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3254 | At least 17 people treated after contact with rabid raccoon. | A Georgia health official says at least 17 people who were exposed to a rabid raccoon have started treatment. | true | Wildlife, Georgia, Animals, Rabies, Health, General News, Macon | News outlets report North Central Health District spokesman Michael Hokanson gave an update Monday to the “Raccoon or Kitten” event that took place Aug. 3 in Macon. People who attended the event were allowed to interact with the raccoon. It had been owned by a private citizen but was later given to a wildlife rehab cen... |
6653 | Native Hawaiians say telescope represents bigger struggle. | Walter Ritte has been fighting for decades to protect Native Hawaiian rights, inspiring a new generation of activists trying to stop construction of a giant telescope they see as representative of a bigger struggle. | true | AP Top News, General News, Hawaii, Lifestyle, Water rights, Mauna Kea, U.S. News, Science | In his early 30s, Ritte occupied a small Hawaiian island used as a military bombing range. Now at 74, he’s still a prolific protester, getting arrested this week for blocking a road to stop construction of the one of the world’s most powerful telescopes on Hawaii’s tallest peak, which some Native Hawaiians consider sac... |
18630 | "Joseph Levy Says indoor workers get ""less UV than outdoor workers, but they get more melanomas." | Are indoor workers more likely to get melanoma, despite lower UV than outdoor workers? | false | Oregon, Children, Health Care, Government Regulation, Public Health, Joseph Levy, | "Oregon lawmakers are pondering a bill that would prohibit teenagers from hopping into professional tanning beds, unless they have an order from a doctor saying it’s OK. House Bill 2896, which cleared the Oregon House, has bipartisan support and the staunch backing of public health and cancer specialists, who say that ... |
1562 | Endangered Hawaiian crow shows a knack for tool use. | An endangered crow species from Hawaii that already is extinct in the wild displays remarkable proficiency in using small sticks and other objects to wrangle a meal, joining a small and elite group of animals that use tools. | true | Science News | Scientists said on Wednesday that in a series of experiments the crow, known by its indigenous Hawaiian name ‘Alala, used objects as tools with dexterity to get at hard-to-reach meat, sometimes modifying them by shortening too-long sticks or making tools from raw plant material. “Tool use is exceedingly rare in the ani... |
41868 | Said the Justice Department's indictments last month of Republican Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter Jr. were the result of “long running, Obama era, investigations.” | President Donald Trump distorted the facts in a Labor Day tweet complaining about the Justice Department’s indictments last month of two of his earliest congressional allies, Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter Jr. | mixture | campaign finance laws, ethics, insider trading, | President Donald Trump distorted the facts in a Labor Day tweet complaining about the Justice Department’s indictments last month of two of his earliest congressional allies, Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter Jr.In the tweet, Trump described both cases as “long running, Obama era, investigations.” That’s wrong in C... |
3842 | New York inmates sue over prison crackdown on painkillers. | A group of inmates is suing the New York state prison system over its efforts to crack down on prescription drug abuse, saying they are being forced to live with chronic pain because some medications have become too difficult to get behind bars. | true | Chronic pain, Medication, Prisons, New York, Drug abuse, Prescription drugs, Lawsuits, General News | The lawsuit, filed in federal court Monday, takes aim at a policy launched in 2017 that requires an extra layer of approval by senior prison system medical staff before inmates can get prescriptions filled for commonly abused and overused drugs. In reality, those approvals are rarely given, the lawsuit said, leading to... |
9242 | Cocoa compound linked to some cardiovascular biomarker improvements | There have been so many stories about the possible health benefits of cocoa flavanol-derived chocolate over the years and so many studies purporting to document these benefits that it is useful to have a meta-analysis of the available clinical trial evidence. This release is based on a review of 19 randomized controlle... | mixture | Brown University,chocolate,cocoa flavanols | There is no discussion of costs in the release. We didn’t expect to see chocolate bar prices. But there are existing dietary cocoa flavanol products on the market that could easily have been referenced. Only 7% of the releases we’ve reviewed so far adequately address cost. It has to start somewhere. Each news release w... |
825 | Cash for trash: Indonesia village banks on waste recycling. | Indonesia’s crackdown on imported foreign waste has upset the village of Bangun, where residents say they earn more money sorting through piles of garbage than growing rice in once-lush paddy fields. | true | Environment | Overwhelmed by a spike in waste imports after China closed its doors to foreign garbage, Indonesia has tightened import rules and customs inspections, sending hundreds of tonnes of foreign waste back to their origin countries. Green groups praised the crackdown, but Bangun residents say restricting trash from countries... |
36582 | Various causes of death claimed specific numbers of American lives in 2018. | Are Deaths Listed in a ‘2018 Muslim Threat’ Tweet Accurate? | unproven | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On January 1, 2019, civil rights lawyer and podcast host Qasim Rashid, Esq. tweeted a purported breakdown of the so-called “Muslim threat” relative to other risks to Americans in 2018:2018 Recap of the “Muslim threat”Americans killed by: •Americans w/guns: 40,000 •Falling out of bed: 700 •Hit by bus: 260 •Lawnmowers: 7... |
11360 | New Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Early Promise | Overall, a solid job of reporting. Several criticisms: The headline “drug shows early promise” is more awestruck than the story dictates. Compare with WebMD’s cautious headline, “Drug May Reduce Plaque in Brains of Alzheimer’s Patients.” Period. May reduce plaque. That’s about all that can be said at this point. The ... | true | Alzheimer's,HealthDay | Not applicable. It’s understandable that costs wouldn’t be discussed in such early research. The story adequately described the responses of study participants at different dose levels. And it clearly established that “it’s by no means certain that reducing levels of amyloid plaque would stave off memory loss and other... |
38738 | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued a warning that manufacturers in China are making condoms into hair ties. | CDC Warns of Condoms Being Used as Hair Bands | false | Warnings | A fake news website is behind false reports that the CDC issued a warning about condoms being made into hairbands. This rumor isn’t a new one, either. We first investigated reports that Chinese manufacturers were making condoms into hair ties back in 2007. We cautiously reported that the story was true because we found... |
9332 | Tiny Device Is a ‘Huge Advance’ for Treatment of Severe Heart Failure | This story reported on results of a randomized clinical trial of a device called the MitraClip, used to repair the mitral valve in patients with heart failure. Results of the trial, called COAPT, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The story provided some very important details. For example, it addre... | mixture | heart failure | The story reported that “the device itself costs about $30,000, not counting the cost of the hospital and doctors: a surgeon, an interventional cardiologist and an echocardiologist, among others, all in the operating room.” An idea of the total cost would have been useful, since it’s likely to be far higher than $30k. ... |
17196 | "Premeditation, in murder cases like the Oscar Pistorius case, ""can be formed in the twinkling of an eye." | "Grace and Abrams wrangled over the definition of premeditated murder, with Grace arguing, ""premeditation can be formed in the twinkling of an eye."" Location, location, location. Legal experts told us it could in some parts of the United States, but it’s not as likely to meet South Africa’s heightened standards for p... | false | Criminal Justice, Legal Issues, Crime, PunditFact, Nancy Grace, | "On-air flare-ups between TV pundits trigger our spidey sense here at PunditFact, especially when the hot topic is a murder case gripping the world’s attention. So when Dan Abrams and Nancy Grace got into a spat over the Oscar Pistorius murder trial on Good Morning America, we had to dig in. Pistorius, the paralympian ... |
