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14108 | There are places in America that are among the most dangerous in the world. You go to places like Oakland. Or Ferguson. The crime numbers are worse. Seriously. | "Trump said, ""There are places in America that are among the most dangerous in the world. You go to places like Oakland. Or Ferguson. The crime numbers are worse. Seriously."" Four American cities — though not Oakland or Ferguson — have some of the highest murder rates in the world. However, experts told us homicide r... | false | National, Crime, Donald Trump, | "Donald Trump named Oakland and Ferguson among the ""most dangerous"" cities in the world in a recent New York Times magazine interview. Reporter Robert Draper asked Trump to name the most dangerous place in the world he’s been. ""Brooklyn,"" the Queens-native-turned-Manhattanite joked. Then he said. ""There are places... |
4174 | Rhode Island officials lift advisories for blue-green algae. | Rhode Island health and environmental officials have lifted recreational advisories that have been in place for a number of bodies of water because of a blue-green algae known as cyanobacteria. | true | Environment, Rhode Island, General News, Algae, Providence | The Rhode Island Department of Health and the state Department of Environmental Management earlier this week announced that seasonal cooling and declining daylight have signaled a great reduction in risk. However, officials said there's no guarantee the toxins are absent, warning that a warm spell could trigger an alga... |
7838 | Irish PM says won't be rushed on abortion issue. | Ireland’s prime minister said on Friday he would not be rushed into making a decision on the issue of abortion, after an Indian woman who was refused a termination died from blood poisoning in an Irish hospital. | true | Health News | “This is a matter that has divided Irish society now for a great number of years, and I am not going to be rushed into a situation by force of numbers on any side,” Prime Minister Enda Kenny told state broadcaster RTE. The Irish government pledged on Thursday to clarify its abortion laws. A wave of protests have taken ... |
27540 | Filmmakers staged lemming death scenes for the Disney nature documentary White Wilderness. | “It’s a frequent question,” he said “‘Do they really kill themselves?’ No. The answer is unequivocal, no they don’t.” | true | Disney, lemmings, white wilderness, Wild Inaccuracies | Some of the most memorable scenes in White Wilderness, Disney’s 1958 Academy Award-winning “True-Life Adventure” nature documentary about wildlife in the snowy northern portions of the North American continent, were ones featuring the death of lemmings who drowned after jumping off cliffs and into the sea. But the scen... |
7843 | Online tool helps beachgoers avoid dirty waters. | If you plan on hitting the beach this summer, a new report recommends first checking your local water quality online before packing your bags - or risk bringing home more trouble than wet bathing suits and sand-filled shoes. | true | Health News | People swim and play in the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York July 21, 2011. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton Last year was one of the worst on record in terms of bacterial pollution from human and animal waste, according to the nonprofit Natural Resource Defense Council’s (NRDC) 22nd annual s... |
35791 | "The CDC ""quietly updated"" its COVID-19 mortality statistics in summer 2020 to show only 6% of previously reported deaths were actually due to the coronavirus, while the remaining 94% died from preexisting health conditions. " | The point that the CDC was trying to make was that a certain percentage of [COVID-19 deaths] had nothing else but just COVID. That does not mean that someone who has hypertension or diabetes who dies of COVID didn’t die of COVID-19 — they did. So the numbers that you’ve been hearing — the 180,000-plus deaths — are real... | false | Politics, COVID-19 | "In attempt to ring the alarm on supposed deceptive practices by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hard-line conservatives including U.S. President Donald Trump promoted the idea in August 2020 that the public health agency suddenly changed its methods for reporting COVID-19 mortality statistics. An... |
5746 | Polis seeks to boost child vaccinations, respect exemptions. | Colorado’s governor issued an executive order Thursday designed to address the state’s poor vaccination rates for children, but he insisted that he will respect existing religious and personal exemptions for parents unwilling to inoculate their children against communicable diseases. | true | Immunizations, Colorado, Measles, General News, Jared Polis, Denver, Public health | Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ order on Thursday came as new state data suggest Colorado ranks near the bottom for immunization rates among U.S. states. It also comes amid a national resurgence of measles that has affected more than 1,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 87.4... |
8626 | Indians light lamps to heed Modi's call for coronavirus comradeship. | Millions of Indians turned off their lights and lit up balconies and doorsteps with lamps, candles and flashlights on Sunday, in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to “challenge the darkness” spread by the coronavirus crisis. | true | Health News | Modi, who imposed a three-week long nationwide lockdown on March 25, asked all citizens to turn out their lights for nine minutes at 9 p.m. local time on Sunday, and to display lamps and candles in a show of solidarity. Modi’s call was met with a huge response, with many people lighting up their balconies. Others lit f... |
5796 | Proposed hospital merger gets key state approval. | A proposed merger that involves 13 Massachusetts hospitals has received approval from a key state board, but hurdles remain. | true | Health, Boston, Access to health care, Massachusetts | The state Public Health Council on Wednesday endorsed the merger of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Burlington-based Lahey Health System and several other hospitals. If it goes through, it would create a health network to compete with Partners HealthCare, the parent company of Massachusetts General and B... |
3127 | Juul Labs facing scrutiny from federal and state officials. | With e-cigarette giant Juul Labs facing a mounting number of state and federal investigations into its marketing and sales practices, a top Trump administration official pledged Friday to use all of the government’s regulatory and enforcement power “to stop the epidemic of youth e-cigarette use.” | true | District of Columbia, Health, General News, Politics, Illinois, Epidemics, Business, AP Top News, Marijuana, Public health | The Associated Press has learned that the attorneys general in Illinois and the District of Columbia are examining how Juul’s blockbuster vaping device became so popular with underage teens. The company’s rapid rise to the top of the multi-billion dollar U.S. e-cigarette market has been accompanied by accusations from ... |
29561 | A Carbon Monoxide spike on the west coast indicates that a massive earthquake will soon hit. | Superstation 95, the web site that first propagated and promulgated this rumor, has a habit of creating dire-sounding stories out of half-truths and misinformation, such as a claim that cargo ships had ceased travel (in “a horrific economic sign”), an article which heavily exaggerated the effects the Fukushima nuclear ... | false | Politics, carbon monoxide, earthquake, superstation95 | In late February 2016, several conspiracy theory-type web sites reported that carbon monoxide levels had spiked on the West Coast, and that these “unprecedented” levels signaled the arrival of a massive earthquake: “Unprecedented” and “dangerous” levels of Carbon Monoxide are being released into the atmosphere from sei... |
8401 | French nursing home learns costly lessons on containing coronavirus. | When managers at La Riviera nursing home on France’s Cote D’Azur found out a resident had the COVID-19 virus, they put into action a standard playbook they believed would contain the spread. It did not. | true | Health News | “We kept on seeing new cases and we could not understand why,” said Antoine Ruplinger, an executive with the company that runs the home. Since then 36 residents at the home have died of coronavirus-related conditions, according to the local mayor’s office, which registers the deaths. There were 109 residents before the... |
