shares if he supported traditional marriage and didn’t like Starbucks stance against it. So let’s get this straight. If you support the 5000 year old tradition that marriage is between one man and one woman, you can’t buy shares in his far left radical company that sells designer $7.00 Grande Decaf Lattes? Done! I’ll take a Chick Fil-A and their 99 cent coffee instead. Click LIKE if it is time to BOYCOTT far left radical Starbucks and their attack on traditional marriage Schultz told a disaffected stockholder that if he thought the company’s social policies were hurting its financial performance and he could get a better return for his money elsewhere, he was free to sell his Starbucks stock and invest in a different company. He did not say that supporters of traditional marriage were neither allowed nor desired as stockholders and customers of Starbucks. A video of Schultz’s response can be viewed here.
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31972
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"Mattel is introducing ""Public Assistance Barbie"" for the holidays."
|
Although the “satirical” nature of “Public Assistance Barbie” was perhaps obvious to some, many social media users shared the years-old article without realizing the claim had been entirely fabricated.
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false
|
Junk News, america reloaded, barbie, empire news
|
On 26 November 2016, the Facebook page “America Reloaded” shared an article that appeared to report that Mattel was introducing a “Public Assistance Barbie” doll, just in time for holiday shopping: “Since 1959 Barbie dolls have been through major changes to reflect the times we live in. Today with over 40% of Americans on some sort of public assistance, we felt the time was right for ‘Public Assistance Barbie,” said Mattel spokesman Rick Reynolds. “After doing research on people receiving assistance, we have come out with what we think is a fair and sensitive portrayal of that kind of person with our new doll. Each Public Assistance Barbie will come with a new Cadillac, Puma sweats, a pack of Newports, an Obama phone, an EBT card, and a rack of Budweiser. She will also come in three styles: heavily tattooed and pierced, pregnant and smoking, and a ‘black eye’ version from when drunken Ken beat her for not paying the cable bill. Public Assistance Barbies will be on the shelves in time for your holiday purchases, and will come in special theft-deterrent boxes. EBT cards cannot be used to purchase, unfortunately.” In case the fabricated quotes were not enough to raise red flags, the linked article was a 19 November 2014 fake news story from Empire News, which carries a disclaimer stating that all content it publishes is “parody” or “satire”: Empire News is intended for entertainment purposes only. Our website and social media content uses only fictional names, except in cases of public figure and celebrity parody or satirization. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.
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8149
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South Korean churchgoers scuffle with police as virus curbs on gatherings kick in.
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Members of a South Korean church scuffled with police on Sunday, media reported, as government restrictions on religious services and other gatherings due to the spread of the coronavirus took effect.
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true
|
Health News
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Authorities have urged South Koreans to stay home and maintain social distancing, as imported cases and new outbreaks around small clusters continued to emerge while an overall tally in new infections has been declining. Restrictions on high-risk events such as religious, sports and entertainment gatherings took effect on Sunday, requiring facilities to ensure space between the attendees and allowing local governments to conduct on-site checks and issue fines. “Our fight against the virus is a three-legged race,” President Moon Jae-in said on Sunday, referring to the need for the community to work in step with the government. “It doesn’t matter even if you are not sick and doing well by yourself.” Most churches have turned to online services over the past few weeks, but local media said there were several that pushed ahead with physical gatherings on Sunday, prompting scuffles with police and protests by residents calling for disbanding. At the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, several attendees tried to force out a dozen police officers, domestic newswire Yonhap reported. A video uploaded by a purported member of the church on YouTube showed a woman lying on the ground while another was heard shouting “Why are you doing this? Is this North Korea?” Yonhap quoted a city official as saying the church did not follow rules and ensure sufficient space among the attendees. Reuters was not immediately able to reach the police or the Seoul city government for comment and calls to the church for comment were unanswered. Elsewhere, Yonhap news photos showed a group of residents staging a rally in front of the Yonsei Central Baptist Church in Seoul, holding up a sign calling for a halt to services for the safety of neighbors. More than half of South Korea’s cases were traced to a fringe Christian church in the hard-hit southeastern city of Daegu. This week, some 60 members of a Protestant church in Seongnam, south of Seoul, have also tested positive this week. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 98 new coronavirus cases, bringing national infections to 8,897. The death toll rose by six to 110. The daily tally marked the 11th day in a row the country has posted new infections of around 100, compared with the peak of 909 cases recorded on Feb. 29. The KCDC renewed caution for overseas travelers on Sunday, after the government toughened border checks and imposed a two-week mandatory quarantine for all long-term arrivals from Europe due to a spike in returnee cases. At least 15 travelers tested positive on Saturday, the KCDC said, eight of them from Europe and three from the United States. Most of them were South Koreans. “We’re implementing intensive social distancing over the next 15 days,” KCDC deputy director Kwon Jun-wook said at a briefing. “After that, we will open schools and return to a regular life cycle in the face of the battle on the coronavirus.”
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15542
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America has already taken in one-fourth of Mexico's entire population.
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"Coulter said that America has taken in one-quarter of the entire population of Mexico. Coulter based this on a study that counted all people of Mexican origin in the United States. But Coulter ignored that 65 percent of those were born in America and about a third came from families in which both parents were born in America. Their immigrant status lay at least two-generations in the past, and America couldn’t ""take them in"" because they were already here."
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false
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Immigration, PunditFact, Ann Coulter,
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"Ann Coulter’s new book Adios America argues that immigration is undermining the country, and she was delighted to give a full-throated defense of her stance in an interview with Univision and Fusion TV journalist Jorge Ramos. The two agreed on virtually nothing, including the most basic statistics. Ramos opened the segment of his show America with Jorge Ramos by telling Coulter that her facts on the number of undocumented immigrants were wrong. In her book, she claimed there are 30 million. The consensus figure is about 11 million. Coulter was unfased. ""You’re wrong,"" Coulter told Ramos. ""The number we keep hearing is 11 million, 11 million, 11 million. That’s so weird. It’s been 11 million for a decade. But as I explain in the book, they are all using the Census figures. If the Census figures are wrong, then everybody’s numbers are wrong."" Coulter said there is ""absolutely no question"" that the number is at least 30 million. She said the work of two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and a 2006 analysis by two Bear Stearns financial analysts supported her belief. We’ll touch on those items in a bit. But arguably Coulter’s biggest numerical claim was that ""America has already taken in one-fourth of Mexico's entire population."" She said it during her interview with Ramos and included it as a bullet point on her website. Several readers asked us to dig into that claim. We tried to reach Coulter through her publisher and other channels and did not hear back. However, she gives the source of her figure in her new book. Coulter’s math Coulter zeros in on Mexico to undercut the argument that immigration promotes diversity. ""Diversity in immigration ought to mean every country on earth sends the same percentage of immigrants,"" she writes. In contrast, Mexico provides about a third of all immigrants, and that became her target. In a sub-section titled ""Doesn’t Mexico want any Mexicans?"" Coulter grounds her statement about America taking in one-quarter of Mexico’s population on a Pew Research Center analysis of census data. The top line number in that study finds that about 33.5 million people of Mexican origin lived in the United States in 2011. Coulter argues that since Mexico has about 120 million people, and one-quarter of that is 30 million, therefore, America has ""taken in"" one-quarter of the total. Misreading the data In reality, the immigration data from Pew is not nearly as neat and tidy as Coulter concludes. The Pew report attempted to count the number of people who trace their roots back to Mexico, not people who came directly from that country. Why does that make such a difference? Well, about two-thirds of Americans with Mexican ancestry were born in the United States. By definition, they were never part of Mexico’s population. If they weren’t Mexican, they could not be ""taken in."" The Pew definition is important, and if the numbers about Mexico don’t make it clear, let’s look at another country. We picked Ireland. In 2014, the Census Bureau said there were 34.1 million Americans with Irish roots. That’s nearly seven times Ireland’s current population. One could argue that if the parents hadn’t moved to the United States, the children wouldn’t have been born here. But Coulter offers no analysis and no data on that front. In her framework, a person whose family came from Mexico 70 years ago is just as much a Mexican as someone who arrived yesterday. According to the Census Bureau, about 10.5 million people of Mexican heritage come from families in which both parents were born in the United States. This group is at least second-generation American born. The Pew report found that about 11.6 million people of the 33.5 million total had been born in Mexico, including both authorized and unauthorized immigrants. Estimating the undocumented Tangentially related to this fact-check is Coulter’s suggestion that groups are severely undercounting the number of unauthorized illegal immigrants based on census data. Coulter’s starting point is a 2005 article from two Bear Stearns financial advisors. They set census data aside and looked at things like the rise in money sent back to Mexico and housing permits in three New Jersey communities with growing immigrant populations. The article said the increases were much larger than the official rise in population. The authors did not show how they reached their estimate of 20 million illegal immigrants, but they, and Coulter, emphasized that ""the assumption that illegal people will fill out a census form is the most ridiculous concept I have ever heard of."" The Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors reduced immigration much as Coulter does, disagrees with that last point. In a recent report, the center wrote ""It is well established that illegal aliens do respond to government surveys such as the decennial census and the Current Population Survey."" ""For illegals, we estimate 11 to 12 million with 50 to 60 percent from Mexico,"" said Steven Camarota, the center’s director of research. Jennifer Van Hook, who directs the Population Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University, said she believes the number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants living in the United States is 6.3 million-8.3 million. No matter how you slice it, Coulter’s claim doesn’t get any closer to true, she said. ""There is no way it is as high as 30 million,"" Van Hook said. The Migration Policy Institute estimates the total unauthorized population at 11 million. Director of research for American programs Randy Capps said figures produced by the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey are just the starting point in determining that figure (the Census Bureau itself doesn't create a count). The final estimate reflects a hike of ""20 to 25 percent to address the undercount of unauthorized immigrants in the ACS."" Capps emphasized that his group, the Department of Homeland Security, the Pew Research Center and the Center for Immigration Studies generally reach the same results because they all tweak the census data. ""All four of these sources incorporate an undercount of unauthorized immigrants ranging from 10 to 25 percent,"" Capps said. Capp’s counterpart at the Pew Research Center, Jeffrey Passel, rejected Coulter’s claim on both methodological and common sense grounds. ""It is simply not possible for there to be in excess of 30 million Mexican immigrants in the United States,"" Passel said. ""There are not enough houses available in the country for the 20 or so million more additional Mexicans. Moreover, the Mexican censuses, and surveys are completely inconsistent with such figures."" Our ruling Coulter said that America has taken in one-quarter of the entire population of Mexico. Coulter based this on a study that counted all people of Mexican origin in the United States. But Coulter ignored that 65 percent of those were born in America and about a third came from families in which both parents were born in America. Their immigrant status lay at least two-generations in the past, and America couldn’t ""take them in"" because they were already here. Note: This claim was fact-checked as one of the donor-benefits tied to our Kickstarter campaign to live fact-check the 2015 State of the Union. Thanks to all who contributed."
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3682
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Delaware health officials report season’s first 2 flu deaths.
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A 65-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman have been identified as the first two flu deaths in Delaware for the 2019-2020 season, health officials said.
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true
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Health, General News, Delaware, Flu, Dover
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The Division of Public Health said on its webpage on Tuesday that both victims lived in Sussex County and had underlying health conditions. The woman was infected with influenza A, while the man had the influenza B strain., according to health officials. As of Dec. 28, there have been 1,083 laboratory-confirmed cases of the flu and 65 hospitalizations in Delaware. The actual number of flu cases in Delaware is higher, officials noted. Last flu season, there were 24 flu-related deaths and 6,387 cases were confirmed by state health officials. The 2017-18 flu season was one of the worst in state history, with 35 flu-related deaths and more than 9,000 confirmed cases.
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7190
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Vermont House members introduce universal health care bill.
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Forty-eight members of the Vermont House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would pave the way for publicly-financed health care for all state residents beginning in 2023.
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true
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Vermont, Universal health care
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Progressive Rep. Brian Cina says the bill picks up from a previous universal health care bill. The Times Argus reports the bill brings together various stakeholders, asking them to come up with an operational plan and funding mechanics for universal health care by January 2020. The plan would only be implemented if it didn’t increase administrative costs and if it provides reimbursement for primary care costs that attract a sufficient number of primary care providers. ___ Information from: The Times Argus, http://www.timesargus.com/
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21521
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Public-employee unions spent $30 million in Wisconsin unsuccessfully trying to flip the state Senate to Democratic control.
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Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus says public-employee unions spent $30 million on Wisconsin Senate recall races
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false
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Campaign Finance, Elections, State Budget, Wisconsin, Reince Priebus,
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"In a round of interviews following the Wisconsin Senate recall elections, the Republican Party’s national chairman framed the results as a clear victory for Gov. Scott Walker. Republicans lost two seats but retained Senate control, despite a major -- and expensive -- effort from Democrats and their supporters. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown on Aug. 18, 2011 that the results show Walker shouldn’t worry about the left trying to recall him in 2012. He argued voters stood with Walker in the face of the challenge by public employee unions outraged over his changes that curtailed collective bargaining for most government workers. And he put a number on the union’s effort. ""I don’t think he should be worried at all, and if the public employee unions want to flush another $30 million down the toilet, and then allow Scott Walker to be even stronger and win a recall election … then they should go ahead and do it, because the $30 million they flushed down the toilet will be $30 million they don’t have for other races. So, hey, go for it."" Thirty million -- that’s a pile of money. Especially if that’s just what unions spent on the races. An RNC spokesman told us Priebus -- the former Wisconsin GOP chairman -- actually was referring not just to labor unions, but to any spending on the pro-Democrat side. ""Analysis from our political folks in Wisconsin suggests that when all is said and done, pro-Democrat groups will have spent between $20 (million) and $30 million on their failed effort to win a majority in the state Senate,"" said Ryan Mahoney of the RNC. Of course, Priebus on MSNBC limited his claim to the public unions -- and said a flat $30 million. So there are already problems with his claim. We’ll focus on what Priebus said on MSNBC, but also take a quick look at spending by both sides. Asked for backup for his claim, the RNC sent us dozens of links to media accounts of the disclosed spending in the recalls. Priebus, like reporters, based his arithmetic on what is publicly known about spending in the nine races. That’s notable. Under state and federal laws, millions of dollars in campaign spending by various political groups goes unreported, but Priebus isn’t suggesting he has inside information about that. He’s citing the information that is publicly released. That -- and a decision by labor groups to collectively work through a political action committee, We Are Wisconsin, that has to publicly account for its spending -- makes our math easier. A coalition of national, state and local labor groups funded most of the activities of We Are Wisconsin. The national AFL-CIO was most prominent, followed by various teachers unions; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; the Service Employees International Union, and many others. We Are Wisconsin was by far the major player on the pro-Democrat side, spending nearly $10.8 million through election day, according to official figures reported to the state. Several teachers unions and miscellaneous small unions separately spent about $1 million more. So that’s a total of about $11.8 million, far short of $30 million. Let’s look at this another way, and compare our numbers with those of other organizations that track campaign spending. We looked at links between We Are Wisconsin and other major liberal groups active in the election. If you stretch the union label to include groups that got direct financial support from We Are Wisconsin, you could count at least another $2.2 million. So that would get you to $14 million in union-linked money. Meanwhile, two organizations have produced comprehensive scorecards of left vs. right spending in the nine recall contests. They base their numbers on official campaign reports filed with the state Government Accountability Board. The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank in Wisconsin, produced an elaborate flow chart of pro-Dem spending – including unions but also ""national and state liberal groups."" MacIver’s definition, then, was broader than Priebus’ ""union"" claim. Still, its total tops out at about $15.2 million, or roughly half of what Priebus claimed. The most prominent campaign-spending tracker is the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonprofit that advocates for transparency in campaign spending. It’s allied with a coalition of left-leaning groups, including several unions. Its total for pro-Democrat spending by groups: $15.1 million. Again, $15 million is far short of $30 million. None of these figures include spending by the candidates themselves. The candidate spending was dwarfed by the outside groups, but still amounted to about $2.5 million by all the Democrats in the recall elections, according to our tabulations of reports filed with the state Accountability Board. So, even if you include candidate spending -- which Priebus didn’t -- the pro-Dem total is only about $17.6 million. That’s the pro-Dem side. What about the pro-GOP side? Looking just at the publicly disclosed money, Republican candidates and pro-GOP groups spent about $3.5 million compared to the $17.6 million on the other side, according to official figures compiled by the Democracy Campaign. That’s a big mismatch -- but there’s a big caveat. Several prominent pro-Republican groups -- including the biggest player on that side, the Wisconsin Club for Growth -- were set up in way that doesn’t require disclosure of millions of dollars in spending on TV ads and other activities. To a much lesser extent, pro-Democrat groups did the same. The Democracy Campaign estimates that undisclosed spending by groups could equal the publicly reported figures. But that’s an educated guess at amounts of undisclosed spending. The bottom line: Nobody really knows how the undisclosed numbers break down. So we -- and Priebus -- were left with the publicly reported numbers. Priebus claimed public-employee unions poured $30 million into the state Senate recalls in Wisconsin. But the publicly disclosed spending reports that he cites -- by our account as well as groups affiliated with the left and right -- put total spending by pro-Democrat groups at $15 million or less. And that includes campaigning by liberal groups not connected to unions. Based on available information, even if he meant to say all pro-Democratic spending he was way off."
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17307
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"We are seeing dramatic rate cuts"" to Medicare that will affect seniors’ ability to keep their doctor, hospital and prevention services."
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"""We are seeing dramatic rate cuts,"" to Medicare that will have a ""devastating impact"" on seniors’ ability to get their doctor, their hospital and prevention services, Scott tells seniors in an online campaign ad. Scott omits that the recently announced rate cuts were for Medicare Advantage plans, a subset of Medicare. Those plans represent about one-third of Medicare plans in Florida and nationwide. The proposed rate cut won’t be finalized until April, and if it is, health care experts say we won’t know the full impact for a few months. That means it’s too soon to predict if the rate cut will have a ""devastating impact"" on seniors' ability to keep their same doctor and hospital. It is possible that some seniors on Medicare Advantage will lose or have to change doctors, but the impact could vary from county to county. Seniors on traditional Medicare are not affected by the cuts. Scott’s ad is a scare tactic that omits several caveats."
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false
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Medicare, Florida, Rick Scott,
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"Seniors (particularly voters), listen up: Medicare cuts have arrived -- and the way Gov. Rick Scott tells it, they’re going to lead to some sickening results. In an online ad created by Scott’s campaign, he speaks in a testimonial style to the ""wonderful seniors in our state"" who depend on Medicare. Scott, and his likely Democratic opponent former Gov. Charlie Crist, will compete for the senior vote in the November election. Here’s part of the script: ""We already know that 300,000 people in our state were told they are going to lose their insurance, but now under Medicare we are seeing these dramatic rate cuts. It’s going to have a devastating impact on their ability to one, get the doctor, look they rely on their doctor, get to go to the hospital that they trust, make sure they get prevention services that they deserve. These Medicare cuts that the president has caused are the wrong thing for Florida seniors."" PolitiFact has previously fact-checked claims about those 300,000 Floridians who are losing Florida Blue plans but are being transitioned to other ones. Here, we wanted to fact-check Scott’s claim about whether dramatic rate cuts to Medicare will result in a ""devastating impact"" on seniors' ability to keep their doctor, hospital and get prevention services. In response to Scott’s ad, the Florida Democratic Party issued a press release that accused Scott of overseeing ""the largest Medicare fraud in the nation's history."". Announcement of cuts Scott’s ad posted a few days after the Obama administration announced a proposed rate cut to Medicare Advantage -- but Scott didn’t specify in his ad that he was referring to only those seniors on that particular type of Medicare. Nationwide, nearly one-third of Medicare recipients are on Medicare Advantage, or about 16 million. The proportion is about the same in Florida, where about 1.4 million are on Medicare Advantage, and roughly 4.4 million are in traditional Medicare. On Feb. 21, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a proposed cut to Medicare Advantage Plans for 2015. While CMS describes it as a 1.9 percent cut, some insurers say the actual cut could be higher when taking into account other health care law changes. America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry group, says the cut is about 5.9 percent and will lead to a loss of benefits and choices for people on Medicare Advantage. The amount is expected to be finalized April 7, and industry groups and a bipartisan group of senators have started to lobby against it. The health care law tries to bring down future health care costs of Medicare largely by reducing Medicare Advantage, a subset of Medicare plans that are run by private insurers. President George W. Bush started Medicare Advantage in hopes the increased competition would reduce costs. But those plans are actually costlier than traditional Medicare. So the health care law reduces payments to private insurers. Advantage plans are required to offer basic health benefits that are at least as rich as original Medicare. But many offer extras, such as rebates on premiums, routine dental care, gym memberships and rides to the doctor, in order to compete for business. Scott campaign spokesman Greg Blair pointed to articles in the Washington Post and Kaiser/USA Today about insurers cutting doctors from Medicare Advantage. (Both articles were written several weeks before the actual rate cut was proposed.) Reuters stated that insurers said they would only maintain benefits if there was no cut. ""Thousands of primary-care doctors and specialists across the country have been terminated from privately run Medicare Advantage plans, ...."" the Post wrote. ""Insurers say they must shrink their physician networks because they face billions of dollars in government-payment cuts over the next decade — reductions that are being used partly to fund insurance coverage for millions of people under the federal Affordable Care Act."" The Post wrote that medical associations describe the dismissals as the largest in the program’s history and that the American Medicare Association called for the cuts to be reversed. The Kaiser/USA Today December article states that the cut of thousands of doctors includes Florida, where ""UnitedHealthcare has dropped the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer treatment facility, the Moffitt Cancer Center and its 250 physicians in Tampa."" Experts say we don’t yet know full impact We interviewed several health care experts to ask if the Medicare Advantage cuts will result in seniors losing access to their doctors, hospitals or preventative services. Many experts said it could be several months until we get a better picture of what the rate cut means for patients -- and that the answer could vary state by state, or county by county. Lowell Richard works for a contracting agency, Adcahb Medical Coverages, that sells Medicare plans, including Medicare Advantage in Florida. ""There will be some fallout -- absolutely,"" said Richard, vice president of training and education. However, ""it’s going to vary from county to county. It’s really way too early to tell."" Any company that decides to pull out of Advantage or make changes would have to file plans with CMS this summer, he said. Will the results be ""devastating"" in Florida as Scott said? ""That depends where you live,"" said Richard, who is based in Broward County. In a smaller county with only a few types of plans, the result might mean the senior has to switch to another type of Medicare plan and the costs could go up. Some doctors will no longer be on certain Advantage plans. Though they will be replaced by others, it could mean some seniors will lose their particular doctor, Richard said. ""There is no way to know how plans will respond to the proposed reductions in payments for 2015,"" said Tricia Neuman, director of the Kaiser Foundation’s Program on Medicare Policy. ""The plans could choose to stay the course or reduce their costs in ways that would affect beneficiaries. The response could vary among insurers, and by county. The plans could choose to raise premiums, raise cost-sharing, tighten their provider networks, or even withdraw from the Medicare program altogether, but we won’t know the lay of the land until next fall."" Margaret Murphy, attorney and associate director Center for Medicare Advocacy, said that Medicare Advantage plans have always had a limited network of preferred providers and that changes in networks can happen every year. (Traditional Medicare has no networks, so participants can go to any Medicare eligible provider.) ""We are seeing (Medicare Advantage) plans change their business plans already although it’s difficult to know which changes are due to ordinary business reasons and which are the result"" of the health care law, she said. Robert Moffit, a health care expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said that we have already seen an impact because insurers including UnitedHealthcare have let go of thousands of physicians. That includes cutting an entire hospital -- Yale New Haven Hospital -- from its Medicare Advantage network. ""I can’t speak personally with regard to Florida, but yes, the projections are you will see significant reductions in payments over 10 years,"" Moffit said. Medicare has a broader provider network than many Advantage plans, ""so even if plans cut benefits and caused someone to go back to traditional Medicare their access to doctors likely would not erode and might actually improve,"" said Jonathan Oberlander, a health policy professor at the University of North Carolina. Medicare requires plans to cover all Medicare-covered benefits, which means if a prevention benefit such as a mammogram is covered by traditional Medicare, it would also be covered by an Advantage plan, Neuman said. However, Advantage plans could cut the extras which aren’t covered by traditional Medicare such as a gym membership. Our ruling ""We are seeing dramatic rate cuts,"" to Medicare that will have a ""devastating impact"" on seniors’ ability to get their doctor, their hospital and prevention services, Scott tells seniors in an online campaign ad. Scott omits that the recently announced rate cuts were for Medicare Advantage plans, a subset of Medicare. Those plans represent about one-third of Medicare plans in Florida and nationwide. The proposed rate cut won’t be finalized until April, and if it is, health care experts say we won’t know the full impact for a few months. That means it’s too soon to predict if the rate cut will have a ""devastating impact"" on seniors' ability to keep their same doctor and hospital. It is possible that some seniors on Medicare Advantage will lose or have to change doctors, but the impact could vary from county to county. Seniors on traditional Medicare are not affected by the cuts. Scott’s ad is a scare tactic that omits several caveats."
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11160
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Device improves heart’s pumping efficiency
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This story reports on a randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which found that cardiac resynchronization therapy is useful for preventing heart failure events in people with mild symptoms. However, the piece profiles only one satisfied study participant, instead of presenting a more accurate clinical picture of who may benefit from the therapy and to what extent. Including commentary from independent experts, as well as information on costs and the potential harms of the treatment would have also strengthened the story.
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false
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This story did not include any discussion of costs. This story states that cardiac resynchronization therapy resulted in a 41% lower risk of heart failure-related events; however, also presenting the results in terms of absolute risk reduction would have been helpful. The story does not discuss any of the potential harms of this treatment. For example, one patient who received the cardiac resynchronization device died from a pulmonary embolus. The story briefly describes the methods of the New England Journal Medicine study; however, a more detailed discussion of the patient inclusion criteria would have been useful. Furthermore, one of the co-authors of the study is quoted as saying the group who used cardiac resynchronization therapy will not have the same mortality as those who use just defibrillators; however, the trial results do not support this statement. In fact, the mortality rate was slightly higher in the CRT group (3.3% vs. 2.5%). By profiling only one patient who is now “100 percent better” after cardiac resynchronization therapy, this story overhyped the treatment without referencing the evidence. This story does not provide comments from any independent sources. Additionally, it fails to point out that the study was funded by Boston Scientific, the manufacturer of the cardiac resynchronization device used in the trial. This story indicates that cardiac resynchronization is an adjuvant therapy to a defibrillator and also mentions that medications can be used to treat people with symptoms of heart failure. However, the story comes up short in describing the alternatives, particularly when ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, diuretics, and salt reduction, are probably more important as a whole compared to cardiac resynchronization therapy. The availability of cardiac resynchronization therapy is not in question. The story indicates that cardiac resynchronization has been available to patients with moderate to severe heart failure, whereas this study evaluated its utility for preventing heart failure in people who have only mild symptoms. We can’t be sure of the extent to which the story may have been influenced by a news release.
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9998
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Bone Proteins Costly In Surgery, Study Says
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This story about spinal fusion surgeries that use bone-growth proteins [BMPs] pursues an important cost angle more aggressively than some other stories we saw on this same study. But it missed an important point: The current study does not have the power to resolve the long-standing question about whether the higher short-term costs of BMPs are offset by lower long-term follow-up care. All it does is confirm that short-term costs are higher. The story mentions the lack of long-term data as a mere caveat. If you strip down the study you see a few interesting observations: About a quarter of spinal fusions now use BMPs. Surgeries on the inside of the spine near the neck cause breathing problems. BMP surgeries appear to be used more often in certain populations, but limitations in the data make any conclusions about disparities premature. That isn’t much to wrap a story around. A reader seeing a story about the cost or complications of BMPs has a broader set of questions: Does the [initially] more expensive technique produce better outcomes? Which patients are best suited to this surgery? What really is the long-term picture? Is this yet another case of an expensive new technique making a company rich when an established treatment is just as good or better? And what about the angle that most spinal fusion surgeries are deemed unnecessary anyway? This study, a valuable piece of medical research, nonetheless doesn’t address any of those fundamental questions. And neither did the story.
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false
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"The story fails spectacularly with the issue of costs. First, it’s not clear why the story focuses primarily on the 11- to 41-percent higher in-hospital costs of BMP–the study’s findings on prevalence and complication rates are at least as significant. Yet despite the story’s focus on costs, the story lacks basic reporting on them. The story fails to say how much the surgery costs, how big that 11 to 41 percent premium really is, and who pays for it. And in whose pocket that extra spending winds up in. As it happens, the journal study itself includes these details: The BMP product costs about $4,000. For anterior cervical fusion, the surgery without BMP cost about $31,000. With BMP, about $46,000. But it gets worse. As the story itself explains, the issue of total BMP costs has been controversial since the technology’s inception because [as BMP makers suggest] patients who get BMP surgery may require less treatment over the course of their lives than their peers. Despite the interested source, it’s a legitimate argument worth exploring. And yet: As the authors of the journal article themselves explain, this study did not follow patients over time and therefore lacked the power to speak to the question of total costs at all. Its findings about in-hospital costs are useful but not in any way conclusive. In other words: the story focuses on the findings of higher costs of BMP despite the fact that the study cannot resolve the question of total costs–which, from a public health perspective, is the only one that counts. The JAMA study is silent on whether BMP ""works""–which is to say, whether BMP improves outcomes, quality of life, morbidity or mortality. No harm in that: This piece of research is designed to look only at prevalence, complications and costs. But the news story’s shorthand conclusions–that the surgery is common, costly and linked to certain complications–begs the question of whether better outcomes outweigh those negatives. It’s hard to imagine what kind of reader would not want to know the answer. Certainly at least some comparative outcome data exists. [Or if not, then that is worth mentioning.] The reporter didn’t even mention the issue. In the final paragraph, the story mentions that BMP is linked to more complications, particularly difficulty swallowing in surgeries done high on the spine. But the story didn’t explain how big were the potential harms. According to the results of the study, the use of BMP in anterior cervical fusion is associated with a 51.4% higher complication rate compared to patients who did not receive BMP (7.09% vs. 4.68%, respectively). However, these data were not presented in the story. The story fails to provide necessary caveats to help readers understand the study’s limitations. In fact, the story mentions only the positive attributes of the study: That the data drew on a ""broad U.S. sample of 328,000 spine surgeries"" and included information from 20 percent of the nation’s hospitals. But the study has significant limitations: It used existing data from previous surgeries. It did not follow individual patients over time. It did not include information about subsequent outcomes, additional treatments, quality of life, morbidity or mortality. The story should have stated these shortcomings plainly. The story does not engage in disease mongering. The study uses only one live source, the study’s lead author. This is insufficient. One or two additional voices would have been able to put these findings in context and help readers understand what they might mean. Having said that, the reporter does get extra points for trying to contact a researcher with clear economic motivations to explain his conclusions, which differ from the current study’s. The story doesn’t explain how someone with serious chronic back pain becomes a candidate for surgery, and then how he or she becomes a candidate for BMP. A paragraph that explains the available treatment options at various stages of the condition would have been very useful. This is particularly true since a long-standing question about spinal fusion surgery, regardless of technique, is whether it is overused and potentially harmful. The story states correctly that about 25 percent of spinal fusion surgeries use bone-growth proteins [BMPs]. The story clearly cites usage data since 2002, so it’s clear this is not a just-unwrapped product or procedure. Given the history and the potential conflict of interest question raised in the story, it is safe to assume that it did not rely on a news release."