32475 | A mass ammunition shortage is expected because President Obama and the EPA shut down the Doe Run lead smelting plant | Rumors about a mass ammunition shortage supposedly caused by a forced closure of the Doe Run Lead Plant are old and inaccurate. | false | Politics Guns, ammunition, barack obama, EPA | In July 2016, an old, debunked e-mail chain asserting that the cost of ammunition was about to skyrocket due to President Obama and the EPA shutting down the last lead smelting plant in the U.S. was recirculated. The lengthy message is largely based off of an article published by Right Wing News in October 2013, which ... |
29093 | "E-mailed list features Dave Barry's ""16 Things It Took Me Over 50+ Years to Learn." | The full text of the original piece has been reproduced on a number of web sites. | mixture | Humor, dave barry, e-mail forwards, Laughable Lists | If we had to come up with a list of “e-mail truisms,” one of the entries would probably something along the lines of: “No list of funny headlines, humorous quips, witty observations, or the like will survive more than five forwardings in its original state.” It may sometimes take more than five forwardings, but “list c... |
28072 | Law enforcement officials said parents should be worried about sexual predators using gaming apps such as Fortnite to groom children. | What's true: Fortnite is among several apps popular among teenagers and children but is also used by would-be sexual predators for the purpose of grooming, New Jersey's Attorney General said in September 2018. What's false: Fortnite was not used by any of the men arrested in a high-profile September 2018 law enforcemen... | true | Politics, fortnite | In September 2018, a New Jersey-based law enforcement operation codenamed “Operation Open House” yielded 24 arrests of men alleged to have attempted to groom children for sex using mobile chat apps. The multi-agency sting operation, which involved state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies and hinged upon under... |
10525 | Heart attack victim a cool customer | "This is a story about a commercial method for cooling patients who have suffered cardiac arrest in an attempt to prevent brain damage. The story did not clearly define whom the treatment might benefit or how often the treatment is successful at providing benefit. Yet it found time to quote the CEO of the company makin... | false | "There was no information about the cost of this treatment. The story reported on one patient that by self report ""shouldn’t have made it"" and who related that doctors had told her that if she had not received the treatment she would have been ""dead or brain damaged"". However – the story provided no background info... | |
2744 | Medigus launches device to treat acid reflux without surgery. | Israeli medical device maker Medigus expects revenue of a few million dollars in 2014 as it begins to sell its flexible endoscope for the treatment of acid reflux. | true | Health News | Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is caused by abnormal regurgitation of fluids from the stomach into the esophagus. Patients who do not respond to treatment with drugs often undergo laparoscopic surgery. Medigus’ system enables treatment in an outpatient setting with no incisions. Its endoscope - a surgical tool ... |
7860 | U.S. economists win Nobel for work on climate change, innovation. | Americans William Nordhaus and Paul Romer, pioneers in adapting the western economic growth model to focus on environmental issues and sharing the benefits of technology, won the 2018 Nobel Economics Prize on Monday. | true | Environment | In a joint award that turned the spotlight on a rapidly shifting global debate over the impact of climate change, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the duo’s work was helping to answer basic questions over how to promote long-term, sustainable prosperity. Romer, of New York University’s Stern School of Busines... |
23982 | "Greg Abbott Says the EPA ""outsourced the scientific basis for its greenhouse gas regulation to a scandal-plagued international organization that cannot be considered objective or trustworthy." | Attorney General Abbott says EPA's endangerment finding based on outsourced science from scandal-plagued group | false | Environment, Energy, Legal Issues, Texas, Greg Abbott, | "Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general seeking re-election this year, announced a state challenge in February to a judgment that greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide endanger the health of Americans. At a Feb. 16 press conference, Abbott also said the Environmental Protection Agency, which issued the endangermen... |
29254 | The governor of Rhode Island signed an executive order allowing the federal government to confiscate people's firearms. | As ever, the thorniest problems in a free society often come down to balancing individual rights against the public good. How many children must die before we find a solution to gun violence? Which of our rights, if any, would we be willing to give up to do so? | false | Politics Guns, conservative daily post, Conservative Unite, gina raimondo | On 26 February 2018, Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island signed an executive order instructing state police to promptly respond to and investigate credible “red flag reports” identifying people who pose “significant danger of personal injury to themselves or others” in the state. The order further directs police, in... |
16539 | "Greg Abbott was ""charged with overseeing the state cancer research fund. But he let his wealthiest donors take tens of millions of taxpayer dollars without proper oversight. They showered Abbott with gifts and free vacations." | "Davis said Abbott was ""charged with overseeing the state cancer research fund. But he let his wealthiest donors take tens of millions of taxpayer dollars without proper oversight. They showered Abbott with gifts and free vacations."" There’s something here, but Davis leaves out substantive details. Abbott was on a bi... | mixture | Ethics, Health Care, Public Health, State Budget, Texas, Wendy Davis, | "In a TV ad unveiled Aug. 23, 2014, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis suggested sinister ties between her Republican opponent and a scandal-tinged Texas agency that funds cancer research. In the spot, a Fort Worth man identified as cancer survivor Manuel Alvarado says: ""When you’re battling cancer, you pray... |
5663 | Rebel attacks in eastern Congo kill several Ebola responders. | Rebels killed four Ebola response workers in an overnight ambush in eastern Congo, the World Health Organization said Thursday, warning that the attack will give the waning outbreak new momentum in what has been called a war zone. | true | AP Top News, International News, General News, Africa, Health, United Nations, Ebola virus | “We are heartbroken that our worst fears have been realized,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. It was by far the deadliest such attack in the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history, the United Nations health agency said. The dead included a member of a vaccination team, two drivers and a police officer. Many ... |
1002 | From poo to food: Kenyan toilet waste key for new animal feed. | Kenyan farmer Victor Kyalo’s chickens have doubled the number of eggs they are laying. The reason: Human excrement. | true | Environment | He is feeding them food from a Nairobi-based organics recycling company. Sanergy harvests waste from toilets it operates in a franchise network in Nairobi’s sprawling slums and feeds it to fly larvae, which become high-quality animal feed. Kyalo says his customers have noticed the difference in the past three weeks: ye... |
7603 | Italy nursing home ravaged by virus discloses 300 dead. | Italy’s biggest nursing home defended the measures it took to protect residents and staff from the coronavirus Wednesday amid a criminal investigation and family outrage over 300 deaths from January to April. | true | Criminal investigations, Italy, International News, General News, Health, Nursing homes, Virus Outbreak, Europe | Officials representing the Pio Albergo Trivulzio home in Milan denied claims from staff that management told them not to wear masks for fear of spooking residents. They said they followed guidelines at the time requiring masks only for symptomatic patients. The Trivulzio is just one of many nursing homes under investig... |