6614 | Case stirs question of school liability for student suicides. | Han Nguyen was consumed by depression and struggling to stay afloat at one of the world’s most prestigious universities. His mental health continued to decline until one day, moments after a professor confronted him about an offensive email, the 25-year-old jumped from the top of a campus building to his death. | true | U.S. News, Mental health, Health, Massachusetts, U.S. News, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Nguyen’s suicide has sparked a contentious legal battle headed to Massachusetts’ highest court over whether schools can be held responsible when students take their own lives. The case is being closely watched by colleges and universities, who say a decision against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology would place... |
37952 | "Images show former ""a wire"" or ""an IV"" on former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's wrist as he coughed into his sleeve during a presidential debate." | Myriad social media posts claimed the reddish-brown object on Joe Biden’s wrist during the his September 29 2020 presidential debate with Donald Trump was “a wire.” However, Biden’s habit of wearing son Beau Biden’s rosary at all times on his wrist is well-documented both in news articles and in images and video. Furth... | false | Disinformation, Fact Checks | During the September 29 2020 presidential debate, a purported “wire” seen on Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden’s wrist as he coughed into his sleeve predictably became a hot topic on social media, with increasingly conspiratorial and hysterical rumors pushed along by the usual disinformation purveyors:pic.twitter.com/... |
33294 | Bugs crawl into a person's ear, make their home there, then slowly eat their way through the brain. | Bugs do wander into people's ears sometimes. But where can they go from there? | false | Horrors, human body, Insect Infestations, insects | Regarding all the nonsense about bugs in the ear: it is patently impossible for insects and/or other arthropods to enter one ear and chew through to the other; a little logic should tell us so. (Try to trace a straight course for such a journey, without going through bone.) Examples: [Collected via e-mail, July 2009] ... |
41315 | 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. | unproven | online | 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 gentamic... |
4008 | Measles saps kids’ ability to fight other germs. | Measles has a stealth side effect: New research shows it erases much of the immune system’s memory of how to fight other germs, so children recover only to be left more vulnerable to bugs like flu or strep. | true | Netherlands, Health, Measles, Public health, Michael Mina, Science, U.S. News, General News | Scientists dubbed the startling findings “immune amnesia.” The body can rebuild those defenses — but it could take years. And with measles on the rise, “it should be a scary phenomenon,” said Dr. Michael Mina of Harvard’s school of public health, lead author of research published Thursday in the journal Science. “This ... |
25554 | Each year, 18,000 people die in America because they don't have health care. | Indeed, uninsured people have higher mortality rate | true | National, Health Care, Hillary Clinton, | "The full quote from Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech on her health care plan: ""Each year, 18,000 people die in America because they don't have health care. Let me repeat that. Here in America, people are dying because they couldn't get the care they needed when they were sick."" Clinton used the number to dramatize the ... |
2099 | Study identifies best tests to predict Alzheimer's. | Combining a specific imaging test of the brain with a memory recall test appears to be the best predictor so far of Alzheimer’s disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. | true | Health News | The findings were culled from a large, ongoing study testing various brain imaging tests and biomarkers that aims to identify which patients with cognitive problems will progress to Alzheimer’s disease. “When you look at them all independently, they are all useful for predicting conversion (to Alzheimer’s disease) and ... |
10249 | Fish Oil Seems to Help Cancer Patients Preserve Muscle | The story used quotes given in a news release – and was wrong in stating that the findings were already published in the Feb. 28 online edition of Cancer. The story was published early this morning – but at 2 pm Central time, we checked with the editorial office of the journal and the study had not yet been posted onli... | false | Cancer,HealthDay | No discussion of cost for the mega doses of fish oil used in the study. The weight loss figures for the two groups were given. But the muscle mass figures were given in percentages, which is clumsy. Rather than 70% in the fish oil group kept their pre-chemo muscle mass, why not say 11 out of 16. And rather than less th... |
27707 | A tweet reproduces a 90-second long sentence from a Donald Trump speech. | “My uncle used to tell me about nuclear before nuclear was nuclear” and “He would tell me, ‘There are things that are happening that could be potentially so bad for the world in terms of weaponry,'” Donald Trump has claimed, even though the U.S. had already developed and used nuclear weapons before he was born (1946). ... | true | Politics, donald trump | This is a sentence spoken by Trump, not a piece of modernist stream-of-consciousness pastiche. pic.twitter.com/vfhdKzg9Uy — Stig Abell (@StigAbell) August 9, 2016 On 19 July 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared at Sun City’s Magnolia Hall in South Carolina to deliver a noontime speech. The eve... |
15524 | Fox News barely covered (the Duggar family) scandal until Megyn Kelly was able to secure this interview. | "Stelter said, ""Fox News barely covered this scandal until Megyn Kelly was able to secure this interview."" Our review of media mentions of the Duggar story among CNN, MSNBC and Fox supports his statement. Fox News’ coverage was fleeting before Kelly’s interview was announced." | true | Pop Culture, Pundits, PunditFact, Brian Stelter, | "It’s been a big week for Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, chosen by the famous Duggar family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting to exclusively air their side of the story involving the oldest Duggar son molesting five minors, including his sisters, a decade ago. But to some observers, Fox’s intense promotion of Kelly’s June 3 ... |
9996 | New guidelines define pre-Alzheimer’s disease | This report tells readers the stark reality, that lab tests and brain scans for Alzheimer’s are not ready for clinical use and even when the tests are validated, they will have limited value to patients until effective treatments are developed. This story includes a comment about how early diagnosis could help patients... | true | Alzheimer's,Associated Press | The story clearly points out that brain scans and biomarker tests are not ready for clinical use. Since there are no recommended changes that directly affect readers today, and since it is not known which diagnostic tests may eventually prove useful, it is reasonable to put off discussions of cost. As noted above, the ... |
11620 | More Aggressive Treatment for Weekend Stroke | This story about the clot-dissolving drug tPA emphasized the importance of getting to the hospital quickly in cases of suspected stroke. However, it didn’t add much to a press release issued by the AMA, and in some ways was less informative. The story provided no detail on costs or potential harms of tPA treatment, and... | true | The story does not discuss the costs or potential savings associated with the use of this drug. On the cost side, there are the direct costs of the drug itself as well as the diagnostic testing which must be conducted prior to administering the drug. In addition, hospitals incur significant costs to become certified as... | |
29509 | "Washington state has updated their curriculum standards to include teaching ""transgenderism"" to Kindergarteners." | What's true: Washington State has released updated curriculum guidelines in 2016 that include directives regarding gender and gender expression. What's false: Washington state Kindergarten students will be taught about transgender issues. | false | Politics Sexuality, daily caller, gender identity, kindergarten | On 1 June 2016 the web site Daily Caller published an article reporting that schools in Washington state planned to begin teaching “transgenderism to Kindergartners, based on updated state curriculum guidelines released online. The article didn’t quite manage to connect the dots between the linked curriculum update and... |