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35345
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"A letter was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1920 while the author was quarantined in France during the ""Spanish influenza"" pandemic."
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At this time, it seems very poignant to avoid all public spaces. Even the bars, as I told Hemingway, but to that he punched me in the stomach, to which I asked if he had washed his hands. He hadn’t. He is much the denier, that one. Why, he considers the virus to be just influenza. I’m curious of his sources.
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false
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Humor, COVID-19
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In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic, social media users shared a letter believed to have been written by F. Scott Fitzgerald while he was quarantining in the south of France as a result of the 1918 influenza pandemic. The letter began as follows: This Side of Paradise: A Letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Quarantined in the South of France Dearest Rosemary, It was a limpid dreary day, hung as in a basket from a single dull star. I thank you for your letter. Outside, I perceive what may be a collection of fallen leaves tussling against a trash can. One post about the letter, apparently assuming it was real, said: F. Scott Fitzgerald was quarantined during last pandemic. He griped to a friend that Ernest Hemingway wasn’t a hand washer. But the letter in question was not written by Fitzgerald. It was published on the humor website McSweeney’s on March 13, 2020, and written as a parody by Nick Farriella, who tweeted about how his post had been “turned into fake news.” The text didn’t even mention the year it was written, nor the nature of the “virus.” But the letter does bring up other notable figures like Zelda Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway:
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10040
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To have and have not: A better way to screen for lung cancer
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"This story reports on the results of a study on using CT scans to screen for lung cancer screening published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This study appears to indicate that all people at ""high risk"" (current or former smokers) could benefit from screening. But unfortunately, because of the limitations of this study, the question of whether screening for lung cancer saves lives remains to be answered. This story grossly exaggerates the strength of the existing evidence by promoting CT screening as a ""shining light"" to ""cure"" lung cancer. Citing questionable statistics and lacking in balance, this story does a disservice to its readers. Although the story does describe the design of the screening trial, it minimizes the limitations of the available evidence. The story seems to treat the lack of a control group as a minor issue and downplays the potential for bias in the design of the study. The story also does not mention other studies that have failed to show a mortality benefit from lung cancer screening with X-rays. The story minimizes the potential harms of screening. The story describes the radiation exposure from CT as being equivalent to that of a mammogram. It is not clear where this information comes from. CT scans generally have many times the amount of radiation exposure of x-rays. While the story provides some quantification of benefits from screening, it also exaggerates these benefits in qualitative terms. The story claims that the study is a ""shining light"" and that screening could ""cure or substantially lengthen the lives"" of lung cancer patients. Unfortunately, the current study does not prove that screening actually lengthens lives. By accurately describing the seriousness and prevalence of lung cancer, the story avoids disease mongering. However, the story verges on ""treatment mongering"" by comparing lung cancer screening to the ""many cures"" from prostate cancer screening, which has not been shown to save lives. Furthermore, the story inappropriately highlights a patient with a cough, a symptom of lung cancer, who went on to die of the disease. First, it is not clear if doing the CT scan in this patient would have prolonged his life and second, this example highlights the use of CT for diagnosing lung cancer, not screening for lung cancer in people who do not have symptoms. These are very different concepts. The story does not mention the cost of the scan, an important piece of information for the consumer given that insurance is unlikely to cover it. Finally, the story only quotes the lead author of the recent study, Claudia Henschke. The story should have quoted other clinicians or researchers who could have provided some much needed balance."
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false
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"The story does not mention the cost of the scan, an important piece of information for the consumer given that insurance is unlikely to cover it. While the story provides some quantification of benefits from screening, it also exaggerates these benefits in qualitative terms. The story claims that the study is a ""shining light"" and that screening could ""cure or substantially lengthen the lives"" of lung cancer patients. Unfortunately, the current study does not prove that screening actually lengthens lives. The story minimizes the potential harms of screening. The story describes the radiation exposure from CT as being equivalent to that of a mammogram. It is not clear where this information comes from. CT scans generally have many times the amount of radiation exposure of x-rays. There is also no discussion of the harms caused by false positives, which may lead to unnecessary biopsies, which may lead to further complications. Although the study does describe the design of the screening trial, it minimizes the limitations of the available evidence. The story seems to treat the lack of a control group as a minor issue and downplays the potential for bias in the design of the study. The story also does not mention other studies that have failed to show a mortality benefit from lung cancer screening with X-rays. By accurately describing the seriousness and prevalence of lung cancer, the story avoids disease mongering. However, the story verges on ""treatment mongering"" by compared lung cancer screening to the ""many cures"" from prostate cancer screening, which has not been shown to save lives. Furthermore, the story inappropriately highlights a patient with a cough, a symptom of lung cancer, who went on to die of the disease. First, it is not clear if doing the CT scan in this patient would have prolonged his life and second, this example highlights the use of CT for diagnosing lung cancer, not screening for lung cancer in people who do not have symptoms. These are very different concepts. The story only quotes the lead author of the recent study, Claudia Henschke. The story should have quoted other clinicians or researchers who could have provided some much needed balance. The story does not mention other ways to reduce lung cancer risk, such as quitting smoking. The story does not mention that lung cancer screening is already being offered and advertised by many hospitals and imaging centers across the country. We're told the study was done in 38 centers around the world but are given no idea of the availability of spiral CT scanners. There is no way to know if the story relied on a press release."
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3628
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Rabies-carrying bats raising alarm in southwest Utah.
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Health officials are raising alarm after receiving several reports of people interacting with rabies-carrying bats in southwest Utah.
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true
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Animals, Rabies, Health, General News, Utah, Bats, St. George
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The Southwest Utah Public Health Department said in a Tuesday news release that most of the cases have occurred in residential neighborhoods. Individuals exposed to the deadly virus have been given preventative vaccinations. Rabies can spread to people from the saliva of infected animals including bats, foxes, raccoons and skunks. Officials said most of the rabies cases in southwest Utah occur in bats or animals bitten by bats.
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23073
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"Vows to keep Georgia's race for governor ""civil"" and focused on the ""positive."
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"Candidates claims to run ""civil"" campaign veer off track"
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false
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Georgia, Message Machine 2010, Roy Barnes and Nathan Deal,
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"Well, everybody seemed to be on the same page when it all started. The 3-month-old race between former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, and former Congressman Nathan Deal, a Republican, to determine who will become Georgia's next governor was to be a civil affair, hard-focused on the key issues. Or, so said both campaigns at the outset. Just listen to Deal spokesman Brian Robinson in a Sept. 13 metro Atlanta television interview: ""They [voters] want a positive vision and Nathan Deal will offer [that] in tone and in message."" Or Barnes himself in an Aug. 11 TV interview: ""You know, it’s a Southern tradition to be civil and polite. … just because we have differences, doesn’t mean that we have to call each other names."" Oh really now? We thought today -- four days before Election Day -- would be a good time to look back at those lofty campaign goals as the governor’s race nears the finish line. Voters go to the polls on Tuesday to choose between Deal, Barnes or Libertarian John Monds. And they’ll have to wade through a lot of noise from one of the nastiest campaigns in recent Georgia history to cast their ballots for the state's next chief executive. Here are a few of the campaign’s lowlights, brought to you by the campaigns and their Republican and Democratic surrogates: -- Dale Peterson, a failed GOP candidate for Alabama’s agriculture chief, weighs in with a YouTube video for Deal on behalf of the Republican Governors Association. Wearing a white cowboy hat and brandishing a vintage lever-action rifle across his shoulders, Peterson reminds viewers that Georgia voters fired Barnes in 2002 after one term in office: ""He screwed things up so badly y'all chunked him out."" Peterson adds: ""He's just the same old amb’lance chaser he’s always been."" -- The Barnes camp enlisted its own cast of colorful rural types in a television ad that featured two old geezers sipping coffee in a folksy cafe. They incrementally ramp up the trash talk as they bash Deal. Finally one of them delivers a zinger: ""He’s slippery as a bag of snakes,"" one man intones as the pair breaks into howls of laughter. And those were just warm-up exercises in character assassination that prefaced what was to become outright fabrication by both camps. -- The Barnes camp conceded that it added fake audio questions to the soundtrack of a TV ad that shows Deal leaving a debate, apparently trying to evade reporters. ""Why won't you answer questions?"" a male reporter appears to yell at Deal in the ad. Then a woman yells: ""Why won't you answer questions?"" Trouble was, those reporters did not exist. The Barnes camp simply added audio to make the footage appear more dramatic. -- The Deal camp, meanwhile, ran a TV ad showing a ""quote"" from a Barnes campaign aide that was never uttered. The ad quoted Barnes spokeswoman Anna Ruth Williams saying, ""Barnes represented the child molester."" She never said those words. The Deal campaign later attributed the quote to an ""Ann Williams."" And then there were the just-plain-awful, highly misleading attacks by both camps on the other candidate’s voting records two decades back: -- In one, Barnes accused Deal of trying to weaken Georgia's rape shield law. PolitiFact Georgia earlier ruled that Half True because it left out critical context. A male narrator in the ad asks viewers to consider ""How many rapes would go unreported?"" if the rape shield law had been weakened. -- Deal, meanwhile, accused Barnes of trying to make it more difficult to convict child molesters. PolitiFact Georgia ruled that it contained only a trace of truthfulness. ""Barnes voted against a bill in the state Senate that would have made it easier to gain convictions in child abuse cases,"" Deal said in a press release. University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock said this year’s campaign is one for the books when you rate it on the Nastymeter. ""It’s unprecedented for Georgia,"" Bullock said. ""It’s been the harshest campaign we’ve seen for governor."" Much of the uncivil behavior was predictable. Both campaigns had huge war chests, and well-heeled allies on both the Democratic and Republican fronts were more than willing to join the fray. Polls have shown the race relatively close, which always makes for a bruising campaign. And both Barnes and Deal have long political records each side can target. Kennesaw State University professor Kerwin Swint, who teaches a class on campaigns and elections, said Barnes and Deal have resorted to attack ads for a simple reason: They work. ""It does with regular voters because they’re more likely to pay attention,"" said Swint. ""It puts attention on the other candidate’s vulnerability."" But it also leads to an uninformed electorate, numbed by the endless attacks and counterattacks. Somewhere amid it all, the real issues confronting Georgia get lost. Smoke is rising from this gubernatorial battleground, and it long ago obscured both camps' vows to run a ""civil"" and ""positive"" campaign. The race has been about as uncivil and negative as they come. We give both the Deal and Barnes campaigns our lowest rating."
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7138
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Doctors prepare for deep dive into Las Vegas shooter’s brain.
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Scientists are preparing to do a microscopic study of the Las Vegas gunman’s brain, but whatever they find, if anything, likely won’t be what led him to kill 58 people in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, experts said.
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true
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Shootings, Las Vegas mass shooting, International News, Stanford University, North America, Health, Forensics, Science, Stephen Paddock, Las Vegas, U.S. News
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Stephen Paddock’s brain is being sent to Stanford University for a months-long examination after a visual inspection during an autopsy found no abnormalities, Las Vegas authorities said. Doctors will perform multiple forensic analyses, including an exam of the 64-year-old’s brain tissue to find any possible neurological problems. The brain will arrive in California soon, and Stanford has been instructed to spare no expense for the work, The New York Times reported. It will be further dissected to determine if Paddock suffered from health problems such as strokes, blood vessel diseases, tumors, some types of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, degenerative disorders, physical trauma and infections. Dr. Hannes Vogel, Stanford University Medical Center’s director of neuropathology, would not discuss the procedure with The Associated Press and referred questions to officials in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located. They also refused to provide details. Vogel told The Times that he will leave nothing overlooked to put to rest much of the speculation on Paddock’s health as investigators struggle to identify a motive for the shooting. The examination will come about a month after Paddock unleashed more than a thousand bullets through the windows of a 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel into a crowd below attending an outdoor country music festival. After killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more, Paddock took his own life with a shot through his mouth, police say. Investigators working around the clock remain frustrated by a lack of clues that would point to his motive. Authorities have resorted to putting up billboards in southern Nevada seeking tips and now the intensive brain study that medical experts say likely won’t yield definitive answers. If a disease is found, experts say it would be false science to conclude it caused or perhaps even contributed to the massacre, even if that explanation would ease the minds of investigators and the world at large. “There’s a difference between association and causality, and just because you have anything, doesn’t mean it does anything,” said Brian Peterson, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners and chief coroner of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County. The microscopic study is not a standard practice but is regularly used as needed. Families sometimes request such a detailed examination to better understand their own genetic risks. Peterson said it’s also common in high-profile cases such as Paddock’s, where so much is riding on the results that all forensic options must be exhausted. Douglas Fields, a neuroscientist who studies the rage circuit in brain systems, said horribly violent events, such as mass shootings and terrorism, rarely involve actual brain abnormalities but can be triggered by psychiatric problems. Perpetrators often are suicidal psychopaths who are motivated to commit heinous crimes because they have internalized their isolation and anti-social behavior as an existential threat for themselves, he said. “When police look for motive, it’s kind of misplaced in cases like this because they appear to be crimes of rage. There’s no motive for crimes of rage. It’s a crime of passion,” Fields said. One such case involved the University of Texas shooter Charles Whitman, who fatally shot 13 people in 1966 from a clock tower on the Austin campus. Whitman was found to have a pecan-sized tumor in his brain, though the suggestion that it caused his rampage is still debated decades later. Peterson, who is not involved in the Paddock case, said an initial inspection that is standard for any autopsy would generally include dissecting the brain at one-centimeter intervals to look for issues identifiable to the trained eye — infection, tumor, symmetry, bleeding and blood vessel abnormality. A further study would involve a microscopic focus on the tissue cells, such as using stains to determine different types of dementia and other degenerative diseases, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is sometimes found in people who have suffered repetitive brain trauma. There also would likely be a review of the brain at a molecular level though DNA, Peterson said. Experts say the brain study on Paddock will be a worthy effort for scientific reasons. Dr. Paul S. Appelbaum, a psychiatry expert at Columbia University, said that at minimum, it might yield something even tangential that can be passed on to the public, such as awareness for psychological disorders or brain diseases. “Are we ever going to know for certain what caused his brain to do that?” Appelbaum asked. “Probably not from a neuropathological examination, but it’s not unreasonable to ask and see whether it might contribute to our understanding of what occurred.” ___ Follow Sally Ho at https://twitter.com/_sallyho.
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7443
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Safety measures to govern Legislature’s return to capital.
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The Illinois General Assembly will return to Springfield for three days next week to take up a spring session workload long delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
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true
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Legislature, Michael Madigan, Health, General News, Virus Outbreak, Public health, Springfield, Illinois
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The extraordinary safety measures that will govern the May 20-22 session were delineated in a letter Wednesday from Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan to the House minority leader. Legislators will have to pledge to follow Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines to prevent the spread of the highly contagious and potentially lethal coronavirus. They include pre-session testing of all legislators for COVID-19. Eschewing the traditional Capitol setting, the House will be called to order six blocks away at the Bank of Springfield Center in downtown Springfield, to take advantage of the spacious convention center floor for social distancing. The Senate, whose membership is half the House’s 118 seats, will meet in its regular chamber, Senate President Don Harmon said in a statement. The Oak Park Democrat rallied senators to return to action with the “cooperative spirit of bipartisan achievement” they’ve shown before. “This global pandemic has decimated our state and local economies regardless of political affiliation,” Harmon said. “From far-flung living rooms, kitchen tables and home offices, senators have been working together — while apart — to figure out what we can and need to do now.” Legislators, whom Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared essential workers and not subject to his seven-week-old stay-at-home order scheduled to expire May 30, have nonetheless been absent from the Statehouse since early March to prevent spreading sickness. That period represents the heart of the Illinois General Assembly’s spring-session calendar, ending with a scheduled May 31 adjournment and typically a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Pritzker implored lawmakers to help those left out of initial federal relief deals. “Lots of people fell through the cracks,” Pritzker said at his daily COVID-19 briefing in Chicago. Relief won’t come from the state treasury. Tax revenue lost because of the pandemic has opened a $7 billion deficit in the current budget and next year’s. Illinois will be dependent on the federal government, Pritzker said. “We need to rely upon federal government and its support for all the states in order for us to provide the services that people need or for us to pay for the education that our kids need, and for us to support our businesses and our families,” Pritzker said. Madigan’s letter to House GOP Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said all state representatives must pledge to abide by public health guidelines for safely congregating. In addition to pre-trip testing, they include agreeing to undergo body temperature checks upon entering the building for sessions, wearing provided face coverings whenever meeting with staff members or colleagues, avoiding outside meetings or social engagements, and undergoing another test upon returning home. It won’t be the first time lawmakers convened outside of the current Statehouse, which welcomed its first session in 1877. In recent history, the legislative chambers were undergoing renovation when then-Gov. George Ryan called a special session in the summer of 2000 to temporarily remove the state sales tax on gasoline during a price spike. Sessions were conducted in the auditorium of the Howlett Building next door to the Capitol. ___ Check out more of the AP’s coronavirus coverage at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak ___ Follow Political Writer John O’Connor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor
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35514
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An illustration from a 1962 Italian magazine shows an imagined scene from the year 2022.
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What's true: An article from a 1962 edition of the Domenica del Corriere newspaper envisions drivers in futuristic, dome-enclosed, single-person vehicles. What's false: We haven't found any information documenting that this article was specifically envisaged as presenting a scene from the year 2022.
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mixture
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Fauxtography
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In May 2020, social media users circulated an illustration said to be from a 1962 magazine, envisioning what life would look like in 2022, 60 years in the future. The graphic struck many viewers as being an eerie premonition of the social distancing restrictions and other measures necessitated by the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic of 2020: In 1962, an Italian magazine carried a story on how the world will look in 2022. pic.twitter.com/wfQMK1nYDk — Danis Tanović (@DanisTanovic) May 14, 2020 This graphic was indeed published in the December 16, 1962, edition of La Domenica del Corriere (Sunday Courier), an Italian weekly newspaper. The image was used to illustrate an article about the Singoletta (or singlet), single-passenger vehicles of the future envisioned as a way of alleviating urban traffic gridlock:
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38830
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The Black Dot Campaign allows victims of domestic abuse to draw a small black dot on their hand to silently ask for help.
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Black Dot Campaign Strives to Help Victims of Domestic Abuse
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mixture
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Internet
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There’s a genuine effort underway to make the Black Dot Campaign a widespread solution to victims of domestic abuse, but that hasn’t happened yet. An unidentified British woman who was once the victim of domestic abuse started the Black Dot Campaign on Facebook, and it quickly racked up nearly 50,000 “likes” from supporters. According to the group’s community page: This is a campaign to help the most vulnerable victims of domestic violence. They simply draw a black dot on their hands and agencies, family, friends, community centres, doctors, hospitals can recognise this person needs help but can not ask for it. While well intentioned, a number of concerns have been raised about the Black Dot Campaign. Because it’s a grass-roots effort, many professional organizations and charities had not received training to identify or respond to black dots on the hands of domestic abuse victims. Black dots could also been seen by the abusers. Still, the founder of the Black Dot Campaign told the BBC that she started to help victims start a dialogue with friends, family and support staff: I imagined it as a tool to start face-to-face conversations between friends, or with professionals. I was basing it on my experiences and I was thinking, how could I prompt people to talk about domestic violence? A black dot is easy to make, and easy to erase. As a female, you could go to the toilet, draw one on with mascara, and then later wipe it out. Being in the centre of your palm, you could close your palm and hide it from view. As a way of seeking help, it’s not going to be a solution for everybody. As a victim, you know what triggers your abuser. So if it’s not safe to draw a black dot, don’t do it. Just because you’re a victim doesn’t mean you’re stupid – you know yourself what is safe and what is not safe. The Black Dot Campaign is a genuine effort to help victims of domestic abuse seek help, but it’s not currently a widely accepted way to do that. Comments
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5942
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Incumbent congressmen face GOP challengers on Election Day.
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Rhode Island’s two representatives in the U.S. House say they’re asking voters for another term so they can continue to fight for the state.
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true
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Rhode Island, Health, Violence, Elections, Providence, David Cicilline, Prescription drugs, Gun violence, James Langevin
|
Democratic Reps. James Langevin and David Cicilline said they feel they have unfinished business in Washington, whether that’s making health care and prescription drugs more affordable, rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure or trying to reduce gun violence. Langevin faces Republican Salvatore Caiozzo on Tuesday, and Cicilline faces Republican Patrick Donovan. Langevin, of Warwick, is seeking a 10th term to represent the 2nd Congressional District in western Rhode Island. “I want to continue the fight on behalf of Rhode Island for a stronger middle class, better jobs with higher wages, affordable health care, quality education, the things that make a difference in people’s lives,” Langevin said in a recent interview. Langevin is particularly proud of a bill he pushed for to strengthen career and technical education, and he would like to remain in Congress to help ensure it’s robustly implemented. He also won support for measures to provide better support for caregivers of veterans, to better protect people with disabilities as they travel, and to ensure climate change is addressed as part of the national security strategy. He has prioritized protecting the national and economic security against cyberthreats as co-chairman of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus. Caiozzo, a retired businessman from West Greenwich, ran for the seat in 2016 as an independent, finishing last. Caiozzo says that Rhode Island “deserves better” and that he wants to go to Washington to help its residents, particularly veterans, the elderly and the disabled. He has told voters that he is neither left nor right, that he’s a moderate and that he could solve problems in Washington. “I want to be the voice of Rhode Island in Washington,” Caiozzo said Wednesday. Caiozzo wants to support the state’s fishing and farming industries, reduce federal intervention in state education policy and reform Social Security to ensure it’s fully funded. Langevin has raised $1 million this election cycle and spent nearly $700,000, according to federal filings. Caiozzo raised $5,000. He thinks Republican donors are focused more on Rhode Island’s gubernatorial race. Cicilline, of Providence, is seeking his fifth term in Congress representing the 1st Congressional District, which covers the easternmost part of the state. He faces Donovan, a stay-at-home father of four grown children who lives in Newport. Cicilline has a rising profile in the national Democratic Party. He plans to run for assistant Democratic leader if he is re-elected and his party retakes the House. He is outspoken in his criticism of the president on topics such as immigration and Russia. Democrats will prioritize addressing the rising cost of health care, particularly prescription drugs, investing in infrastructure and reforming how money is spent in elections, Cicilline said. He is also trying to make college affordable. “I’ve been able to deliver real results for Rhode Island, and I’d love to have the privilege of doing that for two more years,” he said. “I want to make sure Rhode Island’s voice is heard in Washington and continue to get things done for my constituents.” A proposal Cicilline has been working on for years to help manufacturers was signed into law this year. It allows the federal government to designate defense manufacturing communities, to strengthen national security innovation. Cicilline is proud he was able to help name a post office in Bristol after an Army Green Beret who was killed in Afghanistan, 1st Sgt. P. Andrew McKenna, and proud of successfully securing federal funding for local first responders and other groups. Donovan has tried to cast himself as someone who would be more attuned to residents’ needs. He said he would prioritize lowering the cost of energy by using readily available renewable energy, to help working people who are struggling. He wants to pursue purchasing power from Hydro-Quebec. He describes himself as an “environmental Republican” and said he’d change the way prescription drugs are disposed of, both to protect the environment and prevent misuse. He says he would also work to lower the price of prescription drugs. “You’re supposed to be of service to your congressional district, and you’re supposed to do good,” he said Wednesday. “My intention is to do no harm to my constituency.” Cicilline has raised about $1.5 million this election cycle and spent $1.3 million, according to federal filings. Donovan said he hasn’t filed a federal report because he has raised less than $5,000.
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9059
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Type 2 diabetes is not for life
|
The news release focuses on a Lancet article describing the first-year results of an ongoing two-year study aimed at determining how effective diet-based weight loss can be at achieving remission of type 2 diabetes in adults. The release notes that 45.6 percent of patients who took part in the weight loss program achieved remission of their type 2 diabetes, and that remission was closely correlated with weight loss; the more weight study participants lost, the more likely they were to achieve remission. While the release does a good job of describing the study, it does not mention previous studies related to weight loss and type 2 diabetes. That’s a significant oversight that makes it difficult for readers to place the new findings in context. It’s worth noting that HealthNewsReview.org reviewed a previous release from the same university on earlier findings from the same research group. While the more recent release does a better job of addressing benefits and the quality of the evidence, some problems — such as the failure to address novelty and place the work in context — were not addressed. Further, there is no mention in the release about the conflicts of interest on the part of several authors in their relationships with Counterweight and Cambridge Weight Plans. And like the TIME story on the Newcastle University research, the release doesn’t inform readers about cost and harms of the diet. Type 2 diabetes is a common medical problem. According to the CDC, an estimated 30.3 million Americans have diabetes — and approximately 95 percent of them have type 2 diabetes. And the incidence of type 2 diabetes appears to be on the rise. That means research findings about new treatment options for type 2 diabetes have a large audience. It’s important for related news releases to place these new research findings into context. How do they build on or differ from previous studies? What could that mean for treatment options? These are important considerations for those living with type 2 diabetes, and the release falls short on these points.
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false
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low calorie diet,Newcastle University,Type 2 diabetes
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This is a tough one. Presumably, any patient with type 2 diabetes could adopt a healthier diet to help themselves lose weight — in which case, costs would not be applicable here. However, this particular study involved a carefully crafted diet that changed over time in order to facilitate early weight loss and then help patients keep that weight off. Did the investigators provide or pay for the food? If so, that would be important to mention. And, as the release notes: “Importantly, long-term support by routine General Practice staff was given to help the participants maintain their weight loss.” That sort of weight-loss regime and patient support is not without expense. Ergo, some discussion of cost should have been included. While the cost of the weight-loss efforts may be lower than the cost of pharmaceutical treatment for type 2 diabetes, that is also something that could have been discussed (even briefly) in the release. The release does a good job here, stating that 45.6 percent of those who adopted the low-calorie diet achieved remission from type 2 diabetes. The release also clearly defines what it means by “remission,” including the fact that patients no longer required diabetes medications and had blood glucose levels of less than 6.5 percent. In addition, the release broke the results down according to the amount of weight lost. For example, noting that 86 percent those who lost more than 15 kilograms (kg) achieved remission, as compared to 34 percent of those who lost 5-10 kg. We also think it’s important that the release noted the limitations of the study in regard to assessing benefits. For example, the release states that “Whether putting Type 2 diabetes into remission can protect against diabetes-related complications later in life is not yet known, which is why it is important that those who achieve remission continue to receive health checks.” The release doesn’t discuss potential harms. Even if the risk of potential harms is low, it’s important to articulate the risks to readers. And significant weight loss does carry some risks. In this case, the relevant journal article notes that “Nine serious adverse events were reported by seven (4%) of 157 participants in the intervention group ….Two serious adverse events (biliary colic and abdominal pain), occurring in the same participant, were deemed potentially related to the intervention.” The release does a good job of describing the study. However, since the release notes that different levels of weight loss corresponded to a higher likelihood of remission, it would have been good to tell readers how many study participants achieved those levels of weight loss. For example, while the release tells readers that 86 percent of patients who lost at least 15 kg achieved remission, it doesn’t mention that only 36 people achieved that level of weight loss. It would have been useful to note whether the investigators provided or paid for the food. It’s well known that people do well on packaged meal plans when someone provides the food. When people have to pay themselves, the results aren’t as great. One other omission that we’d have liked to have seen is a mention that some study participants took part in an exercise program and were given step counters. This was mentioned in the published report but not the release. It would be important to include since it’s a potential source of bias in the results. There’s no disease mongering here, but there is a point to be made. The release refers (repeatedly) to the “millions of people” affected by type 2 diabetes. If a release is going to use that kind of language (which is accurate), why not simply include information about the incidence of type 2 diabetes? That would be just as simple, and significantly more useful for readers. The release clearly notes that funding came from Diabetes UK, as well as the amounts of funding. However, it doesn’t mention that four of the researchers are paid by or otherwise associated with Counterweight and another four with Cambridge Weight Plan, according to the study. Those are conflicts of interest that needed to be made transparent in the release. The release doesn’t address other approaches that could be used to address type 2 diabetes through weight loss — such as bariatric surgery. This will come up again under the “Establish Novelty” criterion. Lifestyle-based weight loss programs are well known and widespread. It can be assumed that readers are familiar with the concept. The idea of using weight loss to treat type 2 diabetes is not new. Much of the previous work has focused on the use of bariatric surgeries to treat the condition — such as this 2008 JAMA paper that compared outcomes between type 2 diabetes patients who received gastric bands versus those who attempted weight loss through lifestyle change. But there has been previous work focused solely on how effective lifestyle change can be at treating type 2 diabetes, such as this 2012 JAMA paper. In order to place the new study’s findings in context, it’s important to understand how those findings support (or differ from) previous studies. The release fails to do this. As is often the case, the culprit here is the headline. The headline states that “Type 2 diabetes is not for life.” That’s not quite right. At best, study participants have put their type 2 diabetes into remission — in the first year of a study. How long will the remission last? We don’t know. And some patients — even patients who lost more than 15 kg of weight — were not able to put their type 2 diabetes into remission. For those patients, barring a change in their status, type 2 diabetes does appear to be for life. At its most optimistic, the headline should read: “Type 2 diabetes is not necessarily for life.” The maintenance of weight loss requires continued attention to the patient’s diet and presumably the ongoing use of an additional exercise regimen.