3238 | Milan hospital displays X-rays of women attacked by men. | A Milan hospital is exhibiting X-rays of women attacked by men to highlight what one doctor calls the “daily horror” of violence against women. | true | Health, General News, Violence, International News, Milan, Domestic violence, Europe | The San Carlo Hospital mounted the exhibit in its atrium to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which takes place on Monday. Patients’ anonymity was respected in putting the five X-rays on display, including one showing the large blade of a knife lodged in a woman’s abdome... |
22015 | "The Medicare proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would ""allow insurance companies to deny you coverage and drop you for pre-existing conditions." | Debbie Wasserman Schultz says Ryan Medicare plan would allow insurers to use pre-existing conditions as barrier to coverage | false | National, Corrections and Updates, Federal Budget, Health Care, Medicare, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, | "On the May 29, 2011, edition of CBS’ Face the Nation, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. -- recently named chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee -- criticized the proposal by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to make significant changes to how Medicare works. Currently, Medicare pays doctors and hospitals set fees ... |
7541 | Fauci says ‘rolling reentry’ of US economy possible in May. | The United States’ top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the economy in parts of the country could have a “rolling reentry” as early as next month, provided health authorities can quickly identify and isolate people who will inevitably be infected with the coronavirus. | true | Understanding the Outbreak, Health, Anthony Fauci, General News, United States, Politics, Business, Infectious diseases, Pandemics, Virus Outbreak, Economy | Dr. Anthony Fauci also said he “can’t guarantee” that it will be safe for Americans to vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 3. Rather than flipping a switch to reopen the entire country, Fauci said a gradual process will be required based on the status of the pandemic in various parts of the U.S. and the availability o... |
21600 | One in every five families in the state of New Jersey has a loved one with a mental illness, a serious mental illness, and today, we don’t care. | Sen. Codey says 1 in 5 New Jersey families has loved one with mental illness | true | New Jersey, Health Care, State Budget, Richard Codey, | "Gov. Chris Christie’s budget veto pen didn’t just hit big-ticket expenditures. Even small amounts – including $50,000 for a mental health awareness group – was trimmed from the state’s spending plan this summer. And state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) had plenty to say about it during a speech he gave July 11 on the Se... |
381 | Novartis faces shareholder criticism over drug prices at AGM. | Novartis’s shift into high-tech drugs won praise for providing patients with new options but criticism over prices that may run into the millions of dollars at the Swiss drugmaker’s annual general meeting on Thursday. | true | Health News | Shareholders at the event in Basel also approved Novartis’s planned spin-off of its Alcon eyecare unit, due for coming months, with investors with five Novartis shares due to receive one share of Alcon stock. Swiss shareholder group Actares said insurance systems are being “taken hostage” by high prices for life-saving... |
2188 | Malnutrition curses the children of Venezuela. | Last August, Francys Rivero, an unemployed single mother of four, feared for her baby’s life. Two months after his birth, even though she was breastfeeding him regularly, Kenai de Jesus wasn’t gaining weight. | true | Health News | “I feel like my heart is breaking,” Rivero, 32, told Reuters in an interview here in the capital of the western Venezuelan state of Lara. “I don’t know what’s wrong with my son.” She tried repeatedly to see nutritionists, but failed. One didn’t show up, another required a month-long wait. Desperate, Rivero attended a ... |
2203 | Congolese girl, 9, dies of Ebola in Uganda: hospital official. | A 9-year-old girl has died of Ebola in the East African nation of Uganda, a hospital official said, a day after she tested positive for the disease after crossing the border from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). | true | Health News | “It is true she died last night,” said the official, who asked not to be named. Uganda’s health minister said earlier on Friday that the girl, of Congolese origin, would be sent back to her country for treatment. The haemorrhagic disease has killed more than 2,000 people in a year-long outbreak in the Congo, and sparke... |
1394 | Actavis UK raised drug prices 12,000 percent, watchdog finds. | Drug maker Actavis UK broke competition law by raising prices of hydrocortisone tablets by more than 12,000 percent, Britain’s competition watchdog said in a provisional ruling on Friday. | true | Health News | Higher prices meant the tablets cost Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) about 70 million pounds ($87 million) last year, up from about 522,000 pounds previously, the CMA said. The company raised prices of 10 mg hydrocortisone tablets by more than 12,000 percent compared to the price they were sold at by another co... |
6542 | Cleanup of toxic pollution from River Raisin nearly finished. | Cleanup of a southeastern Michigan river segment that flows into Lake Erie is nearly complete, another step toward restoring environmental health to some of the most heavily polluted sites in the Great Lakes and their tributaries, officials said Wednesday. | true | Gary Peters, Michigan, Cameron Davis, Lakes, OH State Wire, Environment, IL State Wire, MI State Wire, Traverse City, WI State Wire, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wastewater, Pollution | Only a few weeks of dredging toxin-laced sediments remain before work will be completed in a 2.6-mile stretch of River Raisin that began nearly 20 years ago, said Cameron Davis, senior adviser with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The area was fouled with chemicals and heavy metals that flowed into the waterwa... |
9502 | New study shows promise of yoga in treating back pain | This story described a new study as showing it proved yoga was basically as good as physical therapy. That’s somewhat correct, but a key detail to this is defining what “good” means in numerical terms, which the story didn’t do. As it turns out, the results weren’t overwhelming: The people who were assigned to yoga or ... | false | back pain,yoga | The story does not discuss the costs of a set of yoga classes for a patient with chronic back pain. It would also be helpful to talk about whether insurers would reimburse patients for yoga in the same way they reimburse for prescription pain medications. Out of pocket costs may be greater for yoga than for PT, which m... |
35512 | Hand sanitizers gradually become less effective after their expiration date. | What's true: Hand sanitizers generally expire after two to three years of use and lose their effectiveness. What's undetermined: However, if the bottle is never opened and remains sealed, the alcohol inside would not have been exposed to air, which reduces effectiveness. Thus, the sanitizer may still be effective. | mixture | Medical, COVID-19 | Hand sanitizers were flying off grocery store shelves in early 2020 amid the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic, leading to shortages around the United States. While washing hands thoroughly and frequently with soap is the most highly recommended method of preventing the spread of the virus, many people were turning... |
10901 | A crystal ball for the spine | Is the ScoliScore genetic test of scoliosis progression risk a “tremendous advance forward,” as the company researcher quoted in this story claims, or is it “investigational” and in need of further study, as some major insurance companies have determined? Readers of this story get only the company line and none of the ... | false | Chicago Tribune | According to the Axial Biotech web site, the ScoliScore list price is almost $3,000. Why weren’t readers given this information? The omission of cost is particularly troubling for two reasons. One, because the ScoliScore is new, has yet to be extensively studied by independent experts, and has not been submitted for FD... |
11341 | Scientists claim to be close to anti-impotence cream more powerful than viagra | "The story touts ""a new cream that promises instant anti-impotence with no side effects."" We’re talking about a study in 10 rats. Supposedly the cream ""succeeded"" in 9 of them, although how anti-impotence ""success"" was measured in rats was not described. Even if this had been about 10 people we would have shrieke... | false | "It’s understandable that a story might not be able to discuss the costs of something that’s 10 years away from availability. What is not so understandable, however, is why they did the story now. The story simply stated, ""The cream succeeded in 9 out of 10 cases with the rats."" How is the ""success"" of an anti-impo... | |
