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11027 | Hysterectomy, a better way | "This story reports on the tendency for women to still get abdominal hysterectomy in spite of the fact that there are less invasive alternatives available. This story does a good job of highlighting this problem, however this story is limited in its focus only on the laparoscopic versus abdominal hysterectomy decision.... | false | "Although the story theorizes that the cost of laparoscopic surgery would be less than abdominal hysterectomy because of the reduced hospital stay, no further information is provided. This is not adequate information on costs. Furthermore, there are even cheaper non-surgical alternatives such as medication, IUD, and ab... | |
8871 | US Drug Sales Grew at Slowest Rate Since 1961-IMS. | Sales of prescription drugs in the United States grew by just 3.8 percent in 2007, marking the lowest growth rate since 1961, according to data compiled by IMS Health RX.N. | true | Health News | Total U.S. prescription drug sales reached $286.5 billion last year with slowing growth blamed on factors including patent expirations of lucrative medicines that opened the door to cheaper generic versions. Other reasons cited by IMS in its annual U.S. Pharmaceutical Market Performance Review were fewer new product ap... |
33831 | Pull tabs from aluminum cans have special redemption value for time on dialysis machines. | Next time someone asks you to donate a few pull-tabs for a good cause, donate a few facts instead. You’ll be doing everyone a favor. | false | Business, Redemption Rumors | A legend this good-hearted should be true. But it’s not. And a lot of really nice people end up sadly disappointed when they eventually discover all their hard work pretty much went for naught. Pull tabs have no special value that makes them redeemable for time on dialysis machines, or indeed which make them worth far ... |
25903 | The United Nations’ “new world order” agenda will create one world government with one world military and the end of national sovereignty. | A spokesperson at the U.N. confirmed the photo in the Facebook post was fake. The document depicted in the photo references two action plans from the U.N., but distorts the substance of those plans. | false | Environment, Climate Change, Economy, Viral image, | "A May 9 Facebook post is claiming that the United Nations is planning to create ""one world government"" by 2030. Under the vision, the post says, private property is banned and family units are destroyed. The post shares a photo of what looks like a document titled ""New World Order UN Agenda 21/2030."" It includes a... |
37613 | If you make $50,000/year, $36 of your taxes goes to food stamps. $4,000 goes to corporate subsidies. | ‘If You Make $50,000/Year, $36 of Your Taxes Goes to Food Stamps, $4,000 Goes to Corporate Subsidies’ | false | Fact Checks, Viral Content | A February 14 2020 tweet about “socialism” and a putative $50,000 wage earner paying $36 in tax towards food stamps and $4,000 towards corporate subsidies went wildly viral, appearing in screenshots on Facebook and discussion forums in the following days:So, you hate socialism, ya say?If you make $50,000/year, $36 of y... |
10456 | Ibuprofen may be better than prescription for kids with breaks | This story about a study on pain relief for kids with broken arms is essentially accurate, yet it fails to convey key clinical implications. The study and story both conclude that ibuprofen is about as effective a pain reliever as a more powerful narcotic combination drug, acetaminophen/codeine, while producing fewer u... | true | "Ibuprofen costs about a dime per pill, the acetaminophen/codeine combo around a dollar [both vary with dose, quantity and source]. The story makes a brief reference to the price difference, saying the ""cheap, over-the-counter"" drug was safer and as effective. The story therefore earns a satisfactory rating, but just... | |
8547 | Turkey's fight against coronavirus fails to heal divisions, opponents say. | President Tayyip Erdogan has evoked Turkey’s war of independence in calls for unity against the coronavirus, but opposition parties say their exclusion from fund-raising efforts and the detention of government critics is instead fuelling division. | true | Health News | The government’s initial response to the outbreak appeared to have public support. A survey by pollster Metropoll on Wednesday showed a strong rise in Erdogan’s approval rating to 55.8% in March, when the first cases emerged in Turkey. But more than 200 people have been arrested for social media posts on the pandemic a... |
10070 | M.D. Cheats Death, Stands Up To Own Cancer | Few people could argue that adopting a healthy lifestyle by eating a diet full of fruits and vegetables, getting enough exercise and reducing stress, are all positive things that one can do to improve our overall wellbeing. Undoubtedly these things will make us feel better, but will they protect us from getting cancer?... | mixture | "It is not necessary for the story to discuss the costs of such common items, however it would have been nice if the story had mentioned that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables could be more expensive than the traditional Western diet. The story does not attempt to quantify the benefits of a healthy diet in te... | |
3005 | Arizona governor to close prison, calls for veteran tax cut. | Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday said he is renaming the state Department of Corrections to highlight a new focus on rehabilitation and closing the oldest state prison in a move that will save nearly $275 million over three years. | true | Arizona, Prisons, Health, General News, Doug Ducey | The Republican governor highlighted the moves in his State of the State address before a joint session of the state House and Senate. The prison system will now be called the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry and corrections officers will get another raise, following up on a 10% increase they got la... |
10327 | Lap Band Surgery Benefits Very Obese Adolescents | This news release summarizes an Australian study of the effect of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery (placing an adjustable silicone band around the top part of the stomach) on 21 severely obese adolescents. The release states that two-thirds of the teens lost significant amounts of weight for up to five y... | mixture | University news release | The cost of this surgical procedure is missing in action in this release. This is a problem, because costs in the US, as of 2015, average more than $14,000. We give this a tepid “satisfactory.” The release specifies the range of BMI loss for individuals in the study but never gets around to explaining what BMI is or ho... |
28450 | Louisiana will evict elderly people from nursing homes because Medicaid funds ran out. | What's true: The state threatened nursing home residents with eviction in the midst of a budget crisis. What's false: Nursing home residents will get to stay in their homes — but other budget cuts will be made. | mixture | Politics, budget, louisiana, nursing homes | In early May 2018, news stories began cropping up reporting that thousands of nursing home residents in Louisiana could soon be evicted. The stories were accompanied by distressing images of frail elderly people packing up and preparing to leave their care facilities, and their alarming nature prompted some readers to ... |
7323 | Premier infuriated by Trump, says Canada helped US amid 9/11. | The premier of a Canadian province that sheltered thousands of stranded American airline passengers after the 9/11 attacks questioned the humanity of U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday after Trump banned the export of N95 protective masks to Canada. | true | Health, General News, Donald Trump, Virus Outbreak, Canada, United States | The conservative leader of another province compared it to one family member feasting while letting another one starve. And yet another premier said it reminded him of 1939 and 1940, when Canada was part of the fight against global fascism while the United States sat out the first years. Canadians across the country ex... |
10623 | The furor over antidepressants | "This story reports on an FDA panel's recommendation to extend the black-box warning on suicide risk for anti-depressants to young adults ages 18 to 24. The current warning only applies to children and adolescents under the age of 18. This story does a good job of explaining why the panel is recommending this warning a... | true | "Because this story reports on harms of antidepressants, a discussion of costs is not necessarily applicable. Although the story does mention that antidepressants were associated with four extra ""suicidal events"" per 1,000 people treated with antidepressants, the story should have provided more context for these numb... | |
