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29870 | A double standard was at play in the FBI's raid of the office of Donald Trump's lawyer but not Bill Clinton's. | All in all, events proved the FBI had good reason to raid Cohen’s office, as they gathered evidence of multiple federal crimes (beyond just campaign finance violations) to which Cohen pleaded guilty. Bill Clinton’s payment to Paula Jones was a settlement of a civil lawsuit that did not involve any criminal matter or cr... | false | Politics, bill clinton, donald trump | A popular meme in March 2019 questioned why Bill Clinton had “paid Paula Jones $850K to go away” yet the FBI hadn’t raided his lawyer’s office. The meme was an obvious reference to two completely unrelated issues separated by decades: a 1994 lawsuit involving Clinton and a search warrant executed by the FBI in April 20... |
14218 | "Kelly Ayotte ""has voted to defund Planned Parenthood"" six times." | Hassan said Ayotte voted six times to defund Planned Parenthood. Ayotte has been a consistent critic of Planned Parenthood and has shown support for defunding the organization or opposition to continued funding in at least six votes. It’s worth noting that some were procedural votes and several were much larger bills t... | true | Abortion, New Hampshire, Congress, Voting Record, Maggie Hassan, | "Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte faces a competitive reelection bid in New Hampshire and Democrats are already taking aim at her record on abortion and women’s health. Gov. Maggie Hassan, the only Democratic candidate in the race, is one of the latest to lob those criticisms. ""She has voted to defund Planned Parenth... |
9399 | This Chef Lost 50 Pounds And Reversed Pre-Diabetes With A Digital Program | This NPR story profiled a health app that’s comprehensive — providing both diet and exercise tracking, education about healthy habits, personal coaching, electronic nudging, and peer support. The story featured a patient success story (and one less successful one–which was good to see) and briefly described positive da... | mixture | diabetes,weight loss | No mention of cost in an article about a technology-based treatment program for improving diet and exercise. Readers learn that one person received a body weight scale when he signed onto the program, which raises a big question — how much does this program cost? What happens cost-wise if you don’t succeed? The program... |
27833 | Law enforcement's search for a prolific counterfeiter of one-dollar bills lasted ten years. | How the search for a prolific counterfeiter of one-dollar bills ended up lasting ten years. | true | Business, controversy | Although the United States Secret Service is best known for its service in protecting the President and other assignees, this branch of law enforcement has a second area of responsibility, that of safeguarding the nation’s money supply from counterfeiting. Indeed, the Service was begun in 1865 for that very purpose, be... |
29912 | George Soros was arrested in Switzerland in February 2019. | Soros-obsessed conspiracy theorists have previously fantasized about his arrest, incarceration and even death. | false | Junk News, before it's news, george soros | George Soros, perhaps the most maligned and lied-about public figure alive, was once again the target of another garbled and malicious rumor in February 2019, when conspiracy theory websites reported the “breaking news” that he had been arrested in Switzerland — based on information provided by former U.S. President Ba... |
3025 | New Mexico health officials report first child flu death. | Health officials in New Mexico have confirmed the first death of a child due to the flu this season. | true | Health, General News, Flu, New Mexico | The state Health Department says the 1-year-old boy from Roosevelt County is among the 52 people who have died of pneumonia and flu-related illnesses since the season started in October. Health officials are warning that flu is still spreading in all regions of the state and that peak activity hasn’t been reached. They... |
36473 | The media lied about the Momo challenge and real Momo videos have been located and shared. | ‘Real Momo Videos,’ Viral Hoaxes, and Ostension | mixture | Analysis, Disinformation, Social Media, Viral Content | In the aftermath of the March 2019 U.S. media frenzy surrounding the Momo challenge, a number of “real Momo videos” have opportunistically surfaced and quickly racked up large share counts.We came across several of the likely many surviving “real Momo” videos on Facebook that were posted by concerned parents, although ... |
11572 | Less Frequent Mammograms May Lower False-Positive Results | The first sentence mentions “A slightly higher risk of being diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer” but two lines later we’re told this “wasn’t statistically significant.” So why was it in the lead? And why state it as a definitively “slightly higher risk”? The story converts 61% (false positives from annual screeni... | mixture | HealthDay,Screening,women's health | The article fails to provide any information about the psychological & financial costs that result from false-positive mammography recalls & false-positive recommendations for biopsy. This article focused on the significant reduction in false-positive mammograms among women who are screened for breast cancer every two ... |
5897 | Legionnaires’ disease found in person who didn’t attend fair. | Public health officials in North Carolina are reporting a case of Legionnaires’ disease in a person who didn’t attend the Mountain State Fair, but was at a building on the fair site. | true | Health, General News, North Carolina, Legionnaires disease, State fairs, Public health | The state’s Health and Human Services Department reports the person attended the Quilt Show at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in late September. To date, it’s the only case of Legionnaires’ disease in an individual who didn’t attend the fair, but was at the WNC Ag Center after it ended on Sept. 15. Heal... |
26436 | Kennedy Center, PBS donated to Democrats after getting COVID-19 stimulus money. | The Kennedy Center and a nonprofit that funds PBS received money from the $2 trillion federal stimulus law in response to the coronavirus. Both Kennedy and PBS are nonprofits that are prohibited by law from making political donations. Federal election records show they have not made any such donations. | false | Campaign Finance, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "When it came to the $2 trillion relief package for COVID-19, maybe few things fueled more political criticism than the $25 million that went to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Some Republicans blasted the earmark as federal largesse. But worse than the Kennedy money are coronavirus kickbacks that f... |
7516 | US to screen airline passengers from China for new illness. | Three U.S. airports will screen passengers arriving from central China for a new virus that has sickened dozens, killed two and prompted worries about an international outbreak, health officials said Friday. | true | AP Top News, San Francisco, New York City, Health, Ebola virus, Wuhan, New York, China, Asia Pacific, U.S. News, General News | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say they will begin taking temperatures and asking about symptoms of passengers at three U.S. airports who traveled from the outbreak city of Wuhan. Officials estimate roughly 5,000 passengers will go through the process in the next couple of weeks at New York City’s... |
31948 | A photograph of a shark leaping out of the water is real and won an award from National Geographic. | Shares in China’s leading pig producers have soared to record levels despite one of the worst disease outbreaks in years, as investors bet on tightening pork supplies and strong government support for leading producers. | false | Fauxtography, altered photo, animal photos, doctored photos | China is battling the world’s fastest spreading outbreak of African swine fever, an incurable pig disease that has been confirmed in 28 of its provinces and regions. Livestock shares initially slid on the early outbreaks in August and September. But they have climbed since November, even as outbreaks continued and as t... |
35055 | Almost 200 people in Italy died from the coronavirus in a 24-hour period between March 11 and 12, 2020. | The death toll rose again the next day as an additional spate of deaths was reported. On March 12, The New York Times reported, “The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has jumped in the last 24 hours by 189 to 1,016, a rise of 23%, the Civil Protection Agency said.” | true | Medical, coronavirus, COVID-19 | As the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic in early March 2020, alarmed readers asked Snopes to verify reports that nearly 200 people died in a 24-hour span in Italy as a result of the disease. Sadly it is true that between March 10 and March 11, 2020, 196 people died in Italy, wh... |
