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3466
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Quake from Mount Etna volcano jolts Sicily, sparks panic.
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An earthquake triggered by Mount Etna’s eruption jolted eastern Sicily before dawn Wednesday, injuring at least 10 people, damaging churches and houses on the volcano’s slopes and prompting panicked villagers to flee their homes.
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true
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Volcanic eruptions, Italy, International News, Sicily, Travel, AP Top News, Science, Travel, Europe, Earthquakes
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Italy’s Civil Protection officials said the quake, which struck at 3:19 a.m., was part of a swarm of some 1,000 tremors, most of them barely perceptible, linked to Etna’s volcanic eruption this week. Italy’s national seismology institute said the quake had a magnitude of 4.8 on the open-ended Richter scale and 4.9 on the moment magnitude scale, which relates to the amount the ground slips. It struck north of Catania, the largest city in the eastern part of the Mediterranean island, but no damage or injuries were reported there. The quake opened up cracks in homes in several towns, sending chunks of concrete debris tumbling to the ground. It toppled a Madonna statue in a church in Santa Venerina and broke up sidewalks and a stretch of highway, forcing it to close. Many people spent the hours after the quake sleeping in their cars. In the town of Piano d’Api, firefighters removed cracked stucco from the bell tower of the damaged Santa Maria della Misericordia church. Italy’s culture ministry said the quake damage to churches was being tallied by experts. “Etna remains a dangerous volcano, and this country of ours is unfortunately fragile,” government undersecretary Vito Crimi said as he reported 10 people injured. The most seriously injured was a 70-year-old man who fractured ribs and was undergoing surgery for chest injuries. A 71-year-old patient was being kept in hospital for observation, while others were treated and released, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. Additionally, 18 other people went to local hospitals suffering from panic attacks or shock, news reports said. One 80-year-old man was safely extracted from the rubble of his home, ANSA said, while a woman told state radio that her sister was pulled out from under a heavy armoire that had toppled. A ceiling collapsed in another house, and in other homes parts of exterior walls crumbled. Some stone walls along fields and local roads crumbled. Etna, the largest of Italy’s three active volcanoes, has been particularly active since July. In recent days, Etna’s latest eruption has been shooting volcanic ash, heavy smoke and lava stones into the air, coating roads and homes nearby with ash. A new fracture has opened near Etna’s southeast crater and lava has been flowing down an uninhabited slope. The quake was also felt in the upscale Sicilian resort town of Taormina and in other towns in eastern Sicily. The Civil Protection agency said temporary shelters were being set up in gyms or municipal buildings for people whose houses were damaged or who were too frightened to return to their homes. Similar volcanic activity on Etna has been observed many times in past decades, Andrea Billi, a geologist with the state National Council of Research, told RaiNews24. This kind of activity “can last days or weeks,” he said, “but it’s unpredictable.” Italy’s Civil Protection chief said it appeared the activity at Etna was calming down. “From a scientific point of view, we’re dealing with an isolated event,” Angelo Borrelli told Sky TG24 TV. “The technical experts tell us we’re heading toward a cooling of the lava, and we ought to expect a quiescence of the phenomenon (of earthquakes).” Some residents told reporters that after a similar quake in 1984 which killed a person, many on Mount Etna retrofitted their houses to enable them to withstand more powerful temblors. ___ Frances D’Emilio is on twitter at a href=’http://www.twitter.com/fdemilio%3c’www.twitter.com/fdemilio/a
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4253
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Vancouver woman sharing signs of ovarian cancer with others.
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Teri Giangreco didn’t know the signs of ovarian cancer until she was sitting in her new gynecologic oncologist’s office discussing her stage 3 ovarian cancer diagnosis.
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true
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Health, Vancouver, Cancer, Ovarian cancer
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A poster on the wall listed the four warning signs: bloating, feeling of fullness, pelvic pain and frequent need to urinate. “We can justify them to be anything,” Giangreco said. That’s what she had done. Giangreco, 70, started noticing some mild stomach issues in November — an upset stomach one day, constipation another. Nothing she gave much thought. By December, the problems became more frequent, but she shrugged them off. She hadn’t been eating the healthiest. That must be causing the problems, she reasoned. But by January, the discomfort was more regular. One Tuesday evening, Giangreco was so bloated she couldn’t get her pants to fasten. By that Saturday, the pain had become unbearable. Her husband took her to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and referred to Dr. Gina Westhoff, a gynecologic oncologist at Legacy Medical Group in Salmon Creek. A few days later, on Jan. 31, she was sitting in the office looking at the poster outlining the signs for ovarian cancer. After her diagnosis, Giangreco told every woman she knew about the warning signs. Last week, she spent a couple of hours at lunchtime stopping women as they walked through Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center and educating them about the symptoms. She shared her story and passed out bookmarks with the warning signs. “I think it’s unfair to us that there is no test, and there’s not as much education as there needs to be,” Giangreco said. “If I can save one life, then that’s why I’m walking this path.” Westhoff and the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon and Southwest Washington joined in the outreach efforts at Legacy Salmon Creek. They hope to educate women not only about the signs of ovarian cancer but also about symptoms and prevention for other gynecologic cancers (uterine, cervical, vaginal and vulvar). September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. NO TEST TO DETECT OVARIAN CANCER Knowing the signs is important, Westhoff said, because there is no screening test for most gynecologic cancers. “The only screening test we have is the pap test, and the pap test only detects cervical cancer,” Westhoff said. Cancer is better treated when caught early. But, without screening tests, many gynecologic cancers are caught at more advanced stages, she said. “It you can catch ovarian cancer at stage 1, there is a 95 percent chance you will live five years,” Westhoff said. Five years is considered “survival” for ovarian cancer. “At stage 3, which is considered late, that percentage goes down to 39 or 40 percent,” she said. Many of the warning signs, however, are vague and often ignored, Westhoff said. And because of the organs involved, people often shirk away from talking about the cancers, she said. “Because these cancers are below the belt and are private organs, they’re not talked about,” Westhoff said. “Thirty years ago, the same was true about breast cancer.” Talking about the cancers is not only important to make women aware of the symptoms but also to drive research funding to develop screening tests, Westhoff said. Until those tests exist, though, women need to be their own best advocates, she said. A sentiment echoed by Giangreco. “I just want people to listen to their body,” Giangreco said. “And maybe go to the doctor a little earlier than I did.” ___ Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com
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21306
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Senate Bill 5 makes it harder for nurses to give the patients the quality care they need.
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We Are Ohio claims SB 5 would make it harder for nurses to care for patients
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false
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Ohio, Jobs, Labor, Unions, We Are Ohio,
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"We Are Ohio, the main group trying to repeal Ohio Senate Bill 5, recently rolled out a TV commercial warning voters that upholding the law would compromise the health care nurses can provide. The message is similar to a claim in a previous ad that SB 5 would make it illegal to negotiate for enough firefighters to do the job. ""Senate Bill 5 makes it harder for nurses to give the patients the quality care they need,"" a nurse identified as Shawna Turner says in the commercial. SB 5 – the state’s new collective bargaining law that is strongly opposed by unions and Democrats – will reduce public workers’ negotiating power, ban public-worker strikes and eliminate binding arbitration. The bill also would force public workers to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance costs and to pay at least 10 percent of pay toward pension contributions. The SB 5 referendum will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot as Issue 2. A ""yes"" vote would go toward upholding the law and a ""no"" vote would be for its repeal. The commercial, which began airing on Sept. 27, raises questions about how SB 5 impacts nurses – a group of workers less commonly associated with SB 5 than others, such as police officers and teachers. PolitiFact Ohio decided to check the ad’s claim. We started by checking how many nurses belong to public unions and, therefore, will be affected by SB 5. There are about 160,000 registered nurses in the state and between 6,000 and 10,000 of those are public employees, according to the Ohio Nurses Association. That means SB 5 would affect between 4 percent and 6.25 percent of Ohio nurses. The Ohio Nurses Association represents about 3,000 public-sector nurses, chief executive officer Gingy Harshey-Meade said. The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association and the Service Employees International Union also represent Ohio nurses. These nurses work at places such as prisons, city or county hospitals and public health departments. When the nurse in the commercial says the new law will make it harder for nurses to provide care, the following text appears on the screen: ""Source: Senate Bill 5; p229, Section 4117.08 (B)."" That section of the law specifies a handful of subjects that cannot be collectively bargained. Among those topics is ""the number of employees required to be on duty or employed in any department."" In an email, We Are Ohio spokeswoman Melissa Fazekas said the restriction on bargaining staffing relates to patient care because ""it is more difficult for a nurse to provide quality care when he/she is working short-staffed."" Jason Mauk, spokesman for the pro-SB 5 group Building a Better Ohio, sought to minimize the idea that SB 5 bans workers from negotiating staffing. He said management can discuss the issue if it chooses. As evidence, he has pointed to a different provision in SB 5 that lists ""the number of persons required to be employed or laid off"" under topics that can be negotiated at management’s discretion. It is unclear how this provision would mesh with the ban cited in We Are Ohio’s commercials about nurses and firefighters. Certainly, however, management has no obligation to discuss staffing and unions do not have the right to collectively bargain the issue. The current collective bargaining agreement that covers Turner, the nurse featured in the commercial, gives some insight into how SB 5 would affect nurses working conditions. Turner, who works at the Ohio State University Ross Heart Hospital, is represented by the Ohio Nurses Association. The union’s contract with the university contains a clause that gives management the right to set staffing levels. ONA’s contract with OSU says management has the right ""to determine staffing and staffing patterns including, but not limited to the assignment of nurses as to the numbers employed, duties to be performed, qualifications required, and areas worked."" That sounds a lot like the rule that SB 5 would impose. But union officials say the same contract that gives OSU the right to make staffing decisions, for example, also gives the union a significant voice in those decisions. Kelly Trautner, deputy executive officer of the Ohio Nurses Association, pointed to a provision in ONA’s contract with Ohio State that requires meetings between the union and management to discuss ""matters of mutual concern."" Trautner said there are other provisions, too, that give the union the right to discuss staffing. But SB 5 completely removes that right and erases the provisions in past contracts that provide the union a voice in staffing matters, Trautner said. So what about the claim that S.B. 5 make it harder for nurses to give patients quality care? The claim contains an element of truth. The power SB 5 gives to management for staffing decisions is significant – especially when you consider past clauses in collective bargaining agreements that empowered workers to speak up for staffing concerns will not carry over to new contracts if SB 5 takes effect. The argument there is that a reduced staff makes it harder to give quality care. But there are some critical facts on which the ad is silent. First, it is impossible to say whether public employers will cut nursing staffs. The ad assumes that with staffing non-negotiable, management will cut staffs or not provide adequate staffing to a point that it will have an impact on the quality of care. That’s where this claim differs from the claim in the previous ad involving firefighters, which specifically focused on the inability to bargain over staffing. This claim goes one step further, saying it will make patient care harder to provide. Even more significantly, though, the commercial makes no distinction between nurses who are public employees and those who are non-public employees, and as such implies all nurses will suffer if Issue 2 passes. But only a tiny fraction of Ohio nurses are public employees - just four to six of every 100. A listener knowing those critical facts would have a different impression of the claim. On the Truth-O-Meter, the claim rates ."
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24083
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"Karen Sage Says that under a new program jail ""time for non-violent, mentally ill offenders has been reduced by 50 percent."
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Karen Sage says jail time has been cut 50 percent for offenders in program focused on mental health
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true
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Crime, Texas, Karen Sage,
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Karen Sage of Austin, facing a Tuesday runoff with Mindy Montford of Austin for the Democratic nod for a judgeship, touts her experience as a prosecutor overseeing a new unit focused on defendants with mental illness. With no Republican opponent in November, the winner of the runoff will likely be a shoo-in for Travis County’s 299th state District Court judgeship. In a mailer sent to voters April 3, Sage celebrates the new program, saying that jail “time for non-violent, mentally ill offenders has been reduced by 50 percent.”We wondered if Sage’s statement—echoed in a TV ad she debuted Wednesday—reflects reality. Sage’s campaign initially referred us to Rosemary Lehmberg, the Travis County district attorney. Lehmberg confirmed that she asked Sage, an assistant district attorney, to helm the felony mental health unit, which was started in January 2009. Claire Dawson-Brown, the DA’s director of strategic prosecutions, said a magistrate started handling a special docket comprised of “mental health” defendants in late April 2009. To be in the program, Dawson-Brown said, defendants must usually be charged with a non-violent crime. They also must be diagnosed with major depression or considered bipolar, schizo-affective or schizophrenic, and seen as unstable in the jail. “It would be someone in a crisis situation,” she said, “or their mental illness is impairing their behavior.” Experts team to address the needs of the mental health inmates, Dawson-Brown said. She said participants get services they need in custody and when they return to the community. Besides Sage, who has a paralegal and a secretary, each defendant has an attorney familiar with mental health issues; she said the magistrate, a jail counselor and officials serving the local mental health and adult probation systems also play roles, with social workers sometimes getting involved. And how has the program affected jail stays? Sage said she reached her 50-percent reduction statement by comparing a baseline estimate that “mental health” inmates facing felony charges were averaging 106 days in jail before the program began to the 42-day average for participants in the program at the time she left the office in mid-December to run for judge. The decrease amounts to 60 percent. Dawson-Brown agreed that as of late 2008 and early 2009, the average Travis County jail stay for all its “mental health” defendants, including violent offenders, was 106 days. We pointed out that the baseline figure sweeps in the longer jail stays of individuals charged with violent crimes who aren’t automatically put in the new program, driving up the pre-program average and potentially skewing before and after comparisons. Dawson-Brown then gave us more detailed jail-stay information enabling an improved review of the change in average jail stays. Based on the new figures, we estimate that defendants who have been through the new program would have averaged 77 days in jail before the program began. The nitty gritty: We multiplied the number of affected defendants categorized by the level of felony they faced--ranging from first-degree felony charges to second- and third-degree felonies to state-jail felony charges--by the days that similarly charged defendants averaged in jail before the program began. Next, we totaled those defendant-days-in-jail and divided the total (19,432) by the number of defendants (253) to reach the pre-program estimate of an average of 77 days in jail. Through February, the magistrate had processed 253 defendants since the program’s start, according to Dawson-Brown, and they averaged 36 days in jail. Best we can tell, the average jail stay for defendants dropped by 41 days, or 53 percent.
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32337
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Neil deGrasse Tyson addressed gender inequality on Twitter by tearing apart a joke about women in science.
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A Missouri Supreme Court ruling on talc lawsuits could reduce the liability and number of large trials Johnson & Johnson faces over allegations its talc products, including baby powder, cause cancer.
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false
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Science, feminism, neil degrasse tyson, science porn
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The ruling will likely offer some respite to the healthcare conglomerate as it deals with growing pressure over the safety of its talc products, some defense lawyers said. The company revealed in its annual report on Wednesday that it had received subpoenas from the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission related to talc litigation. Some plaintiffs’ lawyers, however, played down the impact of the ruling. It was a trial in St. Louis’s 22nd Circuit Court, brought by 21 plaintiffs from outside of the city whose cases were joined to that of a single St. Louis resident, that in July produced a record $4.69 billion talc verdict against J&J. The company is facing several more such lawsuits in St. Louis. However, Missouri’s high court on Feb. 13 ruled in a separate talc case that allowed a non-resident to participate in joined cases was “a clear and direct violation” of state law barring the use of joinder - combining two or more cases - to allow courts to hear cases they otherwise could not. Most state courts can only hear cases involving plaintiffs or defendants from that state or alleging injuries occurring within their jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court strengthened those restrictions in a 2017 decision. But the St. Louis court had allowed out-of-state residents to continue to sue New Jersey-based J&J through liberal use of joinder. In the case that produced the July verdict, 18 of the plaintiffs were from outside Missouri and three were from outside the city of St. Louis. Of the roughly 700 talc cases filed in St. Louis, only 40 involve Missouri residents, according to court filings. If the Feb. 13 ruling closes off the St. Louis court to non-resident claims, J&J may have a stronger hand defending itself in smaller talc cases spread out among other, potentially less plaintiff-friendly state and federal courts. “There’s no real way of reading this decision other than this court clearly saying you can’t join claims if the injury did not occur in the venue,” said Mark Cheffo, a New York-based product liability defense lawyer not involved in talc litigation. J&J in a statement said it was pleased with the decision. “One claim that is properly before a court cannot provide a basis for drawing into a trial other claims that are not. We believe that decision is clearly correct, and we continue to believe that the science doesn’t support plaintiffs’ claims,” the company said, declining further comment. Some plaintiffs’ lawyers said the Feb. 13 ruling was not as definitive as Cheffo suggests. “If defendants are celebrating this ruling as the end of St. Louis mass tort, they have not read the entire Missouri case law,” said Eric Holland, a St. Louis-based plaintiff lawyer involved in the talc litigation. Holland pointed to a 2016 Missouri Supreme Court decision that upheld a $38 million verdict in a pharmaceutical product liability case the defendant claimed had been improperly joined. The court let the result stand, saying that even an improper joinder did not render the trial unfair to defendants. Though the 2016 ruling involved a case already decided, Holland and other plaintiffs’ lawyers said they planned to argue its fairness analysis also applies to out-of-state talc claims in cases yet to go to trial. They said they would also argue joining the cases was the most efficient use of judicial resources. Defense lawyers said the Feb. 13 decision would likely mean dismissal or severing of the out-of-state claims from four upcoming multi-plaintiff cases scheduled for trial in St. Louis. Two of the cases were halted by the Missouri Supreme Court ahead of its ruling. Holland and other plaintiff lawyers said they would challenge J&J requests to sever or dismiss talc cases by arguing the Feb. 13 decision did not overrule the 2016 ruling. Cheffo said the 2016 ruling could make it harder for J&J to overturn the July verdict and its record penalty because the company would have to prove the joinder led to an unfair trial. ‘FORUM SHOPPING’ BY OUT-OF-STATE PLAINTIFFS The St. Louis court has been a venue for more talc trials and has seen larger verdicts than any other jurisdiction. Outside of St. Louis, the only other significant talc verdicts against J&J to date have come in lawsuits filed by individual plaintiffs in New Jersey and California, where the company is currently facing jury verdicts totaling $142 million. A Los Angeles jury delivered a $417 million talc verdict against J&J in 2017, but the judge threw out the award weeks later as unsupported by the evidence. All talc verdicts against J&J are on appeal. The St. Louis court has a history of issuing large punitive damages against companies and has often been criticized by business groups as allowing “forum-shopping” by out-of-state plaintiffs. While J&J faces some trials brought by individuals in other jurisdictions, the multi-plaintiff St. Louis cases are the largest and have the most potential to produce additional billion-dollar verdicts. Plaintiffs allege that the talc in Johnson’s baby powder and other J&J products causes ovarian cancer, or that asbestos contamination in the talc causes ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Asbestos is a known carcinogen linked to mesothelioma. J&J and its talc supplier, Imerys Talc America, a co-defendant in the litigation, deny the allegations, saying numerous studies and tests by regulators worldwide have shown their talc to be safe and asbestos-free. Reuters on Dec. 14 published a report detailing that J&J knew that the talc in its raw and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos from the 1970s into the early 2000s - test results it did not disclose to regulators or consumers. (reut.rs/2Gh88KO) J&J is currently facing roughly 13,000 lawsuits over talc, most of which have been consolidated in federal court in New Jersey. Many plaintiff’s lawyers have fought to keep cases out of federal court, which they feel favors corporate defendants. Three juries have rejected claims that Baby Powder was tainted with asbestos or caused plaintiffs’ mesothelioma. Five other juries have failed to reach verdicts, resulting in mistrials. In a statement, Imerys Talc America said the Missouri ruling affirmed legal arguments it has made in litigation for the last four years. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 13, saying it lacked the financial clout to defend against talc lawsuits.
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1352
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Britain faces new legal challenge over air quality improvement plan.
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New legal proceedings have been launched against the British government by environmental law firm ClientEarth over what it says is a failure to tackle air pollution, the firm said on Tuesday.
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true
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Environment
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ClientEarth has taken action against the government twice before, in 2015 and 2016. The Supreme Court ordered the government to produce a new air quality plan in 2015. In 2016 the High Court ordered a new plan which came out earlier this year. However, ClientEarth says that the plan stills fall short of what is needed to bring pollution within legal limits as soon as possible and is therefore seeking a judicial review. “We need clarity from the government and for that we’ve been forced to go back to court,” James Thornton, chief executive of ClientEarth, said in a statement. No one at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was immediately available for comment. The firm said the reasons for the judicial review are that the latest government plan backtracks on previous commitments to make five cities in Britain introduce clean air zones by 2020. The plan also does not require any action from 45 local authorities in England, despite them having illegal levels of air pollution and it does not require any action from Wales. Under the EU’s Air Quality Directive, member states were supposed to comply with nitrogen dioxide emission limits in 2010 - or by 2015 if they delivered plans to deal with high levels of the gas, which is produced mainly by diesel engines. Nitrogen oxide emissions reduce air quality and are associated with respiratory and other illnesses.
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10233
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How To Beat Sleep Apnea? Cut It Out (Surgically)
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Strong points: The independent expert’s perspective: “I wouldn’t send a middle-age obese man for surgery as their first option. I would say let’s lose the weight; lets use CPAP and see a nutritionist; lets avoid the alcohol and let’s see how you do.” The apnea can probably be taken care of with these non-invasive techniques, she says, and invasive surgery can be avoided. Weaker points: No mention of costs of surgery of any type, nor of CPAP. No discussion of harms from any of the surgical procedures. Not enough emphasis on how you can’t draw any conclusions on the robotic approach after just 6 cases in one surgeon’s experience. What matters most is that there is not sufficient experience/data to determine the benefits and risks of the robotic procedure.
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mixture
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NPR
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No mention of costs – not on the robotic surgery, not on CPAP. Mixed bag but we’ll give the story the benefit of the doubt. It said the CPAP “works for about half who try it” – but we wish it had provided a source for that info. It said surgery (apparently referring to non-robotic surgery) is effective only 20-30% of the time. And it said that maxillomandibular advancement is effective more than 90 percent of the time. We don’t really know anything about the harms or benefits of the robotic surgery. The story could be more explicit about that. The story only discusses success rates but doesn’t mention any potential harms. What are the actual problems people encounter when having “a series of surgeries to completely treat apnea” or when they have the more “highly invasive surgery”? And what has been found even in the limited series of robotic procedures? The story doesn’t deliver any evaluation of the quality of the evidence. We hear from the surgeon that the nonsurgical CPAP approach “works for about half of all patients who try it” – at least that appears to be attributed to the surgeon. We’re actually not sure who the source is. And we’re not given any caveat about the limitations of drawing conclusions based on one surgeon’s 6 robotic surgery cases. Instead, we’re given the glowing anecdote of one patient who says that surgery gave him “a whole new life.” We already learned that his case was one of the worst his doctors had ever seen. So how representative is his before/after experience? The end of the piece refers several times to surgery – generically – and it’s not clear if it’s referring to a robotic approach or a more traditional approach. No overt disease-mongering. And at least the story disclosed that the patient profiled had “one of the worst cases of apnea his doctors had ever seen.” The story includes the perspective of one independent expert. Gold stars for NPR finding someone to talk knowledgeably about the alternatives and risks. Not totally clear on this point. The story states this one doctor has done the robotic surgery on only six patients. But it’s not clear if she’s the only one who’s done this surgery. And if not, where else and how often? The story explains that only six patients have had the robotic procedure – at least in this one doctor’s practice. It’s clear that the story did not rely solely on a news release.
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1305
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Timeline: Britain's National Health Service turns 70.
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Britain marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service on Thursday, a moment of pride and concern for a country that has nurtured its growth into the largest publicly funded healthcare service in the world.
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true
|
Health News
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Questions about whether the NHS can survive in its present form are the subject of a long-running British debate, given an aging population and increased costs due to advances in medicine and surgery. Following is a timeline of key events spanning its history. Health minister Aneurin Bevan launches the tax-funded NHS to bring medical services together and provide free healthcare to all. Polio and diphtheria vaccines become available to children under 15, leading to a major fall of cases in both diseases. The Mental Health Act recognizes for the first time that patients with mental health issues should be treated the same as those with other types of illnesses. Kick-starting the “Swinging Sixties”, the contraceptive pill is made widely available amid a major movement for women’s liberation. The number of women on the pill rises from around 50,000 in 1962 to 1 million in 1969. The Abortion Act becomes law, apart from in Northern Ireland, making termination legal up to 28 weeks if it is deemed to be in the best physical and mental interests of the patient. The world’s first test-tube baby, a girl called Louise Brown, is born on July 25 thanks to in vitro fertilization. The first advertising campaign in the fight against AIDS uses slogans such as “Don’t die of ignorance” to raise awareness. The world’s first heart, liver and lung transplant is conducted in Cambridge. Free mammograms are offered in a bid to reduce breast cancer deaths among women over 50. The NHS Organ Donor Register is set up. More than 12 million people register by 2005, according to the NHS. A four-hour target for waiting times in hospital Accident and Emergency departments is made into an operational standard. The Care Quality Commission, a new regulator which will monitor health services, is launched. Junior doctors in England go on their first all-out strike, protesting at government plans for a new employment contract.
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30932
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"Image depicts ""attitude adjustment"" and ""smile therapy"" forced upon American housewives in the 1930s institutionalized for ""not taking care of themselves"" and acting ""depressed."
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To that we would simply add that exaggerating the wrongheadedness of our forebears can be taken to such extremes (case in point above) that it is we who end up looking ludicrous when we fall for it.
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false
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Fauxtography, creepy photographs, institutionalizing women, not actually an interesting fact
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On 5 October 2017, a Facebook page called “Pictures in History” shared a photograph supposedly depicting an American housewife in the 1930s who was committed to a psychiatric facility for the offense of failing to take “proper care of her husband”: The caption, previously published by a Tumblr user in 2014, claimed that wives could be institutionalized and subjected to shock therapy for failing to smile often enough: In the 1930s, if a woman was considered “depressed” or if she wasn’t “taking proper care of her husband” it was legal for her to be sent to a psych ward for a full attitude adjustment. This photo shows a smiling treatment used to condition a woman into always wearing a smile. Experts believed that if a woman saw herself smiling that it would become natural practice and she would be “cured.” This often went along with shock therapy. There appears to be some historical revisionism at work here, however. As a critique of gender roles and expectations, the image of a woman with a paper smile attached to her face would seem more pertinent to the 1950s, a time frequently portrayed as the apex of the American household, than the during the 1930s and the Great Depression, when the main challenge faced by most people, regardless of gender, was just getting by. For all its ubiquity, the post-World War II stereotype of the beaming homemaker in popular culture stood in sharp contrast to the plight of real women who had gotten a taste of freedom during the war, taking on jobs and responsibilities formerly held by men, only to be handed back their aprons and consigned to the kitchen when the troops returned home from overseas: Women in uniform took office and clerical jobs in the armed forces in order to free men to fight. They also drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, rigged parachutes, served as radio operators, analyzed photographs, flew military aircraft across the country, test-flew newly repaired planes, and even trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets … At the war’s end, even though a majority of women surveyed reported wanted to keep their jobs, many were forced out by men returning home and by the downturn in demand for war materials. Women veterans encountered roadblocks when they tried to take advantage of benefit programs for veterans, like the G.I. Bill. The nation that needed their help in a time of crisis, it seems, was not yet ready for the greater social equality that would slowly come in the decades to follow. Despite social expectations, then, many women in the post-war era, were not, in fact, the happy homemakers men wanted them to be, which ultimately gave rise to the counter-trope (most famously explored in Betty Friedan’s feminist manifesto The Feminine Mystique) of the dissatisfied housewife. Ironically, although this dissatisfaction undoubtedly pushed some women into psychiatric treatment, the growing acceptance of psychoanalytic theory during that period also, according to sociologist Jonathan Metzl, “enabled the perception — indeed, the misperception — that women’s unrest led to symptoms in men.” That the dissatisfaction of women posed a threat to domestic tranquility during the 1950s and ’60s was clearly seen as a problem, then, though to the extent anyone proposed a medical solution — for sufferers of either gender — it tended to be in the form of drugs such as Valium (“Mother’s Little Helpers”), not institutionalization and shock therapy (though such was not unheard of). But again, this all took place after World War II, not during the 1930s when the photograph in question was allegedly taken. Unhappiness wasn’t considered a gender issue during the Depression. Indeed, most people were too busy surviving to worry about whether they were happy or not. Historian Susan Ware writes: “We didn’t go hungry, but we lived lean.” That expression sums up the experiences of many American families during the 1930s: they avoided stark deprivation but still struggled to get by. The typical woman in the 1930s had a husband who was still employed, although he had probably taken a pay cut to keep his job; if the man lost his job, the family often had enough resources to survive without going on relief or losing all its possessions. … Women “made do” by substituting their own labor for something that previously had been bought with cash or by practicing petty economies like buying day-old bread or warming several dishes in the oven to save gas. Living so close to the edge, women prayed that no catastrophic accident or illness would swamp their tight budgets. “We had no choice,” remembered one housewife. “We just did what had to be done one day at a time.” In many ways men and women experienced the Depression differently. Men were socialized to think of themselves as breadwinners; when they lost their jobs or saw their incomes reduced, they felt like failures because they couldn’t take care of their families. Women, on the other hand, saw their roles in the household enhanced as they juggled to make ends meet. Sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd noticed this trend in a study of Muncie, Indiana, published in 1937: “The men, cut adrift from their usual routine, lost much of their sense of time and dawdled helplessly and dully about the streets; while in the homes the women’s world remained largely intact and the round of cooking, housecleaning, and mending became if anything more absorbing.” To put it another way, no housewife lost her job in the Depression. In any case, we are left with a Facebook post alleging that a woman was institutionalized by her husband and forced to wear an illustrated grin taped to her face as “smile therapy” to make her a more agreeable caretaker for her husband. We are also told that such was a legal and common practice in the 1930s, yet not a single source is cited to support these claims, nor could we find external evidence to corroborate them. The image, mysterious as it is, does not appear to depict a patient in an mental institution. On the contrary, the subject is wearing street clothes, jewelry, styled hair, and makeup. Far from clarifying the mystery, a reverse image search simply led us down a different rabbit hole to a 2014 article recounting a strange urban legend about an attempt to combat a suicide epidemic in 1930s Hungary by creating what was called a “smile club.” The photo was attributed (perhaps accurately, perhaps not) to an issue of a Dutch tabloid magazine called Het Levin published in 1937. We found no evidence suggesting that it was of American origin, or that it depicts a patient undergoing “smile therapy” in a mental institution. We judge the claim that women were institutionalized and made to wear fake smiles to make them happier housewives in the 1930s as false. Exaggerated claims about past indignities visited upon the American housewife such as these are not uncommon in modern folklore. As we’ve had occasion to observe before, such stories are alluring partly because they allow us to feel morally superior to the generations that preceded us: It has become fashionable to portray outdated societal behaviors and attitudes — ones we now consider desperately wrongheaded — to be worse than they really were as a way of making a point about how much we’ve improved. When we despair over the human condition and feel the need for a little pat on the back, a few startling comparisons between us modern enlightened folks and those terrible neanderthals of yesteryear give us that. We go away from such readings a bit proud of how we’ve pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and with our halos a bit more brightly burnished. The juxtaposition of wonderful modernity with a tawdry past also serves to reinforce the ‘rightness’ of current societal stances by making any other positions appear ludicrous. It reminds folks of the importance of holding on to these newer ways of thinking and to caution them against falling back into older patterns which may be more comfortable but less socially desirable. Such reinforcement works on the principle that if you won’t do a good thing just for its own sake, you’ll surely do it to avoid being laughed at and looked down upon by your peers.
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Blood thinners on 'as needed' basis is safe and effective for lowering stroke risk as compared to long-term use
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This news release reports on a small observational study presented at a medical conference on the novel use of “as-needed” anticoagulants and routine pulse monitoring by patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). While the release as a whole doesn’t exaggerate the study’s impact (it was a small observational study, of short duration, with a unique ‘highly motivated’ patient population), important details were omitted from the release, such as the particular anticoagulant drug(s) being tested, or any mention of warfarin, the current standard of care. Contrary to the release headline, the study in no way established effectiveness. Atrial fibrillation is a common condition that increases with age. For some it is always there and for others, they alternate between a normal heart rhythm and AF. For many patients it causes no symptoms and is picked up incidentally when checking the pulse and finding it irregular. For some patients it causes symptoms that require treatment. This study could be an important avenue of research in trying to optimize the use of anticoagulants in preventing heart attacks and strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation. As one co-author noted: “It is extremely common for patients with AF to seek treatment that does not involve the use of chronic oral anticoagulants therapy, as there are other risks associated with their long term use.” The implications of the research, ie: shorter, safer periods of anticoagulant use, could be an important public health advance, but as the news release noted, “more research is required.”
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mixture
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Academic medical center news release,cardiovascular disease
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Since we don’t know which drugs were used in the study we don’t really have an idea what the costs, or costs savings would have been. Obviously if patients start taking their novel anticoagulants on an ‘as needed’ basis then a lot of money could be saved. These drugs, it should be noted, are typically a lot more expensive than warfarin, the current standard of care in AF. We are told that 100 participants were followed for 23 months and of those hundred, 28 “started taking the blood thinner at least once for a suspected or detected AF episode, and only 10 patients transitioned back to chronic oral anticoagulation therapy for recurrent AF.” What is missing from this is any detail on what kind of stroke or ischemic attack that could have been present in a control group. In other words, we have no idea if this is a meaningful result or not. Interesting, yes. Meaningful? Not so much. The headline claim, “Blood thinners on ‘as needed’ basis is safe and effective for lowering stroke risk as compared to long-term use,” isn’t borne out by the reported research results. To get credit here, one would need information on what one would have expected if they had not received this treatment. The goal of anticoagulation is to prevent stroke. Would we have expected strokes in this population if it hadn’t been treated this way? While the results are reassuring, the risk of stroke in AF is small and accrues over time. The release mentions the bleeding harms that come with taking anticoagulants, a harm that increases with chronic use. However, the release suggests that the therapy was proven safe when that wasn’t clearly established. The researchers didn’t exaggerate the value of the study or extrapolate it to other patients over longer periods of time. We also give them credit for mentioning at the end of the release that this was an observational study with a small sample size and that these results need to be verified. However, there isn’t much description about what was done which leaves readers with unanswered questions. Which drugs were used? How accurate was the patient’s monitoring? Are we sure that the 28 episodes were AF? What did they do when they identified an episode? How long were they supposed to take the medicine for when they had an episode? How compliant were they? Was there any attempt to verify compliance? There was no obvious disease mongering here. Atrial fibrillation is a real and important health issue for which better use of effective drugs is warranted. We’d remind readers that patients who’ve had an ablation (the surgical removal of body tissue) and aren’t in AF may not need anti-coagulation. It seems that the funding sources are very transparent as is the involvement of the researchers. The news release presents “as-needed anticoagulation” drug therapy as an alternative to “long-term, daily oral anticoagulation medications.” The problem is that we’re not sure what to do – take no medicine, daily medicine or this “as needed” medicine. We aren’t told if the comparator is a daily anti-coagulation (such as warfarin, the standard treatment) or no anti-coagulation. It isn’t clear and it is important. It seems obvious that the drugs being studied are on the market and fully available, but it is hard to definitively know this. The news release tells us the drugs are “novel” but doesn’t name them. The ‘novelty’ here is in approach and the researchers were fair in describing what is authentic novelty. There was no exaggerating language in the news release. However, the headline went overboard stating that the study proved that this therapy is safe or effective.
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4149
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Sharks drawn to warm waters by Israeli coastal power plant.
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A giant power plant with billowing smoke may not look like the most natural habitat for sea life. But the hot water gushing from an industrial plant in Israel’s northern city of Hadera has drawn schools of sharks that are increasingly endangered by overfishing in the Mediterranean Sea. Now the hotspot is also drawing tourists.
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true
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Sharks, Environment, Israel, International News, Fish, Mediterranean Sea, Lifestyle, Science, Middle East, Overfishing
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Sandbar and dusky sharks have been sighted around the power plant for decades, but scientists only started collecting data two years ago. Although they are still trying to count the smatterings of sharks nearby, researcher Aviad Scheinin said the hundreds flocking exclusively to the Hadera power plant every winter qualifies as “a legitimate and rare phenomenon.” “The paradox that we see here is that this is not a natural environment ... and you cannot see it anywhere else in the vicinity,” said Scheinin, manager of the top predator project at the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, established by the University of Haifa. “This phenomenon is influenced and created by men, both with the power plant and the sea’s increasingly warm water.” The shifting climate of the Mediterranean Sea has been creating a bizarre boon for sharks, which thrive in and chase warm water. Expert say the warm water stimulates shark metabolisms, improves their breathing cycles and facilitates their pregnancies. “The spectacle is logical, but still very mysterious,” said Alen Soldo, co-president of the Shark Specialist Group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature based in Switzerland. He said the power plant’s water temperature — 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the sea — is what likely attracts the sharks to Hadera from deeper, colder waters during the winter season. Beyond this, though, a great deal remains unknown. “We know sharks love this water, and we can hypothesize, but we can’t say with certainty exactly why,” he said. Soldo added that although he hadn’t heard of sharks congregating at power plants outside Israel, he could name a few other Mediterranean hotspots, such as coral reefs near Beirut, where sharks swarm in a similarly random way, perhaps driven by salinity and temperature levels. Scientists say the Mediterranean Sea has never been warmer, both because of climate change and the recent expansion of the Suez Canal, which opened the floodgates to Red Sea waters, among the warmest in the world. A recent study, published last fall in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that climate change is steadily heating the Mediterranean Sea by 0.4 degrees every decade, making the region among the hardest hit in the world. “The winters are not as cold as they used to be here, and they are no longer a limiting factor for sharks,” Scheinin said. “Many new shark species are coming to the eastern Mediterranean from colder areas and establishing populations.” On a recent trip, Scheinin steered his small boat of researchers along the coast and cut the motor. The team bobbed in the currents of the power plant discharge, straining to spot slender shadows whipping by in the turquoise water. A sudden churning in the water jolted the crew to action. A five-foot-long (1.5 meter-long) sandbar shark, ensnared by ropes, popped up at the boat’s ledge. The researchers leaned over and wrangled with it, planting a high-tech tag on its dorsal fin to track its movements before setting it free. “It’s ironic that all of our knowledge of sharks currently comes from the very fisheries that are threatening them,” said Eyal Bigal, the lab manager of the project. The Morris Kahn Station’s top predator team is working to change this, pulling together the first comprehensive body of data about the understudied and endangered Mediterranean shark species. Overfishing, spurred by demand along with lax fishing laws in neighboring countries like Lebanon and Syria, has depleted the Mediterranean shark population by over 90 percent since the 1950s, researchers say. An absence of top predators imperils the balance of the entire marine ecosystem. “If you erase the ones at the top, the food chain will collapse,” Soldo said. “New species may emerge and start preying on populations crucial to human food security. Whole life forms may go extinct.” Hadera’s hotspot for sharks is now attracting visitors curious about the creatures and the threats they face. The municipality and Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, among other groups, are partnering to build an observation center. Last month, they launched a lecture series to educate tourists about shark behavior and protection. Scheinin said studying the sharks in Hadera could be a harbinger that “helps us assess what will happen to different species when waters elsewhere reach the temperatures we have here now.”
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New asthma inhaler approved for children
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This story gave details about an asthma medication that has now received FDA approval for use in a new population, children aged 4-11 years of age. But the story didn’t: give the cost of the drug provide any information about how much better the drug worked than current treatments (in fact, it didn’t quantify the benefit at all) discuss a significant potential side effect – that people who use this medication may be more susceptible to infections; common childhood diseases such as chickenpox or measles can be more serious. interview any pediatric lung specialists. It only interviewed two PR people.
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mixture
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The story did not provide a cost estimate for this use of this medication. Though mentioning that this medication was significantly better than placebo, the story did not provide any details about how much better the treatment was. While the story provided a list of the harms that have been associated with the use of this medication, it does not mention the specific concerns for the use of this product in the younger age group for which it has just been approved. People who use this medication may be more susceptible to infections; common childhood diseases such as chickenpox or measles can be more serious. Although mentioning a small study in which the featured product was said to provide ‘significantly more’ symptom relief than a placebo , the story actually did not provide any information about the magnitude of the benefit. The story did provide quite of bit of background about asthma – estimate of its prevalence, its toll on work and school attendance, and that it can, in fact, be a life threatening condition. The story interviewed two PR people but no pediatric lung specialists to give some insight into the importance of this change. The story did provide information about how this product and its deliver system differed from other treatments currently on the market. The story provided quite a complete explanation about the availability of this medication – that it had been approved 2 years ago for use and that it has recently been approved for use by young children. The story was clear that the medication had received approval for a new population. That said, how much of an impact will it have to decrease the age group for whom the medication is appropriate from 6 down to 4? We can’t be sure if the story relied solely or largely on a news release.
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Opioid settlement talks broaden ahead of 1st federal trial.
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Efforts to settle thousands of lawsuits related to the nation’s opioid epidemic intensified Wednesday ahead of the scheduled start of arguments in the first federal trial over the crisis.
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true
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AP Top News, Opioids, Trials, Epidemics, Business, Lawsuits, Cleveland, General News, Health, U.S. News
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A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press that three major drug distributors plus two manufacturers were working on the outlines of a settlement. It would include $22 billion in cash over time plus up to $15 billion worth of overdose antidotes and treatment drugs, with distribution of those drugs valued at another $14 billion — a calculation of how much a distributor could charge for them. Under the proposal, the distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson would pay a total of $18 billion over 18 years. Johnson & Johnson would pay $4 billion over time. Drugmaker Teva would contribute the drugs, but not cash. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing and said the details of the deal could change. A $50 billion framework was first reported Wednesday by The New York Times. Samantha Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee attorney general’s office, confirmed to the AP that that report “appears to be correct on the details of the tentative settlement framework.” It’s not clear whether states and local governments will accept the deal. “We await the fine print of the settlement framework so that we can work alongside the 2,600 communities we represent to determine the best path forward,” the lead lawyers for local governments said in a statement Wednesday. “Our priority when assessing settlement proposals is to ensure they will provide urgently-needed relief in the near term and that these resources will be directed exclusively toward efforts to abate the opioid epidemic.” The lawyers said the aim is “to secure funds that will aid law enforcement officers, medical professionals, and treatment facility staff around the country for the decades-long recovery process ahead.” Drug companies and other state attorneys general who are leading the talks either did not return messages or comment. The talks are picking up as a jury is being selected in Cleveland for a trial on claims against some companies in the drug industry being brought by the Ohio counties of Cuyahoga and Summit. They claim the companies engaged in a conspiracy that has damaged their communities should be held accountable. Jury selection began Wednesday and could wrap up Thursday, with opening arguments scheduled Monday. Johnson & Johnson has already settled with the two counties. If the other companies settle, too, it would leave only the pharmacy chain Walgreens — in its role as a distributor to its own stores — and the smaller distributor Henry Schein as defendants. It’s not clear whether the trial would go on in that case. The defendants in the Cleveland trial include Actavis and Cephalon, drug companies now owned by Teva. All the companies say they complied with the law and supplied only drugs that doctors prescribed. While the case concerns only claims for the two counties, it is a bellwether intended to show how legal issues might be resolved in more than 2,000 other lawsuits over the opioid crisis. In court Wednesday, lawyers for the defendants argued that the trial should be postponed in case potential jurors saw any of the coverage and would be tainted when learning of the massive amount of money possibly being discussed. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster said he didn’t believe many of the potential jurors would have been exposed to the stories but that he would question them to determine whether they were aware of the coverage. A delay, he said, could push the trial into next year. The other major question was how to select a dozen jurors for a trial over opioids in a region hit particularly hard by addictions and overdoses. Questionnaires were sent to potential jurors in nine northeast Ohio counties, including Cuyahoga, which along with neighboring Summit County was chosen as the first plaintiff in a trial in what could become the most complicated class action lawsuit in U.S. history. Cuyahoga County is home to Cleveland, and Summit to the city of Akron. The questionnaire asked potential jurors to answer questions about their and immediate family members’ experiences with prescription painkillers and the crisis itself. They were asked to check off whether they had ever used 11 different prescription opioids. Had they or family members ever used heroin or illicit fentanyl? Have they ever been prescribed painkillers after surgery? Have they or a family member ever been treated for addiction? Have they ever overdosed? Those with close connections to the crisis are expected to be excluded from serving on the jury. Counting prescription drugs and illegal ones such as heroin and illicitly made fentanyl, opioids have been blamed for more than 400,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000. ___ Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. ___ Associated Press writers Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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Turkey struggles to ramp up tests as outbreak reaches critical phase.
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A week after sending half a million coronavirus test kits to the United States, Turkey is struggling to ramp up its own testing for the disease as doctors warn the country has reached a crossroads in containing the fast-growing outbreak.
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true
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Health News
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Turkey reported its first infection just over two weeks ago. Since then, a surge in cases to 3,629 has outstripped rates in most other countries and the government has fallen short of its target to conduct 10,000 tests per day. In interviews with Reuters, experts have urged stronger stay-at-home orders and some said it was risky for Ankara to export 500,000 kits to the United States only to turn around and order a million more from China. “Our test numbers are low. We were certainly not prepared. Countries that are ready must have high test numbers,” said Sinan Adiyaman, chairman of the Turkish Medics Association (TTB). The government has said it took timely measures to delay the outbreak. But Adiyaman said Turkey was slow on some steps, including suspending sports leagues and quarantining those coming from abroad, especially the thousands returning this month from an Umrah pilgrimage. “Around 200,000 people arrived from abroad since the outbreak began, and they were just given a simple fever test and released across Turkey in an uncontrolled manner,” he said. “You cannot fight a pandemic this way.” The coronavirus has so far killed 75 people in Turkey, an international crossroads with one of the world’s biggest airports in Istanbul. About 40,000 tests have been done including about 7,000 in the last 24 hours, suggesting Turkey is edging toward the target Health Minister Fahrettin Koca set out a week ago, but only two-thirds of the way there. South Korea, seen as the global leader, does more tests each day than Turkey’s total. (Click here here for a graphic of global tests; click here here for its global spread.) To contain the virus, Ankara has closed schools, cafes and bars, banned mass prayers, and suspended sports matches and flights. President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey, which has a population of about 83 million, would overcome the outbreak in two to three weeks. Mustafa Cankurtaran, head of geriatrics at the Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, said his team is following the national guidelines, testing only “risky” patients with cough and fever. But next month will be critical since the outbreak will widen, he said. Earlier this week Koca said the kits sent to the United States were locally produced PCR tests for the coronavirus. He said Turkey had a monthly production capacity of 2 million tests, and added that the tests purchased from China were “rapid tests”, not PCR. The TTB’s Adiyaman said sending the test kits jeopardised the health of the public and medical personnel. “Exporting testing kits to the United States as Turkey needs them and while they need to be used here will be an unforgivable mistake,” he said. Irshad Shaikh, the World Health Organisation’s health security program Leader in Turkey, said the country now had little room for error and must test everyone who has had contact with the virus. He said, however, that the export of test kits to the United States, which he said was in a “perilous situation,” could be seen as a form of capital investment. “From now on, it’s a very slippery slope and razor-thin margin moving forward,” he said. “Now if the U.S. succeeds in vaccine development, we already have our invested cash in the bank in the form of our IOUs,” Shaikh told Reuters. Among the containment measures, Ankara said it quarantined Muslims returning from Umrah in Saudi Arabia. But Nihat Gonul, the local administrator of a village in Sakarya province some 120 km east of Istanbul, said two returning pilgrims continued their lives normally and attended gatherings for days before authorities came to quarantine them. “There is this atmosphere of uncertainty in the village. People are scared, not sure what to think,” Gonul said.