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527
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Samoa measles toll hits 42 as nations dispatch medical teams, supplies.
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More nations were flying medical staff and supplies to Samoa on Friday to battle a measles outbreak that prompted the Pacific island nation to declare a state of emergency this month, as the death toll rose to 42, most of them children younger than four.
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true
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Health News
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A significant drop in immunisation over the last few years has made Samoa highly vulnerable to outbreaks of the disease, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying vaccine coverage is just about 31% there. Schools have been shut and a mass vaccination effort launched in the nation of just 200,000 located south of the equator halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, with its government saying 50,068 people have been vaccinated. The health ministry said 3,149 cases of measles have been reported, with 213 during the last 24 hours. Of 197 victims in hospital, 20 are critically ill children and three are pregnant women, it added. Deaths in the outbreak have now reached 42, the majority of them children under the age of four, the government said. Neighbouring New Zealand said it was sending more supplies and personnel, including emergency medical assistance teams, nurse vaccinators, intensive care specialists and Samoan-speaking medical professionals. “The Samoan health system is under serious strain with growing numbers of people, many of whom are very young, needing complex care as a result of the measles outbreak,” said New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters. New Zealand would also fund 100,000 more vaccines for measles and rubella, Peters added in a statement. Britain said a group of British doctors and nurses left on Friday to help Samoa’s efforts to rein in the outbreak, while Australia said it had also sent medical personnel and supplies. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that spreads easily through coughing and sneezing. Other nations in the Pacific, such as Tonga and Fiji, are also grappling with a spike in the number of measles cases. Tonga has said its outbreak followed the return of a squad of its rugby players from New Zealand, where Auckland, the biggest city, is tackling a growing number of cases. Measles cases are rising worldwide, even in wealthy nations such as Germany and the United States, as parents shun immunisation for philosophical or religious reasons, or fears, debunked by doctors, that such vaccines could cause autism.
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26755
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“The blood test for coronavirus costs $3,200.”
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The CDC isn’t charging for coronavirus testing but patients could be stuck with associated costs, such as a trip to the emergency room. In Florida, a man who worried he was infected initially faced a $3,270 bill even though he never received a coronavirus test. The man was charged for other costs incurred when he went to the hospital because he was worried he was infected. The biggest was his co-pay for the emergency room visit, which cost him $819.
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false
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Florida, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,
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"Fears about the novel coronavirus are starting to dovetail with concerns about costs. ""The blood test for coronavirus costs $3,200,"" says a Feb. 27 Facebook post. ""Trump’s White House already said I won’t be able to afford the vaccine. If I can’t afford the test and I can’t afford the treatment, am I just supposed to die. This is exactly why I support healthcare as a human right."" This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The post seems to stem from a story about a man who got a steep medical bill after visiting a hospital when he returned from China in January and became ill. One headline about the man’s ordeal, from Business Insider, says: ""A US resident racked up a $3,200 hospital bill for suspected coronavirus treatment, and his insurance only covered part of it."" The Miami Herald first reported on the story on Feb. 24, 2020. One version of the headline said: ""Novel coronavirus test for Miami man leads to $3,275 bill,"" but the article itself reveals a more complicated story. Osmel Martinez Azcue went to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami after developing flu-like symptoms when he got back from a work trip to China in January, according to the Herald. He was placed in a closed-off room, and nurses wearing protective suits sprayed disinfectant smoke under the door before entering. Hospital staff members said he’d need a CT scan to screen for the virus but Azcue said he asked for a flu test first, because he knew he would have to pay out of pocket, and he wanted to be discharged if he tested positive for the flu. ""Fortunately,"" the story says, ""that’s exactly what happened. He had the flu, not the deadly virus that has infected tens of thousands of people, mostly in China."" Two weeks later, according to the Herald, Azcue got a notice from an insurance company about a claim for $3,270. Jackson Health officials said at the time that more bills were on the way but the total cost was still unclear. The Herald story said the hospital told the newspaper that Azcue would be responsible for only $1,400 of the $3,270 bill; his insurance would cover the rest. But Azcue said he had learned from his insurer that he would be stuck with the whole bill unless he provided three years of medical records proving that his flu didn’t relate to a preexisting condition. ""How can they expect normal citizens to contribute to eliminating the potential risk of person-to-person spread if hospitals are waiting to charge us $3,270 for a simple blood test and a nasal swab?"" the story quotes him as saying. Ultimately, according to Business Insider, Azcue’s total co-pay was $1,400. After the Miami Herald story ran, the insurer contacted Azcue and said the requirement to provide three years of records was an ""administrative error."" ""We had concerns that your expectations of service were not being met based on some news articles that had come to our attention,"" Business Insider quotes an email from the insurer as saying. The publication breaks down the Azcue’s medical bill, including the total charge — $3,270 — and what Azcue owed. Two blood tests cost him about $157, virus and flu testing cost about $299 and his co-pay for the emergency room visit cost him $819. Azcue wasn’t tested for COVID-19, however, because he tested positive for the flu. And as Business Insider reports, the CDC, which is the only facility that can test for COVID-19 or designate other laboratories to test for the disease, isn’t billing for testing. ""This means a patient who goes to the ER or urgent care for coronavirus treatment wouldn’t incur a charge for COVID-19 lab testing,"" the story says. But as Business Insider reports in another story, free testing doesn’t mean free health care. Patients could rack up thousands of dollars in costs associated with the hospital visit or tests for other viruses. In fact, on March 2, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he was directing the state’s health insurers to waive costs ""associated with testing for coronavirus, including emergency room, urgent care and office visits."" ""We can’t let cost be a barrier to access to COVID-19 testing for any New Yorker,"" he tweeted. Our ruling The Facebook post says the ""blood test for coronavirus costs $3,200."" Testing for COVID-19 is free. But there could be costs associated with seeking such testing, like a visit to the hospital. In one case, in Florida, a man who worried he was infected initially faced a $3,270 bill even though he never received a coronavirus test."
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29031
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Michigan has passed a law exempting emergency medical personnel from treating gay people.
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What's true: The Michigan House of Representatives has passed a religious freedom bill that might potentially allow emergency medical personnel to exercise religious objections to treating gay patients. What's false: The state of Michigan has enacted a bill that specifically provides emergency medical personnel with a blanket exemption from treating gay patients.
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mixture
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Politics Sexuality
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On 4 December 2014, the Michigan House of Representatives passed HB 5958, also known as the “Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (or RFRA). That bill (which has not yet become law, as it still needs to be passed by the Michigan Senate and signed by the governor) seeks to “limit governmental action that substantially burdens a person’s exercise of religion,” which includes “an act or refusal to act, that is substantially motivated by a sincerely held religious belief, whether or not compelled by or central to a system of religious belief.” According to the text of that bill, a person who acted contrary to Michigan law because doing otherwise would burden that person’s exercise of religion could use the provisions of the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act as a defense in a criminal or civil case resulting from his actions (or inaction): A person whose religious exercise has been burdened in violation of this section may assert that violation as a claim or defense in any judicial or administrative proceeding and obtain appropriate relief, including equitable relief, against government. A court or tribunal may award all or a portion of the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney fees, to a person who prevails against government under this section. Nothing in the RFRA specifically exempts all medical personnel from providing emergency treatment to gay patients; the claim that medical personnel could opt out of providing emergency treatment to gay patients on the grounds of religious objection is one of the hypothetical scenarios opponents have posed as what might come to pass if the RFRA were enacted: For example, under the Religious Freedom law, a pharmacist could refuse to fill a doctor’s prescription for birth control, or HIV medication. An emergency room physician or EMT could refuse service to a gay person in need of immediate treatment. A school teacher could refuse to mentor the children of a same-sex couple, and a DMV clerk could refuse to give a driver’s license to a person who is divorced. While [House Speaker] Jase Bolger insists the bill is meant to protect, say, the Muslim butcher who wants to prepare food in line with halal practices, or the Jewish mother who doesn’t want an autopsy performed on her son, civil liberties advocates warn it could be used as a defense for the landlord who wants to evict a gay tenant … because of sincerely held religious beliefs. In some of the ugliest scenarios, critics say the measure could allow Catholic-owned hospitals to refuse admittance to people who need a procedure that violates the institution’s religious directives, such as a pre-viability pregnancy termination in the case of a miscarriage. In another instance, opponents foresee the bill being cited as a legal defense in domestic violence cases. The RFRA would not, as has been claimed, “allow anyone to refuse service to anyone and claim their ‘religious beliefs’ require them to discriminate” and get away with it; the state could still “substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” if it could demonstrate requiring that person to obey the law is both “in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest” and is “the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.” Therefore, it cannot be definitively stated the RFRA would “exempt emergency medical personnel from treating gay people” — that supposition would be the case only if some medical practitioner actually refused to treat a gay patient on religious grounds and challenged the law requiring him to do so by asserting the RFRA as a defense. And even if that scenario came to pass, there is no guarantee the medical practitioner would prevail: the state could demonstrate the government has a “compelling interest” in enforcing a law requiring emergency medical personnel to treat all patients regardless of sexual orientation, and there is no less restrictive means of ensuring emergency patients receive necessary treatment in a timely fashion. Michigan Speaker of the House Jase Bolger asserted the RFRA would not bring about the scenarios opponents of the bill have been touting: Bolger denies that his bill would be the “parade of horribles” he’s heard. He insists it would simply give people the freedom to practice their faith in public and add another layer of protection to their First Amendment free exercise guarantees. Additionally, Bolger stressed that the law is meant to exist between an individual and a government action, not between two individuals like, for example, the religious landlord and his gay tenant. The landlord may try to use RFRA as a defense in court for evicting his tenant based on sexual orientation, but that doesn’t mean he’d win, Bolger explained. However, according to Brooke Tucker, staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, the RFRA could still essentially allow forms of discrimination Bolger asserted would not be protected: One of the ways that anti-discrimination laws work is that you have government agencies going after the people accused of discrimination. In that case, it would be a ‘government action,'” said Tucker. “For the landlord who violates the Fair Housing Act, a lot of times it’s the government who goes after him. The government takes a lot of steps to protect people from discrimination by others, and that’s something that could be severely impacted by this bill.” Furthermore, she said, even if the government is able to prove it had a compelling interest in protecting the tenant from eviction on the basis of his sexual orientation, and that the non-discrimination ordinance was the least restrictive means of accomplishing that goal, the effect would still be a massive clog in the court system, and the tenant would be homeless for the duration of the proceedings. “What RFRA will do is give businesses and landlords the opportunity to contest everything in court, and force individuals who are now able to live discrimination-free lives to demonstrate that the government has a compelling interest in making those landlords act in a nondiscriminatory fashion,” said Tucker. “Even if that individual prevails, he will have spent a lot of time and money, and may be out of a job or out of a home while he’s waiting.” For now, what the RFRA may or may not allow is still purely a speculative matter that awaits the bill’s final passage into law and court decisions should anyone attempt to exercise its provisions.
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10124
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Antibiotic eases common stomach pain, studies find
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AP included cost information, and this is a significant factor that should not have been ignored by other stories. At the same time, the lack of independent experts was a flaw. This is underscored by an unrepresentative anecdote from a glowing patient success story, even though the study itself showed that the vast majority of people did not get adequate relief. And the placebo effect alone was significant. Because IBS treatment has been a frustrating experience for so many, even a modest improvement in symptoms that lasts a few months may be worthwhile for some. This appears to be a novel way of treating IBS, and the fact that symptoms improved at all is of interest, even if the duration of the study was short. At $21 a pill, though, one could ask hard questions about how many people are actually going to benefit and whether the treatment is a cost-effective alternative.
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true
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Associated Press
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Hooray! Unlike the WebMD story, this story includes cost information. “The price for IBS treatment hasn’t been determined, he said. But the price listed at Drugstore.com suggests it’s not cheap, with a two-week supply of the dosage used in the study costing $910, or about $21 a pill.” By providing the price and actually showing readers (and other reporters) the source for the price, the story puts the antibiotic treatment into perspective and goes part of the way toward helping readers judge how cost-effective this treatment may be. Unlike the WebMD story, which took too long to present any of the data, this story attempts to quantify the benefits in the second sentence. “In two large studies, 41 percent of the patients who took the antibiotic rifaximin said their symptoms substantially improved, compared to 32 percent of those who got fake pills. Their relief lasted for up to 10 weeks.” The story makes no mention of harms other than antibiotic resistance. Instead, the story says the drug “also been safely used elsewhere for more than two decades.” But readers should be told explicitly what side effects were found in the study. The story adequately addresses the number of patients studied, the duration of study and the study endpoints. The story does not engage in disease-mongering. It says that IBS is “a poorly understood and painful condition that especially afflicts younger women” and says that IBS affect as many as 1 in 5 Americans.” Better than the WebMD story on this count as well, AP explains that the non-constipation form of IBS is “the most common form.” The only researchers quoted in the story are researchers who do drug-company-funded research on IBS drugs. The lead author is identified this way: “Dr. Mark Pimentel, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,” and only much later does it say, “The studies were paid for by the Salix, based in Raleigh, N.C. Some of the researchers were Salix employees and others had received consulting and other fees from the company. Cedars-Sinai holds a patent on the use of rifaximin for irritable bowel syndrome.” The story should have said clearly, as the WebMD story did, that Pimentel serves as a Salix consultant and sits on its scientific advisory board. The story also quotes Dr. Jan Tack, “of the University of Leuven in Belgium.” It makes no mention of the detail noted in the WebMD story: that Tack has worked as a scientific advisor to companies evaluating IBS treatments. The final quarter of the story is devoted to Amy McMahon, “who developed the disorder about four years ago.” It says, “She tried a variety of treatments, changed her diet, and saw a number of specialists before Pimentel prescribed the antibiotic about a year later. “I felt remarkably better” after one treatment, said McMahon. So here you have a drug-company funded researcher providing a success-story-patient for a quote. The story could have included other patients who saw no relief or no patients at all. This skews the entire perspective of the story. A more representative picture would have been presented by including one of the vast majority who saw no improvement from the antibiotic. Slightly better than the WebMD story. It says, “What causes the disorder has been a mystery; sensitivity to certain foods or stress are among the theories. Patients are typically told to change their diet, reduce stress and take medicines or fiber supplements to ease symptoms.” There is no quantitative statement about relative effectiveness of the existing approaches, but they are mentioned and it is clear that symptom reduction is the best that can be offered. The story explains that: “In the U.S., rifaximin is approved for traveler’s diarrhea and for a complication of liver disease. Salix Pharmaceuticals, which markets rifaximin under the name Xifaxan in the U.S., is seeking to expand its use to IBS. A decision from the Food and Drug Administration is expected in March, said William Forbes, executive vice president and chief development officer for Salix.” Taking predictions from a company exec about when the FDA might act would not result in a good batting average over time. This story, at least, quoted the author of an accompanying editorial saying that he thought the treatment was novel. The story does not rely on a news release.
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10029
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Shades of gray: Debate continues over diagnostic scans for lung cancer
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The idea of lung cancer screening is certainly appealing. Lung cancer is common and deadly, very often found too late for treatment to be effective. So what if you could find it early? Unfortunately the results of studies on CT screening haven’t supported this fully and the largest and most rigorous study to date is still years away from providing answers. This story does an excellent job of describing the promise and controversy of lung cancer screening. It presents the results of the contradictory studies and explains why some experts are hesitant to apply the conclusions of the 2006 study to policy decisions mandating screening. The story accurately represents the cost of the scans, which are often not covered by insurance. The story could have mentioned that once a scan finds something suspicious, follow-up scans are needed at regular intervals, driving up the costs. These additional scans are typically covered by insurance. Overall, a fine piece of reporting, following up on a state court ruling.
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true
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The story accurately represents the cost of the scans, which are often not covered by insurance. The story could have mentioned that once a scan finds something suspicious, biopsies and/or follow-up scans are needed at regular intervals, driving up the costs. These additional scans are typically covered by insurance. The evidence doesn’t show a clear estimate of survival benefit, which the story made clear. The story mentions that CT scanning could lead to unnecessary harms and procedures. The story could have specifically mentioned radiation exposure. The story does a good job of describing the current study and the controversy around the results. The story does not exaggerate the seriousness or prevalence of lung cancer. The story quotes multiple experts who provide valuable perspective. The story accurately describes that there aren’t really any alternatives to preventing death from lung cancer other than quitting smoking. Lung CT scans are clearly available. Clearly screening for lung cancer is not a new idea. Because the story quotes multiple experts, it’s clear that the story did not rely on a press release as the sole source of information.
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2977
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Stomach illness outbreak at Yosemite prompts major clean-up.
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Federal health officials are inspecting Yosemite National Park’s food service areas after at least a dozen people have fallen ill with stomach issues.
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true
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Health, General News, Parks, National parks, Travel, Food services, U.S. News, Public health
|
The National Park Service and the U.S. Public Health Service told the San Francisco Chronicle they launched an investigation after employees and visitors reported the problems this month. Federal officials said they haven’t identified the illness or the origin of the outbreak. Park officials said those who had gotten sick are getting better or already recovered. Federal officials were working with Aramark, the concessionaire that operates Yosemite’s restaurants, snack shops and hotels, to clean up and disinfect food service facilities in the park, including the famous Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said. “The park is reminding all employees and visitors to wash their hands frequently and stay home if they experience any symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness,” Gediman said in a statement. A message seeking comment from a spokesman for Aramark has not been returned. Aramark received numerous complaints from visitors about poor food quality, shuttle service and other services since it began managing Yosemite’s concessions four years ago. The Ahwahnee Hotel lost its prestigious four-diamond rating by AAA, a distinction the luxury hotel held since 1991, and is now listed as a three-diamond hotel. Visitors to the hotel at the foot of the iconic Half Dome have included Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. presidents.
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10617
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Study links finger length to prostate cancer risk
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This story fails on many levels: failing to make even one comment on the limitations of observational studies; failing to comment on the limitations of this particular study method (a questionnaire and self-assessment); allowing a researcher to claim that this approach “could be used as a simple test for prostate cancer” without challenging that comment. And, while a brief comment was made about prostate cancer screening being “controversial,” the story never explained that the US Preventive Services Task Force concludes that there’s insufficient evidence to weigh the balance of harms and benefits in prostate cancer screening in men younger than 75. But the story did allow a researcher to say this test could be particularly useful in men under 60. The failure to evaluate the limitations of the evidence and the failure to challenge researchers’ bold claims made this an example of stenography more than an example of journalism.
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false
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Cancer,Reuters Health
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Not appiicable. The numbers given were absolutely useless – “men whose index finger is longer than their ring finger were one-third less likely to develop the disease than men with the opposite pattern of finger lengths.” There are countless questions about what this means, but the story didn’t answer them. And, of course, the story never got around to any discussion of really meaningful potential benefits – such as, what is known about the benefits of treating prostate cancers that are picked up by screening? Again, see the US Preventive Services Task Force conclusion that “the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening in men younger than age 75 years.” If a story is going to let a researcher get away with saying this “could be used as a simple test for prostate cancer”- and not challenge that comment in any way, then we feel there must be balance somewhere in the story about potential harms. The story starts to lean in the right direction when it states: “A study in the United States last year found routine prostate cancer screening there had resulted in more than one million men being diagnosed with tumors who might otherwise have suffered no ill effects from them.” But it doesn’t specify what the harm is from this – the anxiety, the unnecessary followup testing and possible subsequent treatment carrying its own risks and costs. This is the fundamental problem with this story. There isn’t one word about the limitations of such observational studies (read our primer on this topic), nor about the methods of this study. How reliable is questioning men and showing them pictures of different finger length patterns and then asking them to identify the one most similar to their own? Yet the story lets the researcher get away – unchallenged – with saying this “could be used as a simple test for prostate cancer.” There is no independent expert perspective questioning this assertion or evaluting the evidence. The story does commit implicit disease-mongering by stating in the very first sentence that this is “a finding that could be used to help select those who need regular screening for the disease.” This statement presumes that anyone would need regular screening for prostate cancer – something for which the US Preventive Services Task Force concludes that “the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening in men younger than age 75 years.” The American Cancer Society states: “Research has not yet proven that the potential benefits of testing outweigh the harms of testing and treatment. The American Cancer Society believes that men should not be tested without learning about what we know and don’t know about the risks and possible benefits of testing and treatment.“ There was no independent perspective in the story – something that was badly needed. No comparison was made between this approach and other existing prostate cancer screening methods. Not applicable. There isn’t such a test available yet. The story does offer some context for this area of research when it states: “Previous studies have linked finger length to aggression, fertility, sporting ability and confidence and reaction times.” But it fails to note that there’s been other research on the question of finger length and prostate cancer risk – in the Korean Cohort study – something mentioned in the journal article. And the story again fails to question the evidence when it allows a researcher to state, “Our study indicates it is the hormone levels that babies are exposed to in the womb that can have an effect decades later,” when this observational study simpy can’t establish that. Not applicable. We can’t be sure of the extent to which the story was influenced by a news release. We do know that no independent source appeared in the story.
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14425
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Requiring photo ID would keep about 200,000 Missourians from voting.
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"Our ruling While requiring a photo ID could be expensive and might affect or inconvenience between 220,000 and 400,000 Missourians, it wouldn’t necessarily keep them from voting. While requiring a photo ID could be expensive and might affect or inconvenience between 220,000 and 400,000 Missourians, it wouldn’t necessarily keep them from voting. Unlike past bills, the legislation currently proposed does address the cost of supplying supporting documentation necessary for obtaining photo ID, making it difficult to say it would financially ""keep people from voting."" Unlike past bills, the legislation currently proposed does address the cost of supplying supporting documentation necessary for obtaining photo ID, making it difficult to say it would financially ""keep people from voting."" No one knows exactly how many Missourians would be affected by new photo ID requirements — but there is consensus that the number who would need new photo IDs is in the hundreds of thousands. No one knows exactly how many Missourians would be affected by new photo ID requirements — but there is consensus that the number who would need new photo IDs is in the hundreds of thousands."
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mixture
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Elections, Legal Issues, Missouri, Kip Kendrick,
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"What documents should voters have to show to make it to the polls? The question continues to spark debate in state legislatures across the country, with new voter ID legislation coming to the forefront in a number of states. The Missouri legislature is discussing measures that would narrow the acceptable forms of voter ID to non-expired photo identification issued by the state or federal government. The proposed legislation would exclude currently acceptable forms of voter identification like student IDs, out-of-state driver’s licenses, or bank statements and utility bills. State Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, recently weighed in on the legislation’s potential for disenfranchising voters, saying ""requiring photo ID would keep about 200,000 Missourians from voting."" That number caught our attention. We decided to dig into the details of the proposed legislation, and take a closer look at just how many Missouri voters would be affected by photo ID requirements. Numbers from the Secretary of State Kendrick said he got his estimate of those who would be kept from voting — ""more than 200,000"" — from Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander. A report from Kander’s office corroborates Kendrick’s statement, showing 220,000 people potentially disenfranchised. According to the Secretary of State’s office, that number came from comparing the list of registered voters in Missouri to the Department of Revenue’s accounting of those without driver’s licenses (about 150,000 people) and those with expired driver’s licenses (about 70,000). Those numbers are at best a rough approximation. Marvin Overby, political science professor at MU, said he can think of two factors that would make the Secretary of State’s estimate too high. ""A number of people who don’t have driver’s licenses do have photo identification, it’s just in a non-driver’s license form,"" Overby said. ""And those in prison or on parole or probation can’t vote, regardless of their ID status."" Numbers from the proposed legislation An even higher estimate of Missourians without non-expired photo identification — almost 400,000 people — actually is cited in the proposed legislation’s fiscal note. The note sets aside up to $10.7 million to cover costs associated with providing new photo IDs. That’s because unless the House Budget and Senate Appropriations committees allocate the necessary funding to provide photo ID at no charge for those currently without, the state would be barred from implementing the new requirements. Kendrick’s source, Secretary of State Jason Kander’s report, doesn’t take this information into account. Kander’s report is two years old and refers to an older bill that did not require the state to bear the cost of providing supporting documentation necessary for photo ID — theoretically making the requirement of photo ID a poll tax. But the current proposed legislation does hold the state responsible for providing birth certificates or other necessary documents free of charge for photo ID. In theory, this would reduce the chances that any new ID requirements might disenfranchise voters currently lacking photo identification. The cost of photo ID The $10.7 million suggested in the proposed legislation’s fiscal note would cover other costs as well as providing supporting documentation for IDs, like manufacturing and postage for new photo IDs. It also includes funding for an updated DMV website; new hires in the Department of Revenue, the Department of Health and Senior Service, and the Bureau of Vital records; and pre-election TV, radio, and print ads to let voters know of the change in ID requirements. But it doesn’t mention any plans for in-person help for Missouri residents unfamiliar with navigating a bureaucracy — a lack of familiarity that could easily be a symptom of not needing to procure a photo ID in the past. And for some, even a photo ID supplied for no charge isn’t free. Missouri League of Women Voters President Elaine Blodgett said the costs associated with the new IDs go beyond creating a new document. ""There’s an undue burden on women, who might have to get their birth certificates and marriage certificates and divorce certificates in order to get photo ID, if they’ve changed their names,"" she said. ""Also, simply getting to all the offices needed can be nearly impossible for some of our disabled or elderly voters."" Kendrick told Politifact Missouri that older adults may have issues tracking down birth certificates because states don’t necessarily have the same standards for maintaining birth records. He also added a time qualifier to his earlier statement and said ""if voter photo ID was in place right now, over 200,000 registered MO voters would not be able to vote."" In addition, even with the plan outlined in the bill’s fiscal note, some voters may still remain unaware of the new requirements. If voters came to the polls without the correct ID, they could cast provisional ballots; but in the 2012 presidential election, fewer than 3 in 10 provisional ballots were counted because many voters did not return to verify their address or identity after casting a provisional ballot. Our ruling While requiring a photo ID could be expensive and might affect or inconvenience between 220,000 and 400,000 Missourians, it wouldn’t necessarily keep them from voting. Unlike past bills, the legislation currently proposed does address the cost of supplying supporting documentation necessary for obtaining photo ID, making it difficult to say it would financially ""keep people from voting."" No one knows exactly how many Missourians would be affected by new photo ID requirements — but there is consensus that the number who would need new photo IDs is in the hundreds of thousands."
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21919
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It’s just crazy that the government will ... make it illegal to use the old [incandescent] bulbs.
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Head of R.I. public policy group says federal law bans use of incandescent bulbs
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false
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Environment, Rhode Island, Energy, Mike Stenhouse,
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"You’ve heard the jokes before -- how many so-and-so’s does it take to screw in a light bulb? While light bulbs are remarkably simple to use, new energy efficiency mandates have complicated matters. And that has some people riled up. Appearing as a guest on WHJJ-AM’s ""Helen Glover Show,"" Mike Stenhouse, executive director of the Ocean State Policy Research Institute, complained about federal regulations that will mean lights out for the traditional incandescent light bulb. ""They’re basically telling you that the normal light bulbs that we have always used, that Thomas Edison invented, are going to be illegal, I mean, imagine that, they are going to be illegal to use and they have to be replaced,"" he said. He continued, ""It’s just crazy that the government will make us, MAKE US, force us, make it illegal to use the old bulbs and we have to use these new ones and that is just tyranny."" A light bulb went off here at PolitiFact and we wondered: Is it true that it will be illegal to use our old bulbs? "" When we asked Stenhouse to shine some light on his statement, he referred us to a video of a speech on the floor of Congress by U.S. Rep.Ted Poe, R-Texas. In it, Poe hit on several of the themes that Stenhouse echoed, namely that the government is over-reaching its proper role in setting new efficiency standards for light bulbs. Conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh and Tea Party leaders, have railed against the law. It turns out that our colleagues at PolitiFact National looked into similar claims -- by AmeriPAC, a political action committee that largely supports conservative Republican candidates -- that old incandescents would have to be tossed out and replaced with energy efficient ones. To begin, let’s go back to 1879 when Thomas Edison invented the forerunner of the modern-day incandescent bulb. Its technology has changed little in the ensuing 132 years. Today, incandescent bulbs are used in an estimated 3 billion of the 4 billion light fixtures the country. But in recent years, with rising energy costs and growing concerns about climate change, demand for more energy-efficient lighting has gained momentum. Incandescents are terribly inefficient, with 90 percent of the energy they consume lost through heat. Responding to those concerns, then-President George W. Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which received a measure of bipartisan support in Congress. (It passed in the House 264 to 163, with 36 Republicans voting in favor, and in the Senate, 65 to 27, with 20 Republicans voting in favor. The act deals with a broad range of energy-consumption issues, including light bulb efficiency. Section 321 spells out the new standards, essentially requiring light bulbs to use 27 percent less energy than traditional incandescents. The law, while setting efficiency standards for light bulbs, does not ban or favor one type of bulb over another, according to a ""backgrounder"" put out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But it will, in effect, end production of traditional incandescent bulbs, beginning with 100-watt bulbs in 2012, then 75-watt bulbs in 2013 and ending with 40-watt bulbs in 2014. Halogen incandescent bulbs will meet the new standards as will still-pricey LEDs and popular and more affordable compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs. Prices today are $40 to $50 for an LED, $3 for fluorescent alternatives and $1.50 for halogen incandescents, compared with about 50 cents for a typical 100-watt incandescent. We note, by the way, that Stenhouse echoed concerns about mercury in CFLs, saying, ""If you break them... your home becomes a hazardous area."" But the EPA calls that a ""myth,"" saying that ""airing out and removing the bulb pieces from the room will quickly dissipate any mercury vapor."" The EPA also labels as myth assertions, repeated by Stenhouse, that CFLs will raise mercury levels in the environment. The agency says coal power plants are the ""main emitter"" of mercury in the United States, PolitiFact National rated a claim that CFLs are ""toxic"" and ""not environmentally friendly"" as Half True. Setting aside these issues about CFLs and, more broadly the merits of the law itself, we return to the question that consumers will want answers to beginning in 2012: Will the law, as Stenhouse states, ""make it illegal to use the old bulbs."" While the bill sets standards for new light bulbs ""manufactured or imported"" to the United States, it does not address using old bulbs that don’t meet the new standards. When reached by PolitiFact National, Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy, said people can keep using their old incandescent bulbs and stores can continue to sell them -- even after the new standards are in place -- until they are sold out. ""There are no energy police coming to your home to make you remove your light bulbs,"" said Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a 30-year-old advocacy organization that advises lawmakers and conducts research. Stenhouse admitted the possibility that he ""might have made a little mistake there"" in saying that incandescents will be illegal to use -- a statement he made at two separate points of his appearance. Also, he emphasized that his appearances as a guest of Glover, the former Survivor contestant, are part of his group’s ""Liberty Bytes"" program. He said the initiative encourages listeners to ask how issues reported in the news ""affect your personal liberties....It’s not our research...it’s all based on media accounts."" ""Obviously, we were convinced that it was accurate,"" he said, but added, ""We did not take the next step of going into the bill and looking up this stuff ourselves."" We don’t think it would have taken that much research to get a simple and key fact about the bill straight. We found numerous references, including at the Department of Energy website, where a Q & A states that, ""Consumers will have the choice to continue using traditional incandescent bulbs for as long as they last, or switch to more efficient bulbs."" Stenhouse needn’t fret personally about which bulbs to use. There’s plenty of light emanating from his trousers."