31718 | "Obamacare"" mandates that no one over 75 will be given major medical procedures unless approved by an ethics panel." | Dr. Jill Vecchio, a Colorado radiologist, made a similar claim (captured in a YouTube video) that women over 74 years of age would not be able to receive mammograms under Obamacare. However, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes no such restriction; it echoes the United States Preventive Service Task ... | false | Medical, obamacare | Long before the passage of the health care reform legislation commonly known as “Obamacare,” and continuing long afterwards, rumors have circulated claiming that the legislation mandates the creation of ethics panels (or “death panels”) which will determine who is deemed worthy of medical treatment, or that patients ov... |
1832 | New York governor signs medical marijuana bill into law. | Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday he had signed legislation making New York the 23rd state to allow medical marijuana, calling his approach, which forbids smoking of the drug and includes strict limits, the “smartest” any state had taken so far. | true | Health News | Under the guidelines, access to the drug will be limited to patients with very serious and terminal illnesses, the drug can only be administered through vaporizing, oils and edibles, and Cuomo reserves the right to disband the program at any time. “This new law takes an important step toward bringing relief to patients... |
37850 | Ulta Beauty is paying its employees for the duration of the pandemic. | Is Ulta Paying Employees for the Duration of the COVID-19 Pandemic? | mixture | Fact Checks, Viral Content | On May 10 2020, Ulta Beauty became the subject of a viral Facebook post claiming that the chain continued paying their furloughed employees for the duration of the pandemic:In what appeared to be originally a friends-locked post, the alliteratively-named Barbara Blaisdell Bingham explained that Ulta was extremely suppo... |
25633 | "Kelly Loeffler has a ""long history of donating to abortion-on-demand Democrats." | Since 2006, of the more than $2 million in political contributions made by Loeffler, $16,600 has gone to Democrats or liberal causes, the rest to Republicans and conservative causes. The relatively little money Loeffler has given to Democrats doesn’t prove a connection to supporting abortion rights. Loeffler has been e... | false | Georgia, Campaign Finance, Doug Collins, | "In a special Senate election that features two prominent Georgia Republicans, Rep. Doug Collins claimed in a tweet that Sen. Kelly Loeffler has a ""long history of donating to abortion-on-demand Democrats."" Collins has a point. Over a period of years, Loeffler has made campaign contributions to Democrats who support ... |
35548 | A graphic shows contradictory CNN articles about hydroxychloroquine, published three months apart and co-authored by the same person. | “There’s a little bit of loosey-goosiness here in all this,” he told CNN. | false | Politics | One of the many political controversies surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 was U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated touting of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for treatment of the coronavirus disease, despite a lack of scientific studies and evidence demonstrating its effectiveness for that purpose. One it... |
32076 | The Amish don’t get autism because they do not vaccinate their children. | There are many factors that could explain apparent differences between the Amish population and the United States as a whole. These include a potential bias toward increased diagnosis in non-Amish communities, or the fact that the uniquely reduced genetic diversity of the Amish population plays a role. | false | Medical, amish, anti-vaccine, autism | Anti-vaccine advocates have, at least since the early 2000s, used the Amish — a group of insular individuals descended from Swiss Anabaptist immigrants who shun modern technology — as a piece of evidence that links autism to vaccines. This concept gained traction in 2005, when reporter Dan Olmstead conducted a a non-sc... |
18145 | "Robert Reich Says in Texas ""it's legal to shoot someone who's committing a ‘public nuisance’ under the cover of dark." | "Reich said that in Texas, ""it's legal to shoot someone who's committing a ‘public nuisance’ under the cover of dark,"" claiming that a recent acquittal hinged on prostitution, that prostitution was a form of public nuisance, and that therefore it’s legal to shoot people creating a nuisance. Legal experts and a lawyer... | false | Legal Issues, Texas, Guns, Robert Reich, | "Discussing the divide between states red and blue, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich recently said that Texans are allowed to shoot people who are causing a nuisance. ""If you want to use a gun to kill someone who’s, say, spraypainting a highway underpass at night,"" Reich wrote in a June 8, 2013, blog post at ... |
33690 | The personalities of the dwarf characters in Disney's animated film version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs represent the seven stages of cocaine addiction. | As for the original example, Walt Disney didn’t “invent” Snow White, of course — the film was based on the European version of that fairy tale as collected by the Grimm brothers over a century earlier. Disney did flesh the story out to feature film length, though, and he was the one who created names and distinctive pe... | false | Disney, disney, drugs, Films | Our fascination for associating wholesome, innocent icons of popular culture with hidden depravities and unsavory backgrounds seemingly knows no bounds. Thus we have tales that nature-loving pop singer John Denver was a Vietnam-era sniper, that genial children’s TV host Fred Rogers served as a Navy SEAL, that the actor... |
3346 | Florida hires first mental health coordinator for disasters. | Florida’s emergency management agency has hired a mental health expert to coordinate services after catastrophes. | true | Mental health, Health, Hurricane Michael, General News, Storms, Panama City, Florida, Hurricanes | Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis on Wednesday said that Darcy Abbott has been hired as Florida’s first mental health coordinator for disaster recovery. In the role, Abbott will help communities hit by disasters obtain mental health services. Florida Division of Emergency Management director Jared Moskowitz says Hurric... |
33199 | Photographs show a cache of weapons uncovered by the Coast Guard in Greece, disguised as furniture and headed for European refugee camps. | The smuggled arms had a compelling purported connection to Yavex USA and Fort Meyers, Florida in their September 2016 iteration, and some additional images were added to the original set. However, the original claim and images remained misrepresented, albeit with a novel hook inspiring American social media users to ag... | false | Fauxtography, 2015 refugees, furniture, hellenic coast guard | In September 2015, social media users in Europe and the United States debated the merits of accepting an influx of refugees from war-torn regions such as Syria. While some expressed sympathy and willingness to help, others fostered and spread rumors claiming asylum seekers were Islamic State operatives in disguise. An ... |
8104 | Libya confirms first coronavirus case amid fear over readiness. | Libya confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus on Tuesday, with years of violence leaving its healthcare system highly vulnerable. | true | Health News | The National Centre for Disease Control, which operates in areas controlled by both major sides in the Libyan conflict, gave no further details in its statement on the coronavirus case. However, doctors said the patient was in a hospital in Tripoli. Both the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, in the west... |
2050 | Health activists try to attract dentists to rural areas. | It’s a sacrifice some people make by living in the wide-open spaces: nobody to take care of their teeth. | true | Health News | Dentist Lance Knight examines a patient for photographers during a photocall to launch the new in store dental service at British supermarket Sainsbury's, in Manchester, northern England on September 15, 2008 REUTERS/Phil Noble A shortage of dentists in rural Kansas and other states has left residents with little to sm... |