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2865
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Specter of disease in Tonga after Cyclone Ian batters islands.
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Widespread destruction caused by a tropical cyclone that hit the South Pacific island nation of Tonga last week is raising fears of a disease outbreak in the island kingdom.
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true
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Health News
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Tropical Cyclone Ian, a category-five cyclone, appears to have destroyed up to 90 percent of homes on the northern Ha’apai Islands, which are home to about 8,000 people, the regional governor said on Wednesday. An emergency response team from British aid group Oxfam said the outer islands of Foa, Ha’ano and Mo’unga’one in the Ha’apai Islands chain had been 90 percent destroyed. Pangai, the capital of Ha’apai, suffered about 80 percent damage, it said. International aid organizations, which have just begun to reach the worst-affected areas, are appealing for assistance as it becomes more likely that damage to the water and sanitation systems could lead to widespread illness. Many of the homes on Ha’apai, about 2,630 km (1,630 miles) northeast of the New Zealand capital, Wellington, rely on rooftop collection systems for drinking water. The destruction of those systems, aid workers say, is a cause for alarm. “The main problem right now is water,” Vanessa Lolohea, a member of the Tonga National Youth Council who is working with Oxfam, said in an email to Reuters. “Mosquitoes and other insects are becoming a problem. The waterborne diseases like dengue, etc, may become a problem in the coming weeks.” There are five stages of tropical storm, with Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 4,000 people and caused widespread destruction in the Philippines in November rated at five, the most powerful.
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34175
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Fentanyl users are stabbing their needles into toilet paper rolls in public bathrooms to clean them.
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Have you seen other variations of this claim? Let us know.
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unproven
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Medical
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In August 2019, a claim suggesting intravenous (IV) drug users were contaminating toilet paper in public restrooms circulated on social media. In this instance, the alleged contaminant was fentanyl: This was a variation of a familiar claim regarding IV drug use and toilet paper in public restrooms, which we identified as unproven in March 2019. In that fact check, titled “Are IV Drug Users Cleaning Needles by Poking Toilet Paper Rolls?,” several federal and state-level drug agencies suggested the practice was not familiar to them: A spokesperson for OSHA told us that the organization had not heard of this practice. We received a similar response from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The Institute told us that concerned citizens should check with their local public health departments for more information, but, generally speaking, the organization had no evidence that drug users were cleaning needles by stabbing them into toilet paper rolls in public bathrooms. Further, the addition of fentanyl places this new claim into a variation of another regularly debunked brand of rumor: that one can be poisoned by simple skin exposure to fentanyl. A joint position statement from the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT) disputes that notion: The American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT) collaborated on a formal position statement using the best available evidence to ameliorate [concerns about skin exposure] and revise those recommendations [for professionals that may come in contact with it]. Citing established pharmacokinetic literature on fentanyl patches, the position statement directly challenged the potential for severe toxicity from just touching fentanyl. The newer variation describes a single incident without corroborating evidence. We note, however, that the claim mixes two previously established rumors, one of which — that fentanyl can poison via skin contact alone — is extremely unlikely to be factual.
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5013
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Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Baldwin cruises to second term.
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Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin cruised to a re-election win over Republican Leah Vukmir after successfully making the race about health care and her support for guaranteeing insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
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true
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Madison, Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin, Health, Elections, Donald Trump
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Baldwin, one of the Senate’s most liberal members, beat Vukmir, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, by double digits, based on unofficial results. Baldwin won a number of counties that Trump took in 2016 when he narrowly carried Wisconsin by less than 1 point. Baldwin said in her victory speech Tuesday that her win sends a “loud and clear message” that people in Wisconsin want a senator who will stand up for them against special interests. Baldwin was an early target for outside conservative groups that spent millions attacking her over the summer. But Baldwin outraised Vukmir 5-to-1 and blanketed the airwaves with ads contrasting her support for the Affordable Care Act with votes Vukmir made in the state Legislature in favor of insurance companies. “Democrats, Republicans and independents sent a loud and clear message tonight that they wanted a senator who works not for the special interests, but someone who works for you,” Baldwin said in her victory speech. Vukmir campaigned as the underdog and urged Republicans who supported Trump to surprise the pollsters like they did in 2016. But Democrats came through for Baldwin in a race that marked the first time in Wisconsin history both major party candidates for U.S. Senate were women. Baldwin had recent history on her side: In the last three midterm elections, no incumbent Wisconsin senator from the party not in the White House lost a re-election bid. Baldwin, 56, won her first local race at age 24 and was elected to the Senate in 2012, beating former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, in a year when former President Barack Obama was also on the ballot. Baldwin was the first openly gay person elected to the Senate. Baldwin and Vukmir disagreed on every major issue including health care, immigration, taxes, abortion, national security, gun control and criminal justice. Stephenie Hamen, a 42-year-old artist from Sun Prairie, said she voted for Baldwin, in part as a vote for women’s rights and a vote against Trump. “I don’t know if it was to vent (against the president),” she said. “It’s a way to stand up for women as Americans and be heard. It’s a scary time to be a woman in America. No matter what (Trump) says about being a white man in America, it’s scarier for women and minorities. If the Republicans stay in power, we’re writing a check for that party to do whatever they want. If we continue down that path we have no idea what’s coming next.” While Baldwin campaigned with former President Barack Obama and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vukmir rallied with Trump and forcefully supported his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh. Baldwin voted against his confirmation. Baldwin is a supporter of Sanders’ “Medicare for All” bill and ran as a defender of the Affordable Care Act. Baldwin cast Vukmir, a nurse, as the potential deciding vote to repeal the law and its guarantees of insurance for people with pre-existing conditions. Vukmir, 60, focused on Baldwin’s handling of the opioid over-prescription crisis at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center, saying her inaction let veterans down. But the widow and parents of a veteran who died there has come out in support of Baldwin, cutting television ads to help her and undercutting Vukmir’s criticism. Baldwin recounted the story of her childhood illness that made her an advocate for universal health coverage, while also speaking in detail for the first time about her mother’s struggles with mental illness and prescription drug abuse. Baldwin said that has fueled her fight against opioid abuse. ___ Follow Scott Bauer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sbauerAP ___ For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics
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3310
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A final fundraiser for man who boosted ice bucket challenge.
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Hundreds of people plunged into the chilly ocean at a Massachusetts beach on Saturday to honor Peter Frates, the former college baseball player whose battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease helped spread the ALS ice bucket challenge.
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true
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AP Top News, Pete Frates, Health, General News, Oceans, Massachusetts, U.S. News, Gloucester
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About 1,000 people showed up for the final “Plunge for Pete” at Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, and more than half of those braved the frigid waters on what would have been Frates’ 35th birthday. The event, in its eighth year, raised money for the Pete Frates #3 Fund, which helped pay for Frates’ medical bills. “He is laughing so hard right now at me getting into the ocean,” said Frates’ wife, Julie, who participated in the plunge for the first time wearing the bikini she had on when she first met her husband. “This is the best birthday party he could ask for and wherever he is, he is very grateful.” The former Boston College baseball player, who lived in Beverly, a suburb north of Boston, died Dec. 9 after a seven-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The family has accumulated roughly $500,000 in debt for their son’s medical care, Pete’s father, John Frates said, and the final fundraiser will hopefully help close the gap. The family will continue to raise money for the separate Peter Frates Family Foundation, which helps other ALS patients cover home health care costs, he said. The number of people who signed up to take the actual plunge far exceeded the peak of 250 participants who participated in 2014, the year the ice bucket challenge went viral and raised more than $200 million for ALS research worldwide. The ice bucket challenge involved pouring a bucket of ice water over one’s head and posting a video of it on social media, and then challenging others to do the same or make a donation to charity. Most people did both. The challenge began in 2014 when pro golfer Chris Kennedy challenged his wife’s cousin Jeanette Senerchia, whose husband has ALS. Patient Pat Quinn, of Yonkers, New York, picked up on it and started its spread, but when Frates and his family got involved, the phenomenon exploded on social media. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to paralysis because of the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. There is no known cure.
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18716
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"If the sequester hits, federal prosecutors will have to ""let criminals go."
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"Obama said that, if the sequester hits, ""federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go."" It’s clear that U.S. Attorney’s offices are looking at a potential cut of $101 million, and a reduction of that size would almost certainly cut back on prosecutions in some fashion. However, the impacts are not as clear-cut as Obama’s bold language suggests. Officials will have a fair amount of discretion in prioritizing what types of cases prosecutors will pursue, possibly cutting back on civil cases rather than criminal ones. And the cuts taking place in U.S. Attorney's offices wouldn't directly affect ""criminals"" at all, but rather suspects and targets of prosecution who haven't had their guilt determined yet. These represent significant exaggerations."
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false
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National, Criminal Justice, Federal Budget, Legal Issues, Crime, Barack Obama,
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"To pressure Congress to prevent the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration by the March 1, 2013, deadline, President Barack Obama gave a speech on Feb. 19 warning of dire consequences if it takes effect. ""Emergency responders like the ones who are here today -- their ability to help communities respond to and recover from disasters will be degraded,"" Obama said. ""Border Patrol agents will see their hours reduced. FBI agents will be furloughed. Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go."" As we’ve noted, dire warnings about budget cuts are a popular tactic in the nation's capital. They’re sometimes known as the ""Washington Monument strategy"" because federal agencies threaten to close popular things, such as the monument, as a way of building public opposition. Still, the idea of letting criminals go is particularly scary, so we wondered whether it’s accurate for Obama to say that under a sequester, ""federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go."" First, let’s recap how the sequester works. Unless a deal is struck, most types of federal spending must be cut by a uniform amount -- tentatively 7.9 percent for most types of defense discretionary funding and 5.3 percent for non-defense discretionary funding. (Certain programs are shielded from sequestration cuts entirely, including Social Security, federal retirement payments, veterans compensation, Medicaid, Pell Grants, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, and veteran's health programs. Medicare would be cut by 2 percent.) The uniform cuts must be applied to any ""program, project or activity"" that isn’t otherwise exempted. The most obvious way the sequester could produce cutbacks in prosecutions is through the Department of Justice’s budgetary line, ""Salaries and Expenses, United States Attorneys."" According to the Office of Management and Budget, the amount in that category that is subject to the sequester is $1.9 billion. Assuming a 5.3 percent cut, that works out to about a $101 million reduction. The sequester would affect ""every district, reducing the number of cases they can prosecute,"" the Justice Department said in a statement to PolitiFact. ""The Justice Department anticipates U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will handle 1,600 fewer civil cases and 1,000 fewer criminal cases. Fewer affirmative civil and criminal cases will affect our ability to ensure that justice is served and impact funds owed to the government."" Outside experts agree the cuts will be real. ""It’s certainly a fair statement that budgetary constraints affect who gets prosecuted and what gets prosecuted,"" said Mary Graw Leary, a Catholic University of America law professor. ""It’s fair to think there will be an effect on what cases will be pursued if there is a drastic contraction in budgets."" That said, there are reasons to be cautious in jumping to conclusions: • Officials will have some discretion about how to make the cuts. Within a given program, officials don’t have to cut every line item equally. They can move money around within a program. In fact, Obama’s deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, Jeffrey Zients, wrote a memo on Jan. 14, 2013, offering ""guiding principles"" for federal managers to use as they make cuts such as minimizing impacts on the agency’s core mission, life, safety and health. To limit the most severe impacts, Zients urged managers to consider hiring freezes, releasing temporary employees, not renewing contract hires, and authorizing early buyouts. So officials at the Justice Department will have flexibility about how to meet that $101 million target. They could focus their resources on, say, criminal cases rather than civil cases, or violent crimes as opposed to property crimes. They could focus dollars on locations where crime is growing and trim in places where it is declining. They could allocate less money to complicated, expensive, long-term cases as a way of getting more bang for the buck. • Obama is exaggerating. Saying the sequester would mean letting criminals go is a stretch. For starters, Obama’s comment conjures images of prison gates being thrown open and inmates flooding out. That’s not the case. When the New York Times asked the Justice Department about the sequester’s impact on prisons, a spokeswoman said that the Bureau of Prisons ""does not intend to let anyone go on March 1 because of the cuts."" The spokeswoman said that instead, personnel could be furloughed and that vocational education programs and others might be curtailed to meet sequester requirements. Meanwhile, there are plenty of ways to cut back prosecutions without letting criminals go. A U.S. attorney’s office could save money by slowing its uptake of new cases and focusing instead on clearing its backlog of existing cases. Or it could scale back investigations that haven’t even produced any ""criminals"" yet. Finally, we shouldn’t gloss over the reality that, by framing it as he did, Obama ignored the bedrock of America’s criminal justice system -- that people are innocent until proven guilty. The cuts Obama is talking about would affect the investigatory and trial stage, when an individual’s criminality hasn’t yet been proven. At most, the sequester would force prosecutors to let ""suspects"" or ""targets"" go. • Budgetary factors have always shaped prosecutorial priorities. ""It is not unusual for budgetary concerns to influence federal prosecutors' case selection,"" said Josh Bowers, a law professor at the University of Virginia. ""It strikes me that limited resources are typically a significant -- if not the principal -- determinant of how prosecutors exercise charging discretion."" In other words, the scope of the cuts may be somewhat bigger under a sequester, but living within budgetary limits isn't anything new for a seasoned prosecutor. Our ruling Obama said that, if the sequester hits, ""federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go."" It’s clear that U.S. Attorney’s offices are looking at a potential cut of $101 million, and a reduction of that size would almost certainly cut back on prosecutions in some fashion. However, the impacts are not as clear-cut as Obama’s bold language suggests. Officials will have a fair amount of discretion in prioritizing what types of cases prosecutors will pursue, possibly cutting back on civil cases rather than criminal ones. And the cuts taking place in U.S. Attorney's offices wouldn't directly affect ""criminals"" at all, but rather suspects and targets of prosecution who haven't had their guilt determined yet. These represent significant exaggerations."
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37866
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"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a phone call that ""reopening"" his state would be accompanied by an increase in COVID-19 cases."
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Did Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Admit That Reopening Businesses Would Lead to More COVID-19 Cases?
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true
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Fact Checks, Politics
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In the middle of announcing his plan calling for workers to resume business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was recorded admitting that he knew it would spur an increase in cases of the disease.“How do we know reopening businesses won’t result in faster spread of COVID-19?” Abbott asked during a conference call with state lawmakers on May 1 2020 before adding:Listen, the fact of the matter is, pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopening — whether you want to call it a reopening of business or just a reopening of society in the aftermath of something like this — it actually will lead to an increase in spread. It’s almost ipso facto — the more that you have people out there, the greater the possibility there is for transmission.Abbott’s statement was first published by the political group Progress Texas on both Twitter and YouTube:BREAKING: As @GovAbbott reopens the state in the midst of a rising infection and death rate, leaked audio from a call with Texas Legislators reveals that he knows reopening puts more Texans at risk. #txlege pic.twitter.com/kTK4M8gpSY— Progress Texas (@ProgressTX) May 5, 2020As the San Antonio Current reported, the audio was released as the Republican governor announced that hair salons would be allowed to reopen on May 8 2020. Ten days after that, said Abbott, fitness clubs would be allowed to reopen provided they stay at 25 percent capacity, but members would not be allowed to use their facility’s locker room or showers and equipment would have to be sanitized every time it was used.Abbott can also be heard saying on the leaked audio:The goal never has been to get transmission of COVID-19 down to zero. It never can be to keep transmission down to zero, because with a rapidly transmittable disease like this there will be always be a level of transmission. Even when you have an immunization come out, there will be a transmission rate for COVID-19. The goal is to reopen using strategies that can continue to contain the spread of COVID-19. These are strategies that have proven effective in Texas for the past month and a half.A spokesperson for the governor, John Wittman, told the news site The Daily Beast that Abbott’s remarks on the call were in line with previous statements he had made to local news outlets.“The governor has said this from the beginning, as we begin to open up, we will see flare ups, whether we open now or three months from now,” said Wittman. “The key is ensuring we are able to contain that spread, which is where contact tracing comes into play.”However, Progress Texas pointed out that Abbott had minimized the prospect of an increase in COVID-19 cases in those interviews; on April 24 2020, he told KSAT-TV:One thing that all scientists and doctors say is that as we do begin to open up, there could be an increase in the number of coronavirus cases. Two things about it. One reason for an increase is we are going to be doing more testing. We’ll be doing what’s called testing and tracing all across Bexar County to identify any types of hotspots. If there are hotspots where there is a sudden rise or increase in the number of people testing positive, we will provide all the medical care needed in order to quickly address it and to reduce it if it’s widespread.That same day, he told KTBC-TV:When you begin to reopen, there can be spikes or increases in those who test positive for COVID-19. This is nothing to be worried about, in part, because we will be doing far more testing in the future than we have in the past and that alone will identify more people testing positive. Our goal is to make sure that there are not any dramatic spikes that lead to increased hospitalizations or increased deaths.The weekend after his conversation with lawmakers saw a sharp uptick in the number of COVID-19 diagnoses across the state: a combined 2,000 new cases were reported between May 2 and May 3 2020, a record increase for a two-day period. According to the Texas Department of State, 33,369 total cases have been reported as of May 5 2020, with 906 cases reported as fatal. An estimated 16,791 patients have reportedly recovered from the disease — while 15,672 cases are still listed as active.Comments
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32815
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HUD is attempting to pass a law banning tiny houses and RV living.
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"A lot of anxious bloggers incorrectly surmised HUD was moving to make ""tiny homes"" illegal."
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false
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Fauxtography, fake bans, HUD, Legal
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In early April 2016 a number of blogs and recreational vehicle enthusiast sites began reporting that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was moving to make popular “tiny houses” and recreational vehicle (RV) living illegal under a sweeping new law. Due to the popularity of tiny homes, the rumor caused a bit of consternation on social media sites among a number of the dwellings’ fans. One of the most shared versions of this rumor was published by a web site called Activist Post on 31 March 2016: The tiny house movement has taken America by storm, in part because our economy is in the toilet. People are striving to reduce their expenses by embracing minimalism. They’re breaking free from the corporate grind because, as I’ve always advised, they are learning to live with less and radically reducing their expenses. But, these days in America, you are sharply admonished when you try to live your life outside of the strictures of the 9-5 world. Is it any surprise that the government is now taking steps to limit our ability to drastically reduce our expenses? They always seem to make illegal anything we try to do to be more independent and moving into a tiny house appears to be the next on their list. After quoting the purported “HUD law” in question, the post concluded by stating that “if this law is passed, living in a tiny house or an RV may become illegal in April [2016].” A similar blog entry posted by Don’t Comply held that the purported tiny house ban was one of the latest attempts by the government to interrupt citizens’ abilities to become more self-sufficient or take up residence “off-grid”: For years the government has been cracking down on citizens who are polishing their skills in minimizing the involvement in the matrix and exiting the rat race. Learning to survive comfortably with less by unplugging from the burdensome requirements that larger permanently fixed residences demand is catching the eye of The Department of Housing and Urban Development. Government will do what they do best and limit and make illegal anything we do to be more independent and moving into smaller homes is their next target. View the proposed law here. If this Draconian law is passed, the evil curse of government will be extended to the lives of the free roaming human beings. Being unattached to the grid is a no-no in the eyes of these indoctrinated so-called officials. The Freedom to live where and how one chooses is under assault, this law will dismantle the force field of liberty when it pertains to the utilization of the earth as a home. Often, the circulating blog posts used malleable language such as “we believe” in warning readers that tiny houses were about to be regulated out of existence: This is a quick announcement because we need your help to stop tiny houses from becoming illegal per the fed’s new HUD proposal regarding recreational vehicles. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is proposing to make changes to the Code of Federal Regulations Part 3282 docket FR-5877-P-01 which covers Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations (as well as Revision of Exemption for Recreational Vehicles). We believe this includes tiny houses on wheels. Although many panicked pieces quoted the HUD policy in question, few explained what it was or how it might affect owners or future builders of tiny houses. These items referenced a pending “law” or claimed tiny houses would soon be “outlawed,” leading many readers to infer that whatever HUD was up to, it would result in an actual law rendering both existing and in-development tiny homes illegal (and leaving their residents homeless). However, links to the HUD web site led to remarkably benign language regarding the proposed rule: This proposed rule would modify the current exemption for recreational vehicles in the Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations. Under the current exemption, questions have arisen regarding whether park model recreational vehicles are regulated by HUD’s manufactured home program. These park models are being produced with patio roofs, screened in porches, and other extensions that exceed the 400 square foot maximum exemption in the current regulations. Additionally, some of these models are being marketed as suitable for year round living. The HUD summary went on to explain what changes to existing rules were being proposed by that agency, describing what appeared to be a need created by the increasing number of dwellings that fall outside the existing recreational vehicle (RV), manufactured home, and standard house classifications: HUD’s proposed rule would permit recreational vehicle manufactures to certify that a unit is exempted from HUD’s regulations. Specifically, HUD’s proposed rule would define a recreational vehicle as a factory build vehicular structure, not certified as a manufactured home, designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence or for permanent occupancy, and built and certified in accordance with either the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1192-2015, Standard for Recreational Vehicles, or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A119.5-15, Recreational Park Trailer Standard. In addition, to provide consumers notice regarding the manufacturing standards used to construct the unit, HUD’s rule would require that units claiming the exemption display a notice that identifies the standards used to construct the unit and states that the unit is designed only for recreational use, and not as a primary residence or permanent dwelling. The wording of that passage suggested the proposal targeted structures that were atypical for permanent dwellings (such as tiny houses) to ensure they were built to general housing standards governing dwellings used for year-round living. Units bearing modifications considered atypical for RVs and other recreational use units would be specifically marked as not suitable for primary residence and subject to HUD’s RV standards (or reclassified). We contacted a local Chief Building inspector to parse the proposed regulation and determine whether the rule as stated would result in any sort of ban. He indicated that the proposal appeared to pertain solely to the classification of structures (even tiny ones) marketed as year-round residences, to ensure that those dwellings complied with building codes and the structures didn’t present a safety hazard to occupants. He added that a different set of rules applies to RVs, but that those temporary and mobile dwellings are similarly regulated for safety. The web site Tiny House Build espoused an unperturbed viewpoint in an article about the pending rule change, holding that the intent of the tiny house movement included acceptance of such dwellings as code-compliant permanent residences: The new proposal would dictate that a tiny house, if built to ANSI or NFPA standards, is an RV and thus not suitable for permanent occupancy. The reality is that it is already illegal to live permanently in an RV in most places anyway. That is something that local zoning ordinances specifically dictate. So the problem here is the idea of certifying your tiny house as an RV rather than seeking permanent residential status through the building codes division. Consider that in almost every community in the United States where zoning laws are enforced, RVs are considered temporary shelter and are only suitable for up to thirty consecutive days of occupancy. That doesn’t fit the model of tiny houses as permanent residences at all. For HUD to include all RVs that are “not self-propelled,” thus including THOWs [tiny houses on wheels] is an acceptable practice on their part. In fact, I am not opposed in any way to HUD overseeing the construction of RVs if that is important to their industry. This is because my intention is, and always has been, to secure a path to legalization for tiny houses through the International Residential Code (IRC). The writer of the article (presumably a tiny house enthusiast) surmised that “[t]he reality is … we are discussing the wrong topic: recreational vehicles (RVs),” adding that “tiny housers should not be concerned because our goal is to live in our tiny houses permanently, not to certify them as RVs [which is] what HUD’s recent proposal aims to clarify.” He also posited that it was counterproductive to “refer to [tiny] homes as ‘tiny house RVs’ because that implies temporary housing, not a permanent residence,” opining that tiny homeowners would be better off “work[ing] within an existing residential code … to gain code approvals and legal, PERMANENT residential status.” Similarly unbothered by the proposal was the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), which issued a joint statement alongside other industry groups on 11 February 2016. Like the tiny house expert, the RV trade groups welcomed the proposal as both beneficial to and long-desired by the RV industry. Stating that “this proposed rule provides a critical solution to the regulatory uncertainty that has plagued RV manufacturers, dealers and campgrounds for decades,” RVIA maintained that “[w]ithout it, the entire RV lifestyle could be regulated out of existence”: To respond to the inapplicability of the 1982 definition to modern RVs, RV manufacturers, dealers and campgrounds put their heads together with the manufactured housing industry to propose new language to clarify that modern RVs are not manufactured homes. All parties agreed that RVs should be built in accordance with NFPA and ANSI RV standards, not HUD manufactured home standards. All parties agreed that the key distinction continues to be that manufactured homes are designed and built for permanent residency while RVs are designed and built to be used by families as a recreational, camping, or seasonal accommodation … In the newly proposed rule, HUD accepted this consensus proposal with the additional requirement that park model RVs contain a consumer-facing notice that the manufacturer certifies that the structure is a recreational vehicle designed only for recreational use. The RVIA PMRV seal applied to every PMRV already contains this notice, so it is not an additional burden to industry. So this proposed rule gives RV manufacturers the critical regulatory clarity and certainty they have long sought: so long as they build to the nationally-recognized RV standards, the modern RVs they are building do not and will not fall under HUD’s jurisdiction. The proposed rule gives RV dealers additional critical regulatory clarity they have long sought: the proper paperwork, forms, and disclosures the RV dealer needs to provide during a sales transaction are based on the design intent of the recreational vehicle. Yet another skeptical perspective came from former lawyer and accountant Howard Payne of RVDreams. Payne stated that portions of the law causing concern had existed for more than 30 years: Folks have been freaking out about the part of the definition that says ” …. designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence for permanent occupancy”. Well, that’s been part of the definition since 1982, and similar language is included in just about every RV owners manual. So that part of the definition isn’t new, and the new language is actually broader and officially exempts more RVs from the HUD Code. The “400 square feet” language in the prior definition was what was throwing some fifth wheels into question. While there are a lot of full-time RVers (nobody really knows the numbers), full-timers are still a very, very small niche in the RV world. While we are an independent, vocal bunch that doesn’t want government interference, this proposed rule certainly isn’t targeting full-timers … RV-Dreams only exists because of full-time RVers and those that are considering full-time RVing. Our livelihood is based on there being a desire of people to become full-time RVers and our desire to help them reach that goal. There may be laws, rules, or regulations in the future that severely curtail the ability of people to live in their RVs, but this minor rule, buried within manufactured housing regulations, isn’t one of them. Hopefully, this entry provides some facts and perspective. In short, while a number of confused commenters flooded HUD’s proposal page based on inaccurate rumors, the proposed rules were seen as a net positive by tiny home experts, RV enthusiasts, RV trade groups, and anyone deeply involved with full-time RVing or tiny house living. A handful of blogs broadly misinterpreted the proposed rule changes as HUD “outlawing” tiny homes, despite the fact HUD doesn’t possess the authority to pass such laws. The proposed rule rumored to be a “tiny house ban” was in fact simply a clarification of classifications for RVs and similar dwellings and in no way banned or criminalized tiny home ownership or building.
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15709
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"Mitt Romney Says Hillary Clinton ""erased all of her emails even though they were subject to recall and review by Congress."
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"Romney said that Clinton ""erased all of her emails even though they were subject to recall and review by Congress."" Romney got it wrong when he spoke of all of her emails. We know that about 30,000 emails were turned over to the State Department. Romney’s words about recall and review by Congress are ambiguous. In terms of preserving records, legal experts agree that Congress has no direct role. That is a function of the executive branch. In terms of a congressional investigation, a legal expert told us Clinton did respond to congressional subpoenas, and there is no proof she destroyed evidence subject to a congressional investigation. Romney’s statement contains an element of truth -- Clinton did delete some emails -- but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."
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false
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Candidate Biography, PunditFact, Mitt Romney,
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"Hillary Clinton’s announcement that she would run for president was met with a round of attacks from Republicans on the Sunday shows. Taking up the cause on Fox News Sunday was 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. ""You've seen in polls and in discussions across the country a feeling that Hillary Clinton is just not trustworthy,"" Romney said April 12, 2015. ""This whole story about her having erased all of her emails even though they were subject to recall and review by Congress, I think that's made people remember that with the Clintons, it's always something."" We have dissected before the web of laws and regulations that surround Clinton’s use of a private email account as Secretary of State. For this fact-check, we look at Romney’s claim that she erased all of her emails when they should have been kept for use by Congress. A review of the facts shows Romney had a point, but he mangled the details. A quick recap In March, the public learned that instead of using a State Department email account when she was in charge, Clinton ran all of her email through a private server in her New York home. When State Department officials asked for copies of her government-related emails late last year, Clinton’s staff went through her files and sent over about 30,000. According to Clinton, about an equal number of emails were judged to be personal and were erased. Specific to Romney’s statement that Clinton erased all of her emails, there is no question that she preserved and delivered thousands to the State Department. Clinton has said that all of this was in line with federal regulations. We have found that it isn’t so cut and dried. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) oversees federal recordkeeping, and its code requires federal agencies to keep records that document agency activity so that they are readily available when needed -- such as for Freedom of Information Act requests or congressional inquiries. However, not all records need be retained. Agencies have the discretion to delete material that is deemed to have no value. The laws are tighter today than when Clinton was secretary, but even during her tenure, her sole reliance on a private email account skirted the law, experts tell us. ""The key thing is that while use of a personal account was not prohibited, exclusive use of it was,"" said Daniel Metcalfe, professor of law at American University and former director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy. With a State Department email account, all of Clinton’s emails would have been stored on a government computer. Any researcher or government body would then have access, pending the normal privacy and security reviews. (That said, the department preserves relatively few emails.) Clinton’s private email account changed the process completely. She, not a government worker, had control over the emails, and even though emails she sent to government workers would have been saved under their email accounts, searching those records would be infinitely more complicated. Romney’s botched wording The legal experts we reached said Romney’s use of the phrase ""recall and review by Congress"" is ambiguous. (We tried to reach Romney for clarification and did not hear back by the time we published. If we learn more, we will update this fact-check.) Jason R. Baron is a lawyer at Drinker Biddle and Reath and a former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration. Baron told PunditFact that in the most literal sense, Congress plays no role at all in deciding what materials should be preserved when an official leaves office. ""This is an executive branch function,"" Baron said. ""In most agencies when a senior official leaves, there is a protocol to review the documents that the official might have. The Federal Records Act doesn’t expect Congress to review anything."" On the other hand, Congress has the right to subpoena records as part of an investigation and congressional committees have been investigating the deaths at the American compound in Benghazi, Libya. This might be what Romney had in mind. But if he did, that makes his point even harder to prove. Douglas Cox is a law professor who specializes in government records law at the City University of New York. Cox said Romney is on thin ice if he meant that Clinton ducked a congressional subpoena. ""Clinton has stated that she turned over to the State Department any records responsive to congressional subpoena at the time,"" Cox said. ""An allegation that she destroyed records subject to subpoena is a serious one, and it is speculative absent more specific evidence."" Baron raises one legal wrinkle that might bolster Romney’s claim. He said it’s possible that Clinton had a reasonable expectation that a committee might want to dig further. Baron said in the private sector, if you think that a future lawsuit might call for certain records, you should keep them. ""If I were her lawyer, I would have told her that it would be prudent to preserve any evidence that might be subject to a congressional inquiry,"" Baron said. Regardless of the legal arguments on that score, Baron said he believes that what Clinton did -- stepping down without a department review of her records and then unilaterally deleting some -- was inconsistent with the spirit if not the letter of the Federal Records Act. Cox shares that view, even as he discounts Romney’s statement. ""Clinton's decision to destroy all emails that she and her private attorneys unilaterally decided were not federal records is both shocking and suspicious,"" Cox said. ""But the problem is that not all of her emails were ‘subject to recall and review by Congress.’ There is plenty of justifiable criticism for Clinton's actions, but that does not appear to be one of them."" Our ruling Romney said that Clinton ""erased all of her emails even though they were subject to recall and review by Congress."" Romney got it wrong when he spoke of all of her emails. We know that about 30,000 emails were turned over to the State Department. Romney’s words about recall and review by Congress are ambiguous. In terms of preserving records, legal experts agree that Congress has no direct role. That is a function of the executive branch. In terms of a congressional investigation, a legal expert told us Clinton did respond to congressional subpoenas, and there is no proof she destroyed evidence subject to a congressional investigation. Romney’s statement contains an element of truth -- Clinton did delete some emails -- but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression."
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4803
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Senators urge review after mumps cases at immigrant center.
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Congressmen and senators from Illinois are urging a review of health policies after a mumps outbreak at a northern Illinois county jail that houses immigrant detainees.
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true
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Health, General News, Immigration, Illinois, Mumps, Tammy Duckworth
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Health officials confirmed six mumps cases earlier this month at McHenry County Jail, which contracts space to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a Wednesday letter the Democrats cite “serious concern” about conditions and urge a “thorough and urgent” policy review. The group seeks details on the outbreak. They are U.S. Reps. Jesus Garcia and Lauren Underwood and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. ICE officials say each detainee receives a medical examination upon arrival at the facility. Immigration and health officials have previously said the infected detainees were isolated and those exposed were quarantined. Mumps is a contagious virus causing swollen glands, puffy cheeks, fever and, potentially, hearing loss and meningitis.
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10860
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Active Surveillance Preserves Quality of Life for Prostate Cancer Patients
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A Vanderbilt University news release about an important study on prostate cancer treatments and quality of life left us disappointed: Why so few specifics on the measured benefits? In this 3-year study of more than 2,500 men with prostate cancer, researchers compared how these patients rated their quality of life after treatment by surgery, radiation or active surveillance. The study found that patients who chose active surveillance reported fewer side effects, but the release disappoints with a lack of numbers and precision. The release does not even tell us the number of participants in the study. Since this is a very timely study about a widely discussed topic, we wish the release had provided numbers and context. An estimated 250,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States each year, according to the National Cancer Institute, and about 80 percent of those cancers are localized — meaning the disease has not spread from the organ. These patients deserve clear information on the risks to their quality of life from surgery and radiation, as well as potential benefits. The emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis was not examined in this study. Previous research has suggested that emotional distress is an important predictor of men opting for surgery after receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis. Because of the length of the study, the risk of death from prostate cancer following any treatment can not be concluded. As the release notes, that will require studies lasting 10 years or more. Both individual patients and society-at-large have a lot to gain or lose from the way prostate cancer is treated, as discussed in this Journal of the National Cancer Institute economic analysis.
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true
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Academic medical center news release,Prostate cancer
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Typically, we are asking that a release tell us the “cost” of a therapy or drug, but in this case, we wish the release had given some estimate of the cost savings from active surveillance for patients vs. surgery or radiation or both. This is an important point for both individual patients and the broader society since the population of men with prostate cancer is growing and most are likely to be on Medicare. The release did not provide many numbers. For example, it reported erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence as “more common” in men treated with surgery than radiation, but did not give a quantity for the “more.” The release did include a numeral in this sentence, but it wasn’t very enlightening: “Urinary incontinence was reported as a moderate or big problem in 14 percent of men three years after surgery compared to 5 percent of men who had radiation,” Barocas said.” The study compared benefits and harms for three different situations: surgery, radiation and surveillance. In neglecting to provide us with the number of patients studied the release doesn’t establish the quality of the evidence. We want to emphasize that the study itself, which included more than 2,550 men that were followed for 3 years, appears to be of high quality. But the release did not demonstrate that to the readers. The release also omitted some limitations of the study. One of the main ones is that the study used an observational cohort (a like group followed over a period of time), rather than an experimental design that would show cause and effect, so there may be other unmeasured factors influencing the results. In addition, the study captured patient outcomes through surveys. Surveys after the fact are subject to recall bias. As well, the number and severity of side effects after 3 years may differ by treatment, “and 3 years is inadequate to estimate oncologic outcomes,’ according to the study. Further, the quality of care each individual patient received could influence outcomes. There was no disease mongering. Instead, the release provides some encouraging context on the use of all three therapies: “Three-year survival from prostate cancer was excellent in the study at over 99 percent for patients regardless of whether they chose surgery, radiation or active surveillance.” The release names the grant sources for the research. It would have been better if the release had also stated (as the study did) that there were no conflicts of interest among the authors. The study was about comparison of alternatives and the release did a good job explaining what the alternatives were — surgery, radiation and active surveillance. The release doesn’t say so explicitly but it’s generally understood that all the treatments studied are widely available and applied. The release did not make a strong claim of novelty. It states, “This study shows that, despite technological advances in the treatment of prostate cancer, both surgery and radiation still have a negative effect on quality of life.” That’s not a new finding, but what makes the study newsworthy is that it compared the degree of side effects associated with each treatment. In addition, the published study states that it was designed to be more diverse, representative and more broadly applicable than former studies. “In contrast to previously published studies, this study may be more generalizable, since the cohort is racially diverse, population based, and includes a range of disease severity.” That would have been good to include in the release. We found no unjustifiable language.
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920
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U.N. wants more urgency in AIDS fight as gains and funding fade.
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The global fight against AIDS is stalling due to lower investment, marginalized communities missing vital health services, and new HIV infections rising in some parts, the United Nations warned on Tuesday.
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true
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Health News
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More than half of all new HIV infections in 2018 were among sex workers, drug users, men who have sex with men, transgender people, prisoners and the sexual partners of these groups, according to a report by UNAIDS. Many of those populations did not get access to infection prevention services, it said. Progress in some countries has been “impressive”, the U.N. body’s report said, but others are seeing rising numbers of HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths. It noted “worrying increases” in new infections in eastern Europe and central Asia, where HIV cases rose by 29%, as well as in the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America. “Ending AIDS is possible if we focus on people not diseases,” said UNAIDS executive director Gunilla Carlsson. She said now was the time to “create road maps for the people and locations being left behind (and) take a human rights-based approach to reaching people most affected by HIV.” This would need greater political leadership, she said, starting with adequate and well-targeted investment. Global funding for the AIDS fight dropped off significantly in 2018 - by nearly $1 billion - as international donors gave less and domestic investments did not grow fast enough to plug the gap. Around $19 billion was available for the AIDS response in 2018, UNAIDS said - falling $7.2 billion short of the total $26.2 billion it says is needed by 2020. Globally in 2018, some 770,000 people died of AIDS and almost 38 million people were living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes it. HIV cannot be cured but the infection can be kept in check by AIDS drugs known as antiretrovial treatment. Around 23.3 million of the 37.9 million people with HIV worldwide currently get the AIDS drugs they need. Around 1.7 million people were newly infected, the UNAIDS report said, a 16% decline since 2010, driven mostly by steady progress in parts of eastern and southern Africa. South Africa, for example, has cut new HIV infections by more than 40% and AIDS-related deaths by around 40% since 2010. But the report warned there is still a long way to go in many parts of eastern and southern Africa - the regions most affected by HIV.
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7067
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Cecile Richards stepping down as Planned Parenthood leader.
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Cecile Richards, who led Planned Parenthood through 12 tumultuous years, is stepping down as its president.
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true
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Planned Parenthood, Health, Cecile Richards, Political activism, North America, U.S. News, United States
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Under her leadership, the organization gained in membership, donor support and political clout but found itself in constant conflict with social conservatives for its role as the leading abortion provider in the United States. The organization provides a range of health services at clinics nationwide, including birth control, cancer screenings and tests for sexually transmitted diseases. Republicans in Congress tried repeatedly to cut off federal funding that helps subsidize Planned Parenthood’s services to some patients, and several congressional committees investigated the organization’s role in providing post-abortion fetal tissue to researchers. In a statement Friday, Richards said she would remain engaged in political activism ahead of the November elections. “There has never been a better moment to be an activist,” said Richards, who was a featured speaker in Las Vegas at one of last weekend’s largest women’s marches. Richards, 60, is the daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. Before joining Planned Parenthood, she was a union organizer and deputy chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, among other roles. Reaction to Richards’ announcement reflected the divisive nature of the debate over Planned Parenthood’s role. Pelosi, the House minority leader, hailed her as “a portrait of energy, intellect, and determination” whose impact transcended reproductive rights. “As an organizer, activist, and leader, Cecile has helped launch a nationwide movement to defend and advance women’s rights, and in doing so, she has inspired countless women to march, vote, run, and win.” Pelosi said. Anti-abortion activists seized the occasion to demonize Richards. Her legacy “is one of death and destruction,” said Kristin Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. “She leaves broken lives in her wake.” Many of the key battles for Richards and Planned Parenthood were waged in Congress, where Republicans repeatedly, though unsuccessfully, sought ways to cut off its federal funding. GOP lawmakers also organized multiple investigative committees after anti-abortion activists released secretly recorded videos in 2015 that they said showed Planned Parenthood employees illegally selling fetal tissue for profit. Planned Parenthood emphatically denied that claim. Thus far there’s been no formal finding by Congress of wrongdoing by the organization, but the dispute over the allegations is not settled. Justice Department officials confirmed in December that the department was considering investigations related to the transfer of fetal tissue. There was no immediate word of a possible successor to Richards. Planned Parenthood said it would be announcing future plans after a meeting of its board of directors next week. Planned Parenthood said Richards helped grow its base of supporters from 3 million to 11 million and build its donor base to its largest ever. She oversaw a notable expansion of services to LGBT people, including sharp increases in HIV testing and the provision of hormone therapy for transgender patients. Richards’ resignation precedes the scheduled publication of her memoir, “Make Trouble,” in April.
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33502
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Jim Nabors married Rock Hudson were married to each other.
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Did the mental image of a bridal-gowned Jim Nabors hinder his career? Well, put it this way: it couldn’t have helped. Neither did similarly titillating thoughts help Hudson, who was then battling to keep knowledge of his sexual orientation quiet lest it wipe out his career.
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false
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Entertainment, Actors, ASP Article, classic movies
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Sometimes the most ridiculous rumors are the ones that prove the longest-lived. That is certainly the case with the rumored Nabors-Hudson union, a fabrication that entered popular lore in 1971. Unlike many bits of celebrity gossip, this tale began as a good-natured in-joke about two men in the entertainment industry whom insiders knew to be homosexual but who remained closeted to the public; a bit of silliness that was not intended to malign either man or be mistaken for fact. No one, it appears, was looking to harm either Hudson or Nabors; this was an instance of playful exuberance taken as dead seriousness. As Rock Hudson reported about the tale’s origins: There appears to be a couple of elderly, or middle-aged homosexuals who live in Huntington Beach, which is just down the coast from Los Angeles, who every year give a party, a big party, 500 people or so. And they invite everyone they know. It’s an engraved invitation, and to make it amusing they will say, “You’re cordially invited to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in Huntington Beach.” One year the invitation was, “You are cordially invited to the wedding reception of Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors.” And it went all over the country. Go all over the country it did. A fan magazine picked up on the invites and ran an item which named no names but alluded to the wedding of two same-sex stars. Other gossipmongers spread the word, including a Chicago disk jockey who described the participants as “sort of the rock of Hollywood” and “a plain guy … just neighbors.” That the joke should have explained itself escaped notice: very few picked up on the idea that hunky Mr. Hudson would hereinafter be known as “Rock Pyle,” once again proving the adage no joke is so obvious that some won’t get it. The rumor was so prominent that both stars addressed it in the national press and considered filing lawsuits over the matter, with Nabors telling a newspaper syndicate in 1971 that: [More] recently, [Nabors] and Rock Hudson have been the victims of a vicious, unfounded and unwarranted story linking them with a non-existent homosexual marriage. “What can I say?” he began. “It’s like a nightmare, a bad dream.” “It’s so ridiculous, yet so horrible, I really don’t know what to say. Of course, it’s untrue. But how do you convince people of something like that? What do you do about a story as horrible as that?” The story of Nabors’ supposed affiliation with Hudson began several months ago when a fan magazine carried an article which, without mentioning any names, led readers to believe it was written about Nabors and Hudson. Nabors confided that his first reaction to the story was to sue for libel and slander, a tactic currently being pursued by Rock Hudson who has reportedly hired a battery of lawyers to gather evidence (or lack of evidence) for a future legal battle. “But,” he said, “[my manager] talked me out of it.” “That’s right,” his manager added. “What would we gain?” All it would accomplish would be to draw attention to it. You sue a fan magazine and you get nowhere. Nobody cares and they have ten lawsuits in front of you. It would take years to get it into court, and then, by that time, so what?” “I haven’t seen Rock Hudson since two seasons ago when he did my television show.” Nabors shook his head. “As God is my witness, I’ve never done anything to hurt anybody. Why would somebody do something like this to me?” “I love kids,” he continued, “But I’ve been so busy with my career that I really haven’t given marriage much thought.” At the same time, Hudson told entertainment reporter Hy Gardner that: “I heard it from a woman who heard it through her hairdresser. Then all of a sudden I’m getting a lot of mail about the whole stupid situation. It is absolutely preposterous and ridiculous. It has reached such tremendous proportions, there’s really nothing to say. Despite our denials,” Rock said, “some people are going to believe whatever they want to believe. They’ll say ‘B.S.’ or ‘Ah-ha.’ “I heard from time to time that ‘it’ happened in Las Vegas, in London, even right in my own home. The truth is it didn’t happen anywhere!” Hudson maintained that the prank had destroyed his friendship with Nabors, saying: “I’ll tell you one thing that makes me sad about this, and that’s that Jim Nabors and I are no longer friends. We can’t be seen together.” Which indeed they couldn’t, lest they add substance to the rumor. News that Rock Hudson was a homosexual long ago fell into the province of common knowledge, but at the time of the Nabors-Hudson marriage rumor Hudson’s public acknowledgement of his homosexuality was still fifteen years away. Hudson’s short-lived 1955 marriage to secretary Phyllis Gates (which insiders claimed had been arranged by his studio to quell rumors) and other carefully managed publicity efforts were largely successful in deflecting gossip about Hudson’s sexual preferences until the terminally ill actor shattered his lifetime secret by announcing he was dying of AIDS. At that time the media were for the most part ignoring AIDS, viewing the scourge as a phenomenon limited in scope, unnewsworthy, and of no real interest to the public at large. Hudson’s public suffering was a watershed event in the history of the fight against AIDS: overnight the disease suddenly shifted from being an illness some nameless folks occasionally contracted to something that was visibly sapping the life of a beloved movie star. Although Hudson’s sexual orientation was known among friends and co-workers, the news of it had yet to reach the average person prior to his final days in 1985. Hudson conducted his private life quietly, always fearflu he would be outed as gay, an event he thought would spell the end to his career as a popular leading man. At the time the Nabors “marriage” rumor was floated, he was just beginning what would prove to be a highly successful run in McMillan and Wife, a series of made-for-TV mystery movies. The character of Police Commissioner Stewart McMillan couldn’t very well be gay, and therefore neither could the actor enlisted to play the role. Jim Nabors also had his reasons for being perturbed by the rumor, primarily that his homosexuality was still not public knowledge and he already had a tough enough row to hoe in being taken seriously, so any story that poked fun at him worked to undermine his screen credibility. Having made his living in the entertainment industry playing the bumpkin, Nabors was handicapped by a negative and less-than-adult image. His chief claim to fame was as Gomer Pyle, a role originated on The Andy Griffith Show and spun off to its own series, Gomer Pyle, USMC. Pyle was a bumbler, a “gosh, golly, gee” farm boy who was possessed of all the best intentions but rarely turned them into positive results. Thanks to the blurring of the actor with the role, Nabors’ success doomed him to being typecast, as viewers proved unaccepting of him in anything but a Gomer Pyle-type role. Nabors hosted The Jim Nabors Hour, a television variety show that aired on CBS from 1969-71, but after the rumor about his being wed to Hudson surfaced he didn’t have much of a presence on prime-time television save for occasional guest appearances on other comedy/variety shows. In 1977 he undertook a project that if it didn’t exactly break his “golly gee” image, at least stretched its boundaries: hosting The Jim Nabors Show, a syndicated morning talk show along the lines of the highly successful Dinah Shore Show. Although Nabors garnered a Daytime Emmy nomination as a talk show host, The Jim Nabors Show ran for only a year, and afterwards he largely gave up television work in favor of nightclub appearances, concert performances, and musical theatre. Although rumors of Nabors’ homosexuality floated about for decades after the 1970s, they were not publicly confirmed until January 2013, when Nabors and his male partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader, traveled to Washington (a state which had just legalized same-sex marriage the previous month) to finally tie the knot.