10272 | ArginMax says its studies supports its effect on libido | "This story was about a product that is sold as a means for improving libido. It included content about many of the criteria that are important in a story making health related claims. Although it didn’t give any details about the other options available to treat ""sagging libido,"" it did provide a balanced report abo... | true | "The story included the costs for a one-month supply of this product; it did not, however, mention how long an individual would need to consume this product before experiencing benefit. The story was a little vague in the way it quantified the benefits of treatment, mentioning the proportion of people using the product... | |
26744 | “The State of Florida has announced measures that all workplaces with 10 employees or more are to have paid mandatory leave to avoid the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus starting on March 6, 2020. All schools are to close for 2 weeks also from March 6th.” | Florida is not shutting down schools and businesses for two weeks. Anyone who has traveled to countries including China, Iran, Italy or South Korea in the past 14 days needs to “self-isolate for 14 days,” according to the Florida Department of Health. | false | Education, Florida, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "In Florida, as of March 5, two residents and one non-resident have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Five more people infected abroad were brought back to the state. Nearly 250 others are being monitored, according to the Florida Department of Health. However, that doesn’t mean... |
8502 | U.S. sailor from coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier dies after contracting virus. | A U.S. Navy sailor died on Monday after contracting the coronavirus aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose captain was fired after warning his crew would die unnecessarily unless strong action was taken. | true | Health News | The sailor, the first active-duty U.S. servicemember to die from coronavirus complications, was admitted to intensive care on April 9 after being found unresponsive in his quarters. The sailor had tested positive exactly two weeks ago on March 30, the Navy said. “I am keenly aware of the dedication and commitment of ou... |
37525 | Disinformation purveyors and those who follow them are adopting the perspective that it is better to kill off millions of Americans than sacrifice the economy. | The ‘Fundamental Problem’ of the ‘2.5% of the Population Which is Generally Expensive to Maintain and Not Productive’ Tweet Controversy | true | Fact Checks, Viral Content | "Viral comments and debates in mid-March 2020 included direct arguments in favor of leveraging COVID-19 deaths as an economic bulwark, often punctuated by screenshots of a purported tweet by San Diego, California lawyer Scott McMillan in which he proposed a secondary “benefit” to increased mortality in at-risk groups d... |
10829 | Promising new blood test is first of its kind to detect liver scarring | The release is an overview of a recent journal article that reports findings on a new blood test that detects liver fibrosis — or scarring of the liver — based on differences in “DNA methylation.” The release says the new technique can also detect the severity of the fibrosis in patients. The release does not, however,... | false | Academic medical center news release,Screening tests | The technique is likely not at the stage of commercial availability so costs would be uncertain. Still, cost isn’t mentioned at all, even in an abstract way. Could this be comparable to the cost of existing diagnostic tools? Cheaper? More expensive? There’s still much work to do to demonstrate the value of this test. T... |
3631 | Man bitten by rabid bat in southern Oregon home. | Officials say a west Medford man was bitten by a rabid bat July 16 after he found it flopping around in his home. | true | Rabies, Health, General News, Oregon, Bats, Medford | The Mail Tribune reports the unidentified man has started rabies shots and is not expected to suffer from the virus. Jackson County Public Health Division manager Jackson Baures says the man had found the bat and was restraining his dog while trying to remove the bat when it bit him in the hand. The bat was sent to Ore... |
41013 | A San Diego biotech company is developing a Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with Duke University and National University of Singapore. | This is correct. The company, Arcturus Therapeutics, announced on 4 March 2020 that it would be working on a vaccine with DukeNUS Medical School in Singapore. | true | online | Doctors in India have been successful in treating coronavirus with a combination of drugs (Lopinavir, Retonovir, Oseltamivir along with Chlorphenamine) and are going to suggest the same medicine globally. India’s ministry of health has advised that the anti-HIV drugs, Lopinavir and Retonovir, are used in some groups of... |
8023 | France moves patients from swamped hospitals as death toll climbs. | France used two high-speed trains and a German military plane to move more than three dozen critically ill coronavirus patients on Sunday to ease the pressure on overwhelmed hospitals in eastern France. | true | Health News | The Grand Est region was the first in France to be hit by a wave of coronavirus infections that has rapidly moved westwards to engulf the greater Paris region, where hospitals are desperately adding intensive care beds to cope with the influx. The number of coronavirus deaths in France since March 1 climbed 13% to 2,60... |
10714 | Study cites new link between artery plaque and birth control pills | The article does a competent job of conveying findings about a potential link between some birth control pills and arterial plaques in a small population study. The article includes necessary information about the preliminary nature of the findings and the shortcomings of the research methodology. The crucial question ... | true | The cost of the treatment is not necessary or particularly useful in the context of this article. The relevant question here is the quantification of harms. The article reports a 20 percent to 30 percent increase in prevalence of plaques for every 10 years of taking birth control pills. But it does not translate this i... | |
9471 | A New Drug Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Cancer | People with heart disease and cancer, along with physicians, are bombarded almost daily with the onslaught of novel, eye-poppingly expensive, and ever “promising” new ways to treat or prevent these life-threatening disorders. Because their benefits and potential harms are so often barely known, and because their impact... | mixture | Canakinumab,cancer,heart attack,Ilaris | The story makes clear enough that far more must be done at the bench and bedside to bring this drug into first line use, even for subsets of people who already have had heart attacks or who have cancer. One reason is the $200,000 per year price tag already in place for the drug’s use in some rare autoimmune disorders t... |
11262 | Studies Show Oral Testosterone Safe and Efficacious in Long-term Management of Hypogonadism | This news release from the American Urological Association reports phase 3 trial results of an oral testosterone replacement therapy for male hypogonadism, a condition in which the body doesn’t produce enough testosterone, sperm, or both. Drug developer Lipocine Inc. anticipates that its LPCN 1021 testosterone formula ... | mixture | Association/Society news release | The cost of this would-be product were not addressed even though it is under review by the FDA and potentially months away from approval. The news release doesn’t quantify potential benefits of oral testosterone therapy. It barely mentions why it might surpass one currently available form, topical products, which carry... |
8764 | Cancer, diabetes leave fingerprints in blood, serum. | Diseases such as cancer and diabetes leave “fingerprints” in the serum and blood plasma of patients and these may provide a valuable and non-invasive diagnostic tool in time to come, according to a Chinese study. | true | Health News | In an article published in the latest issue of Cell Research, the Chinese researchers described how they found such altered molecular biomarkers, called microRNAs, to be stable in the serum and blood of people who were ill. “This is a revolutionary finding, this is the first time we have been able to demonstrate... |