4791 | As Cron, Rosario return, Twins put Buxton on concussion list. | The latest improbable catch by Byron Buxton caused a face-first crash into the grass, another painful highlight-reel grab for the Minnesota center fielder . | true | MLB, Baseball, Byron Buxton, Rocco Baldelli, Health, C.J. Cron, Minnesota, Mike Morin, Eddie Rosario, Injuries | Unlike the all-out defense that Buxton normally puts on display, the Twins were more than willing to play it safe with this injury. Buxton was placed on the seven-day injured list for players with concussion-like symptoms, just as first baseman C.J. Cron and left fielder Eddie Rosario returned from their injuries. The ... |
9961 | Therapy offers hope for infants at risk | This story reports on two trials of a new treatment aimed at helping to reduce the risk of long-term lung problems in babies born very prematurely. While it makes note of both the expense of the new treatment as well as the challenges in deciding which infants are more likely to benefit from it, the story does not do a... | false | The story notes that nitric oxide is expensive; however, it does not give any support or evidence for the quoted expert’s statement that the treatment might be cost-effective in the long run. No details are provided on the numbers of infants who either did or did not develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia or other outcomes... | |
9263 | Osteopathic manipulative treatment improves outcomes for elderly pneumonia patients | This news release issued by the American Osteopathic Association describes a relatively rigorous randomized controlled trial that compared the impact of osteopathic manipulation, light touch massage and standard antibiotic and mobilization treatment on pneumonia outcomes in some older, hospitalized patients. The outcom... | false | American Osteopathic Association,pneumonia | The release does not address the costs of osteopathic adjunct therapy even in general terms. Readers would have no idea, for example, if medical insurers might cover the cost for in-hospital or post-discharge osteopathic care. And it might have been highly useful to include easy-to-get information about the average cos... |
5659 | Congo student with Ebola still finds a way to take exams. | Claude Mabowa Sasi had lost his mother, a brother and a sister to Ebola. Instead of fearing death when he, too, was diagnosed with the disease, the young man had a different worry: How would he complete his college entrance exams? | true | AP Top News, International News, General News, Africa, Health, Ebola virus | It had been his mother’s greatest hope that Mabowa would go to college. To do so would require passing the secondary school baccalaureate, or “bac.” But the exams are held only once a year in Congo, and the 21-year-old Mabowa was being held in medical isolation, unable to sit in the same room with other test-takers. So... |
1610 | Florida Supreme Court approves language of medical marijuana proposal. | The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday approved language of a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana for people with debilitating medical conditions, paving the way for a vote next year. | true | Health News | Supporters must gather enough petition signatures to ensure the measure will be placed on the 2016 ballot. United With Care, a medical marijuana advocacy group, said on its website it needs to secure 683,149 signatures by Dec. 31 to bring the amendment to a popular vote. Some 400,000 Florida residents have already sign... |
26856 | Yet, for all that spending, health outcomes today on Medicaid are mediocre and many patients have difficulty accessing care.” | Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, based her comments about Medicaid on comparisons between the health of program recipients and people on Medicare or private insurance. Experts questioned this parallel, suggesting that a better measure would be to look at health before and after states expa... | false | Health Check, Seema Verma, | "The Trump administration’s top Medicaid official has been increasingly critical of the entitlement program she has overseen for three years. Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has warned that the federal government and states need to better control spending and improve care to ... |
157 | Pope says deforestation must be treated as a global threat. | Pope Francis said on Saturday rapid deforestation and the loss of biodiversity in individual countries should not be treated as local issues since they threaten the future of the planet. | true | Environment | Francis made his appeal on a visit to Madagascar, the world’s fourth-largest island, which research institutes and aid agencies say has lost about 44% of its forest over the past 60 years, abetted by illegal exports of rosewood and ebony. Francis zeroed in on endemic corruption, linking it with persistent, long-term po... |
41865 | Said that living near wind turbines is noisy, enough to make someone “go crazy after a couple of years.” | In an Aug. 30 rally in Evansville, Indiana, President Donald Trump made three unsubstantiated claims about wind turbines, which he calls “windmills.” | unproven | wind energy, | In an Aug. 30 rally in Evansville, Indiana, President Donald Trump made three unsubstantiated claims about wind turbines, which he calls “windmills”:While each of these claims start with a kernel of truth, Trump’s words misrepresent scientists’ and engineers’ current understanding of wind power and its limitations. We’... |
1026 | Biden unveils $1.7 trillion climate plan to end U.S. carbon emissions by 2050. | Joe Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination, released a climate change plan on Tuesday that would pour $1.7 trillion of investment into achieving 100% clean energy and net-zero emissions by 2050, in part using revenues from reversing Trump administration corporate tax cuts. | true | Environment | The former vice president unveiled the plan after weeks of pressure from rivals and green activists who said he was not taking global warming seriously enough and would rely too heavily on Obama-era ideas. A campaign adviser told Reuters last month that Biden was seeking a “middle-ground” approach he hoped would please... |
8471 | Exclusive: Emails show U.S. officials brushed off state concerns on drive-through virus tests. | As coronavirus infections exploded in New Orleans, state and local officials repeatedly told the Trump administration that its new drive-through testing effort wasn’t going well. Those tested often waited more than a week for results, and local officials had no information on who had been notified by a federally contra... | true | Health News | As deaths mounted, local officials requested details on the notifications as they increasingly fielded calls by those left in limbo - including health workers. But Washington officials largely brushed off their concerns, according to the correspondence, which has not been previously reported. Frustrated city officials ... |
14282 | The city of Charlotte passed a bathroom ordinance mandate on every private-sector employer in Charlotte. | "McCrory said, ""The city of Charlotte passed a bathroom ordinance mandate on every private-sector employer in Charlotte."" This is an exaggeration. The ordinance would have applied to place of public accommodation, like hotels and stores and other places selling goods and services to the public. While that is a big ca... | false | National, Gays and Lesbians, States, Pat McCrory, | "North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory defended a law striking down a local LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance as a move against government intrusion Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. The city council of Charlotte, N.C., passed the ordinance in late February outlawing discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people ... |
23901 | "Under the new health care law, the elderly will be denied care when they have ""passed the age limit for treatment." | Fanelli's video suggests 'Obamacare' will cut off treatment for elderly | false | Health Care, Medicare, Message Machine 2010, Florida, Dan Fanelli, | "Dan Fanelli, a retired airline captain and Republican running against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who represents the Orlando, Fla., area, has a catchy video on his website related to the health care bill dubbed ""Obamacare. ""Set in a doctor's office with somber orchestral music as the backdrop, a sympathetic doctor rolls... |