10885 | At-home gene test stirs up debate | This is an excellent story that used a concrete example (i.e. bipolar disorder) to highlight the pitfalls involved with the use of genetic test kits for gene alleles. Rather than write a story heralding the first commercial availability of a test to identify genetic markers associated with risk of bipolar disorder, thi... | true | "The story mentioned that the test carried a $399 price tag. Of course there are larger cost perspectives. If this diagnostic test truly has value, it might lead to more targeted therapy – perhaps decreasing overall medical costs. If it is a poor test, it may increase medical costs beyond the initial $399 for the test ... | |
28343 | Four quotations attributed to PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk in a viral November 2018 meme are authentic. | So the fourth quotation included in the meme did not actually originate with Ingrid Newkirk, although it was written by one of her colleagues. Perhaps more important, it was not intended as a comprehensive summary of PETA’s entire mission, but rather as a more nuanced description of the organization’s specific function... | mixture | Politics, animal rights, peta | Ingrid Newkirk, the president and co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), is one of the most high-profile animal rights activists of the past few decades. She is also a controversial figure, frequently attracting criticism over the group’s famous publicity stunts and advertising campaigns, but... |
1850 | Surf's up in the fitness studio. | Spun out on spinning? Bored in barre class? | true | Health News | A SurfSET Fitness class in New York in an undated photo. REUTERS/SurfSET Fitness/Handout Group fitness gadflies can rejoice. Indoor surfing is a new workout, born of the sea but carving out a place in the center of town. “It’s actually harder than surfing,” Sarah Ponn, co-founder and fitness director of SurfSET Fitness... |
3564 | Police seize ‘Catnip Cocktail’ during nutrition store raid. | Police arrested the manager of a health and nutrition store after a raid turned up dozens of bottles of a cat sedative linked to bizarre behavior in humans. | true | Health, Arrests, Nutrition | John Sirico, of Tafton, Pennsylvania, was charged with multiple drug offenses and one weapons charge after the raid Thursday at Nutrition Zone in Fairfield. He was being detained pending a court hearing. Officials did not know whether he had retained an attorney. Officers seized 61 bottles of “Catnip Cocktail” from the... |
6797 | Wisconsin manufacturer finds groundwater pollution at plant. | A manufacturer in northeastern Wisconsin has discovered new evidence of groundwater pollution near Lake Michigan involving a chemical that has raised national health concerns. | true | Marinette, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, Lakes, Environment, Water pollution, Pollution | Tyco Fire Products said this month that it discovered perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, in well samples at its manufacturing plant in Marinette. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had directed Tyco to test for PFCs at the wells, which are part of a separate cleanup of arsenic. Tyco produces specialized firefight... |
37650 | The same 3 companies make insulin for every country on Earth. These same 3 companies charge $20 a vial in every other country and $300+ per vial, for the exact same insulin, in the United States alone. | Do Only Three Companies Make All the World’s Insulin (Charging $20 Outside the United States and $300+ in the United States)? | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On January 28 2020, the Facebook page “Drug Prices are Too High” shared the following Twitter screenshot, about the purported price of insulin outside the United States (USD$20) versus its cost in the U.S. (USD$300+) per vial:That tweet referenced three companies, and an attached status update named Eli Lilly, Novo Nor... |
10650 | Drugs as good as stents for many heart patients | This story reported on the results of a recent study which found that the relief of chest pain from heart disease was only transiently better in those who had an angioplasty along with medical therapy as compared to those who only received medical therapy. It indicated that angioplasty is still indicated for the treatm... | true | The story included an estimate for the cost of an angioplasty. Although mentioning that it may take many office visits to get medical therapy right, the story should have included an estimated cost for this as well. The story reported on the percent of individuals in the two treatment groups who reported relief of ches... | |
26510 | Facebook post Says a pandemic occurs exactly every 100 years. | The post suggests pandemics occur with synchronicity every 100 years, in 1720, 1820, 1920 and 2020. There wasn’t a pandemic in 1720. The years listed for the next two pandemics are wrong. Many more pandemics have occurred outside of a neat timeline. | false | Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "According to this post on Facebook, pandemics like COVID-19 strike with eerie precision, every 100 years: ""1720 — Plague; 1820 — Cholera outbreak; 1920 — Spanish flu; 2020 — Chinese coronavirus. What’s happening? There is a theory that every 100 years, a pandemic happens. At first glance, nothing seems strange, but t... |
10355 | Hormone replacement tied to lower colon cancer risk | In only 546 words, this story covered most of the bases – providing absolute data from a big trial, saying that the findings support earlier theories, but warning that this does not change earlier advice about HRT. This story was judicious and cautious – two important characteristics in discussing hormone replacement t... | true | The cost of hormone replacement therapy is not in question. Of the 34,433 HRT users, 193 were diagnosed with colon cancer during the study period; that compared with 151 cases among the 13,778 women who had never used hormone replacement. HRT — with either estrogen alone or a combination of estrogen and progestin — was... | |
530 | China reports fourth case of plague this month. | Chinese health authorities on Thursday reported a fresh case of bubonic plague in the country’s northern Inner Mongolia region, bringing the total number of plague cases to four since the beginning of the month. | true | Health News | A rural herder in Siziwang county was diagnosed with the disease in a local hospital, according to a statement released by the Inner Mongolian health commission. Prior to the diagnosis the herder had been active in an area where plague sources had been identified, it said. The person is in a stable condition after trea... |
27812 | A photograph shows a large blood clot removed from a patient's lung. | A photograph purportedly captured a huge blood clot removed from a patient's lung. | true | Fauxtography | A photograph popped up on social media in May 2015, described as a picture of a blood clot removed from an 80-year-old patient after he presented with a 2-day-long nosebleed. According to the accompanying text, the patient coded shortly after arrival at an emergency room, and a blood clot that went “from his nose down ... |
9986 | Stomach stapling may lower cancer risk in women | "This story gets the broad brushstrokes right on a new study about bariatric surgery and cancer: It conveys that women who get bariatric surgery appear to have reduced risk of cancer, while men don’t. It puts the findings in context of previous research. Its greatest strength is the use of two solid quotes, from differ... | mixture | "The story fails to mention price. Bariatric surgery usually costs $20,000 to $30,000. At a time when interest is high in health care reform–and where treatments are increasingly viewed in terms of cost vs. benefit–it’s important for health journalists to cite a procedure’s cost as a matter of course. This is especiall... | |
32277 | Hillary Clinton was responsible for the siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, that ended with 76 civilian deaths. | While the operation involved hundreds of law enforcement officers from numerous local, state and federal agencies, and its aftermath resulted in multiple investigations by both the government and news media, we found no credible evidence that one of the people involved in the multitude of decisions that were made conce... | false | Politics Conspiracy Theories, atf, bill clinton, election 2016 | As Hillary Clinton has risen to become one of the two people most likely to be the next president of the United States, so too have various legends and rumors implicating her in the deaths of everyone from Vince Foster to John F. Kennedy Jr. The latest rumor to crop up in 2016 is an accusation (which appears on conspir... |
37538 | Saint Corona is the patron saint of epidemics. | Is St. Corona the Patron Saint of Epidemics? | false | Fact Checks, Viral Content | As novel coronavirus COVID-19 swept the majority Catholic country of Italy in March 2020, rumors appeared that Italians had begun praying to a St. Corona — who was, incidentally, “the patron saint of epidemics.”A March 11 post to the site Gloria.tv was titled “There Is A SAINT CORONA, And She Is the Patron Saint Agains... |