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11541
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Trolling the Oceans to Combat Aging
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This well written and well researched piece could have been a fantastic service for readers, one of the few stories we’ve seen to examine the medicinal claims being made by cosmetic companies for their products. Instead, it takes its cues from the same marketing it purports to examine. The story deserves credit for asking tough questions, but it should have dug deeper.It should have relied less on the cosmetic industry and its contract research organizations and more on independent experts. There are new “cures” for aging being pitched at the graying population every week, and the skin creams, laser therapies and other treatments can cost thousands with limited proof of long-term benefit. Stories that take on these claims deserve a round of applause. We hope, though, that more stories take a hard look at the way the “evidence” for these therapies is being generated and perhaps manipulated to serve a marketing aim.
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false
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New York Times
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The story says that these products retail for $65 to $95. We would have liked to have seen how long one of those products would last with typical daily use. Is it $95 a month? Every three months? The reporter apparently had access to an “84-page patent application” for the product being sold, but the story does not present quantify any of the evidence that may have bene found there. Instead, it allows a company vice president to say that “a study of 30 women showed that after 10 days of using the Algenist serum, they had a 25 percent decrease in wrinkles as shown by silicone replicas of their faces.” No harms are mentioned in the story, which is too bad given that this product is apparently uNPRoven, both in labs and in the marketplace. Many would assume that there is no possible harm that could come from applying a natural product containing a seaweed compound. While that may indeed be true, there is no evidence to support that lack of any comments about potential harms. Since there are no data available about its use in premarket testing and the product has yet to reach the market, it would have been reasonable to point out that the potential harms of alguronic acid are unknown at the moment We give the story a lot of credit for taking this subject on. We think it did a great job of asking for independent reviews of the marketing claims. But the story, ultimately, presented very little in the way of analysis. It says for example that “Studies conducted by an independent lab and commissioned by Algenist, none of which have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, showed alguronic acid increased cell regeneration and the synthesis of elastin (which gives skin that snap-back youthful quality).” For most readers, the phrase “independent lab” will make them think that this product has been properly vetted. More astute readers will be concerned that the results were not “published in a peer-reviewed journal.” But we think the story should have been more cautious in presenting this information as independently generated evidence when, in fact, this is no different than any pharmaceutical company hiring researchers to prove the efficacy of its products. Dr. Dana Sachs, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, says in the story “the claims on cell regeneration and elastin synthesis are based on in vitro models, which is hard to extrapolate to in vivo, and again no statistical significance is presented, so this is a weak claim.” But the story, sticking to the company’s marketing line, allows a company vice president to brush this aside by saying, “statistical significance was found but not included in press materials. And, according to the company, a study of 30 women showed that after 10 days of using the Algenist serum, they had a 25 percent decrease in wrinkles as shown by silicone replicas of their faces.” We don’t think it reasonable to provide this type of information unless there is some way to validate the claim. We think the balance of the story tips too heavily toward creating “the story” that the company wants to sell about an amazing ocean discovery. This story, like so many stories about aging, treats the natural biological process of getting older as something that can and should be fought, stopped or altered. By setting up these products as being able to “protect middle-aged faces from environmental assault,” among other phrases used in the story, it gives credence to the marketing claims and contributes to a pervasive sense that people must protect themselves somehow against aging lest they be damaged. Again,we love that the story took this company’s marketing materials and attempted to have them independently analyzed. But the story chose poorly when picking experts. After 10 paragraphs of effusive language about a new wave of ocean-derived anti-aging products, the first ostensibly critical voice in the story is given to Dr. David McDaniel, who is described as “a dermatologist and the director of the Institute of Anti-Aging Research in Virginia Beach, Va.” what does McDaniel say? He “said he was impressed by the in-vitro testing of alguronic acid. “In the petri dish, their data seems to show some substantial benefits to their active ingredient,” he said. But he cautioned that in-vitro testing does not demonstrate how a final formulation works off the shelf.” The story does not point out that the institute is a contract research organization that provides service to manufacturers including study design, laboratory testing, clinical testing and media consultations. The story does attempt to make comparisons and goes into a good amount of detail about similar products on the market, but here, again, it allows the company touting this algae-dervied product to make an unchallenged claim of superiority. “There are more than 100 algae-derived ingredients used in cosmetics worldwide, Mrs. Lewis said. The patent-pending alguronic acid in Algenist is a “single, purified, highly bioactive compound,” said Tony Day, the vice president for research and development at Solazyme, and therefore delivers “much higher activity to the skin” than products using only a microalgae extract.” We don’t think that provides readers with the sort of serious comparison they deserve, especially in a market this crowded. The story starts out by making it clear that “Algenist moisturizers, serum and eye balm are already available at Sephora.com and will go on sale in the company’s stores this week.” The story does a good job describing why the company selling this product is excited about its prospects, but it never establishes what sort of edge, if any, this product would have on the thousands of other “anti-aging” products being sold. There are hundreds of anti-aging products containing a product derived from seaweed. The suggestion that this one is somehow unique remains to be proven The story goes well beyond any news release.
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23697
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"I never called for a partition"" of Iraq."
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Joe Biden says he never called for partition of Iraq
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true
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National, Iraq, This Week - ABC News, Joe Biden,
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"With fresh questions being raised about how to configure Iraq's government, Vice President Joe Biden was asked about a proposal that he advocated in 2007. ""You once advocated for a three-way partition of Iraq because you were not confident that Iraq's government was capable of having a strong central government,"" ABC This Week host Jake Tapper said to Biden during a July 18, 2010, interview. Tapper then played a video of Biden speaking from the floor of the Senate on April 24, 2007, in which Biden said, ""The most basic premise of President Bush's approach, that the Iraqi people will rally behind a strong central government headed by Maliki, in fact, will look out for their interests equitably, is fundamentally and fatally flawed. It will not happen in anybody's lifetime here, including the pages."" Asked Tapper: ""Is it possible that you were right back then that it is just impossible to have a centralized government?"" Biden responded by taking issue with the word ""partition"" -- which was often used to describe Biden's plan at the time -- saying it was never about breaking Iraq into three separate countries. ""I don't want to debate history here, but I never called for a partition,"" Biden said. ""I called for a central government with considerable autonomy in the regions."" ""It was to allow them more autonomy,"" Biden said, ""...And so what's happening here is, there is an election that's taken place. And what happened-- there's 325 plus members of what they call their core, their parliament. And no one party won more than 91 seats. The two major parties, one won 89 and one won 91 seats. That's Maliki and Allawi, Iraqiya and the State of Law, they call them. ""They're in negotiations right now to figure out how to allocate the power within that government. In other words, share power. And it is about just that. And it's underway. And it's going to happen. There will be a central government with control of its foreign policy, with control of the military. But you will see that there are going to be significant amounts of autonomy in each of the areas that exist in these provinces. That's what their constitution calls for."" Check the headlines in 2007, and it's clear that the word ""partition"" or ""soft partition"" was often used to describe Biden's proposal, which called for boundaries to be drawn for the country's Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite populations. And so we decided to check his claim that he never called for a partition. Biden's strategy was first outlined in an op-ed piece for the New York Times on May 1, 2006, which Biden co-wrote with Leslie H. Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations: ""The idea, as in Bosnia, is to maintain a united Iraq by decentralizing it, giving each ethno-religious group — Kurd, Sunni Arab and Shiite Arab — room to run its own affairs, while leaving the central government in charge of common interests."" The plan, they wrote would be to ""establish three largely autonomous regions with a viable central government in Baghdad. The Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite regions would each be responsible for their own domestic laws, administration and internal security. The central government would control border defense, foreign affairs and oil revenues. Baghdad would become a federal zone, while densely populated areas of mixed populations would receive both multisectarian and international police protection."" ""Some will say moving toward strong regionalism would ignite sectarian cleansing,"" Biden wrote. ""But that's exactly what is going on already, in ever-bigger waves. Others will argue that it would lead to partition. But a breakup is already under way. As it was in Bosnia, a strong federal system is a viable means to prevent both perils in Iraq."" In 2007, Biden and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, successfully shepherded a nonbinding, ""sense of the Senate"" resolution that proposed separating Iraq into three semi-autonomous regions with a federal government. The resolution passed the Senate 75 to 23. The resolution called for the U.S. to ""actively support a political settlement among Iraq's major factions based upon the provisions of the Constitution of Iraq that create a federal system of government and allow for the creation of federal regions."" And last, we point you to the fuller comments Biden made from the floor of the Senate on April 24, 2007, when Biden said the idea that the Iraqi people would rally behind a strong central government was ""fundamentally and fatally flawed."" As an alternative, Biden said, ""You make federalism work for the Iraqis. You give them control over the fabric of their daily lives. You separate the parties. You give them breathing room. Let them control their local police, their education, their religion, their marriage. That's the only possibility. ""Change the focus to a limited central government and a federal system that their Constitution calls for. I can't guarantee that my strategy will work, but I can guarantee that the road the president (Bush) has us on leads to nowhere with no end in sight."" Biden addressed the ""partition"" issue head-on in an Oct. 3, 2007 op-ed co-written with Gelb for the Washington Post: ""Our plan is not partition, though even some supporters and the media mistakenly call it that. It would hold Iraq together by bringing to life the federal system enshrined in its constitution. A federal Iraq is a united Iraq but one in which power devolves to regional governments, with a limited central government responsible for common concerns such as protecting borders and distributing oil revenue."" So is it fair to call Biden's plan a call to ""partition"" Iraq? Certainly Biden advocated carving out three semi-autonomous regions. In that sense, we could see why many characterized Biden's proposal as a ""soft partition."" But the word ""partition"" carries heavy political implications, namely the creation of three separate nations. And that was never Biden's plan. He consistently upheld the idea of one Iraq with a central government, albeit a more modest one responsible for such things as defense, foreign affairs and sharing oil revenues. That's an important distinction."
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38708
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It’s been rumored that a hoverboard law taking effect on January 1, 2016, permits and regulates the use to hoverboards in public spaces.
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New Hoverboard Law Takes Effect January 2016
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mixture
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Government
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It’s true that a hoverboard law was set to take effect in California in January 2016. That law only applies to California, however, and even there local officials could restrict or ban the use of hoverboards in public places. Simply put: Hoverboard laws across the country are a mess. Whether or not hoverboards are legal in public spaces depends entirely on where you are. Each state — and city, for that matter — has its own hoverboard policy. California brought some clarity to hoverboard regulation with a hoveverboard law that was set to take effect on January 1, 2016. Before that, it was technically a crime to operate hoverboards (which were classified as motorized skateboards under the law) on sidewalks, roadways, bikeways or any other public trail systems. However, the new hoverboard law (which can be viewed in its entirety here) changes that. The law offers the first legal definition of “hoverboard,” which is referred to as an “electronically motorized board” under the law. It also makes hoverboards legal in some public spaces when certain restrictions are met. Hoverboard riders can’t be intoxicated, and they must be at least 16, according to the law: This bill would define the term “electrically motorized board.” The bill would prohibit the operation of an electrically motorized board upon a highway while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug. The bill would require the operator of an electrically motorized board to wear a helmet while operating an electrically motorized board upon a highway, bikeway, or any other public bicycle path, sidewalk, or trail. The bill would require an operator to be at least 16 years of age in order to operate an electrically motorized board. The bill would also require electrically motorized boards to be equipped with safety equipment, as specified, and restrict the operation speed of electrically motorized boards. Because a violation of these provisions would be punishable as an infraction, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The law also opens the door for cities in California to pass their own laws regulating the use of hoverboards. That means you’ll have to check local ordinances on hoverboards before to make sure you’re not breaking the law. Police in Los Angeles have said that hoverboards will not be allowed on public walkways there, for example. And many private property owners have banned hoverboards over liability concerns, so the new hoverboard law doesn’t give riders free reign by any measure. And although California has become the first state to officially define, regulate and permit hoverboards, hoverboards are still illegal in most parts of the country. Other states and municipalities have used pre-existing laws to determine whether or not hoverboards are allowed. In New York City, for example, public officials have deemed hoverboards illegal under New York State Traffic Law 114-d. The code regulates the use of electronic “personal assist” devices in public spaces. A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Transportation has explained that the law’s definition of “electronic personal assist mobility device” was broad enough to include hoverboards, and that they would be regulated as such. In NYC, because the population is above 1 million people, electronic personal assist device riders must be licensed, and the devices must be registered with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Hoverboards are illegal, the spokesperson said, because the NYSDMV would refuse to register them for legal use: NYSDMV’s position is that these vehicles are likely “Electric personal assist mobility devices.” NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law 114-d defines “Electric personal assist mobility device” as “Every self-balancing, two non-tandem wheeled device designed to transport one person by means of an electric propulsion system with an average output of not more than seven hundred fifty watts (one horsepower), and the maximum speed of which on a paved level surface, when propelled solely by its electric propulsion system while ridden by an operator weighing one hundred seventy pounds, is less than twelve and one-half miles per hour.” NYS VTL 125 generally defines “motor vehicles” as “Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public highway which is propelled by any power other than muscular power.” However, VTL 125 specifically excludes some classes of vehicles from the definition of “motor vehicles.” Under VTL 126(a-1), “electrical personal assistive mobility devices operated outside a city with a population of one million or more” are not considered motor vehicles. However, in NYC, because the city population is greater than one million, NYSDMV considers “hoverboards” that meet the definition of “electric personal assist mobility devices” the same as motor vehicles. Based on that interpretation, it would be illegal to operate a hoverboard in NYC without a valid license to drive a motor vehicle. Beyond that, the motor vehicle would need to be registered by NYSDMV (which NYSDMV will not do), inspected, insured, and otherwise treated as, and subject to regulation like, any other motor vehicle. A person who operates a hoverboard in NYC (or any other NYS city with a population greater than a million) would be subject to arrest and prosecution for myriad NYS VTL violations, including, but not limited to, driving a motor vehicle without valid registration or insurance. So, it’s true that a hoverboard law was set to take effect in California on January 1, 2016. But that law doesn’t give hoverboards free reign there. Hoverboard riders in California (and other states) are still subject to local laws and ordinances, some of which make hoverboards illegal and subject to steep fines. That’s why we’re classifying this one as both truth and fiction. Comments
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34290
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"The Boy Scouts of America lost 425,000 members in May 2018, in response to a decision to integrate more girls into the organization, and to give the ""Boy Scouts"" program a new, gender-neutral name."
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Given the Mormon church’s teachings on LGBT issues and the separate roles of men and woman, as well as their previous uneasy responses to Boy Scout announcements on inclusion, it has to be considered plausible that the BSA’s announcements might have played a role in the Church’s decision to cut ties.
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unproven
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Politics, boy scouts
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The Boy Scouts of America, a bastion of civil society and traditional values for more than a century in the United States, has undertaken some significant changes in recent years. Following a long-standing controversy, the organization in 2014 lifted their ban on openly gay members, in 2015 allowed openly gay adult scout leaders for the first time, and in 2017 allowed transgender boys to join for the first time. In October 2017, the group announced that they would be allowing girls to join the Cub Scouts, and that they would be launching a new program for older girls in 2019 which would eventually allow them to attain the rank of Eagle Scout. Although the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) already had programs that welcomed older boys and girls, the path to Eagle Scout was not yet open to young women. In May 2018, the organization announced that they would be changing the name of the “Boy Scouts” program to the gender-neutral “Scouts BSA” in February 2019. And a few days later, the BSA and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon Church) jointly announced that the church would be ending their longstanding partnership with the organization in January 2020. These events prompted one right-wing web site to link the BSA’s recent moves towards gender and LGBT inclusivity with the Mormon Church’s decision to cut ties wuth scouting. On 9 May 2018, the Conservative Tribune (also known as Western Journal) published a video which reported that: One week after the century-old Boy Scouts of America announced it was changing its name and its mission to accept girls at all levels of scouting, its single biggest participant announced that it was cutting ties to the Scouts. And taking one fifth of the Scouts membership with it. Technically, the BSA did not announce they were changing the name of their organization, but rather the name of the well-known “Boy Scouts” program (for 11-17 year-olds) to the gender-neutral “Scouts BSA.” In a press release, Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh said that “Starting in February 2019, the name of the older youth program will be ‘Scouts BSA,’ and the name of our iconic organization will continue to be Boy Scouts of America.” According to the Associated Press, the Mormon Church contributes around 425,000 out of 2.3 million BSA members. If all of these members ultimately ended their participation in scouting, that would represent a loss of 18.5 percent of the BSA’s total membership, a very significant portion. However, the Church will continue their partnership with the BSA until 1 January 2020. Contrary to the Conservative Tribune’s headline, then, the Scouts did not “lose 425,000 boys one week after announcing name change,” though it appears they may lose that many members eventually. The joint statement between the two organizations attributed the Church’s decision to its increasingly global membership, and to a longstanding desire for the Church to launch its own “youth leadership and development program”: In this century of shared experience, the Church has grown from a U.S.-centered institution to a worldwide organization, with a majority of its membership living outside the United States. That trend is accelerating. The Church has increasingly felt the need to create and implement a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally. In so doing, it will be necessary for the Church to discontinue its role as a chartered partner with BSA. The Conservative Tribune called this explanation “spin” aimed at “minimizing the Scouts’ embarrassment,” adding that “There’s no doubt that the Scouts’ increasing willingness to give in to liberal pressure on key points had a lot to do with the Mormons’ discontent.” In an email, we asked the Church whether and to what extent the Boy Scouts of America’s recent moves towards inclusivity had contributed to their decision to cut ties, and whether the timing of the church’s announcement was anything more than coincidental. A spokesperson declined to respond to those questions, instead directing our attention to a list of frequently asked questions about the end of the partnership offered on the Church’s web site. None of these included an answer to our questions. So far the Church itself has not clarified whether greater inclusivity in general, or the integration of girls and the name change to “Scouts BSA” specifically, is what caused them to end their longstanding partnership with the Boy Scouts. Despite maintaining their partnership with the Scouts up until the May 2018 announcement, Church leaders have in recent years greeted successive BSA announcements about the inclusion of gay, transgender and female members with obvious unease and caution. The Mormon Church officially accepts openly gay and lesbian individuals as members and leaders, but only if they remain celibate, as the Church’s web site notes: “Sexual relations between a man and woman who are not married, or between people of the same sex, violate one of our Father in Heaven’s most important laws and get in the way of our eternal progress.” When the BSA moved to accept gay and transgender members in recent years, the Church obtained assurances from the Scouts that the Church could “operate its programs in ways that are consistent with our standards and beliefs.” In January 2018, the Church ended their participation in two BSA programs for 14-20 year-olds, Varsity and Venturing, explaining that those programs had “historically been difficult to implement within the Church.” (Venturing is a co-ed BSA program where older teenage boys and girls pursue more adventurous, outdoors activities together.) However, in announcing the decision to end their participation in Varsity and Venturing, the Church stipulated that it was unrelated to recent speculation about increased integration of girls and young women in the BSA: “Our decision to end our participation in the Varsity and Venturing programs was made independent of this possibility and before that time.” Furthermore, while the Church’s announcement of an end to their partnership with the BSA did come just days after the BSA announced they would be changing the name of the “Boy Scouts” program, a lengthy transition period will still occur between the two events. The inclusion of girls in “Scouts BSA” (formerly the “Boy Scouts” program) will begin in February 2019. The Mormon Church and its members will continue to take part in BSA activities until January 2020, a period of 11 months. So if the Church, in deciding to cut ties with the BSA, was objecting to the increased integration of girls, it does not appear to have been sufficiently bothered by it to prevent those 11 months of overlap. Ultimately, it’s not clear whether or to what extent the BSA’s moves towards increased inclusivity played a role in the Mormon Church’s decision to cut ties. Unfortunately, the Church has not clearly answered this question.
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38717
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There’s a Kroger 40% off coupon making the rounds on Facebook that sounds too good to be true.
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A major wildfire threatened thousands of homes and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles on Wednesday as the fiercest Santa Ana winds yet lashed Southern California, forcing meteorologists to create new alert levels to warn of the danger.
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false
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Internet
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The blaze erupted early on Wednesday morning in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County, and by nightfall had charred 1,300 acres (526 hectares) as crews fought to protect the Reagan library and some 7,000 homes in the path of the flames. The Easy Fire, which forced 26,000 people to flee, broke out some 30 miles (48 km) from a separate conflagration burning in shrub-covered hills near the Getty Center museum that has displaced thousands of residents from some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods. The Getty museum houses a collection that includes paintings by Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Manet, ancient Greek statues and an expansive array of manuscripts. The Reagan Library, Getty Center and Getty Villa in Malibu were all forced to close due to the flames and thick clouds of smoke, although all three facilities were said to be out of imminent danger by evening. “The dedication of our staff and the professionalism of our region’s first responders has been nothing short of heroic,” Getty president Jim Cuno said in a statement posted on the center’s website. The Santa Ana winds were blamed for a string of fire outbreaks across Southern California. In Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, a wind-driven brush fire swiftly blackened 250 acres (101 hectares), forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people from two mobile home parks and a nursing home, county fire spokesman Rob Roseen said. Weather conditions were at their worst, with fierce winds hurling burning embers through the air across bone-dry brush to ignite spot fires. “The fire outflanked us very rapidly today, pushed by those 40- to 50-mile-per-hour (40- to 80 km per hour) winds,” Ventura County Fire Department assistant chief Chad Cook told reporters. “We did experience gusts up to 65 miles per hour (105 kph) this morning, which made long-range spotting very, very dangerous.” He said erratic, high winds also forced intermittent grounding of firefighting aircraft through the day. The National Weather Service issued an unprecedented “extreme red flag” warning for wildfires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties ahead of two days of intense, dry wind gusts that were forecast to reach near-hurricane force. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen us use this warning,” forecaster Marc Chenard said. “It’s pretty bad.” Statewide, the weather service issued alerts for “critical” or “extreme” fire hazards covering more than 34,000 square miles (88,000 square km), encompassing some 21 million people. Power was cut off to nearly 400,000 homes and businesses statewide on Wednesday as a precaution by the state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co, a unit of PG&E Corp (PCG.N), and other utilities. The so-called Easy fire in Simi Valley broke out just before dawn off a road named Easy Street, sending a wall of flames racing across scrub-covered slopes at the edge of the hilltop Reagan Library, which houses the late president’s archives and memorabilia. Pre-positioned strike teams of firefighters, backed by water-dropping helicopters and airplane tankers dumping payloads of fire retardant, swarmed the area as flames closed in on the library campus. “We’re surrounded. It’s a scary situation. But I’m sure they’ll get on top of it,” John Heubusch, the library’s executive director, said in an interview with KNX radio in Los Angeles during the firefight. “It’s as close as it gets.” By late morning, emergency crews had largely subdued flames, and the fire moved off in other directions. The blaze prompted public schools and at least five college campuses in the area to cancel classes for the day. Health authorities were handing out disposable air filter masks to members of the public at five cites around the county. On nearby ranches, residents in the protective face masks scrambled to coax nervous horses and other livestock into trailers to drive them to safety. “As long as we get up, get out of here, get the car moving, everything else can be replaced in theory so you know breathing at the end of the day is better than not breathing at the end of the day,” resident David Pollack told Reuters. The Santa Ana winds are a regional weather phenomenon that sends gusts westward off the desert to the east, through mountain passes toward the coast. They were forecast to reach sustained speeds of 50 to 70 mph (80 to 110 kph) on Wednesday and Thursday. Investigators say the Getty fire was likely caused by a broken tree branch blown into power lines during high winds on Monday morning. It spread, consuming 745 acres (300 hectares) by Wednesday morning, with about a quarter contained by firefighters. At least 12 homes have been destroyed. In northern California, firefighters struggled for a sixth day against the 76,000-acre (30,760-hectare) Kincade fire in Sonoma County’s wine country. That blaze has destroyed at least 189 homes and other structures but was listed as 30 percent contained on Wednesday. PG&E acknowledged last week that the Kincade fire started near a damaged transmission tower at about the time a live high-voltage line on that tower malfunctioned. The company filed for bankruptcy in January, citing $30 billion in potential liability from a series of deadly fires sparked by its equipment in 2017 and 2018. As many as 190,000 people were displaced at the height of the Kincade fire, but some evacuations have since been lifted.
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13810
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"In South Sudan, ""more teenage girls die in childbirth than finish high school."
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"UNICEF wrote that in South Sudan, ""more teenage girls die in childbirth than finish high school."" The claim is almost certainly correct, experts say. But there is no single data source that can verify the comparison."
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true
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Global News Service, Education, Foreign Policy, Poverty, Public Health, Women, UN's UNICEF,
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"There are countries where the measures of well-being tell such a bleak story, you have to stop and verify them. South Sudan falls in that group. UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, marked the fifth year since this African nation separated from its northern neighbor with a photo essay about five children. One showed a little girl shyly smiling as she holds an oversized slate chalkboard bearing two perfectly legible number 5s. The caption read, ""Only about 10 percent of girls in South Sudan complete primary school, and the typical age of marriage in rural areas is rarely over 15. As a result, more teenage girls die in childbirth than finish high school."" South Sudan emerged as an independent country in 2011 after years of civil war. Its people barely had time to catch their collective breath before friction between two rival factions turned the country back into a battlefield again. The fighting has forced millions from their homes. Under these conditions, it’s plausible that more teenage girls dying in childbirth than graduate from high school, but every claim needs data behind it, and we went looking. Girls in South Sudan who finish high school Ongoing conflict has made education nearly impossible. A 2014 Brookings Institution article noted that ""approximately 50 percent of primary school-age children are currently not in school."" So how many girls finish high school? We can’t say for certain, but we know the number is quite low. The South Sudanese government reported that in 2013, just 730 girls were in the last year of secondary school out of a total population over 12 million. Girls in South Sudan who die in childbirth Finding a precise number of teenage girls in South Sudan who die during childbirth is more complicated because accurate data in a war zone is hard to come by. To get even a crude estimate, we had to rely on a couple of figures. First a 2008 survey of South Sudan found that about 10.3 percent of all women in the country were 15-19. That translates to about 610,000 teenage girls. A 2010 government health survey said that ""in South Sudan, one-third of the 15-19 year old women start childbearing."" That would mean about 207,000 young women are at risk of dying in childbirth. Based on UNICEF data, the nonprofit aid group International Medical Corps wrote that ""with 2,054 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, South Sudan has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world."" When we apply that rate to the number of young women at risk, we get over 4,000 deaths. That’s nearly six times the maximum number of female high school graduates. What experts say People and groups with on-the-ground experience in South Sudan said they have no reason to doubt UNICEF’s comparison. Lydia Stone, now with the British aid organization Social Development Direct, told us that ""while there is a dearth of reliable, recent data in South Sudan, this UNICEF claim is almost certainly true."" Stone said that most girls ""are married around the age of 15-16 some even younger. Their bodies are not ready to bear children and - outside of aid agencies - the health system is virtually non-existent."" Canada is a major donor of relief services in South Sudan. Global Affairs Department spokeswoman Jessica Seguin said ""South Sudanese girls’ face significant inequalities in terms of access to education, and are at a high risk of early and forced child marriage, and accompanying obstetric health problems."" In a 2012 field report, Stone wrote that the society puts a premium on women having as many children as possible. During the first civil war, government leaders cast pregnancy as a patriotic duty. But Stone wrote that in interviews, many women embraced their role quite apart from any overt pressure. ""One woman said, ‘There is no limit; if I can have 15 or 20, then I will. It is for God to decide.’"" Our ruling UNICEF wrote that in South Sudan, ""more teenage girls die in childbirth than finish high school."" The claim is almost certainly correct, experts say. But there is no single data source that can verify the comparison."
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28528
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A transgender woman raped a young girl in a women's bathroom because bills were passed allowing transgender people to use bathrooms which correspond with their gender.
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What's true: A transgender woman named Michelle Martinez was convicted of sexually assaulting a young daughter of a friend in a bathroom in a private home. What's false: The incident did not occur in a bathroom Martinez was using because of transgender bathroom bills.
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mixture
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Politics Sexuality, bathroom controversies, bathroom incidents, daily caller
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In mid-October 2017, conservative journalists and bloggers sought to link a case of child sexual abuse to an ongoing debate about allowing transgender people to use the public restroom that matches their gender. Proponents of so-called “bathroom bills”, legislating that transgender people must use the restroom of the sex assigned to them at birth, have spuriously argued that transgender women’s use of women’s restrooms puts children in danger of sexual abuse. The story was typically titled something like “Transgender Wyoming woman convicted of sexually assaulting 10-year-old girl in bathroom,” and it was repeated by Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Red Flag News, Silence is Consent, Fox News, and Louder With Crowder. The latter site claimed that the alleged assault was a direct consequence of bills allowing transgender people to use the bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity: There’s a special place in fiery pits of hell for people who molest children. There’s also a special place for those who make provisions for such molesting (see Minnesota Schools to ‘Segregate’ Students Uncomfortable with Trans Bathrooms. and PRIORITIES: Berkeley to Charge Millions in Student Fees for… Transgender Bathrooms). Remember when we told you passing bathroom bills to allow trannies in the stalls next to your daughters, nieces, and grandchildren would lead to terrible things? Uh huh. Well, this tranny raped a 10-year-old girl in a bathroom. A girls’ bathroom. The post doesn’t cite any specific bills — likely because when people refer to “bathroom bills,” they generally mean bills proposed (usually by Republicans) that prevent transgender people from using the restroom that corresponds to their gender. These laws have been considered by the legislature in 14 states in 2017, including Wyoming. Regardless, the October 2017 case bears little relation to the imagined scenario that opponents of transgender rights say is a risk — that of a “man dressed as a woman” abusing little girls in public bathrooms. The person found guilty of this crime, Michelle (referred to as “Miguel” in local news reports) Martinez, was not a stranger in a public restroom but rather a family friend who allegedly raped the 10-year-old victim in a bathroom in the victim’s home. As to Martinez’s gender identity, the Billings Gazette reported of the case that: Miguel Martinez faces one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. If found guilty, Martinez could face up to 70 years in prison. Martinez’s public defender, Tracy Hucke, said at a previous hearing that her client identifies as a woman and uses the name Michelle. Aside from that brief mention, local news coverage consistently referred to the perpetrator as “Miguel Martinez.” We contacted Martinez’s lawyer Dylan Rosalez (the case was transferred from Hucke to Rosalez, local reporter Shane Sanderson told us), who confirmed that Martinez identifies as a woman and goes by Michelle. Martinez was also accused of beating her boyfriend with a metal broomstick in 2014. Martinez pleaded not guilty and denies raping the girl. While Martinez is transgender and was convicted of raping a child, the case does not document that transgender persons are any more likely to sexually abuse minors than any other segment of the population. The idea that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are child abusers or pedophiles has long been used to foment prejudice, although those who push this idea have often been hard-pressed to provide any proof for that claim. The sad fact is children are far more likely to be abused or raped by someone that they know than by a stranger. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network estimates that in 93 percent of sexual abuse cases reported to law enforcement, the victim knows their abuser.
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10614
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Immune Response Better With Skin Scratch Vaccination
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"This is no way to cover science. The story buried the fact that the research was in animals not in humans (not mentioned until 300 words deep in a 350 word article). The story described ""much greater effectiveness"" with scarification vs. injection but gave no data. Not a word about possible pitfalls in leap from mice to humans. Another news source – WBUR radio – reported that this method of vaccination might have advantages in remote areas where medical resources are scarce."
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false
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"There was no discussion of costs, but that seems like a minor issue in this context, so we’ll grade this Not Applicable. The story gave no data on scarification vaccination effectiveness in the animals studied. The story described ""much greater effectiveness"" but didn’t explain nor quantify. It did say that ""scarification requires 100 times less vaccine to prompt an immune response"" but did not project whether that result in mice might translate to humans. There was no discussion of potential harms of this approach to vaccination. It wasn’t until 300 words deep into a 350 word story that any disclosure was made that this research was in animals – not in people. And then, no caveats were provided about possible limitations in translating this to humans. There really wasn’t any meaningful discussion of the diseases for which the vaccines might be given, so we rule this criterion Not Applicable. There were no independent sources – only quotes from a lead investigator in a news release. There was no meaningful, data-driven comparison of scarification delivery of vaccine versus injection. It was not at all clear from the story whether anyone still uses the skin scratch – or scarification – method of vaccine delivery. The story did say that ""Scarification was first used nearly two centuries ago to give the first smallpox vaccinations."" The story admits it was based on a news release. There was no sign of any independent reporting. So it gets an ""A"" for honesty but an ""Unsatisfactory"" for this criterion."
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2492
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Seven African countries cut child HIV infections by half.
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Seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s worst-hit region in the global AIDS epidemic, have cut the number of new HIV infections in children by 50 percent since 2009, the United Nations AIDS program said on Tuesday.
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true
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Health News
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The dramatic reductions - in Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia - mean tens of thousands more babies are now being born free of HIV, UNAIDS said in a report on its Global Plan to tackle the disease in around 20 of the worst affected countries. Overall, across 21 priority countries in Africa, there were 130,000 fewer new HIV infections among children in 2012 - a drop of 38 percent since 2009 - mostly due to increased drug treatment of pregnant women with the virus. “The progress in the majority of countries is a strong signal that with focused efforts every child can be born free from HIV,” said Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS’ executive director. “But progress has stalled in some countries with high numbers of new HIV infections. We need to find out why and remove the bottlenecks which are preventing scale-up.” Among places causing concern, UNAIDS said, are Angola and Nigeria, where new infections in children have increased and remained unchanged respectively since 2009. Nigeria has the largest number of children acquiring HIV in the region, with nearly 60,000 new infections in 2012. And for those children who do become infected, access to AIDS drugs that can keep their disease in check is “unacceptably low”, UNAIDS said, with only 3 in 10 children getting the AIDS medicines they need in most priority countries. The report said much of the reduction in new HIV cases in children was thanks to more use of AIDS drug treatment for HIV-positive pregnant women. Coverage rates were above 75 percent in many of the priority countries, it said. AIDS medicines known as antiretroviral therapy not only improve the health of mothers with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, but can also prevent HIV from being transmitted to their children. Botswana and South Africa have reduced mother to child HIV transmission rates to 5 percent or less, according to UNAIDS. Eric Goosby, global AIDS coordinator for the United States government, called on the international community to “continue working together to see the day when no children are born with HIV, which is within our reach”.
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41651
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A&E four hour targets have been missed more than 10 million times since 2010.
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After a summer of wildfires, heat waves and hurricanes, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is banking on new pledges from governments and businesses to abandon fossil fuels during a special climate summit in New York on Monday.
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true
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health
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With Swedish teen Greta Thunberg and other activists piling pressure on delegates ahead of the Climate Action Summit, U.N. officials expect about 60 countries to build on their commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat global warming. “We are losing the fight against climate change,” Guterres told a news conference on Wednesday. “I expect that there will be the announcement and unveiling of a number of meaningful plans on reducing emissions in the next decade and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050,” he said. On the stage next week will be countries including small island states most vulnerable to sea-level rise and European nations such as France and Germany, according to a draft schedule seen by Reuters. So far, big economies that still build or finance coal plants – such as Japan, South Korea and Australia - are not due to speak - but may still introduce plans. And U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, among the world’s only global leaders that publicly question climate science, are not due to take part, their representatives said. Environmental groups say the summit is coming at a crucial time, as extreme weather events and spiking temperatures affect more people in more parts of the globe. “The meeting couldn’t be more important,” said May Boeve, executive director of 350.org, a climate activism group. “It means countries will need to finally talk about the source of the flames engulfing our planet: fossil fuels.” Guterres has called for an end to the construction of coal plants from 2020 worldwide, as well as transitions away from subsidies for fossil fuels and a rapid shift toward renewable energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal. He and other U.N. officials also wants China to avoid ramping up coal production in Asia and Africa through its “Belt and Road” infrastructure vision. “I am much more concerned for countries in Africa that need to have the option not to get into coal. They need to have more opportunity for renewables,” U.N. climate change envoy Luis Alfonso de Alba told Reuters in an interview. Among the private sector speakers scheduled at the summit is the chief executive of Danish power company Orsted (ORSTED.CO), which earlier this year divested from its oil and gas assets and shuttered its coal plants. A group of big oil companies called the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, however, will host a meeting on the sidelines of the summit, focused on tempering the climate impact of fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage technology, and methane capture, according to a draft program. Although the Paris Agreement commits governments to a rapid transition to clean energy, the world’s greenhouse gas emissions hit a record high last year. Under current pledges to the accord, the world will still easily overshoot an increase in global temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, a threshold the U.N.-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned in an October report would have catastrophic consequences. The IPCC also said last month that far-reaching changes in land use would be needed to avert runaway warming and is due to issue another report on the impact of climate change on oceans next week. While the Trump administration’s support for fossil fuels and U.S.-China trade tensions have undercut hopes of global climate cooperation, diplomats say they also see some encouraging signs. An upsurge in activism has forced climate up the agenda in some countries, particularly in northern Europe, while disasters from floods in the U.S. Midwest to fires raging in the Amazon and Arctic have focused voters’ minds. In Europe, the new European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen has said she wants to make Europe the world’s first carbon neutral continent. And in the United States, Democratic candidates for next year’s presidential election are championing a proposed Green New Deal to boost renewables and end fossil fuels use. Investors are noticing, moving money to companies that can do well in a clean energy economy, said Nigel Topping, chief executive of We Mean Business, a non-profit coalition working with businesses on climate action. “We see investors becoming clear this change is going to happen.”
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10512
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Patch boosts libido for some older women
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"This article about a treatment for low female sexual satisfaction does a first-rate job of putting generally positive study results in context. The reporter draws on deeper knowledge about the product and the study to avoid creating a misleading impression. No reader will come away thinking the patch has been proven safe or is likely to be approved any time soon. Specifically, the article employs the following best practices when reporting results of a New England Journal of Medicine study on the testosterone patch: The first paragraph says the positive results don’t mean a product will be on the market any time soon. It describes the results in sufficient detail, and immediately follows them with information about potential harms. It questions whether the ""disorder"" the patch is designed to treat even exists. Its main shortcoming is a failure to consult any sources other than company representatives. While this is a significant problem, the story ultimately delivers a clear and accurate message: a patch to treat low female sexual satisfaction isn’t likely to be on the market any time soon. For this reason, the story should have included information about other approaches to dealing with low sexual satisfaction in women."
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true
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"The story does not cite the cost of the patch sold in Europe, which could be a marker for possible pricing in the U.S. In a story that discusses the competitive commercial environment of the treatment’s development, this is a serious shortcoming. The report adequately describes the methodology and outcomes of the study in question. It does a good job raising the question of potential harms, while indicating that data supporting those harms aren’t statistically significant. The story reports the potential health risks linked to the patch, primarily breast cancer. The story does a nice job presenting the actual number of events (breast cancer), 3/264 in patch group and none in the placebo group, and goes on to mention that, although not statistically significant, it does support concerns about breast cancer risk. The news report is based on a blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial whose results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The report also clearly mentions that this is a ""company-run study."" The story does an excellent job of questioning whether the ""disorder"" the patch is designed to treat should be considered a medical condition. The only sources contacted for this story are representatives of two companies involved with development of female sexual satisfaction products, including the one studied in the journal report. The viewpoints of independent clincians and researchers would have been valuable. The story does not mention other approaches to dealing with female sexual satisfaction, which include treatment of underlying psychological and physical conditions, and individual or couples therapy. The story makes plain that the female testosterone patch is not available in the United States but is on the market in Europe. The report makes clear that the patch is not novel–it’s sold in Europe and has been under study and development in the U.S. for at least a decade. We can’t be sure if the story relied largely on a news release. We do know that the only sources quoted are drug company representatives."
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11503
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Nonprescription diet drug gets OK
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"This is a story crafted around the news that the FDA has approved the sale of a lower dose, over-the-counter (OTC) version of the diet medication orlistat. The story insinuates that the OTC version would have a similar effect on weight loss as does the prescription strength. Although both are likely to be associated with weight loss, the data suggest that the weight loss is dose dependent, so the anticipated weight loss should be about half of that seen with the prescription version. Although the story alluded several times to a 10-20 pound weight loss, it failed to provide a time frame for this weight loss or any indication that weight regain was common after cessation of the drug. Quotes from several clinicians, FDA officials, and the makers of the medication were included in this piece. Some sources expressed appropriate caveats about safety and about efficacy of the new OTC product. Although the story lists some of the gastro-intestinal unpleasantries that occur with the use of this medication, a quote from a paper put out by the FDA (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00951.html ) on the prescription strength form of the drug really says it better: ""The most common side effects of orlistat are oily spotting, gas with discharge, fecal urgency, fatty/oily stools and frequent bowel movements."""
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true
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"The story mentioned alli would cost between $2-$3 per day. The claim for this over-the-counter version of this medication was that it will have similar effect on weight loss as the dose available by prescription. However, data from the original studies designed to examine effectiveness of this medication show that the weight loss observed was dose dependent. These data suggest that the anticipated weight loss should be about half of that seen with the prescription version. Although the story alluded several times to a 10-20 pound weight loss, it failed to provide a time frame for this weight loss or any indication that weight regain was common after cessation of the drug. Although the story lists some of the gastro-intestinal unpleasantries that occur with the use of this medication, a quote from a paper put out by the FDA (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00951.html ) on the prescription strength form of the drug really says it better: ""The most common side effects of orlistat are oily spotting, gas with discharge, fecal urgency, fatty/oily stools and frequent bowel movements."" The story also included concerns regarding the potential for deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins occuring with the use of this medication. The story did not include a warning for organ transplant recipients for whom this medication could cause serious problems. But it did mention concerns regarding the potential for deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins occuring with the use of this medication. The story included a quote from the director of health research at Public Citizen regarding concerns about ""precancerous lesions of the colon"" derived from a single study in rats. There is currently no published data supporting similar concerns about use of this drug in humans. The story included information from one weight loss specialist that the use of this product results in an average weight loss of 10-16 pounds. It did not mention that this was with the use of the prescription strength product, in the setting of a weight loss practice which likely included supportive interactions with health care professionals as well as reduction in calories consumed and increased exercise. Near the end of the story, there was information (""..eating a low-fat diet containing no more than 15 grams of fat per meal would reduce the risk of the side effect."") attributed to the FDA. This sentence is actually a direct quote from the www.myalli.com website. No overt disease-mongering about obesity; about two thirds of the way through it mentions that ~130 million Americans are overweight, and that about half of these would be considered obese. There were many clinicians, FDA personnel, and company spokesperson quoted for this story. The views from clinicians included those who said that this product will not result in weight loss on its own. It might have been helpful to include a link to the information released by the FDA on this product. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01557.html This story did not discuss other treatment options for the loss of comparable amounts of weight This story is about a new product, alli, which has been approved by the FDA for sale without a prescription. The story reported that it will be available this summer. The story was clear that alli is an over-the-counter strength of a medication that has previously been available by prescription only. Several sources were used, so it appears unlikely the story relied solely or largely on a news release."