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4498
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Queuing for eternity: Fossils show lining up is primal urge.
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Ever felt like you’ve been queuing forever?
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true
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Lyon, Fossils, General News, France, Science, Europe
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Scientists say fossils found in Morocco suggest the practice of forming orderly lines may date back 480 million years and could have had evolutionary advantages. Their study, published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports, describes groups of blind trilobites — known as Ampyx — all facing in the same direction, apparently maintaining contact via their long rearward spines. The researchers from France, Switzerland and Morocco analyzed the fossils and concluded that the tiny trilobites, which look similar to modern horseshoe crabs, probably intentionally formed a queue as they swarmed along the prehistoric sea floor. “Given the scale of the patterns seen, this consistent linearity and directionality is unlikely to be the result of passive transportation or accumulation by currents,” they said. Jean Vannier, a researcher at the University of Lyon, France, who co-authored the study, said possible reasons for this group behavior include environmental stresses or reproduction. Similar behavior is also found in modern-day members of the extended family of arthropods that trilobites belonged to, such as caterpillars, ants and lobsters, who band together for protection or to find mates. “Living and moving in groups seems to have rapidly represented an evolutionary advantage among ancient animals,” Vannier said. Lucy McCobb, a paleontologist at the National Museum Wales who wasn’t involved in the study, said that while similar ‘conga lines’ of fossilized Ampyx have been reported before, the researchers behind the study had built “a very strong case for the intentional lining up of the trilobites in response to some cue.” “These fossils give us a wonderfully vivid glimpse into the lives of these very ancient but clearly sophisticated creatures,” she said. Vannier said the findings support the idea that collective behavior like forming lines emerged around the same time or shortly after animals first developed sophisticated nervous systems and sensory organs. He and fellow researchers said re-examining 520 million-year-old fossils of shrimp-like creatures found in China could offer evidence that such behavior began even earlier.
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31699
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"During the Watergate scandal, President Nixon blamed all of the controversy on the illegality of the actions of leaker ""Deep Throat."
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We found no statements that resembled the quote attributed to Nixon in the meme. Although President Nixon described leaks as a threat to national security, for the most part he directly addressed allegations against his administration and did not claim “leakers” were to blame for the controversies.
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false
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Politics, donald trump, richard nixon, watergate
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In February 2017 a meme began circulating that attributed a quote about leaks and Watergate to President Richard Nixon: As is often the case with similar memes, the quote began popping up with frequency on Facebook in seeming response to current events. One version appeared in a comment thread on California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s Facebook wall: The meme picked up steam directly after President Donald Trump made widely reported statements describing intelligence community leaks as illegal: The White House has said that Mr. Trump demanded Mr. Flynn’s resignation on Monday night, after it was revealed that Mr. Flynn, a retired three-star Army general, had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his conversations with a Russian diplomat. But on Wednesday, the president said that Mr. Flynn had “been treated very, very unfairly by the media,” undercut by “documents and papers that were illegally — I’d stress that, illegally — leaked.” Earlier, he had posted on Twitter, “Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?). Just like Russia” The quote attributed to Nixon was similar, stating that “Deep Throat” (FBI whistleblower Mark Felt’s alter ego) was solely responsible for the administration’s Watergate-related downfall. When Felt’s identity was confirmed in 2005, the Washington Post summarized the scandal thusly: Deep Throat, the secret source whose insider guidance was vital to The Washington Post’s groundbreaking coverage of the Watergate scandal, was a pillar of the FBI named W. Mark Felt, The Post confirmed yesterday. As the bureau’s second- and third-ranking official during a period when the FBI was battling for its independence against the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, Felt had the means and the motive to help uncover the web of internal spies, secret surveillance, dirty tricks and coverups that led to Nixon’s unprecedented resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, and to prison sentences for some of Nixon’s highest-ranking aides. Felt’s identity as Washington’s most celebrated secret source had been an object of speculation for more than 30 years until yesterday, when his role was revealed by his family in a Vanity Fair magazine article. Damning information to provided by Felt to Post reporters in the early 1970s led to the eventual resignation of President Nixon, but more than 40 years after those events familiarity with them was increasingly uncommon. A Post series on the Watergate timeline (and the newspaper’s role in it through investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein) described the Nixon White House’s reaction to initial coverage: But while other newspapers ignored the story and voters gave Nixon a huge majority in November 1972, the White House continued to denounce The Post’s coverage as biased and misleading. Post publisher Katharine Graham worried about the administration’s “unveiled threats and harassment.” That report suggested that President Nixon dismissed the coverage (as a politician in 2017 might decry “fake news”), but it did not indicate he dismissed Deep Throat as an “illegal” leaker. In their retrospective, the Post quoted Nixon’s final resignation speech, which came after years of mounting allegations: On August 8, 1974, Nixon announced his resignation. “By taking this action,” he said in a subdued yet dramatic television address from the Oval Office, “I hope that I will have hastened the start of the process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.” In a rare admission of error, Nixon said: “I deeply regret any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision.” In a final speech to the White House staff, a teary-eyed Nixon told his audience, “Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.” Nixon did not lash out at Deep Throat during that address. In the paper’s 2005 coverage of the unmasking of Deep Throat, Nixon’s distaste for “leakers” was mentioned, but Woodward and Bernstein emphasized Felt’s role had become “overstated” and “mythical” over the decades: Felt also knew, by firsthand experience, that Nixon’s administration was willing to use wiretaps and break-ins to hunt down leakers, so no amount of caution was too great in his mind. Woodward rode multiple taxis, sometimes in the wrong direction, and often walked long distances to reach the middle-of-the-night meetings. For once, real life was as rich as the Hollywood imagination. But yesterday Woodward and Bernstein expressed a concern that the Deep Throat story has, over the years, come to obscure the many other elements that went into exposing the Watergate story: other sources, other investigators, high-impact Senate hearings, a shocking trove of secret White House tape recordings and the decisive intervention of a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court. By tethering the myth to a real and imperfect human being, Americans may be able to get a clearer picture of Watergate in the future, they said. “Felt’s role in all this can be overstated,” said Bernstein, who went on after Watergate to a career of books, magazine articles and television investigations. “When we wrote the book, we didn’t think his role would achieve such mythical dimensions. You see there that Felt/Deep Throat largely confirmed information we had already gotten from other sources.” During the Watergate scandal, the eventual release of extensive White House recordings provided large record of remarks made by Nixon or his aides during his presidency, many of which were unflattering or invited reproach; none targeted Felt. A lengthy 22 May 1973 statement made by Nixon about various scandals mentioned leaks and leakers, but use of the word “illegal” largely referenced accusations refuted by Nixon about himself. The only leaker mentioned by name in that statement was Daniel Ellsberg: News accounts appeared in 1969, which were obviously based on leaks — some of them extensive and detailed — by people having access to the most highly classified security materials. There was no way to carry forward these diplomatic initiatives unless further leaks could be prevented. This required finding the source of the leaks. In order to do this, a special program of wiretaps was instituted in mid-1969 and terminated in February 1971. Fewer than 20 taps, of varying duration, were involved. They produced important leads that made it possible to tighten the security of highly sensitive materials. I authorized this entire program. Each individual tap was undertaken in accordance with procedures legal at the time and in accord with long-standing precedent. THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT On Sunday, June 13, 1971, the New York Times published the first installment of what came to be known as “The Pentagon Papers.” Not until a few hours before publication did any responsible Government official know that they had been stolen. Most officials did not know they existed. No senior official of the Government had read them or knew with certainty what they contained. All the Government knew, at first, was that the papers comprised 47 volumes and some 7,000 pages, which had been taken from the most sensitive files of the Departments of State and Defense and the CIA, covering military and diplomatic moves in a war that was still going on. Moreover, a majority of the documents published with the first three installments in the Times had not been included in the 47-volume study–raising serious questions about what and how much else might have been taken. There was every reason to believe this was a security leak of unprecedented proportions … At about the time the unit was created, Daniel Ellsberg was identified as the person who had given the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. I told Mr. Krogh that as a matter of first priority, the unit should find out all it could about Mr. Ellsberg’s associates and his motives. Because of the extreme gravity of the situation, and not then knowing what additional national secrets Mr. Ellsberg might disclose, I did impress upon Mr. Krogh the vital importance to the national security of his assignment. I did not authorize and had no knowledge of any illegal means to be used to achieve this goal.
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1618
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Spooked by sugar, Americans search for healthier Halloween treats.
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The so-called war on sugar has a new battleground: Halloween.
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true
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Health News
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Some Americans are so spooked about the harmful effects of sugar they are finding healthier ways to indulge during the holiday, without disappointing children by handing out apples. Sugary chocolates still dominate Halloween candy handed out and provide an annual sales treat for companies like Hershey Co, privately held Mars and Nestle SA. But as more consumers demand healthier candies, manufacturers could see the so-called “War on Sugar” scare away some of the $2.1 billion that the National Retail Federation says Americans will spend on Halloween candy this year. The World Health Organization has linked sugar intake with chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease, a finding disputed by the Sugar Association, a U.S. trade group. Some companies, like upstart candy maker Unreal, privately owned health products maker Xlear Inc and Kosher Foods producer Kayco, have developed low-sugar candies from unusual concoctions, like puffed quinoa and cabbage, to win over health-conscious, sugar-wary shoppers. The data may give some a fright. Nearly one-fourth of Americans say they are buying healthier candy like dark chocolate or chocolates with added fruits or nuts for seasonal occasions like Halloween than five years ago, National Confectioners Association (NCA) data shows. In addition, one in five say they are more likely to buy chocolates or candies in a smaller portion size. Confectionery makes up about 13 percent of Americans’ 10.8 million tonne-per-year sugar consumption, and the candy industry says that Americans know there is sugar in candy and moderate their intake accordingly. Still some shoppers are trying different brews this year. Kevin Schiffman, a self-described “health freak,” bought a can of Unreal chocolates for $20 during a recent trip to Whole Foods, opting to spend significantly more on the treats he plans to hand out to trick-or-treaters than last year. The treats, which are made from fair trade cocoa and cane sugar, puffed quinoa, and cabbage, carrots and beets for coloring, contain around 5 grams of sugar per serving, compared with over 20 grams for many traditional candy bars. In prior years, he said he handed out assorted chocolates like Reese’s and Kit Kats, wary that health-minded people sometimes draw groans and eye-rolls from trick-or-treaters by giving out apples or toothbrushes. “There wasn’t really much out there that you could choose from unless you’re giving out fruit,” said the 35-year-old Boston-area resident, who works in sales at WikiFoods, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, food company. “We don’t want to get eggs on the house.” Xlear hopes to win over customers with its Sparx brand of candies that use xylitol, a fibrous sugar found in birch trees and corn cobs that it says is safe for diabetics and lower in calories than cane sugar. At the moment, they are only sold at health food stores and distributed to dental offices to give to kids as part of Halloween candy buyback programs, though the company is planning to expand, said Shad Slaughter, a consultant at Xlear. Kayco has introduced Chocolate Leather, a chewier, lower-sugar chocolate bar. “With the growing awareness of parents who would like their kids to eat less sugar, this is going to grow,” said Glenn Schacher, a research and development specialist in New York who developed the product of Kayco The Obama administration has pushed for food companies to include added sugar content on their labels, which has drawn sharp rebukes from the sugar lobby. For the moment, most Americans will still hand out candy and chocolates filled with sugar to trick-or-treaters on Saturday and use the holiday as an excuse to indulge. “I can be a pig four times a year,” said Tom Cardamone, a 46-year-old Brooklyn, New York, resident, who said he is not normally much of a candy eater. “Every holiday, I know it’s candy, and I have my addictions.” Graphic on sugar demand over Halloween link.reuters.com/fux85w
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17382
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Social Security was advocated … in the 1930s as a way of getting people to quit working, because they thought we were confined to a permanent scarcity of jobs in this country.
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"Will said, ""Social Security was advocated … in the 1930s as a way of getting people to quit working, because they thought we were confined to a permanent scarcity of jobs in this country."" The idea that old-age pensions would transition older Americans out of the labor market and usher in younger, unemployed workers was a goal of the Townsend Plan (and of some other Roosevelt policies). But judging both by its design and by the rhetoric used to sell it, Roosevelt’s Social Security Act was targeted more at alleviating poverty among the elderly than at shaping the demographics of the labor market. *** EDITOR’S NOTE, Feb. 12, 2014: After we published this fact-check, a reader pointed us to an April 28, 1935, ""fireside chat"" by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that seemed to provide clearer support for George Will’s claim. Roosevelt said, ""The program for social security now pending before the Congress is a necessary part of the future unemployment policy of the government. … It proposes, by means of old age pensions, to help those who have reached the age of retirement to give up their jobs and thus give to the younger generation greater opportunities for work and to give to all a feeling of security as they look toward old age."" When we showed this statement to a couple of the historians we had originally interviewed, they acknowledged that it was an unusually clear statement on Roosevelt’s part, but they added that it is an exception within the documentary record. ""Promoting retirement was a minor goal at best of the old-age parts of the legislation,"" said University of California-Irvine sociologist Edwin Amenta. Historian Jeff Shesol cited ""the near-absence of this argument, not only in Roosevelt’s many remarks over the years but also in the internal deliberations, as recounted by multiple participants, over the Social Security framework."" Since our original analysis had already acknowledged that transitioning older workers out of the labor force was ""part of the story"" of Social Security -- just not the main part -- we are sticking to our ruling."
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false
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Economy, History, Poverty, Social Security, Workers, PunditFact, George Will,
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"The issue of Americans’ choices about whether to work attracted wide attention last week when the Congressional Budget Office released a report predicting that President Barack Obama’s health care law would lead to people deciding to work less. The CBO projection was spun -- largely incorrectly, in our estimation -- into claims that the health care law would kill more than 2 million jobs. But as commentators of all ideological stripes grappled with the complexities of this headline-grabbing statistic, discussion branched out into the question of whether a worker’s individual decision to work less was something positive, negative or a mixture of the two for the economy as a whole. Obama supporters suggested that the opportunity to buy health insurance outside a job was a boon to workers who hated their job or who wanted to work less so they could spend more time taking care of children or aging relatives. The president’s critics saw it as an example of the government essentially using tax dollars to encourage people not to work. This topic came up during a roundtable on the Feb. 9, 2014, edition of Fox News Sunday. During the segment, syndicated columnist George Will told host Chris Wallace, ""People forget Social Security was advocated ... in the 1930s, as a way of getting people to quit working, because they thought we were confined to a permanent scarcity of jobs in this country."" We’d always believed Social Security stemmed from a desire help keep the elderly out of poverty, so we decided to take a look. (Will’s office did not respond to an inquiry for this story.) We checked with eight historians who have written about the 1930s, including several who have studied the Social Security legislation that President Franklin D. Roosevelt shepherded into law in 1935. They told us there’s little evidence that Roosevelt or his administration sold Social Security as a way to get people to quit working, thus opening up jobs for younger, unemployed workers. However, several historians pointed to a different pension proposal that was popular in the United States at the time. This proposal, known as the Townsend Plan, did make that argument, more or less -- and its popularity was strong enough that it’s credited with prodding Roosevelt into advancing the more modest, compromise proposal that would ultimately become Social Security. The Townsend Plan In 1933, during the depths of the Depression, a doctor from Long Beach, Calif., named Francis E. Townsend came up with a plan to support the elderly. Under the proposal, the government would provide a $200-a-month pension to citizens age 60 or older, funded by a 2 percent national tax on transactions. To receive the benefits, a citizen would have to be retired and not a ""habitual"" criminal. And they would need to spend all of the money within 30 days. This appears to be the source of the notion that Social Security stemmed from efforts to get older Americans to retire. The Townsend Plan ""was explicitly supposed to free up jobs, as well as stimulate the economy through spending,"" said Edwin Amenta, a University of California-Irvine sociologist who wrote the 2006 book, When Movements Matter: The Townsend Plan and the Rise of Social Security. ""It was meant to end the Depression and bring permanent prosperity."" The plan became wildly popular. ""Dr. Townsend published his plan in a local Long Beach newspaper in early 1933, and within about two years, there were 7,000 Townsend Clubs around the country with more than 2.2 million members actively working to make the Townsend Plan the nation's old-age pension system,"" according to the Social Security Administration’s historical office. Public opinion surveys in 1935 found that 56 percent of Americans favored adoption of the Townsend Plan. This is not to say that the plan made much sense economically (Townsend was not a trained economist.) More plausible projections suggested that the tax rate would have needed to be between 6 percent and 14 percent -- not 2 percent -- to cover the cost of $200-a-month pensions. And there was no guarantee that the money spent by beneficiaries would exceed the amount that would have been spent by the taxpayers from whom it was taken -- a problem if you are trying to increase the amount of overall economic activity in the economy. And those $200-a-month pensions? They were double the typical monthly pay of ordinary workers. ""It may well have been the most generous retirement pension promise of all time,"" according to the Social Security Administration’s historian. Roosevelt’s Social Security The Townsend Plan may have been economic pie in the sky -- but it had serious political influence. The strength of the grassroots movement that supported it is credited with pushing Roosevelt to fast-track an alternative. Roosevelt’s Labor secretary, Frances Perkins, wrote in her memoir The Roosevelt I Knew that the president said Congress ""can't stand the pressure of the Townsend plan unless we are studying social security, a solid plan which will give some assurance to old people of systematic assistance upon retirement."" Roosevelt’s more cautious plan was based on Americans being taxed on their earnings from work, then qualifying for old-age benefits based on how much they had paid into the system. By contrast, under Townsend’s plan, workers did not have to pay into the system, and the benefits they received were identical, regardless of how wealthy or poor they were. ""The administration contrasted its proposal with the utopian and fantastic schemes of the Townsend Plan, and there was no suggestion that these pensions would end the Depression or significantly solve unemployment problems"" of the ongoing depression, Amenta said. Indeed, Social Security was not designed to pay out benefits until 1942 -- seven years after passage. While that was eventually moved up to 1939, the delay in offering benefits undercuts the notion that the government wanted to force people to retire quickly and en masse. ""Restoring the financial condition of the elderly in a way that did not bankrupt the country was a primary motivation for the program,"" said Edward Berkowitz, a historian at George Washington University and the author of several books about the history of Social Security. ""Getting Americans to quit was only an indirect motivation."" Indeed, in its public rhetoric, the administration played up the program’s ability to help the elderly, not on its larger macroeconomic impact. That seemed to mesh with public expectations. ""The idea of creating a public pension system for the general population had been around since the 1920s or even earlier on the political left, but they faced three successive Republican presidents who were uninterested,"" said Henry Aaron, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. ""So, nothing happened until there was a Democratic president with a large congressional majority backing him up."" When Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, he said, ""Today, a hope of many years' standing is in large part fulfilled. … We can never insure 100 percent of the population against 100 percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age."" Where the evidence supports Will’s claim While Will’s statement is largely unsupported, several historians said he has a partial point. Other pieces of Roosevelt’s agenda, including establishment of the National Recovery Administration from 1933 and 1935 and his reemployment agreements in 1933 ""had goals of reducing weekly hours while maintaining or increasing employment"" -- a mission not all that different from Will’s scenario, said Price Fishback, a University of Arizona economist. ""Those fears were still there in 1935."" Some scholars have also argued that the creation of Social Security actually helped crystallize the previously unfamiliar concept of ""retirement."" In an influential if somewhat controversial 1980 book, A History of Retirement: The Meaning and Function of an American Institution, 1885-1978, historian William Graebner wrote that Social Security grew out of a broader movement in industry toward the notion of retirement as a life stage, ""one of whose functions was to move older people out of the workforce, partly for reasons of job availability and partly for reasons of efficiency,"" wrote Kathleen W. Jones, a Virginia Tech historian. Graebner, she wrote, saw Social Security as a way to reduce unemployment among the young. On balance, though, scholars say it’s important not to overplay the idea that Roosevelt intended -- or ""advocated,"" to use Will’s word -- for Social Security to be a tool for transitioning the elderly out of the work force. What Will pointed to ""is part of the story, although not the whole story by any means, because the crisis of the elderly was so severe,"" said Michael Katz, a historian at the University of Pennsylvania. ""All major institutions and policies have multiple, not always consistent purposes."" Our ruling Will said, ""Social Security was advocated … in the 1930s as a way of getting people to quit working, because they thought we were confined to a permanent scarcity of jobs in this country."" The idea that old-age pensions would transition older Americans out of the labor market and usher in younger, unemployed workers was a goal of the Townsend Plan (and of some other Roosevelt policies). But judging both by its design and by the rhetoric used to sell it, Roosevelt’s Social Security Act was targeted more at alleviating poverty among the elderly than at shaping the demographics of the labor market. *** EDITOR’S NOTE, Feb. 12, 2014: After we published this fact-check, a reader pointed us to an April 28, 1935, ""fireside chat"" by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that seemed to provide clearer support for George Will’s claim. Roosevelt said, ""The program for social security now pending before the Congress is a necessary part of the future unemployment policy of the government. … It proposes, by means of old age pensions, to help those who have reached the age of retirement to give up their jobs and thus give to the younger generation greater opportunities for work and to give to all a feeling of security as they look toward old age."" When we showed this statement to a couple of the historians we had originally interviewed, they acknowledged that it was an unusually clear statement on Roosevelt’s part, but they added that it is an exception within the documentary record. ""Promoting retirement was a minor goal at best of the old-age parts of the legislation,"" said University of California-Irvine sociologist Edwin Amenta. Historian Jeff Shesol cited ""the near-absence of this argument, not only in Roosevelt’s many remarks over the years but also in the internal deliberations, as recounted by multiple participants, over the Social Security framework."" Since our original analysis had already acknowledged that transitioning older workers out of the labor force was ""part of the story"" of Social Security -- just not the main part -- we are sticking to our ruling of ."
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2422
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Broccoli not burgers: Cancer patients favor healthier foods.
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Hold the beer, burgers and French fries. Bring on the water, farm-fresh produce, chicken, pasta and hearty soups.
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true
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Health News
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That’s the advice to care givers from a consortium of nutritional researchers following a two-year survey of what U.S. cancer patients prefer to eat and drink. The study released on Tuesday by the Cancer Nutrition Consortium aims to improve the lives of cancer patients by helping them get the meals they want while combating the weight loss and fatigue that often comes with aggressive treatment. Researchers surveyed 1,203 patients at seven of the world’s leading cancer centers, including Dana-Farber and the Mayo Clinic, and found 40 percent developed more sensitive palates after starting treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. Some 52 percent of the surveyed patients said they were avoiding greasy or fried foods, 44 percent said they were avoiding spicy foods, and nearly a third said they were avoiding acidic foods like grapefruit. Most patients cited intolerance, while less than half said they were acting on the advice of doctors. Some 69 percent of patients said they preferred fruits and vegetables, around 60 percent favored soups and poultry, and more than half said they liked pasta and fish, according to the research. “Typically the patients ran for the healthier foods. But there were exceptions, and it is important to keep in mind that it is not one size fits all,” said Kathy McManus, director of nutrition at Dana-Farber. The study also showed most patients staying away from beverages like beer, wine and soda, while gravitating toward healthier options like water and fruit juice. “Many of our patients suffer from problems getting adequate nutrition through treatment, and some of them are unsure about what they should be eating,” said Terry Langbaum, chief operating officer for Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, which also participated in the study. “This research study involved the patients and truly helped us to better understand preferences,” he said. The study was underwritten by Jeremy Jacobs, chairman and CEO of global food and hospitality service provider Delaware North Companies, and conducted by marketing firm WHP Research. The research recommends care givers develop recipes, prepared foods and menus that are tailored to the preferences of cancer patients, but is not intended to advance Delaware North’s business, WHP President Wendy Price said. The Cancer Nutrition Consortium said it was launching a website that includes recipes designed by chefs and tailored to the findings of the survey. The bottom line for hospital kitchens putting together their menus in the oncology ward: “Limit greasy and fried food offerings since about one-half of patients are avoiding these types of foods,” according to the study.
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10635
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Studies don’t end prostate cancer test controversy
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This is a tough assignment for a health journalist: To report in a single news story results of two big, important prostate cancer screening studies that must be considered together yet for many reasons shouldn’t be compared. Add in the fact that these are interim results from ongoing studies on a topic that’s inherently controversial, and you’ve set a high bar for the reporter to clear. This AP story manages to do so. Its greatest strength is that very early on it states that the studies don’t settle the questions about the value of screening, that the research is continuing and that men should still talk to their doctors about whether screening is right for them. It creates adequate context by using a variety of sources and including information about previous findings. As the ratings show, the report could have been stronger by: Providing more detail on the results themselves. These are complicated studies with complicated findings. In an ideal world, this story would be accompanied by a graphic that lays out the essential facts about each. This would help readers understand key similarities and differences more efficiently–and successfully–than several more inches of text could. Including information about costs. At a time when health care reform is underway, many parties will be looking at the costs, benefits and risks of various procedures. Even when a story isn’t explicitly about financial costs, reporters should keep this in mind. They can provide a real public service by helping readers understand that no treatment is free, and that cost is a necessary factor in public health policy decisions. Disclosure: Dr. Michael Barry is quoted in the story. He is a medical editor for the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, the organization that sponsors this project. Dr. Barry was not involved in this review in any way.
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true
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"While these studies examined prostate cancer mortality rates and treatment outcomes, monetary costs are an important part of the larger conversation about the value of screening. There are significant financial costs associated with population-wide screenings, along with the follow-up diagnostic procedures and treatments that these studies suggest are of little benefit. The reporter should have referenced costs of screening and treatments at least briefly. There are two studies involved here, each with its own methodology, outcomes and limitations. Under the circumstances the news report describes the findings adequately, using a broad brush. The report states that the U.S. study found no decline in death risk in the screened population, while the European study showed a 20 percent reduced risk of death–yet it also documented considerable overtreatment. The reporter gets points for using the always valuable ""number needed to treat"" measure to describe the European findings: 48 additional men would need to be treated to prevent one death from prostate cancer. The story focuses in part on the harms of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. The story is based on results of two high-quality clinical trials, and it describes the methodologies sufficiently. The story does an excellent job of laying out the caveats very early: that the results won’t end the controversy over the value of prostate cancer screening; and that the studies continue and may provide clearer answers in the future. The reporter gets extra points for mentioning too that the two studies aren’t directly comparable. The report does nothing to exaggerate the effects of prostate cancer or its treatments. The reporter includes comments from the lead authors of the two studies, the author of a related editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, and a physician representing the American Cancer Society. The story adequately explains that screening options include the PSA blood test and the digital rectal exam. The story also refers to the options for treatment after a cancer is identified, indicating that ""there’s no agreement on the best treatment approach""–watchful waiting, surgery, hormone therapy or radiation. The wide use of the PSA test is implied throughout the story. No claims are made for the novelty of the screening techniques or the findings of the study. The story does not appear to draw directly from press releases of NIH, the Washington University School of Medicine, or others publicizing the results."
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7062
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‘Shouting into the void’: Miscarriages color mom-to-be’s art.
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Artist Ashley MacLure’s world is filled with fairies, young girls riding giant moths — and anguished, bleeding women.
