claim_id
stringlengths 1
234
| claim
stringlengths 14
491
| explanation
stringlengths 1
4.18k
| label
stringclasses 5
values | subjects
stringlengths 0
223
| main_text
stringlengths 18
41.7k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
41090
|
0070031450 A1 is a US patent for BSE (mad cow disease).
|
There is a patent application number one digit away from this that mentions BSE, but is not a patent for BSE itself.
|
false
|
online
|
US-Patent 8835624 is for the H1N1 virus. The patent with this number was for a strand of DNA that binds to the H1N1 virus, not the virus itself. US patent number 20120251502 is for Ebola. This application number was for a strain of the Ebola virus but the application has now been abandoned. The virus was not created by those who filed the patent. US patent number CA2741523 is for swine flu. This is the application number for a patent for the Ebola virus made to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. This patent has not been granted, and doesn’t mean the Ebola virus was created by someone. 0070031450 A1 is a US patent for BSE (mad cow disease). There is a patent application number one digit away from this that mentions BSE, but is not a patent for BSE itself. ATTC VR-84 is a patent for Zika virus that comes from the Rockefeller Foundation. This is the name of a certain strain of Zika virus, which was first isolated in the 1940s in a lab funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. This strain was not patented. US patents 7897744 and 8506968 are for SARS. The first number is the US patent number for the SARS virus. The patent application was made by the CDC, but after the outbreak in 2002. The second number is a patent for a SARS vaccine which has now expired. US patent 10130701 is for coronavirus. This number is not a patent for the new Wuhan virus, Covid-19. It’s a patent for a weakened version of a virus in the same family as Covid-19, a family which includes the common cold and SARS. Claim 1 of 8
|
7818
|
Hundreds of cannabis workers fall ill in Albanian village.
|
Doctors in Albania say hundreds of people have fallen ill from harvesting cannabis in a lawless region that for years has been out of bounds to police, Albanian media reported on Friday.
|
true
|
Health News
|
The hospital in the southern city of Gjirokaster said a total of 700 have sought treatment since June for the effects of planting, harvesting, pressing and packing the cannabis in the village of Lazarat. “In the last two months about seven to eight people arrive in the emergency ward each day and many more have come earlier with disorders from hashish,” Gjirokaster doctor Hysni Lluka told Top Channel television. Some 2,000 people, including poor Roma who have set up a camp near Lazarat, have been working for months in the cannabis fields, where producers pay eight euros per 10 kilos of processed drug. The illegal practice has flourished in Lazarat over two decades of turbulent transition in Albania since the end of hardline communist rule. Lazarat has become a byword for lawlessness in Albania, with cannabis growers brazen enough to shoot at police officers who venture near their fields. Aerial pictures suggest some 60 hectares have been cultivated in Lazarat with 300,000 cannabis plants, capable of yielding 500 metric tons (551.156 ton) or half the total cannabis production in Albania. Lluka, the doctor, said women and teenagers, who account for some 40 percent of those working in Lazarat, had sought help for bouts of vomiting, stomach pain, irregular heart beats and high blood pressure. Last week one patient came in a critical state. Lazarat is a stronghold of the Democratic Party, which was in power for eight years before losing a June election to the Socialist Party. The Democrats promised to tackle Albania’s cannabis problem but police shied away from striking Lazarat. Artan Didi, the new director of police appointed by the Socialists, has said the police will no longer “back down to Lazarat”. The U.S. State Department’s international narcotics control report for 2013 listed Albania as a transit and destination country for cannabis, heroin and cocaine. Authorities seized more than 21 tons of cannabis in 2012, double the amount of the previous year, it said, although that could reflect increased production.
|
41842
|
Dishonestly called 'Medicare for All,' the Democratic proposal ... would cost an astonishing $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years.
|
In an op-ed for USA Today, President Donald Trump made a series of false and misleading statements about Medicare and health insurance in general.
|
mixture
|
medicare, medicare-for-all,
|
In an op-ed for USA Today, President Donald Trump made a series of false and misleading statements about Medicare and health insurance in general:Trump wrote his op-ed under the headline “Democrats ‘Medicare for All’ plan will demolish promises to seniors.” And, as the headline implies, the piece is largely about the Medicare for All Act, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sept. 13, 2017.But it also makes sweeping, unsupported attacks on the “radical socialist plans of the Democrats.” The president falsely claims, for example, that Democrats support “open borders” and says, without evidence, that the Democrats “will seek to slash budgets” for Medicare and Social Security. Trump starts his op-ed with the claim that Medicare for All would “cost an astonishing $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years.” That’s one estimate of the cost to the federal government. But that doesn’t take into account the offsetting savings in health care costs for others.Under the plan, as the expense of health care shifts entirely to the federal government, people, employers and state governments would pay less for health care. So the cost to the federal government might be $32 trillion, but the overall health expenditures would not increase by that amount. And supporters maintain it would result in overall net savings.Trump, Oct. 10: Dishonestly called “Medicare for All,” the Democratic proposal would establish a government-run, single-payer health care system that eliminates all private and employer-based health care plans and would cost an astonishing $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years.Trump is referencing an analysis by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University of the Medicare for All Act, as introduced by Sanders. The paper concluded the bill would cost the federal government an additional $32.6 trillion over its first 10 years of full implementation.That the federal government would pay more under Medicare for All is a given. The government would absorb all of the cost of health care. But that also would mean people would no longer have to pay for private health insurance, or foot the bill for copays, deductibles and other costs from employer plans.So proponents of Medicare for All argue that the increase or decrease in overall health care expenditures is the true “cost” of the plan.What the Mercatus paper says about the bill’s effect on overall health expenditures has been the center of intense political debate. Sanders claimed the study from the Mercatus Center — which gets some of its funding from the libertarian Koch brothers — showed that his bill would reduce overall health expenditures by $2 trillion. But as we wrote in August, that calculation is based on assumptions in Sanders’ bill about reduced administrative and drug costs, as well as deeply reduced reimbursement rates to health care providers under a universal health care system. The author of the Mercatus paper contends those savings are unrealistic.The Mercatus report considered another alternative scenario, one that assumed instead that payments to health care providers would “remain equal on average to the current-law blend of higher private and lower public reimbursement rates.” Under that scenario, the numbers showed a $3.3 trillion net increase in health care spending. Still, not $32 trillion. An Urban Institute analysis of the Medicare for All plan proposed by Sanders during the 2016 presidential campaign (which differs a bit from the bill Sanders introduced in the Senate) also concluded the federal government would spend about $32 trillion more over 10 years. (Though the estimates from Mercatus and Urban “seem remarkably similar,” the Urban Institute noted that its analysis is different. For example, the analyses looked at different 10-year windows and made different assumptions about how much the government would pay to health care providers. )“The increase in federal spending is so large because the federal government would absorb a substantial amount of current spending by state and local governments, employers, and households,” the report states.In other words, lead author John Holahan told us in a phone interview, yes, there would be an increase in federal government spending, and an increase in taxes to pay for that. But, he said, private spending on health care would be nearly eliminated.The Urban Institute analysis concluded national health expenditures would increase by $6.6 trillion (16.6 percent) between 2017 and 2026. Part of that increase is tied to an expansion of long-term care benefits that was part of Sanders’ plan during the campaign but is not the bill he ultimately introduced.Sanders’ office argues Medicare for All would save money on health care expenditures overall, due to savings such as administrative cost-sharing and reduced prescription drug costs.There are lots of assumptions and speculation involved in analyzing such a massive health care overhaul, and we take no position on whether Sanders’ plan would reduce national health care expenditures, or increase them by several trillion dollars. The point is that Trump’s claim that it would cost $32.6 trillion is an estimate of what it would cost the federal government. It is not an estimate of the impact on national health expenditures.An op-ed is an opinion piece, and the president offers his opinion that a “Medicare for All” plan would mean fewer benefits for seniors. The legislation as written, however, includes an increase in Medicare benefits.Trump wrote that the proposal would “take away benefits that seniors have paid for their entire lives.” And he goes on to say: “[T]he Democratic plan would inevitably lead to the massive rationing of health care. Doctors and hospitals would be put out of business. Seniors would lose access to their favorite doctors. There would be long wait lines for appointments and procedures. Previously covered care would effectively be denied.”In terms of benefits, the Sanders plan calls for adding new benefits to Medicare coverage, including dental, vision and hearing aids, and eliminating deductibles. That would be giving more benefits to seniors, not taking any away.The president offers his opinion that it wouldn’t work out that way. A White House spokesperson pointed to longer wait times in the United Kingdom, as detailed in a January New York Times story, and “rationed care,” in Canada, as a column in the conservative National Review said in 2017. And, the spokesperson said, once people leave private plans, they would “undoubtedly” lose “access to certain coverage and doctors.”Trump overstates the consensus when he says that “we have seen Democrats across the country uniting around a new legislative proposal,” referring to the Medicare for All Act.It’s true that 16 Democrats in the Senate have co-sponsored Sanders’ Medicare For All bill. And 123 Democrats in the House co-sponsored the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act introduced by former Rep. John Conyers.But it’s not clear that Democrats are “uniting” around that one proposal. Sanders’ bill is one of a handful of proposals in Congress.There’s the Medicare-X Choice Act, which would offer a public plan option based on Medicare through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Michael Bennett, and has 10 co-sponsors. It was introduced by Rep. Brian Higgins in the House, where it has nine co-sponsors.Another bill, Choose Medicare Act, would offer Medicare as an option in the ACA marketplace. Introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley, it has 14 co-sponsors in the Senate. A companion bill was introduced by Rep. Cedric Richmond in the House, where it has nine co-sponsors.And the State Public Option Act proposed by Sen. Brian Schatz and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, which would create a Medicaid buy-in option that states could offer through the ACA marketplace, has 20 co-sponsors in the Senate, including Sanders. It has 26 co-sponsors in the House.And those are just some of the ideas being kicked around in Congress. The Kaiser Family Foundation has a list of the various bills proposed by Democrats in this Congress that would expand the role of public programs in health care.Trump “picks the Sanders Medicare for All plan as if that’s the only one Democrats are considering, and that’s not true,” said Holahan of the Urban Institute. “It really overstates the case. He picks the most extreme example of what Democrats are talking about.”Trump says there are “many Democratic congressional candidates” who support the Medicare for All plan, and that may be. But our fact-checking colleagues at the Washington Post Fact Checker noted 15 Democrats were targeted in attack ads for supporting Medicare for All who do not, in fact, support the plan.In his editorial, Trump also claimed: “As a candidate, I promised that we would protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions and create new health care insurance options that would lower premiums. I have kept that promise, and we are now seeing health insurance premiums coming down.”But the administration supports a lawsuit that it says would lead to the elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s preexisting condition protections. And not all premiums are “coming down.”In the op-ed, there’s a link on “pre-existing conditions” to a Washington Post Fact Checker story that actually says Trump flip-flopped on his “promise.” Indeed, we also found that the president has misleadingly claimed in recent weeks that “preexisting conditions are safe” with him as president and that he “will always fight for … patients with preexisting conditions.”The fact is, the Department of Justice, “[a]fter careful consideration, and with the approval of the President of the United States” decided not to defend the U.S. government in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, as a June 7 letter from Attorney General Jeff Sessions explains.Sessions said that the administration sided with the plaintiffs, but didn’t agree that the entire ACA would have to be eliminated, as the suit argues. The administration said two ACA provisions would need to be eliminated: those guaranteeing that people can’t be denied coverage by insurers or charged more based on certain factors.Those provisions protect those on the individual market with preexisting conditions from being denied a policy or charged higher premiums.As we said when we addressed this claim last week, it’s disingenuous for the president to claim he kept a promise to “protect coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions,” given the administration’s stance in the lawsuit.Also, the president says he promised to “create new health care insurance options that would lower premiums.” He has kept that promise. But one of the new options wouldn’t have to meet ACA prohibitions against denying or pricing coverage based on health status — in other words, it wouldn’t protect those with preexisting conditions.The administration issued a final rule, which took effect Oct. 2, to expand short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. An Obama-era rule had limited such plans to less than three months in duration; the Trump administration rule said the plans could be up to 12 months in duration and insurers could renew such policies for up to 36 months.Short-term plans don’t have to meet ACA requirements. As the journal Health Affairs explains, “Short-term insurers can charge higher premiums based on health status, exclude coverage for preexisting conditions, impose annual or lifetime limits, opt not to cover entire categories of benefits (such as substance use disorder treatment or prescription drugs), rescind coverage, and require higher out-of-pocket cost-sharing than under the ACA.”The administration’s rule acknowledges that the plans could cause “reduced access to some services and providers for some consumers who switch from available individual market plans” and a “potential increase in out-of-pocket costs for some consumers, possibly leading to financial hardship.” But less expensive, less comprehensive coverage would be welcomed by others, it said. “This rule empowers consumers to purchase the benefits they want and reduce overinsurance.”Trump’s administration also expanded association health plans, through a rule that took effect in August, allowing associations to form to offer insurance for those in the same trade or industry, or for businesses in the same state or metropolitan area. These plans couldn’t deny coverage or charge more based on health status, but they wouldn’t have to cover the 10 essential health benefits the Affordable Care Act requires of plans on the small-group market or individual market. They also could price plans based on age, gender or occupation.So, those plans, too, would likely be less expensive than other options available on the individual market, but that could be because they offer more limited benefits.The president claimed that he “kept that promise” on new health insurance options and preexisting condition protections — even though he hasn’t on the latter point — “and we are now seeing health insurance premiums coming down.” The op-ed links to a news article on Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announcing that average premiums for benchmark plans in the states using HealthCare.gov are expected to decrease by 2 percent for the 2019 plans. But experts told us most administration actions in the past two years have driven premiums up.The actions the administration has taken — such as a repeal-and-replace effort and the elimination of cost-sharing subsidies on the ACA exchanges — “by and large have destabilized the market,” said Cynthia Cox, the director of the program for the study of health reform and private insurance at the Kaiser Family Foundation.And while the new insurance options Trump cites would likely have lower price tags themselves, they would actually drive up premiums on HealthCare.gov. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a May report that it expects healthier individuals to join association and short-term plans, which would then increase premiums for those remaining in the individual and small-group markets by an estimated 2 percent to 3 percent “in most years.”When we looked at premiums for the individual market recently, health care experts told us lower growth was expected for 2019 for several reasons: less political uncertainty this year compared with 2017, slower growth in medical expenses, an overpricing of plans last year, and insurers’ growing familiarity with the market.Kelley Turek, the executive director of employer and commercial policy at the insurer trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans, told us that after several years under the ACA, “we are getting to a point where issuers are getting a better sense of this market,” she said, such as the population, their health costs and how to price plans.Premiums for employer-sponsored plans, where nearly half of Americans get their coverage, have continued to grow, meanwhile. Family premiums went up by 5 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual employer health benefits survey.The president also repeated some claims on border enforcement, the Affordable Care Act and Medicare’s finances.Trump: Indeed, the Democrats’ commitment to government-run health care is all the more menacing to our seniors and our economy when paired with some Democrats’ absolute commitment to end enforcement of our immigration laws by abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That means millions more would cross our borders illegally and take advantage of health care paid for by American taxpayers.Today’s Democratic Party is for open-borders socialism.As we’ve written before, Democrats are not advocating open borders. Some rank-and-file Democrats in Congress have called for ending Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but they have also said many of ICE’s functions should be redistributed to other government agencies. Only one member of the Senate or House Democratic leadership — Sen. Elizabeth Warren — is among those calling for ICE to be abolished.No Democrat has called for abandoning border enforcement, as Trump suggests.Trump: Democrats have already harmed seniors by slashing Medicare by more than $800 billion over 10 years to pay for Obamacare.Republicans have been using a version of this misleading attack for years. The fact is, there were no cuts to Medicare benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Instead, the health care law reduces the future growth of spending over a decade, primarily by slowing the growth of payments to hospitals. One benefit of the law was the closing of the so-called “doughnut hole” in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage for seniors.Even though he claims these Medicare changes in the ACA “have already harmed seniors,” Trump supported legislation that would have kept them in place. The GOP repeal bills in 2017 — including the House-passed American Health Care Act and the Senate’s Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill — would have retained the ACA’s reductions to Medicare Advantage and provider payment growth, according to analyses by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.The president also repeated some spin about his “promise” to “protect Medicare.”Trump: I also made a solemn promise to our great seniors to protect Medicare. That is why I am fighting so hard against the Democrats’ plan that would eviscerate Medicare.As we wrote before, Medicare’s finances have actually gotten worse since Trump took office. The Medicare Part A trust fund, which covers payments to hospitals, will run out of money by 2026, three years earlier than the Medicare trustees projected just last year, according to the latest trustees report. The tax cut law Trump signed in 2017 is partly to blame, for reducing Medicare revenues and increasing expenses.
|
15419
|
Six thousand people have sought addiction treatment through expanded Medicaid.
|
"In her state of the state address, Hassan said that ""6,000 people have already accessed services for substance misuse"" through the state’s Medicaid program. There is no question that substance abuse in the state is a real and pressing problem, and the statistics show that thousands have sought help as a result of the state’s expanded Medicaid program. But Hassan offered (and later corrected) a number that simply wasn’t accurate. The real total is closer to 2,000 -- about one-third the amount she cited."
|
false
|
New Hampshire, Bipartisanship, Drugs, Medicaid, Maggie Hassan,
|
"When New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan gave her state of the state address in Nashua she took time to address two priorities. One of them was extending authorization of the state’s expanded Medicaid program, which is set to wind down at the start of 2017. The other was adding resources for those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. The two came together in one sentence from the speech. Hassan told the crowd that, ""our bipartisan health care expansion plan provides coverage for treatment for substance and alcohol abuse, and 6,000 people have already accessed services for substance misuse through this program."" That’s a remarkable number, given that in the same speech and news accounts, the overall number of those enrolled in the expanded Medicaid program is about 40,000. Given Hassan’s numbers, that means about 15 percent had sought treatment for drug or alcohol issues. That would be a pretty hefty number, and would signify both a widespread problem and evidence that people are seeking and receiving treatment. Is she right? We decided to check it out. Drug abuse in New Hampshire But first, let’s look at some background on the problem. In 2014, 325 people in the state died from overdoses. That was a record, and it led to new laws this legislative session. As the Concord Monitor reported earlier this month, ""senators passed a bill ... giving limited criminal immunity to people who report overdoses. Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a law last week expanding public access to the life-saving drug Narcan, an antidote to heroin overdoses."" Members of the Executive Council are on board too. ""There’s no question that we need to continue to support, and frankly do more, when it comes to substance abuse issues and addiction issues in New Hampshire,"" Democratic Councilor Colin Van Ostern told the Associated Press on Wednesday. It’s also true that addicts in New Hampshire haven’t previously sought treatment in large numbers. Tym Rourke, the chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment, laid out the challenge in an education session for lawmakers in May 2014. At the time, Rourke said that about about 5 percent of all New Hampshire residents struggling with addiction got help, the Monitor reported. ""In the United States, if you have a substance abuse disorder, the only other state where you are less likely to get help is Texas,"" he said. So experts agree that there is a need in the state: People with drug problems are dying, and relatively few of them are seeking treatment. But do they amount to 6,000 of 40,000 new Medicaid enrollees? A closer look at the numbers When we reached out to Hassan’s spokesman, William Hinkle, he admitted that the number was actually incorrect. ""This number came from information that HHS presented to the substance use disorder benefit providers. At the time, HHS had said roughly 6,000 people had accessed substance misuse services under expansion and nearly 2,000 had accessed mental health services,"" Hinkle wrote. ""However, those numbers were inverted and the opposite was the case."" We reached out to the state Department of Health and Human Services, and Director of Communications Jake Leon gave us the official numbers. -- 1,800 different people used drug and alcohol treatment services from Sept. 1, 2014, to March 31. -- 9,000 different people used mental health services over that same period. ""The numbers were accidentally swapped at some point,"" Leon wrote in an email. ""It was an honest but unfortunate mistake."" Of course, the numbers weren’t simply reversed. If so, Hassan would have reported that 9,000 different people received substance abuse treatment. This wasn’t the case. Hinkle emphasized that the numerical error doesn’t undercut the governor’s point. ""The underlying point remains true,"" Hinkle said. ""Thousands of people have accessed coverage for these services under the bipartisan expansion plan."" When Hassan appeared at the Monitor on June 24 to talk about her plans to veto the Legislature’s budget, she used a talking point that had been revised from her Nashua speech. Now, rather than saying 6,000 had sought treatment, she merely said ""thousands."" Peter Evers, the CEO of Riverbend Community Mental Health in Concord, said that he absolutely agreed with the governor's point. If anything, he wrote in an email, more people need help than are receiving it. ""The need is absolutely there. The complication here is that substance misuse has such a stigma to it that it is hard for people to reach out, and getting young people into treatment is hard when they are in what is called the 'pre-contemplative' stage of the problem, (when) they are not aware that they have a problem,"" Evers wrote. Our ruling In her state of the state address, Hassan said that ""6,000 people have already accessed services for substance misuse"" through the state’s Medicaid program. There is no question that substance abuse in the state is a real and pressing problem, and the statistics show that thousands have sought help as a result of the state’s expanded Medicaid program. But Hassan offered (and later corrected) a number that simply wasn’t accurate. The real total is closer to 2,000 -- about one-third the amount she cited."
|
9017
|
Noninvasive stimulation device can help prevent migraine attacks
|
The therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for migraine headache is quite new, but the therapy has been tested for many medical conditions over recent years. The industry-funded study referenced in this news release suggests twice-a-day, self-administered “pulses” with a portable home device (manufactured by the study funder, eNeura), may have reduced the frequency of headaches in a small cohort of predominantly Caucasian women with episodic migraines. The news release does well in establishing the need for non-pharmacologic alternatives in treating this disabling condition, but falls short in explaining a host of limitations in the study that render the beneficial results highly questionable. It also neglects to let readers know the study is funded by a manufacturer of the device used in the study, and that many of the authors have financial ties to this company. Migraines affect roughly 1 out of 7 Americans and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that prevalence is still increasing. It’s the 6th most disabling illness in the world, with healthcare and loss productivity costs in the U.S. alone estimated to be almost $40 billion annually. There is no cure. Both preventing attacks, and treating them once they’ve started, is notoriously difficult and often involves a great deal of trial-and-error with a variety of drugs that usually have substantial side effects. A non-pharmacologic treatment — if rigorously proven to be effective in both prevention and treatment — would be life-changing for patients, a gold mine for those who manufacture it, and have a major impact on health care costs. This places a premium on reporting cautiously and thoroughly about any such “non-invasive” intervention for migraines. Studies such as this one — which lack a placebo control and rely upon self-reporting of pain — should be especially scrutinized.
|
false
|
Mayo Clinic,migraine,transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
|
Cost is not mentioned. According to the American Psychological Association: A typical course of TMS therapy for depression involves 20 to 30 sessions, generally given in three to five treatments per week for four to six weeks. The full course of therapy with the pricey machines can cost $6,000 to $12,000. This is consistent with other sources estimating the cost-per-session as approximately $400-500. Some (but not all) insurance plans cover TMS. Many insurance companies will require written justification from a physician for using TMS. It’s unclear whether patients would need to buy or rent the machine, and at what cost. The news release states that twice daily, self-administered TMS reduced the frequency of headache days by nearly three days per month. Also, just under half the patients had at least 50% or less migraine attacks per month with treatment. The release reports that patients had nine migraine days per month at baseline and this was reduced by 2.75 days with TMS treatment. This earns a satisfactory for describing the benefit in numerical terms. However, quantifying the improvement at followup would have been more helpful for readers wanting to assess TMS as a treatment option. The release would have been improved had it included what the baseline severity and frequency of the 95 volunteers headaches were, and that claims of benefits were self reported. Furthermore, there was incomplete information regarding the concomitant use of pain medications during the 3-month study period. The news release establishes in the first paragraph that TMS is “easy-to-use…noninvasive…safe,” but does not mention any side effects. These include worsening headaches, transient mood disturbances, and very rarely seizures. Importantly, given how new this treatment is, studies on potential long-term side effects are lacking at this time. The procedure cannot be used in people who have metal in their head such as stents, aneurysm clips, metallic ear/eye devices, and bullet fragments. This open label observational study has several important limitations that are not brought up in the brief news release. First, there is no placebo (or sham device) with which to compare the results. Therefore, how much of a placebo effect occurred is unknown. Second, beneficial outcomes relied upon self-assessment of pain. Such subjective reports are difficult to reproduce. Third, there was missing information regarding patients’ overuse or underuse of pain medications during the 3-month study. How much pain medication was or was not used by subjects could alter the frequency and intensity of their headaches. Fourth, the small sample group consisted mostly of Caucasian women, which may not generalize to the general population. The dropout rate reported in figure 2 of the paper also suggest a validity problem due to lack of information on why patients dropped out during the trial. Note that a number of patient volunteers didn’t have enough headaches to qualify for the end points (the outcomes that can be measured objectively to determine whether the intervention was beneficial). Thus, the treatment couldn’t really help them. Finally, most of the subjects in this study had episodic migraines. Because response to the treatment was not subdivided by headache type, it’s unclear from the results if TMS is more or less beneficial depending on what type of migraine a patient has. No disease mongering. The news release clearly establishes that migraine headaches are the “sixth leading cause of disability, according to the World Health Organization.” This is a major weakness of the news release. Not only is the funding for the study not mentioned (the study was supported by eNeura Inc.) but it’s also not mentioned that 5 of 13 authors have financial conflicts of interest with this manufacturer of portable TMS devices. Furthermore, one of the lead authors is chairman of eNeura’s medical advisory board. The lead author is quoted as saying: For certain patients, treatment options for migraines, such as oral medications, are not effective, well-tolerated, or preferred. Some context would have been helpful here. It would help readers to know that the treatment of migraines is usually dictated by which of the several types of migraine the patient has (ie. episodic, chronic, environmentally triggered, and with or without an aura), and whether the goal is preventing an attack or treating an ongoing attack. TMS is a relative newcomer to a vast menu of treatment options for migraine. It would have been helpful to state that there a large number of different treatments available for migraines including over-the-counter and prescription medications. Some are FDA approved and some are not. They include treatments for both acute symptoms of a migraine as well as preventing migraines from happening. There are also non-medication based treatments such as laying down in a darkened room and relaxation techniques. The use of preventive therapies for migraines is considered when the frequency is enough that focusing on the acute episode alone is not enough. This is something that patients decide, but is often considered if there are more than one attack per week. As noted, this study shows benefit, but it was not blinded and it doesn’t compare itself to other available treatments. It’s mentioned that the subjects in this study self-administered “pulses” each morning and evening, but readers are left wondering if this is done at a medical center or at home. If the former, do most hospitals and clinics have TMS machines? If done at home, how and where does one get a machine? Unclear. The last line of the news release is an important inclusion since it clarifies that this is a treatment used for acute treatment that is being extended to prevention: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had already approved the sTMS device for the acute treatment of migraine with aura. The FDA has approved it to prevent migraine as well. It may have been helpful to let readers know this approval came just last fall. The release doesn’t rely on unjustifiable language.
|
11372
|
Robotic prostate surgery may mean big trade-off
|
A very informative story that helps frame for readers some of the complications with respect to treatment options. In the face of claims in advertisements, it provided a clear set of questions about issues that may otherwise be bypassed. Especially with respect to a treatment option that on the surface appears to be the latest and greatest, it is helpful to remind consumers that there are long term issues to be considered as well as the highlighted short term gains. This was a valuable story that can be used by readers to prepare questions to help them assess the relative value in the treatment options available.
|
true
|
There was no discussion of costs. The story clearly mentioned the reduction in hospitalization time, need for blood transfusions, and internal scarring were benefits of the procedure though it did not provide quantitative details. In addition, the story did provide quantitative data on the 30-day risk of sexual and urinary function complications. Clearly elaborated. The story provided information that would better enable people to read between the lines and ask relevant questions about claims made with respect to outcomes following surgery. It described a study comparing outcomes for men having their prostates removed using different approaches. It also included sufficient detail for readers to understand some of the limitations about the study data. However the story is incorrect in stating that it’s not clear whether either surgery is superior to watchful waiting. In fact, the traditional surgery has been proven to reduce the risk of dying from prostate cancer compared to watchful waiting in a controlled trial–the highest level of evidence. But – and this is important in the context of this particular story – there is no similar evidence for the laparoscopic surgeries. The story did not engage in disease mongering. Comments from several clinicians were included in this piece to point out some of the potential confounders with the study results. It was mildly amusing that one of the clinicians interviewed stated categorically that there are over 800 previous studies on robot-assisted prostate -v the majority of which demonstrate superiority. This is an awfully large number of studies about a relatively new technology; further, one of the important points of this story is that there are both short term and longer term outcomes to be considered. The story mentioned different approaches to the removal of the prostate as well as complete list of the treatment options for early stage prostate cancer. The story indicated that the robotic apparatus needed for the procedure reported on is not available in all facilities though it was becoming more common. The story included the trajectory of use for the treatment. Does not appear to rely on a press release.
|
|
11899
|
The Democrats filibustered the legislation that would’ve resulted in this shooter being in federal prison instead of murdering those innocents in that Texas church.
|
"Cruz said, ""The Democrats filibustered the legislation that would’ve resulted in this shooter being in federal prison."" The amendment Cruz cosponsored, which was defeated largely by Democrats after failing to reach a 60-vote threshold, strengthened efforts to prosecute people who lied about their criminal histories to obtain firearms. But the shooter in this case wouldn’t have showed up as having lied because of the Air Force’s failure to report his felony. The Cruz proposal also aimed to facilitate reporting to the instant background check system with guidelines and deadlines for federal agencies, including the armed services. While similar action by the Obama Justice Department around the same time didn’t help, Cruz’s clarifications becoming law may have. But it’s impossible to say with any certainty."
|
false
|
National, Guns, Ted Cruz,
|
"Reacting to the church shootings in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz said there could have been laws on the books to prevent what happened, had his opponents in Congress not defeated his proposal a few years ago. ""The Democrats filibustered the legislation that would’ve resulted in this shooter being in federal prison instead of murdering those innocents in that Texas church,"" Cruz said on Fox News on Nov. 6. Cruz, a Republican, is talking about a failed amendment he co-sponsored to curtail an expansion of background checks and increase prosecution of people who lied about their criminal histories to obtain firearms. He has a point that the Democrats didn’t back it, but he fails to mention that every amendment on the 2013 gun control bill faced the same hurdle, and a Democratic one also fell short. While Democrats defeated his proposal, experts said it would not have made the crucial difference in this massacre for a couple of reasons. The Texas church shooter was discharged from the Air Force for bad conduct after he was court-martialed in 2012 for assaulting his wife and fracturing his stepson's skull. Federal law prohibited him from buying or possessing firearms after this conviction, but he got past the background check system because the Air Force failed to enter the shooter’s felony into the background check database. So when he purchased two guns at the San Antonio gun shop Academy Sports + Outdoors, both sales were approved by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. When we asked Cruz’s office for details, they softened what Cruz originally said, saying his legislation would have ""increased the chances of preventing the Air Force error that led to the failure to submit the relevant information to NICS."" The amendment pushed for clearer guidance on submissions of federal records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (mandated by NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007) and required that federal agencies submit plans for making the information available. ""The only possible contribution may have been that the reporting requirement to the AG might have led the Defense Department and the Air Force to realize that the procedures they had in place needed enhancement,"" said Geoffrey Corn, a law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston. But the language was a near replica of President Barack Obama’s Jan. 16, 2013 memorandum to the Justice Department, which officials were already trying to implement. Molly Moran, who served as the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General from 2014 to 2016, said she and her colleagues at the Justice Department worked from 2013 until the end of Obama’s second term in implementing the memo. It made no difference in the Texas church shooting. The Air Force needed to submit the shooter’s 2012 court-martial, and it failed to do so. Cruz said on Fox that a lack of reporting of federal and state records to the background check system was a problem. But his legislation did not seem to make this easier. The amendment eliminated sanctions for states that failed to submit records and lowered the cap on grant money to help states submit them from $100 million to $20 million. The original bill from then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would have expanded background checks on purchases from only federally licensed gun dealers to all transfers, even private ones among family members, with few exceptions. But the Grassley-Cruz amendment chucked the expansion of background checks and even allowed for the interstate sale and transportation of firearms. ""If anything, the only way this would have affected the Texas shooting would be to make it easier for the shooter to attack a church in a neighboring state instead,"" said Gregory Koger, a political science professor at the University of Miami. Cruz also summoned a familiar talking point against gun regulation that few background check lies (where felons say they are not felons) are prosecuted. His amendment created a task force to increase these prosecutions, but it did not mandate that the Justice Department prosecute all of them. Enhanced prosecution efforts still would not have put the shooter behind bars. Without the court-martial in the database, the shooter would still have passed the background check after marking that he was not a felon. ""He could have been prosecuted had his lie been known by prosecutors, but they had no reason to investigate this until after the shooting,"" said Adam Winkler, a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles. Reid set a 60-vote threshold on all amendments to his Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 to prevent a situation in which the amendment passed by a bare majority and then was filibustered — by the Republican minority. Cruz’s amendment failed 52-48, with nine Democrats voting for it and two Republicans voting against (Mark Kirk of Illinois and Mike Lee of Utah). So did the bipartisan Toomey-Manchin background check amendment favored by Democrats, which got 54 votes. Experts said it was fair to call this a filibuster, though Reid attained the Senate's unanimous consent for the 60-vote threshold. ""The notion that the Democrats are responsible for the failure of this proposal ignores the fact that the GOP was filibustering the underlying bill, which had all the same provisions except the state-to-state expansion of gun rights and a requirement to expand background checks,"" Koger said. Cruz said, ""The Democrats filibustered the legislation that would’ve resulted in this shooter being in federal prison."" The amendment Cruz cosponsored, which was defeated largely by Democrats after failing to reach a 60-vote threshold, strengthened efforts to prosecute people who lied about their criminal histories to obtain firearms. But the shooter in this case wouldn’t have showed up as having lied because of the Air Force’s failure to report his felony. The Cruz proposal also aimed to facilitate reporting to the instant background check system with guidelines and deadlines for federal agencies, including the armed services. While similar action by the Obama Justice Department around the same time didn’t help, Cruz’s clarifications becoming law may have. But it’s impossible to say with any certainty."
|
10064
|
Older women with healthy bones may not need frequent bone scans
|
"Blog posts tend to be breezy, but they should still be rooted in the facts. This post took too much liberty with the findings from a recent study on bone density screening and left readers with the impression that regular screenings don’t offer much benefit. There is a case to be made for this impression, but the story does not make it. Compounding the problem is a significant factual error at the top of the story. The U.S. Preventive Screening Task Force does not recommend screening every two years. It recommends ""routine screening"" without specifying the interval for testing: a wise choice in the absence of much data. The task force simply cautions that testing more frequently than every two years is not supported by data: ""No studies have evaluated the optimal intervals for repeated screening. Because of limitations in the precision of testing, a minimum of 2 years may be needed to reliably measure a change in bone mineral density; however, longer intervals may be adequate for repeated screening to identify new cases of osteoporosis."" The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reports that ""half of all postmenopausal women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture during their lives, including one-quarter who will develop a vertebral deformity and 15 percent who will suffer a hip fracture. Hip fractures are associated with high mortality rates and loss of independence."" This study is important because it addresses the issue of screening intervals for a test that is already widely used in older women and likely to be used more widely as our population ages. Until now the decision about how often to screen has been guided more by the availability of insurance coverage than by sound clinical evidence."
|
false
|
"The story presents the findings as a liberation, of sorts. It says, “women 67 and older with normal bone-mineral-density scores may not need to be screened for another 10 years — a finding that could release thousands of women from the costs and inconvenience of repeated bone-mineral scans over the course of several decades.” What are those costs? The story never says. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says, “Costs of screening vary with technique, and average 2000 Medicare reimbursement rates were $133 for DXA and $34 for ultrasonography. … Treatment costs also vary; alendronate currently costs approximately $3 per daily dose."" No benefits were quantified in this story. There no harms mentioned in this story. Potential harms would include missed or delayed diagnosis of osteoporosis, resulting in increased risk of harm from fracture that might have been prevented with earlier detection and treatment. The aforementioned U.S. Preventive Services Task Force mentions a number of potential harms from too much screening, including “anxiety and perceived vulnerability that may be unwarranted.” Also, “Some women may be falsely reassured if abnormal results from last year’s DXA appear ""improved"" on this year’s normal calcaneal ultrasonogram. The potential time, effort, expense, and radiation exposure of repeated scans over a lifetime have not yet been determined.” It goes on to say, “Potential harms may also arise from inaccuracies and misinterpretations of bone density tests. The variation among techniques, along with the lack of methods to integrate bone density results with clinical predictors, makes it difficult for clinicians to provide accurate information to patients about test results. In one study, physicians found densitometry reports confusing, and were not confident that their interpretations of T-scores were accurate. False-positive results could lead to inappropriate treatment, and false-negative results could lead to missed treatment opportunities.” The story describes the nature of the study, the size of the cohort, how long it lasted and a few other facts. It does not make an attempt to evaluate the quality of the evidence. One of the biggest flaws in this story has more to do with the framing than with the study’s findings. The story flippantly says that “The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends bone-density testing every two years. But that’s just a guess. No one really knows how often screenings should occur.” A guess? How insulting to the medical experts who put together a “Summary of the Evidence” for the task force. Unfortunately, fewer people will read this summary over the next few days than will read the Times story. Neither story reviewed on this topic engaged in disease mongering. There are no outside experts quoted in this story, and the only reference to an outside organization, the one to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, is used dismissively. It is clear that the alternative to less frequent screening is conventional frequency of screening, i.e. every two years. Availability is at least implied by the statement that the news would release ""thousands of women"" from costs and inconvenience of testing. But the story could have been far more explicit about how widespread such screening has become. Nonetheless, we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. The story does establish the novelty of less frequent bone density screening. The only quote in the story comes directly from a news release. This is an unfortunate trend that we’ve seen far too often."
|
|
9973
|
An aspirin a day – for years – may keep colon cancer away
|
A strong story that describes in clear terms the findings as well as the strengths and weaknesses of this study. It covered potential biases that could not be controlled, mentioned harms, and was overall very cautious. It would have been even stronger had it mentioned that the study was observational in nature and therefore not capable of telling us whether the aspirin, or some other factor, is responsible for the benefit that was seen. It also did not mention alternatives for colorectal cancer prevention such as proven effective screening practices. But these are relatively minor omissions in coverage that was otherwise quite exemplary. Though evidence has long indicated that low-dose aspirin was associated with a reduced incidence of the disease, this is the first report to say how long the regimen needs to be followed. That information is important because, this year, some 132,700 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and about 49,700 people will die from it, according to the National Cancer Institute. Such cancers represent 8.0 percent of all new cancer cases in the country.
|
true
|
Cancer,Reuters Health
|
No mention was made of costs, but anyone who has been to a drugstore knows that aspirin is cheap. The story cites a 27 percent decrease among low-dose aspirin users who had taken the drug for five years or more. It also notes the incidence of the disease among different populations, and even gives readers a link to a risk calculator to determine their individual risk. Of course, we almost always prefer stories to use absolute risk reductions over the relative risk reduction reported here (technically an odds ratio — not a “risk” reduction per se). But in a case-control study such as this one, the issue can be complicated. We’ll give the benefit of the doubt. The story is straightforward in saying that all NSAIDs carry risks. “Long-term use can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, for example, so the potential reduction in colon cancer risk needs to be balanced against potential side effects, the authors warn.” It would have been easy to also mention cerebral vascular bleeds, but that’s a minor point. The story cites “several limitations” of the study, including the fact that the researchers did not include patients who bought their aspirin or other NSAIDs without a doctor’s prescription, and that the authors were not able to adjust for some risk factors, such as obesity, diet, alcohol use and family history of colorectal cancer. The study type (retrospective case control) could also have been mentioned along with the relative weakness of this type of study compared with a randomized controlled trial. In addition, the story in several places uses language suggesting a cause and effect relationship between aspirin and colon cancer — e.g. “taking low-dose aspirin continuously for at least five years appeared to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer” — and it quotes an independent source who says flatly that aspirin “reduces the risk of colorectal cancer.” Such a strong statement wasn’t justified by anything we saw in this study — and the paper didn’t point to any other definitive evidence that would warrant such a statement. But despite these concerns, we think that the story overall did enough to merit a Satisfactory rating here. There is no attempt to inflate the incidence or severity of the disease. If anything, the severity of the disease was underplayed by not mentioning death rates. The story includes comment from Dr. Gurpreet Singh-Ranger, who apparently was not involved with the study, so we’ll give it a pass. The story would have been stronger had it told the reader what made him an authority on the topic. The story makes no reference to colonoscopy as a means of identifying and removing polyps before they become cancerous. Other screening approaches that could have been mentioned include sigmoidoscopy and fecal blood tests. The ubiquity of low-dose aspirin is so well known that it did not need to be mentioned. High up in the story, the reader is told what is new about this study: “Earlier studies had suggested that aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen may help protect against colorectal cancer, but it wasn’t clear how much had to be taken, and for how long, to achieve those benefits.” The fact that the story includes comments made directly to Reuters Health shows that it does not rely on a news release.
|
31263
|
A Vox infographic calculated Republican lawmaker deaths against lives potentially saved by their effects on healthcare policy.
|
This person’s Twitter bio falsely claims he is the editor in chief of Vox. He is not an employee of Vox or Vox Media and does not in any way represent the Vox brand. The infographic he posted was not created or published by Vox. We have alerted Twitter executives to this issue, and are working with them to have this false information removed immediately.
|
false
|
Fauxtography, healthcare, infographic, vox
|
After the 14 June 2017 shooting of Republican congressman Steve Scalise, a purported Vox infographic circulated on social media contrasting deaths of Republican lawmakers against deaths related to healthcare legislation. Twitter account @DudeSlater (purporting to be Vox’s editor-in-chief) was (presumably) the first to share the graphic (which can be seen here in full): However, the origin of the “Vox infographic” was unclear, and we were unable to locate a legitimate branded graphic on which it was based. We contacted Vox Media for more information about the image. A spokesperson confirmed to us that the claim is false and the image was not created by the outlet:
|
9976
|
Acupuncture Might Treat Certain Kind of Lazy Eye
|
This story offered an informative but flawed summary of a study that tested acupuncture to treat a form of “lazy eye” known as anisometropic amblyopia. It was at its best when describing why the trial, despite its positive results, provides only preliminary evidence that acupuncture is an effective treatment for this condition. On the downside, it offered only a vague description of how the researchers assessed the treatment effects in this study, making the discussion of benefits much less meaningful than that provided in the competing coverage from WebMD. The story also failed to completely characterize the costs and availability of acupuncture, and didn’t explain that the research team might have a financial incentive to promote the effectiveness of acupuncture. Amblyopia — a condition which causes reduced vision in one eye because the eye and brain are not communicating properly — is a leading cause of vision impairment in children. Treatment is most successful when the condition is identified and addressed at an early age, but older children can also benefit from patching therapy which forces the weaker eye to work harder and communicate more effectively with the brain. Older children may resist wearing an eye patch, however, and it is possible that using a patch will lead to new problems in the better-functioning eye. This study suggests that acupuncture may be a safe and effective alternative to patching for older children with amblyopia. Now additional research will be needed to confirm whether the benefits of acupuncture are real and sustainable over the long term.
|
mixture
|
HealthDay
|
The story mentions that acupuncture may not be be covered by many insurers, but it never provides even a ballpark estimate of what a typical office visit for acupuncture would cost. The description of benefits in this story is not sufficiently detailed. It states that overall visual acuity “improved markedly more” in the acupuncture group compared with the patch group. But it never tells readers how visual acuity was measured and makes no attempt to quantify the difference. Later, the story states that lazy eye was “successfully treated” in nearly 42% of the acupuncture patients but only 17% of the patch patients. Again, though, it never offered a definition for “successful treatment,” so readers have no way to gauge the importance of this result. The story should also have acknowledged that the results favoring acupuncture were much small after 25 weeks than they were after 15 weeks. Thirty percent of the patch group would have been considered “treatment successes” after 25 weeks compared with 42% of the acupuncture group — a difference that was not statistically significant. The story states that neither treatment produced significant side effects in the study, which is accurate. It also goes into some detail about the potential adverse effects reported previously with patch treatment, but it doesn’t mention any of the drawbacks of acupuncture that patients might encounter outside of a study. Notably, the frequent treatments required by the study protocol might require taking children out of school and cause disruption to their education as well as the parent’s employment. The researchers were able to avoid this by scheduling all appointments after school, but parents outside of a study might not have this much flexibility. We’ll call this a satisfactory, but more detail would have been useful. The story provides a reasonably accurate account of the experiment with appropriate caveats about limitations. The story introduces notes of caution early on about the small size of the study and the need for additional research. It also acknowledges that the study was of relatively short duration and that the results may be dependent upon the specific skills of the acupuncturist and may not be reproducible with other practitioners. Unlike the WebMD coverage, though, this story never mentioned that the acupuncture group also had to do an hour per day of near-vision activities on top of the acupuncture and similar to what the patching group was told to do. In addition, the story probably should have mentioned that acupuncture, like many conventional medicines, is known to produce a significant placebo effect. Thus, although the acupuncture seemed to work about as good or better than the patch therapy, we can’t be sure if the children in the study were responding to a real effect of the acupuncture or some other aspect of the treatment such as the time spent with caregivers or the therapeutic ritual. Had the study included a group of children receiving an identical sham acupuncture therapy (that is, needles placed randomly instead of in strategic acupuncture locations), we’d have greater confidence that the effects reported are real. The story repeats statistics provided in the study regarding the worldwide prevalence of amblyopia. These figures do not appear to overstate or exaggerate the impact of amblyopia. The story deserves praise for seeking out comments from two experts who provide valuable perspective on the results. Unfortunately, though, the story didn’t point out that the researchers in this study have filed a patent application for vision-related acupuncture points. This constitutes a significant potential financial conflict that should have been disclosed to readers. The story notes that standard treatment for younger children with amblyopia involves eyeglasses or contact lens designed to correct problems with focus. Patch therapy is useful for older children, according to the story, but may be tougher for children to adhere to and has potential adverse effects. While the story notes that acupuncture is more widely accepted in certain geographical areas than others, it doesn’t convey how difficult a time people would have finding a skilled acupuncturist across broad swaths of the country. This is especially important considering that the treatment was given 5 times a week and would be impractical if significant travel time was required. It also should have mentioned accreditation for acupuncturists and how to choose a practitioner. The story cites previous research suggesting that acupuncture may improve blood flow to the eye and has other potentially beneficial physiologic effects. And while it quotes one expert who says he is unaware of any previous studies of acupuncture for eye conditions, another source points out that acupuncture has been tested for glaucoma and myopia without much success. Readers get the appropriate impression that this is a novel approach to the treatment of amblyopia, but not totally uNPRecedented. This story was not based on a news release.
|
7185
|
UN health chief warns of ‘very high’ risk of Ebola spread.
|
The head of the U.N. health agency says the risk that the Ebola virus will spread remains “very high.”
|
true
|
Africa, Health care reform, Ebola virus, Health, Universal health care
|
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking Monday at the start of the World Health Organization’s annual assembly, where issues like anti-microbial resistance, universal health care and WHO reform are among the topics up for discussion. Ghebreyesus noted that the current Ebola outbreak, which is the second deadliest on record and has been confirmed to have taken nearly 1,100 lives, is so far contained to two provinces of eastern Congo that are wracked by violence by armed groups. He said the outbreak was “one of the most complex health emergencies any of us have ever faced.”
|
27093
|
"Sen. Joe Biden told an audience which included hundreds of African Americans that Republican economic policies would ""put y'all back in chains."
|
That Biden uttered the sentence “They gonna put y’all back in chains” before just such a crowd stands confirmed. Whether it should taken as a racially charged reference to slavery we leave it to readers to judge for themselves.