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10189
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Virtual colonoscopy a less invasive cancer screener
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"On September 18, 2008, the long anticipated results of the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) CT Colonography trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This trial represented the largest, multicenter trial evaluating CT colonography as a screening method for colon cancer in asymptomatic adults. The hope was that this study would clarify whether CT colonography could be considered a recommended routine screening method on par with colonoscopy and other established tests. In the study, CT colonography identified 9 out of 10 large polyps as seen on colonoscopy, but performed less well for smaller lesions. The American Cancer Society and other organizations moved to endorse CT colonography, but the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) did not, citing several drawbacks to the test, including the need for follow-ups on extracolonic findings (suspicious findings found outside the colon on the CT scan), radiation exposure and concerns about operator variability in the interpretation of the CT scans. The story quotes multiple experts but attained no balance because all of those quoted were fans of the approach. The evidence-based perspective of the USPSTF was not reflected in the story. The story does not adequately describe the availability of virtual colonoscopy, which may be limited to large or academic medical centers. Nor does the study adequately describe the testing alternatives. The story mentions colonoscopy but does not mention other alternatives to CT colonography, such as fecal-occult blood testing or flexible sigmoidoscopy as colon cancer screening methods. Although the story mentions radiation exposure (underplaying the controversy over this) and missed polyps as potential harms of CT colonography, it does not mention additional harms such as operator variability in the interpretation of the CT scans and extracolonic findings. Also, not only does the story overstate the cost of traditional colonoscopy (it is much less than $3000), it should not have gone so far as to speculate that HHS would rule in favor of covering virtual colonoscopy, especially given the recent USPSTF recommendations. Furthermore, the story does not adequately describe the strength of the available evidence to support virtual colonoscopy as a routine colon cancer screening method. The story mentions the recent study but does not fully describe the findings of the study, such as the fact that the test performed poorly in finding small polyps and that suspicious findings were found outside of the colon in almost 1 in 5 study participants. These findings required additional testing and follow up evaluation. In addition, the story mentions that the American Cancer Society and the American College of Oncology endorse the test, but does not mention that the USPSTF does not recommend routine use of the test based on their independent evidence review. The story also exaggerates the novelty of CT colonography by referring to it as ""science fiction"" and likening it to ""Star Wars"" and a ""video game"". Clearly, CT technology – even with 3D reconstruction – is not new but the idea that it can be used for colon cancer screening is relatively new. Finally, although the story does not exaggerrate the prevalence or mortality of colon cancer, the story crosses the line into disease mongering in its description of polyps, calling them a ""monster… sprouting inside a patient’s large intenstine like a mushroom"". More importantly, though, it falsely claims that most polyps develop into cancer in 10 years. This kind of misstatement does a disservice to the reader in obscuring the clinical reality with fear mongering."
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false
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"Not only does the story overstate the cost of colonoscopy (it is much less than $3000) but it should not have gone so far as to speculate that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Servies would rule in favor of covering virtual colonoscopy, especially given the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force conclusion that ""the evidence is insufficient to assess the benefits and harms of computed tomographic colonography"" – a conclusion widely available and publicized before this story was even published! The story does state that CT colonography identified 9 out of 10 of the large polyps seen on conventional colonoscopy. The story could have added other outcomes, such as how well the test performed for smaller polyps and the percentage of patients with extracolonic findings. Although the story mentions radiation exposure and missed polyps as potential harms of CT colonography, it does not mention additional harms such as operator variability in the interpretation of the CT scans and extracolonic findings (findings outside of the colon seen on the CT scan that may or may not be serious but which require additional testing and evaluation). Also, the impact of the radiation exposure is more controversial than how the story frames it. The story does not adequately describe the strength of the available evidence to support virtual colonoscopy as a routine colon cancer screening method. The story mentions the recent study but does not fully describe the findings of the study, such as the fact that the test performed poorly in finding small polyps and that suspicious findings were found outside of the colon in almost 1 in 5 study participants. These findings required additional testing and follow up evaluation. Furthermore, the story mentions that the American Cancer Society and American College of Oncology endorse the test, but does not mention that the US Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend routine use of the test based on their independent evidence review. The story does not exaggerate the prevalence or mortality of colon cancer. However, the story crosses the line into disease mongering in its description of polyps, calling them a ""monster… sprouting inside a patient’s large intestine like a mushroom"". More importantly, though, it falsely claims that most polyps develop into cancer in 10 years. This kind of misstatement does a disservice to the reader in obscuring the clinical reality with fear mongering. The story quotes multiple experts – but no balance was attained because everyone interviewed was a fan. As already stated, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force had already provided all the fodder for important balance – but the newspaper ignored it or wasn’t aware of it. The story mentions colonoscopy but does not mention other alternatives to CT colonography, such as fecal-occult blood testing or flexible sigmoidoscopy as colon cancer screening methods. The story does not adequately describe the availability of virtual colonoscopy, which may be limited to large or academic medical centers. The story exaggerates the novelty of CT colonography by referring to it as ""science fiction"" and likening it to ""Star Wars"" and a ""video game"". Clearly, CT technology – even with 3D reconstruction – is not new but the idea that it can be used for colon cancer screening is relatively new. Because the story quotes multiple experts, the reader can assume that the story did not rely on a press release as the sole source of information."
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31446
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In just over a year, more than sixty holistic health practitioners have died suspicious deaths, and the media refuses to acknowledge that these deaths might be linked.
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There is no conspiracy afoot. Instead, there are simply 61 individual tragedies that have been inelegantly strung together by an alternative health website whose not-so-subtle innuendo has subsequently echoed through the darkest and most paranoid corners of the internet — and which has begun to leak into mainstream media outlets as well.
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false
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Medical, holistic doctors
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On 19 June 2015, a controversial doctor named Jeffrey Bradstreet was found dead in a river by a local fisherman from what the local sheriff’s office later determined was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. Bradstreet was an outspoken proponent of the discredited theory that vaccines cause autism, as well as a practitioner of and an evangelist for a fringe remedy derived from human blood known as GcMAF (illegally advertised as a cure for everything from cancer to autism). His death came just days after his Georgia clinic was raided by the federal agents looking for GcMAF or other unlicensed medical treatments. On the day he was found, a Swiss clinic associated with a company that Bradstreet had frequently promoted and which used GcMAF, was raided after five patients died (though it is not clear if those five patients died from GcMAF or some other cause). His family, not convinced in the official conclusion that his death was a suicide, hired a private investigator to look for indications of foul play, which provided fodder for internet conspiracy theorists — many suggested he had been murdered by someone working for the pharmaceutical, medical, and regulatory establishments. Erin Elizabeth, the founder of Health Nut News, has taken this sentiment and run with it, arguing that Bradstreet’s death was not only suspicious, but far from an isolated incident. Her post on Bradstreet provided a gateway into what would become the central focus of her work over the next year and a half — unraveling the mystery around what she claims are the suspicious deaths of over 60 doctors of holistic medicine. Her efforts have caught the attention of countless other conspiracy-minded web sites, including Natural News and Alex Jones’ InfoWars. Aspects of the narrative are allegedly being developed into a movie, and on 30 April 2017, Elizabeth was featured on an episode of Investigation Discovery Channel’s “Scene of the Crime, with Tony Harris” that focused on Bradstreet’s death. Elizabeth first wrote about Bradstreet’s death on 23 June 2015, in a post implying (but not demonstrating) there was more to the story than met the eye, and citing Bradstreet’s family and friends’ doubt over the official cause of death as proof. Building off of the success of that article, Elizabeth has expanded what she calls her “unintentional series” to include over 50 posts on Health Nut News. Frequent “breaking” headlines and Elizabeth’s repeatedly stated fears for the safety of partner, Joseph Mercola, a prominent holistic doctor with an extensive web site, have added a sense of urgency. Her posts, often devoid of details that provide any tangible link between events, almost invariably tie the deaths if not directly, then by not-at-all-subtle innuendo, to the conspiracy narrative created in the Bradstreet story. This-bait-and-switch started right away. For example, in her report on the case of chiropractor Bruce Hedendal on 1 July 2015, who was found dead in his car, reportedly of natural causes, she implies (but never expands on) a link to Bradstreet: The second doctor is Dr. Bruce Hedendal, DC, PhD of Boca Roton, Fl. who died suddenly on Father’s Day, leaving behind a beautiful family. Sources tell me that he was found dead in his car; there had been no accident and it wasn’t running. He had exercised earlier at an event, but we don’t want to speculate as the authorities have yet to rule on his cause of death. […] Both Dr Hedendal and Dr. Bradstreet had dealt with run ins with the feds in the past. In fact, Dr. Bradstreet’s office was just raided by the FDA days before he died. In this post, we critically and systematically examine each person that Elizabeth has included in her series to see if suggestions of linked causes or outright conspiracy hold up. In doing so, we demonstrate that Elizabeth’s series fails to a) coherently articulate the conspiracy, b) consistently utilize the same list of victims, or c) demonstrate any connection between the victims whatsoever. What Is the Conspiracy? Elizabeth, who repeatedly stresses that she has no proof of a connection between any of these cases, generally suggests that there have been a large and underreported number of holistic doctors whose deaths were suspicious or unexplained. In its early iterations in the summer of 2015, the claims suggested a local Florida connection (Bradstreet had moved from Florida to Georgia), as she wrote in the 21 July 2015 post: Yet another doctor was just found murdered inside his home here on the East Coast of Florida. This makes six doctors to be found dead in the last month, from this region of the country alone. Four out of the six were found dead here in Florida. As the series progressed, however, the geographic and chronologic window widened, with later reports coming from numerous states across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the Caribbean island of Grenada, and the United Kingdom. Chronologically, the series has expanded retroactively to include incidents that predate Bradstreet’s death, going back as early as the summer of 2014. Other aspects of the story that have been broadened with its telling and retelling are the defining characteristics of the alleged victims of the conspiracy. In some cases, the doctors that Elizabeth includes have no connection to holistic medicine whatsoever (despite her headlines), and in other cases the link to holistic medicine is extremely tenuous and based on observations such as liked Facebook pages, veganism, or an openness to preventive medicine. Elizabeth herself does not offer any suggestions or explications for motive, but strongly suggests the link lies within their alternative approach to medicine, as she does in her most recent recap of the “series”: Some of the biggest skeptics, those who rolled their eyes at the first few deaths, are now wondering if there isn’t a connection. There have been theories, from GcMAF to CBD oil, but I don’t think all doctors used both of these treatments. I’m not convinced either is the smoking gun, but might hold part of the answer. There are several unsolved murders here (and some alleged suicides, most still under investigation), and I sincerely hope they get to the bottom of this as again, we knew several of these amazing doctors personally. The dubious (and unsubstantiated) shared connections of GcMAF and CBD oil — a non-psychoactive component of cannabis used primarily for pain management — among these doctors is about as close to a motive as you will find on Health Nut News. Still, it has been enough fodder for others to attach their own pet theories to—some conspiracy peddlers focus on GcMAF despite the fact that almost none of the other doctors were involved in it, while others tie the conspiracy more generally to the heavy-handed interference of the federal government. Who Are the Victims? Elizabeth claims that “well over 60” victims, who are “mostly holistic” doctors have died suspiciously. She has not published a definitive list, but when she recaps the growing list of departed doctors, she posts a photo montage of the alleged victim’s faces. Without a clear tally from Elizabeth, we took it upon ourselves to generate a list of the doctors whose deaths she has said were suspicious. The task proved complex because many of her reports come with the caveat that they are “not part of the official series” but are nonetheless included in her photo montage. Elizabeth told us via email that this inconsistency stems from advice she got from a reporter: After talking to a seasoned reporter in NY, I decided he was correct I couldn’t pick and choose who to put into this ‘series’ so I included all of them and usually wrote about right after their deaths were announced. Our list includes 61 doctors (provided for your own fact-checking pleasure on this Google spreadsheet) and is derived from Elizabeth’s posts, reverse image searches of the collage of victims’ faces, and discussions with Elizabeth herself. 56 of the doctors on our list come from her collage (which includes two duplicate faces). Elizabeth sent us links to an additional five posts about deaths that she has not yet included in the photo montage. As we will show below, of these now 61 doctors, all but five can easily be excluded from any conspiracy attacking alternative medical practice. The remaining five cases, while perhaps not without some intrigue, are far from sufficient proof of of any large scale conspiracy against alternative health practitioners. Elizabeth Herself Has Already Excluded 14 of the 61 Cases As Elizabeth’s conspiracy claims have expanded, she has taken to posting about deaths that even she admits are not part of her list of dead holistic doctors. Yet, she includes these doctors in her photo montage and has posted about “questions” surrounding their deaths on Health Nut News. These fourteen doctors include five chiropractors who died in car accidents (Chris Coffman, David Knotts, Thomas Eynon, William Snow and Janelle A. Bottorff) introduced with this caveat: I’m not including these officially in my holistic series of doctors who have been found dead or murdered, but have had more than one of their patients write me saying that they would like me to do a story on them. Elizabeth also wrote a post about four doctors (none of whom practiced any form of alternative medicine) killed in accidents (Christopher Spradley, Robert Grossman, Anthony Keene and Dick Versendaal) that come with this caveat: I don’t think these four in accidents were probably foul play. I just included them as a few asked me to. These doctors weren’t holistic (that I know of- I haven’t researched) I guess the lesson is that wearing a helmet, even when simply riding a bicycle, doesn’t necessarily protect you. It also shows how quickly our lives can be taken away from us or those around us so treasure every moment with your loved ones. Another six posts about individual doctors’ deaths come with disclaimers or updates admitting that their deaths were not mysterious. Despite that admission, Elizabeth continues to include their faces on her dead doctor collage. These doctors, only three of whom practiced alternative medicine, are Jamie Zimmerman, Nabil El Sanadi, Lorraine Hurley, Kenneth Rich, and Alan Clarke. Seven of the Remaining 47 Cases Can Also Be Excluded as Accidents We found another seven cases that are clear and incontrovertible accidents — though Elizabeth has not admitted as much. This includes John Louis Lombardozzi, a chiropractor killed in a motorcycle accident (listed as suspicious because he was an “experienced rider”); Wade Shipman, an osteopath who died in a bike accident; John A. Harsch, a holistic doctor killed in a car accident; Thomas Bruff, an occupational medicine doctor who died in a plane crash; Mark Buller, a bioterrorism expert who died after being struck by a car; and surgeon Anita Kurmann, who was killed in a bike accident. Finally, Linnea Veinotte, a researcher who had a teaching post at St. George’s University in Grenada, was killed in a hit-and-run for which the perpetrator later turned himself in. Fourteen of the Remaining 40 Cases Are Murders Unrelated to a Medical Conspiracy Fourteen of the doctors in Elizabeth’s series were murdered. Although each case is disturbing, in all but one the likely perpetrator has been identified — and in the remaining case, the victim was a retiree who clearly posed no threat to the medical establishment. One of the cases Elizabeth most often refers to in hers series is that of Teresa Sievers. Dr. Sievers was involved in holistic medicine and her murder was complex and mysterious enough to be featured on the CBS program “48 hours.” However, the investigation ultimately ended in the arrest of her husband on the suspicion that he paid a man to kill her for a life insurance payout. The case is still working its way through the courts. Another notable case involved the brutal and premeditated killing of a Southern California doctor who combined conventional and holistic medicine, Weidong “Henry” Han. Dr. Han, along with his wife and five year old daughter, were killed by a former business partner for financial gain, as reported by the Associated Press: A California man was charged Tuesday with murder in the slaughter of the family of a Chinese herbalist, including his 5-year-old daughter, in a crime authorities say might have been caused by a business dispute. Pierre Haobsh, 26, of Oceanside was charged with murder with special circumstances that he used a handgun, killed for financial gain and committed multiple killings. Santa Barbara County prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty. […] A loaded gun and property belonging to one of the victims was found inside the car where Haobsh was arrested, Sheriff Bob Brown said last week. As horrific as this event was, the likely perpetrator in this case was known to the victim, making it unlikely to be part of a larger conspiracy. The same can be said about these deaths included in the Health Nut News series: Three more doctors were murdered in three random acts of violence that, despite involving assailants unknown to the victims, involved either a perpetrator who is now in custody, or a victim not plausibly related to any medical or regulatory conspiracy: Ten of the Remaining 26 Cases Involve People With No Tie to Holistic Medicine In many instances, Elizabeth includes individuals in her “series” who have no documentable tie to holistic medicine. Among the most tenuous connections to holistic medicine is the case of Cheryl Deboar, who was employed in a non-research role at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and had a degree in chemistry. Also notable is the inclusion of Jeffrey Whiteside, a pulmonary/critical care doctor who, despite a complex and potentially mismanaged investigation that ultimately concluded that his death was a suicide, did not practice or have ties to any form of alternative medicine. Elizabeth uses the problems in the investigation to generate suspicion but fails to make any link to a larger narrative about the threat she thinks alternative medical practitioners are facing. Other tenuous connections included in this category: 11 of the Remaining 16 Cases Cannot Plausibly Be Considered Suspicious In ten of the remaining cases, the cause of death is known and generally accepted. This includes the death of Alfredo “Dr. Sebi” Bowman, an alternative health guru and traditional healer who died in an Honduran jail where he was being held on money laundering charges. Bowman was an important figure in the alternative health world, but conditions in Honduran prisons are notoriously harsh, crowded, and unsanitary, making it unsurprising that an 82 year-old with pneumonia did not survive his detention there. Similarly, 56 year-old anesthesiologist and libertarian presidential candidate Mark Feldman, who was anti-vaccine, died in a motel where he was found by an unidentified woman. Authorities determined that his death was caused by a heart attack. In other cases, Elizabeth barely makes an attempt to draw the deaths of these individuals into a larger narrative, as with chiropractor Armon Burt — the victim of a heart attack whose inclusion in the series stems from Elizabeth’s barely-articulated hunches that minor details surrounding his death are strange: Dr. Armon Bert, who was reported missing by his family, was found in his car in the parking lot of a Kirkwood Lowes store (St Louis suburb), the “apparent’ victim of a heart attack (how do they clock his death at exactly 10:04 AM if they found him in the car?). The remaining cases here are those in which Elizabeth challenges the reader to prove a negative — that there is not evidence that it wasn’t suspicious — without providing any tangible evidence that there is cause to doubt the official cause of death: Finally, Rod Floyd, a professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic, whose suicide Elizabeth casts doubt on by saying that she heard things but is unable to elaborate on them as “even [she] doesn’t know all the details.” There is no verifiable evidence of foul play in his death. Five Cases Involving ‘Holistic Doctors’ Remain After eliminating the above 55 doctors from the “official unintended series”, we are left with only five cases involving individuals who practiced some form of alternative medicine and whose death could arguably (though this is a stretch) look suspicious. This includes the death of Jeffrey Bradstreet (discussed earlier), the incident that spawned this whole “series” in the first place. Elizabeth includes another indisputably prominent figure in the alternative medicine scene, Mitchell Gaynor, in her series. As with Bradstreet, Gaynor’s death was ruled a suicide, which Elizabeth questions for spurious reasons. She argues that Gaynor, who supplemented his traditional treatment with natural remedies, wouldn’t have committed suicide because he had recently beat the flu and survived a car accident: I’m confused because his close friend and patient (also a doctor) told me that they were told he had walked away from a car accident, but then days later he was found in the woods at his country home in Upstate New York. I’m also confused because posts on his personal Facebook page (which you might only be able to see if you are friends with him or have mutual friends) had colleagues saying that they were so sorry he missed the conference he was supposed to attend last weekend because allegedly he said he had the intestinal flu. So, let’s say the information we were given was true. Let’s say he survived a car accident (we don’t know the details yet) and walked away from it, then he gets the intestinal flu (apparently survives that too) and then kills himself (allegedly in the woods at his country home, according to a patient and friend)? We are unsure what these details have to do with his state of mind, but it should be noted that surviving both the flu and a car accident are not necessarily indicators of mental health. The other notable figure is Nick Gonzalez, an oncologist who practiced controversial and unproven alternative cancer treatments. Gonzalez died at age 67 of cardiac-related issues. His death sparked its own conspiracy theories and memes, as he once joked that pharmaceutical companies might target him for his work, as Vitality Magazine reported: The keynote speaker at this year’s Whole Life Expo is Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez of New York, one of a small number of doctors whose success in treating cancer exceeds that of mainstream oncology by a wide margin. His work thereby puts the lie to pharmaceutical propaganda that fuels a cancer industry bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars while fooling millions of desperate and bewildered patients. “I’ve been told drug companies know about my work but hope I get hit by a bus,” Dr. Gonzalez observes wryly. The two remaining cases included here involve people who had connections to holistic medicine, but were far from national figures in the movement and could barely be considered primary targets for a hit job: These five cases, and perhaps even some suicides mentioned above, form a kind of Rorschach Test — if you are looking for evidence of a plot against alternative medical practitioners, you will likely be drawn to them. However, recognizing that nearly every story included in Elizabeth’s “unintended series” is demonstrably unrelated to each other means that any conspiracy made must be crafted from the deaths of three prominent doctors — plus two doctors who, despite having experience with alternative medicine, were not national figures or a plausible threat to any medical establishment. A Collection of Unrelated Tragedies As we reported in the earliest debunking of this conspiracy theory, between 6,500 and 8,200 doctors can be expected to die each year in the United States alone. These five deaths over the span of a year and a half, from a statistical standpoint, are not abnormal. Further, outside of vaguely defined philosophical beliefs, there is absolutely no connection between any of them. In fact, amongst the whole series, the only true defining similarity between all the cases described on Health Nut News is that Elizabeth promises to keep people updated on their developments if they join her email list. Because the claim of “over 60” dead doctors cannot be demonstrated even by Elizabeth herself, and because nearly all of the cases she uses can be easily excluded from a larger conspiracy.
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35224
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"In regards to reopening the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the former CEO of Wells Fargo stated, ""We’ll gradually bring those people back and see what happens. Some of them will get sick, some may even die, I don’t know."
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I would say I was misquoted in that interview. There was a lot of context that was omitted. What I think is that we need, we do need to get people back to work as soon as it is safe to do so. This is not just for economic reasons. Those of us who have been in San Francisco and in lockdown now for almost two weeks. It’s really not a healthy and enjoyable experience either physically, mentally or psychologically. It is devastating economically, especially for low-income workers. So if I were the president I would be taking the advice of Dr. Fauci who appears to be a very knowledgeable and experienced and balanced professional, about when it’s right to go back to work.
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true
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Politics, COVID-19
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In late March 2020, controversy erupted when U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that, despite a deadly COVID-19 pandemic with a rising death toll, Americans should end social-distancing measures and return to work by Easter in order to avert further harm to the economy. Trump’s suggestion flew in the face of the recommendations by health experts, as well as a number of locally-mandated social distancing and shelter-in-place orders. It also raised fears that encouraging people to go back to work before the disease was contained amounted to putting a price on human life. But Trump staffers, supporters, right-wing media personalities, and the president himself all expressed concern that shutting down the economy could be a cure worse than the disease. Amid this debate, national politics and financial news outlet Bloomberg published an article headlined, “Billionaires Want People Back to Work. Employees Aren’t So Sure.” The story contrasted the fears expressed by one front-line service worker worried about contracting COVID-19 against comments by wealthy business leaders who worried about further damage to the economy if lockdowns persisted. Former Wells Fargo CEO Richard Kovacevich was quoted as one of the latter. Kovacevich, who was CEO of Wells Fargo until 2007 and chairman until 2009, was quoted in the article as saying: We’ll gradually bring those people back and see what happens. Some of them will get sick, some may even die, I don’t know. Do you want to suffer more economically or take some risk that you’ll get flu-like symptoms and a flu-like experience? Do you want to take an economic risk or a health risk? You get to choose. The statement resulted in considerable blowback. And subsequent headlines didn’t help matters for Kovacevich: “‘Some may even die, I don’t know’: Former Wells Fargo CEO wants people to go back to work and ‘see what happens,'” read one from Business Insider. In a followup interview with CNBC two days later, Kovacevich said he felt the remark wasn’t placed within the the proper context in the Bloomberg article. Kovacevich explained that he meant people should start returning to work after various regions in the U.S. had succeeded in “flattening the curve,” meaning when a steep increase of COVID-19 cases had leveled out to more manageable numbers. He gave examples of China, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, which he claimed had succeeded in doing so and commenced restarting their economies after about a month on lockdown. Here are Kovacevich’s comments on CNBC in full:
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5861
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Rise in syphilis cases in north Alabama.
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A sharp increase in syphilis cases has led the Alabama Department of Public Health to issue a health advisory for north Alabama.
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true
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Health, Alabama, Public health, Syphilis
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ADPH says there’s been a 90 percent increase in reported cases over 2015 in Madison County. The department announced Friday that 54 cases have been reported in Madison County in 2016. Health officials say infection can occur after a person has direct contact with a syphilis sore during vaginal, anal or oral sex. Syphilis can also be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby. Persons who contract syphilis may develop a sore or rash, but many won’t be aware of infection unless tested. In most cases, syphilis can be cured by antibiotics. ADPH is implementing an enhanced screening program and outreach to those groups most at risk.
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7512
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Wary of irking China, Trump offers rosy take on virus threat.
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President Donald Trump regaled a friendly New Jersey campaign crowd with his thoughts about with his thoughts about impeachment, the economy, the border wall, local politics and much more.
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true
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AP Top News, Health, Ebola virus, Politics, China, Virus Outbreak, Asia Pacific, U.S. News, U.S. News, General News, Donald Trump
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But he was conspicuously quiet Tuesday about one big issue keeping much of the globe on pins and needles: the spread of a deadly new type of coronavirus. It has killed more than 170 people in China, sickened thousands more there and led to a handful of confirmed cases in the U.S., including the first U.S. case of person-to-person transmission reported Thursday by health officials. The State Department on Thursday advised all U.S. citizens against traveling to China. Trump, a self-described germaphobe, generally has discussed the virus in broad terms, but he offered some of his most extensive comments on the issue to date during an appearance Thursday at a Michigan manufacturing plant. “Hopefully, it won’t be as bad as some people think it could be, but we’re working very closely with them (Chinese) and with a lot of other people and a lot of other countries,” he said. “We think we have it very well under control.” Trump described the handful of U.S. cases as a “very little problem” and said those people were “recuperating successfully.” “But we’re working very closely with China and other countries and we think it’s going to have a very good ending for us. That I can assure you,” he said. Trump also has discussed the situation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Aides and confidants say Trump’s careful approach is part of a political strategy crafted to avoid upsetting the stock market or angering China by calling too much attention to the virus or blaming Beijing for not managing the situation better, according to a White House official and a Republican close to the White House. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations. Late Wednesday, Trump tweeted photos from a White House Situation Room briefing on the virus, writing that “we have the best experts anywhere in the world and they are on top of it 24/7!” In keeping with the low-profile approach, the White House announced by email Wednesday night that the meeting included members of a task force that will lead the U.S. response. The 12-person team is chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and coordinated through the National Security Council. The president’s comments contrast sharply with the fierce criticism he lobbed at his predecessor, President Barack Obama, during the 2014-15 Ebola crisis, which left more than 11,000 dead in three West African nations. At the time, Trump ripped into Obama as a “dope” and “incompetent” and called for a travel ban on visitors from Ebola-infected countries. Trump also advocated preventing infected American health care workers from coming home for treatment. Obama faced some criticism from public health officials for being slow to address the Ebola crisis initially, but also received plaudits for eventually attacking it with vigor. He nudged Congress to make a $5.4 billion emergency appropriation to aid the fight and sent 3,000 U.S. troops to West Africa to help with the international response. Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, said he’s taken a measure of comfort in the fact that Trump, so far, hasn’t overreacted and has resisted “fanning the flames” as he did with his rhetoric during the Ebola crisis. That leaves room, Gostin said, for public health professionals to take the lead. “As long as that continues and as long as there isn’t political interference or mass quarantines in the U.S. or outright travel bans, I will feel comfortable with how the White House is handling it,” Gostin said. He added that he’d like to see Trump ask Congress for a $1 billion emergency appropriation to help agencies battling to contain the virus. Trump is well aware the virus outbreak in China could create a wild card for the U.S. economy during an election year. And he has long prioritized the U.S. economic relationship with China, especially during trade negotiations, and similarly largely held his tongue during widespread protests in Hong Kong. He also takes enormous pride in the personal relationship he’s developed with Xi and has commended him for demonstrating “transparency” as he deals with the crisis. Asked about the virus while traveling abroad last week, Trump said “we have it totally under control.” In a separate Twitter posting, he offered reassurance but scant detail for his confidence. “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus,” Trump tweeted. “The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well.” But some public health experts say Trump’s rosy assessments of the situation don’t match the ground truth. Gostin pointed to Chinese government bureaucratic delays that led to tens of thousands of people traveling outside of Wuhan province, increasing the likelihood that the virus will travel far beyond China. “It’s not accurate at all,” Gostin said of Trump’s assessment of China’s handling of the outbreak. “China manifestly does not have this under control.” Trump’s budgets have proposed cuts to public health, only to be overruled by Congress, where there’s strong bipartisan support for agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Indeed, the money government disease detectives are tapping to fight the latest outbreak was a congressional idea. ___ Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Lauran Neergaard and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
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34505
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Vintage Pyrex contains unsafe levels of lead, making it dangerous for any sort of food serving or storing purpose.
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We were unable to locate any other information substantiating the claim that vintage Pyrex contained any worrisome levels of lead. All information we could find indicated that the method of production has stayed consistent for 60 years. The FDA began enforcing limits on leachable lead in 1971, and a vintage Pyrex pattern commonly targeted as purportedly high in lead content didn’t even go into production until 1972, after all manufacturers were subject to the FDA’s new leachable lead standards.
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unproven
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Medical, lead, pyrex, scarelore
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On 30 November 2016, the Facebook page “Punk Rock Homesteading” shared a report that vintage Pyrex dishes contain unsafe levels of lead. The linked article was published by Creative Green Living in October 2015, and strongly discouraged the use of vintage Pyrex due to a purported issue with high lead content. (Pyrex had previously been the subject of rumors about spontaneous shattering thanks to manufacturing cuts.) The piece reported that lead could contaminate food from both in and outside the popular dishes (often heirlooms), citing a documentary about a “secret epidemic” of lead in household items: Tamara Rubin, the director and producer of the forthcoming documentary, MisLEAD: America’s Secret Epidemic is also the director of the Lead Safe America Foundation. She frequently tests items that are brought into their headquarters in Portland, OR. In the Facebook post that ignited a firestorm, she shows an image of a 3M Lead Check Swab after being used to test the outside of a Pyrex bowl. The milk glass interiors, classic to most vintage Pyrex and Anchor Hocking pieces, commonly contain lead as well. The lead in milk glass is probably inert, however, no lab tests are currently being done on these vintage pieces. It is also probable that using the glass with highly acidic foods or using glass that is scratched may release some of the lead contained in the glass. The problem is that you won’t know once you’ve reached the point where your bowl or dish is leaching lead. The author lamented that she could not in good conscience tell readers their vintage Pyrex was still safe to use, listing off the myriad ways in which lead could purportedly come into contact with food, and implying that vintage Pyrex differs from its modern counterpart: People insisted that since food doesn’t come in contact with the outside of the bowls, these tests do nothing more than drum up fear. The problem is, that if lead is coming off onto a Lead Check Swab, that means it IS rubbing off – in small, even microscopic (but still dangerous) amounts – and it becomes available to be transferred to your mouth, eyes, or even your child’s food or body. Even though you can’t see it….Every time you touch it. Every time you stack it inside another dish. Every time you run it through the dishwasher. Every time you wipe it with a rag. All of these actions will release a microscopic amount of lead from the paint that can contaminate your environment. If you carry the dish to the table and a micro amount of lead comes off on your hands and then you turn around and start preparing your child’s food, you’re spreading that contamination. If you child touches the dish as it’s being passed around the table and gets lead on their hands and then puts their hands in their mouth, they’ve just ingested lead. The source of most social media claims appeared to be the Tamara Rubin documentary about childhood lead poisoning. In a 19 June 2014 Facebook post, the documentary’s page shared purported lead testing results for a Pyrex casserole from the “Spring Blossom” collection. The post had no information about testing methodology: Vintage Pyrex casserole pot (y’all have been asking about this for a long time! It’s the newest addition to my collection of toxic stuff!!!) drumroll please: white glass: 175 ppm lead, green paint: 61,900 ppm lead, white floral design; 110,000 ppm lead. Please share this one & if you appreciate what I do – pretty please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help me continue to help families everywhere. No lead is safe, we shouldn’t have lead in our cookware. Ikea has lead-free dishes and cookware (& they don’t pay me to tell you that!) our donate button: http://www.leadsafeamerica.org – Each $5 raised helps us to help at least one family. Thank you! Rubin’s claims about lurking lead dangers did not revolve solely around Pyrex. In an April 2015 interview, Rubin shared more stories about lead lurking in innocuous items: For my readers, the biggest “surprises” were the Beatrix Potter Benjamin Bunny Wedgewood China baby cups – which tested between 20,000 and 75,000 parts per million lead (baby cups, for Pete’s sake! ); and then of course, readers have been outraged by the vintage Pyrex – which has tested positive with levels as high as 200,000 ppm lead and higher. That said, my biggest “surprise” was a nurse’s stethoscope – purchased new, this past year (at the time that I tested it); it was way over the limit of what was considered safe for lead (with safety limits only set in place for items intended for use by children)- and really… how many times has a parent been at a doctor’s office or at the hospital and the nurse or doctor gave the baby a stethoscope to play with? And one of the first things the kid does…is put it in their mouth… right? The claims appeared to originate with a single individual (Rubin) testing vintage Pyrex for lead in a non-laboratory environment and using undisclosed methods. Other people attempted to test their own pieces; one owner of vintage Pyrex in the “Butterprint” pattern discovered different results: A search for definitive answers about lead in vintage Pyrex originating from any source other from Rubin was difficult. A since-deleted page created by Pyrex provided a clue as to whether older Pyrex presented a new risk. According to the archived FAQ: World Kitchen did not change the product composition of Pyrex glass bakeware. For more than 60 years, Pyrex glass bakeware has been made – first by Corning Incorporated and now by World Kitchen – using the same soda lime composition and heat-strengthening process at the same soda lime plant in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Corning Incorporated began making Pyrex glass bakeware from borosilicate glass in 1915 and in the 1940s began making Pyrex glass bakeware from soda lime. A representative for Pyrex confirmed to us that their manufacturing standards had not changed in the preceding six decades, suggesting that if high levels of lead were present in vintage Pyrex, there was no reason why they would not also be present in modern Pyrex. (However, panics over lead in Pyrex targeted only the prized vintage patterns.) Another answer came from a Smithsonian piece on the safety of vintage wares in general, in which a Food and Drug Administration representative was quoted on the general safety of such items: First, as a bit of background, FDA established and began enforcing limits on leachable lead in tableware 40 years [prior to 2009, around 1971]. Obviously, any ware, Fiestaware or otherwise, manufactured prior to that era was not subject to FDA limits, because they didn’t exist. This doesn’t necessarily mean that old ware is unsafe, but consumers who are concerned about such a possibility can use home lead test kits (available in hardware stores) to screen old ware to determine whether it may leach high levels of lead into food. We do not recommend not using old ware unless it shows signs of deterioration such as cracking or pitting of the glaze. This could be a sign that the glaze is disintegrating and could allow lead to leach into food. In addition to using a home test kit, consumers who want to be cautious might choose to avoid storing foods in older holloware (bowls), consuming hot and acidic liquid beverages such as coffee or tea out of cups, and heating bowls, cups and plates in the microwave. Again, these are qualified recommendations; the ware is not necessarily unsafe because it is old, but it may not comply with current FDA standards. The Facebook post embedded above specifically “tested” a casserole from Pyrex’s “Spring Blossom” (or “Spring Blossom Green”) collection, introduced in 1972. All dishes of that vintage Pyrex pattern were manufactured after the FDA’s enforcement of leachable lead levels for cookware in 1971. The “Butterprint” pattern tested in the video above was manufactured between 1957 and 1968, but Pyrex did not appear to have changed their product composition in that timeframe. We could find no evidence in Pyrex’s well-documented history that the FDA’s updated standards for lead in cookware altered the standing composition or manufacture of the product in any way. A 2010 paper on the history of Pyrex acknowledged the presence of lead in a predecessor known as “Nonex,” adding that lead was formulated out during the development of Pyrex between 1913 and 1915: In 1915, Corning Glass introduced the first glass ovenware, made of a new, clear, heat-resistant material, Pyrex®. Its cooking potential was discovered in 1913 by Dr. Jesse T. Littleton of Corning when he provided his wife, Becky, with a makeshift casserole out of a cut-down Nonex battery jar. Surprisingly, it survived the oven as well as traditional ceramic casseroles. After Corning revised the original Nonex formula to remove the lead (dangerous in food products), the ovenware was successfully tested by Sarah Tyson Rorer, Director of the Philadelphia Cooking School and culinary editor of the Ladies Home Journal.
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17098
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In 2005, Dan Branch tried to expand third-trimester abortions in Texas.
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Texas lawmakers including Dan Branch tightened limit on late abortions in 2005
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false
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Abortion, Corrections and Updates, Texas, Texas Right to Life,
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"Have Republican voters advanced a candidate for attorney general who tried to make abortion more accessible? Texas Right to Life said in a March 21, 2014, email blast about state Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas, ""In 2005, Branch tried to expand third-trimester abortions in Texas!"" The blast said the change ""would have endangered disabled, unborn babies."" Well, it was an amendment to an amended amendment, and it would have provided an exception to an abortion restriction that didn’t yet exist. Does that mean Branch ""tried to expand"" late-term abortions? Branch faces state Sen. Ken Paxton of McKinney in a May 27, 2014, runoff for the GOP nomination in the race to replace Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. Backup: An amendment to an amendment By email, Texas Right to Life legislative director John Seago pointed us to an amendment Branch offered May 16, 2005, as the House was considering Senate Bill 419 to maintain the state medical regulatory agencies. From the front of the House chamber, Republican Rep. Will Hartnett of Dallas put forward an amendment to the state’s Occupations Code prohibiting third-trimester abortions ""when the abortion is not necessary to prevent the death of the woman."" Hartnett’s move--which won legislative approval and the backing of Republicans including Branch--amounted to a tightening of the existing state law, which barred third-trimester abortions unless the physician performing the abortion found the action ""necessary to prevent the death or a substantial risk of serious impairment to the physical or mental health of the woman; or the fetus has a severe and irreversible abnormality, identified by reliable diagnostic procedures."" (That law was left in place, however, though the new restrictions superseded the old language due to a long-time legal provision stating that when laws are irreconciliable with one another, the law of more recent enactment prevails.) During House consideration of his proposal, Hartnett amended it to bar third-trimester abortions if ""the viable unborn child does not have a severe, irreversible brain impairment."" Branch then proposed adding ""or vital organ"" after ""brain:"" Recapping: Hartnett’s amended amendment would allow late abortions if a ""viable unborn child"" had irreversible brain damage. Branch’s amendment, which Hartnett opposed, would have added another exception, allowing third-trimester abortions if the viable unborn child had irreversible damage to vital organs. Branch offers rationale not mentioned in '05 debate We sought to interview Branch about why he offered his amendment. Branch campaign spokesman Enrique Marquez told us via email that Branch ""was concerned that, by focusing arbitrarily on the brain, to the exclusion of the heart or lungs, the Legislature might give a court an excuse to question the rational basis of the law."" Branch didn’t explicitly mention potential court concerns in the House floor debate, according to the House’s archived online video (debate on Branch’s amendment starts at the 2:08:11 mark). But he repeatedly said it was rational to roll in irreversible vital organ damage if Hartnett’s amendment already specified irreversible brain damage as an exception. Branch said, ""What this is merely attempting to do is to be intellectually honest with the fact that there are other vital organs besides the brain in a third-trimester fetus. That’s all I’m trying to do."""
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20658
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Statistics bear out that any time a country, a state, makes more restrictive abortion laws ... fatalities go up and abortions actually increase.
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Nickie Antonio says restrictive abortion laws actually drive up abortions and fatalities
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false
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Abortion, Ohio, Government Regulation, Women, Nickie Antonio,
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"While GOP lawmakers focused their energy last year on abortion legislation, some have fought those laws with similar conviction. Rep. Nickie Antonio, a freshman lawmaker from Lakewood, has been among the steady voices in opposition to Republicans’ anti-abortion efforts. Antonio recently attempted to contrast the GOP’s agenda with a resolution to designate a week in January as ""Reproductive Rights Awareness Week."" The aim of the resolution is to promote public awareness and support ""reproductive rights and justice."" During a Jan. 24 news conference to announce the resolution, Antonio talked about the dangers associated with restrictive abortion laws. ""Statistics bear out that any time a country, a state, makes more restrictive abortion laws — restricts women’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care — fatalities go up and abortions actually increase,"" Antonio said. Abortion is an emotional issue that has been a persistent topic of discussion as Ohio lawmakers have considered several abortion-related bills for the last year-plus. Antonio’s statement raised PolitiFact Ohio’s curiosity because she was suggesting that the anti-abortion bills Ohio Republicans have supported would actually cause an increase in abortions. Since the beginning of last year, Republican lawmakers who control the Senate and the House of Representatives have approved a late-term abortion ban and legislation that makes it more difficult for minors to obtain abortions without their parents’ permission. The late-term ban prohibits abortions when a pregnancy is 20 weeks along unless a doctor determines a fetus cannot live outside the womb — a condition known as viability. The House of Representatives also has approved a controversial ""heartbeat bill"" which would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The Senate has not yet voted on the measure. PolitiFact Ohio contacted Antonio’s office for evidence to back up her claim. Her staff cited a recent study published Jan. 19 in The Lancet, a British medical journal published since 1823. The study, ""Induced abortion: incidence and trends worldwide from 1995 to 2008,"" examined abortion rates and the corresponding abortion laws on a country-by-country basis. The study, authored by Gilda Sedgh of the Guttmacher Institute in New York, addressed international abortion laws and, to an extent, fatalities related to abortion. It concluded that restrictive abortion laws did not coincide with lower abortion rates; that rates were higher in regions of the world where abortion is illegal. The study’s findings do not connect restrictive abortion laws to fewer abortions. But neither does the study show that these laws lead to more abortions, as Antonio claimed. Sedgh said in an e-mail that the Lancet study did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between restrictive abortion laws and abortions. She said lower abortion rates in countries with liberal abortion laws could be attributed to easier access to affordable contraception. ""In other words, the abortion laws don’t cause the abortion rates,"" she wrote in an e-mail. ""The abortion laws appear to be irrelevant when it comes to what women do in the face of an unintended pregnancy."" Regarding fatalities, the study said nations with more liberal abortion laws tend to see fewer health consequences from unsafe abortion. It cited a drop in abortion mortality in South Africa when its law was liberalized, and in Nepal after the country made abortion legal on broad grounds. The Lancet study did not examine abortion laws of individual states. In fact, one of the study’s authors said Ohio would still be considered to have ""liberal"" abortion laws if it passed the controversial heartbeat bill. ""So, even if that legislation were passed, Ohio would be classified as having a liberal abortion law. The gestational limit would however, be somewhat severe compared to those in other countries with liberal laws,"" Sedgh wrote in an e-mail. PolitiFact Ohio checked further with advocates on both sides of the abortion issue for guidance about the impact of states’ abortion laws. Michael Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, said Antonio’s claim is baseless because Ohio’s abortion rate has been declining for the last 10 years. The Ohio Department of Health’s most recent annual report on abortions confirms the number of abortions has declined each year from 2001 (37,464) to 2010 (28,123). Gonidakis’ point, however, does not directly address Antonio’s claim because the statistics he cited predate the anti-abortion laws, passed last year, that have driven the current abortion debate in Columbus. Jaime Miracle, the policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said she knows of no studies that examined states’ abortion laws and their corresponding abortion rates. ""The problem is there really isn’t domestic research on that,"" she said. Miracle, who attended the Jan. 24 news conference with Antonio, said The Lancet study and others support Antonio’s general claim – that restricting access to abortion and reproductive health care does not reduce incidents of abortion. But that does not mean those restrictive laws increase abortion rates, and we did not find research that reached such a conclusion. Miracle provided us with a copy of a study by Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. The 2008 study looked at the effect of socioeconomic factors on abortion. ""There is little evidence that state policies restricting access to abortion (such as enforced informed and parental consent laws and partial birth abortion legislation affect the abortion rate,"" the study said. So where does that leave Antonio’s claim that when abortion restrictions are enacted, fatalities go up and abortions actually increase? Her statement contains an element of truth. The study her staff cited from The Lancet did find that restrictive abortion laws did not coincide with lower abortion rates and that rates tended to be higher in countries where abortion is illegal. Regarding fatalities, the study noted that abortion mortality in one country, South Africa, dropped as the country’s abortion laws became less restrictive. In Nepal, abortion mortality fell as abortion became legal. But the study did not specifically say that more restrictive laws drive up abortion rates and fatalities, as Antonio claimed. One of the study’s authors, in fact, specifically said the study did not establish that cause-and-effect relationship and that other factors were in play. Nor did the study look at abortion rates and fatalities for individual states -- something Antonio mentioned in her statement. Those are critical facts that would give a different impression. On the Truth-O-Meter, Antonio’s claim rates ."
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7896
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H&M starts protective face mask production at Chinese supplier.
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Sweden’s H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, said on Friday it had started production of protective face masks for hospital staff and would ship the first batches to Spain and Italy.
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true
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Health News
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“At this first stage, 100,000 face masks will be produced and ready for delivery on April 2. Half will go to Italy and half to Spain. It is a factory in China that makes the masks,” a H&M spokeswoman said in an email. H&M said last week it was looking into using its supply network to source personal protective equipment for hospitals to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The masks are of the N95/FFP2 standard that protects from the droplets through which the virus spreads.
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24574
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"The Department of Veterans Affairs has ""a manual out there telling our veterans stuff like, 'Are you really of value to your community?' You know, encouraging them to commit suicide."