2195 | Firefighters in Bolivia lose hope of taming blazes as burned area doubles. | Bolivian volunteer firefighters, exhausted from battling blazes sweeping rapidly across the country’s lowlands, are starting to lose hope and retreat from the front lines of some infernos in the drought-stricken region. | true | Environment | The fires this year are Bolivia’s worst in at least two decades, with the size of burned land across the country nearly doubling in under three weeks, destroying swaths of biodiverse forest and ranches and farms that sustain thousands of people. In the dusty cattle ranching town of Concepcion, despite nearly two months... |
7334 | Asia Today: India overtakes China in number of cases. | India’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed China’s, with the Health Ministry on Saturday reporting a spike to 85,940 infections and 2,752 deaths. | true | Health, General News, India, Asia, Wuhan, International News, China, Narendra Modi, Asia Pacific, Virus Outbreak | China has reported 82,941 confirmed case and 4,633 deaths since the virus was first detected late last year in the central city of Wuhan. The worst-hit Indian states are Maharashtra with 29,100 cases, Tamil Nadu with 10,108, Gujarat with 9,931 and New Delhi with 8,895. In the last 24 hours, India had confirmed 3,970 ne... |
10459 | Legs jog mind and body: How exercise can stimulate brain | This is a feel-good health story about a simple, probably harmless therapy that appears to help people manage a debilitating disease with grace. The segment features a researcher and his colleague, as well as a research subject with Parkinson’s disease. The therapy in question requires a bicycle built for two and a wil... | mixture | "No mention of cost. The news report mentions only relative improvement in motor function among people who did forced cycling (35% better than the control group), but cites no data on absolute improvement (35% better than what?). It also fails to say how long this benefit lasts. A press release says people doing forced... | |
28936 | Muslim Refugees threatened to slaughter their hosts at Hope Farms in South Africa. | What's true: A group of refugees threatened to attack their hosts at Hope Farms. What's false: The attackers were all Muslim migrants. | mixture | Politics Immigration, muslim, refugees, south africa | On 27 December 2015, the disreputable web site Mad World News published a sensational article about an incident at Hope Farm in South Africa. The story centered around a South African couple, who had taken in 143 people following a wave of xenophobic attacks which swept the country in April 2015. A white bleeding-heart... |
9916 | Period-free birth control pill approved | "This story reported on FDA approval of one of several oral contraceptives now on the market that claims to reduce or stop menstrual periods. The manufacturer claims this drug, Lybrel, is ""the first and only low dose combination contraceptive pill taken 365 days a year, without a placebo phase or pill-free interval.""... | mixture | "There was no mention of Lybrel’s cost – not even a projection of what Wyeth might charge. Cost of the new product is likely to be substantial, while the same effect can be achieved (and could have been all along) with generic pills. There were no details on the benefits seen in the trials, which is disturbing since th... | |
17042 | "Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson is a ""liberal"" who voted with Nancy Pelosi to ""fund sex study programs of San Francisco prostitutes"" and ""to regulate the sale of firearms." | The ad cherry picks a handful of votes to create the impression that Simpson and Pelosi are in ideological lockstep. But the votes chosen are old, cherry-picked and deeply misleading. Suggesting any substantial alliance between Simpson and Pelosi is ridiculous. | false | National, Congress, Negative Campaigning, Science, Sexuality, Guns, Madison Action Fund, | "We’ve seen plenty of Democrats called out for voting records that closely align with President Barack Obama and other party leaders. But it isn’t every day that a conservative super PAC claims that an eight-term Republican congressman is closely aligned with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The Madison Act... |
3757 | Trump’s plan to curb teen vaping exempts some flavors. | U.S. health officials will begin cracking down on most flavored e-cigarettes that are popular with underage teenagers, but their plan includes major exceptions that benefit vaping manufacturers, retailers and adults who use the nicotine-delivery devices. | true | AP Top News, Health, General News, Politics, Marijuana, Business, Vaping, Tobacco industry regulation, Donald Trump | The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will prohibit fruit, candy, mint and dessert flavors from small, cartridge-based e-cigarettes favored by high school and middle school students. But menthol and tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes will be allowed to remain on the market. The targeted flavor ban will also en... |
4080 | Kansas confirms state’s first death linked to vaping. | Kansas health officials have confirmed the first death in the state related to an outbreak of a lung disease linked to vaping. | true | Health, General News, Kansas, Lung disease, U.S. News | The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in a news release Tuesday the recent death involved a Kansas resident over the age of 50 who had a history of underlying health issues. The unidentified patient was hospitalized with symptoms that progressed rapidly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say... |
28542 | Man-made, radioactive “diamond batteries” are capable of providing thousands of years of energy without a charge. | What's true: The idea of generating a virtually inexhaustible source of energy from radioactive material has long been discussed and, indeed, is already employed in a variety of non diamond-based technologies; “diamond batteries” are a theoretical application of this technology currently in development. What's false: T... | mixture | Science, battery, carbon-14, diamond | In February 2017, the World Economic Forum’s “Futurism” column reported on a lecture given by University of Bristol materials engineering professor Tom Scott. As part of the university’s Cabot Institute’s annual “Ideas to Change the World” lecture series, Scott spoke in generally theoretical terms about the potential t... |
283 | AIDS drugs prevent sexual transmission of HIV in gay men. | A European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without condoms – where one partner had HIV and was taking antiretroviral drugs to suppress it - has found the treatment can prevent sexual transmission of the virus. | true | Health News | After eight years of follow-up of the so-called serodifferent couples, the study found no cases at all of HIV transmission within couples. The study proves, the researchers said, that using antiretroviral therapy to suppress the AIDS virus to undetectable levels also means it cannot be passed on via sex, the researcher... |
33725 | Titanium rings can be removed from swollen fingers only through amputation. | One noticeable downside to a titanium wedding ring is its innate inability to be resized should the wearer gain or lose weight or should the configuration of the finger it’s worn on change over time. | false | Medical | We started collecting versions of a belief about titanium rings in 2003, when that substance began to find favor among the about-to-be-weds as wedding band material: Do you have any information on the idea that titanium rings are almost impossible to cut off in the case of an emergency … particularly aircraft grade ti... |
3377 | New Hampshire board accepts funding for vaccination database. | The New Hampshire Executive Council voted to accept a $1.5 million federal grant in order to create an “immunization information system.” New Hampshire is the only state that doesn’t have a vaccination database, said Lisa Morris, the director of the state’s Division of Public Health Services. | true | New Hampshire, General News, Immunizations, Public health | “We need a working registry because immunizations save lives,” Morris said. “And so we want to make sure that providers and individuals and families have the information they need to keep up to date on their immunizations.” Councilors voted unanimously Wednesday, the Concord Monitor reported. But the vote followed a co... |