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true
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Milford, Health, Visual arts, North America, Pregnancy loss, U.S. News
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A grimacing young woman rendered in black and white is curled in a fetal position, splashes of crimson staining her bottom. Here she is again, leaning against a bloodied wall, her abdomen nothing but a large oval hole. There’s a self-portrait in charcoal pencil — a close-up of a face pinched by sorrow. In her artist’s mind, this is what miscarriage looks like. And while MacLure’s story seems destined for a happy ending — she and her husband are expecting their first child this summer — the high school visual arts teacher hopes her provocative works will help take away the enduring stigma of pregnancy loss. “It’s my way of shouting into the void,” she says. As many as one in four pregnancies ends prematurely in miscarriage, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine says. With miscarriage so commonplace, women increasingly are pressing for society to stop treating it as taboo. Among them is figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, who revealed last year during an episode of “Dancing with the Stars” that she had six miscarriages during an eight-year span. Now a mother of three, she told ABC’s “Good Morning America” the losses were rough on her marriage. “We don’t talk about it as fluidly as we should,” says Dr. Jessica Zucker, a Los Angeles psychologist and mother of two who lost a baby and launched a social media campaign — #IHadAMiscarriage — to get people talking openly. “The unfortunate consequences are that a majority of women are reporting shame, self-blame and guilt,” she says. “Loss is devastating, but the women who live these losses are strong. What they have to share is deeply important.” MacLure, 30, who’s had two miscarriages, says other women’s stories can make her feel like an impostor. But her grief and pain — both physical and psychological — are no less real. That’s captured in her art, which is honest and edgy — some might say brutally so. “One moment, you’re elated. And then it’s just over,” says MacLure, who grew up in North Providence, Rhode Island, and moved to Milford, Massachusetts, after earning a degree in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. “It’s very surreal. You’re mentally in a different space, starting to think about the future. And then, suddenly, you’re not.” MacLure, who teaches at Blackstone Valley Technical Regional Vocational High School in Upton, Massachusetts, sought solace in her paints and brushes. She began somewhat jarringly by painting diseased ovaries and uteruses — a cathartic escape as she battled feelings of failure and fears that she might never be a mother. She’s since done a series of paintings on clear glass dinner plates — a fragile domestic item that seemed like the perfect medium for capturing maternal anguish. MacLure’s more whimsical work has been showcased in juried exhibitions, and some has won critical acclaim. Not these paintings. Galleries don’t know what to do with a likeness of her husband holding her as blood flows beneath them, or a plate depicting her naked and curled in a fetal position with a bright red blotch on her belly. “They don’t want to make audiences uncomfortable,” she says. “People want to see flowers and sailboats and landscapes and pretty things. I’m all about making people uncomfortable.” Even so, MacLure is gaining a following. Women she’s never met who have experienced the pain of miscarriage have been connecting with her, posting comments and sharing their own stories of loss and healing. Among them is Lauren Lowen, a fellow illustrator who miscarried. Like MacLure, she’s now expecting her firstborn this summer. “I saw her art flash up on my feed, and I found it poetic and beautiful,” says Lowen, of Nashville, Tennessee. “Her work really moved me. Miscarriage is a unique form of heartbreak.” Men, too, have sought out MacLure. Cambridge entrepreneur Chris Tolles reached out after his wife twice miscarried. The couple now has a 2-year-old daughter, but Tolles still feels a “profound connection” to her art. “Suffering is a real thing, and it’s best shared,” he says. “People talk about miscarriage as though a baby just disappears, but the reality can be really gory and awful. Her work embodies that attitude of, ‘Here’s real life — take it or leave it.’” For MacLure, an only child, fast-approaching motherhood is bittersweet. Six years ago, she lost her own mom. “I’m so grateful that I get to be a mom — to pass on all the positive things my mom taught me, and teach the strength and resilience I’ve learned along the way,” she says. “I’m also excited to know this whole new person.” ___ Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at https://twitter.com/billkole . His work can be found here .
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9356
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A flu drug — shown to reduce the duration of symptoms — could upend treatment in U.S.
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This story’s headline makes a bold statement: “A flu drug—shown to reduce duration of symptoms—could upend treatment in U.S.” The next two paragraphs ramp up the excitement regarding the FDA’s announcement that it has granted priority review to a new single-dose flu drug that is “unlike anything else on the market.” The remainder of the article breaks down the details in a 5w’s of journalism—who, what, where, when, why—fashion. In doing so, readers learn the basics about what Genentech has revealed about the drug, baloxavir marboxil, and how it works. We were especially pleased to see a discussion about how much it might cost, if approved. We would have liked to have seen—and think readers would have benefitted from—a more critical review that explained that the study Genentech presented to the FDA for review has not been peer reviewed or published, which means no one other than the drug’s manufacturer has seen the actual data analysis. We also do not think readers benefit from an article that doesn’t question who benefits from potential approval of a new flu drug that “could upend treatment” before the next flu season. Why? Because we’ve seen this excitement before. There was a lot of enthusiasm about Tamiflu when it was first introduced. But in all the hoopla about Tamiflu being able to reduce the duration of flu symptoms–by a day!–an important point was lost. Yes, the flu makes you miserable. But the real concern about the flu is that in some populations–in particular children, the elderly, and those with impaired immune systems or other health conditions– the flu can be deadly. Yet there is limited evidence that Tamiflu will prevent flu-related complications, hospitalization, or death. Lastly, and importantly, the story left out any discussion of side effects. For an in-depth look at why this matters, see Drug kills flu in a day, news headlines claim. Here’s why that’s bad for public health. As Genentech noted in its news release about the FDA granting priority review for its new drug, the flu is responsible for up to 650,000 deaths worldwide each year. It would be great if there was a drug that reduced deaths from the flu. Genentech has provided no evidence that baloxavir marboxil is this drug. There is a lot of money to be made off a drug that can treat the flu effectively. The new drug, baloxavir marboxil, was not better than Tamiflu at reducing flu symptoms, according to data Genentech included in its news release about the FDA’s decision to grant priority review. And like Tamiflu, it has to be taken within 48 hours of flu symptoms developing. The difference is that baloxavir marboxil is a single dose, one-time treatment, whereas Tamiflu must be taken twice a day, for five days. The release also hints at the idea that the drug made people less infectious, but there is no evidence that those who took baloxavir marboxil infected fewer people than those who were on the placebo or on Tamiflu. Moreover, all this ignores the bigger question: When it comes to the flu, what does “effective” mean? Getting you back to work a day sooner? Or keeping you from dying?
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true
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influenza
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The story makes clear the “big unknown” remains the price and “how much people are willing to spend to cut a day or so off of a bout of flu.” The story reports that Genentech, the drug’s manufacturer, said it’s too early to comment on the drug’s U.S. price. The story also notes that in Japan, where the drug was invented, it “sells for the equivalent of about $43.50.” The story uses terms like “a little more than a day” and “nearly a day” and “substantially” to describe the drug’s reduction in flu symptoms, fever, and coughing and sneezing, respectively. It does not explain, as the news release does, that: “Similar efficacy results were seen between baloxavir marboxil and [Tamiflu] in relation to duration of symptoms and fever reduction.” In other words, on the symptom front, both drugs were the same. According to the news release, a difference was seen in the length of time the virus was shed from the body (presumably through coughing and sneezing): 24 hours for baloxavir marboxil verses 72 hours for Tamiflu. The news release also states that there was also a difference seen in the level of virus in the nose and throat, but it provides no precise numbers. It is not known whether this benefit translates into less infection transmission, and the story should have made that clear. The news release issued by Genentech about the FDA’s decision to grant priority review describes baloxavir marboxil’s most common side effects: diarrhea, bronchitis, nausea and sinusitis. The news release also states that overall incidence of adverse events seen in patients taking baloxavir marboxil were lower than those seen in both the placebo group and the group taking Tamiflu. The STAT News story does not mention any potential harms. This evidence comes from the randomized phase III Capstone-1 study the FDA will review, which included 1,436 people in the US and Japan. It excluded people older than 64. The news story does not note this exclusion, nor does it state a key problem with this study: It has never been published in a peer-reviewed journal (instead, a study abstract was released as part of ID Week 2017). This means the full data analysis has never been seen by anyone other than the researchers. We explained why this is important in February 2018, when we discussed news coverage of the drug’s approval in Japan. The 2017-2018 flu season was the worst the US had experienced in nearly a decade. The flu impacted the entire country, and was responsible for 172 pediatric deaths. The news article did not use these or any other flu-related statistics to increase fear about the flu and, in turn, the need for this medication. The article includes two sources: Mark Eisner, Genentech’s VP of product development for immunology, infectious diseases and ophthalmology and Richard Webby, head of the World Health Organization’s influenza collaborating center at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Eisner’s affiliation with Genentech, the drug’s manufacturer, is clearly noted. Webby does not appear to have any conflicts of interest. The article would have been stronger if it had included a third source who commented on what–if anything–is known about whether reducing the duration of symptoms leads to reduced levels of transmission that result in fewer people contracting the flu and fewer deaths. The story explains that the only other drug approved to treat the flu is Tamiflu, which is not widely used. The writer explains that both drugs need to be taken within 48 hours of symptom onset and that baloxavir marboxil is a single one-time dose, while Tamiflu must be taken twice daily for five days. It is clear from the story that the FDA is expected to decide by the end of the year whether to approve this new flu medication. The story explains that it’s been more than 20 years since a new class of flu drug has been developed and marketed. (It is available in Japan.) The catalyst for the story was a news release issued by Genentech about the FDA granting priority review of baloxavir marboxil, but the story does not use direct quotes from the news release.
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9329
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VITAMIN D: SUPPLEMENT LINKED TO WEIGHT LOSS IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE CHILDREN
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Newsweek covers the results of a preliminary study that suggest a weekly dose of vitamin D might help children with obesity. While the story provides important context to the issue, identifies some caveats, and includes the voice of an outside expert, some key details weren’t included. The study did not appear to control for things like daily activity levels (which can positively influence many aspects of health), and it covered a small population size with a limited geographic scope. Childhood obesity is a real problem, as the story points out, and a big one that affects more than 40 million kids under the age of 5 years. Life is short on simple and readily available fixes to major problems, so it makes for a compelling health story when scientific results hint at such a fix. But media outlets must be careful in covering rudimentary results, even if their competitors are doing so with abandon and generating great attention as a result. With this study, the results may or may not pan out after larger, longer, and more detailed studies are completed. And while taking vitamin D supplements on a weekly basis may seem innocuous, there are some risks. It’s also not hard to imagine that some readers may try to substitute it for more provably effective (yet more difficult) interventions — perhaps leading to secondary harm.
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false
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childhood obesity,Vitamin D
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The cost of Vitamin D is not mentioned, but the cost is so low we’ll rate this N/A. (The study says about 100 of the 200 participants were given 50,000 IU of the vitamin per week, which works out to about 20 cents per month.) We’re told kids who took vitamin D “had a significantly lower BMI” and “lower body fat, as well as healthier cholesterol levels.” But this is not adequate. How much did BMI appear to improve for the kids who took vitamin D? How much fat did they appear to lose relative to kids who didn’t take vitamin D? And just how much better were their cholesterol levels? We don’t know, because those numbers are not included. The story hints that researchers didn’t provide this information, via this quote: “Although the effect sizes are not given, these outcomes are certainly positive.” Lay readers may not understand what “effect sizes” mean and why they matter. The possible harms of taking too much vitamin D are fairly well-known for adults, less is known about how it affects kids. Nevertheless the harms are numerous and significant. At least a small sample of those risks should have been included in the story, e.g. putting too much calcium in the blood, a greater risk of forming kidney stones, and a greater risk of developing kidney diseases. The story did at least point out “there remains a lack of evidence on the safety and long-term effects of supplementation, particularly if there is no vitamin D deficiency.” The story notes the small study size and some caveats, but it should have pointed out that major factors like physical activity levels and diet were not controlled for. Thus it’s possible (if not likely) that any effect might be the result of those proven means of improving health outcomes for children with obesity. Newsweek acknowledges the study is “set to be presented at the 57th Annual European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology Meeting, and have therefore not yet been reviewed.” The story would have been stronger if it had explained why this matters: Many findings presented in medical meetings are never published, mostly because they fail to stand up to scrutiny when other doctors look at the details. We didn’t see any sensationalized or disturbing language in this story. There appears to be at least one expert, Mary Fewtrell (of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health), who comments on the study yet is not involved in the research. Alternatives to taking vitamin D to head off some of the symptoms of obesity are noticeably absent. Why aren’t diet or exercise mentioned, at a minimum? Vitamin D is easy to find and used pervasively, so we’ll mark this N/A. The story highlights recent research into vitamin D and belly fat levels in adults, but claims the study is the first to “investigate the links between vitamin D supplementation and the weight and health of obese children and adolescents.” But this is not accurate. In 2017, the authors of an ongoing study published partial results that echo the ones of the latest study. Some quotes used in the story match word-for-word what we found in a press release published by the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology. Although there was outside expert commentary woven into the story, not mentioning or even linking to the release is a no-no if you are trying to be transparent about sourcing and helpful to readers. For example, this quote appears in the Newsweek story, and is not attributed to the news release: “These findings suggest that simple vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of overweight and obese children developing serious heart and metabolic complications in later life.”
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3777
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4th death in Mississippi prisons; judge says other prison OK.
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Another Mississippi inmate has died at the hands of a fellow inmate, bringing the death toll to four in disturbances over the past week in the state prison system. The violence comes even as a federal judge has rejected claims that conditions in one Mississippi prison are unconstitutionally harsh.
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true
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Mississippi, Prisons, Health, General News, U.S. News
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Sunflower County Corner Heather Burton told The Associated Press a 32-year-old male prisoner died before noon Thursday at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. Burton said the inmate, whom she declined to identify pending notification of relatives, had multiple stab wounds. Sunflower County Sheriff James Haywood said other inmates were injured. Deputies from multiple counties and state agencies responded to the sprawling and isolated Parchman prison, Haywood said. Inmates in a different unit than the one where the stabbing occurred set their cell block on fire, the sheriff said, speaking by cell phone from the prison. Haywood said the fire was put out and the inmates were under control. “Everybody is up here and everything is calm and cool right now,” he said. Mississippi Department of Corrections spokeswoman Grace Simmons Fisher later said nobody was hurt by the small fire that was set by an inmate, and no structural damage occurred. She said inmates were evacuated while the fire was extinguished, then moved back in. Earlier in the week, prisons statewide were put under lockdown after what the department called a “major disturbance” Sunday at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Greene County. Inmate Terrandance Dobbins, 40, was killed and two others were hurt. On Tuesday evening at Parchman, 25-year-old inmate Walter Gates died and several others were injured during a fight among prisoners. The fight broke out in one unit and spread to others around the prison, Burton told news outlets. Burton said Gates, who had a 2015 burglary conviction, received multiple stab wounds. Then one inmate was killed and two were injured in a fight early Thursday at Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility, a county-run facility that holds state inmates. “We had it under control in three minutes,” Chickasaw County Sheriff Jim Meyers told The Associated Press. Meyers identified the dead inmate as 26-year-old Gregory Emary, of Hernando, serving a 16-year sentence for burglary. Another inmate was in intensive care after surgery at a Tupelo hospital, Meyers said, and a third was at another hospital with cuts to the head. The lockdown means inmates can’t go outside, make phone calls or receive visitors. Authorities said the ban on visitors will extend at least through the weekend. “All available resources are being used to address disturbances occurring around the state,” the statement said. The violence came even as U.S. District Judge William Barbour ruled Tuesday that while conditions may have previously been poor at East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian, there’s no longer any evidence that the privately run prison is violating inmates’ rights. A lawsuit suit filed in 2013 alleged that inmates were being systematically denied health care and mental health care, were in danger of violence from guards and other prisoners, and were forced into long stretches in solitary confinement, where cells were often dark and where inmates often set fires. “While plaintiffs and their expert witnesses argue that environment and healthcare services at the prison could and should be better, those arguments do not establish that the conditions under which they are currently housed, as a class, are cruel and unusual,” Barbour wrote in his ruling. The judge wrote that he believed that conditions had improved after former Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps resigned in November 2014. Epps was later convicted of taking more than $1.4 million in bribes. One of those who pleaded guilty to bribing Epps was Dr. Carl Reddix, whose company previously had a contract to provide medical and mental health care at East Mississippi. Barbour said that the bribes “likely affected the quality of care that was being provided to prisoners as well as other conditions at the facility.” The lawsuit was brought on behalf of inmates by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Neither group, nor the state, immediately commented Thursday on the ruling. The Corrections spokeswoman Fisher didn’t comment directly on the ruling but wrote in an email that “linking the ruling to what is going on now is plainly unfair.” Expert witnesses testified that care at the prison, which holds male inmates who mostly have been diagnosed with mental illness, was substandard. But Barbour ruled the experts’ opinions didn’t reach the “very high bar” needed to prove that state officials were deliberately indifferent to inmates’ needs. He wrote the state had improved health care, mental health care, staffing and the physical conditions at the prison during the course of the lawsuit. Mississippi Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall announced Tuesday that she will resign in mid-January to take a private sector job signaling incoming Gov. Tate Reeves won’t retain her upon taking office Jan. 14. ___ Jeff Amy reported from Atlanta.
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8153
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Tooth fairy in quarantine? Argentina makes exemption in coronavirus lockdown.
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In Argentina’s nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus, one magical being has been handed a presidential exemption: the tooth fairy.
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true
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Health News
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President Alberto Fernandez earlier this week ordered all but essential workers to stay home and off the streets. But he was forced to amend the list of exceptions after receiving a message from the mother of a 7-year old boy who had recently lost his first tooth. “Dear @alferdez, I need to ask if the tooth fairy is among those exempted from quarantine? Joaquin has lost his first tooth and we don´t know if we should leave him a letter (we can´t find the tooth). We don´t want to cause the tooth fairy problems or for the police to detain him.” Fernandez reassured the boy an hour later that the tooth fairy was indeed on the official list of exceptions. “@littlekbz Cecilita! The tooth fairy can leave rewards for fallen teeth because he is not under quarantine. But the rest of us are... Joaquin should leave the tooth beneath his pillow and enjoy the prize,” Fernandez wrote on Twitter. Aside from the tooth fairy, Argentina has also exempted key agricultural and export industry workers from the lockdown, and allows people on the streets to buy groceries and medicine, and for urgent medical needs. The country thus far has confirmed 158 cases of coronavirus and four deaths from the disease. Click here for a GRAPHIC on Argentina coronavirus cases
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28513
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Former Alabama judge Roy Moore authored a chapter in a 2011 textbook arguing that women should not hold political office
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What's true: Former Alabama judge Roy Moore contributed to a study course which argued that women should not hold political office. What's false: Roy Moore did not author the chapter that made that argument.
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mixture
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Politics Politicians, roy moore, study guide, textbook
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As Roy Moore continued to deny allegations that he pursued a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old when he was 32, the web site Think Progress uncovered another interesting detail about the former Alabama judge’s past: According to the web site, Moore co-authored the 2011 textbook Law and Government: An Introductory Study Course which contained a section arguing that women should not hold political office: Alabama Republican Senate Candidate Roy Moore co-authored a study course, published in 2011 and recently obtained by ThinkProgress, that instructs students that women should not be permitted to run for elected office. If women do run for office, the course argues, people have a moral obligation not to vote for them. The course is also critical of the women’s suffrage movement, which in 1920 secured some American women the right to vote. The course, called “Law and Government: An Introductory Study Course,” includes 28 hours of audio and visual lectures given by Moore and others, as well as a study guide. The course is available for purchase on Amazon, where “Chief Justice Roy Moore” is listed as a co-author alongside Doug Phillips, Dr. Joseph C. Morecraft, and Dr. Paul Jehle. Although Think Progress never said that Moore had personally penned the portion of the study guide arguing that women should not hold political office, the use of the term “co-author” left some readers confused. This confusion was exacerbated as social media users omitted the “co” entirely and labeled Moore the study guide’s sole author: The Think Progress article, however, never said that Moore personally penned this section. Rather, they reported that the lecture entitled “What the Bible Says About Female Magistrates” (included in the book’s chapter “Women’s Roles in Politics”) was delivered by William O. Einwechter: One lecture in the Vision Forum study course on which Moore worked is given by William O. Einwechter, a teaching elder at Immanuel Free Reformed Church. The lecture is titled “What the Bible Says About Female Magistrates.” The lesson argues that the Bible forbids women from holding elected office. An unidentified man introduces Einwechter’s lesson and criticizes the women’s suffrage movement. Law and Government: An Introductory Study Course was not a typical textbook. It consists of a collection of lectures (28 hours of audio and video) and a companion study guide. The study course was created by Vision Forum, an evangelical Christian organization that advocated “biblical patriarchy” and was shuttered in 2013 after its President Doug Phillips was accused of sexual abuse. Law and Government was largely based on a series of lectures from a 2008 conference called “Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy” that was “especially designed for young men.” It’s unclear if this study course was ever used at a university, or if the material was merely marketed to the men who attended to Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy conference. Our search for this material turned up several listings on eBay, Amazon, and other book sellers, but no universities. It’s also important to note that the Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy wasn’t an actual school. It was an annual four-day “crash course” that was hosted by Vision Forum in which Moore and other like-minded figures delivered lectures to young men concerning a “biblical approach to law and public policy.” Vision Forum describes it this way: Enter the Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy, a four-day crash course designed to equip students, attorneys, lawmakers, pastors, and fathers with a Reformation understanding of the Scriptures as the source book for law and liberty and the only sure foundation for addressing the challenging ethical questions of the twenty-first century. The Witherspoon School is especially designed for young men who desire to influence our nation for righteousness and who recognize that, to do so, they must communicate an entire world and life view as dictated by Holy Scripture. Moore was a longstanding faculty member of Vision Forum’s Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy. The introduction for “The Law Of The Land: Chief Justice Moore’s Message To America,” another DVD produced by Vision Forum’s and featuring a lecture by Moore, stated that the former judge had served as “faculty” for the conference since 1999. A November 2017 Slate article further explored Moore’s connections with Vision Forum and the Witherspoon School: Moore’s entanglements with the Vision Forum are complex. He contributed frequently to its publications, usually on topics relating to law, policy, and government. Starting in 1999, he served as a “faculty member” at the group’s Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy, a misleadingly named four-day conference open only to men. Moore’s legal foundation, the Foundation for Moral Law, has published recommendations of Phillips’ work, and Vision Forum likewise frequently supported and published Moore. Although Moore’s defenders may quibble with labeling him a “co-author” of this guide (while he is listed as an author on various listings for the material, he is labeled a “featured speaker” in the study course’s packaging), the Alabama Senate candidate contributed to this study course and was a longtime faculty member of the “school” that produced these lectures: Although a spokesperson for Moore’s campaign did not specifically address the Think Progress report, they did release a statement saying that despite the judge’s involvement with Vision Forums, the Witherspoon School, and this study guide, the judge “never suggested or believed” that women were unqualified for public office: “Judge Moore believes that men and women are created equal by God and has never suggested or believed that women are unqualified for public office,” his campaign said in a statement on Friday. “Judge Moore has supported constitutional conservatives — both men and women — for decades and will continue to do so.”
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37881
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Ultraviolet light (UV) can be injected into a person's body to help them fend off COVID-19.
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Can Ultraviolet Light Be Injected Into the Body to Fight COVID-19?
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false
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Disinformation, Fact Checks
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As attention swirled around “sarcastic” remarks concerning the use of household disinfectants to treat COVID-19, some social media users attempted to gin up more support for United States President Donald Trump by fixating on another theory he shared during a heavily-criticized appearance on April 23 2020.During the press briefing, Trump said:Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light. And I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but we’re going to test it? And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, either through the skin or some other way.To date, there is no evidence that putting sunlight into your body can help fight against the disease. But the president’s statement has since been refitted into a graphic circulating around Facebook showing a purported infusion of light into a human arm:According to a caption often placed alongside the photo:For all you dummies that have absolutely no idea what Trump’s talking about … UV light is injected into the body to kill bacteria and viruses and this has been used for a while now. Just because it’s called a “disinfectant” doesn’t mean it’s Pine-So [sic]One iteration of the post attributes the photograph to Stephanie Grutz, as well as a statement saying that it was taken in 2017 at a clinic in Seattle. She wrote:I’m an independent voter, always have been. Definitely had had strong opinions about this current president. But, putting politics aside, his words made me literally jump up in excitement.She added:IV laser light therapy helps repair mitochondria, fight pathogens, boost mood/energy, enhance the immune system and more. I did this light therapy with a specific IV protocol of nutrients and antibiotics while my body was preparing for a specific treatmentBut in a separate post on April 25 2020, she wrote that she had heard from people “who are trying to validate their perception of the President’s comments trying to use my medical experience to ‘prove’ their point.” Later, Grutz wrote that she had removed her statement, saying that it had become a “political tool”:My post was never meant to be political and unfortunately that is what it has become and the reason why I chose to remove it. Unfortunately this is the time we live in. Instead of focusing on health and healing, we focus on divisiveness and being heard.Trump’s original remarks came after a presentation by Bill Bryan, head of the Department of Homeland Security’s science and technology directorate, saying that “emerging” research carried out by the U.S. Army showed that increases in temperature and humidity cut the half-life of COVID-19 — the amount of time it takes for any given amount of the virus to be reduced by 50 percent — down from 18 hours to one hour.“Within the conditions we’ve tested to date, the virus in droplets of saliva survives best in indoors and dry conditions,” Bryan said. “The virus dies quickest in the presence of direct sunlight.”However, the study he mentioned has not been peer-reviewed, and Bryan himself did not offer its results as any sort of panacea. “It would be irresponsible for us to say summer will kill the virus,” he said.According to a separate study at Columbia University, though, a type of ultraviolet light, “Far-UVC light,” could be used to stop the spread of the virus in public settings. Instead of using light on people who have already been diagnosed with the disease, the study said, lamps could be outfitted to emit “Far-UVC light” in open spaces and prevent its spread that way.Lead researcher David Brenner and his team are reportedly testing this type of light specifically for use against COVID-19 (also known as SARS-CoV-2, or simply “the coronavirus”) alongside researchers from the Center for Infection and Immunity. However Andrea Martin Armani, a researcher at the University of Southern California, told Fast Company magazine that she was skeptical of this approach.“The idea of directly exposing people with UVC is a very bad idea and would have numerous negative health effects,” said Armani, a professor of chemical engineering and materials science at the university as well as the Ray Irani Chair in Engineering and Materials Science. “The negative effects of direct UVC exposure on humans is backed up by decades of medical research.”Comments
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35301
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The U.S. economic downturn due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 was forcing the United States Postal Service to close.
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"What's true: A decline in mail deliveries — a leading source of revenue for the agency — due to business shutdowns during the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic is hurting USPS. The leader of the Postal Service said it could ""run out of cash"" by the end of September 2020. What's undetermined: It is unclear how, or to what extent, those drops in revenue are adding to an already-troubled financial situation for the Postal Service, due in large part to a congressional mandate on how it funds employees' benefits, not COVID-19. Additionally, it's unknown how the lack of cash could affect USPS service or its mail carriers, and whether USPS leaders are seriously making plans to shut down the agency in its entirety."