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RNC chairman Michael Steele says VA has a manual that encourages vets to commit suicide
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false
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National, Health Care, Veterans, Michael Steele,
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"Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele jumped into the so-called VA ""death book"" debate, calling it just the kind of thing that makes people nervous about the Democrats' health care reform plan. ""If you want an example of bad public policy, just look at the situation with our veterans where you have a manual out there telling our veterans stuff like 'Are you really of value to your community?' You know, encouraging them to commit suicide,"" Steele said in a Fox News interview on Aug. 25, 2009. ""I mean, this is crazy coming from the government. And this is exactly what concerns people and puts them in fear of what government-controlled health care will look like."" But like the claim about ""death panels"" in the health care reform bill, we find this is another ridiculous falsehood about an important end-of-life issue. At issue here is a 10-year-old VA-funded pamphlet on end-of-life issues called ""Your Life, Your Choices: Planning for Future Medical Decisions."" The pamphlet entered the national discussion on health care after President George W. Bush's director of Faith-Based Initiatives, Jim Towey, wrote an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 18, 2009, in which he took issue with what he called the ""hurry-up-and-die message"" of the pamphlet. The issue takes on larger import, of course, due to the heated debate over funding for end-of-life counseling included in the Democrats' health care reform bill. In his op-ed piece, Towey zeroed in on an exercise in the manual designed to ""help you think about and express what really matters to you."" The worksheet poses a number of scenarios and asks users to finish the phrase ""Life like this would be..."" by checking options that include ""difficult, but acceptable,"" ""worth living, but just barely"" and ""not worth living."" While the scenarios include such things as relying on a feeding tube or breathing machine to keep them alive, Towey notes that it also includes circumstances common among the elderly and disabled such as: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and ""cannot seem to shake the blues."" ""There are also guilt-inducing scenarios such as 'I can no longer contribute to my family's well-being,' 'I am a severe financial burden on my family' and that the vet's situation 'causes severe emotional burden for my family,'"" Towey wrote. ""This hurry-up-and-die message is clear and unconscionable,"" Towey concluded. Towey also noted that one of the principle authors of the pamphlet, Dr. Robert Pearlman, was among 42 bioethicists who argued in a 1996 case that physician-assisted suicide should be recognized by the courts as a fundamental right. Worse, he said, is that after the Bush administration shelved the pamphlet in 2007 in order to make revisions, the Obama administration revived it in a July 2009 VA directive that ""instructs its primary care physicians to raise advance care planning with all VA patients and to refer them to 'Your Life, Your Choices.' Not just those of advanced age and debilitated condition — all patients. America's 24 million veterans deserve better."" We should note that Towey, president of St. Vincent College and founder of the nonprofit Aging with Dignity, years ago created his own advance care planning document called ""Five Wishes,"" and he made an unsuccessful pitch to VA officials in 2007 to have the government buy and distribute his pamphlet. In his op-ed, Towey says that unlike the VA's document, his ""does not contain the standard bias to withdraw or withhold medical care."" In response, the Obama administration's veterans agency issued a fact sheet to the Plum Line's Greg Sargent on Aug. 25 in which they state that the ""Your Life, Your Choices"" pamphlet, developed by the VA more than 10 years ago, ""helps veterans consider the types of health care they would want to receive if they were unable to make decisions for themselves, and encourages them to discuss their views with their loved ones and their health care providers, and, if they so desire, to complete an advance directive."" The pamphlet ""does not promote limitation of life-sustaining treatment, assisted suicide, or euthanasia,"" the fact sheet states. However, the VA did acknowledge in November 2007 that although ""clear in its presentation,"" it has been ""interpreted by some to be too negative in tone and not sufficiently sensitive to the perspectives of veterans with prolife perspectives and veterans living with lifelong disabling conditions."" At that point, the VA officially suspended use of ""Your Life, Your Choices"" pending review by an expert panel, including input from faith-based groups as well as disability experts. The pamphlet is currently undergoing final revisions before being posted online, which is set for the spring 2010. But the pamphlet is still posted on the VA Web site, albeit with a disclaimer that it is undergoing revisions. And a July 2, 2009, memo on Advance Care Planning and Management of Advance Directives states that when patients request additional information about advance directives, ""Patients may be directed to the exercises in 'Your Life, Your Choices' or other published resources."" According to the White House fact sheet, the pamphlet is still officially suspended, but is available on the Web site because, ""it is the official policy of the Obama administration not to suppress or alter information or products resulting from federal research grants."" Whether the pamphlet should continue to be made available pending its revision is a matter for political debate. Here, however, we are focusing on Steele's claim that the manual encourages veterans to commit suicide. After reading the 51-page pamphlet, we conclude unequivocally that it does not. Rather, the pamphlet encourages vets to think about the kind of advanced care they'd like to receive in various situations, to communicate those wishes to loved ones, and to formally put them into writing (including steps on how to prepare a personalized living will). Alongside positions such as ""I believe there are some situations in which I would not want treatments to keep me alive"" is the position, ""My life should be prolonged as long as it can, no matter what its quality, and using any means possible."" The pamphlet also respects that some people may have religious beliefs that come into play. One position is described as ""I'd want my religious advisers to be consulted about all medical decisions made on my behalf to make sure they are in keeping with my religious teachings."" The document begins like this: ""There’s only one person who is truly qualified to tell health care providers how you feel about different kinds of health care issues — and that’s you. But, what if you get sick, or injured so severely that you can’t communicate with your doctors or family members? Have you thought about what kinds of medical care you would want? Do your loved ones and health care providers know your wishes? Many people assume that close family members automatically know what they want. But studies have shown that spouses guess wrong over half the time about what kinds of treatment their husbands or wives would want. You can help assure that your wishes will direct future health care decisions through the process of advance care planning."" With regard to the issue of suicide, the pamphlet is quite clear: Q: Can I specify that I want assisted suicide in my directive? A: No. Assisted suicide is currently illegal. Advanced care scenarios are upsetting to think about and discuss. And we certainly can see how some might think it's insensitive to disabled or aged veterans to have a pamphlet with an exercise that poses scenarios such as being in a wheelchair or living in a nursing home, and then to even include the option to check a box saying that life like this would be ""not worth living."" But we think Steele goes way too far and sensationalizes an important issue when he says the pamphlet ""encourages (vets) to commit suicide"" — particularly when you consider the pamphlet in its entirety. This is a pamphlet intended to encourage vets to make choices about the kind of advanced care they want. And for the record, there is nothing in the manual that tells vets ""Are you really of value to your community?"" We rule Steele's statement . Note: We added information about Dr. Pearlman on Aug. 28, 2009."
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2832
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Saudi healthcare booms as state scrambles to close welfare gap.
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Stock market listings planned by two of Saudi Arabia’s biggest private hospital operators point to a boom in its healthcare industry, as political pressures prompt the government to pour huge sums into the underdeveloped sector.
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true
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Health News
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Many areas of Saudi consumption, including the retail industry, housing and travel, have ballooned in the past decade because of oil-fuelled growth in national income. But healthcare has lagged, partly because of government inefficiency and bureaucracy. Now the mediocre quality of state-run healthcare has become a political liability for the government, especially in the wake of the 2011 uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, which underlined the risks of social discontent. Many Saudis complain about overcrowded hospitals and shortages of medications. So the government has embarked on a drive to reform the sector, building hundreds of hospitals, providing interest-free loans to private companies and changing health insurance rules. This could make Saudi Arabia the world’s fastest-growing major healthcare market over the next few years, helping to diversify the economy beyond oil and providing a bonanza to foreign companies selling medicines, equipment and services. “It is a case of chronic underinvestment and reactive overexpenditure,” said Mohammad Kamal, an analyst at financial firm Arqaam Capital in Dubai. The standard of Saudi Arabian healthcare provision has long contrasted with its wealth. The kingdom, which the IMF ranked 30th in the world by GDP per capita for 2012, has 2.2 hospital beds per 1,000 residents, according to Arqaam, lower than the global average of 3.0 and far below the average of 5.5 in developed countries. Local newspapers routinely report complaints about issues such as overcrowding - with some patients receiving intravenous drips in hospital corridors - and poor hygiene and maintenance, resulting in pest infestations and infections. Abdulkarim al-Thobeiti, a Saudi engineer working in the public sector, says he will never set foot in a state-run hospital because they are either fully booked or poorly maintained. “If you want to make an appointment to see a doctor you have to wait for months, unless you have some connection or know someone who can pull a few strings,” Thobeiti said. This may change as the government ramps up healthcare budgets. Spending has already jumped from $8 billion in 2008 to $27 billion last year, and Saudi asset management firm NCB Capital expects it to soar to $46 billion in 2017. In addition to building new state-run facilities, the government is offering private companies interest-free loans covering up to a half of the cost of building new hospitals. And, although the move has yet to be announced officially, Saudis employed in the public sector are expected to become eligible for state-funded health insurance within the next few years, Arqaam and other analysts say. This would enable them to use private healthcare services without paying extra fees out of their own pocket. Today, the overwhelming majority, about 83 percent, of Saudi Arabia’s 8.4 million health insurance holders are expatriates whose employers are legally obliged to cover their insurance costs, according to Arqaam. The insurance reform could swell the pool with more than a million Saudi public servants and about 5 million of their dependents, Arqaam estimates. This implies a surge in demand for private Saudi healthcare firms, which are turning to the stock market to finance expansion. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group and Almana General Hospitals will seek to list their shares on the local bourse in 2014 or early 2015, bankers told Reuters in November. Some companies have already tapped the market. Dallah Healthcare raised 540 million rials ($144 million) in an initial public offering of shares at the end of 2012, while National Medical Care Co conducted a 175 million rial IPO last March. Major global players are also looking for ways to boost their presence. General Electric (GE), one of the biggest manufacturers of medical equipment, has said it will build an assembly facility in Saudi Arabia. “Looking ahead at 2014, we continue to see a buoyant healthcare sector for the kingdom,” said Mazen Dalati, chief executive of GE Healthcare in the country. The development of a private healthcare industry is good news for the Saudi government as it tries to diversify the economy and boost employment of citizens in the private sector to make the country less vulnerable to a big drop in oil prices. Higher state spending will not necessarily translate into quick improvements, however, as shown by the slow progress in the last few years of Saudi Arabia’s $67 billion housing program, which was stalled by red tape and weak coordination between ministries. Analysts doubt in particular that the government will meet its own hospital construction targets. For private providers, human resources could become a bottleneck, especially if the government presses ahead with a plan to gradually replace foreign workers, who hold more than half the jobs in the sector, with Saudi nationals. Today, 20 percent of workers at healthcare companies are required to be Saudi citizens. The government is looking for ways to reduce the shortage of qualified personnel, including through partnerships with foreign firms such as GE. Reflecting such obstacles, healthcare firms’ stock prices have lost steam since the post-IPO rallies commonly enjoyed by new Saudi listings. While the overall stock market has risen 16 percent since June, shares in Dallah are up just 11 percent, and National Medical Care has lost 8 percent. Future expansion of healthcare facilities, however, will be driven not just by increased government spending but also by fundamental factors such as the continuing growth of Saudi Arabia’s young population and the high incidence of lifestyle-related diseases. One in every three people in the country is obese, according to the local Obesity Research Centre, whose researchers are looking into whether Saudis are genetically predisposed to the condition. “Saudi Arabia has an exceptionally high incidence of diabetes, heart disease and congenital disorders,” said John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at Saudi investment firm MASIC. “The insurance sector changes will provide extra demand for sure.”
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9042
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Cavity prevention approach effectively reduces tooth decay
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In a study of 460 patients at high risk of dental damage separated into two groups, those who used cavity-prevention products dramatically reduced their risk of cavities compared to the control group, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. The system of prevention is known by the acronym CAMBRA, for Caries Management By Risk Assessment. It included giving the patients prescription fluoride toothpaste, chlorhexidine antibacterial rinse, xylitol mints and fluoride varnish. The release fell short in describing the potential cost saving and addressing any potential for harms. Dental problems are a plague to people of all income ranges and ages. The cost of dental care, where insurance is inadequate or out-of-reach, is a particular burden for low income people. If specific preventive measures are proven to significantly reduce cavities it could benefit many.
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true
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cavity prevention,tooth decay,University of California - San Francisco
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While the news release says the research is aimed at lowering costs and reducing the burden for low income patients, we are not given any numbers that describes the value of the intervention. The release only gets as detailed on cost as the excerpts below: The findings, which support earlier research demonstrating positive results of the assessment and treatment method in a university setting, have the potential to transform dental care for high-risk patients at a lower cost to both patients and dental clinics and practices. Results appear online Jan. 22, 2018, in Advances in Dental Research. The authors said now that this has been shown to be effective in a non-academic clinical setting, there also is potential for insurance companies to reimburse CAMBRA and other preventive therapies for adults, thereby lowering patient costs while increasing profits for dental practices. The release also doesn’t address the cost of prescription fluoride toothpaste which may actually result in higher costs overall. The number needed to treat was 4, meaning that you would have to treat 4 people for one additional person to get benefit. This results in the cost of therapy being multiplied by 4 to get the effect found in the study. The release described benefits this way: Among 242 patients (137 intervention, 105 control) initially identified as high risk for caries, only a quarter of the patients remained at high risk in the CAMBRA group at 24 months, while just over half (54 percent) of the control group did. Of the 192 low-risk participants (93 intervention, 99 control), most participants remained low risk. As noted under Evidence criteria below, the release listed as a limitation the fact that only about one-third of the patients who started the study completed the 24 month checkup. There is no mention of harms. We are given enough information to judge the quality of the evidence; it was a randomized study with an experimental and a control group. The release also deserves praise for noting study limitations, including the high study attrition rate (65 percent of volunteers dropped out before their 24 month follow-up). The study quality seems to have been very good considering the difficulty in performing this type of community based study. The blinding was adequate and although the published study states that the blinding was “double” (patient and investigator), it also appears that the treating dentists (participating treaters) were also blinded to the group that the patient was assigned. This could have been mentioned, too, and would have strengthened the release. There is no disease mongering. The funding sources are listed, and there are no apparent conflicts. In the strictest possible way, the release does not directly talk about all the different ways of preventing dental caries. But we were glad that the release discussed the improvements that happened for some patients in the control group who received fewer products. We are glad the release talks about possibly following up on this, in case the lesser products could still benefit many patients. Excerpt: The researchers said the risk reduction among the control group may have been caused by the fluoride toothpaste enhancing tooth repair, as well as the mouth rinse enhancing saliva flow and having bactericidal effects. While not as significant as the CAMBRA group in this study, the risk level of these patients dropped more dramatically over time than for those in the 2012 UCSF CAMBRA study. It was surprising to see the benefits gained by the control group,” Rechmann said. “More research is needed to see if the products and treatment administered to this group function in the way we speculate, and if so, they might be made easily available to dental patients. Doing so can change the whole picture of caries control. This CAMBRA method is available at about half of US schools and colleges of dentistry according to the release. However, the prescription fluoride toothpaste is available from most pharmacies. The release clearly explains that this research began in 2002, and small incremental steps in its validation have been published over many years. This is one more step. There is no unjustifiable language.
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28348
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Jerry Brown vetoed a wildfire management bill in 2016, contributing to the prevalence and risk of wildfires in the ensuing two years.
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What's true: In September 2016, Governor Brown vetoed SB 1463, a bill in the California legislature which would have required the California Public Utilities Commission to prioritize areas at increased risk from overhead wires in their management of wildfires. What's false: There is no evidence that Brown's veto contributed to or exacerbated the risk or prevalence of wildfires in California, and the California Public Utilities Commission provided details showing that it had already been engaged in work similar to the proposals contained in SB 1463.
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mixture
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Politics, california, california wildfires, jerry brown
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In November 2018, after the Camp Fire broke out in Northern California, killing more than 40 people and destroying thousands of homes, social media users began sharing a three-month-old article that placed a share of the blame for California’s 2018 wildfire season, already one of the most destructive in living memory, at the desk of Governor Jerry Brown. On 8 August, the “Flash Report” web site, which covers California politics from a conservative-leaning point of view, reported on a piece of legislation from 2016 which was intended to address one aspect of the state’s perennial wildfire problem but was vetoed by Governor Brown, a Democrat. The article carried the headline “CA Gov. Jerry Brown Vetoed Bipartisan Wildfire Management Bill in 2016” and read: At the request of the City Council of Laguna Beach, Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa), authored SB 1463 in 2016, a bipartisan bill which would have given local governments more say in fire-prevention efforts through the Public Utilities Commission proceeding making maps of fire hazard areas around utility lines. Laguna Beach went through four fires sparked by utility lines in the last ten years, and has done as much in the way of prevention as they could afford. The bill would have allowed cities to work with utilities to underground utility lines, and work with the Public Utilities Commission to develop updated fire maps by requiring the PUC to take into consideration areas in which communities are at risk from the consequences of wildfire — not just those areas where certain environmental hazards are present … Gov. Brown vetoed SB 1463, despite being passed by the Legislature, 75-0 in the Assembly and 39-0 in the Senate. That tells you this was political. The Governor’s veto message did not properly address why he vetoed the bill. Brown claimed that the [Public Utilities Commission] and CalFire have already been doing what Moorlach’s bill sought to accomplish. How on earth could Brown kill this bill when the state was burning down? In the context of the Camp Fire in November, Facebook users shared the Flash Report article widely, with many observers citing it as evidence that Brown bore some of the blame for the many similar wildfires which cost lives and caused massive destruction to property in the intervening two years. As Flash Report indicated in their August article, Governor Brown did indeed veto Senate Bill 1463 in September 2016, after it had been passed by both houses of the California legislature without a single vote in opposition. That legislation would have had imposed the following requirement: SECTION 1. Section 761.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read: “In determining areas in which to require enhanced mitigation measures for wildfire hazards posed by overhead electrical lines and equipment, the [Public Utilities Commission], in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, shall prioritize areas in which communities are subject to conditions that increase fire hazards associated with overhead utility facilities generally and at specific locations…” Flash Report was somewhat self-contradictory in their characterization of this veto. On the one hand, the article claimed that Brown “did not properly address” his rationale for refusing to sign the bill, but it also accurately wrote that Brown had said, roughly speaking, he regarded the provisions of the legislation as redundant due to an initiative that was already under way. In his veto message, Brown wrote: This bill requires the Public Utilities Commission to prioritize areas that have increased fire hazard associated with overhead utility facilities. Since May of last year, the Commission and CalFire have been doing just that through the existing proceeding on fire-threat maps and fire-safety regulations. This deliberative process should continue and the issues this bill seeks to address should be raised in that forum. The author of the Flash Report article, Katy Grimes, claimed a link between the prevalence of destructive fires in California in recent years and Brown’s decision to veto SB 1463, referencing one of her earlier articles: Today, as California burns once again under torrential wildfires, many Californians have been asking why the dramatic increase in wildfires in the last five years … that is everyone except Governor Jerry Brown. Governor Brown claims that year-round, devastating fires are the “new normal” we must accept. Megan Barth and I reported: “Supporting Obama-era regulations have resulted in the new normal: an endless and devastating fire season. Obama-era regulations introduced excessive layers of bureaucracy that blocked proper forest management and increased environmentalist litigation and costs– a result of far too many radical environmentalists, bureaucrats, Leftist politicians and judicial activists who would rather let forests burn, than let anyone thin out overgrown trees or let professional loggers harvest usable timber left from beetle infestation, or selectively cut timber.” Mismanaged, overcrowded forests provide fuel to historic California wildfires, experts say. The 129 million dead trees throughout California’s forests are serving as matchsticks and kindling. Jerry Brown, busy mulling ways to prevent the end of the world, took the Clinton and Obama-era gross regulations a step even further when he vetoed a bipartisan wildfire management bill in 2016. Despite drawing this connection, Grimes’ article did not contain any specific evidence to support the notion that Brown’s vetoing SB 1463 contributed to or exacerbated California’s wildfire problem. In response to our questions, a spokesperson for Brown directed us to a spokesperson for the California Public Utilities Commission, who outlined in further detail the risk mitigation efforts undertaken as part of the agency’s initiative with CalFire (the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) and said that the bill Brown vetoed would actually have slowed down that progress: Senate Bill 1463 would have prolonged the safety work already going on by requiring the participation of certain entities, which was unnecessary because CAL FIRE was already a party to the proceeding, and local governments and fire departments could also participate. In fact, [at] the time the vetoed legislation was introduced, the CPUC and CAL FIRE were already deeply engaged in an ongoing fire safety rulemaking process (R.15-05-006, Rulemaking to Develop and Adopt Fire-Threat Maps and Fire-Safety Regulations). Phase 1 of this effort began in 2013 and was completed in 2015. Phase 2 implemented new fire safety regulations in high priority areas of the state as called for in the vetoed legislation, thus making the bill redundant. In January 2018, the Statewide Fire-Threat Map was approved. Further, the CPUC and CAL FIRE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in August 2017 that further bolstered our relationship. The MOU increased information sharing and investigative resources between the two organizations. CAL FIRE, as first responders, provides findings and immediate facts to the CPUC. The CPUC follows after the event to conduct in-depth investigations if utility involvement is suspected. Key points of the MOU include: Developing consistent approaches to forest management, wildfire prevention, public safety, and energy programs; Assist one another in preparing for, responding to, and mitigating the effects of wildfires; Deepening awareness of the requirements and goals of each other’s programs; and Creation of Interagency Fire Safety Working Group to vet ideas and develop programmatic solutions to shared goals in the interest of fire safety and resource protection.
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22022
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Most of your serial killers, most of your people who commit domestic violence, they start off by abusing animals.
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Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals chief says 'most' serial killers and people who engage in domestic violence start by abusing animals
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false
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Animals, Rhode Island, Children, Crime, Public Safety, E.J. Finocchio,
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"The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals wants the legal system to impose harsher sentences in animal cruelty cases. During a discussion on the issue on WJAR's ""10 News Conference,"" which aired April 24, RISPCA President E.J. Finocchio said animal abusers are allowed to plead ""no contest"" and make a donation to the court instead of paying a fine, a practice that allows them to escape a formal conviction. It's important to take animal violence seriously, he said. ""Animal cruelty and domestic violence go hand in hand,"" he said. ""Most of your serial killers, most of your people who commit domestic violence, they start off by abusing animals, the weakest of our society -- children, elderly, animals, women -- so there is a direct correlation statistically nationwide that animal abuse and domestic violence go hand in hand."" We were intrigued by the possibility that animals might be a sort of ""gateway victim"" for most domestic violence perpetrators or serial killers, or that animal abuse might be a harbinger of murder and domestic violence. When we asked Finocchio for supporting evidence, he sent us the society's winter 2009 newsletter, which mentioned five serial killers and the way they had harmed animals. He also suggested we check a June 2009 study in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence that examined whether animal cruelty is a ""red flag"" for family violence (more about that later). In addition, we consulted with other experts. The consensus was that there is a link, but it's complicated. ""Animal abuse is strongly associated with a whole host of antisocial behavior running from violence against people to parking ticket violations. It lights up the board,"" said Arnold Arluke, a professor of sociology at Northeastern University. ""The study we did compared animal abusers to people who were not animal abusers. The abusers were five times more likely to have a history of violence toward people, four times more likely to commit a property crime and three and a half times more likely to commit a drug-related offense,"" he said. The problem, he said, is that animal violence ""is not really a strong predictor or causal agent [of violence toward people]. There's a lot of people who commit animal abuse who do not go on to commit any other violence."" Among those who do, the animal violence is usually ""up close and personal"" (such as when an animal is strangled), the animal is typically known to the abuser, and there has been more than one instance of abuse. ""But,"" said Arluke, ""most cases aren't like that."" In his statement, Finocchio talked about ""most"" serial killers and ""most"" people who commit domestic violence. Let's consider them separately. SERIAL KILLERS: We contacted Ann Burgess, a professor of psychiatric nursing at Boston College who coauthored the 1988 book ""Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives."" The book is based on interviews with 36 serial murderers. She and her colleagues found that 13 (or 36 percent) had a history of animal cruelty. ""So you can't say most,"" she said, referring to Finocchio's claim. ""The FBI did a study of serial killers and they found fewer than 50 percent had a known history of animal abuse. In fact, some were known as the animal lovers in the neighborhood,"" said Arluke. The idea of a link between animal abuse and serial killers ""becomes one of the expressions that people who champion [animal protection] like to throw around. It's smart politics because we don't want more serial killers,"" he said. ""But the minute you start to look at every instance of animal abuse as essentially predictive of every person who's going to be a serial killer, if that were the case, we would have tens of thousands of serial killers, and we don't, thank God."" DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PERPETRATORS: Once again, there is good evidence that animal abuse and domestic violence go hand in hand. The question is whether most abusers harmed animals first. Surveys of women seeking help at domestic violence shelters have found that 46 to 71 percent report that their male abuser had harmed or threatened to harm a pet, according to the ""Red Flag"" study Finocchio referred us to, which was coauthored by Sarah DeGue of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and David DeLillo of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. People who engage in domestic violence are known to use pets to intimidate, coerce or control the victimized partner, DeGue and others told us. (In fact, Finocchio's organization serves as a safe haven for the pets of people victimized by domestic violence.) But women who end up in a shelter constitute a very select group. After all, they aren't the only victims of domestic violence. And such studies don't show whether animal abuse came first. DeGue and DeLillo said researchers, advocates and policy makers often assume that there's an overlap between animal abuse and domestic violence (including child mistreatment). Yet ""little evidence exists to support this contention."" In their study of 860 college students they found that ""the majority (73.2 percent) of family violence victims overall did not report any exposure to animal abuse."" So only 27 percent of the victims of domestic and/or child abuse had seen or engaged in animal abuse as well. That's far from a majority, even if you assume that, in all these cases, the abuser started off harming animals. ""I'm not aware of any reliable research studies that have examined animal abuse perpetration as a precursor to domestic partner violence,"" said DeGue, now a behavioral scientist in the division of violence prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ""We actually found a number of cases that were the reverse, where people were first violent toward people and then subsequently became violent toward animals,"" said Arluke. In short, there IS a link between domestic violence and animal abuse because violent people are, well, violent. If Finocchio had simply stuck with his assertion that ""animal cruelty and domestic violence go hand in hand,"" our ruling would be different. Instead, he made the provocative assertion that there's a progression of violence because ""most of your serial killers, most of your people who commit domestic violence, they start off by abusing animals."" The experts we consulted -- including one Finocchio sent us to -- said the best evidence shows that a majority of serial killers and domestic assailants do not have a history of animal abuse. The evidence supporting the idea that their first victims are animals is even slimmer. So the judges unanimously ruled that his statement is . (Get updates from PolitiFactRI on Twitter. To comment or offer your ruling, visit us on our PolitiFact Rhode Island Facebook page.)"
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11353
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Surgery for chronic temporal headaches -- simplified approach shows good results
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This news release describes a modified surgical facelift procedure that may help treat a certain type of chronic headache. It’s based on a report written by a surgeon from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which was published in the Society’s latest journal issue. The study was based on the surgeon’s experience performing the procedure on 19 patients with chronic headaches — commonly referred to as migraine — including a one-year follow-up to assess their migraine symptoms. The news release does a good job quantifying the benefits and describing the procedure but it leaves out some other information that would be helpful to readers such as possible complications from the intervention, limitations of anecdotal evidence, costs and funding sources. The news release uses a tone befitting the nature of the problem and the nature of the evidence. Chronic intractable headaches inflict a huge toll — not only in terms of quality of life but also in time away from work or school and in treatment costs. Drugs commonly prescribed for chronic headaches often go beyond simple painkillers to include triptans (which block serotonin receptors), drugs that prevent migraine onset and tricyclic anti-depressants. Since migraines affect so many, another alternative to pharmacological treatment would be of wide interest. In 2010 the FDA approved botulinum toxin injections for the treatment of migraines after it was observed that the wrinkle treatment eliminated migraines in sufferers who sought the cosmetic treatment for facial wrinkles. In this case, it appears that plastic surgeons observed a reduction in headaches among patients who underwent a cosmetic facelift of the forehead. For those who can’t take — or don’t want — pharmacological treatment, surgery for chronic headaches could prove to be an option. It must be noted that surgery is an invasive procedure compared to other forms of therapy and carries a variety of risks, as well as high costs. Surgery to relieve chronic headaches seems to be a controversial topic, since some researchers doubt its effectiveness.
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mixture
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Journal news release,Pain management
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There is no discussion of costs in the news release. Surgery to treat chronic severe headaches could prove to be expensive (ie. thousands of dollars), since the intervention may also require anesthesia, operating room facilities and a hospital stay. Although costs may vary widely depending on the hospital and region, we believe a ballpark estimate would have been helpful. The news release mentions that headache symptoms were assessed using the Migraine Headache Index (MHI), which is calculated by multiplying together the frequency, intensity, and duration of migraine headache, according to another paper published by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Out of the 19 patients mentioned in this news release, 16 had at least a 50 percent reduction in headache symptoms. It also reveals the absolute numbers, pointing out that the average MHI score decreased from approximately 132 points before surgery to 52 points afterward. Since the release communicates a quantitative estimate by giving both absolute and relative benefit data, we give it a Satisfactory rating here. The news release stated that “None of the patients experienced complications, and there was little or no visible scarring.” But the published study noted that neurapraxia (a temporary loss of nerve function) lasting several weeks was a risk. Although none of the 19 patients experienced complications, it would have nevertheless been helpful to describe possible risks in the news release. Most interventions carry risks, and the Gillies incision used in this procedure is no exception. Complications from the procedure could result in injuries to the wall of the eye and cosmetic deformities, as well as limitations in jaw movement. The news release provides a straight-forward overview of the patient group — 19 people with a history of chronic headaches — along with a description of the procedure and how outcomes were measured using a standard score, the Migraine Headache Index (MHI), before and after the surgery. The release doesn’t tell us the age of the patients but it does tell us how they were chosen for the study. (“All patients had chronic temporal headaches that did not improve with medications. They also had a positive result on preoperative testing–either injection of botulinum toxin (Botox) to temporarily block muscle activity, or local anesthetics to temporarily block the involved nerve.”) However, a brief discussion of the limitations of the study would have been beneficial, and we think necessary to include. The study was very small and was not randomized or blinded; there wasn’t a control group to compare outcomes between those receiving the intervention and those that didn’t. The results are very likely to be biased, but the release really gives no sense that these results are limited in any way. There is no disease mongering in the news release. On the contrary, it’s quite balanced in its tone. The news release does a good job of disclosing the fact that Dr. Ziv M. Peled of Peled Plastic Surgery is a Member Surgeon of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). It isn’t clear, but it seems the 19 patients mentioned in the release were Dr. Peled’s private patients. Although we would have liked this to be explicitly stated, we feel this earns a Satisfactory rating. Surgery is one of the most invasive interventions to treat chronic temporal headaches, but other alternatives exist — like drug therapy. Some antidepressants, beta blockers (to treat high blood pressure), anti-seizure medications and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs could provide relief, as well as Botox injections. Since none of these alternatives were mentioned, we give the news release a Not Satisfactory rating here. The release isn’t clear whether or not the surgery is currently available specifically for chronic headache patients. From an online search, it seems that some centers do offer surgery to treat chronic headaches, although it isn’t always clear what techniques the surgeons use. The Gillies incision is not a new procedure, as it has been in use since 1927. The news release makes this clear, explaining that many surgeons are already familiar with this approach, which is used to repair cheekbone fractures. The news release also points out this paper adds to the “already growing body of research showing good outcomes with surgery for chronic temporal headaches” — again suggesting that the idea is not completely novel. We feel this is good enough to merit a Satisfactory rating. Overall, the news release did not use unjustifiable and sensational language, which is why we give it a Satisfactory rating.
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2440
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Israel attacks Council of Europe move to restrict male circumcision.
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Israel on Friday accused a leading European human rights body of fostering hatred and racism in calling for the circumcision of boys on religious grounds to be monitored more closely.
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true
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Health News
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The 47-nation Council of Europe adopted a non-binding resolution this week that urged a public debate on “non-medically justified operations and interventions” on children. The report highlighted female genital mutilation but also referred to ritual male circumcision and other practices. Israel said the Council should immediately rescind the resolution, which only a third of the 318-member body voted on and 78 supported. “Any comparison of (male circumcision) to the reprehensible and barbaric practice of female genital mutilation is either appalling ignorance, at best, or defamation and anti-religious hatred, at worst,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. It said circumcision of male children was “an ancient religious tradition” in Judaism and Islam and among some Christian groups, and was medically beneficial. The resolution cast “a moral stain on the Council of Europe, and fosters hate and racist trends in Europe.” The document cited research supporting the medical benefits of male circumcision, but its main advocate, rapporteur Marlene Rupprecht from Germany, said she backed opposing medical opinion, which she quoted in the notes to the resolution. Member states should therefore consider the impact of non-medical interventions in light of the child’s best interests in order to define lines of action, the resolution said. Countries should also define the medical and other conditions to be ensured for certain religious practices “such as the non-medically justified circumcision of young boys”. The Council promotes democracy and human rights in Europe but does not make laws and has little power to enforce its recommendations. In December, Germany enacted a law to protect the right to circumcise infant boys in a show of support for Muslims and Jews who had been angered by a local court ban on the practice earlier last year. Female genital mutilation - the partial or total removal of external female genitalia - is carried out for religious and cultural reasons in 28 African nations and parts of the Middle East and Asia. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in December urging countries to ban the practice, calling it an “irreparable, irreversible abuse” that threatens about three million girls annually.
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22606
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"Since Sept. 11, 2001, ""270,000 Americans were killed by gunfire at home."
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Doonesbury strip says 270,000 Americans have been killed by guns since 9/11
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true
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National, Pundits, Guns, Doonesbury,
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"In the Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011, installment of the comic strip Doonesbury, Mark Slackmeyer -- a longtime character in the strip who is a liberal radio host -- makes a point about gun violence. ""What are we like as a people?"" Slackmeyer muses to himself in his studio. ""Nine years, ago we were attacked -- 3,000 people died. In response, we started two long, bloody wars and built a vast homeland-security apparatus -- all at a cost of trillions! Now consider this. During those same nine years, 270,000 Americans were killed by gunfire at home. Our response? We weakened our gun laws."" At that point, a whirring sound comes from off-panel. In the final panel, we see that his guest is a space alien, who says, ""Fail. Cannot Comprehend."" To which Slackmeyer cracks, ""Well, you may be a little jet-lagged."" A reader asked us to fact-check it. So we’ll look at whether since Sept. 11, 2001, ""270,000 Americans were killed by gunfire at home."" We began by contacting Garry Trudeau, the cartoonist who has drawn Doonesbury for more than four decades. He got back immediately with a summary of his methodology. ""The final figure lacks precision, because it's extrapolated,"" Trudeau wrote us, noting, correctly, that the most recent data for gun deaths from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is from 2007. ""What I had were six years -- 2002-2007 -- of a remarkably stable number, around 30,000"" gun deaths per year, Trudeau wrote. ""So in my judgment, multiplying 30,000 times nine yielded a figure reasonable and accurate enough for rhetorical purposes without using hyperbole. If anything, it may be slightly on the low side."" We found that Trudeau was basically right. We went to the same CDC database he used -- the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (or WISQARS for short) -- and got virtually identical numbers. Our number came out slightly higher -- 281,757 -- because we not only extrapolated out through the end of 2010 in our calculations but also included the final three months of 2001. We should note the details of Trudeau’s definition of gun deaths, which is also the definition we would have used if we’d been starting from scratch. It includes the following categories: • Suicides: 102,002 between 2002 and 2007 • Homicides: 73,148 between 2002 and 2007 • Accidental: 4,185 between 2002 and 2007 • Legal shootings: 1,999 between 2002 and 2007 • Undetermined: 1,427 between 2002 and 2007 -- Total: 182,761 between 2002 and 2007 So on the numbers, Trudeau’s methodology was accurate. The only thing that threw us was how the strip had described where the deaths occurred -- ""270,000 Americans were killed by gunfire at home"" (our emphasis). Initially, we took that to mean that 270,000 Americans were literally killed in or near their homes. And we knew that couldn’t be right, because the number both we and Trudeau calculated included all gunfire deaths, wherever they had occurred. When we asked criminologists for guidance on what percentage of gun deaths occur at home, they said the statistics on that question are scattershot. James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, provided data on Chicago homicides from an amicus brief he wrote for a Supreme Court case. Since 1965, the ratio of outside-the-home handgun homicides in Chicago to those occurring at home has tended to bounce around from about two-to-one in the 1970s to about five-to-one in the 1990s. So if one interprets ""at home"" to mean in or near someone’s home, the numbers Trudeau calculated wouldn’t be correct. When we raised this point with Trudeau, he said that wasn’t what he meant: ""I didn't say ‘in the home,’ I said ‘at home’ as opposed to abroad, where the wars are. Failure to communicate clearly, I guess. Rats."" Reading through it again, we think Trudeau’s explanation sounds reasonable. But we decided to mark Trudeau down slightly because we think it’s also reasonable for people to make the same initial assumption we did, that ""at home"" means in or near one’s home. So we’ll rate the comment ."
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34207
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Alaska Airlines flight attendant saved a young female passenger from human trafficking during a flight in 2011.
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Either way, as she concluded, “We can’t know, because no one will provide any specifics, nor even confirm or deny that the incident occurred.”
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unproven
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Politics
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Awareness of the problem and patterns of human trafficking has increased significantly in recent years, leading to efforts to train those who work in fields that often intersect with that form of crime — such as the lodging and transportation industries — to be aware of the common signs of human trafficking activity. Groups such as Airline Ambassadors International (AAI) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), for example, help educate flight attendants to keep an eye out for passengers (particularly youngsters) who exhibit the following potential signs of being victims of traffickers: Is the person disoriented or confused, or showing signs of mental or physical abuse? Is the person fearful, timid, or submissive, and do they avoid eye contact? Does the person show signs of having been denied food, water, sleep, or medical care? Does the passenger defer to another person to speak for him or her, or to someone who seems to be in control of the situation (e.g., controls where they go or whom they talk to)? Is the passenger (especially in the case of children) accompanied by someone claiming to be a parent or guardian who is in fact not related to him/her? Is the passenger in control of his/her own travel documents? Does the person have freedom of movement? Is the passenger wearing appropriate clothing for the travel route or destination weather? Is the person speaking of a modelling, dancing, singing, hospitality job, etc., without knowing who will be meeting him/her upon arrival, and with few details about the job? That awareness reportedly paid off in the case of Alaska Airlines flight attendant Shelia Fedrick, whose reported quick thinking in helping to assist a trafficking victim on a flight in 2011 has since been immortalized in a social media meme: A flight attendant named Shelia Fredrick noticed a terrified girl on a flight accompanied by an older man. Fredrick discreetly told the girl to go to the bathroom, where she had left a note asking if she was OK. The girl wrote on the note, “I need help.” The police were waiting when the planed landed and girl was saved from a human trafficker. Public knowledge of Fedrick’s supposed thwarting of a human trafficking event and rescuing of a young female victim came almost exclusively from a glowing February 2017 NBC News account: Shelia Fedrick said she instinctively felt something was wrong the moment she saw the girl with greasy blonde hair sitting in the window seat of aisle 10 on a flight from Seattle to San Francisco. The girl “looked like she had been through pure hell,” said Fedrick, 49, a flight attendant working for Alaska Airlines. Fedrick guessed that the girl was about 14 or 15 years old, travelling with a notably well-dressed older man. The stark contrast between the two set off alarm bells in her head. Fedrick tried to engage them in conversation, but the man became defensive, she said. “I left a note in one of the bathrooms,” Fedrick said. “She wrote back on the note and said ‘I need help. '” Fedrick says she called the pilot and told him about the passengers, and when the plane landed, police were waiting in the terminal. Such news reports seemed to be straightforward and heartwarming accounts of one very tangible success stemming from human trafficking awareness training among flight crews, one that most readers accepted at face value. Other more skeptical commenters, however, expressed curiosity that all the reporting on the occurrence seemed to stem from a single source (NBC News), the incident didn’t hit the news until six years after it took place, accounts of the tale lacked resolution, and the story’s details proved impossible to independently verify. For example, when aviation and travel journalist Christine Negroni reported on an incident in which a couple traveling by air with their adoptive daughter were wrongly suspected of being human traffickers by a flight attendant, she noted of the Shelia Fedrick case that: … AAI promoted the story of an Alaska Airlines flight attendant who claimed to have spotted a suspicious pair of travelers on a flight from Seattle and alerted authorities. According to the account, police boarded the plane at San Francisco International Airport and took the male suspect into custody. “Its happening every day on airlines,” AAI’s president and founder Nancy Rivard told NBC News. The big problem with the story, though is that it may not be true. Alaska Airlines won’t confirm it or answer any questions about it. It declined to contact the flight attendant, Shelia Fedrick, on my behalf. San Francisco Airport has no record of the event. As recently as last week, however, AAI was still promoting the story as proof that flight attendants can and do stop human trafficking. Writing in Reason, Elizabeth Nolan Brown observed that 2017 news coverage of the then six-year-old incident seemed to come out of the blue, and the timing appeared more than coincidental: Fedrick’s 2011 experience didn’t just happen into the 2017 media by accident. Her story is part of a campaign from Airline Ambassadors International, whose staff was in Houston to train flight attendants ahead of the [2017] Super Bowl. Like many groups focused on the issue, AAI used the myth of a sports-related sex trafficking boom to permeate the Super Bowl news-cycle. When the Super Bowl was held in San Francisco, in 2016, the airport teamed up with Airport Ambassadors International and others for employee training on human trafficking awareness. None of the materials promoting this event mention any previous trafficking busts at the airport based on flight-attendant tips. Similarly, the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] made a big production of standing up to human trafficking in San Francisco during last year’s Super Bowl, including efforts to train airline and airport staff on stopping it, but these materials also failed to mention a previous airline-assisted trafficker bust in the area. DHS did, however, note the new slogan for its Super Bowl-related campaign: “If you see something, say something.” It’s the same message Fedrick emphasizes at the end of her NBC segment. Brown, like Negroni before her, also noted that news reports of the girl’s supposed in-flight rescue from human traffickers were scant on detail and follow-up, and that none of the entities involved with the story — such as the San Francisco police, the San Francisco airport, Alaska airlines, or the flight attendant herself — would or could provide any corroborating information: The story of this “hero flight attendant” and the group she represented quickly spread from tabloid outlets like the Daily Mail to the pages of The New York Times and BBC News. But each new iteration failed to produce additional facts. There was no follow-up on where the alleged trafficker had come from, what happened to him after the flight — arrest? prosecution? prison? — or data on how often law enforcement responds to in-flight staff tips. (There were also many misreports that Fedrick’s tale coincided with [the 2016] Super Bowl in San Francisco, though it happened years earlier.) The hero of all this hoopla, 49-year-old Shelia Fedrick, has been an Alaska Airlines flight attendant for 10 years. She also lists model and actress on online resumes and talent-portfolios. Beyond this, Fedrick has little online trail, and my attempts to reach her were unsuccessful. NBC notes that the girl in Fedrick’s story is now in college, but it does not say what happened to her alleged trafficker. Whatever happened to him, the dramatic incident received little public attention in 2011. While the news that year is full of stories about a man arrested at the San Francisco International Airport for wearing baggy pants, plus stories about local efforts to stop sex trafficking, none mention a human trafficker apprehended at a Bay Area airport that year. The San Francisco Police Department’s (SFPD) web archives turn up similarly scant results. And nothing fitting the description is mentioned in a statewide 2012 report about successful anti-trafficking efforts in the previous year. [N]o one will provide any specifics, nor even confirm or deny that the incident occurred. The SFPD told me to contact the airport about it; the airport never got back to me. Alaska Airlines took two days to tell me that out of respect for customer privacy, it couldn’t provide any comment. Not only was news reporting on this incident lacking any information about the perpetrator and his fate, but about the putative victim as well. How old was she? Where was she from? How did she come to fall into the hands of a human trafficker? (Was she abducted, a runaway, or an adventurous youngster lured by the promise of an enticing job?) Why was the young woman — said to now be a college-age adult who remains in touch with Ms. Fedrick — not seen or referenced (even anonymously) in the story at all? Like those before us, we have also been stymied in our attempts to obtain any verifying information about the 2011 human trafficking episode. Alaska Airlines told us that they “cannot comment on that incident” and that they can’t put us in touch with Shelia because she “no longer works for Alaska.” Kalhan Rosenblatt (who did the original reporting on Shelia Fedrick for NBC News) hasn’t responded to our request for comment. We also contacted Christine Negroni and Elizabeth Nolan Brown to find out if either had learned anything more about the story since the publication of their original skeptical reports, and they both told us that corroboration remained elusive. Perhaps, as Brown suggested, this tale has some elements of truth to it, but the lack of detail indicates the outcome of the case might not have matched the positive one readers were left to assume: The lack of a public trail related to Fedrick’s suspect certainly doesn’t mean her story didn’t happen. But it does suggest it wasn’t quite the big-time catch it’s being portrayed as. Perhaps it was even a big misunderstanding — a teen traveling with her dad, a young but adult woman traveling with an older boyfriend, someone else writing back on that bathroom note. Or perhaps Fredrick really did save a teen in danger, but authorities botched the case somehow.
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2841
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Pakistani city is world's biggest reservoir of polio viruses.
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Pakistan’s volatile northwestern city of Peshawar is the largest reservoir of endemic polio viruses in the world, the World Health Organization said on Friday, amid concerns over continuing violence against polio vaccination teams.
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true
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Health News
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Pakistan is also the only polio-endemic country in the world where polio cases rose from 2012 to 2013, the statement said. There were 91 cases last year but only 58 the year before. Polio can permanently paralyze or kill victims within hours of infection. Intensive vaccination campaigns have almost eradicated the disease worldwide, but it remains endemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. In Pakistan, Taliban commanders have forbidden vaccination teams access in some areas. A handful of religious leaders have also denounced the campaign as a plot to sterilize Muslim children. The rhetoric has fueled violence against the vaccination teams. Many teams travel only with police protection. Last year there were more than 30 attacks on polio teams. But Dr. Elias Durry, the head of the WHO’s polio eradication program in Pakistan, emphasized that campaigns in most parts of the country had been successful. “The virus has not been seen in all parts of Pakistan,” he said. “It’s in very limited areas that we have problems in accessing.” Some of the attacks took place in Peshawar, the capital of northern Khyber Paktunkhwa province. The old city is a maze of shops and homes where open sewers run through the streets. The city is plagued by Taliban and sectarian violence. Many families fleeing the Taliban insurgency in the north seek refuge there. Peshawar’s huge, mobile population and poor sanitation make it an ideal incubating ground for the disease. More than 90 percent of Pakistani polio cases last year were linked to a strain of disease found in the Peshawar sewers. All but one of the 13 cases in Afghanistan were also linked to Peshawar, WHO said.
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29612
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The American Red Cross charges a fee to persons whom they assist.
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What's true: At the request of the U.S. Army, during World War II the Red Cross charged American GIs stationed abroad for off-base food and lodging. What's false: The Red Cross doesn't charge disaster victims for the assistance they receive.
