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26127 | “N95 masks block few, if any” COVID-19 particles due to their size. | This attempt to discredit a fundamental piece of protective gear used and studied around the globe fails to account for several fundamental scientific principles. The COVID-19 particle is small, but it always exists bonded to larger particles of water, protein, mucus and other materials expelled by breathing, coughing,... | false | Health Care, Public Health, Wisconsin, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "As many states and communities ease restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the debate over mask usage has intensified. Businesses, churches and governments have implemented all manner of policies — some requiring masks, some leaving it up to each person, some even banning masks. That has spurred many armchair ... |
14892 | Taking all the money of the top 1 percent wouldn’t keep Medicare going for three years. | Cavuto said that one year of the income of the top 1 percent would not pay for three years of Medicare. His point was that the financial capacity of the top 1 percent is not unlimited. He bolstered his point with a definitive statement, but the underlying math is flawed. Cavuto used the highest number we could find for... | false | Education, Health Care, Taxes, PunditFact, Neil Cavuto, | "Fox Business Network host Neil Cavuto put a college organizer in the hot seat when she came on his show to talk about the need to reduce college debt. Cavuto pressed Keely Mullen with the Million Student March on how she would pay for a program to make public college tuition-free, forgive all current college debt and ... |
22668 | The two worst counties for (Medicaid) fraud in the country -- not state -- are Dade and Broward county. | Ron Saunders says Miami-Dade, Broward rule the country in Medicaid fraud | true | Health Care, Crime, Florida, Ron Saunders, | "South Florida has a reputation as a place ripe for fraud and crime -- including bilking the government. State Rep. Ron Saunders, the Democratic minority leader from Key West, has slapped a more specific label on a costly problem in South Florida: Medicaid fraud. ""The two worst counties for fraud in the country -- not... |
29033 | The Monday after Thanksgiving is the busiest online shopping day of the year in the United States. | In late November 2017, reports appeared that Cyber Monday had, as promised, become the single largest online shopping day of the year, with Americans spending a record $6.59 billion, up nearly 17 percent from the year before. | mixture | Holidays, ASP Article, black friday, cyber monday | Now that it seems nearly every human activity has a computer- or Internet-based equivalent (e.g., cybersex, e-mail, online chats), it should probably come as no surprise that even a concept such as “Black Friday” also has a digital counterpart, one dubbed “Cyber Monday.” Just as Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving... |
26355 | Trump bailed out Wall Street, but not Main Street. | It’s wrong to say that coronavirus relief legislation didn’t support ordinary small businesses. The CARES Act included the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to support smaller employers. Among the loans made with the first $350 billion of the Paycheck Protection Program, three-quarters of those loans were... | false | Corrections and Updates, Financial Regulation, Small Business, Ad Watch, Coronavirus, Lincoln Project, | "A group called the Lincoln Project, headlined by several high-profile Republicans and former Republicans who oppose President Donald Trump, recently released an ad that turned a famous re-election ad for President Ronald Reagan on its head. The Reagan ad, ""Morning in America,"" is one of the most celebrated campaign ... |
5034 | UofA scientists to study Yuma lettuce outbreak. | University of Arizona scientists are hoping to find more answers about what caused a romaine lettuce outbreak that sickened dozens and put the spotlight on Yuma farmers last year. | true | Yuma, Arizona, General News, Environment | Researchers with the UofA Cooperative Extension are moving forward with a multiyear study of the environment and growing practices in the “winter vegetable capital,” the university announced last week. They will be partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, state agriculture officials and local growers. “It... |
2199 | As desperation rises, thousands in Bahamas flee Dorian's devastation. | Thousands of people fled devastation in the Bahamas on Saturday as conditions grew increasingly desperate nearly a week after Hurricane Dorian made landfall, reducing many homes to rubble and knocking out water and power. | true | Environment | Aid groups rushed emergency help to the storm-ravaged islands, and officials warned a death toll of 43 was likely to spike higher as the number of missing among the archipelago nation’s 400,000 residents becomes clear. Even as the aid ships and aircraft headed in, residents abandoned hard-hit Great Abaco Island to see... |
7320 | No COVID-19 testing at home yet but quicker options coming. | Home testing for the new coronavirus may sound like a good idea, but U.S. regulators say it’s still too risky. | true | AP Top News, Understanding the Outbreak, Health, General News, Business, Virus Outbreak, U.S. News | They’ve stopped companies that quickly launched home-testing kits until they can show their products can accurately detect the virus. For now, the only way Americans can get tested is at hospitals, clinics or drive-thru sites, with a doctor’s order. After a botched rollout, testing in the U.S. has ramped up thanks to h... |
12235 | "Ashley Smith Says transgender residents make up ""about 1-in-300 people, we're all over the place, we're your friends and your neighbors." | "Smith said transgender residents make up ""about 1-in-300 people, we're all over the place, we're your friends and your neighbors."" There’s no direct national count of individuals identifying as transgender but recent analyses rooted in federal survey results support estimates of 1.8-in-300 adults and 2.1-in-300 mino... | true | Population, Sexuality, Texas, Ashley Smith, | "A San Antonio activist tried to make a point about the proposed Texas law affecting bathroom access in public schools and other buildings simply by posing with a presumed leading supporter of the legislation, Gov. Greg Abbott. The photo from Abbott’s July 14, 2017, re-election kickoff rally in the Alamo City shows Abb... |
11539 | Fewer mammograms being done, studies show | We give the story credit for highlighting the main point — that the benefit is small and that women should be informed and given a choice. The piece could have ended with that. it also would have been good to comment more on the science of the studies which were not really particulary powerful or well designed to suppo... | true | CNN,Screening | At some point, costs must enter into this discussion. But this story never got there. The story states: “The data that we have suggests that 1 in a thousand will benefit from mammograms in the 40-49 age,” (the USPSTF chair) said. “There are whole lots of assumptions that are not supported by the data they presented.” W... |
10709 | Vaccine sharply cuts rate of shingles: study | This story outperformed the HealthDay and WebMD stories on one point; in addition to reporting both the relative risk reduction (55 percent) and absolute risk reduction (from 13 to 6 cases per 1,000 people per year), it was the only one to also point out that 71 people would have to be vaccinated in order to prevent on... | mixture | Reuters Health | The story reports that the vaccine can cost $200. This story reports the apparent reduction in shingles risk among vaccinated participants in three ways: Although the half-as-likely description got top billing, readers are given the results in complementary ways that help them understand just how common shingles is am... |
28559 | "In August 2017, Oregon governor Kate Brown signed a ""gun confiscation"" law." | What's true: The law authorizes the confiscation of firearms belonging to certain individuals by law enforcement in certain circumstances. What's false: The law only applies to individuals deemed an imminent danger either to themselves or to others; evidence is required for a judge to make the ruling, which can be appe... | mixture | Politics, gun control, gun laws, gun rights | On 23 August 2017, the right-leaning web site Silence Is Consent reported that Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown, had signed a law which would allow for the confiscation of firearms without a number of conventional constitutional protections for the individual: In an unprecedented move of ruthless tyranny, Oregon Governor... |