|
true
|
Politics, joe biden
|
Former U.S. Vice President and current contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination Joe Biden has a self-acknowledged reputation for making verbal blunders, one of the more infamous of which he uttered in a speech in Danville, Virginia during the 2012 presidential campaign. That notorious statement was cited in a number of partisan social media posts in late April and early May 2019 (shortly after Biden announced his 2020 candidacy) as an instance of his “playing the race card” to disparage Republicans: Dear Joe Biden. You said to a largely Black audience that the Republican party was, “……..gonna put y’all back in chains.” I didn’t know y’all was a Southerner. Anyway, can y’all tell us what you and Obama did to improve the lives of Black Americans. — George Gamard (@GeorgeGamard) May 10, 2019 Joe Biden told a predominantly black audience in 2012 that Republicans want to “put y’all back in chains!” How do you get more racially divisive that THAT? — Build The Wall (@ditchobama) May 8, 2019 Although it’s unclear, based on contemporaneous press coverage of the event, whether the audience was accurately described as “predominantly” or “largely” black (more about which later), Biden did in fact utter the words attributed to him at a 14 August 2012 campaign attended by a racially mixed crowd, including hundreds of African Americans. The following report is from the New York Times blog “The Caucus,” posted the same day as the event: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. created a stir at a campaign speech in Virginia when he told the crowd that Mitt Romney’s policies would enable the banking and financial sectors to “put you all back in chains.” The remark came roughly two-thirds of the way through Mr. Biden’s 30-minute speech, which was delivered to a crowd that included many African-Americans at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Va. “Romney wants to let the — he said in the first hundred days, he’s going to let the big banks once again write their own rules, unchain Wall Street,” Mr. Biden said. “They’re going to put you all back in chains.” The moment was captured for posterity in a C-SPAN video (available here in its entirety): We would probably not be talking about this today had not Biden’s remark been widely interpreted as a reference to slavery. As such, it drew instant condemnation, beginning with the Romney campaign, which released a statement saying: “After weeks of slanderous and baseless accusations leveled against Governor Romney, the Obama campaign has reached a new low. The comments made by the vice president of the United States are not acceptable in our political discourse and demonstrate yet again that the Obama campaign will say and do anything to win this election.” Romney himself echoed that statement in a speech he gave later the same day in which he held President Obama responsible. “His campaign and his surrogates have made wild and reckless accusations that disgrace the office of the Presidency,” Romney said at a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio. “Another outrageous charge came a few hours ago in Virginia. And the White House sinks a little bit lower.” Though he didn’t specifically mention race, Romney accused Obama of pursuing a strategy of divisiveness: “Over the last four years, this President has pushed Republicans and Democrats as far apart as they can go. And now he and his allies are pushing us all even further apart by dividing us into groups. He demonizes some. He panders to others. His campaign strategy is to smash America apart and then cobble together 51 percent of the pieces.” Media pundits and campaign surrogates were more explicit in their criticism of Biden. In an opinion piece for Breitbart, conservative Ben Shapiro said the Vice President’s statement was “Race-baiting at its finest.” Former New York Mayor Rudy Giulani, a Republican, declared on Face the Nation that it was “an absolutely blatant appeal to racism.” Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, also a Republican, accused Biden of “play[ing] the race card.” Some Democrats agreed with the criticism. “First of all, without question they were appeals to race,” said former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder. “The important thing I got out of this was Biden separated himself from what he accused the people of doing. As a matter of fact, what he said is they are going to do something to y’all, not to me. Not us. So he was still involved with that separate American.” CBS News reported that then-U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-New York) called Biden’s comment “stupid” during a radio interview: “Was he talking about slavery? You bet your a** he was. Was he using the vernacular? Yes, he was,” said Rangel, a longtime New York Democrat who is a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Did he think it was cute … Yes, he did. Was it something stupid to say? You bet your life it was stupid.” Rangel added that if an African-American had made the joke, “We would have been laughing, because we would know that deep down, they may be beating the hell out of us but they ain’t thinking about putting us into any chains.” Ebony contributor Jamil Smith agreed with Rangel’s perception that Biden was “using the vernacular,” or “code-switching,” as Smith called it, “to acclimate to a particular environment or audience.” Phonetically rendered, this is what Biden actually said: “They gonna put y’all back in chains.” But the Vice President stood by the remark in a 14 August campaign stop in Raleigh, North Carolina, insisting that the message he was trying to convey wasn’t about race, but rather the negative impact the opposition party’s vow to “unshackle Wall Street” would have on middle-class Americans: The last time these guys unshackled the economy, to use their term, they put the middle class in shackles. That’s how we got where we are. Nine million jobs lost, wage stagnation, 16 trillion dollars in wealth you all lost, in your home equity, in your 401ks, and your pension plans — you’re the ones that got nailed. All of America except for the very few. And I’m told when I made that comment earlier today in Danville, Virginia, the Romney Campaign put out a Tweet, you know Tweets, and went on the air, went on the airwaves saying “Biden’s outrageous in saying that — I think I said, instead of unshackled, unchained or — anyway, outrageous to say that, that’s what we meant. I’m using their own words. I got a message for them, if you want to know want to know what’s outrageous, it’s their policies, and the effects of their policies on middle class America, that’s what’s outrageous. Biden had, in fact, used precisely the same trope before to characterize the impact of Republican economic policies on the middle class. The day after a Republican primary debate in October 2011, Biden said, referring to economic conditions under the George W. Bush administration: “The last time we liberated the economy under their proposals, the last eight years put the middle class in chains. My lord, how many times we have to go back to that horror movie?” President Obama took Biden’s side, defending his Danville speech in an interview with People magazine: Biden’s comment sparked Romney to call the Obama campaign one of “division and hate and anger.” But Obama, speaking to PEOPLE in Dubuque, Iowa, seemed unrattled by the controversy. He said Biden’s words needed to be considered in context; that he was only saying “you, consumers, the American people, will be a lot worse off if we repeal these [Wall Street reform] laws as the other side is suggesting.” “In no sense was he trying to connote something other than that,” Obama added. The racial composition of the audience is relevant to this debate though not decisive, partly because estimates in the press were rough and contradictory. Although it was consistently reported that approximately 900 people were in attendance, and we know, from both press reports and video of the event, that a significant percentage of the attendees were African-American, the media couldn’t agree on whether more black people were present than white people, fewer black people than white people, or roughly the same number of each. The majority of mainstream news outlets reported that the audience was “predominantly,” “largely,” or “mostly” African-American. Among these were the Los Angeles Times, Politico, CBS News, Fox News, The Daily Beast, National Public Radio, and NBC News. Significantly fewer outlets reported that the audience was “about 50%” African-American. Some described it as “racially mixed.” A small minority of venues said the makeup of the crowd was “partially” African-American. We asked Tiffany Holland, a reporter who live-blogged the event for the Richmond Times-Dispatch website, for her impression of the racial makeup of the crowd. “If memory serves, the crowd was about half-African-American and half-white,” she said in an email, adding that in her experience Democratic Party events in Danville usually drew a “healthy mix of diversity.” But she also said that this was just the impression she came away with, and could be remembering it wrongly. In any case, even if only 50 percent of the attendees were African-American, Biden would have found himself gazing out over an audience that included hundreds of black faces. The crowd need not have been “predominantly” African-American to inspire a politician inclined to do so to engage in racial pandering.
|
10582
|
More than 1000 Lives Reported Saved with Help of EVZIO® (naloxone HCl injection) Auto-injectors
|
This drug manufacturer’s news release touts Ezvio, which delivers the drug naloxone in an auto-injector device, to treat narcotic overdoses in an emergency situation. Naloxone has garnered much attention in recent years as a way to prevent death in opioid addicts. It has reportedly saved lives and, as the release suggests, has the potential to save more if it were more widely available. The release uses testimonial quotes from an impressive array of public health and safety officials. Unfortunately, it provides no hard data backing up its benefits. Not even its attention-grabbing headline — “More than 1000 Lives Reported Saved with Help of EZVIO” — is backed up with a source. The release also neglected to include costs and only briefly mentions the product was tested in two clinical trials but provides no leads as to where the trials were published. This matters because an estimated 15 million people are addicted to opioids and about 69,000 people in the world die from opioid overdose each year, according to the World Health Organization. It’s long been understood that addiction and death from opioid drugs are at epidemic levels in the United States. Strategies to combat drug overdose fatalities — especially in light of the spike in prescription opioids and heroin overdoses — are newsworthy and of keen interest to public health officials. In recent years many local governments have grappled with ways to find money to make naloxone available to more first responders.
|
mixture
|
industry/commercial news releases
|
The news release makes no mention of cost. That’s an important omission since the cost of even generic naloxone is undergoing steep price increases. According to a report from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists last year, “When Kaleo Inc. launched its Evzio 1-mg/mL naloxone hydrochloride autoinjector in July 2014, the company priced each carton at about four times the invoice price of a box of same-strength 2-mL naloxone syringes, said Matthew Rosenberg, an analyst at FDA.” An online search revealed that Evzio’s retail price was about $700 per kit, according to a MedPage Today article. Prices for standard naloxone kits ranged from around $40 to $60 per kit, with on-going price hikes. There’s a very limited supply of money for drug abuse treatment and a naloxone injection is only the start. Is having an extremely expensive one the best use of funds? The release needed to address the cost disparity between this device and less expensive ones on the market. The news release asserts that Evzio is reported to be saving lives. It then offers testimonials, but no data. For example, the president and CEO of the company says that, since October 2014, “we have received reports that EVZIO Auto-injectors have helped save an average of 14 lives per week.” That’s it. No mention of where the reports came from, how they were compiled, what happened in October 2014 to start those reports being filed. It turns out the drug/delivery combo was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2014. Then, Laurie Fugitt, RN, BSN, co-founder of Georgia Overdose Prevention, says this: “It has already helped save many, many lives in Georgia.” How does she know? How many are “many, many?” When she says “helped save,” does she mean that something else was needed to complete the save? If so, what was it? Then, we get another anecdote, this one from Dr. Michael Kilkenny of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department in West Virginia: “Following initial deployment of EVZIO on February 3, we had a confirmed life saved on February 12th.” Who made the confirmation? How? What happened? The news release lists a number of adverse reactions that have been identified during use of naloxone hydrochloride in postoperative patients, including hypotension, hypertension, ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, dyspnea, pulmonary edema, and cardiac arrest. While we give the release credit for providing an extensive list of potential list of side effects, we question whether including a long laundry list of warnings under “important safety information” is sufficient to prevent accidents when untrained individuals are treating people who are suspected of opioid overdose. And yet this product is marketed for individuals without medical experience. In mentioning usability trials involving the product the release states that, on average, “more than 94% of users can correctly administer EVZIO without training, and 100% with training.” We’d like to know how many volunteers were involved and what is the effect of incorrectly administered Evzio. The release only briefly mentions that two clinical trials involved Evzio but doesn’t give us any information on how to access the studies for independent review. Anecdotes are meaningful only if they are backed up by data. The news release doesn’t even describe how it came up with the more than 1,000 lives saved claim. We would like to have seen evidence comparing the device versus generic naloxone injections, if they exist. The news release quotes an official in Baltimore stating,”we believe that naloxone should be a part of everyone’s medicine cabinet and everyone’s first aid kit.” While this initially seemed like a stretch to us, the breadth of the opioid overdose crisis in some regions of the country makes it a reasonable proposal. If a news release is going to quote the president and CEO of the company that makes the drug, readers can assume he has a financial interest in his statements. But they are left to wonder about the quotes from health professionals. It might have been a good idea to point out whether they, too, have a financial stake in their statements. If they do not, letting the reader know that might have made their statements appear more persuasive. But since we don’t have specific evidence of a conflict of interest among any of the quoted sources, we’ll rate this Satisfactory. No alternatives were offered. Besides the injectable forms of naloxone, a Narcan nasal spray is also on the market. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease provides a listing of diffferent forms of naloxone. The release states that the product is FDA approved and quotes numerous public officials discussing its use in their communities, so one can infer that it is on the market. However, since the release suggests that everyone should have the product in their medicine cabinets, it’s really important to know whether and how members of the general public could purchase this product. It’s not made clear that naloxone is something that must be prescribed. So we’re rating this Not Satisfactory on that basis. The release states that the device is the first naloxone product approved for use by individuals without medical training. Further, the device employs “intelligent” voice and visual guidance for use. To our knowledge it is the only product to do so. The release avoids the use of unjustifiable terms like “breakthrough” and “game-changing”, despite its heavy reliance on anecdotes.
|
7183
|
Coons, US Senator from Delaware, will face primary challenge.
|
Delaware’s junior U.S. senator will face a primary challenge next year.
|
true
|
General News, Delaware, Wilmington, Universal health care, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Dover
|
The Delaware State News reported Monday that Jessica Scarane plans to run against U.S. Sen. Chris Coons in the state’s Democratic primary. Scarane is a Wilmington-based digital strategist who serves as the board president of the nonprofit Girls Inc. The 34-year-old is running on a progressive platform that includes universal health care and tuition-free college. Her platform is similar to those of more left-leaning Democrats in the U.S. Senate, such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Coons said in a statement that he’s proud to challenge President Donald Trump. But he also said he’s someone who works across the aisle to “get done what we can in this environment to make our state and our community stronger.” ___ Information from: Delaware State News, http://delawarestatenews.net
|
1385
|
UK rejects Merck's Keytruda as initial treatment for lung cancer.
|
Britain’s healthcare watchdog NICE, which assesses the cost-effectiveness of medical treatments, has stopped short of recommending the use by the National Health Service (NHS) of Merck & Co Inc’s immunotherapy drug Keytruda in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients, after giving the go-ahead in December for patients who had prior treatment.
|
true
|
Health News
|
Keytruda is already approved as a cost-effective treatment in melanoma and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence also on Dec. 2 approved its use in the treatment of lung cancer patients who had started on chemotherapy, after Merck & Co cut the price further for the NHS. But trial data so far on the survival benefit of Keytruda as an initial lung cancer treatment has not been reliable enough, according to NICE’s draft guidance, which will be subject to public consultation until 21 March. “The exact size of the overall survival gain for Keytruda compared to the current standard of care was uncertain because of the immaturity of the data,” a NICE spokeswoman said. Keytruda has proved effective in fighting non-small cell lung cancer in patients with high levels of a protein called PD-L1, which makes them more receptive to immunotherapy. The average cost of a course of treatment in Britain is around 29,000 pounds ($36,000) at the full list price but the NHS will pay less after getting a confidential discount. ($1 = 0.8042 pounds)
|
17228
|
"For educational testing, Florida ""has chosen a company that has a significant history of promoting identification of the GLBT lifestyle for children as young as seven years old."
|
The Florida Stop Common Core Coalition said that the American Institutes for Research promotes the identification of homosexual lifestyles in young children. It is true that AIR does research on LGBT youth issues and offers advice to organizations that request it on how to assist these children. This is one piece of the group’s initiatives, which also include work on disease management and student assessments. AIR does not advocate a homosexual lifestyle for children, nor is it an advocacy group at all. There is no indication that the organization or the state will have a homosexual agenda in its state testing. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details and takes things out of context.
|
mixture
|
Education, Gays and Lesbians, Florida, Florida Stop Common Core Coalition,
|
"In choosing the American Institutes for Research to create new accountability tests for Florida, education commissioner Pam Stewart stressed the group’s ability to create tests specifically tailored for Florida. ""The new assessment will measure each child’s progress and achievement on the Florida Standards, which were developed with an unprecedented amount of public input,"" Stewart said in a press release. Common Core foes, who contend the ""Florida standards"" differ little from the widely adopted national Common Core academic standards, were again disappointed. With their efforts to derail the initiative itself foundering, one group took aim at the testing company instead. They noted the American Institutes for Research, called AIR, was tied to the Common Core with its work creating tests for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Then they accused the organization of promoting a homosexual lifestyle for children. ""This is completely unacceptable. Besides implementing the same deceptive plan discussed at the governor's summit in August, the state has chosen a company that has a significant history of promoting identification of the GLBT lifestyle for children as young as seven years old,"" Florida Eagle Forum lobbyist Randy Osborne said in a Florida Stop Common Core Coalition letter to supporters. The group takes a page from Utahns Against Common Core, which also blasted AIR for its work on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) issues after that state adopted AIR tests in 2012. There is some basis for the statements. AIR has an active practice area creating materials for schools on LGBT Youth issues, in which it studies the youngsters’ experiences and offers recommendations for how to help them survive a world that can be harsh and judgmental. It describes its practice in this way: ""AIR’s Human and Social Development program develops knowledge and understanding about LGBT youth that takes account of their experiences and needs. AIR also enhances opportunities for the healthy development, well-being, and safety of LGBT children, youth, and their families by providing workforce training and technical assistance to service providers across systems addressing behavioral health, child welfare, education, juvenile justice, and homelessness."" AIR only provides materials on gay and lesbian issues to schools and organizations that request it. It also does similar work in the areas of bullying and substance abuse in addition to its efforts in education, health and workforce matters. And the group does not promote the issues, spokesman Larry McQuillan said. ""We are not an advocacy group,"" McQuillan said. ""AIR is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization. We do educational assessment, research, health policy research and communication, and international development. We have supported many states by providing high-quality assessments of their specific state standards."" That is generally how the organization is viewed. ""AIR is known for being an independent and important provider of high-quality educational research, resources, and training for federal, state, and local stakeholders,"" said Anne Hyslop of the New America Foundation. ""Their work is widely respected, and they have a long history of producing valuable contributions to the field."" She suggested that the attack had more to do with the Common Core than with AIR itself. AIR received no criticism when selected to develop Florida’s hotly controversial ""value-added"" model of teacher evaluations. When it came to standards-related testing, though, the Stop Common Core coalition suggested that AIR’s work on LGBT issues would come through. ""We know that our children's tests will likely include these types of issues and that the test and other data will go to the state, the federal government, and to corporations,"" said co-founder Karen Effrem, urging tea party conservatives to pressure Gov. Rick Scott to stop the process. (PolitiFact Florida has fact-checked claims that personal data will go to the federal government and found such claims exaggerated.) Effrem and Osborne did not respond to interview requests. The issue could resonate with groups who find that even simple acknowledgement of LGBT people is activism to be demonized, said Daryl Presgraves of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Florida Department of Education spokesman Joe Follick, however, did not bite at the rhetoric, which he deemed essentially irrelevant. ""AIR was chosen for their ability to provide an assessment that aligns with Florida’s standards. Not anything else,"" Follick said. Republican legislative leaders also backed the commissioner. Senate President Don Gaetz ""supports Commissioner Stewart and is confident that AIR will develop a Florida-specific assessment that will test students based on Florida-specific standards,"" spokeswoman Katie Betta said. Our ruling The Florida Stop Common Core Coalition said that the American Institutes for Research promotes the identification of homosexual lifestyles in young children. It is true that AIR does research on LGBT youth issues and offers advice to organizations that request it on how to assist these children. This is one piece of the group’s initiatives, which also include work on disease management and student assessments. AIR does not advocate a homosexual lifestyle for children, nor is it an advocacy group at all. There is no indication that the organization or the state will have a homosexual agenda in its state testing. The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details and takes things out of context."
|
34218
|
"A 23-year-old woman named Ava Roberts has become ""the youngest female African-American doctor."
|
We do note that it is not impossible for someone under the age of 25 to be a certified medical professional. In 2013, the medical news site The DO profiled several doctors in that age range, and the current Guinness Book of World Records holder for becoming a doctor at the youngest age ever is held by Balamurali Ambati, who graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1995 at the age of 17.
|
unproven
|
Fauxtography
|
A world record of any sort normally gains substantial traditional news coverage. But since 2016, fringe health sites have exploited the stereotype of “mainstream media” exclusion in spreading a story about a purportedly remarkable medical achievement. At some point in 2016, a photograph of a woman identified as “Ava Roberts” surfaced online, along with text celebrating her allegedly having become “the youngest female African-American doctor”: Healthy Living Life Facts” republished the Ava Roberts article in its entirety in December 2017, and that account was spread widely on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. A number of websites that originally published this claim, as “Healthy Living Life Facts” did in June 2016, cited a French site called “Pelea” as its source: While word of this accomplishment has regrettably been minimal, French site Pelea reports that “after a gifted childhood, Roberts quickly excelled through medical school and became a force to be reckoned with as the youngest African-American female doctor.” Such an amazing young age, considering how long doctors go to school?! Must have been a child prodigy! You go girl! Such a great role model to young women everywhere! for being the youngest African-American female doctor. Youngest female african american doctor. None of those sites actually linked to the referenced “Pelea” website, or to any other external source that documented or provided additional information about the claim. Nor did any of those sites provide any details of Ava Roberts’ life and supposed achievements, such as when and where she was born, when and where she attended medical school, what area of medicine she entered into, or where she currently practices. Moreover, the original claim was quite ambiguous to begin with: Was Ava Roberts supposedly “the youngest female African-American doctor” in the world, in a particular country, or in some smaller jurisdiction? What standard was applied to use of the title “doctor”? What organization certified or verified this accomplishment? Using various search tools we were able to locate only one doctor by the name of Ava Roberts who is currently practicing in the United States. She is an orthopedic surgeon in Colorado, but a spokesperson for the UCHealth system, which manages several hospitals in the state as well as parts of Wyoming and Nebraska, told us that she is not the unidentified person whose photograph has accompanied this story.
|
33971
|
"South Carolina state Senator Thomas Corbin told a colleague at a dinner function that women are a ""lesser cut of meat."
|
Corbin and Shealy agreed on the content of the controversial exchange, but not on whether the remarks were part of ongoing mutual ribbing of a genial nature.
|
true
|
Politics Quotes
|
On 11 February 2015, a quote attributed to South Carolina state Senator Thomas (Tom) Corbin began to circulate on social media sites. According to the rumor, Corbin compared women to a “lesser cut of meat” during remarks made to a fellow state senator: The rumor originated on a small, local political blog called FITSNews. The initial account appeared to contain the typical hallmarks of a hoax — no date for the purported dinner was provided, and the source for the claim was unnamed “multiple witnesses”: Corbin’s comments — made at a legislative dinner held in downtown Columbia, S.C. — were reportedly directed at S.C. Senator Katrina Shealy, the only female member of the 46-person State Senate. According to multiple witnesses who attended the dinner — held at Cowboy Brazilian Steakhouse on Main Street (a few blocks from the S.C. State House) — Senate judiciary committee members were discussing the CDV issue, which has been a source of several previous headaches for the GOP. By way of explanation, lawmakers and legislative staffers have previously told FITS about statements made by Corbin — statements reflecting his belief that women do not belong in the S.C. General Assembly and should instead be “at home baking cookies” or “barefoot and pregnant.” At one point in the conversation — which quickly escalated into a confrontation — Shealy is said to have angrily asked Corbin where he “got off” attacking women. “Well, you know God created man first,” Corbin said, reportedly smirking at Shealy. “Then he took the rib out of man to make woman. And you know, a rib is a lesser cut of meat.” However, a few days later Senator Katrina Shealy posted to Facebook to Facebook to confirm and address the controversial claims, asserting that Corbin had made the remark in question but that he considered it in the nature of a “joke”: My statement on “Lesser Cut of Meat Story”: “I have proven that women can effectively serve in the Legislature, and one of my colleagues has proven capable of talking like an idiot.” I will agree that Senator Corbin may feel that this is an ongoing joke between the two of us, but he is well aware that I don’t think it is funny. I have asked several times for him to discontinue these type of comments. I am the lone female in the South Carolina Senate and because of that very reason I do not want it to come across that I am weak or whining, so I have repeatedly tried to deal with him myself. In Senator Corbin’s defense, maybe it is a joke to him; but, if you do something over and over again, you must really believe it. It is not a joke with me or with the thousands of other women and girls across this state and country who deserve respect. We are mothers, sisters and daughters. We are homemakers, school teachers, lawyers, judges, businesswomen and – yes, even State Senators who deserve every bit as much respect as any father, brother, son or any male who holds the same position as any female. Can I sit by; sweep this under the rug; and say, “it’s okay”? Sure, I could do that; but not this time! Do not get me wrong; the majority of my colleagues treat me with the utmost respect and with no difference of any of my male counterparts, as it should be. I do not want or expect special treatment. All I ask for is to be treated equally and with respect! Corbin also commented on the controversy and claimed he and Shealy had joked with one another in a similar fashion in the past: “We were all joking and laughing,” said Corbin. “We cut up together.” Corbin said he can’t recall her ever [asking him to stop joking before], adding that she’s teased him about being overweight and bald. “If it bothers her, I’ll quit joking around with her,” he said. Both agreed the exchange occurred after they disagreed on the gun provision of legislation aimed at curbing domestic violence. That provision seeks to prevent abusers from having easy access to guns. South Carolina has long ranked among the worst nationwide in violence against women, and most domestic violence deaths involve guns.
|
39856
|
This is a forwarded email that warns not to eat tilapia because it comes from China.
|
Don't Eat Tilapia Because it Comes From China
|
false
|
Food / Drink, Miscellaneous
|
This eRumor has more to do with the controversy of consuming wild caught fish over fish that is farm raised. China is a major producer of farm raised tilapia but sanitation conditions of ponds may not be as big of a concern when compared to dumping of chemicals and drugs into the water where these tasty fish are raised. According to the seafood watch fact sheet by the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, tilapia is a fresh water snapper that is farmed in ponds, closed re-circulating systems or tank systems. About 40% of the world’s tilapia comes from China. Other countries that farm tilapia in mass production are the U.S., Canada, Ecuador, and Taiwan. The fish is a native to Africa and is considered a “fast-growing tropical species.” The fact sheet also said that it “is the fourth most-consumed seafood in the United States after shrimp, tuna and salmon.” Consuming fish has health benefits but experts say that wild caught fish is preferable to those raised on a farm. This according to a November 19, 2012 article by the Washington Post that warned of “heavy use of chemicals — including pesticides and antibiotic and antifungal drugs — in many aquaculture operations,” a process to help maintain the health of fish in overcrowded habitats. The article also said that the experts suggested that it was healthier to eat farmed fish than no fish at all. Moderation was the key to a healthier life by including half a pound of fish in the weekly diet. The allegation that farm raised tilapia in China were being fed chicken and pig feces also remains unproven. “In many cases, fish farmed in Asia and imported to the US have been raised on diets of chicken and pig feces.” This according to a July 15, 2013 article by MSNBC but in an update at the bottom of this same article cites a denial by a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “FDA spokesperson Theresa Eisenman flatly denied that the widespread practice of feeding feces to farmed fish occurs.” Eisenman said, “We are not aware of evidence to support the claim that this practice is occurring in China, Both domestic and imported seafood products are required to meet the same food safety standards. If FDA had information that an aquaculture product was raised in a manner that would violate FDA’s food safety requirements, that product would not be allowed entry into the United States.” Posted 01/19/14 Comments
|
30646
|
A priest with HIV who raped children was exonerated by the Catholic Church and then crucified.
|
Neon Nettle traffics in sensational and often totally fabricated clickbait, and has a penchant for publishing gruesome but false vigilante stories involving pedophilia. This tale appears to be yet another example of that proclivity.
|
false
|
Junk News, neon nettle
|
On 24 December 2017, the disreputable web site Neon Nettle reported that a pedophile priest with HIV who was exonerated by the Catholic Church after raping young children had met a gruesome end when he was crucified: A pedophile priest, who was found guilty of raping 30 children while infected with HIV but forgiven by the Vatican, has been found dead outside his church. Earlier this year, Catholic priest Jose Garcia Ataulfo admitted to raping 30 young girls aged between 5 and 10 years old in Oaxaca, Southern Mexico. Ataulfo was cleared of any wrong-doing by the church and didn’t face any criminal charges, despite the fact that he knew he was infected with HIV when he sexually abused all the children he is known to have raped. Neon Nettle is a frequent purveyor of viral fake news stories and conspiracy theories, and nothing published on that site should be believed without further investigation. In this case, we found no evidence that a Mexican priest named Jose Garcia Ataulfo was accused of child rape and then crucified, or that such a person even exists at all. The story of the mysterious priest initially found its way into English-language media by way of the British tabloid the Daily Mail, which on 20 September 2016 aggregated a report from Urgente24.com, a Spanish-language news site based in Argentina. That version of the story reported only that Ataulfo had been “acquitted” by the Catholic Church and thus was never formally prosecuted by Mexican authorities: Ataulfo has admitted to sexually assaulting indigenous young girls from Oaxaca, a state isouthern Mexico known for its large indigenous population. The priest has yet to face any criminal charges, most likely due to the significant influence that the Catholic Church wields in Mexico, particularly in areas populated by indigenous ethnic groups. But the ultimate problem with the story from the get-go was that Urgente24.com also based their article on an unreliable source: a report from the Mexican branch of the “hacktivist” group Anonymous. Nevertheless, the Daily Mail report was shared thousands of times, taking the unfounded story viral on multiple continents. When the Catholic News Agency (CNA) tried tracking Ataulfo to a source, they came up empty. Mexican archdiocese officials told CNA they couldn’t find records matching the description given for Ataulfo, while Father Hugo Valdemar Romero, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico, told CNA that: This supposed priest does not belong to the Archdiocese of Mexico – as Anonymous Mexico asserts – much less has he been let off, as the post irresponsibly and maliciously states. The archdiocese told CNA the name may have originally come from a list of allegedly LGBT priests a publication called “Hablermos de Mexico” had threatened to make public amid a national debate over marriage equality. (We sent an inquiry to the Archdiocese of Mexico but have not yet received a response.) The disturbing image attached to the Neon Nettle story appeared to be a mash-up of a digitally-manipulated picture of a real priest lifted from the web site CourageousPriest.com and, sadly, an image of a man who was murdered in 2014 by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen after being accused of working for U.S. intelligence. The man’s body was hung out in the open over a soccer pitch and grisly images of the results were circulated online.
|
24090
|
The path to ObamaCare becoming law all started with Charlie Crist supporting President Obama's $787 billion stimulus.
|
"So Rubio contends that ""The path to ObamaCare becoming law all started with Charlie Crist supporting President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus."" The logic is that Crist was instrumental in helping Obama deliver the stimulus, and that the health care reforms would not be possible without the stimulus.We find this wrong on both points. Crist, while a vocal supporter of the stimulus and one of the only major Republicans endorsing the spending plan, did little to sway votes in Congress and get the stimulus bill passed into law. And the stimulus, while it had a few health care provisions, had little to do with the health care bill that eventually was passed by Congress. The seeds for the health care bill were sewn during Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, not at a town hall and hug in Fort Myers.All this to say, our first instinct was right."
|
false
|
Health Care, Stimulus, Florida, Marco Rubio,
|
"Marco Rubio is again trying to link Gov. Charlie Crist to President Barack Obama.Rubio, the former state House speaker and Republican frontrunner for the U.S. Senate, has played and replayed images of Crist hugging Obama when the two campaigned together in Florida on behalf of the federal stimulus.Now Rubio is trying to make a case that Crist, his rival in the Senate race, is to blame for the federal health care overhaul, too. ""The path to ObamaCare becoming law all started with Charlie Crist supporting President Obama's $787 billion stimulus,"" Rubio's campaign said in a recent fundraising e-mail. ""Marco is the only candidate you can trust to repeal Obamacare. ""We know that Charlie + Obama = manhug.And Obama + Congress = health care overhaul.But does Charlie + Obama + stimulus = Obamacare?To be honest, we started this analysis not sure how Rubio's statement could possibly be true. ""The night Obamacare passed, on the floor of the House, Nancy Pelosi said, in essence, that Obamacare would not be possible without the stimulus,"" Rubio adviser Alberto Martinez told PolitiFact Florida. ""Charlie Crist was instrumental in providing the political support that Barack Obama needed to pass the stimulus. ""That's a big logical leap, so let's explore the facts behind it.On the fine point about Speaker Pelosi, Martinez is correct that she referenced the stimulus in her health care speech. ""We would not be here tonight for sure without the extraordinary leadership and vision of President Barack Obama. We thank him for his unwavering commitment to health care for all Americans,"" Pelosi said on March 21, 2010. ""This began over a year ago under his leadership in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act where we had very significant investments in science, technology, and innovation for health care reform. It continued in the president's budget a few months later, a budget which was a statement of our national values, which allocated resources that were part of our value system and in a way that stabilized our economy, created jobs, lowered taxes for the middle class and did so and reduced the deficit and did so in a way that had pillars of investment, including education and health care reform. ""The Rubio campaign tried to make hay of the speech the following day, linking Pelosi's words to Crist in a press release. The campaign also posted a video of Pelosi's statement with the headline ""Pelosi: Road to ObamaCare began w/Crist-Obama Stimulus,"" and is now repeating the claim in the fundraising pitch.Charlie and the stimulusNo doubt about it, Crist supported, campaigned for and endorsed the federal stimulus bill.But was he instrumental in it passing?Crist campaigned for the stimulus bill with Obama in Fort Myers on Feb. 10, 2009. He made several national television appearances supporting the proposal, saying on Hardball with Chris Matthews, for instance: ""It's going to help (Floridians') children. It's going to help their traffic situation. It's going to help produce more jobs here in the Sunshine State. That's a perspective that I have to have as, in essence, the CEO of Florida. And that's why I support it. ""We also know that Crist lobbied members of Florida's congressional delegation from both parties to support the stimulus package. The Miami Herald reported that Crist lobbied Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and his brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, along with Democratic Reps. Kathy Castor and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.But what good did all of that campaigning from a prominent national Republican do? How many votes did he affect in Congress? Was he the lynchpin?Not a whole lot. Not a whole lot. And no.The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed the U.S. House 244-188, without the support of one Republican (which means no Republicans from Florida). It then passed the U.S. Senate 61-37, with just three Republican votes: Maine's two Republican senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter. (Specter's now a Democrat, by the way. )If you're truly keeping score, the conference report -- the congressional action that merges the House and Senate bills -- passed the House 246-183, again without a single GOP vote, and passed the Senate 60-38 with the votes of Collins, Snowe and Specter. We also checked the Congressional Record to see if members of Congress referenced Crist during floor debate on the stimulus. Crist's name was mentioned once, on Feb. 11, 2009, by Democratic U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio. Sutton was talking about Crist's support of the stimulus and how Crist said it could save and create jobs in Florida.So there's nothing to confirm the Rubio campaign's claim that Crist was ""instrumental."" There's no evidence that Crist's support swayed a single vote. For the Florida delegation -- like all state delegations except Maine and Pennsylvania -- it was strictly a party-line vote. Indeed, Crist was more outlier than influencer, a rare Republican leader who spoke up but was roundly criticized in his party. Brendan Daly, a Pelosi spokesman, said that because no House Republicans supported the bill, that he ""does not think Crist was instrumental in passing it."" We asked Kate Kelly, a spokesman for Specter, if Crist's support had been a key factor for the Pennsylvania senator. She replied, ""Sen. Specter has never mentioned that as a reason he voted for the stimulus."" Charlie begat stimulus; stimulus begat health careNow, to the Rubio campaign's claim that the stimulus bill led to health care reform.The stimulus act passed in February 2009 did have health care-related proposals, including a plan to create electronic health care records and about $20 billion to help unemployed workers purchase health care through the employer-based COBRA system. But the stimulus hardly was the impetus for health care reform. And if you read Pelosi's statement again, that's not what she was saying.She was praising Obama and citing some of his accomplishments and notable proposals that included health care. But there's scant evidence of a causal link between the stimulus and health care reform that the Rubio campaign alleges. First, health care reform pre-dates the 2009 economic stimulus by years -- or even decades. Obama made it one of his key domestic policy promises during the 2008 campaign. And the roots of reform can be traced as far back as President Theodore Roosevelt (Obama frequently mentions that the nation has been trying to overhaul health care since then). And of course, the issue came up during the early 1990s when Hillary Clinton chaired the health care task force in the Clinton administration. Second, Rubio has failed to prove a causal connection between the two. It's not like the stimulus bill created some kind of legal foundation for health care reform -- it was a bill filled with tax cuts and spending to boost the economy. And it's not like it provided Obama with a huge surge of momentum. Indeed, more than a year lapsed between the final passage of the stimulus and the health care bill. John Rother, executive vice president of policy and strategy for the AARP, a group that closely followed the health care debate, said there's no link between the stimulus and health care bill.Rubio ""might be the only person in America who might make that claim,"" Rother said.Our rulingSo Rubio contends that ""The path to ObamaCare becoming law all started with Charlie Crist supporting President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus."" The logic is that Crist was instrumental in helping Obama deliver the stimulus, and that the health care reforms would not be possible without the stimulus.We find this wrong on both points. Crist, while a vocal supporter of the stimulus and one of the only major Republicans endorsing the spending plan, did little to sway votes in Congress and get the stimulus bill passed into law. And the stimulus, while it had a few health care provisions, had little to do with the health care bill that eventually was passed by Congress. The seeds for the health care bill were sewn during Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, not at a town hall and hug in Fort Myers.All this to say, our first instinct was right. !"
|
1173
|
Diesel vehicle refits costly and could affect performance, Volkswagen says.
|
Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) is not against upgrading the exhaust systems of older diesel cars to make them cleaner, but could not afford to pay for such a huge undertaking itself and is concerned it might impair vehicle performance, its CEO said.
|
true
|
Environment
|
After Germany’s top administrative court on Tuesday allowed local authorities to bar heavily polluting diesel cars in major cities, the federal government is scrambling to find ways to avert driving bans that would hurt consumers and automakers. Environmental and motorist lobbies are raising the pressure on Volkswagen (VW) and its peers to modify the exhaust systems of older diesels which they say are a major source of toxic nitrogen oxide emissions that can cause respiratory disease. “I don’t want to say now that I’m ruling it out,” VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Friday at an auto industry event. But he voiced misgivings. Hardware changes would cost between 1,500 ($1,845.30) and 7,000 euros per car, and the development as well as testing of new exhaust cleaning systems would take 2-3 years, Mueller said. Also, retrofitted vehicles might consume more fuel and emit more carbon dioxide, which would affect the level of car tax, he added. Of the 15 million diesel cars on Germany’s roads, only 2.7 million are equipped with the latest Euro-6 emissions technology. Research firm Evercore ISI has estimated that upgrading the exhaust cleaning of the 6 million Euro-5 vehicles could cost up to 14.5 billion euros ($17.9 billion). “I would compare hardware changes on a Euro-5 vehicle to an open-heart surgery,” Mueller said. There is no way that VW could shoulder major costs for such modifications as it is stretched by the costs and fines related to its “Dieselgate” emissions scandal, he said. “We had to pay about 25 billion in America, we cannot again pay 17 billion for hardware refits,” Mueller said. “That is simple not possible.”
|
5894
|
After brain surgery, Jimmy Carter returns to hometown church.
|
Former President Jimmy Carter publicly appeared Sunday at the Georgia church where he worships for the first time since undergoing brain surgery in November.
|
true
|
Georgia, Health, General News, AP Top News, Atlanta, U.S. News, Jimmy Carter
|
The 95-year-old Carter and his wife of more than 70 years, Rosalynn, attended services at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains on Sunday, news outlets reported. Parishioners also prayed for the Carters, who were nestled into front-row seats at the church where Carter famously has taught Sunday school. The nation’s oldest-ever ex-president underwent surgery last month at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding from a fall. Carter has faced several health issues in recent years. Earlier this month, he was treated at a hospital for a urinary tract infection. In October, he was hospitalized for a fall that fractured his pelvis and another fall in which he hit his head and required 14 stitches. A previous fall required he get hip surgery. In 2015, he was diagnosed with melanoma. After having parts of his liver removed and undergoing radiation, immunotherapy and treatment for brain lesions, he announced that he was cancer-free.
|
3391
|
Opponents drop bid to block California vaccination law.
|
Opponents on Monday dropped their attempt to block California’s new law cracking down on doctors who write fraudulent medical exemptions for school children’s vaccinations.
|
true
|
Sacramento, General News, California, Public health, Laws
|
They had floated two measures that could have put the Jan. 1 law on hold until voters considered overturning it next year, but did not submit more than 600,000 required signatures before Monday’s deadline. The three official proponents, Denise Aguilar, Heidi Munoz Gleisner and Tara Thornton, said in a statement on behalf of their Freedom Angels Foundation that a “grossly misleading” introduction to the measure “would inevitably make educating the voters to the egregious nature of these laws very difficult.” The law will allow state public health officials to investigate doctors who grant more than five medical exemptions in a year and schools with vaccination rates of less than 95%, the threshold that experts say means a population is resistant to a disease like measles. Gov. Gavin Newsom demanded, and won, amendments protecting doctors who previously granted a high number of medical exemptions and removing a requirement that doctors swear under penalty of perjury that they are not charging fees to fill out medical exemption forms or conduct related medical examinations. The Democratic governor also required a phase-out period for medical exemptions similar to one allowed when California eliminated personal belief vaccine exemptions in 2015. A kindergartner with an exemption can retain it through sixth grade, for instance, while a seventh grader can be exempted through high school. Opponents were not mollified and vow continued protests. The three women who sought to block the law also unsuccessfully tried to dissuade lawmakers and Newsom from approving it, standing on chairs during a committee hearing and blocking the door to the governor’s office last fall. They were among hundreds of opponents who packed committee hearings and regularly protested at the Capitol, including a woman who threw human blood from the Senate gallery onto senators below during the closing hours of this year’s legislative session. Another opponent earlier shoved Sen. Richard Pan, who authored the legislation, as he was walking on a street near the Capitol in Sacramento. Pan criticized the bills’ opponents for engaging in “theater, a stunt” without following through on the ballot measure. “If (the law) was as bad as they said it was, then they should be fighting it tooth and nail,” Pan said. He was particularly critical of high-profile opponents including actor Rob Schneider and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he said could have put money behind the ballot measure. Opponents previously failed to collect enough signatures to contest the 2015 law eliminating the personal belief exemption, and failed in an attempt to recall Pan in 2016. Legal challenges against that earlier law also failed.
|
11483
|
FDA approves new, targeted treatment for bladder cancer
|
The Food and Drug Administration approved a new immunotherapy drug that acts as a “checkpoint” inhibitor in patients whose bladder cancer (urothelial carcinoma) has not responded to other chemotherapy. The drug, atezolizumab (marketed as Tecentriq), showed effectiveness in about 14 percent of 310 patients in a very preliminary study. The release notes that the trial measured tumor shrinkage as the main outcome. It didn’t note, as a NYT article did, and important for this type of trial, that it is unknown whether the treatment makes a difference in survival. A larger study is being done to examine this. Whether it makes a difference in quality of life is also important and will presumably be examined in the larger trial. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates 76,960 new cases of bladder cancer and 16,390 deaths from this disease in 2016. This approval of a new drug for treating bladder cancer is part of a wider area of research into immunotherapy, in which drugs target mechanisms of the human immune response. Patients with the PD-L1 protein highly expressed in their tumors appear to be responding best to the drug. This drug is an example of targeted chemotherapy which is becoming more important as treatments can be fine-tuned to the cancers of individual patients. In patients with intractable cancers, immunotherapy appears to offer some new hope while also bringing sobering questions about affordability and disparity of access by income. The drugs are typically very expensive — with some estimates putting the treatment cost for a single patient as high as $1 million. When the FDA gives a compound a “breakthrough” designation, some physicians and patients can misunderstand what that means. That’s a topic recently explored in this post.
|
true
|
Cancer,FDA,Government agency news release
|
The release does not mention cost. The FDA evaluates drugs without consideration of cost, so it’s understandable that they wouldn’t comment on it — and that’s why we’re rating this Not Applicable. But let’s be real here: The value of a new drug is a function not just of how well it works, but its cost-effectiveness. So we look forward to the day when any news release about a new drug — even one from the FDA — will include some mention of cost in its message. This release gives the preliminary results from a single study of 310 patients. Because the drug is experimental, long-term results haven’t been studied. Of the 310 patients enrolled in the lone trial upon which the approval is based, 14.8 percent showed some shrinkage of tumors during the assessment period lasting from 2.1 to about 13.8 months. For a subset of patients who were classified as having a positive response to PD-L1 expression, the response was 26 percent. As noted above, tumor shrinkage doesn’t always lead to improvements in survival or quality of life. It is a surrogate endpoint — a substitute — for the main outcome which is survival. Although this drug looks promising, to be fully transparent about its benefits as currently known, the release should have explained this. As noted in the “Summary,” another larger study is underway to assess the drug’s impact on extending life and improving quality of life. The release includes a description of side effects of this treatment. The most common ones included fatigue, decreased appetite, nausea, urinary tract infection, fever (pyrexia) and constipation. The release also mentions that patients taking the drug have an increased risk of infection and serious side effects that are “immune-mediated.” We would have liked a bit more context on what this term means for patients. The release outlines that this is the very first clinical trial of this compound for safety and efficacy, and under which regulatory paths the drug was assessed, including “breakthrough therapy designation, priority review status and accelerated approval.” We’re giving this release the benefit of the doubt and rating it Satisfactory for its bare bones description of the trial (and since we already addressed the lack of long-term survival data in the “Benefits” section.) As it stands, the results from the small trial were preliminary and short-term and did not reflect long-term survival. We would have liked to see a reference or link to the completed trial where one could look at the results to assess independently or learn more about the outcomes. We think the release should have provided more data on the patient demographics, the treatment regimen (dosing amount and schedule) as well as the range in tumor reduction. There is no disease mongering. This release describes the approval of a new drug by a regulatory agency, but we’d still like to know who sponsored the study that’s the basis for the approval. It’s not enough to state who markets the drug. The release does not give us very much information about alternatives. These patients had already received other therapy and their cancer had recurred, so it is implied that they had no other alternatives. But this isn’t stated very clearly. We can assume (and it seems evident) that the platinum-based therapy that the patients didn’t respond to initially is the usual treatment. The FDA’s approval of a drug clears the way for the drug sponsor to scale up production and begin marketing and selling the product. (The FDA doesn’t state this explicitly but it can be inferred.) A NYT article said the drug would be available in about two months. The release clearly states this product is first of its kind for this type of cancer. We found no unjustifiable language.
|
9768
|
F.D.A. Approves Heart Drug Entresto Said to Cut Death Risk by 20%
|
Uncontrolled fires that ripped through Australia’s southern state this week have engulfed some of the region’s vineyards, forcing winemakers to take to social media to plead for donations.
|
true
|
entresto,heart failure,Novartis
|
David Bowley’s 72-acre (29 hectares) property in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills was among vineyards in the state’s prominent wine region “completely destroyed” by bush fires. “The worst day in our history. I am completely broken,” Bowley, who owns Vinteloper wines, wrote on Instagram as he shared photos of his burnt property. About 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) south of Vinteloper, James Edward Tilbrook of Tilbrook Estate is seeking help to rebuild his lost assets. “We have nothing left, except a few cases of museum stock at our home and literally 48 bottles of current vintage wine,” Tilbrook wrote on his Facebook page. In a separate post that had images of incinerated bottled wines and melted bottles, he urged his friends and followers to help pay for rebuilding. “First target is to get Vintage. Then the next target is to get the wine in bottle,” he wrote. “That’s 3 to 12 months from Vintage. Once we have wine again we are back in business. It’s just getting to that point and that’s where we need your help.” Vinteloper’s Bowley estimates his financial loss at A$1 million ($692,200) although he is still assessing damage, as is Tilbrook. Wine industry representatives say the fires have potentially wiped out a third of wine production, or 1,100 hectares (2,718 acres), in the Adelaide Hills Wine Region. The industry’s potential damage is estimated in excess of A$100 million, according to media reports. Uncontrolled fires are still burning in Adelaide Hills. So far, about 87 homes and 500 other buildings have been destroyed in South Australia by the fire. “There are still a lot of pockets of bush burning, there are a lot of trees that are hot and smouldering and it’s a very dangerous place to be,” South Australia’s Country Fire Service deputy chief officer Andrew Stark said. “If we see very hot and windy conditions, unfortunately, we may see the fire break out.” Temperatures in South Australia’s capital city of Adelaide are expected to soar to 41 degrees C (105.8°F)on Saturday. “I am going to rebuild. I’m not giving up. That’s not how we roll,” Vinteloper’s Bowley told the Guardian.
|
29071
|
Telephone customers returning one-ring calls from foreign phone numbers are charged hefty fees.
|
"What's true: Phone scammers sometimes lure potential victims into running up heft phone charges through the use of ""one-ring hang-ups."" What's false: Returning a 'one-ring' foreign call will enable scammers to download your contacts list and access your financial account information."