14452 | "Ted Cruz Says Donald Trump and Marco Rubio opposed Cruz’s ""efforts to defund Planned Parenthood." | "Dobson said in Cruz’s ad that Trump and Rubio opposed Cruz’s ""efforts to defund Planned Parenthood."" In the narrowest way, you could say Rubio opposed Cruz’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood by expressing misgivings about holding the government hostage to funding of a particular organization. But that's also mis... | false | Abortion, Federal Budget, Texas, Ted Cruz, | "In a TV ad, conservative pastor James Dobson tells viewers that Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has the support of thousands of likeminded pastors thanks to his unwavering support for ""the sanctity of human life and traditional marriage."" In the ad, which Cruz’s campaign mostly ran in Iowa in advance of the 2016 presidential... |
9132 | New Data From the Elekta Lung Research Group Support the use of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Elderly Patients With Early-stage Lung Cancer | lung cancer illustration No cost information. No benefit quantification. No risk mention. No comparison to alternatives. There were too many things missing from this release on the safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation in elderly patients with lung cancer to allow a reporter or patient to judge whether thi... | false | Elekta,lung cancer,stereotactic body radiotherapy | There are no costs mentioned in the release. There have been a number of studies on the cost-effectiveness of different radiation therapies, including SBRT. No where in the release does it back up the claims made in the headline and the lead that SBRT that the research supports use of SBRT on those 80 and older. Where ... |
13116 | "In Flint, Mich., ""the pipes still haven't been replaced. The water is still poisoned." | "Moore said that in Flint, ""the pipes still haven't been replaced. The water is still poisoned."" It will take years to complete the replacement of Flint’s pipes. Officials have replaced a few hundred pipes, with thousands more to go. The tap water is still not safe to drink on its own. However, experts said the city ... | mixture | Infrastructure, Public Health, Urban, Water, PunditFact, Michael Moore, | "After Michigan turned away from Barack Obama in 2012 and toward Donald Trump in 2016, Michael Moore, the liberal filmmaker and activist, said he understood voters’ frustrations. This could be seen, he said, even in Genesee County, which includes Moore’s hometown of Flint, where residents have been grappling with major... |
17644 | "Firearms homicides are down about 40 percent"" since Texas passed concealed-gun permit law." | Patterson said firearms homicides decreased 40 percent since Texas passed a law permitting licensed residents to carry concealed guns. That claim was staked to changes nationally and a timeframe unreasonably starting before the law took effect. Still, Patterson’s figure is close to correct. Data for Texas show declines... | true | Civil Rights, Crime, Texas, Guns, Jerry Patterson, | "An online campaign video from Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, one of the Republican hopefuls in the 2014 lieutenant governor race, touts his record on defending Second Amendment rights. ""I stood alone in passing the Texas concealed-handgun law over the doomsday predictions of blood in the streets, ‘Wild Wild... |
33538 | "A list reproduces Saul Alinsky's rules for ""How to Create a Social State." | A viral list supposedly reproduces community organizer Saul Alinsky's rules for 'How to Create a Social State.' | false | Politics Quotes, barack obama, hillary clinton, saul alinsky | Saul Alinsky was the Chicago-born archaeology major who, in the midst of the Great Depression, dropped out of graduate school and became involved first with the labor movement and then with community organizing. It was in the latter field that he made his mark, working from the late 1930s through the early 1970s as a c... |
2474 | Bribery serves as life-support for Chinese hospitals. | Bribery is the lubricant that helps keep China’s public hospitals running, and the health system would struggle to function without illegal payments to poorly paid doctors and administrators, say medical practitioners and industry experts. | true | Health News | They say government policies are partly to blame for a system in which doctors and other staff expect to be paid extra fees to perform operations and take kickbacks from pharmaceutical firms and medical-equipment suppliers. The profession’s ugly underbelly was exposed last week when police accused British drugmaker Gla... |
8847 | Indonesian child tests positive for bird flu. | An Indonesian child has tested positive for bird flu, pushing the country’s total confirmed human cases to 130, a health ministry official said on Monday. | true | Science News | Lily Sulistyowati, the ministry’s spokeswoman, said the 22-month-old girl from Sumatra’s Bukit Tinggi fell sick on March 19 and the ministry is checking her neighborhood for possible backyard farming. “Her condition is improving, and she is being treated at a Padang hospital,” Sulistyowati told Reuters by telephone... |
34965 | A young boy was beaten to death by his mother for refusing to wear girl's clothes. | More than 245 homes have been destroyed and 700 people left destitute after a forest fire tore through a low-income area of the Chilean seaside city of Valparaiso on Christmas Eve. | false | Politics | President Sebastian Pinera said on Thursday during a tour of the affected zone that there was evidence the fire had been started deliberately. “I deeply regret that what should have been a good night, a night of peace, should have been so profoundly altered by this tragedy,” he said. Valparaiso, known for its colorful ... |
10348 | Injecting Migraine Pain Away | A therapy for headache once given up for dead has achieved a surprising reincarnation—and a growing niche in the medical marketplace. But does it deserve its newfound reputation as an effective treatment? The answer is “probably not.” But a Wall Sreet. Journal article never makes that clear. It oversold the efficacy of... | mixture | Wall Street Journal | The article gave a bare-bones estimate about the costs of Botox. However, it didn’t provide any real-world estimates of the total long-term costs of the injections and any ancillary services from specialists. Since chronic migraines can be a life-long complaint, the total costs may be jaw-dropping. The article also did... |
8463 | Despite coronavirus, Americans fight for their right to a birthday party. | Reuben Goodman’s parents had to think fast and get creative when the COVID-19 pandemic scuppered their plans to throw a New Jersey bowling party to celebrate their son’s fifth birthday. | true | Health News | Emily and Dan Goodman instead decided to combine a variety of coronavirus-safe activities for their son, an avid Star Wars fan. The day includes a social-distancing treasure hunt of sorts; dancing in the streets in his Storm Trooper costume, with friends kept at a contagion-proof distance; and a virtual Zoom party feat... |
10023 | Cartilage regeneration builds a new knee, from the inside | Anecdote and expert opinion triumphed over science and good journalism in a story on the regeneration of knee cartilage in USA Today. The article focused on autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), an expensive procedure intended to regenerate articular cartilage in the knee involving two operations and an arduous 18... | false | The article does not mention costs at all. This is an important issue for patients, healthcare providers and insurers. According to various estimates, the costs of ACI range from $17,000 to $35,000, depending on geographic location and associated surgical and rehabilitation expenses. Because of a lack of conclusive doc... | |
19773 | "The Affordable Care Act ""will likely go down as the biggest tax increase in history." | "Josh Mandel says Obamacare will ultimately be the 'biggest tax increase in history""" | false | Ohio, Financial Regulation, Health Care, Taxes, Josh Mandel, | "The Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act settled the question of its constitutionality, but only seemed to intensify debate over the law. Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel joined other Republicans in calling for its repeal, saying the decision ""sets the stage for the November election."" He identified the law... |
23879 | Georgia has a well-deserved reputation for setting the gold standard for food safety. | "State Rep. says Georgia sets ""gold standard"" for food safety" | false | Georgia, Food Safety, Kevin Levitas, | "Note to readers: An update was posted to this item on June 29, 2010. Also, a letter to the editor responding to this item appeared July 7, 2010. See the note and letter at the end of this story. When we read a recent news release issued by state Rep. Kevin Levitas (D-DeKalb County), we thought back to a small town nam... |