36707 | Senator John McCain accidentally voted against a GOP Senate bill to repeal Obamacare in July 2017, dooming the bill to failure | "John McCain Accidentally Voted ""No"" on Obamacare Repeal" | false | Government, Politics | A self-described satirical website is behind bogus claims that John McCain accidentally voted “no” on the Senate’s Obamacare repeal bill in July 2017. The story first appeared at Empire News on July 29, 2017, under the headline, “John McCain Says He ‘Accidentally’ Voted No On Healthcare Repeal: ‘My Brain Tumor Got The ... |
7544 | AP sources: Travel ban to extend to United Kingdom, Ireland. | The White House is expected to announce that the U.S. will broaden its European travel ban, adding the United Kingdom and Ireland to its list. | true | AP Top News, Ireland, Health, Michael Pence, General News, Politics, Financial markets, Business, Travel, Virus Outbreak, Europe, Nancy Pelosi, U.S. News | Under the restrictions, American citizens, green card holders and others are still allowed to return home to the U.S., but will be funneled to 13 airports and be subjected to health screenings and quarantine orders, according to two people familiar with the plan who spoke on condition of anonymity before the official a... |
9774 | "A virtual ""walk"" through the colon could detect cancer earlier" | A story on virtual colonoscopy — especially a colonoscopy that projects images on the wall so that the doctor can “walk through” your intestines — makes for a great television news segment because of the colorful, 3-D imagery accompanying flashy computer animations. But what’s missing from the CBS news report (and the ... | false | colon cancer,colonoscopy,virtual colonoscopy | Cost should always be a consideration in a discussion of a new technology. Screening tests are no exception There are approximately 100 million adults in the US over the age of 50 years according to the 2010 census report. That is a lot of screening, and the financial implications can loom very large. Although the cost... |
10460 | CT scans add to cancer risk | The report accurately reflects the implications of the explosive growth of CT scanning that carries a higher radiation dose than many other x-ray examinations. The news story does an efficient job of discussing the dilemma of how to approach a valuable diagnostic test with a new appreciation of risks. Where it falls sh... | true | "The story mentioned that CT scans are faster and better at diagnosing certain problems than are other types of imaging. It did not, however, provide information about the costs of various types of imaging or whether there were differences in terms of costs covered by insurance. Since the story focused on the harms of ... | |
23959 | "Elena Kagan ""has published five scholarly review articles, mostly on administrative law and the First Amendment. These articles were mostly on technical and procedural issues." | Elena Kagan law articles not so easy to count | mixture | National, Kagan Nomination, Legal Issues, Pundits, Supreme Court, David Brooks, | "Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has never been a judge, which means there are no legal opinions to analyze. So her scholarly writing has taken on heightened prominence. Kagan's writings have drawn an interesting mix of reviews. Some people say her record is highly regarded and substantial, while others say it's emba... |
2767 | Amgen's cholesterol fighter succeeds in fifth late-stage study. | Amgen Inc said its experimental drug from a promising new class of injectable medicines succeeded in treating patients with genetically high cholesterol levels, marking the fifth successful clinical study of the drug. | true | Health News | Evolocumab met the main goal of a late-stage trial titled RUTHERFORD-2 by lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol levels when tested against a placebo on 329 patients. Amgen, the world’s biggest biotechnology company, is testing evolocumab widely on a variety of subpopulations. The RUTHERFORD-2 study included patients with fami... |
41728 | "The EPA last year ""completed more Superfund hazardous waste cleanups than any year of the previous administrations and set records in almost every year." | In a July 8 speech dedicated to the environment, President Donald Trump made a series of misleading or false statements as he played up the U.S.’s environmental achievements, many of which predate his time as commander-in-chief. | false | air pollution, climate change, CO2 emissions, drinking water, environment, EPA, Green New Deal, lead, Paris Agreement, superfund, | In a July 8 speech dedicated to the environment, President Donald Trump made a series of misleading or false statements as he played up the U.S.’s environmental achievements, many of which predate his time as commander-in-chief.In remarks at the White House, the president and his top aides cast the administration’s env... |
21326 | An Environmental Protection Agency regulation that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2012, regulates dust. | Herman Cain: EPA to regulate dust in 2012 | false | Georgia, Environment, Herman Cain, | "It was the kind of question that any politician who opposes big government would love to field during a GOP presidential debate. ""My question is, if you were forced to eliminate one department from the federal government, which one would you eliminate and why?"" asked a man from Arlington, Va., via YouTube during the... |
4257 | Does baby powder cause cancer? Another jury says yes. | For the third time, Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a multimillion-dollar jury verdict over whether the talc in its iconic baby powder causes ovarian cancer when applied regularly for feminine hygiene. | true | AP Top News, Cancer, New Jersey, Health, Ovarian cancer, Lifestyle, Business | Late Thursday, a St. Louis jury awarded $70.1 million to Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California, who was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in 2012. Giannecchini, then 59, said she had used Johnson’s Baby Powder for more than 40 years to keep her genital area dry, as many women do. She blamed it for her cancer... |
40837 | Under the current system, people on a work, study or family visa incur average NHS costs of £625 per year. | It’s unclear how the Conservatives have calculated this new figure and we’ve asked them for more information. | unproven | health-tourism | Under the current system, people on a work, study or family visa only pay a £400 surcharge to use the NHS. This is the current level the international health surcharge is set at each year, but the taxes that people who come to work in the UK pay also goes towards things like the NHS. Under the current system, people on... |
10120 | Cutting the fat–without incisions: New weight-loss surgery | "The segment reports on a novel approach to weight loss surgery that is incision-less. The procedure itself is apparently still under development and investigation. There was no indication of when it would be available or why it’s not yet available. The reporter does a lot of hand waving about the evidence for benefit ... | false | "One good thing about the piece: it acknowledged cost, stated that the cost was uncertain yet, but put it in the context of gastric band procedure – ""about $13,000 to $20,000."" No quantification of benefits. Unbelievably unhelpful. The story says ""Although there have been some complications, doctors say overall, th... | |
11218 | Life – now in ‘surround sound’: Ex-Miss America has 2nd implant to aid hearing | The story is largely anecdotal and it provides no quantitative evidence of the success of cochlear implants. We are also not told if multiple surgeries are ever necessary, or if there are any potential side effects of the surgery or implant. Also, the story does not mention that with cochlear implants, patients must wo... | false | The story does provide the cost of the implant, however, costs and time associated with relearning and interpreting sounds is not mentioned. A co-pay may still be necessary, even if covered by insurance. This cost or deductible might be a percentage of the implant and surgery, which at $40, 000+ would be significant to... | |
25747 | Postmaster General Louis DeJoy “gave $400,000 to Republicans just this year” and has “between $30 and $75 million in assets of direct competitors to the United States Postal Service.” | Louis DeJoy was appointed postmaster general in May. Government documents show that he and his wife have tens of millions of dollars invested in companies that provide services similar to the USPS. Campaign finance data shows that DeJoy has contributed more than $440,000 to Republican causes since January 2020. The USP... | true | Ad Watch, Really American, | "As new coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country, public health officials have advised Americans to consider voting by mail this fall. But funding for the U.S. Postal Service is up in the air, and the USPS has warned states that it can’t guarantee all mail-in ballots will be counted in time for the Novembe... |