|
mixture
|
Fraud & Scams, Telephone Scams
|
The “one ring” telephone scam is similar in form to the venerable 809 area code scam in that both involve trying to dupe unwary phone customers into calling a foreign phone number in order to stick them with hefty charges. While the 809 scam involved sending pages, faxes, voicemails, or e-mail messages that supposedly relayed important information (e.g., news about a distressed family member or a notification of prize winnings) in order to lure the recipient into calling a provided phone number, the “one ring” scam employs a simpler technique — the scammers place calls to blocks of phone numbers (sometimes with the use of robo-call devices), disconnect each call after a single ring, and hope that the owners of some of those numbers will be curious enough to call back: Dubbed “one-ring hang-ups,” the scheme targets millions of mobile-phone lovers. Unscrupulous operators make thousands of random calls from normal phone lines, letting the phones ring once before hanging up. They count on inquisitive folk, or those anxious not to miss a single call, ringing back the number shown on their screens. Once hooked, the victims of the “one ring” scam are supposedly separated from their money through a variety of means: keeping them on the line for as long as possible while they rack up international call tolls, duping them into unknowingly calling premium-rate phone numbers (akin to the 900 Pay-Per-Call services), or enticing them into signing up for pricey services, as described in a May 2019 alert issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC): The Federal Communications Commission is alerting consumers to reported waves of “One Ring” or “Wangiri” scam robocalls targeting specific area codes in bursts, often calling multiple times in the middle of the night. These calls are likely trying to prompt consumers to call the number back, often resulting in per minute toll charges similar to a 900 number. Consumers should not call these numbers back. Recent reports indicate these calls are using the “222” country code of the West African nation of Mauritania. News reports have indicated widespread overnight calling in New York State and Arizona. Generally, the One Ring scam takes place when a robocaller calls a number and hangs up after a ring or two. They may call repeatedly, hoping the consumer calls back and runs up a toll that is largely paid to the scammer. Consumer Tips: · Do not call back numbers you do not recognize, especially those appearing to originate overseas. · File a complaint with the FCC if you received these calls: www.fcc.gov/complaints · If you never make international calls, consider talking to your phone company about blocking outbound international calls to prevent accidental toll calls. · Check your phone bill for charges you don’t recognize. Advances in technology allow massive amounts of calls to be made cheaply and easily. In addition, spoofing tools make it easy for scammers to mask their identity. The FCC is working to combat scam calls with enforcement actions, a strong push for caller ID authentication, and support for call blocking tools. Another key tool is consumer education like this alert and the FCC’s One Ring scam consumer guide: https://t.co/pROJ0ldMXv As with the 809 scam, however, it appears that the prevalence of the one-ring scam and the potential damages its victims might suffer are considerably lower than exaggerated warnings about it often suggest: Urgent… Please pass around to your family and friends.!! People have been receiving calls from +37560260528 +37127913091 +37178565072 +56322553736 +37052529259 +255901130460 One ring & hang up. If you call back, it’s one of those Numbers that are charged $15 – $30. They can copy your contact list in 3secs. If you have bank or Credit Card details in your phone, they can copy that too! +375 is from Belarus Afghanistan.. +371 code for Lativa, +381 code for Serbia +563 code for Valparaiso +370 code for Vilnius +255 code for Tanzania. These calls may be from ISIS. Don’t answer or Call back. Please FORWARD AND SHARE this with your friends and family. PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE this. IF SOME ONE ASKs YOU TO DIAL #09 or #90. Please Do Not Dial this When Asked. Please circulate URGENTLY. It’s certainly not true, as stated in the example cited above, that the mere act of calling a particular number would allow a phone user’s contacts and banking information to be stolen by someone else. That sort of information would be compromised only if another party somehow hacked into the user’s phone (via a malicious app or other code) and/or the user actively did something to enable access to it. (In either case, there’s no obvious reason why such a scheme would require the victim to place a call to the information-stealer rather than the other way around.) Some versions of this warning maintain that “You may also be charged a monthly fee for joining some club you know nothing about. By calling the number, you ‘authorize’ them to place a fee on your cellphone bill.” However, it seems to be more the case that victims aren’t subscribed to services simply through the act of calling a phone number, but rather that the scammers use social engineering techniques (including harassment) to persuade them to subscribe to pay services or give out their credit card information: Those who do [call back] find themselves listening to advertisements for all sorts of dodgy services. Some firms try to hook callers into subscribing, say, to high-priced chat-lines or Internet services. Others dupe callers into providing credit-card numbers. Using caller-identification in reverse helps to harass more users. Some victims decide it is easier to pay than face fresh hassles. Even if only a small fraction are snared, it is still a lucrative ploy: their own charges are small since they never give their quarry a chance to answer. Other versions of the warning caution that cell phone owners who return one-ring calls are charged $19.95 for an “international call fee” and then a “$9.00 per minute charge” on top of that. But Verizon currently lists rates for placing calls to the 222 country code mentioned in the above FCC alert (Mauritania) at about $3.00 per minute, so a victim who returned such a call and stayed on the line for a couple of minutes before hanging up might realistically be out $6 or so in toll charges. Phone customers can generally get any “premium service” (i.e., “international call fee”) charges tacked on to such a call reversed by contacting their phone service providers and documenting the circumstances of the call. Many forms of this warning list specific country/area codes that phone users should never place calls to (because of their association with various phone scams), including 473 (Grenada), 268 (Antigua), 876 (Jamaica), 809 (the Dominican Republic), 375 (Belarus), 371 (Latvia), 222 (Mauritania), and 284 (the British Virgin Islands). There is, of course, nothing wrong with connecting to numbers with these country/area codes if you happen to know whom you’re calling: all cautions regarding the one-ring scam (and similar schemes) apply only to solicitations to contact entities unknown to you. If you have to call a number associated with a dialing code that’s unfamiliar to you, you can use a code lookup site to check it out first.
|
28919
|
A column written by Clinton adviser-turned-opponent Dick Morris pointed out details elided in a 2007 Hillary Clinton campaign ad narrated by President Bill Clinton.
|
In general, although some of the claims made here by Dick Morris were rooted in truth, many of them were straw man arguments made in response to points no one had raised, were exaggerated or misrepresented, were juxtaposed with irrelevant information, or were misleadingly truncated to what could generously be described as half-truths.
|
mixture
|
Politics, dick morris, hillary clinton
|
Circulation of the above-quoted e-mail, attributed to political commentator Dick Morris, has escalated sharply as the 2016 presidential election draws nearer, but this item began making the online rounds several years ago. Often titled “Bill Clinton’s Loving Wife” or “The Truth About Hillary Clinton,” this piece has circulated in a number of forms since at least as far back as August 2007. The text has remained mostly constant across iterations. As the message’s introduction section frequently states, Dick Morris worked closely with the Clinton White House as a consultant and strategist through much of Bill Clinton’s presidency. By the mid-2000s, Morris had became openly critical of both Clintons, and the item reproduced in the example field is similar in tone to his other Clinton-related commentaries. The bulk of the e-mail’s content was published under the title “DICK MORRIS’ ’08 PLAY-BY-PLAY ANALYSIS Vol 1, #11” on 25 May 2007 and was framed as a point-by-point rebuttal by Morris of statements Bill Clinton made about Hillary as captured in a 2007 video: RUBUTTING [sic] BILL ON HILLARY BILL CLINTON LEAVES SOME THINGS OUT OF HILLARY’S BIOGRAPHY Go to www.hillaryclinton.com and check out Bill Clinton’s syrupy five minute ad for Hillary. He introduces the commercial by saying that wants to share some things we may not know about Hillary’s background. His version of her biography is about as reliable as if it appeared in Pravda! So, I wanted to make a few corrections. An archived copy of this video reveals that Morris often misrepresented what Bill Clinton had actually said in the video and therefore ended up “rebutting” claims that hadn’t been made in the first place. Bill says: Hillary never wanted to run for public office, but she did want to work at public service. The facts are: When Clinton was considering not running for another term as Governor of Arkansas in 1990, Hillary said she would run if he didn’t. She and Bill even had me take two surveys to assess her chances of winning. The conclusion was that she couldn’t win because people would just see her as a seat warmer for when Bill came back licking his wounds after losing for president. So she didn’t run. Bill did and won. But there is no question she had her eye on public office, as opposed to service, long ago. Determining exactly what Hillary Clinton’s political aspirations might have been in the 1970s, or the 1990s, is rather difficult and subjective. However, determining what Bill Clinton actually said in the video is simple and doesn’t match what Morris asserted: [W]hen we met, over 35 years ago in law school, I was interested in public office, but she wasn’t. She thought she’d never run for anything. She was just interested in public service. In other words, Bill Clinton said that when he first met Hillary, back when both of them were law school students in the 1970s, Hillary’s aspirations at that time didn’t include eventual election to public office. He didn’t say, as Morris misleadingly implied, that Hillary never changed her viewpoint on that subject at any time in the ensuing decades. Bill says: In law school, Hillary worked on legal services for the poor. The facts are: Hillary’s main extra-curricular activity in law school was helping the Black Panthers, on trial in Connecticut for torturing and killing a federal agent. She went to court every day as part of a law student monitoring committee trying to spot civil rights violations and develop grounds for appeal. Bill Clinton’s specific words were: “In law school, [Hillary] worked for legal services for poor people,” a statement not very different from Morris’ paraphrasing. But Bill Clinton additionally stated that Hillary worked at the Yale Child Study Center during her law school years, an assertion matched by information found in sources such as a biography of Hillary Clinton hosted at the The National First Ladies’ Library: During her second year in law school, Hillary Clinton volunteered at Yale’s Child Study Center, learning about new research on early childhood brain development, as well as New Haven Hospital, where she took on cases of child abuse and the city Legal Services, providing free legal service to the poor. Upon graduation from law school, she served as staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Morris’ claim that “Hillary’s main extra-curricular activity in law school was helping the Black Panthers, on trial in Connecticut for torturing and killing a federal agent” is partly true and partly an exaggeration. As noted in our lengthy article on this topic, Hillary was one of a number of Yale students who played a minor, tangential role in the trial of several Black Panthers (accused of murdering an informant) by organizing volunteers to monitor the legal proceedings for civil rights violations. This activity was far from Hillary’s “main extra-curricular activity,” however: during her time at Yale, Hillary also worked at the Yale Child Study Center, took on cases of child abuse at Yale–New Haven Hospital, volunteered at New Haven Legal Services, served on Senator Walter Mondale’s Subcommittee on Migratory Labor, worked on the 1970 campaign of Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate Joseph Duffey, and interned at the Oakland law firm of Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein. Bill says: Hillary spent a year after graduation working on a children’s rights project for poor kids. The facts are: Hillary interned with Bob Truehaft [sic], the head of the California Communist Party. She met Bob when he represented the Panthers and traveled all the way to San Francisco to take an internship with him. This claim is a misleading non-sequitur. Hillary both interned with a law firm that included Robert Treuhaft among its name partners while she was a Yale law student, and she performed a year of postgraduate study at the Yale Child Study Center after receiving her law degree. Morris deceptively makes it sounds as if these activities took place at the same time and were therefore mutually exclusive. Morris’ emphasis on Robert Treuhaft’s former Communist connections is somewhat incongruent with what he stated in his 2004 book about Hillary Clinton, Rewriting History: Hillary was no Communist, nor should her work at the Treuhaft firm imply that she was,” Morris wrote. “But the fact that she chose this job out of all the summer jobs that might have been available, traveling three thousand miles for it, tells something about her orientation at the time. Just as the fact that she does not describe the firm’s work or reputation says something about her today. Morris’ column continued by stating: Bill says: Hillary could have written her own job ticket, but she turned down all the lucrative job offers. The facts are: She flunked the DC bar exam and only passed the Arkansas bar. She had no job offers in Arkansas and only got hired by the University of Arkansas Law School at Fayetteville because Bill was already teaching there. She only joined the prestigious Rose Law Firm after Bill became Attorney General and made partner only after he was elected governor. Again, this is a subject covered in a separate article on this site which notes that Hillary indeed failed the Washington D.C. bar exam on her first attempt at it in 1973, but the circumstances were more complicated than suggested: Even one of the most embarrassing episodes of Hillary’s young life, when she failed the Washington, D.C., bar exam, didn’t appear to result from a lack of discipline. She enrolled in a bar study class with a professor, Joseph Nacrelli, who had a reputation for knowing every nook and cranny of the D.C. test. But in 1973 the exam was in its second year of including a multistate portion that tested more generally on American law rather than just city-specific questions. Hearing the professor lecture on a topic they knew well, some of the students in the class determined that portions of the material he was teaching were wrong. Those students panicked because the bar would test them on subjects they hadn’t taken in law school. So they began to study those subjects independently, in addition to continuing the class, and they passed. It’s hard to know whether Hillary failed because she studied the wrong information — some of those who relied solely on the class made the grade. Morris also deceptively reversed the nature of events to make it sound as if Hillary had no job prospects and was only able to obtain work in Arkansas due to the influence of her husband. In fact, Hillary had significant prospects in Washington, D.C., but she passed them up in order to move to Arkansas and remain close to her beau, Bill Clinton: [Hillary] Rodham was viewed as someone with a bright political future: Democratic political organizer and consultant Betsey Wright had moved from Texas to Washington the previous year to help guide her career, and Wright thought Rodham had the potential to become a future senator or president. Meanwhile, Clinton had repeatedly asked Rodham to marry him and she continued to demur. After failing the District of Columbia bar exam and passing the Arkansas exam, Rodham came to a key decision. As she later wrote, “I chose to follow my heart instead of my head”. She thus followed Bill Clinton to Arkansas, rather than staying in Washington, where career prospects were brighter. Morris maintained: Bill says: President Carter appointed Hillary to the Legal Services Board of Directors and she became its chairman. The facts are: The appointment was in exchange for Bill’s support for Carter in his 1980 primary against Ted Kennedy. Hillary became chairman in a coup in which she won a majority away from Carter’s choice to be chairman. Morris’ claim here is anachronistic: Hillary Rodham’s appointment (along with four others) to the Legal Services Board of Directors by President Jimmy Carter was announced on 12 December 1977, while Ted Kennedy didn’t officially enter the 1980 presidential race until nearly two years later, in November 1979. Certainly there were earlier indicators that Kennedy was mulling a White House bid against the incumbent President Carter, but at time of Hillary’s appointment in December 1977 Carter had been in office less than a year and was almost certainly not planning for a largely unthinkable challenge from within his own party for an election three years in the future. Bill says: She served on the board of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The facts are: Yes she did. But her main board activity, not mentioned by Bill, was to sit on the Walmart board of directors, for a substantial fee. She was silent about their labor and health care practices. Here again Morris deceptively presents a “Yeah, but …” argument that jumps from one item to another, falsely suggesting that two referenced activities (which took place several years apart) were somehow related and/or mutually exclusive. Hillary Clinton was appointed to both the boards of both the Arkansas Children’s Hospital (in 1979) and the giant Walmart retail chain (in 1986): After Bill Clinton was sworn in as governor for the first time in 1979, he appointed his wife to be the chairwoman of Arkansas’ Rural Health Advisory Committee — a group that worked to expand health care access within the state’s large rural population. Around the same time, Hillary became a board member of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where she helped establish the state’s first neonatal nursery while she was pregnant with Chelsea. The facility has since expanded several times over. Walmart board members who served alongside Clinton suggested she selected her battles strategically: Fellow board members and company executives, who have not spoken publicly about her role at Wal-Mart, say Mrs. Clinton used her position to champion personal causes, like the need for more women in management and a comprehensive environmental program, despite being Wal-Mart’s only female director, the youngest and arguably the least experienced in business. On other topics, like Wal-Mart’s vehement anti-unionism, for example, she was largely silent, they said. During their meetings and private conversations, Mrs. Clinton never voiced objections to Wal-Mart’s stance on unions, said Mr. Tate and John A. Cooper, another board member. “She was not an outspoken person on labor, because I think she was smart enough to know that if she favored labor, she was the only one,” Mr. Tate said. “It would only lessen her own position on the board if she took that position.” Morris’ column went on to say: Bill says: Hillary didn’t succeed at getting health care for all Americans in 1994 but she kept working at it and helped to create the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provides five million children with health insurance. The facts are: Hillary had nothing to do with creating CHIP. It was included in the budget deal between Clinton and Republican Majority Leader Senator Trent Lott. I helped to negotiate the deal. The money came half from the budget deal and half from the Attorney Generals’ tobacco settlement. Hillary had nothing to do with either source of funds. Again, Morris has misquoted what Bill Clinton said about Hillary Clinton: the former didn’t claim his wife “created” the Children’s health Insurance Program; what he he said was that as First Lady “she kept working, first to expand healthcare coverage to children …” It is true in a strictly literal sense that Hillary Clinton did not “create” the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), since she held no elective office at the time of its passage and therefore had no power to enact it. However, contrary to Morris’ assertion of Hillary’s non-involvement with CHIP’s 1997 creation, contemporaneous news accounts reported that CHIP was based on a plan Hillary Clinton had originated four years earlier: The $23.4 billion “Kid Care” health insurance program included in the budget package was to be the “precursor” to universal health care sought by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a secret White House fallback plan prepared in April 1993, according to internal administration documents. As an option drawn up by the first lady’s health care task force, the White House plotted to push a “Kids First” insurance program as the start of a universal health care program if Mrs. Clinton’s grander effort failed, as it did. “This is absolutely their fallback position and it gets them gradually to where they wanted to be all along. The ‘Kids First’ scheme is a template for what the president signed into law,” said attorney Kent Masterson Brown. A September 2015 Washington Post article also quoted the late Senator Ted Kennedy saying that as First Lady, Hillary Clinton’s lobbying efforts with her husband were “invaluable” in bringing CHIP to fruition: [CHIP] was created and driven by two senators, Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). At one point, then-President Bill Clinton turned against it, fearing that it would destroy a balanced-budget deal, and Hillary Clinton defended her husband, saying, “He had to safeguard the budget proposal.” But she did come to Kennedy’s assistance when the children’s health insurance measure was resurrected, lobbying privately within the White House for it. Kennedy, who had been furious at what he considered an initial betrayal by both Clintons, later said she was “of invaluable help.” Morris’ next claim stated: Bill says: Hillary was the face of America all over the world The facts are: Her visits were part of a program to get her out of town so that Bill would not appear weak by feeding stories that Hillary was running the White House. Her visits abroad were entirely touristic and symbolic and there was no substantive diplomacy on any of them. This is another misquote on Morris’ part. In the video clip from which this statement was taken, Bill Clinton actually said only that his wife “went to 82 other countries representing the United States,” not that she “was the face of America all over the world.” In any case, since First Ladies hold no elective office, cabinet position, or official diplomatic post, and thus have no power to enact or enforce legislation or policy, their solo visits to other countries are typically about goodwill gestures and publicity, not substantive diplomatic efforts. The motive assigned by Morris for Hillary’s travels abroad — that her husband sought to get her “out of the way” to avoid negative press in the U.S. — is a subjective one for which Morris presented no evidence. Bill says: Hillary was an excellent Senator who kept fighting for children’s and women’s issues. The facts are: Other than totally meaningless legislation like changing the names on courthouses and post offices, she passed only four substantive pieces of legislation. One set up a national park in Puerto Rico. A second provided respite care for family members helping their relatives through Alzheimer’s or other conditions. And two were routine bills to aid 9-11 victims and responders which were sponsored by the entire NY delegation. Hillary Clinton was elected as U.S. senator representing the state of New York in 2000 and served in that capacity for eight years, from 3 January 2001 until 21 January 2009. A full track record of her legislative tenure is available on Congress.gov and shows that she sponsored only three bills that became law, all of them relatively minor: A bill to establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in the State of New York, a bill to name a post office the Major George Quamo Post Office Building, and a bill to designate a highway in New York as the Timothy J. Russert highway. Whether Hillary Clinton’s achievements in that elective office were more substantive or meaningless is a primarily subjective judgment, as sponsoring bills that become law is only one metric by which the effectiveness of legislators might be measured. Members of Congress might also be measured by their efforts in introducing and sponsoring bills that fail (but prompt the subsequent passage of similar legislation), by co-sponsoring successful bills (which Senator Clinton did 74 times), by introducing amendments to bills, by lobbying colleagues to vote in favor of pieces of legislation, by rallying public support in favor of particular policies, and other means.
|
9391
|
DMAU: MALE BIRTH CONTROL PILL OFFERS 'UNPRECEDENTED' STUDY RESULTS
|
The story focuses on the results of a month-long trial of an experimental “male birth control pill.” The story does a fair job of describing the study, and discusses potential harms. However, the story does not place the new research findings into context regarding the broader field of research into developing a male birth control pill. Perhaps most importantly, however, the story does not give readers much information about how effective the pill may be at actually preventing pregnancy. Birth control pills for women have been a widely-used and valuable family planning tool for decades, but they have limitations: They place the responsibility for avoiding pregnancy solely on the woman, and not all women are able to take birth control pills without experiencing unwanted side effects. The development of a “male pill” would allow men to share responsibility for family-planning purposes and would allow couples to take advantage of “the pill” even if the woman is not comfortable taking a pill herself. In short, a male pill could have significant ramifications in regard to quality of life for many people. However, the idea of a male pill has also been around for decades, with claims of breakthroughs in the field dating back almost 40 years. Nonetheless, a safe, effective male birth control pill has yet to make it to the marketplace. This story does a good job of describing the latest study in a long line of related research — but fails to place it in the context of that long line of research. That context is valuable for understanding what makes this latest research novel. In addition, it’s not clear when (if ever) this technology may be available to consumers.
|
mixture
|
contraceptives
|
Cost is not discussed. We understand that the pill is not close to coming to market, but there should be some discussion of costs — even if it is only to mention the costs of birth control pills for women and the fact that the costs of the male pill are not yet clear. The story does not quantify benefits in any meaningful way. Preliminary clinical trials, like this one, are primarily aimed at determining whether a given medical treatment is safe. That said, if a story is focused on the development of a male birth control pill, presumably the story needs to address the extent to which the pill may actually work. The story notes that “the once-daily prototype pill suppressed certain hormones to the low levels you’d expect to see with effective longer-term contraceptives.” What does that mean? The story later mentions “testosterone and two [other] hormones needed for the production of sperm.” Which hormones are we talking about? How low would the levels have to be? How low were the levels found in the study? And to what extent do those lower hormone levels reduce or eliminate sperm count? And most importantly, the story carried no caveat that the pregnancy rate is still unknown. If it actually works as a contraceptive remains to be seen. The story notes the range of side effects found among study participants, though some of the characterizations appear to lack context. For example, the story mentions that some subjects experienced “mild weight gain.” Based on information in the study abstract, the mean weight gain was 1.5 to 3.9 kilograms. Given that 3.9 kilograms is 8.5 pounds, that’s not inconsiderable. i.e., many men may balk at the idea of gaining more than eight pounds in a month. It’s also not clear what sort of weight we’re talking about. Muscle? Fat? Water retention? This may be particularly relevant (and worth articulating clearly) for a medical intervention aimed specifically at sexually active adults. By the same token, the story notes that “a minority of participants did experience decreased libido during the study.” According to the study abstract, eight of the study participants who received the drug experienced decreased libido. Given that only 83 people completed the study, and that some of those study participants received a placebo, that means that more than 10 percent of men who received the drug experienced decreased libido. Again, this seems particularly relevant for a drug aimed solely at people who are planning to have sex. In short, the story did not overlook any of the potential harms discussed in the abstract, but could have done a better job of placing those potential harms in relevant context. How appealing is a birth control pill for men if it makes more than 10 percent of them less interested in sex in the first place? The story accurately describes the study as being a month-long trial, with a control, involving 83 patients. It could have done more to explain why a lot more testing is needed, though. There is no disease mongering. The story does not cite any independent sources, nor does it note that two of the study co-authors have ties to pharmaceutical companies — including a company that focuses on an oral testosterone replacement therapy. The story does refer to other medical treatments aimed at male birth control that are under development, namely “a long-lasting injection or topical gel.” So we’ll give it credit here. We wish it had offered slightly more information here (e.g., are both of those technologies also hormone-based?). The story does state that “Longer-term studies are the next step toward a once-daily male contraceptive pill.” However, most people are not familiar with how clinical trials work. A little additional information here would have gone a long way. Realistically, these “longer-term studies” will take years — and that’s if everything goes perfectly. Readers expecting to see a male birth control pill in the relatively near future will certainly be disappointed. A 1980 journal article trumpeted “China Invents Male Birth Control Pill.” 2003 saw the publication of a book titled “The Male Pill: A Biography of a Technology in the Making.” As recently as 2016, news releases have talked about research such as “male birth control shots” that “prevent pregnancy” (we reviewed that one). In short, research into pharmaceutical contraceptives for men has been an active field for decades — and premature announcements of breakthroughs date back at least 38 years. This story quotes a researcher involved in the recent study as saying the findings are a “major step forward” and are “unprecedented in the development of a prototype male pill.” But it doesn’t tell us why. What makes this study, or this pill, different? This gets a satisfactory rating, but barely. The bulk of the story appears to be drawn from a news release. However, the story also includes information not found in the release, but which can be found in the online study abstract.
|
27150
|
The DOJ changed the definition of domestic violence on their website without explanation.
|
The Violence Against Women Act, which was extended by President Obama in 2013, expired at midnight on 22 December 2018 as a result of the 2018-19 federal government shutdown over funding for President Trump’s proposed border wall.
|
true
|
Politics
|
On 21 January 2019, Slate published a article headlined “The Trump Administration Quietly Changed the Definition of Domestic Violence and We Have No Idea What For.” That story highlighted significant changes to the definition of domestic violence appearing on website of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Violence Against Women office. An archived version of that website from April 2018 previously defined domestic violence as: A pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone. By contrast, the current version of that same website encompasses only acts of physical violence under the definition of domestic violence: The term “domestic violence” includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction receiving grant monies, or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction. We reached out to the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) for an explanation on what motivated the change in the definition and whether that change was spurred by an actual change in law or policy. We received a response from Allison Randall, Chief of Staff for the OVW, that did not adequately answer either question. Her response is reproduced in full below: The Department is strongly committed to enforcing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and combating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking, and to do so in a manner that is consistent with the law enacted by Congress. Domestic violence is clearly defined in VAWA, and OVW has always used the statutory definition in carrying out its mission. By following the statute, the Department ensures the funds made available by Congress are employed in the most effective manner possible to reduce violence and to assist crime victims. In fiscal year 2018, OVW awarded a record $467 million under VAWA. President Trump’s request for fiscal year 2019 OVW funding was the largest ever requested. OVW discretionary grantees serve an average of 125,000 victims every six months and formula subgrantees serve over 400,000 victims each year. VAWA funding supports victim advocates who answer over a million hotline calls and provides over 2 million housing and shelter bed-nights for victims and their children annually. Every year, VAWA-funded professionals assist victims in securing more than 200,000 protection orders. The narrower definition employed in the current version of the OVW website stems from the definition provided in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as it relates to disbursing funds for VAWA grant programs. While it is true this narrow definition has not changed as it relates to the VAWA, it is unclear why the DOJ found it necessary to remove information about non-physical intimate partner violence. Writing in Slate, Natalie Nanasi, a Professor of Law and the Director of the Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center for Victims of Crimes Against Women at Southern Methodist University, argued that: A domestic violence relationship rarely begins with physical violence, much less violence that rises to the level of a crime. If you were punched on a first date, odds are there wouldn’t be a second. Intimate partner abuse is insidious: Emotional and psychological abuse escalates to physical violence as an abuser’s need and/or ability to exert power and control increases. In the United States today, more than half of female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner. If we do not acknowledge the “small” things — yelling or screaming, name-calling, and controlling or monitoring communication and social media — victims may not realize they are in danger until it is too late. In our response to the statement from OVW, we suggested that they had not provided any explanation for the change to their website and requested further clarification; if we receive such clarification, we will update our story.
|
27457
|
A photograph shows insects embedded in a dog's mouth.
|
A shocking image was circulated with a warning to pet owners to check their dogs' mouths for beetles.
|
true
|
Fauxtography, asian beetle, ladybugs
|
In mid-November 2015, a photograph purportedly showing what resemble common ladybugs and Japanese beetles embedded on the roof of a dog’s mouth began circulating via Facebook: Most of the users who shared the above-displayed image on Facebook included a variation of the following message: SOMEBODY ASKED ME TO PASS THIS ALONG …. Japanese Beetles and Lady Bugs can attach to the roof of your dog’s mouth, and make him/HER become ill. Symptoms include excessive drooling. Check your dog’s mouth and remove any insects. While we haven’t been able to identify who the “Somebody” is in the above-quoted Facebook post, a message posted by the Hands & Paws group did provide some information about the image’s origin: This posted photograph is recent — posted by a vet tech and when I saw the photo started doing research – because I too thought there was no way the photo could be real. There is no photoshop — there is no hidden agenda. It’s just me. The Founder of a tiny little dog rescue in Florida finding the photo and the facts behind the photo amazing, astonishing and wanted to share the information with my fellow dog lovers. We reached out to Hands & Paws for more information about the image without results, but multiple incidents are on record of beetles embedding in dogs’ mouths, such as this one from November 2016: Frances Jiriks brought her pooch Bailey into Hoisington Veterinary Hospital after he refused to eat, she told KAKE. He was also foaming at the mouth and a bit lethargic, the dog owner said. When they arrived at the animal clinic, Dr. Lindsay Mitchell discovered between 30 and 40 lady beetles clinging to the roof of Bailey’s mouth. The beetles look nearly identical to ladybugs though they secrete a mucus which allows them to stick, as they did inside Bailey’s mouth. The bugs were successfully removed from the dog’s mouth, but Mitchell warned their presence could pose a variety of health risks to man’s best friend. [Video here] In 2008, Lindsey Derek published an article in the journal Toxicon about the subject: A six-year old mixed-breed dog presented with severe trauma to the oral mucosa suggestive of chemical burn. Sixteen Harmonia axyridis (Coccinellidae) were removed from the oral cavity, which revealed trauma consistent with chemical burn. The beetles had become embedded in mucosa covering the hard palate and required manual removal. A diagnosis of beetle induced chemical burn was warranted and consistent with the nature of the chemical constituents of H. axyridis hemolymph. That article also included a photograph of the beetles in the dog’s mouth, which closely resembled the image circulated in November 2015:
|
9159
|
Patients with drug-resistant malaria cured by plant therapy developed at WPI
|
In an African health clinic, 18 patients who did not respond to conventional malaria therapy received tablets made from dried leaves artemisia annua (DLA). The patients, who were described as near death, all recovered according to a case report from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The news release on this case series is short on typical medical measurements, and we wish it had included details on how long the patients were followed. Did their “cures” remain for months or years? We also wonder if there is any financial benefit to the university or researchers if the new therapy were adopted. The release does not explain. Finding a low-cost way to truly cure patients with malaria would be a stunning development that could save 429,000 deaths per year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization estimates. But this single report from a clinic about 18 patients is not enough to trumpet a cure, and we wish the release had taken more care to provide additional caveats. If this drug is used as the first line treatment, it is very likely that the parasite would eventually become resistant to the drug.
|
mixture
|
artemisia annua plant,malaria,Worcester Polytechnic Institute
|
The release mentions this would be an “inexpensive treatment option” and goes into some detail about the economics of the region where the drug was tested and the advantage of a low cost therapy. “Another advantage of DLA over conventional malaria treatments is its low cost and the relative simplicity of its manufacture, Weathers said. While the processes for manufacturing ACT is costlier and requires a higher degree of expertise, producing DLA tablets can be accomplished with simpler equipment and a modest amount of training. Growing Artemisia annua and producing and testing the tablets, Weathers noted, are ideal local business that can provide jobs in impoverished areas and greatly expand access to antimalarial therapy.” Normally we like to see specific costs but in this case, an attempt is made to discuss the challenges and opportunities of developing a low cost therapy which seems appropriate here. The story poses a hopeful scenario, but does not back up the claim of “cure” with the kind of numbers or measurements that we usually expect to cement the credibility of the evidence. Here’s what the story says about 18 patients. “After five days of treatment with tablets made from only the dried and powered leaves of Artemisia (which has been prepared and analyzed using methods developed by Weathers and postdoctoral fellow Melissa Towler), all 18 patients fully recovered. Laboratory tests showed they had no parasites remaining in their blood. (Weathers noted more than 100 other drug-resistant patients also have been successfully treated with DLA tablets.) These 18 patients were dying,” Weathers said. “So to see 100 percent recover, even the child who had lapsed into a coma, was just amazing. It’s a small study, but the results are powerful.” So the information provided suggests a strong likelihood of success. However, the release contradicts itself in a single paragraph. While it says more comprehensive clinical trials are warranted, in the very next sentence it states that the drug should be “rapidly incorporated” in areas with drug-resistant malaria. We also aren’t told which test or tests were used to determine the absence of the malarial parasites and how sensitive they are. As testing technology advances, researchers are aware that it’s possible for malaria parasites to be present but undetected using current standard tests. A word of caution about the potential to miss these “hidden parasites” would have been helpful. In addition, another research institution states on its website that when artemisia annua has been used to treat malaria “recurrence is more likely than with conventional antimalarial treatment.” We expect releases to state “there are no known harms” if that is the case, but this story does not mention potential harms at all. The story speculates that the stronger value of the dried-leaf product may come from other phytochemicals (not named) that are in the leaves. What if one or more of those have other impacts on patients months from now? Just because a drug is “natural” doesn’t mean it is free of side effects. Memorial Sloan Kettering has studied artemisia annua and states that people taking antiseizure medications should avoid artemisia since it can induce seizures and make these medications less effective. The release does a decent job explaining the study protocol. Since this is a study of patients who were likely to die without the treatment, this could be considered good evidence. However, the report focused on just 18 cases but the researchers mentioned they’d used this drug in 100 other patients as well. The response to the drug from those patients was not documented, suggesting there may be some serious side effects or other limitations with the study. There was no disease mongering. The context provided about treatment-resistant malaria was helpful. The release is wise to tell us that author Weathers is herself part of a project by the Polytechnic Institute to create processing techniques for the plant under study. But we are confused about patents held by Weathers and some of the other authors. Is there any profit possible for the authors, or WPI, if widespread use of the tablets was to begin? If there is no conflict, the release could have said “The authors, while they hold patents related to the plant, do not have any potential profits or conflict of interest.” The release states all patients had previously received artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), followed by intravenously administered artesunate, a medication for severe malaria, but did not respond to either. The study is perhaps different than most because these patients had exhausted other therapies available to them and received this new therapy under experimental “compassionate use” rules. These tablets are only available as part of experimental compassionate use. We think the release makes it clear they aren’t widely available. The release quotes the researchers as saying they are the first to study and report on administering these dried leaves in tablet form. It explains that one of the ingredients in the plant is already a component of a drug administered to patients, but the dried leaves seem to hold extra potency. The release uses the word “cure” in the headline and text without giving clear evidence that this is a universal cure for drug-resistant malaria. The release doesn’t tell us how long patients were followed after treatment, and we don’t know if they relapsed months or years later.
|
4099
|
Scientist: Complaints about rodent infestation led to firing.
|
A New Mexico scientist says she was fired from a New Mexico Tech lab job after complaining about a rodent infestation.
|
true
|
Environment, General News, Infectious diseases, New Mexico
|
Chemical engineer Glenanne Johnson was terminated from her position as a lab manager at the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center following her complaints about mouse droppings and dead rodents, KOB-TV reports. Johnson said the work environment got her sick and she later tested positive for Hantavirus — an infectious disease spread by rodents. The university would not comment on why she is no longer employed. But lab director Michael Stanley told the station when Johnson first reported the problem and shared pictures of the working conditions, he temporarily shut down the labs. “We want to respond if we see a problem. We want to take care of it and fix it because it’s very important to us that everybody go home safely every day,” said Stanley.
|
29450
|
"Donald Trump said veterans suffering from PTSD are ""weak,"" ""unfit,"" and ""can't handle"" military service."
|
Most critical reporting on the event elided Trump’s key contextual assertion that “we’re losing so many great people that can be taken care of if they have proper care,” So while it’s true Trump described present veterans as “strong” during the town hall event, he didn’t also describe veterans dealing with mental health issues as weak or unfit.
|
false
|
Politics Ballot Box, allen b. west, donald trump, misleading
|
After a Retired American Warriors town hall campaign event was held on 3 October 2016 in Herndon, Virginia, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was widely accused of insultingly asserting that veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are weak. Occupy Democrats was one of many political outlets claiming Trump had called veterans with PTSD weak and had insulted those who required mental health services after serving, and that the news media largely ignored hist comments: In an exchange missed by most of the media, Trump insulted all of our veterans who have suffered psychological trauma during their overseas tours by saying that only weak soldiers suffer from PTSD, and that therefore our “strong veterans” don’t require psychological counseling when they return home. The Washington Post also weighed in, framing Trump’s comments as a “gaffe”: There will be plenty of quibbling in the hours ahead, but Donald Trump clearly just created a new batch of problems for himself with his comments [on 3 October 2016], in which he suggested that veterans dealing with mental health problems aren’t “strong” and “can’t handle it.” The media clearly hadn’t “missed” the exchange, as numerous news outlets covered the controversy. The claim about what Trump said was one bolstered largely by its backlash, but much of the audience hadn’t read or watched video of the town hall event in its entirety to determine whether Trump had really described veterans with PTSD as “weak.” Former congressman and retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Allen West was present at the event and strongly disputed media accounts of the exchange, which began with a question from a Retired American Warriors town hall attendee: Good morning Mr. Trump. As you mentioned there is a tragic suicide epidemic among our veterans, among our military and their families. While the military and the V.A. are working on the problem, their efforts continue to fall short. There are a number of faith-based programs outside the DOD and the V.A., that are continuing to be successful in stopping suicide and divorce rates. Spiritual fitness works on these types of problems. The government is not taking advantage of these programs and services. So my question for you is, when you become president, will you support and fund a more holistic approach to solve the problems and issues of veteran suicide, PTSD, TBI and other related military mental and behavioral health issues and will you take steps to restore the historic role of our Chaplains and the importance of spiritual fitness and spiritual resiliency programs? Trump’s complete response focused largely on committing to an increase in veterans’ services, not on deriding disabled veterans. He indeed flattered “folks in this room” for being “strong,” but he also expressed empathy at length for those military personnel who had experienced “horror stories” which “nobody would believe”: Yes I would. Look we need that so badly and when you … when you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over and you’re strong and you can handle it. But a lot of people can’t handle it. And they see horror stories. They see events that you couldn’t see in a movie, nobody would believe it. Now we need a mental health help and medical. And it’s one of the things that I think is least addressed and is one of the things that — like your question — one of the things that I hear the most about when I go around and talk to the veterans. So we’re going to have a very, very robust, level of performance having to do with mental health. We are losing so many great people that can be taken care of if they have proper care. You know when you hear the 22 suicides a day it’s a big part of your question. But when you hear the 22 suicides a day that should never be. That should never be. So we’re going to be addressing that very strongly and the whole mental health issue is going to be a very important issue when I take over and the V.A. is going to be fixed in so many ways but that’s going to be one of the ways we’re going to help. And that’s in many respects going to be the number one thing we have to do. Because I think it’s really been left behind. OK? Thank you very much. Trump’s remarks (at approximately the 0:55 minute mark) were not derisive: he maintained that veterans’ mental health care was one of the issues he felt was “least addressed,” and he held that he commonly received similar questions when meeting with service members.
|
8673
|
Indonesia transport minister confirmed to have coronavirus as cases climb.
|
Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has been hospitalized in Jakarta after he contracted coronavirus, a government official said on Saturday, the most high-profile case so far to be confirmed in the Southeast Asian country.
|
true
|
Health News
|
Earlier on Saturday, Jakarta’s governor said the city will close all schools for at least two weeks to curb the spread of coronavirus, as the first cases were also reported in other parts of the archipelago. Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, reported on Saturday 27 more coronavirus cases, bringing the total confirmed infections to 96 and deaths to five. Sumadi’s family had given approval for the announcement after the minister had been on “the front line and a very important part of containing the impact of COVID-19”, Pratikno, who is state secretary in charge of administrative support for the office of president, told a news conference. The condition of Sumadi, 63, who had attended a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, was showing an improvement, said Albertus Budi Sulistya, deputy head of the Gatot Soebroto Hospital. “He was initially being treated for other illnesses in a private hospital until he had difficulty breathing, then some medical equipment had to be brought in,” said Sulistya. The health ministry had conducted some tracing of people Sumadi had recently met and “would immediately begin testing as required”, said Pratikno, who uses one name. The transport minister had sat in a room with number of ministers and the army head during the cabinet meeting earlier this week, which was also attended by President Joko Widodo. While most confirmed coronavirus cases have been clustered in Jakarta, cases were also reported on Saturday in cities in western and central Java, Manado on Sulawesi island and Pontianak on Borneo island. “We must massively, in an integrated way and without panic, search and find and isolate positive cases,” health ministry official Achmad Yurianto told a news briefing. Doni Monardo, who leads Indonesia’s task force on coronavirus, said testing will be increased and struggling medical staff will be assisted by medical students and volunteers. As he announced school closures, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said cases had been detected in many parts of the city of 10 million people. “What must be done right now is to reduce interactions between residents,” Baswedan said, urging people to stay at home and not travel unless necessary. Indonesia confirmed its first cases of the virus only last week while some countries in the region had reported scores of cases far earlier, raising concerns among medical experts about infections either not being reported or going undetected. The central government has faced criticism for withholding information regarding the spread of the virus.
|
30356
|
"An image shows an advertisement for a ""legally edible"" meat product called ""boned rolled pig."
|
Either way, we wouldn’t want it as a sandwich ingredient.
|
false
|
Fauxtography
|
Bologna and prune sandwiches? Cherry and ketchup salad? Ham and bananas hollandaise? “The past is a foreign country,” wrote L.P. Hartley in The Go-Between. “They do things differently there.” Humanity being the omnivorous species it is, nowhere are these differences more immediately obvious than in food choices between then (whenever “then” was) and “now” (whenever “now” is). In this spirit, American menus during the middle decades of the twentieth century — chock-full of questionable cuisines as they were — made it difficult to immediately know the answer to a burning question: Could people really once buy a “legally edible” product called “boned rolled pig” from grocery chains? An image purportedly showing a vintage advertisement for the “institutional meat food” started appearing in various corners of the Internet in 2018: Although the advertisement was filled with jokes (would a company really advertise a pork product as “fire resistant” or admit that this “legally edible” food contained a minimum amount of vermin droppings? ), some viewers conceded that it could possibly just another remnant of America’s strange product history. There was a time, after all, when both cigarettes and cocaine were considered medicinal. However, in this case, the image is a hoax. It was created by Cris Shapan, a comedian and graphic designer who has a penchant and talent for creating fake vintage advertisements. Although Shapan’s fans are typically aware that his artwork is intended to be humorous in nature, these images are occasionally shared without attribution or context and thus eventually get mistaken for genuine. In April 2016, for instance, we debunked another one of Shapan’s faux advertisements featuring a product called “Winking Glue.” The fake “boned rolled pig” advertisement appears to be based on a genuine ad for a genuine vintage product with an equally strange name: The original image comes from Flickr user mikeyashworth, who said that it appeared in a McNeill’s leaflet from 1962: “McNeill’s were founded in 1837 and manufactured roofing felts and insulation materials. This 1962 leaflet is for the composite insulation material Slagbestos — that didn’t contain asbestos, quite a rarity in such materials. Anyhow, what a cracking name!” We haven’t been able to trace down the original leaflet yet, but McNeill’s was a real company and they truly did sell an insulation material called “Slagbestos.” Architectural historian Miles Lewis mentions the company and its Slagbestos product: Mineral wool became generally available in the 1870s. As a material for lagging boilers and steam pipes it is said to have been also produced in Wales from about 1840,39 but for practical purposes it was a much later development, and was reported to be a German invention of the 1870s. Slag wool was produced at blast furnaces in Osnabrück and Zwickau, by sending the blast of air or steam through the molten slag, producing a white material like spun glass. The maker was apparently Krupp, of Essen, and the material, known as Schlackenwolle, is said to have been of poor quality, and to have rapidly crumbled to powder. A type somewhat similar to the German wool was produced in the United States, as ‘mineral wool’ … The first reference to the use of slag wool in Australia was in 1887, when it was ‘substituted for the usual pugging’ in the floors, being placed upon light boards, presumably spanning between joists at some distance from the floor surface. The origin of the material used is unknown, but it is likely to have been British. By 1901 slag wool or ‘silicate cotton’ was being made by D Anderson & Son of London (apparently the successors of David Anderson of Belfast); J C Broadbent & Co Ltd, of Redcar and Hazlehead near Sheffield (who cited contracts going back to 1893); Frederick Jones & Co of London; and F McNeill & Co of London, with works at Kirkintilloch near Glasgow. By the 1920s McNeills manufactured ‘Slagbestos’, though it is unclear whether it in fact contained asbestos. A number of images from Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History also mention McNeill’s patented “slag wool,” which is an insulator or packing material also called “mineral wool” or “rock wool,” and which is created using blast furnace byproducts:
|
29761
|
Linda Collins-Smith, a former Arkansas politician who was shot to death in June 2019, was about to testify against Hillary Clinton.
|
Every sudden death of an Arkansan or a politician is not somehow tied to the Clintons.
|
false
|
Politics
|
In June 2019, Arkansas resident Linda Collins-Smith, who served a single term in the Arkansas state House of Representatives and a single term in the Arkansas state Senate, was reportedly found dead of a gunshot wound inside her home in the city Pocahontas. Arkansas police said they are investigating her death as a homicide. Any death of a political figure in Arkansas, regardless of cause, is typically quickly linked by conspiracy mongers to the decades-old “Clinton body count” rumor, which holds that Bill and Hillary Clinton have for years been involved (with impunity) in the murder of scores of people possessed of incriminating information about them. Typically, the deceased are claimed to have been on the verge of testifying against Bill or Hillary Clinton at the time of their demises, thus necessitating hasty bump-offs. (Why the powerful forces behind the Clintons constantly risk exposure by waiting until things reach a critical juncture before they act remains unexplained.) So it was with Collins-Smith, who quickly became the subject of online claims that she was “set to testify against Hillary Clinton before a grand jury” within the upcoming week: In reality, Collins-Smith — who no longer held any political or public office — neither had any substantive connections to the Clintons nor was investigating them at the time of her death. Likewise, no grand jury activity regarding the Clintons was taking place in Arkansas in June 2019. This story had nothing whatsoever to do with the Clintons at all other than that it coincidentally took place in Bill Clinton’s home state. Although it may not have been the first or only expression of this particular iteration, one japing tweet perfectly encapsulated how quickly and easily such conspiracy canards originate and spread after events such as unexpected deaths:
|
19827
|
"Cuts in local government and school funding in John Kasich’s budget caused ""many communities to seek school levies, local tax increases, layoffs."
|
Ohio Democratic Party says Kasich budget forced local cuts, tax increases, layoffs
|
mixture
|
Ohio, State Budget, Ohio Democratic Party,
|
"After a recent appearance on NBC's ""Meet the Press"" in which Gov. John Kasich said he had balanced Ohio's budget and cut taxes, the Ohio Democratic Party issued a statement that his budget had negative consequences for local communities. ""Kasich slashed local government and school funding to the bone,"" the statement said, ""causing many communities to seek school levies, local tax increases, layoffs"" to offset budget cuts. PolitiFact Ohio decided to check out the claim. The governor's office answered with its own statement. It said the number of local government workers in Ohio has increased under Kasich after decreasing under his Democratic predecessor, Ted Strickland, and that the number of local tax issues has declined. PolitiFact Ohio was intrigued. Kasich and other Republicans often talk about shrinking the size of government. We found he was accurate, three months ago, when he said the number of state workers in Ohio had gone down. So it was something like a ""man bites dog"" story for him to boast that local government employment increased on his watch after declining under a Democratic administration. Kasich's spokesman referred us to the employment database of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. It showed that the number of local government workers in Ohio in July 2011, when the Kasich budget went into effect, was 520,600. It was 526,200 in preliminary numbers for May, the most recent number available -- an increase of 5,600 workers. The number stood at 554,700 in July 2007, when the first Strickland budget went into effect, and 523,400 in June 2011 -- a decrease of 31,300. The decrease continued until last January, when it reached 520,000, the lowest level since 1999. The peak of local government employment in Ohio was 560,600, reached in July 2004, according to the BLS. Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols also pointed to the local election tallies on the Ohio secretary of state website. The figures show ""tax issues were at the lowest levels since 2003,"" he said, countering the claim that Kasich's budget led to local tax increases. We looked, though we find it difficult to draw any conclusions about local finances from a simple count of the number of tax issues on local ballots. For consistency of comparison, we looked at November general-election tallies. (There has been one November general election and one spring primary since Kasich's budget went into effect.) What we found was a general consistency in the number of tax issues: a total of 1,009 last November; 1,059 in November 2010; 1,100 in November 2009; 1,053 in November 2008, and 995 in 2007 -- the lowest level in the years for which a local issues summary was available. Kasich's two-year budget, signed a year ago, cut state funding for local governments by about $630 million over the two years, and cut funding for schools by about $700 million. The governor challenged local governments to be more efficient and creative to deal with the cuts without raising taxes. Ohio Democratic Party Spokesman Jerid Kurtz cited 10 municipalities and school districts looking at layoffs and tax hikes that officials blamed on the funding cuts. One was the city of Lima. Its finance director said it had a balanced budget as recently as 2008, but faced a $2 million deficit in its general fund, largely because of state budget cuts, despite ""reducing the general fund consistently for the past 10 years,"" the Lima News reported. Another was Sycamore Township, near Cincinnati. It laid off most of its firefighters in May 2012 because, township officials said, state budget cuts would eliminate half of the community's general fund revenue. A third was the Berea school district, which passed a 3.9-mill operating levy in March 2012 after reducing its budget by $5.1 million for reasons that included the loss of state dollars. According to the Ohio School Boards Association, school levies passed in March 2012 at an ""exceptionally high"" rate of 74 percent, the highest level since November 2000. The usual passage rate for school levies in Ohio is about 54 percent, the group said. The growth in local government employment ""is more likely due to the Ohio recovery that began a full year before Kasich took office,"" Kurtz said. ""There is absolutely no proof Kasich's budget is the cause."" Seeking further perspective, we called the Ohio Municipal League, which lobbies for cities and villages. Communications director Kent Scarrett said he ""certainly"" agreed ""there is more of an uptick in school levies"" because of state funding cuts, and said the full impact has not yet been felt. The biggest cuts in direct payments to municipalities through the Local Government Fund will come in year two of Kasich's budget in 2013. The elimination of the estate tax in 2013, which is also part of the budget, will further reduce revenue to local governments. ""They're going to be up against it next year,"" Scarrett said. ""In 2013 the cuts are going to be much more profound. It's kind of scary."" That's looking into the future, which we won't do. Let's get back to the statement we're checking: ""Kasich slashed local government and school funding to the bone,"" causing many communities to seek tax increases and lay off workers. The claim is partially accurate. Kasich's budget did cut funding for local governments significantly. Some school districts and municipalities have sought, considered or passed tax issues to deal with budget shortfalls to which the funding cuts have contributed. And the Ohio Democrats can provide anecdotal evidence that some budget shortfalls have threatened or led to layoffs. But the claim also overlooks important details that give the it context. The number of local government jobs in Ohio has actually increased since Kasich's budget was enacted, after dipping to a 12-year low. And the number of local tax issues to appear on ballots across Ohio has been steady for several years. Further, one of the outside experts we talked to says it is too soon to tell the full impact of cuts in funding because the biggest cuts through the Local Government Fund haven’t kicked in yet, nor has the elimination of the estate tax. On the Truth-O-Meter, the claim rates ."