16622 | "NextGen Climate Says Rick Scott ""is letting Duke (Energy) keep collecting billions"" despite troubled power plants." | "NextGen Climate said Scott ""is letting Duke (Energy) keep collecting billions"" after the utility company took in billions for two failed nuclear projects. The $3.2 billion settlement was the decision of the Public Service Commission, however, and not the governor or the Legislature. Scott and lawmakers have a say in... | mixture | Energy, Florida, NextGen Climate, | "Gov. Rick Scott has a new enemy on the campaign trail: Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer. And Steyer has started bringing his message and massive checkbook to the airwaves. In an Aug. 8, 2014, commercial from Steyer’s political action committee NextGen Climate, the group accused the Republican incumbent of letti... |
5042 | More states sue opioid maker alleging deceptive marketing. | California, Hawaii, Maine and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits Monday against the maker of OxyContin and the company’s former president, alleging the firm falsely promoted the drug by downplaying the risk of addiction while it emerged as one of the most widely abused opioids in the U.S. | true | District of Columbia, Health, General News, Hawaii, Business, Maine, California, Xavier Becerra, U.S. News, Lawsuits | The lawsuits were the latest by states and local governments against drugmaker Purdue Pharma as the country grapples with an opioid epidemic. About a dozen states have also targeted Richard Sackler, the company’s former leader, or members of his family. “Purdue and the Sacklers traded the health and well-being of Calif... |
4196 | Ruling puts hold on gold exploration plans in eastern Idaho. | The U.S. Forest Service violated environmental laws by failing to adequately consider potential harm to Yellowstone cutthroat trout in a Canadian mining company’s plans to expand its search for gold in eastern Idaho, a judge has ruled. | true | General News, Forests, Environment, British Columbia, Idaho Falls, Idaho | U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill on Wednesday ordered the Forest Service to examine how exploratory drilling by British Columbia-based Otis Gold Corporation could affect groundwater and possibly fish. The company’s Kilgore Project covers about 19 square miles (50 square kilometers) on Forest Service land and l... |
36524 | Newly uncovered video depicts Bernie Sanders, intoxicated and shirtless, singing in Russia in 1988. | Video of Bernie Sanders Shirtless, Singing ‘This Land Is Your Land’ in Russia in 1988? | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On January 28 2019, a video of what appeared to be video of a shirtless Bernie Sanders at a dinner party in Russia in 1988 surfaced on Twitter:BREAKING: @SenSanders like you’ve never seen him! !Bernie and Jane on their honeymoon in Russia singing “This land is Your Land” with their Russian comrades! !Trigger Warning: B... |
8580 | Canada to press U.S. further on medical supplies, Trudeau says. | Canada will keep up efforts to persuade the United States not to block the export of medical supplies to fight the coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday, while the energy-producing province of Alberta warned of an economic disaster. | true | Health News | Trudeau told a briefing that 500,000 N95 surgical masks from Saint Paul, Minnesota-based 3M Co - part of a batch of 4 million ordered by the province of Ontario - should arrive on Wednesday. Canadian officials pressed their U.S. counterparts after Ontario complained the shipment had been blocked. U.S. President Donald ... |
34682 | A study has proved that pineapple juice is five times more effective than cough syrup. | Pineapple juice may not cure your cough, but bromelain works as a nifty meat tenderizer, which is why your mouth prickles when you eat it — it’s breaking down the collagen bonds on your tongue and in your cheeks. | unproven | Medical, Home Cures | A graphic proclaiming that pineapple juice is a much more efficient remedy for coughs than over-the-counter cough syrups are has been shared via social media multiple times over the last several years, most commonly on alternative health sites: The provided advice given is certainly specific (and compelling, as few of... |
32296 | Prophylactic maker Durex is producing an eggplant-flavored condom. | “In light of this research, the Durex brand is asking 1 million people to use and share the hashtag #CondomEmoji to represent their support of the creation of the world’s first official safe sex emojis by the Unicode Consortium,” says Karen Chisholm, Marketing Director, Durex USA. “Emojis of this sort will enable young... | false | Politics, condoms, durex, emoji | On 5 September 2016, the official Twitter account for the Durex brand of condoms posted a message seemingly announcing the arrival of the new eggplant-flavored product: #BreakingNews: We’re launching an exciting new savoury #condom range – Eggplant flavour! ? #CondomEmoji pic.twitter.com/idA07EaiXC — Durex Global (@dur... |
35141 | Staff at Gold Coast Hospital in Australia rolled in a Wilson volleyball to keep Tom Hanks company in quarantine after he was diagnosed with the coronavirus. | The biggest giveaway, however, is probably the photograph of Hanks and “Wilson,” the name of his inanimate “costar” from the 2000 film “Cast Away.” This picture was not taken in March 2020 when the actor was quarantined with the coronavirus. Rather, this is a composite image that uses a still from a 2015 video showing ... | false | Humor, COVID-19 | On March 11, 2020, actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announced that they had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus spreading around the globe, while they were abroad. Shortly after the news broke, the satirical outlet The Betoota Advocate published an “update” on Hanks’ condition, writing t... |
27170 | More than 100 whales are trapped in an underwater 'jail.' | Reuters reported that as of June 2019, eight of the ten whales, two orcas and six belogas, had been released. However wildlife activists criticized the Russian government for lack of transparency and rushing the process, thus placing the animals at risk. | true | Politics | In December 2018, social media users shared a story on the self-publishing site auxx.me bearing the headline, “Drone Footage Reveals Over 100 Whales Trapped in Secret Underwater ‘Jails,'” with many questioning whether the report was real. Aside from the fact that the cages are hardly “secret,” the story is sadly true. ... |
25648 | PEDOPHILIA is now LEGAL in CALIFORNIA. Now a 21 year old can have sex with an 11 year old, and not be listed on the sex registry as a sex offender. | A flood of social media posts claimed California had “legalized” pedophilia. Some said offenders who had sex with minors as young as 11 would not be placed on the state’s sex offender registry. Those claims are both false. In reality, the California Legislature passed a bill that aims to eliminate automatic sex offende... | false | Criminal Justice, Gays and Lesbians, Crime, Sexuality, California, Facebook posts, | "Hours after the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 145 on Sunday, an onslaught of social media posts claimed the bill would ""legalize pedophilia"" in the state or allow adults to have sex with minors without being placed on the sex offender registry. All of the posts are provocative and many are unsubstantiate... |
314 | Cholera cases jump to 138 in Mozambique's Beira after cyclone. | The number of confirmed cases of cholera in the cyclone-hit Mozambican port city of Beira jumped from five to 138 on Friday, as government and aid agencies battled to contain the spread of disease among the tens of thousands of victims of the storm. | true | Environment | Cyclone Idai smashed into Beira on March 14, causing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 700 people across three countries in southeast Africa. Many badly affected areas in Mozambique and Zimbabwe are still inaccessible by road, complicating relief efforts and exacerbating the threat of infection. Although ther... |
17341 | "The medical marijuana ballot initiative ""doesn’t require a physician writing a prescription"" and can be for conditions like ""having a back that needs to be scratched." | "Gaetz said the medical marijuana ballot initiative ""doesn’t require a physician writing a prescription, and it can be for purposes as specious as a back that needs to be scratched."" Because of federal law, doctors won’t be writing prescriptions. Instead they will write a certification after examining the patient, de... | mixture | Florida Amendments, Health Care, Florida, Marijuana, Don Gaetz, | "As medical marijuana heads to the ballot in Florida in November, opponents like Senate President Don Gaetz have argued that it will be too easy for people who want to smoke pot recreationally to get their hands on it. ""The ballot initiative is the legalization of marijuana,"" said Gaetz in an interview on Florida Fac... |