4633 | Peter Frates, known for ice bucket challenge, laid to rest. | To honor Peter Frates — the former Boston College baseball player whose public battle with ALS helped make the ice bucket challenge a phenomenon — do as he did, the priest who officiated at his funeral said Friday. | true | Health, Boston, General News, Lou Gehrigs disease, U.S. News, Sports - General | “The best way to honor him is to try to imitate him,” the Rev. Tony Penna said during the Mass at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Frates died Monday at age 34. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive nerve disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease that eventually results in total paral... |
9813 | Drug Duo May Help Fight Aggressive Form of Breast Cancer | We gave this story the benefit of the doubt on several jump-ball scoring decisions. Benefits were vaguely described. Harms were vaguely described but not quantified so readers had no sense of the scope of potential problems. The saving grace was the input from Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society, offerin... | mixture | breast cancer | Cost of Tykerb was estimated – about $4,000/month wholesale. No mention of Herceptin’s cost. Strange to include one but not the other since this was a story about a “drug duo.” Cost is always an important consideration in this type of story. This is especially true when the drug costs are so high. The drug costs for th... |
14897 | "Marco Rubio Says Ted Cruz ""is a supporter of legalizing people that are in this country illegally"" and ""proposed giving them work permits." | "Rubio said Cruz ""is a supporter of legalizing people that are in this country illegally"" and ""proposed giving them work permits."" To the contrary, we found no sign of Cruz proposing to give work permits to immigrants living here without legal permission and no record of Cruz explicitly saying he favored giving suc... | false | Immigration, Texas, Marco Rubio, | "Florida’s Marco Rubio, asked by a reporter if Texan Ted Cruz is perhaps more serious about stopping illegal immigration, shot back that the freshman senators competing for the Republican presidential nomination share common ground. Rubio, who helped propel Senate approval of an immigration overhaul in 2013 that includ... |
2958 | FDA rejects Actavis' contraceptive patch, seeks more data. | Actavis Plc said U.S. health regulators denied approval to its contraceptive patch for women and asked for more data. | true | Health News | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration questioned the differences in size and formulation of the patch used in trials and the to-be-marketed patch. The generic drugs maker, which received a “complete response letter” from the FDA, said it planned to work closely with the agency to address the questions. Such letters typ... |
7503 | White House hopefuls target Trump on coronavirus response. | Democratic White House hopefuls are seizing on President Donald Trump’s delayed response to the coronavirus outbreak, calling it the latest evidence of his incompetence and warning that the crisis may only deepen as a result. | true | Health, Ebola virus, Politics, Joe Biden, Public health, Election 2020, Elizabeth Warren, Pandemics, New York, Michael Pence, General News, Amy Klobuchar, Donald Trump | But some experts and Democrats warn that the candidates risk exacerbating a public health crisis if they go too far in politicizing the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness. Former Vice President Joe Biden, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar all ... |
14855 | Twenty-five percent of our kids in foster care are there because their parents are involved in drugs. | Our ruling Hartzler claimed that a quarter of children in foster care were there because of their parent’s drug abuse. Hartzler claimed that a quarter of children in foster care were there because of their parent’s drug abuse. Her claim is a modest estimation of the issue, according to reliable data kept by Congress. D... | true | Children, Drugs, Poverty, Missouri, Vicky Hartzler, | "U.S. Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, R-Missouri , visited ABC 17’s ""This Week"" on Oct. 9, and was asked about ""Take Back The District,"" an anti-drug initiative she was launching. Hartzler said drugs posed a significant problem in her district. Employers, she said, tell her they cannot find an employee to fill a posi... |
10646 | Doubt Cited on Aspirin-Blood Thinner Combo | This story offers a good overview of the results of a trial that combined the blood thinner Plavix with aspirin to try to prevent heart attacks in people who don’t appear to have heart disease but who have conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The story describes key outcomes of the study, and inclu... | true | Cost of Plavix is included in the story. The story not only provided good data on benefits, but also a definition of which type of patients benefited. Good, easily-understandable explanation of how the study was done. The opposite of disease mongering, this story explains the study’s questions of preventive benefit fro... | |
26915 | "Our new (health care) plans are up to 60% less expensive and better"" than Obamacare." | Trump said these are new plans that are 60% cheaper and better. But short-terms plans are not a new idea. Just how much cheaper they are depends on a lot of factors, experts told us. And it’s very hard to examine them in an apples-to-apples comparison with ACA plans, which cover far more and are required to accept all ... | false | Health Care, Health Check, Donald Trump, | "In his wide-ranging State of the Union address, President Donald Trump returned to a favorite theme: the cost of health insurance. He cited the high cost of premiums for people who buy their coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces and said his administration has provided new, less costly coverage. ""I mo... |
40211 | An eRumor comparing the number of gun-related deaths among soldiers killed in action in IRAQ with the number of gun related deaths in Washington DC . It concludes that the ratio of deaths per 100.000 in Washington DC was worse than the same ratio in Iraq and closes by saying that the US should pull out of Was... | California Governor Gavin Newsom called a widespread electricity shutdown triggered by a power company to prevent wildfires “unacceptable”, as gale-force winds and dry weather posed a critical fire threat to the north of the state. | false | Humorous, War | Pacific Gas and Electric Co (PG&E) has imposed unprecedented shut-offs that left more than 730,000 homes and workplaces in northern California without power on the second day of planned outages. But as of late Thursday, power was restored to more than half of those who had lost it, PG&E officials said in a release. Ab... |
10239 | For post-op complications, go back to the same hospital: study | This story summarizes an important study whose findings could affect the way rehospitalizations are handled. It suggests that returning to the same hospital where a surgical procedure was performed has tangible clinical benefits for patients. But the story focused on the study’s more sensational number — a 26 percent m... | false | Reuters | Alas, though the story contains some interesting information, it does not explore or speculate as to what the cost would be of returning most patients to an index hospital. It’s possible there would be downstream savings. Interestingly, in the U.S. hospitals may face a penalty from Medicare if they have high readmissio... |
9180 | Blueberry concentrate improves brain function in older people | Following a very small study of 26 people, scientists at the University of Exeter claimed that drinking about two tablespoons of blueberry juice concentrate improved the brain function of 12 adults, partially based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) function tests. The study lasted only 12 weeks. The news release exa... | false | blueberry juice,cognitive function,University of Exeter | There is no mention of the cost of this blueberry concentrate. According to the manufacturer’s website, a 473ml bottle of BlueberryActive Concentrate sells for £17.99 British pounds, or $21.85 in US dollars. Thirty blueberry capsules cost $13.35 in US dollars. The release gives us the broadest brush about benefits, but... |
29563 | A series of widely-shared photos show the effects that the Fukushima Nuclear DIsaster had on marine life. | What's true: The Fukushima nuclear disaster had lingering negative effects on wildlife. What's false: A series of photos show the direct effects the nuclear disaster had on marine life. | false | Uncategorized, fukushima, nuclear, ocean | In February 2016, a series of photos purportedly showing the ill effects that the Fukushima nuclear disaster had on marine life was widely shared on social media. A popular Facebook post, which appeared to be a rewrite of an article published by web site Superstation95 in October 2015, reported that North Americans wer... |