|
528
|
Four killed in attacks against Ebola response centers in Congo.
|
Militia fighters in eastern Congo killed four people and injured several others in attacks on two Ebola response centers on Thursday, in what responders described as a serious setback to efforts to contain the epidemic.
|
true
|
Health News
|
Violence and unrest have hampered the health authorities’ response to the second worst Ebola outbreak on record, which has killed 2,199 people since it was announced in August 2018. Mai Mai militia fighters and local residents have attacked health facilities, sometimes because they believe Ebola does not exist, in other cases because of resentment that they have not benefited from the influx of donor funding. In the latest such violence, Mai Mai fighters simultaneously attacked Ebola centers in Mangina in North Kivu and Byakoto in Ituri, according to Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of Ebola response for the Democratic Republic of Congo. “It is a blow to the Ebola response because we were eradicating the disease. These attacks are challenging the efforts to date,” Muyembe told Reuters. The World Health Organization said the dead included a member of a vaccination team, two drivers and a police officer. It said none of its own staff were killed and that most of the five people injured were from Congo’s Ministry of Health. Health workers have lost access to the remaining strongholds of the virus in recent weeks due to deteriorating security, said Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies program, describing the latest attack as the deadliest yet. “The interruption of outbreak response has led to a decrease in over 50% of alerts, a collapse in vaccination, a decrease in contact tracing,” he told a news conference. “Ebola was retreating and now it is likely to resurge,” he said. New infections have been on the decline since August, with just 70 cases identified in all of October, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Monday. Thursday’s attacks came amid a spate of massacres committed by suspected Islamist rebels in the region, who are believed to have killed at least 80 people in the past month, according to U.N. figures. This week at least four people were also killed during protests fueled by anger at the perceived failure of the army and U.N. peacekeepers to protect civilians from the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). As a result, the WHO and the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday evacuated dozens of their staff working on the Ebola epidemic from the town of Beni. WHO staff have now been relocated from Byakoto also, Ryan said.
|
33617
|
Products from Pepsi and other major food producers are 'manufactured using the tissue of aborted human babies.'
|
Senomyx did not respond to our request for additional information.
|
false
|
Politics
|
In April 2015, the quack web site Natural News rebeat the drum of a several-year-old contoversy by publishing a misleading article (which was republished by a number of other equally disreputable web sites) holding that major food companies such as Pepsico sell products “manufactured using the tissue of aborted human babies”: Every time you purchase mass-produced processed “food” from the likes of Kraft, PepsiCo, or Nestle, you’re choosing, whether you realize it or not, to feed your family not only genetically engineered poisons and chemical additives, but also various flavoring agents manufactured using the tissue of aborted human babies. It’s true: A company based out of California, known as Senomyx, is in the business of using aborted embryonic cells to test fake flavoring chemicals, both savory and sweet, which are then added to things like soft drinks, candy and cookies. And Senomyx has admittedly partnered with a number of major food manufacturers to lace its cannibalistic additives into all sorts of factory foods scarfed down by millions of American consumers every single day. Other similar articles purport to offer a “List Of Companies Using Fetal Cells From Aborted Babies To Flavour Products.” In order to debunk such claims, we need first provide a couple of definitions: A controversy over Senomyx originated with the pro-life organization Children of God for Life back in March 2011, which maintained that Senomyx used HEK 293 in its flavor ingredient development efforts (citing a 2002 paper by company researchers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as evidence). That organization called for a boycott of major food companies (including Nestle, Campbell’s Soup, Kraft Foods, and PepsiCo) that had partnered with Senomyx: Senomyx website states that “The company’s key flavor programs focus on the discovery and development of savory, sweet and salt flavor ingredients that are intended to allow for the reduction of MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products … Using isolated human taste receptors, we created proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor.” Senomyx notes their collaborators provide them research and development funding plus royalties on sales of products using their flavor ingredients. “What they do not tell the public is that they are using HEK 293 — human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors,” stated Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director for Children of God for Life, a pro-life watch dog group that has been monitoring the use of aborted fetal material in medical products and cosmetics for years. “They could have easily chosen COS (monkey) cells, Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, insect cells or other morally obtained human cells expressing the G protein for taste receptors,” Vinnedge added. It’s important to note here that — whatever one might think of fetal stem cell research in general, and regardless of whether or not Senomyx uses HEK 293-derived cells in its development efforts — neither Pepsi nor any other U.S. food company is manufacturing or selling any consumable products “that are actually made using the cell tissue of unborn babies that were murdered through abortion.” What we’re talking about here is a cell line derived from a single (healthy, aborted) fetus over forty years ago: claiming that current food products employing flavorings derived from research based on the HEK 293 cell line “are actually made using the cell tissue of unborn babies” is like saying that possessing a digitized image of a photocopy of a picture of a Beethoven manuscript is the same as “owning a document in Beethoven’s own handwriting” — the original is not present in substance, only in a multi-generational, representational form. CBS News noted such in a mid-2011 report on the Senomyx controversy (which for some reason primarily focused on PepsiCo): [Senomyx] appears to be engineering HEK cells to function like the taste-receptor cells we have in our mouth. This way, Senomyx can test millions of substances to see if they work as different types of taste enhancers without subjecting human volunteers to endless taste tests. To non-scientists this may sound a bit strange, but the reality is that HEK 293 cells are widely used in pharmaceutical research, helping scientists create vaccines as well as drugs like those for rheumatoid arthritis. The difference here is that Senomyx’s work for Pepsi is one of the first times the cells have (potentially) been used to create a food or beverage. (And it’s important to note that no part of a human kidney cell are ever a part of Senomyx’s taste enhancers or any finished food products.) For Debi Vinnedge, who runs the anti-abortion group Children of God for Life, that doesn’t matter. “It’s the eeew factor. It strikes a really strong reaction in people,” she said in an interview. Even though HEK 293 cells trace their origin to a single fetal kidney back in the 1970s — everything since has come from cultured cell lines — Vinnedge considers their use unethical because it indirectly creates a market for aborted fetuses and encourages scientists to hunt for new embryonic cell lines. She argues that Senomyx could use other, non-fetus-based cell lines, such as those from animals. Science and medicine writer Matthew Herper offered a similar explanation in Forbes: The fetus-derived cell line we’re talking about was created around the time I was born. This is 35-year-old technology. And it is widely used in cell biology. And there is no way you’ll consume them or that the cells would cause any health problems. The cells, called HEK 293 cells (that stands for human embryonic kidney) were taken from an aborted fetus in the 1970s in the Netherlands. Bits of chopped up DNA from the adenovirus, a virus that causes a pretty severe cold. The kidney cells were forced to take up bits of DNA using a technique invented in 1973 that used a calcium solution. The resulting cells don’t act much like human cells at all, but they are very easy to work with and have become workhorses of cellular biology. That’s why they’re used in the development of drugs and vaccines. No new fetal tissue has been used to keep the cell culture going; the use of this cell line isn’t leading to new abortions. A tiny company called Senomyx has been working to use this new technology to create food additives. Senomyx has isolated receptors found on cells that detect taste, and added them to the HEK cells. This allows them to test thousands of potential taste additives to see whether they might taste sweet or savory with a speed that would be impossible with human taste testers. Synomyx has announced collaborations with Pepsi, Nestle, and Coca-Cola. Senomyx themselves were circumspect about publicly addressing the issue of their whether they actually used the HEK 293 cell line in their research, although reporters investigating the subject noted references to HEK 293 in the company’s patents. For example, Laine Doss wrote in the Miami New Times that: Asked about the [Children of God for Life’s] action alert, Gwen Rosenberg, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications for Senomyx, said, “We don’t discuss details of our research, but you won’t find anything on our website about HEK293.” I asked Rosenberg if Senomyx had a position on stem cell research. “We’ve never been asked that,” she replied, “We don’t have a position on anything. We’re dedicated to finding new flavors to reduce sugars and reduce salt. Our focus is to help consumers with diabetes or high blood pressure have a better quality of life.” Though Rosenberg states there is nothing on the company website linking Senomyx with HEK293, a little Googling turned up a patent issued in 2008 for “Recombinant Methods for Expressing a Functional Sweet Taste Receptor,” in which a line item mentions HEK293. And Melanie Warner wrote for CBS News that: Is this claim true? Neither Pepsi nor Senomyx returned calls, so we don’t know the companies’ side of the story. But a perusal of Senomyx’s patents suggests that it may well be. All but 7 of the company’s 77 patents refer to the use of HEK 293 (human embryonic kidney) cells, which researchers have used for decades as biological workhorses. In 2010 Senomyx entered into a four-year collaborative agreement to develop sweet enhancers and natural high-potency sweeteners for PepsiCo beverages, but it’s unclear whether PepsiCo has ever marketed any food products that include additives (of any kind) developed by Senomyx. It wasn’t until March 2014 that Senomyx announced the first fruits of their partnership with PepsiCo, a sweetness-enhancing “flavor modifier” known as Sweetmyx, but we’ve seen no subsequent announcement that PepsiCo has begun using Sweetmyx, and that additive appears to be a purely synthetic one: Q: How exactly does Sweetmyx work? A: Our tongue’s taste receptors work somewhat like pieces of a puzzle. When sugar hits our tongue a molecule of it will connect with a sweet taste receptor, stimulating the nerve pathway and creating the sensation of sweet. Sweetmyx hijacks that pathway by agitating and exciting that sweet taste receptor with another chemical that works when it’s in the presence of sugar. So in a way, it increases your receptor’s sensitivity to sweet taste sensations. Q: Is Sweetmyx natural? A: Although Senomyx has both “natural” and artificial flavoring additives in their pipeline, from what I’ve been able to surmise, S617 (the company’s moniker for Sweetmyx) is not a naturally derived sweetness enhancer. It appears to be artificially synthesized from chemicals. Pepsi’s official response to the Senomyx issue was to point inquirers to their Responsible Research Statement, which stated that “PepsiCo’s research processes and those of our partners are confidential for competitive reasons. However, PepsiCo does not conduct or fund research that utilizes any human tissue or cell lines derived from human embryos.” We contacted the Media Relations department at PepsiCo and posed some specific questions to them about their relationship with Senomyx but received only non-specific answers in response: PepsiCo has a relationship with Senomyx to help us reduce sugar in future products. Senomyx does not provide ingredients to PepsiCo, nor does it manufacture PepsiCo products. Senomyx is required to abide by our responsible research statement for any work they conduct for PepsiCo. As with each of our research partners, Senomyx is also required to meet all relevant industry and government regulatory standards in the work it performs for PepsiCo. We can’t speak on behalf of another company or address speculation about work involving other companies.
|
29523
|
Dryer sheets permeated with fabric softener contain at least seven dangerous toxic chemicals.
|
"What's true: At least one of the components listed by the blog posts for dryer sheets (fragrance) was accurate. What's false: A number of the listed ""chemicals"" aren't toxic; most of the components do not appear to be commonly used in fabric softener sheet products; dryer sheets are subject to the same rigorous safety regulation as common household cleaners; the listed chemicals are classified as ""generally recognized as safe""."
|
false
|
Medical, chemophobia, dryer sheets, fabric softener
|
On 11 April 2016, blog posts appeared on health and wellness sites claiming that fabric softener dryer sheets are dangerous, toxic, interfered with the body’s hormone regulation, and cause cancer. The posts listed several volatile organic compounds (or VOCs) as chemical culprits that cause “hormone imbalance, neurotoxicity, respiratory problems, and even cancer”: In a recent study performed by UW professor Dr. Anne Steinemann, a research team conducted a small study to understand the effects of fragrances in laundry products (both detergent and dryer sheets). The results discovered more than 25 VOCs emitted from dryer vents, with highest concentrations of acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol (two of which are considered carcinogenic). To put it in context, one of the carcinogenic VOC’s, acetaldehyde, had emissions that would represent 3% of total acetaldehyde emissions from automobiles in the study area. This is a major omission of toxic chemicals. Before even reviewing any published material it was clear the blog author had conflated dryer sheets, laundry detergents, and dryer emissions. The study that it referenced had been published several years before — a press release on Steinemann’s web site was dated to 2010, where she pointed out that “green” laundry products scored no better than their competitors in lab testing: “We analyzed best-selling products, and about half of them made some claim about being green, organic, or natural,” said lead author Anne Steinemann, a UW professor of civil and environmental engineering and of public affairs. “Surprisingly, the green products’ emissions of hazardous chemicals were not significantly different from the other products.” We found a paper published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in January 2011, which gave a literal laundry list of “25 air fresheners, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, disinfectants, dish detergents, all-purpose cleaners, soaps, hand sanitizers, lotions, deodorants, and shampoos” that emit volatile organic compounds, and again, noted that “green” products give off just as many potentially harmful chemicals as their standard counterparts: Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues used gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to analyze VOCs given off by the products. They tested 25 air fresheners, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, disinfectants, dish detergents, all-purpose cleaners, soaps, hand sanitizers, lotions, deodorants, and shampoos. Many of the products tested are top sellers in their category. A single fragrance in a product can contain a mixture of hundreds of chemicals, some of which (e.g., limonene, a citrus scent) react with ozone in ambient air to form dangerous secondary pollutants, including formaldehyde.2 The researchers detected 133 different VOCs. Most commonly detected were limonene, α- and β-pinene (pine scents), and ethanol and acetone (often used as carriers for fragrance chemicals). Steinemann and colleagues found the average number of VOCs emitted was 17.1 Each product emitted 1–8 toxic or hazardous chemicals, and close to half (44%) generated at least 1 of 24 carcinogenic hazardous air pollutants, such as acetaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde, or methylene chloride. These hazardous air pollutants have no safe exposure level, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Of the 133 VOCs detected, only ethanol was listed on any label (for 2 products), and only ethanol and 2-butoxyethanol were listed on any Material Safety Data Sheet (for 5 products and 1 product, respectively). The paper affirmed that products included in the study were subject to federal safety regulation, and Steinemann said that self-reporting symptoms was a significant aspect of her research: The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates cleaning supplies, air fresheners, and laundry products, currently does not require manufacturers to disclose any ingredients on the label, including fragrances in these products. The same is true for fragrances in personal care items, which are overseen by the Food and Drug Administration. The Household Product Labeling Act, currently under review in the U.S. Senate, would require manufacturers to label consumer products with all ingredients, including fragrance mixtures. “Disclosing all ingredients could be a first step to understanding potential toxicity and health effects,” says Steinemann … the authors did not seek to assess whether use of any of the products studied would be associated with any risk, [but] Steinemann says she receives hundreds of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from people who report a variety of respiratory, dermatological, and neurological problems they attribute to scented products: “Children have seizures after exposure to dryer sheets, and adults pass out around air fresheners,” she says. “It’s important to take people’s complaints seriously,” says Steinemann, because “these human experiences are helping to inform science.” One of her next projects will focus on biomarkers of exposure and effect to better understand how fragranced products may cause a range of adverse health effects. “The ultimate goal is to improve public health,” Steinemann says. For now, she recommends cleaning with basic supplies like vinegar and baking soda. While Steinemann did conduct research in 2010, that research was not restricted to dryer sheets and appeared to rely heavily on self-reported reactions to volatile organic compounds, which are not necessarily a reliable barometer of possible risk. There was no indication those compounds were found specifically in dryer sheets, rather than detergent, shampoo, aerosol air fresheners, lotions, or any of the other dozens of items included in Steinemann’s research. None of the purported toxins were present in a popular brand of fabric softener [PDF]: Procter & Gamble provided the same information for other brands, including Gain and Downy: The blogs listed the following ingredients as toxic components of dryer sheets: Alpha-Terpineol, Benzyl acetate, Benzyl alcohol, Chloroform, Ethanol, Ethyl Acetate, Linalool, and Pentane. We were unable to find any of those ingredients on material safety data forms for dryer sheets, but all the cited ingredients (except chloroform) were classified by the Food and Drug Administration as generally recognized as safe (GRAS). We were unable to corroborate the claim that chloroform was commonly (or even infrequently) present in any fabric softener dryer sheets.
|
9190
|
Testosterone therapy provides protection against cardiovascular disease in men with low testosterone
|
This news release summarizes an observational study that compared the records of older men with low testosterone levels and who receive testosterone therapy with those who have chosen to take a pass on such treatment. The study observed that over a period of 8 years, those in the therapy category experienced significantly fewer strokes and deaths related to cardiovascular disease than did those who weren’t on testosterone therapy. The release does a good job of reminding readers that this study design is not as robust as a randomized clinical trial, but it does claim that the findings lend clarity to an otherwise murky landscape in which the impact of hormone-replacement therapy remains uncertain. It also offers transparency in the form of a list of financial ties three researchers have with Bayer Pharma, but unfortunately the release neglects to go one step further and mention that Bayer, which also markets hormone replacement drugs, funded the study. While many argue that “medicalizing” low testosterone levels in older men is inappropriate, the possibility that supplementing testosterone might minimize cardiovascular problems is being explored by many researchers and drug companies.
|
false
|
hypogonadism,testosterone therapy
|
Cost estimates for long-term testosterone therapy are missing from this release. This matters because, although health insurance often covers testosterone treatments if a physician deems them warranted, a month’s worth of medication can cost hundreds of dollars. The text does a good job of describing the differences in cardiovascular outcomes between men receiving testosterone treatment and those who chose not to. But the release never tells us how many people were in each group or what the event rate was, which makes it difficult to make a comparison. And, as the release alludes, the observational design of the study means the cardiovascular outcomes are not conclusive. Harms are not on this text’s radar screen. Testosterone treatment does have a few side effects including sleep apnea, stimulation of benign growths in the prostate, enlarged breasts and increased risk of blood clots. The study on which this release was based does not appear to discuss these outcomes either, but their inclusion here would have been helpful. The release does a nice job of describing the study and reflecting on the relative value of an observational study compared to more rigorous clinical trial designs. That comparison should serve as a signal to journalists to explain these differences in more detail. For example, patients are not randomly assigned to study conditions in observational studies such as this; rather, they end up in one or another treatment arm by choice, thus opening the door for confounding variables to play a role in the outcome. The study did statistically control for a number of possible confounds, and a mention of that in the news release would have been useful. It’s because of the study’s large risk for confounding that leads to uncertainty. The control group (those not taking testosterone therapy) had more prevalent cardiovascular disease and more cardiovascular risk factors. Even with the statistical adjustment used in the study, the validity of the results is highly questionable. The other measures that were addressed — including diabetes and lipid levels — are surrogate endpoints and were likely confounded by factors other than testosterone replacement. The comment that testosterone has a “protective effect” is an egregious misstatement given the important limitations of the study design. Randomized controlled trials have addressed this issue and found there does not necessarily appear to be a risk from testosterone, but there is certainly no indication of a protective effect. We credit the release for not referring to the manufactured disease label “low T” that others have ascribed to the natural decline in testosterone levels as men age. Given the controversies over the necessity for testosterone replacement, the study results beg the question of why these men were on testosterone replacement in the first place — and whether it was successfully addressing the symptoms for which it was prescribed. If not disease mongering, then this is product mongering. A study funder, Bayer Pharma, is not acknowledged although several coauthors are identified as receiving compensation from the company. Missing entirely from the press release is an acknowledgement that Bayer Pharma markets hormone replacement drugs to treat low levels of testosterone. No other options are discussed. Testosterone treatment is clearly available although topical preparations are more expensive than injections and insurance companies may balk at covering these treatments. The release notes that testosterone therapy is controversial but then makes a pitch for the novelty of the study’s ability to clarify that landscape. Unfounded hyperbolic conclusions are not novel. As noted above, randomized trials have addressed this issue. The wording is cautious in most respects.
|
475
|
Special Report: FDA targets e-cigs that hook teens but don't help smokers quit.
|
E-cigarette makers face an existential threat. By May, they must submit applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proving that their products provide a net benefit to public health. If a company fails to make its case, the FDA has the power to order its products off the market.
|
true
|
Health News
|
The agency will judge that benefit with a two-part test: Are e-cigarettes effective in getting smokers to quit? And, if so, does that benefit outweigh the health damage to new e-cigarette users - including teenagers - who never smoked in the first place? That’s a particularly high hurdle for the largest e-cigarette maker, Juul Labs Inc, according to a Reuters analysis of the latest available data on trends in cigarette and e-cigarette use from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data show that e-cigarettes are having little impact in reducing U.S. cigarette smoking, while growth in vaping since 2015 has come entirely from users under 25 years old, including teenagers. Those trends present a special problem for Juul because of its dominance of the U.S. market and its enormous popularity among teenagers, according to more than a half dozen tobacco researchers and medical experts who assessed the data at Reuters’ request. “I don’t see it as a surmountable hurdle,” Suzanne Colby, a tobacco researcher at Brown University, said of the FDA standard for public health benefits. “The data look like their product differentially attracts youth instead of adults, in such great numbers.” Between 2017 and 2018 - the period when Juul rapidly grew to become the U.S. market leader - e-cigarette use among U.S. adults grew from 2.8% of the population to 3.2%, according to the CDC. But rates of cigarette smoking among adults barely budged, dropping from 14% to 13.7% - not enough to be statistically significant, according to the CDC. (For a graphic showing vaping trends for various age groups, see: here ) Use of e-cigarettes by high-school students, by contrast, shot up by 78% over the same period – from 11.7% to 20.8% of students, data from the CDC and the FDA show. Juul is by far the most popular e-cigarette among teens, with more than half of high school and middle school students naming it as their favorite brand in surveys by the CDC and the FDA. Moreover, the biggest growth in adult e-cigarette use came among the youngest age cohort of adults, people aged 18 to 24. E-cigarette use among young adults is nearly four times more common than among those aged 45 to 64, the CDC numbers show. Another dynamic that undermines the public-health case for e-cigarettes is the large proportion of “dual users.” The most recent federal data show that 41% of adult e-cigarette users continue to also smoke cigarettes. Some studies show dual use could be more harmful than smoking alone. A study last December found people who used both products tested higher than cigarette smokers for a range of volatile organic compounds and other toxins associated with tobacco-related disease. A separate study last year of heart disease risk among e-cigarette users found that dual use was “more dangerous than using either product alone.” For the industry as a whole, the usage data cast serious doubts on whether e-cigarettes are providing a clear benefit among adult smokers, said Brian King, a deputy director at the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “When it comes to net public health impact, you have to consider both ends of the scale,” King said. “Right now it does appear the youth initiation is outweighing the adult use.” Juul declined a request for an interview with executives including CEO K.C. Crosthwaite, a veteran of Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc who took the helm in September, on how it plans to pass the FDA’s regulatory test. As pressure on the company has mounted, Crosthwaite has made the FDA application process a central goal, laying off 650 employees, including many in marketing, last month in an effort to restructure the company to focus on regulatory approval. In written responses to questions from Reuters, Juul said it believes its products “already are playing a critical role in transitioning adult smokers from combustible cigarettes and have the potential to convert tens of millions of smokers in the U.S.” The company cited studies it has commissioned showing that between 30% to 50% of adult smokers who use Juul “switch completely from smoking cigarettes within six months.” Juul has said its customers are “the world’s 1 billion smokers,” but the company did not directly address questions about the disparity in youth and adult uptake in the United States. Juul acknowledged it must address any potential impact on nonsmokers who start using e-cigarettes. It said it is “committed to working cooperatively with regulators, public health officials and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers.” In October, Crosthwaite brought on another Altria executive, Joe Murillo, who helped navigate a successful FDA application for IQOS, a Phillip Morris International Inc product that heats up but doesn’t burn packages of ground-up tobacco. Altria has an agreement with Philip Morris to market IQOS in the United States. The IQOS device is one of only two tobacco products that have successfully made it through the FDA process. Juul’s competitors in the U.S. market face the same regulatory challenge. One rival, Japan Tobacco International, says it is confident in the FDA application it filed in August for its Logic products because it contains company data showing the brand - unlike Juul - is used overwhelmingly by older adults. Anthony Hemsley, an executive for Japan Tobacco International’s U.S. division, acknowledged the population-wide trends in e-cigarette and cigarette use. But he pointed out that the FDA’s decision on net public health benefit will be made on a product-by-product basis - not across the entire industry. He added that Juul has “a significant challenge ahead of them, in overcoming the concerns that exist out there.” The FDA declined requests for an interview with Mitch Zeller, who heads tobacco regulation at the agency, about its oversight of e-cigarettes. In written answers to questions, the agency did not directly address the population-level data on smoking and vaping trends but said it is “tasked with threading a public health needle” in crafting regulations on e-cigarette firms. A Reuters investigation in November detailed how Juul’s developers used tobacco industry research and patents to formulate its smooth but potent “nicotine salts” blend of liquid nicotine, a key factor in its popularity among teenagers. The report showed company leaders were aware of the product’s popularity among teenagers soon after its 2015 launch, contradicting statements that Juul was caught off guard by teenage use last year. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told Reuters that he agreed with public health advocates and tobacco researchers that whatever benefits Juul may be having for cigarette smokers are offset by attracting children who otherwise wouldn’t have tried other tobacco products. Before Gottlieb left the department in April, he and his staff explored the option of halting sales of Juul and similar high-nicotine devices if their popularity continued rising among teens. “We could take these products off the market tomorrow,” he said. “We don’t need the applications.” (For a graphic tracking the rise of vaping amid regulatory delays, see: here) Juul and the FDA did not respond to questions on Gottlieb’s assertion that the agency should immediately remove Juul and similar products from the market. E-cigarettes have been available in the United States since at least 2007, but the FDA did not formally get authority over the industry until nine years later, in 2016. The agency initially tried to regulate e-cigarettes as a drug, which would have carried more stringent requirements for e-cigarette firms, such as extensive clinical trials or animal testing. E-cigarette makers sued the FDA and won, leaving the agency to regulate the devices as tobacco products. FDA officials started crafting a rule to regulate e-cigarettes in 2011, but the industry pushed back and successfully delayed the rule until May 2016, in the final months of the administration of President Barack Obama. During that time, Juul and dozens of competitors introduced products that were grandfathered into the market because they were already being sold before the regulation took effect. The rule extended certain cigarette restrictions to e-cigarettes, like requiring health warning labels, setting a minimum sales age of 18 and prohibitions on free samples. A key part of the new rule also required e-cigarette makers to submit applications to the agency by August 2018 - demonstrating why their products provide a net benefit to public health - along with studies and data on potential toxins in the products. When Gottlieb was appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the agency in 2017, one of his first moves was to delay that deadline by four years, a decision public health advocates criticized. Just months later, school administrators, parents and politicians raised alarms about the rapid rise of vaping among high schoolers, who were particularly transfixed with the Juul device. Some public health advocates feared the new administration’s commitment to the Obama-era regulations after an initial three-month delay, as the FDA faced litigation from the industry. Gottlieb declined to comment on whether the some in the administration wanted to kill the regulations but said his effort to push them forward was “not an easy process.” He said he delayed the deadline because the previous administration had not drafted guidelines that companies could follow for the application process, leaving the agency open to a legal challenge from the regulated industries. “They would have sued me, and I would have lost,” he said. But today’s FDA could – and should – pull Juul and other products from the market, Gottlieb said. “I thought that’s where the agency would land,” he said. In March, just before he left the agency, Gottlieb said publicly that the FDA was considering prohibiting sales of cartridge-based e-cigarettes like Juul from the market if teen usage rates went up for a second year in a row. Federal youth tobacco survey data first released in September showed that teenage usage did in fact keep rising, with the percentage of teenagers reporting they used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days growing from nearly 21% to more than 27%. In a statement, the FDA said it has sent more than 1,100 warning letters to retailers selling to minors; issued warning letters to companies marketing teen-friendly e-cigarette products, such as those with sweet flavors; and launched advertising campaigns aimed at e-cigarette prevention in schools. “Taken together, all of these efforts have had a wide-ranging impact on the manufacturing, marketing and selling” of e-cigarettes, the agency said. “FDA’s work is constant in its effort to keep these products out of the hands of kids.”
|
2047
|
Science should find aliens, halt cancer: survey.
|
Nearly half of Britons believe in aliens and almost 80 percent say cancer is the disease which most needs a vaccine, a poll by one of the world’s oldest scientific institutions showed on Tuesday.
|
true
|
Science News
|
A spectator holds up inflatable aliens during the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium, London July 7, 2007. REUTERS/Stephen Hird Britain’s Royal Society found that 66 percent of respondents to a survey to mark its 350th anniversary said that disease control and eradication should be a top priority for science. Around 53 percent said they would like science to enable them to extend their lifespan. Royal Society President Martin Rees said the lives of modern humans are hugely different from those of our ancestors because of the scientific advances made since the society was founded in 1660, when science was in its infancy. “Science is an unending quest for understanding and over the coming 350 years our appetite for discovery could see us develop a cure for cancer, a solution to climate change, and even discover extra-terrestrial life,” he said in a statement. In terms of developing new vaccinations - after cancer, preventing HIV/AIDS was seen as important for 60 percent of the 2,000 people surveyed and with malaria 37 percent. “There can be no better way to celebrate the Royal Society’s 350th anniversary than to look to the future of science, built on the foundations of today’s cutting-edge research,” Rees said. Nearly half of people in Britain (44 percent) believe in the existence of aliens, according to the poll. Over a third think scientists should be actively searching for and attempting to make contact with aliens, a figure that rises to 46 percent for male respondents. However, fewer than one in 10 people believe that space exploration should be a top priority for the scientific community. After health issues, climate change was the next highest priority for the public with a third of those questioned considering it important. This figure rises to 44 percent among 18 to 24-year-olds, suggesting that younger generations are more in tune with the threat of global warming. As the curtain falls on the 350th anniversary year, the Royal Society is publishing “Science sees further,” a new report examining the most pressing issues facing the world today and asks what the future of science will hold. Launched on Tuesday, it includes chapters on whether we are alone in the universe, how we can manage the increasing demands on our planet’s resources, and whether science can save the lives of millions with new vaccines.
|
10148
|
Fungus Got Your Toes? Zap It
|
New Zealand recovery teams returned to the volcanic White Island on Sunday but were unable to locate two remaining bodies in their search, as the death toll from Monday’s eruption rose to 16, police said.
|
true
|
Wall Street Journal
|
Authorities said eight police search and rescue staff were deployed for 75 minutes to an area in which their information suggested one body may remain. “I can say we have found no further bodies in that area,” Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Clement told a media conference on Sunday. On Friday, six bodies were successfully retrieved from the island by a New Zealand military team and taken to the mainland for disaster victim identification. Police said they remained committed to recovering the two bodies and that police and military divers were continuing to scour the waters around the island. “Everyone went out there absolutely desperate to find bodies and return them to loved ones,” Clement said. On Saturday, divers faced contaminated waters and low visibility as they searched the sea surrounding the island. The volcano, a popular destination for day-trippers, erupted on Monday, spewing ash, steam and gases over the island. Among the 47 people on the island at the time were Australian, U.S., German, Chinese, British and Malaysian tourists. The death toll rose to 16 on Sunday as one more person died in an Australian hospital. That death is the first to occur in Australia following the eruption, where many of the victims were from and have been transferred. The toll may rise further as more than two dozen people are still hospitalized across New Zealand and Australia, most with severe burn injuries. Police on Saturday began formally releasing the names and nationalities of those killed, with 21-year-old Australian Krystal Browitt the first person identified. On Sunday, police also released the names of New Zealander Tipene Maangi and Australians Zoe Hosking, Gavin Dallow and Anthony Langford. There has been criticism that tourists were allowed on the island at all, given signs of increasing tremor activity in the days before the eruption. A minute’s silence will be observed in New Zealand on Monday, December 16 at 2.11 p.m. local time (0111 GMT), exactly one week after the fatal eruption occurred.
|
26735
|
The media “pulled down an entire shelf of goods so that they can present the news of people buying stuff in a hysteria over the coronavirus.
|
A popular image claims to show a news reporter staging a shot of empty grocery store shelves. But the photo is a hoax from Romania. The trend of stockpiling groceries started in China after the coronavirus outbreak began. Stores in Europe and the United States have been similarly affected. There is no evidence here that the media has staged its coverage of the coronavirus outbreak to cause undue panic.
|
false
|
Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,
|
"The latest weapon in the arsenal of coronavirus conspiracy theorists: an out-of-context photo from Romania. A Facebook post published March 4 purports to show an empty row of shelves in a grocery store. According to the photo, a nearby camerawoman staged the scene. ""MSM in my town, pulled down an entire shelf of goods so that they can present the news of people buying stuff in a hysteria over the coronavirus,"" reads text under the image, which is a screenshot of a tweet that appears to have been deleted. (MSM stands for mainstream media.) The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It has also been shared on Instagram. But that’s not what this photo shows. (Screenshot from Facebook) We traced the image to a Feb. 27 thread on a Romanian subreddit. (The store signs in the image are written in Romanian.) ""How to produce chaos,"" reads the title of the thread, which we translated using Google Translate. Reddit users commented that the news organization pictured in the photo is Antena 1, a TV network in Romania. The logo on the mic in the photo is consistent with that of Observator, a show on Antena 1. A video news report that Observator uploaded to YouTube on Feb. 26 addresses mounting concerns over the spread of the coronavirus in Romania. The four4-minute piece shows people emptying shelves at grocery stores across the country, where there are four confirmed cases of the virus. ""Fear of coronavirus is emptying major stores,"" reads the caption. ""Bags of flour and corn, dozens of cans and hundreds of liters of water carried from the shelves."" The trend of stockpiling groceries is well-documented and began in Wuhan, China, after the 2019 coronavirus first emerged there in December. As the virus spread, grocery stores across Europe and the United States were similarly affected, as customers rushed to stock up on essentials in the event of long home quarantines. Here are 4 real ways to protect yourself. There is no evidence that Observator or any other media organization has staged footage of empty grocery store shelves to cause coronavirus panic. That conspiracy theory has been echoed on fringe internet platforms like 4chan, where several high-profile conspiracies were created. And the Antena 1 journalist who was implicated in the original hoax has published additional footage to contextualize the image. The global outbreak of the virus officially known as COVID-19 has infected more than 93,000 people in 76 countries — including 99 confirmed cases in the United States. This is one of the many conspiracy theories and hoaxes that have gained traction online. Another popular conspiracy theory baselessly claims that the media and Democrats are overhyping the threat of the coronavirus to hurt President Donald Trump’s re-election chances. This Facebook post is part and parcel of that conspiracy. It is inaccurate and makes a ridiculous claim."
|
1745
|
Sexual health report says $25 per woman per year would reduce deaths.
|
Spending $25 per woman per year on full sexual health services would dramatically reduce mother and baby deaths and give women the choice of smaller, healthier and more productive families, a UN-backed report found on Thursday.
|
true
|
Health News
|
The report, written by the Guttmacher Institute and part-funded by the United Nations Population Fund UNFPA, described “a staggering lack of basic sexual and reproductive health services in developing countries” which leaves 225 million women who want to avoid pregnancy without access to modern contraceptives. It also found that tens of millions of women do not receive the basic pregnancy and delivery care needed to protect their own and their babies’ health. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA’S executive director, urged all governments to put women’s right to choose how many children to have and when at the heart of national health services. “We know what to do and we know how to do it,” he told a briefing in London. “These investments save lives, empower women and girls, strengthen health systems and have a profound and lasting impact on development.” Analysing data from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, the report said it would cost on average $25 per woman aged between 15 and 49 — roughly double the current level of spending — to provide essential sexual health services to all women in developing countries each year. These include contraception advice and services, pregnancy and newborn care, HIV care including medicines to help prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus, and treatments for four other sexually transmitted infections. Providing these to all women who need them in developing countries would have a dramatic impact, it said — cutting unintended pregnancies by 70 percent, unsafe abortions by 74 percent, dramatically reducing maternal and newborn deaths and virtually eliminating mother-to-baby HIV transmission. “This is an affordable goal that will have a dramatic impact,” said Ann Starrs, CEO of the Guttmacher Institute. While the report was loaded with numbers, she said it was critical “to keep in mind the people behind the statistics”. “That includes adolescent girls, married or not, who know that pregnancy right now will mean the end of their schooling and, very likely, the end of their dreams for a better life. “And women who have already four, five or six children and know that they cannot afford to bear and raise another one.” (Refiles to clarify report’s authorship)
|
8006
|
U.S. judges stop Texas, Ohio, Alabama from curbing abortions during coronavirus crisis.
|
Federal judges on Monday blocked officials in Texas, Ohio and Alabama from banning most abortions in those states as part of their orders to postpone surgeries and other procedures deemed not medically necessary during the coronavirus crisis.
|
true
|
Health News
|
The rulings came in a series of legal actions aimed at blocking steps by various Republican-led states cracking down on abortion during the pandemic. The first of the decisions involved Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s announcement last week that abortion providers were covered by a state order that required postponement of non-urgent medical procedures to preserve hospital beds and equipment during the pandemic. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin ruled that Paxton’s action “prevents Texas women from exercising what the Supreme Court has declared is their fundamental constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy before a fetus is viable.” The Texas lawsuit was filed last Wednesday after clinics said they were forced to cancel hundreds of appointments for abortions across the state. “Abortion is essential healthcare, and it’s a time-sensitive service, especially during a public health crisis,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president of Whole Woman’s Health, an abortion provider with three clinics in Texas and a plaintiff in the case. “To the politicians who used this global pandemic to push their anti-abortion agenda, shame on you,” she added. Marc Rylander, a spokesman for Paxton, expressed disappointment in the ruling and promised an appeal. Abortion providers in Ohio, Iowa, Alabama and Oklahoma filed similar litigation on Monday to block state officials from using coronavirus-related orders to limit abortion availability. Judges in Ohio and Alabama issued orders later on Monday blocking the states from enforcing the coronavirus-related restrictions against abortion providers. Courts were working on an urgent basis as clinics warned that some patients were reaching the legal time limit to get the procedure. Abortion providers have said the restrictions violate the right to abortion under the U.S. Constitution as recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The states have said they have broad powers to issue emergency rules to protect the health and safety of their residents. Texas said in a court filing: “Individual rights, including abortion, may be temporarily curtailed in a time of emergency.” Paxton said on March 23 the state order meant that any abortion that “is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother” must cease. Failure to comply could result in penalties of up to $1,000 or 180 days in jail. Abortion rights advocates have criticized the state actions as political opportunism during the pandemic. “It’s not surprising that the states that are now using the COVID crisis to stop people from getting abortion care are the very same states that have history of passing laws to ban abortion or using sham rationales to shut down clinics,” said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Jennifer Dalven. COVID-19 is the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The ACLU represents abortion providers in Ohio, Alabama and Iowa. In Ohio, the abortion clinics told U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati that they feared being immediately shut down and prosecuted if they did not stop providing surgical abortions. “Some of these patients will be forced to carry pregnancies to term against their will and at risk to their health amidst a health system overburdened by responding to COVID-19,” the clinics said in a legal filing.
|
33400
|
"Senator Dianne Feinstein said that ""All vets are mentally ill and the government should prevent them from owning firearms."
|
This paragraph was indeed part of a larger piece authored by Burt Prelutsky, but Prelutsky is not a Los Angeles Times columnist, nor were these words published in that newspaper. Burt Prelutsky is a conservative pundit (who occasionally sends letters to the Los Angeles Times), and the text reproduced here is the concluding paragraphs of his 6 December 2009 blog post, “The New and Improved Iron Curtain.”
|
false
|
Politics Guns
|
A subject of discussion during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on 7 March 2013 was an amendment offered by Texas senator John Cornyn which sought to modify the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 legislation proposed by California senator Dianne Feinstein by allowing an exemption for former military personnel (in addition to an exemption for retired law enforcement personnel which was already part of the bill). Senator Cornyn objected to the notion that the original bill should provide an exemption for retired law enforcement but not for retired military, saying (in part): Members and veterans of the Armed Forces are the most highly-trained and qualified individuals to own these weapons for self-defense purposes. We should think long and hard before disarming these heroes, preventing them from protecting their families and communities. Is it because we believe [retired police] have some special competency and training to use these weapons to defend themselves and others, or do we think their families are worthy of special protection? If you don’t believe these weapons can be used lawfully for self-defense, then you should be offering an amendment to strike the pass for law enforcement. But of course, I don’t expect that. The senator’s remarks on the issue were eventually encapsulated in a misleading, out-of-context, and paraphrased form intended to make her sound ridiculous: But Senator Feinstein stated neither that “all vets are mentally ill” nor that “the government should prevent [veterans] from owning firearms.” What Feinstein did do was express her opinion that creating an exemption to an assault weapons ban (not a general firearms ban) for retired military personnel might be inadvisable due to both the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among that group and the difficulty of verifying a potential gun purchaser was in fact a veteran, and that the proposed amendment should therefore include a provision for screening out “mentally incapacitated” veterans: If I understand this, this [amendment] adds an exemption of retired military. As I understand our bill, no issue has arose [sic] in this regard during the ten years the expired ban was in effect and what we did in the other bill was exempt possession by the United States or a department or agency of the United States. So that included active military. The problem with expanding this is that, you know, with the advent of PTSD, which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War, it’s not clear how the seller or transferrer of a firearm covered by this bill would verify that an individual was a member, or a veteran, and that there was no impairment of that individual with respect to having a weapon like this. So, you know, I would be happy to sit down with you again and see if we could work something out but I think we have to — if you’re going to do this, find a way that veterans who are incapacitated for one reason or another mentally don’t have access to this kind of weapon. Nonetheless, what Senator Feinstein actually did say was the subject of some harsh criticism. Shawn J. Gourley, co-founder of the organization Military with PTSD, penned a rebuttal that took the senator to task for asserting that PTSD was a “new phenomenon” and suggesting it was an issue only for military veterans: PTSD is not a, “new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War.” It has been called soldier’s heart in the Civil War, shell shock in WWI, battle fatigue in WWII, and only most recently, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. PTSD made its first appearance in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Third Edition, which was published in 1980. The doctors who lobbied for its inclusion viewed it as a measure that would finally legitimize the pain and suffering of Vietnam War veterans. However, adding PTSD to the DSM turned out to be an action with more far-reaching effects than just that population; it opened doors for a lot of people who desperately needed help. PTSD is a psychological reaction that occurs after an extremely stressful event involving the threat of injury or death. Anyone can get PTSD at any age. This includes war veterans, police officers, firemen, and survivors of physical and sexual assault, abuse, accidents, disasters, and many other serious events. So as you can see, Senator, with all due respect, PTSD is not exclusive to either veterans in general or specifically veterans of the Iraq War. Senator Feinstein, your bill already has an exemption for retired law enforcement officers, but did you know nationwide, it’s estimated as many as 18 percent of police are suffering from PTSD according to a CBS News article in 2012? So I ask you: Why are 100 percent of veterans being stripped of the right to own these types of firearms because of “no way to verify that there was no impairment of that individual,” that might affect only 30 percent of that population, but you seem to have no problem allowing assault weapons to law enforcement officers, of which 18 percent may be suffering from this same “impairment,” as you say? PTSD in a veteran is the equivalent of PTSD in law enforcement officers. They all have the same symptoms. Others countered that the means for verifying a potential firearms purchaser’s status as a veteran were already readily available (or could easily be made so): First of all, there is a very easy way to find out if an individual was a member of the armed forces. It is called a DD-214 and I highly doubt any veteran would be opposed to providing that information to a registered firearms broker if it meant they could get certain guns they wish to own. If Feinstein were serious about this, she would put extra personnel and funding into the National Archives to make DD-214s more quickly accessible or make sure that information is accessible in any background check which are already required by law to receive a gun. Everything she is worried about is already covered by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System or NICS. Between 2001 and 2011, the FBI reports that over 100 million Brady Act background checks were performed; resulting in more than 700,000 gun purchases being denied. Some later versions of this item included the following block of text: Quote of the Day from the Los Angeles Times: Frankly, I don’t know what it is about California, but we seem to have a strange urge to elect really obnoxious women to high office. I’m not bragging, you understand, but no other state, including Maine, even comes close. When it comes to sending left-wing dingbats to Washington, we’re number one. There’s no getting around the fact that the last time anyone saw the likes of Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi, they were stirring a cauldron when the curtain went up on “Macbeth”. The three of them are like jackasses who happen to possess the gift of speech. You don’t know if you should condemn them for their stupidity or simply marvel at their ability to form words. Columnist Burt Prelutsky, Los Angeles Times
|
16375
|
"Hospitals have already begun layoffs, a direct result of Republican inaction"" on Medicaid expansion."
|
"The Democratic Party of Virginia says that hospital layoffs have begun as a ""direct result"" of Republican legislators’ refusal to expand the state’s Medicaid program. The Democrats point to news releases from four hospital systems -- mostly in rural areas -- that have announced staff cuts since June 2013. The systems cited the state’s resistance to Medicaid expansion as one of several reasons for the layoffs. Of greater impact, however, was a reduction in Medicare reimbursements under Obamacare. Several hospital officials said the expansion of Medicaid would have allowed them to offset some -- but not nearly all -- of the loss. It also should be noted that most of the individual hospitals where the layoffs occurred had been in the red since at least since 2009 -- some of them all but losing their patient base. The GOP’s refusal to expand Medicaid came at a tough time for the hospital systems and certainly added to their woes. But saying the layoffs are the ""direct result"" of the Republicans’ action is an exaggerated claim that ignores deeper factors. The Democratic claim is partially accurate but leaves out important details."
|
mixture
|
Health Care, Medicaid, State Budget, Virginia, Democratic Party of Virginia,
|
"The state Democratic Party is continuing to assail the Republican-controlled General Assembly’s refusal to expand Virginia’s Medicaid program. In a recent news release, the Democrats said ""hospitals have already begun layoffs, a direct result of Republican inaction."" We looked into the claim, made at the start of a special legislative session in mid-September at which Republicans refused to expand Medicaid eligibility to as many as 400,000 additional low-income and disabled Virginians. Under provisions of the Affordable Care Act -- also called Obamacare -- Uncle Sam would pay the entire expansion cost for two years and never less than 90 percent in the future. GOP lawmakers, who control the House and Senate, said they don’t trust the federal government will pay its promised share. Democrats have strongly supported the expansion, arguing, in part, that it would ease losses hospitals suffer from treating indigent patients. We asked Morgan Finkelstein, spokeswoman for state Democratic Party, for proof of the party’s claim that hospital layoffs have begun as a ""direct result"" of the GOP’s opposition to expansion. She sent us a number of articles and announcements of hospital layoffs and closings in Virginia during the last few years. Here’s the list of layoffs at 13 Virginia hospitals: 50 at three Wellmont Health Systems hospitals in Southwest Virginia in June 2013 140 through the closure of Wellmont’s Lee Regional Medical Center in Southwest Virginia in October 2013 116 at Mountain States Health Alliance, which has hospitals in Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, in January 33 at Valley Health, mainly at Winchester Medical Center, in January 66 at Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg at the beginning of September The news releases and articles cite the rejection of Medicaid expansion as one reason for the layoffs. But it wasn’t the only reason. The hospitals -- mostly in rural areas -- also blamed declining patient populations and lower Medicare payments. The ACA reduces reimbursements to hospitals for treating Medicare patients -- mostly people 65 and older. Obamacare supporters originally thought hospitals would recoup most of the money through the expansion of Medicaid. But the equation changed in 2012 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not be compelled to broaden their Medicaid programs. That left an opening that’s allowed Virginia and 22 other states to resist expansion. Several of the Virginia hospitals that had layoffs reported Medicare populations as high as 60 percent. So they’ve been disproportionately hurt by the lowered Medicare reimbursements while, at the same time, unable to tap into extra Medicaid money. For example, Mountain States Health Alliance told the Kingsport Times-News in Tennessee in January that Medicaid expansion would help the system recover $20 million of its expected loss of $30 million every year. Mary Washington Healthcare told The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg that it’s expecting to lose $31 million in Medicare reimbursements and that the expansion of Medicaid would have compensated for $14 million of the loss. In a news release about closing Lee Regional Medical Center, Wellmont attributed the cause to ""reimbursement cuts associated with the Affordable Care Act, extremely low community use of the hospital and a lack of consistent physician coverage."" It should be noted that rural hospitals across the country were in financial trouble long before Obamacare became part of our lexicon, facing shrinking patient populations and under pressure to shorten hospital stays. The Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found in a 2003 report that 208 rural hospitals closed from 1990 to 2000. The report has not been updated. Eight of the 13 Virginia hospitals cited by the Democratic Party have operated in the red during every fiscal year since 2009, according to records from Virginia Health Information. Our ruling The Democratic Party of Virginia says that hospital layoffs have begun as a ""direct result"" of Republican legislators’ refusal to expand the state’s Medicaid program. The Democrats point to news releases from four hospital systems -- mostly in rural areas -- that have announced staff cuts since June 2013. The systems cited the state’s resistance to Medicaid expansion as one of several reasons for the layoffs. Of greater impact, however, was a reduction in Medicare reimbursements under Obamacare. Several hospital officials said the expansion of Medicaid would have allowed them to offset some -- but not nearly all -- of the loss. It also should be noted that most of the individual hospitals where the layoffs occurred had been in the red since at least since 2009 -- some of them all but losing their patient base. The GOP’s refusal to expand Medicaid came at a tough time for the hospital systems and certainly added to their woes. But saying the layoffs are the ""direct result"" of the Republicans’ action is an exaggerated claim that ignores deeper factors. The Democratic claim is partially accurate but leaves out important details."