10186 | Massage Therapy May Boost Immune System to Combat Cold, Flu | Man has deep tissue massage on the back.This news release from the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) encourages people to seek out massage therapists in order to fend off seasonal colds and flu, since regular massages “make the immune system stronger,” the release says. To support this point, the news release... | false | Association/Society news release | Since there was no mention of costs in this news release. It would have been helpful to readers to discuss the approximate cost of a massage session, which can vary widely depending on the region, therapist and setting. The Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota estimates the national average ... |
42010 | NYC To Ban Hot Dogs and Processed Meats To Improve Climate | Headlines shared widely on social media misleadingly tell readers New York City will “ban” hot dogs. A city spokesman told us a plan to phase out government purchases of processed meats and reduce purchases of beef “would not impact hot dogs” sold “at baseball games, street vendors, restaurants, etc.” | false | climate change, environment, | Headlines shared widely on social media misleadingly tell readers New York City will “ban” hot dogs. A city spokesman told us a plan to phase out government purchases of processed meats and reduce purchases of beef “would not impact hot dogs” sold “at baseball games, street vendors, restaurants, etc.”New York City rece... |
11037 | Hope for breast cancer patients | "The story reports on lapatinib (trade name Tykerb) – a tailored treatment for advanced Her-2/neu breast cancer. Several times in this piece this recently approved drug is called a ""breakthrough"". This is hyperbole and premature as this drug has not been studied in large numbers of women outside of clinical trials. T... | mixture | "The story should have included the cost of this new drug, which is $2,900/month and the fact that it is approved for use with another drug – capecitabine (Xeloda) – which costs about $1,500/month. The failure to include comments about the side effect profile of Xeloda is significant. The story does not mention if the ... | |
1743 | Fear, hope mark life inside Ebola center in Sierra Leone: Witness. | It’s moments like this that I fear most. A woman with Ebola is wandering around naked and screaming. A confused and potentially aggressive patient with a highly infectious, deadly disease — separated from me only by my yellow protective bodysuit. | true | Health News | I heard the commotion while I was working with patients in the High Risk zone, the area of the treatment center reserved for confirmed Ebola cases. The screaming woman had left High Risk and was heading for the Low Risk zone where Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) staff do our paper work. When I came outside, she lay down... |
27578 | A 2016 bill before the Kentucky legislature would have required men to get their wives' permission before obtaining a prescription for Viagra or other erectile dysfunction drug. | As expected, after being sent to committee on 16 February 2016, HB 396 never saw the light of day again, until it reappeared a year later, presumably initially driven by social media shares by people who did not realize the story was from 2016, not 2017. | true | Politics | In mid-February 2017, several online news outlets (including Fox59.com and NBC4i.com) published articles reporting that a bill introduced in the Kentucky legislature would require that every man seeking a prescription for Viagra or other erectile dysfunction drug be legally married, secure permission from his wife, con... |
8946 | Mailed HPV tests can help find women at-risk for cervical cancer, study finds | The release focuses on a recent “proof-in-principle” study that found it is feasible to use at-home testing kits to screen low income women with limited access to medical care for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which can lead to cervical cancer. The release could do more to clarify the sensitivity and specificit... | true | Cervical cancer,HPV testing,University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center | The release does not place a pricetag on HPV screening — which would include the test kit, analysis and follow-up clinical visit. However, the release does explicitly say that “there is more work to be done, such as identifying ways to make the self-collection process more efficient and cost-effective.” That acknowledg... |
39728 | A forwarded email encourages readers to “think before you donate” to non-profit groups. It makes a number of claims about the salaries of CEOs and the use of donor dollars. | """Think Before You Donate"" Email's Claims about Charities- Fiction!" | false | 9/11 Attack on America | This forwarded email makes outdated or false claims about which non-profit groups you should avoid. The efficiency and effectiveness of charitable groups is an important consideration for donors. But any claim that a non-profit group dedicates 100 percent of its donations to its mission is false. Every group has to pay... |
7021 | Poll: Young Americans overwhelmingly favor LGBT rights. | Young people in America overwhelmingly support LGBT rights when it comes to policies on employment, health care and adoption, according to a new survey. | true | Health issues, AP Top News, AP Politics, Health, Gender issues, Adoption, U.S. News, United States | The GenForward survey of Americans ages 18-30 found that support for those policies has increased over the past two years, especially among young whites. But relatively few of these young adults consider rights for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender to be among the top issues facing the United States... |
1571 | Your inhaler's watching you: drugmakers race for smart devices. | Makers of inhalers to treat asthma and chronic lung disease are racing to develop a new generation of smart devices with sensors to monitor if patients are using their puffers properly. | true | Health News | Linked wirelessly to the cloud, the gadgets are part of a medical “Internet of Things” that promises improved adherence, or correct use of the medication, and better health outcomes. They may also hold the key to company profits in an era of increasingly tough competition. Drugmakers believe giving patients and doctors... |
12084 | Private insurance companies in this country spend between 12 and 18 percent on administration costs. The cost of administering the Medicare program, a very popular program that works well for our seniors, is 2 percent. We can save approximately $500 billion a year just in administration costs. | "Sanders said, ""Private insurance companies in this country spend between 12 and 18 percent on administration costs. The cost of administering the Medicare program, a very popular program that works well for our seniors, is 2 percent. We can save approximately $500 billion a year just in administration costs."" Govern... | mixture | National, Health Care, Medicare, Bernie Sanders, | "Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said that switching to a single-payer ""Medicare for all"" health system would save billions of dollars in administrative costs. ""Private insurance companies in this country spend between 12 and 18 percent on administration costs,"" Sanders said on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sept. 17. ""The c... |
29182 | One-third of the caravan migrants have HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, or chicken pox. | What's true: Several migrants housed in Tijuana waiting to cross the border were diagnosed with tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS or chickenpox. What's false: According to news reports, among the roughly 6,000 migrants housed at a stadium in Tijuana, only three cases of tuberculosis, four cases of HIV/AIDS, and four cases of chic... | false | Politics, daily wire, honduran caravan | On 29 November 2018, a number of right-leaning websites published misleading headlines proclaiming that a whopping one-third of migrants who had traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border with a Central American caravan were suffering from serious communicable illnesses. Articles published by sites including Daily Wire and Lif... |
2043 | Teen birthrate hits new low amid overall drop. | The U.S. teen birthrate dropped to its lowest level in the seven decades government researchers have been tracking it, government researchers said on Tuesday. | true | Health News | Babies born to American teens aged 15 to 19 fell 6 percent to a record 39.1 births per 1,000, according to preliminary numbers released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decline cut across racial and ethnic lines, as birth rates for younger and older teens and for Hispanic, white, black, Ameri... |