10943 | Review raises questions over benefits of cutting salt | This is a story about the information published in a recent Cochrane reviewing what has been shown to result from the reduction of dietary salt intake along with the opinions of several diverse thought leaders in the field about the review. The review found that small reductions in salt intake by people with normal blo... | true | Reuters Health | Not applicable. Costs not in question in this context. The news of this piece is that, not withstanding the recommendations of many guidelines and experts, the recently published Cochrane review failed to demonstrate that a small reduction in dietary salt intake decreased the chance of developing heart disease or dyin... |
4643 | Mental health care summit: Local officials must lead effort. | Federal officials say Louisiana leaders must take the lead in addressing mental health care for their own communities. | true | Mental health, Health, Bill Cassidy, Louisiana, Baton Rouge | The Advocate reports national and local politicians, law enforcement, health care experts and social services professionals attended a summit Tuesday in Baton Rouge hosted by Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. They agreed providing mental health services to keep patients out of emergency rooms and jail is ... |
35283 | "A photograph shows a flyer posted for an ""End the Lockdown Rally"" in Staten Island." | NYPD has been tasked by Mayor Bill de Blasio to issue fines for people who are not social distancing. | true | Fauxtography, COVID-19 | Over the weekend of April 17-19, 2020, protesters across the U.S. turned out for rallies urging a loosening of social distancing restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. At that time, social media users shared a photograph of a flyer for an “End the Lockdown” rally that seemed aimed at ac... |
6938 | About 15,000 strike at University of California hospitals. | About 15,000 medical workers on Tuesday started a three-day strike at five University of California medical centers amid a dispute over pay raises and job security, forcing the cancellation and rescheduling of thousands of surgeries and outpatient appointments, officials said. | true | Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, University of California, Health, Outsourcing, Strikes, California | The workers that included radiology technicians, respiratory therapists and pharmacy workers picketed the medical centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Irvine and Davis. They rang bells, wore green-shirts and carried signed that said “End Outsourcing.” Another 24,000 other California union workers, ranging ... |
32859 | The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) oils because a drug company is interested in marketing them. | The wildly inaccurate representation wasn’t out of line with the untrustworthy content practices associated with Natural News. Prior articles published on that site asserted that welfare recipients would be forced to receive RFID chip implants, that Chipotle’s foodborne illness outbreaks were the work of pro-GMO bioter... | false | Uncategorized, alternative medicine, CBD, FDA | On 20 March 2016, the disreputable alternative health web site Natural News published an article claiming the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had “just” outlawed cannabidiol (CBD) oils by claiming that “all plant molecules now belong exclusively to Big Pharma”: Although the article was later substantially edited, it... |
42065 | A viral image shows four newly elected Democratic congresswomen with terrorist imagery and an “Impeach Trump” poster. | A tropical cyclone was forecast to move across the northwestern Bahamas in the coming days, potentially bringing more rain and wind to islands already devastated by Hurricane Dorian, the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned on Thursday. | false | The Miami-based hurricane center issued a tropical storm warning for islands including hurricane-hit Abacos and Grand Bahama, saying the system could become a tropical depression or storm before making landfall as early as Friday. Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas on Sept. 1 as a Category 5 storm, one of the st... | |
3477 | UN AIDS agency fires whistleblower after misconduct probe. | The United Nations’ AIDS agency has fired two staffers for financial and sexual misconduct, including a whistleblower whose allegations of being sexually assaulted sparked months of turmoil at the organization. Last March, Martina Brostrom publicly accused a senior UNAIDS director of forcibly kissing her and trying to ... | true | Sexual misconduct, AP Top News, International News, General News, Health, United Nations, Europe | But before those allegations became public, Brostrom herself and a supervisor were being investigated by U.N. officials for their own sexual and financial misconduct, as revealed in an Associated Press story in April. Brostrom had previously reported the assault to her family and friends almost immediately after it oc... |
21669 | "Michele Bachmann's legislative record is ""offering failed amendments." | Tim Pawlenty said Michele Bachmann's legislative record is 'failed amendments' | true | National, Candidate Biography, Voting Record, Tim Pawlenty, | "It's not every state that has two candidates running for president, but this year Minnesota has both Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann competing for the Republican nomination. But the state's ""Minnesota nice"" reputation doesn't seem to apply to presidential politics. Bachmann, a member of Congress, has been attackin... |
21765 | The [Georgia] General Assembly took away the Atlanta Board of Education’s oversight of the superintendent. | Georgia pol says Atlanta school board had no oversight power | false | Georgia, Education, Ralph Long, | "An alarming state report released last week blamed teachers, administrators and former Superintendent Beverly Hall for a widespread test-tampering scandal in the Atlanta Public Schools system. The report attracted national headlines and punchlines from some prominent comedians. To our surprise, Ralph Long, a state rep... |
9127 | Mount Sinai researcher identifies best practices for cochlear implant hearing preservation | Wikipedia This news release on a study of surgical techniques for cochlear implants and their long-term effects offers very little detail for assessing the study’s validity and relevance. A close reading of the study itself contains much useful detail, as well as important cautions that needed to be covered in the rele... | false | cochlear implant,Mount Sinai Hospital | Surgery can be costly itself as well as all the related expenses that follow from it so knowing the overall costs is very important. No costs are mentioned. Two types of benefits are discussed in the news release. The study looked at 230 patients (it was actually 196 patients but 225 implants) with “every type of coch... |
2681 | Obese have worse sexual health despite less sex. | Obese women have four times as many unplanned pregnancies as healthy-weight women despite having less sex, and obese men are more likely to have sexual diseases despite fewer partners, scientists said on Wednesday. | true | Health News | In a study showing how obesity can harm sexual health, French and British researchers also found that obese women are less likely to ask for contraceptive advice or use the pill, and obese men are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. With obesity epidemics overwhelming many wealthy nations and threatening i... |
36107 | Four in ten cancer patients lose their life savings after starting treatment. | Do Four in Ten Cancer Patients Really Lose Their Life Savings? | true | Fact Checks, Viral Content | An October 11 2019 Imgur repost of a Bernie Sanders tweet appeared alongside the caption “this is how you know he would fight for the people if he is elected our president”:That tweet read:It’s not coincidental that the top health care CEOs made $1.1 billion last year while 4 in 10 cancer patients lose their life savin... |
18026 | "Marijuana is ""less toxic"" than alcohol." | "An ad from the Marijuana Policy Project claims marijuana is ""less toxic"" than alcohol. Our job as fact-checkers in this case is not to decide whether marijuana is good or harmful. We're focused on whether the drug in its natural form is ""less toxic"" than alcohol. In that regard, science and statistics present a st... | true | Drugs, Health Care, Florida, Marijuana, Marijuana Policy Project, | "Just as fans were filing into the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a big television screen by the entrance displayed a pro-pot ad with the headline ""A new beer?"" The ad, which opens with smiling young adults hoisting their brew mugs, drew outrage from lots of sources, including the St. P... |