2429 | Mysterious disease turning starfish to 'slime' on U.S. West Coast. | Scientists are struggling to find the trigger for a disease that appears to be ravaging starfish in record numbers along the U.S. West Coast, causing the sea creatures to lose their limbs and turn to slime in a matter of days. | true | Environment | Marine biologists and ecologists will launch an extensive survey this week along the coasts of California, Washington state and Oregon to determine the reach and source of the deadly syndrome, known as “star wasting disease.” “It’s pretty spooky because we don’t have any obvious culprit for the root cause even though ... |
25965 | Quotes Dr. Denis Mukwege as saying he resigned from the Congolese coronavirus response team because he was ordered to fabricate COVID-19 case and death numbers. | The quote is fabricated. Dr. Denis Mukwege said he resigned from Congo’s COVID-19 response team over inefficient testing and lax preventive measures, not because he was asked to falsify numbers. | false | Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "You may have seen some recent Facebook posts that claim Dr. Denis Mukwege, a renowned doctor from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said he resigned from the Congolese COVID-19 response team because he was asked to falsify COVID-19 case and death numbers. Mukwege did resign, but it wasn’t for those reasons. Mukwege is... |
34440 | A chiropractor is developing a labial glue as a menstrual alternative to tampons and sanitary napkins. | We note that both the questions and answers reproduced above came from Dobbs himself; he was not responding to a series of questions we posed to him ourselves. | unproven | Medical | In February 2017, news outlets reported on a new product called “Mensez” and its promise to solve menstrual inconveniences and serve as an alternative to tampons and pads by gluing women’s labia together, along with the inventor’s claims that it would revolutionize the menstruation-product industry. Although the report... |
15304 | Rick Perry Says Donald Trump is for a single-payer health care system. | "Perry said Trump is ""for single-payer health care."" Fifteen years ago, Trump was decidedly for a universal healthcare system that resembled Canada’s system, in which the government pays for care for all citizens. Recently, he's said he admires Scotland’s single-payer system and disses the Affordable Care Act as inco... | mixture | National, Health Care, Rick Perry, | "For all his success firing up the GOP base, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump may be a Republican in name only when it comes to health care, says former Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Perry -- at 11th place in the polls and currently just shy of making it into the first Republican debate Aug. 6 -- has been trad... |
3967 | Veterinary technology company stumbles in first full quarter. | A Maine-based animal health technology and services company has fallen short of financial expectations in its first full quarter of operations. | true | North America, Technology, General News, Animal health, Health, Earnings reports, Maine, Earnings | The Portland Press Herald reports Covetrus Inc. lost nearly 40% of its value amid an investor sell-off during pre-market trading Tuesday. Covetrus, which is the state’s largest publicly traded company in terms of annual sales, reported quarterly revenue of $1.01 billion, about $50 million less than analysts’ expectatio... |
6539 | 2 firms first to export LatAm medicinal marijuana to Europe. | Two companies from Uruguay and Colombia will become the first in Latin America to export medical marijuana products to Europe under deals announced Wednesday. | true | Global trade, AP Top News, Uruguay, Medical marijuana, Marijuana, Latin America, Caribbean, Germany, Colombia, Europe | Fotmer Life Sciences of Uruguay and Clever Leaves of Colombia will export cannabis extract and dried marijuana flowers to Germany, which they called the largest market in Europe, with an estimated 700,000 people using medicinal products derived from marijuana. Uruguay in December 2013 became the first country in the wo... |
2660 | Water use rising faster than world population. | Like oil in the 20th century, water could well be the essential commodity on which the 21st century will turn. | true | Environment | A man walks along Lake Travis after water receded during a drought in Austin, Texas September 10, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott Human beings have depended on access to water since the earliest days of civilization, but with 7 billion people on the planet as of October 31, exponentially expanding urbanization and developmen... |
36579 | U.S. President Barack Obama shut down the federal government in 2013 in order to force the passage of his Obamacare law. | Did President Barack Obama Shut Down the Government to ‘Force Obamacare’ in 2013? | false | Fact Checks, Politics | On December 29, 2018, a Facebook user posted a status update claiming that a federal shutdown over border wall funding was similar to one in 2013 — and it was purportedly initiated by President Barack Obama:This was nearly identical to a December 22, 2018 post shared hundreds of thousands of times. The version above (w... |
29510 | "President Obama has demanded all Americans ""celebrate gay sex"" for the month of June 2016." | What's true: President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation officially recognizing June 2016 as LGBT Pride Month. What's false: Sexual activity of any sort was not mentioned in the proclamation; no portion of the document was a directive. | false | Politics, fury news, lgbt pride month, presidential proclamation | On 1 June 2016, the web site Fury News published an article widely shared on social media, reporting that President Obama “demanded” that the United States celebrates “gay sex”: By royal decree, King Obama announced that the month of June will now be dedicated to celebrating… Happy Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgen... |
10052 | Osteoporosis medication extends life by five years | It is bad enough that the story asserts that bisphosphonates prolong life, based on a study design that can’t possibly prove that. Adding the researchers’ musings about a possible mechanism is pure speculation, and just compounds the error. We think of the thousands of women thinking about osteoporosis who could be mis... | false | Los Angeles Times,Osteoporosis | There is no discussion of the cost of these drugs. If one is to accept the premise of the story – that taking these drugs “extends life by five years” – one needs to explore how long you would need to take the drugs in order to gain this benefit. And how much would that cost? Not insignificant questions. Some quantifi... |
28582 | An essay outlines the fates of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. | A popular essay outlines the fates of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, but many of its details are inaccurate. | mixture | History, 4th of july, American History, declaration of independence | In the waning years of their lengthy lives, former presidents (and Founding Fathers) John Adams and Thomas Jefferson reconciled the political differences that had separated them for many years and carried on a voluminous correspondence. One of the purposes behind their exchange of letters was to set the record straight... |
7532 | Mexico confirms first 2 cases of coronavirus. | Mexico’s assistant health secretary announced Friday that the country now has two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. | true | AP Top News, Religion, Mexico, Health, General News, Flu, Latin America, Caribbean, Virus Outbreak, Mexico City | Hugo Lopez-Gatell said one of the patients is in Mexico City and the other in the northern state of Sinaloa. While a second test is still pending on that case, he said, “We are treating this as confirmed.” Neither is seriously ill; one is in isolation at a hospital, the other is isolated at a hotel. At least five famil... |
29008 | A study showed 69% of all store-bought extra virgin olive oils in the US are 'probably fake.' | "What's true: Testing carried out in 2008 and 2010 reported that some popular olive oil brands did not meet the criteria to be labeled as ""extra virgin."" What's false: Tests did not show that 69% of the olive oil sold in the U.S. is made wholly or primarily from something other than olives." | mixture | Food, fake olive oil, food legends, Odd Ingredients | In early March 2015, an article titled “Fake Olive Oil: What You Need to Know [Now]” began circulating via social media, focusing on the health benefits of olive oil and making the claim that 69% of store-bought olive oils are “probably fake.” Predictably the claim was well-circulated among health buffs, as olive oil i... |