13111 | "James Quintero Says that when San Francisco banned plastic grocery bags, ""you saw the number of instances of people going to the ER with things like salmonella and other related illnesses"" spike." | "Quintero said that when San Francisco banned plastic grocery bags, ""you saw the number of instances of people going to the ER with things like salmonella and other related illnesses"" spike. This declaration relied on a study that took a correlation between ER cases and San Francisco’s phased-in bag ban to declare ti... | false | Environment, Health Care, Public Health, Texas, James Quintero, | "Reused grocery bags made Californians sick, a conservative Texas analyst suggested. James Quintero, director of the Center for Local Governance at the Austin-based Texas Public Policy Foundation, brought up health implications of shoppers reusing bags during an Oct. 10, 2016, SXSW Eco panel discussion. ""There are hea... |
10440 | New migraine cure? Forehead lift surgery helps patients | This story suggests there may be a miracle cure for migraine headaches that has yet to make its way into the evidence base of the American Academy of Neurology 2007 guidelines on migraine headache. The newscast includes a brief interview with a single patient whose debilitating migraines (“something of a nightmare”) re... | false | "There is no mention of cost. The newscast accurately states that 57% of people who received facelifts reported complete relief from migraine. But it neglects to mention the average follow-up was one year (potentially important), and ignores altogether the patients in the sham surgery group—many of whom also got better... | |
24647 | In North Carolina, they used stimulus money to hire one new state worker. His job, apply for more stimulus funds from the taxpayers by the way of the federal government. | Boehner claims city uses stimulus money to hire someone to apply for more stimulus money | false | National, Economy, Stimulus, John Boehner, | "And now, the story of little Washington meets big Washington. In a tongue-in-cheek Web ad from House Republican leader John Boehner, the GOP ""releases the dogs on the money trail"" to find jobs created by the Obama-backed economic stimulus package. Ellie Mae, the GOP's job-sniffing bloodhound, found two things of int... |
25964 | Republican Party of Wisconsin Says “Democratic Mayors in some of Wisconsin's largest cities closed voting locations in April to cause chaos.” | Milwaukee and Green Bay, both led by Democratic mayors, operated just a fraction of their typical polling places in the April 7 election. But the decision to do so stemmed largely from coronavirus concerns and a shortage of poll workers. The Wisconsin GOP also failed to provide proof that the Democrats would’ve benefit... | false | Elections, States, Wisconsin, Republican Party of Wisconsin, | "As state and local officials gear up for a historic election in November, many haven’t forgotten the tumult surrounding Wisconsin’s spring contest. The April 7, 2020 election made national headlines as Republicans and Democrats sparred over whether to hold an in-person election in the middle of the coronavirus pandemi... |
14583 | The richest 80 people in the world own more wealth than the bottom half of the global population. | Sanders said that 80 people own as much as half the world’s population. The statement was in line with the latest Oxfam report available at the time Sanders spoke. The Oxfam analysis was based on a report from Credit Suisse and the Forbes list of billionaires. The exact number of billionaires might well be different fr... | true | Global News Service, Economy, Poverty, Bernie Sanders, | "Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign against economic inequality went global in a video for the One Campaign, a global AIDS and poverty advocacy group,. ""The issue of wealth and income inequality is the great moral issue of our time,"" Sanders said. ""It is the great economic issue of our time and the great politica... |
1719 | Styles differ but U.S. presidents make fitness a priority. | Whether the request was for a treadmill on Air Force One, an elliptical trainer by the White House pool, or a rower adjacent the Lincoln bedroom, when the Oval Office called, fitness trainer Ted Vickey answered. | true | Health News | As the former executive director of the White House Athletic Center during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Vickey served their fitness demands. While their styles differed, Vickey said each president made fitness a priority. “Both Clinton and Bush were big outdoor runners but Clinton would also lik... |
10153 | Urine Test May Help Predict Prostate Cancer | This is a story about a potential new test that may improve the ability to determine when a man with elevated circulating PSA levels has prostate cancer and perhaps better predict if the prostate cancer that a man has is aggressive or not. While mentioning in passing that additional studies are necessary to determine w... | true | Cancer,Screening,WebMD | Although the story included price estimates for prostate biopsy, it did not include a ball park estimate for the cost to assay for the gene fusion product discussed nor the costs of testing for PCA3, which is currently commercially available. The story did not quantify the benefit of using these markers to avoid unnece... |
8258 | Coronavirus found on cruise ship as more U.S. states report cases. | Twenty-one people aboard a cruise ship that was barred from docking in San Francisco have tested positive for coronavirus, U.S. officials said on Friday, as eight more states reported their first cases of the fast-spreading respiratory disease. | true | Health News | Vice President Mike Pence, who is running the White House’s response to the outbreak, said at a news conference that 19 crew members and two passengers out of 46 people tested so far on the Grand Princess ship had the virus. He said the vessel with about 3,500 passengers and crew would be taken to a non-commercial port... |
7555 | Official: US must move ahead with nuclear weapons work. | A top nuclear security official says the U.S. must move ahead with plans to ramp up production of key components for the nation’s nuclear arsenal despite the challenges presented by the coronavirus. | true | Nuclear weapons, Los Alamos, General News, Science, National security, New Mexico, Virus Outbreak, U.S. News | Federal officials have set a deadline of 2030 for increased production of the plutonium cores used in nuclear weapons. The work will be split between Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. At stake are jobs and billions of federal dollars to upgrade buildings or cons... |
10723 | Swedish Study Finds Surgery For Prostate Cancer Better Than Waiting | Great ending quote from an independent expert about how “there will always be questions, and an ongoing need to individualize therapy.” The story could have mentioned shared decision making as a solution here when men and their doctors are looking to “individualize” the care. We especially appreciate how the story was ... | true | Cancer,NPR | There was no discussion of costs. Costs would include treating the double digit rates of incontinence and erectile dysfunction in these younger men who do have surgery. The surgery may help them live longer, but many, especially since younger at time of surgery, live decades with these potential harms and folllowup cos... |
711 | Bird numbers plunge in U.S. and Canada with people to blame. | From grasslands to seashores to forests and backyards, birds are disappearing at an alarming rate in the United States and Canada, with a 29% population drop since 1970 and a net loss of about 2.9 billion birds, scientists said on Thursday. | true | Environment | People are to blame, the researchers said, citing factors including widespread habitat loss and degradation, broad use of agricultural chemicals that eradicate insects vital to the diet of many birds, and even outdoor hunting by pet cats. “Birds are in crisis,” said Peter Marra, director of the Georgetown Environment I... |
26494 | Facebook post Says CEOs got advance notice of COVID, then resigned to dump stock. | The post listed 14 companies. But only two had CEOs who stepped down from their posts, and left their companies, since the coronavirus first surfaced in China. CEOs can resign for any number of reasons, including normal succession planning and mandatory retirement ages, or because of board pressure over subpar performa... | false | Corporations, Ethics, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "In late March, several senators faced angry questions about stock sales they made in the days following an intelligence briefing on the coronavirus, and before spreading panic over the virus pummeled U.S. markets. Now there are suspicions online that certain powerful people were tipped off to the threat of the coronav... |