|
22173
|
"Herman Cain Says ""in Canada, the number of CT scan machines per 1,000 people is like one-tenth of what we have here in this country. That's why people have to wait."
|
Oh Canada! Cain says nation way behind U.S. in CT machines
|
false
|
Georgia, Health Care, Herman Cain,
|
"Health care in the United States is costly for patients. But it might prove even more costly for elected officials next year. Both Republicans and Democrats hope to wield public concerns over health care as a potent weapon in the upcoming presidential and congressional elections, and some early candidates have already started swinging away. Former Godfather's Pizza CEO and conservative activist Herman Cain set up a presidential exploratory committee in January and last month attacked President Barack Obama’s health care initiative. He described the health care plan approved by Democrats in the House and Senate as socialized medicine that increases wait times for diagnostic tests. Cain, a cancer survivor, said longer waits could put cancer patients like him in danger by delaying discovery. Cain told The Root, a black perspectives online magazine: ""In Canada, the number of CT scan machines per 1,000 people is like one-tenth of what we have here in this country. That's why people have to wait."" That’s a huge difference, so PolitiFact decided we’d pass this statement through our own diagnostic equipment to see whether Cain’s prognosis is accurate. Computerized tomography scanners are X-ray machines that emit several beams from different angles simultaneously to produce detailed images of any part of the body. CT scanners are used to look for bleeding in the body, tumors and other internal damage. Unfortunately Cain would not tell us how he determined the number of CT scanners in Canada and the United States. In fact, neither he nor anyone from his staff would say anything to us beyond, ""I don’t think we’re going to comment."" But PolitiFact did find data quantifying the number of CT scans per capita. Canada had 12.7 CT scanners per 1 million residents in 2007, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The United States had 34.3 per million in 2007, the last year the organization had data for the United States. Canada has fewer CT scanners per capita than Greece and Portugal, two countries on the verge of bankruptcy, and it certainly has fewer than the United States, but not ""like one-tenth."" It’s more like one-third. Even though Cain’s numbers were not factually accurate, his general opinion that decreased diagnostic capacity puts patients at risk still deserves scrutiny. Canada spends less on medical treatment and therefore does have less capacity, said Edwin Meyer, founder of Buffalo-based Cross Border Access, a company that helps negotiate hospital billing rates for Canadians coming to the United States for medical services. Canada does a good job prioritizing who needs service right away and by doing so keeps costs for patients low, Meyer said. But a person with a non-life-threatening injury that keeps them out of work and causes constant pain may not receive diagnostic services and surgery right away. ""People that are in need but stable can end up waiting a long time,"" Meyer said. While the United States has better capacity in general, many Americans, like the uninsured, do not have access to this capacity, said William Custer, a professor at the Institute of Health Administration at Georgia State University. The high number of CT scanners has also helped to drive up the cost of health care in the United States, but Custer said there is little evidence that this more costly service leads to better health outcomes. Ultimately, you can’t judge a national health care system on medical capacity alone, he said. ""They make trade-offs and we make trade-offs,"" Custer said. ""It’s a matter of taste."" If Cain had said Canada has one-third the number of CT scanners of the United States, he would have been correct and then we could have examined whether this lack of capacity really does make Canada’s system inferior. That’s not what he said, though, and it doesn’t take a 3-D X-ray imager to know that one-tenth is different than one-third. Prognosis: ."
|
9056
|
Allergan Receives FDA Clearance For the CoolSculpting® Treatment To Improve Appearance Of Lax Tissue In The Double Chin
|
This news release by the Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan covers a recently FDA-cleared fat reduction technology to treat double chins. CoolSculpting is claimed to be the first of its kind to be cleared by the US regulatory agency. However, we found that not to be entirely true, since other non-surgical, FDA-approved fat reduction technologies like injectable Kybella already exist on the market. Kybella is also made by Allergen. Whereas Kybella uses acid to induce cell breakdown, CoolSculpting crystallizes the cells. While Kybella and other technologies reduce double chin, they do not deal with lax skin in the area. Only the Cool-Sculpting technique claims to treat lax skin. It needs to be highlighted that when a product is “cleared” by the FDA (as this one was) it is not the same as an “approval” which is what Allergan received for Kybella. As outlined in our toolkit primer, a device that is cleared may not go through the same testing nor be required to show the same level of evidence that an earlier product may have. The news release also doesn’t disclose many details regarding the procedure, costs and corresponding clinical trials leading to FDA approval. Benefits data are given in relative terms, and study design and limitations are not really discussed. The release cites results from a survey that found 73% of patients are bothered by chin fat. The suggestion here is that all of these people are candidates for chin fat reduction — something we equate with disease-mongering. On the plus side, readers do get a good sense of how available the treatment is and where to find CoolSculpting centers from this news release. Conservative therapies to reduce or eliminate double chins through diet and exercise don’t work very well. Lipolysis, also called liposculpture, can include liposuction and may give more dramatic results, but this procedure requires a local anesthetic and a recovery time of one to two weeks. If the problem is sagging, loose skin, the patient might even opt for neck lift surgery, which is usually performed under general anesthesia or intravenous sedation. If there is a non-invasive, cost-effective fat reduction technology clinically proven to eliminate double chins, that would be a viable alternative and newsworthy for both clinicians and the public.
|
false
|
Allergan,CoolSculpting,double chin
|
According to CoolSculpting.com, the company estimates costs ranging between $2,000-$4,000, depending on the number of areas treated. Purely cosmetic procedures are typically not covered by insurance, unless you can make a case that it’s “medically necessary” (e.g. your droopy eyelids interferes with vision). Since costs are not discussed in this news release. The news release presents all evidence in relative terms. For example, the double chin treatment “reduced fat up to 20 percent in the treated area after one treatment.” Furthermore, “77 percent of patients showed improved appearance of lax tissue and 75 percent of patients reported their chin looked more toned following treatment.” When data are given like this, it’s important to ask “x percent of what?” There’s a big difference between having 4 people in a study versus 10,000. And how big was the treated area and how exactly was improvement measured? How much improvement is there with a 20 percent reduction in fat collection? How much was the improvement in lax tissue? We recommend presenting benefits data in absolute terms when possible. One journal article reported that in 60 study volunteers, 20 percent chin fat reduction correlated to a 2.0 mm reduction on average. Clinical photographs and ultrasound imaging were used to assess treatment efficacy. Pre-treatment and post-treatment photographs were shown to three physicians, who had to determine which image was the pre‐treatment one. Participants were also given a written questionnaire after 12 weeks to evaluate their satisfaction. Since benefits data are given in relative terms and we are not told how many patients were involved with the studies (it was 60 in the study cited above and just 14 in another). CoolSculpting.com states the procedure is proven to be a safe and effective. However, there are risks associated with this treatment. The addendum to the release does contain information about potential harms. According to CoolSculpting’s patient safety document, subjects may have redness, blanching, bruising, tingling and stinging immediately after the procedure. One to two weeks after treatment, patients could also experience cramping, numbness, skin sensitivity and “sensations of fullness.” In addition, cold exposure to certain nerves may cause tongue deviation, lower lip weakness, dry mouth and a decrease in saliva production. Some rare side effects include late-onset pain, first and second degree frostbite, fainting, nausea, dizziness, nodules in the treatment area and hyperpigmentation. Some patients have even experienced “paradoxical adipose hyperplasia,” meaning they experience the reverse reaction and end up with more fat cells in the area. We don’t know much about the study design from the news release — only that the clinical trial lasted 18 weeks. We find out more about the quality of evidence from the original journal article, patient safety document and ClinicalTrials.gov entry. This was a multicenter, prospective, open label, non‐randomized interventional cohort study. All 60 participants underwent the cooling treatment — most receiving two cooling cycles — and were followed up for 12 weeks. According to the original journal article, the study’s primary endpoints included the monitoring of adverse events and the identification of at least 80 percent of the pre‐treatment images by three blinded independent reviewers. The journal article also mentioned that chin “fat layer thickness” on ultrasound actually increased in eight subjects. One limitation was there was no control or comparison group in the clinical trial, since everyone received the cooling therapy. This was also a small study with only 60 subjects, with an average age of 49.3 years and a mean BMI of 31.8. Investigators acknowledge another limitation — namely that chin fat reduction wasn’t quantified on a standardized scale, “thus providing an assessment of the relative clinical improvement.” We would have liked more details like these on the study, which is why we give the news release a Not Satisfactory here. The release suggests that a 2017 consumer survey “…revealed that 73 percent of patients are bothered by excess fat under the chin.” Really? Are these survey participants bothered enough that they want the “excess fat” removed? And if so, what is wrong with the rest of us who are not eager to do so? This statistic suggests that the vast majority of the population are candidates for treatment with this device — and that’s simply not the case. We’re rating this Not Satisfactory for disease-mongering. The 2015 clinical study we found online states that Zeltiq Aesthetics, then manufacturers of the CoolSculpting System, sponsored the research. All three authors of the study were on the medical advisory boards for Zeltiq and received research support and grants from the company. One of the investigators also owned Zeltiq stock. Just for clarification, Dublin-based Allergan acquired Zeltiq Aesthetics in April this year. Since none of this is explicitly disclosed. The release is silent on alternative approaches. Double chins are often associated with weight gain. Therefore, most people can get rid of double chins through a healthy lifestyle, like a nutritious diet and regular exercise. There’s anecdotal evidence that chin exercises could help eliminate double chins, like holding a ball under your chin, puckering your lips while looking at the ceiling and stretching your tongue in various directions. Other approaches include mesotherapy, which delivers fat-dissolving substances through a series of injections. The news release says the technology is available through a network of CoolSculpting centers worldwide. It also refers readers to its website, where you can search for a list of clinicians and specialists offering the procedure. We don’t think Allergan can claim novelty with this product since other non-surgical, FDA-cleared fat reduction technologies like Kybella (also made by Allergan) are already on the market. The news release, as well as the CoolSculpting website, states this is the “first and only non-surgical fat reduction technology to be FDA-cleared for improved appearance of lax tissue in conjunction with submental fat, or double chin, treatments.” We also consider Kybella to be a “non-surgical fat reduction technology” that was on the market before the CoolSculpting treatment. The news release does not include sensational, unjustifiable language.
|
1964
|
Rural doctor shortage prompts opening of medical school.
|
A Kansas college hopes young doctors will be more willing to practice in small towns if they go to a medical school in a rural area.
|
true
|
Health News
|
The University of Kansas will have what it says is the smallest four-year medical education site in the country when eight students begin taking classes on Monday on a satellite campus in Salina, Kansas. The move is in response to a shortage of rural doctors in the United States. “By training physicians in a nonmetropolitan area, we are showing young medical students that life can be good, and practice can be stimulating, outside of the big city,” said Dr. William Cathcart-Rake, the physician who directs the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Salina. Students will get some course work via tele-video and podcasts from the school’s other campuses, but they will also train through visits to doctors’ offices in small communities and at the hospital in Salina, school officials said. “It’s a bold and innovative move,” said Dr. Roland Goertz, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He said students at rural clinics will be exposed to a potential medical career they wouldn’t see in urban hospital settings. Cathcart-Rake said six of the eight students being taught at Salina, as part of their scholarships, have committed to practicing in a rural area. Seven of the eight students are from rural areas to begin with, he said. “They see the value of living in wide open spaces and going back to where their friends are,” Cathcart-Rake said. Attending medical school in a place such as Salina reduces chances they will change their minds, which could happen if they went to a big-city school, he said. Salina, with 46,000 residents, is about 175 miles west of the Kansas City metropolitan region where the university’s main medical school is located. Small-town America has become increasingly under-served by doctors. About 21 percent of U.S. residents live in rural regions but only about 10 percent of physicians practice there, according to data cited by the family physicians group. In Kansas, 12 counties don’t have a full-time doctor at all, said Barbara Atkinson, executive dean of the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Several factors are often cited for a shortage of rural doctors. Rural doctors tend to be paid less, partly because they are more likely to treat patients on Medicare and Medicaid, which reimburses at rates below standard insurance. General practitioners make up the largest share of rural doctors, but until recent years fewer medical students were going into general medicine, putting a strain on rural care. Older doctors who practice in small towns and retire are sometimes not replaced because younger doctors may prefer the greater cultural amenities urban regions tend to offer. Recent changes in federal healthcare laws are intended to make rural practice more acceptable to doctors. Doctors who practice in certain underserved areas will get bonuses beyond the 10 percent boost in Medicare reimbursements they were already receiving, Goertz said. He said another reason why there are fewer rural doctors is that the large majority of medical students come from urban areas, where medical schools are usually located, making them less like to consider rural medicine. “You tend to gravitate to where you grew up,” Goertz said. Cathcart-Rake is optimistic that the Salina medical school will be a success and that in future years admissions may grow from eight to 12 students.
|
27117
|
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez graduated cum laude from Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences in 2011.
|
Boston University’s profile of the congresswoman on their “Distinguished Alumni” page also notes that “during her time at BU, she was an intern in the immigration office of US Senator Ted Kennedy.”
|
true
|
Politics, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
|
On 2 April 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a “young bartender” during a fundraising dinner for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Trump was, of course, hardly the first to paint Ocasio-Cortez as inexperienced or unqualified for her position in Congress. Ever since she became the youngest woman to be elected to that legislative body during the 2018 midterm elections, we’ve encountered dozens of posts about her résumé. One of the biggest talking points among Ocasio-Cortez’s detractors is that she is uneducated. For example, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson labeled her a “moron” during a segment on his show, the Powerline blog published an article under the rhetorical title “HOW DUMB IS OCASIO-CORTEZ?” and numerous social media users have posted their own derogatory comments insulting the congresswoman’s intelligence. This rhetoric likely helped sow the seeds of doubt over Ocasio-Cortez’s academic record. One email we received here at Snopes, for instance, questioned whether the congresswoman truly had an economics degree: “Much to do about AOC — Ocasio Cortez — of late and questions about her college degree? We read she actually did not get an econ degree, but an International Relations degree. If so, much of her credibility is in question. What is real here?” The satirical Babylon Bee added a bit more confusion to the situation when they latched onto the criticism and published an article stating that the congresswoman’s economics degree had been revoked. Here is the reality: Ocasio-Cortez truly graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2011. In an article about distinguished alumni, the university wrote that “Ocasio-Cortez graduated from Boston University in 2011 with a BA in International Relations and Economics.” We reached out to the university to clarify the issue: Did she earn a degree in international relations with a focus in economics? Or did she major in both international relations and economics? They indicated that the latter was true. A spokesperson for the university told us: “She graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with two majors in International Relations and Economics. Latin Honors awarded was cum laude that is not tied to an individual major but the degree.” A spokesperson for the congresswoman added: “She was awarded a double major [degree] in both International Relations and Economics.” It seems relevant to note that possessing a college degree is not a requirement for becoming a member of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress. The only constitutional requirements are that members must be U.S. citizens, residents of the areas they represent, and at least 25 years of age. While the majority of Congressmembers do have college degrees, a profile of the 115th Congress published in December 2018 found that 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives had no educational degree beyond a high school diploma. The congresswoman’s college years weren’t the only part of her résumé that had been called into question — we’ve also received queries about internships, science projects, and asteroids. A popular meme posted to the Facebook page “Occupy Democrats” summed up a few of the claims about Ocasio-Cortez’s alleged accomplishments: The claims made in this meme are largely accurate. In high school, she won 2nd place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Before she became a congresswoman, Ocasio-Cortez was a high school student with an interest in microbiology. While the statement reproduced above is largely accurate, we have one small caveat about it: Ocasio-Cortez won second place in the microbiology category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), not second place overall for the entire fair. The Society for Science and the Public, the organization that hosts ISEF, wrote about Ocasio-Cortez’s accomplishment in a 7 November 2018 article and congratulated their former contestant on her congressional victory: Congratulations to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ISEF 2007) on winning her election to represent New York’s 14th Congressional District! In 2007, Alexandria placed second in the International Science and Engineering Fair in the Microbiology category with her project on the effect of antioxidants on roundworms. As a science student at Yorktown High School, Alexandria tested the effect of various antioxidants on the lifespan of roundworms, known as Caenorhabditis elegans. When organisms are under oxidative stress, there are more free radicals (chemicals with unpaired electrons) than antioxidants in the body to neutralize them. Those free radicals react quickly with many other chemicals, and without antioxidants to neutralize them, create cellular chaos. Such an unstable cellular environment has been hypothesized to be responsible for wrinkles, neurological diseases and even cancer. In a show of appreciation for her efforts, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory named a small asteroid after her: 23238 Ocasio-Cortez Ocasio-Cortez may have have not won first place at ISEF, but her efforts didn’t go unnoticed. MIT was apparently impressed enough with her work that they named a small asteroid after her. The congresswoman posted about this unique achievement on Twitter: It’s true! Science was my first passion. Asteroid named by @MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in honor of longevity experiments I conducted out of Mt. Sinai. My research won 2nd place globally in Microbiology at @intel ISEF. At BU I started as science major, changed to Econ 🤓#nerdalert https://t.co/MICD5me2Wm — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 12, 2018 Readers interested in the specifics of this asteroid can read more about it on the website of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). For those only interested in how the asteroid got its name, NASA included this note at the bottom of their page: 23238 Ocasio-Cortez: Discovered 2000 Nov. 20 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team in Socorro. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (b. 1989) was awarded second place in the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for her microbiology project. She attends the Yorktown High School, Yorktown Heights, New York, U.S.A. She attended Boston University, where she had a John F. Lopez Fellowship The John F. Lopez Fellowship (JFL) program is offered by the National Hispanic Institute and is available to undergraduate students who “demonstrate leadership potential, willingness to face challenges, and ability to share talent and skill with the Hispanic/Latino community.” NHI Magazine noted Ocasio-Cortez’s time as a JFL intern when they named her the National Hispanic Institute’s “Person of the Year” in 2017: Ocasio-Cortez is accustomed to beating the odds and forging forward with determination. She was tutored well by her father throughout her early years, and kept close company with her mother, grandmother, and younger brother. At just 17, her father suddenly became ill and died, but bearing the burden of that heavy and personal loss, she enrolled at Boston University, completed her program in four years, and graduated fourth in her class. As a high school student, she participated in the NHI Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session and became intensely involved in the organization’s work, going on to serve as an LDZ Secretary of State and a John F. Lopez Intern while in college. During college, she interned in the immigration office for U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy Ocasio-Cortez has talked about her internship in Senator Ted Kennedy’s office on numerous occasions. She’s posted about it on Twitter and has discussed the experience in various interviews. Here’s how she described her internship in the foreign affairs and immigration office of Senator Kennedy in a 2018 article published by Mic: After enrolling at Boston University on a scholarship from Intel, Ocasio-Cortez found herself working in the foreign affairs and immigration office of Sen. Ted Kennedy from early 2008 until his death in 2009. “I was the only Spanish speaker, and as a result, as basically a kid — a 19-, 20-year-old kid — whenever a frantic call would come into the office because someone is looking for their husband because they have been snatched off the street by ICE, I was the one that had to pick up that phone,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I was the one that had to help that person navigate that system.” That experience shaped her understanding of the challenges faced by undocumented people in the United States — challenges she says Democrats in Congress have not done enough to fix.
|
17492
|
"The General Assembly ""has no explicit constitutional authority to impose income, sales, estate and the myriad of other taxes upon us."
|
Nicholas Gorham said the Rhode Island General Assembly ‘‘has no explicit constitutional authority’’ to levy taxes. History tells us he’s right. Had he suggested that the lack of explicit language meant no one had to pay taxes, we’d view his claim in a far different light. But he didn’t, so we rule it True. (If you hear a claim you'd like us to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)
|
true
|
Rhode Island, History, Taxes, Nicholas Gorham,
|
"Former state Rep. Nicholas Gorham made a surprising claim last month in a commentary in The Providence Journal. ""The fact is that we have a General Assembly that has no explicit constitutional authority to impose income, sales, estate and the myriad of other taxes upon us, yet it taxes the people as if there were no limitations on its authority to tax the people,"" he wrote in the piece, published Dec. 30. The legislature can’t legally levy taxes? This called for a PolitiFact audit. First, a history lesson. When King Charles II granted a royal charter to the colony in 1663, the document, preserved in a metal and glass case at the State House, established ""a form of pure government by an elected assembly presided over by a nearly powerless, elected governor,"" according to an account on the General Assembly’s website. The Assembly’s supremacy continued when Rhode Island became a state, and was reaffirmed in the state’s first Constitution, adopted in 1842. Article VI, Section 10 spelled it out, saying ""the General Assembly shall continue to exercise the powers it has heretofore exercised, unless prohibited in this Constitution."" The state Supreme Court consistently interpreted that to mean the power of the General Assembly was unlimited unless authority to do something was specifically given to another branch of government. Things changed in 2004, when the General Assembly, responding to pressure from good government groups, passed ""separation of powers"" legislation, a set of proposed amendments to the state Constitution. The amendments made it clear the government is divided into three separate branches, banned legislators from serving on any executive-branch boards or commissions, and gave the governor power to appoint members of agency boards. And they eliminated the catch-all Section 10. Voters approved the amendments 2-to-1. So is Gorham right that, because of 2004 vote, the General Assembly lost its ""explicit"" authority to tax? On a literal level, yes. The only reference to setting taxes in the current Constitution is a section that says that the Assembly can set the manner in which property valuations are conducted. But legal experts say on a practical level, implicit can be as good as explicit. Former state Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Flanders Jr., who stepped down in early 2004, says that although much was changed by the 2004 amendments, much abides. From the days of Parliament and the English kings, he said, the power to levy taxes has rested in the legislative body, a legal tradition that was carried on in England’s colonies in the Americas. ""Inherent in the legislative power is the power to tax,"" Flanders said. ""You wouldn’t need an explicit grant."" Richard Raspallo, legal counsel to House Majority Leader Nicholas A. Mattiello, agreed, saying there are several examples of legislative power that is assumed despite a lack of specific language in the Constitution. ""Where is it explicitly stated in the Constitution that the General Assembly has the authority to require Rhode Island citizens to follow traffic rules, or have a license, or grant people the right to marry, or require people to have certain educational standards in order to work in certain fields?"" he said. ""At some point, the General Assembly has been granted power by the people to legislate for the common good,"" he said. ""That includes the imposition of taxes to pay for the welfare of the citizenry."" Gorham indirectly acknowledged that, but said the ambiguity shows the need for a state constitutional convention to settle the matter definitively. (Voters will be asked in November whether a convention should be convened.) As he wrote in his commentary: ""Of course, I plan to pay my taxes, but you really have to wonder sometimes. If the people really wanted to get taxes — and, yes, borrowing — under control and on the people’s terms, the Constitution, just the way it is, would be a great place to start. Let the revolution begin!"" Our ruling Nicholas Gorham said the Rhode Island General Assembly ‘‘has no explicit constitutional authority’’ to levy taxes. History tells us he’s right. Had he suggested that the lack of explicit language meant no one had to pay taxes, we’d view his claim in a far different light. But he didn’t, so we rule it . (If you hear a claim you'd like us to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"
|
3195
|
Cuomo’s 2020 agenda: Fight hate, help planet, legalize pot.
|
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo used his annual State of the State address Wednesday to advocate for a mix of “practical” progressive goals and urgent responsibilities, including waging war on hate crimes, spending $3 billion on environmental protection and legalizing recreational marijuana.
|
true
|
Albany, New York, Andrew Cuomo, General News, Marijuana, Environment, Medicaid
|
The third-term Democrat touted past achievements and trumpeted a long list of policy initiatives, many of which he previewed in a series of announcements over the past month. Cuomo also stressed the need for fiscal restraint, with the state staring at a $6 billion budget gap, caused largely by soaring Medicaid spending. The agenda Cuomo outlined in the speech includes plans for expanding anti-discrimination protections in the state constitution, an overhaul for New York City’s Penn Station and a proposed ban on foam food containers. Cuomo also outlined another ban that would cover marketing flavored e-cigarettes to children, initiatives intended to lower the cost of prescription drugs, guaranteed paid sick leave time for more New York workers and expanded universal pre-kindergarten. “New York at her best is the progressive capitol of the nation, and we must fulfill that destiny again this year,” Cuomo said. Cuomo delivered his address at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in downtown Albany to an audience of members of the Legislature and top politicians from around the state. The speech kicked off a legislative session running through June 2. The governor’s address comes after several episodes of violence targeting Jewish people, including an attack by a man who stormed inside the home of a Monsey rabbi, Chaim Rottenberg, and stabbed five people at a Hanukkah celebration. Rottenberg delivered a blessing before Cuomo’s address and called for tolerance. “I will never forget the horror of that night,” Rottenberg said. “But I will also never forget how we continue to celebrate after that day, how we continue to rejoice in the miracle of Hanukkah. I will never forget the resilience on display that night and in the following days, the resilience of Jewish people and the resilience of New York.” Cuomo is proposing a new law targeted at domestic terrorism and said New York would be the first state in the U.S. to enact such legislation. The new law would apply to crimes in which at least one person died and victims were targeted by their race, religion and gender, among other topics. Cuomo called the attack “intolerable” and pledged the state won’t stand for it. “They attacked me, and they attacked you,” Cuomo said. “These are the times, my friends, when New York state is called upon to lead to set a course for a troubled nation searching its way through the fog of confusion,” he said. In a policy briefing book that accompanied his speech, Cuomo said his proposal to legalize marijuana would limit the sale of cannabis products to adults over age 21. But he only briefly mentioned his legalization proposal in his address Wednesday, to tepid applause. A similar proposal to legalize recreational marijuana failed last year among disagreements over funding and hesitation from suburban Democrats. Lawmakers instead scaled back penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana and created a process for expungement. Cuomo has declared “Making Progress Happen” as his slogan for 2020. But any progress will have to come while the state is grappling with a budget gap fueled by soaring Medicaid costs. Debate over how to handle the shortfall is expected to color virtually every policy debate this year. Hundreds of activists rallied in Albany demanding action on issues including the state’s ambitious climate change goals. Cuomo called climate change the “transcendent threat of our times” and proposed sending voters a $3 billion bond in November to fund a flood reduction and habitat restoration program he is calling Restore Mother Nature. “Because no economic strategy, no social justice reform, no education policy will be worth a damn if we don’t have a planet to live on,” he said. Cuomo has yet to share many details about his plans to address soaring costs of the Medicaid program, which serves over 6 million people. The governor called Wednesday for improved accountability in the Medicaid system, saying safeguards were needed to limit potential overspending on the program by municipalities. More details of how the administration plans to address the funding gap may have to wait for his budget proposal, expected in mid-January. Cuomo has cautioned against overspending while pledging not to raise taxes. That budget-conscious message could clash with more left-leaning lawmakers and advocates who want to balance the budget with new taxes on the wealthy. The governor’s party has seen big political wins in recent years, even as some long-time Democratic incumbents have lost to more left-wing challengers. But Cuomo argued Wednesday true progressive politics must be grounded in “reality” and champion results over rhetoric. Republicans, who have seen their clout diminish in Albany, say they will hold down spending and resist new taxes. Republican leaders including state GOP chairman Nick Langworthy criticized the governor for failing to address the budget deficit as well as a mounting debate over bail reforms enacted last year. Cuomo and other Democrats have signaled they are open to making changes to the statute. In his preview announcements over the past month, Cuomo has released proposals to ban untraceable guns, study high speed rail, allow liquor sales in movie theaters, require the use of American-made steel and iron on infrastructure projects and ease rules for prosecuting sexual assault involving intoxicated victims, among other initiatives. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, said lawmakers have their own priorities this year, including working to increase school aid, affordable housing, infrastructure, local businesses, rural hospitals and mental healthcare.
|
28555
|
"Congress ""quietly"" passed legislation allowing authorities to raid private property with no warrant."
|
What's true: Congress passed legislation that Rep. Justin Amash considers too broad and potentially unconstitutional. What's false: The legislation does not allow authorities all over the U.S. to conduct warrantless searches, as claimed by a number of disreputable web sites. What's undetermined: How the legislation could be interpreted for the Fourth Amendment in the future.
|
mixture
|
Uncategorized, fourth amendment, republicans, the free thought project
|
On 24 August 2017, TheFreeThoughtProject.com, which mostly posts stories geared towards stoking fear that the government is on the verge of becoming an authoritarian police state, posted a story with an alarming headline: “Congress Quietly Passed a Bill Allowing Warrantless Searches of Homes — Only 1% Opposed It.” The web site reports: A bill that will allow homes to be searched without a warrant was passed with overwhelming support by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Trump—and it happened with no media coverage and very little fanfare. The legislation in question is House Joint Resolution 76, which authorizes Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to form an intergovernmental transit commission, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, or MSC. The bill passed overwhelmingly — unanimously in the Senate — and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on 22 August 2017. Only five Republicans, including Rep. Justin Amash (R-Michigan), voted “no”. Amash took issue with language in the bill he believed was unconstitutional, in that it could be interpreted to mean that Metro officials could search private property without obtaining a warrant first, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The portion he expressed concern about reads: In carrying out its purposes, the Commission, through its Board or designated employees or agents, shall, consistent with federal law: … Enter upon the WMATA Rail System and, upon reasonable notice and a finding by the chief executive officer that a need exists, upon any lands, waters, and premises adjacent to the WMATA Rail System, including, without limitation, property owned or occupied by the federal government, for the purpose of making inspections, investigations, examinations, and testing as the Commission may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this MSC Compact, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass. The Commission shall make reasonable reimbursement for any actual damage resulting to any such adjacent lands, waters, and premises as a result of such activities[.] When asked for further comment, Amash’s spokeswoman directed us an exchange he had on Twitter with George Washington University criminal law professor Orin Kerr, who posted a similar story in ZeroHedge.com (another conspiratorial web site) interpreting it as inaccurate. In the exchange, Amash argued the bill is poorly-drafted and authorizes a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which ensures “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures”: This bill does authorize a #4thAmendment violation. Congress has a duty not to pass such broad language even if Constitution nullifies it. — Justin Amash (@justinamash) August 27, 2017 I agree with your general observations, but courts haven’t sufficiently protected rights. 4A requires probable cause & warrant for searches. — Justin Amash (@justinamash) August 27, 2017 We followed up with Kerr, who told us the government can’t simply pass a law that subverts the Constitution. In an e-mail, he told us: I don’t think the language tries to do that, and if it does that, it’s unconstitutional and can’t be given effect. Some of the language is admittedly vague: It says that [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority] WMATA officers can enter “premises adjacent to the WMATA Rail System,” without saying what counts as “premises.” The fear is that maybe this allows the WMATA to enter private homes and other spaces. But the text doesn’t directly say that, or say anything about warrants, and I suspect a court would say that “premises” doesn’t mean spaces protected by the 4th Amendment because that would render the law unconstitutional. The government can’t just pass a law allowing warrantless home searches: The Fourth Amendment wouldn’t allow that. The whole point of the Fourth Amendment is to keep governments from being able to take away our rights like that; the legislature can’t eliminate the protections that the Constitution guarantees. (Open spaces like fields and yards aren’t protected by the Fourth Amendment, so that wouldn’t be an issue.) We sought a second opinion from James Moore, professor and director of the Transportation Engineering Program at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering. Moore agreed with Kerr in saying a potential constitutional violation by the transit agency wouldn’t stand up in court, but the language that seems to allow it is overly broad, which he said was probably unintentional. Both experts agreed the language in the legislation is overly-broad. Moore, who pointed out he is not an attorney or a licensed engineer but a researcher who studies urban transit systems, told us: The scope of authority being claimed in this legislation with respect to private property is unusually large. The most fundamental of property rights is the right to exclude others. Local public works authorities frequently have to access private property. When they do, they normally must exercise a degree of due process that is not called out in this legislation. Standard procedure is seek permission of the property owner. If the property owner does not provide permission, then the standard procedure is to obtain an administrative search warrant. There is an exception for emergencies, so the need to address an imminent public safety threat on private property would permit an agency to enter without trespassing. Since this the MSC Compact involves multiple jurisdictions, each may have a separate set of due processes for administrative search warrants or the equivalent, and the MSC may be trying to avoid this complication. However, the WMATA is an interstate agency that has been in existence for many years with rights of way abutting private property in multiple jurisdictions, so I have to assume they have well defined administrative relationships with their constituent entities and the localities in each. I am confident that the WMATA has had reason to enter private property before, and has procedures in place to do so when necessary. Why the MSC Compact would be exempt from these procedures is unclear. An exception already exists for emergencies. Nine people were killed in the Washington Metro crash of 2009. This is likely part of the impetus for the creation of the MSC Compact, but it may have induced such a special sensitivity to safety concerns that the result is an unintentional overreach. I don’t know anything about the motives behind the legislation, but I do believe the latitude this legislation provides to the MSC Compact with respect to accessing private property is unusual, and I do not expect it stand up to a challenge in court on any number of grounds. I do not expect that it is nefarious. It may well be no more than a well-intentioned mistake by an interstate agency trying serve the public interests with respect to safety. According to the Washington Post’s reporting, the legislation that created the tri-state safety commission has traveled a rocky path, and still has ways to go before it goes from being a signed piece of legislation to a real-world agency. Further, moving the legislation forward was becoming dire because the federal government started withholding funds in February, due to the ongoing failure to create the safety commission: But it will still be a while before the safety organization exists — the District, Maryland and Virginia are still looking for office space for the newly minted agency, they will need to find employees to staff that office, and they are seeking out at least six people with extensive rail and transit safety experience who can serve as commissioners. (Each jurisdiction is required to have two commissioners, along with an alternate.) … The jurisdictions are hustling to complete this certification process by the end of this year. And they’re operating in the context of an increasingly urgent ticking clock: Since February, the federal government has been withholding millions of dollars in federal funds from transit agencies around D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Although the language in the legislation is vague and has caused some concern that it could violate the Constitution, the experts we consulted said that simply drafting legislation doesn’t negate the Constitution — although how it will be potentially interpreted by the courts if such a case comes up is currently unknown. Amash did express displeasure publicly with the way the bill was drafted, and concern that it could lead to violations of the Fourth Amendment. But despite what fear-mongering web sites report, the transit bill’s signing doesn’t mean authorities throughout the country can now enter private homes or other property without a search warrant.
|
8583
|
CDC removes unusual guidance to doctors about drug favored by Trump.
|
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed from its website highly unusual guidance informing doctors on how to prescribe hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs recommended by President Donald Trump to treat the coronavirus.
|
true
|
Health News
|
The move comes three days after Reuters reported that the CDC published key dosing information involving the two antimalarial drugs based on unattributed anecdotes rather than peer-reviewed science. Reuters also reported that the original guidance was crafted by the CDC after President Trump personally pressed federal regulatory and health officials to make the malaria drugs more widely available to treat the novel coronavirus, though the drugs in question had been untested for COVID-19. Initially, the CDC webpage, titled Information for Clinicians on Therapeutic Options for Patients with COVID-19, had said: “Although optimal dosing and duration of hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 are unknown, some U.S. clinicians have reported anecdotally” on several ways to prescribe the medication of COVID-19. Medical specialists had told Reuters they were surprised by that language. “Why would CDC be publishing anecdotes?” asked Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. “That doesn’t make sense. This is very unusual.” Doctors and other health experts had further criticized the guidance as suggesting that doctors might prescribe the medications when it isn’t established whether or not they are effective or harmful. Now the CDC website no longer includes that information. Instead, its first sentence says: “There are no drugs or other therapeutics approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to prevent or treat COVID-19.” The updated, and shortened, guidance adds that “Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are under investigation in clinical trials” for use on coronavirus patients. To read the new CDC guidance, click here The CDC did not immediately respond to questions about the removal of the original guidance. In a statement, it had originally told Reuters it had crafted the guidance for doctors at the request of a coronavirus task force, which urged prompt action. Jeffrey Flier, a former dean of Harvard Medical School who had criticized the original guidance, applauded the updated version, calling it “substantially improved.” “It states the facts without in effect recommending that physicians prescribe the drugs despite a lack of adequate evidence,” Flier said. The hydroxychloroquine debate has heated up and become more political as President Trump this weekend said he might want to take the drug himself.
|
22084
|
Jay Goyal Says there are more federal dollars in Gov. John Kasich's budget plan than in the previous state budget.
|
State Rep. Jay Goyal says new Kasich budget plan uses more federal dollars than last budget
|
false
|
Ohio, State Budget, Jay Goyal,
|
"A long-running debate at the Statehouse has focused on the role that federal stimulus money played in former Gov. Ted Strickland’s last state budget. From the day it was first introduced in February 2009, Republicans ripped Strickland’s budget for relying on billions in federal stimulus dollars to help Ohio shore its state budget. The now-absent federal stimulus dollars are the chief reason, Republicans have long argued, that they are now forced to make gouging cuts in education and local government funds to keep the next state budget in balance. House Democrats tried to turn the tables on that GOP argument during the seven-hour-long floor debate May 5, 2011, over the next state budget. They did so by noting that the state budget proposed by Republican Gov. John Kasich actually had more federal dollars in it then the one crafted by Democrats in 2009. ""I think it’s important to note that even accounting for the federal stimulus dollars, there are more federal dollars in this biennial than there are federal dollars in the previous biennial budget,"" said Rep. Jay Goyal, a Mansfield lawmaker. ""I think that’s an important fact to note."" House Republicans immediately jumped on Goyal’s statement with Rep. Ron Amstutz, a Wooster Republican, even invoking PolitiFact Ohio saying that should be awarded a rating. Does it? House Democratic Caucus spokeswoman Melissa Fazekas pulled some numbers from Strickland’s current state budget, which runs through June 30, as well as Kasich’s proposal for the next state budget. The House Democratic numbers — taken from the state budget summary put together by the Office of Budget and Management under Kasich — show a total of $6.9 billion in federal dollars in 2010 and $8.2 billion in 2011 deposited into Ohio’s general revenue fund. That’s a total of $15.1 billion in federal dollars over both years of Strickland’s budget. Meanwhile, Kasich’s proposed budget for 2012-13 relies on $7.55 billion in 2012 and $8.49 billion in 2013. That’s a total of $16.04 billion — or about $940 million more than what Strickland had to used in his budget, according to the chart Democrats relied upon. So Goyal’s right? Not so fast. The chart on which House Democrats relied only compares the federal dollars in the state’s general revenue fund in both budgets. And while that’s the usual place where federal dollars end up in state budgets, Strickland’s budget director Pari Sabety moved portions of the state’s Medicaid program ""off-budget"" in 2009, so not all the federal money went into the state’s general revenue fund. In fact, a state budget document titled ""estimated one-time revenue source"" prepared by the Strickland administration has a notation marked ""footnote D"" concerning a pot of federal money known as enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP. Basically, federal officials decided to reimburse states at a higher rate for Medicare and Medicaid costs than they normally do—picking up 73 cents of every dollar spent on medical care instead of the usual rate of 64 cents. The footnote explains that only a small portion of that enhanced FMAP money was funneled into the state’s general revenue fund. ""Under budget framework, an additional $1.3 billion in FY 2010 and $590 million in FY 2011 is deposited into non-GRF funds,"" the footnote says. Put simply, there was nearly $1.9 billion in federal dollars in the last budget beyond what was in Ohio’s general revenue fund. And that’s not all. That’s because federal officials added even more money to the enhanced FMAP program in September 2010—about $293 million funneled ""off-budget"" which was ladled out to Ohio hospitals, mental health providers and drug assistance for HIV positive patients as well as the state departments of aging and mental health. Add this to our previous pile of federal money and you have about $17.3 billion in federal dollars that flowed into Ohio in the last budget cycle -- roughly $1.26 billion more than the budget proposed by Kasich. Goyal’s statement did contain some element of truth, but the phrase he used was ""more federal dollars"" which should include all of the money coming from the federal government, not just funds flowing into the GRF. Not including the Medicaid dollars ignores a critical fact that would give the listener a different impression."
|
27546
|
"A dangerous new drug known as ""gray death"" can kill through the air and skin contact."
|
“To this date, I have no idea what makes it gray,” said Deneen Kilcrease, a forensic chemist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab. “Nothing in and of itself should be that color.”
|
true
|
Uncategorized, carfentanil, drugs, gray death
|
On 11 May 2017, TheFederalistPapers.org, a web site that often posts conservative click bait, reported on a new drug cocktail known as “Gray Death”: The Indiana Department of Homeland Security is warning about the new drug called “Gray Death” that doesn’t just kill the drug users with even the slightest contact – but the first responders who come to help as well. It is a “particularly dangerous mixture of heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil and other synthetic opioids,” WDRB reports, that is usually used as a tranquilizer for elephants and other large mammals. It is “10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl” and poses a severe threat to first responders because it can be absorbed through the skin or accidentally inhaled through the air. The sensational sounding nature of the story prompted questions whether it is true, but the story is accurate (and largely cribbed from the reporting of local television station WDRB). We followed up with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to confirm details of the report, and spokesman John Erickson confirmed to us that “very casual contact” with the substance can potentially cause a serious adverse reaction. As far as inhalation, he compared it to closing a bag of flour: some powder will become airborne. But unlike flour, a similar accidental exposure to Gray Death can lead to serious health problems. Authorities are notifying first responders to take necessary precautions. Indiana DHS released a press statement that warns: Gray Death, a particularly dangerous mixture of heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil and other synthetic opioids, made its way to Indiana this week, causing an overdose in central Indiana. Partners warning about the increased risk are State of Indiana Emergency Medical Services and the State Fire Marshal, part of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security; Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana State Police. A persistent increase in opioid overdoses tied to the synthetic drug carfentanil have been seen around the country, prompting concern. … Carfentanil, which is used as a tranquilizing agent for elephants and other large mammals, is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It is often mixed in with other drugs such as cocaine or crystal meth — and often drug users have no idea their drugs have been tainted. Carfentanil and other fentanyl-related compounds are a serious danger to public safety, first responder, medical, treatment, and laboratory personnel. These substances can come in several forms, including powder, blotter paper, tablets, and spray. The substance can be absorbed through the skin or accidental inhalation of airborne powder. “With the pervasive nature of opioids and addiction, there is always the chance that family or friends may come into contact with dangerous substances when working to save their loved one,” said Dr. Michael Olinger, State Emergency Medical Services Medical Director. The release included an image demonstrating how deadly carfentanil is compared to other dangerous substances. It shows how much heroin can kill an average adult versus fentanyl and carfentanil: In February 2016, a 24-year-old Georgia woman died after overdosing on the drug mixture: A Brookhaven woman died from a mixture of heroin and fentanyl known as ‘gray death,’ GBI officials said. Lauren Camp, 24, had ingested the mix before she was found submerged in a bathtub in February, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said. GBI officials found the deadly drugs at the scene. Camp’s “gray death” is the first confirmed in Georgia. The drug has been spreading from state to state and apparently can vary in its constitution. But what sets it apart is its gray color — and its deadliness: Over the past four months, Georgia police have seized about 50 batches of grey death statewide, with metro Atlanta being a major hotspot. The drug has also started popping up in Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania, state and local officials confirmed. Because ingredients change from sample to sample, each batch of grey death is a mystery — right down to its signature color.
|
3812
|
Trump proposes reduction of drug costs under Medicare.
|
President Donald Trump will propose lowering prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries by allowing them to share in rebates that drug companies pay to insurers and middlemen, an administration official said.
|
true
|
Seniors, Medication, Health, North America, Prescription drug costs, Prescription drugs, Medicare, Donald Trump
|
A senior administration official outlined the plan Thursday on condition of anonymity ahead of the release of Trump’s 2019 budget plan next week. Pharmaceutical companies now pay rebates to insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to help their medications gain a bigger slice of the market. Insurers apply savings from rebates to keep premiums more manageable. Under Trump’s proposal, seniors covered by Medicare’s popular “Part D” prescription benefit would be able to share in the rebates for individual drugs that they purchase at the pharmacy. Trump’s budget would also expand Medicare’s “catastrophic” drug benefit so that many seniors with very high costs would not face copayments. Seniors with high drug bills are currently still responsible for 5 percent of the cost of their medications. With some new drugs costing $100,000 a year or more, patient costs add up quickly. The White House proposal would put Trump in the middle of a tug-of-war between drug companies on one side and insurers and pharmacy benefit managers on the other, with billions of dollars at stake. Insurers and pharmacy benefit managers say the reason drug costs are so high is that drug companies are free to charge what the market will bear. The pharmaceutical industry says middlemen are the problem, because they keep rebates paid by drug makers instead of passing them on to patients. Insurers counter that rebates are passed on in the form of lower monthly premiums for everybody. The drug industry lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, had no immediate reaction. The Trump administration’s new proposals come on top of a long list of Medicare changes in the congressional budget deal. Medicare is the government’s premier health insurance program, covering about 60 million seniors and disabled people. Lawmakers would shift a greater share of Medicare drug costs to the pharmaceutical industry. They also want to eliminate the drug coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole” one year earlier than currently scheduled, in 2019 instead of 2020. “On the whole, I think this is a good bill for people with Medicare,” said Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center, said of the congressional legislation. “This tilts toward getting a lot of good things done.” But his group opposes a provision that would raise premiums paid by the wealthiest retirees for coverage of outpatient services and prescription drugs. Here’s a look at some of the major Medicare provisions in the budget deal that Republican leaders are trying to push through Congress. Democrats are split over the overall measure, but the Medicare provisions appear to have support from both parties: — PRESCRIPTION DRUGS Originally, beneficiaries in the “doughnut hole” coverage gap were responsible for the full cost of their medications, but the Affordable Care Act passed under former President Barack Obama gradually closes the gap. The budget deal accelerates the timetable by one year, to 2019. Drug makers are already required to provide discounts to close the coverage gap, but the budget deal raises the level of company discounts, which in turn lowers the government’s costs. That should act as a brake on the monthly premiums paid by beneficiaries. “In theory when Medicare spending goes down, premiums would go down, too,” said Tricia Neuman, a Medicare expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. The drug industry is criticizing the proposal, saying it will mainly benefit insurance companies that act as middlemen providing the benefit. The coverage gap starts when beneficiaries hit $3,750 in total drug costs. — CAPS REPEALED ON REHAB The budget deal permanently repeals limits on therapy services commonly used by stroke patients and people recovering from major surgeries. Those services include physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. In previous years, Congress had routinely held off on applying the caps. Groups including AARP were pressing for a full repeal. It takes effect this year. __HIGHER PREMIUMS FOR WEALTHIEST RETIREES Premiums for outpatient coverage and prescription drugs would rise for about 1 million wealthy seniors with annual incomes of at least $500,000 for an individual, or $750,000 for a couple filing jointly. Hiking premiums on the well-to-do is an idea that has bipartisan support among lawmakers, but advocates worry that Congress will ultimately start raising costs for middle-class seniors as well. __TELEMEDICINE AND CHRONIC CARE The budget deal expands Medicare’s ability to pay for telemedicine in a wide variety of situations, including for patients with stroke symptoms. It also incorporates a bipartisan Senate bill that is intended to improve care coordination for patients with chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. —COST CONTROL BOARD REPEALED The deal would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a Medicare cost-control agency authorized under the Affordable Care Act. It was controversial from the beginning, and the Obama White House did not move forward to set up the board.
|
21883
|
As the Democrats finally maxed out their government spending credit card Monday, Kurt Schrader continued to stand with his party leaders in failing to offer any viable long-term solution.
|
Lawyers for the state of Oklahoma on Monday compared Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) to a drug cartel leader as they sought to hold the drugmaker responsible for fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic in the first trial to result from lawsuits over the crisis.