12642 | "CountyNewsroom.info Says ""2 moms, 5 kids killed in car crash"" in a nearby county." | Fake news site alters real story of fiery car crash, tries to spread malware on your computer | false | Fake news, PunditFact, CountyNewsroom.info, | "A fake news website looking to spread malware lured readers by altering details of a tragically true news story of a fatal car wreck that killed two women and several children. At least 22 posts we first noticed on April 10, 2017, on the website CountyNewsroom.info carried headlines that declared, ""2 moms, 5 kids kil... |
15125 | "There are a ""multitude"" of vaccines that do not prevent deadly and crippling diseases." | "Ben Carson, one of two medical doctors running for the GOP nomination, said during the second Republican debate that there is a ""multitude"" of vaccines for diseases that are not deadly or disabling. The diseases targeted by the vaccines recommended for children on a set schedule, however, are nearly universally leth... | false | Georgia, Public Health, Ben Carson, | "During the second GOP debate, Dr. Ben Carson backed up previous PolitiFact rulings when he said there is no correlation between vaccines and autism. But the retired pediatric neurosurgeon kept going and prompted another fact-check on the topic when he suggested that there are a ""multitude"" of vaccines that might not... |
28879 | Zantac (ranitidine) or similar acid reflux medications cause users to falsely test positive for meth use. | What's true: Studies of a now discontinued urine testing protocol for amphetamines did show that, under rare and specific circumstances, false positives could be caused by the acid reflux medication Zantac (ranitidine); there is, as well, limited evidence of similar false positives using one test still on the market, b... | mixture | Medical | In 2016, a claim that use of the over-the-counter acid reflux medication Zantac (ranitidine) had produced a false positive result for methamphetamines appeared on social media; that claim resurfaced again in 2018. While the claim piqued the interest social media, it was not new: The prospect of a false positive for amp... |
34439 | An eighth Russian with ties to the Trump-Russia scandal has mysteriously died. | As of 9 March 2017, no credible news reports have placed Oronov in the midst of the so-called Kremlin “peace plan” meeting, and according to his son-in-law and others he would have been physically unable to have been involved. He also did not die under suspicious circumstances. | unproven | Politics Conspiracy Theories, donald trump, russia | In early March 2017 a number of conspiratorial political blogs, including the Palmer Report and Bipartisan Report, published posts (quoted below) claiming an eighth “Trump-Russia conspirator” had died “suspiciously”: One day after the announcement of the death of Alex Oronov, who played a key role in Donald Trump’s Rus... |
26694 | Viral image Says Tom Hanks has a volleyball to keep him company while he’s quarantined. | Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson tested positive for COVID-19 in Australia, where Hanks is shooting a movie. The image of Tom Hanks apparently holding a Wilson volleyball during his COVID-19 quarantine comes from a satirical Australian website. | false | Pop Culture, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Viral image, | "Stars — they’re just like us: On March 11, actor Tom Hanks announced on Twitter that he and his wife, the actress Rita Wilson, tested positive for COVID-19 in Australia, where Hanks is shooting a movie. ""What to do next?"" he tweeted. ""The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks will be test... |
28277 | "We break down the factual claims made by the ""Other 98%"" about the cases of John Walker Lindh and Michael Alonzo Thompson." | Finally, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records, Thompson cannot undergo a parole hearing until April 2038, which was in 19 years’ time when the “Other 98” meme was published — contrary to the claim that Thompson “won’t be eligible for parole for 15 more years.” In fact, he will have to wait even longe... | mixture | Politics | In May 2019, the early release of convicted terrorist John Walker Lindh prompted concerns about whether the man known as the “American Taliban” had abandoned his extremist beliefs and support of violent Islamic terrorist groups, as the Associated Pressreported: John Walker Lindh, the Californian who took up arms for th... |
6437 | Clinic helps veterans, first responders with free care. | They are there to protect and serve. They are Army Strong. They do whatever it takes and are exposed to trauma most people can’t fathom. | true | Post-traumatic stress disorder, Mental health, Health, Trauma, Veterans, Veterans affairs | But what about when the shift, deployment or career ends? Suicide and addiction occur at a staggering rate among first responders and military members, due to post-traumatic stress disorder, coupled with a gaping hole in accessible, appropriate mental health care and a stigma that keeps many of them from seeking help, ... |
9956 | New U.S. analysis backs annual breast screening | This story reports on a new analysis of the scientific evidence used by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to make its 2009 recommendations regarding mammography screening. The authors of the analysis, published online by the American Journal of Roentgenology, arrived at different conclusions tha... | false | Reuters Health,Screening,women's health | The piece does not include any discussion of the financial, physical, or emotional costs of beginning routine mammography screening at age 40, which the authors of the new analysis see as necessary. The financial costs of overdiagnosis are significant for both the individual diagnosed and for society. The article does ... |
10067 | New FAU study suggests benefits of regular mammography extend to the elderly | Researcher Charles H. Hennekens, MD looms large in this news release — perhaps larger than the study itself.This news release issued on behalf of a prestigious researcher — one said to have “saved more than 1.1 million lives” according to Science Heroes — claims the evidence is in that regular mammograms after age 74 s... | false | Breast cancer,Diagnostic tests,Women's health | Does not mention any costs — either direct or societal. And because patients over 74 are typically covered by Medicare, the financial costs to society would be substantial. In addition to covering the cost of screening mammography, Medicare also covers the use of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) which multiple studies ha... |
9488 | A new study suggests it’s possible to get people off opioids and improve their pain | This story tackles a study that rounded up dozens of small studies to probe the effectiveness of painkiller “tapering:” a slow, gradual weaning of opioid painkillers for those who are addicted to the drugs. The story is much more than that, however, as it lays out some the core issues with the U.S. opioid epidemic, whi... | true | opioids,painkiller addiction | Tapering is presumably free in and of itself, since it’s a slow and gradual lessening of opioids (which a person might already be using to begin with), so we’ll mark this N/A. However, it would require medical oversight and perhaps other alternative pain treatments, both of which aren’t free. We’re told that with taper... |
36611 | "Placing your feet on a car's dashboard can cause your knees to go ""through your eye sockets"" in the event of an airbag deployment." | Can Airbags Send Your Knees ‘Through Your Eye Sockets’ When Deployed? | unproven | Fact Checks, Viral Content | When the meme below appeared on Facebook via the page The Pink Shorts Movement on November 28 2018, we were skeptical:DID YOU KNOW: Airbags deploy between 100 & 220 MPH. If you ride with your feet on the dash, you may send your knees through your eye sockets if the airbag is deployed. Police are sharing this photo in h... |
18397 | "A Wisconsin bill to limit use of food stamps for junk food would also ""prevent -- or limit -- the extent to which"" food stamps could be used for organic foods." | "Clark said a bill to limit use of food stamps for junk food would also ""prevent -- or limit -- the extent to which"" food stamps could be used for organic foods. There would be limits on which types of organic foods a person could buy with two-thirds of their food stamps, but not for the other third. The meat-and-po... | true | Federal Budget, Poverty, States, Welfare, Wisconsin, Fred Clark, | "State Rep. Dean Kaufert said he was after things like soda and nachos when he proposed to limit how much junk food Wisconsinites could buy with food stamps. ""Hopefully, people’s health will get better,"" the Neenah Republican said in March 2013. But when the former potato chip salesman’s bill came up May 7, 2013, for... |