4071 | Officials say death of Montana teenager was vaping-related. | Health officials say a teenager in Montana has died of a lung disease associated with a national outbreak of vaping-related illnesses. | true | Health, General News, Lung disease, Montana, Vaping, U.S. News, Public health | The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services said Tuesday it was the state’s first recorded death connected to e-cigarette use. Officials declined to release any further details about the teen, citing confidentiality. Officials said they have identified two other people in the state with vaping-associated... |
9130 | How six cups of ground coffee can improve nose, throat surgery | This Vanderbilt University news release describes a tight-fitting silicone cap vacuum-packed with coffee grounds that tracks a patient’s head movement during surgery. With the help of a video, it does a good job of explaining how this “granular jamming cap” could improve upon currently used elastic headbands with doubl... | mixture | granular jamming cap,surgical procedure,Vanderbilt University | There’s no discussion of how switching to the coffee-filled cap might affect costs. A silicone swim cap and six cups of coffee grounds run less than 20 bucks. But it’s safe to say this device will cost much more given the need for a potential investor to recoup the cost of clinical trials and other expenses related to ... |
28612 | In ancient Rome, women would drink turpentine to make their urine smell sweet like roses. | What's true: According to the medical literature, drinking turpentine does impart a scent resembling violets to urine, which was known to physicians in first-century Rome. What's false: The imparted floral scent is that of violets, not roses. What's undetermined: We have encountered no documentary evidence to the effec... | mixture | History, rome, turpentine | One of those fascinating tidbits of historical “fact” that circulates perennially on the Internet holds that women in ancient Rome drank turpentine, a toxic solvent (better known as paint thinner) distilled from the resin of pine trees, to make their urine smell “like roses.” Here’s an example from Facebook: In Ancien... |
42173 | CHILD RAPE CAMP DISCOVERED NEAR TUCSON | Q: Was a recently discovered encampment in Arizona used as a “child rape camp”?A: There is no evidence to support that claim. Authorities say their investigation revealed no such criminal activity. | false | conspiracy theories, | Q: Was a recently discovered encampment in Arizona used as a “child rape camp”? A: There is no evidence to support that claim. Authorities say their investigation revealed no such criminal activity.Hi, would like your help with this story found on Facebook.“BREAKING: CHILD RAPE CAMP DISCOVERED NEAR TUCSON – PRISON CELL... |
7420 | 2 cats in NY become first US pets to test positive for virus. | "Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in companion animals in the United States, federal officials said Wednesday. | true | AP Top News, Animals, Understanding the Outbreak, Tigers, New York, Anthony Fauci, United States, Lifestyle, Infectious diseases, Science, Pets, Bronx, Virus Outbreak, General News, U.S. News | The cats, which had mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to recover, are thought to have contracted the virus from people in their households or neighborhoods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The finding, which comes after positive tests in some... |
31251 | Calling #77 or 112 on your cell phone will connect you to emergency services no matter where you are. | A March 2002 version of the story changed the girl’s name from Lauren to Lisa. An October 2003 version moved the action to Australia. Once again, 19-year-old Lauren barely escaped disaster, but she did so by using the “No. 112 feature” on her cell phone to summon help. A July 2004 version shifted the story to Canada, b... | false | Crime, crime warnings, Criminal Intent | [Collected via e-mail, March 2002] This is an actual true story and not one of those Internet stories that are passed on and on. This actually happened to one of my dearest nw friend’s daughter. Her daughter, Lauren, is 19 yrs. old and a sophomore in college. This happened to her over the Christmas/New Year’s holiday b... |
26405 | Mosquitoes can transfer COVID-19 “from person to person” | The World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there is no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted by mosquitoes. COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that spreads primarily from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or nasal discharge... | false | Public Health, Facebook Fact-checks, Coronavirus, Facebook posts, | "Misleading claims on social media have spread the myth that with summer around the corner, mosquitoes are another way that COVID-19 will spread. ""u think its bad now just wait till them mosquito's start transferring Corona blood from person to person,"" stated an April 22 Facebook post. The post was flagged as part o... |
3392 | More than 1,000 vaccinated as hepatitis A strikes Virginia. | A confirmed case of hepatitis A in a Virginia restaurant worker prompted a health division to launch a public vaccination effort for the first time this year as the state fights its outbreak status. | true | Bristol, General News, Public health, Hepatitis, Virginia | More than 1,000 people were vaccinated in southwest Virginia on Thursday and Friday, the Bristol Herald Courier reported. The Virginia Department of Public Health announced last week that an employee at Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen in Bristol had been diagnosed with the virus. An employee at NHC Healthcare Bristol was al... |
23054 | Congressman Perriello voted in lock step with Nancy Pelosi 90 percent of the time. | India’s health ministry has asked all state governments in the country not to partner with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) because of its links to tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N), a letter seen by Reuters showed. | mixture | Voting Record, Virginia, Robert Hurt, | Established in 2017, the FSFW focuses on eliminating usage of cigarettes and works toward smoking cessation using new technologies and alternative products. It says it works independently, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there are “clear conflicts” due to the $80 million in annual funding the foundatio... |
33855 | Coca-Cola halted production of its flagship beverage in 1985 and introduced New Coke in its place as a marketing ploy to combat declining market share and rekindle interest in the original drink. | The company’s rebound from this disaster was nothing short of a miracle (hence the persistent belief that the whole thing must have been planned). Yet it’s a very understandable miracle once you think about it. It took the loss of the beverage people had grown up with and fallen in love over to remind them how much it ... | false | Cokelore, Marketing 101 | As much as we’d like to believe that The Coca-Cola Company is infallible, it proved in 1985 that it isn’t. It’s inconceivable to us mere mortals that a company of the size and scope of Coca-Cola could make a mistake on the scale of the one it made in 1985. Although company officials have been honest (albeit a bit redfa... |
11349 | Vitamin D, The Surprise Powerhouse: Wonder pill. Really. | This was a carefully reseached piece about vitamin D, following a scientific workshop on the subject. It was overzealous in describing purported benefits but did call for caution. The scientists quoted are all leaders in the field. The article would have been much stronger if it had not had so much hyperbole (“Wonder P... | true | There was no comparison of the cost of foods with and without vitamin D supplementation, or for the amount of foods naturally rich in vitamin D needed to obtain adequate levels, or for the cost of vitamin D supplements. Most of the potential benefits from adequate vitamin D levels are not quantified. The story does pre... | |
30138 | A brewery worker contaminated Dragon Soop products with HIV-infected blood. | Though it is very rare, HIV can be spread by eating food that has been pre-chewed by an HIV-infected person. The contamination occurs when infected blood from a caregiver’s mouth mixes with food while chewing. The only known cases are among infants. | false | Junk News, Food Contamination | The Dragon Soop brand of caffeinated alcoholic beverages has joined Anchor Butter and Cadbury chocolates as the target of unoriginal updates of an internet hoax dating back several years, a hoax holding that production line worker deliberately contaminated the product with HIV-infected blood: There is no truth to this... |