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mixture
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Politics, COVID-19
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In April 2020, during an unprecedented interruption to the U.S. economy due to social-distancing restrictions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, the United States Postal Service (USPS) remained in operation. Canvassing city streets and rural roads with packages of prescriptions, food, and bills, the mail carriers provided a lifeline for many Americans who feared leaving their homes during the pandemic. Under the U.S. Constitution, the federally run Postal Service must serve all Americans equally regardless of where they live. But with a novel virus plaguing the country — spreading from person to person — that commitment to service came at a cost: 1,800 USPS employees had either tested positive for or were suspected to have caught COVID-19 as of April 25, according to the National Association of Letter Carriers. And more than 40 such workers had died. The virus’ toll on employees’ health was not the only pandemic-fueled problem for leaders of the Postal Service; a decline in mail deliveries — a leading source of revenue for the agency — due to business shutdowns raised worries that the national mail carrier would not economically recover from a coronavirus recession. From high-profile Democrats in Washington, D.C., to less-known musicians who said they rely on USPS to help them run independent labels, supporters across the country took to Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit to call attention to what they feared were limited days left for USPS. Many of the social media posts included calls to action. Supporters rushed to buy stamps, hoping any type of profit boost would stave off a collapse, or urged people to contact U.S. lawmakers and tell them to help the Postal Service with federal funds. As of April 28, almost 390,000 people had signed an online petition on Change.org to express their support for USPS, while more than 440,000 people had endorsed an open letter using an automated texting service (texted “USPS” to 50409) that promised to contact congressional representatives on behalf of petitioners. The letter states: In the age of COVID-19, having a healthy and strong postal service is more important than ever. More and more Americans are relying on the USPS to deliver medicines, food, and essentials now that social distancing is a matter of life and death. Seeing those pleas online, numerous people contacted Snopes to investigate the validity of the claim that the national mail carrier was, indeed, on the brink of closure due to the pandemic. The claim is multi-faceted, asserting that USPS could shutter soon, and that the coronavirus pandemic would be the reason why. To get to the root of each assertion, we began by analyzing the history of funding for USPS — which is an independent executive agency and has not received taxpayer funding in decades — and changes in how Americans rely on it. As online communication advanced between 2010 and 2020, USPS’ volume of first-class and marketing mail decreased — a problem for the agency’s bottom line because stamps and other postal products to send that type of mail make lucrative profit margins. Meanwhile, private competitors such as Amazon and FedEx grew in popularity and reach, raising USPS’ package volume because the agency contracts with them (often for what’s called the “last mile” of deliveries in rural or remote areas). Such shipments for the USPS increased from 3.1 billion in 2010 to 6.2 billion in 2018, federal data show. But market trends aside, the agency for years has run in the red, with a total of $143 billion in unfunded liabilities and debt as of fall 2018 (an amount that is double its annual revenue), according to the U.S Government Accountability Office. The debt, in large part, is a result of a congressional mandate on how the agency must fund retiree pensions and health benefits for employees. In 2006, under the George W. Bush’ presidential administration and a Republican-led Congress, the federal government enacted the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which forced USPS to add up what it expected to spend on the benefits over the next 75 years and then prepay that amount between 2007 and 2016. The math rounded out to an expense of about $5.6 billion annually. But in 2012, the agency began defaulting on the payments. That history aside, the pandemic is only hurting the agency’s already-troubled financial situation. Addressing a group of congressional lawmakers in earlyApril 9, Postmaster General Megan Brennan said mail volume had dropped 30 percent in the early days of the crisis, and that she expected that decline to reach 50 percent by the end of June. For this fiscal year, which runs from October 2019 to September 2020, she said the Postal Service was preparing for a $13 billion revenue shortfall due “directly to COVID-19” in 2020 and an additional $54.3 billion in losses over 10 years. Considering those projections, she said the agency could “run out of cash this fiscal year” (or the end of September) without federal intervention. “The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep and may never fully recover,” she later told The New York Times. Further details on the potential downturn were unknown; it was not explained where, or to what extent, regions may first notice interrupted USPS service due to the profit loss, nor if the agency would maintain its existing payroll of some 640,000 employees or close all together. Using the COVID-19 outbreak in their rationale, some lawmakers — primarily U.S. House Democrats — attempted to rally support for and extend more federal money to help USPS in spring 2020. Among leaders of the public outcry was Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., who is a member of the House government operations committee that oversees the Postal Service. He told the Washington Post: “I’m so frustrated at how difficult it has been for a long time to galvanize attention and action around an essential service,’ he said. ‘And maybe the pandemic forces us all to refocus on this service and how essential it is and how we need to fix it while we can before it gets into critical condition.” The requests came to a head in March 2020 during negotiations over a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Initially, lawmakers agreed to set aside $13 billion in federal dollars for USPS that the agency would not have to repay. But purportedly at the urging of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and aids to U.S. President Donald Trump, congressional leaders removed that provision from the CARES Act — while leaving its funding boosts to help small businesses, passenger airlines and air cargo carriers, and most U.S. taxpayers via one-time stimulus checks, among other provisions that aimed to jump-start the economy. According to a senior Trump administration official and a congressional official, Trump would have vetoed the entire bill if it had contained any such funding to help the postal agency, The Washington Post reported. “We told them very clearly that the president was not going to sign the bill if [money for the Postal Service] was in it,” the Trump administration official said. In last-round debates over what to include in the CARES Act, however, a bipartisan pair of senators (Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.) proposed what some federal leaders considered a compromise between Trump and USPS advocates: a $10 billion loan to help the agency cover operating expenses through the spring of 2020. Trump signed the CARES Act into law on March 27, including the provision that read: But, as of mid-April, the Postal Service did not have access to the funds. Despite Trump’s approval of the legislation, the USPS-specific provision required additional signatures from both him and Mnuchin before the agency could request the loan money. While signing off on other aspects of the federal stimulus bill on April 24, Trump said he will not sign the loan unless the service fulfills his long-standing request to raise prices on shipping and postal materials to cover its debt — a call to action based on a false assertion that the service loses money by delivering for Amazon. (Government analysts have said that type of price change could lead to private delivery competitors swooping in on USPS’ business and, perhaps, offering cheaper prices for easy city routes and less options for rural Americans, and it would only raise a marginal amount of new revenue compared to USPS’ total debt.) At the signing, Trump said: The Postal Service is a joke because they’re handing out packages for Amazon and other Internet companies. And every time they bring a package, they lose money on it … The post office should raise the price of a package by approximately four times. … If they don’t raise the price, I’m not signing anything. Hours later, he followed up with a tweet: But for House Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the $10 billion loan is just the tip of the iceberg to get the Postal Service on solid financial footing and maintain existing functions beyond September 2020. “They don’t need more debt capacity, they need debt forgiveness,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York who chairs the House committee that oversees the U.S. Postal Service, to a news outlet for federal workers. In a future stimulus package to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, several lawmakers in April proposed an $89 billion bailout for USPS — including $25 billion to offset lost revenue from declining shipments during the pandemic, $25 billion to modernize the agency’s aging infrastructure, a $25 billion loan and a new system for paying $14 billion in debt. The Trump-appointed Postal Service Board of Governors, which includes three Republicans and two Democrats, unanimously approved of the request. ‘The Postal Service is holding on for dear life,’ Maloney said in a statement. ”Unless Congress and the White House provide meaningful relief in the next stimulus bill, the Postal Service could cease to exist.’ But as of mid-April, the U.S. Treasury secretary suggested that if lawmakers fulfilled any such funding requests in the next COVID-19 stimulus package, the language to help the USPS “would amount to a poison pill,” the Post reported. A congressional staffer told the newspaper the Republican-led Senate would not vote to extend more federal dollars to an agency “unlikely to make good on its borrowing”. For decades, conservative Republicans have pushed for USPS to privatize its delivery services, a move they argue would appropriately remove government from a service that should be left to the private commercial market. Meanwhile, opponents fear dismantling universal mail service would disproportionately affect millions of Americans who live in rural areas, where private companies such as FedEx and UPS either charge higher rates or do no shipments at all. Since the early days of his presidential election, Trump has taken aim at the Postal Service, once calling the agency Amazon’s “delivery boy” in a tweet. Some lawmakers, postal union representatives, and other supporters worry those types of remarks are a political performance behind the longstanding effort to push the mail carrier toward privatization — which the federal government could do by leveraging federal-loan dollars or forcing USPS to file bankruptcy.
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31403
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An unflattering photograph shows President Trump playing a round of golf.
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There are hundreds of photographs of Trump golfing online, which naturally means that doctored pictures spring up in their wake, such as this one, or the image purportedly showing Trump with a brown stain down the back of his pants.
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false
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Fauxtography, donald trump, fauxtography, john daly
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In May 2017, an image purportedly showing an unflattering view of Donald Trump as he was swinging a golf club circulated on social media, along with a slew of comments about the President’s physique and health: The image was further legitimized by a story published by The New Yorker, in which a juicy little detail — that Trump apparently considers exercise “misguided” — quickly made the national news rounds: There has been considerable speculation about Trump’s physical and mental health, in part because few facts are known. During the campaign, his staff reported that he was six feet three inches tall and weighed two hundred and thirty-six pounds, which is considered overweight but not obese. His personal physician, Harold N. Bornstein, issued brief, celebratory statements—Trump’s lab-test results were “astonishingly excellent”—mentioning little more than a daily dose of aspirin and a statin. Trump himself says that he is “not a big sleeper” (“I like three hours, four hours”) and professes a fondness for steak and McDonald’s. Other than golf, he considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy. President Trump has spent a significant amount of time on golf courses during his first few months in office, but this image is not a legitimate photograph of him. It was created by digitally inserting a picture of Donald Trump’s face onto an image of professional golfer and Trump supporter John Daly:
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6910
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UK changes course, allows epileptic boy to use cannabis oil.
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The British government changed course Saturday in a case concerning cannabis oil, saying an epileptic boy can be treated with it after his mother said he needed it to survive severe seizures.
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true
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Legal Marijuana, Medical marijuana, Health, International News, London, Sajid Javid, Europe
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Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he has agreed to urgently issue a license to allow Billy Caldwell, a 12-year-old from Northern Ireland, to be treated with the oil. He said his decision was based on advice from senior doctors who say that Caldwell, who was hospitalized overnight in London, faces a medical emergency. Javid said the British government’s immediate priority was to make sure Caldwell receives “the most effective treatment possible in a safe way.” The case has revived the debate over medical marijuana use in Britain. Cannabis oil is banned in Britain. Border Force agents seized it from Charlotte Caldwell, the boy’s mother, when she tried to bring it into London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday from Canada, where she obtained it legally. She said Billy suffered two severe seizures overnight and that the cannabis oil is the only substance that can prevent life-threatening seizures for him. He began the treatment in the United States legally two years ago. Charlotte Caldwell says the oil has kept Billy seizure-free for more than 300 days. He became the first person in the U.K. with a prescription for cannabis oil when it was recommended to him by a local doctor in Northern Ireland. But the doctor stopped prescribing cannabis oil after being warned by the Home Office. After the government agreed to permit the treatment, Charlotte Caldwell said Saturday that she and her supporters had “achieved the impossible” and called for a rules change to allow other children needing cannabis oil to use it legally. “I truly believe that somewhere in the Home Office there’s someone with a heart and I truly believe that Billy was pulling on their heart strings,” she said. Nonetheless, she said the British government had put her and Billy through a “dreadful, horrific, cruel experience” that has left him in a gravely weakened state. Cannabis oil is not recognized in the U.K. as being effective for the treatment of epilepsy. The National Health Service says on its website that cannabis-based products are being tested for possible use in treatment of several diseases, including epilepsy in children, glaucoma and the loss of appetite experienced by some people with AIDS or HIV infections.
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5207
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Montana judge halts temporary flavored vaping ban.
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A temporary ban on the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes due to take effect next week in Montana has been blocked for now by a judge.
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true
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Health, Lawsuits, Montana, Vaping, General News, Tobacco industry regulation, Steve Bullock
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Ravalli County District Judge Jennifer Lint signed a temporary restraining order Friday that prohibits Gov. Steve Bullock and state health officials from enforcing emergency rules on flavored vaping products. They were set to take effect Tuesday. Lint was acting in response to a lawsuit filed Thursday by three vape shops and an industry group. They claim the 120-day ban is an overly restrictive reaction to a national outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths they say is caused by illegal black-market products. Bullock’s press secretary, Erin Loranger, told the Ravalli Republic that officials are reviewing the judge’s ruling. The lawsuit was brought by the Montana Smoke Free Association, Freedom Vapes, Liberty Smoke and uBlaze Vapor said the ban could force more than 20 Montana businesses to close. The business owners said the pulmonary illnesses could be the result of the “illicit addition” of THC or marijuana products into legal vaping products. THC and marijuana are not included as ingredients in any of the products sold by the businesses involved in the lawsuit, according to the plaintiffs. The ban would not only harm the businesses, but also people who use e-cigarettes to quit tobacco products, the lawsuit said. In an affidavit filed in the lawsuit, Freedom Vapes owner Ron Marshall said that flavored vape juices comprise 95% of the products sold in his three stores and his business would not be able to survive without them. On Friday, he said that the lawsuit was about freedom and liberty. “If the governor can take away those liberties with a swipe of a pen, then what’s next? If it’s us today, who will it be tomorrow?” he said. Lint scheduled an Oct. 30 hearing to consider arguments about the future of the temporary ban. ___ Information from: Ravalli Republic , http://www.ravallirepublic.com
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25959
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“No other country” is having a “second wave” of COVID-19 “because they are not trying to unseat a President in November.”
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Some say the United States is in a second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, but many experts believe it is still in the first. The United States is not alone in seeing a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
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false
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Elections, Public Health, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,
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"A proud supporter of President Donald Trump sees a political conspiracy behind the recent resurgence in coronavirus cases in the United States. She claimed on Facebook: ""The reason no other Country on Earth is having a ‘second wave’ is because they are not trying to unseat a President in November."" The woman includes a photo of Trump in her Facebook profile, along with this message: ""MAGA all day, every day! 🇺🇸♥️💯👍🏻Best President Ever."" The post, which has been shared tens of thousands of times, was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) There isn’t a precise definition of second wave. But the United States is not alone in experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases. As we’ve reported, the United States is arguably still in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. In comments published June 16, Vice President Mike Pence argued there isn’t a second wave, while Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top federal infectious-disease expert, insisted: ""We’re still in a first wave."" There’s no official definition of when a ""wave"" begins or ends, but generally speaking, it requires a peak in infections followed by a substantial reduction. A new rise and peak would signal the start of another wave. The United States had a peak of infections in April, a small reduction, and then a new higher peak recently. On July 9, the date of the Facebook post, the COVID Tracking Project reported that for the third week in a row, the country set an all-time record for new COVID-19 cases, confirming more than 367,000 new infections. The project also reported that for the week ending July 9, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 grew 18% and, for the first time since April, the number of deaths rose week-over-week. Here are examples showing the United States isn’t alone: Cases in 22 countries in Africa more than doubled over the last month, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota reported July 8. Worldwide, of the 45 countries to have recorded more than 25,000 coronavirus cases to date, 21 currently have relaxed responses to the pandemic and, of these, 10 are reporting a rising number of cases, The Guardian newspaper reported June 25. The 10 included the United States, Germany and Switzerland. ""We all want to avoid whole countries going back into total lockdown, that is not a desire that anybody has. But there may be situations in which that is the only option,"" Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a July 10 press conference. ""No other country"" is having a ""second wave"" of COVID-19 ""because they are not trying to unseat a President in November,"" a Facebook post claimed. There is debate about whether the United States is in the first or the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, although many experts say the first wave has not ended. Surges in new coronavirus cases have occurred in the United States, but in many other countries, as well."
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40121
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The Latin American “kissing bug” has infected people in the U.S. with Chagas disease, which is also called “the silent killer.”
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Kissing Bug Spreading “Silent Killer” Disease.
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true
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Medical
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It’s true that triatomine bugs, which are often called “kissing bugs,” have been linked to Chagas disease in the United States. Researchers with the American Society of Topical Medicine and Hygiene estimated that there were about 300,000 cases of Chagas disease in the U.S. by early November 2014. The potentially fatal disease is caused by an infection by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, or T. cruzi, and was first diagnosed in the U.S. in 2007. Kissing bugs feed on the blood of sleeping humans and animals. After they feed, infected bugs defecate, and T. cruzi parasites from their feces are able to enter the body through the eyes, mouth, nose or an open wound, according to the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic says it’s also possible to become infected by eating uncooked contaminated food, blood transfusions, infected pets and spending time in forests where infected animals like raccoons and opossums live. Symptoms of Chagas disease are often mild or non-existent at first, which is why it’s called “the silent killer.” As the disease progresses, patients experience fever, body aches and swelling around the bite mark. More advanced symptoms include irregular heartbeat, an enlarged heart, problems with digestion and bowel movements and strokes, according to the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC). The World Health Organization estimates that 8 million people are infected with Chagas disease, most of them in Latin America. Researchers from Baylor University collected 40 kissing bugs from 11 counties in south-central Texas and identified 17 patients from Houston who were diagnosed with Chagas disease, the Washington Posts reported in November 2014. “We are astonished to not only find such a high rate of individuals testing positive for Chagas in their blood, but also high rates of heart disease that appear to be Chagas-related,” Nolan Garcia, a researcher with the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, said. Posted 11/12/14 Comments
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2098
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Men taking drugs for sex function risk sex diseases.
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Men who took erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra were more likely to become infected with sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
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true
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Health News
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This infection rate was higher even in the year before the men got their prescriptions filled, which suggests the risky behavior came first, the researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study shows that even middle-aged men need advice about spreading and catching STDs, especially AIDS, which is deadly and incurable, Dr. Anupam Jena of Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues wrote. “Users of ED (erectile dysfunction) drugs had higher rates of HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in the 12 months before filling their first ED drug prescription, although only HIV and chlamydia were statistically significant in this period,” Jena’s team wrote. “At a minimum, use of ED drugs seems to correlate with higher-risk sexual behavior, either in the number or type of sexual encounters.” Jena and colleagues looked at the health insurance records of 33,968 men with at least one prescription for an ED drug and more than 1 million men without a prescription, searching billing codes for STDs. Rates of HIV per 100,000 men in the previous year were 66.5 for men who did not get an ED drug but 147.2 for men who did. Rates of chlamydia where almost triple for men who took an ED drug — 41 per 100,000 compared to 15 per 100,000 for men not using the drugs. Erectile dysfunction drugs are popular and include Pfizer’s Viagra, known generically as sildenafil, vardenafil, sold under the brand name Levitra by GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly and Co’s Cialis, known generically as tadalafil. They all belong to a class called phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors and they work by increasing blood flow. As many as 40 percent of men aged 57 to 85 have some degree of erectile dysfunction, editors of the journal wrote in a summary of the findings. Dr. Thomas Fekete of Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia said the study “reminds us that men older than 40 years remain sexually active, even if they need chemical assistance to do so.” “There has been concern that these phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors have become ‘lifestyle’ drugs used to intensify sexual pleasure, even in men without ED,” Fekete wrote in a commentary. The study was unable to document why the men got the drugs and also would not account for men who may have bought such drugs over the Internet. Fekete found something else puzzling. “If the estimated rate of ED in men older than 40 years was 20 percent to 40 percent, it seems surprising that less than 7 percent of these men with insurance coverage received prescriptions for ED drugs,” he wrote. “This implies that despite sexual dysfunction, at least one third of men were either satisfied with their sex lives or obtained ED drugs through other channels (for example, Internet pharmacies),” he added. The study found that in 2006, 3.6 percent of men over 40 used Viagra, 1.7 percent used Cialis and 1 percent Levitra.
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6903
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Arizona facility temporarily closing after 4th dolphin death.
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After the death of a fourth dolphin, a Phoenix-area aquatic facility announced Tuesday that it will temporarily close for a reevaluation by an outside panel of experts.
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true
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Arizona, Animals, Phoenix, Science, Travel, Dolphins
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Officials with Dolphinaris Arizona said the voluntary closure will start Friday and there isn’t an immediate timetable for reopening. They said in a statement that an investigative panel that includes veterinarians, pathologists, water quality experts and animal behavior specialists will assess all aspects of the facility and operations and report their findings and any recommendations. “We hope to find a long term solution for the welfare of our dolphins,” said Dolphinaris general manager Christian Schaeffer de Leon. More than 100 protesters demonstrated Saturday outside the facility located on tribal land near Scottsdale, calling for its closure after a 22-year-old dolphin on loan to Dolphinaris Arizona died last Thursday. Dolphinaris hired an external pathologist to determine the cause of death and said it occurred after the dolphin’s condition began deteriorating and he had difficulty swimming, eating and breathing. Dolphin Quest, the company who loaned out the animal, terminated its contract with Dolphinaris Arizona the day after the death. Two of the facility’s four remaining dolphins are being returned to Dolphin Quest while the other two will be moved to another licensed facility while Dolphinaris Arizona is being evaluated. An 11-year-old dolphin died in December from a chronic illness due to a parasite called Sarcocystis that she had for six years. In May 2018, a 10-year-old dolphin at Dolphinaris died from a bacterial infection. And in September 2017, a 7-year-old dolphin died at the facility from a muscle disease. Calls to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s animal and plant health inspection service seeking for comment on the Dolphinaris situation weren’t immediately returned Tuesday. Dolphinaris, part of the OdySea In The Desert complex on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, opened in October 2016. Dolphinaris has additional sites in Mexico. Dolphin Quest operates its own locations in Hawaii and Bermuda.
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31354
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A photograph shows a man holding a 3-foot grasshopper.
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The image showing a man holding a three-foot long grasshopper is not real. This picture was created as a prank in the 1930s and continues to fool viewers today.
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false
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Fauxtography, giant grasshopper, grasshopper
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For several years, a black-and-white photograph purporting to show a man holding an enormous grasshopper has been widely shared on social media: Moreover, if the image were real, the grasshopper would cast a shadow on the man’s pants and on the ground, in the same direction as the man’s shadow. An uncropped version of the photograph shows that it was copyrighted in 1937 to Coles Studio: Grasshopper shot near Miles City Mont. C. 1937 Coles Studio Glassgow Mont The use of the copyright and the fact that other variations of this image were attached to various locales (such as North Dakota), indicate that this image may have originally circulated as a postcard. In fact, giant grasshoppers were a recurring theme in exaggerated postcards from the early 20th century. Here’s an image created by photographer Frank D. “Pop” Conard featuring a similarly large (and unreal) grasshoppers: The Kansas Historical Society explains: When a swarm of grasshoppers descended on Garden City in 1935, Frank D. “Pop” Conard had a vision. The photographer made a montage of giant insects with humans and sold the postcards like “hotcakes.” “The idea,” Conard said, “came to me after a flight of grasshoppers swarmed into Garden City attracted by the lights, and it was impossible to fill an automobile gasoline tank at filling stations that night. I went home to sleep, but awoke at 3:00 a.m. and all I could think about was grasshoppers. By morning I had the idea of having fun with the grasshoppers, and took my pictures and superimposed the hoppers with humans. I didn’t do it for adverse impressions of Kansas, but as an exaggerated joke.” A master retoucher, Conard continued to print “hopper whoppers” until his retirement in 1963. Grasshoppers were enlarged to battle a man, fit on the bed of a pickup, and hold up a train. The picture postcard presented the possibility to inventive photographers to extend the traditional tall-tale to the photographic plate, and what is more, to devise entirely new forms that were possible only through photography. It brought into being visual effects that tall-tale tellers through the centuries had seen only in their fertile imaginations. “They say pictures don’t lie,” explained Conard, “but from the sale of these postcards-the fastest selling novelty cards on the market it seems that Kansas people like a little funny, untruth.” Although Conard was the giant grasshopper guru of the 1930s, he did not create the postcard featuring the hunter holding a three-foot grasshopper. However, we found two other examples of the work of Coles Studio: Instagram user Blake Nass shared an interesting, although unverified, story about the photograph in 2015. Nass claimed to be the grandson of the man in the photograph, Joseph Nass, and said that the picture was taken after an unsuccessful hunt: I’d be happy to pass along the story. @benshap is pretty close. Grandpa Nass was out shooting prairie dogs/gophers near miles city. Along came a truck loaded with a photographer traveling cross country and asked Mr. Nass to “hold out his left hand like so and his right hand and rifle just the same”. A few exposures were taken and the photographer (presuming to be associated with Cole studio) said “thanks, appreciate your time!” and kept driving along. Grandpa Nass was a little unsure of what had taken place but carried on. A few months later the “doctored” photo appeared in some tabloid literature. Postcards primarily that poked fun at country types. At one time the media gave the photo a run with the story involving an Australian being the one posing with a trophy “hopper”. An original photo held within the family coming soon!! At least part of Nass’s story is verifiable. In September 1937, the Tomah Moniror-Herald published a story claiming that giant grasshoppers were terrorizing a local farmer’s land. Leland Gregory recounted the story of the hoax in his book Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Through the Ages: On September 9, 1937, the front-page headliner of the Tomah Monitor Herald warned people: “Giant Grasshoppers Invade Butts Orchard East of City.” The article explained that grasshoppers had eaten special plant food used on an apple orchard belonging to farmer A.L. Butts and had quickly grown to three feet in length. Accompanying the article were photographs of shotgun-toting hunters tracking down the mutant insects as well as a picture of Farmer Butts holding up a dead grasshopper like a prize fish. The citizens of the town became jumpy and nearly hysterical at the thought of enormous grasshoppers bouncing through the town, destroying their crops, frightening the livestock, and generally wreaking havoc. The article, of course, was a hoax, and the Monitor-Hearld publisher, B.J. Fuller, along with Farmer Butts (yes, there was an actual Farmer Butts,) confessed to making the townsfolk the butt of their elaborate, and pesky, joke.
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This unit is the only one in the state that strives to implement the principles of Mother-Friendly care as outlined by the national Coalition for Improving Maternity Services Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative.
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": Bibeau said Memorial Hospital’s birthing center is the only Rhode Island center that strives to accomplish the goals set out by the ""Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative"" from the national Coalition for Improving Maternity Services Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. Bibeau said Memorial Hospital’s birthing center is the only Rhode Island center that strives to accomplish the goals set out by the ""Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative"" from the national Coalition for Improving Maternity Services Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. Not only does the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services not review and certify facilities, but all of the other birthing centers in the state say these principles are standard practice at their hospitals. The Coalition to Save Memorial Hospital Birthing Center got back to us Friday. A spokeswoman said: ""the Coalition sees no credible evidence that [other hospitals in Rhode Island] have committed the necessary time, financial resources, policy development and staff training necessary to claim true alignment with the Initiative."" At the end of the week, the coalition changed its position from a statement of fact to an opinion about the other hospitals' ""true alignment."""
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false
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Rhode Island, Health Care, Coalition To Save Memorial Hospital Birthing Center,
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"When Care New England announced its plan to eliminate some of Memorial Hospital’s services, including the obstetrics unit, it ignited an emotional debate about birthing in Rhode Island. The Health Department heard hours of testimony from mothers and nurses rallying around Memorial Hospital. But few voices have been stronger than those from the Coalition To Save Memorial Hospital Birthing Center. At the first hearing, held at Goff Junior High School in Pawtucket on March 13, Coalition leader Alana Bibeau, a sociology professor at the University of Rhode Island, praised the Memorial unit for its dedication to care for mothers. ""This unit is the only one in the state that strives to implement the principles of Mother-Friendly care as outlined by the national Coalition for Improving Maternity Services Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative,"" Bibeau said in her remarks. We had never heard of the ""Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative,"" but the title sounded official. Maybe it was the capital letters? We called Bibeau, and asked her for more information. What does it mean to be ""Mother-Friendly?"" Bibeau pointed us to the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services’ website. Here we found a list of 10 steps that hospitals, birth centers or home birth services can take to be more ""mother-friendly."" On this list are general recommendations such as allowing the mother to choose her own birth companions, and allowing her to walk around, eat and drink during labor. There are also more specific items regarding the use of IVs, membranes, and the use of analgesic or anesthetic drugs. ""Birth is a normal physiological process, not a medical emergency,"" Bibeau said in a telephone interview. ""Most hospitals view each woman as a potential candidate for surgery."" All of the steps, she said, lead to the ultimate goal of natural birth, with little to no intervention by doctors. A woman should be able to identify a birth plan with her doctor and stick to it, she said. (Bibeau did acknowledge that birth can take some ""very unexpected"" turns, and there may be medical need to deviate from the steps). That all makes sense, but could Memorial Hospital really be the only one in the state striving toward these principles? We asked Victoria Macioce-Stumpf — a doula from Michigan who also serves as a chair of the coalition that supposedly provides this designation — if she could provide a list of all ""Mother-Friendly"" certified hospitals. She could not, she said, because no such list exists. The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services does not have a formal certification process for hospitals. Rather, she said facilities are only ""highly encouraged"" to take the steps outlined on its website. ""There is a great deal of rigorous work as well as money"" that must be spent to create a [certification] program of this type, she wrote in an email. ""Something we have not as yet had the means or manpower to initiate."" Rhode Island does not certify hospitals as ""Mother-Friendly,"" either. Nor does the state endorse these principles for their birthing units. But ""this is not to say, of course, that we don’t believe that there is merit to some of their commitments,"" said Joseph Wendelken, public information officer for the Rhode Island Department of Health. The Rhode Island Department of Health has licensed six hospitals for childbirth: Kent, Landmark, Newport, South County, Women & Infants and Memorial (for now). All of these facilities, Wendelken said, are ""held to extremely high standards"" set at the national level by The Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization that accredits hospitals. About 90 percent of Rhode Island babies are born at Care New England facilities, according to Angelleen Peters-Lewis, a chief nurse for the group. Women & Infants delivers on average 8,400 babies a year, Kent 1,200 babies, and Memorial less than 500, Peters-Lewis said. We also asked officials at Newport Hospital, South County Hospital, and Landmark Medical Center. Many had not heard of the ""Mother-Friendly"" standards, but they all agreed that the principles are practiced in their facilities. Jackie Toole, a staff RN at South County Hospital, said she follows these steps every day. Danika Wynn, the director of Landmark’s midwifery program, said the hospital ""strives to build a maternity-care culture that mirrors Memorial’s,"" and in doing so, meets many of the The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services standards. Same goes for Denise Sullivan, the director of women’s health and newborn services at Newport Hospital. ""We try to keep the patient in the middle of our circle,"" Sullivan said. ""So we are trying to let the mother work with the health care team to get the kind of birth that she wants."" Sullivan also pointed out that her hospital is ""Baby-Friendly"" certified, a UNICEF and World Health Organization distinction for taking steps to encourage breast feeding. Women & Infants is also ""Baby-Friendly."" Memorial Hospital has not attained that certification. We asked Bibeau about this, and she referred us to Kaeli Sutton, another leader of the coalition to save memorial hospital. ""While other maternity institutions verbally state their philosophical commitment to the MFCI, the Coalition sees no credible evidence that they have committed the necessary time, financial resources, policy development and staff training necessary to claim true alignment with the Initiative,"" she wrote in an email. OUR RULING: Bibeau said Memorial Hospital’s birthing center is the only Rhode Island center that strives to accomplish the goals set out by the ""Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative"" from the national Coalition for Improving Maternity Services Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. Bibeau said Memorial Hospital’s birthing center is the only Rhode Island center that strives to accomplish the goals set out by the ""Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative"" from the national Coalition for Improving Maternity Services Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative. Not only does the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services not review and certify facilities, but all of the other birthing centers in the state say these principles are standard practice at their hospitals. The Coalition to Save Memorial Hospital Birthing Center got back to us Friday. A spokeswoman said: ""the Coalition sees no credible evidence that [other hospitals in Rhode Island] have committed the necessary time, financial resources, policy development and staff training necessary to claim true alignment with the Initiative."" At the end of the week, the coalition changed its position from a statement of fact to an opinion about the other hospitals' ""true alignment."""
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Italian with coronavirus in Nigeria was not isolated for almost 48 hours.
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An Italian man who has been confirmed as Nigeria’s first coronavirus case after arriving from Milan was in the country for almost two full days, traveling through Lagos and visiting another state before being isolated.
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true
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Health News
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The case is the first in sub-Saharan Africa. Authorities fear the virus could spread quickly in a region where health systems are already overburdened with cases of malaria, measles, Ebola and other infectious diseases. Lagos, with 20 million people, is the biggest city in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. The West African country, with a population of some 200 million people, has a shortage of doctors and hospitals are often poorly maintained. The Italian man works for cement company Lafarge Africa Plc (WAPCO.LG) in the southwestern state of Ogun, the company said in a statement. It said it had identified people who had “direct contact” with him before carrying out “isolation, quarantine and disinfection protocol.” The Ogun state governor, in a separate media briefing, said 28 people had been placed in quarantine by the company the man worked for, although he did not mention it by name. The case has prompted a scramble by Nigerian authorities to try to “meet and observe” all passengers who arrived on the same flight as the man and to identify the places he visited before being hospitalized. “We have started working to identify all the contacts of the person since he entered Nigeria and even those who were with him on the aircraft,” Health Minister Osagie Ehanire told reporters on Friday in the capital, Abuja. The Italian, whose country has been hit harder hit by the virus than any other in Europe, arrived on Feb. 24 on a Turkish Airlines flight that had a connection in Istanbul, said Lagos state commissioner for health, Akin Abayomi. After spending the night in a hotel near the airport, he went on Feb. 25 to his place of work in neighboring Ogun state, and stayed there until he developed a fever and body aches on the afternoon of Feb. 26, Abayomi told a news conference. He was then transferred to a high containment facility in Yaba, Lagos state. Ehanire said the infection was confirmed on Feb. 27 by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, and that the man was now quarantined and doing well. Turkish Airlines did not immediately comment on the case. There are no confirmed cases in Turkey. Nigerian stocks fell 1.63% to their lowest level in two months on Friday following the announcement of the coronavirus case. The spread of the new coronavirus from China has hit global financial markets, and Nigeria’s economy is at risk from the tumbling price of oil, which accounts for 90% of its foreign exchange earnings. The latest World Health Organization figures indicate over 82,000 people have been infected, with over 2,700 deaths in China and 57 deaths in 46 other countries. Officials from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are heading to Lagos to help address the case, and have activated its national Emergency Operations Centre. International health organization said they were working alongside their Nigerian counterparts. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said it is in contact with NCDC and is working with the WHO and other partners to support the Nigerian government’s response. In a statement it said it had deployed one epidemiologist to Nigeria to support assessment and response to the outbreak, and has shipped 1,000 COVID-19 laboratory test kits to the country. And the WHO, which has said it already has experts in Nigeria, has identified Nigeria as one of 13 “high priority” countries in Africa. Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program, told a Geneva news conference on Friday that Nigeria had “well-tested mechanisms for dangerous pathogens.” He said Nigeria was able to utilize a laboratory network that had been developed to handle cases of Lassa fever, monkeypox and influenza. Schools and offices in Lagos provided hand sanitizer to people entering buildings on Friday. “There’s a run on suppliers at the moment for hand sanitizer and masks,” said Andrew Garza, chief operating officer of Lifestores Healthcare, a Lagos-based health technology company that provides inventory services to local pharmacies. Garza said some stockists had sold out of hand sanitizer.