6138 | Study: Most Texas school districts have scant sex education. | More than four-fifths of school districts offer no sex education or only teach abstinence in Texas, which has one of the country’s highest teen birth rates, according to a study released Tuesday. | true | Birth control, Health, Birth rates, Sex education, Education, Austin, Texas | The study commissioned by Texas Freedom Network, a left-leaning education watchdog group, found that 25 percent of roughly 1,000 school districts statewide didn’t offer any sex education during the 2015-2016 school year and about 58 percent only taught students to abstain from sex. The remaining 17 percent, including e... |
3575 | Secretary of state rejects 2 clean-energy initiatives. | Two clean-energy ballot initiatives were rejected by Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno Thursday, drawing condemnation from climate change action advocates who claimed Clarno is bowing to pressure from polluters and business interests. | true | Environment, General News, Climate change, Climate, Oregon | The Statesman Journal reports they added that Clarno’s rejection of initiative petitions 48 and 49 represents a pattern of her siding against environmental interests. She also rejected three petitions from the group Oregon Wild that proposed adding protections for the state’s forest waters. “There is now a pattern of f... |
10099 | Aspirin Cuts Death Rate From Several Common Cancers | Of the three stories we reviewed, this one provided the most numbers to describe the study on the anti-cancer benefits of aspirin, but it ended up presenting a picture of the study that was too boosterish and not not realistic enough about the limitations of the study, the potential harms, and the costs. Aspirin’s bene... | mixture | Cancer,WebMD | This story does not discuss the cost of daily aspirin intake. Because the cost to individuals is low and well-known, we won’t insist on this point. Nevertheless, were a recommendation made for everyone to begin taking aspirin daily starting at age 45 the national price tag would be substantial. Readers would also benef... |
41357 | Rigevidon can cause blood clots, strokes, and burst aneurysms. | A young black panther that escaped last week and was seen prowling the rooftops of a northern French town has been stolen from the zoo where it was held after being recaptured, police and city officials said on Tuesday. | true | online | Staff of the Maubeuge zoo noticed when they arrived for work that the security door of the feline’s pen had been forced open, the officials said. Police are checking footage from the zoo’s video surveillance system. The panther caused panic last week in Armentieres, a town close to the Belgian border, when it was spott... |
2836 | Novartis employees may have violated trial protocol in Japan. | Swiss drugmaker Novartis said on Friday it was looking into a report that employees of is Japanese unit may have violated clinical trial protocol by handling data from a small independent study of one of its cancer drugs. | true | Health News | Employees of Novartis Pharma K.K. (NPKK) transferred some data from research centers to a Tokyo hospital when that data should have been sent directly without first passing through Novartis hands, according to a report by Japanese broadcaster NHK that was picked up by the Wall Street Journal. “NPKK is currently investi... |
11818 | In a 2014 case involving a man convicted of abusing two underage girls, Judge Roy Moore disagreed and wrote the dissenting opinion. | An ad from the Jones campaign said that Moore disagreed and dissented in a case involving the abuse of two underage girls. There is no question that Moore dissented, but the ad provides no context for what Moore disagreed with. The glaring lack of detail leaves reasonable viewers with the impression that Moore disagree... | false | National, Elections, Ethics, Legal Issues, Doug Jones, | "In the Alabama Senate race, Democrat Doug Jones launched an ad to suggest Republican Roy Moore goes easy on sex offenders. Moore called on stations airing the ad to pull it, saying it ""blatantly misrepresents the facts and my judicial record."" The ad speaks of three cases from Moore’s days on the Alabama State Supre... |
12364 | When you throw 23 million people off of health insurance -- people with cancer, people with heart disease, people with diabetes -- thousands of people will die. … This is study after study making this point. | "Sanders said, ""When you throw 23 million people off of health insurance -- people with cancer, people with heart disease, people with diabetes -- thousands of people will die. … This is study after study making this point."" Sanders’ statement on Meet the Press was phrased generally enough to be defensible. We found ... | true | National, Health Care, Bernie Sanders, | "During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., didn’t hold back in his criticism of Republican efforts to roll back the Affordable Care Act: He said such legislative efforts will literally be deadly. ""What the Republican proposal (in the House) does is throw 23 million Americans off of healt... |
15434 | We are the only major country on Earth that doesn't guarantee health care to all people as a right. | "Sanders said that the United States is the only major country that doesn’t guarantee health care to everyone as a right. Sanders was a bit vague about which countries he was comparing to America, but his office clarified that he was thinking of the group that belongs to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and De... | mixture | National, Health Care, Bernie Sanders, | "The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Obamacare subsidies kept the program rolling, and Sen. Bernie Sanders was totally celebrating. Still, the independent from Vermont who is running as a Democrat for president told ABC News host George Stephanopoulos that the nation was far from out of the woods on health care. ... |
15335 | One of the reasons I believe we’re in trouble in Yemen is we lost the population on drone strikes issues. That’s what stirred up the population. That’s what is happening in Yemen. | "There is strong evidence that the U.S. drones in Yemen have antagonized many Yemenis who might have been allies in the fight against al-Qaida. But Chafee takes a big leap when he suggests that because of drone strikes ""we lost the population"" — especially when there are no public opinion polls to back him up. Others... | mixture | Rhode Island, Terrorism, Lincoln Chafee, | "Lincoln Chafee campaigned for president in New Hampshire last month proudly showcasing his foreign policy credentials based in large part on his opposition to the Iraq war. He also had some things to say about U.S. policy in Yemen. The targeting of al-Qaida terrorists with drones has killed militants and civilians in ... |
10904 | MRI Images May Pinpoint Time of Stroke | This is a story about the possible use of MRI scans to help determine the onset time of stroke. It provided a clear explanation about how this can be an issue for people who awaken to find that they have had a stroke sometime while sleeping or someone who knows when their symptoms of stroke began but are able to articu... | true | HealthDay,Stroke | There was no discussion of costs – not for the individual and not for health planners and society. As we discussed in the “availability” criterion above, this is an important question. The story reported that the test was 90% accurate, but it could have provided more insight to readers about what this 90% means. This ... |
8306 | Coronavirus test ramp-up to help Abbott weather 'toughest quarter'. | Abbott Laboratories Inc (ABT.N) said on Thursday a recent ramp up in coronavirus tests production would help it ride out a tough current quarter as the outbreak chokes demand for its other diagnostic kits. | true | Health News | The company has since mid-March launched three coronavirus tests, including an antibody test crucial in identifying immunity among people and one that can deliver results within minutes, which was heralded as a game changer by President Donald Trump. Shares of the company were up 6% at $96.48 in morning trading. Despit... |
18586 | "Scott Henson Says Texas has ""11 different felonies you can commit with an oyster." | Henson said there are 11 Texas felonies one can commit with an oyster. He could have said 16, according to the state’s breakdown of felony offenses, though Parks & Wildlife suggests such oyster-related crimes break down to seven distinct offenses. Significantly, too, these felony charges are rare. No one can even face... | true | Criminal Justice, Food Safety, Crime, Texas, Scott Henson, | "Scott Henson of Austin, who writes the Grits for Breakfast blog on criminal justice policy and politics, told the Austin Post, an online community newspaper, that Texas and the nation have ""criminalized far too much of public life."" ""I think we have somewhere in the range of 2,500 or so felonies on the books in Tex... |