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false
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Medical, Emergency Room, hurricane katrina, louisiana
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The Red Cross has long been dogged by the persistent belief that it exacts payment for its services from the victims of disasters. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that notion surfaced again, this time asserting those left homeless and desperate were being charged for coffee, cups of juice, and cookies: We heard that the red cross was charging people in New Orleans 70 for a cup of juice and a cookie? Assuming we donate money to pay for the aid, could this be true? I’ve recently heard the Red Cross & maybe the Salvation Army sends bills to the people they help. Say it isn’t so!! I do know one person, a close friend of mine, who about 20 years ago was displaced due to an apartment building fire. She was provided shelter by the Red Cross but later received a bill from them for their services. That’s the only place I’ve heard the story and it wasn’t a rumor. The rumor is false: rhe Red Cross does not solicit payment for services rendered from those whom it is called upon to assist during times of emergency. The American Red Cross notes on their web page about disaster preparedness for seniors that “All American Red Cross emergency services are provided free of charge,” and the Southeast Michigan Red Cross web site’s ‘Ask Us‘ page plainly states: Q: How much does American Red Cross disaster assistance cost? A: All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by the voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. Disaster assistance is given free-of-charge without judgment or a promise of support. Modern rumors about the service’s turning a profit by taking items it had been supplied with via donations and selling them to the needy date to World War I. George Creel, Chairman of the Committee on Public Information at that time, offered the opinion that vilification tales aimed at the Red Cross bore unmistakable signs of enemy origin, begun in the hopes the negative stories would turn people against the organization. In WWI, and again in WWII, the slander took the form of cautionary tales about sweaters knit by volunteers as gifts for men serving at the front being instead sold to those troops by the Red Cross. One altruistic knitter, it was said, received a letter from a sailor who had come to be in possession of her work, in which the Navy man both thanked her for the garment and asked if she thought it fair he’d had to pay six dollars for it. Also rampant in WWII was scuttlebutt that soldiers serving in the Pacific theater were forced to pay five dollars for cardigans that had Red Cross labels in them. The sweaters the Red Cross collected from volunteers and sent to servicemen were, of course, never sold to GIs; they were always provided for free. Similarly, the Red Cross was said to be selling to servicemen cigarettes that had been donated by major tobacco companies. The Red Cross blood donor service was also a target of rumor-mongering during WWII. Whispers swept along that blood donations had been accepted from the Japanese, thereby (it was said) making it likely the offspring of those receiving such transfusions would display Japanese characteristics. Similar concerns were raised about blood from African-Americans being added to the pool. Rumor was also used to discourage those inclined to donate blood: stories were spread that those who gave ran the risk of contracting infection or disease from unsterilized instruments. The Affairs of Dame Rumor, a 1948 book about rumors rampant in America, recorded the following: The Red Cross rumors illustrate that the enemy rumor mill was designed to sabotage anything the American people might do to help their own war effort. If they were asked to lend aid by contributing their money to this organization, there was a lie that the Red Cross money was terribly mishandled and their books unaudited. If they were asked to become volunteer workers, there was a canard about men in the army saying there is no need for it. If they were being enlisted as consistent blood donors, there was a prohibitive fable about how blood plasma could be kept for only two months and if not used by then was thrown away. If American ladies persisted in knitting sweaters, the falsehood to discourage them was that garments sent to England were being ripped up and the wool sold to the British people. And lies of inefficient practices and waste dogged the efforts of the Red Cross throughout the war. There is truth to one of the rumors, however. During WWII the American Red Cross did indeed charge American servicemen stationed abroad for coffee, doughnuts, and lodging. However, they did so because the U.S. Army asked them to, not because they were determined to make a profit off homesick dogfaces. The request was made in a March 1942 letter from Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson to Norman H. Davis, chairman of the American Red Cross. Because American soldiers were fighting as part of the Allied Forces, matters had to be considered on a Force-wide (rather than a solely American) basis. The Red Cross was asked to establish club facilities for U.S. servicemen overseas where Allied troops would be welcome, and because English and Australian soldiers were being charged for the use of such facilities, it was deemed unfair that Americans were to get similar benefits for free (especially in light of the fact that their pay was higher than that of their Allied counterparts). For the good of the alliance, the American Red Cross was persuaded to exact nominal charges from American GIs for off-base food and lodging. This act resulted in the Red Cross’ coming to be regarded by numerous GIs as having profited off them. Bad feeling exists to this day over the decision to charge American servicemen for these services, with any number of such soldiers and their families carrying long-lasting resentments against the service. Yet while that ire might have been merited, it was misdirected: the culprit was the U.S. Army, not the Red Cross. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chief of Staff, United States Army, addressed the controversy surrounding this issue in a statement to the press on 10 April 1946: I am surprised to learn that one of the reasons [for Americans not contributing to the American Red Cross] is the complaints being leveled at the organization’s overseas operations by returning servicemen. For the most part these criticisms have grown out of a Red Cross policy of making nominal charges to our forces for food and lodgings in fixed Red Cross installations abroad. These complaints are distressing to me since this particular Red Cross policy was adopted at the request of the Army, so as to insure an equitable distribution among all service personnel of Red Cross resources.I know the Red Cross. I have seen it in action. Overseas it performed with the precision of a well-trained army. It would be grave injustice to the splendid work of the Red Cross if its campaign should be retarded anywhere by mistaken criticisms. Even after World War II, the Red Cross continued to be dogged for years by false tales about their imposing fees on military personnel for basic humanitarian services, such as the following 1952 rumor that claimed the organization had charged a U.S. serviceman interest on money he borrowed from them to attend his mother’s funeral: A recent rumor to the effect that a serviceman had been loaned money by the Red Cross at 6 per cent interest so he could attend his mother’s funeral was revealed by the local chapter.When the rumor proved to be unfounded, said a local Red Cross official, the serviceman wrote to deny the story: “I have not been asked to pay 6 per cent interest on this loan nor has it ever been suggested by anyone employed by the American Red Cross that I pay interest,” he said. “It was through the joint effort of the Hartford Chapter and the office of the field director that I was granted a leave …” The story of the interest charging went through a nearby summer resort “like wildfire,” reported the official. The Red Cross’ version was this: the local serviceman had just been inducted and was beginning his service at an Air Force base. The Red Cross notified him of his mother’s death, and since the serviceman was without enough money for the trip, the chapter advanced him more than $100 which he agreed to pay over a prolonged period — without interest. The advent of social media breathed new life into rumors the Red Cross was charging disaster victims, which spiked amid separate online controversies involving the organization following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in August-September 2017: There is a post going viral stating Red Cross stole goods from churches in Texas in the wake of Harvey and that they are charging 1.25 for water that was donated. The Red Cross was stealing from the doorsteps of churches after Harvey devastated Texas. They were protected by order EO 13603, which is an executive order that was signed on March 16 of 2012 by Barack Obama. You can find this information at ObamaWhiteHouse.archives.gov I am working at a kitchen in midtown Houston that is providing food support to affected areas. We have received several reports that Red Cross sites in the Port Arthur/Beaumont area are, in fact, charging for food. These are reports directly from the field by phone, not internet. We are trying to track down more supporting info for this claim, but it was reported by at least 3 people on site. In a separate article regarding rumors that the Red Cross was charging disaster victims after Hurricane Harvey hit in August 2017, we noted: Just to make sure their policy regarding disaster assistance has not changed since the last time these claims surfaced, we reached out to the Red Cross to ask if they charged for any disaster relief related services in the wake of Harvey. A media representative assured us that all Red Cross disaster assistance is provided free of charge. The rumors, this time, seem to have spread most rapidly from a 28 August 2017 piece (“Why You Shouldn’t Donate to the Red Cross to Help Hurricane Victims”) by Affinity Magazine, which makes the statement that some disaster victims never received money collected by the organization that was ostensibly there to help them: When the World Trade Center went down back in 2001, the Red Cross this time raised over a billion dollars in donations. Again, victims of the terrorist attack never saw the money. They opened only a few shelters during the attack and no one came to them. They even handed out coffee and donuts for the rescue workers on site, yet charged them for the food and drinks. On 31 August 2017, the Red Cross detailed how they would be spending their funds in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, introducing that documentation with the following statement: The American Red Cross has been truly humbled by the outpouring of public support for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Working around the clock, the Red Cross is making good use of donations and bringing help where it is needed. Each cot holding a sleeping child, each meal served to a family who is hungry and each blanket a disaster worker wraps around someone wet from the floodwaters is a result of a generous donation. As the storm moves north, flash flood emergencies are in effect throughout the Gulf Coast, and the storm may produce as much as a foot of rain through the end of the week.
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3698
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Local authorities: Mysterious illness in China is not SARS.
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The mysterious respiratory illness that has infected dozens of people in a central Chinese city is not SARS, local authorities said Sunday.
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true
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome, Health, Hong Kong, General News, Wuhan, Epidemics, China, Asia Pacific
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The 2002-2003 SARS epidemic started in southern China and killed more than 700 people in mainland China, Hong Kong and elsewhere. Fears of a SARS recurrence arose this month after a slate of patients were hospitalized with an unexplained viral pneumonia in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. As of Sunday, 59 people were diagnosed with the condition and have been isolated while they receive treatment, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. Seven were in critical condition, while the rest were stable. The commission said in a statement that initial investigations have ruled out SARS — severe acute respiratory syndrome — as well as Middle East respiratory syndrome, influenza, bird flu and adenovirus. The commission previously said the condition’s most common symptom was fever, with shortness of breath and lung infections appearing in a “small number” of cases. There were no clear indications of human-to-human transmission. Several patients were working at the South China Seafood City food market in sprawling Wuhan’s suburbs. The commission said the market would be suspended and investigated. Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority said Sunday that a total of 15 patients in Hong Kong were being treated for symptoms including fever and respiratory infection after recent visits to Wuhan. Hospitals and doctors have been directed to report cases of fever in anyone who has traveled to Wuhan in the past 14 days, Hong Kong’s health chief, Sophia Chan, said Sunday. The hospital authority said it has activated a “serious response” level to curb spread of the infection. Chan warned Hong Kong residents against visiting wet markets and eating wild game in mainland China. The World Health Organization said it was closely monitoring the situation and maintaining contact with Chinese authorities. No travel or trade restrictions are necessary at this time, the WHO said.
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8414
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Coronavirus clue? Most cases aboard U.S. aircraft carrier are symptom-free.
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Sweeping testing of the entire crew of the coronavirus-stricken U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt may have revealed a clue about the pandemic: The majority of the positive cases so far are among sailors who are asymptomatic, officials say.
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true
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Health News
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The possibility that the coronavirus spreads in a mostly stealthy mode among a population of largely young, healthy people showing no symptoms could have major implications for U.S. policy-makers, who are considering how and when to reopen the economy. It also renews questions about the extent to which U.S. testing of just the people suspected of being infected is actually capturing the spread of the virus in the United States and around the world. The Navy’s testing of the entire 4,800-member crew of the aircraft carrier - which is about 94% complete - was an extraordinary move in a headline-grabbing case that has already led to the firing of the carrier’s captain and the resignation of the Navy’s top civilian official. Roughly 60 percent of the over 600 sailors who tested positive so far have not shown symptoms of COVID-19, the potentially lethal respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, the Navy says. The service did not speculate about how many might later develop symptoms or remain asymptomatic. “With regard to COVID-19, we’re learning that stealth in the form of asymptomatic transmission is this adversary’s secret power,” said Rear Admiral Bruce Gillingham, surgeon general of the Navy. The figure is higher than the 25% to 50% range offered on April 5 by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, speaking in a television interview on Thursday, said the number of asymptomatic cases from the carrier was “disconcerting.” “It has revealed a new dynamic of this virus: that it can be carried by normal, healthy people who have no idea whatsoever that they are carrying it,” Esper told NBC’s “Today” morning show. Such data present challenges to the Pentagon, which is deployed around the world, sometimes in confined environments like submarines, ships and aircraft. Testing the entire military is not yet feasible, given still-limited testing capacity, officials say, and detecting enough cases without tests is impossible if most cases are asymptomatic. The U.S. coronavirus death toll - the highest in the world - surged past 31,000 on Thursday after doubling in a week. It also claimed the life of a sailor from the Theodore Roosevelt this week. Five other members of the crew are hospitalized. Still, the case of the Theodore Roosevelt offers a case study for researchers about how the virus spreads asymptomatically in a confined environment among mostly younger adults. That cohort has been somewhat underrepresented in the epidemiological data so far, said William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “The findings are of enormous interest because the proportion of people who are asymptomatic is just simply not known,” Schaffner said, when asked about the Navy’s data. Vice Admiral Phillip Sawyer, a deputy chief of naval operations at the center of the Navy’s coronavirus response efforts, presented the 60% figure in a call with a small group of reporters on Wednesday. But he declined to speculate about the implications. “I don’t know if we’re proving something different,” Sawyer said. “I do agree that we are providing some data that some other organizations might not have.”
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23822
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"Sharron Angle supported ""a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners."
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Reid ad claims Angle supported a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners
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mixture
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National, Crime, Message Machine 2010, Religion, Harry Reid,
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"Shortly after Sharron Angle won the Nevada Republican primary, Democratic opponent Harry Reid quickly picked up on some of the attacks levelled against Angle by her Republican primary opponent.According to a Reid ad, Angle supported ""a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners. ""As a Nevada Assemblywoman in 2003, Angle pushed for Nevada to try a controversial drug and criminal rehabilitation program based on the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Angle mulled legislation to bring a demonstration of the program -- called Second Chance -- to women's prisons in Nevada. And she was among a group of several Nevada legislators who made plans to travel to Mexico to see the program in action. According to a Feb. 18, 2003, story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the trip would have been paid by a private Arizona businessman with ties to the Church of Scientology.According to the Review Journal story, Angle defended the program, saying that while parts of the program were developed by Hubbard, his religion had nothing to do with the program. ""I don't have any inclination toward Scientology,'' Angle said. ""But when something works, you have to take a look at it. ""Angle parroted claims from the program leaders that only 10 percent of the inmates who enter the program return to drugs. But those claims are highly disputed. Nevada Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, a Democrat, said then that the program was costly and that legislators were told Mexican officials did not check on program participants after they left prison.Angle abandoned her efforts -- and canceled her planned trip to Mexico -- after she said it became clear that Democratic opposition to the program made it a non-starter.Angle's efforts on behalf of the Second Chance program first became political fodder for her Republican primary opponent Sue Lowden, who aired an ad in which the narrator says ""Retreat, relax, renew. Unwind and enjoy the soothing sauna and massage treatments in Nevada prisons."" Images of male prisoners getting back rubs flashed in the background.The Reid ad picks up on the same theme, showing a male prisoner getting a massage, but does more of a quick hit with, ""That's Sharron Angle. First, a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners. Now she wants to get rid of Medicare and Social Security. What's next?"" We addressed the claim that Angle ""wants to wipe out Social Security"" in a separate item. Here we're looking at the claim that Angle supported ""a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners. ""We'll take this in two parts. First, is it accurate to call Second Chance a ""Scientology plan""? Church of Scientology officials have long contended that Criminon and Narconon, the parent programs of Second Chance, are secular programs unaffiliated with the Church of Scientology. According to Narconon officials, Narconon was not founded by Hubbard, but by William Benitez, who while an inmate in an Arizona prison read books by Hubbard and applied his principles in developing a drug treatment program. However, many of the techniques and courses used in the program are similar to those practiced by Scientologists, which is why many Scientology observers say that at best, the line between Scientology and programs like Criminon and Narconon are blurred.As for the claim that Second Chance was a ""plan to give massages to prisoners,"" we think that's a gross oversimplification of the program.The ad suggests the sum of the program is akin to some sort of spa experience. The program does incorporate the use of saunas as part of a purported detoxification program that mirrors a Scientology ritual called the purification rundown. The use of saunas is based on Hubbard's belief that it is possible to sweat out toxic substances and drug residues, which can cause cravings for more drugs.The program also incorporates the use of ""nerve assists."" According to an online Scientology handbook, nerve assists are used to straighten joints and the spine. According to the handbook, ""The Nerve Assist consists of gently releasing the standing waves in the nerve channels of the body, improving communication with the body and bringing the being relief."" What follows is a detailed set of instructions on how to administer a nerve assist.In a candidate debate on Face to Face with Jon Ralston on May 18, 2010, Angle said ""it wasn't actually massages, it was really more of a karate chop. And the sauna I would say was a sweat box, in there with 30 sweaty guys is not exactly a sauna. ""By our reckoning, though, the method described in the Scientology handbook resembles a back massage, at least enough so that calling it that is not out of order. But there's more to the Second Chance Program than saunas and nerve assists. It also includes a series of life improvement courses, such as ones aimed at improving communication skills. News reports in the Wall Street Journal, Santa Fe Journal and the Los Angeles Times detail the workings of the program. It was used in New Mexico prisons for two years.We contacted William Miller, an addiction expert and a retired professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, who reviewed Second Chance at the request of the city of Albuquerque and recommended against the city adopting and funding Second Chance. Via e-mail, Miller told us it is a ""Scientology-based program that has no scientific credibility. ""And it no longer is operating in New Mexico prisons, he noted. ""They consumed quite a bit of money for several years, performed poorly, and went out of business when governmental funding dried up for them,"" Miller said.We also called Angle's campaign for comment about the program and Angle's involvement. Campaign staffer Lee Adams said ""it was something she looked at and ultimately said no."" As we noted earlier, it wasn't so much that Angle decided the program didn't have merit. Rather, she made a political calculation that it didn't have enough support to pass, and so she declined to offer legislation that was DOA.For the record, Adams said, despite some rumors circulating around, Angle is not a Scientologist. ""She's a Southern Baptist,"" he said.As for the claim in the Reid ad, we think it's accurate to point out Angle's one-time support for a controversial drug and crime rehabilitation program based on the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. But we think it's misleading to sum it up as back rubs for prisoners. There's a lot more to it than that. Some may find the idea of taxpayer support for the program equally as troubling, but this was more about supporting a controversial drug treatment program than one aimed at coddling criminals with massages."
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17366
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"300,000 Floridians will lose their current health plans"" because of Obamacare, a plan Alex Sink supports."
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"The National Republican Congressional Committee said in an ad that ""300,000 Floridians will lose their current health plans."" We know that the insurer Florida Blue had to end plans for 300,000 customers when their plans didn’t meet the law’s new requirements for health insurance. But Florida Blue also said it intended to help its customers select and sign up for new health care plans, not leave them without options, and the customers got an additional year, if they needed it, to make a transition. The ad makes it sound as if people would lose their plans without any replacement."
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mixture
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National, Health Care, National Republican Congressional Committee,
|
"Critics of the health care law like to throw around talking points that give the idea that the law will increase the ranks of the uninsured. The evidence, though, tends to contradict that. That hasn’t stopped political ads from continuing to push the point. The latest case: The race to replace the late U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla. Democrats are hoping to pick up the seat with Alex Sink, a former banking executive who’s previously held statewide office as Florida’s chief financial officer. Her opponents are David Jolly, a Republican and one of Young’s longtime aides, and Libertarian Lucas Overby. The National Republican Congressional Committee recently began airing ads attacking Sink for her support of President Barack Obama’s signature health law. The ads begin with photos of Obama and House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. ""Alex Sink’s loyalty is to them, not Florida. Why else would she continue to support Obamacare? 300,000 Floridians will lose their current health plans,"" the ad claims in part, concluding, ""She’s fighting for them. Not us."" The ad phrases its claim very carefully, but its statement still leaves out much of the story. And where does that 300,000 number come from anyway? The number comes from 300,000 policyholders that insurance company Florida Blue identified back in October. That was when insurers were required to notify policyholders if their insurance plans didn’t meet the rules for new plans requiring comprehensive coverage. The rules were intended to phase out ""bare bones"" plans that didn’t include things like prescription drugs or hospital stays. Florida Blue had 300,000 customers whose plans didn’t meet the new rules. So Florida Blue sent them letters informing them that their plans would end and offering guidance on how to get signed up for a new plan. ""Florida Blue is proactively communicating to these members to help them understand how this transition affects them,"" the company said at the time. ""Prior to their 2014 renewal date, each member will receive a letter that instructs them to contact Florida Blue to review their migration options. These new plans will offer members access to more comprehensive benefits in 2014."" We should note that there’s a lot we don’t know about these 300,000 policyholders. For example, some of them may have gone to the federal marketplace to buy insurance. If their income was below 400 percent of the poverty level (below about $94,200 for a family of four, for example), they would have gotten a subsidy to buy insurance. Some of these people may end up paying more but getting more robust coverage. It’s unclear how many, if any, would simply stop buying coverage altogether. Back in October, Florida Blue told PolitiFact Florida that it intended to work with customers to get them into new plans. Spokesman Mark Wright said that when it comes to getting new plans, ""nobody is throwing anybody off a cliff."" We reached out to Florida Blue to see if it could tell us anything more about how the letters have played out. Spokesman Mark Wright said the company was giving their policyholders another year to keep their coverage after President Barack Obama asked insurers to allow customers who wanted to keep the old plans to keep them for an additional year. One final note: PolitiFact Florida rated a similar but not identical statement claim from Sen. Marco Rubio back in October. Rubio said, ""300,000 people are going to lose their individual coverage because of Obamacare. Now those people next year, they don’t have health insurance."" Rubio failed to fully explain the situation behind the number and wrongly insisted that the people wouldn’t have insurance in 2014. The NRCC’s claim doesn’t go quite as far. Our ruling The National Republican Congressional Committee said in an ad that ""300,000 Floridians will lose their current health plans."" We know that the insurer Florida Blue had to end plans for 300,000 customers when their plans didn’t meet the law’s new requirements for health insurance. But Florida Blue also said it intended to help its customers select and sign up for new health care plans, not leave them without options, and the customers got an additional year, if they needed it, to make a transition. The ad makes it sound as if people would lose their plans without any replacement."
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1822
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In Thailand, baby gender selection loophole draws China, HK women to IVF clinics.
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At 26, with a baby daughter, a Hong Kong mother and her husband wanted a second child. To make sure it would be a boy, they paid $9,000 and flew to Thailand, the last place in Asia where gender selection treatment is available and breaks no law.
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true
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Health News
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“In Chinese tradition, a girl and a boy means good, perfect,” said the mother, who requested anonymity. “There’s nothing wrong with girls, but in Hong Kong and Chinese tradition all families like boys.” The mother is one of hundreds of women from mainland China, Hong Kong and Australia who visit Bangkok each year for in vitro fertilization (IVF) with the option of choosing the child’s gender by discarding fertilized eggs, or embryos, of the unwanted sex. The only other countries where the technique is permitted and available are the United States and South Africa - in both cases at a higher financial cost. The dozen or so clinics that offer the service in Bangkok say it gives parents the chance to “balance” the genders in their growing families, but medical authorities want the practice banned. The Medical Council of Thailand, an independent agency that supervises the country’s medical system, says it could encourage embryo trafficking. Still, its efforts to stop IVF gender selection have been complicated by a number of factors. It has no powers to prevent clinics providing the service because there is no law governing its practice in Thailand. Despite years of lobbying, the issue has remained low on the list of political priorities for successive governments – a point underlined by Thailand’s latest political upheaval and military coup. In standard IVF practice, a woman’s eggs are removed and fertilized before being returned to the womb. In gender selection IVF, only embryos of the desired gender are implanted, a practice mostly shunned amid concerns about couples making a choice on the right to life based on gender. “Sex selection for non-medical reasons is not encouraged, but neither is it prohibited in the U.S., according to the latest guidelines,” the American Medical Association says on its Website. As in Thailand, South Africa currently has no legal provision governing the technique. The business is estimated to be worth about $150 million last year, according to one Hong Kong agent who organizes gender selection packages. Demand is growing about 20 percent a year, some Thai providers told Reuters, with the number of clinics rising to meet it. With parliament dissolved since last December and an army government now in power, calls for legislation remain in limbo. Thailand’s Health Ministry referred questions to the Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the only agency in the country which gathers specialized information about IVF treatment. Prof. Clin. Wiboolphan Thitadilok, president of the college, said the agency is working on a fresh set of recommendations on IVF treatment in general. “We have worked to put this issue into law for more than 10 years” she told Reuters. “It’s not an issue that politicians will pay much attention to.” Thailand now has 44 IVF clinics in total, with seven new facilities opened last year and two or three applications for new clinics being submitted every month, according to the college. The Asian country has become the go-to destination for Chinese couples not willing to leave the gender of their baby to chance. They pay fees that can run close to $30,000 in some cases for packages including a cycle of treatment lasting two to three weeks. Alfred Siu Wing-fung, a Hong Kong agent selling Bangkok gender selection packages to about 200 Chinese couples a year, said as well as people from poorer rural areas his business, Eden Hospitality, had strong demand from wealthy professionals wanting certainty about their offspring. Siu estimates about 10,000 gender selection cycles were carried out in Bangkok last year, at an average cost of $15,000 per treatment. While medical equipment and drugs are imported, clinics are staffed mostly by Thai doctors and nurses trained overseas. He offers two packages: 280,000 Thai baht ($8,700) for a basic service including flights and accommodation, and 900,000 baht ($27,800) for VIP treatment, including nannies and catering. Interest is growing in Australia, where gender selection treatment is unavailable. Dr Robert Woolcott, director of Genea Ltd, the third-largest IVF company in Australia, said Genea routinely recommends that couples wishing to choose the gender of their baby visit Bangkok’s Superior A.R.T. (for Assisted Reproductive Technology), a clinic it partly owns. Overall, Australians numbering “in the hundreds per year” travel to Thailand for gender selection, Woolcott told Reuters. Back in Hong Kong, the mother, now 28 with a healthy 18-month-old son, is planning for her third child. She probably won’t go back to Bangkok. “I think the third one should be natural,” she said. ($1=32.3500 Thai Baht) ($1=1.0639 Australian Dollars)
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25849
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Facebook post Says Herman Cain died of cancer, not COVID-19.
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Herman Cain died of complications from COVID-19 on July 30. In 2006, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, which spread to his liver, but he recovered and went on to run for president in 2012.
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false
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Corrections and Updates, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts,
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"On July 30, Herman Cain, who sought the Republican nomination for president in 2012, died of complications from COVID-19. Dan Calabrese, the editor of HermanCain.com, broke the news in a post on the website that morning. ""We knew that when he was first hospitalized with COVID-19 that this was going to be a rough fight,"" Calabrese wrote. ""He had trouble breathing and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. We all prayed that the initial meds they gave him would get his breathing back to normal, but it became clear pretty quickly that he was in for a battle."" At a news conference later that day, President Donald Trump began by remembering Cain and said he died from the coronavirus. On social media, though, some people are casting doubt on Cain’s cause of death. ""Herman Cain RIP,"" one post says. ""He had Stage 4 Colon and Liver Cancer, yet he is declared to have died from COVID19? IMAGINE THAT!"" ""I just found out Herman Cain died from stage 4 colon cancer they marked him as a covid-19 death,"" another says. ""How can we believe anything they tell us about covid-19."" These posts were flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Cain tested positive for COVID on June 29 and he was hospitalized on July 1, about two weeks after he attended Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla. In the weeks leading up to his death, updates about his health were occasionally posted to his verified Twitter account. How he contracted the virus is unknown, but Calabrese confirmed to the Washington Post that Cain’s cause of death was COVID-19. Cain, who was 74, was a cancer survivor, which Calabrese noted in his post on HermanCain.com. ""Although he was basically pretty healthy in recent years,"" the post says, Cain""was still in a high-risk group because of his history with cancer."" In 2006, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer that spread to his liver, but he recovered."
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4350
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Despite detente, sanctions on North Korea fan TB epidemic.
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Doctor O Yong Il swings open a glass door with a bright orange biohazard sign and gestures to the machine he hoped would revolutionize his life’s work. It’s called the GeneXpert and it’s about the size of a household microwave oven. As chief of North Korea’s National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, Dr. O saw it as a godsend.
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true
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AP Top News, Health, North Korea, Epidemics, Tuberculosis, Pyongyang, Asia Pacific, Public health, International News
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Tuberculosis is North Korea’s biggest public health problem. With this American-made machine, his lab would be able to complete a TB test in just two hours, instead of two months. It took years, but Dr. O got the machines, only to discover that GeneXpert needs cartridges he can’t replace. It’s not entirely clear what about the cartridges would violate international sanctions. For a long time, the producer refused to disclose what agents were inside because that was patented information. But it doesn’t really matter. No one, it seems, is willing to help him procure them from abroad and run the risk of angering Washington. Despite a budding mood of detente on the Korean Peninsula since the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month in Singapore, ongoing sanctions championed by the U.S. and Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy continue to generate an atmosphere of hesitation and the fear of even unintentional violations. And that is keeping lifesaving medicines and supplies from thousands of North Korean tuberculosis patients. Dr. O’s laboratory, built with help from Stanford University and Christian Friends of Korea aid group, has essentially been running on empty since April. But the idle GeneXperts may soon be the least of his troubles. ___ Tuberculosis kills more than 1.6 million people a year. When left untreated it will be fatal in half of those it infects. It’s the world’s most deadly infectious disease and is so contagious that each case can be expected to lead to 10 to 20 more. In developed countries, it has largely been brought under control. There’s a vaccine that prevents it and a cocktail of drugs that can be used to treat, and often cure, it in a matter of months. But it’s a major scourge in less affluent places, including North Korea and sub-Saharan Africa. To help North Korea control its tuberculosis problem, a Geneva-based international aid organization called the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has dispersed more than $100 million in grants since 2010. Last year it supported the treatment of about 190,000 North Korean TB patients. But, two weeks ago, Global Fund ended all of its North Korea-related grants, saying it could no longer accept the North’s “unique operating conditions.” Spokesman Seth Faison said the fund informed Pyongyang in February so it would have time to look for alternative funding sources. He said Global Fund is providing buffer stocks of medicines and health products to help support the treatment of tuberculosis patients through June next year. Faison said Global Fund welcomes the “positive diplomatic efforts underway” between Pyongyang and its neighbors. But the fund’s position stands. The decision shocked the doctors at the Pyongyang tuberculosis lab, who praised Global Fund for the work it had done but accused it of bowing to political pressure from the United States and Trump’s vow to keep the pressure on and not ease sanctions until the North makes major steps toward denuclearization. The United States government, which has pledged $1.4 billion this year, is one of Global Fund’s biggest donors. The fund’s retreat sparked outrage outside of North Korea as well. In an open letter published in the medical journal Lancet, Harvard physician Kee Park, director of North Korea programs for the Korean American Association, warned the fund’s withdrawal could create a “humanitarian and public health crisis” and called the move “a cataclysmic betrayal of the people of the DPRK.” Whatever the reason, its departure is valid cause for concern. When tuberculosis patients reduce or go off their medications prematurely, or begin taking lower quality ones, the bacteria that causes their disease can develop a resistance to the two most powerful anti-TB drugs, making the condition harder and much more expensive to treat. This kind of multi-drug resistant TB is most often found in China, India and Russia. And it’s a big problem in North Korea. ___ North Korea’s health system is fragile and strapped for resources. But in keeping with Kim’s directives to lift the nation’s standard of living, officials are looking for ways to improve. “We have been waging a vigorous struggle with a highly ambitious plan to increase the average life expectancy of the population and bring other health indices in line with those of the world’s most advanced countries,” explained Ri Jong Chang, who is the director of the Central Tuberculosis Prevention Institute and has worked with TB patients for the past 25 years. Ri explained that at the most basic level, the country maintains a network of about 7,000 clinics and a system initiated decades ago that focuses on “household doctors.” Each doctor is responsible for the care of 150 households within their administrative area. Along with primary care, they keep their patients informed and educated about health issues and conduct activities to prevent diseases. If a suspected case of tuberculosis is found, the patient is sent to a county-level hospital for testing. Aware of its needs and vulnerabilities, North Korea, which is generally secretive and deeply suspicious of anything that smacks of foreign “meddling,” has demonstrated a surprising willingness to accept help, allow access and share information with United Nations’ agencies and foreign aid organizations. Along with Global Fund, the most established group treating TB patients in the North is the Eugene Bell Foundation, which supports the treatment of more than 1,000 patients at 12 centers across the country. Unlike Global Fund, since 2008 the Eugene Bell Foundation has been solely focused on fighting multi drug-resistant tuberculosis, which typically takes about 18 months to treat and costs nearly $5,000 per patient. Stephen Linton, who founded the group in 1995, has a grim assessment of the situation. “We are probably only covering about one-tenth of the MDR-TB patients in the country right now,” he told The Associated Press. He said about half of his patients are in Pyongyang, a city of 3 million and the place where most of the North’s elites reside. The reason is straightforward — MDR-TB develops after exposure to medications that failed. In rural areas, fewer people have access to those medicines to begin with. “If you are living in the countryside in North Korea, you are much less likely to get MDR-TB than if you live in Pyongyang. It’s horrendous,” he said. “We can’t get to the bottom of it, even though we focus a lot of resources there.” What really worries him, and the North Korean government, is what will happen if the patients who relied on Global Fund support run out of medications, stop getting help or turn to cheaper, less effective treatments. Many will die. But not before infecting many others. “This is an airborne infection,” he said. “Every time you are in a closed space with a TB patient, you are at risk. So for all the people that travel to North Korea, all the tourists, all the diplomats — they are a risk to everyone who comes near them.” ___ This was supposed to be the year Eugene Bell began to really up its game in North Korea, tripling to 3,000 the number of patients it treats. Many of the sanatoria where TB patients are treated in the North were built 30 or 40 years ago. They have poor insulation, are overcrowded and are often fire hazards. To address those problems and the sort of transparency issues Global Fund was concerned about, Eugene Bell has developed pre-fabricated wards tailor-made to meet the North’s conditions. They are simple, single-story duplexes. Each can be put up quickly by three or four people, meaning the entire process can be monitored while Linton and other Eugene Bell people are in the country on their bi-annual medical team visits. The wards are already paid for when they are shipped from China, so the money isn’t going into the pockets of government officials or funding Kim Jong Un’s missile programs. The idea was to begin putting up 80-100 wards to create large centers in each of North Korea’s nine provinces. A pilot project with 10 wards is now operating on the outskirts of Pyongyang, not far from the airport. Linton said everything was going well until last December. “Then we ran into this sanctions problem,” he said. “It’s officially approved. The design is approved. And it’s not that we can’t send anything in. But these buildings have a metal roof — a panel that has metal in it, aluminum — and that’s the issue.” Linton said Eugene Bell has a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of them “rotting in monsoon weather” in a dockyard outside of Seoul. He believes that until Washington makes it clear it is not against humanitarian aid, other countries and aid organizations will be reluctant to act — or even approve the shipment of items like Dr. O’s GeneXpert cartridges or Eugene Bell’s patient wards that are clearly intended for humanitarian use. As an American, Linton says, he is concerned the U.S. will be held responsible for whatever bad happens with TB in North Korea since no country is as seen as “owning” the sanctions as much as America. “Unless something is done and done soon, this medical emergency will become known in Korea as the ‘Sanctions TB Epidemic,’” he said. “And it will haunt the peninsula for generations.” ___ Talmadge is the AP’s Pyongyang bureau chief. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter: @EricTalmadge
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Prostate Cancer Drug Slows Memory Loss in Women with Alzheimer's Disease
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Misleading to the point of deception, this news release ignores all primary and secondary analyses of the study it ostensibly reports on — which were uniformly negative and showed no benefit — and instead treats a positive subgroup analysis as if it were the main finding of the study. It also failed to mention the potential for serious harm from the drug, and wasn’t transparent about the financial interests that might bias the opinions of one of the study authors. This is just not an acceptable practice. Yet it appears that journalists and other web producers bit on the bait and followed the lead of the news release unquestioningly. That’s where avoidable harm occurs. Since the drugs used in combination in this study (Lupron and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors) are already on the market, it’s conceivable that desperate family members and caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients will demand treatment based on these hyped results. (A broadcast television news story even encourages patient family members to “ask their doctors to consider putting them on the drug.”) The benefits touted by the release were seen only in a smaller subgroup of patients — not the main study — and subgroups need to be treated very carefully for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, the randomization of patient characteristics in the various groups of the study may not have been maintained in the subgroup analysis. If the patients in the subgroup who received Lupron were less severely ill or had other differences compared with those in the control group, then the treatment may appear to be beneficial, when in fact the result is due to confounding. This release doesn’t address such important limitations, and that’s unfortunate.
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false
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Academic medical center news release,Alzheimer's disease
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The press release does not provide any indication of this drug combination cost. Since both drugs are on the market, some estimate should be possible. We realize that university news releases may not be accustomed to being judged by a standard that calls for cost information. But 70% of ~2,000 health care news stories we’ve reviewed over the past 9 years were judged unsatisfactory on cost information. So we’re certainly not going to lower the bar for news releases, which could help to turn that trend around. Although we appreciate the release’s attempt to quantify benefits in terms of ADAS-cog scores, these numbers lack any significance for those who are not familiar this particular scale. Is this a 10-point scale or a 100-point scale? The importance of the 3 and 4-point drops described in the release will be judged differently depending on this crucial context. In addition, while the benefits were corroborated by mention of another study that showed a reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease among men who receive Lupron, there is an important clinical difference between reducing risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and slowing progression of the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer’s disease. The release didn’t make this clear. While the news release does note that the study population was limited to post-menopausal women due to the effect of Lupron on sex steroid production, it does not mention potential harms associated with the drug combination among post-menopausal women or possible interactions with other drugs that may be used by this population. The study itself found that 77 of 109 patients or (71%) experienced at least one adverse event. Three serious adverse events (2 cases of gastrointestinal hemorrhage and one case of deep vein thrombosis) were judged to be potentially related to the drug. Emphasis on or exaggeration of potential benefits, coupled with minimizing or totally ignoring harms, have been hallmarks of a majority of the ~2,000 news stories that we’ve reviewed in the past 9 years. News releases could help turn news stories in a different, more helpful, more complete direction. That’s our hope and expectation with this new feature of reviewing health care news releases. The news release doesn’t accurately describe the study design and, as noted above, neglects to inform us of some important limitations. First, the positive findings about the benefits of Lupron came from a subgroup analysis of the study — not the primary analysis. The main test of the study was to compare two different doses of Lupron with a placebo, and the results of that test were negative. The release glosses over this detail entirely and highlights the results of a much less definitive subgroup analysis. It focuses on the subgroup of patients who were already taking an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI), and noted that those who received the high dose of Lupron had stable cognitive function while the other two groups declined. That’s certainly an interesting finding and one that may warrant additional research, especially since the researchers planned to analyze that subgroup beforehand — which makes the result stronger than if they’d merely stumbled across it after the fact. Then again, the finding could well be biased for several reasons. And since the study was already small to begin with, the results of an even smaller subgroup should be treated very carefully. The release offered none of this context, and tried to paint the results of the study as unequivocally positive. As a result, many readers may be deceived as to the importance of these findings and how “promising” this drug combination really is. The release did not exaggerate the impact of Alzheimer’s disease. The news release clearly states the study was initiated by Dr. Richard Bowen, an employee of the (now bankrupt) Voyager Pharmaceutical Corporation, and that the company performed the study. But it doesn’t disclose that Bowen also reported owning stock in Voyager (he’s previously been described as a “major shareholder”), which holds a patent covering the use of Lupron for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. Though apparently now in bankruptcy, the company would likely still stand to benefit if this treatment approach gained new attention from researchers or was championed by new investors — and Bowen might well share in that reward. The news release wasn’t transparent about this. The news release notes that “This is the first time any therapy has been shown to stabilize memory loss over a year.” That’s all well and good, but how do the results compare with other FDA approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease or others that may be on the horizon? The release doesn’t address this issue. It’s clear from the release that both medications in this combination therapy (AChEI and Lupron) are currently available. We appreciate that the news release ends by noting the preliminary nature of the findings, and the uncertainty as to whether additional studies of this combination will be conducted. But unfortunately, the release’s mischaracterization of the results will likely overpower this note of caution. The news release notes that there is previous research suggesting that Lupron may be beneficial for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. It establishes that this is the first drug combination that could maintain stability in cognitive function for Alzheimer’s patients over the course of a year. No unjustifiable language identified.
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5854
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Trump administration opposing bid for syphilis study museum.
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The Trump administration opposes a bid to use unclaimed money from a legal settlement over the government’s infamous Tuskegee syphilis study to fund a museum honoring victims of the research project.
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true
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Sexually transmitted diseases, Race and ethnicity, Health, Lawsuits, Museums, Courts, Syphilis, Legal settlements
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The Justice Department argued in court documents recently that providing the money to the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center would violate an agreement reached in 1975 to settle a class-action lawsuit. For the study, hundreds of black men suffering from the sexually transmitted disease were allowed to go untreated for decades so doctors could analyze the progression of the illness. The government said that it “does not intend in any way to justify, condone, or defend the Tuskegee Syphilis Study,” but allowing remaining money from a $9 million settlement to be used for the museum would violate the settlement’s original provision that any left over money go back to the government. Fred Gray, a civil rights attorney who represented men in the study and made the funding request in 2016, declined comment on the government’s position. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson held a telephone conference on the request on May 30, records show, but hasn’t ruled yet. Starting in 1932 and continuing for four decades, government medical workers operating in rural, segregated Alabama withheld treatment from unsuspecting black men infected with syphilis so doctors could track the disease and dissect their bodies afterward. Revealed by The Associated Press in 1972, the study ended and the men sued, resulting in the settlement negotiated by Gray on behalf of the victims, all of whom have died. The men wanted to be remembered in a memorial that told their story, Gray said in court documents, and a county-owned history museum that already includes exhibits about the study could use the “relatively small” amount of unclaimed money. The men’s names are emblazoned in a circle on the floor of the museum, which only opens during the summer because of funding shortages. The Justice Department said sending the money to the museum would “fundamentally alter the terms of the agreement.” Days after the government made its argument in legal documents, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo barring third-party organizations from receiving money from settlements involving the government. Officials say more than 6,000 heirs of the roughly 600 men who were involved in the study received settlement payments through the decades, but an undisclosed amount of mainly interest earnings remains in court-controlled accounts. Court officials say they can’t find additional descendants, if any exist. Some descendants of the men have said they support using the settlement money to help the museum, while others like the idea of a new memorial at Tuskegee University, where the study was based. Still others want new medical screenings on relatives. A judge’s decision could be a step toward ending the study participants’ class-action lawsuit, first filed in 1973.
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6005
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Airbnb to train volunteers for science research sabbatical.
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Airbnb is offering a handful of people concerned about the environment a chance to participate in scientific research on how to help preserve it during an all-expense paid trip to Antarctica.
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true
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Environment, Chile, General News, Entertainment, Sabbaticals, Lifestyle, Antarctica, Science, Glaciers, U.S. News, Pollution
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The Antarctic Sabbatical , as the travel company is dubbing it, will give five people the opportunity to study how widely micro plastics have infiltrated the region. Over a month’s time in December, they’ll be trained in lab work in Chile, collect snow samples in Antarctica, climb key glaciers and even visit the South Pole. Scientist Kirstie Jones-Williams, who will be helping to train and guide the volunteer researchers, says the goal of the program isn’t to create more scientists, but moreso global ambassadors on the dangers of pollution and more. “The science itself that we’re doing isn’t enough,” she told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “Actually, one of the biggest threats to our sort of natural environment isn’t necessarily the lack of information that we have ... but it’s more the disenfranchisement that can occur with policymakers and apathy and eco-fatigue. “One of the main things is to get a bunch of people that can take the messages that we learn back to their respective countries,” she said. It’s the second offering in Airbnb’s sabbatical program, which offers its users a chance to take time to do more than see the sights but actually do some good. Earlier this year, Airbnb selected five people to spend three months in Grottole in southern Italy to help preserve the way of life in the town, which is in danger of disappearing. Airbnb’s Chris Lehane says both sabbaticals are part of the company’s larger goal of more eco-friendly travel and to raise awareness of tourism’s global footprint. “Airbnb is not going to solve climate change, but we all have a responsibility to do what we can and use our capacity to help take steps forward,” said Lehane, senior vice president of global policy and communications. “A lot of travel in the world takes place in and around big events,” he said. “Can we find ways when people are going to travel around these big events, to make them much more sustainable?” No scientific background is required to be selected for the Antarctic trip: However, a love of the environment and the ability to complete some of the physical tasks, such as collecting samples, climbing glaciers and enduring bitter cold, is paramount. “It is hard to work in cold environments so people that ... perhaps work well under pressure, work well when they’re tired, that’s actually quite key,” Jones-Williams said,” and to actually ask questions, and people that are really hungry to get as much as they can out of this experience. “It’s really people that kind of respect the scientific process,” she added. The five will stay in Airbnb’s in Chile for their training for about two weeks and will stay at a camp provided by Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions in Antarctica for about a week or so. Airbnb will partner with Ocean Conservancy to use the research for advocacy. Nick Mallos, a conservation biologist and ocean debris specialist for Ocean Conservancy, called it an “incredible opportunity,” and noted that the group has long worked with “citizen science volunteers” to help clean up the environment. “We’ve seen the power of when you train and empower individuals to perform science, they can generate invaluable information and data that ultimately then can form solutions,” he said. ___ Online: http://airbnb.com/sabbatical
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17407
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"A friend’s sister ""died from Obamacare"" because Blue Shield ""completely just pulled out of California."
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"Coulter said a friend’s sister ""died from Obamacare"" because she was ""thrown off her insurance plan, you know Blue Shield completely just pulled out of California."" We're not fact-checking whether someone died. We're looking at the circumstances Coulter presented. Blue Shield did not pull out of California, and the company did not leave people without insurance. In fact, customers were allowed to keep their existing insurance plans through March. If the basic facts of Coulter’s story are accurate, the woman in question elected to drop insurance coverage. Whatever the story of Blue Shield, saying someone died ""from Obamacare"" is incendiary and grossly misleading."
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false
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Health Care, PunditFact, Ann Coulter,
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"Of all the reasons Republicans oppose Obamacare, none is more stark than death. Conservative pundit Ann Coulter on Feb. 2, 2014, offered what she called a ""shocking and horrible"" personal story on Fox & Friends Weekend illustrating lethal consequences of the health care law. Coulter told host Tucker Carlson that she woke up Saturday morning to an email from a friend who said her sister ""almost died because of Obamacare."" Coulter zipped through the backstory: The woman ""had been thrown off her insurance plan, you know Blue Shield completely just pulled out of California."" The woman tried to ""get on Obamacare, (but) couldn’t get through the website."" Then she got a fever, but she didn’t want to go to the emergency room without insurance. On Thursday, the woman went into septic shock, Coulter said, and went to the hospital. Coulter recounted the story in a Saturday speech. ""I got up to my hotel room after the speech and my friend sent me an email saying, ‘My sister died from Obamacare,’ "" she said. Carlson responded, ""That is completely shocking."" Coulter added that she asked her friend if she could tweet the sister's story, and ""She said, 'Julie would be very happy for you to tweet this.' "" We don't know the name of the woman (beyond Julie), the type of coverage she had or anything about her medical history, and Coulter did not respond to our request for more information. But the claim that someone ""died from Obamacare"" because Blue Shield ""completely just pulled out of California"" is something we can fact-check. It’s obviously misleading to say someone died from Obamacare in the same way someones dies from cancer or a car accident. Hospitals in the United States are required to treat patients whether they have health insurance or not. But more germane to this particular fact-check is Coulter’s assertion that the woman found herself without insurance because Blue Shield pulled out of the state of California. That did not happen. Blue Shield of California: Still in business Some insurance companies stopped writing health insurance policies in the individual market in California, but not Blue Shield of California. The not-for-profit insurer competes with for-profit insurer Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente. It continues to be a big player in the individual marketplace, which is what we assume Coulter is talking about, as well as the state’s health exchange, Covered California. Like other insurers across California and the country, Blue Shield of California could no longer offer some health insurance plans because they did not include ""essential health benefits"" required by the Affordable Care Act. These plans could not be grandfathered in under the new law. Blue Shield of California sent letters to 119,000 customers in September notifying them their current plans would end ""but we can still have you covered in 2014."" PunditFact obtained a sample cancellation letter from the company. The letter explained Blue Shield would offer new plans that include the minimum health benefits required by the health care law, such as emergency services, prescription drugs and preventive care. If a customer took no action after reading the letter, he or she would be automatically enrolled into a new plan recommended by Blue Shield. This was meant ""to ensure that no one experienced a lapse in coverage,"" said spokeswoman Mia Campitelli. The letters went to 57 percent of the insurer’s individual market customers, she said. For two-thirds of the people who lost their plan, the recommended option was more expensive, the Los Angeles Times reported. This scenario was similar for 300,000 Florida Blue customers last fall. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said affected customers were ""going to lose their individual coverage because of Obamacare. Now those people next year, they don’t have health insurance."" But PolitiFact Florida rated that claim because they were not losing coverage unless they opted out. Most of these Blue Shield of California customers were given the chance to temporarily extend their old plan until the end of March 2014 because the state’s insurance regulator determined they did not give customers 180 days of notice. About 15,000 people decided to take the extension, Campitelli said. For a customer to be without Blue Shield coverage after getting the letter, he or she would have had to contact Blue Shield to cancel the recommended plan. Campitelli said the company would not have a number for how many people chose to drop Blue Shield until open enrollment ends after March. Trouble with the website? Coulter said her friend’s sister tried to get Obamacare but couldn’t get through the website. (That’s assuming she canceled her Blue Shield coverage.) But if the woman was looking for new coverage in California, she would not have needed to access the troubled federal marketplace, healthcare.gov. California is one of the states running its own insurance marketplace. Consumers are free to buy coverage directly from insurers, but if they want access to tax credits to offset the cost, they have to go through the exchange. Covered California was not as hampered by technical difficulties as healthcare.gov, though it has not been without its snags, particularly during the hectic leadup to the end of open enrollment for 2014 coverage. The marketplace extended deadlines to accommodate some shoppers, said California deputy insurance commissioner Janice Rocco, and about 500,000 people chose an insurance plan during the Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2013, enrollment period. Our ruling Coulter said a friend’s sister ""died from Obamacare"" because she was ""thrown off her insurance plan, you know Blue Shield completely just pulled out of California."" We're not fact-checking whether someone died. We're looking at the circumstances Coulter presented. Blue Shield did not pull out of California, and the company did not leave people without insurance. In fact, customers were allowed to keep their existing insurance plans through March. If the basic facts of Coulter’s story are accurate, the woman in question elected to drop insurance coverage. Whatever the story of Blue Shield, saying someone died ""from Obamacare"" is incendiary and grossly misleading. Coulter’s claim rates ."