10593 | More unusual, fewer usual breaks with bone drugs | Strong points: clear language, such as “slightly increased chance of suffering an unusual type of thigh fracture” clear analysis provided to readers – at least through the words of the two sources cited reflection on how past news reports may have overstated risks of the drugs Room for improvement: drugs were only d... | true | Reuters Health | The cost of a year’s treatment should have been included. The story only says the drug are “cheap.” Cheap to one woman may be a financial burden to another. The story did a good job – starting with the headline – of portraying the tradeoffs between harms and benefits as found in the latest study. The story does a good... |
41063 | 24,641 die of heart disease every day. | This is an underestimate for all cardiovascular disease deaths, but close to the daily figure of those who die from coronary heart disease specifically. | mixture | online | 26,383 people die of cancer each day. 24,641 die of heart disease every day. This is an underestimate for all cardiovascular disease deaths, but close to the daily figure of those who die from coronary heart disease specifically. 4,300 people die of diabetes every day. Suicide is the cause of death for around 3,000 peo... |
10331 | Most angioplasties not necessary, study finds | This story presented the seemingly counterintuitive results from a large, randomized trial that found that non-emergency heart patients faired equally well in terms of chest pain, risk of heart attack, or death whether they were treated with medications alone or medications plus angioplasty and the placement of a stent... | true | This story did not include a comparison of the costs for the two treatments. This was not a part of the journal article describing the study but was contained within the presentation given at the recent meeting of the American College of Cardiology. (Note: both the journal article and the meeting were mentioned in the ... | |
33464 | Health care legislation requires that U.S. residents be implanted with RFID microchips. | The rumors made another appearance in the fall of 2016, when various stories began to appear once again about RFID chip implantations, this time mandatory as of 2017 rather than 2013. Needless to say, these rumors were also completely false. | false | Medical, obamacare, radio frequency identification chips, RFID | “Big Brother” rumors (often linked to the “mark of the beast” referenced in Revelation 13:16-18) warning that the government will ultimately require all citizens to be implanted with microchips have been around just about as long as microchips have, and specific claims that health care reform legislation will require s... |
26505 | This particular pandemic is one where I don’t think nationwide, there’s been a single fatality under 25. | Data compiled by the CDC, multiple states and news organizations all show COVID-19 deaths among young people in the United States. DeSantis’ office did not respond to a request for comment. | false | Public Health, Florida, Coronavirus, Ron DeSantis, | "Health officials have long said that the novel coronavirus is particularly dangerous for older individuals and people with underlying health conditions. But Florida Gov. Ron Desantis made an even more staggering claim, that the virus hasn’t killed anyone under 25 in the United States. ""This particular pandemic is one... |
2042 | "Science sense"" list trashes celebrity health tips." | Science campaigners laid bare some of the most dubious celebrity-endorsed health tips on Wednesday, rubbishing ideas such as reabsorbing sperm and wearing silicone bracelets to boost energy. | true | Science News | Model Naomi Campbell attends the presentation of the Louis Vuitton luxury travelling case for the World Cup trophy in Paris in this June 1, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen In an annual list of what it sees as the year’s worst abuses against science, the Sense About Science (SAS) campaign group debunked diet and... |
37523 | A photograph proves the media is exaggerating the risks of COVID-19 by showing a reporter in personal protective equipment and a cameraman in everyday work clothing. | ‘I Wonder Why the Cameraman Didn’t Need Protective Clothing?’ Facebook Post | false | Disinformation, Fact Checks | On March 19 2020, the following meme (“I wonder why the cameraman didn’t need protective clothing”) was shared to Facebook:A still photograph included the wording about the cameraman lacking any personal protective equipment (PPE), as a reporter just a few feet away appeared as though they had stepped out of a film lik... |
10502 | Aspirin might reduce recurrence risk for breast cancer survivors, study finds | "Appropriate discussion of possible limitations of the research. Good context. Appropriate warnings to women being treated for breast cancer NOT to start taking aspirin. As one expert said in the story, ""If true, it would certainly be a relatively easy, inexpensive, potentially safe intervention for women who have had... | true | "Cost of aspirin is not in question. Not applicable. Only relative risk reduction data were provided: ""They found that women who took aspirin two to five days per week were 60% less likely to have a recurrence and 71% less likely to die from breast cancer. Those taking it more frequently had a 43% lower risk of recur... | |
38524 | It’s been reported that a 3,000 pound great white shark has been caught in Lake Michigan. | Air pollution in New Delhi and surrounding towns reached the worst levels so far this year on Sunday, with authorities in the world’s most polluted capital city having already declared a public health emergency and ordered the closure of schools. | false | Animals | The air quality index, measuring levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter in the air, deteriorated to above 900, way over the 500-level that qualifies as “severe-plus”. Aside from the harm it was doing to the lungs of some 40 million people living in the capital region, the smog was so bad more than 30 flights were di... |
23175 | "Edwin Pacheco Says Christopher Little has ""a history of working against environmental protection by defending the worst types of corporate polluters" | Pacheco says Little has 'a history of working against environmental protection by defending the worst types of corporate polluters' | false | Environment, Rhode Island, Candidate Biography, Elections, Legal Issues, Edwin Pacheco, | "Christopher H. Little, the Moderate Party’s candidate for attorney general, has tried to position himself as the candidate with the best experience to clean up Rhode Island’s politics and environment. Among other credentials, he cites his past chairmanship of Common Cause of Rhode Island and his three years as preside... |
28752 | Luxottica controls 80 percent of eyewear brands, several major optometry chains, and the second-largest vision care insurer. | What's true: Eyewear retail giant Luxottica owns a number of high-profile eyeglass and sunglass brands, as well as several optometry chains and the second-largest vision care insurer. What's undetermined: Whether Luxottica controls 80 percent of the entire eyeglass and sunglass market. | mixture | Business, adam ruins everything, Corporate Alliances, luxottica | On 14 September 2016, the College Humor web site published a segment of popular truTV debunking show Adam Ruins Everything about “The Conspiracy Behind Your Glasses,” describing how the Luxottica conglomerate owns 80 percent of eyeglass brands, most optometry chains, and the second-largest vision care insurer in the Un... |
1722 | Poll finds gaping chasm in views between U.S. public, scientists. | American scientists and the general public hold vastly different views on key scientific issues including the role of people in causing climate change, the safety of genetically modified food, and evolution, a poll released on Thursday showed. | true | Science News | Eighty-seven percent of scientists questioned by the Pew Research Center said human activity was the main cause of global climate change, compared with 50 percent of the public. Twenty-five percent of the public said there was no solid evidence the climate was warming, up from 11 percent in a similar 2009 survey. The i... |