513 | Force-feeding off menu as France trials 'naturally fatty' foie gras. | In a barn in southwest France, farmer Valerie Fosserie squirts serum into a gosling’s mouth as a prelude to what she says is production of the world’s first ethically friendly foie gras. | true | Environment | The delicacy, long a feature on the menu of gourmet restaurants across the globe, is made by force-feeding geese to turn their livers to fat, a process long denounced as cruel by animal rights activists and increasingly viewed with unease by authorities in some western cities. In October, New York City, often considere... |
13560 | "Catherine Cortez Masto Says ""Joe Heck voted 10 times to defund Planned Parenthood ... and Heck opposes a woman's right to choose, even when her health is at risk." | "A Catherine Cortez Masto campaign ad claims Joe Heck ""voted 10 times to defund Planned Parenthood,"" and ""opposes a woman's right to choose, even when her health is at risk."" Heck has voted to defund Planned Parenthood, a fact he publicly admits. The harder question to answer is whether to count procedural votes le... | true | Abortion, Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto, | "Republican Rep. Joe Heck’s record on abortion is fast becoming the subject of many salvos in the unending television ad wars in Nevada’s competitive Senate race. Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto has run several ads attacking Heck on the issue, most recently one featuring a Las Vegas-area gynecologic oncologist who oppo... |
4263 | Supermarket chain restricts “chemicals of concern”. | A Maine supermarket corporation is executing new restrictions on the use of chemical products and packaging deemed hazardous by some environmental health groups. | true | Health, General News, Environment, Environmental health, Maine | Ahold Delhaize says its U.S. subsidiaries will work with suppliers to meet standards higher than what is required by law and collaborate to address causes of contaminants. The company operates Food Lion, Giant Food, Giant/Martin’s, Hannaford, Peapod and Stop & Shop. The “chemicals of concern” outlined in the policy inc... |
9097 | New osteoporosis treatment uses traditional Chinese herb to prevent bone loss | This news release describes research showing that a chemical compound in the red sage plant blocks an enzyme that promotes the breakdown of collagen in bones. This might be an interesting lead for scientists, but the release prematurely dubs the plant a “treatment” for osteoporosis and doesn’t mention that effects obse... | false | osteoporosis,traditional Chinese medicine,University of British Columbia | There’s no mention of cost. HealthNewsReview.org found a bottle of 60 capsules of 500-mg red sage online for $19.95. Of course, that could be far from the cost of an actual treatment should one be developed, since we don’t know the cost of processing, marketing, and quality assurance. The release says the red sage comp... |
29616 | Article details 'four things you didn't know' about Martin Luther King, Jr. | As for the assertion that “no other public holiday in the United States honors a single individual” besides Martin Luther King Day, we note that Columbus Day (honoring explorer Christopher Columbus) is a federal holiday, as is George Washington‘s Birthday. | false | History, American History, martin luther king | Every January, as the federal holiday commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. approaches, a years-old item that refers to the famous civil rights leader as “a phony, a cheater, a traitor, and a sexual degenerate” is circulated anew: Four things you didn’t know about Martin Luther King 1. His name wasn’t ... |
4717 | Meetings set to discuss higher cancer rates in 4 NY regions. | The state Health Department is holding public meetings in four New York regions with higher rates of cancer. | true | Cancer, Health, General News, New York, Warren | The department did studies to identify factors contributing to cancer rates and determine the best approach to prevention and screening. The regions are in Erie, Warren and Suffolk counties and on Staten Island. The meeting schedule is online . Investigators found Warren County had the highest rates of all cancers in t... |
18457 | "New Virginia regulations on abortion clinics ""provide the same sanitary environment we expect of dental offices." | "A PAC affiliated with the Susan B. Anthony List says in an ad that McAuliffe opposed new regulations that would ""require women’s health clinics to provide the same sanitary environment we expect of dental offices."" McAuliffe did oppose new regulations that were approved for abortion clinics earlier this month. But i... | false | Abortion, Public Health, Regulation, Virginia, Susan B. Anthony List, | "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe’s opposition to stricter regulation of abortion clinics has drawn fire. Women Speak Out Virginia, a PAC affiliated with the Susan B. Anthony List that seeks to end abortion, is airing a radio ad that criticizes McAuliffe for opposing what it said are ""common ground ... |
30064 | "U.S. Representative Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voted to ""allow abortions up to birth." | We asked Sinema’s Congressional office and election campaign whether, setting aside her voting record as a legislator, she personally supports any gestational age limit or fetal viability limit on the performance of abortions, but we did not receive a response from either in time for publication. | false | Politics, abortion, kyrsten sinema | As of 9 November 2018, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona was locked in a tight race with her Republican opponent, Martha McSally, with Sinema holding a narrow lead as a court challenge was mounted regarding post-election ballot verification. During the campaign, a report by pro-life websit... |
40953 | In a day, Italy sent home more than 14,000 patients after treating them with Aspirin and Apronax. | The Italian Medicines Agency doesn’t mention aspirin or apronax in its list drugs used to treat Covid-19 outside of clinical trials. And there’s no record of a day when 14,000 people were sent home from hospital in Italy. | false | online | Italy has concluded Covid-19 is not a virus, and people are actually dying of amplified global 5G electromagnetic radiation poisoning. Italy disobeyed world health law from the WHO saying not to carry out autopsies on Covid-19 patients. The WHO never said autopsies couldn’t take place. Italy has found that Covid-19 is ... |
5335 | Ex-Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper supports universal health care. | John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado who is considering a run for president in 2020, said Thursday he supports universal health care and thinks the U.S. eventually should provide it. | true | John Kasich, New Hampshire, Colorado, Health, Universal health care, Denver, North America, Medicare, John Hickenlooper, Politics | But as other Democrats already in the race endorse “Medicare-for-all,” Hickenlooper told a crowd at a New Hampshire college that it was more important now to get behind the general idea rather than argue over a specific approach. “I reject the notion that it should become a litmus test of what it takes to be a good Dem... |
9596 | Dry needling' for pain therapy is under scrutiny | This is a story about an alternative therapy known as “dry needling.” It involves inserting needles into the skin, similarly to acupuncture. The story leads with an anecdote that comes dangerously close to being a promotional advertisement for an unproven alternative therapy for pain, but that’s just the hook. The stor... | true | USA Today | The story nicely calls out different questions that readers might have, including whether insurance will pay for the therapy. It answers, “Many will not. Charges for patients can range from $10 to $75 per session, says Edo Zylstra, CEO of KinetaCore, a company that offers intensive three-day weekend courses in dry need... |
19455 | "CNSNews Says ""under Oregon law, girls from 15 years of age and up are given complete control over whether to be sterilized or not." | In Oregon, do 15-year-olds have complete control over sterilization? | false | Oregon, Health Care, Public Health, CNSNews, | "In early August, CNSNews.com published an article with the headline ""Obamacare Mandate: Sterilize 15-Year-Old Girls for Free –Without Parental Consent."" ""Thanks to an Obamacare regulation that took effect on Aug. 1,"" read the article, ""health care plans in Oregon will now be required to provide free sterilization... |