13584 | "The Clinton Foundation ""took steps that went above and beyond all legal requirements and, indeed, all standard requirements followed by every other charitable organization." | "Clinton said the Clinton Foundation ""took steps that went above and beyond all legal requirements and, indeed, all standard requirements followed by every other charitable organization."" The law does not require the Clinton Foundation to disclose donors or roll back foreign donations, but the disclosure requirements... | mixture | National, Ethics, Transparency, Hillary Clinton, | "Hillary Clinton dismissed criticism of the Clinton Foundation for creating the appearance of conflicts of interest for the State Department she led, arguing that the nonprofit has actually been more transparent and ethical than was required. CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Clinton Aug. 24 about Donald Trump’s charge that ... |
15862 | When you have 8,000 veterans a year committing suicide, then you have a serious problem. | Rate, not just number, helps explain vet suicide risk | true | Georgia, Public Health, Veterans, Johnny Isakson, | "Georgia’s senior U.S. senator took control of the U.S. Senate Veteran Affairs Committee in January, and within a month, had bipartisan support for a bill aimed at improving mental health care for veterans. Johnny Isakson noted the broad support for the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention For American Veterans Act in an Assoc... |
24554 | "Van Jones ""is an avowed, self-avowed radical revolutionary communist." | Glenn Beck says Van Jones is an avowed communist | false | Environment, National, Pundits, Glenn Beck, | "Radio and TV political commentator Glenn Beck has spent weeks detailing what he says is a web of Obama administration officials with socialist or communist ties. And Exhibit A in the Beck argument has been Van Jones, Obama's so-called green jobs czar (his actual title was special adviser for green jobs at the Council ... |
7679 | WHO says Ebola area contained but Congo needs long-term support. | The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is now concentrated in two areas and could be stopped by September, but the country also needs help tackling its broader health problems, the head of the World Health Organization said on Thursday. | true | Health News | The outbreak, the second worst in history, is believed to have killed 587 people in a region beset by violence and poverty. A rapid international response has so far stopped the disease spreading into neighboring countries. “We have averted a much larger outbreak,” WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus Adhanom told a news confe... |
26593 | “Australia Closing Borders in a few hours for 6-months” | Australia has banned entry to non-Australian residents and citizens and their immediate families. Government officials have said the coronavirus outbreak and related disruptions in Australia could last at least six months. Officials say the travel ban will remain in effect until it’s safe to lift, but have not given a ... | mixture | Immigration, Public Health, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "The coronavirus pandemic has prompted temporary border closures around the globe. Is Australia closing its borders for six months, as some online posts suggest? It’s possible, but that hasn’t been determined. ""Australia Closing Borders in a few hours for 6-months,"" said the headline of a March 20 post on sydneynews.... |
31400 | A man was hospitalized after a fidget spinner became lodged in his anus. | No “local media reports” from Boise or Louisville indicated that any incident involved a fidget spinner lodged in anyone’s anus. These highly sharable stories are a perfect example of regional fake news, where standard garden-variety hoaxes are geo-targeted to increase social media traffic and engagement. | false | Junk News, fidget spinner, focus times, foreign journal | In May 2017, fidget spinners — a stress-relieving toy that consists of a ball bearing with metal prongs that can be spun and flicked, and which supposedly helps with mental focus — turned into the season’s trend, with versions of the plastic or metal gadgets selling for thousands of dollars online. Fake news and hoaxes... |
4640 | Mentally ill man acquitted of ’96 fatal attack on nuns dies. | A mentally ill man acquitted of killing two nuns in Maine in 1996 and severely injuring two other nuns has died. | true | Health, U.S. News, Lou Gehrigs disease, Maine | The Kennebec Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2uirMzu ) the state Department of Health and Human Services said in a letter that 58-year-old Mark Bechard died Sunday in Freeport. The department said Bechard was recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and had experienc... |
27153 | Three cats in Wyoming were diagnosed with the bubonic plague. | We contacted the Wyoming Health Department seeking more information about the recent cases involving cats, but did not hear back prior to publication. | true | Medical, bubonic plague | Officials in Wyoming warned residents on 4 January 2019 about the dangers of bubonic plague after confirming that a third cat in the state had been diagnosed with the disease within a six-month period. The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), though, added that no humans have been diagnosed with the plague, which is cha... |
10615 | Cord blood stem cells help meet minority marrow needs | Tighter government climate regulations by 2025 could wipe up to $2.3 trillion off the value of companies in industries ranging from fossil fuel producers to agriculture and car makers, an investor group warned in a report. | false | Rules aimed at lowering carbon emissions are expected to accelerate in the coming years as countries scramble to meet obligations under the 2015 Paris climate agreement limiting global warming. Any abrupt policy shifts risk severely disrupting current investment strategies, U.N.-backed Principles of Responsible Investi... | |
10269 | Gene Holds Hope for a Blindness Cure | "Leber’s congential amaurosis is a rare, inherited condition that causes impaired vision from birth that progressively worsens throughout childhood resulting in blindness in adulthood, between 20 to 30 years of age. Currently there is no cure or effective treatment. Two small, preliminary investigations of a novel gene... | true | "Costs are not discussed but it is understandable that they might not be known after an experiment on only 6 people. The article doesn’t report much in the way of quantitative data and results. The article could have included additional detail about the specific results. The findings that are presented are somewhat ove... | |
7596 | State boosts care worker pay; demand at food pantries surges. | Rhode Island is committing $8.2 million to boost pay and help retain workers in the state’s nursing homes, group homes and other congregate care facilities during the coronavirus pandemic, the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday. | true | Rhode Island, Health, General News, Providence, Nursing homes, Virus Outbreak, Gina Raimondo | The Workforce Stabilization Loan Program is expected to benefit more than 10,300 workers who make less than $20 per hour at 164 facilities dedicated to caring for the elderly, people with developmental disabilities, substance-use disorders and at-risk youth. “Once again, Rhode Island saw a critical need caused by the C... |
9887 | HPV test more sensitive than Pap, questions remain | Questions remain – even though a large review was done to try to decide if women should get more than the typical cervical cancer screening, known as a Pap test. This story does justice to the sometimes volatile topic of screening for cancer by laying out carefully what reviewers found when they looked at four differen... | true | Reuters Health,Screening,women's health | This story does not mention the cost of any procedure, nor does it tackle the societal cost of changes in screening frequency or method. The story explains the potential benefit, if more-sensitive testing for the virus turns out to prove itself effective in reducing deaths from cervical cancer. The story explained the ... |
2826 | FDA rejects Amarin appeal on Vascepa trial design, shares slump. | Amarin Corp Plc’s shares fell more than 26 percent after U.S. health regulators rejected a preset testing process that was critical to the company seeking broader use of its blood fat-lowering drug. | true | Health News | The Irish drugmaker said it planned to appeal the decision. The company may have to drop its bid to treat a wider population — for which it is currently conducting a large, multi-year study — if it doesn’t succeed, the company said in a conference call. “We see a low probability of successful appeal and ultimate approv... |