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16803
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"Cranston's 2014-2015 ""budget funds 100 percent of the local police and fire pension and other retiree benefit costs."
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"Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said, ""Our budget funds 100 percent of the local police and fire pension and other retiree benefit costs."" The city is making the minimum required payments for retirement benefits through the state-run MERS system and to pay down this year's share of the bill for the huge long-term liability incurred by the city's older police and fire pension systems. But his statement could lead a reader to conclude that 100 percent of the city’s $231 million debt for the old plans is covered by this year's budget when, in fact, the only thing the city is paying in full is this year's installment on a plan that won't retire that debt for another 28 years. Because the statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information. (If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"
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true
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Rhode Island, Economy, Income, Labor, Pensions, Unions, Workers, Taxes, Allan Fung,
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"It wasn't that long ago that Cranston was facing an overwhelming bill for retirees and potential retirees, a crisis that prompted Mayor Allan Fung to seek concessions from the city's police and fire unions. The city was in trouble because, for years, its elected officials failed to invest enough money to cover the retirement benefits they were promising. So it caught our attention when Fung, who is running for governor as a Republican, sent out a letter with the city's new tax bills reporting that ""Our budget funds 100 percent of the local police and fire pension and other retiree benefits costs."" So is Cranston's pension problem fixed and up to speed? We decided to look at the numbers. Cranston actually has several pension plans. Police and fire workers hired over the past two decades, along with municipal employees, are covered by the state-run Municipal Employees' Retirement System. The state sets a percentage of payroll that municipalities in the MERS system must contribute to cover their costs. If the municipalities don’t pay up, the state withholds aid to make up the shortfall. For the current fiscal year, Cranston’s minimum was 13.69 percent of payroll; the city’s budget includes that amount -- about $4.8 million on the non-school side of the ledger. In other words, it’s paying 100 percent of the state-mandated MERS requirement. Then there’s the funding level, the percentage of what the plans need to meet their pension obligations. The city’s MERS plans are not funded exactly at 100 percent, but they're fairly close. According to the latest actuarial report, the city has 95.9 percent of the projected police retiree costs, 107.1 percent of the projected firefighter retiree costs, and 95.1 percent of all other municipal retiree costs. Any plan with a funded ratio below 80 percent is considered to be in trouble. However, the old police and fire pension programs, administered by the city, are a different story because, over the years, Cranston's elected officials neglected to put enough money into those programs to cover future retiree costs. Although they have been closed since 1995, the city would need an additional $231 million to fully fund them. (To put that amount in perspective, the city's entire budget for the current fiscal year is $262 million.) The old police pension is only 18.3 percent funded and the old fire pension program is just 24.1 percent funded, according to information from the city's latest actuarial report. They’re far from 100-percent funded. However, the city is now on a payment plan designed to wipe out that shortfall by 2042. (The date has been 2037, but a recent court settlement with the unions forced the date to be pushed back by five years.) Under that plan, the city should be paying $22,353,591 this year, according to the city's actuarial firm, Buck Consultants. Fung, in an email to PolitiFact Rhode Island, showed where the city's appropriation for this year will actually be $22,518 more than the recommended amount. To cover other benefits, primarily retiree health insurance, Buck recommended that the city budget $5.1 million. The city has set aside $4.6 million and plans to cover the remaining $500,000 by using about a third of its $1.6 million hospital stabilization account, which is savings accumulated because the city self-insures its workers. Fung, in an interview, said he didn't intend to leave the impression in his letter to taxpayers that the city had covered 100 percent of all its pension obligations. ""If I had meant that, I would have said it was 100 percent fully funded, which is not true."" Instead, he said his point was that, unlike in past years, the city is paying for 100 percent of its annual required contribution to solve its pension problems. We should note that Fung has not been shy about talking about the unfunded liability of the city's old pension systems, mentioning it in interviews and on other occasions. Our ruling Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said, ""Our budget funds 100 percent of the local police and fire pension and other retiree benefit costs."" The city is making the minimum required payments for retirement benefits through the state-run MERS system and to pay down this year's share of the bill for the huge long-term liability incurred by the city's older police and fire pension systems. But his statement could lead a reader to conclude that 100 percent of the city’s $231 million debt for the old plans is covered by this year's budget when, in fact, the only thing the city is paying in full is this year's installment on a plan that won't retire that debt for another 28 years. Because the statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information, (If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"
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Easing the Pain: New Hope for Migraine Sufferers
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This television news story discusses drug treatments for the relief of migraines, namely, a drug called Trexima, which is a combination of naproxen sodium and sumatriptan. While the pill is being promoted as a “newer treatment”, there is absolutely nothing new about these drugs. Sumatriptan is a drug that is effective in relieving pain and sometimes aborting an acute migraine by blocking some of the inflammatory substances from nerve endings; naproxen sodium reduces inflammation already begun. Some of the accompanying effects of a migraine, such as nausea and sensitivity to light or sound, may be reduced by sumatriptan or the combination of the two drugs. There is no mention of prevention anywhere in the story, which is an oversight, as the key to migraine management is prevention. This is done first with identification of triggers and then with prophylactic drugs such as beta blockers. The reporter mentions Trexima as if FDA approval was a fait accompli, yet the combination drug is still being studied. Methods of medication delivery other than Trexima in pill form are also still under investigation, although sumatriptan alone was approved as a nasal spray in 1997. Other than mentioning sumatriptan or naproxen sodium alone, there is no comparison with other well-tested “current migraine medications”, such as the combination of aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine available OTC. In one large trial (ASSET), this combination did better than sumatriptan (without the combination of naproxen sodium) at reducing headache intensity and migraine symptoms. It may be a “decade since a major new treatment for migraines hit the market”, however, the focus here is on pharmaceutical treatments alone. While 30 million people may suffer from migraines, not all migraines are incapacitating or require a prescription medication, and there are some effective behavioral and lifestyle modification treatments for reducing the severity of migraine pain. The news story provides anecdotal evidence from two people whose migraine pain decreased (but did not stop completely) with the combination drug; however, no quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of Trexima vs. other migraine medications is discussed. More importantly, there is no discussion of side effects of the combination pill, which included chest tightness, dizziness and sleepiness in a small number of people involved in clinical trials. Nausea due to the migraines may be decreased, but NSAIDs such as naproxen sodium can cause gastrointestinal problems. Migraines can be chronic and longer-term pain relief (beyond 24 hours) is also not discussed. No information is provided on the cost of treatment for any migraine mediation, including the new combination drug, other prescription headache medications or other methods of medication delivery for migraine relief. NSAIDs, including certain strengths of naproxen sodium, are available OTC and would likely be less expensive than Trexima. It might be important to note that the patent for sumatriptan expires on December 28, 2006. The combination drug will cost considerably more than the individual components. One wonders if this story is the start of a PR push to promote the “newer” drug combination. Lastly, there is no mention of a possible conflict of interest for Dr. Richard Lipton or Dr. Merle Diamond, the headache specialists interviewed. We do not know if their headache centers or research are funded by pharmaceutical money, including Glaxo, makers of Trexima.
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false
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No information provided on the cost of treatment, either new combination drug or other methods of delivery for migraine relief. NSAIDs are OTC and would likely be less expensive alone than in combination with a prescription. The story gave no quantitative evidence from trials on Trexima or other migraine medication delivery methods. Migraines can be chronic and longer-term pain relief (beyond 24 hours) was not discussed. Non-drug alternatives were not discussed. The story didn’t discuss side effects of the combination pill, which included chest tightness, dizziness and sleepiness in a small number of people involved in clinical trials. Does not provide disadvantages of this combination. Nausea due to the migraines may be decreased, however, NSAIDs can cause gastrointestinal problems. The story gives no quantitative evidence from trials on Trexima or other migraine medication delivery methods. There is anecdotal evidence from two people whose migraine pain decreased (but didn’t stop completely) with the combination drug. In a trial of 50 mg sumatriptan and 500mg of naproxen sodium there was greater pain-relief for acute migraines than either drug alone or placebo (Smith, T. R., A. Sunshine, et al. (2005). “Sumatriptan and naproxen sodium for the acute treatment of migraine.” Headache 45(8): 983-91.) 30 million people may suffer from migraines, but not all migraines are incapacitating or require a prescription medication. No mention of possible conflicts of interest for Dr. Richard Lipton or Dr. Merle Diamond, headache specialists. Did the reporter ask? There is no discussion or comparison with other well-tested “current migraine medications” such as the combination OTC of aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine. In one large trial (ASSET) this combination did better than sumatriptan (without the combination of naproxen sodium) at reducing headache intensity and migraine symptoms. It may be a “decade since a major new treatment for migraines hit the market”, but that’s only talking about drug treatments. There are, indeed, several well-tested drug options currently available for migraine and a comparison of these with Trexima is warranted. There are some effective behavioral and lifestyle modification treatments for reducing the severity and incidence of migraines. Treats FDA approval of Trexima as a fait accompli – “could be on the market within a year is Trexima.” The just-as-accurate flip side of that is that it may not be on the market within a year. Things go wrong in the FDA approval process. Methods of medication delivery other than pill form are also still under investigation. Mentions that combination drug is new, but neither drug by itself is new for treating headache pain. Sumatriptan tablets were FDA approved in 1995; sumatriptan nasal spray in 1997. ME: There is absolutely nothing new about the drugs or the concept. Also there is no mention of prevention anywhere in this story. The key to migraine management is prevention. This is done first with identification of triggers and then with prophylactic drugs such as beta blockers. We can’t be sure if the story relied solely on a news release.
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Combo pill cuts blood pressure and heart risks.
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Lotrel, a pill combining two blood pressure drugs in one, was so effective at preventing heart attacks and other problems in a clinical trial that the study was stopped early, and its findings may change the way hypertension is treated, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
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true
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Health News
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A doctor checks a patient's blood pressure in a file photo. Lotrel, a pill combining two blood pressure drugs in one, was so effective at preventing heart attacks and other problems in a clinical trial that the study was stopped early, and its findings may change the way hypertension is treated, U.S. researchers said on Monday. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson The study compared the use of two different combinations of blood pressure drugs to see if combination pills could help patients get better control of their hypertension. While both pills helped control blood pressure, people who took the Novartis AG drug Lotrel — a pill containing an angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE, inhibitor plus a calcium channel blocker — had 20 percent fewer heart events such as heart attacks and strokes than those who took an ACE inhibitor and diuretic, or “water pill,” combination. “For the 73 million patients in America with high blood pressure, we offer a new option to reduce heart attacks, strokes and heart-related death by 20 percent,” said Dr. Kenneth Jamerson of the University of Michigan, who presented his findings at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago. He said the findings challenge current national guidelines for the treatment of high blood pressure, which call for patients who need medication to start out on a single pill, usually a diuretic, and to add other drugs only as needed. “We found a different strategy could reduce cardiovascular risk,” Jamerson said in an interview. In all, 10,700 volunteers took a single tablet that includes two drugs. Both pills contained the ACE inhibitor benazepril, known by the brand name Lotensin. Lotrel combines benazepril with amlodipine besylate, the active ingredient in Pfizer Inc’s calcium channel blocker Norvasc. In the other, benazepril was combined with hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic used to treat high blood pressure and fluid retention. Both combination drugs helped 73 percent of patients reach their blood pressure targets after six months. These results “shake the foundations of current recommendations and define a new standard,” Dr. Eric Velazquez of Duke University Medical Center said in a statement. Millions of Americans take medications for hypertension but do not achieve control of their blood pressure. Reducing blood pressure can cut the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure and other conditions. The study was funded by Novartis.
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Polanski asks court to restore his film academy membership.
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Roman Polanski asked a judge Friday to restore his membership in the organization that bestows the Academy Awards nearly a year after he was expelled from it for sexual misconduct.
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true
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Academy Awards, AP Top News, Roman Polanski, Harvey Weinstein, Entertainment, Movies, North America, Bill Cosby, Science, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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Lawyers for the 85-year-old fugitive director petitioned Los Angeles Superior Court to compel the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to make him a member in good standing again. In May, the academy made the rare move of expelling Polanski and Bill Cosby, months after ending the membership of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Polanski appealed the decision, and in January the academy rejected his appeal. Friday’s five-page filing states that by not giving Polanski sufficient notice of his expulsion, and not giving he or his lawyer to argue his case in person during the appeal, the academy “failed to comply with its own rules, policies and regulations.” The academy responded with a brief statement saying, “The procedures taken to expel Mr. Polanski were fair and reasonable. The Academy stands behind its decision as appropriate.” The filing also alleges that the expulsion violated a California law that requires corporations to give a fair hearing before removing a member, calling it a “prejudicial abuse of discretion.” Polanski’s attorney Harland Braun said at the time that Polanski was “blindsided” by his removal, and learned of it through media reports. The filing says that the academy’s decision is final and the director has no recourse for reconsideration outside of the courts. Polanski, who won a best director Oscar for “The Pianist” in 2003, remains a fugitive after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977 and fleeing the United States the following year. He has been living in Europe since. He had been an academy member for nearly 50 years at the time of his expulsion, and his films had been nominated for 28 Oscars. But he had long been one of the organization’s more divisive members. At the 2003 ceremony, Polanski’s win — his first — received a standing ovation. He was not in attendance. He’d previously been nominated for writing his adaptation of “Rosemary’s Baby,” and directing “Chinatown” and “Tess.” Polanski’s ouster from the group means he can no longer vote for nominees and winners, but he and his films can still win Oscars. After expelling Weinstein, the academy implemented revised standards of conduct for its over 8,400 members. The standards said the organization is no place for “people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency.” The code allowed the academy’s board to suspend or expel those who violate the code of conduct or who “compromise the integrity” of the academy. There have been no reports of Weinstein or Cosby appealing their expulsions from the academy. Before Weinstein, only one person is thought to have been expelled from the academy: Carmine Caridi, a character actor who had his membership revoked in 2004 for lending DVD screeners of films in contention for Oscars. ___ AP Film Writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report from New York. ___ Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton .
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Questions complicate efforts to contain new virus from China.
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Reports one day suggest the respiratory outbreak in China might be slowing, the next brings word of thousands more cases. Even the experts have whiplash in trying to determine if the epidemic is getting worse, or if a backlog of the sick is finally getting counted.
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true
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AP Top News, Epidemics, General News, MERS, Flu, International News, China, Virus Outbreak, Asia Pacific, U.S. News, Health, United States
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Continuing questions about the new virus are complicating health authorities’ efforts to curtail its spread around the world. And the United States is taking the first steps to check that cases masquerading as the flu won’t be missed, another safeguard on top of travel restrictions and quarantines. Here’s what you should know about the illness: WHAT IS THE NEW VIRUS? It’s a never-before-seen type of coronavirus, a large family of viruses that affect both animals and people. Some types cause the common cold. But two other types have caused severe disease outbreaks before: SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, in late 2002, and MERS, or Middle East respiratory syndrome, which first appeared in 2012. The World Health Organization officially named the new illness COVID-19, reflecting that it’s a new coronavirus that emerged late last year. Common symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. While serious cases can turn into pneumonia, most patients appear to have a fairly mild illness. HOW FAST IS THE OUTBREAK GROWING? There’s some confusion about that. China’s tally reached more than 66,000 cases Saturday, a huge increase from earlier in the week. Why? Chinese health authorities say they changed how they are counting. Instead of waiting for a virus test to confirm someone’s diagnosis — there’s a huge testing backlog — they’re now counting patients on the basis of their symptoms and lung X-rays. The WHO isn’t sure that’s a good idea, and wants to make sure people with flu or some other respiratory infection aren’t getting caught in the mix. Elsewhere, fewer than 600 cases have been reported outside of China — in other parts of Asia, Europe, the U.S. and Canada. The first case in Africa was reported Friday, in Egypt. Most involved travelers from China and people who came into close contact with them. IS QUARANTINE WORKING? China has put 60 million people in its hardest-hit cities under lockdown, an unprecedented response. Without a good count of how many people are sick, and when they got sick, it’s hard to tell if it’s working. That’s different from typical quarantine measures, which try to target people who may be at risk — those who were in China’s hot zone or who came into contact with another patient anywhere else in the world. That’s a way to buy time for health authorities to prepare if the virus starts to spread more widely. But how to quarantine large numbers of people is a difficult question. The Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has the largest cluster of infections outside China, was quarantined in Japan with more than 3,500 passengers and crew. Experts have questioned if the close quarters have contributed to the spread. U.S. officials said Saturday it would evacuate its citizens on board and bring them to quarantine stations on Air Force bases in California and Texas. In the U.S., about 600 people evacuated from hard-hit Hubei province in central China are still in quarantine at several military bases, apart from other people on the base but with some room to roam. For 14 days — what scientists believe to be the incubation period — they are checked for symptoms and tested if they show any. As of Saturday, there were 15 cases in the U.S., including three of the evacuees. COULD THE VIRUS BE SPREADING SILENTLY IN OTHER PLACES? In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is starting a new effort to spot if that happens — by adding coronavirus testing to the network that normally tracks influenza. When a patient sample tests negative for flu, lab workers next will check it for the new virus. The extra tests will start in public health laboratories in five cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York. But the surveillance will be expanded around the country in the coming weeks, said CDC’s Dr. Nancy Messonnier. HOW DOES INFECTION SPREAD? Like typical respiratory viruses, it spreads mostly through droplets from coughs and sneezes. What about surfaces like doorknobs touched by that person blowing his nose? If the next person touches their own mouth, nose or eyes, infection is possible, like with the flu, but specialists don’t think the virus can survive on surfaces for very long. Regular hand washing is a good way to avoid getting sick from any virus. WHAT ABOUT TREATMENTS AND VACCINES? The hunt is on for both. Currently, people who are seriously ill get standard pneumonia care including fluids and oxygen. In China, scientists are testing some medicines developed for other viruses to see if they might tamp down this one. Several research groups are on the trail of possible vaccines, and one being developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health might begin first-step safety tests in people as early as spring. But specialists stress it would take far longer — best case scenario a year — to ready a vaccine for widespread use. ___ 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.
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16493
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"Charlie Crist Says Rick Scott ""thinks employers should be able to deny women coverage for birth control."
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"Crist’s ad states that Scott ""thinks employers should be able to deny women coverage for birth control."" We struggled to find statements Scott made about employers and birth control. His spokesman didn't give us a denial when asked. We found a couple of statements which show he is against the federal government dictating to companies that they must provide birth control -- something that certain religious institutions opposed. It’s also worth noting that Scott doesn’t appear to be flat out against birth control but it’s clear that overall, he doesn’t like telling employers what they have to cover."
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true
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Abortion, Health Care, Government Regulation, Supreme Court, Women, Florida, Charlie Crist,
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"Charlie Crist’s most recent TV attack labels Republican Gov. Rick Scott as ""extreme"" on women’s issues. A few days after he snagged the endorsement of Planned Parenthood PAC, Crist issued an ad showing a series of women attacking Scott’s record on abortion, birth control and equal pay for women. One of the claims in the ad is that Scott ""thinks employers should be able to deny women coverage for birth control."" PolitiFact Florida has fact-checked multiple claims about Crist’s record on abortion and we gave him a Half Flip for holding various positions on it throughout his career -- even before he switched parties to become a Democrat. Several media reports have also covered bills signed by Scott that limit access to abortion. Here we decided to fact-check Scott’s record on birth control. (Technically the Florida Democratic Party paid for the ad, but the Crist campaign announced the ad and promoted it.) Legal decisions about birth control during Scott’s tenure We reached out to Scott’s office and campaign and Crist’s campaign and searched news archives and found very few statements Scott made related to employers and birth control. Scott, a former health care executive, campaigned for governor on his opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care law in 2010. The law includes access to birth control for women; however, that was not at the root of Scott’s opposition to the law, which was more broadly about the federal government’s role and the individual mandate. We only found a couple of statements Scott made related to whether employers should be forced to provide birth control. The 2010 health care law required that most plans include birth control coverage without out-of-pocket costs. The Obama administration carved out a religious exemption for most churches and some parochial schools, finalized on Jan. 20, 2012. Certain religious entities, including Ave Maria University in Florida, opposed Obama’s rules. On Feb. 10, 2012, the White House announced a compromise: If a religious employer objected to providing birth control in its health plan, the employer would not have to pay for it, but the insurance company would pay. The next day, Newsmax TV asked Scott his thoughts about that decision while he attended the Conservative Political Action Conference. Scott said: ""This week what they did with regard to the Catholic Church and the contraceptives, it's an example [of] when government gets more involved in something they take away your rights. And this is, they are telling the Catholic Church what they have to buy. The government should not be telling us what type of insurance we should buy with our own money. The change they made makes no sense -- saying the insurance company is going to pay for it? That makes no sense. Money is going to be coming out of the Catholic institutions’ pocket to buy that insurance, so they are paying for it."" About two weeks later, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi joined six other states in a lawsuit to challenge the birth control mandate arguing that it violated religious institutions' First Amendment rights. (Scott wasn’t a plaintiff.) In July 2012, a federal judge in Nebraska threw out the lawsuit arguing that the states failed to prove they would suffer immediate harm once that part of the law was enacted. The states appealed, but lost in 2013. On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certain companies like Hobby Lobby that have religious objections can opt out of the birth control mandate. The companies opposed providing certain types of contraception that they believe is equivalent to inducing abortion, including morning-after pills and IUDs, while they didn’t oppose other methods of birth control. We asked a Scott campaign spokesman if Scott made any statements about Bondi’s lawsuit, the Hobby Lobby case, and in general if he thinks employers should be able to deny women birth control coverage. Spokesman Greg Blair pointed to one statement Scott made after the Hobby Lobby ruling, when a radio station reported that Scott said that the Supreme Court ""upheld our freedom of religion again this week."" ""Gov. Scott believes that people should have access to the contraception and health care they want, and he also believes in religious freedom,"" Blair told PolitiFact Florida. Our ruling Crist’s ad states that Scott ""thinks employers should be able to deny women coverage for birth control."" We struggled to find statements Scott made about employers and birth control. His spokesman didn't give us a denial when asked. We found a couple of statements which show he is against the federal government dictating to companies that they must provide birth control -- something that certain religious institutions opposed. It’s also worth noting that Scott doesn’t appear to be flat out against birth control but it’s clear that overall, he doesn’t like telling employers what they have to cover."
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14249
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She is the only candidate who has stood by our community and immigration reform from the beginning.
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"Hillary Clinton has long supported the immigrant community: from law school to the Senate to the Cabinet, and she's built a strong record of what her ad calls ""immigration reform."" She may well have been at it ""from the beginning,"" but to say she is the ""only"" candidate supporting ""immigration reform"" over a career is to minimize Sanders' position on the issue. Hillary's campaign can trace her support back to law school. As for the ""beginning"" for Sanders, we don't know what positions he took as a young socialist, but we can track his immigration record back to beginning of his legislative career in Washington. Sanders' voting record and his immigration reform plan show consistent support for a path to citizenship, despite his opposition to the 2007 bill. And remember, Clinton herself seemed to stumble on drivers' licenses in 2007. Because the statement contains some element of truth, but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."
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false
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Immigration, Rhode Island, Hillary Clinton,
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"In a new radio ad in Spanish, Hillary Clinton's campaign champions her work on immigration reform and says she's been ""standing with Latino families in Rhode Island and across the country for her entire career."" ""In Rhode Island, we come from all over. Our diversity is our strength,"" the campaign says in the ad. The announcer continues, ""She is the only candidate who has stood by our community and immigration reform from the beginning."" Ahead of Tuesday's primary, we thought this was an important issue to nail down. Has Hillary Clinton stood by Latino voters ""from the beginning""? Is she the only candidate who has? Let's tackle the Republicans first. Ted Cruz In an interview with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News in February, Ted Cruz said he would forcibly deport all of the country's undocumented immigrants by sending ""law enforcement to apprehend them and send them home."" He backs plans to build a U.S.-Mexico border fence, and wants to end birthright citizenship, according to an NPR report. We emailed Ted Cruz's campaign three times and asked for more information. They never got back to us. John Kasich At an August town hall meeting in New Hampshire, Gov. John Kasich said ""it is not practical nor is it I think desirable"" to deport immigrants en masse, The New York Times reported. But Ohio, where Kasich is governor, is part of a multi-state lawsuit blocking President Obama's 2014 executive order that would offer temporary legal status to millions. We exchanged 14 emails with Rob Nichols, Kasich's press secretary, hoping for clarification. He said we're ""testing the wrong part of the sentence"" and declined to provide information about Kasich's record until we established what Clinton meant by ""from the beginning."" We told him what she meant — the beginning of her career — and he said ""If I can prove that Hillary hasn't always stood by that community, why wouldn't that suffice?"" and then asked ""Why do we matter?"" Then he stopped responding. Donald Trump Well, there's the wall. Also his insistence that Mexico is sending the United States ""drugs, crime, and rapists."" Enough said. Bernie Sanders Sanders has a strong record on immigration issues, Warren Gunnels, his senior policy advisor, replied. Sanders supports ""comprehensive immigration reform and a path towards citizenship for 11 million people today who are living in the shadows,"" the senator said in a MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire in February. He voted for the Dream Act in 2010, which would have legalized immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. He also supported the so-called ""Gang of Eight"" bill in 2013. This bipartisan legislation created a path for people already in the United States, focused on reducing visa backlogs, and improved work visa options for low-skilled workers. While he was in the House of Representatives in the '90s, he voted against House Amendment 778, which would have to prohibited undocumented people's access to Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency food and shelter programs. He voted for Amendment 968 to H.R. 2202, which removed a section barring ""illegal aliens from receiving public assistance."" In 2006, he voted against the Immigration Law Enforcement Act, which allowed local police to aid in ""enforcement of immigration laws, to provide for effective prosecution of alien smugglers, and to reform immigration litigation procedures. Hillary Clinton We asked Josh Schwerin, a spokesman for Hillary for America, to provide evidence to substantiate the ad's claims. Schwerin told us that while in law school, Clinton worked with Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children's Defense Fund. She completed research on education and health of migrant children that would later be used in Senate hearings investigating the living and working conditions of farm workers. He also told us about her job on George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, where she worked closely with Franklin Garcia, a well-respected union leader, registering Latino voters in south Texas, which was chronicled in a Buzzfeed article about her ties to the Latino community. While serving in the Senate, Clinton co-sponsored the Safe, Orderly, Legal Visas and Enforcement Act of 2004 with Sen. Edward Kennedy. Clinton co-sponsored the Dream Act in 2003, 2005 and 2007, which helped give immigrant students access to higher education, among other things. As Secretary of State in May 2011, Clinton called immigrants a ""source of vitality"" for the U.S. at the Council of the Americas 41st Washington Conference. She also supported Obama's commitment to comprehensive immigration reform during those remarks. During the campaign, Clinton has stressed that Sanders voted against the comprehensive immigration reform bill brought by Arizona Sen. John McCain and the late Sen. Kennedy six times. She voted yes. But, explaining that vote in 2007, Sanders said ""it made no sense"" to bring millions of ""guest workers"" into the country when it could drive down wages of U.S. employees. Gunnels, in a recent email, said Sanders also thought the bill ""lacked badly needed protection"" for immigrant voters and noted that Hispanic advocacy groups such as The League of United Latin American Citizens, The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, and The American Immigration Lawyers Association also opposed the bill. Drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants is another issue that flared on the debate stage last month in Miami. Clinton says she supports opening up driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. So does Sanders. But in 2007, as Sanders pointed out in the debate, Clinton said as president she would not support that. Our ruling Hillary Clinton has long supported the immigrant community: from law school to the Senate to the Cabinet, and she's built a strong record of what her ad calls ""immigration reform."" She may well have been at it ""from the beginning,"" but to say she is the ""only"" candidate supporting ""immigration reform"" over a career is to minimize Sanders' position on the issue. Hillary's campaign can trace her support back to law school. As for the ""beginning"" for Sanders, we don't know what positions he took as a young socialist, but we can track his immigration record back to beginning of his legislative career in Washington. Sanders' voting record and his immigration reform plan show consistent support for a path to citizenship, despite his opposition to the 2007 bill. And remember, Clinton herself seemed to stumble on drivers' licenses in 2007. Because the statement contains some element of truth, but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression,"
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9753
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Better communication can help couples affected by Alzheimer’s
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This story reports on a study about an important topic — how caregiver spouses of Alzheimer’s patients work at maintaining communications in their marriages despite the effects of the disease. The story nicely summarizes the researchers’ conclusions and suggests several potentially useful approaches caregivers can use to foster these relationships. But the overall coverage feels one-dimensional. The story never supports the headline claims with any kind of quantitative description of how these approaches “helped.” The story offers no independent perspective on the findings and doesn’t help readers evaluate the quality of the study. Addition of these details would have fleshed the coverage out significantly. There are at least five million Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients in this country and three times that many caregivers supporting them. Ways to improve communication between loved ones and AD patients offers hope for those afflicted and their caregivers, allowing them to maintain the long-term relationships that have filled their lives.