24538 | Every other democracy in the world has a health care system that covers everybody, and we don't. | Dean says U.S. is only democracy without universal health care | false | National, Health Care, Howard Dean, | "Supporters of health care reform have often said health coverage in the United States lags behind other countries. On the Sept. 13 edition of NBC's Meet the Press , former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said the United States should meet the standards of its international peers. Dean, who just stepped down after serving a... |
34862 | "In November 2019, Duane Chapman, known as ""Dog the Bounty Hunter,"" died either by suicide or from a pulmonary embolism." | “I just hope that I don’t live very much longer without her, because now she made the first step, she’s through the gate,” he added. “She paved a way for me. I want to take a [god damn] pain pill so bad. I feel like if I did something to myself right now and passed away suicidal and I got to heaven and was like, ‘Hi ho... | false | Junk News | In late 2019, readers asked us about blog posts that were widely shared on social media and falsely claimed that the reality television star Duane Chapman, known as “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” had died either by suicide or from a pulmonary embolism. Those reports were false. Beginning on Nov. 20, admirers of Chapman and h... |
8888 | Arthritis pill cuts heart attack risk: study. | A once-a-week pill to treat rheumatoid arthritis significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke for people with the painful joint condition, an international team of researchers said on Thursday. | true | Health News | A pharmacist counts pills in a pharmacy in Toronto, January 31, 2008. REUTERS/Mark Blinch The findings published in the journal Arthritis & Therapy provides further evidence of the benefits of the generic drug methotrexate and underscores the importance of prescribing it early on, the researchers said. “This shows that... |
23926 | "John Cornyn Says the Arizona immigration law ""expressly bans racial profiling." | Cornyn says the Arizona immigration law bans racial profiling | mixture | Immigration, Texas, John Cornyn, | "Simmering over the immigration bill Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law in April, Mexico President Felipe Calderon told a joint session of Congress May 20 that the tough law invites racial profiling. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who has urged the federal government to increase border security, including sending... |
9438 | Some opioid addiction drugs harder to start than others, study finds | Stemming disability and deaths from opioid use disorder is a major public health challenge, and medication has become the treatment of choice to help people with addiction. The study reported in this CNN story compares two available drugs—buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone) and naltrexone (Vivitrol)—that can blunt or blo... | mixture | addiction,opioids,painkiller addiction | Cost does not make an appearance. This is a problem for a comparative story, as the prices for these two drugs seem quite different, with Vivitrol looking by far the more expensive. The story describes duration of staying on the treatments and rates of relapse, reporting that the rates are roughly equal. The story is a... |
1636 | Recycling -- fashion world's antidote to environmental concerns. | Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, is launching a new effort to promote recycling as it seeks to cut its environmental impact, boost its ethical credentials and address looming shortages of raw materials. | true | Environment | The move comes as critics point out the damage being caused by a throwaway culture fueled by cheap clothing that has seen a sharp rise in the number of garments sold annually around the world. Sweden’s H&M, which is launching a line of jeans containing recycled cotton next week, will offer an annual 1-million-euro ($1.... |
34498 | Muslim refugees desecrated a church with broken liquor bottles, urine and defecation. | The church is a historic building, constructed in the 17th Century, and there is no indication that its congregation is “liberal.” There is also no proof that the vandals are Muslim — and, in fact, all the available evidence indicates otherwise. Observant Muslims do not drink alcohol, and the church itself says that th... | unproven | Politics, mad world news | On 7 December 2016, Mad World News (a web site that regularly posts inaccurate, anti-Muslim content) reported that Muslim refugees had taken advantage of a Swedish church that took them in by vandalizing it (complete with the click-bait headline: “Liberal Church Houses Muslim Refugees, Horrified By What They Find In Pe... |
11448 | Diet Drug Lorcaserin Safe, Effective, Study Finds | This story reports on a new diet drug that works in much the same way as the discredited and dangerous fen-phen pill that was pulled from the market in 1997. The story reports that the drug appears to be safer than that drug and to be helping people lose weight. But it felt a bit boosterish – especially without the per... | mixture | There is no mention of costs. If the drug works similarly to fen-phen. Why not at least mention what that drug cost? If you have to take it twice a day for a year to see any results, what might that long term therapy add up to? See comments above about evaluating the evidence. We’ll rule this satisfactory because the s... | |
9345 | Hepatitis-Infected Kidneys a Safe Option for Transplant: Study | This story reported on a study that showed 20 dialysis patients who were transplanted with kidneys infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and subsequently treated for the virus fared as well as patients who received non-infected kidneys. The study concluded that kidneys from HCV-infected donors “may be a valuable transp... | mixture | Hepatitis C,kidney donation | The story quoted the lead researcher saying the “potential cost savings could be significant,” and the alternative — dialysis — “can cost more than $88,000 a year, according to the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.” But there was no data on the cost of a transplant or of HCV treatme... |
26730 | “With regard to the cost, let me be very clear: HHS has designated the coronavirus test as an essential health benefit. That means, by definition, it's covered in the private health insurance of every American, as well as covered by Medicare and Medicaid. | The federal government has some tools at its disposal to broaden insurance coverage for coronavirus testing, specifically when it comes to Medicare, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. But Pence’s claim over simplifies what is involved in making this coverage assurance because a large swath of private h... | mixture | National, Health Care, Health Check, Coronavirus, Mike Pence, | "Amid ongoing concern about the new coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence sought to assure Americans that their health insurance will cover the tests needed for diagnosis. ""With regard to the cost, let me be very clear: HHS has designated the coronavirus test as an essential health benefit. That means, by definition,... |
8307 | Trump administration weakens mercury rule for coal plants. | The Trump administration on Thursday withdrew the legal justification for an Obama-era rule that forced coal-fired power plants to cut their mercury emissions, saying the cost of compliance far outweighed the public health benefits. | true | Environment | The move, which was slammed by environmentalists and utility companies, leaves the so-called Mercury and Air Toxic Standards in place for now, but could pave the way for lawsuits from companies opposed to it and prevent similar regulations from being implemented in the future. “It’s honest accounting,” Environmental Pr... |
8601 | From filmmaker to medicine courier: volunteers helped Wuhan's virus fight. | While most people in the Chinese city of Wuhan were hunkered down in their homes at the height of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, Lin Wenhua was out on the empty streets in his car, driving toward the next person or task on his list. | true | Health News | Sometimes it would be a request to take a doctor to the hospital, the 38-year-old filmmaker recalled. Once, he was asked to help drive a pet-sitter to a friend’s house. Other times, he found himself delivering boxes of Kaletra, a drug usually used to treat HIV and AIDS, to coronavirus patients or their relatives, sent ... |