|
false
|
Oregon, National Republican Congressional Committee,
|
Lawyers for the state, including Attorney General Mike Hunter, told a judge in Norman, Oklahoma that J&J’s “greed” led the drugmaker to carry out a years-long marketing effort that caused “utter confusion” about the addictive painkillers’ risks. Brad Beckworth, a lawyer for the state, said J&J knew opioids were harmful, yet minimized the risk of addiction in their marketing, resulting in a surge in overdose deaths as doctors overprescribed the drugs and they flooded the state. “They didn’t get here from a Mexican cartel,” Beckworth said. “They got here from the pharmaceutical cartel, and the kingpin of them all is Johnson & Johnson.” The state urged Judge Thad Balkman, who presided over the nonjury trial for six weeks, to find J&J liable for creating a public nuisance and force it to pay up to $17 billion over 30 years to address the epidemic. Larry Ottaway, J&J’s attorney, countered its products, which had included the painkillers Duragesic and Nucynta, were minimally used in Oklahoma and that trial testimony showed doctors were not misled about the drugs’ risks before prescribing them. He said New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J strictly adhered to regulations governing opioids, which served a legitimate purpose, and called Oklahoma’s multi-billion dollar demand “untenable.” “Only a company that believes its innocence would come in and defend itself against a state, but we take the challenge on because we believe we are right,” Ottaway said in his closing argument. Balkman said he would rule after receiving briefs from both sides, due July 31. The case is one of around 2,000 actions by state and local governments accusing drug manufacturers of contributing to the opioid epidemic. Opioids were linked to a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Oklahoma case is being closely watched by plaintiffs in other opioid lawsuits, particularly in 1,900 cases pending before a federal judge in Ohio who has been pushing for a settlement ahead of an October trial. Purdue and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA.TA) were originally also defendants in the case. Purdue reached a $270 million settlement with Oklahoma in March and Teva settled for $85 million in May. Both deny wrongdoing.
|
15302
|
97 percent of the work that Planned Parenthood does is about mammograms and preventative health.
|
"O’Malley said, ""97 percent of the work that Planned Parenthood does is about mammograms and preventative health."" According to Planned Parenthood, about 97 percent of the services the group provides in a given year are services other than abortion. That includes preventive and primary care. Preventive care accounts for about 85 to 90 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides. While mammograms are considered a form of preventive care, Planned Parenthood doesn’t do their own mammograms. Clinics perform breast exams and refer patients to outside clinics for an actual mammogram. The claim wasn’t pulled out of thin air, but it’s missing some important information."
|
mixture
|
Abortion, National, Public Health, Martin O'Malley,
|
"The vast majority of Planned Parenthood’s work goes toward mammograms and preventive care, said former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Since an anti-abortion group released videos Planned Parenthood officials talking about aborted fetal parts, Republicans have pushed to take away federal funding from the women’s health organization. Democratic presidential candidates, on the other hand, are showing their support, if subdued. O’Malley said he hadn’t seen the videos, speaking to reporters in New Hampshire July 26. ""And I don't generally make a habit of responding to right-wing videos,"" O'Malley said, according to Washington Post’s Dave Weigel. ""I do know that 97 percent of the work that Planned Parenthood does is about mammograms and preventative health. So that's what I know, but I'll defer to others for commenting on that video and whatever videos they're pumping out there."" Is 97 percent of what Planned Parenthood does mammograms and other preventive care, as opposed to abortions? O’Malley spokeswoman Haley Morris pointed us to a Planned Parenthood press release that had a similar, but not identical, statistic. ""More than 97 percent of Planned Parenthood's services are primary and preventive health care, including lifesaving cancer screenings, birth control, testing and treatment of STDs, annual exams and health counseling,"" the 2011 release said. As we’ve found in previous fact-checks, Planned Parenthood comes to this number by adding up the number of individual services provided each year. In total, they provided nearly 11 million services in 2013, according to their most recent annual report. (Planned Parenthood clinics saw 2.7 million individual patients in 2013, so many received multiple services.) Here’s the breakdown from the annual report: Abortions: 327,653 Sexually transmitted infection/disease testing and treatment: 4,470,597 Contraception: 3,577,348 Cancer screening and prevention: 935,573 Pregnancy tests: 1,128,783 Prenatal services: 18,684 Family practice services: 65,464 Adoption referrals: 1,880 Urinary tract infection treatments: 47,264 Other: 17,187 Based on this list, it’s accurate that abortion procedures only count for 3 percent of all services provided, meaning 97 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides are other forms of reproductive and primary care. By far, contraception and STI/STD testing and treatment are the most frequented services. Of their services, Planned Parenthood considers many to be preventive care in that they manage health and prevent disease or worse problems down the line. This includes STI/STD testing and treatment, contraception and cancer screening and prevention -- 8,983,518 services provided in 2013. Not included in this list are abortions, pregnancy tests, prenatal services, adoption referrals, UTI treatments, family practice services (a vague category that could include certain preventive care), and other services -- 1,606,915 services in 2013. Based on this breakdown, about 85 percent of Planned Parenthood’s work is preventive. Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Elizabeth Clark put the figure at 90 percent. But both are a bit lower than what O’Malley said: that 97 percent is preventive care and mammograms. Oh yeah, what about mammograms? Within the category of ""cancer screening and prevention services,"" Planned Parenthood said it offered 487,029 breast exams or breast care services in 2013. However, as we’ve noted before, Planned Parenthood clinics do not provide mammograms themselves. Rather, Planned Parenthood physicians perform other types of breast exams and refer patients to outside clinics where they can get a mammogram. An October 2012 statement posted on Planned Parenthood’s website explained the group’s approach, which they said is helping women access mammograms via referral even though the clinics do not perform them in-house. So O’Malley’s 97 percent figure has some basis -- that’s the percentage of Planned Parenthood’s services that aren’t abortion. But that’s a broader category than ""mammograms and preventative health,"" which O’Malley said. Our ruling O’Malley said, ""97 percent of the work that Planned Parenthood does is about mammograms and preventative health."" According to Planned Parenthood, about 97 percent of the services the group provides in a given year are services other than abortion. That includes preventive and primary care. Preventive care accounts for about 85 to 90 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provides. While mammograms are considered a form of preventive care, Planned Parenthood doesn’t do their own mammograms. Clinics perform breast exams and refer patients to outside clinics for an actual mammogram. The claim wasn’t pulled out of thin air, but it’s missing some important information."
|
16080
|
Georgia has had 12 school shootings in the two years since the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School, more than any other state.
|
A deeper look at claim Georgia leads the nation in school shootings since Sandy Hook
|
false
|
Georgia, Children, Education, Public Safety, Guns, Everytown for Gun Safety,
|
"Georgia has had the nation’s highest unemployment rate for three straight months. Now a new report puts Georgia at the top of another undesirable ranking: leading the nation with 12 school shootings since the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the Everytown for Gun Safety findings when they were first released last week. But a follow-up story noted concerns that PolitiFact found in previous Everytown school shooting report, centered on the group’s overly broad definition of a school shooting. PolitiFact Georgia decided to review the latest report, and our previous work, to see if the new ranking holds up. At issue is what counts as a ""school shooting."" Everytown is very transparent about its methodology and criteria which go beyond the common understanding that a school shooting is an intruder or student shooting at innocent classmates and staff. The group counts those incidents, such as the Sandy Hook massacre that left 28 dead. But it expands to other incidents, according to the report’s footnotes: ""Incidents were classified as school shootings when a firearm was discharged inside a school building or on school or campus grounds, as documented by the press or confirmed through further inquiries with law enforcement. Incidents in which guns were brought into schools but not fired, or were fired off school grounds after having been possessed in schools, were not included. "" In other words, Everytown is counting incidents where no one is killed and even accidental discharges as school shootings. That’s how, for instance, the 12 incidents in Georgia include a 17-year-old student who accidentally shot herself with an illegally concealed firearm in a February 2013 incident at Grady High School. Also added to the tally: what turned out to be a suicide attempt in May in the parking deck of Georgia Gwinnett College. Only one incident counted in the more commonly understood definition: the August 2013 morning when Michael Brandon Hill stormed McNair Discovery Learning Academy in DeKalb County armed with an AK-47 style semi-automatic rifle and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition. A school bookkeeper, Antoinette Tuff, talked down the man who had shot his way into the 800-student school. She, and a heavy police response, convinced Hill to surrender without injuring anyone – an outcome that drew international headlines. Experts warned about the confusion of putting those kinds of attacks – and two other shootings during school hours or school events following confrontations – in with other incidents. ""The question is whether the entire school or campus is endangered by the episode. The answer is most of these cases is no,"" said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston and author of the book, ""Violence and Security on Campus: From preschool through college."" But without knowing that, the report could drive anxiety and fear amid parents and students when schools are actually among the safest places for children to be, Fox said. There were consistently about 45 school-associated violent deaths (not just by guns) in K-12 schools annually between 1992 and 2010. The number plunged to 31 in 2011, after spiking at 63 in the 2007 school year, according to a U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report. The Southeast, not just Georgia, often sees more of the incidents because of easier access to guns, Fox said. But a two-year snapshot does not offer any meaningful analysis, he added. Shootings on college campuses, meanwhile, are yet another different type of incident. Alcohol is often a factor in those incidents, which the Everytown report and experts conclude are often the result of an escalating conflict. Those shootings are no less tragic for stemming from confrontations, but experts said that also shows the different circumstances than the image of a lone shooter gunning down victims indiscriminately. ""That kind of personal altercation happens in a variety of locations. People are in a bar, get in a fight and go get a gun from their car,"" said Mark Safarik, president of Forensic Behavioral Services Inc. and a former member of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. ""You’ve really broadened it to the point where it loses the sense that you are trying to get,"" he added. Everytown defends its definition, noting it includes on the first page of the report its criteria for the report. ""Our definition of what qualifies as a school shooting could not possibly be any more straightforward. When a gun is shot on school grounds, that's a school shooting,"" said Everytown communications director Erika Soto Lamb. ""Plain and simple -- any challenge to this very obvious definition deserves to be called what it is: a case of 'pants on fire.’"" The experts disagree. But, the group can take heart in one key element of its findings and how it may play out in Georgia. The report concludes that more than a third of all shootings nationally occurred after an argument or confrontation. Two-thirds of the Georgia incidents involved a shooter and victim who knew each other, an argument or fight beforehand or a drug deal. That helps make the case for keeping guns off of college campuses, a fight expected to be revived when the Legislature convenes next month. ""In a lot of these incidents, a fight occurs and it’s settled with a gun,"" Safarik said. ""You add in college campuses, with alcohol consumption, it could be a recipe for more events. That should be a more important conclusion than a dubious conclusion Georgia has the most school shootings."" And with that, it appears the new Everytown report on school shootings mirrors concerns raised before about how to tally school shootings. It is accurate, by its broad definition, that Georgia led the nation with its version of ""school shootings."" The report is also useful in explaining what often leads to violent incidents at school and college campuses. In the end, there is value in the findings but significant context missing from its overall conclusion."
|
24686
|
"Sotomayor ""ruled against the white firefighter — Ricci and other white firefighters — just on the basis that she thought women and minorities should be given a preference because of their skin color and because of the history of discrimination in the past. The law was totally disregarded."
|
Rush Limbaugh says Sotomayor disregarded law to rule against white firefighters
|
false
|
National, Pundits, Sotomayor Nomination, Supreme Court, Rush Limbaugh,
|
"While many Republican leaders have been publicly cautious with their opinions about President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been crystal clear about his opposition. ""Do I want her to fail to get on the court? Yes,"" Limbaugh said on his show on May 26, 2009. ""She'd be a disaster on the court."" In making his case, Limbaugh cited a Sotomayor ruling that has drawn scrutiny from critics this week. ""She ruled against the white firefighter — Ricci and other white firefighters — just on the basis that she thought women and minorities should be given a preference because of their skin color and because of the history of discrimination in the past,"" Limbaugh said. ""The law was totally disregarded."" Limbaugh is referring to Ricci vs. DeStefano , a case involving firefighters in New Haven, Conn. A group of mostly white firefighters claimed reverse discrimination after the city threw out the results of promotional exams because white firefighters fared significantly better than black firefighters. Here's what happened. In late 2003, 118 New Haven firefighters took written and oral exams for promotion to the ranks of captain and lieutenant. Among the 41 who took the captain exam (eight of them black), no blacks and at most two Hispanics would have been eligible for promotion to captain. And of the 77 who took the lieutenant exam (19 of them black, 15 Hispanic), the results indicated that no blacks or Hispanics would be promoted to the rank of lieutenant. The New Haven Civil Service Board worried the test may have violated ""anti-disparate-impact requirements"" of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and that the city would face an employment discrimination lawsuit from nonwhite applicants who were not promoted. So the board decided not to certify the exam results, and no one was promoted. The white firefighters, naturally, were ticked off. One of them, John Ricci, is dyslexic, and studied hard to score highly on one of the exams, only to have it invalidated. Eighteen firefighters, 17 whites and one Hispanic, filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the decision not to certify the exam results ""amounted to intentional discrimination"" against the white firefighters in favor of black firefighters due to their race and political support for the mayor, John DeStefano. The federal district court judge who heard the case ruled in favor of the city. The firefighters appealed to the 2nd Circuit, the court on which Sotomayor sits. A three-judge panel that included Sotomayor upheld the district court ruling with a one paragraph explanation: ""We affirm, substantially for the reasons stated in the thorough, thoughtful, and well-reasoned opinion of the court below. In this case, the Civil Service Board found itself in the unfortunate position of having no good alternatives. We are not unsympathetic to the plaintiffs' expression of frustration. Mr. Ricci, for example, who is dyslexic, made intensive efforts that appear to have resulted in his scoring highly on one of the exams, only to have it invalidated. But it simply does not follow that he has a viable Title VII claim. To the contrary, because the Board, in refusing to validate the exams, was simply trying to fulfill its obligations under Title VII when confronted with test results that had a disproportionate racial impact, its actions were protected."" The brevity of that response, and its lack of analysis, rankled one dissenting appeals court judge, Jose Cabranes. ""The opinion contains no reference whatsoever to the constitutional claims at the core of this case, and a casual reader of the opinion could be excused for wondering whether a learning disability played at least as much a role in this case as the alleged racial discrimination,"" Cabranes wrote. ""This perfunctory disposition rests uneasily with the weighty issues presented by this appeal."" Subsequently, the Supreme Court decided to take up the case, and heard arguments in April. But back to Limbaugh's claim. That Sotomayor ruled against ""white firefighter Ricci and other white firefighters"" is undisputed. But this is a very complex legal case and Limbaugh misleads when he boils down the ruling by Sotomayor (and two other appeals court judges), saying it was made ""just on the basis that she thought women and minorities should be given a preference because of their skin color and because of the history of discrimination in the past. The law was totally disregarded."" The ruling by the three-judge panel makes no mention of giving preferential treatment to women or minorities, as Limbaugh suggested. Rather, it upholds a district court decision that the city had the right to throw out a test it felt led to racially disparate results. The first sentence of the panel's statement is also significant. The judges begin by saying they agree with the district court ruling ""substantially for the reasons stated in the thorough, thoughtful, and well-reasoned opinion of the (district court)."" In other words, without laying out all those opinions, they were essentially incorporating what the district court said. So we took a look at the opinions delivered by District Judge Janet Arterton on Sept. 28, 2006. The first thing we note is that the opinion cites numerous other cases to back up various points. That alone weakens Limbaugh's claim that ""the law was totally disregarded."" Moreover, Judge Arterton lays out very specific legal reasons for her decision. ""Nothing in the record in this case suggests that the City defendants or CSB (Civil Service Board) acted 'because of' discriminatory animus toward plaintiffs or other non-minority applicants for promotion,"" Arterton wrote. ""Rather, they acted based on the following concerns: that the test had a statistically adverse impact on African-American and Hispanic examinees; that promoting off of this list would undermine their goal of diversity in the Fire Department and would fail to develop managerial role models for aspiring firefighters; that it would subject the City to public criticism; and that it would likely subject the City to Title VII lawsuits from minority applicants that, for political reasons, the City did not want to defend."" The judge cites several cases which, she wrote, ""clearly establish"" that a public employer faced with the threat of a lawsuit over a test with racially disparate results does not violate civil rights laws by taking ""neutral, albeit race-conscious, actions to avoid such liability."" The judge argued the white firefighters could not claim to have been discriminated against because ""here, all applicants took the same test, and the result was the same for all because the test results were discarded and nobody was promoted."" In siding with the city, the judge wrote that the city's ""motivation to avoid making promotions based on a test with a racially disparate impact, even in a political context, does not, as a matter of law, constitute discriminatory intent, and therefore such evidence is insufficient for plaintiffs to prevail on their Title VII claim."" We cite some of this not just to make your head hurt, or to make the case that the ruling was correct — that will ultimately be up to the Supreme Court — but to show the complicated legal issues involved, as well as the fact that the district court did, in fact, make reasoned legal arguments and cited numerous legal cases to underpin its decision. In other words, you may not agree with the conclusions, but it's wrong to suggest the judges ""totally disregarded"" the law. Nor did Sotomayor's panel or the district court ever suggest that the city ought to give preferential treatment to women and minorities. On July 27, 2011, we changed the name for the rating to ."
|
7748
|
100% Pure? New Zealand's deteriorating water raises a stink.
|
New Zealand’s clean, green image took a beating this summer as tourists traveling through the countryside posted pictures of lakes and rivers off limits due to contamination by farm effluent, garbage and human faeces.
|
true
|
Environment
|
A booming dairy farming industry, along with a surge in tourists seeking unspoiled natural attractions, has taken its toll on the country’s environment, heavily marketed as ‘100% Pure’. Particularly affected is its vast network of once pristine rivers and lakes, which are now some of the most polluted among OECD countries, according to some experts. About 60 percent of them are unfit for swimming, the Environment Ministry said in a report in 2014. Experts say water quality has deteriorated further since. In a Colmar Brunton survey conducted last month, 82 percent of respondents said they were “extremely or very” concerned about the pollution of rivers and lakes, more than any other issue including living costs, child poverty and climate change. “(New Zealanders) are extremely worried that they are losing their ability to swim, fish and gather food from their rivers, lakes and streams,” said Martin Taylor, the chief executive of Fish & Game New Zealand, a non-government agency that commissioned the survey. “People see those activities as their birthright, but over the last 20 years, that right is being lost because the level of pollution in waterways has increased as farming intensifies.” With an election coming next year, political experts say water pollution could be a key issue for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Ardern led a coalition to power in 2017 promising social reforms and laws to protect the environment, but business confidence has suffered under her government. More than 13,000 people signed a #toomanycows Greenpeace campaign on Twitter launched last week calling for a ban on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. “New Zealand already has way too many cows, and synthetic nitrogen is the key driver of the dairy intensification and expansion that leads to the dangerous double whammy of harm to rivers and climate,” said Nick Young from Greenpeace. New Zealand has nearly five million cows, more than its human population of about 4.7 million. Popular swimming holes near the famed Mt Taranaki in the west of New Zealand’s North Island were shut this month due to high E.coli bacteria, an indicator of faecal contamination. Tests are underway to determine the cause, but effluent from nearby dairy farms has been blamed in the past for contaminating these waters. DairyNZ Chief Executive Tim Mackle says dairy farmers have been doing their bit, with 97 percent of waterways on dairy farms fenced off from cows, and significant work done to establish riparian margins and wetlands. “The reality is that all types of land use contribute to water quality – and that farming, whether it’s vegetables, fruit, beef, sheep, dairy, deer or even wine – must all work together to make sure waterways are protected,” Mackle said in a statement. “The most polluted rivers actually run through urban centers, and this is where the public can do their bit too.” Only about 15 percent of New Zealand’s streams run through dairy farms, he added. Dairy and tourism directly contribute about 3.5 percent and 6.1 percent respectively to New Zealand’s $200 billion GDP. Both industries rely on the country’s clean, green image with cascading rivers, unspoiled forests and lush pastures that made it the ideal backdrop for the popular Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie series. The sparsely populated country is spread over a mountainous area about the size of United Kingdom or California, more than a quarter of which is set aside for reserves and national parks. Hoards of tourists are expected to arrive in the country next month during the Chinese New Year, a peak travel season, which residents feel will take a further toll on the natural environment. Chinese are the second largest source of tourists to New Zealand after neighboring Australia, according to 2018 data. Apart from polluting the water, residents also fear mass tourism and freedom campers may destroy the country’s iconic landscape, as seen in places like Venice, Boracay and Bali. Overcrowding in Venice forced the local administration to restrict access to tourists while Boracay was shut down last year, after mass tourism turned the famed Philippines island into a “cesspool”. Richard Davies, tourism policy manager at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, said the increase in the number of campers has caused problems in some areas, waste being one of them. “We have a collective duty to care for our environment and for New Zealand, and there have been a number of initiatives to help educate local and international campers on how to camp responsibility, and funding for infrastructure to help local bodies to address the issues that can arise,” he said. Mike Joy, a senior researcher at Victoria University of Wellington’s Institute for Governance and Policy Studies says the environment is paying the price for hands-off governance and the intensification of dairy and tourism industries. “It’s an own goal…they are shooting themselves in the foot. The biggest value add this country can have is its clean, green image and they are just ruining that image,” Joy said. The government has said it is committed to improving water quality. In 2017 it set a national target of making 90 percent of New Zealand’s large rivers and lakes swimmable by 2040, with an interim target of 80 percent swimmable by 2030. Joy, who is a member of some government working groups, said change will only happen if governments take on the powerful dairy and tourism industries. “Right now, a lot more money is spent on spin and propaganda but there’s been very little change.”
|
36166
|
Singer Elvis Presley received a polio vaccination live on television in 1956, which raised vaccination rates in the United States by a startling amount.
|
Did Elvis Presley Receive a Polio Vaccination on Live TV in 1956 and Raise Immunization Revels to 80 Percent?
|
mixture
|
Fact Checks, Viral Content
|
On September 18 2019, a Reddit user shared the following post to r/interestingasfuck, along with the claim that Elvis Presley’s televised 1956 polio vaccination helped boost the popularity of the vaccine not long after its introduction:That’s exactly what it means to be a good influencer from interestingasfuckCommenting that the act was “exactly what it means to be a good influencer” (and tacitly criticizing anti-vaccine celebrities in 2019), the screenshot’s text read:In 1956 Elvis Presley got a polio vaccination on national tv. That one event was partly responsible for raising immunization levels in the united states from 06% to 80 % in just 6 months.In the picture, a smiling Presley stood between a man administering the shot and a woman holding his elbow. No additional information about the image accompanied the original post, which proved extremely popular on Reddit. Some commenters alluded to the lack of context, replying:“The title conveys 0 information as well. Elvis’ broadcasted vaccination could have contributed 0.00001% to the 79.4% increase in vaccinations. Saying it “contributed” to a large % increase is designed to make you think “oooo ahh” by making you subconsciously think he contributed 79.4% of something. Bleh titling.”“Heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano retired in 1956. That one event was partially responsible for raising immunization levels in the United States from 0.6% to 80% in just 6 months.Right. Salk didn’t announce the results of his dead-virus vaccine until 1955, and later that year vaccinations were suspended for safety concerns after 11 people died. I’m sure Elvis didn’t hurt, but surely releasing the vaccine to the general public in 1956 also contributed to the increase in people getting vaccinated.”Another commenter accused the original poster of karma farming:Technically, excellent titling as this post is a karma farm.The image and claim were shared to r/oldschoolcool in December 2018 (re-shared from r/vaxxhappened). In October 2018, a near-verbatim version of the claim (minus the image) was shared to Twitter in December 2018; that tweet credited Presley with “basically [eradicating] polio in America”:Did you know that Elvis Presley got the polio shot on The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1956? The polio vaccination rate in America jumped from a measly 0.6% to over 80% in SIX MONTHS.Elvis basically eradicated polio in America.— Jennifer C. Martin (@notreallyjcm) October 2, 2018Most would credit Jonas Salk for the eradication of polio, however, as they subsequently conceded. A 2012 World Journal of Virology article stated that the vaccine, discovered and developed by virologist and researcher Salk, was adopted across the United States in April 1955:In 1954, the inactivated vaccine was tested in a placebo-controlled trial, which enrolled 1.6 million children in Canada, Finland and the United States[13]. In April 1955, [Jonas] Salk’s vaccine was adopted throughout the United States. The incidence of paralytic poliomyelitis in the United States decreased from 13.9 cases per 100 000 in 1954 to 0.8 cases per 100,000 in 1961.As of July 1955, six million children had been vaccinated for polio. According to 2011 research published in Public Health Reports, mitigating factors may have driven interest in polio vaccine compliance:From the early 1940s to 1952, annual incidence rates of polio surged, and the American public became terrified by outbreaks that occurred in urban and rural areas throughout the U.S.As for the basic elements of the claim, a Getty Images stock photograph caption described the circumstances of the image, one of several from the event. Getty identified the man and woman in the image:UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 28 [1956]: Elvis Presley receiving a polio vaccination from Dr. Leona Baumgartner and Dr. Harold Fuerst at CBS studio 50 in New York City. (Photo by Seymour Wally/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)October 28 1956 marked Elvis’ second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, during which he was vaccinated for polio in support of the March of Dimes. A New York City Department of Records and Services page noted that after the polio vaccine was introduced widely in the US in April 1955, Baumgartner began “a systematic program to inoculate school children.” Baumgartner’s campaign included Presley’s newsworthy vaccination:The Department of Health even enlisted Elvis Presley to help make the case for young people to get vaccinated. In October 1956, Presley was photographed, filmed and interviewed while he received the shot on a trip to New York. Commissioner Baumgartner can be seen holding Presley’s arm, while Assistant Commissioner Dr. Harold Fuerst administered the shot.In April 2016, the Guardian looked back at Elvis’ involvement in early campaigns promoting the polio vaccine, reporting:The resulting photographs were published in newspapers across the US. The publicity was part of a bid to help correct a major flaw in the nation’s polio vaccination campaign, as Cambridge university historian Stephen Mawdsley revealed in a paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Cultural and Social History.“The [Dr] Salk vaccine against polio had just been produced and young children were being vaccinated in their millions. However, teenagers, who were also vulnerable to polio, were not taking up the vaccine,” Mawdsley told the Observer. “Elvis was approached to provide publicity aimed at teenagers and agreed to help to put things right.”In the article, the Guardian referenced celebrities — including Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, Charlie Sheen, and Robert DeNiro — who had publicly questioned the safety of vaccines in more recent times. Mawdsley noted that Presley was approached because in the United States, “few teenagers and adults” had sought immunization against polio, believing they were not at risk. Mawdsley opined the singer’s effect on vaccination rates was not necessarily a “game-changer.” Instead, something even more interesting happened:“It was obviously a help in getting teenagers to take up the vaccine, but — intriguingly — not an overwhelming one,” added Mawdsley. “The real game-changer came through the teenagers themselves. With the help of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, they established a group called Teens Against Polio, canvassed door-to- door, and set up dances where only vaccinated individuals could get in. It showed, almost for the first time, the power of teens in understanding and connecting with their own demographic.”The result was startling. The annual incidence of polio in the US decreased by nearly 90% between 1950 and 1960. “Getting teenagers to take up the vaccine was critically important, and that success shows that it is possible to reach hard-to-influence groups — if you involve them in the right manner.”In a separate April 2016 University of Cambridge Research article, Mawdsley again emphasized the role of teen canvassers in the success of campaigns to promote the polio vaccine:Some canvassed door to door or gave talks at schools; others organised car washes and peanut sales, or visited polio wards and rehabilitation centres. “No shots, no dates” was a recurring phrase, and teens were often asked at school dances to prove they were immunised before gaining entry. “By using exclusive dances as a tactic, young volunteers were able to exploit the fear of missing out as a means to increase vaccine uptake among teens,” he says.In a 2016 “History Channel” Facebook post, the page referenced unspecified “reports” to credit Presley with raising vaccination rates from 0.6 percent to a whopping 80 percent, but we were unable to substantiate those numbers. When those specific numbers were cited elsewhere, it was in a claim that Presley’s vaccination had “played a significant role” in bringing up the immunization levels in the U.S. “to over 80% from a minuscule 0.6%, in just six months,” but not the only role. However, those figures were unsupported, and they appeared to originate in a 2011 blog post advertising the digitization of medical records, with no added reference material:Recently, someone asked the question: “Who is the one individual that has helped save the most money in the US healthcare industry in the last century?” The answer — surprisingly —is Elvis Presley. On October 28, 1956, Elvis got a polio vaccination on national TV. That single event was responsible for raising immunization levels in the US from 0.6% to over 80% in just 6 months. No other single individual has had that kind of impact on healthcare in the US.At least one mass vaccination was reported in 1955, in San Diego, California. In October 2018, NBC News revisited Presley’s televised vaccination, citing rates and dates, again making no clear causal link:Sixty-two years ago Sunday, Elvis Presley took the stage at CBS studios in New York and smiled as a city health official stuck a needle in his left arm. The publicity stunt, broadcast nationwide before Presley’s appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” was meant to convince the American public that the new polio vaccine was safe.It worked. And playing to Presley’s demographic apparently helped. About 75 percent of Americans under 20 had received at least one polio shot by August 1957, when the first national survey was taken; this rose to nearly 90 percent by September 1961, according to a 1962 public health report.It was certainly true that Elvis Presley granted public health official Dr. Leona Baumgartner’s request that he receive a polio vaccination on live television. Additionally, Presley’s participation in the March of Dimes public service announcement has been revisited and lauded amidst anti-vaccine rhetoric in recent years. Recollection of Elvis Presley’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show are often accompanied by claims that he single-handedly facilitated widespread acceptance of the then-new vaccine, but we found no evidence suggesting that Presley alone influenced Americans to receive polio vaccines. Researchers cite teen activism (such as canvassing and “Salk Hops“) as a possibly stronger factor, and medical literature indicated that widespread public fear of polio drove early high rates of vaccination. Moreover, teenagers targeted by the Elvis campaign were a small portion of the larger number of Americans getting vaccinated — a larger number were adults and parents choosing the vaccine for their children, who were perhaps more likely to listen to doctors than “the King.” Elvis did receive a vaccination on television in 1956. Polio vaccination rates were high in later years, and Presley is often cited as raising rates from .6 percent to 80 percent almost singlehandedly. That statistic seemed unsubstantiated, and appears to reference broader vaccination rates (versus those specifically credited to Elvis Presley’s influence.) Research, advocacy, public health efforts, and a near-universal fear of polio played a significant role as well — and the role of teenagers advocating for their own health cannot be denied.
|
14920
|
In a period of roughly 72 hours, a small group of angry black students managed to force the resignation of the two highest ranking officials at that school.
|
Kelly said in a span of about three days, a small group of black students forced the resignations of two top administrators at the University of Missouri. Multiple press reports and interviews with members of the Mizzou community tell us Kelly’s shorthand falls short on several key points. Deans, graduate students, and faculty had been pressing for the ouster of Loftin for at least a month prior to his departure. It is no small matter for deans to make such a demand and they did so three times in early October. Loftin’s problems with the university community go back well into the beginning of the semester. There’s more support for the role of black students in the removal of Wolfe. The evidence tells us that pressure from black students was the driving force and the momentum shifted rapidly against him when a student went on a hunger strike on Nov. 2. However, anger had been growing since mid October and a much larger number of people from across the university community joined the call for Wolfe to step down. Kelly’s statement is only partially accurate.
|
mixture
|
Education, Human Rights, PunditFact, Megyn Kelly,
|
"A heated debate over race has erupted on several college campuses. This prompted Fox News host Megyn Kelly to lead off her show Wednesday this way: ""What started as a campus protest in Missouri might be spreading to more colleges and universities as small groups of students use complaints about race and diversity in a big play to rewrite the rules for everyone,"" Kelly said on the Nov. 11, 2015, edition of The Kelly File. ""In a period of roughly 72 hours, a small group of angry black students managed to force the resignation of the two highest-ranking officials at that school, complaining they did not show enough concern about racial issues at the school."" There have been conflicting reports over what led Missouri University president Tim Wolfe and chancellor R. Bowen Loftin to step down Nov. 9. We thought it would help to examine Kelly’s summary that a small group of black students forced that much change in basically three days. The Fox News press office added some nuance to the short timeline Kelly cited. A spokesperson told us while tensions formed weeks ago, things came to a head in the three days before the resignations. Events did pile up quickly in the days before Nov. 9 but evidence coming out of Missouri paints a much more complicated picture than the one Kelly offered her viewers. Most importantly, Wolfe and Loftin fell for different reasons. Race relations were the dominant factor in Wolfe’s demise, but Loftin’s problems stemmed from a revolt among the university’s deans that peaked a month earlier. It also seems that opposition to both men was broader than, as Kelly said, ""a small group of angry black students."" The standard (simple) storyline Fox News told us that a Google search pulled up more than 8,000 news articles about the role of the students in the resignations. The stories we read generally noted the same series of events leading up to the administrative shake-up at Mizzou. In mid September this year, the president of the Missouri Student Association wrote on Facebook that riders in a pick-up truck had repeatedly used a racial slur toward him. In early October, as a black student group rehearsed outdoors for a homecoming performance, a passing white student began using a racial slur. A few days later on Oct. 10, about a dozen black students surrounded the Missouri president’s vehicle demanding that he address racial tensions on campus. Roughly two weeks after that, feces smeared in the shape of a swastika appeared on a college dorm. No suspect was found. On Nov. 2, a black student started a hunger strike. On Nov. 7, a group of black players on Missouri’s football team announced they would neither practice nor play until Wolfe, the president, resigned. Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel tweeted his support for the players’ strike Nov. 8. On Nov. 9, both Wolfe and Loftin resigned. (Loftin said he would remain with the university in a different role.) It’s easy to understand why the downfall of the two men would merge in the public mind, but that doesn’t make it accurate. Loftin’s long decline It’s important to note that Loftin answered to Wolfe. As university president, Wolfe oversaw the entire university system. Loftin ran all of the academic divisions of the university, from the medical school, to the law school, to the college of arts and sciences, and more. You don’t have to look far to discover that Loftin’s relationship with large swaths of the university community was on the rocks for reasons having nothing to do with the bubbling racial tensions. In fact, nine of the university’s deans in charge of academic divisions asked for Loftin’s removal a month before he stepped down. (Interim and acting deans did not participate.) ""We said to the president on Oct. 9 that Loftin should go,"" Dave Kurpius, dean of the Journalism School told PunditFact. Kurpius said the deans repeated that demand to Wolfe at three meetings in early October. The morning Wolfe resigned in November, they had just sent a letter to Wolfe’s boss, the board of curators, calling for Loftin’s removal. That letter blamed Loftin for creating a ""toxic environment through threat, fear and intimidation."" Their specific issues involved his botched effort to eliminate graduate assistant health insurance and a total disregard for their roles as managers of their academic centers. Graduate students also had been opposing Loftin. Sarah Senff is co-chair of the Action Committee on the Forum on Graduate Rights. The group was formed in August after Loftin gave them less than a day’s notice that they would lose their health insurance assistance. After an outcry, Loftin reversed himself. ""I would vociferously deny that this happened in 72 hours or that this was just black students, "" Senff said. ""Particularly for Chancellor Loftin, there were numerous issues relating to his competence to lead the university."" Senff and other graduate student leaders we contacted cited a bevy of problems including cutbacks in aid for housing, childcare, and tuition waivers. They also rejected Loftin’s decision in September to sever ties with a Planned Parenthood clinic where medical and nursing students had been going to fulfill hands-on experience requirements. Senff said ""it has been a semester that has seen protest after protest from various groups."" The graduate students’ woes spilled over to the academic departments. William Kerwin is director of graduate studies at Missouri’s English department. On Nov. 3, the faculty voted to declare ""No confidence"" in Loftin. Their complaints mirrored those of the deans and graduate students. ""A whole host of issues were in play regarding Chancellor Loftin,"" Kerwin said, ""Yet the national narrative now sees his departure as driven by the same forces as ended President Wolfe’s tenure here."" It is not as though this story was unknown outside of Missouri. The day before Kelly’s show, the Wall Street Journal published an article with the headline Race Wasn’t the Only Issue at University of Missouri. Wolfe’s sudden demise University of Missouri insiders we contacted uniformly told us that race relations were the driving factor in Wolfe’s resignation. Several highlighted his refusal to engage with black students after the incidents in September and October. That precipitated the moment when a dozen activists surrounded his car at the October homecoming. When Wolfe told a group of black students on Nov. 7 that ""systematic oppression is because you don’t believe that you have the equal opportunity for success,"" the uproar only intensified. Eric Scott, a graduate student leader, said it’s accurate to say a core group of black students organized protests. But Smith, who is white, said that hardly captures the extent of the popular rejection of Wolfe. ""If we count all the people who have participated in their marches and demonstrations, there were hundreds of members,"" Smith said. ""Hardly a ‘small group of angry black students.’ "" Samuel Cohen is an associate English professor. He said Kelly had it right regarding the general role of the students and racial tensions. What she missed, he said, was the two or three months of growing frustration and the upswell of support for his ouster. The tipping point, Cohen said, was the football players ""who put their scholarships and careers on the line."" ""It is technically correct to say it was a small group of students, but if they had been protesting the campus smoking ban or the chancellor's twitter handle, it wouldn't have led anywhere."" he said. ""It had to be something important that many others saw as worth fighting against."" The others who joined in, Cohen said, included students, faculty and staff of many ethnicities. Our ruling Kelly said in a span of about three days, a small group of black students forced the resignations of two top administrators at the University of Missouri. Multiple press reports and interviews with members of the Mizzou community tell us Kelly’s shorthand falls short on several key points. Deans, graduate students, and faculty had been pressing for the ouster of Loftin for at least a month prior to his departure. It is no small matter for deans to make such a demand and they did so three times in early October. Loftin’s problems with the university community go back well into the beginning of the semester. There’s more support for the role of black students in the removal of Wolfe. The evidence tells us that pressure from black students was the driving force and the momentum shifted rapidly against him when a student went on a hunger strike on Nov. 2. However, anger had been growing since mid October and a much larger number of people from across the university community joined the call for Wolfe to step down. Kelly’s statement is only partially accurate."
|
8276
|
Posthumous sperm donation should be allowed, say UK experts.
|
Men in Britain should be allowed to donate sperm after they die to meet growing demand from couples seeking fertility treatment, medical experts say.
|
true
|
Health News
|
Posthumous sperm donation is technically feasible and morally acceptable, the specialists said in a review published in the Journal of Medical Ethics on Tuesday. They argue it should be seen like organ and other tissue donations as a way of relieving the suffering of others. While infertility is not life-threatening, said Nathan Hodson of Britain’s Leicester University and Joshua Parker of Britain’s Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, it causes great suffering and could be said to be a form of illness. “If it is morally acceptable that individuals can donate their tissues to relieve the suffering of others in ‘life enhancing transplants’ for diseases ... we see no reason why this cannot be extended to other forms of suffering like infertility, which may or may not also be considered a disease,” they said. Such a move would raise questions about consent and family permissions for posthumous donations, Parker and Hodson said, and there would also be concerns about anonymity of the donor. Britain has a shortage of donor sperm, while demand is high, and increasing, the experts said. They cited government data showing that an estimated 4,000 samples are imported to Britain each year from the United States, and 3,000 from Denmark, as well as more from other European Union countries. Sperm can be collected after death either through electrical stimulation of the prostate gland or with surgery. It can then be frozen and stored until required. Parker and Hodson cited studies showing that sperm harvested from dead men can result in healthy pregnancies and children with normal health and development, even when the sperm is retrieved 48 hours after death. Other medical experts said the analysis raised issues that need to be resolved. “Further discussion is needed to understand whether people who need to use donor sperm would even want to use the sperm of a deceased donor,” said Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust. “It is also vital to seek the opinions of donor-conceived people about what they think the impact would be of never being able to meet the donor.”
|
7308
|
Mississippi governor signs ‘heartbeat’ abortion law.
|
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation — a measure that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy.
|
true
|
Mississippi, Reproductive rights, Health, Lawsuits, Abortion, North America, Phil Bryant, Planned Parenthood
|
Bryant’s action came despite a federal judge’s ruling last year that struck down a less-restrictive law limiting abortions in the state. The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights called the new measure “cruel and clearly unconstitutional” and said it would sue Mississippi to try to block the law from taking effect on July 1. After a bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol, Bryant told reporters that he’s not worried about lawsuits. “They don’t have to sue us. It’s up to them,” Bryant said. “If they do not believe in the sanctity of life, these that are in organizations like Planned Parenthood, we will have to fight that fight. But it is worth it.” Mississippi is one of several states that have considered bills this year to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is found. Abortion opponents are emboldened by new conservatives on the Supreme Court and are seeking cases to challenge Roe v. Wade, the court’s 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. A federal judge in 2018 struck down a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, saying it is unconstitutional. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi. “Lawmakers didn’t get the message,” Hillary Schneller, staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement Thursday. “They are determined to rob Mississippians of the right to abortion, and they are doing it at the expense of women’s health and taxpayer money. This ban — just like the 15-week ban the governor signed a year ago — is cruel and clearly unconstitutional.” The law that Bryant signed Thursday says a physician who performs an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected could face revocation of his or her Mississippi medical license. It also says abortions could be allowed after a fetal heartbeat is found if a pregnancy endangers a woman’s life or one of her major bodily functions. The House and Senate both rejected efforts to allow exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Georgia and Tennessee are among the states considering similar bills. Kentucky’s law banning abortion after the detection of a heartbeat was immediately challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union when Republican Gov. Matt Bevin signed it on March 14, and a federal judge temporarily blocked it. A federal judge on Wednesday also blocked another Kentucky law that would ban abortion for women seeking to end their pregnancies because of the gender, race or disability of the fetus. Dr. Leana Wen, a physician who is president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement Thursday that the new Mississippi law “is a dangerous policy that criminalizes a safe, standard medical procedure and will endanger women’s lives.” “Patients must be empowered to make their own health care decisions, in consultation with their doctor and their family, and doctors must be able to provide health care to our patients without the threat of prison time,” Wen said. “We cannot accept a world where the right to abortion care depends on where you live or how much money you make.” Jameson Taylor, vice president for policy at the conservative Mississippi Center for Public Policy, praised Bryant for signing the bill. “The heartbeat bill is popular because everyone knows a heartbeat is a sign of life,” Taylor said in a statement. “Intellectual and scientific honesty demands a reconsideration of Roe, a 50-year-old decision based on old science. 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds are showing women that their unborn child is alive.” ____ Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .
|
9520
|
Short Course of Antibiotics Not Best for Kids' Ear Infections
|
This news story about a study measuring longer versus shorter courses of antibiotics for younger children with ear infections lacks important detail, because it’s mostly just a shortened rehash of the news release. For one, it doesn’t make it clear that research indicates that antibiotics seem more effective in younger kids versus older kids, and that’s why this study was focusing on this younger age group. Without this detail, it’s likely to leave parents with the wrong impression that treating all ear infections with longer courses of antibiotics is the right thing to do. The story also didn’t adequately discuss the potential harms in prescribing antibiotics to children who don’t need them, as well as the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The more useful way to report on this study is not in isolation, but rather, by taking a step back and answering: How does it fit into the vast body of already published studies of antibiotic treatments of otitis media (ear aches)?
|
false
|
antibiotics
|
No mention of costs was included in the news story. The discussion of benefits is misleading. The story tells us that “the risk of treatment failure was 34 percent in the five-day group and 16 percent in the 10-day group,” but what does that mean? “Treatment failure?” According to the study abstract: “the mean symptom scores at the day-12-to-14 assessment were 1.89 versus 1.20 (P=0.001).” We are talking about a 14-point pain scale, where 0 is low and 14 is high. So do we know if an average 0.69 difference in pain scales makes any difference? Any report on the alleged “benefits” of the long versus short treatment should discuss this minor difference. The story mentions there were no differences in the rate of antibiotic resistance, diaper rash or diarrhea. This is just enough information to rate satisfactory–but barely. But unfortunately we know those markers would likely be higher in a cohort of kids taking antibiotics, versus those taking nothing (placebo). Without a placebo arm in this trial, we have no idea what the rate of adverse effects would have likely been. A stronger story would have pointed this out. The story provides some important details on the study, but didn’t discuss limitations–this earns it a not satisfactory score. Ear aches are a real and present concern of parents with young children. The disclosure form from the New England Journal article tells us that “Drs. Hoberman and Martin report receiving consulting fees from Genocea Biosciences; and Dr. Hoberman, receiving grant support from Ricoh Innovations and holding pending patents related to the development of a reduced clavulanate concentration version of amoxicillin–clavulanate potassium (U.S. patent application serial number, 14/371,731) and the development of a method and apparatus for aiding in the diagnosis of otitis media by classifying tympanic-membrane images (U.S. patent application serial number, 14/418,509). No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.” This potential conflict of interest information was not in the HealthDay story. This rates not satisfactory by virtue of the fact it didn’t mention the one alternative that the evidence suggests might be best, at least for older kids: Doing nothing except treating the pain. The story just generally refers to the drugs used as “antibiotics” making it unclear what specific drug was studied. Without that information, availability is impossible to even infer. This story doesn’t make it clear that researchers are trying to hone in on specifically how best to treat younger kids with ear infections, compared to older kids. The story is reliant on the news release, but we were pleased that it does disclose this openly. However, all the content seemed to be copied or minimally rewritten from the news release. There is nothing in the story that didn’t also appear in the release, such as an independent perspective.
|
7010
|
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem adored, reviled in divided Ohio.
|
Gloria Steinem does not believe her life’s work advocating for reproductive freedom and women’s rights makes her “pro-abortion,” the feminist icon said in an Associated Press interview Tuesday.
|
true
|
Abortion, Planned Parenthood, Health, Gloria Steinem, Entertainment, Womens rights, Womens health, Celebrities, Ohio
|
Steinem spoke ahead of her appearance at a centennial gala fundraiser for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, the state chapter of the abortion and women’s health care provider whose government grants have been targeted by some Republicans. While sponsors of the gala shelled out up to $50,000 to attend the event where Steinem was featured, Ohio Right to Life labeled her a “radical pro-abortion icon” and called Planned Parenthood a de-humanizing organization. “If they supported me, I’d know I was doing something wrong,” Steinem said of the anti-abortion group. “It’s obviously ridiculous to say somebody is ‘pro-abortion.’ Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I think I’ll have an abortion. It’s a pleasurable experience.’ The question is not pro-abortion or anti-abortion, the question is who makes the decision: a woman and her physician, or the government.” Steinem, 83, said she’s accustomed to being both admired and reviled — including in Ohio, her politically divided home state. But she said in past decades supporting Planned Parenthood was “not as electoral as it is now.” She said the organization did not even have a political arm in the early days, “it was a service provider.” That has changed in recent years, as abortion rights groups have sharpened their attacks against Planned Parenthood’s key role in providing legal abortions. Beth Crane, 65, is a past Planned Parenthood board member whose family was a gala sponsor. She is a Democrat who voted for Hillary Clinton last year, but her late mother, a Republican, also served for years on the Planned Parenthood board, she said. “When I was young I don’t think Planned Parenthood had such a negative connotation,” said Crane, who entered college at Vassar in 1969. “It’s become, ‘It’s a liberal organization.’ ‘They kill babies.’” The organization said it has served 1 in 5 women in the U.S. Emma Mysko, 19, a field assistant with the anti-abortion group Created Equal, joined about 40 protesters outside the gala. “She is standing for a great human injustice,” she said of Steinem. “She is in there helping Planned Parenthood raise money to kill more human beings.” Crane’s daughter-in-law Leah Westwater, 36, credits a Planned Parenthood doctor in California with early detection of her thyroid cancer. She said abortions represent only about 5 percent of the organization’s work. Steinem said she initially thought that the premise that women should be treated as men’s equals would be so obvious that everyone would believe it once it was explained. But she has watched as the same arguments have had to be made over and over again. Having to fight again the battles of the women’s movement’s “grandmothers” has been a key rallying cry for the left since Republican President Donald Trump’s election. “The good news is much better than the bad news,” she said. “But it does mean that all the folks who want the old hierarchy — want ‘America to be great again’ in the old ways of race and sex — are alarmed.” Steinem was critical of a family leave policy supported by first daughter Ivanka Trump during last year’s campaign. The proposal, not yet a formal policy proposal, favors leave only for women who have “physically given birth,” Steinem said. “That isn’t the policy that people want, they want a family-supportive policy,” she said. “Actually, that policy — I’m not saying she knows this — is the policy of every authoritarian regime that I know of, because they pay women to have children to have more soldiers and more workers, but they don’t support parenthood, fathers, adoption.” Ivanka Trump’s spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Steinem plugged environmentalist Paul Hawken’s new book, which suggests that the top solution to global warming is educating and providing contraception to young women. She said when women are allowed to decide whether to have children, population growth tends to settle down to each generation roughly replacing itself.
|
2669
|
Brain scans predict which dyslexics will read.
|
Sophisticated brain scans accurately predicted which teens with dyslexia would learn to read within three years, a finding that could lead to better ways to treat the common learning disability, researchers said on Monday.