11317 | Weighing risk for obese youth | This is a story about a study of the use of one particular weight loss surgery (gastric banding) for the treatment of children who are obese. This story did accurately report the results of the story, though selectively so. Further, the title of the research study mentioned that the results were 'short-term'. This is i... | mixture | "The story did not discuss costs of these treatments – a significant oversight. The benefits of the treatment (weight loss at 18 months) was accurately reported. It should have been clarified that this amount of weight loss did not represent the maximum weight loss, which was seen at 1 year. The fact that the children ... | |
3984 | Texas cattle groups dispute over tick treatment ban. | A recent decision to ban a tool to treat a deadly tick could put cattle at risk, according to Texas ranchers and several government agencies. | true | Waco, Animal health, Health, Agriculture, Texas | Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller last month halted the use of 15 cattle fever tick spray boxes in South Texas for lacking ventilation, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported. The boxes spray livestock with a chemical to eliminate ticks that spread bovine babesiosis. The disease kills 90 percent of the animals it infects, ... |
33656 | For every forwarded copy of an e-mail received, the American Cancer Society will donate three cents to cancer research. | So please, if you get it, don’t forward it. You’re giving the wrong person immortality. | false | Inboxer Rebellion, american cancer society, Medical Appeals | It sounds too easy to be true: forward an e-mail, rack up some cancer research money. And it is. Too easy to be true, that is. This “dying child chain letter” hoax now circulating on the net victimizes the American Cancer Society. In the name of a fictitious little girl, people are exhorted to forward the letter on bec... |
35187 | A doctor in Italy shared numerous details about how hospitals in the country are dealing with COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus. | I don’t spend a lot of words about the people who define us heroes these days and who until yesterday were ready to insult and report us. Both will return to insult and report as soon as everything is over. People forget everything quickly. | true | Medical, COVID-19 | In March 2020, as the coronavirus continued to spread around the globe, a viral message circulated on social media that was supposedly written by a doctor in Italy about how the new virus had impacted hospitals in the country. Silvia Stringhini, an epidemiologist, shared a translated version of this post on Twitter. A ... |
9989 | Study: Poor Results From Lap-Band Surgery | This story detailed the long-term outcomes at one institution for obese individuals who had gastric banding surgery. The story was clear about the drawbacks inherent in the study. For example, that the data were obtained from a relatively small number of patients, and these patients, by virtue of the time at which they... | true | WebMD | As with the HealthDay story we reviewed, there was no discussion of costs of the banding procedure nor for regular office visits for band adjustment. Although these costs were not detailed in the study reported on, this information is readily available. We think that this is unfortunate given the magnitude of the cost ... |
26601 | Facebook post Says Gov. Tony Evers is “pushing firearm confiscation orders” | A Facebook post finding new life amid the coronavirus outbreak says Evers is pushing gun confiscation, but the linked article is from April 2019. At that time, Evers hadn’t proposed any such thing, and the article only details a call for red flag laws from the attorney general. So what was wrong in 2019 is now both wro... | false | Guns, Wisconsin, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "A year-old claim about Gov. Tony Evers and firearm confiscation is getting new life online amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many on Facebook have recently picked up a story from April 2019 headlined ""Wisconsin gov. pushing firearm confiscation orders."" When shared, no date for the story is visible on Facebook. The pos... |
35269 | A drop of 21 million cellphone subscribers in China in early 2020 documents that the death toll from COVID-19 was vastly underreported in that country. | The ruling Communist Party says it is trying to prevent large gatherings from causing a new outbreak. But its tight controls appear to be part of a concerted attempt to avoid an outpouring of anguish and anger that could be a visceral reminder of its early missteps and efforts to conceal the outbreak. Those same public... | unproven | Politics, COVID-19 | In the first few months of 2020, as the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic sprouted in China, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published figures showing a drop of about 21 million cellphone users and 840,000 landline users. According to The Associated Press, online data published by China’... |
15741 | "A school uniform policy helps with ""school safety, helps with truancy." | Adkins said school uniforms improve school safety and truancy. There are some studies that say there are changes for the better and worse for both school violence and attendance statistics once uniforms are adopted, but there’s hardly a consensus. Even if there is improvement, research suggests the positives are slight... | mixture | Education, Florida, Janet Adkins, | "More Florida school districts may soon have millions of reasons to start requiring students to wear uniforms, thanks to a bill that just passed the House. Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, sponsored a bill that would give districts $10 per child to adopt standard attire policies in kindergarten through eighth gra... |
21137 | People are five to seven times more likely to be murdered in workplaces that allow firearms than in those that prohibit it. | Workplace homicides more likely where guns allowed, anti-gun violence group says | mixture | Workers, Guns, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort Educational Fund, | "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s support of concealed carry gave his critics, some of whom want to recall him from office in 2012, another reason to slam him. On Oct. 30, 2011, two days before the concealed carrying of guns and other weapons became legal in Wisconsin, one visitor to a Facebook site that bashes Walker too... |
8577 | Jakarta coffin maker faces gruelling days as coronavirus death toll climbs. | As debate rages about the true death toll caused by the coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia, Jakarta coffin maker Sahroni has been too busy to pay the issue much attention. | true | Health News | From his workshop in the Pondok Kelapa cemetery in the east of the capital, he has been putting in 16-hour days. “Usually we sell between five to seven coffins a day, but now it is up to 20 to 30 coffins a day,” said Sahroni, 38, as he applied base coat onto a wooden coffin. The shelves of his workshop were stacked wit... |
5260 | Alaska quake damage could have been much worse, experts say. | The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rattled Alaska’s largest city cracked roads and collapsed highway ramps, but there were no reports of widespread catastrophic damage or collapsed buildings. | true | AP Top News, Bill Walker, Anchorage, United States, Alaska, North America, Science, U.S. News, Earthquakes | There’s a good reason for that. A devastating 1964 Alaska earthquake — the most powerful on record in the United States — led to stricter building codes that helped structures withstand the shifting earth Friday. “Congratulations to the people of Alaska for being really prepared for this earthquake,” U.S. Geological Su... |
11233 | The Doctor’s Not In: Checkup By Teleconference | In this story we learn about a new concept in urgent care: checkups by teleconference. This technology purports to fill gaps in healthcare, providing convenient care for minor ailments. With long waits at emergency rooms, this concept is very appealing. However, this story fails to describe the evidence to support the ... | true | The story does mention that the co-pay of an ED visit is $100 compared to $65 for the teleconference. However, ED co-pays vary widely depending on insurance. The story does not attempt to quantify the benefits. The medical ethics expert points out several potential harms, such as mistaking a major condition for a minor... | |