6359 | Salmonella, hepatitis A reported at Crow Wing County Jail. | The Minnesota Department of Health is investigating cases of salmonella and hepatitis A at the Crow Wing County Jail. | true | Brainerd, Health, General News, Minnesota, Hepatitis, Liver disease | The sheriff’s office says one inmate has tested positive for salmonella, a bacteria that causes gastrointestinal illness. Other inmates and staff have also reported intestinal illnesses. The source of the bacteria has not been determined. One inmate has also tested positive for hepatitis A, a liver disease caused by co... |
26479 | Images show COVID-19 victims being buried in mass graves in New York City. | Photos and video footage showing dozens of caskets being buried in large trenches on Hart Island in New York City are legitimate. Not all local COVID-19 victims are being automatically buried there. The site has been used by the city since the 19th century as a public cemetery for unclaimed people and those whose famil... | true | Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "Harrowing images of wooden caskets being lowered into mass graves in New York City circulated on social media as the city responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The images and related video footage are accurate depictions of recent burials on Hart Island in the Long Island Sound. That said, there have been some misconcep... |
4020 | ‘Dramatic resurgence’ of measles seen in Europe, WHO reports. | The World Health Organization says there has been a “dramatic resurgence” of measles in Europe, in part fueled by vaccine refusals, with nearly 90,000 people sickened by the virus in the first half of 2019. | true | Ukraine, Immunizations, International News, Measles, General News, Health, Infectious diseases, Europe | In a report issued Thursday, the U.N. health agency said the number of measles cases from January to June this year is double the number reported for the same period in 2018. Measles is among the world’s most infectious diseases and is spread mostly by coughing, sneezing and close personal contact. Although numerous Eu... |
7605 | New Mexico takes more drastic measures against virus hotspot. | A city that is a modern-day trading post on the southern outskirts of the Navajo Nation was on lockdown over the weekend under the watch of National Guard troops and state police to discourage nonessential travel and commerce as local coronavirus infections soar. | true | Michelle Lujan Grisham, U.S. News, U.S. News, Health, General News, Albuquerque, Nursing homes, New Mexico, Virus Outbreak | Invoking provisions of the state Riot Control Act, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered residents of Gallup to remain home except for emergencies and blocked roads leading in and out of town to nonessential travel and any vehicles carrying more than two people. The restrictions were welcomed by local and stat... |
1765 | With U.S. Ebola fear running high, African immigrants face ostracism. | When Zuru Pewu picked up her 4-year-old son, Micah, from kindergarten at a Staten Island, New York, public school recently, a woman pointed at her in front of about 30 parents and their children, and started shouting. | true | Health News | “She kept screaming, ‘These African bitches brought Ebola into our country and are making everybody sick!’” said Pewu, 29, who emigrated from Liberia in 2005. “Then she told her son, ‘You know the country that’s called Liberia that they show on the TV? That’s where these bitches are from.’” Pewu’s experience points to... |
35350 | The 1981 Farmer's Almanac contained a passage predicting that a severe, pneumatic illness would spread around the globe in 2020. | And the “Farmer’s Almanac” has gotten weather predictions wrong. The Grand Forks Herald, which covers daily news from northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota, described some incorrect predictions for 2019: | false | Questionable Quotes, COVID-19 | In April 2020, as the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic spread around the world, Snopes received a number of requests from readers asking us to verify that the 1981 “Farmer’s Almanac” or “Farmers’ Almanac” predicted the pandemic. Almost all the queries to Snopes shared the following passage: In around 2020 a severe... |
6168 | Bird flu found at Tyson Foods chicken supplier. | Tens of thousands of chickens have been destroyed at a Tennessee chicken farm due to a bird flu outbreak and 30 other farms within a six-mile radius have been quarantined. | true | U.S. Department of Agriculture, Health, Flu, Tennessee, Business, Bird flu, Agriculture | The U.S. Department of Agriculture said 73,500 chickens were destroyed at the facility and will not enter the food system. The H7 avian influenza can be deadly to chickens and turkeys. “Bird flu” is a catch-all phrase for a variety of influenza viruses that spread among poultry. They can be very contagious and deadly a... |
11368 | New treatment for advanced melanoma shrinks tumors | To its credit, this story does inject some caution into its coverage of a new treatment for advanced melanoma. Nevertheless, we think it is important to emphasize that the research being discussed was a phase 1 study that had only 32 patients in the arm that was reported on. The primary objective of this study was to a... | false | "No discussion of costs. This is perhaps understandable considering the early stage of the research.. But we think the story needed to include some comment about the likely price tag, as discussed by USA Today. Expensive new cancer drugs are among the fastest-rising areas of healthcare spending. The lead sentence of th... | |
41787 | "You catch a criminal, and you have to release him,"" referring to people caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally. " | In declaring a national emergency at the Southwest border, President Donald Trump strung together a long list of false, misleading and unsupported claims on illegal immigration, drug smuggling, human trafficking, trade deficits and other issues. | false | border fence, border security, border wall, Customs and Border Protection, Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, drugs, human trafficking, Illegal immigration, immigration, trade deficit, | In declaring a national emergency at the Southwest border, President Donald Trump strung together a long list of false, misleading and unsupported claims on illegal immigration, drug smuggling, human trafficking, trade deficits and other issues.We briefly cover some of the statements the president made in his Feb. 15 R... |
29965 | Some 10,8000 U.S. children were raped by illegal immigrants in 2018. | Out of the yearly 63,000 sexual abuse cases substantiated, or found [by] strong evidence, by Child Protective Services (CPS), the perpetrator was most often the parent: | false | Politics, news punch, your news wire | On 30 December 2018, News Punch, a junk news website with a long history of spreading misinformation, published an article reporting that 10,800 American children had been raped by illegal immigrants during 2018: “The number of U.S. children raped by illegal immigrants in 2018 was a staggering 10,800, according to data... |
1718 | Peruvian ice cap harbors evidence of conquistadors' avarice. | After vanquishing the Inca Empire with superior weapons and a touch of treachery, the Spanish conquistadors sought to satisfy their lust for riches by forcing multitudes of native people to toil in silver mines in dire conditions that claimed many lives. | true | Science News | Scientists on Monday described evidence of this bitter chapter of South American history preserved deep in an ice cap in the Peruvian Andes in the form of residue from the relentless clouds of metallic dust spewed from the mines starting in the 16th century. The mountaintop mines of Potosí in Bolivia were the world’s r... |
28142 | A shoplifter who stabbed a Marine collecting Toys for Tots was then whomped by other Marines. | The tale of a shoplifter who stabbed a toy-collecting Marine and was then whomped by other Marines has been embellished for humorous effect. | true | Humor, marines | At about 1:15 p.m. on 26 November 2010 (which was the day after Thanksgiving, better known as “Black Friday”), those manning the surveillance cameras at a Best Buy in Augusta, Georgia, spotted a shopper cutting a Dell laptop computer from its packaging and stuffing it down his pants. According to police, store security... |