|
true
|
Science News
|
By looking for a specific pattern of brain activity in teens with dyslexia, the researchers predicted with 90 percent accuracy which students would learn to read. “This gives us hope that we can identify which children might get better over time,” Dr. Fumiko Hoeft of Stanford University School of Medicine, whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said in a statement. “More study is needed before the technique is clinically useful, but this is a huge step forward.” Dyslexia is a brain-based learning disability that affects 5 to 17 percent of U.S. children. People with dyslexia have difficulties with reading, spelling, writing and pronouncing words. About one-fifth of people with severe dyslexia learn to read. Hoeft and colleagues wanted to see what was occurring in the brain in these students. They studied 45 teens aged 11 to 14 who took a battery of tests to determine their reading abilities. Based on these, they classified 25 of them as dyslexics. The team used two different imaging techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging, which measures oxygen used by the brain during different activities, and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging or DTI, which reveals connections between brain areas. The researchers then showed the teens different pairs of words and asked then to identify which ones rhymed, even though they were spelled differently. They found that about half of the children who were dyslexic had extra activity in a part of the brain near the right temple known as the right inferior frontal gyrus. And some of the children with dyslexia had stronger connections in a network of brain fibers that links the front and the back of the brain. When they checked these same children two and a half years later, they found children who had this unusual brain activity were more likely to have learned to read than other dyslexics. Paper and pencil tests typically used for these children, however, were unable to predict which students would succeed. “The reason this is exciting is that until now, there have been no known measures that predicted who will learn to compensate,” Hoeft said. Alan Guttmacher, director the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health, said the finding gives insight into how certain people with dyslexia compensate for reading problems. “Learning why other individuals have difficulty compensating may lead to new treatments to help them overcome reading disability,” Guttmacher, whose agency funded the study, said in a statement. The study is part of a new field called “educational neuroscience” that uses brain imaging studies to help improve learning problems in children and teens.
|
10294
|
AIDS Drugs Show Prevention Promise
|
This was a trial of the drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine (in the combination sold as Truvada) in 12 monkeys, lasting 4 months. However, data on the effectiveness of treatment in humans is lacking. Even replicate trials in non-human primates is lacking. While it is true that this treatment shows promise, data supporting the use of this treatment in humans remains to be established. Further – the basis of the main portion of this article derives from an oral presentation at a meeting, the results of which have not undergone peer review. Woloshin and Schwartz published an article in JAMA a few years ago entitled, “Media Coverage of Scientific Meetings: Too Much, Too Soon?” That theme might appropriately be applied to this story. The enthusiasm engendered in this story may be premature and – worse – misleading.
|
false
|
The wholesale cost estimate for a month of Truvada given in the article is $650; estimated costs per day when sold in the third world was $0.87 (which calculates out to $26.46/month). (Wholesale costs for a month’s worth of tenofovir, is given at $417. This was not the treatment being reported on, although the story mentions some trials with this drug that are currently underway. The story did mention that tenofovir has been shown partially successful as a preventative in monkeys.) This was a trial in 12 monkeys, lasting 4 months. However, data on the effectiveness of treatment in humans is lacking. Even replicate trials in non-human primates is lacking. While it is true that this treatment shows promise, data supporting the use of this treatment in humans remains to be established. Further – the basis of the main portion of this article derives from an oral presentation at a meeting, the results of which have not undergone peer review. The story didn’t mention the side effects associated with either of the two medications that are combined in Truvada. These include nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite; more serious but less common is impaired kidney function. In addition, use of these medications is associated with decreased bone density and redistribution/accumulation of body fat. No mention was made that long-term effects of these pharmaceuticals is not known. The evidence presented was clearly mentioned in the article as being from a study of a small number of monkeys. The data were from a study of 12 rhesus macaque monkeys; 6 of the monkeys received the treatment and did not become HIV infected despite weekly rectal exposure to virus. 5 of 6 control monkeys that did not get treatment became infected. Follow-up for 4 months have found the treatment monkeys were still uninfected. However, by citing the enthusiasm as electrifying the field, the story seems to lose sight of the fact that this was a trial in 12 monkeys for a few months. There is no evidence in humans. The epidemic is huge and the ability to prevent would be terrific. The article is sensational, however, calling the infection fatal, when, in fact, the disease is treatable, so the exaggeration may be termed disease mongering. The basis of the main portion of this article derives from an oral presentation at a meeting, the results of which have not undergone peer review. The story could have developed sources working on vaccine development. They might not dismiss the potential of a vaccine so quickly. The story dismisses other transmission prevention as impractical. That’s not universally true. And the story should have developed the vaccine option more fully and in a balanced manner. Both the individual medications tenofovir and emtricitabine and the combination sold as Truvada are FDA approved medications; however their use by individuals as an HIV infection preventative is an off-label use (i.e. not FDA approved) at this time. Off-label use is permitted (something the story didn’t develop) but there would be concerns about haphazard use, or use for longer than was studied in the trial. The story made clear that this was a trial of using the drugs as a means to prevent HIV infection as opposed to their current use in HIV treatment. We can’t judge if this story relied solely or largely on a news release. It is a concern, though, that it appeared to be derived from a talk at a scientific conference. It hasn’t been published nor peer-reviewed.
|
|
34197
|
"In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Louis Vuitton sponsored ""human zoos"" in which black people were put on display like exotic circus animals."
|
We reached out to the Louis Vuitton company and the Fondation Louis Vuitton for comment on this subject, but did not receive replies.
|
unproven
|
History
|
French designer Louis Vuitton (1821-1892), whose initials are enshrined in the name of the multi-billion-dollar fashion conglomerate LVMH, began his career as an apprentice malletier (trunk maker) in Paris in the 1830s. Over time, he parlayed his artisanship into a successful business catering to upper-class Parisians, opening his first independent shop in 1854. By the time of his death in 1892, the Louis Vuitton brand was synonymous with luxury, a reputation built upon by his son and subsequent generations of the Vuitton family. According to an assortment of memes making the social media rounds since early 2019, that brand was tainted by its alleged participation an 19th- and early 20th-century phenomenon known as “human zoos.” These were zoo-like exhibitions of so-called “primitive” peoples displayed in world’s fairs and traveling shows in Europe and the United States during the era of global colonialism. Though they were more often known at the time by the quasi-scientific name “ethnological exhibitions,” these displays came to be seen as emblematic of the racism and inhumanity underlying the colonialist mindset. The memes allege that Louis Vuitton “sponsored” such exhibitions in major cities throughout the world: While you’re now complaining about gucci and last year it was Prada and Moncler, did you know that in the late 1800s and in the early 1900s Louis Vuitton sponsored human zoos were black People were looked at as exotic circus like creatures. Here is a picture of a Louis Vuitton pic.twitter.com/a28f6iUx1v — Thywill Brown (@Brownthywill) February 12, 2019 The posts failed to make clear whether the allegation is meant to apply to Louis Vuitton, the man, or Louis Vuitton, the company, or both. They also failed to provide any real evidentiary support for the allegation. Some of the posts, such as the Facebook message above (since deleted), included a link to the blog “Brand Memory,” which contains an article mentioning that Louis Vuitton showcased products at several world’s fairs and at the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition, at which, the article says, “human zoos” were exhibited. But the article doesn’t claim that the company (Louis Vuitton was long deceased by 1931) actually played any part in such zoos. The mentions appear in these paragraphs describing a 2010 Carnavalet Museum retrospective on the evolution of the Vuitton style (emphasis added): The next room deals with transport – with the miniature of a stagecoach and all the types of traveling trunks such as Tea Cases, the car trunk – and with World Fairs, which led to so many creations! Louis Vuitton attended them from 1867 and won many prizes there. During the great 1900 Fair, Georges Vuitton is in charge of the organization of the traveling objects and leather goods section. Therefore, he is outside the competition. Nevertheless, he displays – as we learn it – his own exhibition in a blue carousel reminding you of the Big Wheel. Posters, maps and trunks are there to testify the influence of the World Fairs. But you can also see a magnificent mockup of the 1878 Palais du Trocadéro. Then, we discover the design and Africanism of the beginning of the 20th century. If the Arts Décoratifs are more visible on the Louis Vuitton collection pieces (such as perfume flasks), the ethnical inspirations are directly perceptible on the trunks: crocodile leather, objects made of ivory… This style was to reach its peak for the colonial exhibition in 1931, whose map lets us perceive the festive aspect of it as well as the “human zoos.” Though the sentence above is poorly translated and vague, it’s clear enough that the clause referring to “human zoos” applies to the 1931 Colonial Exposition as a whole, not the Louis Vuitton pavilion, which existed but had no evident connection to displays of live human beings. According to a museum press release, in keeping with the colonial theme, the Vuitton pavilion showcased Africa-themed products (mainly trunks) and artifacts such as masks and totems. (The photograph that appears in the social media posts shows that pavilion. It was not, contrary to what the Facebook meme claims, a “Louis Vuitton store exhibition” in St. Louis.) In point of fact, according to historical accounts, the only display in the Colonial Exposition of 1931 rightly described as a “human zoo” (namely, a group of indigenous New Caledonians — “Kanaks” — sensationally billed as “polygamous savages and cannibals”) was relegated to an offsite location miles away from the main exposition grounds. People (mainly artisans) from other indigenous groups intermingled with visitors and represented their cultures in the exposition proper (in the Bois de Vincennes), but the Kanaks found themselves confined to the Jardin d’Acclimatation (in the Bois de Boulogne), which at that time also housed an actual zoo with crocodiles and other exotic animals. Infamously, the Jardin d’Acclimatation had housed a succession of mocked-up “native villages” since 1877, populated at various times by colonized indigenous peoples. The Kanak exhibition would be the last of its kind there before the venue was turned into an amusement park. In what some might perceive as an ironic development, the headquarters of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a non-profit entity founded by LVMH to promote international arts and culture, was erected in 2014 in close proximity to where those “human zoo” exhibitions of previous centuries once stood. But we found nothing in any of the historical sources we examined to connect Louis Vuitton to any such displays — not at the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition, not at world’s fairs where the company was known to have displayed its wares, and not in traveling shows in the United States or other parts of the world. While it could be argued that the company engaged in cultural appropriation over the course of its long history, and perhaps even profited from the trappings of colonialism.
|
5685
|
UN climate report: Change land use to avoid a hungry future.
|
Human-caused climate change is dramatically degrading the Earth’s land and the way people use the land is making global warming worse, a new United Nations scientific report says. That creates a vicious cycle which is already making food more expensive, scarcer and less nutritious.
|
true
|
Climate, AP Top News, Climate change, Geneva, International News, General News, Forests, Business, Science, Europe
|
“The cycle is accelerating,” said NASA climate scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig, a co-author of the report. “The threat of climate change affecting people’s food on their dinner table is increasing.” But if people change the way they eat, grow food and manage forests, it could help save the planet from a far warmer future, scientists said. Earth’s land masses, which are only 30% of the globe, are warming twice as fast as the planet as a whole. While heat-trapping gases are causing problems in the atmosphere, the land has been less talked about as part of climate change. A special report, written by more than 100 scientists and unanimously approved by diplomats from nations around the world Thursday at a meeting in Geneva, proposed possible fixes and made more dire warnings. “The way we use land is both part of the problem and also part of the solution,” said Valerie Masson-Delmotte, a French climate scientist who co-chairs one of the panel’s working groups. “Sustainable land management can help secure a future that is comfortable.” Scientists at Thursday’s press conference emphasized both the seriousness of the problem and the need to make societal changes soon. “We don’t want a message of despair,” said science panel official Jim Skea, a professor at Imperial College London. “We want to get across the message that every action makes a difference.” Still the stark message hit home hard for some of the authors. “I’ve lost a lot of sleep about what the science is saying. As a person, it’s pretty scary,” Koko Warner, a manager in the U.N. Climate Change secretariat who helped write a report chapter on risk management and decision-making, told The Associated Press after the report was presented at the World Meteorological Organization headquarters in Geneva. “We need to act urgently.” The report said climate change already has worsened land degradation, caused deserts to grow, permafrost to thaw and made forests more vulnerable to drought, fire, pests and disease. That’s happened even as much of the globe has gotten greener because of extra carbon dioxide in the air. Climate change has also added to the forces that have reduced the number of species on Earth. “Climate change is really slamming the land,” said World Resources Institute researcher Kelly Levin, who wasn’t part of the study. And the future could be worse. “The stability of food supply is projected to decrease as the magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events that disrupt food chains increases,” the report said. In the worst-case scenario, food security problems change from moderate to high risk with just a few more tenths of a degree of warming from now. They go from high to “very high” risk with just another 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) of warming from now. “The potential risk of multi-breadbasket failure is increasing,” NASA’s Rosenzweig said. “Just to give examples, the crop yields were effected in Europe just in the last two weeks.” Scientists had long thought one of the few benefits of higher levels of carbon dioxide, the major heat-trapping gas, was that it made plants grow more and the world greener, Rosenzweig said. But numerous studies show that the high levels of carbon dioxide reduce protein and nutrients in many crops. For example, high levels of carbon in the air in experiments show wheat has 6% to 13% less protein, 4% to 7% less zinc and 5% to 8% less iron, she said. But better farming practices — such as no-till agricultural and better targeted fertilizer applications — have the potential to fight global warming too, reducing carbon pollution up to 18% of current emissions levels by 2050, the report said. If people change their diets, reducing red meat and increasing plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables and seeds, the world can save as much as another 15% of current emissions by mid-century. It would also make people more healthy, Rosenzweig said. The science panel said they aren’t telling people what to eat because that’s a personal choice. Still, Hans-Otto Pörtner, a panel leader from Germany who said he lost weight and felt better after reducing his meat consumption, told a reporter that if she ate less ribs and more vegetables “that’s a good decision and you will help the planet reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Reducing food waste can fight climate change even more. The report said that between 2010 and 2016, global food waste accounted for 8% to 10% of heat-trapping emissions. “Currently 25%-30% of total food produced is lost or wasted,” the report said. Fixing that would free up millions of square miles of land. With just another 0.9 degrees F of warming (0.5 degrees C), which could happen in the next 10 to 30 years, the risk of unstable food supplies, wildfire damage, thawing permafrost and water shortages in dry areas “are projected to be high,” the report said. At another 1.8 degrees F of warming (1 degree C) from now, which could happen in about 50 years, it said those risks “are projected to be very high.” Most scenarios predict the world’s tropical regions will have “unprecedented climatic conditions by the mid-to-late 21st century,” the report noted. Agriculture and forestry together account for about 23% of the heat-trapping gases that are warming the Earth, slightly less than from cars, trucks, boats and planes. Add in transporting food, energy costs, packaging and that grows to 37%, the report said. But the land is also a great carbon “sink,” which sucks heat-trapping gases out of the air. From about 2007 to 2016, agriculture and forestry every year put 5.7 billion tons (5.2 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide into the air, but pulled 12.3 billion tons (11.2 billion metric tons) of it out. “This additional gift from nature is limited. It’s not going to continue forever,” said study co-author Luis Verchot, a scientist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia. “If we continue to degrade ecosystems, if we continue to convert natural ecosystems, we continue to deforest and we continue to destroy our soils, we’re going to lose this natural subsidy.” Overall land emissions are increasing, especially because of cutting down forests in the Amazon in places such as Brazil, Colombia and Peru, Verchot said. Recent forest management changes in Brazil “contradicts all the messages that are coming out of the report,” Pörtner said. Saying “our current way of living and our economic system risks our future and the future of our children,” Germany’s environment minister, Svenja Schulze, questioned whether it makes sense for a country like Germany to import large amounts of soy from Latin America, where forests are being destroyed to plant the crop, to feed unsustainable numbers of livestock in Germany. “We ought to recognize that we have profound limits on the amount of land available and we have to be careful about how we utilize it,” said Stanford University environmental sciences chief Chris Field, who wasn’t part of the report. ___ AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein reported from Washington. Frank Jordans contributed from Berlin. ___ For more Associated Press stories about climate change, go to https://www.apnews.com/Climate ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter: @borenbears ___ 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.
|
11266
|
Women who eat lots of fiber have less breast cancer
|
It’s not often you see a story that so simply explains possible confounders in research. This story hammered the point: the findings don’t prove that fiber itself lowers cancer risk the results can identify associations but can’t tell what will happen if people change behavior it’s impossible to rule out that big fiber eaters had healthier habits overall that would cut their risk.
|
true
|
Cancer,Preventive care,Reuters Health,women's health
|
Not applicable. The cost of fiber in the diet is not in question. We’ll give the story the benefit of the doubt, although suggest a minor change in the future. The story only used relative risk reduction figures. It could have included just a line to explain why it may not be statistically appropriate to pool absolute risk reductions in such a meta-analysis. While there are hypothetically potential harms of too much fiber in the diet, this story in this context didn’t need to drill down on them. Strength of the piece. It repeatedly stressed: Perfect, easy to understand explanation of possible confounders. There is no disease-mongering of breast cancer in the story. In fact, it includes an important little line of context: “About one in eight American women get breast cancer at some point, with less than a quarter of them dying from it.” Two expert independent perspectives were included. The story did touch on other risk factors: “alcohol drinking, weight, hormone replacement therapy and family history” The story explains that fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains are all high in fiber. The story wrapped the new analysis into the context of prior work: “While earlier research has yielded mixed conclusions on the link between cancer and fiber, it would make scientific sense: According to the Chinese researchers, people who eat high-fiber diets have lower levels of estrogen, which is a risk factor for breast tumors. So to get more clarity, the researchers combined 10 earlier studies that looked at women’s diets and followed them over seven to 18 years to see who developed cancer.” The story clearly did not rely on a news release.
|
8808
|
Weight-loss drugs may harm developing brain: study.
|
A drug from a new class of weight-loss treatments disrupted wiring needed for brain development in young mice, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, raising concerns about using such medications in children.
|
true
|
Health News
|
A woman walks along the boardwalk while leaving the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York September 4, 2007. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson Mark Bear and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studied the effects of a chemical that suppresses appetite by blocking cannabinoid receptors in the brain, the same brain mechanisms that make people hungry when they smoke marijuana. “I think that the cautionary note is that these mechanisms play an important role in ... brain development,” said Bear, whose study appears in the journal Neuron. Sanofi-Aventis’ weight-loss pill rimonabant, also known as Zimulti and sold under the brand name Acomplia in Europe, is the first in this new class of drugs. A U.S. expert panel rejected it last June because of fears it might trigger suicidal thoughts. Other drugmakers, including Merck & Co Inc, are working on similar drugs. Bear’s team at MIT was hoping to gain insight into how the brain adapts and rewires itself through learned experiences. This so-called plasticity is central to the development of neurons in the brain of children and young animals. Bear said these cannabinoid receptors are known to regulate signals between neurons, and his team wanted to see if they would have an effect on plasticity in these young mice. They were specifically testing learning in the visual cortex of the mouse, a part of the brain that processes information gathered from what they see. Their experiments tested how well the animals adapted if one eye was closed. The researchers did not use rimonabant in the study. Instead, they used a chemical analog or copy — in this case a drug available for laboratory use known as AM 251. When they gave the mice AM 251 to block their cannabinoid receptors, the animals still behaved as if both eyes were open. This suggested the visual cortex was not adapting as it should. “Our finding of a profound disruption of cortical plasticity in juvenile mice treated with AM 251 suggests caution is advised in the use of such compounds in children,” the researchers wrote. Bear said the finding is similar to the situation with many drugs. “You have to weigh the benefits against the risks. If the benefit is related more to vanity than morbidity, I don’t think the risks are tolerable,” he said. Sanofi-Aventis spokeswoman Julissa Viana said rimonabant is not approved for use in children. “At this point in time it is approved for use in adults who are overweight and obese with cardiovascular risk factors,” she said. “We don’t encourage its use in children and it has not been studied nor is it indicated for use in children.” A woman walks along the boardwalk while leaving the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York September 4, 2007. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The finding is the latest blow for rimonabant, which once was predicted to be a multibillion-dollar seller. A study last month of the drug in obese heart patients found more than 40 percent of patients who took the drug developed psychiatric problems. But last month the drugmaker Sanofi said it still believes Acomplia can be a winner and reiterated plans to submit the drug worldwide as a treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2009.
|
14237
|
"Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, ""which you understand means that you can’t do any research about it."
|
"Clinton said marijuana is a Schedule I drug, ""which you understand means that you can’t do any research about it."" It’s hard to research marijuana, especially using plants (as opposed to synthetic versions) in studies involving human subjects. There are many regulatory hoops scientists have to navigate, and the government has a single-source monopoly on marijuana plants to be used for research. All of this makes setting up a marijuana experiment a lengthy and daunting process. However, there are scientists currently studying marijuana, and federal funding supports some of these experiments. Clinton’s statement gives the impression that the government bans marijuana research flat-out, and that’s not the case. Her statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."
|
false
|
National, Drugs, Government Regulation, Regulation, Science, Marijuana, Hillary Clinton,
|
"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a firm stance on marijuana legalization yet — she wants to see more research first. But there are some challenges to getting that research, she said. At an ABC town hall April 21, Clinton told audience member Evan Nison, a National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws board member, what she would do as president to address the marijuana legalization debate. ""I've said I want to move marijuana off of Schedule I, which you understand means that you can't do any research about it,"" she said. ""You can't do anything, and I think that's wrong. We have enough anecdotal evidence, as you well know being a member of the NORML Board, about what marijuana can do for medical conditions, easing pain. And we need to be doing research on it because I am 100 percent in favor of medical uses for marijuana. But I want to know what the evidence is."" The 1970 Controlled Substances Act classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, a category that includes drugs with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. This puts marijuana in the same class as heroin and ecstasy and a notch higher than meth and cocaine. We wondered if Clinton was correct that marijuana’s Schedule I classification means scientists can’t research it. (Hat-tip to our buds at FactCheck.org who looked at her claim first.) We talked to some scientists who do, in fact, research marijuana. The regulatory hoops make their work challenging but not impossible. Stuck in the weeds The government doesn’t ban scientific research on Schedule I drugs like marijuana. In 2015, the National Institutes of Health put approximately $111 million into 281 research projects studying cannabinoids, which are chemical compounds found in marijuana. (Not all of these studies actually involve giving marijuana to human subjects.) But the government has tried to make it harder to study marijuana and other drugs it has historically considered dangerous and without medical use, for fear that the drugs could be stolen or fall into the wrong hands, said John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert in federal marijuana policy. ""Marijuana has always been treated most unique among scheduled drugs in ways that made it even harder to study,"" especially in terms of acquiring plants for the research, Hudak told PolitiFact. As a result, in many states where medical marijuana is legal, doctors and policymakers have to base their practices on limited science, Hudak and co-author Grace Wallack wrote in a Brookings report. He cited research that found Schedule I designations discourage scientists from trying to study these drugs. To conduct marijuana research, researchers have to submit an investigational new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration, and the Drug Enforcement Administration has to license the research site and the investigating scientist. If a scientist wanted to conduct three studies on a non-Schedule I drug in three different labs, he or she could get an umbrella approval for this project. But to conduct a similar set of studies on a Schedule I drug such as marijuana, the researcher would have to get approval for each individual site and investigator, said Igor Grant, director of the Center for Medical Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego. Until about a year ago, a Public Health Service committee also had to review privately funded projects, in a process almost identical to the FDA review. But President Barack Obama’s administration did away with that requirement. Grant, whose lab has completed seven studies on medical uses for cannabis, said that before this revision, it could take between six and 18 months to get all the necessary government approvals to start a study. Now, it takes a little less time. The supply of federally approved marijuana plants is another major barrier. If researchers want to use the marijuana plant, there is only one source: the University of Mississippi, which contracts with the National Institute of Drug Abuse to grow marijuana for research purposes. So researchers can only get however much marijuana the facility is able to produce, and they’re subject to the facility’s timeline. The program has good intentions in providing drugs that might otherwise be difficult to work with, and they can control the chemical makeup of the plant, said Christine Rabinak, a pharmacy and neuroscience professor at Wayne State University. But there are some concerns about how well the government’s supply matches the kind of marijuana that is currently commercially available for medicinal purposes. ""I think we are going to be limited on what research can be conducted in the United States with other strains of cannabis because of these federal barriers,"" she said. Some researchers, including Rabinak, use synthetic versions of chemical compounds found in marijuana, which she said are much easier to acquire than the plant itself. Grant said that if the government were to reschedule marijuana to a lower classification, there would likely be more marijuana research because the project review process would be so much easier. It would especially open up opportunities for scientists who might not have the time or resources to spend months waiting for federal approval under the current rules. Hudak’s Brookings paper concluded that rescheduling marijuana would remove one hurdle for researchers, while also recommending lifting the federal government’s control over growing marijuana plants for research and reforming licensing requirements, among other policy changes. While Clinton’ statement is incorrect, there’s some truth to her larger point that current policy makes it hard to research marijuana, Grant said. ""It does not mean the studies cannot be done or that the federal government is consciously trying to block the studies,"" he said. ""It’s just a complicated process."" Our ruling Clinton said marijuana is a Schedule I drug, ""which you understand means that you can’t do any research about it."" It’s hard to research marijuana, especially using plants (as opposed to synthetic versions) in studies involving human subjects. There are many regulatory hoops scientists have to navigate, and the government has a single-source monopoly on marijuana plants to be used for research. All of this makes setting up a marijuana experiment a lengthy and daunting process. However, there are scientists currently studying marijuana, and federal funding supports some of these experiments. Clinton’s statement gives the impression that the government bans marijuana research flat-out, and that’s not the case. Her statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, so"
|
8960
|
First-Ever Rapid Response Test for Levels of Bifidobacterium in Baby's Gut Microbiome
|
This release by Evolve Biosystems, Inc. highlights a new, pen-shaped prototype that can allegedly and indirectly test baby poop for low or high levels of a beneficial gut bacteria called Bifidobacterium longum (subspecies infantis). Such microorganisms can break down indigestible molecules in a mother’s breast milk. There is also some limited evidence to suggest high levels of Bifidobacterium can improve an infant’s nutrition and health, and protect against “dangerous” bacteria in the gut that can cause issues late into life. However, the release doesn’t explain how the test works, what its harms may or may not be, and how accurate it is or is not in showing there’s ample Bifidobacterium in a baby’s gut. The release also introduces an existing product, called Evivo probiotics, that a baby would take if a low level of Bifidobacterium was found — but does not describe the price, harms, effectiveness, and other important aspects of such a medical product. There is no evidence provided about the test itself. Confoundingly, the release links to two studies that find correlations between Bifidobacterium levels and the incidences of certain health issues, yet states there is not yet any definitive, causal link between any of them. At best, publishing this release feels premature — more research, and a lot of it, is required. At worst, it’s a misleading and paper-thin marketing pitch to a future round of investors. Researchers are learning more and more about collections of microorganisms that live in the human body, called microbiomes, and their effects on our health. So far, none seem to be as large, diverse, and important to our overall health as the gut microbiome. Babies’ gut microbiomes are a growing area of scientific interest, and specifically those of breastfed versus formula-fed babies. These studies hint at important differences that exist between the two: Breastfed babies appear to have far more Bifidobacterium, which appear to feed on indigestible sugars in breast milk. This may enhance overall nutrition for those infants. Some studies even hint that Bifidobacterium may help the gut rein in or reduce harmful microbes and lower the risk of certain diseases, perhaps even late into life. In conjunction with such research, American use of probiotic products quadrupled from 2007 to 2012, according to NIH data, with nearly 2 million using them in 2012 (a number that is likely much higher today). But only a limited number of these products have any preliminary evidence that they work, and for a limited number of health issues. Similarly, the products of Evolve Biosystems, Inc. are built on correlations about how and when such bacteria work in the gut, and not yet any definitive causal evidence. This is an emerging area of research and it is too early to introduce point of care tests to evaluate gut microbiomes in infants, since we are unable to know the long term clinical significance of the findings. There may be none.
|
false
|
Evolve BioSystems,microbiome
|
The only dollar sign in this release is a notation that Evolve BioSystems obtained $40 million in recent funding. The release states the Evolve stool-testing device is a prototype, so we’ll give that a pass — it implies it can’t be purchased. But not listing the price of the Evivo probiotic, which is described later, doesn’t get a pass: The two are inextricably linked by the release, i.e. babies with low levels of Bifidobacterium would be given the probiotic. The Evivo probiotic product ranges from $80 for a one-month supply to $335 for a six-month supply, though it is unclear how long a baby is supposed to take it. Testing a baby’s stool for Bifidobacterium is presumably beneficial, according to the release, because not having low levels may allow “for potentially harmful bacteria such as E. Coli and Clostridia to thrive, which are linked to higher risk of short- and long-term health issues such as colic, eczema, allergies, diabetes, and obesity.” Likewise, the release implies taking the Evivo probiotic product can “reduce potentially harmful bacteria by 80 percent.” But these statements and figures are inadequate. There is not yet definitive, causal evidence that Bifidobacterium can prevent “harmful” bacteria from overtaking the gut and causing health problems. Both studies intimate as much by highlighting the findings are correlations, and that long-term longitudinal studies are required. It’s misleading to claim a benefit from testing when there is no causal link to harm in people. The test itself is described as “quick and non-invasive.” However, the release transitions to the Evivo probiotic product, which is a live culture of Bifidobacterium bacteria that’s designed to augment such microbes in a baby’s gut. There are no potential harms discussed here. However, the CDC’s website states about probiotics (generally): “In healthy people, probiotics usually have only minor side effects, if any. However, in people with underlying health problems (for example, weakened immune systems), serious complications such as infections have occasionally been reported.” This release states that the Evivo stool test looks for two chemicals associated with Bifidobacterium, and that increased pH (i.e. more basic) in stools over the past century correlates with decreasing levels of such bacteria in babies’ guts. But there’s really no explanation for how the test works. Furthermore, the release claims the Evivo probiotic product “is the only baby probiotic clinically proven to restore Bifidobacterium to a baby’s gut and reduce potentially harmful bacteria by 80 percent.” However, researchers are still trying to get a grasp on the human gut microbiome — the field is still in its early days — what differentiates a “good” from a “bad” bacteria, and under which circumstances issues arise. But you don’t need to take our word for it. The release links to two research studies, one of which states that long-term studies “comparing the incidence of autoimmune disorders with restored Bifidobacterium populations in the infant gut microbiome are essential to establish the role of Bifidobacterium in early immune development in the infant gut.” This release doesn’t have any scary or over-the-top wording, but it does warn parents that not treating the microbiome in infants may lead to future health problems for their child. And that suggestion is not based on research showing a causal relationship. This appears to be a product looking for a disease that does not exist, or at the very least, a condition that is poorly understood. The Evivo stool test is clearly described as owned by Evolve Biosystems, Inc., and that company’s associations and funding are similarly made clear. No alternatives to a test discovering low levels of Bifidobacterium are noted — that is, other than using Evivo probiotic products to raise them. One option not mentioned is to ignore the test entirely and not use any medical product like Evivo probiotics (or similar), since studies that the release links to say long-term research is required to suss out any definitive link between low or high levels of Bifidobacterium in a baby’s gut and their health later in life. Additionally, people could avoid antibiotics (the primary cause of shifts in the microbiome) and feed their children a variety of foods which probably results in healthy colonization. The Evivo stool test is described as a prototype, implying it’s not available on the market. The novelty is not made clear, and especially so for the stool test. A study linked to by the release also does not contain any methods — they are available only by request — making it doubly difficult to assess the novelty of the device. We saw the words “proven” and “proving” in the release, which raised some red flags. The research appears too preliminary to prove anything, especially when both studies referenced by the release contain caveats saying as much.
|
8077
|
Cairo, the city that never sleeps, shuts for coronavirus night-time curfew.
|
Egypt and its capital Cairo, a mega-city home to some 20 million people, shut down on Wednesday evening as authorities launched a night-time curfew to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.
|
true
|
Health News
|
In a city that never sleeps where restaurants and cafes are usually open until the wee hours, shop owners were closing shutters and commuters rushing home before the start of the 7 p.m. curfew that runs until 6 a.m. Policemen were posted on key roads to stop any violators. Many streets were already almost deserted by 6:30 p.m. “This is a disease, not a joke. People must stay at home, and should not leave their houses after curfew hours,” Mohamed El-Gabaly, a Cairo resident, told Reuters, as he stood in a major street with little traffic just before the curfew. Egypt has stepped up measures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus - closing airports and gyms, as well as suspending classes at schools and universities until mid-April. Restaurants are restricted to just delivering food. Shops other than supermarkets and pharmacies will be required to close at 5 p.m. on weekdays, two hours earlier than the previous curfew, as well as on weekends. Egypt, a country of 100 million, has reported 456 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 21 deaths. Like other countries, Egypt has taken steps to curtail the impact on the economy, including a surprise 3% interest rate cut and an injection of 20 billion pounds ($1.27 billion) to support the stock market.
|
10884
|
FDA approves new drug to treat aggressive breast cancer
|
"This story reports oon FDA approval of a new targeted cancer drug for treatment-resistance metastatic breast cancer. The story mentions that lapatinib (trade name Tykerb) is a tailored treatment for women with the HER2/neu gene and advanced (metastatic) breast cancer. The story does mention Herceptin, chemotherapy and other drugs as treatments typically used prior to lapatinib. The story does not mention the side effects reported by patients in clinical trials. These included: gastrointestinal problems, and hand-foot syndrome which may include numbness, tingling, redness, swelling and shortness of breath. More serious, but rare reports of heart failure (in most cases reversible) were also reported in clinical trials. The story should have included the cost of this new drug, which is $2,900/month and the fact that it is approved for use with another drug – capecitabine(Xeloda). The failure to include comments about the side effect profile of Xeloda is significant. Xeloda costs about $1,500/month. Additionally, the story does not mention the cost of this newer drug treatment or if it is covered by Medicare or private health insurance. Unfortunately, a wonderful opportunity was missed in the reporting of this story. Far from ""a godsend"", lapatinib is a useful addition to existing treatments for advanced breast cancer. The ease of use and relatively low side effect profile make the drug a valuable addition when combined with Xeloda. The story fails to note any quantitative evidence from clinical trials on tumor response to lapatinib. Women with advanced breast cancer need this information so they can weigh the pros and cons of taking yet another round of treatment. The story instead provided only one woman's anecdotal response, which gave the viewer a greatly exaggerated impression of the value of this new drug. The reality is that advanced breast cancer is a terrible problem for which there are still no good answers. While the treatments are better, none are curative."
|
mixture
|
"The story does not mention the cost of this newer drug treatment or if it is likely to be covered by Medicare or private health insurance. This should have been included since the drug costs $2,900/month and is approved for use with capecitabine(Xeloda). Xeloda costs about $1,500/month. The story provides no quantitative evidence on the benefits of lapatinib over other targeted therapies for aggressive breast cancer. The story also does not list the incidence of side effects common among women who took lapatinib with capectabine (Xeloda), another cancer drug. The response rate is only 1 in 4 in combination with Xeloda with a median time to tumor progression of 6 months. The story does not mention the side effects reported by patients in clinical trials. These included: gastrointestinal problems, and hand-foot syndrome which may include numbness, tingling, redness, swelling and shortness of breath. More serious, but rare reports of heart failure (in most cases reversible) were also reported in clinical trials. The story mentions there are ""fewer side effects"" with targeted therapies, but this is not necessarily the case, especially since these drugs are taken in combination with chemotherapy or other cancer drugs. The story mentions that this treatment in pill form is ""easier to take"" than Herceptin, but that might not be the case for all women. We are not told how long a woman needs to take lapatinib vs. Herceptin. In addition, the failure to include comments about the side effect profile of Xeloda is significant. There is no quantitative evidence from clinical trials presented in this story. Instead the story relies on one woman's testimony that the ""drugs were a godsend"", and a reporter's comment that she is now cancer-free. This anecdotal evidence is misleading and would suggest that these drugs cure metastatic cancer, when they may only shrink existing tumors and prevent others from recurring. The story should provide data in order that women with this form of cancer can weigh the pros and cons of taking yet another round of treatment to treat their breast cancer. Additionally, lapatinib is a new drug and there is not yet data on whether this drug helps women with metastatic breast cancer live longer than with other therapies. The story does not engage in disease mongering because it hints at the fact that this drug is only for the 20-25% of women with the HER2/neu gene who have taken other medicines to treat advanced cancer, but for whom these drugs have stopped working. The story does cite two breast cancer specialists who discuss targeted therapies for breast cancer, but the story doesn't explain if they were involved in the trials or if they have any potential conflict of interest. The story does mention Herceptin, chemotherapy and other drugs as treatments typically used prior to lapatinib in women with metastatic cancer. It's clear from the story that lapatinib (trade name Tykerb) has just been approved by the FDA. The story mentions that lapatinib (trade name Tykerb) is a tailored, second line treatment for advanced breast cancer. This drug is for the treatment of metastatic HER-2 positive breast cancer. However the failure to note the necessity of a second drug is a major flaw in the reporting. The information presented in this story is not taken directly from the FDA press release. Two independent sources are cited to provide some background on newer targeted drugs used to treat aggressive forms of breast cancer."
|
|
15296
|
"Austin is ""effectively"" imposing ""a ban on barbecue restaurants."
|
"Limbaugh said Austin is ""effectively"" imposing ""a ban on barbecue restaurants."" In early 2015, there was worry that a mandate that barbecue restaurants limit smoke from smokers would have that impact. However, the council didn’t adopt such a regulation and we sniffed out no factual indication it’s poised to do so. Before Limbaugh spoke, the latest panel to make a recommendation suggested city staff tackle complaints one by one--without a change in law. When a claim is not so and seems ridiculous, we see smoke. The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim."
|
false
|
Environment, Food Safety, Texas, Rush Limbaugh,
|
"Conservative Rush Limbaugh told listeners that liberal Austin has moved toward wiping out local barbecue joints. On his July 28, 2015, program, the commentator read from a web post stating the Austin City Council in April 2015 ""passed a preliminary plan"" restricting smoke from barbecue restaurants. Limbaugh said the web post went on to say the contemplated requirement that restaurants install costly devices to diffuse smoke led a business expert to tell council members ""these restrictions will certainly kill all but the largest barbecue restaurants in Austin."" ""It is effectively a ban on barbecue restaurants in a town known for its barbecue,"" Limbaugh echoed. What ""kind of an absurd requirement is this anyway?"" he added. Smoke pouring from commercial barbecue smokers has been a hot Austin topic, in particular pitting a new South Austin restaurant against nearby homeowners who say its smoke wafting their way has reduced the value of their homesteads. And did the council adopt a plan amounting to a ban on ‘cue restaurants? Citing a website Limbaugh, according to a transcript of his program, recited as fact a July 25, 2015, web post on IAmATexan.com, headlined ""Austin City Council Votes to Ban BBQ Restaurants."" That post said the council had passed a preliminary plan to restrict smoke from barbecue restaurants, continuing: ""The city council’s current proposal will require smoke diffusers and will also limit the amount of time that restaurants can smoke. These restrictions will require at least $100,000 in extra investments for most barbecue restaurants as they will be forced to buy extra smokers along with severely expensive diffusers, and in some cases will have to lease or purchase more property. ""One business expert told council members that these restrictions will certainly kill all but the largest barbecue restaurants in Austin. ""It is effectively a ban on barbecue restaurants in a town known for its barbecue."" We didn’t connect with the unnamed authors of that post. Nor did our query to Limbaugh draw a reply. But Austin American-Statesman news stories, City of Austin documents and responses by a city spokeswoman indicate that after the council talked about imposing controls to reduce unwanted smoke from restaurant smokers, members directed the city manager, Marc Ott, to gather public input and make recommendations. As of late July 2015, city spokeswoman Alicia Dean said, one City Council committee had recommended no citywide restrictions while another council panel, slated to reconvene Aug. 3, 2015, had not made a recommendation. Limbaugh’s claim, Dean said, is not true. Blowing smoke in Austin Let’s scrape up the details--which extend to the city pulling together this 2015 document delivering a breakdown of Austin barbecue trailers and restaurants and the hours each one operates a smoker (around the clock to three times daily ""for flavor"" to not at all). After Terry Black’s Barbecue opened, on Barton Springs Road just south of Lady Bird Lake, nearby neighbors objected to smoke from its pit blowing into their yards and homes--not every day, residents initially said, but often enough depending on prevailing winds. Mike Black said in a January 2015 statement to the American-Statesman that he intended to work with residents to address concerns. In July 2015, residents filed a lawsuit against the restaurant. Credit for publicly suggesting the city regulate smoke from restaurants belongs to Austin City Council Member Sabino ""Pio"" Renteria, whose idea to require smoke mitigation wasn’t embraced by pitmasters who said purchasing expensive ""smoke scrubbers"" could kill barbecue stands inside the city limits. ""It will force 99 percent of Austin BBQ places to either close or move out of town,"" John Mueller of John Mueller Meat Co. said in a statement. In March 2015, Renteria said he was revising his original proposal to have it apply only to restaurants and mobile food vendors within 100 feet of residential property—down from 150 feet. He also said he wanted to look at other smoke-mitigating options besides scrubbers. At a March 31, 2015, work session, council members questioned how regulating smoke emissions would affect small businesses and longtime businesses, and whether there might be a way to target regulations at new businesses or ones that had been the subject of complaints. The Statesman reported that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2014 received two complaints about odor and smoke coming from Terry Black’s Barbecue, and one complaint in 2014 and another in 2015 about an East Austin establishment, la Barbecue. In all cases, the agency determined the odor and smoke were not nuisances subject to state intervention, commission spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said, adding that a nuisance would have to ""be injurious to or adversely affect human health, welfare, animal life, vegetation or property"" or ""interfere with normal use and enjoyment of animal life, vegetation, or property."" On April 2, 2015, council members voted 9-2 to gather input from neighbors and businesses in the lead-up to a ""possible"" writing of smoke-control rules. The issue was to go first to the Economic Opportunity and Health and Human Services committees, both consisting of council members. Specifically, the council’s resolution said members were initiating a possible amendment to the city code to address smoke from cookers, restaurants and trucks and their impact on residences with provisions to be considered including a requirement that restaurants and mobile vendors using a wood- or charcoal-burning stove or grill and located within 100 feet of a property used or zoned as a residence ""take appropriate action to mitigate the impact of smoke emissions"" on the lives of nearby residents ""by relocating smoke-emitting equipment"" or ""installing smoke-mitigating devices."" The resolution also directed Ott to gather input from affected residents, business owners and others before presenting recommendations to the committees by July 31, 2015. Committee recommendations On May 11, 2015, the Economic Opportunity committee voted 4-0 to not pursue a city ordinance either requiring establishments to install smoke-clearing devices or to regulate nuisances. Instead, the members said that city officials, in conjunction with the state commission, should review concerns case by case. Members acted after taking public comments and fielding a May 4, 2015, city presentation indicating that none of 54 restaurant barbecue smokers in the city already had smoke scrubbers. The other council committee also gathered. But it hadn’t made a recommendation by the day Limbaugh suggested Austin barbecue was about to vamoose. Then again, Ora Houston, the Austin City Council member who chairs the Health and Human Services panel, earlier made the motion against the city limiting barbecue smoke by ordinance that was adopted by the Economic Opportunity committee. By phone, Houston responded to our inquiry by saying she continues to prefer that the city address smoke concerns one by one. ""I would not be a supporter of a motion to have a citywide ban on barbecue smoke,"" Houston said. ""That’s what the city is known for, music and barbecue."" Our ruling Limbaugh said Austin is ""effectively"" imposing ""a ban on barbecue restaurants."" In early 2015, there was worry that a mandate that barbecue restaurants limit smoke from smokers would have that impact. However, the council didn’t adopt such a regulation and we sniffed out no factual indication it’s poised to do so. Before Limbaugh spoke, the latest panel to make a recommendation suggested city staff tackle complaints one by one--without a change in law. When a claim is not so and seems ridiculous, we see smoke. ! PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim."
|
22628
|
"When the Milwaukee County mental health facility is full, ""cops sit out there in their squad cars with a mentally ill patient"" and sometimes ""spend an entire shift out there doing that."
|
Milwaukee County executive candidate Jim Sullivan says police have to wait for hours with mental health patients
|
false
|
County Budget, Health Care, Wisconsin, Jim Sullivan,
|
"During a two-month period in 2004, more than 60 people with mental health emergencies waited for up to 60 hours to get treatment at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex. Some had to be kept under police guard until they could receive care. In early 2008, police agencies continued to rack up thousands of dollars in overtime as officers waited in their squad cars or in hospital emergency rooms with patients who needed psychiatric crisis services. According to Jim Sullivan, one of the five candidates running in the Feb. 15, 2011, primary election for Milwaukee County executive, the problem persists. In a Jan. 31, 2011 meeting with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editors and reporters, Sullivan responded to a question about the Mental Health Complex by saying: ""When they’re full up over there, our local police officers -- if you’ve got somebody who needs to be over at mental health because they’re mentally ill, they may pose a danger to themselves, any of these different things -- if it’s full, cops sit out there in their squad cars with a mentally ill patient in the back and they have to wait to unload and people will, in some cases, spend an entire shift out there doing that."" If Sullivan is right, police officers are regularly experiencing hours-long delays at the Mental Health Complex when transporting someone who needs crisis services. Is he right? We asked Sullivan, a former Democratic state senator from Wauwatosa, the basis for his statement. He did not have any direct evidence, but said he heard the Wauwatosa and West Allis police departments experienced such waits. Thousands of people each year receive crisis care at the complex, 9455 W. Watertown Plank Road. Some are admitted to the 96-bed facility but most are treated and released. As Sullivan indicated, crisis patients are brought to the facility, often by police, because they are deemed a danger to themselves or others. The Journal Sentinel’s Patients in Peril investigation has uncovered numerous problems at the complex, from bungled care of patients and staff members falsifying documents to skyrocketing overtime costs. But delays faced by police officers transporting crisis patients have not been in the news recently. What’s more, Sullivan’s claim about delays is contradicted by an October 2010 study by a national consulting firm, which found that changes made by the county ""have been very effective in reducing backups."" The finding was reiterated by the Milwaukee-based Public Policy Forum research organization in a January 2011 report, which summarized issues for candidates in the county executive race. That report relied, in part, on a November 2010 county memo that showed a dramatic reduction in police waits beginning in 2008. To further check Sullivan’s statement, we contacted the two police departments he cited as well as the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. Here is what they told us: Wauwatosa police: Long delays ended five or more years ago and current wait times are usually less than 30 minutes, said Capt. Jeff Sutter. ""It would be extremely unusual for us to have what I consider a long wait,"" he said. West Allis police: Long waits ended three years ago, according to Chief Mike Jungbluth, who said his officers transport patients to the Mental Health Complex ""every day."" Milwaukee police: ""We aren’t experiencing the issue anymore,"" said spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz. Milwaukee County sheriff: Deputies usually wait about 20 minutes, said Capt. Darlene Jonas. If several officers are trying to get patients treated, the wait time could be one to two hours, she said. So what’s the bottom line? Sullivan said delays in admitting people to the Mental Health Complex for crisis care can be so long that police officers spend up to an entire shift with patients waiting for them to receive treatment. Hours-long delays were a problem some years ago. But the four largest police agencies in the county now say waits are short. Perhaps there are isolated cases today in which officers waits for hours, but at minimum Sullivan’s claim is clearly dated."
|
12685
|
A New York man has allegedly infected 240 people with the HIV virus by sleeping with men and women.
|
"A website alleges a man has set out to infect as many people with HIV as possible and has infected up to 300 people already. The article is fake. The New York City Health Department says it is made up. Authorities in New York City are not seeking Burks or anyone for such an allegation. It’s fake news. PolitiFact New York examined the origins of this claim as part of the inaugural International Fact-Checking Day, April 2, 2017. Organizers at Poynter.org describe the day as ""not a single event but a rallying cry for more facts - and fact-checking - in politics, journalism, and everyday life."" "
|
false
|
Fake news, New York, Bloggers,
|
"A blog post widely shared on social media claims ""a New York man has allegedly infected 240 people with the HIV virus by sleeping with men and women."" We found the post on Obnoxioustv's Blog but it has appeared on other websites, too. The post says the New York City Police Department seeks to arrest Isaac Don Burks. ""Burks, a black gay man from West New York, N.J., just outside Manhattan, who police say may have started his ‘mission to infect as many people as possible’ with HIV as far back as ten years ago, was described as ‘sick in the head’ by one alleged victim, who notes that Burks alluded to having possibly infected as many as 300 victims,"" according to the post on Obnoxioustv's Blog. ""The victim, who did not wish to be publicly identified, recalls that Burks has been on a ‘downward spiral’ since the death of his mother, and plies his prey with drugs and alcohol, to ‘bring their guard down.’ "" The post says authorities in New York City are offering up to $100,000 for anyone with information leading to an arrest. The post also claims the New York City Department of Health called this case ""the first time a HIV infected individual has spread HIV to so many victims."" The story has been shared on several different websites. Facebook flagged a link to the story on Obnoxioustv's Blog as a potential fake news story. The post, first published in 2013, has appeared again recently on social media sites. We could not find any coverage of the story on reputable news sites, and the website’s owner did not reply to our inquiry. Is the post correct that a man has infected as many as 300 people with HIV? The New York City Health Department The post quotes the New York City Health Department urging anyone who may be affected to seek help. We reached out to the department about the story. The department said both the quote and the story are fake. ""We can confirm that this story is completely false,"" the department said in an email. Crime Stoppers The article provided a Crime Stoppers phone number for anyone with information to call. So we called. The number was, indeed, for Crime Stoppers -- but in South Carolina. The operator searched for the name of the alleged offender and his crime for us. A query led to the same article we set out to fact-check, along with a few others. The New York City Police Department runs New York City Crime Stoppers. The Police Department did not respond to our inquiry about the story, so we called the New York City Crime Stoppers line. The operator advised us not to share the article on social media. ""We haven’t heard anything about that,"" the operator said. The New York City Crime Stoppers website has not listed anyone wanted by the name of Isaac Don Burks for at least the last six years. The organization has not sought anyone for a crime similar to the one alleged online. Our ruling A website alleges a man has set out to infect as many people with HIV as possible and has infected up to 300 people already. The article is fake. The New York City Health Department says it is made up. Authorities in New York City are not seeking Burks or anyone for such an allegation. It’s fake news. ! PolitiFact New York examined the origins of this claim as part of the inaugural International Fact-Checking Day, April 2, 2017. Organizers at Poynter.org describe the day as ""not a single event but a rallying cry for more facts - and fact-checking - in politics, journalism, and everyday life."""