36443 | John McCain was released after five years of captivity in Vietnam in 1973, the same year Donald Trump was sued by the Justice Department for racial bias in real estate. | John McCain vs. Donald Trump in 1973 Meme | true | Fact Checks, Politics | In March 2019, United States President Donald Trump made several comments about Sen. John McCain, who died of brain cancer the previous August. Trump’s 2019 comments continued a feud that he had had with McCain before his death:President Donald Trump’s feud with the late Sen. John McCain dates back many years, to long ... |
12976 | Florida is ranked 50th in the nation for mental health care funding. | "Smith said, ""Florida is ranked 50th in the nation for mental health care funding."" A key source of data for ranking states on mental health spending is the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute. That data shows that Florida ranked 51st in 2014. However, it is difficult to c... | true | Health Care, Florida, Guns, Carlos Guillermo Smith, | "The suspect in the mass shooting at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport told the FBI in Alaska in November that he was hearing voices. Anchorage police confiscated Esteban Santiago’s handgun and took him for a mental health evaluation. Police returned his gun to him in December when he asked for it. On... |
27257 | Tech billionaires such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs advocated limiting children's use of technology. | A number of tech billionaires seemingly agree on at least one piece of parenting advice: Limit your children's use of technology. | true | Technology, bill gates, melinda gates, steve jobs | In August 2018, a number of social media users came across an image offering a purported newspaper clipping of an article entitled “Tech Billionaire Parenting” and wondered if the article, as well as the information contained within it, was genuine: This image presents a slightly paraphrased version of an article writ... |
11109 | Chrono Therapeutics' Smoking Cessation Technology Demonstrates Significant Reduction in Nicotine Cravings | Nicotine delivery system and smartphone app. Image: Chrono TherapeuticsThis news release provides an overview of a smoking cessation product developed by Chrono Therapeutics, and discusses its reported benefits in reducing nicotine cravings. The news release cites a clinical trial that involved 24 men, smoking at basel... | false | industry/commercial news releases | The news release fails to mention costs, and for a condition such as smoking, which disproportionately affects lower income populations, cost is crucial. The news release is quick to discard the value in nicotine patches and gum, which are available for under $50 at most drugstores. A “transdermal drug delivery device”... |
18135 | "The city of Brookhaven’s ordinance could cause the Pink Pony to close, thereby ""putting 300 Pink Pony employees out of work in this economy." | Pink Pony ad warns fight could cost jobs | mixture | Georgia, Legal Issues, Pink Pony, | "We couldn’t resist. The folks who run the Pink Pony Gentlemen’s Club recently paid for an ad in a community newspaper claiming several hundred people would be unemployed if a city of Brookhaven ordinance forced the strip club to shut its doors. Dancers. Bartenders. Even ""house moms."" We’ll get to the house moms in a... |
36232 | A photograph shows the bedroom of the sons of murdered civil rights leader Medgar Evers. | Is This the Bedroom of Medgar Evers’ Sons? | true | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On August 23 2019, Facebook user Steven Pokin shared a photograph along with a lengthy status update, claiming that it shows the bedroom that Medgar Evers’ sons slept in:This is where the two little sons of Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers slept. When he had this house built in Jackson, Mississippi, he had the window... |
16344 | Jeanne Shaheen Says Scott Brown co-sponsored legislation to let employers deny women coverage for mammograms. | Shaheen said Brown co-sponsored legislation to let employers deny women coverage for mammograms. The amendment, which Brown supported, was written loosely enough to allow a religious-conscience opt-out for almost any conceivable form of preventive care. But it didn't target mammograms, as Shaheen implied. And while the... | false | New Hampshire, Health Care, Legal Issues, Women, Jeanne Shaheen, | "The U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire has been awash in claims about abortion and women’s health issues in recent days. One claim by incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen caught our eye. Shaheen is facing a challenge from former Republican Sen. Scott Brown. In a news release from her campaign, Shaheen said: ""I hav... |
6630 | Trump directs government to revamp care for kidney disease. | President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday revamping care for kidney disease so more people whose kidneys fail can have a chance at early transplants and home dialysis, and others don’t get that sick in the first place. | true | AP Top News, Government regulations, Dialysis, Health, General News, Politics, Kidney disease, Donald Trump | Trump said his order was aimed at “making life better and longer for millions” by increasing the supply of donated kidneys, making it easier for patients to have dialysis in the comfort of their own homes and prioritizing the development of an artificial kidney. The changes won’t happen overnight because some initiativ... |
1928 | After knee repair, half can't play sports the same. | After knee reconstruction surgery, half of people who played sports both competitively and just for fun don’t perform as well as they used to, according to an Australian study. | true | Health News | "Of more than 300 men and women who had the surgery, a third stopped playing sports entirely and 68 who were still active said they didn’t play as well as before, researchers reported in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is the ligament inside the knee that helps keep the ... |
7488 | Arkansas gets donation of Trump-promoted anti-malarial drug. | A pharmaceutical company has given Arkansas 100,000 tablets of an anti-malarial drug that President Donald Trump is heavily pitching as a treatment for the coronavirus. | true | Malaria, Health, General News, Tim Griffin, Arkansas, Science, Virus Outbreak, Donald Trump | Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences on Wednesday announced the donation of hydroxychloroquine from Amneal. The pharmaceutical company has announced similar donations to other states, including Texas. Hydroxychloroquine has long been used to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lu... |
9436 | Spit test may diagnose, predict duration of concussion in kids | CNN’s story describes a study that identified microRNA markers in the saliva of children and teens who’ve sustained a concussion; five of these biomarkers could be used in an algorithm to predict whether or not the youngsters’ concussions symptoms would subside within four weeks of their injury. The story did a good jo... | true | concussions | The story provides no discussion of how much this test might cost if and when it comes to market. The story states that the five key microRNA markers allowed doctors to predict with 85% accuracy which 52 of the children would have prolonged symptoms, compared to 64% accuracy for the standard concussion assessment surve... |
1799 | Happiness study draws frowns from critics. | A high-profile 2013 study that concluded that different kinds of happiness are associated with dramatically different patterns of gene activity is fatally flawed, according to an analysis published on Monday which tore into its target with language rarely seen in science journals. | true | Health News | The new paper, published like the first in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, slams the research for “dubious analyses” and “erroneous methodology” and says it “conjured nonexistent effects out of thin air.” In the 2013 study, researchers had adults answer a 14-item questionnaire meant to sort them into ... |
22816 | "Portland Public Schools invites ""well-paid, well-fed school bureaucrats, administrators, teachers, other staff, non-needy students, affluent parents of students, and other adults, including on the other extreme the adult homeless, illegal aliens, fanatical Muslim terrorists, or drug addicted street people, to enjoy c... | Portland Public Schools invites all adults for a cheap $1.75 breakfast? | false | Oregon, Education, Rees Lloyd, | "Making the rounds on the World Wide Web is this entry from Rees Lloyd, an attorney who contributes to the blog of talk-radio host Victoria Taft. Lloyd is livid that West Sylvan Middle School (Portland Public Schools) is advertising low-cost breakfasts for students ($1) and adults ($1.75) regardless of their ability to... |
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