28736 | Navy sailor Kristian Saucier was held to a different standard of prosecution for improper handling of classified information than Hillary Clinton. | Kristian Saucier was pardoned by President Donald Trump in March 2018. In June 2018, his lawyer announced that Saucier intended to file a lawsuit against Obama administration officials, alleging that he was subject to unequal protection of the law. | mixture | Politics, election 2016, hillary clinton | A 4 October 2016 debate between vice presidential candidates Mike Pence and Tim Kaine led to renewed interest in the August 2016 conviction of Navy sailor Kristian Saucier on charges he mishandled classified information: During the debate, Pence and Kaine sparred over whether Kaine’s running mate, Hillary Clinton, rec... |
2286 | Residents in soggy Seattle rebel against the sun. | Seattle’s mayor is losing sleep over the unusually hot, dry weather that is causing a run on air conditioners and fans in the famously rainy city. | true | Environment | Washington state’s largest metropolis sweated through its hottest June on record, going fortnights without even a drizzle. Seattleites jokingly refer to the month of “Juneuary” for the wet and cold they usually endure before longer, dryer sunny days arrive in July, typically persisting into September. This summer, howe... |
35753 | "Texting ""USPS"" to 50409 engages a service called ""Resistbot"" and generates a letter of support for the Postal Service that is sent to a user's political representatives." | A political crisis surrounding the Postal Service inspired some novel campaigning techniques in August 2020. | true | Politics | In August 2020, amid an ongoing political crisis in the U.S. surrounding the Postal Service and mail-in ballots, readers asked Snopes to examine widespread claims that by texting “USPS” to the number 50409, an individual could send a letter to their local political representatives expressing support for the Postal Serv... |
39713 | This email is an alert to California or Texas drivers of several new laws to be aware of that the email says go into effect on July 1, 2007. | A List of New California Laws effective July 1 | false | Crime / Police, Government, Warnings | Whoever put this email together was either intentionally ignoring the facts or summarizing some of the gossip about new California traffic laws. Note: New laws regarding the use of cell phones do go into effect in California in July, 2008. Details about that are listed at the bottom of th... |
5514 | Tutu urges regulated euthanasia after campaigner’s arrest. | Terminally ill people should have the right to a “dignified assisted death,” former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu said Friday, following a murder charge against a local campaigner for the legalization of euthanasia. | true | Desmond Tutu, Health, Africa, Arrests, South Africa, Euthanasia | Lawmakers “should engage, enable and appropriately regulate” the choice of how and when to die for people who are close to death, the 86-year-old Nobel laureate said. He has previously said he would like the option of choosing an assisted death and does not want to be kept alive at whatever cost. “Just as I have argued... |
30523 | Abandoning the Common Core set of standards for English and mathematics caused a Florida charter school's test results to go from mediocre to outstanding. | What's true: Students at the Mason Classical Academy in Naples, Florida, did rank highly among schools in the local district for English Language Arts and Mathematics in 2017, and their scores improved from the year before. What's false: The school never adopted Common Core in the first place, so the improvement in res... | false | Science, common core, education, florida | The Common Core State Standards Initiative, commonly known as Common Core, has provoked almost endless debate since the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama introduced it in 2010. Critics say the program — which entails a set of national standards for English and mathematics among K-12 students — is too rigid ... |
13461 | "Donald Trump Says Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine ""want to shut down shale, and shut down natural gas." | "Trump said that Clinton and Kaine ""want to shut down shale, and shut down natural gas."" Trump's campaign points to Clinton's statements that she wants to put restrictions on the fracking process used to extract natural gas from shale, and she wants to move the world away from petroleum sources as quickly as possible... | mixture | Environment, National, Climate Change, Economy, Energy, Jobs, Public Health, Regulation, Water, Donald Trump, | "The weekend before the first presidential debate, Donald Trump went to Roanoke, Va., to talk about energy. ""Here, in Virginia, we are going to end the war on American energy and on our miners. Hillary Clinton says she wants to put the miners out of work,"" Trump said. ""Clinton and (vice presidential candidate Tim) K... |
1818 | Hoopsters put circus-inspired spin on cardio workout. | It has been a circus prop, a toy and a 1950s fad, and now the hula hoop is making a comeback as a workout tool that fitness experts say provides an effective cardio and even meditative workout. | true | Health News | A new generation of hoop activists is putting another spin on the hoop, which ancient Greeks fashioned from grapevines and used to exercise the hips. Circus hooper Marawa Ibrahim, known professionally as Marawa the Amazing, lives a nomad’s life performing and teaching hula hooping around the world. “Fitness hooping is ... |
3905 | Legislation, order aim to save Medicaid to Schools funding. | New Hampshire is taking steps to salvage federal money for schools that provide mental health counseling, speech therapy and other services to students, Gov. Chris Sununu and other state officials said Wednesday. | true | Medicaid, General News, Legislation, Mental health, New Hampshire | The Medicaid to Schools program allows schools to be reimbursed by the federal government for services provided to Medicaid-eligible students. While it once applied only to special education students, the state expanded the program in 2017, and it now covers thousands of students from virtually every district. The prog... |
881 | Deployment of second Ebola vaccine would not be quick fix, experts warn. | The resignation of Congo’s health minister in the midst of the country’s worst Ebola outbreak could clear the way for a second experimental vaccine to be deployed. But the new shot would likely take months to win the trust of frightened locals and show results, health officials say. | true | Health News | Oly Ilunga, who opposed using the vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, resigned as minister on Monday after being bumped off the Ebola response team. The World Health Organization recommended the two-dose shot to complement a vaccine by U.S. drugmaker Merck, which has proved highly protecti... |
11145 | Alcoholics see hope in new pill | First, this story was a shortened version of the original Associated Press story (The Houston paper trimmed the last 9 paragraphs of the original.) Still, even as is, the article provided a very good outline of the results from a recently published study on a clinical trial designed to examine whether Topamax has merit... | true | "The story provided an estimate for the cost of the treatment as well as the reminder that the costs for the doctor’s visit also needed to be factored in. The story provided some idea of the magnitude of benefit from the use of this drug – significantly more people using this medication were able to abstain from drinki... | |
28202 | An elementary school in Fresno, California, forced a third-grader to remove a cap bearing Donald Trump's campaign slogan. | The debate was made moot not long after the controversy began when the Autry family’s dog tore the controversial hat to pieces. | true | Politics, donald trump, middle school, school dress codes | As the 2016 school year and the election primary cycles wound to a close in California, they inevitably congealed into political brouhahas that entangled even young students. One such controversy involved the case of third-grader Logan Autry and his “Make America Great Again” hat: Third-grader Logan Autry, 9, said offi... |
8123 | 'Stay at home' New Zealand PM urges ahead of coronavirus lockdown. | Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged New Zealanders on Tuesday to reduce contacts to a bare minimum to help fight the coronavirus, as the country prepared for a one-month lockdown. | true | Health News | New Zealand’s cases of the coronavirus crossed the 100 mark this week as the government imposed self-isolation for everyone, with all non-essential services, schools and offices to be shut for a month from midnight on Wednesday. New Zealand has fewer infections than many other countries but Ardern’s government wants to... |