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10465
|
Blood pressure vaccine maybe on way
|
This article explores the mid-stage development of a vaccine to control high blood pressure. It has several serious flaws. It fails to report that several effective, inexpensive treatments are available for the condition It includes too much commentary from self-interested sources and not enough from those who challenge the approach. It fails to make clear the limitations of the research upon which the positive comments are based. It does not sufficiently emphasize potential risks of the approach. It misuses an anecdote in a way that casts unjustifiably positive light on the research. Readers are not well served by this article. It may unduly raise patient hopes about the value of vaccinations for chronic disease.
|
false
|
"The article says the vaccine developers see them as ""potential low-cost"" products to control or prevent chronic disease. If this assertion is made in the article it should be explored or challenged. The initial choices for management of hypertension are a thiazide diuretic and a beta blocker. These drugs are pennies a day. The article reports that three shots over 12 weeks reduced systolic pressure by 5.6 millimeters of mercury, diastolic pressure by 2.8 millimeters. While it usefully says this is roughly equivalent to the drop produced by a drug in someone with mild hypertension, it fails to report the disease state of the experimental group, whether they had previously taken medication and other essential details. The effectiveness of the vaccine in the long run is unclear as is the ability of this approach to actually reduce events. We learned from the ALLHAT study that reducing blood pressure may not reduce cardiovascular risk. The vaccine is a long way off from demonstrating effectiveness in cardiovascular risk reduction. The story mentions the potentials for harm, including the most important–that a vaccine can have unanticipated consequences that may prove impossible to reverse or even control. These concerns should have appeared higher and more prominently in the story, however. The study cited is unpublished, funded and operated by the vaccine maker. It is a stage II trial. The reporter failed to emphasize these limitations. The opening anecdote describes a man who has difficulty complying with his blood pressure medication regimen. But his circumstances are extraordinary: He needs to take 9 pills in the morning and 9 pills at night. The anecdote exaggerates the difficulties of drug compliance–and casts an excessively positive light on the following discussion of antihypertension vaccines. Further, the report says ""studies show that only about half of people with high blood pressure follow doctors’ orders."" It’s not clear what that means. Compliance rates, or success in maintaining targeted blood pressure levels, would be more meaningful statistics. The article quotes the vaccine developer’s chief scientific officer, the lead researcher who works on behalf of the vaccine developer, one skeptic and one neutral observer who adds an inconsequential comment about the mechanism of morning hypertension. The article would have been better if it had added comments from one or two independent experts, especially those who could talk about more conventional methods of controlling blood pressure. Many people with hypertension–especially those with early stage or mild-to-moderate disease, who are considered by the company to be likely targets of this product–can be treated successfully with lifestyle changes. Others are successfully treated with fairly simple generic medications. The report failed to mention that these nearly free, low-tech treatment options exist and are well documented to be effective–and call into question the need for and value of vaccines for this condition. The article makes clear that the vaccine is still in development. The article makes clear that the use of vaccines for chronic disease is a novel concept. A press release issued by a company along with the November presentation at the American Heart Association meeting makes some of the same points as the story. So does the American Heart Association release itself. However, it’s not possible to determine whether the article drew excessively on the releases."
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11599
|
Two new drugs extend survival for melanoma patients
|
More broadly, the story contained none of the restrained context provided by the Times. Read and compare. Stories about cancer – perhaps especially melanoma because of its treatment challenges – should balance promise with realistic context. This story fell short in comparison with the competing New York Times story.
|
true
|
Cancer,CNN
|
Not a word about costs – difficult to comprehend given the estimates the New York Times provided of $120,000 per course of treatment for one and “at least tens of thousands” per year for another. Is this not an issue worthy of a line? Adequate explanation of the benefits reported in both studies. Not a single word about potential harms, as opposed to a New York Times story, which described – variously for the two drugs: Again, is this not worthy of at least a line? Adequate explanation of the evidence. Interestingly, both this story and the one from Reuters provided information from the ASCO meetings and neglected to tell readers that both studies have been published in a peer reviewed journal. The NY Times provided both sources. No disease-mongering of melanoma. Two independent experts were quoted. Adequate job reporting the comparisons seen in the trials of the two drugs. The story makes it clear that vemurafenib is experimental and Yervoy is commercially available. Unfortunately, the story includes a prediction from the ASCO President and others that , “…vemurafenib will almost certainly get FDA approval this year.” While this may occur, it is not certain. And a little shoe leather journalism would easily find someone who would remind readers that FDA approval is not a fait accompli. Because of this, we judge this unsatisfactory. The relative novelty of the two drugs was established. It’s clear the story did not rely on a news release.
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9186
|
Postmenopausal hormone therapy exceeding ten years may protect from dementia
|
When the news release launches with a discussion of two huge studies and saying that the “largest study comprised approximately 230,000 Finnish women and the follow-up time in different studies was up to 20 years” you think you are going to hear some stunning findings with ample evidence to back them up. Instead, this release about the possible benefits of hormone therapy as a way to prevent Alzheimer’s is very light on actual information. It provides some cautionary notes in a few spots, but it also obscures some key facts from the same studies it touts. It’s true that Alzheimer’s disease disproportionately affects more women than men and research into why is an important public health question. But as presented, even with caveats, this release might encourage women to embark on long-term hormone therapy with no evidence showing it prevents Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand, many large studies have shown that hormone therapy does carry many serious health risks.
|
false
|
dementia,hormone therapy,University of Eastern Finland
|
There is no discussion of costs in the release. Hormone replacement therapies have been on the market for decades, and their well-known costs should have been included. The cost to an individual may not be very high, but the cost to society of unnecessary, and potentially harmful, hormone prescriptions could be very high. The release provides no numbers to back up the claims about the benefits of hormone replacement therapy. It references two studies, a case control study (one that starts with an outcome and then then traces back to investigate what the patient was exposed to) of 230,000 women and a prospective cohort study (one that follows people over time to determine how specific factors affect rates of a specific outcome) of about 8,195 women, both of which find very small decreases in Alzheimer’s disease only in those women who had been taking estrogens for more than 10 years. The decrease is barely significant in both case and could be due to unrelated variables that are not discussed in the release. The large case control study published in Maturitas concludes: “Our findings do not suggest HT is an important determinant of AD risk.” The prospective cohort study published in Neurology concludes: “Our results do not provide strong evidence for a protective association between postmenopausal HT use and AD or dementia, although we observed a reduced AD risk among those with long-term self-reported HT use.” The release makes no mention of the harms associated with hormone replacement therapy. These are well documented in multiple studies and include a heightened risk of breast cancer and other types of cancer. The release sets out to describe two main studies and to provide some caveats. But by putting the emphasis on the number of people who were included in the studies and not providing any actual data around benefits or harms it skews the view being presented. It suggests to readers that the massive size of the studies must be proof enough that the benefits of hormone replacement therapy are clear. In trying to place these findings in context, the release says, “In in vitro and animal studies, estrogen has showed neuroprotective effects. However, studies on humans have yielded inconsistent results on the association between postmenopausal estrogen-based hormone replacement therapy and dementia risk.” This starts to take the release in the right direction, but without any additional information to back up the statements about the benefits of hormone replacement therapy, the reader is left with the impression that taking hormone replacement therapy as early as possible in menopause will protect a woman from dementia. Instead, the release should have explained that the large number of women being studied only included a small number of women who developed Alzheimer’s. In one study, out of 8,195 women, there were only 227 cases of Alzheimer’s. Those real numbers and real context should have been provided. There is no disease mongering in the release. The release also provides some context concerning how Alzheimer’s disproportionately affects women. The release does not mention any of the funding sources for the studies. It would be preferable if all funding sources were cited, but we don’t penalize releases or stories unless they fail to report industry funding and commercial ties. These reports were funded by government and academic research institutions, and foundations. The release does not discuss any alternatives. Numerous other other observational studies, many stronger than this one, are exploring possible Alzheimer’s risk reduction strategies involving diet, exercise and “brain games.” But according to the National Institute on Aging, “So far, studies have not demonstrated that, over the long term, health or lifestyle factors can prevent or slow Alzheimer’s disease or age-related cognitive decline. Similarly, clinical trial results do not support the use of any particular medication or dietary supplement to prevent these conditions.” The release presumes that people know that hormone replacement therapies are available. In this particular case, there has been so much negative news around hormone replacement therapies because of their linkage to cancer risks that it would have been worth noting that the therapies are available by prescription. We’ll give the release a pass here because it cites several avenues of past research and doesn’t make a direct claim of novelty. The release makes it seem that the sheer size of the studies mentioned here make the findings novel, but it does not prove that these findings are novel. The release doesn’t rely on sensational language. With the exception of the headline (“Postmenopausal hormone therapy exceeding ten years may protect from dementia”) and some vague claims, the language in the release is essentially in line with the findings of the studies being discussed. The release does say that the results were weak, which is also what the studies said.
|
34373
|
People in Brooklyn are refusing to vaccinate their pets based on fears created by the anti-vaccine movement.
|
As such, we rank the purported increase anti-pet-vaccination in Brooklyn as unproven.
|
unproven
|
Medical, anti-vaccine, brooklyn, brooklynpaper
|
On 1 August 2017, BrooklynPaper.com — the internet-facing side of a local Brooklyn weekly — published a story that claimed to document an increase in Brooklyn pet owners refusing to vaccinate their pets over fears the treatment would give their furry friends autism: A growing, national anti-vaccination movement that claims the inoculations can cause autism in children has led Brooklyn pet-owners to withhold vaccines against deadly and spreadable diseases from their critters, according to local veterinarians. The story has since gone viral, thanks primarily to the British tabloid Daily Mail, which essentially republished the same piece with no additional reporting, but with more capital letters in their headline: “Brooklyn dog owners refuse to vaccinate their pets because they fear shots will give them AUTISM.” These stories make two highly shareable claims: 1) Pet owner behavior in Brooklyn has changed such that an increasing number of pet owners are refusing to vaccinate their pets; and 2) this purported change in behavior is attributable to the (human) anti-vaccine movement, which embraces the widely discredited link between vaccines and autism. Unfortunately, the evidence provided to support these Tweet-friendly claims is insufficient to document either a change in behavior or hypothesize a reason for why it may or may not be happening. In support of the claim that pet owners are increasingly refusing vaccinations, BrooklynPaper quotes two local veterinarians. The first vet, Dr. Amy Ford, does suggest she has seen an increasing number of clients who “don’t want to vaccinate their pet” (not that they are actually avoiding the treatment, mind you): “We do see a higher number of clients who don’t want to vaccinate their animals,” said Dr. Amy Ford of the Veterinarian Wellness Center of Boerum Hill. The second vet provides one example (which is mathematically incapable of being evidence of a trend on its own), while reiterating the point that dogs are not typically diagnosed with autism: “I had a client concerned about an autistic child who didn’t want to vaccinate the dog for the same reason,” said Dr. Stephanie Liff of Clinton Hill’s Pure Paws Veterinary Care. “We’ve never diagnosed autism in a dog. I don’t think you could.” Collectively, then, the evidence for this change in behavior rests on a single incident in one clinic and the qualitative testimony of a single vet in another that suggests only increased concern, not increased refusal. The evidence linking this supposed trend to the anti-vaccine movement is similarly tenuous, and primarily relies, again, on speculative statements from Ford and Linn: “[People refusing to vaccinate their pets may] be stemming from the anti-vaccine movement, which people are applying to their pets.” […] “It’s actually much more common in the hipster-y areas,” Ford said. “I really don’t know what the reasoning is, they just feel that injecting chemicals into their pet is going to cause problems.” To shore up both claims, BrooklynPaper then conducted interviews with random dog owners on the street, only to find that none of them personally held these views or acted on them: Not all residents of Kings County’s “hipster-y areas” refuse to inoculate their pets, however, according to Greenpoint dog owner Larissa Moon, spotted on Wednesday walking her pooch in Prospect Park. “It’s a pretty good idea to vaccinate both your dogs and your kids” she said, while wearing a leaf for a hat. […] “I’ve bumped into a couple people who told me ‘Don’t vaccinate your dog,’ ” said Adam Weller. “I’m like, ‘Okay, have a nice day!’ ” […] Another former pup owner said that while she has vaccinated pets in the past, recent concerns over the injections’ side affects [sic] have moved her to doubt their necessity. “I’ve heard over the past couple of years that there can be issues with [vaccinations],” said Park Slope resident Jeannette D’Mico, whose two pooches died last year. “I will get another dog eventually, and will look into not doing that blindly.” We are, to be clear, arguing neither for or against the notion that the human anti-vaccine movement may be altering pet owner behavior. We are, however, arguing that the claims made in the original story and in headlines and tweets across the internet stem primarily from the speculative testimony of two Brooklyn vets, and from interviews of random people on the street that, in reality, provide zero direct support said claims.
|
11086
|
Stem Cells Carry Hope for Lupus
|
A first glance may suggest that this is a controversial topic because the piece is entitled “Stem Cells Carry Hope for Lupus.” However, these are stem cells derived from the patient’s own bone marrow and are thus not fodder for the embryonic stem cell debate. This article reports on the use of a common cancer therapy, hemapoetic stem cell transplantation (HSTC) in the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are not responding to standard treatment. While this preliminary study will be followed by a larger, randomized clinical trial, the current results reported are quite hopeful for those with this autoimmune disease. Weaknesses in the story included a lack of information about the number of people who do not respond to standard therapy, a lack of information on side effects and costs of the treatment, and the failure to include input from another, independent source.
|
mixture
|
The costs for HSCT was not mentioned. No estimate for the percentage of patients who did not respond to standard treatment and who would be expected to die within the time frame of the study. (However – and this is no excuse for the journalist – this information was not in the original research reported on either.) The side effects of the treatment were not mentioned The article explained that the study it reported on was small and that the results were preliminary and did not contain a control group for comparison. Presented an estimate for the number of people affected by lupus (1.5 million in the U.S.) as well as an estimate (5-10%) for the proportion of patients who did not respond to standard treatment. Only a quote from the first author of the study was included. No independent second source. Article mentioned that lupus patients are usually treated with immunosuppressive drugs and that for 5-10% of patients, these drugs are ineffective. While the original article was clear in presenting that HSCT was used as a treatment for this population for whom the standard approach was no longer effective, this was not explicit in the article. The results presented are acknowledged to be preliminary, with the next step being a second, larger trial. This suggests that use of HSCT for treatment of lupus is not likely to be widely available for some time. This article reported on using nonmyeloablatic hemapoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to treat patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who not responding to the standard therapy. This medical therapy is currently in use as a means of treating several kinds of cancers.
|
|
285
|
'Storm approaching': firms fear for deliveries in shipping shakeup.
|
U.S. furniture company RC Willey Home Furnishings is so concerned that new global clean air rules will cause transport disruption that it brought forward the shipment of arm chairs and sofas from China by two months.
|
true
|
Environment
|
The tougher regulations, set by the United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), come into force on Jan 1. Costs will rise for ships towards the end of this year and there will be a knock on effect for trucks and other transporters that move goods around the world. For shipping companies it is the biggest shakeup in decades and adds to the pressures of an economic slowdown and the threat of an escalating trade war between the United States and China. While consumers are not expected to pay more for goods, higher transport bills and disruption to company deliveries could further dent economic growth. Ship owners must cut sulphur emissions to 0.5% from 3.5%. They can do this by using low-sulphur fuel, installing exhaust gas cleaning systems or opting for other, more expensive, clean fuels such as liquefied natural gas or traveling more slowly. Jeff Child, president of Berkshire Hathaway’s RC Willey Home Furnishings, moved the delivery of about 450 containers from September and October to July and August. He wants to avoid any disruption in the peak fourth quarter as ships prepare for the changes, including refitting equipment. “We just don’t want to get caught in a situation where it affects our inventory,” he told Reuters. Analysts say the container industry, which transports consumer goods such as sofas, designer clothes and bananas, will be one of the worst hit with extra costs of about $10 billion. The world’s two biggest container shipping lines - Denmark’s Maersk and Swiss headquartered MSC - say they face annual extra costs of over $2 billion each. Twenty-five logistics company executives told Reuters they would pass along any IMO-related costs, such as ship upgrades or more expensive fuel, to customers. “The sulphur cap will further put pressure on ocean freight rates and we... will have to pass those costs on to remain competitive,” Peder Winther, global head of ocean freight with Swiss transportation company Panalpina Group said. Economists say manufacturers are expected to absorb their part of the cost and are unlikely to raise the price of consumer goods, but the hit to companies could be a drag on the world economy. A Nestle S.A. spokesperson said the food group was talking to transport companies about “fuel adjustment methodology” to reflect the impact of the new rules. “Higher fuel prices would result in higher transport costs,” said Peter Nagle, an economist with the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group. “This would have the potential to lead to slower economic growth and trade.” Trucking companies will also suffer. The IMO rules do not apply to them but they will face new competition from ships for lower sulfur fuel. This is expected to push up the price of diesel fuel for trucks by as much as 100 percent. Small to mid-sized truckers may find it tough as they lack the clout to negotiate fuel deals or to recoup the costs. “I’m at the whim of the market. All I can do is let the customers know what’s going on,” said Mike Baicher, president and chief executive of New Jersey based West End Express, which runs 90 trucks in New York, New Jersey and along the East Coast. “There is only so much that the trucking company can absorb.” In a letter sent to top U.S. government officials including National Security Advisor John Bolton, transport associations including trucking groups said there was consensus that U.S. transport industries would be “negatively affected by IMO 2020 pricing pressure”. It said there could be market disruptions. “There’s a storm approaching but we don’t know how bad the storm is going to be,” said Glen Kedzie, energy and environmental counsel for the American Trucking Associations. Shipping and freight forwarding companies, who offer a service overseeing the delivery of goods from beginning to end, expect to feel more cost pressure. Bart de Vries, chief operating officer for air & sea with U.S. headquartered Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, expects to pay more for services as shipping companies pass along the costs. Some companies may overhaul their business plans. “It will undoubtedly force many exporters and importers to review their sourcing strategies and vendors,” said Cas Pouderoyen, senior vice president of ocean freight with global logistics company Agility Richard Fattal, co-founder of digital freight forwarder and logistics provider Zencargo, said there could be as much as a 10 to 20% rise in overall operating costs next year. Allen Clifford, a U.S.-based executive vice president with MSC, said at a recent forum in California that his company was facing huge expenses. “Who’s going to pay for it? You’re going to pay for it. Because I’m tired of paying for it,” he told industry executives, and port and customs officials.
|
30365
|
"The FCC raided CNN's head offices on the grounds that the TV news network was ""violating press guidelines."
|
The falsity of this report is part and parcel for Your News Wire, which is a clickbait-driven fake news site.
|
false
|
Junk News, CNN, fake news, your news wire
|
On 23 May 2018, the Your News Wire web site published an article reporting that the head offices of the CNN news network (along with those of MSNBC and the Associated Press) had been raided by the FCC on that grounds that those news outlets were “violating press guidelines”: The CNN head office in Atlanta, Georgia, was raided by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) agents Tuesday in an operation related to the “violation of press guidelines” including “publishing and promotion of blatantly false information designed to deceive the American public,” according to reports. The FCC arrived unannounced and seized documents and hard drives as part of their investigation, including all of the “source data” the network has used for their stories. MSNBC and the Associated Press are also reported to have been raided by the FCC for violating press guidelines, including the “printing of blatant lies“, the “publishing and promotion of stories which require immediate retractions while not promoting the retractions“, according to a source within one of networks. None of this was true. Not only did such raids not take place, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has no standing to carry out any such activity. The FCC’s regulatory authority concerning journalism extends only to “over-the-air broadcasters who transmit their programs via the publicly owned spectrum,” not to cable television, satellite television, printed material, or the Internet. Thus the FCC has no power to enforce any supposed “press guidelines” against cable and satellite news networks such as CNN and MSNBC (or a news agency such as the Associated Press). Moreover, the FCC’s ability to enforce broadcast journalism standards regarding falsification of news is generally limited to imposing monetary fines or revoking/denying licenses to radio and television stations, not to conducting law enforcement-style raids of news organizations’ headquarters and seizing their equipment and source material. (Such an activity would certainly be condemned as infringing on the First Amendment rights of the press.)
|
34768
|
Sargento cheese was recalled on 9 May 2017 (or in August/September 2017), because it might kill your whole family.
|
What's true: Fourteen varieties of the brand were recalled in February 2017, a warning inaccurately resurrected with a clickbait title several months later. What's false: Sargento cheese was not recalled in May, August, or September 2017, or in 2018.
|
mixture
|
Junk News, america flash news, fake recalls, misleading
|
On 9 May 2017, a large number of Facebook users shared an alarming link about Sargento (“America’s Most Popular Cheese”) harboring bacteria with the potential to “kill your family”: America Flash News reported that in early May 2017, Sargento cheeses were part of a “massive recall”: It’s time to check your fridges. Sargento Foods Inc. has just issued a massive recall of seven cheeses due to a potential contamination from listeria monocytogenes. The company confirms no illnesses have been reported yet. Listeriosis is a serious infection contracted by eating food contaminated with bacteria. An estimated 1,600 people get infected each year—and about 260 die. The bacteria is most harmful to pregnant women, newborns, adults aged 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems. Sargento is continuing to closely monitor and gather information from their supplier, based in Middlebury, Ind. The supplier reportedly notified Sargento Food Inc. that a specialty Longhorn Colby cheese it supplied had potentially been contaminated and needed to be recalled. A date of 9 May 2017 was clearly visible on the report, and on Sargento’s Facebook page, concerned users asked about circulating recall rumors. The brand’s Facebook team responded to one such comment: Hi Brooke – Select products were recalled in February. If you have recently purchased Sargento cheese, it isn’t affected by the recall. To see a full list of recalled products, you can visit info.sargento.com and search by UPC or sell-by date. Both UPC and sell-by date must match for your product to be affected. A 10 February 2017 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall notice announced what was then a current recall — but it was not in effect in May 2017: Deutsch Kase Haus, LLC of Middlebury, Ind. has notified Sargento Foods Inc. that a specialty Longhorn Colby cheese they supplied to Sargento must be recalled due to a potential contamination of Listeria monocytogenes. No illnesses have been reported. The affected retail products are Sargento Ultra Thin Sliced Longhorn Colby, 6.84 oz., UPC 4610000228, with “Sell By” dates of “12APR17B” and “10MAY17B” and Sargento Chef Blends Shredded Nacho & Taco Cheese, 8 oz., UPC 4610040041, with “Sell By” dates of “H14JUN17” and “H12JUL17.” These products were packaged at the Sargento Plymouth, Wis. facility. Sargento’s web site reiterates that the recall occurred in February 2017, not three months later. In May 2017, representatives for the brand clarified that no recall is currently in effect, and it is unclear why the information recirculated as if it was new. The “zombie recall” warning is far from the first of its kind, as a similar web site caused a February 2017 scare by resurrecting outdated news of a baby wipes recall. In August and September 2017, multiple items with titles such as “Breaking: America’s Most Popular Cheese Recalled … Immediately Throw It Away, This Can Kill Your Family” circulated on Facebook about the same outdated recall.
|
22508
|
"Chain email Says that in a hearing, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords suggested to Gen. David Petraeus that the Army ""put more emphasis on less environmentally damaging methods, like stabbing or clubbing enemy forces in order to minimize the carbon output."
|
Chain e-mail on Gabrielle Giffords treats satire as truth
|
false
|
Environment, National, Energy, Military, Chain email,
|
"A reader recently forwarded us a chain e-mail with a rather striking claim about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who is recovering from a brain injury after an assassination attempt in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 8, 2011. A version of it has been posted on a variety of blog sites, including this one. Here are excerpts: ""I had no idea that this Congresswoman was such a nut case. ""It was a tragedy that 19 people were shot and six died. As a result Giffords will be held out as a saint, when in fact, she is an idiot , a left wing ‘enviro-nut’ who should not be in Congress. The media only cares about her because she is a Democrat. Had she been a Republican, like the federal judge who was killed, she would have been off the front page the next day, as he has been. ""I had forgotten she was the Congresswoman that was involved in the following exchange with General Petraeus: ""Poster-child for what is wrong in Washington, DC Our Arizona 8th District US Congressional representative, the Hon. Gabrielle Giffords, in a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee, asked General David Petraeus the following question: ‘General Petraeus, what are you doing to reduce carbon emissions in the war on terror?’ Wow. I had to read, and re-read this several times to believe it. ... ""What Google says about Rep. Giffords: Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az) took Afghan Commander, General David Petraeus, to task for what she characterized as ‘willful disregard of the environmental impact of our war effort.’ ‘There is no policy, no plan to minimize carbon emissions in our military activities,’ Giffords charged. ‘Bombs are dropped and bullets are fired without considering the environmental impact.’ Giffords insisted that she was ‘not demanding an immediate halt to current military operations in the Middle East. I'm just saying that battle plans should include an environmental impact assessment as a regular part of the process before attacks are launched.’ ""She also suggested that the Army ‘put more emphasis on less environmentally damaging methods, like stabbing or clubbing enemy forces in order to minimize the carbon output.’"" We found it hard to believe that a member of Congress would actually say that the Army should ""put more emphasis on less environmentally damaging methods, like stabbing or clubbing enemy forces in order to minimize the carbon output."" So we set out to find the source. Our friends at Snopes.com provided the first clue, noting in a post from July 28, 2010 -- six months before the Tucson shooting -- that a false e-mail had been circulating about Giffords’ alleged questioning of Petraeus. Snopes.com explained that on June 16, 2010, Petraeus had testified before the House Armed Services Committee and that one of the lawmakers who questioned him was Giffords. She did indeed ask a question that combined elements of environmental and military policy, but the line of inquiry was rather different than what the e-mail suggested. ""There's been a lot of attention back here in the United States on what's happening with the BP oil spill,"" Giffords said at the hearing. ""And as we all know, the largest user of energy on the planet is actually the United States Air Force, and the (Department of Defense) is the largest user of energy in the United States. And I really want to commend the work done on behalf of DOD, and also what's happening in the field with our energy, but it's an area that I just really want to focus on. ""And I know a lot of questions have been asked, but during the last three years, supply lines have increasingly threatened -- have been threatened, either by enemy action or through international places. And in places like Kandahar, where we have a large presence, we have been plugged in to a very unsustainable and really an incapable grid system. ""We know that a major part of the upcoming Kandahar offensive will include some serious repairs and upgrades to the energy system which include small-scale solar and hydropower systems, and also some solar-powered streetlights. I'm just curious whether or not there's plans to utilize any of those same technologies at our bases around Afghanistan, and wouldn't that greatly reduce our need for fuel?"" In other words, Giffords did not ask, ""General Petraeus, what are you doing to reduce carbon emissions in the war on terror?"" -- as the e-mail indicated -- but rather asked him whether the use of alternative energy sources could provide a more reliable and more secure power source for troops located in a faraway, unstable theater of operations, potentially relieving soldiers from having to defend vulnerable supply chains required to move conventional forms of energy. And that’s where the e-mail checked by Snopes.com ended. The version we received added new claims, including the parts about battlefield environmental impact statements and about Giffords urging American forces to club, rather than shoot, enemy forces. These comments were also absent from the transcript of the June 16, 2010, hearing. But we were able to track down the source: a July 17, 2010, post at the Arizona Conservative blog that was clearly labeled ""Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent News."" Here’s the entire satirical post: ""Army’s ‘Carbon Footprint’ Taints War Effort ""Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az) took Afghan Commander, General David Petraeus, to task for what she characterized as ‘willful disregard of the environmental impact of our war effort.’ ""‘There is no policy, no plan to minimize carbon emissions in our military activities,’ Giffords charged. ‘Bombs are dropped and bullets are fired without considering the environmental impact.’ ""Giffords insisted that she was ‘not demanding an immediate halt to current military operations in the Middle East. I’m just saying that battle plans should include an environmental impact assessment as a regular part of the process before attacks are launched.’ ""She also suggested that the Army ‘put more emphasis on less environmentally damaging methods, like stabbing or clubbing enemy forces in order to minimize the carbon output.’"" In other words, the chain e-mailer cut and pasted the satirical post -- but, whether intentionally or accidentally, left out the crucial label ""satirical."" We reached out to two people who have posted or forwarded the item but did not hear back. So where does this leave us? In the hearing, Giffords did indeed raise an issue involving alternative energy with Petraeus, but it was not to express a concern that the military should ""reduce carbon emissions in the war on terror"" -- rather, it was to improve energy reliability and security for American forces on the ground. And the claims that Giffords urged American forces to club, rather than shoot, the enemy in order to reduce carbon emissions were pure satire but not labeled as such by the chain e-mailer. All told, the claims in the chain e-mail are ridiculous. UPDATE: Shortly after we posted the story, the man who wrote the satirical post in July 2010 returned our e-mail. ""I have been writing about 300 satirical pieces a year since 2005,"" said John Semmens. ""Only once did I directly see one passed around as real news."" Semmens said he has been contacted by journalists about a half dozen times over six years, so seeing one of his pieces circulate in this way strikes him as ""a relatively unusual event."""
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10704
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Grand Slam Champ: John McEnroe Raising Awareness On Cancer
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This has been a very good week for former tennis star John McEnroe. But not so good for men who may have seen him on TV. A prime time appearance on CNN’s Larry King Live promoting prostate cancer screening A CBS Early Show appearance promoting prostate cancer screening And he was getting paid all the time by a drug company – something clearly noted on the website that McEnroe promoted – but something CBS never disclosed on the air. CBS merely turned over the network to this drug company sponsored message – a message that has the support of the American Urological Association but that lacks the support of other respected medical organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the US Preventive Services Task Force. Another terrible example of the one-sided – potentially harmful – information often disseminated on the network TV morning programs.
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false
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"There was no discussion of the cost of prostate cancer screening or treatment. Guess what? The tennis star – whose appearance was being paid for by a drug company – didn’t discuss any evidence. There was no discussion of the harms of prostate cancer screening. The US Preventive Services Task Force reminds men: Potential harms from PSA screening include additional medical visits, adverse effects of prostate biopsies, anxiety, and overdiagnosis (the identification of prostate cancer that would never have caused symptoms in the patient’s lifetime, leading to unnecessary treatment and associated adverse effects). Much uncertainty surrounds which cases of prostate cancer require treatment and whether earlier detection leads to improvements in duration or quality of life. Updated American Urological Association guidelines suggest that men start PSA screening at age 40. But updated American Cancer Society recommendations state something quite different – something not expressed in this CBS segment, namely: The American Cancer Society (ACS) does not support routine testing for prostate cancer at this time. ACS does believe that health care professionals should discuss the potential benefits and limitations of prostate cancer early detection testing with men before any testing begins. This discussion should include an offer for testing with the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal exam (DRE) yearly, beginning at age 50, to men who are at average risk of prostate cancer and have at least a 10-year life expectancy. And the US Preventive Services Task Force states: That’s evidence – not crusading by an ex-tennis star being paid by a drug company. CBS let the tennis star get away with saying: (McEnroe:) ""When they started this campaign they were looking for 50 year olds. … But since then they’ve talked about being tested even earlier. The American Urological Association has said 40 is the new time to go out there."" The American Urological Association may have said that but many other medical expert groups do not endorse that recommendation. So the CBS report didn’t practice journalism – but, rather, unchallenged advocacy of a particular belief. And the network TV fear-mongering to everyone 40 and over is unacceptable. An overwhelming ""UNSATISFACTORY"" score on this. The only source was the former tennis star, promoting one medical organization’s early promotion of prostate cancer screening – a recommendation not shared by other leading medical expert organizations. The segment allowed the tennis star to promote a website – http://www.prostatecancerwatch.com/index.html – that clearly states: GlaxoSmithKline funded and helped develop this campaign, including providing compensation to Mr. McEnroe. That sponsorship was never disclosed on the air. The option of not being screened – a very viable option for men – was never even discussed. The availability of prostate cancer screening is not in question. If anything, questions about overtesting should have been discussed but weren’t. no claims of novelty were made In essence, CBS caved in on a huge public relations campaign promoting prostate cancer awareness without using any expert medical source for this segment. The segment refers viewers to a website – http://www.prostatecancerwatch.com – that is funded by a drug company. That was never disclosed on the air."
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1756
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India gets minister for yoga and traditional medicine.
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India has set up a ministry to promote alternative therapies such as yoga and traditional ayurveda medicine, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a mission to raise awareness and the appeal of home-grown health treatments.
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true
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Health News
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Modi has repeatedly called for greater use of India’s health remedies and exercises, part of a push to promote traditional learning. During his first address at the United Nations in September, he encouraged more people to take up yoga and called for an International Yoga Day. “This is our system and it has not received enough prominence. We will take it to the masses,” said Shripad Naik, who took charge of the ministry on Tuesday. The formation of the ministry comes days after the government unveiled plans to set up a regulator for traditional drugs. India wants to expand its presence in the estimated $100 billion global market for alternative medicine. Ayurvedic and other types of traditional medicine, called unani and siddha, are popular in smaller towns, and yoga has a huge following across India and in the West. Homeopathy also finds wide acceptance in India. Use of traditional medicines is also promoted by country’s most popular yoga guru, Swami Ramdev. He sells ayurvedic medicines and holds yoga camps attended by thousands in India and abroad. But critics often question the effectiveness of traditional remedies over modern medicine. Modi said on Sunday ayurveda and mainstream drugs were not mutually exclusive. “There is a need for larger awareness in ayurveda. It can’t be limited to a doctor only. Our ancestors made good health a part of life,” he said. The success of the new ministry would depend on additional budgetary allocation, a government official told Reuters. The government allocated 10.69 billion rupees ($174 million) to develop and promote traditional health systems in the 2014-15 financial year. “We have not got the attention ... We are looking for a steep rise in our funding for next year,” said the official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
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562
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Haze wraps India's capital again as air quality plummets.
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Haze shrouded India’s capital city again on Monday, with residents braving dangerous air quality to return to work after a weekend of clearer air and better weather.
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true
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Environment
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The air quality index of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi stood at “hazardous” levels of 497 as of 0630 GMT, with levels of airborne PM 2.5 - particles that can reach deep into the lungs - touching nearly 700 in parts of the city. That is more than 10 times the recommended safe limit of 60 for PM 2.5. A dip in wind speed and temperature is making air denser, trapping pollutants and worsening air quality, said Vivek Chattopadhyay, a senior programme manager at New Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment. The city government of Delhi, a metropolis of over 20 million, is restricting the use of private cars until Nov. 15 with an “odd-even” system - allowing cars on alternate days, depending on whether their licence plate ends in an odd or even number. The scheme, which includes a two-day waiver for a religious festival, has helped little, prompting environmentalists to call for urgent action. “The chief minister (of Delhi) needs to declare an emergency,” said Bharati Chaturvedi, founder of the Chintan environmental advocacy group. “If this was the plague, he would have declared an emergency.” Every year, as India’s winter season approaches, farmers in Delhi’s neighboring Punjab and Haryana states, where agriculture is a mainstay, burn off rice field stubble in preparation for the sowing season. The smoke from fields mixes with vehicle exhaust and construction dust, making Delhi the world’s most-polluted capital. India’s Supreme Court last week chided authorities for their failure to curb the pollution and asked the city government, its neighboring states and the federal government to work together to help improve air quality.
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41321
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Tri(n) butylphosphate is in vaccines and is potentially damaging to the kidneys and the nervous system.
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We can find no evidence of this being used in vaccines in the UK.
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unproven
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online
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Beta-Propiolactone is in vaccines and is known to cause cancer, suspected gastrointestinal, liver, nerve and respiratory, skin and sense organ poison. It may be present in trace amounts of some vaccines. It is potentially carcinogenic, but only in much larger amounts than would be in a vaccine. The antibiotics gentamicin sulfate and polymyxin b are in vaccines and can cause allergic reactions ranging from mild to life-threatening. Traces of these antibiotics can end up in certain vaccines, but would only cause a reaction in someone severely allergic. Genetically modified yeast, animal, bacterial and viral DNA in vaccines can be incorporated into the recipient’s DNA causing unknown genetic mutations. Modified DNA can be used in the production of some vaccines, but is very unlikely to end up in the final product. Even if it did, there’s no evidence it can cause mutations. Glutaraldehyde is in vaccines and is poisonous if ingested and causes birth defects in animals. There are trace amounts in some vaccines from manufacturing, and not enough to cause harm. Formaldehyde is in vaccines and causes cancer in humans among other issues and is banned from vaccines in most European countries. It’s not banned in Europe. There are only trace amounts in certain vaccines and not enough to be carcinogenic. Latex rubber is in vaccines and causes life-threatening allergic reactions. Latex is used in the packaging of some vaccines, which could potentially cause harm if someone’s strongly allergic to it. Human and animal cells from sources like aborted foetuses are in vaccines and are linked to childhood leukaemia and diabetes. They may be used in certain vaccines’ production, but are unlikely to make it to the final product. Mercury (aka thimerosal or thiomersal) is in vaccines and can damage brain, gut, liver, bone marrow, nervous system and kidneys, is linked to autoimmune disorder, autism. Thiomersal isn’t in any UK vaccines any more. This is down to concern around a slightly different mercury-based chemical. MSG is in vaccines and is linked to birth defects, developmental delays, infertility and is banned in Europe. It’s not banned in Europe. It’s used in some vaccines to stabilise them. There’s no strong evidence it causes these problems in humans. Neomycin sulphate, an antibiotic, is in vaccines and can lead to epilepsy, brain damage and allergic reactions. Trace amounts of this antibiotic may end up in certain vaccines. If you are allergic to it could cause an allergic reaction. Phenol / phenoxyethanol is in vaccines and is used as antifreeze. It is toxic to all cells and can destroy the immune system. These chemicals have been used in vaccines as preservatives. They are not in antifreeze. Polysorbate 80 and 20 are in vaccines and cause cancer in animals and are linked to autoimmune issues and infertility. Tiny amounts of Polysorbate 80 is in a type of flu vaccine. There isn’t evidence ingesting it is linked to these issues in humans. Tri(n) butylphosphate is in vaccines and is potentially damaging to the kidneys and the nervous system. We can find no evidence of this being used in vaccines in the UK. Claim 1 of 14
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23350
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More people were killed in the United States last year by tainted food than U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars began.
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Ted Ankrum, Democrat for U.S. House, says annual U.S. deaths due to food poisoning exceed U.S. deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts
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false
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Afghanistan, Food Safety, Iraq, Texas, Ted Ankrum,
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"Ted Ankrum, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House seat held by Michael McCaul, R-Austin, floats a startling comparison in an e-mail blast advocating laws ensuring food inspections: ""More people were killed in the United States last year by tainted food than U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars began,"" his Aug. 31 statement says. ""... It takes laws to require testing and inspections AND government inspectors to enforce them. Yet, we do not have the laws since Congress won’t pass them."" Wait a sec: Tainted food kills more o' us than war? To our inquiry, Ankrum told us by e-mail that he made the comparison by recalling an article in The New York Times. Via an online search, we found the relevant July 24, 2010, op-ed column, titled ""Unsafe at Any Meal."" The piece, by Eric Schlosser, author of ""Fast Food Nation,"" says about 200,000 Americans are sickened every day by contaminated food and every year about 325,000 people are hospitalized (due to) a food-borne illness. It goes on: ""And the number who are killed annually by something they ate is roughly the same as the number of Americans who’ve been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003."" While that punch line is less sweeping than Ankrum's statement, the article doesn't substantiate the comparison. Seeking evidence, we visited websites that respectively track casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. deaths due to foodborne diseases. According to the Iraq Coalition Casualties Count, the United States suffered 4,421 deaths in Iraq from 2003 to Sept. 21, 2010 and 1,301 deaths in Afghanistan since 2001, for a total of 5,722. Keeping in mind when Ankrum made his statement, we also checked U.S. deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan as of the end of August 2010; that total was 5,670, according to numbers posted by the U.S. Department of Defense covering deaths in Afghanistan as of Aug. 31 and deaths in Iraq as of Sept. 4. And what of deaths due to food? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 76 million cases of foodborne disease occur each year in the United States, most of them mild. The CDC estimates 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to foodborne illnesses each year. A CDC official, Barbara Mahon, told us via e-mail that although the 5,000 figure was declared in a 1999 article, it remains the best number to cite until the CDC completes an update that's under way. Mahon said: ""Making these (death) estimates is a complex process that uses multiple data sources and statistical methods."" For instance, she said, threatening Salmonella bacteria can come from many sources including food, water, direct animal contact or even transmission from another person. If a person dies from such an infection, she said, ""there is usually no way to know whether they got their infection from contaminated food or from another source. Only if they are part of an outbreak for which a source is determined (usually less than 5 percent of cases of Salmonella infection) would it be possible to know where that particular infection came from. Otherwise, it might or might not have been foodborne."" Mahon noted that people ""could die of Salmonella without it ever being diagnosed. So, to estimate the true number of Salmonella deaths due to food, it is necessary to take all of this into account, which requires looking at many different kinds of data from multiple sources and using appropriate statistical techniques to adjust for the various sources of infection and for under-diagnosis and under-reporting."" Back to Ankrum's statement: It looks like annual U.S. food-borne deaths, based on the figure aired in 1999, run short of U.S. deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan by about 700. When we followed up, Ankrum told us he relied on his memory of Schlosser's op-ed column in making his statement. ""So 'uncle,' you got me,"" he said. Side note: Schlosser's comparison might have fared better on the Truth-O-Meter even though it says U.S. residents killed by what they eat each year is ""roughly"" the same as U.S. deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. Accounting for his 2003 limit and also adjusting for when the column appeared reduces combined U.S. deaths in the conflicts to 5,477-- less than 10 percent off the CDC's number for annual U.S. deaths from food-borne causes."
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8091
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Indian doctors evicted over coronavirus transmission fears: medical body.
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Some doctors combating India’s coronavirus outbreak have been evicted from their homes by force, a medical association said on Wednesday, due to fears that they may be infected and spread the disease to neighbors.
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true
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Health News
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The country went into a 21-day lockdown on Wednesday, and experts have said it faces a tidal wave of infections if rigorous steps are not taken to keep the virus in check. India’s public health care infrastructure is poor and it suffers from an acute shortage of medical staff, who will generally see many patients over a short period. Some doctors in temporary residences had been forcefully evicted by their landlords over infection fears, the Resident Doctor’s Association of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi said. “(They) are now stranded on the roads with all their luggage, nowhere to go, across the country,” the association - which represents 2,500 doctors - said in a letter to the federal home minister on Tuesday, urging the government to intervene. Late on Tuesday India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, himself a doctor, said on Twitter he was “deeply anguished” to see reports of doctors being ostracized in residential complexes, adding that precautions were being taken to ensure health care workers were not carriers of the infection. A home ministry spokeswoman said the Delhi state administration had issued orders saying penal action would be taken against those evicting doctors. She did not comment on the situation in other states. India, a country of 1.3 billion, has recorded 539 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths. It has just one doctor for every 1,404 people, the government said in February, significantly below the World Health Organization’s norm of one per 1,000. The AIIMS association’s president, Adarsh Pratap Singh, said three doctors in New Delhi and around 15 in the southern city of Hyderabad had already faced issues with their accommodation. He did not have estimates of how many have been impacted overall. “People are not accepting them... The morale of doctors is down because of this, a stigma is being created due to lack of awareness of coronavirus,” he told Reuters on Wednesday. Airline staff have faced similar problems, with state-run carrier Air India and private airline IndiGo saying there had been instances of employees being ostracized from their communities.
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35024
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Videos show people collapsing on the street due to coronavirus.