|
7799
|
McDonald's to offer first-ever organic burger, in Germany.
|
McDonald’s Corp will offer its first-ever 100 percent organic beef hamburger for a limited time in Germany, as a growing number of global diners demand food that is more natural and less processed.
|
true
|
Health News
|
From Oct. 1 to Nov. 18 McDonald’s will offer “McB” burgers, made with organic beef sourced from organic farms in Germany and Austria. The move from the world’s biggest restaurant chain by revenue comes as it is revamping food-sourcing practices as part of new Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook’s effort to transform McDonald’s into a “modern, progressive burger company.” Germans, known for their love of sausages, are eating less meat and more vegetarian food as concerns grow about health, animal welfare and the environmental cost of livestock farming. In Germany, beef certified as “organic” must come from cattle that eat organically grown feed and graze on pasture where synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not used. “We have made a great effort to secure sufficient quantities of meat which satisfies the organic requirements and our own quality claims,” said Holger Beeck, chief executive of McDonald’s Germany. McDonald’s has tweaked menus and worked to improve service in Germany, one of its top European markets. The company’s quarterly sales at established restaurants in Germany recently grew for the first time since the middle of 2012. A McDonald’s U.S. spokeswoman declined to say whether the company would roll out the burger to other markets. Sales at McDonald’s have slumped, in part due to competition from newer chains including Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, which for years has offered meat from animals raised without hormones and antibiotics. McDonald’s USA said in March that within two years, it would stop buying meat from chickens raised with antibiotics vital to human health. That move was cheered by public health and consumer advocates, who are concerned that overuse of antibiotics in meat production is contributing to rising numbers of life-threatening human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria dubbed “superbugs.” Still, a shareholder group thinks the company has not gone far enough. It is renewing its call for McDonald’s to stop buying any meat from animals raised with antibiotics vital to fighting human infections. Earlier this month, McDonald’s said its 16,000 U.S. and Canadian restaurants would switch cage-free eggs by 2025.
|
30424
|
A scientific study shows the death of Alfie Evans was caused by aluminum additives in vaccines.
|
This information, coupled with the fact that the “breakthrough study” cited by Your News Wire did not mention any medical case and that there is no proof Evans received multiple vaccinations (although this is possible), means the web site’s central claims about evidence linking Alfie Evans’s death with aluminum in vaccines are no more than outrageous and cynical falsehoods.
|
false
|
Junk News, alfie evans, fake news, vaccines
|
In May 2018, a disreputable fake news blog exploited the tragic death of English toddler Alfie Evans, with a clickbait headline falsely claiming that a scientific study had shown aluminum from vaccines played a role in his demise. The headline for YourNewsWire.com’s article reads “Study Shows Aluminum Was Present in Baby Alfie Evans’ Brain,” and claims in the story that it came from vaccinations: A breakthrough study suggests that aluminum from vaccines was likely present in baby Alfie Evans’ brain, which resulted in his death. Alfie Evans was born perfectly healthy, but got a degenerative neurological disorder at a year old after receiving six vaccines in one doctor visit. The vaccines triggered an auto immune disorder that caused his immune system to destroy his brain. The study cited by Your News Wire was completed in July 2017 and “investigated the effect of aluminum adjuvants on social behaviour in mice.” It did not mention, or even allude to, any specific ongoing medical case, including that of Alfie Evans. Evans died on 28 April 2018, just short of his second birthday. He suffered from a rare degenerative brain disease (there is no evidence that aluminum poisoning played any role in the development of his condition) and had been removed from life support five days earlier, after a protracted court battle which saw his parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, petitioning the High Court of England and Wales for permission to remove him from the care of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and take him to Italy for ongoing treatment. The High Court denied the parents’ appeals, finding that “Alfie’s brain had been so corroded… that there was simply no prospect of recovery.” As of 2 May 2018, no coroner’s inquest into Evans’s death had been published, and the infant’s exact medical condition was “undiagnosed with any precision,” according to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.
|
8433
|
India charges Muslim leader with culpable homicide for coronavirus surge.
|
India has brought charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the chief of a Muslim seminary for holding a gathering last month that authorities say led to a big jump in coronavirus infections, police said on Thursday.
|
true
|
Health News
|
The headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat group in a cramped corner of Delhi were sealed and thousands of followers, including some from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, were taken into quarantine after it emerged they had attended meetings there in mid-March. Police initially filed a case against Muhammad Saad Kandhalvi, the chief of the centre, for violating a ban on big gatherings but had now invoked the law against culpable homicide, a police spokesman said. “Delhi police had filed a first information report earlier against the Tablighi chief, now section 304 has been added,” the officer said, referring to culpable homicide in the penal code, which carries a maximum punishment of a 10-year prison term. A spokesman for the Tablighi Jamaat group, Mujeeb-ur Rehman, declined to comment saying they had not confirmed reports about the new charges. The Tablighi is one of the world’s biggest Sunni Muslim proselytising organisations with followers in more than 80 countries, promoting a pure form of Islam. Authorities said at the beginning of the month that a third of the nearly 3,000 coronavirus cases at that time were either people who attended the Tablighi gathering or those who were later exposed to them. India’s tally of coronavirus infections has since jumped to 12,380, including 414 deaths, as of Thursday. In the coronavirus hot spot of Delhi, 1,080 of its 1,561 cases were linked to the group’s gathering, according to the city government data on Wednesday. The Tablighi administrators earlier said many of the followers who had visited its offices in a narrow, winding lane in Delhi’s historic Nizamuddin quarter were stranded after the government declared a three-week lockdown, and the centre had to offer them shelter. Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government have cautioned against fanning communal tension by laying the blame for the spread of the coronavirus on the Muslim group. Officials have rejected suggestions they were unfairly targeting the Muslim community, but said they had to rebuke the group because it had behaved irresponsibly by ignoring social-distancing rules. The Tablighi was also linked to a surge of cases in neighbouring Pakistan where it cancelled a similar gathering, but only at the last minute when thousands had already arrived at a premises in the city of Lahore. A gathering organised by the group in Malaysia also led to a surge of cases there and in several other Southeast Asian countries. Pakistan has recorded 6,505 cases according to its latest data, a jump of 520 over the previous day. About 60 percent of Pakistan’s cases load was linked to the Tablighi or were people who had gone on religious pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia and Iran, officials said. Here are official government figures on the spread of the coronavirus in South Asia: * India has 12,380 confirmed cases, including 414 deaths * Pakistan has 5,988 cases, including 107 deaths * Bangladesh has 803 cases, including 39 deaths * Afghanistan has 784 cases, including 29 deaths * Sri Lanka has 238 cases, including 7 deaths * Maldives has 21 cases and no deaths * Nepal has 16 cases and no deaths * Bhutan has five cases and no deaths For an interactive graphic on global spread of coronavirus click : here
|
10850
|
One-day fight against herpes
|
This story reports on the recent FDA approval of a one-day dose of an antiviral medication, Famvir, for herpes. The story clearly states that this is a new formulation of an existing drug. The story states that the FDA recently approved the new dosing regimen. By accurately describing the prevalence of herpes simplex virus or HSV, the story avoids disease mongering. However, the story should have mentioned what percentage of HSV infections are symptomatic and the comments about HSV and pregnancy need a bit more explanation. Because the story quotes multiple sources, the reader can safely assume that the story did not rely on a press release as the sole source of information. The story provides some quantification of benefits of treatment, but they are presented in relative terms only. The story states that the drug “shortened outbreaks by about two days.” Was it from 3 to 1 or 20 to 18? The reader should be provided more context for these numbers. Although the story mentions other antiviral medications, including the topical ointment and daily pills, as the alternative to the one-day dosing of Famvir, the story should have further described the advantages and disadvantages of this new approach compared to the existing ones. The story also confused the treatment of existing outbreaks with preventing outbreaks. The story also does not mention costs nor does it mention harms of the drug, which include nausea and vomiting.
|
mixture
|
The story does not mention costs. Although the story provides some quantification of benefits of treatment, they are presented in relative terms only. The story states that the drug “shortened outbreaks by about two days.” Was it from 3 to 1 or 20 to 18? The reader should be provided more context for these numbers. The story does not mention harms of the drug, which can include nausea and vomiting. Although the story mentions a study, the story does not describe the design of the study or the strength of the available evidence. By accurately describing the prevalence of herpes simplex virus, the story avoids disease mongering. However, the story should have mentioned what percent of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are symptomatic and the comments about HSV and pregnancy need a bit more explanation. HSV is an important issue in pregnancy and an infection at the time of delivery can be devastating. The revised dosing regimens for Famvir are not likely to alter the problem. The majority of infected infants are born to mothers who are asymptomatic at delivery and have no history of genital herpes. Infant transmission is more likely when the mother has recently been infected that if the infection is longstanding. The story quotes multiple sources, however only one of them was not associated with one of the trials. The story could have quoted other, independent researchers or clinicians who could have provided more perspective. Although the story mentions other antiviral medications, including the topical ointment and daily pills, as the alternative to the one-day dosing of Famvir, the story should have further described the advantages and disadvantages of this new approach compared to the existing ones. Studies may have shown a benefit that is statistically significant, but will it be clinically significant? That’s where input from more independent sources would have been helpful. The story also confused the treatment of existing outbreaks with preventing outbreaks. The story states that the FDA recently approved the new dosing regimen for the drug Famvir. The story clearly states that this is a new formulation of an existing drug. Unfortunately, the story did not mention anything about the logistics of treatment. For cold sores, the drug was taken within ONE hour of symptoms. That means people will need to be able to distinguish the symptoms from other non-HSV symptoms and have the drug available at all times. The problem is about the same for genital herpes. Because the story quotes multiple sources, the reader can safely assume that the story did not rely on a press release as the sole source of information.
|
|
25893
|
The Trump administration has had “zero unfulfilled equipment and supply requests from state governors.”
|
Representatives from multiple states said they made requests for coronavirus tests or other critical supplies that the federal government has yet to fill or never filled. Representatives from Oregon, North Carolina and Washington described difficulties scaling up testing and getting protective gear for frontline workers. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the chair of the National Governors Association, said “it’s obviously not the case” that governors have everything they need.
|
false
|
Health Care, Public Health, Pundits, States, PunditFact, Coronavirus, Sean Hannity,
|
"Fox News host Sean Hannity touted President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response, praising him for ""huge decisions that save lives"" and claiming, without evidence, that ""this administration has fulfilled every request from every state governor."" ""There have been zero unfulfilled equipment and supply requests from state governors,"" Hannity said July 21. Trump made a similar comment at a press briefing hours earlier, saying the nation’s governors get ""everything they need"" and his administration has ""zero unfilled requests."" But Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the chair of the National Governors Association, has disputed such claims, saying during a press conference the next day that ""it’s obviously not the case"" that governors have everything they need. ""We had a call today with, I believe, 48 governors from across America,"" Hogan, a Republican, told reporters. ""There are still things that we really need."" Hogan cited ""testing shortages"" as one area of concern. ""Not having supplies and running out of capacity across the country, it’s looking like it was back in March and April,"" he said, echoing the criticisms he made about the federal response in an op-ed headlined, ""Fighting alone."" We’re not privy to private communications between governors and the White House. But we tried contacting all 50 states. Representatives from several told us they made requests for tests, personal protective equipment or other supplies that have yet to be filled — or were never filled. Hannity’s claim that the administration has met ""every request"" overstates the administration’s supply of testing and equipment to states in what, from the beginning of the crisis, has been an absence of a coordinated national strategy. ""We’re not a shipping clerk,"" Trump said in March. The White House and Fox News did not respond to our requests for comment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Health and Human Services Department and private sector delivered about 190 million N-95 respirators, 785 million masks, 33 million face shields, 342 million gowns and over 20 billion gloves as of July 17, a FEMA spokesperson said. FEMA is still working with the governors. But amid soaring U.S. cases, news reports say some places are again experiencing long lines for tests, slow turnarounds for test results and shortages of personal protective gear. NBC News reported that internal documents show a dwindling federal stockpile of equipment. Vehicles line up at a coronavirus testing site in Omaha, Neb., on July 23, 2020. (AP) ""There has been some progress on PPE and other equipment, as well as testing, but not all states have everything they need,"" said James Nash, press secretary for the National Governors Association. The governors spelled out priorities for the federal government in an April letter to Congress, calling for increased access to test kits and equipment and funding for contact tracing, social services, and small business loans, among other things. Some requests have been completely or partially fulfilled, Nash said. Others, including a request for congressional funding to stabilize state budgets and a request for the administration to delay changes to hospital reporting requirements, remain outstanding. The Trump administration maintains that it is getting supplies where they’re needed. Rear Adm. John Polowczyk, the point person for coronavirus-related supplies, told the Washington Post in early July that he didn’t ""have the sense of there being severe shortages."" ""I’m not going to tell you we’re able to meet all demand, but there’s significantly less unfulfilled orders today than in April,"" Polowczyk said. About a dozen state officials responded to our queries about the federal government’s handling of requests. Taken together, their responses painted the picture of an administration that hasn’t been as attentive to some states as Hannity described. Three states led by Democratic governors — Oregon, North Carolina and Washington — were particularly critical of the administration’s response, especially on testing. ""Woefully insufficient support from the federal government in terms of testing supplies has hampered our ability to expand Oregon’s testing capacity,"" said Charles Boyle, a spokesperson for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. When Oregon asked for more testing supplies, the federal government sent a list of vendors and ""suggested we call them on our own,"" said Robb Cowie, a spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority. Oregon is also waiting on 500,000 masks, 330,000 gowns and 300,000 gloves, Cowie said. North Carolina has similarly sought to increase testing. State officials asked in mid July for more federal testing sites to be set up in addition to the 13 in operation, said Kelly Haight Connor, a spokesperson for the state department of health and human services. The state provided a list of nearly 60 zip codes where more testing is needed, but only one new site was added by July 22, Connor said. North Carolina had also received 57% of the swabs and 50% of the preservation substance for transporting specimens that it requested for July. ""There are currently nationwide barriers to further scaling widespread testing,"" Connor said. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee requested in a June letter that the administration use the Defense Production Act to produce more personal protective equipment. Inslee spokesperson Mike Faulk called claims that governors have all they need ""misleading"" and cited data showing the federal government has provided just a fraction of the masks, respirators, gowns, gloves and ventilators that Washington has requested since late April. ""We are hearing from businesses and workers across Washington that they’re struggling to access PPE on the private market, are subject to price gouging, and being forced to use extreme conservation measures to stretch limited supplies over longer periods of time,"" Faulk said. A handful of states are awaiting shipments or have orders under review. Maryland is waiting on a shipment date for a May order of 500,000 N-95 masks and 100 oxygen assemblies, said Charles Gischlar, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health. A spokesperson for the North Dakota Department of Health listed requests for masks, gloves, gowns, boot covers and other equipment that haven’t been completely filled. Idaho also has requests that are under review, but a spokesperson for the state’s emergency management agency praised FEMA for fulfilling all other requests for personal protective gear. Some state representatives cited early problems but said the government has been responsive of late. Michael Pearlman, a spokesperson for Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, said the state didn’t receive as many rapid response tests early in the crisis as it had requested, but he added: ""I wouldn't say that Wyoming had specific requests that were not met."" The Pennsylvania Department of Health said the state has received most of what it has needed, but not everything it has requested. Spokesperson Nate Wardle said the state asked for about 1,000 ventilators early on, for example, but that it did not receive any. ""We were told that we would receive them if there ended up being a need, which there has not been,"" Wardle said. In April, Wardle and representatives from more than 30 other states told us they were not aware of any COVID-19 patients needing a ventilator and not getting one. Representatives from other states — including Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, and Ohio — said they have no outstanding requests. ""This administration has made things happen when we've asked,"" said Patrick Ptak, a spokesperson for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican. ABC News and CNN also queried all 50 states for their own fact-checks of Trump’s claims about the governors’ coronavirus needs. Both outlets heard from different states but found Trump’s claims to be inaccurate. Hannity said, ""This administration has fulfilled every request from every state governor."" That’s an exaggeration of the administration’s efforts to help states navigate the pandemic. While some states said they have no requests outstanding, representatives from several others told us that they have requests they are waiting on or requests that were never filled. Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland and chair of the National Governors Association, said ""it’s obviously not the case"" that governors have everything they need."
|
35255
|
In April 2020, the Himalayas were visible from northern India for the first time in 30 years.
|
What's true: Air quality and visibility greatly improved in India in April 2020 as the country implemented a nationwide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus disease. What's undetermined: While anecdotal evidence suggests that the Himalayas are rarely visible from northern India, we have not been able to definitively confirm that they have not been seen for the last 30 years.
|
mixture
|
Fauxtography, COVID-19
|
In April 2020, a photograph started to circulate on social media that supposedly showed an unexpected result from the nationwide lockdown that had been implemented in India in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease. Due to a decrease in pollution, social media users claimed, the Himalayas were visible from northern India for the first time in 30 years: This claim is largely accurate. In April 2020, many residents of Punjab, India, woke up to the unexpected sight of the Himalayas and excitedly posted photographs of the mountain range on social media. We can’t definitively say that it’s been 30 years since these mountains were last seen from northern India, however, and the changing seasons (in addition to less human traffic) likely played a part in the increased visibility in the area. But the claim that the Himalayas have not been seen from northern India for 30 years due to pollution is not based on any scientific findings. Rather, this is an anecdotal observation. On April 7, 2020, the website SBS Hindi published an article entitled “Himalayas visible for first time in 30 years as pollution levels in India drop.” It quoted an environmental activist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal as saying that he had “never seen anything like this in recent times.” The claim that this sight hasn’t been seen in 30 years appears to come from the fact that Seechewal has been raising awareness of environmental pollution for more than 30 years. SBS Hindi writes: “We can see the snow-covered mountains clearly from our roofs. And not just that, stars are visible at night. I have never seen anything like this in recent times,” says Mr Seechewal, who has been working to raise awareness of environmental pollution for over 30 years. While the “30 years” portion of this claim may not correspond to a precise measurement (for instance, we are unaware of a photograph showing the last time the Himalayas were visible from northern India taken in April 1990), a number of Punjab residents did say that this was the first time they’d ever seen the Himalayas from their homes. Former Indian cricket player Harbhajan Singh, for instance, said that he had “never seen (the) Dhauladar range from my home rooftop in Jalandhar” and that he “never could imagine that’s possible.” Photographer Anshul Chopra captured another image of this distant mountain range. Chopra estimated that the mountains in the distance are approximately 200 kilometers (about 125 miles) away: Hello, I am Anshul Chopra. I'm a photographer. I am so overwhelmed to see my image going viral all over the country. Just wanted to come up & tell my country the photographer behind this shot 😇@timesofindia @indiatimes @httweets pic.twitter.com/riyybmKEah — Anshul Chopra (@anshulchopraa) April 3, 2020 Himalaya mountains can be seen from Jalandhar since pollution has reduced in Punjab. Beautiful sight 😍#punjab #COVID19 #pollution pic.twitter.com/iZy7hwxX9R — TjSingh (@covsinghtj) April 3, 2020 It is also true that India has seen a dramatic reduction in pollution after the country implemented a nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, India was home to 14 of the top 20 cities with the most hazardous air. But in April 2020, places such as Delhi saw their rating on the Air Quality Index (AQI) land in the “Good” portion of the scale at 38. The city’s AQI is typically around 150 or higher.
|
25746
|
Our (COVID-19) numbers are better than almost all countries.
|
Based on population, the United States has one of the highest death rates worldwide. The United States has a higher rate of infection than Canada, Australia and most European countries.
|
false
|
National, Coronavirus, Donald Trump,
|
"At an event in Oshkosh, Wis., President Donald Trump said the country was ""doing great"" in the fight against the coronavirus. ""We're coming back and our numbers are better than almost all countries,"" Trump said Aug. 17. When we asked the White House about the claim, the press office noted that by one measure, the United States is doing well. Looking at the percentage of confirmed cases that lead to death, the United States has a rate that’s about half that in Europe and the rest of the world. But the source the White House cites, Oxford University’s Our World in Data project, says that ""During an outbreak of a pandemic the case fatality rate is a poor measure of the mortality risk of the disease."" There are other ways to track the suffering and reach of the coronavirus and by those, the United States is not doing well. Measured against the size of the population, the United States has the 10th-highest death rate in the world. It’s doing better than the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Chile, but worse than France, Canada and Germany, to pick a few examples. Factoring in population size, the United States has one of the highest rates globally of people who have tested positive — 16,430 per million residents, which is lower than Chile, but higher than any other large country. Put another way, the virus is known to have infected a higher fraction of the population in the U.S. than in many other places. Trump often says that the United States finds more cases because it tests more than other nations. We’ve rated that claim and , depending on how he says it. Testing is a way to measure progress against the coronavirus, but the key indicator of progress is whether the percentage of tests that come back positive declines as more tests are done. With a positivity rate of about 7%, the United States ranks in the middle of the pack, doing better than countries such as Mexico and Argentina, but worse than just about every country in Europe, as well as Canada and Australia. Trump said that the United States’ COVID-19 ""numbers are better than almost all countries."" The White House pointed to one number to back that up — the number of deaths relative to the number of known cases. But the source it cited said that wasn’t a good measure of the threat of the disease. By other yardsticks, the United States is doing worse than many countries, including many major developed economies. It has a higher death rate in relation to its population, the virus is known to have reached a larger share of the population, and the percentage of tests that come back positive is higher than in many other nations."
|
16202
|
I spent only $36.29 on my campaign for governor.
|
R.I. Moderate Party’s Robert Healey says he only spent about $36 on his gubernatorial campaign
|
true
|
Rhode Island, Campaign Finance, Elections, Jobs, Robert Healey,
|
"Memorable and low-budget -- that's the type of election campaign Robert J. Healey Jr. likes to wage. While the other candidates campaigned for months and spent millions in the most expensive governor’s race in Rhode Island history, Healey didn’t enter the contest until shortly after the September primary, when he replaced the Moderate Party’s original candidate, who was unable to run because of illness. Healey, who has repeatedly run for lieutenant governor with the intention of abolishing the office, and who spent the 2002 election season handing out campaign condoms with the slogan ""Nothing never felt so good,"" got 21.4 percent of the vote after mail ballots were counted in the 2014 gubernatorial election. While the major party candidates, Democrat Gina Raimondo and Republican Allan Fung, saturated the airwaves with commercials, Healey made a few campaign appearances and put up a few signs. But his performance in televised debates in October won him support from a lot of people who like his unconventional style -- or didn’t much like Fung or Raimondo, who won the race. The day after the election, Healey told Providence Journal columnist Edward Fitzpatrick that he spent just $36.29 on his campaign. He made a similar claim on WPRO, where morning host Gene Valicenti congratulated him on his strong showing. ""Thank you. For 35, for 38 bucks, not bad,"" Healey said. ""I probably should have spent twice as much. I would have doubled my numbers and maybe be the governor."" Valicenti joked that he didn't count gas money. ""I know,"" Healey responded. ""(But) I had to go there anyway."" The Moderate Party candidate -- who also founded the Cool Moose Party -- has cited similar numbers in other venues. That prompted a reader to question the accuracy of Healey's statements. ""Someone had to spend money for those garish signs over I-195. And those signs weren't cheap,"" the reader said. Indeed, there were more than a few Healey signs throughout the state. We decided to check. Healey's most recent filing with the Rhode Island Board of Elections, for the period ending Oct. 27, 2014, shows that he raised no money and spent nothing during the previous 20 days. His previous report shows that he gave himself $35.31 and spent it all on cell phone expenses. Healey told us the amount jumps to $36.29 when you add the price of the only two purchases he made since his last financial report -- a pair of postage stamps. Filings for the Moderate Party itself show that it spent no money on Healey's race either, at least through Oct. 27. So where did the money for the signs come from? Healey said a lot of supporters downloaded the public-domain images of him and his artwork from his website ""so anybody could produce anything."" They printed their own. In addition, a local sign maker printed up his own signs and sold them at cost. The candidate also recycled signs from his past campaigns for lieutenant governor. ""We just crossed out the word 'lieutenant' and gave those away,"" said Healey. He also painted a campaign message on the wall of a building using old black paint. He initially had trouble opening the cans of Rust-Oleum paint because the covers had rusted shut. ""I found that rather ironic. They should make cans that don't rust,"" he said. In the end, ""I didn't spend any money on signs. Not at all,"" Healey asserted. In addition, ""people printed up a ton of T-shirts. I don't know what people did with them. But we're creating small business in Rhode Island. We're giving people jobs."" ""We recycled everything -- anything I could cross out the word 'lieutenant.' We recycled buttons. We had some old bumper stickers from when I ran for governor in '98. In the attic, I found a case of Cool Moose combs, which I had in '86. Yardsticks,"" he said. And did he have any leftover condoms? ""We did, but they all expired in 2003. We didn't want to be giving out expired condoms."" So when Robert Healey says he spent only about $36 on his campaign, all the evidence points to a truly shoestring operation. (If you have a claim you’d like PolitiFact Rhode Island to check, email us at [email protected] And follow us on Twitter: @politifactri.)"
|
9724
|
Ovarian Tissue Transplant Can Help Some Women Have Kids After Cancer Treatment Researchers in Denmark report a success rate of about 30 percent
|
A small European study showed 31 percent of cancer patients had successful pregnancies after they received transplants of their own (once removed and frozen) ovarian tissue. A substantial number required additional measures, such as in-vitro fertilization. Though solid overall, the coverage would have been measurably improved with inclusion of a few details, including information about costs and specifics about whether/where the procedure is available in the United States. We also quibble with one researcher’s description of the size of the benefit. The suggestion that “many” women will get pregnant using this procedure is somewhat misleading. The procedure led to a successful pregnancy in less than a third of the women who received it. Having children is an emotional and cultural touchstone for both men and women. Cancer patients have long suffered infertility because of harsh drugs and radiation therapies. This study raises hopes that by taking some ovarian tissue before treatment, some women can eventually get that organ re-implanted and become pregnant.
|
true
|
fertility,freezing,IVF,ovarian cancer,ovaries
|
Surgery to remove a healthy ovary, storage of that tissue for as long as a decade, and surgical reimplantation all involve substantial cost. The story doesn’t help the reader begin to put this in context. If the patient requires IVF, in-vitro fertilization, when she hopes to conceive again, the costs will go much higher. Almost half of the pregnancies in the study required IVF, according to the story. The story let the readers down here. (Here’s more about the high costs of infertility treatment from an advocacy group.) The story arguably overstates the impact of transplantation, allowing a researcher to claim that “many” women who survive cancer will be fertile because of this surgery — when the story clearly states that less than a third of the women in this tiny study had a good outcome. But since the main thrust of this criterion is numbers, and the story does provide them, we’ll give the benefit of the doubt here. However, we wish that the story had pushed back harder against this framing — “some” or “a minority” of women would have been a better descriptor here than “many.” The story just barely mentions the risk – which it says is not increased – of a return of cancer. Since that’s likely the main concern with this procedure, we’ll go ahead and award a Satisfactory. But we’d add that women who have their own ovarian tissue removed and then reimplanted in a new surgery could potentially have complications of those procedures (all surgeries carry some risk). No such complications are addressed in the study that’s the basis for this story, and it’s not clear if adverse effects (beyond cancer recurrence) were tracked by the study authors. We wish the story had asked about, and covered, those potential harms. The story does a good job of outlining the evidence. We are glad that the story included details about how many patients required fertility treatments after receiving their own tissue back years after its removal. There was no disease mongering. The story quoted two of the authors of the original study, Jensen and Andersen, as well as a third researcher, Hershlag, who appears to be independent of that group. The inclusion of multiple sources is a strong point in the coverage. The story notes that instead of the removal of the entire ovary and storage, it is possible patients could choose embryo cryopreservation/freezing. A physician is quoted as follows: “The pregnancy rate with frozen embryos is close to 50 percent, and results are getting better,” he said, referring to another option for women hoping for a future pregnancy. “It remains to be seen which method is better.” We’d add that embryo cryopreservation/ freezing requires a woman to have a partner or use donor sperm AND to undergo IVF — a lot to do in the context of cancer treatment. Freezing unfertilized eggs is another approach where there’s the option to attempt to fertilize them later. The story does not say whether this approach, which requires a lot of planning ahead for a cancer patient, is widely available outside of research centers. The research was done in Denmark and it’s not clear if it’s offered here in the United States or how widely. Apparently, it isn’t new to remove an ovary and freeze it. Some of the patients in the study had that done 15 years ago. The story establishes this and explains that the study is new in that it reports on longer-term outcomes. The story did not appear to rely on a news release, and had independent comments.
|
15235
|
Zero Planned Parenthood facilities are licensed to do mammograms. Planned Parenthood, women don’t need you!
|
Covert videos showing discussions of fetal tissue sales have reignited the abortion debate nationally and in Georgia. In an effort to debunk defenders that Planned Parenthood provides essential women’s health services in addition to abortions, an anti-abortion group claimed that none of the organization’s clinics is licensed to provide mammograms. Federal data and Planned Parenthood’s own documents back up the claim from the Alliance Defending Freedom. However, that narrow bit of information ignores that Planned Parenthood physicians perform the clinical exams that lead to referrals for a mammogram or other specialized breast care. The physical exam is a necessary step in the process of getting the screening, although ADF has a valid point that other physicians could provide that piece of the process. That puts the claim in the realm that won’t make either side happy: partially accurate but misleading without additional details.
|
mixture
|
Abortion, Georgia, Alliance Defending Freedom,
|
"Covertly filmed videos showing fake brokers discussing terms for procuring fetal tissue have prompted federal efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, led to a statewide inquiry into how the group disposes of such tissue in Georgia and apparently created some confusion among voters. One reader forwarded us a Tweet from the Alliance Defending Freedom that shows two national maps side by side, wondering how mammograms play into the abortion debate. The first map purports to pinpoint the 8,000-plus mammography facilities licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The second map lacks a single dot, to show the number of licensed facilities run by Planned Parenthood. ""Zero Planned Parenthood facilities are licensed to do mammograms,"" the Tweet read. ""Planned Parenthood, women don’t need you!"" Our reader wanted to know, is it a false flag to talk about essential women’s health care such as mammograms in the debate over Planned Parenthood? PolitiFact has been down this road before, but it’s worth a repeat trip given the defunding debate stirred by those stealth videos. The anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress says its videos show Planned Parenthood proposes to illegally sell fetal tissue, something that Planned Parenthood adamantly denies. PolitiFact recapped the facts in that controversy here. Two state agencies have since reported that abortion clinics in Georgia are properly disposing of aborted fetuses and fetal tissue. Among the 12 clinics found to be following state law was the sole facility run by Planned Parenthood Southeast in the state, in Augusta. But on the federal level, the effort by congressional Republicans to strip $500 million in annual funding to Planned Parenthood has drawn more ire on both sides of the issue. Critics of Planned Parenthood say the videos show the organization has questionable practices. Supporters denounce the effort as an effective cut to women’s health care, citing the gynecological, referral and medical services the agency also provides. Casey Mattox, the senior counsel at the anti-abortion Alliance Defending Freedom, said he was attempting to cut off that debate by using the maps to point out that Planned Parenthood does not provide mammograms. ""You can’t go there and actually get a mammogram, which is what most people assume when they hear you can go there and get cancer screenings for breast health,"" Mattox said. ""That is, at best, misleading, if not directly false."" Mattox pointed us to the Food and Drug Administration’s list of facilities licensed to perform mammograms under the Mammography Quality Standards Act. The agency certifies the facilities across the nation and in military bases worldwide. The list, updated weekly, includes more than 8,700 facilities. A representative from the FDA did not get back to us by deadline, but a search of the list does not yield any facilities with the official ""Planned Parenthood"" name in its title. Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Liz Clark confirmed why: The organization does not provide mammograms at any of its health centers. (One caveat: some clinics have brought in mobile mammography vans to clinic sites for special events. But none of the machines were a permanent part of a Planned Parenthood center). So Mattox is correct, by Planned Parenthood’s own acknowledgement, that the organization does not provide mammograms. But does that mean there is no need for Planned Parenthood when it comes to accessing the tests? The answer to that is far less clear but provides the context that shows why the overall argument is muddled. Planned Parenthood provided 487,029 breast exams or breast care services in 2013, the most recent year available. Based on those clinical exams and a doctor assessing risk factors, the group refers patients for mammograms and/or specialist follow-ups for procedures such as biopsies and, in some cases, financial assistance, Clark said. In that regard, Planned Parenthood functions mostly as a privately paid OB-GYN would in referring a patient for a service the doctor’s office didn’t provide. ""Focusing on one narrow data point to create a false ‘gotcha’ moment ignores the larger picture of how Planned Parenthood both provides and connects millions of people to health care in communities across the country,"" Clark said. ""The graphic is misleading because I wouldn’t walk into a mammogram facility to get a mammogram without first visiting my OB-GYN for an exam and a referral -- which is what Planned Parenthood provides,"" she added. Mattox said there is no reason, though, that Planned Parenthood must serve as the referring agency. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, there are more than 13,000 clinics nationwide that provide comprehensive health care for women and could at least provide referrals and, in some cases, the mammograms themselves. The pressure to ""defund"" Planned Parenthood is actually to redirect the federal money to those other facilities, Mattox said. ""It’s nothing unique to Planned Parenthood if all they are doing is a referral,"" he said. ""There are other health center options, with licenses that can do this directly on site. If you go to Planned Parenthood, you need to know you are not going to get that."" Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, agrees that Planned Parenthood does not need to be the referring physician for a mammogram. But the standard is for a doctor to provide the clinical, physical exam and then refer the patient for the screening at a mammography center – and it has been since 1970, Brawley said. Various risk factors determine referrals, as does the patient’s age. For women between 20 and 40, a doctor will order a mammogram if an abnormality is detected or suspected during the physical exam. For women older than 40, even a normal exam generally triggers a screening mammogram, Brawley said. ""I’ve personally had patients who went to Planned Parenthood and got a referral that was also a voucher, so that the mammogram was paid for as well,"" Brawley said. ""The first step is always to see a doctor, but there are cases where the referral was also a way for Planned Parenthood to reimburse the outside facility for the mammogram screening."" Our ruling Covert videos showing discussions of fetal tissue sales have reignited the abortion debate nationally and in Georgia. In an effort to debunk defenders that Planned Parenthood provides essential women’s health services in addition to abortions, an anti-abortion group claimed that none of the organization’s clinics is licensed to provide mammograms. Federal data and Planned Parenthood’s own documents back up the claim from the Alliance Defending Freedom. However, that narrow bit of information ignores that Planned Parenthood physicians perform the clinical exams that lead to referrals for a mammogram or other specialized breast care. The physical exam is a necessary step in the process of getting the screening, although ADF has a valid point that other physicians could provide that piece of the process. That puts the claim in the realm that won’t make either side happy: partially accurate but misleading without additional details."
|
13072
|
"More than two months ago President Barack Obama signed a bill for more than $1 billion in Zika funding, but ""the federal government has still only committed $7 million"" to help Florida."
|
"Scott said President Obama signed a bill for more than $1 billion in Zika funding more than two months ago, ""and the federal government has still only committed $7 million,"" to help Florida. Obama signed a bill that included $1.1 billion in Zika funding Sept. 29. About a month later, federal officials told Florida that it would get $7.5 million for now. But Scott omits that the state previously had access to millions of additional dollars earmarked to combat Zika -- about $9 million, as of the date of Scott’s statement. Also, the state can access other public health dollars."
|
mixture
|
Federal Budget, Public Health, Florida, Rick Scott,
|
"Florida Gov. Rick Scott hopes that his ally headed to the White House, President-elect Donald Trump, will speed up funding for Florida to combat the Zika virus. While announcing that state health officials had lifted the zone of active Zika transmission in one area of Miami-Dade County, Scott mentioned his ongoing feud with President Barack Obama’s administration about the pace and size of federal dollars flowing to Florida. ""It has been more than two months since over $1 billion in Zika funding was signed by President Obama, and the federal government has still only committed $7 million to help reimburse Florida’s costs of fighting this virus,"" Scott wrote in a Dec. 2 press statement. (A week later, Scott announced that the last Zika zone -- in South Beach -- had been lifted.) We found that Scott isn’t telling the full story. Scott’s statement about only $7 million heading to Florida makes no mention of the millions of other federal dollars the state has had access to since the summer to combat Zika. Federal Zika funding Obama proposed $1.9 billion in Zika funding in February but that led to a partisan battle, and Congress didn’t reach an agreement until September. Obama signed a spending bill that included $1.1 billion to combat Zika later that month. States like Florida were expected to get significant chunks of the money to pay for increased mosquito control, faster diagnostic tests and other expenses. (Florida had 1,236 Zika cases, the majority of which came from outside the continental United States, as of Dec. 7.) The bill also included money for federal research. Florida applied for $15 million and received notice Oct. 28 that the funding had been approved through the federal epidemiology and laboratory capacity grant. However, the notice stated that for now $7.5 million was available to Florida and that the remainder was subject to the availability of funds. Mara Gambineri, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health, said the state wasn’t certain if it came from the $1.1 billion program since it was part of an existing grant program. ""We have not been told what our distribution of funds as part of the $1.1 billion will be, nor have we been provided a timeline."" she said. Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, told PolitiFact that the money is in fact part of the legislation Obama signed. The federal government provided half of the request to Florida while continuing to evaluate the state’s application, Griffis said. None of Florida’s request has been rejected, he said. The federal government expects to award most of the money for states by the end of December. Since Obama signed the legislation for the $1.1 billion, Florida has applied for about $92 million in grants. Scott’s statement centered on the specific $1.1 billion pot signed by Obama. Left unsaid was what happened over the summer, when the federal government offered Florida a shot at millions more dollars for its Zika fight. In total, the federal government had provided $16.5 million in Zika money to Florida by the date that Scott made his statement. That includes the $9 million that first came available this summer from a variety of grants and then the $7.5 million this fall (from the $1.1 billion legislation). On Dec. 12, Florida received notice that it will get $4.9 million more from the federal government to combat Zika. Florida could also claim reimbursements -- up to $29 million -- from federal public health emergency funds but has only drawn down some of those dollars. Florida officials have been reluctant to tap that money because they argue they could need it to respond to other health care threats such as those stemming from hurricanes or terrorism. In addition to the money, the CDC has provided personnel and materials to conduct tests, but Scott said he needs more prevention kits. Steve Ellis, vice president for Taxpayers for Common Sense, said that the federal government has to balance states’ desires for speed with concerns about avoiding waste or fraud. The federal government needs to be able to account for every allocated dollar. ""Federal money flows slower than a lot of people realize whether it’s a disaster or this event,"" he said. Our ruling Scott said President Obama signed a bill for more than $1 billion in Zika funding more than two months ago, ""and the federal government has still only committed $7 million,"" to help Florida. Obama signed a bill that included $1.1 billion in Zika funding Sept. 29. About a month later, federal officials told Florida that it would get $7.5 million for now. But Scott omits that the state previously had access to millions of additional dollars earmarked to combat Zika -- about $9 million, as of the date of Scott’s statement. Also, the state can access other public health dollars."
|
28730
|
New research suggests that Marmite helps combat premature ejaculation.
|
What's true: A study of 109 men published in an issue of scientific journal Andrologica demonstrated a significant correlation between premature ejaculation (PE) and deficiencies in vitamin B12 — a connection that other work has hinted at for decades; Marmite is fortified with B12, and a good source of this vitamin. What's false: The research did not test the efficacy of Marmite as a therapy for PE, and it didn’t even test vitamin B12 in general as a therapy for PE; the study did reinforce observations suggesting a link between PE and B12 deficiencies that has been proposed, but not tested.
|
mixture
|
Food, Home Cures, marmite, premature ejaculation
|
In the September 2016 issue of the journal Andrologica, a team of researchers published a study that concluded: [V]itamin B12 concentrations in the blood were significantly lower in patients with PE than the subjects without PE (p < .0001)…. Moreover, the vitamin B12 levels correlated positively with [intravaginal ejaculation latency time] IELT values and correlated negatively with [premature ejaculation diagnostic tool] PEDT scores. This work has also demonstrated that plasma vitamin B12 levels in patients with PE showed an increasing trend with decreasing PE severity. On October 7, 2016, The Daily Mail inexplicably decided to use this study to advance a pro-Marmite agenda: [S]ales of Marmite may be in for a boost after scientists discovered it could hold the secret to making men last longer in the bedroom. New research suggests a diet rich in daily helpings of vitamin B12 can combat premature ejaculation, a problem which affects one in four men in the UK. And Marmite is one of the richest sources of the vitamin – along with meat, fish, eggs and fortified breakfast cereals. The connection they made sounds — and may be — reasonable, but it relies on the untested assumption that increasing B12 would reduce premature ejaculation. Correlation, after all, does not necessarily equal causation, as the authors of the study state: It is not yet known whether this finding could be translated into a solution for PE; however, vitamin B12 supplementation for the treatment of PE merits further evaluation. The Daily Mail claim also relies on the assumption that all PE is caused by the same factor, a notion that is not supported by current research: The pathophysiology of premature ejaculation appears to be multifactorial, implicating the need for multimodal therapeutic regimens to successfully treat premature ejaculation. Multiple treatment regimens have been shown to be effective in extending the time between penetration and ejaculation. Still, Marmite is fortified with vitamin B12, and it contains 25% of the recommended daily intake of the vitamin. Meat, however, is a much more plentiful source of B12. Because Marmite is completely vegetarian, however, it is a good option for those who do not eat meat. If you want to get your B12 from a source that is not Marmite or meat, have no fear! Many breakfast cereals are fortified with 25% of your daily intake of the vitamin, too.
|
22227
|
The facts show that approximately 40 persons on death row have had all of their appellate review completed and await only the governor's signature on a death warrant to end the case.
|
Some 40 death row inmates awaiting death warrant from governor, Democrat claims
|
true
|
Criminal Justice, Florida, Geraldine Thompson,
|
"Speaker Dean Cannon's proposal to create separate criminal and civil divisions of the Florida Supreme Court passed the House 79-38 on April 15, 2011, but not before Democrats and Republicans argued over an alleged purpose of the court expansion -- the handling of death penalty cases. Cannon wants to expand the Supreme Court from seven to 10 members, and then separate them into two five-member panels. One panel, including the three most senior judges (appointed by late Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles) would serve on the criminal side, while the four justices appointed by Republicans would serve on the civil division. Gov. Rick Scott would appoint nominees to fill the other three slots. Republicans argue the expansion is needed to help settle death penalty cases more expeditiously -- 393 people currently are waiting on Florida's death row. ""Unreasonable delays plague state post-conviction review, and there is little Florida's current Supreme Court can do to improve or streamline the process,"" Cannon, R-Winter Park, wrote in an April 14 op-ed article in USA Today. (We previously checked -- and rated -- Cannon's claim that more people die on death row of natural causes than are executed.) But Democrats say the appeals process isn't necessarily what's slowing down death penalty cases. In remarks on the House floor, Rep. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, said the governor's office is as much, if not more, to blame. ""The proponents argue that the Florida Supreme Court should be split because it will allow them to expeditiously resolve capital cases that have languished in the court,"" Thompson said. ""The facts are the Florida Supreme Court has a capital caseload that is lower this year than last. The facts show that approximately 40 persons on death row have had all of their appellate review completed and await only the governor's signature on a death warrant to end the case. ""Perhaps the proponents should pass legislation requiring a governor to sign a death warrant within 60 to 90 days after all appellate review has been denied, if their concern is 'disposing' of death penalty cases."" Are 40 people, more than 10 percent of the current case back-log, waiting on the governor to sign a death warrant? After checking with several agencies, including the Supreme Court and the Department of Corrections, we were directed to the state Commission on Capital Cases, a body created in 1997 by the Legislature to provide oversight on the administering of death penalty cases. Legislators and judges serve as members of the commission, which also has a full-time staff. (Interestingly, another bill passed by the House would eliminate the commission.) The commission keeps a list of what it calls warrant-eligible inmates, said commission executive director Roger Maas. He explained to us that the list covers inmates who have exhausted both their state and federal appeals. That makes the next step toward execution the signing of a death warrant and setting of an execution date, Maas said. A note: For the most part, the governor has discretion over issuing death warrants. In other words, he picks who and when. In fact, the governor can sign a death warrant for any prisoner sentenced to death, though those warrants likely will be stayed until the state and federal appeals process is complete. And the signing of a death warrant can and often does trigger potential additional appeals -- though if no new information is presented, the appeals are more delay tactics. (The Supreme Court can issue a death warrant, based on an application from the attorney general's office, if the governor has committed an ""unjustified failure"" to issue a warrant). Maas provided us with his warrant-eligible inmate list as of April 7, which you can see for yourself here. According to the commission, 47 inmates currently have exhausted their appeals and the next step is for the governor to sign a death warrant. The list includes Gary Alvord, for instance, who has been on Florida's death row since April 1974 and is awaiting a death warrant. Alvord escaped a Michigan mental hospital and wound up in Tampa, where he killed three women. Alvord, who turned 64 on Jan. 10, has been awaiting execution for 37 years. But many experts say he will never be executed. Alvord has a history of mental illness and has been declared mentally incompetent by several courts. Since 1979, 69 people have been executed -- a rate of a little over two per year. Craig Waters, a spokesman with the Florida Supreme Court, said there is no limit to how many death warrants a governor can sign. But governors have signed just a handful a year despite the backlog of inmates awaiting execution. Gov. Charlie Crist signed six death warrants in his four years in office. Gov. Jeb Bush signed 24 death warrants in the preceding eight years. Of those 30 inmates, 26 were executed. Of the other four, two inmates had their death sentences vacated, one died while awaiting execution, and one inmate's execution was stayed by Bush. Scott has yet to sign a death warrant since taking office. During arguments against a proposal to expand and split the state Supreme Court, Thompson said ""approximately 40 persons on death row have had all of their appellate review completed and await only the governor's signature on a death warrant to end the case."" According to the Commission on Capital Cases, the number sits at 47."
|
31825
|
Actress and comedian Sherri Shepherd has died of a heart attack.
|
Headlinen [sic] News is a satire site. We use real people to make real funny stories. Chill folks, its [sic] all for fun.
|
false
|
Junk News, celebrity death hoax, fake news, sherri shepherd
|
On 28 December 2016, fake news purveyor HeadlineNews.com published an article stating that Sherri Shepherd, an American actress and comedian best known as a former co-host of The View and star of the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect, had died of a heart attack at age 49: Sherri Shepherd, the actress best known as The Help’s Minny Jackson, has died after suffering a heart attack. She was 49. Her major breakthrough came in 2011, when she starred in in the Civil Rights drama The Help, for which she won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA, and Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. She would follow up her work in the help with a critically acclaimed performance in Ryan Coogler’s drama Fruitvale Station for which she received the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. In recent years she has received acclaim for her work in the films Get on Up, Black or White, Smashed, Snowpiercer, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, and Zootopia. In 2016, she received Golden Globe and SAG nominations for her performance as mathematician Dorothy Vaughan in the comedy-drama Hidden Figures. “She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly,” says Lourd, 24. “Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.” Shepherd was flying from London to Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 23, when she went into cardiac arrest. Paramedics removed her from the flight and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for a heart attack. She later died in the hospital. Virtually every detail of the post is incorrect. Sherri Shepherd is not dead, nor was she hospitalized for a heart attack. She did not play the movie roles named above (it appears that the author confused Shepherd for another actress, Octavia Spencer, whose photo adorns the article and who did appear in all the listed films). Adding bad taste to injury, the final two paragraphs were copied and pasted, verbatim, from a People magazine article about the death of Carrie Fisher, who actually did suffer from cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles on 23 December 2016. The web site carries a disclaimer characterizing its content as “satire” and “funny,” though in doing so it abuses the definitions of both terms:
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.