9401 | Less-invasive heart valve replacement tied to better quality of life | This story reports a meta-analysis of 20 studies that measured functional and quality-of-life outcomes for patients who underwent a minimally-invasive procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, to fix a narrowing of the aortic valve. The story spells out several study limitations and included mul... | false | surgery | There’s no mention of the cost. TAVR procedures averaged $55,136 in 2013, 8.4% higher than open-heart surgery, according to research covered by MedPage Today. TAVr procedures are more expensive due to the high cost of the device. While it can be difficult to report on a complex synthesis of data, more numbers were need... |
26184 | “According to the CDC, so far this year, Florida has had 1,762 deaths from COVID-19 and 5,185 from pneumonia. Average pneumonia deaths in Florida from 2013-2018 for the same time period are 918.” | The CDC’s running tally of deaths for a given year can count multiple causes for each death. The single underlying cause is reflected in finalized year-end data issued the following year. The deaths in the 900 range refer to cases where pneumonia was the final underlying cause of death. But the number cited for 2020 in... | false | Florida, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "The COVID-19 death toll has become a political football. Democratic politicians and groups suggested on social media that government officials have misidentified COVID-19 deaths as pneumonia cases in an effort to conceal the true coronavirus death count. ""According to the CDC, so far this year, Florida has had 1,762 ... |
6676 | ‘This ain’t your mother’s marijuana,’ surgeon general says. | Federal health officials issued a national warning Thursday against marijuana use by adolescents and pregnant women, as more states legalize the increasingly potent drug for medicinal and recreational use. | true | AP Top News, Alex Azar, Health, General News, Marijuana, Politics, Science, Donald Trump | Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Surgeon General Jerome Adams made the announcement, with Azar calling marijuana “a dangerous drug.” Officials said President Donald Trump has donated $100,000 — one-quarter of his annual government salary — toward a digital campaign to raise awareness of the risks. Trum... |
41873 | Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. | For many months, President Donald Trump, his White House staff and his personal attorneys, Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, repeatedly made false, misleading and contradictory statements about illegal payments that were made during the 2016 campaign to silence two women who claimed to have extramarital affairs with Tru... | false | campaign finance laws, | For many months, President Donald Trump, his White House staff and his personal attorneys, Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, repeatedly made false, misleading and contradictory statements about illegal payments that were made during the 2016 campaign to silence two women who claimed to have extramarital affairs with Tru... |
10209 | Self-Adhesive Dressing Generates Electrical Current That Promotes Healing, Reduces Infection Risk | Electroceutical Wound Dressing. Image: VomarisThis release describes research involving a specialized bandage that directs electrical stimulation to tissue to promote healing of chronic wounds. Researchers state that the electric field disturbs the ability of some bacteria to develop biofilms which can hamper wound he... | mixture | Academic medical center news release | In general, if a product is far from deployment, an estimate of its cost could seem premature. However, this release contains the following statement: “The patch’s design significantly advances existing FDA-approved wireless electroceutical dressing (WED) that harnesses the body’s innate response to injury to help woun... |
31869 | A man was charged with a DUI for drinking too much caffeine. | Because of prosecutors’ previous statements and the fact they dropped the DUI charge despite finding caffeine present in Schwab’s blood, they did not prosecute him over accusations he had been drinking coffee and driving. Schwab will still face one count of reckless driving. | false | Crime, caffeine, dui, police | On 26 December 2016, The Free Thought Project posted a story claiming that a man was arrested and charged with a DUI due to the presence of caffeine in his blood, implying his legal troubles were the result of merely drinking too much coffee: 38-year-old Joseph Schwab has been fighting a DUI for over a year, despite th... |
22801 | Rhode Island has the highest percentage of uninsured adults of any state in New England. | Health clinic executive says Rhode Island has the highest rate of uninsured adults in New England | true | Rhode Island, Economy, Health Care, Poverty, Marie Ghazal, | "The cost of health care is a huge issue for everyone. If you have health insurance, the chances are excellent that you've seen your costs, along with co-payments and deductibles, go up significantly. If you don't have health insurance, the bill you get from your doctor or hospital is strikingly higher than what people... |
35324 | "The Simpsons"" television show predicted the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and ""murder wasp"" incursion in a 1993 episode." | What's true: Some similarities to events of 2020 are evident in the episode — the spread of an illness believed to have originated in Asia and an insect with a homicidal name. What's false: However, the events are only loosely connected and are more commentary on past events than predictors of future ones, according to... | mixture | Fauxtography | The animated television comedy series “The Simpsons” has been said, in its 30-plus years on air, to have predicted numerous events that came to pass only well after particular episodes that referenced them had aired — everything from the common autocorrect feature on phones, tablets and computers to the 2019 fire at th... |
4518 | Costs forcing some hospitals to stop delivering babies. | Last month’s closing of the obstetrics unit at the Marshalltown hospital was only the most recent in Iowa’s rural communities, which has forced some expectant mothers to skimp on prenatal care and undergo frantic trips when labor commences. | true | Iowa, Health, General News, Marshalltown, Prenatal care, Public health | Since 2000, 34 of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals have closed their birthing units, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. There have been two so far this year, down from eight closures last year — the most in a single year. Most of those closures have happened at smaller facilities than the 49-bed Marshallt... |
5779 | Maine health grants seek to boost vulnerable communities. | A group that promotes access to health care in Maine says it’s providing grants to organizations that support marginalized groups, including American Indian tribal members. | true | Health, Access to health care, Maine, General News | The Maine Health Access Foundation says it’s giving $525,000 to seven groups, including the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and Wabanaki Public Health. Foundation president and chief executive officer Barbara Leonard says health metrics such as life expectancy and quality of health care vary significantly within different co... |
5410 | Ken Burns turns his attention to the Mayo Clinic. | After spearheading an epic, 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War, acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns has turned to more personal subject matter — one that knows him very intimately, too. | true | New York, Entertainment, Movies, North America, Health, Dalai Lama, Ken Burns | Burns tackles the famed Mayo Clinic in his next film, exploring the history of the innovative Rochester, Minnesota-based hospital that has been dubbed “The Miracle in a Cornfield.” It has treated luminaries such as the Dalai Lama — and Burns. The first time Burns went, he was immediately impressed by the level and deta... |
2412 | E-cigarettes: a burning question for U.S. regulators. | At the Henley Vaporium, one of a growing number of e-cigarette lounges sprouting up in New York and other U.S. cities, patrons can indulge in their choice of more than 90 flavors of nicotine-infused vapor, ranging from bacon to bubble gum. | true | Health News | The lounge, located in Manhattan’s trendy Lower East Side, features plush seating, blaring rock music, and fresh juice and coffee. A sprawling sign on one wall lists all the carcinogens that e-cigarette users avoid by kicking their smoking habits and using the e-devices instead. But the growing popularity of e-cigarett... |