17089 | Over 300K home owner suicides attributed to foreclosures. | The meme said that over 300,000 homeowner suicides are attributable to foreclosures. But that would mean every suicide over a nine-year period would have been caused by a foreclosure, and experts say that’s not credible. | false | National, Economy, Health Care, Housing, Public Health, Facebook posts, | "A reader recently asked us to check a social media meme with a striking statistic about foreclosures and suicides. It said, ""1.4 million homes stolen by banks since 2008. Over 300K home owner suicides attributed to foreclosures. Why won't anyone defend these American property owners' rights?"" Have there really been ... |
2284 | Push to save African elephants stirs U.S. clash over antique ivory trade. | The ornate ivory statues and carvings sold in Scott Defrin’s New York gallery date from the 17th and 18th centuries, but the antique dealer’s business is being upended by a 21st century fight over saving the African elephant. | true | Environment | Despite a 25-year-old international ban on most international elephant ivory trade, poachers are illegally slaughtering elephants by the thousands for their tusks and wildlife advocates blame the remaining ivory trade. In the United States, regulations against trading in ivory are tightening. The state of New York has ... |
8818 | Merck says FDA rejects its new cholesterol drug. | U.S. health regulators have rejected Merck & Co Inc’s new drug designed to raise the level of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, the company said on Monday, sending its shares down 5 percent. | true | Health News | The company declined to discuss details in the so-called not approvable letter from the Food and Drug Administration. It would not comment on whether the agency had asked for further data or new clinical trials. The drug, which was expected to be called Cordaptive, combines long-acting niacin with a new drug that p... |
9944 | Nothing much works for morning sickness, study finds | "We usually like it when stories approach an issue from a suspicious, ""show me the evidence"" perspective. But in this case, the story’s doubtful take on treatments for morning sickness just isn’t backed up by solid reporting. Unlike the NPR story we reviewed, this story did not attempt to provide a thorough analysis ... | false | "There is no discussion of costs here. We think that it is just as important to tell people about the costs of treatments that have little scientific support. Should people be spending money on expensive therapies or even low-cost vitamin treatments if there is little proof that they work? Too vague. The story tells us... | |
11259 | Stem Cells and Breast Surgery | This story could have touted a novel and untested cosmetic procedure, but instead the reporting is appropriately cautious and balanced. The reporter clearly informs readers about the procedure and does an excellent job listing the potential harms of the relatively untested fat and stem cell transfer. Appropriate caveat... | true | "The story provides a range of the costs of the procedure for cosmetic purposes and also notes cost of additional surgeries that may be needed to correct for fat-grafting that did not survive after an initial procedure. This procedure may not be approved by health insurance for reconstruction due to the lack of evidenc... | |
473 | Ring of fire: Australian state declares emergency as wildfires approach Sydney. | Australia’s most populous state declared its second emergency in as many months on Thursday as extreme heat and strong winds stoked more than 100 bushfires, including three major blazes on Sydney’s doorstep. | true | Environment | A day after Australia recorded its hottest day on record, thick smoke blanketed the harbor city, shrouded the Opera House and brought many outdoor activities to a halt. The state of emergency declaration gave firefighters broad powers to control government resources, force evacuations, close roads and shut down utiliti... |
40470 | A forwarded email about the story of how a little girl at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina miraculously recovered from cancer after an angel was seen on a video surveillance monitor. | Teen Escapes Death After Hospital Video Captures Images of What the Family Believes Was an Angel | true | Inspirational | According to a Today Show story posted on the MSNBC on December 23, 2008, this happened in September 2008 but some of the facts in the eRumor are wrong. Fourteen year old Chelsea Barton was born five weeks prematurely which resulted in developmental disabilities and serious health problems all her life. She was connect... |
11444 | Cedars-Sinai Surgeon Uses New Device to Perform First-Ever Surgery | A news release announcing a new minimally invasive surgery technique to treat aneurysms of the aorta was surprisingly short on details concerning the main things we want to know: the rates of benefit and harm related to the Valiant Navion thoracic stent graft system, how it compares to other methods to treat these kind... | false | Hospital news release | No costs were mentioned. No benefits were mentioned other than this treatment might be better than open surgery. The surgeon points out that: “Now, patients can undergo a minimally invasive procedure to fix complex problems of the aorta without having open surgery.” We have consistently advised readers to be wary of c... |
37877 | There is no proof social distancing is an effective measure to stop the spread of novel coronavirus or COVID-19. | Is There ‘No Scientific Proof’ That Social Distancing Prevents the Spread of Coronavirus? | false | Disinformation, Fact Checks | On April 22 2020, a KUSI News item (“USC Professor Joel Hay says there is no scientific proof social distancing prevents spread of coronavirus”) appeared containing a claim that proved particularly popular among people who opposed COVID-19 social distancing measures — orders typically described as “stay at home,” “shel... |
35537 | "In U.S. elections, mail-in voting systems ""substantially"" increase the risk of voter fraud compared to in-person voting." | Using e-cigarettes significantly increases the risk of developing chronic lung conditions such as asthma or emphysema, U.S. researchers said on Monday. | false | Politics | The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is among the first to show the potential long-term harms of using e-cigarettes, which are often promoted as a safer alternative to tobacco and a means of helping smokers quit. It found that e-cigarettes increased the risk of lung disease by a third co... |
31216 | A book about Hitler quotes him as saying that he would start a third world war — after his death. | The rumor that Adolf Hitler said that World War III would begin when the United States realized that black people were the “true Hebrews” originated in an unsourced article published by a disreputable web site, and which appears to loosely string together an entire ecosystem of impossibly farfetched and completely unso... | false | Politics Quotes, fml gone viral, fmlgoneviral.com, hitler | In June 2017, a persistent hoax involving a falsified quote, supposedly from Nazi leader Adolf Hitler about how he would start World War III even after his death, began to recirculate in meme form: This passage is frequently shared in defense of Hitler to bolster the argument that he was actually not racist, and, in f... |
17571 | I’m ninth generation from New Hampshire. | "Brown said he is ""ninth generation from New Hampshire."" For the most part, this is true: Brown’s New Hampshire lineage connects his grandmother to some of the region’s earliest European inhabitants. In fact, one of Brown’s ancestors, Francis Mathews, came to the New World in 1634 specifically to help settle the terr... | mixture | New Hampshire, Candidate Biography, Families, Scott Brown, | "Since he lost his Senate seat in Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown has been keeping his options open for a potential run for office in New Hampshire. While he hasn’t filed to run for any office, he’s viewed as a potentially strong challenger to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. Speculation that he might run against... |
9213 | New apps designed to reduce depression and anxiety as easily as checking your phone | This release on a suite of smartphone apps designed to reduce depression and anxiety comes from a prestigious university and was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Issued under embargo, an emailed version of the release pitched journalists with the titillating subject heading: “Depression Apps as Fast as Find... | mixture | depression,Northwestern University,smartphone apps | The release notes that there is no cost associated with downloading the Intellicare apps. But because Intellicare is part of “a national research study” the researchers request that users provide “confidential feedback” weekly to help them further develop the system. Some people may not be comfortable sharing personal ... |