28681 | The federal government passed a law permitting police officers to shoot dogs if they bark or move. | What's true: A federal court ruled that the shooting of two dogs by police was justified. What's false: While the court's decision may be cited as precedent in similar cases, no portion of it could reasonably be construed as broad license for police officers to shoot any or all dogs encountered on the job. | mixture | Politics, dogs | A 26 December 2016 article published by the Dogington Post reported that a federal court ruling then-recently allowed for police across the United States to shoot dogs if they “move” or “bark” when an officer enters a home: A ruling by the 6th Circuit Federal Court in Michigan last week gave police nationwide the autho... |
35460 | Lowe's was giving $25 million in grant money to minority-owned businesses reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the founder of Home Depot gave millions to U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign. | What's true: The CEO of Lowe's announced that the company is offering $25 million in grant money for minority-owned businesses trying to reopen amid the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. Also, Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, gave millions to Trump's 2016 campaign. What's false: The meme gave the false... | true | Politics | In early June 2020, a meme comparing two popular U.S. home improvement chains spread across social media: The facts presented are true, but some context was missing. It’s true that Lowe’s has created a $25 million grant for minority-owned small businesses trying to reopen after being forced to close due to the COVID-1... |
37493 | Cities and states have banned reusable shopping bags to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Are Bans on Plastic Shopping Bags Being Reversed Because of COVID-19? | mixture | Fact Checks, Politics | Citing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, at least three states took steps to walk back bans on plastic shopping bags, while environmental advocacy groups accused the plastics industry of seizing on the virus for their own purposes.In late March 2020, Massachusetts and New Hampshire suspended their state bans on the ... |
2362 | Bill signed allowing surprise inspections of Arizona abortion clinics. | Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Tuesday signed into a law a bill allowing state health authorities to conduct surprise inspections of abortion clinics without first obtaining a warrant, handing another victory to abortion foes. | true | Health News | The Republican-backed bill, which gained final legislative approval from the state Senate last week, removes a provision from state law requiring a judge to approve any spot inspections conducted at the nine clinics in Arizona licensed to perform abortions. No other medical facilities in the state require such a warran... |
324 | Mozambicans look to God as cyclone deaths rise. | Worshippers gathered at battered churches in the Mozambican port of Beira on Sunday, praying for divine protection as the death toll crept up from a cyclone and floods around southern Africa. | true | Environment | “We asked Jesus to protect us, so that this does not happen again,” said congregant and survivor Maria Domingas, 60, who saw trees crashing into her house and water filling her bedroom. Cyclone Idai hit Beira, on the Indian Ocean, with winds up to 170 kph (105 mph), before barrelling inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi, flat... |
5557 | 3 people diagnosed with meningitis in North Dakota. | North Dakota health officials say three people have been diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis in the past couple of months. | true | Meningitis, Health, General News, North Dakota, United States | The North Dakota Department of Health said Saturday that two of those cases have been confirmed by laboratory testing. Meningococcal meningitis is rare in North Dakota and in the United States. Before this year, the last cases reported in North Dakota were in 2014. Meningococcal meningitis is a severe infection of the ... |
9837 | Treatment for Blood Disease Is Gene Therapy Landmark | We were struck by how well the story was organized, structured and written. Very easy to follow. The use of viral vectors (in this case and adenovirus) to deliver missing genes to patients with genetic disorders has been attempted for many years. Hemophilia Type B is a genetic debilitating disorder caused by an inabili... | true | New York Times | The story does a good job noting the possible costs of this approach ($30,000 for a single treatment) and places it in the context of current costs ($300,000 annually). With an estimated incidence of hemophilia B at about 5 per 100,000 males, the cost of treating the disease worldwide is a important piece of the story.... |
36932 | Texas Senator Ted Cruz had affairs with five different women, including campaign staffers, before he ran for president in 2016. | Ted Cruz Had Affairs with 5 Women | unproven | Politics | There’s no credible proof to back up rumors about a Ted Cruz sex scandal. Rumors about Ted Cruz’s alleged mistresses started with the National Enquirer in late March as Cruz was locked in a bitter fight with Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination. The story, which appeared under the headline “Shocking Claims:... |
5246 | Rate increase approved for addiction treatment centers. | The Executive Council approved an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates Wednesday for residential addiction treatment providers, who had warned that they might have to eliminate beds and reduce services despite the ongoing opioid crisis. | true | Health, Medicaid, Addiction treatment | The drug and alcohol treatment centers had been getting more money since 2014, when the state expanded its Medicaid program by using federal money to put people on private health plans that paid more. But in reauthorizing the program for five years, the state is switching to a managed care model with lower reimbursemen... |
31396 | "Monica Lewinsky's son ""David"" was found dead in Central Park." | DISCLAIMER: America’s Last Line of Defense is a satirical publication that uses the imagination of liberals to expose the extreme bigotry and hate and subsequent blind gullibility that festers in right-wing nutjobs. We present fiction as fact and our sources don’t actually exist. Names that represent actual people and ... | false | Uncategorized, death hoax, fake news, monica lewinsky | On 16 May 2017, TheLastLineOfDefense.org published two articles appearing to report that Monica Lewinsky’s son, “David”, had been reported missing in New York, and subsequently found dead in Central Park: The body of Monica Lewinsky’s son, David, was found in Central Park just hours after he was discovered to be missin... |
2896 | Long-term efficacy of Chelsea drug may pose problems for FDA. | A treatment developed by Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd for a rare type of low blood pressure is presenting problems for U.S. drug reviewers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. | true | Health News | A review, posted on the FDA’s website on Friday, comes ahead of a meeting on January 14 of outside medical experts who will discuss the drug and recommend whether it should be approved. The FDA generally follows the advice of its advisory panels. The drug, droxidopa, is designed to treat neurogenic orthostatic hypotens... |
34331 | Female athletes competing at the Olympics are getting pregnant just so they can abort the baby and by so doing enhance their performance through hormone doping. | We cannot, however, conclusively prove or disprove the existence of covert athletic research or practices allegedly performed by countries behind the Iron Curtain. | unproven | Politics Sexuality, Moral Outrage, olympics | Editor’s note: Snopes initially published an overview of this claim on 12 February 2002. Renewed interest in the claim following Russia’s expulsion from the 2018 Olympics drove us to dig deeper. While our rating remains unchanged from 2002, we present new research and renewed skepticism in this updated version of the p... |
8758 | FDA urges more caution over TNF blocker infections. | U.S. health regulators ordered stronger warnings for prescription drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and other conditions on Thursday after dozens of patients contracted severe fungal infections and died. | true | Health News | The so-called TNF blocker medications include Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade, Abbott Laboratories Inc’s Humira, UCB SA’s Cimzia and Amgen Inc and Wyeth’s Enbrel, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Current warnings “must be upgraded to strongly warn doctors to consider” the possibility of fungal infections in p... |
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