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false
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Alzheimer's,Boston Globe
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Costs are not discussed. In fairness, the use of the strategies revealed by this study really costs nothing, but there has to be some educational component to train caregiver spouses in their use, and such instruction would carry some cost. The story could have given us some idea of what might be entailed. The headline of this story reads, “Better communication can help couples affected by Alzheimer’s,” and the lead sentence says, “A new study identifies patterns of communication that can help couples affected by Alzheimer’s maintain a sense of connection, which could improve quality of life for both partners.” But these claims don’t seem to be supported in the body text of the story. There’s nothing in the story that quantifies how these couples were helped, and there’s no description to support the claims of increased connectedness or improved quality of life. The researchers reviewed and analyzed recorded conversations between patients and caregivers and then derived what seemed to be the most successful approaches in fostering communications. How those successful approaches were identified by the researchers, or what effects they had on the couples, are described only in the most general of terms. The story does suggest a “list” of actions caregivers can take in these conversations, which is helpful. We’ll rate this category as Not Applicable since the study, and the story, were observational. The authors’ conclusions are based on how they interpreted the actions of caregivers during conversations with spouses that seemed to result in more favorable communications. The story doesn’t give readers a sense as to where this study falls on the evidence quality spectrum. The study wasn’t randomized, nor was their a control condition which would have made the findings a lot higher quality in terms of evidence. The only evidence offered appears to be the conclusions drawn by the study’s observers. There are no numbers used to compare one approach against another, and no measurements other than the subjective interpretations of the investigators. The story can’t be blamed for the limitations of this type of study, but we think it could have helped readers evaluate the research by giving some sense of those limitations. Engaging a second, outside source would likely have helped in this regard. While Alzheimer’s disease does carry some fear aspect among the public, this story does not seem to play on that fear but instead offers constructive ideas for maintaining communications within couples where one person has Alzheimer’s. The statistics offered in the story seem to line up with those presented in this NIH fact sheet. The story quotes only a single source, the lead investigator, and offers no additional independent sources. It fails to mention funding for the study, nor does it offer any information that would allow readers to gauge potential conflicts. There have been a number of studies on different approaches to enhancing communication for individuals who interact with dementia patients. The story does mention the fact that previous studies have been done, but it doesn’t really describe them or their results in any meaningful way. We give credit for the mention of previous research below under the Novelty criterion, but we’ll dock a point here for the lack of any real discussion of alternatives. The behavioral approaches derived from this study seem to be easily adoptable by caregivers. However, the story mention that the couples were receiving specific training on these communication techniques. Is such training widely available? The story doesn’t say, and the average reader probably doesn’t know. The story does point out that much of the existing research on communications for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients has centered on overcoming deficits while this study concentrated on those approaches which seemed to capitalize on successful efforts at enhancing the dialogue between patient and caregiver. That seems novel enough for us to deem this Satisfactory. The story includes quotes from an interview with the lead researcher at Florida Atlantic University, and those quotes are different from the ones included in a news release issued by the university. So while we’re sure that the story went beyond the news release, the story does appear to lean on that release more than we’d ideally like to see. The single source named in the release is the same single source in the story. Some of the verbiage in the story seems to be a paraphrasing of verbiage in the release, and the points raised in the story seem to mirror those in the release. The story does enough to meet our standard here, but it would have been easy enough to flesh out the coverage significantly with additional sources and information.
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5129
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Ariz. AG: Marijuana money can be used for addiction services.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says the legal door is open for the Legislature to use money from state’s medical marijuana program to pay for services to help people addicted to drugs.
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true
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Legislature, Arizona, Medical marijuana, Sylvia Allen, Drug addiction
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Arizona voters approved a 2010 law creating the medical marijuana program and Brnovich says providing funding for drug addiction services from medical marijuana program money is legal if the legislative action satisfies conditions required under the Arizona Constitution’s provision protecting voter-approved laws. An opinion released Monday by Brnovich says the legislative action requires approval by a three-quarter voter of each legislative chamber, leave enough money in the marijuana program to cover its costs and “further the purposes” of the marijuana law. Brnovich issued the opinion Monday to answer questions by state Sen. Sylvia Allen, a Republican from Snowflake.
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26455
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“During the flu pandemic of 1918, some cities lifted social distancing measures too fast, too soon, and created a second wave of pandemic.”
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Protesters called on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to relax Michigan’s social distancing requirements. Whitmer said she will base decisions on how to reopen Michigan on facts and science. A 2007 study found that amid the 1918 flu pandemic, many cities experienced second waves after ending social distancing.
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true
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States, Coronavirus, Gretchen Whitmer,
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"Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders prompted conservatives to organize protests, but Whitmer said she will base decisions on how and when to relax Michigan’s social distancing guidelines on facts and science. At a press conference April 15, Whitmer said that the protests where people gathered without masks in close proximity ""may have just created a need to lengthen it, which is something that we’re trying to avoid at all costs."" Whitmer said she is working with experts in health care and other sectors to create a data-driven approach to reopening the state. ""I want to be very clear that our decision to re-engage sectors is going to be based on the best facts and the best science, and what facts and science have told us is that re-engaging our state too soon or too fast will lead to a second wave of COVID-19 in Michigan,"" she said. ""During the flu pandemic of 1918, some cities lifted social distancing measures too fast, too soon, and created a second wave of pandemic."" Whitmer said that as a result of lifting social distancing measures too fast in 1918, many cities had to revert to quarantines and ""suffered a lot of additional deaths."" We will explain the source of her data, which comes from an academic paper in 2007. The influenza pandemic of 1918 spread worldwide and killed at least 50 million people, including about 675,000 in the United States. Since there was no vaccine for the virus and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections, control efforts were largely limited to social distancing and quarantines, which were applied unevenly. During her press conference, Whitmer pointed to a chart by National Geographic, which displayed the findings of a 2007 study about the death rates in 43 cities during the 1918 pandemic. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and written by researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two of the authors summarized their findings in the Washington Post in April. ""The experience of 1918 also reminds us that early, layered (i.e., more than one at the same time) and lengthy mitigation measures are the best strategy. For social distancing to work, it must be sweeping and enforced across a wide swath of the community,"" wrote Howard Markel and J. Alexander Navarro. The researchers examined social distancing in 43 cities during about 24 weeks in 1918-19. Public gathering bans typically meant the closure of saloons, public entertainment venues and sporting events. Indoor gatherings were banned or moved outdoors. Researchers found that cities that implemented social distancing in a timely and comprehensive manner and sustained those rules suffered the least. St. Louis, for example, implemented a relatively early, layered strategy that included school closures and the cancellation of public gatherings. It sustained those interventions for about 10 weeks and did not experience nearly as harmful an outbreak as 36 other communities. Conversely, Philadelphia held a massive Liberty Bond Parade to bolster the World War I effort. That led to a spike of thousands of flu cases within days. In Atlanta, the mayor sided with the business community and ended closures after three weeks, despite objections from the board of health. The epidemic raged in Atlanta. Researchers documented public pressure to end social distancing as soon as the flu seemed to peak and ebb. Cities then lifted the measures, and people lined up for movies and packed into dance halls and shopping districts. ""The result? Cases and deaths resurged. Most cities closed their schools once again,"" the researchers wrote. Researchers noted caveats including that there could be errors in the historical record and the difficulties in interpreting data from 90 years ago. Navarro, one of the study authors, told PolitiFact that the study shows that communities must be very careful about removing social distancing restrictions too soon. Social distancing flattens the curve, but it doesn’t end the epidemic. It ends when a community reaches hard immunity through vaccine or antibody reaction from infection. A separate paper published in 2007 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined 17 U.S. cities during the flu pandemic. It found that cities in which interventions were implemented early had peak death rates about 50% lower than those that did not. It concluded that social distancing and other measures ""can significantly reduce influenza transmission, but that viral spread will be renewed upon relaxation of such measures."" It’s tricky to compare lifting restrictions ""too early"" with ""holding them for longer,"" said Marc Lipsitch, a Harvard epidemiologist and one of the co-authors of the National Academy of Sciences paper. In either case, there will be some amount of resurgence once social distancing is let up. A recent paper he co-authored in Science suggested that a single period of distancing could not permanently solve the problem; prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022. ""So overall, the problem is that it's not short vs. long, but single vs. repeated (or some other strategy such as a vaccine),"" he told PolitiFact. On April 15, President Donald Trump said he thinks some states can open up before May 1. Many scientists have warned that ending the interventions prematurely will lead to more deaths. Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, told the Associated Press on April 14 that the U.S. doesn’t yet have the contact tracing and testing needed to reopen the economy. He said Trump’s goal was a ""bit overly optimistic"" for parts of the country. ""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. Whitmer said, ""During the flu pandemic of 1918, some cities lifted social distancing measures too fast, too soon, and created a second wave of pandemic."" Typically, when social distancing ends, there is a second wave. The goal is to make the second wave as small as possible. Whitmer pointed to research from the University of Michigan in 2007 that found after social distancing rules ended in many cities, cases and deaths surged."
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21664
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Our government has spent $2.6 million to teach Chinese prostitutes how to drink responsibly.
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Founder of Tea Party Nation claims U.S. government has spent $2.6 million to teach Chinese prostitutes how to drink responsibly
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mixture
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National, Federal Budget, Judson Phillips,
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"America has a spending crisis, not a debt crisis, Judson Phillips, founder and chief executive of Tea Party Nation, argued in an opinion piece published by the Washington Post on July 27, 2011. He called the federal government bloated and lambasted legislators for funding too many wasteful programs. And then he offered a few examples. ""Americans rightly think there is something wrong when our government has spent $2.6 million to teach Chinese prostitutes how to drink responsibly,"" Phillips wrote. We fact-checked a similar claim during the midterm elections. The claim was that members of Congress voted for the project as part of the stimulus. Actually, the project was not part of the stimulus, and members of Congress had no way of knowing research funding would go to study prostitutes. Because of these other distortions -- that the op-ed doesn't make -- we gave the 2010 claim a . But there's not nothing here. In November 2008, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health awarded a 5-year, $2.6 million grant to Wayne State University in Detroit to allow Dr. Xiaoming Li, professor and director of the university's Prevention Research Center, to ""establish and evaluate whether an alcohol and HIV intervention center can assist in reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS among sex workers in China,"" according to a university press release announcing the grant. According to the release, ""The findings could have ramifications for at-risk populations throughout the world."" The research will take place specifically in Guangxi, China, where the sex trade is prevalent and the rate of HIV is ranked third among the country's provinces, the release states. A spokesman for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health told us the ad distorted the aim of the project. The grant ""was not awarded for that purpose,"" John Bowersox told us via e-mail back in November 2010. ""Rather, the researchers will use the grant to develop, implement and evaluate an alcohol use and HIV risk reduction intervention program among female sex workers in China. This is in line with previous studies showing that social norms and institutional policy in commercial sex venues greatly influence alcohol use and sexual behavior among the sex workers in those venues. Studies such as these are needed to translate and adapt interventions that have proven to be effective in the U.S. to other settings and to learn from other conditions and cultures to inform our understanding of the causes, consequences and differences in HIV-related risks, morbidity and mortality in diverse populations. Preventing HIV infection is NIH’s highest priority for HIV-related research. We need to explore a range of research avenues in vulnerable populations around the world to learn the best ways to control the transmission of HIV."" Bowersox noted that the grant went through the NIH's two-tier review process, ""which includes a scientific and technical review as well as consideration by an Advisory Council that includes public representatives. The Council makes recommendations based on alignment of the grant application with the research priorities of the NIH."" The grant first came into the national discussion after CNSNews.com (The Right News. Right Now) ran a story under the headline, ""U.S. Will Pay $2.6 Million to Train Chinese Prostitutes to Drink Responsibly on the Job."" In an interview with CNSNews.com, Professor Li said, ""The purpose of the project is to try and develop an intervention program targeting HIV risk and alcohol use. So basically, it’s an alcohol and HIV risk reduction intervention project."" ""We want to get some understanding of the fundamental role of alcohol use and HIV risk,"" Li told CNSNews.com. ""We use the population in China as our targeted population to look at the basic issues. I think the findings will benefit the American people, too."" The CNSNews story ran on May 11, 2009. That was about the time that a lot of Republican members of Congress were putting out lists of stimulus projects they said were wasteful or unrelated to job creation. But, as the CNSNews.com story noted, the grant for the project was awarded in November 2008. That's pre-stimulus. It's also pre-Obama administration. But Phillips did not refer to the spending as a stimulus program. Nor did Phillips assign responsibility for funding it to any particular party (though earlier in the article, he referred to the ""Obama-Pelosi-Reid axis of fiscal evil""). However, Phillips does distort the purpose of the grant. And while some may question the actual purpose of the grant, it was awarded by the National Institutes for Health based on its own internal review process and was determined to be within the institution's mission and priorities. There is an alcohol intervention aspect to the project, but the larger purpose is HIV study and prevention."
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4636
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VA will provide in-home care for vet with Gehrig’s disease.
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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has reached an agreement to continue in-home health care for an Oregon veteran with Lou Gehrig’s disease, it was announced Friday.
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true
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Health, Lou Gehrigs disease, Lawsuits, Oregon, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael Williamson, Veterans, Veterans affairs, Springfield
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Michael Williamson of Springfield sued the federal agency on Jan. 23 in U.S. District Court in Eugene after a VA contract company notified him that his home health care of nearly 20 years would soon end because it couldn’t find caregivers for his round-the-clock assistance. Officials at the Roseburg VA Health Care System told Williamson he would have to move to an out-of-state nursing home, according to the lawsuit. The settlement dismissing the lawsuit was announced by U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams, who said Williamson is an honored veteran deserving of thoughtful and attentive care. Williamson served 14 years in the Air Force and was in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War in the early 1990s. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis around the turn of the century. “I’m pleased we were able to achieve a successful outcome that honored our veteran and his family’s wishes while also providing a safe environment for his care,” said David Whitmer, the Roseburg VA’s interim director. “Because of the complex care needed by an ALS patient, this took some time to negotiate and ensure a home-based solution that could meet all of the requirements.” Thomas Stenson, a Disability Rights Oregon lawyer who represented Williamson, told The Oregonian/Oregonian it was important to his client to continue receiving care at home. “It was a challenging situation, and when we filed suit, the VA stepped up and we came to an agreement,” Stenson said. “We’re very happy the VA was able to work with us.”
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31835
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"Canadian immigrants with ""two wives"" receive a host of government benefits upon their their arrival."
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The agency also noted that — according to preliminary findings — 53 percent of privately-sponsored adult refugees living outside of Quebec by 1 March 2016 had already found employment. IRCC said the employment rate for adult refugees taking part in government assistance programs outside of the same province was around 10 percent, which it attributed to “substantially lower language skills.”
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false
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Politics Immigration, canada, immigration, migrants
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In January 2017, an image macro circulated via Facebook taking aim at Muslim refugees in Canada by misstating the nature of several benefits available to them. The misleading nature of the macro begins with suggestion that a smiling gentleman depicted in the image actually entered Canada with “two wives and six children,” even though this photograph has actually been used by various “funny pictures” web sites for several years. The “two wives” claim appears to play off of reports of Muslim male immigrants secretly practicing polygamy, even though the practice of having more than one spouse at a time is illegal in Canada. The Supreme Court of British Columbia upheld that law in a November 2011 ruling involving a non-Muslim polygamous sect. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a federal agency that helps both immigrants and refugees, that law is taken into account during the immigration process. The agency told us: Polygamy is illegal in Canada, and therefore multiple marriages are not recognized under Canada’s immigration laws. This means that a permanent resident or Canadian citizen can only immigrate with one spouse after having dissolved other marriages to “convert” their polygamous marriage to a monogamous one. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has advised the [United Nations Refugee Agency] that individuals in a polygamous marriage should not be referred for resettlement to Canada. As well, IRCC officers assess privately sponsored refugee cases against Canada’s immigration laws, including monogamous marriage requirements. Therefore, individuals practising polygamy would be inadmissible to Canada. The reference to “privately sponsored refugees” concerns a separate program, though Syrian and Iraqi refugees are currently exempt from having to show documentation recognizing them as such. Regarding the claim of a “government-owned townhouse” and “a three bedroom government-owned apartment,” the agency said: The government does not own apartments or townhouses which are then given to resettled refugees. Immigration officials also provided examples of regional average payments for refugees and their families distributed through the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), which can be seen below: The agency said: Resettlement support normally includes a one-time start-up payment to assist the refugees in establishing a household in Canada, as well as monthly income support to help them get through their first year in Canada. Monthly support is provided to cover the costs of food and incidentals, shelter and transportation. This amount varies depending on the family size and is guided by the prevailing provincial social assistance rates in the province where the refugee(s) reside. Income support for most resettled refugees is provided for their first year in Canada by the federal government, private sponsors or a mix of both. When income support ends, it is normal for some refugees in need to transition to provincial or territorial social assistance support. The program also provides referrals to agencies in the country’s various provinces who can help them acclimate themselves after emigrating. According to the agency: Among other things, these service provider organizations help newcomers to find and retain employment, including referrals to assess foreign credentials. They also offer free language assessment and training to help newcomers contribute to the economy. Support Services, including child care, transportation assistance, translation, interpretation, crisis counselling and provisions for disabilities, are offered across the Settlement program to enable access to direct settlement services. The reference to immigrants’ being given “health cards” is a possible allusion to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) which provides “limited, temporary coverage of health-care benefits” to refugees until they qualify for the country’s public healthcare system, which is administered through provincial and territorial governments and not funded by the federal government. Immigration officials noted that as of 1 April 2016, IFHP beneficiaries are also eligible for urgent dental care (meaning “conditions involving pain, infection or trauma”), and limited vision care. As noted above, the benefits payments distributed to refugees do cover the cost of buying foods, but the macro’s statement regarding “access to a halal-only food bank” misleadingly presents that as another government service. In reality, those services are often operated by private organizations such as the Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute, or CMWI. We were unable to get in touch with CMWI for more information prior to publication, but the group’s president, Yasmin Ali, explained the circumstances facing many of the people they help in a September 2016 interview: When [refugees] come here, yes, they are given help by the government, but they have to start afresh. They are given some basic furniture, but they have to buy every single thing to equip themselves in a home, from a broom to pots and pans to sheets to every single thing, so the money doesn’t stretch very far. With the kids going to school and needing clothing and … school supplies, the extra food that they can get through Winnipeg Harvest is a good help to free up some money so they can actually access other necessities, pay other bills and get other things that they need. The macro closes by stating that “voicing your opinion” could open people up to hate speech charges. In reality, the country’s anti-hate laws do not address just general “opinions,” but hate speech: Under section 318, everyone who advocates or promotes genocide is guilty of an offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. The term “genocide” is defined to mean killing members of an identifiable group or deliberately inflicting on an identifiable group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction. Section 318(4) of the Criminal Code defines an “identifiable group” as any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation. No prosecution under this provision can be undertaken without the consent of the provincial Attorney General. Under section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, everyone who, by communicating statements in a public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace is guilty of an indictable offence punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment, or of a summary conviction offence. Section 319(2) makes it an offence to communicate, except in private conversation, statements that wilfully promote hatred against an identifiable group. Section 319(7) defines “communicating” to include communicating by telephone, broadcasting or other audible or visible means. “Public place” is defined to include any place to which the public has access as of right or by invitation, express or implied. “Statements” include words spoken or written or recorded electronically, electromagnetically or otherwise, and also include gestures, signs or other visible representations. IRCC also provided the following statement: The ongoing conflict in Syria has triggered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. The Government of Canada remains committed to upholding its humanitarian tradition to resettle refugees and offer protection to those in need. Canada has a long and proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it the most by providing refuge to the world’s most vulnerable people and has welcomed generations of newcomers who have helped us build our society, culture and economy in long lasting and enduring ways. Immigration from all streams provides significant benefits to Canada and to the immigrants who have come here to build their new lives. When we come together to welcome and integrate newcomers, it strengthens our communities and contributes to our country’s success—it helps build our society, culture and economy in long lasting and enduring ways.
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16667
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Mitt Romney did not run his campaign on the basis of arguing his experience in the business world was a reason to vote for him.
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Insurers and pension funds managing $2.3 trillion pledged on Monday to shift their portfolios away from carbon-heavy industries in the hope of triggering snowballing climate commitments from other big investors.
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false
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Elections, Negative Campaigning, Wisconsin, Scott Walker,
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German insurer Allianz, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), and Swedish pension fund Alecta were among the founders of the new “Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance” launched at a United Nations climate summit. “Mitigating climate change is the challenge of our lifetime. Politics, business and societies across the globe need to act as one to rapidly reduce climate emissions,” Oliver Baete, chief executive of Allianz, said in a statement. As accelerating climate impacts become increasingly apparent via heatwaves, wildfires and receding coastlines, the financial sector is under growing pressure from activists, shareholders and regulators to respond. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who organized Monday’s summit to try to boost stalling international efforts to control emissions, sees insurers and pensions funds as a crucial lever to transition the global economy off fossil fuels. These types of companies — called “asset owners” because they are the principal holders of retirement savings, or are investing customers’ insurance premiums — represent some of the world’s largest pools of capital. Members of the new grouping pledged to align their portfolios with a goal enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat global warming to limit the increase in average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The importance of this target was underscored late last year when a report by the U.N.-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change spelled out the catastrophic consequences for people and nature if the world is allowed to get much hotter. Under current emissions pledges by governments, the Earth is on track for well over 3 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century — an outcome that scientists say could put the survival of modern industrial societies at risk. “CalPERS recognizes that climate change poses urgent and systemic risk given our responsibility to protect our members’ financial assets and provide the long-term returns that can pay pensions for this and coming generations,” said Marcie Frost, chief executive of CalPERS. The pension funds and insurers said they would rebalance their portfolios to ensure their investments were carbon neutral by 2050, with intermediate targets set for 2025, 2030 and 2040. They also pledged to make regular public progress reports. The nucleus of founding members hope they will influence an ever-growing proportion of the world’s other big pension funds and insurers to push high-carbon companies towards more sustainable economic activities. But members of the new grouping said they might also have to divest from heavily-polluting industries as a last resort if they proved unwilling to change their business models so they no longer pose a danger to the stability of the climate. Michael Sabia, the chief executive of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), one of Canada’s biggest pension funds, said there could be huge opportunities for investors willing to finance a fast transition to clean energy. “There’s a lot of people who don’t get it, but I do think it’s moving – the issue is whether it’s moving fast enough,” Sabia told Reuters. “It’s speed that matters here.” The new coalition was organized by groups including the Geneva-based United Nations Environment Finance Initiative and Mission2020, a network to spur faster climate action led by Christiana Figueres, a former U.N. climate chief. Among the other founding members are PensionDanmark, Swedish pension manager AMF, Nordea Life & Pension, Norwegian insurer Storebrand (STB.OL), and Swiss RE (SRENH.S).
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23817
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Fifty-three percent of teens in Central Falls are getting pregnant.
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Linc Chafee says 53 percent of teenagers in Central Falls are getting pregnant
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false
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Rhode Island, Children, Economy, Education, Families, Health Care, Women, Lincoln Chafee,
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"During a May 4 forum that included six gubernatorial candidates, independent Lincoln Chafee was asked by Vanessa Volz, of R.I. National Organization for Women, about the high rate of teen sexual activity, the social and economic costs of teen pregnancy, and whether he would support a bill requiring age-appropriate and medically accurate sex education in Rhode Island's public schools.He said he would. ""I travel around the state visiting senior centers and I was visiting a Central Falls senior center and the Central Falls social agency was in the same building and office. And the social agent that was there said, 'You wouldn't believe the teen pregnancy in Central Falls. It's 53 percent.' Fifty-three percent of teens in Central Falls are getting pregnant,"" Chafee said.Later in his response, he made it clear he wasn't including males in that statistic:""We talk about the high dropout rate in Central Falls. Well it's obvious. Fifty-three percent of the young women are getting pregnant and have to take care of a child at home. ""But still. Fifty-three percent?So we contacted Chafee's campaign manager, J.R. Pagliarini, who conceded that the statistic, which Chafee has used on more than one occasion, is inaccurate. ""The senator visited Central Falls late last year and was told by a social worker working for the city that the teen pregnancy rate was over 50 percent. That individual misread page 4 of the attached November 2 press release from Kids Count that stated that 'the teen birth rate among girls ages 15-17 in Central Falls was 59.2 births per 1,000 teen girls, about three times the state rate of 19.1 per 1,000 teen girls ages 15-17.' ""Those numbers translate to 5.92 percent for Central Falls girls 15 to 17 and 1.91 percent statewide.That's about one ninth the rate cited by Chafee during the candidate forum and other appearances.Since then, the Central Falls numbers have gotten worse. The 2010 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook reported that the teen birth rate for Central Falls had risen to 6.13 percent while the Rhode Island average had declined to 1.89 percent. When you include 18- and 19-year-olds into the mix, the birth rate is 3.07 percent statewide and 9.55 in Central Falls.And that doesn't include women who were pregnant but never delivered because of abortion or miscarriage.Clearly, Central Falls has a disturbingly high teenage pregnancy rate, but it’s not nearly as high as Chafee has portrayed it. When it comes to getting his numbers right, Chafee fails the pregnancy test."
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11263
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In Europe it’s fish oil after heart attacks, but not in U.S.
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This story did not go far enough to present information on all sides of the fish oil debate; instead, it focused on the availability of one prescription product. Embedded within this story are some concepts that are very important to understanding medical recommendations and health claims. The story states that “The fact that heart patients receive such different treatments in sophisticated hospitals around the world highlights the central role that drug companies play in disseminating medical information, experts said.” Actually,even within the United States, there is great variation in the way that medicine is practiced even among similarly sophisticated hospitals. And while the drug companies may have a role in this, there are a number of other factors (number of specialists in the area, number of hospital beds, where the majority of physicians were trained, etc.) that influence the treatment variation seen. The overall focus of this story is that because fish oil is more often prescribed in Europe than in the United States, that the disease is better treated there than here. The study cited to support the contention that fish oil reduces the number of deaths 3 years after a heart attack involved patients that consumed a Mediterranean diet which differs than typical American fare, and also did not compare the patients taking fish oil to a placebo control. The story credits the salubrious effects for the heart from the Mediterranean diet on its high content of broiled and baked fish, without mentioning the other ways in which the diet differs from standard American fare – also with cardiovascular benefit (e.g., high reliance on monosaturated oil instead of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats). The article contains more enthusiasm for the use of fish oil than examination of the data supports. The story also framed trial results only in relative terms (20% reduction in the number of deaths and 40% reduction in the number of sudden deaths), not in absolute terms. The story mentioned an article which found that only 17% of family physicians surveyed prescribed fish oil. This was defined in the study as advice to eat more fish or more fish oil supplements. However, this story is all about the benefit of taking fish oil supplements, specifically the prescription fish oil FDA approved for the treatment of very high triglyceride levels. Although this story mentioned that doctors might not recommend increased fish oil consumption because doctors think of it as “just a dietary interventionâ€Â, the above mentioned article found that 99% of physicians surveyed reportedly agreed that nutrition is important in cardiovascular disease prevention. It is also possible that physicians prioritize the dietary recommendations that they make to patients and they may perceive it is more important to talk about other dietary issues rather than fish oil. The story skimmed the surface of some very important issues regarding fish oil and prevention of cardiovascular disease. It could have done much more.
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false
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This story did not discuss the costs of any of the means to increase dietary omega-3 fatty acid intake. The overall focus of this story is that because fish oil is more often prescribed in Europe than in the United States, that the disease is better treated there than here. The study cited to support the contention that fish oil reduces the number of deaths three years after a heart attack involved patients that consumed a Mediterranean diet which differs than typical American fare, and also did not compare the patients taking fish oil to a placebo control. The article contains more enthusiasm for the use of fish oil than examination of the data supports. The story also framed trial results only in relative terms (20% reduction in the number of deaths and 40% reduction in the number of sudden deaths), not in absolute terms. There was no mention of harms, side effects, or anticoagulation effects with excess doses. The story also failed to mention that fish oil can be a source of mercury with its potential neurologic risks (although there was a brief mention of mercury without context). The story did mention “a critical review of existing research in BMJ, The British Medical Journal, ‘cast doubt over the size of the effect of these medications’ for the general population.” And it mentioned that the Italian study had “methodological weaknesses.” But this story failed to present a clear description of the nature of the evidence. In the FDA’s announcement of its qualified health claims for omega-3 fatty acids, it states, “Supportive but not conclusive research shows that consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.” Explaining the nature of the data, where the evidence was weak, and how conclusions were reached would have greatly improved the usefulness of this story. There is no evidence of disease-mongering. The story included input from several individuals expert in cardiology and the role of omega-3 fatty acids for decreasing risk of heart attack. It would have been informative for readers to have someone explain the nature of the information on heart disease and omega-3 fatty acids and why conclusive data was not available. The story made scanty reference to consumption of fish as a method of increasing omega-3 intake as well as the use of over-the-counter preparations of fish oil as means of increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids. However. the story focused disproportionately on the fish oil product with FDA approval for one application. There was too much discussion of a single product, when many products exist. The story needed to give more information on diet and risks of mercury exposure. The article explicitly states that prescribed fish oil is not approved by the FDA for use in heart patients as a treatment. This is not an accurate statement. The FDA announced approval of a qualified health claim of reduced risk of coronary heart disease for omega-3 fatty acids in 2004. And while not FDA approved for use for all coronary disease, there is currently an omega-3 fatty acid product on the market that has been approved for the treatment of very high triglycerides. Fish oil is widely available over the counter, which is the most important piece of information for readers. This story focuses too much on the availability of one prescription fish oil brand. Because the story used multiple sources, it does not appear to have relied on a news release, although it does focus disproportionately on one commercially available product.
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