2446 | United Nations reports 'dramatic' progress in fight against AIDS. | The global rate of HIV infection and the number of AIDS-related deaths have been dramatically reduced, thanks to expanding access to treatment, the United Nations said in a report issued on Monday. | true | Health News | In its annual update on HIV, which it said now infects around 35.3 million people worldwide, UNAIDS said deaths from AIDS and HIV infection rates were falling, while the number of people getting treatment is going up. AIDS-related deaths in 2012 fell to 1.6 million, down from 1.7 million in 2011 and a peak of 2.3 milli... |
11163 | Dessert, Laid-Back and Legal | The story offers good context – starting with a recollection of over-the-counter melatonin claims that were “the rage” among frequent fliers back in the ’90s. And reminding readers that “promoters of these are appealing to people who think it’s better to do things outside of the medical establishment.” It can be a pub... | true | New York Times | The story includes some pricing estimates for these products. The story is clear that – despite the claims made by some who stand to profit – there is no quantifiable information about benefits documented about these products. And there’s this closing skepticism from Dr. Lewy: “he was not sure that their other purporte... |
1780 | Obesity research takes high-tech twist at Florida school. | Freshmen at Florida’s Lakewood High School lined up against gold and black gymnasium mats on Friday to have their height and weight measured, an assessment to launch a novel study on fighting teenage obesity with trendy new technology. | true | Health News | Researchers affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine, whose network includes a Florida children’s hospital near the school, plan to use results of the screening to select about 50 overweight students and track their activity levels using the Fitbit, a connected wristband. Wearable technology, expected to take off next ye... |
37000 | Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator and author, said immigrants who are blind or are in wheelchairs should not be granted citizenship. | Ann Coulter Suggests Denying Citizenship to Blind, Disabled Immigrants | true | Politics | This one is true. Ann Coulter made the remarks during a June 2015 appearance on the Simon Conway Show, a syndicated talk radio program. Coulter was talking about the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) waiving citizenship requirements when she said: “The INS is waiving many English-language requirements for im... |
15528 | Since 2010, eight children in Georgia have died due to vehicular heatstroke. | Gov. Nathan Deal held a press conference Wednesday to raise public awareness of the potential dangers of leaving a child alone in a car. He and other state officials have been doing similar events since 2012, following the tragic death of a 2-year-old girl. The governor cited statistics showing that since 2010, eight c... | true | Georgia, Children, Nathan Deal, | "Editor's note: This fact-check was updated after it first published to included corrected information from the state on one child death. A year ago this month, hearts across Atlanta collectively sank. Dominating the news last June 18 were reports that a 22-month-old Cobb County boy had been left in the back seat of hi... |
7918 | Gilead puts emergency access to experimental coronavirus drug on hold amid surging demand. | Gilead Sciences Inc said on Sunday it was temporarily putting new emergency access to its experimental coronavirus drug remdesivir on hold due to overwhelming demand and that it wanted most people receiving the drug to participate in a clinical trial to prove if it is safe and effective. | true | Health News | The drugmaker said in a statement there had been an exponential increase in so-called compassionate-use requests for the drug. The spread of the virus in Europe and the United States has “flooded an emergency treatment access system that was set up for very limited access to investigational medicines and never intended... |
28498 | Farmers are injecting fruits and vegetables with the human hormone oxytocin to enhance their growth and appearance. | What's true: Nearly all reports of of farmers injecting fruits and vegetables with oxytocin originate from India, where a number of documented incidents have, in part, prompted a government effort to crackdown on oxytocin’s illegal agricultural uses. What's false: The practice, which is illegal in both India and around... | mixture | Food, agriculture, farming, food safety | On 28 July 2010, the Hindustan Times reported on an e-mail sent from the Indian Minister of Health to other lawmakers, warning of the dangers of farmers’ using the animal hormone oxytocin to boost the size and appearance of their produce: [Minister for Health Dinesh] Trivedi wants states to crack down on the illegal us... |
16225 | "As a result of Obamacare, ""California seniors face benefit cuts of over $1,700." | "American Crossroads said that as a result of Obamacare, ""California seniors face benefit cuts of over $1,700."" First of all, this claim is misleading because it makes it seem like all seniors will face these cuts, when the statistic actually refers to Medicare Advantage enrollees -- only about one-third of seniors. ... | false | National, Federal Budget, Health Care, Medicare, Message Machine 2014, American Crossroads, | "Even though Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., wasn’t in office when Obamacare passed, a pro-Republican ad in California’s seventh congressional district is using the law to attack him. Bera is running against Republican Doug Ose for a second term, and it’s a tight race. Less than six months into his first term, Bera voted agai... |
38906 | An undercover Planned Parenthood video claims that the group sells fetal body parts from partial birth abortions for profit. | Planned Parenthood Sells Body Parts for Profit | false | Health / Medical, Medical | An undercover Planned Parenthood video that claims the group sells body parts from abortions for profit has been disputed. Planned Parenthood said patients who seek abortions can elect to “donate tissue to scientific research.” But the organization disputes that it, or its patients, profits from those donations. The co... |
10059 | Spinal-Fluid Test Is Found to Predict Alzheimer’s | Changing a few words in the headline and lead sentence of this story (or simply skipping straight to the second sentence) would have given readers a far more balanced portrayal of the results of a study of biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease, but as it stands the story is likely to mislead many readers into believing th... | false | Not only does this story fail to mention the costs of spinal taps, PET scans or other potential tests for biomarkers of early Alzheimer’s Disease, it does not alert readers to the possible financial consequences of a test indicating that a person is likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease, such as problems obtaining hea... | |
7005 | Residents investigate cancer rates near Michigan landfill. | A group of residents is investigating cancer rates in a western Michigan neighborhood that’s near a contaminated landfill classified as a Superfund site. | true | Cancer, Health, Michigan, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Pamela Anderson | Muskegon resident Pamela Anderson said that after hearing about numerous cases, she started a Facebook group about cancer deaths among people who live or have lived near the Butterworth landfill site in Grand Rapids. They plan to bring up the issue at a city commission meeting this week, the Grand Rapids Press reported... |
8391 | Singapore reports 942 new COVID-19 cases in record daily jump. | Singapore’s health ministry confirmed 942 more coronavirus infections on Saturday, a new daily record, the vast majority of which are among migrant workers living in dormitories. | true | Health News | Authorities have managed to mitigate the spread of the virus and the COVID-19 respiratory disease it causes among Singapore’s citizens by rigorous contact tracing and surveillance, earning praise from the World Health Organization. The Ministry of Health reported just 14 cases among Singaporeans and permanent residents... |
6307 | Detroit hospital, school losing neurosurgery training permit. | A neurosurgery training program at a Detroit hospital has lost its accreditation, jeopardizing the status of the health system and a university medical school. | true | Detroit, Health, General News, Education, Medical schools | The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education this month removed credentials from the Detroit Medical Center’s program with Wayne State University after a September site visit. The accreditation is slated to end on June 30, The Detroit News reported. Wayne State University School of Medicine Dean Jack Sobel s... |