28009 | People have been buried alive by mistake. | Some have been buried alive to serve the dead in the next life. In Africa, for example, two live slaves (a man and a woman) were interred with each dead Wadoe headman. The man was given a bill-hook to use to cut wood for fuel in the next life, and the woman cradled the dead chief’s head in her lap. In 1849, an observer... | true | Horrors, buried alive, death, Gruesome Discoveries | Don’t quit your shuddering just yet. Live burial is not unheard of; it has always been a real (albeit distant) possibility. Indeed, it’s conceivable the first burials of humans were accidental, live ones: Ill and wounded hunters were left in caves with the entrances sealed off to keep out wild animals while the rest of... |
36584 | More Americans die every year from a lack of affordable healthcare than by terrorism or at the hands of undocumented immigrants. | Are More Americans Killed Annually by Lack of Affordable Healthcare Than by Terrorists or Undocumented Immigrants? | true | Fact Checks, Politics | On December 20 2018, the Facebook page “Teanderthal Party” posted the following meme about healthcare, “illegal immigration,” terror attacks, and the mortality rate in the United States:It stated:FACT:More Americans die every year from lack of affordable healthcare than from terrorist attacks and illegal immigration co... |
9232 | Clinical Study Verifies HSRx OTC Drug Product For Joint Pain Delivers Faster And More Effective Treatment Results Than A Current Market Leading Product | An Arizona company, HSRx Group, claims it has an over-the-counter (OTC) topical analgesic that is superior to a competitor’s joint relief tablet in relieving joint pain and improving range of motion. But the release contains no evidence from the “independent clinical study” it references in the headline and text. No st... | false | HSRx Biopharmaceutical,joint pain | The release does not contain any cost information of interest to people suffering from joint pain. The chief financial officer, Frank Parise, mentions money only in relation to his company’s fundraising efforts: “We are actively seeking the best-suited licensees having resources and marketing expertise to maximize sale... |
14611 | In America, we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. | "Sanders said, ""In America, we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs."" When it comes to brand-name drugs, which yield the highest profit for the pharmaceutical industry, studies support Sanders' claim -- although not always on a drug-by-drug basis. In addition, the differences in price c... | true | National, Economy, Health Care, Bernie Sanders, | "One theme Sen. Bernie Sanders has repeatedly touched on during his run for the Democratic nomination for president has been the high cost of prescription drugs. His comment during the Feb. 11 Democratic debate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was typical as he rattled off a list of problems with the U.S. healt... |
12305 | I helped win one of the biggest private lawsuits against Medicare fraud in history. The government declined to pursue the case, so my firm did, and we recovered $324 million for taxpayers. | An Oklahoma judge on Friday said Johnson & Johnson must pay that state $465 million for fueling the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers, down from his original award of $572 million. | true | Georgia, Health Care, Medicare, Stacey Evans, | The decision by Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman in Norman, Oklahoma, came in the first case to go to trial out of 2,700 nationally by states, counties and cities seeking to hold drug companies responsible for the deadly epidemic. Balkman reduced the amount he had awarded in August by $107 million after agr... |
26206 | “With retail, people are moving around and you don’t have as much a chance to spread the virus (as you do) when people are sitting or standing indoors” for long periods of time. | N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper faced pushback for loosening restrictions on retail stores but not worship services. Cooper's reasoning: sitting around others for long periods of time is more dangerous than walking by someone in a store. While the world's top health organizations haven't compared those exact scenarios, experts ge... | true | Religion, North Carolina, Coronavirus, Roy Cooper, | "North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper eased pandemic restrictions on retail stores before doing so for churches -- a move that prompted pushback from some members of the faith community. Non-essential stores and indoor church services were both initially forbidden to operate under Cooper’s stay-at-home order. When Cooper lau... |
41934 | "Wrote that climate scientists have predicted “global temperatures would increase more than one degree Celsius by 2020,"" but observed temperatures have been only “half as high.” " | In an op-ed for Fox News, Rep. Lamar Smith, the chairman of the House science committee, made a host of false and misleading claims about climate change and related issues. | false | climate change, extreme weather, global warming, | In an op-ed for Fox News, Rep. Lamar Smith, the chairman of the House science committee, made a host of false and misleading claims about climate change and related issues:Smith, who announced his retirement from Congress when his term ends this year, primarily argued in his March 12 op-ed that the House Science, Space... |
4027 | Food poisoning linked to hard-boiled eggs in food service. | Pregnant women, people over the age of 65 and people with weakened immune systems should throw away store-bought hard-boiled eggs because of a food poisoning outbreak linked to a Georgia company, health officials said Thursday. | true | Food poisoning, General News, Health, Poisoning, U.S. News | They said the same goes for products like egg salad that contain hard-boiled eggs. Seven people in five states have been reported ill so far, including someone who died in Texas, officials said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said peeled, hard-boiled eggs sold in bulk by Almark Foods are the outbre... |
7895 | UK's Royal Mint making coronavirus protective gear for health staff. | The Royal Mint, the world’s largest maker and supplier of coins, said on Friday it has started manufacturing visors for Britain’s medical staff to protect them from coronavirus. | true | Health News | Engineers at the Mint created the visors after finding a basic design online and developing medically approved prototypes within 48 hours at their production site in Wales. The first visors are already in use at a hospital in Wales and mass production will start on Saturday morning, with several hundred coming on the f... |
1852 | Best face forward: chin implants surge in popularity. | Over the last year Dr. Darrick Antell has performed up to three or four chin implants a day, reflecting a national trend that has seen chin augmentations emerge as the fastest growing plastic surgery trend of 2011. | true | Health News | After about a 45-minute outpatient procedure and a bill ranging from $3,500 to $7,500, New York-based Antell’s patients emerge with what he said is a confidence boost: an athletic, youthful look from a more prominent chin. “People want that leading lady, leading man look,” said Antell, who is also an assistant clinical... |
582 | India's smog-bound capital suffers most hazardous air so far this year. | Air pollution in New Delhi and surrounding towns reached the worst levels so far this year on Sunday, with authorities in the world’s most polluted capital city having already declared a public health emergency and ordered the closure of schools. | true | Environment | The air quality index, measuring levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter in the air, deteriorated to above 900, way over the 500-level that qualifies as “severe-plus”. Aside from the harm it was doing to the lungs of some 40 million people living in the capital region, the smog was so bad more than 30 flights were di... |
3528 | Illinois reports its fifth death connected to vaping. | A fifth Illinois resident has died after being hospitalized with a vaping-related lung injury. | true | Public health, Health, General News, Illinois, Vaping, Injuries | The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday did not release any information about the victim, nor when or where the death occurred. According to the department, 187 people in Illinois, ranging from 13 years to 75 years old have experienced lung injuries after e-cigarette use. Public Health director Dr. Ngozi E... |
11197 | Shift in Treating Breast Cancer Is Under Debate | This story provides an excellent discussion of the role patients and physicians can play in evaluating risks and benefits of chemotherapy, and determining just how much of a survival benefit a potentially toxic treatment will provide. Several breast cancer experts and sources other than the study authors provide perspe... | true | There is no discussion of the cost of chemotherapy and no mention of potential cost savings for women who might not benefit as much from treatment; however, this is not very relevant to this story, as there is a suggestion that less treatment might be better, with a cost savings implied. Again, Dr. Berry’s subgroup ana... | |