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“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China but what is happening in other countries,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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unproven
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Medical
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In January 2020, videos supposedly showing people collapsing on the street due to “coronavirus” started to circulate on social media. Here’s one example that garnered more than 1.2 million views: Wuhan China 🇨🇳 Corona Virus Update⚠️ Disturbing Leaked Video shows People literally falling over as they succumb to Virus. 10 cities 33 million people have now been quarantined.1 case found outside quarantine area This Morning. Retweet The Truth#china #Wuhan #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/mMZtmhGUkl — Terrence Daniels (Captain Planet) (@Terrence_STR) January 24, 2020 These videos have been published by a number of tabloids, such as The Daily Mail and The Sun, but not much information about what they show has been confirmed. At the moment, these videos have not been definitively linked to the new coronavirus. We reached out to the World Health Organization (WHO) for more information about these videos. While they didn’t provide information about any specific footage, they did say that “sudden collapses” from the coronavirus would be “atypical.” Here are a few other videos shared in January 2020 with captions insinuating they showed people infected with the coronavirus collapsing on the street: video from a Wuhan hospital，patient collapes on the ground.#WuhanPneumonia #wuhanpic.twitter.com/ogD2D2ZrJH — 巴丢草 Badiucao (@badiucao) January 23, 2020 #coronavirus en #Wuhan.pic.twitter.com/EsuQDhO8zI — RESISTIMOS 🇻🇪 (@RESISTIM0S) January 23, 2020 More and more…pic.twitter.com/z5Dpu7RASa — Turkish Market (@kamerknc) January 23, 2020 When we examine viral footage like this, one of the first things we do is try to trace the footage back to its source. If we find that the video was circulating before the event it supposedly shows, we can determine that the video was recaptioned and is being shared out of context. In this case, however, we were unable to trace these videos back to a date before the discovery of the coronavirus. It appears that these videos were truly taken in January 2020 in various locations around China. According to social media reports, these videos first started circulating on apps such as TikTok and were originally posted by random citizens who had witnessed these events. However, that does not mean that the people featured in this video were infected with this virus. If we strip the above-displayed videos of their captions, we can take a look purely at what the videos show. In one case, it looks like a person was the victim of a traffic accident. In another, it appears that a man suffered a head injury. But since these videos appeared online during heightened hysteria about an outbreak of an illness, it’s easy to see how a passerby may have made the assumption that these incidents were connected to the coronavirus. WHO explained that the coronavirus is a respiratory illness with symptoms such as “fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties.” A WHO official also told us that “sudden collapses” would be “atypical” for this disease. While we have not been able to definitively determine what these videos show, it seems unlikely that these people collapsed on the street due to coronavirus. On Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus as a public health emergency: The new coronavirus has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.
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34841
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"In a 1990 episode, ""The Simpsons"" predicted future real-life campaigns to censor and cover up replicas of Michelangelo's ""David"" statue."
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"What's true: The episode in question did show a campaign to censor and cover up the male figure's genitals in Michelangelo's ""David,"" and the show did air in 1990, years before several real-life campaigns to similarly censor replicas of the statue. What's false: Michelangelo's ""David,"" and replicas of it, have been covered up, and been the subject of censorship campaigns, ever since the statue was first unveiled in Florence in the early 16th century. The show's writers didn't so much ""predict"" such campaigns, as satirize previous ones, which happened to be replicated in the years since the episode aired."
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mixture
|
Entertainment
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Several times in recent years, various websites and online “listicles” have claimed that, among other uncanny predictions, the Simpsons once pre-empted the real-life censorship of Michelangelo’s “David” statue. In particular, in 2017 the comedian and former NFL punter Pat McAfee devoted a five-minute segment on his podcast to reviewing and promoting various claimed instances where the classic animated sitcom was remarkably prescient about events that were yet to happen. He said: “The censorship of Michelangelo’s David: 1990 [it occurred on the show], 2016 it happened.” Likewise, in a 2018 article listing more than 30 occasions when “real life has imitated ‘The Simpsons,'” the Daily Telegraph wrote: Itchy and Scratchy also featured heavily in the 1990 episode Itchy and Scratchy and Marge, in which Marge led a censorship campaign, horrified by the show’s violence. She later realised the censorship had gone too far, after Michelangelo’s David was taken to a Springfield museum, and local citizens protested against the statue’s nudity. In 2001, a Florida-based shop put a replica of Michelangelo’s David outside its front door. A handful of citizens objected to the “indecent” statue and successfully campaigned to have David’s private parts covered with a cloth. More recently, in 2014, an elderly British couple, Clive and Joan Burgess, received complaints from neighbours and faced an intervention from their local council, after they placed a replica of the statue in their front garden. In May 2019, Business Insider published a list of “18 Times ‘The Simpsons’ Accurately Predicted the Future,” including the bowdlerization of “David”: “An episode from 1990 titled ‘Itchy and Scratchy and Marge’ showed Springfieldians protesting against Michelangelo’s statue of David being exhibited in the local museum, calling the artwork obscene for its nudity. The satire of censorship came true in July 2016, when Russian campaigners voted on whether to clothe a copy of the Renaissance statue that had been set up in central St. Petersburg.” The basic facts, dates, and descriptions of events laid out in these articles and in McAfee’s podcast were accurate. The episode in question was Season 2, Episode 9, “Itchy and Scratchy and Marge,” and it did indeed first air on Dec. 20, 1990. In the episode, Marge rails against the ultra-violence and obscenity of the “Itchy and Scratchy Show,” and leads a campaign of censorship against the cartoon. The writers brilliantly examine and expose the relativity and subjectivity of taste, obscenity, and moral standards in culture, and Marge’s crusade spirals out of control, culminating in a local group picketing Michelangelo’s “David” for its nudity. It’s also true that, as McAfee alluded to, a campaign took place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg in 2016 that aimed to remove a replica of the statue, or cover up the male figure’s genitals — not a far cry from the kind of campaign depicted in the 1990 “Simpsons” episode. However, the difficulty in claiming that Matt Groening and his writers “predicted” the censorship of Michelangelo’s “David” lies in the fact that campaigns to cover up nude works of art in general, and “David” in particular, have existed for centuries. The prevalence of fig leafs on classical statues is testament to that, as Alexxa Gotthardt wrote for the website Artsy in 2018: Take Michelangelo’s famous sculpture “David” (1501–04), a muscular, starkly naked depiction of its namesake biblical hero. The work scandalized the artist’s fellow Florentines and the Catholic clergy when unveiled in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria in 1504. Soon after, the figure’s sculpted phallus was girdled with a garland of bronze fig leaves by authorities.
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18571
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"Joe Barton Says U.S. greenhouse gas ""emissions are at 20-year lows."
|
The congressman said domestic greenhouse gas emissions are at a 20-year low. This statement depends on a comparison of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions—not all greenhouse gases--over three unusually warm winter months of 2012 to such emissions in the same months of 1992. But the latest information available when Barton tweeted indicates that total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were higher in 2010 than they were 20 years earlier, though the 2010 emissions were lower than they were 13 years earlier.
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false
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Climate Change, Corrections and Updates, Energy, Science, Texas, Joe Barton,
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"As President Barack Obama brought up his interest in addressing global warming, a Texas congressman said U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, widely believed to be fueling climate change, are on the decline. ""DID YOU KNOW?"" Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, wrote on Twitter during Obama’s Feb. 12, 2013, State of the Union address. ""U.S. GHG emissions are at 20-year lows while global emissions are rising."" Global emissions have been on the upswing. The Environmental Protection Agency says on a web page that global carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels ""increased by over 16 times between 1900 and 2008 and by about 1.5 times between 1990 and 2008."" Separately, the government’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center contributed to a December 2012 ""discussion paper"" stating that in 2011, estimated global carbon dioxide emissions due to burning fossil fuels and making cement were up 3 percent from 2010. We checked on Barton’s claim that domestic greenhouse gas emissions are at a 20-year low. By email, Barton spokesman Sean Brown pointed out an August 2012 web post by the U.S. Energy Information Administration stating that estimated U.S. carbon dioxide emissions resulting from energy use during the first three months of 2012 ""were the lowest in two decades for any January-March period."" Brown also noted the Environmental Protection Agency saying in an online chart that as of 2010, concentrations of five common air pollutants--carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide--had decreased from 30 years earlier. This information did not speak to all greenhouse gases, as Barton had, but carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Perry Lindstrom, an economist with the Energy Information Administration, emailed us a spreadsheet indicating that the nation’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions were estimated at 1,339 million metric tons in the first quarter of 1992 and at a slightly higher amount, 1,344 million metric tons, for the comparable months of 2012. In the intervening years, first-quarter emissions topped out at 1,580 million metric tons in 2004 and bottomed out at 1,364 million metric tons in 1993, according to the spreadsheet. Then again, the first quarter of 2012 was unusual, the agency said in its post. ""Normally,"" the agency wrote, carbon dioxide ""emissions during the year are highest in the first quarter because of strong demand for heat produced by fossil fuels."" But such emissions were lower at the start of 2012 thanks to a mild winter, which reduced heating demand and energy use, the agency said, with other factors including a decline in coal-fired electricity generation, due largely to low natural gas prices, and reduced gasoline demand. Still, the 2012 first-quarter emissions were lower than they had been in the first part of the year in 19 years. However, Lindstrom said by telephone, he would hesitate to reach conclusions solely by comparing emissions in part of a year to emissions in part of another year in contrast to looking, say, decade to decade. At our request, he provided a spreadsheet comparing energy-related carbon dioxide emissions for the 10 months through October 2012 to such emissions over the comparable part of each previous year over two decades. Our thinking was that this would deliver a longer view based on the latest information available when Barton tweeted. And according to this spreadsheet, the estimated emissions from January through October 2012, 4,386 metric tons, were the lowest 10-month total since 1995--17 years earlier--when such emissions totaled 4,385 metric tons. Going forward, Lindstrom pointed out, his agency projects U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to remain below 2005 levels through 2040. Jim Butler, director of global monitoring at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System Research Laboratory, said by phone that such levelling out makes sense due to improvements in energy efficiency and shifts to fuel sources with less of a carbon footprint than coal. Mindful that Barton’s tweet said greenhouse gas emissions were at a 20-year low, we looked next at emissions of methane, nitrous dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride as estimated in the Environmental Protection Agency’s April 2012 inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions--the latest inventory that would have been available when Barton tweeted. (The agency’s 2013 ""draft inventory"" was posted online Feb. 22, 2013.) The 2012 inventory indicates that total emissions of three gases were higher in 2010 than 1990, while emissions of four others were lower. In keeping with Barton’s 20-year window, we used the inventory figures to gauge the difference between estimated emissions of each greenhouse gas in 2010 and 1990: --Carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 were 12 percent greater than in 1990; --Methane emissions were lower by 0.3 percent; --Nitrous oxide emissions were lower by 3 percent; --Hydrofluorocarbon emissions were higher by more than 200 percent; --Perfluorocarbons were lower by 73 percent; --Sulfur hexafluoride emissions were lower by 57 percent. Taking all the greenhouse gases into account, according to the inventory, overall emissions were 11 percent higher in 2010 than 1990--and also up 3 percent from 2009, when total emissions dipped considerably during the national recession. Aside from 2009, the previous year with lower greenhouse gas emissions than 2010 was 1997, according to the inventory. Our ruling The congressman said domestic greenhouse gas emissions are at a 20-year low. This statement depends on a comparison of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions—not all greenhouse gases--over three unusually warm winter months of 2012 to such emissions in the same months of 1992. But the latest information available when Barton tweeted indicates that total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were higher in 2010 than they were 20 years earlier, though the 2010 emissions were lower than they were 13 years earlier. CORRECTION, 10:42 a.m. April 8, 2013: Thanks to a reader's nudge, this story was amended to say that the discussed levels of carbon dioxide were in millions of metric tons, not metric tons alone. This did not affect our original rating of the claim."
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14478
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When the City and the Fairmount Park Conservancy invested $5 million in Hunting Park, crime went down 89 percent within a half mile radius of the park over the next three years.
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"Kenney used the efforts in Hunting Park as an example of why City Council should authorize more funds to revitalize parks and recreation centers throughout the city. He said ""when the city and the Fairmount Park Conservancy invested $5 million in Hunting Park, crime went down 89 percent within a half mile radius of the park over the next three years."" The Fairmount Park Conservancy confirmed that it -- along with the city and private donors -- invested about $5 million in revitalizing the park. Vandenburg, who conducted the study, said crime did in fact drop by 89 percent within a half-mile radius over the next three years. We rule the claim True."
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true
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Public Safety, Pennsylvania, Jim Kenney,
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"As he asked Philadelphia City Council to consider a $300 million investment in the city’s parks and recreation centers, Mayor Jim Kenney told a success story. During his budget address in council chambers last week, the first-year mayor said that when the city and the Fairmount Park Conservancy invested $5 million in Hunting Park, ""crime went down 89 percent within a half mile radius of the park over the next three years."" That seemed like a huge drop in a high-crime area of the city, so we decided to check out the claim. The Kenney administration said it got the statistic from a Dickinson College study conducted in conjunction with Philadelphia Police and the Fairmount Park Conservancy, a nonprofit that leads capital projects and programming across 10,200 acres of Fairmount Park and 100 neighborhood parks throughout the city. Meg Holscher, the Conservancy’s senior director of development, said the 87-acre Hunting Park in North Philadelphia was identified in 2008 as an area of development because of how close it was to a high number of families. At the time, prostitution and drug trade were common in and around the park. After community meetings and input from neighbors, the Conservancy -- along with the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation -- presented a master plan for the park in October 2009 that outlined two new playgrounds, a community garden and farmers market, new tennis courts and youth tennis programming, as well as a renovated football and soccer field. One of the most visible changes, though, was 64 lights placed around the park, which Holscher said residents wanted to curb illegal activity and violence. ""This project for us was a little bit of a game changer,"" she said. ""We’ve started to look at parks and how they are tied to healthy eating, healthy living and violence prevention."" Holscher said the $4.5 million Hunting Park capital projects and programming was funded through both public and private funds. In addition to that, another $500,000 was added through grants and corporate donations, bringing the total amount for phase one of the revitalization to some $5 million. After efforts to spruce up the park started in 2010, Conservancy staff started hearing from community members that it seemed like crime in the area had slowed, but an analysis wasn’t completed until 2014. That year, Amanda Vandenburg, then a researcher at Dickinson College in Carlisle, was interested in how parks influence communities. Vandenburg said she analyzed public data from the Philadelphia Police Department and charted crime statistics from 2006, before the revitalization efforts began, through 2013, when the first phase of the project had wrapped up. The data included both part I crimes (violent crimes like homicide, rape and aggravated assault) and part II crimes (like simple assault, prostitution, drug possession and other non-violent offenses.) She mapped instances of crime from inside and a half-mile buffer around the park, and found that there was a spike in crime between 2006 and 2007. After that point, crime began decreasing in 2008 citywide as police enforcement efforts in Philadelphia changed under a new mayoral administration. But crime continued to go down near Hunting Park. Between 2009 and 2013, ""there was an 89 percent drop in the number of crimes,"" according to Vandenburg’s study. Rape and theft from vehicle crime incidents increased over that time period, but other crimes decreased, including prostitution and drug use. Vandenburg also conducted a ""hot spot"" analysis that showed areas predicted to have the highest amounts of crime were closer to and in the park in 2009 and moved away from the park by 2013. While she said the revitalization of Hunting Park can’t be attributed as the only reason for a decrease in crime in the immediate area, the data does support the theory that illegal activity in the area decreased as the park was improved. Our Ruling Kenney used the efforts in Hunting Park as an example of why City Council should authorize more funds to revitalize parks and recreation centers throughout the city. He said ""when the city and the Fairmount Park Conservancy invested $5 million in Hunting Park, crime went down 89 percent within a half mile radius of the park over the next three years."" The Fairmount Park Conservancy confirmed that it -- along with the city and private donors -- invested about $5 million in revitalizing the park. Vandenburg, who conducted the study, said crime did in fact drop by 89 percent within a half-mile radius over the next three years. We rule the claim ."
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40937
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Viruses are dead material expelled from healing cells. Everyone has thousands of viruses inside their body.
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There is debate about whether viruses are technically alive. The human body does contain a number of viruses that don’t do harm. Covid-19 is caused by a virus that is potentially very harmful though.
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false
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online
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You cannot catch Covid-19 from touching surfaces. Viruses are dead material expelled from healing cells. Everyone has thousands of viruses inside their body. There is debate about whether viruses are technically alive. The human body does contain a number of viruses that don’t do harm. Covid-19 is caused by a virus that is potentially very harmful though. Masks decrease oxygen intake, increase carbon dioxide intake, increase toxin intake, increase stress levels which directly impacts the immune system in a negative way making us more susceptible to illness. Claim 1 of 4
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25897
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Great Lakes News Says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “defunded the Michigan State Police and the prisons.”
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The state is facing a $2.2 billion budget shortfall. Whitmer proposed cutting state funding for the Michigan State Police and Department of Corrections and using federal dollars to fill most of the gap.
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false
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Michigan, Great Lakes News,
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"As Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tries to close a gaping budget shortfall, a news outlet in the state accuses her of defunding the police to do so. A July 22 tweet from Great Lakes News, whose news program is broadcast on radio stations across Michigan, claims that the Democratic governor ""defunded the Michigan State Police and the prisons"" with an executive order that ""slashes tens of millions"" from the two departments. ""Defund"" is a nebulous and politically charged term, but it’s not an accurate description of Whitmer’s proposal for closing a $2.2 billion budget gap due largely to the COVID-19 crisis and recession, which have hit Michigan hard. Whitmer did propose funding cuts for the agencies, but the Great Lakes News claim leaves out critical information about her plan. Whitmer’s executive order recommends a reduction of just over $115 million from the State Police and nearly $393 million from the Department of Corrections. Most of the gap in funding will be filled by federal Coronavirus Relief Fund money, $106.8 million of which has been authorized for the State Police and $368.2 million for the Department of Corrections. This leaves budget shortfalls of around $8.27 million for the State Police and around $23.5 million for the Department of Corrections — or about 1% of the funds appropriated for each agency for the current fiscal year. The state has already imposed a freeze on hiring and discretionary spending as well as one-day-a-week furloughs on most state employees. These measures will help the state achieve nearly $8 million in savings from State Police. So the federal funding replaces about 99% of what Whitmer’s proposal would cut and offsets payroll cuts to the State Police. ""It was definitely more like reimbursing the police than defunding the police,"" said Alex Rossman, external affairs director at the nonpartisan Michigan League for Public Policy, which is advocating for more federal relief for the state and urging Michigan to generate more revenue to address budget shortfalls. ""There certainly should be concern about a revenue crunch coming up, but saying that that is going to impact the police or corrections budget any differently than any other priority currently, there’s no foundation for that assertion,"" Rossman said. Whitmer’s recommendations were included in the plan approved by the state House and Senate appropriations committees, and the Legislature will soon vote on it. Even some Republican state lawmakers took to social media to explain the funding arrangement and challenge the Great Lakes News claim. ""There was not a net reduction in the budgets,"" wrote state Rep. Scott VanSingel. ""In the end, there is no defunding,"" state Rep. Phil Green explained on Facebook. On July 23, Great Lakes News acknowledged that the federal funding will offset Whitmer’s proposed funding cuts for police and corrections, but stood by its original claim of ""defunding."" ""Essentially, the Gov. is defunding the Michigan State Police and the Dept. of Corrections because there’s no guarantee that federal funds will fill the gaps in 2021,"" it said in a tweet. What happens next year The cuts in state funding proposed in the executive order do not single out the Department of State Police. The recommended cuts include around $36.5 million at the Department of Health and Human Services and $26 million at the Department of Transportation. State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, voted against the proposal in committee, citing concerns that the state does not have a plan to raise additional revenue after federal relief dollars disappear. Members of Congress are currently trying to craft the next coronavirus federal relief packages. Experts argue federal aid to state governments is needed to address the impact of the pandemic-induced recession and fill large budget shortfalls created by the public health crisis. Most states, including Michigan, are required to balance their budgets annually, and the recession has forced states across the country to make significant spending cuts to avoid deficits. But ""as COVID subsides, as a vaccine becomes available, as our economy opens back up, the idea is that it’s poised to rebound,"" Rossman explains. This will help state revenues recover as the economy does. Does Whitmer support defunding the police? The phrase ""defunding the police"" has come to refer to a range of policies, from redirecting some funding toward community development initiatives to dismantling police agencies altogether. It has served as a shorthand rallying cry for activists demanding police reforms, as well as a political cudgel for conservatives seeking to paint liberals as soft on crime. In a June interview with The Root, Whitmer said that she supports ""the spirit"" of defunding the police. She explained, ""You look at budgets and they’re focused on policing — they should be focused on education, transportation, access to health care, access to skills and leveling the playing field."" Whitmer later told the Detroit Free Press: ""I don’t believe police should be defunded."" Instead, she said, ""we need to rebuild and level the playing field through better schools and better transportation and access to health care."" Our ruling A tweet from Great Lakes News said a Whitmer executive order ""defunded"" the State Police and Department of Corrections. The governor’s proposed cuts are part of an effort to close the budget shortfall the state faces in the current fiscal year. The cuts affect several agencies, but in the case of police and corrections, about 99% of the funds will be offset by federal funding this year, though future budgets remain a concern. Whitmer has said she does not support defunding the police, but supports ""the spirit"" of the movement in calling for more resources for education, transportation and health care."
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26567
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"Jeff Jackson Says North Carolina ""hospital beds are typically 85% full across the state.”"
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"North Carolina State Sen. Jeff Jackson urged the public to limit trips to the hospital, tweeting that North Carolina's ""hospital beds are typically 85% full across the state."" Records show that NC hospitals are, on average throughout the year, between 60-to-75% full. However, medical professionals say Jackson is right that hospitals operate at maximum capacity during certain parts of the year, such as flu season."
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mixture
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North Carolina, Coronavirus, Jeff Jackson,
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"Hospitals are preparing for an influx of patients as the novel coronavirus spreads across the U.S. With that in mind, North Carolina state Sen. Jeff Jackson has tried to keep his constituents informed by posting on social media. Jackson, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, regularly tweets stats about the pandemic. And on March 19, he urged people to reschedule elective procedures to free up space for coronavirus patients. ""Hospitals are starting to cancel elective surgeries and doing their best to empty hospital beds to prepare for a surge. Our hospital beds are typically 85% full across the state. If we don't significantly reduce that number within the next week, that's a major problem,"" Jackson tweeted. Is it true that, under normal circumstances, hospitals operate at 85% capacity? We couldn’t find a supporting number. But we did learn that it’s normal for NC hospitals to treat patients while their facilities are close to being full. We reached out to Jackson about his tweet. He said he heard the figure from officials with North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services. So we reached out to them. DHHS spokeswoman SarahLewis Peel responded by email, but didn’t give an exact number. ""On any given day, our hospitals — by design — operate at 90 to 100% capacity. That’s why we have sought waivers to allow critical access hospitals to operate above their licensed capacity,"" Peel wrote. DHHS later clarified that those numbers are usually during flu season and that evidence is anecdotal. It’s from speaking with hospital managers and suppliers. David Weber, the associate chief medical officer at UNC Health, told NC Health News something similar. He said that, with the closure and downsizing of many rural hospitals, there are fewer beds overall across the state. ""The U.S., compared to years ago, has less open beds and on a normal busy week, you know, most of our hospitals, including UNC, would be running between 90 and 100% occupancy,"" he said. However, we need hard numbers -- not anecdotes -- to get the most accurate picture. So, what stats are available? The North Carolina Health Association had a lower estimate, but its latest figures are from 2018. Cynthia Charles, the association’s vice president for communications, pointed to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2015, the average US hospital occupancy rate was 65.5 percent. ""For North Carolina, (the) average hospital occupancy rate is 61% for 2018,"" she said. Other estimates PolitiFact found put the average occupancy rate in the 60-to-75 percent range. Charles noted that people may get different estimates depending on how they account for beds, among other things. ""There could be a difference in how they’re defining capacity, for example whether they are looking at licensed vs. staffed beds, or whether they are considering ‘current state’ staffing as capacity,"" she said. Mark Holmes, director of UNC’s Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, agreed with Charles. Holmes said there are different ways to count beds and averages. Staffing levels could also come into play, he said. Holmes and his colleagues recently analyzed cost reports filed to Medicare in 2018. Those numbers suggested a 58% occupancy average, he said. It’s likely that some small, rural hospitals bring down the statewide average. ""Some of our smaller hospitals are at less than 20%,"" he said. ""But larger ones — like Duke and UNC— are indeed at 85% on average throughout the year."" The Sheps Center recently published a study of NC hospital occupancy rates. Important final point: hospital capacity should not be viewed as the sole indicator of whether it can continue treating patients, Holmes said. Hospitals need four things to properly treat patients, he said: Hospitals may face limits in terms of square footage, Holmes said. But some government agencies are relaxing those regulations and hospitals are creating space where they can, such as dormitories. Indeed, Weber said UNC Health is shifting its units around and even using tents outside to triage and treat people with ailments that aren’t as serious as COVID-19. ""So the square feet and licenses are less important than, in general, the attention they often receive,"" Holmes said in an email. ""Most people who study this issue think the biggest limitations to capacity are equipment— e.g. ventilators — and qualified staff, especially as the epidemic infects staff and their family members."" Jackson said North Carolina’s hospital beds ""are typically 85% full across the state."" The way he worded his tweet makes it seems like all hospitals are usually at 85% capacity. That’s not right. It depends on the hospital and it depends on the season. But he has a point that many of North Carolina’s hospitals routinely treat patients while their facilities are close to maximum capacity."
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22339
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Originally, Democrats promised that if you liked your health care plan, you could keep it. One year later we know that you need a waiver to keep your plan.
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Morgan Griffith says you need a waiver to keep your health care plan
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false
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Health Care, Virginia, Morgan Griffith,
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"U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith is on the long list of Republicans who observed the first anniversary of the health-care reform law by firing out a scathing statement. Griffith, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Southwest Virginia, said in a March 25 newsletter that Americans were misled about the bill. ""Originally, Democrats promised that if you liked your health-care plan, you could keep it,"" Griffith wrote. ""One year later we know that you need a waiver to keep your plan."" We gave his statement a checkup. Roughly 160 million Americans get health insurance through employee benefits, and millions more buy it on the private market, according to Tim Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University and a consumer advocate for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Our research turned up no evidence of blanket waivers being required by the government. But experts did tell us Uncle Sam was issuing some waivers for limited-benefit plans and coverages that were not meeting a new requirement to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on health benefits rather than administrative or other costs. Beth Breeding, Griffith’s press secretary, confirmed that Griffith’s comments refer primarily to the limited-benefit, or ""mini-med"" plans popular at huge employers with lots of part-time or low-wage workers. Two of the largest users are Wal-Mart and McDonalds. These policies often have annual limits on on total payouts. Jost said the caps can be as low $2,000. The new law bars annual benefit limits, starting in 2014. The ban will be phased in over the next three years, allowing benefit caps of $750,000 in 2011, $1.25 million in 2012 and $2 million in 2013. But the health-care reform law provides an out for plans that can’t meet these new limits without jacking up premiums. If an insurer can convince regulators that the new caps would cause premiums on a plan to soar, regulators can issue a waiver. During the first two months of this year, 1,040 waivers were issued for limited-benefit plans covering 2.6 million workers, according to the the Department of Health and Human Services. That’s roughly 1.6 percent of the employees with health care coverage. Jost believes virtually every mini-med plan in America has sought a waiver. ""These waivers include some pretty good plans with $250,000 or $500,000 annual limits that just can’t quite get to the threshold,"" Jost said. ""Some offer pretty decent coverage, and some offer virtually nothing."" Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, said mini-med plans are expected to all but vanish by 2014. He said the government predicts many businesses will bring their plans into compliance with new standards, even though it will likely force businesses to spend more. But Tanner stressed that most companies and their employees will not go through a waiver process. ""That’s just not the case now,"" Tanner said. During the health care debate, President Barack Obama promised Americans would be able to keep their plans, if they like them. PolitiFact rated that statement Half True, because while many elements of the health care system will not change, private companies retain the right to switch and tweak their health care plans. Many do so now, and they will continue to do so after 2014. When Obama later said nothing in the law will force most employers to change plans. While employers retain the right to change plans, they are not, in most cases, required to do. So here’s our final diagnosis. Griffith wrote in a column excoriating insurance provisions in the health care reform law that ""you need a waiver to keep your plan."" His press secretary told us the congressman was only talking about limited-benefit plans, although Griffith made no such distinction in his writing. About 2.6 million Americans are covered by limited-benefit plans. That’s a tiny percentage of the 160 million people who have employer-sponsored health coverage, and millions more who have other forms of coverage. Contrary to what Griffith said, very few Americans will need a waiver to keep their health-care plan."
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1686
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Forget the martini lunch, sweatworking mixes business with exercise.
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Sweatworking, the growing practice of meeting clients for a walk, a run or a fitness class, is elbowing networking out of bars and restaurants and into boutique fitness studios.
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true
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Health News
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A yoga, barre or spin class has become the new nine holes of golf, fitness experts said, chased by a post-workout smoothie rather than a three-martini lunch. “Sweatworking was born out of a desire to connect with clients on a deeper level that wasn’t so sales-y,” said Sarah Siciliano, 32, an advertising executive who has been entertaining clients with workouts. “A lot of sales jobs revolve around drinking.” Siciliano, who is based in New York City, considers taking her mostly female clients, who range in age from 22 to 52, to yoga, spinning, bootcamp and dance studios a great tool to develop relationships. “People like to move along with the trends,” said Siciliano, who organizes her workout events. “I do all the leg work but I exercise everyday anyway so for me it’s a win-win,” she said. “If you can knock out a client event and your workout at the same time, why not?” Sweatworking began in the advertising world, but has spread to more traditionally conservative professions such as law and banking, according to Alexia Brue, co-founder of the wellness media company Well+Good. “Now a lot of client entertaining in many industries has moved into boutique studios,” she said, “especially to those with workouts that aren’t super awkward, or super-sweaty to do with a client.” Gabby Etrog Cohen, vice president of public relations and brand strategy at SoulCycle, a national chain of 39 indoor cycling studios, said in four years sweatworking has become a regular part of her business. “We get a mixed bag, a lot of people in financing and advertising,” said Cohen. “We have groups that come in every week. One group comes every Thursday.” Part of the appeal, she speculates, resides in the dim studio lights. “There’s something about not wanting to sweat in front of clients,” she said. “We ride in the dark so there’s a sense of anonymity.” For 45 minutes and $35 per class, the studio provides an alternative to the traditional four-hour round of golf. Cohen said the rise of sweatworking marks the distance traveled from the chain-smoking, inebriated lifestyle of the 1960’s portrayed in the hit AMC series “Mad Men.” “We’ve taken ‘Mad Men’ and turned it on its head,” she said. (This version of the story corrects HBO to AMC in the second-to-last paragraph)
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8403
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Indonesia reports most coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia.
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Indonesia reported on Friday 407 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number to 5,923 and surpassing the Philippines as the country with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia.
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true
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Health News
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The announcement came a day after an Indonesian official said the number of cases could reach 106,000 by July and follows criticism that a low rate of testing has hidden the extent of the spread of the virus. Indonesia has accelerated testing and Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official, said on Friday 42,000 tests had been performed, up about three-fold in two weeks. “Transmission is still occurring. This has become a national disaster,” Yurianto told a televised broadcast, in which he reported 24 additional deaths, taking the total to 520, the highest number of fatalities from the disease in east Asia outside China. Health researchers have said the number of infections could spike because of the traditional exodus from cities, known in Indonesia as mudik, after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. In a model seen by Reuters this week, researchers at the University of Indonesia forecast there could be one million infections by July on Java, the country’s most populous island and home to the capital Jakarta. President Joko Widodo has resisted pressure for a total ban on mudik, though the head of the government’s COVID-19 task-force said those going would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine. In a separate news conference on Friday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said 75 Indonesians out of 717 contracted the coronavirus in India after participating in a gathering of Muslim pilgrims last month. Thirteen had recovered, she said. The Tablighi Jamaat movement behind the gathering in India also hosted an event in Malaysia that drew 16,000 followers and led to more than 500 coronavirus infections. “We already had a plan to evacuate them. But we had to postpone it because everyone in the Tablighi Jamaat in India is in quarantine,” she said, adding some also faced a “legal process”. Authorities in Maharashtra have filed cases against more than 200 members of Tablighi Jamaat for allegedly helping to spread the disease, including by hiding in mosques, a police official said. (This story corrects toll in paragraph 4)
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18404
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On support for gay marriage
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"We’re considering whether Crist has flip-flopped on his position on gay marriage. Looking back through his political career in Florida, we found that Crist’s opinion has traversed the spectrum. As a Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2006, Crist signed a petition to help get a gay marriage ban on the Florida ballot and said he supported ""traditional marriage."" While governor, he appeared to soften on the subject, saying he was a ""live and let live"" kind of person. But he voted for the ban nonetheless. As a Senate candidate, he stopped short of endorsing gay marriage, saying he supported civil unions that afforded the legal benefits of marriage. Now, out of office but potentially eyeing a comeback, Crist has made his flip-flop complete, offering full-throated support for gay marriage. That’s what we call a Full Flop."
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false
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Marriage, Florida, Charlie Crist,
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"Charlie Crist, Florida’s once (and future?) governor, posted a note on his Facebook page congratulating two states for legalizing gay marriage. ""Some great news: On Tuesday, Delaware became the 11th state to allow marriage equality. And just a few days ago, Rhode Island adopted a similar measure, which followed victories last fall in Maine, Maryland and Washington. I most certainly support marriage equality in Florida and look forward to the day it happens here,"" he posted on Facebook on May 8, 2013. That doesn’t sound like the Crist we’ve always known. He’s a former Republican who turned independent who turned Democrat. He backed John McCain in the 2008 presidential contest but last year endorsed Barack Obama’s re-election. In other words, flip-flopping is in his past. At PolitiFact, we put politicians’ consistency on issues on our Flip-O-Meter, rating them from No Flip to . The meter is not intended to pass judgment on their decisions to change their minds. It’s simply gaging whether they did. So what’s the history of Crist’s position on same-sex marriage? Crist, who is believed to be planning another run for governor in his new party, ""most certainly"" supports it now. Let’s see whether he always has. 2006 governor’s race Back when Crist was a ""Ronald Reagan Republican,"" he led a field of GOP candidates vying to be governor. (He went on to win.) During that race, an effort was gaining steam to put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot defining marriage as a union between ""only one man and one woman."" Early in the campaign, Crist said he thought such an amendment was unnecessary because state law already forbids gay marriage. But as the primary rolled on, Crist signed the petition for the ballot initiative and sent mailers declaring his support for traditional marriage. By the time the measure went to voters in 2008, Crist was a popular governor whose more socially conservative election opponents were in his rear-view mirror. Crist made it clear he wouldn’t stump for the cause. ""It's not an issue that moves me,"" he said in late 2007, when it was clear the effort had enough signatures to get on the ballot. ""I'm just a live and let live kind of guy."" And yet... On Election Day 2008, Crist supported the ban. ""I voted for it,"" he said. ""It's what I believe in."" The measure passed with 62 percent of the vote. 2010 Senate run When one of Florida’s U.S. senators decided not to seek re-election, Crist, who probably would have cruised to re-election as governor, pounced on the Washington opportunity. He ended up in a bare-knuckles battle that forced him to leave the Republican Party and run as an independent. He lost to Republican Marco Rubio. During that campaign, he released a position paper on issues affecting gays and lesbians. There, he declared support for civil unions that ""provide the full range of legal protections"" including ""access to a loved one in the hospital, inheritance rights, the fundamental things people need to take care of their families."" He also expressed support for anti-discrimination laws that protect gay people, repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in the military and gay adoption. He did not mention same-sex marriage in the statement. 2014 run for ... ? Crist’s exuberant Facebook post, which looks forward to ""the day it happens"" in Florida, certainly isn’t unique among Democrats this year. Notably, Florida’s Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson recently pledged his support for gay marriage. And Crist, as a newly minted Democrat, has been under pressure from advocates for gay rights to ""come to amends with LGBT Floridians."" Our ruling We’re considering whether Crist has flip-flopped on his position on gay marriage. Looking back through his political career in Florida, we found that Crist’s opinion has traversed the spectrum. As a Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2006, Crist signed a petition to help get a gay marriage ban on the Florida ballot and said he supported ""traditional marriage."" While governor, he appeared to soften on the subject, saying he was a ""live and let live"" kind of person. But he voted for the ban nonetheless. As a Senate candidate, he stopped short of endorsing gay marriage, saying he supported civil unions that afforded the legal benefits of marriage. Now, out of office but potentially eyeing a comeback, Crist has made his flip-flop complete, offering full-throated support for gay marriage. That’s what we call a ."
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6530
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Boise woman receives first allogeneic transplant in Idaho.
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Doctors have performed Idaho’s first allogeneic stem cell transplant.
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true
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Health, Leukemia, Idaho, Boise
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Boise television station KTVB reports that Idaho residents fighting serious diseases like lymphoma, multiple myeloma and leukemia previously had to leave the state to get the potentially life-saving treatment, which involves transplanting stem cells or bone marrow from a donor into the patient’s body. On Thursday doctors at St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute in Boise performed the procedure on Patricia Edwards to treat her myeloid leukemia. Edwards was diagnosed in January and told that an allogeneic transplant was the best option. “I said, ‘What are my chances without going this route?’ And (my doctor) said four to six months,” Edwards said. Edwards was happy she didn’t need to travel out of state for the highly complicated procedure. “One of the things that bothered me the most was that I’d have to be there for three months. And I’m a homebody so I like to be home” she said. Edwards’ sister was a perfect match and donated her stem cells. The treatment means staying in the hospital for a month, followed by months more of recovery and treatment. “If it saves my life, it’s well worth it, isn’t it?” Edwards said. Dr. Finn Petersen joined St. Luke’s from Utah as the new MSTI Blood and Transplant Program director. “I think she’s done really well,” Petersen, said. He says the procedure is typically available only at university hospitals because it’s so complicated; the patient is getting a whole new immune system. “Where the trick then is to get this new healthy donor immune system to fight the patient’s cancer,” he said. “We are more and more coming to the understanding that the key to curing the patient is to get the donor immune cells to do the job.” ___ Information from: KTVB-TV, http://www.ktvb.com/
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28569
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Iceland has virtually removed the occurrence of Down syndrome from their population through abortion.
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What's true: Icelandic doctors are required to tell expectant mothers about the availability of a screening test that can indicate (among many other things) the presence of Down syndrome in their fetus. What's false: The Icelandic government does not mandate abortions for mothers whose unborn children test positive for Down syndrome, nor do they mandate that a mother is required to take the test in the first place.
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mixture
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Medical
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On 14 August 2017, CBS News ran a segment for their program “CBSN: On Assignment” in which correspondent Elaine Quijano traveled to Iceland to report on that country’s disappearing incidence of Down syndrome: Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women — close to 100 percent — who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy. While the tests are optional, the government states that all expectant mothers must be informed about availability of screening tests, which reveal the likelihood of a child being born with Down syndrome. Around 80 to 85 percent of pregnant women choose to take the prenatal screening test, according to Landspitali University Hospital in Reykjavik. Some took this story and branded it as being about a mandated eugenics program. Others misrepresented the nature of the report itself. Lifesitenews.com, for example, ran the factually inaccurate headline “Iceland kills 100% of babies with Down syndrome in abortion: New report.” The report does not suggest that, however. It suggests that nearly 100 percent of the 80 to 85 percent of people who take the test and test positive for Down Syndrome choose to abort their pregnancy. There are similar termination rates after fetal diagnoses of Down syndrome in other European countries. In Denmark, for example, the rate is about 98 percent, CBS News reported. In the United States, for comparison’s sake, the rate of mothers choosing to terminate their pregnancy after receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis is about 68 percent. “Babies with Down syndrome are still being born in Iceland,” Hulda Hjartardottir, head of the Prenatal Diagnosis Unit at Landspitali University Hospital, in which around 70 percent of Icelandic children are born, told CBS News.
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Danone to sue New Zealand's Fonterra over baby formula recall.
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French food group Danone said it would sue wholesale dairy exporter Fonterra and stop buying products from the New Zealand firm following a contamination scare that sparked the recall of infant milk formula across Asia.
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true
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Health News
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The world’s largest yoghurt maker did not say how much money it was seeking, but it has previously said it wanted full compensation for what it says were 350 million euros ($476 million) in lost sales following the recall of the company’s Dumex and Karicare infant formula products. Danone buys a range of dairy ingredients from Fonterra, but is one of its biggest customers for milk powder, according to analysts who cover the sector. Fonterra, which said it would contest the suit “vigorously”, declined to give details on its sales to the French firm. Danone has said that Fonterra supplied about 16 percent of the milk ingredients for its baby food business, which accounts for 20 percent of its total revenue. In August, Fonterra said it had found a potentially fatal ingredient in a range of products sold by multinational companies. After recalls were issued across nine countries including China, the scare turned out to be a false alarm because the ingredient was found to contain a less harmful bacteria. In a statement, Danone said it was starting proceedings in the New Zealand High Court against the world’s largest dairy processor, as well as arbitration proceedings in Singapore to bring all facts to light and obtain compensation. The company said it was also terminating its supply contract with Fonterra and would make any further collaboration contingent on a commitment by Fonterra to full transparency and compliance with Danone’s food safety procedures. “This affair illustrates serious failings on Fonterra’s part in applying the quality standards required in the food industry,” Danone said. Danone told Reuters it would source products from other firms, without elaborating. Other potential suppliers could include Glanbia, which is building a new milk powder plant in Ireland, and Arla Foods, which recently told Reuters it has “massively benefited” from a desire by milk powder buyers to diversify supply after the food safety scare and a drought last year highlighted the risk of over-reliance on one supplier. Some dairy brands in China, for example, have started to look to diversify. Glanbia and Fonterra’s much smaller competitors in New Zealand would not comment on whether they had seen more business from Danone as a result of the dispute. Arla was not immediately available. Danone’s decision to halt purchases may be an effort to distance itself from the source of the perceived problem. “It’s all about trying to rebuild their brand,” said an analyst, who added that Danone was unlikely to face any supply interruption. “This isn’t a panic decision today. They’ve been looking at (diversifying) since the minute it happened.” Danone has a cushion, the analyst said, since the sudden, sharp drop in consumer demand means there is a large amount of product that still needs to be sold. Fonterra, a farmer-owned co-operative, has denied any legal liability to Danone regarding the recall. “Fonterra has been in ongoing commercial discussions with Danone and is disappointed that they have resulted in legal action,” the company said in a statement. Shares in Fonterra’s trading fund closed down 1.7 percent, while Danone shares were down 0.7 percent at 1245 GMT. The two sides started negotiations in October, after Danone recalled its Dumex formula products in China, where demand for foreign branded infant formula is high due to a series of domestic food quality issues. It is a key growth market at a time of sluggish demand in Europe. Eight companies issued product recalls in August. Danone is the first to take legal action against Fonterra. In December, Fonterra said it had reached agreements to compensate six firms and that it was “very, very close” to an agreement with an affected nutritional company. New Zealand’s largest company controls roughly one-third of global dairy exports and is a major wholesale supplier of milk powder used in milk formula and other food products marketed by Danone, Nestle and other multinationals. A big court settlement in Danone’s favor would hurt Fonterra’s bottom line given that it has already slashed its earnings and dividend forecast on the back of rising production costs at a time when it is struggling to keep up with soaring demand for milk powder. “A large fine of the magnitude that Danone ... has stated would have a material impact. You’d have to either remove your dividend or address your capital structure,” said Rickey Ward, head of equities at Tyndall Investment Management in Auckland. Ward said that given strong global demand for dairy products, particularly from China, Fonterra was unlikely to have problems finding new buyers to replace cancelled orders. “It’s not nice to lose a big customer ... (But) there’s large global demand and short supply so Fonterra may be able to fill that void if there is a big void,” he said.
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7894
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One in four Americans told to stay home as Congress nears $1 trillion stimulus.
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Nearly 1 in 4 Americans were under orders to close up shop and stay at home on Saturday, as lawmakers in Washington neared a deal that could pump a record $1 trillion into the economy to limit the economic damage from the coronavirus.
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true
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Health News
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New Jersey’s governor followed four other states - California, New York, Illinois and Connecticut - that have imposed unprecedented restrictions to slow the spread of infections, which have risen exponentially. Governors in other states urged citizens to avoid large gatherings, even if restrictions were not in place. “It’s like we are all lost in a movie that we can’t relate to in any way,” West Virginia Governor Jim Justice said, as he urged residents of his state to take the threat more seriously. At least 23,941 cases of the novel coronavirus have been reported in the United States and 306 people have died from the COVID-19 disease as of Saturday evening, according to a Reuters tally of state and local government websites. In Washington, Republican and Democratic leaders appeared to be nearing a deal to pump more than $1 trillion into the economy, adding to the hundreds of billions of dollars in fiscal and monetary stimulus that has already been deployed to prop up the world’s largest economy. “I think we’re clearly going to get there,” said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who scheduled a vote for Monday. Hard-hit airlines are pressing for $29 billion in cash, promising in return not to furlough employees before September. But lawmakers said they were inclined to offer loans instead. Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives have tested positive, and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife tested negative after an unidentified aide was diagnosed with the virus. Pence staffers said the aide had mild symptoms and had not had close contact with Pence or President Donald Trump. Trump tested negative for the virus last week, according to his doctor. Graphic: Tracking the spread of the global coronavirus - here As hospitals braced for an influx of patients, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, urged Americans to postpone non-essential surgeries to keep beds available. The Trump administration has struggled to line up tests to diagnose the disease, masks to slow its transmission, and medical equipment to treat those who have contracted it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a test that can deliver a result in 45 minutes, rather than days, according to Cepheid, its maker. At the White House, officials said they were delivering more tests and equipment where they were needed, but declined to say whether they had met benchmarks they had laid out earlier in the week. Graphic: The novel coronavirus in the United States - here State and local officials say they are scrambling for supplies. “We’ve gotten no help from the federal government, or limited help,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said at a news briefing. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state had identified 6,000 ventilators to help sick patients keep breathing, but needed 30,000 more. He said the state is sending 1 million N95 respirator masks to New York City - short of the 3 million city officials are seeking. “We are literally scouring the globe for medical supplies,” Cuomo said. In New York City, where more than 6,000 cases have been diagnosed, about a dozen people waited for a test in the parking lot of the Brooklyn Hospital Center. “That’s insane,” city council member Mark Levine said in a phone interview. “If they’re well enough to stand in a line, they should be home resting, they don’t need a test, and they need to get out of the way.” Federal authorities briefly stopped flights arriving at New York City-area airports after a trainee at an air traffic control center tested positive. Neighboring New Jersey became the latest state on Saturday to adopt a statewide directive requiring residents to remain indoors except for trips to grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and other “essential businesses.” Stay-at-home orders now apply to 84 million people in states that account for a third of the nation’s economy. Other states encouraged residents to reduce activity but did not put restrictions in place. Missouri went in a different direction, allowing child-care providers to take on more children. The state directives were for the most part issued without strict enforcement mechanisms to back them up. Cuomo said New York would fine and close businesses that defy the order. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said police would “admonish” people to go home. In Ridgefield, Connecticut, where six new cases were reported on Saturday, town official Rudy Marconi said he would dispatch the police to break up a teenagers’ basketball game. “We have no other tools in our toolbox. We have to rely on the social distancing,” he said.
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