1803 | Parks, playgrounds offer fresh air alternatives to gym workouts. | From park bench pushups and monkey bar lifts to open air runs, fitness experts say the workout possibilities of playgrounds and parks are worth the consideration of even the most diehard gym users. | true | Health News | During the warm, waning summer days, fresh air workouts offer a wealth of new ways to boost the mood, channel the inner child and even burn extra calories. Chris Freytag, a personal trainer and health coach with the American Council on Exercise, loves the gym but lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a city notorious for br... |
15266 | African-American children are 500 percent more likely to die from asthma than white kids. | "Clinton said, ""African-American children are 500 percent — 500 percent — more likely to die from asthma than white kids."" According to a 2006 study from the CDC, she’s right. According to more recent data, she’s slightly off, but only because she has underestimated the gap: In reality, it appears that black children... | true | National, Children, Health Care, Race and Ethnicity, Public Health, Hillary Clinton, | "In her speech to the National Urban League on July 31, Hillary Clinton presented a long list of statistics showing that racial inequality persists in the United States. Among them was this figure: ""African-American children are 500 percent — 500 percent — more likely to die from asthma than white kids."" Clinton clai... |
8455 | More than two million COVID-19 cases now reported worldwide: Reuters tally. | The number of cases of COVID-19 reported worldwide passed two million on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally. | true | Health News | The total reached 2,001,548 cases after the United Kingdom reported its latest figures. It took 83 days to reach the first million cases worldwide and just 14 days for the second million. The most serious pandemic in a century has killed 131,101 people around the world, according to the tally. The epicentre has moved f... |
7452 | As Europe reopens, key virus protections are still elusive. | Italy’s virus reopening was supposed to be accompanied by a series of measures to limit infections in the one-time epicenter of Europe’s pandemic: the distribution of millions of inexpensive surgical masks to pharmacies nationwide, a pilot project of 150,000 antibody tests and, eventually, the roll-out of a contact-tra... | true | AP Top News, Italy, Understanding the Outbreak, International News, General News, Health, Business, Pandemics, Technology, Virus Outbreak, Europe, Public health, Weekend Reads | None of these is in place as Italy experiments with its second week of loosening restrictions and looks ahead to Monday’s reopening of shops and, in some regions, bars and restaurants. Italy’s commissioner for the emergency, Domenico Arcuri, went on the defensive Tuesday to respond to mounting criticism of his Phase II... |
36702 | Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s housekeeper was found dead in September 2017 after the FBI interviewed her about overheard conversations between Rice and Hillary Clinton and other members of the Obama administration. | More nations were flying medical staff and supplies to Samoa on Friday to battle a measles outbreak that prompted the Pacific island nation to declare a state of emergency this month, as the death toll rose to 42, most of them children younger than four. | false | Obama, Politics, Trump | A significant drop in immunisation over the last few years has made Samoa highly vulnerable to outbreaks of the disease, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying vaccine coverage is just about 31% there. Schools have been shut and a mass vaccination effort launched in the nation of just 200,000 located south of ... |
3382 | Montana health department to enforce flavored vaping ban. | Montana’s health department will begin enforcing its emergency ban on the sale of flavored vaping products beginning next Wednesday, state officials said Friday. | true | Health, General News, Montana, Vaping, Public health, Steve Bullock | A temporary restraining order preventing the ban from taking effect expired on Oct. 28, the Department of Public Health and Human Services said. The judge who heard arguments on a motion by vaping shop owners seeking a preliminary injunction to block the ban has not made a ruling six weeks after hearing arguments. “Tho... |
2928 | PepsiCo's workplace wellness program fails the bottom line: study. | A long-running and well-respected workplace wellness program at PepsiCo that encourages employees to adopt healthier habits has not reduced healthcare costs, according to the most comprehensive evaluation of a such a program ever published. | true | Health News | Released on Monday in the journal Health Affairs and based on data for thousands of PepsiCo employees over seven years, the findings “cast doubt on the widely held belief” that workplace wellness programs save employers significantly more than they cost, conclude Soeren Mattke of the RAND Corporation and his co-authors... |
10941 | Study finds green tea helpful against strokes, not cancer | This story reports on the results of a large, population-based study in Japan looking at green tea consumption and overall mortality, heart disease mortality and cancer mortality. The study found that those who drank five or more cups of green tea daily had a significantly lower risk of dying of heart disease, but not ... | true | The story does not mention the costs of the tea, but we can assume that most people are aware of the range of costs of such products at the grocery store. The story provides quantification of benefits in relative terms only. So when the story says “31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease,” it doesn’t explai... | |
9140 | New tech promises easier cervical cancer screening | Credit: Duke University This news release provides some useful background about cervical cancer screening and a new device that might make such screenings more accessible around the globe. However, the release is marred by an incomplete description of the steps involved in cervical cancer screening. Colposcopy (a test ... | false | cancer screening,Cervical cancer,Duke University,medical device | The news release indicates that the pocket colposcope will be much less expensive than current equipment, although no specific numbers are provided. The omission is unfortunate, since the study it’s based on does provide cost estimates, citing a cost of $54 for the camera and $1 for the inserter. This device also requi... |
11872 | 80 percent of the (individual mandate) tax falls on those who make $50,000 a year or less. | Thune said that 80 percent of the individual mandate penalty falls on those who make $50,000 a year or less. In terms of the number of returns in which people paid the fine, that figure is correct. In terms of the dollars collected, it overshoots the mark. People in that income range account for about 60 percent of the... | true | National, Health Care, Taxes, John Thune, | "Senate Republicans’ surprise move to repeal the requirement to have health insurance into their tax reform bill revealed numbers that few people had noted before. (The mandate says that everyone must have coverage or face a fine.) ""80 percent of the tax falls on those who make $50,000 a year or less,"" Sen. John Thun... |
27389 | "MIT offers a ""pirate certificate"" to students who complete four physical education courses." | The prestigious university counts among its alumni Nobel laureates, leaders of science and industry, and a fleet of certified swashbucklers. | true | College | Does the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an American bastion of serious scientific research with dozens of Nobel laureates among its alumni, really offer its over-achieving students something called a “Pirate Certificate”? That’s the claim that the History Hustle Facebook page makes in a widely-shared January 20... |
4977 | Doctors’ long-running advice: Get checked before a marathon. | It was the death heard ’round the running world. | true | Health, Boston, AP Top News, Boston Marathon, Marathons, Heart attack, North America, Sports, U.S. News | In July 1984, acclaimed author and running guru Jim Fixx died of a heart attack while trotting along a country road in Vermont. Overnight, a nascent global movement of asphalt athletes got a gut check: Just because you run marathons doesn’t mean you’re safe from heart problems. Fast-forward 35 years, and Boston Maratho... |
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