2250 | British start-up breeds high performance bugs for animal feed. | After centuries of selective breeding of animals and plants to maximize yields in agriculture, bugs are getting the same treatment, as demand for insect protein grows. | true | Environment | British start-up Beta Bugs is breeding high performance strains of black soldier fly for the insect feed sector, and is selecting traits like growth rate, protein content, fat composition and even temperature tolerance according to clients’ needs. Most animal feed is made from soy which is blamed by some for deforestat... |
8544 | Dubai to set up field hospitals to cope with any coronavirus surge: official. | The emirate of Dubai is preparing field hospitals to handle any surge in cases of the new coronavirus, a health official said on Thursday, as the United Arab Emirates saw its infection count more than double in the last week. | true | Health News | The UAE has reported 2,659 cases with 12 deaths, the second highest among six Gulf Arab states whose tally has passed 10,500 infections despite containment efforts, including halting passenger flights, imposing curfews and closing public venues. The UAE does not provide a breakdown in numbers for each of its seven emir... |
6665 | Hawaii officials confirm 3rd case of rat lungworm disease. | Hawaii health officials say a resident on the Big Island’s east side has contracted rat lungworm disease. | true | Health, Kailua-Kona, Rats, Hawaii | West Hawaii Today reports the state Department of Health confirmed the case through laboratory testing earlier this month, but the person might have become infected as early as February. Health officials say the person was hospitalized. Officials could not determine the exact location where the person contracted the di... |
32479 | Director Stanley Kubrick wrote a profanity-laced letter to MGM executive James T. Aubrey warning him not to make a sequel to '2001: A Space Odyssey.' | Are we alone in wishing this film had actually been made? | false | Junk News, glossy news | Stanley Kubrick, who directed such iconic films as Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange, was also a notorious control freak whom Randy Kennedy of the New York Times described as “titanically exacting” and was highly protective of his work. When Kubrick died in 1999, he left behind a vast trove... |
10152 | ‘Closed-heart’ a less-invasive alternative | Minimally-invasive surgery, also known as percutaneous surgery, represents an important development in the treatment of aortic valve disease. Aortic valve disease typically occurs in adults over the age of 65 and is a common cause of heart failure. Risk factors include increasing age, obesity, and high blood pressure. ... | true | The story does not mention costs. The story presents what is known about the death rates in artificial valve and conventional valve surgery. The story also points out that we don’t know whether the artificial valve will extend life or improve quality of life. It explained that it is still unknown how this would work in... | |
7542 | Trump extends virus guidelines, braces US for big death toll. | Bracing the nation for a coronavirus death toll that could exceed 100,000 people, President Donald Trump extended restrictive social distancing guidelines through April, bowing to public health experts who presented him with even more dire projections for the expanding coronavirus pandemic. | true | AP Top News, Health, General News, Politics, Pandemics, Donald Trump, Virus Outbreak, Public health, Family medicine, United States | It was a stark shift in tone by the Republican president, who only days ago mused about the country reopening in a few weeks. From the Rose Garden, he said his Easter revival hopes had only been “aspirational.” The initial 15-day period of social distancing urged by the federal government expires Monday, and Trump had ... |
7767 | Tests show suspected Swedish Ebola patient not infected. | Medical tests have shown a patient treated in isolation at Sweden’s Uppsala University Hospital for suspected Ebola is not infected with the virus after all, authorities said on Friday. | true | Health News | The patient, whose identity was not disclosed, was isolated and transferred to the hospital north of Stockholm after originally being admitted to the emergency ward of the smaller Enkoping hospital. The young man had been in Burundi for around three weeks, and was exhibiting classic symptoms of haemorrhagic fever, incl... |
3017 | As wildfires get worse, smoke spreads, stokes health worries. | First came the flames, a raging firestorm propelled by 50 mph (80 kph) wind gusts that incinerated Kelsey Norton’s house and killed 85 people in her community. | true | Paradise, Health, California, Asia Pacific, Weekend Reads, General News, Wildfires, AP Top News, Fires, U.S. News | Then came the smoke — not just from the forest but also from some 14,000 houses and their contents that burned, generating a thick plume that enshrouded portions of Northern California for weeks and left Norton gasping. And since the fire, more than a year now, it has been sickness: repeated respiratory infections that... |
2220 | As Chinese mountains get hotter, hunt for 'cure-all' fungus gets harder. | For Ma Junxiao, an ethnic Hui Muslim farmer from remote western China, the daily climb up sheer mountain slopes to look for a tiny fungus is vital to his family’s subsistence. | true | Environment | Each spring, Ma travels more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) by road from his impoverished village in Gansu to a jumbled knot of nameless peaks in neighboring Qinghai province. There, he joins an army of about 80 people hired by a local company to find and pick Ophiocordyceps sinensis, a fungus believed to possess aphr... |
9663 | Baby Deadline Test: Beat Your Biological Clock | Tourists visiting a world heritage site in mountains west of Sydney were forced to take photos of a billboard showing “The Three Sisters” rock formation on Friday as smoke from bushfires blanketed the attraction. | false | biological clock,disease mongering,infertility,Pregnancy | “The Three Sisters” in the Blue Mountains represent three sisters who, according to Aboriginal legend, were turned to stone. “It’s unbelievable. We were really looking forward to seeing the view and I’ve always wanted to see the Blue Mountains. Such a shame that when we came...,” English tourist Lewis Casey told Reuter... |
8357 | U.S. health officials urge Americans to prepare for spread of coronavirus. | The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday alerted Americans to begin preparing for the spread of coronavirus in the United States after infections surfaced in several more countries. | true | Health News | The announcement signaled a change in tone for the Atlanta-based U.S. health agency, which had largely been focused on efforts to stop the virus from entering the country and quarantining individuals traveling from China. “The data over the past week about the spread in other countries has raised our level of concern a... |
19179 | "Laurie Monnes Anderson ""voted to let violent criminals out of jail early." | Did Laurie Monnes Anderson vote to let violent criminals out of jail early? | true | Oregon, Criminal Justice, Crime, Voting Record, Oregon Senate Republicans (The Leadership Fund), | "Some legislative bills are so controversial that two, three years later they still serve as meaty fodder for political campaigns. House Bill 3508 from 2009 is just that bill and it’s playing a role in the race between state Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, and her Republican opponent, Gresham dentist Scott Hans... |
11031 | Acupuncture May Ease Hot Flashes | Shares many of the same fundamental flaws as its HealthDay competitor: | false | WebMD,women's health | No discussion of cost. 10 weeks of acupuncture treatment – the course given in the study – ain’t chump change. The story told us that a five-point scale was used to measure the severity of symptoms. That’s better than the HealthDay story did. But only slightly better because the story never went on to tell us how much ... |
2828 | Pluristem stem cell trial to treat muscle injury meets main goal. | Pluristem Therapeutics Inc said results from its early/mid-stage clinical trial indicated its placenta-derived stem cells for the treatment of muscle injury were safe and provided evidence the cells might be effective in treating orthopedic injuries. | true | Health News | “Patients treated with PLX-PAD had a greater improved change of maximal voluntary muscle contraction force than the placebo group,” Israel-based Pluristem said in a statement on Tuesday. The trial was conducted at the Orthopedic Clinic of the Charite University Medical School under the auspices of the Paul-Ehrlich-Inst... |
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