6513 | Science Says: Get used to polar vortex outbreaks. | It might seem counterintuitive, but the dreaded polar vortex is bringing its icy grip to parts of the U.S. thanks to a sudden blast of warm air in the Arctic. | true | AP Top News, Arctic, Science Says, North America, Environment, Weather, Science, U.S. News | Get used to it. The polar vortex has been wandering more often in recent years. It all started with misplaced Moroccan heat. Last month, the normally super chilly air temperatures 20 miles above the North Pole rapidly rose by about 125 degrees (70 degrees Celsius), thanks to air flowing in from the south. It’s called “... |
8385 | New York Governor sounds optimistic note as coronavirus numbers improve. | New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday that a recent drop in hospitalizations and other improving metrics indicated the state may be past the peak of its coronavirus crisis and on a path toward stabilizing its battered healthcare system. | true | Health News | Cuomo’s cautiously upbeat report at a daily briefing came as the daily death toll across the state, the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, dropped to 540 on April 17, down from 630 a day earlier and the lowest in more than two weeks. The governor said total hospitalizations of patients being treated for CO... |
9551 | Brain Implant Restores Sense Of Touch To Paralyzed Man | President Barack Obama fist-bumps the robotic arm of Nathan Copeland during a tour at the White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Researchers published results of an experiment that allowed a single paralyzed patient to “feel” in a limited way through a robotic arm... | mixture | anecdotes over evidence,paralysis | The story states: “At the moment, they [robotic arms with touch sensitivity] are still too expensive, too bulky and too finicky to be used outside a laboratory setting.” While the story could have helped provide more context by explaining the cost of the experimental surgery on the patient–even without speculating on t... |
22065 | A gallon (of gasoline) delivered to the front lines for our troops in Afghanistan cost more than $400. | Rep. Marcy Kaptur says gasoline for troops in Afghanistan costs $400 a gallon | true | Afghanistan, Ohio, Energy, Marcy Kaptur, | "When President Obama announced that Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta would replace Robert Gates as Defense secretary, Rep. Marcy Kaptur took the the pages of ""Politico"" to offer him advice. In suggesting that the Defense Department needs to cut back on its use of petroleum products, the Toledo Democ... |
1910 | Petri dish to dinner plate, in-vitro meat coming soon. | Scientists are cooking up new ways of satisfying the world’s ever-growing hunger for meat. | true | Environment | Dutch scientist Mark Post displays samples of in-vitro meat, or cultured meat grown in a laboratory, at the University of Maastricht November 9, 2011. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir “Cultured meat” — burgers or sausages grown in laboratory Petri dishes rather than made from slaughtered livestock — could be the answer that fee... |
15938 | "The children coming across the southern U.S. border ""were never examined after they got here and quarantined if they had a disease. They were just sent out across the country. Many of them had measles ... We now have an outbreak of it all because of our immigration policy." | Limbaugh pinned the current measles outbreak on the Central American children who flooded the southern border in 2014. Limbaugh said they were never examined and that many had measles. Limbaugh provided no evidence that this is true. Probably, because no evidence exists. The children who came in from Central America we... | false | Immigration, Public Health, PunditFact, Rush Limbaugh, | "Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh says the focus on vaccinations in the wake of the measles outbreak is a ""leftist Democratic trick"" to divert attention from the president’s ""DOA"" budget plan. And to the extent that the measles outbreak is real, Limbaugh said Feb. 3, 2015, it was all the fault of the White Hou... |
10197 | Using CT scans to see plaque in coronary arteries | Are there experts who urge people to have their heart arteries scanned for evidence of calcium deposits, even if they don’t have signs of disease? You bet. Are there other experts who warn against undergoing tests that may promise more than they deliver? Yup. Is pitting one expert against the other going to show reader... | mixture | "The story says that the test costs a few hundred dollars. It would have been helpful to point out the cumulative cost of the repeated screening schedule used by those who recommend using the test for screening. Also, the discussin of insurance coverage is conflicting – saying, in one place, ""insurers won’t pay for th... | |
5154 | Giraffes move closer to endangered species protection. | Nations around the world moved Thursday to protect giraffes as an endangered species for the first time, drawing praise from conservationists and scowls from some sub-Saharan African nations. | true | Global trade, AP Top News, Geneva, International News, General News, Wildlife, East Africa, Africa, Science, Travel, Europe | Thursday’s vote by a key committee at the World Wildlife Conference known as CITES paves the way for the measure’s likely approval by its plenary next week. The plan would regulate world trade in giraffe parts, including hides, bone carvings and meat, while stopping short of a full ban. It passed 106-21 with seven abst... |
18667 | In Wisconsin, only half of all the adults with serious psychological distress received mental health treatment or medication. | "After making a reference to serious mental illness, Walker said: ""In Wisconsin, only half of all the adults with serious psychological distress received mental health treatment or medication."" Strictly speaking, Walker’s statistical claim is accurate, at least based on estimates derived from a federal survey. But hi... | true | Health Care, Public Health, State Budget, Wisconsin, Scott Walker, | "In the wake of mass shootings in Wisconsin and around the country, it may have been alarming to hear Gov. Scott Walker explain why he proposed more spending for mental health care in his 2013-2015 budget. ""Nationally, serious mental illness costs at least $193 billion a year in lost earnings,"" Walker said during his... |
28959 | "Multiple social media rumors circulated on Back to the Future Day (21 October 2015): that Michael J. Fox was arrested for ""insider sports betting,"" that Nike delivered a pair of self-tying sneakers, and that the Biff Tannen character was based on Donald Trump." | A minor-league Manhattan businessman very well could have appeared on the radar of two Hollywood producers, but the “prediction” of Trump by Back to the Future appeared to be retrofitted to 2015’s current events, not prescience on the part of the filmmakers in 1985. | mixture | Entertainment, back to the future, bob gale, donald trump | On 21 October 2015, social media users marked what informally came to be known as “Back to the Future Day” — the then-distant date to which Michael J. Fox (as Marty McFly) traveled in the 1987 film Back to the Future II. Amid memes, retrospective articles, and a multi-day trending streak of chatter about Marty McFly’s ... |
23662 | "Shirley Sherrod ""was forced to resign before anybody on Fox said a word about this." | Fox News handling Sherrod story defended by 'Weekly Standard's' Stephen Hayes | true | Agriculture, National, Race and Ethnicity, Pundits, This Week - ABC News, Stephen Hayes, | "Washington and the nation were captivated a week ago by the controversy over Shirley Sherrod, a once-obscure U.S. Agriculture Department official who became a villain, and then a victim, over the course of 24 hours. Because the story began and ended so quickly, we were unable to fact-check it at the time, but here's a... |
2941 | FDA lifts hold on studies testing Cell Therapeutics' cancer drug. | Cell Therapeutics Inc said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted a hold imposed in June last year on studies testing the company’s blood cancer drug. | true | Health News | The company’s shares rose about 3 percent to $1.97 in premarket trading on Thursday. Cell Therapeutics said it received the notification from the regulator on December 26. The FDA placed the hold after a patient treated with a combination of the drug, tosedostat, and a chemotherapy drug died of a heart muscle infection... |
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